USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and its centennial celebration, Volume I > Part 16
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This Garrison is at length, by hard fatigue of the troops, put in tolerable order. I beg Leave to observe to your Excellency & the Honorable Council, that unless some person is directed to remain here
1 Josiah Harmar was born in Philadelphia in 1753, and was educated in the same city. In 1776 he was made Captain of the First Pennsylvania Regiment, and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1777, which command he retained until the close of the Revolution, serving with General Washington in his campaigns, 1778-80; in the South with General Greene, 1781-82. He was made brevet Colonel of the First U. S. Regiment, in 1783. In 1784, he was selected to bear the ratification of the definitive treaty to France, and in the following year was present as Indian Agent at the treaty at Fort McIntosh. In August, 1784, he was ap- pointed Lieutenant-Colonel of infantry under the Confederation. He was made brevet Brigadier-General by resolution of Congress in 1787, and General-in-Chief of the army Sep- tember 29, 1789, which post he held until 1792, when he resigned. He was Adjutant-Gen- eral of Pennsylvania, 1793-99, and died in Philadelphia, August 20, 1813.
Pos. Harman
General Josiah Harmar. From plate in Denny's Military Journal.
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History of Beaver County
that immediately upon my marching from hence, it will be demolished by the Emigrators to Kentucky.
Previous to our arrival, they had destroyed the gates, drawn all the Nails from the roofs, taken off all the boards, & plundered it of every ar- ticle.
I would therefore recommend (for the benefit of the State) to your Excellency & the Honorable Council, to adopt some mode for its preserva- tion, otherwise immediately upon our leaving it, it will again go to ruin.1
The above had evidently some effect, for on April 27th, fol- lowing, it was ordered in Council,
That Gen. Neville be authorized, upon his return to Washington county, to place some fit person in the possession of the buildings at Fort McIntosh, with directions to keep them, and the public timber upon the adjoining lands, in a state of as much preservation as possible.2
It is not certain at what date the United States troops were withdrawn from Fort McIntosh. That there were rumors of an evacuation to take place in the spring of 1785, which had reached the ears of the people, is shown by the following petition to the Supreme Executive Council:
The petition of David Duncan and John Finley, of the town of Pittsburgh,
Humbly Sheweth,
That your petitioners having been informed that Fort McIntosh is to be evacuated in the Spring, and they having engaged in the Indian Trade, would willingly undertake the care of the Garrison and Buildings at that place. That unless some person or persons are appointed to take care of the Garrison, it will be in danger of being destroyed by the Indians, or the burning of the Woods.
Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray your Honors would be pleased License them to Trade in the business aforesaid, at the place aforesaid, for such time as your honors shall think proper during good behaviour, and your Petitioners will ever pray, etc.
DAVID DUNCAN, JOHN FINLEY.
PITTSBURGH, February 26, 1785. 3
The evacuation did not take place in the spring, for reports of Colonel Harmar of the troops at that post in June are on rec- ord,4 and the visits of the officers of the fort to the boundary
1 Penna. Arch., vol. x., p. 406.
2 Col. Rec., vol. xiv., p. 418.
3 Penna. Arch., vol. x., p. 704.
4 Harmar himself was there in July, as we see from the following letter written by him from that post to General Knox (Secretary of War):
"FORT MCINTOSH, July 1, 1785.
"SIR .- The cockade we wear is the union (black and white.) Perhaps it will be necessary to have a national one; if so, be pleased to send me your directions about the color. And
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History of Beaver County
commissioners referred to below were as late as September 11th of that year. The garrison here under Colonel Harmar with- drew in November, 1785, the troops being at that time ordered to proceed down the Ohio in view of the approaching treaty con- ference to be held with the Shawanese and other Ohio tribes at the mouth of the Great Miami, when their presence would be necessary to protect the commissioners, but the fort continued to be occupied later, for in a letter from Colonel Harmar, dated Fort Harmar, June 7, 1787, he speaks of leaving sixteen men under Lieutenant Ford at Fort McIntosh.I
Mention of Fort McIntosh is made several times in connec- tion with the running of the boundary line between Pennsyl- vania and Virginia, which is presently to be discussed. In 1785 the commissioners then running the western boundary line of Pennsylvania north of the Ohio to the northwest corner of the State were at work. These commissioners were David Ritten- house, Andrew Porter, and Andrew Ellicott, who had been ap- pointed under a resolution of May 5, 1785.2 On the 29th of August, Messrs. Porter and Ellicott visited Fort McIntosh, which was then occupied by Pennsylvania troops, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Harmar, and the visit was returned in a few days by Dr. McDowell and Major Finney, and on Sep- tember IIth Colonel Harmar and Major Doughty also visited the commissioners.
