USA > Pennsylvania > Border warfare in Pennsylvania during the revolution > Part 5
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After the Revolution, he served his State in the Council of Censors and in the Congress, being President of the latter body at the time of the passage of the Ordinance of 1787. Having taken an active interest in establishing the Northwest Territory, he was made its first Governor, thus rounding out most fitly his career as a frontiersman.
Richard Butler was a native of Ireland, and came with his father to Lancaster county in 1748, and shortly after- wards to the sunset side of the Alleghenies. About 1770, he and his brother settled at Fort Pitt, and entered into partnership as Indian traders. In the troubles with Vir- ginia, Butler espoused the cause of Pennsylvania. When the Middle Department of Indian Affairs was created by Congress, he was one of the agents of the commissioners -a position for which he was well fitted. He served with great usefulness for more than a year in this position. On July 20th, 1776, he was elected by Congress major of the battalion ordered to be raised for the defense of the Western frontiers. Major Butler soon afterwards became lieutenant colonel in Daniel Morgan's famous rifle corps,
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 10, p. 483.
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which in no small degree he helped to make the finest marksmen in the world, as General Burgoyne pronounced them to be after the battle of Stillwater. After the Revo- lution, Butler again entered the Indian service as super- intendent of the Northern District. His career ended while he was with St. Clair in his expedition against the Indians in 1791. Wounded several times in that disas- trous battle on the banks of the Wabash, he was finally tomahawked by an Indian, but, before he died, put a bul- let through the breast of his savage assailant.
The scarcity of powder, hinted at by St. Clair and Butler, as well as of lead, was a serious matter on the frontier. Nine days after their petition, the Council of Safety inserted the following advertisement in the news- papers of Philadelphia :1
"Such persons as are willing to erect powder mills in this Province, within fifty miles' distance of this city, are desired to apply to the Committee of Safety, who will lend them money on security if required for that purpose, and give them other encouragement."
A liberal response was made to this advertisement from Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester and other counties around, and a committee was appointed for the purpose of erect- ing powder mills.2 There was a constant demand from the frontier for powder, and jealousies arose when one county was ordered to deliver some of its stores to another. When the Committee of York county was ordered to ship some to Northampton and Northumberland for the attack on Wyoming, they said it was " a disgrace to the sons of America ! Tell it not in Gath !" that powder and lead originally destined for the defense of the whole United Colonies, should be employed in an unhappy affair be-
1 Colonial Records, vol. 10, p. 455.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 4, p. 709
:
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tween two of them. Congress needed powder at the front, the Province needed it for practice in the militia, and the frontier needed it in the preparation for defense. It was so scarce later on, that the morning and evening guns on the warships of the Delaware had to be forbidden. Cau- tions against waste were frequently thrown out by the Council of Safety. The mills were in constant danger, too, of being blown up by Tories, and had to be guarded by the militia. One of them did explode, and evidence of disloyal threats was brought out in the investigation.
Much of the difficulty in the supply of powder was due to a lack of knowledge in the making of saltpetre. 1 Its manufacture in Philadelphia, in 1775, was so unsuccess- ful that one Baltzer Monday, evidently a German, was sent down from York Town to "instruct any who may chuse to learn." York Town had also sent a saltpetre maker to Maryland; and Virginia had then not made twenty tons all told. " "Tis a shame for America," writes the York County Committee to the Council of Safety, " when we have so many people who have wrought many years at making saltpetre in Germany, and understand it as well as any of our old women making soap, that so much has been said and so little done in an article so essential to the safety of America ; it is true, they are but mechanics, and don't understand theory, but let them make a sufficiency for our present wants, and let the theo- rists improve and amend their defects at leisure."
The scarcity of lead was even greater than that of gun- powder ; for it was recommended in May, 1776, by the Council of Safety, 2 that all the inhabitants of Philadelphia send in all such lead as they might have in use in their families and about their houses, such as draught weights
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 4, p. 668.
