USA > Pennsylvania > York County > York > York County and the World War: Being a war history of York and York County > Part 21
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In 1679, La Salle, a Frenchman and the boldest explorer known to American history, launched at Niagara the first vessel that sailed over the Great Lakes. He pressed his exploration southward, and in 1682, after discovering the Mississippi River, planted the banner of France on the banks of that stream, later sailing down to its mouth. This extended New France from the Alleghany Moun- tains west to the Mississippi.
It was the custom of the French and other early explorers to claim the ownership of all land drained by a river which they had discovered, and thus La Salle's discovery caused the French to lay claim to the entire Mississippi Valley. All that territory east of the river was called New France, and that west of the river Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV, then the powerful ruler of France.
AN IMPORTANT EPOCH
The year 1689 is one of the most important dates in American history. It marks the end of "Early American History", and the beginning of another eentury which ended in 1789 when George Wash- ington became the first president of the United States. From this time until 1713, colonial wars took place, and Pennsylvania played an important part in the last one.
The two Carolinas and Pennsylvania were the youngest of the British colonies. The adult in- habitants of these colonies had nearly all been born in Europe; while the grandsons of the first settlers in the older colonies had grown to manhood.
The success of the French explorers in the Mississippi Valley and in Canada caused them to incite tribes of Indians against the English settlements of western Pennsylvania. The French had built a fort where Pittsburg now stands, and one near the present site of Erie. The governor of Virginia, wishing to prevent encroachments of the French in the western part of our province, sent a regiment of troops under Colonel George Washington, a young man of twenty-one. He moved northward and was met by the enemy at a place which was called Fort Necessity. A contest ensued, and it was here that George Washington fired the first shot in one of the greatest wars of our history.
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It will thus be seen that the early settlement of York County was made during a series of wars on the continent of Europe. The Seven Year's War, which lasted from 1756 to 1763, involved nearly every European power. It is known to history as a World War, and since the American colonies paid tribute to England at that time, the strife in this contest for the mastery of Europe was carried to America.
This war ended with the triumph of Frederick the Great and the defeat of the French, which di- minished the power of Louis XIV of France. England had joined with Prussia, and helped her to overthrow the other powers of the continent. Meantime the fertile valleys of Prussia along the Rhine had been devastated. Thousands of Germans then immigrated to Pennsylvania. About the same time and before the Scotch, Irish and English Quakers came in large numbers to the province of Penn- sylvania and prospered here.
BRADDOCK'S EXPEDITION
Things were getting so serious in Pennsylvania that General Braddock, a trained British soldier, crossed the Atlantic in 1755 and marehed from Alexandria, Virginia, toward the present site of Pitts- burg for the purpose of driving the French from this fort called Duquesne. He was joined by 2,000 provincial troops from Pennsylvania and Virginia under the command of George Washington, who acted as a staff officer under Braddock.
The English army of 4,000 men were met by the French and Indians at a place now called Brad- doek's Field, a short distance east of Pittsburg. The English commander did not understand the Indian mode of warfare. In a short time, three-fourths of his offieers and 700 men were killed, including Braddock who was pierced with four bullets, for the Indians of that early date had learned to use the musket, and were trained marksmen fighting in ambush. A total defeat was averted only by the skill and prowess of Washington. In this contest, four bullets piereed his clothing, but he was unhurt.
After Braddock's defeat, the Indians began to cross the Alleghany Mountains, and this caused consternation in the town and county of York as well as other sections of southern Pennsylvania. In- habitants from the Cumberland Valley and farther west hastened eastward to the town of York where they remained until the excitement was over.
YORK COUNTY MILITARY COMPANIES.
