History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 20

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418

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" FORT LEBANON .- Accordingly, we set out for Fort Lebanon ; all the way from Northkill to Lebanon is an exceedingly bad road, very stony and mountain- ons. About six miles from Northkill we crossed the North Mountain, where we met Captain Morgan's lieutenant with ten men, ranging the woods between the mountains and Fort Lebanon; we passed two plantations, the rest of the country is chiefly barren hills ; at noon we came to Fort Lebanon, which is sit- uated in a plain ; on one side is a plantation, on the other a barren, pretty clear of woods all round, only a few trees about fifty yards from the fort, which I de- sired might be cut down. . The fort is a little too much crowded on that account; I acquainted Captain Morgan that the Sergeant at Northkill did not do his duty, and I believed it would be for the good of the service to have a commanding officer there, on which he ordered his Lieutenant, with two men, to go and take post there, and sent with him four pounds

1 2 Penna. Arch. 675-677.

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of powder and ten pounds of lead. Provincial arms and ammunition: 28 good muskets, 10 wanting re- pair, 9 rounds of powder and lead, 4 pounds of pow- der, 24 pounds of lead, 30 cartouch boxes, 40 blankets, 1 axe, 1 wall piece.

" By Captain Morgan's journal, it appears he sends a party to range the woods four or five times a week, and guard the inhabitants at their labor. At 1 P. M. I mustered the people and examined the certificates of enlistments which appear in the muster roll, after which I ordered the men to fire at a mark; 15 of 28 hit within two feet of the centre and at the distance of 80 yards. Provisions here -- flour and rum for a month ; the commissary sends them money to pur- chase meal as they want it.

" FORT ABOVE ALLEMINGA (Albany).1-At one- half past three P.M. we set out with the former escort and two of Captain Morgan's company for the fort above Alleminga, commanded by Lieutenant Engle. Provincial stores-28 good muskets, 8 want- ing repair, 16 cartouch boxes, 8 pounds of powder, 24 pounds of lead, and twelve rounds for 36 men, 36 blankets, 1 axe, 1 adz, 1 auger, 2 planes, 1 hammer, 2 shovels, 9 small tin kettles.

"June 22-At 6 A.M. I ordered the people to fire at a mark ; not above 4 in 25 hit the tree at the dis- tance of 85 yards; at 7, mustered them; found 25 present, 2 sick, 2 absent on furlough, 2 sent to Read- ing with a prisoner, and 5 at Fort Allen on duty. Pro- visions-one cask of beef, exceedingly bad, flour and rum for three weeks."

In 1758 the number of men in the pay of the province was one thousand two hundred and seventy-four men. These were employed in garrisoning the forts and ranging. In the limits of Berks County, there were at Fort Henry two companies, comprising one hundred and five men; at Fort William (Forks of Schuylkill), one company, fifty-three men ; and at Fort Augusta, eight companies, three hun- dred and sixty-two men. These were reported at Philadelphia, on the 9th of February, 1758, by James Young, commissary of the mnsters.

BURD'S JOURNAL .- During the month of February of that year Colonel James Burd visited the forts between the two rivers. That part of his journal which relates to the forts in Berks County is as follows:

"Tuesday, 21st February .- March'd at 1 P. M. for Fort Henry (from Fort Swatara); at 3 P.M. gott to Soudder's (7 miles); left Lieutenant Broadhead to march the party 4 miles to Sneevly's, there to hault

all night, and to march to Fort Henry in the morn- ing (6 miles). The roads being very bad, marched myself with Adjutant Thorn and 8 men on horse- back; arrived at Fort Henry at 5 P.M .; found here Captain Weiser, Adjutant Kern and the ensigns Bid- dle and Craighead doing duty with 90 men. Ordered a review of the garrison to-morrow at 9 A.M.

