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 16
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* See "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, IV : 420.
+ Formerly Sheriff of Northampton County. See page 458, Vol. I.
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On July 30th or 31st Messrs. Tilghman and Shippen returned to Philadelphia, and August 3d they made to the Council a report* of their doings in Northampton County. On Sunday, July 28th, Cap- tains Dick and Morris and their party set ont for Wyoming from their place of rendezvous north of the Blue Mountains. Taking the "Penn- amites' Path" they arrived in Wyoming Valley shortly before daybreak on July 30th. Concerning their arrival here, and their reception by the Yankees, we have the following account, t written by Captain Dick at Fort Wyoming August 1, 1771, and forwarded by a messenger to Justice Gordon at Easton.
"Last Tuesday, about break of day, I arrived at this place with thirty-one men and the provisions, and was attacked by the Yankeys (who had information of our coming by a letter falling into their hands which an Indian was sent with by Captain Ogden). We were surrounded by their fire ; we lost two [horse] loads of flour, and got in with the remainder, with twenty-two of our men. Nine of our men are missing. They have kept an almost constant fire on the block-house from four intrenchments ever since. We have forty-nine men able to bear arms, besides two wounded, and forty-eight women and children, and are determined to hold out to the last extremity. We had information by an Indian that the other party has three killed and a number wounded."
In a deposition made before Justice James Biddle at Philadelphia, August 22, 1771, Captain Morris gave his version of the experiences of himself and his associates in making their way into Fort Wyoming. It is as follows :
"Having advanced to within about 200 yards of a block-house, a man posted as a sentinel presented his firelock and challenged the people with the deponent, calling out : 'Who goes there?' That they answered that they were friends ; that the sentinel bid them stop, and threatened to fire if they advanced. Upon which John Dick, one of the party with the deponent, told him they were going peaceably to the block-house and did not intend to hurt any one, and desired him not to fire. But the sentinel persisted in declaring his resolution to fire, and then Dick, raising up his gun, bid him fire at his peril. That the sentinel then stepped a little aside, and a number of men-about eighteen or twenty-who lay concealed a small distance to the right hand, started up suddenly, fired upon the deponent and the party with him, who presently after received another fire from the left, and from the sentinel. That finding themselves attacked in this hostile manner they found it necessary to defend themselves, and being provided with arms, re- turned the fire on their assailants, and hastening to the block-house under a constant fire from several parties of the Connecticut men, twenty-two of them got in, the rest being driven back, with the loss of four horses, with their loading-having had one of their men, Gilbert Ogden, dangerously wounded, and two others slightly hurt."
The nine men of the Dick and Morris party who failed to gain an entrance into Fort Wyoming made their way back to Easton, where three of them-Thomas Neal, Valentine Arnott and Thomas Scott- made a deposition before Capt. Amos Ogden as follows :
"July 30, 1771, they were in company with Capt. Joseph Morris and John Dick, who commanded a party of men sent to Wyoming with provisions for the relief of the block-house ; and when within 300 to 400 yards of the block-house they got between two breastworks, and were fired upon from the breastworks and the woods. The fire soon becanie general. Morris and Dick's party returned the fire and took to the trees. But these deponents did not continue but a very short time before they thought it time to make their escape, as they saw the number of their enemies increase. The fire grew hot ; these deponents saw some of their own men fall ; they returned to a thick wood a mile or two from the block-house, where they lay the greatest part of the day, and then made the best of their way back."
Colonel Clayton, in his affidavit previously mentioned (see page 693), deposed as follows concerning the siege of Fort Wyoming and the arrival of Captain Dick's party.
"That on the 21st of July, at about twelve o'clock at night, the block-house was surrounded by the Connecticut party, who front that time kept the block-house invested, and secured themselves by intrenchments ; that the same night they called to the depo- nent and told him he had had time enough to go off, and swore that if he did not sur-
* See "Pennsylvania Colonial Records," IX : 750.
i See ibid., 753.
# See "Pennsylvania Colonial Records," IX : 769.
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render up the block-house by eight o'clock the next day they would blow him and the people with him to hell. That the next day some of them appeared near the block-house and endeavored by various threats and persuasions to induce the inhabitants to desert it ; that they seized on horses, cattle and such other effects of the inhabitants as they could get into their hands ; that on the 29th a number of them drew nigh the block-house with their fire-arms in their hands, and the deponent, suspecting that they intended to sur- prise it, gave them notice that he was determined to maintain his possession, and forbade their approaching nigher.
