09/17/2026
09-16-2026
The sad visit of General Nash at our Indenhofen Farmstead:
Francis Nash was Brigadier General of the North Carolina regiments in Washington's Army. During the Battle of Germantown on October 4th 1777, General Nash was victim of an errant cannonball that bounced off a road sign, passed through his hip, and killed his horse. Amazingly, that same cannonball also killed his aide Major James Witherspoon, son of Signer John Witherspoon of New Jersey, president of Princeton University. (It was also reported that Nash may have also lost an eye to a musketball, and all these wounds left him unrecognizable said Thomas Paine.)
Washington's personal doctor could not stem Nash's bleeding. Amazingly, he was "carried on a litter of poles" the sixteen miles from Germantown to the Indenhofen house in Skippack. Nash reportedly bled through two straw mattresses due to his mortal wound. Since it was unsure how far of a British pursuit might come up Skippack Pike, it was decided to evacuate General Nash off the main drag and thus he was taken to a DeHaven relative's farm up Old Forty Foot Road. Nash eventually succumbed to his awful wound three days later and was buried with other fallen officers at Towamencin Mennonite meetinghouse (Kulpsville). Eventually, the state of Tennessee was carved out of North Carolina territory and the capital Nashville named in his honor. Locally, General Nash Elementary School honors this brave man who gave his life for our country. 🇺🇸 -Benjamin H. Webb
Come to our September 26th Washington's Encampment to learn more about Skippack's early history and our role in the American Revolution !
