Local History: Chapters XX - XXII : Davis's 1877 History of Northampton Co, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Susan Walters USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. _______________________________________________________________________ HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. ††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† 51 (cont.) CHAPTER XX. LATER MASSACRES. FOR five, years, succeeding the treaty of 1758, the people of Northampton county, enjoyed it time of comparative peace and safely against Indian outrage. There were, from time to time, during that period, acts of violence, committed by the savages, the murder of isolated settlers, burning of buildings, and other acts of rapine, but the chiefs always assured their white "friends" that these were acts of Indians of other tribes, who were out of their control, or gave some similar explanation, which it was necessary for the whites to receive as satisfactory, These depredations usually seemed to be made by small and unorganized hands, and did not cause such general dismay and abandonment of property, by the inhabitants, as followed the massacres of 1755. But even this short season of comparative calm, was succeeded by a terrible outbreak in the year 1763, at the time when the powerful Ottawa chief, Pontiac conceived, and came near executing, his vast plan for the complete extermination of the whites, upon a given day, by a combination of all the northern find northwestern Indian tribes against them. The apologists for the Indian acts of blood and barbarity, have always assumed that these were committed under the spur of revenge for the frauds and wrongs perpetrated on them by the white people in the walking purchase, and similar acts of injustice. Without denying wholly, the correctness of this assumption, it still does not seem inappropriate, to ask how it happened that these outbreaks were so apt to occur just at the times when Indian violence was being planned, or when, Indian victories had been gained over the whites in the other sections of the country. Thus, as to the massacre, of 1755, not only in the county of Northampton, but all over the vast country, bordering the two branches of the Susquehanna; it seems as if there might be traced a direct connection between them and the defeat which the savages had only a short time before, inflicted upon the brave, but unfortunate Braddock, on the Monongahela. And now, in 1763, when the fierce Pontiac felt that he already had the white men crushed under his feet, and when the tribes all over the country were cognizant of the diabolical plot, and confident of its success, again was the hatchet raised, and the brand applied to the dwellings of the unprotected settlers, and once more the dripping scalp hung at the belt of the savage. But when in the following year, the successful expedition of Bouquet, against the Indians in the west, extinguished the extravagant hopes which the satanic plot of Pontiac had raised, then the red warriors became suddenly inclined toward peace again, and the light of blazing cottages no more, for a time, illumined the midnight. Perhaps these were but purely accidental coincidences, but it does not seem easy to believe that such could have been the case. In the autumn of 1763, while the perfidious Ottawa chief was besieging Detroit, and when emissaries of his were with every tribe east of the Alleghenies, as well as to the westward, striving by all the arts of their bloody ingenuity, to stir up still more their hostility against the whites, the hand of massacre came down again on Northampton. Attacks had already been made, and white blood had flowed in the Smithfield settlements, and again in Whitehall and other townships, southwest of the Lehigh; murder was in the air once more, as it had been in the late autumn of 1755, and all waited in anxious dread, not knowing who might be the next victims. On the morning of the eighth of October they knew! It was the house of John Stenton which had been attacked, and its inmates murdered, just as the first streakings of the dawn were becoming visible across the dark ridges in the east.2 Steton was the proprietor of a store and tavern, in Allen township, a mile or so to the north of Howertown, and eight miles from Bethlehem. ________________________________________________________________________ 2 Before reaching Stenton's, which it seems to have been their special object to attack, they met the wife of James Horner, going to another house for a brand or fire; and her they killed at once, and mangled most shockingly. Her grave may be seen in the cemetery of the English Presbyterian Church, in Allen Township. 53 Five days later, October 13th, the following account of this attack, was printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette, a paper published by Benjamin Franklin, and this relation of the affair, was probably written by him: "On Sunday night last, an express arrived from Northampton county with the following melancholy account, viz: That on Saturday morning, the eighth instant, the house of John Stenton, about eight miles from Bethlehem, was attacked by Indians, as follows: Captain Wetterholt, with a party belonging to Fort Allen, being at that house, and intending to set out early for the fort, ordered a servant to get his horse ready, who was immediately shot down by the enemy; upon which the captain going to the door, was also fired at, and mortally wounded; that then, a sergeant attempted to pull in the captain, and to shut the door, but he was likewise dangerously wounded; that the lieutenant next advanced, when an Indian jumped upon the bodies of the two others, and presented a pistol to his breast, which he put a little aside, still it went off over his shoulder, whereby he got the Indian out of the house, and shut the door; that the Indians after this, went round to a window, and as Stenton was getting out, of bed, shot him, but not, dead, and be, breaking out of the house, ran about, a mile, when he dropped and died; that life wife and two children, ran down into the cellar, where they were, shot at three times, but escaped; that Captain Wetterholt, finding himself growing very weak, crawled to a window and shot an Indian dead, it was thought, as he was in the act of setting fire to the house, with a match, and that upon this the other Indians carried him away with them, and went off." After the Indians had completed their Work of butchery at Stenton's, they proceeded to James Allen's down the road towards the river. After plundering this house of everything which they covered, and destroying that which they had he desire to take with them, they went on to Andrew Hazlet's, which was half a mile further towards the river. Hazlet, attempted to fire on them, but his, flint was poor, or his printing damp, for the gun missed fire, and he was thereupon shot through the body by the Indian who was nearest. His wife, seeing him fall, ran for life with her two children, but the savages pursued and tomahawked them in a frightful manner; notwithstanding which one of the children recovered, and the other one, as well its the mother, lived for four days, although so dreadfully mutilated. Another man, besides Hazlet, was ill the house, and him they shot and scalped; then setting the house on fire, they went yelling on to Philip Kratzer's, where they found no lives to take, as the inmates had probably board the shots at Stenton's and Hazlet's, and had fled from the place. But they applied the torch to the buildings and then passed to the Lehigh, which they crossed at "Indian Fall," above Siegfrieds Bridge. It was still early in the day when the dreadful intelligence reached Bethlehem, and the panic which it created there, as well as in all that portion of the country, was but a repetition of the scenes of 1755. Bethlehem was crowded with fugitives, not only from the country lying above, oil the Lehigh, but also from the Saucon valley. A few soldiers, who were at, Bethlehem, marched at once to the scene of the massacre, to bury the dead and bring in the wounded. Poor Wetterholt was among these unfortunates; he reached Bethlehem, but died there at the Crown Inn the next day, after having endured great suffering. No braver man ever lived than Johann Jacob Wetterholt, and he was a great