Document <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><?xml-model href="http://www.tei-c.org/release/xml/tei/custom/schema/relaxng/tei_all.rng" type="application/xml" schematypens="http://relaxng.org/ns/structure/1.0"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LEAF-VRE/code_snippets/refs/heads/main/CSS/leaf.css"?><TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"> <teiHeader> <fileDesc> <titleStmt> <title>John Lacey</title> <author>William Plumer</author> </titleStmt> <publicationStmt> <p>The Plumer Project</p> </publicationStmt> <sourceDesc> <p>Information about the source</p> </sourceDesc> </fileDesc> <xenoData><rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:as="http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#" xmlns:cwrc="http://sparql.cwrc.ca/ontologies/cwrc#" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/" xmlns:geo="http://www.geonames.org/ontology#" xmlns:oa="http://www.w3.org/ns/oa#" xmlns:schema="http://schema.org/" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" xmlns:fabio="https://purl.org/spar/fabio#" xmlns:bf="http://www.openlinksw.com/schemas/bif#" xmlns:cito="https://sparontologies.github.io/cito/current/cito.html#" xmlns:org="http://www.w3.org/ns/org#"/></xenoData></teiHeader> <text> <body> <div> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_005.jpg" n="1"/> <head>John Lacey.</head> <p><lb/>Was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th Febru= <lb/>=ary 1755. His great grandfather emigrated from the isle of <lb/>Wight in England, among the earliest of those who settled with <lb/>Penn in Pennsylvania. The family, from the first emigrant <lb/>down to the subject of this memoir, were Quakers, & chiefly de= <lb/>=voted to agriculture.</p> <p><lb/>When young he received only an imperfect English education, <lb/>which in after life he felt & regretted, & which he endeavored <lb/>to supply, as far as he was able, by his own industry & application <lb/>to private studies. At the age of fourteen he was taken from school <fw>[Nov 15, 1830]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_006.jpg" n="2"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>John Lacey.</fw> <lb/>& employed occasionally on the farm, but principally in <lb/>tending a mill, which his father owned. Here he devoted his <lb/>leisure moments to reading & study & with the aid of borrowed <lb/>books acquired a decent stock of useful knowledge.</p> <p><lb/>In this manner his time was principally occupied, till the dis= <lb/>=putes between Great Britain & the colonies assumed a serious as= <lb/>=pect. Many of his nearest connections, & most of the Quakers, the sect <lb/>to which he then belonged, were in favor of the claims of Great Bri= <lb/>=tain, but he zealously espoused the cause of his country, & united <lb/>with those who prepared to resist the oppressive measures of the <lb/>parent country. A volunteer association of young men was for= <lb/>=med in the county, to learn the use of arms, & he was unanimous= <lb/>=ly chosen their captain.</p> <p><lb/>On the recommendation of the general congress, several battal= <lb/>=ions of troops were ordered to be raised in Pennsylvania, for the <lb/>defense of the country; & the 5th of January 1776, congress appointed <lb/>him a captain. In about twenty days after he received his commission, <lb/>he enlisted his full compliment of men; & was attached to the fourth <lb/>battallion commanded by col. Anthony Wayne; & were directed to ren= <lb/>=devous at Chester-from Chester they were soon ordered to New <lb/>York, & from thence towards Canada. About this time a misunder= <lb/>=standing arose between the colonel & himself; but he continued to <lb/>serve out the residue of the campaign; during which he was <lb/>selected by general Sullivan to go express into Canada, with com= <lb/>=munications to general Arnold; tho a hazardous undertaking, <lb/>he effected it to entire satisfaction. When the army went into <lb/>winter quarters he sent in his resignation, accompanied with <lb/>a detailed statement of his reasons for a proceedure so little congenial <lb/>with his wishes, & his original views, but which existing circumstances, <lb/>in his opinion, imperiously required him to adopt.</p> <p><lb/>On the 22d of March 1777 he was appointed an officer, with the <lb/>rank of lieutenant colonel, to organize & class the militia of Pernsyl= <lb/>=vania, to call out the classes, & fine those who should prove de= <lb/>=linquent. On the 6th of May following he was appointed lieutenant <lb/>colonel in the militia.</p> <p><lb/>After the British had taken possession of Philadelphia, a draft was <lb/>made on the militia of Bucks county to releive those whose time of <lb/>service had nearly expired, & being & anxious for active employment <lb/>he solicited & obtained command of a regiment, from the officer whose <lb/>term it was to take the field. Having collected between three and <fw>[Nov 19, 1830]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_007.jpg" n="3"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>John Lacey.