History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 26

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 26

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112

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Pennsylvania, thereupon promptly gave the necessary directions to the lieutenants of Washington and West- moreland Counties to furnish troops from the militia of their counties upon the requisition of Gen. Irvine. But Governor Harrison, of Virginia, had not com- plied1 with the request of Congress in that particular, and so that department commander could only de- pend on the troops under his immediate command, and such as could be furnished by Westmoreland and Washington Counties. But, after all, it made little difference that the lieutenants of the Virginia counties were not empowered to honor his requisition, for Col. David Shepherd, lieutenant of Ohio County, reported to the general at the conference that nearly all the men in his district liable to military duty were en- rolled in Pennsylvania, and Cel. John Evans, lieuten- ant of Monongalia County (who was not present at the meeting), wrote to Irvine, saying that he had in his district not more than three hundred effective men, with a frontier of eighty miles in extent, and instead of being able to furnish any troops for general defense (even if he had the authority), he implored that the case might be reversed, and men, arms, and ammuni- tion be sent to him for purposes of defense.

At the conference at Fort Pitt the principal question discussed was that of the general defense of the fron- tier settlements. All present at the meeting pledged to the commander all the support and assistance in their power to give. The decision arrived at was to form parties of rangers, and to keep these constantly on duty (by tours) and in motion from point to point along the frontiers. For this purpose it was agreed that Washington County should keep a total force of one hundred and sixty men in actual service under two field-officers, constantly ranging along the frontier of the Ohio River " from Montour's Bottom to Wheel- ing, and thence some distance along the southern line," 2 and that Westmoreland County should furnish two companies, aggregating sixty-five men, to be con- tinually on duty, guarding the northern frontier from the Laurel Hill to the Allegheny River. Nothing definite was done or proposed at the conference with regard to the projected expedition against the Indians at Sandusky.

Meanwhile the savages in the Northwest had (as had been foreseen) grown still more fiercely hostile since the massacre of the Moravians, and more active than ever on the war-path. In the space of a few weeks, fol- lowing the return of Williamson's expedition to the Muskingum, several Indian forays were made into Washington County. A Mrs. Walker, whose home was on Buffalo Creek, was taken prisoner on the 27th of March, but succeeded in escaping from her savage captors. On the 1st of April an entire family named

Boice, consisting of eight persons, were captured by the savages 3 and taken away to the Indian towns west of the Ohio, and on the following day another party of marauders killed a man within the present limits of the borough of Washington.

A few days after the capture of the Boice family, Miller's block-house, situated on the Dutch Fork of Buffalo Creek, in the present township of Donegal, Washington County, was attacked on a Sabbath morn- ing by a party of about twenty Shawanese warriors, who had arrived during the previous night, but re- mained hidden near by until early in the morning. Two men came out of the inclosure and started along the path to search for a colt which had strayed. When they had passed the ambushment, the savages fell upon and killed them, and having torn off their scalps the entire party leaped from their place of con- cealment and surrounded the block-house. The inmates were now only one old man and several women and children, but there were rifles and am- munition, and these were used by the women with so good effect that the savage assaulters were kept at bay until there came a relieving party of three white men, who rushed past the Indians, effected an en- trance into the block-house, and defended it so ef- fectively that the red-skinned besiegers finally with- drew and disappeared.4 A number of other attacks were made in this county and in Westmoreland during the month of April and in the early part of May. In a letter written on the 8th of the latter month by Dorsey Pentecost to President Moore5 he said, " The Indians are murdering frequently. Last Fri- day night two men were killed on the frontiers of this County, and about a week before I got home fourteen persons were killed and Captured in Different parts, and last week some mischief was done near Hanna's Town,6 but have not learned the particulars."

