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 early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume II > Part 104
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118
(4) Joshua Pettebone, born in Kingston August 31, 1788, was married there in February, 1810, to Eleanor, daughter of Col. Ebenezer Gay, Sr. (born at Litchfield, Connecticut, December 26, 1725; died July 16, 1787) and bis second wife, Elizabeth Fairbanks (married November 21, 1765; died December 8, 1827). Fisber Gay of Kingston Township (born at Sbaron, Connecticut, May 6, 1778; died July 3, 1857, at his bome near tbe Wyoming Monument, where he had lived for fifty years) was one of the two brothers of Mrs. Eleanor (Gay) Pettebone. Joshua and Eleanor (Gay) Pettebone were the parents of the following-named children: (a) Sarah Ann, born April 4, 1810; married September 6, 1832, to George Reese; died February 12, 1888. (b) Oliver, born June 22, 1811; died July 17, 1874. (c) Samuel Thomas, born April 27, 1813; married November 18, 1834, to Ann Reel of Kings- ton; died April 18, 1880. (d) Elizabeth, born January 20, 1815; married December 15, 1835, to Oliver Gates Pettebone of Kingston; died July 28, 1857. (e) Jane, born February 16, 1817; died December 7, 1829. (f) Ebenezer Gay, born November 1, 1818; married to Margaret Seagraves; died February 17, 1887. (g) Benjamin Dorrance, born April 20, 1820; died October 16, 1820. (h) Fisher, born January 1, 1823; died February 8, 1824. (i) Mary, born February 14, 1825; died June 28, 1863. (j) Esther M., born February 24, 1827; died February 20, 1874. (k) George Trucks, born October 25, 1829; died March 9, 1849. (1) Lucinda C., born April 6, 1832; married January 24, 1854, to Stepben Hill Pettebone (born August 11, 1829; died October 4, 1905), son of (9) Noab Pettebone.
(5) Marcia Pettebone, born in Kingston Township November 3, 1790, was married there May 10, 1807, to Samuel Thomas, who was born in Connecticut February 2, 1787, and removed to Kings- ton in 1806. Samuel Thomas was Captain of the Wyoming Volunteer Matross, an artillery company in the service of the United States during the War of 1812. (See a subsequent chapter for a furtber account of this organization.) In 1821 Captain Thomas was elected Brigade Inspector of the 2d Brigade, 8th Division, Pennsylvania Militia. "This office he held until 1828, when he was elected and commissioned Brigadier General of the 2d Brigade for a term of seven years. In 1825 and again in 1826 he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Luzerne County. In 1834 General Thomas removed with his family from Kingston to the State of Illinois, and settled in Stark County, a few miles east of Toulon, where, in the Spring of 1836, he located and laid out a town which he named "Wyoming"-now a large and thriving place. For many years he was engaged in mercantile pursuits and in farming. In 1846 he represented Stark County in the Illinois Legislature. General Thomas became a member of Lodge No. 61, F. and A. M., Wilkes-Barre, November 4, 1811, and retained his connection therewith until bis removal to Illinois. He became one of the charter members of Toulon Lodge, No. 93, F. and A. M., constituted at Toulon November 19, 1846. He held at different times important offices in the Lodge, and continued to be a member in good standing until his deatb, wbich occurred at his home in Wyoming, Illinois, July 13, 1879.
