History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 47

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor
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SINCE the treaty Of 1768 the boundary line of the Indian purchases the western part of Pennsyl-

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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

vania ran from the West Branch of the Susquehanna River to its source, thence in a straight line to Kit- tanning, thence down the Ohio to the limits of the State.

The last treaty held with the Indians at Fort Stan- wix took place in October, 1784. The commissioners at this treaty purchased the residue of the Indian lands within the limits of the State, and the deed signed by the chiefs of the Six Nations is dated Oct. 23, 1784. Thus was the whole right of the Indians to the soil of Pennsylvania extinguished.

This last accession of land, as we reminded you, was called by the whites the "New Purchase." When the land office was opened in 1785 settlers rapidly flocked up the West Branch.

On the 8th of April, 1785, the previous boundary line between Westmoreland and Northumberland was definitely ascertained, which until that time had been uncertain, owing to a misconstruction of the Indian names mentioned as points in the description of the ceded lands in the former purchase.

The emigiatio., which had begun towards the close of the Revolutionary war, was now onward acceler- ated. One cause of the great migration which took place during the closing years of the war, and for some years succeeding, was, first, the obvious inten- tion of those who were tired of war to escape from military service, and, second, to be exempt from the payment of taxes, which were now becoming a bur- den, and for the payment of which money was uncer- tain and dear.

In these times many families left Western Penn- sylvania for the new territory opening up along the Ohio. Others, who had borne the brunt of the frontier times here, headed the colonies or belonged to them which went up the rivers in the region of the "New Purchase" and there settled. Thus in that section are sometimes to be found descendants of men whose names are frequently met with in our early history, but whose connection with our history entirely ceased with that era. In Eastern Ohio especially are the descendants and the connections of many Westmore- landers.

From the very nature of the early American settle- ments and colonies, the foremost of these settlers were in continual contact with the savages. The line of the frontier likewise from time to time became thus changed, for as these settlers were now collecting along the rivers of the new territory in the contiguous west, that part of Pennsylvania which lies north and west of the Allegheny and the Ohio had very few occupants prior to 1792 or 1793. It was somewhat different on the eastern side of the Allegheny, but at the date designated the settlements even there did not extend far back into the wilderness, and not far north of the Kiskiminetas. The cracking of the rifle of the pioneer was therefore heard in the far West, but our own frontier north and west of the Kiskiminetas was in 1791 and 1792 (the time of Harmar and St. Clair),

almost as much of a hostile frontier as it was at any time during the border wars of the Revolution.

We would not be justified in taking notice of these border wars (as they are seemingly local) but for the fact that our own people were at that time forming colonies and making settlements to the northwest of our county limits like bees building to the hive. In- deed, our county did directly feel the misery of that time as well, as we shall see.

To have a conception of the sufferings of these people, not only during the Revolutionary war but later, and to understand how these affairs culminated in their final deliverance, one must study local events and the general history together. To preserve anything like a consistent narrative we must con- stantly follow up the course of public affairs, and in doing so advert to the share Westmoreland bad in them, reading as we would a text-book, with con- stant reference to marginal notes. For instance, the troubles of 1774 would be uninteresting to us if we were in ignorance of the battle of Point Pleasant; Connolly would not be a noteworthy personage had it not been for his connection with Dunmore; Clarke's expedition would have no relation to our history only in this, that Lochry and his men died in the far West trying to join him to protect the lonesome women and their crying children along the Sewickley and the Loyalhanna; nor would we be justified in dwelling upon the horrid murder of the Moravian Indians but that the sequel of that slaughter is to be seen in the burnt houses, the waste fields, and the weeping captives that went out at the burning of Hannas- town.

Soon after the close of the Revolution a number of circumstances combined to largely augment the set- tlement of the western parts of Virginia and Ken- tucky, as well as those adjoining the Ohio River. But notwithstanding this the depredations of the In- dians continued. They failed to obey treaties made with them, particularly the treaties of 1786 and 1787, and they made incessant attacks upon the emigrants into those regions.

