Daniel Roberdeau (1727 – January 5, 1795) was an American

Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

and merchant residing in

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, at the time of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. He represented Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1779 in 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 signed the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

. Roberdeau served as a brigadier general in the Pennsylvania state

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

during the war.

Family and early life

Roberdeau was born in 1727 on the Island of St. Christopher in the

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. His father was a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

immigrant named Isaac Roberdeau; his mother, a

Scot Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (or ...

, Mary Cunningham. After the death of his father, he immigrated to Philadelphia with his mother and sisters. Roberdeau became a timber merchant.

Early service

Roberdeau was active in establishing

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in Philadelphia, which brought him to the attention of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

and other civic leaders. He served on the Board of Managers for

Pennsylvania Hospital Pennsylvania Hospital is a Private hospital, private, non-profit, 515-bed teaching hospital located at 800 Spruce Street (Philadelphia), Spruce Street in Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia, The hospital was founded on May 11, 17 ...

in Philadelphia in 1756-1757. He was elected to the

Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

, serving from 1756 to 1760, but then declined further service.

Revolutionary War service

When war neared, he joined the Associators (as the Pennsylvania rebel militia was known) and was made colonel of his regiment. In May 1776 he presided at several public meetings calling for the existing Pennsylvania delegation to the Continental Congress to be replaced with members who supported a

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. As a result, he was named to the Committee of Safety, and on July 4, 1776 was named a brigadier general in the state militia.

Congressional service

Roberdeau was first elected to the Continental Congress in February 1777 and served there until 1779. Later that year, when 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 ...

entered winter quarters at

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

, he worked with General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

to set up a militia support network known as the Flying Camp and served as its commander. In April 1778, Roberdeau took a short leave from Congress. He had noted the shortage of powder and shot in the army and used the time off to establish a lead mine in what was then a part of Bedford County, now a part of Blair County. To protect the mine and camp from Indian attacks, he built a palisade, Fort Roberdeau, at his own expense. Historically, Roberdeau's fort was known as the "Lead Mine Fort". It has been reconstructed near its original site in Sinking Valley, near present-day

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona ( ) is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, w ...

. ''Note:'' This includes After the war, he moved to

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, and eventually settled in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, where he died in 1795. He is buried in the Mt. Hebron Cemetery there. ''Genealogy of the Roberdeau Family''
/ref> His son, Isaac Roberdeau, became a civil engineer and U.S. Army officer, who helped

Pierre L'Enfant Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American artist, professor, and military engineer. In 1791, L'Enfant designed the baroque-styled plan for the development of Washington, D.C., after it was designated ...

lay out the plan for

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberdeau, Daniel 1727 births 1795 deaths Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania Signers of the Articles of Confederation Businesspeople from Philadelphia Huguenot participants in the American Revolution American people of French descent British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Militia generals in the American Revolution Pennsylvania militiamen in the American Revolution Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly People from Saint Kitts Saint Kitts and Nevis people of British descent Merchants from colonial Pennsylvania American slave owners Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (Winchester, Virginia) Founding Fathers of the United States