It was evident that the ranging parties of Wash- ington and Westmoreland County militia could not effectually guard the frontier against Indian incur- sions. It began to be seen more clearly than ever

3 One account erroneously places this event in the spring of 1783, one year too late.

4 The men killed were John Hupp, Sr., and Jacob Miller, Sr. The persons left in the block-house were old Mr. Matthias Ault, Ann Hupp, wife of the murdered John, their four children,-Margaret, Mary, John, and Elizabeth Hupp,-the family of Edgar Gaither, Frederick Miller, an eleven-year-old son of Jacob, who was killed outside the fort, and two or three other members of the same family. The successful defense of the block-house until the arrival of help was principally due to the heroism and undaunted courage of the widowed Ann Hupp. The boy, Frederick Miller, was started from the house to go to Rice's fort, about two miles away, for aid, but the Indians saw him, and he was driven back wounded, narrowly escaping with his life. But the firing of the Indians when they killed Hupp and Miller had been heard at Rice's, and the rescuing party referred to, consisting of Jacob Rowe, only about sixteen years of age, Jacob Miller, Jr., and Philip Hupp (all of whom belonged at the Miller block-house, but chanced to be absent at Rice's at the time of the attack), came with all speed to the assistance of the besieged ones, and gained an entrance as stated. The Indians kept up the siege through the day, but disappeared during the following night. 5 Pa. Archives, 1781-83, p. 541.

6 Hanna's Town was the old county-seat of Westmoreland County.

1 He did, however, issue such directions in the following May, but it was then of no avail because of an existing law of Virginia prohibiting the sending of her militia troops outside the boundaries of the State.

2 Butterfield's " Crawford's Campaign Against Sandusky."

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THE REVOLUTION.

that a merely defensive line of operations could not afford security to the border settlements, and that this much-desired object could be accomplished only by a successful campaign against the Indian strong- holds in the heart of their own country. This be- lief had been expressed by Gen. Irvine five months before (Dec. 2, 1781), in a letter to Gen. Washing- ton, in which he said, "It is, I believe, univer-' sally agreed that the only way to keep Indians from harassing the country is to visit them. But we find by experience that burning their empty towns has not the desired effect. They can soon build others. They must be followed up and beaten, or the British whom they draw their support from totally driven out of their country."

The sentiment of the people (particularly those of Washington County) in favor of an invasion of the Indian country became more positive day by day. No such enterprise could have been carried forward without the aid of Washington County, but its peo- ple were especially earnest (it may be said clamorous) for the movement against the Indian towns. On the 1st of May Col. Marshel said in a letter to Gen. Irvine, "Since I had the Honour of consulting with you on the expediency of an Expedition against San- dusky I have met with the Officers and principal People of this County, and find that in all probability we shall be able to carry forward the Enterprise." Six days later a delegation of the leading inhabitants, principally of Washington County, and among them Dorsey Pentecost, then a member of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, called on Gen. Irvine at Fort Pitt, and urged upon him the expedi- ency of giving his consent and aid to the expedition, on which the minds of so large a number of the peo- ple west of the Laurel Hill (especially those living west of the Monongahela) were fixed in approval.

part of Gen. Irvine that the new expedition -hould be very different in character from that which had so recently and so barbarously executed its bloody work at Gnadenhütten, and this was afterwards made still more apparent by his determined opposition to Col. Williamson as commander.

The plan of the expedition was made by Gen. Irvine, and of course the projected campaign was to be under his direction and control, as commander of the department. He decided that no force of less than three hundred men could march to attack the Indians on the Sandusky with any hope of success against the numbers that might be there concentrated ; that to move a smaller body than that to the invasion of the Indian country would be but to invite disaster ; therefore under no circumstances would he permit the advance of an expedition numbering less than the number mentioned, while he wished and hoped to be able to make it considerably above that strength.

To raise the necessary force the general had un- questioned authority to direct a draft from the militia of Washington and Westmoreland Counties, yet he resolved to not adopt that course, but to fill the ranks entirely with volunteers. They were not, however, to be irresponsible, but were to be in all respects subject to military rule and discipline, precisely as if they had been drafted from the militia for service in a regularly organized regiment or battalion. Rapid- ity of movement being indispensable to the success of such an expedition, it was decided that all the men must be mounted ; but no horses could be furnished by the department quartermaster, nor any supplies by the commissary, therefore each volunteer was required to provide himself with a horse, arms, and equipments (ammunition being furnished from Fort Pitt) ; and they or the people of Washington and Westmoreland were to provide supplies sufficient for a campaign of thirty days' duration.

