Adam Stephen
BIRTH
1718
Scotland
DEATH
July 16, 1791
Martinsburg, Virginia
FAMILY
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Stephen, Adam
(1718-1791)
Adam Stephen was a Scottish-born American doctor and military officer who helped found what became Martinsburg, West Virginia. He served under Washington again in the American Revolutionary War, rising to lead a division of the Continental Army. After a friendly fire incident during the Battle of Germantown, Stephen was cashiered out of the army.
HOMES:
MUSEUM
General Adam Stephen House
309 E John St, Martinsburg, WV 25401
GRAVE:
MONUMENT
General Adam Stephen gravesite and monument
South Queen Street, Martinsburg, WV, 25401, United States
6
Anne Stephen
(1796-1878)
Places | Image | Address | GPS | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Valley Forge National Historic Park | 1400 N Outer Line Dr, King of Prussia, PA 19406 | MUSEUM | ||
George Washington's Mount Vernon | 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy, Mt Vernon, VA 22121 | MUSEUM | ||
Washington's Crossing Historic Park | 1112 River Rd, Washington Crossing, PA 18977 | MUSEUM | ||
General Adam Stephen House | 309 E John St, Martinsburg, WV 25401 | MUSEUM | ||
Battle of Brooklyn Marker | Belt Parkway, New York, New York, 11209, USA | MARKER | ||
Old Frederick County Courthouse | 20 N. Loudon St, Winchester, VA 22601 | MARKER |
DIED:
Martinsburg, Virginia
Jul 16, 1791
Stephen was born in Scotland. He earned a degree at King's College in Aberdeen, and studied medicine in Edinburgh. Stephen later married and had one child, Ann. Stephen entered Royal Navy service on a hospital ship before emigrating to the British colony of Virginia in the late 1730s or early 1740s. There he established a medical practice in Fredericksburg. He served in the Province of Virginia's militia under George Washington during the French and Indian War.
When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Stephen offered his services to the Continental Army, again serving under Washington. He was with the army during the New York and New Jersey campaigns of 1776 and early 1777, and as a major general he was given command of a division in Washington's army during the defense of Philadelphia. In the October 1777 Battle of Germantown, Stephen's men fought in the fog with troops led by General Anthony Wayne. Stephen was accused of being drunk during the battle, and after being convicted in a court martial, he was stripped of his command and cashiered out of the army, making him the only Continental Army general court-martialed and immediately dismissed from the service during the war.
When the war ended, he returned to Berkeley County. In 1778 Stephen laid out the plan for Martinsburg and named the town after his friend, Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin. Stephen became sheriff of Berkeley County, with Martinsburg as the county seat. Generals Horatio Gates and Charles Lee both purchased property in the county and lived nearby. In 1780, Berkeley County voters elected Stephen as one of their (part-time) representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates. In 1788, he was elected to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, where he spoke (and voted) in favor of ratification of the Constitution of the United States.