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His Sacred Honor: Judge Richard Stockton: A Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Announcing the upcoming book publication that chronicles the life of Judge Richard Stockton, proud signer of the Declaration of Independence. This Founding Fathers honor has been called into question by a recent publication whose source on the subject is based on rumor and innuendo. Richard Stocktons 5th great grandson, Commander John Glynn, Jr. is intent upon restoring the truth about his noble relative and rebuking this re-writing of history. Join the patriotic struggle on the side of justice. Live the incredible, lesser known stories of our great countrys early leaders. Learn the plight of our forefathers and honor their great sacrifice with a deeper understanding of the responsibility associated with this great land of freedom, the United States of America.
213 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2007
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November 28, 2020
“His Sacred Honor” is first and foremost a biography of one of the most interesting men to sign the Declaration of Independence. At its heart, however, is a seething demolition of a well-known historian’s mistaken characterization in a best-selling book of that signer’s capitulation to the British after the American patriot’s capture and brutal captivity.
Full disclosure: I am a distant, collateral descendant of Richard Stockton of New Jersey, the 50th signer of the Declaration. One of the authors of “His Sacred Honor,” John Glynn Jr., is a fifth great-grandson of Stockton and a member of the Descendants of Signers of the Declaration of Independence, a
rather select group dedicated to scholarship surrounding the acts of its members’ famous ancestors.
He knows his stuff.
Confronted with an account in historian David Hackett Fischer’s otherwise excellent 2004 book, “Washington’s Crossing,” Glynn was dismayed at Fischer’s account of Stockton’s captivity and eventual release by the British commander in the growing Revolutionary War, Gen. William Howe, in the winter of 1776-77.
Stockton, betrayed by Loyalists and subjected to a brutal imprisonment from which he never fully recovered, was the only signer of the Declaration to be captured and tortured by the enemy. Fischer asserts Stockton, a trusted member of the Continental Congress who had recently spent weeks helping assess the Northern Army, won his freedom only by accepting a pardon and renouncing his support for the Declaration and the American cause.
“Stockton was the only signer of the Declaration of Independence who abandoned the American cause and swore allegiance to George III,” Fischer wrote.
The only problem is that’s not true.
Relying on contemporary accounts and a mountain of circumstantial evidence, Glynn reconstructs the fateful events of Stockton’s capture, his harrowing captivity and eventual release after intervention by Gen. George Washington. It’s clear from the historical record that while Stockton, as a condition of his release was forced to remain on the sidelines of the American war effort, he certainly did not renounce his country. And there is no record that he swore allegiance to the crown.
Fischer, Glynn writes, relied on long-discredited accusations from malcontents intent on ruining Richard Stockton’s reputation while ignoring well-documented accounts that showed Stockton’s “parole” contained no such odious conditions.
Fischer, who has written numerous books on the Revolution, reportedly offered only a weak defense of his research. He doesn’t appear to have made an effort to study it further.
“Washington’s Crossing” was a bestseller. It’s been read by untold thousands of people. I have twice read my local library’s copy. On July 4 a few years ago, a magazine writer with nothing better to do on a slow news day wrote a thinly sourced online takedown of Stockton that could only have been based in part on Fischer’s conclusions.
That this is the first Goodreads review and rating for a self-published book written 14 years ago suggests that “His Sacred Honor” hasn’t been seen by many readers. That’s too bad. Glynn’s intimate knowledge of a tragic figure in American history is worthy reading for students of the American Revolution. Especially those interested in seeing the record set straight.
Full disclosure: I am a distant, collateral descendant of Richard Stockton of New Jersey, the 50th signer of the Declaration. One of the authors of “His Sacred Honor,” John Glynn Jr., is a fifth great-grandson of Stockton and a member of the Descendants of Signers of the Declaration of Independence, a
rather select group dedicated to scholarship surrounding the acts of its members’ famous ancestors.
He knows his stuff.
Confronted with an account in historian David Hackett Fischer’s otherwise excellent 2004 book, “Washington’s Crossing,” Glynn was dismayed at Fischer’s account of Stockton’s captivity and eventual release by the British commander in the growing Revolutionary War, Gen. William Howe, in the winter of 1776-77.
Stockton, betrayed by Loyalists and subjected to a brutal imprisonment from which he never fully recovered, was the only signer of the Declaration to be captured and tortured by the enemy. Fischer asserts Stockton, a trusted member of the Continental Congress who had recently spent weeks helping assess the Northern Army, won his freedom only by accepting a pardon and renouncing his support for the Declaration and the American cause.
“Stockton was the only signer of the Declaration of Independence who abandoned the American cause and swore allegiance to George III,” Fischer wrote.
The only problem is that’s not true.
Relying on contemporary accounts and a mountain of circumstantial evidence, Glynn reconstructs the fateful events of Stockton’s capture, his harrowing captivity and eventual release after intervention by Gen. George Washington. It’s clear from the historical record that while Stockton, as a condition of his release was forced to remain on the sidelines of the American war effort, he certainly did not renounce his country. And there is no record that he swore allegiance to the crown.
Fischer, Glynn writes, relied on long-discredited accusations from malcontents intent on ruining Richard Stockton’s reputation while ignoring well-documented accounts that showed Stockton’s “parole” contained no such odious conditions.
Fischer, who has written numerous books on the Revolution, reportedly offered only a weak defense of his research. He doesn’t appear to have made an effort to study it further.
“Washington’s Crossing” was a bestseller. It’s been read by untold thousands of people. I have twice read my local library’s copy. On July 4 a few years ago, a magazine writer with nothing better to do on a slow news day wrote a thinly sourced online takedown of Stockton that could only have been based in part on Fischer’s conclusions.
That this is the first Goodreads review and rating for a self-published book written 14 years ago suggests that “His Sacred Honor” hasn’t been seen by many readers. That’s too bad. Glynn’s intimate knowledge of a tragic figure in American history is worthy reading for students of the American Revolution. Especially those interested in seeing the record set straight.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review