Matthias Ogden - Revolutionary War

Revolutionary War

After the outbreak of hostilities between the American colonists and the British authorities in 1775, Ogden went along as a gentleman-volunteer on Benedict Arnold's march to Quebec, joined by his friend Aaron Burr, and was wounded in the assault on that city on December 31, 1775. John Trumbull depicted Ogden in his painting commemorating the Battle of Quebec (1775) and the death of General Richard Montgomery. Ogden's journal account of the expedition is in the collection of the New Jersey Historical Society.

Ogden was named lieutenant colonel of the First New Jersey Battalion in March 1776, serving under Colonel William Winds. At the age of 22, he became colonel of the newly-reorganized 1st New Jersey Regiment on January 1, 1777 after Silas Newcomb resigned the position. Ogden was captured by the British at Elizabethtown in November 1780. He was released by exchange. In September 1781, he conceived of a plan to capture Prince William Henry (later King William IV). The plan received Washington's approval and was to be effected in March 1782 but had to be abandoned. Ogden was granted a leave by Congress in April 1783 to visit Europe in order to secure business relations with the French. While there, he was awarded the honor le droit du tabouret by King Louis XVI. Ogden brought back news of the Treaty of Paris upon his return to America. He was breveted brigadier general by Congress in September 1783 and was described by one historian as a "brave and gallant soldier".

Colonel Ogden's leadership role is featured prominently in "An American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years after Yorktown, 1781-1783" by William M. Fowler (2011).