2 Colonial Records, vol. 10, p. 558.
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and window weights, also clock weights, for which iron weights could be procured to supply their private con- venience. The liberal price of six pence per pound was allowed. Two years later the attention of the Supreme Executive Council was called to the existence of lead in Sinking Valley,1 then in Bedford county, now in Blair. Some few persons had found their way to the mines, raised small quantities of ore and smelted it. The Council, act- ing on what are now termed "populistic " principles, seized the mines and operated them for the State. Gen- eral Daniel Roberdeau, then a member of Congress from Philadelphia, but before that a brigadier general in the militia, was made superintendent of the mining operations. He received leave of absence from Congress in order to attend to this work. Fears of Indian attacks made it nec- essary to erect a stockade fort, and garrison it with the militia. Roberdeau stayed at the mines only a short time, leaving the direction of affairs in the hands of experienced miners. Lead was taken out for about a year ; but how much is not known. The undertaking was not profita- ble. It proved a moth to the General's circulating cash, and obliged him to make free with a friend in borrowing. He had to ask an enormous price for the lead on account of the depreciation of Continental money, and was handi- capped in the working of the mine by want of protection against the Indians.
After the application of St. Clair and Butler for pow- der and lead, as summer drew nearer, the people on the Western frontier became more anxious. Indian attacks were most frequent when the settlers were busy in the fields, especially in harvest time. In March, Bedford and Cumberland counties were requested by the Council of
1 History of Juniata Valley, pp. 231-240.
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Safety, "in case the inhabitants of Westmoreland were attacked by an enemy, to spare them the necessary pow- der belonging to the public for their defense." 1 In April Kiashuta appeared before Richard Butler (See page 27), with an invitation to come to Niagara ; and McKee, the suspect, had received a request to invite all the Indians he might see to attend the meeting of the British agent. Although the old Seneca chief was warned " to hearken to no speeches that tend to disturb the peace of the coun- try," bis return from Niagara was awaited with anxiety. Kiashuta was a distinguished character among the Six Nations from the time of Washington's first visit to the Ohio, whom he accompanied from Logstown to Le Boeuf. He survived all the troubles of the French war, of Pon- tiac's war-in which his part was so prominent that it was sometimes called Kiashuta's war-and of the Revo- lution. He died near Pittsburg, and left his name to the beautiful plain on the Allegheny river, where his remains now rest.2 Two days after the Declaration of Independ- ence, Kiashuta was back, and attended a meeting of the Congressional Committee for the Middle Department of Indian Affairs. He produced a belt of wampum from the Six Nations to the Delawares, Shawanese, Wyandots and other western Indians, informing them that the Six Na- tions would take no part in the war, and desiring them to do the same. He had authority to say that " the Six Nations would make it their business to prevent either an American or an English army passing through their country." 3 As the neighboring tribes were not repre- sented, another meeting was held near Fort Pitt in Octo- ber, when these, too, offered assurances of friendship. But
1 Colonial Records, vol. 10, p. 525.
2 Craig's History of Pittsburg. p. 157.
3 The Olden Time, vol. 2, p. 112.
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British influence from Detroit had to be combatted, and matters were discouraging at times. Shortly after the conference with Kiashuta, 100 men, raised in Westmore- land, were engaged for service until September 15th. The danger became so threatening, that in September Con- gress 1 issued an order assembling all the militia that could be spared for the defense of Fort Pitt. Powder and lead, together with 10,000 flints, were forwarded to George Morgan, the Indian agent, who succeeded Colonel Butler. The militia in Cumberland county, ready to march to the assistance of Washington in New Jersey, were held for the defense of the frontiers until further orders. How- ever, Mr. Morgan wrote to John Hancock, November 8th, " I have the happiness to inform you that the cloud which threatened to break over us is likely to disperse." In this he was not mistaken ; for, in connection with 100 militia under Major John Neville, Morgan was enabled to maintain comparative peace during the winter of 1776- 1777 at and around Fort Pitt.