The letters which follow show that in the early part of the year 1788 Fort McIntosh still had a small garrison. The first is from Harmar to Major-General Knox, Secretary at War, dated Fort Harmar, January 10, 1788, in which he says:
I beg leave to observe that Fort McIntosh is by no means
tenable. The small party stationed there at present I propose to order to Fort Pitt, to receive stores, clothing, &c., and that the officer com- manding there may forward them, also, any dispatches which may arrive from the War Office. It should have been evacuated last spring, but for the orders received from you countermanding the same. I shall direct Major Doughty to proceed there with a party early in the spring, and to dismantle it. The fort is built of hewn timber; it will be easy to raft it down to this post, where it will be of service. If a communication if you should approve of a national march (without copying French or British), I should be glad to be instructed.
"I have the honor to be your obt Servt
1 St. Clair Papers, vol. ii., pp. 22-23.
" Jos. HARMAR." *
2 Col. Rec., vol. xiv., p. 454.
* Denny's Military Fournal, p. 212.
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History of Beaver County
should be wanting to Lake Erie, a block-house for the reception of stores can instantly be built near the Big Beaver.I
Through the courtesy of the Secretary of State we have recently obtained from the Bureau of Rolls and Library the fol- lowing, which is a copy of a report of Henry Knox upon the suggestions made by Harmar in the above letter:
The Secretary of the United States for the Department of War to whom was referred an extract of a letter dated January 10th 1788 from Brigadier General Harmar respecting Fort McIntosh
Reports;
That the situation of Fort McIntosh has been estimated of considerable importance in a defensive system for the frontiers.
That for the troops to abandon the position entirely at a time when the people of the frontiers are apprehensive of an Indian war, would be politically injurious in the minds of the inhabitants who conceive them- selves protected thereby.
That this circumstance and the probability of occupying the Big Beaver Creek, as a communication to Cuyahoga river and lake Erie, induce your Secretary to be of opinion, that it would be proper to construct a block house for the present in the vicinity of Fort McIntosh, and to garrison the same by a party of an officer and fifteen or twenty men.
That Fort McIntosh should be dismantled and demolished, and the materials disposed of for the public service in such a manner as the com- manding officer may think proper.
Your Secretary comformably to this opinion submits the following resolve to Congress
Resolved,
That the Secretary at War direct the commanding officer to erect a block house, in the vicinity of Fort McIntosh, and place a suitable garrison therein-and that he dismantle and demolish Fort McIntosh, and dispose of the Materials thereof in the manner most conducive to the public service.
H. KNOX.
WAR OFFICE,
March 20th. 1788.
On the 29th of January, Harmar wrote from Fort Harmar to Lieutenant Ford, commanding officer at Fort McIntosh, as follows:
DEAR SIR :- Early in the spring I expect Fort McIntosh will be evacuated. You will be ordered with your party to Fort Pitt to take command there. When the evacuation takes place I shall give you particular orders on the subject.
1 Military Journal of Major Ebenezer Denny, p. 223.
VOL. I .- 8.
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History of Beaver County
The Killikenick which you were kind enough to send me, was very acceptable.I
What was done in the spring in execution of these designs we do not know, but the evacuation must have taken place soon thereafter, for by order of the War Department, Thursday, October 2, 1788, Fort McIntosh was "ordered to be demolished, and a block-house to be erected in lieu thereof, a few miles up the Big Beaver, to protect the communication up the same, and also to cover the country."
This blockhouse was built in what is now New Brighton, on a spot on the west side of Third Avenue below Fourteenth Street. Its site is now covered by the dwelling-house built in 1872 by J. W. Thorniley, and at present (1904) owned and occupied by ex-sheriff Oliver Molter. The little stream emptying into the Beaver just below New Brighton is still known as " Blockhouse Run." This blockhouse was commanded in 1789 by Lieutenant Nathan McDowell, and in 1793 by Sergeant-Major John Toomey.2
The demolition of Fort McIntosh, ordered by the War De- partment, as above stated, was probably not complete, for there
I Military Journal of Major Ebenezer Denny, p. 225.
