Killed at the Battle of the Wabash(AKA St Clair's Defeat)
From: Delaware
1st Lieutenant Delaware Regiment January 17, 1776
Captain December 1, 1776 and Served to Close of War
Brevet Major September 30, 1783
Captain 2nd U.S. Infantry March 4, 1791
Only son of Irish-born Robert Kirkwood and his wife, Sarah McDowell, Robert grew up along with eight sisters on the family farm which was located on Polly Drummond Hill, adjacent to White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church. He was a graduate of Newark Academy which later became University of Delaware.
Commissioned First Lieutenant in Haslet's Light Infantry, the forerunner of the Delaware Regiment of the Continental Army, he was promoted to Captain by the end of that same year, 1776. The following year, Kirkwood was with the Regiment at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth.
After a furlough, Kirkwood and the Regiment were sent to South Carolina. At the first battle of Camden, 50% of the Regiment were either killed or captured. What was left of them was attached to the Maryland Regiment and remained in the Carolinas.
Kirkwood was the Delaware contingent's senior officer, and his unit distinguished themselves. At the second battle of Camden in 1780, his troops were dubbed 'The Blue Hen Chickens,' after a breed of fighting cock prized at the time for their ferocity.
In 1781 at Cowpens, Kirkwood led his men in the famous bayonet charge which repulsed the British. Lauded in the battle reports of many commanders, his own journal entries for the conflict are brief: "March'd to the Cowpens--12 miles. Defeated Tarleton." At the end of the war, Kirkwood was brevetted to the rank of Major and returned to his home state.
In 1787, Robert purchased 260 acres in Jefferson County, Ohio. The following year, Ohio granted him additional land in Belmont County, just 20 miles south of his existing tract. He was one of the founders of the town of Bridgeport, Ohio.
By now a widower, in 1791 he was commissioned a Captain in the 2nd US Infantry which was tasked with building a line of forts in the Northwest Territory. Having come out of 32 Revolutionary War battles without a significant wound, Robert Kirkwood's luck finally ran out. One of his companions described his death, "There, resting beneath a tree, lay old Kirkwood, scalped...".
His only daughter produced a grandson, Brigadier General Robert Henry Kirkwood Whiteley, who served in the US Army during the Civil War.
Delaware honored Kirkwood's service by naming a town, a library, and a highway after him, (Robert Kirkwood Highway connects Newark to Wilmington and passes just below Polly Drummond Hill, where he was born). Until its closure, nearby Wilmington was home to the Major Robert Kirkwood U.S. Army Reserve Center; but his most fitting legacy was having the Delaware Sons of the American Revolution honor him by creating the 'Major Robert Kirkwood Chapter' of that organization in New Castle County.
Historic documents suggest that Robert's mother's name was Mary McDowell. (Based on her father William McDowell's will.) (Contributor: Bonita (47272930) • [email protected])
From: Delaware
1st Lieutenant Delaware Regiment January 17, 1776
Captain December 1, 1776 and Served to Close of War
Brevet Major September 30, 1783
Captain 2nd U.S. Infantry March 4, 1791
Only son of Irish-born Robert Kirkwood and his wife, Sarah McDowell, Robert grew up along with eight sisters on the family farm which was located on Polly Drummond Hill, adjacent to White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church. He was a graduate of Newark Academy which later became University of Delaware.
Commissioned First Lieutenant in Haslet's Light Infantry, the forerunner of the Delaware Regiment of the Continental Army, he was promoted to Captain by the end of that same year, 1776. The following year, Kirkwood was with the Regiment at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth.
After a furlough, Kirkwood and the Regiment were sent to South Carolina. At the first battle of Camden, 50% of the Regiment were either killed or captured. What was left of them was attached to the Maryland Regiment and remained in the Carolinas.
Kirkwood was the Delaware contingent's senior officer, and his unit distinguished themselves. At the second battle of Camden in 1780, his troops were dubbed 'The Blue Hen Chickens,' after a breed of fighting cock prized at the time for their ferocity.
In 1781 at Cowpens, Kirkwood led his men in the famous bayonet charge which repulsed the British. Lauded in the battle reports of many commanders, his own journal entries for the conflict are brief: "March'd to the Cowpens--12 miles. Defeated Tarleton." At the end of the war, Kirkwood was brevetted to the rank of Major and returned to his home state.
In 1787, Robert purchased 260 acres in Jefferson County, Ohio. The following year, Ohio granted him additional land in Belmont County, just 20 miles south of his existing tract. He was one of the founders of the town of Bridgeport, Ohio.
By now a widower, in 1791 he was commissioned a Captain in the 2nd US Infantry which was tasked with building a line of forts in the Northwest Territory. Having come out of 32 Revolutionary War battles without a significant wound, Robert Kirkwood's luck finally ran out. One of his companions described his death, "There, resting beneath a tree, lay old Kirkwood, scalped...".
His only daughter produced a grandson, Brigadier General Robert Henry Kirkwood Whiteley, who served in the US Army during the Civil War.
Delaware honored Kirkwood's service by naming a town, a library, and a highway after him, (Robert Kirkwood Highway connects Newark to Wilmington and passes just below Polly Drummond Hill, where he was born). Until its closure, nearby Wilmington was home to the Major Robert Kirkwood U.S. Army Reserve Center; but his most fitting legacy was having the Delaware Sons of the American Revolution honor him by creating the 'Major Robert Kirkwood Chapter' of that organization in New Castle County.
