USA > Pennsylvania > Border warfare in Pennsylvania during the revolution > Part 11
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1 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, pp. 372-374; also Haldimand MSS., Vermont Historical Society, vol. 2, pp. 290-363.
2 Spark's Letters to Washington, vol. 3, p. 524.
3 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 132.
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and through the subsequent years of territorial disputes. On the 13th of July a number of the town folk had gone to O'Conner's fields, a mile and a half north of the village, to cut the harvest of Michael Huffnagle. Suddenly a number of Indians were seen approaching the fields. The reapers all ran for the town. Fathers called for their wives and children and the children for their parents, all rushing towards the fort. Even the criminals of the jail were allowed to seek the shelter of the stockade. Five men had volunteered to go to the fields and reconnoitre. One was on horseback and got there first. When he saw the savages mustered in force, he returned and told those on foot to flee to the forts for their lives. The Indians were exasperated when they came to Hannastown and saw that the people had all gone into the fort. So they applied the torch and every house but two was laid in ashes. While the flames were still adding fury to the vengeance of the savages, a band of the latter set out for Miller's Fort where a wedding on the day before had brought a number of guests together from a distance, to be added to the number of those who dwelt in the cabins of the fort. Some were in the fields, others in the fort and still others in the house where the wedding had been held. The savages came upon the place so suddenly that most of its dwellers and sojourners were taken prisoners, and a few of them killed ; while the fort and the buildings around it shared the fate of Hannastown.
In the evening the marauders all assembled near Hannastown, regaling themselves with their booty. About thirty farmers of the surrounding country managed to get into the fort and by a trick that was common de- ceived the savages as to the numerical strength of the garrison. They marched and countermarched on the bridge across the ditch around the fort to the music of
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the fife and druni. The sounds carried terror to the sav- age breast in the silence of the night, and towards morn- ing about 300 Indians and 60 Tories marched off toward the Kittanning. The prisoners were surrendered to the English in Canada, whence most of them returned after the cruel war on the frontier had ceased-a day which happily then was not far distant. Hannastown was never rebuilt and the plow has been going over the place for a century. 1
In September the Council and Assembly proposed to Washington to send out two expeditions from Pennsyl- vania-one from Fort Pitt and one from Northumberland county ; 2 but Washington soon after received informa- tion that the British had called in all their Indian parties and so the two-fold project was abandoned.3 Irvine, however, would have matched from Fort Pitt in Septem- ber had he not been disappointed in raising a sufficient force. The Indians were still murdering in the neigh- borhood of Fort Pitt and he was also anxious to draw off the Delawares and Wyandots to prevent them from join- ing the Shawanese whom General Clark intended to attack at the same time. 4 But General Clark destroyed the towns of the Shawanese on the Miami, without any assist- ance, early in November, 5 In doing this after the British had called in their light troops and Indians he greatly added to the hatred in which he was held by the British and Indians. 6
The Northumberland frontiersmen had the opportunity early in February, 1782, to attend court in Sunbury, and thus in a representative way, to discuss affairs in their
1 Frontier Forts, vol. 2, pp. 300-307.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 9, p. 630.
3 Ibid, pp. 640-643.
4 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 135.
5 Roosevelt's Winning of the West. vol. 2, p. 209. '
6 Haldimand MSS., Vermont Historical Society, vol. 2, p. 362.
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county. They seem to have been of one mind as to what to do, which was to move off the frontiers, or at least to put their families out of danger. They had for three years been visited in the early spring by the Indians, and they expected the hostile visits as usual.1 A company of militia was accordingly stationed at Fort Muncy by the Executive Council. Nor did they arrive too soon, for the enemy appeared on the Lycoming about the middle of April.2 Fort Muncy was rebuilt and tradition says some Hessian prisoners were employed on the work. 3 Ranging parties were constantly out looking for Indians ; and it was while on this kind of duty that Moses Van Campen was captured a second time. (See page 80). On the 6th of May a party of rangers met a number of Indians not far from the present site of Mifflinburg, and the engage- ment resulted in the loss of two men killed. In August a large body, numbering some sixty or seventy, appeared a few miles above Sunbury and murdered a whole family. It was these repeated attacks that led the Council and Assembly to propose to Washington an expedition from Northumberland, 4 but which was abandoned when the Commander-in-Chief learned that the British light troops and Indians had been called in. It seems to have been a mistake not to send a force up the Susquehanna into the Indian country, for in October the outrages became more serious again. The people now lost all confidence in the British assurances that no more incursions should be made on the frontiers, and they would not return to their homes until winter had set in.5
The Indians were pacifically disposed towards Wyom-
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 9, p. 503.