2 Not much is known of the history of this post. Mention is made of it in 2d Penna. Archives, vol. iv., pp. 646-8. In a letter from Major Isaac Craig to General Knox, dated July 5, 1793, is the following:
" I shall write to Col. Sproat respecting the business mentioned in the Secretary of the Treasury's letter, and shall send a confidential person to transact that business at Beaver creek; but I am astonished that Col. Hamilton had made choice of Fort McIntosh for a place of deposit, as there is not a building of any kind on that ground nor within three miles of it on that side of the Ohio, and the only one at that distance is the blockhouse on Beaver creek, now garrisoned by a sergeant and small party, who occupy the whole building, it being only a large hut; therefore an improper place to deposit spirits." [The italics are ours.] -("Letter-Book of Craig," Historical Register, vol. ii., No. 3, p. 170.)
For further particulars, see our chapter on the borough of Fallston, vol. ii.
We wrote to the War Department of the United States requesting information as to the military record of the officers named above, and received the following reply:
"ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, August 19, 1903. The records show that NATHAN MCDOWELL was an ensign in the Ist Regt. Continental line and was subsequently appointed ensign, September 29, 1789, in the U. S. Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. Harmar, and that he resigned September 4, 1790. All the records of the War Department were destroyed by fire in 1800, and no particulars of his last service can be given.
A printed list of officers from 1784 to 1789, said to have been made from official sources, says that McDowell was appointed Cadet in the Ist Continental Infantry, August 12, 1781, and ensign, same regiment, October 21, 1784, and carried that date of rank into the U. S. Infantry regiment in 1789.
" There was no officer in the Army named Toomey or Tooney, 1784-1793 and there are no official records on file showing who commanded the block-house mentioned during 1788-1793.
" J. S. PETTIT, " Acting Asst. Adjutant General."
A few days after the receipt of the above letter, while examining some old manuscripts preserved in the safe of the librarian of the Carnegie Library at Pittsburg, we were sur- prised and delighted to discover, upon unfolding an old paper, that we held in our hands the original manuscript of a report made by the very man concerning whom our previous
Muster Rol Toomy fron
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History of Beaver County
The Killikenick which you were kind enough to send me, was very acceptable. I
What was done in the spring in execution of these designs we do not know, but the evacuation must have taken place soon thereafter, for by order of the War Department, Thursday, October 2, 1788, Fort McIntosh was "ordered to be demolished, and a block-house to be erected in lieu thereof, a few miles up the Big Beaver, to protect the communication up the same, and also to cover the country."
This blockhouse was built in what is now New Brighton, on a spot on the west side of Third Avenue below Fourteenth Street. Its site is now covered by the dwelling-house built in 1872 by J. W. Thorniley, and at present (1904) owned and occupied by ex-sheriff Oliver Molter. The little stream emptying into the Beaver just below New Brighton is still known as "Blockhouse Run." This blockhouse was commanded in 1789 by Lieutenant Nathan McDowell, and in 1793 by Sergeant-Major John Toomey.2
The demolition of Fort McIntosh, ordered by the War De- partment, as above stated, was probably not complete, for there
1 Military Journal of Major Ebenezer Denny, p. 225.
2 Not much is known of the history of this post. Mention is made of it in 2d Penna. Archives, vol. iv., pp. 646-8. In a letter from Major Isaac Craig to General Knox, dated July 5, 1793, is the following:
" I shall write to Col. Sproat respecting the business mentioned in the Secretary of the Treasury's letter, and shall send a confidential person to transact that business at Beaver creek; but I am astonished that Col. Hamilton had made choice of Fort McIntosh for a place of deposit, as there is not a building of any kind on that ground nor within three miles of it on that side of the Ohio, and the only one at that distance is the blockhouse on Beaver creek, now garrisoned by a sergeant and small party, who occupy the whole building, it being only a large hut; therefore an improper place to deposit spirits." [The italics are ours.] -("Letter-Book of Craig," Historical Register, vol. ii., No. 3, p. 170.)
For further particulars, see our chapter on the borough of Fallston, vol. ii.
We wrote to the War Department of the United States requesting information as to the military record of the officers named above, and received the following reply:
"ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, August 19, 1903. The records show that NATHAN McDOWELL was an ensign in the Ist Regt. Continental line and was subsequently appointed ensign, September 29, 1789, in the U. S. Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. Harmar, and that he resigned September 4, 1790. All the records of the War Department were destroyed by fire in 1800, and no particulars of his last service can be given.
" A printed list of officers from 1784 to 1789, said to have been made from official sources, says that McDowell was appointed Cadet in the Ist Continental Infantry, August 12, 1781, and ensign, same regiment, October 21, 1784, and carried that date of rank into the U. S. Infantry regiment in 1789.
