Captain Allen McLane: Death Defying Spymaster of the American Revolution

Was Captain Allan McLane (Aug. 8 1746 – May 27, 1829) the stuff of mythological tales, whose heroic feats clashed with British steel and titans of oppression? Did his covert operations save the American Army from a surprise attack and later General Lafayette from capture? Did he charge upon British dragoons with flashing saber and in the nick of time, rescue a general pinned beneath his horse? Did he single handedly battle British dragoons, killing two before riding off unscathed? Did his swashbuckling troops burst upon the scene and disrupt British General Howe’s elaborate going away party? Could it have been McLane who untiringly forged the countryside and thereby saved the soldiers at Valley Forge from starvation? Was it he who convinced French Admiral DeGrase to sail his fleet to Chesapeake Bay, thereby entrapping General Cornwallis’ army at Yorktown which decided the war? Was he in command of an American warship that captured a British frigate? And did McLane provide the British Fleet’s code book to Washington as part of the elaborate spy ring that many historians believed saved the American Revolution?

Because these many exploits were shuffled among the back pages of historical records, did that result in the loss of McLane’s contributions to memory, never to receive the just laurels for his actions? Never to achieve even a portion of the fame lavished on his iconic counterparts such as Swamp Fox Francis Marion, Paul Revere, Molly Pitcher, ‘Old Put’, Ethan Allan, Hamilton, Franklin, Hale, and of course George Washington? Or was McLane just a good soldier? One who did his job as he saw fit. And when the dust settled and it appeared peace was soon in the offering, he quietly returned to civilian life, joining the unrewarded legions of patriots that history quietly shelved on the ‘should have been a legend’ shelf. Historian Kim Burdick dug out this gem by Wayland Hand (1907-1986):

Legendary heroes are usually men who were supposedly gooder, braver, stronger, kinder, more courageous and more God-fearing than normal; and, who stood for outstanding national and cultural values. But in real life were they really? Legend stories can be short or long. And they usually do not begin with some sort of passing of responsibility for the tale such as “Well, people often claim…” or “I have heard…” Instead, they often begin with a fact.

Facts have suffered throughout history. Even to this day, they are frequently lost upon a population mesmerized by partisan politicians and sectarian media. Nonetheless, legends have their origin in truth, however over time and the telling, they become twisted, spun, re-spun, elaborated, manipulated, and self-served, ultimately finding their way into historic text books and splashed over the internet. For the basis of truth in which a legend may have grown, I turn again to Mr. Burdick who summed up Captain Allan’s life in his 2014 article titled Allen McLane: Case Study in History & Folklore. He wrote, “Philadelphia born McLane lived in Delaware, was married with children and a month shy of thirty years old when Independence was declared. Caesar Rodney’s 1775 military records show that McLane fought at Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, and Princeton. He was active during the British occupation of Philadelphia. McLane served at Paulus Hook, Stony Point, and the Chesapeake. In 1781, he was brevetted to Major. After the war, by 1794, he was Colonel McLane, serving as member, then Speaker, of the Delaware legislature, Governor’s privy counselor, judge of Court of Common Pleas, U.S. Marshall, and Collector for the Port of Wilmington. A delegate in 1787 to the Delaware Constitution Ratification convention, he was an abolitionist, and a supporter of the Methodist Church and Federalist Party. In 1829 [at age 82], he was buried in Wilmington, Delaware’s Asbury Cemetery at 2^nd and Walnut Streets.”

This brief description is typical of many men who rebelled against England. Yet if the surface is pealed back, we come across hues that embellish the basic facts as known; colors which hint that McLane may be far more interesting. It spurs one to ask: Does a resurgence of Captain McLane’s importance to the American army’s success during the war require a closer scrutiny of the dust encrusted pages that chronicled this critical time? And need we establish the validity of McLane’s actions that continues to gain new life through publications and internet articles? Information pertaining to McLane’s wartime actions are like a puzzle whose pieces are scattered about the board. They come from his brief journal, testaments from those who fought with him, his participation in others’ accounts or stories of actions, examination of military records, and the flowery versions of events richly exaggerated in early historical texts. When assembled, the picture we are left with may seem too surreal and fanciful to be true. But in the same light, this image of an intrepid, stouthearted warrior embroiled in some of the major episodes of the Revolution supports its authenticity. Alexander Garden, a veteran of ‘Light-Horse’ Harry Lee’s Legion in which McLane was a member, wrote in 1828 that “even the most skeptical and jaded observer of human nature will have to concede that the sheer number of daring-do stories pertaining to him attest to their being, on the whole, a substantial plausibility to them.” And if plausible, is that enough to gloss over the facts, even slightly, to justify accepting the possibility that a captain of light infantry and horsemen saved the American army from annihilation and persuaded a French admiral to help seal the end of the war?

If indeed McLane’s feats were incredible, one glowing fact dampens some of his aura; evidence strongly indicates they happened in 1777 and beyond, not before. A thorough examination of Delaware archives for Delaware troop rosters in 1775 & 1776 does not register Allen (or Allan) McLane’s (or McLean) name as a member in state militia, Colonel Haslet’s State Troops or Colonel Samuel Patterson’s Militia Regiment. This search encompassed officers, non-commissioned officers, privates, and additional staff. Colonel Haslet’s Regiment arrived in New York City on August 25^th in time to participate in the Battle of Long Island, White Plains, and eventually the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. If McLane was not a member of Haslet’s corps, he would not have participated in these battles as indicated by sources. Colonel Patterson’s militia regiment was stationed in New Jersey as part of the “Flying Corps” and saw action in but one skirmish near Staten Island, before disbanding and going home in November of 1776. A full complement of all officers for every company within both Haslet’s and Patterson’s regiments are listed in archived troop rosters – McLane’s name was not listed. The first time McLane’s name appears is as a captain of a partisan force yet to be organized in Colonel Patton’s newly formed regiment on January 13, 1777.

Is McLane a neglected hero of Herculean proportions; one whose time has come to place him among the pillars of icons firmly implanted in the American conscience? Sorting fact from fiction remains the historian’s task, but there is also great drama to consider when scrutinizing a subject. Besides educating the public and laying bare the swirling myths through investigative evidence, history in itself is inherently interesting and dare I say, entertaining. Often the military historian sits upon a lofty pile of acquired testimonials, correspondence, and records that underscores an opinion of what really happened. But so often facts intertwine with fiction and are woven into a tapestry that can keep the disconcerted reader leafing through the pages, to which they either fall prey to a good story, or chose to join the author in trying to untangle the mystery. Factual or not, McLane’s escapades are good reading. When browsing the colorful material that piecemeal his life, one may wonder why screenwriters or novelists have not shown interest. So I leave it to the reader to carve reality from ridiculous and present a portion of Allan (also spelled Allen) McLane’s life and colorful encounters with his enemy during the American Revolution.

Early Life

McLane was born in Philadelphia in 1746 and grew up in an aristocratic family. He was the son of Allen & Jane McLean and had two siblings, a brother Samuel and sister Anne. His father, a prosperous leather-breeches maker, had sailed from the Isle of Coll, Scotland, and arrived in Philadelphia in 1738. At age 21, the youthful McLane toured Europe and visited his family in Scotland. He entered his father’s business and when 23, married Rebecca Wells, the daughter of the sheriff of Kent County, Delaware. A few years later, in the early 1770’s, he and his wife settled in Smyrna, Delaware. He and Rebecca had several children, but only two survived to adulthood: Louis McLane (1786-1857) & Allan McLane (1790-1845). His father died in 1775 and reportedly left his son $15,000, a considerable sum. In July that same year, Allen McLean changed his name to McLane “to avoid confusion with that renegade Scot serving the Hanoverian King.” He was referring to Scotsman Allan McLean who arrived in Canada to recruit a British force of Royal Highland Emigrants. By Hanoverian King, Allen was speaking of George of Hanover, Germany, who, according to the Act of Settlement, though 52^nd in line to the crown, was the nearest protestant and ascended the throne of England. George’s son, King George II, brutally put down Scotland’s Jacobite rebellion of 1745 that supported catholic ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie.’ Clan McLean, the largest and most powerful clan in Scotland, had at first supported the Jacobites, however after the Battle of Culloden, the surviving McLeans served Great Britain with distinction.

Sources for what we know of McLane’s Actions During the American Revolution

Much of what we know about Allen McLane’s participation in the Revolutionary War comes from two main sources and a few historical reports. A collection of papers composed by McLane, writing of himself in the 3^rd person, is available through the New York Historical Society. Romantic in nature, at times it describes scenes and conversations in which it is apparent that the writer was not present and therefore how could he record the event and what was said. Alexander Garden was a trooper in Light Horse Harry Lee’s legion in which McLane had been a member for part of the war. In 1828, he published a series of anecdotes of American Heroes of the war and wrote of McLane’s exploits. His accounts are also somewhat embellished.

Benson John Lossing, in the 1850’s, detailed the more fanciful exploits of McLane’s actions in and around Philadelphia. Author Christopher Ward, in 1941, resurrected McLane as did Fred J. Cook’s research in 1954 enhance the folklore surrounding McLane’s years in uniform. After Cook, historian Wayland Hand, in 1971, wrote of the same fabled lore of McLane feats as a soldier and spy. It wasn’t until the new millennium, 2005, that McLane’s fame grew in texts by Tom Fleming, David Hackett Fisher, and Edward Lengel. Kim Howey and Gale Thomson contributed internet articles. And most recently, Allan McLane’s historian and re-enactor Tom Welsh, has done much to bring light to McLane’s war time contributions through research and lectures. In 2014, he and Michael Lloyd published Allan McLane, Patriot, Soldier, Spy, Port Collector in association with Wesley College. Kim Burdick, in his 2014 article Allan McLane: Case Study in History & Folklore, wonderfully details publications in the rise of interest in McLane and is worth reading.

A quick note on Alexander Garden (1757 – 1829). He was the son of the noted Scotch-American physician and botanist of the same name. Born is Charleston, South Carolina, his father was a loyalist and at the start of the war, had sent his son to Scotland to study at the University of Glasgow. Alexander returned to British held Charleston in July, 1780. Sometime after the Battle of Eutaw Spring, September 9, 1781, he was able to pass British lines and enlist in General Greene’s army. He was made a Cornet in Colonel Lee’s Legion, rising to Lieutenant by February 1782. For a period of time, it is assumed due to his well educated background, he acted as an aide-de-camp to General Greene. By the time Garden joined Lee’s Legion, McLane had not been with the unit for several months so he never fought with or knew the Delaware captain personally. Later in life, he would publish two series of anecdotes on those who fought in the war, the first in 1822 and the second in 1828, one year before his death. He wrote extensively of Colonel Henry Lee and historians can thank him for adding clarity to Lee’s Journal. Again, I turn to William Sherman who wrote of Garden, “Although sometimes unabashedly patriotic even to the point at times of being suspect in their accuracy, and despite how other portions of his text merely re-relate David Ramsay, William Moultrie, or other early Revolutionary War historians… Garden’s accounts often contain much rare, candid, and unusual information not found elsewhere and to that extent are much more credible than we might, initially and on the surface, other wise expect of them.”

American Revolution

McLane’s company was often described as a Partisan Corps. Washington formed these partisan units in early 1777 which incorporated elite groups of both cavalry and infantry, usually light infantry; the unit was also called Light Horse. He used them extensively for gathering information, probing enemy lines, and carrying out raids, something of the order of what Colonel Thomas Knowlton’s Rangers did in and around New York City in 1776. A Partisan Corps usually numbered 50 troopers. Sixty or more was considered a Legion, such as Major Henry ‘Light Horse Harry’ Lee’s Legion. Whether planned or by accident, these Partisan Corps filled an important role during the war. Though they rarely changed the course of events or made a major impact on a specific battle, historian William Sherman explained that “they were seen as encouraging initiative and acts of boldness which in turn bolstered the Continental army’s morale; while fostering an offensive spirit in a conflict where pitched major engagements were normally avoided and where, due to both logistical constraints and lack of training, it was generally ill advised for large bodes of American forces to be on the attack.” It became common for highly mobile groups of light cavalry to not only provide valuable service during major battles, but by conducting reconnaissance and surveillance, engaging enemy troop movements, disrupting delivery of supplies, raiding and skirmishing, and organizing expeditions behind enemy lines.

It was in this role as leader of a Partisan Corp of bold and courageous soldiers that McLane, considered flamboyant and passionate with an aristocratic flare of self confidence and importance, rode through the pages of history and left his mark on a new nation’s conscience. As such, even if part of what was recorded was real, he was truly a remarkable individual worthy of remembrance.

McLane’s Actions as a Partisan and Intelligence Officer Chronologically Bulleted

Early biographers’ accounts of McLane’s actions, such as Garden, Lossing, Marshall, Ramsay, and later researcher Fred Cook are chronological bulleted. Each bullet is followed by a discussion and critical analysis.

• In September, 1775, McLane received a lieutenant’s commission in a militia regiment commanded by the Hon. Caesar Rodney of Delaware. Questionable. He volunteered and fought with the Virginia Militia at the Battle of Great Bridge on December 9, 1775. Probable

Caesar Rodney was a Delaware delegate to Congress, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. A search of Delaware military records for 1775 does not refer to Rodney commanding a regiment. Rodney was  appointed a Major General in charge of Delaware’s militia later in 1777. We can only source McLane and Garden in stating that McLane responded to an appeal to arms in response to counter Royal Governor of Virginia John Murray or Lord Dunmore. He offered his services as a volunteer to Virginia’s militia “from the ardent temper and strong prejudices of Lord Dunmore”. Virginia’s royal governor created quite a stir among slaveholders when he proclaimed that all slaves of patriots who joined the British in the rising aggression between colonists and the British government would be set free. Dunmore’s Proclamation, signed on November 7, 1775, inflamed white slaveholders who flocked to Newport, Virginia to battle English forces under Dunmore.

