Northampton County PA Archives History - Books .....The Revolutionary Period 1920
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   Book Title: History Of Northampton County
   
   CHAPTER XIV THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD
   
       The end of the Indian troubles found Northampton county in a prosperous and
   flourishing condition. For a decade peace reigned throughout the land,
   settlements gradually increased her prosperity and population, and removed as
   Northampton county was from the more populous communities of the colonics, the
   rumors of the troubles then brewing with the mother country did not disturb the
   even tenor of the ways and customs of her people. The discontent which arose at
   the passage of the Stamp Act, the forced importation of tea, and the growlings
   of the incipient rebellion occasioned by the Boston Massacre, were at such a
   distance from her boundaries that only the rumblings and threatening aspect of
   affairs caused the people of Northampton county any uneasiness. When the cry of
   liberty and freedom fired the inhabitants of the province of Pennsylvania,
   Northampton proved no exception in expressing her loyalty and devotion to the
   American cause. Easton, the shiretown of the county, was a village of about
   eighty houses, mostly log buildings. There were no bridges over the Delaware and
   Lehigh rivers, the roads few and poor, the streets not graded or paved, and the
   population did not exceed five hundred.
   
       At the opening of the Revolutionary war the people, in common with the rest
   of the colonies, were divided into two parts—Whigs or Associates, and Tories or
   Non-Associates. The former were for freedom from allegiance to the mother
   country, the latter were in sympathy with the English government. The Virginia
   House of Assembly in the interest of freedom appointed a committee, which
   afterwards became known as the Committee of Safety, and throughout the colonies
   similar societies were organized. The Northampton County Committee of Safety was
   formed December 21, 1774. It was called the Committee of Observation and
   Inspection. At a public election held at Easton the following persons were
   elected members of the committee: Lewis Gordon, Peter Kichlcin, Jacob Arndt,
   Michael Messinger, Melchoir Hay, George Taylor, John Okely, Anthony Lerch, Jacob
   Morry, John Wetzel, Andrew Engelman, John Greesemer, Henry Kooken, David
   Deshler, Casper Doll, Joseph Gaston, Yost Driesbach, Daniel Knause, Thomas
   Everett, Michael Ohl, John Hartman, Nicholas Kern, George Gilbert, Abraham
   Smith, Nicholas Depui, Manuel Gonsales and Andrew Westbrook, being nearly one
   from each township. The following were chosen as a Standing Committee of
   Correspondence for the county: George Taylor, Lewis Gordon, Peter Kichlein,
   Jacob Arndt, John Okely and Henry Kooken. Lewis Gordon was chosen treasurer, and
   Robert Traill clerk. The general committee of the colony met at Philadelphia,
   January 23, 1775, Northampton county being represented by the members of the
   Standing Committee of Correspondence. Then came the military resistance of the
   people at Concord and Lexington, and at a meeting held in Easton, May 6, 1775, a
   letter from the committee of Philadelphia  was discussed,  and a resolution was
   unanimously adopted to form military companies in every township in the county.
   Every man was to supply himself with a good firelock, a pound of powder, four
   pounds of lead, a quantity of flints, and they were to choose their own
   officers. Those who refused to associate for the common cause were to be
   considered enemies, and business with them suspended.
   
   The following companies were organized in the townships:
   
