Area History: Bell's History of Northumberland County, PA - THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD - Part 2 File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Tony Rebuck. USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file within 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 NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° CHAPTER III. Part 2 Pages 124 - 142. THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. COLONEL HARTLEY'S MILITARY ADMINISTRATION - FALL OF FORT FREELAND - THE GERMAN REGIMENT -GENERAL POTTER'S EXPEDITION - EVENTS OF COLONEL HUNTER'S ACCOUNTS Colonel Hartley* arrived at Sunbury with a detachment of his regiment in the last week of July, 1778, and in the early part of August Colonel Brodhead's command withdrew to Carlisle en route to Pittsburgh. Two hundred militia had collected at Sunbury, and parties had been sent to various points by General De Haas. Four fifths of the inhabitants had fled; many were returning, and for their protection Colonel Hartley deemed it necessary to establish a line of posts between Fishing creek and the Great Island. He sent a detachment to garrison Fort Jenkins, at Brier creek on the North Branch, the erection of which had been begun by Brodhead's troops; another was stationed at Rossley's mills, in the forks of Chillisquaque, and a third at Muncy, on the West Branch. At the latter point, which he visited in person, accompanied by General De Haas, the erection of a fort was undertaken. William Maclay's residence at Sunbury was converted into a magazine and fortified by a stockade in the rear. The forces in Northumberland county, as summarized by Colonel Hunter on the 20th of August, numbered six hundred fifty men, of whom one hundred were Continental troops in Colonel Hartley's regiment; four hundred ninety were militia, two hundred twenty from Lancaster county, one hundred seventy from Berks, and one hundred from Northumberland; and sixty were volunteers in Captain Murray's company. Pursuant to a resolution of Congress of June 8, 1778, and Council's instructions of the 10th, this company was recruited for six months under the direction of Colonel Hunter, by whom the following officers were appointed: Captain, James Murray; captain lieutenant, Robert Arthur; second lieutenant, Samuel Fulton; third lieutenant, William Reed; ensign, Andrew Donaldson. Colonel Hartley's expedition against the Indian towns on the North Branch was the first offensive movement of importance on the northern frontier. On the 21st of September he left Muncy with two hundred men; the route selected was the Sheshequin path, and the march was rendered extremely arduous by streams, swamps, and mountains. On the 26th the advance guard of nineteen men encountered an equal number of Indians, who fled with the loss of their chief. Tioga, the town of Queen Esther, was burned. Crossing the North Branch on the 28th, the expedition proceeded to Wyalusing, where the retreat was resumed on the following day. Seventy of the men descended the river in canoes; the main body marched in three divisions, of which Captain Murray's was the third, while five runners under Captain Kemplen formed part of the rear guard. The Indians made an attack on the afternoon of the 29th; Captains Boone and Brady and Lieutenant King landed from the canoes with a few brave fellows at a critical moment, and the enemy, after a brief resistance, fled with a loss of ten _______________________________________________________________ *Colonel Hartley's correspondence relating to affairs in Northumberland county is published in the Pennsylvania Archives, as follows 1778 - Vol. VI. Pp. 674, 688-690, 690-694, 705,729; Vol. VII pp. 3-9, 10, 81-82, 86-87, 87-88, 776. END OF PAGE 124 killed. The expedition arrived at Sunbury on the 5th of October, after making a circuit of three hundred miles, having defeated the enemy when ever encountered, destroyed all their towns between Wyoming and Tioga, and recovered about fifty cattle, twenty-eight canoes, and much other property of value. On the 9th of November Colonel Hartley wrote that the enemy had destroyed the settlements on the North Branch above Nescopeck, and was only deterred from advancing farther by the garrison at Fort Jenkins; seventy Indians were also advancing toward the forks of Chillisquaque, and he was collecting a force to attack them. Orders were issued for the inhabitants to assemble, to which they responded with alacrity. On the 14th he was at Fort Jenkins, whence, on the following day, his force advanced toward Wyoming; the enemy was compelled to abandon a number of cattle taken above Nescopec, and fled with the utmost precipitation. He was again at Sunbury on the 20th, but shortly afterward took his departure, leaving a detachment from his regiment in garrison at Fort Muncy and others at different points. The Berks and Lancaster militia had returned at the expiration of the period for which they were called out, and thus the protection of the frontier devolved entirely upon the exertions of its inhabitants and a few companies of Continental troops. It does not appear, however, that any incursions of importance occurred during the winter of 1778-79. In March, 1779, General Edward Hand* was ordered to the frontier of Northampton and Northumberland counties with a detachment of Continental troops. "As the principal object of my command lies above Wyoming," he wrote President Reed on the 16th of April, "I am apprehensive that I can't pay much attention to Sunbury or the contiguous settlements," and in pursuance of this declaration he devoted his first efforts to the strengthening of the post at Wyoming. Three companies of forty men each were raised in Northumberland county and employed in scouting duty, but with such inadequate protection its territory again became an inviting field for Indian incursions. On the 25th of April an attack was made upon the settlement near Fort Jenkins and several families were taken prisoners; the garrison effected their rescue, but was driven to the fort with some loss. On the 26th thirteen men were fired upon five miles from Fort Muncy, and all but one were killed or captured. On the same day thirty or forty Indians attacked a small party of militia near Fort Freeland; among those killed on this occasion was Michael Lepley, whose widow applied for a pension in 1786. The following certificate appears in the minutes of the orphans' court of Northumberland county as part of the evidence in her case:- I, the subscriber, do hereby certify that on the 26th of April, 1779, I was stationed at Freeland's fort with a party of militia whom I had the honor to have the command _______________________________________________________________________ *General Hand's correspondence relating to affairs in Northumberland county is Published in the Pennsylvania Archives, as follows: 1779 - vol. VII pp. 321, 344, 408. END OF PAGE 125 of, and, at the request of Mr. McKnight,* I ordered a guard of six men to go with McKnight to his plantation, as they were but a small distance from Freeland's fort. The party was attacked by a number of Indians, and Michael Lepley, one of my soldiers, was killed and scalped. Witness my hand this 27th day of June, 1786. JACOB SPEES, Lieutenant. The depredations continued. "Almost every hour for three days past." wrote William Maclay on the 27th of April, "we have fresh alarms of the enemy. Massacres and depredations have been committed at Wyoming, Fort Jenkins, Fishing creek, Freeland's mill, Fort Muncy, and Loyalsock, almost at one and the same time. We expect every moment to hear of their nearer approach. The whole force of the Six Nations seems to be poured down upon us." He thought that a single troop of light horse, attended by blood-hounds, would destroy more Indians than five thousand troops stationed in forts along the frontier. While it does not appear that Council adopted this suggestion, General Hand was at length brought to realize that Northumberland county had some claim upon his protection, and on the 15th of May he reported a garrison of one hundred men at Fort Jenkins, one hundred at Fort Muncy, and seventy at Sunbury, all Continental troops from the Eleventh Pennsylvania regiment (formerly Colonel Hartley's), while a local company of nine-months men under Captain John Kemplen was stationed at Bossley's mills and detachments of militia at Fort Freeland and other minor posts. During the months of May and June the county enjoyed almost entire immunity from Indian ravages, the prelude, unfortunately, to the most serious reverses experienced within her present limits during the Revolutionary period. In the latter part of June the Eleventh regiment was ordered to Wyoming for service in Sullivan's expedition, for which the supplies were transported principally up the Susquehanna by boat, and in this work nearly all the able-bodied men in the county engaged. On the 26th of June Colonel Hunter wrote that, exclusive of the militia at Fort Freeland and at General Potter's (in Penn's township), he had been able to collect only thirty men, who were stationed at Sunbury to guard the stores. The term for which the two-months companies enlisted had expired, thus leaving him with the entire frontier to defend and practically no forces at his command. The enemy was not slow to take advantage of the situation. Their movements were thus summarized by Colonel Hunter on the 23d of July: "Immediately after the evacuation of Fort Muncy the Indians began their cruel murder again; the 3d instant they killed three men and took two prisoners at Lycoming; the 8th instant they burned the Widow Smith's mill and killed one man; 17th instant they killed two men and took three prisoners from Fort Brady; the _______________________________________________________________________ *James McKnight, member of Assembly from this county at that time. Colonel Hunter states that he was taken prisoner; in Gift's narrative Linn's Annals of Buffalo Valley, p.170), he is represented as having been killed. END OF PAGE 126 Page 127 contains a portrait of William Fagely Page 128 is blank. same day they burned Starret's mill and all the principal houses in Muncy township; the 20th instant they killed three men at Freeland's fort and took two prisoners." "Stripped of the whole of the standing army," wrote William Maclay July 26th, "and without a single man save the militia of the county and fourteen men under the command of a Captain Kemplen, and almost every young man on the frontier engaged in the boat service, they suffer more than ever from the savage depredations of a horrid enemy. Everything above Muncy Hill is abandoned; a large body of above forty savages had penetrated as far as Freeland's mills.... I have spoken to Colonel Hunter for a guard for the magazine, but in vain; he is not able to protect the flying inhabitants. The stores at Sunbury are deposited in my late dwelling house, which is large and conveniently situated, both for defense and the reception and delivery of stores. The back part of it was stockaded last year by Colonel Hartley; a small expense would complete the stockade and mount a few swivels, several of which he there dismounted.... I have had the charge of the magazine at Sunbury for some time past." The party that devastated Muncy and appeared at Fort Freeland July 20th was somewhat in advance of the main body of the enemy, which was composed of one hundred British rangers under Captain John McDonald and two hundred Indians under Hiokoto, a Seneca chief. Their approach was reconnoitered by Robert Crownover, and upon receiving his intelligence the people at Fort Muncy at once evacuated that post In their journey down the West Branch they were joined by the families at Fort Meminger, near the mouth of Warrior run, but, although warned of the impending danger, the people at Fort Boone and Fort Freeland preferred to remain. The former was a small stockade at the mouth of Muddy run, constructed under the supervision of Captain Hawkins Boone; Mrs. Mary V. Derickson gives the following account of Fort Freeland in a letter dated Delaware Run, December 17, 1855:- The fort was situated on the Warrior run about four and one half miles above where it empties into the Susquehanna river. In the year 1772 Jacob Freeland, Samuel Gould, Peter Vincent, John Vincent and his son Cornelius Vincent, and Timothy Williams, with their respective families, cut their way through and settled within some two miles of where the fort was afterward built. They were from Essex county, New Jersey. Jacob Freeland brought the irons for a grist mill, and in the years 1773 and 1774 he built one on the Warrior run. There were several more families moved up from the same place, and they lived on friendly terms with the Indians until 1777, when they began to be troublesome and to remove their own families. In the summer of 1778 they had to leave the country, and when they returned in the fall they picketed around a large two-story log house which had been built by Jacob Freeland for his family, inclosing half an acre of ground. The timbers were set close and were about twelve feet high; the gate was fastened with bars inside. Into this fort or house the families of Jacob Freeland, Sr., Jacob Freeland, Jr., John Lytle, Michael Freeland, John Vincent, Peter Vincent, George Pack, Cornelius Vincent, Moses Kirk, James Durham, Samuel Gould, Isaac END OF PAGE 129 Vincent, and Daniel Vincent all gathered and lived that winter. In November, George Pack, Son of George Pack, was born, and on the 10th of February, 1779, I was born. My father was Cornelius Vincent; and on the 20th of May, George, son of Isaac Vincent, was born. In the fall of 1778, as a company of the settlers was leaving the country on account of the Indians, they were fired at, and Mrs. Durham's infant was killed in her arms; she fell with it, and they came and tomahawked and scalped her, and when the men went to count the dead, she raised up and asked for a drink of water. Elias Williams, one of the men, ran to the river and brought his hat full of water and gave her a drink; they then put her in a canoe and took her to Northumberland, where Doctor Plunket dressed her head; she recovered and lived about fifty years. Her body was afterward laid in Warrior Run burying ground, about a half-mile off where the fort stood. In the spring of 1779 the men planted corn but were occasionally surprised by the Indians, but nothing serious occurred until the 21st day of July; as some of them were at work in a cornfield back of the fort they were attacked by a party of Indians about nine o'clock A. M., and Isaac Vincent, Elias Freeland, and Jacob Freeland, Jr., were killed, and Benjamin Vincent and Michael Freeland were taken prisoners. Daniel Vincent was chased by them, but he out-ran them, and escaped by leaping a very high log fence. When the Indians surprised them, Benjamin Vincent (then ten years of age) hid himself in a furrow, but he thought he would be more secure by climbing a tree, as there was a woods near, but they saw him and took him prisoner; he was ignorant of the fate of the others until about two o'clock P. M., when an Indian thrust a bloody scalp in his face, and he knew it was his (and my) brother Isaac's hair. At this point it is proper to mention the death of James Watt, to which Mrs. Derickson does not refer. The deposition of his widow, Mrs. Ann Watt, entered in the minutes of the orphans' court of Northumberland county at October term, 1790, states, that he "was stationed at Freeland's fort in the county aforesaid and did actual duty as a sergeant in Captain Taggart's company in the battalion of Colonel James Murray, having served under the commands of Captain Taggart, Lieutenant Atkinson, Ensign Freeland, and Adjutant Lytle (the latter being commander at the time of the death of the said James), each in succession of the said Fort Freeland; that on the morning of the 28th day of July, A. D. 1779, the said James Watt was set upon by the Indians at enmity with this Commonwealth, about one hundred yards from the said fort, and was then and there tomahawked and put to death." It is worthy of remark that the name of Lieutenant Spees is not given among the successive commanders of the fort; possibly he preceded those mentioned. The remainder of Mrs. Derickson's narrative is as follows:- Nothing again occurred until the morning of the 29th; about daybreak, as Jacob Freeland, Sr., was going out of the gate, he was shot, and fell inside of the gate. The fort was surrounded by about three hundred British and Indians, commanded by Captain McDonald; there were but twenty-one men in the fort, and but little ammunition; Mary Kirk and Phebe Vincent commenced immediately and ran all their spoons and plates into bullets; about nine o'clock there was a flag of truce raised, and John Lytle and John Vincent went out to capitulate, but could not agree. They had half an hour given them to consult with those inside; at length they agreed that all who were able to bear arms should go as prisoners, and the old men and women and children set free, END OF PAGE 130 and the fort given up to plunder; they all left the fort by twelve o'clock m., not one of them having eaten a bite that day, and not a child was heard to cry or ask for bread that day. They reached Northumberland, eighteen miles distant, that night, and there drew their rations, the first they had to eat that day. When Mrs. Kirk heard the terms on which they were set free she put female clothes on her son William, a lad of sixteen, and he escaped with the women. Mrs. Elizabeth Vincent was a cripple; she could not walk. Her husband, John Vincent, went to Captain McDonald and told him of her situation, and said if he had the horse that the Indians had taken from his son Peter the week before that she could ride, and about daylight the next morning the horse came to them; he had carried his wife to the lower end of the meadow where they lay and saw the fort burned, and it rained so hard that night that she lay mid-side in water; when the horse came he stripped the bark off a hickory tree and plaited a halter, set his wife on, and led it to Northumberland, where there were wagons pressed to take them on down the country.* The following copy of the articles of capitulation was transmitted to President Reed by Colonel Matthew Smith:- Articles of Capitulation entered into between Captain John McDonald on his Majesty's part and John Lytle on that of the Congress. Article 1st. - The men in garrison to march out and ground their arms on the green in front of the fort, which is to he taken possession of immediately by his Majesty's troops. - Agreed to. 2d. - All men bearing arms are to surrender themselves prisoners of war and to be sent to Niagara. - Agreed to. 3d. - The women and children not to be stripped of their clothing nor molested by the Indians, and to be at liberty to move down the country where they please. - Agreed to. John McDONALD, Captain of Rangers. John Lytle The first intelligence of the attack was received at Sunbury at twelve o'clock on the 28th day of July, when an express arrived from Boone's mill with the information that the fort was surrounded by a party of Indians. A party at once marched from Sunbury and Northumberland to the relief of the garrison at Boone's. At Colonel Hunter's request Dr. Francis Allison wrote Colonel Elder "that Freeland's fort, the most advanced fort on the frontiers of the West Branch, had on Wednesday last [July 21st] three of the garrison killed and scalped (one only shot) within sixty yards of the fort, and two made prisoners; their number of Indians appeared to be up wards of thirty in the open view of the garrison. Relief was sent immediately from Boone's fort and the two towns, and additional force was left behind to their assistance," notwithstanding which an attack was made on the morning of July 28th, of which intelligence was received by express from Major Smith and Captain Nelson. The following extracts from letters written at Sunbury on the 29th of July convey a graphic idea of the