USA > Pennsylvania > The Wyoming Valley in 1892 > Part 2
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The Wyoming Massacre took place on the third of July, 1778. We have seen that active warlike hostilities had ceased with the defeat of Colonel Plunkett at Nanticoke. Under peace- ful cultivation the virgin soil manifested its amazing fertility, and the people proceeded to bring civil order into action. They estab- lished courts, levied taxes, provided a military order and forts-in short, set up a purely democratic and semi-independent body politic. In October, 1773, the Provincial Assembly of Connecticut resolved to assert and support their claim to the part of their province west of New York. For this purpose they sent commissioners to Phila- delphia in December to effect a settlement with Pennsylvania. They failed in their mission. In January, 1774, the town of Westmoreland was formed and attached to Litchfield county in Connecticut. This town extended from the Delaware river to a line fifteen miles west of the Susquehanna. "In 1775 the number of inhabitants at Wyo- ming was something more than three thousand," according to Governor Hoyt's estimate. Westmoreland township became a sepa- rate county, having the same name in 1776, November. Having secured civil government the people provided for the common defense. "Mrs. Bethiah Jenkins, wife of Lieutenant John Jenkins, says the women took up their floors, dug out the earth, put it in casks and ran water through it, as ashes are leached. They then took ashes in another cask, and made lye, mixed the water from the earth with the lye, boiled it, set it out to cool, and the saltpetre rose to the surface. Charcoal and sulphur were then pounded and mixed with the saltpetre and powder was thus produced for the public defense." (Miner, p. 212.)
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
Some of the younger men had gone to Boston and joined the Colonial forces, and had fallen at the battle of Bunker Hill. Some families had returned to Connecticut. Colonel Wisner, of Orange county, New York, had visited the valley and obtained twenty or thirty recruits for the army of the Colonies. At a town meeting held at Wilkes-Barre, August 24, 1776, Colonel Zebulon Butler, modera- tor for ye work of ye day, it was voted "that this meeting do recom- mend to ye people to proceed forthwith to erect forts for the common defense, without either fee or reward from ye town." This they did, erecting Jenkins's Fort in Exeter township, (near Pittston); Winter- mute Fort, about a mile below, and Forty Fort, on the river bank, near the present ferry. The block-house at Mill Creek was called Wilkes-Barre Fort ; the one at the foot of South street was called Wyoming Fort, and the Stewart block-house stood on the river bank three miles below Wilkes-Barre, being in Hanover township. There was also a stockade at Pittston, opposite Jenkins's Fort.
Under authority of Congress, two companies were organized in the town of Westmoreland, and "stationed in proper places for the defense of the inhabitants," August, 1776. On the retreat of Wash- ington with his army through New Jersey, these companies were ordered to join Washington. Thus a large part of the local fighting force was absent from the valley when the time of peril drew near. Stimulated by the policy of General Burgoyne, the Indians became more troublesome in the northern part of the State, and it was learned that many Tories in those regions were in communication with Indian scouts. Several whites were. captured by these men, and taken prisoners to Niagara. "It was known early in the Spring of 1778 that a large force was collecting at Niagara for the purpose of laying waste the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York. Early in May these forces started out on the work of de- struction in different bands, with the purpose of concentrating at Wyoming. Brandt led a force of three hundred and fifty Indians, who fought the battle of Cobbleskill on June Ist. From there Brandt led them to Tioga, where he joined the main body of troops
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A BRIEF HISTORY.
marching to Wyoming (Jenkins). One body was sent to lay waste the settlements on the West Branch. Meanwhile scouting parties were sent up the river from the forts in the valley, who found many parties of Indians roving along the river banks. These bands, united with about two hundred Tories and two hundred British Pro- vincials, descended the Susquehanna in boats to the mouth of Bow- man's creek, where they awaited the coming of the West Branch division. The united forces, numbering about eleven hundred, then advanced to Keeler's Eddy, thence overland to Sutton's creek. On the morning of July 2 they reached the valley and were admitted to Wintermute Fort by Tory treachery, which became their head- quarters. Forty Fort was speedily occupied by the settlers on the west side of the river. The Hanover and Wilkes-Barre companies were in their own stockades. On the morning of July 3 the com- mander of the invaders, Major (Colonel) John Butler, sent a flag to Forty Fort demanding its surrender, which was refused. A messen- ger was sent to Colonel Zebulon Butler at Wilkes-Barre to hasten to their support, and he responded promptly. Flags sent to the enemy to negotiate were fired upon, and the bearers returned. It was then decided to go out, and, if possible, defeat the enemy in the field. About four hundred accordingly marched out at three o'clock in the afternoon.