</fw> <lb/>four hundred men, he marched from Newtown, & in the beginning <lb/>of November joined general Potter's brigade at Whitemarsh. While <lb/>on this tour of duty, he was engaged in frequent skirmishes with <lb/>parties of the enemy, & in one of some severity near the gulph <lb/>mills on Schuykill, from which he had a narrow escape, in <lb/>consequence of his perseverance in rallying & encouraging the <lb/>troops, in the face of a superior force. General Washington, in <lb/>his orders of the next day, commended him for his conduct on that <lb/>occasion. After this affair he commanded a detactment of militia <lb/>on the eastern side of the Schuykill till the close of the campaign.</p> <p><lb/>His active exertions in suppressing intercourse with the Bri= <lb/>=tish, & breaking up the iniquitous traffic of their adherents, had <lb/>by this time so strongly excited the tories & disaffected, that they <lb/>menaced him with personal vengeance; but a spirit so determi= <lb/>=ned, & devoted to the service as his, was not to be influenced by such <lb/>considerations.</p> <p><lb/>On the 9th of January 1778, he not being then quite twenty three <lb/>years of age, the government of Pennsylvania appointed him a <lb/>brigadier general. Without delay he repaired to his post, & had <lb/>an important duty to perform, on the lines, while the British <lb/>occupied Philadelphia. The utmost vigilance was required, <lb/>to cut off the intercourse of the tories with the city, & to watch <lb/>the movements of the enemies parties, who denounced vengeance <lb/>against him, & declared they would have him, dead or alive. <lb/>He was incessantly employed in this service, till the middle <lb/>of May, at the head of a fluctuating body of militia, whose force <lb/>sometimes amounted to five hundred men, but was <lb/>frequently reduced to half that number. On the first of May, ow= <lb/>=ing to the misconduct of the officer commanding the scouts, his <lb/>camp was surprised, by a strong detachment of the British, con= <lb/>=sisting, according to their own accounts, of four hundred light <lb/>infantry, three hundred rangers, & a party of light dragoons, <lb/>under the command of colonel Abercrombie. He was assailed <lb/>on all sides, about daylight, & was for a short time, in a perilous <lb/>situation. He determined on a bold expedient, & hastily forming <lb/>his little band, he fought his way thro the enemy, with the loss of <lb/>twenty six killed, & an inconsiderable number of wounded, & <lb/>prisoners.</p> <p><lb/>A number of hazardous enterprizes in the vicinity of the <lb/>enemy's outposts, requiring great address & dexterity in the <fw>[Nov 16, 1830]</fw> <pb facs="/sites/default/files/2024-12/plumer_vol5_008.jpg" n="4"/> <fw>1814</fw> <fw>John Lacey.</fw> <lb/>execution, were undertaken by him, at the request of gene= <lb/>=ral Washington; & were performed, for the most part, with <lb/>success, & always to the satisfaction of the latter. The command= <lb/>=er in chief imposed upon Lacey an unpleasant duty, to be <lb/>performed among his neighbors & relations-the derangement <lb/>of their grist mills, & the destruction of grain, forage, & other <lb/>private property, to distress the enemy by preventing him from <lb/>drawing supplies from that part of the country. This painful service <lb/>he executed reluctantly, but impartially, in all cases.</p> <p><lb/>After the British had evacuated Philadelphia, he was elected a mem= <lb/>=ber of the general assembly, from the county of Bucks, & took his seat <lb/>in November 1778. The next year he was elected to the council, <lb/>of which he was a member for the three succeeding years. <lb/>In 1780 general Washington apprehensive that the enemy <lb/>again intended to invade Pennsylvania, general Lacey was ordered <lb/>to Trenton, New Jersey, with a brigade of the militia; & continued <lb/>in the service most of the time till october 1781. He was an officer <lb/>of a remarkable fine, martial appearance, of a determined, en= <lb/>=terprising character, devoted to the cause of his country. <lb/>During his last command he married a daughter of colonel <lb/>Reynolds of New Jersey, & shortly after removed to that State, <lb/>& settled at the village of New Mills, in Burlington county, <lb/>where he became largely concerned in iron works. He was for <lb/>many years an active & useful citizen, having been member of <lb/>the legislature, justice of the peace, & judge of the county court where <lb/>he resided.</p> <p><lb/>In the latter part of his life he was much afflicted with the <lb/>gout, of which he died February 17th 1814 aged fifty nine years.</p> </div> </body> </text> </TEI> Document Download Object Type XML document Related Item No Medium document
