A Narrative of the Campaign in the Valley of the Shenandoah, in 1861
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Robert Patterson was an American military and industrialist.
Background
Robert Patterson was born on January 12, 1792 in Cappagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He was the eldest son of Francis and Ann (Graham) Patterson. His father took part in the Irish Rebellion in 1798, was sentenced to banishment, and came to America, settling on a farm in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Education
Robert Patterson received his early education in the public schools and at fifteen entered the counting house of Edward Thompson in Philadelphia.
Career
In the War of 1812, Robert Patterson served successively as captain, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel of Pennsylvania militia, lieutenant, 22nd United States Infantry, captain and deputy quartermaster-general, 32nd Infantry; and captain, 32nd Infantry, being mustered out in June 1815. He returned to Philadelphia and established himself as a grocer, becoming in time a commission merchant with connections in the South. In 1835 he visited the upper Mississippi and Iowa, keeping a diary describing the country he saw. Excerpts from this diary were published under the title "Observations of an Early American Capitalist" in the Journal of American History, October-December 1907. At first a disciple of Thomas Jefferson, he was one of the five Colonel Pattersons, who sat in the state convention of Democratic-Republicans that met at Harrisburg, March 4, 1824, and by acclamation nominated Andrew Jackson for the presidency.
Robert Patterson was commissioner of internal improvements in Pennsylvania in 1827, was twice a presidential elector; continued to be a Democrat in politics, but was opposed to free trade. At the beginning of the Mexican War, he became a major-general of volunteers (July 7, 1846), commanded his division at Cerro Gordo, led the cavalry and advance brigades in the pursuit, and took Jalapa, for which he was honorably mentioned by General Scott. Upon his discharge from the federal service in July 1848, he returned to his business affairs, became prominent in the development of the sugar industry in Louisiana, acquired interests in sugar and cotton plantations, and eventually the ownership of some thirty cotton-mills in Pennsylvania.
Robert Patterson was a promoter of the Pennsylvania Railroad and of steamship transportation between Philadelphia and other ports. From 1833 to 1867 he commanded a division of Pennsylvania militia. He was one of the original trustees of Lafayette College from 1825 to 1835 and again from 1874 to 1881, being president of the board from 1876 until his death. At the beginning of the Civil War he was mustered into federal service, for three months, as a major-general of volunteers, and assigned to command the military department composed of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. He crossed the Potomac on June 15, 1861, at Williamsport, Maryland. Again, on July 2, he crossed the river, pursuing General "Stonewall" Jackson, and on July 3, advanced to Martinsburg, West Virginia. In the middle of July he was ordered to hold in check the forces under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in the neighborhood of Winchester while General McDowell advanced in Virginia. The reason he gave for his failure to give battle to Johnston and to cooperate with McDowell in the battle of Bull Run was that General Scott did not send him the order to attack. At the expiration of his commission, July 27, 1861, he was mustered out of federal service and returned to his business concerns in Philadelphia.
After the war Robert Patterson published A Narrative of the Campaign in the Valley of the Shenandoah in 1861 (1865). His son, Francis Engle Patterson, a brigadier-general of Pennsylvania volunteers, participated in the Peninsular campaign and was killed by the accidental discharge of his own pistol at Fairfax Court-House, November 22, 1862. Robert Patterson died in Philadelphia on January 12, 1792 and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery.
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Politics
Robert Patterson was a member of Democratic Party.
Connections
Robert Patterson was married in 1817 to Sarah Ann Engle of Germantown, Pennsylvania, who died in 1875. They had eleven children, of whom five died in infancy.