USA > Pennsylvania > Border warfare in Pennsylvania during the revolution > Part 8
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This step was now promptly taken. But as Colonel John Butler insisted on an unconditional surrender of Colonel Zebulon Butler, with the fourteen Continental soldiers remaining, the heroic leader of the men of Wy- oming escaped in the night and left Colonel Dennison of the militia to make terms. These stipulated that the set- tlers should be disarmed, their garrison demolished, but
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their lives and property preserved. The losses of the Tories were to be made good. To prevent further atro- cities by the Indians, all the whiskey near Forty Fort was emptied into the river. But they were so jubilant after the Yankees had marched out of the fort that they began to plunder the settlers' homes far and wide. Colonel Butler confessed that he could do nothing with the sav- ages after such a victory. The only remedy he had was to withdraw from the valley, which he did on the 8th of July.1 His part in this horrible affair was far less open to reproach than that of the Government of Great Britain, which employed the demons under his command. Even the Tories of Wyoming were more reprehensible than he.
Such was Colonel Hunter's presentiment, if presenti- ment it was. As the report of the massacre passed down the North Branch and spread up the valley of the West Branch, it caused a wild, precipitate flight, known as the "Great Runaway." On the 9th of July, 2 Colonel Hunt- er's pen was not equal to describe the situation in North- umberland. From all appearances, he felt sure that the towns of Northumberland and Sunbury would be the frontier in less than a day. That their inhabitants would make a stand, he felt sure, but how long they could hold out, was a question. Should they fail for want of assist- ance, the neighboring counties could find no excuse for their "breach of brotherly love, charity, and every virtue which adorns and advances the human species above the brute creation." This stirring appeal he made to the militia of Berks county. Soon other letters were written -from Paxtang, Hummelstown, Carlisle and Lancaster- all reporting the calamities of the twin branches of the Susquehanna. Wm. McClay, afterwards one of the first
1 Miner's History of Wyoming, p. 235.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 631.
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United States senators from Pennsylvania, who was then a resident at Sunbury, wrote to the Executive Council in a most pitiful tone 1
"I left Sunbury, and almost my whole property on Wednes- day last. I never in my life saw such scenes of distress. The river and the roads leading down were covered with men, women and children, fleeing for their lives, many without any property at all, and none who had not left the greater part be- hind. In short, Northumberland county is broken up. Colonel Hunter alone remained using his utmost endeavors to rally some of the inhabitants, and to make a stand, however short, against the enemy. I left him with very few, probably not more than a hundred men on whom he can depend. Wyoming is totally abandoned. Scarce a family remained between that place and Sunbury, when I came away. The panic and flight has reached to this place (Paxtang). Many have moved even
out of this township. . . For God's sake, for the sake of the county, let Colonel Hunter be re-inforced at Sunbury. Send him but a single company, if you cannot do more. . .. The miserable example of the Wyoming people, who have come down absolutely naked among us, has operated strongly, and the cry has been, 'Let us move while we may, and let us carry some of our effects along with us.' ... Something ought to be done for the many miserable objects that crowd the banks of this river, especially those who fled from Wyoming. They are a people you know, I did not use to love, but now I most sin- cerely pity their distress. .
Here is a picture describing the scene near Lewis- burg : 2
"I took my family safely to Sunbury, and came back in a keel-boat to secure my furniture. Just as I rounded a point above Derrstown (Lewisburg), I met the whole convoy from the forts above. Such a sight I never saw in my life. Boats, canoes, hog troughs, rafts hastily made of dry sticks, every sort of floating article had been put in requisition and were crowded with women, children and plunder. Whenever any obstruction occurred at a shoal or ripple, the women would
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 634.
2 History of the Juniata and Susquehanna Valleys, vol. 1, p. 108. .
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leap out into the water and put their shoulders to the boat or raft and launch it again into deep water. The men came down in single file on each side of the river, to guard the women and children. The whole convoy arrived safely at Sunbury, leav- ing the entire range of farmis on the West Branch to the rav- ages of the Indians."
