PILOTED THE FIRST BOAT WITH GENERAL WASHINGTON IN IT ACROSS THE DELAWARE RIVER DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
2nd Lt.Captain Wm.Perry's Co. Revolutionary War
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS RE-WRITTEN FROM AN ARTICLE WHICH APPEARED IN THE WILMINGTON SUNDAY STAR ON MARCH 25 1934
Buried beneath a crude stone, in a tiny churchyard near Milton, in Sussex County sleeps JOHN HAZZARD. The lineage he left behind him has been distinguished-and soldiers and statesmen, men who have been at the helm for centuries carry forth the proud old name. One son,David, became 29th Governor of Delaware, and also served in the Delaware State Senate, and fought in the WAR OF 1812.
Yet the hands which these later Hazzards have held upon the helm of statescraft are far less important than those with which their sire once guided-and now long forgotten.
For that John Hazzard was at the helm on that grim and fateful night in 1776, when Washington crossed the Delaware.
Unsung and unheralded, this distinction is recorded in no epic poem, nor graven into bronze or marble. Yet, the whole course of our history might have changed, had his strong hands faltered at the task.
Young John Hazzard had enlisted from his home in Indian River Hundred in early 1776. The son of Joseph Hazzard, a farmer, he had gone to country schools and made himself an education.
He was no clod, this dashing steersman. He had flashing eyes and was something of a mystic-already he had taken holy orders in the Episcopal Church and only his love for liberty delayed his departure. At this time he was 22 years old-he had been a soldier for a year-a good soldier, whose only regret on this vital night was the recollection of the lovely Delaware beauty to whom he had pledged his troth to 2 months earlier. But there was work to be done-America was at stake.
With Haslet's troops, John Hazzard had gone to New York in the fall of 1776. After spending July fourth at New Castle, they had marched for headquarters at New York. The first day they came to Philadelphia and were completely armed and equipped for war. They arrived in New York in short time, tents were given out, and the army encamped about a mile north of that city. The enemy with a large fleet of men-of-war and transports lay in the harbor and had occupied Staten Island, but had not yet landed on Long Island.
The Delaware regiment was brigaded with 4 Pennsylvania regiments and Smallwood's Maryland regiment under Lord Stirling in Major General Sullivan's Division. On August 27 1776 the Delaware regiment fought its first battle.
The enemy landed during the night, and a little before day light, the American army marched to meet them. The Delaware regiment and Smallwood's Maryland contingent were ordered to a high commanding hill shortly after daylight and Captain Stidham's First Company was ordered ahead to skirmish. That group soon met the British army, and after a short exchange of shots fell back to the main body. The enemy pressed harder in superior numbers, but the Blue Hen soldiers held their ground until three o'clock in the afternoon when a retreat was ordered. During the whole time the Delaware regiment was surrounded and separated from Smallwood's men. Washington had given up Manhattan and occupied an entrenched area on the northern part of the island. This position called Fort Washington, was held by three thousand troops, of which the Delaware regiment was a part.
On November 16, the British attacked this outlying area in great force and compelled its surrender and many of the Colonials were captured.
The gloom caused by this catastrophe was deep and wide. Washington had been defeated every time he met the army of the King in the field, but the Fort Washington defeat was even more disheartening, for the Americans were behind a breast-work and another Bunker Hill appeared to be in the making.
It was as Tom Paine extolled in his famous "The Crisis" "a time to try men's souls". Public opinion was against continuing what appeared to be an uneven battle. Washington was losing prestige rapidly, and wrote himself "If every nerve is not strained to the breaking point to recruit a new army, I think the game is pretty well up."
With the appearance of "The Crisis" came a master stroke, a clear, bright and daring adventure-a vital cog of which was CAPTAIN JOHN HAZZARD.
There were fifteen hundred Hessians gathered in the village of Trenton. To get the picture, it is necessary to imagine a snow-covered village, its one long street running perpendicular to the river. The days are short and bleak, the icicles hang down finger-like from the overhang eaves. The gray wood smoke rises from the chimneys, the surrounding hills are white desolation. Before the town flows the dark Delaware River, filled with floating ice. In the streets one hears the deep-throated, gutteral patois of the German speech, the rattle of drums and the sharp staccato of roll call. Across the river lies the rebel army, somewhere among the wind-swept hills.
Washington's plan was carefully calculated and his instruction given in secrecy to his staff. ONLY ONE MAN NOT IN THE HIGH COMMAND WAS CALLED TO THE CONFERENCE-He was JOHN HAZZARD.
"You are a riverman, I believe Captain?" asked Washington.
"Yes sir I was raised in tidewater Delaware." answered Hazzard.
"Do you think you could take the lead boat across, if we should attack?"
Young Hazzard drew himself up grimly. He thought of the great floes of ice drifting down-submerged, lots of it. His answer gave no hint of what was on his mind.
"Yes sir, we shall get through."
"Good enough," Washington laughed. "I like your spirit. You take the first boat and I shall ride with you. This is life or death for the cause!"
The plan was to have two columns make the crossing, one above the town and one below. The lower corps never crossed-but Hazzard poled his precious skiff through the channel marked, the remainder followed Hazzard's lead.
During the night of December 25, Washington led his troops across the ice-swollen Delaware about 9 miles north of Trenton. The weather was horrendous and the river treacherous. Raging winds combined with snow, sleet and rain to produce almost impossible conditions. To add to the difficulties, a significant number of Washington's force marched through the snow without shoes.
Washington, setting foot on the Jersey shore, separated his force into two divisions. One under Greene took an inland route so as to reach the head of the village street. The other, under Sullivan, took the river trail. Progress was painful, for the roads were in utter darkness, the snow knee-deep.
Just at dawn the two columns reached the village, and the Hessians awakened to find bullets flying through the icy streets. A thousand of them surrendered. The Americans lost four men, two of them frozen to death.
Captain Hazzard's hand had been steady.
Washington's victory was complete but his situation precarious. The violent weather continued - making a strike towards Princeton problematic. Washington and his commanding officers decided to retrace their steps across the Delaware taking their Hessian prisoners with them.
The news of the American victory spread rapidly through the colonies reinvigorating the failing spirit of the Revolution. The battle's outcome also gave Washington and his officers the confidence to mount another campaign. On December 30 they again crossed the Delaware, attacked and won another victory at Trenton on January 2, and then pushed on to Princeton defeating the British there on January 3.
The rest is history. The tide of the Revolution was changed that night. A Delawarean held the tiller of the Ship of State in his hand that night-and the American cause went forward to success.
Married Mary Purnell Houston Conwell(Widow of David Conwell who died in 1778-son of John Conwell and Comfort Claypoole(dtr of Jeremiah and Sarah (Sheppard)Claypoole) on: 30 January 1779 (Broadkill Chapel)
She was born 1753-died 1819
MARY WAS THE DAUGHTER OF ROBERT HOUSTON(SNOW HILL MD, THEN TO LINCOLN,DE.)AND MARY PURNELL.
Had a brother Purnell Houston died in Ohio
Married Hannah Horseman: in Sussex County, De.
Married Elizabeth Burton after Hannah's death
John and Mary had the following children:
David :
birth: 18 May 1781
death: 8 July 1864
Nancy Ann Hazzard
birth: 24 April 1783
death:
John Hazzard
birth: 2 December 1785
death: 18 April 1793
Mary Hazzard
birth: 27 December 1787
death:
SON OF JOSEPH(30 May 1730
Cedar Creek, Sussex County, Delaware
death: 27 September 1794
Sussex County, Delaware) AND MARY HAZZARD.
SIBLINGS:
Rachel Hazzard
birth: 27 January 1750
death:
Cord Hazzard
birth:
death: 13 March 1831
Rachel Hazzard
birth:
death: 6 September 1808
John Cord Hazzard
birth: 28 April 1754
death: 26 November 1825
William Hazzard
birth: 24 May 1756
death: before 27 April 1796
Joseph Hazzard
birth: 5 August 1762
death:
GRANDSON OF Cord Hazzard
birth: 1698 / 1699
Worcester County, Maryland
death: before 11 January 1771
Milford, Sussex County, Delaware
Rachel Brereton
birth: about 1700
death:
GREAT GRANDSON OF David Carr Hazzard
birth: 8 July 1670
death: before 3 November 1748
Anne Cord
birth: 2 February 1677
death:
William Brereton
death:
2nd Lt.Captain Wm.Perry's Co. Revolutionary War
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS RE-WRITTEN FROM AN ARTICLE WHICH APPEARED IN THE WILMINGTON SUNDAY STAR ON MARCH 25 1934
Buried beneath a crude stone, in a tiny churchyard near Milton, in Sussex County sleeps JOHN HAZZARD. The lineage he left behind him has been distinguished-and soldiers and statesmen, men who have been at the helm for centuries carry forth the proud old name. One son,David, became 29th Governor of Delaware, and also served in the Delaware State Senate, and fought in the WAR OF 1812.
