USA > Pennsylvania > The history of Pennsylvania : from its discovery by Europeans, to the Declaration of Independence in 1776 > Part 31
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2 surgeons at 7 6 "
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tieth of August, with three hundred men, having with him, be- side other officers, captains Hamilton, Mercer, Ward and Pot- ter. On the second of September he joined an advance party at the Beaver dams, near Frankstown. On the seventh, in the evening, within six miles of Kittanning, the scouts discover- ed a fire in the road, and, around it, as they reported, three, or, at most, four Indians. It was deemed prudent not to attack this party; but lest some of them should escape and alarm the town, lieutenant Hogg, and twelve men, were left to watch them, with orders to fall upon them at day-break. The main body, making a circuit, proceeded to the village. Guided by the whooping of the Indians at a dance, the army approached the place by the river, about one hundred perches below the town, at three o'clock in the morning, near a cornfield, in which a number of the enemy were lodged, out of their cabins, on account of the heat of the weather. As soon as the dawn of day made the town visible the troops attacked it through the cornfield, killing several of the enemy. Captain Jacobs, their principal chief, sounded the war-whoop, and defended his house bravely through loop- holes, in the logs ; and the Indians generally refused quarter, which was offered them, declaring that they were men, and would not be prisoners. Colonel Armstrong, who had re- ceived a musket ball in his shoulder, ordered their houses to be set on fire, over their heads. Again the Indians were required to surrender, and again refused; one of them declar- ing he did not care for death, as he could kill four or five before he died, and as the heat approached, some of them began to sing. Others burst from their houses, and at- tempted to reach the river, but were instantly shot down. Captain Jacobs, in getting out of a window, was shot, as also a squaw, and a lad called the king's son. The Indians had a number of small arms in their houses loaded, which went off in quick succession as the fire came to them; and quantities of gunpowder, which were stored in every house, blew up from time to time, throwing some of the bodies of the enemy a great height in the air. A party of Indians on the opposite side of the river fired on the troops, and were seen to cross
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the river at a distance, as if to surround them; but they con- tented themselves with collecting some horses which were near the town to carry off their wounded, and then retreated without attempting to take from the cornfield those who were killed there in the beginning of the action. Several of the enemy were killed in the river as they attempted to escape by fording it, and between thirty and forty in the whole were destroyed. Eleven English prisoners were released, who informed that, besides the powder, of which the Indians boasted they had enough for ten years' war with the English, there was a great quantity of goods burnt, which the French had presented to them but ten days before; that two batteaux of French Indians were to join captain Jacobs, to make an attack upon fort Shirley, and that twenty-four warriors had set out before them on the preceding evening. These proved to be the party discovered around the fire, as the troops ap- proached Kittanning. Pursuant to his orders, and relying upon the report made by the scouts, lieutenant Hogg had attacked them, and killed three at the first fire. He, how- ever, found them too strong for his force, and having lost some of his best men, the others fled, leaving him wounded, overlooked by the enemy in their pursuit of the fugitives. He was saved by the army on their return. Captain, after- wards general Mercer, was wounded in the action at Kittan- ning, but was carried off safely by his men. *
The corporation of Philadelphia, on occasion of this victory, on the fifth of January, 1757, addressed a complimentary let- ter to colonel Armstrong, thanking him and his officers for their gallant conduct, and presented him with a piece of plate. A medal was also struck, having for device, an officer fol- lowed by two soldiers: the officer pointing to a soldier shoot- ing from behind a tree, and an Indian prostrate before him. In the back ground Indian houses in flames. Legend, Kittan- ning destroyed by colonel Armstrong, September the eighth, 1756. Reverse Device. The arms of the corporation. Legend, The gift of the corporation of Philadelphia.
* Penn. Gazette. Prov. Records.
