Area History: History of Schuylkill County, Pa: W. W. Munsell, 1881: Introduction and Outline History Of Pennsylvania: Pages 9-25. Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by R. Steffey. Typing and editing by Jo Garzelloni and Carole Carr. USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ____________________________________________________________ HISTORY OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PA with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. New York: W. W. Munsell & Co., 36 Vesey Street, 1881 Press of George Macnamara, 36 Vesey Street, N.Y. ____________________________________________________________ Introduction. _______+_______ + _____________________________________ In preparing the following work for publication information has been sought from every available source, and it is believed that many of the facts recorded have been preserved from oblivion by being thus rescued from the failing memories of those who will soon pass away. It is hardly possible that in a work like this no errors will be found; but it is confidently hoped that if inaccuracies are discovered the great difficulty of preventing their occurrence will be considered, and that they will be regarded in a charita- ble rather that a censorious spirit. The publishers desire to acknowledge the kindness and courte- sy with which their efforts to obtain the facts recorded here have been almost uniformly met. To the press, and especially to the editors of the Minors' Journal, of Pottsville, and the Shen- andoah Herald, for free access to the files of their journals; to Colonel Hyde, the gentlemanly librarian of the Pottsville Athe- naeum, for the privileges of the library; to county and borough officers, for assistance in examining their records; to the pastors of nearly all the churches in the county, for assistance in preparing the religious history; and to secretaries of numer- ous societies and lodges, for data furnished, their grateful acknowledgments are due. The following books have been freely consulted: Sherman Day's and Dr Egle's histories of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Archives, Rupp's history of Schuylkill county, Dewees's and Martin's histo- ries of the Mollie Maguires, the history of the Pennsylvania volunteers, prepared under the authority of the State by Samuel P. Bates, LL.D.; and the Memorial of the Patriotism of Schuylkill County, by the late Francis B. Wallace, from which last the lists of the soldiers of the Union from Schuylkill county were taken. Of those who have aided in the preparation of the work, or furnished valuable information, it is a pleasure to the publish- ers to name the following, besides the authors of sections of the work who are named in connection with their contributions: The intelligent octogenarians, Abraham Pott, who came here at the age of ten, and Jeremiah Reed, who was born here; Judge David B. Green, Judge E.O. Parry, F.A. Mortimer, O.J. Airgood, clerk of the courts, J.B. Kaercher, C.D. Arters, D.E. Miller, Christopher Little, John P. Bertram, William L. Whitney, John A.M. Passmore, George R. Kaercher, Jesse Hawley, Rev. Dr. Bellville and George W. Smiley, Revs. G.A. Hinterleitner, Edward J. Koons, J.B. Stein and B.F. Patterson, J. Wallace McCool, Charles Tanner, W.B. Staller, Jacob S. Longacre, H.H. Brownmiller, F.G. Faust, H.S. Strong, A.L. Boughner, W.H. Zeller, John Anthony, Edward T. Filbert, Rev. E.S. Henry, John Jacob Schnoke, J.O. Roads and Richard Harington. __________________________________ Outline History of Pennsylvania. ________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER I. ____ THE DISCOVERY OF THE DELAWARE PENNSYLVANIA GRANTED TO AND ORGANIZED BY WILLIAM PENN __________ The first discovery of Delaware bay, and the river which forms a portion of the eastern boundary of the State of Pennsyl- vania appears to have been made by Hendrick Hudson, an Englishman in the service of the Dutch, in 1609. In August of that year he entered the bay, and after a short cruise in it left and preceded to the mouth of the Hudson river, which stream he ascended as far as Albany. It is said that Lord Delaware visited the bay in 1610; hence the name by which it and the river are known. It was called by the Dutch South river, the Hudson being termed by them the North river. Another Dutch navigator, Captain Mey, visited the bay in 1614; but Captain, or, as he was termed, skipper Cornelius Hen- drickson first ascended the river as far as the mouth of the Schuylkill, in 1616. A short lived settlement was made on the east bank of the Delaware under the auspices of the Dutch West India Company in 1623, under the direction of Captains Mey and Tienpont. Another settlement was made on the bay, farther down, in 1630; but this was soon destroyed by the Indians, whose enmity the colonists had indiscreetly incurred. Maryland was granted to Lord Baltimore in 1632, and the territory on the west side of the Delaware was claimed by him, and the disputes arising out of this claim remained unsettled during many years. In 1638 a settlement was made on the west bank of the Dela- ware by a colony of Swedes, under the patronage of Queen Christi- na. This colony was under the direction of Peter Minuit, a Hollander, who had been a director in the colony of New Amster- dam. Several Swedish governors followed Minuit in succession; prosperous settlements sprang up along the west bank of the river, and a thriving trade was carried on by the Swedes. They were watched with jealousy by the Dutch, who set up the claim of jurisdiction by reason of former occupation, and instituted intrigues and plans to disposses the Swedes. In 1655 a force of seven vessels and six hundred men was sent up the Delaware for that purpose. The Swedish government had been kept in ignorance of this expedition, and it was easily successful. On the restoration of Charles the Second to the throne of Great Britain, he granted the territory now including New York and New Jersey, and afterwards that of Delaware, to his brother the Duke of York. The latter immediately sent a force to take possession of the country thus granted. New Amsterdam and Fort Orange on the Hudson were at once possessed, and rechristened respectively New York, in honor of the Duke of York, and Albany. A portion of the force was then dispatched to take possession of the Dutch colonies on the Delaware, which was accomplished almost without resistance. This dispossession of the Dutch by the English led to a war between Great Britain and Holland, at the conclusion of which the title of the former to these territories was acknowledged by treaty. The Duke of York continued in pos- session of this region, undisturbed except by the Marylanders, who resorted to occasional acts of violence in order to assert the claim of Lord Baltimore, until, in 1663, war again broke out between Great Britain and Holland, and Dutch privateers visited the coast and plundered the inhabitants; and during that years a Dutch squadron of vessels arrived and repossessed the dominions which had been granted to the Duke of York. These were restored by the treat of Westminster in 1674, and in the same year, by new patent, the title of the Duke of York was confirmed. During eight years following these events great changes took place among the proprietaries of the region, in the course of which William Penn, by reason of being a trustee of one of these proprietaries and a purchase of a portion of the territory, became quite famil- iar with the region, as well as with the plans for its coloniza- tion. William Penn was the son of Sir William Penn, an admiral in the royal navy, who at his death left a claim of ______________end page 9.________________ page 10 OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA ________________________________________________________________ sixteen thousand pounds against the government of Great Britain. Though in early life he was a soldier of some distinction, he afterwards became a Quaker, and was several times imprisoned because of his religious faith. Having become, as before state, familiar with the region on the Delaware, and with the schemes for its colonization, he conceived the plan of founding a colony there on the broad principles of equality which his faith taught. Accordingly, in 1680, he petitioned King Charles the Second for a grant of a tract of land west from the Delaware river and south from Maryland, in liquidation of the claim which he had inherited from his father. After the discussion and arrangement of the preliminaries the petition was granted, and a charter signed by the king in 1681. Penn at first desired that the province might be called New Wales, and when objections were raised against this he suggested Sylvania. To this the king and his counselors prefixed Penn, for the double reason that the name would appro- priately mean high woodlands, and that it was the name of a distinguished admiral, whose memory the king desired to honor. A royal address was at once issued informing the inhabitants that William Penn was the sole proprietor, and that he was invested with all the necessary governmental powers. A proclamation was also issued by William Penn to the people of his province, set- ting forth the policy which he intended to adopt in the govern- ment of the colony. A deputy was sent in the spring of the same year, with instructions to institute measures for the management of affairs and the temporary government of the province. In autumn of the same year he sent commissioners to make treaties with the Indians, and arrange for future settlement. South from the province of Pennsylvania, along the Delaware bay, the Duke of York was still the proprietor of the country. Foreseeing the possibility of future annoyance to the commerce of his province, Penn was desirous of acquiring this territory; and accordingly entered into negotiations with the Duke of York for it, and in the autumn of 1682 he became the proprietor of the land by deeds, which, however, conveyed no political rights. In the autumn of 1682 Penn visited his province in the new world, took formal possession of the territory along Delaware bay, proceeded up the Delaware and visited the settlements along that river. During this year the celebrated treaty between William Penn and the Indians was made, it is said by some historians, under a large elm tree at Shakamaxon. By others it is insisted that no evidence exists of any such treaty at that place; but that the accounts of it that have passed into history were drawn largely from the fertile imaginatons (sic) of early writers. Whether a treaty was held there or not, it is almost certain that during that year treaties were made between Penn and the Indians, and it is a historical fact that between the Indians and Quakers perfect faith was kept. Voltaire said of the treaty which was said to have been made at Shakamaxon: "It was the only one ever made between savages and Christians that was not ratified by an oath, and the only one that was never broken." The three principal tribes of Indians which then inhabited Pennsylvania were the Lenni Lenapes, the Mingoes and the Shaw- nees. Their relations with the Swedes had been of a friendly character, and the pacific and kind policy of Penn and his Quaker colonists toward them bore fruit in strong contrast with that which the dishonest and reckless policy of other colonies, and of the United States government in later times, has brought forth. The plan of the city of Philadelphia, which had been laid out by the commissioners that had preceded the proprietor, was re- vised by him, and the present beautiful and regular plan adopted, and even the present names given to the principal streets. In the latter part of the year 1682 the first legislative body in the province was convened by the proprietor, who, though he was vested with all the powers of a proprietary governor, saw fit, in the furtherance of his original plan, to adopt a purely democratic form of government. This body was a general assembly of the people, and was held at the town of Chester, which was first called by the Swedes Upland. This assembly continued in session from the fourth till the seventh of December; during which time they enacted three laws, one of which was called the great law of Pennsylvania. It was a code of laws consisting of between sixty and seventy subjects or chapters, that had been prepared by the proprietor in England, and it was intended to cover all the exigencies which were deemed likely to arise in the colony. It secured the most ample religious toleration-to all those faith agreed with that of the Friends-and only punished others by fine and imprisonment; thus exhibiting a marked con- trast with the bigoted and intolerant Puritans in some of the New England colonies. It guaranteed the rights and privileges of citizenship to all tax-payers, guarded personal liberty, secured, as far as possible, by punishing bribery, the purity of elec- tions, abolished the English law of primogeniture, discarded the administration of religious oaths and affixed the penalty of perjury to false affirmation, and established marriage as a civil contract. Drinking healths, drunkenness, or the encouragement of it, spreading false news, clamorousness, scolding, railing, masks, revels, stage plays, cards and other games of chance, as well as evil and enticing sports, were forbidden and made punish- able by fine and imprisonment. It is a curious fact that all these laws have either been superseded by others or become obso- lete. The wise, just and generous policy which the proprietor adopted in the government of his province rendered him exceeding- ly popular, and the tide of immigration set so strongly toward this province that during the year 1682 as many as twenty-three ships laden with settlers arrived. During this year the proprie- tor divided the province into the three counties of Bucks, Phila- delphia and Chester; and the territory, as it was termed, which he had acquired from the Duke of York, into Kent, New Castle and Sussex. In these counties he appointed officers, and made prepa- rations for the election of a representative Legislature, con- sisting of a council of eighteen members, and an assembly of fifty-four. This Legislature assembled ______________end page 10.________________ page 11 GERMAN IMMIGRATION-GOVERNMENTAL CHANGES. ________________________________________________________________ at Philadelphia in January, 1682. One law enacted provided for the appointment in each county court of three "peace makers," to hear and determine differences. It may be noted as a matter of curiosity that bills were introduced in this Legislature provid- ing that "only two sorts of clothes should be worn-one kind for summer and one for winter;" and another that young men should be obliged to marry at a certain age. ________________ CHAPTER II _________________ GERMAN IMMIGRATION THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF WILLIAM PENN AND SIR WILLIAM KEITH As has been before stated, the first settlements in the prov- ince were made by Swedes, who occupied the country during about half a century previous to its purchase of William Penn. In all that time they made little progress toward developing the re- sources of the country. In the language of Watson: "They seem to have sat down contented in their log and clay huts, their leather breeches and jerkins and match coats for their men, and their skin jackets and linsey petticoats for their women; but no sooner has the genius of Penn enlisted in the enterprise than we see it speak a city and commerce into existence. His spirit animated every part of his colony; and the consequence was that the tame and unaspiring Swedes soon lost their distinctive character and existence as a separate nation. Immigration was largely increased during 1683 and 1684. Settlers came from England, Ireland, Wales, Holland and Germany. Of those from the latter country many came from Cresheim and founded the village of Germantown. They were nearly all Quakers, and the settlement which they made was the nucleus around which collected so large a German population in after years that Penn- sylvania became a German province, notwithstanding the large immigration from the British islands at first. In 1683 and 1684 the controversy with regard to boundaries was renewed by Lord Baltimore, and the Marylanders were guilty of some acts of aggression. The province had come to number some 7,000 inhabitants, and it was a matter of importance that the boundary dispute should be settled. To accomplish this settle- ment, and for other reasons, Penn during 1684 sailed for England, after giving to the provincial council the executive power. Not long after his arrival in England Charles the Second died, and was succeeded on the throne by his brother James, Duke of York, between whom and Penn a strong friendship existed. The proprie- tary, therefore, easily obtained a favorable decree. In 1688 a revolution in England dethroned James and placed the regal power in the hands of William and Mary. This change destroyed the influence of Penn at the English court, and the friendship which had existed between him and James caused him to be regarded with suspicion. Slanders were circulated and believed concerning him, and he was even accused of treason and compelled for a time to go into retirement. In his absence discord and dissensions arose in the province, and these were made the pretext for depriving him of his proprietary government in 1693. He was, however, honorably acquitted and exonerated from suspicion, and reinstated in his proprietary rights in 1694. Dissensions in the province contin- ued, however, till after the return of the proprietary with his family in 1699; and even his presence failed to wholly restore harmony. Because of the increasing power of the proprietary govern- ments in America, the plan had, since the accession of William and Mary to the crown, been entertained of purchasing these governments and converting them into regal ones. In 1701 a bill for that purpose was introduced in the House of Lords, and Penn revisited England for the purpose of endeavoring to prevent its passage. Before his departure a new constitution was adopted, and a deputy governor and council of State provided for and appoint- ed. On his arrival the project of purchasing the proprietary government was dropped. In 1702 King William died, and was succeeded by Queen Anne, who entertained for Penn a warm friend- ship. Though the danger of being dispossessed of his proprietary government were not more harmonious. The disaffection on the part of the people in the lower counties, Which he had endeavored to allay, led to a separation in 1703, and the choice of a dis- tinct assembly for the territories. Some of the deputy governors were indiscreet men, and differences between them and the provin- cial Legislature were constantly arising. Harrassed by these, and probably disgusted at the ingratitude of his subjects, in whose behalf he had incurred large pecuniary liabilities, for the collection of which proceedings were frequently instituted against him, he finally agreed with the crown for the cession of his province and the territory granted him by the Duke of York. He was prevented from legally consummating this cession by a stroke of apoplexy, which rendered him imbecile. The Queen died in 1714, and was succeeded by George the First. Among the early acts of Parliament in the reign of this King was one extending to the English colonies a previous act disqualify- ing Quakers from holding office, serving on juries, or giving evidence in criminal case. Charles Gookin, who had been provin- cial governor since 1709, construed this act to be applicable to the proprietary government, and a disqualification of the Quakers in the province. This construction of the law of course called forth the indignation and opposition of the council, the Assem- bly, and the people, and led to the recall of Gookin in 1717, and the appointment of Sir William Keith in his stead. The latter was affable and courteous, cunning and crafty, and in all matters of ___________end page 11.____________ page 12 OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA ________________________________________________________________ difference between the crown or proprietary, on one side, and the people on the other, he espoused the popular cause. William Penn died at the age of seventy-four, in the summer of 1718. History will ever point to him as one who accomplished more for the cause of civil and religious liberty than any other man of his time, and to the provincial government which he found- ed and administered as the first successful experiment in the broadest liberty of conscience which had then been conceived, and the nearest approach to a government of themselves by the people that had ever been attempted. He was the representative of a despised and proscribed sect; but by his wise and liberal admin- istration of the government of his province, in accordance with the principles of that sect, he did more to bring it to the favorable notice of the world than could otherwise have been done. The American colonies at that time presented a curious spec- tacle. Maryland, a colony of Catholics, who were stigmatized as the most bigoted and intolerant sect in Christendom, had been established under a constitution the most liberal and tolerant of all that had been granted by the government of Great Britain; and Pennsylvania, a province of Quakers, whose tenets were almost the reverse of the Catholics, had added to this almost universal tolerance the largest civil liberty that had ever been enjoyed by a people; awhile the Puritans of the New England colonies, who professed to have fled from religious persecution in England, and to have sought an asylum where each could worship God, the common Father of all, according to the dictates of his own conscience, in the language of Egle, "excluded from the benefits of their government all of their government all who were not members of their church, and piously flagellated or hanged those who were not convinced of its infallibility." Almost two centuries have Penn established his colony in America, and-except in those governments that are purely secular, or nearly so, in their character-political science has developed little that is essen- tial to the welfare and happiness of humanity that was not em- bodied in his system. The estate of William Penn passed at his death to his family, who inherited both his property and his proprietary government. He had made a will, previous to his agreement with Queen Ann, for the sale of his province; and his agreement was decided to be void because of his mental incapacity to consummate it. The proprietary government, therefore, devolved on his widow, as executrix of his will and of his property during the minority of his children, and it has been said of her that she manifested much shrewdness in the appointment of governors and general management of colonial affairs. It is said by Day: "The affec- tion patriarchal relation which had subsisted between Penn and his colony ceased with his death; the interest which his family took in the affairs of the province was more mercenary in its character, and looked less to be establishment of great and pure principles of life and government." The administration of Sir William Keith was quite successful. The favor with which he was regarded by the people enabled him to promote among them that harmony which is so essential to prosper- ity; and the colony was prosperous. There was a large influx of population, the character of which was more cosmopolitan than in former times. The persecutions of the Quakers in England had relaxed somewhat, and fewer, relatively, of them sought homes here; while people from other regions, and notably from Germany, came in great numbers. The popularity of Keith was such that he was able to accomplish two measures that had been looked on with great disfavor by the assembly-the establishment of a Court of Chancery, of which he was the chancellor; and the organization of a militia, of which he was the chief. On the other hand, by his good offices, "the Quakers, to their great joy, procured a renew- al of the privilege of affirmation in place of an oath, and of the cherished privilege of wearing the hat whenever and wherever it suited them," He was deposed in 1726, through the influence of James Logan, the leader of the proprietary party. Franklin wrote of him: "If he sought popularity he promoted the public happi- ness, and his courage in resisting the demands of the family may be ascribed to a higher emotive than private interest. The con- duct of the Assembly toward him was neither honorable nor poli- tic; for his sins against his principles were virtues to the people, with whom he was deservedly a favorite; and the House should have given him such substantial marks of their gratitude as would have tempted his successors to walk in his steps." Keith's successor was Patrick Gordon. His administration continued during ten years, or until his death in 1736. Tranquil- lity prevailed in the province during this time; the population, which in 1727 was more than fifty thousand, received large acces- sions, especially from Germany; internal improvements were prose- cuted, and foreign commerce increased largely. Two of the pro- prietaries, John and Thomas Penn, came to the province; the latter in 1732, the former in 1734. John returned to England in 1735 on account of the aggressions of the Marylanders under Lord Baltimore, but Thomas remained in the country eight years longer. The demeanor of the latter was not such as to endear him to the people. The first public library ever established in the province was projected in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, and was incorporated in 1742. During the two years following the death of Mr. Gordon the president of the council, James Logan, was the executive officer of the province. The celebrated fraud known as the "Indian Walk" took place in 1737. That an unscrupulous Indian trader should be guilty of thus swindling ignorant savages would be no matter of surprise; but that the province of Pennsylvania should be a party to such a transaction is almost incredible. It is certain that it never would have received the sanction of William Penn, and it is equally certain that it was the foundation of an enmity that broke out in open hostility afterwards. _____________end page 12.