History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 30

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372

USA > Pennsylvania > York County > History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 30

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).

Colonel-William Thompson.

Lieutenant-Colonel-Edward Hand.

Major-Robert McGaw.

Chaplain-Rev. Samuel Blair.

Adjutant-David Ziegler.

Quartermaster-Frederick Hubley.

Surgeon-William McGaw.

Surgeon's Mate-Christian Reinecke.

Pay Master-David Harris.

Commissary-John Biddle.

Wagon Master-Adam Egle.

The officers of this famous battalion of riflemen were the first after General Wash- ington to receive commissions from Con- gress, and these patriots from Pennsylvania were the first troops west of the Hudson and south of Long Island to join the American army under the commander-in- chief at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The York riflemen, after crossing the Susque- hanna, passed through Reading and Bethle- hem, reaching New York before any other Pennsylvania company, and proceeded to Boston, arriving there July 25. At this time there were 10,000 British regulars in Boston under Sir William Howe, and others were on the way from England.

160

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Washington Takes

Command.

Thomas Johnson, a delegate from Frederick, Maryland, and afterward the first governor of Maryland, nominated George Washington for commander-in- chief of the American army. John Adams, in an eloquent speech, seconded the motion, and Washington, who was then a member of Congress from Virginia, was unani- mously chosen. He started for Boston on horseback June 21, and, while passing through New York city, June 25, received the news of the battle of Bunker Hill. He arrived at Cambridge July 2. The next day he took formal command, drawing his sword under an elm tree which a few years ago was appropriately marked. At this time there were 14,500 New England troops equipped for duty around Boston, but ac- cording to an official statement they had only nine rounds of ammunition to a man. Washington at once organized these raw troops into divisions for drill and discipline, and began to lay siege to the city of Boston.

The arrival of the troops from Pennsyl- vania was enthusiastically received by the patriots of New England. The evidences of the courage and fortitude of the riflemen from York and their willingness to join in the struggle for American liberty is shown by the following extracts from Moore's Diary of the Revolution :

Troops in

Action.

York July 25, 1775 .- Capt. Doudel, with his company of riflemen from York, Penn- sylvania, arrived at Cambridge about one o'clock today, and since has made pro- posals to General Washington to attack the transport stationed on Charles river. He will engage to take the transport with thirty men. The General thinks it best to decline at present; but at the same time commends the spirit of Captain Doudel and his brave men who, though just arrived after a very long march, offer to execute the plan immediately.

July 30, 1775 .- Last Friday the regulars cnt several trees and were busy all night in throwing up a line of abatis in Charlestown Neck. In the evening orders were given to the York county riflemen to march down to our advanced post in Charlestown Neck, to endeavor to surround the advanced guard and bring off some prisoners, from whom we expected to learn their design in throwing up their abatis in the Neck. The rifle com- pany divided and executed their plan in the following manner : Captain Doudel with thirty-nine men filed off to the right of Bunker Hill, and, creeping on their hands and knees, got into the rear without being dis- covered. The other band of forty men, under Lieu- tenant Miller, were successful in getting behind the sentinels on the left, and were within a few yards of

now in session behind closed . doors in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia. On June 15 Continental Congress was joining the division on the right, when a party of reg- ulars came down the hill to relieve their guard, and crossed our riflemen under Captain Doudel as they were lying on the ground in Indian file. The regulars were within twenty yards of our men before they saw them and immediately fired. The riflemen returned the salute, killed several and brought off two prisoners and their arms, with the loss of Corporal Cruise, who is supposed to have been killed as he has not been heard of since the affair.

August 9, 1775 .- The riflemen from York county have annoyed the regulars very much. By a gentleman who left Boston yesterday, we hear that Captains Percival and Sabine of the Marines, Captain Johnston of the Royal Irish, and Captain LeMoine of the train, were killed Monday. Captain Chetwyn, son of Lord Chet- wyn, is mortally wounded. The number of privates killed this week we have not heard. The' regulars have thrown up a breastwork across the neck at the foot of Bunker Hill to protect their sentries and advance guards.

