The inhabitants of the infant Nation believed that Great Britain had wantonly trampled on their rights, and on May 12, 1812, Governor Simon Snyder expressed the feelings of the people in his call for Pennsylvania’s quota of 14,000 militia, when he stated that for thirty years we had lived at peace with all the nations of the earth, while the storm of war had been desolating many countries of the civilized world, and that all means which wisdom and patience could devise had been in vain resorted to in the hope of preserving peace.
“The cup of patience, of humiliation and long suffering,” declared the Governor, “had been filled to overflowing; and the indignant arm of an injured people must be raised to dash it to the earth and grasp the avenging sword. If ever a nation had justifiable cause for war, that nation is the United States. If ever a people had motives to fight, we are that people. It would give the Governor inexpressible satisfaction if Pennsylvania would volunteer her quota.”
Such was the enthusiasm of the hour that in response to the Governor’s call three times as many troops tendered their services as were required. The disappointment of some was so great that money was freely offered to secure a place among those accepted by the authorities.
General William Reed, the Adjutant General of the State, speedily organized this force, which was formed into two divisions, four brigades and twenty-two regiments. The first, or Philadelphia division, was commanded by Major General Isaac Morrell and the second, from Pittsburgh and vicinity, by Major General Adamson Tannehill.
The differences which had so long existed between the United States and Great Britain finally resulted in war, which was declared by Congress June 18, 1812. Every Representative, but two from Pennsylvania and both the Senators, voted in favor of a declaration and the people at home proved in demonstrative terms that they approved their vote.
In July a general alarm prevailed in Erie and vicinity, in consequence of the appearance of a British-Indian force on the opposite side of the lake.
On July 15 the sixteenth division of Pennsylvania militia was organized under General Kelso. Four thousand men called for by the President rendezvoused at Meadville and Pittsburgh looking to a movement on Canada.
Soon the 2000 men at Meadville were ordered to Western New York, where they participated in the battles along the Canadian border. After the unsuccessful efforts of General Dearborn and Wilkinson, the rank of major general was conferred upon Jacob Brown, of Bucks County, and he was given the command of the Northern Department.
General Brown at Ogdensburg, October 4, 1812, defeated the British, and won a signal victory, May 29, when he took Sackett’s Harbor, which he retained until the close of the war. General Brown also won a brilliant victory at Fort Erie, which is on the Canadian shore, opposite Buffalo, N. Y., on July 3, 1814.
Winfield Scott, later the successful commander in the war with Mexico, was an officer under General Brown. He won the brilliant and important engagement at Chippewa, under directions of General Brown. Captain Thomas Biddle, of Philadelphia, commanded one of the three batteries of artillery engaged.
General Brown then won the severe battle of Lundy’s Lane, July 25, in which 2600 Americans defeated 7000 British, and captured one of their batteries. In this engagement General Brown was twice wounded, Major Daniel McFarland was killed, Captain Biddle and Colonel Hugh Brady, of Northumberland County, afterward a distinguished general of the United States Army, were severely wounded.
General Brown defended Fort Erie against two attacks and at the close of the campaign was honored by the State of New York with a gift of gold and a decorated sword, “in testimony of the high sense they entertained of his valor and skill in defeating the British forces, superior in number.” Congress gave him the thanks of the Nation and a gold medal, and he was made Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the United States. He died February 24, 1828, from the effects of wounds received at Lundy’s Lane.
Other Pennsylvanians who were heroes in this war included General Thomas Bodley and Colonel William Carroll, a native of Pittsburgh, who afterward served as Governor of Tennessee from 1821 to 1827, and again from 1830 to 1835.
The defense of Philadelphia was chiefly maintained by volunteers from Pennsylvania. One camp was established at Shell Pot, north of Wilmington, where the “Philadelphia Blues” under Captain Lewis Rush formed a part of the command. He was promoted and Lieutenant Henry Myers succeeded him as captain of the Blues, or “Bucktails,” as they were more generally called.
In the summer of 1814, Governor Snyder ordered out troops to serve for the defense of Delaware and the Elk River. A camp was established near Wilmington, called Camp Dupont, and was under the command of General Thomas Cadwalader, of Philadelphia. The infantry regiment was commanded by Colonel Clement C. Biddle, and a battalion of artillery was there under command of Colonel Prevost. Another camp was formed near Marcus Hook, called Camp Gaines. General Snyder commanded this brigade. In this camp were Colonel William Duane and others. The First or old “City Troop,” commanded then by Captain Charles Ross, was in Camp Gaines.
