Jacob Duché

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The Reverend Jacob Duché was the Rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776, when the United States Declaration of Independence was ratified. On that same day, Duché, meeting with the Vestry, passed a resolution stating that the King George III's name was no longer to be read in the prayers of the church. Jacob Duché complied, omitting said prayers, committing an act of treason against England, a very rare and dangerous act for a clergyman who had taken an oath of loyalty to the King.

When the British occupied Philadelphia in the Fall of 1777, Jacob Duché was arrested and detained, revealing the seriousness of his actions. He was later released, at which time he wrote a famous letter to General George Washington, camped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and begged him to lay down his arms and negotiate for peace with the British.[1] In a very short time, Duché went from hero of the Revolutionary cause, to being an outcast in the new United States.

Duché first came to the attention of the First Continental Congress in September, 1774, when he was summoned to Carpenter's Hall to lead the opening prayers. He read the 35th Psalm, and then broke into extemporaneous prayer.[2] The prayer had a profound effect on the delegates, as recounted by John Adams to his wife.