William Maxwell was born in about 1733 near Newtown Stewart, County Tyrone, Ireland. He was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His parents, John and Ann Maxwell, with four children, of whom William was the eldest, came to America about 1747, settling in Greenwich township, Sussex (now Warren) County, N. J. William was brought up as a farmer's son, with only ordinary educational advantages.
When twenty-one he entered military service in a British regiment to take part in the French and Indian War, and was with General Braddock at the battle of Fort Duquesne in 1755. Later he became an ensign in Col. John Johnston's New Jersey regiment, and, later still, lieutenant in Col. Peter Schuyler's New Jersey regiment. In 1758 he was in the army under General Abercromby in the expedition against Fort Ticonderoga, and he is believed to have fought under Wolfe at the capture of Quebec in September 1759. Toward the close of the French and Indian War, he became attached to the British commissary department at Mackinac, with the rank of colonel. He was there until 1774, when, learning that New Jersey was nearly ripe for a revolution against Great Britain, he returned to his home in Sussex County, N. J. He was a member of the Provincial Congress at Trenton, which met in May 1775. In August he was chairman of the Committee of Safety of his county, and in October, when again a member of the Provincial Congress, was recommended by that body to the Continental Congress for appointment as colonel of the Western Battalion of New Jersey Continental troops, and elected to that office November 7, 1775 (Journals of the Continental Congress). He at once raised what became the 2nd Battalion, 1st Establishment, of the troops named, and in February 1776, with five full companies, started on the expedition against Canada, under the command of Gen. John Sullivan. He was at the battle of Three Rivers, June 8, 1776. Because of his bravery in this campaign the Continental Congress commissioned him brigadier-general, October 23, 1776, and he was placed by Washington in command of four battalions in the 2nd Establishment of New Jersey Continental troops. From December 2, 1776, to the summer of 1777, he harassed the enemy in New Jersey at Elizabethtown, Rahway, and Springfield; on September 11, 1777, he fought in the battle of Brandywine, Pa. ; then in the battle of Germantown, October 4. He spent the winter and spring, 1777-78, at Valley Forge. On June 28, 1778, his brigade took an active part in the battle of Monmouth, and during the rest of that year and the following winter was stationed chiefly near Elizabethtown, N. J. , again harassing the enemy, interfering with foraging parties from New York and Staten Island. When the Sullivan expedition left Easton, Pa. , June 18, 1779, to proceed against the Six Nations in Western Pennsylvania and New York, Maxwell's brigade was with it, and continued with it until the return in October, when the brigade went into winter quarters near Scotch Plains, N. J. In June 1780, Maxwell fought at the battle of Springfield and the skirmish at Connecticut Farms. This ended his army service, since he resigned his commission in July. Washington, in forwarding the resignation to Congress, spoke of him as "an honest man, a warm friend to this country, and firmly attached to her interests" (to Samuel Huntington, July 20, 1780, Washington Papers, Library of Congress). In 1783 Maxwell was elected to the New Jersey Assembly. He died in November 1796 while on a visit to an army friend at Lansdown, N. J. He was buried in the graveyard of the old Stone Church (Presbyterian) near his home, where a monument, describing his virtues, marks his grave.
William Maxwell is known as Revolutionary War Continental Army Brigadier General. During the American Revolution, he led the 2nd New Jersey Regiment. Among his many actions, he fought in the Battle of Newtown and was regarded by General George Washington as one of the best battlefield commanders of the American forces.
Maxwell is said to have been a "tall, stalwart man" with a "florid complexion. " Because of his Scotch accent his soldiers, by whom he was greatly beloved, called him "Scotch Willie. " The state of New Jersey has always considered him one of its foremost soldiers.
He never married.
