John Haslet John Haslet ( c . 1727 – January 3 , 1777 ) was an American clergyman and soldier from Milford , in Kent County , Delaware . He was a veteran of the French and Indian War and an officer of the Continental Army in the American Revolution , serving as the first Colonel of the 1st Delaware Regiment . He was killed in action at the Battle of Princeton . Early life and family . Haslet was born in Straw , Dungiven , County Londonderry in Ulster , Ireland about 1727 , son of Joseph and Ann Dykes Haslet . As the eldest son , he attended the University of Glasgow in Scotland , earned his degree in divinity in 1749 and was ordained a Presbyterian minister at Ballykelly , County Londonderry , in 1752 . About 1750 , he married Shirley Stirling , daughter of the Presbyterian minister from Walworth , Ballykelly . They had a daughter Mary , called Polly , born about 1752 . Shirley most likely died in childbirth , as Polly was raised by her uncle , Samuel Haslet and followed her father to America in 1765 . By 1764 , he had settled near Milford , Delaware , and married Jemima Molleston , the widow of John Brinkle and sister of Henry Molleston . Records of the Presbyterian Historical Society of America do not show him as a preacher in America ; rather he is commonly referred to as " doctor " Haslet , reference to his medical practice . In 1767 , he bought a tract of land called " Longfield , " now inside the northern limits of Milford just off Roosa Road . They had four children together , Ann , Jemima , John and Joseph . French and Indian War . Arriving in America in 1757 , he served in the French and Indian War as a Captain in the Pennsylvania militia . He was part of the Forbes expedition that captured Fort Duquesne in 1758 He wrote a letter describing the condition of the fort . American Revolution . In response to the request of the Continental Congress , the Lower Counties Assembly raised the 1st Delaware Regiment , placeding Haslet at its command on January 19 , 1776 , with the rank of Colonel . Known as the " Delaware Continentals " or " Delaware Blues , " they were from the smallest state , but at some 800 men , were the largest battalion in the army . David McCullough in " 1776 " describes them " turned out in handsome red trimmed blue coats , white waistcoats , buckskin breeches , white woolen stockings , and carrying fine , ' lately imported ' English muskets . Raised in early 1776 , they went from north in July and August 1776 , arriving in time to engage in the entire sequence of events surrounding the British capture of New York in 1776 . At the Battle of Long Island , the Delaware Regiment fought with Colonel William Smallwood ' s Marylanders . Many thought these were the two best regiments in the Continental Army . They fought under the command of Brigadier General William Alexander , Lord Stirling , and were responsible for holding the Gowanus Road , the far right of the Continental Army line . They were immediately south of Brooklyn , with New York Harbor to their right . On August 27 , 1776 , the British sent much of their army well to the east , and under cover of darkness , easily turned the left flank of the Continental Army . Only on the right did the American ' s hold their own . McCullough again relates how Haslet later described " how his ' Delawares ' stood with ' determined countenance , ' on them all the while , and the enemy , ' though six times their number , ' not daring to attack . " But they were nearly surrounded and , once ordered to leave , could only undertake a harrowing retreat by wading and swimming across Gowanus Bay . When the fighting began , Haslet was attending a court martial in Manhattan , but returned to the regiment in time for some of the fighting . Retreating across Westchester County , Haslet ' s men won a victory over a corps of Loyalists at Mamaroneck , New York . At White Plains , on October 28 , 1776 , the Delaware Regiment again fought with Colonel William Smallwood ' s Marylanders , reinforcing militia placed on the strategic Chatterton ' s Hill . The local militia fled under the British attack , but Haslet and Smallwood fought on until , at last , they too yielded the ground . White Plains was another British victory , but because of the difficulty in taking Chatterton ' s Hill , the price was great and the reward to the British was little . With expiring enlistments leaving fewer than 100 men remaining in his regiment , Haslet crossed the Delaware with Washington and joined the attack on Trenton on the morning of December 26 , 1776 . However , on January 3 , 1777 , in a skirmish at the beginning of the Battle of Princeton , with General Hugh Mercer down and fatally wounded , Haslet tried to rally Mercer ' s brigade and was himself killed , shot in the head and killed instantly . Nevertheless , they did rally and a surprising victory was won to complement the earlier one at Trenton . The " corps of loyalists " he defeated at Mamaroneck was led by the famous Indian fighter Robert Rogers . Legend has it that Washington wept over his corpse on the battlefield and notes by Washington ' s stepson confirm that Washington did come across Haslet ' s body at Princeton , but does not mention any shedding of tears . Legacy . Haslet was first buried at the First Presbyterian Church cemetery in Philadelphia . By an act of the Delaware General Assembly on July 1 , 1841 , his remains were disinterred and moved to the Presbyterian Cemetery in Dover , Delaware . In 2001 , the State of Delaware dedicated a monument to honor him at Battle Monument Park in Princeton , New Jersey . John Haslet was perhaps the best soldier Delaware had to offer , and the next best soldier , his good friend Caesar Rodney , rushed to the Continental Army to try and fill his place . Haslet was succeeded as Colonel by David Hall as Rodney returned home to be Delaware ' s wartime Governor , but the regiment Haslet had built remained among the finest in the Continental Army until it was virtually destroyed at the Battle of Camden in 1780 .