Personal Facts
- Also Known As: Theodorick Bland, Jr.
- Born: March 21, 1742.
- Parents: Theodorick Bland and Frances Boiling.
- Spouse: Martha Dangerfield (1768).
- Died: June 1, 1790.
- Buried: Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C
- Significance: Bland is important to American History for his role as a Patriot, soldier, and politician during the American Revolution and the early years of the republic.
Biographical Notes
Early Life, Education, and Career
- Theodorick Bland was born in 1742 in Prince George County, Virginia.
- He came from a wealthy plantation family.
- Bland was educated in England from 1753 to 1763.
- He graduated from the University of Edinburgh as a doctor of medicine.
- Bland practiced medicine in Virginia from 1764 until 1771, when health issues forced him to retire.
- After retiring from medicine, he became a planter.
American Revolutionary War
- Bland was an active Patriot and took part in removing arms from the governor’s palace in Williamsburg on June 24, 1775.
- He was appointed as captain of the First Troop of Light Dragoons on June 13, 1776.
- On December 4, 1776, Bland was promoted to major of Light Dragoons.
- He became colonel of the First Continental Dragoons on March 31, 1777.
Battle of Brandywine
Bland commanded mounted troops during the New Jersey Campaign and the Philadelphia Campaign. At the Battle of Brandywine (September 11, 1777), Bland led light cavalry on Washington’s right flank, on the north end of the American Line.
- Before the battle, he failed to obtain intelligence about the main British attack, contributing to the American defeat.
- Bland’s primary failure was not properly scouting the creek on Washington’s right flank, where the British could cross the creek and outflank Washington’s Army.
- The delay in providing this crucial information was criticized as being several hours too late.
Harry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee criticized Bland, stating that he was noble, honorable, and amiable but unsuitable for military intelligence. Historians have tended to agree with Lee’s assessment.
Military Operations After Brandywine
- November 5, 1778 — Washington tasked Bland with escorting the Convention Army from Connecticut to Virginia.
- May 1, 1779 — Bland took command of the guard detail at Charlottesville, Virginia.
- November 1779 — He received permission to leave this post, where Major General William Phillips had given him the nickname “Alexander the Great.”
Political Career
- Bland was elected to the Continental Congress and served from 1780 to 1783.
- Despite his concerns over a strong central government, he supported the establishment of the national bank and the power of Congress to levy taxes.
- He persuaded Chevalier de la Luzerne, the French Minister to the United States, to send a French fleet to Chesapeake Bay when British troops, led by Benedict Arnold, invaded Virginia (December 1780–Spring 1781).
Post-War Career
- Bland retired to his plantation in Prince George County, which the British had raided during the war.
- In 1786, he ran for the office of Governor against Edmund Randolph, but lost.
- Bland served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1786 to 1788.
- He was an Anti-Federalist and voted against adopting the United States Constitution during the Virginia Convention of 1788.
- In 1788, Bland was elected to the first U.S. House of Representatives and served until his death on June 1, 1790.
- He died in New York City and was originally buried in the Trinity Churchyard in Lower Manhattan.
- In 1828, his remains were moved and reinterred in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Appendix
Narrative
This narrative about Theodorick Bland is from the Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. 2 (1943). Please note that minor text corrections have been made and additional spacing has been added to improve readability.
Theodorick Bland (March 21, 1742–June 1, 1790) was born in Prince George County, Virginia. He was the son of Theodorick Bland of Cawsons on Appomattox River and Frances Boiling, only daughter and heir of Drury Boiling. Through his mother, he is believed to be a descendant of Pocahontas.
When he was 11, he was sent to school in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, where he remained until 1758. The following year, 1759, he was in Liverpool, attending an infirmary as a physics student. He entered the University of Edinburgh in 1761 and received the degree of M.D. in 1763. After graduating, he spent some time in London, and, it is believed, Leiden and Paris.
Bland was back in Virginia in 1764 and began the practice of his profession in Prince George County. He continued in active practice until 1771, when he retired and became a planter, his health having suffered from the exposure incident to a country practice.
In the conflict between England and the Colonies, he stood with the Patriot Cause against the Mother Country. On June 24, 1775, he was one of a party of 24 men who moved the arms from the Governor’s palace in Williamsburg to the powder magazine. Toward the end of 1775, he wrote some bitter letters in the Virginia Gazette against Lord Dunmore under the signature of “Cassius.”
Bland was ambitious to help his country in the field, and on June 13, 1776, was appointed Captain of the 1st Troop of Virginia Cavalry, and on March 31, 1779, was made Colonel of the 1st Continental Dragoons. He was with Washington’s Army in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 1777.
He was present at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1779. In referring to Bland’s services at this battle, General Henry Lee says, “Colonel Bland was noble, sensible, honorable, and amiable, but never intended for the department of military intelligence.”
On November 5, 1778, General Washington ordered Bland to assume command of an escort to conduct the Convention Army (the British prisoners from Saratoga) from Connecticut to Albemarle County, Virginia. When he arrived in Virginia, he was placed in command of the post at Charlottesville, where the prisoners were held.
In 1780, the General Assembly of Virginia elected him to the Continental Congress, a position he filled with honor for three years. At the conclusion of his term, he returned to his plantation, which the enemy had plundered.
He served in the House of Delegates in the sessions of 1786–87, 1787–88, and 1788. In the Assembly of 1786, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor, against Edmund Randolph.
He was a member of the Virginia Convention of 1788 to consider the proposed Federal Constitution, and voted against its adoption. Despite his opposition to the Constitution, he was elected to the House of Representatives in the First Congress. He served in this body until his death.
He was married to Martha Dangerfield, probably a sister of Colonel William Dangerfield of Belvidere near Fredericksburg. Chastellux speaks of him as a “tall, handsome man.” Campbell remarks that he was a man of most agreeable manners, and strict integrity of conduct. He was not “distinguished for extraordinary exhibitions of genius, but for plain, practical qualifications.”
