USA > Pennsylvania > Northumberland County > History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132
Second Company .- Captain, Samuel Wallis; first lieutenant, John Scud- der; second lieutenant, Peter Jones; ensign, James Hampton.
Third Company .- Captain, John Robb; first lieutenant, William Watson; second lieutenant, Robert Nelson; ensign, James White.
Fourth Company .- Captain, William McElhatton; first lieutenant, An- drew Boggs; second lieutenant, Thomas Nelson; ensign, John McCormick.
Fifth Company .- Captain, William Murray; first lieutenant, Richard Irwin; second lieutenant, Thomas Plunket; ensigns: Andrew Robinson, Benjamin Jordan.
Sixth Company .- Captain, Simon Cole; first lieutenant, Thomas Kemp- len; second lieutenant, James Brandon; ensigns: William King, James Hughes.
Seventh Company .- Captain, David Berry; first lieutenant, William Hammond; second lieutenant, Joseph Bouser; ensign, Israel Pershel.
All the officers of this battalion were returned on the 13th of March, 1776.
Fourth Battalion .- Colonel, Philip Cole; lieutenant colonel, Thomas Sutherland; first major, Thomas Foster; second major, Casper Yost; adjutant, James McCoy; standard bearer, Dewalt Miller.
First Company .- Captain, John Clark; first lieutenant, Henry Pontius; second lieutenant, James Moore; ensign, Patrick Watson.
118
HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.
Second Company .- Captain, Michael Weaver.
Third Company .- Captain, Jacob Links.
Fourth Company .- Captain, William Weirick; first lieutenant, Jacob Sherred; second lieutenant, William Gill; ensign, Nathaniel Moon.
Fifth Company .- Captain, George Wolf; first lieutenant, George Conrad; second lieutenant, Michael Wildgoose; ensign, John Hessler.
Sixth Company .- Captain, George Overmeier; first lieutenant, James McKelvy; second lieutenant, Peter Weirick; ensign, Michael Snyder.
The local militia was first engaged in active service in the winter of 1776 -77. On the 5th of December the Supreme Executive Council appointed Robert Martin "paymaster to the Northumberland county militia, now going into service;" on the 8th of January he was superseded by Alexander Hun- ter, "paymaster to the militia of Northumberland county, enrolled to serve to the 10th of March next." One detachment marched to Reading under Colonel Cole, of the Fourth battalion, and another to Philadelphia under Lieutenant Colonel Murray, of the Third. Among the companies in Colonel Murray's command were Captains Benjamin Weiser's and John Lee's; the latter was composed of volunteers from the First battalion (Colonel Hunter's), who organized by electing the following officers: Captain, John Lee; first lieutenant, Hugh White; second lieutenant, Thomas Gaskins, and ensign, Gustavus Ross. They marched on the 24th of December, 1776, and arrived at Philadelphia prior to the 11th of January. Captain Weiser's company was at Philadelphia on the 30th of January. Colonel Murray joined the army in New Jersey.
On the 21st of March, 1777, Samuel Hunter* was appointed county lieu- tenant; in this capacity he assumed the general direction of the militia, which was divided into classes for convenience of management. The first requisition of troops that he received was as follows :-
Philadelphia, June 14, 1777.
SIR: By intelligence this moment received from Generals Sullivan and Arnold we are informed that the enemy are rapidly advancing through the Jerseys and had arrived at Rocky run, within four miles of Princeton. We do therefore entreat you, by all the ties of virtue, honor, and love for your country, to call together immediately all the militia of your county you can possibly spare and hasten their march to this city with the utmost expedition. We are, in the greatest haste, Sir,
Your most humble servants,
THOMAS MIFFLIN, JOHN ARMSTRONG, JAMES POTTER.
*Colonel Hunter's official correspondence is published in the Pennsylvania Archives, as follows: 1776-Vol. V. p. 133; 1777-Vol. V. pp. 370-371, 377-378, 414, 610-611, 615, 717-718, 737-738, 762; Vol. VI. p. 57; 1778-Vol. VI. pp. 175-176, 191-192, 392. 478, 499-500, 536-537, 552-553, 563-565, 570-572, 573, 599, 615, 624, 631-632, 636-637, 711, 773; Vol. VII. pp. 116-118; 1779-Vol. VII. pp. 267-268, 316-318, 346-347, 375, 438, 455, 510-512, 546-547, 574, 589, 594, 615, 619-620, 680; Vol. VIII. pp. 29-30; 1780-Vol. VIII. pp. 88-90, 157, 166-168, 173, 189-190, 205-206, 369-370, 393-394, 567-568, 601; 1781-Vol. VIII. p. 717; 1782-Vol. IX. pp. 503- 504, 528-529, 657-658. Original copies of many of Colonel Hunter's letters are now in the possession of Captain John Buyers, of Selinsgrove; Pennsylvania.