Another camp of 5000 troops was established at York under Major General Nathaniel Watson. When General Ross attempted the capture of Baltimore these Pennsylvanians marched there and aided in repelling the enemy.
An important event of this war was the blockade of the Delaware River in March, 1813, by the British fleet under Commodore Sir John P. Beresford.
The closing scenes of the war were enacted in the regions north and south of Pennsylvania, and the State was not seriously threatened with invasion.
On August 24, 1814, Washington fell into the enemy’s hands, the city pillaged and the Capitol burned.
Just as Robert Morris was the financier of the Revolution, so Stephen Girard also of Philadelphia, was the financier of the War of 1812. The Government needed $5,000,000 and offered high interest, but only $200,000 was subscribed, when Girard stepped into the scene and subscribed the balance. He staked his whole fortune in his trust of his adopted country, which none other would do, and saved the Nation from a humiliating defeat. He also took Treasury bills at their face value, and his example shamed other creditors, who then accepted the money of the Government.
Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Antes died at his stockaded home, long known as Antes’ Fort, May 13, 1820, aged eighty-three years.
This pioneer statesman and soldier was an early settler on the frontier of Pennsylvania, a member of a distinguished family in the Province, an officer of the Revolution, Sheriff of Northumberland County during the stirring days of the Wyoming controversy, and an ardent patriot whose influence, both in civic and military affairs, was most potent a century and a quarter since.
The ancestral home of Colonel Antes was in the beautiful and fertile valley, called Falkner’s Swamp, in what is now Montgomery County, about six miles from Pottstown.
Philip Frederick Antes, grandfather of Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Antes, of the noble family of Von Blume, of Rhenish Bavaria, Germany, owing to religious persecutions, came from Friensheim, Germany, sometime between 1716 and 1723, and settled for a short time in Germantown.
On February 29, 1722–23, he bought 154 acres in the Van Bebber tract in what has since been called Falkner’s Swamp. This was a tract of 500 acres in the original patent made by William Penn, October 25, 1701, to the Frankford Land Company, and comprised 22,337 acres of the most fertile land in the State.
On December 16, 1708, the tract was sold by the agent, Daniel Falkner, to John Henry Sprogel for £500, current money of Pennsylvania and was paid for in “Silver Coyne.” This was known as the German tract and also by other names.
In 1726 Henry Antes, the only son, married Christina, the daughter of William Dewees, who built the second paper mill in America, in 1710, in that part of Germantown known as Crefeld, near the line of the present Montgomery County. A flour mill was added to the Crefeld paper mill and here Henry Antes worked for three years. This was the birthplace of three of their children, Frederick, William and Elizabeth. Henry Antes served for more than ten years as one of the Justices of the Province.
September 2, 1735, Henry Antes purchased more than 200 acres about two miles away, just across the line from the German tract, in what is now Frederick Township, Montgomery County, and built a grist mill and a stone mansion, in which the rest of his distinguished family was born, and which was destined to become one of the valued historic buildings of the State.
It was in this home that Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Antes was born, October 5, 1736. Here Reverend George Whitefield, the great evangelist, preached from the porch, April 23, 1740, to a multitude estimated at 3000 persons.
In 1745 Pious Henry Antes gave up his home to the needs of the Moravian Society, and his house became the school for boys. He and his wife removed to Bethlehem. Henry Antes’ home thus became the first boarding school for boys in America.
It was in this mansion, then owned by Colonel Frederic Antes, that General Washington made his headquarters, September 18 to 24, 1777, during his stay at Camp Pottsgrove, the most westerly point ever reached by the Continental Army.
When still quite a young man John Henry Antes, being of a romantic disposition, went to the Susquehanna region, being induced to do so by Conrad Weiser, who was a great friend of the family, and who had made frequent trips to the West Branch in the interest of the Provincial Government. He settled on a farm situated on Shamokin Creek, near the present Sunbury, and soon became one of the prominent men of that region.
On July 29, 1775, he was appointed a Justice of Quarter Sessions. On January 24, 1776, he was commissioned a captain in the Second Battalion, under Colonel James Potter, and on March 13, following was assigned to the command of Colonel William Plunket, when he made his expedition against the Connecticut settlers; then Captain Antes was assigned to the Second Battalion of Associators.