Historic documents suggest that Robert's mother's name was Mary McDowell. (Based on her father William McDowell's will.) (Contributor: Bonita (47272930) • [email protected])
Killed at the Battle of the Wabash(AKA St Clair's Defeat)
From: Delaware
1st Lieutenant Delaware Regiment January 17, 1776
Captain December 1, 1776 and Served to Close of War
Brevet Major September 30, 1783
Captain 2nd U.S. Infantry March 4, 1791
Only son of Irish-born Robert Kirkwood and his wife, Sarah McDowell, Robert grew up along with eight sisters on the family farm which was located on Polly Drummond Hill, adjacent to White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church. He was a graduate of Newark Academy which later became University of Delaware.
Commissioned First Lieutenant in Haslet's Light Infantry, the forerunner of the Delaware Regiment of the Continental Army, he was promoted to Captain by the end of that same year, 1776. The following year, Kirkwood was with the Regiment at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth.
After a furlough, Kirkwood and the Regiment were sent to South Carolina. At the first battle of Camden, 50% of the Regiment were either killed or captured. What was left of them was attached to the Maryland Regiment and remained in the Carolinas.
Kirkwood was the Delaware contingent's senior officer, and his unit distinguished themselves. At the second battle of Camden in 1780, his troops were dubbed 'The Blue Hen Chickens,' after a breed of fighting cock prized at the time for their ferocity.
In 1781 at Cowpens, Kirkwood led his men in the famous bayonet charge which repulsed the British. Lauded in the battle reports of many commanders, his own journal entries for the conflict are brief: "March'd to the Cowpens--12 miles. Defeated Tarleton." At the end of the war, Kirkwood was brevetted to the rank of Major and returned to his home state.
In 1787, Robert purchased 260 acres in Jefferson County, Ohio. The following year, Ohio granted him additional land in Belmont County, just 20 miles south of his existing tract. He was one of the founders of the town of Bridgeport, Ohio.
By now a widower, in 1791 he was commissioned a Captain in the 2nd US Infantry which was tasked with building a line of forts in the Northwest Territory. Having come out of 32 Revolutionary War battles without a significant wound, Robert Kirkwood's luck finally ran out. One of his companions described his death, "There, resting beneath a tree, lay old Kirkwood, scalped...".
His only daughter produced a grandson, Brigadier General Robert Henry Kirkwood Whiteley, who served in the US Army during the Civil War.
Delaware honored Kirkwood's service by naming a town, a library, and a highway after him, (Robert Kirkwood Highway connects Newark to Wilmington and passes just below Polly Drummond Hill, where he was born). Until its closure, nearby Wilmington was home to the Major Robert Kirkwood U.S. Army Reserve Center; but his most fitting legacy was having the Delaware Sons of the American Revolution honor him by creating the 'Major Robert Kirkwood Chapter' of that organization in New Castle County.
Historic documents suggest that Robert's mother's name was Mary McDowell. (Based on her father William McDowell's will.) (Contributor: Bonita (47272930) • [email protected])
From: Delaware
1st Lieutenant Delaware Regiment January 17, 1776
Captain December 1, 1776 and Served to Close of War
Brevet Major September 30, 1783
Captain 2nd U.S. Infantry March 4, 1791
Only son of Irish-born Robert Kirkwood and his wife, Sarah McDowell, Robert grew up along with eight sisters on the family farm which was located on Polly Drummond Hill, adjacent to White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church. He was a graduate of Newark Academy which later became University of Delaware.
Commissioned First Lieutenant in Haslet's Light Infantry, the forerunner of the Delaware Regiment of the Continental Army, he was promoted to Captain by the end of that same year, 1776. The following year, Kirkwood was with the Regiment at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth.
After a furlough, Kirkwood and the Regiment were sent to South Carolina. At the first battle of Camden, 50% of the Regiment were either killed or captured. What was left of them was attached to the Maryland Regiment and remained in the Carolinas.
Kirkwood was the Delaware contingent's senior officer, and his unit distinguished themselves. At the second battle of Camden in 1780, his troops were dubbed 'The Blue Hen Chickens,' after a breed of fighting cock prized at the time for their ferocity.
In 1781 at Cowpens, Kirkwood led his men in the famous bayonet charge which repulsed the British. Lauded in the battle reports of many commanders, his own journal entries for the conflict are brief: "March'd to the Cowpens--12 miles. Defeated Tarleton." At the end of the war, Kirkwood was brevetted to the rank of Major and returned to his home state.
In 1787, Robert purchased 260 acres in Jefferson County, Ohio. The following year, Ohio granted him additional land in Belmont County, just 20 miles south of his existing tract. He was one of the founders of the town of Bridgeport, Ohio.
By now a widower, in 1791 he was commissioned a Captain in the 2nd US Infantry which was tasked with building a line of forts in the Northwest Territory. Having come out of 32 Revolutionary War battles without a significant wound, Robert Kirkwood's luck finally ran out. One of his companions described his death, "There, resting beneath a tree, lay old Kirkwood, scalped...".
His only daughter produced a grandson, Brigadier General Robert Henry Kirkwood Whiteley, who served in the US Army during the Civil War.
Delaware honored Kirkwood's service by naming a town, a library, and a highway after him, (Robert Kirkwood Highway connects Newark to Wilmington and passes just below Polly Drummond Hill, where he was born). Until its closure, nearby Wilmington was home to the Major Robert Kirkwood U.S. Army Reserve Center; but his most fitting legacy was having the Delaware Sons of the American Revolution honor him by creating the 'Major Robert Kirkwood Chapter' of that organization in New Castle County.
Historic documents suggest that Robert's mother's name was Mary McDowell. (Based on her father William McDowell's will.) (Contributor: Bonita (47272930) • [email protected])
