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http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=katheetyson&id=I00408
He was born in Archughcia near Ritz in Scotland at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Lachlan was the most famous of the McIntoshes. Along with his father and siblings, he arrived in the New World on board the "Prince of Wales" in October 1733. For a while after his father's capture by the Spanish, Lachlan and his sister Anne lived at the orphanage of Bethseda operated by the Rev. George Whitefield.
In April 1742 Lachlan became a cadet in Oglethorpe's regiment. He moved to Charles Town in 1748 where he worked in the counting house of Henry Laurens. He studied mathematics, military tactics, and civil engineering. He returned to Georgia several years later and became a successful planter at Altamaha. He owned vast tracts of land in the region of Darien, including the General Island tract.
Lachlan served as a delegate to the Provincial Congress in Savannah as a delegate from St. Andrew's Parish in 1775. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a Brigade General in the Continental Army. He was appointed Colonel of Georgia troops on 7 January 1776. In March 1776, he was engaged in the Battle of Yamacraw Bluff. He commanded the Georgia forces beginning in September of 1776 with the rank of Brigadier General.
On 16 May 1777 Lachlan fought a duel with Button Gwinnett in Savannah. Gwinnett was Georgia's acting Governor. Their feud began when Gwinnett arrested Lachlan's brother George for treason and refused to grant him bail. The fact that McIntosh had also successfully raised his own regiment also did not sit well with Gwinnett. Then Gwinnett conceived a plan to take over British-held Florida which Lachlan was forced to execute. When the plan failed miserably, Gwinnett escaped blame while McIntosh did not. In the State Assembly Lachlan called Gwinnett "a scoundrel and a lying rascal." The two men met in Colonial Park. While McIntosh was wounded in the thigh, Gwinnett (a signer of the Declaration of Independence) was shot in the leg. His leg broken, he fell to the ground. Gwinnett died 4 days later. McIntosh was tried and acquitted for his part in the duel.
Afterwards, through the intervention of influential friends, Lachlan was transferred to the northern theatre of operations where he wintered with George Washington at Valley Forge, PA, in 1777.
On 26 May 1778, Washington asked Lachlan to take command of the Western Department. Washington wrote, "The Congress having been pleased to direct me to appoint an officer to command at Fort Pitt and on the western frontiers in the room of Brigadier-General Hand, I an indeed but not without reluctance from the sense I entertain of your merit, to nominate you as an officer well qualified from a variety of considerations to answer the object they have in view. I do not know particularly what the objects are which Congress have in contemplation of the command and I therefore request that you will, as soon as you conveniently repair to Yorktown and receive their instructions respecting them. I have only to add that I shall be happy to hear from you as often as opportunity will permit and my warmest wishes that your service may be favourable to yourself and approved by your country. I am, Sir, with great esteem and regards, your most obedient servant."
Lachlan took up the command. He made Fort Pitt his base of operations. Some discussion was held about organizing an expedition against Detroit to destroy the British powers in that region. That would also serve to put a stop to the Indian raids in the area. However, Lachlan lacked the manpower necessary to undertake such an expedition. He did build a fort at the mouth of Beaver Creek which was named Fort McIntosh. A garrison was stationed there.
On 18 May 1779, Lachlan was ordered south to help recapture the city of Savannah from the British.
Lachlan was captured at the Battle of Charles Town in May 1780. A siege had begun on 9 April 1780 by the British. It lasted for over 40 days during which time the city of Charleston, SC, ran short on provisions. Finally the Americans surrendered on 12 May 1870. Lachlan was taken prisoner but was exchanged for British prisoners on 9 February 1872.
Source FrancieMcI@aol.com
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1725 - 1806 (80 years)
