Stephen Moylan was born of wealthy parents in Cork, Ireland, in
1737, and, though he had been in the United States only seven
years at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he became a
vigorous advocate of independence and established a reputation
for intense loyalty to the American cause. His family was
Catholic and he had been sent to school in Paris, where he
received a good education. He engaged in the shipping business,
first in Lisbon and then in Philadelphia, where he moved in
1768. Although still in his thirties, he had gained considerable
wealth and social prestige before the outbreak of the war. His
jovial nature won him many friends, and when the Friendly Sons
of St. Patrick, comprised mainly of prosperous merchants. was
founded in Philadelphia in 1771 he was elected the first
president. John Dickinson, prominent Philadelphia lawyer,
recommended him to Washington as a zealous patriot. Moylan
joined the Army at Cambridge and Washington appointed him
Muster-Master General in August 1775. In January