History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 26

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1 Plan of Fort Ligonier in Penn. Archives, old series.

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The only way of entrance to the fort was through a large and very heavy gate hung on iron hinges, which in time of danger was kept closed and guarded. A narrow ditch, left when the earth was thrown against the wall on the outside, was not intended merely to hold water, although it is said to have been frequently filled with water from a race leading from the creek. It is not to be presumed that this was of much utility for either defense or ward. When the regular garri- son was withdrawn the inhabitants of the valley kept the structure from falling into ruin, and occupied it during the Revolutionary war. It appears that Capt. Samuel Shannon, a father-in-law of Col. William McDowell, both of them Revolutioners, was intrusted with the supervision of military affairs at the most critical times along from 1777 to 1780.

The following extracts from authentic documents are not only interesting memorials of the early Fort Ligonier, but give some account of affairs happening in its vicinity which have not found their way into any general history of which we have knowledge. From Col. Miles' Journal we quote :

" In the year 1758 the expedition against Fort Duquesne, now Pitts- bargh, was undertaken, and our Battalion joined the British army at Carlisle. At this time Capt. Lloyd had been promoted to the rauk of Lt. Col., but retained his company of which I had the command as Capt. Lieutenant, & was left some time in command of the garrison at Ship- peusburg. On my marching from thence with a brigade of wagous un- der my charge, at Chamber's about eleven miles from Shippensburg, the men mutiuled, & were preparing to march, but by my rensouing with them at the same time threatening them, the most of them consented to re- onme their march to Fort Louden, where Lieut. Scott was with eight or ten month's pay. While the army lay at Ligouier, we were attacked by a body of French & Indians, & I was wounded in the foot by a spent ball. . . . In the year 1769, I was stationed at Ligonier, & had 25 men picked out of two battallous under my command, &c."1

The following account of an engagement here during the French and Indian war is from a communication from Adam Stephen to Brig .- Gen. Stanwix, July 7, 1759:2

" Yesterday (July 6, 1759) about one o'clock the Sconts and Hunters returned to camp & reported that they had uot seen the least sigu of the enemy about; upon which, in compliance with Majr. Tullikin's request, I seut Lieut. Blaine with the Royal Americans to Bedford, and as the party was but small, ordered a sergeant & eighteen chosen woodsmen to conduct him through the woods, to the foot of Lanrel Hill on the West side, with directions to return to camp withont touching the road.

"Abont three quarters of an hour after the detachment had marched the enemy made an attempt to surprise the post. I cannot ascertain their numbers, bat am certain they were consideralily superior to ours. At first I imagined the enemy only intended to amuse the garrison whilst they were engaged with Lieut. Blaine's party, but finding the place in- vested in an instant, & the enemy rush pretty briskly, I began to enter- tain hopes of their safety, & was only anxious for the sergeant & eighteen men.

" The enemy made an effort from every quarter, but the fire on the Arat redoubt was hottest, and in it Capt. Jones was killed.

" We are extremely obliged to Lt. Mitchelson of the Artillery, for his vigilance and application. After a few well placed shells & a brisk fire from the workasthe enemy retired into the skirts of the woods, & con- tinued their fire at a distance till night.

" The Bergeant (Packet, of the Virginians) returned about sunset without seeing an enemy until he came within sight of the fort. The

1 Arch., 2d series, 559.

" Archives, vol. 1.1. 688.

party behaved well, fought until they bad orders to retreat & got in without the loss of a man.

"P. 8 .- We have only Captn. Jones killed & three men wounded, & Batter ourselves that their Joes is considerable."

The fort at Hannastown was built by those neigh- bors of Robert Hanna who lived around him at the time of Dunmore's war, 1774, the next year after the erection of the county. It was a hastily constructed affair, but was strong and durable. A building was first raised fashioned after a great double cabin-house of two stories, the upper stories almost entirely closed, only small holes being left between the logs through which the muzzles of the guns could be pointed. There were no windows in it, and the roof was almost flat, so that it could not be fired from the outside. This upper story was higher than the palisades, which were of the height of about ten feet, and which in- closed the cabins within a square.