It seems that this pronounced expression of the popular feeling decided Gen. Irvine to consent to The volunteers were to be allowed to elect their own officers, even to the commander of the expedition. Each man was, in consideration of services on this campaign, and of furnishing horse, arms, and supplies, to receive credit for two full tours of military duty ; and in case he should find in the camps or villages of the enemy any articles which had been stolen by the Indians from his home in the settlements, he was to receive them back upon proving property. Gen. Irvine could not promise that the government would pay for horses or equipments lost in the service, but it was announced by Dorsey Pentecost, member of the Council from Washington County, and also by the member from Westmoreland, that the State of Penn- sylvania would reimburse all who might sustain losses in the campaign. This semi-official promise was not doubted by the volunteers or the people of the two counties, and it was afterwards made good. and promote the expedition. He had been suspi- cious that one of the objects of the enterprise was to establish a new and independent State or govern- ment of some kind west of the Ohio, but upon re- ceiving full and satisfactory assurances that such was not the case, and upon mature consideration which resulted in the conviction that such an idea if really entertained could not be successfully executed, he finally gave a definite consent to, and a promise to support and carry out, the expedition. On the 9th of May he said in a letter to the president of the Execu- tive Council, " A volunteer expedition is talked of against Sandusky, which, if well conducted, may be of great service to this country ; if they behave well on this occasion it may also in some measure atone for the barbarity they are charged with at Muskingum. They have consulted me, and shall have every coun- tenance in my power if their numbers, arrangements, The time fixed for the assembling of the expe- ditionary forces was the 20th of May. The place etc., promise a prospect of success." There appears in the tone of this letter an evident resolve on the : designated for the rendezvous was the Mingo Bottom,

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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

on the west bank of the Ohio River, a short distance below the present town of Steubenville.1 Great ex- ertions were made to induce men to volunteer, and the result was a rapid recruitment. Many who were willing to serve in the expedition were unable to equip themselves for a campaign in the Indian country, but in nearly all such cases some friend or neighbor was found who would loan a horse or fur- nish supplies. The dangerous and desperate nature of the enterprise was fully understood, yet so much of enthusiasm was exhibited in all the settlements that as early as the 15th of May the number of volunteers obtained was regarded as sufficient for the successful accomplishment of the purposes of the campaign, and three days later a great proportion of them had made all their arrangements ? and were on their way to the place of meeting. But they did not all arrive at the time appointed, and it was not until the morning of the 24th that the last of the volun- teers had crossed from the Virginia side of the Ohio to the rendezvous. When, on the same day, the forces were mustered on the Mingo Bottom it was found that four hundred and eighty3 mounted men were present, ready and eager for duty.4 Of this number fully two-thirds were volunteers from Wash- ington County,5 and the remainder from Westmore-

1 In a letter written on the 8th of May by Dorsey Pentecost to Presi- dent Moore (Pa. Arch., 1781-83, p. 540) he said, " I hear there is great preparation making for a Desent on St. Duskie, to setout the 20th of this month (the former plan having failed), which will be conducted by Gen- tlemen of Experience & Verasity. I am Doubtful of the men's being raised, as those Kind of Expeditious have generally failed for the want of Men, and I am further Doubtful on acct, of Provisions, as great numbers will not be able to furnish themselves, and no money in the hands of any person Equal to that business."

2 Butterfield, in his " Expedition against Sandusky," says, " It is a tra- dition-nay, an established fact-that many, aside from the ordinary ar- rangements necessary for a month's absence (not so much, however, from'a presentiment of disaster as from that prudence which careful and thoughtful men are prone to exercise), executed deeds 'in consideration of love and affection,' and many witnesses were called in to subscribe to 'last wills and testaments.' " The commander of the expedition, Col. Crawford, executed his will before departing on the fatal journey to the Wyandot towns.

3 Lieut. John Rose (usually mentioned in accounts of the expedition as Maj. Rose), an aide-de-camp of Gen. Irvine, who had been detailed for the same duty with the commander of this expedition, wrote to the gen- eral on the evening of the 24th from Mingo Bottom, and in the letter he said, "Our number is actually four hundred and eighty men." This was a more favorable result than had been anticipated, as is shown by a let- ter written three days before (May 21st) to Gen. Washington by Gen. Ir- vine, in which the latter said, "The volunteers are assembling this day at Mingo Bottom, all on horseback, with thirty days' provisions. . . . If their number exceeds three hundred I am of opinion they may succeed, as their march will be so rapid they will probably, in a great degree, effect a surprise."