(9) Noah Pettebone, born in Kingston July 27, 1798, was married there (1st) November 30, 1820, to Sarah Sharps (born January 17, 1800), daughter of John Sharps of Wyoming, and granddaughter of John Sharps (born in 1752; died October 3, 1831) and his wife Christianna, of Greenwich, New
1152
sizable elm trees* which stood alongside the road, and within less than 400 yards of the Kingston block-house, previously mentioned, they were ambushed by a band of twenty Delaware Indians. Lieutenant Buck and Messrs. Williams and Pettebone were instantly killed, while Fred- erick Follett fell lacerated with seven spear-wounds. Knowing that the Indians would strike while signs of life remained, Mr. Follett, by the exercise of all his fortitude and will power, managed to lie perfectly still. Believing him to be dead the Indians hastily scalped him, as well as the three men who were unquestionably dead. All this was done in
Jersey. Mrs. Sarah (Sharps) Pettebone having died December 20, 1843, Noah Pettebone was mar- ried (2d) to Margaret Nice (born at Philadelphia November 3, 1811), daughter of William and Nancy (Nice) Speece. Noah Pettebone died at his home in Kingston December 11, 1867, and his wife Mar- garet Nice died there June 12, 1882. The following are the names of the children of (9) Noah and Sarah (Sharps) Pettebone: (a) Jacob Sharps, born September 17, 1821; married March 2, 1851, to Sarah Williamson; dicd December 26, 1895. (b) Henry, born February 8, 1824; died November 4, 1826. (c) John Sharps, born May 2, 1826. (d) Stephen Hill, born August 11, 1829; married January 24, 1854, to (1) Lucinda Pettebonc: died October 4, 1905. (e) Martha Ann, born April 24, 1832; died January 23, 1884. (f) George, born February 24, 1835; died October 12, 1836. (g) Noah, born August 5, 1838; married January 14, 1864, to Jane, daughter of George and Sarah (White) Renard, and has two sons and two daughters living. The children of (9) Noah and Margaret N. (Speece) Pettebone are as follows: (h) Sarah Elizabeth, born November 13, 1847; married to Wesley N. Johnson. (i) Walter Speece, born December 21, 1852. (j) Harper Nice, born March 14, 1857.
(11) Henry Pettebone was born in Kingston Township October 5, 1802. He entered the Wilkes- Barre Academy in 1818, and having pursued a course of study there he studied law with Garrick Mallery, Wilkes-Barre, and was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne County August 3, 1825. In 1828, in conjunction with Henry Held, he established in Wilkes-Barre the Republican Farmer and Dem- ocratic Journal, a weekly newspaper, of which he served as editor for a time. In 1831 he sold out his interest in the establishment to J. J. Adam. Mr. Pettebone was appointed by Governor Wolf of Pennsylvania, February 17, 1830, Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas, and Clerk of the Orphans' Court, Quarter Sessions and Oyer and Terminer, of Luzerne County, for the regular term of three years. January 21, 1833, he was reappointed for a second term, which he served, and was succeeded in January, 1836, by Dr. John Smith. From 1836 to 1838 Mr. Pettebone was one of the Managers of the Wilkes-Barre Bridge Company. From 1836 to 1848 he was engaged-part of the time alone and the rest of the time as a partner of Charles Denison- in the practise of his pro- fession before the Courts of Luzerne County; also, during the same period, he carried on alone, and then in partnership with others, a mercantile business in Wilkes-Barre. (In July, 1841, "Henry Pet- tebone & Co." opened a store for the sale of general merchandise "at the store-room formerly occu- pied by Jacob Cist, a few doors below the Phoenix Hotel, on River Street.")
In 1841 Henry Pettebone, the Hon. Chester Butler and Capt. Hezekiah Parsons were appointed by the citizens of Wyoming Valley to repair to Hartford, Connecticut, to petition the General Assem- bly of that State for pecuniary aid in finishing the Wyoming Monument. (See Chapter XXVII.) To succeed the Hon. Ziba Bennett, who had resigned, Governor Shunk of Pennsylvania appointed Mr. Pettebone an Associate Judge of the Courts of Luzerne County March 6, 1845; and in November of the same year the Governor commissioned him a Notary Public. He served as Judge until Novem- ber, 1849, when he resigned and was succeeded by Edmund Taylor of Wilkes-Barre. Judge Pettebone then served for a time as Clerk of the Pennsylvania State Senate. For several years after that- until about 1857-he was actively engaged in superintending extensive contracts which he had in hand on the Pennsylvania Gravity Railroad and on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1857 or '58 he became Secretary and General 'Ticket Agent of the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad Com- pany. This position he held until the day of his death-having his office in the borough of Kingston. Henry Pettebone became a member of Lodge No. 61, F. and A. M., Wilkes-Barre, April 9, 1824, and in the following December was elected and installed Junior Warden of the Lodge-Garrick Mal- lery, his preceptor in the law, being at that time Master of the Lodge. Mr. Pettebone served as Master of the Lodge in 1832, 1845 and 1848, and in the years 1845-'51 and 1856-'57 he was District Deputy Grand Master of the Masonic District comprising the counties of Luzerne, Susquehanna, Wayne, Bradford and Pike. He was the first Scribe of Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, Royal Arch Masons, constituted at Wilkes-Barre February 13, 1856, and in 1857 was High Priest of the Chapter. He was also a Knight Templar.
