USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume I > Part 23
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of 1812 they fought against British oppression. They upheld the gov- ernment of the United States in the War with Mexico, and in the great Civil war of 1861-65; and in the Spanish-American war they demon- strated that they were willing to make sacrifices for the cause of liberty and a better civilization for the downtrodden.
Prior to the middle of the eighteenth century the population of central and western Pennsylvania was so sparse that the few people inhabiting those remote districts-at that time the western frontier- were not called upon to play any considerable part in the wars with the Indians. A few white traders or adventurers were killed by the savages, but no organized military force was found necessary until the time of the French and Indian war. That conflict had its origin in the very beginning of colonization in North America. The English settlements were made along the Atlantic coast, only a few penetrating beyond the Alleghany mountains. On the other hand, French settlements were founded along the St. Lawrence river, in Canada, and at Mobile and New Orleans near the Gulf of Mexico. To connect the French settle- ments of the north with those of the south a chain of some sixty forts was established through the broad valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, which region was claimed by La Salle in 1682 for France under the name of Louisiana. As the English pushed their settlements farther and farther to the westward they encountered this line of French forts and a contest was inevitable. The French foresaw this and during the thirty years of peace which followed the treaty of Utrecht in 1713 prepared for the struggle, which was precipitated by the organization of the Ohio Company in 1748. This was a land company projected by English and Virginia speculators and had for its object the settlement and colonization of the country west of the Alleghanies-lands which really belonged to Pennsylvania, but which Virginia claimed under her charter.
Immediately upon learning of the organization of this company and that surveyors had been sent into the region west of the mountains, the French authorities ordered a number of forts to be built closer to the western line of the English settlements. One of these forts was located at Presque Isle (now Erie), another at Venango, near the pres- ent city of Franklin, Pennsylvania, and the French assumed the aggres- sive by destroying an English post on the Miami river. Early in 1754
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the Ohio Company began the erection of a fort at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, where the city of Pittsburgh now stands, and the Virginia legislature voted men and money to guard the English posts in the disputed territory. The little detachment at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela was driven off by a French force, which then built a fort there and named it Fort Du Quesne, after the governor of Canada. George Washington, who was in com- mand of the Virginians, and who, it is said, fired the first shot in the skirmish at Fort Du Quesne, fell back some distance and built Fort Ne- cessity, which he was compelled to surrender to a superior force on July 4, 1754, but not until he received the promise that he and his men should be allowed to return home.
As yet there had been no formal declaration of war between the two nations, but both England and France hurried additional troops and munitions of war to America. Among the colonists the English out- numbered the French about ten to one. To offset this inequality, the latter, as far as possible, formed alliances with the Indian tribes. This was not a difficult thing to do, as the French were traders rather than actual settlers and interfered but little with the Indian hunting grounds, while the English felled the forests and built permanent habitations, thus driving away the game. It is because of this alliance that the conflict is known in history as the French and Indian war.
In 1755 General Edward Braddock was sent over from England as commander-in-chief. Four campaigns were planned for that year-one against Louisburg, which guarded the approach to the St. Lawrence river ; one against Crown Point, on Lake Champlain; one against the French post at Niagara; and the fourth against Fort Du Quesne. The last named was led by Braddock in person. Although warned against Indian methods of fighting, he conducted his campaign according to the custom of civilized nations, and, on July 9, 1755, he fell into an ambuscade on the Monongahela river, not far from the fort. The English regulars were completely routed, Braddock was mortally wounded, most of his supplies fell into the hands of the enemy, and, had it not been for the skillful retreat conducted by Washington, the army would have been utterly annihilated.
After the defeat of General Braddock the Indians grew bolder in their depredations upon the settlements of the western frontier. Some
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of them, particularly the western Delawares, whose lands had been taken from them by the treaty of July 6, 1754, and who had received no part of the purchase price paid to the Six Nations, had only been awaiting a favorable opportunity to drive off the settlers who had pene- trated into the country west of the Susquehanna river. In May, 1755, a small party invaded the Kishacoquillas valley, robbed some of the settlers there and drove others away, but immediately after the defeat the western Delawares and Shawanese boldly allied themselves with the French, crossed the mountains and began the commission of atrocities along the southern border of Pennsylvania. On October 16, 1755, a considerable body of them ravaged the settlements on Penn's creek, in what is now Snyder county.
