History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 33

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

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Hand's riflemen followed the

Hand's fortunes of the army under

Regiment Washington on the east bank in New of the Hudson. On October 12 York. Colonel Hand and his riflemen assisted by Colonel Prescott, of Bunker Hill fame, checked the advance of the British at Pell's Neck, immediately after they had landed from Long Island. Octo- ber 23 Colonel Hand attacked two hundred and forty Hessian chasseurs near East Chester and routed them. In both these skirmishes Captain Miller and his York County men took a conspicuous part.

At this juncture General Greene, with a small force, garrisoned Fort Lee, upon the

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THE REVOLUTION

Palisades on the west bank of the Hudson, nearly opposite Fort Washington. Sulli- van, Stirling and Morgan, who had been captured at the battle of Long Island in August, now rejoined the army after being exchanged. General Charles Lee arrived from South Carolina and was placed second in command of the American army around New York. Washington had taken up his headquarters at White Plains, where both armies were concentrating. The Americans were placed in four divisions commanded respectively by Lee, Heath. Sullivan and Lincoln. On October 28 Howe attacked Washington at White Plains; where he lost two hundred and twenty-nine men.

Washington now moved up the river and soon after had five thousand of his men under Putnam cross to the west side of the Hudson into New Jersey at Hackensack. thousand men to guard the entrance to the Highlands, and left Lee at North Castle with seven thousand men. The enemy greatly outnumbered Washington at this time. His entire army was credited with nineteen thousand men, but the term of service of many of them had expired, so that his entire army did not exceed twelve thousand efficient, men to oppose twenty- five thousand trained British and Hessian soldiers. At a council of war now held with his generals, Washington decided to retreat across New Jersey, but Congress desired that he should continue to hold Forts Washington and Lee. The officious inter- ference of Congress, an error of judgment on the part of Greene, and the insubordina- tion of Lee, occurring altogether at the critical moment brought about the greatest disaster of the war and came within an ace of overwhelming the American cause in total and irretrievable ruin. The story of the disaster of Fort Washington, where York County lost at least six hundred officers and men, is told in the succeeding pages of this work in an article relating to the Flying Camp.

CHAPTER XIII

REVOLUTION-Continued.

The Flying Camp-York County Regi- ments-Battle of Fort Washington- Washington's Retreat and Victory at Trenton-Battle of Princeton.

In June. 1776, after the British under General Howe had evacuated Boston and were about to

threaten New York, Continental Congress issued a call for troops to join Washington's army. These troops, 10,000 in num- ber, were to be enlisted for a term of six months from the organized militia in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Colonel Miles' Rifle Regiment and Colonel Atlee's Battalion of Musketry, state troops already in the field, in all 1500 men, were to He sent Heath up to Peekskill with three be accredited as part of the quota from Pennsylvania, which was expected to raise 6000 men. Maryland was to furnish 3400 and Delaware 600. This body of troops after enlistment and organization became known as the Flying Camp. By request of Washington, his personal friend, General Hugh Mercer, a physician by profession and a soldier by instinct, was selected as com- mander with the rank of brigadier-general.

General Mercer was a native of

General Scotland, and in 1747, settled in

Mercer. Franklin County, Pennsylvania, at the site of Mercersburg, where he practiced medicine among his Scotch- Irish neighbors. He had served with dis- tinction in the French and Indian war under Braddock, being severely wounded in the shoulder at Monongahela, and received a medal from the city of Philadelphia for his bravery in this expedition. In 1758, he commanded a regiment under General Forbes against the Indians at Fort Du- quesne. After the close of the French and Indian war, he practiced his profession at Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he became a close and intimate friend of Washington.

The enlisted men of the Flying Camp under the act of Congress, were required to furnish their own arms, blankets, haversacks and knapsacks. Men, unable to furnish their own muskets, were to be supplied with arms which had been made by order of the Assembly for the use of the militia. The Pennsylvania Assembly adjourned in June,

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

1776, without completing arrangements for the organization of troops for the Flying Camp. The Pennsylvania Conference, composed of representatives from the com- mittees of safety in the different counties, met in Philadelphia during the latter part of June. This conference considered itself the only representative body in Pennsyl- vania and made immediate provisions for the enlistment of as many as possible of the 4500 men intended for the Flying Camp. The conference appointed a committee of twelve men representing the different coun- ties of Pennsylvania to devise ways and means for raising the 4500 men, and to in- quire into all matters necessary for sending them to the army.