Frothingham, in describing Thompson's battalion and other riflemen from the south in his "Siege of Boston," says:

" The riflemen from Pennsylvania at- tracted much attention. They had enlisted with great promptness and had marched from four to seven hundred miles. In a short time large bodies of them arrived in camp. They were remarkably stout, hardy men, dressed in white frocks, or rifle shirts, and round hats, and were skillful marksmen. At a review, a company of them, while on a quick advance, fired balls into circular targets seven inches in diameter at a distance of 250 yards. They were stationed on the lines and became terrible to the British. The account of their prowess was circulated over England."

Corporal Walter Cruise, mentioned A Local Hero. in the above extract from Moore's Diary, was a member of Captain Doudel's company from York. He was taken a prisoner to the British camp. So many of the officers and privates of the royal army had fallen under the un- erring aim of the Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia riflemen that Cruise, being one of the first of them to be captured, be- came the object of their resentment. The British finally sent him to England to be tried on certain charges, where a curiosity had been aroused to see, in his frontier costume, one of the riflemen of whom they had heard such wonderful stories. After a term of imprisonment he was taken before the mayor of London, but that magistrate, finding no crime charged against him, of which he could take cognizance, released

1 1

-------- i i

-------------- 1 1

161

THE REVOLUTION

him from custody. Arthur Lee, of Virginia, mittee, of which he was a member, was the secret agent in London for the Ameri- adopted July 4 at Independence Hall, Phila- can colonies, upon hearing of Cruise's re- delphia. lease, sent for him and after congratulating him upon regaining his freedom, delivered Cruise a package of papers.

" These papers are of the greatest 1110- ment to the liberty of our country. Can I trust you to deliver them safely into the hands of General Washington and the Continental Congress ?"

You can trust me," was the reply.

" Then I will secure a passage for you to Halifax, the nearest and safest route to America. For the cause of American liberty you will guard these papers well, and when you arrive in America, deliver them as soon as possible to General Wash- ington and the Continental Congress. I can promise you that your country will not forget your services.'

Thompson's battalion of Pennsylvania riflemen remained with the army under Washington during the summer of 1775, participating in the siege of Boston. Cap- tain Michael Doudel, who commanded the company from York County, resigned his commission on account of ill health and re- turned to his family at York. Lieutenant Henry Miller was promoted to captain. This battalion was placed in the division of General Charles Lee upon the organization of the American army around Boston. It remained in his command until August 20, when it was transferred to General Israel Putnam, encamped four miles from Cam- bridge. On August 29, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Hand writes:

Our battalion formed the picket guard of the two evening of the 26th of August took posses- sion of Ploughed Hill and threw up en-

Wishing him success on his mission, thousand provincial troops who on the Arthur Lee bade him farewell, and Cruise was soon aboard a vessel bound for America. On his arrival at Halifax, the trenchments, and on the morning of the heroic corporal hastened with his valuable 27th met with its first loss, Private Simpson, of Captain Matthew Smith's company, who was wounded in the leg and died there- from.' despatches to New York, the headquarters of the American army, where he delivered them safely into. the hands of General Washington, who immediately. transmitted phia, where the news was eagerly received. An impression had been prevalent among the American people that peace commis- sioners would be sent to adjust the differ- ences between England and the colonies, but instead, the despatches brought by Corporal Cruise informed them that the King intended to send more English troops and to hire German soldiers for the war in America.

Captain James Wilkinson, who, after the copies to Continental Congress at Philadel- Revolution, became commander-in-chief of the army, joined Thompson's battalion at Boston as a volunteer. In recording the death of Private Simpson, he says: "The young man was visited and consoled during his illness by General Washington in per- son and by most of the officers of rank be- longing to the army. Every exertion by surgeons was made to save him, and his death became a theme of common sorrow in an army of twelve or fourteen thousand men."

