Walter Stewart ( general ) Walter Stewart ( 1756 – 16 June 1796 ) was born in Ireland and began his military career as captain of a Pennsylvania infantry company at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War . He served as an aide de camp to Horatio Gates for a year with the rank of major . Given command of the Pennsylvania State Regiment , which later became the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment , Stewart led his troops with distinction at Brandywine and Germantown in 1777 . Again showing bravery , he was wounded while leading a detachment at the Battle of Monmouth in the summer of 1778 . Because of his strikingly good looks , the ladies of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania called him the " Irish Beauty " . He helped cool tensions during a 1780 mutiny of the Connecticut Line . He wed Deborah McClenichan in 1781 before going south with the army to fight in the Siege of Yorktown . He was deeply involved in the Newburgh Conspiracy . After a term as Inspector General he retired from the army at the beginning of 1783 . After the war he became a successful Philadelphia businessman and general of militia . He died on 16 June 1796 during an outbreak Yellow Fever . Early career . Stewart was born into a Scotch - Irish family in Ireland in 1756 , probably in Londonderry . He settled in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania around 1772 and worked for a relative named Conyngham . In January 1776 he was appointed captain of Company F , 3rd Pennsylvania Battalion . The eight company strong 3rd Battalion was authorized on 9 December 1775 and organized between January and March 1776 at Philadelphia . It joined George Washington ' s main army on 11 June 1776 and was assigned to Thomas Mifflin ' s brigade . However , in May Stewart was promoted to major and became aide de camp to Horatio Gates when that general transferred to the Northern Department . In December 1776 , Gates returned to the Philadelphia area with the Northern Department ' s New Jersey and Pennsylvania regiments . That November , Congress voted Stewart a $ 100 sword as recognition of his services . One Continental Army private recalled that the ladies of Philadelphia called the good - looking Stewart the " Irish Beauty " . Another observer described him as , " of fair , florid complexion , vivacious , intelligent and well - educated , and , it was said , was the handsomest man in the American army " . On 17 June 1777 , Stewart was named commander of the Pennsylvania State Regiment , which later became the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment . Stewart who was Gates ' subordinate for over a year , took his former chief ' s side in the political struggle between Gates and his rival Philip Schuyler . When Gates assumed command of the Northern Department in August 1777 , Stewart wrote him , " You can ' t Imagine my Dear Sir , the Satisfaction it gives me your being sent back to your proper Command . It is so great a thing , to get the better so Nobly of that petty party , for I can call them by no other Name . " In another letter to Gates , he wrote of his fellow Pennsylvanian Anthony Wayne having to dig trenches , " We are throwing up a few works at Wilmington , where Wayne is like a mad bear , it falling to his brigade . I believe he heartily wishes all engineers at the devil . " Philadelphia campaign . At the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777 , the Pennsylvania State Regiment fought with the 2nd , 3rd , 4th , 10th , and 14th Virginia Regiment s in George Weedon ' s Brigade . Another authority wrote that the 2nd Virginia Brigade consisted of the 2nd , 6th , 10th , and 14th Virginia , but it is possible that some units were attached and others detached . That day , Washington with 11 , 000 men offered battle to British General Sir William Howe ' s 12 , 500 troops . While 5 , 000 British and Hessians under Wilhelm von Knyphausen threatened the American center , Howe took 7 , 500 men in a wide turning movement that crossed the Brandywine beyond the American right flank . Belatedly detecting Howe ' s column , Washington deployed the divisions of John Sullivan , Lord Stirling , and Adam Stephen to halt the attempted envelopment . After severe fighting , Howe ' s force cracked the American line . Leaving Wayne to hold off Knyphausen , Washington ordered the division of Nathanael Greene to block Howe . After his brigade endured a three or four mile double - time march in 45 minutes , Weedon arranged his troops on a reverse slope behind a fence . He swung the right flank forward behind a fence and some woods so as to take any attackers in enfilade . Henry Monckton ' s 2nd Grenadier Battalion blundered into Weedon ' s trap as dusk fell . As his men came under heavy fire , Monckton asked Hessian Captain Johann von Ewald to ride and get