In the apportionment Philadelphia city and county was to furnish 956 men ; Bucks County. 400 men: Chester County, 652; Berks, 666; Northampton, 346; Cumberland, 334; Lancaster, 746; York, 400. Colonel Richard McAllister, the founder of Han- over, then in command of a battalion of militia, was a representative from York County on this committee. The Pennsyl- vania Conference appointed Colonel James Smith, Dr. Benjamin Rush and John Bayard to prepare a draft of an address to the As- sociators. James Smith was then a prac- ticing lawyer at York and commander of a battalion of militia in this county.

A Patriotic Appeal.

The address which Smith and his associates prepared is sup- posed to have been written by caster, to which the militia of the state were

this ardent patriot, who shortly after signed the Declaration of Independ- ence. The address reads as follows :

To the Associators of Pennsylvania :

Gentlemen :- The only design of our meeting to- gether was to put an end to our own power in the province, by fixing upon a plan for calling a convention, to forin a government under the authority of the people. But the sudden and unexpected separation of the late assembly, has compelled us to undertake the execution of a resolve of Congress, for calling forth 4500 of the militia of the Province, to join the militia of the neigh- boring colonies, to form a camp for our immediate protection., We presume only to recommend the plan we have formed to you, trusting that in a case of so much consequence, your love of virtue and zeal for liberty will supply the want of authority delegated to us expressly for that purpose.

We need not remind you that you are now furnished with new motives to animate and support your courage. You are now about to contend against the power of Great Britain, in order to displace one set of villains to make room for another. Your arms will not be ener- vated in the day of battle with the reflection, that you are to risk your lives or shed your blood for a British

tyrant; or that your posterity will have your work to do over again. You are about to contend for perma- nent freedom, to be supported by a government which will be derived from yourselves, and which will have for its object, not the emolument of one man or class of men only, but the safety, liberty and happiness of every individual in the community. We call upon you, therefore, by the respect and obedience which are due to the authority of the United Colonies to concur in this important measure. The present campaign will probably decide the fate of America. It is now in your power to immortalize your names, by mingling your achieve- ments with the events of the year 1776-a year which we hope will be famed in the annals of history to the end of time, for establishing upon a lasting foundation the liberties of one quarter of the globe.

Remember the honor of our colonies is at stake. Should you desert the common cause at the present juncture, the glory you have acquired by your former exertions of strength and virtue, will be tarnished; and our friends and brethren, who are now acquiring laurels in the most remote parts of America, will reproach us and blush to own themselves natives or inhabitants of Pennsylvania.

But there are other motives before you. Your houses, your fields, the legacies of your ancestors, or the dear- bought fruits of your own industry, and your liberty, now urge you to the field. These cannot plead with you in vain, or we might point out to you further, your wives, your children, your aged fathers and mothers, who now look up to you for aid, and hope for salvation in this day of calamity, only from the instrumentality of your swords.

Remember the name of Pennsylvania. Think of your ancestors and of your posterity.

Signed by the unanimous order of the conference,

Thomas Mckean, President. June 25, 1776.

The formation of the Flying

Elect Camp, as directed by Con- Brigadiers. gress, from such of the asso- ciated battalions as volun- teered for the purpose. required full organ- ization, and a meeting was called at Lan-

directed to send representatives. This meeting, composed of the delegates from the officers and privates of the fifty-three battalions of Associators, convened on the memorable Fourth of July, 1776. for the purpose of choosing two brigadier-generals. Colonel George Ross was chosen president of the meeting, and Colonel David Clymer, secretary. Colonel Mark Burd, Colonel George Ross and Captain Sharp Dulaney were appointed judges of the election. The election was held and resulted in the choice of Daniel Roberdeau and James Ewing. the former having 160 votes and the latter 85. Upon the announcement of this result, the president immediately declared Daniel Rob- erdeau commander of the First Brigade and James Ewing commander of the Second Brigade.