These outrages called attention to the defenseless condition of the frontier and spurred the provincial authorities to action. It was decided to erect a line of forts across the province from a point near the Dela- ware Water Gap to the Maryland line just north of the town of Cum- berland. In pursuance of this plan, on December 17, 1755, the follow- ing order was issued to Captain George Croghan :
"Sir :- You are desired to proceed to Cumberland County and fix on proper places for erecting three stockades, viz .: One back of Pat- terson's, one upon Kishecoquillas, and one near Sideling Hill; each of them fifty feet square, with Block House on two of the corners, and a Barracks within, capable of lodging fifty men. You are also desired to agree with some proper Person or Persons to oversee the workmen at each Place, who shall be allowed such Wages as you shall agree to give, not exceeding one Dollar per day; and the work- men shall be allowed at the rate of six Dollars per month and their Provisions, till the work is finished."
This order was signed by Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Fox, Joseph Hughs, and Evan Morgan.
For the fort "back of Patterson's," which was to be called Pomfret Castle, a site was selected on the Mahantango creek, near the present town of Richfield, but Professor Guss says "it is doubtful whether any work was ever done on it." In 1751 James Patterson, with five or six others, settled near the present town of Mexico, Juniata county, where he built a log house which was "used as a place of shelter and defense, and which became known as Fort Patterson." Some time later his son,
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William Patterson, built and fitted up a house for defense on the op- posite side of the river and this was also called Fort Patterson, which has been the cause of some confusion among historians.
Instead of erecting the second fort at the mouth of the Kishaco- quillas, Captain Croghan went about a mile up the river, where he selected a site near a fine spring. The spring was destroyed about 1829 by the construction of the Pennsylvania canal. Its destruction and the lapse of time makes it a somewhat difficult matter to ascertain the exact location. Some years ago a committee of Lewistown citizens undertook an investigation to determine the site of the old fort. The report of that committee, written by George R. Frysinger, of the Lewistown Gazette, states that, after a careful examination of all the evidence, documentary or otherwise, it was decided that the fort stood on the river bank near the mouth of a ravine on the farm owned by Sylvester Brought. In 1906 James M. Yeager was elected to represent Mifflin county in the lower house of legislature and at the ensuing session, when a bill providing for monuments or markers on sites of old forts was presented, succeeded in having Fort Granville added to the list of these historic old works.
Fort Shirley, the next in the chain of fortifications, was on Augh- wick creek, within the corporate limits of the present borough of Shir- leysburg. Lytle's History of Huntingdon County says: "It was a log fort of considerable strength and size, standing on the edge of the plateau south of Fort Run and west of the road entering Shirleysburg from Mount Union." The report of the state commission (1896) to locate the frontier forts of Pennsylvania fixes the site of Fort Shirley "on an elevated plot of ground where now stands the Shirleysburg Fe- male Seminary." Governor Morris spent the greater part of December, 1755, and January, 1756, on the frontier. On January 29, 1756, he wrote to the governors of Maryland and Virginia, Colonel George Wash- ington and General William Shirley, expressing satisfaction with the forts and stating that they would be finished in about ten days. In his letter to General Shirley he said: "About twenty miles northward of Fort Lytellton, at a place called Aughwick, another fort is Erected, somewhat larger than Fort Lytellton, which I have taken the Liberty to Honour with the name of Fort Shirley. This stands near the great Path used by the Indians and Indian Traders to and from the Ohio, and
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consequently the easiest way of access for the Indians into the settle- ments of this Province."
All the forts were finished and garrisoned early in 1756. There were also at that time several private forts in the Juniata valley, the most important of which were probably Fort Bigham and Fort Robison. Fort Bigham (sometimes called Bingham) was erected by Samuel Bigham in 1749. It was located on his farm in the Tuscarora valley. about eleven miles from Port Royal, a short distance east of the road leading to East Waterford and about twenty rods from the Tuscarora Valley railroad. Historians describe it as a "strong blockhouse and stockade." Fort Robison (also called Robinson or Robeson), a "block- house surrounded by a stockade," was built in 1755 by the Robison brothers on the farm of George Robison, near the mouth of Buffalo creek in what is now Perry county. It was on the line of the traders' path from Harris' ferry westward and "was easy of access from every direction."