119
THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
Colonel Hunter received this on the 17th instant, and preparations were at once made to march the first and second classes on the 23d or 24th. On the 16th Council directed that the first class only should be called out, which was accordingly done. An order countermanding the latter was issued on the 19th; it did not reach Colonel Hunter until the 29th, and before the militia could be stopped one company had proceeded more than sixty miles and two others about thirty. .
The next requisition was received by Colonel Hunter on the 10th of Sep- tember, 1777, and in compliance therewith he at once ordered the first class of the militia to march. A requisition for the second class was issued on the 12th instant and for the third and fourth classes on the 23d of October. The latter reached Colonel Hunter on the 31st instant, but, owing to the difficulty of procuring arms and blankets, the classes designated did not march until November 11th. They were commanded by Colonel James Murray, whose regiment was attached to General James Potter's brigade and suffered some loss at the Guelph mills, near Philadelphia, December 11th.
The following " Return of the Second battalion of Northumberland county militia, commanded by Colonel James Murray, May 1, 1778," on file in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, shows its numerical strength at that date :-
COMPANIES.
Captains.
Lieutenants.
Ensigns.
Sergeants.
Rank and
File.
Total.
Captain Thomas Gaskins's Company.
1
2
1
4
53
61
Captain John Wilson's Company ...
1
2
1
4
52
60
Captain David Hays's Company.
1
1
1
4
56
63
Captain Arthur Taggart's Company.
1
2
1
4
58
66
Captain James McMahan's Company.
1
2
1
4
49
57
Captain Robert Reynolds's Company.
1
2
1
4
35
43
Captain John Chattam's Company ..
1
2
1
4
41
49
Captain John Clingman's Company.
1
2
1
4
65
73
Total
472
I do certify the above return to be just and true as delivered me by the above captains.
SAMUEL HUNTER,
Lieutenant.
The fifth class was ordered out on the 5th of January, 1778; the requisi- tion reached Colonel Hunter on the 13th, and on the following day he wrote the president of Council expressing his extreme reluctance to comply with its terms, as organized frontier defense had become imperatively necessary. The order was accordingly rescinded.
The hostile attitude of the Indians became a source of grave apprehension about this time. In a letter dated July 29, 1776, John Harris stated, upon the authority of two men from Sunbury, that two Senecas had come to the
120
HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.
Great Island in the West Branch three weeks previously; on the day after their arrival the Indians in that neighborhood cut down their corn and removed their families, evidently with the intention of joining the Canada tribes in alliance with the English. Although the danger of invasion was represented to the State authorities by the county Committee no defensive measures were taken until the autumn of 1777, when, a report having been circulated that two hundred Indians were on the West Branch forty miles above the Great Island, Colonel Cookson Long set out on the 6th of Septem- ber with a party of men to ascertain whether their intentions were hostile or friendly. Colonel Hunter wrote on the 27th of October that more than five hundred people had collected at Lycoming, Antes's mill, and the mouth of Bald Eagle creek, in anticipation of an attack. Fifty men were stationed on the frontier at that time, under the command of Colonel John Kelly; after serving two months they were relieved by a detachment from Colonel Cook- son Long's battalion, three classes of which were ordered out. On the 28th of March, 1778, Colonel Hunter wrote that the fifth class was on the frontier under Lieutenant Colonel Henry Antes; at that time two rifles and sixty muskets constituted the public arms. In May he ordered the seventh class of Colonel John Kelly's battalion to relieve the sixth in Penn's valley, and the sixth and seventh classes of Colonel Cookson Long's battalion to scout along the frontiers. Great difficulty was experienced in procuring provisions; the price of bacon was four shillings six pence per pound and of flour three pounds ten shillings per hundred-weight. Not more than half the militia was armed; the powder was very inferior in quality, and no flints could be bought. A consignment of seventy guns, thirty-one rifles, sixty-nine mus- kets, and a quantity of powder, lead, and flints was ordered sent to Colonel Hunter by the Supreme Executive Council on the 18th of May.