This decision was reached after a warm argument in which Colonel Denison, who chanced to be present, urged the necessity of caution and prudence in the face of an enemy of unknown strength. This opinion seems to have been shared by Colonel Z. Butler, but was overruled by the more hasty and fiery element among the men, especially as they were supported by the advice of Captain Lazarus Stewart. They feared a long siege with insufficient provisions and with the uncertainty which existed as to the arrival of reinforce- ments, especially the companies of Franklin and Spaulding. Captain Stewart having charged Colonel Butler with cowardice, was placed under arrest, but was discharged when the decision to go forth was
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
reached, and was elected Captain of the Hanover company upon the resignation of Captain McKarrachan.
PLAN OF THE INVADERS.
S IT became evident to the British commander that the Americans intended to bring on a general engagement, he speedily formed his men in line of battle; his left on the edge of a steep bank near the river at Fort Wintermute, which for some reason had been fired; the line extended across the more elevated ground; the right centre being occupied by Johnson's Royal Greens ; a body of Indian sharp shooters occupied the centre of the line; the main body of the Indians was placed on the extreme right, extending to an alder swamp, through which the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg railroad now passes. Colonel John Butler was in com- mand of the left wing in person. It has been asserted by some historians that the Indians were commanded by Thayendenaga, a distinguished Mohawk chief, known to the white people as Captain Brandt. It is also denied on equally good authority that Brandt was with the Wyoming expedition at all. Certain it is that it was the universal opinion of the people of the valley at that time, and long after the battle, that he was the moving spirit among the Indians."
THE DEFENDERS.
" Face to Face with Thrice their Number .- Such was the enemy's order of battle at 2 P. M. as the Americans approached his line. Colonel Zebulon Butler had sent Captains Ransom and Durkee for- ward to fix upon a place for forming his line of attack. These experienced officers approached as near the enemy's line as they deemed prudent, and upon the coming up of the column, the compa- nies were directed to deploy right and left, forming in line of battle
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A BRIEF HISTORY.
as they took the places assigned them; the right resting on the steep bank fronting the enemy's left, and extending like his, across the gravelly flat about a quarter to half a mile to the morass or swamp bounding it in that direction. The plain intervening between the two armies, thus standing face to face in hostile attitude, was thinly covered with scrub-oak underbrush and yellow and pitch pine trees of stunted growth. Captain Bidlack occupied the extreme right; Captain Hewitt the right centre; on the extreme left was Captain Whittlesey with the Plymouth company. Captain Stewart occupied the left centre, while Captains Geer and Buck of Wilkes- Barre and Kingston held the centre of the line. Colonel Butler, supported by Major John Garrett, commanded the right wing; Col- onel Nathan Denison, supported by Lieutenant-Colonel George Dorrance, was on the left; Captains Durkee and Ransom, as military advisers, were stationed, the first on the right as aid to Captain Bid- lack, the latter on the left to assist Captain Whittlesey; Anderson Dana was acting Adjutant. No artillery was used on either side, and but few of the officers were mounted. As Colonel Butler rode along to hastily inspect the line, he addressed to each company a few words of encouragement, exhorting the men to stand firm, as all depended upon resisting the first shock. 'Stand firm,' said he, 'and the Indians will soon give way.'"
THE BATTLE.
" The Battle Opens .- It was about 4 o'clock when the order to advance to the attack was given. The men having been told off into odds and evens, were ordered to advance alternately by numbers, five steps, then halt and deliver fire; while the then rear file would again advance and fire in their turn. For a while the firing was rapid and steady along the American line, and was returned in an equally spirited manner. The enemy's left being hard pressed by Captain Hewitt's Provincials on our right, began to recoil, and a
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
shout ran along the line that the British were being driven back. At this critical moment, the greatly superior number of the enemy enabled the Indians on our right to out-flank the Americans at that end of the line, and while Captain Whittlesey was hotly engaged in front, a large number of the Indians had penetrated the swamp and were emerging from the thicket some distance in his rear. Seeing this movement Colonel Denison ordered Whittlesey's command to change front and form a line facing the enemy in that direction.
