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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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1 ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02144 1206
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from findmypast.com
https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniager1718rich_0
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Pennsylvania: - GERMAN S.
ProceedINGS THE GERMAN INFLUENCE IN ITS SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
A narrative and Critical bistory
PREPARED BY AUTHORITY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN SOCIETY
PART XVIII
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAIN IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 1775-1753 1. st. 18
OC
Id
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY
1832100
Publication Commitrze. JULIUS F. SACHSE. Litt.D DANIEL, W. NEAD, M.D. HENRY M M. RICHARDS
THE PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN SOCIETY
Sincerely Yours. H. m. m. Richards
The Pennsylvania=Berman
In the
Revolutionary Mar 1775=1783
BY
HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG RICHARDS LATE UNITED STATES NAVY
Secretary Pennsylvania-German Society, Member Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, National Geo- graphic Society, American Academy Political and Social Science, Etc., Sons of the Revolution, Navel Order of the United States, Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States, Naval und Military Order of the Spanish-American War, Grand Army of the Republic
A HISTORICAL SKETCH
PART XVIII. OF A NARRATIVE AND CRITICAL HISTORY PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF THE PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN SOCIETY
SOCIE
LANCASTER, PA 1908
COPYRIGHTED 1908 BY THE Pennsylvania= German Society.
PRESS OF THE NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY LANCASTER, FA.
THE author wishes to make renewed acknowledgment to Julius F. Sachse, Litt.D., of Philadelphia, for the valu- able aid extended in this work and others, in the production of the excellent illustrations which have added so much to their worth and interest.
He also desires to publicly thank Dr. D. W. Nead, of Philadelphia, for his equally valuable assistance in the preparation of the index which accompanies this history, and without which it would be far from complete.
V
PROLOGUE.
If any excuse be needed for the pages which here follow, I trust it may be found in the fact that, until recently, no effort has been made to present to the public, even in any small degree, the great deeds done in the upbuilding of our country, from its very foundations, by those who, then and now, have formed by no means an inconsiderable por- tion of its population -- the early German emigrants to America.
As the vast majority of these peoples came to and set- tled in the Province of Pennsylvania, from whence they have since radiated to the outer confines of the continent, they gradually became known as "Pennsylvania-Germans," a name of which their descendants are justly proud, and the glory of whose achievements is gradually shedding its light far and near. These achievements were well-nigh buried in oblivion until, in recent years, there came into existence the Pennsylvania-German Society, founded for the express purpose of digging away, as it were, the rub- bish which had so obscured them in the past, and of uncov- ering them to the light of day.
There were two epochs in the history of America, both of momentous importance. One of these covered the period of the French and Indian War and the other that of our Revolutionary War. The first decided the ques- tion as to whether the Anglo-Saxon or Latin race should control and develop this newly settled land. The second was the final development of God's plan to make of it a
vii
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Prologue.
free country and an asylum for the oppressed of all nations.
Contrary to the general belief of those who have made no exhaustive study of the subject, both of these stupen- dous epochs had much of their origin and culmination in the history of Pennsylvania, and success or failure, in both instances, was largely dependent upon the German settlers of Pennsylvania. It was the Pennsylvania-German who really shaped the destiny of this continent.
In my history of "The Pennsylvania-German in the French and Indian War," which has preceded this work by some two years, I have endeavored to present, rather exhaustively, their connection with that period. In this history of "The Pennsylvania-German in the Revolu- tionary War" I trust it will be found that I have not altogether failed in my effort to prove the important work done by our ancestors in those dark and gloomy days.
H. M. M. RICHARDS.
ER
OF THE
AY SOCIETY.
SEA
.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER 1.
PAGES
THE PIONEER EXPONENTS OF LIBERTY I-15
CHAPTER II.
THE FIRST DEFENDERS OF THE REVOLUTION 16-33
CHAPTER III.
THE RESCUERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPEND-
ENCE
34-42
CHAPTER IV.
THE PRESERVERS OF THE NEW-BORN NATION 43-70
CHAPTER V.
THE PRISON SHIPS
71-78
CHAPTER VI.
THE PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN CONTINENTALS. 79-125
CHAPTER VHI.
THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE.
126-170
CHAPTER VIII.
THE PENNSYLVANIA REGIMENTS
171-189
CHAPTER IX.
THE GERMAN REGIMENT
190-194
CHAPTER X.
ROSTER OF THE GERMAN REGIMENT. 195-231
ix
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X
Contents. CHAPTER XI.