Morgan and Neville were two valuable men to Western Pennsylvania. The former was a resident of Fort Pitt at the close of the French and Indian war, having erected the first house with a shingle roof in the place. 2 Mor- ganza marks the site of an estate which he and his brother bought later. At the time of his appointment to the In- dian agency, he lived on a farm near Princeton, New Jersey. At Pittsburg he was kept in hot water all the time. That he discharged his duties to the satisfaction of the Indians was shown in 1779, when the chiefs of the Delawares sought to confer upon him the rich and fertile Sewickley " bottom," 3 in appreciation of his services in
1 Journal of Congress, vol. 2, p. 350.
2 History of Allegheny County, p. 444.
3 Ibid, Part 2nd, p. 97.
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their behalf while agent at Fort Pitt. Though he could not accept the offer, it must have been gratifying to him ; for he had just been acquitted of a charge of mismanage- ment and disloyalty. Later, in 1780, he again was made the target of criticismn, and was removed from his posi- tion.1 Colonel Brodhead, who was then in command at Pittsburg, expressed the desire to the Executive Council that a man with not so many farms and other interests might succeed him. Farming was Colonel Morgan's de- light ; for after the war he was again in New Jersey, the foremost farmer in America,2 his broad fields being the admiration of travelers, and his products winning the prizes of agricultural societies. 3 When Aaron Burr was on his expedition to Louisiana, he stopped with the Colonel at Morganza, and tried to persuade him to join. Both he and two of his sons attended Burr's trial at Richmond as witnesses.
John Neville was a descendant of one of the boys kid- naped in England, and brought to Virginia, in the early history of that Colony. He was in Braddock's army, and thus learned to know Western Pennsylvania. Before 1774, he had made large purchases of land on Chartier's Creek, and when the Revolution began he became a trusted patriot. The Virginia Provincial Convention ordered him, in August, 1775, to march with a company of 100 men and take possession of Fort Pitt. The Virginia and Pennsylvania delegates in Congress had recommended that "all bodies of armed men in pay of either party should be discharged." As Pennsylvania had no armed men at Fort Pitt, the arrival of Captain Neville was not
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 12, p. 249.
2 Pennsylvania Hist. Mag., vol. 12, p. 102.
3 Ibid, vol. 16, p. 171.
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welcome to St. Clair, 1 especially since it was contrary to what had been recommended. But without regard to the motives of Virginia, Neville's militia was needed at Fort Pitt to counteract the scheme of Connelly, and insure the safety of the frontier inhabitants, whether Virginians or Pennsylvanians. That he acted with prudence is proved by the fact that none of the evils predicted by St. Clair, in his letter to Governor Penn, occurred. Neville re- tained the command of Fort Pitt until the appointment of General McIntosh by Congress, in 1778. He then served with much ability at the front, especially distinguishing himself in the Southern campaigns. At the close of the war, he returned to his estates in Allegheny county, and in 1791 was made inspector of internal revenue. In this position he bore a prominent part in the famous " Whiskey Rebellion," performing his duties loyally to the Federal Government, at the expense of his property and the peril of his life. 2
On the Northumberland, or West Branch, frontier there was much less cause for fear and anxiety in 1776 than on that of Westmoreland. Fort Augusta, now Sun- bury, was the headquarters of the military department of the upper Susquehanna. The first battalion of Associators was organized February 8th, 1776,3 with Samuel Hunter as Colonel. Under the militia law of 1777, he was ap- pointed county lieutenant, and exercised authority to the close of the war. He was a native of Ireland, and is first mentioned in the history of Pennsylvania as in command of the militia at Fort Augusta, in 1763.4 In November following, he was commissioned captain, and served in
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 4, p. 659.
2 Craig's History of Pittsburg, chapters 11-12.
3 Pennsylvania Associators, vol. 2. p. 337.
4 McGinness' History of West Branch, vol. 1, p. 284.
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Bouquet's campaign the next year. He performed valua- ble services on the frontier, and served as a member of the Council of Censors in 1783. He died at Fort Augusta in 1784, and was buried there.