"That on the 30th July, a little after daybreak, the deponent was alarmed by the firing of guns, and, expecting an attack, the inhabitants prepared to defend themselves and fired from the block-house towards the quarter from which they expected it, and found it to be an engagement between the Connecticut party and the men coming with relief-twenty-two of whom got into the block-house, the rest being repelled. Then the Connecticut men began to fire at the block-house with ball, which was continued with little intermission, night and day, until Saturday, August 10th-the people in the block- house returning the fire."
On August 5th Justice Gordon forwarded to the authorities at Philadelphia the letter which he had received from Captain Dick, and the joint-affidavit of Neal, Arnott and Scott, together with a brief com- munication from himself, in which he stated that that was "the day ap- pointed by the Sheriff and the Justices for the rendezvous at Heller's, but owing to the bad news from Wyoming the men refused to go." Upon the receipt of Gordon's letter and the accompanying documents on August 6th, the Provincial Council agreed that orders should be issued for raising "100 men with the utmost expedition" to accompany the Sheriff to Wyoming. President Hamilton offered to advance £300 to pay expenses, if it should be necessary. On Thursday, August 8th, Justice Gordon wrote from Easton to James Tilghman at Philadelphia as follows :
"By Saturday or Sunday next it is not unlikely that 100 effective men may be ready to march for the relief of the block-house. I have recommended it to Captain Ogden, if it be at all practicable to throw in succor to the sufferers, whether it would not be most eligible to do it through means of Job Chillaway,* the Indian, and his friends at Wya- loosing, who, being neutrals in the dispute, may perform this service by water carriage with great safety, and even without suspicion ; whereas our men must run the greatest risque. I observe what you say with respect to the decoy letter, but I am afraid old birds will not be taken by chaff. They have been served so before, and discovered it too late ; therefore they are no doubt on their guard. However, nothing can be lost by the ex- periment. The business shall be expedited with the utmost activity, which, as you well observe, is the life of the cause ; but you do not seem sufficiently to consider under what embarrassments we labour for want of money, which is the soul of it. There is a differ- ence between bad pay and no pay at all. Shoes and other necessaries are wanting, and therefore it is expected that you will send money without delay."
On Sunday, August 11th, Justice Gordon wrote from Easton to James Tilgliman at Philadelphia, informing him that the raising of the posse had not succeeded, for at the muster on the previous day at "Reemey's" only about twenty-five men had appeared instead of the one hundred expected-the others having been "drawn away by their friends," who looked upon "the attempt as too dangerous." "It now appears to me," wrote Gordon, "that you cannot depend upon raising a sufficient force in these parts to disperse them, as the bulk of the County is averse to it, and even exclaim against it." However, while Mr. Gordon was writing the above letter, Charles Stewart, Amos Ogden, John Van Campen, Dr. Andrew Ledlie and others, having extensive land-claims in Wyoming Valley under Proprietary grants, were bestir- ring themselves to induce men to go on the Wyoming expedition, and by Monday morning, August 12th, they had mustered at "Reemey's" sixty-two men, who, at noon on that day, marched Wyoming-ward over the "Pennamites' Path" in command of Dr. Andrew Ledlie. Captain
* See page 650.
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Ogden and Charles Stewart did not accompany the party, which arrived about three o'clock in the afternoon of August 15th at "Ten-mile Run,"* where they bivouacked and prepared to send forward to Fort Wyoming a supply of provisions-having first despatched David Ogden and an Indian as messengers to notify the inmates of the fort of the coming of supplies and reinforcements.
