USA > Pennsylvania > Border warfare in Pennsylvania during the revolution > Part 6
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1 Miner's History of Wyoming, p. 187.
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frontier affairs had been entrusted, was ordered by Guy Carleton, October 6th, 1776, to enlist the Indians and have them ready in the spring.1 The purpose of this at- tack on the frontier was to weaken the main army of the "Rebels" and facilitate the operations of Howe and Bur- goyne. Hamilton was fully aware of the importance of his part and played it well. He soon acquired the hatred of the "buckskins," who held him in abhorrence and nicknamed him the "hair-buyer" general. That he de- served this name is disputed ; but scalps were bought and paid for at Detroit. There is an account of an Indian, who, by dividing a large scalp into two, got $50 for each half at Detroit.2 Franklin in his list of twenty-six British atrocities, 3 gives the roth and 14th as-
"The King of England, giving audience to his Secretary of · War, who presents him a schedule entitled Account of Scalps ; which he receives very graciously."
"The commanding officer at Niagara, sitting in state, a. table before him, his soldiers and savages bring him scalps of the Wyoming families and presenting them. Money on the table with which he pays for them."
It would seem that the British Government took the initiative in the matter of premiums for scalps, for it was not until 1779 that the subject was mentioned officially, in Pennsylvania at least. President Reed then inquired in a letter to Colonel Lochry, stationed at Hannastown, whether the inhabitants on the frontiers desired a reward on Indian scalps.4 The reply was that they favored it, as it would give spirit and alacrity to the young men and make it their interest to be constantly on the scout. But Reed got no encouragement at that time from the people
1 Haldimand MSS., Book 121 p. 3.
2 The Winning of the West, vol. 2, p. 3.
3 Franklin's Works, vol. 10, p. 73.
4 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 362.
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in Philadelphia, nor from Congress.1 Early the next year, however, remembering with what advantage young men in former Indian wars went out in small parties to harass the enemy and strike them in their own homes, the Executive Council offered $1,000 for every Indian scalp. 2 This step was undoubtedly taken, also, in view of the fact that the British had done so before. American prisoners who had been taken by the Indians and returned from Detroit and Niagara reported that rewards were paid for scalps at those places.3 It should be said that the offer of a premium for scalps was made in deference to the wishes of the distracted frontiersinan at a time when there was no safety outside of the forts, when seeding and har- vesting had to be done under the protection of the militia, and when Detroit and Niagara were crowded with unfor- tunate captives. Furthermore, the offer was practically a dead letter, for President Reed repeatedly said that it was barren of results. Nor must the fact be overlooked that Congress had not sanctioned it, and that Continental officers refused to let it go into effect where they had juris- diction 4
General Carleton's injunction to Governor Hamilton to have the savages ready in the spring, was faithfully observed. Before the snow was off the ground, the war parties crossed the Ohio and fell on the Western frontier. Tories were at work, too. They sought to bring on a war with the savages by massacring friendly Indians who came to see the Indian agent. 5 Colonel Morgan felt obliged to let these messengers sleep in his own chamber for security. The Tories on the frontier were in a posi-
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 569.
2 Ibid, vol. 8, p. 167.
3 Ibid, p. 172.
4 Ibid, vol. 12, p. 240.
S Ibid, vol. 5, p. 287.
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tion to do vastly more for the British cause than those in the interior. Law of any kind-civil or military -- was not so readily enforced, especially around Fort Pitt, where the civil feud had not yet died out; escape from justice was more easy ; intrigues could be planned with greater security ; the fear from forfeiture of property in case of detection did not operate so strongly, for there was less attachment for hearth and home ; while a disaffected rifle- tnan from the frontier, fighting with the Indians, did more effective service than a Loyalist in the ranks of the British army. In fact, the Tories on the frontier were the leaders of the border warfare. They knew the Indians, their mode of warfare and their secret paths. Little wonder, therefore, that Lord Germaine was so anxious that "all such loyal subjects" should "engage in the King's ser- vice";1 and that the arrival of McKee, Elliott and Girty at Detroit, was especially commented upon in a letter by Hamilton to General Carleton. 2
By the first of April, the whole Western frontier was in consternation. Death and captivity had struck such terror in the minds of the people that most of them fled to the heart of the settlement and a greater number over the mountains. 3 Archibald Lochry, the Lieutenant of Westmoreland county, quickly raised a company of rangers, else the country would have been deserted. Lochry was a pillar in Westmoreland until he was killed in the wilderness of Ohio, while on an expedition against the Indians, in 1781. He was of Scotch-Irish birth, probably born in the Octarora settlement ; for in 1763 he was an ensign in the Second Battalion 4 of the Provincial While in the service on the frontier, he formed troops.