It was now decided by the authorities of the province to ereet a chain of twenty-five forts along the eastern slope of the mountains from the Delaware River at Easton extending in a southwestern direction to the Pennsylvania line at Cumberland, Maryland. for all parts of the northwestern and western frontiers were now threatened by incursions from the hostile Indians and a few of the French. The organization of militia companies was encouraged. Richard Peters, secretary of the Province of Pennsylvania, in 1756, reports the following organized military companies in York County: Captain Isaae Saddler, Lieutenant Archibald MeGrew. Ensign William Duffield, and sixty private men: Cap- tain Hugh Dunwoodie, Lieutenant Charles McMullen, Ensign James Smith and sixty private men Cap- tain James Agnew, Lieutenant John Miller, Ensign Samuel Withrow and sixty private men; Captain David Hunter, Lieutenant John Correy, Ensign John Barnes and 100 private men; Captain Samuel Gordon, Lieutenant William Smiley, Ensign John Little and 100 private men; Captain Andrew Findley. Lieutenant William Gemmill, of Hopewell Township. Ensign Moses Lawson and 106 private men; Captain William Gibson. Lieutenant William Thompson, Ensign Casper Little and fifty private men; Captain Francis Holton, Lieutenant Joseph Ross, Ensign John MeCall and 100 private men.
Fort Granville, which had been erected near the site of Lewistown, in the Juniata Valley, was guarded by Lieutenant Edward Armstrong and a small band of Pennsylvania soldiers. This fort was
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A PIONEER HOTEL, MARKET AND WATER STREETS
FRIEND'S MEETING HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA ST.
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attacked July 22, 1756, when the commander and several of the soldiers were killed and a part of the garrison, including some women and children, were taken across the Alleghany Mountains to Fort Kittanning, then the headquarters of the Delaware Indians.
EXCITEMENT IN YORK COUNTY.
During the crisis of affairs in the province, the cold indifference of the Legislative Assembly aroused the deepest indignation of the patriotic inhabitants of Pennsylvania. Public meetings had been held in York, Lancaster and Berks Counties for the purpose of petitioning the Governor and the Assembly to aid them in preparing for an armed resistance. George Stevenson, who had been sent here in 1749 to take charge of the court records when York became a county seat, wrote letters to Richard Peters, at Philadelphia. deseribing the alarming condition of affairs at York.
Fort Kittanning was situated on the Alleghany River, about forty miles northwest of Pittsburg, where the town of Kittanning now stands. Immediately after Braddock's defeat in 1775, Hance Hamilton, the first sheriff of York County, and one of the original settlers of Marsh Creek. organized a company and marched with it to the western frontier of Cumberland County. After the completion of Fort Lyttleton, in the present limits of Bedford County, Captain Hamilton commanded the garrison at that place of defence. Other companies were then organized for active service by Rev. Thomas Barton, the rector of the Episcopal Church at York, Carlisle and York Springs; Rev. Andrew Bay, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Marsh Creek ; Dr. David Jameson, physician at York, and Thomas Armor, one of the court justices.
FORBES' EXPEDITION.
The Provincial soldiers being successful with the affair at Fort Kittanning, it was determined by Sir William Pitt, the next year, to organize an expedition for the conquest of the French and Indians at Fort Duquesne. General Forbes, a trained soldier from England, and with more sagacity than Braddock, was placed in charge of this expedition.
Forbes had under his command an army of 1,200 Highlanders, 350 royal Americans, and about 5,000 Provincial soldiers from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, including 2,000 Virginians under the command of Colonel George Washington. Many of these troops passed through York. General Forbes rendezvoused at Carlisle. The Pennsylvania troops, about 2,000 in number, were under the command of Colonel Bouquet, a Swiss patriot who had an experience of several years in European wars.
The Forbes expedition was a brilliant success, and ended the French and Indian War so far as Pennsylvania was concerned. The French were driven from Fort Duquesne down the Ohio River, and their Indian allies fled in dismay to the north and west. A new defense was built on the same site which was named Fort Pitt in honor of Sir William Pitt, the great English statesman, who had projected this expedition. Dr. David Jameson of York was major of the Second Battalion, commanded by Colonel James Burd: James Ewing, then living a few miles east of York and who became a brigadier-general in the Revolution was adjutant of the 3rd Battalion commanded by Colonel Hugh Mercer, the bosom friend of Washington. Archibald MeGrew, Robert MePherson and Thomas Hamilton from York County were captains in Mercer's Battalion. That brilliant soldier, Hance Hamilton of York County, was major of Armstrong's Battalion.
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FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 1790
THE
CO IVES
YORK
INCORPORATED
P
1787.
SEAL OF THE BOROUGH OF YORK
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PART II .- THE REVOLUTION.
T HE inhabitants of York and vicinity after the defeat of the French at Fort Duquesne were never endangered by incursions from the Indians. They turned their attention to the arts of peace. The little town on the Codorus received a new impetus of life. Many new houses were built so that the population was soon increased to 1,500. But there was trouble ahead for the honest burghers of York and the tillers of the soil in the surrounding country and all over the thirteen American colonies which had been founded and settled by the authority of the English Government. It was charged by the American colonists that the mother country was enforcing tyrannical laws which encroached upon the civil rights of American subjects. What is known to history as the Boston Port Bill caused dis- sension from New Hampshire to Georgia.
Meetings were held in opposition to the laws which were being enforced by the King and Parliament. They were held in all centres of population. One of these convened at York in 1774, being presided over by Michael Swope, afterward a colonel in the Revolution. At this meeting it was decided by a unanimous vote that the inhabitants of York would support their brethren in Philadelphia and other parts of the colonies in asking for redress and relief for the distressed condition of the inhabitants of Boston. Delegates were appointed to attend the first Provincial Conference at Philadelphia. James Smith, of York, attended this conference, and soon after his return home. organized at York in 1774 the first military company in America to oppose British oppression and to defend the rights of the colonists. The following year Smith was made a colonel of militia for the Province of Pennsylvania, and in 1776 as a delegate from York signed the Declaration of Independence.
YORK TROOPS AT BOSTON.
The tocsin of war was sounded by the speech of Patrick Henry before the Virginia assembly at Richmond, which was soon followed by the attack on the Provincial forces of Massachusetts at Con- cord and Lexington. The patriotic ardor of the citizens of York and vicinity had now been aroused to the highest pitch when they heard that a great battle had been fought at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.
Thirteen days after this event a company of soldiers from York under the command of Michael Doudel, with Henry Miller and John Clark as lieutenants, began the march to Boston where they ar- rived July 25th, being the first troops west of the Hudson and south of Long Island to join the American forces near that city. Although tired and worn by their long march of 500 miles, with undaunted courage, they offered their services to General Washington immediately after their arrival. and asked that they be permitted to capture a British transport on the Charles River.
The commander-in-chief commended them for their patriotism, but thought the proposition inex- pedient at that time. A few days later Washington detailed them to capture some British sentinels in order that he might learn from them the enemy's purpose in erecting certain earthworks in front of the American encampment. This daring feat was accomplished by Captain Doudel's company with the loss of one man. Corporal Cruise, a gallant soldier, who lingered for several months in a British prison in London. The trained riflemen from York succeeded in killing several of the enemy and bring- ing prisoners to the headquarters of Washington at Cambridge.
The "York Rifles" and the "Morgan Rifles" of Virginia were the first soldiers in history to use the rifle. This was a new implement of war to the British soldiers at Boston. Corporal Cruise, who be- came a prisoner was taken to England, and for a time kept in the Tower of London dressed in his hunt- ing shirt like the rest of his comrades. He was a novelty to the people of London, and the rifle he used was an object of special interest to the English officers,
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JAMES SMITH, OF YORK, SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
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PATRIOTISM AND VALOR OF YORK COUNTY SOLDIERS
The martial spirit was now rife in the town and county of York, for in the fall of 1775, five battalions of militia were organized, commanded respectively by Colonel James Smith of York, Robert MePherson of Marsh Creek, Richard McAllister of Hanover, Colonel William Smith of Chanceford, and William Rankin of Newberry township. These battalions were under regular drill and discipline for several months. Near the close of 1775, one company was selected from each battalion and a regiment of "Minute Men" organized, with Richard MeAllister, Colonel; Thomas Hartley. Lieutenant-Colonel. and David Grier, Major. Soon afterward a part of this command joined the first expedition for the conquest of Canada.
During this year and the remainder of the Revolution, the spirit of war was constantly impressed upon the people of York by the passage of troops from the southern states to join Washington's army, and often British prisoners were brought here, or escorted to Frederick, Md., Winchester and other points in Virginia.
