General Edward Hand: Patriot, Physician, and Master of Rock Ford

This episode explores the remarkable—and complicated—life of Edward Hand, an Irish-born physician who rose to prominence during the American Revolution. Serving as a major general and adjutant general under George Washington, Hand played a critical role in the war, expertly deploying Pennsylvania riflemen in strategic delaying actions that helped shape key moments of the conflict.

After independence, Hand reinvented himself once again—this time as a Federalist politician and civic leader in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he became a central figure in the young republic’s political and social life. He spent his final years at Historic Rock Ford, a Georgian-style estate that still stands today.

The episode also confronts the more difficult aspects of Hand’s legacy. While Rock Ford is now preserved as a museum of early American decorative arts, historical records show that Hand was an enslaver and that people of African descent lived and labored within his household. By examining both his public achievements and private contradictions, this episode offers a fuller portrait of Edward Hand—and invites listeners to consider how patriotism, power, and inequality coexisted in the Early American Republic.

This episode of the Uncharted Lancaster Podcast takes a deep dive into this ambitious Pennsylvania Railroad project. Enjoy! To read more, visit UnchartedLancaster.com.

Learn about other unique people and places like this when you step off the beaten path with Uncharted Lancaster: Field Guide to the Strange, Storied, and Hidden Places of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania by Adam Zurn. This one-of-a-kind 239-page guidebook uncovers 56 fascinating sites, from the county’s very own fountain of youth to the oldest continuously operating short-line railroad in the western hemisphere. Order your copy here.