   Easton—Captain Peter Kichlein, Lieutenant Abram Labar, Ensign
         Matthias Miller                                                87 men
   Forks—Captain Jacob Arndt,  LieutenantGeorge Stocker                126  "
   Williams—Captain Melchoir Hay, Lieutenant Philip Mixsell            104  "
   Bethlehem—Captain Christian Newman, Lieutenant Ulrich Sloppy        130  "
   Allen—Captain Neigal Gray, Lieutenant John Lickpot                  120  "
   Upper Saucon—Captain Henry Allise, Lieutenant George Kern.          105  "
   Lower Saucon—Captain Huebner, Lieutenant Jesse Jones                142  "
   Macungie—Captain Peter Traxler, Lieutenant Henry Felker             120  "
   Upper Milford—Captain Christian Fisher, Lieutenant Philip
         Walter                                                         64  "
   White Hall—Captain  Peter Burkhalter, Lieutenant Philip
         Knappenberger                                                 100  "
   Salisbury—Captain Nicholas Fox, Lieutenant H. Hagenbuch             100  "
   Plainfield—Captain Casper Doll, Lieutenant H. Engel                  88  "
   Mount Eethel—Captain John Nielson, Lieutenant S. Rea                224  "
   Moore—Captain Adam Bruckhauser, Lieutenant Timothy Reed             106  "
   Lehigh—Captain Yost Driesbach, Lieutenant Enoch Beer                 70  "
   Weisenburg—Captain Michael Probst, Lieutenant Renninghoff            32  "
   Lynn—Captain Matthias Propst, Lieutenant John Stane                  70  "
   Heidelberg—Captain Michael Ohl, Lieutenant Jacob Zeiger             100  "
   Lowhill—Captain Michael, Lieutenant Jacob Horner                     35  "
   Towamensing—Captain Nicholas Kern, Lieutenant Jacob Wagner           50  "
   Penn—Captain Richard Dodson, Lieutenant John Siegley                 25  "
   Chestnut Hill—Captain Abraham Smith, Lieutenant Dewalt Kuntz         82  "
   Hamilton—Captain Abraham Miller, Lieutenant Michael Raup             50  "
   Lower Smithfield—Captain Jacob Stroud, Lieutenant Samuel Drake      127  "
   Delaware—Captain John Van Etten, Lieutenant David Van Aken           47  "
   Upper Smithfield—Captain John Van Sickel, Lieutenant Nathaniel
         Washburne                                                      53  "
   
       This list is given to show the relative strength of the townships as well as
   patriotic leaders in those days of trial and trouble. This represented a
   volunteer force of two thousand men equipped for military service. The military
   forces of the county were divided into four battalions: George Taylor, Henry
   Geiger, Yost Driesbach and Jacob Stroud were made colonels.
   
       To the student of history the immortal names which established and
   proclaimed the nationality of the United States are always viewed with reverence
   and awe. The memory of those brave men whose signatures are attached to the
   Declaration of Independence will always be preserved in grateful remembrance.
   The name of George Taylor, one of Northampton's citizens, is attached to that
   important document.
   
       George Taylor was a native of Ireland, a son of a clergyman. He was born in
   1716, and though his father gave him a good education he left him nothing but
   his industry and perseverance to fight the battle of life. Young Taylor,
   deciding to leave his native country, sailed for America, arriving at
   Philadelphia, and for a term of years was employed by Mr. Savage, an
   iron-manufacturer at Durham, Pennsylvania. Here he was employed in menial work
   as a coal heaver. His employer, noticing his youthful years and his
   unfamiliarity with heavy work, installed him as clerk, and he soon made himself
   an important member of the establishment. After the death of Mr. Savage he
   married the widow. By industry, economy and prudence he amassed a considerable
   fortune. Mr. Taylor, in 1764, became a member of the Provincial Assembly,
   serving several terms, and was a member of many important committees. He was,
   for a time, not a member of this body, being busy with his private affairs. This
   caused his return to Durham, where he again engaged in the manufacture of iron.
   He was again, in October, 1775, elected delegate to the Provincial Assembly. At
   the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Congress there
   were five recalcitrant delegates from Pennsylvania, who had a fear of
   precipitating the colonies into a war with England. They still retained their
   sentiments in opposition to the majority and the approbation of the colony.
   Under these circumstances a new choice of representatives became necessary, and
   Mr. Taylor became one of the substituted members. He took his seat in the
   Continental Congress July 20, 1776, and on the second of August following signed
   the Declaration of Independence. Though this instrument was passed on the fourth
   of July, the signatures on the engrossed parchment copy were not affixed until
   the second of August following. Therefore it can readily be seen that Mr.
   Taylor, though not a member of the original convention, his signature appears on
   the parchment as a delegate from Pennsylvania.
   
       He retired from Congress in March, 1777, and passed the remainder of his
   life at Easton, he having lost the bulk of his property. At his death, February
   25, 1781, there was not enough property left to pay his debts. By his marriage
   George Taylor had one son, James Taylor, who was admitted to the bar in 1765,
   and died seven years later, leaving five children by his marriage with
   Elizabeth, daughter of Lewis Gordon. The children were tenderly cared for by
   their grandfather, all of whom remained with him until his death except Ann, who
   married and went to Virginia to reside. After the death of their grandfather,
   George and James joined their sister in Virginia; Thomas was drowned in the
   Lehigh river, and Mary died young.
   