John Van Campen, who was a member of Ledlie's party, subse- quently made a report in writing to Charles Stewart concerning some matters connected with this expedition. He stated that at four o'clock in the morning of August 9th he had received a letter from Lewis Gordon requesting him to raise a party of men to join others at "Ramey's" Sunday evening, August 11th. Continuing, Van Campen wrote :
"Friday went up along the Delaware River towards Minisink, and by Saturday evening collected nineteen men and marched them as far as his [Van Campen's] own house. Sunday proceeded to Ramey's, expecting to be joined there by parties from over the mountain, on the south side. Monday the said party proceeded with King and Led- lie's party, and each man [had] three days' provisions, but no provision being provided for the relief of the garrison, nor pack-horses to carry it, he [Van Campen] was obliged to spend Tuesday and Tuesday night collecting pack-horses, and to get wheat threshed and ground into flour. By Wednesday morning got about four horse-loads of flour ready, and set out very early that day, and that night joined the whole party at the Big Creek.t Thursday [August 15th] the whole party moved on to the forks of Lahawanak and Wyo- ming paths [at Ten-mile Run]. Got there about three o'clock P. M. Flung up a kind of breastworks. It was agreed to endeavor to throw a supply of flour into the block- house by water front above Wioming, and at the same time to attack the camp [the Yankee's redoubt] on the west side of the river-the practicability of which appeared to us by intelligence received from Thomas Forster and Samuel Simpson, Paxton men, who had come up the river with provisions for the block-house, of part of which they were robbed. Another canoe load they escaped with and hid on an island below the [Nanti- coke] Falls. A party to throw in the supplies was prepared, and volunteers to attack the camp under the direction of Samuel Simpson and Robert Duchee, who offered to conduct this attack."
Leaving the Pennamite relief corps at Ten-mile Run, let us return to Wyoming and learn what transpired here between Saturday, August 10th, and Thursday the 15th. In the first place we learn, from the original "List of Settlers" mentioned on page 694, that, between the 21st of July (when Fort Wyoming was regularly invested) and August 15th, the Yankee force was increased by the. arrival of the following- named men (twenty-two in number) :
Bates, Caleb Gaylord, Lieut. Samuel
Peirce, Abel
Buck, Asahel
Haines, Benjamin
Satterlee, William
Cole, Leonard
Hopkins, Frank
Seeley, Bezaleel
Cook, Reuben
Hopkins, Ichabod
Stephens, John
Crooker, Joseplı
Hopkins, Robert
Windecker, Henry
Davis, Peter Goss, Nathaniel
Hopkins, Timothy
Woodcock, Derrick
Hotchkiss, Samuel
Young, John
John, Frederick-Jr.
From the deposition of Colonel Clayton (from which we have here- tofore quoted) we learn :
"[Sunday], August 11th, Butler and Stewart sent a man with a flag to summon the Pennsylvania people to surrender. This was refused, and soon after the Yankees began to fire at the block-house with small arms and from a wooden cannon,į which burst at
* Undoubtedly the stream now known as Bear Creek. It was crossed by the "Pennamites' Path" at a point ten miles distant from Wilkes-Barré. See "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, IV : 427.
" The stream later, and now, known as Tobyhanna Creek, in Monroe County.
į Miner says ("History of Wyoming," page 128) that the old Fort Augusta 4-pounder was in the pos- session of the Yankees during the siege, having "been carefully hid by them" when they left the valley in January, 1771, and that it was placed on the redoubt called Fort Defiance, where, "with skilful gunners, it would have completely commanded" Fort Wyoming. "But distance and want of skill rendered it in a very slight degree effective." That the cannon referred to was in the possession of the Yankees at that time is quite improbable, for, undoubtedly, it fell into the hands of the Pennamites when they took pos- session of the fort in January, 1771. At any rate, Parshall Terry, who was on the ground at the time of the siege, states in his affidavit mentioned on page 403, Vol. I, that on their arrival at Wyoming in July, `1771, the Yankees "found the Pennsylvanians in possession of a garrison, commanded by a Col. Asher
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the second discharge ; that the firing continued on both sides until August 15th, when, the people in the block-house having suffered greatly for want of provisions, which were entirely consumed, and seeing no prospect of relief, he [Clayton ] sent out a flag of truce, and after several messages, having obtained the best terms he could, a capitulation was signed. That during the siege Isaac Dalston was wounded and William Ridgyard* killed in the block-house by shot from the Connecticut party ; and the deponent hath heard and believes that several of that party were killed and wounded by shot from the block- house."
From the records of The Susquehanna Company and other authentic sources we learn that of the Yankee forces Richard Cook was killed on July 30th, and that John Chase was killed at some other time during the siege. Whether or not others were killed, and how many or who were wounded, we have been unable to learn. The Articles of Capitu- lation of Fort Wyoming, which, according to the deposition of Captain Morris, were "transcribed" by him, read as followst :
"ARTICLES of CAPITULATION agreed upon the 15th day of August, 1771, betwixt Col. ASHUR CLAYTON, JOSEPH MORRIS and JOHN DICK, Commandants of the Block- house, in Behalf of the Honourable the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, and the Subscribers on behalf of the Colony of Connecticut, on Surrender of the Fort to the latter.