Early in 1756 a small party of Delaware Indians from Shamokin came into the Juniata valley, killed Mrs. Hugh Micheltree, Edward Nich- olas and his son, and carried seven persons into captivity. Part of the same band went into Sherman's valley, where they massacred the fam- ilies of William Sheridan and a man named French, thirteen in number. In March Captain James Patterson led a scouting party toward Shamo- kin and on the 20th fell in with a party of Indians on Middle creek (Snyder county), "killed and scalped one and put the rest to flight." With the return of spring the Indians became more active in their hos- tilities. On June 11, 1756, Fort Bigham was attacked and burned, all its inmates being killed or captured. The following month a marauding party entered Sherman's valley, where they killed a Mrs. Robison and carried away her son Hugh as a prisoner. On July 22nd about sixty savages made a demonstration in front of Fort Granville. One man, who was outside of the stockade, was slightly wounded, but succeeded in gaining the shelter of the fort. The Indians then divided into small parties and began committing depredations against the settlers.
On July 30th Captain Edward Ward, commandant at Fort Granville, took part of the garrison and went to the Tuscarora valley to guard the settlers while they harvested their grain, leaving Lieutenant Edward Armstrong in command at the fort. By that time the enemy's force in the
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valley was estimated at about 150 men, one-third French and the re- mainder Delaware and Shawnee warriors under the command of Chiefs Shingas and Captain Jacob, the whole detachment being under the com- mand of a French officer. Shortly after the departure of Captain Ward (the exact date is uncertain ) this force attacked Fort Granville, but were met by a heroic resistance. After several unsuccessful assaults, the Indians, under cover of the ravine, managed to approach near enough to set fire to the stockade. The flames soon ate a large hole in the de- fenses, through which the savages fired upon the defenders. While trying to extinguish the fire Lieutenant Armstrong was killed, one sol- dier was also killed and three others wounded. A demand was then made for the surrender of the fort, the assailants promising to spare the lives of all within. John Turner, one of the garrison, thereupon opened the gates and the savages fairly swarmed into the fort. Twenty- two men, three women, and several children were taken prisoners and forced to carry the plunder to the Indian headquarters at Kittanning, where all were subject to the most cruel treatment and Turner, the man who had admitted the savage besiegers to the fort, was burned at the stake.
The Indian atrocities, which culminated in the capture of Fort Gran- ville, impelled the provincial government to adopt more vigorous mea- sures for the protection of the frontier. Accordingly a large force was fitted out for an invasion of the Indian country and placed under the command of Colonel John Armstrong. The companies of Captains Ward, Mercer, Hamilton, and Patterson, from the forts west of the Susquehanna, with such volunteers as could be enlisted, rendezvoused at Fort Shirley and marched from there on August 30, 1756, against the Indian stronghold at Kittanning. At daybreak on September 8th the attack was made with such vigor that within a short time the thirty huts or lodges of the Indians were burned and a large number of the savages killed, while the rest fled in dismay in all directions. Colonel Armstrong reached Fort Littleton six days later, from which point is dated his official report giving his losses as 17 killed, 13 wounded and 19 missing. Nearly all those wounded recovered and all but one or two of the miss- ing finally returned to their homes.
Colonel Armstrong's severe chastisement had the effect of causing some of the Delawares to withdraw from the alliance with the French,
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but Captain Jacob's band and some others continued their forays into the white settlements until the treaty of peace in 1758. On October 15, 1756, the governor notified the council at Philadelphia that he ordered the evacuation of Fort Shirley "not because the dangers against which it was intended to guard had passed away, but because they had increased to such an extent that it could no longer be relied upon as a protection." Some of the settlers in the Juniata valley had left their homes before that time, and after the evacuation of the only fort left for their defense others fled to the more thickly settled districts along the Susquehanna, where they remained until after peace was restored.