In answer to these appeals, Colonel Brodhead, who was approaching the Standing Stone (Huntingdon) on his way to Pittsburg, was ordered to the West Branch with his regiment.1 He was at Fort Muncy by the 24th of July. He sent a company to Penn's Valley to protect the reapers while they cut the grain. His arrival had induced great numbers of the settlers to come back and garner their grain.2 This was perilous work, for the In- dians fell upon the soldiers in several instances. In spite of these heroic efforts to save the harvests, the loss from the "Great Runaway" was estimated at $200,000.
But the Eighth Regiment was under orders to go to Fort Pitt, and its good work of restoring confidence had to be handed over to others. As the murdering, pillaging and burning did not stop in the West Branch valley, Colonel Thomas Hartley's regulars from New Jersey, and a body of militia from the neighboring counties, came none too soon. He was at Sunbury by the first of Au- gust, and at Muncy by the eighth. His men continued to do duty as guards in the harvest fields, and soon en- countered the savages with the same deadly results that were experienced by Brodhead's troops. 3 Thomas Hart- ley was born on a farm in Berks county. + He studied law and practiced at York when the Revolution began. He now took a prominent part in the councils of York county and joined the army in December, 1775, as Lieutenant
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 635.
2 Ibid, p. 660.
3 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 689.
4 Penna. and the Federal Constitution, pp. 733-734.
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Colonel. In the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, he commanded the Pennsylvania brigade. Having been chosen to the Assembly, he resigned his command in 1779, and Congress bore testimony of the "high sense of Colonel Hartley's merit and services." He served on the Council of Censors in 1783, gave his vote in the Pennsyl- vania Convention for the Federal Constitution, and was a member of Congress under it until he died in York, ISoo.
In September, Colonel Hartley planned an expedition up the West Branch and to Tioga (Athens), to destroy some of the villages of the Indians, and break up their places of rendezvous. Though the people had come back, the savages were still very troublesome. Among those murdered in the harvest fields since Hartley's arrival was the young hero, James Brady, son of Captain John Brady, and brother of Sam, the scout. The force under Hart- ley now numbered 600 militia and 100 regulars ; but as he had to give ample protection to the settlers during his absence, there were only about 200 men at his disposal for the expedition. His route, beginning at Muncy, was up Lycoming creek, and thence down Towanda creek to the North Branch. The march began at 4 A. M., Septem- ber 21st. Rains, swamps, mountains, defiles and rocks impeded the march. The men swam or waded the Lycom- ing upwards of twenty times-about as often as the rail- road now crosses it. Colonel Hartley, in his report to Congress, 1 said that " the Difficulties in Crossing the Alps or passing up Kennipeck could not have been greater." He found the haunts and lurking places of the savage murderers who had desolated the frontiers, and saw the huts where they had dressed and dried the scalps of women and children. On the morning of the 26th, the expedi-
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 5.
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tion met a party of Indians and killed the chief. A few miles farther on, they came upon a camp where seventy Indians had slept the night before. These all had fled, and the way to Tioga was opened. This town-Queen Esther's Town-was burned and all the villages about. If she was at Wyoming, as some historians claim, like a chafed tigress, the retribution which tradition says over- took her in Sullivan's expedition the next year, 1 must have begun now. On the 28th, Hartley crossed the river and marched towards Wyalusing, in the North Branch Valley. Here seventy of the men, " from real or pre- tended lameness," went into the boats ; others rode on the empty pack-horses ; and only about 120 men fell in the line of march. They were attacked once or twice by the Indians, but succeeded in killing ten of them, with a loss to themselves of "four killed and ten wounded." There was no further trouble encountered on the march, and the expedition arrived at Wyoming in good spirits. Here Hartley left half his force, and did all he could for the good of the settlement ; but he asked Congress for a regiment of the Continental Line to march there ; but his advice was not heeded. The expedition returned to Sun- bury October 5th, having performed a circuit of nearly 300 miles in two weeks. The Executive Council passed a vote of thanks for the " brave and prudent conduct " of Colonel Hartley and his men, in repelling the savages and other enemies from the frontiers. 2
Colonel Hartley remained on the North Branch till the close of the year ; but he had to contend with a scar- city of troops. The volunteers. refused to do duty longer, unless the bounty offered them when they enlisted were paid. Some of the men had paid as high as thirty pounds
