USA > Pennsylvania > The Pennsylvania-German in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
"Col. Wayne, with his party, lay near the enemy, I passed through a prodigious swamp, and at night took possession of a hill near the enemy. We were without food, and the water very bad. I mounted a small quarter guard, fixed my alarm post, and made every man lay down on the ground, on which he was to rise for action in case of an attack. I slept a little by resting my head on a cold bough of spruce.
" Morning dawned (Sunday, June 9th), and I con- sulted our officers and men. They said they were re- freshed with sleep. It was agreed to stand together, that they would support me, and effect a passage through the enemy, or die in the attempt. A little spring water refreshed us more. The necessary dispositions were made, but we had no guides. We heard the enemy within a half mile of us, but no one seemed alarmed, so
100
The Pennsylvania-German Society.
we proceeded, and luckily, fell in with Col. Wayne's track. We pursued it, and overtook him near the river Du Lac. This made us upwards of seven hundred strong, and we agreed to attack the enemy if they fell in our way to Bokie (Berthier), opposite Sorel. We were sure they
0,50 am soncevita)
1
a Hackintosh
would attempt the fort at Sorel before we could arrive; but as we eame up, the English left the ferries, and drew all their forees back to Three Rivers. By foreed marches, and surmounting every difficulty, we got up, erossed the river, and arrived at Sorel Monday afternoon (June Ioth). We brought near twelve hundred men back with our party. Many are yet missing-one hundred and fifty or two hundred. Some scattered ones are continually coming in, so that our loss will not be so great as was first imagined.
"Col. Wayne behaved exceedingly well, and showed himself the man of courage and the soldier. Col. Allen exerted himself, and is a fine fellow Col. Maxwell was often in the midst of danger. His own division was not present to support him. He was also very useful in the retreat, after he joined Col. Wayne. Lieut. Edie, of the York troops, I fear is killed. He was a fine young fellow, and behaved bravely. He approached the enemy's
A
IOI
The Pennsylvania-German Continentals.
works without dismay several times, and remained in the swamp to the last. He was in the second engagement, where it is supposed he was killed. Ensign Hopes, of the same company was wounded near the breast-work, when I led up the reserve. I cannot give too much commendation of him. He showed the greatest courage after he had received several wounds in the arm. He stood his ground and animated his men. He nobly made good his retreat with me, through a swamp of near eighteen miles long. The ball has hurt the bone. Sev- eral of our men were killed-I apprehend between thirty and fifty. The rest missing, have been taken, quite worn out with fatigue and hunger.
" P. S. June 13. Last night, a sort of flag of truce came from the enemy. Gen Thompson, Col. Irvine (William), Dr. Mckenzie, Lieutenants Edie, Currie, and Parson McCalla (of the First) are prisoners. They were taken up by some of the rascally Canadians, in the most treacherous manner."
On the 14th, Burgoyne reached the Sorel with a column of British troops, the rear of Gen. Sullivan's army having only left a few hours before. Gen. Philips, with the right column of the British, consisting of his division and the Brunswick troops, under Gen. Riedesel, passed on up the river St. Lawrence to Longueuil, twelve miles from Chambly, where they landed on the 16th, and pushed to La Prairie, to cut off Arnold, who was retreating from Montreal. It was at Varenne, on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, fourteen miles from Montreal, that Wil- kinson met this force, detained at that point by a failure of the wind, at two o'clock P. M., and hastened back with the intelligence to Arnold, without which he had been
102
The Pennsylvania-German Society.
cut off, as he did not intend leaving Montreal until the morning of the 16th.
Arnold immediately ordered Wilkinson to recross the river, and traverse the country by the direct route to Chambly, twelve miles, and report the situation in which he had discovered the enemy to Gen. Sullivan, and re- quest a detachment to cover Gen. Arnold's retreat by La Prairie.
In his memoirs Wilkinson says :
"I did not make the opposite shore and Longueuil until it was dark. I found a public horse at the parish priest's, mounted him, and arrived at Chambly about nine o'clock at night ( 15th) .. Here the scene presented me can never be effaced. The front of our retreating army, overwhelmed with fatigue, lay scattered in disorder over. the plain, and buried in sleep, without a single sentinel to watch for its safety. I rode through the encampment, entered the fort by the drawbridge, dismounted, and presented myself to Gen. Sullivan, without being halted or even hailed. The general and his companions, Colonels St. Clair, Maxwell and Hazen, all appeared astonished at my information of the near approach of the enemy to Montreal. Maxwell, in Scouish dialect, exclaimed, ' Be the Lard, it cannot be possible! ' to which I emphatically retorted, ' Be the Lard, sir, you know not what you say ! ' Sullivan and St. Clair, who were both acquainted with me, interposed, and corrected Maxwell's indecorum.