2 Ibid, p. 528.
3 McGinnis' History of the West Branch, p. 637.
4 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 9, p. 630.
5 Ibid, p. 657.
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ing and Northampton in the year 1782. In October, therefore, the question of withdrawing the Continental garrison from Wyoming came up in Congress. As it was left to the discretion of the Commander-in-chief,1 the Executive Council urged Washington not to withdraw it, for two reasons ; first, the pacific disposition of the In- dians ought not to be relied on to the extent of withdraw- ing the garrison ; secondly, should the assurances of the present amicable temper be fully confirmed, there was much reason to fear that the old contest between Penn- sylvania and Connecticut would immediately be renewed. The Council was not willing that any risk of disturbing the peace and tranquillity of Wyoming should be taken. Pennsylvania's interests were safest as long as a Conti- nental garrison was stationed in the disputed territory. 2 The settlement of this dispute had already been under way for a year. Soon after Cornwallis' surrender, the Executive Council had presented a petition to Congress, praying for an adjustment of the matter.3 Connecticut promptly met the overtures ; and on August 12th, 1782, the delegates of the two States in Congress announced that they had agreed on a number of gentlemen to con- stitute a court.4 This court met at Trenton in Novem- ber, and, after sitting forty-one days, announced a decision in favor of Pennsylvania, December 30th. When the Continental troops were withdrawn in February follow- ing, 5 two companies of rangers from Northampton county were stationed at Wyoming to insure the continued safety of the settlements against Indian incursions. 6
1 Journals of Congress, vol. 7, p. 499.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 9, p. 653.
3 Journals of Congress, vol. 7, p. 219.
4 1bid. p. 435.
5 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 9, p. 755.
6 Ibid, p. 761.
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Nor was this precaution unnecessary, for, before the arrival of the rangers, two men had been either killed or captured. Along the whole frontier, from Northampton to Washington county, the savages renewed hostilities in the spring of 1783. It was a grievous disappointment to the settlers. They were more discouraged than they had ever been before. Their sanguine hopes of peace gave way to despair.1 Their brethren in the country " below " had already enjoyed peace since the surrender of Corn- wallis, and the soldiers of the Continental army were rest- ing in camp, soon to return to their homes. These early incursions were made in retaliation of Clark's destruction of the Shawanese towns on the Miami. (See p. 139). The " Six Nations " had received word from their brothers of that act "by the perfidious, cruel rebels," "at a time when they and we were forbade to go to war, and directed to cease hostilities." They therefore notified the British that they would remain idle no longer and see their breth- ren and people destroyed. They even asked General Haldimand's assistance in sharpening their axes. He employed every argument to dissuade the Six Nations from their purpose ; but he could not do it. He saw some justice, too, in their request, and so he resolved to assist them by every means in his power. He wrote this resolve, and the reasons for it, in an open letter, with the request that, in case the messenger fell into the enemy's hands, it be delivered to General Washington, as it con- cerned the American's happiness more than the King's service.2 It seems that Virginia, to some extent at least, established her claims to the country north of the Ohio at the cost of the blood of Pennsylvania frontiersmen.
The depredations committed in accordance with the
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 10, p. 22.
