Colonel Otho Williams (March 1, 1749 – July 15, 1794) Intelligent, diligent to duty, and honest; his was somewhat a ‘rags to riches’ life. An orphan who apprenticed as a clerk, he rose in the ranks of the rebellious army to lead Continental troops during the American Revolution’s most critical period in the south. He was always in the thick of some of the most desperate fighting in the war’s bloodiest battles against British might.
Captured early in the war, he was exchanged in time to participate at the Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778). But his mark in history began when he was given command of the Continental Maryland 6th Regiment. Along with Delaware Continentals, they were considered the cream of the American Army. When British General Clinton invaded the south, February 1780, Maryland and Delaware Continentals were ordered in April of 1780 to reinforce the southern army. Their march was a long and arduous trek upon which they had to forge for all their food and grain.
He had risen the ranks early because of his keen organizational skills and meticulous attention to regulations and discipline. But it was leading men in battle, showing a cool demeanor and skillful command of his men while under fire that demonstrated that he was one of the American army’s finest officers. Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, the Race to the Dan, Hobkirk, Ninety-Six, and the last major battle of the far south, Eutaw Springs (considered the bloodiest with the highest percentage of casualties of the war); all he performed brilliantly. And at the close of war, when General Greene sent him north with dispatches to Congress, on May 9, 1782, he was promoted to brigadier general.
Early Life
Third generation Otho Holland Williams (his great-grandparents had emigrated from Wales), was one of 7 children (five daughters and two sons). He was born on March 1, 1749 in Prince George’s County, Maryland, to Joseph Williams and Prudence Holland; the couple having married in 1734. In 1762, the family leased land as tenant farmers at Manor Limestone Hill, once owned by Lord Baltimore, at the mouth of the Conecocheague River, a tributary of the Potomac and near present-cay Williamsport (incorporated by Otho Williams after the war that still bears his name). Note: Otho would purchase the farm after the war and eventually it became his son Edward Greene Williams who then named it Springfield Farm.
His father and mother died in 1764, both at the age of 45. According to early biographer Osmond Tiffany, who is quoted often in text books and multiple internet articles, Otho was thirteen at their death; however, born in 1749, he would have been fifteen. So too, Tiffany states that Otho was left in the care of his brother-in-law, Mr. Ross. [Often secondary sources incorrectly state he was the father’s brother-in-law]. But George Ross did not marry Otho’s oldest sister Mercy until 1768. It is most-likely that when fifteen-year-old Otho’s parents died, he apprenticed to be a clerk under George Ross of Frederick, Maryland. As such, he probably lived with him during that time; Ross being the future husband of his sister.
Otho continued his apprenticeship with Ross until eighteen years of age, whereas in 1767 he moved to Baltimore to carry on his profession. This occurred a year before Ross married Mercy, Otho’s oldest sister. According to early biographers, Otho had taken over Ross’ clerking business before leaving for Baltimore. That seems highly unlikely. He had only apprenticed a couple years and Ross was seeking a wife and family and would need to keep the business to support them. Ross died after only three years of marriage to Mercy, in 1771. We know Otho returned to Frederick to clerk and in all probability, did so to manage the clerking business after Ross’ death.
Enlists as Lieutenant of in Price’s Independent Rifle Company
Congress called for enlistments in a Continental Army on June 14, 1775; this after the outbreak of war at Lexington and Concord; April 19, 1775. Otho Williams enlisted on June 21, 1775 as a 1st Lieutenant in fellow Fredrick County resident Captain Thomas Price’s Independent Rifle Company of Maryland. The company ws comprised of 1 captain, 3 lieutenants, 4 sergeants, 4 corporal, and 71 privates. Fredrick County covered the entire western portion of Maryland which at that time was frontier. Maryland’s two rifle companies, the other commanded by Capt. Michael Cresap, marched for Boston on July 18, 1775 and arrived at Cambridge on the 9th of August. The company would see no action during the Siege of Boston.