situation:- ______________________________________________________________________ *Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. XII, pp. 364-366. - It is to be observed that Mrs. Derickson says the first attack occurred July 21st - Colonel Hunter, July 20th; she also says the capitulation occurred July 29th, while contemporary writers without exception give July 28th as the date, and the latter is undoubtedly correct. END OF PAGE 131 Yesterday morning early there was a party of Indians and regular troops attacked Fort Freeland; the firing was heard at Boone's place, when a party of thirty men turned out from that under the command of Captain Boone, but before he arrived at Fort Freeland the garrison had surrendered and the British troops and savages were paraded around the prisoners, and the fort and houses adjacent set on fire. Captain Boone and his party fired briskly on the enemy, but were soon surrounded by a large party of Indians; there were thirteen killed of our people and Captain Boone himself among the slain. - (Colonel Hunter to William Maclay. Yesterday morning Freeland's fort was attacked by not less than three hundred British troops and Indians; they acted on the defensive as long as they could well, but found it impracticable to hold out any longer after the enemy had sent in three flags desiring them to surrender, the last mentioning if they did not they would put them to the sword, every one...... The whole killed in the fort was four men. Captain Boone, who went out for their relief, fell in with the enemy; Captain Kemplen, who observed the first Indian on guard, shot him dead on the spot; then a party rallied out of the mill and defeated Boone's company - killed Boone, Captain Dougherty, Captain Hamilton;...... Only thirteen escaped. Northumberland is now the frontier. John Buyers to William Maclay. We have received particular instructions from Fort Freeland by women who have been in the fort. They say the garrison surrendered after making a noble but short resistance, and after being thrice summoned....... Of the garrison four were killed, and thirteen scalps were brought into the fort in a pocket handkerchief, among whom were Captain Boone's and Captain Dougherty's, supposed to belong to the party from Boone's fort which attacked the British, Indians, etc., and even got in among the people who were prisoners with them, but were obliged to fly on account of superiority of numbers. Thirteen or fourteen of the party have come in; they and the women of Fort Freeland estimate the number of the enemy at between three and four hundred, one third of whom are regular troops. Boone's fort is evacuated, and Northumberland-Town is already the frontier. - Dr. Francis Allison to Colonel Joshua Elder. On the 2d of August a party from Buffalo valley under Colonel John Kelly buried the dead and prepared a list of their names; they gave it to Colonel Matthew Smith, by whom it was transmitted to Council. Of the garrison, James Watt, John McClintock, William McClung, James Miles, and Henry Gilfillan were killed; of Captain Boone's party, Hawkins Boone, Samuel Dougherty, Jeremiah McLaughlin, Natt'e Smith, John Jones, Edward Costigan, Ezra Green, Samuel Neill, Matthew McClintock, Hugh McGill, and Andrew Woods. Of the garrison, the following were taken prisoners :* Captain's company - John Neely, sergeant, George Bailey, George Armitage, Aaron Martin, Thomas Smith, Isaac Wilson, and John Forney; "of the militia that enrolled themselves for the defense of the garrison " - John Lytle, adjutant, Cornelius Vincent, quartermaster, Samuel Gould, sergeant, Henry Townley, Peter Williams, Isaac Williams, Elias Williams, Henry Gilfillan, James Durham, Daniel Vincent, John Watt, William Miles, John Dough, Thomas Taggart, Francis Watt, and Peter Vincent; the two last named made their escape on the same day. All the women and children in the fort, fifty-two in number, according to Colonel Matthew Smith, ________________________________________________________________________ *Linn's Annals of Buffalo Valley, p.179. END OF PAGE 132 arrived safely at Sunbury. Four old men were also permitted to return, as the enemy did not think them strong enough to march to Niagara. On the 28th of July Colonel Hunter dispatched letters to General Sullivan, whose army was yet at Wyoming, and Colonel Joshua Elder, of Paxtang, sub-lieutenant of Lancaster county, urgently soliciting assistance. The former declined to comply with the request, as his entire force was deemed necessary for the success of the expedition, but the appeal to the latter was not made in vain. On the 31st of July the inhabitants of Paxtang township held a meeting at which Colonel Elder, Colonel Matthew Smith, and William Maclay presented the situation in Northumberland county; an appeal was made for volunteers and eight o'clock Sunday morning fixed upon as the time to march. Colonel Smith arrived at Sunbury on 'Monday evening, August 2d, with sixty Paxtang boys; "Provisions are scarce, but we intend to follow the savages," he wrote on the 3d; "we hope to come at them, as the number of cattle is great they have taken from the country, and must make a slow progress on their return home .... The distress of the people here is great; you may have some conception, but scarcely can be told. The town now composes Northumberland county. The enemy have burnt everywhere they have been; houses, barns, rice and wheat in the field, stacks of hay, etc. are all consumed. Such devastation I have not yet seen." The Paxtang boys were the first to arrive; every hour brought fresh accessions from Lancaster and Cumberland counties, and on the morning of Thursday, August 5th, five hundred militia marched from Sunbury under Colonel Smith Their immediate destination was Muncy. It was thought that the enemy might be overtaken, but a week had elapsed since their departure and it is not probable that the pursuit was long continued. After about two weeks of active service, the volunteers disbanded. General Sullivan was advancing into the Indian country, and for a time the frontier was comparatively undisturbed. On the 28th of August Colonel Hunter wrote that no damage had been sustained since the fall of Freeland; below Muncy Hill many of the inhabitants had returned to their farms; thirty-four militia from Lancaster county had arrived at Sunbury, and he was about to station them in the Warrior run neighborhood. The disastrous consequences attending the withdrawal of the Eleventh regiment prompted Council to make an urgent application for Continental troops to protect Northumberland county, in compliance with which the German regiment, which had been stationed at Wyoming since its return from Sullivan's expedition, was