c^- -r .«*'^ **^vr??3,- o '^^c r-^. -^^!S^.^ ,^^^ o. '••To' .^0" "^^ bV o ♦ J^^- 9 n« 'i^'O^ ^^. *l^f»* J^ O^ * ^^-^^^ (j^^^ '^^ *. ' ^: ^v e • o V « t • , , o « « . '<$» A'^ .'i??^.;: ail «^ '.y -.^ \<>^ .'Jite-- \-.<^* .•;!si&". **,.** ''^' Colonel John Bull (1731-1824) A Preliminary Study By, MRS. ANITA NEWCOMB McGEE. M. D. 1620 P Street, Washington, D. C. ■■"^'■\' C/o^y "^ V,. SLWi COLONEL JOHN BULL Among the early Pennsylvanians who bore the surname Bull, the most notable was John, Colonel in the Continental Army and Adjutant General of the province. Government archives, especially those of Pennsylvania, have preserved such a large number of facts about his life, and of his letters, that when these are gath- ered together and added to data preserved by his descendants one obtains a clear idea of his character as well as of his career. Perhaps the traits which appear most prominent were his great strength and untiring energy, a zeal for the cause of his country which no personal rebuff or adversity could diminish, sterling hon- esty and open frankness about himself and his affairs, with a goodly share of business ability. Although he lived to be 93, the first indication of illness which I have found is in the contemporary newspaper account of his wife 's funeral. She had died suddenly when both were 79 years old, and the husband, "although much ex- hausted by sickness and old age, addressed the audience " in a few words of resig- nation to the will of the Lord ' ' and then sank exhausted. ' ' His portrait, which once hung in the Peale gallery, has disappeared, but I fancy him like a certain familiar type of sturdy, active, bluff, Eevolutionary gentleman, his ruddy face, set oft' by cue and ruffles, showing the effects of a life spent mainly in the open and on his horse's back. The Indian chiefs of the Six Nations, who regarded him as their best friend in Pennsylvania, described him as "a strong man raised like a great tree, ' ' which is certainly suggestive. Thomas Bull, John's father, lived on a farm of 150 acres in Worcester Town- ship, and this therefore appears to have been the place where John, the oldest son, spent his boyhood. As he was not quite 17 when his father died, leaving to him with his mother the care of his two brothers and three sisters, he was presumably still living there when he met and married Mary Phillips of Chester County in 1752. He was just 21 then. A year and four months previous to this, his mother, / • Elizabeth Addams Bull, had married in Philadelphia a young man named Thomas {J^jljOiXj, Eossiter, Jr., the eldest son of an apparently poor family, for they had inherited ''''*'^^^ no land from their deceased father. We do not know when young Eossiter - died, but there were no children, and no doubt Mrs. Eossiter continued to live io /s . g her old home with her young children. Thomas ' will had divided his farm be- ^^.^^C'^'^^ tween the two older sons, 100 acres to John and 50 to William, but the title not to , vest in them till William was 21. John added to his share in 1757 by buying six /-^i. "7 acres adjoining it, from S. Kime, but sold this property to J. A. Meyer in Vi^'i^fi^y', ''^ William sold his part the following year, to the same purchaser, so I judge^^l-^A-*'*^^'^ William reached 21 not later than 1763. In October of the same year in whieh'^^t^L^^^ '' John sold the old home, his step-father bought 172 acres in Providence Township (when he is called "of Providence, yeoman"), so I suppose the Eossiters and the younger children moved then; the eldest daughter, Ann, was already married to Henry Newberry. John Bull 's possession of the brains and will power to make his way upward in the world is best shown by comparison with the conditions of his birth. The whole province advanced, but he did more than advance with it. His father and both grandfathers are described in deeds as "yeomen" possessing their own small "plantations" (the word farmer not being used then); such were likewise his uncles and brother William, though the latter is also described as a saddler — no doubt because his father 's will directed that be should be put to school till he was 15 and then to learn a trade. John Bull, on the other hand, is described as a "gen- tleman," even as early as 1760. His grandfathers were English; his grandmothers apparently both German; and, like their neighbors, none of them had learn- d to write even so much as their own names — which fact in no wise hampered them i"Q their long and active lives as pioneers in a wild, new land. John's mother went a little step further, for instead of a simple cross, she wrote her initial E as "Her mark" in lieu of signature. John 's father, Thomas, however, must somehow have found a teacher, for in his will he proudly says that he made it with his "own handwriting." He thought that he knew something of the law of such matters, so when I find that he signed his name many times as witness to the wills of others, I suspect that his less learned neighbors were wont to call on him for material aid in the preparation of their last testaments. Thomas ' provision in his will that his younger children snould go to school till they were 15 shows that the eldest, our John, must also have had such education as the country afforded in those days. In his letters one sees that though the literary grace of a Franklin cannot be claimed for his pen, yet he was a clear and fluent writer. One of his granddaughters has left us a record in which she says of him and his wife: "They prospered in worldly mat- ters and were respected by all. Their daughters were educated