USA > Pennsylvania > The Pennsylvania-German in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 > Part 20
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Our Non-Combatant Patriots. 347
and laborers of Bethlehem were not asked to make coffins and help bury the dead, as in the previous winter. This was now done by the soldiers as quickly and secretly as possible. At last no coffins were made. Now and then, at dawn
LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA. From an old print.
of day, a cart piled full of dead bodies would be seen hurrying away from the door of the hospital to the trenches on the hill-side across the Monocacy. Statistics of the mortality were not procurable. Unnamed and un- numbered they were laid, side by side, in those trenches." (Jordan.)
Rev. Ettwein, who, above all others, could best tell, estimated the total deaths at Bethlehem to be some five hundred, of whom, horrible as it may seem, the names of but ten are known or ever will be known.
One of the surgeons at Bethlehem inquired of Dr. Tilton if he were acquainted with Col. Gibson's fine Virginia Volunteer Regiment. He then went on to say
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that forty of them had come to his hospital, and asked how many he supposed would ever rejoin their regiment. Dr. Tilton guessed a third or fourth part of the whole number, whereupon the surgeon solemnly declared that not even three would ever return, as that number was all that remained alive, and, of these, one had gone back to his command, another was convalescent and might recover, but the third was then in the last stages of the colliquative flux and must die. To this incident, related by Dr. Tilton, he adds "many similar melancholy in- stances might be adduced while the hospital was at Ephrata."
"Such was the pitiable condition of the hospital, and could its walls repeat the dreadful sounds and sights that they have heard and witnessed," said James M. Beck, in his beautiful oration on the subject, "what a tale of im- measurable sorrow could they not tell! Only He, who counteth all our sorrows, can ever know the infinite sorrow which these walls have witnessed. It is impossible to pic- ture the scene in all its ghastly horror. The narrow rooms, the dirty pallets of straw, the half-naked soldiers, the fetid atmosphere, the heart-rending. groans, the death rattle of the dying, all these were once where now the merry laughter of youth resounds. In one of the rooms was a painting of the crucifixion. It had been there for many years. In 1751 some Indians were shown through the building, and as they gazed upon the picture one of their number said, 'Behold how many wounds He has, and how they bleed!' One can imagine the dying Con- tinental, sorrowful unto death, and with death-sweat like unto great drops of blood, gazing upon the picture and gaining courage to descend into the valley of the shadow from the inspiring example of the great Martyr."
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Here was a field for Christian benevolence which the Moravians cheerfully entered, and Mr. Ettwein, with his assistant, the Rev. Jacob Fries, were indefatigable in their attentions. They braved the pestilence in its stronghold, smoothing the pillows of the dying and imparting the consolation of religion.
The plague spread from the building to the town, among the single men first, who were brought more closely in contact with it, and then among others. It carried off seven of the single men in a short time, of which number was the estimable son, John, of that noble man, Rev. Ettwein. It even invaded the boarding-school and claimed as its victim one of the girls, Hannah Dean, who had fled thence from Philadelphia for safety.
At last, on March 22, 1778, definite information was received that the hospital was to be removed, but the joy occasioned by this news was greatly tempered by the an- nouncement that it was to be established at the other Moravian village of Lititz. Bishop Matthew Hehl, on behalf of the congregation at Lititz, petitioned Dr. Ship- pen not to locate there, but the necessity for this step was deemed to be imperative, and it had to be sub- mitted to.
The removal of the sick at Bethlehem began on Palm Sunday, April 12, and was completed by Tuesday, April 14, 1778. The building which had harbored so much suffering, wretchedness and squalor, was closed and left standing, gloomy and silent, in battered, feculent desola- tion, until June 1, when the army authorities released it back to its owners.
For upwards of eight months the little village of Lititz, in Lancaster county, with a population less than half that of Bethlehem, but with the usual collection of substantial
!
THE WHITEFIELD HOUSE, NAZARETH.
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and conunodious buildings, became the seat of a hospital.
On December 14, 1777, Dr. Samuel Kennedy, formerly surgeon of Wayne's battalion, armed with a written order from Washington for the quartering of two hundred and fifty men, appeared at Lititz and selected the building of the single men for the purpose.
The first sick, about eighty, arrived on December 19, and, the following day, fifteen additional wagon loads, which filled all the rooms and halls of the house. In a few days putrid fever broke out to an alarming extent, and both doctors were attacked by it. Their place was taken by the village physician, Dr. Adolph Meyer, until relieved by a doctor who was a German from Saxony, "name unknown." On the last day of the year a wagon- load of sick arrived from Reading. Seven deaths were reported in ten days, all from the fever.
