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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, 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 f ...

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 university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

) as did his younger brother, Aaron Ogden. His sister Rhoda was married to

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...

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

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

's march to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, 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, 1756 – November 10, 1843) was an American painter and military officer best known for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Revolut ...

inaccurately depicted Ogden in place of Burr, holding General

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

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 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 William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

). 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 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 lineage society, 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 milita ...

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 The Great Seal is the seal of the United States. The phrase is used both for the Seal (emblem), impression device itself, which is kept by the United States secretary of state, and more generally for the impression it produces. The Obverse and r ...

, 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 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 from colonial New Jersey Deaths from yellow fever American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain