The first eminent Eastern Shore man to whom we paid tribute was the late Congressman Rogers C.B. Morton.
An earlier patriot and prominent hero from our area was Colonel Tench Tilghman, another native of Talbot County.
As we celebrate another birthday of this relatively young nation, perhaps paying tribute to a lesser known, more unlikely, patriot is appropriate.
Tench Tilghman was born on December 25, 1744 at the family plantation “Fausley,” which was owned by his father, James Tilghman. He became a key figure in the Revolutionary War and a very close aide to General George Washington. As one of the General’s most trusted assistants and the creator of much of Washington’s dispatches and correspondence, Tilghman was a close military associate of General Washington, as well as personally favored by the General.
As a student at the College of Philadelphia (later the University of Pennsylvania) Tilghman was familiar with the then Provost, Dr. William Smith, also the founder and early proponent of Washington College.
Upon receiving his A.B. degree in 1761, Tilghman, as many of his numerous siblings, established a business in Philadelphia where some of his family were considered British loyalists, including his father.
Tilghman, enlisted in the Maryland Militia, and soon became invaluable to General Washington due to his communication and foreign language skills.
Following the siege of Yorktown, and surrender of the British in 1781, General Washington personally selected Tilghman to deliver the news of the British surrender to the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia. Traveling by horse, Tilghman delivered the dispatch making stops in Rock Hall, Chestertown and Georgetown, during his historic trek.
In a letter written after the war (1782) to Tilghman, Washington wrote “Till your letter of the 28th arrived, which was the first from you since we departed in Philadelphia, we have various conjectures about you. Some thought you were dead, others that you were married, and all that you have forgotten us. Your letter is not a more evident contradiction of the first and last of these suppositions as is a tacit confirmation of the second and as more can wish you greater success of the plan you are upon than I do…you have no friend that wishes to see you more than I do.”
After the Revolutionary War, Tilghman restarted his business in Baltimore with the involvement of another Talbot County native, Robert Morris, known as the “financier of the Revolution.”
Tilghman died at the age of 41 in 1786. George Washington, in a letter to Tench’s brother, Richard, in June 1786, wrote, “None could have felt his death with more regard than I did, because no one entertained a higher opinion of his worth”. Washington felt very close to his young aide, who was with him throughout the long and hard Revolutionary War. In early America, it was not uncommon for the good to die young.
Tilghman is buried in the Oxford, Maryland cemetery near the tranquil Tred Avon River.
Vincent Godfrey Burns, a former Poet Laureate of Maryland wrote a poem about Tench Tilghman, which was dedicated to the late Eastern Shore Congressman, Rogers C.B. Morton.
Maryland’s Revolutionary Hero
Dedicated to Rogers C.B. Morton
“The battle’s over—the great work done—The bloody war against Britain’s won—
The commander selects a favorite son
For a task demanding great loyalty
Cornwallis is taken – our land is free!!
A snappy salute and he is on his way
His horse, then a boat and across the bay—
With the news that would echo from sea to sea
Cornwallis is taken – Our land is free!!
A man of courage, daring and force
A race for time on a rugged course
A rider flying from horse to horse
Well fit for bearing good news was he- —
Cornwallis is taken – Our land is free!!
Over the hills and over the streams
Along the bay where the moonlight gleams
Bearing a bundle of human dreams
The words of a nation’s destiny
Cornwallis is taken – our land is free
What were his thoughts as he sped along?
Hungry and tired – although his faith was strong deep in his heart he hummed a song
The glorious song of our liberty
Cornwallis is taken – Our land is free!!
He thought of his sweetheart as he passed her home
(Oh, she was as sweet as the honey cone)
But he had a task and could not roam
With the word of news of the birth of our old glory
Cornwallis is taken – Our land is free
When his courage faltered, he bowed and prayed
Asking the Lord for his strength and aid
That he might fare forward unafraid
And meet every danger triumphantly
“Cornwallis is taken – Our land is free!!
Thru hamlets dark with the dead of night
Over hills and dales in the pale moonlight
On creaking ferries that delayed his flight
Knowing this goal was the world to be
“Cornwallis is taken – our land is free!!”
We will remember that thrilling deed
In the hour of peril and moral deed
Maryland’s hero on a flying steed
With the glorious news of victory
“Cornwallis is taken – Our land is free!
Heroes today may be fewer, further apart and less recognizable, but American heroes continue to exist as one the hallmarks of America’s heritage.
Fletcher Hall is Chairman and CEO of F.R. Hall & Associates, a public affairs and corporate communications firm with offices in Chestertown MD and Potomac MD. He is a graduate of Washington College and can be reached at 301.412.1105 or [email protected]
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