On May 21, 1777, he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the Fourth Battalion, of Northumberland County Militia, and in this service endeared himself to the frontier inhabitants by his active work in protecting the settlements from the frequent incursions of the Indians.
He established his headquarters in the Nippenose Valley. Here he built the stockade, called Antes’ Fort, which was the most exposed place on the frontier. This stockade and the cabin home of Colonel Antes were destroyed by the Tories and Indians at the time of the “Great Runaway,” July, 1778.
Towards the close of the Revolution, Colonel Antes was elected Sheriff of Northumberland County, October 18, 1782, and re-elected. At this time his jurisdiction extended over what is now thirty counties of Pennsylvania.
At the close of his political and military career, he removed from his farm to a tract of land on Nippenose Creek, which he had purchased September 29, 1773. This site was near the mouth of that creek opposite the mouth of Pine Creek, near the present Jersey Shore, and here he built a mill, known as Antes’ Fort. His log mansion built at the same time, 1785, which he stockaded, and which was later occupied by his son, Henry, until 1830, is still in use. The grist mill, now in operation, is the fourth one erected on the original site.
A gap in the mountains, a small town, and other places have taken their name from this sturdy pioneer.
The Antes Burying Ground is not far distant from the home and mill site, and in it is the grave of Colonel John Henry Antes.
The numerous descendants of Colonel Antes meet in annual reunion and recount his many exploits and services so unselfishly rendered in time of need.
Thomas and John Penn, the Proprietaries, arrived in the Province, the former in 1732, and his elder brother, John, two years later. They were cordially and affectionately received by the colonists as the sons of the most illustrious founder.
John Penn remained only one year, as he hurried back to England to oppose the pretensionspretensions of Lord Baltimore, but Thomas Penn remained for some years in the Province, spending his time generally after the manner of an English country gentleman. He was cold and distant in his intercourse with society and consequently unpopular. He returned to England in 1741.
In the year 1733 the Provincial Government for the first time became apprehensive of the designs of the French in the Western country, where they began to establish trading posts along the headwaters of the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers and claimed all the land on those waters by virtue of some treaty of which the Provincial Government was not apprised.
With a view to frustrate their designs, which obviously tended to alienate the Indians from the English, James Logan proposed that a treaty should be made with the Shawnee and other tribes, and that they should be invited to remove nearer the English settlements. In accord with this suggestion, a treaty was held with the Six Nations at Philadelphia, when the savages confirmed the fears of the English by advising them of the French designs, and they promised perpetual friendship with the English.
Then trouble began on the Maryland border. At a meeting of Council held in Philadelphia May 14, 1734, Thomas Penn informed the board of some very unneighborly proceedings of the Province of Maryland in not only harassing some of the inhabitants of this Province who lived along the border, but that they extended their claims much farther than they had ever before pretended they had a right. They went so far as to carry off several persons, whom they imprisoned, among them being John Hendricks and Joshua Minshall, who lived on the Susquehanna in what is now York County. At the time of this report they were still confined in prison at Annapolis.
Penn advised Council he had engaged Andrew Hamilton, Esq., to appear for them when they should be brought to trial at the ensuing Provincial Court of Maryland. Penn said this action of the Marylanders made settlements along the border insecure and he proposed that the Council decide on measures for maintaining the peace between his Majesty’s subjects in both Provinces.
Mr. Hamilton, accompanied by Mr. Georges, private secretary to Governor Thomas Penn, went to Annapolis on their mission. They were also acting in capacity of commissioners for the Proprietaries, with the approval of the Assembly, to execute articles of agreement, and to run, mark and lay out the lines, limits and boundaries between the two Provinces. They did not meet with much success, in consequence of which, the Governor, under date of August 19, 1734, wrote to the Justices of the Counties of Chester, Lancaster on the Susquehanna, and New Castle, Kent and Sussex on the Delaware as follows:
“You are not, I believe, insensible how much the whole country has been disappointed in the just hopes which had been entertained of seeing a final period put to those long pending disputes between this Government and that of Maryland, touching their respective boundaries, by the execution of the solemn agreement concluded between the Proprietaries of each. It is, however, no small satisfaction to me that I can now acquaint you that this agreement, with the proceedings of the commissioners thereon, having been laid before his Majesty’s attorney and solicitor general, we have had the pleasure of lately receiving the opinion, that the agreement still remains valid and binding, on both Proprietaries, although their commissioners, by reason of difference in sentiments, have not carried into execution.