" There was no officer in the Army named Toomey or Tooney, 1784-1793 and there are no official records on file showing who commanded the block-house mentioned during 1788-1793.
" J. S. PETTIT, " Acting Asst. Adjutant General."
A few days after the receipt of the above letter, while examining some old manuscripts preserved in the safe of the librarian of the Carnegie Library at Pittsburg, we were sur- prised and delighted to discover, upon unfolding an old paper, that we held in our hands the original manuscript of a report made by the very man concerning whom our previous
- Anders Bello of Data koment of trafo . as the Love The United States Andimat Young Man "black Bassunder the Gon antonio y.
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The above reads as follows :
Muster Roll of a Detachment of Troops in the Service of the United States Stationed at Big Beaver Block House under the Command of Serjeant Major John Toomy from the first of June, 1793 To the first of July, 1793.
Nos
From what Compy or Corps Detached
Names
Rank
At what time transferred To what time engaged to this Detachment or enlisted
Names Present
Remarks & Alterations since the Last Muster
I
Capt. Cook R. Corps do .... .... .. do
John Toomy James Marston
Serjt. Major Private
25th April, 1793
24th May, 1795
John Toomy
2
do .... .... do
George Silverthorn
do
do ...... do
George Silverthorn
4
Capt. Pierce Artly Capt. Porter do
John Patterson
do
do ...... do
John Patterson
5
do ........ do
William Crummey
do
do ...... do
William Crummey
7
do ....... do
William Lollar
do
do ...... do
William Lollar
O
do ........ do
Nathaniel Herron
do
do ...... do
Nathaniel Herron
10
do. .do
George Gest
do
do ...... do
George Gest
II
Capt. Mills
Infty
Joseph Hancock
do
do ...... do
Joseph Hancock Richard Carter
IZ
Capt. Hannah do do ..
.do
Michael Welch
do
do ......
Michael Welch
14
Capt. Gions
do
Solomon Gale
do
do ...... do
Solomon Gale
do .. .
.do
Brion Hanlon
do
do ...... do
Brion Hanlon
16
Capt. Pikes
do
John Chatterton
do
do ...... do
John Chatterton
17
Capt. Sparks R. Corps
James White
do
do ...... do
James White
18
Capt. Butler
do
Michael Dingher
do
do ...... do
Michael Dingher
IQ
do ....
.do
Edward Suples
do
do ...... do
Edward Suples
Dead June 3d, 1793
Michael Roe
dc
do ...... do
Michael Roe
6
do ........ do
William Sterling
do
do ...... do
William Sterling
Richard Carter
do
do ...... do
I3
Dead June 13th, 1793
Dead June 13th, 1793
I do hereby Certify that the above Muster Roll contains a true Statement of the Troops at this Post of Big Beaver Block- House from the first day of June 1793 to the first day of July 1793.
JNO. TOOMY, Serjt Major 2d S. L. R : Corps Commandt.
3
do ...... do
James Marston
VG Gattin
0
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History of Beaver County
is a tradition that in 1795 one wing of the building was still standing in a dilapidated condition, and that John Wolf and Samuel Johnston, who came in the summer of that year to build some houses in Beaver, used this wing as a place of shelter.1 It is also said that the old barracks was torn down about the end of the century, and its timbers used in the construction of Coulter's tavern. Hon. Daniel Agnew says, in Settlement and Land Titles (page 222) :
In 1829, when the writer first saw the site of the fort, the only remains visible were the mounds, indicating where the corner bastions stood, near the top of the hill, overlooking the Ohio, and a swell and a depression running between these mounds, parallel with the river, indicating the front intrenchments. There was also a cobble-stone pavement, probably fifteen or twenty feet square, in the rear of this intrenchment about one hundred and ten or twenty feet. The lower, or southwestern, bastion stood near the mouth of the present Market street.
Judge Agnew omits the mention of the chimneys which are spoken of in the article on Fort McIntosh in the Appendix to the Pennsylvania Archives (1790, page 404) as still standing about 1840.2 It is there said:
Fifteen years ago the chimneys of the old fort were still standing. At present (1855), however, one is able to trace by the deflections of the ground where the ditches were, and also where the covered way ran by which the garrison would have reached the river, in case of a siege, to procure water. Nothing else indicates where it stood.