2 Haldimand MSS., Vt. Hist. Society, vol. 2, pp. 362-363.
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resolves of the Six Nations and the British, led Congress, on the first of May, to pass a resolution that the Indians be informed of the cessation of hostilities and the prelimi- nary articles of peace, and that the United States would enter into a treaty with them, too. This communication was to be coupled with a warning, that if they did not cease hostilities Congress would take decided measures to compel them thereto.1 Ephraim Douglas, an officer of the Eighth Pennsylvania, and the first clerk of the courts of Fayette county, was delegated to carry this message to the Indians. 2 Before leaving Fort Pitt, he suggested to General Irvine to dispatch a messenger to General Clark, in order to restrain him from any further attacks on the Indians until the proposals of Congress had been made to them. On arriving at Detroit, Douglas was well received by DePeyster and the Indians ; and he at once wrote back to Fort Pitt, announcing the fact of his friendly reception, in order that no unfriendly act should be committed at home against any Indians who might chance to visit the frontiers now that they knew the Americans wanted peace. The message of Congress he withheld from the Indians at Detroit by request of DePeyster. The British commandant thought it incompatible with his duty to suffer the message of the United States to be delivered before he was possessed of such authenticated accounts of the treaty with England as would justify his concurrence with Douglas. The Indians, however, agreed to cease further hostilities, provided the inhabitants of the United States showed the same disposition to avoid every cause of just complaint, especially to confine themselves to their own side of the Ohio. 3 Douglas then proceeded to Niagara,
1 Journals of Congress, vol. 8. p. 255.
2 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, Appendix M, p. 413.
3 Ibid, p. 415.
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hoping that the commandant of that post might have more authority to act with him. But he was again disappointed. He was not allowed to assemble the Indians and make known his mission. The British took this stand in order to protect the Indians in the possession of their lands. 1
Upon this point there was much anxiety among the Indians at this time. Captain Brandt came to see Douglas at Niagara and insisted that they must have their lands secured before they would enter into any further or other treaty, and the British commandant suggested that Con- gress send some person among them to give assurance upon this point.2 Nor was this anxiety without good reason. Companies were being formed for purchasing large tracts of lands, which had been appropriated by Pennsylvania and Virginia for the redemption of officers' and soldiers' certificates. In Pennsylvania, these lands lay north and west of the Ohio and Allegheny, but the . Indian titles to them were not yet extinguished.3 It was an open secret that the land companies conspired with the surveyors to make surveys in the Indian country. General Irvine therefore issued an order forbidding either men or women from crossing the Allegheny or Ohio anywhere between Kittanning and Fort McIntosh with- out a permit. 4
To avoid giving offence to the Indians by possible en- croachments of these land companies, the Legislature of Pennsylvania in September asked Congress for permission to buy the lands north and west of the Ohio and Alle- gheny, but the request was refused.5 However, meas- ures were then taken under deliberation in Congress for
1 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, Appendix M, p. 416.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 10, pp. 83-90.
3 Journal of the House of Representatives, March 7, 1780.
4 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, Appendix G, p. 261.
5 Journals of Congress, vol. 10, pp. 371-377.
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a treaty of peace with the Indians. These measures were adopted, October 15th, and delegates from Pennsylvania were permitted to attend the conference for the purpose of making the State's intended purchase.1 But repeated attacks were made on the Western frontier in the spring of 1784, before the commissioners had even fixed upon a time and a place for holding the treaty. The people were very uneasy that nothing had been done.2 Besides the dangers fromn incursions, the treaty was becoming urgent to satisfy the soldiers and others who wanted the lands of the Indians. The Continental commissioners were to meet in New York to organize, but failed to get together. The delay was so hazardous to Pennsylvania that its commissioners actually talked of acting inde- pendently of the United States at Tioga or Wyalusing. When in August the Continental commissioners still failed to act, the General Assembly passed a resolution that the commissioners on the part of the State should meet the Indians who claimed the unpurchased territory within its limits.3 It appears that when the original commissioners delayed so much, Congress in March, 1784, appointed others and instructed them to hasten their departure.+ Later another member was added and two other changes were again made, making the commission to consist finally of George Rogers Clarke, Oliver Wal- cott, Arthur Lee, Richard Butler, Benjamin Lincoln and Philip Schuyler. The sum of 15,000 dollars was appro- priated for the purchase of goods to be used in negotiat- ing with the Indians. 5