Five years later, in 1763, the Ottawa chief, Pontiac, organized his famous conspiracy of all the tribes he could persuade to join in a movement to invade the white settlements, just when the settlers were busy with their harvest, and with fire and sword exterminate the pale- faces. While the conspiracy did not attain to the proportions that Pontiac hoped and desired, there was an uprising in many localities in July, 1763. On the Ioth of that month a band of hostile Indians ap- peared in the Tuscarora valley, killed William White and all his family except one boy, who escaped when he heard the first shots fired, com- mitted murders at Robert Campbell's and William Anderson's, burned John Graham's house and destroyed considerable property. Again the settlers fled in terror from their frontier homes and sought shelter at Carlisle, Bedford, Shippensburg, and other places. A letter from Car- lisle dated August 14, 1763, to a minister in Philadelphia stated that over seven hundred families in Cumberland county, most of them from the Juniata valley, had abandoned their homes on account of the Indian foray.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
From the time of the Pontiac war the inhabitants of the Juniata valley were permitted to dwell in peace until the oppressive acts of the English Parliament, sanctioned by King George III., drove the American colonists to revolt. Pennsylvania was prompt in entering her protest against the unjust laws and edicts of the mother country. More than two years before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence a "Committee of Correspondence and Safety" was organized in the city of Philadelphia. In June, 1774, this committee sent out communica-
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tions to citizens in each of the several counties advising them that "on account of the Indian disturbances, the Governor has found it necessary to call the Assembly to meet in their legislative capacity on Monday, July 18," recommending the appointment of committees in the various counties, and requesting that "the whole or a part of the committee appointed or to be appointed from your county, will meet the commit- tees from the other counties at Philadelphia on Friday, the 15th day of July, in order to assist in framing instructions and preparing such mat- ters as may be proper to recommend to our representatives at their meeting on the Monday following."
Huntingdon county was at that time a part of Bedford and the counties of Mifflin, Juniata, and Perry constituted a portion of the county of Cumberland. At a meeting of "freeholders and freemen" held at Carlisle on July 12, 1774, James Wilson, Robert Magaw, and William Irvine were chosen to represent Cumberland county in the meeting of deputies at Philadelphia, and George Woods represented Bedford county. When the deputies met at Carpenter's hall, in Phila- delphia, on the 15th, Thomas Willing was chosen chairman and Charles Thompson secretary. A series of resolutions were unanimously adopted, the principal features of which were as follows: Acknowledging true and faithful allegiance to King George III .; declaring deepest distress and anxiety over the unhappy differences between Great Britain and the colonies; that "the idea of an unconstitutional independence of the parent state is utterly abhorrent to our principles"; that the power to bind the people of the colonies by statutes in all cases whatsoever and the act of Parliament in closing the port of Boston were unconstitu- tional, and "that there is an absolute necessity that a Congress of depu- ties from the several colonies be immediately assembled to consult to- gether and form a general plan of conduct to be observed by all the colonies, for the purpose of procuring relief for our suffering brethren, obtaining redress of our grievances, preventing future dissensions, firmly establishing our rights, and restoring harmony between Great Britain and her Colonies on a constitutional foundation."
The resolutions were referred to the assembly, with the request "to appoint a proper number of persons to attend a Congress of Deputies from the several Colonies, at such time and place as may be agreed upon, to effect one general plan of conduct for attaining the important
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ends mentioned in the ninth resolve." In response to the request of the deputies the assembly appointed Joseph Galloway (speaker), Daniel Rhoads, Thomas Mifflin, John Morton, Charles Humphreys, George Ross, Edward Biddle, and John Dickinson "as delegates from Pennsyl- vania to the Congress to be held in Philadelphia in September." Thus it was that Pennsylvania took the initiative in a movement that two years later culminated in the colonies declaring themselves free and inde- pendent.
On January 23, 1775, a provincial convention assembled in Phila- delphia and continued in session for six days. Cumberland county was represented by James Wilson and Robert Magaw, but Bedford county sent no delegate. Again the people of Pennsylvania, through their delegates, spoke in no uncertain terms regarding the relations with the mother country, the convention adopting resolutions in favor of restricting trade with England and the manufacture of various articles at home.
