USA > Pennsylvania > Franklin County > Waynesboro > Waynesboro : the history of a settlement in the county formerly called Cumberland, but later Franklin, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in its beginnings, to its centennial period, and to the close of the present century > Part 12
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
159
IN WAR TIMES.
from him. He, therefore, left the company and went to another part of the settlement where he sulked about for some time. At last. being at the side of a creek one morn- ing he saw a deer in the water, which he thought he would kill. Whilst he was creeping up to the deer he heard a rustle in the leaves close by him. On looking up he saw a white man creeping towards the deer, whom he shot instantly on the spot and pulled off his scalp. An old man, whom he supposed to be the father of the man he killed, came running towards him, hallooing at him if he had killed a deer; as Dickson could speak the English language perfectly well he answered, 'Yes, by and if you do not believe me, here is the skin,' shaking his son's scalp at him ; the old man made his escape from him."
"One, McKisson, wounded, and his son taken from the June 27th. South Mountain."
"One man killed and ten taken near Black's Gap, South April 13, 1878. Mountain."
"One man killed and nine taken near Archibald Bard's, Same day. South Mountain."
The man killed on this occasion was Thomas Potter, a brother of General James Potter. Among those taken prisoners were Richard Bard and his wife, Hannah Mc- Bride. Samuel Henry, Daniel McManemy, and William White. There were nineteen Indians in the party.
A familiar name in the vicinity of Waynesboro in the Murder of the Ren- frew sisters. early days was that of Renfrew, and the well authenticated story of the sad fate which befell two daughters of that family is still an interesting theme in all fireside tales for the children or when reminiscences among the elders of the country side are in order. The story has been told with many embellishments, but it is repeated here because of its local character. What may be considered the best digested narrative of the occurrence is here used as J. C. Burns, in Mc- Cauley's llistory. authority.
160
WAYNESBORO.
CHAPTER V111. It matters little whether these two unfortunate young women, when attacked by the Indians, were preparing to ride away on horseback, as one account has it, or were engaged in washing clothes, as the better authority as- The girls murdered. serts. At all events, they were killed and scalped by two Indians, who did not long escape their just punishment. The story of the pursuit of them by two experienced hun- ters is graphically told. On the second day after the murder, the fiends in human shape who had committed it. carefully seeking a way westward, had stopped under some wild phun trees, which grew abundantly in this sec- tion of the country at that time, and were cautiously plucking and eating the fruit, when they were discovered by their determined pursuers, who. it is said, with cool deliberation, bided their time until they were near enough to see the phim seeds drop from the mouths of the unsus- pecting Indians, when, at a given signal. the avengers of the murdered women fired, each killing his man. The The success of the gruesome sequel of this tale is to the effect that the pursuers. avengers returned with the scalps of their victims in time to be present at the burial of the sisters, and to certify The burial. to the assembled neighbors the absolute character of the revenge they had taken by depositing on the coffin the recovered scalps of the murdered women, and, by their side, the scalps of the murderers.
Possible date 1764.
There is no definite date now to be fixed when this massacre took place. Tradition has it that it was among the last, if not the last, outrage committed by the Indians in this section.
Their residence and burial place.
The reputed residence of the Renfrew sisters was not far from the mill on the farm of Peter Fahnestock, near Waynesboro. They are said to be buried in a picturesque spot known as the Burns' family burying ground, not far from the banks of the Antietam. There is no mark of identification upon the stone which, tradition says, marks
16I
IN WAR TIMES.
their grave. As yet, their only epitaph is traced upon the CHAPTER VIII. memory of man.
It is not necessary to multiply accounts of the terrible experiences of the pioneer settlers to prove the proposi- tion that they made the gravest sacrifices to secure the homes which their descendants are now enjoying ; yet how few of the present generation pay even the tribute of a passing thought to these sacrifices, and few there are, it is true, who do believe that by preserving an old record,
The massacre of Enoch Brown and his school-children.
Forgotten sacri- fices.
ON THE WAR PATH.
recording a tradition, marking an historical spot with a monument "we do recover and save somewhat from the maw of time."
Among these may be classed the public-spirited gentle- man who championed, and those who aided him in carry- ing out, a praise-worthy plan which resulted in the erec- tion of the only monuments ever raised within the limits of Franklin county commemorative of this period of sacri- fice and suffering, the seedtime of the present harvest of enjoyment.
Rev. Cyrus C. Cort.