In this brief story of historic York County. it is impossible to give the details of the part taken by the patriotic men of the town and county in the Revolution. Let it suffice to say that they showed a valor and patriotism unexcelled in any part of the thirteen original states. In the early part of 1776, there were four armed and equipped companies in the town of York, and about 3,000 militia throughout the county, then including Adams, ready to march to the front if their services were wanted. Many of these soldiers took part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and in subsequent campaigns under Washington.
Colonel Swope's regiment from York and vicinity won distinction at Long Island and Fort Washing- ton; James Ewing took command of the famous Flying Camp in 1776, and rose to the rank of Brigadier- General; Colonel Thomas Hartley, a man of high intellect as well as patriotic valor led his men to vic- tory on several fields of battle; General Henry Miller, a hold and dashing soldier, received the commen- dation of the commander-in-chief for saving the left wing of the army from defeat at the Battle of Princeton; Colonel Richard McAllister. after organizing the milita of York county marched with the regiment, which was conspicuous for its bravery at Long Island and at White Plains: Colonel John Hay who succeeded him as sub-lieutenant of York County, and Colonel Matthew Dill his associate, also won a reputation for bravery in the field; Major John Clark received the highest praise for his success at Long Island, and at the request of Washington, was placed on the staff of General Greene, next to the commander-in-chief, the greatest American soldier of that period; Colonel David Grier, a hero of the campaign to Canada received two serious wounds at the famous Battle of Paoli under General Wayne; and Major Joseph Prowell with a hattalion of 400 men, led the advance of Sullivan's expedition into the Wyoming Valley to drive out the hostile Indians.
The achievements of these sons of York County and the gallant soldiers who fought under them, have added lustre to the pages of American history. They won a record for military achievement worthy of being handed down to future generations.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
In the meantime Continental Congress was in session at Independence Hall. Philadelphia, with delegates from all of the thirteen colonies. In June, 1775, Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia moved that "these colonies are. and of right ought to he, free and independent states, and they are absolved from all allegiance to the British erown and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be totally dissolved."
This motion was seconded by John Adams, of Massachusetts, and was carried on July 2nd, and the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, then only thirty-three years old, was adopted July 4th.
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COL. HENRY MILLER OF THE REVOLUTION
U. S. TREASURY BUILDING AT YORK IN THE REVOLUTION
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A few days later it was signed by 56 delegates with John Hancock, of Massachusetts, president of Congress, to first append his signature to this immortal document. James Smith, then a delegate from York to Congress, became one of the signers. The news of the adoption of this declaration was sent out in every direction by post-riders throughout all the colonies. It was brought to York by James Smith and immediately after his arrival, the small statue of George the Third, at the top of the Pro- vincial Court House in Center Square, was torn down. The bell, belonging to St. Johns' Episcopal Church at York, was then used for the double purpose of calling the people together in the Court House and ringing for services at the church on North Beaver Street. On this occasion it was rung with glad acclaim by direction of James Smith. These incidents aroused the spirit of our forefathers, who resolved to continue the struggle until the thirteen states should be freed from the sovereignty of Great Britain.
The Declaration of Independence was thought by everyone to be a bold measure. Now that in- dependence was proclaimed, it remained to be seen whether it could be won. Seven years of continous war followed and finally in 1781 the last struggle took place at Yorktown, Va., which ended in the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his entire army to Washington. This event practically ended the war but the treaty of peace was not signed until 1783.
YORK, THE NATION'S CAPITAL.
The defeat of Washington's Army at Long Island and Fort Washington caused him to retreat across New Jersey toward Philadelphia, then the capital of the new nation. He won a brilliant vic- tory at Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas night, 1776, and drove the enemy toward New York at the battle of Princeton.
Soon after this event General Howe left New York, came up the Chesapeake Bay and marched toward Philadelphia with a trained army of 18,000 men. Washington met him on the banks of the Brandywine a Creek in Chester County, with an army of only 11,000 men. The British were success- ful in this contest, and then moved on toward Philadelphia to capture that city.
Seeing it was necessary for Congress to move with the public documents, the entire body, not ex- ceeding forty men, started on horseback toward Bethlehem. They remained there two days, and then came to Lancaster where a one-day session of Congress was held in the County Court House.
