GONTmENTAL CONGRESS 
 
 AT YORK,.i'EKN'A. 
 
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Continental Congress 
 
 at York, Pennsylvania 
 
 and 
 
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 York County in the 
 Revolution 
 
 By GEORGE R. PROWELL 
 
 Author of the History of York County, Pennsylvania, Curator 
 
 and Librarian of the Historical Society of York County, 
 
 Member of tlie National Geographic Society, 
 
 American Historical Association and the 
 
 Pennsylvania History Club 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 YORK. PA. 
 
 THE YORK PRINTING CO. 
 
 19H 
 

 eifi 
 
 Author 
 MAf 22 ;iM 
 
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PREFACE 
 
 THE following pages furnish a careful record of the transactions of Conti- 
 nental Congress, while it held its sessions in York from September 30, 1777 
 to June 27, 1778. Shortly before the Battle of Brandywine Congress ad- 
 journed from Independence Hall to meet at Lancaster, but held only one day's 
 session in that city. Meantime, the British had taken possession of Philadeljihia 
 and Congress removed to York. 
 
 While in session here for a period of nine months, Continental Congress, with 
 representatives from the thirteen original states passed the Articles of Confedera- 
 tion, received the news of the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, issued the first 
 Thanksgiving Proclamation, commissioned Baron Steuben a major general in the 
 American army, and also received a comnjunication from Benjamin Franklin, our 
 commissioner at Paris, that the French government had entered into a treatv to 
 assist the infant Republic of the United States, by sending not only money, but a 
 fleet and an army to aid the Americans in their struggle for liberty. These im- 
 portant facts of general history are told in a connected narrative in this volume. 
 
 In addition the work contains an exhaustive account of the part taken bv 
 York County in the war for Independence. Attention is called to the article on 
 the Flying Camp, which contained three regiments of troops west of the Susque- 
 hanna, who performed valiant services at the battle of Fort Washington. No 
 other city of the Union, except Philadelphia, New York and Boston has more in- 
 teresting associations relating to the Revolution than York, Pennsylvania, and it 
 is the object of these pages to bring out this fact clearly to the student of 
 American History. 
 
 (^ R P 
 
 York, Pa., April 1. 1^)14. 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 157 
 
 YORK COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 CHAPTER XH 
 THE REVOLUTION 
 
 First York County Troops — Thompson's 
 Battalion — Expedition to Canada — Sixth 
 Pennsylvania Battalion — Battle of Three 
 Rivers — McClean's Company — Grier's 
 Company — Miles' Regiment — Albright's 
 Comipany — First Pennsylvania Regiment 
 — Battle of Long Island. 
 
 In 1774 the difficulties between the King 
 of England and the thirteen colonies were 
 not adjusted by the appeals made to the 
 King and Parliament. As the result of this 
 condition the first Continental Congress 
 with representatives from the diflerent 
 colonies, met in Philadelphia in September 
 of that year. This Congress sent a decla- 
 ration of Rights to tlie King, but it was un- 
 answered. Soon afterward IMassachusetts 
 assembled a Provincial Congress and began 
 to form troops and collect military stores to 
 oppose by armed resistance what was 
 termed the tyranny of the English govern- 
 ment. Gen. Thomas Gage, who had 
 fought under Braddock in the French and 
 Indian war, was in charge of the British 
 troops at Boston. 
 
 On the evening of April 18, 
 Concord 1775. Gage dispatched 800 
 and regulars to Concord, a few 
 
 Lexington, miles northwest of Boston, to 
 capture the army stores there. 
 On their way they found a party of armed 
 yeomanry on Lexington Common. A 
 British officer ordered them to disperse and 
 as they remained motionless his soldiers 
 fired, killing seven men, and then proceede-<l 
 to Concord. By the time they reached 
 Concord most of tlie stores had been re- 
 moved. In a sharp skirnu'sh, the British 
 regulars were defeated, and as they marched 
 back toward Boston, Inmdreds of farmers 
 advanced upon them, firing from l^ehind 
 walls and trees after the Indian fasliion. 
 
 The British lost nearly 300 men, and though 
 reinforced, narrowdy escaped capture. This 
 was the beginning of the Revolutionary 
 war. 
 
 On the loth of Alay, 1775, the second 
 Continental Congress assembled in Phila- 
 delphia and on the same day Ticonderoga 
 and Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. were 
 captured by patriots from the Green 
 Mountains and Connecticut Valley, under 
 Ethan Allen and Seth Warner. 
 
 The tocsin of war had now been sounded 
 and American troops began to assemble in 
 the vicinity of Boston. These men had 
 come from farms and workshops and, al- 
 though untrained as soldiers, were eager 
 for armed conflict with the British foe. 
 Meantime reinforcements had arrived from 
 England. General Gage was succeeded by 
 Sir William Howe, who now commanded 
 10,000 men, and on June 17 the famous bat- 
 tle of Bunker Hill was fought. Although 
 the Americans were defeated, tlie moral 
 efifect of the battle was in their favor. 
 
 At this time the American forces around 
 Boston were composed of undisciplined 
 troops. The news of the conflict at Lexing- 
 ton and Concord soon spread from Massa- 
 chusetts to Georgia. It aroused a spirit of 
 patriotism that prevailed throughout the 
 country during the entire period of the war. 
 Continental Congress had taken charge of 
 the assembling of troops in Massachusetts 
 to oppose the British forces of Sir William 
 Howe, and now^ supported active measures 
 for a war against the mother country. On 
 June 14 this body of patriots adopted a 
 resolution that eight companies of trained 
 riflemen from Pennsylvania, two from 
 I^laryland and two from Virginia be raised, 
 and as soon as organized should be marched 
 to the army under \\'ashington at Cam- 
 bridge. 
 
 A military spirit had existed in Pennsyl- 
 vania and the adjoining colonies since the 
 French and Indian war. Companies had 
 been organized in nearly all the centres of 
 
i=;8 
 
 HISTORY UK YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLV-VXIA 
 
 population. The men who composed these 
 companies were trained liunters and skilled 
 marksmen so that when tlieir patriotism 
 was aroused, these sturdy pioneers were 
 quick to respond to the resolution of 
 Congress and the appeals of their fellow- 
 countrymen in New England. 
 
 When the news of Lexington and Con- 
 cord reached the county seat at York it was 
 soon transmitted to every section of York 
 County. A similar spirit pervaded the 
 neighboring counties of Pennsylvania. One 
 of the eight Pennsylvania companies was to 
 be recruited in York County. Each com- 
 pany was officered with a captain, three lieu- 
 tenants, four sergeants, four corporals, a 
 drummer and sixty-eight privates. The 
 captain was to receive twenty dollars per 
 month ; a lieutenant, thirteen and one-third 
 dollars; a sergeant, eight dollars; a cor- 
 poral, seven and one-third; a drummer the 
 same; privates, six and two-thirds. All 
 were to find their own arms and clothes. 
 
 FIRST YORK COUNTY TROOPS. 
 
 The sturdy yeomanry of this section of 
 Pennsylvania \vere ready for the emergency. 
 Local militia companies had been organized. 
 At this period there were three armed 
 companies in the town of Y'ork. From the 
 militia of the county it was decided to select 
 the reciuisite number of officers and sixty- 
 eight riflemen to form a company. Recruit- 
 ing began at Marsh Creek, at Gettys' tavern, 
 now the site of Gettysburg. Some men 
 came from the ]\Ionaghan settlement, where 
 Dillsburg now stands, and still another 
 scjuad was recruited in the southern part of 
 the county. These men, ready to enlist in 
 the cause of American Independence, came 
 to York, where the company was organized 
 with Michael Doudel as captain ; Henry 
 Miller, first lieutenant ; John Dill, second 
 lieutenant; James Matson, third lieutenant. 
 
 On receipt of the instructions of Con- 
 gress the York County committee, which 
 was made up of such sturdy patriots as 
 James Smith, Thomas Hartley, George 
 Irwin, John Kean, Joseph Donaldson and 
 Michael Hahn, immediately assembled and 
 tbok steps to prepare the company for the 
 front. Everything was done with the 
 greatest expedition. So many men wanted 
 to enlist that there were more than the 
 of^cers were authorized to accept. 
 
 " I'll take only the men that can hit that 
 nose at one hundred and fifty yards," said 
 young Lieutenant ]\Iiller, as he chalked a 
 small nose on a barn door. 
 
 Horatio Gates, recently appointed adju- 
 tant-general of the army and who iiad 
 chanced to arrive in York from his home in 
 Virginia on his way to headquarters, de- 
 cided it would be unwise to refuse the en- 
 listment of such courageous men. " They 
 will make soldiers," he said. 
 
 The committee appointed to pro\ide the 
 necessaries for the company did their work 
 so well that in a few days a company of lOO 
 men was completely armed and equipped 
 for the field without a farthing being ad- 
 vanced from the Continental treasury. 
 
 " The spirit of the people on this oc- 
 casion," wrote the local committee of cor- 
 respondence to Congress, " gave the com- 
 mittee encouragement. Tlie men seemed 
 actuated Avith the greatest zeal and thought 
 tliemselves honored in having their names 
 enrolled among the sons of liberty who are 
 to fight for their country and in defense of 
 their dearest rights and privileges. The 
 only uneasiness they feel is that they are not 
 this moment at the scene of action. From 
 the spirit of the soldiers we entertain the 
 most flattering hopes that they will prove 
 servicable to the cause of liberty and reflect 
 honor on this county. The principal people 
 here have caught the spirit of the honorable 
 Congress and in their small circle have done 
 everything in their power to animate their 
 neighbors to stand forth in this day of 
 despotism and resist the arbitrary and im- 
 just measures of Parliament with all the 
 power which heaven has given them. And 
 we have the pleasure to inform you that 
 their labors have not been in vain and that 
 the county is ready to strain every nerve to 
 put into execution any measures which the 
 Congress may judge necessary to oiu" com- 
 mon defense. The officers are men of 
 whose courage we have the highest opinion. 
 The captain has behaved very well on this 
 occasion and has done all in his power by 
 advancing money, etc., to forward the com- 
 mon cause." 
 
 It would be interesting to record the en- 
 tire muster roll of this band of patriots. 
 The official records being defective, all 
 that can be here given are the fol- 
 lowing: 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 159 
 
 Captain, 
 
 MICHAEL DOUDEL. 
 
 Fit'st Lieuienant. 
 
 HEXRY MILLER. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 JOHN DILL. 
 
 Third Lieutenant. 
 
 JAMES MATSOX. 
 
 Corporal, 
 WALTER CRUISE. 
 
 Armor, Robert 
 Armstrong, George 
 Beverly, John 
 Bettinger, Christian 
 Brown, John 
 Campbell, Thomas 
 Clark, John 
 Cline, William 
 Cooper, William 
 Dougherty, George 
 Douther, John 
 Evans, Abel 
 Ferguson, John 
 Graft, Robert 
 Griffith, John 
 Halbut, Joseph 
 Kennedy, Richard 
 Kennedv. Thomas 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Lelap, Daniel 
 Lewis, Abram 
 McAlister, John 
 McCrary, John 
 McCurt, John 
 Minshall, Joshua 
 Mill, James 
 Moore, Edward 
 Ramsey, David 
 Russell, William 
 Shields, Matthew 
 Staley. Jacob 
 Start, Andrew 
 Sullivan, Patrick 
 Sweeney, Isaac 
 Tanner, Tobias 
 Taylor, John 
 Turner, Cornelius 
 
 The form of enlistment to which every 
 one of these volunteer soldiers appended his 
 signature before leaving York reads : " I 
 have this day voluntarily enlisted myself as 
 a soldier in the American Continental army 
 for one year, unless sooner discharged, and 
 do bind myself to conform in all instances 
 to such rules and regulations as are. or shall 
 be, established for the government of said 
 army." 
 
 According to the diary of Rev. 
 Leave John Roth, pastor of the Mora- 
 
 for vian Church at York, Captain 
 
 Boston. Doudel and his company attended 
 religious services at Zion Re- 
 formed Church on the morning of July ist. 
 They listened to a patriotic sermon de- 
 livered by Rev. Daniel \\'agner, the pastor, 
 who enjoined them " to keep God before 
 their eyes continually and then they would 
 be assured of his guidance and protection." 
 At I o'clock in the afternoon, this band of 
 one hundred American patriots started out 
 East Market Street on the long march to 
 join the army under Washington at Cam- 
 bridge. 
 
 In answer to the resolution of Congress 
 for eight companies from Pennsylvania, the 
 recruiting of men took place in the other 
 counties of the Province. One company 
 was raised in Xorthampton County, com- 
 manded by Captain Abraham Miller; one in 
 
 Berks County, Captain George Xagel; one 
 in Bedford County, Captain Robert Clug- 
 gage ; one in Northumberland, Captain 
 John Lowdon ; two in Cumberland, which 
 then included Franklin, commanded by 
 Captain James Ross and Captain Matthew- 
 Smith. In all, there were nine companies 
 from Pennsylvania, one more than re- 
 quested by Congress. By order of Conti- 
 nental Congress and the Pennsylvania As- 
 sembly, they were organized into what was 
 termed b}' General Washington in organi- 
 zing the army, " Colonel Thompson"'s Bat- 
 talion of Riflemen from Pennsylvania." 
 
 THOMPSON'S BATTALION. 
 
 Col. William Thompson, who was as- 
 signed to the command of this battalion, 
 was a native of Ireland, born in 1725. He 
 settled in Cumberland Coimty early in life 
 and during the French and Indian war had 
 commanded a company of mounted 
 frontiersmen. When the Revolution opened 
 he was a surveyor residing at Carlisle. The 
 following is the field and staff of this bat- 
 talion when organized on its arrival at 
 Washington's headquarters : 
 
 Colonel — William Thompson. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel — Edward Hand. 
 
 Major — Robert McGaw. 
 
 Chaplain — Rev. Samuel Blair. 
 
 Adjutant — David Ziegler. 
 
 Quartermaster — Frederick Hubley. 
 
 Surgeon — William McGaw. 
 
 Surgeon's Mate — Christian Reinecke. 
 
 Pay Master — David Harris. 
 
 Commissary — John Biddle. 
 
 ^^'agon Master — Adam Egle. 
 
 The officers of this famous battalion of 
 riflemen were the first after General Wash- 
 ington to recei\-e commissions from Con- 
 gress, and these patriots from Pennsylvania 
 were the first troops west of the Hudson 
 and south of Long Island to join the 
 American army under the commander-in- 
 chief at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The 
 York riflemen, after crossing the Susque- 
 hanna, passed through Reading and Bethle- 
 hem, reaching New York before any other 
 Pennsylvania company, and proceeded to 
 Boston, arriving there July 25. At this time 
 there were 10,000 British regulars in Boston 
 under Sir William Howe, and others were 
 on the war from England. 
 
i6o 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 Continental Congress was 
 Washington now in session behind closed 
 Takes . doors in Carpenter's Hall, 
 Command. Philadelphia. On June 15 
 Thomas Johnson, a delegate 
 from Frederick, ^Maryland, and afterward 
 the first governor of Maryland, nominated 
 George \\'ashington for commander-in- 
 chief of the American army. John Adams, 
 in an eloquent speech, seconded the motion, 
 and Washington, who was then a member 
 of Congress from Virginia, was unani- 
 mously chosen. He started for Boston on 
 horseback June 21, and, while passing- 
 through New York city, June 25, received 
 the news of the battle of Bunker Hill. He 
 arrived at Cambridge July 2. The next day 
 he took formal command, drawing his 
 sword under an elm tree which a few years 
 ago was appropriatel}' marked. At this 
 time there were 14,500 New England troops 
 equipped for duty around Boston, but ac- 
 cording to an official statement they had 
 onl}^ nine rounds of ammunition to a man. 
 Washington at once organized these raw 
 troops into divisions for drill and discipline, 
 and began to lay siege to the city of Boston. 
 The arrival of the troops from Pennsyl- 
 vania was enthusiastically received by the 
 patriots of New England. The evidences of 
 the courage and fortitude of the riflemen 
 from York and their willingness to join in 
 the struggle for American liberty is shown 
 by the following extracts from Moore's 
 Diary of the Revolution : 
 
 York July 25, 1775. — Capt. Doudel, with his 
 
 ip company of riflemen from York, Penn- 
 
 roopb sylvania, arrived at Cambridge about one 
 
 in o'clock today, and since has made pro- 
 
 Action posals to General Washington to attack 
 
 the transport stationed on Charles river. 
 He will engage to take the transport with thirty men. 
 The General thinks it best to decline at present; but at 
 the same time commends the spirit of Captain Doudel 
 and his brave men who, though just arrived after a very 
 long march, offer to execute the plan immediately. 
 
 July 30, 1775. — Last Friday the regulars cut several 
 trees and were busy all night in throwing up a line of 
 abatis in Charlestown Xeck. In the evening orders 
 were given to the York county riflemen to march down 
 to our advanced post in Charlestown Neck, to endeavor 
 to surround the advanced guard and bring ofif some 
 prisoners, from whom we e.xpected to learn their design 
 in throwing up their abatis in the Neck. The rifle com- 
 pany divided and executed their plan in the following 
 manner: Captain Doudel with thirty-nine men filed off 
 to the right of Bunker Hill, and, creeping on their 
 hands and knees, got into the rear without being dis- 
 covered. The other band of forty men, under Lieu- 
 tenant Miller, were successful in getting behind the 
 sentinels on the left, and were within a few yards of 
 
 joining the division on the right, when a party of reg- 
 ulars came down the hill to relieve their guard, and 
 cro.ssed our«riflemen under Captain Doudel as they were 
 lying on the ground in Indian file. The regulars were 
 within twenty yards of our men before they saw them 
 and immediately lired. The riflemen returned the salute, 
 killed several and brought off two prisoners and their 
 arms, with the loss of Corporal Cruise, who is supposed 
 to have been killed as he has not been heard of since 
 the affair. 
 
 August 9, 1775. — The riflemen from York county have 
 annoyed the regulars vcrj* much. By a gentleman who 
 left Boston yesterday, we hear that Captains Percival 
 and Sabine of the Marines, Captain Johnston of the 
 Royal Irish, and Captain LeAIoine of the train, were 
 killed Monday. Captain Clietwyn, son of Lord Chet- 
 wyn, is mortally wounded. The number of privates 
 killed this week we have not heard. The regulars have 
 thrown up a breastwork across the neck at the foot of 
 Bunker Hill to protect their sentries and advance 
 guards. 
 
 Frothingham, in describing Thompson's 
 battalion and other riflemen from the south 
 in his " Siege of Boston," saj's : 
 
 " The riflemen from Pennsylvania at- 
 tracted much attention. They had enlisted 
 with great promptness and had marched 
 from four to seven hundred miles. In a 
 short time large bodies of them arrived in 
 camp. They were remarkably stout, hardy 
 men, dressed in white frocks, or rifle shirts, 
 and round hats, and were skillful marksmen. 
 At a review, a company of them, while on 
 a quick advance, fired balls into circular 
 targets seven inches in diameter at a 
 distance of 250 yards. They were statioiied 
 on the lines and became terrible to the 
 British. The account of their prowess was 
 circulated over England." 
 
 Corporal Walter Cruise, mentioned 
 A in the above extract from Moore's 
 Local Diary, was a member of Captain 
 Hero. Doudel's company from York. He 
 was taken a prisoner to the British 
 camp. So many of the officers and privates 
 of the royal army had fallen under the un- 
 erring aim of the Pennsylvania, Maryland 
 and Virginia riflemen that Cruise, being 
 one of the first of them to be captured, be- 
 came the object of their resentment. The 
 British finally sent him to England to be 
 tried on certain charges, where a curiosity 
 had been aroused to see, in his frontier 
 costuine, one of the riflemen of whom they 
 had heard such wonderful stories. After a 
 term of imprisonment he was taken before 
 the mayor of London, but that magistrate, 
 finding no crime charged against him, of 
 which he could take cognizance, released 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 i6i 
 
 him from custody. Artliur I-ee, of Virginia, 
 the secret agent in London for the Ameri- 
 can colonies, upon hearing of Cruise's re- 
 lease, sent for him and after congratulating 
 him upon regaining his freedom, delivered 
 Cruise a package of papers. 
 
 " These papers are of the greatest mo- 
 ment to the liberty of our country. Can I 
 trust you to deliver them safely into the 
 hands of General Washington and the 
 Continental Congress?" 
 
 " You can trust me," was the reply. 
 
 " Then I will secure a passage for you to 
 Halifax, the nearest and safest route to 
 America. For the cause of American 
 liberty you will guard these papers well, 
 and when you arrive in America, deliver 
 them as soon as possible to General Wash- 
 ington and the Continental Congress. I 
 can promise you that your country will not 
 forget your services." 
 
 Wishing him success on his mission, 
 Arthur Lee bade him farewell, and Cruise 
 was soon aboard a vessel bound for 
 America. On his arrival at Halifax, the 
 heroic corporal hastened with his valuable 
 despatches to Xew York, the headquarters 
 of the American army, where he delivered 
 them safely into the hands of General 
 Washington, who immediately transmitted 
 copies to Continental Congress at Philadel- 
 phia, where the news was eagerly received. 
 An impression had been prevalent among 
 the American people that peace commis- 
 sioners would be sent to adjust the differ- 
 ences between England and the colonies, 
 but instead, the despatches brought by 
 Corporal Cruise informed them that the 
 King intended to send more English troops 
 and to hire German soldiers for the war in 
 America. 
 
 Nothing enraged the .\meri- 
 Declaration cans more than the arrival 
 of of this news nor urged them 
 
 Independence, more to declare indepen- 
 dence, than this hiring of 
 foreign mercenaries by the British govern- 
 ment. At length, in June, a motion was 
 made in Congress liy Richard Henry Lee. 
 a delegate from Virginia. " that these 
 United Colonies are. and of right ought to 
 be, free and independent states." This 
 motion was carried on July 2 and the 
 Declaration of Independence draughted by 
 Thomas Jefferson and re\ised by a com- 
 
 mittee, of which he was a member, was 
 adopted July 4 at Independence Hall. Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 Thompson's battalion of Pennsylvania 
 riflemen remained with the arm\' under 
 Washington during the summer of 1775, 
 participating in the siege of Boston. Cap- 
 tain Michael Doudel, who commanded the 
 company from York County, resigned his 
 commission on account of ill health- and re- 
 turned to his family at York. Lieutenant 
 Henry Miller was promoted to captain. 
 This battalion was placed in the division of 
 General Charles Lee upon the organization 
 of the American army around Boston. It 
 remained in his command until August 20, 
 when it was transferred to General Israel 
 Putnam, encamped four miles from Cam- 
 bridge. On August 29, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Edward Hand writes : " Our battalion 
 formed the picket guard of the two 
 thousand provincial troops who on the 
 evening of the 26th of August took posses- 
 sion of Ploughed Hill and threw up en- 
 trenchments, and on the morning of the 
 27th met with its first loss. Private Simpson, 
 of Captain Matthew Smith's company, who 
 was wounded in the leg- and died there- 
 from." 
 
 Captain James Wilkinson, who, after the 
 Revolution, became commander-in-chief of 
 the army, joined Thompson's battalion at 
 Boston as a volunteer. In recording the 
 death of Private Simpson, he says : " The 
 young man was visited and consoled during 
 his illness by General Washington in per- 
 son and by most of the officers of rank be- 
 longing to the army. Every exertion by 
 surgeons was made to save him, and his 
 death became a theme of common sorrow 
 in an army of twelve or fourteen thousand 
 men." 
 
 .\n incident now occurred 
 Proposed which interested all the Penn- 
 Canada syhania soldiers under Colo- 
 Expedition, nel Thompson. An expedi- 
 tion had been planned to in- 
 vade Canada. The story goes that this ex- 
 pedition was suggested by Benedict Arnold, 
 then considered a skillful soldier, who held 
 the commission of colonel in the army 
 around Boston. One thousand men were to 
 be detached and sent under Arnold through 
 the wilderness of Maine to Quebec. On 
 September 5 the company under Captain 
 
 II 
 
1 62 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 Smith, of Dauphin County, and the com- 
 pany under Captain Hendricks, of Cuinl)er- 
 land County, were ordered to parade upon 
 the Boston Common, preparatory to join- 
 ing Arnold, and they united witli his expe- 
 dition the following week. The story of 
 their experience in this campaign is given 
 in the history of the first expedition to 
 Canada, described elsewhere in this work. 
 
 The York riflemen under Henry Miller 
 were disappointed in not having the oppor- 
 tunity of joining Arnold on this expedition, 
 for they already had attained a high reputa- 
 tion as trained marksmen. A troubl'e had 
 arisen, however, in Thompson's command, 
 for some of his troops, including the York 
 Riflemen, had been lax in discipline, even 
 going so far as to have released some of 
 their companions from the guard house, for 
 which offense they themselves were 
 punished. In order that idleness might not 
 be a bane to them, the commanding general 
 ordered that they should thereafter do all 
 camp duty the same as other regiments. 
 Obedient to the order, a strict discipline 
 was now enforced by the company officers, 
 and a contemporary letter states, "that 
 upon every alarm it was impossil^le for 
 men to behave with more readiness or 
 attend better to their duty." On the gth 
 of November, these men, who had already 
 been the first Pennsylvania troops to en- 
 gage the British in armed conflict, took 
 part in the skirmish at Lechmere's Point, 
 in sight of Boston. In describing this affair 
 the Philadelphia Evening Post of 1775 
 says : 
 
 " The British had landed 
 
 Valor of under cover of a fire from 
 
 Pennsylvania their batteries on Bunker, 
 
 Troops. Breed's and Copp's hills, as 
 
 well as from a frigate which 
 lay three hundred yards ofT the point. In a 
 high tide it is an island. Colonel Thomp- 
 son marched instantly with his men, and 
 though it was a \ery stormy day, they re- 
 garded not the tide nor waited for boats, 
 but took to the water up to their armpits, 
 for a quarter of a mile, and notwithstand- 
 ing the regulars' fire, reached the island, 
 and although the enemy were lodged behind 
 the walls and under cover, drove them to 
 their boats. Loss, one killed (Alexander 
 Creighton, of Ross' company) and three 
 
 \\-ounded : British loss, seventeen killed and 
 one wounded." 
 
 The ne.xt day, according to official re- 
 ports. Colonel Thompson and his battalion 
 were pidjlicly thanked by AX'ashington in 
 general orders. General Washington's 
 army around Boston was increased in 
 numbers by the arrival of new troops 
 during the winter of 1775-6. Early in 
 March there were indications that General 
 Howe, the commander of the British forces, 
 was making arrangements to evacuate the 
 city, and on the 17th of March the siege of 
 Boston ended, when General How^e set sail 
 with his army for Halifax, in Nova Scotia. 
 It was this incident in .American history that 
 ga\-e rise to the humorous expression 
 " Gone to Halifax," After his arrival at 
 Halifax, Howe made arrangements for an 
 expedition against New York City. 
 
 Immediately after the departure of the 
 British. Washington took possession of 
 Boston. Believing that the final destination 
 of Howe was New York, he began to move 
 part of his army toward that city, leaving 
 Boston in possession of New England 
 troops. He accompanied his army on the 
 march toward New York. 
 
 Colonel Thompson was jiromoted to the 
 rank of brigadier-general on March i, and 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Hand was placed in 
 connnanil of the battalion, receiving his 
 commission as colonel from Continental 
 Congress, March 7. During the siege of 
 Boston, W'alter Cruise, John Brown and 
 Cornelius Turner, of York Count}-, were 
 taken prisoners. At this time Colonel Ed- 
 ward Hand reported that his battalion was 
 composed of six companies. 
 
 Hand's battalion, which now in 
 
 An official papers was called a reg- 
 
 Historic iment. had a standard of " deep 
 Banner. green ground, the device a tiger 
 partly enclosed by toils attempt- 
 ing the pass, defended by a hunter armed 
 with a spear (in wdiite) on crimson field, 
 the motto ' Domari Nolo." " Their uni- 
 forms were made of brown holland and 
 Osnaburgs, something like a shirt, douljle 
 caped over the shoulders in imitation of the 
 Indians; and on the breast in capital letters 
 was their motto, " Liberty or Death." 
 
 When Washington discovered that Howe 
 was preparing to leave Boston, he sent 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 i6- 
 
 General Sullivan with Thompson's, now 
 Hand's, riflemen with five other regiments 
 to Xew York. They left Boston on March 
 14 and arrived at New York March 28. Ar- 
 rangements had been made for Sullivan to 
 reinforce the expedition against Montreal 
 in Canada, taking the place of Thomas, who 
 succeeded Montgomery after the latter had 
 been killed. 
 
 Hand's regiment, in which the 
 March York riflemen, under Captain Mil- 
 
 to ler, were now serving, was ]:)laced 
 
 Long under General Israel Putnam, who 
 Island, had been sent to New York by 
 Washington to take command of 
 all the forces in and around that city and 
 await the e.xpected arrival of the British 
 army from Halifax, .\pril 5. Hand's reg- 
 iment w'as moved by order of General Put- 
 nam to Long Island, where it remained at a 
 station near New Utrecht during the re- 
 mainder of April and the months of May 
 and June, doing some good service. 
 
 On the 22d of April. 1776. General W'ash- 
 ington said in a letter to the President of 
 Congress. " The time for which the rifle- 
 men enlisted will expire on the first of Juh' 
 next, and as the loss of such a \-aluable and 
 brave body of men will be of great injury to 
 the ser\-ice I would su1:)mit it to the con- 
 sideration of Congress whether it would not 
 be best to adopt some method to induce 
 them to continue. They are. indeed, a very 
 useful corps, but I need not mention this. 
 as their importance is already kncjwn to 
 Congress." 
 
 Congress had (without the knowledge of 
 the commander-in-chief) passed a resolu- 
 tion, dated April 15. to recruit and re-enlist 
 the battalion and the independent rifle com- 
 panies attached to it. for a term of two years 
 unless sooner discharged. On the 30th of 
 June, the day when the time of those who 
 did not re-enlist expired. Colonel Hand said 
 in a letter. " Almost all the men discharged 
 today declare that they will stay to know 
 what the fleet will do." meaning the British 
 fleet bringing Howe's army from Halifax to 
 the harbor of New York. (3n the first of 
 July. 1776. the rifle battalion, recruited and 
 re-enlisted, entered on another term of 
 service as the First Regiment of Pennsyl- 
 vania in the Continental Line. Pennsyl- 
 vania troops thus formed the first regiment 
 of the regular army of the United States. 
 
 FIRST EXPEDITION TO CANADA. 
 
 Soon after the opening of the war at 
 Lexington and Concord, the conquest of 
 Canada was contemplated by the New 
 England leaders, but Congress was un- 
 willing to adopt measures except such as 
 were purely defensi\-e in character. It was 
 only with reluctance that Congress had 
 sanctioned the garrisoning of Ticonderoga 
 in northeastern New York by Connecticut 
 troops. During the summer of 1775 it was 
 ascertained that Sir Guy Carleton. the 
 Governor of Canada, w^as about to take 
 steps to recover Ticonderoga. which had 
 been captured by Ethan Allen in May. 
 Congress also learned that the English had 
 intrigued with the Iroquois Indians of cen- 
 tral New York to harass the New* England 
 frontier and the region along the Hudson 
 River. \\'ith this condition of affairs 
 Congress resolved upon the invasion of 
 Canada as a measure of self-defence. 
 
 An expedition led by General 
 March Richard ^Montgomery passed 
 to down Lake Champlain against 
 
 Quebec. Montreal. On September 12, 
 Montgomery, with a force of two 
 thousand men, laid siege to the fortress of 
 St. John's, which commanded the approach 
 to Montreal. .After a siege of fifty days St. 
 John's surrendered and Montgomery en- 
 tered Montreal nine days later. Meanwhile 
 \\'ashington. in command of the army at 
 Cambridge, detached one thousand infantry. 
 'Morgan's Virginia sharpshooters, and two 
 companies of riflemen from Pennsylvania to 
 advance through the forests of Maine to 
 Oueljec. This expedition was in command 
 of Colonel Benedict Arnold, wdio is sup- 
 posed to have suggested it. .\aron Burr 
 served on the staff of Arnold in this expeili- 
 tion and at one time acted as a spy in the 
 garb of a Catholic priest. One of the Penn- 
 sylvania companies that went with this ex- 
 pedition was recruited in Cumberland 
 County and was commanded by Captain 
 William Hendricks: the other connnanded 
 In- Captain Matthew Smith, had been raised 
 in the present area of Dauphin County. 
 Both of these companies had served in 
 Thompson's Battalion at the siege of Boston 
 and both contained some York County sol- 
 diers. Lieutenant Michael Simpson, who 
 afterward wrote the introduction to Hon. 
 
1 64 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENXSYLVAXIA 
 
 John Joseph Henry's account of this expe- 
 dition, was a lieutenant in Captain Smith's 
 company. He resided on the Simpson 
 Ferry property at New Market in Fairview 
 Township. 
 
 Arnold's march, which was as difficult as 
 Hannibal's crossing of the Alps, was con- 
 ducted with great ability, but it was nearly 
 ruined by the misconduct of a subordinate 
 officer, who deserted with two hundred men 
 and the greater part of the provisions. 
 After frightful hardships to which two hun- 
 dred more men succumbed, on the 13th of 
 X^ovember the little army climbed the 
 Heights of Al)raham, fronting Quebec. As 
 Arnold's force was insufficient to storm the 
 city and the garrison would not come out to 
 fight, he was obliged to await the arrival of 
 Montgomery, who had just taken Montreal. 
 On the morning of December 31, Mont- 
 gomery and Arnold made a conijjined attack 
 on Quebec and each came near carrying his 
 point, but in the assault Montgomery was 
 slain and Arnold wounded in the leg. The 
 enthusiasm of the troops was chilled and 
 they were repelled. Captain Morgan suc- 
 ceeded Montgomery in the temj^orary com- 
 mand but in a violent attack on the British, 
 he and his company were made prisoners. 
 With the failure of this desperate attack 
 passed away the golden opportunity for tak- 
 ing the citadel of Canada. Arnold remained 
 throughout the winter in the neighborhood 
 of Quebec and in the spring the enterprise 
 was taken up by W'ooster and Sullivan with 
 fresh forces. 
 
 During the fall of 1775 Con- 
 Reinforce- gress asked that five battalions 
 merits for l)e rais"ed in Pennsylvania to re- 
 Canada, inforce the expedition for the 
 conquest of Canada. When 
 these battalions were organized the first 
 was commanded by John Philip De Hass, of 
 Lebanon; the second by Colonel Arthur St. 
 Clair, of Westmoreland county, who had 
 seen service in the British army under Am- 
 herst ; the third by Colonel John Shea, an 
 Irish merchant of Philadelphia; the fourth 
 by Colonel Anthony Wayne, a surveyor and 
 member of the assembly from Chester 
 county, and the fifth by Colonel Robert 
 McGaw. of Carlisle. January 4, 1776, Con- 
 gress passed a resolution that a sixth bat- 
 talion be raised in Pennsylvania, which was 
 recruited west of the Susquehanna. .Ks 
 
 York count}' had no troops yet organized in 
 response to these \'ariotis calls for the ex- 
 pedition to Canada, James Smith, a practic- 
 ing lawyer and chairman of the Committee 
 of Safety for York county, wrote the fol- 
 lowing letter : 
 
 James Smith to Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris, 
 Esquires, and the Committee of Safety of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 York, Pa., December 2i, 1775. 
 
 Gentlemen : — By the last night's post we received the 
 public papers, acquainting us of the resolve of congress 
 touching the raising of four battalions in this province 
 and desiring the conmiittee of safety to appoint the com- 
 pany officers and recommend the field officers of those 
 battalions to the honorable continental congress. 
 
 The time limited for the appointment and recom- 
 mendation being fi.xed to the second of January it will 
 be impracticable for the members of your committee in 
 this county to attend; in this situation of affairs the 
 Committee of Correspondence for York County hope 
 your board will not think it improper to trouble you on 
 that subject, well knowing that the great cause of 
 American liberty is our primary object and that every- 
 thing that may tend to forward that glorious cause 
 through whatever channel will not be unacceptable. I 
 am directed by the Committee of Correspondence for 
 this county to write to the Committee of Safety and in 
 the strongest terms to request that the board may 
 please to recommend Thomas Hartley, Esq., to be lieu- 
 tenant colonel of one of the battalions to be raised in 
 this province and in case that recommendation should 
 take place that the board will please to appoint David 
 Grier. Esq.. to be captain; John McDowell, lieutenant; 
 William Nichols, ensign, of one company; Moses Mc- 
 Clean, captain ; Lewis Bush, lieutenant, and Robert 
 Hoopes, ensign, of another company in the same bat- 
 talion; and if a third company should be raised in York 
 county to please to appoint Bernard Eichelberger, cap- 
 tain or lieutenant as you may think best. 
 
 If the board should think this application not im- 
 proper in this situation and it should be agreeable to 
 them, the Committee of Correspondence here will exert 
 every nerve in assisting the officers to get their com- 
 panies filled in the most expeditious manner witli the 
 best men and at the least possible expense to the public. 
 I am 
 Gentlemen 
 with great respect 
 Your most Innnble Servant, 
 To Benjamin Franklin & James Smith, Chair' 
 
 Robert Morris, Esq., and of the Com'e York Co. 
 
 the Connnittee of Safety of the 
 Province of Pennsylvania 
 at Philadelphia. 
 
 By the Lancaster post to be delivered as soon as 
 possible. 
 
 SIXTH PENNSYLVANIA BATTALION 
 
 William Irvine, a graduate of medicine 
 from the University of Dublin, who settled 
 at Carlisle in 1764, where he practiced his 
 profession until the opening of the Revolu- 
 tion, was appointed to command the Sixth 
 Battalion. Colonel Ir\-ine had servetl as an 
 officer in the British army in the war be- 
 tween England and France before he came 
 to this country. Thomas Hartley, then a 
 
'rill'". REVOLU'i'IOX 
 
 l6: 
 
 ])racticing lawyer at ^'()|•k. was inailc lieu- 
 tenant colonel; James Dunlap. major: Rev. 
 William Linn, chaplain: John Brooks, ad- 
 jutant, and Robert Johnston, surgeon. 
 
 Immediately after the receipt of the news 
 from Congress asking for troops from west 
 of the Susquehanna, recruiting began at 
 N'ork. in the lower end of York county, in 
 the Monaghau settlement around the pres- 
 ent site of DilJsburg. at Hanover, and in 
 the Marsh Creek country around the site • 
 of Gettysburg. In a short time two com- 
 panies were organized. One of these com- 
 panies was commanded by Captain David 
 Grier. a member of the bar. wdio had been 
 admitted to the practice of law at York in 
 1 77 1. The other was commanded by Cap- 
 tain Moses }iIcClean. son of Archibald Mc- 
 Clean. a noted surveyor of York who had 
 assisted in running Mason and Dixon's line. 
 
 Colonel Irvine's command, known in his- 
 tory as the Sixth Pennsylvania battalion, 
 was organized at Carlisle in March. 1776. 
 On the 22d _of that month Colonel Irvine 
 wrote to John Hancock. President of Con- 
 gress : 
 
 'T am honored with your orders to march 
 my battalion to New York, wdiich shall be 
 complied with, with all possible expedition. 
 Many of the arms are old. and want bay- 
 onets and repairs. However. I shall not 
 wait for bayonets, as I hope to be supplied 
 at Philadelphia or New York. I have been 
 ol)liged to purchase many rifles, but I pre- 
 sume they may l)e changed for muskets, 
 should the service require it: knapsacks, 
 haversacks, canteens, and many other ne- 
 cessaries which the commissioners promised 
 to forward for my battalion, have not yet 
 come to hand. Though I do not mean to 
 wait for them, yet X think it proper to ac- 
 quaint you. as t^erhaps your fitrther orders 
 may be necessary." 
 
 A few days later Colonel Irvine left Car- 
 lisle with his battalion for the Canada cam- 
 paign. His command numbered 780 men. 
 'I'he captains of the eight dilTerent com- 
 panies comprising this battalion were: 
 Da\id Grier, Moses McClean, Samuel Hay. 
 Robert Adams, Abraham Smith. William 
 Riiqjew James A. \\ ilson and Jeremiah 
 Talbotl. 
 
 In accordance with a resolution of Con- 
 gress each company was to be com])osed of 
 sixty-eight men. one captain, one lieutenant. 
 
 one ensign, four sergeants and four cor- 
 porals: pri\ates to be enlisted for one year 
 at five dollars per month : each private to be 
 allowed instead of bount}-. one felt hat. a 
 pair of yarn stockings and a pair of shoes: 
 the men to find their own arms : the en- 
 listed men to be furnished with a hunting 
 .^hirt. not exceeding in value one and one- 
 third of a dollar, and a blanket, provided 
 tliese can be procured but not to be made 
 part of the terms of enlistment. 
 
 The Sixth Battalion under Colo- 
 Join nel Irvine arrived at .\lbany 
 Sullivan's May ro. where it joined a part 
 Command, of Wayne's l)attalion from 
 
 Chester county. These troops 
 proceeded to Fort Ticonderoga on Lake 
 Champlain. where they embarked with Gen- 
 eral John Sullivan for St. John's. Here 
 the\' joined the Pennsylvania and other 
 troops, all of which were placed under com- 
 mand of General John Sullivan, a native of 
 Maine, who had held a command under 
 Washington at the siege of Boston. He 
 was one of the eight brigadier generals first 
 commissioned by Congress at Philadelphia. 
 On June 2 he took coinmand of the northern 
 army on the borders of Canada, succeeding 
 General Thomas, of Massachusetts, wdio 
 had died of smallpox near Montreal. Wil- 
 liam Thompson, who had been promoted 
 from the command of his battalion of Penn- 
 syhania riflemen to the rank of brigadier 
 general, had been ordered from Boston in 
 April, 1776, to reinforce General Thomas 
 with four regiments which were afterward 
 increased to ten. He met the northern 
 army on its retreat from Quebec and as- 
 sumed the chief command when General 
 Thomas was sick, yielding it up on Jvme 4. 
 to General Sullivan, by whose orders two 
 days later he made a disastrous attack on 
 the enemv at Three Rivers. 
 
 BATTLE OF THREE RIVERS. 
 
 The story of the battle of Three Rivers 
 is liest told in a letter written by Ivieutenant 
 Colonel Hartley, of York, to his personal 
 friend, Jasper Yeates. of Lancaster. This 
 letter dated at the camp at Sorel, three days 
 after the i)attle. June 12. 1776. reads as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 "Before the arrival of Colonel Wayne's 
 and Irvine's regiments under the command 
 of General Sullivan, Colonel St. Clair, with 
 
1 66 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXNSYLVAXLV 
 
 a (letacliment of seven hundred men. was 
 sent down the river St. Lawrence al)out 
 nine leagues, to watch tlie motions of the 
 enemy and act occasionally. General Sul- 
 livan's arrival here was at a critical time. 
 Canada was lost, unless some notable exer- 
 tion was made; the credit of our arms gone 
 and no large numlier of our American 
 troops to sustain our posts. It was saitl 
 that the taking of Three Rivers, with such 
 troops as were on it would be of service. .\ 
 detachment under General Thompson was 
 sent down the river. The corps under Colo- 
 nel St. Clair w'as to join it, and if the Gen- 
 eral thought it expedient, he was ordered 
 by Sullivan to attack the enemy at Three 
 Rivers. 
 
 "We left this on the evening of the 5th 
 instant in several batteaux and joined St. 
 Clair about twelve o'clock at night. It be- 
 ing too late to proceed on to Three Rivers 
 the enterprise was postponed until the next 
 night. 
 
 "In the dusk of the evening of the 7th we 
 set ofi from the Nicolette with about fifteen 
 hundred rank and file besides officers. It 
 was intended to attack Three Rivers about 
 daybreak in four places. Thompson landed 
 his forces about nine miles above the town 
 on the north side of the St. Lawrence, and 
 divided his army into five divisions. Max- 
 well. St. Clair, Wayne and Irvine each com- 
 manding a division, and I had the honor of 
 commanding the reserve. Leaving two 
 hundred and fifty men to guard the bat- 
 teaux, the army proceeded swiftly towards 
 the town. I was to be ready to sustain the 
 party which might need assistance. 
 
 "The guards proved faithless and the 
 General was misinformed as to the number 
 of the enemy as well as to the situation of 
 the town. Our men had lost their sleep for 
 two nights, yet were in pretty good spirits. 
 Daylight appeared and showed us to the 
 enemy. Our guides (perhaps traitors) had 
 led us through windings, and were rather 
 carrying us off from the post. The General 
 was enraged at their conduct. 
 
 "There were mutual firings. Our people 
 killed some in a barge. Our scheme was 
 no longer an enterprise. It might have 
 been prudent perhaps to retreat but no one 
 would propose it. We endeavored to pene- 
 trate through a swamp to the town and 
 avoid the shipping. A\ e liad no idea of the 
 
 difficulties we were to surmount in the mire, 
 otherwise the way by the shipping would 
 have been preferred. 
 
 "We waded three hours in the mud about 
 mid-deep in general, the men fasting. We 
 e\ery moment expected to get through and 
 find some good ground to form on, but were 
 deceived. The second division under Colo- 
 nel Anthony Wayne, saw a part of the 
 enemy and attacked them. Captain Samuel 
 Hay of our regiment (Sixth battalion), with 
 his company of riflemen, assisted and be- 
 haved nobly. Colonel Wayne advanced, 
 the enemy's light infantry were driven from 
 their ground and the Indians in their flanks 
 were silenced. 
 
 "The great body of the enemy, 
 A Furious which we knew nothing of, 
 
 Fire. consisting of two or three thou- 
 
 sand men, covered with en- 
 trenchments, and assisted with the cannon 
 of the shipping and several field pieces, be- 
 gan a furious fire and continued it upon our 
 troops in the front. It was so heavy that 
 the division gave way, and from the badness 
 of the ground could not form suddenly 
 again. St. Clair's division advanced but the 
 fire was too heavy. Part of Irvine's divi- 
 sion, especially the riflemen, went up to- 
 wards the enemy. I understood the army 
 was in confusion. I consulted some friends 
 and led up the reserve within a short dis- 
 tance of the enemy. McClean's and Grier's 
 companies from York county advanced with 
 spirit; McClean's men took the best situa- 
 tion, and within eighty yards of the enemy 
 exposed to the fire of the shipping as hot as 
 hell. I experienced some of it. 
 
 "Not a man of McClean's company be- 
 haved badly; Grier's company behaved well. 
 Several of the enemy were killed in the at- 
 tack of the reserve. Under the disadvan- 
 tages, our men would fight ; but we had no 
 covering, no artillery, and no prospect of 
 succeeding, as the number of the enemy was 
 so much superior to ours. Wayne and 
 Allen rallied part of our men, and kept up a 
 fire against the English from the swamp. 
 The enemy, in the meantime, dispatched a 
 strong body to cut ofT our retreat to the 
 boats, wdien it was thought expedient to 
 retreat. Our General and Colonel Irvine 
 were not to be found ; they had both gone up 
 to the front in a very heavy fire. This gave 
 US ereat uneasiness l)ut a retreat was neces- 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 167 
 
 sary. This could not l)e done regularly, as 
 we could not regain the road on account of 
 the enemy's shipping and artillery, and went 
 off in small parties through the swamp. 
 Wayne and Allen gathered some hundreds 
 together and I got as many in my division 
 as I could, with several others amounting 
 to upwards of two hundred. 
 
 "Wayne with his party, and I with mine, 
 tried several waj-s to get to our batteau.x. 
 Wayne was obliged, not far from the river, 
 to march by seven hundred of the eneni)-. 
 He intended to attack 'them, but his men 
 were so much fatigued that it was deemed 
 unsafe. The enemy fired their small arms 
 and artillery on our men as loud as thunder. 
 They returned a retreating fire. Several of 
 the enemy were killed and wounded. We 
 came within a mile of where our boats were, 
 but our guard had carried them ofi. The 
 English had possession of the ground where 
 we landed. Their shipping proceeded up 
 the river, covering parties being sent to take 
 possession of the ferries we were to pass. 
 
 "Wayne with his party lay near the 
 enemy. I passed through a big swamp and 
 at night took possession of a hill near the 
 enemy. We were without food and the 
 water very bad. I mounted a small quarter 
 guard, fixed my alarm post, and made every 
 man lie down on the ground, on which he 
 was to rise for action in case of an attack. 
 I slept a little by resting my head on a cold 
 bough of spruce. 
 
 "Morning dawned (Sunday, June 9). and 
 I consulted our officers and men. They 
 said they were refreshed with sleep. It was 
 agreed to stand together, that they would 
 support me and effect a passage through 
 the enemy or die in the attempt. A little 
 spring water refreshed us more. The 
 necessary dispositions were made but we 
 had no guides. We heard the enemy within 
 a half mile of us, but no one seemed alarmed 
 so we proceeded and luckily fell in with 
 Wayne's track. We pursued it and over- 
 took him near the river Du Lac. This 
 made us upwards of seven hundred strong 
 and we agreed to attack the enemy if they 
 fell in our way to Bokie (Berthier). opposite 
 Sorel. We were sure they would attempt 
 the fort at Sorel before we could arrive, but 
 as we came up the English left the ferries 
 and drew all their forces l)ack to Three 
 Rivers. Bv forced marches and surmount- 
 
 ing every difficulty, we got up, crossed the 
 ri\er and arrived at Sorel, Monday after- 
 noon, June 10. We brought nearly twelve 
 hundred men back with our party. ]\Iany 
 are yet missing, one hundred and fifty or 
 two hundred. Some scattered ones are 
 continually coming in so that our loss will 
 not be so great as was first imagined. 
 
 "Colonel Wayne behaved exceedingly 
 well and showed himself a man of courage 
 and a true soldier. Colonel Allen exerted 
 himself and is a fine fellow. Colonel Max- 
 well was often in the midst of danger. His 
 own division was not present to support 
 him. He was also very useful in the re- 
 treat after he joined \Vayne. Lieutenant 
 Edie. of the York troops, I fear is killed. 
 He was a fine young fellow and behaved 
 bravely. He approached the enemy's works 
 without dismay several times and remained 
 in the swamp to the last. He was in the 
 second engagement where it is supposed he 
 was killed. Ensign Hoopes of the same 
 company was wounded near the breast- 
 works when I led up the reserve. I cannot 
 say too much of his bravery. He showed 
 the greatest courage after he had received 
 se\-eral wounds in the arm. He stood his 
 ground and animated his men. He nobly 
 made good his retreat with me through a 
 swamp nearly eighteen miles long. Sev- 
 eral of our regiment were killed. I appre- 
 hend between thirty and fifty. 
 
 "June 13. Last night a sort of flag of 
 truce came from the enemy. General 
 Thompson, Colonel William Irvine. Dr. 
 McKenzie, Lieutenants Edie and Currie and 
 Parson McCalla (of the First) are prison- 
 ers. They were taken up by some of the 
 rascally Canadians in the most treacherous 
 manner." 
 
 At the time of the battle of Three Rivers, 
 the British forces in Canada numbering 
 13,000 men. were under command of Sir 
 Guy Carleton, a noted soldier in the English 
 army, who had been appointed governor of 
 the Province of Quebec in 1772. He had 
 recaptured Montreal before the contest at 
 Three Rivers, where the British troops were 
 commanded by Sir John Burgoyne, the ill- 
 fated officer who, in 1777. surrendered his 
 entire army at the battle of Saratoga. The 
 American forces at the battle of Three Riv- 
 ers were composed entirely of Pennsylvania 
 troops, with the e.xception of a small de- 
 
1 68 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 tachmcnt from Xew Jersey. They fought 
 gallantly against great odds with all the ad- 
 vantages in favor of the enemy. It was the 
 first engagement of the Revolution on 
 American soil fought by Pennsylvania 
 troops. Although they did not succeed, the 
 battle proved again to the ministry and the 
 King of England that the American volun- 
 teers, fighting for libert\- and independence, 
 were destined to rank in a])ility and achieve- 
 ment with the trained soldiers of Europe. 
 
 After the engagement at Three 
 Sullivan Rivers and the defeat of .Arnold 
 Retreats, at Montreal, Sullivan began his 
 masterh- retreat. He joined 
 Arnold at St. Johns, on the Sorel river, 
 wdiich flows from the mouth of Lake Cham- 
 plain into the St. Lawrence. 
 
 "The rear of the army," says Wilkinson 
 in his "Memoirs," "with baggage stores, 
 reached St. Johns on June i8th, was em- 
 barked and moved up the Sorel the same 
 afternoon. After the last boat except Ar- 
 nold's had put off, at Arnold's suggestion, 
 he and Wilkinson went down the direct 
 road to Chamblv for two miles, where they 
 met the advance of the British di\ision, 
 under Burgoyne. They reconnoitered it a 
 few minutes, then galloped back to St. 
 Johns and stripping their horses, shot them. 
 Arnold then ordered all on board, pushed 
 off the boat with his own hands, and thus 
 indulged the vanity of being the last man 
 wdTo embarked from the shores of the 
 enemy. They followed the army twelve 
 miles to the Lsle Aux Xoix, where they ar- 
 rived after dark." 
 
 The head of Burgoyne's column entered 
 St. Johns on the evening of the i8th, and 
 Philip's advance guard on the morning of 
 the 19th. On the 19th general orders at 
 Isle Aux Noix directed the commands of 
 de Hass, Wayne, St. Clair and Ir\-ine to 
 encamp on the east side of the island. 
 
 On the 2 1 St. Irvine's battalion met with 
 another heavy loss, as is detailed by a letter 
 from one of the regiment : 
 
 "Captains McClean, Adams and Rippey, 
 Lieutenants McFerran. McAllister and 
 Hoge, and Ensigns Lusk and Culbertson, 
 with four privates, went over from the Isle 
 -Aux Noix to the western shore of the lake, 
 about a mile from camp, l)ut within sight, 
 to fish and divert themselves. McClean 
 prutlently proposed to take arms with them 
 
 Init was o\erruled. Some Indians observed 
 their motions, and wdiile they were at a 
 house drinking some spruce beer, the sav- 
 ages surrounded them, killed Captain 
 Adams, Ensign Culbertson and two privates, 
 whom they scalped in a most inhuman and 
 barljarous manner, and carried off prisoners 
 McClean, McFerran, McAllister and Hoge 
 and two other privates. But a party coming 
 to their relief from camp aided Captain Rip- 
 pey and Ensign Lusk to make their escape." 
 
 The bodies of those killed were brought 
 to the Isle Aux Noix and decently buried 
 !)}■ Wa}'ne, ^\■ho with a party followed the 
 Indians and recovered the batteaux with 
 the bodies. 
 
 Isle Aux Xoix proved very unlTealthy; 
 Wayne had sixty men out of one hundred 
 and thirty-eight taken down with sickness, 
 after their arrival there: and on the 24th of 
 June, de Haas and all his field officers with 
 a number of his men were sick. On the 
 25th, General Sullivan commenced moving 
 the army to Isle la Motte. Colonel Hartley, 
 with two hundred and fifty men of Irvine's 
 battalion, went by land, scouring the coun- 
 tr}', traversing disagreeable swamps, de- 
 stroying on the way the houses, mills, etc., 
 of the traitor McDonald, who had deceived 
 them at I'hree Rivers. 
 
 ( )n June 27th, at Isle la Motte 
 Gates in all the army took vessels and 
 Command, came to Crown Point, which 
 they reached on July ist. 
 General Gates arrived there on the evening 
 of the 5th, superceding General Sullivan, 
 and on the 7th at a council of war, it was 
 determined to remove the army to Ticon- 
 deroga. The battalions of de Haas, St. 
 Clair and W ayne arrived there on the loth, 
 the Sixth battalion under Hartley remain- 
 ing posted at Crown Point, where it en- 
 camped the balance of the summer and fall, 
 the sentinel regiment of Gates" army. On 
 the 20th Gate's brigaded his army, and the 
 four Pennsylvania battalions were consti- 
 tuted the Fourth Brigade, Colonel Arthur 
 St. Clair commanding: Edward Scull bri- 
 gade-major for the Third and Fourth bat- 
 talions. August 14th, Hartley's scouts 
 found the British still at St. Johns. 
 
 On the 6th of Septemlier, Hartley desired 
 General Gates to send to Crown Point, 
 either General \\'ayne's battalion or the 
 Second and he would defend it with them. 
 
TTIH REVOLUTIOX 
 
 169 
 
 Gates gave liim jjositive orders to retreat 
 if the British reached that point. 'i'he 
 British did not come, however, and on the 
 22d Irvine's regiment was still at Crown 
 Point-^one lieutenant colonel, one major, 
 four captains. li\-e tirst lieutenants, three 
 second lieutenants, five ensigns, four staf¥, 
 seventeen sergeants, fifteen drvmis, and four 
 hundred and eighty-six rank and file. On 
 the rith of October, Hartley still main- 
 tained his post, having found in the woods 
 some cannon lost in the French war. With 
 great labor he had roads cut and transported 
 them to Crown Point, and had a battery of 
 six guns read}' for the enemj' not any too 
 soon, for on the same day the British at- 
 tacked Arnold's fleet on Lake Champlain, 
 compelling him to retire towards Crown 
 Point. On the 14th Hartley set fire to all 
 the houses at or near Crown Point and re- 
 tired to Ticonderoga. 
 
 The season was too far advanced for the 
 British to make any further progress ; after 
 threatening Ticonderoga they retired into 
 winter quarters. On the i8th of November 
 General Gates putting \\'a\-ne in command 
 of Ticonderoga, proceeded to join General 
 \\'ashington with the larger part of the 
 army, the three Pennsylvania battalions 
 whose time would expire on the 5th of Jan- 
 uary, agreeing to remain until they were re- 
 lieved by other troops. On the 29th of 
 November, the Second, commanded by 
 Wood, numbered four hundred and twenty- 
 six officers and men ; Wayne's five hundred 
 and sixty-five ; Irvine's five hundred and 
 three. 
 