soldier, though it cannot be denied that he lost his life in an unsoldierly manner, inasmuch as he, most unaccountably, failed to post a guard at Stenton's house-which, on that fatal night, he had made his quarters, as he was marching with his party from Bethlehem to Fort Allen and this neglect he was guilty of, although he knew that the, red demons were oil the warpath, and that there could be, no safety against their cunning malignity, except, in that sleepless vigilance which is always a soldiers duty. He was over confident, and it cost the life of himself and others; bur confidence and bravery are closely allied, and bravery is so admirable a quality, that it may hide a multitude of short-comings. Peace to the ashes of Captain Wetterholt! Promptly, as in the days of 1755, old Bucks county sent succor to Northampton. Within twenty-four hours, a company of her mounted men were on the hostile ground, and two more companies followed almost immediately. Now was Northampton backward in her own defence; poorly off as she was, in arms, ammunition, and all the material of war. Companies were formed in various parts of the county, of neighbors who associated themselves together for their own and the common defence, Louis Gordon, of Easton, Was captain Of One of these, and Jacob Arndt held the same position in another; he, (Captain Arndt) having now removed to Northampton County, and, of course, no longer commanding the Bucks County Company, with which he did such good service in the Indian campaigns of 1750 and 1756. These companies of minute-men (as they might properly be called) associated themselves together for three mouths' service, binding themselves by in agreement similar to the following, which is a verbatim copy of that entered into by the company of rangers who enlisted under Captain Arndt: "We, the subscribers, as undersigned, do hereby jointly and severally agree that Jacob Arndt shall be our captain for three months, from the date of these presents, and be always ready to obey him when he sees occasion to call us together, in pursuing the Indians, at helping any of a happen to be in distress by the Indians. "Each person to find arms, powder, and lead at our own cost, and have no pay, but each person to find himself in all necessaries; to which article, covenant, and agreement, we bind ourselves in the penal sum of five pounds, lawful money of Pennsylvania, for the use of the company, to be laid out for arms and ammunition, unless the person so refusing to obey shall have a lawful reason. "Given under our hands and seal, October the thirteenth, 1763." Signed by Jacob Arndt, Peter Seip, Michael Lawall, Adam Hay, Paul Able, and thirty-four others. From the letter of this agreement, it might be inferred that they intended to give assistance only to each other, in case any should be attacked; but such was not the case. They were good and true men, who intended to, and did, give their services wherever they were required for humanity's sake. The martial spirit flamed up, too, in Northampton-town (Allentown) as will appear from the tenor of the following letter of the Rev Joseph Ruth, to the Lieutenant-Governor: "NORTHAMPTON TOWN, the 10th, this instant, October, 1763. "To the Honorable James Hambleton, Esq'r, Lieutennent Goveneur and Commander in Chief of the Provides of Pennsylvania, New Cassel, Gent, and Sasox on Delawar. We send Greeting:-As I, Joseph Roth, of Northampton Town, Church Minister, of the ninth of this instant, October, as I was preaching, the people came in such numbers that I was obliged to quit my sarmon; and the sante time Cornel James Bord concerning this afarres; of the Indians, and we found the inhabitance that the had nither, Gons, Powder nor Lead, to defend themselves, and that Cornel Bord had lately spoke with his Honour, He had informed him, that we would assist them with gods and ammunition, and he requested of me to write, to your Honour, because he was just seting off for Lancester and the inhabitance of the town had not choce to their officers at the time he set off, so we, the inhabitance of the said town hath unahimus chose George Wolf, the bearer here of, to be Captain, and Abraham Rinker to be Lieutenant; we hose names, are under writen, promiss to obey to this mentioned Captain and Lieutennant, and so we hope his Honor will be so good and send us 50 gons, 100 pound of powder, and 400 pound lead, 150 stairs for the gons. Thes from your humble servant. Remaining trader the Protection of our Lord Jesus Christ, "JOSEPH ROTH, Minister "The names of the Company of this said Northampton Town: George Wolf, Captain, Abraham Rinker, Lieutenant, Philip Kugler Peter Miller Frderick Schaekler Leonhard Able Tobias Dittis Lorenz Houck Simon Brenner Jacob Wolf Simon Lagundacker George Nicholaus David Deschler John Martin Doerr Peter Roth Frantz Keffer Jacob Mohr Martin Froehlich George Lauer Daniel Nunnenmacher Peter Schwab George Saevitz John Schneck John George Schnepf Michael Rothrock 54 How poorly armed and ammunitioned the people were, may be seen by the report given by Colonel James Burd to Governor Hamilton, dated Lancaster, October 17th, 1763 -he said: "SIR:-I arrived here, on Monday night, from Northampton. I need not trouble your honor with a relation of the misfortune of that county, as Mr. Horsfield told me he would send you an express, and inform you fully of what had happened. I will only that in the town of Northampton where I was at the time there were only four guns, three of which unfit for use,1 and the enemy within four miles of the place. " The Governor was thoroughly alarmed at the, crisis, and appears even to have been fearful for the safety of Philadelphia. On the fifteenth of the month, he sent an earnest message to the Assembly, asking immediate protection for the defenceless people. He said he was sensible that it was out of the usual course of business to enter on matters of such importance at the very first meeting of the session; that being, by custom, devoted to preliminaries, but he trusted that their body would readily dispense with that custom, in view of the gravity of the situation, which was no less than the consideration of means for the safety and preservation of the country. He proceeded: "Within a few days past, I have, received well attested account, of many barbarous and shocking murders and other depredations, having been committed by the Indians, on the inhabitants of Northampton county; in consequence whereof, great numbers of those who escaped the rage of the enemy have already deserted, and are daily deserting their habitations; so that, unless some effectual aid be speedily granted them, to induce them to stand their ground, it is difficult to say where those desertions will stop, or to how small a distance from the Capital our frontier may be reduced. I therefore, gentlemen, in the most earnest manner, recommend to your immediate consideration, the distressed state of our unfortunate inhabitants of the frontier, who are continually exposed to the savage cruelty of a merciless enemy, and request that you will, in your present session, grant such a supply as, with Gods assistance, may enable us not only to protect our own people, but to take a severe revenge oil our perfidious foes, by pursuing them into their own country; for which purpose their prevails, at present, a noble ardor among our frontier people, which, in my opinion ought, by all means, to be cherished and improved. I have, gentlemen, only one thing more to recommend and request of you, which is, that in contriving the ways and means for raising the supply to be granted, you will carefully avoid whatever may occasion it disagreement of opinion between you and me, by means whereof your good intentions may be frustrated and defeated, as has unfortunately happened on more than one occasion before, and particularly in the last session of the late Assembly." The Assembly promptly furnished the means of defence, by enacting-"That the sum of twenty-four thousand pounds be granted to his majesty, for raising, paying, and victualing eight hundred men (officers included), to be employed in the most effectual manner for the defence of this Province." (Votes of Assembly, v. 281). When the savages crossed the Lehigh, at the place called Indian Fall, after they had burned the buildings of Philip Kratzer, they