“Now, as the northern bounds, formerly set by Lord Baltimore to himself, differ not much from those lately agreed upon, I know not how we can judge better or with more certainty of any bounds by which we limit our present jurisdiction than near the place where it is known they will fall when the lines shall be actually run.
“In the meantime, that a stop may be put to any further insults on the people of this Government, and encroachments on lands within the bounds of the same, I am again to renew to you those pressing instances I have repeatedly made, that agreeable to the duty of your stations, you exert your utmost endeavors for preserving peace throughout your county, and protecting all the inhabitants in the just and right possessions, in legal and necessary defense of which every person ought to be encouraged to appear with boldness, and to be assured of receiving all the countenance that lawful authority can give.
“And as the late disturbances have been in a great measure owing to the unjust attempts of those who, pretending right to, or claiming disputed lands, under that pretense, have come many miles into this Province, and with force possessed themselves of lands for which they can have no lawful grant from any other persons but our Honorable Proprietaries only, and have likewise committed very great violences upon sundry of our inhabitants, you are to give strict orders for apprehending and securing all such who have been principals or accessories therein, as well as those who hereafter shall presume to offer an injury to the persons or professions of his Majesty’s peaceable subjects or encroach on any lands within the known and reputed limits of your county, that they may be brought to condign punishment.
“But as in the year 1724, it was agreed ‘that for avoiding all manner of contention or difference between the inhabitants of the two Provinces, no person or persons should be disturbed or molested in their possessions they then held on either side,’ you are desired still to have a particular regard to those entitled to the benefit of that agreement, while they behave themselves peaceably.”
The letters then gave implicit instructions to the sheriffs, directing them to frequently visit the borders, particularly where the disturbances happened, and give all assistance possible to the injured and apprehend those who caused the trouble and seize and secure them.
It was particularly fortunate that the Indians continued to live amicably with the settlers at this period.
William Penn appointed his cousin, Captain William Markham, Deputy Governor, and he arrived in the Province in October, 1681. He then appointed commissioners to lay out the proposed great city, who came over toward the end of that year. The commissioners, as originally appointed were William Crispin, Nathaniel Allen and John Bezar.
These commissioners sailed in the ship John and Sarah, taking the southern passage and stopping at Barbadoes, where Crispin died. Crispin was head of the commission, a man of mature years and Penn’s own kinsman, like Markham.
It appears by a letter from Penn to Markham, dated London, October 18, 1681, that Penn intended Crispin to hold high office in the new province. He says:
“I have sent my cosen, William Crispen, to be thy assistant, as my commission will appear. His Skill, experience, Industry and Integrity are well known to me, and particularly in Court keeping &c., so yt is my will and pleasure that he be as Chief Justice to keep ye Seal, ye Courts and Sessions, & he shall be accountable to me for it.”
The honor, therefore, of discharging the highest judicial office in Pennsylvania is to be attributed to the man appointed by the proprietary in pursuance of the act of 1684—that man was Dr. Nicholas More.
It is difficult to understand the abilities and character of More. He was educated in medicine, but drifted away, in his mature years, from the practice of his profession, and in 1681 became the president of the Society of Free Traders, and a large purchaser of land in the new Province of Pennsylvania.
Nicholas More arrived in the province with Penn in 1682, and though not a member of the Society of Friends, he so far won their confidence that he was returned a member of the first Assembly at Chester, and probably was the speaker of that body. He continued a member for three years, and in 1684 was again elected its speaker.
In August, 1684, he was commissioned Chief Justice by the Proprietary and at once entered upon the discharge of the functions of that high office.
In spite of the estimable qualities which entitled him to these honors, his character was stained with faults, and his haughty demeanor, harsh and ungoverned temper, incensed those with whom he was brought in contact.
In 1683 a Council and Assembly attempted to function with less members than required by the Frame of Government. More reminded them they had broken the Charter and their acts would amount to nothing. He further said: “Hundreds in England will curse you * * * and their children after them, and you may be impeached for treason for what you do.”
He denounced them when they passed laws which he opposed, and used language which was not in common usage among the pious Quakers.
These practices and his overbearing and haughty spirit made More many enemies in all classes. It is therefore with but little surprise that the Assembly formally impeached him early in his judicial career.
