John Wilkins Jr. (December 22, 1761 – April 20, 1816) was a United States Army officer who served as Quartermaster General of the United States Army from 1796 to 1802.
Early life Wilkins was born on December 22, 1761, in Donegal, now East Donegal, Pennsylvania, and raised in Carlisle.Pennsylvania Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Yearbook, 1903, pages 90 to 91 At age 15 the younger Wilkins enlisted for the American Revolution, and was assigned as Surgeon's Mate of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment.Daughters of the American Revolution, Lineage Book, Volume 58, 1921, page 178Francis Bernard Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army, 1914, page 592 He served in the position from April 8, 1780, until the close of the war on November 3, 1783. As a result of this service Wilkins earned the nickname "Doctor".The Little List , Persons, Places, and Things in Pre-1800 Western Pennsylvania, W-X-Y-Z, Waggener to Zeisberger, accessed July 10, 2012
After the war Wilkins became a merchant and contractor in Pennsylvania and Presque Isle, Michigan, providing supplies and equipment to the United States Army in the Northwest Territory.US Army Quartermaster Foundation , Biography, Major General John Wilkins Jr., accessed July 10, 2012 In 1793 Governor Thomas Mifflin appointed Wilkins as Brigadier General of the Allegheny County Militia as part of Pennsylvania's response to the Whiskey Rebellion.Pennsylvania Archives, Executive Minutes, 1790-1817, 1907, page 197
Quartermaster General President George Washington appointed Wilkins as Quartermaster General of the United States Army in June 1796. In October Wilkins attempted to resign, pleading the necessity of attending to personal business. His resignation was not accepted and he continued to serve, overseeing the supplying and equipping of an expanded Army in anticipation of war with France. Although the act of March 3, 1799, provided for a Quartermaster General with rank of major general, Wilkins was not appointed to that rank and served in the position as a civilian.Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army. Francis B. Heitman. Vol. 1. pg. 40. The dispute with France was resolved without fighting, and Wilkins served until his position was abolished in March 1802 as part of a downsizing of the Army through the Military Peace Establishment Act.Dr. Peter D. Skirbunt, The Illustrated History of American Military Commissaries, Volume 1, 2009, page 17William K. Emerson, Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms, 1996, page 253A Sketch of the Organization of the Quartermaster's Department, 1869, page 14
Later life After leaving the Army, Wilkins returned to his business interests in Pennsylvania, including serving as President of the Pittsburgh branch of the Bank of Pennsylvania.John W. Jordan, Colonial And Revolutionary Families Of Pennsylvania, 2004, page 886Quentin R. Skrabec, The World's Richest Neighborhood: How Pittsburgh's East Enders Forged American Industry, 2010, page 36George Thornton Fleming, American Historical Society, History of Pittsburgh and Environs, 1922, page 288 Wilkins died in Pittsburgh on April 29, 1816. He was originally buried in the yard of Pittsburgh's First Presbyterian Church, and later interred in Pittsburgh's Homewood Cemetery.Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, Volumes 25-26, 1942, page 179National Genealogical Society, National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 34, 1946, page 84
Family Wilkins was the son of John Wilkins Sr. (1733 – 1810), a Captain in the American Revolution.James T. White & Co., The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 18, 1922, page 81 He was the brother of Senator William Wilkins.US Government Printing Office, Senate Documents, Volume 6, 1917, page 106 He was the father of Mississippi banker James C. Wilkins and Michigan judge Ross Wilkins.David Gardner Chardavoyne, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, 2012, pages 17 to 19 His nephew Wilkins F. Tannehill (1787–1858), served as the mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, from 1825 to 1827.Octavia Zollicoffer Bond, The Tannehill Family, Nashville, Tennessee: The Nashville American, 1909, pp. 1-5
Legacy The town of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, is named for General Wilkins.
References