USA > Pennsylvania > The Pennsylvania-German in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 > Part 21
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Because of his open and active patriotism a price of £200 was set upon his head by Gen. Howe and several efforts made to capture him. In 1779 he emigrated to Northumberland county.
In 1780 he became the purchasing agent for the county, with stations at Sunbury and Wyoming. In 1783 he was appointed County Treasurer. In 1784 he resigned his position as Presiding Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, of the Quarter Sessions of the Peace and of the Orphans' Court, to take his seat in the Assembly, to which
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he had just been elected. He was reelected to the As- sembly in 1785, and elected Treasurer in 1789.
His daughter Catharine married (his second wife) Simon Snyder, later Governor of Pennsylvania.
Lieut. Col. Jacob Reed.
Eldest son of Johann Philip and Veronica (Bergey) Reed ( Rieth), who emigrated to this country front Mann- heim, Germany, in the summer of 1727. He located in Salford township, Montgomery Co., Pa., where Jacob was born on June 30, 1730, died, in New Britain town- ship, Bucks Co., Pa., on November 2, 1820, married, in 1755, Magdalene Leidy.
He served, at different times during the Revolution, as Major and Lieutenant Colonel of a battalion of Phila- delphia County Militia. His uniform and accoutrements were in the possession of the family until recently, when they became scattered.
A very interesting letter from his son, relative to his service, is in existence, and is here given :
"SUGAR CREEK TOWNSHIP, "STARK COUNTY, ONO, May 27, 1834.
" To You Much Beloved Brother: ". And you desire to know of father in reference to his Revolutionary service. I proceed to inform you that he was present at the battle of Brandywine, at the battle of White Horse and at the battle of Germantown. This was his first tour. His Major General was Arm- strong. His Brigadier General was Potter. Hiester (Daniel) was Colonel, father was Lieutenant Colonel, and one Moore was Major. His second tour was at
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(after) Burgoyne's surrender (taking up the convention troops at Sherrard's Ferry, on the Delaware), thence to Taneytown (brother) Philip accompanied father, which is all Philip was in the army. Father's first tour was two months, but I do not remember how long a tour that was when he went to Taneytown in Maryland. I myself was out with the militia, going to Trenton, New Jersey, in 1780.
"Your Faithful Brother
" JACOB RIEDT." "To Andrew Riedt,
"Hilltown Township, Bucks County, Penn'a."
Because of his patriotism an attempt was made to cap- ture him, one winter night in 1778, by the tories, but his assailants were driven off by the Colonel, after a gal- lant fight within the doorway of his house. One of them was traced by the drops of blood from his wound, cap- tured by the neighbors and hanged.
At the close of the war he was appointed to various positions of trust, which he held, for a number of years, with much credit.
Lieut. Col. George Peter Richards.
Son of Matthias Richards ( 1719-1775), whose father, John Frederick Reichert, emigrated to America, in 1700 or 1703, from Augsburg, Germany, and settled in New Hanover township, Montgomery Co., Pa.
He was born, July 22, 1755, died, at Pottstown, Oc- tober 21, 1822, married Magdalena, daughter of Henry and Catharine Schneider, of the Swamp.
During the war he was Major, April 3, 1779, of the Sixth battalion, Philadelphia County Militia, and, on Oc-
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tober 4, 1779, was chosen, by the General Assembly, a Sub-lieutenant of Philadelphia County, and commissioned, as snch, with the rank of Lieut. Colonel.
He was a prominent and influential man, an iron- master, and a justice of the peace.
PHILADELPHIA. Capt. John Markland.
Capt. John Markland was born in Philadelphia, August 12, 1755, died February 23, 1837, and is buried in Christ Church ground. He married, first, January 25, 1798, Christiana Heisz (1777-1804), and, second, Sophia (1768-1843). He was one of the original mem- bers of the Society of the Cincinnati.
With his parents he removed to New York, where, as early as 1775, he began his military career as an active member of a uniformed company of Minute Men, com- manded by Capt. Stockholm and attached to Col. Lasher's Regiment of New York Volunteers.
