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Samuel Griffin (April 20, 1746November 23, 1810) was an American lawyer, soldier and politician from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. Following his service 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
as a Continental Army officer, Griffin served as mayor of
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
, as well as represented the former state capitol in the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
, then (with surrounding areas) in the U.S. House of Representatives.


Early and family life

Born in Richmond County in the
Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
to Leroy Griffin and his wife, the former Mary Ann Bertrand. His slightly younger brother
Cyrus Griffin Cyrus Griffin (July 16, 1748 – December 14, 1810) was an American lawyer and politician, who served as the final President of the Congress of the Confederation and first United States district judge of the United States District Court for the ...
would likewise become a Virginia lawyer and patriot, serving as a Continental Congressman representing Virginia's Northern Neck region (where they were raised) and later as federal judge, for what was then the U.S. District Court for the District of Virginia. Another brother Corbin Griffin (d.1813) received a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh before setting up a practice in Yorktown and became chief surgeon during the Revolutionary War before his imprisonment by the British, and later served as a Virginia state senator. Earlier, the Griffin boys received a private education appropriate to their class, including classical studies and law. Samuel Griffin married Elizabeth Corbin Braxton, daughter of prominent Virginia planter and patriot Carter Braxton, likewise of the First Families of Virginia. They had only one child, Elizabeth Corbin Griffin Stewart (1779-1853), who survived two husbands (including a Williamsburg physician) and ultimately died in Philadelphia.


Continental Army officer

During the Revolutionary War Griffin accepted 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 ...
. An aide-de-camp to English-born General Charles Lee, he was wounded at the Battle of Harlem Heights on September 16, 1776. Colonel Griffin recuperated from his wounds near Philadelphia. When the American army retreated behind the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
in December 1776, the commanding general of the Philadelphia Department, Israel Putnam, followed General Washington's instruction and ordered Col. Griffin to "create a distraction" for the British forces then present near
Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...
. Thus, Griffin led about 900 militia and Virginia regulars into Mount Holly, from which he harassed the pickets of Colonel Carl von Donop at Bordentown. Colonel Von Donop brought all of his 2,000 or so troops to Mount Holly to punish Griffin in the Battle of Iron Works Hill. However, the action put Von Donop's troops out of position to assist Colonel Rall in Trenton. Thus, on the morning of December 26, 1776, Washington crossed the Delaware and defeated Rall at Trenton. Local lore says a "certain young widow of a doctor" assisted Griffin by detaining von Donop in Mount Holly.


Lawyer and politician

Admitted to the Virginia bar, Griffin practiced law. Following the New Jersey battles, Griffin returned to Virginia and as a citizen soldier served on the State's board of war (1779-1781). During this period, Williamsburg remained strategically important as the colonial capitol and was threatened by British warships offshore in
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...
. Griffin served as Williamsburg's mayor from 1779 to 1780. After the war ended and fellow former soldier and Williamsburg lawyer James Innes became
Attorney General of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an Executive (government), executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a United State ...
, Williamsburg voters elected Griffin to replace him in the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
and re-elected him twice to the part time position. Thus, he served from 1786 through 1788, when he resigned upon being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and Edmund Randolph resigned as Virginia's governor (at the time elected by the Virginia General Assembly and having little power) in order to succeed Griffin as Williamsburg's delegate.Cynthia Miller Leonard, Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 162, 166, 170 Voters from Williamsburg and surrounding areas elected Griffin to the First,
Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
, and Third Congresses. Thus, he served from March 4, 1789 until March 3, 1795, although the district number changed from Virginia's 10th congressional district to Virginia's 13th congressional district in 1793.


Death and legacy

Griffin died in New York City on November 23, 1810. His grave site is unknown.


References


See also

Retrieved on 2010-01-05 * Fischer, David Hackett (2004). '' Washington's Crossing''. New York: Oxford University Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Samuel 1746 births 1810 deaths Mayors of Williamsburg, Virginia Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Continental Army officers from Virginia Members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Virginia lawyers 18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 18th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly