A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. II, Part 112

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Wilkes-Barre [Raeder press]
Number of Pages: 683

USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. II > Part 112

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

* The Rev. SAMUEL KIRKLAND, referred to more at length on page 1190.

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Armand's Corps (see page 1162), having been ordered by General Washington to repair to his headquarters at New Windsor, New York, marched from Wilkes-Barre, over the "Sullivan Road," in the morning of July 2d. The corps was accompanied as far as the Delaware River by Lieut. Col. David Brearly of the 1st New Jersey Regiment, who, but a short time previously, had been appointed Chief Justice of New Jersey. (The name of Judge Brearly appears again-in Chapter XX-in con- nection with an event bearing importantly on Wyoming affairs.)

Early in the morning of Sunday, July 4th, some thirty boats were sent down the Susquehanna from Wilkes-Barre for provisions for the troops. The boatmen who had been enlisted to man these boats hav- ing deserted, a detachment from the rank and file of the troops was detailed for the work. In Wilkes-Barre, at ten o'clock in the morning of this day, Chaplain Hunter preached "a very good sermon " from Hebrews, XII : 13, to the troops of the 1st Brigade ; and at the same hour Chaplain Rogers preached to the troops of the 3d Brigade, taking as his text the tenth verse of the XXXIId Psalm. At five o'clock in the afternoon Chaplain Kirkland preached to the inhabitants of Wilkes- Barré, and a number of officers and soldiers who attended the service. In the morning of this day the regiments of Colonels Van Cortlandt and Cilley struck their tents on Jacobs' Plains, crossed the Susquehanna opposite their place of encampment, marched down to Forty Fort, and went into camp there with the other regiments of the 2d Brigade. Later in the day a sermon, "adapted to the occasion," was preached to the assembled troops at Forty Fort by the Rev. Israel Evans, Chaplain of the 2d Brigade.

At Forty Fort, on July 5th, Brig. General Poor gave an elaborate entertainment "in celebration of the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence." He extended a general invitation to the officers of his brigade to be present, and also invited a number of officers from other commands. Among the latter who attended were Brig. General Hand and his staff. Also, several of the principal inhabitants of Wilkes-Barre were there by invitation. Eighty-seven gentlemen in all attended, and a bountiful dinner was served in a booth, or arbor, about eighty feet long, constructed of spruce and hemlock boughs and having a marquee pitched at either end. A number of good songs were sung, and the day was spent in mirth and jollity. According to Lieut. Colonel Dear- born, of the 3d New Hampshire Regiment, the whole affair " was con- ducted with such joy and festivity as demonstrated an independent ele- vation of spirit on this important and interesting occasion." After the dinner the following toasts were drunk. (1) "The United States." (2) " The 4th of July, 1776-the ever memorable patriotic era of American Independence." (3) "The Grand Council of America." (4) "General Washington and the Army." (5) "The King and Queen of France." (6) "General Lincoln and the Southern Army." (7) "General Sulli- van and the Western Expedition." (8) "May the Counsellors of America be wise, and her Soldiers invincible." (9) "A successful and decisive campaign." (10) "Civilization or Death to all American savages." (11) " The immortal memory of those Heroes that have fallen in defense of American Liberty." (12) "May the New World be the last Asylum for Freedom and the Arts." (13) "Vigor and Virtue to all the sons and daughters of America."

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At Wilkes-Barre, under the date of July 5, 1779, the Rev. Samuel Kirkland,* Chaplain of the Sullivan Expedition, and, as such, a mem-

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THE REV. SAMUEL KIRKLAND. (Photo-reproduction of an old engraving.)

* The Rev. SAMUEL KIRKLAND was born at Norwich, Connecticut, December 1, 1741, the tenth child of the Rev. Daniel and Han- nah (Perkins) Kirkland, of Scottish descent. In 1760 and '61 he was a student at the Rev. Dr. Wheelock's school (previously mentioned in these pages) at Lebanon, Con- necticut, and in 1762 he entered the Soph- omore class at Princeton College-receiving his A. B. degree in the Summer of 1765; although at that time he had already en- tered upon his life's work, having become in January, 1765 (as mentioned on pages 290 and 968), an "apostle to the Indians." Mr. Kirkland left the Seneca nation-to which he went first as a missionary-in May, 1766, and on the 19th of the follow- ing June he was ordained to the gospel min- istry at Lebanon, Connecticut. The same day he received, from the "Connecticut Board of Correspondents of the Society in Scotland for propagating Christian knowl- edge," a general commission as an Indian missionary, and in the following July he took up his residence among the Oneidas, at Kanoalohale, their "Lower Castle" and principal town. As narrated on pages 449, 453 and 745, Mr. Kirkland attended the treaty held with the Indians at Fort Stan- wix, New York, in October, 1768.