were seen by Ulrich Schowalter, who was at work on the roof of one of his buildings, which were situated on the side of the river opposite to Kratzers. Schowalter although he saw the twelve Indians wading the river, does not appear to have given any alarm, for they surprised the children of John Jacob Mickley-two boys, of the ages of eleven and nine years, and a girl of seven who were gathering chestnuts, and who, on seeing the hideous savages, fresh from their bloody work, screamed and ran away. The poor little seven year old girl, Barbary, was, of course, the first who was overtaken by the noble and magnanimous Delawares, who at once brained her with their tomahawks, thereby proving, conclusively, that they were not women, as the Iroquois had said of them, but men; warriors, who knew how to wield arms- against fleeing and terrified children, at least. The nine year old boy, Henry, was tomahawked while attempting to climb over a fence, and his scalp, and that of his baby sister, were soon dangling, as proud trophies, at the belts of the red warriors. The eldest boy, Peter, reached the shelter of the woods and hid in the thick brush, where he remained until the screams of the people at Schneider's and Mark's houses, told him that the brave foe had passed on in his work of massacre; and then, with hair standing on end through terror, he ran, as fast as his feet could carry him, down Coplay Creek to tile house of his older brother, John Jacob Mickley, Jr. The house of the elder Mickley was not attacked, it is said, on account of a very large and extremely ferocious dog, which had a particular hatred for Indians; and that this judicious brute was the salvation of the house and such of the people its happened, at the time, to be in it. Of the attacks at the houses of Nicholas Marks and Hans Schneider, which were made immediately after the killing of the Mickley children. Marks himself gave the following account: That as he opened his door, in the middle of the day, he saw an Indian standing about two poles (rods) from the house, who endeavored to shoot at him; but Marks, shutting the door immediately, the fellow slipped into a cellar close to the house. After this Marks went out of the house, with his wife and all apprentice boy,2 in order to make their escape, when they saw another Indian, standing behind a tree, who tried also to shoot at them, but his gun missed fire. Then they saw a third Indian running through the orchard; upon which they made the best of their way, about two miles, to Adam Deshler 3 place, where they found twenty men in arms assembled, who went first to the house of Mickley, where they found the little boy and girl lying dead, and scalped. From thence they went to Hans Schneiders and to Marks place, where they found both houses on fire, and a horse tied to the bushes. They also found Hans Schneider, his wife, and three children, dead in the field, the man and woman scalped; and, on going further, they found two others wounded, one of whom was scalped. After this they returned, with the two wounded girls, to Adam Deshler's, and saw a woman, Jacob Alleman's wife, with a child, lying dead in the road, and scalped. The number of Indians, they thought, was fifteen or twenty. At Yosts house and mill, about eleven miles from Bethlehem, all the people were killed, except one young man, and the mill and other buildings were destroyed. This series of massacres ended the incursions of the savages into the limits of the present county of Northampton. The inhabitants, and the government of the province, were now too thoroughly awakened for the Indians to risk any more irruptions below the Blue Mountain, though, for a time, they kept up their internal work among the sparser settlements beyond that range. In the Appendix to Gordon's History of Pennsylvania, page 624, it is stated that; "February 10th, 1764, Indians, to the number of fifty, attacked the farm of James Russel, Northampton county, near Fort Penn; burnt his barn, killing one of his sons, and carrying off another. Officers at that post pursued, but did not overtake the Indians. "February 26th, John Russel, brother of the lads before mentioned, was attacked by three Indians. He took to a tree, and received three fires from each, returned as many, and drove them off. One shot passed through his hat, another through the sleeve of his coat, and the third wounded him slightly in the calf of the leg." During the year 1763, occurred the death-it has been generally regarded and spoken of is the murder-of the Delaware chief, Todeuskund, which, undoubtedly, added fuel to the flame of Indian vindictiveness, and enhanced the horrors Of that memorable period. It is related, in Stones History of Wyoming, in these words: "At the great council held at Easton, in 1758, the Six Nations had observed, with no very cordial feelings, the important position which Tadeuskund had attained, in the opinion of the whites, by the force of his talents and the energy of his character. Long accustomed to view the Delawares, and their derivative tribes, as, their subjects, the haughty Mengwes could not brook this advancement of a supposed interior, and the reflection had been rankling in their bosoms ever since the meeting of that council, until it was determined to cut off the object of their hate. "For this purpose (October, 1763), a party of warriors, from the Six Nations, came to the Wyoming Valley upon a pretended visit of friendship, and after lingering about for several days they, in the flight time, treacherously set fire to the house of the unsuspecting chief, which, with the veteran himself, was burned to ashes. "The wickedness of this deed of darkness, was heightened by all act of still greater atrocity. They charged the assassination upon the white settlers, and had the address to inspire the Delawares, with such a belief The consequences may readily be anticipated. Tadeuskund, was greatly beloved by his people, and their exasperation at the deep damnation of his taking off, was kindled to a degree of corresponding intensity." From the account of the melancholy affair, given by Heckewelder, it appears that, with very little difference of opinion, it was an act of premeditation, done with the full knowledge of persons, who were at the time in the village: that, in order to carry out the damnable plot, liquor had been brought into the village, and within reach of the doomed chief, who was known to be excessively fond of it, find who, after having drank immoderately, had retired to his house to sleep; but very soon after his having done so, the house was discovered to be in flames; and, to prevent the disclosure of the persons who had committed the act, every house in the village was fired an([ burnt to the ground, to make it appear as if a general conflagration had taken place by accident "Tadeuskund," says Heckewelder, "had been a useful man in his place, and to the nation he belonged; but in the opinion of the Six Nations, he assumed more authority than belonged to him, as a Delaware chief, and fearing that he might not fall into their measures of joining in a new war against the English, they perhaps concerted the plan of destroying him. _______________________________________________ 1 The only which was in serviceable condition. 2 This apprentice boys name was George Uraff. At the, time, of these murders he was fifteen years of age. He ran to the house, Philip Jacob Schreiber, with the dreadful news of the attacks on that memorable morning. During the Revolution he, had command of a company from Northampton. He was Sheriff of the county for the years 1787, 1788, and 1789. From December, 1793, to December 1796, he was member of the Legislature. He died in Allentown in 1835, in the eighty-eighth years of his age. 3. This was a large stone house, before mentioned, to which the settlers fled as a place of safety during Indian troubles, and gave it the name of "the fort". It was in reality a sort of military post-or at least was frequently used as such. There was near it (also the property of Deshler) a large frame building, large to quarter twenty soldiers. All these stood on the north bank of Coplay Creek. Adam Deshler, for some time, held the office of Commissary for furnishing provisions to the Provincial forces. 