In 1787 the Secretary of War ordered detachmenta of troops to be stationed at different points for the protection of the people within that region, which was now governed directly as a Territory of the United States. In 1789 a block-house called Fort Washing- ton was erected and garrisoned by United States troops on the site of Cincinnati, where a few settlers had erected cabins in the year previous. It seemed to be an important point, and towards the close of the year Gen. Harmar, of the regular army, arrived with 300 more regulars, and with them occupied the post. This was the point at which the Indians from the Northwest crossed the Ohio to ascend the Licking River, whence they made their attacks upon the out- skirts of Kentucky. "The old war path" from the British garrison at Detroit along the Maumee and the Miamis to the Indians in the south passed here,

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and into this Indian highway other paths entered from all directions.

Harmar established forts in various directions through the territory of Ohio, and with his small force, frequently reinforced by the militia of the frontier, carried on an ineffectual war. But the dep- redations of these continuing, the government deter- mined to trifle no longer, but to put such a force under Harmar and give him such authority in the premises, that by one effective campaign the power of the Indians should be broken and the tribes scat- tered.

In 1790 a call from Harmar brought to his standard 1133 militia with competent officers from Kentucky, -that is, from the western territory below the Ohio River. His force in all amounted to 1443 men. His campaign was directed towards the Indian villages about the head-waters of the Little Miami. From the towns there he struck across the woods for the Great Miami, where Piqua now stands, and marching forward came to where Fort Laramie was afterwards erected, a location about seventy miles southeast of Fort Wayne.

At this point many Indians were discovered early in the -morning viewing his .camp. They did not attack, but it was evident they were on the watch for a favorable opportunity of doing so.

Among his effective forces there was a battalion of militia from Kentucky, Western Pennsylvania, and Virginia, under command of Col. Hardin and Maj. James Paul. From here Hardin and Paul with six hundred volunteers preceded Harmar and the rest of the army to some Indian villages a distance ahead. They arrived here on the second day out, and found the town deserted, and the traders' houses and the wigwams in ashes. Four days afterwards Harmar came up. As it was apparent that the Indians had but recently left, Hardin with two hundred and ten men was sent out to overtake them. At a distance of six miles the Indians lay in ambush along a defile. When the whites had well entered this defile, the In- dians rose up and so successfully made their attack that the troops who remained to fight were completely surrounded, effectually cut off, and either killed or captured. That night the savages held a war-dance of exultation over the glory and success of the day, and rejoiced greatly in the misery and sufferings of their prisoners.

Harmar had concluded to return to Fort Washing- ton, and had actually begun his march, but on re- ceiving word that the Indians had again taken pos- session of the town, he ordered a halt, and directed Hardin and Maj. Wylls with three hundred and sixty men to find out the enemy and fight them. They re- turned to the site of the principal town, and expect- ing to fight them openly, regarded their forces as suffi- cient. Soon a small body of Indians appeared, and the volunteers by alert motions fired upon them, when they broke into smaller parties and scattered in differ-

ent directions. They were pursued by the volunteers, who also broke into small parties. By this stratagem, a large part of the volunteers were delayed in a vain pursuit, and the regulars were left alone. At this point the Indians, the main body of whom were concealed in a favorable position, rose from their hiding-place and with their hand-weapons fell upon the regulars. These fought well and met death bravely, but in the end the Indians were masters of the field. Nor could they be attacked after with any advantage, which Harmar knowing, marched the army back to Fort Washington.

He had left the fort on the 30th of September, and arrived there on the 3d of November, 1790. He had lost nearly two hundred men and half his horses. The army was disconcerted, and the people were dis- satisfied, and although as a matter of history there has been no reprehensible blame attached to the com- mander, who deserved a more fortunate fame, yet his disastrous expedition has since that time to this day been known as "Harmar's Defeat."

Among those who were with Harmar in 1790 with the Pennsylvania Volunteers, and who is favorably mentioned by Harmar in his official report, was Col. Christopher Truby, who was in command of the Pennsylvania militia. He owned a portion of the land upon which Greensburg was laid out. He lived long after this campaign to take an active part in civil concerns. His body lies in the old German burying-ground at Greensburg.

But the unfortunate defeat of Harmar was followed by the more unfortunate one of St. Clair, on a tribu- tary of the Wabash, whither he had led a large force with the expectation of utterly destroying the savages. This defeat was suffered on the 4th of November, 1791.