 On the 4th of Deceml)er. Wayne writes 
 to the Committee of Safety: 
 
 "The wretched condition the battalions 
 are now in for want of almost every neces- 
 sary, except flour and bad beef, is shocking 
 to humanity, and beggars all description. 
 We have neither beds nor bedding for our 
 sick to lie on or under, other than their 
 own clothing; no medicine or other things 
 needed for them. The dead and dying, 
 lying mingled together in our hospital, or 
 rather house of carnage, is no uncommon 
 sight. The}' are objects truly worth}- of 
 your notice." 
 
 On the J4th of January, 1777, the 
 
 The Pennsylvania battalions left Ti- 
 
 Return conderoga with General Wayne 
 
 Home, for their homes. Irvine's battal- 
 
 ion under the command of Ucutenant 
 Colonel Hartley reached Carlisle on its 
 return March 15. 1777, where it was re- 
 enlisted for three years or the war as the 
 Se\enth Pennsylvania Regiment of the 
 Continental Line. 
 
 Colonel Irvine, of Carlisle, who com- 
 manded the Sixth battalion in which the 
 York county troops served, was captured 
 at Three Rivers and carried a prisoner to 
 New York, where he was paroled August 
 3, 1776. but was not exchanged until May 
 6. 1778, when he resumed the command 
 of the Seventh Pennsylvania regiment. He 
 took part in various campaigns ami was 
 promoted to brigadier general and after the 
 war ser\'ed as a member of Continental 
 Congress. 
 
 A\'illiam Thompson, who was captured 
 at Three Rivers, had commanded Thomp- 
 son's Rifle Battalion in front of Boston until 
 he was promoted brigadier-general and 
 joined the expedition against Canada. He 
 was held a prisoner in New York until 
 August, 1776, when he returned to Phila- 
 delphia on parole but was not exchanged 
 until 1778. He died near Carlisle in 1781, 
 aged 56 years. 
 
 Captain Moses McClean, who was ca]5- 
 tured by the Indians in this campaign, was 
 held a prisoner of war until 2^Iarch zj. 1777. 
 when he was exchanged. After the war he 
 moved to Ohio and died at Chillicothe. Au- 
 gust 25. 1810. aged seventy-three years. 
 
 Captain Da\-id Grier, who won a brilliant 
 record for gallantry at Three Rivers, was 
 promoted to major of his regiment October 
 -5- ^77^- He was made lieutenant colonel 
 of tlie Seventh Pennsylvania regiment, 
 which he commanded during Colonel Ir- 
 vine's imprisonment. In September, 1777. 
 he participated in battles under General 
 Wayne 'and was wounded slightly at 
 Chad's Ford and was also wounded in the 
 side by a bayonet at Paoli. Colonel Grier 
 practiced law after the war and was a prom- 
 inent citizen of York. He was a presiden- 
 tial elector at W'ashington's first election. 
 He died in York in 1791. 
 
 Lieutenant John Edie. who became a 
 prisoner of war at Three Rivers, was not 
 exchanged until April 10. 1778. From 1791 
 to 1798 he was editor and one of the owners 
 of the Pennsylvania Herald and General 
 .\d\ertiser published at York, the files of 
 
I70 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 which paper are in the Historical Society of Necdham, Robert 
 
 York county. After the Revolution Lieu- XolX' LukT"' 
 
 tenant Edie became brigadier general in the O'Har'a. Dennis 
 
 state militia. Patten, John 
 
 Lieutenant Abdiel McAllister, of Grier's RobhTson.' John 
 company, who was captured at Three Riv- 
 ers, was the oldest son of Colonel Richard 
 
 Sample, VVilham 
 Shugart, EH 
 Simonton, John 
 Sloane, David 
 Smith, Patrick 
 Sulhvan, Peter 
 Tibbens, Henry 
 
 McAllister, founder of Hanover, who com- 
 manded the Second regiment in the Flying 
 Camp. 
 
 CAPTAIN DAVID GRIER'S COM- 
 PANY. 
 
 CAPTAIN MOSES McCLEAN'S COM 
 PANY. 
 
 Captain David Grier's company came 
 from York, Hanover, the vicinitj' of Dills- 
 burg and the lower end of York county. 
 Its membership was almost entirely com- 
 posed of Scotch-Irish. The following is 
 The following is a complete muster roll the complete muster roll of the company: 
 of Captain Moses McClean's company re- 
 cruited partly in York county and partly in 
 the present area of Adams county: 
 
 Adair, John 
 Alhson, Robert 
 Atcheson, Edward 
 Barclay, Joseph 
 Blain, John 
 Blakely, George 
 Brown, John 
 Campbell, William 
 Chesney, Thomas 
 Cochran, William 
 Conn, John 
 Commoly, John 
 Crawford, Robert 
 Cunningham, David 
 Cunningham, Patrick 
 Dill, Thomas 
 Dingley, William 
 DuflSeld, Felix 
 Dunlap. John 
 Evan. William 
 Entrican. William 
 Faith, Alexander 
 Gerard, Mathias 
 Gibbons, Henry 
 Gravnor, Thomas 
 Griffith, David 
 Hall, John 
 Hargie, John 
 Heinerman, Michael 
 Hughes, William 
 
 Caftain. 
 McClean. Moses. 
 
 First Lieutenants. 
 Eichelberger, Barnet. 
 Edie. John. 
 
 Seeond Lieutenant, 
 
 Hoge. John. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Hoopes, Robert. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 
 Ralston, Robert. 
 
 Smith, John. 
 
 Milligan, James. 
 
 King, John. 
 
 Allison, Robert. 
 Drum and Fife, 
 
 Conner. Patrick. 
 
 Stack, Richard. 
 Privates, 
 
 Jayne, Aaron 
 Johnston, George 
 Johnston, James 
 Kelly, Edward 
 Kennedy, Samuel 
 King, Patrick 
 King, William 
 Kincaid, Samuel 
 Limerick, Patrick 
 Long, Joseph 
 Lynch, Patrick 
 Alahon, Charles 
 Madden. Timothy 
 Ma.xwell. James 
 Meloy, Bartholomew 
 McBride, John 
 McDaniel, James 
 McDonald, William 
 McDowell, John 
 McFarland. Jacob 
 McGee, John 
 McGonagal, Neal 
 McGuan. Patrick 
 McKeeder, Owen 
 McManery, James 
 McWilliams, John 
 Morgan. Christian 
 Mullen, Daniel 
 Murphy, Dennis 
 Murray, Eneas 
 
 Anguis, William 
 Barnes, Patrick 
 Baker, George 
 Bacheldor, Ebenezer 
 Barry, James 
 Beard, Robert 
 Brian, John 
 Campbell, .Archibald 
 Clemmonds, John 
 Conn, Adam 
 Conner, George 
 Conway. Charles 
 Cooper. George 
 Corrigan, Cornelius 
 —Davis, David 
 Dulany, Thomas 
 Dorce or Deis. John 
 Dougherty, Charles 
 Dougherty, John 
 Esson, Alexander 
 Falkner, John 
 Frick, John 
 Forsyth, Robert 
 Gedcies, Joseph 
 Grant, Peter 
 Guncager, Charles 
 Gytinger, Charles 
 Harkins, James 
 Hickenbottom, Edward 
 Hodge, Isaac 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Grier, David. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 McDowell, John. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 McAllister, Abdiel. 
 Ensigns. 
 
 Nichols, William. 
 
 Hughes, John. 
 Sergeants, 
 
 Walker, Andrew. 
 
 Kno.x, John. 
 
 Jeffries, Robert. 
 
 Hayman, John. 
 Corporals, 
 
 Lawson. James. 
 
 Mcllhenny, Felix. 
 
 Lethew, David. 
 Tomson, Ezra. 
 Drum and Fife, 
 
 Hamilton, James. 
 
 Wright, Mathias. 
 Privates, 
 
 Hoy, Thomas 
 Jackson, Archibald 
 Johnston, Robert 
 Johnston, William 
 Kelly, George 
 Kelly, Thomas 
 Leeson, James 
 IVLason. William 
 Matthews, Jacob 
 McCall, John 
 McCoy, William 
 McDaniel, John 
 McGowan, Samuel 
 McKissack, Henry 
 McMeehan, Michael 
 McMullan, James 
 Mealy, Lawrence 
 Murphy, Michael 
 Murphy, Dennis 
 O'Loan. Patrick 
 O'Niel, Peter 
 Pcarcy, John 
 Price, James 
 Quigley, William 
 Redmond, Murtough 
 Robinson, James 
 Roney. Patrick 
 Russel. Joseph 
 Scullion, Patrick 
 Schregh, Peter 
 
THE GLOBE INN, WHERE LAFAVETTE WAS ENTER- 
 TAINED IN 1N25 
 
 FIGLKE OF JUSTICE IN COLONIAL COURT HOUSE 
 
THE REVOLUTIOxX 
 
 171 
 
 Shaw, Arcliibald 
 Shaw. James 
 Standley, Francis 
 Shive, Philip 
 Schultz. Micliael 
 Seidle. Peter 
 Schneiiler. Jolin 
 Spencer, Edward 
 Stevenson, James 
 Swank, Baltzer 
 Swartz, George 
 
 Swartz, Peter 
 Taylor, John 
 Trees, Jacob 
 Wade, Joseph 
 Weaverling, Adam 
 Welch, Edward 
 White, Isaac 
 Wilkinson, William 
 Wilson, Joseph 
 Worley, George 
 Wright. Matthias 
 
 COLONEL MILES' REGIMENT. 
 
 The next troops to leave York to battle 
 for the cause of independence were led by 
 Captain Philip Albright, a prominent citizen 
 of the county. This company joined Colonel 
 Miles' Pennsylvania Ritle Regiment, which 
 was organized March 5, 1776, in response 
 to a call of the State Assembly for 2,000 
 troops to defend Pennsyh-ania. Colonel 
 Saiuuel Miles, its first commander, was 
 then a resident of Philadelphia. He had 
 served with credit in the French and Indian 
 War under Braddock. and when peace was 
 declared, was placed in charge of a garrison 
 on the site of Erie. He raised his regiment 
 of 1.000 men and formed them into two bat- 
 talions within a period of six weeks and 
 rendezvoused at Marcus Hook, on the 
 northeast coast of New Jersey. 
 
 At this time the British army 
 Marches under Howe, which had evacu- 
 to Long ated Boston March 18. had not 
 Island. yet arrived at Long Island. 
 Colonel Miles drilled and dis- 
 ciplined his regiment for active service in 
 the field and on July 2 he was ordered to 
 Philadelphia, where the regiment was 
 thoroughly equipped. On July 5 he marched 
 with his command to Trenton and from 
 thence to Amboy. July 16 he joined Hugh 
 Mercer, who had been raised to the rank of 
 brigadier-general at the request of Wash- 
 ington, and placed in command of the Fly- 
 ing Camp, composed largely of Pennsyl- 
 vania troops. The British army was soon 
 to attack New York and on August 10 
 Miles was ordered to Long Island. 
 
 On August 12 Miles' regiment and Colo- 
 nel Samuel Atlee's battalion of musketry, 
 from Lancaster, were brigaded with 
 Glover's and Smalhvood's regiments and 
 placed under the command of Lord Stirling, 
 an English officer who was made a briga- 
 dier-general in the American army. Stir- 
 ling's brigade took an active part in the 
 battle of Long Island, serving under Gen- 
 
 eral Sullivan, connuanding the left wing of 
 Washington's army. There are no minute 
 details of the part taken by Captain Al- 
 bright's company of York County troops in 
 this famous Ijattle. The report of Miles, in 
 whose regiment Captain Albright served, 
 will be found interesting. 
 
 "On the landing of the British army on 
 Long Island, I was ordered with my rifle 
 regiment to watch their motions. I marched 
 near to the village of Flat Bush, where the 
 Highlanders then lay, but they moved the 
 next day to General Howe's camp, and their 
 place was supplied by the Hessians. I lay 
 there within cannon shot of the Hessian 
 camp for four days without receiving orders 
 from General Sullivan. I was stationed 
 directly in front of the village of Flat Bush, 
 but on the left of the road leading to New 
 Y^ork, where the Hessians were encamped. 
 The main body of the enemy, under the im- 
 mediate command of General Howe, lay 
 about two miles to my left, and General 
 Grant, with another body of British troops, 
 lay about four miles to my right. There 
 were several small bodies of Americans dis- 
 persed to my right but not a man to my left, 
 although the main body of the enemy lay to 
 my left. This was our situation on the 26th 
 of August. About I o'clock at night Grant 
 on the right and Howe on the left, began 
 their march, atid by daylight Grant had got 
 within a mile of our entrenchments, and 
 Howe had got into the Jamaica Road, about 
 two miles from our lines. The Hessians 
 kept their position until 7 in the morning. 
 As soon as they moved the firing began at 
 our redoubt. I immediately marched to- 
 wards the firing, but had not proceeded 
 more than one or two hundred yards when 
 I was stopped by Colonel Willey, who told 
 me that I could not pass on ; that we were 
 to defend a road that led from Flat Bush 
 road to the Jamaica road. 
 
 "I made a retrograde march, a distance 
 of nearly two miles through woods within 
 sight of the Jamaica road, and to my great 
 mortification saw the main body of the 
 enemy in full march between me and our 
 lines, and the baggage guard just coming 
 into the road. I had then only the first bat- 
 talion with me. The second was some 
 distance to the rear, and I directed Major 
 Williams, who was on horseback, to return 
 and order Lieutenant-Colonel Brodhead, of 
 
I7-' HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSVLVAXIA 
 
 my regiment, to pusli on b_\- tlie left of tlie Colonel Miles" regiment, when organized, 
 enemy and endeavor to get into our lines had i.ooo men. rank and file. Of this num- 
 that way. They succeeded, but liad to wade her 650 entered the battle of Long Island, 
 a mill dam. in which a few were drowned, in which about 50 were killed and wounded 
 I returned to the battalion and called a and 159 taken prisoners. Captain Albright's 
 council of the oi^cers and laid three propo- company lost in this engagement in killed, 
 sitions before them ; first, to attack the bag- wounded and prisoners, three sergeants and 
 gage guard, endeavor to cut our way twenty-seven privates. The responsible 
 through them, proceed to Hell Gate and position held by Miles in this battle is shown 
 then cross the sound ; second, to lay where in the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Brod- 
 \ve were until the whole had passed us and head, of the regiment. On September 5, 
 then proceed to Hell Gate; or third, to en- 1776, he wrote: "Xo troops could have be- 
 deavor to force our way through the haved better than ours in this battle, for, 
 enemy's flank guards into our line at though the\- seldom engaged less than fi\-e 
 Brooklyn. to one, they frequently repulsed the enemy 
 "The third pro])osition was with great slaughter, and I am confident 
 Colonel adopted, and we immediately that the number Icilled and wounded on 
 Miles a began our march, but had not their side is greater than ours, notwith- 
 Prisoner. proceeded more than half a mile standing we had to fight them front and rear 
 until we fell in with a body of imder every disadvantage. I understand 
 seven or eight hundred light infantry, which that General Sullixan has taken the liberty 
 we attacked without hesitation. Tlieir to charge our bra\e and good Colonel Miles 
 superiority of numbers encouraged them to with the ill success of the day, but gi\'e me 
 march up with their bayonets, which we lea\e to say, that if General Sulli\'an and the 
 could not withstand, having none ourselves, rest of the generals on Long Island had 
 I therefore oi'dered the troops to push on been as \ig'ilant and prudent as he. we 
 toward our lines. I remained on the might and in all probability would ha\e cut 
 grounds myself until they had all passed me. oft Clinton's lirigade: our officers and men 
 the enemy being then within less than in general, considering the confusion, be- 
 twenty yards of us. and by this means I haved as well as men could do — a few lie- 
 came into the rear instead of the front of haved badly. Our men are getting very 
 my command. ^^'e had proceeded but a sickly for want of blankets and clothing, 
 short distance before we were again en- ha\-ing thrown away those the}- had in the 
 gaged with a superior force of the enemy, engagement, which I fear they cannot be 
 and here we lost a number of men, but took furnished here." 
 
 Major Moncrieffe, their commanding of- In this battle Miles' regiment and Atlee's 
 ficer, prisoner. Finding that the enemv had battalion suli'ered so severely that General 
 possession of the ground between us and Washington ordered the three liattalions to 
 our lines, and that it was impossible for us be considered as a regiment under the com- 
 to cut our way through as a l)ody, I directed mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Brodhead until 
 the men to make the best of tlieir way as further orders. Both these commands had 
 well as they could. Some few got in safe, enlisted for fifteen months to defend the 
 but there were 159 taken prisoners. I my- state of Pennsyhania. As they were now 
 self was entirely cut off from our lines and with the American army in another state, 
 therefore endeavored to conceal myself, Colonel Brodhead petitioned the State 
 with a few men wdio would not leave me. I Legislature at this time to know their 
 hoped to remain until night, when I in- military relations, whereupon both com- 
 tended to try to get to Hell Gate and cross mands were turned over to the authority of 
 the sound ; but about 3 o'clock in the after- Congress. On September 19 the three bat- 
 noon was discovered by a party of Hessians talions mutinied and appeared on jiarade 
 and obliged to surrender — thus ended the under arms. After this two hundretl men 
 career of that day." Lieutenant William deserted, about thirty of them were kept 
 AlcPherson. of Alljright's company, became back 1)y fnrce. Those who deserted gave as 
 a ]>risoner of war and was held by the a reason a lack of sufticient clothing, 
 British for more than a year. blankets, rations and pay. but the records 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 173 
 
 Re-organi- 
 zation. 
 
 seem to show thai they had ah^cady Ijcen 
 jiaid in continental money, which had 
 greatly depreciated. Meantime, however, a 
 supply of clothing had been sent from 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 (Jn Octolier 3. Captain Al- 
 bright had in his company 
 three sergeants, one drummer 
 and forty-six i)rivates. On the 
 same day the Pennsylvania Council of 
 Safety ordered a re-arrangement of the 
 three battalions, and on the 25th of the 
 same month, ten of the companies of the 
 battalion ceased to exist l)y being consoli- 
 dated with others. On the same day Cap- 
 tain Albright's company and six others 
 were ordered to retain their captains. 
 These and the remnants of the other bat- 
 talions of the state troops followed the 
 fortunes of the Continental army. Part of 
 the regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Brodhead was present at the battle of Fort 
 \\'ashington. November 16. The remainder 
 of the regiment accompanied Washington 
 in the retreat across New Jersey and took 
 part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. 
 Late in the year 1776 a dif^culty arose 
 between Major Williams, of Miles' regi- 
 ment, and Captain Philip Albright. The 
 major had made himself obnoxious in many 
 ways to the subordinate officers, with whom 
 he was not popular. Both Williams and Al- 
 bright explained their differences to the 
 Council of Safety of Pennsylvania, but the 
 matter was never satisfactorily adjusted, 
 and Captain Albright resigned his commis- 
 sion on January 2;^. 1777. 
 
 The following is the roll of Captain Philip 
 Albright's company after the battle of Long 
 Island, taken in camp near 
 N. v.. September i, 1776: 
 
 King's Bridgfe, 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Albright, Philip. 
 
 First Lieutenants, 
 
 Thomson, John. 
 
 Sheriff. Cornelius. 
 
 Second Lieutcniint. 
 McPher.son. William. 
 
 Third Licutcndnt. 
 Stake, Jacob. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 Wilson. Thomas. 
 Tate. Robert. 
 Willey, James. 
 Geddes, James. 
 
 Quartermaster Sergeant, 
 Lytle, Andrew. 
 
 Drummer, 
 
 Harden. John. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Awl. John, 
 liarron. Robert. 
 Beltzhover, Ludwig. 
 Boned, .Andrew. 
 Boyd. .Mexandcr. 
 Branon, William. 
 Brown. John. 
 Burk. Michael. 
 Bushani. Jacob. 
 Carlton. Edward. 
 Conrad. George. 
 Croan, Henry. 
 Crookham. John. 
 Cuxel. James. 
 Diiffield, Rachford. 
 Ferril. Hugh. 
 Fink. Michael. 
 Foster, Thomas. 
 Glen, Patrick. 
 Gobin. Hugh. 
 Gordan. James. 
 Grearley, John. 
 Gregg. John. 
 Gregg. Robert. 
 Helm. George. 
 Helsley, Jacob. 
 Hendry, John. 
 Hollan, William. 
 Hudson, John. 
 Hutchinson, James. 
 Jacobs. Johnathan. 
 James. William. 
 Kennedy, Philip. 
 Kilean, Michael. 
 Kilpatrick, Robert. 
 Kilpatrick, William. 
 Knee (Karee). Thomas. 
 
 Lead, Connid. 
 Lcavingston, Jacob. 
 Lutes, John. — 
 Malseed, Samuel. 
 McBroom. Henry. 
 McCay, James. 
 McClughan, Hugh. 
 McCown, Daniel. 
 McCown, Patrick. 
 McElnay, John. 
 McFarlane, James. 
 McGinish. Patt. 
 McGuire, Bartholomew. 
 McNeal, Daniel. 
 Morrison. James. 
 Myer. Joseph. 
 Newman. Jacob. 
 Reed. Hugh. 
 Rinehart. John. 
 Rubart. Adam. 
 Ryan, Christian. 
 Ryan. Michael. 
 Shadow. Henry. 
 Smith, John. 
 Spangler. Charles. 
 Stockdel, Torrence. 
 Stuart, David. 
 Stump. Charles. 
 Sturgeon, Robert. 
 Swartz. John. 
 Trine, George. 
 Wampler. George. 
 Wells. Edward. ^ 
 Welshance. William. 
 Williams. Thomas. 
 Woods, Samuel. 
 
 CAPTAIN PHILIP ALBRIGHT was a 
 descendant of George Albright, who left the 
 German Palatinate and arriving in this 
 country settled in Philadelphia, and engaged 
 in commercial pursuits. He remained in 
 that city until 1740, when he moved to York, 
 then a part of Lancaster County, in which 
 county he had a number of \aluable planta- 
 tions. 
 
 Captain Albright was the youngest of 
 three sons of George Albright, and received 
 his education at York in the school main- 
 tained by the German Lutheran Church. 
 Endowed with the usual German thrift, he 
 w'as able to save enough in succeeding years 
 to purchase the estate of the Rankin family. 
 This property was situated on the Codorus 
 about two miles below York, and consisted 
 of a large flouring mill and plantation. 
 Philip Albright made his home upon his 
 newlv purchased plantation, having some 
 years previous married Anna Maria Ursula, 
 
174 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 daugliter of Johann Daniel Duenckle. a 
 German refugee and aristocrat. 
 
 When the tension with Great Britain be- 
 came keen, there was no more enthusiastic 
 partisan of colonial independence than 
 Philip Albright, and when the preliminary 
 steps were taken looking to tlie achievement 
 of that end, he was chosen a member of the 
 Committee of Observation, formed at York, 
 December i6, 1774. On March 19, 1776, he 
 was appointed captain of the First Battalion 
 of the Pennsylvania regiment under the 
 command of Colonel Samuel Miles. He fol- 
 lowed the fortunes of this regiment under 
 Washington at the battle of Long Island 
 and other engagements around Xew York 
 and in the Jersey campaign, during the 
 winter of 1776-7. As a result of difficulties 
 with Major Ennion Williams, Captain Al- 
 bright resigned his command on January 
 -3' '^777- H^is retirement to private life, 
 however, was of short duration, for on April 
 5, 1778, while Continental Congress was in 
 session at York, he was commissioned 
 lieutenant-colonel of the Third Battalion of 
 York County Militia, David Jameson, colo- 
 nel. Five days after the date of his com- 
 mission, the Ijattalion was ordered out to 
 guard the frontier against hostile Indians, 
 who had committed depredations in the 
 Wyoming Valley, and in central and west- 
 ern Pennsydvania. 
 
 At the close of the war, Philip Albright 
 returned to his family, with whom he lived 
 in considerable state and was highly es- 
 teemed by his fellows. In 1797. he lost his 
 wife. The same year, in recognition of his 
 services to his country, he was elected to 
 the State Legislature from York County, 
 and served two years. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Albright died April 2, 1800, "a warm friend 
 of his country," leaving a large estate, and 
 survived by two sons and four daughters. 
 One of his daughters married George Small, 
 father of Philip A. and Samuel, founders of 
 the f^rm of P. A. & S. Small. 
 
 LIEUTEXANT WILLIAM McPHER- 
 SON, who was captured in the battle 
 of Long Island, was a son of Robert 
 McPherson, who served as a captain in 
 the French and Indian war, and com- 
 manded a battalion of York County 
 militia in the Revolution. He was born 
 near the site of Gettysburg, December 2, 
 1757, and at the age of 19 aided in recruit- 
 
 ing Albright's company, of which he became 
 second lieutenant. During the hottest of 
 the fighting in the battle of Long Island. 
 Lieutenant McPherson fell into the hands 
 of the enemy and was held a prisoner of war 
 njear Xew York city for one year. After the 
 war he l)ecame a prominent and influential 
 citizen of the ]\Iarsh Creek country. He 
 represented York County in the State 
 Legislature from 1790 to 1799. except in 
 1793. During the last year he served in the 
 Legislature, he secured the passage of a bill 
 to divide York County, and organize the 
 new county of Adams, which was accom- 
 plished in 1800. He died at Getty slnirg, 
 August 2. 1832, at the age of seventy-five 
 years. Lieutenant McPherson was twice 
 married, first in 1780, to Mary Garick, of 
 Frederick County, Maryland, and second in 
 1793, to Sara Reynolds, of Shippensl)urg. 
 He was the father of fourteen children. 
 John B. McPherson, one of his sons, was 
 forty-five years cashier of the Gettysburg" 
 bank, the oldest financial institution in the 
 county. Hon. Edward McPherson, son of 
 John B. McPherson, was born in 1831 and 
 died in 1895. He was a representative in 
 the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Con- 
 gresses, and sixteen years clerk of the 
 national House of Representatives. 
 
 THE FIRST PENNSYLVANIA 
 REGIMENT. 
 
 The First Pennsylvania Regiment was 
 organized in the field at the headquarters 
 of the army at Long Island, July 11, 1776. 
 Most of the membership was composed of 
 re-enlisted men who had previously served 
 one year in Thompson's battalion. The 
 new regiment was placed in the command 
 of Col. Edward Hand, of Lancaster, with 
 Benjamin Chambers, of Franklin County, as 
 lieutenant-colonel, and Rev. Samuel Blair, 
 chaplain. Owing to a controversy James 
 Ross was not appointed major until three 
 months afterward. When the regiment was 
 organized, the nine companies were com- 
 manded respectively by Henry Miller, Mat- 
 thew Smith, Robert Cluggage, James Ross, 
 Charles Craig, James Grier, David Harris, 
 James Parr and James Hamilton. The two 
 companies which had accompanied Arnold's 
 expedition to Canada had returned in time 
 to join the regiment when it was organ- 
 ized. 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 175 
 
 This regiment now entered upon 
 Under a career of drill and discipline 
 Sullivan preparing for a contest with the 
 at Long British, which was expected to 
 Island. come soon after their arrival at 
 Long Island. General Sullivan, 
 under whom Thompson's battalion had 
 served in front of Boston, liad now returned 
 from the ex])edition to Canada and Captain 
 Miller's company from York, with the I'irst 
 Pennsylvania Regiment, was again placed in 
 Sullivan's command on Long Island. Gen- 
 eral Howe arrived with 25,000 troops at the 
 entrance of Xew York harbor early in 
 August, and was accompanied by his 
 brother. Admiral Lord Howe, with a resist- 
 less fleet. The .\merican army untler 
 ^\'ashington numbered less than 10.000. 
 General Israel Putnam commanded 5.000 
 troops at Brooklyn Heights and Sullivan, 
 under whom the York soldiers were serving, 
 had 4,000 men guarding the roads on Long 
 Island. August 2^. Howe, with 20.000 
 troops, attacked Sullivan. \\'ith his great 
 superiority of force he was able to surround 
 the Americans and take more than 1,000 
 prisoners, including General Sullivan. Had 
 Howe attacked the works on Brooklyn 
 Heights he would probably have met with a 
 bloody defeat; but Bunker Hill had taught 
 him a lesson and he determined to besiege 
 the place instead of assaulting it. When 
 Washington perceived this intention he 
 withdrew the army, taking it across the 
 East River one dark, foggy night in such 
 boats and scows as he could collect. This 
 skillful retreat under the very nose of the 
 enemy was a wonderful achievement. 
 
 In the battle of Long Island Hand's regi- 
 ment took a conspicuous part. Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Chambers, of this regiment, in de- 
 scribing the engagement wrote as follows : 
 "On the morning of August 22 there were 
 nine thousand troops approaching us on 
 New Utrecht plains. The guard alarmed 
 our small camp and we assembled at the flag 
 staff. We found our forces too small to 
 attack the enemy on the plain. .\ detach- 
 ment of the regiment under the command of 
 Captain Miller, of York, follo\ved the enemy 
 with the design to decoy a portion of them 
 to follow him. The remainder of our regi- 
 ment was stationed along the woods near 
 Captain Mille-'s detachment, which had 
 moved to a point 200 yards from the 
 
 British. lUit they decided not to attack 
 him. Captain Miller then returned to the 
 regiment, which moved along the enemy's 
 flank. Our men now fired and killed several 
 Hessians. Strong guards were maintained 
 all day on the flanks of the enemy and our 
 regiment and the Hessians kept up a severe 
 firing with a loss of but two wounded on our 
 side. We laid a few Hessians low and made 
 them retreat out of Flat Bush. Our men 
 went into the town and brought the goods 
 out of the burning houses. 
 
 "The enemy nearly lost their field pieces. 
 We could certainly have taken the cannon 
 had it not been for some foolish person 
 calling retreat. The main body of the foe 
 returned to the town and when our men 
 came back to camp they told of their ex- 
 ploits. Their stories were doubted by some, 
 which enraged our men so that a few of 
 them ran and brought away several Hes- 
 sians on their backs. This kind of firing by 
 our riflemen and theirs continued until 2 
 o'clock in the morning of the 26th. when our 
 regiment was relieved by a portion of the 
 Flying Camp, and we started for Fort 
 Greene to get refreshment, not having lain 
 down the whole of this time and almost 
 dead with fatigue. We just reached the fort 
 when the alarm guns were fired. We were 
 compelled to return to the lines, and, as 
 soon as it was light, saw our men and theirs 
 engaged with field pieces. 
 
 "At last the enemy surrounded 
 A our advance guard, and then a 
 
 Spirited heavy firing continued for several 
 Contest, hours. The main body that sur- 
 rounded our men marched within 
 thirty yards of Forts Brown and Greene; 
 but when we fired they retreated with loss. 
 Our men behaved as bravely as ever men 
 did, but it is surprising that with the superi- 
 ority of the enemy our men were not cut to 
 pieces. They behaved gallantly, and there 
 are but fi\e or si.x hundred missing of the 
 2.500 comprising our brig'ade. 
 
 "General Lord Stirling fought like a wolf 
 and was taken prisoner. Colonels Miles and 
 .\tlee. Major Burd, Captain Peebles, Lieu- 
 tenant Watt, and a great number of other 
 otiicers are also prisoners. Colonel Piper is 
 missing. From deserters we learn that the 
 enemy lost Major General Grant and two 
 brigadiers and many others, and five hun- 
 dred killed. Our loss is chiefly in prisoners." 
 
J 76 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 Colonel Hand, in his report of the retreat 
 after the battle of Long Island, said: "W hen 
 it \vas determined to exaeuate Long Island. 
 General AlifBin. of Pennsylvania, told me 
 that Washington had honored him with the 
 command of the covering party and that our 
 regiment was to be emploj'ed in that ser- 
 vice. He then assigned us our se\'eral sta- 
 tions which we were to occupy as soon as it 
 was dark and pointed out Brooklyn Church 
 as an alarm post to which the whole force 
 was to repair and unitetlly oppose the 
 enemy in case they discovered our move- 
 ments and made an attack in consequence. 
 My regiment was posted in a redoubt on 
 the left and in the lines on the right of the 
 great road below Brooklyn Church. Cap- 
 tain Henry iMiller commanded in the re- 
 doubt." 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Chambers wrote: 
 "The Pennsylvania troops received great 
 honor l)y being chosen corps de reserve to 
 cover the retreat. The regiments of 
 Colonels Hand, Morgan, Shea and Hazlett 
 were detailed for that purpose. We kept up 
 camp fires with the outposts stationed until 
 all the rest were over. We left the lines 
 after it was fair day and then came off. 
 Never was a greater feat of generalship 
 shown than in this retreat — to bring of¥ an 
 army of twelve thousand men within sight 
 of a strong enemy, supported by as strong a 
 fleet as ever floated our seas. We saved all 
 our baggage. General Washington saw the 
 last troop cross o\'er.'" 
 
 ^Vriting to his wife. Captain 
 Captain Miller states: "Today, August 4, 
 Henry my company was reviewed by 
 Miller's General Washington, but owing 
 Account, to the heavy cannonading up the 
 river his stay was very short." 
 Again, on the 31st of the same month: "As 
 our regiments were sent only as an advance 
 guard to watch the movements of the 
 enemy and not for the purpose of making a 
 stand where they did, and as they were 
 brought into action by the great spirit 
 which prevailed among the Pennsylvania, 
 Maryland and lower country troops, the 
 result of the battle could not be ])roperly 
 called a defeat. \\'e forced the enemy to 
 retreat three different times from their ad- 
 vanced posts, and their loss was greater 
 than our ow'n. The retreat was conducted 
 in such a manner as would do honor to the 
 
 most experienced generals and army in the 
 world : for it entirely disconcerted the de- 
 signs of the enemy to surround us. I had 
 the honor to be in the rear guard: the sun 
 was up before I left the island. Governor's 
 Island was given up yesterday. \\'e shall 
 leave New York in a few days, for this 
 place is too advantageously situated for the 
 enemy, and the possession of it will not 
 afford them an easy access to the back 
 country." 
 
 A contemporary writer states this addi- 
 tional fact: "Captain Miller, in this retreat, 
 was the last man to enter the boat, and that, 
 when they were pushed off and were sup- 
 posed to be out of danger, a heavy fog hung 
 over them. He stood up, hat in hand, and 
 gave three hearty cheers. This brought on 
 them a heavy volley of musketry." 
 
 After Washington had crossed into New 
 York city from Long Island, he placed his 
 army on the east bank of the Hudson in the 
 vicinity of White Plains. He abandoned 
 everything on Manhattan Island except 
 Fort W^ashington. To defend this strategic 
 point he sent a body of nearly two thousand 
 troops in command of Colonel Robert Mc- 
 Gaw, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This officer 
 had been major of Thompson's riflemen, 
 which had marched from southern Pennsyl- 
 vania to Boston at the opening of the war. 
 Colonel McGaw had won distinction for 
 gallantry at Long Island and had merited 
 the promotion he received upon the recom- 
 mentlation of the commander-in-chief. 
 While presenting a front parallel to that of 
 Howe, frecjuent skirmishes occurred in 
 which the Americans were entirely success- 
 ful. 
 
 Hand's riflemen followed the 
 
 Hand's fortunes of the army under 
 
 Regiment Washington on the east bank 
 
 in New of the Hudson. On October 12 
 
 York. Colonel Hand and his riflemen 
 assisted by Colonel Prescott, of 
 Bunker Hill fame, checked the advance of 
 the British at Pell's Neck, immediately after 
 they had landed from Long Island. Octo- 
 ber 23 Colonel Hand attacked two hundred 
 and forty Hessian chasseurs near East 
 Chester and routed them. In both these 
 skirmishes Captain Miller and his York 
 Count}' men took a conspicuous part. 
 
 At this juncture General Greene, with a 
 small force, garrisoned Fort Lee, upon the 
 
THE RE\'OLl"l'IOX 
 
 1/7 
 
 Palisades on the west bank of the Hudson, 
 nearly opposite Fort Washington. Sulli- 
 van, Stirling and Morgan, who had been 
 captured at the battle of Long Island in 
 August, now rejoined the army after being- 
 exchanged. General Charles Lee arrived 
 from South Carolina and was placed second 
 in command of the .\nierican army around 
 iSew York. Washington had taken up his 
 headquarters at White Plains, where both 
 armies were concentrating. The Americans 
 were placed in four divisions commanded 
 respectively by Lee, Heatli, Sullivan and 
 Lincoln. On October 28 Howe attacked 
 Washington at White Plains, where he lost 
 two hundred and twent3'-nine men. 
 
 \\'ashington now moved up the river and 
 soon after had five thousand of his men 
 under Putnam cross to the west side of the 
 Hudson into New Jersey at Hackensack. 
 He sent Heath up to Peekskill with three 
 thousand men to guard the entrance to the 
 Highlands, and left Lee at North Castle 
 with seven thousand men. The enemy 
 greatly outnumbered A\'ashington at this 
 time. His entire army was credited with 
 nineteen thousand men, but the term of 
 service of many of them had expired, so that 
 his entire army did not exceed twelve 
 thousand efificient men to oppose twenty- 
 five thousand trained British and Hessian 
 soldiers. At a council of war now held with 
 his generals, W'ashington decided to retreat 
 across New Jersey, but Congress desired 
 that he should continue to hold Forts 
 Washington and Lee. The officious inter- 
 ference of Congress, an error of judgment 
 on the part of Greene, and the insubordina- 
 tion of Lee, occurring altogether at the 
 critical moment brought about the greatest 
 disaster of the war and came within an ace 
 of overwhelming the American cause in 
 total and irretrievable ruin. The story of 
 the disaster of Fort Washington, where 
 York County lost at least six hundred 
 ofificers and men, is told in the succeeding 
 pages of this work in an article relating to 
 the Flying Camp. 
 
 CHAPTER- Xni 
 
 REVOLUTION— Continued. 
 
 The Flying Camp — York County Regi- 
 ments — Battle of Fort Washington — 
 Washington's Retreat and Victory at 
 Trenton — Battle of Princeton. 
 
 In June, 1776, after the British under 
 General Howe had evacuated Boston 
 and were about to threaten New 
 York, Continental Congress issued a 
 call for troops to join Washington's 
 army. These troops, 10,000 in num- 
 ber, were to be enlisted for a term of 
 six months from the organized militia in 
 Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. 
 Colonel Miles" Rifle Regiment and Colonel 
 Atlee's Battalion of Musketry, state troops 
 already in the field, in all 1500 men, were to 
 be accredited as part of the quota from 
 Pennsylvania, which was expected to raise 
 6000 men. Maryland was to furnish 3400 
 and Delaware 600. This body of troops 
 after enlistment and organization became 
 known as the Flying Camp. By request of 
 Washington, his personal friend. General 
 Hugh Mercer, a physician by profession and 
 a soldier by instinct, was selected as com- 
 mander with the rank of brigadier-general. 
 
 General fiercer was a nati\e of 
 General Scotland, and in 1747, settled in 
 Mercer. Franklin County, Pennsylvania, 
 at the site of Mercersburg, where 
 he practiced medicine among his Scotch- 
 Irish neighbors. He had served with dis- 
 tinction in the French and Indian war under 
 Braddock. being severely wounded in the 
 shoulder at Monongahela, and received a 
 medal from the city of Philadelphia for his 
 bravery in this expedition. In 1758, he 
 commanded a regiment under General 
 Forbes against the Indians at Fort Du- 
 quesne. After the close of the French and 
 Indian war, he practiced his profession at 
 Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he became 
 a close and intimate friend of Washington. 
 
 The enlisted men of the Flying Camp 
 under the act of Congress, were required to 
 furnish their own arms, blankets, haversacks 
 and knapsacks. Men. unable to furnish 
 their own muskets, were to be supplied with 
 arms which had been made by order of the 
 Assembly for the use of the militia. The 
 Pennsylvania Assembly adjourned in June, 
 
 12 
 
178 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVANIA 
 
 1776, witliout completing arrangements for 
 the organization of troops for the Flying 
 Camp. The Pennsylvania Conference, 
 composed of representatives from the com- 
 mittees of safety in the dififerent counties, 
 met in Philadelphia during the latter part 
 of June. This conference considered itself 
 the only representative body in Pennsyl- 
 vania and made immediate provisions for 
 the enlistment of as many as possible of the 
 4500 men intended for the Flying Camp. 
 The conference appointed a committee of 
 twelve men representing the different coun- 
 ties of Pennsylvania to devise ways and 
 means for raising the 4500 men, and to in- 
 quire into all matters necessary for sending 
 them to the army. 
 
 In the apportionment Philadelphia city 
 and county was to furnish 956 men ; Bucks 
 County, 400 men ; Chester County, 652 ; 
 Berks, 666; Northampton, 346; Cumberland, 
 334; Lancaster, 746; York, 400. Colonel 
 Richard McAllister, the founder of Han- 
 over, then in command of a battalion of 
 militia, was a representative from York 
 County on this committee. The Pennsyl- 
 vania Conference appointed Colonel James 
 Smith, Dr. Benjamin Rush and John Bayard 
 to prepare a draft of an address to the As- 
 sociators. James Smith was then a prac- 
 ticing lawver at York and commander of a 
 battalion of militia in this county. 
 
 The address which Smith and 
 A Patriotic his associates prepared is sup- 
 Appeal, posed to have been written by 
 
 this ardent patriot, who shortly 
 after signed the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. The address reads as follows: 
 
 To the Associators of Pennsylvania : 
 
 Gentlemen : — The only design of our meeting to- 
 gether was to put an end to our own power in the 
 province, by fixing upon a plan for calling a convention, 
 to form a government under the authority of the people. 
 But the sudden and unexpected separation of tlie late 
 assembly, has compelled us to undertake the execvition 
 of a resolve of Congress, for calling forth 4500 of the 
 militia of the Province, to join the militia of the neigh- 
 boring colonies, to form a camp for our immediate 
 protection. We presume only to recornmend the plan 
 we have formed to you, trusting that in a case of so 
 much consequence, your love of virtue and zeal for 
 liberty will supply the want of authority delegated to 
 us expressly for that purpo.se. 
 
 We need not remind you that you are now furnished 
 with new motives to animate and support your courage. 
 You are now about to contend against the power of 
 Great Britain, in order to displace one set of villains to 
 make room for another. Your arms will not be ener- 
 vated in the day of battle with the reflection, that you 
 are to risk vour lives or shed your blood for a British 
 
 tyrant ; or that your posterity will have your work to 
 do over again. You are about to contend for i)erma- 
 ncnt freedom, to be supported by a government which 
 will be derived from yourselves, and which will have 
 for its object, not the emolument of one man or class 
 of men only, but the safety, liberty and happiness of 
 every individual in the community. We call upon you, 
 therefore, by the respect and obedience which are due 
 to the authority of the United Colonies to concur in this 
 important measure. The present campaign will probably 
 decide the fate of America. It is now in your power 
 to immortalize your names, by mingling your achieve- 
 ments with the events of the year 1776— a year which 
 we hope will be famed in the annals of history to the 
 end of time, for establishing upon a lasting foundation 
 the liberties of one quarter of the globe. 
 
 Remember the honor of our colonies is at stake. 
 Should you desert the common cause at the present 
 juncture, the glory you have acquired by your former 
 exertions of strength and virtue, will be tarnished; and 
 our friends and brethren, who are now acquiring laurels 
 in the most remote parts of America, will reproach us 
 and blush to own themselves natives or inhabitants of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 But there are other motives before you. Your houses, 
 your fields, the legacies of your ancestors, or the dear- 
 bought fruits of your own industry, and your liberty, 
 now urge you to the field. These cannot plead with 
 you in vain, or we might point out to you further, your 
 wives, your children, your aged fathers and mothers, 
 who now look up to you for aid, and hope for salvation 
 in this day of- calamity, only from the instrumentality 
 of your swords. 
 
 Remember the name of Pennsylvania. Think of your 
 ancestors and of your posterity. 
 
 Signed by the unanimous order of the conference, 
 Thomas McKean, President. 
 June 25. 1776. 
 
 The formation of the Flying 
 Elect Camp, as directed by Con- 
 
 Brigadiers, gress, from such of the asso- 
 ciated battalions as volun- 
 teered for the purpose. rec[uired full organ- 
 ization, and a meeting was called at Lan- 
 caster, to which the militia of the state were 
 directed to send representatives. This 
 meeting, composed of the delegates from 
 the ofiicers and privates of the fifty-three 
 battalions of Associators, convened on the 
 memorable Fourth of July, 1776, for the 
 purpose of choosing two brigadier-generals. 
 Colonel George Ross was chosen president 
 of the meeting, and Colonel David Clymer, 
 secretary. Colonel Mark Burd, Colonel 
 George Ross and Captain Sharp Dulaney 
 were appointed judges of the election. The 
 election was held and resulted in the choice 
 of Daniel Roberdeau and James Ewing, the 
 former having 160 votes and the latter 85. 
 Upon the announcement of this result, the 
 president immediately declared Daniel Rob- 
 erdeau commander of the First Brigade and 
 James Ewing commander of the Second 
 Brigade. 
 
 Daniel Roberdeau was a native of the 
 
I'lII': REVOLUTION. 
 
 179 
 
 Island of Si. Christopher, and became a 
 prominent merchant of Philadelphia. In 
 1776 he was the colonel of a battalion of As- 
 sociators. In May of the same year he pre- 
 sided over a public meeting at Philadelphia, 
 which favored the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. In that year he owned a privateer 
 which captured a prize of $22,000, which 
 money he turned over to the disposal of 
 Congress. In 1777 he was a leading mem- 
 ber of Continental Congress at York. 
 
 James Ewing was a citizen of York 
 Count V. residing on his plantation in Hel- 
 1am township, near W'rightsville. He was 
 then forty years of age. He had served as 
 a lieutenant in Forbes' expedition against 
 Fort Duquesne in 1758. In 1771-5 he was 
 a member of the General Assembly of Penn- 
 s\dvania, and at the outl)reak of the Revo- 
 lution became a member of the Committee 
 of Safety for York County. 
 
 On July 7, 1776, the pastor of the 
 
 A Moravian Church at ^'ork. made 
 
 Local the following entr}- in liis diary: 
 Diary. "Strict orders came that all As- 
 sociators of this county should 
 hold themselves in readiness to march to 
 the front. In the following week they left. 
 
 "July 17 — Yorktown seems quite de- 
 serted on account of tlie departure for the 
 army of all men under fifty years of age. 
 Our young 'men had to lea\e for Jersey. 
 Ernst Schlosser, the three sons of Brothers 
 Rothrock, Brinkman. John Seifer's eldest 
 son. John Hoenrison. and. in short, tjie 
 most of the others who are under fifty years 
 of age, will have to march off in the next 
 few days. Several of our people, because 
 the town has been so emptied, have in addi- 
 tion to other persons been elected as mem- 
 bers of the committee ad interim, with a 
 guard given them day and night, in order to 
 maintain peace and quietness, and give 
 security against the plots of Tories. All 
 business is prostrated, all shops are closed. 
 How many prayers and tears will now be 
 brought Ijefore the Lord, by parents for 
 their children. l)y children for their parents, 
 li\' wives for their husbands. 
 
 "August — Numerous bands of soldiers 
 from Maryland, Virginia, etc., passed 
 through the town. 
 
 "September 4 — Our town has not re- 
 mained exempt from the pre\'ailing unrest 
 of the land. Xone of oiu^ comnnmicant 
 
 brethren ha\e been comi)elled to enter the 
 war, and those wiio were married and had 
 gone to Jersey, have again returned in the 
 first jjart of tine week to their respective 
 homes. The young single men of our so- 
 ciety, of whom tlicre are about ten absent, 
 ha\e been drawn into the Flying Camp. 
 
 "In the beginning of September, some of 
 those who had gone to the front from here 
 returned. On the 28th of September, 1776, 
 Philip Rothrock returned from a visit to liis 
 sons in camp near New York." 
 
 In oljedience to the call for 
 The militia from Pennsylvania 
 
 Organization, to join the Flying Camp, 
 Ijeing formed in the State 
 of Xew Jersey, five battalions of Associ- 
 ators left York County in July, 1776. These 
 battalions passed through Lancaster and 
 Philadelphia, and then proceeded by water 
 to Trenton and from thence to the head- 
 quarters of the Flying Camp at Perth Am- 
 Ijoy, arriving there late in July. At this 
 time, other battalions of Associators from 
 Pennsylvania and Xew Jersey arrived at 
 Perth Ambo}', wdiere General fiercer and 
 his brigadiers, Ewing and Roberdeau, 
 began the organization of the Flying Cam]), 
 liy asking volunteer enlistments. 
 
 The Convention of the State of Penn- 
 syh-ania, on August 12, resolved to 
 add four additional battalions to the 
 Flying Camp. York County being re- 
 quired to furnish 515 men toward 
 making out the number of 2,984, the 
 amount of the four new battalions. On 
 the same day, Colonel George Ross, vice- 
 president of the convention : Colonel 
 Thomas Matlack, of Philadelphia, and 
 Colonel Henry Slagle, of York County, 
 were chosen commissioners to go to the 
 headquarters in Xew Jersey, to aid in form- 
 ing the Flying Camp. Before a complete 
 organization had been effected, the British 
 were threatening the city of Xew York. 
 Colonel Miles' regiment was sent to Long 
 Island, and the newly organized regiments 
 under Swope and McAllister, of York 
 Coimty. were sent forward for active 
 operations in the field. 
 
 .\fter the recjuisite number had been en- 
 listed. General Mercer issued an order. 
 -August 19, authorizing the return to their 
 homes of the balance of the associated 
 militia. This patriotic band of soldiers was 
 
I So 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 organized shortly after tlie Declaration of 
 Independence, when the political affairs of 
 the State of Pennsylvania were controlled 
 by the Provincial Conference. 
 
 The British army under General Howe 
 was arriving" on Long Island from Halifax, 
 Xo\a Scotia, where it had gone after 
 evacuating Boston. Xew York was in the 
 hands of the Americans and a battle 
 between \A'ashington and Howe was soon 
 expected at Long Island or in the northern 
 part of Xew Jersey. 
 
 YORK COUNTY REGIMENTS. 
 
 York County showed her lo\'aIty to the 
 catise of independence by sending more 
 troops from the militia service than were 
 needed for her quota for the organization 
 of the Flying Camp. Two regiments had 
 been formed from the York County militia. 
 These commands were designated the First 
 and Second Pennsylvania Regiments of the 
 Flying Camp. The officers of the First 
 Regiment were: Michael Swope, colonel; 
 Robert Stevenson, lieutenant-colonel ; Wil- 
 liam Bailey, major. It was composed of 
 eight companies with the following officers: 
 
 First Company — 
 
 Michael Schmeiser, captain. 
 
 Zachariah Shugart, first lieutenant. 
 
 Andrew Robinson, second lieutenant. 
 
 William A\"ayne, ensign. 
 Second Company — 
 
 Gerhart Graeff, captain. 
 
 Daniel McCollom, ensign. 
 Third Company — 
 
 Jacob Dritt, captain. 
 
 John Baymiller, hrst lieutenant. 
 
 Henry Clayton, second lieutenant. 
 
 Jacob Mayer, ensign. 
 
 Daniel Herrington, corporal. 
 Fourth Company — 
 
 Christian S.take, captain. 
 
 Cornelius Sheriff, first lieutenant. 
 
 Jacob Holtzinger, second lieutenant. 
 
 Jacob Barnitz, ensign. 
 Fifth Company — 
 
 John McDonald, captain. 
 
 A\'illiam Scott, first lieutenant 
 
 Robert Patton, second lieutenant. 
 
 Ensign Howe. 
 Sixth Company — 
 
 John Ewing, captain. 
 
 William Paysley, ensign. 
 
 Seventh Compan}- — 
 
 William Xelson, captain. 
 
 James Todd, first lieutenant. 
 
 Joseph Welsh, second lieutenyn. 
 
 Ensign Xesbit. 
 Eighth Company — 
 
 Joshua A\'illiams, captain. 
 
 Jacob Brinkerhoiif, ensign. 
 Soon after the organization. Colonel 
 Swope's regiment, with other commands of 
 Ewing's brigade, was ordered to garrison 
 Fort Constitution, afterward named Fort 
 Lee, situated on the west side of the Hud- 
 son River, above New York City. October 
 8, it contained 2t7 commissioned officers and 
 staff, 44 non-commissioned officers, and 359 
 rank and file. 
 
 The Second Pennsylvania 
 McAllister's Regiment of the Flying 
 Regiment. Camp, commanded by Colo- 
 nel Richard McAllister, was 
 composed of eight companies. Six of 
 tliese companies were recruited out of the 
 l)attalions of militia which had marched to 
 New Jersey from the various parts of York 
 County, and the territory now embraced in 
 Adams County. These companies were 
 commanded respectively by Captains Xich- 
 olas Bittinger, AX'illiani McCarter, W\ Mc- 
 Coskey, John Laird, Samuel Wilson and 
 John Paxton. Two companies from Bucks 
 County belonged to this regiment. Mc- 
 Allister's regiment was at Perth Amboy 
 October 8, 1776, when it contained 41 com- 
 missioned officers and staff, 43 non- 
 commissioned officers and 438 rank and file. 
 David Kennedy was lieutenant-colonel and 
 John Clark, who had previously served with 
 the first troops that left York for Boston, 
 was commissioned major. 
 
 Meantime, the battle of Long Island had 
 been fought and the British had taken 
 possession of New York City, which then 
 covered the lower part of Manhattan 
 Island. W^ashington retreated to the 
 northern part of the island and then placed 
 his army on both sides of the Hudson. The 
 enemy held Long Island and Staten Island. 
 General Mercer, commanding the Flying 
 Camp, despatched McAllister's regiment to 
 attack a body of the enemy on Staten 
 Island, October 14. Major John Clark, in 
 his autobiography, says, "In the expedition 
 to Staten Island, I took a stand of British 
 colors of the Twenty-third Light Dragoons. 
 
'I" I lie RFA'OLL'TIOX 
 
 i8i 
 
 I commanded the ad\rince of 500 riflemen 
 and the first Hessians taken, or rather 
 W'aldeckers, fell into my hands, about 
 sixty." 
 
 Soon after the Staten Island affair, Mc- 
 Allister's regiment joined tho brigade at 
 Fort Lee. At this time, ]\Iajor Clark 
 selected 200 men from the regiment to 
 guard the passes opposite White Plains. He 
 fortified his position and laid plans to pre- 
 vent detachments of Howe's army from 
 passing up the Hudson. 
 
 With the same detachment on November 
 9, at the command of General Greene, 
 Clark was sent to Dobb's Ferry on the east 
 side of the Hudson to protect the landing 
 of a quantity of flour for the American 
 army. \\'ith his accustomed sagacity, 
 Clark reconnoitered the situation and dis- 
 covered that the enemy to the number of 
 about 5,000 were encamped nearby. He 
 reported that in his opinion, the British 
 were laying plans to cross the river and 
 attack Fort Washington, situated in the 
 northern part of Manhattan Island. 
 
 Swope's regiment was stationed on the 
 New Jersey side of the Hudson to guard the 
 passes of that stream during the battle of 
 White Plains, fought on the eastern side of 
 the river, below Yonkers. Colonel Robert 
 McGaw, of Cttmberland County, Pennsyl- 
 vania, with twelve hundred men, was placed 
 in charge of the defenses of Fort \\'ashing- 
 ton. General Greene, struck with the im- 
 portance of protecting McGaw. suggested 
 to the commander-in-chief that a portion of 
 the Flying Camp, then stationed on the 
 western side of the Hudson, should cross 
 o\-er and assist Colonel ^NIcGaw in defend- 
 ing Fort Washington. This fort was con- 
 sidered a strategic point, and General Howe 
 determined to attack it with a large force. 
 It was one of tlie most hazardous positions 
 defended by Pennsylvania troops during the 
 entire period of the Revolution. Ten 
 thousand regulars would have been re- 
 (juired to successfully perform this duty. 
 
 BATTLE OF FORT WASHINGTON. 
 
 In accordance with Greene's suggestion. 
 Colonel Swope's and a part of I\lc.\llister's 
 regiments crossed the Hudson and joined 
 the Pennsylvania troops under McGaw in 
 defending the fort. November 15, the 
 adjutant-general. Colonel Patterson, of the 
 
 British army, was sent to summon the gar- 
 rison in Fort Washington to surrender, 
 threatening at the same time, to "put it to 
 the sword," if the demand was rejected. At 
 this juncture. Colonel McGaw sent the fol- 
 lowing communication to General Greene: 
 
 "A flag of truce came out just now from 
 King's Bridge. The adjutant-general was 
 at the head of it. I sent down Colonel 
 Swope. The adjutant-general would hardly 
 give him two hours for an alternative be- 
 tween surrendering at discretion or every 
 man being put to the sword. He waits an 
 answer. I shall send him a proper one. 
 You will, I dare say, do what is best. We 
 are determined to defend the post or 
 die." 
 
 In response to this communication. Colo- 
 nel Swope, of York, delivered the following 
 remarkable document to the adjutant- 
 general of the British army in accordance 
 with the directions of Colonel McGaw: 
 
 "If I rightly understand the purport of 
 your message from General Howe, com- 
 municated to Colonel Swope, this post is to 
 be immediately surrenderetl or the garrison 
 put to the sword. I rather think it is a 
 mistake than a settled resolution in General 
 Howe to act a part so unworthy of himself 
 and the British nation. 
 
 "But give me leave to assure his Excel- 
 lency that, actuated by the most glorious 
 cause of mankind ever fought in, I am de- 
 termined to defend this post to the very last 
 extremity." 
 
 After learning the determination of these 
 gallant Pennsylvania troops, the British 
 decided to make the attack, the following 
 day. Early in the morning on the six- 
 teenth, the enemy's batteries from the east- 
 ern side of the Harlem River, opened fire 
 upon the commands of Colonel Baxter, of 
 ]\Iaryland, and Colonel Lambert Cadwalla- 
 der, of Pennsylvania, who held positions 
 witliout the fort. 
 
 Meantime General \\'ashington, with 
 Greene. Mercer and Putnam, crossed the 
 river from Fort Lee to the vicinity of F"ort 
 Washington, and examined the position of 
 the .American troops and reconnoitered the 
 movements of the enemy. These officers 
 then returned to Fort Lee, entrusting the 
 entire command to Colonel McGaw and his 
 heroic band of patriots. 
 