ordered to Sunbury. This regiment numbered one hundred twenty effective men, exclusive of officers, and was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig Weltner, who made his headquarters at Sunbury and retained a detachment at that place to guard the stores. Twenty men were stationed at Fort Jenkins, and Captain Kemplen's rangers, a local company of fourteen men, at Fort Meminger, seventeen END OF PAGE 133 miles from Sunbury on the West Branch. As there was not sufficient force to rebuild and garrison Fort Muncy, it became necessary to select some other point equally well adapted for the protection of the frontier in that direction. "McClung's place" (presumably the improvements of a settler of that name near the West Branch above Milton) was accordingly chosen, and a detachment of the German regiment took position there on the 5th of November. It was represented that fortifications had been begun at that point, but this proved without foundation, and, as there was insufficient shelter and no timber convenient, the troops removed to "a place called Montgomery's," where barracks and other necessary defenses were erected. This post, variously referred to as Fort Montgomery, Fort Rice, and Fort Bunner, was situated in the extreme southeastern part of Lewis township at a large spring on a tract of land originally warranted under the name of Paradise, which ultimately gained popular currency and is now applied to a large part of Turbut and Lewis townships. The first resident owner of this land was John Montgomery, who built his cabin at the spring; it was fortified when the Indian troubles began, and thus acquired the name of Fort Montgomery. On the morning that Fort Freeland was invested, retreat having become wiser than resistance in view of a probable attack by greatly superior numbers, Montgomery and his party withdrew in safety to Sunbury. There is reason to suppose that Weltner's troops found his improvements available for occupation, and that the additional works erected rendered this a place of comparative strength. It was given the names of Fort Rice and Fort Bunner in honor of Captains Frederick William Rice and Jacob Bunner, of the German regiment, who had command of the garrison at various time. During the ensuing winter the regiment appears to have been engaged principally in garrison duty. On the 13th of December, 1779, Colonel Weltner wrote that the detachments at Montgomery's and Jenkins's had left him only enough at Sunbury "to mount a couple of sentries." In a letter dated April 9,1780, he stated that he had "manned three material outposts," Fort Jenkins, Fort Montgomery, and Bossley's mill, in addition to which a post on the West Branch near Boone's mill was reported on the 8th of May.* On the 7th of April President Reed wrote Colonel Hunter authorizing the payment of fifteen hundred dollars for a prisoner and one thousand dollars for an Indian scalp; this furnished incentive for the organization of volunteer companies, and as spring opened the Continental troops also engaged in reconnoitering expeditions. On the 20th of June Colonel Weltner wrote that the entire frontier from the North to the West Branch had ______________________________________________________________________ *It does not appear that the matter was sustained any length of time; the following statements occur in a "Memorial of Inhabitants on the west Branch" dated June 20, 17th: "The German regiment, So far as we know, consists of about one hundred men, and are posted nearly as follows: thirty-three at Fort Jenkins, thirty at Bossley's mill, twenty- four at Fort Bunner, and the residue at headquarters In Northumberland- Town. - Pennsylvania Archives (Second Series), Vol. III p. 416. END OF PAGE 134 been traversed to a distance of forty miles from Northumberland, and an officer with five men had ascended the West Branch more than a hundred miles. Regarding his own excursions he said: "I often reconnoiter my outposts; five or six gentlemen in this town and two of my officers are commonly my escorts. It is highly discouraging for a man who has always been generous in his own house, and now when he serves his country with every nerve in his body, must, after a fatigue of two or three days, and those gentlemen who suffered the same, must then go home without any refreshment from me, as this place has not afforded a drop of good liquor since the beginning of March last." It does not appear that his command was engaged in any important movements during the summer, and in August, 1780, it was withdrawn. The enemy made frequent incursions during this period. On the 27th of November, 1779, Colonel Hunter wrote that a deep snow had fallen, which he hoped would prevent their inroads during the winter, and while this seems to have been the case, William Maclay stated in a letter written on the 2d of April, 1780, "They are with us before that snow is quite gone." The county was, he said, a "divided quarter," in which "Whig, Tory, Yankee, Pennamite, Dutch, Irish, and English influence" were strangely blended. On the 31st of March seven or eight prisoners were taken near Fort Jenkins. Three Indians attacked the house of a widow on the 8th of April, killed two of her children, and took her prisoner, but she escaped. On the 13th, although three parties of the inhabitants were out scouting at the time and a detachment of militia was stationed two miles away, twenty Indians killed one man and wounded three at Peter Swartz's plantation on the West Branch twelve miles from Sunbury. Four men were killed at Grozong's mill in Buffalo Valley May 16th; On the 12th of June Emanuel Lewis, second lieutenant in Captain Mull's company of the Third battalion, was killed at his house on the Reading road seven miles from Sunbury, and on the same day an Indian was taken prisoner at Thomas Bowyer's on the North Branch ten miles from Northumberland. In the same vicinity and about the same time Robert Curry was killed while riding horseback and his wife taken prisoner, but she escaped. Two inroads were made on the 15th of August, in one of which the Middle creek settlement, eight miles from Sunbury, was attacked. After the withdrawal of the German regiment Colonel Hunter ordered the frontier companies of militia to embody and kept one fourth of the men constantly reconnoitering. Fort Jenkins, Fort Rice, and Fort Swartz were each garrisoned with twenty men; Captain McCay took position in Buffalo valley with thirty volunteers from Cumberland county, which also contributed two companies of militia numbering seventy or eighty men who arrived on the 10th of September. The re-enforcement was timely. A large body of the enemy appeared before Fort Rice about sundown on the 6th of END OF PAGE 135 September, killed one man, and wounded another, but the garrison returned the fire with such spirit that they withdrew and set fire to a number of houses and grain stacks during the night. The militia was immediately ordered out, and one hundred men under Colonel John Kelly reached the fort on the following day, but, having been informed that the enemy numbered two hundred fifty, it was not deemed prudent to pursue. Colonel Hunter at once ordered the evacuation of Fort Jenkins (which was subsequently burned) and sent an express to Colonel Purdy on the Juniata, who brought one hundred ten militia and eighty volunteers. General James Potter arrived at Sunbury on the 11th of September and took command; as the local militia had collected and the number of the enemy was found to be less than had been reported, he dismissed the volunteers; on the 12th he marched with one hundred seventy men to Fort Swartz on the West Branch. Leaving his command at that point he crossed the river to the mouth of White Deer creek, where Colonel Kelly was encamped with eighty men, waiting for the return of three spies. It was decided to join forces and advance eastward along Muncy Hill, but, as the spies had not yet returned on the following morning and their continued absence strongly indicated that they had been killed or captured, it was deemed advisable to proceed up the West Branch; General Potter marched on the east side and Colonel Kelly on the west side. At Muncy Hill they met the spies, who gave positive assurance that the enemy had not retreated in that direction; Colonel Kelly thereupon crossed the river with his command and the combined forces set out for Huntington creek, the east branch of Fishing creek. On the night of the 13th, an express having arrived with intelligence of the enemy's appearance at Middle creek, Colonels Kelly and Purdy returned with one hundred fifty men; General Potter proceeded with the remainder, numbering one hundred ten, but, finding it impossible to overtake the attacking party, he returned to Sunbury on the 17th. On the following day he transmitted an account of the expedition to President Reed, with the request that militia might be sent to the frontier; the letter was considered by Council on the 29th instant: one class of the Lancaster county militia was ordered to Northumberland, where it remained until December. Early in the spring of 1781 hostilities were again reported. On the 12th of April General Potter wrote that five distinct attacks had been made since the 22d of March (one not more than five miles from Sunbury), and distress was widely prevalent among the people; Captain Thomas Robinson* had enlisted forty men, but there was not a blanket among them. On the 15th of June Captain Robinson reported fifty-two men enlisted for the war and fourteen for seven months; Lieutenants Peter Grove and Samuel McGrady ______________________________________________________________________ *Captain Robinson's correspondence relating to affairs in Northumberland county during the Revolutionary period is published in the Pennsylvania Archives, as follows: - l781 - Vol. IX. pp. 208-209, 237-238, 392; 1782 - vol. IX. p.659. END OF PAGE 136 were also recruiting. The former had seventeen men and the latter twenty, all for seven months. Council experienced great difficulty in furnishing supplies, owing to the straitened condition of State finances, and it was not until the 1st of July that clothing and ammunition were forwarded from Philadelphia. The wagon reached Lancaster on the 23d instant and Captain John Hambright sent it to Middletown the same day in care of Captain Abraham Scott; the receipt of its contents was acknowledged by Captain Robinson on the 8th of September. Referring to the Indians in a letter of that date he said: "The savages have been a long time quiet this summer. They have done no harm in this county since I have been able with men to go to the woods to scout. They made their appearance in harvest twice, but did no hurt." Robinson's company, which was withdrawn early in the winter of 1781, was again stationed on the frontier in 1782 and rebuilt Fort Muncy, which proved of material advantage as a rendezvous for scouting parties. Notwithstanding this the Indians succeeded in penetrating to the interior of the county, and several tragedies were reported during the year. Major John Lee and family were killed at Winfield, three miles above Sunbury, in August; on the 14th of October John Martin and wife were killed at their house on Chillisquaque near Colonel James Murray's and three persons were taken prisoners; and on the 24th of the same month Sergeant Edward Lee of Captain Robinson's company was killed two miles from Fort Rice and Robert Carothers was taken prisoner. Happily for the distressed frontier, the independence of the United States was acknowledged by Great Britain, November 30, 1782, and on the 20th of January, 1783, a preliminary treaty of peace was signed. Thus assured of immunity from the harassing experiences of the preceding years the former inhabitants of Northumberland county began to return, and the arts of peaceful industry were again resumed after the long interruption of the Revolutionary period. Colonel Hunter was appointed as county lieutenant, March 21, 1777, and re-appointed on the 6th of April, 1780, with William Murray, Walter Clark, and John Wolf as sub-lieutenants. Thomas Jordan was appointed paymaster of the militia, March 15, 1777, and William Gray, June 23, 1781; John Kelly and Thomas Hewitt, commissioners to seize the personal effects of traitors, October 21, 1777; James McMahan, wagonmaster, January 9, 1778; William Gray and John Lytle, purchasers of provisions, February 20, 1778; John Kelly and Thomas Hewitt, agents for forfeited estates, May 6, 1778; William Cooke, assistant forage master, April 5, 1780; John Weitzel, issuing commissary, July 7, 1780. The following statement, showing Colonel Hunter's receipts and disbursements for the support of the militia of Northumberland county during the Revolution, has been transcribed from the original, now in the possession of Captain John Buyers, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. An asterisk (*) indi- END OF PAGE 137 cates State currency; a dagger(†) specie; sums to which no distinguishing mark is affixed were paid in Continental money. State of the Accounts of Samuel Hunter, Lieutenant of Northumberland County, from March, 1777, to March, 1784. Samuel Hunter, Dr. to Sundries. John W. Nesbit, Treasurer Council of Safety:- Received per Colonel William Cooke for paying the militia of £ s. d. Northumberland County, January 3, 1777 ................... 187 10 0 Paid Colonel Philip Cole the balance of his account, January 9,1777. ...................................... 45 5 0 Paid Colonel Murray for a like sum he paid to Colonel Hunter, January 13,1777 ....................................... 25 2 6 Council of Safety:- Received per George Calhoon, December 29, 1776 ................ 783 15 6 David Rittenhouse, Treasurer:- Received upon an order of Council per Francis Allison, July 12, 1777 ..................................................300 0 0 Per Joseph Green, January 1, 1778 ............................ 1600 0 0 Per Thomas Hewitt, September 23, 1777 ......................... 750 0 0 Per Matthias Slough, to be delivered to John Hambright and forwarded to said Hunter for purchasing provisions, January 21,1778 ............................................... 937 10 0 Per Jacob Reighard, to be forwarded as above, July 4, 1778 .... 562 10 0 By order of Council, April 14, 1779 .......................... 1809 0 0 Per Joseph Hart, May 3, 1779 ................................ 3750 0 0 Per John Hambright, on account, for raising a company of rangers, June 9, 1780 ....................................... 10000 0 0 For raising a company of rangers for defense of the frontiers, February, 1781 ............................................... *100 0 0 For recruiting Captain Robinson's ranging company, December 8, 1781 ............................................. †120 0 0 John Hambright:- Received of him, which had been sent from the treasury, April 19, 1779 .............................................. 3750 0 0 Matthew Smith:- Received of Daniel Reese, supposed to be a part of the moneys paid to said Smith for the defense of the frontiers, June 8, 1779 ................................................ 1875 0 0 George Wolf, sub-Lieutenant:- Received of him, being fines collected, March 6,1778, £ 150 15s.; January 29,1779, £397 10s ......................... 548 5 0 William Murray, sub-Lieutenant:- Received of him, being fines collected, April 15, 1778 ........ 302 0 0 Militia Fines:- Received of Robert Martin, fines collected, April 30, 1778 .... 226 15 0 Received of Jonathan Lodge, sheriff ........................... 80 0 0 Received the fine of Charles Gough ............................. 22 10 0 Received the fine of John Parker ............................... 20 0 0 Received of Sheriff Lodge Livingston's fine, April, 1779 ...... 50 0 0 Received of Thomas Hewitt the fines of James McNeill and Thomas Barry ................................................... 57 2 6 Balance due to Colonel Hunter ................................. 3830 0 9 . †246 18 8 ____________ Total-Continental money ..................................... 31512 5 9 State currency ......................................... *100 0 0 Specie .................................................. †366 18 8 END OF PAGE 138 Sundries, Dr. to Samuel Hunter United States:- For the following sums paid by Colonel Hunter out of a part of the $35,000 borrowed of Congress, December 26, 1776, advanced for the militia of Northumberland county and afterwards credited by them at settlement with the United States, viz.: Colonel Philip Cole, December 14, 1776, £108; December 19th, £76 10s., per John M. Nesbit, January 9, 1777, £45 5s.; to Captain John Lee, December 13, 1776, £108, December 19th, £25, December 20th, £40 15s., December 24th, £34 10s.; to Colonel Benjamin Weiser, December 22, 1776, £ s. d. £ 5. d. £52 10s.; Colonel James Potter, £261 .................. 706 5 0 Joseph Green, quartermaster, for provisions furnished the militia on their march, July 21, 1777 ......................... 61 19 3 Joseph Green, for nine days' pay as quartermaster to Colonel Kelly's battalion, July 21, 1777 .............................. 3 0 0 Captain John Forster, for his own and the pay of his company of militia, July 28, 1777 ..................................... 37 6 0 Doctor Bennett, for forage, July 28, 1777 ...................... 0 14 6 Captain Thomas Gaskins, for his own and the pay of his company of militia, July 8,1777 ................................ 22 19 0 Colonel Cookson Long, pay of Captain Wilson and his company, July 29,1777 ..................................................... 45 7 0 George Keiser, wagon hire carrying baggage, July 30, 1777 ........ 6 0 0 Dr. Benjamin Allison, his pay as surgeon six days, August 1, 1777.. 4 10 0 Lieutenant Colonel Hugh White, of militia, six days' pay, September 27, 1777 ............................................... 4 10 0 Colonel John Kelly, six days' pay, October 10, 1777 .............. 5 12 6 John Buyers, quartermaster, for provisions furnished the militia, October 3,1777 ................................................. 10 6 0 William Bonham, for 291 lbs. of beef furnished the militia, November 4,1777 ............................................... 14 11 0 William Bailey, quartermaster, in part of his account of provisions furnished, November 10, 1777, £66; November 11th, £45 ........................................... 111 0 0 Dr. Benjamin Allison, surgeon first class Colonel Kelly's battalion, two months' pay, November 18, 1777 ................. 41 5 0 John Beam, for 64 lbs. of beef for the militia, December 11, 1777 .............................................. 3 4 0 Captain Thomas Gaskins, for his own and the pay of his company of Northumberland county militia from September 14 to November 8, 1777; [paid,] January 12, 1778 ................ 315 15 8 Colonel John Kelly, for his pay, September 14 to November 5, 1777; [paid,] January 10, 1778 ................................ 50 12 0 Captain Casper Reed, for himself and company, September 14 to November 8, 1777; [paid,] January 21, 1778 ................. 242 9 0 Joseph Green, for his pay as quartermaster, September 14 to November 8, 1777; [paid,] January 23, 1778 ..................... 17 5 0 Major Jonas Yocum, his pay for two months, February 17, 1778 ..... 37 10 0 Captain John Mull, for military services, March 15, 1778 ......... 3 0 0 John McMullin, surgeon's mate, his pay from September 14 to November 8, 1777 .............................................. 27 0 0 Captain Thomas Wilson, for his own and the pay of his company for said time, April 13, 1778 ........................ 293 17 0 END OF PAGE 139 Captain John Chattam, pay of a party after disaffected £ s. d. persons, July 16,1778 ........................................ 3 7 6 Robert Martin, for ferriage of the militia, January 25, 1779 .... 11 8 9 John Weitzel, for services as commissary of stores at Sunbury, May 30, 1778 .......................................... 47 10 0 William Simms, for riding express, July 10,1778, £11 5s.; April 25, 1779, £7105 .......................................... 