Both the forts of Hannastown and of Ligonier were made distributing points for the arms and ammuni- tion furnished to the associators, so that there were usually at least a few spare arms at either place till towards the end of the war, when Hannastown was at- tacked, and at that time the means of defense were poorer than at any other time.

St. Clair, in his memorial to the Pennsylvania As- sembly, says that during the time of Dunmore's war, before the Revolution, the forts which he supplied with arms and means of defense at his own expense were "Taylor's, Wallace's, Ligonier's, Lochry's, Han- nastown, Perry's, Walthour's, Carnahan's, and a num- ber of others not now recollected."

As the word fort is applied indiscriminately, so is the word block-house. We therefore make a distinc- tion between a regular block-house and a block-house cabin. Block-houses were erected mostly in some lo- cality easy of approach by those settlers who were too far away from forts, and whose cabins of themselves were insecure. A block-house was a building made of large rough logs, and built after the fashion of a square house, but in size much larger than a house. The logs were notched into each other at the angles of the building, and the height of this square struc- ture was from ten to fourteen feet. At this height was begun another log story, the logs in which ex- tended from four to six feet beyond the square of the structure below it. This story was built up to the height of about six feet. The upper part had in its sides small apertures through which to fire; nor could an attack with advantage be made underneath, for the space underneath the projection was left open. A. clapboard roof which terminated in an apex covered all. These block-houses were intended for temporary places of defense. No more provisions could be taken in them than was sufficient for immediate and prece- ing want. Those who fled thither expected to re- main only till the storm had blown over, or until help came.

There was another class Of structures built for do-

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fense on special emergencies, but which structures were not used continuously as forts, neither were most of them used as cabin-houses, and these we choose to consider by themselves. Of this class was Fort Crawford, built about 1777, on the Allegheny, about seventeen miles up from Pittsburgh, on the south- eastern side of the river, a short distance below the mouth of Puckety' Creek, where there was a shallow place used by the Indians for a fording. This is now the site of Logan's Ferry. This fort was built on the earnest representations of Col. Crawford, and it was called after him. It was erected by militia nent out from Pittsburgh, assisted by the neighboring in- habitants, who were north of the main road at that time, and now in the limits of Burrell township. It guarded the crossing-place against the squads that came in from the parts west of the river, where the thick primeval woods for half a generation after the war still harbored small tribes and parts of tribes. These defensive posts were, as near as we can obtain, merely large structures, built of heavy logs, with stout auors, roofs almost flat, and inside of which was a double cabin. . At Fort Crawford a com- pany of militia was stationed off and on for several years, and there were sometimes a few extra arms there.

Of this class was Fort Hand, near the confluence of Pine Run with the Kiskiminetas, nearly twenty miles north of Greensburg. It was a block-house, and no residence. It was built by the people about 1778, while Col. Hand commanded at Pittsburgh, and was called in his honor. So also was Reed's block- house or station, on the Allegheny, four miles below the mouth of the Kiskiminetas, and which was a place of refuge so late as the troubles of 1792. There was at times a company of militia on detailed duty here. Block-houses and block-house stations obtained more among the settlers along the southern border, and notably among those of Greene County, then Springhill township, and throughout Western Vir- ginia.

Such also were Fort Shippen, at Col. John Proc- tor's, near the Loyalhanna in Unity, then Derry town- ship, and Fort Allen in Hempfield township, north of Greensburg, both built in 1774, and Rugh's block- house at Michael Rugh's on Jack's Run, about a mile and a half below Greensburg, built somewhat later.

But the most common defensive structure of all were those strongly barricaded cabins sometimes called stations, but which are more properly known as block-house cabins. Such was the principal house at Miller's farm, about three miles southeast of Han- nastown, and not far from George Station, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, east of Greensburg. This was a long, double log house, with heavy doors and windows which could be closed. There were many such, and they were in all parts of the county ; and

from the fact that they were so frequently the places of refuge they have received the name of fort, which wrongly designates them. These in the catalogue do go for forta, "as bounds and greyhounds, mongreis, spaniels, cars, shougbs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves are called all by the name of dogs."