Six feet tall, high forehead, piercing eyes and strong jaw; dressed in an immaculately uniform Williams epitomized a commanding presence; perfect officer material. When on January 14, 1776, Captain Price was promoted to major and transferred to the newly authorized Maryland Regiment under Col. William Smallwood, Otho was the natural choice to take his place. On March 15, 1775, Price’s company with now Captain Williams in command, marched to join the growing American force at New York City, reaching there on March 28th. The riflemen mainly engaged in outpost duty on Statin Island with occasion assignments with the main army on Manhattan Island.
The enlistments of the rifle companies expired in June, 1776. On June 17, Congress authorized that the three original remaining rifle companies be supplemented with six new companies (two from Maryland and four from Virginia). The fourth rifle company was Daniel Morgan’s riflemen who, on December 31, 1775, failed in their attack on Quebec resulting in Morgan’s capture. This new force was to become a regiment within the same organization as a 1st Continental Regiment. Called the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, Colonel Hugh Stephenson commanded with Lt. Colonel Moses Rawlings as second and Major Otho Holland Williams. Instread of one year, enlistments would last three years.
Fort Washington and Capture
While the new regiment was being formed, Otho, along with the other two companies remained at their posting in Statin Island. The combined number of the companies was greatly reduced by expired enlistments; only forty of the original 240 men signed up again. When the British invaded New York, making Statin Island a base of operations, the companies moved to New Jersey. Their activity in New Jersey during this time is sketchy. Some would have been posted at Fort Lee, while others may have joined the Flying Corps under General Hugh Mercer. Also, during this period, Otho may have been one of the officers who returned during the summer to assist in recruiting the new regiment.
The recruited companies arrived at various times and were stationed at Fort Lee, New Jersey. On October 31, 1776, Major General Nathanael Greene ordered the regiment across the river to Fort Washington. By November 7, 1776, the regiment, minus some elements still in transit, were serving at the fort’s garrison on the northern end of Manhattan Island along the Hudson River. By November 14th, with additional units arriving, the regiment had 293 rank and file and with additional officers, numbering it just over 300.
The regiment’s commander, Colonel Hugh Stephenson, had died from illness earlier that year and was led by its lieutenant colonel, Moses Rawlings. When General Clinton attacked on November 16, 1776, the rifle company tenaciously defended the northern portion of the fort’s exterior. Their grove-bored rifle’s accuracy caused many casualties upon the assaulting Hessians who had a steep incline to reach the fort. Due to the Germans’ determination and superior numbers, the riflemen were driven back into the fort. Attacked on all sides and no hope of reinforcements, the garrison’s commander, Colonel Robert Magaw, was forced to surrender. Nearly 3,000 soldiers were taken into custody. Of Otho’s regiment, 22 officers and 219 rank and file were made prisoners. The officers were paroled and later exchanged. However, the privates and non-commissioned officers awaited a different fate. They were left to languish in captivity in provost jails; many dying of disease and malnutrition aboard the rotting hulk HMS Jersey, anchored in New York’s harbor as a prison ship.
Parole, Imprisonment, and Exchange
Because of his rank as major, Williams was paroled to have free realm of New York City while he awaited the exchange of a British or German officer of similar rank. Accordingly, supported by early 19th century secondary sources that remain suspect, he was accused by a British officer of breaking his parole by communicating among those with connections to General Washington. He was then confined in one of the provost prisons, a former sugar warehouse, until his exchange was enacted. This became possible in early 1778 after British General John Burgoyne surrendered his army at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, allowing a pool of officers of similar rank for exchange. Williams was exchanged in early March, 1778, reportedly for Major Acland, who had been captured during the Battle of Bemis Heights, part of the Saratoga campaign.
Many texts and internet articles state that Otho Williams had befriended Major John Dyke Acland while he was a prisoner on parole in New York City. This is untrue; originating in early 19th century romanticism. Acland was not in New York City during William’s imprisonment. He and his 20th Regiment of Foot sailed directly to Quebec, Canada in 1776 to join Sir Guy Carleton as reinforcements against the 1775 American invasion. He remained in Canada with General John Burgoyne and joined the flamboyant general in his invasion of New York in 1777. He was captured after having been wounded at Bemis Heights and allowed parole to return to England. Though secondary accounts claim he was exchanged for Williams, questions remain. Acland was still on parole in October, 1778, six months after William’s was exchanged. So too, he was still on parole after the duel in which he later died; not from wounds received, but from a chill that later developed into a fever that claimed his life.