"Wednesday, 22d .- Had a review this morning at 9 A.M .; found 90 soldiers under good command, and fine fellows; examined the stores and found about 2 months' provision in store, and am informed by the Commanding Officer there is 2 months' more about 6 miles from hence, at Jacob Myers' Mill; no poud- der; 224 lbs. of lead; no flints; about 80 province arms, belonging to these two companies, good for nothing; ordered Ensign Craighead, with 18 men of this garrison, to march to-morrow morning to Fort Swettarrow, and there to apply to Captain Allen, and to receive from him 7 men, and with this party of 25 men to march from thence to Robertson's Mill, there to take Post, to order from thence a Serg't, Corporall & 8 men to the house of Adam Read, Esq., and to employ his whole party in Continuall ranging, to cover these Fronteers. This I found myself under a necessity of doing; otherwise several townships here would be evacuated in a few days. Ordered Ensign Haller to march back my escort to Hunter's Fort to-morrow morning, and Captain Weiser to continue to range from this to Forts Northkill & Swettarrow; to employ all his judgment to waylay the enemy & protect the Inhabitants. This is a very good stock- aded fort, & everything in good order, & duty done pretty well; marched to-day at 11 A.M., & arrived at Conrad Weiser, Esqr.'s, at 3 P.M. (14 miles), where I found 4 quarter-casks of poudder belonging to the province, 3 of which I ordered to Fort Henry, and 1 to Fort Swettarrow; no lead here; very bad roads & cold weather; stayed all night.

"Thursday, 23d .- Marched this morning, and ar- rived at Reading at 3 P. M., found Capt. Morgan here ; this is 14 miles from Mr. Weiser's. Examined the stores here and found 77 blankets, 8 pounds of powder, 300 pounds of lead, and half a cask of flints. Ordered 56 blankets to be sent to Captn. Patterson's Co. and 11 to Capt. Lieut. Allen's; 200 pounds of lead to Fort Henry, and 100 pounds to Swettarrow; gave the 8 pounds of poudder to Captn. Morgan, and 400 flints to each company.

"Before I came to Reading, Adjutant Kern had sent by Lieutenant Engle blankets for four companies, viz : Ornd, Weatherholt, Davis and Garaway, 224, and one-quarter cask of poudder, 300 bars of lead, and 1600 flints.

"Friday, 24th .- This morning set out for Fort William, arrived at Peter Rodermil's at 2 P. M., 15 miles from Reading ; it snowed and blew so prodi- giously, I stayed here all night.

"Saturday, 25th .- Marched this morning, the snow deep, for Fort William, arrived at Fort William at 12

. About nineteen miles northeast from Fort Lebanon.

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M .; here was Lieut. Humphreys and Ensign Harry ; ordered a review of the garrison at 2 P. M .; at 2 P. M. reviewed the garrison and found 53 good men, but deficient in discipline ; stores -- 3 quarter casks of poudder, 150 pounds of lead, 400 flints and 56 blankets, no arms fit for use, no kettles, nor tools, nor drum ; two months' provisions.

" Here I found a target erected, ordered the com- pany to shoot at the mark, set them the example my- self by wheeling round and firing by the word of command. I shot a bullet into the centre of the mark, the size of a dollar, distance 100 yards. Some of them shot tolerably bad; most of their arms are very bad.

"Ordered Captain Morgan to continne to patrol to Northkill and Allemangel."

INVASION OF COUNTY BY INDIANS .- The English, under General Braddock, were de- feated by the French and Indians on the 9th of July, 1755, in the western part of the prov- ince. This victory encouraged the Indians to move eastward, and it was this movement by them which threw terror into the quiet rural districts of this vicinity. The news of their shocking cruelties to the inhabitants of the province on their way had been carried before them. We cannot appreciate the excitement that prevailed. Preparations for defense were made, but these were feeble. The forts along the frontier were either too distant from the settlers or too far apart to be serviceable. The community were not organized to carry on vig- orous measures against the approaching foe. Arms and ammunition were scarce. Weak- ness was apparent on every side, and, conscious of this weakness, all the inhabitants trembled with fear and many fled from their homes.

LETTERS ON SUFFERINGS OF EARLY INHABI- TANTS.