At the session in May, 1775, the Continental Congress resolved to recruit an army, of which Pennsylvania's quota was 4,300 men. The assembly promptly recommended to the commissioners of the several counties of the province, "as they regarded the freedom, welfare, and safety of their country, to provide arms and accoutrements for this force," and directed the officers of the military associations "to select a number of minute men, equal to the number of arms which can be procured, who shall hold themselves in readiness to march at the short- est notice to any quarter, in case of emergency," etc. To assist in carrying out these measures, a Committee of Safety, consisting of twenty-five persons, was appointed on June 30, 1775. On this commit- tee Cumberland county was represented by John Montgomery and Bed- ford by Bernard Dougherty. The committee organized on the 3d of July by the election of Benjamin Franklin as president and William Garrett, secretary. About two weeks before the appointment of the committee (June 14. 1775) Congress directed that eight companies of expert riflemen should be organized and equipped for the purpose of joining the army near Boston. Two of these companies were assigned to Virginia, two to Maryland, and the remaining six to Pennsylvania. On the 22nd Pennsylvania was directed to "raise two more companies, making eight in all, which were to be formed into a battalion." Linn
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says: "Within ten days after the news of the battle of Bunker Hill had reached the Province of Pennsylvania, her first rifle regiment was officered and completed, many of the eight companies numbering one hundred men. It was commanded by Colonel William Thompson, of Cumberland county. The companies were severally under the command of Captains James Chambers, Robert Cluggage, Michael Doudle, Wil- liam Hendricks, John Lowdon, James Ross, Matthew Smith, and George Nagel."
Lancaster county subsequently added another company, which in- creased the battalion to nine companies. Captain Cluggage's company was enlisted chiefly in Bedford county, a number of the men coming from that part which now comprises the county of Huntingdon. The roster of this company was as follows :
Captain, Robert Cluggage : First Lieutenant, John Holliday; Second Lieutenant, Robert Mckenzie; Third Lieutenant, Benjamin Burd; Sergeants, James Holliday, Daniel Stoy, Qierinus Meriner, David Wright; Corporals, Angus McDonald, Joseph Mckenzie, William Lee, Aquila White; Drummer, Timothy Sullivan; Privates, Adam An- derson, Philip Beckey, John Bowman, Thaddeus Broughdon, Thomas Brown, George Bruner, John Campbell, Thomas Casek, Stephen Cessna, Patrick Clark, Philip Conner, James Carrowan, Joshua Craig, John Crips, Alexander Crugen, Thomas Cunningham, James Curran, John Davis, Cornelius Dilling, William Donelin, Mat- thew Dougherty, Lawrence Dowling, Daniel Franks, George Free- man, Amariah Garrett, Daniel Gemberland, Reuben Gillespy, Rich- ard Hardister, Conrad Hanning, Francis Jamison, Andrew Johnston, Matthias Judry, John Kelly, Peter King, James Knight, William Laird, Charles Lenning, Robert Leonard, John Lesley, Henry McCartney, Dan- iel McClain, John McCune, John McDonald, Patrick McDonald, Thomas McFarlane, Thomas Magee, Daniel Mangum, Michael Miller, Robert Piatt, John Pitts, Samuel Plumb, Martin Reynolds, Daniel Rhoads, Philip Ritchie, Thomas Shehan, Francis Shives, Alexander Simonton, Emanuel Smith, Henry Smith, Daniel Stoy, John Stuart, Jonathan Tay- lor, John Thompson, James Turmoil, Andrew Tweed, James Vanzant, Daniel Vanderslice, Thomas Vaughn, Alexander Wilson, George Whit- man, Samuel Woodward, Samuel Wallace, Solomon Walker, James Warford, and Thomas Ward.
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Robert Mckenzie died on February 12, 1776, and Benjamin Burd was promoted to second lieutenant. On September 25, 1776, Congress appointed Captain James Ross to the position of major and Captain Chiggage, learning that a junior captain had been promoted over him, resigned on the 6th of October. Following is the roster of Captain Hendrick's company :
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