" A Fatal Mistake .- The battle had now raged for over half an hour and was becoming hot and furious. The savages rushed in with fearful yells; still our men stood firm, returning shot for shot without thought of giving way before the furious onslaught, but when the order was given by Captain Whittlesey for his command to wheel backward from the left with a view of forming a right angle with the original line, the order was understood by the mnen to be to retreat, and they at once became demoralized and broke and fled in the wildest confusion. It was in vain that Colonel Butler strove to rally his men by recklessly exposing his own life as he passed along the line between the two fires; but it was too late; a panic had seized upon these raw militia which the assuring words of no Gen- eral could allay, and they broke and fled as the yelling savages doubled up our lines by their onward rush from the left flank. The right stood its ground with desperate heroism. One of Captain Hewitt's officers said to him, 'we are beaten, the Indians have gained our rear, shall we retreat?' 'No! I'll be d-d if I do while a man stands by me!' was the heroic reply; and he died at his post pierced by a shot from the British Rangers. Thus ended the battle of Wyoming, but not the massacre.
"A portion of the Indians who had thus flanked the American left, did not stop to give the finishing blow to this doomed band of patriots, but pushed forward to the rear of the defeated army, to cut off its retreat to Forty Fort, thus completely hemming in those who sought to save themselves by flight, the river forming one side of the enclosure. Being thus surrounded on all sides, consternation
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A BRIEF HISTORY.
reigning supreme, with men running hither and thither impelled by a sudden fear, the slaughter went on while a man was left within the fatal enclosure. Some were taken prisoners by the Greens and Rangers of Colonel John Butler, but these were subsequently mas- sacred in the most cruel and revolting manner by the Indians on the night of that dreadful day. Seventeen were slaughtered by that semi-savage Hecate, Queen Esther, on a flat rock a short distance above the battle ground. Groups of other dead bodies were found in the vicinity, showing that they had been murdered in the most shocking manner after they had been taken prisoners. Of all the prisoners taken on the field, it is not known that half a dozen escaped being barbarously murdered by the infuriated Indians; a few evaded the vigilance of their captors, and succeeded in making their escape while being carried into captivity. Some swam the river and fled to Wilkes-Barre, while a few passed the cordon of Indians in the rear of the battle ground and reached Forty Fort unhurt, though hard pressed by the pursuing savages to its very gates.
" The Death Roll .- Not less than two hundred of the Connecticut people were slain on that day and night of terror, including Lieut- enant-Colonel Dorrance, killed in the retreat; Major Garrett; Ad- jutant Dana; the six acting Captains; three volunteer Captains without commands; also ten Lieutenants and five non-commissioned officers. As some palliation for this fearful death roll, be it said with honest sincerity, that it is not known that any women or chil- dren were murdered during the bloody contest of that day, or during the stay of the enemy in the valley, with the approbation or consent of the British commander, though a few murders may have been committed afterwards in direct violation of his positive orders, by the uncontrollable Tories and savages, acting as allies.
"As Colonel Zebulon Butler was a commissioned officer in the Continental army, and not willing to run the risk of being taken prisoner and carried into captivity, if no worse fate should be in store for him, it was judged prudent for him to retire from the
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
valley before a surrender of the forces should take place; therefore the task of arranging for the surrender devolved upon Colonel Denison, the second in command."
COMMEMORATION.
The inscription on the monument, which was written by Edward G. Mallery, is a "chaste and beautiful" record of the day:
" Near this spot was fought on the afternoon of Friday, the third day of July, 1778, THE BATTLE OF WYOMING, In which a small band of patriot Americans, chiefly the undisciplined, the youthful and the aged spared by in- efficiency from the distant ranks of the Republic, led by Col. Zebulon Butler and Col. Nathan Denison, with a courage that deserved success, boldly met and bravely fought a combined British Tory and Indian force of thrice their number. Numerical superiority alone gave success to the invader and wide-spread havoc, desolation and ruin marked his savage and bloody footsteps through the valley. THIS MONUMENT commemorative of these events has been erected over the bones of the slain by their descendants and others who gratefully appreciated the services and sacrifices of their patriot ancestors."