1 Stone's Life of Brandt, vol. 1, p. 340.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 81.
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for their trusty rifles and they now insisted on being re- imbursed. The Indians, too, continued to harass the set- tlers ; especially in November, when a number of murders were committed at Fort Freeland. It was, therefore, with deep regret that the people of Northumberland saw Colonel Hartley depart for another field of duty ; though he left his one hundred regulars with them. He had done more for them than had ever been done before. Their outlook for the winter was dark indeed. Grain was so dear that the poor, and they were now in the majority, could not buy it. For the high price of grain, the monopolizers and the forestallers were to blame. They were looked upon as worse enemies than the Indians or. the British. 1
The border war of 1778 reached even the frontiers of Northampton county. Shortly after Colonel Butler fell upon Wyoming, news reached Fort Penn that a company of Tories and Indians had arrived in the county above the Minisinks and were massacreing "all men, women and children, even those who had been captured by them be- fore and dismissed by them with certain badges of dis- tinction." 2 Jacob Stroud begged for aid from the Lieu- tenant of the county, as the settlement at Fort Penn was only about sixty men strong then. Happily the danger passed by. But the Indians were a constant menace to the Delaware Valley above the Blue Mountains. Many of the people fled to New Jersey ; the militia that had been called out in July, had served their time ; and so in October, 3 Colonel Stroud wrote again for help. He told the Council that the Tories were most to blame for the unhappy situation. These had their families, relatives
] Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 117.
2 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 651.
3 Ibid, vol. 7, p. 63.
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and correspondents in the settlements, and knew just where and when to strike at them through their savage tools. The people of Northampton were not as safe now as they were while Wyoming formed a barrier to the north. This increased danger of Indian ravages was likewise duly emphasized in the appeal for aid. But in Northampton, as elsewhere on the frontiers, help seldom came until after the interior counties themselves were in danger of attack. This was, no doubt, partly due to indifference, but mostly to the constant drainage of men and means for the Conti- nental army. Then, too, the jealousy between North- ampton and Northumberland on the one hand, and Wy- oming on the other, as well as between the Westmore- landers and the Virginians, had much to do with a lack of prompt and united action against the savages. In a letter witten by a gentlemen from Easton to Vice-Presi- dent Bryan,1 a month after the Wyoming massacre, he says :
"But as the late great settlement at Wyoming is now de- stroved, . . . an important question will arise, wherein the interest and peace of the several states may be involved. How far encouragement or even permission for the settlement of that country again, should be allowed by any states, collect- ively or disjunctively, under color of making settlements, or regaining possession of lands upon any particular claim or right."
It will be remembered, too, what Wm. McClay wrote about the people of Wyoming at the time of the "Big Runaway." (See p. 98).
When the year 1779 opened, not much had been accom- plished in the way of carrying the border war into the Indian country. Colonel Gibson, at Fort Laurens, occu- pied the most advanced point reached. However, his
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 6, p. 720.
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presence in the Indian country did not prevent the treacherous Delawares and Mingoes under Simon Girty, from killing some of the soldiers who had brought him supplies from Fort Pitt. A party from the fort had gone out for wood, and they were all killed in sight of the fort except two who were made captives. These things hap- pened in January. Becoming emboldened, the savages next besieged the fort, and only withdrew because their own supplies gave out. Before they had left, a messenger managed to steal through their lines and informed General McIntosh at Fort Pitt of the critical situation at Fort Laurens. He quickly raised a force of 200 militia west of the mountains, and with these and the Continental troops at Fort Pitt, he set out for Fort Laurens and ar- rived there on the 23rd of March to find the enemy gone ; but a salute fited by the garrisou frightened the pack horses, causing them to break loose and scatter the pro- visions in the forest. This was a severe loss. The men in the fort had subsisted on raw hides and roots for nearly a week. McIntosh had planned to march to Sandusky and destroy the towns of the Wyandots ; but the ground being wet and provisions scarce, he had to abandon the project and return to Fort McIntosh, leaving a small gar- rison at Fort Laurens. 1
The Georgia General had previously asked to be re- lieved of the command of the Western department, 2 and General Washington designated Colonel Brodhead to suc- ceed him. Colonel Lochry, May 1,3 wrote to President Reed, that not less than forty people had been killed, wounded and captured that spring, and that the enemy had killed people within three hundred yards off Hannas-
1 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, pp. 31-33.