" It was acknowledged on all hands, that a detachment was necessary to cooperate with Arnold; but how to effect it, under the actual circumstances of the moment, was a matter of much difficulty. The night was pro- foundly dark; the rain poured down in torrents; the
103
The Pennsylvania-German Continentals.
troops at hand were fatigued, and in great disorder, and there was no officer to receive and execute orders. After some deliberation it was determined that I should proceed down the Sorel with instructions to Brig. Gen., the Baron de Woedtke, who commanded the rear, to make a detach- ment of five hundred men, to cover Gen. Arnold's retreat. I was directed to keep the main road on the bank of the Sorel, which Col. Hazen informed me was quite plain and unobstructed; but he deceived me, and, owing to the darkness of the night, I presently missed my way, and narrowly escaped plunging into Little River, where it was twenty feet deep. After my escape, I dismounted, and, securing my horse, groped my way in the dark, until I discovered a bridge of batteaux formed for the passage of the infantry, on which I crossed.
" I found every house and hut on my route crowded with stragglers, men without officers, and officers without men. Wet to the skin, covered with mud, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, I threw myself down on the floor of a filthy cabin and slept until dawn; when I arose and prosecuted my search in quest of the Prussian baron. The first officer of my acquaintance whom I met, was Lieut. Col. William Allen, of the Second Penn'a, who, to my inquiry for De Woedtke, replied that 'he had no doubt the beast was drunk, and in front of the army.' I then informed him of my orders for a detachment. He re- plied ' this army, Wilkinson, is conquered by its fears, and I doubt whether you can draw any assistance from it; but Col. Wayne is in the rear, and if any one can do it, he is the man.' On which I quickened my pace, and half an hour after met that gallant soldier, as much at his ease as if he was marching to a parade of exercise. He con- firmed Allen's report respecting De Woedtke, and, with-
104
The Pennsylvania-German Society.
out hesitation, determined to carry the order into execu- tion, if possible. He halted at the bridge, and posted a guard, with orders to stop every man without regard to corps, who appeared to be active, alert, and equipped. In a short time, a detachment was completely formed, and in motion for Longueuil. The very men who only the day before were retreating in confusion, before a division of the enemy, now marched with alacrity against his main body.
"We had gone two miles when we met an express from Arnold, with verbal information of his escape from Montreal, and that he would be able to make good his retreat by La Prairie. This information brought Col. Wayne to the right about. We crossed Little River at a ford, and found the rear of the army not yet up to Charably. Our derachment was discovered advancing on the bank of the Sorel, two miles below the fort; we were taken for the enemy, and great alarm and confusion ensued, the drums beat to arms, and Gen. Sullivan and his officers were observed making great exertions to pre- pare for battle. Gen. Wayne halted his column, pulled out liis glass, and seemed to enjoy the panic his appearance produced. I suggested that he would interrupt the labors of the troops on the portage of Chambly, and delay the movements of the army; on which he ordered me forward to correct the delusion.
"I reported to Gen. Sullivan, who gave orders for Wayne to march by his right, and cooperate with Gen. Arnold, if necessary, but we soon discovered Arnold had passed, and the bridge of Little River on fire; we, there- fore, turned to the left, and followed him to St. John's, where we arrived in the evening ( 16th), and found Gen. Sullivan with the front of the army."
:
3
105
The Pennsylvania-German Continentals.
The rear of the army, with baggage stores, reached St. John's on the 18th, were embarked and moved up the Sorel the same afternoon. After the last boat but Arnold's had put off, at Arnold's suggestion, he and Wilkinson went, down the direct road to Chambly for two miles, where they met the advance of the British division, under Lieut. Gen. Burgoyne. They recon- noitred it a few minutes, then galloped back to St. John's and stripping their horses, shot them. Gen. Arnold then ordered all on board, pushed off the boat with his own hands, and thus indulged the vanity of being the last man who embarked from the shores of the enemy. They followed the army twelve miles, to the Isle Aux Noix, where they arrived after dark.
The head of Burgoyne's column entered St. John's on the evening of the 18th, and Philips' advance guard on the morning of the 19th. On the 19th, general orders at Isle Aux Noix directed the commands of de Haas, Wayne, St. Clair, and Irvine to encamp on the east side of the island.