The month of October was finally selected as the time
1 Journals of Congress, vol. 10. pp. 439-468.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 10. pp. 264 and 266.
3 Minutes of the Assembly, August 25th, 1784.
4 Journals of Congress, vol. 11, p. 51.
5 Ibid, p. 63.
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for holding the treaty, and Fort Stanwix as the place. The Continental commissioners, of whom only three were present at the sessions-Walcott, Butler and Lee-arrived on the 2nd of the month, and the Pennsylvania commis- sioners a day or so later. The business commenced on the 3rd and continued until the 23rd. New York had already done what Pennsylvania threatened to do-held a separate treaty with the Six Nations. In this act, we see thus early State sovereignty cropping out. It gave Washington and others great concern. He viewed with fearful apprehension the rage for speculation in Indian lands, and the disposition of the States to get as much of them as possible. "Men in these times," said he, "talk with as much facility of 50,000, 100,000 and 500,000 acres as a gentleman formerly would do of 1,000." Again, "Individual States opposing the measures of the United States, encroaching upon the territory of each other, and setting up old and obsolete claims, is verifying the pre- dictions of our enemies, and is truly unfortunate." 1 New York, very soon after passing into the hands of the Eng- lish, had secured from the Six Nations the right of pro- tecting them and their lands, leaving to them a kind of qualified sovereignty. 2 But after 1754, when Sir William Johnson became the British agent in America for Indian affairs, this right of sovereignty over the Six Nations, to- gether with whatever similar powers other colonies had in Indian affairs, passed into the hands of the mother country. But aside from this fact, Congress had organ- ized an Indian department, and the treaties of the Revo- lutionary period were made by authority of Congress. Furthermore, by the treaty of 1783, the sovereignty of all the Indian countries within the prescribed limits granted
1 Ford's Writings of Washington, vol. 10, pp. 417-425.
2 Kent's Commentaries, vol. 3, p. 392.
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to the United States by Great Britain, became vested in the former to the same extent as it had been exercised by the latter. 1
Had New York and other States prevailed, the Indians would have been expelled at once, and by force, if neces- sary, from all lands not ceded to them previous to the war. The result of this would have been another war. 2 Such was Washington's view, and the feeling of some of the Indians at Fort Stanwix proved that his view was correct. Red Jacket was opposed to the burial of the hatchet, even under the milder policy of Congress, as laid down at the treaty. He spoke with great eloquence in favor of the continuance of the war by the Indians on their own ac- count. 3
Another incident came up at Fort Stanwix that tested the sovereignty of the United States as against the State of New York. The latter had sent an agent there to represent her interests, instructing him to oppose and frustrate any of the proceedings of the commissioners which might eventually affect the interests of New York. 4 One of the measures he took to obstruct the work of the commission was to sell liquor to the Indians. The com- missioners had orders not to allow anything of the kind to be sold while the treaty was in progress. So they com- manded the United States officer in charge to deposit all spirituous liquors in the houses of sutlers and venders within a mile of the place in the public store, not except- ing New York's. The commissioners even forbade the latter to be admitted in or near the place of holding the council, or to listen or observe what was going on inside. 5
1 Kent's Commentaries, vol. 1, p. 257.
2 Ford's Writings of Washington, vol. 10, p. 306.
3 Stone's Life of Brandt, vol. 2, p. 243.
4 The Olden Time, vol. 2, p. 412.
5 Ibid, p. 450.
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The incidental matters disposed of, the commission proceeded to its work. One of the first things done was to allow General Lafayette to speak to the Indians. He was present, and wanted to leave soon.1 The Marquis praised those who had adhered to the Americans in the war, and blamed those who had been their enemies. He advised them all most earnestly and eloquently to listen to the voice of the Americans. Their answer was full of the spirit of peace. The Mohawks, in particular, declared their repentance for the error they had committed. Yet, in the course of the council, it appeared that the Six Na- tions were opposed to a separate negotiation with the United States. They wanted no treaty made until all the Western Indians, who were not present, could be con- sulted. But the commissioners would listen to no delay. 2 It was largely through the efforts of the Cornplanter that the Six Nations were persuaded to relinquish a portion of their territory by compromise, rather than lose the whole by force. He saw the force of the instructions of Congress, namely, that, as the King of Great Britain had made no mention of the Indians in the treaty of peace with the Americans, he had left them to seek peace with the United States upon such terms as the latter should think just and reasonable. 3 So when the following articles of peace were proposed, October 20th, the Indians signed the treaty two days later :
1. Six hostages to be delivered and kept by the United States till all prisoners, white and black, taken by the four nations at war with America, had been restored.