Henry Pettebone was married in 1825 to Elizabeth (born September 30, 1803; died July 8, 1847), daughter of John Sharps, previously mentioned, and they became the parents of three children, to wit: (a) Martha, born in 1826; married in 1844 to William Streater, son of Dr. Charles Streater of Wilkes-Barré. (b) Sarah, born March 12, 1828; died April 21, 1836. (c) William S., born July 1, 1830; died April 15, 1847.
Judge Pettebone died suddenly at his home in Kingston May 5, 1861. His remains were interred with the honors of Free Masonry by Lodge No. 61 in St. Stephen's Episcopal Church-yard, Wilkes- Barré, but some years later they were removed to Forty Fort Cemetery, where they now lie.
* These trees are still (1907) standing, although the trunk of the larger of the two-the one at the right hand side in the illustration on page 1149-weakened by decay, has recently been split in twain by a wind storm. The following paragraph concerning these trees was printed in the Record of the Times, Wilkes-Barre, June 28, 1854. "We must, however, ascribe the greatest perfection of symmetry and grace to the two noble old elms that stand, adorned with every shade of beauty, upon the left of the road, near the 'Pond Hole,' as you go from Wilkes-Barre to Kingston. As we gaze upon them we are struck with admiration at their surpassing loveliness. In their perfect magnificence they arrest and completely fascinate every admirer that watches the graceful waving of their long, arched, pendulous branches. Such trees are sacred. They were left by our fathers, and they should be left by us, to stand not only as ornaments, but also as representatives of past generations. They are too noble to be cut down!" Sixteen years later, in the Record of the Times of June 1, 1870, the following was printed relative to these same trees. "It may not be generally known that the two beautiful elm trees on the Hollenback estate, just beyond the first 'Pond Hole,' long ago received the name "Twin Sisters.' One of our citizens lately visiting Norwich, Connecticut, was startled by an inquiry in regard to these "Twin Sisters' of Wyoming by one whose recollections of the past disposed him to express an interest in the present landmarks of this historic region. These elms have been the observed of all observers. It is to be lamented that cattle browsing in the field have been allowed to trim away the lowest boughs springing from the trunks of these trees. * *
* Can any one assign a good and adequate reason for the inequality between these two trees, as they stand upon the same elevation, in the same soil, and with the same exposure?"
1153
plain sight of the occupants of the Kingston block-house and of Fort Wyoming, and a detachment of armed men was immediately sent across the river from the fort ; but the Indians had fled and could not be over- taken .* Follett, weltering in his blood, gave signs of life and was taken over to the fort. Dr. William Hooker Smith, on examining his wounds, said that, while everything should be done that kindness and skill could suggest, he regarded a recovery as hopeless. And yet Fol- lett did recover, although his stomach was pierced by a spear-thrust to such an extent that the contents thereof came out through the opening. Miner says that Dr. Smith "gained great credit for restoring Follett to health and usefulness."
Miner says that in March, 1779, bands of savages began to make their appearance, as if, from the contiguity of their towns, an incursion into the Valley, instead of being a matter of toil, was but a pleasure party. On Sunday, the 21st of the month, Josiah Rogerst and Capt.
* On the same day, or the next day, Abel Dewey, Robert Alexander and Amos Parker were killed and scalped by a band of Indians below Salem, on the opposite side of the river, while Michael Kelley and his daughter, of Westmoreland, were taken prisoners. At Fort Niagara, under the date of March 8, 1779, Maj. John Butler reported to General Haldimand that a band of Delawares had "had a skirmish with the enemy at Wyoming," in which they took "three prisoners and seven scalps." (See the "Haldimand Papers," B. M. 21,765, Book CV : 113.)