The following important and interesting cor- respondence by prominent persons is submitted to show the state of affairs which existed during this trying period of our early history.

The earliest information on the subject of departing residents of Berks County, who feared the Indians, is contained in a letter addressed to the Pennsylvania Gazette, dated 25th of August, 1755. It stated that there were then several families in Reading on their way to New Jer- sey, who had left their habitations on the frontiers,

and that forty more were expected some time during the same week, thinking that it was not safe to stay any longer on account of the scalp- ing Indians.

WEISER, LETTERS .- The first remarkable letter from a resident of this county-which re- lated to the approaching Indians and their cruelties-was by Conrad Weiser to Governor Morris,-

" Honored Sir,-

"I take this opportunity to inform you I received news from Shamokin that six families have been murdered on John Penn's Creek, on the west side of Susquehannah, about four miles from that river, several people have been found scalped and twenty-eight are missing; the people are in a great consternation and are coming down, leaving their plantations and corn behind them. Two of my sons are gone up to help one of their cousins with his family down. I hear of none that will defend themselves but George Gabriel and The people down here seem to be senseless, and say the Indians will never come this side of Susquehanna River, but I fear they will since they meet with no opposition nowhere. I don't doubt your Honor heard of this melancholy affair before now by the way of Lancaster, perhaps more particn- larly, yet I thought it my duty to inform you of it, and when my sons come back I will write again if they bring anything particular. I have heard noth- ing of the Indians that are gone out to fight against the French on Ohio. Their going I fear has been the occasion of this murder. I have nothing to add, but am,

" Honored Sir, Your very humble servant,

CONRAD WEISER."

"Reading, October 22, 1755."

Several days afterward Weiser's two sons returned. He then addressed another letter to Governor Morris, as intimated in his previous letter to him. It was as follows:

' "HEIDELBERG, in the County of Berks.

Oct. 26, 1755, at 5 o'clock in the evening. -

" Sir :- Just now two of my sons, to wit, Frederick and Peter, arrived from Shamokin, where they have been to help down their cousin with his family. I gave them orders before they went, to bring me down a trusty Indian or two to inform myself of the present circumstances of Indian affairs, but they brought none down; they saw Jonathan but he could not leave his family in this dangerous time. Whilst they were at Geo. Gabriel's, a messenger came from Shamo- kin, sent by James Logan, one of Shickelamy's sons, and Cacachpitow, a noted Delaware always true to the English, to let Geo. Gabriel know that they had certain intelligence that a great body of French and

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Indians had been seen on their march towards Penn- sylvania at a place where Zinaghton river or rivers comes out of the Allegheny hills, and that if the white people will come up to Shamokin and assist, they will stand the French and fight them. They said that now they want to see their brethren's faces, and well-armed with smooth guns, no rifled guns- which require too much cleaning. They in particular desired the company men gathered at George Gabriel's, Captain McKees' and John Harris', they being in- formed that people had gathered there, and that they are extremely concerned for the white people's run- ning away, and said they could not stand the French alone. This message was delivered to George Gabriel, and about ten whites more, among them were my two sons, by a Delaware Indian named Enoch, and a white man called Lawrence Bork, who came with the Indians as a companion. The Indians' messenger that brought the news to Shamokin from the Indians living up the river Zinachtow (the North West Branch of the Susquehanna) arrived at Shamokin at midnight before the 23d of this instant. The Indians are extremely concerned, as my sons tell me, people are coming away in great hurry, the rest that stay plundering the houses and make the best of other people's misfortune. The French want to see Jona- than taken prisoner, etc. All this in great hurry. I pray, good sir, don't slight it. The lives of many thousands are in the utmost danger. It is no false alarm.

"I am, Honored and Dear Sir, your very obedient, "CONRAD WEISER.

"P. S .- If a body of men would go up they could gather plenty of Indian corn, beef and other provi- sions ; now everything is in the utmost confusion. I suppose in a few days not one family will be seen on the other side of Kittatiny Hills."

