Jun 29

Jun 29 Supplying Fighting Founders - Samuel Hodgdon

Updated 6/28/21

Samuel Hodgdon was the first Quartermaster General under the US Constitution.

When the office was recreated during the Northwest Indian War, Hodgdon was chosen by President Washington to supply the troops.

Samuel Hodgdon

Samuel Hodgdon joined the Continental Army as a 22-year-old and quickly earned a position as Captain of Artillery.

Hodgdon was also promoted to serve as Field Commissary of Military Stores. Serving under Henry Knox, Samuel was responsible for making sure soldiers who were manning the cannons were fed and clothed.

Clearly he was good at this task because he skyrocketed through the ranks and by 1781 was named Commissary General of Military Stores.

Commissary General of Military Stores

While Commissary General, he worked closely with Quartermaster General Timothy Pickering.

After the war, the two men went into business together. They formed a partnership that focused on land speculation but they would cooperate for the rest of their lives.

Hodgdon supported the new Constitution and when it was ratified, he joined his friends Knox and Pickering in the Washington Administration.

Quartermaster General

Hodgdon became Quartermaster General under President George Washington, the first under the new form of Government.

During this time, he was responsible for supplying Arthur St. Clair in the Northwest Indian War.

Unfortunately, Samuel’s focus on saving money (coupled with his lack of familiarity with the West) led to the soldiers receiving supplies that were in poor condition and not up to the task of cutting an army through the woods.

St. Clair’s Defeat

What followed was St. Clair’s Defeat...an embarrassing moment for both the US Government as well as St. Clair himself.

St. Clair blamed Hodgdon and called for an inquiry but this was eventually dropped.

Although Samuel should bear some of the blame, St. Clair made several mistakes with his under trained soldiers that was the main cause of the disaster.

Returning to Military Stores

Hodgdon resigned his post the following year but was quickly talked into returning to service by Washington in 1794.

Samuel took up the task he had made his career with two decades earlier, this time under a different name...Superintendent of Military Stores.

He remained in this position until the Jefferson Administration took office at which time he retired to private life, becoming wildly successful and spending time as the president of an early insurance company.

Want to read about other COMMISSARIES of the Revolution?

Great! Check out these articles:

Jeremiah Wadsworth Gets Rich by Winning the Revolution

Joseph Trumbull Feeds the Continental Army

Elias Boudinot Signs the Preliminary Articles of Peace

George Washington’s early appointments to important positions is extremely interesting.

‘The Cabinet’ takes a closer look at some of the people we discussed in today’s article.

Pick up a copy through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).