______________ page 13 OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. ______________________________________________________________ CHAPTER III. _________ THE QUESTION OF TAXING THE PROPRIETARY ESTATES WARS WITH THE FRENCH AND INDIANS ______________________ The proprietaries in 1738 appointed George Thomas governor, and the position was held by him till 1747. In the war between Great Britain and Spain which was declared in 1739 the assembly did not take measures to furnish the men required, and the gover- nor was compelled to raise the quota of the province by his own exertions. In 1744 war broke out between France and England, and the aspect of Indian affairs in Pennsylvania and on its borders became threatening; but the storm was averted by the good offices of the Iroquois, who held the Delawares in subjection. An unhappy condition of affairs existed at that time, and during some years afterwards, in the province. The proprietaries had little sympathy with the people, but as they grew rich by the enhanced value which the activity and enterprise of these people gave to their estates, they preferred the pomp and luxury of aristocratic life, and regarded the people with a measure of contempt. Under such circumstances it was not a matter of wonder that the people, through their representative, should not respond with alacrity to the demands of the governors appointed by these proprietaries. Governor Thomas resigned in 1747, and after an administration of two years by Anthony Palmer, president of the council, James Hamilton became lieutenant governor in 1749. The condition of things at that time cannot be better described than in the language of Sherman Day: "An alarming crisis was at hand. The French, now hovering around the great lakes, sedulously applied themselves to seduce the Indians from their allegiance to the English. The Shawnee had already joined them; the Delawares waited only for an opportunity to revenge their wrongs, and of the Six Nations the Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas were wavering. The French were fortifying the strong points on the Ohio. To keep the Indians in favor of the colony required much cunning diplomacy, and expensive pres- nts. In this alarming juncture the old flame of civil dissension burst out with increased force. The presents to the Indians, with the erection of a line of forts along the frontier, and the maint- enance of a military force, drew heavily on the provincial purse. The Assembly, the popular branch, urged that the proprietary est- ates should be taxed as well as those of humble individuals. The proprietors, through their deputies, refused, and pleaded peroga- tive, charter, and laws. The Assembly in turn pleading equity, common danger, and common benefit, requiring a common expense. The proprietaries offered bounties in lands yet to be conquered from the Indians, and the privilege of issuing more paper money; the Assembly wanted something more tangible. The Assembly passed laws laying taxes and granting supplies, but annexing conditions. The governors opposed the conditions, but were willing to aid the Assembly in taxiing the people, but not the proprietaries. Here were the germs of revolution, not fully matured until twenty years later. Dr. Franklin was now a member and a leader in the Assembly. In the meantime the frontier were left exposed while these frivolous disputes continued. The pacific principles, too, of the Quakers and Dunkards and Mennonists and Schwenckfelders came in to complicate the strife; but as the danger increased they prudently kept aloof from public office, leaving the manage- ment of the war to sects less scrupulous." Robert H. Morris, the successor of James Hamilton, became governor in 1754, and his successor, William Denny, in 1756. The same want of harmony between the proprietaries and the people continued during their administrations, but finally, through the efforts of Franklin, the royal assent was given to a law taxing the estates of the proprietaries. Settlements were made on lands to which the Indian title had not been extinguished, especially by the not over scrupulous Scotch Irish, and the result was a desultory Indian war, which kept up a very insecure feeling among the people of the province. Such was the condition of the province at the breaking out of the French and Indian war a few years after the treaty of Aix-La- Chapelle, which really was scarcely more than a temporary suspen- sion of hostilities. It is well known to every one connected with America history, that at this time the French attempted to connect their possessions in Canada and Louisiana by a chain of military posts extending from Presque Isle, now Erie, to the navigable waters of the Ohio, and along that river to the Missis- sippi. In furtherance of this design they sent, in 1754, 1,000 men to the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, where they built Fort DuQuesne, afterward, Fort Pitt; now Pitts- burg. Against this was sent the disastrous expedition of General Barrack, a minute account of which cannot, for want of space, be given here. It may briefly be said, that by reason of hisself here. It may briefly be said, that by reason of his self conceit and obstinacy General Barrack sustained the most overwhelming defeat that an European army had ever met in America, and that he was mortally wounded in this action. General-then Colonel-George Washington greatly distinguished himself in this battle. The dispute between the proprietaries and people continued, notwithstanding the country was suffering from the horrors of an Indian war. The proprietaries insisted on the exemption of their estates from taxation, and the Assembly yielded when the public safety was in jeopardy. Several councils were held with the Indians, and efforts were made through the interposition of the Six Nations, whose aid the authorities of the province invoked, to secure peace, with only partial success. In 1756 three hundred men under Colonel Armstrong crossed _____________end page 13._______________ page 14 OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA ______________________________________________________________ the Alleghenies and destroyed the Indian town of Kittaning; thus inflicting a severe blow on the savages, and driving them beyond the Allegheny river. In 1758 a change in the ministry in England was made, and under William Pitt the war was prosecuted with great energy. An expedition consisting of about 9,000 men was organized and sent against Fort DuQuesne. On the approach of this army the French burnt the buildings, evacuated the fort, and blew up the maga- zine. It was rebuilt and named Fort Pitt. This terminated hos- tilities in the valley of the Ohio. A series of successes fol- lowed in 1759 and 1760 at the north and west, which terminated the war, though a feeble effort was made by the French to re- trieve their losses in Canada. The result was the final extinc- tion of the French dominion in the Canadian provinces, which was confirmed by the treaty of Fontainbleau in 1762. The Kyasuta and Pontiac war, so called from the chiefs who planned it, broke out in 1763. Kyasuta was a Seneca, and Pontiac an Ottawa chief; and the scheme which they devised, for a war of quick extermination against the colonists, would have been no discredit to the abili- ty of educated military chieftains. The savages had looked with approval on the construction by the French of a chain of forts from Presque Isle to the Ohio; for they saw in them a check upon the progress westward of the tide of settlement which threatened to dispossess them of their broad domains. When they saw these forts fall into the hands of the colonists, and thus cease to be a barrier against their aggressions, they became more alarmed for their own safety; and these wily chiefs conceived the project of attacking and overpowering the different defenses on the frontier simultaneously, and then rushing upon and exterminating the defenseless inhabitants in the settlements, and thus, by the terror which they inspired, preventing future encroachments. The time of harvest was chosen for this attack, and the plan was laid with such secrecy that the first intimation of it was the appall- ing war whoop with which it was commenced. So nearly successful were the savages that eight of the eleven forts attacked on the western frontier were taken. Scalping parties overran the fron- tier settlements of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, and the terror stricken inhabitants fled before them. Fort Pitt was invested, after the Indian fashion, during about three months, but was relieved by force under Colonel Boquet. About thirty of the settlers in Wyoming valley were killed by the Delawares, in revenge for the murder of Teedyuscung by a party of Iroquois, the latter having persuaded the Delawares that the murder was commit- ted by the whites. Although there were, after the first eruption of hostilities, no large organized bands of hostile Indians, the frontier settlements were continually harassed by the authorities in the province against these marauding parties was insufficient. The pacific disposition of the Quakers, who controlled the gov- ernment, was such as to call forth the remark that they were "more solicitous for the welfare of the bloodthirsty Indian than for the lives of the frontiersmen." Parkman says of them: "They seemed resolved that they would neither defend the people of the frontier nor allow them to defend themselves; and vehemently inveighed against all expeditions to cut off the Indian maraud- ers. Their security was owing to their local situation, being confined to the eastern part of the province. "They seemed resolved hat they would neither defend the people of the frontier nor allow them to defend themselves; and vehemently inveighed against all expeditions to cut off the Indian marauders. Their security was owing to their local situation, being confined to the eastern part of the province." John Penn, a grandson of the founder of the province, came to Pennsylvania in 1763 in the capacity of lieutenant-governor. His father and his uncle were then the proprietors and resided in England. The Penn family had all ceased to be Quakers, and had no conscientious scruples against defensive or aggressive war. General Gage had become commander of the military forces of the province, and Governor Penn vigorously seconded his efforts. He even, in 1764, offered by proclamation the following bounties for scalps, Indians, etc.: "For every male above the age of ten years captured, $150; scalped, being killed, $164; for every female Indian enemy, and every male under the age of ten years, cap- tured, $130; for every female above the age of ten years scalped, being killed, $50." The apathy which was manifested by the Assembly in 1763, and the insecure condition of the settlers toward the frontier, led to the formation of an independent organization known as the Paxtang Boys or Paxtang Rangers; so named because they were mostly inhabitants of Paxtang, or Paxton, and Donnegal, in Lan- caster county. Such was the feeling of insecurity in advanced settlements that men were compelled to keep their rifles at their sides while at work in their fields, and even while attending divine worship. These rangers, by their vigilance and activity, and by the severe punishments which they inflicted on the sav- ages, became in turn a terror to them. They were mostly composed of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, between whom and the Quakers no very friendly feeling existed. The latter strongly censored what they termed the barbarities of the rangers; and fierce dissen- sions arose between them. The Paxtang men finally fell upon a small tribe of Indians at Conestoga, in Lancaster county, and put many of them of to death, because as they alleged, they had discovered that these Indians, while professing friendliness, were secretly harboring their hostile brethren, and furnishing them with information and supplies of ammunition, etc. They also insisted that the Christian or Moravian Indians were guilty of the same treachery, and the latter were compelled to flee to Philadelphia to avoid their vengeance. These acts of rangers called forth the still more vehement protests of the Quakers, and even at the present day historians are not agreed as to whether or not their action was justifiable. None of them were ever convicted in the courts of the province. In 1764 General Gage instituted measures to drive the Ind- ians from the frontiers by carrying the war into their country. He sent a corps under Colonel Bradstreet to act against the Wya- ndots, Chippewas and Ottawas, in the vicinity of upper lakes; and another, under Colonel Boquet, to go to the Muskingum and attack the Delawares, _____________end page 14._______________ page 15 MASON AND DIXON'S LINE-CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION. _______________________________________________________________ Shawnees, and other nations between the Ohio and the lakes. This vigorous action had the desired effect. Peace was established and many of the captives who had been taken were restored. _______________ CHAPTER IV. _____________ "MASON AND DIXON'S LINE" CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION PATRIOTIC ACTION OF PENNSYLVANIA ________________________________________ During the ten years between 