A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. II, Part 118

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 118

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).

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few more wagons, almost sufficient to carry all the baggage. Marched to-day at eleven o'clock through a middling-good settled country ; crossed the Blue Mountains, and encamped at Heller's tavern seven miles from Brinker's Mills about three o'clock. Here an officer from each regiment was ordered to attend at headquarters, after taking the minds of the officers of the regiments concerning the high prices of articles, whether they would give them or no. After a consultation of an hour or two they came to this resolution : That they would not purchase of any tavern-keeper any liquor or provision while on the march to headquarters-sickness excepted."*

On Friday, October 15th, the troops marched into Easton, and beyond, and encamped near the Lehigh-General Sullivan resuming command of the ariny. On the previous day the inhabitants of North- ampton County had presented a formal address to General Sullivan, congratulating him on the success of his Expedition. On the day following their arrival at Easton (to wit, October 16, 1779) the officers of the artillery formally congratulated General Sullivan "on the safe and happy arrival of himself and troops" at Easton. "We present our sincerest thanks," they said, "for the care and attention you have taken in making a comfortable provision for your army in general, and in particular for your generosity to the corps in which we serve."t On the same day the officers of the Corps of Light Infantry, through Lieut. Colonel Hubley, also extended their congratulations to the Commander- in-Chief. On Sunday, October 17th, all the troops at Easton were mustered by order of General Sullivan, and a thanksgiving sermon was preached to them by the Rev. Israel Evans, D. D., Chaplain of Poor's brigade. Also, at that time, it was announced to the army that the Congress, on October 14th, on motion of Elbridge Gerry, seconded by Robert Morris, had passed the following resolution :

" Resolved, That the thanks of Congress are voted to His Excellency. General Washington, for directing, and to Major General Sullivan and the brave officers and soldiers under his command for effectually executing, an important expedition against such of the Indian Nations as, encouraged by the counsels and conducted by the officers of His Britannic Majesty, had perfidiously waged an unprovoked and cruel war against these United States, laid waste many of their defenseless towns, and, with savage barbarity, slaughtered the inhabitants thereof."

On the same day Congress voted that it would be "proper to set apart the second Thursday of December [1779], as a day of general thanksgiving in these United States;" and, in the official proclamation which was subsequently issued relative to the Thanksgiving-day thus appointed, the following was enumerated as one of the causes of grati- tude to Providence : "That He hath gone out with those who went out into the wilderness against the savage tribes ; that He hath stayed the hand of the spoiler, and turned back his meditated destruction." In "General Orders " issued at West Point under the date of October 17, 1779, General Washington congratulated the whole army on General Sullivan's success, and declared that "the whole of the soldiery engaged in the Expedition merit and have the Commander-in-Chief's warmest acknowledgments for their important services."

The Sullivan Expedition accomplished its purpose. Some had complained of the slowness of its preparation. Few realized the extent of the arrangements necessary to be made to move a large army, with its

* Lieut. Samuel M. Shute states in his journal: "Previous to our entering the town [Easton] the officers entered into a resolve not to eat or drink a penny's worth in a tavern on the march to headquarters; as they [the tavern-keepers] had frequently been heard to say, when buying liquors at high prices, that the western army was coming down, and the men were starved for victuals and drink, and would give any price for the same, and that they would make as much money as they pleased." Lieutenant Beatty states that, after the arrival of the troops at Easton, he did not "see a single soul enter a tavern; which was a great disappointment to the inhabitants, as they had laid in great stores, and thought they would have a very fine market for them."

t See the Pennsylvania Packet (Philadelphia), October 23, 1779.

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provisions, equipments and appendages through a wide wilderness. Sullivan was wise in not starting until he was ready. Others complained that he did not carry havoc farther, and extend his march to Fort Niagara. But there were good and sufficient reasons for his stopping and returning when he did. The longer absence of so large a portion of the Continental army from the chief fields of its operations was not expedient. Upon the whole, this Indian campaign was most useful, and its entire conduct reflects the highest credit upon its commander and all under his orders.

"No part of the military history of the Revolution is less appre- ciated or more misunderstood than this," declares Charles W. Upham in his "Life of Timothy Pickering " (II : 228). "It is regarded as an eccentric diversion from the regular course of the war. It is looked upon as an unwarranted and needless devastation of Indian settlements. Some persons are horrified by the utter destruction Sullivan dealt upon the corn-fields and habitations of the tribes, forgetting that in this he pursued literally the instructions of Washington. No conqueror in the annals of history took fewer lives of an enemy, except on the battle-field; although he had the greatest possible provocation. A valuable officer [Lieutenant Boyd] and a private soldier fell, after a gallant resistance, into the hands of the Savages. From the condition of their bodies, found shortly afterwards, it appeared that they had been put to death, after tortures and mutilations such as have never been surpassed, if even paralleled, by even Indian cruelty. The forbearance and humanity of Sullivan's course deserve to be held in honorable remembrance; and there is no occasion whatever for the regret that has been expressed that ' the veil of forgetfulness cannot be drawn over it.'

"All these criticisms upon the expedition under Sullivan are in consequence of not understanding its connection with the Wyoming massacre ! That was its occasion and its origin, and led Congress, the Board of War and General Washington to feel it necessary to strike just such a blow as Sullivan did upon the five tribes, usually designated as the 'Six Nations'-who, led by the British officers, and in concert with British regulars and Tories, had perpetrated the outrage upon Wyoming -and thus render them incapable of repeating it there or elsewhere. The march of Sullivan's army was not the expression of revenge, but an act of self-preservation. No Government is worthy of the name, which does not secure the safety and protection of its people. The alternative was whether the savage tribes in central and western New York, in alliance with the public enemy, should be disabled for further mischief, or families of civilized men, women and children, on the frontiers and within the limits of the American Confederation, be indiscriminately and brutally destroyed. The Congress of the United States did no more than its duty in choosing the first course.

" The Commander-in-Chief [Washington] was responsible for the Expedition. He probably designed it, and certainly superintended the preparations for it, with great care and interest. He saw that it was needed. It was one of those blows which Washington occasionally dealt, and it was not dealt in vain. The strong arm of the country, thus wielded by him, was felt through all the Indian tribes, and the name they thenceforth gave to him-' The Town Destroyer ' -- was expressive, not of resentment or reproach, but of wondering and admiring awe."

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The following paragraphs relative to the Sullivan Expedition are taken from the "historical introduction," written by J. Watts de Peyster, to the "Orderly Book of Sir John Johnson," published in 1882. It seems to be unnecessary to state that their author was a descendant of a British Loyalist of the Revolutionary period.

"In 1779 occurred the famous invasion of the territory of the Six Nations by Sullivan. In one sense it was triumphant. It did the devil's work thoroughly. It converted a series of blooming gardens, teeming orchards and productive fields into wastes and ashes. . It was a disgrace to developing civilization. * *

* When white

men scalp and flay Indians, and convert the skins of the latter's thighs into boot-tops, the question suggests itself-which were the savages, the Continental troops or the Indians? It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that, for every Indian slain and hut consumed in this campaign, 1,000 white men, women and children paid the penalty ; and it is almost unexceptionally admitted that the inextinguishable hatred of the red- skins to the United States dates from this raid of Sullivan. * * *

"Sullivan's ultimate military objective must have been Fort Niagara, the basis, for about a century, of inroads, French and British, upon New York. Why he did not make the attempt requires a consideration that would occupy more space than can be assigned in this memoir. There were adversaries in his front who did not fear pop-gun artillery like the Indians, and were not to be dismayed by an ' elegant ' cannonade as at Newtown. Haldimand had sent Sir John Johnson to organize a body of white troops, besides the Indians, and these were rapidly concentrating upon Sullivan, when the latter counter- marched. American historians give their reasons for this retreat ; British writers explain it very differently. In any event, this Expedition was the last military command enjoyed by Sullivan. The Scripture here affords an expression which may not be inapplicable- 'He departed without being desired.'"'

