History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 50

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USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 50

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1 Findley's letter to Secretary Dallas.

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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

the ringleaders when they were arrested, without ! Henry Lee, of Virginia, was put in command, while money and without charge. " Yes," said he, " let us go there by all means, if for nothing else just to show | volunteers from their respective States.' The Presi- them that the strictest order can be observed by us ; that we are not the rabble they take us for, but the people; that we are asserting our rights. We will do them no danger nor put them in fear. We will march through the town, take a turn, come out again upon the fields by the bank of the river, and after drinking a little whiskey with the inhabitants, who will gladly receive us, the troops will cross over to the other side of the river." A number of people met them before they came to the town, who treated them to drink, and soon after, by good management, the best part of the rabble were gotten across the river without going through the streets. But those that remained were still excited, and wanted to burn the houses of at least Neville and Gibson and a few others. Had this been done, there can be no doubt but that the whole of the town would have lain in ashes, and that blood would have flown as freely as whiskey. Cook, Marshall, and others in command exerted themselves in urging the men to retire, using persuasion and promises big in the eyes of men drunk and capricious. In the day no harm was done, but at night the barn of Maj. Kirk- patrick was burnt. The people of the town passed a night of uneasiness, but the next day the men were scattering off, and the danger was over.

Thus the sedition ripened into insurrection. We shall now follow up the course of the general govern- ment in its effort to maintain the law. When an ac- count of these tumultuous proceedings reached the authorities of the nation and of the State, they were promptly considered by a mutual conference. Gov- ernor Mifflin on the 6th of August, 1794, appointed Chief Justice Mckean and Gen. William Irvine to proceed to the West and ascertain the facts, and to present the will of the authorities as to those in oppo- sition. On the 7th President Washington issued a proclamation commanding all persons being insur- gents, on or before the first day of September, to dis- perse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes. He at the same time directed troops to be raised to be ready to march into the disaffected part at a moment's warning. The number of volunteers thus called out was fixed at twelve thousand nine hundred and fifty, apportioned among the States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. On the same day Governor Mifflin issued two proclamations, one di- recting the State quota to be speedily equipped and armed, and another calling the Assembly together in a special session. On the 8th of August the President appointed James Ross, Jasper Yates, and William Bradford to go forthwith into the Western District with full instructions and ample power to confer with such individuals or bodies as were approved or desig- nated to represent those in revolt.

Of the army of volunteer militia and regulars raised under the proclamation of the President, Governor

the Governors of the other States commanded the dent, accompanied by the Secretary of War,' the Sec- retary of the Treasury, and Judge Peters, of the United States District Court for Pennsylvania, set out for Western Pennsylvania on the Ist of October. Ho joined the main body of the army at Carlisle. While here be held the conference with Redick and Findley, | who reported to the meeting which they called together upon their return, and who, with the addition of Ephraim Douglass and Thomas Morton, were reap- pointed to confer with the President at Bedford. . The President left Carlisle on the 11th of October ; reached Chambersburg on the same day, and Williamsport on the 18th. From here he went to Fort Cumberland to review the left division of the army, consisting of the Maryland and Virginia volunteers. On the 19th of October he reached Bedford, where he remained two or three days. He came not farther west than Bedford, as has been erroneously reported, but from here re- turned to the capital, which he reached on the 28th.

A knowledge of the proceedings in the East had not yet reached the West when the meeting of the 14th of August, 1794, was called for at Parkinson's Ferry. This assemblage was composed of two hun- dred and sixty delegates from the western counties. Edward Cook was. chairman, and Albert Gallatin, secretary. The meeting, after, as usual, protesting against the excise law and the enormity of taking inhabitants from their vicinage for trial, appointed committees with instructions as from the people. It was alleged soon after-and subsequent events appear to confirm the assertion-that many of these delegates had been sent with a view to counteract the seditious intentions of the tumultuous mob, and to gain by covert management what could not be accomplished by open opposition. Gallatin, Brackenridge, and James Edgar, an influential elder of the Presbyterian Church in Fayette County, took a prominent part in the discussions. The organic force of the insurrec- tion was condensed into a committee of one from each township, sixty in all ; and this committee was again represented by a standing committee of twelve." The committee of sixty was to meet at Redstone on