Nothing enraged the Ameri- Declaration of cans more than the arrival of this news nor urged them Independence. more to declare indepen- dence, than this hiring of foreign mercenaries by the British govern-

An incident now occurred

Proposed which interested all the Penn-

Canada sylvania soldiers under Colo- Expedition. nel Thompson. An expedi- tion had been planned to in- vade Canada. The story goes that this ex- then considered a skillful soldier, who held

ment. At length, in June, a motion was made in Congress by Richard Henry Lee, pedition was suggested by Benedict Arnold, a delegate from Virginia, "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to the commission of colonel in the army be. free and independent states." This around Boston. One thousand men were to be detached and sent under Arnold through the wilderness of Maine to Quebec. On September 5 the company under Captain motion was carried on July 2 and the Declaration of Independence draughted by Thomas Jefferson and revised by a com-

162

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Smith, of Dauphin County, and the com- wounded; British loss, seventeen killed and pany under Captain Hendricks, of Cumber- one wounded." land County, were ordered to parade upon ing Arnold, and they united with his expe- dition the following week. The story of their experience in this campaign is given in the history of the first expedition to Canada, described elsewhere in this work.

The next day, according to official re- the Boston Common, preparatory to join- ports, Colonel Thompson and his battalion were publicly thanked by Washington in general orders. » General Washington's army around Boston was increased in numbers by the arrival of new troops during the winter of 1775-6. Early in March there were indications that General Howe, the commander of the British forces, was making arrangements to evacuate the city, and on the 17th of March the siege of Boston ended, when General Howe set sail with his army for Halifax, in Nova Scotia. It was this incident in American history that gave rise to the humorous expression " Gone to Halifax," After his arrival at Halifax, Howe made arrangements for an expedition against New York City.

The York riflemen under Henry Miller were disappointed in not having the oppor- tunity of joining Arnold on this expedition, for they already had attained a high reputa- tion as trained marksmen. A trouble had arisen, however, in Thompson's command, for some of his troops, including the York Riflemen, had been lax in discipline, even going so far as to have released some of their companions from the guard house, for which offense they themselves were punished. In order that idleness might not be a bane to them, the commanding general ordered that they should thereafter do all camp duty the same as other regiments. Obedient to the order, a strict discipline was now enforced by the company officers, and a contemporary letter states, "that upon every alarm it was impossible for men to behave . with more readiness or attend better to their duty." On the 9th of November, these men, who had already been the first Pennsylvania troops to en- gage the British in armed conflict, took part in the skirmish at Lechmere's Point, in sight of Boston. In describing this affair the Philadelphia Evening Post of 1775 says :

Valor of

Pennsylvania

" The British had landed under cover of a fire from their batteries on Bunker,

Immediately after the departure of the British, Washington took possession of Boston. Believing that the final destination of Howe was New York, he began to move part of his army toward that city, leaving Boston in possession of New England troops. He accompanied his army on the march toward New York.

Colonel Thompson was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general on March I, and Lieutenant-Colonel Hand was placed in command of the battalion, receiving his commission as colonel from Continental Congress, March 7. During the siege of Boston, Walter Cruise, John Brown and Cornelius Turner, of York County, were taken prisoners. At this time Colonel Ed- ward Hand reported that his battalion was composed of six companies.

Hand's battalion, which now in official papers was called a reg-

Troops. Breed's and Copp's hills, as An well as from a frigate which Historic iment, had a standard of " deep Banner. green ground, the device a tiger partly enclosed by toils attempt- ing the pass, defended by a hunter armed with a spear (in white) on crimson field, the motto 'Domari Nolo.'" Their uni- forms were made of brown holland and Osnaburgs, something like a shirt, double caped over the shoulders in imitation of the Indians ; and on the breast in capital letters was their motto, " Liberty or Death." lay three hundred yards off the point. In a high tide it is an island. Colonel Thomp- son marched instantly with his men, and though it was a very stormy day, they re- garded not the tide nor waited for boats, but took to the water up to their armpits, for a quarter of a mile, and notwithstand- ing the regulars' fire, reached the island, and although the enemy were lodged behind the walls and under cover, drove them to their boats. Loss, one killed (Alexander When Washington discovered that Howe Creighton, of Ross' company) and three was preparing to leave Boston, he sent

----

-------- - --

1 1

163

THE REVOLUTION

General Sullivan with Thompson's, now Hand's, riflemen with five other regiments to New York. They left Boston on March 14 and arrived at New York March 28. Ar- rangements had been made for Sullivan to reinforce the expedition against Montreal in Canada, taking the place of Thomas, who succeeded Montgomery after the latter had been killed.

March to

Long

Island.

