History of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens 20th century, Part 11

Author: McFarland, Joseph Fulton; Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1474

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His vengeance was aimed at the Virginians. His avengers sought to take life southeast of Washington County. Catfish Camp, at which Cresap and others had stopped a while on returning to Redstone, and at which another party had stopped with the little Indian babe- the only survivor of the slaughter, became a place of refuge for several persons. It does not appear that at any time during the twenty years of Indian and frontier warfare which followed, that this place was ever at- tacked or threatened by the Indians.

A note dated July 21st, 1774, written by William Rob- inson, a captive, at Logan's request, signed "Captain John Logan" and tied to a war club, was left away down in old Virginia at the house of one Robertson whose family was cut off by the Indians. It was ad- dressed to Captain Cresap, charged him with killing his kin, and closed with the statement, "Then I thought I must kill too; and I have been three times to war since; but the Indians are not angry; only myself." The truth of this is shown by an extract from letter of John Montgomery written about the same date saying: "The Shawnees seem well disposed and inclinable for peace, and will continue so unless provoked by the Vir- ginians. The Delawares are all for peace. Logan's party had returned and had 13 scalps and one prisoner. Logan says he is now satisfied for the loss of his relatives, and will sit still until he hears what the Long Knives will say." I am in hopes the storm will blow over, and that

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

peace and tranquillity will be restored to the back inhab- itants."' St. Clair wrote on June 16th: " 'Tis some satisfaction the Indians seem to discriminate betwixt us and those who attacked them, and their revenge has fallen hitherto on that side the Monongahela which they consider Virginia." One man was killed near Fort Burd (Brownsville), who belonged in that fort, but none north of that appear to have been molested by Logan's friends in this campaign."

Cresap at once organized a new force in Maryland and came west for more blood. As early as May 29th St. Clair wrote Governor Penn estimating the actual num- ber of Indians killed near Wheeling a month before at thirteen, and says, "Cresap has lately been in the neigh- borhood of Pittsburg with intention, it appears, to pur- sue the blow he had before struck, but Mr. Connolly sent a message to him forbidding him to attempt any- thing against the Indians. This he has taken in high dudgeon, and declares publicly that what he did before was by Mr. Connolly's orders."

It is not known whether Connolly disapproved of Cresap's action near Wheeling, whether he blamed him for starting the war and immediately running away from it, or whether he was jealous of Maryland troops and wanted Virginia to get all the honor of victory over the Indians. It is reported that Cresap remained until the Indians killed six men out of nine at work near the northern edge of Virginia on July 13th, and that he followed on their trail a day behind them. Finding pur- suit useless he brought his company to Catfish Camp, when a messenger from Connolly delivered him a per- emptory and insulting letter ordering him to dismiss his men. He marched his company back to Maryland, but was afterward put in charge of some border rangers by Dunmore.

From the time in April when the court at Hannastown had been intimidated, Judge William Crawford and his brother Valentine conducted their correspondence with George Washington mainly, instead of with the Penn government. Early in May William Crawford raised Some men up the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Riv- ers, and went down Chartiers Creek to guard the people while they got their stock away. He then went down the Ohio as far as Grave Creek to watch the motions of the Indians, but seeing none, returned home with his men. He headed a force again in June and went to build a stockade at Wheeling and commenced erecting a fort there under direction of Dr. Connolly. In the fall he commanded 500 men, going by land from Pittsburg to Wheeling, while Lord Dunmore, who had arrived, floated down 700 men by water.

It is not clear that Connolly went with these forces. He had intended going to Wheeling in June, but four Indians killed Capt. Francis McClure and wounded

Lieutenant Kinkaid (then recently appointed a justice for Westmoreland County) as they were marching near Ten Mile Creek on their way to Wheeling. The Doctor remained in garrison, the name of which he had changed from Fort Pitt to Fort Dunmore. His conduct was most outrageous and oppressive without regard to law or jus- tice. Slaughtering stock, appropriating horses, and traders' supplies, tearing down buildings, and sending out parties to slaughter Indians without regard to friend or foe.