McLane participated at the Battle of Great Bridge on December 9, 1775 in which Dunmore’s forces were soundly defeated by militia under the command of Colonel William Woodford. Sources are sketchy to report if McLane fought with the Virginia militia as a single volunteer or with a unit of men sent from Delaware to join Woodford’s men. Ironically, it was reported that McLane had “strong prejudices” against Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation that freed slaves, standing with slaveholders to defeat Dunmore. However, and that which casts doubt on McLane’s passion to join slaveholders to retain their slaves, after the war, he became an active Methodist and ardent abolitionist against the institution of slavery.

• McLane was a ‘dashing soldier’ who joined Washington’s army in 1775 and fought at the Battle of Long Island in Caesar Rodney’s militia. Highly Questionable

No listing of McLane in Delaware soldier rosters for 1776!

As noted, a thorough search of the Delaware Archives Military and Naval records shows no Allen (or Allan) McLane (or McLean) in the two Delaware regiments who marched north in 1776 – one, Colonel John Haslet’s Regiment who arrived in New York City on August 25, 1776 and fought at the Battle of Long Island, and the other, Colonel Samuel Patterson’s militia regiment, who remained in New Jersey as part of the ‘Flying Corps’ of militiamen from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware (Delaware contributed 600 men to the total force of 10,000). The search included all officers, non-commissioned officers, privates, and support staff. McLane could not have been a lieutenant or second lieutenant as every company of both regiments had full compliment of officers accounted for by name: captains, first lieutenants, and second lieutenants. If McLane had enlisted as a private, his name should have been registered – it was not. A search of soldier returns in April and July of 1776 also fail to list McLane, ruling out that he could have been a private and later rose in rank. Strong evidence indicates that if McLane were in one of the two regiments from Delaware that marched north in 1776, his name should have been registered. This casts doubt that McLane participated in the battles around New York, White Plains, Washington’s retreat across New Jersey, the Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of Princeton. In fact, McLane’s name does not appear on rosters until January 13^th, 1777, after Princeton which was fought on January 3, 1777. He is listed as leading a Partisan Company, one of the seven companies of Colonel John Patton. How McLane came about commanding a company in Washington’s army will be later explored after examining what actions McLane could have been part of had he been with Washington in 1776.

If indeed McLean joined Washington’s army, he did so in 1776, not 1775. Francis Heitman’s register of American Officers who fought in the war stated that in 1776, McLane was a lieutenant in the Delaware Militia. The unit that fought on Long Island was Colonel Haslet’s Delaware Regiment, otherwise known as the Delaware Blues. If indeed McLane fought at Long Island, he did so in Haslet’s Continental corps and according to Heitman’s register, he was a lieutenant. However, the eight companies comprising Haslet’s corps were fully accounted for and McLane was not listed as a lieutenant or second lieutenant. In fact, as earlier noted, he was not listed as a sergeant, corporal, or private soldier.

Though in all appearance and discipline, Haslet’s regiment were Continental troops, the 800 men who marched to join Washington were not called Continental Soldiers, but State Troops, a term loosely meaning militia. This regiment under Colonel John Haslet was established by Congress on Dec. 9, 1775. They did not form until the following month and were ordered to Philadelphia in July 1776, arriving New York City on Aug. 25^th, just in time to participate in the first major contest between the American & British armies: August, 27, the Battle of Long Island. McLane was characterized as dashing, having aristocratic airs from his upbringing in affluent Philadelphia. His was a perfect fit for the image implied by both the ‘Delaware Blues’ and their neighbor state, the 1^st Maryland Regiment under Colonel William Smallwood. These two regiments were the best equipped and most ‘soldier like’ of Washington’s army – in full uniform totting muskets with bayonets. Their performance during the battle was reported to be exemplary and courageous.

• The Delaware Blues was the only Delaware unit that held the line during the Battle of Long Island. Highly Questionable. If McLane participated in the battle, he would have been in this regiment, though there is no listing of McLane on Delaware’s 1776 roster.

Both the Delaware and Maryland regiments were attached to division commander General John Sullivan, in General William Alexander, Lord Stirling’s Brigade. Lord Stirling’s Brigade was positioned below Brooklyn near Gowanus Creek along the American right. On the night of Aug. 26^th, Commanding British General William Howe flanked the American left. He sent General Grant to attack the American front as a decoy and keep the rebels busy while he positioned the main army to spring the trap. To oppose Grant’s attack on the morning of August 28th, Stirling positioned the Delaware & Maryland regiments on the high ground just outside Gowanus Village, about two miles south from camp and the Brooklyn lines. General Samuel Holden Parsons and Colonel Samuel Atlee shored up Stirling’s left, claiming a hill later appropriately named ‘Battle Hill’. Grant played his part perfectly, advancing and withdrawing as his men kept up a steady fire upon the American line. For two hours, Stirling’s brigade held firm, thinking they were winning the day. When Howe launched his late morning surprise attack, the entire American line caved in, exposing Sullivan’s Division to possible annihilation.

• During this action, trooper Garden wrote that Lt. McLane noticed the exposed situation of a British party. He obtained a small detachment from Lord Stirling and successfully captured a lieutenant and eighteen privates. Though surrounded by the enemy, he led his men and his prisoners off in safety. Highly Questionable

It seems odd that Lord Stirling would give McLane a detachment to command. McLane was not listed as an officer in any of Delaware’s eight companies. However, McLane is clearly recorded as having the rank of lieutenant. When it became apparent that General Howe was attacking their rear, Lord Stirling ordered a retreat (General Sullivan had ridden to check on the British progress and had been captured). The Delaware line retreated as one unit under Stirling’s command and eventually made their way back to the Brooklyn lines. Two companies of Delaware Continentals were detached to Colonel Atlee on Lord Stirling’s left. Reading Garden’s statement on McLane’s actions, one may assume that McLane was with one of the two companies detached by Stirling to join Atlee’s regiment. They prevented the British from flanking Lord Stirling by beating back several British assaults while defending Battle Hill. It is reported that the Delaware regiment captured and brought off some British prisoners. Atlee was unaware that Stirling had retreated and his men were surrounded. Atlee, along with General Parsons and the two Delaware companies had to cut their way through. This would line up with Garden’s description of McLane’s men – detached from Stirling, capturing prisoners, and when surrounded, cutting their way back to the American line at Brooklyn.

• Haslet’s Delaware was not involved in the Battles of Kip’s Bay nor Harlem Heights. On the morning of the British invasion of Manhattan Island, Sept. 15^th, 1776, the Delaware Blues did position themselves at McGowan’s Pass to halt the British advance north from Turtle Bay.
• The Delaware Continentals were hotly engaged at the Battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776. They were the last to leave the field on Chatterton Hill, where the main battle took place. Questionable. There is no report of McLane’s action except that he most likely fought with his unit.

This brings us back to which corps McLane had joined – Haslet’s Delaware Regiment or Patterson’s militia which remained in New Jersey until Nov. 30^th, returning home to Delaware when their enlistment was up. If he fought at White Plains, then he was with Haslet’s Delaware Regiment.

The other Delaware regiment of militiamen was stationed in New Jersey with the ‘Flying Corp’ under General Hugh Mercer. It was commanded by Colonel Samuel Patterson who reportedly had a difficult time retaining his men from going home. Could McLane have served with Patterson’s regiment of militia? Again, a thorough check of troop rosters and troop returns did not bring up Allen McLane’s name. This regiment remained in New Jersey throughout the battles around New York, participating in one one skirmish on October 14^th in which one soldier died.

• At the Battles of Trenton, Dec. 26, 1776 & Princeton, Jan. 3, 1777, and due to “his good conduct and exemplary gallantry, so particularly attracted the attention of General Washington, to be immediately appointed to a Captaincy in a Continental Regiment. Highly Questionable

Haslet Delaware Regiment had acted as a rear guard for Washington’s army as it retreated across New Jersey in November and December, 1776. They were among the last unit to cross the Delaware River into Pennsylvania with British forces hot on their heels. By the end of Dec. and the Battle of Trenton, Haslet’s regiment that had numbered 800 just four months previously, had been reduced to just over 100 men – casualties, sickness, furloughs, some officers sent back to Delaware to recruit, all took their toll. Also, three companies under Maj. Thomas Duff left for Philadelphia between Dec. 14^th and 18^th, including Capt. Thomas Rodney’s Light Infantry company which joined Cadwalader’s forces outside Philadelphia. During the Battle of Trenton, Haslet led only one hundred men into battle. After the battle, his regiment basically ceased to exist – the men’s enlistments expiring and all but a dozen returning home. At the Battle of Princeton, in which Colonel Haslet was killed, he fought not at the head of a regiment. Was McLane one of the dozen or so men who remained with the army during this battle?

• During Winter and Spring of 1777, McLane was sent to Delaware to recruit. He journeyed to his home area of Duck Creek Crossroads and recruited 98 soldiers for his new company at his own expense, “every shilling of the bounty money being drawn from his pocket.” Washington designated his unit as a Partisan Company of light infantry and light horse. Probable

Did Washington give McLane a captain’s field commission based on his performance during the battles of Trenton and Princeton? There is no record of McLane’s presence in Washington’s army prior to January 13^th, when McLane’s name first appears as a captain of a partisan company of recruits from Delaware. Therefore how could he have fought in any of the battles prior to his commission?

Strong characters, those of influence, and wealthy men would often use their own finances to recruit a company of soldiers, thereby being rewarded with an officer’s commission. It is reported that McLane used his own finances to equip and recruit a company of soldiers, paying bounties out of his own pocket. Could he have remained in Delaware throughout 1776, recruited his company of light horse, and then joined Washington’s army after Princeton? Washington wrote on December 31, 1781 that “Allen McLane Esq. was appointed a Captain in one of the Sixteen Additional Continental Regiments of Foot commanded by Colonel Patton, in the beginning of the year 1777, and by his activity and industry soon joined to the Regiment with a full Company.” This could be read that he first showed up with a company of newly recruited men, or he may have been one of those who re-enlisted and given the command of a company of men he would have to go home to recruit.

Was McLane’s recruited company assigned as foot soldiers or were they mounted? We know from reports that they were light infantry, but mounted legions of dragoons were also designated light infantry or light horse. Colonel Patton’s unit to which they were annexed was a regiment of foot. Could McLane’s or part of his company be assigned as mounted scouts? We know that after the Battle of Brandywine and Germantown, by October 1777, Washington used McLane’s mounted services to keep close watch on the enemy and report all he learned. This strongly suggests that McLane’s company of light infantry or a portion of it were mounted. More evidence that McLane led a mounted company can be deduced by his later assignment. By early 1779, after the Colonel Patton’s regiment was disbanded and reformed as the 11^th Pennsylvania, McLane’s company was first assigned the 1^st Delaware. They must have been attached to the infantry as a company of light horse for later that year, they were assigned to ‘Light Horse’ Harry Lee’s mounted legion.

Colonel John Patton’s Regiment, to which McLane’s company was assigned, was formed on the 11^th of January, 1777. Colonel Patton was to resign on Feb. 3^rd and the regiment was broken up in January, 1779 – elements transferred to the 11^th Penn., the Delaware Regiment under Colonel Hull, and McLane’s mounted company to Colonel Harry Lee’s Legion. Patton’s was one of the sixteen additional continental regiments (not numbered) authorized by the Resolve of Congress on December 27^th, 1776. The regiment was recruited from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Besides new enlistments, many were re-enlistments from other regiments in Washington’s army after most of their men went home. Captain McLane’s Partisan Company was attached to Patton’s Regiment on January 13^th, 1777. So too were McLane’s principal officers: 1^st Lt. Abner Martin Dunn and 2^nd Lt. William Jones. According to Garden, McLane went home and recruited his company, joining the army in the spring. From May, 1777, Colonel Patton’s regiment was assigned to the 4^th Virginia Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Charles Scott, that fought in and around Philadelphia. This brigade was assigned to Major General Adam Stephen’s Division and would be in the heat of the action during the Battle of Brandywine Creek, September 11, 1777.

• After the British army landed at Head of Elk, McLane was assigned to annoy them. He participated at the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. He had a lieutenant killed during these actions including a number of his men. Probably

What became known as the Philadelphia Campaign, British General William Howe, frustrated by his inability to draw Washington into a decisive battle in northern New Jersey, decided a threat to Philadelphia, the site of the rebellion’s capital and Congress, would force Washington into action. On August 25, 1777, he landed 15,000 troops at Head of Elk, Maryland, at the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay, about 55 miles south from Philadelphia. Washington responded by posting 11,000 troops to stop the British advance, sending out detached forces to harass the enemy’s progress. Normally, Washington used his riflemen to keep tabs on enemy forces, however he had sent Daniel Morgan’s men north to counter British General Burgoyne’s invasion from Canada. To take their place, he organized a light infantry corps consisting of seven hundred picked men from Continental Army regiments plus about one thousand Pennsylvania and Delaware militia. They were put under the command Brigadier General William Maxwell of New Jersey. We know that McLane’s company was most likely light infantry as when his unit was annexed to Colonel ‘Light Horse’ Harry Lee’s legion in 1779, they were classified as light infantry. Without direct evidence, one can assume that McLane’s company, being light infantry, was chosen to part of Maxwell’s detached force.

These troops were ordered to monitor and slow British movements while the rest of the army fortified the Red Clay Creek area. Maxwell’s forces occupied Iron Hill and Cooch’s Bridge, Delaware and set up to ambush the enemy’s advance. The ensuing battle was the only one fought in the war on Delaware soil. On Sept. 3^rd, the Americans fired on a Hessian vanguard. The British attacked with a large Hessian force. Both sides battled for seven hours until Maxwell’s men’s ammunition ran low and had to retreat over Cooch’s Bridge. Over the next several days, the two armies continued to skirmish. It is probable that McLane’s men were kept busy during this period. On September 8^th, General Howe moved his forces north into Pennsylvania. Washington withdrew his defenses and repositioned them at Chadds Ford, just across the Delaware border upon the Brandywine River, the last natural defense before the Schuylkill River and Philadelphia. This set the stage for the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777.