Daniel Roberdeau was a native of the

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Island of St. Christopher, and became a brethren have been compelled to enter the prominent merchant of Philadelphia. In war, and those who were married and had gone to Jersey, have again returned in the first part of the week to their respective homes. The young single men of our so- ciety, of whom there are about ten absent, have been drawn into the Flying Camp. 1776 he was the colonel of a battalion of As- sociators. In May of the same year he pre- sided over a public meeting at Philadelphia, which favored the Declaration of Independ- ence. In that year he owned a privateer which captured a prize of $22,000, which money he turned over to the disposal of Congress. In 1777 he was a leading mem- ber of Continental Congress at York.

"In the beginning of September, some of those who had gone to the front from here returned. On the 28th of September, 1776. Philip Rothrock returned from a visit to his sons in camp near New York."

James Ewing was a citizen of York County, residing on his plantation in Hel- lam township, near Wrightsville. He was then forty years of age. He had served as a lieutenant in Forbes' expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1758. In 1771-5 he was a member of the General Assembly of Penn- sylvania, and at the outbreak of the Revo- lution became a member of the Committee of Safety for York County.

On July 7. 1776, the pastor of the Moravian Church at York, made

Local the following entry in his diary:

Diary. "Strict orders came that all As- sociators of this county should hold themselves in readiness to march to the front. In the following week they left. "July 17-Yorktown seems quite de- serted on account of the departure for the army of all men under fifty years of age. Our young men had to leave for Jersey. Ernst Schlosser, the three sons of Brothers Rothrock, Brinkman, John Seifer's eldest son, John Hoenrison, and, in short, the most of the others who are under fifty years of age, will have to march off in the next few days. Several of our people, because the town has been so emptied, have in addi- tion to other persons been elected as mem- bers of the committee ad interim, with a guard given them day and night, in order to maintain peace and quietness, and give security against the plots of Tories. All business is prostrated, all shops are closed. How many prayers and tears will now be brought before the Lord, by parents for their children, by children for their parents, by wives for their husbands.

"August-Numerous bands of soldiers from Maryland, Virginia, etc., passed through the town.

"September 4-Our town has not re-

mained exempt from the prevailing unrest . of the land. None of our communicant

In obedience to the call for

The militia from Pennsylvania

Organization. to join the Flying Camp. being formed in the State of New Jersey, five battalions of Associ- ators left York County in July, 1776. These battalions passed through Lancaster and Philadelphia, and then proceeded by water to Trenton and from thence to the head- quarters of the Flying Camp at Perth Am- boy, arriving there late in July. At this time, other battalions of Associators from Pennsylvania and New Jersey arrived at Perth Amboy, where General Mercer and his brigadiers, Ewing and Roberdeau, began the organization of the Flying Camp, by asking volunteer enlistments.

The Convention of the State of Penn- sylvania, on August 12, resolved to add four additional battalions to the Flying Camp. York County being re- quired to furnish men 515 toward making out the number of 2,984, the amount of the four new battalions. On the same day, Colonel George Ross, vice- president of the convention ; Colonel Thomas Matlack, of Philadelphia, and Colonel Henry Slagle, of York County, were chosen commissioners to go to the headquarters in New Jersey, to aid in form- ing the Flying Camp. Before a complete organization had been effected, the British were threatening the city of New York. Colonel Miles' regiment was sent to Long Island, and the newly organized regiments under Swope and McAllister, of York County, were sent forward for active operations in the field.

After the requisite number had been en- listed, General Mercer issued an order. August 19, authorizing the return to their homes of the balance of the associated militia. This patriotic band of soldiers was

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

organized shortly after the Declaration of Seventh Company- Independence, when the political affairs of the State of Pennsylvania were controlled by the Provincial Conference.

The British army under General Howe was arriving on Long Island from Halifax, Nova Scotia, where it had gone after evacuating Boston. New York was in the hands of the Americans and a battle between Washington and Howe was soon expected at Long Island or in the northern part of New Jersey.

YORK COUNTY REGIMENTS.

York County showed her loyalty to the cause of independence by sending more troops from the militia service than were needed for her quota for the organization of the Flying Camp. Two regiments had been formed from the York County militia. These commands were designated the First and Second Pennsylvania Regiments of the Flying Camp. The officers of the First Regiment were: Michael Swope, colonel ; Robert Stevenson, lieutenant-colonel ; Wil- liam Bailey, major. It was composed of eight companies with the following officers :

First Company-

Michael Schmeiser, captain. Zachariah Shugart, first lieutenant. Andrew Robinson, second lieutenant. William Wayne, ensign.