       James Taylor, the grandson of George Taylor, lived in Richmond, Virginia,
   and was for many years a man of wealth, but late in life he had reverses, which
   he bore with noble serenity. He and his wife are buried in the cemetery of St.
   John's Church, Richmond, Virginia. Of their four children who died before
   reaching maturity, Sophia Gordon Taylor married twice, and James Lewis Gordon
   Taylor died without issue. The latter was the last male representative of that
   noble patriot, the friend of Washington, whose honor never was tarnished, whose
   love and devotion to his adopted country never wavered. The people of Easton, to
   express their gratitude and honor to the virtues of George Taylor, erected in
   1855 a beautiful and costly monument in their cemetery.
   
       General Washington having decided to invade Long Island, the Continental
   Congress on June 3, 1776, resolved to establish a flying camp in the middle
   colonies to consist of ten thousand militia, of which Pennsylvania was to
   furnish six thousand to reinforce the commander-in-chief. To arrange the matter
   of quotas for the different counties a conference of the committees of the
   colony was held at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, from June 18th to 25th, 1776.
   The Northampton county delegates were: Robert Levers, Colonel Niegel Gray, John
   Weitzel, Nicholas Depue, Daniel Deshler and Benjamin Depue. It was voted at this
   convention to raise 4,500 men, which, with the 1,500 then organized in the
   province, would be the required number of men asked by Congress. Northampton's
   quota was fixed at 346. The convention also resolved that the present government
   of the province was inadequate and not competent for the exigencies of the
   times. It was resolved that a provincial convention be held and delegates chosen
   for the purpose of forming a new government, based on the authority of the
   people only. To facilitate the election of these delegates, Northampton county
   was divided into four districts. The first district consisted of Easton,
   Williams, Lower Saticon, Bethlehem, Forks, Mount Bethel, Plainfield, the
   election to be held at Easton. The second district—Northampton, Sallsberg, Upper
   Saucon, Upper Milford, Macungie, Wiesenberg, Lynn, Whitehall,
   Heidelberg—election to be held at Allen's town. The third district—Allen, Moore,
   Chestnuthill, Towamensing, Penn, Lehigh—election to be held at Peter Anthony's.
   The fourth district—Hamilton, Lower Smithfield, Delaware, Upper Smithfield
   —election to be held at Nicholas Depue's.
   
       The recruiting for the flying camp proceeded with alacrity; the citizens had
   no hesitation in enlisting, as the patriotic spirit had been enhanced fourfold
   since the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence. The pay of the
   militia commenced from the day of their marching from home. They were 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.
   
       At the battle of Long Island the Northampton contingent suffered a heavy
   loss. Colonel Daniel Brodhead's regiment, of which Captain Kichlein's company
   was a part, was engaged in this battle, and its losses amounted to one hundred
   officers and men, chiefly prisoners. The regiment was engaged in a severe
   battle, and was at one time nearly surrounded by the enemy, and though requested
   for reinforcements, General Putnam could not cover their retreat. After the
   ill-starred fight at Harlem Heights, Washington withdrew across the North river,
   retreating through Jersey, and placed the Delaware river between his army and
   the British. This retreat made it necessary for the American army to remove its
   hospitals from Morristown, New Jersey, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was decided
   upon as the most advantageous point. After crossing the Delaware river in the
   retreat from Fort Washington. a portion of the American army under General John
   Sullivan, on December 17, 1776, encamped for the night on the right bank of the
   Lehigh river, opposite Bethlehem. The American people, overawed and
   disconsolate, were asked by General Washington to furnish reinforcements for his
   proposed invasion of New Jersey. Northampton county made a hearty response to
   this request for reinforcements, and some of her militia participated in the
   battle of Trenton three days after the date of General Washington's letter to
   Colonel John Siegfried, empowering him to call out the militia. Most of the
   Northampton troops took part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. Captain
   Hays' company, which was from the Irish settlement, was accompanied by John
   Rosbrough, a Presbyterian clergyman, intensely patriotic and brave as the
   bravest. He enlisted in Captain Hays' company at the outbreak of the Revolution
   as their chaplain. The morning after the capture of the Hessians at Trenton,
   where the company was engaged, he was surprised by the British while in a
   farmhouse near the village of Pennington, and cruelly put to death. He lies
   buried in the graveyard of old Trenton First Church. Captain Hays' company did
   not enter winter quarters with the army at Morristown, New Jersey, but returned
   to their homes.
   
