USA > Pennsylvania > History of the Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania > Part 5
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pastor at Big Spring. He then removed to Conococheague and was there placed as pastor of the Rocky Spring church. When the Revolution became the absorbing question of the day, he was an ardent Whig, and fearless of consequences, preached liberty or death from the pulpit. The young men's bosoms swelled with enthusiasm for military glory. They marched to the tented field and several were killed, still he urged them not to be daunted.
On one occasion he brought all his eloquence to bear on the subject until his congregation arose to their feet, as if ready to march. An old lady who had lost a son in battle shouted out: "stop, Mr. Craighead, I just want to tell ye, agin you loss such a pretty boy as I have, in the war, ye will na be sa keen for fighting, quit talken, and gang yurself to the war. Yer always preaching to the boys about it; but I dinna think ye'd be very likely to gang yerself. Jist ga and try it." He did try it; and the next day he and Robert Cooper, his classmate at Princeton college in 1763 and who was then pastor at Middle Spring church, set about to raise a company in which they succeeded, the choicest spirits that ever lived. They marched in short order and joined the army under Washington in the Jerseys, fought and preached, breasted all dan- ger, relying on God and the justice of the cause for protection. One day going into battle, a cannon ball struck a tree near him, a sliver of which nearly knocked him down, "God bless me," said his friend, Mr. Cooper, "you were nearly knocked to staves." "Oh yes," said Craighead, very coolly, "though you were a cooper you could not have set me up." He was a great humorist. While encamped at Boyd's in Lancaster county, he fell in love with Jennie Boyd and married her. He died of a cancer on his breast leaving no children and lies buried at Rocky Spring church. This christian minister had a fine record as captain of his men and also their chaplain. The father of Rev. Craighead had been educated in Europe for the ministry but he found preaching a poor business to earn a livelihood. He therefore engaged in tailoring in Philadelphia and always tied up his index finger when in good company for fear of being discov- ered. Being a handsome little man and having a good education he was courted by the elite of the day. He fell in love with an English heiress by the name of Montgomery, married her and spent the for- tune, all but a few webs of linen with which he purchased 500 acres of land on the banks of the Yellow Breeches and which descended to his heirs.
Rev. Robert Cooper, then pastor of Middle Spring church, en- tered into the struggle with his whole soul, believing, with his min- isterial brethren, that the cause of American independence was a
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divine cause, that in the struggle, not only the rights of men but the sacred interests of Christ's kingdom were involved. On account of this intense love of his country shown by Dr. Cooper, he was made moderator of the synods of New York and Philadelpiha, in May, 1776, and went to Philadelphia. While there he became enthused with patriotism, and from the fullness of his heart, poured it forth on his people on his return, until they, catching his spirit, resolved to enlist in the defense of their beloved land. Certain it is that no church in this valley, or elsewhere, that we know of, sent as many men (a list is now in my possession of over 800) into the patriot army as the Middle Spring church, and well she may be proud of her record.
The freeholders and freemen coming up from the different town- ships of Cumberland county, which then embraced Franklin and others, were informed in regard to the matters of momentous inter- est to the colonies through the "Penna. Packet" and the "Penna. Gazette", newspapers at that time printed in Philadelphia. One copy going into a great many hands, stirring a great many hearts, ex- citing earnest thought and discussion. As disseminators of reliable information in the sacred cause of freedom, we should bring to mind, the names of John Armstrong and James Smith. John Arm- strong was an elder in the Presbyterian church at Carlisle. He had already distinguished himself as an officer in the French and Indian war; he had formed the acquaintance of Washington and like his distinguished friend; he had been a surveyor. It was in this ca- pacity, going hither and thither with compass, determining lines that abide upon the face of the valley today, that he spoke of the rights of men and the freedom from England. James Smith, educated at the New London Presbyterian Academy, Chester county, studied law with his brother George in Lancaster, after which he came to the vicinity of Shippensburg, where he spent several years as a surveyor. He afterward made his permanent home in York. His sterling patri- otism, unusual abilities and eloquence, made him one of the most distinguished advocates of Colonial rights in Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Colonial Congress of 1776, and was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The influence of these two patriotic men, as they mingled with the people daily in the discharge of their professional duties was only second to that of the men who occupied the pulpits of the valley.
When Robert Cooper was moderator of the synod of New York and Philadelphia May 1776, we might have noticed, during the noon or evening recess, the moderator walking arm in arm with the young est member of the synod in thoughtful, earnest conversation. Could
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we have approached them and claimed the honor of an introduction, the moderator would have said, "this is one of my boys, William Linn, chaplain of the fifth and sixth batallions of Penna. troops." The moderator would have taken pride in presenting his young friend, for he was a young man of rare ability with a good record behind him and a still brighter future. He came from one of Middle Spring's families, born in Lurgan township, near the base of the North Mountain. He had been sent to Princeton College, where he was graduated in 1772 at the age of twenty. At the close of his junior year ,he stood at the head of his class with Aaron Burr in receiving a prize for excellence in the English langauge. A year afterward, on the commencement stage, he divided the honor equally with Burr for eloquence. He studied theology with his pastor, Robert Cooper. On March 17, 1776, he preached a sermon before the sol- diers of Magaw's batallion, who were about to leave their homes to join the army. This sermon, reproduced in the Carlisle "American Volunteer", March 16, 1876, displayed wonderful patriotism. It is said that he accompanied the troops he addressed to Philadel- phia. While in Philadelphia he was ordained by the Presbytery of that city, to serve as chaplain in the army and continuing as chap- lain throughout the war. He was held in the highest esteem by officers and soldiers.
William Linn married a Maryland lady and lies buried some- where in that state. He had the honor of being the chief orator at the funeral of George Washington and on the walls of Mt. Vernon can be read his beautiful eulogy written in his own hand.
Mr. George Duffield was another chaplain in the Revolution, from our valley. He was pastor of Big Spring and Carlisle churches. On May 21, 1772, he accepted a call to the Third Pres- byterian church of Philadelphia. He was chosen chaplain of the Continental Congress and was often found following the army and doing all that he could to encourage, comfort and stimulate the sol- diers in the protracted struggle, and preaching to them the gospel. His second wife, Margaret, was the sister of Gen. John Armstrong, an elder in his church at Carlisle and who was greatly distinguished for his heroic service in the Indian and Revolutionary wars.
William Denning was the patriotic blacksmith at Newville who could not be bought or sold by the British government. He was born in 1727 and had a forge and furnace near Boiling Springs. He made cannon which were in use during the Revolution; one of these cannon which was used in the battle of Germantown now rests in London Tower, England. He was a skilled forger and a noble char- acter, for when the English Government tried to buy him to make
MOLLY PITCHER
MOLLY PITCHER MONUMENT, CARLISLE, PA.
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cannon for them, he spurned the offer and remained loyal to his country. He lies buried in Newville. The state of Pennsylvania has erected a monument to his memory with cannon and balls on the top, and a man working at a forge on the side, fit emblems for this great man; and the Cumberland Valley may well be proud to claim him. He died in 1830.
The Battle of Monmouth of the Revolutionary War has always had more than usual interest for the people of the Cumberland Val- ley. The reason for this is plain; the heroine of the battle, Mollie Pitcher, or Captain or Sergeant Mollie was a Carlisle woman, al- though New York and Massachusetts both claim women of this name. There always has been some doubt in regard to the name and the part this woman performed in the battle but be that as it may, a Mollie Pitcher lived in Carlisle, lies buried there and a man who knew her in his youth collected money forty years after her death and has her grave marked by a handsome monument, in the shape of a cannon, upon which is inscribed:
MOLLIE MCCAULEY Renowned in History as Mollie Pitcher.
The State of Pennsylvania has appropriated $10,000.00 for a fine monument to her memory to be erected in the center of the town. Briefly stated, the life of "Mollie Pitcher" as related in history is as follows: She was Mary Ludwig, the daughter of John George Ludwig, was born at Trenton, N. J., Oct. 13, 1744; was brought to Carlisle at the age of 15 by the wife of Gen. William Irvine; lived in the Irvine family from the age of fifteen until her marriage. She and John Casper Hays, a barber, or as some people hold William Hays, barber, obtained a marriage license at Carlisle, July 24, 1769, and were married on the same day. John Casper Hays, or William Hays, enlisted on December 1, 1775, in Proctor's artillery, reenlisted in January 1777, in the 7th Penna. Infantry in a company command- ed by Captain John Alexander of Carlisle. At the Battle of Mon- mouth he was detailed from the infantry to a battery of artillery; while serving a gun he was wounded and one of his comrades killed; the gun, for lack of gunners to man it, was about to be moved off the field when Mollie, who was conveying water in a pitcher to the soldiers at the time, bravely sprang to her husband's place and kept the gun in action, thus contributing to the favorable result of the battle." In the history it is stated that some years after the death of her first husband, Sergeant John Casper Hays, "Mollie Pitcher"
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married John McCauley and this man's name appears on the Carlisle tax list in 1793;
JOHN McCAULEY ;- House and one lot and cow.
In 1822 the Legislature of Pennsylvania granted Mollie Mc- Cauley and annuity, "for services rendered in the Revolutionary War." Molly spent the last forty years of her life in Carlisle, dying in 1832, and up to 1898 there were people living who in their youth knew her personally. They could distinctly recall how she looked, dressed, acted and swore. One person gave this description: "She was a wicked old woman who drank whiskey and swore, had bristles on the end of her nose, and was so ugly that the children were afraid of her. When children were loath to come into the house in the evenings their mothers would remind them that Mollie would get them and that had the desired effect." Some pitied her but no one respected her very highly. Knowing her to have been with the army they frequently referred to her as "Capt. Mollie" or "Sergeant Mollie" but they did not know of her brave act or that she was Mollie Pitcher.
Near the place where the Stony Ridge Convention met, which assembled to petition parliament for redress of grievances, lived Samuel Lamb. He had a block house where the neighbors fled for shelter from hostile Indians. Lamb was a stone mason, built some chimneys for the rich farmers, who became able to hew logs and erect what was then known as a square log house. They used to say that he plumbed his corners with spittle, that is, he spit down the corner to see if it was plumb. Some of the chimneys he erected are standing to this day. He had a very patriotic family; four of his sons went into the Revolution, two became officers. His daugh- ters had looms and spun webs of woolen cloth, colored it with Sumach berries, as red as they could, for all war supplies were dyed as red as possible. They also made coats for their brothers and friends, put them in a tow cloth wallet and compelled their younger brother, Samuel, to take it to camp. He was afraid, the country being nearly all forest, full of bears and wolves. One of his sisters, Peggy, asked him, "What are you afraid of, go, sooner come home a corpse than a coward." He did go and enlisted during the war, came back at the close of the war and married Miss Trindle, of Trindle Springs and one of his sons was a mounted volunteer in General Harrison's army. At the Battle of Tippecanoe, he rode a very spirited horse and upon reining him in to keep him within the ranks, his bridle bit broke and his horse ran at full speed toward
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the ranks of the enemy. He brandished his sword and shouted, "Clear the way, I am coming," the ranks opened, let him through and he escaped, safely returning to his camp. Peggy Lamb deserves more than passing notice. She afterward married Capt. William Scott, who was a prisoner at Long Island. For years she resided at Mechanicsburg, near her native home, and was supported by her country. She was a type of the self-sacrifice, the Christian resigna- tion, the heroic patriotism of the mothers and daughters of the Cumberland Valley during the Revolution. The wife and the mother did not interpose an objection when she saw her husband and the father of their children preparing to enter the conflict. The struggles of the Revolution were not all along the bloody line of the battlefield; the deepest furrows of war run through the loving hearts that are left at home. As we read of the expeditions into Canada, in which there were long marches, suffering from want and wounds, death far from home; as we read of the capture of Magan's batallion at Fort Washington Nov. 16, 1776, and the Cumberland Valley men being consigned to the pestillential prison ship in New York harbor, of the fierce battles fought in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania; the suffering of Valley Forge; the heartless butchery of our troops at Paoli and Crooked Billet, we must remember that these historic names with their incidents of carnage and death, sent their arrows of anxiety, sorrow and want into the hearts of many mothers and daughters in the homes of the valley. Yet, with reliance upon God, they heroically toiled on in the hope that their sacrifices would be blessed by a glorious victory. The patriotic mothers and daughters of the Revolution are equal with the patriotic fathers and sons. Let their unwritten names be embalmed by their descendents.
None of the fighting of the War of 1812 took place on Penn- sylvania soil but her sons bled and died at Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, on Lake Erie, and at Baltimore and shared in the glorious victory at New Orleans. The greatest help given by Pennsylvania in the War of 1812 was Erie's part in helping to build and man Perry's fleet. Four companies were sent from Carlisle into this war. Capt. Stake, of Roxbury, Franklin County, formed one of these companies and marched to Erie. Montgomery Donelson formed part of a company to go to Erie and Joe McKinney took his company as far as York when they were recalled. While this war was of short duration and fought mostly on the sea, yet some of us are proud to think that our grandfathers fought their mother country a second time for what they considered their rights and were not afraid.
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CHAPTER VI EARLY TOWNS
HARRISBURG AND JOHN HARRIS
OHN HARRIS, a native of Yorkshire, England, was a middle aged man when he landed in Philadelphia. He married Miss Esther Say, an English lady, and a woman of ex- ceptional ability. They first lived in Chester county, then moved to Lancaster county, and later came to the Susquehanna. Here in 1726, was born John Harris, the real founder of Harrisburg. He was the first white child born in Pennsylvania, west of the Conewago Hills.
At the time of the founding of Harrisburg by John Harris, In- dian towns existed in Cumberland county, opposite Harrisburg, and at the mouth of the Conodoguinet and Yellow Breeches creeks.
There had been one on the low ground on the river and another at the mouth of the Paxton creek. These two were supposed to have been abandoned at the making of this settlement. The Indians that resided in this neighborhood were of the Six Nations and it is said that at one time by firing a gun, sixty or seventy warriors could be assembled at the present site of Harrisburg. The Indian village was called Peixtan. John Harris, Sr., had two houses. The one, a trading house on the Susquehanna and the other a stone mansion back from the river, surrounded by a great stockade. He traded extensively with the Indians and had connected with his house, a large range of sheds, which was sometimes literally filled with skins and furs, mostly obtained by him in traffic with the Indi- ans, and stored there by the Indian traders, who brought them from the western country. These skins and furs were carried on pack horses to Philadelphia.
A regular officer was engaged to keep the gate of the stockade closed. One evening, while the officer and the family were at the evening meal, the gate was left open. All at once they heard the
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report of a gun and they knew that the Indians were near them. Quick as a flash Mrs. Harris extinguished all the lights in the house and the Indians fled.
Another instance shows the coolness of Mrs. Harris in a case of danger. At one period she had an Irish girl in her employ. On one occasion she was sent up stairs for some purpose and she took with her a lighted candle without a candlestick. The girl soon came down without the candle, and on Mrs. Harris asking what she had done with it, she said she had stuck it into a barrel of flaxseed. This however happened to be a barrel of powder. Mrs. Harris instantly rose, and without saying a word, for fear of alarming the family, went upstairs, and advancing to the barrel, cautiously placed her hands under the candle and lifted it out, and then cooly reproved the girl for her carelessness. This instance proves her to have been well fitted for the life of a pioneer.
On one occasion, a band of Indians who had been down the river on a trading excursion, came to the house. Some of them were intoxicated. They asked for lum, meaning West Virginia rum, as the modern whiskey was not then manufactured in Pennsylvania. Seeing that they were already intoxicated, Mr. Harris feared mis- chief, if he gave them more; and he refused. They became enraged and seized and tied him to the mulberry tree to burn him. While they were proceeding to execute their purpose, he was released after a struggle, by other Indians of the neighborhood, who came across the river. How the alarm was given, whether by firing a gun or otherwise, is not certainly known. In remembrance of this event, he afterwards directed that on his death, he should be buried under the mulberry tree, which had been the scene of this adventure. The trunk of this tree stood for years. It was ten feet to the lowest limb and the stump was eleven feet six inches in circumference.
John Harris died about the year 1748 and was buried where he had directed, under the shade of his own memorable tree, and there his remains still repose, with those of some of his children.
John Harris, Jr., the founder of Harrisburg, was born in 1726 and died in 1791 at the age of 65 years. He was buried at Paxtang. Under the will of his father, and by purchase, he became the owner of seven hundred acres of land, on a part of which Harrisburg now stands. He was an active, energetic and industrious man. He farmed extensively, and also traded with the whites and Indians for skins and furs; and his son Robert Harris often saw ten or a dozen wagon loads of skins in his father's storehouse, belonging to him and Indian traders. In his time Harris Ferry became a celebrated place. It is said that letters from Ireland, England and Germany, directed "to the care of John Harris, Harris' Ferry N. America,
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would reach him. He was successful in business and was known through Pennsylvania. He had strong faith in the position of the town and 20 years before it was founded he predicted that the place would become the center of business in this section of the country and would be the seat of government in Pennsylvania. The town was laid out by Wm. McClay, son-in-law of John Harris in 1785. That John Harris was patriotic the following incident will es- tablish: When independence was agitated, he thought the declara- tion premature. He feared the Colonies were unequal to the task of combating with Great Britain; but when it was declared, Robert Harris says, that his father took his mother aside, and in the pres- ence of his son, read to her the declaration from a Philadelphia newspaper. When he concluded it, he said : "The act is now done, I must take sides either for or against our country. The war in which we are engaged, cannot be carried on without money. We have 3000 pounds in the house, and if you are agreed I will take the money to Philadelphia and put it into the hands of Robert Morris to carry on the war. If we succeed in obtaining our independence, we may lose the money as the government may not be able to pay it back, but we will get our land." She agreed and he carried the money to Philadelphia and deposited it in the Treasury. He lost nearly all his money.
John Harris, Jr., had four children-Robert, David, Mrs. McClay and Mrs. Hanna.
The town of Harrisburg was laid out in the Spring of 1785 and the Ice-flood happened in the winter of 1784-85 and the Pumpkin- flood in the Fall of 1787. During both these floods the low grounds around the town were covered with water. The river ran down to the Paxton creek. The fences were carried away and in the Pump- kin-flood most of the pumpkins came from the Yankees in the Wyo- ming valley and were strewed in profusion over the low ground be- low Harrisburg. When the town was laid out the ground above Market street was chiefly in woods. The first brick house was built by John Hamilton, likely on the site of the Washington hotel on Market Square. He had men, horses and wagons by which he car- ried on an extensive trade with Pittsburgh.
The first minister was Rev. Montgomery, a Presbyterian who preached under a tree where the Presbyterian church now stands in Market Square.
Harrisburg is situated on the banks of the Susquehanna, and is the capitol of Pennsylvania. The river was once spanned by five bridges, but now by four. Front Street Park is very beautiful and has a concrete river front of many miles. Capitol Park has 16 acres.
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The first Capitol building was burned in 1897. The second one, costing $13,000,000, was dedicated in 1906. The Mexican Monu- ment in front of the Capitol is 76 feet high. The paintings furnished by Violet Oakley on the inside of the Capitol are very fine, and the statues on the outside of the Capitol by George Gray Bernard are very costly and beautiful.
The city has grown very fast and includes many towns as suburbs-as Steelton, Middletown, New Cumberland, Enola, Camp Hill, West Fairview, etc. It is a great railroad center and many people are engaged in manufacturing and trade.
CAMP HILL
The two Indian tribes, the Delaware and Shawanese, were the original possessors of the lower part of the Cumberland Valley, the part in which Camp Hill is located. It is known to a certainty that there was an Indian village at the mouth of the Conodoguinet,another at the mouth of the Yellow Breeches which at one time was known as Shawnee creek.
After the French and Indian war the Indians left this section and were invited back to their planting and hunting grounds, guar- anteed ample protection in possession of it. The manor of Louther was not sufficiently tempting to induce the Indians to remain upon it, and by the time Cumberland county was formed all of them had wandered off to the Ohio, and Peter Chartier, the Shawanese half- breed, with them. The Indians having forfeited all claims to the Manor of Louther it reverted to the Proprietaries, who in 1765, had John Armstrong to make a survey of it and divide it up into tracts. When the Indians left it the white settlers moved in and took pos- session of the lands which the Indians declined to accept, and as they came the primeval forests melted away and instead of woods and "bawces" there are cultivated lands and gardens. The Manor of Lancaster is now thickly settled with commodious buildings and beautiful homes.
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