According to author John Beakes, who wrote a recent biography on Williams, it was while in prison that Otho contacted tuberculosis that affected him throughout the remainder of his life, leading to his early death at age 45. However, this remains an assumption, a common theme throughout internet articles and in this case, not verified by any primary source. A quick study of Otho Williams family heritage shows both his parents died at age 45, as did several of William’s siblings who succumbed to illness in their mid-forties. According to advances in research, tuberculosis (TB) can be hereditary. For example, Professor Karl Pearson’s 1907’s A First Study of the Statistics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis suggests that heredity is a leading factor in TB, and that first or second children are more likely to inherit constitutional tendencies and defects than later born children. More recently, studies have confirmed that only a small fraction of individuals exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis develop clinical tuberculosis (TB). Over the past century, epidemiological studies have shown that human genetic factors contribute significantly to this interindividual variability.
Commissioned Colonel of the Maryland 6th Regiment and Monmouth
While Williams was still a captive on parole in New York City, he had been assigned as colonel of the 6th Maryland and joined his regiment stationed in New Jersey. When preparing to accept the leadership of his regiment, rumors of the unit’s condition reached its new commander. On March 16, 1778 Williams wrote to Maryland’s Governor Thomas Johnson, the first governor of the 1776 State Constitution: “ I have not been able to obtain a state of the regiment which I expect the horror to command, but from the best information, learn there is not above a hundred effective men with Lieutenant Colonel Ford, and that those are very indifferently clothed.” He added a note concerning recruitment, “I heartily desire to join the army as soon as possible, but certainly it had better be reinforced by a regiment without a colonel, than by a colonel without a regiment.”
Arriving at his command, Williams found a regiment of around 100 rank and file. They had been reduced after previous campaigns at Brandywine and Germantown, plus expired enlistments and furloughs during the 1777-1778 winter. Of the men, discipline and hygiene was at its lowest, having been loosely managed. Williams, a stickler for military decorum, quickly whipped it into shape in time for the Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778).
At the Battle of Monmouth, Otho’s 6th Maryland remained in reserve and did not see action that day. Several internet articles and texts are incorrect in stating they did so. The 6th was combined with the Maryland 2nd and 4th, comprising the 2nd Maryland Brigade. Along with six other brigades, the 2nd Brigade formed General Nathanael Greene’s Division. Note: Colonel Mordecai Gist would not command the 2nd Maryland Brigade until he was commissioned a brigadier in 1779. At Monmouth, he led the 3rd Maryland Regiment in the 1st Maryland Brigade under Brigadier General William Smallwood.
Washington’s main body had reached the Tennent’s Meeting House, about two miles east of Englishtown. After Major General Lee’s retreat of his advance division, Washington ordered Major General Greene’s division to remain in reserve to cover the American right flank. Greene positioned his troops by Old Monmouth Road to the rear of the Monmouth Court House to protect the right flank from being turned.
General Cornwallis commanded an attack on the American right and Greene was ordered to advance one brigade to Combs Hill to cover the American artillery under Colonel Plessis (the skillful engineer at the Battle of Red Bank – Oct. 22, 1777). Greene chose William Woodford’s Brigade of four Virginia Regiments, including four guns, to accompany him. Otho’s brigade remained in reserve while Woodford’s brigade aided the artillery in raking the attacking British, causing large casualties and Cornwallis to call off the assault. The rest of Greene’s division remained behind the lines, sitting on arms; ready for any further attacks on the right.
Recruiting and Ordered South
The next near two years Williams recruited and built his regiment up to what would be considered full strength for the American Army. A British regiment’s full strength was ten companies of one hundred regulars plus officers. The 6th Maryland Regiment that Williams commanded, by Sept. 18, 1779 totaled 354 men of all ranks. Colonel Otho Holland Williams, Lt. Colonel Benjamin Ford, Major Henry Hardman, with six captains, eleven lieutenants (that included adjunct and quartermaster), surgeon, twenty-two sergeants, twenty-two corporals, fourteen musicians (drummers and fifers), and two Hundred and Seventy-five privates.