The story of the massacre of the schoolmaster, Enoch July 26, 1764.
162
WAYNESBORO.
CHAPTER VIII.
Brown, and his pupils who came to him for instruction on that last sad day at Guitner's little schoolhouse, on the outskirts of the "Conococheague settlement," lying just about three miles north by west of the present town of Greencastle, is a familiar one to every school child in Franklin county to-day. It is an event familiar because commemorated, and it stands forth in strong contrast with the other historical events far more important, but now buried in oblivion because of the indifference and, may it be called, lack of patriotism of a past generation. The lesson is plain : will the present generation profit by it ?
A lesson to be profited by.
1764.
It was a time when the spirit of war inflamed the minds of the white man and the red man alike. Roving bands of savages carried death and devastation in every direc- tion. No locality within the frontier settlements, how- ever secluded, was safe from an unexpected visit from these murderous bands, and who, that has visited the spot, even in this day a miniature wilderness, where this old Courage and hardi- schoolhouse stood, is not struck with admiration for the hood manifested. spirit of courage and hardihood which placed the school- house there in those days of danger.
Teacher and eleven scholars present.
On the day of the disaster, eleven scholars answered to the last roll-call. The story of their undoing is sufficiently told by the monuments erected some years ago, and which to-day stand on the spot.
The site of the school-house.
The larger monument marks the site of the old school- house. The side of the monument facing eastward bears this inscription :
East side.
"Sacred to the memory of schoolmaster Enoch Brown, and eleven scholars, namely : Ruth Hart, Ruth Hall. Eben Taylor, George Dustan, Archie Mccullough, and six others (names unknown) who were massacred and scalped by Indians on this spot, July 26, 1764, during the Pontiac war.
"Two Dean boys were among the victims heretofore unknown. August 4, 1888."
HISTORY OF WAYNESBORO.
"WE GRAVE OF
.VLY 26.1754
THE SITE OF GUITNER'S SCHOOL-HOUSE.
GRAVE OF THE MASTER AND CHILDREN MURDERED BY INDIANS.
MONUMENT MARKING SITE OF SCHOOL-HOUSE.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, ENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
165
IN WAR TIMES.
The north side of the monument bears this inscription : CHAPTER VIII.
"Erected by direction of the Franklin County Centen- North side. nial Convention, on April 22, 1884. in the name of the teachers and scholars of all the schools in the county, in- cluding common schools, select schools and Sunday- schools. For a full list of contributors see Archives of Franklin County Historical Society, or Recorder's Of- fice."
On the west side of the monument, next the grave, is this inscription :
"The remains of Enoch Brown and ten scholars (Archie West side. Mccullough survived the scalping) lie buried in a common grave, south sixty-two and one-fourth degrees west four- teen and one-half perches from this monument. They fell as pioneer martyrs in the cause of education and Chris- tian civilization."
Upon the south side of the monument is inscribed the following :
"The ground is holy where they fell, And where their mingled ashes lie: Ye Christian people, mark it well With granite columns, strong and high; And cherish well for-ever-more The sturdy wealth of early years. The sacred legacies of yore. The toils and trials of pioneers."
South side.
At a short distance from the larger monument, under The grave. the shadows of cedar and oak tree, stands the smaller monument over the grave. It bears this inscription :
"The grave of schoolmaster Enoch Brown and ten scholars massacred by the Indians, July 26, 1764."
As the original inscription upon the monument tells, Archie Mccullough, one of the scholars, recovered from the scalping. He was a cousin of John McCullough, from whose narrative of his life among the Indians many
Archie Mccullough.
I66
WAYNESBORO.
CHAPTER VIII. quotations have been made. He tells in this narrative how he incidentally met with the Indians who had committed this cowardly outrage on the school children. They came among the Indians in the village where he was held cap- tive, bringing with them the scalps of the schoolmaster and children. They were not very cordially received by the older Indians, who characterized their conduct in kill- ing the children as cowardly.
Note 39.
Avengers.
These outrages committed by the Indians did not go unavenged. The situation fostered men in all parts of the valley whose determination and prowess brought con- sternation, followed by the direst punishment, to many of the perpetrators of these inhuman deeds. Every district had its Indian hunters, and when concerted action was necessary the banding of these squads of hunters into ranging companies created a little army formidable and disciplined to an extent fully appreciated by their savage antagonists.
Ranging companies. 1755.