Hand's regiment, in which the York riflemen, under Captain Mil- ler, were now serving, was placed under General Israel Putnam, who had been sent to New York by

Washington to take command of all the forces in and around that city and await the expected arrival of the British army from Halifax. April 5. Hand's reg- iment was moved by order of General Put- nam to Long Island, where it remained at a station near New Utrecht during the re- mainder of April and the months of May and June, doing some good service.

On the 22d of April, 1776, General Wash- ington said in a letter to the President of Congress. " The time for which the rifle- men enlisted will expire on the first of July next, and as the loss of such a valuable and brave body of men will be of great injury to the service I would submit it to the con- sideration of Congress whether it would not be best to adopt some method to induce them to continue. They are, indeed, a very useful corps, but I need not mention this, as their importance is already known to Congress."

Congress had (without the knowledge of the commander-in-chief) passed a resolu- tion, dated April 15. to recruit and re-enlist the battalion and the independent rifle com- panies attached to it. for a term of two years unless sooner discharged. On the 30th of June, the day when the time of those who did not re-enlist expired. Colonel Hand said in a letter. "Almost all the men discharged today declare that they will stay to know what the fleet will do," meaning the British fleet bringing Howe's army from Halifax to the harbor of New York. On the first of July, 1776, the rifle battalion, recruited and re-enlisted, entered on another term of service as the First Regiment of Pennsyl- vania in the Continental Line. Pennsyl- vania troops thus formed the first regiment of the regular army of the United States.

FIRST EXPEDITION TO CANADA.

Soon after the opening of the war at Lexington and Concord, the conquest of Canada was contemplated by the New England leaders, but Congress was un- willing to adopt measures except such as were purely defensive in character. It was only with reluctance that Congress had sanctioned the garrisoning of Ticonderoga in northeastern New York by Connecticut troops. During the summer of 1775 it was ascertained that Sir Guy Carleton, the Governor of Canada, was about to take steps to recover Ticonderoga, which had been captured by Ethan Allen in May. Congress also learned that the English had intrigued with the Iroquois Indians of cen- tral New York to harass the New England frontier and the region along the Hudson River. With this condition of affairs Congress resolved upon the invasion of Canada as a measure of self-defence.

An expedition led by General

Richard Montgomery passed

March to down Lake Champlain against

Quebec. Montreal. On September 12. Montgomery, with a force of two thousand men, laid siege to the fortress of St. John's, which commanded the approach to Montreal. After a siege of fifty days St. John's surrendered and Montgomery en- tered Montreal nine days later. Meanwhile Washington, in command of the army at Cambridge, detached one thousand infantry. Morgan's Virginia sharpshooters, and two companies of riflemen from Pennsylvania to advance through the forests of Maine to Quebec. This expedition was in command of Colonel Benedict Arnold, who is sup- posed to have suggested it. Aaron Burr served on the staff of Arnold in this expedi- tion and at one time acted as a spy in the garb of a Catholic priest. One of the Penn- sylvania companies that went with this ex- pedition was recruited in Cumberland County and was commanded by Captain William Hendricks; the other commanded by Captain Matthew Smith, had been raised in the present area of Dauphin County. Both of these companies had served in Thompson's Battalion at the siege of Boston and both contained some York County sol- diers. Lieutenant Michael Simpson, who afterward wrote the introduction to Hon.

164

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Jolin Joseph Henry's account of this expe-

York county had no troops yet organized in dition, was a lieutenant in Captain Smith's response to these various calls for the ex- company. He resided on the Simpson Ferry property at New Market in Fairview Township. pedition to Canada, James Smith, a practic- ing lawyer and chairman of the Committee of Safety for York county, wrote the fol- lowing letter :

Arnold's march, which was as difficult as Hannibal's crossing of the Alps, was con- ducted with great ability, but it was nearly ruined by the misconduct of a subordinate officer, who deserted with two hundred men and the greater part of the provisions. After frightful hardships to which two hun- dred more men succumbed, on the 13th of November the little army climbed the Heights of Abraham, fronting Quebec. As Arnold's force was insufficient to storm the city and the garrison would not come out to fight, he was obliged to await the arrival of Montgomery, who had just taken Montreal.

