John Carden (loyalist)

Major John Carden
Born1740 (1740)
Died31 October 1782(1782-10-31) (aged 41–42)
Allegiance
Branch
Loyalist Militia
Service years
1775–1782
Rank
Major
Conflicts
SpousesSarah Surman
Judith Wragg
Kitty Hazard
ChildrenJohn Surman Carden

Major John Carden was a British military officer who led loyalist militia during the American Revolutionary War, most notably commanding the British force at the Battle of Hanging Rock.[1]

Life

John Carden was born in Ireland sometime around 1740. In 1759 he joined the 17th Regiment of Foot as an ensign. He left the army in 1771 but reenlisted in 1776 or 1777. He was commisoned as a major on April 24, 1777, commanding British forces at the Battle of Hanging Rock in 1780.[2] He married Judith Wragg in Charleston, South Carolina, even though he was still married to Sarah Surman. Some evidence suggests he tried to fake his death. His wife Judith Wragg died in 1781, and he remarried that year to Kitty Hazard. His son later become a British Admiral John Surman Carden, who noted in his memoir that his father died on October 31, 1782.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "John Carden". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved 2026-04-14.
  2. ↑ Selby, John E. (2020). "Certain British and British American Actors in the Southern Theater of the War". Journal of the American Revolution. Retrieved 2026-04-14.
  3. ↑ Marshall, John (1825). "Carden, John Surman" . Royal Naval Biography. pp. 1007–1019.