During January the fever became epidemic and five of the Moravians, who had volunteered as nurses, together with the assistant pastor of the congregation, the Rev. John J. Schmick, died of the malady.
As already mentioned, on March 22 it was decided to establish a general hospital at Lititz, which would have necessitated the practical abandonment of the place by its inhabitants.
Fortunately, the necessity for this step passed away, but the sick continued to be sent from Bethlehem, Easton, Allentown and Reading. From February I to April 20, 1778, "264 wounded and sick soldiers had been admitted to the Hospital; 142 had been discharged and sent to camp; 83 had died and deserted, and 39 were under treat- ment." It was also reported, "This is a convenient and pleasant place for a Hospital, and is so near Lancaster, that the same officer and surgeons may attend both. The
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hospitals at Schaefferstown ( Lebanon) and Ephrata should be removed here, as both are very inconvenient."
On August 28 the remaining sixty-six patients were re- moved to Lancaster and the Yellow Springs. During the occupation of the " Brethren's House " (eight months and ten days), one hundred and twenty soldiers died, and were buried about a quarter of a mile to the east of the village.
Besides Bethlehem and Lititz hospitals were established at Easton, Allentown, Reading, Lebanon, Schaefferstown, Lancaster and Yellow Springs. Immediately after the battle of Germantown the Lutheran Church at Trappe was used as a field hospital. To a less degree than Beth- lehem and Lititz, probably, the experiences of the sick and wounded were similar at all places, and, in every in- stance, the Pennsylvania-Germans, among whom they were located, never failed in their duty to their suffering fellow-beings.
At Reading the hospitals were established in the Trinity Lutheran Church, First Reformed Church, Friends' Meeting House, also in the Court House, in the, so-called, Brick House, and in the Potter's Shop. Ten years ago a document came to light, which proved to be a most interesting relic of the time. It gave a list of the soldiers in these three latter buildings on November 17, 1777, and the names of their nurses. It is probable the nurses were relatives, doubtless wives, in most cases, of the soldiers. They were as follows :
A LIST OF SOLDIERS IN THE COURT HOUSE HOSPITAL AT READING, NOVEMBER 17, 1777
Cornelius Buck, Sergt., 4th Virginia.
John McCuluga, do.
:
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Edward Tidus,
Daniel McKenna,
John Barber,
Charles Chamberlain,
Henry Tom,
James Smith, Goldman Harris,
William Noble,
Edward Homes,
Andrew Drake,
Nicholas Nichols,
Wm. Jeffries,
Joseph Juba,
Willianı Donaldson,
Francis Mitchel,
William Cofferoth,
Charles Major,
Conrad Cofferoth,
John Doherty, John Mefford,
6th Virginia.
4th Pennsylvania.
Nicholas Forster,
Ist Virginia.
Philip Harrison,
7th Virginia.
Thomas Smith,
12th Virginia.
William West,
Christopher Irwin, James Stoffr,
John Tucker,
John Coppage,
John Winn,
Robert Doyl,
Christopher Reed,
Thomas Young,
Joseph Chambers, 23
4th Virginia. do.
3d Maryland. 2d Pennsylvania. Col. Hildner.
5th Pennsylvania.
6th North Carolina. do. rith Virginia. do. 5th Maryland. do. Congress, Penna. 7th Maryland. do. do. do. do
Prisoner of war. 5th Virginia. do 2d Virginia. 3d Virginia. 16th Virginia.
3d Virginia. 7th Maryland. do. 7th Pennsylvania.
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William Southerland,
3d Virginia.
William Marknalsh,
7th Maryland.
Joel Shelton,
2d Virginia.
Sarah Buck,
Nurse.
Ann Chamberlain, do.
Martha Mitchel, do
Catherine West, do.
Ann Doyle,
do.
Elisab. Southerland,
do.
A LIST OF SOLDIERS IN THE BRICK HOUSE HOSPITAL AT READING, NOVEMBER 17, 1777.
Stephen Lyon,
Congr. Penn.
John Hunt,
Samuel Huggins,
6th Maryland. do.
John Delena,
State Virginia.
Mark Warren,
Col. McCoy.
William Holly,
Prisoner of war.
Abraham Best,
6th Pennsylvania.
Daniel Robertson,
rith Virginia.
Isaac Fowler,
4th New Jersey.
Joseph Spencer,
4th Pennsylvania.
Dennis McCarty,
12th Virginia.
Charles Lenix,
3d Virginia. 12th Pennsylvania. do.
James Burns, James Gallant, Adam Trip, 4th Virginia.