       The usual route between New York and Philadelphia being barred by the
   British army, many travelers were obliged to pass through Northampton county.
   John Adams of Massachusetts, accompanied by his colleagues Lyman Hall and James
   Lovell, on their journey to the capital, January 25, 1777, passed through
   Bethlehem, and were greatly pleased at the unique features of that old town.
   
       There was a conference held with the Indians at Easton on January 27, 1777.
   It was convened at the request of the Six Nations; George Walton and George
   Taylor were appointed by the Continental Congress as their representatives. The
   Council of Safety of Pennsylvania authorized Colonel Joseph Dean and Colonel
   John Bull to represent them and Thomas Payne to act as secretary. At his arrival
   at Easton, Colonel Bull reported there were as many Indians present as he had
   expected; presents were ordered for seventy Indians, exclusive of women and
   children. The conference was opened January 29, 1777. The Indians professed
   their neutrality to the Thirteen Colonies in their war with England, delivered
   speeches, belts and strings. A treaty was entered into between George Walton and
   George Taylor on the part of the colonies and certain Indians of the Six
   Nations. The Committee on Indian Affairs of the Continental Congress reported
   February 27, 1777, disapproving of the treaty, as there existed no powers in
   either of the parties to engage in such a treaty.
   
       Colonel Labar, by order of the War Department April 29, 1777, was placed in
   command of the troops at Easton. Guards were ordered placed on the Delaware
   river from the Water Gap southward. In the summer of 1777 the Continental
   Congress passed a "test act" requiring every male citizen to swear allegiance to
   the government of the United States. Those who signed the test were known as
   "Associates," those who refused were named "Non-Associates." In Northampton
   county 4,821 subscribed to the test oath; only fifty-nine, as appear by the
   records of the proceedings of the committee of safety, refused to take the oath,
   and were arraigned before that tribunal. These persons, upon their submitting to
   the test oath, escaped punishment, and in no cases were proceedings instituted
   except the holding of some few by giving bail. There were sixty-nine Moravians
   and some Mennonites who professed to having religious scruples about taking an
   oath under any circumstances; their pleas were admitted by the government, but
   they were penalized by requiring them to pay double tax.
   
       The evacuation of New York City by the British forces again changed the seat
   of war. Washington with his reinforced army awaited the enemy at Brandywine,
   where a general engagement took place September 11, 1777, The American army was
   defeated, retiring to Germantown. The occupation of Philadelphia by the British
   caused the removal of the provincial government to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. By
   order of the Supreme Executive Council, September 24, 1777, the public loan
   office was removed to Easton. The papers and other valuable matters were
   enclosed in a case, barrel and iron chest. The latter contained paper money to
   the amount of £13,183, 18s. and 2d., besides valuable papers. The chest and
   contents were to be delivered to Robert Levers; the books in the library were
   also committed to his care and were enclosed in the case and barrel. The council
   of safety in 1777 authorized the committee of Northampton county to take
   possession of the ferry belonging to Lewis Gordon.
   
       After the Americans' defeat at the battle of Brandywine, the government
   military stores, sick and wounded soldiers, were moved to Bethlehem, Northampton
   and Easton. The troops of Northampton county were present at the disastrous
   battle of Germantown, and Captain Van Etten's company suffered severe losses.
   The officers of the Northampton county battalions stood high in the estimation
   of the commander-in-chief. Colonel Timothy Pickering, one of Washington's
   aides-de-camp, was for several years a citizen of Northampton county. General
   Brodliead and Colonel Siegfried, both of whom were at Brandywine and Germantown,
   shared his confidence and esteem.
   
