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Allan McLane did not want to be a United States Marshal. Having suffered financially
during the Revolution, McLane sought a better paying position in the new government.
Unfortunately, Washington had already filled these offices, so he offered McLane the
job of Marshal with the promise that when something more "productive" came open,
McLane would be appointed to it. In the interim, McLane continued to suffer financially.
Deeply in debt, he wrote Washington on June 9, 1794, to reiterate his request for a
better paying office. McLane complained to the President that his commission as
marshal was "an office of considerable trust, but not profit." Nevertheless, McLane
remained as Marshal until 1797, when the President fulfilled his promise by appointing
McLane Collector of the Port of Wilmington.
In many ways, McLane typified Washington's Marshals.
Born in Philadelphia on
August 8, 1746, he moved to Kent County, Delaware, in 1774. At the time of his
appointment as Marshal on September 26, 1789, he was 43 years old and had lived in
his District fifteen years. At various times, he earned his living as a farmer, soldier,
member and speaker of the Delaware legislature, privy counselor to the governor, and
judge of the Court of Common Pleas. McLane was also a member of the Society of the
Cincinnati, an avid abolitionist, and a supporter of the Federalist party. As delegate to
Delaware's ratifying convention in 1787, he voted for the new national Constitution.
During the presidential election of 1800, McLane campaigned actively for John Adams.
Although Jefferson moved quickly to purge the government of Federalists and replace
them with his own Democratic Republicans, he did not remove McLane from his job as
collector.
A hero of the Revolutionary War, McLane earned a reputation for his "daring and
intrepidity." He enlisted as a Lieutenant in 1775 in Caesar Rodney's Delaware
Regiment. The following year, he joined Washington's Continental Army. McLane
distinguished himself in the battles of Long Island, White Plains, and Trenton. His
gallantry at the battle of Princeton earned him promotion to captain in
1777.
Washington put him in charge of the outposts around Philadelphia, and, in July 1779,
McLane was promoted to Major in "Light-Horse Harry" Lee's Legion. The new major
took a prominent part in the battles of Paulus Hook, Stony Point, and the siege of
Yorktown. By war's end, he wore the rank of Colonel.
McLane earned these promotions through the skill and bravery he showed in fighting
the British. On one occasion, he and four of his men ran into a large group of redcoats.
His men fled, leaving McLane alone before the British troops. After a brief exchange of
gunfire, McLane also retreated, only to encounter an even larger number of enemy
soldiers. He managed to outrun all but two of these redcoats before turning to take his
stand. McLane shot one of his pursuers and then fought hand-to-hand with the second.
This one, too, he managed to kill, but not before the British soldier struck him in the
hand with a saber, inflicting a severe wound that bled profusely. Exhausted by the
running and fighting and weakened by loss of blood, McLane sought refuge in a mill
pond. He stripped naked and hid in the freezing water until the cold stopped the
bleeding and the British gave up their search for him.
On another occasion, McLane, riding alone, chanced upon a dozen British soldiers.
Rather than turning and fleeing, he spurred his horse to the attack, charged through the
startled redcoats, and made good his escape. McLane also showed a sense of humor
fighting the British. On many occasions, he dressed his men as farmers and sent them
behind enemy lines to spy on the enemy. He also provisioned British troops with
"beef", which he sold them at market rates. He used the profits to supply his own men.
Since the "beef" was actually the meat from British horses killed in battle, his margin of
profit was considerable. McLane served as the first Marshal of Delaware for eight
years. His appointment as Collector of the Port of Wilmington on 1797 began a new
phase of his career. He remained in that office until his death on May 22, 1829, at the
age of 83. |