4 All were in high spirits. Everywhere around there was a pleasur- able excitement. Jokes were bandied and sorrows at parting with loved ones at home quite forgotten, at least could outward appearances be re- lied upon. Nevertheless furtive glances up the western hillsides into the deep woods kept alive in the minds of some the dangerous purpose of all this bustle and activity."-Butterfield's Historical Account of the Ex- pedition against Sandusky under Col. William Crawford.

6 Col. James Marshel, in a letter addressed to Gen. Irvine, dated May 29, 1782, said that of the 480 men composing the forces of the expedi- tion 320 were from Washington County, about 130 from Westmoreland, and 20 from Ohio County, Va.

land, excepting a very few from the Pan-Handle of Virginia.

It was in the afternoon of the 24th of May that the force was mustered and divided into eighteen com- panies, their average strength, of course, being about twenty-six men. They were made thus small on ac- count of the peculiar nature of the service in which they were to engage,-skirmishing, firing from cover, and practicing the numberless artifices and strata- gems belonging to Indian warfare. Another object gained in the formation of these unusually small companies was the gathering together of neighbors and acquaintances in the same command, For each company there were then elected a captain, a lieu- tenant, and an ensign. "Among those [captains] chosen," says Butterfield in his narrative of the expe- dition, were "McGeehan, Hoagland, Beeson, Munn, Ross, Ogle, John Biggs, Craig Ritchie, John Miller, Joseph Bean, and Andrew Hood." Two other captains not mentioned by Butterfield were John Hardin and Joseph Huston. These two, as well as Capt. John Beeson (of Uniontown), commanded companies raised in that part of Westmoreland County which after- wards became Fayette. A large part of the com- pany commanded by Capt. John Biggs was also of the same county. Eleven or twelve of the companies were from Washington County, but their captains cannot be placed, except Craig Ritchie, of Canons- burg.

After the several companies had been duly formed and organized, the line-officers and men proceeded to elect field-officers and a commandant of the expedi- tion. For the latter office there were two candidates. One of these was Col. David Williamson, and his chances of election seemed excellent, because he was a citizen of Washington County, which had furnished two-thirds of the men composing the forces, and also because he was still undeniably popular among the volunteers, notwithstanding the odium which had fallen on the acts of the then recent Moravian expe- dition, of which he was the commander. His com- petitor for the command of the new expedition was Col. William Crawford, whose home was at Stewart's Crossings of the Youghiogheny River, in Westmore- land (afterwards Fayette) County. He was a regular army officer of the Continental establishment, was well versed in Indian modes of fighting, and had already made an enviable military record. He, as well as Williamson, enjoyed much personal popu- larity, and was also the one whom Gen. Irvine wished to have selected for the command.6

Upon counting the votes it was found that four

6 Gen. Irvine wrote to Gen. Washington on the 21st of May, " I have taken some pains to get Col. Crawford appointed to command, and hope he will be." Irvine was evidently determined that Williamson should not be elected, and there is little doubt that he had used such means as made him certain of the result beforehand. If Williamson had been elected, it is not likely that the general would have allowed him to assume command.

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THE REVOLUTION.

hundred and sixty-five had been cast, of which Williamson had received two hundred and thirty, against two hundred and thirty-five for Col. Craw- ford, who thereupon became commandant of the forces of the expedition.1 Four majors were then elected, viz .: David Williamson,2 of Washington County, Thomas Gaddis8 and John McClelland, of Westmoreland (now Fayette), and Joseph Brinton, of what is now East Pike Run township, Washington County, their rank and seniority being in the order as above named. The brigade-major elected was Daniel Leet, whose residence was near the present borough of Washington. Jonathan Zane, John Slover, and Thomas Nicholson were designated as guides or pilots to the advancing column. Dr. John Knight,4 post surgeon at Fort Pitt, had been detailed by Gen. Irvine as surgeon to the expedition.