• McLane fought at the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777. Probably

Washington continued to position his army between British General Howe and Philadelphia and had posted his army along Brandywine Creek. On the morning of September 11^th, Hessian General Knyphausen was ordered to attack the Americans in a feint to make them believe that his thrust was the main assault. Like the Battle of Long Island in which Major Grant played the role of keeping the rebels occupied, General Howe marched most of his army north, forded the creek, and advanced south to attack Washington’s left flank. General Maxwell brigade of approximately 300 men received the Hessian attack and retreated stubbornly. Knyphausen fooled Washington to believe this was the main attack by marching his men back and forth and bringing up his baggage. Meanwhile, Washington had received intelligence of a possible British presence north and sent Lord Stirling and General Stephen’s Divisions to guard this left flank. A late afternoon report stated that there was no British presence north so Washington became convinced that Knyphausen’s attack was the main assault and withdrew Stirling and Stephen’s men. This gave Howe time to march his 8,000 strong army eight miles south and into Washington’s left flank. As the British advanced, Howe decided to rest his army before initiating the attack, this after their grueling all night march. The British army was detected and Washington discovered his mistake and threat from the north. He sent Stirling and Stephen’s divisions back north; the men marched the three miles in just over thirty minutes. This set up the main battle in which eventually Stirling and Stephens were forced to give way. Meanwhile General Greene’s and General Sullivan’s Divisions held off the Hessians under Knyphausen allowing the American army to escape destruction between the two British forces.

What role could have McLane’s men played in this battle? Were they still attached to Maxwell’s force that fought at Cooch’s Bridge on September 3^rd? It is known that Maxwell had sent out mounted scouts on Sept. 11th to keep an eye on the enemy and it were these mounted soldiers who first came under fire from riflemen under Colonel Patrick Ferguson (designer of the famed breech-loading flintlock rifles). Or was McLane’s men returned to Patton’s Regiment. If he was, he most likely fought on foot and was embroiled in the toughest fight of the battle. This regiment was assigned to Brigadier Gen. Charles Scott’s 4^th Virginia Brigade in Major General Adam Stephen’s Division. Both divisions set up their defensive to meet the enemy in and around the heights on Birmingham Meeting House and along the road. The British launched a furious attack. A British captain later wrote: “There was the most infernal Fire of cannon and musquetry. Most incessant shouting… the balls ploughing up the ground. The trees cracking over one’s head. The branches riven by the artillery. The leaves falling as in autumn by the grapeshot…” The American line gave way five times, ever re-forming and pushed farther. General Greene’s Division, acting as reserve, entered the fray and dug in. The main battle started late and night fall was to the American’s advantage, that and fatigue. The rebel army was able to pull back under the cover of darkness and Howe refused to follow.

• McLane fought in the Battle of Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777. Christopher Ward wrote in his classic The War of the Revolution that “Captain Allen McLane of Delaware, with his company of light horse, charged upon this picket, killed two men and, at the loss of one of his own, drove it back, but not before it had fired two fieldpieces as a signal to its support and an alarm for the whole British army. Therefore it was McLane’s actions that started the battle. Partially – probed enemy so could have made first contact, but questionable if started battle.

After the Battle of Brandywine Creek, either McLane’s company was returned to Colonel Patton’s regiment or remained in Maxwell’s detached corps. If he was officially returned to Patton’s regiment, he would have most likely been detached to resume his service as probing the enemy for information. Author Christopher Ward, without citations, placed McLane at the vanguard of the American army in General Sullivan’s Division, under General Thomas Conway (French-Irishman who became famous in the Conway Cabal that tried to usurp Washington with General Gates).

British General Howe continued his advance north and on September 26^th, seized Philadelphia. Howe left a strong force in Philadelphia and moved the bulk of his army, nearly 10,000 men to the outlying community of Germantown. After a series of defeats, Washington was desperate to strike a blow before retreating to winter quarters. He saw an opportunity to entrap part of Howe’s divided forces. He developed a complex plan that called for four separate columns to initiate an all night march to assault the British garrisons at Germantown from different directions. Two were of militia; Brigadier John Armstrong Jr. commanded the far right column that advanced along the Schuylkill River and Brigadier General William Smallwood led the New Jersey militia on the far left. That left the two Continental Divisions to attack the center; General John Sullivan’s corps on the American right and General Nathanael’s Division on the left. Washington had hoped that his troops, like at Trenton, would surprise and overwhelm Howe’s forces. Dusk October 3^rd, 1777, Washington’s four columns move out marching the 16 miles southward towards Germantown, a small hamlet of mainly neat stone structures. The night maneuver was difficult and communications between the forces was lacking. By dawn, most of the Americans were far from their intended positions for the attack.

Was McLane, by the Battle of Germantown, leading his own detached company of light horse, no longer attached to Colonel Patton’s regiment but Colonel Conway’s as author Ward wrote? In such a role, he would probe the enemy at his army’s vanguard and in all likelihood, be among the first to run up against enemy pickets. According to army rosters, McLane’s company was still attached to Col. Patton’s regiment and as such, was in General Adam Stephen’s brigade and part of Greene’s column that attacked on the left of center. The other brigades of that column were Greene’s brigade and General Alexander McDougall. However, there is some evidence lending some weight to Ward’s assertion that McLane was the first to make contact with the enemy. If McLane remained in Maxwell’s Brigade after the Cooch Bridge Battle and Brandywine, he would have been with Sullivan’s Division in which both Maxwell and Conway’s brigades were held in reserve. Perhaps Ward was mistaken in placing McLane in Conway’s brigade, but in fact, McLane remained with Maxwell. In that scenario, McLane’s company of horse could have been detached from Maxwell’s corps and sent forward to probe the enemy before Sullivan’s advance. In that situation, they would have been the first to make contact with the enemy.

The battle started at around 5 AM when Sullivan’s vanguard opened fire on British pickets. The British were driven back, however Colonel Musgrave of the British 40^th Reg., with 120 men, barricaded himself in a stone house owned by Chief Justice Chew called Clivedon. Though most under his command recommended that they bypass the house, General Henry Knox believed that an enemy garrison could not be left in their rear, Washington concurred. General Maxwell’s brigade, in Sullivan’s Division, was ordered to take the house by assault. If McLane had remained in Maxwell’s brigade, he would have taken part in the repeated and futile attacks against the stone house that left many of the brigade dead or wounded. Ultimately Musgrave would hold out as Sullivan’s force, that included the Maryland 1^st & 2^nd regiments and General Anthony Wayne’s brigade, ran low on ammunition and began an organized retreat.

Greene’s division was not in position when Sullivan attacked and came up later. When they attacked, they too drove in the British line, however because of thick fog, smoke of battle, and poor communication, the units became confused and lost their momentum. Stephen’s Brigade in which McLane may have been present (if not still with Maxwell in Sullivan’s Division) had veered off course and instead of rendezvousing with the rest of Greene’s troops, they drifted to their right and collided with Wayne’s brigade. In the thick smoke and fog, both brigades mistook their comrades for redcoats and attacked. In the confusion, Wayne’s men having already suffered heavy losses and thinking themselves alone with fire in their rear from the Clivedon house, drew back. Just north of Greene, his other brigade under McDougall came under a fierce attack by the Queen’s Rangers and British Guards. After a brutal battle, McDougall was forced to retreat. Meanwhile, of the two militia columns, Armstrong’s stopped far short of their objective, fired some cannon, and retreated, while Smallwood’s was ineffective and was withdrawn by Washington. This left the rest of Greene’s division alone to face the bulk of Howe’s army. His 9^th Virginia regiment broke through and captured a portion of the enemy, but were quickly surrounded and forced to surrender. With any hope of victory dashed, Greene reluctantly ordered his men to retreat bringing a close to the battle.

• After Germantown, McLane was assigned by Washington to watch the movements of the enemy, to protect the Whig inhabitants residing near the lines, and to prevent loyalists and those desiring to make a profit from supplying the British in Philadelphia. Yes

A critical aspect of the Battle of Brandywine Creek was the great number of conflicting intelligence on the enemy’s whereabouts which Washington had received throughout the day, right up until 5 PM when the commander in chief was finally convinced that Howe’s main attack was on his flank from the north. Surgeon Ebenezer Elmer put it bluntly, “the reports were so contradictory that it was difficult to make a proper disposition.” After the battle, Washington realized that his defeat was partially due to inadequate and often incorrect reports that lead to poor decisions which greatly affected the outcome of the battle. While in New York City in 1776, he had formed a unique unit led by one of his most competent officers, Colonel Thomas Knowlton. Knowlton’s Rangers both shielded the army from surprise attack and gathered important information, most particularly the enemy’s movements and their designs for future assaults. He set about establishing intelligence gathering capabilities in the Philadelphia area, assigning Philadelphia Quaker, General Thomas Mifflin, to organize it. Detached mounted troops, like McLane’s light horse, would eventually probe the enemy on a daily basis and report all movements directly to headquarters.

• McLane’s first night of service as intelligent officer saw the captain of horse take in three spies, fifteen British soldiers who left the city seeing plunder, and twelve Tories taking supplies to the city. Probable

This is were we find McLane’s services most useful and the source for some of his more fanciful adventures of the war. Either McLane was known to Washington as an effective officer, or he was recommended for this service. Perhaps McLane was most effective in probing the enemy prior to and during the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. If he had remained in General Maxwell’s detached corps, he would have done so at the Battle of Germantown in the vanguard of General Sullivan’s division, firing the first shots of the battle. In a letter dated October 28^th, Washington sent a detailed list of information he hoped the captain would be able to gain from the enemy such as positioning and number of enemy troops, all movements between the city and outside garrisons, halting loyalists from resupplying the city, provisions and munitions available to the army, and how well Howe’s troops were being re-provisioned by sea. He added, “… I therefore depend upon your keeping a very good look out upon their line, and gaining every intelligence from people coming out of town…” Also, Washington wished McLane to learn what could only be garnished by employing ‘spies’ within the city such as enemy plans to remain, names of active Tories, enemy finances, treatment of prisoners, British moral, etc. This detached assignment basically incorporated McLane’s light horse into Washington’s intelligence gathering network. McLane took his new assignment to heart for later in November, he asked headquarters for permission to pay certain individuals to spy for him.

• White Marsh Affair. On Dec. 3, 1777, McLane discovered, from a female, “who, under some frivolous pretext, had passed the British lines, that the enemy were to leave the city on the ensuing night, in hopes to surprise” the Americans at White Marsh. Questionable. He notified Washington and “to intercept the progress of the foe”, approached the enemy and fired upon their front” that the British thought they were facing a considerable force, halted their advance and formed a line of battle. Probable. After realizing their mistake, they recovered and proceeded in three columns until dawn, when they approached the main American army. They stayed two days until returning to the city. McLane’s alert actions in warning the army of Howe’s planned surprise attack may have saved the army from a devastating defeat. Highly Questionable

The above was recorded by trooper Alexander Garden who had been in Lee’s Legion of light horse, however never having rode with McLane, who had retired from the army by the time Garden enlisted near the war’s end. It is believed that McLane did obtain information that alerted Washington to Howe’s planned movements for a surprise attack later known as the White Marsh Affair. However, details of a female informant may have been added by period authors who often embellished their texts with a touch of romantic flare.

After Germantown, the two armies repositioned themselves and sought opportunities to draw the other into battle. Washington sent General Greene’s division across the Delaware into New Jersey to counter General Cornwallis’ movements there with orders to attack if seemed appropriate. With the American army so near at hand to Philadelphia and a menace to the British army, it leaked out that Howe was seeking an opening to attack, especially with Washington’s army divided. On November 28th, Washington contacted McLane and asked him to keep a sharp vigilance to a possible British attack writing, “I have certain information that Lord Cornwallis returned from Jersey yesterday it is said they intent an attack upon the army with their joint force before General Greene can rejoin us. I therefore depend upon your keeping a very good look out upon their line, and gaining every intelligence from people coming out of town, that I may have the earliest notice of their movements or intentions.” McLane responded that same day, “Sir, Every Intelligence from the city agree that the enemy is in motion and intend a Grand stroke last night they gave out that a body cross Schuylkill and to cover the deception they kept, their wagons and artillery moving through the city all this night this moment I received a few lines from my old friend I have good reason to believe that he keeps a good look out, and gives the best intelligence. I remain on my guard Excellency…”

The following is related by author Fred Cook in his 1954 article on McLane. He repeated earlier accounts, such as found in the 1914 City Historical Society of Philadelphia, Vol. 13, that unlike McLane’s reference to having received information from “my old friend [who] keeps a good look out and gives the best intelligence…”, it was a person of perhaps more interest. A Quaker couple, William and Lydia Darrah, housed General Howe’s adjunct general. On December 2^nd, Lydia was instructed to send her family to bed early. Once done, she tiptoed to the door and listened through the key hole and listening in on General Howe and his staff discussing their plans to attack Washington’s army. The next morning, Lydia requested and received a pass to go to a miller at Frankfort, outside the city limits, to obtain flour. She passed through British lines, left her bag at the mill, and hurried northward to meet McLane. Cook doesn’t give any other details how Lydia got word to McLane to meet her or any specifics on their relationship. After informing McLane of Howe’s planned attack, she returned to the mill for her flour and re-entered the city unsuspected. Washington merely informed Congress “that in the course of last week from a variety of intelligence I had reason to expect that General Howe was preparing to give us a general action.”

