Allen McLane

Allan McLane (August 8, 1746 – May 22, 1829) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He was then appointed as first United States Marshal of Delaware on September 26, 1789. He was appointed as Collector of the Port of Wilmington in 1797 and remained in that office until his death on May 22, 1829, at the age of 83. His son, Louis McLane, served as the U.S. Secretary of State for President Andrew Jackson.

Allan McLane was born in Philadelphia on August 8, 1746. At 21, he moved to central Delaware. His father became a merchant in Philadelphia.

He served in General George Washington's army during the American Revolution, as an adjutant of the Delaware militia with Caesar Rodney. His used most of his fortune he inherited after his father died to fund his own company as far as payment and equipment for the troops. McLane was one of the first American officers who suspected Benedict Arnold's loyalty. McLane had trouble working with Henry Lee III so Washington sent McLane to Charleston, South Carolina.

Allan McLane lead foraging parties for the Continental army while they were encamped at Valley Forge. He and his men cut off British expeditions and took their cattle. "He was Captain of an independent corps, now a small group of horsemen, now a hundred men, mounted and on foot, including sometimes a contingent of Oneida Indians, he was at once forager, scout, and raider everywhere about Philadelphia and even, at times, in that city in disguise."

McLane was a member of the Order of Cincinnati. After the war, he served as Speaker of the Delaware House of Representatives, was a member of the Privy Council, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and U.S. Marshall for Delaware. He was delegate at Delaware’s Constitution Ratification Convention in 1787, and a long-time advocate of the Methodist Church.

Following the war, the McLane family rented a home in Smyrna, Delaware. McLane moved to Wilmington following his appointment as Port Collector in 1797.

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