1765 and 1775 two questions of boundary were settled. One, that of the line between Pennsylva- nia and Maryland, had long been entered into for its settlement. In 1763 Thomas and Richard Penn and Frederick Lord Baltimore entered into an arrangement for the establishment of this line, and commissioned Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to survey and mark it. This work they completed in 1767, having surveyed and marked with milestones of oolite (brought from England) the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, except about twenty-two miles at its western end, where they were prevented by the Indian proprietors. Thus originated the celebrated "Mason and Dixon's line." The other boundary question was raised by Lord Dunmore, of Virginia, who claimed the territory that now includes the counties of Fayette, Greene and Washington, and even a portion of Allegheny. He encouraged settlers to take from Virginia the titles to their lands there, and even sent an agent to take possession of Fort Pitt, when it was evacuated by General Gage. The settler were a bad class of men; and by reason of the lawless acts of some, especially two named Cresap and Greathouse, a frontier Indian war occurred. The Virginia claim was promptly repelled. At the conclusion of the Indian war of 1763 and 1764 the old controversy concerning the taxation of the proprietary estates was revived, and Dr. Franklin at once became the champion of the popular cause in the Assembly. That body became so indignant at the conduct of the governor that they resolved to petition the King to purchase the proprietary jurisdiction, and place the province in direct relation with the crown. "Here", says Day, "was a most important step toward the Revolution. To break down the feudal power, and bring the people and the crown in direct communication, is, in all countries, the first great step toward popular freedom, and prepares the way for the next step-the direct conflict between the crown and the people. It so hap- pened, however, that, in this case the avarice of British minis- try outran the anti-feudal propensities of the people, and brought the colonies at once to the last great struggle between the people and the crown." Dr. Franklin was sent by the province to London to urge before the ministry the measure of relief from the proprietary dominion; but on his arrival he found that the conflict was with the very power the protection of which he had come to invoke. The wars which had raged in the colonies, and in which the home government had assisted, had called the attention of the ministry to the rapidly increasing wealth of those colonies. The plan was conceived of making that wealth available her exhausted treasury and securing the exclusive control of the colonial trade. The accomplishment of this double object involves the question of taxation without consent and without representation in the legislative body imposing the tax. This was the point of which the American Revolution turned. Parliament insisted on its right to tax any part of the British dominions, and the colony is held that they were not safe if they might thus be despoiled of their property without their consent, and by a parliament in which they were not represented. In view of this momentous question the contentions with the proprietaries were forgotten. In 1764 an act was passed imposing duties on certain articles not produced in his majesty's dominions. This was followed the next year by the odious stamp act, which eclared instruments of writ- ing void if not written on stamped paper on which a duty was aid. This was resisted and the paper refused in the colonies, and the determination was formed by the colonies to establish manufacto- ries, to the end that they might not be dependent on the mother country. By reason of the consequent clamors of English manufac- turers, and the impossibility of executing the law without a resort to force, the stamp act was repealed was coupled with a declaration of the absolute power of parliament over the colo- nies. The next offensive act was the imposition of duties on goods imported from Great Britain; but this was resisted by the colo- nists, who would accede to nothing which involved taxation with- out consent. A circular was addressed by Massachusetts to her sister colonies recapitulating their grievances, and the argu- ments against the oppressive acts. Governor Penn was ordered by the colonial secretary in London to urge upon the Assembly a disregard of this, and, in case this advice was not heeded, to prorogue it. The Assembly asserted, by resolution, its right to sit at its own pleasure, and to consult with the other colonies concerning matters pertaining to the welfare of all; and it gave a cordial assent to the recommendation by Virginia for a concert of action in order to peacefully obtain a redress of their griev- ances. The impost was reduced in 1769, and in 1770 abolished, except that on tea, which was continued at three pence per pound. The colonists, however, were opposed to the principle on which the tax was based, and not to its amount, and their resistance to the importation of taxed goods was concentrated on the tea tax. In Pennsylvania one chest was imported and the duty paid; but generally the nonimportation policy prevailed. Under these cir- cumstances the ideal right of taxation was asserted and no colli- sion was provoked. In order to make a practical ______________end page 15________________ page 16 OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. ________________________________________________________________ application of this right, however, East India Company was en- couraged by parliament to send a consignment of tea to each of the principal ports in the colonies, to be disposed of by the agents appointed by the company, and thus to force it on the people. The colonists in all the provinces were indignant at this insidious attempt. "The course of Pennsylvania was from the first firm, but temperate. A meeting at Philadelphia passed resolutions denounc- ing the duty on tea as a tax without their consent, laid for the express purpose of establishing the right to tax; and asserting that this method of providing a revenue for the support of gov- ernment, the administration of justice and defense of the colo- nies, had a direct tendency to render assemblies useless and to introduce arbitrary government and slavery; and that steady opposition to this plan was necessary to preserve even the shadow of liberty. They denounced all who should aid in landing or selling the tea as enemies to their country, and enjoined the consignees to resign their appointment." Under such a pressure the consignees declined to receive it. In Charleston it was landed in a damp warehouse and permitted to rot. At New York a vigilance committee forbade the pilots to bring the vessel having the tea on board into the harbor, and escorted a captain who attempted to bring in some as a private venture out of the har- bor, after airing and watering his tea. At Boston the vessel having the tea on board was boarded by a party of men disguised as Indians, and the tea thrown overboard. In consequence of these proceedings measures were adopted by the British government to coerce submission on the part of the colonists. Upon Massachu- setts, which had manifested the most violent opposition, the vials of British wrath were most freely poured out. In 1774 the act known as the Boston port bill, by which the port of Boston was closed and the custom house removed to Salem, was passed. This was soon followed by an act vesting the appointment of colonial officers in the crown; by another, authorizing the extradition for trial of persons charged with capital offences; and by still another, for quartering soldiers in the inhabitants. All the colonies sympathized and made common cause with Boston and Massachusetts, though in each colony there were some people who sympathized with the crown. These were termed tories, while the advocates of colonial rights were called whigs-names by which the two parties were known through the Revolution. The province of Pennsylvania did not waver at this juncture in its adhesion to the colonial cause. On being requested to convene the Assembly Governor Penn of course declined, and a meeting consisting of about eight thousand people was held, at which a general colonial congress was recommended and a committee of correspondence appointed. Subsequently a convention of dele- gates from all the counties in the province assembled, at which a series of temperate but firm and patriotic resolutions were adopted, asserting both their loyalty and their rights, and reiterating the recommendation for a general congress. The con- vention also adopted instructions to the Assembly that was about to convene. These written by John Dickinson, one of the foremost patriots in the province. The following extracts are quoted to show the animus of these patriots: "Honor, Justice and Humani- ty call upon us to hold and transmit to our posterity that liber- ty which we received from our ancestors. It is not our duty to leave wealth to our children, but it is our duty to leave liberty to them. No infamy, iniquity or cruelty can exceed our own if we, born and educated in a country of freedom, entitled to its blessings and knowing their value, pusillanimously deserting the post assigned us by Divine Providence, surrender succeeding generations to a condition of wretchedness from which no human efforts, in all probability, will be sufficient to extricate them; the experience of all States mournfully demonstrating to us that when arbitrary power has been established over them even the wisest and bravest nations that have ever flourished have in a few years degenerated into abject and wretched vassals. * * * To us, therefore, it appears at this alarming period our duty to our God, our country, to ourselves and to our posterity, to exert our utmost ability in promoting and establishing harmony between Great Britain and these colonies, on a constitutional found- ation." "Thus," says Sherman Day, "with loyalty on their lips, but with the spirit of resistance in their hearts, did these patriots push forward the Revolution". The Assembly appointed delegates to the Congress, which met in September at Philadelphia. This Congress adopted resolutions approving of the resistance of the people of Massachusetts, and took measures to prohibit imports from or exports to Great Brit- ain, unless grievances were redressed. It also adopted a decla- ration of rights and enumeration of grievances, an address to the people of Great Britain, another to the people of British America and a loyal address to the crown. It also adopted articles of confederation, which act may rightly be considered the beginning of the American Union. A bill was adopted by parliament prohib- iting the people of the provinces from fishing on the banks of Newfoundland, and at about the same time an ingeniously framed act, which made apparent concessions, but retained the doctrine against which the colonies contended, and which was intended to divide them. Pennsylvania was the first colony to which this proposition was presented, and the first colony to which this proposition was presented, and the Assembly, to whom it was presented by Governor Penn, promptly rejected it; declaring that they desired no benefits for themselves the acceptance of which might injure the common cause, "and which by a generous rejection for the present might be finally secured for all." Another provincial convention was held in Philadelphia in January, 1775, at which resolutions were adopted recommending the strict enforcement of the non-importation pledge, and the produc- tion and manufacture of every thing required for the use of the inhabitants; enumerating many of the articles to be produced or manufactured, including gunpowder, which was said to be necessary for the Indian trade. _____________end page 16._______________ page 17 END OF THE PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT EARLY REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS _________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER V. _____________ REVOLUTION IN THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT PENNSYLVANIA A STATE-BATTLES OF 1776 AND 1777 INDIAN WARFARE ______________ In 1775, hostilities commenced. The battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill were fought, and a British army invaded the country. Congress met and organized an army, at the head of which General Washington was placed. At the same time that it thus provided for the public defense, it adopted a "humble and dutiful petition to the King," which was presented but to which was were in formed no answer would be given. A military association, having branches in each county, was formed, with a full code of rules for its government. The Assembly met and made provision for raising four thousand three hundred troops-the quota of the province. In view of the troublesome position which the Quakers occupied, the Assembly enacted that all able-bodied men who refused to bear arms (ministers and purchase servants excepted) should contribute an equivalent for the time and expense of others in acquiring the necessary discipline. A committee of