On the morning of May 15, 1685, a member of the House presented a formal complaint. More, who was sitting as a delegate, was ordered to withdraw. The articles of accusation were read and approved, and a committee named to conduct the impeachment. But the Council received the accusers with grave civility and gave the Judge until 7 o’clock the following morning to answer the charges.
More was not inclined to gracefully submit himself to the judgment of the Council and bitterly accused Abraham Mann as “a person of a seditious spirit.” He did not appear before Council and also refused to attend when warned by a committee.
The Assembly prudently resolved to collect the testimony necessary to make good their charges. They required the records of the Provincial Court, which were in possession of Patrick Robinson, clerk of the Court, who happened to be present in the House. He was little in sympathy with the impeachment and refused to produce the desired records. He even alleged that the records were “written in Latin where one word stood for a sentence and in unintelligible characters which no person could read but himself; no, not an angel from Heaven.”
The clerk held firm and then withdrew from the House. A warrant was issued by the Speaker and he was placed in the custody of the sheriff.
More all this time, secretly supported by the Governor and his friends in the Council, took no notice of the proceedings against him. He told John Briggs, a member of the House, “Either I myself or some of you will be hanged and I advise you to enter your protest against it.”
On the morning of May 18 the Assembly met after a long conference with the Council. They once more endeavored to extort the records from Robinson, who was brought into the House in the custody of the Sheriff, but in vain. Robinson threw himself on the floor and refused to arise or answer any questions put to him. The House, therefore, hastened to make an end of the business. They expelled More, resolved to ask that Robinson should be removed from office, hastily gathered together their evidence, and presented themselves before the Council.
More again absented himself, but the evidence against him was sufficiently serious. He was proved to have acted in a summary and unlawful way in summoning juries; to have perverted the sense of the testimony; to have unduly harassed a jury into finding an unjust verdict, etc., and finally of having used “several contemptuous and derogatory expressions ... of the Provincial Council and of the present state of Government by calling the members thereof fooles and loggerheads,” and by saying “it was well if all the laws had dropt and that it never would be good times as long as ye Quakers had ye administration.”
The speaker requested that both More and Robinson be dismissed from office, and the Assembly withdrew.
The Governor and Council were puzzled how to act. Robinson was retained until he became so insolent that he was dismissed. But More had incurred the displeasure of public opinion, yet they could not proceed against him. The further prosecution of his case was postponed month by month by trivial excuses, till more important matters took its place in the public mind.
It is reasonable to conclude that Judge More must have been possessed of some sterling qualities and considerable natural parts to warrant Penn in his appointment. His dismissal from office ended his career as a public man.
Dr. More was the founder of the Manor of Moreland. He died after a languishing illness in 1689.
In the spring of 1780 occurred an Indian massacre at what was then known as French Jacob’s Mill. The site of this fatal attack is on a farm long in the possession of the Wohlheiter family, situated about one-half a mile southeast of the Forest House, at the end of Brush Valley Narrows, in what is now Union County.
Here in 1776 Jacob Groshong, or French Jacob, as he was called by his neighbors, built a log mill, which was patronized by the settlers for many miles around.
On May 16, 1780, a patrol of Continental soldiers on duty as a garrison at the mill, was attacked by a party of Indians, and four of the defenders were killed and several wounded. Those killed were John Foster, James Chambers, George Etzweiler and Samuel McLaughlin.
The soldiers were outside the mill at the time of the attack washing themselves. They had just returned from patroling that neighborhood and were confident the immediate country was free of redskins.
Christian Shively heard the firing as he was threshing grain in a field. He immediately concealed his wife and two small children near the creek, then rolled some logs into the stream and tied them into a raft, put his wife and children on, and floated down stream to safety. Henry Pontius, a neighbor, also heard the shots, secured his gun, hurriedly mounted a horse and made a circuit through the woods, and came to the mill just in time to see the Indians fleeing with their plunder.
An appeal for assistance was sent to the seat of Government, and the following day messengers set off for Philadelphia. A detail started for New Berlin, bearing the bodies of the murdered soldiers, but when John Clark’s farm was reached the party was divided. Those carrying the bodies of John Foster and James Chambers were compelled to make burial in the Lewis graveyard, as the weather was too excessively hot. The other party, bearing the body of George Etzweiler, buried it on the farm of John Brook, where his grave was suitably marked. The body of Samuel McLaughlin was carried to New Berlin and buried in the Dry Run Cemetery.