His regiment went into regular service in 1776, and was warmly engaged in the battle of Long Island, also in the Trenton and Princeton campaign. With the re- organization of the army in 1777 he entered the Con- tinental service, in Captain Jacob Bower's company, of the Sixth Pennsylvania regiment, Col. Bicker, for the war, as Ensign. In the battle of Short Ifills, New Jersey, June, 1777, he was captured by a detachment of Lord Rawdon's Horse, but escaped immediately after. At the same time he was fired upon by one of the troopers and nearly killed, so close being his assailant that the . mark of the powder remained visible all his life under the left ear. On September 11, 1777, he was engaged, with
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Conway's brigade, in the battle of Brandywine, and was with the first troops to encounter the British forces at Germantown on October 4. While attacking Chew's House one of his men, a worthy Pennsylvania-German from Reading, named Philip Ludwig, observing a hand- some British musket leaning against the fence, turned to Markland and cheerfully said, "I will make an exchange ; this is much better than mine." Shortly after, this brave fellow, immediately in the front, received a ball in his forehead and fell dead. It was during the height of this attack that Markland, himself, was shot in the right arm near the shoulder, severely shattering it. This wound was never fully healed and constantly caused him great pain and inconvenience.
In April, 1778, he rejoined the army at Valley Forge, though not fit for service. In 1779 he was with the army in New Jersey, and, in 1780, served in La Fayette's picked division of Light Infantry.
In the early part of 1781 Markland was engaged in recruiting at Lancaster, Lebanon and other places. He then went south and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis. The balance of his service was with the troops in the southern campaign which followed. Dur- ing this thne he was closely associated with Kosciusko.
He retired from the service, at the close of the war, with the brevet rank of Captain. In 1823 he was elected one of the County Commissioners of Philadelphia.
Christopher Ludwig, Baker-General.
Christopher Ludwig (or Ludwick) was born of Lutheran parents, October 17, 1720, at Giessen, Hesse- Darmstadt, Germany. His father was a baker, and the son was instructed in the same trade.
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At the age of seventeen he enlisted as a private soldier, and participated in the war between Austria and Turkey (1737 and 1740). He returned to Vienna and thence went to Prague, where he endured all the distresses of a seventeen weeks' siege, and, after its surrender to the French, in November, 1741, he enlisted in the Prussian army.
He made various voyages, as a baker or common sailor, to Holland, Ireland, the East and West Indies, finally settling down in Philadelphia, in 1754, as a gingerbread baker in Letitia Court, where he prospered.
He became an ardent patriot and was elected one of the Provincial Deputies, July 15, 1774; a delegate to the Provincial Convention of January 23-28, 1775, and to the Provincial Conference of June 18, 1776, which met in Carpenter's Hall. In one of these conventions it was proposed, by General Mifflin, to open a private sub- scription for the purchase of fire-arms. Considerable op- position was made to the proposition, whereupon Mr. Ludwig addressed the chair in the following laconic speech, which he delivered in broken English: "Mr. President, I am but a poor gingerbread baker, but put my name down for two hundred pounds."
In the summer of 1776 he entered the army as a volun- teer, and was sent to the Flying Camp. With the con- sent of his commanding officer he visited the camp of the Hessian contingent on Staten Island, in the character of a deserter, and was instrumental in inducing some of the soldiers to desert by his alluring description of the af- fluence and independence of their former countrymen in the German counties of Pennsylvania. He escaped from the camp without detection or suspicion.
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In the spring of 1777 he was appointed, by Congress, Baker-General of the army:
In Congress, May 30, 1777.
"Resolved, That Christopher Ludwick be, and is hereby appointed Superintendent of Bakers and Director of Baking in the army of the United States, and that he shall have power to engage, and by permission of the Commander-in-Chief, or officer commanding at any prin- cipal post, all persons to be employed in his business, and to regulate their pay, making proper report of his pro- ceedings, and using his best endeavors to rectify all abuses in the article of brcad.
"That no person be permitted to exercise the trade of baker in the said army without such license; and that hc receive for his services herein, an allowance of 75 dollars a month and two rations a day."
When notified of his appointment by the Committee of Congress they proposed that, for every pound of flour, he should furnish the army with a pound of bread. "No, gentlemen," said he, "I will not accept of your commis- sion upon any such terms. I do not wish to grow rich by the war; I have money enough. I will furnish one hun- dred and thirty-five pounds of bread for every hundred pounds of flour you put into my hands." The committee were ignorant of the increase of weight which flour ac- quires by the addition of water and leaven.
Finding some difficulty in obtaining a number of jour- neymen bakers, owing to many of them being in the militia service, on June 23, 1777, Congress ordered :
"That Mr. Ludwig apply to the Supreme Executive Council of the State of Pennsylvania, and that it be recom-
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mended to the said Council to furnish him with such a number of journeymen bakers out of the Militia employed in the service of the Continent as he may want."