Notwithstanding these defensive measures, Indian outrages became alarmingly frequent. On the 14th of January, 1778, Colonel Hunter re- ported two men killed at Pine creek on the 23d ultimo; May 14th, one man killed at Bald Eagle on the 8th instant and another in Penn's valley; May 26th, three men killed at Bald Eagle on the 16th, three persons taken prison- ers at Pine creek on the 18th and nine at Lycoming on the 20th, and sixteen persons killed or taken prisoners at Loyalsock on the 24th. On the 17th of May Colonel Potter reported twenty persons killed on the North Branch. " The back inhabitants have all evacuated their habitations and assembled in different places," wrote Colonel Hunter on the 31st of May; "all above Muncy to Lycoming are come to Samuel Wallis's and the people of Muncy have gathered to Captain Brady's; all above Lycoming are at Antes's mill and the mouth of Bald Eagle creek; all the inhabitants of Penn's valley are gathered to one place in Potter's township; the inhabitants of White Deer township are assembled at three different places, and the back settlers of Buffalo are come down to the river; all from Muncy hill to Chillisquaque
121
THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
have assembled at three different places; Fishing creek and Mahoning settle- ments have all come to the river side." Eight persons were killed between Loyalsock and Lycoming on the 10th of June, and Indians were encountered below Muncy hill a week or two later. On the 3d of July occurred the massacre of Wyoming, the intelligence of which produced a general panic among the inhabitants of Northumberland county and precipitated the "Great Runaway." The flight of the settlers on the West Branch was thus described by Robert Crownover, the well known scout :-
I took my own family safely to Sunbury and came back in a keel-boat to secure my furniture. Just as I rounded a point above Derrstown, now Lewisburg, I met the whole convoy from all 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. There were several hundred people in all. Whenever any obstruction occurred at any shoal or ripple, the women would leap out into the water and put their shoulders to the boat or raft and launch it again into deep water. The men of the settlement came down in single file on each side of the river to guard the women and children. The whole con- voy arrived safely at Sunbury, leaving the entire range of farms along the West Branch to the ravages of the Indians.
The state of affairs was graphically described by William Maclay* in a letter to Council, dated Paxtang, July 12, 1778, of which the following is an extract :-
I left Sunbury and almost my whole property on Wednesday last [July 8th]. I will not trouble you with a recital of the inconveniences I suffered while I brought my family by water to this place. I never in my life saw such scenes of distress. The river and the roads leading down it were covered with men, women, and children, flying for their lives, many without any property at all, and none who had not left the greatest part behind; in short, Northumberland county is broken up. Colonel Hunter only re- mained, using his utmost endeavors to rally some of the inhabitants and make a stand, however short, against the enemy. I left him with very few-I can not speak with certainty as to numbers-but am confident when I left him he had not one hundred men on whom he could depend. Wyoming is totally abandoned; scarce a single family remained between that place and Sunbury when I came away. The panic and spirit of flight have reached even to this place; many have moved even out of this township, and almost every one is thinking of some place of greater security. You will scarce be able to give me credit when I inform you that if the same body which defeated Colonel Butler at Wyoming should follow up the blow, they may without difficulty penetrate to Carlisle .... For God's sake, for the sake of the country, let Colonel Hunter be re-enforced at Sunbury; send him but a single company if you can not do more. Mrs. Hunter came down with me; as he is now disincumbered of his family, I am con- vinced he will do everything that can be expected from a brave and determined man. I must mention to you with freedom an opinion that has prevailed and done great hurt on the frontiers, viz., that no men or relief would he offered them. The miserable ex- ample 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
*William Maclay's correspondence relating to affairs in Northumberland county is published in the Pennsylvania Archives, as follows: 1778-Vol. VI. pp. 634-635; 1779-Vol. VII. pp. 357, 586-587, 593, 597-598, 623-624; 1780-Vol. VIII. pp. 156, 172-173.
122
HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.
some of our effects along with us." It was to no purpose that Colonel Hunter issued orders for assembling the militia, and the whole county broke loose.
