Edward Hand Edward Hand ( 31 December 1744 – 3 September 1802 ) was an Irish - born soldier , physician , and politician who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War , rising to the rank of general , and later was a member of several Pennsylvania governmental bodies . Early life and career . Hand was born in Clyduff , King ' s County ( now County Offaly ) , Ireland , on 31 December 1744 , and was baptised in Shinrone . His father was John Hand . Among his immediate neighbours were the Kearney family , ancestors of U . S . President Barack Obama [ 1 ] . He was a descendant of either the families of Mag Fhlaithimh ( of south Ulaidh and Mide ) or Ó Flaithimhín ( of the Síol Muireadaigh ) who , through mistranslation ( " Flaithimh " / " Flaithimhín " into " Láimhín " ; " laimh " = " hand " ) , became Lavin or Hand [ 2 ] . Hand earned a medical certificate from Trinity College , Dublin . In 1767 , Hand enlisted as a Surgeon ' s Mate in the 18th ( Royal Irish ) Regiment of Foot . On 20 May 1767 , he sailed with the regiment from Cobh , Cork , Ireland , arriving at Philadelphia on 11 July 1767 . In 1772 , he was commissioned an ensign . He marched with the regiment to Fort Pitt , on the forks of the Ohio River , returning to Philadelphia in 1774 , where he resigned his commission . In 1774 , Hand moved to Lancaster , Pennsylvania , where he practiced medicine . On 13 March 1775 , he married Catherine Ewing ( born 25 March 1751 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) . Lancaster was the region of some of the earliest Irish and Scots - Irish settlements in Pennsylvania ; as a people , they were well known for their anti - English and revolutionary convictions . Hand was active in forming the Lancaster County Associators , a colonial militia . Hand was a 32nd degree Freemason ; belonging to the Montgomery Military Lodge number 14 . American Revolution . He entered the Continental Army as a lieutenant colonel in the Pennsylvania Line . He crossed the Delaware River with George Washington . He was promoted to colonel and commanded the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment . He was later promoted to brigadier general and served as the commander of Fort Pitt fighting British loyalist and their Indian allies . He was recalled , after over 2 years at Fort Pitt , to serve as a brigade commander in Major General La Fayette ' s division . After a few months , he was appointed Adjutant General of the Continental Army and served during the siege of Yorktown in that capacity . In recognition of his long and distinguished service , he was , in September 1783 , promoted by brevet to major general . He resigned from the Army in November 1783 . After the Revolution . Hand returned to Lancaster and resumed the practice of medicine . A Federalist , Hand was active in civil affairs , holding posts that included : Beginning in 1785 , he owned and operated Rock Ford plantation , a farm on the banks of the Conestoga River , one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) south of Lancaster , Pennsylvania . The Georgian brick mansion remains today ; the farm is a historic site open to the public . Hand died from cholera at Rock Ford . He is buried in St . James ' s Episcopal Cemetery in Lancaster .