Yet the hands which these later Hazzards have held upon the helm of statescraft are far less important than those with which their sire once guided-and now long forgotten.
For that John Hazzard was at the helm on that grim and fateful night in 1776, when Washington crossed the Delaware.
Unsung and unheralded, this distinction is recorded in no epic poem, nor graven into bronze or marble. Yet, the whole course of our history might have changed, had his strong hands faltered at the task.
Young John Hazzard had enlisted from his home in Indian River Hundred in early 1776. The son of Joseph Hazzard, a farmer, he had gone to country schools and made himself an education.
He was no clod, this dashing steersman. He had flashing eyes and was something of a mystic-already he had taken holy orders in the Episcopal Church and only his love for liberty delayed his departure. At this time he was 22 years old-he had been a soldier for a year-a good soldier, whose only regret on this vital night was the recollection of the lovely Delaware beauty to whom he had pledged his troth to 2 months earlier. But there was work to be done-America was at stake.
With Haslet's troops, John Hazzard had gone to New York in the fall of 1776. After spending July fourth at New Castle, they had marched for headquarters at New York. The first day they came to Philadelphia and were completely armed and equipped for war. They arrived in New York in short time, tents were given out, and the army encamped about a mile north of that city. The enemy with a large fleet of men-of-war and transports lay in the harbor and had occupied Staten Island, but had not yet landed on Long Island.
The Delaware regiment was brigaded with 4 Pennsylvania regiments and Smallwood's Maryland regiment under Lord Stirling in Major General Sullivan's Division. On August 27 1776 the Delaware regiment fought its first battle.
The enemy landed during the night, and a little before day light, the American army marched to meet them. The Delaware regiment and Smallwood's Maryland contingent were ordered to a high commanding hill shortly after daylight and Captain Stidham's First Company was ordered ahead to skirmish. That group soon met the British army, and after a short exchange of shots fell back to the main body. The enemy pressed harder in superior numbers, but the Blue Hen soldiers held their ground until three o'clock in the afternoon when a retreat was ordered. During the whole time the Delaware regiment was surrounded and separated from Smallwood's men. Washington had given up Manhattan and occupied an entrenched area on the northern part of the island. This position called Fort Washington, was held by three thousand troops, of which the Delaware regiment was a part.
On November 16, the British attacked this outlying area in great force and compelled its surrender and many of the Colonials were captured.
The gloom caused by this catastrophe was deep and wide. Washington had been defeated every time he met the army of the King in the field, but the Fort Washington defeat was even more disheartening, for the Americans were behind a breast-work and another Bunker Hill appeared to be in the making.
It was as Tom Paine extolled in his famous "The Crisis" "a time to try men's souls". Public opinion was against continuing what appeared to be an uneven battle. Washington was losing prestige rapidly, and wrote himself "If every nerve is not strained to the breaking point to recruit a new army, I think the game is pretty well up."
With the appearance of "The Crisis" came a master stroke, a clear, bright and daring adventure-a vital cog of which was CAPTAIN JOHN HAZZARD.
There were fifteen hundred Hessians gathered in the village of Trenton. To get the picture, it is necessary to imagine a snow-covered village, its one long street running perpendicular to the river. The days are short and bleak, the icicles hang down finger-like from the overhang eaves. The gray wood smoke rises from the chimneys, the surrounding hills are white desolation. Before the town flows the dark Delaware River, filled with floating ice. In the streets one hears the deep-throated, gutteral patois of the German speech, the rattle of drums and the sharp staccato of roll call. Across the river lies the rebel army, somewhere among the wind-swept hills.