On the same day, at eleven o'clock at night, he addressed the following letter to James Read, Esq., at Reading, whereby he communicated the first intelligence pertaining to the arrival of the Indians across the Susquehanna River.

"Loving Friend :- This evening, about an hour ago, I received the news of the enemy having crossed the Susquehanna and killed a great many people, from Thomas McKee down to Hunter's Mill. Mr. Elder, the minister at Paxton, wrote this to another Presby- terian minister in the neighborhood of Adam Read, Esq. The people were then in meeting, and immedi- ately desired to get themselves in readiness to oppose the enemy, and to lend assistance to their neighbors. Mr. Read sent down to Tulpehocken, and two men- one that came from Mr. Read-are just now gone, that brought in the melancholy news. I have sent out to alarm the townships in this neighborhood, and to meet me early in the morning at Peter Spicker, to

consult together what to do, and to make preparations to stand the enemy with the assistance of the most high. I write you this that you may have time to consult with Mr. Seely and other well-wishers of the people, in order to defend your lives and others. For God's sake, let us stand together and do what we can, and trust to the hand of Providence. Perhaps we must in this neighborhood come to Reading, but I will send armed men to Susquehanna, or as far as they can go, for intelligence. Pray let Sammy have a copy of this, or this draft for his Honour, the Governor. I have sent him about three hours ago express to Phil- adelphia, and he lodges at my son Peter's. Dispatch him as early as you can. I pray beware of confusion. Be calm, you and Mr. Seely, and act the part as fath- ers of the people. I know you are both able; but excuse me for giving this caution-time requires it.

"I am, Dear sir, Your very good friend and humble servant, " CONRAD WEISER.

Mr. Read received this letter the next inorn- ing (Oct. 27th), and he immediately addressed the following brief letter on the same sheet of paper to Governor Morris :

"Sir :- I must not detain the bearer a moment. I have sent the original letter from Mr. Weiser, that no mistake may arise by any doubts of the justness of a copy.

" I shall raise our town in an hour, and use all pru- dent measures for our defense. I could wish that your Honour could order us two or three swivel guns and blunderbusses, with a few muskets, and some powder and swan shot. Nothing shall be wanting in me-who has the misfortune of being Major of two associated companies ; but I know not how my people will behave, as they are under an infatuation of an extraordinary sort.

"I am, May it please your Honour, Your Honor's most obedient and most humble servant,

" JAMES READ.

"[P. S.] Many wagons that are got thus far are bound back again immediately upon hearing the news."

On the 30th of October, which was four days after he had addressed the foregoing letter to Read, Weiser communicated additional news to the Governor in a letter, which was as follows :

"READING, October 30, 1755.

" May it Please Your Honor :- Since the date of my last letter, which I sent by express, by Sammy Weiser, dated last Sunday evening, 5 o'clock, and about 11 o'clock the same night, I sent a letter to Mr. Read in this town, who forwarded it to your honor, by the same opportunity.

"The following account of what has happened since, I thought it was proper to lay before your

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honor, to wit :- after I had received the news that Paxton people above Hunter's Mills, had been mur- dered, I immediately sent my servants to alarm the neighborhood. The people came to my house by the break of day. I informed them of the melancholy news, and how I came by it, &c. They unanimously agreed to stand by one another, and march to meet the enemy, if I would go with them. I told them that I would not only myself accompany them, but my sons and servants should also go-they put them- selves under my direction. I gave them orders to go home and get their arms, whether guns, swords, pitchforks, axes or whatever might be of use against the enemy, and to bring with them three days' pro- vision in their knapsacks, and to meet me at Benja- min Spicker's, at three of the clock that afternoon, about six miles above my house, in Tulpehocken township, where I had sent word for Tulpehocken people also to meet.

