Delmarva Heritage Series, by Dr. William H. Wroten, Jr.
Delmarvan Once Disputed Gen. Washington's Rank
Salisbury Times - June 29, 1962
This past winter the story of the rather heated
disagreement between George Washington and John Dagworthy in the
1750's was brought to my attention. It is such an amusing story of
two men who gave many years of lifetime to public service and the
welfare of the American people that it is being called now to your
attention.
Little is
known about the birth of John Dagworthy, other than that he was born
in New Jersey, and there was mention of him in the New Jersey
archives of the 1730's and 1740's. Although he became a citizen of
Delaware and one of the leaders in the development of southern
Delaware, his chief claim to fame probably was his service in the
military forces. Actually he saw service in three colonial wars,
including the American Revolutionary War.
In King
George's War (War of Austrian Succession in European history) with
France in the 1740's, Dagworthy was commissioned a captain in the
New Jersey regiment. During the campaign against the French in
Canada he was in command of a force of English and Colonial troops.
After this war, Dagworthy went to Great Britain to receive a royal
commission as captain.
IN THE
EARLY 1750's, just before the "official" outbreak of the French and
Indian War, Captain Dagworthy was in command of two companies of
rangers and other militiamen, which had been created for the western
frontier of Maryland.
In a way
Dagworthy's commission at that time came from Gov. Sharpe of
Maryland, and thus it was a "colonial" commission and not one from
the royal British army. It was during this period of service that
the long and bitter dispute between George Washington and Dagworhty
began. The question arose as to which of these two gentlemen
outranked the other, and thus had command of the units on the
frontier.
Dr.
George W. Marshall, before the historical Society of Delaware in
1895, presented a paper, "Memoir of Brigadier-General John Dagworthy
of the Revolutionary War," in which much time and space was devoted
to attempts to answer the question. Naturally there have been
supporters for both Washington and Dagworthy.
The
question of military rand and command has cropped up many times in
military annals. Sometimes the personal battle has been bitter;
other times on officer, for the good of the cause, has stepped aside
to let the other officer command. But it was the former case with
Washington and Dagworthy. Gov. Dinwiddlie of Virginia had
commissioned Washington, a colonel in the Virginia militia;
therefore he should have outranked Dagworthy's captaincy. But
Captain Dagworthy also held a royal commission which he believed
placed him above the authority of a "Colonial" colonel, such as
George Washington.
ACCORDING
TO Sparks, in his Life of Washington, whenever Col. Washington was
with his troops at Fort Cumberland, Maryland, Captain Dagworthy paid
no attention to his orders. This then would keep the garrison in
"perpetual feuds and insubordination." The situation was explained
to Gov. Dinwiddlie, who intimated to Washington that Dagworthy was
at fault and might be arrested according to military law.
The
supporters of Washington have considered all of this foolish, for
they claim that Dagworthy did not have more than 30 men under his
command and therefore had no reason to believe he outranked
Washington. But the supporters of Dagworthy claim that he had many
more men under his command than 30.
This
dispute must have been very important to the two men, for Washington
made a winter journey to Boston for a personal appeal to General
Shirley of the British Army. In March of 1756 the matter was
finally settled when orders were issued that Dagworthy was ranked as
a provincial captain, thus Washington outranked him.
THERE IS
STILL much confusion about the entire situation and the events that
followed. For in 1756 Dagworthy was given greater military
responsibility and an increase in command. Gov. Sharpe had Ft.
Frederick erected as protection to the settlers, and by the end of
the summer a garrison of 300 under the command of Lt. Col. Dagworthy
were at the fort.
McSherry,
a Maryland historian claims that before long the Maryland forces
under Dagworthy equaled 500 men. In 1758 Dagworthy and his troops
joined the campaign against the French at Ft. Duquesne (present day
Pittsburgh). Lt. Col. Dagworthy was present at the surrender of Ft.
Duquesne, and was the first to bring the good news to the citizens
of Baltimore.
Dr.
Marshall, in his article on Dagworthy, stated: "The capture of this
fortress filled the colonies with joy. Gov. Sharpe proclaimed a day
for public thanksgiving and praise; and the Assembly, to testify
their gratitude to the brave men who had served for their state,
appropriated 1500 pounds to be distributed as a gratuity among
them: to Lt. Col. Dagworthy, 30 pounds; to each captain, 16 pounds;
to each lt. 12 pounds; to each ensign, 9 pounds; and the remainder
to be expended in the purchase of clothing and suitable necessaries,
to be divided among the privates.
And,
later, as a further testimonial to Dagworthy for his services, the
Assembly of Maryland gave him patents for a large tract of land in
what was then Worcester County, Maryland, lying at the head of
Pepper's Creek, which later by the surveys of the boundary-line
between Maryland and Delaware in 1767, was found to be in Delaware.
ALTHOUGH
THE land was sound to be within the boundaries of Delaware,
Dagworthy did not suffer a loss. In 1774, all of these tracts were
resurveyed under the authority of the Penn family.
"Dagworthy's Conquest" was very extensive, containing altogether a
little over 20,000 acres. Besides his position as one of the
large4st landowners in Delaware, Dagworthy served for several years
as a justice for Sussex County, at which time he played a major role
in helping to determine the boundaries of the local hundreds.
During
the Revolutionary War, Dagworthy once again came to the service of
his native land. In helping to keep a watchful eye on the Tories in
Sussex County, he was a member of the Committee of Safety.
Council
minutes for 1778 refer to him as Brigadier Dagworthy. Orders were
issued to Gen. Dagworthy to take immediate action to disarm "all the
disaffected inhabitants of said County of Sussex." A few months
before this some ammunition belonging to Maryland arrived in the
Indian River area and were placed under the charge of Dagworthy, who
sent it across the peninsula to Chestertown. In 1777, Thomas
McKean, a member of the Continental Congress from Delaware, wrote,
"We made a promotion the Militia by making Dagworthy a brigadier."
GEN.
DAGWORTHY was a man of considerable wealth, and like most wealthy
colonials of the southern colonies, counted his assets in land,
slaves, and livestock. Dr. Marshall wrote: "... surrounded by his
family and a retinue of slaves he dispensed a liberal hospitality to
his many friends and admirers. He was honored and respected as a
bold patriot and earnest, honest citizen, solicitous for the best
interest of his State and the community in which he lived, and where
he largely developed the varied industries of the county.
From the
location of his burial place under the chancel of Prince George's
Chapel, which he enlarged, it is believed that he enjoyed the love,
confidence, and respect of the then leading denomination which he
fostered, encouraged, and helped to maintain by liberal
contributions during his eventful life.
Here
then, in an obscure corner of the southern border of Sussex County,
lie buried the bones of a hero of three wars, a patriot, an honest,
industrious citizen, whose memory is unhonored and unsung.
However, today he has been honored by having both the
hundred and the town of Dagsboro named for him.
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