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The destruction of the town of Kittanning, and the Indian families there, was a severe stroke on the savages. Hitherto the English had not assailed them in their towns, and they fancied that they would not venture to approach them. But now, though urged by an unquenchable thirst of vengeance to retaliate the blow they had received, they dreaded, that in their absence on war parties, their wigwams might be reduced to ashes. Such of them as belonged to Kittanning, and had escaped the carnage, refused to settle again on the east of fort du Quesne, and resolved to place that fortress and the French garrison between them and the English.
Further funds having become necessary, the house pre- pared a bill for levying one hundred thousand pounds upon all estates, real and personal; the governor again objected his instructions against including the proprietary estates, and the house again combatted them in vain, the necessities of the province wringing from them a reluctant assent to exempt these estates from taxation. But, though compelled by dan- ger and distress to pass the bill against their better judgment, the assembly were not disposed to suffer quietly the inequality which had thus been created between the proprietaries and their fellow subjects. They determined to send commis- sioners to England to lay their grievances before the throne, and to solicit redress. Messrs. Norris and Franklin were selected for this purpose; the departure of the former being delayed by his private affairs, and the state of his health, it was resolved that the latter should proceed as general agent of the province; and the sum of fifteen hundred pounds was allowed him for his expenses. This appointment was made before the passage of the last money bill, and Franklin waited, at the request of lord Loudon, that he might attend a confe- rence with the governor, designed by that nobleman to ac- commodate the differences between him and the assembly. Against the arguments of Franklin, the governor pleaded his instructions, the bond he had given to observe them, and his ruin if he disobeyed, but was disposed to hazard himself if his lordship would advise it. But this his lordship would not do. Franklin was detained some time at New York by the inde-
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cision and procrastination of this nobleman, which delayed the sailing of the packets for near two months .* He arrived in London on the twenty-seventh of July, 1757. His instruc- tions were based chiefly upon the report of the committee to) the assembly, which we have already noticed, and embraced five distinct heads. 1, The illegal restrictions on the lieutenant -. governors: 2, Particular restraints upon the passage of money bills, contrary to the privileges of the assembly, who had a right to grant aids and supplies to his majesty, and to be the : sole judges of the measure, manner, and time of raising and | granting them: 3, The attempts of the proprietary to control the assembly in disposing of the money arising from the pub- lic loans and excise: 4, Their refusal to suffer their located, unimproved, and unoccupied lands, quit-rents, fines, and pur- chase monies on interest, the much greater part of their enor- mous estates in the colony, to be taxed: and 5, The appoint- ment of the judges of the supreme court, and courts of common pleas, during pleasure, contrary to the laws of Eng- land, and the practice under William Penn in the province. He was also instructed to represent the injury the colony sustained by the enlistment of servants, and the maintainance of a frontier barrier, protecting Maryland, the counties on Delaware, and New Jersey, without aid from either.
Of the many enterprises resolved upon by general Shirley and his council of governors, for 1756, none were successful, and several were unattempted. Notwithstanding the exer- tions in the northern provinces, the recruiting service moved heavily. Much time was lost by the change of commanders, and the season for military operations was nearly half spent before the arrival of lord Loudon. No preparations were made to attack fort Du Quesne. The colonies of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, so far from pursuing offensive measures, were unable to protect themselves. The enter- prise against Ticonderoga and Crown Point was confided to general Winslow, whose reputation and influence had been greatly increased by his conduct during the last campaign in
* Franklin's Life.
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Nova Scotia. Seven thousand provincialists were assembled in the vicinity of lake George, but this force was reduced by sub- traction of the necessary troops for the garrisons in the rear. Winslow refused to proceed with this army without reinforce- ments; and, though he was soon after joined by a body of British troops under general Abercrombie, he was much delayed by disputes, with respect to rank, the effect of this junction. The regulations of the crown, on this subject, had given great offence in America; and such was the reluctance of the pro- vincialists to serve under British officers, that, in the present case, in order to enable the troops to act separately, the Ame- ricans were withdrawn from the garrisons to the army, and their places supplied by the British forces. The expedition to Ontario was rendered hopeless, by the successes of the French under Montcalm, who had captured the forts of On- tario and Oswego, situate on either side of the Onondago river, at its junction with the lake; and these forts, placed in the country of the Five nations, he, with sound policy, destroyed in their presence.