THE PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN EMERGENCY MEN. . 232-278
CHAPTER XII.
PHILADELPHIA, LANCASTER, BERKS, NORTHAMPTON AND YORK COUNTIES. 280-307
CHAPTER XIII.
ON THE FRONTIERS AGAINST THE INDIANS.
308-338
CHAPTER XIV.
OUR NON-COMBATANT PATRIOTS
339-359
CHAPTER XV.
SOME PENNSYLVANIA-GERMANS IN MILITARY SERVICE 360-426
CHAPTER XVI.
SOME OF OUR PATRIOTS IN PUBLIC LIFE .. 427-444 CHAPTER XVII.
WASHINGTON'S STOREHOUSE AND SUPPLY DEPOT. . . 445-484
CHAPTER XVIII. A PLACE OF SAFE KEEPING AND A RII UGE 485-514
1
ILLUSTRATIONS.
LIEUT. H. M. M. RICHARDS frontispiece Richards
BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. .facing page
48
GENL. DANIEL MORGAN
81
WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE.
66
II2
SURRENDER OF COL. RAHL.
120
WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE.
144
BATTLE OF MONMOUTH 152
MOLLY PITCHER AT THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH
6. 176
GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE. 182
BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN
272
MASSACRE AT WYOMING.
06
312
THAYENDANEGEA AS A FREEMASON
66
$6
318
GENL. JOHN SULLIVAN
66
328
GENL. PETER MUHLENBERG.
..
..
360
MICHAEL HILLEGAS
433
BARON VON STEUBEN
500
6.
66
66
Ai
CHAPTER I.
THE PIONEER EXPONENTS OF LIBERTY.
HEN we pause a moment to think of the large German SYLVANIA settlements in existence, at the period RMAN SOCI of our Revolutionary War, in the Province of New York, in Virginia, SEAL OF THE in Maryland, in Carolina, Georgia APRIL 15 and elsewhere, and of the fact that at least one third of the entire popu- larion of Pennsylvania were people of the same blood, it would be but reasonable to presume, what was in reality the case, that their deeds should correspond somewhat with their numbers, and that they, equally with their brethren of a different parentage, had performed the full measure of duty to their country.
As we turn, with expectant interest, to the pages of history, to learn somewhat of the character of these deeds, we are astonished to find them unrecorded. To such an extent has this been the case that unthinking and unrea- soning persons have been led to believe that the German element of this country has been practically a nonentity
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in its development. Thanks to the initiative publications of men like Dr. Seidensticker, of the University of Penn- sylvania, and Governor Pennypacker, of this Common- wealth, followed by the work of the Pennsylvania-German Society and its individual members, the curtain of ignor- ance, which has heretofore obscured the valorous and patriotic deeds of our German ancestors, is being rolled up, from day to day, until, in the not distant future, it is to be hoped they may be revealed in all their glory and entirety.
There have been various reasons for this historical silence. Our fathers, however educated in other lan- guages, spoke and wrote in an alien tongue which others, too busy in recording and exploiting their own deeds and worth, had no interest in translating, and, therefore, their doings, to a certain extent, either became lost to the world or were allowed to lie hidden until the children of this generation were permitted to bring them to light. Be- cause of their strange tongue, and foreign derivation, they were denied the privilege of becoming the governing fac- tors, rulers, and leaders of the nation in its early history. With but comparatively few exceptions they sought the wilderness of outer settlement, there to establish their homes, and, largely unheeded by others, to lay the founda- tions upon which their neighbors might build and in which they might glory. Then, too, conservative by nature and not given to boasting, they little strove for the ap- plause or encomiums of the world, to which they were entitled, and were well satisfied to tread the path lying open before them, leaving the future of history to right them and itself.
That future is now at hand and, as by its light we search the dark nooks and crannies of the past, even we, through
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The Pioneer Exponents of Liberty.
whose veins courses the same blood, cannot fail to be surprised by the revelations which present themselves.
And, yet, why should there be any cause for surprise, especially in the matter of the history of our Revolutionary War, the subject now under discussion? Fleeing from persecution and warfare in the Fatherland, the men of the German Rhine sought a refuge where they might be free. To them liberty was all in all, because it meant an untrammeled enjoyment of their homes and the right to worship their God according to the dictates of their own conscience. When they found this liberty they clung to it most tenaciously, and, with entire unselfishness, they were willing to suffer for it, even at the risk of self-abase- ment, so that others, with them, might enjoy its blessing.