For a more extended account of the history of the Northwestern Territory during the time it was gov- erned by Arthur St. Clair, which time embraces the history of his expedition against the Miami Indians, we shall, for the present, refer to our sketch of the life and services of that personage, wherein, as more proper, we shall recall some mention of those West- morelanders who there fell.

From the time of Harmar's defeat till the hostiles were finally silenced by Gen. Anthony Wayne in 1794, our northern frontier was exposed to frequent incursions, and was the scene of repeated raids and of some bloody massacres. Wayne's victory led to the Greenville treaty of 1795, when the Indians re- moved farther to the West,

As to our own county proper, there did, prior to this, not appear to be anything in the public state of the frontier to create alarm or apprehension. Six or seven years of peace, such as the people of the inte- rior portion of our county experienced from 1788 to 1789, had dispelled all thought of extra precaution for defense, as it had taken away all the visible neces-

sity for it. So Qen the outbreak of the savages oc-

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curred as the natural result of their successful battles over greatly superior forces, and the result as well of an active combination and a new confederation of tribes, our settlers north of the Kiskiminetas and northwest of the 'Allegheny were left without a reg- ular body of organized militia, and without any places of refuge or defense worth mentioning.

When the result of Harmar's campaign became known, some of the most observant of our leaders gave warning; but the people had got used to alarms and rested in apathy. The State government was even appealed to, but the men like Campbell and Guthrie, who continually spoke out, were called bawlers, such as yell loudly at fires and do not help to put them out. Campbell was our county lieuten- ant at that time, and in 1791 he had called out a com- pany of militia for the defense, which company was taken along with St. Clair. Findley complains that the people were convinced they had nothing to ex- pect from him, either by way of his industry or at- tention, but Findley and Campbell were not on the best of terms.

John Irwin, acting for the county lieutenant of Allegheny, who at that time was in the East, says1 that the gentlemen of Westmoreland were unneces- sarily alarmed, as that up to the middle of 1791 only three murders had been committed within our bor- ders, although fourteen persons had certainly been killed in Allegheny. But it was not long till Findley himself was alarmed as well as the gentlemen from about Pittsburgh. The truth is that those from that post made application to the Secretary of War for extra arms and ammunition, and they had less thought about the unprotected settlers up in the Armstrong region than about themselves.

But it was considered unsafe to attempt an imme- diate settlement beyond the Allegheny, in a country exposed to the inroads of a subtle and vindictive enemy, whose mode of warfare was peculiar, and whose approach was often in secret and could not be guarded against by common precautions. In the year 1792 only two persons, Charles Phillips and Neal Mc- Glaughlin, are known to have resided on the north- east side of the Ohio with the intention of making settlements.' In 1794 no settlements were made across the Ohio and Allegheny. Early in March, 1795, a few individuals removed with their families .to the vicinity of Fort Franklin, Cussewago, and Craig's Station, but none settled at a distance or de- tached from the garrison. It was totally unsafe to remove families into the interior of the country till 1796, when settlements in general took place.'

By an act of the Assembly of March 17, 1791, the sum of four thousand pounds was appropriated for the defense of the western frontiers of the common- wealth. In 1792 the government was empowered to

engage three companies of rifiemen for the protection of the posts, and a further appropriation was made for that purpose. Some time later three more infantry companies were authorized to be raised and stationed for the protection of Westmoreland, Washington, and Allegheny. In 1796 it was unsafe.for families to cross the rivers into the lands purchased by the State in 1784.ª

" FROM "PAPERS RELATING TO THE DEFENSE OF THE

FRONTIERS" FROM 1700 TO 1701 (PENM. ARCHIVES).

Trom Col. John WEMins to Governer Min.

" Pirroausen, 31 March, 1791.

". . . The Indians have committed considerable depredations on the people living on the west side of the Allegheny River, which bes consed car frontier people, fer an extent of Afty miles, to fly. They have sies- doned their farms, their stock, and their furniture, and fled with the utmost precipitation. The Indians have killed one man and carried off three people prisosere within five miles of this town, and they have killed also persons withla twelve millon. .. . "-From Arak, Bood. Borta, vi. 006.