Mr. Kirkland continued his residence and labors among the Oneidas with such success as the turbulent state of the times permitted. After the death of Sir William Johnson (in 1774) Mr. Kirkland-who, in religion and politics, was true to the spirit and principles of the Puritans from whom he descended, and was, therefore, a dissenter and an American patriot- soon incurred the dislike and opposition of Col. Guy Johnson (see note on page 800, Vol. I). The latter attempted, in various ways, to destroy Mr. Kirkland's character and influence among the In- dians, and to drive him from his post; and for this purpose he encouraged, and gladly received, ac- cusations against the missionary, which he sent up to the Oneida villages with threatening messages and injunctions of his own. Colonel Johnson, however, was foiled in his designs, for the head men of the Oneida nation, after holding a council upon the subject, sent him a belt of wampum, and a speech, in which they declared: "We love and esteem our father, the minister; he lives in great peace among us; he does no one any harm; he meddles not with State affairs; desist from any further attempts to drive him off."

we therefore beg you will

By a vote of the Continental Congress passed July 18, 1775, it was recommended to the Commis- sioners of Indian Affairs "to employ the Rev. Samuel Kirkland among the Indians of the Six Na- tions, in order to secure their friendship and to continue them in a state of neutrality with respect to" the controversy between Great Britain and the Colonies. (See pages 490 and 830.) Mr. Kirkland was charged personally by Washington to impress upon the Oneidas, in particular, the importance of pursuing a neutral line of policy-for then, no matter which party proved triumphant, the Indian in- terests would not receive injury; while, on the other hand, if the Indians were involved in the strug- gle, their interests would be likely to suffer. This reasoning prevailed with the Oneidas, under their energetic and popular chief, Skenandoah, whose voice was heard in favor of the rising Colonies. As a consequence, Sir Frederick Haldimand (see page 968) some time later sent a special written mes- sage to the Oneidas, threatening them with vengeance for deserting, as he termed it, the British cause, and thus forgetting the wise counsels of their old and respected, but deceased, friend, Sir William Johnson.

In the Autumn of 1776 Mr. Kirkland was at Fort Schuyler (formerly Fort Stanwix) where, under a commission from the Continental Congress, he was performing the duties of Chaplain to the American troops. At that time his family was residing at Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Upon the organization of the Sullivan Expedition Mr. Kirkland was appointed Chaplain on the staff of Major General Sullivan. He arrived at Easton prior to June 17th, and marched thence to Wilkes-Barre with the army on the 18th. In December, 1783, the War of the Revolution being a thing of the past, and the Oneidas having repaired to their ancient country, Mr. Kirkland returned to them as a missionary. In 1785 he received from Congress a grant of £250, "in consideration of special services rendered" during the Revolutionary War. He also received his pay for services as a Brigade Chaplain during the war. The Corporation of Harvard College, who, for some time, had considered Mr. Kirkland "as in part their missionary," voted April 7, 1786, to allow him the sum of £813, 6s. 8d., in full for his services to March, 1784; and they further voted that he "be continued a missionary among the Oneida Indians till the further orders of the corporation," and that there be allowed to him, annually, the sum of £50 sterling.

In the Summer of 1788 Mr. Kirkland was sent by Governor Clinton of New York on a mission to the Indians at Kanadesaga (see page 967) and at Buffalo Creek (where now the city of Buffalo is located). The journey was performed by water, in a small bateau, from Fort Schuyler to_Kanade- saga, and thence by land to Buffalo Creek, where Mr. Kirkland arrived June 26, 1788. There he found a large assemblage of Indians- principally of the Six Nations, with some Delawares, Cherokees. and other western and southern Indians. Among them he met Sayenqueraghta and other old friends of the Seneca nation, with whom he had lived at Kanadesaga more than twenty 'years before. He also met "Red Jacket," "Big Tree," "Farmer's Brother," and other noted Indian chiefs. At a coun- cil held at Buffalo Creek he had a conference-so he reported-"with Indians from every settlement in the Six Nations." On July 7th he had a long interview with Joseph Brant, the Mohawk, and sev- eral Seneca chiefs. They told him that they had been for a long time "consulting the good of the Indians; that it appeared to them that the Indian interest must be one; that they must all unite as Indians, independent of white people." They expressed their confidence in Mr. Kirkland, although he was a white man, and believed he would not abuse their confidence. They then proposed to him that he should set up a school for educating their children.

