Manuscript Group 129, William Leddel (1747-1827), Cavalry officer Papers, 1793-1801 (Bulk dates: 1794)

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Manuscript Group 129, William Leddel (1747-1827), Cavalry officer

Papers, 1793-1801 (Bulk dates: 1794), 0.25 linear feet / 1 small manuscript box

Call Number: MG 129

Summary

• Biographical  Note

• Scope and Content Note

• Related Collections

• Item List (Original index)

• Item List by Document Type

Summary:

Correspondence and documents concerning this officer’s involvement in the expedition into western Pennsylvania to help put down the Whiskey Rebellion; fragments of Leddel’s diary, 1794-1801; papers from 1801 concerning the town of Mendham in Morris County.  Included are returns of other New Jersey Militia units led by Captains David Ford, Derick Krossen, John Forman Longstreet, Uzal Meeker, Abraham Shavers, and Henry Vanderveer.  Major Leddel commanded the Morris County Squadron, Capt. Ebenezer Tuttle’s Troop of Light Dragoons, 2nd Regiment, New Jersey Detached Militia.  Included are letter of:

Biographical Note:

William Leddel, Jr., the son of William Leddel, a French naval surgeon who settled in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, was born in 1747. Upon his father’s death in 1766, William Jr. moved to Mendham, New Jersey and apprenticed himself to Dr. Ebenezer Blachy. He established himself as a physician and practiced in Mendham for the remainder of his life.

Leddel was also active in military matters, serving as a lieutenant in the Morris County Troop of Light Horse during the Revolution. He participated in the Battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield and in the retreat of George Washington from New York. He also used his medical skills to tend to Washington’s troops during their stay in Morristown in the winter of 1779-1780. Later, he was a major in the forces that put down the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 and served as a captain of cavalry during the War of 1812. He served two terms as Morris County’s sheriff from 1783-1785 and tried small cases before the Justices of the Peace.

In addition, sometime prior to the American Revolution, William Leddel probably either acquired or built a sawmill in southern Mendham on the upper branch of the Passaic River in Jockey Hollow. This mill was replaced by a larger sawmill, woodturning mill, and gristmill, known as Leddel Mill; and seems to have remained in the family for a number of generations.

William Leddel married Phebe Wick, the daughter of Henry Wick, and they settled at Washington Corner on a part of the Wick tract in Mendham. It was here that they raised their five children: Eliza, Tempe, Henry (d.1799), Mary, and John (ca.1784-1865). Dr. William Leddel died in Mendham on August 9, 1827 at the age of eighty.

Provenance Note:

The source of this collection is unknown.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers consist of letters, general orders, receipts, muster rolls, and returns used by Major William Leddel mostly during the “Western Expedition” to put down the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. The papers date from 1793-1801 and were originally part of a scrapbook documenting Leddel’s participation in the expedition. The documents were glued into the scrapbook in chronological order, numbered, and described in an index. The original order of the documents has been preserved and the original index, listing the items in numerical order and giving a short summary of each document, has been transcribed below. In addition, a secondary index listing the items by document type (correspondence, general orders, etc.) follows the original item list. The item description in the latter index with be much briefer, therefore researchers should refer to the original index for further information.

The papers largely consist of muster rolls, supply orders, payrolls, and general orders regarding William Leddel’s squadron of cavalry and the troops of Captains David Ford (1761-1835), Uzal Meeker, Daniel Phoenix (ca. 1761-1828), Ebenezer Tuttle (1750-1834), Abraham Shaver, John Forman Longstreet, and Abraham Kinney (1762-1816). These items refer to supplies, rations, and pay for the troops and document the daily life of a soldier in the cavalry. The correspondence in the collection also discusses similar topics and includes letters from James Dunham, Governor Richard Howell (1754-1802), Peter Hunt (ca. 1768-1810), Christopher Rockafellow, and Brigadier General Anthony W. White (1750-1803). In addition, the collection contains both printed and handwritten orders from such men as Governor Richard Howell, Brigadier General Anthony W. White, Aaron Ogden (1756-1839), and General Joseph Bloomfield (1753-1823). Other topics covered include the death of Leddel’s horse in December of 1794 (items 78, 79, 84, 85, 111), the trial of Captain Abraham Kinney for insubordination in April of 1795 (items 102-104, 106-109, 112), the investigation and impeachment of Justice George Bonover of Morris County (items 118, 122), and concerns over tax arrears in the town of Mendon (now Mendham), where Leddel lived (items 117-123).

The papers also contain pages from William Leddel’s diary written during the “Western Expedition.” The entries detail Leddel’s daily activities, which included such tasks as reviewing the troops, and include copies of military orders and instructions.

Related Collections:

Manuscript Group 119, Leddel Family  (Mendham, NJ) Records

Manuscript Group 562, M. M. Leddell (fl. 1875-1879) Account book

Manuscript Group 674, Anthony Walton White (1750-1803) Papers

Manuscript Group 785, Kinney Family (Newark, NJ) Papers

Item List (Original index):

Item List by Document Type:

Processed by Kim Charlton, December 2000 as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

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