“Facts are stubborn things.” ~ John Adams, 2nd U.S. President
Peter Muhlenberg
American Revolutionary War Officer
Lutheran Minister
United States Senator, Pennsylvania
U.S. House of Representatives Member
First Virginia Convention Delegate
Lutheran Minister
United States Senator, Pennsylvania
U.S. House of Representatives Member
First Virginia Convention Delegate
America’s Christian Heritage Remembered
Because much rewriting of American history is destroying the truth.
On ‘America’s War for Independence’
BiographyJohn Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (October 1, 1746 – October 1, 1807) was an American clergyman, Continental Army soldier during the American Revolutionary War, and political figure in the newly independent United States. A Lutheran minister, he served in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate from Pennsylvania.
Peter Muhlenberg is perhaps the most iconic figure associated with the Black Robe Regiment. A Virginia minister, Muhlenberg accepted a commission to lead a regiment of the Continental army. An anecdote—likely apocryphal—from an 18th-century biography depicted Muhlenberg preaching to his congregation in his clerical robes, only to strip them off and reveal his military uniform underneath, a dramatic appeal for men to join the Patriot struggle. Muhlenberg served as an officer in the Continental Army throughout the war and commanded a brigade at the Battle of Yorktown. But Muhlenberg’s literal participation in the war’s fighting was highly unusual for clergymen. Far more common, and the origin of the British label “Black Robe Regiment,” was the rhetorical support for independence those ministers offered regularly from their pulpits. » Full Bio
Peter Muhlenberg is perhaps the most iconic figure associated with the Black Robe Regiment. A Virginia minister, Muhlenberg accepted a commission to lead a regiment of the Continental army. An anecdote—likely apocryphal—from an 18th-century biography depicted Muhlenberg preaching to his congregation in his clerical robes, only to strip them off and reveal his military uniform underneath, a dramatic appeal for men to join the Patriot struggle. Muhlenberg served as an officer in the Continental Army throughout the war and commanded a brigade at the Battle of Yorktown. But Muhlenberg’s literal participation in the war’s fighting was highly unusual for clergymen. Far more common, and the origin of the British label “Black Robe Regiment,” was the rhetorical support for independence those ministers offered regularly from their pulpits. » Full Bio
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