John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835 and wounded veteran of the Battle of Germantown, wrote a history of George Washington. His 1832 publication supports intrigue and actions of McLane’s service at what became known as the White Marsh Affair. He wrote: “The opinion that Sir William Howe mediated an attack on the American camp, was confirmed by unquestionable intelligence from Philadelphia. On the 4^th of December, Captain McLane, a vigilant officer on the lines, discovered that this design was to be immediately carried into execution, and communicated his discovery to the commander-in-chief. On the evening of the same day, General Howe marched out of Philadelphia with his whole force; and, about eleven at night, McLane, who had been detached with one hundred chosen men, attacked his van with some success at Three-Mile run, on the Germantown Road. He hovered on the front and flank of the advancing army until three next morning, when the British encamped on Chestnut Hill, in front of the American right, and distant from it about three miles.” General William Irvine’s Pennsylvania militiamen had also engaged Howe’s vanguard resulting in Irvine’s wounding and his militia dispersal.

• During the White Marsh Affair, the next day, December 5^th, near Three-Mile Run on the Skippack Pike, General Cornwallis’ vanguard of British light infantry skirmished with McLane’s cavalry patrol. On the left, an attack dislodged Colonel Potter’s Pennsylvania militia. They were accompanied by General John Cadwallader and General Joseph Reed. General Reed had his horse shot from under him at the first fire and was pinned to the ground. British infantry rushed forward to bayonet him where he lay when out of the night came the thunder of hoofs, and Allen McLane swirled upon the scene with his hard-riding troopers, sabering British right and left. The attackers fled and McLane saw General Reed to safety. Highly Unlikely – no primary source to back it up.

This night-time attack and McLane’s cavalry rescue of General Reed is found in Cook’s 1956 article on McLane. It has been repeated many times but only sourced once. Author Christopher Ward credited it to General Reed’s grandson, Attorney William Bradford Reed who first recorded it in his 1847 biography on his grandfather. McLane made no mention of this incident in his brief journal nor are there any primary accounts that lend support.

Howe occupied this position before Washington’s army for two days while both sought advantages for attack and defense. After General Daniel Morgan, having recently arrived from Burgoyne’s defeat at Saratoga, drove in Howe’s pickets on the right and Washington’s arrangements for a stubborn defense and possible attack, Howe struck his tents and returned to the city. Both armies settled down for winter quarters, the British somewhat comfortably in the city and suburbs, while Washington’s somewhat tattered corps built huts at Valley Forge.

• McLane and his men were so successful at Valley Forge in harassing the enemy convoys and foraging parties that they were given the nickname “market stoppers.” During the first couple of months in 1778, they gathered livestock from Delaware and Maryland for the troops at Valley Forge as well as Smallwood’s troops located at Wilmington. Probable

McLane’s company’s first duty was information. However during the cold winter months, when the enemy’s movements were minimal, he became more instrumental in foraging the countryside. Cook gives a colorful description of McLane’s activities in provisioning the army. “To clothe his men, McLane had his wife Rebecca rip up her white linen tablecloths for breeches. Clad thus in white linen, beaver hats, and rough hunting shirts, lacking greatcoats and boots, McLane’s tatterdemalion troopers scourged the countryside, swooping down on British foraging parties and diverting the supplies they had gathered to the impoverished camp at Valley Forge. In one far-ranging expedition into Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, McLane rounded up, as he later wrote, ‘1500 fat hogs, 500 head of cattle, 200 head of Horses – for the army at Valley Forge.’” A portion of the army wintered under much better circumstances at Wilmington, Delaware. As stated, this force included Smallwood’s brigade which included the two Maryland regiments.

• After his two month foraging expedition, McLane rejoined the army at Valley Forge in March with about 100 to 150 mounted men – who were also supplemented on occasion by fifty Oneida Indians. Yes

In the spring of 1778, General Washington requested that Oneida and Tuscarora warriors join his army at Valley Forge writing that “…the Oneidas and Tuscaroras have a particular claim to attention and kindness for their perseverance and fidelity.” Though most of the Indian tribes in America were allies to the British, the Oneida warriors of upstate New York proved to be exceptional scouts and small-unit fighters. General Philip Schuyler, commander of the northern army, used Oneida warriors to great effect in his overall defeat of General Burgoyne’s army outside of Saratoga. Washington hoped to combine these Native Americans with his light horse to counter British raids in the area which were confiscating supplies and harassing both soldiers and citizens. Also, the warriors would aid the light horse’s mission of capturing enemy soldiers and Tories, stealthily gaining enemy troop movements, and discouraging Americans who attempted desertions either to home or to the enemy.

A total of fifty Oneida warriors arrived at Valley Forge on May 15^th, 1778. Though not mounted, they would most likely have joined the light horse under McLane as forward scouts or to set up ambushes, accounting for their inclusion in reports that McLane would use their services from time to time. By mid June, thirty four of the original fifty Oneidas returned home. Threats against their homes and families from British and their native American allies necessitated their quick return north. These warriors would continue to fight alongside patriots both to support the American cause and for their own survival.

• May 18, 1778, McLane interrupted the Mischianza Ball held in Philadelphia. He and his men rode into the city, throwing kettle bombs and disrupting the festivities. The residents were made to believe it was all part of the celebration while McLane miraculously made his escape by swimming his horse across the Schuylkill River. Partial – There were some muskets fired – but nothing of kettle bombs or swimming rivers.

This is a romantic tale involving McLane and the extravagant Mischianza Ball held in Philadelphia on this date to honor British General Sir William Howe’s departure as commander-in-chief. The Mischianza, Italian for medley or mixture, was a grand display of opulence and extravagance, complete with a regatta of sail on the Delaware River, costumes, trumpeted parades, bands, arches of flowers, a jousting tournament, and a banquet hall constructed for the occasion with fireworks and dancing that lasted until dawn.

Supposedly, McLane got word of the event and decided to crash the party. McLane’s men rode into town, throwing kettle bombs that ignited Philadelphia’s defenses. It created such a distraction that prisoners of war were able to make their escape from the Walnut Street jail. The city was in an uproar, but the residents were made to believe that the commotion was part of the celebration. They made light of it and continued their feasting and dancing. This story appeared in Benson Lossing’s 1850 Field Book of the American Revolution. It was later repeated in John Thomas Scharf’s 1884 text, History of Philadelphia 1609-1884. Other versions are less eventful describing McLane as distracting the enemy by making a sally against the British lines and the defenders opened up with cannon that could be heard in the city. The British assured the locals that it was just part of the fireworks and the celebration continued without interruption.

The fact that Lafayette had that day marched a large detachment of troops forward to keep a closer eye on the British and McLane increased his vigilance for possible attack, it was highly unlikely that McLane would stage such an event. There are no signs of kettle bombs in letters between Washington, Lafayette, and McLane. Alexander Garden, the principal biographer of McLane’s war time activities made no mention, instead writing that a British soldier sneered at the Mischianza. David Ramsay’s earliest history of the war wrote in 1789 only that “the winter and spring passed away without any more remarkable events in either army than a few successful excursions of parties from Philadelphia to the neighboring country for the purpose of bringing in supplies or destroying property…”

• On May 20^th, 1778, McLane warned General Lafayette that he was about to be attacked by a superior British force. His company fought a delaying action allowing time for Lafayette to slip his detachment over the Schuylkill River undetected, thereby saving the famed French nobleman from capture. McLane’s Oneida Native American force gave great service to this action. Probable

May 18, 1778, General Marquis de Lafayette was in command of a strong reconnaissance force of 2,200 men. They had been ordered closer to Philadelphia to observe British activities and their defensive lines. The young general posted his men at Barren Hill Church which proved to be an exposed position. When General Howe learned of Lafayette’s forward detachment from the main army, he formulated a plan to try and capture him. By early May, it had became apparent to Washington that the British would evacuate Philadelphia. McLane was ordered to watch closely for any indication that the British were on the move, requesting the flamboyant captain to immediately report all intelligence obtained to the commander-in-chief. McLane sent daily dispatches to Washington as he increased his vigilance and debriefings of persons entering or departing the city.

General Howe decided to dispatch Generals James Grant and General Sir William Erskine with 5,000 hand picked men to gain the Frenchman’s rear. Meanwhile General Charles Grey (Lord Grey), commander of the Paoli Massacre that had brutally bayoneted ‘Mad’ Anthony’s Wayne’s men and later gained fame for a blend of tea, would attack LaFayette’s front. They would attack on three fronts and pin the rebel force against the Schuylkill River, preventing them from crossing and forcing a surrender. Grant quickly gained his position and waited while Grey and Erskine completed their twenty mile, all night march to get in Lafayette’s rear.

Meanwhile, McLane’s alertness paid off. Two captured Grenadiers were brought in and informed him of Howe’s maneuvers. Before the British could spring the trap, McLane reached Lafayette at dawn of the 20^th with the warning. Lafayette knew of another small road along low ground that led to Matson’s ford that would bypass the British. McLane’s men joined the rear guard that skirmished with the British vanguard, leading the British to believe that the Americans were making a stand while the bulk of Lafayette’s men made their escape. McLane’s company were among the last to cross the river to safety. Joseph Plumb Martin wrote one of the most comprehensive narratives of the war. He reported of Barren Hill, “The Indians, with all their alertness… kept coming in all the afternoon, in parties of four or five, whooping and hallowing like wild beasts…” It was reported that six Oneidas were killed during this action and were buried at St. Peter’s Church Cemetery in Barren Hill. A plaque at the cemetery designates their sacrifice.

• On June 8, 1778, while on duty near the British lines outside Philadelphia, McLane was ambushed by a British patrol of infantry and mounted dragoons. His escort retreated leaving McLane to fend for himself. Rather than surrender, McLane made a run for it. The British commander sent two of his best horsemen to overtake him. Realizing his mount was faltering, McLane, with his usual dash and cunning, turned and engaged the enemy. He shot one and slashed the other with his saber before escaping. Yes

McLane’s fragmented journal best describes the incident in his own words. He wrote of himself in the third person when penning his actions: “The Captain [McLane speaking of himself] took to the woods in hopes of gaining the broken ground near the Old York Road and near Shoemaker’s Mills, which he did. As he entered the run of water near the slitting mill, the two dragoons was close in his rear, swearing they would cut him down if he did not surrender. The Captain retreated with his pistol concealed under his coat. The dragoons followed with their drawn swords. As the Captain reached the hill after he had passed the water, he discovered his horse to fail and determined to attack the enemy on the brow of the hill. He stopped, his horse apparently broken down. One of the dragoons came up on his left, dropped his sword to the strap, and the other on the right throwing his sword hand across the Captain’s right shoulder, dropping it a the same time to his sword strap. The Captain seized the tassel of the dragoon’s sword on his right, at the same moment fired into the breast of the dragoon on his left, and before the dragoon on the right could get clear of his gripe of the tassel of his sword, the Captain got two strokes with the cock and barrel of the pistol that brought the dragoon on his right to the pummel of the saddle, and could have taken off both horses but he grew weak from the loss of blood, his bridle hand being cut by the hilt of the dragoon’s sward on his right. The troops came up after the Captain got off.” McLean continued his route, sought shelter in a swamp… till the evening afforded him of rejoining his command.

Between 1803 and 1813, famed artist James Peale painted three versions of this encounter as explained to him in writing by McLane. Edith Edson, a relative of McLane, researched the three paintings by Peale and published her findings in the October 2001 edition of The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Her research suggests that the first scene painted was Colonel Allan McLane Fighting Two British Officers; this first painting was referred to by C. W. Peale’s 1803 letter that described it by his brother James Peale. The painting was lost by fire and is now represented by a black and white photographic print (with reproductions in color). The second version, Revolutionary Subject, destined for McLane, was first exhibited in Philadelphia in 1811. The third and final version (as well as most often presented in texts and on the web), Ambush of Allan McLane, was completed in 1813 and presently owned by the University of Utah.

• June 18, 1778, McLane never failed to vex and harass the enemy and did so as they evacuated the city. On this date, his company was the first to enter the city after the British. He followed the British retreat from Philadelphia and captured 1 captain, a provost marshal, 3 sergeants, 2 corporals, and 34 privates. He continued to annoy the British during their retreat across New Jersey. Probably

As one of Washington’s lead scouts assigned to prow the British lines and collect intelligence, it would be natural that he and his company would the first to enter Philadelphia as the British departed on June 18^th. Logic suggests that he would lead a party into the city to confirm the British had left. He was to have captured several British officers who had dallied with their local female companions a bit too long. Some historians claimed that Washington had sent him first into the city to protect from patriots those who had, as spies for the Americans, appeared to cooperate with the British. By 11:30 that morning, Washington received a report from militia scout George Roberts that American troops had entered the now abandoned city and that Allen McLane had already captured more than thirty British stragglers. Garden is the source for the breakdown of that number of captives.

• On June 25, 1778, seven days after the British departed Philadelphia, McLane donned a disguise as a farmer and loaded with produce, chickens and eggs, he and another officer wandered close to the British encampment at the Haddon Field in New Jersey where they were challenged by sentries but then admitted into the camp. They were taken to meet with a dapper young British officer, Captain John Andre [hanged two years later when caught in Benedict Arnold’s plot to turn over West Point to the British]. The nature of information garnished from that meeting and turned over to Washington has never been recorded. Highly Unlikely

It is highly unlikely that this romantic gem occurred. On June 24^th, with his army in NJ outside Princeton, Washington held a Council of War. Though some officers favored an immediate attack on the retreating British, Generals Charles Lee (recently returned from British capture who maintained a low opinion of American forces) and General Henry Knox strongly recommended against it. As was usually the case, Washington decided to compromise; a fourteen hundred strong detachment was selected from different regiments which would press forward to harass the British left flank and rear guard as opportunity permitted. Brigadier General Charles Scott would command. As Washington’s army reached Rocky Hill, New Jersey on the 25^th Washington learned that the British had just departed Allentown on their way toward Monmouth. He ordered a thousand more picked men and two artillery pieces under General Wayne forward to merge with General Scott’s force and placed General Lafayette in command. On the 25^th, the day that McLane was supposedly donning his disguise and meeting with British officers in Haddenfield, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, the British army was over 38 miles to the northeast of Haddenfield. Had McLane met Andre at Haddenfield, the youthful British officer would have done so as his prisoner.