On the 21st, Col. Irvine's battalion met with another heavy loss, as is detailed by a letter from one of the regiment :
"Capts. McClean, Adams, and Rippey, Lieuts. Mc- Ferran, McAllister, and Hoge, and Ensigns Lusk and Culbertson, with four privates, went over from the Isle Aux Noix to the western shore of the lake, about a mile from camp, but within sight, to fish and divert themselves. Capt. McClean prudently proposed to take arms with them, but was over-ruled. Some Indians observed their motions, and while they were at a house drinking some spruce beer, the savages surrounded them, killed Capt. Adams, Ensign Culbertson, and two privates, whom they
106
The Pennsylvania-German Society.
scalped in a most inhuman and barbarous manner; and carried off prisoners, Capt. McClean, Lieuts. Ferran, Mc- Allister, and Hoge, and the two other privates. But a party coming to their relief from camp, Capt. Rippey and Ensign Lusk made their escape." The bodies of those killed were brought to the Isle Aux Noix and decently buried by Col. Wayne, who, with a party, followed the Indians and recovered the batteaux with the bodies.
Isle Aux Noix proved very unhealthy; Col. Wayne had sixty men, out of one hundred and thirty-eight, taken down with sickness, after their arrival there; and on the 24th of June, Col. de Haas and all his field officers, with a number of his men, were sick. On the 25th, Gen. Sullivan commenced moving the army to Isle la Motte. Lieut. Col. Hartley, with two hundred and fifty men of Irvine's battalion, went by land, scouring the country, traversing disagreeable swamps, destroying, on the way, the house, mills, etc., of the traitor McDonald. Ou June 27th, at Isle la Motte, all the army took vessels, and came to Crown Point, which they reached on the Ist of July. Gen. Gates arrived there on the evening of the 5th, superseding Gen. Sullivan, and, on the 7th, at a council of war, it was determined to remove the army to Ticonderoga. The battalions of Cols. de Haas, St. Clair, and Wayne, arrived there on the roth, the Sixth, under Lieut. Col. Hartley, remained posted at Crown Point, where, for the balance of the summer and fall, it was the sentinel regiment of Gen. Gates' army.
On January 24, 1777, the Second Battalion left Ticon- deroga, with Gen. Wayne, for their homes. Many of the privates reenlisted in the Third Pennsylvania Regi- ment of the Continental Line.
->
108
The Pennsylvania-German Society.
The following companies were composed, almost en- tirely, of Pennsylvania-Germans :
Capt. John Spohn, Berks County.
Capt. Peter Decker, Berks County.
While these contained a large number of the same blood :
Capt. John Miller, Germantown.
Capt. Nathaniel Vansandt, Berks and Bucks Counties.
On June 11, 1776, Congress ordered this battalion, together with the Third, Col. Shee, to New York, which they reached by the 25th, and were placed under the com- inand of Brig. Gen. Mifflin. Both battalions were then inarched towards Kingsbridge, encamped upon the ground on which Fort Washington was erected, and immediately employed in the construction of that fortress, under the direction of Col. Rufus Putnam. They remained here, undisturbed, all summer, sickness prevailing, towards fall, to so great an extent that little more than half the men were fit for duty. On August 27, during the battle of Long Island, they were marched down to New York, reaching the city on the afternoon after the battle was over. On the 28th, early, they were transported to Long Island, marched down to the entrenchments at Brooklyn, and posted on the left, extending to the Wallabout. flere, annoyed by continual rains, and without tents, they lay upon their arms, keeping up incessant skirmishing with the British. After dark, on the 29th, with the Maryland battalion, they were detached to cover the retreat of the main army from the island.
Near daybreak of the 30th they received orders to retire, and had marched nearly half-way to the river, when they were informed that they had come off too soon, and were ordered to return to their post. This order was
The Pennsylvania-German Continentals. 109
strictly complied with, and they remained more than an hour longer in the lines before the second order came to abandon them, when they retired under cover of a thick fog, and, between 6.00 and 7.00 A. M., perhaps a little later, landed at New York. In less than an hour after, the fog having dispersed, the enemy could be seen on the shore they had left.
On August 31st, they marched beyond Kingsbridge, towards the Sound, and, crossing the Bronx, encamped about eighteen or twenty miles from the city. After this post was sufficiently strengthened, the two battalions re- occupied their old ground at Fort Washington.
The main army remained on the heights of Harlem a period of five weeks, the Third and Fifth Battalions constituting a part of it and doing duty accordingly. The march of the main army towards White Plains com- menced on the 20th of October.