Irvine from Fort Pitt on the 21st of May. In these instructions the general expressed himself as follows :

1 Duddridge, in his " Notes" (page 265), says of Crawford that "when notified of his appointment it is said that he accepted it with apparent reluctance." Concerning this Butterfield, in his narrative of the expe- dition, says,-

"It has been extensively circulated that Crawford accepted the office of commander of the expedition with apparent reluctance, but Rose (Maj. Rose, of Gen. Irvine's staff) settles that question. His reluctance was not in taking command of the troops after the election, but in joining the ex- pedition. He left his home with the full understanding that he was to | lead the volunteers. Gen. Irvine, it is true, allowed the troops to choose their own commander, but he was not backward in letting it be known that he desired the election of Crawford."

2 Williamson received the entire vote of the force for first major. "I cannot but give Col. Williamson," said Maj. Rose in a letter to Gen. Irvine, " the utmost credit for exhorting the whole to be unanimous after the election had been made known, and cheerfully submitting to be second in command. I think if it had been otherwise Crawford would have pushed home, and very likely we should have dispersed, which would likewise have been the case if Williamson had not behaved with so much prudence."

8 The opposing candidate for second field-major was Col. James Mar- Bhel, county lieutenant of Washington, who came within three or four votes of an election. He was an exceedingly popular man, and highly thought of by Gen. Irvine.

4 Dr. John Knight was a resident of Bullskin township, Westmoreland County. In 1776 he had enlisted in the West Augusta Regiment (Thir- teenth Virginia) as a private soldier. Soon after enlisting be was made a sergeant by Col. Crawford, the commanding officer of the regiment. On the 9th of August, 1778, he was appointed surgeon's mate in the Ninth Virginia. Afterwards he was promoted to surgeon of the Seventh Virginia (under command of Col. John Gibson), and held that position in the same regiment at the time the Sandusky expedition was fitted out. He was then detached by order of Gen. Irvine, and at the request of Col. Crawford, to act as surgeon of that expedition. On the 21st of May he left Fort Pitt to join the expeditionary forces, and reached the rendez- vous at Mingo Bottom on the 22d. After encountering all the dangers and hardships of the campaign, from which he narrowly escaped with his life, he returned to his regiment, and remained on duty as its surgeon at Fort Pitt till the close of the war, when he left military life. On the 14th of October, 1784, he married Polly, daughter of Col. Richard Steven- son, who was a half-brother of Col. Crawford. Subsequently Dr. Knight removed to Shelbyville, Ky., where he died March 12, 1838. His widow died July 31, 1839. They were the parents of ten children. One of their daughters married John, a son of Presley Carr Lane, a prominent public man of Fayette County. Dr. Knight was the recipient of a pen- sion from government, under the act of May 15, 1828.

"The object of your command is to destroy with fire and sword, if practicable, the Indian town and settlement at Sandunky, by which we hope to give pase and safety to the inhabitants of this country ; but if impracticable, then you will doubtless perform such other services in your power as will in their consequences have a tersdonicy to answer thin great end.

" Previous to taking up your line of march it will be highly expedient that all matters respecting rank or command should be well understood, as far at least us first, second, and third 5 This precaution, in case of accident or misfortune, may be of great importance. Indeed, I think whatever grade or rank may be fixed on to have command, their rela- tive rank should be determined. And it is indispensably necessary that subordination and discipline should be kept up ; the whole night to un- derstand that, notwithstanding they are volunteers, yet by this tour they are to get credit for it in their tours of military duty, and that for this and other good reasons they must, while out on this duty, consider themselves, to all intent, subject to the military laws and regulations for the government of the militia when in actual service.

Instructions addressed " To the officer who will be appointed to command a detachment of volunteer militia on an expedition against the Indian town at or near Sandusky" had been forwarded by Gen. | object at present is for the purpose above set forth, viz., the protection of this country, yet you are to consider yourselves as acting in behalf of and for the United States, that of course it will be incumbent on you especially who will have the command to act in every instance in such a manner as will reflect honor on, and add reputation to, the American arms, of nations or independent States,G

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 26

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1216

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216