In December, 1788, the State of New York and the Oneida Indians, conjointly, made a grant to Mr. Kirkland and his two eldest sons of some 4,700 acres of land in the neighborhood of old Oneida.

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ber of Maj. General Sullivan's staff, wrote to his wife at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, as follows :

"I am at present, in many respects, happily situated ; have part of a large marquee to myself, and five in the General's [military] family. Conversation in the family, for some days past, has been chiefly on religious subjects, such as the authenticity of the Scriptures, the nature and consequences of Deism. The General has undertaken to con- vince any Deist (of which there is no want in the army), from principles of reason, that the Scriptures are of divine original ; at least the doctrinal and perceptive parts. In less than a day he has wrote thirty pages in quarto to prove the existence of a Supreme Being, the truth of the Bible, and that Jesus is the promised Messiah and Saviour of the world. He has read the greatest part to me last evening and this morning. I cannot but admire the ingenuity of the man, and the justness of many of his sentiments. He frankly owned to me that he was once a perfect Atheist, then a complete Deist ; but at length became convinced, by fair and impartial reasoning, of the existence of the Supreme Being, and the perfection of His character. * *

"The necessity of a just and speedy retaliation for British and savage barbarity prompts the army to encounter every fatigue and surmount every difficulty. Marksof havoc, devastation and wrath salute our eyes wherever we walk over the fields of this once flour- ishing but now desolated country ; and these objects awaken strange feelings in my breast -a just indignation and a deep abhorrence of pretended British clemency (once so much boasted of), now blended with savage barbarity. Upwards of 150 widows were here made upon this ground in the short space of one hour and a-half, about a year ago. Are these the fruits and effects of thy clemency, O George, thou tyrant of Britain and scourge of man- kind? May He, to whom vengeance belongeth, put forth His righteous indignation in due time! These once flourishing, but now devastated, fields are now cultivated by the feeble hands of disconsolate widows and helpless orphans. But why dwell on the dark side ! This devastation is undoubtedly a necessary link in the grand chain of events to bring about the enjoyment and establishment of the liberties and privileges of this land, that we may be a happy people, and the gospel extend its benign influence over every State, and the Redeemer reap a glorious and rich harvest. Indeed, if we look into God's moral government, we shall find that it is not without cause that He hath done all these things, these terrible things, in righteousness."

In the morning of July 6, 1779, a soldier named Winslow, of the 3d New Hampshire Regiment, while bathing in the Susquehanna was drowned. About midday an uncommonly black and heavy cloud appeared in the eastern sky and soon overspread the Valley. Unusu- ally loud and distinct claps of thunder-like the report of a cannon- were heard, and ere long a deluge of rain and hail came down, while the wind blew furiously. Many of the hailstones which fell were as

The next year Mr. Kirkland took possession of a portion of the land, cleared seven acres of it, and built thereon a log house. In December, 1790, at the urgent request of many Indian chiefs, and of several distinguished individuals among the white people, Mr. Kirkland went to Philadelphia to assist "Cornplanter," and other Seneca chiefs, in their mission to the Government-referred to more at length in the note on page 164, Vol. I. In 1791 Mr. Kirkland removed his family from Stockbridge to Oneida. In January, 1792, in compliance with the wishes of the War Department, Mr. Kirkland corresponded with Joseph Brant and endeavored, unsuccessfully, to induce him to accompany a large delegation of Six Nation Indians to Philadelphia. This delegation, consisting of forty chiefs and war- riors representing all the tribes of the Six Nations, reached Philadelphia in the following March, in charge of Mr. Kirkland. (For a fuller reference to this occurrence, see Chapter XXV.)

In 1795, on his land on the margin of Oriskany Creek, near the village of Clinton, and several miles from old Oneida, Mr. Kirkland erected a large country house, which is still standing, and is owned by the Hon. Elihu Root, Secretary of State of the United States. Early in 1793, through the earnest efforts of Mr. Kirkland, a charter was granted by the New York Legislature for the "Hamil- ton Oneida Academy," an institution intended for the education, chiefly, of Indian youths. In April, 1793, Mr. Kirkland made a valuable donation of land to this new corporation, and became, prac- tically, the founder of the institution. A large and convenient building was erected on the tract of land given by Mr. Kirkland, the services of an able preceptor and assistant were secured, and at length the Academy became an important literary institution, which received support from men of prominence in America and England. But after a time the palefaces came to outnumber the red- skins, and the Academy became the Hamilton College of to-day.

