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 72

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851-1922; Smith, Ernest Gray
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Wilkes-Barre : Raeder Press
Number of Pages: 680

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 72

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+ Mentioned in the note on page 711. Hc marched for Wyoming from Lancaster with his com- pany, and did not hurry home "from the seat of war in New Jersey", as incorrectly stated in the above- mentioned notc.

* The youngest brother of Lieut. Timothy Peirce, as noted on page 711. He was probably an orig- inal member of the 2d Westmoreland Independent Company, commanded by Captain Ransom, although his name does not appear on any of the rolls now known to be in existence. According to the Resolu- tion of Congress (sce page 978) he had been promoted Lieutenant, of cither the 1st or the 2d Company, April 1, 1778.

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tainly be made, and soon; but the precise time could not be calculated. Almost daily spies, or scouts, were sent up the river from the Valley, but they were unable-perhaps unwilling-to venture farther than Wyalusing. In no instance did any of them get as far as Tioga Point, and so the true state of affairs at that place was neither known nor approximately surmised at Wyoming. Care sat on every brow in Wyo- ming, and fear dwelt in many a heart too stanch to allow a syllable of apprehension to escape from the lips. The daily vocations of the peo- ple were attended to as usual, but the indispensable labors of the field were performed by armed men.

The one and only cannon in the settlement-the old 4-pounder mentioned in earlier pages-was in the fort at Wilkes-Barré; but, there being no shot on hand for firing front it, arrangements were made to use it for an alarm-gun, to warn the people of approaching danger and to summon the militia to their places of rendezvous. Every company of the 24th Regiment, including the "Alarm List" companies (see page 922), was ordered to be ready at a moment's warning. Indeed, every man and youth in the Valley who possessed the strength and skill to load and fire a gun, and who had, or could procure, a gun, was called into service and trained. Two deserters from the British army-Abraham Pike, who had fled from Boston several years before, and - Boyd, a fine, active, young fellow from Canada, who had been a Sergeant-were in the Val- ley, and they made themselves useful in aiding to train the militia.

During those last days of June the inhabitants generally-particu- larly those dwelling in isolated localities-sought the protection afforded by the several forts, stockades and block-houses in the Valley. Probably the largest number of people gathered at Forty Fort (see pages 774 and

FORTY FORT, AS IT IS SAID TO HAVE APPEARED IN 1778. Reduced reproduction of a drawing by Edmund L. Dana, Esq., originally published in Pearce's "Annals of Luzerne County."

885), owing to its larger dimensions and promise of greater security. Concerning this fort it is stated in "Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania " (I : 438) that "in 1777 it was partly rebuilt, adding much to its strength, as well as its dimensions. Opinions differ as to its size; the better authority seems to be that it enclosed an acre or more of ground. In-

VIEW DOWN THE SUSQUEHANNA FROM FORTY FORT CEMETERY.

From a photograph taken in 1902. Forty Fort (erected in 1772) stood on the right bank of the river, at the bend.

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deed, recent excavations disclose the remains of the timbers in place, extending in one direction 220 feet, indicating in connection with other circuinstances an inclosure of at least an acre. The walls of this fort were of logs, the material generally used in such defenses ; these were set upright in a trench five feet in depth, extending twelve feet above the surface of the ground, and were sharpened at the top. The joints or crevices between the upright logs were protected by another tier of logs planted and secured in like manner, thus forming a double wall. Bar- racks, or huts, were built along the walls within the fort, for the shel- ter of the occupants ; the roof of these buildings serving as a platforni from which the garrison could defend the works ; and the space in the center, surrounded by the barracks, was used as a parade. The inclos- ure was rectangular in shape, having a gateway opening towards the north, another towards the south, and small sentry towers at the four corners, rising a few feet above the walls. A strong flowing spring at the inargin of the river, below the structure, supplied water to the fort. Access to the spring was rendered safe by means of a sunken passage- way, having the top protected by timber work, leading down from the fort."

Turning our attention now in the direction of Tioga Point, where Maj. John Butler and his forces established themselves early in June, we find that during the greater part of the month active preparations were carried on there for the descent on Wyoming. Boats and canoes were built, a large quantity of provisions was collected for the subsistence of the expedition until it should arrive at Wyoming, and additions, both of white men and Indians, were made almost daily to the ranks of the invaders.