       Then came the dismal period of the Revolutionary struggle, when scarcely a
   ray of light gleamed through the gloom of Valley Forge. The year 1778 opened
   with the prospects of the confederated provinces looking most discouraging.
   Robert Levers, who had charge at Easton of obtaining supplies for the army,
   reported in the fall of 1777 that he had completed forty wagons, which had been
   sent to Springfield, Massachusetts, for transportation of firearms for the army,
   and that he had one hundred more in process of construction. He also reported
   that he was suspicious of one Major Daiken, who had been an officer in the New
   Jersey militia, and had become a Tory; he was living in Easton, and his presence
   in that city was dangerous to the American cause, as there was a large quantity
   of supplies stored for the use of the army at that point. In fact, Easton in
   that year was one of the bases of supplies; flour mills were employed in
   supplying the army, large quantities of salt were stored there for the purpose
   of salting meat; $18,000 were appropriated to purchase cattle and swine to
   supply the hospitals and army at Easton, Bethlehem and Northampton. There were
   stationed at Easton two hundred troops and one hundred at Bethlehem for the
   defense of the magazines of military and other stores of provisions, also to
   keep communications secure from sudden incursions of the enemy. Enlistments for
   service in the American army in 1778 were slow, and patriotic spirit was at a
   low ebb. Captain Alexander Patterson reported to the council of war, under date
   of April 22, 1778, that after traveling through the county, spending money and
   time, he had succeeded in obtaining only eight recruits, and wished to be
   relieved from duty, as he had no hopes of being of any service to his country in
   that locality. Exemptions from military duty were given to persons employed in
   the manufacture of military stores and other articles for the use of the United
   States.
   
       The council of war in 1778 began to take steps to punish those who were
   guilty of high treason. Samuel Rea, Jacob Miller, Stephen Balliott, and Robert
   Levers were appointed agents in Northampton county to discover, secure and hold
   all properties owned by those not conforming to the oath of allegiance to the
   United States. Henry Funk and George Koebel were arrested as spies; the former's
   excuse for not taking the oath was, "It was against his conscience because we
   should be at peace with everybody and forgive all men." William Thomas, James
   Pugh, Samuel Koster, Joshua Thomas and Joseph Sutton, husbandmen; John Holder,
   miller; Henry Oswalt, house carpenter; Jacob Holder, George Holder, laborers;
   and Owen Roberts, sawmill man, all residents of Northampton, were indicted May
   8, 1778, for high treason. The following were adjudged as tainted with high
   treason: John Shearing, shoemaker of Easton; John Stackhouse, Moses Morgan,
   Moses Wood, Abraham Long, Robert Stackhouse, Peter Snyder, John Raymel, John
   Ink, David Young, John Vaughan, Lawrence Man and Peter Hardy of Mount Bethel;
   James Lawson, Edward McMichael, husbandmen of Lower Smithfield; and James Allen
   of Northampton.
   
       The Board of War on July 15, 1778, set the quota to be furnished by
   Northampton county for reinforcing the American army at three hundred, and they
   were ordered to report at Easton. Northampton county never became the seat of
   war; no battles were fought within its borders, yet Easton and Bethlehem
   frequently became the location for hospitals. The German Reformed Church,
   court-house and jail at Easton were often crowded with sick and disabled
   soldiers. General Washington passed through Easton during the year 1778; General
   Gates, on his way to Ticonderoga in the same year, visited the shiretown. To
   Bethlehem the French officers Marquis de Lafayette, Count Pulaski and Baron De
   Kalb made frequent visits to their comrades wounded or sick in the hospitals.
   Generals Armstrong, Mifflin and Schuyler, John Hancock, Henry Laurens and
   Benjamin Franklin paid occasional visits to Bethlehem.
   
       Northampton county's immediate connection with the later events of the
   Revolutionary conflict were not a repetition of the stirring times of 1777-78.
   In the last struggles for American independence the South became the scat of
   war; there were no marching and counter-marching of troops, no prisoners daily
   arriving, and no wounded and sick came from the disastrous battlefields. The
   inhabitants of the county in 1779 were severely censured by Joseph Reed,
   president of the council; he claimed there was a lack of activity, and
   dissatisfaction among the officers and military authorities. The council of war
   the previous winter had offered a bounty of six hundred dollars to recruits for
   the army. The scarcity of supplies became an alarming feature; they had
   increased in value six hundred per cent. Continental money. Though every county
   and province made strenuous exertions to keep the value of the bills at par with
   coin, they depreciated so that their purchasing power had reached a very low
   value. The American government was unable to purchase supplies, as the British
   would pay as much in gold as they would in depreciated currency; to prevent this
   the general assembly passed a law to punish the offenders who were tempted by
   the British gold, making it a misdemeanor to sell supplies to the enemy. The
   demands for the farmers' products for the necessities of the armies were such
   that they could hardly retain enough meat for their own family, nor tallow for
   the making of their candles. There was an extreme scarcity of salt, it being
   quoted as worth as high as two hundred dollars a bushel.
   