At ten o'clock on the 12th of July Colonel Matthew Smith* wrote as fol- lows from Paxtang: "I am this moment arrived at Mr. Harris's ferry, and just now behold the greatest scenes of distress I ever saw. The numerous poor ran away from their habitations and left their all .... Northumberland county is evacuated." "This day," wrote Peter De Haven from Hummelstown July 12th, "there were twenty or thirty families passed through this town, some from Buffalo valley and some from Sunbury and some families from this side of Peter's mountain. Wyoming is taken, and most of our people have left Sunbury and are coming down; these people inform us that there are two hundred wagons on the road." On the 14th of July Colonel Bertram Galbraith, lieutenant of Lancaster county, informed the vice-president of Council that "On Sunday morning last the banks of the Susquehanna from Middletown up to the Blue mountain were entirely clad with the inhabit- ants of Northumberland county who had moved off, as well as many in the river in boats, canoes, rafts, etc." Captain Abraham Scott, who had been up at Garver's mill for his sister, the wife of Colonel Hunter, also informed him that the inhabitants of Wiconisco valley were preparing for flight .*
On the 9th of July Colonel Hunter addressed a letter to the officers of the Berks county militia; there was then every reason to anticipate that Sunbury and Northumberland would be the frontier in less than twenty- four hours, but a few of the inhabitants had determined to make a stand and re-enforcements were urgently solicited. On the 12th he sent a com- munication to Council, in which the following passages occur :-
The calamities so long dreaded, and which you have been more than once informed must fall upon this county if not assisted by Continental troops or the militia of the neighboring counties, now appear with all the horrors attendant on an Indian war; at this date the towns of Sunbury and Northumberland are the frontiers, where a few virtuous inhabitants and fugitives seem determined to stand, though doubtful whether to-morrow's sun will rise on them freemen, captives, or in eternity. Yet, relying on that Being who never forsakes the virtuous, and the timely assistance of the government which they have with zeal and vigor endeavored to support, they say they will remain as long as they can without incurring the censure of suicide. The carnage at Wyoming, the devastations and murders upon the West Branch of Susquehanna, on Bald Eagle creek, and, in short, throughout the whole county to within a few miles of these towns (the recital of which must be shocking), I suppose must before now have reached your ears. If not, you may figure yourselves men, women, and children, butchered and scalped, many of them after being promised quarter, and some scalped alive, of which we have miserable instances amongst us; people in crowds driven from their farms and habitations, many of whom have not money enough to purchase
*Colonel Smith's correspondence relating to affairs in Northumberland county is published in the Pennsylvania Archives, as follows: 1778-Vol. VI. pp. 632-633; 1779-Vol. VII. pp. 606, 609-611, 614; Vol. VIII. p. 23; 1780-Vol. VIII. pp. 240, 417-419, 513, 691-692.
*The letters quoted are published in Vol. VI. of the Pennsylvania Archives-Colonel Smith's, p. 632; De Haven's, p. 633; Galbraith's, p. 642.
1
123
THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
one day's provisions for their families, which must and already has obliged many of them to plunder and lay waste the farms as they pass along. These calamities must, if not speedily remedied by a reinforcement of men from below, inevitably ruin the frontier and incumber the interior counties with such numbers of indigent fugitives unable to support themselves as will like locusts devour all before them. If we are assisted to stand and save our crops, we will have enough for ourselves and to spare; you need be under no apprehension of any troops you send here suffering for want of provisions if they come in time, before the few who yet remain are obliged to give way; with men it will be necessary to send arms and ammunition, as we are ill pro- vided with them. Gentlemen, you must all know that this county cannot be strong in men after the numbers it has furnished to serve the United States. Their applications to us for men were always complied with to the utmost of our abilities and with the greatest alacrity; should our supplications now be rejected I think the survivors of us, if any, may safely say that virtue is not rewarded.
The defense of the frontier having been considered by Congress and the State authorities, it was decided that the detachment of Colonel Hartley's regiment then at Philadelphia should march to Sunbury; three hundred militia from Northumberland county, four hundred from Lancaster, and one hun- dred fifty from Berks were also ordered to that point, July 14, 1778. Colonel Daniel Brodhead's regiment, then on the march to Pittsburgh, had been directed to take position at Standing Stone (Huntingdon), but when General Lachlan McIntosh, who commanded in that department, heard of the state of affairs on the northern frontier, he ordered it to proceed up the Susquehanna, a movement that received the hearty approval of the Board of War and Supreme Executive Council. On the 24th of July Colonel Brodhead wrote* that, having arrived at Sunbury too late to be of service to the inhabitants there, he had determined to fix upon two principal posts and maintain a line of scouts between them; accordingly, a major, two captains, one subaltern, and eighty men were stationed at Brier creek on the North Branch and one hun- dred twenty men under his personal command at Muncy, while a captain and twenty-five men were detached to General James Potter's in Penn's valley. General Potter reported that the arrival of this force had done much to restore confidence; the "Runaway" had entailed a loss of forty thousand pounds, but the people were returning to reap their harvests and further waste would thus be prevented. He expressed his intention of directing the movements of the militia; this had been agreed upon by Generals Armstrong and McIntosh with the acquiescence of Colonel Brod- head, as General John Lacey, whom Council had designated for that service, was not regarded as eligible. It appears, however, that the militia which first arrived at Sunbury was commanded by General John P. De Haas, who had offered on the 13th of July to lead a body of volunteers against the Indians; Council accepted his services, and in the organization of defensive measures he rendered valuable assistance.
*Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. VI. pp. 660-661.
124
HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.
Colonel Hartley* arrived at Sunbury with a detachment of his regiment in the last week of July, 1778, and in the early part of August Colonel Brod- head's command withdrew to Carlisle en route to Pittsburgh. Two hundred militia had collected at Sunbury, and parties had been sent to various points by General De Haas. Four fifths of the inhabitants had fled; many were returning, and for their protection Colonel Hartley deemed it necessary to establish a line of posts between Fishing creek and the Great Island. He sent a detachment to garrison Fort Jenkins, at Brier creek on the North Branch, the erection of which had been begun by Brodhead's troops; another was stationed at Bossley's mills, in the forks of Chillisquaque, and a third at Muncy, on the West Branch. At the latter point, which he visited in per- son, accompanied by General De Haas, the erection of a fort was undertaken. William Maclay's residence at Sunbury was converted into a magazine and fortified by a stockade in the rear. The forces in Northumberland county, as summarized by Colonel Hunter on the 20th of August, numbered six hun- dred fifty men, of whom one hundred were Continental troops in Colonel Hartley's regiment; four hundred ninety were militia-two hundred twenty from Lancaster county, one hundred seventy from Berks, and one hundred from Northumberland; and sixty were volunteers in Captain Murray's com- pany. Pursuant to a resolution of Congress of June 8, 1778, and Council's instructions of the 10th, this company was recruited for six months under the direction of Colonel Hunter, by whom the following officers were ap- pointed: Captain, James Murray; captain lieutenant, Robert Arthur; second lieutenant, Samuel Fulton; third lieutenant, William Reed; ensign, Andrew Donaldson.
Colonel Hartley's expedition against the Indian towns on the North Branch was the first offensive movement of importance on the northern frontier. On the 21st of September he left Muncy with two hundred men; the route selected was the Sheshequin path, and the march was rendered ex- tremely arduous by streams, swamps, and mountains. On the 26th the ad- vance guard of nineteen men encountered an equal number of Indians, who fled with the loss of their chief. Tioga, the town of Queen Esther, was burned. Crossing the North Branch on the 28th, the expedition proceeded to Wyalusing, where the retreat was resumed on the following day. Seventy of the men descended the river in canoes; the main body marched in three divisions, of which Captain Murray's was the third, while five runners under Captain Kemplen formed part of the rear guard. The Indians made an attack on the afternoon of the 29th; Captains Boone and Brady and Lieu- tenant King landed from the canoes with a few brave fellows at a critical moment, and the enemy, after a brief resistance, fled with a loss of ten
*Colonel Hartley's correspondence relating to affairs in Northumberland county Is published in the Pennsylvania Archives, as follows : 1778-Vol. VI. pp. 674. 688-690, 600-694, 705, 729; Vol. VII. pp. 3-9, 10, 81-82, 86-87, 87-88, 776.
125
THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
killed. The expedition arrived at Sunbury on the 5th of October, after making a circuit of three hundred miles, having defeated the enemy when- ever encountered, destroyed all their towns between Wyoming and Tioga, and recovered about fifty cattle, twenty-eight canoes, and much other prop- erty of value.
On the 9th of November Colonel Hartley wrote that the enemy had de- stroyed the settlements on the North Branch above Nescopeck, and was only deterred from advancing farther by the garrison at Fort Jenkins; seventy Indians were also advancing toward the forks of Chillisquaque, and he was collecting a force to attack them. Orders were issued for the inhabitants to assemble, to which they responded with alacrity. On the 14th he was at Fort Jenkins, whence, on the following day, his force advanced toward Wyoming; the enemy was compelled to abandon a number of cattle taken above Nescopec, and fled with the utmost precipitation. He was again at Sunbury on the 20th, but shortly afterward took his departure, leaving a detachment from his regiment in garrison at Fort Muncy and others at different points. The Berks and Lancaster militia had returned at the expiration of the period for which they were called out, and thus the protec- tion of the frontier devolved entirely upon the exertions of its inhabitants and a few companies of Continental troops. It does not appear, however, that any incursions of importance occurred during the winter of 1778-79.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.