Limet. Brandt, of the Federal Artillery, to the Bearstory of War.

"TonT PITT, 10th April, 1701.

". . . Mr. Jeffries informed me . . . the contractor's bost having been stopped on ite passage to Fort Franklin by the mailitis of Westmoreland County, on account of there being friendly Indians on board who se- alsted in navigating ber up the Allegheny. These Indians were part of Coraplanter's party who had with them the presents they received from Congress and State of Pennsylvania, which was taken from them and exposed at public cale. The party that did this mischief wes under the command of Maj. Guthrie, of Westmoreland."-Pan. Arch., Bond, Borice, vi. 669.

[All of which gives rise to the observation that the militia of West- morelead might have been better employed at that particular time.]

From William Findlay to Becretary Dallas.

" APRIL 29, 1791.

"DEAR SIR,-I have just time to inform you by post that yesterday morning the Indians attacked the house of James Kilpatrick, on Crooked Creek, and killed two men and broke a child's leg, sto. ; the people, how- ever, supported the house. There were six militiamen stationed at the house, and nine, I understand, at a house in the neighborhood."-Idem, 600.

[See elsewhere this matter recounted at length, and prominence given it for the seal of Mr. Kilpatrick in scalping the dead Indian for the bounty, the same that was at the killing of the child (for it died). Crooked Creek is near Kittanning].

John Boull to Governor Mijuin.

" PITTSBURGH, May 12, 1791. . . . I take the liberty of inclosing you a Pittsburgh Gasette, which contains some account of the depredations of the Indians, and since publishing which I have received an authentic account that two men were taken on Sunday last about six miles from the Allegheny, in Westmoreland County, and about twenty miles from this place."-Idem, 663.

From Maj. John Invoin to Col. Clement Biddle.

" PITTSBURGH, May 12, 1791. . . . Your letter of the 8th April, by Mr. Dunwoodie, with an inclosed Invoice of Military Stores. A certain Mr. William Todd, of Westmoreland County, ten miles from Greens- burg, has taken the liberty in the name of the County Lieutenant to take possession of the whole; how he is to account to Government for his conduct the Governor may judge. . . . [This William Todd was col- league of Findley in the Constitutional Convention of 1790-91, and was his neighbor. . . . ] We have got perfectly easy on the subject of Tomahawk- ing and Scalping, as it happens every two or three days."-Idem, 663.

Estimate for Defense of Frontiera. " AUG. 6, 1791.

"Estimate of expenditures for defense under act of Assembly, &c., 1791, April. Sent to Westmoreland, Allegheny, and Washington, 40 quarter-casks powder, bags, etc .; 88 muskets and socoutrementa, flinta, &c .; 42 rifles; 5 cwt. lead."

1 Penn. Archives, Second Series, vol. iv., 668.

" Reports Supreme Court, Fourth Dallas, 221.

8 Ibid., 209.

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The active forces of Westmoreland during this frontier trouble were embodied in militia companies at first, and subsequently in rifle rangers, which were stationed most of the time at the forts and block- houses along the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas. The officers mentioned are John Guthrie, William Cooper, Samuel Murphy, John Sloan, William Jack, George Smith, Alexander Craig, and William McDowell. The assaults of the Indians were, however, not carried on in bodies, but they made innumerable incursions from many directions. Many were murdered and many taken captive. The inhabitants finally were compelled to resort to the old method of Indian fight- ing, and these, forming themselves in companies under the command of their most noted scouts, made themselves feared by their enemies. Hence it is that we cannot convey much of an idea of the state of the county at this conjuncture, only by taking it in detail. We preserve a few of the most noteworthy instances of captivity and of bravery, upon which the opinion of the reader can be formed, after having seen the ex- tracts which we give from the correspondence of the day.

But, as we said, we should not be misled in antici- pating the settlements which were afterwards of West- moreland to the north. With the exception of the few families that were within sight of the block- Houses along the Armstrong side of the Allegheny, there were very few north of the Kiskiminetas. The best authority for this is the opinion of the justices of the Supreme Court in their adjudication of complex land claims.