1 Haldimand, MSS., Book 121, p. 8.
2 Ibid, Book 122, p. 35.
3 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 5, p. 344.
4 Pennsylvania Archives, 2ud Series, vol. 2, p. 614.
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a desire for a home remote from the settlements, and so he took up a large tract of land between Greensburg and Ligonier. His official correspondence was dated at the "Twelve-Mile Run."
The conditions as described by Morgan and Lochry moved Congress, April 9th, to appoint an experienced officer to take command on the Western frontiers.1 Ac- cordingly, Brigadier-General Edward Hand was appointed and he assumed his duties June Ist. Reports of Indian atrocities were forwarded by him to the Executive Coun- cil, with the request that the militia of Westmoreland and Bedford be placed under his orders.2 The matter was laid before Congress, and on August 16th, that body passed a resolution desiring the Council to give the Gen- eral "such assistance from the militia of the counties of Westmoreland, Northumberland and Bedford" as he might "think necessary" to carry war into the Indian country. This was the beginning of the Indian expedi- tions of Pennsylvania.
Edward Hand, M. D., was a native of Ireland and came to this country as a surgeon's mate in the Royal Irish regiment, 1767. Dr. Hand was stationed at Fort Pitt until 1774, when he resigned his commission and went to Lancaster to practice medicine. He gave his allegiance to the Colonies, engaged in the manufacture of rifles 3 and entered the army as Lieutenant Colonel in Thompson's famous Battalion of Riflemen. The rifle, in 1775, was used only along the frontiers of Pennsylvania and the Southern Colonies. + It had been introduced into Pennsylvania about 1700 by Swiss and Palatine immi- grants. The frontiersmen improved it and made out of
1 Journal of Congress, vol. 3, p. 100.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 5, p. 143.
3 Pennsylvania Magazines, vol. 14, p. 333.
4 Harper's Magazine, May, 1899, The Birth of the American Army.
----
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it a superior type of fire-arms. Over every cabin door hung a well-made and correctly-sighted rifle. As soon as a boy was big enough to level it, he was given powder and ball to shoot squirrels. The wars with the Indians taught the boys to keep cool and shoot straight under fire. These were the "expert riflemen" organized by Act of Congress, June 14th, 1775, into a corps of nine companies, from the counties of Cumberland, York, Lan- caster, Northumberland, Bedford, Berks and Northamp- ton, under the command of Colonel William Thompson of Carlisle, and Lieutenant Colonel Edward Hand of Lancaster. In one short month, the first company, Nagel's Berks County "Dutchmen," was at Cambridge, . and in less than 60 days, nine companies of back-woods- men from Pennsylvania, two from Maryland and two from Virginia-1,430 all told-were at Boston. When they made a charge or awaited one, the command-"Wait till you see the whites of their eyes"-was not necessary. For unlike the muskets and shot-guns of the New Eng- landers, the rifle could be relied upon to hit a man at a much greater distance. At a review, a company of these riflemen, while on a quick advance, fired their balls into objects of seven-inch diameter at a distance of 250 yards. Their shots frequently proved fatal to British officers and soldiers.1 So frequent became the returns of British offi- cers, pickets and artillerymen shot at long range, that Edmund Burke exclaimed in Parliament, "Your officers are swept off by the rifles if they show their noses."