Colonel Matthew Smith sent a letter to General Joseph Reed, president of the State, dated Northumberland, May 18, 1780, in which he complained bitterly of the defenseless frontiers, and begged for immediate assistance. He said:
“Sir, unless some support can be instantly afforded, the State must shortly count one county less than formerly—which God forbid. I refer you, Dear Sir, to the bearer, General Potter, for further information, as he waits on horseback, whilst I write this imperfect, distressed account. Provisions none; cash none, nor can it be had in this place. General Potter’s account from this place to the Honorable Assembly, which I doubt not you will see, will fully satisfy you of the state of this place.”
This mill, where the Indian fight occurred, was a favorite place for visitors as long as it stood.
Some time between 1776 and 1779 Jacob Groshong built a little log mill on a site long afterward known as Solomon Heberling’s. He thought he had a clear title to the location, but he was defeated in a law suit for possession.
Groshong later moved up into the Nittany Mountain, in now Center County, and then went West. His name, or rather his nickname, is still preserved in connection with a rather large spring a little above the tavern, on the Bush Valley road. He is the hero of many of the wild tales of Indian troubles in that part of the valley.
On July 14, following this attack at French Jacob’s, the Indians attacked the family of Allens living at the mouth of Buffalo Creek, now Lewisburg. The woman succeeded in making her escape across the creek, but the husband and three children were killed.
The same day Baltzer Klinesmith was killed and his two daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine, were carried off. This was in the vicinity of the present Dreisbach Church, Union County.
The Indians and their prisoners arrived at a spring north of New Berlin, where they left the girls in charge of an old Indian and went down Dry Valley. It soon began to rain and the Indian made the girls gather brush to cover a bag of flour they had stolen. He laid down under a tree with his tomahawk under his head. The girls, passing with brush, gradually worked it from under him as he slept. Elizabeth secured it and motioned to her sister to run. She then sank it into the old Indian’s head and made her escape.
The Indians returned about this time and pursued the girls, reaching them when they neared the house. A rifle ball passed through Catherine’s shoulder, which maimed her for life, but the girls succeeded in reaching their home and the men, already alarmed and prepared, gave chase to the savages.
Two days after these attacks Colonel John Kelly enrolled a company of Northumberland County militia, with James Thompson as captain; Joseph Poak, lieutenant, and Alexander Ewing, ensign.
General John Forbes and his invincible army invested the ruins of Fort Duquesne, November 24, 1758. There was no attempt made to restore the old fortification, but about one year later work was begun on a new fort, under the personal direction of General John Stanwix, who succeeded General Forbes, which has since been known as Fort Pitt.
It was built near the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela unite their waters, but a little farther inland than the site of Fort Duquesne. The exact date of its completion is not known, but on March 21, 1760, Major General Stanwix, having finished his work, set out on his return journey to Philadelphia.
The effect of this stronghold was soon apparent in the return of about 4000 settlers to their lands on the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, from which they had been driven by their savage enemies, and the brisk trade which at once began to be carried on with the now, to all appearance, friendly Indians. However, this security was not of long duration. The definite treaty of peace between England, Spain and France was signed February 10, 1763, but before that time, Pontiac, the great chief of the Ottawas, was planning his conspiracy, which carried death and desolation throughout the frontier.
The French had always tried to ingratiate themselves with the Indians. When their warriors came to the French forts they were hospitably welcomed and liberally supplied with guns, ammunition and clothing. The English, on the contrary, either gave reluctantly or did not give at all.
In a spirit of revenge and hatred a powerful confederacy was formed which included all the Western tribes, under the command of Pontiac, alike renowned for his warlike spirit, his wisdom and his bravery, and whose name was a terror to the entire region of the lakes. The blow was to be struck the middle of May, 1763. The tribes were to rise simultaneously and attack the English garrisons. Thus a sudden attack was made May 17, on all Western posts.
Detroit was saved after a long and close siege. Forts Pitt and Niagara narrowly escaped, while Le Boeuff, Venango, Presque Isle, Miami, St. Joseph, Ouachtown, Sandusky, and Michillimackimac all fell into the hands of the savages. Their garrisons were either butchered on the spot, or carried off to be tortured for the amusement of their cruel captors.
