Robert Hanson Harrison (1745 – April 2, 1790) was an American Army officer, attorney, and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. He was a

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 ...

veteran of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

and is most notable for his service as

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 ...

's military secretary, the '' de facto'' chief of staff of Washington's headquarters for most of the war.

Early life

Born in

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. T ...

, Robert Hanson Harrison was the son of Dorothy (Hanson) Harrison and Colonel Richard Harrison, who served in offices including justice of the peace and member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

. Little is known of the younger Harrison's early life and education, but he settled in

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 census, it is the most populous county in Virginia, the most populous jurisdiction in the Washington ...

in 1765 and was admitted to the bar.

Early career

By 1768, Harrison had a steady practice; after meeting Washington, Harrison represented him on several legal matters . In the years prior to the American Revolution, Harrison became identified with the Patriot cause in Virginia; he supported the Virginia Nonimportation Resolves in 1770, and served as the clerk for the

Fairfax Resolves The Fairfax Resolves were a set of resolutions adopted by a committee in Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia on July 18, 1774, in the early stages of the American Revolution. Written at the behest of George Washington and others, they were ...

in 1774. Harrison was also a member of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Committee of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independence during the American Revolution. The brainchild of S ...

. Additionally, he joined the militia and served as an officer in the Fairfax Independent Company in 1774 and 1775. In September 1775, Harrison was commissioned as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the Fairfax County Militia.

American Revolution

On November 6, 1775, Robert Hanson Harrison was appointed an aide-de-camp to General Washington. The following May, Harrison was appointed military secretary to General Washington in lieu of Joseph Reed. The Continental Congress approved his commission as a lieutenant colonel on June 5, 1776. In this capacity, he assisted with the drafting, writing and organization of the Commander-in-Chief's voluminous correspondence for almost five years. Moreover, President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

testified that "in all the actions in which General Washington commanded, Colonel Harrison was present, near the person of the General." Along with

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

, Robert Hanson Harrison negotiated for the exchange of prisoners of war. The death of his father, Richard Harrison, in 1780 began a chain of events that led to Robert Hanson Harrison's resignation from the

in the spring of 1781. George Washington attested that Robert Hanson Harrison discharged his duty "with conspicuous abilities – That his whole conduct during all the interesting periods of the war has been distinguished marked by the strictest integrity and the most attentive & faithful services while by personal bravery he has marked his conduct upon many occasions been distinguished on sev ra occasions"

Later career

Returning to Maryland, Robert Hanson Harrison was appointed Chief Justice of the General Court of Maryland on March 12, 1781. During the war, Harrison's court considered property confiscation cases for individuals accused of disloyalty to the United States. Despite being considered a highly capable judge, he declined appointments to higher courts because of failing health, including

Chancellor of Maryland The Chancellor of Maryland was the highest judicial office in the state of Maryland from before the American Revolution until the state's High Court of Chancery ceased to exist, on June 4, 1854. The High Court of Chancery of Maryland was organiz ...

. September 24, 1789, President George Washington

nominated 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 or election to an office, in which case a ...

Harrison as an

associate justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

on the newly established

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. The

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

confirmed his appointment two days later. Harrison declined the appointment, citing familial responsibilities and his health as two prime reasons. Washington and Hamilton urged Harrison to reconsider. Washington's friend Dr.

James Craik James Craik (; 17276 February 1814) was Physician General (precursor of the Surgeon General of the United States Army, Surgeon General) of the United States Army, as well as George Washington's personal physician and close friend. Biography ...

urged him to send Harrison a personal appeal, believing "A Letter from you…would I am convinced act more powerfully upon him than all the Anodynes in an Apothecarys Shop". Harrison agreed to accept, and began the trip to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, then the temporary national capital. His health worsened, and he returned home to

Bladensburg, Maryland Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,657 at the 2020 census. Areas in Bladensburg are located within ZIP code 20710. Bladensburg is from Washington, D.C. History Originally called Garr ...

. In a January 21, 1790 letter to Washington, Harrison informed Washington that he was unable to make the trip and again declined the appointment.

Personal life

Harrison's first wife was Sarah Johnston, a daughter of George Johnston Sr. (d. 1766), a prominent Virginia attorney and political leader. After her death, he married Grace Dent of Charles County, Maryland. Harrison died at his home in Charles County on April 2, 1790.Maryland Gazette, Thursday, April 8, 1790. His burial location is not known.

References

External links

*
Letter from George Washington
September 28, 1789
Letter from George Washington
November 25, 1789 {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Robert H. 1745 births 1790 deaths Continental Army officers from Virginia Continental Army staff officers Maryland state court judges Candidates in the 1788–1789 United States presidential election Aides-de-camp of George Washington People from colonial Maryland People from Charles County, Maryland Unsuccessful nominees to the United States Supreme Court Maryland Federalists