1 From Judge Lobingier's Lecture before the Temperance Society at Mount Pleasant, 1842 :

"The Penusylvania and Jersey troops came up through Somerset and halted in three divisions on this side of the Chestunt Ridge. The ad- vance came on to where this town [ Mount Pleasant] now stande; the second division encamped on Col. Bonnett's farm, and the rear division remained at Lobingier's Mills. They remained in their encampments for the space of about eight days, during which time the cavalry, con- ducted by the excise officers, were out scouring the country in search of Whiskey Boys. But chiedy all those who had taken an active part in the Inte insurrectionary movements had either fled or secreted them- selves, so that few could be found; I believe not more than one or two. That part of the army which lay in this neighborhood then struck their tents and marched to the Forks of Yough. Whilst there a few more of the insurgents were taken."

: Henry Knox and Alexander Hamilton. 3 See note, infra.

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the 2d of September, and the standing committee was to meet any committee that had been or might be appointed by the government, and to report the result of their conference. During the sitting of this meet- ing the United States commissioners had arrived at Pittsburgh.

The commissioners for the State of Pennsylvania had also arrived at Pittsburgh on the 17th of August. On the 20th these, with the commissioners on the part of the general government, met the committee ap- pointed at Parkinson's. At this conference it was concurrently advanced by both bodies of the legally authorized commissioners that the exercise of the powers vested in them to suspend prosecutions, to engage for a general pardon and oblivion of crimes, must be preceded by a full and satisfactory assurance of a sincere determination in the people to obey the laws of the United States. The committee, on the part of the people, presented their grievances, dwell- ing at this time principally upon the disadvantages of being sued in a remote court, before judges and jurors who were strangers, beyond the mountains, three hundred miles away from their homes and countrymen. But besides this every argument was advanced against the excise law.

The conference adjourned on the 28th of August to meet the committee at Redstone. There, after a two days' session, the propositions of the commissioners were finally recommended for acceptance by the people. Gallatin and Brackenridge spoke long and eloquently for law and order. Bradford spoke against both, but the votes were against him. Such was the fear of the popular frenzy, however, that it was diffi- cult to get a vote at this meeting. No one would vote by standing up. They would not write yea or nay for fear the handwriting might be discovered. At last an expedient was devised. The words "yea" and " nay" were written by the secretary on the same piece of paper, and the pieces of paper were distributed among the members. Each of the members could thus chew up or destroy the part he had torn off, while he put the other in the box. This resulted in the appoint- ment of another committee to confer with the com- missioners, and who were also empowered throughout the several counties to make known the day upon which the sense of the people was expected to be taken upon the question, " Whether the people would submit to the laws of the United States upon the terms proposed by the commissioners of the United States ?"

This test of submission was to be signed individ- ually by the citizens throughout the western counties on or before the 11th of September. Till that time it was only ten days. Four of the days passed before the terms were printed, and but six days were left to circulate the information over a region larger than the State of New Jersey.

All the commissioners had returned to Philadelphia before the day appointed for the signing except James

Ross. He remained to carry the report. In many places the people did not meet to sign. At a few places the polls were broken up. At other places they had not heard of it in time to give their assent. Bradford and Marshall both signed on the day ap- pointed. Bradford even harangued the people to submit. The report of the commissioners, as a con- sequence, was so unfavorable that the President de- termined to send over the mountains the forces he had collected at Carlisle and in the East.

The delegates from the townships which had been appointed by the meeting of the 14th of August as- sembled at Parkinson's Ferry on the 2d of October. From the resolutions they made public it appeared to be the unanimous opinion of the meeting that if the signatures to the submission were not universal, it was not owing so much to any disposition to oppose the laws as to a want of time and information to get the correct sentiment. They also resolved to submit to the authorities, and to no further oppose and resist the revenue laws. They appointed William Findley, of Westmoreland, and David Redick, of Washington, commissioners to wait on the President and the Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania with a copy of the resolutions, and empowered them to explain to the government the present state of the country, and to detail such circumstances as might enable the President to judge whether an armed force would be necessary to sup- port the civil authorities.