These stations would hold perhaps twenty persone when they buddled together on the fear of danger. Rifle-boles or port-holes were on every side, and the light was admitted through marrow cracks in the gables, as they were chary of window-openings.

One of these block-house cabine was Williams' block-house, near Donegal, on the Four-Mile Run. It stood near the site of that wall of prehistoric times which the oldest settlers say was old when they first came in. This was the centre of the Donegal settle- ment. Hither fled betimes the Gays, the Harmane, the Hayses, the Campbells, the Pipers. From the neighborhood of this block-house many captives were taken, and near it many others were killed. Another sheltering-place, called Palmer's Fort, opened its arms to those who lived down the valley on the Laurel Hill side. It was fre or six miles from LI- gonier in that direction, and near the road from Li- gonier to Fairfield.

Fort Waltour stood between one and two miles west of Adamsburg, and about the same distance south of Harrison City village, near the old Pennsylvania road. This was one of those block-houses to which the people betimes collected, where they stayed at night, and whence they went in the day to work in the fields. It was erected in very early times, and many stories which partake of the marvelous are treasured among the descendants of the people of that settlement. . This was part of the Harrold settlement, a settlement m distinctively German as the Hannastown settlement was distinctively Scotch-Irish. In the history of the old block-house, the old church, the old Dutch school- house, and the burying-ground of the Harrold congre- gation lie hidden mines of wealth of great value to the industrious student of local and indigenous his- tory.

Among the recollections of the Revolutionary times still preserved about here is the destruction of the cabin home of the Francis family, and the death or captivity of the inmates, which occurred some time previous to the Hannastown affair. This family lived about two miles west of Brush Creek. A squad of Indians coming suddenly upon them gained admis- sion to their cabin. Two of the family were killed, and the rest taken prisoners. Que of the prisoners was a girl, who was afterwards married and lived in Hempfield township, where she died. Her brothers and sisters were scattered before they reached Canada. The Indians at the time of the attack set the cabin on fire, and did not remove the bodies of the two dead from where they had been scalped, but the bodies

1 Indian, Pucketo.

" Macbeth, Act III., Soome 1.

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were found near the burnt cabin the next day, one of the bodies lying so near the fire as to be roasted on its one side. They were buried by the neighbors at the garden fense.1

There is a peculiar story related of a lame Indian which brings Waltour's Fort into prominence, and which preserves the particulars of the death of the old man Waltour. We give the substance of it here, having taken it in part from a very rare book called "Border Life," now out of print. The authenticity of the narratives in that work is its claim for a matter of fact, and it is believed that the original story came from the pen of Judge' Brackenridge, who bedecked even the rough fields of the law with the posies of literature, and in whose hand the crude ore of fact was turned into the refined gold of romance.

About the year 1786 one of those predatory squads coming into Westmoreland made their first demon- stration at Waltour's.' The old man Waltour, his daughter, and two sons were at work in the field. They had their guns with them, and on the appear- ance of the Indians made towards the fort. The daughter was taken, but the old man and his two sons kept up a fire as they retreated, and had got nearly to the fort when the old man, being shot, fell. An Indian ran up and had placed his foot upon him and was about taking his scalp when some one in the fort fired. The Indian gave a frightful yell, and made off limp- ing on one foot. After he had run off a party from the fort pursued him, as well as the others of the squad. He, however, hid himself in the bushes a few yards from the path upon which his pursuers came along.

The Indian lay quiet in this place among the bushes where he had thrown himself, waiting. till pursuit was over, fearing that he might be tracked and taken. For three days he remained here. Then venturing out, he crawled along on his hands and one limb till he got a pole in the marsh, which he used to hobble along with. In the mean time he had lived on ber- ries and roots. He thus worked his way around till he came within sight of the post at Turtle Creek, where a detachment of soldiers was stationed. Here he thought of giving himself up, but lay all day on a hill above the place, thinking whether he would or not; but seeing that the soldiers were militia and not regulars, he did not venture to do so ; for the Indians knew the distinction between these, and from the militia they expected no quarter.