• Captain McLane’s company fought in the Battle of Monmouth, May 28, 1778. Yes

McLane was very active probing enemy lines prior to and during the British retreat. On May 24^th, Washington decided to advance a 1,400 man force of hand picked detachments from several regiments to pursue General Henry Clinton as the British army retreated across New Jersey towards New York City. He placed General Charles Scott in charge of this mobile force. Colonel Parker was assigned to lead one of the detachments under General Scott. The other detachments of Scott’s corps were led by Richard Butler, Joseph Cilley, and Mordecai Gist of Maryland. Captain McLane’s company was part of General Charles Scott’s advance force and fought in Colonel Greyson’s 600 man regiment, under Colonel Parker’s detachment and in Major Dickinson’s unit. As such, Colonel Richard Parker’s detachment would be active throughout the battle and Major Edmond B. Dickinson’s unit in particular; Major Dickinson was killed during the action.

McLane may have fought alongside Colonel Richard Parker’s Virginians from early on in the war. From September, 1776, then Major Parker of the 6^th Virginia regiment under Colonel Mordecai Buckner, was in Adam Stephen’s Brigade, the same as Colonel Haslet’s Delaware regiment in which McLane would have been present if he had indeed been part of Washington’s army in 1776 as reported by early biographies (his name is not listed on any rosters of Delaware troops in 1776). In February 1777, Parker became Lt. Colonel in the 2^nd Virginia. Prior to the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge, Parker commanded one of the light infantry detachments assigned to General Maxwell, the same brigade in which McLane would have fought. Parker was promoted to colonel of the 1^st Virginia regiment in February, 1778. Major Edmond B. Dickinson was one of his field officers and as noted, McLane’s company was assigned to Dickinson’s unit during the Battle of Monmouth.

The next day, May 25^th, Washington enlarged Scott’s force by adding men under General Wayne and placed General Lafayette in command – the force now numbering almost five thousand men to which Major General Charles Lee had argued successfully to assume command. The advance force would first make contact with Clinton’s army at Monmouth Court House. Lee ordered Greyson’s detachment which would include McLane’s company, to lead his advance guard in the approach march to Monmouth Courthouse. General Anthony Wayne commanded Greyson’s regiment along with detachments under Henry Jackson, Richard Butlers, and Eleazer Oswald’s four guns. For a half hour, from 9:30 AM until 10:00, Wayne engaged the enemy in a heavy skirmish with the British rear guard. At that early stage of the battle, General Henry Clinton mounted a 6,000 man counterattack and Lee drew his men back, resulting in a general order to retreat. At the sounds of battle, Washington rode forward and was shocked to see Colonel Greyson’s and Patton’s regiments retreating toward him. Washington reversed the men and organized a new line of battle.

The detachments of Cilley and Parker, in which McLane was attached, stayed behind as Lee’s force formed behind Washington’s main body. They would screen the left front of the rest of Washington’s force which was by then on the field. At around 2 PM, the British made an attempt to turn the American left flank. The 1^st Battalion of the 42^nd Foot (Highlanders), 44^th Foot from General Charles Grey’s 3^rd Brigade, and the 1^st light infantry battalion of the Queen’s Rangers (loyalists) under General Sir William Erskine, crossed the Spottswood North Brook and attacked the American lines. After an ineffectual attempt, General Erskine ordered a withdrawal, leaving 320 Highlanders holding an orchard. Washington sent Cilley’s 350 men, followed by Parker’s 250 troops to capture the orchard. The Americans used a covered approach and got within a couple of hundred yards of the orchard before being spotted. With the help of a 6 pound cannon, the American attack pushed the Highlanders back 300 yards. As they Americans emerged into the open, they came under fire from two British three pound cannons. Cilley and Parker pulled their men back into the orchard and held their position. American losses were probably around two dozen with Major Dickinson among the dead. The battle raged until dark and was considered a draw as Clinton withdrew his army that night and the Americans cautiously pursed the British commander back to New York.

• McLane was wary of Benedict Arnold’s motives in Philadelphia and informed Washington of some of the general’s profiteering soon after Arnold took command of the city. He was the very first to suspect Arnold’s loyalty and eventual treason. McLane wrote to Washington of his suspicions however his commander would hear none of it promptly censored McLane on the matter. Mostly. However there is no primary source that states McLance was suspect of Arnold’s loyalty.

The exact nature of McLane’s relations, if any, with Arnold was never clarified. Soon after taking military command of Philadelphia during his convalescence from his leg injury from the Battle of Bemis Heights at Saratoga, Arnold began to spend lavishly from new found wealth. Many Philadelphians suspected that he gained shamelessly by profiteering the sale of goods left behind by British occupation forces. It seems that Arnold wasn’t the only one profiting from the British evacuation and the economic situation in Philadelphia. The scarcity of goods allowed profiteering merchants and businessmen to artificially raise prices to take advantage of the citizenry – leading a mob of militia and residents who erupted in violent protests that led to the Oct. 4, 1779 ‘Fort Wilson’ affair. Arnold’s activities and the economic situation in Philadelphia roused the ire of McLane who, prior to and after a brief assignment to the Highland Division north of New York City in the summer of 1779, had resided with his family in and around Philadelphia.

McLane had spent the fall of 1779 and most of 1780 in Philadelphia and continued to be critical of Arnold’s motives and actions as chief military officer of the city. Arnold did not leave Philadelphia for West Pint until around July 21, 1780. He often complained of Arnold’s activities and was one of the first to hint at more sinister suspicions. When McLane wrote to Washington expressing his concerns, the commander-in-chief’s reply was terse and exact. Washington refused to entertain any doubts about the loyalty of one of his finest generals and a stinging rebuke reportedly silenced McLane.

Arnold had also gained an enemy in Joseph Reed, former aide-de-camp to Washington and by 1779, Pennsylvania’s chief officer as President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. Reed was responsible for pressing charges against Arnold resulting in a court martial that listed thirteen counts of misbehavior including misusing government wagons and illegally buying and selling goods (an offense that could also have been shared by most of the businessmen in and around Philadelphia). Although by early 1780, Arnold was cleared of most charges, Washington issued a reprimand against him. Arnold, who had been angered by the lack of credit he received for Saratoga and his treatment by Philadelphia’s elite, was even more by what he perceived as Washington’s lack of support. When adding this dissatisfaction upon a huge and frail ego was his wife’s influence and Tory connections, Arnold’s betrayal, by the summer of 1780, was set in stone.

• July 22, 1778, McLane’s company was still officially part of Patton’s Regiment. The regiment was transferred on that date from the 4^th Virginia Brigade to the Highlands Department, north of New York City. On January 13, 1779, Patton’s regiment, which had already lost its commander, ceased to exist and was consolidated with Hartley’s Additional Continental Regiment. And the ‘new’ 11^th Pennsylvania regiment. A month earlier, on December 16, 1778, Captain McLane’s company had already been transferred to the 1^st Delaware Regiment under Colonel David Hull in the 3^rd Virginia Brigade. Partial – later assigned to Lighthorse Harry Lee’s Corps.

On July 13, 1779, McLane’s company was officially transferred to Major Henry Lee or ‘Light Horse’ Harry Lee’s Legion of Horse as the 4^th dismounted troop. They remained in the Highlands Division north of New York City.

Captain Allan McLane’s Delaware infantry company was assigned as a fourth troop; so that by the end of August Lee’s corps had 200 men; with soldiers from not only Virginia and Delaware, but Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut as well. Though the transfer took place on July 13^th, McLane’s company had already been actively involved with Major Lee’s Legion of mounted dragoons in the Stony Point region along the Hudson River. It was natural that the two forces would be officially combined.

• July 16^th 1779 – prior to the Battle of Stony Point, McLane was sent on a lone mission to gather information on the British garrison and fortification at Stony Point and Kings Ferry, New York, on the Hudson River. He donned a fanciful ruse of a ‘country bumkin’ and accompanied a woman to gain entrance to the fort, noting its defenses. His information was vital to the American’s taking the fort in a midnight bayonet attack on the 16^th. Romanticized version – there was no spy nor disguise when McLane approached fort under a flag of truth.

Light Horse Harry Lee’s Legion of 150 troopers and riflemen, in which McLane was attached, had been assigned to patrol the Stony Point region and made a complete report of the terrain and fortification defenses. They captured enemy foragers and rounded up deserters to garnish information on the fort’s interior defenses. They also questioned farmers who were allowed to take fruit and vegetables into the fort.

When General ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne’s troops marched to their staging positions, McLane’s men shielded their movements by keeping the roads clear of curious bystanders, thereby assuring the success of a surprised attack. McLane’s prior experience in gathering information during his time around Philadelphia presented an excellent choice when commanding General Anthony Wayne desired a detailed report of the fort’s interior and soldiers’ schedules and habits.

McLane approached the fort under a flag of truce and while waiting for and after meeting with officers, was allowed free reign within the compound before he was allowed to leave while still under a flag of truth. His quick eye had determined troop strength, battery placements, soldiers’ schedules and placements, and the composition of the two main defensive lines, all necessary to fine tune the planned assault.

According to the McLane papers, his presence took on a more romanticized version adding spice to the legend. He supposedly assumed the appearance of a plain countryman, a simple minded woodsman and relative of a local woman, Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith had been given permission to visit the fort to see her son who had recently defected to the British. As the mother spoke with her son, McLane was given free rein to wonder around the fort noting the intelligence. When Mrs. Smith departed, so did McLane by her side. He immediately reported his findings to General ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne who used the information to plan the midnight bayonet attack that carried the fort.

The logic behind McLane’s account remains dubious. Why would Mrs. Smith allow herself to be part of a plot that in all probability would result in her son’s injury or even death during the planned assault? Why would she agree to McLane’s ruse, unless she had an explanation that made sense? Did she know of the planned attack and used the time with her son to convince him to leave which could jeopardizing the whole operation? Or perhaps she was paid handsomely and there was no need for reason or explanations? And why would her son not notice that his ‘relative’ accompanying his mom was a complete stranger and sound the alarm?

There seemed to be too many factors that could go wrong in such a cloak and dagger operation. In a time of military decorum and respect for a gentleman’s motives, it was far simpler to approach as an officer under a flag of truth. Under a pretext to discuss military matters – such as allowed supply routes, prisoner exchanges, or correspondence between officers – a sharp eye could retain much of Wayne’s desired information without the risk of discovery.

This story of McLane’s spymaster intrigue that he hid behind a disguise, adding to the aura of his legendary feats is laid to rest by McLane’s own words included in his journal, “Friday the 2 July – By Genl. Washington’s orders went in with a flag to conduct Mrs. Smith to see her sons.” No disguise. McLane entered as an officer in the American army by order of Washington to escort Mrs. Smith to see her son. Mrs. Smith was none the wiser that she was aiding McLane’s effort to observe the interior fort at Stony Point and the British were either lax or non different in allowing McLane to take note of their defenses.

Interestingly, in a letter from General Wayne to Washington dated July 27, 1779, that gave an account of the capture of the fort, he omitted mentioning the role of Captain McLane nor did he single out for special commendation Major Henry Lee, whose corps had played an important role in the overall success of the operation. This omission of credit may have driven Lee’s zeal in devising and undertake as commander a similar attack at Paulus Hook, New Jersey a month later .

• August 16 – 19^th, 1779 and the Battle of Paulus Hook, New Jersey, on the19^th. McLane and his men took an active part in the British fort’s assault, successfully gaining much needed prior intelligence and storming the fort at the point of bayonet. Yes

The fort at Paulus Hook, on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River directly across from New York City, served as a base for British and Loyalist raids into New Jersey. It was a constant irritation to American forces and Washington devised a similar plan to take the fortification as he had done the previous month at Stony Point. He sent Major Henry ‘Light Horse Harry’ Lee’s Legion to garnish the necessary intelligence for the attack, placing Lee in command of the assault. Just as he had done at Stony Point, Captain McLane was assigned to reconnoiter the British fortifications prior to the American assault. During McLane’s close observations of the fort’s activities and its defenses, his men captured two British soldiers.

The debriefing of the two men combined with his intelligence of the fort’s defenses, proved valuable for the successful attack in the early morning hours of August 19^th. McLane listed an account of his actions between Aug. 16^th and the 18^th in his journal: “Aug. 16^th – Moved toward Powles Hook to reconeter. Took two prisoners on Hobuck… Returned with the party to Hackinsack. This night lay at Storms house. Aug. 17^th – Drew four days’ provisions. Detached two sergeants with 12 men each to lay in Bergain Woods. This night lay near the liberty pole.”

Lee’s three hundred infantry and a troop of dismounted dragoons, which included McLane’s men, left New Bridge in the late afternoon of August 18^th to begin a fourteen mile hike through woods to attack the fort at Paulus Hook. According to Captain Levin Handy who was present, “The attack was to commence at one half after 12 o’clock, but having been greatly embarrassed on our march, and having a number of difficulties to surmount, did not arrive at the point of attack till after four o’clock in the morning [Prior’s Mill].” The fort was located on a marsh which aided its defenses. The reason the attack was scheduled for midnight was to take advantage of the low tide as the fort could not be approached during high tied.

Though by the time Lee’s forces arrived with the tide rising, the canal to the fort still proved fordable and the troops pushed through and within minutes attacked the outer fort with bayonet. Though the British commander, Major Sutherland was able to barricade himself along with over 50 troops in a smaller redoubt, the fort was taken. However, because of the late hour of the attack and British troops were warned on the New York side of the Hudson, Major Lee did not have time to spike the cannon or torch the buildings, and quickly retreated with about 150 prisoners.