Discouraged and disconcerted by this event, Loudon relin- quished all offensive operations, and endeavoured to secure himself from further loss, by disposing his troops for the protection of the frontiers; and, though renewed efforts were made to raise additional forces among the northern colonies, and these efforts were aided by the payment of one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds sterling by the mother country, for the extraordinary expenses of the preceding year, they were all rendered abortive by the appearance of the small- pox at Albany. The troops on their march from New Eng- land, and the army at lake George, were panic-struck, by the irruption of an enemy more dreadful than the French ; and it was found necessary to garrison all the posts with Bri- tish troops, and to discharge all the provincialists, excepting a regiment raised in New York. "Thus terminated, for a second time, in defeat and utter disappointment, the sanguine hopes formed by the colonists, of a brilliant and successful campaign. Much labour had been employed, and money ex- pended, in collecting by laud from a great distance, troops,
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provisions, and military stores at Albany, the place of gene- ral rendezvous; and in transporting them from thence, through an almost unsettled country, to lake George. After all the expensive and laborious preparations, not an effort had been made to drive the invaders even from their outposts at Ti- conderoga."*
The negotiations for peace, which had been commenced with Teedyuscung, the chief of the Delaware and Shawanese tribes on the Susquehannah, had neutralized these, but the province was still exposed to continued devastation, from the French, and western Indians, who roamed in small parties over the country, avoiding or attacking the forts and armed provin- cialists as they judged most safe. The counties of Cumber- land, Berks, Northampton, and Lancaster, were, during the spring and summer months of 1757, kept in continual alarm, and some of the savage scalping parties were pushed on to within thirty miles of Philadelphia. Many of these wretches paid, with their lives, the just penalty of their temerity. But their sufferings bore no comparison with those of the unfortunate inhabitants. Incessant anxiety pervaded every family in the counties we have mentioned; their slumbers were broken by the yell of demons, or by the dread of an at- tack, scarce less horrid than their actual presence. The ground was ploughed, the seed sown, and the harvest gathered, under the fear of the tomahawk and rifle. Scarce any out- door labour was safely executed, unless protected by arms in the hands of the labourers, or by regular troops. Women visiting their sick neighbours were shot or captured; chil- dren driving home cattle from the field were killed and scalped; whilst the enemy, dastardly as cruel, shrunk from every equality of force. Many of the richest neighbour- hoods were deserted, and property of every kind given up to the foe. Many instances of heroism were displayed, by men, women, and children, in the defence of themselves and their homes, and in pursuing and combatting the enemy. There was certainly a great want of ability and energy in the
* Marshall.
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constituted authorities and the people of the province. United councils, and well-directed efforts, might have driven the bar- barians to their savage haunts, and repeated the chastisement they received at Kittanning, until they sued for peace. But imbecility distinguished the British ministers and officers, and discord paralyzed the efforts of the provinces, especially that of Pennsylvania.
The assembly of Pennsylvania had adjourned from April to August, but were convened on the last of May by the go- vernor, to consider the command of the ministry to all the provinces, to raise as many men as possible for the general service, besides the force necessary for their protection indi- vidually; and to enable him to send two hundred of the pro- vincial forces to South Carolina. These forces he had pro- mised to lord Loudon, to be despatched with five companies of the first battalion of the royal American regiment, in con- sideration that the remaining five companies of that battalion should be left under colonel Stanwix for the defence of the Pennsylvania frontier. The house enabled the governor to keep his promise, by granting an additional bounty on en- listment, but this was not obtained without a long and vexa- tious dispute.