Mr. Kirkland was married (1st) September 19, 1769, to Jerusha Bingham of Windham, Connecti- cut, a niece of the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, D. D., previously mentioned. She died at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, January 23, 1788, and Mr. Kirkland was married (2d) in 1796 to Mary Donnally. Mr. Kirkland died at his home at Clinton February 28, 1808, and he was buried in an orchard-the trees of which he had planted with his own hands-on his estate. On one side of his grave his old and faithful friend Shenandoah, the Oneida chief, was subsequently buried, and on the other side, the remains of one of Mr. Kirkland's daughters, and also those of his widow, who died in August, 1889.

The children of the Rev. Samuel and Jerusha (Bingham) Kirkland were as follows: Jerusha. who in 1797 became the wife of John H. Lothrop of Utica, New York; Sarah, who in 1804 was mar- ried to Francis Amory of Boston; Elisa, who in 1818 was married to Professor Edward Robinson of Hamilton College; Samuel, who died, unmarried, in November, 1805; George Whitefield, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1792, and died at Jamaica in 1806; John Thornton, twin brother of the last mentioned, who was graduated at Harvard in 1789, and some years later became President of the College.

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large as hen's eggs, but irregular in shape. In the evening of this day Colonel Procter gave "an entertainment for a number of officers, and a truly merry career was the consequence."

On July 9th forty-three boats, large and small, loaded with stores, provisions, etc., for the troops, arrived at Wilkes-Barre from Sunbury. However, as these supplies were found to be insufficient for the Expe- dition, the small boats of the flotilla were unloaded and immediately sent down the river to Cox's Town,* in charge of a detachment under the command of Capt. John N. Cumming of the 2d New Jersey Regi- ment, to procure a quantity of flour. The boats which arrived on the 9th were convoyedt from Sunbury by several companies of the 11th Pennsylvania Regiment, in command of Lieut. Col. Adam Hubley, Jr., mentioned on page 1178. The other companies of this regiment were already at Wilkes-Barre, where they had been on duty since the latter part of April. A return of the state of this regiment, made by Colonel Hubley at Sunbury, June 25, 1779, showst that there were then on duty, at Sunbury, Fort Jenkins and Wilkes-Barre, twenty-three commissioned officers (including Colonel Hubley), forty-two non-commissioned officers, drummers and fifers, and 249 " effective rank and file." The regiment went into camp at Wilkes-Barre on or near the River Common, between the present Market and Union Streets.

Of all the " journals " of the officers of the Sullivan Expedition which have been preserved, the one which is the most complete and detailed, the most interesting, and, apparently, the most accurate and authentic, is that of Colonel Hubley. Interspersed throughout the diary are some fourteen pen and ink sketches, executed by Colonel Hubley contemporaneously with the writing of the pages of the diary. The latter has been published in the Appendix of Miner's " History of Wyo- ming," in Vol. II of " Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution," in "Journals of the Military Expedition of Maj. Gen. John Sullivan," and perhaps in other books; but in no instance (so far as the present writer is aware) have the sketches referred to been reproduced heretofore. By the courtesy of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania-in whose col- lections Colonel Hubley's diary is now preserved-the present writer is able to present in these pages photo-reproductions of several of the abovementioned sketches.

* "Cox's Town" and "Coxtown" (mentioned on pages 1162 and 1169) were undoubtedly one and the same place, having received its name from Cornelius Cox, Deputy Quartermaster General of the army in 1779. Some writers of Pennsylvania history have stated that Coxtown was situated where the present borough of Selinsgrove is located; and, not doubting the correctness of that statement, we have repeated it herein, on page 1162. From evidence which has quite recently been brought to our attention it appears certain that "Cox's Town" and "Estherton," or "Esthertown," were one and the same place; it being located in 1779 on the Susquehanna River, some seven or eight miles above Har- ris' Ferry (now Harrisburg)-or about where the town of Dauphin, in Dauphin County, Pennsyl. vania, now stands. It is possible that there may have been two or more places on the Susquehanna which were known in 1779 as Cox's Town; or, in other words, that wherever Deputy Quartermaster General Cox was stationed, engaged in his official duties-whether at Estherton, or at what is now Selinsgrove, or somewhere else-the place was conveniently and commonly referred to by army offi- cers as "Cox's Town."

t According to the maps of Lieut. Benjamin Lodge (see page 1171), under whose direction the road from Northumberland to Wilkes-Barre was surveyed and plotted, the road started from North- umberland (opposite Sunbury) and ran northward along the right, or west, bank of the Susquehanna, at a distance of from one-half to three-quarters of a mile from the stream. Near the road, at a dis- tance of five and three-quarters miles from Northumberland, was the residence of William Scull. Colonel Montgomery's plantation was twelve and a-half miles from Northumberland. James McClure lived one mile above Fishing Creek, which was twenty-two and one-fourth miles from Northumber- land. Fort Jenkins was thirty and three-fourths miles from Northumberland, and about one-fourth of a mile from the river. "Shickohinna" (Shickshinny) Creek was noted as being at forty-eight and three-fourths miles from Northumberland. From Shickshinny to Wilkes-Barre the course of the road was as described (reversely) on page 1090. The distance from Northumberland to Fort Wyoming. Wilkes-Barre, was sixty-seven and one-fourth miles, and it was over this route that the 11th Reg- iment marched when convoying the boats up the river.

