Col. Oswald Tilghman papers

Col. Oswald Tilghman (1841-1932) was born March 7th in Easton, Maryland to Trench Tilghman (1810-1874) and Henrietta Maria Kerr Tilghman (1812-1849). The family has had a long military and political history. Oswald’s father and grandfather both served in the military, Trench Tilghman (1744-1786) served as aide-de-camp to General George Washington earning the family a prominent place in the Society of Cincinnati. Oswald's father, Trench, attended West Point and achieved the rank of General. Oswald continued this tradition by attending the Maryland Military Academy in Oxford. In 1859 he went to Texas, and when the Civil War broke out, he enlisted into the Confederacy serving in the cavalry and fighting in the Battle of Shiloh and Siege of Port Hudson where he was taken prisoner. After the war he returned to Maryland and studied law under Charles H. Gibson. He practiced law and real estate in Easton. He married Martina Lowrie (1837-1870) and after her death he married Patty Belle Harrison (1851-1931) and together they had four children. His son Harrison Samuel Tilghman (1885-1961) continued the family military tradition. Oswald died June 17, 1932 at his home, Foxley Hall, Easton.