Clement Biddle | |
Birth Date: | 10 May 1740 |
Birth Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Death Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Branch: | United States Army |
Serviceyears: | –1780 |
Rank: | Colonel |
Battles: | American Revolutionary War |
Laterwork: | United States Marshals Service |
Colonel Clement Biddle (May 10, 1740 – July 14, 1814) was an American Revolutionary War soldier.
Biddle was born May 10, 1740, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John Biddle (1707–1789) and Sarah Owen (1711–1773).[1] He was the younger brother of Owen Biddle, Sr. (1737–1799). His great-grandson was Algernon Sydney Biddle.
Biddle was a part of the Society of Friends and helped organize the "Quaker Blues," a company of volunteers.
Biddle's first marriage was to Mary Richardson on June 6, 1764. They had one child, Francis, who died at childbirth. His second marriage was to Rebekah Cornell, the daughter of Rhode Island Chief Justice Gideon Cornell.[2] They had four children: Frances (died at infancy), Thomas (born June 4, 1776), George Washington (February 21, 1779 – 1812), and Mary (born January 12, 1781).
He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1766.[3]
During the American Revolutionary War, Biddle fought in the Battle of Princeton, the Battle of Brandywine, the Battle of Germantown and the Battle of Monmouth. He was the Commissary General at Valley Forge under George Washington, and his headquarters was at Moore Hall.[4] Biddle resigned from the Army in 1780. In 1781, Biddle was made quarter-master general of the Pennsylvanian troops.
After the Revolutionary War, he was the first U.S. Marshal (1789–1793) for Pennsylvania.[5]
In the 1790 census, Biddle's jobs were "Notary, Scrivener, and Broker," which made him a rich man.
He died in Philadelphia on July 14, 1814, and is buried at Christ Church in Philadelphia.[6]