From the date of his appointment all complaints ceased with regard to the bad quality of bread, nor was any movement delayed from the want of that necessary article of food.
In June, 1779, he went on from Easton to Wyoming, in advance of Sullivan's Expedition. Here, by his ac- tivity, a bake-house was built in eleven days, and a large quantity of bread ready for the army upon its arrival.
After the capitulation of Lord Cornwallis he baked six thousand pounds of bread to supply the needs of the British troops.
In his intercourse with the officers he was blunt but never offensive. His eccentric turns of thought and ex- pression, his pleasant anecdotes, and, above all, a general conviction of the ardor and sincerity of his patriotism, always made him a welcome visitor.
At the close of the war he returned and settled on his farm at Germantown, which had been greatly plundered by the enemy. In his parlor hung, conspicuously, a framed certificate from General Washington, praising him for the services he had rendered his country.
He died in Philadelphia, June 17, 1801, and is buried in the Lutheran graveyard at Germantown.
CHESTER COUNTY. Gen. John Hiester.
Brother of Gen. Daniel Hiester, of Montgomery county. Born April 9, 1745, died October 15, 1821, married Hannah Pawling ( 1747-1822). During the
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war he was Captain First Company, Fourth Battalion, Col. William Evans, 1777; Captain First Battalion, Chester County Militia, 1777; after the war, Major General of Militia; State Senator from Chester County, 1802-1806; Member of Congress, 1807-1809.
Dr. Branson Van Leer.
Son of Dr. Bernhardus von Lochr (the centenarian), who came to America from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, about 1698, and settled in Chester county, Pa.
Dr. Van Leer served as a member of the Committee of Observation for Chester County Associators, 1774, and as a surgeon of the Seventh Battalion of Militia, 1779.
Capt. Samuel V'an Leer.
Likewise a son of Dr. Bernhardus von Loehr. He married I lannah Wayne, a sister of Gen. Anthony Wayne.
He was Captain of the Seventh Company, Fifth Bat- talion, Chester County Militia, 1777; also Lieutenant of the Chester County Light Horse in 1780-1781.
He became the owner of the old Reading furnace in Warwick township.
Dr. Jacob Ehrenzeller.
He was born about September 1, 1757, the son of Jacob Ehrenzeller, a native of Switzerland who came to America and engaged in business in Philadelphia, where the subject of this sketch was born.
Dr. Ehrenzeller was a classical scholar. Under whom he studied medicine is not known, but he was a medical apprentice in the Pennsylvania Hospital from 1773 to 1778.
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Because of a certificate of qualification which he re- ceived from Drs. Kuhn and Shippen he was enabled to procure a commission as Assistant Surgeon in the army during the Revolution.
He was on duty at the battle of Monmouth, and in other engagements, always conducting himself with much credit.
Towards the close of the war he left the army and settled in the township of Goshen, Chester county, subse- quently removing to West Chester, where he remained until his death, July 18, 1838, enjoying a lucrative practice and commanding, to a great degree, the confidence of the community. He married his cousin, Elizabeth Hankee, and was a most ardent patriot.
Major Peter Hartman.
Son of John Hartman, a native of Schwerin, Hesse- Cassel, Germany, who emigrated to America in 1753, and settled in the vicinity of Yellow Springs, Chester county.
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Peter was placed in Philadelphia, with a wealthy Ger- man acquaintance, to learn the sugar-refining business, but soon abandoned it to join the army, in which he served as an officer. He was an ardent and active patriot.
His son George, when sixteen years of age, was taught, at the instance of his father, to beat the drum, and be- came so proficient as to receive the appointment of drum- major. He was taken, by his father, through his mili- tary campaign, and was, at different periods during the war, stationed at Fort Bergen, Billingsport, and other places.
A few days before the battle of Brandywine, George was taken sick with the camp fever at Chad's Ford, and
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removed by litter, at night, to his father's residence, six- teen miles distant. As Major Hartman wore the Amer- ican uniform the son was in constant danger of capture, to avoid which he had to be carried from place to place, and was often concealed in the cellar at night.
Capt. William Van Lear.
It seems most probable that Capt. Van Lear was of the family of Dr. Bernhardus Van Leer, of Chester county.
He was Second Lieutenant, Ninth Pennsylvania Con- tinental Regiment, promoted to Capt. Lieutenant January 27, 1779; to Captain October 10, 1779; to Brigade Major, First Pennsylvania Brigade; transferred to Fifth Pennsylvania, January 17, 1781; retired from the service January 1, 1783.