       The important military event in Northampton county in 1779 was the passage
   through its interior of General John Sullivan's expedition. The troops commenced
   arriving at Easton on May 26, 1779; the Third New Jersey Regiment crossed the
   Delaware river in boats and were welcomed by Major Powell's German battalion,
   who had been at Easton since April. A regiment from York county, Pennsylvania,
   reported at headquarters in May. Then came a regiment from New Hampshire and one
   commanded by Captain John Paul Schotts, who had served in the army of Frederick
   the Great. It can plainly be seen that Easton streets and byways were filled
   with soldiers; tents were pitched along the Delaware and Lehigh rivers and up
   the Bushkill creek. There was here gathered an army of twenty-five hundred men
   and two thousand packhorses. On the morning of June 18, 1779, to the sounds of
   martial music of fife and drum, the army took up its march to the country of the
   Iroquois to revenge the Wyoming massacre. The army encamped the first night at
   Wood Gap, near Heller's, and in the morning pursued their march, reaching the
   Wyoming Valley on June 23, 1779. The work of devastation occupied the army for
   one month. On its return march it came down the north branch of the Susquehanna
   to Wilkes-Barre, and from thence marched to Easton, where the soldiers were
   billeted upon the town. Sullivan's army remained at Easton several weeks
   quartered upon the inhabitants. Three soldiers belonging to a Pennsylvania
   regiment commanded by Colonel Hubley were hung on Gallow's Hill, on the site of
   St. Bernard's Church, for murdering a tavernkeeper beyond Stroudsburg,
   Pennsylvania, on account of his refusing them liquor.
   
       Indian horrors again menaced the border townships. In Lower Smithfield a
   party of fifteen Indians, on April 20, 1780, attacked the plantations of Manuel
   Gansaleyes and James McCarte, situated two miles below Wells Ferry, on the banks
   of the Delaware. The Indians were pursued by Captain Van Etten, three of his
   sons and his son-in-law, and an engagement took place which resulted in the
   retreat of the Indians. Two of the whites were killed, Benjamin Ennis, the
   son-in-law of Captain Van Etten, and Richard Rosekrans. Just above the Blue
   Mountains in Northampton county lived the Gilbert family, near Lehighton.
   Benjamin Gilbert was an English Quaker, who came from Byberry near Philadelphia
   in 1775 to a farm about ten miles east from Weissport, now Gilbert, marked by a
   monument commemorating the event. Here he was comfortably situated, with a good
   log dwelling-house, barn, saw and gristmill. He had married for his second wife
   the Widow Peart. The Indians, to the number of eleven, surrounded this nest of
   contentment, April 25, 1780, and made captives of Benjamin Gilbert, Sr., aged
   sixty-nine years; Elizabeth, his wife, forty-five; Joseph, his son, forty-nine;
   Jesse, another son, nineteen; Sarah, wife of Jesse, nineteen; Rebecca, a
   daughter, sixteen; Abner, a son, fourteen; Elizabeth, a daughter, twelve; Thomas
   Peart, a son of Benjamin Gilbert's wife, twenty-three; Benjamin Gilbert, a  son
   of John Gilbert, of  Philadelphia, eleven; Andrew Harrigar, twenty-six, a
   hireling of Benjamin Gilbert; and Abigail Dobson, fourteen, a daughter of Samuel
   Dobson, a neighbor. The Indians then proceeded about half a mile to Benjamin
   Peart's dwelling, and there captured himself, aged twenty-seven; Elizabeth, his
   wife, twenty; and their child, nine months old. In Towamensing township on April
   15, 1780, Benedict Snyder and his son were captured by the Indians. The
   inhabitants of the towns of Towamensing, Penn and Chestnuthill evacuated their
   homes, leaving the frontiers practically abandoned. The supreme council of war,
   on being requested by the inhabitants of the county for militia from the
   adjoining counties to defend the frontiers, replied that they should depend on
   their own militia. Samuel Rea, the lieutenant of the county, on July 4, 1780,
   reported that he had enlisted about fifty men, and others were coming in daily;
   that he had issued commissions to Captain Johannas Van Etten, Lieutenant John
   Fisk and Ensign Thomas Syllaman. The plundering and burning of houses was still
   continued by the Indians. They were pursued by the militia who, on September 8,
   1780, marched from Gnadenhutten, a small Moravian town situated behind the Blue
   Mountains, on the west branch of the Delaware river. They were attacked
   September 11, 1780, by a party of whites and Indians and four Americans were
   killed and nineteen wounded. This attack caused a more stringent action, and
   Lieutenant-Colonel Gerger with a sufficient force of men was stationed along the
   verge of the frontiers. These Indian troubles aroused the inhabitants of the
   county, and on December 1, 17S0, Lieutenant Samuel Rea reported that upwards of
   three hundred men were equipped and ready for service.
   
       The Gilbert and Peart captives numbering fifteen, after viewing the burning
   of their homes, were led by the Indians across the Blue Mountains into the wild
   and rugged region between the Lehigh and the Chemung branch of the Susquehanna.
   During their captivity they had to endure the fearful ordeal of the gauntlet.
   They were separated from each other, some adopted by the Indians, others hired
   out for service in white families. Finally, after a captivity of two years and
   five months, they were all released and collected at Montreal, Canada. From
   thence they returned to Byberry, where they had lived before settling on the
   Mahoning creek.
   
       That the council of war was alarmed at the Indian invasions and atrocities
   is evidenced in their authorizing Colonel Jacob Stroud to encourage the young
   men of the county to hire out and in small parties to strike the enemy near
   home, offering $1,500 for every Indian or Tory prisoner taken in arms, and
   $1,000 for every Indian scalp.
   
       The last years of the Revolutionary War were uneventful in Northampton
   county history. Business was prostrated, the closest economy required, and a
   still further disheartening complication arose from the depreciation of the
   public money. There were several resignations and appointments of military
   officers. The execution of Ralph Morden, convicted of high treason, took place
   at Easton November 25, 1780. The hostilities had been principally transferred to
   the South, where unequivocal success had followed the advances of the American
   army. Peace was formally declared in 1783, the soldiers returned to their homes
   and families. Northampton's soil had never felt a hostile tread other than that
   of the stealthy savage, nor shook under the tramp of an army except Sullivan's.
   Her people were as a whole ready and cheerful in patriotic sacrifices, and many
   a brave son went forth to battlefields from which he never returned.
   
       Among the Swiss and Palatine population of Northampton county during the
   Revolution there were a great many who were gunsmiths and armorers, some of them
   being descendants of the ancient armorers of the feudal period of Central
   Europe. These people brought with them to Pennsylvania the rifle and improved
   upon the German model with such ingenuity that they produced a new rifle, a
   firearm superior to any other in the world—the American backwoods rifle. These
   artisans of the backwoods performed services far more important than shouldering
   a musket in the rank and file of the army. Soon every blacksmith was forging
   gun-barrels, every cabinetmaker shaping gunstocks, every gunsmith rifling
   gun-barrels. Not only were they employed, but their wives and children and the
   families of their neighbors were lending a helping hand in cleaning, burnishing
   and putting the finishing touches to this new weapon of warfare. The
   Pennsylvania rifle had taken the place of the old musket in the eastern colonies
   long before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. There are but few of the
   names of those tillers of the virgin soil of Perm's colony handed down to
   posterity who possessed the ability to produce a better weapon of warfare than
   was used by any of the armies of the world. The council of safety of
   Philadelphia established a gun factory at Philadelphia, and John Golcher was
   engaged to instruct the workmen in the art of boring and grinding the
   gun-barrels. This factory was afterwards removed to Allentown, and Golcher
   returned to Easton, where he began manufacturing a double-barreled revolving
   rifle with one hammer. Henry Derringer, father of the inventor of the Derringer
   pistol, settled in an early day in Easton. John Tyler was in charge of a gun
   factory at Allentown, and Daniel Klest was located at Bethlehem. General Daniel
   Morgan often stopped at his gunshop to have his soldiers' rifles examined and
   put in order. Abraham Berlin was a blacksmith by trade, but during the
   Revolution he was a gunsmith. Stephen Horn was engaged for several years at gun
   work and then took up powder making. The Young brothers, John and Henry, were
   also engaged in the vocation of gun making; Henry did a large business, and his
   brother, who was an armorer, decorated the rifles, also the swords manufactured
   by Isaac Berlin. John Young became well known by the American authorities and
   delivered to the colony of Virginia one thousand rifles. Johnston Smith was a
   partner in this transaction and his duty was to gather the rifles from the
   different makers. Young also furnished one hundred and fifty rifles for military
   companies forming in Philadelphia. A partner in this transaction was Adam Foulk,
   who seems to have been of migratory turn of mind, as he was at various times in
   business in Easton, Allentown and Philadelphia. There is little known of Anthony
   Smith and Andrew Shorer, who manufactured guns in Bethlehem. Peter Newhardt,
   another gunmaker, was from Whitehall township, and Jacob Newhardt, John Moll and
   George Layendecker at different times worked in the state factory, and they were
   in business for themselves in Easton after its removal to Philadelphia after the
   British evacuated that place. Mathias Miller was a descendant of the ancient
   German armorers, and before the war was engaged in locksmithing in Easton. His
   guns were remarkable for their exquisite firelocks. Ebenezer Cowell, an employe
   of the state gun factory, came to Allentown on its removal to that point, but
   remained after its return to Philadelphia. George Taylor and Richard Backhouse,
   both residents of Easton, in connection with the Durham iron works, made
   cannons, cannon-balls and did considerable experimental work on gun-barrels.
   These artificers were exempted from military service by the committee of safety
   on account of their valuable services in the manufacture of arms for those
   engaged on the battlefields.
   