At Wilkes-Barre, under the date of October 13, 1779, Col. Cornelius Sheriff, Deputy Quartermaster General on the staff of Maj. General Sullivan, addressed to Col. Zebulon Butler, commanding the Wyoming Post, the following communication :

"Sir .- Whatever Continental horses, waggons, gears, and Quartermaster General's stores you shall find on the ground at your Garrison, you will be pleased to take a particu- lar account of, and secure them for the use of the publick; and all you shall collect from any quarter-as there must be an account transmitted to General Greene, Quartermaster General, for his and the publick's satisfaction. The return of which publick property may be sent to Col. R. S. Hooper, at Easton, who will take an account of and transmit it to General Greene. The publick property boats you will secure at discretion, for future use ; though I would recommend your sending what you don't want for the use of the Garrison to Sunbury. * * The Continental horses unfit for service you may dispose of to as much advantage as in your power."*

At a meeting of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania held at Philadelphia October 19, 1779, "a petition was read, signed by the principal remaining inhabitants of Northumberland County, repre- senting their great apprehensions from the Indians, in consequence of the removal of General Sullivan's army and they being destitute of any troops for their defense. Sundry letters from General Hand were also read, acquainting the Board that 300 men had been left as a garrison at Wyoming, and it was deemed a greater number than was necessary for that post. Therefore the Council 'Resolved, That the Board of War be requested to order 150 men from Wyoming to Sunbury.'"t In conformity with the foregoing resolution the German Regiment was subsequently ordered to proceed to Sunbury, and on October 29, 1779, it marched thither from Wilkes-Barre. This left at Fort Wyoming a garrison of less than 200 officers and men, comprising Schott's Corps, Spalding's company, # Lieut. Obadiah Gore, one Sergeant, one Corporal

* According to an original document now in the collections of The Wyoming Historical and Geo- logical Society, a public sale of Continental horses was held at Wyoming Post in November, 1779, by Lord Butler, A. D. Q. M. G. Benjamin Harvey bought one sorrel mare for £100, and one black horse for £500. Other purchasers were: Capt. John Paul Schott, George P. Ransom, Col. Nathan Denison, Capt. Simon Spalding, Peregrine Gardner and Nathan Bullock.

t See "Pennsylvania Colonial Records," XII : 138.

# One of the privates in Captain Spalding's Westmoreland Independent Company in the service of the United States (see page 980, ante), was Asa Burnham. Document "No. 111," in the collection

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and ten men belonging to the 3d Regiment, Connecticut Line (as mentioned on page 834), and a small body of militia (composed of West- moreland inhabitants) officered by Capt. William Hooker Smith and Lieut. Daniel Gore. The duties devolving upon Colonel Butler, the commandant, made it necessary for him, in the circumstances of the situation, to afford protection to the returning inhabitants, to guard the approaches to the Valley, and exercise a surveillance over an extensive region of country.

At Wilkes-Barre, December 6, 1779, a town-meeting of the inhab- itants of Westmoreland was held, Col. Nathan Denison being chosen Moderator. Lieut. Obadiah Gore was elected Town Clerk for the ensuing year, and the usual number of Selectmen, Constables, Surveyors of Highways, Fence Viewers, Listers (Assessors), and Branders of Horses were elected, as well as a Town Treasurer, a Tax Collector, a Key Keeper and a School Committee. Colonel Denison, who was already a Justice of the Peace, Judge of the Probate Court, a Represent- ative to the State Assembly, and Moderator of the town-meeting, was further burdened with the offices of Town Treasurer, Selectman and School Committee-man.

The Winter of 1779-'80 was the severest ever known (up to that time) in the middle States. The snow began to fall about the 10th of November, 1779, and continued almost every day till the middle of the ensuing March. In the woods and other sheltered places it lay for many weeks at least four feet upon the level. The weather was intensely cold during the greater part of that period, and harbors, rivers, creeks and brooks were all frozen over. The bay of New York, and the North River from thence up to Albany, were covered from shore to shore with solid ice. 200 sleds laden with provisions, with two horses to each sled, and escorted by 200 light-horse troops, passed in a body from New York City to Staten Island upon the ice. By the middle of December the snow was about two feet deep in central and northern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania; but the great snow-storm began on January 3, 1780, and the newspapers of the period refer to it as being terrific in its character. Dr. Thacher, who was with Washington's army at Morristown, New Jersey, at the time of this January storm, has

