Person

Charles McKahan

Charles McKahan (age unknown) enlisted on Valentine’s Day, 1777, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as a private soldier in Captain Thomas Church’s Company of the 5^th Pennsylvania Regiment. He chose to enlist for the indefinite duration of the war, a move which came with 100 acres of land if independence for the United Sates was ultimately secured.

Apparently, Charles was so proficient with rifles that he was selected to join Captain Hawkins Boone’s company of Colonel Daniel Morgan’s Detachment Rifle Corps. Washington had Morgan form this elite unit at Middlebrook, New Jersey, in June, drawn from soldiers hailing from Virginia and Pennsylvania regiments of the Continental Army. The requirement was that picked men, like Charles, had to be “none but such as are known to be perfectly skilled in the use of these guns [rifles], and who are known to be active and orderly in their behaviour.”

While Washington could rely on a great number of riflemen in his Main Army, the Northern Army, then commanded by Philip Schuyler, had no riflemen. Schuyler begged Washington to send some to help fight against the British invasion from Canada, and although Washington was loath to send them, he consented. Morgan and his 400-man corps joined the Northern Army near Albany at the end of August.

When it was time to fight the Battle of Freeman’s Farm on September 19, Morgan’s riflemen were the first sent to the field to stem the British advance. The riflemen were initially scattered by the British but were later reformed and devastated the British ranks with rifle fire. But it wasn't enough, and the Americans had to retreat that evening.

Sadly, Charles never made it; he was killed in the fighting and was probably buried by the victorious British near where he fell.

But who was Charles? Where in Pennsylvania did he live? What did he do for a living? How old was he? Was he married? Did he have children? Sometimes, available research takes us only so far. Hopefully, someday we'll know more.