John Lacey

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This article is about the Brigadier General. For the U.S. Representative from Iowa, see John F. Lacey.

John Lacey (February 4, 1755 – February 17, 1814) was an American military officer during the American Revolutionary War.[1] He was appointed a brigadier general in the Pennsylvania militia by the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council in January 1778.[2]

A native of Buckingham Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Lacey was a member of local militia unit which was incorporated into the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army. He served as a captain under General "Mad Anthony" Wayne on the Canadian frontier in 1776, but he and Wayne got along poorly and Lacey resigned his commission and went home.[3] In 1777, he served as a lieutenant colonel in a Bucks County Regiment of militia, during which he fought at Germantown, and Matson's Ford.[4] He gained such a reputation for skill and courage that Pennsylvania Supreme Executive made him a Brigadier General in the Pennsylvania Militia on January 9, 1778.[2] He commanded the American forces in the Battle of Crooked Billet.[5]

He was 59 years old when he died. Later, several communities were named in his honor, including Lacey Park and Lacey Township, New Jersey.


Preceded by
Joseph Hart		 Member, Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, representing Bucks County
28 October 1779—29 October 1782		 Succeeded by
George Wall Jr.

[edit] References

  1. ^ History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. J. H. Battle, Editor. Spartanburg, South Carolina, Reprint Publishers (1985) p. 1175. "General John Lacey-Our Quaker General," W.W.H. Davis. Bucks County Historical Society Papers (1909) Vol. 3, p.32. Also see Memoirs of Brigadier General John Lacey of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 25 (1901), pp. 1-2. An alternate birthdate of December 4, 1752 is given and explained.
  2. ^ a b Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, Volume XI, Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council, p.398 and Pennsylvania Archives, Volume VI, p. 168.
  3. ^ See Pennsylvania Packet March 29, 1775. Homestead is in Buckingham Township, not Wrightstown.Memoirs of Brigadier General John Lacey of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 25 (1901), p.11. Also see Pennsylvania Archives, Volume V, pp.154-155. In 1776, it was Colonel Anthony Wayne. Wayne was appointed a brigadier general in February 1777 and earned the title of "Mad Anthony" later in the war.
  4. ^ Memoirs of Brigadier General John Lacey of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 26 (1902), pp.105-109. Note: Lacey did not have a command during the Battle of Germantown but served as a volunteer. Lacey is not listed at Whitemarsh.
  5. ^ Pennsylvania Archives, Volume VI, pp.470-471.