 Aljout noon. General Knyphausen, com- 
 
I«2 
 
 HISTORY OP^ YORK COL'XTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 manding" the Hessian forces, l:)egan a 
 furious attack upon tiie north. SimuUa- 
 neous attacks were made by Lord Percy on 
 the south, and Colonel Sterling and General 
 Matthews crossed the Harlem river and 
 movetl on the fort from the east. The 
 British dro\-e the Americans from their out- 
 posts and soon stood victorious upon the 
 hills overlooking the open fields around 
 Fort \\'ashington. Xear the fort severe 
 skirmishes took place and many of the Hes- 
 sian pursuers were slain. The defense was 
 gallant, but pike, ball and baj'onet, used by 
 live thousand men, overpowered the weak- 
 ened patriots and they were nearly all 
 gathered within the ramparts of the fort, 
 but not until about i,ooo men had fallen 
 "into the hands of the enemy. 
 
 General Howe sent an order 
 Surrender for surrender. Perceiving fur- 
 of the Fort, ther resistance to be in vain, 
 
 McGaw complied and at half 
 past one the British flag was waving where 
 the ContineiTtal banner had been unfurled 
 defiantly in the morning. The entire gar- 
 rison, numbering nearly three thousand 
 njen, surrendered. Washington, standing 
 on the ramparts of Fort Lee with tears in 
 his eyes, saw the garrison in Fort Washing- 
 ton meet its doom, and the American ban- 
 ner torn down and replaced by the flag of 
 England. 
 
 When the attack on Fort ^^'ashington 
 began about noon of Xovember i6, 1776, 
 Swope's regiment was defending one of the 
 outposts some distance to the southeast. 
 His position was assaulted by the Hessian 
 troops under Knyphausen. Swope's men 
 fought gallantly, but being o\'erpowered by 
 the enemy, were compelled to fall back. In 
 this movement they were flanked by the 
 British and Hessians and forced to sur- 
 render. Almost the entire command of 400 
 York County soldiers became prisoners of 
 war. Jacob Barnitz, a young man of 
 eighteen and a color bearer of the regiment, 
 was wounded in both legs by rifle balls and 
 was left on the held. The attack of the 
 enemy was violent and impetuous, and as 
 they approached the outposts of the fort, 
 the Hessians lost heavily in killed and 
 wounded from the well directed aim of the 
 Pennsylvania soldiers. Colonel McGaw's 
 loss in killed and wounded did not exceed 
 100 men, but almost his entire command of 
 
 3,000 men were compelled to surrender to 
 the enemy. 
 
 Colonel Xliomas Hartley, in 1779, wrote a 
 letter stating that nearly 400 York County 
 troops, largely from Swope's regiment and 
 partly from iNIcAllister's regiment, had been 
 held in N^ew York and Long Island as 
 prisoners of w-ar; that at the expiration of 
 three years only fifty of the entire number 
 captured had returned to their homes. He 
 made this assertion to prove the loj'alty of 
 the people west of the Susquehanna to the 
 cause of American independence, and fur- 
 ther claimed that York County had fur- 
 nished more troops for the army than any 
 other county in the thirteen original states. 
 
 These American soldiers were placed in 
 jails, churches, sugar houses and other 
 buildings, and held as prisoners of war for 
 many months, some of them not having 
 been released until three years after their 
 capture. The stories of their treatment if 
 they could be given in detail would rank 
 among the most sorrowful ever recorded on 
 the pages of history. They w-ere given an 
 insui^cient amount of food, were obliged to 
 remain in cold, damp rooms without any 
 privileges of outdoor exercise. Many of 
 these gallant sons of Pennsylvania died 
 from the horrors of British prison pens and 
 others contracted diseases from which they 
 never recovered. The treatment of the 
 British and Hessian prisoners by the 
 Americans formed no comparison to the 
 treatment of Colonel McGaw's men while 
 they were held prisoners in New York and 
 Long Island. 
 
 Owing to the absence of oiTicial doc- 
 uments, a complete record of the casualties 
 in Swope's and McAllister's regiments can- 
 not be given. From various sources of in- 
 formation the following facts have been ob- 
 tained. Among the prisoners captured at 
 Fort AA'ashington were Colonel Michael 
 Swope. Major William Bailey, Surgeon 
 Humphrey Fullerton, Captains Michael 
 Smyser, Jacob Drift, Christian Stake, John 
 McDonald, Henry Clayton, Flenry Lewis, 
 Lieutenants Zachariah Shugart, Jacob 
 Holtzinger, Andrew Robinson, Benjamin 
 Davis, Lieutenants Clayton, Robert Patton, 
 Joseph Welsh, Ensigns Jacob Barnitz, 
 Jacob Morgan and Jacob ]Meyer, and Adju- 
 tant Howe. 
 
 The follo\\'ing sohliers served in Captain 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 183 
 
 Stake's company and were taken prisoners 
 
 at Fort \\ asliington : 
 
 Sergeant Peter 
 
 Haack, Sergeant John Dicks, Sergeant 
 Henry Counselman, Corporal John Adlum, 
 David Parker, James Dobbins, Hugh Dob- 
 bins, Henry Miller, John Stroman, Christian 
 Stroman, James Berry, Joseph Bay, Henry 
 Hoff, Joseph Updegraff, Daniel ^liller, 
 Jacob Hake, Jr., Henry Shultz, William 
 Lukens, the mulatto cook. 
 
 The casualties of ^McAllister's regiment 
 as far as could be obtained were the follow- 
 ing: Captain ^IcCarter, shot through the 
 breast and died five days after the battle ; 
 Captain Nicholas Bittinger, the ancestor of 
 the Bittinger family in York and Adams 
 Counties, held as a prisoner of war in Xew^ 
 York for several months; Lieutenants Wil- 
 liam Young, Joseph Morrison, Hugh King, 
 Shannon, Henry Bittinger, Ensign Thomas 
 Reed, Private Charles \\'ilson. 
 
 The battle of Fort Washington was 
 fought largely by troops from west of the 
 Susquehanna River from York and Cumber- 
 land Counties. .About one-half of the en- 
 listed men of Swope's and AIcAUister's 
 regiments were Pennsylvania Germans who 
 fought gallantly before they would sur- 
 render the fort to the enemy. 
 
 Captains William Scott, John Jamison, 
 Thomas Campbell, Lieutenants Samuel 
 Lindsay, Henry Bear, Joseph Morrison, 
 John Irwin. John Findlay, Godfrey Myers, 
 Matthew Bennett, of York County, were 
 prisoners of war on Long Island, in August, 
 1778. 
 
 Among the soldiers belonging to Swope's 
 regiment, who died in New York prisons, 
 were Sergeants Peter Haack and John 
 Hicks; Privates Hugh Dobbins, Henry 
 Hoff, David Parker. They were buried in 
 Trinit}' churchyard, New York, in the same 
 hallowed ground in which were interred the 
 remains of Alexander Hamilton and many 
 other noted Revolutionary soldiers. Cap- 
 tain McCarter, of McAllister's regiment, 
 who was mortally wounded at Fort Wash- 
 ington, was also buried in Trinity grave- 
 yard. 
 
 Benjamin Davis, who served as lieuten- 
 ant in Captain Smyser's company, was held 
 as a prisoner of war during the whole period 
 of the Revolution. He owned a fulling mill 
 in York County and 186 acres of land. In 
 ^larch. 1781. he applied to the State of 
 
 Pennsylvania for a pension, stating in his 
 application tlnat his property had been sold 
 to support his family during his long im- 
 prisonment. 
 
 John ^IcKinley, of Lower Chanceford 
 Township, the great-grandfather of William 
 McKinley, served in the Sixth Battalion, 
 York County Militia, and marched with it 
 to join the Flying Camp in 1776. 
 
 Gerhardt GraetT, a captain in the Flying 
 Camp, was taken a prisoner at Fort Wash- 
 ington, and died in captivity. Almost his 
 entire company became prisoners of war at 
 Fort Washington. 
 
 GENERAL JAMES EWING, who com- 
 manded one of the divisions of the Flying- 
 Camp, was born in IManor Township, Lan- 
 caster County, August 3, 1736, of Scotch- 
 Irish ancestry. His father emigrated from 
 the north of Ireland to Pennsylvania in 
 1734. The son received a good education. 
 During ForUes' expedition to Fort Du- 
 quesne in the French and Indian war, he 
 entered the provincial service and was com- 
 missioned lieutenant. May 10, 1758. He 
 was a member of the General Assembly of 
 Pennsylvania from 1771 to 1775. At the 
 outbreak of the Revolution, he was on the 
 Committee of Safety for York County, and 
 on July 4, 1776, was chosen one of the two 
 brigadier-generals of I he Pennsylvania As- 
 sociators, out of which was formed the Fly- 
 ing Camp. He commanded one of the di- 
 visions of the Flying Camp in the campaign 
 around New York City during the year 
 1776. In December of that year, when 
 General Washington had planned an attack 
 on the British at Trenton, General Ewing, 
 in command of the Pennsylvania Militia, 
 was stationed at a point a few miles below 
 Trenton. It was intended that his division 
 of troops should cross the Delaware to New 
 Jersey on Christmas night at the same time 
 that \\'ashington was crossing a short 
 distance above Trenton, where the stream 
 was narrow. Owing to the width of the 
 river below Trenton and the floating ice, 
 Ewing was unable to cross until after the 
 victory had been won at Trenton. General 
 Sullivan commanded a body of men near 
 Bristol, and was also unable to cross the 
 river on account of the obstructions. Some 
 days later, both these commands took posi- 
 tion in New Jersey and acted as a reserve at 
 the battle of Princeton. After the war. 
 
1 84 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 General Ewing returned to liis plantation in 
 Hellam Township, about t\\o miles west of 
 AVrightsville, where he followed the occu- 
 pation of a farmer. His character, promi- 
 nence and ability Avon him recognition at 
 the hands of his fellow-citizens and he was 
 frequently called upon to serve in high posi- 
 tions of honor and trust. Immediately after 
 the>war, he was chosen a member of the Su- 
 preme Executive Council of Pennsylvania 
 and was vice-president of the Council, a 
 position corresponding to lieutenant-gov- 
 ernor, from November 7, 1782, to Novem- 
 ber 6, 1784. The following year he served 
 as a member of the State Legislature, where 
 he was active in securing the passage of 
 laws relating to the material development 
 of the state. The state constitution of 1790 
 made the Legislature composed of two 
 bodies, Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives, and from 1795 to 1799, General Ewing 
 represented York County in the State Sen- 
 ate, being one of its most influential mem- 
 bers. It was during this period that he be- 
 came deeply interested in the navigation of 
 the Susquehanna River, advocating the con- 
 struction of a channel in the centre of the 
 river through the Conewago rapids and ex- 
 tending from Harrisburg to the Chesapeake 
 Bay. When the subject of making Wright's 
 Ferry the seat of the United States govern- 
 ment was discussed in Congress, he was one 
 of the strong supporters for the selection of 
 the west bank of the Susquehanna, at 
 AVrightsville, as the place for the national 
 government. General Ewing was a mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian Church and was 
 prominent in the councils of that church. 
 He had served as vice-president of the State 
 during the same period that John Dickinson 
 was president, and when Dickinson College 
 was founded at Carlisle, in 1783, he was 
 chosen a member of the first board of 
 trustees of that institution. He died at his 
 home in Hellam Township, near the Sus- 
 quehanna River, March i, 1806, at the age 
 of seventy years. 
 
 COLONEL MICHAEL SWOPE, one of 
 the heroes of Fort Washington, was born at 
 York about .1748, son of George Swope, one 
 of the commissioners who laid ofif York 
 County in 1749. Early in life, Colonel 
 Swope became one of the most influential 
 citizens in the town and county of York. 
 He was elected coroner in 1761 ; appointed 
 
 justice of the peace in 1764; judge of the 
 Orphan's Court in 1767; member of the 
 Pennsylvania Assembly from 1768 until the 
 opening of the Revolution ; member of the 
 committee of correspondence at York in 
 1775, and the same year was chosen major 
 of the First Battalion of York County 
 Militia, commanded by James Smith, signer 
 of the' Declaration of Independence. When 
 Smith became a member of Continental 
 Congress, Major Swope was elected colonel 
 of the First Battalion of militia. In the 
 summer of 1776; when the militia was called 
 into active service. Colonel Swope took his 
 battalion to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and 
 at this place recruited from the different 
 battalions of York County militia, the First 
 Pennsylvania Regiment in the Flj^ing Camp, 
 whose history is given in the preceding 
 pages. At the battle of Fort Washington, 
 November 16, 1776, Colonel Swope was 
 taken prisoner, together with most of his 
 regiment. He, with other officers, was con- 
 fined in New York City until June 23, 1778, 
 when he was released on parole. His parole 
 was cancelled by special order on the 8th of 
 August, 1779, and he was required to return 
 to prison in New York, where he remained, 
 with some fellow-prisoners, until he was 
 finally exchanged for a British officer of the 
 same rank, at Elizabeth, New Jersey, Janu- 
 ary 26, 1781. He then returned to York on 
 foot, a distance of 170 miles. Before leaving 
 prison, the American agent, Lewis Pintard, 
 gave him a large supply of Continental 
 money to pay his expenses on his return 
 home. At this time. Continental money had 
 become almost valueless, and Colonel 
 Swope exchanged seventy-five dollars in 
 currency for one in specie. 
 
 Colonel Swope first began business at 
 York as an inn-keeper. In 1783, two years 
 after his return to York from his experience 
 as a prisoner, he was assessed as a store- 
 keeper, with merchandise and real estate 
 valued at 1,119 pounds. He then had a 
 family of five persons. He owned silver- 
 ware to the amount of thirty-two pounds, a 
 pleasure carriage and one slave. In 1782, 
 he was commissioned one of the court 
 justices for York County. 
 
 Colonel Swope was first married to Anna 
 Maria, daughter of Casper Spangler, of 
 York. She died sometime before the 
 Revolution. In 1777, when Continental 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 185 
 
 Congress came to York, his second wife, 
 Eva Swope, rented their home, on the south 
 side of West Alarket Street, to John Han- 
 cock, president of Congress. This building 
 was then known as the President's house, 
 and the rental of it for the use of the presi- 
 dent of Congress, was paid by the govern- 
 ment. Hancock resigned his office two 
 months after Congress came to York and 
 returned to ]Massachusetts. In February, 
 1778, when Baron Steuben came to York to 
 ofier his services as an officer in the Ameri- 
 can army, he occupied the Swope residence 
 for a period of three weeks, with his retinue 
 of attendants. ^leantime, he received the 
 commission of a major-general and pro- 
 ceeded to Valley Forge to drill the army in 
 the tactics he had learned while serving 
 under Frederick the Great of Prussia. In 
 1785, Colonel Swope removed froin York to 
 Alexandria, Virginia. After going there, 
 his business affairs at York were conducted 
 by Colonel Thomas Hartley, who disposed 
 of his real estate. 
 
 COLONEL RICHARD McALLISTER, 
 who commanded the Second Penns\lvania 
 Regiment of York County Troops in the 
 Flying Camp, was born in 1724. He was a 
 son of. Archibald ]\IcAllister, who came to 
 America from Scotland in 1732. About 
 1745 Richard ^IcAllister moved from Cum- 
 berland County to the site of Hanover, 
 where he purchased a large tract of 
 land. On February 2t„ 1748, he married 
 Mary, daughter of Colonel Matthew Dill, 
 who commanded a regiment in the French 
 and Indian war, and whose son. ]\Iatthew, 
 
 ' founded Dillsburg. In 1750, Richard Mc.\l- 
 lister was a candidate for sheriff of York 
 County against Colonel Hance Hamilton, 
 who resided near the site of Gettysburg. 
 The election was so close that it was con- 
 tested and the Provincial authorities com- 
 missioned Hance Hamilton. In 1763, Rich- 
 ard McAllister founded the town of Han- 
 over and soon became one of the leading 
 citizens of York County. In 1775 he was 
 elected a member of the Committee of Ob- 
 servation and Safety for York County. In_ 
 June of the same year he served as a repre- 
 sentative in the Provincial Conference, 
 
 'which met in Carpenter's Hall, Philadel- 
 phia, and in January, 1776, he was a mem- 
 ber of the same body. In 1775 he was com- 
 missioned colonel of the Fourth Battalion 
 
 of York Count}' ]\Iilitia. During the fall of 
 the same year, he received the commission 
 as colonel of a battalion of Minute Men, 
 formed out of the militia of York County. 
 In July, 1776, when Congress issued a call 
 for ten thousand troops. Colonel McAllister 
 marched with his battalion through Lan- 
 caster and Philadelphia to Perth Amboy, N. 
 J. At this point, when the Flying Camp 
 was organized under the command of Gen- 
 eral Hugh Mercer, he was chosen colonel of 
 the Second Pennsylvania Regiment. Colo- 
 nel ]McAllister commanded his regiment in 
 the campaign around New York City and 
 led the expedition to Staten Island. 
 Later in the campaign. Colonel McAl- 
 lister's regiment took part in the defense 
 of Fort Washington, where he lost a large 
 number of troops who became prisoners of 
 war, including two of his captains. In the 
 campaign of 1776 he was, present with his 
 regiment, under General James Ewing, sta- 
 tioned below Trenton on the Pennsylvania 
 side of the Delaware, when Washington 
 captured the Hessians in Trenton on 
 Christmas night. 
 
 After the expiration of his term of service 
 in the Flying Camp, in 1777, McAllister re- 
 turned to his home at Hanover, and in 
 ISIarch of this year he was elected by the 
 General Assembly of Pennsylvania, county 
 lieutenant. This office required him to see 
 that the six difterent battalions of the 
 militia in York County, which then included 
 Adams, were drilled and disciplined ready 
 for service in the field when they were re- 
 quired to defend their state against the in- 
 vasion of the British foe. He was successful 
 in this position and on several occasions 
 issued calls for certain classes of the militia 
 to march from York County to the army 
 under \\'ashington. During the years 
 1783-84-85-86, he was a member of the Su- 
 preme E.xecutive Council of Pennsylvania, 
 which, under the state constitution of 1776 
 to 1790, was the Executive Body in the state 
 government. During the years that he 
 served in this body, he was also a member 
 of the Council of Censors, whose duty was 
 to look after the interests of the confiscated 
 estates of Pennsylvania Tories. Colonel 
 McAllister early in lif2 took a prominent 
 part in the legal afYairs of York County. He 
 was commissioned justice of the peace and 
 justice for the court of common pleas in 
 
1 86 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 Marcli, 1771. He was a member of the first 
 State Constitutional Convention in the year 
 1776, and on February 17, 1784, became 
 presiding justice of the York County 
 Courts. On June 30, 1791, he entertained 
 President A\'ashington for a few hours 
 wliile passing through llie town of Hanover 
 on his way to Philadelphia. He died at 
 Hanover at four o'clock in the evening, Oc- 
 tober 7, 1795. His remains were first buried 
 in the graveyard, belonging to Emanviel's 
 Reformed Church of Hanover, of which he 
 was a member and one of the leading con- 
 tributors during its early history. About 
 1870 his remains were removed to Mount 
 Olivet Cemetery in the suburbs of Hanover, 
 where they now lie, and on every succeed- 
 ing Memorial day commemorative services 
 are held at this tomb by the Grand Army 
 Post of Hanover. Colonel McAllister had 
 eleven children. His eldest son, Abdiel, 
 commanded a company in Colonel Irvine's 
 regiment in the first expedition to Canada, 
 in 1775, and during the campaign around 
 Philadelphia took part in the battle of 
 Brandywine, when this regiment was com- 
 manded by Colonel David Grier, of York. 
 Archibald McAllister, another son, born 
 1756, commanded a company in the battle 
 of Germantown, in 1777, and also in the 
 engagement at Monmouth, New Jersey, in 
 1778. Matthew, a younger son, born 1758, 
 became first United States district attorney 
 of Georgia, judge of the Superior Court of 
 the state and mayor of Savannah during the 
 war of 1812. 
 
 Colonel Julian McAllister, one of his sons, 
 commanded a regiment in the Union army 
 during the Civil w'ar. 
 
 COLONEL MICHAEL SMYSER, in 
 .early days written Schmeiser, who served 
 with distinction as a captain in the Flying 
 Camp, was born in 1740, a few miles west of 
 York. His father, Matthias Smyser, came 
 from Germany in 1731, at the age of sixteen, 
 and when he reached his manhood, became 
 one of the earliest settlers of York County 
 in the vicinity of Spring Grove. Michael 
 Smyser was thirty-five years old when the 
 Revolution opened. He became one of the 
 early citizens west of the Stisqnehanna to 
 organize in opposition to the English gov- 
 ernment. He was one of a committee of 
 twelve from York County, who raised 
 money in 1775 to send to the inhabitants of 
 
 Boston, ^\■hen the port of that city was 
 closed by the British. He joined the Conti- 
 nental army as a captain in Colonel Michael 
 Swope's regiment of York County Volun- 
 teers, and was captured by the enemy in the 
 engagement at Fort Washington, north of 
 New York City, on the i6th of November, 
 1776. Several months of distressing im- 
 prisonment followed, during which time he 
 was unremitting in his efforts to alleviate 
 the sufferings of others, and bold and ani- 
 mated in the advocacy of his -country's 
 cause. After his release and return home, 
 he was elected a member of the House of 
 Representatives of Pennsylvania from York 
 County, and from that time to 1790 was 
 seven times re-elected to the same position. 
 From 1790 to 1795 he represented his 
 county in the State Senate, being the first 
 person from A'ork County to fill that posi- 
 tion mider the State Constitution of 1790. 
 Here his warm attachment to our political 
 institutions enabled him to act with honor 
 to himself and his constituents. After the 
 war, he turned his attention to agricultural 
 pursuits, and kept a tavern a short distance 
 west of York. He died in the year 1810, 
 and his remains are interred near those of 
 his father in the graveyard of the First 
 Lutheran Church of York. He left three 
 sons and four daughters, viz. : Peter, Eliza- 
 beth, Sarah, Jacob, Marv, Alichael, Susan. 
 
 ENSIGN JACOB BARNITZ, who was 
 twice wounded_at the battle of Fort Wash- 
 ington, was born at York in the year 1758. 
 He was the son of John George Carl Bar- 
 nitz, who came to this country about 1745, 
 first settled in Baltimore and later removed • 
 to York. Jacob Barnitz grew to manhood 
 in his native town and was a boy seventeen 
 years old wdien the first troops left York to 
 join the American army at Boston. The 
 same year, he enlisted and trained with the 
 First Battalion of York County Militia 
 under Colonel James Smith, in Captain 
 Stake's company. He marched with the 
 battalion to New Jersey, and when Colonel 
 Michael Swope organized the first regiment 
 of Pennsylvania troops for the Flying 
 Camp, Jacob Barnitz, at the age of eighteen, 
 was made ensign or flag bearer, a com- 
 missioned officer with the rank of second* 
 lieutenant. He participated in the cam- 
 paign around New York City, and carried 
 the flag of his regiment when the British 
 
THE RKVOLfl'IOX 
 
 187 
 
 attacked Fort Washington, Xu\ember i6,- 
 1776. Colonel Swope was commanding- tlie 
 ontposts, and wlien he was drixen back by 
 the approaching Hessians in large numbers, 
 the flag bearer was the target of the enemy's 
 balls. While falling back toward the fortifi- 
 cations, Ensign Barnitz was wounded in 
 l)oth legs and left on the field. He lay 
 where he fell during the night and the next 
 day, as the evening closed, a Hessian 
 soldier approached and was about to bay- 
 onet him, when a British ofiicer, who 
 chanced to be near, took pity "on him and 
 thus saved his life. He was then thrown on 
 a wagon and taken a prisoner of w^ar to 
 Xew York City, then in the hands of the 
 British, where he remained fifteen months, 
 suft'ering from his wounds. After his ex- 
 change, 1778, he was removed on a wagon 
 from Xew York City to his home in York. 
 He partially recovered from his wounds, 
 and in 1785 was appointed register and re- 
 corder of York County, serving continu- 
 ously until 1824, a period of thirty-five 
 years. Ensign Barnitz, a name which he 
 always retained, carried a British ball, re- 
 ceived at the attack on Fort Washington, 
 for thirty ^-ears, but the shattered bone 
 lengthened, and in 1806 he was compelled 
 to undergo amputation. 
 
 Soon after the war he married !Mary, 
 daughter of Archibald McLean, the noted 
 surveyor of York. Their eldest son was 
 Charles A. Barnitz, an eminent lawyer and 
 member of the Twenty-third Congress. 
 Their second son was Lieutenant Jacob 
 Barnitz, a gallant soldier of the war of 1812, 
 who bore a distinguished part as an ofificer 
 of \olunteers at the battle of Xorth Point. 
 Ensign Barnitz died April 16, 1828, at the 
 age of seventy years, and his remains now 
 rest at a spot north of Zion Lutheran 
 Church of York. Shortly after the close of 
 the war, under act of Congress passed June 
 7, 1785, he became a pensioner and received 
 up to the time of his death, the sum of $3,- 
 500, as a reward for his valor and patriotism 
 during the Revolution. 
 
 The British ball which he carried in his 
 leg from 1776 to 1808 was presented to the 
 Historical Society of Y''ork County in 1904 
 by his granddaughter. Miss Catharine 
 Barnitz. 
 
 CAPTAIX JACOB DRLfT commanded 
 a company in Swope's Regiment. He was 
 
 made prisoner at Fort Washington, and 
 underwent a long captivity. When the lines 
 of the American forces were attacked by the 
 enemy, previous to the capture of the fort, 
 Captain Dritt, with a party of men chiefly 
 from his own company, was ordered in ad- 
 vance to oppose the landing of the British, 
 who came in boats across Harlem Creek, 
 below King's Bridge. He defended his 
 position with great bravery, until, having 
 lost a number of his men, and being nearly 
 surrounded by the Hessians on one side and 
 the British troops on the other, he retreated 
 into the fort with difficulty and was there 
 captured with the garrison. After the war 
 Captain Dritt resided on his plantation in 
 Lower \\'indsor Township, near the site of 
 East Prospect and was engaged in trans- 
 porting" goods and merchandise in a large 
 ark down the Susquehanna River from its 
 upper waters. He kept up an interest in 
 military matters and about 1800 w^as com- 
 missioned a brigadier-general in the state 
 militia. He lost his life by an vmfortunate 
 accident. On December 19, 1817, he 
 crossed the Susquehanna to the site of Lit- 
 tle Washington and went to the Marietta 
 Bank, where he obtained five hundred dol- 
 lars. W^hen he returned to the east side of 
 the ferry, where his son Colonel John Dritt 
 resided, the latter advised him not to cross 
 the river to his home. He was accompanied 
 by a young man named Griffith. They en- 
 tered a boat which was capsized in the mid- 
 dle of the stream when it came in contact 
 with a large cake of ice. Many fruitless 
 efforts were made to recover the dead body 
 of the old soldier. Three months after the 
 drowning, the body of General Dritt was 
 found lying along the banks of the Chesa- 
 peake Bay near the mouth of the Susque- 
 hanna, by some colored slaves. The body 
 was identified by some silver shoe buckles 
 which he wore. His remains were interred 
 near the site where they were found. 
 
 CAPTAIN NICHOLAS BITTINGER,^ 
 who commanded a company in McAllister's 
 regiment, and was captured by the British 
 at Fort Washington, was born in Alsace, 
 Germany. He came to America with his 
 parents and became one of the earliest set- 
 tlers in the vicinity of Hanover. In 1743, 
 he was one of the co.ncil for St. Matthew's 
 Church, at Hanover, the second Lutheran 
 congregation west of the Susquehanna. 
 
1 88 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 During" a vacancy in the pulpit, Xicholas 
 Bittinger was elected to conduct religious 
 services and read sermons. At the opening 
 of the Revolution, he was chosen a member 
 of the Committee of Safety for York 
 County, and in 1776, upon the organization 
 of the Flying Camp, took command of a 
 company of sixty-eight men. He fell into 
 the hands of the enemy at Fort Washington 
 and was held a prisoner of war for nearly 
 fifteen ijionths. AA'hen Captain Bittinger 
 entered the. service, he had reached the age 
 of fifty years. His eldest daughter was the 
 wife of John Clark, major of McAllister's 
 regiment. Captain Bittinger accumulated 
 considerable property, and at the time of his 
 death, in 1804, owned several farms a short 
 distance north of Hanover. His remains 
 were buried in the Lutheran graveyard at 
 Abbottstown. Several of his descendants, 
 including. the late Rev. Joseph Bittinger and 
 Rev. John Ouiney Bittinger, became promi- 
 nent clergymen in the Presbyterian Church. 
 Hon. John \\'. Bittenger, president judge of 
 the York County courts, and Dr. Joseph R. 
 Bittinger, of Hanover, are also descendants 
 of Captain Bittinger. 
 
 WASHINGTON'S RETREAT AND 
 VICTORY AT TRENTON. 
 
 At the disaster of Fort Washington on 
 November 16, 1776, York County suffered 
 its severest loss during the entire Revolu- 
 tion. Nearly six hundred officers and men 
 had fallen into the hands of the British and 
 were held as prisoners of war in New York 
 city and at dififerent posts on Long Island. 
 The First Pennsylvania Regiment, in which 
 Captain Henry Miller's York County troops 
 served, had lost heavily at Long Island in 
 August of the same year. Captain Philip 
 Albright's company had its ranks depleted 
 in the same battle. 
 
 The defeats of the American army around 
 New York city compelled ^^'ashington to 
 retreat across X^ew Jersey in order to defend 
 the city of Philadelphia. Congress became 
 terrified and removed to Baltimore. The 
 term of enlistment of many of the troops 
 from Pennsylvania and New Jersey had ex- 
 pired, and desertions depleted the ranks of 
 nearly all the regiments then in the field. 
 General Charles Lee, second in command, 
 became disaftected toward the commander- 
 in-chief. AN'ashington fell back toward 
 
 Philadelphia through Princeton and Tren- 
 ton, and on December 8 crossed the Dela- 
 ware with his entire army, numbering about 
 four thousand men of the eleven thousand 
 or more tliat crossed with him to New York 
 city after the battle of Long Island. 
 
 Meantime Schuyler and Gates came down 
 from Central New York with seven regi- 
 ments and prepared to join him at head- 
 (juarters at N'ew^town, Bucks County, a few 
 miles southwest of Trenton. General Israel 
 Putnam was put in charge of the defenses at 
 Philadelphia At this time in the war, 
 both General Howe and Lord Cornwallis, 
 who had followed Washington to Trenton, 
 decided to return to N'ew York, leaving a 
 small detachment of troops near Trenton, 
 believing that they could resist any attacks 
 of the shattered army under Washington. 
 
 During this dark period of the war 
 Washington began to show the military 
 genius and self command that soon made 
 him loom up as the dominating personality 
 of the Revolution. He planned a bold at- 
 tack to capture the advanced posts of the 
 British at Trenton. The militia of the ad- 
 joining states was called out in the dead of 
 winter and in a few weeks he had a con- 
 siderable army stationed at different posts 
 from a point eight miles above Trenton on 
 the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware and 
 down that stream to Germantown, a short 
 distance from Philadelphia. He placed Sul- 
 livan at Bristol, a few miles above Philadel- 
 phia, with two thousand troops, formerly 
 connnanded by General Charles Lee, who 
 had been captured at Elizabeth while on the 
 retreat across New Jersey. 
 
 General James Ewing, of York 
 General County, was put in command 
 Ewing's of a brigade of Pennsylvania 
 Command, and X'^ew Jersey militia with 
 instructions from Washington 
 to guard the Delaware from the ferry at 
 Trenton down the river to a point opposite 
 Bordentown, New Jersey. His force was 
 composed of the remnants of the Flying 
 Camp, which met such heavy losses at Long 
 Island and Fort Washington, and recruits 
 from the Pennsylvania and New Jersey 
 militia. Colonel Richard McAllister, com- 
 manding the second regiment of the Flying 
 Camp, was present with Ewing, but havinfj- 
 lost heavily in former engagements, now 
 had . fewer than three hundred men. 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 189 
 
 Washington took position nine miles above 
 I'renton at a point \\here the river is not 
 more than one hundred yards wide. The 
 British army was stationed in a semi-circle 
 with Trenton as the center of the arc. 
 
 Washington's plan was, by a sudden at- 
 tack, to overwhelm the British center at 
 Trenton, and thus force the army to retreat 
 to New York. The Delaware was to be 
 crossed in three divisions. The right wing, 
 2,000 men, under Gates, was to attack 
 Count Donop at Burlington ; Ewing, with 
 the centre, was to cross a short distance be- 
 low Trenton; while Washington' himself, 
 v.-ith the left wing, was to cross nine miles 
 above, and march down upon Trenton from 
 the north. On Christmas day all was ready, 
 but the beginning of the enterprise was not 
 auspicious. Gates, who preferred to go and 
 intrigue with Congress, succeeded in beg- 
 ging off, and started for Baltimore. Cad- 
 walader, who took his place, tried hard to 
 get his men and artillery across the river, 
 but was baffled by the huge masses of float- 
 ing ice, and reluctantly gave up the attempt. 
 Ewing was so discouraged that he did not 
 even try to cross, and both ofificeri took it 
 for granted that Washington must be foiled 
 in like manner. 
 
 But Washington was desper- 
 
 Crossing ately in earnest, and although 
 
 the at sunset, just as he had 
 
 Delaware, reached his crossing-place, he 
 
 was informed by a special mes- 
 senger of the failure of Ewing and Cad- 
 walader, he determined to go on and make 
 the attack with the 2,500 men whom he had 
 with him. The great blocks of ice, borne 
 swiftly along by the powerful current, 
 made the passage extremely dangerous, but 
 Glover, with his skilful fishermen of Marble- 
 head, succeeded in ferrying the little army 
 across without the loss of a man or a gun. 
 More than ten hours were consumed in the 
 passage, and then there was a march of nine 
 miles to be made in a blinding storm of 
 snow and sleet. They pushed rapidly on in 
 two columns, led b}^ Greene and Sullivan 
 respectively, drove in the enemy's pickets 
 at the point of the bayonet, and entered the 
 town by different roads soon after sunrise. 
 A\ ashington's gtms were at once planted so 
 as to sweep the streets, and after Colonel 
 Rahl and seventeen of his men had been 
 slain, the whole body of Hessians, 1,000 in 
 
 number, surrendered. Of the .\mericans, 
 two were frozen to deatli on the march and 
 two were killed in action. 
 
 Captain Henry Miller's company 
 York of the First Pennsylvania Reg- 
 Troops inient performed valiant services 
 at in this engagement. Most of 
 
 Trenton, the men in his command at 
 Trenton were the same soldiers 
 who had enlisted at York in 1775, and 
 marched with him to Boston. In referring 
 to the battle, Captain ^ililler wrote: 
 
 "General Stephen's brigade entered Tren- 
 ton and routed the Hessians. Washington 
 desired our regiment to lead the advance, 
 which we did. We formed in line of battle 
 and advanced within sixty yards of the 
 Hessians without firing a gun. We moved 
 with such rapidity and determination that 
 we struck them with terror. The enemy 
 grounded their arms, and 919 Hessians sur- 
 rendered as prisoners of war." 
 
 Colonel Miles' Pennsylvania Regiment 
 served in Lord Stirling's brigade and took 
 a leading part at the battle of Trenton in 
 the capture of the Hessians. Miles him- 
 self was a prisoner of war in the hands of 
 the British, having been captured at the 
 battle of Long Island, nearly five months 
 before. In this engagement the regiment 
 was commanded by Major Williams. Cap- 
 tain Albright's company of York County 
 troops had lost thirty men, or about half its 
 number in killed, wounded and prisoners at 
 Long Island. The companj^ entered the 
 battle of Trenton with about thirty men, 
 who rendered valiant services in winning 
 this famous victory. 
 
 The news of the victory at Trenton 
 spread rapidly. To convince the people of 
 what had happened, the Hessian prisoners 
 were marched through the streets of Phila- 
 delphia, and the Hessian flag was sent to 
 Baltimore to hang in the hall of Congress. 
 The spirits of the people rose with a great 
 rebound, the cloud of depression which 
 rested upon the country was lifted, and hope 
 was again felt everywhere. Troops came in 
 from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the 
 New England men agreed to stay after the 
 expiration of their term of enlistment. 
 
 The blow struck bj^ \\'ashington fell 
 heavily upon the British. Even with their 
 powerful army thej' could not afford to lose 
 a thousand men at a stroke, nor would their 
 
190 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 prestige bear sucli sudden disaster. It was 
 clear even to tlie mind of Howe that tlie 
 .\merican Revolution was not over, and that 
 Washington and his victorious army held 
 the field. Trenton must be redeemed and 
 they determined to finish the business at 
 once. 
 
 After the defeat of the British 
 Movement at Trenton through the mili- 
 
 After tary genius of \\'ashington, 
 
 Trenton. Lord Cornwallis, who had 
 gone to New York, returned 
 in haste to attack the American army. De- 
 cember 30, V\'ashington recrossed the Dela- 
 ware and took post at Trenton, where he 
 was joined by Cadwalader and Mifflin, each 
 with 1.800 Pennsylvania militia. On the 
 morning of January 2 Cornwallis advanced 
 with 8,000 men upon Trenton, but his 
 march was slow. 
 
 As sooH as General Washington had pro- 
 cured definite information of the strength 
 and position of the enemy, he sent out. 
 under Brigadier-General de Fermoy, a de- 
 tachment, consisting of his own brigade. 
 Colonel Edward Hand's Pennsylvania rifle- 
 men, and Colonel Hausegger's German bat- 
 talion, with Colonel Charles Scott's Vir- 
 ginia Continental regiment, and two guns- 
 of Captain Forrest's battery, to harass the 
 enemy in every possible way, and to dispute 
 their advance as much as they were able, 
 that the impending battle might be post- 
 poned at least twenty-four hours. The 
 .Vmericans posted themselves a short dis- 
 tance south of the village of Maidenhead, 
 with pickets up to the town. The British 
 outposts were about a mile north of Maiden- 
 head. This was the state of af¥airs on the 
 old Princeton road at the close of New 
 Year's day. 
 
 About this time the commanders of regi- 
 ments on the advance lines of the x\merican 
 army, finding that General de Fermoy had 
 returned to Trenton in a very questionable 
 manner, determined to resist the advance of 
 the king's troops without further orders. 
 .About 10 o'clock the first alarm gun was 
 fired by the American \idettes. Colonel 
 Hand, with his splendid regiment of rifle- 
 men. Captain Henry Miller, of his command 
 being in charge of the skirmish line, con- 
 ducted the retreat to Trenton. Every 
 place which would even for a few moments 
 give shelter from which to take a steady 
 
 aim was taken ad\antage of' and every part 
 of the road was disputed in all possible 
 ways. On one occasion so stubborn a stand 
 was made by the Americans that a check 
 was produced on the British advance. They 
 actually fell back and the patriots carefully 
 pressed toward them. At last, howe\er, the 
 American detachment w^as driven to the 
 woods running along the south bank of the 
 Shabbakonk Creek, and here a severe skir- 
 mish commenced about one o'clock, and a 
 deadly fire was made upon the British 
 forces, throwing them into considerable 
 confusion. 
 
 For a long time this conflict 
 
 On to was maintained with great 
 
 Princeton, vigor, and the battalions of 
 
 von Linsingen and Block, a 
 part of Colonel \'on Donop's original com- 
 mand, were drawn up in order of battle, ex- 
 pecting then and there to enter upon the 
 general engagement which they anticipated. 
 For fully three hours the gallant little 
 American force, somewdiat protected by the 
 dense woods, harassed the red coats and 
 continually thinned their ranks with 
 musketry and artillery. Right well did 
 they carry out the plan of General Wash- 
 ington to consume the entire day. if pos- 
 sible, in skirmishing and so retard the 
 enemy's advance tow^trci^^Trenton. Wash- 
 ington was well pleased with the all-day 
 running fight and begged the little party 
 not to yield until compelled to. A battery 
 of British artillery was soon afterward 
 brought into position and made every effort 
 to dislodge the American advance force. 
 Nearly an hour was consumed before the 
 patriot band, unable any longer to sustain 
 themselves, began again to yield the ground 
 and retreat down the Brunswick road into 
 the village, having captured some twenty- 
 fi\-e or thirty men during the day. In this 
 way the last determined stand beyond the 
 town was taken, and a's the Americans be- 
 gan to retreat, the advance party of the 
 Britis'h, about 1,500 men, again commenced 
 their march in column, the main army being 
 still a consideralile distance in the rear. 
 
 The ad\-ance guard of Cornwallis's army 
 pressed on, driving the Americans before 
 them, and killing some, until they ai'rived 
 at the narrow stone bridge which spanned, 
 with but one arch, the Assunpink Creek. 
 The detachment of skirmishers which all 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 191 
 
 day long had hovered before and around 
 the enemy, hastily, although with difficulty, 
 crowded through the passage at the bridge 
 scarcely sixteen feet wide. Colonel Hitch- 
 cock's l)rigade protected these weary men 
 as they filed across the bridge and took their 
 places with the main army. General Wash- 
 ington himself was on horseback at one end 
 of the bridge, overlooking the scene, and 
 by his personal exposure inspired his men 
 with courage and confidence. It was then 
 after 5 o'clock and rapidly growing dark. 
 With the light made by the firing, it could 
 l)e seen that the advance of the king's 
 troops, entirely unaware of the force now 
 before them, had pressed on until they were 
 within range of the American guns. They 
 made three fruitless efforts to reach and 
 cross the bridge, but found further pursuit 
 checked, and were unable to endure the con- 
 centrated fire. The effect of this fire upon 
 them was extremely uncertain, and doubt- 
 less will never be correctly ascertained, as 
 no mention of loss is made in any British 
 official reports. The loss of the American 
 army was small. 
 
 BATTLE OF PRINCETON. 
 
 Many of the British officers urged a gen-" 
 eral and renewed attack, but the short w-in- 
 ter day was drawing to a close, and Corn- 
 wallis decided to wait until morning. 
 Washington had spent the day with stub- 
 born skirmishing, for he had no intention of 
 fighting a pitched battle with his poorly 
 armed men, inferior in numbers to their 
 well-equipped opponents, who had received 
 reinforcements in the morning. He had 
 checked the enemy all day, and he had now 
 the night in which to act, so he set the men 
 to work on entrenchments, lighted camp 
 fires along the river bank, and having con- 
 vinced Cornwallis that he would be there 
 in the morning, he marched ofif with his 
 whole army at midnight, leaving his fires 
 burning. By daybreak he was near Prince- 
 ton, and moved with the main army straight 
 for the town, while Mercer was detached 
 with three hundred men to destroy the 
 bridge which gave the most direct connec- 
 tion with Cornwallis. 
 
 Toward sunrise, as the British detach- 
 ment was coming down the road from 
 Princeton to Trenton, in obedience to Corn- 
 wallis' order, its van, imder Colonel Maw- 
 
 hood, met the foremost column of Ameri- 
 cans approaching, under General Mercer. 
 As he caught sight of the Americans, Maw- 
 hood thought that they must be a party of 
 fugitives, and hastened to intercept them; 
 but he was soon undeceived. 
 
 'I'he -Americans attacked with 
 
 General \igor, and a sharp fight was 
 
 Mercer sustained, with varying for- 
 
 Wounded. tunes, until Mercer was pierced 
 
 Ijy a bayonet, and his men 
 began to fall Ijack in some confusion. Just 
 at this critical moment \\'ashington came 
 galloping upon the field and rallied the 
 troops, and as the entire forces on both 
 sides had now come up, the fight became 
 general. In a few' minutes the British were 
 routed and their line cut in two; one half 
 fleeing toward Trenton, the other half to- 
 ward Xew Brunswick. There was little 
 slaughter, as the whole fight did not occupy 
 more than twenty minutes. 'The British 
 lost about 200 in killed and wounded, with 
 300 prisoners, and their cannon; the Ameri- 
 can loss was less than 100. The brave 
 General Mercer died of his w^ound. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 REVOLUTION— Continued. 
 
 Campaign of 1777 — Battles of Brandywine, 
 Paoli and Germantown — Washington at 
 Valley Forge — York Troops at Mon- 
 mouth — Major John Clark — General 
 Henry Miller — Hartley's Regiment — 
 Colonel Thomas Hartley. 
 
 The American army had been defeated at 
 Long Island and Fort \\'ashington, but 
 through the masterly skill of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, it had won decisive victo- 
 ries at Trenton and Princeton. In a brief 
 campaign of three weeks. Washington had 
 rallied the fragments of a defeated and 
 liroken army, taken nearly two thousand 
 prisoners and recovered the state of New 
 Jersey. By sheer force of military capacity, 
 he had completely turned the tide of popu- 
 lar feeling. His army began to grow by the 
 accession of fresh recruits. Newly organ- 
 ized regiments of the Pennsylvania line 
 joined him in the early part of 1777. These 
 
192 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 included the regiments commanded by 
 Colonel Tliomas Hartley and Colonel David 
 Grier, of York. Although the term of en- 
 listment of the Flying Camp had expired, 
 their places were taken by regiments of 
 Pennsylvania militia, including" several com- 
 mands from west of the Susquehanna River. 
 Flushed with his victories at Trenton and 
 Princeton, Washington defied the British, 
 and spent the winter in camp at Morris- 
 town, near New York City, then held by the 
 British. Even Frederick the ' Great, of 
 Prussia, the most famous military chieftain 
 of the day, in a public declaration, com- 
 mended Washington for his successful cam- 
 paign in New Jersey. 
 
 Although at one time threat- 
 Enlarging ened by the invading foe, Phila- 
 the Army, delphia still remained in the 
 
 hands of the Americans. From 
 December 20, 1776, to February 27, 1777, 
 Congress held its sessions in Baltimore. 
 In consequence of the alarming state of af- 
 fairs on December 27, three days after as- 
 sembling in a three-story building on the 
 southwest corner of Baltimore and Sharp 
 Streets, in that city. Congress invested 
 Washington for six months with extraor- 
 dinary powers. It authorized him to raise 
 and officer sixteen additional battalions of 
 infantry, three thousand light horse, three 
 regiments of artillery and a corps of engi- 
 neers, to appoint and remove officers under 
 the rank of brigadier-general, and take, at 
 a fair compensation, any private property 
 needed for the maintenance of the army. 
 
 The British army under Howe remained 
 in New York City durmg the winter, while 
 AX'ashington continued at jMorristown. 
 Early in June, Howe laid his plans for an- 
 other campaign across New Jersey with the 
 ultimate purpose of capturing Philadelphia. 
 He left New York City with 18,000 men and 
 plenty of boats to cross the Delaware if he 
 reached that stream. Washington, with 
 8,000 men, left his winter encampment at 
 Morristown and planted his army at JMid- 
 dlebrook, ten miles from New Brunswick. 
 A campaign of eighteen days ensued, con- 
 sisting of wily marches and counter- 
 marches, the result of wdiich showed that 
 Washington's advantage of position could 
 not be wrested from him. Howe being too 
 prudent to attack Washington, abandoned 
 his plan and returned to New York. 
 
 Early in the same year Gen- 
 Howe eral Burgoyne, with an army 
 Approaches of 10,000 British and Hes- 
 Philadelphia. sians, was ordered to de- 
 scend the Hudson to New 
 York and thus separate New England from 
 the other states and divide the country in 
 twain. Washington at first believed that 
 Howe would go to the assistance of Bur- 
 goyne, but early in July, leaving 7,000 
 troops under Sir Henry Clinton in New 
 York, Howe's army of 18,000 men em- 
 barked in 228 vessels and put to sea. Just 
 before sailing he wrote a letter to Burgoyne, 
 stating that his destination was Boston and 
 artfully contrived that the letter should fall 
 into Washington's hands. But the Ameri- 
 can general, believing that he was going 
 southward, placed Putnam in the Highlands 
 with 4,000 men, and with the balance of the 
 army, moved toward Philadelphia, which 
 he anticipated that Howe had determined to 
 capture. July 3, the British army was 
 sighted off the capes' of Delaware. Fearing 
 that the river was carefully guarded, Howe 
 moved his fleet up the Chesapeake, and 
 after a sail of 400 miles, arrived at the head 
 of Elk River, near Elkton, Maryland, Au- 
 'gust 25. On hearing" this news, Washing- 
 ton advanced to Wilmington, Delaware. 
 Immediately after landing", Howe issued a 
 proclamation of amnesty, but few of the 
 Americans sympathized enough with the 
 British to give them much assistance. 
 
 BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE.' 
 
 Meantime Washington's forces were in- 
 creased by the arrival of 3,000 troops from 
 Pennsylvania and adjoining states. He 
 now determined to offer battle, although he 
 had only 11,000 men to contend with 
 Howe's 18,000 trained soldiers. Brandy- 
 wine Creek was in the line of march from 
 Howe's position to Philadelphia. Wash- 
 ington placed his army at Chad's Ford," the 
 leading crossing place of this stream. It 
 was here the battle took place September 
 II, 1777, resulting in a loss of 1,000 Ameri- 
 can soldiers in killed, wounded and cap- 
 tured. The British loss exceeded that num- 
 ber. 
 
 In the battle of Brandywine, Washington 
 placed the center of his army just behind 
 Chad's Ford and across the road. In front 
 of this center, he planted Proctor's artillery. 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 193 
 
 which was supported by a division of Penn- 
 sylvania troo])s under General Anthony 
 \\'ayne. Colonel Hartley, of York, had 
 command of the first britjade in this 
 division. Colonel Edward Hand, of Lan- 
 caster, having been promoted to the rank of 
 brigadier-general, the First Pennsylvania 
 Line, formerly Hand's regiment, was com- 
 manded by Colonel James Chambers, of 
 Cumberland, later Franklin County. This 
 regiment had in line at Brandywine many 
 of the same York County troops who had 
 fought under Captain Henry Miller at Long 
 Island, Trenton and Princeton. ]\Iiller 
 having been promoted to the rank of major. 
 James Matson succeeded to the command 
 of the company. Michael Simpson, of York 
 ICounty, was captain of another company of 
 this regiment. The Seventh Pennsylvania 
 regiment, commanded Ijy Colonel David 
 Grier, served in Wayne's brigade. It con- 
 tained a large number of York County 
 troops. 
 
 Lewis Bush served as major of Hartley's 
 regiment, and some of its captains at 
 Brandywine were Benjamin Stoddard. Evan 
 Edwards. George Ross, Archibald McAl- 
 lister, Robert Hoopes and James Kenny. 
 Captain McAllister was a son of Richard 
 I\Ic.\llister, of Hano\er, Avho had com- 
 manded the First Regiment of the Flying 
 Camp. Some of the lieutenants of Hart- 
 ley's regiment in this battle were Andrew 
 A\'alker. Joseph Davis, Isaac Sweeny, Henry 
 Carberrv, James Dill. James Lemon, Martin 
 Eichelberger and William Lemon. Of this 
 list, Dill, Walker and Eichelberger were 
 from York County. At daybreak of Sep- 
 tember II, General Knyphausen, with 7.000 
 troops, drove in the advance of Wayne's 
 division, across the Brandywine a^ Chad's 
 Ford. General Armstrong, commanding 
 the Pennsylvania militia, occupied the ex- 
 treme left of \\ ashington's arnn-, and was 
 stationed on clitifs, a short distance south 
 of Wayne's position. General Greene, upon 
 whose staff Major Clark, of York, was then 
 serving, commanded the reserves in support 
 of General Wayne's division. The right 
 wing of the American army, stretching two 
 miles up the Brandywine, was commanded 
 by General Sullivan. Lord Cornwallis. with 
 the left of the British army, crossed the 
 Brandywine in the afternoon a short dis- 
 tance up the stream and came in on Sulli- 
 
 van's right flank, when a terrible conflict 
 ensued. The artillery of both armies 
 opened with terrible effect, and the conflict 
 became general and severely contested. Sul- 
 li\an was slowly pushed back, being over- 
 powered by the large British force, and De- 
 borre's brigade, stationed below him, broke 
 and fled in confusion. The brigades under 
 Lord Sterling and General Conway stood 
 firm. Meantime, Sullivan and Lafayette, 
 unable to rally the fugitives, went to the as- 
 sistance of Sterling and Conway. 
 
 The youthful Lafayette, whom 
 Lafayette Congress had just commis- 
 Wounded. sioned a brigadier-general, now 
 received his first baptism of 
 fire. In order to act more efficiently, he dis- 
 mounted, and while fighting in the line, was 
 wounded in the leg. At this juncture. Gen- 
 eral Washington, with the brigades of 
 Greene, Weedon and Muhlenberg, hastened 
 to strengthen General Sullivan, but they did 
 not arrive in time to prevent the retreat. 
 By a skillful movement, Greene opened his 
 ranks and received the fugitives and covered 
 their retreat, checking the advance and kept 
 the enemy at bay until dark. 
 
 Late in the afternoon. General Knyp- 
 hausen crossed the Brandywine at Chad's 
 Ford and made a violent attack upon 
 Wayne's division. Wayne held his position 
 gallantly and with his Pennsylvania troops 
 dealt a terrible blow upon the enemy. Hear- 
 ing of the defeat of the right wing, his gal- 
 lant Pennsylvanians who had fought so 
 bravely, were ordered by the commanding 
 general to retreat. In order to protect his 
 men. Wayne left the artillery in the hands 
 of the enemy and fell back to Greene, who 
 protected him from a rout. The militia 
 under the command of General Armstrong, 
 being posted about two miles below Chad's 
 Ford, had no opportunity of engaging the 
 enem}-. During the succeeding night, the 
 defeated forces of General \\ ashington re- 
 treated to Chester and on the following day 
 to Germantown, where they went into 
 camp. 
 
 William Russel. of York County, 
 
 Ensign residing at Abbottstown, lost a 
 William leg by a cannon ball in the battle 
 
 Russel. of Brandywine. In this engage- 
 ment he was the ensign for the 
 Thir<l Pennsyhania regiment, and in 1779 
 Colonel Henry Miller and Major Jolm Clark 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 requested tlie State of Pennsylvania to 
 grant Ensign Russel a certificate due to his 
 merit, and a pension because he behaved as 
 a good and dutiful soldier, and liis woimd 
 pre\-ented him from receiving promotion. 
 Ensign Russel had served as a pri\-ate in the 
 first company that left York for Boston, 
 July. 1775. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF PAOLI. 
 
 I'he liattle of Paoli, memoraljle in the 
 annals of history, was one of the most im- 
 portant engagements of the Revolution, in 
 which York County troops participated. It 
 ended in the defeat of the Pennsylvania 
 troops under General Wayne, owing to the 
 superior force of the British. In this bat- 
 tle the troops from west of the Susquehanna 
 suttered almost as severely as those from 
 the same region who fought so bravely in 
 the battle of Fort Washington, which took 
 place in November of the previous year. 
 The Seventh Pennsylvania regiment, com- 
 manded by Colonel David Grier, of York, 
 took a very prominent part in this battle. 
 In the Seventh Regiment were the York 
 County companies of Captain John Mc- 
 Dowell and Captain ^^'illiam Alexander. 
 The former had succeeded Captain Moses 
 McClean after he became a prisoner of war 
 in the first Canadian campaign, and the lat- 
 ter succeeded Captain David Grier, when 
 he was promoted to the rank of major, in 
 October, 1776. 
 
 The First Pennsylvania regiment, which, 
 under Colonel William Thompson, of Car- 
 lisle, had won a brilliant record in front of 
 Boston, in 1775, and under Colonel Edward 
 Hand, of Lancaster, at Long Island, Tren- 
 ton and Princeton, was commanded by 
 Colonel James Chambers, of Cumberland 
 County, in the battles of Paoli and German- 
 town. In this regiment were the York 
 County volunteers who had marched to 
 Boston under Captain Michael Doudel in 
 the summer of 1775, and later fought with 
 gallantry under Captain Henry Miller at 
 Long Island, White Plains, Trenton and 
 Princeton. The company was now in com- 
 mand of Captain James Matson. Captain 
 Miller had been promoted to the rank of 
 major in the same regiment. 
 
 After the l^attle of Brandywine on Sep- 
 tember II, Washington's army fell back to 
 Chester and from thence marched to Phila- 
 
 delphia to defend that city from the ad- 
 vancing British under Howe. On Septem- 
 ber 16, Wayne's division of Pennsylvania 
 troops met a force of the British at the 
 Warren tavern, twenty-three miles south- 
 west of Philadelphia. The American troops 
 began the engagement with an impetuosity 
 characteristic of their commander, but a 
 heavy shower coming up prevented a con- 
 tinuance of the engagement. 
 
 Washington now sent Wayne, 
 
 A with 1,500 men and four pieces of 
 
 Night cannon, to annoy the rear of the 
 Attack. British forces and attempt to cut 
 off their baggage train. General 
 Smallwood, with eleven hundred and fifty 
 Maryland militia, and Colonel Gist, from 
 the same state, with seven hundred men, 
 were ordered to unite their forces with 
 Wayne and act under his direction. After 
 a secret march A\'ayne, with his Pennsyl- 
 \'ania troops, occupied a secluded spot about 
 three miles southwest of the enemy's line. 
 Howe, hearing of this movement for the 
 ])urpose of cutting off his wagon train, sent 
 General Grey with a considerable force to 
 surprise Wayne and drive liim from his 
 position. 
 
 "At nine P. M., September 20," says 
 General Wayne, " a farmer living near, in- 
 formed me before Colonels Hartley, Brod- 
 head and Temple, that the enemy intended 
 to attack me that night. I sent out \-idettes 
 to patrol all the roads leading to the 
 enemy's camp." 
 
 One of the videttes returned and notified 
 the general that the enemy was approach- 
 ing. General ^\'ayne now commanded all 
 his troops to form, having pre\iously or- 
 dered them to lie on their arms, ready for 
 any emergency. Then selecting the First 
 Pennsylvania and the light infantry, he 
 formed them on the right toward which the 
 attacking party was approaching. He re- 
 mained with this force, but owing to in- 
 feriority of numbers, was unal^le to contend 
 with the impetuous charge of the British, 
 who were ordered to use only bayonets and 
 give no quarters. 
 