at the best schools the city of Philadelphia afforded. Their only son was an accomplished physician and a good linguist." Socially, Colonel John 's high official positions, both civil and military, in the provincial government brought him in contact with the most eminent men of Philadelphia, which was a leading center of culture in the new world. We have evidence, as well as traditigp, to prove his friendship with George Washington, which doubtless dated from '1758, when both were officers of the Forbes expedi- tion to capture Fort Duquesne, where Pittsburg now stands. It may be of interest at this point to quote the following about Washington, from the Britannica:' ' ' His education was but elementary and very defective, except in mathematics, in which he was largely self-taught. Sparks has 'edited' the spelling, grammar, and rhetoric of Washington's Writings to such an extent as to destroy their value as evidence. ' ' Country schooling was evidently no better in Virginia, even among the upper classes, than it was in Pennsylvania! Another friend of the Colonel in Philadelphia was that learned astronomer and distinguished patriot and official, David Eittenhouse, whose only brother, Benjamin Eittenhouse, had married Bull 's eldest daughter in 1770. (Benjamin was superintendent of the gun-lock factory of Pennsylvania through the Eevolu- tion.) The four younger daughters, growing up after the Eevolution, also made excellent marriages. But whether the outspoken Colonel felt himself quite at home amid the refine- ments of the city society is to my mind somewhat doubtful; certainly he hastened away from it when his public duties were over and spent the rest of his days about as far from it as his pioneer instincts could take him, in what he called ' * a Distant Land." LIST OF MILITARY COMMISSIONS HELD BY COLOISTEL JOHN BULL 1758, May 12, to early 1759. Captain of a company (of about 55 men) in his Majesty's Third Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment ("Provincial Forces"), with service in command of Fort Allen and on the Forbes expedition which captured Fort Duquesne — a bloodless victory, which Bancroft considers of the "greatest importance" and which was due to Captain Bull's negotiations with the Indians. 1759, April 29, to . Recommissioned Captain in the same battalion; military service not known. 1775, November 25, to 1776, January 20. Having applied for appointment as Quartermaster to the army, or in command of a battalion, in the Continental Army about to be organ- ized, he was elected by the Continental Congress as the first Colonel of the First Penn- sylvania Battalion raised for defense of the colonies. He had under him eight compa- nies of 79 men each, or a total of 1500 men. The Continental Congress received a Memorial from the Captains and Subalterns of this battalion "complaining of the con- duct of Colonel Bull," and referred it to a committee. January 19th, marching orders to Canada received. January 20th, Congress heard a Memorial from Colonel Bull beg- ging leave to resign his commission on account of ill-treatment by many of his officers, between whom and himself he requested a decision; offered to serve his country in any other way. January 22nd, resignation accepted. This was his only experience in the Continental Army. 177'' July 4th, to about January, 1777. Colonel of a Battalion of Associators in the County of Philadelphia ("5th" in his commission, "6th" in "Archives"), by appointment of the State Assembly. These were new organizations for home defense without pay unless called into the field, and when enlisted were sent to Amboy, N. J., for brief service in watching the British on Staten Island till more permanent troops were organ- ized. As Bull's civilian positions kept him busy in Philadelphia, the Council of Safety gave him leave of absence only from August 17th to September loth in order to be with his battalion in the field. (Perhaps the men were there no longer than that; all Associator battalions were disbanded early in 1777.) Arms and ammunition being still scarce, their weapons included pikes and "tomahawks." 1777, February 15th to June 17th. Colonel Commandant of the fortifications at Billingsport : a resumption of his civilian work as General Superintendent, with added military authority over the troops stationed there. Appointed by the Council of S"afety (of which Bull was member) and paid at rate of $85 per month. During this period Bull also constructed the principal part of Port Mercer, at Red Bank, N. J., opposite the mouth of tne Schuylkill, which was intended to protect the chevaux-de-frise which he laid in the Delaware channel between it and Fort Mifflin on Mud Island. He also placed similar obstructions in the channel opposite Billingsport, a few miles below, but when he left in June there was still a ^ew weeks' more work needed to complete the whole. When the British arrived in the autumn they did not attempt to break through these defenses, but troops were sent by land to take them in the rear, so the Americans left them without fighting. The enemy partly dismantled or burned these fortifications and took up some of the river obstructions; the rest remained till removed in 1784. 