In order that Congress might transact the public business with more safety, a resolution was adopted to cross the Susquehanna and continue their sessions in the Provincial Court House which stood in Center Square, York. John Hancock. then president of Congress, was the only person who traveled now in a chaise. The rest all came on horseback, stopping for dinner at the Public Inn in the stone house standing in Springettshury township to the south of the turnpike. It is known as the Glatz property, and it was the first stone house built west of the Susquehanna in the year 1737. The government documents were brought to York under a guard of two regiments of Continental troops. York then `contained 286 houses and about 1,500 population.
ARRIVAL OF CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
Coming up the road from Wright's Ferry on one calm September afternoon of the eventful year of 1777, were these illustrious men whose acts and deeds during this dark period of the Revolution have given lustre to the pages of American history.
Among this band of patriots whose intelligence and foresight astonished the nations of the world, were John Hancock, Samuel Adams and John Adams of Massachusetts; James Duane, William Duer and Governeur Morris of New York; Roger Sherman and Charles Marchant of Connecticut; Robert Morris, General Roberdeau and James Smith of Pennsylvania; Charles Carroll of Maryland;
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GLOBE INN, WHERE LAFAYETTE WAS BANQUETED 1825
COOKES HOUSE WHERE CONGRESSIONAL RECORDS WERE DEPOSITED IN 1777, YORK, PA.
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Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Harrison (ancestor of two presidents) and Francis Lightfoot Lee of Virginia; Dr. Witherspoon of New Jersey, and Henry Laurens of South Carolina. These men were eminent as statesmen, and twenty-six of them the year before had appended their names to that im- mortal document, the Declaration of Independence.
When Congress assembled in York on the first day of October, 1777, in the historic old Court House, which stood in Centre Square, it beheld the chief cities of the country in the hands of the enemy, and a shattered and dispirited army retreating before a conquering foe. The battle of Brandywine had just ended in favor of the British army, whose numbers were nearly double those of the Americans. In the meantime, Washington was reinvested by Congress, with extraordinary powers and soon afterward took up his winter quarters at Valley Forge.
Of the members of Continental Congress during the entire period of the Revolution, none was more zealous in legislating for the prosecution of the war than Samuel Adams of Massachusetts. He was a man of lofty patriotism and unbounded energy. The English Government blamed John Hancock and Samuel Adams more than any others for the origin of the war, and a reward of $25,000 was offered for the capture of either of them. Both Hancock and Adams, if ever captured, were to be denied pardon for their alleged treason to the mother country. With Adams as the leader of Congress while in York, the struggle for liberty was simply a matter of life or death. Success in establishing freedom would send him down to posterity, honored by all future generations; failure pointed to the prison cell and the igominy of a rebel doomed to the scaffold. Everything seemed dark and gloomy during the early days of October, 1777, and some of the members of Congress were almost ready to give up the struggle in despair and accept the overtures of peace offered by the British government.
Washington had not yet loomed up as the dominant personality of the Revolution. About this time John Adams made the following entry in his diary:
"The prospect is chilling on every side, gloomy, dark, melancholy and dispiriting. When and where will light come from? Shall we have good news from Europe? Shall we hear of a blow struck by Gates against Burgoyne? Is there a possibility that Washington may yet defeat Howe? Is there a possibility that McDougall and Dickinson shall destroy the British detachment in New Jersey? If Philadelphia is lost, is the cause of Independence lost?"
The little band of patriots which assembled daily in the Court House in York, had increased its membership by the arrival of newly elected delegates in October. It sat with closed doors. None but the members of Congress and occasionally a few government officials were allowed to hear the debates on the momentous questions that engaged their attention.
In a building at the northeast corner of George Street and Centre Square, Michael Hillegas, Treas- urer of the United States, kept the funds of the government. At the southeast corner of South George Street and Mason Alley was the law office of James Smith. This was used by John Adams and other members of the Board of War, similar to the War Department of the present day.
The president of Congress was John Hancock, of Massachusetts, who was then the wealthiest man in the United States. He rented the largest house obtainable in York, and some of the other members lodged at his residence. As the executive head of the nation he lived in considerable style, and his household expenses were paid by the government. All the other members were required to pay their own expenses, and received a small annual salary paid by the States they represented. Early in November John Hancock resigned as President of Congress, and Henry Laurens of South Carolina was chosen his successor.
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