Andrew Pinkenton,
Of Pennsylvania.
Arthur Corben,
7th North Carolina.
Elijah Pamer,
New England.
Thomas Kelly,
3d Virginia. do.
John Crooks,
Margaret Lenix,
Nurse.
Hannah Crooks,
do.
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A LIST OF THE SICK IN THE POTTER'S SHOP AT READING, NOVEMBER 19.
Gilbert Allen, 5th Maryland. to.
Zadock Woods,
Sam'l Kennedy, do.
Thomas Tenibree and wife, do.
Wm. Pinkfield and wife, do.
Thomas Oliphant, do.
David Kelly and wife,
do.
Henry Ollard,
1 5th Virginia.
James Jones,
3d Virginia.
There still remains the narrative of Ephrata, in many respects the most interesting of all because of the pe- culiar manners and habits of those into whose care the sick were placed.
In their search after solitude the German mystics and hermits of the Wissahickon wandered towards the wilder- ness of the interior, during the early part of the century, and, where the beautiful town of Ephrata now lies nestled along the banks of the picturesque Cocalico, there they stopped. In time they decided upon taking up a monastic and conventional life, and, one after another, gradually appeared their Kedar and Zion places of worship, their Saron, or Sister House, their Bethania, or Brother House, with their Kammers, or cells, for the little sleep they took, and adjoining Saals, or assembly rooms, for worship and love feasts. Here amidst their grand surroundings, the white-robed German Protestant monks and nuns wandered, labored, prayed and sang, doing such labors as the world little dreamed of, and sing- ing such music as has, at this day, excited the wonder and admiration of the listener.
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But the echoes of Brandywine's field of battle one day rudely broke in upon the peace of this quiet Theosophic community. It was to Washington himself, who, from personal acquaintance with Prior Jaebetz ( Peter Miller),
BETHANIA, THE SINGLE BRETHREN HOUSE, EPHRATA.
knew his devotion to the patriot cause, that the idea came of sending some of his sick and wounded soldiers to this quiet and God-fearing community on the banks of the Cocalico, where he felt assured its pious men and women would tenderly care for them.
It was on the third day after the battle that the wagons began to arrive, not the comfortable ambulance of our day, but open and springless farm vehicles, in which the sufferer was laid on straw, and, in some instances, arranged to have two tiers of wounded, one above the other. Both Kammers and Saal were soon filled from the almost end- less, as it seemed, stream of wagons which came, and, in less than a week, Kedar and Zion had their hundred of suffering patriots.
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"The halls and corridors which, but a short time ago, had reechoed the sweet music of the choirs, as it alter- nated with the fervent prayers of the mystic Theosophist, were now filled with the groans of the sick and the moans of the dying. The devout Brotherhood no longer formed into nocturnal processions, chanting their mystic incantations to the divine Sophia, nor assembled at the matins in the Saal to salute the first rays of the sun as they flooded the room with its roseate light; but now, as they noiselessly stepped from sufferer to sufferer, who occupied their cells, they whispered words of hope to one, attended to the wants of others, and, when necessary, prayed with such as needed it. What is true of the Broth- erhood is also true of the Sisters. Many a brave lad from a far-off province who lay here sick and wounded, and now rests upon Zion hill in an unknown grave, had his last moments cheered by one of the Sisterhood of Saron, who took a mother's place and soothed the dying mo- ments of the young patriot. The whole story is one of self-denial and devotion in the interest of humanity." (Sachse.)
Shortly after, the dreaded malignant typhus broke out in both Kedar and Zion, which spared neither soldier nor attendant. It was then, though even the chief doctor fell a victim to his zeal, that neither the Brothers nor Sisters, well advanced in years as they were, finched from their duty, but continued to nurse the sick, soothe their dying moments, and, when all was over, give them a Christian burial in the consecrated ground of Zion Hill.
When Dr. Harris (or Harrison) was stricken with the deadly fever he was removed to one of the smaller houses in the valley, where he was tenderly cared for by Brother Joannes Anguas. Notwithstanding this care and
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attention bestowed upon him the surgeon succumbed to the disease, only to be followed, on March 4, 1778, by his faithful nurse.
Just how many more of these humble heroes and pa- triots became martyrs to the cause, and gave up their
SINGLE SISTER HOUSE, AND SAAL, AT EPHRATA.
lives for it, or else passed their remaining years on earth as invalids, will never be known. The community never recovered from the blow it then received. With much labor Dr. Sachse has gathered and preserved these few names :
Brother Martin Funk, the younger, October 5, 1777; Brother Johann Bentz; Sister Margaretha; Brother Johan- nes Koch; Brother Casper Walter, the younger. 1778- Sister Anna Maria Huber, January 19; Widow Gertraut Millinger, February 3; Henrich Miller, who kept the tavern, January 12; Brother Adam Kimmel, January 27; Brother Joannes Anguas, March 4.