These commissioners met the President at Carlisle on the 10th of October, where they had several inter- views. They represented that the great body of the people remained quietly at home attending to their business; that they had assurances from all parts of the disaffected region ; that the people were everywhere organizing for the suppression of disorder and for the preservation of order ; and that, in their opinion, if violence were used it would ruin the country. The . President listened to their complaints with attention, but decided that, inasmuch as the army was under marching orders, and had actually started on its way to the disaffected part, the orders would not be coun- termanded. He assured the delegates that no violence would be used, and that all that was desired was to have the people come back to their allegiance.

It was said that the people of Westmoreland made choice of the most violent men to represent them at the meeting of delegates. These men were John Kirkpatrick, George Smith, and John Powers. It is certain that the common people were easily worked upon. To such an extent was the indignation aroused that it was in this county the United States mail was broken open and robbed, and persons who were known to be with the party of law openly attacked in broad daylight. Col. Gibson, who remained on the side of the government, was, on his arrival at Greensburg from Pittsburgh, at the time when the people were meeting t. instruct their delegates to the second meeting at P arkinson's, on alighting at the

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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

tavern surrounded by a number of persons, who or- dered him to quit the town within half an hour. He took refuge in the house of Gen. William Jack.1 And by the return of the judges of the general elec- tion held in the several townships for the purpose of ascertaining certain assurances required of the citi- zens by the commissioners on the part of the govern- ment, as late as the 11th of September, 1794, it was certified that, in their opinion, it would not be safe to immediately establish an office of inspection therein, as ill-disposed persons could suddenly as- semble and offer violence.'

But a,change in the sentiments of the people was taking place. They had had enough of mob law. Men who had anything at stake were now moved by all means to have peace, and were for the assertion of the supremacy of the laws. With these it was a matter to reconcile themselves with both sides. The rabble were yet in the ascendant, and had the power in their hands, but there was no doubt that the gov- ernment would soon assert its authority. Of the re- sult of a condict between the militia and the regulars there could be but one opinion.

When the two commissioners, Findley and Redick, returned from their visit to the President, they called another meeting of the Committee of Safety at the Ferry for the 24th of October to make report. In the mean time numerous meetings were held to give the delegates assurances of the submission of the inbabit- ants, and to express their desire for the restoration of order before the commander-in-chief and the soldiers would be among them. We have the record of one of these meetings, held at Greensburg two days before the committee was to sit. This record we give here:"

" At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Greensburgh and township of Hempfield, in the county of Westmoreland, on Wednesday, the 22d day of October, 1794, convened for the purpose of giving to the deputies who are to meet at Parkinson's Ferry on the 24th inst. such unequivocal assurances of their disposition for submission to the laws as would enable them to propose and adopt such meas- ures on their behalf as would be decisive in manifest- ing their sincere regret for and abhorrence of the late violent measures, and of their firm determination to support and yield obedience to the constitutional laws of their country, the following resolutions were pro- posed and adopted :

"1. Resolved, As the sense of this meeting, that it is the duty of every good citizen to yield obedience to the existing laws of his country.

"2. That we discountenance all illegal acts of violence, from what- ever motive, and that for redress of grievances the privilege and right of the citizen is to petition and remonstrate if necessary.

"3. That we will support the civil authority and all officers in the lawful exercise of their respective duties, and assist in securing for legal trial all offenders against the laws when called upon.

1 Penna. Arch., vol. Iv. p. 157.

" Ibid., 298.

' See also Gen. Gibson's letter, Penna. Arch., New Series, vol. iv., 157.

