A Mighty Fortress
The connection between the fighting man, armies, and religion dates back to ancient times. Biblical armies sacrificed to their God or gods and sought divine protection and intervention in battle. The Iliad provides many examples of this from a Greek perspective. Roman legions had their totems and even placed them in a special tent that served as a field temple when they made camp each night. The various barbarian tribes also invoked their gods. This tradition continued into the Christian era, with priests and monks accompanying knights into battle.
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| Roman legionnaires worshiped their standards - the eagle chief among them |
By the eighteenth century, the concept of military chaplains began to resemble modern usage. Since the American cause was based on preserving God-given rights of men and the British cause on the God-given authority of the king, religion and military affairs intertwined with politics. The new nation recognized the necessity for “spiritual firepower.” Therefore, on July 29, 1775, Congress established the Chaplain Corps at the request of General George Washington. There would be one chaplain for each regiment in the Continental Army. Receiving a captain’s pay, they would attend to the spiritual, emotional, and even physical well-being of the troops.
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| Chaplains were established early in the American Revolution |
A Life for God
But our patriotic pastor would not join the corps. His path was quite different. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania, on October 1, 1764, the son of German immigrants Heinrich (Henry) Melchior Muehlenberg (Muhlenberg) and Anna Maria Weiser. The elder Muhlenberg, a Lutheran minister, became quite prominent in Protestant circles and was known as "the Patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America" for his role in organizing the Lutheran churches.
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| Henry Muhlenberg was the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America |
Valuing education, his father sent him to the Academy of Philadelphia. Muhlenberg then sent three of his sons, John Peter, Frederick Augustus, and Henry Ernst, to the University of Halle in Germany in 1763. However, John Peter had a restless streak and eventually left Halle to work as a clerk in a counting-house in the Hanseatic city of Lubeck. Not receiving the training he was promised, he departed and briefly joined a German dragoon regiment.
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| Halle University |
John Peter returned to America in 1767 to study theology in Philadelphia. In 1768, John Peter Muhlenberg was ordained as a Lutheran minister. Muhlenberg initially served as the assistant rector for the congregations of Zion and St. Paul’s Churches in New Jersey. In 1769, he became the pastor at Bedminster. During this time, he met and married Anna Barbara “Hannah” Meyer, the daughter of a successful potter. The marriage would prove to be a happy one, as they would raise six children together.
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| Henry Muhlenberg founded Philadelphia's Old Zion Lutheran Church |
The Patriot Pastor
Muhlenberg migrated south to the Shenandoah Valley, where he established his own congregation of German immigrants in the town of Woodstock, located in Dunmore County, Virginia. At that time, the valley featured a mix of German, English, and Scots-Irish settlers. However, the Old Dominion was primarily Anglican territory, so in 1772, Muhlenberg sailed to England, where he was ordained in the Episcopal Church, though he maintained his ties to his Lutheran church.
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| Muhlenberg was inspired by Patrick Henry's famous speech |
Life in Virginia connected John Peter with many of the influential figures who would drive the colony toward rebellion, chief among them Patrick Henry. Muhlenberg supported the ideals of liberty and often preached about them, putting him at odds with his brother, Frederick Augustus, who was also a pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in New York City. The two exchanged increasingly heated correspondence as the rebellion approached.
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| Local Committees of Correspondence were crucial in building the rationale for resistance and the network for insurgency and rebellion |
Virginia’s march from political discontent to insurgency and then open rebellion carried Muhlenberg along with it. As the path to rebellion quickened, he became a member of the local Committee of Correspondence. His activism earned him a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1774. Throughout this time, he maintained his church affiliations.
From Cleric to Colonel
His military experience proved useful, and in early 1776, he was appointed a colonel in the new Continental Army. Before marching off to war, Muhlenberg delivered a farewell sermon based on Ecclesiastes 3:1. His final words reportedly were, “There is a time for all things, a time to preach and a time to pray, but those times have passed away. There is a time to fight, and that time has now come.” At that, he tossed off his clerical robes, revealing his military uniform while encouraging his congregation to support the patriot cause.
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| From the Holy Spirit to the Spirit of 76 |
Colonel Muhlenberg’s first task was to recruit soldiers for the 8th Virginia Continental Line. The unit was formed from several counties in western Virginia. In early 1776, Charleston faced the threat of a British invasion, prompting the regiment to march south to support the renowned South Carolina Colonel William Moultrie. The British were driven off during the famous siege that made the palmetto tree well-known.
The Prodigal Brother
Meanwhile, his brother, Frederick Augustus, experienced a sort of epiphany. After the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, the British bombarded and invaded New York City. Frederick Muhlenberg's church was burned, and his family had to flee the city. This turn of events led Frederick to the cause of liberty, and he was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1779. He would go on to gain prominence in Pennsylvania and national politics, serving as the first Speaker of the House under the new constitution.
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| The once Tory Frederick Augustus became an unlikely first Speaker of the House |
The Sound of the Drum
By 1777, Colonel Muhlenberg had returned north with his regiment, which was now part of Washington’s main Continental Army at its Morristown cantonment. Known for his steady hand, attention to detail, and care for the troops, Muhlenberg was promoted to Brigadier General and assigned to Nathanael Greene’s division, where he fought at Brandywine and Germantown. At Germantown, he led the column that pushed deep into the British right flank and came close to securing an unlikely victory in the dark and fog.
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| Muhlenberg's brigade penetrated deep into the British flank at Germantown |
When the Continental Army emerged from the harsh winter at Valley Forge, it was retrained and re-outfitted—an army that could now take on the British on equal terms. Muhlenberg led forces in the ensuing Monmouth campaign and was later assigned to Major General Anthony Wayne’s division in New Jersey and during the famous storming of the British fortifications at Stony Point, New York, in the summer of 1779.
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| Stony Point |
Defense of the Old Dominion
By 1780, tensions were escalating in the south again, prompting the dispatch of Brigadier General Muhlenberg to Virginia, where he took command of all militia forces in the state. Unfortunately, the militia was significantly weakened, and he needed to raise new troops, secure equipment, and organize them—all while facing British naval and land threats. He skillfully employed his militia to delay and contain the British forces around Portsmouth. Under the command of General Friedrich von Steuben, Muhlenberg played a crucial role in thwarting the British attempt to divide Virginia.
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| British General Benedict Arnold terrorized Virginia |
In 1781, the infamous American traitor, now British General Benedict Arnold, was leading a ruthless raid along the James River, threatening Richmond and Petersburg while torching everything in sight. Muhlenberg commanded the militia brigade that successfully delayed British forces under General William Phillips near Petersburg, Virginia, in April 1781.
 Muhlenberg's brigade supported Lafayette in his defense of Virginia |
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| Muhlenberg supported the legendary assault on Redoubt Number 10 |
From Parson to Politico
Like so many of his peers, Muhlenberg resigned from the
Continental Army in September 1783 as the terms of the Treaty of Paris were
bringing the eight-year struggle to a close. By then, he had attained the rank
of (brevet) major general, as high as anyone could rise, being that George
Washington was the only lieutenant general in the Continental Army.
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| Brevet Major General John Peter Muhlenberg |
As with many of our first patriots, Muhlenberg’s wartime experience was just the start of his service to the new nation. Well-liked by the German residents in and around Philadelphia, Muhlenberg embarked on a long and distinguished political career. He became a member of the state supreme executive council, serving as vice president under Benjamin Franklin. He also served three terms in Congress and was appointed a U.S. senator in 1801 (no elections were held at that time). He gave up his senate seat when President Thomas Jefferson
named him customs inspector for Philadelphia.
A Steady Hand
The struggle for independence was won on the backs of the soldiers. But those soldiers needed leaders who were steady—militarily, politically, and spiritually. Leaders they could trust. It is the nation’s good fortune to have enough of those leaders to remain steadfast during an eight-year struggle. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg was one of those essential leaders. Neither a “bad-ass” nor flashy, his steady hand helped shape the moral, ideological, military, and political foundations of the nation. He died at Grey’s Ferry outside Philadelphia on October 1, 1807. He is a little-known first patriot today but was arguably the most prominent German-American of the era.
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| Muhlenberg Statue in the Capitol |
Muhlenberg is memorialized by numerous statues and monuments. Perhaps the most famous one is in the capitol itself. His tombstone reads, “He was Brave in the field, Faithful in the Cabinet, Honorable in all his transactions,
a Sincere Friend and an Honest Man.”
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| Monument in Philadelphia |
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