These men were the flower of the frontier, "remarka- bly stout and hardy, many of them exceeding six feet in height." They were the first troops levied on this conti- nent by authority of a central representative government. They were the nucleus of the American army, absolutely
1 Thatcher's Military Journal, August 17th, 1775.
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loyal to the American cause, and knowing no fatherland but the wilderness. Even their garb, patterned after that of the Indians, was distinctively American. And when Congress drew its first levies from the frontiers, it stirred into the American army the leaven that leavened the whole. But what was the gain of the Continental army was the loss of the frontier. And when England, in 1777, began to attack the rear-guard all along the line, the ab- sence of so many of the best men belonging to it was a serious matter. It is therefore clear why Edward Hand, who had already become a brigadier general of the Rifle- men, was selected to assume command at Fort Pitt. General Hand served his country to the end of the Revo- lution, and then resumed the practice of medicine at Lancaster. He also held a number of important civil trusts, one of which was to act as an elector for choosing the first President and Vice-President of the United States; and another to help frame the State Constitution of 1790. He died at his farm at Rockford, Lancaster county, 1802.1
The expedition planned by Hand could not be made. He made a call for 2,000 militia, but they were not in a humor to turn out, "for this, that and a thousand reasons, which probably could not be obviated without violating the militia law and discarding many officers, the General perhaps not excepted." 2 There was a lack of unity between the Virginians and the Pennsylvanians, and the danger in withdrawing so many of the militia also had much to do with the failure.3 The most, therefore, that Hand could do was to protect the settlements through defensive measures. "If I can assist the inhabitants to stand their ground," he wrote, " I shall deem inyself do-
1 Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, vol. 7, p. 98.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 18.
3 Ibid, p. 68.
4
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ing a great deal."1 The defensive measures, aside from calling out the militia and directing their movements, consisted in the erection of forts, stockades and block- houses. The Western frontier line needing protection on the north reached from the Allegheny Mountains to Kit- tanning, thence down the Allegheny river for forty-five miles to Pittsburg, and along the Ohio as far as the Great Kanawha.
The building of frontier forts in the Revolution was one of the valuable lessons learned in the French war. There were erected during the campaigns of 1755-58, and that of 1763, no less than 207 forts, large and small." The chain formed two distinct barriers on the west. The outer one guarded what was the frontier against the French, along the east bank of the Ohio (Allegheny) river, from Kittanning to the southwestern corner of the Prov- ince. The inner line extending along the Blue Moun- tains, from the Delaware river to the Maryland line, guarded against Indian raids. Between these two chains were isolated forts at Lewistown, Shirley, Fort Littleton, Bedford, Loudon and other points. In addition to these forts, it became necessary at various points, where depre- dations were most frequent, to erect stockades around strongly-built farm houses and mills, or to build block- houses specially as places of safety and defense. Most of this work was done by the Province ; but some of it, principally the erection of stockades and block-houses, was the result of local effort. 3
At the outbreak of the Revolution, but a few of the forts erected in the French war were in a state of defense. They were Fort Pitt, Fort Ligonier, Fort Augusta, and
1 History of Allegheny County, p. 82.
2 Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania. passim.
3 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 2, p. 552 ; also, Frontier Forts, vol. 1. pp. 250, 253, 265.
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others possibly that were not needed then, as the frontier had moved considerably northward and westward since 1763. The first forts of the Revolutionary period in Western Pennsylvania were erected during the time of Dunmore's war, to put a stop to the unreasonable panic that had seized the inhabitants.1 Then there was no fur- ther occasion for such defenses, until General Hand's plan of carrying the war into the Indian country failed, and he had to be content with protective measures. Including the rehabilitation of a number of old forts-notably Fort Ligonier and Hannastown-he succeeded in putting up a large number of new forts, stockades and block-houses. Colonel Lochry, who kept a diligent watch over affairs, reported in November that the whole population north of the old Forbes Road, from the Allegheny mountains to the river, were kept close in forts and could get no sub- sistence from their plantations.
It was frequently the case that the settlers had to live in the forts for weeks at a time, taking their scanty house- hold goods, farm implements and live-stock with them into the enclosure. When there was no immediate danger outside, the men, leaving the women and children inside, went to their fields in the day and returned at night, but never without their rifles close at hand. Sentinels were placed at proper places, and on the least alarm the whole company of workers repaired to their arms. The fort con- sisted of cabins, stockades and block-houses. A range of cabins formed at least one side of the fort, with log parti- tions between them. The walls on the outside were ten to twelve feet high, the slope of the roof being turned in- ward. The block-houses were built at the angles of the fort, and projected about two feet beyond the outer walls of the
. 1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 4, p. 519.