About the middle of June Governor Penn was peti- tioned by over 48 men of near Pittsburg who "appre- hended that this part of the country would be imme- diately involved in all the horrors of an Indian war, that our circumstances at this critical conjuncture are truly alarming. Deserted by the far greater part of our neighbors and fellow subjects, unprovided with places of strength to resort to, with ammunition, provisions, and almost every other store, our houses are abandoned to pillage. Labor and industry entirely at a stand, our crops destroyed by cattle, our flocks dispersed, and the minds of our people distracted with the terrors of fall- ing along with their helpless and unprotected families the immediate victims of savage barbarity. In the midst of these scenes of desolation and ruin, next to the Almighty, we look up to Your Honor for protection and relief." Penn was busy, for on June 15th deputies from the several counties met in Philadelphia to prepare for obtaining redress of American grievances caused by English oppression.

Epraim Blaine, (who afterward settled near Browns- ville), with Mr. Butler and several other traders, re- turned from the west with skins about this date, Blaine bearing a speech from Cornstalk, chief of the Shawanese, to Connolly and Croghan, expressing his hope of peace and that no more Indians be killed. They had a safety escort of Indians, but had to conceal their escort up the Allegheny at Croghan's place and hurry them west- ward. Connolly sent a party of forty-one men after these three Indian guides, but they escaped as far as . the mouth of the Beaver, where one of them was shot. Connolly insisted that he wanted to hold them as host- ages but the Pennsylvanians believed that he wanted to annihilate them. He was determined there should be no intercourse or trading between Penn's Province and the Indians, for Simons, Campbell and Connolly had obtained exclusive privilege of carrying it on, on the frontiers of Virginia. This privilege may have had some influence in keeping Croghan favorable to peace and in touch with Penn's adherents.

St. Clair was invited by Connolly to participate in the Dunmore war more than once, but his efforts were all for pacification. Several friendly Indians living near the whites at different points were shot this spring.

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

Some adventurers in these settlements thought no more of shooting one of these people than of shooting a buf- falo. There were several- small meetings or councils with the Indians at Pittsburg with presents to them from St. Clair and his neighbors, but the Shawanese became exasperated by the unprovoked murder of one of their favorite chiefs, Silver Heels, who had in the kindest manner undertaken to escort several white traders across the woods from Ohio.

The inevitable brief war, opposed by Pennsylvania, resulted in a decisive battle, October 10, 1774, near the mouth of the Kanawha in West Virginia, when about 800 Shawanese, Delawares, Mingoes, Iaways and others, led by Chiefs Cornstalk and Logan, were defeated by about 1,000 Virginia troops led by Col. Lewis.

By the peace treaty that followed, the sullen Indians were to give up all prisoners, negroes and horses stolen since the war of 1763, no Indian was to hunt on the

east side of the Ohio and no white on the west side, and the Shawanese delivered up four of their chief men as hostages, to be changed yearly.

Logan had the satisfaction of knowing that 75 enemies bit the dust and 140 were wounded. Among the killed were two colonels, four captains and many subordinate officers. It was at the treaty after this battle that Logan gave to Capt. John Gibson his written speech, afterward printed under the heading, "Speech of Logan, Chief of the Mingoes," and which made his name famous for a century in America and among the acquaintances of Thomas Jefferson in Europe.

"The threatened depredations were checked for a season, but twenty years were yet to pass before the red man was conquered and the settlers on the border could lie down at night without dread of the stealthy tread and bloody tomahawk of the savage."

CHAPTER VII

THE JURISDICTIONAL CONFLICT CONTINUED.

Counter Proclamations and Clash of Jurisdictions-Court Held at Pittsburg-New Justices Appointed-Oaths- Public Roads and Ferries-Penn's Adherents Imprisoned-Connolly Kidnapped-More of Penn's Magis- trates Carried Off-Committees of Safety-Connolly Flees-Arrested Again-A Traitor -- A Tragedy-An Exile -Virginia Garrisons Pittsburg-Court of West Augusta District-Augusta Town-Youghiogheny County Court-Raising Troops for Revolution-Unprotected Frontier-Indian Councils.