18 15 0 John Eason, for pay of three persons employed as spies between Northumberland-Town and Wyoming, August 16, 1779 ....... 33 15 0 John McMahan, for pay as spy between Muncy Hill and Lycoming, August 28, 1779 ................................................ 45 0 0 John Eason, for reconnoitering between Muncy Hill and Lycoming, August 28, 1779, £45; September 6th, £26 5s .................... 71 5 0 William King, for reconnoitering between Muncy Hill and Lycoming, September 6, 1779 .................................... 80 0 0 Thomas Ferguson, for reconnoitering between Muncy Hill and Lycoming, September 6, 1779 .................................... 71 5 0 John Weitzel, in part pay as superintendent of the magazine at Sunbury, October 14, 1779 .................................. 285 0 0 James Murray, for services reconnoitering, October 19, 1779 ..... 185 0 0 Dr. Benjamin Allison, for six months pay as surgeon from April 1, 1779; [paid,] October 23, 1779 ...................... 202 10 0 Walter Clark, for services of three men as spies, November 25, 1779 ............................................. 185 0 0 Peter Gabriel, for baking three hundred-weight of biscuit for a secret expedition against the Indians, July 21, 1780 ..... 88 15 0 John Weitzel, in part pay as superintendent, September 11,1780 .. 187 10 0 William Campbell, for his services as pilot on the Indian expedition, October 2,1780 ..................................... 78 15 0 James Hepburn, for purchasing provisions, being in part of his accounts settled, and the balance paid, December 7,1779 .... 112 10 0 Lieutenant Jacob Creamer, of the Rangers:- Paid him for the recruiting service and pay, March 8, 1781. ... *18 15 0 Colonel James Murray:- Paid him out of the moneys sent by the Council of Safety, December 10,1776 .............................................. 261 0 0 Paid him as captain for recruiting his company, July 14' 1778 .. 90 0 0 Paid him for arms furnished his company of six months' men, May 6,1779 .................................................. 1809 0 0 Andrew Culbertson:- Paid him for the use of purchasing provisions, October 9, 1777.. 81 15 0 Major Robert Arthur:- Paid him towards the pay of the militia on their march, November 11,1777 ............................................... 22 10 0 Joseph Green, Quartermaster:- Paid him towards providing provisions for the first class on the frontiers, January 10, 1778 ............................ 967 5 6 Colonel William Cooke:- Paid him to purchase provisions for the militia, June 2, 1778.. 937 10 0 Captain Thomas Kemplen:- Paid him for recruiting a camp of rangers, May 7, 1779, £75; May 12th, £450; June 15th, £339 7s. 6d ........................ 864 7 6 Paid him for the pay of his company, August 13, 1779 ........... 82 10 0 END OF PAGE 140 Paid him for John Carmady, sergeant, to pay for making shins £ s. d. for Captain Kemplen's company, September 22, 1779 .............. 13 10 0 Paid himself, October 8,1779 ................................... 82 10 0 Paid him for Thomas Moore for his company, November 19, 1779, £225; May 3, 1780, £112 10s ................................... 837 10 0 Captain George Grant, of the Ninth regiment:- Paid him for the recruiting service, March 27, 1778, £157 2s. 6d.; April 21st, £52 10s ........................................... 209 12 6 Captain William Wilson, of the First regiment:- Paid him for the recruiting service, April 16, 1778, £150; April 30th, £204 7s. 6d ....................................... 354 7 6 Captain John Boyd, of the Twelfth regiment:- Paid him for the recruiting service, April 16, 1778, £150; May 7th, £75 .................................................. 225 0 0 Captain Thomas Robinson, of the Rangers:- Paid him for raising his company, July 11, 1780 .............. 2878 17 6 Paid him for the recruiting service, January 7, 1781, £815 12s. 6d; January 16th, £811 10s ........................ 627 2 6 Paid him for raising his company, October 3, 1781, £37 10s.; October 15th, £18 15s ......................................... *56 5 0 Paid him for raising his company, December 21, 1781, £18; February 23, 1782, £6; May 20th, £23 10s ...................... †47 10 0 Paid him per Lieutenant Samuel McGrady for six-months men, May 20,1782 ................................................... †13 2 6 Military stores:- Paid sundry persons at sundry times for four rifles, one musket and bayonet, 236 1/2 lbs. of powder, 404 1/4 lbs. of lead, 574 flints, 2 powder kegs, and for repairing arms and for transporting same and ammunition ................................................ 914 10 10 [On the same account] .......................................... †5 11 2 Militia expenses:- Paid sundry expenses on public business for the defense of the county, the families of poor militia men in the service, captains for making returns of male whites, ferriages, drummers, and fifers, stationery, £15 for a substitute, expenses of conveying distressed families from Fort Freeland, and other contingent expenses, 1777-84 ..................... 1551 8 9 William Murray, for his services as sub-lieutenant ............ 4 10 0 William Watson, for his services as sub-lieutenant ............ 83 4 0 For his own pay as sub-lieutenant from March 22, 1777, to April 5, 1779 - 667 days, at 22s. 6d.; from April 5, 1779, to October 10th - 160 days, at 37s. 6d.; from October 10, 1779, to March 20, 17 80 - 118 days, at £6 - in all ........ 1758 7 6 For his own pay as sub-lieutenant from March 20, 1780, to June 21, 1781 - employed 375 days at £30 per day .......... 11250 0 0 For his own pay as sub-lieutenant from June 21, 1781, to March, 1784 - 403 days, of which 387 at 15s. and 16 at 12s. 6d. specie ............................................ †360 5 0 John Hambright:- For a deficiency of $4233 2/3 in the £10000 he received at the treasury, June 9, 1780, to be sent to Colonel Hunter, and of which the sum of only $22433 only was delivered per voucher 1587 12 6 Balance due the State ......................................... *25 0 0 ___________ END OF PAGE 141 Total - Continental money ...................... 31512 5 9 State Currency ............................... *100 0 0 Specie ....................................... †366 18 8 ___________ Colonel Samuel Hunter, Dr. To balance of the foregoing account due to the State .......... *25 0 0 To funded debt, for sundry certificates issued agreeably to act passed, April 1, 1784 ................................ †278 14 3 Contra Cr. By balance of the foregoing account in favor of Colonel Hunter, £3830 9d. Continental money, equal to ...................... *25 0 0 †278 14 3 Examined and settled, Comptroller General's Office, JOHN NICHOLSON. April 6, 1784. END OF CHAPTER III.