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cabins and stockades. Their upper story was larger each way than the under one, leaving an opening at the com- mencement of the second story to prevent the enemy from making a lodgment under the walls. Bastions instead of block-houses sometimes rose at the corners. A large folding gate, made of thick slabs, opened out towards the nearest spring. The stockades, bastions, cabins and block-houses were all furnished with portholes, while the whole of the outside was made completely bullet-proof.1 Attacks on one of these forts seldom succeeded, unless its male occupants were cut off from it or its supplies gave out. Whenever the enemy came in sight, everybody in the enclosure assisted in the defense. There was more than one "Mollie Pitcher" engaged in the border warfare ; for it was common for the women in the frontier forts to run bullets for their husbands or brothers, and assist otherwise in the defense of life and property.
There were about one hundred of these forts and block- houses put up in the Revolutionary period west of the mountains ; and about a dozen in each of the valleys of the Juniata, the North Branch and the West Branch. 2 One, Fort Penn, was erected by Northampton county on the present site of Stroudsburg.
The Indians, in 1777, extended their raids from the West even across the mountains. 3 A day hardly passed in the region of what is now Bedford, Blair and Hunting- don counties, without hearing of some new murder. One- half of the people fled, and the others were busy removing their effects to places of safety and ranging the country by turns. In their appeal for help, the inhabitants of Bedford said that Cumberland county would soon be a
1 Frontier Forts, vol. 2, p. 401.
2 Frontier Forts, passim.
3 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 39.
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frontier. These people were especially in need of guns, "for when the men were raised for the army," they said, "you know we procured every gun that we could for their use .. The safety of our country then loudly called on us to send all the arms to the Camp that could be pro- . cured, and it now as loudly calls on us to entreat that we may be allowed some as soon as possible." The condi- tion of the Western frontier in December is well summed up in a letter by Lieutenant Archy to President Warton, 1 "If there Is Not Stors Laid in this Winter, in Spring they Must leave the Countery ; they Have no Salt to Lay Up Meat, their Grain is all Burned & Destroyed on the North of the Cunnemach ; if there is No Store of Provi- sion for Next Summer and People Hindered from Spring Crops, the Cuntery is undoubtedly Broke up."
The Susquehanna Valleys, in 1777, were thrown into fear and consternation quite early in the year by news that there were 15,000 Ministerial troops at Niagara, which were to move in three divisions : 4,000 of them were to come down the North Branch, 4,000 down the West Branch, and 7,000 down the Mohawk, and that a number of Indians were to be along with them.2 The Committee of Northumberland after confirming the rumor, wrote to the Executive Council, in April, that the county was not able to make a defense on account of the want of arms and ammunition, the men who had joined Wash- ington's army having taken the greater part of the arms fit for service. But the year 1777 was a trying time for Philadelphia. Assistance from the Council or Congress could not be expected when the city was taken by Howe, and the State and United States Governments were on wheels to Lancaster and York Town. Northumberland,
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 68.
2 Pennsylvania Associators, vol. 2, p. 366.
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like Westmoreland, had to defend itself unaided. Stock- ade forts were constructed hastily, and the settlers aban- doned their cabins and their fields of grain, to seek refuge within these enclosures. Those who refused or neglected to avail themselves of the forts generally paid dearly for their folly.
On a Sunday morning in June, the Indians killed two men who had gone out from Ante's fort to milk the cows. The Indians had lured them into the bushes by seizing the bell-cow and holding her. This was the beginning of a series of murders that were committed incessantly to the end of the year. After the battle of Brandywine, Captain John Brady, 1 and a number of other officers from the West Branch, were ordered home by Washington to assist the inhabitants in the defense of their homes and families. It was one thing for a man in the older communities to become a soldier of the Revolution ; but quite another for the frontiersman. The latter never knew when he enlisted what evil might befall his wife and children during his absence. So it must have been a welcome order for the men from Northumberland to return and defend their homes. Colonel John Kelly, who had been ordered home before, had command on the frontier. Colonel Kelly was born in Lancaster county. In 1768, he settled in Buffalo Valley, then a part of Berks county. He was young, of great physical vigor, and bold as a lion. In 1776, he marched to the Jerseys, and won imperishable glory by cutting the girders of a bridge on Stony Creek in sight of the advancing British. After the war, he was for many years a magistrate in Union county. He died in 1832, and a monument stands on his grave in Lewisburg. Major Moses Van Campen, another frontiersman, re-