Nearly every writer of Wyoming history, heretofore, has stated, in substance, that the white men of this expedition numbered about 400, consisting of Butler's Rangers, a detachment of Sir John Johnson's "Royal Greens," and a number of Tories from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. It is very doubtful if any white man (with one excep- tion, mentioned hereinafter) joined the expedition who was 110t already an enlisted member of Butler's Rangers ; or, if he was not a member of the corps when he arrived at Tioga Point, was not soon thereafter regu- larly mustered into the British service as a "Ranger." The regiment of Sir John Johnson (see page 934) was in service in another part of the country-at a considerable distance from Tioga Point and the valley of the Susquehanna-in June and July, 1778. This regiment, which was composed largely of Tories from the Mohawk Valley, was not a corps of scouts, or rangers, but a light infantry organization, and was officially designated as "The King's Royal Regiment of New York." For con- venience it was usually referred to as "Sir John Johnson's Regiment," and unofficially, by contemporaneous writers, it was often called "John- son's Royal Greens,"* from the color of the uniforms worn by the menl. But this last title was, in a sense, a misnomer, for all the Provincial military organizations in the British service in America during the Revolutionary War wore green uniforms. This fact was probably un- known to the inhabitants of Wyoming who, in July, 1778, saw those " Rangers " of Butler's corps who then wore green uniforins, and pre-

* In the "Introduction"-written by William L. Stone-to the "Orderly Book of Sir John John- son" (published at Albany, New York, in 1882), we find this statement: "We learn, among other items, that Sir John Johnson's regiment never, in a single instance, in this Orderly Book-although elsewhere invariably known as such-is called the 'Royal Greens.'"

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sumed that they were some of "Johnson's Royal Greens." (It was not until December, 1778-as stated on page 943-that all the " Rangers" were mustered at Fort Niagara and supplied with the distinctive uni- forins which had been provided for them.)

The Indians who took part in the Wyoming expedition were chiefly Senecas, under the supreme command of Sayenqueraghta. There were in addition, however, some Delawares (mostly of the Monsey clan), On- ondagas and Cayugas, and probably a few warriors from other tribes. There was at that time a small Indian village on the Tioga Point pen- insula, near its extremity. Three miles up the Tioga River was a small village known to the whites as " Shawnee," and nine miles farther was the large village of Chemung. One mile south of the mouth of the Tioga River, on a broad and fertile plain on the right, or west, bank of the Susquehanna (near where the village of Milan, in the township of Ulster, Bradford County, now stands), was a small Indian village known to the whites as " Esthertown ;" while five miles farther south, on the site of ancient Sheshequin (formerly described), was another small village. From all these villages the expedition received many recruits-nearly the whole population of Esthertown, headed by the principal personage of the place, "Queen Esther,"* being among the earliest ones to flock to

* "QUEEN ESTHER", previously mentioned on pages 917 and 918, belonged to the Seneca nation, being the fourth child of Margaret Montour, or "French Margaret," and a younger sister of the famous Catharine Montour, or "Queen Catharine", mentioned on pages 206 and 207, Vol. I. Esther Montour was born about 1720, and at an early age was married to a certain Ach-co-bund, or Eg-ho-bund, a chief of the Monsey clan of the Delaware nation. The earliest knowledge we have of him dates no farther back than the year 1768, when, according to the records of the Moravian missionaries, he was chief of a small village at Sheshequinunk, or Sheshequin (the present village of Ulster), mentioned on page 980. The Rev. David Craft (author of the "History of Bradford County") states that Sheshequinunk was an old Indian village, abandoned during Pontiac's War, but afterwards (about 1765) resettled by two distinct bands of Indians-Eghobund, with quite a number of Delawares, on one side of what is now Cash Creek, and another band of Christian Delawares under Wehoholahund on the other side. The latter was probably the chief "James Davies" (mentioned in the note on page 443, Vol. I), who belonged to the Unami, or Wanamie, clan of the Delawares.

According to the Moravian records Zeisberger, the missionary, tarried over night at Sheshequin in May, 1766, and preached to the natives. In 1768 the Moravian Brethren again visited the place and found a village of twelve huts-but whether above or below the creek is not stated. Between February 4, 1769, and May 5, 1772, John Rothe and his wife Mary, Moravian missionaries who had formerly preached and taught at Friedenshütten (the Indian village mentioned on page 220, Vol. I, and on other pages), labored among the Indians in the village at Sheshequin of which "Achcobund was chief." Other Indians of note in Provincial history who resided there at that time were "Joe Peepy" (mentioned on page 331, Vol. I) and "Isaac Still" (mentioned on page 364).

"The Friedenshütten mission received accessions from this Indian town, and seventeen of its inhabitants accompanied the Moravian Indians to the West in June, 1772". (See page 733.) After this exodus Eghobund and the remnant of his clan removed five miles up the river and established the village subsequently known as Esthertown. About that time Eghobund died, and thenceforth his widow Esther-who was a woman of intelligence and shrewdness, and had considerable influence among her people-managed with a firm hand, and without interference, the affairs of the little village, including the cultivation of the extensive flats contiguous thereto. In a very short time Esther became known to the whites as "Queen Esther", and her village as "Esthertown."