 At this point in the attack, 
 
 A Colonel Humpton, commanding 
 
 Bayonet one of the regiments to the left, 
 
 Charge. failed to promptly obey Wayne's 
 
 orders. This delay proved fatal 
 
 and the l)runt of the battle fell upon the 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 195 
 
 Seventh Pennsylvania Regiment, under 
 Colonel David Grier. Humpton's regiment 
 now fell back in confusion, the Maryland 
 militia failed to appear. The British troops 
 rushed on the Americans with great im- 
 petuosity, and obeying the commands of 
 their superior officers, forced the Pennsyl- 
 vania troops back at the point of the bay- 
 onet. The cry for ciuarters was unheeded. 
 The British bayonet now did its work with 
 savage ferocity. Wayne had been outnum- 
 bered and defeated. The morning sun 
 looked down from clear skies on a scene of 
 butchery, probably unparalleled in Ameri- 
 can histor)-. 
 
 The American loss was not less than 
 three hundred in killed and wounded, many 
 of whom were from west of the Susque- 
 hanna. About seventy became prisoners of 
 war. Colonel Da\id Grier, of York, com- 
 manding the Seventh Pennsylvania, wdio 
 was conspicuous for his gallantry in this 
 battle, was twice pierced by a British 
 bayonet. 
 
 The news of the disaster, known as the 
 "Massacre at Paoli," brought sadness and 
 sorrow to many homes in York and Cum- 
 berland Counties. In a letter from Wayne 
 to General W ashington, written the day 
 after the battle, he says, "I must in justice 
 to Colonels Hartley, Humpton, Brodhead, 
 Grier, Butler, Hubley and indeed every field 
 and other officer, inform your excellency 
 that I deri\-ed every assistance possible from 
 those gentlemen on this occasion." 
 
 Colonel David Grier, who com- 
 
 Colonel nianded the Seventh Pennsyl- 
 
 David \ania Regiment at Brandywine 
 
 Grier. and Paoli, had a brilliant military 
 
 career during the Revolution. He 
 was the son of William Grier, one of the 
 earliest of the Scotch-Irish settlers who 
 took up lands in the Manor of Maske, near 
 the site of Gettysburg, and was born there 
 in 1742. He received a classical education 
 and during his early manhood removed to 
 York, where he entered upon the study of 
 law with James Smith, who became one of 
 the signers of the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. He was admitted to the bar in 1771, 
 and began the practice of his profession at 
 York. During the French and Indian war 
 he joined a military company which 
 marched against the Indians on the frontier 
 of Pennsylvania. At the opening of the 
 
 Revolution he became an ardent patriot. In 
 the fall of 1775 he recruited a company of 
 sixty men from York County, which was 
 assigned to the Sixth Pennsylvania bat- 
 talion. This battalion, under command of 
 Colonel William Irvine, took a prominent 
 part in the expedition to Canada. It was 
 present and suffered a considerable loss in 
 the battle of Three Rivers. For his gal- 
 lantry in action and his military capacity. 
 Captain Grier was promoted major of the 
 battalion, October, 1776. He returned with 
 his command to Carlisle. Later he was as- 
 signed to command the Seventh Pennsyl- 
 \-ania Regiment, with the rank of lieutenant- 
 colonel. \\'hen the British approached 
 Philadelphia, his regiment was placed iii 
 \\'ayne"s brigade, and with it Colonel Grier 
 took a conspicuous part in the battle of 
 Brandywine. At the battle of Paoli, as 
 stated above, his regiment was engaged in 
 the hardest fighting. While leading his 
 regiment, endeavoring to repel the British 
 assault, he was twice bayoneted, receiving 
 wounds from which he never recovered. 
 This disabled him for further military ser- 
 vice in the field. After recovering from his 
 wound he was appointed to take charge of 
 the post at York, where he rendered efficient 
 service in the cjuartermaster's department. 
 After the war, he practiced law at York and 
 became one of the leading citizens west of 
 the Susquehanna. He was elected to the 
 General Assembly in 1783, served as a dele- 
 gate to the Con\-ention to ratify the Federal 
 Constitution in 1787. and was chosen by the 
 Constitutionalists one of the first presi- 
 dential electors. Colonel (^rier died at 
 York, June 3, 1790. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 
 
 After the battle of Brandywine, Wash- 
 ington retreated toward Philadelphia and 
 encamped near Germantown. now the 
 northern part of the city. Although he 
 had suft'ered a serious defeat at Brandywine 
 on September 11, and the division of Penn- 
 sylvania troops under Wayne, had been 
 routed at Paoli nine days later, the com- 
 mander-in-chief was undismayed. Wash- 
 ington's reserve power now asserted itself 
 in a masterly way. Before leaving Phila- 
 delphia. Continental Congress had again 
 clothed him with extraordinary powers 
 which he used with discretionary effect. In 
 
196 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 obedience to his request, measures were 
 adopted to increase tlie army. Continental 
 troops serving on distant stations were 
 sunnnoned to his assistance and the militia 
 from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland 
 and adjoining states were called out. 
 
 Howe, following in pursuit of the Ameri- 
 can armv. took possession of Philadelphia 
 immediately after it was evacuated. Antic- 
 ipating the approach of the enemy. Con- 
 gress had adjourned on the 23rd of Septem- 
 ber to meet at Lancaster on the 27th. Still 
 fearing the danger of an approaching 
 enemy, after holding one day's session at 
 Lancaster, Congress adjourned to York, 
 where it remained nine months, holding its 
 "first session September 30th. Meantime 
 Flowe's army had taken possession of Phil- 
 adelphia and part of his forces encamped at 
 Germantown, ten miles north of Independ- 
 ence Hall. Admiral Howe, commanding 
 the enemy's fleet which had brought the 
 British army to the head of the Chesapeake, 
 before the battle of Brandywine, now de- 
 scended that bay and moved up the Dela- 
 ware to capture the force below Philadel- 
 phia. 
 
 Another battle was now imminent near 
 Philadelphia, and the commanding generals 
 for several succeeding days were engaged 
 in manouvering their armies to obtain an 
 advantageous position. After holding a 
 conference with his generals, Washington 
 determined to attack the camp at German- 
 town. The morning of October 4 was de- 
 cided upon as the time for the attack. 
 
 The main part of the American 
 Plan of army was encamped fourteen 
 Attack, miles northwest of the enemy. 
 On the evening of October 3rd, 
 Washington took up the line of march to- 
 ward Germantown, moving in person with 
 the divisions under Sullivan and Wayne. 
 The Continental troops of York county 
 were serving under Wayne. On account of 
 the roads being rough, the advance of the 
 American army did not reach the outposts 
 of the enemy until sunrise, and the alarm 
 was quickly given to the British camp. Ac- 
 cording to the plan of battle, Conway's 
 brigade of Sullivan's division moved on the 
 right flank and General Armstrong with 
 1000 Pennsylvania militia, moved on the ex- 
 treme right of the American line for the 
 purpose of attacking the British left, over- 
 
 powering it and coming in on his rear. The 
 York county militia served in this command. 
 The divisions under Greene and Stephen 
 flanked by the brigade of McDougal, formed 
 the left of the American line for the purpose 
 of attacking the British right. The New 
 Jersey and Maryland militia moved on the 
 extreme left of the .Americans, with the pur- 
 pose of turning the right of the British line 
 and coming in on the rear. The other bri- 
 gades under Stirling were held in reserve. 
 
 'Fhe battle opened by Conway's brigade 
 of Sullivan's division attacking the enemy's 
 picket line. This movement ha\ing been 
 already anticipated, was quickly reinforced. 
 Sullivan's entire division moved forward 
 and captured the enemy's baggage and 
 camp equipment. The Continental troops 
 under Greene and the Pennsylvania militia 
 under Armstrong failed to appear at the 
 time expected. Wayne's division was or- 
 dered to move toward the British left. 
 
 Washington ordered a concentrated at- 
 tack of all his forces in line of battle. 
 
 Although the British regiments 
 Drove were Iving liehind entrenchments 
 
 the and stone walls, the forces under 
 British Wayne and Sullivan, the centre of 
 Back, the .\merican line, moved forward 
 with impetuosity and drove the 
 British regulars back to the main force at 
 Germantown. W'hile retreating, the Brit- 
 ish took advantage of every dwelling house 
 or other building as a defensive fortress to 
 fire upon the advancing American troops. 
 One of these buildings, used with disastrous 
 efl^ect, was the large stone mansion of Ben- 
 jamin Chew, then chief justice of Pennsyl- 
 vania. Six companies of the 40th British 
 regiment under command of Colonel Mus- 
 grave, threw themselves into this building, 
 barricaded the doors and lower windows 
 and opened a murderous fire on the Ameri- 
 can troops from the roof and upper win- 
 dows. After leaving a regiment to guard 
 this house, General Wayne pressed onward 
 and with Sullivan continued the pursuit a 
 mile further through the streets of German- 
 town, while the reserve under Stirling fol- 
 lowed. In this onward movement, Wayne 
 used the bayonet in driving back the British, 
 in retaliation for the massacre at Paoli. 
 Conway on the flank, and \N'ashington, with 
 Nash's and Maxwell's brigades, bore down 
 after Sullivan, and would ha\'e made the day 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 197 
 
 fatal to the British, had not Colonel Mus- 
 grave stationed himself in the Chew man- 
 sion. At this place Washington halted with 
 his reserve and calle<l upon Musgrave to 
 surrender, which he declined to do. The 
 British opened fire upon Ma-xwell's brigade, 
 causing. considerable loss of life. The delay 
 brought about by this affair gave Howe in 
 Germantown an opportunity to reform his 
 lines, and after a battle which lasted in all 
 two hours, he defeated the American army. 
 The British loss in this battle was 13 ofificers 
 and 58 men killed. 55 officers and 395 men 
 wounded. The American loss was 30 otft- 
 cers and 122 men killed. 117 officers and 404 
 men wounded, and about 50 officers and 350 
 men taken prisoners. 
 
 The cause of this defeat is attrib- 
 Cause of uted to the use of the Chew house 
 Defeat. as a fortification, and the con- 
 fusion which arose between the 
 di\isions of Stephen and Wayne. Owing 
 to a dense fog and the incapacity of Stephen, 
 his brigade fired upon W ayne, mistaking his 
 troops for the enemy. This blunder ruined 
 the Ijattle and gave the victory to the Brit- 
 ish forces. 
 
 The defeat of Washington at German- 
 town when it was hoped he would win a 
 victory, was a sad misfortune to the cause 
 of American Independence. If he had de- 
 feated the enemy as he had done at Trenton 
 and Princeton, the war might soon ha\e 
 been brought to a close. 
 
 Congress at York, eagerly awaited the 
 result of this battle. The gloom and de- 
 spondency which pervaded this body and 
 the entire thirteen states was removed after 
 hearing of the surrender of Btirgoyne and 
 his entire army of 6000 men at Saratoga, on 
 October 19. two weeks after the defeat at 
 (jcrmantown. 
 
 MOVEMENTS AFTER GERMAN- 
 TOWN. 
 
 After the battle of Germantown. Wash- 
 ington kept himself thoroughly informed 
 concerning the movement of the enemy in 
 and about Philadelphia. Colonel John 
 Clark, of York, who had served with dis- 
 tinction in the Flying Camp, and later as an 
 aide on the staff of General Greene, now 
 acted as chief of scouts for Washington, 
 frecjuently bringing the commander-in-chief 
 
 important information. The weather had 
 already become severe. During the latter 
 part of November. Washington moved with 
 his little army to the village of White 
 Marsh, situated in one of the beautiful val- 
 leys of Montgomery county, sixteen miles 
 northwest of Philadelphia. After holding 
 a council with his subordinate officers, he 
 determined to go into winter quarters at 
 this place, unless the danger of the situation 
 required him to find a better location. 
 
 Continental Congress was now in session 
 at York, pervaded by the gloom and de- 
 spondency which had spread throughout the 
 country. While Congress awaited with 
 eager interest the success of the campaign 
 of Gates against Burgoyne, who was then 
 attempting to come down the Hudson, cut 
 the coimtry in twain and join the British in 
 New York, this body also looked with hope 
 and expectation to the important future for 
 the army under Washington and the defence 
 of the forts in the hands of the Americans 
 below Philadelphia. 
 
 On December 3. the British 
 
 The army, encouraged by its success 
 Affair at at Brandywine and German- 
 Chestnut town, moved out from Philadel- 
 
 Hill. phia. fifteen thousand strong, to 
 again attack the American 
 forces. General James Irvines brigade of 
 600 Pennsylvania militia, in which the liat- 
 talion from York county served, was or- 
 dered to the left of the American line in the 
 vicinity of Chestnut Hill. Irvine engaged 
 the enemy and a lively skirmish ensued. 
 His militia broke ranks at the first fire, ow- 
 ing to the superiority of the enemy's num- 
 ber. In this engagement which lasted but a 
 short time, the British lost twelve in killed 
 and wounded. Among the wounded was 
 Sir James Murray, a young officer serving 
 in a regiment of light infantry. While at- 
 tempting to rally his troops. General Irvine 
 had a horse shot under him, lost three fin- 
 gers by a bullet, and received severe bruises 
 in the head in falling from his horse to the 
 ground. Irvine was captured with five of 
 his men who were wounded. He was held 
 a prisoner of war in Philadelphia and New 
 York until June i. 1781. From 1782 to 
 1793 he was major general of the Pennsyl- 
 vania militia, vice-president of Pennsylvania 
 and one of the first trustees of Dickinson 
 College. 
 
198 
 
 HISTORY (3F YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 There was no further collision 
 The between the armies until De- 
 
 Skirmish cember 7, when Morgan's Penn- 
 at White s\l\ania and Virginia riilemen 
 Marsh. were ordered forward on the 
 right. They were supported by 
 Webb's Continental regiment and Potter's 
 brigade of Pennsylvania militia. Colonel 
 James Thompson from- York County, with 
 a battalion of nearly 300 men formed a 
 part of Potter's brigade in this engage- 
 ment. Colonel David Jameson, with a 
 battalion of about 150 men, was also 
 present. Morgan originally opposed the 
 advance of the enemy commanded by 
 Lord Cornwallis. Four British officers 
 and three men fell before the unerring 
 aim of the riflemen. \\ elib's regulars 
 and the Pennsylvania militia under Cad- 
 wallader, Reed and Potter, took a posi- 
 tion in a woods forming the left of the 
 American line. Here they offered a stub- 
 born resistance for a short time. When the 
 British advanced in solid column, the militia 
 opened a severe fire after which the Ameri- 
 can line broke and fell back in disorder. At 
 this time in the fight. General Joseph Reed, 
 who afterward served as president of Penn- 
 sylvania, was entreated by the militia to 
 rally them for action. While attempting to 
 do this, his horse was shot under him, and 
 he narrowly escaped capture. ^leanwhile, 
 Washington with his headquarters at White 
 Marsh, was preparing for a general engage- 
 ment. The se\-erity of winter had now ar- 
 ri\'ed and the British retraced their steps to 
 Philadelphia. \Vashington was surprised 
 at Howe's prompt retrogade, for the British 
 officers had boasted that they were going to 
 "drive Mr. Washington over the Blue 
 Mountains." 
 
 On December 10, a grand foraging party 
 of 3000 men, lead by Cornwallis, came up 
 the Schuylkill and attacked Potter's brigade 
 of 2000 Pennsylvania militia. Three regi- 
 ments of this brigade behaved gallantly in a 
 sharp contest with the enemy, but were 
 driven across the river by a superior force. 
 In this engagement the casualties were few. 
 After destroying several buildings and ob- 
 taining booty, the British returned to Phil- 
 adelphia, December 16. 
 
 On September 6, 1777. five days before 
 the battle of Brandywine, Colonel James 
 Thompson reported in his battalion of York 
 
 Count}- militia, then stationed at W'ilming- 
 ton, Delaware, under General James Potter, 
 I major, 4 companies, 4 captains, 4 lieuten- 
 ants, 4 ensigns. 4 sergeants, 2 drummers, 2 
 fifers, and 121 men fit for duty out of a total 
 of 127. 
 
 On Novemljer 24, at Camp White Marsh, 
 near Valley Forge, Colonel Thompson re- 
 ported 1 major, 6 companies, 6 captains, 12 
 lieutenants, 6 ensigns, i adjutant, i quarter- 
 master, 24 sergeants, 4 drummers, 3 fifers, 
 or 202, fit for duty out of a total of 215. 
 
 On the same date. Colonel William 
 Rankin, at White Marsh, reported i major, 
 3 companies, 3 captains. 4 lieutenants, 3 
 ensigns, i adjutant, i quartermaster, 9 ser- 
 geants, I drummer, i fifer, or 78 fit for duty 
 out of a total of 81. Colonel David Jame- 
 son, at the same camp, reported 3 com- 
 panies, 3 captains, 4 lieutenants, 3 ensigns, 
 I adjutant, i quartermaster, 9 sergeants, or 
 70 fit for duty out of a total of 75. 
 
 On Decemljer 22, at the camp near Valley 
 Forge, Colonel Andrews reported i major, 
 5 captains, 6 lieutenants, 3 ensigns, i adju- 
 tant, I quartermaster, 13 sergeants, or 120 
 fit for tluty out of a total of 165. 
 
 These militia battalions from York 
 County were a part of the force called out 
 before the battle of Brandywine, but did not 
 take part in that engagement. They were 
 present at the battle of Germantown and 
 the minor engagements at White Marsh and 
 Chestnut Hill, in the militia brigades of 
 Armstrong and Potter. 
 
 Some of the casualties in Colonel 
 Hartley's Regiment in the battles of 
 Brandywine. Paoli and Germantown, 
 were : Lieutenant James Dill, Lieu- 
 tenant James Lemon, Sergeant William 
 Chambers, Sergeant John Ivousden, Cor- 
 poral Anthony Wall, killed; Private George 
 Blakely, wounded and prisoner at Paoli, in 
 Captain Robert Hoopes' company: Privates 
 \Villiam Cornwall, George Duke, John El- 
 liott, Joseph Finnemore, James Flin, killed; 
 Philip Graham, killed at Brandywine; Jacob 
 Houts, wounded at Germantown; Chris- 
 topher Morris and John Shannon, killed; 
 William Price, died of wounds. 
 
 WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE. 
 
 No further offensive or defensi\-e move- 
 ments were made by either army in 1777, 
 and December 17, Washington with an army 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 199 
 
 of less than 10,000 men. depleted b\- the re- 
 cent engagements at Brandvwine. Paoli and 
 Germantoun. broke camp at White Marsh 
 and took up the march for Valley Forge, 
 near the site of Norristown. 
 
 The Pennsylvania Assembly which had 
 moved from Philadelphia to Lancaster 
 and held its sessions in the Court 
 House in Centre Square of that town, 
 was unfriendly to Washington. It as- 
 sumed to be a patriotic body, but failed 
 to adopt measures to provide its own militia 
 in \\ ashington's army, with shoes, stock- 
 ings and clothing. As the story goes, al- 
 though perhaps much exaggerated, the 
 blood stained marks of the Continental 
 troops were observed on the line of move- 
 ment from White Marsh to Valley Forge. 
 This, however. was an unnecessary condition 
 of affairs, owing either to negligence or dis- 
 loyalty, for, says a trustworthy authority, 
 quantities of shoes, stockings, clothing and 
 other apparel were lying "at difYerent places 
 on the road between Lancaster and Valley 
 Forge. It is claimed that neither horses 
 nor wagons could have been procured to 
 convey them to camp. Congress at York, 
 now recommended to the state legislatures 
 to enact laws giving authority to seize 
 woolen cloths, blankets, linen, shoes, stock- 
 ings, hats and other necessary articles of 
 clothing for the army, wherever they might 
 be found, and sent to the relief of the sol- 
 diers. 
 
 On Deceml)er 30, Congress renewed the 
 authority of Washington, giving him ex- 
 traordinary powers and further ordered him 
 "to inform the brave officers and soldiers of 
 the Continental army now in camp, that as 
 the situation of the enemy has rendered it 
 necessary for the army to take post in a part 
 of the country not provided with houses and 
 in consequence thereof to reside in huts : 
 Congress approving of their soldierly pa- 
 tience, fidelity and zeal in the cause of their 
 country, have directed one month's ex- 
 traordinary pay to be given to each : and 
 are exerting themselves to remedy the in- 
 conveniences which the army has lately ex- 
 perienced from the defects of the commis- 
 sary and clothier's department." 
 
 After \\'ashington took up his 
 
 Crooked headcjuarters at Valley Forge 
 
 Billet some of the Pennsylvania militia. 
 
 Tavern, under General Armstrong, re- 
 
 mained in camp at White Marsh as 
 a guard to watch the enemy's mo\-ements 
 during the winter. On account of age, de- 
 bility and long service in the French and 
 Indian war and the Revolution, Armstrong 
 asked to be relieved and returned to his 
 home in Carlisle, late in December, 1777. 
 The term of enlistment of some of the bat- 
 talions of Pennsylvania militia had also ex- 
 pired and they returned home until another 
 call demanded their services in the field. 
 
 General Potter, wdio had served in the 
 Canada expedition and in the campaigns in 
 New Jersey and around Philadelphia, asked 
 to be relieved from the service to turn at- 
 tention to his business interests in Cinnber- 
 land county. 
 
 January 9, 1778, Colonel John Lacey, of 
 Bucks county, was promoted to the rank of 
 brigadier-general and given the command 
 of a brigade of militia with headquarters at 
 the Crooked Billet Tavern in Bucks county. 
 The object of Washington in sending Lacey 
 there was to prevent the Tories from New 
 Jersey and eastern Pennsyh-ania from tak- 
 ing their produce and grain to Philadelphia 
 and selling them in that city. In this capac- 
 ity. General Lacey performed an important 
 duty. \\'hen Howe discovered the moti\-e 
 in sending the militia into Bucks county, on 
 May I, he sent a body of troops under Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Abercrombie, commanding 
 a regiment of light infantry, a squadron of 
 rangers and a detachment of ca\alry to sur- 
 round Lacey and his men, and capture them. 
 An attempt was made to attack and surprise 
 the militia force, in the same manner that 
 General Wayne and his brigade had been 
 assaulted in September, 1777, at Paoli. The 
 approach of the British was a surprise, and 
 they nearly surrounded Lacey and his men 
 before they were ready to meet the enemy. 
 It was a night attack, and before the Amer- 
 icans could offer resistance, they endured a 
 formidable assault. In order to protect his 
 entire force from capture, Lacey ordered a 
 retreat, leaving his baggage behind. In 
 this affair the American loss was twenty-six 
 killed, eight or ten wounded, and fifty-eight 
 missing. It is stated on good authority that 
 some of the prisoners were bayoneted and 
 others burned bv Simcoe's, Hoventlen's and 
 James' Rangers, among whom were loyal- 
 ists who had joined the British cause. The 
 British loss was small. 
 
200 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PEXXSYLVANIA 
 
 Alxiul Februar}' 7 of this year, one bat- 
 talion of York county militia, under the 
 command of Major Thomas Lilly, left York 
 to join the force under Lacey. They were 
 delayed by the bad weather and did not 
 reach Crooked Billet until the 23rd of the 
 month. 
 
 YORK TROOPS AT MONMOUTH. 
 
 The British army evacuated Philadelphia 
 on June 18, and began the march toward 
 New ^'ork. Howe, who had commanded 
 the enemy's forces at Brandywine and Ger- 
 mantown and during the evacuation of 
 Philadelphia, was succeeded by Sir Henry 
 Clinton. On June 21, Washington left the 
 encampment at Valley Forge and crossed 
 the Delaware at Trenton, determining to 
 strike the enemy at the first opportunity. 
 During the winter, the American forces had 
 been trained and disciplined under the 
 direction of Baron Steuben, a soldier and 
 tactician who came to this country from the 
 court of Frederick the Great. Although the 
 American army had suffered hardships at 
 Y^alley Forge, the rank and file were in ex- 
 cellent trim. \\'ashington followed closely 
 in pursuit of the British and directed Gen- 
 eral Charles Lee to move forward and 
 attack the enemy's rear at Freehold, in 
 Monmouth County. Lee at first declined 
 this duty, and Lafayette, with a division of 
 troops composed in part of Wayne's brigade 
 of the Pennsylvania Line, was ordered to 
 hang on the enemy's rear. 
 
 Lee, meantime, changed his mind and 
 claimed the authority to lead the detach- 
 ment, which he was unfortunately permitted 
 to do. He marched five miles in advance of 
 the main army to vigorously attack the 
 enemy. \\'hen he arrived within striking 
 distance, Wayne, with 700 Pennsylvania 
 soldiers of the Continental Line, was 
 despatched to attack the left rear. \\'hen 
 he approached the enemy, Simcoe's rangers 
 of mounted men dashed u])on Colonel 
 Richard Butler's Pennsylvania regiment, 
 but were driven back. 
 
 At this juncture, a combined 
 Battle of attack was made by the 
 Monmouth. British and the battle of Mon- 
 mouth was opened. The 
 enemy now became the assailants. Wayne 
 looked around in vain for a supporting 
 column of Americans. It was at this time 
 
 in the battle that General Lee had ordered 
 his part of the line to fall back. Dismay 
 and consternation followed, and to prevent 
 defeat, Washington himself rode into the 
 thickest of the fight. After reprimanding 
 Lee, he ordered Wayne to form his regi- 
 ments in line of battle, and check the assault 
 of the enemy. 
 
 Meantime, Washington went to the rear 
 and brought up the main army. One of 
 Wayne's regiments, ordered to the front, 
 was the Seventh Pennsylvania Line, for- 
 merly commanded by Colonel Da\'id Grier, 
 of York, who had been wounded at Paoli. 
 It was now led b\- its original commander. 
 Colonel William Irvine, of Carlisle, who 
 had been captured in the Canada expedition 
 and lately released. The other regiments 
 were the Thirteenth Pennsylvania, com- 
 manded by Colonel Walter Stewart, and the 
 Third, Colonel Thomas Craig. They were 
 aided by a Maryland and a Virginia regi- 
 ment. These gallant troops held the posi- 
 tion until the reinforcements, wdiich made 
 up the second line of battle, arrived. 
 \'\'a}-ne was stationed in an orchard with a 
 hill on either side. General Greene took 
 position on the right and Lord Stirling on- 
 the left. General Knox, commanding the 
 artillery force, planted his guns on thchills 
 to the left, near Stirling's troops, and opened 
 on the enemy. The withering fire of 
 \A^ayne's command in the centre made a 
 further advance of the enemy impossible. 
 The British grenadiers, endeavoring to 
 pierce \\'ayne's line, were repulsed. At 
 length, Lieutenant-Colonel Alonckton, at 
 the head of the divisions in which were sons 
 of many of the noblest English families who 
 had given tone to fashionalile dissipation 
 while Philadelphia was in the hands of the 
 enemy, and Continental Congress at York, 
 harangued his men and led them on the 
 charge. He was repulsed by Wayne and in 
 the attack, fell mortally wounded. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton, commanding the 
 British forces, now attacked the left under 
 Stirling, but was driven back by the artil- 
 lery. He then attempted to break through 
 the right, but was overpowered by Greene, 
 who was supported by a strong battery. 
 \\'ayne advanced from the centre and com- 
 pelled the British to retreat to their first 
 position. 
 
 Evening had now arrived, and the 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 201 
 
 Americans bivouacked for the night near 
 the enemy, who stole away before morning 
 had dawned, and left Washington in com- 
 mand of the field. Thus ended one of the 
 most brilliant \-ictories of the Revolution. 
 It added laurels to the American arms and 
 increased the power and influence of the 
 commander-in-chief. 
 
 The First Pennsylvania Regiment at 
 Monmouth was in command of Colonel 
 James Chambers, who had led it at 
 Brandywine and Germantown. Henry Mil- 
 ler, who had left York in 1775 ^vith the first 
 troops for Boston, was major of this 
 regiment. The company of York County 
 troops which, had fought at Boston, Long 
 Island, Trenton. Princeton, Brandywine, 
 Paoli and Germantown, were still serving 
 in the First Pennsylvania Regiment, but no 
 muster roll of it for 1778 has been found. 
 In this battle Captain John McDowell com- 
 manded Moses McClean's company, and 
 Captain William Alexander, Grier's com- 
 pany, serving in the Seventh Pennsylvania 
 Line. These were the two companies that 
 had marched with Irvine's regiment on the 
 first expedition to Canada, in the winter of 
 
 ^775- 
 
 Jacob Stake, of \ ork, who was first lieu- 
 tenant of Captain Albright's compan\' in 
 Miles' regiment, commanded a coinpany in 
 the Tenth Pennsylvania Regiment at ]\Ion- 
 mouth. James Lang, of York County, who 
 had served as a lieutenant in Atlee's 
 Musketry Battalion, also commanded a 
 company in the Tenth Regiment. Joshua 
 Williams, of York County, commanded a 
 companv in the Fourth Pennsvlvania Regi- 
 ment under Colonel William Butler. Wal- 
 ter Cruise, of York, who was a corporal in 
 Miller's company and had been captured at 
 Boston in 1775, commanded a company in 
 the Sixth Regiment. 
 
 The following is the muster roll of Cap- 
 tain John r^IcDowell's companv in 1778: 
 
 Caf'taiii. 
 
 John McDowell. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 William Miller. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Robert McPherson. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 James Milligan. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 Thomas Gainer, 
 Roger Cough, 
 ."Xdam Linn. 
 
 Edward .\tchison, 
 George Blackley, 
 William Bradshavv 
 Henry Cain, 
 William Campbell, 
 Thomas Chesney, 
 John Connelly, 
 Daniel Conner, 
 John Donnel, 
 Philip Dufficld, 
 John Diigan. 
 John Farming. 
 Henry Garman. 
 Samuel Gilmore, 
 John Hart, 
 Robert Hunter, 
 James Johnston, 
 Matthew Kelly, 
 Andrew Kennedy, 
 Patrick King. 
 Michael Lennogan 
 
 Corporal, 
 William Manley. 
 
 Drummer, 
 Patrick Conner. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 John McCalloh, 
 Francis McDonncl, 
 Alexander McDonnel, 
 Xeal McGunnagle, 
 Patrick McKeehan, 
 John Milton, 
 John Morrison, 
 Bartholomew Mulloy, 
 Dennis .Murphy, 
 James Quinn, 
 Thomas Riley, 
 Michael Shawley, 
 Solomon Silas. 
 Diggonv Sparks, 
 Richard Slack, 
 George Sullivan, 
 Marly Sullivan, 
 John Walch. 
 Edward Welch, 
 James Welch, 
 John Welch, 
 Hendrick Winkler. 
 
 The following is the muster-roll of Cap- 
 tain William Alexander's Company in 1778: 
 
 Captain, 
 William Alexander. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 Samuel Kennedy. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 .Alexander Russell. 
 
 Ensign, 
 Robert McWheeling. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 William Gray. 
 John Smith. 
 Joseph Wade. 
 Matthew Way. 
 
 Corporals, 
 George Brown. 
 James Hamilton. 
 Joseph Rawlands, 
 Joseph Templcton. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 William Anguish 
 James Berry 
 John Brannon 
 John Bryans 
 Patrick Butler 
 John Clemonds 
 Adam Conn 
 Cornelius Corrigan 
 William Courtney 
 David Davis 
 James Donovan 
 John Farrell 
 Henry Freet 
 William Guthrie 
 James Harkens 
 Richard Henlev 
 
 James Hutton 
 Jacob Leed 
 John McCall 
 Thomas McConn 
 Patrick McCormick 
 John McDonnel 
 John McGinnis 
 Patrick McGonaghy 
 Isaac Moore 
 Timothy .Murphy 
 Patrick Xowland 
 James Price 
 Patrick Rooney 
 John Sommerville 
 John Stewart 
 \\'illiam Wilkinson 
 George Worley. 
 
 The following is the muster-roll of Cap- 
 tain James Lang's Company, which served 
 
202 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 in the Tenth Pennsylvania Regiment at the 
 battle of Monmoutli : 
 
 Daniel Powers 
 Samuel Green 
 John Sniitli 
 John Lockhard 
 Adam Truby 
 Daniel Hoy 
 Simon Digby 
 David Stinson 
 Henry Falls 
 j.-nies Sharplice 
 Andrew Carvan 
 John McBride 
 Thomas Whelan 
 Andrew McQuigan 
 James Duncan 
 Robert Hanna 
 
 Ca/'tain, 
 James Lang. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 Daniel McLean, 
 Thomas Filson, 
 Barny Shields. 
 
 Corporals, 
 John Smitli, 
 James Tyre. 
 Drum and Fife, 
 Leonard Toops, 
 Andrew Cutler. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 John Sulavan 
 William Stage 
 John Burnham 
 Hugh Bradley 
 Bartholomew Berrey 
 John ^IcCarron 
 William Douglass 
 John Jones 
 Robert Holston 
 John Sigafuss 
 David Griffin 
 Edward Butler 
 Samuel Lessley 
 Lawrence Gorman 
 Abraham Hornick 
 Thomas Borland 
 Barnev Burnes. 
 
 The following is the muster-roll of Cap- 
 tain Jacob Stake's Company which served 
 in the Tenth Pennsylvania Line in 1778 at 
 the battle of Monmouth : 
 
 Caftain, 
 Jacob Stake. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 John Wynne, 
 Samuel Edger, 
 John Ray. 
 
 Corporals. 
 Michael Elly, 
 Martin Sullivan. 
 
 Drummer, 
 
 John Jeffrys. 
 
 Fifer. 
 
 Martin Ashburn. 
 
 John Pierce 
 James McCray 
 Richard Coogan 
 George Montgomery 
 William Short 
 Jacob Stillwell 
 Nathaniel Webber 
 Timothy McNamara 
 Charles Fulks 
 John Gcttiss 
 William Leech 
 Lawrence Sullivan 
 Samuel Dickson 
 James Pratt 
 John Funk 
 John Stammers 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Christopher Reily 
 John Chappel 
 William Williams 
 Edward Helb 
 Rudolph Crowman 
 Stephen Falkentine 
 Daniel Forker 
 Patrick Coyle 
 James McLaughlin 
 William Grace 
 Benjamin Toy 
 Thomas Moore 
 Malcolm Black 
 Patrick Collins 
 Richard Harding 
 George Webb 
 Bastion Maraquet. 
 
 CAPTAIN MILLER'S COMPANY. 
 
 The following is a return of Captain 
 Henry Miller's Company, on November 4, 
 1776. It was then serving in the First 
 Pennsylvania Regiment and formed part of 
 the rear column of \\'ashington's army in 
 the retreat across New Jersey to Trenton, 
 after the defeat at Fort Washington. This 
 company, under Captain Miller, took part 
 in the battles of Princeton and Trenton, and 
 when Henry Miller was promoted to major 
 of the regiment, was commanded at Bran- 
 dywine and Germantown by Captain James 
 ]Matson. It took part in the battle of Mon- 
 mouth, and in 1781. still in the First Regi- 
 ment, marched under Colonel Richard But- 
 ler, with Wayne's Brigade of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Line, and was present at the surren- 
 der of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Virginia, in 
 October, 1781. 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Henry Miller. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 James Matson. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 John Clark. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 John Line 
 Charles Liness 
 John McAllister 
 John McCray 
 George McCrea 
 John McCurt 
 Joseph McQuiston 
 James Mill 
 
 Joshua Minshall , 
 
 Edward Moore 
 James Morrison 
 Patrick Murphy 
 John Patton 
 Patrick Preston 
 Michael Quin 
 John Quint 
 .■\ndrew Sharp 
 John Shaven 
 Joseph Shibbey 
 Matthew Shields 
 James Smith 
 Jacob Staley 
 Andrew Start 
 Alexander Stevens 
 Patrick Stewlan 
 Matthew Stoyle 
 Tobias Tanner 
 John Taylor 
 William Taylor 
 David Torrence 
 Timothy Winters 
 
 Edward White. 
 
 William Allen 
 Robert .Armor 
 George Armstrong 
 John Bell 
 John Beverly 
 Christian Bittinger 
 Richard Block 
 George Brown 
 John Burke 
 Thomas Campbell 
 William Carnahan 
 John Clark 
 Robert Conyers 
 William Cooper 
 Thomas Crone 
 George Dougherty 
 John Douther 
 Able Evans 
 Thomas Fanning 
 John Ferguson 
 William Goudy 
 Patrick Graft 
 John Griffith 
 Thomas Griffith 
 Joseph Halbut 
 Robert Harvey 
 John Humphries 
 Richard Kennedy 
 Thomas Kennedy 
 John Leiper 
 Abraham Lewis 
 
 MAJOR JOHN CLARK, who rendered 
 valuable services at the battle of Monmouth, 
 was born in Lancaster County, in 1751. of 
 English ancestry. He obtained his educa- 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 203 
 
 tion in the schools of his native county and 
 wlien about twenty years of age removed to 
 York. At the opening of the Revolution, he 
 was a student of law, but his professional 
 studies were interrupted by enlisting in the 
 army. Juh^ i. 1775. he was chosen third 
 lieutenant of the first military company 
 which marched from York and arrived at 
 Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it joined 
 Washington's army. Lieutenant Clark 
 took part with his company in the skirmish 
 with the British at Charlestown. a few days 
 after their arrival at Boston. For gallantry 
 in this affair, he was promoted to the rank 
 of second lieutenant of his company, then 
 commanded by Captain Henry Miller. He 
 served as second lieutenant of Miller's com- 
 pany in the hard fought battle of Long Is- 
 land, in August, 1776. This company then 
 formed a part of the First Regiment of the 
 Penns\lvania Line. 
 
 Lieutenant Clark was also conspicuous 
 for his gallantry at Flatbush, Long Island. 
 In September, 1776, he was chosen major 
 of the Second Regiment of the Flying 
 Camp, upon the recommendation of General 
 Hugh Mercer. This regiment, composed 
 entirely of York County troops, was com- 
 manded b}' Colonel Richard McAllister, 
 founder of Hanover. October 15, 1776, 
 r^Iajor Clark participated with his regiment 
 in an expedition against the British on 
 Staten Island, and in this action commanded 
 the advance with 500 riflemen. He suc- 
 ceeded in capturing 60 W'aldeckers or Hes- 
 sians. 
 
 Soon after this brilliant afifair, Major 
 Clark moved with his regiment up the w-est 
 side of the Hudson River and took position 
 opposite White Plains. Here he com- 
 manded a detachment of 200 men. With 
 these men he built fortifications to aid in 
 preventing Howe's army from crossing to 
 the west bank of the Hudson. 
 
 After the battle of Fort Washington, 
 when the American army retired from the 
 vicinity of Xew York, Major Clark com- 
 manded the rear of the retreating forces, 
 southward over the state of Xew Jersey. 
 He was present at the battle of Trenton 
 and after Washington's victory at that 
 place, which ended in the capture of Rahl 
 and 1.000 Hessian troops. Major Clark re- 
 ported that he collected the trophies of 
 victory and held possession of the town. 
 
 while the other troops went in pursuit of 
 the enemy. 
 
 The following day, December 27, with 
 200 men, he marched in pursuit of a body of 
 British, commanded by General Stirling and 
 Count Donop, to Hidetown and Cranberry, 
 leaving the British in his rear at Princeton. 
 This was a bold and brilliant dash in the 
 cold weather of midwinter. .\t the villages 
 of Allentown and Cranberry nearby, he cap- 
 tured a large amount of British stores and 
 provisions, and at Hidetown surprised and 
 took prisoners thirty British officers. This 
 remarkable raid and its achievement won 
 for him and his soldiers from York County 
 the plaudits of his superior officers, when 
 they returned to headquarters near Trenton. 
 Major Clark and his men were commended 
 for their bravery by Washington, Greene 
 and Reed. W'ashington presented Clark 
 with a British sword that had been cap- 
 tured in battle. Shortly after the battle of 
 Trenton the term of enlistment of McAl- 
 lister's regiment of the Flying Camp ex- 
 pired. The men were honorably dis- 
 charged and returned home. Major Clark 
 remained in the service, and was assigned 
 to duty under General Thomas Mifflin, who 
 was reorganizing the Pennsylvania militia 
 then in New Jersey and eastern Pennsyl- 
 vania. He was the only officer present at 
 Crosswicks, near Trenton, in January, 1777. 
 when General Mififlin made a strong appeal 
 to the New England militia to remain one 
 month longer in service. On the following 
 day General Greene dispatched Major Clark 
 on the important duty of discovering the 
 force and movement of the enemy under 
 Lord Cornwallis, then advancing toward 
 Princeton, New Jersey. He soon returned 
 to Greene with the desired information and 
 then aided in forming an advance battle 
 line to meet the approaching British under 
 Cornwallis, at the opening of the battle of 
 Princeton. During the day of the engage- 
 ment, Clark, as brigade major under Mifflin, 
 did valiant service in directing the artillery 
 into action. 
 
 When the American army arrived at 
 Morristown, New Jersey, at the request of 
 Washington he was made chief of staff to 
 GeneraF Greene, with the rank of major in 
 the Continental Line. His training as a 
 despatch bearer, and his success in leading 
 reconnoitering parlies, made him a useful 
 
204 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 officer to General Greene, who. next to 
 Washington, was ranked as the ablest 
 soldier of the Revolution. While making a 
 reconnoissance with a small body of troops 
 to ascertain the position of the advancing 
 British under General Howe, at Brandy- 
 wine. Major Clark received a wound from 
 a rifle ball passing through his right 
 shoulder. He then returned to his home in 
 York, and after recuperating, joined his 
 command before the battle of Germantown. 
 In this engagement, while leading a small 
 detachment, he took prisoner Captain 
 Speak, of the 37th Light Infantry. Immedi- 
 ately after the battle, with a small scouting 
 party, he moved within sight of the British 
 line in order to ascertain the enemy's loss 
 and if possible, discover the future plan of 
 operations. He accomplished his purpose 
 with great personal clanger, and communi- 
 cated to the commander-in-chief, not only 
 the losses of the British at Germantown. but 
 Howe's plan of movement against the 
 American forces, after the battle. These 
 facts enabled Washington to make such a 
 disposition of his troops as to gain ad- 
 vantage over Howe at White Marsh, a few 
 days later. He also recommended the de- 
 tachment of Smallwood's brigade of Mary- 
 land troops to Wilmington. Delaware, 
 which was re-captured by the Americans. 
 This movement resulted in seizing two of 
 the enemy's ships on the Delaware heavily 
 ladened with provisions and munitions of 
 war. For his brilliant achievements at this 
 period. Major Clark received the highest 
 commendation from his superior oflicers. 
 The wound which he had received at 
 Brandywine now compelled his retirement, 
 and he again returned to his home at York. 
 In January. 1778. together with Captain 
 Lee. of Virginia, known as "Light Horse 
 Harry" of the Revolution, Clark was called 
 tq the encampment at Valley Forge to con- 
 sult with Washington about a proposed at- 
 tack on a detachment of Howe's forces then 
 at Darby, or the main body of the army in 
 and around Philadelphia. Both Lee and 
 Clark advised Washington against any win- 
 ter attack of the British forces. At a coun- 
 cil of war a majority of the subordinate 
 commanders present were of the same opin- 
 ion. In appreciation of his ability as a sol- 
 dier. Washington now offered to Clark 
 different positions of responsibility and 
 
 trust, but owing to the condition of his 
 health, he declined these proft'ered honors 
 and again returned to York, to recuperate 
 his health. In recognition of what Clark 
 had done while in the army, Washington 
 wrote the following interesting letter to 
 Henry Laurens, then president of Congress, 
 at York : 
 
 "Headquarters. Valley Forge, Jan. 2. 1778. 
 "Sir : — I take the liberty of introducing Major John 
 Clark, the bearer of this, to your notice. He entered 
 the service at the commencement of the war and has 
 for some time past acted as aide-de-camp to Major- 
 General Greene. He is active, sensible and enterprising 
 and has rendered me very great assistance since the 
 army has been in Pennsylvania, by procuring one con- 
 stant and certain intelligence of the motions and inten- 
 tions of the enemy. It is somewhat uncertain whether 
 the state of tlje major's health will admit of his remain- 
 ing in the military line; if it should. I may perhaps have 
 occasion to recommend him in a more particular manner 
 to the favor of Congress at a future time. At present. 1 
 can assiH'e you that if you should, while he remains in 
 the neighborhood of York, have any occasion for his 
 services, you will find him not only willing, but very 
 capable of executing any of your commands. I have 
 the honor to be. etc.. 
 
 GEORGE W.ASHIXGTOX." 
 
 After receiving the letter to Henr\' 
 Laurens. President of Continental Con- 
 gress then in session at York. Major Clark 
 was appointed auditor of the accounts 
 of the army under General Washington. 
 He accepted this position February 24. 
 1778. He served for a period of two years 
 and then returned to his home. \Vhen he 
 assumed the duties of this office the Treas- 
 ury of the United States had but small 
 deposits and Major Clark advanced the sum 
 of eleven hundred and fifty-two pounds of 
 his own money for one of the best teams in 
 America to secure and haul the outfit of the 
 auditors, their baggage and documents be- 
 longing to the officers, to the headquarters 
 of the army. During the battle of Mon- 
 mouth. Major John Clark, of York, was 
 again called to his former position as an 
 aide on the staff of General Greene. Here 
 he again succeeded in endearing himself to 
 his own commander and also the head of the 
 army. It was Clark who had carried the 
 orders for General Lee to make the first 
 attack, and his testimony was used when 
 Lee was afterward court-martialed and de- 
 prived of his command. 
 
 The liattle of Monmouth was the last en- 
 gagement in which Major Clark partici- 
 pated during the Revolution. Having 
 nearly completed his legal studies before he 
 
GEN. HENRY MILLER 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 205 
 
 entereil the army lie was admitted to the 
 bar at York, April 27, 1779, and spent the 
 remainder of his life as a practicing lawyer. 
 
 During the second war with Great Britain 
 in 1812, he ofifered his services for the de- 
 fence of his country. When the British, 
 under General Ross, approached Baltimore, 
 in 1814, Major Clark proceeded to that city. 
 He presented himself before the military 
 authorities of Baltimore with a letter from 
 James Monroe, Secretary-of-War in Madi- 
 son's Cabinet, wdio recommended Major 
 Clark for his ability as a soldier in the Revo- 
 lution. He then offered General Smith, 
 commanding the forces at Baltimore, to 
 lead the advance and attack the British 
 when they landed at North Point, but the 
 duty had already been assigned to others. 
 
 After the defeat of the British at North 
 Point, General Smith tendered his thanks to 
 Major Clark for "the zeal and active ser- 
 vices he voluntarily rendered during his 
 stay at Baltimore and in its defence." 
 
 He continued the practice of law at York 
 during the remainder of his life. He re- 
 sided in a large home at the southwest cor- 
 ner of Market and Beaver Streets, which in 
 1906 was used by Adams Express Com- 
 pany. In personal appearance, he was 
 large of frame, of commanding presence 
 and military bearing. In 1818 he was a 
 candidate of the Federalist party to repre- 
 sent Lancaster and York Counties in the 
 Congress of the United States, but was de- 
 feated. After the Revolution, Major Clark 
 was in close and intimate relations with 
 General Washington until the time of the 
 latter's death in 1799. 
 
 Major Clark was married early in life to 
 a daughter of Captain Nicholas Bittinger. 
 of Hanover, who commanded a company in 
 the same regiment of the Flying Camp in 
 ■which Clark served as a major. He had one 
 son, George Clark, and several daughters, 
 none of whom left descendants. The only 
 portrait of the major in existence, except a 
 drawing, was interred with the remains of 
 Julia Clark, his daughter, at her recjuest, in 
 St. John's Episcopal Churchyard. Major 
 Clark died December 27, 1819, at the age of 
 68, and his remains were buried in St. 
 John's Episcopal Churchyard. He was 
 prominent in the Masonic Fraternity and 
 was a vestryman of St. John's Church. 
 
 GENERAL HENRY MILLER, of York, 
 who entered the army as a lieutenant, in 
 1775, ser\ed continuously until the year 
 1779. He was conspicuous for his gallantry 
 in the siege of Boston, at the battles of 
 Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, 
 Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and 
 Monmouth. In all he participated in forty- 
 seven battles and skirmishes with the 
 British during the four years of his military- 
 service in the army. 
 
 He was born February 13, 1751, at the 
 site of Millersville, Lancaster County. 
 Pennsylvania, where his father was a farmer 
 owning a large estate. After receiving a 
 good preparatory education, he went to 
 Reading, where he entered the law office of 
 Collinson Reed, and studied conveyancing. 
 In 1769. he removed to York, where he 
 began the occupation of a conveyancer and 
 continued his legal studies with Samuel 
 Johnson, one of the pioneer lawyers of York 
 County. When the Revolution opened he 
 espoused the cause of the colonists and be- 
 came second lieutenant of the York Ritle- 
 men, a company of 100 trained marksmen 
 from York County, who, on July i, 1775, 
 began the march to Boston, and joined 
 W'ashington's army at Cambridge, Massa- 
 chusetts, on July 25. Here they were as- 
 signed to Thompson's Battalion, the first 
 troops south of New York to join the 
 American army during the Revolution. 
 Their reputation for trained marksmanship 
 with the use of the rifle was already well 
 known. The troops wdio engaged in the 
 battle of Bunker Hill had used muskets. 
 
 Two days after the York Riflemen, under 
 Captain Doudel, arrived at Washington's 
 headcjuarters, at the request of Lieutenant 
 Miller, they were sent out to reconnoiter 
 the position of the enemy at Bunker Hill. 
 This was done with Washington's consent 
 and resulted in the capture of several 
 prisoners, from whom the position and 
 number of the enemy were obtained. Soon 
 after this event. Lieutenant Miller was 
 made captain of his company, and com- 
 manded it on the march toward New York. 
 He and his riflemen were conspicuous for 
 their \alor at the battle of Long Island and 
 guarded the retreat of Washington's army, 
 which, through a fog, crossed to New York 
 City. Captain Miller, amid a shower of 
 
206 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PENXSYLVAXIA 
 
 bullets frDUi the enemy, was the last Ameri- 
 can soldier to enter the boats. 
 
 He participated in the battle of White 
 Plains, and with a detachment from the 
 First Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line, 
 guarded the rear during Washington's re- 
 treat across New Jersey. At the battle of 
 Trenton the First Regiment, under Colonel 
 Edward Hand, formed the advance battle 
 line, and during that eventful Christmas 
 night of 1776 was the first to attack the 
 Hessians at their post. After the surrender 
 of 1,000 Hessians at Trenton, Washington 
 re-crossed into Pennsylvania. He then se- 
 lected Hand's riflemen, with Captain Miller 
 commanding his company, to lead the ad- 
 vance and attack the approaching enemy. 
 In the action which ensued Miller com- 
 manded the left wing of the regiment. 
 
 At the battle of Princeton, on the suc- 
 ceeding day, these riflemen were conspic- 
 uous for their valor and aided in winning 
 a brilliant victory. For his gallantry in 
 action, at the request of Washington, Cap- 
 tain Miller was promoted to major of his 
 regiment, and held this position at the bat- 
 tle of Brandywine. In the battle of Ger- 
 mantown his regiment formed a part of 
 \\'ayne's brigade, and aided in driving the 
 enemy toward Philadelphia, during the first 
 part of the engagement. Six days after the 
 battle, which resulted in a British victory. 
 Major Miller wrote to his family at York: 
 "We hope to meet them soon again, and 
 with the assistance of Providence to restore 
 our suffering citizens of Philadelphia to 
 their possessions and homes." 
 
 During the winter of 1777-8, Major Mil- 
 ler remained in camp with his regiment at 
 Valley Forge. The arduous duties of army- 
 life required him to spend part of the winter 
 at his home, recuperating his health. It 
 was during this winter that Continental 
 Congress held its sessions in York, and 
 W^ashington lay in winter quarters at Val- 
 ley Forge. 
 
 On the march through New Jersey in pur- 
 suit of the enemy under Sir Henry Clinton, 
 in June, 1778, Major Miller's regiment 
 formed a ])art of the Pennsylvania division 
 commanded by General Anthony AVayne. 
 In this, the last battle of the Revolution in 
 which Major Miller participated, he showed 
 the same coolness and bravery that he had 
 displayed on former occasions when he led 
 
 his York County Riflemen on to victory. 
 While commanding a detachment under 
 Wayne in the thickest of the fight, his horse 
 was shot by a cannon ball. He quickly 
 mounted another and rode forward, when 
 this horse was killed by a musket ball. 
 Mounting a third, he led his men onward 
 until the British were driven from the field. 
 For gallant and meritorious services at the 
 battle of ISIonmouth, Major Miller was pro- 
 moted to lieutenant-colonel of the Second 
 Pennsylvania Regiment in tlie Continental 
 Line, but owing to the condition of his 
 atTairs at home, as the result of four years' 
 service in the army, he held this position for 
 a short time only and then resigned. He 
 then turned his attention to his business 
 affairs at York. The pay he had received 
 as a soldier, in depreciated currency, did not 
 furnish him means enough to support his 
 family. 
 
 In 1780, he was elected sherift' of York 
 County, and served in that position for 
 three years. He represented York County 
 in the State Legislature in 1783-4-5. He 
 was appointed protbonotary in 1785, and in 
 the same year commissioned one of the 
 court justices for York County. He was 
 elected a delegate to the convention which 
 framed the State Constitution of 1790. 
 After the war, he became a brigadier- 
 general of the state militia, and in 1794 was 
 quartermaster-general of the United States 
 army in the \Vhiskey Insurrection in west- 
 ern Pennsylvania. 
 
 General Miller was appointed supervisor 
 of revenue for the State of Pennsylvania by 
 President Washington, and served in the 
 same office under President Adams; but on 
 account of his staunch adherence to the 
 Federalist party, was removed from the 
 office by Thomas Jefferson, when he Ije- 
 canie President. Although he had reached 
 the age of 63, wdien the second war with 
 Great Britain began, he tendered his ser- 
 vices to the United States government, and 
 was placed in charge of the defence of Fort 
 McHenry. This occurred when the city of 
 Baltimore was first threatened by the 
 English, in 1813. Having still retained his 
 relations to his native state, when the militia 
 was organized he received the appointment 
 of brigadier-general. In 1814. when the 
 British appeared before Baltimore, he 
 served in the capacity of quartermaster- 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 207 
 
 general and was present at Baltimore with 
 the Pennsylvania troops, which had 
 marched there for the defence of that city. 
 His experience as an officer in the Revolu- 
 tion was of great advantage to the com- 
 manding officers at Baltimore, at the time 
 of the battle of North Point and the bom- 
 bardment of Fort McHenry. Before retir- 
 ing from service. General Miller received the 
 commendations of the military authorities 
 of Baltimore and the national government. 
 
 He retired to private life, residing on a 
 farm in the Juniata Valley, and in 1821 was 
 appointed prothonotary of the new county 
 of Perry. At the expiration of his term of 
 ofifice, he removed his family residence to 
 Carlisle, where he died April 5. 1824, and 
 was buried there with military honors. 
 
 His family consisted of two sons and four 
 daughters. His son Joseph was a lieutenant 
 in the army, and died in the service, wdiile 
 performing his duties as quartermaster at 
 Ogdensburg, during the second war with 
 England, and his son William was a lieuten- 
 ant in the navy, and died on board the 
 frigate "LTnsurgent," Captain Murray. 
 
 His eldest daughter, Capandana, married 
 Colonel Campbell; his second daughter. 
 Mary, married Thomas Banning, a Mary- 
 land planter; and his third daughter, Julia 
 Anna, married David Watts, of Carlisle. 
 His fourth daughter, Harriet, died unmar- 
 ried. There are no descendants of these 
 children now surviving, except those of 
 David Watts and Julia Anna ^Miller. 
 
 COLONEL THOMAS HARTLEY'S 
 REGIMENT. 
 
 Thomas Hartley, a member of the York 
 County Bar, and a young man of rare at- 
 tainments, entered the military service in 
 the fall of 1775. Before hostilities had 
 opened between the colonies and the 
 mother country, he had commanded a com- 
 pany of militia from York and vicinity. The 
 fierce conflict at Bunker Hill in June, 1775, 
 stimulated his military ardor. When an ex- 
 pedition was planned against Canada in the 
 fall of 1775, he tendered his services to the 
 cause of American liberty. A regiment 
 composed of eight companies was organ- 
 ized, at Carlisle, from militia in the region 
 now embraced in York. Cuml)erland. 
 Franklin. Adams and Perry Counties. Wil- 
 liam Irxine, of Carlisle, was commissioned 
 
 colonel of this regiment and Thomas Hart- 
 ley, lieutenant-colonel, at the age of twenty- 
 seven. The part taken by the regiment in 
 the Canada campaign is told in a previous 
 chapter in this work. After the capture of 
 Colonel Irvine, in Canada, Hartley was 
 placed in command of the regiment and 
 brought it back to Carlisle in ^Iarch, 1777. 
 Irvine remained a j^risoner of war until 
 April, 1778. His command, which at first 
 enlisted for a term of one j'ear for the 
 Canada campaign, re-enlisted, and in June, 
 1778, under the command of Lieutenant- 
 colonel David Grier, of York, was stationed 
 at Middlebrook, New Jersey, and in Sep- 
 tember at Trappe, in Montgomery County, 
 Pennsylvania. It joined Wayne's brigade 
 and took part in the battles of Brandywine, 
 Paoli and Germantown. as told elsewhere in 
 this history. 
 
 Thomas Hartley, while in charge of the 
 regiment at Ticonderoga, was commis- 
 sioned colonel, January 11, 1777. After the 
 regiment reached Carlisle in March of that 
 year. Hartley spent some time at York. 
 
 In December, 1776, Congress authorized 
 Washington to raise sixteen battalions of 
 infantry for the military service from the 
 different states then forming the Union. 
 This resolution was adopted two days after 
 the battle of Trenton, which had been a sig- 
 nal victory for the American cause. Two 
 of these battalions were to come from 
 Pennsylvania. For this purpose Thomas 
 Hartley and John Patton, of Chester 
 County, were each commissioned colonel to 
 raise a regiment. In the absence of official 
 reports, it is difficult to give a detailed ac- 
 count of these regiments. 
 
