Biography of WILLIAM ALEXANDER
ALEXANDER, William, called Lord Stirling, soldier, born in New York City in
1726; died in Albany, 15 January 1783. He engaged in the provision business
with his mother, the widow of David Provoost. In connection with his
business young Alexander subsequently joined the British Army in the
Commissariat Department, and became aide-de-camp to Governor Shirley. In 1757
he prosecuted his claim to the Earldom of Stirling before the House of Lords,
without success. After his return in 1761 he married the daughter of Philip
Livingston. He held the office of Surveyor-General, and was also a member of
the Provincial Council. The former office had belonged to his father, James
Alexander, who, formerly an adherent of the pretender, had come to America,
risen to be Colonial Secretary in New York, and died in 1756, leaving a large
fortune. He was an ardent patriot, and entered the revolutionary army as
Colonel of the Battalion of East New Jersey in October 1775. He
distinguished himself by the capture of a British armed transport, for which
exploit Congress, in March 1776, appointed him a Brigadier-General. At the
Battle of Long Island, 26 August 1776, his brigade, ordered by General Putnam
to attack a greatly superior force, was nearly cut to pieces, and he himself
was taken prisoner. He was soon exchanged, and in February 1777, was promoted
a Major-General. When Lee marched to succor Philadelphia in December 1776,
Stirling was left in command at New York. At Trenton he received the
surrender of a Hessian regiment. On 24 June 1777, at Matouchin (now called
Metuchin), he awaited an attack, contrary to Washington's orders; his position
was turned and his division defeated, losing two guns and 150 men. At the
Battle of Brandywine and Germantown he acted with bravery and discretion. At
the Battle of Monmouth he displayed tactical judgment in posting his
batteries, and repelled with heavy loss an attempt to turn his flank. In
1779, when in command in New Jersey, he surprised a British force at Paulus'
Hook. In 1781 he commanded at Albany. He died of gout, five days after the
preliminaries of peace were agreed upon. Lord Stirling was one of the
founders of Columbia College, called King's College before the revolution, and
became its first governor. His journey to England in 1756 was undertaken in
order to give testimony in behalf of General Shirley, who was charged with
neglect of duty. He wrote "The Conduct of Major-General Shirley, briefly
stated," a pamphlet published about the time of the investigation; and "An
Account of the Comet of June and July 1770." He was proficient in the sciences
of mathematics and astronomy. See "Life of William Alexander, Earl of
Stirling," by his grandson, William Alexander Duer, in the collections of the
New Jersey Historical Society(1847) ; and Charles Rogers's "House of
Alexander" (1877).
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