Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/53

Rh PITCAIRN, John, British soldier, h. in Fife- shire, Scotland, about 1740 ; d. in Boston, Mass., 17 June, 1775. He became captain of marines on 10 Jan., 1765, and major in April, 1771, and was stationed for several years in Boston, where he is said to have been the only British officer that dealt fairly with the people in their disputes with the soldiery. He took part in the expedition that was despatched by Gen. Gage to Lexington on the morning of 111 April. 1775, and was sent in advance with six companies with orders to press on to Con- cord and secure the two bridges there. At Lexing- ton he found the local militia drawn up and ordered them to disperse. The skirmish that fol- lowed, which is known as the battle' of Lexington, was begun by the British, according to the received account. The statement that Pitcairn began it by giving the order to fire is adopted as the true one by George Bancroft in his " History of the United States," but other accounts say that there was des- ultory firing before the order. Pitcairn insisted till his death that the minute-men had fired first. Later, in the retreat from Concord to Boston, Pit- cairn was obliged to abandon his horse and pistols. At the battle of Bunker Hill he was the first to ascend the redoubt in the third and final assault, crying, as he did so, " Now for the glory of the marines," but he was shot by a negro soldier in the last volley that was fired by the provincials. He was carried by his son to a boat and conveyed to Boston, where he died shortly afterward, his widow was given a pension of 200 by the British government. Pitcairn left eleven children, of whom the eldest, David, became an eminent physician in London, and died in 1809.

PITCHER, Nathaniel, governor of New York, b. in Litchtield. Conn., in 1777; d. in Sandy Hill, N. Y., 25 May, 1836. He removed early in life to Sandy Hill, N. Y., and was a member of the legis- lature of that state in 1806 and 1815-'17, and of the State constitutional convention in 1821. He was elected to congress as a Democrat, holding his seat in 1819-'23, was chosen lieutenant-governor of New York in 1826, and, by the death of Gov. De Witt Clinton, became governor in February, 1828, serv- ing till January, 1829. He was afterward again in congress in lN:il-'3. His brother, /inn, physician, b. in Sandy Hill, N. Y., 12 April, 1797; d.'in De- troit, Mich., 5 April, 1872, received an academical education, and in 1822 was graduated in medicine at Middlebury college, Vt. He was appointed assistant surgeon in the U. S. army on 8 May of that year, and surgeon with rank of major on 13 July, 1832, but resigned on 31 Dec., 1836, after see- ing service in the south, southeast, and soul Invest. In 1835 he was president of the army medical board, and from 2 Feb. till 31 Aug., 1839," he served again as assistant surgeon. Meanwhile he had removed to Detroit, where he practised till his death, attain- ing note in his profession, lie was a regent of the University of Michigan in 1837-'52, took an active part in organizing the medical department of that institution, and was afterward given the honorary title of emeritus professor there. Dr. Pitcher was a member of many professional bodies, and at one time served as president of the American medical association. He was for several years an editor of the "Peninsular Journal," and published various addresses, reports, and contributions to profes- sional journals. While he was in the army, sta- tioned on the northern frontier, he studied the habits, diseases, and remedies of the Indians, and he was the contributor of an article on practi- cal therapeutics aiming the Indians to Henry R. Schoolcraft's work on the aborigines.

PITCHER, Thomas Gamble, soldier, b. in Rockport. Ind., 23 Oct., 1824: d. in Fort Bayard, New Mexico, 21 Oct., 1895. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1845, and assigned to the 5th infantry, with which he served in Texas. He was transferred to the 8th infantry in 1846, and during the war with Mexico took part in the en- gagements at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, San An- tonio, Contreras, and Churubusco, for which he vas liivvctted 1st lieutenant, Molino del Rev. Cha- pultepec, and the capture of the city of Mexico. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant, 2(1 .lime. 1S49, and was on duty at posts in Texas and Arkansas till the civil war, serving as depot-commissary at San Antonio in 1857-'9. and receiving his promo- tion to a captaincy. 19 Oct., 1858. He served in defence of Harper's Ferry in June, 1862, and in the Virginia campaign of that year, being brevetted major for services- at Cedar Mountain, where he was severely wounded. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers on 29 Nov., 1862, but was disabled by his wound till 1(1 .Ian.. lsii:{. He was on duty as commissary and provost-mar- shal during the rest of the war, attaining the rank of major on 19 Sept., 1863, and receiving all the brevets up to and including brigadier-general in the regular army on 13 March, 1865. He was made colonel of the 44th infantry, 28 July, 1866, served as superintendent of the U. S. military academy from 28 Aug. of that year till 1 Sept., 1871, and was governor of the Soldiers' home at Washington, D. C., in 1871-'7. He was then on special duty or leave of absence till his retirement on 28 June, 1878, " for disability contracted in the line of duty." From 1 March, 1880, till 15 Oct., 1887, he was superintendent of the New York state soldiers' and sailors' home.

PITCHLYNN, Peter P., Choctaw chief, b. in Hush-ook-wa (now part of Noxubee county. Miss.), 30 Jan., 1806; d. in Washington, D. C., in January, 1881. His fat her was a white man, bearing Gen. Washington's commission as an interpreter, and his mother was a Choctaw. He was brought up like an Indian boy, but manifesting a desire to be educated, he was sent 200 miles to school in Ten- nessee, that being the nearest to his father's log-cabin. At the end of the first quarter he returned home to find his people engaged in negotiating a treaty with the general government. As he considered the terms of this instrument a fraud upon his tribe, he refused to shake hands with Gen. Andrew Jackson, who had the matter in charge on behalf of the Washington authorities. He after- ward attended the Columbia, Tenn., academy, and was ultimately graduated at the University of Nashville. Although he never changed his opinion regarding the treaty, Tie became a strong friend ot Gen. Jackson, who was a trustee of the latter institution. After graduation he returned to Mississippi, became a farmer, and married, being the first Choctaw to depart from the practice of polygamy. He also did good service in the cause of temper- ance, in recognition of which he was made a member of the national council. His first proposil imi in that body was to establish a school, and. t liai i ln> students might become familiar with the manners and customs of white people, it was located near Georgetown, Ky., rather than within the limits of the Choctaw country. Here it flourished for many years, supported by the funds of the nation. In 1828 he was appointed the leader of an Indian delegation sent by the U. S. government into the Osage country on a peace-making and exploring expedition, preparatory to the removal of the Choctaws, Cliickasaw^, and Creeks beyond the Missis-