55 "A number of Indians were witnesses to the fact that the house was set on fire from the outside. "Suspicion fell principally upon the Mingoes, who were known to be jealous of him, and fearful of his resentment, if he should succeed in insinuating himself into the favor of the English, and making good terms with them, for his nation. It is said that those Indians were concerned in bringing the fatal liquor, Which is believed to have been instrumental to the execution of the design." Of these accounts, it is only necessary to say, they are given for whatever they may be thought worth. By the autumn of the succeeding year, 1764, the overwhelming defeat sustained by the western Indians on the Muskingum, and the failure of the plans of the ambitious Pontiac, had completely cowed the savage spirit, east, as well as west. They were overawed by these reverses, and by the power of the white men, which seemed to be on the increase, rather than diminishing, as they had so lately, in their arrogance, believed it to be; and so the Delawares, the Shawnees, and the Senecas reluctantly buried the hatchet, and told their white brothers that their brave and generous Indian hearts were longing most fervently, for peace. Not the least, among the blessings of this consummation, was the surrender of their white, prisoners, which they were forced to accede to. The return of these unfortunate, coming as if from the land of the dead, brought thankfulness, and joy to many a home which had been desolated by savage cruelty. Of settlements burned and destroyed in the incursions of December, 1755, and January, 1756, there are said to have been more than sixty; and fully as many, in the year which commenced in October, 1763. The savage assassins of Stenton, Hazlet, and the Mickley children, had, as usual, their apologists; among the chief of whom, was Heckewelder. He alleged that, a few months previously, some Indians bad been robbed of valuable property, while stopping at Stenton's, and not only had they been robbed, but Mrs. Stenton bad called them "black d-ls" and had said that she would give a gallon of her best rum to any one who would kill them:-and this he says, is authentic, "I have received it from the mouth of the chif of the injured party!" (therefore we are to believe that it must be true, because coming from the mouth of an Indian). Besides that, he says, a Delaware named Zachary, was murdered by some soldiers, of Wetterholts commanded (which was doubtless true), and he proceeds: Here then were insults, robberies, and murders, all committed within the short space of three months unatoned for, and unrevenged. There was no prospect of obtaining redress; the survivors were therefore obliged to seek some other means to obtain revenge. They immediately started against the objects of their hatred, and finding their way, unseen and undiscovered, to the inn, which had been the scene of the first outrage, they attacked it at daybreak, fired into it on the people who were lying in their beds." Does it not seem impossible that this can be the language and argument of a peace-loving, Christian missionary?-they were, therefore, obliged to seek some other means to obtain revenge." And again, he says-their wrongs were " unatoned for and unrevenged." Yet this champion of the principle of revenge was none other than that white-haired mark who had been, through all his life, a true and steadfast follower of him who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. If the savages, when they made that foray, were in pursuit of justifiable revenge for unendurable wrong, as Heckewelder more than intimates, still what could he say of their cruel butchery of James Horners wife, who had stepped out into the, sweet air of that balmy October morning, without a thought of wrong towards any living being, red or white, that lived on Gods beautiful earth; intent only on her housewifely duties, for the comfort of the loved one, she had just left within the humble log house; but who now might wait long and vainly enough for her return. Or what could he say, in palliation of the barbarous killing of Hazlet's wife and babes? or of the little children of Mickley? whom they surprised at play, under the old Chestnut tree, in the glad joyness of their hearts and in an instant changed their innocent gladness to terror and death, and mutilation. Had these committed any acts of injustice or wrong against the Delawares? Would any but fiends have murdered such helpless ones? Did Edward Marshall, or Sam. Brady, or Lewis Wetzel, each of whom had, suffered, at the hands of Indians, the deepest wrongs that human nature can endure the burning of their homes and the massacre of their families-did they, in all their long and patient journeyings, in quest of revenge, ever once retaliate on the children or women of their enemies? As concerning the blood-red trail which the savages left behind them, at the farms of Allen, Horner, Hazlet, Kratzer, Schneider, Marks, Mickley, and others, on that dreadful day, Heckewelder has only to say, "The Indians, after leaving this house (Stenton's), murdered, by accident, an innocent family, having mistaken the house that they meant to attack;1 after which they returned to their homes. The newspapers were filled with accounts of the cruelties of the Indians; a variety of false reports were circulated in order to rouse the people against them, while they, the really injured par(y, having Do printing presses among them, could not make known the story of their grievances." As the old Moravian was thoroughly an honest man, there can be no doubt that these were his honest opinions, strange, as it may seem. CHAPTER XXI. ROADS - THE FIRST STAGE LINE. IN the twelve years of peace, which succeeded the cessation of the Indian troubles in 1764, the county and its inhabitants made good progress in material prosperity, and in such public improvements as naturally fellow new Settlements in the wilderness. At the time of the planting of the first settlements, the only road reaching to them was the "Kings Road"-as it was called reaching from Philadelphia to the Lehigh, at Jones Island, about a mile below Bethlehem, This was really nothing more than an Indian trail-the "Minisink Path"-over which the Minsi, warriors had, from time immemorial, passed to and fro, between the Blue Mountains, and tide water. This was improved from time to time, until at last it became it good and solid road. Next was laid out, a public read from Goshenhoppen, in Montgomery county, to Jeremiah Trexler's tavern, which stood in what is now Upper Macungie township, Lehigh county; then the territory of Bucks county, and embraced in Northampton, at the time of its erection. This laying out was made in 1732. Five years later 1737 a road was opened from Nazareth to the Depui settlement at the Minisink, and, in 1744, the inhabitants petitioned that this road might be continued to the month of the Saucon, by way of Bethlehem. They stated that they "labored under great inconvenience for want of a road to mill and to market; (the latter being at Bethlehem, and the former at Saucon Creek) the paths being yearly altered, so that they could not travel without endangering their lives, and going far out of their way" and they asked "that they may have a road fit for wagons to pass from Saucon Mill to Bethlehem, and thence to Nazareth, on account of a corn-mill that is at Bethlehem, without which road the people of Nazareth, and others, the inhabitants of the county, will be put to great inconvenience, and the same mill to them be rendered useless. "Upon this petition the road was laid out as follows: "Beginning at Irish's stone- quarry, at a white oak, thence northwest forty degrees, north thirty-five perches" and so continuing through the various courses and distance, "quite to Nazareth, twenty-eight hundred and forty perches." Also in 1744, there was laid out, a road from Walpack Ferry, on the Delaware, to Isaac Ysselstein's place on the Lehigh. This road was twenty- seven miles, and one hundred and eighteen rods in length. A road was asked for in the year 1745, to run from Bethlehem to the ferry at the "point," where the Lehigh enters the Delaware, that is, to connected with the ferry to New Jersey. The petition was granted, but years passed before the road was built. The next year a road was opened from the German settlements in Macungie, northeasterly, to the Lehigh, opposite