The first intimation of fear in Northumberland con- cerning Indian attacks was given March 13th, 1776.1 The Committee of the county wrote to Colonel Hunter, who was then in Philadelphia for service to his country, to present their condition as a frontier county to the Council of Safety, and ask them, if more men were wanted, whether it would not be better to have two or three com- panies raised, officered and disciplined, and put into im- mediate pay ; and if not wanted nearer home, to be ready wherever needed. They also complained of recruiting officers from other counties coming to that infant frontier county and draining it of its single men, who " choose rather, under pay, to have to do with a humane enemy, than, at their own expense, encounter merciless savages." Two weeks later, the Committee wrote directly to the Council of Safety. They held that the safety of the " in- terior parts of the Province would be better secured by adding strength to the frontiers." They also gave the Council a glimpse into their condition as frontiersmen. The people were poor, many of them had come there " bare and naked," while those who had a little property were no better off on account of the delay in cultivating a wilderness before they could have any produce to live upon. A well-disciplined militia was not possible under such conditions. Some men had to lose two days in go- ing to muster ; and not being paid for it, they could not attend regularly. In spite of these untoward circum- stances, the Committee had the pleasure of informing the
1 Pennsylvania Associators, vol. 2, p. 342.
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Council, in June, that there were very few (if any) disaf- fected persons amongst them, and the non-Associators very inconsiderable. The greatest difficulty in the way of defense was that they were very ill-armed, having al- ready sent all the best arms with their men into the Continental and Provincial service.
Another matter of great anxiety to the patriots on the North Branch was the scarcity of salt. But from this the people of the whole Province suffered. The non-importa- tion act of the first Continental Congress had caused this dilemma. So, early in June, 1776, steps were taken by the Province to establish salt works at Tom's River, New Jersey, to relieve public necessities and reduce the exor- bitant price of this article.1 In this way the Province, in November, was able to make a distribution among the counties according to their necessities. It was to be sold at fifteen shillings a bushel, and in quantities of not more than half a bushel to any one family. However, the price and quantity could not long be regulated.2 The works of Tom's River proved of little account, and salt had to be procured from any source and at any price. On the frontier, it was especially hard to get. The militia that came from the back counties to the support of Washing- ton's army at Trenton and Princeton could not be sup- plied with the smallest quantity.
Nothing further was said in Northumberland about fears of an Indian invasion until the close of July, when the delegates of the county to the Provincial Convention petitioned the Council of Safety for aid. A month later, John Harris wrote 3 from Paxtang that the Indians were for war, as had been learned from some twenty of them,
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 4, p. 771.
2 Colonial Records, vol. 11, p. 41.
3 Annals of Buffalo Valley, p. 97.
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who had been at Sunbury. Captain John Brady had in- duced a few Senecas and Monseys to come to Fort Augusta to make a treaty; but nothing was accomplished, save the partial consumption of a barrel of whiskey by the savages, and the total destruction of the rest by Brady to avoid evil consequences. One of the Indians told him he . would some day rue the spilling of that barrel. Whether Brady's death in 1779 was in payment of this threatened penalty cannot be known; but, if it was, the barrel of whiskey was dearly paid for. Captain John Brady was born in Delaware, 1733, his father having emigrated from Ireland. The family removed to the Cumberland Valley, near Shippensburg, and John became a surveyor and pio- neer. After marrying, he lived at Standing Stone, now Huntingdon, till 1769, when he settled on the West Branch. In 1776, he was appointed a captain in the 12th Pennsylvania, and was wounded severely at Brandywine. The Indians becoming troublesome on the Susquehanna, Washington ordered Captain Brady home to assist in the defense of the frontier. Before losing his own life, he was called upon to mourn the death of his son, James, who was killed by the Indians while he was reaping the har- vest. Captain John Brady was the head of an illustrious family. Sam, the oldest of six sons, and Hugh, the youngest, both served their country well-Sam as the famous scout and Indian fighter, and Hugh as a General in the United States Army.
The first reference to Indian incursions on the records of Northampton county is found on the minutes of the Standing Committee, of August 8th, 1776, when the com- mitteemen of each township were summoned to meet at Easton, "the 16th inst.," " to consult upon the safety of the county against incursions of the Indians." 1 On the