Second Company- Gerhart Graeff, captain. Daniel McCollom, ensign.

Third Company-

Jacob Dritt, captain. John Baymiller, first lieutenant. Henry Clayton, second lieutenant. Jacob Mayer, ensign. Daniel Herrington, corporal. Fourth Company-

Christian Stake, captain. Cornelius Sheriff, first lieutenant. Jacob Holtzinger, second lieutenant. Jacob Barnitz, ensign.

Fifth Company-

John McDonald, captain. William Scott, first lieutenant. Robert Patton, second lieutenant. Ensign Howe.

Sixth Company- John Ewing, captain. William Paysley, ensign.

William Nelson, captain. James Todd, first lieutenant. Joseph Welsh, second lieutenant. Ensign Nesbit. Eighth Company-

Joshua Williams, captain. Jacob Brinkerhoff, ensign.

Soon after the organization, Colonel Swope's regiment, with other commands of Ewing's brigade, was ordered to garrison Fort Constitution, afterward named Fort Lee, situated on the west side of the Hud- son River, above New York City. October S, it contained 37 commissioned officers and staff, 44 non-commissioned officers, and 359 rank and file.

The Second Pennsylvania

McAllister's Regiment. Regiment of the Flying Camp, commanded by Colo- nel Richard McAllister, was composed of eight companies. Six of these companies were recruited out of the battalions of militia which had marched to New Jersey from the various parts of York County, and the territory now embraced in Adams County. These companies were commanded respectively by Captains Nich- olas Bittinger, William McCarter, W. Mc- Coskey, John Laird, Samuel Wilson and John Paxton. Two companies from Bucks County belonged to this regiment. Mc- Allister's regiment was at Perth Amboy October 8, 1776, when it contained 4I com- missioned officers and staff, 43 non- commissioned officers and 438 rank and file. David Kennedy was lieutenant-colonel and John Clark, who had previously served with the first troops that left York for Boston, was commissioned major.

Meantime, the battle of Long Island had been fought and the British had taken possession of New York City, which then covered the lower part of Manhattan Island. Washington retreated to the northern part of the island and then placed his army on both sides of the Hudson. The enemy held Long Island and Staten Island. General Mercer, commanding the Flying Camp, despatched McAllister's regiment to attack a body of the enemy on Staten Island, October 14. Major John Clark, in his autobiography, says, "In the expedition to Staten Island, I took a stand of British colors of the Twenty-third Light Dragoons. .

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THE REVOLUTION

I commanded the advance of 500 riflemen British army, was sent to summon the gar- and the first Hessians taken, or rather Waldeckers, fell into my hands, about sixty." rison in Fort Washington to surrender, threatening at the same time, to "put it to the sword," if the demand was rejected. At this juncture, Colonel McGaw sent the fol- lowing communication to General Greene :

Soon after the Staten Island affair, Mc- Allister's regiment joined the brigade at Fort Lee. At this time, Major Clark selected 200 men from the' regiment to guard the passes opposite White Plains. He fortified his position and laid plans to pre- vent detachments of Howe's army from passing up the Hudson.

With the same detachment on November 9. at the command of General Greene, Clark was sent to Dobb's Ferry on the east side of the Hudson to protect the landing of a quantity of flour for the American die." army. With his accustomed sagacity, Clark reconnoitered the situation and dis- covered that the enemy to the number of remarkable document to the adjutant- with the directions of Colonel McGaw:

about 5,000 were encamped nearby. He general of the British army in accordance reported that in his opinion, the British were laying plans to cross the river and "If I rightly understand the purport of attack Fort Washington, situated in the your message from General Howe, com- northern part of Manhattan Island.

Swope's regiment was stationed on the be immediately surrendered or the garrison

New Jersey side of the Hudson to guard the passes of that stream during the battle of White Plains, fought on the eastern side of the river, below Yonkers. Colonel Robert McGaw, of Cumberland County, Pennsyl- vania, with twelve hundred men, was placed in charge of the defenses of Fort Washing- ton. General Greene, struck with the im- portance of protecting McGaw, suggested to the commander-in-chief that a portion of the Flying Camp, then stationed on the western side of the Hudson, should cross over and assist Colonel McGaw in defend- ing Fort Washington. This fort was con- sidered a strategic point, and General Howe determined to attack it with a large force. It was one of the most hazardous positions defended by Pennsylvania troops during the entire period of the Revolution. Ten thousand regulars would have been re- quired to successfully perform this. duty.

