Charles Pettit (1736 – September 4, 1806) was an American lawyer and merchant from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He served as a delegate for Pennsylvania to the

Confederation Congress The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

from 1785 to 1787.

Biography

Charles Pettit was born in 1736. His parents were Andrew and Dinah (Woolverton) Pettit of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. In 1758 he married Sarah Reed, a half-sister of Joseph Reed. Reed exerted considerable influence on Pettit's later career, bringing him into politics. In 1767 Pettit accepted the first of many public service positions as a deputy surrogate for the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

to assist his brother-in-law, Reed, who was Secretary. When Reed resigned in 1769, Pettit was appointed as the colony's secretary. After studying with an established firm, Pettit was admitted to the bar in 1770. In 1773 he was selected as a member of the

Governor's Council The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. The British monarch issued colonial charters that established either royal colonies, propriet ...

. Pettit served as a personal secretary to Governor

William Franklin William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged extra-marital son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial G ...

from 1772 to 1774, and moved to

South Amboy, New Jersey South Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,411, an increase of 780 (+9.0%) from the 2010 census count of 8,631, which in ...

. As the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

neared, he resigned his post. He returned to it in 1776 when appointed as secretary to the revolutionary governor,

William Livingston William Livingston (November 30, 1723July 25, 1790) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the first governor of New Jersey (1776–1790) during the American Revolutionary War. As a New Jersey representative in the Continental Congr ...

. From 1776 to 1778 Pettit held the office of provincial secretary (a title specified by the 1776

New Jersey State Constitution The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the sta ...

and later known as

Secretary of State of New Jersey The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing New Jersey State Council on the Arts, artistic, cultural, and New Jersey Historical Com ...

). In 1777, his brother-in-law Joseph Reed again influenced his career. Reed was then serving in the Continental Congress and worked on the committee that recommended an overhaul of the

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

's function. In 1778, Pettit was appointed deputy quartermaster general, essentially a civilian post. But it came with a commission as a colonel in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, a perk which offended some of the army's

line officer A line officer or officer of the line is, opposed to staff officers or reserve officers, a military officer who is eligible for command of operational, tactical or combat units. The name most likely stems from the Early modern warfare tactics ...

s. Pettit kept the accounts for the corps from then until his resignation in 1781. He also moved to

to be closer to the Congress, which was temporarily meeting in New York. After his military service, Pettit resumed a mercantile career, this time in Philadelphia. He had been a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

, based in that city, since 1779. He was elected to represent Philadelphia in the state's

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in 1784 and 1785. The legislature twice selected him as a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

, where he served from 1785 to 1787, and he was a

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group (sociology), group or election to an offic ...

for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1788. He also was appointed a trustee for the University of the State of Pennsylvania in 1786; he continued in the post after it merged to create the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1791. Pettit died in Philadelphia in 1806.

References

*Risch, Erna. ''Supplying Washington's Army''. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1981
"Chapter 2: Organization of the Quartermaster's Department".

External links

at the

* Retrieved on 2009-05-16 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pettit, Charles 1736 births 1806 deaths Continental Army staff officers Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Secretaries of state of New Jersey Politicians from Burlington, New Jersey Politicians from Hunterdon County, New Jersey Politicians from Philadelphia People from South Amboy, New Jersey People of New Jersey in the American Revolution Merchants from colonial New Jersey 18th-century American merchants Merchants from colonial Pennsylvania Candidates in the 1788–1789 United States elections Members of the American Philosophical Society