After Savannah, Georgia fell in 1779 and a successful defense of the city from a French/American force, plus the stale-mate in the north, Commander-in-Chief General Henry Clinton decided the south was ripe for invasion; reports of large numbers of loyalists willing to join the British aided in his decision. In February, 1780, Clinton personally led a large invasion force south of Charleston, South Carolina and began a siege of the city and the American southern army. Washington had already sent nearly 2,000 troops south to reinforce commanding General Benjamin Lincoln; North Carolina militia and the entire Virginia Line of Continentals.
In April, he augmented this by ordering the two Maryland Brigades and the Delaware Brigade south, the best his army had to offer. The regiments were divided into two brigades; the 1st Maryland under Brigadier General William Smallwood, to which Howard was assigned, and the 2nd Maryland along with the Delaware Regiment, commanded by Brigadier General Mordecai Gist. This force of Continentals were led by Prussian Major General Jean Baron de Kalb who appointed Williams as deputy adjunct. The reinforcements with Williams at the head of his 6th Regiment, departed Morristown, New Jersey, on April 16, 1780 to begin a long and difficult march to Charleston. But by the time they arrived in Virginia, General Benjamin Lincoln had already surrendered his entire army – largest of the war – 5,000 troops, (May 12, 1780) including the newly arrived Virginia Line. De Kalb’s Continentals, still under orders to reinforce the southern army, carried on.
They arrived at Hillsborough in northern North Carolina on June 22, 1780. From there, De Kalb continued his march south, departing on July 1, 1780. The worn-down troops treaded mile after mile in the heat of summer. With little or no food to be found along the route, it became a near nightmare. By the time they arrived at Deep River, North Carolina, nearly ninety miles north east of Charlotte, North Carolina, they were famished. It was there, on July 25th, that Major General Horatio Gates, the hero of Saratoga and the darling of Congress, had arrived to take command of what was left of the southern army, mainly North and South Carolina militia and Continental units and dragoons that had avoided capture, which included De Kalb’s reinforcements. And he lost no time in preparing a march into South Carolina and what would soon decimate his command.
Battle of Camden
As far as seeing to all the necessary paperwork and organizational needs of an army, few officers surpassed General Gates. So too he favored strong defensive positions which forced his enemy to attack him. At Saratoga he did just that and only after General Benedict Arnold and men like General Edward Hand and Colonel Daniel Morgan forced him to pry loose some of his men, was victory achieved against British General John Burgoyne. Now, Gates was seeking to do the same. His goal was to set up a strong defensive line outside of Camden, a strong British outpost and supply depot. This would force the southern British army’s commander General Charles Cornwallis to leave his post at Charleston and march his army 125 miles to Camden in the heat of summer.
Gates was obstinate, confident that he always knew best he ignored all suggestions from local commanders. Having previous rejected the use of Continental dragoons and militia horsemen to act as scouts and guides (he had sent away the skillful ‘Swamp Fox’ Marion) he marched his worn-down, hungry troops through hostile loyalist territory already picked clean of forage by previous campaigns. On August 15, 1780, nearing Camden, he ordered a night march, eager to begin setting up his defensive position. Unknown to him, the entire British army was less than 12 miles away, marching directly towards him. So too, Cornwallis ordered a night march. Gates was shocked when the two armies collided in the dead of night and pulled back to plan for the next day’s battle.
Gate’s battle plan was doomed the moment he ordered his men on the line. He was confident of victory for he had the superior number of men. But most of his command were green militia, whereas Cornwallis led battle hardened regular veterans, many fighting against the Americans since Bunker Hill in 1775. And as proven in battle after battle, militia, when facing British bayonets, do what they do best, they panic. And at Camden, as soon as the British line advanced toward Gate’s right, made up entirely by militia, they threw down their firelocks and ‘ran like the devil,’ many all the way back to Hillsborough, North Carolina. And of course, in their lead, racing on the fastest horse he could find, was the army’s commander, General Gates, making Hillsborough, 180 miles distant, in two days! Unheard of at that time.