Had it not been for the brave stand which the Ger- mans of Pennsylvania made against the onslaught of the savage during the French and Indian War, notwithstand- ing their own sad and terrible experience, there would have been no Revolutionary War and no resulting free- dom.
Long years before the American Colonies dreamed of throwing off the yoke of Great Britain the German settlers of Carolina spoke out for liberty and were an important factor in the rising of that provi.ice, which terminated in the overthrow, in 1719, of its Proprietary Government. As a result of this action, though the Board of Trade was warned that " if the much greater part of the most substantial people had their choice they would not choose King George's government," and though Rhet, the receiver of the revenues, wrote from Charleston that "if the re- cent revolt of the people is not cropped in the bud, they will set up for themselves against his majesty "-a prophecy and warning as to the future --- yet the insurrec-
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The Pennsylvania-German Society.
tion was adopted by the Crown, and Carolina, accepting the King as an ally, received a governor of royal appoint- ment.
With this spirit of liberty coursing through their veins is it to be wondered that, as the news of the conflict at Lexington, travelling slowly, reached the town of Char- lotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, where were assembled in session descendants of these same German settlers, they should have been so filled with the spirit of patriotism as to resolve upon a declaration of independ- ence from " the authority of the King and Parliament and the former civil constitution of these colonies." Two sets of resolutions exist, one much stronger than the other, but both equally strong upon the point of independ- ence. The dates likewise vary but both profess to have been adopted in the latter half of May, 1775, more than one year prior to the great Declaration of Independence whose birth we celebrate as of July 4, 1776. The declaration of Mecklenburg County was communicated to the Provincial Congress of the colony, without, how- ever, obtaining the sympathy of that assembly. It was also forwarded to the North Carolina representatives in the Continental Congress, but so little did it move them that they did not even lay it before their colleagues.
Animated by the same spirit, and again long in advance of their English brethren, on August 1, 1775, the boards of the German Society of Pennsylvania, and of the equally German Lutheran and Reformed Churches at Philadel- phia issued manifestoes declaring independence and ad- vocating armed resistance, showing their zeal by the formation of German associations who had already begun drilling.
The first voice, raised on this continent, for individual
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The Pioneer Exponents of Liberty.
freedom, irrespective of color, was that of the German settlers in Germantown, in the following protest against slavery, sent to the Quakers, which is given " verbatim et literatim." The handwriting of the original appears to be that of Pastorius.
" This is to ye Monthly Meeting held at Rigert Wor- rells. These are the reasons why we are against the traffick of mens-body as followeth : Is there any that would be done or handled at this manner? viz. to be sold or
Seal
German Town Pa ·1691.
made a slave for all the time of his life? How fearful & fainthearted are many on sea when they see a strange vassel being afraid it should be a Turck, and they should be tacken and sold for Slaves in Turckey. Now what is this better done as Turcks doe? Yea rather is it worse for them, wch say they are Christians for we hear, that ye most part of such Negers are brought heither against their will & consent, and that many of them are stollen. Now tho' they are black, we cannot conceive there is more liberty to have them slaves, as it is to have other white ones. There is a saying, that we shall doe to all men,
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The Pennsylvania-German Society.
licke as we will be done our selves : macking no difference of what generation, descent, or Colour they are. And those who steal or robb men, and those who buy or pur- chase them, are they not all alicke? Here is liberty of Conscience, wch is right & reasonable, here ought to be lickewise liberty of ye body, except of evildoers, wch is an other case. But to bring men hither, or to robb and sell them against their will, we stand against. In Europe there are many oppressed for Conscience sacke; and here there are those oppressed wch are of a black Colour. And we, who know that men must not commit adultery, some do commit adultery in others, separating wifes from their housbands, and giving them to others and some sell the children of those poor Creatures to other men. Oh, doe consider well this things, you who doe it, if you would be done at this manner? and if it is done according Christianity? You surpass Holland and Germany in this thing. This mackes an ill report in all those Countries of Europe, where they hear off, that ye Quackers doe here handle men, Licke they handel there ye Cattle; and for that reason some have no mind or inclination to come hither. And who shall maintaine this your cause or plaid for it! Truely we can not do so except you shall inform us better hereoff, viz. that christians have liberty to prac- tise this things. Pray! What thing in the world can be done worse towarts us then if men should roob or steal us away & sell us for slaves to strange Countries, separat- ing housband from their wife & children. Being now this is not done at that manner we will be done at, there- fore we contradict & are against this traffick of men body. And we who profess that it is not lawfull to steal, must lickewise avoid to purchase such things as are stolen, but rather help to stop this robbing and stealing if possible
:
3
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The Pioneer Exponents of Liberty.
