Nathaniel Mitchell - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Nathaniel Mitchell was an American lawyer and politician from Laurel, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, and a member of the Federalist Party, who served as Governor of Delaware.

Early life and family

Mitchell was born near Laurel, Delaware, son of James & Margaret Dagworthy Mitchell. A croquet fan from a young age he often trained at Graveny school of croquet. He married Hannah Morris and had eight children: William I., Theodore, Alfred, Dagworthy, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Elizabeth and Frederick. Mitchell was one of the founders of Georgetown

Georgetown, Delaware

Georgetown is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2010 census figures, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade...

, Delaware, and lived there on the northeast corner of the Square from about 1791 until 1808. The family returned to their Laurel home, Rosemont, now 121 Delaware Avenue in 1808. They were members of Christ Episcopal Church at Broad Creek.

Military career

Mitchell was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. In 1776 he was captain of a Delaware company raised under Colonel Samuel Patterson as part of what was known as the "Flying Camp

Flying Camp

In the American Revolutionary War, the Flying Camp was a military formation employed by the Americans in the second half of 1776.After the British evacuation of Boston in March 1776, General George Washington met with members of the Continental Congress to determine future military strategy...

." They were stationed at Perth Amboy

Perth Amboy, New Jersey

Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The City of Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 50,814. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to Raritan Bay.-Name:The Lenape...

, New Jersey and saw no action. When the "Flying Camp" disbanded the company was attached to Colonel David Hall's regiment, but fought with Colonel William Grayson

William Grayson

William Grayson was a soldier, lawyer, and statesman from Virginia. He was one of the first two U.S. Senators from Virginia, and belonged to the Anti-Federalist faction.-Biography:...

's Virginians at the Battle of Brandywine

Battle of Brandywine

The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...

. Nursing an illness he was not at Germantown

Battle of Germantown

The Battle of Germantown, a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War, was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania between the British army led by Sir William Howe and the American army under George Washington...

, but spent the winter at Valley Forge

Valley Forge

Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...

. Following William Grayson's promotion to Brigadier-General, Mitchell led his regiment in the attack at the Battle of Monmouth

Battle of Monmouth

The Battle of Monmouth was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on June 28, 1778 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The Continental Army under General George Washington attacked the rear of the British Army column commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton as they left Monmouth Court...

. This was the attack that was ordered back by General Charles Lee and which eventually led to his court-martial. In 1779 he was Brigade Major on General Peter Muhlenburg's staff in the tidewater Virginia. When British General Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

attacked Richmond, Virginia, Mitchell was defending Petersburg

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

, Virginia when he was captured on May 10, 1781. He was held prisoner until after the Battle of Yorktown

Siege of Yorktown

The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...

Professional and political career

Mitchell served as Delaware's delegate to the Continental Congress during its last two years from his election on October 27, 1786 until the Congress was replaced by the new government under the United States Constitution of 1787. Following that he was Prothonotary for Sussex County. In 1801 he ran for Governor of Delaware, losing to David Hall, the emocratic-Republican candidate. Hall was another veteran of the American Revolution who ran a campaign critical of Mitchell's alleged deistic Anglicanism. Mitchell lost heavily Presbyterian New Castle County by just enough votes to overcome his wide margins elsewhere. Three years later, in 1804 he was successful, beating Joseph Haslet

Joseph Haslet

Joseph Haslet was an American planter and politician from Cedar Creek Village in Cedar Creek Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, who served twice as Governor of Delaware....

, the Democratic-Republican candidate. Mitchell served as Governor of Delaware from January 15, 1805 until January 19, 1808.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

(sessions while Governor)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!
!Senate Majority
!Speaker
!
!House Majority
!Speaker
|-
|1805
|29th

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

|
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

Federalist Party (United States)

| |Thomas Laws
|-
|1806
|30th

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

Federalist Party (United States)

| |Jesse Green
|-
|1807
|31st

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

Federalist Party (United States)

| |William Warner

Death and legacy

Mitchell died at his home at Laurel. He may have been buried there at first, but was later removed to Christ Church, and is buried in the Broad Creek Episcopal Graveyard, near Laurel.

Hannah, Nathaniel Mitchell's widow, later married Colonel Manaen Bull, a British soldier who became a resident of Laurel after the American Revolution. He had the first store there, on the northwest corner of Delaware Avenue and Market Street. They lived near Trap Pond. Unlike Mitchell, Bull was a Democratic-Republican and ran for Governor of Delaware in 1816 and 1819, losing to John Clark

John Clark (governor)

John Clark was an American farmer and politician from Blackbird Hundred in New Castle County, Delaware, near Smyrna...

and Henry Molleston

Henry Molleston

Dr. Henry Molleston, III was an American physician and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and was elected Governor of Delaware, but died before taking office.-Early life and family:Molleston was born in...

.

No known portrait exists of Nathaniel Mitchell.

Almanac

Elections were held the first Tuesday of October and members of the General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. The General Assembly elected the Continental Congressmen for a term of one year,
State Senators had a three year term and State Representatives had a one year term. The Governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and had a three year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|Delegate
|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

|October 27, 1786
|March 4, 1789
|Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

|-
|Prothonotary
|Judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

|Georgetown

Georgetown, Delaware

Georgetown is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2010 census figures, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade...

|1788
|1805
|Sussex County

Sussex County, Delaware

Sussex County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 the population was 197,145, an increase of 25.9% over the previous decade. The county seat is Georgetown. The Seaford Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Sussex County.Sussex County is...

|-
|Governor
|Executive

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware Senate

The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at which time Senators may be elected to a two-year term....

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|January 6, 1810
|January 6, 1813
|

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly service
|-
! Dates
! Assembly
! Chamber
! Majority
! Governor
! Committees
! District
|-
|1809
|33rd

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|George Truitt

George Truitt

George Truitt was an American farmer and politician from Murderkill Hundred, in Kent County, Delaware, near Felton. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....

|
|Sussex at-large

Sussex County, Delaware

|-
|1810
|34th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|George Truitt

George Truitt

|
|Sussex at-large

Sussex County, Delaware

|-
|1811
|35th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|Joseph Haslet

Joseph Haslet

|
|Sussex at-large

Sussex County, Delaware

|-
|1812
|36th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Senate

Delaware Senate

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|Joseph Haslet

Joseph Haslet

|
|Sussex at-large

Sussex County, Delaware

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1801
|Governor
|
| |Nathaniel Mitchell
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| |3,457
| |50%
|
| |David Hall

David Hall (Delaware governor)

David Hall was an American lawyer and politician from Lewes, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and member of the Democratic-Republican Party, who served as Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:Hall was born in Lewes,...

| |Republican

Democratic-Republican Party (United States)

The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...

| |3,475
| |50%
|-
|1804
|Governor
|
| |Nathaniel Mitchell
| |Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| |4,391
| |52%
|
| |Joseph Haslet

Joseph Haslet

| |Republican

Democratic-Republican Party (United States)

| |4,050
| |48%

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

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