2 Journals of Congress, February 20th, 1779.
3 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 362.
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town. They had come in such large numbers that it seemed useless to make a stand against them. This was the time when the distracted frontiersmen expressed their desire for a scalp law. They were raising volunteers to be added to some militia from York, Cumberland and Lancaster counties ; 1 but there were no arms, as the In- dians had captured a great number and what were left were out of repairs. Besides the militia "down below" did not come as ordered on account of "the aversion of the people to such service."2 This was a common ex- cuse made by the militia "down below" for not respond- ing to calls from the frontier.
From the Bedford, Northumberland and Northampton frontiers came the same distressing news. Not far from Frankstown, now in Blair county, the Indians held a ren- dezvous, where they had erected a dozen bark houses, each of which would do for three to sleep under. 3 The people in the Standing Stone Valley and Penn's Valley were all in the forts as early as May, + and reported that unless assisted by guards they would be obliged to leave. "For my own part," writes General James Potter, the holder of thou- sands of acres of land in the heart of Penn's Valley, "I am sorry I have not moved off one year ago." On April II occurred the death of Captain John Brady, near the mouth of Muncy Creek. He had gone out of the fort with a team and a guard to get some provisions up the stream. On their return, Brady remarked while passing through a thicket, "This would be a good place for In- dians to secrete themselves." That instant three rifles cracked and Brady fell dead. Rapine now followed throughout the North Branch, murder and pillage were
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 305.
2 Ibid, p. 430.
3 Ibid, p. 702.
4 Ibid, p. 419.
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of daily occurrence, fire, smoke and desolation were seen in all directions, and it was difficult to get the spring crops in and induce the people to stay in the country. 1 William McClay proposed to the Council the use of dogs against the savages. It seems that in a few instances they had been employed with success in hunting the In- dians ; yet he admitted that his scheme was ridiculed. He was of the opinion that a single troop of light horse, attended by dogs, would destroy more Indians than 5,000 men stationed in forts.2 On the North Branch the sav- ages made their appearance at the same time. Vet when Colonel Butler reported it to the Board of War, one of the members said : "It's impossible-it can't be so." . . . To quiet these disturbances, General Wash- ington, in April, sent General Hand to take charge of the troops on the Susquehanna. He took with him what was known as the German Regiment, recruited from the German counties in Pennsylvania. But as it numbered only about 250 men, 3 and as the principal object of his command lay above Wyoming, preparatory to Sullivan's expedition, in August, not much relief could be expected by the settlements around Sunbury. 4
Sullivan's expedition was the result of a plan formed by Washington early in the year. Congress had author- ized him, February 25th, 5 "to take effectual measures for the protection of the inhabitants and the chastisement of the savages." The Commander-in-chief now resolved to carry the war into the heart of the country of the Six Nations, to cut off their settlements, destroy their crops, and do them every other mischief which time and circum-
1 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 346.
2 Ibid, p. 357.
3 Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd series, vol. 11, p. 5.
4 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 321.
5 Journals of Congress, vol. 5, p. 55.
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stances will permit." 1 He estimated the whole number of warriors in the Six Nations, including the Tories, who had joined them, at 3,000. To these he added what aid they might be able to get from Canada, and the British forts on the frontiers. To meet them, a force of about 4,000 would be needed, he thought. The plan of cam- paign involved a combined movement of two divisions- one from Pennsylvania up the Susquehanna to the Tioga river, under General Sullivan as chief in command, and one from New York, under General Clinton, to form a junction with Sullivan. The expedition was to be the principal campaign of 1779,2 and the one most promising of success. General Gates was Washington's choice for the command ; but he declined, saying that the man to take it " should enjoy youth and health.''