"I immediately mounted my horse, and went up to Benjamin Spicker's, where I found about one hun- dred persons who had met before I came there; and after I had informed them of the intelligence, that I had promised to go with them as a common soldier, and be commanded by such officers and leading men, whatever they might call them, as they should choose, they unanimously agreed to join the Heidelberg peo- ple, and accordingly they went home to fetch their arms, and provisions for three days, and came again at three o'clock. All this was punctually performed ; and about two hundred were at Benjamin Spicker's at two o'clock.

" I made the necessary disposition, and the people were divided into companies of thirty men in each company, and they chose their own officers ; that is, a captain over each company, and three inferior offi- cers under each, to take care of ten men, and lead them on, or fire as the captain should direct.

" I sent privately for Mr. Kurtz, the Lutheran min- ister, who lived about a mile off, who came and gave an exhortation to the men, and made a prayer suita- ble to the time. Then we marched toward Susque- hanna, having first sent about fifty men to Tolheo, in order to possess themselves of the gaps or narrows of Swatara, where he expected the enemy would come through ; with those fifty I sent a letter to Mr. Par- sons, who happened to be at his plantation.

"We marched about ten miles that evening. My company had now increased to upwards of three hun- dred men, mostly well armed, though about twenty had nothing but axes and pitchforks-all unani- mously agreed to die together, and engage the enemy wherever they should meet them, never to inquire the number, but fight them, and so obstruct their way of marching further into the inhabited parts, till others of our brethren come up and do the same, and so save the lives of our wives and children.

"This night the powder and lead came up, that I sent for early in the morning, from Reading, and I

ordered it to the care of the officers, to divide it among those that wanted it most. On the 28th, by break of day, we marched, our company increasing all along. We arrived at Adam Read's, Esq., in Hanover township, Lancaster County,1 about ten o'clock. There we stopped and rested till all came up. Mr. Read had just then received intelligence from Susquehanna, by express, which was as fol- lows : 'That Justice Forster, Capt. McKee, John Har- ris and others, to the number of forty-nine, went up to Shamokin to bury the dead bodies of those that had been killed by the enemy on John Penn's creek, and, coming up to George Gabriel's, about five miles this side of Shamokin and on the west side of Sus- quehannah, they heard that the dead bodies had been buried already, and so they went along to Shamokin, where they arrived last Friday evening and were seemingly well received, but found a great number of strange Indians, though Delawares, all painted black, which gave suspicion, and Thomas McKee told his companions that he did not like them, and the next morning-that is, last Saturday-they got up early in order to go back, but they did not see any of the strangers ; they were gone before them. Andrew Montour was there, painted as the rest ; advised our people not to go the same way they came, but to keep this side of Susquehanna and go the old road; but when they came to the parting of the roads a majority of them was for going the nighest and best road, and so crossed the Susquehanna contrary to Andrew Mon- tour's council, in order to go down on the west side of that river as far as Mahoning. When they came to John Penn's creek, in going down the bank they were fired upon from this side by Indians that had way- laid them. Some dropt down dead ; the rest fled and made towards Susquehanna and came to this side, and so home as well as they could. Twenty six of them were missing and not heard of as yet (last Mon- day evening).'

"Upon this we had a consultation, and as we did not come up to serve as guards to the Paxton people, but to fight the enemy, if they were come so far, as we first heard, we thought best to return and take care of our own townships.

" After I had given the necessary caution to the people to hold themselves in readinesss, as the enemy was certainly in the county, to keep their arms in good order, and so on, and then discharge them-and we marched back with the approbation of Mr. Read. By the way, we were alarmed by a report that five hundred Indians had come over the mountain at Tolheo to this side, and had already killed a number of people. We stopped and sent a few men to dis- cover the enemy, but, on their return, proved to be a false alarm, occasioned by that company that I had sent that way the day before, whose guns getting wet, they fired them off, which was the cause of alarm-

1 Now in Lebanon County.

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

this not only had alarmed the company, but the whole townships through which they marched. In going back, I met messengers from other townships about Conestoga, who came for intelligence, and to ask me where their assistance was necessary, promis- ing that they would come to the place where I should direct.

