Joseph Hewes - Signer of the Declaration of Independence from North Carolina
Little is known of Joseph’s childhood, but he did pursue a classical education and attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). After graduating, Joseph apprenticed as a counting house clerk with a Philadelphia merchant. After his apprenticeship and with some financial help from his father, Joseph set up his own mercantile business and soon became a prosperous merchant, living alternately in Philadelphia and New York. Joseph Hewes goes to North Carolina
As a young man, Joseph was engaged to be married, but his fiancée, Isabella Johnston died a few days before the planned marriage. He never married or had any children after that. Isabella was the sister of Samuel Johnston who was later a governor of North Carolina. Samuel Johnston was also elected the first President of Congress under the Articles of Confederation, but he declined the position. Mr. Hewes earned a solid reputation with his Edenton neighbors and was first elected to the Provincial Assembly State House of Commons in 1766, a position he was continually reelected to until the legislature was dissolved by the Royal Governor in 1775. Hewes was an early advocate of appealing to the British through reasoning, rather than through military rebellion. Nonetheless, he used his influence to encourage North Carolinians to form a State Convention to second Massachusetts’ call for a Congress of all the colonies. He began to serve as a member of North Carolina’s Committee of Correspondence in 1773. Committees of Correspondence were formed in each colony to inform the other colonies of news that was relevant to the patriots’ cause. Joseph Hewes goes to CongressWhen the First North Carolina Provincial Congress met in 1774, Mr. Hewes was elected as a delegate, a position he held until 1775. Because of his steadfastness to the American cause, Mr. Hewes was elected by the State Convention to attend the Continental Congress in 1774. He went to Philadelphia where the First Continental Congress began its session in September, taking his seat in Congress on the 14th. Joseph Hewes was 44 at the time. He served in the Continental Congress from 1774-76 and again in 1779.
One of the report’s recommendations was that the colonies adopt a strict non-importation, non-consumption, non-exportation agreement that would cut off all trade with Great Britain until the Americans’ demands were addressed. Mr. Hewes had a lot to lose by supporting such an agreement, because he had been extensively involved with trade with Britain for many years, but due to his strong sense of patriotism he wholeheartedly supported the agreement. Joseph Hewes - Father of the United States NavyIn 1775, Mr. Hewes was elected to the new Provincial Assembly of North Carolina and returned to Congress in May 1775. He severed his ties with the Quaker church at this time because of their pacifist leanings and denunciations of Congress. On October 5, 1775, Congress voted to arm four ships for battle, forming a committee of seven people to oversee the new navy. The committee consisted of Hewes of North Carolina, John Adams of Massachusetts, Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, Silas Deane of Connecticut, Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina and John Langdon of New Hampshire.At the beginning of the year 1776 and due to his experience with shipping, Joseph Hewes was appointed the head of the Naval Committee. He gave his fleet over to the use of the Continental Navy and oversaw the disbursement of funds to equip all naval vessels in the service of the Continental Navy. In his role as Secretary of the Navy, which was not a given title at the time, Mr. Hewes assisted General Washington in drawing up his initial plans of operation for the pending war.
The captaincies of naval vessels were a matter of contention between Hewes and fellow delegate to Congress, John Adams of Massachusetts. Adams, a New Englander, had yielded to the wishes of the southern colonies by supporting a southerner, George Washington, for the position of Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. In return, he wanted all ships in the Continental Navy to be captained by New Englanders. Joseph Hewes knew he could not win this battle with John Adams and he yielded to Adams’ wishes. Consequently, John Paul Jones only received the commission of lieutenant. Nonetheless, he went on to be the most celebrated naval hero of the Revolutionary War. His naval successes during the war are well chronicled and he later often thanked and gave the credit to Joseph Hewes who had helped him so much. Joseph Hewes and the Declaration of IndependenceIn April of 1776, the Fourth Provincial Congress of North Carolina, meeting at Halifax, produced what later became known as the Halifax Resolves. Joseph Hewes served on the committee that wrote up this document that declared North Carolina’s grievances against England and instructed its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence from Great Britain if the other colonies moved to do so. This was the first official call for independence from Britain from any colony. You can read the Halifax Resolves here.