On November 16, Fort Washington was invested by Gen. Howe's army and captured. On that day the two battalions, with some broken companies of Atlee's, Kichlein's and other battalions, principally from Penn- sylvania, and nearly all Pennsylvania-Germans, were posted in the lower lines south of the fort, or towards the city. 'The superiority of the British force drove them all, finally, into the fort, which was surrendered the same day, and the Third and Fifth Battalions became prisoners, almost " in toto." Capt. Miller, of the Fifth, was killed.
The returns of the battalion, made out the day before the surrender, show a total of 280, of which 78 were sick, but present, and 202 fit for duty. Of these 43 were killed or escaped, and 237 were taken prisoners.
The men were retained prisoners until in January, 1777, their time having then expired. Most of the
110
The Pennsylvania-German Society.
officers did not secure their release for years afterwards.
The superior officers were to blame, apparently, in not withdrawing the troops from Fort Washington in time, being aware of the danger to which they were exposed. Beyond this, however, the capture of the fort was mainly owing to the treason of William Dement, or Demont, the adjutant of the Fifth Battalion. Graydon (captain in Third Battalion), in his memoirs says: "Howe must have had a perfect knowledge of the ground we occupied. This he might have acquired from hundreds in New York, but he might have been more thoroughly informed of everything desirable to be known from an officer of Magaw's battalion, who was intelligent in points of duty, and deserted to the enemy about a week before the assault."
Graydon's suspicions were confirmed, after the lapse of a century, by the publication of Demont's letter to the Rev. Dr. Peters, in an exhaustive article on "Mount Washington and its Capture," by E. F. De Lancey, in the " Magazine of American History," for February, 1877. It is as follows :
" Rev. Sir:
"Permit me to Trouble you with a Short recital of my Services in America, which I Presume may be deem'd among the most Singular of any that will go to Upper Canada. On the 2nd of Nov'r, 1776, I Sacrificed all I was Worth in the World, to the service of my King & Country, and joined the then Lord Percy, brought in with me the Plans of Fort Washington, by which Plans that Fortress was taken by his Majesty's Troops the 16th instant, Together with 2700 Prisoners and Stores & Ammunition to the amount of 1800 Pounds. At the
III
The Pennsylvania-German Continentals.
same time, I may with Justice affirm from my knowledge of the Works, I saved the Lives of many of His Majesty's Subjects,-these Sir are facts well-known to every General Officer which was there -- and I may with Truth Declare from that time I studied the Interests of my Country and neglected my own-or, in the language of Cardinal Woolsey, 'had I have Served my God as I have done my King he would not thus have Forsaken me.' "
"Your most obedient and Most Hum'l Serv't " Rev'd Sir with Dutiful Respect " WILLIAM DEMONT "
" London, Jan'y 16, 1792."
MILES RIFLE REGIMENT.
The Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment of Col. Miles, and the Pennsylvania Battalion of Musketry, under Col. Atlee, were embodied strictly for the defense of the Province of Pennsylvania, by the prudent foresight of its House of Representatives, at the suggestion of the Com- mittee of Safety.
On March 5, 1776, the House resolved to levy 1,500 men, officers included, to serve until January, 1778, and, on the 6th, decided that 1,000 of these levies should be riflemen, divided into two battalions of 500 each, the remainder to be a battalion of musketmen.
Nearly the whole of the rifle regiment was raised in about six weeks, and rendezvoused at Marcus Hook. It was made up, largely, of Pennsylvania-Germans. The following companies were nearly all such :
Capt. Lewis Farmer, from various counties, Capt. Henry Shade, Northampton County, First Battalion; Capt. Peter Grubb, Jr., Lancaster County, Capt. Henry
112
The Pennsylvania-German Society.
Christ, Jr., Berks County, Second Battalion; with a con- siderable number in nearly all the other companies.
On July 16, the regiment had marched to Amboy and joined Gen. Mercer. It was followed by Atlee's musketry battalion on the 2 1 st.
On August 12 the three battalions were brigaded un- der the command of Lord Stirling.
Their gallant stand at the Battle of Long Island has already been given in full.
These three battalions were so broken up in this battle that they were consolidated into one regiment, by order of Gen. Washington, under command of Lieut. Col. Brodhead.
This consolidated regiment became " The Pennsylvania State Regiment of Foot."