# See "Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution," II : 5.

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The sketch shown below-reduced to about one-half the size of the original-is, from a historical stand-point, both valuable and interesting, for it makes clear several matters which heretofore have been either mis- understood or erroneously described by all writers of Wyoming history. Beginning at the left-hand side of the sketch we note that part of Gen- eral Maxwell's brigade was encamped opposite the upper end of Wilkes- Barre (later Fish's) Island ; next came the park of Colonel Procter's artillery ; then the remainder of Maxwell's brigade; and then, near the edge of the river bank, the headquarters of the Expedition-indicated in the sketch by the letters " H. Q." These camps were all located on the ground where the Indian village of Teedyuscung had stood twenty years before. (See page 371, Vol. I, and, in Chapter XXVIII, the

catch of the Encampment at 1 gaming.

Montant

A SKETCH OF SULLIVAN'S ENCAMPMENT AT WILKES-BARRE IN JULY, 1779. (A reduced photo-reproduction of the original sketch drawn by Lieut. Colonel Hubley.)

" Map of Wilkes-Barre and its Suburbs in 1872.") The Commander-in- Chief and his staff were admirably placed, as from their quarters the whole of the River Common was within sight, and there was an unob- structed view up the river for a distance of more than a mile and a-half .* A short distance to the right of Headquarters was the ravine through which ran the brock mentioned on page 492, Vol. I; and beyond this

* From the diary of Col. Timothy Pickering, under the date of January 20, 1787, we get the fol- lowing account of the condition, at that time, of the river bank at the "bend," where, some eight years before, General Sullivan and a part of his command were encamped: "Took a walk along the bank of the river, beginning at the bend and going down as far as Buttonwood [later Richards'] Island. The bank along the bend is in a ruinous condition, tumbling in and washing away at every thaw after frost, and at every fresh. The earth is extremely tender, and without any gravel or stones for perhaps ten or twelve feet in depth. Many acres have already been washed away since the New England people settled here. There is not a tree or bush along the bend for upwards of half a mile. I see no chance of preserving the lots along that bank from destruction. * After turning the point, the bank downward seemed pretty secure-both grass, trees and bushes growing on it; though here and there was a breach."

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ravine (on the right bank of which Fort Durkee had stood from 1769 till 1771) a part of General Hand's brigade was encamped, at some dis- tance from the river. Next in location was the camp of Colonel Ogden's regiment-more remote from the river than any of the camps. Fort Wyoming is shown in the sketch as standing on the brink of the river bank, while to the south-west of the fort a redoubt is noted, and to the north-east of it the camp of Colonel Hubley's regiment is noted. The location of General Poor's brigade, at Forty-Fort, is shown in the upper right-hand corner of the sketch. At the right-hand side of the sketch the location of two redoubts on elevated ground is indicated.

These last-mentioned works of defense were constructed by the troops by order of General Sullivan after his arrival at Wilkes-Barré. They were located on the rocky ridge described on pages 697 and 698, and the more southerly redoubt was erected on the site of old "Fort Defiance." The other, and the larger, of these two redoubts-which subsequently was known as "the Sullivan redoubt "-stood on the crest of the ridge, at the rear of the present German Catholic Cemetery on Darling Street, in the 1st Ward of the city of Wilkes-Barre. (See the " Map of Wilkes-Barre" in Chapter XXVIII.) Its site is exactly determined by information derived from a certain deed* executed by the Rev. Jacob Johnson about the year 1792. Remains of the two abovementioned redoubts were still in existence in the Spring of 1830, as is shown by the following extract from the article by Professor Sil- liman mentioned on page 698, ante. "The redoubts, an admirable lookout station, are still visible on the hill at the north of the village, and near them the solitary grave, without a monument, of the first clergyman-the Rev. Mr. Johnson-who was buried there by his own request." (See page 747, ante.)

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A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. II, Part 112

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851- [from old catalog] Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Wilkes-Barre [Raeder press] Number of Pages: 683

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Wilkes-Barre [Raeder press]
Number of Pages: 683