entitled "Susquehannah Settlers," mentioned on page 29, Vol. I, is a petition addressed to the Gen- eral Assembly of Connecticut, dated at Litchfield, Connecticut, December 28, 1779, and signed by the said Burnham. This petition sets forth that the signer is a native of Hartford, and "now a soldier in the Continental army for said State;" that he lived with his family on the Susquehanna for some years before July, 1778; that after the massacre his family arrived at Hartford, where they were for some time provided for; that, in an unsuccessful attempt for their removal back to the Susquehanna, his wife and three small children were left at Litchfield, where, by the humanity of that town, they have been for some months supported; that said Burnham is now a garrison soldier at the Susque. hanna, and has obtained a furlough in order to complete the return of his family to the Susquehanna, but "the poverty which his calamities have unavoidably reduced him to, utterly incapacitates him to effect the removal." The memorialist therefore "implores the Fathers of his Country to take his pit- iful case into consideration," and afford him relief, etc., "which he is confident would free the public from their present burden of supporting his dear, helpless family, and invigorate his courage further to fight his country's battles." The memorialist suggests that he should be furnished "with a few nec- essaries, a small pair of substantial steers, or a couple of horses, able to draw a light sleigh to the place of his destination."

The General Assembly acted on this memorial, and directed the Selectmen of the town of Litch- field to furnish Burnham with necessaries most suitable, not exceeding £15 in value-"estimated at the rate of prices affixed in and by the Act of Assembly of November, 1776; taking the memorial- ist's receipt therefor as part of his dues from the State or Continent for his service in the army." At Litchfield, under the date of March 7, 1780, Burnham receipted to the Selectmen for "one good horse and furniture and provision to the amount of £15 value in the old way, or according to the prices of 1774, in part of what is now due or owing to me [him] on account of my [his] wages for service in the army of the United States." The Selectmen presented to the Assembly, March 10, 1780, their bill for the above horse, etc., "at the price of 2,000 dollars"-for which sum they had given an order for £600; to which should be added £30 for the amount paid the Secretary of State for copies, commissions, etc. June 6, 1780, the Selectmen received an order on the State Treasurer for £630.

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given a particular account of it in his "Journal " (referred to on page 1070). He says :

"On January 3, 1780, we experienced one of the most tremendous snow-storms ever remembered. No man could endure its violence many minutes without danger of his life Several marquees were torn asunder and blown down over the officers' heads in the night. * * The sufferings of the poor soldiers can scarcely be described. * * The snow is now from four to six feet deep, which so obstructs the roads as to prevent our receiving a supply of provisions."

The storm continued several days, and under the date of January 26, 1780, an officer wrote from the camp of the American army to the New Jersey Gazette :

"We had a fast lately in camp, by general constraint, of the whole army, in which we fasted more sincerely and truly for three days than ever we did from all the resolutions of Congress put together. This was occasioned by the severity of the weather and the drifting of the snow, whereby the roads were rendered impassable, and all supplies of provisions were cut off."

Concerning the "hard" Winter of 1779-'80, Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, wrote in 1789:

"The Winter was uniformly and uncommonly cold. The river Delaware was frozen near three months during this Winter, and public roads for wagons and sleighs connected the city of Philadelphia, in many places, with the Jersey shore. The thickness of the ice in the river, near the city, was from sixteen to nineteen inches, and the depth of the frost in the ground was from four to five feet-according to the exposure of the ground and the quality of the soil. * * Many plants were destroyed by the intenseness of the cold during that Winter. The ears of horned cattle and the feet of hogs exposed to the air were frost-bitten ; squirrels perished in their holes, and partridges were often found dead in the neighborhood of farm-houses. In January the mercury stood for several hours at 5° below 0 ( Fahrenheit), and during the whole of that month-except on one day-it never rose, in the city of Philadelphia, to the freezing-point."

The meteorological conditions in Wyoming Valley during the Winter of 1779-'80 were pretty much, if not quite, the same as those which prevailed in the localities hereinbefore mentioned. Lieut. John Jenkins, Jr., states in his diary, under the date of January 11, 1780: "A party of men set out [from Wilkes-Barre] to go through the swamp- across the Pocono range-on snow-shoes; the snow about three feet deep." Under the date of February 2d Lieutenant Jenkins records : "Two soldiers went to Capouse [Providence Township], and froze them- selves badly. " The soldiers and inhabitants in Wyoming Valley suffered in many ways during the Winter, through the discomforts and inconveniences resulting from the cold weather, the snow and the ice. The Susquehanna was frozen over solid and strong for many weeks.