McLane continued his brief account of his actions at Paulus Hook. “Wednesday Aug. 18^th – This morning received orders from Maj. Lee to take post in the wood near Bargan in order to intercept the communication between Powles Hook and [?] and to join him at a certain place in the woods near the Three Pidgeons in order to conduct him to attack Powles Hook. Met him and after some deficalty, arrived at the works half past three in morning. Stormed them without more loss than two men killed and five wounded who killed about 50 , took 150 prisoners, 9 officers…” Thursday Aug. 19^th – and then retired to the new bridge the distance of 22 miles…”

Light Horse Harry Lee basked in the glory and attention he sought through the attack on Paulus Hook. Despite the limited success of the operation, it gave the nation’s Patriot morale a major boost. For his actions at Paulus Hook, Lee would win one of only eight medals awarded by Congress during the war and the only one awarded to a soldier beneath the rank of general. Lee’s actions prior to and after the battle would be brought to question by his officers under him resulting in a court martial.

• Soon after Paulus Hook, several officers involved in the fort’s capture brought charges against Major Henry Lee for ‘having taken precedence over officers senior in rank’. They drafted a substantial set of charges, including reckless endangerment of his men. However, Lee was quickly exonerated and received the fame he had sought after. This may have only added to an eventual falling out between McLane and Lee. Yes – except no primary source a falling out between the two men.

Time was of the essence in the planned attack on Paulus Hook. McLane had scouted the fort, reporting that the garrison numbered a little over two hundred men. He guided Lee’s men through the complex approaches to the fort that covered over fourteen miles. The march was soon bogged down. A defection of Virginians blamed on Lee reduced his force by over a hundred men. After loss of both men and time, Lee continued the march. They were under pressure. The attack had to be made shortly after midnight as the fort was protected by a deep ditch which could be crossed only at low tide. As they entered the woods in total darkness, the men became disoriented, losing over two more valuable hours. By four in the morning, nearly four hours later than planned, and with the rising tide, the assault was made in three columns, one to each side of the main attack. Rushing in with the bayonet, the garrison was surprised and quickly over run except for 40 or more Hessians in a blockhouse. Due to the lateness of the attack, the Americans had to quickly leave before more British troops could arrive by boat. The retreat from Paulus Hook was also difficult as the boats Lee had expected to transport his men, plus the now over 150 prisoners across the Hackensack River did not appear. He and his men had to complete the fourteen miles (or twenty two as McLane recorded in his journal) back to New Bridge and safety with British troops hot on their heels.

The officers overseeing Lee’s court martial were suspect of the officers’ motives for laying charges against Lee (McLane included). Alexander Hamilton would sum their overall feelings in a letter to John Laurens, his close friend and who some historians believe Hamilton’s lover, “The Philadelphia Papers will tell you of a handsome stroke by Lee at Paule’s Hook. Some folks in the Virginia line, jealous of his glory, had the folly to get him arrested. He has been tried and acquitted with the highest honor….”

• October 4, 1779 – Fort Wilson affair, Philadelphia. McLane helped quell a violent mob to protect a group of merchants and businessmen who had barricaded themselves in James Wilson’s home in Philadelphia. Partial: McLane individually rushed to help – Colonel Reed led troops to rescue.

The affair that is recorded in historical texts as ‘Fort Wilson’ was the cap on what had been brewing throughout the summer and fall of 1779. Citizens and the militia, particularly the Pennsylvania militia and residents of Philadelphia, became disheartened by the scarcity of goods. Merchants and speculators had been jacking up prices and basically raking in small fortunes at what appeared to be the expense of the local populace.

Meanwhile Congress turned a deaf ear to consumer complaints and continued to print money as needed, which only added fuel to the problem by a devaluation of the Continental Dollar resulting in less buying power for goods already over priced. Groups of concerned citizens and militia had been gathering in taverns and public houses for weeks to complain amongst themselves over the inaction of Congress and the ‘fattened’ merchants and businessmen taking advantage of their plight.

It all came to a head on October 4, 1779. That night, a mob of militiamen poured out of a tavern and headed towards James Wilson’s House (Wilson was a lawyer of a somewhat sinister reputation who represented many of those subjected to the public’s ire). Thirty merchants and businessmen, including some military officers such as Philadelphia Quaker General Thomas Mifflin, had armed and barricaded themselves in Wilson’s home.

McLane had been stationed in or near Philadelphia during this time as he wrote that he witnessed the mob approaching the Wilson House and spoke to his wife before rushing to help quell the disturbance. The building was attacked and three killed (including an African American child) and several were injured before General Joseph Reed, president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, arrived with troops and ordered the crowd dispersed. McLane gave an extensive account of the event, writing in his journal that he had gained access to the house just before the mob attacked. His observations can be found in author Henry Steele Commanger’s text Spirit of ’76, pages vary on edition.

• Falling out between Major Henry ‘Light Horse Harry’ Lee and McLane. Ultimately Washington transferred McLane to the southern army. While McLane was in route, Charleston fell to the British and General Lincoln’s army surrendered. McLane eventually returned north. Probably

Alexander Garden wrote, “Ever a good hater, McLane was an emotional patriot. This fervor was both his weakness and his strength. It made him a stormy petrel whom superiors could not always placate, but the same quality, in the field, resulted in such dash and daring that Washington once remarked to a friend, ‘I would not do without him in the light corps – no, not for a thousand pounds.’” Many a passionate officer’s moods were soured when they believed they did not receive the credit rightly deserved for an action. A classic case was Benedict Arnold who felt scorned after Gates received all the accolades for the Battle of Saratoga when in fact it was Arnold who won the day.

“Lee and McLane were inflamed when General Wayne failed to mention their contributions to the taking of Stony Point. In return, Lee failed to mention McLane’s actions at Paulus Point as the major of light horse basked in the fame and attention that followed. McLane became critical of Lee’s somewhat ‘dandy’ style of command. From the start, both men’s inflated personalities were destined to clash. According to Cook, “Years later, reading Lee’s account in his memoirs of how he had paced the Hudson’s banks on a cold wintry night waiting for a spy’s report from New York, McLane remarked sarcastically in his journal that Lee never kept the field in such weather; he preferred playing whist.”

According to Michael Cecere in Wedded to My Sword, 2012 biography of Light Horse Harry Lee, McLane was bitter towards Lee – thinking that Lee had obstructed his advancing in rank within the Legion. However, Washington’s response (Jan. 30, 1780 from Morristown, New Jersey) to Lee indicates that Lee may have advocated that McLane be advanced in rank rather than oppose. Washington cited that there are “numbers in the line, who have been as long Captains and without promotion as himself [McLane]…. But with regard to his request the formation of new corps rests by no means with me, nor if it did I could not recommend the proposal to Congress at a time when the separate corps now in service experience so many inconveniences, and are supposed too numerous. Captn McLane however may be assured that my opinion of his military merits would induce me to do every thing in his favor consistent with propriety.” Supposedly the break between officers was so severe that McLane was detached from Lee’s Legion.

• Lee and McLane’s difficulties in working together was so sever, that Washington solved the tension by sending McLane south to reinforce General Benjamin Lincoln who’s army was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. McLane was just missed being captured when the city was taken. He would fall under the command of von Steuben instead. There he was promoted to major. No. McLane did not head south to reinforce Lincoln, but instead was assigned to von Steuben’s corps.

We know that McLane was still in Philadelphia in the fall of 1779 and early 1780 as he was present at the ‘Fort Wilson’ affair in October and later wrote a letter to Major Henry Lee speaking of requisitioning supplies on January 15, 1780. On February 14, 1780, Major Lee was granted authorization to form a formal Legionary Corps; many of the best soldiers from other units either volunteered or were specially invited to join its ranks. The Siege of Charleston by British General Henry Clinton lasted from March, 1780 to May 12^th, resulting in the surrender of Major General Benjamin Lincoln’s army of over five thousand men, mostly Continental soldiers. If McLane had marched his corps from Philadelphia south to reinforce Lincoln at Charleston and just avoided capture, he probably would have left sometime in March, 1780, about the time the siege began. We know that Lee wrote to McLane ordering him to join his newly formed Legion in New Jersey on June 10, 1780. If McLane was ordered by Lee, this indicates that McLane, was still attached to Lee’s corps. His orders further provides evidence that McLane was south of Philadelphia when he wrote to him. Lee told McLane to “manifest your zeal for the public, and your love for your cavalry brethren” by hurrying north. “Touch not at Annapolis, Baltimore or Philadelphia…” This indicates that when McLane was present south of Maryland when summoned by Lee to New Jersey.

Congress granted Washington’s desire to assign Major General Nathanael Greene to command the southern army after General Horatio Gates disastrous defeat at the Battle of Camden, Aug. 16, 1780. On November 4, 1780, Greene with General von Steuben commanding a division, departed Philadelphia. Major Lee would march to join Greene with his newly formed 2^nd Partisan Corps of three companies of horse and three companies of light foot. McLane’s troop was not present when Greene marched his army to North Carolina. Historian William Sherman explains, “By November 1, 1780, Lee’s force was increased in size to three mounted and three dismounted; and at about which same time it was detached from the main army and sent to reinforce the Southern Army badly mauled at the Battle of Camden, 16 August 1780. On 1 January 1781, the Legion was re-designated the 2^nd Partisan Corps, and when it joined General Greene by early January numbered some 100 cavalry and 180 foot which were organized as into three troops of horse under Captains Joseph Eggleston, Ferdinand O’Neal, and James Armstrong, and three companies of infantry led by Captains Patrick Carnes, Michael Rudulph, and George Handy.” McLane was distinctly absent from Lee’s Corps.

If McLane remained in Lee’s Corps, why was it that his troop did not march with the main body south to join Greene? Garden wrote that he joined von Steuben. However, Francis Heitman’s Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution lists McLane as having remained in Lee’s Legion until McLane left the service in 1782. Von Steuben only got as far as Virginia while Greene carried on to North Carolina to take command of the southern army.

Von Steuben’s mission was to remain in Virginia and expedite supplies and manpower southward while also commanding mainly Virginia militia to counter any potential invasion by British troops. The answer perhaps lies within the 1956 Fred Cook article: “Eventually Lee, commanding his augmented legion and on his way to fight in South Carolina, got McLane out of his sight by assigning him the menial task of purchasing supplies in Maryland. McLane appealed to Washington, with a result which he recorded in a triumphant note on a letter dated January 20, 1781, ‘McLane [speaking in third person] got out of Major Lee’s trap by prevailing on Washington to assign him to Baron Steuben’s command.’”

If McLane joined von Steuben in late January or early February, 1781, then he in all probability assisted the Baron who had to deal with now British General Benedict Arnold’s invasion of Virginia. Left with mostly militia, no doubt von Steuben was grateful to have an experienced captain of light horse and infantry at his disposal. Arnold had captured Richmond after light resistance on January 5, 1781. Von Steuben struggled as he played a game of cat and mouse, knowing he did not have the strength to attack Arnold’s trained regulars. McLane’s troops would have been extremely useful to the Baron who required a steady flow of information including enemy troop movements. Arnold was later joined by Major General William Phillips and the two became quite a nuance over the next couple of months.

Washington was aware of von Steuben’s plight and ordered General Lafayette to march a relief force of Continental troops to help. Lafayette did not arrive in time to prevent von Steuben’s American defeat at the Battle of Blandford or Petersburg on April 25^th. Lafayette would take command soon after and would soon go up against General Cornwallis who on May 10^th, arrived in Virginia with his battered army after his costly victory at Guilford Courthouse.

General Phillips had died of typhus or malaria in Petersburg on May 13^th leaving Arnold in command of British forces in Virginia. Cornwallis wanted nothing to do with the turncoat and took command on May 20^th, sending Arnold back to New York City. Lafayette would play the same role as Greene did in the south, probing and annoying Cornwallis while keeping his army in tact. By August 1, Cornwallis occupies Yorktown, hoping to create a base for a steady flow of supplies and men from New York while continuing his occupation of Virginia.

McLane wrote that after January 25, 1781, that he had joined von Steuben. How long did he remain with von Steuben and perhaps later with Lafayette who replaced von Steuben as command of Virginian’s troops battling Arnold then later Cornwallis? There was never an official account of McLane’s exact whereabouts during the years he obtained information from the enemy. Washington was notorious for failing to mention intelligence gathering operations in his dispatches and correspondence, leaving a difficult task for historians to plot the course of the individual activities of his intelligence officers.

However, one glimmer of McLane’s activities and whereabouts from approximately February 1781 until late June of that year can be found in the Certificate of Service presented to McLane by Washington at war’s end. In it, he states that Captain McLane retired from the army at half pay in February, 1781. McLane might have gone home during this period and later responded to Washington’s request for his services in a special and secretive operation. In late June, 1781, McLane would embark on perhaps what would be his greatest contribution to the war.

• July 1781, McLane embarked for the Caribbean aboard the American privateer Congress. He brought dispatches from Washington to the French Admiral Count de Grasse. McLane was so effective and persuasive in presenting Washington’s position that he convinced de Grasse to forgo attacking British interests in the Caribbean. The Frenchman sailed his fleet to the Chesapeake Bay, fought off a British fleet, and boxed in Cornwallis’ at Yorktown, Virginia allowing a combined American and French army to force Cornwallis’ surrender. Aspects questionable.

Steuben and Lafayette did not have the strength to do battle with Cornwallis’ and Arnold’s combined forces. However, by early June, 1781, Cornwallis faced a potential danger of being isolated in Virginia and cut off from all support except by sea. If the French severed Cornwallis’ link to New York by sea, they could lend their greatest service for the American cause, creating a situation in which the British army in Virginia would become entrapped with no way out but to surrender. Yet at first, Washington was consumed by prospects further north. Still, over five years into the war, he continued to hold out hope for that one brilliant stroke to end the war. His preoccupation with plans for an attack on New York took precedent as he consolidated American and French forces in and around the city. His determination to attack New York proved to have a distinct advantage that helped pave the path for Yorktown, which ultimately became that stroke that eluded both Americans and British since the war’s outbreak.

