John Cadwalader (general) - Later Life

Later Life

John Cadwalader married Williamina Bond (1753–1837), daughter of Dr. Phineas Bond, of Philadelphia. Their son, Thomas (1779–1841), like his father, became a general of the Pennsylvania militia. Their daughter, Frances (1781–1843), married David Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine (1777–1855), who was the British Ambassador to the United States from 1807 to 1809.

In 1779, Cadwalader became a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and returned to his estate on the banks of the Sassafras River at Shrewsbury, Kent County, Maryland. He became a member of the Maryland State Assembly.

John Cadwalader died February 10, 1786. He is buried at Shrewsbury Chapel, Kent County, Maryland.

Thomas Paine wrote his epitaph:

His early and inflexible patriotism will endear his memory to all true friends of the American Revolution. It may with strictest justice be said of him, that he possessed a heart incapable of deceiving. His manners were formed on the nicest sense of honor and the whole tenor of his life was governed by this principle. The companions of his youth were the companions of his manhood. He never lost a friend by insincerity nor made one by deception. His domestic virtues were truly exemplary and while they served to endear the remembrances they embitter the loss of him to all his numerous friends and connexions.