+ JOSIAH ROGERS, son of Hope and Esther (Mecomb) Rogers, was born in New England in 1720, and early in 1776 he and his wife (Hannah Ford, born in 1727), accompanied by their son Jonah and his wife and family, immigrated to Wyoming Valley and settled in Plymouth Township. After the battle of Wyoming the Rogerses made preparations to flee from Plymouth. Mrs. Hannah Rogers was in ill health, and in order that she might be taken to a place of safety she was laid on a bed which was lashed to two horses traveling abrcast. The party then set out in the night-time, taking their course down along the Susquehanna, two days' journey, and then making their way across the moun- tains towards the Lehigh. The fatigues and trials of this journey were too great for Mrs. Rogers, and on the 9th of July she died in the wilderness, many miles from any human habitation. A broken piece of board that lay in the path was used for a spade, and in a hollow, formed by the upturned roots of a fallen tree, a shallow grave was made, where the remains of the dead wife and mother were laid. On the board, placed above the grave, was written, with a piece of charred wood, this inscription: "Here rest the remains of HANNAH, wife of JOSIAH ROGERS, who died while fleeing from the Indians after the massacre at Wyoming." The surviving members of the family continued their journey to the German settlements below the Blue Mountains, in Berks County, where they were treated with great kindness and consideration-being supplied with food and helped on their way to New England. In the Autumn of 1778 they returned to Wyoming Valley, but did not venture to take up their residence in Plymouth until the next year, or later. Josiah Rogers died at Plymouth in 1815, in the ninety-sixth year of his age.
Jonah Rogers, son of Josiah and Hannah (Ford) Rogers, was married in New England to Deliv- erance Chaffee, who accompanied him to Wyoming in 1776. The name of Jonah Rogers appears in the tax-lists of Plymouth District for 1777 and 1778, and in the Westmoreland lists of 1780 and 1781 -the only ones known to be now in existence. We are unable to state the time and place of the death of either Jonah Rogers or his wife. The names of their children-or, at least, some of them -- were as follows: (i) Jonah, born in 1766; died subsequently to 1833. (ii) Joze, born in 1771; in 1800 was Tax Collector of Plymouth; died subsequently to 1838. (iii) Elisha, who was living in Plymouth in 1796. (iv) Hannah, born in 1776; died in September, 1856. (v) Joel, born March 17, 1780; died July 29, 1850.
(i) Jonah Rogers was ten years old when he came to Wyoming with his parents and grandparents. After the battle of Wyoming he fled from the Valley with the other members of his father's family; and with them he returned late in the Autumn of 1778. In 1780 he was captured by Indians, but soon made his escape-as is more fully related in a subsequent chapter. He settled in Plymouth, and in 1797 was Collector of Taxes there. About that time he began teaching school in Plymouth, and in that occupation he continued for at least twenty years. Col. H. B. Wright, in his "Historical Sketches of Plymouth" (published in 1873), says: "The old frame Academy, now standing, was built not far from the year 1816. Jonah Rogers kept school in it. He had been taken a prisoner, when a *
boy of fourteen, by the Indians. * The old gentleman was in the habit of repeating, almost daily, in open school, his knowledge of Indian tragedies. He would speak of the number of reeking scalps he had seen strung upon a cord, and dangling from the belt of a red warrior as a trophy of his prowess; how the savages were in the habit of stripping their victims, binding them with thongs to a tree, piercing their naked bodies with sharpened pine knots, and then setting them on fire; how they had inhumanly murdered a man that he knew-pointing to the exact place where it was done, and naming the exact time; how he could detect them [the Indians] by the smell of their smoked and painted bodies, before they were visible to the eye; and how it would be serving God to remove and exterminate the entire race! These were some of the lessons we learned in the old man's school. They were a part of the education of the youth fifty years ago in the township of Plymouth. The old man [Jonah Rogers] was kind and indulgent, and it was not unfrequently that he would resort to these rehearsals as a means of quieting the unruly element of his school; and it worked like a charm, for when he commenced all eyes were fastened upon him, and all ears ajar. An Indian story would produce instantaneous order."