The victory over the Indians did not make the Vir- ginians less insolent to their neighbors. Before leaving Pittsburg on the down river trip Dunmore had issued a proclamation intended as a warning against the recogni- tion of Pennsylvania, and prohibiting the execution of any act of authority in behalf of that province. A counter proclamation was again sent out by Governor John Penn stating, that "Although the western limits of the Province have not been settled by any authority of the crown, yet a great tract of country west of Laurel Hill, and Fort Pitt also, are comprehended within its charter bounds, and have been actually settled and is now held under grants from the proprietors of Pennsyl- vania." It required all persons west of Laurel Hill to retain their settlements as aforesaid made under this province, and that all magistrates and other officers pro- ceed as usual in the administration of justice, "without paying the least regard to the said recited proclamation, (of Dunmore) until his Majesty's pleasure shall be known in the premises." His Majesty, King George, never made known his pleasure about this boundary line. The War of the Revolution was near at hand and the break between the Colony and Province was not to be closed for another decade.

The victorious Dunmore, returning from the Indian country, stopped long enough at Pittsburg to encourage his adherents, then proceeded up to Redstone and gave a hearing to Thomas Scott, who had been arrested for acting as a magistrate under Penn. After two hours with Scott, "who with a great deal of firmness possessed a share of natural understanding," my lord placed him under bonds to appear at Augusta County Court to be held under his authority December 20, 1794, at Fort Dunmore, (Pittsburg.)

Augusta County, Virginia, had been organized in 1738 to embrace all of Virginia west of the Blue Ridge Moun-

tains, and had its county seat over the mountains at Staunton, in the Shenandoah Valley. Augusta County Court held adjourned meetings at Fort Dunmore and met for the first time at Pittsburg, February 21, 1775. By this move "Pittsburg and its dependencies" became hereafter to the Virginians "The District of West Augusta."" At the same time they captured the presi- dent judge of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Capt. William Crawford, by naming him as a magistrate for this new district, along with George Croghan, the deputy Indian agent (who the preceding summer wrote secretly to St. Clair expressing his disapproval of the efforts of Capt. Connolly and John Campbell to create greater trouble between Governors Penn and Dunmore, Edward Ward, (Croghan's brother-in-law), John Connolly, (Cro- ghan's nephew), John Campbell, Thomas Smallman and John Gibson, all of Pittsburg; Dorsey (or Dawsey), Pentecost, who about this date moved to or near the "Shirtee Settlement," the home of Connolly's riotous military friends, John Canon, founder of Canonsburg, George Vallandigham of near Noblestown, John McCul- lough, Silas Hedge and David Shepherd of the region east of Wheeling. These and others who officiated with them took the four oaths-the oath of allegiance, to be faithful to his Majesty King George the Third; the Oath of Supremacy, that no foreign potentate should have any pre-eminence or authority, ecclesiastical or spir- itual within this realm; the test oath, declaring disbelief in any transubstantiation in the bread and wine used in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper; and the oath of abjurgation, expressing belief that George the Third is the lawful and rightful King of this realm, refusing allegiance to the pretender, James the Third, swearing true allegiance to his Majesty George the Third and to defend him against all traitorous conspiracies and at- tempts whatsoever which shall be made against his per-

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

son, crown or dignity, and to make known to his Majesty and to his successors all treason and traitorous con- spiracies which shall be known against him or any of them, and to defend the succession of the crown against James and in favor of the Princess Sophia and the heirs of her body being Protestants, without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever, making this renunciation and promise heartily, willingly, and truly upon the true faith of a Christian. These severe oaths seem to have been forgotten by nearly all these magistrates within the next few months in the excite- ment of the War of the Revolution.

At the end of four days the court was adjourned again to Staunton, but the court had been busy. The gentle- men recognized the fact then, as we do now, after the passing of 124 years, that better public roads are abso- lutely required. The majority of the road petitions at this and later sessions of the court were aimed to end at Froman's Mill on Shirtee's Creek, evidence of the progressiveness of those residing at the Shirtee Settle- ment, or rather of the foresight of Paul Froman or Dorsey Pentecost, either or both. This Paul Froman Mill was sold to Dorsey Pentecost two years later, and new road petitions thereafter called for Pentecost's Mill, indication of a hope for a county seat there, had Virginia been finally victorious in her boundary contest. The roads desired extended as far east as Gist's, on top of the mountains, and as far west as Raccoon Creek and the mouth of Wheeling Creek. Ferries were granted in abundance across the rivers, especially the Mononga- hela and the four oaths, allegiance, subjugation, abjura- tion, and the test oath were administered to magistrates, attorneys, constables and militia officers, such as Maj. of Militia John Connolly, Lieuts. Simon Gerty and William Cristy and Ensign Jacob Bausman-the last named having license for a ferry and for an ordinary or inn on the south side opposite Pittsburg. Two men were arraigned for fighting in the court yard and dis- turbing the court, but Connolly's complaint against George Wilson, a Pennsylvania justice, as a disturber of the peace, was dismissed.

This court immediately gave attention to Penn's sup- porters by binding them over to keep the peace, to refrain from making tax assessments, acting as county commissioners, making arrests or acting as justices. The first man placed under bonds was William Elliott, assessor, and one of his bondsmen was Charles Sims, whose title to Montour's Island, situated just below Pittsburg within the bounds of the original Washington County, was confirmed to him by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, as reported in 3rd Dallas Reports, p. 424; an ejectment case wherein a Virginia title was held to be better than a grant made to Brig. Gen. William

Irvine by a special act of the legislating body of Penn- sylvania.

Robert Hanna was again arrested, also James Cavet, or Caveat, on February 22. Hanna gave bail in the sum of £1,000 with two securities and Cavet was committed to jail in default. May 13, St.Clair wrote Governor Penn that Hanna and Cavet will at this court be confined in the guard house if we do not give bail, and again wrote May 18, "they have now been upwards of three months confined for paying obedience to Penn's procla- mation." Pleas to the jurisdiction of the court had been overruled and now they were urging their friends to come and take them out, for Connolly only had eighteen men, and fifty men could rescue them. With the rumors of conflicts between the English troops and Americans in the East, and his neighboring magistrates suffering imprisonment on the West, St. Clair (prothono- tary and chief man in Westmoreland County since the president judge had abandoned Penn's cause) was much worried, and wrote May 25, "An association is forming in this county for the defence of American liberty. Hanna and Cavet are still pressing me to do something for their relief."

Relief must have come soon, for on June 24, Valentine Crawford wrote George Washington, "We have chosen committees out here and raised an independent company. The Pennsylvanians came to Fort Pitt with the sheriff and about twenty men and took Maj. Connolly about midnight and carried him as far as Ligonier, the very night before we were to have our talk with the Indians. On Maj. Connolly's being taken, the people of Chartier's came in a company and seized three magistrates who were concerned in his taking-off, George Wilson,* Joseph Speer and Devereux Smith. They were sent in an old leaky boat down to Fort Fincastle (Wheeling) under guard. It was done by a mob of Connolly's friends. The members of our committee (the Committee of Safety of Augusta County) wrote a very spirited letter to the gentlemen from Pennsylvania committee, demanding Connolly back. On its receipt they immediately sent him back. I think the Indians want nothing but peace, but it seemed to alarm them greatly that our great man was stolen."

Thomas Scott, afterward the first prothonotary and chief clerk of Washington County, had been committed to the jail of Augusta County-a room in the guard- house at Fort Pitt (or Fort Dunmore)-on May 18, for doing business as a justice of the peace under Pennsyl- vania, and for other acts in contempt of the Earl of Dunmore's proclamation. It is not certain whether or

* George Wilson was great-grandfather of Hon. W. G. Hawkins, president judge of the Orphans Court for Alle- gheny County. Old Virginia Court House, p. 15.

BEAVER

Whites d

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Nottingham

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Monongane,

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Morris

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Brownsville

Golfbels

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Findley.

HOWELL'S MAP OF WASHINGTON (Extract from a Map of Pennsylvania published by Reading Howell in 1792.)

f&Gates's Buffalot

Strabane

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Hendersons

Greek

Dutch

Buck Run

Leets

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Hopewellk North

Chantiers

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Cross Creek

FOXA

Pike Rux

Fallowfield

W. &E.Bethlehem

Indian Creek

Ritchies

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY

not the three imprisoned justices at Fort Dunmore were liberated when Connolly was stolen, May 22, nor how long the kidnapped three were held near Wheeling, but the daring George Wilson, a ringleader in the taking off of this persecutor, was soon after arrested and bound over to court for that offence and his bail was forfeited at September court.