Capt. Torrence to Governor Mifflin.

" FAYETTE COUNTY, Aug. 10, 1791. . . . Since my last General Rich- ard Butler called the County Lieutenants of Ohio, Washington, Alle- gheny, Westmoreland, and Fayette to a consultation for the protection of the frontiers in the absence of the Federal troops, which was to be drawn off the 5th instant. We agreed that 300 militia should be kept up. . . . " .

Col. Campbell to Governor Mifflin.

"GREENSBURG, August 13, 1791. In Consequence of your Letter to me directed, of the Nineteenth of May, 1791, I Ordered, by Draught, a full Company of Militia of this County to guard the froonteers untill such Time as the General Government would Grant them Protection, and as soon as a part of Coll. Gibson's New Levies was sent on our Froonteers, I went to Major John Clark of the New Levies, who Had the command of the Troops in our County, and Wished to have the whole of the Militia of the County discharged. But as the men under His Command was not sufficient to guard sutch an Extensive Froonteer, He Wished Me to Continue fifty of the men. . . . I then Agreed with the Lieutenants of Washington, Fayette, and Alegany Counties to fur- nish for my Quota to guard the Froonteers seventy-five men to give Protection To the froonteers of Westmoreland county, whitch I ex- pected would have been Sufficient, But upon finding the Enemy to be so Mutch On Our froonteers, and so Constantly a stealing of Horses, But Hath not yet Done Other Damage, But often seen ; and as I found one Company of Men was not Sufficient to give Protection to so Extensive a froonteer, I Ordered to their Assistance one L't and twenty-five men, and with The Whole of them it is as mutch as I can Get the froonteers Inhabitants Not to Break up. I will .do Everything in My Power to give Sattisfaction to the frounteers and Not to let them Move from their Stattions. I Have appointed John Deniston Contractor for the West- moreland County Millitia, and is to see him Paid Eight Pence Pr Ration on the account of the Stations being so small. I expect you will order the Expenses to be Paid to William Findley, Esq'r, as my Charecter Is At Stake for the Punctual Payment of the men and provisions. . .. "

But not only was the government of Pennsylvania appealed to for assistance by the foremost men of the western counties of the State, but the government of the United States as well. On the 10th of March, 1791, the Secretary of War, Gen. Knox, inclosed a letter from his department to the lieutenants of Wash- ington, Allegheny, and Westmoreland Counties, in which he informed them that the President of the United States authorized them to embody, at the ex- pense of the United States, as many of the militia as was necessary for the defensive protection of the re- spective counties. The rangers to be called into ser- vice in pursuance of that authority were to be upon the same establishment of pay and rations as the troops of the United States.

In December of 1791 the inhabitants of Westmore- land, Washington, Fayette, and Allegheny Counties, through their regularly appointed committees, pre- sented a memorial to the Governor of the State, Col. Charles Campbell, and John Young, Esq., signing on behalf of the county of Westmoreland. In this paper they laid before the Governor an extended statement of the condition of these frontiers, and stated what occurred to them to be the most speedy and effectual mode of preparation for any emergency. They con- ceived that eight hundred efficient men, under experi- enced officers, good partisans, and armed with rifles, were not too many when the extent of the frontier was considered. They also asked for a quantity of arms and ammunition to be distributed among the county lieutenants.1

As it was not possible to get enough men to volun- teer, either in the service of the State or of the United States, to go beyond the confines of their own immediate settlement, the draft was enforced under the act of Assembly, and those drafted during the summer and fall of 1791 were put to garrison duty in the block-houses and stations along the Alle- gheny River. The rangers, or the militia of the State in service and under pay, were changed from time to time, but these for the most part were inside the lines of the more remote frontier, which was guarded, as we said, by the drafted militia.

The outpost duty forced upon the Westmorelanders was not at all attractive, and their officers found many reasons to offer the authorities of the State on the side of the county as against those who thought the frontier of the State able to take care of itself. Col. Charles Campbell, in his uncouth manner of expression, spoke out in language which, although not classically elegant, or even strictly grammatical, was filled with good common sense. In a letter to Governor Mifflin, in January, 1792, he says,-

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History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 47

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

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