Washington's plan was carefully calculated and his instruction given in secrecy to his staff. ONLY ONE MAN NOT IN THE HIGH COMMAND WAS CALLED TO THE CONFERENCE-He was JOHN HAZZARD.
"You are a riverman, I believe Captain?" asked Washington.
"Yes sir I was raised in tidewater Delaware." answered Hazzard.
"Do you think you could take the lead boat across, if we should attack?"
Young Hazzard drew himself up grimly. He thought of the great floes of ice drifting down-submerged, lots of it. His answer gave no hint of what was on his mind.
"Yes sir, we shall get through."
"Good enough," Washington laughed. "I like your spirit. You take the first boat and I shall ride with you. This is life or death for the cause!"
The plan was to have two columns make the crossing, one above the town and one below. The lower corps never crossed-but Hazzard poled his precious skiff through the channel marked, the remainder followed Hazzard's lead.
During the night of December 25, Washington led his troops across the ice-swollen Delaware about 9 miles north of Trenton. The weather was horrendous and the river treacherous. Raging winds combined with snow, sleet and rain to produce almost impossible conditions. To add to the difficulties, a significant number of Washington's force marched through the snow without shoes.
Washington, setting foot on the Jersey shore, separated his force into two divisions. One under Greene took an inland route so as to reach the head of the village street. The other, under Sullivan, took the river trail. Progress was painful, for the roads were in utter darkness, the snow knee-deep.
Just at dawn the two columns reached the village, and the Hessians awakened to find bullets flying through the icy streets. A thousand of them surrendered. The Americans lost four men, two of them frozen to death.
Captain Hazzard's hand had been steady.
Washington's victory was complete but his situation precarious. The violent weather continued - making a strike towards Princeton problematic. Washington and his commanding officers decided to retrace their steps across the Delaware taking their Hessian prisoners with them.
The news of the American victory spread rapidly through the colonies reinvigorating the failing spirit of the Revolution. The battle's outcome also gave Washington and his officers the confidence to mount another campaign. On December 30 they again crossed the Delaware, attacked and won another victory at Trenton on January 2, and then pushed on to Princeton defeating the British there on January 3.
The rest is history. The tide of the Revolution was changed that night. A Delawarean held the tiller of the Ship of State in his hand that night-and the American cause went forward to success.
Married Mary Purnell Houston Conwell(Widow of David Conwell who died in 1778-son of John Conwell and Comfort Claypoole(dtr of Jeremiah and Sarah (Sheppard)Claypoole) on: 30 January 1779 (Broadkill Chapel)
She was born 1753-died 1819
MARY WAS THE DAUGHTER OF ROBERT HOUSTON(SNOW HILL MD, THEN TO LINCOLN,DE.)AND MARY PURNELL.
Had a brother Purnell Houston died in Ohio
Married Hannah Horseman: in Sussex County, De.
Married Elizabeth Burton after Hannah's death
John and Mary had the following children:
David :
birth: 18 May 1781
death: 8 July 1864
Nancy Ann Hazzard
birth: 24 April 1783
death:
John Hazzard
birth: 2 December 1785
death: 18 April 1793
Mary Hazzard
birth: 27 December 1787
death:
SON OF JOSEPH(30 May 1730
Cedar Creek, Sussex County, Delaware
death: 27 September 1794
Sussex County, Delaware) AND MARY HAZZARD.
SIBLINGS:
Rachel Hazzard
birth: 27 January 1750
death:
Cord Hazzard
birth:
death: 13 March 1831
Rachel Hazzard
birth:
death: 6 September 1808
John Cord Hazzard
birth: 28 April 1754
death: 26 November 1825
William Hazzard
birth: 24 May 1756
death: before 27 April 1796
Joseph Hazzard
birth: 5 August 1762
death:
GRANDSON OF Cord Hazzard
birth: 1698 / 1699
Worcester County, Maryland
death: before 11 January 1771
Milford, Sussex County, Delaware
Rachel Brereton
birth: about 1700
death:
GREAT GRANDSON OF David Carr Hazzard
birth: 8 July 1670
death: before 3 November 1748
Anne Cord
birth: 2 February 1677
death:
William Brereton
death:
PILOTED THE FIRST BOAT WITH GENERAL WASHINGTON IN IT ACROSS THE DELAWARE RIVER DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
2nd Lt.Captain Wm.Perry's Co. Revolutionary War
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS RE-WRITTEN FROM AN ARTICLE WHICH APPEARED IN THE WILMINGTON SUNDAY STAR ON MARCH 25 1934
Buried beneath a crude stone, in a tiny churchyard near Milton, in Sussex County sleeps JOHN HAZZARD. The lineage he left behind him has been distinguished-and soldiers and statesmen, men who have been at the helm for centuries carry forth the proud old name. One son,David, became 29th Governor of Delaware, and also served in the Delaware State Senate, and fought in the WAR OF 1812.
Yet the hands which these later Hazzards have held upon the helm of statescraft are far less important than those with which their sire once guided-and now long forgotten.
For that John Hazzard was at the helm on that grim and fateful night in 1776, when Washington crossed the Delaware.
Unsung and unheralded, this distinction is recorded in no epic poem, nor graven into bronze or marble. Yet, the whole course of our history might have changed, had his strong hands faltered at the task.
Young John Hazzard had enlisted from his home in Indian River Hundred in early 1776. The son of Joseph Hazzard, a farmer, he had gone to country schools and made himself an education.
He was no clod, this dashing steersman. He had flashing eyes and was something of a mystic-already he had taken holy orders in the Episcopal Church and only his love for liberty delayed his departure. At this time he was 22 years old-he had been a soldier for a year-a good soldier, whose only regret on this vital night was the recollection of the lovely Delaware beauty to whom he had pledged his troth to 2 months earlier. But there was work to be done-America was at stake.
With Haslet's troops, John Hazzard had gone to New York in the fall of 1776. After spending July fourth at New Castle, they had marched for headquarters at New York. The first day they came to Philadelphia and were completely armed and equipped for war. They arrived in New York in short time, tents were given out, and the army encamped about a mile north of that city. The enemy with a large fleet of men-of-war and transports lay in the harbor and had occupied Staten Island, but had not yet landed on Long Island.
The Delaware regiment was brigaded with 4 Pennsylvania regiments and Smallwood's Maryland regiment under Lord Stirling in Major General Sullivan's Division. On August 27 1776 the Delaware regiment fought its first battle.
The enemy landed during the night, and a little before day light, the American army marched to meet them. The Delaware regiment and Smallwood's Maryland contingent were ordered to a high commanding hill shortly after daylight and Captain Stidham's First Company was ordered ahead to skirmish. That group soon met the British army, and after a short exchange of shots fell back to the main body. The enemy pressed harder in superior numbers, but the Blue Hen soldiers held their ground until three o'clock in the afternoon when a retreat was ordered. During the whole time the Delaware regiment was surrounded and separated from Smallwood's men. Washington had given up Manhattan and occupied an entrenched area on the northern part of the island. This position called Fort Washington, was held by three thousand troops, of which the Delaware regiment was a part.
On November 16, the British attacked this outlying area in great force and compelled its surrender and many of the Colonials were captured.
The gloom caused by this catastrophe was deep and wide. Washington had been defeated every time he met the army of the King in the field, but the Fort Washington defeat was even more disheartening, for the Americans were behind a breast-work and another Bunker Hill appeared to be in the making.
It was as Tom Paine extolled in his famous "The Crisis" "a time to try men's souls". Public opinion was against continuing what appeared to be an uneven battle. Washington was losing prestige rapidly, and wrote himself "If every nerve is not strained to the breaking point to recruit a new army, I think the game is pretty well up."
With the appearance of "The Crisis" came a master stroke, a clear, bright and daring adventure-a vital cog of which was CAPTAIN JOHN HAZZARD.
There were fifteen hundred Hessians gathered in the village of Trenton. To get the picture, it is necessary to imagine a snow-covered village, its one long street running perpendicular to the river. The days are short and bleak, the icicles hang down finger-like from the overhang eaves. The gray wood smoke rises from the chimneys, the surrounding hills are white desolation. Before the town flows the dark Delaware River, filled with floating ice. In the streets one hears the deep-throated, gutteral patois of the German speech, the rattle of drums and the sharp staccato of roll call. Across the river lies the rebel army, somewhere among the wind-swept hills.
Washington's plan was carefully calculated and his instruction given in secrecy to his staff. ONLY ONE MAN NOT IN THE HIGH COMMAND WAS CALLED TO THE CONFERENCE-He was JOHN HAZZARD.
"You are a riverman, I believe Captain?" asked Washington.
"Yes sir I was raised in tidewater Delaware." answered Hazzard.
"Do you think you could take the lead boat across, if we should attack?"
Young Hazzard drew himself up grimly. He thought of the great floes of ice drifting down-submerged, lots of it. His answer gave no hint of what was on his mind.
"Yes sir, we shall get through."
"Good enough," Washington laughed. "I like your spirit. You take the first boat and I shall ride with you. This is life or death for the cause!"
The plan was to have two columns make the crossing, one above the town and one below. The lower corps never crossed-but Hazzard poled his precious skiff through the channel marked, the remainder followed Hazzard's lead.
During the night of December 25, Washington led his troops across the ice-swollen Delaware about 9 miles north of Trenton. The weather was horrendous and the river treacherous. Raging winds combined with snow, sleet and rain to produce almost impossible conditions. To add to the difficulties, a significant number of Washington's force marched through the snow without shoes.
Washington, setting foot on the Jersey shore, separated his force into two divisions. One under Greene took an inland route so as to reach the head of the village street. The other, under Sullivan, took the river trail. Progress was painful, for the roads were in utter darkness, the snow knee-deep.
Just at dawn the two columns reached the village, and the Hessians awakened to find bullets flying through the icy streets. A thousand of them surrendered. The Americans lost four men, two of them frozen to death.
Captain Hazzard's hand had been steady.
Washington's victory was complete but his situation precarious. The violent weather continued - making a strike towards Princeton problematic. Washington and his commanding officers decided to retrace their steps across the Delaware taking their Hessian prisoners with them.
The news of the American victory spread rapidly through the colonies reinvigorating the failing spirit of the Revolution. The battle's outcome also gave Washington and his officers the confidence to mount another campaign. On December 30 they again crossed the Delaware, attacked and won another victory at Trenton on January 2, and then pushed on to Princeton defeating the British there on January 3.
The rest is history. The tide of the Revolution was changed that night. A Delawarean held the tiller of the Ship of State in his hand that night-and the American cause went forward to success.
Married Mary Purnell Houston Conwell(Widow of David Conwell who died in 1778-son of John Conwell and Comfort Claypoole(dtr of Jeremiah and Sarah (Sheppard)Claypoole) on: 30 January 1779 (Broadkill Chapel)
She was born 1753-died 1819
MARY WAS THE DAUGHTER OF ROBERT HOUSTON(SNOW HILL MD, THEN TO LINCOLN,DE.)AND MARY PURNELL.
Had a brother Purnell Houston died in Ohio
Married Hannah Horseman: in Sussex County, De.
Married Elizabeth Burton after Hannah's death
John and Mary had the following children:
David :
birth: 18 May 1781
death: 8 July 1864
Nancy Ann Hazzard
birth: 24 April 1783
death:
John Hazzard
birth: 2 December 1785
death: 18 April 1793
Mary Hazzard
birth: 27 December 1787
death:
SON OF JOSEPH(30 May 1730
Cedar Creek, Sussex County, Delaware
death: 27 September 1794
Sussex County, Delaware) AND MARY HAZZARD.
SIBLINGS:
Rachel Hazzard
birth: 27 January 1750
death:
Cord Hazzard
birth:
death: 13 March 1831
Rachel Hazzard
birth:
death: 6 September 1808
John Cord Hazzard
birth: 28 April 1754
death: 26 November 1825
William Hazzard
birth: 24 May 1756
death: before 27 April 1796
Joseph Hazzard
birth: 5 August 1762
death:
GRANDSON OF Cord Hazzard
birth: 1698 / 1699
Worcester County, Maryland
death: before 11 January 1771
Milford, Sussex County, Delaware
Rachel Brereton
birth: about 1700
death:
GREAT GRANDSON OF David Carr Hazzard
birth: 8 July 1670
death: before 3 November 1748
Anne Cord
birth: 2 February 1677
death:
William Brereton
death:
2nd Lt.Captain Wm.Perry's Co. Revolutionary War
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS RE-WRITTEN FROM AN ARTICLE WHICH APPEARED IN THE WILMINGTON SUNDAY STAR ON MARCH 25 1934
Buried beneath a crude stone, in a tiny churchyard near Milton, in Sussex County sleeps JOHN HAZZARD. The lineage he left behind him has been distinguished-and soldiers and statesmen, men who have been at the helm for centuries carry forth the proud old name. One son,David, became 29th Governor of Delaware, and also served in the Delaware State Senate, and fought in the WAR OF 1812.