According to a letter written at Elinira, New York, October 18, 1853, by the Hon. Thomas Max- well (born at Tioga Point in 1790) to H. R. Schoolcraft, and printed in the latter's "Indian Tribes of the United States", V : 670, Mrs. Jane Whittaker was a daughter of Sebastian Strope, and was one of the members of his family captured by the Indians about the first of June, 1778, as narrated on page 974. Mr. Maxwell's letter reads, in part, as follows:

"Mrs. Whittaker narrates that previous to her captivity she had often seen Queen Esther at her father's house, where she was always a welcome visitor and hospitably received; that she talked English poorly, yet making herself understood upon ordinary subjects. She boasted, however, that there was another language with which she was quite as familiar as with the Indian. Although it was not so stated by the narrator, this was probably the French. Mrs. Whittaker describes her as tall, but rather slight in form; cheek bones not high; complexion not as dark as that of the [ordinary] Indian; hair, black, but soft and fine, unlike the heavy, black hair of the squaw; her form erect and commanding, and her appearance and manners agreeable. A sister lived with her by the name of Mary, who was tall, and resembled the Queen in personal appearance, except that she was much heavier. Both of them had been often at the house of Mr. Strope and were on friendly terms with his family.

"Queen Esther's influence with the natives was unbounded. When she appeared among them she was treated with the utmost deference. Her costume was rich and showy, with a profusion of glitter- ing ornaments, and comported well with her claims to deference and queenly dignity. She wore a neck- lace of pure white beads, from which was suspended a cross made of stone or silver. After

her capture Mrs. Whittaker received many marks of kindness from the forest Queen. During the prepa- ration for the attack upon Wyoming, the family of Mr. Strope were detained at Tioga Point, as has been before stated. At this time they were visited in a friendly way by their old friend Queen Esther, who showed the'n many marks of kindness. On one occasion when ahout to return home she desired to have the little captive accompany her to her castle for a visit, and although the distance was not great Mrs. Strope declined her proffered civility. The refusal did not seem to make her angry, for she acouiesced in it after discovering the reluctance of the mother to be parted, even temporarily, from her child. Afterwards, in company with her mother, Mrs. Whittaker crossed the river and rambled over the premises of the Queen.

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Butler's standard. The miscellaneous Indians-that is, those who were not Senecas-were placed under the command of Capt. John Johnston* (mentioned on page 985), an officer of the Indian Department under Col. Guy Johnson, the Superintendent.

Everything being in readiness the expedition set forth from Tioga Point in the morning of Saturday, June 27th. In his report made to Lieut. Colonel Bolton, some twelve days later, Major Butler stated that his forces, upon his arrival at Wyoming, had consisted of "about 500 Rangers and Indians." But, without doubt, he, for various reasons, be- littled them ; because, according to statements (printed at length here- inafter) made at the time, and later, by certain inhabitants of Wyoming whose knowledge of the subject was pretty complete and whose opinions on most matters were reliable, the invaders numbered about 700. How- ever, various chroniclers of Wyoming history-from Chapman up to present-day writers-have made diverse statements as to the num- ber of the invaders; none placing it lower than 800, and some fix- ing it as high as 1,600. Our own judgment is that there were no inore than 250 "Rangers,"t some 350 Seneca warriors, and probably 100 "mis-

"The plain upon which the so called castle stood was on the west side of the Susquehanna, near the mouth of the Chemung, not far from and in full view of the 'Point' at the confluence of those two rivers. The main building was a long, low edifice, irregular in shape, built of hewn logs and planks, but neatly done, with a porch at the doorway of some architectural pretension, and surrounded by quite a number of other buildings."