safety was appointed which assumed executive functions. A provincial navy was equipped, and measures were taken to protect Philadelphia against any naval force ascending the Delaware river. Later a continental navy was established. The Continental Congress during its session of May, 1775, recommended to those colonies where no government sufficient to meet the exigencies of the times existed, to adopt such governm- ents. It was determined by the whigs, in pursuance of this res- olution, to throw off the proprietary government, by which they were hampered. The conservatives and Tories opposed this, but the times were revolutionary and the whigs prevailed. It was resolved that the new government should emanate from the people, and that the Assembly, the members of which were shackled by their oaths of allegiance to the crown, should have no voice in its formation. A convention consisting of delegates from all the countries, for the formation of a new constitu- tion, was called, through the committee of conference and obser- vation of Philadelphia. In the choice of delegates to this convention no one was permitted to vote who refused to abjure all allegiance to the King of Great Britain, or who was sus- pected of being an enemy to American liberty. The Declaration of Independence was adopted July 4th, 1776, and this convention assembled on the 15th of the same month. It not only entered on the task of forming a constitution, but assumed legislative powers and appointed delegates to Congress. It may here be remarked that such of these delegates as had not already done so affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence. The work of the convention was completed on the 28th of September, and the new-formed constitution committed to the keeping of the council of safety until the meeting of the General Assembly of the State. The provincial Assembly met on the 23rd of the same month, and quietly expired, with a feeble denuncia- tion on its lips of the assumed legislative power of the conven- tion. Thus, at about the same time, the proprietary government in Pennsylvania ceased by the action of the people in the prov- ince, and the colonies cast off their allegiance to the crown of Great Britain. The population of Pennsylvania was about 3000,000 at the time when it became a State and assumed its position among its sisters States in the American Union. The Declaration of Independence had been made, but that independence was to be maintained; and, as subsequently proved, by the sacrifice of many lives and the expe- nditure of much treasure. The limits of this sketch will not permit a detail of Revolu- tionary events that occurred beyond the boundaries of the State, though many of those events were important factors in the history of the State at that time, and of the events of which Pennsylva- nia was the theatre little more than a brief mention can be made. December, 1776, found General Washington on the west bank of the Delaware near Trenton. He had crossed New Jersey before the advancing army of General Howe, who was posted on the opposite side of the river, waiting for the formation of ice on which to cross, that he might move on Philadelphia. General Washington had secured all the boats on the river, and on the night of the 25th of December he recrossed the river with 2,400 men twenty pieces of artillery, attacked the Hessians in Trenton and defeat- ed them, capturing six cannon and 900 prisoners, with whom he again crossed into Pennsylvania. The loss of Americans in this action was two soldiers killed and two who perished by cold. General Washington at once returned to Trenton, where he was joined by about 3,000 Pennsylvania militia under General Mifflin and Cadwallader. The battle of Princeton was fought soon after- ward, and the army went into winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey. The next summer, after some manoeuvring (sic) in New Jersey, evidently for the purpose of drawing General Washington from his position, General Howe embarked his forces at New York, intending to attack Philadelphia by way of the Delaware river. After entering Delaware bay he returned to the ocean, sailed up the Chesapeake bay and landed near the head of Elk river. On the sailing of the British army from New York General Washington moved his army into Pennsylvania, and encamped near Germantown to watch the development of General Howe's plans. General LaFayette joined General Washington at that time, and shared with him the hard ships and privations of camp. The army of General Howe advanced toward Philadelphia and was met by that of General Washington at _________________end page 17.__________________ page 18 OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA. _________________________________________________________________ the Brandywine, where a battle was fought the 11th of September, and the American forces suffered a defeat and retired to German- town. Washington soon afterward crossed the Schuylkill and pre- pared for battle again, but a heavy rain storm prevented the action. General Howe entered Philadelphia with a portion of his army, and the balance encamped at Germantown. Upon this force Washington made an unsuccessful attack while a portion of it was assisting the British shipping to effect a passage through the Delaware river. This was early in October. On the 22nd of the same month an attack was made on Forts Mifflin and Mercer, com- manded the Delaware opposite the mouth of the Schuylkill. After an obstinate resistance the garrison of these forts was compelled to evacuate them. In this affair the enemy lost two ships by reason of the effective service of the Pennsylvania Street fleet. After the surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga the army of Washington was reinforced by that of General Gates, and it en- camped in a strong position at Whitemarsh. From this position the British commander endeavored to draw General Washington, but without success. The American army finally went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, a place which will ever be noted as the scene of the most intense suffering which the Revolutionary patriots were called on to endure during their struggle for independence. While they were shivering barefooted and half naked in their huts at this place, the British soldiers were snugly quartered and well fed and their officers feted and feast- ed by the tories in Philadelphia. In the spring of 1778 an attempt was made by the English government through commissioners to effect a reconciliation. Whether or not an honorable reconciliation was desired may be judged by the fact that they offered Joseph Reed, one of the delegates in Congress from Pennsylvania, f10,000 and the best office in the colonies to aid them in their purposes. His reply should be remembered:-"I am not worth purchasing, but such as I am the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to do it." It was in the spring of 1778 that French entered into a treaty with the Americans, and sent four frigates and twelve ships to the Delaware. In consequence of this Sir Henry Clinton, who had succeeded Lord Howe in command of the British, army decided to evacuate Philadelphia, which he did, marching his forces across New York. Washington pursued, and engaged the enemy at Monmouth and compelled them to give way. Philadelphia again became the capital in the latter part of June, 1778. Some trials were had for high treason, and several of those convicted were executed, greatly to the alarm of the tories and Quakers. They had been emboldened by the temporary success of the British arms, and these examples seemed necessary to inspire them with terror and prevent future treasonable acts, as well as to appease the vengeance of the whigs who had suffered at their hands. By the evacuation of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ceased to be the theater of important warlike events. The English government had, however, induced the Indians of the Iroquois nations in New York and those of the territory west from Pennsylvania to engage in hostilities against the people of the struggling States. This warfare was waged in accordance with their "known rule." Incur- sions were made, defenseless settlements attacked, and people of every age, sex and condition" were ruthlessly murdered. The settlements in many regions were left unprotected, because nearly all the men capable of bearing arms had responded to their coun- try's call and joined the Revolutionary army. In 1777 the northern frontier on New York was the scene of many of these savage irruption's, and the frontier settlements of these States were scarcely troubled by marauding parties. They doubtless enjoyed this immunity because of the proximity of troops, which could be quickly sent to protect these settlements. In 1778 the storm of Indian warfare burst on them. A descent was made on the Wyoming valley by a force of British, tories and Indians, com- manded by Colonel John Butler. Many of the inhabitants were cruelly massacred and the valley was devastated. A descent was also made on the branch of the Susquehanna by a force of Indians, tories and British, under Colonel MacDonald. The frontier set- tlements in Westminster county also were ravaged by scalping parties. A force under General McIntosh was sent to protect the western frontier, which was done by the erection of forts and by expeditions into the country of the hostile savages. The Indian villages at Wyalusing, Shesequin and Tioga were destroyed by a small force under Colonel Hartley. In order to punish the most audacious of these savages, and prevent, if possible, future depredations by them, General Sullivan was sent with a sufficient force in the summer of 1779 up the Susquehanna into the Genesee valley, the heart of the country of the Senecas- the most powerful and warlike nation of the Iroquois-with orders "to cut off their settlements, destroy their crops, and inflict on them every other mischief that time and circumstances would permit". This work was thoroughly accomplished. A battle was fought on the Chemung river at Newtown (Elmira), in which the Indians, under the celebrated Mohawk chief Brant, and the tories, under Colonel John Butler, were routed. The valley of the Genesee was devastated, forty towns were burned, orchards were cut down, corn fields were ravaged, and one hundred and sixty thousand bushels of corn destroyed. From this blow the warlike Senecas never recovered. Though marauding parties continued to go forth, they were not afterward able to send out any large force. Colonel Brodhead, at about the same time, went on an expedi- tion against the Indians on the west branch of the Allegheny and destroyed the crops and villages there, and cut off a party of forty who had started on an expedition to the frontier of West- moreland county. ____________end page 18._______________ page 19 LATER REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS-TRANSACTIONS WITH THE INDIANS ________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER VI. ________________ LATER EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION WAR WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES _________________ During the year 1780 much difficulty was experienced on ac- count of the depreciation of the paper currency, which the exi- gencies of the war had made it necessary to issue. Efforts were made by the Assembly to relieve the State from this embarrass- ment, with only partial success. In 1781, in accordance with a plan of Robert Morris, who justly earned the title of "the finan- cier of the Revolution," the Bank of North America was chartered by Congress, and charters were also granted to it by Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The effect of this was immediately beneficial to the commercial and financial interests of the country. The Pennsylvania charter was revoked by the Legislature in 1785, but was restored in 1787. During 1780 the Legislature enacted a law reorganizing the militia system of the State, in order that any sudden emergency might be promptly met. In view of the exigencies of the times authority was vested in the executive to declare martial law during the recess of the Assembly, so far as should be necessary under circumstances that might arise. It was resolved, also, that in extraordinary efforts that were found necessary to obtain supplies, discrimination might be made between the friends of the country and those who had shown themselves to be otherwise. To guard against spies, authority was given to arrest all suspicious persons and prevent the admission of strangers indiscriminately. The horses and other property of domestic enemies were seized, and the houses of Quakers were searched for arms. The entrance into New Jersey of the British army under Sir Henry Clinton was the cause of great alarm, but this army did not advance on Philadelphia. Soon afterward four thousand of the militia were ordered out to assist in a projected attack on New York, but by reason of the non-arrival of the French troops the project was abandoned, and the militia force, which had its rendezvous at Trenton, was disbanded. The treason of Benedict Arnold occurred in the autumn of 1780. Awhile in command at Philadelphia in 1778 General Arnold became allied by marriage with a distinguished tory family in that city, and the intimacy with British officers into which this relation threw him, together with the sting which his sensitive nature received by being court-martialed for some irregularity, may have led him to his fatal error. Soon after the receipt of the news of his treason in Philadelphia, his effigy was paraded through the streets and hanged, his wife was ordered to leave the city within fourteen days, and his estate was confiscated. Still more rigorous proceedings were instituted against the tories and Quakers, one of whom was convicted of high treason and hanged. In January, 1781, a revolt occurred among the Pennsylvania troops, who were in winter quarters at Morristown, under command of General Wayne. About thirteen hundred of the disaffected left the camp and established their quarters at Princeton. The causes of this mutiny were depreciation of the currency in which the men were paid, arrearages of pay and suffering for want of money and clothing, and the retention in the service of some beyond the terms of their enlistment. There was nothing treasonable in their revolt. On the contrary, two emissaries who were sent to them with large offers from the commander of the British forces were seized, delivered to General Wayne, tried as spies, convict- ed and executed. An investigation was instituted by General Wayne and President Reed, their grievances were redressed, and they returned to their duty. In the spring of 1781 the Pennsylvania troops under General Wayne joined the force of La Fayette, and marched to join the force of General Greene. Fearing an attack upon Philadelphia by the troops from New York, Congress recommended the calling out of three thousand militia. They were ordered to rendezvous at New- town, in Bucks county, where they remained till the departure of the British troops from New York for the relief of Cornwallis allayed all fear for the safety of Philadelphia, when they were disbanded. In October, 1781, the army of Cornwallis surrendered at York- town, thus virtually ending the war of the Revolution. Pending the negotiation of a treaty of peace, which was signed November 30th, 1781, the Assembly of Pennsylvania unanimously adopted a resolution disapproving of a reunion with Great Britain on any terms; against the conclusion of a treaty of peace with England without the concurrence of France, and against the revival of the proprietary family privileges. Such had been the bitter experi- ence of the people of Pennsylvania under the propriety government and the British yoke that they were determined to guard against everything that could lead to a recurrence of that experience. Although the chartered boundaries of Pennsylvania were set- tled before the termination of the Revolutionary war, the Indian title to all the territory within those limits had not been extinguished. Purchases from the Indians had been made in 1736 and previously, in 1749, in 1758 and 1768. These amounted to about two-thirds of the chartered territory. The balance, lying in the northwest part of the State, was purchased from the Iro- quois at the treaty of Fort Stanwix in October, 1784, and the purchase was confirmed by the Delawares and Wyandots at Fort McIntosh in January, 1785. Notwithstanding this purchase the Delaware and Wyandots kept up a barbarous warfare against the settlers, and in addition to the expeditions that had been sent against them, among which was that of the ill fated Crawford in 1782, Charmer in 1791 and Wayne from 1792 to 1795 conducted campaigns against them. The last in August, 1795, concluded a treaty with them which terminated hostilities. "Besides these expeditions," says Sherman Day, "there was an undercurrent of partisan hostilities _____________end page 19._______________ page 20 OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA ________________________________________________________________ constantly maintained between the white savages on the frontier and the red, in which it was difficult to say on which side was exhibited the greatest atrocity." It has been said that a State constitution was adopted in 1776 to supersede the proprie- tary government. Under this constitution an assembly elected annually was the legislative department; a council of twelve persons was chosen for three years and by joint ballot of the assembly and council a president was elected, which constituted the executive department. It also provided for the choice septen- nially of a council of censors to revise the doings of the Legis- lature and executive, pass censures, recommend repeals, etc. This constitution was defective, though an improvement on the proprietary government. In December, 1779, the royal charter was annulled by an act of Assembly, and the proprietaries were granted f130,000 sterling to compensate them for their lost privileges, they retaining their real estate and rents. In 1780 the act for the gradual extinction of slavery was passed. In recommending this action the executive council said: "Honored will that State be in the annals of mankind which shall first abolish this violation of the rights of mankind." In 1787 the convention which framed the constitution of the United States sat in Philadelphia. It concluded its labor on the 18th of September, and on the 12th of the following December a convention called for the purpose by the Assembly ratified it, thus placing Pennsylvania first on the list of Estates which ado- pted it. After the adoption of the federal constitution the def- ects of the State constitution of 1776 were more than ever before apparent. Chief Justice McKean had said of it: "The balance of the one, the few and the many is not well poised in the State; the Legislature is too powerful for the executive and judicial branc- hes. We have now but one branch; we must have another branch, a negative in the executive, stability in our laws and permanency in the magistracy before we shall be reputable, safe and happy." In accordance with a resolution of the Assembly, delegates were chosen at the October election in 1789 to frame a new con- stitution. They assembled in November of the same year, and after a long session completed their labors, and the constitution which they formed was adopted in September, 1790. In this the general plan of the Federal constitution was followed. The executive department was vested in a governor, elected by the people; the legislative in a Senate and Assembly, while the judicial system was not greatly changed, except that the tenure of office of the judges of the higher courts was during good behavior instead of seven years, as before. The supreme executive council and the council of censors were of course abolished. In 1837 the constitution was revised by a convention assem- bled for that purpose, and the changes which were recommended were adopted the next year. Among these were alterations in the tenure of offices, an abridgment of the powers of the Legisla- ture, the taking away of nearly all executive patronage and an extension of the elective franchise. Another revision of the constitution was made by a convention for that purpose in 1873, and the amended constitution was adopt- ed the same year. This constitution abolished especial legisla- tion, changed the time of annual elections, altered the tenure of the judiciary, modified the pardoning power, provided for minori- ty representation, for biennial sessions of the Legislature, for an increase in the number of both branches of the Legislature, and made other important changes. In 1794 an attempt was made to lay out a town where the city of Erie-then called Presque Isle, from the peninsula which shel- ters the excellent harbor at that point-now stands. The small triangle necessary to secure this harbor was purchased from the Indians in 1789, and from the United States in 1792. Resistance to this settlement by the Seneca Indians was apprehended, by reason of a misunderstanding on the part of the latter, and the matter was postponed to the next year, by which time matters were arranged with them. The western tribes were at that time hos- tile. ________________ CHAPTER VII. _____________ THE PENNAMITE WAR--WHISKEY INSURRECTION "MOLLY MAGUIRE" OUTRAGES--THE RIOTS OF 1877 What has always been known as the Pennamite war, arose out of the conflicting claims of the colonies of Connecticut and Penn- sylvania to the territory included between the forty-first and forty-second parallels of latitude-now in this State. In 1662 King Charles the Second confirmed to the colony of Connecticut the title which it had previously, acquired to this territory; and in 1681 the same monarch granted a portion of the same territory to William Penn. In 1762 settlers from New England took possession of lands in the Wyoming valley, and during that and the succeeding year made some improvements there; but in the autumn of 1763 they were driven away by the Indians. They returned in 1769, but about the same time parties claim- ing titles under the Pennsylvania grant took possession of a portion of the same territory. An attempt was made by the Con- necticut settlers to forcibly eject these, and thus was inaugu- rated a contest and a series of conflicts, which, though they were suspended during the Revolutionary war, were renewed after ward, and were not finally settled till about the year 1800. What has usually been termed the whiskey insurrection assumed somewhat formidable proportions in 1794. In 1684, 1738, 1744, 1772 and 1780 duties had been ____________end page 20.________________ page 21 WHISKEY INSURRECTION--MOLLY MAGUIRES--THE GREAT STRIKE OF 1877. ________________________________________________________________ imposed on domestic spirits by the Assembly of the province, but after a time the acts imposing these duties were repealed. In 1791, by act of Congress, an excise of four pence per gallon was laid on all distilled spirits. This tax weighed heavily on the people of western Pennsylvania, where in some districts a sixth of fifth of the farmers were distillers, and nearly all the coarse grain was converted into spirit and this sent across the mountains or down the Ohio river to market. A majority of the inhabitants of this region were Scotch-Irish of their descend- ants, and their recollections or traditions of resistance to the excise laws in the "old country" inclined them to follow here the examples of their fathers. In the year of the passage of the act resistance to its enforcement commenced, and meetings were held, at which resolutions were passed denouncing all who should attem- pt the enforcement of the law, and excise officers were tarred and feathered and otherwise maltreated. This resistance continued during the succeeding two or three years. People who were suspec- ted of favoring the law were proscribed, socially and otherwise, and open resistance to its execution, by violence to the persons and injury to the property of those attempting to execute it, was practiced. This was the condition of things in the counties of Allegheny, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland. In 1794 Congress amended the law, but nothing short of absolute repeal would sat- isfy the malcontents, whose successful resistance had greatly emboldened them. Armed and organized mobs assembled, attacked the houses of excise officers and burned their buildings, and several persons were killed in these riots. Finally a large force assem- bled and marched on Pittsburg, determined to burn the house of an excise officer there; but by adroit management they were prevent- ed from doing any harm beyond burning a barn. These lawless pro- ceedings were reported to the authorities, and the President of the United States and the governor of the State issued proclama- tions commanding the insurgents to disperse, and calling for troops to suppress the insurrection. In obedience to this procl- amation a force of about 13,000 was raised in Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania, and under the command of Governor Henry Lee, of Virginia, marched to the insurrectionary district. This awed the insurgents into obedience and no further trouble was experienced. In 1798 the Fries insurrection, or "hot water war," as it was called because of the method adopted by the women in resisting the collection of the "house tax, "occurred in Bucks and Montgom- ery counties. Troops were called out; Fries and others-leaders- were arrested, tried, and convicted of treason, but subsequently pardoned. The Erie Railroad war, which occurred in the winter of 1853- 4, is still fresh in the recollection of many. This arose out of the opposition of the people of Erie to the action of what is now the Lake Shore Railroad Company in laying a track of uniform width through the city. The track was torn up and bridges were destroyed by a mob encouraged by the city authorities, and travel was embarrassed during several months. Order was finally re- stored, and Erie has since been widely known as the "peanut city." About the year 1862 a reign of terror was inaugurated in some portions of the mining regions in the State of Pennsylvania, by the discovery that there existed among the miners an organization of desperadoes who set the law at defiance, and aided and pro- tected each other in the blackest crimes known. This