 Colonel Thomas Hartleys regiment 
 joined Washington's ami}', wdien General 
 Howe landed at the head of Elk River, in 
 September, 1777. All the available Ameri- 
 can troops were then concentrated in the 
 \icinity of Philadelphia. Hartley's regi- 
 ment formed part of the First Pennsylvania 
 Brigade in General \\'ayne's division. In 
 the battle of Brandywine, Colonel Hartley 
 commanded this Ijrigade, which did valiant 
 service in the engagement, and lost heavily 
 in both officers and men. This brigade also 
 took part in the battle of Paoli, fought near 
 Philadelphia, nine days after the defeat at 
 Brandxwine, and still under the command 
 of Hartley, ]Ku-tici])ated in the battle of Ger- 
 
208 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 mantown, October 4. After Germaiitown, 
 Hartle\'"s regiment, which originally num- 
 bered 600 men from the different counties 
 of Pennsylvania, had in rank and file less 
 than half its original enlistment. Major 
 Lewis Bush was mortally wounded at 
 Brandywine, and Captain Robert Hoopes 
 was killed. Other casualties in this regi- 
 ment, in the battles of Brandywine, Paoli 
 and Germantown, were: Lieutenant James 
 Dill. Lieutenant James Lemon. Sergeant 
 \\'illiam Chambers. Sergeant John Rousden. 
 Corporal Anthony \\"all, killed: Private 
 George Blakely. wounded and prisoner at 
 Paoli. in Captain Robert Hoopes' company: 
 Privates William Cornwall. George Duke. 
 John Elliott. Joseph Finnemore. James Flin. 
 killed; Philip Graham, killed at Brandy- 
 wine : Jacob Houts. wounded at German- 
 town : Christopher Morris and John Shan- 
 non, killed : William Price, died of wounds. 
 
 After the close of the campaign 
 Hartley's of the American army around 
 Regiment Philadelphia, in 1777, and when 
 at York. AN'ashington went into winter 
 
 quarters at Valley Forge. Colo- 
 nel Hartley returned with iiis regiment to 
 York, where it remained in barracks for two 
 or three months as a guard to Continental 
 Congress, then in session here. February 
 II, 1778. Congress passed a resolution or- 
 dering Michael Hillegas, treasurer of the 
 United States, to issue a warrant for two 
 months' pay to Colonel Hartley's regiment, 
 then in York. On the same day another 
 resolution was adopted directing the board 
 of war to aid in recruiting this regiment. 
 On June 17. according to the diary of Rev. 
 John Roth, of the Moravian Church, a part 
 of Hartley's regiment left York for the 
 American camp near Philadelphia, having 
 in charge a number of English prisoners. 
 On June 25, at the request of General 
 Washington. Colonel Hartley reported with 
 his regiinent at Valley Forge, just before 
 the American army had left the camp to 
 take the field in New Jersey. A few days 
 later Congress adjourned to Philadelphia, 
 which had been evacuated by the British, 
 then falling back through New Jersey to 
 New York. 
 
 In June. 1778. just before Con- 
 Wyoming gress left York for Philadel- 
 Massacre. phia, the settlers near Wilkes- 
 
 barre, in the Wyoming Valley, 
 
 in the northern part of Pennsylvania, heard 
 o{ the approach of a large force of Tories 
 and Indians under Colonel John Butler. 
 An appeal for help was made to Congress 
 as nearly all the able-bodied men were in 
 the Continental army. These hostile bands 
 approached suddenly, when Colonel Zebu- 
 Ion Butler, of the Pennsylvania Line, who 
 was home on a furlough, recruited three 
 hundred men to meet a force three times as 
 large. He met the enemy on July 3 at a fort 
 near the Susquehanna, a short distance 
 abo\e Wilkesbarre, and here occurred what 
 is known to history as the Wyoming Mas- 
 sacre. ' Only fifty of Zebulon Butler's men 
 escaped. Those who did not fall in battle, 
 when captured were put to death by the 
 bullets of the Tories or the tomahawks of 
 the Indians. The depredations in the 
 W'yoming Valley continued and became so 
 heartrending that all the settlers fled. 
 
 The Wyoming Massacre was not the 
 only one in Pennsylvania in the war of the 
 Revolution. Immediately after that of 
 Wyoming, the wild precipitate flight, 
 known as the "Great Runaway," occurred 
 in the valley of the West Branch. All sum- 
 mer the scalping knife and tomahawk had 
 been doing their deadly work there, and 
 wdien the news of the massacre on North 
 Branch arrived, the West Branch above 
 Sunbury and Northumberland was aband- 
 oned by the settlers. Boats, canoes, hog- 
 troughs, rafts, and every sort of floating 
 things, were crowded with women and 
 children. The men came down in single 
 file, on each side of the river, and acted as 
 guards. Sunbury became a frontier town 
 and the site of Harrisburg. Paxtang, and 
 Middletown, were places of resort for the 
 unfortunate refugees. Bedford and West- 
 moreland counties and the country about 
 Pittsburg were likewise sorely afflicted at 
 this time. 
 
 The massacre of W^yoming, 
 
 Hartley which occurred on July 3, 
 
 Marches caused serious apprehension to 
 
 to General Washington and Con- 
 
 Sunbury. tinental Congress. At this time. 
 
 Colonel Hartley's regiment was 
 with Washington's army in New Jersey, 
 and the remainder performing guard duty 
 at Philadelphia. In accordance with a reso- 
 lution of the Pennsylvania Council of 
 Safety, Hartley's regiment was ordered, on 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 209 
 
 Jul}' 14, to go to Sunbury, in Xortliumber- 
 laud County, fifty miles above Harrisburg. 
 At the same time, the Committee of Safety 
 ordered the militia to be called out from 
 the counties of Xorthumberland, Lancaster, 
 Berks, Northampton, Cumberland and 
 York, in all about 1,800 men. These troops 
 were intended to guard the frontier from 
 the ravages of the Indians and Tories. 
 Four hundred and fifty troops from Berks 
 and Northampton were to repair to Easton ; 
 eight hundred and fifty from Xorthumber- 
 land, Lancaster and Berks to go to Sunbury, 
 three hundred from Cumberland and two 
 hundred from York County to join Colonel 
 Broadhead at Standing Stone, the site of 
 Huntingdon. 
 
 As the Indians continued to be very 
 troublesome on the northern and western 
 frontiers of Penns3dvania, it soon became 
 apparent to the military authorities that 
 some offensive operations must be under- 
 taken, to punish the savage foe, or the in- 
 habitants of Central Pennsylvania would be 
 in imminent danger. 
 
 With this object in view, Colonel 
 Goes Hartley, in September, 1778, was 
 
 to sent from Sunbury, by the Board 
 Tioga, of ^^'ar on an expedition to Tioga 
 Point, on the headwaters of the 
 X'orth Branch, to destroy some of their vil- 
 lages and break up their places of rendez- 
 vous. His expedition was one of the most 
 memorable on record, and proved success- 
 ful. In October, 1778, after his return to 
 Sunbury, from this expedition, Colonel 
 Hartley wrote to Congress an extended ac- 
 count of it, which reads in part as follows: 
 
 "With a frontier from Wyoming to Alle- 
 gheny, we were sensible the few regular 
 troops we had could not defend the neces- 
 sary posts. We thought (if it were prac- 
 ticable), it would be best to draw the prin- 
 cipal part of our force together, as the in- 
 habitants would be in no great danger dur- 
 ing our absence. I made a stroke at some 
 of the nearest Indian towns, especially as 
 we learned a handsome detachment had 
 been sent into the enemy's country by way 
 of the Cherry Valley, New York. \\'e were 
 in hopes we should drive the savages to a 
 greater distance. 
 
 "\\'ith volunteers and others, we reck- 
 oned on 400 rank and file for the expedition, 
 besides 17 horses, which I mounted from 
 
 my own regiment, under the command of 
 Lieutenant Henry Carbery. Our rendez- 
 vous was Fort Muncy, near the site of Wil- 
 liamsport, on the \\'est Branch, intending 
 to penetrate by the Sheshecunnunk path, 
 to Tioga, at the junction of the Cayuga, 
 with the main Northeast Branch of Susque- 
 hanna, from thence to act as circumstances 
 might require. 
 
 "The troops met at Aluncy the i8th of 
 September, and when we came to count and 
 array our force for the expedition, they 
 amounted to only about 200 rank and file. 
 We thought the number small, but as we 
 presumed the enemy had no notice of our 
 designs, we hoped at least to make a good 
 diversion if no more, whilst the inhabitants 
 were saving their grain on the frontier. On 
 the morning of the 21st, at four o'clock, we 
 marched from Muncy, with the force I have 
 mentioned ; we carried two boxes of spare 
 ammunition and twelve days' provisions. 
 
 "In our route we met with 
 
 Endures great rains and prodigious 
 Hardships, swamps ; mountains, defiles 
 and rocks impeded our march. 
 ^^'e had to open and clear the way as we 
 passed. We waded or swam the Lycoming 
 Creek upwards of twenty times. I will not 
 trouble your honorable body with the 
 tedious detail, but I cannot help observing 
 that, I imagine, the difficulties in crossing 
 the Alps or passing up Kennebec River to 
 Canada in 1775, could not have been greater 
 than those our men experienced for the 
 time. I have the pleasure to say they sur- 
 mounted them with great resolution and 
 fortitude. In lonely woods and groves we 
 found the haunts and lurking places of the 
 savage murderers, who had desolated our 
 frontier. A\'e saw the huts where they had 
 dressed and dried the scalps of the helpless 
 women and children who fell into their 
 hands. 
 
 "On the morning of the 26th, our 
 
 Drives advance party of 19, met with an 
 
 the equal number of Indians on the 
 
 Enemy path, approaching one another. 
 
 Back. Our men had the first fire. .\. 
 very important Indian chief was 
 killed and scalped and the rest fled. A few 
 miles further, we discovered where up- 
 wards of seventy warriors had lay the night 
 before, on their march towards our frontier. 
 The panic communicated and they fled with 
 
 14 
 
2IO 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 their bretlireii. No time was lost; we ad- 
 vanced towards Sheshecunnunck, in the 
 neighborhood of which place we took fif- 
 teen prisoners from them. We learned that 
 a man had deserted from Captain Spald- 
 ing's company at Wyoming, after the troops 
 had marched from thence and had given the 
 enemy notice of onr intended expedition 
 against them. 
 
 "We moved with the greatest dispatch 
 towards Tioga, advancing our horse and 
 some foot in front, wdro did their duty very 
 well.. A number of the enemy fled before 
 us with precipitation. It was near dark, 
 when we came to that towni. Our troops 
 were much fatigued and it was impossible 
 to proceed further that night. We were 
 told that young Butler, who had led the 
 'J'ories at the Wyoming Massacre, had been 
 at Tioga a few hours before we came — that 
 he had 300 men with him, the most of them 
 Tories, dressed in green — that they were 
 returned towards Chemung, 12 miles off, 
 and that they determined to give us battle 
 in some of the defiles near it. It was soon 
 resolved w^e should proceed no further, but 
 if possible make our way to Wyoming. AVe 
 burned Tioga, Queen Hester's Palace or 
 town, and all the settlements on this side. 
 Several canoes were taken and some plun- 
 der, part of which was destroyed. Lieu- 
 tenant Carbery, with the .horse only, was 
 close on Butler. He was in possession of 
 the town of Shawnee, three miles up the 
 Cayuga Branch, but as we did not advance, 
 he returned. 
 
 "The consternation of the enemy was 
 great. \\'e pushed our good fortune as far 
 as we dare, nay, it is probable the good 
 countenance \ve put on, saved us from 
 destruction, as we were advanced so far 
 into the enemy's country, and no return 
 but what we could make with the sword. 
 We came to Sheshecunnimck that night. 
 Had we had 500 regular troops, and 150 
 light troops, with one or two pieces of ar- 
 tillery, we probably might have destroyed 
 Chemung, which is now the receptacle for 
 all villainous Indians and Tories from the 
 different tribes and states. From this they 
 make their excursions against the frontiers 
 of New York, Pennsylvania, Jersey, A¥yom- 
 ing and commit those horrid murders and 
 devastations we have heard of. Niagara 
 and Chemung are the asylums of these 
 
 Tories who cannot get to New York. On 
 the morning of the 28th, we crossed the 
 river and marched towards Wyalusing, 
 wdiere w'e arri\ed that night at 11 o'clock; 
 our men were much worn down and our 
 whiskey and flour were gone. 
 
 "On the morning of the 29th, we were 
 obliged to stay till 11 o'clock to kill and 
 cook beef. This gave the enemy leisure to 
 approach. Seventy of our vnen from real 
 or pretended lameness went into the 
 canoes ; others rode on the empty pack 
 horses. We had not more than 120 rank 
 and file to fall in the line of march. Lieu- 
 tenant Sweeney, a valuable officer, had the 
 rear guard, consisting of thirty men, besides 
 five active runners, under Mr. Camplen. 
 The advance guard was to consist of an 
 officer and fifteen men. There were a few 
 flankers, but from the difficulty of the 
 ground and fatigue, they were seldom of 
 use. The rest of our little army was formed 
 into three divisions. Those of my regiment 
 composed the first. Captain Spalding's the 
 second, and Captain Morrow's the third. 
 The light horse was equally divided be- 
 tween front and rear. The pack horses and 
 the cattle we had collected, were to follow 
 the advance guard. In this order we 
 marched from Wyalusing at 12 o'clock. A 
 slight attack was made on our front from a 
 hill. Half an hour afterwards a warmer one 
 was made on the same quarter. After or- 
 dering the second and third divisions to 
 outflank the enemy, we soon drove them, 
 but this, as I expected, was only amuse- 
 ment, and we lost as little time as possible 
 with them. 
 
 "At 2 o'clock a very heavy attack 
 
 An was made on our rear, which 
 
 Indian obliged most of the rear guard to 
 
 Attack, give way, while several Indians 
 
 appeared on our left flank. By 
 the weight of the firing, we were soon con- 
 vinced we had to oppose a large body. 
 Captain Stoddard commanded in front and 
 I was in the centre. I observed some high 
 ground which overlooked the enemy. 
 Orders were immediately given for the first 
 and third di\isions to take possession of it, 
 whilst Captain Spalding was despatched to 
 support the rear guard. We gained the 
 heights almost unnoticed by the barbarians. 
 Captain Stoddart sent a small party towards 
 the enemy's rear. At this critical moment. 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 !II 
 
 Captains Boone and Braily, and Lieutenant 
 King, with a few brave fellows, landed from 
 the canoes, joined Lieutenant Sweeney and 
 renewed the action there. The war whoop 
 was given by our people below and com- 
 municated round. We advanced on the 
 enemy on all sides. 
 
 ^\'ith great shouting and noise, 
 The the Indians, after a brave resist- 
 
 Enemy ance of some minutes, con- 
 Repulsed. cei\ed themselves nearly sur- 
 rounded, and fled with the ut- 
 most haste, by the only passes that re- 
 mained, and left ten dead on the ground. 
 Our troops wished to do their duty, but 
 they were much overcome with fatigue, 
 otherwise (as the Indians imagined them- 
 selves surrounded), we should have driven 
 the enemy into the river. From every ac- 
 count, these were a select body of warriors, 
 sent after us, consisting of nearly 200 men. 
 Their confidence and impetuosity, probably 
 gave the victory to us. After they had 
 driven our rear some distance, their chief 
 was heard to say in the Indian language 
 that which is interpreted thus : 'M}^ brave 
 warriors, we drive them, be bold and strong, 
 the day is ours.' Upon this they advanced 
 very quickly without sufficiently regarding 
 their rear. 
 
 "\\'e had no alternatixe, but conquest or 
 death. They w^ould have murdered us all 
 had they succeeded, but the great God of 
 Battles protected us in the day of danger. 
 \\'e had four killed and ten wounded. The 
 enemy must have had at least treble the 
 number killed and wounded. They received 
 such a beating as pre\ented them giving us 
 any further trouble during our march to 
 \\'yoming (W'ilkesbarre), which is more 
 than fifty miles from the place of action. 
 The officers of my regiment behaved well to 
 a man. All the party will acknowledge the 
 greatest merit and bravery of Captain Stod- 
 dart. I cannot say enough in his favor. He 
 deserves the esteem of his country. Lieu- 
 tenant Carbery, with liis horse, was very 
 active, and rendered important services till 
 his horses were fatigued. Nearly all the 
 other officers acquitted themselves with 
 reputation. Captain Spalding exerted him- 
 self as much as possible. Captain Murrow, 
 from his knowledge of Indian, afl'airs and 
 their mode of fighting, was serviceable. 
 His men were marksmen and were useful. 
 
 The men of my regiment were armed with 
 muskets and bayonets. They were no great 
 marksmen, and were awkward at wood 
 fighting. The bullets and three swan shot 
 in each piece made up, in some measure, for 
 the w^ant of skill. Though we were happy 
 enough to succeed in this action, yet I am 
 convinced that a number of lighter troops, 
 under good officers, are necessary for this 
 service. 
 
 "On the third, the savages 
 Reaches and scalped three men who 
 Wyoming, had imprudently left the gar- 
 rison at Wyoming to go in 
 search of potatoes. From our observations, 
 we imagine that the same party wdio had 
 fought us, after taking care of their dead 
 and wounded, had come on towards Wyom- 
 ing, and are now in that neighborhood. I 
 left half of my detachment there, with five 
 of my own officers. Should they attempt to 
 invest the place when their number is in- 
 creased, I make no doubt but they will be 
 disappointed. 
 
 "Our garrisons have plenty of beef and 
 salt, though flour is scarce at Wyoming. I 
 arrived here with the remainder of the de- 
 tachment on the 5th. We have performed 
 a circuit of nearly 300 miles in about two 
 weeks, ^^'e brought off nearly fifty head 
 of cattle, twenty-eight canoes, besides 
 man}' other articles. I would respectfully 
 propose that the Congress would be pleased 
 to send a Connecticut regiment to garrison 
 Wyoming as soon as possible. It is but 120 
 miles from Fish Kills, New York. I have 
 done all I can for the good of the whole. I 
 have given all the support in my power to 
 the post, but if troops are not immediately 
 sent, these settlements will be destro3'ed in 
 detail. In a week or less a regiment could 
 march from Fish Kills to Wyoming. My 
 little regiment with two classes of Lancaster 
 and Berks County Alilitia, will be scarcely 
 sufficient to preserve the posts from Nesco- 
 pake falls to Muncy, and from thence to the 
 liead of Penn's Valley." 
 
 The report sent to Congress from Sun- 
 bury by Colonel Hartley was received with 
 favor both by Congress and the Legislature 
 of Pennsvlvania. For his success the execu- 
 tive council of the State extended to him a 
 unanimous vote of thanks. Immediately 
 after sending this letter to Congress, for the 
 purpose of guarding the frontier, he re- 
 
212 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 quested that "300 round bullets for three 
 pounders, 300 cartridges of grape shot for 
 the same bore, 1,000 flints, six barrels of 
 powder, a quantity of twine and portfire, a 
 ream of cannon cartridge paper," and some 
 other small articles be sent to Sunbury. He 
 said that they had eight cannon firing three 
 pound balls on the frontier, at Forts Muncy 
 and Antes. 
 
 Colonel Hartley remained in the military 
 service on the frontier with Sunbury as his 
 headquarters from October, 1778, until De- 
 cember of that 3'ear, when he was elected to 
 represent York County in the Pennsylvania 
 Assembly. Upon his retirement from the 
 military service. Continental Congress, 
 deeming the reasons for his resigning satis- 
 factory, bore testimony of their "high sense 
 of Colonel Hartley's merit and services." 
 
 The commissioned officers of Colonel 
 Hartley's Regiment, in June, 1777, were the 
 following: Colonel Thomas Hartley, ap- 
 pointed January 10, 1777; Lieutenant- 
 Colonel r^I organ Conner, appointed April 9, 
 1777; Major Lewis Bush, January 12, 1777; 
 Quartermaster John McAllister, April 17, 
 1777; Adjutant Robert Ralston, January 16, 
 1777; Paymaster Thomond Ball, January 
 .15, 1777; Surgeon Jacob Swope, January 15, 
 1777; Surgeon Tracey, February 5, 1777; 
 Captain Bernard Eichelberger, January 12, 
 1777; Captain William Nichols, January 13, 
 1777; Captain Robert Hoopes, January 13, 
 1777; Captain Benjamin C. Stoddart, Janu- 
 ary 14, 1777; Captain William Kelley, Janu- 
 ary 16, 1777; Captain Richard Willson, Feb- 
 ruary 15, 1777; Captain George Bush, 
 March i, 1777; Captain Archibald ^NIcAUis- 
 ter, April 18, 1777; First Lieutenant Paul 
 Parker, Januarj^ 16, 1777; First Lieutenant 
 James Forrester, January 23, 1777; First 
 Lieutenant Horatio Ross, January 24, 1777; 
 First Lieutenant James Kenny, January 25, 
 1777; First Lieutenant James Dill, Febru- 
 ary 5, 1777; First Lieutenant Count De 
 Momfort, March 23, 1777; First Lieuten- 
 ant Charles Croxall, May 25, 1777; First 
 Lieutenant John Hughes, June i, 1777; 
 Second Lieutenant Andrew Walker, Janu- 
 ary 12, 1777; Second Lieutenant Isaac 
 Sweeney, January 23, 1777; Second Lieu- 
 tenant Flenry Carberry, January 24, 1777; 
 Second Lieutenant Martin Eichelberger, 
 January 25, 1777; Second Lieutenant Wil- 
 liam McCurdy, January 26, 1777; Second 
 
 Lieutenant William Clenuu, Alay 26, 1777; 
 Ensign George Hillery, February i, 1777; 
 Ensign John McBride, February 2, 1777; 
 Ensign James McCalmon, January 24, 1777 ; 
 Ensign John Manghan, February 25, 1777; 
 Ensign Nachel Dorsey, May i, 1777; En- 
 sign John Stake, Alay 26, 1777. 
 
 COLONEL THOMAS HARTLEY. 
 
 Colonel Thomas Hartley was born in 
 Colebrookdale, Pennsylvania, September 7, 
 1748. His father, George Hartley, of Eng- 
 lish birth, was one of the early settlers and 
 a leading citizen of Berks County. In his 
 youth, Thomas Hartley displayed strong in- 
 tellectual endowments. He obtained his 
 preliminary education at a classical school 
 in Reading. In 1766, when eighteen years 
 of age, he removed to York, where he 
 entered upon the study of law with Samuel 
 Johnson, a relative of his mother, and one 
 of the early members of the York County 
 Bar. He was admitted to the practice of 
 law at York in 1769. Although still a young 
 man, he was one of the earliest citizens 
 west of the Susquehanna to espouse the 
 cause of the American colonists when their 
 rights were tread upon by the British 
 crown. 
 
 As early as 1774, two years before the 
 Declaration of Independence, Thomas Hart- 
 ley was chosen first lieutenant of a military 
 company at York, for the purpose of 
 making disciplined soldiers. In the summer 
 of 1775, he was elected lieutenant-colonel 
 of the First Battalion of York County As- 
 sociators. He now became an active and 
 zealous patriot and was chosen lieutenant- 
 colonel of a battalion of "Minute Men," se- 
 lected from the other five battalions of as- 
 sociators in York County. This battalion 
 was ready at a moment's notice for any 
 emergency that might occur between the 
 colonies and the mother country. In the 
 fall of 1775, he joined the expedition to 
 Canada and was chosen lieutenant-colonel 
 of Irvine's regiment, whose history is given 
 in the preceding pages. Upon his return 
 from the Canada campaign, he became lieu- 
 tenant-colonel of the Seventh Pennsylvania 
 Regiment. The remaining part of his mili- 
 tary career is given above. 
 
 After his retirement from the army, he 
 served as a member of the Pennsylvania 
 Legislature in 1779, meantime devoting his 
 
COL. THOMAS HARTLEY 
 
THE RKVOI.UTION 
 
 213 
 
 attentions to Iiis law practice at York. He 
 was chosen a member of the Council of 
 Censors, in 1783, to adjust the Revolution- 
 ary claims for Pennsylvania. In 1788, he 
 was elected a member of the first Congress. 
 The success of his career in the House of 
 Representatives for a period of twelve 
 years, is given in the chapter relating to the 
 Representatives in Congress from York 
 County. 
 
 Although the last twelve \-ears of his life 
 were devoted entirely to his professional 
 labors and to his brilliant career as a repre- 
 sentative in Congress, of which he was one 
 of the ablest debaters, he kept up his in- 
 terest in military afifairs, in which he had 
 won distinction during the Revolution, and 
 in 1800, the last year of his life, was chosen 
 by Governor McKean, major-general of the 
 militia within the present area of York and 
 Adams Counties. 
 
 Colonel Hartley took part in more than 
 twenty skirmishes and battles during the 
 Revolution. He was noted for military skill 
 and strategy, and always showed great 
 courage in battle. On account of his 
 achievements and his amiable personality, 
 General Washington entertained for him 
 the highest regard and afifection. The 
 authorities of Pennsylvania and Continental 
 Congress paid high tribute to his worth as 
 a soldier and to his sterling patriotism, 
 while serving in the army. He was highly 
 esteemed by his fellow-ofificers with whom 
 he was associated during the war for inde- 
 pendence. He died at York, December 21, 
 1800, at the early age of fifty-two, after 
 having nearly completed his sixth term in 
 Congress. 
 
 MAJOR JOSEPH PROWELL, of the 
 New Eleventh Regiment. Pennsvlvania 
 Line, and a gallant soldier of the Revolu- 
 tion, was born in York Count}' in 1753. 
 James Prowell, his grandfather, came to 
 -America in 1705 with the early \\'elsh inuiii- 
 gration, and settled on the \\'elsh tract in 
 the northern part of Chester County. 'l"he 
 children of James Prowell were Charles, 
 Mary and Thomas. Charles joined a 
 Chester County regiment at the advanced 
 age of sixty years, and was lost, either 
 killed or captured, in the first Jersey cam- 
 paign, during the Revolution. Mary was 
 married to Richard Buck, in the First 
 Presbyterian Church of Philadeliihia. 
 
 Thomas Prowell, the youngest son and 
 father of Major Prowell, was a prominent 
 farmer and iron manufacturer of Chester 
 County. In 1752, he was married in Gloria 
 Dei, known as Old Swede's Church, in the 
 southern part of Philadelphia, to Rachel 
 Griffith, a Quakeress from Chester County. 
 This ceremony took place shortly after this 
 church was transferred from the IvUtherans 
 to the Episcopalians. Many of the relatives 
 of Rachel Griffith migrated with the early 
 Quakers, who settled in Warrington and 
 Newberry Townships. Soon after their 
 marriage, Thomas and Rachel Prowell 
 moved to \\'arrington, where he purchased 
 a tract of land near the Conewago. They 
 remained in York Count\' about three 
 years, and then returned to Chester County, 
 where the youngest son, Captain \\'illiam 
 Prowell, was born in 1755- Thomas 
 Prowell died in 1765, leaving an estate of 
 412 pounds, in Chester County, of which 
 David Thomas and Joseph Coates were 
 executors; and an estate of 336 pounds in 
 York County, of which Robert Nelson and 
 Peter Gardner were executors. His will be- 
 fjueathed equal shares to his widow and two 
 sons, and named Rev. Owen Thomas as 
 guardian of his son Joseph, and Joseph 
 Coates guardian of his son William. 
 
 Joseph Prowell was educated at the Uni- 
 versity of Pennsylvania, and early in life 
 engaged in the iron business with his 
 brother William. At the opening' of the 
 war for independence, he was a member of 
 the Philadelphia Light Horse, afterward 
 known as the City Troop. This famous 
 cavalry company was present at the battles 
 of Trenton and Princeton in 1776. 
 
 On January 11, 1777, Joseph Prowell was 
 detached from the City Troop and • com- 
 missioned a captain in Colonel John Pat- 
 ton's additional regiment of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Line, composed of men from Chester 
 and Philadelphia Counties. \\'ith this regi- 
 ment he took part, during that year, in the 
 battles of Brandywine and Germantown. 
 For his military skill and gallantry in action 
 Captain Prowell was promoted major of 
 his regiment January i, 1778. On January 
 13, 1779, Major Prowell was transferred to 
 the New Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiment, 
 whose command was assigned to Colonel 
 Thomas Hartley, of York. When it was 
 decided to send an expedition, under Gen- 
 
214 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PEXXSYL\\\XIA 
 
 eral Sullivan, against the Indians in the 
 ■^^'yoming Valley, in Pennsylvania, and 
 Ciierry Valley, in Xew York, Major 
 Prowell commanded a detachment of the 
 Xe\A' Eleventh Regiment, in all 200 men, to 
 lead the advance. He marched from Easton 
 and reached Bear Creek, about ten miles 
 southwest of ^^'ilkes-Barre, on the night of 
 April 19. It was now thought they were 
 out of danger from the Indians. Major 
 Prowell ordered that officers and men 
 should dress in their best apparel, their 
 arms be newly burnished, and everything 
 be put in order to present a fine appearance 
 upon entering the beautiful A\'voming Val- 
 ley. 
 
 AMien they reached Laurel Run, four 
 miles southwest of A\'ilkesbarre, they were 
 attacked by a band of Indians lying in am- 
 bush, when Captain Davis, Lieutenant 
 Jones, Corporal Butler and three privates 
 were killed. Owing to this surprise the 
 troops were thrown into confusion. They 
 retreated a short distance and formed in 
 line of battle and succeeded in dispersing 
 the Indians, who fled after a few scattering- 
 discharges, and the troops entered the val- 
 ley to garrison the fort at Wyoming, where 
 the massacre had occurred some time 
 before. After the close of the war Major 
 Prowell became a shipping merchant in 
 Philadelphia, engaged in trade with many 
 foreign ports. On June 4, 1804, he took sick 
 while on board his \essel, wdiich he landed 
 on the Barbadoes Islands, east of the West 
 Indies, and the same day made his will. 
 From this sickness he partially recovered, 
 landed at Philadelphia, and a few days later 
 added a codicil to his will, in his own hand- 
 \\riting: "at the house of my esteemed 
 friends. Captain James Josiah and his 
 estimable lady, near Philadelphia." There 
 he dted on April 3, 1805, aged fifty-three 
 years. He was buried with "the honors of 
 war" by the City Troop of Philadelphia. 
 
 Major Prowell is remembered tradition- 
 ally as a bold, daring and fearless officer, 
 and had a romantic history. ' He partici- 
 pated in the sailors' troubles with the 
 pirates of the Barbary States, and afterward 
 owned large possessions in the Colony of 
 Dernaii. He owned a plantation called 
 "Washington," in the Colony of Berbice, 
 and there assisted the British government 
 to quell an insurrection in 1803. The 
 
 executors of Alajor Prowell's estate were 
 David Lennox, of Philadelphia: Robert and 
 William Pulsford, of London; and John 
 Douglass, of the Colony of Berbice — in each 
 of wdiich places he had possessions. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 REVOLUTION— Continued. 
 
 The Pennsylvania Line at York — Execu- 
 tion at York — Pulaski's Legion — Ar- 
 mand's Legion — Quartermasters' Posts 
 in York County. 
 
 In February, 1781, Congress resolved to 
 send the Pennsylvania Line to Virginia for 
 the purpose of joining" the southern army 
 under General Nathaniel Greene, then re- 
 treating northward through the Carolinas, 
 closely pursued by Lord Cornwallis. A de- 
 tachment of the British army under Bene- 
 dict Arnold and William Philips had landed 
 at Richmond and was threatening to invade 
 the State of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson 
 was the governor of that state and the 
 Legislature had removed to Charlottes- 
 ville. 
 
 The Pennsylvania Line, now under the 
 command of General Arthur St. Clair, was 
 ordered to rendezvous at York. It was 
 composed of two brigades commanded re- 
 spectively by Anthony Wayne and AA^illiam 
 Irvine. The mutiny which had occurred in 
 December, 1780, while the Pennsylvania 
 Line was in X^ew Jersey, had been settled, 
 largely through the influence of General 
 Anthony Wayne, but many of the troops 
 had been discharged and had returned to 
 their homes. Early in January, 1781, six 
 regiments of the Line and Proctor's Artil- 
 lery, both much reduced in numbers, were 
 stationed at different places in Pennsyl- 
 vania for the purpose of recruiting. The 
 First Regiment, under Colonel Daniel 
 Broadhead, was sent to York ; the Second, 
 Colonel AValter Stewart, to Yellow Springs; 
 the Third, Colonel Thomas Craig, to Eas- 
 ton; the Fourth, Colonel AVilliam Butler, to 
 Carlisle; the Fifth, Colonel Richard Butler, 
 to Reading; the Sixth, Colonel Richard 
 Humpton, to Lebanon, and the Artillery, 
 under Colonel Thomas Proctor, to New- 
 town. Other regiments were stationed at 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 2:5 
 
 Fort Pitt, in western Penns\l\ania. Gen- "The parties from the several 
 eral Irvine, of Carlisle, who had served with Ordered regiments which are to compose 
 credit in the Canada and Xew Jersey cam- to York, tlie first detachment, have orders 
 paigns, was assigned to superintend the re- to march from the cantonments 
 crniting throughout the State, and General to York, the moment the auditors have 
 Wayne was ordered to York. At this finished the settlements, respectively. You 
 juncture, Washington wrote to St. Clair : will, therefore, repair to York as soon as 
 "Congress has determined conveniently may be, to make the necessary 
 Washington's that the Pennsylvania Line, arrangements and take such measures as 
 Letter. except Moylan's Dragoons, may prevent, as much as possible, any delay 
 and other troops to the at that place. You will please to take the 
 westward, shall compose part of the South- command of it upon yourself, and proceed, 
 ern Army, and has directed me to order it by the enclosed route, to join General 
 to join the army in Virginia by detach- Greene with all the dispatch that the nature 
 ments, as they may be in readiness to of the case will admit of. Should anj' oper- 
 march. You will, therefore, in obedience to ations of the enemy render the passage at 
 the above resolve, put matters in a proper Alexandria precarious, you are not to con- 
 train to carry it into execution with all dis- sider yourself as bound Ijy the route, but 
 patch possible. You will now, in case cir- will make choice of such other place to cross 
 cumstances should permit the detachment the Potomac where it may be done with 
 under the command of Lafayette to proceed safety, making as little detour as possible, 
 down the Chesapeake, not confine yourself As several of the squads must pass through 
 to a single battalion of four hundred men, Lancaster and there be supplied with pro- 
 as mentioned in mine of the 22d, but en- visions to carry them to York, give atten- 
 deavor to send as many as possible by so tion to these matters in your way so as to 
 good and expeditious a conveyance. facilitate their march, and prevent disap- 
 
 "I think it essential that one of the pointment. I wish you a prosperous jour- 
 brigadiers should proceed to Virginia with ney, and all happiness. 
 
 the first detachment that moves, and there "Yott will please to favor me with an ac- 
 be ready to receive and form the remainder count of the return of the numbers you 
 as they come on. There may be greater march with, and direct the brigade quarter- 
 necessity of an ofhcer of rank being at hand, master to forward a return of the camp 
 as the Line, from the late disturbances in it, equipage and utensils received by him. Let 
 will have lost somewdiat of its discipline, me know, also, what number of arms were 
 General Irvine, being employed in superin- sent on to York. If there is any surplus, 
 tending the recruiting business, the duty de- they may be stored and left under the care 
 volves upon General Wa\-ne. I ha\e writ- of the commanding officer at that place, as 
 ten to him on the subject." also any surplus of blankets beyond that 
 
 In March, Lafayette proceeded from which completes the detachment." 
 
 Philadelphia with 1,000 New England and The Pennsylvania Line at 
 
 New Jersey troops to Baltimore, whence he Recruiting. York, under Wayne, was com- 
 
 moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia. In ac- posed of two hundred men 
 
 cordance with instructions, the different from the First regiment, 120 from the 
 
 regiments of the Pennsylvania Line at their Second. 80 from the Third, 160 from the 
 
 places of cantonment in this state, had been Fourth, 240 from the Fifth and 160 from the 
 
 increased in numbers by recruits. Prepara- Sixth. \\'ayne's force was formed into 
 
 tions were then made to rendezvous these three battalions, commanded respectively 
 
 troops at York. General Anthony Wayne, by Colonel Richard Butler, Colonel Walter 
 
 who had already won distinction as a sol- Stewart and Colonel Richard Humpton. 
 
 dier in several battles of the Revolution Nine officers and ninety men with six field 
 
 and had displayed remarkable skill and pieces from Proctor's Fourth Continental 
 
 strategy in the capture of Stony Point on Artillery were added to the detachment, 
 
 the Hudson, was ordered to command the This, together with recruits received at 
 
 first detachment to be sent to Virginia. York, increased his command to nearly a 
 
 May 2. 1781, St. Clair wrote to Wayne: thousand men. It was a long and tedious 
 
2l6 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 business to reorganize the men and procure 
 the needed suppHes for the expedition. In 
 the efforts to prepare them for the campaign 
 he was embarrassed by difficulties of the 
 same sort that had been encountered since 
 the beginning of the war. Recruits for the 
 expedition were scarce, the needed supplies 
 were not forthcoming, and the worthless 
 paper which was given to pzy his men, it 
 was soon discovered would purchase 
 nothing in the way of the commonest neces- 
 saries. No allowance being made for the 
 actual depreciation of this miscalled money 
 below its nominal value, there was much 
 discontent on the part of the men to whom 
 it was offered. The result of this renewed 
 attempt on the part of the state to pay its 
 soldiers in nominal money, when it had 
 agreed to pay them in what was real, is 
 clearly expressed in the following letter of 
 Wayne, May 20, 1781 : 
 
 "\Mien I arrived at York there was 
 scarcely a horse or a carriage fit to transport 
 any part of our baggage or supplies. This 
 dif^culty I found means to remedy by bar- 
 tering one species of public property to pro- 
 cure another. The troops were retarded in 
 advancing to the general rendezvous by the 
 unaccountable delay of the auditors who 
 were appointed to settle and pay the propor- 
 tion of the depreciation due them, which, 
 when received, was not equal to one-seventh 
 part of its nominal value. This was an 
 alarming circumstance. The soldier}^ but 
 too sensibly felt the imposition; nor did the 
 conduct or counsel of the inhabitants tend 
 to moderate but rather to inflame their 
 minds by refusing to part with anything 
 which the soldiers needed in exchange for 
 it, saying it was not worth accepting, and 
 that they (the soldiers) ought not to march 
 until justice was done them. To minds al- 
 ready susceptible to this kind of impression 
 and whose recent revolt was fresh in their 
 memory little more was wanting to stimu- 
 late them to try it again. The day ante- 
 cedent to that on which the march was to 
 commence, a few leading mutineers on the 
 right of each regiment called out to pay 
 them in real and not ideal money, they were 
 no longer to be trifled with. Upon this they 
 were ordered to their tents, which, being 
 peremptorily refused, the principals were 
 immediately either knocked down or con- 
 fined by the officers, who were previously 
 
 prepared for this event. A court-martial 
 was ordered on the spot, the commission of 
 the crime, trial and execution were all in- 
 cluded in the course of a few hours in front 
 of the line paraded under arms. The de- 
 termined countenances of the officers pro- 
 duced a conviction to the soldiery that the 
 sentence of the court-martial would be car- 
 ried into execution at every risk and conse- 
 quence. ^^'hether by design or accident, 
 the particular friends and messmates of the 
 culprits were their executioners, and while 
 the tears rolled down their cheeks in 
 showers, they silently and faithfully obeyed 
 their orders without a moment's hesitation. 
 Thus was this hideous monster crushed in 
 its birth, however, to myself and officers a 
 most painful scene." 
 
 AA'hile General AVayne was in York he 
 occupied the building at the northwest cor- 
 ner of Market and Beaver Streets as his 
 headquarters. His troops were encamped 
 on the public common, now Penn Park. 
 
 Before he had finished the organization 
 of his brigade, Washington wrote: 
 
 "The critical condition of our southern 
 affairs, and the reinforcements sent by the 
 enemy to that quarter, urge the necessity of 
 moving as large a proportion of the Penn- 
 sylvania Line as possible, without a mo- 
 ment's loss of time. Indeed I hope before 
 this, by the measures you have taken, all 
 the impediments to a movement will have 
 been obviated. I am persuaded your utmost 
 and unremitting exertions will not be want- 
 ing on this and every occasion of serving 
 your country so essentially, that they may 
 be e\er crowned with success, that nothing 
 but propitious events may attend you on the 
 march." 
 
 Mav 26, Wayne's corps, much 
 
 Marches smaller in numljer than he had 
 
 to anticipated and by no means well 
 
 Virginia, equipped, began the march 
 
 southward from York. 
 
 Captain Joseph McClellan, who served in 
 this expedition, kept an interesting diary 
 describing the march from York to Virginia. 
 According to his record. General Wayne 
 and his troops began to march at 9 A. M. 
 of May 26. On the evening of that day 
 they encamped along the hillside in Heidel- 
 berg Township, near the present site of 
 Menges' Mills. At daylight on the 27th, 
 General Wavne ordered the drums to beat 
 
THE COOKES HOUSE ON KING'S MILL ROAD, WHERE THE GOVERN- 
 MENT RECORDS WERE FIRST DEPOSITED ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1777 
 
 HE.\DOL-ARTEKs. OF GENERAL WAVNE, AT THE NORTHWEST COKNEK OF 
 MARKET AND BEAVER STREETS, WHILE HIS BRIGADE WAS EN- 
 CAMPED AT YORK IN 17'-1 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 217 
 
 as a signal to take up the march. The}' 
 passed througli Hanover and halted at Lit- 
 tlestown, a distance of fourteen miles. 
 Continuing the march, Captain McClellan 
 says : "We passed through Taneytown, and 
 halted upon the bank of Pipe Creek, being 
 fourteen miles. 
 
 "May 29. Marched at 9 o'clock, and en- 
 camped about 12 on the south bank of the 
 Monocacy, being fourteen miles. 
 
 "The troops took up the line of march at 
 3 A. M. and encamped on the S. W. of 
 Monocac}', 14 miles. 
 
 "May 30. Continued on the ground for 
 the men to wash and clean their arms. 
 Reviewed at 5 P. M. At 7 P. M. we were 
 reviewed by General Wayne. 
 
 "May 31. ?klarched at sunrise; passed 
 
 through Fredericktown about 8, 
 
 ;here 
 
 there were a number of British officers who 
 were prisoners of war. They took a view 
 of us as we passed through the town. Con- 
 tinued our march to the Potomac, at No- 
 land's Ferry, where we halted some time 
 for the artillery and baggage to cross. The 
 troops crossed in the e\'ening. and halted 
 one mile from the ferry and lay without 
 tents. It rained most of the night. In 
 crossing there were four men drowned by 
 one of the boats sinking. Our march this 
 da}' was 16 miles, besides crossing the ferry. 
 We crossed the Potomac at Noland's Ferry 
 in bad scows. One sunk, in which one ser- 
 geant and three privates of our regiment 
 (First) were drowned." 
 
 June 7, with his force reduced 
 Joins to about 900 men as the result 
 
 Lafayette, of the long march, Wayne ar- 
 rived at Fredericksburg, where 
 he joined Lafayette, who had a force of 
 1,200 men. Before Wayne arrived in Vir- 
 ginia, Richmond had been burned by the 
 English under Philips and Arnold. The 
 State Legislature had moved to Charlottes- 
 ville, the home of Thomas Jefferson, who 
 was then the governor of Virginia. Preda- 
 tory parties were then scouring this state 
 and Jefferson, at his home, narrowly es- 
 caped being captured by a band of the 
 British under Tarleton. Lafayette and 
 W'ayne commanded the only .Vmerican 
 forces then in Virginia. The object of 
 Wayne and Lafayette now was to check the 
 raids of the English detachments sent into 
 
 the interior of Virginia intent on robbery 
 and the destruction of military stores. 
 
 Meanwhile, Greene had re- 
 
 The treated northward through the 
 
 Surrender State of North Carolina, closely 
 
 of followed by Lord Cornwallis. 
 
 Cornwallis. Washington moved southward 
 
 from the vicinity of New York 
 with 6,000 men and the French fleet arrived 
 at the mouth of the Chesapeake. Wash- 
 ington united the forces under Greene, 
 Lafayette and Wayne with his own army, 
 numbering in all 16,000 men, in front of 
 Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, wdiile 
 the French fleet closed in behind and pre- 
 ^•ented the enemy from escaping. The 
 siege and battle of Yorktown followed, and 
 on October 19, Cornwallis surrendered his 
 entire army. This was the last important 
 engagement of the Revolution. 
 
 EXECUTION AT YORK. 
 
 Samuel Dewees was serving as a fifer in 
 Colonel Richard Butler's regiment when it 
 was encamped at York. After the Revolu- 
 tion he resided in Maryland until his death, 
 about 1836. He served as a captain of 
 Maryland troops in the war of 1812 and with 
 his company helped to defend Baltimore 
 against the British, in September, 1814. 
 About thirty years after the Revolution he 
 wrote and published a book describing his 
 experiences in the war of the Revolution. 
 Captain Dewees was a witness to the shoot- 
 ing at York of four soldiers of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Line in 1781. He describes the un- 
 fortunate affair as follows : 
 
 "Whilst we lay at Lebanon a circum- 
 stance transpired worthy of notice, and 
 which I here record as a prelude to the 
 tragic event at York. A sergeant, who was 
 known by the appellation of Macaroni 
 Jack, a very intelligent, active, neat and 
 clever fellow, had committed some trivial 
 offence. He had his wife with him in camp, 
 who always kept him \ery clean and neat in 
 his appearance. She was washerwoman to 
 a number of soldiers, myself among the 
 number. She was a very well behaved and 
 good conditioned woman. 
 
 "The officers for the purpose of making 
 an impression upon him and to better his 
 conduct, ordered him to be brought from 
 the guard house, which done, he was tied up 
 and the drummers ordered to give him a 
 
211 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVANIA 
 
 certain number of lashes upon his bare back. 
 The intention of the officers was not to 
 chastise him. 
 
 "When he was tied up he looked around 
 and addressed the soldiers, exclaiming at 
 the same time, 'dear brother soldiers, won't 
 you help me.' This, in the eyes of the 
 officers, savored of mutiny and they called 
 out, 'take him down, take him down.' The 
 order was instantl}- obeyed, and he was 
 taken back to the guard house again and 
 hand-cufifed. At this time there were two 
 deserters confined with him. On the next 
 or second day after this, we were ordered 
 on to Y'ork, Pa., where, upon our arrival, 
 we encamped upon the common below the 
 town. Our three prisoners were confined in 
 York jail. In a few days after we arrived at 
 Y^ork, a soldier by the name of Jack Smith, 
 and another soldier whose name I do not 
 now remember, were engaged in playing 
 long bullets. While thus engaged some of 
 the officers were walking along the road, 
 where they were throwing" the bullets. The 
 bullets passing near the officers, they used 
 very harsh language to Smith and his com- 
 rade, who immediately retorted by using 
 the same kind of indecorous language. A 
 file of men was immediately despatched 
 with orders to take Smith and his comrade 
 under guard and march them oiT to York 
 jail. 
 
 "In three or four days after these 
 arrests were made, a sergeant of the 
 name of Lilly was offensive. He was 
 a very fine fellow and an excellent 
 scholar, so much so, that much of the 
 regimental writing fell to his lot to do, 
 and for which he received a remuneration in 
 some way. This sergeant having become 
 intoxicated, had quarreled with one or more 
 of his messmates, and upon some of the 
 officers coming around to inquire what the 
 matter was, found him out of his tent. The 
 officers scolded him and bade him to go into 
 his quarters. Lilly having been much in 
 favor and knowing his abilities and the ser- 
 vices rendered, was (although intoxicated) 
 very much wounded and could not bear to 
 be thus harshly dealt with and used lan- 
 guage of an unbecoming kind to his superior 
 officers. The officers immediately ordered 
 him to be taken to York jail. 
 
 "On the next day in the morning we beat 
 up the troop. After roll call, we were 
 
 ordered to beat up the troop again. The 
 whole line was again formed, and I think 
 the orders were, for every soldier to appear 
 in line, with his knapsack on his back. I 
 suppose that at this time there were parts 
 of three regiments, in all 800 or 1,000 men 
 lying at Y'ork, the whole of which was com- 
 manded by Colonel Anthony Wayne. The 
 whole body, sentinels, invalids, etc., ex- 
 cepted, when formed were marched to the 
 distance of about half a mile from the camp. 
 Twenty men were then ordered out of the 
 line and formed into marching order and all 
 the musicians placed at their head. After 
 remaining a short time in a marching pos- 
 ture, the order of forward was given. We 
 were then marched direct to the jail door. 
 The prisoners, six in number, were then 
 brought out and their sentence, which was 
 death, was read to them. 
 
 "At this time it was thought that none in 
 the line save the officers knew for what the 
 provost guard was detached, but it appeared 
 afterwards that previous to the firing which 
 was the means of launching four out of the 
 six into eternity, the matter of rescuing 
 them was whispered among the soldiers, 
 but they did not concert measures in time, 
 to prevent the awful catastrophe which they 
 meditated, by an act of insubordination 
 upon their part. 
 
 "After the sentence of death w'as read to 
 the condemned soldiers at the jail door, we 
 then marched them out and down below 
 town, playing the 'dead march' in front of 
 them. We continued our march full half a 
 mile and halted on a piece of ground (the 
 Common) adjoining a field of rye which was 
 then in blossom. This was sometime in 
 the earhr part of May, 1781. After a halt 
 was made, the prisoners were ordered to 
 kneel down with their backs to the rye field 
 fence. Their eyes were then bandaged or 
 co\-ered over with silk handkerchiefs. The 
 officer in command then divided his force of 
 twenty men into two platoons. The whole 
 was then ordered to load their pieces. This 
 done, ten were ordered to advance, and at 
 the signal given by the officer, which was 
 the wave of his pocket handkerchief, the 
 first platoon of ten fired at one of the six. 
 Macaroni Jack was the first shot and in- 
 stantly killed. The first platoon was then 
 ordered to retire and reload, and the second 
 platoon of ten ordered to advance. When 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 219 
 
 the signal was again given, Sniitli shared 
 the same fate, but with an awfuhiess that 
 would have made even devils to have shrunk 
 back and stood appalled. His head was 
 literally blown in fragments from ofT his 
 body. The second platoon was then ordered 
 to retire and reload, whilst the first was 
 ordered to advance and at the same signal 
 fired at the third man. The second platoon 
 then advanced and fired to order, at Ser- 
 geant Lilly, whose brave and noble soul was 
 instantly on the wing to the presence of the 
 Supreme Judge, who has pledged himself 
 that he will do that which is right. The 
 arms of each had been tied above their 
 elbows with the cords passing behind their 
 backs. Being thus tied, enabled them to 
 have the use of their hands. I ventured 
 near and noticed that Macaroni Jack had 
 his hands clasped together in front of his 
 breast and had both of his thumbs shot ofi. 
 The distance that the platoons stood from 
 them at the time the}' tired could not have 
 been more than ten feet. So near did they 
 stand that the handkerchiefs covering the 
 eyes of some of them that were shot were 
 set on fire. The fence and even the heads 
 of rye for some distance within the field 
 were covered with blood and brains. After 
 four were shot, we musicians with a portion 
 of the twenty men were ordered to march 
 and were then conducted up to the main line 
 of the army. After our arrival there, the 
 whole line was thrown into marching order 
 and led to the scene of bloody death. 
 A\'hen the troops advanced near to the spot 
 they deployed ofif into double file and were 
 then marched very near to the dead bodies, 
 as also to those still on their knees waiting 
 the awful death that they had every reason 
 to believe still awaited them. The order 
 was for every man to look upon the bodies 
 as he passed, and in order that the soldiers 
 in line might behold them more distinctly in 
 passing the}' were ordered to countermarch 
 after they had passed and then marched as 
 close to them upon their return. 
 
 "The two deserters that were still in a 
 kneeling posture were reprieved, the band- 
 ages taken from their eyes, then untied, and 
 restored to their respective companies." 
 
 COLONEL RICHARD BUTLER, of 
 Wayne's brigade, was born in York County, 
 April I, 1743. He was the son of Thomas 
 and Eleanor Butler, who came from Ireland 
 
 to America, and settled "near the Conewago 
 on the west side of the Susquehanna," in 
 the original area of York County. He was 
 educated in the classical school taught by 
 Rev. Mr. Allison in Chester County, and 
 then studied law. In 1764, he served in 
 Bouquet's expedition against the Indians 
 of western Pennsylvania. At the opening 
 of the Revolution, he was chosen major of 
 the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, and 
 soon after, lieutenant-colonel of Morgan's 
 rifles. He was present with the northern 
 army under Gates at the surrender of Bur- 
 goyne at Saratoga in October, 1777, and at 
 the battle of Monmouth in 1778. He soon 
 after became colonel of the Ninth Pennsyl- 
 vania Regiment, which he commanded at 
 the battle of Stony Point. He came to York 
 in the spring of 1781, and commanded a 
 regiment of the Pennsylvania Line. In May 
 of that year, he marched with Wayne's 
 brigade to Yorktown, Virginia, joining 
 Lafay"ette's command at Fredericksburg. 
 While with Lafayette's division near Wil- 
 liamsburg, Virginia, he attacked Colonel 
 Simcoe's rangers, gaining the advantage. 
 After the war, he settled in Carlisle, and in 
 1788 was member of the State Legislature, 
 from Cumberland County. In 1787, he was 
 agent for the Indian affairs in Ohio, and in 
 the expedition of St. Clair's campaign 
 against the Indians, in 1791, commanded 
 the right wing, with the rank of major- 
 general. When attacked early in the morn- 
 ing of November 4, he repeatedly charged 
 the enemy, received several severe wounds 
 and was finally killed. Butler County, in 
 "western Pennsylvania, was named in his 
 honor. 
 
 Colonel William Butler, his brother, was 
 lieutenant-colonel of the Fourth Pennsyl- 
 vania Regiment in the Revolutionary army. 
 In October, 1778, after the destruction of 
 Wyoming by John Butler and the Indians, 
 he conducted an expedition from Schoharie, 
 which destroyed the Indian settlements of 
 Unadilla and Anaguaga. 
 
 Thomas, another brother, was born in 
 Pennsylvania, in 1754. In 1776, while 
 studying law with Judge Wilson, of Phila- 
 delphia, he joined the army, soon obtained 
 a company, and was in almost every action 
 in the middle states during the Revolution. 
 At Brandywine, September 11, 1777, he re- 
 ceived the thanks of Washington on the 
 
220 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXNSYLVANI.V 
 
 field for intrepidit}' in rall\-ing a retreating 
 detachment. At Monmouth lie was thanked 
 by Wayne for defending a defile in the face 
 of a heavy fire, while Colonel Richard But- 
 ler's regiment withdrew. After the war he 
 retired to a farm, but in 1791, was made 
 major, and commanded a battalion from 
 Carlisle in Gibson's regiment, under St. 
 Clair, at whose defeat, November 4, he was 
 twice wounded. He became major of the 
 fourth sub-legion on April 11, 1792, lieu- 
 tenant-colonel commanding the Fourth In- 
 fantry on July I, 1792, and' on the reorgan- 
 ization of the army on a peace basis, in June, 
 1802, was retained as colonel of the Second 
 Infantry, to which he was appointed on 
 .\pril I, 1802. In 1797 he was ordered by 
 President AA'ashington to expel settlers 
 from Indian lands in Tennessee, and made 
 several treaties with the Indians while in 
 that country. He died in New Orleans, 
 Louisiana, September 7, 1805. 
 
 CAPTAIN THOMAS CAMPBELL, the 
 son of John Campbell, was born about 1750 
 in Chanceford Township, York County. 
 His father took up a tract of land at an 
 early day, situated on the "Great Road lead- 
 ing from York to Nelson's. Ferry." He was 
 of Scotch-Irish descent, and received the 
 education accorded that sturdy race. He 
 was a farmer by occupation. AVhen the 
 Revolutionary struggle began, he enlisted 
 as a private in Captain Michael Doudel's 
 company, attached to Colonel William 
 Thompson's Battalion of Riflemen, in July, 
 1 775- Fie served through the New England 
 campaign, and was commissioned first lieu- 
 tenant in tlie Fourth Regiment of the Penn- 
 sylvania Line, January 3, 1777. He was 
 severely wounded at Germantown, was pro- 
 moted captain January i, 1781, and retired 
 from the service January i, 1783. He w-as 
 one of the original members of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Society of the Cincinnati. Captain 
 Campbell was chosen a delegate to the 
 State Convention to ratify the Federal Con- 
 stitution in 1787; served as a member of the 
 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 
 from 1797 to 1800, and of the Senate from 
 the York and Adams district from 1805 to 
 1808. He died at his residence in Mona- 
 ghan Township, York Countv, January 19, 
 1815. 
 
 The First Regiment of the Pennsylvania 
 Line marched with Wayne from York to 
 
 the surrender of Cornwallis. This regiment 
 then contained about twenty of the one 
 hundred men that had marched from York 
 to Boston and joined A\'ashington at Cam- 
 bridge in July, 1775. The muster roll of 
 this company will he found among the suc- 
 ceeding pages. 
 
 PULASKI'S LEGION AT YORK. 
 
