College of Philadelphia To Yorktown: 1761-1781
One could argue that in 1761, that Tilghman was not destined to become a revolutionary. That year, he was graduating from the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) with an A.B. degree. His other 11 siblings worked for the British, Tench built a business. Citing Tench's fine communication skills, the Continental Congress recruited him to make peace with the Six Nations. Following his return from this mission, he enlisted in the Maryland Militia. His good service was rewarded with a promotion to General George Washington’s Army where he was soon promoted to Washington's aide-de-camp. During the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, Tench again distinguished himself as one of a handful on Washington's staff fluent in French. Tench continued to serve faithfully for three more years. Then, Tench's moment of huzzah came when Washington chose him to carry the surrender papers from Yorktown to Philadelphia.
Read more about this topic: Tench Tilghman
Famous quotes containing the words college and/or philadelphia:
“[B]y going to the College [William and Mary] I shall get a more universal Acquaintance, which may hereafter be serviceable to me; and I suppose I can pursue my Studies in the Greek and Latin as well there as here, and likewise learn something of the Mathematics.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“It used to be said that, socially speaking, Philadelphia asked who a person is, New York how much is he worth, and Boston what does he know. Nationally it has now become generally recognized that Boston Society has long cared even more than Philadelphia about the first point and has refined the asking of who a person is to the point of demanding to know who he was. Philadelphia asks about a man’s parents; Boston wants to know about his grandparents.”
—Cleveland Amory (b. 1917)