BATTLE OF FORT WASHINGTON.

In accordance with Greene's suggestion, Colonel Swope's and a part of McAllister's regiments crossed the Hudson and joined the Pennsylvania troops under McGaw in entire command to Colonel McGaw and his defending the fort. November 15, the heroic band of patriots. adjutant-general, Colonel Patterson, of the

"A flag of truce came out just now from King's Bridge. The adjutant-general was at the head of it. I sent down Colonel Swope. The adjutant-general would hardly give him two hours for an alternative be- tween surrendering at discretion or every man being put to the sword. He waits an answer. I shall send him a proper one. You will, I dare say, do what is best. We are determined to defend the post or

In response to this communication, Colo- nel Swope, of York, delivered the following municated to Colonel Swope, this post is to

put to the sword. I rather think it is a mistake than a settled resolution in General Howe to act a part so unworthy of himself and the British nation.

"But give me leave to assure his Excel- lency that, actuated by the most glorious cause of mankind ever fought in, I am de- termined to defend this post to the very last extremity."

After learning the determination of these gallant Pennsylvania troops, the British decided to make the attack, the following day. Early in the morning on the six- teenth, the enemy's batteries from the east- ern side of the Harlem River, opened fire upon the commands of Colonel Baxter, of Maryland, and Colonel Lambert Cadwalla- der, of Pennsylvania, who held positions without the fort.

Meantime General Washington, with Greene, Mercer and Putnam, crossed the river from Fort Lee to the vicinity of Fort Washington, and examined the position of the American troops and reconnoitered the movements of the enemy. These officers then returned to Fort Lee, entrusting the

About noon, General Knyphausen, com-

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

manding the Hessian forces, began furious attack upon the north. Simulta- neous attacks were made by Lord Percy on the south, and Colonel Sterling and General Matthews crossed the Harlem river and moved on the fort from the east. The British drove the Americans from their out- posts and soon stood victorious upon the hills overlooking the open fields around Fort Washington. Near the fort severe skirmishes took place and many of the Hes- sian pursuers were slain. The defense was gallant, but pike, ball and bayonet, used by five thousand men, overpowered the weak- ened patriots and they were nearly all gathered within the ramparts of the fort. but not until about 1,000 men had fallen into the hands of the enemy.

· Surrender of the Fort.

General Howe sent an order for surrender. Perceiving fur- ther resistance to be in vain, McGaw complied and at half past one the British flag was waving where the Continental banner had been unfurled defiantly in the morning. The entire gar- rison, numbering nearly three thousand men, surrendered. Washington, standing on the ramparts of Fort Lee with tears in his eyes, saw the garrison in Fort Washing- ton meet its doom, and the American ban- ner torn down and replaced by the flag of England.

When the attack on Fort Washington began about noon of November 16, 1776, Swope's regiment was defending one of the outposts some distance to the southeast. His position was assaulted by the Hessian troops under Knyphausen. Swope's men fought gallantly, but being overpowered by the enemy, were compelled to fall back. In this movement they were flanked by the British and Hessians and forced to sur- render. Almost the entire command of 400 York County soldiers became prisoners of war. Jacob Barnitz, a young man of eighteen and a color bearer of the regiment. was wounded in both legs by rifle balls and was left on the field. The attack of the enemy was violent and impetuous, and as they approached the outposts of the fort, the Hessians lost heavily in killed and wounded from the well directed aim of the Pennsylvania soldiers. Colonel McGaw's loss in killed and wounded did not exceed 100 men, but almost his entire command of

a 3,000 men were compelled to surrender to the enemy.

Colonel Thomas Hartley, in 1779, wrote a letter stating that nearly 400 York County troops, largely from Swope's regiment and partly from McAllister's regiment, had been held in New York and Long Island' as prisoners of war; that at the expiration of three years only fifty of the entire number captured had returned to their homes. He made this assertion to prove the loyalty of the people west of the Susquehanna to the cause of American independence, and fur- ther claimed that York County had fur- nished more troops for the army than any other county in the thirteen original states.

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 33

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