 Pulaski's Legion, a bod)^ of niounted 
 lancers and infantry, was quartered in York 
 in IMarch and April, 1779, coming here after 
 leaving the winter encampment in New 
 Jersey. These troops were commanded by 
 Count Cassimer Pulaski, a Polish soldier, 
 wdio led the insurgents during an insurrec- 
 tion in Poland. He had ten years' experi- 
 ence as an officer in his native country 
 before he went to Paris, where, in the spring 
 of 1777, he met Benjamin Franklin. Soon 
 afterward he sailed for Philadelphia and be- 
 came an aide on the staff of General W'ash- 
 ington, with the rank of colonel. The first 
 action in wdiich he took part was at Brandy- 
 wine. \A'hen the Continental troops began 
 to yield, he made a reconnoissance with the 
 general's jjod)^ guard and reported tliat the 
 enemy was endeavoring to cut ofT the line of 
 retreat. He was authorized to collect as 
 many of the scattered troops as came in his 
 way and employ them according to his dis- 
 cretion, which he did in a manner so 
 prompt as to eft'ect important aid in the 
 retreat of the army. Four days later, on re- 
 commendation of Washington, he was com- 
 missioned a brigadier-general and placed in 
 charge of the cavalr}-. He took part in the 
 battle of Germantown and engaged in the 
 operations under General Wayne, during 
 the winter of 1777-8. The cavalry officers 
 could not be reconciled to the orders of a 
 foreigner who could scarcely speak English, 
 and whose ideas of discipline and tactics 
 dift'ered widely from those to which they 
 had been accustomed, and these circum- 
 stances induced Pulaski to resign his com- 
 mand in March. 1778, and return to Valley 
 Forge, wdiere he was assigned to special 
 duty. .\t his suggestion, wdiich was 
 adopted by Washington, Congress, March 
 28, 1778, authorized the formation of a 
 corps, composed of sixty-eight light horse 
 and two hundred foot soldiers. This Legion 
 was recruited in Pen'nsyhania and Mary- 
 land, and soon after took part in several 
 
THE RFA'OLUTIOX 
 
 221 
 
 actions in Xew Jersey. In the engagement 
 with the enemy at Little Egg Harbor, 
 Pulaski was surprised by the British and in 
 a bayonet encounter, lost in killed and 
 wounded forty of his Legion. 
 
 In February, 1779, Count Pulaski 
 Ordered was ordered to South Carolina to 
 South. join the arm}- under General Lin- 
 coln. He rendezvoused his 
 Legion at York, encamping on the Public 
 Common. Count Pulaski, while here, occu- 
 l)ied quarters on the west side of North 
 George Street near Centre Square, and re- 
 cruited about twenty men from this county. 
 During part of the time that his Legion was 
 encamped at York, the Count was absent. 
 His subordinate officers did not enforce 
 rigid discipline, and some of the troops 
 scoured the country round about, foraging 
 for food and provisions. This brought forth 
 a bitter complaint on the part of the citi- 
 zens of York and the surrounding countr\'. 
 Colonel James Smith, then a delegate in 
 Congress from York, wrote a letter to the 
 President of Pennsylvania in which he 
 described the misconduct of Pulaski's men. 
 He stated that "they forage indiscriminately 
 and take whatever they want from the poor 
 terrified inhabitants, many of whom, 
 strongly impressed by the terrors of mili- 
 tary violence in Europe, submit to the spoil- 
 ing of their goods and insult to their person 
 without complaining, while others resent it 
 in open clamor and complaint and will soon 
 probably redress themselves." 
 
 President Reed drew the attention of the 
 Board of War to the disturbances at Y'ork 
 and that body addressed Count Pulaski a 
 letter, which in part reads ; 
 
 "We have the honor to enclose you a 
 copy of our letter and an extract of another, 
 relative to the conduct of your corps in your 
 absence. \\^e hoped that all such grounds 
 of complaint had long since ceased. But as 
 those mentioned correspond with former re- 
 ports we cannot avoid giving some credit 
 to them. The complaints are of such a 
 nature as to demand a strict enquiry, at the 
 same time they should lead you and your 
 officers to maintain a stricter discipline in 
 the corps. \Ye do not mean, however, to 
 delay the Legion on these accounts. Its 
 services are wanted at the southward, 
 whither we desire it may be marched with 
 all possible dispatch." 
 
 During the month of April, 
 Killed at Pulaski began the march to 
 Savannah. South Carolina, arriving at 
 Charleston in May. He was in 
 active service in command of his troops 
 until October, 1779, when he was mortally 
 wounded during the siege of Savannah. He 
 was taken to the brig. Wasp, where he died 
 as the vessel was leaving the harbor. His 
 remains were buried at sea. Among the sol- 
 diers from Y^ork County, who served under 
 Pulaski, were Frederick Boyer, 1778-1783, 
 resided in York County, 1835, aged eighty- 
 seven years; Martin Miller, resided in Y^ork 
 County, 1835, aged seventy-one; Edward 
 Smith, died June 26, 1832, in York County, 
 aged seventy-six years. 
 
 The banner which belonged to Pulaski's 
 Legion is now in the possession of the 
 ]\Iaryland Historical Society, Baltimore. It 
 was in that city that he recruited his inde- 
 pendent command to the number of 300 
 men, and on July 29, 1778, he gave a public 
 review of his Legion to the citizens and 
 military authorities of Baltimore. 
 
 ^^'hile recruiting his Legion, Pulaski 
 went to the Moravian settlement at Bethle- 
 hem. Upon visiting the Sisters' house he 
 saw their beautiful embroidery and ordered 
 them to prepare a small cavalry banner for 
 his Legion. It was made of crimson silk. 
 Supposing that it had been presented to the 
 Legion by the Moravian Sisters, the noted 
 poet, Henry \\'. Longfellow, made the 
 incident the subject of a poem, and at- 
 tempted to make it more efTective by the 
 introduction of cowls, altars and censers. • 
 
 ARMAND'S LEGION AT YORK. 
 
 Armand's Legion was quartered at Y'ork 
 from December 25, 1782, to November, 
 1783. It w^as commanded by a noted 
 French soldier, who had served ten j-ears 
 in the Guarde du Corps of Paris. He came 
 to America, volunteered in the cause of the 
 Revolution, May 10, 1777, when he was 
 commissioned by Congress a colonel under 
 the name of Charles Armand, concealing his 
 rank of Marquis de la Rouerie. Congress 
 authorized him to raise a corps of French 
 soldiers in number not exceeding two hun- 
 dred. About one-half of his command, how- 
 ever, were Americans. Colonel Armand 
 was a spirited officer and did good service 
 throughout the war. He participated in the 
 
IirSTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 engagement at Red Bank, was with Lafay- 
 ette in New Jersey, and active in West 
 Chester County, New York, opposing the 
 forces of Emmerick and Barremore, the lat- 
 ter of whom he captured near Kings Bridge, 
 November 8, 1779. In February of the fol- 
 lowing year his command was incorporated 
 with Pulaski's Legion and both participated 
 in the southern campaign under Gates, 
 whom he severely criticized for his in- 
 efliciency at the battle of Camden. In 1781 
 he went to France to procure clothing and 
 accoutrements for his Legion, returning in 
 time to take part in the battle of Yorktown 
 and surrender of Cornwallis, in October, 
 1781. 
 
 In March, 1783, while he was w'ith his 
 command at York, Congress commissioned 
 him a brigadier-general in obedience to a 
 request of Washington. General Armand 
 was urbane and polished in manner, an elo- 
 quent and persuasive speaker, a gallant 
 leader and a man greatly beloved by his 
 men and his superior officers. 
 
 After the surrender of Lord Corn- 
 Came wallis at Yorktown, Armand's 
 to Legion, composed of about 200 
 York. Dragoons, accompanied Washing- 
 ton's arm)^ to the vicinity of New 
 York. In February, 1782, Armand was 
 ordered to report to General Greene in the 
 Southern Department, and in December of 
 the same year, he came from Virginia to 
 York. While here, he met Colonel Thomas 
 Hartley, with whom part of his Legion had 
 served in the expedition against the hostile 
 Indians in northern Pennsylvania and 
 southern New York. Colonel Armand re- 
 mained wath his Legion for a period of 
 eleven months. Before his departure, in 
 November, 1783, James Smith, Colonel 
 Thomas Hartley, Archibald McClean and 
 others, presented him with the following ad- 
 dress : 
 
 "Hearing that your Legion is about to be 
 disbanded, and that you will soon return to 
 your native country, we, the inhabitants of 
 York, in Pennsylvania, express to you the 
 high sense we entertain of the strict discip- 
 line, good conduct, and deportment of the 
 officers and soldiers of your corps, whilst 
 stationed amongst us for ten months past. 
 
 "We return to you our hearty thanks, as 
 well for the service rendered to America in 
 the field, as for the attention you have paid 
 
 to the property and ci\'il rights of the peo- 
 ple. Be pleased to communicate our senti- 
 ments to ^lajor Shaftner, and all your 
 worthy officers, and assure them we shall 
 ever hold them in the greatest esteem. 
 
 "We pray that you may have an agree- 
 able passage across the ocean, and that you 
 may receive a just reward for your illus- 
 trious actions, performed in support of lib- 
 erty and the honor of the allied arms." 
 
 To these encouraging words Colonel Ar- 
 mand replied : 
 
 "I received your polite address of the 
 1 8th, and from its impression on my feel- 
 ings, and of the officers and soldiers of the 
 Legion, I am truly happy in giving you our 
 united and most hearty thanks. If the 
 Legion has observed that good conduct, 
 wdiich merits the applause you give it, I 
 conceive that in so doing, they have only 
 discharged their duty, and obeyed punctu- 
 ally the orders and intentions of His Excel- 
 lency, General \A'ashington, whose exem- 
 plary virtues, talents and honor, must have 
 raised ambition to some merit in those, who, 
 like the corps I had the honor to command, 
 placed all their confidence in him. 
 
 "Permit me to say, gentlemen, that sol- 
 diers cannot be guilty of misconduct, where 
 the inhabitants are kind to them, also are 
 attached to the cause of their country, and 
 so respectable as those of York. I think it 
 my duty to thank you for the good behavior 
 of the Legion whilst amongst you, for it 
 was encouraged and supported by your 
 conduct towards them. 
 
 "I shall only add, that although the 
 greater part of us will shortly return home, 
 the conclusion of the war rendering our 
 longer stay unnecessary, we shall be happy 
 again to join the army of America, if in 
 future our services should be deemed of 
 importance." 
 
 There were a number of soldiers in York 
 County W'ho had served in Armand's Legion 
 during the Revolution. Among these were : 
 
 John Gottlieb Alorris, surgeon, promoted 
 from surgeon's mate, died in York in 1808; 
 Leonard Bamagartel, resided in York 
 County in 1835; John Glehmer, resided at 
 York in 1828; Conrad Pudding, died in 
 York County in 1828, aged seventy-four; 
 Philip ShafYer, resided in York County in 
 1828; Lewis Shelly, died in York County in 
 1825; Conrad Stengle, died at York before 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 1826; Owen Cooley, York, March 25, 1777; 
 John Enrich, York, March 9, 1777; Adam 
 Brandliefer, York, February 26, 1777; John 
 Michael Koch, January 25, 1777, died in 
 York County in 1849. 
 
 During the time that Armand's Legion 
 was in York his men were quartered in log 
 houses at the northwest corner of Duke and 
 Philadelphia Streets. One row extended 
 westward on Philadelphia and another 
 north on Duke Street. These properties 
 were then owned bv Mr. James Beck. 
 
 JOHN GOTTLIEB MORRIS, of Ar- 
 mand's Legion, who settled as a physician 
 in York after the Revolution, was born in 
 Prussia in the \-illage of Redekin, near 
 Magdeburg, in 1754. He received a liberal 
 education and also studied medicine and 
 surgery in one of the higher institutions of 
 Germany. During the latter part of 1776, 
 Dr. Morris came to America, landing at 
 Philadelphia, where, after a careful exam- 
 ination, he was granted a certificate to serve 
 as a surgeon in the Continental army. This 
 certificate was signed by William Shippen, 
 \\illiam Brown and other noted surgeons 
 of that day. He was then a young man of 
 twenty-two, and is said to have possessed 
 rare accomplishments. When Armand's 
 Legion was organized, in 1777, Dr. Morris 
 was appointed assistant surgeon to this 
 command. He accompanied Colonel Ar- 
 mand in both his northern and southern 
 campaigiTs. After the battle of Camden, 
 South Carolina, Morris w^as made chief 
 surgeon of the Legion, which, in October, 
 1781, was present and took part in the bat- 
 tle of Yorktown, \'irginia, and witnessed 
 the surrender of Cornwallis and his entire 
 army. 
 
 At the close of the war, Surgeon Morris 
 settled in York as a physician and druggist. 
 In June. 1784, he married Barbara Myers, 
 of York. Dr. Morris was one of the early 
 members of the Society of Cincinnati, com- 
 posed of commissioned ofificers of the Revo- 
 lution. Charles A. Morris, his eldest son, 
 was a druggist at York for more than half 
 a century. He married Cassandra, the sis- 
 ter of Philip and Samuel Small. At his 
 death, he ga\e most of his estate to charity 
 and benevolence. Rev. John G. Morris, the 
 second son, was a noted Lutheran clergy- 
 man, lecturer and entomologist, and served 
 as president of the ^Maryland Historical 
 
 Society. He was married to Eliza, sister of 
 Dr. Jacob Hay, Sr. He died at Baltimore in 
 1895, at the advanced age of 92 years. 
 George Morris, the third son, was one of the 
 early coal merchants of York, and died 
 unmarried many years earlier than his 
 brothers. 
 
 QUARTERMASTERS' POSTS IN 
 YORK COUNTY. 
 
 During the year 1778-9, when the Indians 
 and Tories were giving trouble along the 
 northern and western frontiers, posts were 
 established by authority of Congress at 
 Carlisle, York, Hanover, and Marsh Creek, 
 near the site of Gettysburg. Colonel John 
 Davis had been appointed deputy quarter- 
 master-general of the region west of the 
 Susquehanna, with headquarters at Carlisle, 
 which was the distributing point of army 
 supplies for the frontier. Colonel David 
 Grier, who had been seriously wounded at 
 the battle of Paoli, while in command of the 
 Seventh Pennsylvania Regiment, was made 
 quartermaster at York; Captain Alexander 
 McDowell, at Hanover, and Colonel Robert 
 McPherson, at Marsh Creek. There is no 
 complete statement of the different pur- 
 chases made at these posts during the y.ears 
 named. Some of the original papers have 
 been procured, froin which interesting 
 facts have been taken. 
 
 On May 14, 1778, Captain ^^'illiam Nich- 
 ols, assistant quartermaster at York, wrote 
 to Colonel John Davis, that he had sent to 
 Carlisle two small teams and would send 
 another in two daj^s. Captain Nichols 
 states that he had already received $45,000 
 for the 'department at York. On June 2, 
 1778, Colonel Grier reported the following 
 employes at his office at York: John Mc- 
 Pherson, clerk, whose salary was $60 per 
 month; Robert Z\IcPherson, jr., clerk, $60; 
 Henry Zinn, measurer of forage, $80; James 
 Shaw and Patrick JMay, weighers of hay and 
 attendants at the public stables of the gov- 
 ernment, $80 each ; John Uley, express 
 rider, $90 and expenses ; and Francis Jones, 
 Ijrigade wagonmaster, whose salary is not 
 gi\en. On August 25. 1778, Colonel David 
 Grier received $12,000 from Colonel Davis 
 for use of the post at York. On September 
 12, 1778, John Pollock, of York, received 
 1,000 shingles, a quantity of nails and 820 
 
224 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 spikes for use in repairing the gox'ernment 
 stables at York. 
 
 Charles Lukens wrote to Colonel Davis 
 from Washingtonburg to send a team to 
 York for oil and other articles. Captain 
 Alexander McDowell, in charge of the post 
 at Hanover, wrote, on April 30, 1779, to 
 Colonel Davis that pack horses were 
 difficult to procure around Hanover, but 
 that he had purchased nine. Captain Mc- 
 Dowell also states in his letter that "the 
 horses that were brought for the army 
 camps to winter at Hanover were looking 
 well and fit for service. Forage is very 
 scarce. Oats and spelts can hardly be 
 bought at any price, owing to a frost during 
 the summer. Rye is scarce and sold at the 
 rate of five pounds per bushel. Oats or 
 spelts are worth at least $6 per bushel in 
 Continental money." He also asked Colo- 
 nel Davis to send him $10,000 from Carlisle 
 if Davis had "plent}- of money on hand." 
 
 On May i, 1779. McDowell wrote that 
 he could procure only one team to go to 
 Fort Pitt, as "all the farmers are busy with 
 their summer crops, as the frost had caused 
 the destruction of the previous crops." On 
 May 17, Colonel Davis sent six teams to 
 Colonel McPherson to carry eighty-five bar- 
 rels of beef and pork to Fort Pitt. On May 
 28, Colonel Davis ordered Colonel Grier to 
 send from York to the American camp all 
 the horses, also the portmanteaus and pack 
 saddles. Colonel Grier was also to send 
 wagons to Carlisle to convey military stores 
 from that post to Pittsburg. On the same 
 day. Colonel Grier received $12,000 for use 
 at his post. 
 
 On June 4, 1779, Charles Lukens wrote 
 from Washingtonburg to Colonel Davis to 
 procure a team of four horses and a wagon, 
 and send it to Spring Forge, in York 
 County,, to purchase "bar iron for the use 
 of the United States." This bar iron was 
 to be hauled to Philadelphia. On July 26, 
 he ordered Colonel Davis to send another 
 team to Spring Forge to procure bar iron 
 for the government. On August 7, Captain 
 McDowell asked the quartermasters' de- 
 partment at Carlisle to send him $10,000 
 for use at the post at Hanover. Some time 
 before, McDowell had sent to Carlisle for 
 the army, 216 tar pots for wagons, 104 
 army canteens, 109 pounds of lashing rope. 
 August 12, Captain McDowell received a 
 
 communication from the Board of Treasury 
 of the United States, asking him to forward 
 all vouchers he received for furnishing 
 forage and wood for the use of Burgo)ne's 
 army, then numbering about 4,000 men, 
 who were marched through Hanover and 
 camped there for the night, on their way to 
 Charlottesville, Virginia, as prisoners of 
 war, during the latter part of December, 
 177S. 
 
 Colonel Grier s report to the government 
 for the month of August, 1779, showed that 
 he had expended during that month, the 
 sum of 2,634 pounds in Continental money : 
 to Francis Jones, wagonmaster of a brigade, 
 1,237 pounds; to George Messencope, 
 wagonmaster, 209 pounds ; George Moul, 
 for smith work, 215 pounds; John McAllis- 
 ter, for supplies, 151 pounds; Thomas 
 White, wagonmaster, iii pounds; and to 
 Jacob Probst, for ropes, 75 pounds. The 
 balance was paid in small amounts to diiTer- 
 ent persons for various purposes. 
 
 The official report for the month of Au- 
 gust, shows that Captain McDowell ex- 
 pended at his post at Hanover, the sum of 
 1,171 pounds, which he estimated an equiva- 
 lent of $3,124, showing that Continental 
 money then was worth about thirty cents 
 on the dollar in specie. Among the items 
 were the following: Colonel Richard McAl- 
 lister, for seven quires of paper, 15 pounds 
 or $42; John Hinkel, for smith work, 100 
 pounds; William Kitt (Gitt), for riding 
 express and expenses, 11 pounds; George 
 Boyer, for 296 pounds of beef, 75 pounds. 
 
 September 5, 1779, John McPherson, 
 clerk of the post at York, reported that he 
 had sent to the quartermasters' department 
 at Carlisle, fifty-one pounds of lashing rope, 
 for which he paid fifteen shillings a pound, 
 and 100 halter ropes, which cost seven shil- 
 lings and six pence each. He thought these 
 prices were high for the articles named, but 
 stated that more ropes and halters could be 
 obtained at York if needed, at these prices. 
 
 Quartermaster Grier, at York, November 
 I, reported the following stores on hand: 3 
 wagons, 9 reams of writing paper, 50 blank 
 books, 250 yards of linen, 50 bags, 159 can- 
 teens, 2 saddles, and 4 horses. In a letter 
 to the quartermaster-general at Carlisle, 
 Colonel Grier wrote that he needed for 
 use at his post in York, a good supply of 
 money for necessary expenditures. He fur- 
 
COL. THOMAS HARTLEY AND WIFE 
 
 THE MOKAVL\N PARSONAGE 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 225 
 
 ther stated that he would be i-equired to 
 purchase a large amount of forage to keep 
 some cattle during the winter belonging to 
 the government. 
 
 Charles AlcClure, from tlie post at Car- 
 lisle, ordered two wagons to go to Ken- 
 nedy's mill, in York County, now near the 
 site of Gettysburg, for the purpose of con- 
 veying flour to Carlisle, and corn to ^lajor 
 Smith's mill. In Xo\ember, 1779, Colonel 
 Grier expended at his post in York, the sum 
 of 517 pounds. 
 
 April 7, 1780, four wagons were sent from 
 the post at Carlisle to procure, for the de- 
 partment, thirty-one barrels of flour at 
 DeardorfT's mill, in York County, doubtless 
 a mill with that name near York Springs. 
 May 24, Colonel Henry ]\Iiller, then serving 
 as sheriff of York County, wrote to the 
 quartermaster at Carlisle that the arrival 
 of twelve merchant vessels at Baltimore 
 caused a decline in the prices of all merchan- 
 dise in this region. In this letter he stated 
 that much depended upon the results in the 
 south, to which region the British army had 
 then gone, the seat of war having been 
 transferred to South Carolina and Georgia. 
 The troubles with the Indians along the 
 frontier had been brought to an end. In the 
 summer of 1782, the post at York was dis- 
 continued. Besides the quartermaster- 
 general, Colonel David Grier, and his assist- 
 ant, John McPherson, the department at 
 York had in its employ two clerks, two men 
 in charge of the stables, and four persons 
 in the forage department. 
 
 John McAllister, acting commissary of 
 issues at York, in June, 1779, was charged 
 with malpractice and peculation in office 
 for having misused provisions belonging to 
 the government. He was accused by Jacob 
 Eichelberger and Major David Jameson, of 
 York, with having fed hogs with flour and 
 good biscuit "at a time when soldiers that 
 were on the march to the army were in the 
 greatest need of flour for rations." McAl- 
 lister admitted part of the accusation and 
 acknowledged that he had mixed water with 
 W'hiskey, a part of the government stores 
 in his possession. 
 
 Owing to the-se accusations, the question 
 arose as to continuing the commissary de- 
 partment at York, whereupon Jameson and 
 Eichelberger asserted that York "was a 
 great thoroughfare for troops, particularly 
 
 militia in marching from the southward to 
 the main army." They urged that another 
 commissary be appointed instead of McAl- 
 lister, for "it was thought proper when 
 Congress was here during the winter of 
 1777-78 to have a commissary of purchases, 
 another of issues, a quartermaster, town 
 major and a physician, wdiich officers have 
 since been continued." 
 
 McAllister appeared in his defence before 
 the Supreme Executive Council at Phila- 
 delphia, when only part of the accusations 
 were pro\en. He remained in office a short 
 time and was then removed. 
 
 Robert Erwin, who. in 1780, had been 
 sent by William Buchanan, commissary- 
 general of purchases, to take charge of the 
 post at Hanover, succeeded in the purchase 
 of a large amount of supplies in that region. 
 In April, 1780, he had on hand 4,500 pounds 
 of bacon, 4,500 pounds of pork, 10,000 
 pounds of flour, and 400 gallons of whiskey 
 and an amount of forage which he had pur- 
 chased for the government. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 REVOLUTION— Continued. 
 
 British and Hessian Prisoners — The Re- 
 turn of the Prisoners — Camp Security — 
 Sergeant Lamb's Story — Baron Riedesel 
 — A Heroine of the Revolution — Dr. 
 John Connolly. 
 
 During the Revolution the British and 
 Hessian prisoners were sent to the interior 
 of the country, a long distance from the 
 scene of war. This was done by order of 
 Congress so that there might be no danger 
 that these prisoners would be set free by 
 raids from the British army. Lancaster, 
 York, Reading, Lebanon, Carlisle, Penn- 
 sylvania; Frederick, Maryland; Winchester 
 and Charlottesville, Virginia, were places 
 where large detachments of British and 
 Hessian prisoners were kept for several 
 months and some of them for two or three 
 years. Barracks were erected in all of these 
 towns. They were used as places of con- 
 finement and were carefully guarded by the 
 local militia. Officers were frequently cjuar- 
 tered in the county jails and other public 
 and private buildings. The York County 
 jail, then situated at the northeast corner of 
 George and King Streets, contained British 
 
 15 
 
226 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUX'i'Y, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 prisoners, generally officers, a large part of 
 the time from 1776 to 1780. Temporary 
 barracks \\ere erected on the public com- 
 mon and private soldiers were confined 
 therein, during the early part of the war. 
 The place of imprisonment best known to 
 history in York County was situated in the 
 northwest corner of \\'indsor Township, 
 near the \illage of Longstown. At this 
 place a large number of prisoners, part of 
 Burgoyne's army and other soldiers cap- 
 tured in the south, were imprisoned for 
 nearly two years, during the latter part of 
 the Revolution. In 1781, a contagious 
 fever broke out in camp, of which a large 
 number of prisoners died. 
 
 The first prisoners brought to York ar- 
 rived in March and April, 1776. During the 
 summer of 1775, General Montgomery, by 
 authority of Congress, led an expedition for 
 the capture of Canada. It was an ill-fated 
 campaign for this gallant soldier of the 
 Revolution lost his life in an engagement 
 with the enemy in front of Quebec. 
 
 In the engagement at St. Johns and 
 Chambley, in the vicinity of Quebec, about 
 400 British soldiers ^\•ere captured. They 
 belonged to the vSeventh Royal Fusileers 
 and the Twenty-Sixth Regulars, both 
 famous commands which had taken part in 
 several engagements in Europe. When 
 Congress heard of these captured officers 
 and men. it ordered that they be sent to 
 Lancaster. The detachment from the 
 Seventh Fusileers reached Lancaster, De- 
 cember 9, 1775, and the prisoners of the 
 Twenty-Sixth Regiment some time later. 
 Barracks had already been erected in that 
 town and the prisoners placed therein. 
 Some of the- officers were quartered in 
 private houses under guard. Strange as it 
 may seem, the wixes and children of most 
 of the officers and some of the men, accom- 
 panied the army to Canada and were also 
 captured and brought to Lancaster. There 
 were 66 women and 125 children with the 
 prisoners, during the early part of 1776. 
 Early in March, 1776, Congress ordered 
 that one-half the prisoners from the 
 Seventh Regiment be removed to \"ork and 
 the rest to Carlisle. 
 
 Among the officers taken to 
 
 Andre Carlisle was the unfortunate 
 
 at Major .\ndre, then a lieutenant. 
 
 Carlisle. \\ho had been captured in 
 
 Canada, .\fter his release he returned 
 to the British arm\' and was recap- 
 tured near Tarrytown during his alliance 
 \\ith the traitor, Benedict Arnold. He was 
 then executed as a spy. Andre was im- 
 prisoned for a considerable time at both 
 Lancaster and Carlisle. In March, 1776, 
 when the officers and men of the Seventh 
 Regiment were ordered to York, there 
 \\ere a few cases of smallpox here. When 
 the}- heard this news, the officers objected 
 to coming, but some of them were finally 
 brought to York. When it was discovered 
 that smallpox did not prevail to an alarming 
 extent. Congress ordered that one-half the 
 British officers belonging to the Twenty- 
 Sixth Regiment should be removed to York 
 and the rest to Carlisle. 
 
 Because the conduct of these 
 First officers at Lancaster had been 
 Prisoners reprehensible, they were re- 
 in York. quired to cross the Susque- 
 hanna and they remained in 
 York as prisoners of war for six or eight 
 months, till they were exchanged. A com- 
 plete list of these officers cannot be given. 
 Among the names revealed are the follow- 
 ing: Captains John Strong, James Living- 
 stone, and Andrew Gordon ; Lieutenants 
 Laurence Dulhanty. Edward Thompson. 
 Don McDonall and Edward P. Wellington ; 
 Ensigns Robert Thomas and James Gor- 
 don; Captains Daniel Robertson, of the 
 Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment, and 
 Robert Chase, of the navy. 
 
 In July, 1776, a petition signed by nearh' 
 all the above-named officers was sent to 
 John Hancock, then President of Congress 
 at Philadelphia. In this petition they com- 
 plained of ill-treatment and dissatisfaction 
 because they had been separated from their 
 men, who were left at Lancaster. They 
 further stated that they had signed a parole 
 which gave them privileges usually ac- 
 corded to all officers who were prisoners of 
 war. It seems, however, that they were 
 confined to their rooms at night and this 
 was the main cause of their complaint. 
 Their servants were also taken from them 
 by order of Congress. They asserted that 
 the local Committee of Safety was preju- 
 diced against them. They requested that 
 they be treated as gentlemen and given the 
 freedom usually accorded to prisoners who 
 had signed a ]:)arole. They were quartered 
 
'I'HH RK\'ULL'TIOX 
 
 in taverns and private houses and if the re- 
 strictions as to their fnovements be con- 
 tinued, tliey preferred to be imprisoned in 
 the county jail. 'IMie real cause, however, 
 that they were not allowed to move about 
 the town during the night was that some 
 British prisoners at Lebanon had escaped 
 in the darkness of the night. The connnit- 
 tee at York determined to keep a close 
 watch over these officers so that no oppor- 
 tunities were afforded them to escape, and 
 their requirements were enforced until the 
 officers were exchanged. 
 
 BRITISH AND HESSIAN PRISONERS. 
 
 The surrender of Burgoyne to Gates at 
 Saratoga, October i8, 1777, placed in the 
 hands of Congress, then in session at York, 
 the disposition of nearly 6,000 prisoners of 
 war. Sir John Burgoyne, the famous 
 British general, with a well-equipped army, 
 had passed up Lake Champlain from 
 Canada and down the Hudson, intentling to 
 join Sir Henrj' Clinton at New York City. 
 After two unsuccessful attacks upon the 
 American army, under General Gates, he 
 fell back to Saratoga, where he surrendered 
 his entire army, including his two major- 
 generals, \\'illiam Phillips and Baron Rie- 
 desel. The former had commanded the 
 British troops comprising the right of Bur- 
 goyne's army, and the latter the German 
 troops on the left. An official report states 
 that 5,800 troops surrendered at Saratoga, 
 of whom about 2.400 were Germans and the 
 balance British. According to the terms of 
 the surrender, known in English history as 
 the "Convention of Saratoga,"' the British 
 and Hessian prisoners were to be marched 
 to Boston and from that port sent to Eng- 
 land. The British forces were placed under 
 command of Phillips and the Germans 
 under Riedesel, while the entire army on 
 this march was guarded by two brigades of 
 American troops. If any of these prisoners 
 desired to take the oath of allegiance to the 
 American government, they were permitted 
 to desert. About 100 Germans and nearly 
 the same number of British took advantage 
 of this opportunity before they reached 
 Boston. .\s the prisoners expected soon to 
 l)e released, strict discipline was enforced 
 and the best of decorum displayed while on 
 this march. 
 
 W'lien these prisoners of war reached 
 
 Boston, the Hessian troops were quartered 
 on Winter Hill, near Cambridge, in bar- 
 racks, which had been erected by the 
 American troops during the siege of Bos- 
 ton. The British troops were given rude 
 quarters on Prospect Hill, just outside of 
 Cambridge. The officers, who had signed 
 a strict parole, were treated little better 
 than the private soldiers. They were per- 
 mitted to find quarters in the small towns 
 and villages nearby. The captured army 
 was supplied with provisions and fuel that 
 were paid for by General Heath, the Ameri- 
 can commander at Boston, with Continental 
 money, and Congress insisted that Bur- 
 goyne should make his repayment dollar for 
 dollar in British gold, worth three times as 
 much. By the terms of the surrender, Bur- 
 go)ne's troops were to receive pay from the 
 English government and be supplied with 
 provisions paid for by authority of Bur- 
 goyne himself. The Continental money at 
 this time being worth only thirty cents on 
 the dollar, a controversy arose about the 
 decision of Congress requiring Burgoyne to 
 pay this obligation in gold coin. Even Gen- 
 eral Heath, in a letter to ^^'ashington. 
 stated. "What an opinion must General 
 Burgoyne have of the authority of these 
 States to suppose that his money would 
 be received at any higher rate than our 
 own.'" 
 
 Congress, anxious to impose conditions 
 not likely to be fulfilled, demanded that 
 General Burgoyne should make out a de- 
 scriptive list of all the officers and soldiers 
 in his army, in order that if any of them 
 should thereafter be found serving against 
 the United States they might be punished 
 accordingly. As no such provision was con- 
 tained in the convention, upon the faith of 
 which Burgoyne had surrendered, he 
 naturally regarded the demand as insulting, 
 and at first refused to comply with it. He 
 afterwards yielded the point, in his eager- 
 ness to liberate his soldiers: but meanwhile, 
 in a letter to Gates at Albany, he had in- 
 cautiously said, "The public faith is 
 broken." and this remark, coming to the 
 ears of Congress, was immediately laid hold 
 of as a pretext for repudiating the conven- 
 tion altogether. It was argued that Bur- 
 goyne had charged the United States with 
 bad faith, in order to have an excuse for 
 repudiating the convention on his own part. 
 
228 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVANIA 
 
 On the Sth of January, Congress accord- 
 ingly resolved, "that the embarkation of 
 Lieutenant-General Burgoyne and the 
 troops under his command be suspended 
 until a distinct and explicit ratification of 
 the Convention of Saratoga shall be prop- 
 erly notified by the court of Great Britain 
 to Congress." As the British government 
 could not give the required ratification 
 without implicitly recognizing" the inde- 
 pendence of the United States, no further 
 steps were taken in the matter, the "public 
 faith" really was broken and the captured 
 army was never sent home. By the end of 
 the year 1777, about 400 British prisoners 
 on Prospect Hill had deserted, but ac- 
 cording to records only 20 Germans es- 
 caped. 
 
 In March, 1778, General Bur- 
 Burgoyne goyne, on account of ill health. 
 Released, was permitted by Congress to 
 
 return to England. In order to 
 secure his release he was required to make 
 a deposit of $40,000 in gold or silver, and 
 this money was used for buying food and 
 supplies, to be procured in Rhode Island, 
 for the prisoners. After his capture and 
 release, he changed his sentiments toward 
 the United States. While still a prisoner on 
 parole he entered the British parliament 
 and became conspicuous among the de- 
 fenders of the American cause. 
 
 Meanwhile, a fleet of vessels arrived at 
 Newport from England for the purpose of 
 transporting the troops to their native 
 country, but the fleet had to return without 
 them. Early in April a number of war 
 vessels appeared ofi^ the coast of Boston, 
 and as General Heath feared an attack from 
 the enemy, he had the British troops 
 removed from Prospect Hill, fiftj^-five miles 
 northwest to the village of Rutland, near 
 the present city of Worcester. On account 
 of the difficulty of obtaining provisions for 
 these prisoners, a long discussion arose in 
 Congress, still in session at York, as to 
 what disposition should be made of them. 
 ^Vhile this discussion was in progress, the 
 barracks at York and Lancaster, in Penn- 
 sylvania, were mentioned as suitable places 
 to quarter them. It was finally decided that 
 the British and Hessians should be removed 
 to Charlottesville, Virginia, where the 
 troops could be more readily supplied with 
 provisions than in Alassachusetts. 
 
 .Vbout November i. General 
 Prisoners Heath gave orders that the 
 
 Sent British troops at Rutland under 
 
 South. command of General Phillips 
 should march in three di\-isions 
 to the south. The first division started No- 
 Acmber 10, and the others in two successive 
 days, imder guard of Continental troops 
 and Massachusetts militia. Before the 
 British had left Rutland, they were paid in 
 coin received from Sir Henry Clinton at 
 New York. 
 
 The German troops at Cambridge, under 
 an American guard, also began the march 
 in three divisions on November 10, in com- 
 mand of Baron Riedesel, it being arranged 
 that one di\ision was always one day in 
 advance of the other. Before leaving Mas- 
 sachusetts, all the officers had to sign a 
 strict parole not to desert on the march. 
 As many of the British and Hessian officers 
 and some of the private soldiers had their 
 wives and children with them, when they 
 were captured at Saratoga, General Wash- 
 ington ordered that wagons be provided for 
 transporting the women and children to 
 Virginia. The Baroness Riedesel was ac- 
 companied by three little children, and her 
 diary describing this trip has been pub- 
 lished in the German and English lan- 
 guages. 
 
 The German troops had not received 
 money to support them on the march before 
 leaving Boston and no pay was sent them 
 from Sir Henry Clinton. In order to 
 remedy the difiiculty. Baron Riedesel re- 
 turned to Boston, where he secured $70,000 
 in paper money on his own responsibility, 
 to aid in moving his troops. 
 
 The British troops passed through Mas- 
 sachusetts and Connecticut to Fishkill on 
 the Hudson. In a letter written December 
 10, at Sherwood's Ferry, on the banks of 
 the Delaware, Lieutenant Anbury wrote : 
 
 "General \^^ashington was not without 
 apprehension that Sir Henry Clinton, then 
 at New York, would make eft'orts to retake 
 us, either by an expedition up the North 
 River, or our march through the Jerseys, 
 and therefore took every precaution to 
 frustrate any plan that might be concerted, 
 for upon the arrival of our army at Fishkill, 
 General ^^'ashington moved his army into 
 the middle of the Jerseys and detached a 
 considerable l)ody of troops to escort us, so 
 
THE RK^'OT.UTI^)X 
 
 229 
 
 \er\- ai)[)rchcnsive was he of a rescue, that 
 to each brigade of otirs they had a brigade 
 of armed men, who marched the men in 
 close columns. As to the officers they paid 
 little attention, as we had signed a very 
 strict parole, previous to our leaving New 
 England. Now we ]ia\-e passed the Dela- 
 ware, the Pennsylvania militia are to guard 
 us and the brigades that escorted us through 
 Xew York and the Jerseys return to Wash- 
 ington's army." \\'hen the British prison- 
 ers had reached Sussex in crossing the 
 state of Xew Jersey, Sir Henry Clinton sent 
 out a paymaster who paid off the troops in 
 British coin. 
 
 The three divisions of German troops 
 under Baron Riedesel also crossed the Hud- 
 son at Fishkill a few days after the British 
 had passed over. .\t this place, ^\'ashing"- 
 ton paid them the compliment of his pres- 
 ence. He also gave them a strong guard 
 lest Clinton should carry out his threat of 
 releasing them by force. 
 
 Lieutenant Anl^ury made the 
 Arrive at following entry in his journal 
 Lancaster, after arri\-ing at Lancaster: 
 
 "In our \\a\- hither, we crossed 
 the Schuylkill, o\er the Ijridge built by Gen- 
 eral Washington's army, when they were 
 encamped at Valley Forge. I imagine it 
 was the intention of the Americans that this 
 bridge should remain as a triumphal me- 
 mento, for in the centre of every arch is 
 engraxed in the wood, the names of the 
 principal generals in their country and in 
 the midde arch was General A\'ashington's 
 with the date of the year the Ijridge Avas 
 erected. This bridge was built to preserve 
 a communication and to favor a retreat in 
 case they were compelled to quit their en- 
 campment. Our troops slept in the huts at 
 Valley Forge which had been constructed 
 by the Americans." 
 
 Lancaster at this time was the largest 
 inland town in -\merica, containing a popu- 
 lation of nearly 4000. The inhabitants 
 were composed of German and Scotch- 
 Irish. Most of the houses had an elevation 
 before the door and they were entered 1)\' 
 ascending high steps from the street, re- 
 sembling a small balcony witli benches on 
 both sides where the inhabitants sat and 
 took in the fresh air and viewed the peo])Ie 
 passing. The town had consideral)le trade 
 with Pliiladelphia and Xew York. Among 
 
 its popidalion \vere a large number of me- 
 chanics. There were three or four churches, 
 and the county court house in Centre 
 Square in \vhich the Pennsylvania Legis- 
 lature had held its sessions when driven 
 out of Philadelphia the year before. Con- 
 gress had convened in this building one day 
 in September, 1777, and then adjoiu-ned to 
 York. The largest pipe organ in .\merica, 
 which hatl been made at the town of Lititz, 
 was then in use in the First Lutheran 
 Church of Lancaster. Some of the officers 
 who went to see this wonderful piece of 
 .uechanism sent descriptions of it to then- 
 homes. The manufacturer had made every 
 part of the organ with his own hands. One 
 of the diaries states : 
 
 "The organ had not only everv pipe and 
 stop that is in most others, but it has many 
 pipes to swell the base which are of an 
 amazing circumference, and they are played 
 upon by the feet, there being a row of 
 wooden kevs that the performer treads on." 
 
 After bivouacking for the night around 
 the borough of Lancaster, the three 
 divisions of the British troops, com- 
 manded by General William Phillips 
 and tinder a guard of several regi- 
 ments of Pennsylvania militia, and a 
 detachment of the Continental army, the 
 march xvas begun to the Susquehanna ri\-er, 
 crossing at the present sites of Columbia 
 and \\'rightsville. A regiment of the York 
 County militia joined the guard at Wright's 
 Ferry, and Colonel Josepli Jeffries, wagon 
 master for York County, furnished one htin- 
 dred wagons and teams with which he con- 
 veyed into Virginia the women and children 
 and the baggage belonging to both the Brit- 
 ish and German prisoners. Many of these 
 wagons were afterward pressed into service 
 by the state of Virginia. The advance 
 reached York on December 16. Lieutenant 
 .\nbury made the following entry in refer- 
 ence to York : 
 
 "After we crossed the Suscpie- 
 Reach hanna. \\e arrived at York, which 
 York, was sometime the seat of Congress. 
 This is reckoned the second inland 
 town in America: it is not nearly so large as 
 Lancaster, but much pleasanter. being sit- 
 uated on the Codorus creek, a pretty stream 
 which falls into the Sus<|uehanna. This 
 town contains between two and three thou- 
 sand inhabitants, chiefl\' Germans, inter- 
 
HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PEXXSYL\'AXIA 
 
 mixed \\'ith Scotcli-Irish. Here was for- 
 merly more trade than in Lancaster, and 
 notwithstanding the troul)les, it has still 
 more the appearance of it. As our division 
 came into tlie town at four o'clock in the 
 afternoon, and marched the next morning, I 
 had but little time to make any particular 
 observations; but in walking about I saw 
 the Court House and a few churches, which 
 are very neat brick buildings, and I re- 
 marked the houses were much better built 
 and with more regularity than at Lancaster. 
 Of the two, though York is considerably 
 less than the other, I should give it the 
 preference for a place of residence." 
 
 Along the entire line of march 
 Hessians from Massachusetts to Virginia 
 Desert. the guard of American troops 
 made no special efforts to pie- 
 vent desertions among the prisoners. Lieu- 
 tenant Anbury says : 
 
 "It was with a view and a hope that the 
 men would desert, that Congress marched 
 us at this inclement season : numbers have 
 answered their wishes, especially the Ger- 
 mans, who seeing in what a comfortable 
 manner their countrymen live, left us in 
 great numbers, as we marched through 
 X^ew A'ork, the Jerseys and Pennsylvania. 
 Among the number of deserters is my ser- 
 vant, who, as we left Lancaster, ran from 
 me WMth my horse, portmanteau and every- 
 thing he could take with him. I did not 
 miss him till night, as I concluded he was 
 with the baggage wagons. The next morn- 
 ing I obtained permission from the officer 
 that escorted us, to return in pursuit of 
 him." 
 
 Rev. John Roth, pastor of the ^Moravian 
 church at York, recorded in his diary : 
 
 "Dec. i6. — To-night a party of the Con- 
 vention troops, the Hessians and others cap- 
 tured at Saratoga by Gates, arrived here 
 from New England on way to Virginia. 
 
 "Dec. 22. — The Convention troops which 
 arrived here on the i6th and 19th inst. left 
 for the south (Virginia). 
 
 "Dec. 24. — Numbers of Convention troops 
 are deserting on account of their being 
 badly treated by their officers. Some of 
 them attended our services and were atten- 
 tive and earnest." 
 
 The first division of British troops num- 
 bering 781, arrived in York, December 16; 
 the second division, numbering 873, on the 
 
 following da_\-: and the third division, a body 
 of 923, on the evening of December 19. 
 There were in all 2577 British soldiers. 
 
 The Germans arrived in York in three 
 di\isions. The first came on December 22, 
 and numbered 947. With this body were 
 a large number of women and children, 
 transported on wagons. The last two 
 divisions of German troops passed through 
 York, December 23 and 24, and numbered 
 935. There were in all 4459 British and 
 Hessian officers and men on this famous 
 march, as prisoners of war, to Virginia. 
 
 After leaving York, the pris- 
 
 Pass oners w-ere marched in brigades 
 
 Through a distance of fifteen to twenty 
 Hanover, miles a day. There is a well- 
 founded tradition that the dif- 
 ferent brigades bivouacked on successive 
 nights along a hillside near Alenges' ]\Iills 
 in Heidelberg township, and proceeded the 
 next day through Hanover, halting again 
 for the night near Littlestowm, in Adams 
 County. Till they arri\'ed at Frederick, the 
 most delightful winter weather had favored 
 them on the march, but while encamped 
 around that town a heavy snow fell. This 
 was followed by extreme cold weather 
 which made it impossible for the brigades 
 in the rear to cross the Potomac, then cov- 
 ered w'ith floating ice. After they had all 
 crossed that stream, the Virginia roads were 
 almost impassable. The top of the deep 
 snow was a crust but not sufficiently strong 
 to bear the weight of a man, so that the 
 movement from the Potomac to V'irginia 
 was the most difficult and distressing part 
 of the march. 
 
 The last brigade finally 
 At arrived at Charlottesville. 
 
 Charlottesville. Having started from Mass- 
 achusetts November 10, it 
 required two full months to complete this 
 march of nearly 700 miles. At Charlottes- 
 ville a rude village was built on the brow of 
 a pleasant ridge of hills, and gardens were 
 laid out and planted. Much kind assistance 
 was rendered in all this work by Thomas 
 Jefferson, who was then living close by on 
 his estate at Monticello, and did everything 
 in his power to make things comfortable for 
 soldiers and officers. 
 
 General \\'illiam Phillips, who was second 
 in command at Saratoga and who had been 
 in charge of the Con^■ention prisoners on 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 231 
 
 the march to \'irginia and while in the bar- 
 racks at Charlottesville, was allowed to go 
 to New York in the fall of 1779, on parole. 
 ^\"hile in that cit)- he was exchanged for 
 General Benjamin Lincoln, recently cap- 
 tured at Charleston, S. C. In 1780 Phillips 
 joined Benedict .\rnold in an expedition 
 against Richmond. Predatory parties had 
 been sent out in the direction of Charlottes- 
 \ille and fearing that Arnold and Phillips 
 might form an expedition for the release of 
 the prisoners, Congress decided in the fall 
 of 1780 to remove them northward. In the 
 early part of October, the prisoners were 
 marched toward \\'inchester, in the same 
 inanner that they had gone to Charlottes- 
 ville, two years before. The prisoners 
 were quartered at \\'inchester for two 
 weeks and removed to Frederick, Maryland, 
 where they were held until Congress de- 
 cided where they should be taken. .\t this 
 place they occupied comfortable barracks 
 and the men were allowed many privileges. 
 The officers were quartered in the town and 
 plantations around. On May 31, 1781, 
 these British officers and prisoners wit- 
 nessed the movement of the Pennsylvania 
 Line through Frederick. On July 31, 1781. 
 tenant Anbur}^ wrote in his journal: 
 
 "We daily expect to remove 
 Move from this province on account 
 
 Northward, of the movements of Lord 
 Cornwallis' army, which we 
 understand is forming a junction with the 
 troops landed in \'irginia, under the com- 
 mand of General Phillips and General Ar- 
 nold, and this state is not without appre- 
 hensions of a descent being made by the 
 King's forces. Therefore to impede this 
 progress. General ^^'ashington has detached 
 two strong bodies, one of Continental 
 troops, under the command of the ]\Iarquis 
 de la Fayette, and the other consisting of 
 the Pennsylvania Line, under General 
 A\'ayne. They passed through Frederick 
 last month, and appeared to be mostly 
 Scotch and Irish with a great number of 
 blacks. They were badly clothed, and so 
 extremely mutinous and discontented, that 
 their officers were afraid to trust them with 
 ammunition. I observed that they w^ore 
 black and white cockades, the ground being 
 the first color and the relief of the other. 
 On inc|uiring the cause, a very pompous 
 American replied, 'It was a compliment to 
 
 and a symbol of afTection for their generous 
 and magnanimous allies the French.' " 
 
 The British and Hessian prisoners greatly 
 diminished in numbers both by death and 
 desertion while at Frederick. Congress 
 hnally decided to remove the prisoners to 
 York and Lancaster, in Pennsylvania. The 
 officers were separated from the prisoners 
 at Lancaster and sent to East ^^"indsor, 
 Connecticut. Brigadier-General Flamilton, 
 in charge of the British troops, expressed 
 great displeasure on account of this separa- 
 tion which, he claimed, was in direct oppo- 
 sition to the agreement entered into at the 
 surrender at Saratoga, three years before. 
 
 THE RETURN OF THE PRISONERS. 
 
 The Convention prisoners remoxed late 
 in 1780 from Charlottesville to Winchester, 
 Virginia, and to Frederick, Maryland, were 
 ordered by Congress in 1781 to be brought 
 to Pennsyhania. The British were to be 
 quartered at York and the Hessians at Lan- 
 caster. There were at that time about 
 3000 of Burgoyne's officers and men held as 
 prisoners of war. Joseph Reed, then presi- 
 dent of Pennsylvania, protested against so 
 many prisoners being brought into this 
 commonwealth. In response to President 
 Reed's protest, the Board of AVar asserted 
 that Congress had not changed its decision 
 and that Pennsylvania should make prepa- 
 ration to guard and sustain the prisoners at 
 such places in Pennsylvania as would be 
 most convenient. At this juncture, Gov- 
 ernor Thomas Lee, of ilaryland, wrote to 
 President Reed that he had been informed 
 by Thomas Jefferson, governor of Virginia, 
 that the Burgoyne prisoners and other Brit- 
 ish captured at Cowpens, S. C, were at 
 A\'inchester, March 12, 1781, on their way 
 to Pennsylvania, and the British prisoners 
 at Frederick, 800 in number, were to be sent 
 to York. On the same day that Governor 
 Lee sent his communication to President 
 Reed, the latter wrote a long letter to the 
 Board of \\'ar. in which he stated: 
 
 We acknowledge the receipt o£ your 
 Reed's f^^or of the 13th inst., calling upon us 
 -- . . to prepare U guard of 400 militia and to 
 
 OppOSltlOn.siipply provisions and all other neces- 
 saries for the convention troops, observ- 
 ing that though the Hon. Congress had 
 directed you to take measures for guarding and supply- 
 ing these troops after they arrive at their proposed 
 quarters that you have no other means in your power 
 to comply with this direction than by calling on this 
 
HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY. PEXXSYL\'AXIA 
 
 state for that guard and those supplies. We are sorry. 
 Gentlemen, to inform you that in the present exhausted 
 state of our treasury \vc have little prospect of being 
 able to answer your expectations. We have computed 
 the monthly expense of feeding these troops and guards 
 at 8,g6o pounds specie per month — the pay of the militia 
 and repair of barracks will also be considerable — which 
 added to the necessary advances daily making for the 
 sustenance of the prisoners already here amoimting to 
 1,000 — to the recruiting and support of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Line daily increasing and wholly within the State, 
 the supply of the Continental Array, the artificers, inva- 
 lids, mechanics, and other dependencies on Congress, 
 will, we arc persuaded, be a burden insupportable. And 
 we must acknowledge freely that we think it very un- 
 equal that when there are thirteen states in union all 
 the prisoners should be brought into one. We have 
 always endeavored to comply with requisitions when in 
 our power, but we do not see the least probability of 
 answering present expectations in their full extent. 
 Having already observed to our delegates in Congress, 
 the danger of adding to the dissatisfaction of the in- 
 habitants, especially from the influence of the German 
 officers, we need not touch on that head, though of a 
 very delicate and alarming nature. But in another view 
 the bringing these troops into the state must affect the 
 general interest. Should they cross the Susquehanna 
 we are fully persuaded much the greatest part of them 
 will be in Kew York in a few months; they will find 
 so many friends and opportunities to convey them 
 thither that unless closely confined no precautions will 
 be sufficient to prevent this evil. Our militia in the 
 country are very badly armed, so that if either through 
 scarcit}' of provisions, other discontent or impatience of 
 captivity these troops should resolve to serve the enemy 
 and prefer force to desertion we apprehend there is 
 danger of their effecting it. The high price of pro- 
 visions, of fuel and all other necessaries at Lancaster 
 and York will be an object also well worthy of con- 
 sideration, the rates of wood and other necessary 
 articles at Lancaster not differin.g materially from those 
 of Philadelphia. This will be our last representation on 
 the subject which we have thought it our duty to make 
 — that should any bad consequences result we may 
 stand fully acquitted, having declared our opinion that 
 we shall not be able to provide for them with that 
 plenty or guard them in that security which the case 
 requires. 
 
 The Board of ^^■ar then decided that the 
 British officers held at ^^'inchester and 
 Frederick shotild 1)e "put on tlieir parole" 
 and sent to Simsbury, Connecticut, the Ger- 
 man troops should be held at A\'inchester 
 and their officers put on parole at that place. 
 The British privates and non-commissioned 
 officers were to remain at Frederick for the 
 time being. Colonel James Wood, of the 
 Continental army, who had the prisoners in 
 charge, was ordered by Congress to carry 
 out the plans already made for their dis- 
 position. Almost I, GOO unconditional 
 prisoners captured af Cowpens and else- 
 where in the south were ordered to the Lan- 
 caster barracks and the 3,000 Saratoga 
 prisoners to be retained for a time in Mary- 
 land and V'irginia. At this time General 
 Philips, of the British army, who had been 
 
 exchanged, was then in command of 900 
 men who had either deserted or escaped 
 from the camp at Charlottesville. With this 
 force he had joined the traitor, Benedict 
 Arnold, in front of Richmond. Lord Corii- 
 wallis, with a large British army, was now 
 on his march through the Carolinas toward 
 A^irginia in pursuit of General Greene. As 
 the Board of War thought the scene of 
 hostilities in 1781 might be in Virginia, it 
 decided in May of that year that the prison- 
 ers held in Virginia and Maryland should 
 be forwarded to eastern {Massachusetts, 
 Congress then ordered Pennsylvania to 
 furnish 600 militia, which were to assemble 
 at York, and relieve the Virginia militia and 
 take charge of the prisoners to be moved 
 eastward under the superintendency of 
 Colonel James \\'ood. 
 
 The York County wagon- 
 Prisoners in masters were ordered to 
 Pennsylvania, have fifty or more wagons 
 
 at York. Major Bailey, of 
 York, commanded the militia assembled for 
 the purpose of acting as a guard to the 
 prisoners on their eastern movement and 
 under his direction the Virginia guard 
 was relieved and the local militia escorted 
 the prisoners to Lancaster, where they 
 arrived early in June, 1781. The British 
 were placed in the Lancaster l)arracks and 
 in camps on the public common in that 
 town. It was now decided by Congress to 
 ha\-e them remain in Pennsylvania. On 
 June 17, Major Bailey escorted from York 
 two divisions, one of 1,200 German and 
 Hessian prisoners, to Reading, and another 
 composed of 600 privates, 300 waiters and 
 about 300 women and children to Lancaster. 
 On June 27, President Reed, of Pennsyl- 
 vania, wrote, "The Convention and other 
 British prisoners to the number of 4,000 are 
 now in the State of Pennsylvania." He 
 therefore ordered out the militia of York, 
 Lancaster, Berks and Xorthampton Coun- 
 ties to guard them on tlieir movement to 
 places where they were to be confined. 
 Colonel \\'ood, of the Continental army, in 
 charge of the prisoners both in Virginia and 
 after they came to Pennsylvania, wrote. 
 June 30, 1781, that he had received instruc- 
 tions from the Board of War to quarter the 
 British near York and the Germans at 
 Reading, but that he had not received 
 definite instructions as to the exact places 
 
THE REX'OLUTIOX 
 
 233 
 
 of confinement. President Reed then wrote 
 to William Scott, lieutenant of the York 
 County militia, to mark out a suitable spot, 
 well-wooded and watered for the accommo- 
 dation of the prisoners to be quartered at 
 York. A place where the prisoners could 
 build huts, surrounded by a picket, was 
 designated. The local militia intended to 
 guard the prisoners, were to receive pay at 
 the rate of three and a half shillings a day 
 in coin. The Continental money was then 
 nearly worthless. On July 28, Lieutenant 
 William Scott, of York County, wrote to 
 President Reed: 
 
 Agreeable to your Excellency's orders I have 
 Camp found a place for the convention troops to 
 Near encamp ; about four miles and a half soutli- 
 ^ east of Yorktown, which Colonel Wood had 
 
 lOrk. approved as a suitable and convenient place. 
 I have also called the fourth class of the 
 militia, who have furnished upwards of one 
 hundred men to guard them. Colonel Wood is of the 
 opinion it will require near double that number until 
 the necessary works on the encampment are erected. 
 
 I have collected all the arms in York and Hanover. 
 which are not half enough for the guards. Therefore 
 have to request of the Honorable Council to send us 
 arms and ammunition for the use of the guards afore- 
 said. 
 
 The arms which our seven months' men carried to 
 Philadelphia last year (forty-three in number) were 
 delivered up in a house near the bridge on W'ater 
 Street, where clothing and other military stores were 
 then kept, but no receipts passed for them that I can 
 find. 
 
 Colonel Wood has called on me for ten or twelve 
 carpenters and for axes, spades, picks and shovels, for 
 building the huts and pickets. The carpenters and the 
 smiths who make the tools look to me for their pay: 
 have therefore to beg your E.xcellency's directions in 
 this matter, whether it is a county or continental charge 
 and how and when these people are to be paid and by 
 whom. 
 
 On August 2, 1781, Colonel James Wood 
 stated "I have fixed the British troops on 
 good ground, the property of a non-juror, 
 between York and Susquehanna, so as to be 
 verv convenient to throw them across the 
 
 CAMP SECURITY. 
 