and such men ought to be delivred out of ye hands of ye Robbers and set free as well as in Europe. Then is Pensilvania to have a good report, in stead it hath now a bad one for this sacke in other Countries. Especially whereas ye Europeans are desirous to know in what man- ner ye Quackers doe rule in their Province & most of them doe loock upon us with an envious eye. But if this is done well, what shall we say, is don evil?
" If once these slaves (wch they say are so wicked and stubborn men) should joint themselves, fight for their freedom and handel their masters & mastrisses, as they did handel them before; will these masters & mastrisses tacke the sword at hand & warr against these poor slaves, licke we are able to believe, some will not refuse to doe? Or have these negers not as much right to fight for their freedom, as you have to keep them slaves ?
"Now consider well this thing, if it is good or bad? and in case you find it to be good to handel these blacks at that manner, we desire & require you hereby lovingly that you may informe us herein, which at this time never was done, viz. that Christians have Liberty to do so, to the end we shall be satisfied in this point, & satisfie licke- wise our good friends & acquaintances in our natif Coun- try, to whose it is a terrour or fairfull thing that men should be handeld so in Pensilvania.
"This was is from our meeting at Germantown hold ye 18 of the 2 month 1688 to be delivred to the monthly meeting at Richard Warrels "
" GERRET HENDRICKS
" DERICK OP DE GRAEFF
" FRANCIS DANIELL PASTORIUS
" ABRAHAM OP DEN GRAEF."
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The Pennsylvania-German Society.
The disposition which was made of this protest appears from these notes from the Friends' records: " At our monthly meeting at Dublin ye 30 2 mo. 1688, we having inspected ye matter above mentioned & considered it we finde it so weighty that we think it not Expedient for us to meddle with it here, but do Rather comitt it to ye consideration of ye Quarterly meeting, ye tennor of it being nearly Related to ye truth, on behalfe of ye monthly meeting.
" signed, pr Jo. HART "
·
" This above mentioned was Read in our Quarterly meeting at Philadelphia the 4 of ye 4 mno. '88, and was from thence recommended to the Yearly Meeting, and the above said Derick and the other two mentioned therein, to present the same to ye above said meeting, it being a thing of two great a weight for this meeting to determine
"Signed by order of ye Meeting, "ANTHONY MORRIS."
At the yearly meeting held at Burlington the 5 day of 7 mo. 1688, " A paper being here presented by some German Friends Concerning the Lawfulness and Unlaw- fulness of buying and Keeping of Negroes, It was ad- judged not to be so proper for this Meeting to give a Positive Judgment in the case, It having so General a Relation to many other Parts, and, therefore, at present they forbear it."
The first person in America to battle for the freedom of speech, and to accomplish the liberty of the press, was John Peter Zenger (also spelled Zanger and Zinger in the records), who was born in Germany in 1697, came to this country in 1710, his father having died at sea, and,
$
:
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9
The Pioneer Exponents of Liberty.
a lad of thirteen, was apprenticed to William Bradford, the New York printer. At the expiration of his ap- A
Brief VINDICATION
OF THE Purchaffors
Againft the PROPRITORS, IN A Christian Manner.
NEW-YORK. Printed, By 7. Zenger, jun. 1745.6.
prenticeship he went to Maryland and settled in Kent County, probably at Chestertown, the county seat, as early
10
The Pennsylvania-German Society.
as 1720, where he was naturalized in October of said year. Shortly after he returned to New York, where he married in 1722. Here he went into business for himself as a printer, and, later, became the Collector of Taxes. About this time was started the quarrel between Governor Cosby and the Council, on the subject of salary, which waxed strong and found its way into the courts where it was decided against the Council, greatly to the indignation of the people who accused the judges of being biased. At once Zenger started a paper, the New York Weekly Journal, which, in its first issue, November 5, 1733, violently assailed the governor, while his former employer, Bradford, in his New York Gazette, espoused the governor's cause. Highly incensed, the government ordered four numbers of the Journal to be publicly burned by the hangman, and promptly arrested Zenger, throwing him into prison and denying him pen, ink and paper. When arraigned for trial his counsel, Smith and Alex- ander, began by excepting to the commissions of the Chief Justice and Justice Philipse, because they ran " dur- ing pleasure," which so enraged the Court that the advo- cates were at once disbarred and the case adjourned. No one else in the city dared appear for Zenger so his friends secured the services of Andrew Hamilton, long at the head of the Pennsylvania bar and without a superior in all the colonies. Hamilton's plea was a triumphant de- fense of his client and " the first vindication of the liberty of the Press in America." "The verdict of acquittal will stand as the first triumph of American Independence."