Two fully organized bands, at least, of this character existed in the lower end of the valley. One was in ser- vice early, and was under the command of Colonel Joseph Armstrong. It consisted of some sixty-eight men all told, who, for several years, did good work in the protection of the border.
1779.
During the revolutionary war two other companies of rangers from this locality went to the westward on service against the Indians. They were small bands consisting of not more than twenty-five men each, and were under the respective commands of Captain Noah Abraham and Captain Samuel Patton.
There were many smaller bands of Indian hunters from the valley in service on the border during the period of the Indian troubles, but, unfortunately for the memory of these brave men, no well-authenticated record of their names, or of their actions, has been preserved.
167
IN WAR TIMES.
Very much has been collated and written concerning CHAPTER VIII. the history of the people of the Cumberland Valley, in- THE REVOLU- cluding those who dwelt in the part which is now called Franklin county, in the Revolutionary War, and very much remains to be written by the future historian who shall choose this subject as his single theme.
From all accounts it is certain that in no section of the country was the response to arms more prompt and cheer- ful than in this locality; no braver soldiers entered the field than those who came from old Cumberland county, of which the territory now Franklin county contributed its full share.
The most conspicuous regiment in the continental army, the First Pennsylvania, had its beginnings in Franklin county, and it may be said that no officer of the American army had a more varied and notable career than Colonel James Chambers, who was the commander of the first company that left Franklin county for the war, forming the nucleus of the First Pennsylvania regiment of which Captain Chambers subsequently became the honored colonel. His company, and that of Captain Wil- liam Hendricks, of Carlisle, were the first in the field from the valley.
For the honor of the Cumberland Valley, the history of this regiment should be fully written, and although material is at hand, the limited scope of this work will not admit of its presentation here. Suffice it to say that in its original and re-organized forms this regiment fol- lowed its unique flag through the entire war, doing service at different times in every one of the thirteen original states.
This regiment entered the service first under the call July 14, 1775. of congress for the raising of six companies of expert riflemen in Pennsylvania, ten in Maryland and two in Virginia. It was known as "Colonel William Thomp-
The First Pennsyl- vania regiment.
Col. James Cham- bers.
Note 40.
TIONARY WAR.
168
WAYNESBORO.
CHAPTER VIII. son's Rifle Regiment." Colonel Thompson first com- manded the regiment. He was captured at the battle of Three Rivers, in Canada, when Edward Hand was ap- pointed colonel and James Chambers lieutenant-colonel. April 17, 1777. Upon the promotion of Colonel Hand to be a brigadier- general, Lieutenant-Colonel James Chambers became colonel of the First Pennsylvania regiment, and under him it campaigned, as before stated, in all the chief bat- tles and skirmishes of the main army until he retired from the service.
January 1, 1781.
Under another call from congress for four more bat- January 17, 1776. talions of Pennsylvania troops, Colonel William Irvine's Sixth Pennsylvania sixth regiment was formed. Of the eight companies of regiment. which it consisted, three companies were from Franklin county, Captains Abraham Smith, William Rippey and Jeremiah Talbot.
In addition to these companies there were also under arms from this section at this time four other companies which contained officers and men chiefly from the section now comprised within the limits of Franklin county.
The first militia battalion enters service.
July 28, 1777.
11 Penn'a Arch., Vol. X, p. 568.
The Waynesboro company.
Among the militia of Cumberland county called out by order of the Supreme Executive Council of the state, the first battalion, when it marched to the place of ren- dezvous, was officered as follows: Colonel, James Dun- lap: lieutenant-colonel, William Clark: major, Samuel Irwin.
The sixth company in this battalion, as appears by the first muster rolls, was at this time the company of Captain Royer, which was originally enlisted and came from Waynesboro and vicinity. The muster roll, as it has been preserved, shows the following officers and men : Captain. Samuel Royer; first lieutenant, James Brotherton ; sec- ond lieutenant, Jacob Stotler; ensign. Robert Snodgrass ; privates, William Cook. Abraham Gabriel, Ephraim Latta, Peter Longinare, Joseph Moore, Philip Nauss, Josias Ramage, Alexander Stewart.
HISTORY OF WAYNESBORO.
1 111
P.M :
R
...
DOMARE
NOLO
FLAG OF THE FIRST PENNSYLVANIA REGIMENT CONTINENTAL LINE.
-
1
169
IN WAR TIMES.