1777, May 2nd to June 17th. Colonel of the Pennsylvania State Regiment of Foot, appointed by the new Board of War. Commission issued May 8th. This regiment was being formed from remnants of several former regiments which had been under Bull to some degree at Billingsport, N. J., and other points on the Delaware River within a few miles of Philadelphia, and was intended for defense of the city. In April, Bull had reported that he was trying to "cultivate a little harmony" in the so-called regiment, but its officers had not yet been commissioned as such and "a great number of the privates are prisoners upon parole (a circumstance perhaps new)," and there was general jealousy and dissatisfaction. April 30th the officers received commissions and (according to the journal of one of the Lieutenants) "proceeded to the arrangement of the officers," and early next morning the "regiment was properly arranged, after which three companies * * * were entertained oy a harmonious band of music and passed the day in jolity." The appointment of Bull caused a violent protest and threats of resignation from all the officers, who claimed, in a Memorial to the Assembly of the State, they had been promised they should "rise by seniority in Battalion" so that by appointment of a Colonel from outside they "consider themselves very much aggrieved, as thereby what little Rank they hold in the service of the State is Entirely Destroyed." June 2nd the strength of the regiment was 44 officers and 524 men. June 10th the Assembly voted to transfer the regiment to the Continental Congress for incorporation in the Continental Army, and June 17th the promotion of Bull was fol- lowed by the appointment of a new Colonel. The latter invited the delighted officers to "meet him at 4 P. M. at the City Tavern" where they celebrated by "drinking some gallons of Madeira." This regiment was ordered away and became the 13th Pennsyl- vania (Colonel Walter Stewart). November 12, 1777, it was incorporated in the Con- tinental Army. 1777, June 17th, to January 13, 1778. Adjutant General of the Militia of Pennsylvania, ap- pointed by the Board of War. This was the most stirring and critical period of the Revo' tion about Philadelphia, and Bull had manifold duties and responsibilities. General Armstrong was in command of all the State Militia, 4000 men being called out at the end of July and most of them sent to Wilmington when Howe's army began to disem- bark (August 25th), after which they were used as a reserve for the Continental Army and for local defense. Orders and letters show Bull providing the militia with weapons and food, and some time after the battle of Germantown (October 4th), when several militia officers were lost, he succeeded General Irvine in command of the Second Bri- gade on the east side of the Schuylkill, but (so far as I now know) he did not partici- pate in any battle during any part of his military career. His one recorded experience of fighting was when "a large body" of the enemy went on a foraging raid to the northwest of Philadelphia, December 11th to 26th, and Bull was ordered, December 24tli, to make a demonstration toward the city to "alarm them In Order to Call their atten- tion from Plundering in Chester County." He reported, after reaching the "Northern Liberties" of the city, between Third and Fourth streets, and "Within Musquet Shot of the Enemies Line," that "I drew up my little Division and haveng Our Two Twelve Pounders, with 2 comps of artilery, I rather strechd my orders by Sending them 8 well diracted Cannon Ball, Which no Doubt Took Place near ye Church." (The aim was good, for they did fall near Christ Church and "alarmed the city" without doing any damage.) Bull's report concludes: "We Wish'd them a Merry Crismes by causeing them to Beat to arms and fire their Cannon from the Lines from all Qurs., their Ball Raked our Little Parade both on Right and Left, but without the Least Damage. We brought of one Prisoner, some of their Horses, &c." Colonel Bull appeared before the Supreme Executive Council on January 13, 1778, made a report, and presented account for his pay for the past eleven months, which was ordered paid. (For time as Adjutant General, at rate of $100 per month.) The Council then resolved that on account of reducing the militia an Adjutant General would not be necessary in future and therefore ordered that the office be abolished and that "Colo. Bull be informed, in the most respectful terms." 1779, October. "President Reed announced that he intended to take the field at the head of the Penna. troops, and Col. Bull was appointed adjutant-general" but "the projected movement was abandoned." (I have not verified this.) CIVILIAN POSITIONS HELD BY COLONEL JOHN BULL 1761, February 28th (perhaps earlier) till the Revolution (apparently). One of the Justices of the Peace for the County of Philadelphia. He was also one of the Justices of the Court of Quarter Sessions of the county. 1774, November to September 17, 1776. Was, by election, one of 40 members of the Commit- tee of Inspection and Observation of the County of Philadelphia (this did not include the city), the duty of which was to detect persons not conforming to the patriotic "articles of Association" (for trade boycott and price control), which the new Conti- nental Congress had framed. These county committees were formed from the members of earlier township committees who had been on the side of the colonies from the begin- ning. John Bull signed a resolution as chairman of this committee, July 20, 1776, but Colonel William Hamilton had been chairman in June and May preceding. May 18, 1776, this committee appealed to the Assembly of Pennsylvania to "maintain liberty even if forced most unwillingly to declare independence." These committees were dissolved after nearly two years' activity. ilft r n n 1 1 1 jTiT n in— y»riT-m ) as one littee of Inspection Pennsylvania 1775, January 23rd to 28th. Member of Second 0( ^^'i.' " • ^^ ,^^ "^. .ft^ ,0^