help . The Hessian found James Agnew who brought up his 4th Brigade on Monckton ' s left . One of Agnew ' s regiments , the 64th Foot was roughly treated , losing 47 of its 420 men in the vicious firefight that followed . The Pennsylvania State Regiment was evidently part of the thrown - forward right flank . One witness recalled the unit ' s colonel , " Stewart on foot , in its rear , animating his men . " An officer in the regiment wrote that , " Our regiment fought at one stand about an hour under incessant fire , and yet the loss was less than at Long Island ; neither were we so near each other as at Princeton , our common distance being about 50 yards . " With the assistance of some artillery , the British finally forced the Americans back , but the exhausted victors did not pursue in the dark . Stewart led a detachment of his regiment at the Battle of Germantown on 4 October 1777 . As Greene ' s wing advanced on the British positions , Stewart ' s unit covered Weedon ' s left flank where a gap had developed between that brigade and Alexander McDougall ' s Connecticut Brigade . After driving off two British light infantry companies , his men captured an earthwork near Luken ' s Mill . He wrote Gates , " I took a little redoubt with three Pieces of Cannon from them " . He noted that , " It was cursed Hot work for it before they left them " . He noted that his men started fighting from Germantown and penetrated the British lines as far as the Market House . Another officer recalled that the Pennsylvania State Regiment had overcome all resistance in its front . When it was attacked on its left and rear , " Gen . Steven [ Stephen ] ordered Col . Stewart to evacuate the ground " . On 12 November 1777 , the regiment was renamed the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment . Monmouth . After Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia and marched toward New York , George Washington moved his army northeast from Valley Forge , Pennsylvania . After crossing the Delaware at Coryell ' s Ferry , the Americans reached Hopewell , New Jersey on 23 June . From there , they moved to intercept Clinton ' s retreat . Washington appointed his second - in - command Charles Lee ( general ) to lead his advance guard . Lee ' s division included Varnum ' s 300 - man Brigade under John Durkee with two cannons , William Grayson ' s 600 - strong detachment with two guns , William Maxwell ' s 1 , 000 - man New Jersey Brigade with two cannons , Henry Jackson ' s 300 - strong detachment , Charles Scott ' s 1 , 440 - strong command with four guns , and Anthony Wayne ' s 1 , 000 - man command with two guns . There were seven special detachments of troops averaging about 350 men each and these were probably drawn from their parent brigades and other units . Scott led four detachments while Wayne led three detachments . Wayne ' s command included detachments led by James Wesson of Ebenezer Learned ' s Massachusetts Brigade , Henry Livingston , Jr . of Enoch Poor ' s New Hampshire and New York brigade , and Stewart . Very early on 28 June 1778 , Wilhelm von Knyphausen ' s division set out from Monmouth Court House , followed a few hours later by Cornwallis ' division . Lee neglected to scout the area and announced to his subordinates that he had no plan of battle other than to act according to circumstances . He only began moving forward at 7 : 00 AM with 5 , 000 troops to bring on the Battle of Monmouth . When Lee began to threaten the British rear guard , Clinton turned back to help with powerful forces . After some tentative attacks , Lee ' s troops began withdrawing in confusion but not panic . Clinton rushed in pursuit . Washington met Lee ' s retreating division late in the morning and took measures to halt Clinton ' s advance . Washington relieved Lee of command , but later allowed him to patch together a defensive line with the available troops . Lee put Varnum ' s Brigade , now under the command of Jeremiah Olney behind a hedgerow . Livingston ' s detachment filed into line on Olney ' s left . On the left flank of the position , Washington asked Stewart and Nathaniel Ramsey , who took over from the wounded Wesson , to hold off the British until he could get the main army in position . The two readily agreed . Soon after , Anthony Wayne appeared and ordered the two detachments to hold a thick wood . Ramsey formed on the extreme left with Stewart to his right . Lee ' s chief of artillery , Eleazer Oswald placed two cannons on Olney ' s right and two more in support of Stewart and Ramsey . As the 1st Guards Battalion came abreast of the woods , the Americans riddled their flank and dropped British Colonel Henry Trelawney and 40 guardsmen . But the crack Brigade of Guards and two companies of the 1st Grenadier Battalion stormed into the woods . Early in the action , Stewart went down , shot in