VIEWPOINT: John “Peter” Muhlenberg – One of Virginia’s Finest

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21)

October is our opportunity to celebrate and commemorate the life of one of America’s and the Shenandoah Valley’s most consequential patriots, one who is often forgotten, even in nearby Woodstock, VA.

Although few people were taught, and therefore don’t know about John “Peter” Muhlenberg, much has been written about this great American who accomplished so much for his local community, first as a pastor, then as a soldier in America’s fight to liberate itself from British oppression, and lastly, as a founding statesman. General George Washington would come to rely greatly upon
General Muhlenberg at a time when this nation’s future was uncertain and in great peril.

Locally, Bishop Larry Johnson – our beloved, legendary “Liberty Man” – and nationally, Bill Federer – world-renowned historian, author, and creator of “The American Minute” – have written about Peter Muhlenberg.

The following summary of Peter Muhlenberg’s life is from Bill Federer and other articles that recall Muhlenberg’s achievements and accomplishments for our country.

John Peter Muhlenberg’s fame began on January 23, 1776, when, as a 30-year-old Pastor of Woodstock’s Lutheran Church – having been ordained by both Lutheran and Anglican denominations and also being a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses – based his sermon upon Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8, which begins with, “For everything there is a season, a time for everything under heaven,” and ends with, “… a time of war and a time of peace.” Muhlenberg concluded his sermon with there is “time for war and time for peace, and this is a time for war,” after which John Peter Muhlenberg immediately threw off his clerical robes to reveal his uniform as a colonel in America’s Continental Army. Drums began to roll; men kissed their wives as the men walked down the aisle to enlist.

The next day, Pastor Muhlenberg led 300 men from his and surrounding churches to join General Washington’s Continental Army as the 8th Virginia Regiment (known as “the German Regiment”). Of the eight colonels in the Virginia Line, Muhlenberg was the youngest at age 29. Only Patrick Henry had less military experience. In early 1777, Muhlenberg was promoted to brigadier general and would lead Army brigades throughout most of the Revolutionary War.

John Peter Muhlenberg was born on October 1, 1746, in Trappe, Pennsylvania. He died the same day, sixty-one years later, on October 1, 1807. Being an unruly youth, he was sent to live with relatives in Halle, within the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, from 1763-1767 and served briefly in that state’s army’s dragoons.

In 1767, he returned to America to finish his schooling in what would become the University of Pennsylvania, whose founding Benjamin Franklin helped orchestrate. Franklin helped build what would become the school’s first great hall, which was originally built to provide a place to preach for Evangelist George Whitefield of the “First Great Awakening” fame.

In 1772, John Peter Muhlenberg traveled to England, where he was ordained as a minister in the Anglican Church. This ordination was a necessary requirement for him to pastor the Lutheran congregation in Woodstock, Virginia since Virginia was established as an Anglican Church colony.

In 1774, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and served as a delegate to the First Virginia Convention. He heard Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech in 1775 and was inspired to enlist.

General George Washington gave Peter Muhlenberg the rank of colonel and personally asked him to raise a regiment of soldiers. He and his men endured the freezing winter of Valley Forge (1777-1778) and saw action at the battles of Brandywine (Sep 1777), Germantown (Oct 1777), and Monmouth (Jun 1778). After Monmouth, most of the Virginia Line was sent to the far South, while
General Muhlenberg was assigned to head up the defense of Virginia using mostly militia units.

Muhlenberg helped cause British General Cornwallis’ surrender at the Battle of Yorktown (Sep-Oct 1781) by commanding the first brigade of Lafayette’s light division. He was awarded a brevet promotion to major general at the Revolutionary War’s end (1783).

After the War, Muhlenberg left military service and settled again in Pennsylvania. After some state politics, he was elected as a Representative to the 1st, 3rd, and 5th sessions of the U.S. House of Representatives before serving a short time in the U.S. Senate.

John Peter’s father was the pietist pastor Henry Muhlenberg, known as “the Patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.”
John Peter Muhlenberg’s brother, Fredrick Augustus Muhlenberg, was a Lutheran pastor who pastored Christ Lutheran Church in New York City. Frederick would become the 1st and 3rd
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Very early in the Revolutionary War, Frederick opposed Peter’s involvement in politics. Frederick wrote Peter saying, “You have become too involved in matters which, as a preacher, you have nothing whatsoever to do.” Peter’s written reply accused Frederick of being a British Tory sympathizer. Frederick replied that Peter could not serve two masters.

Then, the British bombarded and invaded New York City following the Battle of Brooklyn Heights (1776). Fredrick Muhlenberg’s church was burned, forcing him and his family to flee the city. Consequently, Frederick changed his mind and decided to get involved. Frederick joined the patriotic cause and, subsequently, was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1779.

Peter and Frederick Muhlenberg, both ordained Lutheran pastors, served in the first session of Congress that passed the U.S. Constitution’s first Ten Amendments, which constitute The Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment’s Freedom of Religion. Some misguided people may think that religion does not have a part to play in government. But can anybody honestly believe that these two Pastor – Congressmen would vote to outlaw themselves? On the contrary, their involvement underscored the fact that the First Amendment was not to keep people of faith out of government.

Instead, the First Amendment, as well as the first Ten Amendments, were created to place handcuffs on the power of the Federal Government, as stated in the Preamble to the Bill of Rights: “… the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added.”

The Bill of Rights limited the Federal Government’s power. In other words, if the subject of religion came before the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court, or the President, their response was to be “hands off – religion is under each individual state’s jurisdiction.” The Federal Government was prevented from “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion as well as from taking away from the states and individuals the freedoms of speech, press, right to peaceably assemble, or petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story wrote in A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States, 1840: “The real object of the First Amendment was not to countenance, much less to advance Mohammedanism, or Judaism, or infidelity, by prostrating Christianity, but to exclude all rivalry among Christian sects and to prevent any national ecclesiastical establishment which should give to a hierarchy the exclusive patronage of the national government.”

Justice Samuel Chase wrote in the Maryland Supreme Court case of Runkel v. Winemiller, 1799: “By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion, and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed upon the same equal footing and are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty.”

John Peter Muhlenberg’s outstanding contributions to this nation are celebrated each January by the Shenandoah Christian Alliance and friends in front of the Shenandoah County Courthouse in Woodstock, Virginia, where a bronze statue has been erected that shows him removing clerical vestments to display a military uniform underneath.

Dale Carpenter
Shenandoah Christian Alliance