The Indians swept over the surrounding country, carrying death and destruction wherever they went. Hundreds of traders were slaughtered without mercy, while their wives and children, if not murdered, were carried off captives. The property destroyed or stolen amounted, it is said, to five hundred thousand pounds.
Attacks were made at Forts Bedford and Ligonier, but without success. Fort Ligonier was under siege for two months. The preservation of this post was of the utmost importance, and Lieutenant Blaine, by his courage and good conduct, managed to hold out until August 2, 1763, when Colonel Henry Bouquet arrived with his little army to relieve him.
In the meantime, every preparation was made at Fort Pitt for an attack. The garrison at that post numbered 330, commanded by Captain Simeon Ecuyer, a brave Swiss. The fortifications were repaired, barracks were made shot-proof and a rude fire-engine was constructed to extinguish any flames kindled by the fire arrows of the Indians. All the houses and cabins outside the walls were leveled to the ground. The fort was crowded with the families of the settlers.
Several weeks elapsed before there was any determined attack from the enemy. Only July 26 some chiefs asked for a parley with Captain Ecuyer, which was granted. They demanded that he and all in the fort should leave it immediately or it and they would all be destroyed.
On the night succeeding this parley the Indians approached in great numbers, crawling under the banks of the two rivers, in which they were completely sheltered from the fire of the fort. On the one side the entire bank was lined with the burrows, from which they shot volleys of bullets, arrows and fire-arrows into the fort. The yelling was terrific, and the women and children in the crowded barracks clung to each other in abject terror. This attack lasted for five days. On August 1, the Indians heard the rumor that Colonel Bouquet was approaching with a large force of troops, which caused them to give up the attack and move off, thus relieving the garrison.
When the news of this sudden Indian uprising reached General Amherst he ordered Colonel Bouquet to march with a detachment of 500 men to the relief of the besieged forts. This force was composed of regulars and six companies of Provincial Rangers.
Bouquet established his rendezvous in Carlisle, where he arrived the latter part of June, 1763. Here he found every building, every house, every barn, every hovel crowded with terrified refugees. He wrote to General Amherst, July 13, as follows:
“The list of people known to be killed increases every day. The desolation of so many families, reduced to the last extremity of want and misery; the despair of those who have lost their parents, relations and friends, with the cries of distracted women and children who fill the streets, form a scene painful to humanity and impossible to describe.”
Strange as it may seem, the Province of Pennsylvania would do nothing to aid the troops who gathered for its defense. Colonel Bouquet, in another letter to General Amherst, said: “I hope we shall be able to save that infatuated people from destruction, notwithstandingnotwithstanding all their endeavors to defeat your vigorous measures.”
While Bouquet, harassed and exasperated, labored on at his difficult task, the terror of the frontier people increased, until at last, finding they could hope for but little aid from the Government, they bestirred themselves with admirable spirit in their own defense. They raised small bodies of riflemen, who scoured the woods in front of the settlements, and succeeded in driving the enemy back. In many instances the men dressed themselves in Indian fashion, painted their faces red and black, and adopted the savage mode of warfare.
Forts Pitt, Niagara and Detroit were saved. Colonel Bouquet relieved Fort Pitt; Niagara was not attacked, and Detroit, after a long siege by Pontiac in person, was relieved by Colonel Bradstreet in 1764.
The Indians were speedily subdued, but Pontiac remained hostile until his death in 1769.
The British spent the winter of 1777–78 in Philadelphia, and while the Americans were suffering at Valley Forge, Sir William Howe’s army enjoyed one long round of pleasure in the capital city. The officers entertained themselves with fetes, dances and theatre parties, and they played cricket and had cock-fights. As Franklin said: “Howe did not take Philadelphia—Philadelphia took Howe.”
Howe was criticized at home, where he was regarded as indolent in command and he resigned. Sir Henry Clinton superseded him.
On May 18, 1778, before Howe’s departure, a fete at the home of Thomas Wharton, at Walnut Grove, was arranged for him by Major John Andre, a talented man, attractive to the ladies, who was later hanged as a spy. It was called the Meschianza, and comprised a regatta, tournament, feast and ball. It was a splendid folly in itself, and is notorious in American history.
After all, the performance must have been crude and some of the features of it in bad taste and incongruous. The elements of the medley would not mix. Major Andre says the cost of the entertainment was defrayed by twenty-two officers of Howe’s staff.