organiza- tion is popularly known as the Mollie Maguires, and it was trans- planted in this country about the year 1854 from Ireland. It was an organization for resistance to the landlords in that country, and took its name from a desperate woman, who was very active and efficient in shooting landlords' agents. In this country it is said that it never existed as a distinct organization, but that the secret acts of lawlessness and crimes that had characterized the Mollie Maguires came to be tolerated and even sanctioned and abetted by the "Ancient Order of Hibernians," a benevolent insti- tution which had long existed and which, in some States, was incorporated. When they first attracted attention they were termed "Buckshots," and, although troublesome, they were not considered very dangerous. Their crimes came to be more frequent and audacious. They resisted the enrollment for the draft in 1862. Arson, and the assassination of those who incurred their displeasure, came to be more and more common, and were perpetrat- ed with entire impunity, for an alibi was always proved; and during the twelve or thirteen years following the influx of foreign miners into the coal regions, which began soon after the breaking out of the Rebellion, they came to be a real terror in those regions. At length a skillful detective succeeded in gain- ing admission to their order and obtaining a knowledge of its secret workings, and of the perpetrators of the many murders which had been committed. The results was that many of these murders were brought to justice, and the order was rendered impotent by the exposure of its dangerous character. In the summer of 1877 what is known as the great strike oc- curred. This commenced in the city of Baltimore, among the em- ployees of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and rapidly extended the entire length of the road. Three days later, July 19th, certain employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company also struck, or refused to work. The immediate cause or pretext for the strike at Pittsburg was an order from the superintendent of the road extending the trip of a "crew:" thus-as it was said- rendering a smaller number of men necessary and depriving a portion of their employment. The exigencies of was of 1861-65 brought about unhealthy condition of things throughout the country. The currency was inflated; business acquired an abnormal activity; the prices of produce, of manufactured articles, and of labor were greatly enhanced, and a general expansion took place. This engendered among all classes a degree of reckless extravagance unknown before, and when, after the lapse of a few years, business gradu- ally __________________end page 21.___________________ page 22 OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA _______________________________________________________________ came to be established on a more healthy basis, people found it difficult to adapt themselves to their changed surroundings, to practice the more rigid economy which those surroundings necessi- tated, and to appreciate the increased and steadily increasing value of a dollar. When, therefore, by reason of a depreciation in the prices of produce, a lessened demand for manufactured goods, and a consequent which the profits of manufacturers, it became necessary to reduce the price of labor, many labors, finding it hard to submit to these inevitable changes, and fail- ing to appreciate the necessity for them, sought by the exercise of lawless force to compel producers, manufactures, or carriers to continue the prices which they paid in more prosperous times. Such was the condition of things at the commencement of thisstrike. At first certain railroads employees, who considered themselves aggrieved, refused to work, and sought by intimidation and force to prevent others from doing the work which they re- fused to do. At Pittsburg these were joined by the idle, vicious and reckless who were not in the employ of the railroad company, and at once became more and more disorderly and defiant. The authorities were called on to protect the company's property, but the force failed to control the mob. The militia were called out, and some of the soldiers fraternized with the rioters, and others proved inefficient by reason of a mistaken aversion to firing on them, and finally allowed themselves to be driven from their position. The citizens took no measures to repress disor- der, but rather looked on approvingly. Under such circumstances the crowd constantly augmented, and became more and more desperate. Incendiarism and pillage came to be the order of things, and property to the amount of millions of dollars was destroyed. Proclamations were issued by the gover- nor, more militia were called out, and at last the citizens awoke from their apathy when they became aware that the city itself was in danger of destruction, and the riotous proceedings were final- ly quelled. Meantime the strike had extended until it had become general along the Pennsylvania Railroad. Violence was resorted to and property destroyed at various places along the line of the road, but nowhere was there such a reign of terror as at Pittsburg. At Philadelphia the authorities took such ample precautions, and the police acted so promptly and efficiently when the riot broke out there, that it was at once put down. The governor visited riot- ous localities along the line of the road in person, accompanied by troops, and regular soldiers were furnished by order of the President and Secretary of War, on application of Governor Har- tranft, to aid in restoring order. At Reading riots broke out on the 22nd of July. The militia were called out, but proved inefficient, though one regiment, without orders, poured a volley into the assailing crowd, killing ten and wounding forty and scattering the rioters for the time. The presence of 300 regular troops finally awed the mob and restored order. By the 24th the strike had extended to the mining regions, and was extensively participated in by the miners. Riots occurred at Pottsville, Shamokin, Bethlehem, Easton, Wilkes-Barre, Scran- ton and elsewhere. Work in the mines was arrested, some mines were flooded, railroad property was destroyed and many lives were sacrificed in the riots and the efforts to quell them. The greatest destruction of property, however, was at Pittsburg, where the citizens have since been punished for the tacit encour- agement which they at first gave the rioters, by being compelled to pay for the property destroyed. ____________ CHAPTER VIII. __________________ HARRISBURG MADE THE CAPITAL THE WAR OF 1812 INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS-SCHOOLS __________________________ The project of removing the capital of the State to a more central location began to be agitated during the last decade of the eighteenth century. In 1795, 1796 and 1798 efforts were made to accomplish such removal, but they failed for the want of concurrent action in the two branches of the Legislature. Car- lisle, Reading, Lancaster, Wright's Ferry and Harrisburg were unsuccessfully proposed. In 1799 Lancaster was selected, and the Legislature met there for the first time in December of that year. By an act of the Legislature in 1810 it was in 1812 re- moved from Lancaster to Harrisburg; and the sessions of the Legislature were held in the court-house at that place till the completion of the public building in 1821. The war of 1812 had its origin in aggressions against the United States by Great Britain, which were continued during many years, notwithstanding the earnest protests of this nation. The rights of the United States as neutrals were disregarded during the Napoleonic wars, and among other encroachments the English government claimed the right to board and search American ves- sels, and authorized its officers to examine their crews, seize all those whom they chose to regard as British subjects, and force them into service. All remonstrances were unavailing. The English in enforcing this right of search committed great out- rages, and the practice became so obnoxious as to demand some decided measures for its suppression. Under these circumstances there appeared no alternative but war; and Congress having au- thorized it, war against Great Britain was declared on the 19th of June, 1812. The measure was not universally sustained. The Federal party, then in the minority, opposed it; and their polit- ical opinions being apparently stronger than their patriotism, they loudly denounced it. The Federalists in New York and New England were most prominent in their opposition, and if they did not directly aid the enemy their conduct was discouraging ______________end page 22.________________ page 23 WAR OF 1812-INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS _______________________________________________________________ and injurious to those who were periling their lives in their country's cause. This opposition was, however, quite impotent in Pennsylvania. At the commencement of the war Governor Snyder issued a patriotic call for fourteen thousand volunteers; and such was the alacrity of the response that three times the number required tendered their services, and money was readily offered for the places of those who were accepted. During this war Pennsylvania was not the scene of hostile operations, although her frontier was threatened. A force of British and Indians appeared on the north shore of the lake, opposite to Erie, in July, 1812; but the prompt measures that were taken for the defense of the port prevented an attack. The mouth of the Delaware was blockaded in 1813, and most of the foreign commerce of Philadelphia was cut off; but the river had been placed in such a state of defense that it was not invaded. A thousand men were sent to protect the shores of this river, and an equal force sent to guard the harbor of Erie, where vessels of war were in process of construction and equipment. The brilliant victory of Commodore Perry on the 10th of September, 1813, was the result of the fitting out of this naval force. The ravaging of the shores of Chesapeake bay, and the burn- ing of Washington, in 1813 and 1814, and the threatening attitude if the enemy after these depredation, induced Governor Snyder to issue another call for troops to defend the State against the peril which menaced it. In compliance with this a force of five thousand established a rendezvous on the Delaware, and although the soil of Pennsylvania was not invaded this force did good service in marching to the relief of Baltimore when it was at- tacked, and aiding to repel the enemy. It is worthy of note, as showing the difference in the patriotism of men from different sections of the country, that four thousand New York troops under General Van Rennsselaer refused to cross the line into Canada, but that, soon afterward, a brigade of Pennsylvanians, consisting of two thousand, under General Tannehill, crossed without the slightest hesitation, glad to be able to meet the enemy on his own soil and do battle for their country. A treaty of peace between the two nations was ratified on the 17th of February, 1815. The extensive system of internal improvements which has swal- lowed so many millions of money in this State was commenced about the year 1790. The first efforts were directed to the improvement of navigation in the rivers of the State; then as time went on, construction of a system of canals and turnpikes was entered on, and prosecuted beyond that of any other State in the Union. The grand project of securing the trade of the West, through a connection between Philadelphia and the waters of the Ohio at Pittsburg, by a line of public works, was realized in 1831. In order to secure the influence and votes necessary to authorize this it had been found necessary to construct other canals in various parts of the State, the inhabitants of which desired to participate in the benefits of the system of internal improvements, and thus that system in this State came to exceed in magnitude that of any other. It was not possible, however, for the wisest of those who projected and promoted this system of improvements to foresee the rise and rapid progress of another system, which was to take the place of and wholly supersede that which, at such an enormous expense, they inaugurated and carried forward. In 1827 a railroad, nine miles in length, the longest then in existence in America, was constructed from Mauch Chunk to some coal mines. Only two had preceded this-one, with a wooden track, at a stone quarry in the country of Delaware, Penn., and another, having a length of three miles, at a quarry in Quincy, Mass. Since that time the railroad system of this country has developed to its present magnitude. A majority of the canals are dry, many have been converted into railroad beds, and even the rivers and lakes of the country have dwindled into comparative insignifi- cance as avenues of travel or transportation. In 1857 the prin- cipal line of public works between Pittsburg and Philadelphia was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for a fraction of its cost, and measures were at once taken for the sale of the other works belonging to the State thus do systems, one after another, develop and pass away, and no prevision can point out what is to come. While it is true that in some of the States of the Union the present system of internal improvements, which has been fostered and encouraged by those States, has proved to be almost the ruin of their best interests, the reverse is true in Pennsylvania. The development of the immense mineral resources of the Estate required the construction of these avenues of transportation, and the cost of those built by the State, though they were afterward sold for only a part of that cost, was returned many fold in the increase of wealth which was the direct result of their construc- tion. When the first canal was projected the use of anthracite coal was hardly known, and the cost of its transportation to market was so great as to preclude the possibility of its prof- itable use. With every increase in the facilities for the trans- portation of this important mineral it has been cheapened to the consumer, and its production has been rendered more profitable; and now large areas which have no value for any other purpose are sources of immense and constantly increasing wealth. Previous to the year 1834 many acts were passed by the Legis- lature pertaining in some way to the subject of education. Some of these were local in their application, and some were little more than resolutions in favor of education. Isolated schools were established in various localities, in most of which provi- sion was made for the education of their children of the poor. The people of the different religious denominations made provi- sion for the education of their children, often establishing parochial schools. This was the case with the Quakers, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, the German Lutherans, the Mennonists, the Moravians, the Dunkards, etc. Nothing having the semblance of a public school system was established previous to the adoption of the constitution ____________end page 23.