Queen Esther had several children, only one of whom, however, has been mentioned by her biog- raphers-the son who is said to have been killed at Exeter, as described on page 991, post. Mary, or "Molly", Montour, sister of Esther, lived with the latter for some time at Esthertown. She is said to have heen married to a well-known Indian, Kanaghragait, or "John Cook", sometimes called the "White Mingo", who died at Fort Wayne in 1790. In September, 1760, Governor Hamilton of Pennsylvania was notified by the Indian Agent at Shamokin that John Hutson (brother-in-law of "Queen" Catharine Montour, as mentioned on page 207, Vol. I) had arrived there in eight days from Margaret Town, and delivered to the Agent, for the Governor, a string of wampum and a speech, or letter, "sent by Cath- arine, daughter of 'French Margaret', " relative to her bringing down in the Autumn two white pris- oners who were in her custody. This letter also set forth that Catharine's "sister Molly" had gone "to the Allegheny with the white woman she has prisoner." (See "Pennsylvania Colonial Records", VIII : 499.) Upon one occasion, about 1790, while Mrs. Hannah (Gore) Durkee (see page 835) was living at Scipio, Cayuga County, New York, "Queen Esther" came to her house in the evening on her way to Onondaga, accompanied by her sister "Molly", who was much intoxicated, and was carrying a papoose on her back. They asked for shelter for the night, which was furnished them. At that time the home of Esther was at Canoga (the birth-place of the famous Seneca chief "Red Jacket"), west of Cayuga Lake, in what is now Seneca County, New York. She had abandoned Esthertown in the Autumn of 1778, and some time later was married to an Indian known as "Steel Trap" and as "Tom Hill." Dr. Craft says she died at Canoga about 1800.

Some writers-notably William L. Stone, in his "Poetry and History of Wyoming"-have refused to entertain the belief that "Queen Esther" was in Wyoming Valley at the time of the battle of July 3, 1778, and the subsequent massacre. Stone says, "the remotest belief cannot be entertained that she was the Hecate of that fell night. A night, indeed, of terror, described with truth and power by the bard of 'Gertrude' as the dread hour when

"'Sounds that mingled laugh and shout and scream- To freeze the blood, in one discordant jar-

Rung to the pealing thunderbolts of war.''

But Stone confused Esther Montour with her sister Catharine-"Queen Catharine"-who seems to have been a very different kind of a woman. "Queen Esther" was well known to many intelligent and reliable people in Wyoming Valley-as for example: Colonel Denison, Col. John Franklin and Lieut. Roasel Franklin-and they united in declaring that she was present and was seen by them at the time of the surrender of Forty Fort. Other reliable witnesses-named hereinafter-testified as to her pres- ence and her conduct at "Bloody Rock." Peck, in his "Wyoming", gives an account (on page 154) of a visit which "Queen Esther" made to Wyoming in the Autunin of 1777, when she was seen and talked to by Martha Bennet (later Mrs. Philip Myers), who also saw her at Forty Fort, at the head of the hostile Indians, on July 4, 1778.

* At Fort Niagara, under the date of October 30, 1780, Col. Guy Johnson wrote to Governor Haldi- mand that the intemperate habits of Capt. John Johnston would necessitate his leaving the corps of offi- cers attached to the Indian Department. At Montreal, under the date of October 10, 1781, Captain Johnston wrote to Governor Haldimand that lie was ready to go out "on a scout or an expedition." Captain Johnston's name appears again in subsequent pages.

Among the "Haldimand Papers" (B. M. 21,765-CV : 58-78) is a "Pav-list of the Several Com- panies of Butler's Rangers, from December 24, 1777, to October 24, 1778." This covers, of course, the period within which the Wyoming incursion occurred and the battle of July 3, 1778, was fought; and it extends beyond the last-mentioned date nearly three months, during which time Walter N. Butler and other officers of the corps who had not been at Wyoming joined the main body with a considerable num- ber of new recruits. The "Pay-list" in question contains the names of the commissioned officers, non- commissioned officers and privates of six companies (the full number of companies in October, 1778, as well as in the following December-as noted on page 943, ante). The 1st, or "the Major's", Com- pany, was commanded by Maj. Jolin Butler, the commander of the corps, and the 2d, 3d, 4th and 5th Companies were commanded. respectively. by Captains Walter N. Butler, John McDonnel, Peter Ten Broeck and William Caldwell. The 6th Company, which was composed of only twenty-seven privates, had no officers. The other five companies comprised, cach, one Captain, one First Lieutenant, one Second Lieutenant, three Sergeants, threc Corporals, fifty privates and three "contingent men"-mak- ing the total strength of the corps, at that time, 310 men.

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cellaneous " Indians, including a few squaws from the villages at and near Tioga Point-making a total of about 700.

To convey all these people down the Susquehanna many boats and canoes were required ; and, as the flotilla sailed along on the placid bosom of the river, in a quiet and orderly manner, the sight must have been a remarkable one. In the evening of Monday, June 29th, the flo- tilla arrived without any mishap at the mouth of Bowman's Creek, eighteen miles north of Wilkes-Barré "as the crow flies," but twenty- nine miles by way of the winding river. There the expedition encamped for the night. The next morning (June 30th) the boats of the flotilla were left at Bowinan's Creek, while the late occupants of them marched down the river along either bank, and the remaining members of the expedition floated down stream in their canoes. Thus they proceeded for about two miles to the " Three Islands," near the present village of LaGrange, when the canoes were beached on the west shore of the river, and the whole expedition assembled there. A division of the forces was then made, and shortly afterwards a considerable body of Indians, accompanied by four or five " Rangers," marched southward along the right bank of the river, while the main part of the forces, with Major Butler and Sayenqueraghta at their head, marched back of the mountain (which skirts the river at that point) and proceeded southward.