THE RETREAT.
A remnant of the men escaped the massacre and returned to the fort. On the morning of the 4th, Major (Colonel) John Butler sent a flag demanding capitulation, and requesting Colonel Denison to come to headquarters and agree to the terms. A demand was made
24
A BRIEF HISTORY.
for the surrender as prisoners of war of Colonel Z. Butler, Lieuten- ant Jenkins, and all the Continental troops. These parties imme- diately fled across the mountains, and the final agreement was that the property of the people up the river, named Tories, should be made good, and they to remain in peaceable possession of their farms. This agreement lends a color of plausibility, though not proof, that the massacre was instigated by the Tories, many of whom were Pennamites. The terms were otherwise favorable to the remaining settlers. But Colonel Denison says : "Nevertheless, the enemy being powerful, proceeded, plundered, burned and de- stroyed almost everything that was valuable ; murdered several of the remaining inhabitants, and compelled most of the remainder to leave their settlement, nearly destitute of clothing, provisions, and the necessaries of life." William Gallap says : "We were not to
be plundered, but they plundered us of everything. They kept us three or four days, and then told us to go. One hundred and eighty women and children, accompanied by only thirteen men, went to- gether. They suffered extremely, all on foot, bare-foot, bare- headed, in great want of provisions. Two women were delivered in the woods. Those of the men who had been in the battle made their escape before the fort surrendered, as the enemy said they would kill all who had been in the battle. The savages burnt all our im- provements ; scarcely a house left that was valuable. About two hundred men were then absent serving in the Continental army. The greater part of the men and women had fled east and down the river on the night of the massacre. Crossing the river at Forty Fort, they plunged into the wilderness and made their way to the mountains. Many fled on the night of the 4th. The number of the fugitives fleeing from the valley was about two thousand. The savages, finding they had fled, pursued them. Many were slain by the pursuing savages in their flight; some died of excitement and fatigue, others of hunger and exposure, while many were lost who never found their way out. Hundreds were never seen again after they turned their backs on Wyoming. By what suffering and tor-
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
ture they died, the world will never know. On their way was a long and dreary swamp to be traversed by them, which on account of the number who fled and perished in its mire and among its thorny brambles, was called The Shades of Death !"
Before the massacre an appeal had been sent for the return of the Westmoreland companies, who arrived only in time to meet the fugitives on the mountain and drive back the savages. They formed a rear guard for the retreat, and scattered themselves through the woods to pick up those who fell by the way. About three hun- dred perished in the massacre, and about two hundred more in the flight. (Jenkins.)
The dead remained unburied until October 22. Having escorted the fugitives to Stroudsburg, the companies returned to the valley and gathered up the bodies and buried them. On the 4th of July, 1832, these remains were exhumed and buried on the spot selected for the monument. The number buried here was ninety-six, of whom sixty were slain in battle, and thirty-six in the flight. Bodies found afterward were buried where they lay.
Many of the fugitives subsequently returned and re-occupied their devastated fields, but it was many years before prosperity again blessed the valley.
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2
Looking Backward from 1892
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE WYOMING VALLEY
BY W. H. PUTNAM, PH. D.
"The opinion which men entertain of antiquity is a very idle thing, and almost incon- gruous to the word; for the old age and length of days of the world should in reality be accounted antiquity, and ought to be attributed to our own times, not to the youth of the world which it enjoyed among the ancients; for that age, though with respect to us it be ancient and greater, yet with regard to the world it was new and less."-Bacon.
T. IS the purpose of this sketch to give a general view, from an historical point, of the early con- dition of our valley-a region made famous in song and story-leaving the present evidences of growth and prosperity to the other pages of this book, excepting when it is necessary to trace results from causes connected with the early his- tory. In doing this, it will be necessary to go out of the valley and trace to the original springs some of the streams which contribute to the great tide of wealth and culture which we find on every hand at the present day.