(OLD) NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. Major Jacob Arndt.
Major Jacob Arndt, of Northampton county, a native of Baumholder, Upper Silesia, Germany, the son of Bernhardt Arndt, was born March 24, 1725, emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1731, and settled in Bucks county. At the breaking out of the French and Indian War he raised a company of volunteers, and was stationed on the frontiers. In 1755 he was in command at Gnadenhütten; April 19, 1756, commissioned Captain in the First Bat- talion of the Pennsylvania Regiment, and for a couple years stationed at Forts Norris and Allen, respectively ; promoted to Major, June 2, 1758, and stationed at Fort Augusta. In 1760 be removed to Northampton county near Easton. During the Indian marauds of 1763 he was captain of an independent company raised in the vicinity for its defense.
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Major Arndt was chosen a member of the Provincial Conference, held at Philadelphia, July 15, 1774, and that of January 23, 1775. He served as a member of the Con- stitutional Convention of July, 1776; of the First As- sembly under the new Constitution; of the Committee of Safety, October 17, 1777, and was elected a member of the Supreme Executive Council, November 5, 1777, serv- ing until October 14, 1780. He was appointed Commis- sioner of Excise for Northampton county, April 5, 1779, a position which he held for several years. From 1782 to 1784 he again served in the General Assembly. For half a century Major Arndt was in active life. He died at Easton in the year 1805.
Capt. John Arndt.
Son of Major Jacob Arndt, was born June 5, 1748. When New York was threatened he became Captain of the company from Easton in Col. Kichlein's Battalion of the Flying Camp, which was practically annihilated at Long Island and Fort Washington. In the former battle Capt. Arndt was severely wounded, by a cannon ball, in the left arm, and ever after deprived of the use of his elbow joint. He was also taken prisoner. Upon his release, September, 1786, he returned to Easton, and, with David Deshler, was appointed a Commissary for the care of sick and disabled soldiers and their dependents.
In 1777 he was appointed Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, Clerk of the Orphans' Court, and was an effi- cient member of the Committee of Safety. In 1783, he was elected a representative in the Council of the Censors, to propose amendments to the Constitution of Pennsyl- vania. The same year, when Dickinson College became
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incorporated, he was made a Trustee. He died, in 1814, without a stain upon his character as a soldier and citizen.
Capt. Peter Burkhalter.
He settled in Egypt, Whitehall township, now Lehigh Co., Pa., in 1740. He was one of the Commissioners for the county of Northampton in 1776; a member of the Constitutional Convention of July 15, 1776; a member of the Assembly during that and the following year; appointed Sub-lieutenant of the county March 30, 1780. From 1784 to 1788 he again represented Northampton in the General Assembly, and, from 1791 to 1794, in the House of Representatives. He was captain of a company of Northampton Associators in active service in the Jer- seys. He died in 1806, and lies buried in the old walled Union Church graveyard in Whitehall township, Lehigh county.
Capl. Abraham Miller.
He was a native of Northampton county, born about 1740. During the French and Indian War he was a non-commissioned officer, and was wounded in an en- gagement with the Indians.
Hle was a member of the Committee of Northampton County in December, 1774; and, in June, 1775, was chosen recruiting officer for raising half a company to go to Boston. Subsequently, a full company was raised and he was commissioned Captain, June 20, 1775, in Col. Thompson's Rifle Regiment. He resigned in the fall of the same year, and was succeeded by Thomas Craig, who, later, rose to be Lieut. Colonel of the Line. Capt. Miller afterwards commanded a company of Associators during the Long Island campaign of 1776. He was a member
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of the Constitutional Convention of July 15, 1776, and remained an active partisan till the close of the war. He died in 1821.
Col. Peter Kichlein.
Col. Kichlein was born in Heidelberg, Germany, Oc- tober 8, 1722, and received a liberal education in that university town. In 1742 he emigrated, with his father, John Peter Kichlein, and, by 1749, was settled within the forks of the Delaware, afterwards the site of Easton.
In December, 1774, he was elected a member of the Committee of Safety for the county. He commanded the battalion of Northampton County Flying Camp at Long Island, who, by their bravery, saved the army from dis- aster, at which time Col. Kichlein was taken prisoner. He became Lieutenant of the county, and, on April II, 1780, was directed by the Supreme Executive Council to order out the militia for duty on the frontiers against the Indians.
Lieut. Peter Kichlein.