Bethlehem, and again, in 1747, a highway was petitioned for, to run from the Saucon, by way of Bethlehem, to Mahoning Creek, beyond the mountains, which in due time was granted and laid out. 56 Thus it will be seen, that in the projecting and laying out of roads, the town of Bethlehem was made an objective point; all the routes of travel radiating from thence as a common centre; Bethlehem being, at that time, more considerable in size than any other town in the county. It must be borne, in mind, however, that in those days, in Northampton county, the granting of a road, was an entirely distinct affair from the building thereof, and in almost every case, years elapsed between these two operations as, for instance, the road from the Macungie German settlements, to the Lehigh, at Bethlehem, which was laid out in 1745, was no more than a bridle-path, for at least fifteen years, and it was considerably after 1760, before it became, in any sense, a wagon road. And again, in the case of the road had been laid out from Martins Ferry, at, the mouth of the Lehigh, in 1745 John Chapman and John Watson, surveyors, had been directed to lay out "a commodious road from the mouth of the West Branch of the Delaware-the landing-place of a well-accustomed ferry over the Delaware River-over the aforementioned West Branch, into the great and leading from Saucon to the city of Philadelphia," and yet, when Governor Hamilton, on the thirteenth of July, 1752, had occasion to pass over this road, on his way to Easton, it was discovered that not only had it not been built, but that Messrs. Chapman and Watson, had not even so much as laid it out, as they had been directed to do seven years before. And it was not until years later than, this, even, that, it was completed for the passage of vehicles. So that, in the year 1763, there, was not it really good road, in the bounds of the county; but the best there was, was the "Kings Road" from Philadelphia to Bethlehem-striking the Lehigh at Ysselsteins Island, and it was over this road that the travel between the Capital and all parts of Northampton county passed; the Durham road, which struck the Lehigh at Easton, being, to all intents and purposes, impassable. It was over this road, too, that George Klein, of Bethlehem, trade the first trip with his "stage wagon," in September, 1763. After that, he ran regularly between that town and Philadelphia, making the round trip, weekly: that, is, he started on Monday mornings, from the Sun Tavern, in Bethlehem, and on his return, he set out from the inn, called the "King of Prussia," on Thursday morning of each week. This inn stood on Race street. It is not known whether or not this, "stagewagon" line proved profitable to the proprietor, but certain it is, that it continued it trips, through fair weather and foul, find was the pioneer of all the stage-lines which succeeded it in the county. The distances on the "Kings Road," between Philadelphia and Bethlehem, and the intermediate points, are given as below, in Bradford's "Account of distances from the city o Philadelphia, of all places of note, in the improved parts of the province." From the Court House to Bethlehem, viz: Miles Quarters Perches To Poole's Bridge - 2 63 To Norris 2 1 37 To Farmhill Meeting 2 3 35 To Rising Sun 3 2 40 To Stenson's 5 1 - To Germantown Meeting House 6 1 30 To Mount Airy 8 2 52 To Scull's 10 - 22 To Ottinger's 12 2 35 To Francis' 12 3 38 To White Marsh Church 13 1 33 To Benjamin Davis' 16 - 54 To Baptist Meetings 23 1 57 To Housekeeper's 25 1 57 To Swamp Meeting 37 2 47 To Stoffel Wagner's 47 2 - To Bethlehem 52 3 57 These obscure stopping-places afterward became well known to many distinguished personages who passed to and fro, over the road, in the "stage-wagon," when, a few years later, during the Revolutionary war, both Bethlehem and Easton became places of no mean importance in their connection with the military operations of the newborn Republic. CHAPTER XXII. OPENING OF THE REVOLUTION. NONE knew better how to appreciate the blessings of peace than the people of Northampton; for none had, during the same space of time, experienced more of the horrors of Indian hostility. Left in the enjoyment of peaceful life, her, citizens settled to their quiet pursuits, and becoming reasonably prosperous, they were contented to remain aloof front the political and social questions of the great world without. Not that they were lacking in public spirit, but they were all undemonstrative people, and having been so long held in a state of disquietude front the hostility of the Indian tribes. They heard, as from afar off, the mutterings of discontent which arose at the passage of the Stamp Act of 1764, and the more ominous growling of incipient rebellion occasioned by the Boston massacre, and the forced importation of tea; it growling which deepened into the unmistakable roar of revolution, as it rolled across the country from the barren old Lexington common, and from the steep sides of Bunker Hill. Then all Pennsylvania was on fire! and Northampton county, proved no exception. George Taylor, John Oakley, Peter Kechlein, and Jacob Arndt, were chosen delegates, to represent the county, in the convention for the Province of Pennsylvania, which was held at Philadelphia, from January 23d, to January 28th, 1775, The feeling which animated that patriotic body, may best, be judged by the following extract from their resolutions: "But if the humble and loyal petition of said congress to his most gracious majesty, should be, disregarded, and the British administration, instead of redressing our grievances, should determine by force to effect a submission to the late, arbitrary acts of the British parliament; in such a situation, we hold it out indispensable duty to resist such force, find, at every hazard, to defend the rights and liberties of America."1 And, it, was also "Resolved, unanimously, That it be, and it is hereby recommended, to the several members of this convention, to promote and encourage instructions or advice from their several counties, to their representatives in General Assembly, to procure a law prohibiting the future importation of slaves, into this province." For, having already determined that they would no longer themselves be slaves, they flow saw the inconsistency and wrong of continuing to fasten the chains upon others. They were honest and just men, as well as patriotic, who passed those resolutions! The crisis could not be misunderstood; the war had actually begun! The martial spirit of Northampton county was awakened, and companies were formed and placed in the drill, to be ready for the call to active service. Alexander Miller of Mount Bethel James Craig, and Charles Craig, are mentioned as officers who were active in the military organization within the county. The sum of three pounds, Pennsylvania money-equivalent to eight dollars, was paid by the province for each enlistment. When the British army, under Lord Howe, evacuated the city of Boston, in, March, 1776, there being no longer any necessity for the presence of Washington's army at that point, and, moreover, as it was apparent to his mind, that the objective point of the enemy was now to be the city of New York, he most wisely resolved to move there with all his forces, except a sufficient garrison to be left behind in Boston. The situation was one of grave danger; for neither had he sufficient strength to confront the enemy's main body, nor had he any covering force to guard his right flank and protect the State of New Jersey, which, from its peculiar geographical position, was especially open to attack, and devastation by the British.2 ________________________________________________________________________ 1 Pennsylvania Archives 2 The following letter, written by the Chairman of the Northampton Committee of Safety, may be thought, of interest: "EASTON, March 27th, 1776 "GENTLEMEN: I have received your several alarming and important Letters of the 19th and 23d Instant this day, in consequence of which I have by express summoned our Committee to meet next Saturday, several of whom live at a great distance from this Town. Meanwhile that no time might be lost I have informed by Letter the Field Officer, of the Critical Circumstances of our present unhappy situation; and that they should hold their several Battalions in readiness for immediate service, to march at an hour's warning, agreeable to your Instruction, with respect to the resolve of Congress relative to the employing of some trusty persons to purchase, as many good muskets as will be sufficient to arm the Battalions of Musketteers, now to he raised for the particular defence of this Province. I undertake to assure you that Life said resolve will be put into immediate Execution and observed with unremitting diligence. "I am Gentlemen, "Your, Most Humble Servant, "LEWIS GORDON, Chairman. "To Mr. John Nixon Chairman of the Committee of Safety." 