       The Henrys were of English descent, and from the time of their arrival in
   this country they were more or less identified with government service, cither
   as soldier, statesman or manufacturer of arms. The first of the Henrys in
   America was William Henry of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who established a factory
   in 1752 for the making of firearms. His muskets and rifles were in great demand
   during the Revolutionary War, and as deputy quartermaster-general he was
   superintendent of arms and military accoutrements. His son, William Henry, came
   to Nazareth in 1780, built a small factory and contracted with the colony of
   Pennsylvania and the Continental government for the manufacture of muskets. The
   water-power was poor, the demand for muskets greater than the supply, and to
   facilitate this work in 1S12 he built a gun factory at Bolton, three miles
   northeast of Nazareth. The location was one of the most delightful spots along
   the Bushkill creek, formerly known by the Indian name Lehicton. A few years
   later the works passed into the hands of his sons, William Henry and John Joseph
   Henry, who conducted the business until 1822, when the latter became the sole
   owner. The fame of the Henry rifle spread along the whole frontier. On the
   organization of the North American Fur Company by John Jacob Astor. he ordered
   all the supply of his rifles from the Henry factory, which was the only one at
   that time that could furnish them. The manufacture of rifles ceased when the
   North American Fur Company went out of existence, but for many years rifles and
   pistols were manufactured by the Henrys for the militia of the South and West,
   and they figured very prominently in the Civil War.*
   
       * The Henry rifle of the Civil War time was the most remarkable gun of its
   day. It was a sixteen-shot magazine gun. The output was small, and the writer
   has never heard that it was furnished to troops by the government. It played an
   important part in the battle of Alatoona, Georgia, in October, 1864. The
   Confederate General Hood had left Atlanta to attack General Sherman's rear, and
   the first point he struck was Alatoona, the Union ammunition and food supply
   station, held by a very small garrison. It was attacked by a full Confederate
   division, which was firmly resisted until reinforcements arrived. It could not
   have held out had not one of the regiments (the Seventh Illinois) been armed
   with the Henry rifle, which was spoken of by the Confederates as "the gun the
   Yanks had that fired off all day with one loading." The regiment had purchased
   these guns itself, each man paying $80 apiece for them, and they had only
   arrived from the North a few days before the battle. This was the battle which
   gave birth to the famous song, "Hold the Fort, For I Am Coming," these words
   being a paraphrase of General Sherman's signal flag message from Kennesaw
   Mountain at the opening of the battle. The writer of this speaks from personal
   knowledge.—(Editor).
   
   
   Additional Comments:
   
   Extracted from:
   
   History of Northampton County
   [PENNSYLVANIA]
   and
   The Grand Valley of the Lehigh
   Under Supervision and Revision of 
   WILLIAM J. HELLER
   
   Assisted by AN ADVISORY BOARD OF EDITORS
   VOLUME I
   1920 
   THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
   HOSTON    NEW YORK     CHICAGO
   
   
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