William Darke

Major General William Darke (1736 – November 26, 1801) was an American military officer and politician who served in the French and Indian War, American Revolutionary War and Northwest Indian War. In 1755, he participated in the unsuccessful Braddock Expedition in the Virginia Provincial Forces. During the Revolutionary War, he was commissioned into the Continental Army but was captured by British forces at the 1777 Battle of Germantown. Exchanged in 1780, he resumed his military service and participated in suppressing the Whiskey Rebellion.

One of the delegates of the 1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention, Darke was subsequently elected to the Virginia General Assembly. During the Northwest Indian War, he was present at St. Clair's defeat, one of the worst defeats in American military history. Badly wounded, Darke survived and returned to friendly territory, though one of his sons was killed in action. Darke was not punished and continued his military career, being appointed as a major general in the Virginia militia. He died in Jefferson County, Virginia in 1801.

Early life

William Darke was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on May 6, 1736, the son of Joseph Darke. He was descended from early Quaker settlers who migrated from Britain to Bucks County, and was a cousin of Benjamin Rush, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Darke also had two brothers and one sister. As a young child, he moved with his family in 1740 to the Elk Branch near Shepherdstown, Virginia. Growing up, Darke fished, ploughed, and planted along his family. Braddock's plan was to capture Fort Duquesne from the French to gain control over the Ohio Valley. The expedition was defeated by a Franco-Indian force at the Battle of the Monongahela and retreated; Braddock was mortally wounded, but Darke was uninjured.

Personal life and legacy

Darke married Sarah, the widow of William Delayea. The couple had four children: John, Joseph, Samuel, and Mary.