Matthias Ogden (October 22, 1754 – March 31, 1791) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and served in various political positions afterwards.

Family

Matthias Ogden was a son of Robert Ogden, a lawyer and public official, and Phebe (Hatfield) Ogden. Robert was politically prominent, serving as the speaker of the

New Jersey Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

on the eve of the American Revolution. The family had deep roots in New Jersey: John Ogden had built a house in Elizabeth in 1664 after having moved from Long Island, where he had settled in 1640 from Hampshire, England. Matthias attended the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

) as did his younger brother,

Aaron Ogden Aaron Ogden (December 3, 1756April 19, 1839) was an American soldier, lawyer, United States Senator and the fifth governor of New Jersey. Ogden is perhaps best known today as the complainant in '' Gibbons v. Ogden'' which destroyed the monopoly ...

. His sister Rhoda was married to

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...

's uncle, Timothy Edwards. Burr and Matthias grew up together in the Edwards household and attended Princeton together.

Revolutionary war

The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec December 31 1775

After the outbreak of hostilities between the

American colonists The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

and the British authorities in 1775, Ogden went along as a gentleman-volunteer on

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

's march to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, joined by his cousin

. Ogden participated in the assault on that city, and was wounded in the Battle of Quebec on December 31, 1775. In a 1786 painting of the Battle of Quebec,

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Re ...

inaccurately depicted Ogden in place of Burr, holding General

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...

as he died. Due to his own injuries, Ogden was not actually present at Montgomery's death, according to Ogden's journal of the expedition. Ogden was named lieutenant colonel of the First New Jersey Battalion in March 1776, serving under Colonel William Winds. At the age of 22, he became colonel of the newly reorganized

1st New Jersey Regiment The 1st New Jersey Regiment was the first organized militia regiment in New Jersey, formed in 1673 in Piscataway "to repel foreign Indians who come down from upper Pennsylvania and western New York (in the summer) to our shores and fill (themse ...

on January 1, 1777, after Silas Newcomb resigned the position. In 1779, he was a defendant in a court martial in which Isaac Morrison testified. Ogden was captured by the British at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in November 1780. He was released in a prisoner exchange. In September 1781, Ogden conceived a plan to capture Prince William Henry (later King William IV). The plan received Washington's approval, and was to be effected in March 1782, but had to be abandoned. Ogden was granted military leave by Congress in April 1783 to visit Europe, in order to secure business relations with the French. While there, he was awarded the honor ''le droit du tabouret'' by King Louis XVI. Ogden brought back news of the 1783 Treaty of Paris upon his return to America. He was brevetted to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

by Congress in September 1783, and was described by one historian as a "brave and gallant soldier." Ogden's leadership role was featured prominently by historian William M. Fowler in ''An American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years after Yorktown, 1781–1783''.

Postwar

After the war, Ogden was a founding member of The

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

in the state of New Jersey, and a member of the state's legislative council (1785). He was one of the agents entrusted with the minting of new state coinage for New Jersey, the "Jersey horsehead" pennies.New Jersey Coppers 1786-1790
/ref> The coins, which depicted a horse's head and plow, symbols taken from the coat of arms/ Seal of New Jersey, on one side, and a "Union" shield taken from the Great Seal of the United States, on the reverse, were produced in a number of locations. Ogden operated his mint in Elizabethtown. In the 1789 presidential election, Ogden was an elector for New Jersey. Ogden was married to Hannah Dayton, a daughter of Elias Dayton. They had a son, Francis Barber Ogden (1783–1857), who was named after fellow Jersey Continental officer and in-law, Francis Barber, who was married to Matthias' sister, Mary. Ogden died of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

in Elizabethtown on March 31, 1791 at the age of 36.

References

Sources

*Malone, Dumas, editor. ''Dictionary of American Biography.'' *Wheeler, William Ogden. ''The Ogden Family in America''. *Virtual American Biographies: Robert Ogden

External links

Website of recreated Colonel Ogden's 1st New Jersey RegimentWebsite of New Jersey Historical SocietyWalking the Berkshires: A blog by an Ogden descendant exploring family and national history

The Society of the Cincinnati

American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogden, Matthias 1754 births 1791 deaths Continental Army officers from New Jersey Politicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey People of colonial New Jersey Deaths from yellow fever American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain