View source for Samuel John Atlee

{{short description|American politician}}
{{No footnotes|date=April 2010}}
'''Samuel John Atlee''' (1739 – November 25, 1786) was an American soldier and statesman from [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]]. He was a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]] for the [[Province of Pennsylvania]] from 1778 to 1782.

==Early life==
Samuel was born in [[Trenton, New Jersey]], but his family moved to Lancaster before he was seven. He was educated at home, and began the study of law. But his studies were interrupted by the [[French and Indian War]].

==Military career==
In 1756 he joined the Lancaster company and was commissioned as an ensign. He served on the [[Forbes Expedition]] to [[Fort Duquesne]] in 1758, and by 1759 he was a captain.

In 1776, Pennsylvania began raising new units for the [[Continental Army]], and on March 21, 1776, Atlee was named Colonel of a unit, the ''Pennsylvania Musketry Battalion''. Once they were organized, he led them north to the defense of [[New York City]]. During the [[Battle of Long Island]] on August 27, 1776, he led the original defense of the ''Old Stone House'' in [[Brooklyn]], New York. The house was situated on high ground and covered the American withdrawal. Atlee's force was driven from the house, but General [[William Alexander (American general)]] came to support him. The Americans twice recaptured the house. The defenders directly engaged three British regiments, led by [[Charles Cornwallis|General Cornwallis]]. They held out until noon, allowing most of the Continental forces in Brooklyn to successfully withdraw to the Brooklyn Heights. At last, surrounded and cut off  by the [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessian]]s, General Alexander surrendered in the early afternoon.  While watching this action from fortifications to the north on Brooklyn Heights, [[George Washington|General Washington]] remarked, ''"Good God, what brave men must I lose this day!"'' Soldiers including Captain [[Joseph Howell Jr.]] were taken prisoner,<ref>{{cite magazine |editor-last=Browning |editor-first=Charles H. |date=January 1896 |title=Some Colonial Families: Howell of Pennsylvania and New Jersey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H2AzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA575 |magazine=The American Historical Register |volume=III |number=17 |location=Historical Register Publishing Co. |publisher=Philadelphia |pages=575–576 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> while Atlee remained a prisoner of war until he was exchanged in October 1778.

==Political career==
When Atlee returned home, the [[Pennsylvania General Assembly]] named him as a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]]. He served there until 1782. In 1782, [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County]] sent Atlee to the Pennsylvania Assembly. In 1783, he became a charter member in the Pennsylvania branch of the [[Society of the Cincinnati]], and was named the County executive for Lancaster County. In 1784, he served on the commission negotiating Indian treaties that acquired most of the remaining [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] lands in Pennsylvania.

Atlee was returned to the state assembly in 1785 and 1786. He died on November 25, 1786, while attending a meeting of the legislature in [[Philadelphia]], and is buried in the [[Christ Church Burial Ground]] there.

The reconstructed ''Old Stone House'' that he defended in the battle of Brooklyn located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Third Street, it was moved a few feet during its reconstruction and is at a higher grade level. It is in Byrne Park, and is open to the public on a limited basis.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{CongBio|A000333}}
* {{cite BDA1906 |wstitle= Atlee, Samuel John |volume= 1 |page= 160 |short=}}
*[http://www.nyfreedom.com/oldstonehouse.htm Visitor information about the Old Stone House]

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box| before=James Cunningham | title= Member, [[Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania|Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania]], representing [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County]]  | years= 21 October 1783 – 22 December 1784  | after=[[John Whitehill (representative)|John Whitehill]] }}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlee, Samuel}}
[[Category:1739 births]]
[[Category:1786 deaths]]
[[Category:American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain]]
[[Category:Continental Army officers from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People of Pennsylvania in the French and Indian War]]
[[Category:Burials at Christ Church, Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from colonial Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Trenton, New Jersey]]