During almost two years Connolly had distressed the Pennsylvanians exceedingly, and had prevented the enforcement of law and collection of taxes. They com- plained of his impressing horses from their owners, kill- ing sheep and hogs and taking other property, searching houses, assaulting Pennsylvanians, threatening to send men in irons to Virginia, confining citizens in Fort Duquesne for trading with the Indians and other so- called offenses. He had failed to provoke the province and the colony to open war, but had temporarily, at least, driven away the Pennsylvanians with fear of the Indians, had injured their fur trade, and now sought to organize his "Pittsburg and its Dependencies" in favor of the British. In this he failed. The first court record show- ing dissatisfaction with him is on May 16, 1775, the first day of the second session held in the village of Pittsburg by the Augusta County Court. It was a very exciting day in Pittsburg, for the news of the battle of Lexington and Concord between the provincials and the British under Gen. Gage (April 19) had reached these determined Scotch and Irish on the frontier, and their indignation was increased by the thought that these same British had until now been their allies against their enemies, the French and Indians. They may also have learned from some traveler that six days ago, (May 10), Ethan Allen with eighty-three men had dramatically captured Fort Ticonderoga in northeastern New York. From all sides men had come to court or to attend the meeting called to take action toward resisting the oppres- sion of the British government. The judges who held court that day were George Croghan, John Connolly, Edward Ward, who had surrendered the little fort to the French, John Canon (Cannon), John McCullock, a daring frontiersman, and John Gibson, formerly a trader at both Fort Pitt and Logstown. William Crawford, the previous year president judge at Hannastown, took the four oaths and went on the bench with the others. Almost the last action of that day is expressed in the following minute: "On the complaint of John Con- nolly, Gent, against Geo. Wilson, Gent, as a disturber of the Peace, on hearing the parties the Court is of the opinion that the complaint be dismissed." Two days later Doctor-Captain-Major-Judge John Connolly sat for the last time on the judicial bench, for his hopes faded away when he saw his associates above mentioned elected that day as part of the committee of twenty-eight by the public meeting, and instructed to formulate plans for

the organization of military companies to be ready for the country 's call. At least five of that committee were Pennsylvania partisans. A similar committee was ap- pointed the same or the following day in Westmoreland County in the cabins at Hannastown, and wrathful reso- lutions against Great Britain were passed there. In all the colonies the leading minds were bent upon resistance, by arms if that must be, and each had its abundance of local conventions. Provincial Councils were dissolved, committees of safety were substituted, courts of justice were reorganized, -the old forms of oaths of allegience were changed, political offenders were pardoned, and a feeling of liberty and union burned-but not in every breast.

The opprobrious word "tory" was applied to many as a stinging whip. Connolly's ambitions were with the enemy and had it not been for the violent demonstra- tion of the Virginia partisans after he was arrested and carried to Ligonier, he would have been delivered by St. Clair's orders to Philadelphia as an insurrectionist against the Revolutionary Government just forming. These thought it a blow at their territorial claims. Soon after his release at Ligonier, he fled by night from Pittsburg and joined Lord Dunmore on a British vessel to which my lord had been driven by Virginia troops headed by the patriot Patrick Henry. He was arrested again in November in Fredericktown, Maryland, with papers hidden in his riding saddle, which, with other evidence, showed that he had arrangements to bring forth the Indians and English to attack us from the northwest. He was kept in close confinement until Con- gress had him removed to Philadelphia jail, where he remained until April 2, 1777, when the Supreme Execu- tive Council released him on condition he go to the plantation of James Ewing, Esq., give security for his good behavior and that he will not write to, speak, or correspond with any person employed under the authority of the King or Parliament, nor any person unfriendly to the United States of America, or employ or procure any person to take up arms, or aid and assist the enemies of the said States in any way whatever.

These two arch-schemers and oppressive persecutors disappear forever from the "Boundary Controversy." The war of wits so far had been bloodless, except in one instance. Devereaux Smith, Esq., who had been car- ried off to Wheeling in June by the mob from Char- tier's Creek, killed one of Connolly's militia, Capt. George Aston, and received a serious wound himself, which rendered him unable to leave his house. Four of the magistrates, including John Canon, held court at his house November 21, 1775, and held him for trial for murder. They admitted him to bail because of "the circumstances attending the fact wherewith he is charged," but expressed in their record a doubt whether

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History of the city of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania and representative citizens 20th century, Part 11

Author: McFarland, Joseph Fulton; Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1474

Author: McFarland, Joseph Fulton; Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1474