John Haslet
BIRTH
1727
Milford, Delaware
DEATH
January 3, 1777
Princeton, New Jersey
FAMILY
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Haslet, John
(1727-1777)
John Haslet was an American Presbyterian clergyman and soldier from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the French and Indian War and an officer of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, serving as the first Colonel of the 1st Delaware Regiment. He was killed in action at the Battle of Princeton.
HOMES:
MARKER
John Haslet Home Marker
800 Airport Rd #103, Milford, DE 19963
GRAVE:
MARKER
Grave of John Haslet Marker
316 S Governors Ave, Dover, DE 19904
5
Places | Image | Address | GPS | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Battle of Brooklyn Marker | Belt Parkway, New York, New York, 11209, USA | MARKER | ||
Grave of John Haslet Marker | 316 S Governors Ave, Dover, DE 19904 | MARKER | ||
Huntington's Regiment Marker | 7th Avenue, New York, New York, 11215, USA | MARKER | ||
Before There Was A Park Marker | 5th Avenue, New York, New York, 10035, USA | MARKER | ||
John Haslet Home Marker | 800 Airport Rd #103, Milford, DE 19963 | MARKER |
DIED:
Princeton, New Jersey
Jan 3, 1777
Haslet was born in Straw, Burnfoot, County Londonderry in Ulster, Ireland, about 1727, son of Joseph and Ann Dykes Haslet. As the eldest son, he attended the University of Glasgow in Scotland, earned his degree in divinity in 1749 and was ordained a Presbyterian minister at Ballykelly, County Londonderry, in 1752. Arriving in America in 1757, he served in the French and Indian War as a captain in the Pennsylvania militia. He was part of the Forbes Expedition that captured Fort Duquesne in November 1758. He wrote a letter describing the condition of the fort.
In response to the request of the Continental Congress, the Lower Counties Assembly raised the 1st Delaware Regiment, placing Haslet at its command on January 19, 1776, with the rank of colonel. Known as the "Delaware Continentals" or "Delaware Blues", they were from the smallest state, but at some 800 men, were the largest battalion in the army.
At the Battle of Long Island, the Delaware Regiment fought with Colonel William Smallwood's Marylanders. Many thought these were the two best regiments in the Continental Army. They fought under the command of Brigadier General William Alexander, Lord Stirling, and were responsible for holding the Gowanus Road, the far right of the Continental Army line. Retreating across Westchester County, Haslet's men won a victory over a corps of Loyalists at Mamaroneck, New York. At White Plains, on October 28, 1776, the Delaware Regiment again fought with Colonel William Smallwood's Marylanders, reinforcing militia placed on the strategic Chatterton's Hill. The local militia fled under the British attack, but Haslet and Smallwood fought on until, at last, they too yielded the ground.
With expiring enlistments leaving fewer than 100 men remaining in his regiment, Haslet crossed the Delaware with Washington and joined the attack at the Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26, 1776. However, on January 3, 1777, in a skirmish at the beginning of the Battle of Princeton, with General Hugh Mercer down and wounded, Haslet tried to rally Mercer's brigade and was himself shot in the head and killed instantly.