"1st. That 23 men shall go out armed, the Remainder unarmed, and to go from hence to their Respective Habitations, unmolested by the Opposite Party.
"2d. That the Men who have Families is to have liberty to stay on the land two Weeks, & to take off their Effects, which they are to do unmolested.
"3d. The sick & wounded is to have liberty to stay & keep such persons as they think proper for Nurses, and to send for a Doctor.
"The above articles we, the Subscribers, do bind ourselves by the honor & Faith of Gentlemen, to abide by and perform. "Testis- [Signed] "ZEBULON BUTLER,
"ALEXANDER PATTERSON,#
"LAZARUS STEWART,
"EZEKIEL PEIRCE,
"JOHN SMITH."
As soon as the capitulation had been completed several of the inen who had been inmates of the fort set out over the "Pennamites' Path" for Easton, and a day or two later Colonel Clayton and Captain Morris repaired to Philadelphia, where, on August 22nd, they made the deposi- tions previously mentioned.
About four o'clock in the afternoon of August 15th the Indian messenger, who had been sent forward to Fort Wyoming with David Ogden, returned to the relief corps at Ten-mile Run with news of the fall of the fort ; which was shortly confirmed upon the arrival of four inen who had been inmates of the fort. On consultation it was agreed that John Van Campen should proceed with all haste to Easton, bearing news of the capitulation, and that the other men of the party should continue to patrol the several paths at and near Ten-mile Run until further orders. Dr. Ledlie sent by Van Campen to Sheriff Kachlein and Justice Gordon a message reading in part as follows :
Clayton, as was said, with about fifty men, armed ; their garrison mounted a cannon carrying a 4-pound shot ; that Butler and Stewart, with their party-the deponent being one-soon laid siege to the garrison ; that not having any artillery they made several wooden cannon."
Relative to the wooden cannon Mr. Miner has the following to say : "Among the new body of emi- grants were two of the Gore family from Norwich, * * Obadiah Gore, Esq., the father, and Daniel Gore, his son, blacksmiths by trade. * * They conceived the design of adding to the ordnance a new cannon. A large pepperage [pepperidge, or sour-gum, tree] log was fashioned, bored, and then hooped from breach to muzzle with stout bands of iron. Painted black, with a red mouth, and inounted on a wagon, its appearance at least was formidable. The first discharge excited at once admiration and hope among its friends. Reloaded-a heavier charge was driven home that a corresponding execution might be produced-the cannon split, and so terrible was the explosion that one of the iron bands, thrown 1,000 feet across the Susquehanna, was afterwards found in the willows on the river shore."
* He was shot and instantly killed on August 13th, while in the sentry-box on the side of the fort nearest the river. See "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, IV : 428.
t See "Pennsylvania Colonial Records," IX : 771.
į In his petition mentioned in the note on page 626, Alexander Patterson makes the following re- markable statement relative to the siege of Fort Wyoming in July and August, 1771. "They [the Yan- kees] proceeded to Wyoming, and after having committed murder and many atrocious crimes, they drove the Pennsylvania settlers into a garrison, wherein was your petitioner, with many women and children, besieged nearly seven weeks, and was at length obliged to capitulate through famine, and deliver up the garrison to Butler and the outlaw Lazarus Stewart."
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"We shall keep the Shohola and Minisink paths guarded, to prevent more people coming to them [the Yankees], or [shall] retreat to the other side of the swamp till more men and further orders come up. They are 150 strong, and will get as many more in ten days. Our people are sixty in number and much disheartened, so that there is no per- suading them further on ; and, indeed, we could, with such a number, do nothing decisive. They [the Yankees ] will permit me to go [to Wyoming] unarmed to dress the wounded."