At this date (1904), one fancies at least that traces of the position of one of the bastions are discernible. All else is swallowed up in "the formless ruin of oblivion." It is much to
inquiries had proven fruitless, drawn in a fine clerkly style, and entitled, " MUSTER ROLL OF A DETACHMENT OF TROOPS IN THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES STATIONED AT BIG BEAVER BLOCK HOUSE UNDER THE COMMAND OF SERGEANT MAJOR JOHN TOOMEY FROM THE FIRST OF JUNE, 1793, TO THE FIRST OF JULY, 1793." This we have had reproduced photographically, and it is given herewith.
That McDowell was in command at the blockhouse in 1789 will appear clearly from the correspondence in connection with the drowning of General Samuel H. Parsons in the rapids just above that post. See Appendix No. IX.
In the summer and fall of 1792, while General Wayne was collecting his "Legion" at Pittsburg, Ensign John Steele was in command at this post. See letters in Chapter XXVIII.
1 That in the year 1796 five or six houses had already been built at Beaver we know from the journal of General Collot. See chapter on Beaver borough.
2 Possibly Judge Agnew is right in not mentioning the chimneys, and the statement in the Archives that they were still standing in 1840 erroneous, for Cuming, who was there in 1807, and describes the site, makes no mention of them. See his account in the chapter on Beaver borough.
-
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History of Beaver County
be regretted that the project of marking the site of this historic structure by the erection of some fitting monument has not yet been carried into effect.
In addition to the expeditions of Generals Clark, Hand, McIntosh, and Brodhead during this period of western history, there were the minor ones of Williamson and Crawford; that of Williamson marked with indelible infamy by the massacre of the Moravian Indians, and that of Crawford made memorable by the awful character of his own fate in being tortured to death at the stake. For the country at large, the triumph of the Revo- lutionary cause had now been assured, and the people were beginning to realize the fruits of victory in peace and progress.
DEFEATS OF HARMAR AND ST. CLAIR, AND VICTORY OF WAYNE
But even the Treaty of Peace of 1783, which secured the in- dependence of the colonies, did not relieve the western settlers from strife and suffering. In violation of her treaty engage- ments, Great Britain held posts in the Northwestern Territory for still twelve years longer, and the Indians of the Miami Con- federation gave great annoyance. The army of Gen. Josiah Harmar (1789) and that of Gen. Arthur St. Clair (1791), which had been sent against this confederation, had met with frightful defeat, as a consequence of which the National Government was humiliated and the whole country plunged in gloom.
The condition of the settlers along the western frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia during the ensuing years, from 1789 to 1794, was pitiable in the extreme. The Indians, rendered triumphant by their successes against Harmar and St. Clair, came in on the borders more boldly than ever.1 Some of the warriors who had been guilty of the numerous murders of the whites on the banks of the Ohio even came afterwards with the greatest effrontery in the guise of friends to the trading- posts and forts, and as they had their squaws with them and
I In a letter to Governor Mifflin, dated Washington, February 19, 1791, James Marshel, County Lieutenant, says:
" Our situation on the frontier at this time is truly alarming. It is evident that nothing prevents their [the Indians'] crossing the Ohio River but the inclemency of the Season, and the danger attending their Retreat by the Running of the Ice. They have, subsequent to the Expedition [Harmar's] in the depth of Winter, committed frequent murders on the west side of the River, and had the Insolence, after killing a family a few days ago on the bank of the River, to call to the people on this side to 'come over and bury their dead, that it would be their turn next and that they would not leave a Smoking Chimney on this side the Alliganey Mountains.' "-(Penna. Arch., 2d. ser., vol. iv., p. 538.)
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History of Beaver County
cleverly acted the part of visitors and traders, the people were easily deceived as to their real character.
An instance of this is afforded by John Brickell in the narra- tive of his captivity (American Pioneer, vol. i., p. 43). Brickell was taken February 9, 1791, from his home, about two miles northeast of Pittsburg, when he was about ten years of age. He was in the field, clearing out a fence row, when an Indian came up to him, and, taking his axe from him, led him away. As the Indians had been about his home almost every day, the boy at first felt no alarm, but he soon found out that he was a captive, and tried to break away. The Indian then threw him down and tied his hands behind him, and, with one of the Girtys, started off with him to the west. They crossed the Big Beaver about twenty miles above its mouth, and came to a camp of Indians who had been frequent visitors to Brickell's home. His narra- tive continues :
They were very glad to see me, and gave me food, the first I had tasted after crossing Beaver. They treated me very kindly. We staid all night with them, and next morning we all took up our march towards the Tuscarawas, which we reached on the second day late in the evening. Here we met the main body of hunting families and the warriors from the Alleghany, this being their place of rendezvous. I supposed these Indians all to be Delawares, but at that time I could not distinguish between the different tribes.
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