" 4. That the citizens of this town sad township will give no oppoeltion to the opening an office of inspection therein, should the same be com- templated by the government, sad that we will use our cadesvors to remuro Improper projediera, and recommend a pesceable sad general

"S. That a copy of the preceding resolutions be given to one or more of the depaties for the town or township who are to meet at Parkinson's Ferry on Friday, the H4th Inet, together with a copy of the scoursses paper, signed by the citizens of this meeting, in order that the came may be laid before the members of the maid committee, sad that another copy be made out for publication in the Pittsburgh Geselle, and that the came be attested by the chairman and clerk of this meeting."

This preamble and the resolutions were signed by David Marchand as chairman, and attested by Thomas Hamilton, the clerk of the meeting. The certificate or paper of assurance which was submitted at the same time to the people was signed in the course of the evening by four hundred and twenty citizens. In a note to this assurance it was said that the same or something similar would be entered into and sub- scribed in the other townships of the county ; in some parts a similar assurance had been given, and in all parta it was expected a compliance would take place immediately.

The two commissioners appointed by the Parkin- son committee, on their return, as we have said, called another meeting to which to make report. These were reappointed, and two others with them, to con- vey to the President the much more favorable outlook of affairs. They expected to find the President at Bedford, but learning that he had left that place and returned to the capital, they proceeded at once to Uniontown to confer with Gen. Lee, who by this time had established his headquarters there, and who had all power to treat with those who were authoritatively delegated. He received them with courtesy, and as- sured them that no exertion would be wanting on his part to prevent injury to persons or property. He told them to quiet the minds of the people upon that score, and to urge upon them to be as active in re- storing order as they had been in bringing about dis- order. The report of this conference was printed and widely circulated. Besides this the general pub- lished an address to the people of the four western counties recommending them to subscribe to an oath to support the Constitution and obey the laws, and to enter an assurance to aid the officers of the govern- ment in their duties. Books were opened at the offices of all the justices of the peace, and notices given that they would receive the tests or oaths of allegiance of all good citizens. Notices were given at the same time for the entering of all stills. The people at once attended to all their obligations. On the 17th of November general orders were issued for the re- turn of all troops, except a detachment under Gen. Morgan, which was directed to remain for the winter about Pittsburgh. A squad of these was stationed at Uniontown and another quartered at Greensburg.

Information was made against many for overt acts of treason, and a formal investigation was held by Judge Peters. Most of these had been guilty, as it

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was ruled, of no offense against the government. 4

number were arrested and carried to Pittsburgh. Some of these were released by influential friends, while those who were not were sent to Philadelphia for trial. These were kept in confinement for nearly a year. In the end several were finally tried, and two were convicted, one for arson and the other for robbing the United States mail. Not one was con- victed of treason, though the insurgents were in open armed resistance to the laws for nearly two months.

Passing over the charges which would increase their criminality and the claims which might extenuate their ill-advised and hasty procedure, we notice that that part of the county which had been in open re- sistance was ultimately profited by the accession of"a large body of new inhabitants, the enhanced value of all real property, and by new facilities and new mar- kets by which they more readily got rid of their sur- plus manufacture. Possibly our own county was benefited more than any of the others. Many volun- teers who had come in the army seeing a better pros- pect here than in the East removed within a year or two. Young men just entering in the professions of law and medicine chose to cast their lot in a section which bade fair to rapidly advance in population and in wealth. They became identified with all the in- terests of the county-town and the county, and with few exceptions they became the substantial citizens of a later period. So rapidly did the number of the inhabitants increase and the business interests of the county improve within ten years from this date, that more than a dozen of the old villages and towns once the centre of their respective localities first received their names and began a quasi corporate existence.

Brief notices are herewith given of some of the per- sonages who took an active part in the affair of the Whiskey Insurrection :

JOHN NEVILLE was born on the head-waters of the Occoquan, Virginia, in the year 1731. He was an officer in the Virginia troops under the ill-fated Braddock. In 1774 he was a delegate to the Provincial Con- vention of Virginia. He was colonel of the Fourth Virginia Regiment in the Revolution, serving with distinction at Trenton, Princeton, Ger- mantown, and Monmouth. After the war he settled in Pennsylvania, and was elected a member of the Supreme Executive Council. He was subsequently appointed by the President of the United States inspector of revenue for the western counties. It was his residence which was destroyed by the opponents of the excise. He was a gallant soldier and a dutiful citizen. He died at Montour's Island, near Pittsburgh, July 29, 1803.