Influenced by citizens of Pennsylvania who resided in the counties of Philadelphia, Northampton and Northumberland, and who laid claim to large bodies of land in the Wyoming region, the General Assembly of the State of Pennsylvania unanimously passed, November 18, 1779, a resolution to the effect "that a proposition be made without loss of time to the State of Connecticut to refer [to a third party], by mutual con- sent of the parties, the adjustment and decision of the claims of the two States " to the Wyoming territory; "such adjustment and determination to have effect and be binding on the parties." This resolution was in due time forwarded to Governor Trumbull, and by him was laid before the Connecticut Assembly at its meeting in January, 1780, when, by that body, it was voted :

"Whereas the territory referred to is within the charter bounds of Connecticut- granted long before that to Pennsylvania-and the aboriginal title of the Indians was purchased and obtained by the inhabitants of this State with the approbation of this Assembly ; * * and inasmuch as the dispute concerning the territory was to have been heard in England antecedent to the present contest with the King ; and whereas many

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original papers and documents were carried to and lodged in Great Britain to be used in the case, * * and no time hath offered since to recover them-which papers are material, etc .- * * Resolved, That this State do not at present agree to the proposal made by the State of Pennsylvania, * * but will readily comply therewith at some reasonable and favorable time hereafter."

At the beginning of the year 1780 the garrison at Fort Wyoming numbered about 125 officers and men. According to an original return made January 12, 1780, Captain Spalding's company then numbered sixty men ; Schott's Corps* numbered in the neighborhood of fifty, and the detachment from the 3d Connecticut Regiment, under the command of Lieut. Obadiah Gore, numbered thirteen. Efforts to increase the garrison, by having transferred thither from other posts an additional number of Continental troops, proving of no avail, Colonel Butler, in conjunction with the Selectmen of Westmoreland, called upon Capt. John Franklint to enlist a company of militia from among the inhabit-

* The following is a copy of a muster-roll printed in the Pennsylvania Magasine, XXVI: 477.

"Muster of the Corps commanded by Capt. John Paul Schott, taken from 1st October, 1779, to 1st April, 1780.

"John Paul Schott, Captain, September 6, 1776; Acting Paymaster. Antoni Selin, Captain, De- cember 10, 1777. Lawrence Myers, First Lieutenant, April 9, 1777; Adjutant. Conrad Latour, Sec- ond Lieutenant, April 29, 1777. John Gedecke, Sergeant, February 25, 1777. Privates: Hugh Crom- well, March 1, 1777. Johnson Burwell, March 10, 1777. Christian Swanhiser, January 1, 1779. Jacob Reynert, March 10, 1777. Tobias Ritter, February 18, 1777. Peter Corback, March 1, 1777. Gabriel Kline, May 8, 1777. William Genner, November 24, 1777. Captain Selin's Company: Sergeants- Henry Seiders (Q. M. S.), April 15, 1777. Francis McGarran, July 18, 1777 (with D. O. M. General). Henry Sinfer, August 9, 1777. John Steinheiser, July 27, 1777. Martin Lantz, February 13, 1780. Frederick Liebe (Philadelphia), March 22, 1777. Corporals-George Marx (Reading), January 24, 1777; furlough, Reading. Samuel Ulett, March 8, 1777. Drummer-William Marks (Reading), March 22, 1777. Privates-James Ridgway, October 25, 1776. Christian Fels, February 9, 1777. John Levering (Chester), March 20, 1777; furlough, Yellow Springs. John Eirach (York), March 9, 1777. George Karsh, March 9, 1777. John Poorman (Philadelphia), August 7, 1778. Martin Brechell (Philadelphia), March 15, 1777. Jacob Frey (Northampton County), March 15, 1777. Owen Cooley (York), March 25, 1777. Henry Till (Chester), June 17, 1778. William Dorn (Philadelphia), March 22, 1777; furlough, Baltimore. John Breeker, February 13, 1780. Adam Sypert (Berks Coun- ty), March 28, 1777. Henry Tradcher, May 9, 1777; on command at Easton. John Bengell, February 6, 1777. Valentine Keyser, February 6, 1777. John Roch, February 6, 1777. Basil Lewis, April 14, 1777. Michael Track. Vacant Company: Jacob Hilpe, August 9, 1777; Sergeant. Andrew Horn- berg, March 12, 1777; Corporal; discharged at Wyoming May 8, 1780. Daniel Sheetz (Northampton County), March 12, 1777; Corporal; discharged at Wyoming May 8, 1780. John Kohler (Philadelphia), September 6, 1777; discharged at Wyoming September 1, 1780. Adam Brandhefer (York), March 5, 1777. Henry Keck, March 6, 1777.

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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 118

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