To these must be added the names of John Bear, a Mennonite preacher, and his wife, who voluntarily entered
:
Our Non-Combatant Patriots. 359
the hospital as nurses, and who both caught the infection, the latter dying March 20, 1778, and the former April 15 following.
And here, besides their faithful nurses, died one after another of the soldiers, who were then laid in their graves on Zion Hill, until they numbered several hundred. Just how many there await the blast of the great trumpet, whose cali all shall obey to arise and appear in final judgment, may perhaps never be known. The rude in- scription placed over their common grave by Prior Jaebetz probably tells the tale better than any that could be de- vised. It merely reads, "Here rest the remains of many soldiers."
Not only did the community sacrifice their time and lives to the service of the hospitals, but their quilts and blankets were seized for the convalescent soldiers, their stores of grain were sent to replenish the commissary of the main army while encamped on the bleak hills of Valley Forge, and even their hymn books, their prayer books, and the unbound sheets of their great Martyr Book, were carried away to be made into cartridges, for all of which not a shilling was ever asked or received by them.
To such an extent were Kedar and Zion polluted by the scourge of typhus that they became unfit for habita- tion and had to be demolished.
CHAPTER XV.
SOME PENNSYLVANIA-GERMANS IN MILITARY SERVICE.
HE mere fact that the Pennsylvania-Ger- man was alien in language, blood and habits to the rul- ing element of the country, prevented him from attain- ing, to any great extent, that prominence in military station to which his pa- triotic deeds would, other- wise, have entitled him.
The names, which here follow, are those of but a few of our ancestors who became elevated somewhat above the level plane of the mass. It is trusted this list may prove the starting-point from which, as when a pebble is cast into the water, will radiate many efforts resulting in much new data.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY. Maj. Gen. Peter Muhlenberg.
John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, the oldest son of the Lutheran Patriarch, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, D.D,
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MAJ .- GEN. PETER MUHLENBERG.
B. TRAPPE, PA., OCTOBER 1, 174c. D OCTOBER 1, 1807.
Some Pennsylvania-Germans in Military Service. 361
was born at the Trappe, Montgomery Co., Pa., on Oc- tober 1, 1746, near midnight; married November 6, 1770, Anna Barbara Meyer ( 1751-1806) ; died October 1, 1807.
At the age of sixteen, with his two younger brothers, he was sent to Halle, Germany, for his education. Not taking kindly to the strict discipline of the institution he ran away, and, foolishly, enlisted in a German regi- ment which chanced to be in the vicinity. From this predicament he was happily rescued through the efforts of an English officer, who was a friend of the family, and who happened to see him in the garb of a common soldier. In later years he was wont to relate how this saine regiment of dragoons, dismounted at the time, were opposed to his brigade at the battle of Brandywine. As, in the thick of the fight, they saw his prominent figure advancing, at the head of his men, mounted on a white horse, some of the older soldiers (German enlistments being for life) recognized him, and the cry ran along their astonished ranks, "Hier kommt teufel Piet!" (Here comes Devil Pete !)
At the completion of his home education he was licensed to preach, June 20, 1769, and, for a couple years, served the congregations on the Raritan, in New Jersey.
Having received a call to the Lutheran congregation at Woodstock, Virginia, which, under the law of that prov- ince, necessitated Episcopal ordination, in company with the late Bishop White, he went to England for that pur- pose, and was ordained, April 23, 1772, at the Royal Chapel of St. James, the Bishop of London officiating.
At Woodstock, Dunmore Co., Virginia, he promptly took an interest in the progress of public matters. He
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became an active Whig and was sent as a delegate to the House of Burgesses, where he made the acquaintance of Washington, Patrick Henry and others. It was at the earnest solicitation of the former, who soon recog- nized his worth, that he consented to raise and command the Eighth Virginia Regiment, when the war broke out.
He took leave of his congregation in a most striking and impressive manner. One Sunday, about the middle of January, 1776, after preaching an eloquent sermon upon the duties which men owe their country, in the course of which he told his hearers, "there was a time for all things-a time to preach and a time to fight-and that now was the time to fight," he completed the service and pronounced the benediction. Then, removing his clerical gown, amidst the breathless silence of his congregation, he revealed himself in the uniform of his new rank, and immediately ordered the drums to beat for recruits. Three hundred of his parishioners joined at once, and his command, which became known as the " German Regi- ment," had its ranks filled in the very briefest time.