This Indian at first, so he said, had attempted to cross the Allegheny River at some distance above Pittsburgh, but his strength failing him he wished to gain the garrison where the regular troops were. He had been there before the war, and was known to some.

For thirty-seven days from the affair at Waltour's

Fort this wretched creature had subsisted on plants and roots, and had made his way on one foot by the help of the pole, and then, not knowing what to do with himself, came down into the edge of the town, and sat in a porch of one of the houses, where he was seen in the twilight. To a girl of the house, who first came out, he spoke in broken English, and asked for milk. The girl ran in and returned with others of the family to see such a strange-looking object. It is said that he resembled a walking skeleton, with only the semblance of flesh upon his bones. When he was questioned he appeared too weak to give an account of himself, but still asked for milk. The milk was given him, and word was sent to Gen. Irvine, the commanding officer of the post, who sent a guard, by whom he was taken to the garrison. After having had food, and being able to talk, he was ques- tioned by the interpreter. At first he said that he had been on the Beaver River trapping, and that he there had a difference with a Mingo Indian, who had shot him in the leg, because he had said he wished to come to the white people. He was told that this story was not credible, but that he must tell the truth, and that in so doing he would fare better. He then said that he was one of a party which had struck the settlement in the last moon, had attacked a fort, killed some, and taken some prisoners; there he had re- ceived his wound, and in the end related to the in- terpreter what we have already told.

After the raid on the settlement a party from the fort had pursued the Indians to the Allegheny River, and had found the body of the Waltour girl who had been taken in the field; and who had been toma- hawked and left. When this party had come back and heard that the Indian was still at the garrison they joined with others in a crowd, and with Mrs. .Waltour, the widow of the man killed and the mother of the murdered girl, went to the garrison, and. ad- dressing themselves to the commanding officer de- manded that the Indian should be delivered up, that it might be done with him as the widow and mother and relations of the deceased should think proper. After some deliberation it was thought advisable to let the people take him, for it was considered from the mode of war carried on by the Indians that they were not entitled to protection, and the country people were greatly dissatisfied that he was allowed to live after his confession, and as there was a loud clamor all through the settlement consequent on the death of a man so prominent as Waltour, he was delivered to the militia of the party who had come to demand. him. He was put upon a horse and carried off with a view of being taken to the fort where the trouble had at first occurred. But as they were carrying him along his leg, the fracture of which had almost healed up by the care of the surgeon, was broken again by a fall from the horse, which awkwardly happened some way in catering him.

The abridged continuat; Op of the story then is that

1 Jacob Detar, father of Simon Detar, Esq., helped to bury them. " Usually written after the German way Walthour.

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the intention of the people was to summon a jury of the country and try him, not only for the sake of form, but, as they further alleged, in order to ascertain whether he was the identical Indian that had been of the party at Waltour's Fort, though it is not very probable that he would have had an impartial trial, there having been considerable prejudice against him. The circumstance of his being an Indian was sufficient to have condemned him. The ides wax, in case of a verdict against him, which seemed morally certain, to execute him according to the Indian man- ner, by torture and burning. For the fate of Craw- ford and others was at that time in the minds of the people, and they thought retaliation a principle of natural justice.

But while the jury were collecting some time must elapse-that night at least-for he was brought to the block-house in the evening. ' Accordingly a strong guard was appointed to take care of him, while in the mean time one who had been deputed sheriff went to summon a jury, and others to collect wood and ma- terials for the burning, and to fix upon the place, which was to be the identical spot where he had re- ceived his wound while about to scalp Waltour, whom he had shot in the field, just as he was raising the scalp halloo, twisting his hand in the hair of the head, and brandishing his scalping-knife. It is to be presumed that the guard was " off their guard" some- what on account of the lameness of the prisoner and the seeming impossibility that he could escape ; for it so turned out that while engaged in conversation on

the burning that was to take place, or by some other cause of inattention, he had been permitted to climb up at a remote corner of the block-house, get to the joists, from thence upon the wall-plate of the block- house, and from thence, as was supposed, to get down on the outside between the roof and the wall-plate. The block-house was so constructed that the roof over- jutted the wall of the house, resting on the ends of the joists, which protruded a foot or two beyond the wall, so that those within could fire down upon the Indians who should approach the house to set fire to it or at- tempt the door. But towards morning the Indian was missed, and when the jury met there was no In- dian to be brought before them.