57 The matter was at once taken in hand by Congress: which body determined to reinforce the Commander-in-Chief by thirteen thousand eight hundred militia from New York, New Jersey and New England, while a further number was to be raised by the Middle States. The following is extracted from the official minutes of Congress, relative to those quotas, and the formation of what is called "Flying Camp" of Washington: "In Congress, June 3d- Resolved, that a flying camp be immediately established in the middle colonies, and that, it, consist of 10,000 men, to complete which number, Resolved, that the, colony of Pennsylvania be requested to furnish- Of the Militia,.................. 6,000 Maryland,........................ 3,400 Delaware Government,.............. 600 June 4th, recommended to the assemblies and conventions of the colonies, requested to supply or furnish militia by the resolution of yesterday, to take care that the militia come provided with arms, accoutrements and camp kettles. "That the pay of the militia commerce from the day of their marching from home, and that they be allowed one penny a mile, lawful money, in lieu of rations for traveling expenses, and one day's pay for every twenty miles, between home and the general rendezvous, going and returning. "Extract from the Minutes, "CHARLES THOMPSON Secretary." The matter of the quotas of Pennsylvania, and of the different counties, was also considered at the Conference of the Committees of the Province, which was held at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, from June 18th to June 25th, 1716: to which the delegates from Northampton county were: Robert Levers Colonel Neigel Gray John Weitzel Nicholas Depue Daniel Deshler Benjamin Depue The extracts below, are taken from the minutes of that session, as recorded in the Pennsylvania Archives. "Resolved unanimously - That this conference do recommend to the committees and associator, of this province, to embody 4,500 of the militia, which, with the 1,500 men now in the pay of this province, will be the quota of this colony required by congress. "Resolved unanimously -that the 4,500 militia, recommend to be raised, be, formed into six battalions: each battalion to be commanded by one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, one major. The staff to consist of a chaplain, a surgeon, an adjutant, a quartermaster, and a surgeon's mate; and to have one sergeant-major, one quarter-master-sergeant, a drum-major and a fife- major; and to be composed of nine, companies, viz: eight battalion companies, to consist of a captain, two lieutenants and one ensign, four sergeants, four corporals, a drummer, a fifer, and sixty-six privates each; and one rifle company, to consist of a captain, three lieutenants, four sergeants, four corporals, one drummer, one fifer, and eight, privates. Concerning the establishment of a permanent of Provincial government, and the election of delegates to the convention for that purpose, the Conference "Resolved, unanimously-That the present government of this province is not competent to the exigencies of our affairs. "On Motion, Resolved -N. C. D. That it, is necessary that a provincial convention he called by this conference for the express purpose of forming a new government in this province, on the authority of the people only. "Resolved- That every person qualified by the laws of this province, to vote for representatives in assembly, shall be admitted to vote, for members of the, intended convention, providing he shall first take the following test, on oath or affirmation, it thereunto required by any one of the judges or inspector, of the election, who are hereby empowered to administer the, same: I do declare that I do not hold myself hound to bear allegiance, to George the Third, king, of Great Britain, &c., and that, I will steadily and firmly at all times, promote the most effectual mean, according to the host of my skill and knowledge, to oppose the tyrannical proceedings of the, king and parliament of Great Britain against the American Colonies and to establish and support a government in this province on the authority of the people only, etc., That I will oppose any measure that shall or way in the, least interfere with or obstruct the religious principles or practices of any of the good people of this province as heretofore enjoyed also." "The committee appointed to consider of the proper time, place, and manner of holding an election for members of convention, and the time of the meeting of the persons so chosen, report as followeth: That they appoint Monday, the eighth day of July, next, for electing said members; that the several counties proceed to choose their respective members, at the following places, viz: Northampton county to be divided into four districts. "The First District.-Easton, William, Lower Saucon, Bethlehem, Forks, Mt. Bethel, Plainfield; to be held in Easton." "The Second District-Northampton, Saltsberg, Upper Saucon, Upper Milford, Maccongy, Weisenberg, Lynn, Whitehall, Heidelberg; to be held at Allens town." "The Third, District.-Allen, Moore, Chestnuthill, Towamensing, Penn, Lehigh; to be held at Peter Anthonys." "The Fourth District.-Hamilton, Lower Smithfield, Delaware, Upper Smithfield; to be held at Nicholas Deputes." The Judges of Elections, appointed for Northampton county, were: "First Division, at Easton- Abraham Berlin Jesse Jones Jonas Hartzell. "Second Division, at Allen's Town- John Gerhart David Deshler Geo. Breinig. "Third Division, at Peter Anthony's- Simon Dreisbach Neigel Gray Peter Anthony. "Fourth Division, at Nicholas Depue's- Robert Levers Nicholas Depu Jacobus Vangarder." The last act of this conference, before its dissolution, on the twenty-fifth of June, was to promulgate the following address, the tenor of which clearly shows the spirit of intense patriotism which actuated its members: The Address of the Deputies of the Committees of Pennsylvania, Assembled in Provincial Conference, at Philadelphia, June 25th, 1776-To the Associators 1 of Pennsylvania-Gentlemen: The only design of our meeting together was to put an end to our own powers in the province, by fixing upon a plan for calling a convention to form a government under the authority of the people. But the sudden and unexpected separation of the Assembly has compelled us to undertake the execution of a resolve of Congress for calling forth 4,500 of the militia of the province, to join the militia of the neighboring colonies to form a camp for our immediate, protection. We presume only to recommend the plan we have formed to you, trusting that, in a case of so much consequence, your love of virtue and zeal for liberty will supply the want of authority delegated to us expressly for that purpose. We need not remind you that you are, now furnished with new motives to animate and support your courage. You are not about to contend against the, power of Great Britain in order to displace one set of villains to make room for another. Your arms will not be enervated, in the day of battle, with the reflection that you are to risk your lives or shed your blood for a British tyrant or that, your posterity will have your work to do over again. You are about to contend for permanent freedom, to be supported by a government which will be derived from yourselves, and which will have for it, object not the emolument of one man, or class of men only, but the safety, liberty, and happiness of every individual in the community. "We call upon you, therefore, by the respect and obedience which are due to the authority of the united colonies to concur in this important measure. The Present campaign will probably decide the fate of America. It is now in your power to immortalize your names by mingling your achievements with the events of the year 1776 -a year which, we hope, will be famed in the annals of, history to the, end of time, for establishing, upon a lasting foundation, the liberties of, one-quarter of the globe. "Remember the honor of our colony is at stake; should you desert the common cause at the present juncture, the glory you have acquired by your former exertions of, strength and virtue will be tarnished, and our friend and brethren who are now acquiring laurels, in the most remote part of, America, will reproach us, and blush to own themselves natives or inhabitants of Pennsylvania. But there are other motives, before you-your houses, your fields, the legacies of your ancestors, or the dear-bought fruits of your own industry and your liberty, now urge you to the field. These cannot plead with you in vain, or we might point out to you further your wives, your children, your aged fathers and mothers, who now look up to you for aid, and hope for salvation, in this day of calamity, only from the instrumentality of your swords. "Remember the name of Pennsylvania. Think of your ancestors and of your posterity! Signed by an unanimous order of the Conference. "THOMAS MCKEAN, President" ___________________________________________________________________________ 1 By the term "Associators" was meant those who were willing to subscribe to the test oath of allegiance to the Provincial Government, as prescribed by Resolution of Congress. 58 Towards the formation of the "flying camp," the quota of men to be furnished by Northampton county, was three hundred and forty-six. There was no hesitation in the business of recruiting these; for the patriotic spirit, which had already been kindled, became intensified four-fold when the announcement at last came that Congress had, on the Fourth of July, snapped asunder the last bond which held Pennsylvania a colony, of the crown of English and the people felt that they were no longer subjects, but citizens, clothed with the attribute of self-government. Recruits came, in freely to the Northampton battalion of Colonel Baxter. A transcript from a journal kept at Bethlehem, at that time, is given in the Bethlehem Souvenir, page 166, as follows: "July 30.-One hundred and twenty recruits from Allentown and vicinity, passed through, on their way to the Flying Camp do the Jerseys, to which our county has been called on to contribute three hundred and forty-six men. Every volunteer is entitled to a bounty of three pounds. "August.-Many recruits passed through our place during the month principally militia, from Lebanon, Tulpehocken, Reading, and Oley. Most of the companies wished to have. divine worship held-a wish which was cheerfully complied with. "August 18. Five companies of Lebanon militia, who arrived last evening, with flying colors and martial music, on their way to the Camp, attended the Sunday services of to-day. "August 19.-Our watch reported having heard heavy cannonading towards the east, at daybreak. We later ascertained it had been at New York. "September 1.-At noon, the fourth battalion of Berks county Militia arrived, with flying colors, on their way to the Jerseys. At the request of Colonel Gehr and other officers, we held divine worship for the party in our chapel. The, detachment, containing upwards of four hundred men, assembled, quietly, and was addressed by Brothel, Ettwein, from Mark X : 17." Although these were, not all soldiers of Northampton, yet the foregoing account of their passage through the county is given, both as showing with what alacrity they responded to their country's call, as also, that it may be seen, by the general desire to join in divine service, that they were at light-minded triflers, who were sent from this portion of Pennsylvania to the succor of Washington's army, but thoughtful, earliest men, who carried their religion with there, and praised God, while carefully keeping their powder dry. So rapidly had the recruiting progressed, since the Act of the fourth July became known, that, early in August, the Northampton troops joined Washington's army on Long Island. In the battle which occurred there, on the twenty-seventh of that month which resulted so disastrously to the Americans, the have from the Forks of the Delaware believed most gallantly, and suffered severe loss. In the journal above mentioned is the following entry, referring to that engagement: "September 26. In these days, parties of militia on their return from New York, passed, bringing the intelligence that a battalion from the county had suffered severely at the engagement with the British, on Long Island, on the 27th of August last, having left most of its men either dead or wounded." And at, the Fort Washington fight, November 16th, 1776, their list of casualties was still greater. Following is the roll 1 of Captain John Arndts company, of Colonel Baxter's battalion, of the Flying Camp at Elizabeth Town, November l7th, 1776: "Captain, John Arndt, "2d Lieutenant Peter Kichline "Sergeants Robert Scott, Philip Arndt "Corporals Elijah Crawford, Peter Richter, Jacob Kichline "Privates Daniel Lewis John Middagh John McFerren Robert Lyle Jacob Wagner Samuel McCracken Henry Fatzinger Michael Kehler Henry Wolf Jr. Isaac Shoemaker Daniel Sehler Christian Stout Benja. Depui Alexander Sylleman Henry Onanst Adam Yohe James Ferril Conad Smith George Essig John Kestler Valentine Yent Michael Diel John Yent James Symonton Jacob Miller Michael Kress "Names and rank of those belonging to Captain Arndt's company, killed or taken prisoners on Long Island, the 27th day of August, 1776. "Sergeants Andrew Heister Andrew Keifer Privates Thomas Sybert Jacob Dufford Richard Overfield Joseph Stout Joseph Weidknecht Martin Derr George Fry Mathias Steitinger Henry Bush, Sr. Peter Beyer Peter Kern Anthony Frutchy Peter Lehr Philip Bush Peter Fress Barnet Miller Abraham Peter John Harpel Lawrence Erb "Names and rank of those killed or taken at Fort Washington, 16th November, 1776: "1st, Lieutenant Joseph Martin "3d Lieutenant Isaac Shimer "Drummer John Arndt "Fifer Henry Allshouse "Privates.- John Wolf Christian Rodt James Hyndshaw John Ross Jacob Andrews John Bush Conrad Bittenbender Paul Reiser John Shuck Isaac Berlin Frederick Rieger Jacob Engler Lewis Collins Joseph Keller William Warrand Fred. Wilhelm Henry Wolf, Sr. Frederick Wagner Samuel Correy Henry Frez Henry Bush, Jr. Henry Straup Isaac Koon Christian Harpel Joseph Minim Henry Weidknecht Jacob Fraunfeeter Adam Weidknecht Adam Bortz George Edinger Christian Harpel Jacob Kreider Joseph Chass." After the ill-starred fight at Harlem Heights, Washington withdrew across the North River, and retreated through the State of New Jersey, be way of Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton, and never drew rein until be reached Pennsylvania soil, with the Delaware between him and his pursuing enemy Cornwallis. This retreat made it necessary to remove the General Hospital of the army from Morristown, New Jersey, to some proper point within the contracted lines of our army; and in deciding on it new location, the town of Bethlehem seemed, to the mind of the Commander-in-Chief, to offer more advantages than any other point. It was far enough in the interior to be reasonably sure of security from the enemy; it was it healthy and salubrious location, surrounded by it productive and excellently cultivated country, and its inhabitants, he believed, would do all which laid in their power in the aid and consolation of the unfortunates who were to be quartered among them, The result was a most emphatic endorsement of the wisdom of his selection. On the third day of December, 1776, an express reached Bethlehem with the following official communication, addressed to Bishop Ettwein: "According to his Excellency, General Washington's order, the General Hospital of the, Army is removed to Bethlehem; and you will do the greatest act of humanity by immediately providing proper buildings for its reception. "JOHN WARREN,2 "General Surgeon, to the Continental Hospital." No site ever appealed in vain to the, Moravian Brethren to do all act of humanity! and so, when Surgeons-General Warren and Shippen arrived, with the first installment of two hundred and fifty haggard, wild-eyed, dispairing, and famished men, totally destitute of supplies, of food, the unpretending people of Bethlehem cared for, nursed and fed them; vacating one of their principal buildings to their rise and accommodation. It was three days before the first of their supplies arrived, and had it not been for the unselfish benevolence, of these good Moravians, it is easy to understand what misery must have resulted to the helpless and perishing ones. After crossing the Delaware River, no the retreat from Fort Washington, a portion of the American army, for some reason which does not now readily appear, moved up into the county of Northampton. It was the division of General Lee -but then under the command of General Sullivan3 -which, late in the day of the seventeenth of December, 1776, encamped for the night on the right bank of the Lehigh River, opposite Bethlehem. The townspeople did not, feel a sense of security whom these troops so suddenly came into their midst, for it had been told that their commander, Lee, had been heard to say, at the time of his capture, that he would sack the town of Bethlehem if it, ever came, in his way to do so; for he professed to believe that the Moravians were in league, with the enemy, and in some way accessory to his being, made prisoner. But, their misgivings were groundless, for Sullivan, now in command, entertained the most friendly feelings towards them, as did also General Gates, who very opportunely chanced to be in the town at the time of the arrival of the division. The opinion entertained by General Lee, however groundless, had many followers. The Moravians were, by a very considerable portion of the people, regarded as being disaffected towards the Provincial government, although nothing could be more unfounded. Their position, as regarded the belligerent so was thus defined by one of their own people high in their councils : It is our desire to live at pence with all men. We wish well to the country in which we dwell. Our declining to exercise in the use of arms, is no new thing; nor does it proceed from certain considerations, being a fundamental principle of the Brethrens Churches-a point of conscience, which our first, settlers brought with there into this province. ________________________________________________________________________ 1 The original muster roll is now in the possession of John A. Innes, Esq. of Easton 2 A brother of Major-General Joseph Warren, who fell at Bunker Hill. 3 The division general Lee, had been captured by a party of British cavalry scouts, at White's tavern near Basken Ridge, New Jersey. 59 "We never have, nor will ever, act inimically to this country; we will do nothing against its peace and interest, nor oppose any, civil rule or regulation in the province or country wherein we dwell. On the other hand, we will submit ourselves in all things in which we can keep a good conscience, and not withdraw, our shoulders from the common burden." There is no doubt of their good faith, as set forth in this declaration, but still it did not exempt them from ill-will and persecution from many who had always envied their prosperity, and gladly availed themselves of the opportunity to direct suspicion, distrust, and public animosity. against them. This class of ill-wishers was, however, as must be admitted, very few. The principal cause of hostility was the intense patriotism of the vast majority of the people of Northampton county-a patriotism and pure love of country that could not endure the refusal of the Moravians to take the oath of allegiance a refusal which to them seemed susceptible of only one interpretation; sympathy with the common enemy. On the fifteenth day of July, 1776, the wagons of the Bethlehem people, had been to the Moravian settlement at Hope, New Jersey, and were returning through Easton laden with floor the use, of the brethren and sisters, when, after passing through the town, some of the associators, at Easton whose suspicious had become aroused, pursued, overtook, and thoroughly searched them. For what? Why, they were suspected of having, on their wagons, munitions of war! And why should they, if they were In sympathy with the enemy, be transporting those munitions directly away from that enemy? Perhaps the associators, in their ardent loyalty to the Provincial Government, did not stop to reason in this way; but probably, there was another view of the case, which seemed to them list an improbable one; they might be in league with that class who, in those days of revolution, were far more detested then the British themselves-the tories; for it must be understood that Northampton county, with all her ardent patriotism, and notwithstanding and all the sacrifices made by her sons for the, cause of independence, contained many an enemy of America; many an one on whom his neighbors looked with more than suspicion and called by the opprobrious, name of tory. Such would seem to have been particularly the case in the township of Mount Bethel, judging from the tenor of the following communication, taken from the Pennsylvania Archives: "December 13, 1776. Information of Tories: "To the Committee of the County of Northampton: Many dissafected men in and bordering the Township of Mount Bethel have, of late, by Intelligence received, formed themselves in Companys in order to repair to the Kings standert wherefore we have the greatest reason to believe that an attempt is by them in agitation to be made against the association of said county, and in particular against the Township of Mount Bethel as it lays most Exposed and being stript of nice, almost Void of Arms and ammunition, and hoping the said Committee, will take in their sarious Consideration to supply y'r Petitioners with the same in such manner as you in y'r wisdom shall think proper. "Signed in behalf of the assoiciators of said Township "THOMAS SCOTT "BENJ'N DEPUI." But, at that time, when the British arms seemed so surely to have gained the ascendency, there were tories in every community; men whose love of country-if they had any-could not outweigh the base and cowardly counsels of expediency. 0f these, Northampton county had no more than her proportionate share. At this most dismal period of the Revolutionary struggle, when scarcely a ray of light seemed to gleam through the pall of thick darkness which had settled down over the patriot cause (but which afterwards looked bright, in the retrospect, when compared with the denser gloom of Valley Forge), a further requisition for troops was made by the Pennsylvania Council of Safety, through General Washington, on Northampton county, for militia, to reinforce the army lying on the right, bank of the Delaware, to prevent the occupation of Philadelphia by the British, who were known to be only waiting for the frost to convert the smooth expanse of the Delaware into it natural bridge for their passage, before moving forward for that purpose. This is a copy of the letter written by George Washington to Colonel Siegfried of Northampton, upon that business: "HEADQUARTERS BUCKS COUNTY, December 22d, 1776. TO COLONEL JOHN SIEFRIED: "Sir: The Council of Safety of this State, by their resolves of the 17th instant, empowered me to call out the militia of Northampton county to the assistance of the Continental army, under my command; that by our joint endeavors we may put a step to the progress of the enemy who are making preparations to advance to Philadelphia, as soon as they cross the Delaware, either by boats or on the ice. "As I am unacquainted with names of the colonels of your militia, I have taken the liberty to inclose you six letters, in which you will please insert the names of the proper officers, and send them immediately to them, by persons in whom you can confide for their delivery. If there are not as many colonels as letters, you may, destroy, the balance not wanted. I earnestly entreat those who are so far lost to a love of their country as to refuse to lend a hand to its support, at this critical time, they way depend upon being treated as their baseness and want of public spirit will most justly, deserve. "I am sir, your most obedient servant, "GEORGE WASHINGTON." Colonel Siegfried acted so promptly and energetically on these directions, that some of the men who went forward on this requisition, reached the army, in time to participate in the battle of Trenton, three days after the date of the letter. end