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 112
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In the morning of July 6, 1779, a soldier namned 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, 1839. 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; Eliza, 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-Barré, where they had been on duty since the latter part of April. A return of the state of this regiment, inade by Colonel Hubley at Sunbury, June 25, 1779, showst that there were then on duty, at Sunbury, Fort Jenkins and Wilkes-Barré, 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-Barré 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 repcated 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."
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 inis- 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- Barré (later Fish's) Island ; next came thie 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
A Secret of the Encampment Irgaming.
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A SKETCH OF SULLIVAN'S ENCAMPMENT AT WILKES-BARRE IN JULY, 1779. (A reduced photo-reproduction of the original sketch drawn by Lieut. Coloncl 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 inentioned 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 encampcd: "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 pcople 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-Barré. (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 clergynian-the Rev. Mr. Johnson-who was buried there by his own request." (See page 747, ante.)
The two small block-houses which had stood on the north-easterly side of Fort Wyoming-as described on page 1098-were demolished by order of General Sullivan after his arrival at Wilkes-Barré, and in their stead a substantial redoubt was erected on the River Common south-west of the fort, a short distance below Northampton Street. The location of this redoubt is indicated in the Hubley sketch.
Early in the morning of July 10, 1779, a detachment of 150 men from the 1st and 2d New Hampshire Regiments, under the command of Colonel Reid, was sent towards Easton to repair the road, and to escort in a train of wagons laden with army stores. At the same time Brig. General Hand, accompanied by Lieut. Jonathan Snowden, his aide-de-camp, and escorted by a company of light-horse, set out for Harris' Ferry (now Harrisburg) in order to hurry on supplies, the deten- tion of which, "owing to the unaccountable neglect of those having the superintendence of the same, occasioned the army to continue at " Wyoming longer than had been planned. At Wilkes-Barré, under the date of July 11, 1779, General Sullivan wrote as follows to Brig. Gen. James Clinton, assigned to the command of the 4th Brigade of the Sul- livan Expedition, and then at Canajoharie, New York.
* By the deed in question the Rev. Jacob Johnson conveyed to Ezekiel Brown a portion of the "50-Acre Lot" which had been granted to Mr. Johnson by the town of Wilkes-Barre; and the land conveyed is described in the deed in part as follows: "Beginning at the north corner of Capt. Samuel Bowman's land whereon his house now stands, and running westerly along his line until it intersects a redoubt built by Sullivan's army on the top of a hill-supposed to be about sixteen rods; thence along the course of the hill five and a-half rods; thence east, on a line parallel with Bowman's fence, until it intersects the main road leading from Wilkesbarre town-plot to Pittstown."
LOOKING NORTH-WEST FROM THE SITE OF THE OLD SULLIVAN REDOUBT.
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"I have been disappointed and delayed respecting provisions and stores in the- most surprising manner. I hope, however, to march in a few days. * * * It is agreed in Council that this army is to reach Tioga by the day prefixed for your march, that we may be ready to move up the Susquehanna to meet and cover you. * * Gen- eral Washington wrote me, as he has you, but I have undeceived him by shewing him that in case you depended on our magazine for stores, we must all starve together, as the Commissaries have deceived us in every article."
Word having been received by General Sullivan from General Clin- ton on July 12th that a body of 300 hostile Indians had been sent out from the Indian country, "to distress and harass as much as possible " the Sullivan Expedition while on its march, 150 men and a field-piece were despatched from Wilkes-Barré to reinforce Colonel Reid on the " Sullivan Road." The same day a request was received from General Hand to have all the large bateaux at Wilkes-Barre sent down the river, as the boats there were not sufficient in number to carry the stores. which were ready. Thereupon the boats referred to were despatched, in charge of Lieut. Col. John Conway, commanding a detachment of infantry and Capt. Joseph Rice's company of Procter's Artillery, hav- ing two field-pieces and a howitzer. In the evening of this day thirty- three men of the German Regiment deserted, under the plea that their time was up and that they should be paid off and discharged. They marched from their camp in a body, fully armed and equipped, and headed by a drummer and a fifer. One of the Stockbridge Indian scouts was afterwards sent out by General Sullivan to ascertain the route taken by the deserters ; which having been learned, a detachment of fifty soldiers on horseback was sent in pursuit of them. A few days later twenty-nine of the deserters having been apprehended in the neigh- borhood of the Wind Gap, they were marched back to Wilkes-Barre and confined in the guard-house. At Wilkes-Barre, under the date of July 14, 1779, Lieut. Colonel Hubley wrote to President Reed at Philadel- phia as follows* : * * * "Our Expedition is carrying on rather slow, owing to the delay of our pro- visions, etc. I sincerely pity General Sullivan's situation. People who are not acquainted with the reasons of the delay I'm informed censure him ; which is absolutely cruel and unjust. No man can be more assiduous than he is. Unless some steps are taken to find out and make an example of the delinquent Quartermasters and Commissaries, I fear our Expedition will be reduced to a much less compass than was intended."
On July 20th Captain Bowman arrived at Wilkes-Barré from Brinker's Mills, bringing with him 270 head of cattle for the Expedi- tion. A number of horses also arrived. On July 21st, at Wilkes-Barré, General Sullivan wrote to the Continental Congress in part as followst :
" My duty to the public, and regard to my own reputation, compel me to state the reasons why this army has been so long delayed here without advancing into the enemy's country. In April last it was agreed that the army should be put in motion the 15th of May and rendezvous at Easton on the 20th, to proceed immediately on the expedition. The necessary preparations were to be made in the Quartermaster and Commissary Departments, that no delay might take place-success, in a great measure, depending on secrecy and despatch. I immediately detached parties to clear a road from Easton to * Wyoming, which was done in season. * * General Washington, in consequence of my letters, wrote the Executive Council of Pennsylvania for Rangers and Riflenien. They engaged 720, and the President [Joseph Reed] frequently wrote me that they would be ready in season. Not a man of them has joined us, nor are any about to do it. The reason assigned by them is, that the Quartermasters gave such extravagant prices to boat- men that they all enlisted in the boat service. But this is evidently a mistake, for we have not one hundred boatmen engaged for the army, and but forty-two pack-horsemen."
On the same day that General Sullivan wrote and despatched the foregoing letter, he issued the following general order, a copy of which he enclosed in his letter to the Congress.
* See "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, VII : 554.
+ See ibid., 568.
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" The Commander-in-Chief acquaints the army that, had the Board of War com- plied with his requisitions, and even their own engagements respecting clothing, the numerous brave and virtuous soldiers at this post would not now be suffering through want of any articles in that way. Although he has been disappointed from time to time, and has almost despaired of receiving suitable supplies, yet, from late advice, he prom- ises himself the satisfaction of relieving the absolute necessities of the troops before they move from hence."
A copy of this order ultimately came into the possession of the Board of War, and was sent to the Congress, accompanied by a letter representing that the characters of the Board were "made very free with in General Sullivan's army, who, being under a deception," censured the members of the Board with great bitterness. The Con- gress was requested to appoint a committee to examine into the conduct and proceedings of the Board of War in the matters complained of- which request was acceded to.
On the same day that General Sullivan issued the foregoing order at Wilkes-Barré, Col. Timothy Pickering, at Philadelphia, by direction of the Board of War, wrote to General Sullivan as follows :
" We have received your favour of the 18th inst. We cannot but regret exceed- ingly the delay of an expedition whose success greatly depended on secrecy and dispatch. Your remarks on the Staff Department have undoubtedly but too much foundation. At the same time we must observe that there are in many cases almost insuperable difficul- ties in their way. Among these may be reckoned the want of men and proper materials. Of the former, the country is much drained, and of the latter, the old stocks are generally worked up or used, and no provision made for future wants. Hence, in particular, they have sometimes been obliged to use green stuff for casks, which in Summer is ruinous to whatever is put in them. To this cause may be imputed the badness of some of the salted provisions destined for your army ; for we have, upon inquiry, received satisfactory evi- dence that no care was wanting in the salting and repacking of the far greater part of them."
On Saturday, July 24, 1779, General Hand arrived at Wilkes-Barré from Sunbury with a fleet of 134 boats, loaded with provisions of all kinds. Chaplain Rogers, in his journal, recorded the arrival of the boats in these words: "On the river they appeared beautiful as they approached the village in proper divisions. Those with field-pieces on board discharged several rounds* for joy, which in the surrounding woods produced a pleasing echo. The Commander-in-Chief, in public orders, returned his cordial thanks to General Hand, Major Conway, Captains Rice and Porter, and others, for their great exertions in thus bringing forward the stores of the army with such expedition. Also expressed liis grateful acknowledgments to Commissary General Steele for his attention and activity in the business. The troops were directed to be in readiness to march on Wednesday morning [July 28th] next."
The deserters from the German Regiment having been tried and found guilty on July 24th by a general court-martial, whereof Brig. General Poor was President, were sentenced as follows: Five to be shot, two Corporals to be reduced to the ranks, and the remaining twenty-two inen to run the gantlet through the brigades of Generals Hand and Maxwell-the respective punishments to take place on Mon- day, July 26th, at four o'clock in the afternoon. On that day, on account of rainy weather, orders were issued that the execution of these sen- tences should be postponed till July 27th. Chaplain Rogers states that he " visited the criminals, and found them greatly dejected on account
* Sergeant Thomas Roberts, of the 5th New Jersey Regiment, made the following entry in his journal relative to the arrival of the fleet on July 24, 1779. "The stores arrived with 150 boats for our army. At their return there was twenty-six rounds of cannon fired-13 from the boats and 13 from the camp. These boats had three 4.pounders, and one howitzer that threw bums [sic], for their :security on the river."
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of their approaching dissolution." The following is an extract from Chaplain Rogers' journal, under the date of July 27, 1779.
" Visited the convicts twice. In discussing with them upon a future state, they appeared much affected and very penitent. Represented their situation to General Sulli- van, who told me that in consequence of a petition received from then he had ordered a board of General officers to sit. On the issuing of this day's orders the following sen- tence was read with pleasure by myself and the other Chaplains : 'The Commander-in- Chief having received a petition from the prisoners of the German Battalion now under sentence, manifesting their consciousness of the crimes for which they have been con- demned, and promising in case of pardon to distinguish themselves in future as brave and obedient soldiers ; which petition being laid before a board of General officers-in hopes that an act of lenity may have a proper effect on their future conduct, as well as that of others-they have unanimously advised a pardon of all the offenders without dis- crimination. The General, wishing to extend mercy where it can be done without injury to the public service, has accordingly consented to pardon each and every one of the offenders tried and sentenced by a general court-martial, whereof Brig. General Poor was President ; and directs that they be immediately released and restored to their duty. Lest this unparalleled act of lenity should be abused, and any soldiers take the same unjustifiable measures hereafter, the Commander-in-Chief absolutely declares he will not in future pardon a deserter, or one who, though his time be expired, shall quit his corps without a proper discharge from his commanding officer.' Instantly after the above was made known to the criminals, I called in to see theni, and found them calm, composed and thankful. Agreeably to the above order the whole twenty-nine were dismissed the main guard, and joined their regiment."
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