America’s First Chaplain: The Life and Times of the Reverend Jacob Duché

Abstract

How could an eighteenth-century Anglican minister pray a prayer valorizing the colonial cause against England early in the move toward the American Revolution and then turn and condemn that very cause in a letter to George Washington after the war had begun? In his biography of Jacob Duché, Kevin Dellape, an adjunct instructor of history at Saint Francis University, takes up this question as well as other historiographical questions related to individuals and their support (or rejection) of the War of Independence. Based on the archives of Christ Church where Duché presided and the collection of papers of the Duché family stored in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, along with an extensive examination of various other archival collections, newspapers, and other primary sources, Dellape uses the life of Duché to contend that the Pennsylvanian experience of the Revolution was not as democratic as previously thought, that the Anglican clergy had more complicated responses to the Revolution and were not uniformly committed loyalists, and that the labels of patriot and loyalist are too simplistic to communicate the varied levels of devotion expressed in the lived experience of eighteenth-century Americans like Duché (who was not a loyalist as he has often been depicted by historians).The first three chapters of the book explore the background of Duché’s family, his education, and his progress through the Anglican ministry. Dellape provides some discussion of Duché’s grandfather, a French Huguenot who immigrated to Pennsylvania and later became an Anglican, and father (Jacob Sr.), a lawyer, a colonel and secretary to Benjamin Franklin in the militia, a member of the Library Company, and a landowner in the Philadelphia area. He then turns to Duché’s education, which was quite significant given the prestige of his family. Duché was educated at New London Academy and then matriculated at both the College of Philadelphia and Cambridge University. His education not only inspired his desire to serve as an Anglican minister but also fomented an interest in the politics of the day, including the French and Indian War. He participated in the war as a secretary to Benjamin Franklin and left behind several poems that he composed about it. By the 1760s, he was teaching at the College of Philadelphia as well as serving as an assistant minister to the Anglican Christ Church in Philadelphia.As an assistant minister Duché tended to his church but also attempted to develop positive relationships between the Anglican churches and the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches in the area. One of his particular interests was creating agreement among the churches in the colonies to support the presence of an Anglican bishop in America, something that did not exist at the time. Non-Anglicans, understandably so, were concerned about what political power a bishop would wield that might impinge on the practice of their dissenting religions. Although the appointment of an American bishop did not materialize, Duché did develop some cooperative arrangements with other denominations. He was supportive of revivalism and the preaching of George Whitefield, allowing Whitefield to preach at Christ Church. He also continued his involvement in the political realm, turning against Franklin who was working against the propriety gentry of which Duché and his family were members.In the middle chapters of the book, Dellape discusses Duché’s prayer and letter, devoting individual chapters to each as well as a chapter explaining how Duché became disaffected with revolution. When the First Continental Congress decided to open sessions with prayer, Samuel Adams proposed Duché’s name because of his popularity. Unfortunately, the prayer was extemporaneous and not later printed, so the exact contents are not known. Historians rely on the responses of others present at the session who spoke favorably about what Duché had said. The Congress’s appreciation of Duché’s prayer led to invitations to pray for other sessions, to preach to soldiers and Congress, and eventually to become the first chaplain to Congress.Despite Duché’s initial support of revolution and the colonial cause, several factors led him to become a nonrevolutionary, according to Dellape. Duché’s rise from assistant minister to being the minister of both Christ Church and St. Peter’s Church, the shifting political scene in Pennsylvania that led to more radical stands on independence, the lack of an American bishop to provide guidance, and Duche’s overestimation of his own importance led to his gradual dissatisfaction with the Revolution. Even though Duché agreed to become Congress’s first chaplain, he still hoped for a more moderate approach and resolution to the conflict between Britain and America.Duché resigned as chaplain, ended up spending the night imprisoned by the British, and finally decided to speak out on the radical turn of the Revolution. He decided to write a letter to George Washington in which he encouraged Washington to end the war, push for a repeal of independence, and initiate efforts to solve the problems that led to the war in a moderate way. Washington revealed the contents of the letter, and Duché appeared to many as a traitor and became persona non grata. Eventually Duché left America and lived in exile in Britain, where his family later joined him. Originally his intent was to travel to Britain to meet with the Bishop of London about his action. While gone, Duché was found guilty of treason through attainder and had his property in Pennsylvania confiscated. Over the next fifteen years, Duché and his family attempted to return to America only to be rebuffed until 1792. These events make up the last chapters of the book, culminating with the Duchés’ eventual return.Overall, Dellape presents an intriguing look at Duché’s life. He successfully complicates an easy designation of “loyalist” that leads to Dellape effectively demonstrating the need for greater exploration of the historiographical labels placed upon individuals from the Revolutionary period. Instead of being a traitor, Duché was someone interested in liberty but a moderate liberty that achieved freedom but not independence. Through this focused case study, Dellape helps us better understand the challenges and conflicts individuals faced in attempting to decide how to respond to the push for independence.