the groin , and was carried to the rear . The outnumbered Americans were pressed back from the trees and attacked by the 16th Light Dragoons in the open . Ramsey was wounded and captured by the dragoons while the Americans made a dash for the bridge across the ravine . After another epic struggle on the other flank , Olney , Livingston , and Oswald were forced back . But the holding actions gave Washington time to deploy Lord Stirling ' s division athwart Clinton ' s advance . Yorktown . After Monmouth , enlistments ran out for most of the men of the 13th and the remaining men were consolidated with the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment on 1 July 1778 . Being the senior officer , Stewart assumed command of the 2nd Regiment . He earned a good reputation with his soldiers by paying close attention to their needs . In fall 1778 he traveled to Philadelphia to secure some items for his troops . He wrote his friend Anthony Wayne , perhaps with tongue in cheek , that the ladies , " have really got the art of throwing themselves into the most wanton and amorous postures " , when he was around . When elements of the Connecticut Line mutinied in 1780 at Morristown , New Jersey , a " dependable " Pennsylvania regiment surrounded them and restored order . At the time , Stewart and other Pennsylvanians reassured the soldiers that their problems were no worse than in other units . Stewart then spoke with the Connecticut officers on behalf of the disgruntled rank and file . Connecticut private Joseph Plumb Martin recalled that Stewart was highly regarded by his own men . The Pennsylvania Line Mutiny occurred on 1 January 1781 at Morristown . The soldiers had a number of grievances including being owed back - pay , seeing newer recruits receive generous bounties and promises of land , and being required to serve past the end of their three - year enlistments . The soldiers assembled under the direction of their sergeants , armed themselves , and began to march on Philadelphia . Orders from their officers were ignored and three officers were slain . Significantly , the soldiers did not molest the civilian population and they handed over British agents to the authorities . At Trenton , New Jersey , the troops negotiated with representatives of Congress and won important concessions , including the new bounty . At the beginning of the mutiny , most of the 2nd Regiment ' s soldiers balked . After being threatened by the mutineers , the 2nd Regiment joined the march . Afterward , the Pennsylvania Line was reorganized with Stewart in charge of a new combat unit . Stewart married Deborah McClenachan on 11 April 1781 . His 17 - year old bride was the eldest daughter of Blair McClenachan a noted Philadelphia businessman . Besides being known as a founder of the First City Troop , Stewart ' s father - in - law bought Cliveden from Benjamin Chew in September 1779 . The home was the focus of heavy fighting during the Battle of Germantown and was badly damaged . His first son William was born on December 27 , eight months and 16 days after the wedding . On 6 July 1781 , he led a Pennsylvania battalion at the Battle of Green Spring . At first , his troops formed the reserve of Wayne ' s 500 - man advance guard . After being reinforced to 900 men by the addition of one light infantry and two Pennsylvania battalions , the Americans walked into a British ambush . Outnumbered seven - to - one , Wayne ordered a counterattack . This bold action and the approach of nightfall allowed the Americans to escape with only 28 killed , 99 wounded , and 12 missing . The British suffered 75 casualties . In fall 1781 , Stewart participated in the Siege of Yorktown as commander of the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion in Wayne ' s Brigade of Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben ' s Division . In John Trumbull ' s painting " Surrender of Lord Cornwallis " the artist painted Stewart standing at the far right in the line of American officers . Stewart retired from the army on 1 January 1783 . However , Washington convinced him to stay on as Inspector General of the Northern Department . Soon after , he became involved with the Newburgh Conspiracy . Newburgh . While the Continental Army camped at Newburgh , New York in the winter of 1782 – 1783 , the army ' s situation neared a crisis . With the war all but won , officers and soldiers realized that they needed to get Congress to give them their back - pay before the army was disbanded . Meanwhile , one faction in Congress wanted the army dissolved in order to reduce expenses and return power to the states . Another faction wanted to use the army as a lever to push through higher taxes and a stronger central government . Washington was sympathetic with his officers but was afraid of the consequences of a large - scale mutiny . He notified