Tench Tilghman
BIRTH
Dec 25, 1744
Fausley, Maryland
DEATH
April 18, 1786
Chestertown, Maryland
FAMILY
FATHER:
James Tilghman
(1716-1793)
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Tilghman, Tench
(1744-1786)
Tench Tilghman was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He served as an aide-de-camp to GeneralGeorge Washington, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel.
GRAVE:
MARKER
Grave of Tench Tillman - Oxford Cemetery
4890 Boone Creek Rd, Oxford, MD 21654
8
WIFE
Anna Maria Tilghman
(1755-1843)
Elizabeth Tench Goldsborough
(1786-1852)
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 | ||
Fraunces Tavern Museum | 54 Pearl St 2nd floor, New York, NY 10004 | MUSEUM | ||
Yorktown - Surrender Field | Historical Tour Road, Yorktown, Virginia, 23690, USA | MUSEUM | ||
Washington-Rochambeau Camp 5 Marker | Hebron Road, Bolton, Connecticut, 06043, USA | MARKER | ||
Grave of Tench Tillman - Oxford Cemetery | 4890 Boone Creek Rd, Oxford, MD 21654 | MARKER | ||
Matthew Tilghman Marker | 10516 Rich Neck Rd, Claiborne, MD 21624 | MARKER | ||
Fausley Marker | 9002 Goldsborough Neck Rd, Easton, MD 21601 | MARKER |
DIED:
Chestertown, Maryland
Apr 18, 1786
Tilghman was born on December 25, 1744, at Fausley, a plantation owned by his father, James Tilghman, located on Fausley Creek, a branch of the Miles River, in Talbot County, Maryland, a few miles from the town of Easton. Tilghman likely attended a plantation school, and subsequently was schooled by John Gordon, rector of St. Michael's Parish. He was sent by his grandfather, Tench Francis, to Philadelphia in 1758, at the age of 14, to the Academy and College of Philadelphia (which later evolved into the University of Pennsylvania), from which he was graduated in May 1761.
In July 1775, the Second Continental Congress appointed him to one of the commissioners directed to make treaties with Indians along the frontier, seeking to ensure that they would remain neutral in the American Revolutionary War.[2] Tench was named to the commission to the Six Nations (Iroquois Confederacy) and tribes towards the north.
In the summer of 1775, Tilghman became a lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion of the Philadelphia volunteer light infantry company commanded by Sharpe Dulaney. The company was integrated into the Continental Army in New Jersey in the Flying Camp military formation in June or July 1776. On August 8, 1776, he became one of the aides-de-camp to George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
Tilghman served Washington as secretary for an three years, mostly without pay. Before Colonel Alexander Hamilton (then a young artillery officer) joined Washington's staff, Tilghman was the only aide-de-camp to Washington who was conversant in the French language, a critical skill given the many French military men who had joined the revolutionary cause. During the Battle of Monmouth in 1778 and afterwards, Tilghman interpreted written and verbal communications between Washington, Lafayette, Von Steuben, and commanders of the Continental Army's French allies.