Son of Col. Peter Kichlein; served as Second Lieu- tenant in Captain Arndt's company of Flying Camp As- sociators at Long Island, and was one of the thirty-three survivors of the company who managed to rendezvous after their disasters at Long Island and Fort Washington.
Sergeant John Herster.
Removed to Easton from Pottstown, Montgomery county, about 1750. As Capt. Arnde's company of As- sociators mustered in the Public Square of Easton to march for Long Island, amongst them was his son, John, then but eighteen years old. As the father saw him about to go, parental solicitation and affection prompted him
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to say : " John, give me your musket ! You are too young for the camp; stay and take care of your mother and the children, and I will take your place!" He shouldered his son's musket, and marched off never to return. He was taken prisoner at Long Island and confined on the prison ship Jersey, where he miserably died about the fol- lowing Christmas and was interred on the adjoining shore.
BERKS COUNTY.
Governor Joseph Hiester.
Gov. Hiester was born November 18, 1752, died June 10, 1832, married, 1771, Elizabeth Witman (1750- 1825), daughter of Adam Witman of Reading, Pa.
He was the son of John Hiester, and grandson of John Hiester who came to America in 1732, from Elsoff, province of Westphalia, Germany, and settled in Bern township, Berks county, Pa.
He was a member of the Convention which met in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, June 18, 1776; Captain in Lutz's Third Battalion, Flying Camp, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Long Island; during his captivity promoted to Major, and, on May 17, 1777, commissioned Lieut. Colonel Fourth Battalion, Berks County Militia; engaged in the battle of Germantown and subsequent operations; Commissioner of Exchange in 1779; on active duty with his battalion in 1780; member of the Assembly 1780-1790; member of Convention on Federal Constitu- tion, 1787, also that of 1789 on State Constitution; State Senator, 1790-1794; Presidential Elector, 1792 and 1796; member of Congress from Berks county, 1797-1807, also 1815-1820; Governor of Pennsylvania, 1820-1823. His remains now rest, with those of his wife, in the Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading, Pa.
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Capt. Conrad Eckert.
Son of John Eckert, who came to America in 1738, from Hanover, Germany, and settled in Heidelberg town- ship of Berks county.
Served in the Revolution as follows: In 1776 with Col. Henry Haller's Battalion at Trenton; at Germantown, and subsequent operations, in 1777, in Sixth Company, Fourth Battalion, Lieut. Col. Joseph Fliester; 1778, in Sixth Company, Fourth Battalion, Col. Joseph Hiester; 1780, Sixth Battalion, Col. Joseph Hiester, all Berks County Militia.
Col. Valentine Eckert.
An older brother of the above Capt. Conrad Eckert, was a member of the Provincial Conference of June 18, 1776; of the Constitutional Convention of July 15, 1776, and of the Assembly during 1776 and 1779. He com- manded a company of cavalry at Germantown, where he was wounded; Sub-lieutenant of Berks county, March 21, 1777; Lieutenant of the county, June 6, 1781; Com- missioner for purchase of provisions for the army in 1778; Judge of the Berks County Court of Common Pleas in 1784; Brigade Inspector of Berks County, April 11, 1793, for twenty years.
Major Gabriel Hiester.
Son of Daniel Hiester and Catherine Schuler, and the brother of Gen. Daniel Hiester, of Montgomery county, Col John Hiester, of Chester county, and Governor Joseph Hiester, of Berks county.
He was born June 17, 1749, died September 1, 1824, married, about 1773, Elizabeth Bausman ( 1751-1832),
Some Pennsylvania-Germans in Military Service. 381 and resided on the ancestral farm in Bern township of Berks county.
He was chosen a member of the Constitutional Con- vention of July 15, 1776, and, from that time, was almost continuously in public life. He served as a Major of Militia in the campaign of 1776-1777; was appointed one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas, April 24, 1778, and served as a member of the Assembly, with the exception of a couple years, from 1778 to 1790. He was chosen a member of the House of Representatives in 1791, and again from 1802 to 1804; elected Senator, for the district comprising Berks and Dauphin counties, in 1795 and 1796, and from 1805 to 1812; in 1801 he was one of the Presidential electors from Pennsylvania.
William Hiester.
A younger brother of Major Gabriel Hiester, born June 10, 1757, died July 13, 1822, married, March 18, 1784, Anna Maria Myer ( 1758-1822), daughter of Isaac Meier, founder of Myerstown, Pa.
He served in one campaign of the Revolution, in Capt. George Will's company of the battalion of his brother, Major Gabriel Hiester, in 1777.
Cupt. Jacob Yoder.
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