MATTHEW
WILSON
PROFESSOR,
PREACHER, PATRIOT, PHYSICIAN
FROM
LEWESTOWN ON
DELAWARE
It
is 1778, three years into the American Revolution, Sussex county
Delaware was in the midst of control by Tories, those loyal to the
British Crown, and Wilson, the pastor of the Lewes Presbyterian
Church on Kings Way, also a local prominent physician, a Whig Party
Member who was a leader of the Tea Tax boycott, has rallied the
residents of Lewes and the coastal region, with the help of Henry
fisher, and William Perry, to the Patriot's cause. In July 1778
Wilson made it known to Colonial leaders of Philadelphia of two
drastic courses of action. The first plan was to divide the State of
Delaware between Pennsylvania and Maryland, and, if that did not
happen, to ban all Tories from holding public offices in the state
for a long period of time.
Wilson
also presented a clandestine effort to identify Tory office holders
in Delaware by using already arrested Tories to ferret them out. He
advocated to pardon some Tory or two on condition they become a true
witness against the rest. On of those who was suggested was James
Cooper from Sussex. It is not know if Wilson advice was followed, but
the Tories in Sussex began to wane.
Source:
Michael Morgan Collection, Delaware Diary, Delaware Coast News.
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