PRESLEY NEVILLE, son of Gen. John Neville, was born about the year 1756. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1775. He served in the Revolution as aide to Gen. Lafayette, and at the capture of Charleston was made prisoner. He was afterwards brigade inspector of the militia for Allegheny County. He was a mem- ber of the Assembly. Col. Neville married a daughter of Gen. Daniel Morgan, who, according to Brackenridge, " blessed him with an off- spring as numerous and as beautiful as the children of Niobe ;" was a prominent merchant of Pittsburgh for twenty-five years. He died at Fairview, Ohio, on the 1st of December, 1818.

CAPT. JAMES MCFARLANE .- The following epitaph was lately copied from the tombstone in the Mingo Creek graveyard :

" Here lies the body of Capt. James McFarland, of Washington County, Pa., who departed this life the 17th of July, 1794, aged 43 years.

"He served during the war with undaunted courage in defense of

American independence against the lawless and despotic encroachments of Great Britain. He fell at last by the hands of an unprincipled villain in the support of what he supposed to be the rights of his country, much lamented by a numerous and respectable circle of acquaintance."

COL. JOHN MARSHALL " had been an early settler in the western coun- ties and a useful citizen during the late war with Britain and the terri- torial controversy with Virginia. He was successively register, high sheriff, member of the Ratifying Convention (of the Federal Constitu- tion), of the Legislature, county lieutenant, and again register in Wash- ington County, and was respectable for the discretion he displayed in the discharge of the duties of the respective offices he filled. In the Ratifying Convention he voted in favor of amendments previous to rati- fication, but refused to sign the reasons of the minority. Moderation was thought to have been a leading trait in his character. He was an industrious man, and had amassed considerable property. From these circumstances the part he took in the insurrection was surprising. He had come from the north of Ireland in his youth."-(Findley's History, etc., p. 94.)

BENJAMIN PARKINSON, a Pennsylvanian by birth, had always resided in that State. He also was a Federalist, and had supported Gen. Neville's interest formerly ; was reputed a good citizen, a man of influence in his neighborhood ; had been a justice of the peace before the revision of the constitution of the State, was president of the Mingo Creek Association, and one of the committee who superintended the operations in the attack on Neville's house .- (Findley's History, etc.)

JOHN CANON (or CANNON) " was from Chester County, Pa., and had long been a respectable [we pardon you, Hon. William Findley, for the ' respec- table,' for you did not know to what extent Mr. Cannon was concerned in the murder of the Moravian Indians] citizen south of the Monongahela, lived in the town called by his name, had attached himself to the government of Virginia, and favored the idea of a new State. He was afterwards & member of the Legislature, and was an early advocate of the Federal Constitution, and a supporter of Gen. Neville's interest in the country." -(Findley's History.)

DAVID BRADFORD, a native of Maryland, was a prominent lawyer in after-years in Washington County. He became extensively known, and wielded an immense influence. He was admitted, as we have seen, in 1782, and the year after was appointed district attorney. He was one of the commissioners for the laying out and sale of lots at Fort McIntosh, now Beaver, in 1792-93. At the time of the adoption of the Constitu- tion he was a zealous Federalist. When the convention of the four western counties met at Pittsburgh, Sept. 7, 1791, Bradford was one of the three representatives from Washington County. He was one of the committee calling the people to rendezvous at Braddock's Field, Aug. 1, 1794. There he was unanimously elected the major-general to command the forces of the insurrectionists. When government issued the amnesty proclamation, all the citizens were included except Bradford. He fled to Bayou Sara, in Louisiana territory, then in possession of Spain, and died there about 1809. He erected the first stone house of the county.

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History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 50

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

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