 The place selected by Colonel Wood as a 
 cantonment for the prisoners was situated 
 in the extreme northeastern part of Wind- 
 sor Township, a short distance east of the 
 village of Longstown, and on the north side 
 of the road leading from Longstown to East 
 Prospect. At this place the British Con- 
 vention prisoners to the number of nearly 
 two thousand were brought back from Lan- 
 caster in August, 1781. They were required 
 to assist the carpenters employed by the 
 
 government in erecting a stockade and in 
 building huts out of wood. This place was 
 known in Revolutionary annals as "Camp 
 Security" and is so designated in the gov- 
 ernment records. 
 
 .\fter the prisoners had arrived at York, 
 Lancaster and Reading, the authorities of 
 Pennsylvania and Continental Congress, as 
 well, thought it possible that the British 
 forces under Lord Cornwallis might raid 
 into Pennsylvania for the purpose of releas- 
 ing these prisoners. 
 
 In March, 1781. General Greene had 
 fought the battle of Guilford Court House, 
 near Greensboro, North Carolina, with 
 Cornwallis, who then commanded 7,000 
 men. It was an indecisive battle and re- 
 sulted in Cornwallis moving to Wilmington 
 on the coast of that state. Greene returned 
 to South Carolina and after successive en- 
 gagements with the enemy, drove them into 
 Charleston and Savannah. Cornwallis 
 sailed to Hampton Roads and selected a de- 
 fensive position on the James River at 
 Yorktown, Virginia. In August, 1781, a 
 detachment of 2,000 of the troops from the 
 British army under Cornwallis landed on 
 the banks of the Chesapeake near An- 
 napolis, Maryland. ^Meantime, Washing- 
 ton, with an arm\- of 6,000 men, marched 
 from the Hudson River through eastern 
 Pennsylvania and ]Maryland to join Lafay- 
 ette and ^^'a^•ne, then concentrating near 
 Yorktown, Virginia. 
 
 The arrival of the 2.000 troops at 
 Militia Annapolis caused alarm at York, 
 Called Lancaster and Reading, and the 
 Out, authorities of Pennsylvania called 
 out the militia for defensive oper- 
 ations. Lieutenant William Scott, com- 
 mander of the York County IMilitia, put into 
 service 200 light horse, a cavalry squadron, 
 and posted them in a chain west of the Sus- 
 quehanna, extending from York to Chesa- 
 peake Bay. In case the British landed at 
 the head of the Chesapeake these horsemen 
 were intended to convey the news with all 
 possible haste to the cantonments of prison- 
 ers at York and the other towns in Penn- 
 sylvania. .At this period in the Revolution 
 there was considerable excitement in York 
 County and the adjoining sections of the 
 state. Fortunatel}-, the appearance of 
 Washington in \'irginia caused a change in 
 the operations of the enemy, who now con- 
 
234 
 
 HISTORY OP YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 centrated under Cornwallis at Yorktown, 
 where, in October, 1781, the entire British 
 ami}' surrendered. Later in the year, and 
 during the spring of 1782, detachments of 
 prisoners from the army of CorhwalHs were 
 also brought to York and imprisoned in 
 liuts erected a short distance east of the 
 stockade in Windsor Township, where 
 about 2,000 of Burgoyne's army were then 
 held, as described above. A description of 
 the prison pens near York, as they were at 
 this period is given in an abstract from the 
 diary of Sergeant Lamb, found further on in 
 this narrative. At this place most of the 
 British prisoners, brought here in 1781 and 
 
 1782, remained until the cessation of hostili- 
 ties was declared April 19, 1783, the eighth 
 anniversary of the battle of Lexington and 
 Concord. 
 
 So far as is known, few Hessians 
 Hessians were ever held as prisoners of 
 at war within the stockade or the 
 
 Reading, huts of the prison pen in Wind- 
 sor Township, in 1781-2-3. 
 There were a number of Hessians in 
 Y^ork in 1777. The German and Hes- 
 sian troops, about 1,200 in number, 
 were held as prisoners in Reading, 
 until the close, of the war. On February 8, 
 
 1783, a letter was sent to General Riedesel. 
 instructing the Hessian and German prison- 
 ers to remain in America after they were set 
 free, if they so desired. In pursuance of this 
 letter, a large number of the Hessians who 
 had been captured at Saratoga, Long Island 
 and Trenton, remained in Pennsylvania, 
 where they became industrious mechanics 
 or farmers. Quite a number of them settled 
 in difl'erent parts of York County. 
 
 Daniel Brubaker, a citizen of 
 Brubaker's Lancaster County, owned the 
 Petition. land four and a half miles east 
 of York where the prison pens 
 had been erected. In December, 1781, four 
 months after the arrival of the first prison- 
 ers, he sent a petition to General Benjamin 
 Lincoln, of the Continental army and the 
 Supreme Executive Council of Pennsyl- 
 vania, setting forth certain grievances. He 
 stated that he owned 280 acres near York, 
 for which he had paid 1,200 pounds specie. 
 This land had been selected as a place for 
 confinement for part of the British Conven- 
 tion prisoners that had been removed from 
 Lancaster. One hundred acres of this land 
 
 had been cleared. The persons employed 
 by the government in constructing stock- . 
 ades and building huts, had cleared thirty 
 additional acres of timber, for which he had 
 received no pay. The guards had also used 
 nearly all the fall rails which enclosed his 
 cleared land. This had deprived his tenant 
 of the Indian corn on the land and the use 
 of his pasture. He further stated that he 
 did not want to say anything against Colo- 
 nel Wood, who had charge of the prisoners 
 and who regretted the condition of affairs 
 which had come about before that officer 
 had been placed in charge of the prison 
 pens. The petitioner acknowledged that 
 the prisoners could not be removed during 
 the inclement season, yet he requested that 
 all further waste or destruction of the tim- 
 ber or other property on his plantation be 
 prevented. 
 
 SERGEANT LAMB'S STORY. 
 
 Sergeant Roger Lamb, an educated Irish- . 
 man, who was captured with Burgoyne at 
 Saratoga, wrote a work entitled "Journal of 
 the American W'ar," which was published in 
 Dublin in 1809. He served in a regiment 
 of AA'elsh Fusileers and after his capture 
 accompanied the British prisoners to Bos- 
 ton, where he remained until they were re- 
 moved to Virginia. When these prisoners 
 were about to cross the Hudson at Fishkill, 
 on their march to the south. Sergeant Lamb 
 escaped to the city of New York, where he 
 was received with great afifability by Major 
 Andre, who was acting as adjutant-general 
 to Sir Henry Clinton, commanding the 
 British forces in that city. In 1781 he 
 served in the Southern army and at the bat- 
 tle of Guilford Court House saved Corn- 
 wallis from capture. 
 
 In October of the same year he was cap- 
 tured with the British army at Yorktown 
 and soon after he escaped the American 
 guard and fled to Frederick, Maryland, 
 where he was again captured and placed in 
 the barracks in that town with other British 
 officers. After two weeks' imprisonment 
 there, he was sent to W^inchester, Virginia, 
 where his own regiment, which had served 
 at the siege of Yorktown, was then quar- 
 tered in barracks. 
 
 "Part of the British troops remained in 
 W'inchester until January, 1782," says Ser- 
 geant Lamb in his Journal, "when Congress 
 
THE RKVOLUTIOX 
 
 ^35 
 
 ordered us to 1)C marched to York, in Penn- 
 sylvania. I received information that as 
 soon as I fell into ranks to march off. I 
 should be taken and confined in \\'inchester 
 jail, as the Americans were apprehensive 
 that when I got near to New York I should 
 again attempt my escape to that place; I 
 was advised by my officers to conceal ni}^- 
 self until the troops had marched. I took 
 the hint and hid myself in the hospital 
 among the sick, where I reinained until the 
 American guards had been two days on 
 their march with the British prisoners. I 
 then prepared to follow them, but at a 
 cautious distance. 
 
 "The troops arri\-ed at York, 
 
 In Camp and were confined in. a prison 
 
 Security, similar to the one at Rutland, 
 
 Massachusetts, where Bur- 
 
 goyne's prisoners were held in 1778. 
 
 "A great number of trees were ordered to 
 be cut down in the woods ; these were 
 sharpened at each end, and driven firmly 
 into the earth verj- close together, enclos- 
 ing a space of about two or three acres. 
 American sentinels were planted on the 
 outside of the fence, at convenient distances, 
 in order to prevent our getting out. At one 
 angle, a gate was erected and on the out- 
 side thereof, stood the guard house; two 
 sentinels were constantly posted at this 
 gate, and no one could get out unless he had 
 a pass from the officer of the guard ; but 
 this was a privilege in which very few were 
 indulged. 
 
 "About two hundred yards from this pen, 
 a small village had been built by prisoners 
 of General Burgoyne's army, who were al- 
 lowed very great privileges with respect to 
 liberty in the country. When some of my 
 former comrades of the Ninth Regiment 
 were informed that I was a prisoner in Lord 
 Cornwallis' army, and that I was shortly 
 expected at York, they immediately applied 
 to the commanding officer of the Americans 
 for a pass in mj- name, claiming me as one 
 of their regiment. This w^as immediately 
 granted, and some of them kindly and 
 attentively placed themselves on the w-atch 
 for my arrival, lest I should be confined with 
 the rest of Lord Cornwallis' army. When I 
 reached York I was most agreeably sur- 
 prised at meeting my former companions; 
 and more so when a pass was put into m\' 
 hands, giving me the ])rivilege of ten miles 
 
 of the countr\' round while I behaved well 
 and orderly. I was then conducted to a hut 
 which my poor loving coinpanions had built 
 for me in their village before my arrival. 
 Here I remained some tinje, visiting my 
 former companions from hut to hut ; but I 
 was astonished at the spirit of industry 
 which prevailed among them. Men, women 
 and children were employed making lace, 
 buckles, spoons, and exercising other me- 
 chanical trades which they had learned 
 during their captivity. They had very great 
 liberty from the Americans, and were 
 allowed to go around the country and sell 
 their goods ; wdiile the soldiers of Corn- 
 wallis' army w-ere closel}' confined. I per- 
 ceived that they had lost that animation 
 which ought to possess the breast of the 
 soldier. I strove by every argument to 
 rouse them from their lethargy. I offered 
 to head any number of them, and make a 
 noble effort to escape into New York, and 
 join our comrades in arms; but all my 
 efforts proved ineffectual. As for my own 
 part, I was determined to make the attempt. 
 I well knew from experience, that a few 
 companions would be highly necessary. 
 Accordingly I sent word of my intention to 
 seven men of the Twenty-third Regiment 
 who were confined in the pen, that I was 
 willing to take thein with me. I believe in 
 all the British army that these men, three 
 sergeants and four privates, could not have 
 been excelled for courage and intrepidity. 
 They rejoiced at the idea; and by the aid of 
 some of Burgoyne's army, they were en- 
 abled under cover of a dark night, to scale 
 their fence and assemble in my hut. I sent 
 word of my intention to my commanding 
 officer. Captain Saumarez, of the Twenty- 
 third, and likewise the names of the men 
 whom I purposed to take with me. As my 
 money was almost expended, I begged of 
 him to advance me as much as convenient. 
 He immediately sent me a supply. 
 
 "It was on the first of ^L-lrch, 
 Escaped 1782, that I set off with my 
 From party." 
 
 Prison. After Sergeant Lamb escaped 
 with his seven companions from 
 prison at Y^ork, he went to New York City, 
 where Sir Guy Carleton was then com- 
 mander of the British troops. After the war 
 he returned to Dublin, where he became a 
 teacher and author, and died in 1830. 
 
236 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 BARON RIEDESEL. 
 
 Baron Friederich Adolph Riedesel, who 
 held the rank of a major-general in the 
 English army, commanded 2,400 Brunswick 
 and Hessian troops at the time of the sur- 
 render of Burgoyne at Saratoga. Both his 
 entire command and himself became prison- 
 ers of war on October 17, 1777. General 
 Riedesel was born in Lauterbach, Rhine- 
 Hesse, June 3, 1738. At the time of the sur- 
 render he was 39 years of age. Riedesel 
 studied law, but during the Seven Years' 
 AA'ar for German liberty served as an aide 
 on the staff of Prince Ferdinand of Bruns- 
 wick. He acquitted himself gallantly in the 
 execution of an important commission at 
 the battle of Minden. In 1767 he was pro- 
 moted to the rank of adjutant-general of the 
 Prussian army. Soon after the beginning 
 of the American Revolution, England, 
 having hired of the petty German sover- 
 eigns 20,000 troops, of which 4,000 were 
 from Brunswick, Riedesel was given the 
 rank of major-general and placed in com- 
 mand of the Brunswickers. He arrived 
 with his troops at Quebec, Canada, June, 
 1776. The following year he joined Bur- 
 goyne on his unfortunate expedition, in 
 command of all the German troops. Rie- 
 desel wrote an extended account of his ex- 
 perience as an officer and a prisoner while in 
 America. This journal was afterward 
 translated into English. He passed through 
 York, December, 1778, in command of his 
 own troops as prisoners on their way to Vir- 
 ginia, and upon his return in 1779 remained 
 here a week with his wife, three children 
 and a retinue of attendants. 
 
 .\fter the surrender at Saratoga, some of 
 the English officers were exchanged, but 
 few of the Germans. Riedesel wrote to 
 Howe, at Philadelphia, asking that a cor- 
 responding number of German officers be 
 exchanged, including General Specht and 
 Riedesel's own aides. The Baron remained 
 in command of his own soldiers and had 
 them undergo military drill every day while 
 in camp at Winter Hill, after their move- 
 ment to Boston, even though they had 
 given up their arms at the surrender. 
 
 After the prisoners learned that Congress 
 at York had decided not to recognize the 
 agreement at Saratoga, numbers of them 
 deserted. 'J'here were, however, more 
 
 desertions among the English than the Ger- 
 mans. Congress sent an American named 
 ]\Iasserow as a commissioner, to Boston to 
 consult with the British and German officers 
 with reference to their exchange. Riedesel 
 alleges that Masserow accepted bribes; that 
 he received from 50 to 100 guineas each, for 
 recommending to Congress certain officers 
 to be exchanged. It is even claimed by the 
 Baron in his journal that Burgoyne himself 
 courted the favor of the commissioner and 
 through him obtained authority of Congress 
 for his own release b)^ the payment of 
 $40,000, which was paid in provisions and 
 used for the maintenance of the American 
 troops and British and Hessian prisoners in 
 [Massachusetts. By the order of General 
 Howe, ships were sent from Rhode Island 
 laden with flour and meat. 
 
 General Riedesel, through Commissioner 
 Masserow, petitioned Congress for permis- 
 sion to send to Canada for the baggage and 
 clothing of his troops, which was granted. 
 During the summer of 1778 the people of 
 Massachusetts, as well as the American 
 soldiers, tried to induce the prisoners to 
 desert. They succeeded best with the 
 British. By the 5th of April, 655 English 
 soldiers, 119 Germans, 41 Hesse-Hanau and 
 3 Brunswickers had deserted. Up to this 
 time not a single German officer had been 
 exchanged. 
 
 In November, 1778, arrangements were 
 made to send the captured troops to Vir- 
 ginia. The American guard for removing 
 these troops was increased by the addition 
 of three regiments of the Massachusetts 
 militia. The light horse and artiller}- were 
 also increased. In May, American emis- 
 saries came into camp and induced many 
 Germans to desert. By authority of Con- 
 gress circulars were distributed through the 
 camps of the prisoners to encourage both 
 the British and Germans to desert. During 
 the months of April and May the Bruns- 
 wickers lost 118 men by desertion. 
 
 In September a number of German 
 officers were exchanged, among them Chap- 
 lain F. V. Melsheimer, of the Brunswick 
 Dragoon Regiment. 
 
 After Congress decided not to accept the 
 conditions of the surrender at Saratoga, Sir 
 Henry Clinton, in New York, declared that 
 if the Convention troops were to be treated 
 like other prisoners, they must be supported 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 237 
 
 by their captors. General Heath, in com- 
 mand at Boston, received orders from Con- 
 gress at York that the British and German 
 prisoners should be removed to Charlottes- 
 \ille, Virginia, a long distance away from 
 the theatre of war, and to a jilace where 
 provisions could more easily be oljtained. 
 The prisoners were marched from Rutland 
 and Cambridge by the American guard in 
 the following order, starting November 10: 
 Each nationality formed three 
 Order di\-isions, and was attended by an 
 
 of American escort. The first Eng- 
 
 March. lish division, consisting of the 
 artillery, grenadiers, light infantry 
 and the Ninth Regiment under Lieutenant 
 Colonel Hill, and the First German division, 
 consisting of the dragoons, grenadiers, and 
 the regiment Von Rhetz under Major Von 
 Mengen, were to start on November 10. 
 The second English division, consisting of 
 tlie Twentieth and Twenty-first Regiments, 
 under command of Major Forster, and the 
 second German division, consisting of the 
 regiments of Von Riedesel and Von Specht 
 and led by Brigadier-General Specht, were 
 to follow on the nth. On the 12th the third 
 English division, composed of the Twenty- 
 fourth, Forty-seventh and Sixty-second 
 Regiments, under the command of Briga- 
 dier Hamilton, were to follow. The third 
 German division, which was made up of the 
 battalion Barner, the regiment Hesse- 
 Hanau, and Hanau artillery, under Briga- 
 dier Gall, were also to march on the same 
 day. 
 
 General Riedesel says in his journal: 
 
 "The want of money was one of critical 
 importance in our position at that time. All 
 the officers who had money were obliged to 
 lend it for the use of the troops, who in this 
 manner received their pay in hard cash. 
 Those officers who were in need of money 
 had as much furnished them as was neces- 
 sary to procure horses, etc., for their long 
 journey. Nor was this more than fair, as 
 several months' pay was due them. This 
 arrangement was somewhat of a help, it is 
 true, but not nearly enough to satisfy the 
 demands of all." 
 
 When the German troops arrived at 
 Salisbury, Conn., they received $70,000, 
 which Riedesel had borrowed on his own 
 credit from merchants in Boston. On No- 
 veml)er 28, the advance of the German 
 
 troops arrived at Fishkill, on the Hudson; 
 December 13, they were passing through 
 Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and on the 
 i6th crossed the Schuylkill at Valley Forge. 
 On the 20th they crossed the Conestoga 
 Creek to Lancaster, where they rested one 
 day : on the 22d they crossed the Susque- 
 hanna at Wright's Ferry and took quarters 
 for the night at York. On the 24th they 
 arrived at Hanover, where they rested a 
 day, passed through Littlestown on Christ- 
 mas day and on the 26th halted at Taney- 
 tbwn, Marjdand. The other brigades or 
 divisions of British and German troops fol- 
 lowed in succession, a day behind the ad- 
 vance. 
 
 On New Year's eve, 1778, the German 
 troops first stepped upon the soil of Vir- 
 ginia and on the 15th of January arrived at 
 their place of destination, near Charlottes- 
 ville, where they remained as prisoners of 
 war from January, 1779, until the fall of 
 1781. The estimated number of British and 
 German troops wdio were marched from 
 Massachusetts through York to Virginia, 
 was 4,459. According to this statement 
 about 1,300 had deserted, for the descriptive 
 list shows that 5,800 had surrendered at 
 Saratoga in October, 1777. 
 
 In an account of the movement of the 
 troops from Boston to Virginia, William 
 Stone, the biographer of Riedesel, states: 
 
 "On this journey General Riedesel and 
 his family experienced much that was dis- 
 agreeable, and suffered many wrongs from 
 the inhabitants, \\ho w-ere to a man in favor 
 of the cause of freedom. Some of them 
 scarcely would grant a shelter to the w'eary 
 travellers, even when extreme fatigue pre- 
 vented them from going a step further, and 
 it \vould have been still worse for them, had 
 not ^ladame Riedesel been in the party. 
 By her eloquence and patience, she knew 
 how to move these obdurate people. 
 
 "The passage across the Hudson in a 
 miserable skifif in the midst of stormy 
 weather, was attended with extreme dan- 
 ger; and competent judges who afterward 
 heard of it. could scarcely understand how 
 it was that it had been so successfully ac- 
 complished. The river having been safely 
 crossed, the party continued their journe}^ 
 as far as the residence of an American 
 colonel, by the name of Osborn, to whom 
 Riedesel had a letter from Gates. Thev 
 
238 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLX'AXIA 
 
 were received Ijy liim in a most friendly 
 manner, notwithstanding he was a great 
 enemy to tlie ro}-aIists, as well as a very 
 l)lunt man. 
 
 "The fact that General Rie- 
 Excitement desel did not arrive at Lan- 
 in caster on the 19th of Decent- 
 
 Lancaster, ber, with the troops, was, per- 
 haps, a most fortunate cir- 
 cumstance; for the inhabitants were so en- 
 raged against him, that extreme measures 
 might ha\e been provoked by his presence. 
 Among the silly reports that were circulated 
 and believed in those excitable times by the 
 people of Lancaster, was one to the effect 
 that the town of Lancaster and the sur- 
 rounding cotmtry had been presented to the 
 German general, by the king of England, and 
 that the general would soon arrive with his 
 troops to take possession. The excitement 
 was, therefore, great wdien the German 
 troops arrived ; but as soon as the American 
 officers on the escort explained the true 
 position of affairs, and the pitiable condition 
 of the troops was seen, many a good citizen 
 of Lancaster wondered how he could have 
 given credence to such a ridiculous rumor. 
 
 "Snow had fallen to such a depth that the 
 carriages of the general's party could 
 scarcely move. The coachmen, at times, 
 were obliged to take the horses from the 
 vehicles, and with the officers who escorted 
 the family, ride on in advance, to break a 
 road. The provisions were exhausted, and 
 very often not a particle of food could be 
 had of the inhabitants even for money. 
 Baroness Riedesel and her children actually 
 suffered from sheer want, and this notwith- 
 standing her husband and his officers de- 
 prived themselves of everything, that the 
 women and children might be provided for. 
 Captain Edmonson, who, out of love for the 
 children, had accompanied the party, would 
 often ride to the huts, wdiich were a little 
 off the road, and beg provisions of the in- 
 habitants; but he generally returned from 
 a l>ootless mission. 
 
 "Soon after crossing the Hudson, General 
 Riedesel, accompanied by a few of his adju- 
 tants, left his family in order to overtake his 
 troops. It is not known definitely wdiere he 
 met them, or indeed if he overtook them at 
 all. Only this much is known to a certainty, 
 that the general waited for his family at 
 Colle, which is distant about two hours 
 
 from Charlottesville. Here he had hired a 
 house which he was occupying when 
 Madame Riedesel and the children joined 
 him about the middle of February. The 
 party had been twelve weeks on their w^ay, 
 liad crossed six states, and had journeyed 
 six hundred and seventy-eight miles. The 
 house, hired by Riedesel at Colle, belonged 
 to an Italian, wdio, a few weeks later, moved 
 out of it, leaving it, together with a nice 
 little garden, to Riedesel and his family." 
 
 During the stuumer of 1779, General 
 Riedesel built a house at Colle, wdiich cost 
 him 100 guineas, but his family and he never 
 had the opportunity of occupying it. In 
 September of that year he received word 
 that he would soon be exchanged. After 
 putting the German prisoners in charge of 
 General Specht, by authority of Colonel 
 James Wood, the commander of the Ameri- 
 can guard, Riedesel left Virginia for Xew 
 York, accompanied by Major-General Phil- 
 lips. Soon after his arrival there he was 
 exchanged and by order of Sir Henry Clin- 
 ton was placed in command at Long Island 
 with headquarters on what are now Brook- 
 lyn Heights. At tlie close of the Revolu- 
 tion, in 1783, he returned to Germany, 
 where he w^as given the rank of lieutenant- 
 general in 1787. At the time of his death, 
 in 1800, he was commandant of the city of 
 Brimswick. 
 
 A HEROINE OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 The wife of General Riedesel had a ro- 
 mantic history during the Revolution. She 
 followed the fortunes of her husband and 
 was captured at Saratoga when Burgoyne 
 surrendered. The Baroness kept a diary, 
 wdiich was afterward published in the Ger- 
 man language. This journal was translated 
 into English and pulilished in America in 
 1867. The story of her experience after 
 her capture reads like a romance of the 
 Middle Ages. During her captivit}', she 
 twice passed through York and on her 
 return from Virginia spent several days in 
 York with her three little daughters and a 
 retinue of attendants. A condensed story 
 of her experience is herewith given : 
 
 The Baroness Riedesel was present at the 
 first engagement at Saratoga and was near 
 her husband in the thickest of the fight. She 
 heard the rattle of musketry, and the boom 
 
THE RI-:\'OLUTIOX 
 
 239 
 
 of cannon, and when the fighting ended took 
 care of the wounded. After the battle a 
 large calash was built to convey herself, her 
 three children, and her two servants, and 
 in this vehicle she followed the army in the 
 midst of the soldiers, who were merrily 
 singing songs and hurrahing with a desire 
 for victory. 
 
 "\Miile passing through the American 
 camp in my calash after the surrender," 
 says the Baroness, "none of the American 
 soldiers cast at us scornful glances, even 
 showing compassion on their countenances 
 at seeing a mother with her little children in 
 such a situation. \\'hen I approached the 
 -tents, a noble looking man came toward me, 
 took the children out of the wagon, em- 
 braced and kissed them and then with tears 
 in his eyes helped me also to alight. His 
 tenderness toward my children and myself 
 inspired me with courage. He then led me 
 to the tent of General Gates, with whom I 
 found Generals Burgoyne and Philips, con- 
 ferring about the capitulation. 
 
 "I then learned that this noble 
 
 Dined man, who led me to the tent. 
 
 With was the American General 
 Schuyler. Schuyler, who had preceded 
 Gates in the command of the 
 American army. Schuyler invited me to 
 dine at his own tent and I then learned that 
 this noble-hearted man was a husband and 
 father. I afterwards met his wife and 
 daughters in Albany. One of his daughters 
 married Alexander Hamilton." 
 
 The Baron and Baroness Riedesel mo\'ed 
 with the prisoners from Albanj^ to Boston, 
 riding in their calash. They occupied a 
 comfortable home at Cambridge for a year 
 while arrangements were made to remove 
 the prisoners to Virginia. 
 
 The cause of this order was the declara- 
 tion of Sir Henry Clinton, then in command 
 of the British at New York City, that since 
 the Convention troops (those who sur- 
 rendered at Saratoga) were not acknowl- 
 edged as such, but looked upon in the same 
 light as ordinary prisoners of war, he was 
 no longer disposed to forward provisions to 
 them, or pay the "exorbitant bills of the 
 Americans," consequently Congress must 
 maintain the prisoners itself. .As the coun- 
 try in the vicinity of Boston was very de- 
 ficient in provisions, the Convention troops 
 were accordingly sent to Virginia, which it 
 
 was thought would be better able to furnish 
 the needful supplies. 
 
 The keeping of the German colors were 
 entrusted to the Baroness at Cambridge. 
 During the time she remained there she had 
 them concealed within a mattress. The 
 .\mericans thought they had been destroyed 
 at Saratoga, but some time later this mat- 
 tress was forwarded to Halifa.x, and when 
 the Baroness was set free, in 1782, she took 
 the mattress with her to her native land. 
 
 "In the month of November, 1778," says 
 the Baroness, "when the prisoners were 
 ordered to Virginia, my husband purchased 
 a pretty English wagon so that we were 
 enabled to travel easily with my three 
 daughters, Gustava, Frederika and Caro- 
 line. Gustava entreated Captain Edmons- 
 ton, one of my husband's adjutants, not to 
 leave us on the way. He gave his promise 
 and faithfull}' kept it. I traveled with the 
 army on the way to Virginia. An old 
 Yager, who acted as driver, together with 
 the captain guided our vehicle over the 
 almost impassable roads. My provisions 
 and baggage were carried in a wagon which 
 followed the servants. Upon reaching the 
 Hudson River at Fishkill, we lodged at the 
 house of a boatman. After crossing the 
 river and going a distance, my husband, 
 children and both my maidservants re- 
 mained eight days at the home of Colonel 
 Osborn, a wealthy planter, in order to give 
 our troops time to cross the river, which, on 
 account of the scarcity of boats, was very 
 tedious. Our third stopping place after 
 leaving Colonel Osborn was at the house 
 of a German. At another time we had our 
 quarters for the night at the home of Colo- 
 nel Howe. Before we crossed the Blue 
 Mountains, in Virginia, we made a further 
 halt of eight days that our troops might 
 have time to collect again. 
 
 "Meantime such a great quantity 
 Down of snow fell that two of our 
 in servants were obliged to go 
 
 Virginia, before my wagon on horseback 
 in order to make a path for us. 
 On our journey through Pennsylvania, 
 Maryland and Virginia, we passed through 
 a picturesque country which, however, by 
 reason of its wildness, inspired us with ter- 
 ror. We arri\ed at Colle. near Charlottes- 
 ville, in the middle of February, 1779, where 
 my husband, who had gone ahead with our 
 
240 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 troops, awaited us with impatient longing. 
 yiy husband built a large house at Cole, two 
 hours' ride from the prisoners quartered at 
 Charlottesville. The house cost him one 
 hundred guineas. In the summer of 1779, 
 we received word that General Philips and 
 my husband, with their adjutants, had per- 
 mission to go to New York in order to be 
 exchanged. My husband handed over the 
 charge of the German troops to General 
 Specht. He then proceeded northward with 
 General Philips and I set out to meet him 
 at York, Pennsylvania. Before leaving Vir- 
 ginia, Mrs. Carroll sent me an invitation for 
 me to visit her at her home in Maryland. I 
 determined to accept her courtesies. She 
 resided near the town of Baltimore, which. 
 I was told, was very pretty and inhabited 
 by many amiable families. We remained as 
 her guests eight days and were hospitably 
 entertained. 
 
 "While moving toward York, Pennsyl- 
 vania, from Baltimore, we were overtaken 
 in a forest by a violent thunderstorm. A 
 trunk of a tree broke and fell between the 
 carriage box and the horses. Here we sat 
 fast aground, and could not stir from the 
 place, as none of our servants were strong 
 enough to move the tree from the spot 
 where it had fallen. In the meantime, it 
 thundered fearfully; the lightning struck in 
 several places round about us ; and another 
 and larger tree threatened to crush us. I 
 could only urge the ser\'ants to disengage us 
 from the jam, but the coachman, who was 
 completely bewildered, assured me it was 
 impossible. At last, my little Gustava, who 
 was at that time only eight years old, said, 
 'Only unhitch the horses, and put them be- 
 hind the wagon, and you can draw it back- 
 wards.' This suggestion was immediately 
 acted upon, and every one asked the other 
 why that idea had not occurred to them 
 likewise. 
 
 "So finally we arrived happily at 
 
 The York, in Pennsylvania, where we 
 
 Baroness found my husband, who had 
 in York, been very much w^orried about 
 us on account of the vivid light- 
 ning. \\'e rode through 'a magnificent coun- 
 try." 
 
 The "Memoirs" of Baron Riedesel says: 
 "Upon reaching York with General Philips, 
 whom he had met on the w^ay, the Baron 
 found that his wife had arrived a few davs 
 
 before him. After encountering many dan- 
 gers that brave woman, with her children, 
 had reached the place a few days earlier and 
 had thus had an opportunity of enjoying a 
 little rest, which she very much needed." 
 
 "From York," says the Baroness, "we 
 pursued our journey through beautifully 
 cultivated country regions and arrived 
 safely at Elizabeth, New Jersey. We ex- 
 pected to cross over to New York the same 
 evening and be restored to our freedom, but 
 while seated at dinner, an officer from 
 Washington arrived with a letter ordering 
 us to return to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 
 as Congress had refused to ratify the ex- 
 change. The eyes of General Philips, who 
 was by nature very passionate, fairly scintil- 
 lated with rage. In a fit of anger he struck 
 the table with his fist. I was like one petri- 
 fied and could not utter a word." 
 
 In obedience to the order, they returned 
 to Bethlehem, remaining there until the lat- 
 ter part of November, when they were 
 allowed to enter the British lines in New 
 York City. General Riedesel and his wife 
 remained there several months, and March 
 7, 1780, she gave birth to her fourth 
 daughter. Says the baroness in her diary : 
 "We had intended, in case it had been a boy, 
 to call the child Americus, which we now 
 exchanged for America." General Philips, 
 General Knyphausen and Colonel Wurmb 
 acted as sponsors at the baptism of the 
 child." 
 
 DR. JOHN CONNOLLY. 
 
 Dr. John Connolly, a romantic character 
 in the history of the Revolution, was held a 
 prisoner of war at York for a period of two 
 years. He was born in Lancaster County 
 in 1744, son of John Connolly, a surgeon in 
 the British service in America. His mother 
 was first the wife of James Patterson, the 
 noted Indian trader, at Lancaster, who, 
 after his death married as her second hus- 
 band, Thomas Ewing, father of General 
 James Ewing, of York County, who com- 
 manded a brigade in the Flying Camp. 
 Surgeon Connolly was her third husband. 
 Dr. John Connolly, their son, who was edu- 
 cated as a physician, was a man of vigor and 
 force, ^^'hen the Revolution opened he be- 
 came a loyalist, and at the suggestion of 
 Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, went 
 to Boston, where he obtained a colonel's 
 
thl: re\ull"i'1().\ 
 
 -'41 
 
 commission from General Gage. tlie Britisli 
 commander at that port. Owing to his 
 alliance with Dunrnore, who was also a 
 loyalist, Connolly was induced to raise a 
 regiment of Tories and Indians to be known 
 as the Roj-al Foresters. \\'hile passing 
 through Hagerstown, Maryland, with a 
 single companion on his way to the western 
 frontier for the purpose of organizing his 
 command, he was arrested. His captors 
 found in his saddlebags his commission. He 
 was taken to Philadelphia and placed in 
 prison. \\'hile passing through York, Con- 
 nolly recorded in his journal : "On the sec- 
 ond day after our capture we arrived at 
 York, where a committee decided that we 
 should be confined in a room in the county 
 jail, in which was a straw bed. little cover- 
 ing" and no fire. The new-made soldiers of 
 York were then so fond of fife and drum 
 that they entertained us all night with this 
 music. The next morning, January i, 1776, 
 we were conducted to the tavern, where our 
 horses had been kept, by a militar}- guard 
 with a drummer beating the Rogue's 
 March. When the guard which brought us 
 here from Frederick started from York, the 
 people of the town and the soldiers ironic- 
 ally complimented us with many wishes of 
 a happ}' new year. Great numbers of the 
 inhabitants of York rode with us until we 
 arrived at Wright's Ferry, the home of my 
 half brother, Colonel James Ewing, who 
 differed from me in political affiliation, for 
 he espoused the cause of the colonies. At 
 Ewing's request, I was allowed to walk on 
 the ice with him in crossing the Susque- 
 hanna. After less than a year's imprison- 
 ment in Philadelphia, through my brother, 
 James Ewing, wdio had become a general in 
 the American army, I was released upon a 
 temporary parole and permitted to go to his 
 home in York County, where I was allowed 
 to go five miles distant for exercise to re- 
 cuperate my health. Here I was sent in 
 November, 1776, and remained two months, 
 when I was again remanded to prison, but 
 General Ewing again came to my rescue 
 and by his own bond I was, in the spring of 
 1777, again permitted to live at his home 
 on parole. I continued in this happy situa- 
 tion from April 11 to October 14, 1777. 
 W'hen Congress moved to York, the Board 
 of ^^'ar, believing that I was plotting 
 against the go\ernment. had me placed in 
 
 the county jail at York, where I was closely 
 locked up and all the former severity 
 against me renewed. The York jail was so 
 crowded witii British prisoners, permanent 
 and transient, that a contagious fever ap- 
 peared." 
 
 Connolly, being a physician, in May, 177S, 
 petitioned Congress, then sitting at York, 
 to relieve him and his associates from this 
 unsanitary condition of affairs, .\mong the 
 British prisoners who signed this document 
 with Connolly were Richard M. Stockton, 
 Charles Harrison, Asher Dunham, Robert 
 Morrison and Francis Frazer. 
 
 Five days later the Board of \\'ar, under 
 instructions from Congress, reported that 
 Thomas Peters, deput}' commissary of 
 prisoners at York and Carlisle ; Dr. Henry, 
 an attending surgeon, and Colonel Picker- 
 ing, a member of the Board of War, had 
 visited the York jail and found that the 
 statements made by Connolly and his asso- 
 ciates were exaggerated. They further 
 mentioned "that Connolly and six British 
 officers occupied two rooms in the jail, one 
 fifteen by twenty feet, and the other nearly 
 as large; that they also had the privilege of 
 the jail yard, which was sixty yards long 
 and eighteen yards wide. This jail is used 
 as a place of temporary confinement for 
 passing prisoners and is not now crowded. 
 There are only nine privates in the jail, 
 and three of them are the officers' servants. 
 The jail is capable of holding one hundred 
 and sixty prisoners. Five of the soldiers 
 Iiave light fevers, common to places of con- 
 finement, but their disorders are not con- 
 tagious or dangerous." 
 
 Dr. William Shippen, surgeon-general of 
 the army, while on a visit to York, had ex- 
 amined Connolly during his imprisonment 
 and pronounced him a hypochondraic and 
 not responsible for his statements. This 
 opinion was concurred in by Colonel Pick- 
 ering and the rest, but Connolly denied 
 these allegations and claimed he was treated 
 unfairly. 
 
 .\fter Congress returned to Philadelphia, 
 in June, 1778, Connolly was admitted to 
 parole and sent to that city, but he was 
 afterward remanded to prison, where he re- 
 mained until nearly the end of the war. 
 
 -After the close of the Revolution he 
 \isited General Ewing upon his plantation. 
 On one occasion, in an unguarded moment. 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 HISTOID' ()1- YURlv CUUXTV. P1£XXSVL\'AXIA 
 
 \\lien seated at tlie tal)le, lie boastfully made 
 the remarkable statement that the British 
 army would yet come down from Canada 
 and concjuer the United States. This as- 
 tounding remark exasperated Ewing, who 
 rose from his chair and seized Connolly by 
 the throat. The two men were separated 
 by the appeals of Ewing's wife. Although 
 holding opposite views during the Revolu- 
 tion and thereafter, there always existed a 
 bond of fraternal union between Ewing and 
 his half-brother. Even as late as 1798, in 
 an attempt to recover land that he owned at 
 the Falls of the Ohio River, Connolly at- 
 tempted to enlist some army officers in a 
 scheme to capture Louisiana and set up a 
 separate government in the West. The at- 
 tention of the President of the United States 
 was called to this plot and measures were 
 taken to prevent its execution. Connolly 
 died in Canada at an advanced age. He was 
 an adventurer throughout his whole life. 
 
 CHAPTER XVn 
 
 REVOLUTION— Continued. 
 
 Committee of Safety — Associators — Bio- 
 graphical — Historical Notes — Muster 
 Rolls — Pensioners. 
 
 In the year 1774. when the sentiment 
 spread throughout America in opposition 
 to the British government of the colonies, 
 committees of correspondence and commit- 
 tees of safety were organized. Li May of 
 that year, Charles Thomson, by order of 
 the Committee of Safety of Philadelphia, 
 sent out circular letters to the different 
 counties of Pennsylvania, asking for the 
 sentiments of the inhabitants in relation to 
 the attitude of the mother country toward 
 the colonies. This letter also asked that 
 delegates should be chosen from York 
 County to attend a provincial conference to 
 be held at Philadelphia, June 15, 1774. 
 
 Li response to this letter a meet- 
 First ing was held in York, presided 
 Meeting over by Michael Swope, who 
 in afterwards commanded _ a regi- 
 
 York. ment of Y'ork County troops in 
 
 the Revolution. This meeting 
 decided to concur with the sister colonies 
 in anv constitutional measures in order to 
 
 obtain redress, and recognized the j^eople of 
 Boston as "sufl:"ering in the common cause 
 of liberty." It was resolved that every 
 township in Y'ork County send delegates to 
 meet in convention on the 4th of July fol- 
 lowing. A committee of thirteen was then 
 appointed for the town of Y'ork. June 28, 
 the Philadelphia Committee of Safety 
 transmitted to the committee of thirteen in 
 York, resolutions passed by the Provincial 
 Conference assembled in State House 
 Square on June 18. This Provincial Con- 
 ference had recommended that the com- 
 mittees appointed in the different counties 
 or such number of them as thought proper, 
 meet in Philadelphia at the time the 
 Provincial Assembly should convene. On 
 account of the Indian disturbances, John 
 Penn, governor of Pennsylvania, liad called 
 a meeting of the Pro\incial Assembly for 
 July 18. The committees of the several 
 counties thus assembling in Philadelphia at 
 the same time as the Provincial Assembly 
 met, could then frame and prepare such 
 matters for submission to the Assembly as 
 might be thought proper and expedient. 
 
 In accordance with this request, James 
 Smith, Joseph Donaldson and Thomas 
 Hartley were sent as deputies from Y'ork 
 County to the Provincial Conference, which 
 had been announced to assemble at Phila- 
 delphia on July 15, three days before the 
 Pro\incial Assembly met pursuant to the 
 call of Governor Penn. James Smith was 
 appointed a member of a committee to pre- 
 pare a petition to the Provincial Assembly 
 to appoint delegates to attend a Continental 
 Congress of representatives from all the 
 colonies in America. This Congress met in 
 Philadelphia, September 5, 1774, in Car- 
 penter's Hall. Among the members of this 
 illustrious body were George Washington, 
 Patrick Henry, John Adams, Samuel 
 Adams, John Jay, and John Rutledge. This 
 Congress agreed upon a Declaration of 
 Rights, and after discussing other meas- 
 ures, adjourned to meet in Philadelphia on 
 the loth of May, 1775. 
 
 On December 16, 1774, the freeholders 
 of Y'ork County met at the Court House for 
 the purpose of electing a Committee of 
 Safety, which was composed of one or more 
 representatives from every township in the 
 county. The following is a list of the per- 
 sons chosen : 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 243 
 
 HcMiry Slagle, 
 Joseph Donaldson, 
 George Eichclbergcr. 
 George Irwin, 
 John Hay, 
 Archibald McClcan. 
 David Grier, 
 David Kennedy. 
 Thomas Fisher. 
 John Kean, 
 John Houston. 
 George Kuntz, 
 Simon Coppenhaffer, 
 Joseph Jefferies, 
 Robert McCorlcy, 
 Michael Hahn, 
 Baltzer Spanglcr. 
 Daniel Messerly, 
 Nicholas Bittinger, 
 Michael Davis, 
 
 Jacob Doudel. 
 Frederick Fischcl. 
 James Dickson. 
 William McClellan, 
 William Cathcart, 
 Patrick Scott. 
 Michael Doudel, 
 Michael Bard, 
 Casper Reinecker, 
 Henry Liebhard, 
 John Maxwell. 
 George Oge, 
 John O. Blcncs. 
 William Dill. 
 Henry Banta. Sr., t^ 
 William Kilmary, 
 William Chesney, 
 Francis Holton, 
 Peter Reel. 
 Andrew Finlev. 
 
 On Decemljer 17, the Committee met at 
 tlie Court House and organized by electing 
 James Smith, chairman ; Thomas Hartley, 
 vice-president; John Hay, treasurer, and 
 George Lewis Lefler, secretary. At this 
 meeting the committee prepared rules for 
 the transaction of business, laid plans for 
 raising money to be sent to the unfortunate 
 people of Boston, whose rights had been 
 trampled upon by the English government, 
 and then adjourned until December 29. On 
 December 22. 1774, a letter was received 
 from the Committee of Safety in Philadel- 
 phia requesting that the local committees 
 in Pennsylvania send delegates to a 
 Provincial Convention to be held in Phila- 
 delphia, January 23, 1775, in order that 
 these delegates might discuss questions 
 relating to the common defence of the peo- 
 ple in Pennsylvania and the other colonies. 
 James Smith, Thomas Hartley. John Hay, 
 George Eichelberger, Joseph Donaldson, 
 George Irwin and Michael Smyser were 
 chosen by the committee to represent York 
 County in the proposed convention. When 
 this Provincial Conference met at Philadel- 
 phia, on January 22, they resolved that this 
 Convention heartily approved of the con- 
 duct and proceedings of the Continental 
 Congress, wiiich had alread\- held a ses- 
 sion. 
 
 In April, 1775, James Smith, chairman of 
 the Committee of Safety, addressed a 
 patriotic letter to the committee at Boston 
 and forwarded the sum of 246 pounds for 
 tiie relief of the suffering people of that 
 city. 
 
 I'he term Associators \vas ap])lied to 
 patriotic citizens of Pennsylvania who 
 1)anded together earlv in the I'^exnlution to 
 
 protect themselves against the alleged 
 tyranny of the English government, of 
 which they were subjects. The love of 
 liberty seems to have been inborn with our 
 ancestors before the struggle for indepen- 
 dence had begmi. Persecutions in Europe 
 had led the Scotch from the north of Ire- 
 land, the Germans from the Palatinate, the 
 Pietists from Germany and Switzerland to 
 come to this province because its founder 
 had offered freedom of conscience and a 
 liberal government. 
 
 After the close of the Erench and Indian 
 war, peace and prosperity reigned through- 
 out York, Cumberland, Westmoreland and 
 Bedford, then called the frontier counties, 
 embracing all the region west of the Sus- 
 quehanna River. W ithin a few years York 
 and Cumberland had become densely popu- 
 lated, each containing about twenty-live 
 thousand settlers, who were clearing the 
 primeval forests, cultivating the valuable 
 lands and hunting the wild game which was 
 alnmdant everywhere. 
 
 As a result of the Indian in- 
 Expert cursions and their experience a^ 
 Riflemen, hunters, these sturdy pioneers 
 had become expert riflemen. 
 When they heard the news from Xew Eng- 
 land and the other colonies that measures 
 would be taken to resist the tyranny of 
 England, our ancestors in York County 
 were (|uick to respond. .Militia companies 
 had been in existence before 1750, and three 
 companies from York County had partici- 
 pated as Provincial troops in the French 
 and Indian war. They had been sworn into 
 the British service to protect their home^ 
 against the hostile invaders and finrdly 
 drove them back to the Ohio Valley. 
 
 The military spirit had decreased for 
 sexeral years, until the patriots of York 
 County heard of the difficulties at Boston. 
 James Smith, the leading member of the 
 York Bar, in May, 1774, was sent as a dele- 
 gate to the Provincial Conference, which 
 was held at Carpenter's Hall. Philadelphia. 
 From the time he had heard of the disturbed 
 state of affairs in Massachusetts, James 
 Smith was one of the foremost in this prov- 
 ince to advocate armed resistance against 
 the mother country. He presented his 
 arguments with force and eloquence to the 
 Conference, which, however, adopted con- 
 ciliatorv measures. 
 
244 
 
 IIISTURV OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 Immediately after his return to 
 The York, this ardent advocate of 
 
 First American liberty began the 
 
 Company, organization of the first mili- 
 tary company in Pennsylvania 
 for the purpose of opposing British oppres- 
 sion. James Smith was chosen captain of 
 this company; Thomas Hartley, first lieu- 
 tenant; David Grier, second lieutenant; 
 Henry [Miller, ensign. The commanding 
 officer became a signer of the Declaration of 
 Independence and his subordinates all won 
 distinction in the American army. The 
 non-commissioned officers and privates 
 ^vere composed of the leading citizens of 
 the town and county. They met regularly 
 for drill and discipline, being armed with 
 rifles for complete training in the art of war. 
 
 Meantime the first Continental Congress 
 had met at Carpenter's Hall, September 5, 
 1774, and although this body agreed upon 
 a declaration of rights, and sent a petition 
 to the king, it did not urge armed resist- 
 ance against the mother country. The mili- 
 tary spirit, however, was rife throughout 
 York Count}^, \\'hicli embraced the area now 
 included in .Vdanis, and within a short time 
 other companies of Associators were 
 formed. On February 14, 1775, the local 
 Committee of Correspondence, at a meet- 
 ing held in the Court House at York, re- 
 corded that there were several companies of 
 Associators within the limits of the count\' 
 engaged in military drill and discipline 
 similar to the one at York. It further 
 stated that the conunanding officers were 
 willing to disband these companies if their 
 existence was not agreeable to the com- 
 mittee. James Smith being chairman, de- 
 clared in open meeting and had it recorded 
 that the committee would not discourage 
 the martial spirit of these Associators 
 throughout York County, but on the con- 
 trary reported: "we are of the opinion that 
 said Associators if trained with prudence, 
 moderation and a strict regard to good 
 order, under the direction of a man of 
 probity and understanding, would tend 
 much to the security of this country 
 against the attempts of our enemies." 
 
 The news from Lexington and Concord 
 where the British had attacked the militia 
 of Massachusetts, stimulated the military 
 ardor of the .'\ssociators in York County, 
 and it reached the higliest point of tension 
 
 when these patriots heard of the battle of 
 Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. Immediately 
 after the news was brought to York 
 County, the military company conunanded 
 l)y Captain Michael Doudel, with Lieuten- 
 ants Miller, Dill and Matson, began the 
 march to join the patriot army under Wash- 
 ington around Boston. The career of this 
 company is told elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 'I'he Revolution had now opened and all 
 of the thirteen colonies were in a condition 
 of rebellion. This state of affairs brought 
 about a meeting of the Pennsylvania As- 
 sembly, June 30, 1775, which by this time 
 had become a patriotic body. INIany of 
 those in favor of the British crown had re- 
 tired. The Assembly approved the organ- 
 ization of Associators and passed resolu- 
 tions agreeing in case of invasion to provide 
 for necessar}' pay of officers and soldiers 
 performing military duty while in active 
 service. It recommended that the Board of 
 Commissioners and Assessors in each 
 county provide a number of muskets or 
 rifles with bayonets, cartridge boxes large 
 enough for twenty rounds, and knapsacks. 
 Three hundred were asked for the Count}- 
 of York. Every county was requested to 
 select a number of Minute Men equal to the 
 number of arms, and to be in readiness 
 upon the shortest notice to march to any 
 quarter in case of emergency. 
 
 Saturday of each week was set apart for 
 military drill. The average number of men 
 in a company was eighty, rank and file. 
 The company could not go outside of Penn- 
 sylvania without the vote of the majority of 
 the officers and men. 
 
 Immediately after the first company of 
 volunteers under Captain Doudel and Lieu- 
 tenant Miller began the march to Boston 
 to join the army under Washington, the As- 
 sociators began to organize for defensi\-e 
 operations in case their services were 
 needed. A meeting of the local Committee 
 of Safety and officers of the Associators was 
 held in the county Court House at York, 
 July 28th and 29th, 1775. It was presided 
 over by James Smith. Under the authority 
 of this meeting, York County was divided 
 into five military districts. 
 
 The associated companies then 
 
 Battalions already formed in the town of 
 
 Organized. York and tlie Townships of 
 
 Hellam, Windsor, JManchester, 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 245 
 
 York and Codorus, were organized into the 
 first Ijattalion of York County .\ssociators 
 under the command of James Smith, as 
 colonel; Thomas Hartley, lieutenant-colo- 
 nel: Joseph Donaldson and Michael Swopc. 
 majors. 
 
 The second battalion was formed from 
 associated companies in the region of what 
 is now part of Adams County, including the 
 Townships of Cumberland, Hamilton Ban, 
 Straban, Menallen. ^It. Joy and Tyrone, 
 with Robert McPherson, colonel: David 
 Kennedy, lieutenant-colonel; and Moses 
 McClean and Hugh Dunwoodie, majors. 
 
 The third battalion was formed from as- 
 sociated companies in Heidelberg, Berwick, 
 Paradise. Mt. Pleasant, ^Manheim and Ger- 
 many Townships, with Richard AIcAllister, 
 colonel; Henry Slagle, lieutenant-colonel; 
 John Andrews and Joseph Jeffries, majors. 
 
 Tlie fourth battalion ^\•as formed from the 
 associated companies in Chanceford, 
 Shrewsbury, Fawn and Hopewell Town- 
 ships, with William Smith, colonel; Francis 
 Holton, lieutenant-colonel; and John Gib- 
 son and John Finley, majors. 
 
 The fifth battalion was formed from the 
 associated companies in Dover. Xewberry, 
 Monaghan, \\'arrington, Huntingdon and 
 Reading Townships, with \\'illiam Rankin, 
 colonel; Matthew Dill, lieutenant-colonel; 
 Robert Stevenson and Gerhart Graefif, 
 majors. 
 
 At this same meeting for the or- 
 Minute ganization of battalions of Asso- 
 Men. ciators, under the authority of the 
 Pennsylvania Conference, a bat- 
 talion of Minute Men was organized with 
 Richard ]ilc.\llister, colonel; Thomas Hart- 
 lew lieutenant-colonel, and David Grier, 
 major. This battalion was composed of five 
 companies, one from each military district 
 of the county. Each company of Minute 
 Men was composed of a captain, two lieu- 
 tenants, four sergeants, four corporals, an 
 ensign, a drummer and sixty-eight or more 
 privates. These Minute Men were volun- 
 teers from the five battalions of Associators. 
 one company from each battalion. The 
 week following this historic meeting in the 
 provincial Court House at York, the differ- 
 ent companies were formed and banded 
 themselves together to be ready at a mo- 
 ment's warning to take the field in defence 
 of their rights and liberties. 
 
 The Associators and Minute Men of York 
 Coimty who had already subscribed to the 
 voluntar}- articles of association for de- 
 fensive purposes, and which were the first 
 prepared in any province or colony in the 
 country, accepted thirty-two articles of as- 
 sociation recommended by the Pennsyl- 
 \ania Conference, August 12, 1775. These 
 articles provided for every contingency that 
 might arise to the troops if called into 
 active service. They were read in the 
 presence of each company, after which 
 officers and privates gave their solemn 
 attestation. The preamble to these articles 
 reads as follows : 
 
 "We, the ofticers and soldiers engaged 
 in the present association for the defence 
 of American liberty, being fully sensible 
 that the strength and security of any body 
 of men, acting together, consists in just 
 regularit}'. due subordination and exact 
 obedience to command, without wdiich no 
 indi\'idual can have that confidence in sup- 
 port of those about him that is so necessary 
 to giye firmness and resolution to the whole, 
 do voluntarily and freely, after consider- 
 ation of the following articles, adopt the 
 same as the rules by which we agree and 
 resolve to be governed in all our military 
 concerns and operations until the same, or 
 any of them, shall be changed or dissolved 
 by the Assembly, or Provincial Convention, 
 or in their recess by the Committee of 
 Safety, or a happy reconciliation shall take 
 place between Great Britain and tlit- 
 Colonies." 
 
 On August I. Colonel James Smith, com- 
 mander of the first battalion of Associators 
 and chairman of the Committee of Cor- 
 respondence and Obserxation for York 
 County, addressed a letter to the delegates 
 in Continental Congress from Pennsyl- 
 vania. This Congress had convened in 
 Philadelphia on May 10. on the day when 
 Ticonderoga and Crown Point had been 
 captured by Ethai* .\llen. As recorded in 
 the Pennsylvania .\rchives, Colonel Smith 
 asked an opinion as to how the committee 
 should proceed with those citizens who for 
 conscience' sake were opposed to bearing 
 arms. The following day. Michael Swopc. 
 of York, who was a member of the Penn- 
 sylvania Committee of Safety, wrote to 
 John Dickinson, at Philadelphia, president 
 of the Committee. In this letter the writer 
 
>46 
 
 HISTom" ()1 
 
 COUNT V, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 reports the success of a meeting held at 
 
 W illiani Irvine, of Carlisle, 
 
 was prompt. 
 
 York in julv; he asked that the officers was commissioned colonel to oro-anize and 
 chosen to command the companies of Asso- command the Sixth Battalion of Pennsyl- 
 ciators and Minute Men recei\e commis- vania \'olunteers, largely composed of 
 sions, thus giving them proper authority to troops from west of the Susquehanna, 
 perform their military dtities. Captain Closes McClean recruited and corn- 
 By this time in the history of affairs manded one of the companies from York 
 which brought forth the war for indepen- County \\'hich joined Irvine's battalion, and 
 dence there were fifty-three battalions of Captain David Grier the other. The 
 Associators in Pennsjdvania. It must be muster rolls of these two companies and 
 understood that the incidents herein the part taken by these troops in the first 
 described took place one year before the Canada expedition will be found in the 
 Declaration of Independence, when Penn- chapter on that subject in this volume, 
 sylvania was still a province and the As- Thomas Hartley, a member of the York 
 sembly not acting under a constitution. County Bar, was commissioned lieutenant- 
 which was adopted in 1776, when this prov- colonel of this battalion. He was then 
 ince became one of the thirteen original twenty-six years of age. 
 states. The remaining troops all over 
 On September 14, the local committee Committee York County continued to 
 from this county reported to Benjamin of Safety. practice the manual of arms 
 Franklin and the Committee of Safety for with their flintlock muskets. 
 Pennsylvania, that the number of Associ- They were imbued with the military spirit 
 ators in York County was 3,349. Accord- and continued to prepare themselves to 
 ing to this report there were in July pre- take an active part in the war which had 
 ceding nine hundred non-associators in this opened with so much energy and defiance 
 county, who were opposed to bearing arms, to the mother country. ^Meantime a new 
 Meantime some of these had voluntarily Committee of Safety and Observation was 
 joined the military companies and became elected by a popular vote throughout the 
 loyal to the cause of independence. The county. Only men interested in protecting 
 liattalions in York County, according to the the rights of the colonies were chosen, 
 committee's statement, did not contain an There were several members from each of 
 equal number of men, but none of them had the twenty-six townships. The following 
 fewer than five hundred. The first three are the names: 
 battalions were large enougli for regiments. 
 The men appointed to command these com- 
 panies were generalh' efficient. The dis- 
 cipline of the companies was not all the 
 same, so this committee suggested if any 
 weve to be called into service it would be 
 \\'ell to call otit those who were best trained 
 in the manual of arms and in military 
 practice. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the Associators 
 west of the Susquehanna were preparing 
 themselves for anj- emergencv. The com- 
 panv that had volunteered ear'lv in Julv had-^?=''^'" ^pangler, 
 
 , ' , I r ' , John Houston, 
 
 already won a record for courage and Thomas Armor 
 
 marksmanship in Thompson's battalion in 
 A\'ashington's army, at Boston. 
 
