Rev. John Rosbrugh, the first U.S. Army chaplain killed in battle, died a gruesome death 239 years ago while praying for his enemies during the Revolutionary War.
In a 19th-century biography detailing the “life, labors, and death” of this “Clerical Martyr of the Revolution,” Rev. John Clyde emphasizes: “Amid all the light thrown upon his career socially, ecclesiastically, and politically — by tradition and historical record — nothing but the good he did lived after him, whilst the evil was interred with his bones — so far as known no blot rests on his fair name.”
The account describes how “sabre slashes were made at his devoted head, three of which penetrated through the horsehair wig which he wore.”
Rosbrugh belonged to a Scottish family that migrated in the early 18th century to Northern Ireland. With his older brother William, Rosbrugh eventually moved to the American Colonies, settling in New Jersey, where at age 19 he married Sarah, who tragically died alongside their infant child during childbirth.
Although unable to afford “that thorough education which was required of those who would enter the sacred office in his day,” Rosbrugh studied theology at the College of New Jersey — now Princeton University — with financial aid and graduated in 1761. He was ordained as a minister in 1764 at Greenwich Presbyterian Church in New Jersey.
Later, Rosbrugh married Jane Ralston of the Allen Township Presbyterian Church. The couple had five children, including James, who would serve as a militia captain in the War of 1812. Long before his son’s military service, Rosbrugh — described as “filled with the spirit of freedom” — decided to lead his congregants toward battle.
According to Clyde, Rosbrugh assembled his congregation, urged them to fulfill the Continental Army’s request for reinforcements, quoted Judges 5:23, and proposed joining their ranks as chaplain. The group consented only if he would command them; after deliberation and receiving approval from his wife, Rosbrugh agreed.
After penning his last will and testament, the minister “put a musket to his shoulder and marched out to the highway, and all fell into line and followed” him to join General George Washington in Philadelphia. As Clyde wrote: “The little boy James rode the gray horse by his father’s side till they passed over the brow of the hill, just east of their home… Then the father took him from the horse, kissed him, and bade him go home to his mother, and be a good boy till he should return — he never saw his father’s face again.”
In Philadelphia, Rosbrugh assumed the role of company chaplain but was replaced by Capt. John Hays shortly after Washington’s victory at Trenton. Just days later, the chaplain died. Historical accounts vary on his demise, but the most credible version states he was bayoneted while withdrawing from the Battle of Assunpink Creek during the Second Battle of Trenton.
On January 2, 1777, Rosbrugh tied up his horse outside a tavern, then heard someone cry, “The Hessians are coming.” The 63-year-old chaplain rushed to escape but was caught by a small group of Hessians under British command.
A stone monument at Hanover Academy in Trenton commemorates him: “Clerical Martyr of the Revolution. Moderator of the Presbytery of New Brunswick 1776. Chaplain, 3d Battalion Northampton County PA Militia December 25, 1776. Bayoneted to death by Hessians in Trenton January 2, 1777.”