General De Kalb, his Continentals, and one company of North Carolina posted next to the Delaware Regiment remained to fight Cornwallis’ entire army. The Maryland 2nd Brigade, to which Otho Williams’ sixth regiment was stationed, faced the brunt of the British charge. The veteran Continentals not only beat them off with volley after volley, but when De Kalb ordered them to charge, they drove the redcoats back. But the odds were against De Kalb’s men. Cornwallis had too many troops. And with the entire right wing having vanished, the Continentals were being enveloped on the flanks.
De Kalb, heavily wounded, he would by the end of the battle receive eleven, bullets and bayonet thrusts, ordered the Maryland 1st Brigade to advance in support. But by then the British were in De Kalb’s rear and the Maryland 1st could not get to De Kalb. Otho William’s regiment stood beside their commander and continued to fight, withstanding volley after volley while men continued to drop all around. Finally ,with the battle having raged for about an hour, Cornwallis ordered the coup de grace. Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton took his Loyalist Legion and swooped around the Continentals’ rear and attacked viciously. The game was up. The surviving Continentals broke as individuals and in small groups and raced for the dense woods and swamps, leaving their dying General De Kalb on the field.
It is here too that Otho Williams demonstrated his strength as a commander. He, along with other officers, gathered what men they could and effected an organized retreat into the woods. General Gist had 100 men with him. Otho would report later that Major Archibald Anderson escaped with around fifty men. So too Colonel John Eager Howard of the 1st Maryland Brigade and Delaware leader Captain Robert Kirkwood gathered what men they could and made their escape. In all, nearly half the Continentals who fought that day avoided death or capture. However, the rest remained behind. Otho later lamented that “many fine fellows lay on the field.”
After Camden, Otho Williams Put in Charge of Piecing Together the Continentals
As Gate’s Adjunct General, Williams was in charge of supplying and reorganizing the army’s remains. He was also given command what was left of the Maryland and Delaware Continentals who assembled at Hillsborough. The men were formed into a single regiment of two battalions (1st and 2nd) and two light infantry companies. Officers were commanded to adhere to all regimental rules and duties and to be firm administrators in dealing with their men.
Williams was meticulous and micromanaged all activity in the camp, requiring his officers to follow through with his expectations set in writing. He kept an Orderly Book from September 13, 1780 to February 10, 1781 that detailed the day’s orders and activities. A quick study shows just how demanding he was. The regiment was paraded three times every day; morning, noon, and at retreat. It also listed court-martials which were numerous. Infractions were dealt with swiftly and often severely. Williams did not shy from the lash. Negligence to duty or thievery received twenty-five to fifty lashes. dealt with that day at retreat. Desertion received 100 lashes with combined violations could see up to 200 lashes.
Besides the strict regulator, Williams was also particular in seeing to the needs of his men. His order book is filled with distributions of shirts, trousers, shoes, blankets, cooking needs, and other supplies that increased moral and nutrition. Sickness received compassionate care and hospital supplies were provided when available. During this period, of reforming, Williams strident management whipped the men into shape and gave the struggling army a sense of purpose and hope. And when two of America’s best commanders showed up to take charge, Otho handed them an army of revitalized veterans and battle experienced partisan militia.
Competent Commanders, Cowpens, and Rest of the War
Daniel Morgan was finally promoted to brigadier and showed up at Hillsborough, soon to be followed by the new commander of the southern army. Major General Greene arrived on December 3, 1780 and immediately set in motion plans to march south to confront the British. He divided his army in two, ordering Morgan, with militia and the Maryland and Delaware Continentals that had been combined into one strong regiment. Cornwallis learned of this and so too split his force, sending his go-to officer after Morgan. Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton, known for his aggressive pursuits and swift attacks, took his Loyalist Legion and all of Cornwallis’ light infantry including the famed 71st Highlanders; a formidable force. The two forces collided on January 17, 1781, at an old holding ground for cattle; Cowpens.
Morgan used Tarleton’s style of ‘attack first and plan later’ to his advantage, setting up three lines of defense; each one stronger than the previous. And when the depleted and exhausted British reached the third line, they came up against the Continental regiment of hardened fighters. Otho commanded his Marylanders of the Continental line; however, the overall command of the veteran regulars was given to fellow Marylander, Colonel John Eager Howard, another level-headed leader in battle. The result was the complete annihilation of Tarleton’s troops. Only two hundred dragoons from his Legion escaped with Tarleton, the rest were either left on the field or held captive.