Congress that he would do all that he could to stop the army from rebelling . Earlier in the war , the Second Continental Congress promised officers they would receive a life pension of half - pay beginning on 21 October 1780 . The army was well aware that Congress had made no effort to back up this promise . In January 1783 , a committee of officers drew up a petition listing their grievances and Alexander McDougall presented it to Congress in company with Matthias Ogden and John Brooks . Differing from earlier petitions , this one spoke for the entire army , not just the officer corps . Behind the scenes , Washington wrote to members of Congress that the officers ' claims were legitimate . Unfortunately , the Congress defeated a measure that would have given the officers full pay for five years as compensation for the promised pension . According to historian Mark M . Boatner III , Stewart was the real mover behind the Newburgh Conspiracy . He warned his fellow officers that Congress planned to disband the army so that it would not have to meet their demands . He urged the other officers to stand together and force Congress to pay them immediately . Stewart sensed that Washington did not agree with his approach so he turned to the sympathetic Horatio Gates , his former superior . Matters came to a head on 10 March 1783 with the publication of the first Newburgh Address . John Armstrong , Jr . , Gates ' aide de camp was credited with writing the address , but at least one historian believed the address may have been authored by Gouvernor Morris . It read partly as follows , If this be your treatment while the swords you wear are necessary for the defense of America , what have you to expect from peace , when your voice shall sink and your strength dissipate by division ; when those very swords , the instruments and companions of your glory , shall be taken from your sides , and no remaining mark of military distinction be left but your wants , infirmities and scars ? Can you , then , consent to be the only sufferers by this revolution , and , retiring from the field , grow old in poverty , wretchedness and contempt ? Can you consent to wade through the vile mire of despondency , and owe the miserable remnant of that life to charity , which has hitherto been spent in honor ? Gates approved the address in advance . Alexander Hamilton also urged the army to take action against Congress . A second address appeared on the 12th that tried to co - opt Washington into the conspiracy . Washington moved quickly to quell the impending mutiny by calling an officers ' meeting on 15 March . He also notified Congress that it needed to act soon on the army ' s grievances . At the officers ' meeting Washington appealed to his audience not to carry out , " any measures which , viewed in the calm light of reason , will lessen the dignity and sully the glory you have hitherto maintained . " At the end of his speech he took out a letter to read . Unable to read it , he took out his spectacles and said , " Gentlemen , you must pardon me . I have grown gray in your service and now find myself growing blind " . Some of his officers were reduced to tears . In a unanimous vote , the officers expressed confidence in Congress and repudiated the Newburgh Addresses . On 22 March Congress voted to adopt the compensation plan which the officers then accepted . Armstrong tried to revive the plot in April but gave it up when someone revealed the plan to Washington . Gates ' aide later complained that a " timid wretch discovered it to the only man from whom he was to have kept it " . Historian Robert K . Wright , Jr . noted that the wretch whom Armstrong referred to was either Stewart or Brooks . Armstrong went on , " to be more explicit he betrayed it to the Commander in Chief - who , agreeably according to the original plan , was not to have been consulted till some later period " . For his part Gates quietly dropped out of the conspiracy . Family . Stewart finally retired from the army later in 1783 with the brevet rank of brigadier general . He and his wife Deborah settled in Philadelphia across the street from George and Martha Washington . He became a successful businessman and major general of the state militia . The couple had eight children , including one born in Ireland and another in England . The oldest , William died at sea and the youngest child , Washington was born two months after his father ' s death on 16 June 1796 . Stewart died in that year ' s deadly Yellow Fever epidemic and was interred in the burial ground of the old Saint Paul ' s Episcopal Church . His children were William ( 1781 – 1808 ) , Robert ( 1784 – 1806 ) , Ann ( b . 1786 , married Phillip Church ) , Walter ( 1787 – 1807 ) , Henry ( 1788 – 1823 ) , Mary Ann ( 1791 – 1844 ) , Caroline ( died in infancy ) , and Washington ( 1796 – 1826 ) .