Nathaniel Mitchell - Military Career

Military Career

Mitchell was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. In 1776 he was captain of a Delaware company raised under Colonel Samuel Patterson as part of what was known as the "Flying Camp." They were stationed at Perth Amboy, New Jersey and saw no action. When the "Flying Camp" disbanded the company was attached to Colonel David Hall's regiment, but fought with Colonel William Grayson's Virginians at the Battle of Brandywine. Nursing an illness he was not at Germantown, but spent the winter at Valley Forge. Following William Grayson's promotion to Brigadier-General, Mitchell led his regiment in the attack at the Battle of Monmouth. This was the attack that was ordered back by General Charles Lee and which eventually led to his court-martial. In 1779 he was Brigade Major on General Peter Muhlenburg's staff in the tidewater Virginia. When British General Benedict Arnold attacked Richmond, Virginia, Mitchell was defending Petersburg, Virginia when he was captured on May 10, 1781. By most accounts, his childhood friend Michael O'Brien died in the affray. He was held prisoner until after the Battle of Yorktown.