Search was made by the guard everywhere; the jury joined in the search, and the militia went out in all directions in order to follow his track and regain him. No discovery could be made, and as a conse- quence the guard were blamed for want of vigilance, although there were some who thought he was let go that they might not be under the necessity of burn- ing him.

The search at length was abandoned; but three days after this, a lad looking for his horses, saw an Indian, with a pole or long stick, just getting on one of them by help of a log or fallen tree. He had made a bridle of bark for the horse's head, and mak- ing use of this and a stick in guiding the horse, he

set off on a smart trot in a direction towards the frontier of the settlement. The boy was afraid to discover himself or reclaim his horse, but ran home and gave the alarm, on which a party, in the course of the day, were collected and started in pursuit of the Indian again. They tracked the horse until it was dark. In the morning they followed the track as before, but found the course varied, taking into branches of streams to prevent pursuit. By this they were greatly delayed, as they lost time in tracing the stream to find where the horse had come out; and sometimes the tracks of the horse could not be seen when he had taken the hard, dry ridges, and gone in a contrary direction so as to deceive them. In this manner the Indian had gotten to the Allegheny, where they found the horse with the bark bridle, and where it appeared he had been left but a short time before. The sweat was scarcely dry upon his sides, and the distance he had come was about ninety miles. It was presumed the Indian had swam the river into uninhabited country, or those parts called the Indian country, where it was not safe to pursue him. For this reason the pursuit was given up. Others, how- ever, came to the conclusion that he never reached any of the Indian towns, for they had taken pains to inquire, but believed that he was either drowned in the river or had famished in the woods, or that his broken limbs in the hot weather had caused his death.

Fort Wallace, on the farm of Peter Wallace, on Mc- Gee's Run, near the Kiskiminetas, about two miles above Blairsville, was in border times a famous station. On the same farm was afterwards a mill known as Wallace's mill; the Wallaces being prominent men in that neighborhood, one of them having been re- turned to the Assembly. Many stories are told of the men who from time to time defended it ; their strength, their agility, and their bravery have been praised to the golden stars. One adventure from a good source appears to be credible ; we give it as related.1

It appears that when the Rev. James Finley, who was frequently intrusted by the Supreme Council of the Province and the State to fill special commissions for it, was on a visit to Western Pennsylvania in 1772, he left his son, Ebenezer Finley, here. This young man, about 1776 or 1777, had gone from Dunlap's Creek on a tour of militia duty along the Kiskimine- tas, in the place of another man. While the party were at Fort Wallace, a man on horseback came up in great speed and reported that the Indians had been seen a short distance off; that he had left two men and a woman on foot trying to reach the fort, and that unless they were immediately assisted they would be lost. Young Finley, among eighteen or twenty others, started right out. About a mile and a half from the fort they came upon a considerable body of Indians. After a fire occurred a zigzag running fight began.

1 The adventure is in "Old Redstone," page 284.

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ne of the party in making their way back to the were shot or tomahawked. Finley's gun would go off. He stopped to pick his flint and fell behind. Indian was seen leveling his gun at him, but was unately shot before he could fire. Finley being t of foot was soon abreast with one of his com- ions, and in passing round the root of a tree, by uick motion of his elbow against his comrade's ulder passed him, and the next moment the com- e fell under the tomahawk. The Indians were in gaining on him, when a man named Moor, see- his danger from having to cross a bridge exposed, pped, and by a well-directed aim of his rifle enabled to cross the bridge safely. After many doublings I turnings, in which the Indians were sometimes the rear and sometimes in the front of Finley, he ched the fort in safety.1

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History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 26

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: