Edward Hand (31 December 1744 – 3 September 1802) was an Irish soldier, physician, and politician who served in the Continental Army during 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 ...

, rising to the rank of general, and later was a member of several

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

governmental bodies.

Early life and career

Hand was born in Clyduff, King's County (now

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hon ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, on 31 December 1744, and was baptised in

Shinrone Shinrone () is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is in the southernmost part of the county, close to the border with County Tipperary. It lies at the junction of the R491 regional road between Nenagh and Roscrea with the R492 to Sharav ...

. His father was John Hand. Among his immediate neighbours were the Kearney family, ancestors of U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

. He was a descendant of either the families of Mag Fhlaithimh (of south

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...

h and

Mide Meath (; Old Irish: ''Mide'' ; spelt ''Mí'' in Modern Irish) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island. At its greatest extent, it included all of ...

) or Ó Flaithimhín (of the Síol Muireadaigh) who, through mistranslation (''Flaithimh''/''Flaithimhín'' into ''Láimhín''; ''laimh'' = ''hand''), became Lavin or Hand. Hand earned a medical certificate from

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. In 1767, Hand enlisted as a Surgeon's Mate in the

18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

. On 20 May 1767, he sailed with the regiment from Cobh, Cork, Ireland, arriving at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on 11 July 1767. In 1772, he was commissioned an ensign. He marched with the regiment to Fort Pitt, on the forks of the Ohio River, returning to Philadelphia in 1774, where he resigned his commission. In 1774, Hand moved to

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population among ...

, where he practiced medicine. On 13 March 1775, he married Katherine Ewing (born 25 March 1751 in

). Lancaster was the region of some of the earliest Irish and Scots-Irish settlements in Pennsylvania. Hand was active in forming the Lancaster County

Associators Associators were members of 17th- and 18th-century volunteer military associations in the British American thirteen colonies and British Colony of Canada. These were more commonly known as Maryland Protestant, Pennsylvania, and Ameri ...

, a colonial

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. Hand was a 32nd degree Freemason, belonging to the Montgomery Military Lodge number 14.

American Revolution

Hand entered the Continental Army in 1775 as a lieutenant colonel in the

1st Pennsylvania Regiment The 1st Pennsylvania Regiment - originally mustered as the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles; also known as the 1st Continental Line and 1st Continental Regiment, was raised under the command of Colonel William Thompson (general), William Thompson for se ...

under Colonel William Thompson. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in 1776 and placed in command of the 1st Continental (then designated the 1st Pennsylvania). Promoted to

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 appointed t ...

in March 1777, he served as the commander of Fort Pitt, fighting British loyalists and their Indian allies. He was recalled, after over two years at Fort Pitt, to serve as a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

commander in

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

La Fayette's division. Correspondence from General Edward Hand to Major General John Sullivan

In 1778, Hand attacked the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

, killing Captain Pipe's mother, brother, and a few of his children during a military campaign."Konieschquanoheel"
''Ohio History Central: An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History'', 1999-2011, accessed 29 January 2011 Failing to distinguish among the Native American groups, Hand had attacked the neutral Lenape while trying to reduce the Indian threat to settlers in the Ohio Country, because other tribes, such as the Shawnee, had allied with the British. Planning for a campaign against the Iroquois was already under way, and Hand’s frontier experience naturally recommended him as a participant. In the resulting Sullivan-Clinton Iroquois Expedition (May-November 1779) through the

Southern Tier The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York region of New York (state), New York State, consisting of counties west of the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County, New York, Delaware County and geographically situ ...

and

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...

regions of New York, Edward Hand commanded the Third Brigade, composed of the Fourth and Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiments, the German Regiment, Proctor’s Artillery, Captain James Parr’s Riflemen, Captain Anthony Selin’s Riflemen, and two Wyoming companies. The brigade composed the “Light Corps” of Sullivan’s army and formed its

vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

. The journals kept by the officers on the expedition indicate that Hand played a major role in the success of the campaign. When he rejoined his family in Lancaster at the close of the year he was thirty-five years old, the youngest of the brigadiers. After a few months, he was appointed

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the Continental Army and served during the

siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virg ...

in that capacity. In recognition of his long and distinguished service, he was, in September 1783, promoted by

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

to major general. He resigned from the Army in November 1783. He was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati.

After the Revolution

Rock Ford Plantation Lancaster Rear 3008px

Hand returned to Lancaster and resumed the practice of medicine. A

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

, Hand was active in civil affairs, holding posts that included: * Chief Burgess of Lancaster * Presidential elector * Delegate to the convention for the 1790 Pennsylvania Constitution * Member of the

Congress of the Confederation 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 of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

, 1784–1785 * Member of the Pennsylvania Assembly, 1785–1786 Beginning in 1785, he owned and operated Rock Ford plantation, a farm on the banks of the

Conestoga River The Conestoga River, also referred to as Conestoga Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through the cente ...

, one mile (1.6 km) south of

. The Georgian brick mansion remains today; the farm is a historic site open to the public. Hand was also a enslaver, owning several enslaved people, one of whom, Frank, ran away in 1802. He is suspected to have died from typhoid, dysentery or pneumonia at Rock Ford in 1802. Medical records are unclear, but some sources state Hand died of cholera. There is no evidence Lancaster County suffered from a cholera epidemic in 1802. Hand is buried in St. James's Episcopal Cemetery in Lancaster, the same church where he had served as a deacon.

References

External links

Hand’s congressional biography
*
Rock Ford Plantation
* Th

which cover Hand's military career during the 1770s and 1780s, are available for research use at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

.
American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand, Edward 1744 births 1802 deaths Military personnel from County Offaly Irish soldiers in the British Army American slave owners Irish slave owners 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Irish people Politicians from County Offaly Adjutants general of the United States Army Physicians in the American Revolution Royal Irish Regiment (1684–1922) officers Continental Army generals Continental Army officers from Pennsylvania Continental Army officers from Ireland Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania 18th-century American politicians Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania 1789 United States presidential electors 1792 United States presidential electors Kingdom of Ireland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Physicians from Pennsylvania