On June 7, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a formal resolution to Congress asking for a vote to declare independence from Great Britain, which Joseph Hewes opposed at first. This resolution has become known as the Lee Resolution, after its presenter. You can read the Lee Resolution to declare independence here. As debate continued over the Lee Resolution, Joseph Hewes gradually began to change his mind about independence and, in the words of John Adams, during the debate, “He started suddenly upright and lifting up both his hands to Heaven, as if he had been in a trance, cried out, “It is done! and I will abide by it.” On June 28, Hewes wrote to friend James Iredell, who would later be appointed by George Washington as one of the first justices of the Supreme Court, stating his confidence that: “On Monday the great question of
independence and Total Separation from all political intercourse with
Great Britain will come on, it will be carried I expect by a great
Majority and then I suppose we shall take upon us a New Name.”
You can read the complete June 28, 1776 letter from Hewes to James Iredell here.
The Lee Resolution also called for a formal confederation of the thirteen colonies. Joseph Hewes served on the committee appointed for the purpose of preparing a formal document joining the states together into a union. The result of their work was the Articles of Confederation. Hewes was reelected to Congress in 1776, but didn’t serve due to his illness, though he did continue to serve as Secretary of War. Instead, he remained at home to attend to his personal affairs which were suffering from neglect due to his absence while serving in Congress. In 1777, the North Carolina Assembly tried to employ Mr. Hewes to outfit two more ships to use against Great Britain, but he declined because of his duties in overseeing the Continental Navy. Mr. Hewes was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1778 and 1779 and was reelected to Congress in 1779. Joseph Hewes - The first signer of the Declaration of Independence to dieJoseph Hewes began the term of Congress in September 1779, but his health was quickly deteriorating. The last day he appeared in Congress was October 29, after which he collapsed and never fully recovered. Mr. Hewes was too ill to return to North Carolina, so he remained in Philadelphia. He remained confined to his bed until he finally passed away on November 10 at the age of 49, a few months before his 50th birthday. Many people believe that he worked himself to death in the cause of his country. Joseph Hewes was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence to die and the only one to die at Philadelphia while serving in office.
A marker is erected in the graveyard at Christ Church commemorating the life of Joseph Hewes, but the exact location of his grave is unknown. The marker was erected in 1963 by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution of North Carolina. The inscription on the marker reads: Born:
January
23, 1730
Died: November 10, 1779 Delegate to all five provincial congresses Member Continental Congress 1774-1777-1779 Signer of Declaration of Independence from North Carolina First Executive head of the Navy "One of the best and most agreeable men in the world" Buried in Christ Church burial ground, Philadelphia. Erected by National Society Daughters of American Revolution of North Carolina, April 1963 Other notable people such as Benjamin Franklin, Francis Hopkinson, Dr. Benjamin Rush and George Ross, all signers of the Declaration of Independence, are buried at Christ Church as well. You can see a map of the Christ Church burial grounds, including the location of Hewes' memorial stone here. (Be patient, it takes a while for the map to download).
“In
Memoriam William Hooper and
John Penn Delegates from North Carolina, 1776 to the Continental
Congress and signers of the Declaration of Independence. Their remains
were re-interred here 1894. Hewes grave is lost. He was the third
signer.”
Two United States naval vessels were named after Joseph Hewes. The first was a passenger liner called Excalibur, which was built in 1930 and requisitioned by the army on January 8, 1942. It was renamed USS Joseph Hewes (AP-50). It was sunk by the Germans off the coast of North Africa on November 11, 1942, taking down her Captain, Robert C. Smith and 100 sailors and soldiers with her. For more information about this ship, please click here.
You can play the Joseph Hewes online crossword puzzle here. All of the answers in the puzzle can be found in the biography above. Other North Carolina signers: William Hooper John Penn |