British Commander-in-chief General Clinton was convinced that the ax would fall on New York and hesitated breaking the bonds that were beginning to encircle Cornwallis’ army in Virginia. Though he continued to promise Cornwallis reinforcements in both infantry and shipping, they never materialized for he kept the bulk of his soldiers and fleet in the city to thwart Washington’s expected attack. Historians have detailed circumstances that by the end of summer, forced Washington’s hand to grasp an opportunity to strike a fatal blow against the British. south at Yorktown. But what set in motion the drastic turn of events that caused Washington on August 19, 1781, to rush an American and French army south was the news that the French Admiral Comte de Grasse’s powerful French fleet was not going to attack Jamaica as planned. They sailed for the Chesapeake Bay and would arrive on August 29th. And the answer to de Grasse’s change of heart can be found in McLane’s brief description of a secretive assignment by his commander-in-chief that sealed the war’s ultimate conclusion.

McLane was to be sent to the Caribbean and entrusted with dispatches by General Washington to press the point for de Grasses’ help. Caribbean assets offered far more economical importance to the French than those of America and had taken president in de Grasse’s plans to assault the British. McLane sailed for Cape Francais [Francois, Haiti] in July 1781 on the Congress, mounting 20 guns and 215 men. Accordingly McLane was given command of the on board marines. When arriving at Haiti, de Grasse was in a Council of War that was intent on attacking the Island of Jamaica. During this council, McLane was called for so that de Grasse might examine “relative to the preparations made in America for a combined attack by the Allies and American army, on the British force in the Chesapeake.” Supposedly McLane gave such a good presentation and satisfactory answers, “and developed such cheering prospects of success, that he was informed by the Count, soon as the Council broke up, that the French fleet would immediately proceed to America and act as circumstances might require.”

McLane wrote an abbreviated description of his dramatic contribution to Yorktown. He did so as he did throughout his journal, speaking of himself in the third person:

“In the interval between the appearance of Cornwallis in Virginia [May 10] and the month of June, 1781, McLane embarked in the ship Congress, of Philadelphia, Capt. Geddis, as Captain of Marines… Visited Cape Francois in July, was examined by Count de Grasse in Council of War on board Villa de Paris, gave it as his decided opinion that Count de Grasse could make it easy for Genl. Washington to reduce the British in the south if he proceeded with his fleet and army to the Chesapeake.”

This important aspect of McLane’s abilities to press Washington’s point and persuade the French to sail to the Chesapeake Bay was corroborated by an 1820 affidavit by Richard O’Brien, then a lieutenant on the Congress. He commanded the ship’s boat that delivered McLane and his dispatches to the Council of War stating: “I was on the quarter deck of the Villa de Paris and after considerable time had elapsed, one of the French officers – the Captain of a 74 [74 guns designated as a battle ship-of-war], one of the Council of War – informed me that, in consequence of the dispatches delivered to the Council of War by Colonel Allan McLane [McLane’s rank at this time is not clear as he stated in his journal that he was captain of marines aboard ship], his clear and explicit statements and rational views of the probable consequences, it was then determined to abandon the expedition against the West India Islands and to sail with all expedition for the coast of the United States.”

• Returning home from convincing de Grasse to sail to the Chesapeake, the American privateer, on September 6, 1781, Congress “fell in with the British sloop of war Savage. After a desperate action of five glasses, succeeded in capturing her. Accordingly, the victory was partially attributed to “the constant and well-directed fire of the marines,” which was commanded by Captain McLane. Probable

In the early morning hours of September 6, 1781, Captain Stirling of the sloop HMS Savage, armed with sixteen 6 pounders, and 140 men was escorting a convoy when she encountered the sloop-of-war Congress ten leagues from Charleston (30 nautical miles). The Congress, captained by George Geddes, was a privateer from Philadelphia with twenty 12 pounders and four 6 pounders with 215 men.

According to Garden who quotes McLane’s journal, the marines on board were commanded by McLane. At first the Savage, commanded by Stirling, sailed towards the American vessel, but upon discovering that she was significantly stronger than thought, (the Americans had a broadside of 132 pounds to Savage’s 48) he swung around and attempted to escape. The Congress was the faster ship and by 10:30 AM opened up with her bow chaser. By 11:00, the distance was reduced to pistol shot and Geddes’ crew, including the marines under McLane, opened up with muskets and pistols. Geddes maneuvered his ship until it was abreast of the Savage and opened a broadside, beginning a duel between the two ships at extreme close range. Both were heavily damaged, many of the crewmen were so close that they were burned by the enemy’s flash of cannon.

At one point the Congress withdrew to repair their rigging, but soon caught up with the British and resumed the battle. It lasted about an hour longer with the Savage in ruins. With no one left on her quarterdeck and forecastle, her mizzenmast blown away and mainmast nearly gone, Geddes positioned his ship to board his enemy. At that point the Savage surrendered. Casualties were similar on both sides; British losses were 8 dead, 34 wounded including Captain Stirling. The Americans suffered 11 killed and 30 wounded.

• When McLane disembarked from Congress in early September, according to McLane’s journal, he was sent by Washington to the New York City region. He was to connect with members of the Culper Ring, Washington’s spy organization in the city, and meet with Tory printer and double agent James Rivington, who had social and business access to senior British officers in the city. Rivington uncovered the British naval signal book with contained the code used by the British fleet to coordinate its movements. He delivered this to McLane who turned it over to Admiral DeGrasse. Its use ultimately aided the French in spoiling British attempts at resupplying and sending reinforcements to Cornwallis boxed in at Yorktown. Probable.

McLane took a post near Sandy Hook, New Jersey to scout the region and keep Washington informed on whether the British were detaching troops to aid Cornwallis in the south. He was furnished a barge to visit Long Island that was still in British hands. He communicated directly with persons from the city, reportedly affiliated with the Culper Spy ring, and from those contacts, received the private signals of the British fleet sailing for the Chesapeake, for the relief of Cornwallis. With the navy’s signal book in hand, McLane embarked in a pilot boat and delivered the information personally to the Count de Grasse.

Documentation confirms that the Board of War dispatched McLane to New York to obtain intelligence on the movement of the British fleet which was taking on supplies at New York to relieve Cornwallis. McLane wrote [spelling inconsistencies are his]: “After I returned in the fall, was employed by the Board of War to repair to Long Island to watch the motion of the British fleet and if possible obtain their signals which I did threw the assistance of the noted Rivington. Joined the fleet under the Count D Graass with the signals. During the Siege was at the surrender of Cornwallis and was after this employed to reconnoiter the British fleet while of the Chesspike and to communicate my discoverys to the Count D Grass, Lee, Washington, Barren Stuben and Lafitte.”

Another document among the McLane papers, written by an unknown person who accompanied McLane in the Congress supports McLane: “On her [the ship’s] return he [McLane] was stationed by the Board of War near Sandyhook to correspond with R [Rivington] of New York received the signals for the British fleet out of New York. Delivered them to Count De Grass. Acted occasionally on the shore and with the French fleet until after Cornwallis had surrendered.” Also present in the McLane Papers: Judge Richard Peters, who directed the Board of war in 1781, wrote to McLane that de Grasse had been highly gratified with the information. This letter, written on April 26, 1804, asked McLane to recall his secret mission to Sandyhook in 1781 to obtain the British signals, apparently because the Treasury books had charged Peters with the expenses involved. Peters referred to money “paid to the person (whose name I cannot with good faith mention) going in to the enemy.”

Peters had sent Washington an account of his actions and his use of McLane in 1781, shortly after the mission was accomplished, and Washington responded: “I do myself the pleasure to acknowledge your favor of the 19^th inst pr Capt. McLane, and thank you for the intelligence you have communicated; The particular mode you have adopted to obtain information, I think may be very usefully employed, and is a fortunate expedient; the necessity of its use to our present operations is happily at an end, if continued, it may be of importance to some future designs.” The outside of the letter appeared the notation: “Genl. Washington, Secret Service, Capt. McLane.”

• Allen McLane left the army later that year [1781] after Yorktown. However records are confused as to his rank and retirement. Yes

Heitman’s Historical Record of Officers of the Continental Army lists Allen McLane highest rank as Captain and retiring on November, 9, 1782. Historical accounts vary in reference to when and how McLane left the service with many copying early versions of possible commissions. A common thread states that he was promoted to major by von Steuben in early 1781 after McLane was detached from Lee’s Legion. McLane’s relationship with the flamboyant light horse leader had become strained as McLane believed Lee failed to put him forward for advancement. Two similar egos clashed which was made worse when Lee garnished all the credit for Paulus Hook and failed to mention Lee’s contribution in his reports. After Paulus Hook, Lee sought to get McLane out of his hair and ordered the outspoken Delaware captain to Maryland to recruit and seek provisions to outfit the Legion while Lee joined General Greene in the southern campaign. McLane reportedly sought after and received approval to join von Steuben in Virginia after January 25^th, 1781. When McLane carried dispatches from Washington to de Grasse in the Caribbean in late June, 1781, he boarded ship as a captain. Richard O’Brien, a lieutenant on board the Congress, in later records referred to McLane as Colonel.

An important clue to McLane’s final rank and when and how he left the service can be found in the Certificate of Service presented to McLane by Washington at war’s end. In it, he refers to Captain McLane, not major, and sets his retirement at half pay in February, 1781 – not at the end of the year or in November 1782 as Heitman states. This would support evidence that McLane was detached from his company’s command and while under half pay retirement, had delivered dispatches to de Grasse in the Caribbean. Later he was free to serve Washington in a clandestine operation outside New York City to obtain the British Signal Books, delivering the information for de Grasse’s use.

McLane’s Certificate of service, composed by Washington on December 31, 1781 and presented to McLane is given in full:

“Allen McLane Esqr., was appointed a Captain in one of the Sixteen additional Continental Regiments of Foot commanded by Colonel Patton, in the beginning of the year 1777, and by his activity and industry soon joined to the Regiment with a full Company. Upon the dissolution of the Sixteen Battalions, and the incorporation of the Officers and Men into other Corps – Capt. McLane was, in July 1779, appointed to the command of the Infantry of Major Lee’s Partizan Legion

In February 1781, upon the new arrangement of the Army, he retired upon Half pay for life. From the Certificates of which Captain McLane is possessed, it appears that he was very early active in the cause of his Country: And from the time of his joining the continental Army, I can testify that he distinguished himself highly as a brave and enterprising partizan. During the Siege of York, he was instructed by the Board of war with the delivery of dispatches of importance to His Excellency the Count de Grasse, which Commission he executed with great celerity; and was afterwards ver servicable in reconnoitering and bring intelligence of the strength and disposition of the British Fleet off the Chesapeak, Given under my Hand and Seal at Philadelphia the 31^st day of December 1781.”

Once McLane’s clandestine service in the New York region was finished British General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, McLane’s war time experience, now on half pay retirement, was concluded; as the Certificate of Service’s date of January 31, 1781 indicated. McLane in all probability spent the rest of the war at home in Delaware.

AFTER the WAR

Supposedly McLane had given away his personal fortune to supply his men with equipment and weapons. During the war, he had resided in Philadelphia along with his wife, evidenced by his journal’s account of the ‘Fort Wilson’ affair in October, 1780 in which he and his wife were present. It is reported that following the war, McLane rented a home at the southwest corner of Mt. Vernon and Market Streets. He entered a mercantile business venture with prolific Philadelphian businessman Robert Morris (who had supported the American cause by dipping into his personal finances while managing accounts to supply the Continental Army). On December 23, 1785, McLane received a deed from Thomas Wilds for a parcel of land in Delaware. He maintained the home separating his time between merchant and farmer. In December of 1787, he was a delegate at Delaware’s convention to ratify the United States Constitution. Of his fourteen children, only two survived to adulthood, Allen McLane, 1790-1845 and Louis McLane 1786-1857 – future U.S. Delegate to England and Secretary of Treasury and State.

Perhaps in return for his service during the war, Washington appointed McLane as the first United States Marshal of Delaware on September 26, 1789. He would serve as Marshal for eight years. During this period, from October 1791 to January 1793, he also served as Speaker of the 16^th Delaware General Assembly. He also served as a member of the Privy Council and as a Judge of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas. By 1794, McLane found himself deeply in debt. He wrote to Washington on June 9^th of that year to reiterate his request for a better paying office. He complained to the President that his commission as marshal was “an office of considerable trust, but not profit.” McLane would remain a Marshal for three more years until 1797, when Washington fulfilled his promise. He appointed McLane Collector of the Port of Wilmington and McLane soon moved his family there. McLane was also a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, an avid abolitionist, and a supporter of the Federalist party. During the presidential election of 1800, McLane campaigned for John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson won the presidency in 1801, he purged the government of Federalists and replaced them with his own party. Fortunately for McLane, he received a strong backing from James A. Bayard and was not removed from his job as collector. During the War of 1812, and at the age of 68, he commanded the defenses of Wilmington.

McLane remained in the office as Collector of the Port of Wilmington until his death on May 22, 1829 at age 83. He is buried along with his wife Rebecca at the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware.

Summery and Conclusion

Washington held his spies close to his heart and rarely gave them the spotlight they deserved. In doing so he may have protected them from partisan reprimands during and after the war, but also buried them in secrecy, relying on future historians’ keen eyes to bring their contributions to the surface. As such, with limited evidence of reputable journals, letters of correspondence, and official communicates, it remains difficult to separate fact from fiction – more so when actions are contrived or so embellished as to cast an image of a legendary icon. This article, after a critique examination of available evidence, has concluded the following regarding Allen McLane’s war experience and contribution to the patriotic cause during the American Revolutionary War.