This battalion was the nucleus of the Cumberland coun- CHAPTER VIII. ty associated battalions, eight in number, which served Associated bat- talions. this year. When fully organized, James Dunlap remain- ed as colonel of the first battalion, but Robert Culbert- 1777. son, as lieutenant-colonel, took the place of William Clark, who was transferred to the same rank in the sec- ond battalion, and John Carnahan succeeded Samuel Irwin as major, who took the same rank in the third bat- talion. Captain Samuel Royer's company was transfer- red to the eighth battalion and constituted its first com- pany. His associated company officers were: First lieutenant, Jacob Foreman; second lieutenant, John Riddlesberger; ensign, Peter Shaver. The battalion commanders were all well-known military men from the same locality. Abraham Smith was colonel; James Johnston, lieutenant-colonel: John Johnston, major ; Thomas Johnston, adjutant; Terrence Campbell, quarter- master.
Of the subordinate company officers who started out with Captain Royer. James Brotherton became first lieu- tenant of Captain Jack's company, the second company : Jacob Stotler became second lieutenant of the third com- pany, and Robert Snodgrass became ensign of the fourth company, in the same battalion, the eighth, and, later, was commissioned first lieutenant of the fourth company of the first battalion.
Thomas Wallace, of Waynesboro, was also at this time holding a commission in this battalion. He was first lieu- tenant of the seventh company, which was commanded by Captain William Findley. Later, he was advanced, serving as first lieutenant of the first company of the first 1780. battalion.
The service of these battalions covered a period of nearly three years; but with reference to the officers in particular, it must not be understood that this was a con- stant service. As was the case with the regular Pennsyl-
Further recruiting of the first.
II Penn'a Arch., Vol. XIV, p. 376, 398.
Re-assignments,
Lieutenant Thomas Wallace.
II Penn'a Arch., Vol. XIV, p. 400, 435.
Nature of the ser- vice.
(II)
[70 :
WAYNESBORO.
CHAPTER VIII.
vania regiments of the line, officers frequently became supernumerary because of the lack of men to fill their commands, so with respect to the officers of the asso- ciators. A perplexing matter, and one which renders almost futile the efforts to trace in full the career of sub- ordinate officers in the service. is the peculiar militia sys- tem which prevailed in the state during the period of the war.
Militia tours.
The "tours of duty" imposed by law upon the "classes" of militia in each county claimed the service of every en- rolled man, no matter whether he was independently en- tered in the service of his country or not, and without re- spect to the fact that he was an officer. So it was not unusual to find at times a commissioned officer, seem- ingly commanding in a strange company, but often serv- ing as a private upon a tour of home militia duty.
A Waynesboro militia company.
Il Penn'a Arch., Vol. XV, p. 606.
The detail of the eighth battalion of Cumberland coun- ty militia on a tour of the "eighth class in service, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight." consisted of the following company from Waynesboro: Captain, John Rea: first lieutenant, Thomas Wallace; ensign, Henry Ralfsnider: privates, Joseph McClintock, Robert Fore- man, Hugh Caldwell, William Still, Matthew Jordan, Wil- liam Rankin, Robert Stuart, William Grass, John Mc- Cray, James Hart, John Wilson, Robert Work. Terrence Campbell (quartermaster), Peter Frey, Jacob Stevens, John Long, John Wallace (second lieutenant).
Other militia tours. ยท11 Penn'a Arch .. Vol. XV. p. 607.
July 14. 1778.
"By order of council for ye first and second classes ye second tour for three hundred men to ye Standing Stone." The detail from the eighth battalion for this tour was un- der command of Lieutenant James Brotherton and Ensign Robert Snodgrass, officers of Captain Royer's original Waynesboro company.
Il Penn'a Arch .. Vol. XV. p. 614.
In another detail during the same period. Jacob Fore- man served as first lieutenant under the command of Captain Patrick Jack.
I71
IN WAR TIMES.
At the close of the war, Thomas Wallace became the CHAPTER VIII. leading military leader in the neighborhood of Waynes- boro. He was commissioned a captain in the militia ser- Post bellum militia. vice. A consolidated muster roll of his company as it stood for two years during this period is in existence, and is given elsewhere. The documents from which the information is obtained are in possession of a lady 1789-90. in Waynesboro, through whose courtesy access has been Note 41. had to them.