Williams continued his position as adjunct general under Greene. So too, Greene relied on Williams for critical assignments while the southern army carried on a wild goose chase with Cornwallis; who, after Cowpens, was more determined than ever to bring the Americans to battle. Williams took on the all-important role of rear guard as Greene kept one step ahead of the British. In what has been called ‘the Race to the Dan,’ Greene wove a northern path through North Carolina, wearing down the British army by endless miles of crossing rivers and trapsing through swamps and dense woods. In early March, 1781, Greene crossed the Dan River into Virginia. An exhausted Cornwallis weighed his options. But Greene, bolstered by reinforcements, returned to North Carolina.
On March 15, 1781, Cornwallis got the battle he sought, but results not to his liking. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse was similar to Cowpens. Like Tarleton, Cornwallis had to fight through three lines of defense, each one stronger than the previous with the veteran line of Continentals last. Williams’ Continentals held the line and even charged forward, driving the British back. The battle came down to intense hand-to-hand fighting in which the Americans were besting the redcoats. Cornwallis’ faced this critical point in the struggle and ordered his artillery to fire grape shot into the melee, that included both rebels and British regulars. The horrific blast left a bloody carpet of dead and dying, upon which Greene decided to withdraw his men. Though Cornwallis won the battle, he suffered severely, leaving a good portion of his troops in the field; men he could ill afford to lose.
Cornwallis decided to give up the south and march into Virginia to team up with British forces that had invaded earlier that summer. General Greene left Cornwallis to the northern army and headed back south into South Carolina where British Lord Rawdon commanded the remaining outposts scattered throughout the deep south. Though Greene continued to lose battles, he won the war of attrition. Williams continued to lead his Maryland Continentals in the thick of the fight;. at the Battle of Hobkirk’s (April 25, 1781), the Siege of Ninety-Six (May 22 – June 18, 1781), multiple skirmishes with British regulars and loyalist partisans, and finally, considered the bloodiest battle of the entire war, Battle of Eutaw Springs (September 8, 1781).
Eutaw Springs; a blood bath that saw one of every two British who fought that day a casualty – one of every three Americans fell victim to the carnage. At a critical moment in the battle, Greene famously ordered, “Let Williams advance and sweep the field with his bayonets.” Williams promptly obeyed. The field was swept, but the ground, layered in stilled and struggling bodies, was proof the action was dearly bought. After Cornwallis surrendered his army at Yorktown, September 28, 1781, the war was basically over. However, not so in Westchester, New York (where loyalist cowboys still roamed through a no-man’s-land) and in the Carolinas where a civil war between loyalists and whig patriots still raged. In this, Williams continued to lead his continentals. And when General Greene ordered Williams to ride to Congress with dispatches, on May 9, 1782, Williams was promoted to brigadier general.
After the War
Williams returned home to Maryland after the war and settled in Baltimore. With previous clerking experience and organizational skills honed by years of war in which he was an adjunct, Williams was appointed Commissioner of Port Baltimore by Maryland’s third Governor William Paca. When George Washington became president, the position was renewed with Williams at its head. He would serve as port commissioner of Baltimore until his death. Thirty-seven-year-old Williams married twenty-two-year-old Mary Smith in 1786, second daughter of William Smith, a wealthy merchant. Otho used his money wisely and purchased several properties in and around Baltimore, establishing a large estate with many servants. In 1787, he bought the tenant farm his father had worked. Known as Springfield Farm, it did not receive that title until after Otho’s death, owned by his son Edward Greene Williams who gave it the name.
Though Otho kept a residence in Baltimore, he had ambitions for the farm and the immediate region. He improved the farm and laid out the town of Williamsport, bearing his name some eighty miles west and slightly north of Baltimore along the Potomac River. After Washington was inaugurated president on April 30, 1789, the government began seeking a site for the nation’s capital. Otho thought what better place than Williamsport and wrote to Washington in November, 1790. He pitched his idea and included a map of the town. Washington thought highly of Williams and visited Williams to discuss his plans.