Le promptly marched to the relief of Suffolk, and, later, under General Lee, to North Carolina, thence to Charleston, S. C., where they participated in the battle at Sullivan's Island. During the entire Southern campaign the regiment won many laurels for their gallantry and efficiency.
Col. Muhlenberg was promoted to Brigadier-General on February 21, 1777, and ordered north. At the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, his brigade, with that of Weedon, bore the brunt of the action. On October 8, at Germantown, having advanced into the town further than any other troops, a British officer seized a musket and fired at him; while in the act of reloading and order-
1
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ing his soldiers to "pick him off," the General, drawing a pistol, shot him dead on the spot. At Monmouth, June 28, 1778, his brigade received the praise of the Eng- lish officers, opposed to them, for their gallantry.
He commanded the reserve at Stony Point; when Leslie invaded Virginia, in 1780, he was opposed to him, with the chief command; he acted, under Baron Steuben, against Benedict Arnold, and, when Cornwallis entered Virginia, was next in command to La Fayette. At the siege of Yorktown he commanded the First Brigade of Light Infantry, which furnished the American Division of the troops that carried the British redoubts by assault, he leading them.
He was promoted to Major General on September 30, 1783. Some months after, when the army was formally disbanded, he returned to his family at Woodstock, but soon removed to Pennsylvania.
He was immediately elected a member of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. In 1785 he was chosen Vice President of the Commonwealth, and was reelected to the same office the two following years. He was a member of the First Congress of the United States, 1789-1791, the Third Congress, 1793-1795, the Sixth Congress, 1799-1801 ; elected U. S. Senator February 18, 1801, but resigned, at the end of a few months, to accept the appointment tendered him by President Jefferson, June 30, 1801, of Supervisor of Internal Revenue for Pennsyl- vania; appointed Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, July, 1802, which position he held until his death.
He is one of the two Pennsylvanians who was honored by a statue in the Capitol at Washington, D. C.
His remains lie buried beside those of his father in the peaceful graveyard of the Augustus Lutheran Church, at
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the Trappe, and are marked by a simple stone, on which is cut :
He was brave in the field, Faithful in the cabinet, Honorable in all his transactions, A sincere friend, And an honest man.
General Daniel Hiester.
Daniel Hiester was born in Upper Salford township, Montgomery Co., Pa., June 25, 1747, son of Daniel Hiester (1713-1795), son of John Hiester, from Elsoff, province of Westphalia, Germany. He married, about 1770, Rosanna Hager ( 1752-1810), daughter of Capt. Jonathan Hager, the founder of Hagerstown, Md.
For several years he devoted himself to the cultivation of his farm, to the business of the tannery, and to looking after the interests of the Hager estate in Maryland.
Upon the organization of the Philadelphia County Militia, in 1777, he was commissioned Colonel and was present at Brandywine, also during the subsequent opera- tions of the army until the encampment at Valley Forge. On May 23, 1782, he was promoted to Brigadier-General; in 1784 elected to the Supreme Executive Council of Penn- sylvania, and, in 1787, a Commissioner of the Connecti- cut Land Claims; returned to Berks County and elected a member of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Con- gresses ; removed to Hagerstown, Md., and elected a mem- ber of the Seventh and Eighth Congresses, from that State; died in Washington, D. C., March 7, 1804, while in attendance upon the Eighth Congress, and buried at Hagerstown.
Captain Philip Hahn.
Philip Hahn, of New Hanover township, Montgomery Co., Pa., born March 31. 1736, died April 16, 1821,
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married, May 23, 1761, Anna Margaretha Hiester (1743-1820), sister of General Daniel Hiester.
Captain Hahn was in command of the Fourth com- pany, Fourth battalion, Philadelphia County Militia, 1777, Col. Frederick Antes commanding; in 1778, Fourth battalion, Col. William Dean; 1779, Sixth battalion, Major Peter Richards.
Colonel Frederick Antes.
The Antes family came from Feinshein, in the Palati- nate, Germany.
Philip Frederick Antes was the son of Henry and Christiana Antes, and was born in Frederick township, Montgomery Co., Pa., July 5, 1730.
He was a member of the Convention which met at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, June, 1776, also a mem- ber of the General Assembly in 1776, and held many other responsible positions.
Col. Antes had command of the Fourth battalion, Phila- delphia County Militia in 1777, his commission being dated May 6. On September r1, 1777, his battalion was ordered to rendezvous at Swedes' Ford, and served faith- fully during the operations which followed.
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