2. The Oneidas and Tuscaroras to keep the lands they had.
3. A line to be drawn from Lake Ontario south, about four miles east of the Niagara river, to the northern boundary of
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 10, p. 346.
2 The Olden Time, vol. 2, p. 428.
3 Ibid, p. 414.
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Pennsylvania, thence west to the western boundary of Penn- sylvania, and thence south to the Ohio river. The lands west of this line were to be ceded to the United States; while the lands then held by them east of the line were to be secured to them in peaceful possession.
4. Upon the signing of the articles, the United States to order goods to be delivered for the use and comfort of the Six Nations.
Then followed some wholesome advice, and three days later the council adjourned. The results of the treaty were highly unsatisfactory to the Six Nations, especially to Brandt, who was not present. Captain Aaron Hill, a subordinate chief of the Mohawks, had been detained as one of the hostages, and this added to Brandt's dissatis- faction. He had gone to Quebec to complete his business with Sir Frederick Haldimand, and then to embark for England. But he immediately gave up the trip abroad for that season. He went back to his own people to look after their interests. He formed a plan, like that of Pon- tiac twenty years before-of forming a great confederacy of the Northwestern Indian nations. He visited the country of the upper lakes, and held a number of coun- cils. Having done this, he embarked for England, where it was conjectured he presented matters of great import- ance ; for that country acknowledged that it owed much to the services of Colonel Brandt during the war in America. 1
By the cession made by the Six Nations, their title to the lands across the Allegheny River was extinguished. The Pennsylvania commissioners delivered a great quan- tity of goods to them in consideration of the deed received, amounting to about $25,000.2 But as the Delawares and Wyandots were not at Fort Stanwix, another treaty was held at Fort McIntosh in January, 1785. There the Con-
1 Stone's Life of Brandt, vol. 2. p. 249.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 10, p. 318.
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tinental commissioners secured a cession of the country on the Scioto, Miami and Muskingum from the Wyan- dots, Chippewas, Delawares and Ottawas.1 However, the towns of Guadenhutten, Schonbrun and Salem were afterwards reserved for the sole use of the survivors of the Christian Delawares.2 The treaty by the Pennsylvania commissioners with the Delawares and Wyandots was for the same lands in the same words and with the same boundaries as that which they made at Fort Stanwix with the Six Nations. 3 Thus, after a period of about 102 years, all the Indian right of soil within the charter bounds of Pennsylvania was extinguished. It may be added, that in 1788 Pennsylvania paid 1,200 pounds for the Indian right in the lands of the triangle on Lake Erie, and that the next year a further grant was added for the same purpose. 4
The tract of land acquired by Pennsylvania at Fort Stanwix and Fort McIntosh was known as the "Indian country" since 1768. Now it was thrown open for set- tlement. But the act of the Cornplanter at Fort Stanwix was a sore subject to many of the Indians of the Six Nations. After Brandt had made his visit to the western nations, the Senecas and other tribes in the "Indian country" of Pennsylvania became quite unfriendly. Even so late as 1789, the Indians came within two miles of Pittsburg and killed two men who had gone out to fish.5 In 1793, after the formation of the Pennsylvania Population Company for encouraging settlements in the "Indian country," the town of Presque Isle was planned for this purpose "and to afford additional security to the
1 Wither's Chronicles, p. 366.
2 Journals of Congress, vol. 10, p. 123.
3 Minutes of the Assembly, Appendix, February-April, 1785.
4 Smith's Laws, vol. 2, pp. 123-124.
5 Pittsburg Gazette, July 2nd.
.
