Odell, Jonathan
Odell, Jonathan( 1737–1818),was born in New Jersey, and after graduation from the College of New Jersey (1759) became a surgeon in the British army. During a residence in England he was an Anglican minister. In his native colony, at the outbreak of the Revolution, he indicated his sympathies by writing A Birthday Song (1776) in honor of the king, attacking the patriots. He escaped to New York, and, remaining within the British lines until the end of the war, served as an army chaplain, as secretary to Sir Guy Carleton, and as a go-between in the treasonable negotiations of André and Benedict Arnold. He also aided the British by contributing essays and satirical poetry to Rivington's New York Gazetteer. Although less poetic than the other Loyalist writer, Joseph Stansbury, he was more virulent, and showed his ability at versified invective in such works as Word of Congress (1779), an attack on the Continental Congress,...
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