The first blood shed in the American battle for liberty was that of the little-known German lad, Christopher Snider (Schneider), in Boston, on February 22, 1770.
Theophilus Lillie was one of six merchants in Boston
The Pioneer Exponents of Liberty.
who refused to sign association papers not to import merchandise from the mother country, thus making him- self very obnoxious. One night an effigy was placed in front of his house as a mark of ridicule. In the early morning, as the people passed by, all laughed at the absurd image save Ebenezer Richardson, of unsavory record because of his employment as a spy on the actions of the Sons of Liberty. He tried to get some one to aid him in overthrowing the effigy, but without success. As a result of his efforts an altercation occurred, and the boys began calling him names, such as "Poke-nose," be-
MASSACHUSETTS,
cause always ready to spy into the business of others. This was followed by the throwing of snow-balls, to which he replied with a brick-bat. Then came more snow-balls, until, in a fit of anger, he rushed into his house, raised the window and fired a gun, wounding Samuel Gore slightly and killing Christopher Snider, a German school boy about nine years old, the only son of a widow residing in Frog Lane. It was this incident which led directly to the collision between the ropemakers
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The Pennsylvania-German Society.
and soldiers, two weeks later, resulting in the Boston mas- sacre of March 5, 1770.
Richardson was tried, committed to jail, and sentenced to be hanged, but execution was delayed by Governor Hutchinson, and he was finally set at liberty at the out- break of the war.
" No other incident," said John Adams, " has so stirred the people as the shooting of this boy." Never had there been such a funeral in Boston as that of Christopher Snider, on February 26, 1770. The schools were closed to allow the scholars to march in procession. Merchants put up their shutters. All tradesmen laid down their tools and made their way to the Liberty-Tree, where the proces- sion was to form. Mothers flocked to the little cottage in Frog Lane to weep with the mother bereft of her only child. On the Liberty-Tree some one had nailed a board upon which were painted texts from the Bible :
" Thou shalt take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer. He shall surely be put to death."
" Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not pass unpunished."
The clock was striking three when the six young men, acting as bearers, brought the coffin, from the home of the mother in Frog Lane, to the Liberty-Tree. On the velvet pall were marked the following inscriptions in Latin :
" Latet Anguis in Herba."
" Hæret Lateris lethalis Armada."
" Innocentia nusquam in tuta."
Translation.
" The serpent is lurking in the grass."
" The fatal dart is thrown."
" Innocence is nowhere safe."
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The Pioncer Exponents of Liberty.
All the bells were tolling. Mothers and maidens along the street were weeping. Old men uncovered their heads and bared their snow-white locks to the wintry air. School- boys, more than six hundred in number, two by two in hand; apprentices, journeymen, citizens, three thousand in number; magistrates, ministers, merchants, lawyers, physicians, in chaises and carriages, composed the throng bearing the murdered boy to his burial. What, under ordinary circumstances, would have been a trifling occur- rence to be forgotten over night, became an indignant protest of an outraged community against tyranny and oppression-the enforcement of law by show of force. The first blood had been shed, the first victim had fallen, and the thoughtful asked " Where will this end? "
When Burgoyne's expedition started so auspiciously with the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, in July, 1777, the cause of independence looked dark indeed, so dark that, believing the end of the rebellion to be at hand, the king lost control of himself and rushed into the queen's apart- ments, clapping his hands and shouting, "I have beat them! I have beat all the Americans!" Then it was the old German veteran, General Nicholas Herkimer, with eight hundred of his fellow Palatine countrymen, brought renewed courage to the cause by defeating the enemy at Oriskany, on August 6, 1777, where men fought like demons, stabbing, cursing and dashing out each other's brains, while the vivid lightning from heaven lit up the scene in quick flashes, the rain poured in torrents, and the crashing thunder above pealed answer to the booming artillery below, and where, it is said, the carnage was more horrible than any which had ever occurred in the history of warfare.
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