The elder John Wallace's sons. Thomas and John, were the most active business men of the family, and it was upon them that their father placed his chief dependence for the transaction of business. Thomas was married ; John remained a bachelor all his life, and to this condition may be attributed to some extent the fact that the busi- ness missions away from home more frequently fell to his lot than to that of his other sons. His father's land trans- actions required visits at intervals to the county seat at Carlisle, and more or less acquaintance with the provin- cial and state officers at the general seat of government. Be that as it may, John Wallace, the founder, at the out- break of the revolutionary war, does not appear to have been unknown to and without influence with the officers of government. The records, unsatisfactory and meager as they are, yet disclose the fact that he was recognized as a commissioned officer in the regular continental service.
He was formally commissioned a second lieutenant in one of the companies of Colonel Magaw's sixth Penn- February 15. 1777. sylvania regiment of the Pennsylvania Line. Owing to the unfortunate condition of the records, Lieutenant Wal- lace's career can not be followed. The writer, in this Results of investi- gation. connection, has taken counsel with one whom he con- siders to be the safest and best authority on Pennsyl- vanians in the revolutionary war, and the following con- Dr. Wmn. 1I. Egle. clusion in the premises has been reached :
Lieutenant John Wallace, for a time at least, served in
Situation of Wal- Jace family.
The founder as a soldier.
II Penn'a Arch., Vol. X. p. 570, 689; Vol. XV, p. 522.
In the Sixth Regi- ment of Pennsyl- vania Line.
172
WAYNESBORO.
CHAPTER VII1.
one of the companies in the sixth regiment (Magaw's). His company was likely the one with which ensign, after- wards first lieutenant and brevet captain, James Gibbons. was connected. Wallace became a supernumerary, and. while at home waiting a command, served "tours of duty" in the militia. His connection with the regular service continued for nearly four years, as the record of depre- ciation pay in service which he received to a fixed period. shows.
January 1, 1781.
Record of the Sixth Regiment.
November 16, 1776.
The sixth Pennsylvania regiment of the Line was or- ganized on the basis of Colonel Magaw's fifth battalion. which was routed and many of its men and all of its records captured at the disaster of Fort Washington. Colonel Magaw remained a prisoner. Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Bicker commanding until he was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Harmer, who commanded the regiment through most of its military career. Jeremiah Talbot. of Chambersburg, was the major of the regiment.
June 6, 1776.
First association of Franklin county with Gen. Wayne. 1778.
In the arrangement of the Pennsylvania Line, the divi- sion commanded by General Anthony Wayne consisted of eight regiments, of which the sixth was one.
At Stony Point. July 16, 1779.
In the daring and successful enterprise of the storming of Stony Point, which rendered famous the name of Gen- eral Anthony Wayne, the sixth Pennsylvania regiment was with him, and to it was credited the honor of having chosen from its ranks one of the "forlorn hopes" which led the assault. The accounts of that daring venture give Lieutenant James Gibbons distinguished notice. He had led the left "forlorn hope;" composed of twenty men. and he lost seventeen killed and wounded. For his gallant conduct he was promoted captain of brevet. par- ticularly mentioned in General Wayne's letter. and was voted the thanks of congress.
A worthy military alliance.
It was with this regiment with such a distinguished record under the general command of the notable "Mad Anthony" Wayne that John Wallace was connected. It
173
IN WAR TIMES.
has been said that there was no soldier who had been. either directly or indirectly, associated with Wayne who did not ever after idolize him. Knowing these facts, is it necessary to seek any further for the reasons why John Wallace, veteran soldier, when peace fell and his connec- tion with the old sixth regiment became a memory, should desire to honor the little town settlement, which he was fostering around his old mountain-shadowed home. by bestowing upon it the name of the general under whom the regiment with which he had been connected had so prominently served?
Franklin county was not without its "whiskey boys,' which was a very natural circumstance because it had its full quota of private stills. It is an unjust aspersion of Note 42. the character of very many good and law-abiding citizens to make a wholesale charge of lawlessness and disloyalty against them because they had decided views as to the right of the government to carry out the policy upon which the excise which caused the trouble in Pennsylvania at this period was based. It must be remembered that 1794. this was the first time substantially that the general gov- ernment had endeavored to levy a direct tax upon the people of the states, and there were very many even at that early day who agreed with the views which are held by a very much larger number to-day that the principle of direct taxation of the states by the general govern- ment is not of the soundest character. Add to this the fact that those who were engaged in the manufacture of spirits at that day carried on their business without any assistance from the government. either state or general : that they had no other method of disposing of their grain than that offered by distilling it: that they had been for a long time compelled not only to address themselves to the duties of their occupation, but as well to protect them- selves by arms from the dangers which threatened them
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.