1 See Supra, p. 65.
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nowned for his daring, served a three months' tour with Kelly in the summer of 1777. Van Campen was of Dutch and French extract, born in New Jersey, and after living for awhile with his parents at the Delaware Water Gap, in Northampton county, came with them to the Fishing Creek, in what is now Columbia county. Getting some taste of military life in the Pennamite war of 1775, he was prepared for service in the Revolution, and marched to Boston with a regiment from Northumberland to join the Continental army. In 1778, he was taken captive, but freed himself by killing five Indians. He accompanied Sullivan's expedition the next year, and performed valiant · deeds on the frontier till 1782, when he was again cap- tured and carried to Niagara. There he was given the option between torture and death at the hands of the In- dians (for he was recognized as the man who had killed so many Indians), or allegiance to the British cause. " No, sir, no-my life belongs to my country ; give me the stake, the tomahawk or the scalping-knife before I will dishonor the character of an American officer." His loyalty saved him, and he became a prisoner of war. He was exchanged, and after the war removed to New York, where he died in 1849, at the age of 92.1
Towards the close of the year, Northumberland was in dire straits. The first and second classes of the militia were on the frontier under Kelley ; the Indian atrocities did not abate till after the snow had fallen ;2 the people could with difficulty be persuaded to return to their homes ; they had no crops ; they had no salt to cure their winter meats ; and added to all this, the third and fourth classes of the militia were ordered to join General Wash-
1 McGinness' History of the West Branch Valley, p. 642-656.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 175.
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ington at Valley Forge, but had neither arms nor blankets. 1
The first measure of defense taken by Wyoming in 1777, was to send scouts up the river to watch the Indian paths and bring intelligence. They learned that certain Tories were busy communicating with the Indians at Tioga and the British at Niagara. A party of nine men was then sent out to arrest the Tories, which they did ; but Lieutenant John Jenkins and three others were cap- tured by a band of Tories and Indians. He and two of his men were carried to Canada. There it was decided to exchange him for an Indian chief, who was a prisoner at Albany. When Jenkins came there under an Indian escort, the chief had died. The Indians would have tomahawked Jenkins if they could ; but they had to re- lease him and return without their prisoner. These were the first prisoners taken from Wyoming. But fortunately there were no murders or outrages committed on the North Branch that year. The Indians of the Six Nations may have awaited the doubtful issue of Burgoyne's cam- paign, or they may have tried to lull the valley into se- curity and "reserve it as a cherished victim for another campaign."2 Had they been more aggressive, the two companies in the Continental army might have been re- called, and the tale of 1778 been less horrifying. The people, however, were not idle; for they built forts upon an enlarged scale and with greater strength. They worked at them by turns ; even the boys and the old men were not exempted from duty.
On the Northampton frontier, there was no border warfare in 1777. Fort Penn may have been erected then, but there is no positive evidence to that effect. 3
1 History of Juniata and Susquehanna Valleys, vol. 1, p. 106.
2 Miner's History of Wyoming, p. 200.
3 Frontier Forts, vol. 1, p. 328.
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Of all the dark, impenetrable clouds that passed over the American army, none so completely veiled the issues of the Revolution as the one that rested over Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. And it was then that the darkest, most horrible plots against the frontier were formed at Niagara and Detroit by the British and their Indian allies.1 It was assumed, and rightly so, by Gov- ernor Hamilton that "the Rebels" would not give much attention to the frontiers since the taking of Philadelphia had called for all their available forces, "and they would scarcely send from that quarter a good officer, staunch men, or serviceable artillery." The Indians had lost enough men in 1777 "to sharpen their resentment." They brought 73 prisoners alive to Governor Hamilton and 129 scalps. He had no reason "to doubt the readi- ness of the chiefs for going to war in the spring, either in small parties or en gross." The savages met in council at Detroit, June 14th, to receive their orders.2 Every tribe north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi seems to have been represented. Governor Hamilton thanked them for attending his call and assured them that he re- membered the good will with which they took up their father's axe (King George's) striking as one man his enemies and theirs, forcing "them from the frontiers to the Coast, where they have fallen into the hands of the King's troops." He then told them that the British had "taken New York, Boston and Philadelphia, and driven the Rebels back wherever they dared show their faces, both by land and sea." To mix resentment with the feeling of joy which these victories would inspire in the savage breast, he told them that the King, always atten- tive to his dutiful children, ordered the axe to be put into
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