Yet the hands which these later Hazzards have held upon the helm of statescraft are far less important than those with which their sire once guided-and now long forgotten.
For that John Hazzard was at the helm on that grim and fateful night in 1776, when Washington crossed the Delaware.
Unsung and unheralded, this distinction is recorded in no epic poem, nor graven into bronze or marble. Yet, the whole course of our history might have changed, had his strong hands faltered at the task.
Young John Hazzard had enlisted from his home in Indian River Hundred in early 1776. The son of Joseph Hazzard, a farmer, he had gone to country schools and made himself an education.
He was no clod, this dashing steersman. He had flashing eyes and was something of a mystic-already he had taken holy orders in the Episcopal Church and only his love for liberty delayed his departure. At this time he was 22 years old-he had been a soldier for a year-a good soldier, whose only regret on this vital night was the recollection of the lovely Delaware beauty to whom he had pledged his troth to 2 months earlier. But there was work to be done-America was at stake.
With Haslet's troops, John Hazzard had gone to New York in the fall of 1776. After spending July fourth at New Castle, they had marched for headquarters at New York. The first day they came to Philadelphia and were completely armed and equipped for war. They arrived in New York in short time, tents were given out, and the army encamped about a mile north of that city. The enemy with a large fleet of men-of-war and transports lay in the harbor and had occupied Staten Island, but had not yet landed on Long Island.
The Delaware regiment was brigaded with 4 Pennsylvania regiments and Smallwood's Maryland regiment under Lord Stirling in Major General Sullivan's Division. On August 27 1776 the Delaware regiment fought its first battle.
The enemy landed during the night, and a little before day light, the American army marched to meet them. The Delaware regiment and Smallwood's Maryland contingent were ordered to a high commanding hill shortly after daylight and Captain Stidham's First Company was ordered ahead to skirmish. That group soon met the British army, and after a short exchange of shots fell back to the main body. The enemy pressed harder in superior numbers, but the Blue Hen soldiers held their ground until three o'clock in the afternoon when a retreat was ordered. During the whole time the Delaware regiment was surrounded and separated from Smallwood's men. Washington had given up Manhattan and occupied an entrenched area on the northern part of the island. This position called Fort Washington, was held by three thousand troops, of which the Delaware regiment was a part.
On November 16, the British attacked this outlying area in great force and compelled its surrender and many of the Colonials were captured.
The gloom caused by this catastrophe was deep and wide. Washington had been defeated every time he met the army of the King in the field, but the Fort Washington defeat was even more disheartening, for the Americans were behind a breast-work and another Bunker Hill appeared to be in the making.
It was as Tom Paine extolled in his famous "The Crisis" "a time to try men's souls". Public opinion was against continuing what appeared to be an uneven battle. Washington was losing prestige rapidly, and wrote himself "If every nerve is not strained to the breaking point to recruit a new army, I think the game is pretty well up."
With the appearance of "The Crisis" came a master stroke, a clear, bright and daring adventure-a vital cog of which was CAPTAIN JOHN HAZZARD.
There were fifteen hundred Hessians gathered in the village of Trenton. To get the picture, it is necessary to imagine a snow-covered village, its one long street running perpendicular to the river. The days are short and bleak, the icicles hang down finger-like from the overhang eaves. The gray wood smoke rises from the chimneys, the surrounding hills are white desolation. Before the town flows the dark Delaware River, filled with floating ice. In the streets one hears the deep-throated, gutteral patois of the German speech, the rattle of drums and the sharp staccato of roll call. Across the river lies the rebel army, somewhere among the wind-swept hills.