______________ page 24 OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA _______________________________________________________________ of 1790, which required that provision should be made by law for the general establishment of schools wherein gratuitous instruc- tion should be given to the children of the poor. From that time till 1827 efforts were from time to time made to establish a system in accordance with this requirement, but with only partial success, the radical defect in all being the distinction between the children of the rich and poor. In 1827 earnest and systemat- ic efforts began to be put forth for the establishment of free schools for all, and in 1834 the foundation of the present common school system was laid, in the enactment of a law for the mainte- nance of schools by a tax on all taxable property. This law, which was at first imperfect, was revised and amended in 1836, 1849, 1854 and 1857, in which last year the present system of normal schools was established. In 1863 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company donated to the State $50,000 for the education of soldiers' orphans. In 1865 the Legislature added to this an appropriation of $75,000. Schools and homes were established for these wards of the State, and during several years an annual expenditure was made for this purpose of half a million of dollars. At these homes and school soldiers' orphans were boarded, clothed, educated and taught habits of industry, and at a proper age were placed in situations to acquire trades or professions. In 1749 an academy was established by subscription in Phila- delphia "for instruction in the Latin and English languages and mathematics." This was the foundation of the University of Penn- sylvania. This and Dickinson College, at Carlisle, which was founded in 1783, were the only colleges in the State previous to the commencement of the nineteenth century. There are now twenty-seven, of which five are purely secular or non-sectarian. There are also seventeen theological institutions, ten medical schools and one law school. ____________ CHAPTER IX. ____________ PATRIOTIC ACTION IN THE MEXICAN AND CIVIL WARS GOVERNORS OF PENNSYLVANIA. __________ In 1846 war was declared by this government against Mexico, and by virtue of authority vested in him by Congress, the Presi- dent calld on Pennsylvania for six volunteer regiments of infan- try, to hold themselves in readiness for service during one year, or to the end of the war. Such was the alacrity with which the citizens responded to this call, that within thirty days a suffi- cient number of volunteers had offered their services to consti- tute nine full regiments. Of these, between two and three regi- ments were sent into the country of the enemy, and their conduct at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Chepultepec and the city of Mexico was highly creditable to themselves as well as to the State which they represented. The promptitude with which Pennsylvania responded to call of the federal government in 1812 and 1846 was fully equaled by the readiness with which her citizens flew to arms at the breaking out of the great Southern rebellion. In anticipation of that event the citizens of Pittsburg had refused to allow arms to be taken from their arsenal and sent south by traitorous government officials; and, when the storm of war burst upon the country, the patriotism of the citizens of this State was aroused to such a pitch that, in response to the call for Pennsylvania's quota of the 75,000 first called for, fourteen regiments, enough for twenty-five, offered themselves. A place of rendezvous, called, in honor of the governor of the State, Camp Curtin, was established at Harrisburg, and on the morning of April 18th, 1861, six days after the attack on Fort Sumter and three days after the proclamation calling for 75,000 men was issued five companies of volunteers left Harrisburg for Washington. They passed through Baltimore amid the jeers and imprecations of the mob, that followed them and hurled bricks, clubs and other missiles at them as they boarded the cars, and arrived at Washington on the evening of the same day. They were the first troops that reached the national capital, and for this prompt response to the call of their country, and for their coolness and courage in passing through the mob, they were after- ward thanked, in a resolution, by the House of Representatives. Within twelve days, or before the first of May, twenty-five regiments, amounting to more than twenty thousand men, were sent from this State to the field. The expense of clothing, subsis- ing, arming, equipping and transporting these troops was sus- tained by the State. By the advance of General Lee toward the southern border of the state in September, 1862, an invasion of its territory was evidently threatened, and Governor Curtain, by proclamation, called for fifty thousand men to meet the emergency. These not only marched to the border, which they covered, but most of them crossed into the State of Maryland, and by their presence assist- ed in preventing the advance northward of the rebel army. Another emergency arose in June, 1863, to meet which Governor Curtin issued a proclamation calling out the entire militia of the state. By reason of a lack of concert in the action of the State and National authorities, only a portion of this force was brought into service previous to the battle of Gettysburg. Of that battle the limits of this sketch will not permit a detailed account. It was the result of the second attempt to invade northern territory and it was a disaster to the rebels from which they never recovered. The territory of the State was again invaded in July, 1864, and all the available troops in the State were sent forward to repel the invasion. The inhabitants along the southern border were considerably annoyed and injured by this invasion, and the town of Chambersburg burned. More than two hundred and fifty houses were __________end page 24.____________ page 25 WAR OF THE REBELLION GOVERNORS OF PENNSYLVANIA ____________________________________________________________ fired by the rebels and the town was entirely destroyed involving a loss of about $2,000,000. It was an act of wanton vandalism. Of Camp Curtin, there was established at the commencement of the war, it may be said that it was not only a place of rendez- vous for soldiers and of deposit for military stores, but a depot for prisoners and a hospital for the sick and for the wounded after some of the great battles, especially the battles of Get- tysburg and Antietam. It was early placed under the control of the federal government, and so continued till the close of the war. A brief mention should be made of the part which the loyal women of the State bore in this conflict. Not only did they part with their husbands, sons and brothers, who went forth to do battle for their country and the preservations of its institu- tions, and in many cases to lay down their lives, but they put forth their efforts to provide and send forward to those who languished in distant hospitals those comforts which the govern- ment could not furnish; and many a sick or wounded soldier had occasion to bless his unknown benefactress for some delicacy or comfort of which he was the recipient. During the continuance of this war the State of Pennsylvania furnished for the army two hundred and seventy regiments and many detached companies, amounting in all to 387,284 men. The follow- ing quotation from a special message of Governor Curtin, at the close of the war, is a well deserved tribute to the self-sacri- ficing patriotism of the people of this State: "Proceeding in the strict line of duty, the resources of Penn- sylvania, whether in men or money, have neither been withheld or squandered. The history of the conduct of our people in the field is illuminated with incidents of heroism worthy of conspicuous notice; but it would be impossible to mention them in the proper limits of this message, without doing injustice or perhaps making invidious distinctions. It would be alike impossible to furnish a history of the associated benevolence, and of the large individual contributions to the comfort of our people in the field and hos- pital; or of the names and services at all times of our volunteer surgeons, when called to assist in the hospital or on the battle field. Nor is it possible to do justice to the many patriotic and Christian men who were always ready when summoned to the exercise of acts of humanity and benevolence. Our armies were sustained and strengthened in the field by the patriotic devotion of their friends at home; and we can never render full justice to the heaven-directed, patriotic, Christian benevolence of the women of the State." The following is a list of the governors of the colony, prov- ince and State of Pennsylvania, with the years of the appointment or election of each: Under the Swedes: 1638, Peter Minuit; 1641, Peter Hollandare; 1643, John Printz; 1653, John Pappegoya; 1654, Johan Claudius Rysingh. Under the Dutch: 1655, Peter Stuyvesant (Deryck Schmidt pro tem.); 1655, John Paul Jaquet; 1657, Jacob Alrichs; 1659, Alexan- der D. Hinyossa; 1652, William Beekman; 1663, Alexander D. Hi- nyossa; 1673, Anthony Colve (Peter Alrich's deputy). Under the Duke of York: 1664, Colonel Richard Nichols (Robert Carr, deputy); 1667, Colonel Francis Lovelace. Under the English: 1674, Sir Edmund Andross: Under the proprietary government: 1681, William Markham, depu- ty; 1682, William Penn; 1684, Thomas Lloyd, president of the council; 1688, five commissioners appointed by the proprietor- Thomas Lloyd, Robert Turner, Arthur Cook, John Symcock, John Eckley; 1688, John Blackwell, deputy; 1690, Thomas Lloyd, presi- dent of council; 1691, Thomas Lloyd, deputy governor; 1693, Benjamin Fletcher, William Markham, liutenant governor; 1695, William Markham, deputy, 1699, William Penn; 1701, Andrew Hamil- ton, deputy; 1703, Edward Shippen, president of the council; 1704, John Evans, deputy; 1709, Charles Gookin, deputy; 1717, Sir William Keith, deputy; 1726, Patrick Gordon, deputy; 1736, James Logan, president of the council; 1738, George Thomas, deputy; 1747, Anthony Palmer, president of the council; 1748, James Hamilton, lieutenant governor; 1754, Robert H. Morris, deputy; 1756, William Denny, deputy; 1759, James Hamilton, deputy; 1763, John Penn; 1771, James Hamilton, president of the council; 1771, Richard Penn; 1773, John Penn. Under the constitution of 1776 (presidents of the supreme council): 1777, Thomas Wharton; 1778, Joseph Reed; 1781, William Moore; 1782, John Dickinson; 1785, Benjamin Franklin; 1788, Thomas Mifflin. Under subsequent constitutions: 1790, Thomas Mifflin; 1799, Thomas McKean; 1808, Simon Snyder; 1817; William Findlay; 1820, Joseph Heister; 1823, John Andrew Schultze; 1829, George Wolf; 1835, Joseph Ritner; 1839, David R. Porter; 1845, Francis R. Shunk; 1848, William F. Johnston; 1852, William Bigler; 185(-), James Pollock; (note: (-) is transcribers for illegible.) 1858, William F. Packer; 1861, Andrew G. Curtin; 1867, John W Geary; 1873, John F. Hartranft; 1878, Henry M. Hoyt. ____________end page 25_____________ IMPORTANT NOTE: THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A PAGE 26 TO THIS BOOK. TABLE OF CONTENTS SKIPS FROM PAGE 25 TO PAGE 27 AND THERE WAS NO PAGE 26.