NEAR THE MOUTH OF SUTTON'S CREEK, EXETER TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY. From a photograph taken in 1903 by the writer.

On June 26th Capt. Dethick Hewitt, in command of a small scout- ing party, went up the river from Wyoming, whither he returned in the afternoon of the 30th with the news that a large party of the enemy was slowly advancing towards the Valley. In the morning of the 30th, be- fore the return of Captain Hewitt and his party, and therefore before the

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inhabitants of the Valley were aware of the proximity of the enemy, a party of twelve men and boys went fromn Jenkins' Fort in the lower end of Exeter to that part of the township adjacent to the mouth of Sutton's Creek, distant about five miles. The party was composed of Benjamin Harding, Stukely Harding, Stephen Harding, Jr., John Gard- ner, * a boy named Rogers (about eleven years of age), James Hadsall and his sons James and John (the latter a boy), Ebenezer Reynolds and Daniel Carr (sons-in-law of James Hadsall), Daniel Wallen, and a negro named Quocko, a servant of William Martin. Benjamin and Stukely Harding carried their guns with them. Arriving at their destination the Hard- ings, together with John Gardner and the boy Rogers, went to work in the corn-field of Stephen Harding, Jr., on the flats about three-quarters of a mile up the river from the mouth of Sutton's Creek, while the Had- salls and the remainder of the party went to work, some in Hadsall's corn-field on an island just above the inouth of Sutton's Creek, and others in Hadsall's tan-yard on the mainland, near by.

Toward the close of the afternoon Michael Showerst and Frederick Ankert came to the field where the Hardings were at work. These two inen were inhabitants of Westmoreland, and had formerly resided in the North, or "Up the River," District of the town, but were then numbered among the occupants of Wintermute's Fort, and were suspected by the inhabitants generally of being Tories. When these inen approached the field one of the Hardings was standing on guard as a sentinel, while the rest of the party were endeavoring to finish the hoeing of tlie corn before sunset. Showers and Anker suggested to the sentinel that if he wanted to turn in and help with the hoeing they would take his place as sentinel. This was assented to, but after a short time Showers and Anker disappeared. Suspecting them of treachery, Steplien Harding, Jr., went to get the horses of his party (which were at some little distance), preparatory to starting for Jenkins' Fort. When he returned to where he had left his companions he found that they had quit work, and were slowly passing southward to a deer-lick which they had resolved to visit-their path lying through a deep, narrow ravine, along the bottom of which a small brook ran to the river. In this ravine were concealed some of the Indians and Tories who had marched down from the vicinity of " Three Islands ;" and, hav- ing been joined by Sliowers and Anker, they awaited the coming of the Harding party. When the latter appeared they were fired upon, and

* See foot-note on page 254, Vol. I.

¡ MICHAEL SHOWERS was, as noted on page 945, regularly enlisted in Butler's Rangers. In August, 1787, he was living at Niagara, when and where he presented, under oath, to the British Commissioners (referred to in the third paragraph of the note on page 931) a claim for losses which he had sustained on account of his loyalty to the Crown during the Revolutionary War. The original affidavit of Show- ers is preserved in the British archives, and therein it is set forth that he was a native of America; that he lived on the North Branch of the Susquehanna, in Northumberland County, when the war opened; that he occupied a tract of 300 acres of the "disputed lands", which he had taken up in 1772; that he had cleared thirty acres and built a house; that he had settled on this land under a "right" from Con- necticut, but had got a promise to have lis title "confirmed" under Pennsylvania; that in 1778 he escaped to the British army with Frederick Anker, and served to the close of the war in Butler's Ran- gers; that he lost at Wyoming "stock, oxen, cows, sheep and hogs", the value of which, in connection with that of his land lost, amounted to &377 in New York currency. The records show that the Com- missioners rated Showers' loss at £86, and allowed him that amount December 7, 1787.

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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 early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume II, Part 72

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851-1922; Smith, Ernest Gray Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Wilkes-Barre : Raeder Press Number of Pages: 680

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851-1922; Smith, Ernest Gray
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Wilkes-Barre : Raeder Press
Number of Pages: 680