Lord Loudon, in the middle of January, summoned the governors of the New England provinces to New York. In no very good humour, he attributed to them the disasters of the last campaign. " Their enterprise against Crown Point," he said, " had not been timely communicated to the ministry ; their troops were inferior to his expectations, dis- posed to insubordination, and less numerous than had been promised: the true state of the forts and garrisons had not been reported to him, and the provincial legislatures had given him votes, instead of men and money." He concluded this reprimand with a requisition of additional troops from New England, New York, and New Jersey. The spirit of the colonists was not to be broken by misfortunes, though caused by the incapacity of their commander, nor perverted by his reproaches: his demands were complied with, and he was
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placed in the spring at the head of a respectable army, to tempt his fortune under his own star.
The failure of the past year was attributed to the multi- plied objects of the campaign, and the consequent division of the forces. Unity of design, and concentration of the troops, it was presumed, would ensure success. It was re- solved to attack Louisburg, and Halifax was fixed for the rendezvous of the fleet and army. In the beginning of July, admiral Holburn arrived there with a large squadron and five thousand land forces ; and, after many delays, was joined by lord Loudon, with six thousand regulars. The mother coun- try and her colonies very properly anticipated much from this formidable armament. But the procrastination of lord Lou- don doomed his country and himself to disappointments. The French occupied the harbour of Louisburg with a su- perior force, despatched from Brest, composed of six thou- sand troops, and seventeen line-of-battle ships, against which the English commander was not disposed to make an effort.
The French, however, lost no time in availing themselves of the advantages to be derived from the withdrawal of the British troops from New York. Montcalm, at the head of nine thousand men, drawn principally from Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and the neighbouring forts, with some Cana- dians and Indians, laid siege to Castle William, on the south- ern shore of lake George. The place was garrisoned by three thousand men, and was well fortified, and supplied with ne- cessaries; but colonel Monroe was compelled to surrender within six days after its investment. Montcalm's victory was stained by the barbarities of his Indian allies; and, though he exerted himself to protect his prisoners, the massacre of many of them will ever be coupled with his name. The ex- ertions of major-general Webb, in collecting troops in addi- tion to his garrison, then four thousand strong, checked the march of Montcalm, until the return of Loudon to New York. This nobleman afforded to the colonies sufficient evidence, that want of judgment, foresight, and activity, was not peculiar to Americans.
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In communicating this disastrous intelligence to the as- sembly, governor Denny said, " It is not my intention to aggravate our present distress by a painful review of what is past: but can I, gentlemen, consistent with my duty, for- bear to mention that this province has been the unhappy seat of cruel war for upwards of two years, groaning under the bloody outrages of a most barbarous enemy, the troops sent to our protection defeated and destroyed, our borders pillaged and laid waste, great numbers murdered, and carried into captivity, and eleven thousand of the enemy at this in- stant in the heart of a neighbouring province, at present carrying all before them; while we, amidst this series of mis- fortune, are neither put into a sufficient posture to defend ourselves, nor have power nor authority, out of the vast number of fighting men this government contains, to send a single man of them to the relief of our neighbours, without calling in the ranging parties, which are constantly out, and evacuating the few garrisons we have on our frontiers, now more than ever necessary for their defence. These things, gentlemen, are so surprising in their nature, that they would exceed all credibility, if the facts were not too flagrant, and too fatally felt. Let me entreat you, therefore, if you make a distinction between liberty and slavery, between your ines- timable privileges as Englishmen, and a miserable subjection to arbitrary power, to embrace this opportunity, perhaps the last, to retrieve, as much as possible, former errors, and to act vigorously, as your all is now at stake." He then earnestly recommended that volunteers should be raised in Philadel- phia and its vicinity, and despatched to New York, as no troops could be spared from the frontiers, the immediate enactment of a militia law, and the improvement of the fa- vourable disposition of the Indians.
The house instantly authorized him to raise the troops required, or to draw from the frontier garrisons one thousand men. Should the latter be preferred, and recommending that as the best plan, they advised that the place of these troops should be filled by the border inhabitants, who, notwithstand- ing the presence of the regulars, were compelled to be con-
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stantly on the alert, and were willing now to enlist for gar- rison and ranging duty. This species of force had been found most effectual at the commencement of hostilities, and might now be readily obtained by offering commissions to those who would raise companies.