1 Pennsylvania Associators, vol. 2, p. 613.
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day appointed it was resolved that "the militia of this county do not march to New Jersey according to the re- solves of the Convention ;" and further, that "a maga- zine of powder, lead and arms be immediately collected . for the defense of this county against incursions . and depredations of the Indian enemy, and that the Stand- ing Committee write to the Convention or Council of Safety for such ammunition and arms." When it had become apparent that Howe, after leaving Boston, was making New York the objective point, Congress resolved to reinforce Washington with 13,800 militia, 10,000 of whom were to form the " Flying Camp." Pennsylvania's quota was 6,000, and that of Northampton county, 346. At the time it was resolved at Easton that the militia should not march to New Jersey, the first installment was already on the way ; 1 and the Provincial Convention in Philadelphia had asked Congress not to march the rest with the Flying Camp. Dangers were reported from the en- tire frontier of the Province. It was then that the situation at Fort Pitt began to look critical. Accordingly, on August roth. the Provincial Convention 2 excused the Associators of Northumberland, Northampton, Bedford and Westmoreland counties from marching to the Jerseys until the danger from the Indians had subsided. The request of the Committee from Northampton seems to have become a popular one to make just then. On the 15th of August, the township of Albany, in Berks county, also asked that its quota for the Flying Camp be excused from marching on the pretext that the Indians were com- ing. The Convention tabled this request.
Northampton and Northumberland caused Wyoming no uneasiness in 1776, common interests having put a
1 History of Lehigh and Carbon Counties. p. 13.
2 Journal of Representatives and Proceedings of Committees, p. 68.
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quietus on the civil feud ; but the Six Nations now began to threaten the Valley. As at Fort Pitt, the Indians com- mitted offenses against individuals only. A person, named Wilson, was attacked and roughly handled. 1 Colonel Zebulon Butler, without any official authority, thereupon sent a messenger to the neighboring tribes to ascertain their intentions. A chief returned with the messenger. He said the Indians at the head of the Sus- quehanna were all one mind, and were all for peace. 2 He denied having had any hand in the attack upon Wilson. The messenger of Butler brought word back that the In- dians were very anxious for a council-fire to be held at Wyoming. Their importunity was so pressing that But- ler wrote Roger Sherman, member of Congress from Con- necticut, for advice. Butler wanted Connecticut to act, because when the Indians came to Westmoreland they expected presents and hospitality from him. He had frequently given them, but found the burden too great for one man to bear. They also wanted a United States flag. They probably had sinister motives in these requests. 3 The council-fire was a scheme to get into Wyoming with- out creating alarm, and then treacherously to destroy the settlement ; while the flag would serve as a decoy on a fitting occasion.
In September, a deputation of three chiefs arrived at Wyoming, and brought a "Talk " agreed upon by certain authorized chiefs.+ While it professed peaceable inten- tions, its tone was one of complaint. The request for a fire at Wyoming was repeated, "so that the flame and smoke may arise to the clouds." Figuratively taken,
1 American Archives, vol. 2, series 5, p. 824.
2 Ibid, p. 825.
3 Miner's History of Wyoming, p. 185.
4 Ibid, p. 186.
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this was quite prophetic of the massacre of 1778. The uneasiness in Wyoming and Northampton was the result of the retreat of the American army from Canada to Crown Point. Every artifice was used by Guy Johnson and John Butler to set the Indians on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania. A report had reached the Wyoming Valley in August that Colonel Butler was at Oswego " with Indians and Canadians." 1
As has been seen, the burden of Indian affairs rested on Zebulon Butler. He was born in Connecticut and died at Wilkesbarre. He served in the French and Indian War, and in the expedition to Havana, and rose to be a captain in 1761. He settled in Wyoming in 1769, and led the Yankees in the war with the Pennamites. He was moderator at the town meeting of Westmoreland, August 24th, 1776, when steps were taken for the defense of Wyoming by the erection of forts-an act that aroused the insolence of the Indians who still dwelt in the valley. He was made Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment in the Connecticut Line, which contained the companies raised in Westmoreland. Butler became Colonel in March, 1778, and while on a furlough he commanded the weak garrison at Wyoming in the massacre of July. He served with distinction throughout the war ; but on his arrival home was seized and without law was cast into prison for a brief time, because he threatened to set fire to a set of riotous soldiers just discharged.
With the close of the year 1776, all hope of averting war with the Indians had disappeared. The accession of the savage interest to the cause of Great Britain was now complete. It was certain that the frontier settlements would be one line of murder and conflagration. Governor Hamilton, at Detroit, to whom the entire management of
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