"I met, also, at Tulpehocken, about one hundred men well-armed, as to fire-arms, ready to follow me; so that there were in the whole about five hundred men in arms that day, all marching up towards Sus- quehanna. I and Mr. Adam Read counted those who were with me-we found them three hundred and twenty.

"I cannot send any further account, being uncom- monly fatigued. I should not forget, however, to in- form your Honor that Mr. Read has engaged to keep proper persons riding between his house and Susque- hanna, and if anything material shall occur, he will send me tidings to Heidelberg or to Reading, which I shall take care todispatch to you. I find that great trouble has been taken at Reading to get the people together, and nearly two hundred were here yester- day morning ; but upon hearing that the people attend- ing me were discharged, the people from the country went off without consulting what should be done for the future, through the indiscretion of a person who was with them and wanted to go home; and near the town they met a large company coming up, and gave such accounts as occasioned their turning back. I think most of the inhabitants would do their duty, but without some military regulations we shall never be able to defend the province.

"I am sure we are in great danger, and from an enemy that can travel as Indians. We may be sur- prised when it would be impossible to collect any number of men together to defend ourselves, and then the country would be laid waste. I am quite tired and must say no more than that.

"I am your Honor's most obedient servant, " CONRAD WEISER."

PARSONS' LETTER .- On the 31st of October, 1755, William Parsons1 wrote to Richard Peters, at Philadelphia. His letter communicated the first direct intelligence of murder within the borders of Berks County, in the year 1755, after it was apparent that the Indians had de- termined to invade the county for the certain purpose of committing as many ontrages upon the inhabitants as possible. It was as fol- lows :

" When I wrote last to you, I informed you that I was engaged in laying out the road from Easton to Reading. .. On Monday (whilst at Reading)

I heard a rumor of Thomas McKee's engagement with some strange Indians. I had heard before of some murders having been committed by them on the west side of Susquehanna, near Shamokin. Monday evening I received an express from Mr. Weiser, in- forming me that he had summoned the people to go and oppose the Indians, and desired me to meet a large company near the foot of the mountain in the Shamokin road,2 while he went with about 300 to Paxtang. When I came to the company at the foot of the mountain, about 100 in all, I found one-half of them without any powder or lead. However, I ad- vised them to go forward, and those that had no am- munition I advised to take axes, in order to make a breastwork of trees for their security at night; and the next day advised them to go forward to the Upper Gap of Swarotawro, and there to make another breast- work of trees, and to stay there two or three days in order to oppose the enemy if they should attempt to come that way ; which, if they had done, I am inclined to think what has since happened, would have been prevented. I promised them to go to Tulpehocken, and provide powder and lead, and a sufficient quantity of lead to be sent immediately after them. But they went no further than to the top of the mountain, and there those that had ammunition, spent most of it in shooting up into the air, and then returned back again firing all the way, to the great terror of all the inhabitants thereabout, and this was the case with almost all the others, being about 500 in different parts of the neighborhood ; there was an- other company who came from the lower part of Bern township, as far as Mr. Freme's Manor. So that when I came to Tulpehocken I found the people there more alarmed than they were near the moun- tain. For when they saw me come alone they were overjoyed, having heard that we were all destroyed, and that the enemy were just at their backs, ready to destroy them. At Tulpehocken there was no lead to be had; all that could be had from Reading was taken to Paxtang. I therefore sent an express over to Lancaster to Mr. Shippen that evening, desiring him to send me some lead. He sent me seven pounds, being all that the town people were willing to part with, as they were themselves under great apprehen- sions. I also procured 20 pounds of powder, papered up in one quarter pounds, and ordered out a quantity of bread near the mountains, but when I returned home I learned that my people had given over the pursuit, in the manner above mentioned. I have since distributed a good deal of the powder and lead, and the bread I ordered to the poor people who are removing from their settlements on the other side of the mountain, from whence the people have been re- moving all this week. It is impossible to describe the confusion and distress of those unhappy people. Our

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 20

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards Number of Pages: 1418

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418