The disputes between the governor and the assembly had hitherto turned upon public measures, and though he had re- pressed the exertions of the province by his devotion to the proprietaries; yet he found some extenuation of his conduct in his instructions and situation. But a new quarrel now arose, in consequence of his perversion of the powers of his office to protect a partisan, whose alleged abuse of judicial power and magisterial functions, had drawn upon him the public censure. Numerous petitions were presented to the assembly against William Moore, president of the court of common pleas of Chester county, charging him with gross misconduct in his office. Moore having received a copy of the charges against him, and a notification to appear before the house, made wilful default. The assembly, after investiga- tion, resolved that he was guilty of arbitrary, extortionate, and fraudulent practices, in manifest violation of his duty, and to the great oppression of the people, and that the go- vernor should be requested to remove him from his offices of judge of the common pleas, and justice of the peace, and such other public employments as he might hold. But this re- quest the governor refused until he should examine the allegations against Moore, and hear his defence. 'Though neglecting to plead before the house, Moore, in reliance on the favourable disposition of his judge, made a formal defence in writing before the governor. Of this he published a copy, containing, in the language of the assembly, many " injurious charges, and slanderous aspersions against the conduct of the late assembly, and highly derogative of, and destructive to, the rights and privileges of the house." And Mr. Smith, the college provost, who had provoked the ire of the former assembly by the freedom of his correspondence, on the sup- position of having written this offensive address, was arrested with Moore on the warrant of the house, by the sergeant-at-
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arms. Drs. Thomas and Phineas Bond, and Michael Lovell, were summoned instantly before the house, to testify their knowledge of this libel. Doctor P. Bond only was examined. He declined to answer any questions until he had time allow- ed him for recollection, and an opportunity of consulting his friends; and for this purpose he asked that the questions of the house should be reduced to writing. This was imme- diately done, and the house urged his reply, as nothing was demanded of him prejudicial to himself or Moore, to whom he was related; their inquiries being altogether in relation to Smith, to whom he was not publicly known to owe any ob- ligations. He was then asked whether, to his knowledge, a paper, containing the substance of an address, presented to the governor, and subscribed William Moore, was corrected, altered, and amended at any time whatever by William Smith? Refusing a categorical answer to this question, he was committed to the sergeant-at-arms. Willing, however, to try the effect of lenity, or in consideration, as they de- clared, of his general good character, and connexion with the parties, the house assured him that no testimony he should give on this occasion should inculpate himself. Still he pre- served silence, even though his silence was voted a con- tempt to the authority and powers of the house, and to have a manifest tendency to suppress the truth, and obstruct pub- lic justice; and that he should remain in custody until he con- sented to answer, or should be enlarged by the house, occluded from all but his keeper. But soon after, some facts being disclosed, which, alone, Bond felt he was required in honour to conceal, his obligation of secrecy ceased, and he answered frcely to the demands of the house.
Pending the inquiry relative to Smith, the governor in- formed the house, that in consequence of their application he had resolved strictly to investigate Moore's conduct, and if he found him guilty, to make a public example of him; and that he had appointed that day (January the ninth) to hear him before council, at the state house, but that he was inform- ed that Moore was closely confined by their order. He made this communication, he said, to show them how sincerely he
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was disposed to do every thing in his power consistent with jus- tice in this matter, and that no delay should be imputed to him. In this message, however, he neglected to account for the delay that had occurred since the application of the house. The house, in their reply, justified their application for Moore's dismissal from office, on his refusal to appear and take defence, and urged the governor's compliance with their request on the precedents of parliament. They denied his right to inquire judicially into Moore's conduct, unless sitting as a court of impeachment, in which case notice should be given them, that they might prepare articles, and appoint a committee to prosecute them. And they demanded a day for the trial of Moore, on such articles as they should prefer, proposing that the sergeant-at-arms should attend with the prisoner, or deliver him over to the custody of such person as the governor should appoint. But the governor would not suffer the matter to take this course.
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