Colonel John Haslet

KIA January 3rd, 1777, Princeton, New Jersey

Project Vigil

I promise to remember.

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Why I Chose Colonel John Haslet

I wanted to write a blog post about a Patriot killed during the American Revolutionary War and I wanted to write about an "unsung hero." I knew gathering enough information for a blog post would be difficult, but I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and I liked the challenge. In my search for a subject, I realized it would be easy to gather information about famous generals or, for example, members of the Culper Spy Ring, but that wasn't what moved me. When I came across John Haslet's story, it struck a chord with me and I knew I wanted to write about him.

John Haslet wasn't a famous casualty, but he fit right in with the spirit of Project Vigil. What made his story compelling was that he lived most of his life in Ireland, under the oppression of the British Empire. Then, one day, after having lost everything he knew and loved, he made the unbelievably courageous decision to sail across the Atlantic Ocean and start a new life in the Colonies. There, the opportunity to fight back at the empire that had oppressed him presented itself. He accepted it on the spot. John Haslet was a man of paradoxes. He was an intellectual, but he was also a man of action. He was a man of God, but he was also a warrior. Lastly, he was an idealist who gave his life for what he believed in. The day he died, his story, as he knew it, ended forever. He died on a freezing morning, in a snowy field of Princeton New Jersey. He died without ever knowing if his death was worth its cause. He never lived to see that the greatest country in the world was built on sacrifices like his. And for those reasons, he will never be forgotten.

Colonel John Haslet dedicated his life to family, religious faith and fighting for freedom. He died a patriotic death. He was, and forever will be, a true American hero.

Colonel Haslet's Early Life: A man of God

John Haslet was born in in 1727 in Dungiven, County Londonderry, in the Kingdom of Ireland, or what is now known today as Northern Ireland. His father was Joseph Haslet, an Irish born tenant farmer and merchant, who did his best to provide for his wife, Ann Dykes, and their six children.

As a young man, John wanted to pursue a religious life. However, at the time, the Irish were being persecuted under British rule, and were suffering culturally and religiously under the "The Penal Laws". This was an oppression of Catholics and Presbyterians by the reigning Anglican Church.

At the age of 18 John left home to study divinity at the University of Glasgow, in Scotland. John Graduated in 1749 and returned to Ireland. A year later he married Shirley Stirling, the daughter of Reverend John Stirling of Walworth in Ballykelly. In 1750 he was licensed by the Derry Presbytery and ordained as a minister two years later.

In 1752 John Haslet stood before his first congregation as a minister at the Ballykelly Presbyterian Chuch, located 11 miles from where he'd grown up. Around that time he and his wife had their first child, Mary.

A Life-Changing Move to the Colonies

It was in 1757, at the age of 30, that John's life changed forever. When he lost both his wife and child during childbirth, John decided to leave his daughter Mary in the care of his brother Samuel, and sailed for Deleware Colony in the Colonies. Mary would later follow in her father's footsteps and leave Ireland for the Colonies in 1765.

Soon after his arrival in Delaware Colony, John Haslet married Jemima Molleston, with whom he had four children. He then joined the Pennsylvania militia where he rose to the rank of Captain. A year after his emigration to the Colonies, he fought at the Battle of Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War.

After the war, Captain Haslet relocated to Milford, Delaware. There he served as a minister in a Presbyterian church, and also as a doctor.

A Leader in the Struggle for Independence

Recognized as a leading advocate for Independence, the Continental Congress appointed him Colonel of the Continental Army's largest battalion. On January 19, 1776, he took command of a force of 800 men. His orders were to mount up a Revolutionary fighting group (the Delaware Regiment) and to link up with other Patriots from the neighboring Colonies.

John Haslet and his Delaware Regiment saw combat for the first time at the Battle of Long Island. During the battle Colonel Haslet received the order to hold a strong-point long enough to ensure the safe escape of the Continental Army. Thanks to Colonel Haslet's leadership and his soldiers' fierce courage in combat, the Continental Army survived complete destruction and was able to fight another day.

Silvrback blog image Painting of the Delaware Regiment fighting at the Battle of Long Island by Domenick D'Andrea.

Of the battle, artist and author Dominck D'Andrea, writes:

Organized in January 1776 by Colonel John Haslet, the Delaware Regiment was noted as the best uniformed and equipped regiment of the Continental Army. Delaware's blue jackets with red facings and white waistcoats and breeches would later become the uniform for all the Continental troops. During the Battle of Long Island, the Delaware and Maryland troops were positioned on the right of Washington's line. They defended the most direct route from the British landing site in south Brooklyn to the American fortifications in Brooklyn Heights. Though the troops faced the fiercest fighting of the day, they held their ground long enough to allow the remainder of Washington's army to safely retreat to the fortifications. However, the Delaware regiment was outflanked and forced to retreat, taking 23 prisoners with them, through marshland and across the Gowanus creek. Two nights later, Washington entrusted his Delaware and Maryland soldiers to be the rear guard as he secretly withdrew his army from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

In the months that followed the battle, Haslet commanded his regiment in numerous skirmishes and ambushes until it was reduced to no more than 100 men. He escaped to Pennsylvania and regrouped with General Washington. Their next operation was to ambush the British Army at their camp in Trenton.

On the cold night of December 25th, 1776, General George Washington led his men across the Delaware River and ambushed the Hessian soldiers at their encampment in Trenton. Leading the assault was Colonel Haslet's Delaware Regiment. The ambush was a success, and a pivotal victory in the American Revolutionary War.
After evacutaing his position at Assunpink Creek, George Washington marched his troops 18 miles, outflanking his enemy, arriving in Princeton, New Jersey, on the night of January 2nd, 1777.
The next morning he attacked the British forces in Princeton, ending what is now known today as the "Ten Crucial Days."

Colonel Haslet's Death at the Battle of Princeton

During the Battle of Princeton, George Washington's army consisted of 4,500 men (and 35 guns), among them, 3 companies of the Marine Corps. The British forces consisted of 1,200 men and 6 to 9 guns.
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A map of the American and British movements before and during the Battle of Princeton.

The fighting started when Brigadier General Hugh Mercer--one of Washington's most trusted leaders who'd been sent forward to delay the British attack--was ambushed by two enemy regiments at William Clarke's orchard. General Mercer took part in a bayonet charge in which he received 7 stab wounds. He died on the battlefield.

Mercer's second-in-command, Colonel John Haslet, immediately took command of the Colonial troops. Moments later he was struck in the head by a musket ball, and like Mercer before him, he died on the battlefield.

Confused and terrified, the Colonial soldiers started to retreat, when suddenly General George Washington arrived on horseback. The General, who had been leading the Virginia Continentals, rode within only 30 yards of the enemy lines and shouted to his men: "Parade with us, my brave fellows! There is but a handful of the enemy and we shall have them directly!"

With canon balls and Colonial marksman's rounds now tearing into the British lines, Washington's enemy broke ranks and retreated. Again, at the top of his lungs, the American General shouted: "It's only a fine fox chase, my boys!"

The Battle of Princeton is now recognized as the turning point of the American Revolutionary War.
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A modern day reenactment of the Battle of Princeton.

John Haslet was originally buried in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Later, by an act of the Delaware Legislature, he was disinterred, brought back to Delaware (accompanied by a military escort), and on July 3rd, 1841, reburied in his final resting place in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Dover, Delaware.

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John Haslet's grave in Dover, Delaware.