Death
By 1792, Williams was suffering from poor health. When Washington offered him the position of Brigadier General of the American Army, placing him second in command, he turned it down due to poor health. As mentioned earlier in this article, Williams was suffering from tuberculosis. The question remains whether he acquired the respiratory disease from his time as a captive in New York City, or if it was hereditary; his parents and many of his siblings dying in their mid-forties.
In the summer of 1794, Williams was traveling to Sweet Springs, Virginia (presently West Virginia), about 225 miles distant. Colonials, especially those of long illnesses, frequented the hot mineral springs in the hills just west of the Shenandoah Valley, seeking the water’s medicinal value. Traveling the old wagon road through the valley with his entourage of servants, upon reaching Woodstock, seventy or so miles into his trip, Williams became too ill to continue. He died on Tuesday, July 15, 1794. His body was carted the family plot in Williamsport and laid near his mother and father at the Riverview Cemetery – established by Otho Williams; his mother and father the first to be laid to rest. His wife Mary would die the following year leaving their four young sons to be cared for by Mary’s father, William Smith in Baltimore.
19th Century Romantic Tales Concerning Otho’s Imprisonment Parroted by Historical Texts and Internet
There is much disinformation concerning Otho William’s life and particularly his captivity in New York City. Osmond Tiffany, Williams’ early 19th century biographer, spun a romantic tale of incredible fiction when describing Otho’s time while on parole in New York City. Over the years, the conjured telling of Otho’s captivity has been parroted as fact by historical texts and most particularly, several articles on the internet.
According to Tiffany, Otho was wounded in the groin during the capture of Fort Washington. This writer could find no primary source to substantiate he was wounded during the battle.
Tiffany describe in detail a friendship between captive Otho Williams and Major Acland (commonly misspelled as Ackland) that occurred while Williams was on parole in New York City. According to Tiffany, they dined in exquisite homes in New York City and attended fabulous balls together along with Lady Acland. This did not occur and was totally fabricated. Major John Acland and his wife Lady Acland left England for the war in America in April, 1776, but it was not to New York City, but directly to Canada. Colonel Acland led the 20th Regiment of Foot in the relief of Quebec from American forces led by Benedict Arnold. Soon after Acland arrived, his regiment had joined Sir Guy Carlson’s troops to drive the Americans out of Canada. He and his troops spent the 1776-1777 winter in Canada. Major Acland and his 20th Regiment of Foot participated in General John Burgoyne’s invasion of New York in 1777. He was wounded and captured by the Americans, but given parole to return to England.
Tiffany described in detail the 1778 duel in England that Acland fought for American honor, having befriended Williams. He states that Acland was shot and killed during the duel. It occurred in 1778 while Acland was still on parole. He was not shot in the head as so too parroted by texts and internet sites. And the duel had nothing to do with any manufactured friendship with Williams. Acland, a hardened Tory before the war, softened towards Americans over their kind treatment during his captivity, allowing Lady Acland into the American camp to nurse him to health. A disagreement with a fellow officer over Americans in general led to a defense of honor resulting in the duel. But neither combatant was injured. The weather was poor during the duel and later, Acland fell ill with fever, dying as the result.
Tiffany stated that Williams was exchanged for Major Acland. However, Acland gave his parole in early 1778 so he and his wife could return to England. He was still on parole when he caught a chill during his duel with another English gentleman and later died.
Lastly, Tiffany wrote that Otho Williams cell partner was famed self-promoting and former Green Mountain Boy (before his men voted him out) Ethan Allen. There is no primary source verifying this ever occurred. Allen’s universe rotated around him. After he was captured for an inept bungling of trying to capture Montreal, and a short spell in England and Ireland, he ended up in New York City on parole. The world had moved on. Allen was forgotten. But Allen could nor would allow this to happen. He wondered the taverns and disorderly houses of New York, forever seeking an audience to bolster himself. Playing the martyr, his self-inflated biography after had him suffering while confined in prison. However, his is the only primary source that places him in a prison in New York City. Other primary sources have him on parole and free reign of the city until he is exchanged. Neither Otho Williams nor Ethan Allen in his self-promoting fictional he wrote after the war spoke of any companionship while confined to a cell room.
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