Washington had at first also included in his plan an expedition under General Brodhead from Fort Pitt. It was to move from Kittanning up the Allegheny, and co- operate with Sullivan as circumstances might permit. In closing his instructions to Brodhead, Washington gives us another view into the unhappy divisions that still ex- isted at Fort Pitt between the Pennsylvanians and the Virginians.3 It had jeopardized the success of former operations in that quarter, and Washington was therefore anxious that his General should not interest himself in it. The same caution was given by President Reed, about a month later, to Colonel Hunter, who in this time of com- mon danger was to cultivate harmony with the people of Wyoming, leaving the unhappy disputes to be settled some other time. 4 But the idea of attempting a co-opera- tion between the troops at Fort Pitt and the armies mov-
1 Writings of Geo. Washington, vol. 7, p. 354.
2 Ibid, p. 402.
3 Ibid, p. 372.
4 Pennsylvania Archives, vol. 7, p. 317.
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ing from other quarters against the Six Nations was abandoned in April.1 Brodhead was to await the result of Sullivan's expedition, and in the meantime get ready for a similar enterprise against Detroit. The commander at Fort Pitt first gave necessary relief to Fort Laurens, for the post had been subsisting on herbs, salt and cow- hides. He sent out some good, wholesome food, and plenty of strong whiskey. But in spite of all these efforts to maintain a fort in the Indian country, it had to be abandoned in August ; for it was once more threatened by a large force of Indians. It was never again garri- soned, nor was it destroyed during the war. 2
To give some relief to the people of Westmoreland and Bedford, Brodhead got permission from Washington to conduct an expedition up the Allegheny into the country of the Senecas. Kittanning had previously been strength- ened by means of Fort Armstrong ; and Captain Sam Brady, of the Eighth Pennsylvania, had made a success- ful raid into the country above. Captain Brady was the son of Colonel John Brady. He was cradled among the dangers of frontier life, passed through many conflicts with the Indians, and had several hairbreadth escapes from death. He was but nineteen when he entered the army at Boston, and won for himself a first lieutenancy. In 1779, he was brevetted captain and ordered to join General Brodhead. He remained in the service to the close of the war. The Indian party whom Captain Brady followed from Kittanning had killed a soldier, a woman and four children, and taken two children captive. He killed their captain, retook their plunder, and rescued the two children. . It was this daring deed that lent hope to Colonel Brodhead's enterprise. After collecting all the
1 Washington's Writings, vol. 7, p. 410.
2 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 38.
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available forces at Fort Pitt-friendly Delawares, militia and regulars, about 600 men rank and file-Brodhead, with Colonel Gibson second in command, advanced on the 11th of August up the Allegheny. Above the mouth of the Mahoning, the advance guard fell in with thirty or forty warriors, coming down the river in seven canoes. A sharp contest ensued, which resulted in the defeat of the Indians and the capture of their canoes. The expe- dition then moved to within four miles of the State line, but found most of the Indian towns evacuated. Brod- head's troops burned every one of them, laid waste many acres of corn, and secured much valuable booty. Return- ing, they took the Venango road, and arrived at Fort Pitt September 14th, without the loss of a man.1 Brodhead received a vote of thanks from Congress for his successful enterprise. 2
Naturally, the success of the expedition into the Seneca country made the commander at Fort Pitt anxious to pro- ceed against Detroit. But he had no orders to that effect, and could get none ; 3 for Washington was not able to send him the men and supplies for such an expedition. The fact was, that the men already in Brodhead's com- mand were naked and shoeless. Nor was there any im- mediate necessity for the expedition, since the Western frontier enjoyed comparative quiet the rest of the year. It seems, however, that the lull was productive of a dis- pute between Colonel Brodhead and the Lieutenant of Westmoreland county. Congress, in the spring, had or- dered five companies of rangers to be raised in the frontier counties-" good woodsmen, and eager to revenge the
1 The Olden Time, vol. 2, p. 305.
2 Journal of Congress, vol. 5, p. 296.
3 Washington's Writings, vol. 8, p. 150.
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barbarities they had sustained from the savages." 1 The two companies from Westmoreland went with Brodhead's expedition, and when he returned to Fort Pitt he kept them there in the barracks. Lochry wanted them at Han- nastown, and, as the captain of one of them was his son- in-law,2 the latter left his post without Brodhead's per- mission. Some of these rangers enlisted in the Eighth Pennsylvania, and this, too, gave rise to a dispute between these gentlemen. Though the matter did not amount to much, yet it was the beginning of more serious dissen- sions in the future. 3
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