• Allen McLane, from Delaware may have volunteered to fight alongside Virginia’s militia at the Battle of Great Bridge, Sept. 9, 1775, but it is highly unlikely that he did so as a lieutenant in Caesar Rodney’s State militia. A search of Delaware’s military records for 1775 does not refer to Rodney commanding a regiment. It was not until December 1777 in which Rodney was appointed in charge of Delaware’s militia.
• McLane did not join Washington’s army in 1775, nor in 1776 and therefore did not participate in the Battles of Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, or Princeton. McLane’s name does not appear on any military roster of the two regiments from Delaware that joined Washington’s army in 1776 (none were attached to Washington’s army in 1775). These consisted of Colonel John Haslet’s Regiment of State Troops which participated in the fore-mentioned battles, and Colonel Samuel Patterson’s Militia, which was part of the ‘Flying Corps’ under General Hugh Mercer, seeing only one action – a skirmish on Oct. 14, 1776, before the regiment was disbanded and went home. Both Delaware regiments had a complete compliment of officers which did not list McLane’s name. Nor was McLane found as a non-commissioned officer, private, or support staff.
• In the late winter and early spring of 1777, McLane had recruited and outfitted a company of light infantry using some of his own personal funds. This was a Partisan Company consisting of approximately ninety men of both foot and light horse. They were incorporated into one of the newly formed Sixteen Additional Continental Regiments of Foot – Colonel Robert Patton commanding mostly men from Pennsylvania and Delaware. Though assigned to Patton’s regiment, McLane’s company would later serve as a detached unit probing enemy lines and collecting information. Washington’s December 31, 1781 Certificate of Service for McLane which concluded his enlistment, states the beginning of the flamboyant captain’s service as the spring of 1777. There is no mention of any service prior to that.
• McLane fought in the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge, September 3, 1777. McLane’s company was detached to join a light infantry corps consisting of 700 handpicked men from the Continental Army regiments and 1,000 men from Pennsylvania and Delaware militia. They were commanded by Brigadier General William Maxwell of New Jersey. McLane’s men were among the vanguard who first had contact with the enemy.
• McLane fought at the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777. His company most likely remained in Maxwell’s detached corps of light infantry as Brandywine occurred only eight days after Cooch’s Bridge. If so, McLane’s men would have been probing the enemy and were among the first to make contact with the Hessian force attacking the American line from the southeast. McLane would have been in the heat of battle throughout the day as they held the line against the Hessian and British forces while the main British army attacked from the north. If McLane had been returned to Patton’s Regiment, in General Adam Stephen’s Division, he would have been heavily involved in British General Howe’s main attack to the north.
• McLane fought at the Battle of Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777. According to author Christopher Ward, McLane’s company formed the vanguard of Major General Sullivan’s Division, in General Thomas Conway’s column that attacked and first made contact with the enemy. McLane’s actions thereby initiated the battle. Though Ward produced no citations to back up this claim, this researcher has found no evidence to disclaim it.
• During the British occupation of Philadelphia, 1777 – 1778, McLane’s company was detached to probe enemy lines, question those leaving or entering the city, stage raids on enemy supplies and foraging parties, and forage the countryside for the American army. In effect, when not forging for the army at Valley Forge and Wilmington Delaware (he had spent January and February 1778 gathering supplies in Delaware and Maryland) he participated in Washington’s growing corps of intelligence gathering operations.
• Could find no evidence outside Garden’s claim that during McLane’s first night as detached service for Washington, he took in three spies, fifteen British soldiers, and twelve Tories trying to leave the city.
• McLane gained information of British General Howe’s planned surprise attack on the American Army stationed outside Philadelphia in what has labeled the Battle of White Marsh, December 3, 1777. McLane notified Washington of the British advance. His company fired upon Howe’s vanguard, stalling their advance. Howe would remain in the area for three days, skirmishing with Washington’s men, before returning to Philadelphia. Garden added a romantic flare to the event, stating that a female resident of the city slipped by sentries and met with McLane, providing the captain with Howe’s plans to attack. The story was later embellished by early historical authors. McLane briefly acknowledged that he had obtained his intelligence from “my old friend [who] keeps a good look out and provides the best intelligence”; no mention of a female companion.
• During the Battle of White Marsh, Dec. 3, 1777, McLane did not ride to the rescue and save General Joseph Reed’s life. The general was supposedly pinned under his downed horse and was about to be bayoneted when McLane rode in with sword flashing, and drove the enemy back. Cook’s 1956 article mentioned it, as did author Christopher Ward – crediting it to Bradford Reed’s 1847 biography of his grandfather. McLane nor Joseph Reed references the incident in their journals.
• In the Spring of 1778, McLane’s company was supplemented with as many as fifty Oneida warriors. After Burgoyne’s invasion was thwarted with the capture of his army, Washington requested that General Phillip Schuyler send Oneida and Tuscarora warriors to his army outside Philadelphia to aid as scouts. Fifty Oneida arrived on May 15^th and a detachment joined McLane’s company. They would remain with Washington’s army for one month – most returned home in upper-state New York by mid June.
• On the night of May 18, 1778, McLane, nor his company of light horse, rode into Philadelphia flinging kettle bombs to disrupt the Mischianza Ball – thrown in honor of British General William Howe was was to be replaced by General Henry Clinton as supreme commander-in-chief. Elaborations on the story depict the party-goers as thinking the disturbance was part of the act and that McLane miraculously escaped capture by swimming his horse across the Schuylkill River. It seems this gem was the brainchild of Benjamin Lossing, appearing in his 1850 edition of his Field Book on American History. David Ramsay’s 1789 historical account of the war makes no mention of any such disturbance to the ball nor do primary sources.
• May 20^th, 1778, McLane warned General Marquis de Lafayette, commanding a strong forward detachment to maintain a close watch on the enemy, was in jeopardy of having his exposed position attacked. McLane’s advance company attacked British General Grant’s vanguard while Lafayette slipped his men back over the Schuylkill River to safety. Six Oneida warriors were killed during this action.
• June 8, 1778, according to McLane’s Papers, while on duty near British lines, McLane was ambushed by a patrol of infantry and mounted dragoons. McLane wrote that he was chased and turned to fight, killing one and wounding another dragoon before making his escape. Artist James Peale painted three renditions of the incident from 1803 to 1813 as reported to him by McLane.
• When the British abandoned Philadelphia on June 18, 1778, McLane may have been the first to enter the city. Militia scout George Roberts reported to Washington that American Troops had entered the city and that McLane had already captured more than thirty British straggles.
• On June 25^th, seven days after the British departed Philadelphia, McLane did not don a disguise as a farmer and slip past British sentries at Haddenfield, NJ, to meet with Capt. John Andre [hanged two years later as a spy working with Benedict Arnold]; afterwards turning over vital intelligence to Washington. On the 25^th, the British rearguard was no where near Haddenfield (across the Delaware River from Philadelphia), but thirty eight miles north east outside Allentown, NJ.
• McLane fought at the Battle of Monmouth, May 28, 1778. Capt. McLane’s company was part of General Charles Scott’s 1,400 man force of hand picked soldiers from several regiments. They were assigned to closely pursue General Henry Clinton’s army as the British retreated across New Jersey toward New York City. McLane fought in Colonel Greyson’s regiment under Colonel Richard Parker’s detachment. They first made contact with the enemy at morning – retreated when ordered back by Major General Charles Lee, and held the line while Washington came upon the scene, rallied the men, and renewed the attack.
• McLane had not been first to suspect Benedict Arnold took advantage of his position as military commander of Philadelphia after the British left. Arnold was court-martialed in 1779 for enriching himself while in office. But McLane may have been the first to suspect that Arnold had been compromised by the enemy – earning a reprimand from Washington.
• July 22, 1778, McLane’s company was still officially part of Patton’s Regiment and was transferred from the 4^th Virginia Brigade to the Highland Department north of New York City.
• December 16, 1778, Capt. McLane’s company was transferred to the 1^st Delaware Regiment under Colonel David Hull in the 3^rd Virginia Brigade. Patton’s Regiment ceased to exist on Jan. 13, 1779 – most of the men (minus McLane’s company) were consolidated with Colonel Hartley’s Additional Continental Regiment for the new 11^th Pennsylvania.
• July 13, 1779, McLane’s company was officially transferred to Major Henry ‘Light Horse Harry’ Lee’s Legion as the 4^th dismounted troops. They had already been serving with Lee’s Legion and would remain in the Highlands Division.
• July 3 – 16, 1779. McLane’s company along with Lee’s Legion (later officially transferred to Lee’s Corps) scouted the Stony Point region along the Hudson River including the British garrison. Prior to the July 16^th midnight bayonet attack by General Anthony Wayne’s force that took the fort, McLane, under a flag of truth, gained access to the Fort at Stony Point and noted British manpower and defenses. He did so as an American soldier and not in a ‘cloak and dagger’ disguise as a back-country ‘bumkin’ to fool the British. McLane simply wrote that he had entered the fort under a flag of truth by orders of Washington to escort Mrs. Smith to see her son (a Tory stationed in the fort).
• August 16 – 19, 1779, Battle of Paulus Hook, New Jersey. McLane’s men took an active part in the British Fort’s attack, successfully gaining important intelligence prior to storming the fort at the point of bayonet. Colonel Henry Lee commanded the assault, however in his report, he failed to mention his officers, taking all the credit.
• Lee and McLane had a falling out. Both had inflated egos that frequently clashed. McLane was upset that after Paulus Hook, Lee failed to report his contribution. Also, which proved incorrect, McLane believed that Lee had thwarted his request for promotion.
• Oct. 4, 1779. McLane had moved his family to Philadelphia and was present during the ‘Fort Wilson’ affair. He reported on the mob of citizens and militiamen who attacked several accused corrupt merchants and businessmen who had armed themselves and took refuge in lawyer James Wilson’s home.
• There is no documentation that directly supported that Washington was so cognizant of the dispute between Lee and McLane, that in early 1780, he sent McLane south to join General Lincoln’s forces at Charleston. Also that McLane had barely missed capture when the city fell to General Clinton. McLane had written to Lee in January 1780 from Philadelphia. Lee wrote to McLane early in June 1780 ordering that he travel to New Jersey where Lee was forming a new and enlarged Legion of Horse. Lee instructed McLane not to stop at Maryland in route. This may be evidence that McLane had gone south for a spell prior to being summoned back north.
• On November 1, 1780, McLane remained in the Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware region while Major Lee marched his newly enlarged Legion of horse south to join the southern army under Major General Nathanael Greene. Though McLane was still assigned to Lee’s Corps, his 4^th Troop of horse remained north to recruit and re-provision Lee’s corps.
• January 20, 1781, McLane wrote from Wilmington, Delaware a triumphant note that he received permission to get out from under Lee’s trap and join von Steuben’s forces in Virginia.
• McLane’s time with von Steuben was short-lived for Washington wrote that in February, 1781, barely a month since McLane penned his Jan. 20^th note stating he was to report to von Steuben, McLane retired on half pay.
• In July, 1781, Washington sent McLane on board the Congress to carry dispatches to French Admiral de Grasse, whose fleet was positioned in the Caribbean and Haiti. Several sources state that McLane was detailed in his presentation, helping to convince de Grasse to abandon his plan to attack Jamaica and sail to the Chesapeake Bay to help box in Cornwallis’ troops in Virginia.

• While in route back to report to Washington, on September the Congress fell in with the British sloop-of-war Savage, about thirty miles from Charleston. McLane commanded the marines on board who laid down a devastating small arms fire that helped to clear the enemy’s deck and aid in the surrender of the Savage.
• McLane’s last service to the American cause occurred after he had returned from the Caribbean.
• Sometime in September, several primary accounts confirm that McLane was sent by the Board of War to Sandy Hook, New Jersey. McLane was to observe British shipping and troop movements in preparations to aide Cornwallis at Yorktown. While there, he contacted members of Washington’s ‘Culper Ring’, the intelligence gathering network within New York City. James Rivington, the King’s Publisher and contracted American spy, supplied McLane with the British Signal book and codes. McLane delivered this information to de Grasse.

McLane is listed on the CIA website for his work in disguise. Some historians refer to him simply as legendary. Some believe his work as a spymaster was pivotal in the American win. Local Delaware historian Kim R. Burdick called him “the closest thing to a Delaware version of Zorro.”

All in all, remove the clandestine disguises behind British lines, the countless saber slashes and miraculous rescues, female encounters late at night, Herculean one man battles against incredible odds, financial benefactor of the American cause, and what you have left is a very good soldier who saw his duty in so many situations, and did it. Superhero no, but another of so many ‘regular’ patriots dedicated to a cause he truly believed in. One who had been buried in a history chock full of founding father legends. No need to add him to the list of untouchable icons that abound out text books and clog the internet with misinformation. Jest remember and thank Allen McLane as one who saw his duty and did it well. End of story.

Want to learn more about Washington’s intelligence corps and McLane’s Legion commander Light Horse Harry Lee? Preview these books on Amazon

Further Reading in Revolutionary War Journal

Battle of Whitemarsh: Washington Dogged a Bullet

American Light Dragoons and Partisan Corps in the Revolutionary War

Midnight Bayonets at Stony Point: “If the Cause Was Worth Fighting For, Men Must Fight.”

Battle of Germantown Part 1

Battle of Germantown – Part 2

The 1776 List of Battles and Skirmishes of the American Revolution in Chronological Order

Colonel Thomas Knowlton: Fearless Ranger of the American Revolution

African American Dragoon John Redman

Battle of Lenud’s Ferry: Tarleton’s Continuous Attack on American Cavalry

Battle of Moncks Corner

Battle of Waxhaws: Tarleton’s Quarter

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Cecere, Michael. Wedded to My Sword, Biography of Henry ‘Lighthorse’ Harry Lee. 2012: Heritage Books, Southampton, Mass.

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