John Van Campen reached Easton about ten o'clock in the niglit of August 16th, and immediately hunted up Charles Stewart and Lewis Gordon, each of whom forthwith wrote a letter to James Tilghman. These letters and Van Campen's account of affairs were entrusted to a messenger, who started without delay for Philadelphia. Stewart's letter was as follows* :
"Annexed is Justice Van Campen's account of the proceedings of himself and com- pany since they set out for Wioming, and the miserable state of affairs now at that place. He is much fatigued himself, and his horse tired, therefore he cannot proceed to Phila- delphia as he intended, as he cannot get a horse to hire here. He says that [Thomas] Forster and [Samuel] Simpson offer to bring, on six days' notice, fifty good men from Paxton to reduce the rebels at Wioming, and bring up provisions and cannon by water. They will remain with Ogden's party until they know if any attempt will be made, and say they doubt not of getting 100 men if necessary. The rioters do not exceed 130 at the most. No doubt they will be speedily reinforced by their former associates. The pos- sibility of regaining the possession seems, as Mr. Van Campen says, to keep up the spirits of the friends of Government. Notwithstanding the shocking consequences that have happened it signifies but little to charge any person or persons with throwing difficulties in the way and discouraging the men. Ogden and many others think they have been horribly trifled with, if not sacrificed !t At any rate, it certainly is true that the delay in relieving the block-house brings ruin upon many poor, honest men who have, for up- wards of thirty months, done everything in our power to support the possession and aid the civil authority. Mr. Van Campen has called on Mr. Gordon, who sends this bearer ex- press with this news-the most disagreeable ever communicated by, Sir, your most humble servant. "
At Philadelphia, August 19, 1771, the Provincial Council received from James Tilghman formal intelligence of the surrender of Fort Wyo- ming, and the next day a letter addressed to "the Hon. Thomas Penn and John Penn, Esquires," Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, was prepared, signed by the several members of the Council and, a few days later, for- warded to England. The original letter is now "No. 129" of the "Penn Manuscripts" mentioned on page 30, and it reads in part as follows :
* · * "We beg leave to lay before you a state of the settlement at Wyoming, which for several years past hath been a most expensive Article to you, and given great Trouble to everybody concerned in Government. The gaining a possession there by the Connecti- cut Susquehanna Company, and the extending of their settlements to other parts of the New Purchase, equally within their claim, have been thought so greatly to affect your Interest, as well as the Peace and good Order of the Province, that attempts have from Time to Time been made to dislodge them, which have generally been successful, though very expensive ; and Hopes have still been conceived that each removal would discourage these lawless Intruders from further attempts to establish their unlawful Possession, especially as the Government here have been informed that the Legislature of Connecti- cut could not be prevailed on to support their proceedings.
"The last removal of them was in January, after which it was determined to sell the Lands to such People as had been concerned in making the settlement, in order the more strongly to induce them to defend the Possession against these Intrusions ; and in con- sequence of this resolution the Lands were offered to sale, and a number of People entered into contracts for the purchase of them-an account of which proceeding the late Gover- nor carried over with him. As we were informed the Government of Connecticut had lately so far interfered in the affair as to enter into an enquiry concerning the Right of the Colony to the disputed Lands, but would not intermeddle at present with the Posses- sion. We were in good Hopes no violent Measures would have been again pursued by the Susquehanna Company ; yet, to our surprise, we received information on the 16th of last month that an armed Body of the Intruders had marched to Susquehanna about a week before, and had taken Possession about a mile and an half from our Block-House at
* See "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, IV : 428.
t The efforts of the Jerseymen and the people of Northampton County -- carried on for at least two years prior to the surrender of Fort Wyoming-to secure the choicest lands in the Wyoming region, led to jealousies, bickerings and resentments. (See pages 506, 675 and 699.) So far as we can now learn Amos Ogden never returned to Wyoming Valley after his hurried departure hence on August 12, 1771.
at the Block Houses come down to toner a questions or Account of this Afin nicht be taken when Cath and transmitted to you (2) the first Chortunity "We are fully concerted at this indianity which" the Government must wifier , and that the Experien it has been to you has not answereds our Expectation. It will amount to considerably more than the three hundred. Sounds for which is i've drow on the Receiver General , but , The Overplus will not come out of your fansen. "We have the Honor to be with due Regards,
your most Cledions- humble Servants
P.S. august 2. The Persons who rowandedo in the Block House having come to brion since writing the above. their Depositions have been taken , and для того чтобыково ....
To Jenners
Richard Betere That Cadwalador Benjamin Phere
and's allen Edu Shipperof
The Honorable Thomas Bern and John Fenn Bemines. 1
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