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LOOKING BACKWARD.
these mounds could have been traced reasonably accurately. It would seem that the early history of this valley presented the same evidences of a race of people who antedated the Indians, as is pre- sented by the country in portions of the Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley. This may have been the outskirts of that great and powerful civilization which had its center in Mexico and Cen- tral America. This people may have been to that great civilization what the barbarian tribes of Europe were to the centers in Italy and Greece. These mounds are evidently the ruins of forts where the people went for refuge. Excavations have revealed buried beneath the surface rough angular stones of sizes convenient for hurling or assaulting foes, weapons and implements of stone, bone, and terra cotta; but rarely is a trace to be found of metallic weapons or tools-when such are found they are usually near the surface.
These circumstances would seem to show that these works belong to great antiquity, a time prior to any knowledge of working in metals.
THE AMERICAN INDIANS.
IT IS a matter but little beyond the memory of people still living - that this valley was once the "camping ground" of many tribes. From the meager history at our command, it seems that besides the five or possibly six tribes of the famous Iroquois and the Sus- quehannocks who ruled this country south of the Blue Hills, there was yet another tribe known as the Candostogas. All of these nations were restless and warlike, but the Iroquois were by far the most enterprising. The Iroquois were the most warlike of all the North American tribes, but friendly to the New York settlements when they were attacked by the French. No sooner was this country explored by the white man than it became the object of his deep solicitude. One saw in it a place of trade, another desired to carry the gospel to the Indians. Others saw the beauty and
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
fertility of the valley, and the result was that it soon became the subject of strife and contention. Trade was opened with the Indians of this valley as early as 1737, and in 1741 Rev. John Sergeant, of the Indian mission at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, came to Wyo- ming, accompanied by some Mohigans. His purpose was to preach the gospel to the nations. Sergeant did not meet with success. The Indians listened to his preaching, and received him kindly, but they had been told by the Senecas not to receive Christianity at the hands of the English. Several other Indian missionaries from Massachusetts, came to this section to preach and teach the Indian. In 1753 a company was organized in Connecticut to colo- nize the Wyoming Valley. This company sent a committee to look over the country. The committee reported favorably. The next spring quite a large colony made preparations to settle this country. They were cautioned by the Governor that in all probability they would meet with hostile opposition on the part of the Indians.
THE CONNECTICUT PEOPLE.
T HE settlement of the Wyoming Valley was for a number of years the only one in Luzerne County. The people from Connecticut kept coming from 1753 along till 1770, by which time a considerable settlement might have been found within the valley. At this time no other settlement was nearer than sixty miles. These people were not the effeminate sons of wealthy parents, reared in the lap of luxury. They were indeed "sons of toil." From their infancy they had been taught, by precept and example, industry and economy, which had enabled their fathers to thrive among the rocks and hills of New England. They were the hardy, active sons of New Englanders, and in the exercise of the indepen- dent, self-reliant spirit which they had inherited from their sires, they left their parental roofs and sought homes in this valley, far away in the untamed wilderness of what was then the West. A
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LOOKING BACKWARD.
few brought with them their wives and children, and came with oxen and carts, bringing a few indispensable articles of household furniture and driving a few domestic animals. Most of them, however, came on foot with knapsacks on their backs, rifles on their shoulders, and axes in their hands. For a time they followed the trail of emigrants who had settled in other regions, but finally they abandoned this, left the borders of civilization, and struck into the forest. They followed Indian trails, wandered through forests and swamps, and climbed over mountains, camping in squads over night, till at length they reached this valley, and having selected their location, commenced the preparation for the future. The forests abounded in game, the streams in fish. They were sur- rounded by neighbors who were working with the same prospects, and with the same end in view. They "changed works" in order to accomplish some of their various tasks with greater facility, and to dissipate the sense of loneliness which must have haunted them as they pursued their solitary labors. The natural result of all this labor and deprivation and sacrifice was a prosperous colony. Now as we talk with the old residents about the early history, they tell us of these thrilling scenes, and then point with pride to the grandeur of the valley, and say all this is the result of the sacri- fices of the early settlers.
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