Washington's plan was carefully calculated and his instruction given in secrecy to his staff. ONLY ONE MAN NOT IN THE HIGH COMMAND WAS CALLED TO THE CONFERENCE-He was JOHN HAZZARD.
"You are a riverman, I believe Captain?" asked Washington.
"Yes sir I was raised in tidewater Delaware." answered Hazzard.
"Do you think you could take the lead boat across, if we should attack?"
Young Hazzard drew himself up grimly. He thought of the great floes of ice drifting down-submerged, lots of it. His answer gave no hint of what was on his mind.
"Yes sir, we shall get through."
"Good enough," Washington laughed. "I like your spirit. You take the first boat and I shall ride with you. This is life or death for the cause!"
The plan was to have two columns make the crossing, one above the town and one below. The lower corps never crossed-but Hazzard poled his precious skiff through the channel marked, the remainder followed Hazzard's lead.
During the night of December 25, Washington led his troops across the ice-swollen Delaware about 9 miles north of Trenton. The weather was horrendous and the river treacherous. Raging winds combined with snow, sleet and rain to produce almost impossible conditions. To add to the difficulties, a significant number of Washington's force marched through the snow without shoes.
Washington, setting foot on the Jersey shore, separated his force into two divisions. One under Greene took an inland route so as to reach the head of the village street. The other, under Sullivan, took the river trail. Progress was painful, for the roads were in utter darkness, the snow knee-deep.
Just at dawn the two columns reached the village, and the Hessians awakened to find bullets flying through the icy streets. A thousand of them surrendered. The Americans lost four men, two of them frozen to death.
Captain Hazzard's hand had been steady.
Washington's victory was complete but his situation precarious. The violent weather continued - making a strike towards Princeton problematic. Washington and his commanding officers decided to retrace their steps across the Delaware taking their Hessian prisoners with them.
The news of the American victory spread rapidly through the colonies reinvigorating the failing spirit of the Revolution. The battle's outcome also gave Washington and his officers the confidence to mount another campaign. On December 30 they again crossed the Delaware, attacked and won another victory at Trenton on January 2, and then pushed on to Princeton defeating the British there on January 3.
The rest is history. The tide of the Revolution was changed that night. A Delawarean held the tiller of the Ship of State in his hand that night-and the American cause went forward to success.
Married Mary Purnell Houston Conwell(Widow of David Conwell who died in 1778-son of John Conwell and Comfort Claypoole(dtr of Jeremiah and Sarah (Sheppard)Claypoole) on: 30 January 1779 (Broadkill Chapel)
She was born 1753-died 1819
MARY WAS THE DAUGHTER OF ROBERT HOUSTON(SNOW HILL MD, THEN TO LINCOLN,DE.)AND MARY PURNELL.
Had a brother Purnell Houston died in Ohio
Married Hannah Horseman: in Sussex County, De.
Married Elizabeth Burton after Hannah's death
John and Mary had the following children:
David :
birth: 18 May 1781
death: 8 July 1864
Nancy Ann Hazzard
birth: 24 April 1783
death:
John Hazzard
birth: 2 December 1785
death: 18 April 1793
Mary Hazzard
birth: 27 December 1787
death:
SON OF JOSEPH(30 May 1730
Cedar Creek, Sussex County, Delaware
death: 27 September 1794
Sussex County, Delaware) AND MARY HAZZARD.
SIBLINGS:
Rachel Hazzard
birth: 27 January 1750
death:
Cord Hazzard
birth:
death: 13 March 1831
Rachel Hazzard
birth:
death: 6 September 1808
John Cord Hazzard
birth: 28 April 1754
death: 26 November 1825
William Hazzard
birth: 24 May 1756
death: before 27 April 1796
Joseph Hazzard
birth: 5 August 1762
death:
GRANDSON OF Cord Hazzard
birth: 1698 / 1699
Worcester County, Maryland
death: before 11 January 1771
Milford, Sussex County, Delaware
Rachel Brereton
birth: about 1700
death:
GREAT GRANDSON OF David Carr Hazzard
birth: 8 July 1670
death: before 3 November 1748
Anne Cord
birth: 2 February 1677
death:
William Brereton
death:
Family Members
Advertisement
Advertisement