Stewart Pearce, in his "Annals of Luzerne County" (published in 1860), has the following to say relative to Jonah Rogers: "Messrs. Gray, Benedict and Finn had gathered a small congregation [of Baptists] at Plymouth in 1787, and among those baptized were Joel and Jonah Rogers, both of
whom became Elders in the Church. They, with Mr. [Jacob] Drake and Mr. [Griffin] Lewis, * laid the foundation of the Baptist Church in Huntington, Jackson, Union and Lehman Townships, and indeed in the whole western part of the County. This is the Jonah Rogers who was captured by the savages, and is the Bugle Boy of Mr. McCoy's 'Frontier Maid.' He had participated in the early trials and dangers of the first settlers, and was esteemed a valuable citizen; and when, in after life, he espoused the Christian faith, and cxhorted the people to believe and be baptized, his exhortation
1154
James Bidlack (see page 999) left Fort Wyoming on horseback with the intention of going to Plymouth. Crossing the river by means of the ferry at the foot of Northampton Street, they continued their journey on the road running along the Plymouth-Kingston boundary-line. When near the main branch of Toby's Creek an Indian appeared from behind the willows which lined the banks of the creek, and, rushing towards Rogers and Bidlack, attempted to catch hold of the bridles of their horses. This Indian was instantly followed by other Indians, while the parting of the willows disclosed the shore of Toby's Eddy lined with red men. Rogers and Bidlack immediately wheeled their horses and made for the block-house near the bank of the river. Captain Bidlack's saddle-having an old girth, which broke at the wrong moment-turned and precipitated him to the ground. He immediately jumped to his feet and attempted to escape by running, but was soon overtaken and seized by the Indians; and, as previously narrated, was carried into captivity. The pursuing Indians fired several shots at Rogers (some of which penetrated his clothing), but he had the good fortune to reach the block-house in safety.
The garrison at the block-house, on hearing the firing, sallied forth to attack the Indians, while Colonel Butler, at Fort Wyoming, immedi- ately detached twenty-five men to the support of the block-house party. The cannon at the fort was also brought to bear on the savages, and was
fell with great force on the ears of the people. Like Anning Owen and Benjamin Bidlack of the Methodist Church, he had stood shoulder to shoulder with those to whom he preached, in defence of their homes; and now, when he spoke to them of the good things of the world to come, his words, plain and simple, were those of a companion in arms, and reached the hearts of his hearers."
Jonah Rogers became a member of Lodge No. 61, F. and A. M., Wilkes-Barre, June 3, 1816. Ahout 1822 or '23 he removed from Plymouth to Huntington Township, where he continued to reside until his death-which occurred subsequently to 1833. Whether or not he was ever married we are unable to state.
(iv) Hannah Rogers was born in 1776, the same year in which her parents removed to Wyoming. She was married in 1799 to Griffin Lewis, who came from Exeter, Rhode Island, to Plymouth in 1794. Colonel Wright says ("Historical Sketches of Plymouth," p. 342): "Not far from this time [1800] 'Elder' Joel Rogers, brother to Jonah, who has been frequently mentioned in our reminiscences of the town, hoisted the Baptist flag, and continued for many years to act in the capacity of a preacher. He was joined by 'Elder' Griffin Lewis a few years later. Mr. Lewis resided in that part of Plymouth now called Jackson. These two men were at the head of the Baptist part of the population. They were both excellent and exemplary men; and while neither of them could claim any pretensions to what is called pulpit oratory, they nevertheless might be classed as solid, sensible men, and they preached solid, sensible doctrines. When I first knew them they were both past middle age. They were of the old school of divines, who were governed by the idea that the sanctity of their lives, their exemplary conduct, their weekly discourses, and the importance of their mission, furnished a sufficient guarantee of success." The home of "Elder" Lewis was for many years near Huntsville, in Jackson Township, and for a long time he was the only minister of the gospel in that section of country. He was not noted for his eloquence, but for his solid, good sense. Among his neighbors he was a peace- maker, and not a busybody. He died at his home in 1836, and his wife Hannah died in Dallas Town- ship in September, 1856. They were the parents of six children: James (who lived and died at Detroit, Michigan) ; Jonah (who lived at Battle Creek, Michigan); a daughter who became the wife of Abed Baldwin; a daughter who became the wife of Capt. T. O. Bogardus; one who became the wife of Palmer Brown, and another (the youngest) who became the wife of Thomas Worthington.
(v) Joel Rogers was born in Plymouth, Wyoming Valley, March 17, 1780, and resided there until the Spring of 1816, preaching, teaching and farming. As narrated hereinbefore, he was a Baptist "Elder." During the last four or five years of his residence in Plymouth he was also engaged in gen- eral mercantile business there, having formed about 1811 a partnership with Joseph Wright and Ben- jamin Reynolds, under the firm name of Wright, Rogers & Co. This partnership was dissolved by mutual consent May 6, 1814, and shortly thereafter Joel Rogers and Henderson Gaylord formed a partnership and carried on a mercantile business for almost two years. In April or May, 1816, Joel Rogers settled in Wilkes-Barre Township-on the west side of what is now North Main Street, about half-way between North Street and Courtright Avenue, in the city of Wilkes-Barre. There he lived, engaged in preaching and teaching, until March, 1827, when, with his family, he removed to Hunting- ton Township, Luzerne County, where he settled on a farm, having a grist-mill and a saw-mill on the same property. There he lived until his death.
"Elder" Joel Rogers was married (1st) to Polly Linn; (2d), September 30, 1815, to Mary Jack- son (born November 24, 1784; died October 7, 1836); and (3d) to Amy Bonhorn. "Elder" Rogers died July 29, 1850, and his remains lie in what is known as the old "Goss" grave-yard at Harveyville, in Huntington Township.
The children of "Elder" Joel and Mary (Jackson) Rogers were as follows: (a) Joze, born in Wilkes-Barre Township July 24, 1816; married in 1849 to Lydia Ann, daughter of Col. Josiah Rogers of Northmoreland; removed from Huntington to Colorado in 1880; died at Denver, Colorado, June 11, 1890-survived by one son, Merritt Harrison Rogers. (b) Joel Jackson, born in Wilkes-Barre Township March 4, 1818; became a physician; married at Trucksville, Luzerne County, April 15, 1851, to Sarah Caroline (born in 1824), daughter of the Rev. Jacob and Sarah (Cook) Rice; died at Huntsville, Luzerne County, March 21, 1902-survived by his wife and five children: Lewis Leon- idas, Charles Jacob, Mary Louise, Joseph Alfred, and Sarah Carrie (widow of Samuel H. Sturdevant, (Jr.). (c) Lydia, born December 24, 1819; died September 13, 1844. (d) Lewis W., born May 22, 1822; died August 3, 1845, in Union County, Pennsylvania. (e) Stephen, born April 17, 1824.
1155
discharged at them. A charge was made on the enemy, who retreated, keeping at a respectful distance, evidently intending to draw the detach- ment into an ambuscade. On approaching the woods a larger number of Indians was seen, which rendered a retreat prudent ; whereupon the enemy advanced. A smart skirmish then ensued and several men were wounded, but none mortally. The enemy then withdrew, but two days later (on March 23d), about midday, they showed themselves on the Wilkes- Barré side of the river. Some 250 warriors, arranged in a semicircle, advanced across the Wilkes-Barré plain upon Fort Wyoming, as if with intent to surround it and carry it by storm. A brisk fire was opened upon them from the fort-the four-pounder being brought into effective service, inasmuch as a ball from it cut in two the Indian chief in command of the beleaguering warriors. What further loss they sus- tained was not definitely ascertained, but they were successfully repulsed, and withdrew from the neighborhood of the fort. Relative to the inci- dents of March 21st and 23d, thus briefly described, we have an account written at Wilkes-Barré by Col. Zebulon Butler under the date of March 23d and forwarded to General Hand. It reads as follows* :
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.