On the morning of December 31, Mont- gomery and Arnold made a combined attack on Quebec and each came near carrying his point, but in the assault Montgomery was slain and Arnold wounded in the leg. The enthusiasm of the troops was chilled and they were repelled. Captain Morgan suc- ceeded Montgomery in the temporary com- mand but in a violent attack on the British, he and his company were made prisoners. With the failure of this desperate attack passed away the golden opportunity for tak- ing the citadel of Canada. Arnold remained throughout the winter in the neighborhood of Quebec and in the spring the enterprise was taken up by Wooster and Sullivan with fresh forces.

During the fall of 1775 Con- Reinforce- ments for gress asked that five battalions be raised in Pennsylvania to re- Canada. inforce the expedition for the conquest of Canada. When these battalions were organized the first was commanded by John Philip De Hass, of Lebanon ; the second by Colonel Arthur St. Clair, of Westmoreland county, who had seen service in the British army under Am- herst; the third by Colonel John Shea, an Irish merchant of Philadelphia; the fourth by Colonel Anthony Wayne, a surveyor and member of the assembly from Chester county, and the fifth by Colonel Robert McGaw, of Carlisle. January 4, 1776, Con- gress passed a resolution that a sixth bat- talion be raised in Pennsylvania, which was recruited west of the Susquehanna.

James Smith to Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris, Esquires, and the Committee of Safety of Penn- sylvania.

York, Pa., December 23, 1775-

Gentlemen :- By the last night's post we received the public papers, acquainting us of the resolve of congress touching the raising of four battalions in this province and desiring the committee of safety to appoint the com- pany officers and recommend the field officers of those battalions to the honorable continental congress.

The time limited for the appointment and recom- mendation being fixed to the second of January it will be impracticable for the members of your committee in this county to attend; in this situation of affairs the Committee of Correspondence for York County hope your board will not think it improper to trouble you on that subject, well knowing that the great cause of American liberty is our primary object and that every- thing that may tend to forward that glorious canse through whatever channel will not be unacceptable. I am directed by the Committee of Correspondence for this county to write to the Committee of Safety and in the strongest terms to request that the board may please to recommend Thomas Hartley, Esq., to be lien- tenant colonel of one of the battalions to be raised in this province and in case that recommendation should take place that the board will please to appoint David Grier, Esq., to be captain ; John McDowell, lieutenant ; William Nichols, ensign, of one company; Moses Mc- Clean, captain; Lewis Bush, lieutenant, and Robert Hoopes, ensign, of another company in the same bat- talion; and if a third company should be raised in York county to please to appoint Bernard Eichelberger, cap- tain or lieutenant as you may think best.

If the board should think this application not im- proper in this situation and it should be agreeable to them, the Committee of Correspondence here will exert every nerve in assisting the officers to get their com- panies filled in the most expeditious manner with the best men and at the least possible expense to the public. I am Gentlemen with great respect Your most humble Servant,

To Benjamin Franklin & James Smith, Chair'

Robert Morris, Esq., and of the Com'e York Co.

the Committee of Safety of the Province of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia.

By the Lancaster post to be delivered as soon as possible.

SIXTH PENNSYLVANIA BATTALION

William Irvine, a graduate of medicine from the University of Dublin, who settled at Carlisle in 1764, where he practiced his profession until the opening of the Revolu- tion, was appointed to command the Sixth Battalion. Colonel Irvine had served as an officer in the British army in the war be- tween England and France before he came As to this country. Thomas Hartley, then a

---- -- -- --- 1 1

1 1 1 1

165

THE REVOLUTION

practicing lawyer at York, was made lieu- one ensign, four sergeants and four cor- tenant colonel : James Dunlap, major ; Rev. porals ; privates to be enlisted for one year William Linn, chaplain : John Brooks, ad- jutant, and Robert Johnston, surgeon. at five dollars per month ; each private to be allowed instead of bounty. one felt hat. a pair of yarn stockings and a pair of shoes ; the men to find their own arms; the en- listed men to be furnished with a hunting shirt, not exceeding in value one and one- third of a dollar, and a blanket, provided these can be procured but not to be made part of the terms of enlistment.

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.

History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 30

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1372

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372