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frontiers thereof." 1 As soon as possible it was put on a war footing and a garrison stationed there. Forts LeBoeuf, Machault, Venango and Franklin were all re- paired and garrisoned while the Indian war in Ohio was in progress. Fourteen blockhouses in Westmoreland, Armstrong, Allegheny, Indiana and Crawford counties were erected as a protection against Indian attacks from the year 1783-1795, the year in which Wayne ended the war in Ohio and made the treaty of Fort Greenville. 2 The obstinacy of the Indians in this region was so great that even the people of Washington county were appre- hensive of danger and stood ready for an attack.3 This discontent in the "Indian country" was not alone due to dissatisfaction with the purchase at Fort Stanwix, nor with the purchase of the triangle. The British, who still occupied the frontier posts at Niagara, Detroit, etc., in- trigued with the Six Nations. It was the opinion of military men on the frontiers at that time, that peace or war with the Indians depended on being at peace or war with the English. 4 There was much truth in this, for it was not until after the treaty of Ghent that England once and for all abandoned her demands for an Indian boun- dary line. for a strip of neutral Indian territory, for mili- tary and naval supremacy on the lakes and for the inclu- sion of the Indians as parties to treaties between her and the United States. 5
The greatest legacy of the ten years of border warfare in Pennsylvania during the Revolution, was its share in the achievement of independence. The frontiersman by his heroic and resolute resistance to the enemy in the rear,
1 Frontier Forts, vol. 2. p. 555.
2 Frontier Forts, pp. 537-627.
3 Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd series, vol. 6, p. 762.
4 Ibid, p. 723.
5 McMaster's History of the People of the U. S., vol. 4, p. 269.
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helped to make it possible for the Continental army to bring the war for independence to a successful issue on the front. The British at critical moments, with their savage allies, repeatedly tried to break through the moun- tains or draw off the strength of Washington's army be- yond them ; but they never succeeded.
Next in importance was the territory acquired from the Indians. Pennsylvania's share was erected into eight counties in ISoo. The act of the Legislature 1 was known as the "great county act," for by it were organized Beaver, Butler, Mercer, Crawford, Erie, Warren, Venango and Armstrong counties. The money paid for all this land was a mere trifle ; but the blood shed for it and the hardships endured cannot be over-estimated. The land has proven to be a source of immense wealth, not alone to Pennsylvania, but to other States The oil that was hidden under the ground has made millionaires and mil- lionaires, and has given rise to the most gigantic and powerful corporation in the world.
The war on the frontiers of Pennsylvania was also one of the beginnings of "the winning of the West." Wayne's victory at Maumee, which put the final seal on the treaty of Fort McIntosh, opened to settlement the country from Erie westward and southwestward along the "Wilderness Road." 2 Two streams of population converged at Erie-one from Pennsylvania, chiefly from Dauphin county ; the other from Connecticut and New York. The Pennsylvania stream gained great accessions in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. These settlers had to get their lands from companies organized for speculation. The Pennsylvania Company, devised by
1 Bioren's Laws, vol. 6. pp. 115-124.
2 See Map of the United States. Thorpe's Constitutional History of the American People, vol. 1, opposite p. 158.
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Aaron Burr and others, received a charter from the Legis- lature in 1793 and purchased land-warrants covering nearly the entire triangle. 1 It offered 120 acres to each of the twenty families that should first settle "on Lake Erie territory." The Harrisburg and Presque Isle Com- pany, originated at Harrisburg, was formed in 1796. The proceeds of its stock were to be expended in buying lots in the towns of Erie, Waterford, Franklin and others, and lands in the State of Pennsylvania, north and west of the Ohio and Allegheny rivers. Other companies had purchased land-warrants and their claims often conflicted. The Holland Land Company, a New York concern, claimed all of the triangle. Some settlers held from one company, some from another and many had no title at all. The result was a crop of law suits and bankruptcies. But the immigrants continued to come in, some to remain and others to pass on to the Ohio country. So thriving was the immigrant business, that many farm houses were converted into temporary inns.2 Life, there, indeed was primitive. All the possessions that the immigrant had he carried in an ox-cart, and he began his career on the Lake Shore in a log cabin, with a bark roof and a blanket door. But there was a promise in the future. Grain and stock kept him alive; wool and flax kept him in clothes, and pearlash paid for his land. Such was the beginning of the "winning of the West," in the great Northwest ; and it was made possible by the treaties of Forts Stanwix, McIntosh and Greenville.
1 See Map of the United States, Thorpe's Constitutional History of the American People. vol. 1, p. 212.
2 Thorpe's Constitutional History of the American People, vol. 1, pp. 217-226.
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