The Meschianza began with a regatta, which was in fact a military procession along the waterfront; boats, barges and galleys, filled with guests and officers, including Lord Howe, General Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Rawdon and General Knyphausen, moving in three divisions down the river, the surrounding vessels decked with flags and the wharves teaming with spectators.
As the company disembarked at the Wharton mansion they marched through files of grenadiers and light horse. On the lawn the bands in massed formation played favorite airs. Triumphal arches were erected on the lawn near the mansion, under which the ladies were received as at a royal court.
Here were seated seven of the principal belles dressed in Turkish habits and wearing in their turbans the favors with which they meant to reward the several knights who were to contend in their honor. At a blast of the trumpets, a band of knights, dressed in ancient habits and mounted on gray horses, with rich trappings, dashed into the court. Each knight was accompanied by an esquire on foot. There were heralds and others, all in robes of ceremony.
Lord Cathcart, superbly mounted, appeared as the chief of the White Knights. His lady was Miss Auchmuty. Then came Captain Cathcart, the first knight, in honor of Miss N. White; Lieutenant Bygrove and Miss Jane Craig; Captain Andre and Miss Peggy Chew; Captain Horneck and Miss Nancy Redman; Captain Matthews and Miss Wilhelmina Bond, Lieutenant Sloper and Miss Mary Shippen.
A herald then proclaimed a challenge for “The Knights of the Blended Rose,” which was accepted by “The Knights of the Burning Mountain,” led by Captain Watson, of the Black Knights, whose particular lady was Miss Rebecca Franks. These knights and their ladies were Lieutenant Underwood and Miss Sarah Shippen, Lieutenant Winyard and Miss Peggy Shippen, Lieutenant Delaval and Miss Becky Bond, Monsier Montluissant and Miss Rebecca Redman, Lieutenant Hobart and Miss Sophia Chew and Major Tarleton and Miss Wilhelmina Smith.
These ladies wore costumes uniformly similar to that adopted by their knights. The ladies of the Blended Rose each wore white silk, pink sash and spangled shoes and stockings. The ladies of the Burning Mountain wore white silk gowns trimmed with black and white sashes edged with black.
The Black Knights threw down the gauntlet to the White Knights. It was picked up. Then the knights fixed their lances and shields and, galloping at full speed, encountered several times. The third such charge was ended by the firing of pistols, then the sword of combat, and at last the two chiefs engaged in single combat, till the marshal, Major Gwynne, rushed between them and declared that the fair damsels of the Blended Rose and the Burning Mountain were satisfied with the feats of valor of their respective knights, and favors were then distributed, and the knights rode off the field.
They then reappeared riding through the triumphal arch and presented themselves to Lord Howe, which was followed by a grand procession. The entertainment then continued in the mansion, which had been transformed for the occasion into an Egyptian palace. The ballroom contained eighty-five large mirrors, and was lighted with thirty-four branches of wax-lights.
The four drawing rooms where the refreshments were served were decorated and lighted in the same style and taste as the ballroom.
The ball by the knights and their ladies, and the dancing continued until 10 o’clock when the windows were thrown open and a magnificent bouquet of rockets began the fireworks.
This part of the elaborate entertainment was designed by Captain Montressor, the chief engineer, and consisted of twenty different exhibitions, displayed under his direction and to the delight and satisfaction of all present. The conclusion was the illumination of the triumphal arch, with a display of all the trophies.
At midnight supper was announced, and large folding-doors, suddenly thrown open, disclosed a magnificent salon 210 feet by 40. Here again many mirrors, artificial flowers and clusters of lights were made to produce a wonderful effect. Covers were laid for 430 guests.
Toward the end of the supper the herald of the Blended Rose attended, entered the saloon and proclaimed the King’s health, the Queen, royal family, army, navy, their commanders, the knights and their ladies and the ladies in general, each of these toasts being accompanied by a flourish of music. Dancing was then continued until 4 o’clock.
While this revelry was at its height the sound of cannon was heard in the North. The English officers explained to their frightened partners in the dance that it was part of the ceremony. But it was not. Captain McLane, a dashing officer, hearing of the Meschianza, at the head of 100 infantry and Clow’s dragoons, reached the line of redoubts between the Delaware and Schuylkill, painted everything within reach with tar and, at a given signal, set it on fire. The sudden blaze took the British by surprise, the long roll was beaten, every cannon in the redoubts was fired. The British cavalry dashed out into the night, but the daring Americans were nowhere to be found.