- Robert Philson
Robert Philson (abt
1759 -July 25 ,1831 ) was born inCounty Donegal ,Ulster ,Ireland , and immigrated to Pennsylvania with his uncle John Fletcher. They kept a store in Berlin,Bedford County, Pennsylvania .Political
Philson served as associate judge of
Somerset County, Pennsylvania , for twenty years, and also served as a one-term congressman during the16th United States Congress .Whiskey Rebellion
Robert Philson was an instigator of the
Whiskey Rebellion .Harmon Husband , Philson, and two other prisoners taken at approximately the same time were sent to Philadelphia for trial, and Washington wrote Hamilton 31 Oct. that they "were safely lodged in this City on Wednesday afternoon" (Library of Congress: Hamilton Papers).:General Robert Philson, Harmon Husband, and about 16 other protesters were arrested. Husband and Philson were taken to Philadelphia where they were to tried and convicted of treason. In 1795 President Washington pardoned them, but the central government's power to enforce its laws had been proved. The lesson lasted over sixty years. [Google books|7ydCAAAAIAAJ|"History of the Insurrection in Western Pennsylvania",
Henry Marie Brackenridge ]Military
Philson was commissioned a
brigadier general of the Second Brigade, Tenth Division,Pennsylvania Militia on May 9, 1800. During theWar of 1812 , he served as a brigadier general of the Second Brigade, Twelfth Division, Pennsylvania Volunteersources
*CongBio|P000316
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/phillipson-picket.html The Political Graveyard]References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