On November 16, part of the musketry battalion was in Fort Washington and was captured. On the 22d, the regiment was in Hand's brigade at headquarters, now New Brunswick. It was engaged in the capture of the HIessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776; in the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777; lay part of the winter at Philadelphia, and moved down to Billingsport in March, 1777.
With the defeat on Long Island and the loss of New York, followed by the fall of Forts Washington and Lee, resistance, on the part of the colonies, seemed almost crushed out, and the future appeared dark indeed. Then came, with Trenton and Princeton, the unexpected ray of light which was but the forerunner of a more glorious dawn.
Confronted by a powerful and victorious army, Wash- ington turned towards the Delaware as the Mecca of his hopes. He reached Trenton, with the inain body of
The Pennsylvania-German Continentals.
gagnonce dan 10 han Number 1746 2
Johann Hinrichs 113
SAFE CONDUCT, ISSUED BY HESSIAN COMMANDER, SIGNED BY LIEUT. HINRICHS. (Original in J. G. Rosengarten Collection.)
8
1 20 Egna Black min volum Hors das grafi dejaff
7 Burlington for ano profit Mangnotar" non dopra familie word migranti
€
a 4
-
114
The Pennsylvania-German Society.
his army, on December 3, 1776, went to Princeton on the 6th, but, learning that the enemy was manœuvring to get in his rear, fell back to Trenton, and immediately be- gan the passage of the river, a short distance below the present railroad bridge. He crossed, in person, with the rear-guard, on Sunday morning, the 8th. About eleven o'clock, the same morning, the British came march- ing down the river, expecting to cross also, but were disappointed to find no boats within reach, Washington having secured them all and carefully retained possession of them. The two armies now faced each other, with Washington master of the situation.
The Rifle Regiment, under Lord Stirling, was stationed near Robert Thompson's mili, the commanding officer being quartered in Thompson's house, in the west room upstairs, still standing, and recently belonging to the estate of the late John T. Neely. The regiment, under Major Eunion Williams, was almost naked, and their sufferings were intense. The authorities failed to send theni supplies, and the County Committee of Safety, in pity, gathered " old clothes " from the neighboring in- habitants, to aid in relieving their necessities.
Reinforcements, brought by Gates and Sullivan from New England and Virginia, raised the number of troops under Washington to 6,000, but, of these, only 2,400 men were strong enough for the march and assault which he had planned against his foe.
Active preparations were now made for this dangerous undertaking. The most trusted battalions were selected, those from Pennsylvania, New England and Virginia, amongst them Lord Stirling's brigade.
Meanwhile, everything was pleasant and serene within the enemy's lines. The Hessian officers, and their 1, 200
115
The Pennsylvania-German Continentals.
men, had a very merry Christmas at Trenton. Col. Rahl, their commanding officer, with his boon companions, were invited to supper at the house of Abraham Hunt, a suspected tory, where cards and wine, with their accom- panying hilarity, occupied the night. They dreamed of no surprise, deeming it impossible. Gen. Grant, at Princeton, had received some warnings of the fact, and so notified Rahl, but to these the infatuated officer paid no attention. It is even known that a Bucks County tory, at the risk of his life, crossed the river, carrying a note, giving all information on the subject, for the Hes- sian commander. With much difficulty he succeeded in placing it in his hands, ouly to see it thrust, unopened, into his pocket, where it was discovered the morning after his death.
On Christmas afternoon, at three o'clock, the troops left their quarters for the crossing. Their march was marked by the bloody foot-prints of the Pennsylvania- German riflemen in particular, as they trod the icy road with their nearly naked feet. The crossing was begun about sunset, and, with the river full of ice, was most difficult. Men were stationed in the bows of the boats, with boat-hooks, to keep off the floating cakes of ice, while the roar of the waters and crash of ice nearly drowned the words of command. It was three o'clock in the morning before the crossing was fully accomplished, and four o'clock before the troops were able to take up their line of march. Silence was enjoined upon all by their commander, who said, " I hope you will all fight like men." Two divisions were formed, the one led by Wash- ington in person, who was accompanied by Lord Stirling, Greene, Mercer and Stephen, the other by Gen. Sullivan. That under Washington turned to the left, marched up
Dis his Excellency General Flower express
owers that no person presume owany around to molest or infine John (noplans
¢
Heister
SAFE CONDUCT, SIGNED BY COUNT DONOP AND ADJT. HEISTER.
117
The Pennsylvania-German Continentals.
the cross-road to the Bear Tavern, a mile from the river, turned into the Scotch, and then into the Pennington, road. In this division were the Pennsylvania-Germans. Sullivan marched by the river road.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.