 When it was decided by Continental 
 Congress, in the winter of 1775-6. to send 
 an expedition to in\'ade Canada, two com- 
 panies were ordered to be recruited for that 
 service from the associated battalions of 
 York County. The response to this call 
 
 Michael Swope, 
 James Smith, 
 Thomas Hartley, 
 John Hay, 
 Charles Lukens, 
 David Grier, 
 Joseph Donaldson, 
 George Irwin, 
 John Kean, 
 William Lease, 
 William Scott. 
 George Eichelberger, 
 Philip Albright, 
 Michael Hahn, 
 David Candler, 
 
 John Schultz, 
 Christopher Slagle, 
 Andrew Rutter, 
 Peter Wolfe, 
 Philip Jacob King, 
 Zachariah Shugart, 
 John Herbach, 
 William Johnston, 
 John Spangler, 
 James Dickson, 
 Francis Cazart, 
 
 George Brinkerhoff, 
 John Semple, 
 Robert McPlierson, 
 Samnel Edie, 
 William McClellan, 
 1 homas Donglass, 
 John Agnew, 
 David Kennedy, 
 George Clingen, 
 George Kerr, 
 Abraham Banta, — 
 John Mickle, Jr., 
 Samnel McConaughy, 
 David McConaughy, 
 John Blackburn, 
 William Walker, 
 Richard McAllister, 
 Christian Graff, 
 Jacob Will, 
 Henry Slagle, 
 John Hamilton, 
 John Montieth, 
 Thomas Lilly, 
 Richard Parsel, 
 Charles Gelwix, 
 John ]\IcClure, 
 William Shakly. 
 Frederick Gelwix, 
 John H inkle. 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 247 
 
 John Hoover, 
 Patrick McSherry," 
 James Lceper, 
 Joseph Reed, 
 Patrick Scott, 
 James Edgar, 
 Benjamin Savage, 
 Andrew Thompson, . 
 Peter Baker, 
 Jacob Kase!, 
 John Wilhams, 
 'Wilham Mitchell, 
 
 Lewis Williams, 
 William Rankin, 
 James Xailer, 
 Haltzer Knertzer, 
 Henry Mathias, 
 George Stough, 
 Daniel Messerly, 
 John X^esbit, 
 William Wakely, 
 John Chamberlain, 
 Andrew Thompson, 
 Alexander Sanderson. 
 
 The British army, after having been 
 driven out of Boston by the Americans 
 under Washington, proceeded to Halifax. 
 Xova Scotia. When Congress heard that 
 this army was about to threaten New York, 
 it asked for 2,000 troops from Pennsylvania. 
 A regiment under Colonel Sainuel ]\Iiles 
 was organized at Philadelphia. One com- 
 • pany was called for from York County. 
 This company was recruited from dififerent 
 battalions of Associators and was placed in 
 conmiand of Philip Albright as captain: 
 John Thompson, first lieutenant ; Cornelius 
 Sheriff, second lieutenant ; William Mc- 
 Pherson, second lieutenant ; Jacob Stair, 
 third lieutenant. This company joined the 
 regiment in June and the story of its 
 service is given in the history of Colonel 
 ^files' regiment, found in this volume. 
 
 During the first years of the war, many 
 of the patriots of the Revolution were only 
 seeking for what they termed the rights of 
 the colonies, but as England was sending 
 more troops to this country for the purpose 
 of conquering the Americans now in the 
 field, the spirit of independence prevailed 
 throughout the colonies from New Hamp- 
 shire to Georgia. On July 4, 1776, by a 
 majority vote in Continental Congress, the 
 Declaration of Independence was adopted. 
 Pennsylvania was no longer a province 
 under the English government. She was in 
 the centre of the thirteen original states, 
 and when the war had ended was the key- 
 stone of the arch vmder which the American 
 troops marched when they were mustered 
 out of service. Philadelphia was to become 
 the first seat of government of the new-born 
 Republic of the United States. The five 
 battalions of Associators in York County 
 continued to drill and discipline more fre- 
 quently than they had done before Congress 
 had declared the states free and indepen- 
 dent. They had company drill at the regu- 
 lar parading ground selected by the captain, 
 and twice a month all the companies of a 
 
 battalion met and drilled at one place under 
 the command of the colonel. The war spirit 
 was rife throughout the state of Pennsyl- 
 vania and in every section of York County. 
 
 The climax came when the Brit- 
 Called ish threatened to capture the city 
 Into of New York. Sir William Howe 
 Service, was now in command of the 
 
 enemy's troops and had received 
 many recruits from across the ocean. In 
 order to supply all protective measures pos- 
 sible, on July 5, 1776, the day after the 
 Declaration of Independence had been 
 voted upon, a committee of Congress held 
 a conference with the Pennsylvania Com- 
 mittee of Safety, and the field officers of the 
 five battalions of Associators then organ- 
 ized in Philadelphia. At this meeting reso- 
 lutions were adopted, urgently requesting 
 that the entire force of Associators in Penn- 
 sylvania, in all, fifty-three battalions, "who 
 can be furnished with arms and accoutre- 
 ments be forthwith requested to march 
 with the utmost expedition" to Trenton and 
 New Brunswick in the State of New Jersey. 
 These troops were to remain in the service 
 until a Flying Camp composed of 10,000 
 men could be organized in the field, and 
 placed under the command of General 
 Hugh Mercer, a bosom friend of Washing- 
 ton. On the same day, Congress approved 
 what had been done and "recommended to 
 the good people of Pennsylvania to carry 
 their purposes into execution with the same 
 laudable readiness which they have ever 
 manifested in supporting the injured rights 
 of their country." This news was soon 
 brought west of the Susquehanna and cir- 
 culated throughout York County. 
 
 There are no official reports which give 
 the historian the privilege of describing in 
 detail how these five battalions of associ- 
 ated militia from this county congregated at 
 their appointed places and began the march 
 toward Philadelphia and Trenton. Every 
 flintlock musket or rifle available was 
 brought into requisition and given to these 
 patriots who had answered the call of their 
 country for the common defence of the 
 nation, which had just declared its indepen- 
 dence. 
 
 Michael Swope took command of 
 Going the battalion which had been 
 to the drilled by James Smith, who had 
 Front, been elected to Congress, and be- 
 
248 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY. PEXXSYLVA'NIA 
 
 came a signer of the immortal ileclara- 
 tion. Robert McPherson, who then re- 
 sided near the site of Gettysburg, marched 
 toward York with the Second Battalion. 
 Richard McAllister, who was also com- 
 mander of the Minute Alen, came with the 
 Third Battalion from Hanover and vicinity. 
 \\'illiam Smith, with the Fourth Battalion, 
 from the lower end of the county, crossed 
 the Susquehanna at McCall's Ferry and pro- 
 ceeded to Lancaster, where he afterward 
 met the other battalions on the march. 
 William Rankin came from Newberry and 
 adjoining townships with the Fifth Bat- 
 talion. If they all obtained firelocks and 
 the necessary equipment, there were at least 
 2.500 professional men, tillers of the soil 
 and tradesmen, who crossed the Susque- 
 hanna and began the march to Philadelphia 
 and Trenton in the midsummer days of 
 July, 1776, shortly after the Declaration of 
 Independence had been read in front of the 
 Court House at York. 
 
 "On July 7," says the pastor of the 
 IMoravian Church in his diary, "strict orders 
 came that all Associators of this county 
 should hold themselves in readiness to 
 march to the front." 
 
 In answer to the call for troops, York 
 County responded with the five battalions, 
 the advance reaching Philadelphia July 16. 
 From thence they proceeded to Perth Am- 
 boy, near the city of New York, and during 
 the succeeding month two regiments were 
 formed out of these battalions of Associ- 
 ators. They composed the First and 
 Second Pennsylvania Regiments of the 
 Flying Camp, whose history will be found 
 in another chapter of this book. 
 
 The Associators who had not 
 Proof of enlisted in the Flying Camp in 
 Patriotism, accordance with the act of 
 Congress, after receiving the 
 pay of troops in the Continental service, 
 were permitted to return home. It seems 
 that a sufficient numl:)er had enlisted for the 
 immediate demands of the army. The 
 object in calling the entire militia force of 
 the state for one month had a double pur- 
 pose. It supplied sufficient men for the 
 Flying Camp, and at that early period 
 proved the courage and patriotism of the 
 Pennsylvania Associators in the cause of 
 independence. 
 
 The .\ssociators A\'ho returned home kept 
 
 up their organizations and continued their 
 military drill and discipline, expecting that 
 they might soon again be called into the 
 service. After the battle of Long Island, 
 which was succeeded by the disaster to the 
 American arms at Fort Washington, the 
 British held New York City. Succeeding 
 these events \\'ashington, with his depleted 
 army, retreated across New Jersey and 
 when Philadelphia was threatened by the 
 invading foe, there was another call for 
 troops. The Pennsylvania Council of 
 Safety requested the Board of War to sta- 
 tion more troops for the defence of Phila- 
 delphia. The object of this move was not 
 only to protect the city against the invading 
 foe, but to menace the adherents to the 
 Crown known as Tories, who lived in Phila- 
 delphia and the surrounding country. It 
 was then ordered that two Virginia battal- 
 ions, the German battalion, four companies 
 of Marines, and 500 Associators from each 
 of the counties of York, Cumberland, Lan- 
 caster and Berks be called into the service 
 and placed under the command of General 
 Stephen for the defence of Philadelphia. 
 
 Thomas Wharton, president of 
 
 Mifflin Pennsylvania, on December 23, 
 
 at issued an address which appealed 
 
 York. to every friend of his country. 
 
 Meantime, General Thomas Mif- 
 flin, the "fighting Quaker" of the Revolu- 
 tion, was requested by the State Assembly 
 to make a tour of Pennsylvania. He made 
 speeches in every section of the state, 
 arousing the patriotism of the people by his 
 fascinating eloquence. He came to York 
 and also visited Carlisle. In both of these 
 towns he stirred up so much enthusiasm 
 that an early chronicler was constrained to 
 say "the quota from the back counties was 
 easily raised." In fact the loyalty to the 
 union of states in the interior counties was 
 much more pronounced than in the city of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 This alarming call was the result of the 
 defeat of A\^ashington around New York 
 City and the retreat of his army across 
 New Jersey. The term of enlistment of 
 some of his soldiers had ended. The Flying 
 Camp, which had enlisted for the term of 
 six months, would end January i, but many 
 of this gallant band of soldiers were per- 
 suaded to remain in the service for a longer 
 time. A\'ithin a few da^'s, three thousand 
 
THE RE\'OLUTIOX 
 
 249 
 
 Associators from the interior of Pennsyl- 
 vania arrived in the city of Phihidelphia and 
 were placed in command of Cadwalader 
 and Ewing, then guarding the Delaware 
 River from Trenton to Philadelphia. Al- 
 though not active participants, they were 
 present at Trenton and Princeton, im- 
 portant victories in the American cause. 
 
 When it was feared the British would 
 again attack Philadelphia in the spring of 
 1777, the Supreme Executive Council, in a 
 proclamation of the 9th of April, after 
 stating the causes of alarm and calling upon 
 the people to prepare for defence, used this 
 language : 
 
 "This city lias once been saved by the 
 vigorous, manly efforts of a few brave As- 
 sociators, who generously stepped forward 
 in defence of their country ; and it has been 
 repeatedly and justly observed, and ought 
 to be acknowledged as a signal evidence of 
 the favor of Divine Providence that the 
 lives of the associated militia in every Ijattle 
 during this just war have been remarkably 
 spared. Confiding, therefore, in the con- 
 tinuance of His blessing, who is indeed the 
 God of Armies, let every man among us 
 hold himself ready to march into the field 
 whenever he shall be called upon to do so." 
 With the passage and promulga- 
 State tion of the new militia law, the 
 Militia. Associated Battalions as such 
 ceased to exist. The days of the 
 Associators had passed away and the Penn- 
 syl\-ania militia came upon the stage of 
 action. It was naturally anticipated that 
 greater thoroughness in discipline would be 
 the result, yet this was never realized. Al- 
 though the militia served well in the cam- 
 paign around Philadelphia, September, 
 1777, yet their duties were afterward 
 chiefly confined either in protecting the 
 frontiers, standing sentinel while the back- 
 woodsman sowed his grain and reaped his 
 harvest, or in guarding prisoners of war. 
 The influence of the Associators was never- 
 theless felt throughout the contest for in- 
 dependence. 
 
 At the next session of the Pennsylvania 
 Assembly, a special act was passed relating 
 to the militia of the state. The act pro- 
 vided for the division of York County into 
 six districts for the purpose of keeping the 
 militia organizations in practice ready for 
 service. Each countv of the state was re- 
 
 quired to have at least 640 militia, armed 
 and equipped and ready for military duty. 
 Tiie organization of the county 
 
 Militia militia was in ciiarge of a lieu- 
 Organized, tenant and in each district a 
 sub-lieutenant was appointed. 
 This law went into force in March, 1777. 
 Richard Mc.Vllister, who had commanded a 
 regiment in the Flying Camp, was ap- 
 pointed lieutenant of York County. Hance 
 Morrison, Robert Stevenson, John Hay, 
 James McCandless and John Carson were 
 appointed sub-lieutenants. It was the duty 
 of the sub-lieutenants to carry out all the 
 provisions of the act and see that at least 
 640 men in his district between the ages of 
 18 and 50 should receive the proper military 
 drill so as to be trained in the art of war. 
 All persons enrolled who failed to be 
 present at muster without cause were fined 
 7 shillings and 6 pence. There were eight 
 companies in a district. Each company 
 was required to drill at least two days eacli 
 month. The companies met at regular in- 
 tervals for battalion drill. The militia 
 forces of the state were then placed under 
 the command of Brigadier-Generals John 
 Armstrong, John Cadwalader. James Pot- 
 ter and Samuel Meredith. In June, Arm- 
 strong was made the major-general and 
 James Irvine was appointed additional 
 brigadier, in August. 
 
 As early as April 25, 1777, President 
 AMiarton, by advice of Continental Con- 
 gress and the Board of War, ordered at 
 least 500 militia from the different counties 
 of the state to rendezvous at Bristol and 
 Chester, to be in readiness for the enemy if 
 they attempted to attack Philadelphia. 
 
 On May i, 1777, Colonel Richard McAl- 
 lister wrote to President Wharton that he 
 had just finished dividing York County into 
 military districts. It was difficult to raise 
 tlie quota of 640 men required for each dis- 
 trict. He assured Mr. A\"harton that he had 
 not lost one hour in organizing the militia, 
 nor would he until the work was thor- 
 oughly done. On May 7, President Whar- 
 ton acknowledged the receipt of McAl- 
 lister's letter, assuring the latter that he 
 felt confident that he was performing his 
 duty to his utmost a1)ility. He requested 
 that a report of tlie election of officers for 
 each battalion be forwarded in order that 
 commissions for these of^cers might be sent 
 
2qo 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 to Colonel McAllister for distribution. As 
 soon as he learned the movements of the 
 enemy, Wharton stated that he would in- 
 form McAllister of the condition of affairs, 
 so that he might be able to furnish the 
 quota of men required from York County. 
 
 June 14, the Supreme Executive Council 
 of the state sent a circular letter requesting 
 the county lieutenants to forward to the 
 seat of war the militia of the first class, and 
 to have in readiness those of the second 
 class for active service. 
 
 July 4, McAllister wrote to 
 Trouble President Wharton from Han- 
 
 in over, stating that he had great 
 
 Raising difBculty in getting the battalions 
 Troops, together for military practice. 
 Some of the officers elected were 
 unsatisfactory and others would not serve. 
 He stated that there was a lack of arms in 
 York County necessary for the troops either 
 for drill or active service in the field, and 
 urged that the state supply the necessary 
 arms. This worked against his ability to 
 forward the troops as rapidly as expected. 
 
 On July 28, Continental Congress, upon 
 receiving the news of the movement of 
 Howe's army from New York toward 
 Philadelphia, asked the State of Pennsyl- 
 vania to furnish 4,000 troops from the 
 organized militia within the state. Each 
 county was requested to send one class of 
 the militia. 
 
 It will be seen from these numerous calls 
 for troops the disturbed condition of affairs 
 in Pennsylvania during this crucial period 
 of the Revolution. Most of the militia of 
 York County at this time belonged to the 
 agricultural classes. Some of them were 
 Quakers, who, according to their religion, 
 were non-combatants. Still another class 
 were Germans who had sworn allegiance to 
 the government of England when they set- 
 tled in York County and other sections of 
 Pennsylvania. When General Howe landed 
 in N'ew York after the battle of Long Island 
 he had offered a general amnesty to all 
 Americans who were willing to adhere to 
 the British crown. There were many Ger- 
 mans serving in the British army at this 
 period, and German emissaries were sent 
 out among the people of that nationality 
 throughout Pennsylvania, urging them to 
 oppose the militia laws. This caused a 
 great difficultv in York and other counties 
 
 of the state which contained German in- 
 habitants. 
 
 On August 28. 1777. Colonel Richard Mc- 
 Allister wrote to President Wharton that 
 there were dissensions among the Associ- 
 ators in the German townships near Han- 
 over. Two hundred freemen had assembled 
 at one place for the purpose of opposing the 
 draft of tlie militia for service in the field. 
 He continued by saying that he had lived 
 in peace among these people for twenty 
 years or more, and knew well their customs 
 and habits, but it was very difficult to in- 
 duce them to take up arms against the 
 country to which they had sworn allegiance. 
 He said that notwithstanding the ditficulties 
 lie liad encountered in the prosecution of 
 his duties as lieutenant of York County, he 
 had marched five companies to the front 
 fully armed and equipped, in answer to the 
 recent call, and would soon have three more 
 companies ready to take up the march for 
 the army. In this letter McAllister stated 
 that in two or three companies all of the 
 men were substitutes, except five or six. 
 He obtained substitutes for the sum of $40, 
 while in Cumberland County from $100 to 
 $110 were paid to induce men to enlist as 
 substitutes. 
 
 Early in the summer. Colonel McAllister 
 had received from the State of Pennsyhania 
 the sum of 1,000 pounds for the purpose of 
 carrying on his work and was charged with 
 the same. On August i, the sum of 3,000 
 pounds, or about $15,000, was sent to him. 
 This money was used to equip the soldiers 
 and to buy substitutes to take the places of 
 those who refused to enter the army. 
 
 Instead of crossing New Jersey and at- 
 tacking Philadelphia, as anticipated. Gen- 
 eral Howe set sail from New York and 
 came up the Chesapeake Bay, landing near 
 Elkton, Md., with an army of 18,000 men. 
 At this alarming period of the war. Presi- 
 dent Wharton, of Pennsylvania, issued a 
 proclamation to the people of the state 
 which in part reads as follows: 
 
 "The time is at length come in 
 Appeal which the fate of ourselves, our 
 to Arms, wives, children and posterity 
 must be speedily determined; 
 General Howe, at the head of a British 
 army, the only hope, the last resource of 
 our enemy, has invaded this state, dis- 
 missing his ships and disencumbering him- 
 
rill^ REVOLUTION 
 
 self of his heav)- ai"tiller_\- and baggage, he 
 appears to have risked all upon the event of 
 a movement which must either deliver up 
 to plunder and devastation, this capital of 
 Pennsylvania and of America, or forever 
 blast the cruel designs of our implacable 
 foe. Blessed be God, Providence seems to 
 have left it to ourselves to determine 
 whether we shall triumph in victory and 
 rest in freedom and peace, or by tamely 
 submitting, or weakly resisting, deliver our- 
 selves up a prey to an enemy. 
 
 "The foe is manifestly aiming, either by 
 force to conquer, or by strategem and stolen 
 marches to elude the vigilance of our brave 
 commander, declining a battle with our 
 countrjnnen, they have attempted to steal 
 upon us by surprise. They have been 
 hitherto defeated, but numbers are abso- 
 lutely necessary to watch them on every 
 quarter at once. 
 
 "The neighboring states are hurrying 
 forward their militia, and we hope by rising 
 as one man, and besetting the foe at a 
 distance from his fleet, we shall speedily 
 enclose him like a lion in the toils. 
 
 "The Council therefore most humbly be- 
 seech and entreat all persons whatsoexer, to 
 exert themselves Avithout delay, to seize 
 this present opportunity of crushing the 
 foe, now in the bowels of our countr\% by 
 marching forth instantly under their re- 
 spective officers, to the assistance of our 
 great general, that he may be able to en- 
 viron and demolish the only British army 
 that remains formidable in America. Ani- 
 mated with the hope that Heaven, as before 
 it has done in all times of difficulty and dan- 
 ger, will again crown our righteous efforts 
 with success, we look forward to the pros- 
 pect of seeing our insulting foe cut off from 
 all means of escape and, by the goodness of 
 the .Almighty, the Lord of Hosts and God 
 of Battles, wholly delivered into our 
 hands." 
 
 The first and second classes 
 At of militia had already been 
 
 Brandywine called out during the early 
 and summer of 1777. After the 
 
 Germantown. proclamation had been cir- 
 culated, the third class had 
 been ordered to the seat of war. Similar 
 calls were made from other counties in the 
 state. They marched to join AX'ashington's 
 ami}' near Philadelphia and were placed 
 
 under General .\rmslrong, who commanded 
 the extreme left of the American army at 
 the battle of Brandywine. .-Mthough not 
 actively engaged in the battle. Armstrong 
 and his Pennsylvania militia remained on 
 the heights below Chad's Ford and were 
 witnesses to the battle. After the defeat, 
 Armstrong retreated to Chester and then 
 moved with Washington to Philadelphia. 
 Li the battle of Germantown, the Pennsyl- 
 vania militia took a prominent part. They 
 behaved with gallantry in this engagement 
 as well as in the spirited skirmishes at 
 Chestnut Hill, \\'hite Marsh and Crooked 
 Billet Tavern. In the affair at White 
 Alarsh, Colonel James Thompson, of Hope- 
 well Township, who commanded a battalion 
 of York County men, was wounded and car- 
 ried off the field on a horse by General 
 James Potter, then commanding a brigade 
 of Pennsylvania militia. 
 
 After the campaign of 1778, which re- 
 sulted in the victory at Monmouth, Xew 
 Jersey, the Pennsylvania militia west of the 
 Susquehanna was utilized in guarding the 
 northern and western frontiers from the 
 ravages of hostile Indians, who had been 
 incited by British emissaries to disturb the 
 quietude of white settlers in this region. A 
 battalion of York County militia, in 1779, 
 under command of Colonel Philip Albright, 
 was marched to Standing Stone, the site of 
 Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and quartered 
 there for several months. 
 
 When the seat of war was transferred to 
 the South, and Pennsylvania was no longer 
 in danger of invasion by the British, the 
 state militia spent most of their time at 
 home, awaiting the result of the war. 
 When Burgoyne's army was marched from 
 Boston to Virginia in December. 1778. a 
 regiment of York County militia took 
 charge of these 4,500 British and Hessians 
 and marched them to Charlottesville, where 
 they were held for three years. After the 
 return of these prisoners to Pennsylvania, 
 two or three companies of local militia, at 
 stated times, guarded about 1.800 prisoners, 
 kept in a stockade in Windsor Township, 
 four and a half miles southeast of York. In 
 1781, when Cornwallis moved northward 
 toward \'irginia and threatened to land at 
 Annapolis, Maryland, and send a division 
 to release the prisoners at York, Lancaster 
 and Reading, a part of the militia force was 
 
HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 called out and stationed along the west 
 bank of the Susquehanna, under the direc- 
 tion of William Scott, who was lieutenant 
 for York Count3^ 
 
 After the close of the war, in 1783. tlie 
 militia system was in force for more than 
 half a century. 
 
 COLONEL JAMES THOMPSON, who 
 commanded the first battalion of York 
 County militia at Germantown and AVhite 
 ]\Iarsh, was born in Sadsbury Township, 
 Lancaster County, in 1745. He grew to 
 manhood in his native county and in 1773 
 was married to Lydia, daughter of Robert 
 Bailey. Soon after his marriage he re- 
 mo\-ed to the southern section of York 
 County, where he engaged in farming. He 
 became prominently identified with the 
 Round Hill Church, in Hopewell Township. 
 Shortly after the opening of the Revolution 
 he appeared before his l)rother, Andrew 
 Thompson, one of the court justices for 
 York County, and took the oath of alle- 
 giance and fidelity to the government of the 
 L'nited vStates. He served as a lieutenant 
 in the Pennsylvania Line and was promoted 
 for meritorious services. In September, 
 1777, when the Pennsylvania militia was 
 called into acti\-e service to aid in opposing 
 the British army under Howe from its 
 approach to Philadelphia, James Thompson 
 was commissioned colonel of the First Bat- 
 talion of the A^ork County troops. This 
 battalion was placed in the brigade of 
 Pennsyhania militia commanded by Briga- 
 dier-General Potter, and served in the cam- 
 paign around Philadelphia during the fall 
 of 1777. 
 
 Colonel Thompson was se\-erely wounded 
 in an action at White Horse Tavern, near 
 Philadelphia, and was carried from the 
 field by General Potter, on the latter's 
 horse, to the brigade surgeon for treatment. 
 After recuperating from his wound. Colonel 
 Thompson returned to his home in A'ork 
 County, where he served during the next 
 year as purchasing agent for the govern- 
 ment. In 1779 he was chosen a member, to 
 represent York County, in the Supreme 
 Executive Council of Pennsjdvania. Some- 
 time after the Revolution he removed to 
 Sadsbury Township, where, in association 
 with his brother-in-law. Colonel John 
 Steele, he built a grist mill and a paper mill 
 on the (_)ctorara Creek. Thev conducted a 
 
 considerable business here for twenty years 
 or more. Late in life. Colonel Thompson 
 removed to the Chester County side of the 
 Octorara, where he died October 3, 1807, 
 at the age of 62 vears. 
 
 MAJOR JOSEPH DONALDSON, of 
 York Comity, was a native of the Province 
 of Maryland, born August 16, 1742. He 
 located in the southern part of York 
 County, was an active and energetic Whig, 
 and formed one of the Committee of Cor- 
 respondence of the County, to succor the 
 Eostonians at the time of the going into 
 effect of the "Port Bill." He was a dele- 
 gate to the Provincial Deputies, which met 
 July 15, 1774; justice of the peace from 1774 
 to 1776; member of the Provincial Confer- 
 ence of January 23, 1775: and member of 
 the Convention of July 15, 1776. He was a 
 major of the First Battalion of the Associ- 
 ators of York County, July, 1775, and was 
 in service during the campaign of 1776. 
 On the 8th of November, 1777, he was ap- 
 pointed one of the commissioners to collect 
 clothing for the Continental army. Major 
 Donaldson died at York about 1790. For 
 ten years he was a partner with Wil- 
 liam Harris in the mercantile business at 
 the southeast corner of Market and Water 
 T t r c c t s 
 
 COLONEL HENRY SCHLEGEL 
 (SLAGLE) was born in Lancaster County, 
 Pennsylvania, in 1735. His father, Chris- 
 topher Slagle, of Saxony, came to Pennsyl- 
 vania in 1713, and the following year took 
 up a large tract of land on the Conestoga 
 Creek, and built a mill. Subsequently he 
 transferred his interests therein, and re- 
 moved, in 1737, west of the Susquehanna, 
 locating near the present site of Hanover, 
 now within the limits of Adams County, on 
 Slagle's Run, a branch of the Little Cone- 
 wago. Henry was one of four sons, Daniel, 
 Jacob and Christopher, and followed the 
 occupation of his father, a farmer and 
 miller. He was commissioned one of the 
 pro\incial magistrates in October, 1764, 
 and continued in of-fice by the convention of 
 1776. In December, 1774, he served on the 
 committee of inspection for York County: 
 commanded a battalion of Associators in 
 1779; was a member of the Provincial Con- 
 ference of June 18, 1776, and of the subse- 
 quent convention of the I5tli of July. He 
 was appointed by the Assembly, December 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 253 
 
 16, 1777. (o take subscriptions for the Con- 
 tinental loan: November 22, 1777, acted as 
 one of the commissioners which met at 
 New Haven, Connecticut, to regulate the 
 price of commodities in the states. He 
 represented York County in the General 
 Assembly from 1777 to 1779; appointed 
 sub-lieutenant of the county, -March 30, 
 1780; one of the auditors of depreciation 
 accounts for York Cotmty, March 3, 1781 ; 
 member of the Constitutional Convention 
 of 1789-90; commissioned by Governor 
 Miliflin. one of the associate judges of York 
 County, August 17, 1791. and continued as 
 such upon the organization of Adams 
 County. He represented the latter county 
 in the Legislature, sessions of 1801-2. 
 Colonel Slagle died at his residence, near 
 Hanover; his remains were interred in the 
 graveyard adjoining St. Matthew's Luth- 
 eran Church. The various offices held by 
 him show conclusively that he had the con- 
 fidence of the community. He was an 
 ardent patriot, a faithful officer, and an up- 
 right citizen. 
 
 XlEUTENANT-COLONEL JOHN 
 HAY, of the Revolution, was born in 
 Alsace, then in France, about 1733. His 
 father. John Hay, was a native of Scotland, 
 who. owing to the religious persecutions, 
 emigrated to the Province of Alsace, sub- 
 sequently coming to America, bringing 
 with him four sons, who settled in Phila- 
 delphia. Northampton, and York Counties, 
 Pennsylvania, and in Virginia. John Hay, 
 of York County, was naturalized April 11, 
 1760. He w-as one of the Provincial mag- 
 istrates; a commissioner of the county from 
 1772 to 1775; member of the Committee of 
 Correspondence to send aid to the people of 
 Boston in 1774; of the Provincial Conven 
 
 tion. Tune 
 
 ' / / .^ • 
 
 First Lieutenant in 
 
 Colonel James Smith's Battalion of Asso- 
 ciators, December, 1775; member of the 
 Provincial Conference which met at Car- 
 penter's Hall, June 18, 1776; and of the 
 Convention of July 15. called by that body. 
 He was appointed sub-lieutenant of the 
 county ^larch 12. 1777: resigning to accept 
 the office of county treasurer in 1778, filling 
 that position almost uninterruptedly until 
 1801. He represented York County in the 
 Assembly in 1779, 1782,^ 1783. and 1784. 
 Colonel Hay was the owner of a large tract 
 of land in the immediate vicinitv of "N'ork, 
 
 part of which subsequently became incor- 
 porated into the town and known as "Hay's 
 Addition." He died in April, 1810. His 
 son, Jacob, was a corporal in Moylan's cav- 
 alrv regiment of the Revolution. 
 
 COLONEL ROBERT McPHERSOX 
 ■was the only son of Robert and Janet Mc- 
 Pherson, who settled in the western portion 
 of York County, in the fall of 1738 on the 
 "Manor of Maske." He was born presum- 
 abl}- in Ireland about 1730. and was a youth 
 of eight years when his parents became a 
 part of the well-known Marsh Creek settle- 
 ment. He was educated at Rev. Dr. .Alli- 
 son's school at New London, Chester 
 County, Pennsylvania, which academy was 
 afterward moved to Newark, Delaware, and 
 became the foundation of the present col- 
 lege at that place. His father died Decem- 
 ber 25, 1749, and his mother September 2},, 
 1767. In 175 1 he married Agnes, the 
 daughter of Robert Miller, of the Cumber- 
 land Valley. In 1755 he was appointed 
 treasurer of York County, and in 1756 a 
 commissioner of the county. The latter 
 office he resigned on accepting a commis- 
 sion as captain of the Third Battalion of the 
 Provincial forces. May 10, 1758, serving 
 under General Forbes on his expedition 
 against Fort Duquesne. From 1762 to 1765 
 he was sheriff of the county, and from 1764 
 to the begiiming of the Revolution was a 
 justice of the peace under the Proprietaries, 
 serving from 1770 as president justice of the 
 York County Court, and was re-commis- 
 sioned a justice under the first constitution 
 of the state. From 1765 to 1767 he was a 
 member of the Provincial Assembly and in 
 1768 was appointed county treasurer to fill 
 a vacancy. He was a member of the Pro- 
 vincial Conference which met at Carpenter's 
 Hall. Philadelphia. June 18, 1776; and was 
 one of the representatives of York Count}' 
 in 1776. which formed the first constitution 
 of the State of Pennsylvania. .Vt the be- 
 ginning of the \\'ar for Independence he 
 was commissioned a colonel of the York 
 County Battalion of Associators, and dur- 
 ing that and the following year he was in 
 active service in the Jerseys and in the sub- 
 sequent campaign around Philadelphia. 
 .\fter his return from the field he was em- 
 l)loyed as the purchasing commissary of 
 army supplies for the western end of York 
 County. In 1779 he was one of the three 
 
-'54 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 auditors of "confiscation and fine accounts." 
 From 1781 to 1785 he served as a member 
 of the Assembly of the State. Colonel Mc- 
 Pherson was one of the charter members 
 of the corporation of Dickinson College, 
 and continued to act as trustee until his 
 death, on February 19, 1789. His son, W'il- 
 liam McPherson, served as a lieutenant in 
 Albright's Company, Aides' Regiment, in 
 the Revolution. 
 
 COLONEL MATTHE\V DILL was 
 one of the first settlers in the vicinity of the 
 present ,ito)wn of Dillsburg. He was of 
 Scotch-Irish ancestry. During the troubles 
 immediately before the French and Indian 
 war, he was one of the five commissioners, 
 one of wdiom was Benjamin Franklin, ap- 
 pointed to make a treaty with the Indians 
 at the Croghan fort, which was located near 
 the Susquehanna, in the lower end of Cum- 
 berland County. He afterward took part 
 in the French and Indian war. In 1749 he 
 was one of the eight justices of the peace, 
 and justice of the Court of Common Pleas 
 of York County. He died before the Revo- 
 lution. His remains, together with those 
 of many of his descendants, lie in the family 
 graveyard a few hundred yards west of 
 Dillsburg, this county. His daughter mar- 
 ried Colonel Richard McAllister. 
 
 Colonel Matthew Dill, of the Revolution, 
 was a son of Matthew Dill. In October, 
 1764, he was appointed justice of the peace 
 and the Court of Common Pleas, under the 
 colonial go\ernment, and continued in the 
 same office upon the adoption of the consti- 
 tution of 1776. He served in the General 
 Assembly in 1777-8-9. During the year 
 1779 he was appointed sub-lieutenant of 
 York County, to organize the county 
 militia, and on March 30, 1780, was ap- 
 pointed one of the three commissioners to 
 seize the personal efifects of Tories in York 
 County. For a short time after the Revo- 
 lution he was president justice of the Court 
 of Common Pleas. 
 
 MAJOR ELI LEWIS, son of Ellis 
 Lewis, wdio settled in Fairview Township 
 ii'' 1735- '^^'^s born in Redland Valley, 
 Januar}^ 31, 1750. In 1775 he became the 
 commander of a company of Associators in 
 Newberry and Fairview Townships. In 
 1776 he marched with his company to 
 join the Flying Camp. He was cap- 
 tured and held as a prisoner of war in 
 
 New Vcjrk City and Long Island for sev- 
 eral months. 
 
 Major Lewis was a man of education and 
 in 1790, when Harrisburg was a small vil- 
 lage, he founded The Monitor and Weekly 
 .-\d\ertiser, the first newspaper at the state 
 capital. 
 
 -After General St. Clair was routed by the 
 Indians in Ohio, he printed and published 
 in his newspaper. "St. Clair's Defeat," a 
 poem containing literary merit, which was 
 widely copied. In 1798 Major Lewis 
 founded the town of Lewisberry. Novem- 
 ber 10, 1779, he married Pamela Webster, 
 at Londongrove Friends meeting house, 
 Chester County. Major Lewis died at 
 Lewisberry, February i, 1807. The re- 
 mains of Major Lewis and his wife are 
 buried in the Friends graveyard at New-- 
 berrytown. The spot has recently been 
 marked by a marble tablet and surrounded 
 b}' a stone wall. Among their children 
 were Ellis Lewis, who became chief justice 
 of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania : 
 Webster Lewis, physician at Lewisberry : 
 James, a member of the bar and president 
 of the York bank; Eli, president of the 
 First National bank at York. 
 
 COLONEL WILLIAM RANKIN, of 
 York County, of Quaker parentage, was a 
 natixe of England, his parents coming to 
 this country when he was very young. 
 Prior to the Revolution he was a justice of 
 the peace of the Province, and located near 
 the Susquehanna, in Fishing Creek \'alley, 
 York County. Although a member of the 
 A\'arrington Monthly Meeting, he became 
 at the outset of the Revolution an ardent 
 Whig, and was chosen colonel of one of the 
 York County Battalions of Associators. 
 He was a member of the Provincial Confer- 
 ence of June 18, 1776, and of the Conven- 
 tion of 15th of July following. By the 
 latter body he was continued a justice of 
 the peace. The cause of Colonel Rankin's 
 defection has never been divulged, but 
 during the 3'ear 1780 he was detected in 
 holding a traitorous correspondence with 
 the enemv, and in March.- 1781, he was 
 arrested and thrown into prison. He 
 escaped, however, from the York jail, when 
 President Reed issued a proclamation 
 offering a reward for his apprehension. 
 With his brothers, John and James, who 
 had also turned traitors to the Colonies, he 
 
RESIDENCE OF BALTZEK SPANCLER. A PIONEER SETTLER NEAR VORR 
 
 FIRST STONE HOL'sE IN VoKlv COUNTY, BUILT IN 1737 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 ■si> 
 
 went to England, but whether he died in 
 exile, w^e have not been able to ascertain 
 His property was partly confiscated, as also 
 that of his brothers, who had large landed 
 estates in York County, although, through 
 the intervention of influential friends, a 
 portion was saved to their descendants 
 who remained in this country. These 
 Tories were all compensated for their losses 
 by the British government. 
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES. 
 
 The following items arranged in chrono- 
 logical order, relate to interesting facts and 
 incidents of the Revolution: 
 
 In September, 1775, the Committee of 
 Safety for York County, of which James 
 Smith was chairman, sold to the Pennsyl- 
 vania Council of Safety, forty-nine quarter 
 casks of powder, weighing 1,225 pounds, 
 and 3,770 pounds of lead, and a supply of 
 arms and accoutrements, receiving 559 
 pounds, 6 shillings, 11 pence. At this early 
 date, York contained a depository for 
 munitions of war, for soon after the Penn- 
 sylvania Council ordered the local com- 
 mittee to forward to Colonel Samuel More- 
 head, of Westmoreland County. 500 pounds 
 of powder, and 1,250 pounds of lead, for the 
 use of militia in that county. These trans- 
 actions took place nearly one year before 
 the Declaration of Independence, when the 
 affairs of the Province, then in a state of 
 rel)ellion against tlie mother country, were 
 controlled b\" the Pennsylvania Council of 
 Safety. 
 
 Octol^er 12, the local committee sent 
 from the magazine at York, 200 pounds of 
 gunpowder and 600 pounds of lead, to the 
 Committee of Safety for Northampton 
 County. About this time, James Smith 
 notified the people of York County that 
 they should not waste the powder and lead 
 for it would be needed to carry on the war 
 with England. 
 
 In December, Robert Morris, of Phila- 
 delphia, a member of the Continental Con- 
 gress, requested the Pennsylvania Council 
 of Safety to supply provisions for the 
 women and children of the British troops, 
 captured at St. Johns, Canada, and give 
 directions for their removal to Reading, 
 York and Lancaster. During the early part 
 of the war, most of the British officers and 
 
 many of the privates brought their wives 
 and families to this country. 
 
 January 15, 1776, Jasper 
 Gunsmiths Yeates, of Lancaster, reported 
 at Work, that the blankets engaged by 
 Mr. Hough, in York County, 
 for the public service, had been detained on 
 the west side, owing to the floating ice on 
 the river. Soon after the Revolution 
 opened, the gunsmiths began to make fire- 
 locks in every section of Pennsylvania, and 
 in April, 1776, the Committees of Safety for 
 York, Cumberland and Northampton Coun- 
 ties were each ordered to send fifty-six 
 flintlock muskets, the same number of 
 bayonets and powder horns to Philadelphia. 
 In June, Colonel William Rankin, of New- 
 berry Township, received 200 pounds, or 
 about $1,000, for rifles which he sold to the 
 Pennsylvania Cominittee of Safety. 
 
 Early in July, ten British prisoners of the 
 company commanded by Captain Campbell 
 were brought to York. These prisoners 
 were fed by Elijah Etting, when they first 
 arrived. He received three pounds, fifteen 
 shillings, for feeding them seven days 
 before the}- were put in permanent (quar- 
 ters. July 15, Captain James Sterling re- 
 ceived $100 part payment for expenses in 
 marching British prisoners from Burling- 
 ton, New Jersey, to York. 
 
 September 25, Baltzer Spangler and four 
 other persons received in all forty-fi\e dol- 
 lars for riding" through York County to 
 notify the colonels of the militia battalions 
 to march to New Jerse}-. This was the first 
 general call for the militia of York County 
 to serve in the army. They marched to" 
 Perth Amboy, New' Jersey, near Long Is- 
 land, upon which the British army, under 
 Howe, had recently landed. 
 
 On September 30, Joseph Donaldson, of 
 York, succeeded ]\Iichael Swope as a mem- 
 ber of the Pennsylvania Council of Safety. 
 Colonel Donaldson immediately proceeded 
 to Philadelphia and assumed his duties. 
 
 January 13, 1777, York County furnished 
 4,000 bushels of grain as feed for horses in 
 the continental service. About the same 
 time, Joseph Pennell, assistant commissary- 
 general, reported that owing to the demands 
 for whiskey, by the use of small copper 
 stills, many of the farmers in Pennsyhania 
 were engaged in making this product. He 
 notified the authorities that if the practice 
 
256 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 was continued the supply of rye and other 
 grains would not ec|ual tlie demand. In 
 February. General Jolm Armstrong, then in 
 command of. a body of militia in the army, 
 stated that rye and much of the wheat 
 raised in Cumberland, Lancaster and York 
 Counties, in 1776, had been used in distil- 
 ling whiske\\ "This condition of affairs," 
 he said, "is alarming, because in a few 
 months, Penns}lvania may be scarce in 
 bread for her own inhabitants." 
 
 The field officers in command of the 
 militia in 1777, were appointed by authority 
 of the State Assembly upon the recom- 
 mendation of the members from the differ- 
 ent counties. The members of the As- 
 sembly from York County then were 
 Archibald McClean, Michael Swope, David 
 Dunwoodie, James Dickson, Michael 
 Hahn and John Read. March 11, Thomas 
 Nesbitt paid Michael Hahn, of York, nine- 
 teen pounds, seventeen shillings, for scab- 
 bards furnished to the militia. At the same 
 time, Michael Eichelberger, of York, re- 
 ceived from Nesbitt, five pounds for lodging 
 servants of militia officers at Y'ork. Mich- 
 ael Hahn, who had been chosen to the 
 Legislature from York, served as paymaster 
 to the militia in 1776. He was succeeded, 
 September 16, 1777, by Lieutenant AVilliam 
 Scott. 
 
 April 25, 500 militia from York County 
 were ordered to proceed to the camp at 
 Chester. These troops were drafted in ac- 
 cordance with the militia law. In general 
 orders, June 13, 1777, at Philadelphia, the 
 detachment of the First Maryland Regi- 
 ment was ordered to parade at five o'clock 
 the next morning and escort prisoners to 
 York. September 5, Richard Peters, secre- 
 tary of the Board of War, suggested that 
 the county lieutenants of militia for York, 
 Lancaster, Cumberland, Berks and North- 
 ampton Counties, furnish a guard for 
 prisoners held in or passing through said 
 counties, and also for guarding government 
 property. 
 
 There were Tories in York 
 Committee County, during the Revolu- 
 Appointed. tion, as well as in other parts 
 of the country. The most 
 stringent measures were adopted by the 
 State Legislatures to check the growth of 
 disloyalty. For this purpose committees 
 were appointed in each county to seize the 
 
 estates of the disaffected and confiscate the 
 property. October 21, soon after Congress 
 came to York, \\'illiam White, Robert 
 Stevenson, James Nailor, ^Matthew Dill, 
 \A'illiam Chesney and John Ewing were ap- 
 pointed a committee for York County. No- 
 vember 8, Joseph Donaldson. George Ir- 
 win, Thomas Stockton, Frederick Gelwix, 
 Thomas Weems, John Nesbitt, Henry Cot- 
 ton, Jacob Staley, John Andrews and 
 Robert Smith were appointed commission- 
 ers to collect arms and accoutrements, 
 blankets, woollen and linsey-woolsey cloth, 
 linens, shoes and stockings for the army, 
 from the inhabitants who had not taken the 
 oath of allegiance and abjuration or who 
 had aided the enemy. 
 
 On October 15, 1777, Jacob Smearly was 
 paid 13 pounds, 15 shillings for making 
 irons for the prisoners of war. 
 
 November 19, 1777, the Council of Safety 
 ordered the civil authorities of Cumberland 
 County to provide 126 wagons, and of York 
 County 118 wagons for the purpose of re- 
 moving government stores to places of 
 safety west of the Susquehanna. This oc- 
 curred shortly after the battle of German- 
 town. The demands for wagons from the 
 different townships of York County and 
 from York were as follows: Monaghan, 2; 
 AA'arrington, 6; Huntingdon, 6; Reading, 
 6; Dover, 3; Newberry, 6; Manchester, 6; 
 Hellam, 4; York Township, 4; York, 2; 
 Hopewell, 2: Chanceford, 2; Fawn, 4; 
 Shrewsbury, 4; A\'indsor, 6; Codorus, 6; 
 Heidelberg, 6; Germany, 6; Paradise, 6; 
 Berwick, 4; Mountjoy, 3; Mount Pleasant, 
 3; Straban, 3; Tyrone, 4; Menallen, 3; 
 Cumberland, 3: Hamiltonban, 3; Manheim, 
 
 October 20, Captain Joshua AA'illiams 
 made information before a justice of the 
 peace of York County, charging Stephen 
 Foulke with concealing deserters from Wil- 
 liams' company. Justice Lees discharged 
 Foulke for lack of sufficient evidence. 
 
 January 9, 1778, Joseph Jeffries was ap- 
 pointed wagon-master of York County. 
 February 13, Captain Long, commanding 
 militia whose term had expired, was 
 ordered to convey British prisoners from 
 Lancaster to York. 
 
 General Washington, who had been 
 given by Congress extraordinary powers, 
 on February 17, 1778, ordered Lieutenant 
 
TliK RE\ULL"TI(JX 
 
 -'57 
 
 Thomas Campbell, of Monachan Townsliip. 
 to return home and recruit one hundred and 
 fifty men for the army. March 22, the 
 Executive Council of Pennsylvania granted 
 an order in favor of Colonel Richard ]\IcAl- 
 lister, lieutenant of York County, for 3,000 
 pounds, or $15,000, to be given to William 
 Scott, paymaster of militia of York County. 
 David Watson received 1,500 pounds from 
 the same source, April 10, 1778. for the pur- 
 pose of purchasing horses in the County of 
 York, for the Continental cavalry. Captain 
 Thomas Gourley, of the Ninth ; Captain 
 Xehemiah Stokely, of the Eighth : Lieuten- 
 ant James McCulIough, of the Fifth; Lieu- 
 tenant Thomas Campbell and Lieutenant 
 Samuel Gray, of the Fourth Pennsylvania 
 Regiments, came to York County, in April, 
 to recruit soldiers to fill up the Pennsyl- 
 vania Line. 
 
 Robert Stephenson, James Marlar, Wil- 
 liam Chesney, Thomas Stockton, and 
 Thomas Lilly were appointed commission- 
 ers for York County, under the act of at- 
 tainder. James Edgar, a member of the 
 Pennsylvania Council of Safety, received 
 1,000 pounds in May, for the use of David 
 \\'atson in the purchase of horses. May 
 20, ^^"illiam Scott, paymaster, received 
 4,000 pounds to pay the militia then in the 
 service from York County. June 29, two 
 days after Congress left York, a large 
 number of refugees from the western 
 frontier of Pennsylvania arrived in York 
 on the way to Maryland. 
 
 August 10, Colonel Albright received 
 from John Ha}-, sub-lieutenant of York 
 County, 112 muskets for use of a part of 
 his battalion on an expedition against the 
 Indians and Tories in the interior of Penn- 
 sylvania. These troops were sent to 
 Standing Stone, now Huntingdon, Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 On September 4, Elizabeth Shugart was 
 given a pass into the British lines in the 
 city of New York, for the purpose of visit- 
 ing her husband, then a prisoner of war on 
 Long Island, having been captured at Fort 
 W'ashington while serving in Colonel 
 Swope's Regiment, of York County. Sep- 
 tember 5, Lieutenant James Milligan was 
 ordered to recruit for the Continental army 
 in York County, and for this purpose to 
 receive pay from Richard McAllister, lieu- 
 tenant of York Countv. 
 
 James Elliot and a detachment of militia 
 were paid 8 pounds for services and expense 
 in disarming Tories, September 15, 1778. 
 
 "Ralph," a negro slave belonging to 
 John Rankin, of York County, petitioned 
 the Assembly for his freedom in September, 
 because his master was charged with being 
 a Tory and was then in the British lines at 
 Philadelphia. Ralph claimed his master 
 had freed him sometime before he had gone 
 to Philadelphia. Being unable to prove his 
 assertion, the slave was ordered to be hired 
 out. September 16, Paymaster William 
 Scott received $20,000 for the use of the 
 militia of York County. Colonel David 
 Kennedy, of York County, one of the com- 
 missioners to purchase clothing for the 
 army in the county of York, received 
 $12,500 for that purpose, October 10. 
 
 On February 9, 1779, Colonel 
 Wagons Joseph Jeffries petitioned the 
 for Council of Safety for money to 
 
 Prisoners, pay for wagons used in trans- 
 porting the British and Hes- 
 sian troops of Burgoyne's army from the 
 Susquehanna River to Virginia. March 22, 
 Colonel Richard McAllister received 
 $15,000 for the use of William Scott, of 
 York County, paymaster of militia. May 
 14, York County was ordered to furnish 
 thirty wagons to transport provisions and 
 military stores to troops ordered to the 
 western frontier at Fort Pitt, now Pitts- 
 burg. 
 
 Archibald McClean, of York, who had 
 served as a member of the State Assembly, 
 was appointed by the Supreme Executive 
 Council, July 14, 1779, to receive subscrip- 
 tions in York County to aid in securing a 
 loan of twenty million dollars for carrying 
 on the war, as authorized by Congress. 
 October 13, the Supreme Executive Council 
 called out three classes of York County 
 militia to guard the frontier and to join the 
 Continental army. The state militia were 
 usually called out for sixty days. On this 
 occasion, Washington desired them to 
 serve one month longer. In answer to this 
 call, an additional bounty was to be re- 
 ceived. The officers and privates were to 
 receive eighty dollars in addition to tlie one 
 hundred dollars provided by a law already 
 passed. 
 
 March 30, 1780, ^^'illiam Scott was ap- 
 pointed lieutenant of militia for York 
 
 17 
 
2.^8 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 County to succeed Colonel Richard McAl- 
 lister, who had been chosen a member of 
 the Supreme Executive Council. Captain 
 ^^'illiam Scott was also appointed, .April 3, 
 commissioner of purchase for York County, 
 under an act of Assembly recently passed. 
 The office of lieutenant of York County 
 was created by the Assembly in 1776. This 
 officer was required to organize the militia 
 throughout the county in which he lived, 
 and see that the different companies re- 
 ceived careful military drill and discipline. 
 He was also required to superintend the 
 calling out of the difTerent classes of militia 
 for service in the field, and, if necessary, 
 was empowered to order a draft if there 
 were not a sufficient number of soldiers to 
 fill the quota as demanded. Captain Scott, 
 also commissioner of purchase at that time, 
 was ordered to purchase fifty tons of hay. 
 two thousand bushels of corn or four 
 thousand bushels of oats, and fifteen hun- 
 dred barrels of flour, and in accordance with 
 directions from General Washington, was 
 ordered to deposit forty tons of hay, two 
 thousand bushels of corn, one hundred bar- 
 rels of flour, two hundred and eighty gal- 
 lons of rum at York. 
 
 April II, 1780, Thomas McKean, then 
 chief-justice of Pennsylvania, wrote the 
 Council, that the sheriff of York County 
 had a prisoner who was charged with guid- 
 ing the British from Philadelphia to 
 Crooked Billet, in Bucks County, where the 
 Pennsyhania militia were encamped. At 
 this place, in 1778, the British had surprised 
 the militia under General Lacey and routed 
 them. In April, 1780, General Washington 
 recommended that 100 barrels of flour, 
 1,280 gallons of rum, 40 tons of hay and 
 4,000 bushels of corn be purchased and 
 placed among the militia stores at York. 
 
 May 27, purchasing agents were 
 Captain located in Pennsylvania at the 
 William following posts: Philadelphia, 
 Scott. Easton, Reading, Lancaster, Sun- 
 bury, Carlisle and York. On 
 June I, Captain William Scott received 
 from the Supreme Executive Council of the 
 State, $6,500 for the purchase of supplies 
 for the army. Under a special rule, the 
 Pennsylvania militia was to be composed of 
 fifty battalions, of which York County had 
 eight. In June, Major James Chamberlain 
 was appointed wagon master of York 
 
 Count}'. Colonel Ephraim Blaine, of Car- 
 lisle, grandfather of Secretary of State 
 James G. Blaine, in 1780, as clothier-gen- 
 eral, reported that William Scott had suc- 
 ceeded Colonel Henry Miller as assistant 
 clothier-general of Pennsylvania. Miller 
 had been appointed in 1779. John Brooks 
 was then commissary of the government 
 magazine at York. 
 
 On June 26, Lieutenant Scott wrote to 
 President Reed that he had the promise of 
 600 barrels of flour from York County; had 
 purchased 170 sheep, 20 head of beef, but 
 was unable to procure much salt beef and 
 bacon, because they were scarce. These 
 provisions were intended for militia to be 
 marched to the frontier. He also said he 
 could send 100 militia to the front as soon 
 as arms could be procured from Philadel- 
 phia. The plans were changed upon the 
 arrival of the French fleet and the expedi- 
 tion to the frontier abandoned. 
 
 On July 15, one company of militia from 
 York County was ordered to Bedford, and 
 another to A^'estmoreland County to aid in 
 guarding the western frontier. Upon the 
 arrival of the French fleet in American 
 waters to aid in the cause of independence, 
 the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsyl- 
 vania ordered York County to provide 500 
 barrels of flour per month, for a stated 
 time, 500 bushels of forage per month, 25 
 wagons, 300 horses and 600 militia. These 
 supplies were intended for the soldiers and 
 sailors of the French fleet; the horses and 
 wagons to transport the goods, and the 
 militia to act as a guard in transporting 
 them. The wagonmaster of each county 
 was to allow two work horses to remain on 
 each farm. In September, 1780, the sum of 
 $12,750 was advanced by the State of Penn- 
 sylvania for calling into service a part of 
 the militia of York County sent to the Con- 
 tinental army in the field. 
 
 Colonel William Scott wrote, August i, 
 1780, to President Reed, that he "paraded 
 one company of volunteers and ordered 
 them to march for Bedford; but they are to 
 set ofif this evening for Philadelphia under 
 the command of Captain James Mackey. a 
 gentleman who has served several years in 
 our army and was recommended to me by 
 gentlemen of my acquaintance, as one who 
 l)eha\ed with bravery. The company con- 
 sists of fiftv men exclusive of olficers," 
 
Til 
 
 kEX'OLUTIOX 
 
 259 
 
 Xoveniljer 20, James Smith, of York, and 
 Henry W ynkoop, of Bucks County, were 
 recommended for appointment as judges of 
 the High Court of Appeals for the State of 
 Pennsylvania. Thomas Armor, Sr., was ap- 
 pointed, November 25, collector of excise 
 for York County. 
 
 On Januar}- 30, 1781, Archibald 
 
 Money AlcClean received $1,500, to aid 
 
 for in recruiting men from York 
 
 Recruits. County for the first regiment, 
 
 Pennsylvania Line, which had 
 
 been ordered to rendezvous at York. 
 
 Three months later, McClean was granted 
 
 $5,000 to be vised in paying bounties to 
 
 recruits and gratuity, then given to men in 
 
 service in the Pennsylvania Line. 
 
 After 1779 the seat of war had been 
 transferred to the South, where severe bat- 
 tles occurred at Savannah, King's Moun- 
 tain, Cowpens and other places. The valor 
 of the American patriots called forth 
 demonstrations of joy. General Greene 
 was then in charge of the Southern army. 
 In February, 1781, Archibald McClean 
 wrote from York : "Upon the arrival of the 
 news from the South, a number of us met 
 and subscribed liberally for a 'feu de joy' 
 and also for a prudent treat for the return- 
 ing soldiers. We also raised a fund to be 
 distributed among those whom we could 
 engage to re-enlist." He further stated 
 al:)out twenty of the returning soldiers had 
 re-enlisted. 
 
 Alarch 3, Colonel ]\iichael Swope, of 
 York, and Colonel Henry Slagle, of Han- 
 over, were appointed, under authority of 
 the Supreme Executive Council, to settle 
 with troops of the First and Tenth Regi- 
 ments of the Penns}-lvania Line, tlien in 
 camp at York. Alarch 14, General James 
 Potter and Mr. Cunningham were ap- 
 pointed by the Supreme E.xecutive Council 
 to confer with the members of Assemblv 
 from York County, on the subject of the 
 reception of the British and Hessian troops 
 which were soon to arrive in Pennsylvania 
 from Charlottesville, Virginia, where they 
 had been held as prisoners of war since 
 January, 1779. March 16, Colonel Michael 
 Smyser, Captain Moses McClean, members 
 of the Assembly from York County, and 
 .\le.xander Lowry, of Lancaster County, 
 held a conference with President Reed, 
 relating to the moxenienl of the I'ritish and 
 
 Hessian prisoners northward. They dis- 
 cussed the danger that would arise by 
 bringing" so large a number, more than 
 3,000 foreign troops, into southern Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 These troops, however, were brought 
 soon after and placed in prison pens at 
 York, Lancaster and Reading, the officers 
 being sent to Connecticut. 
 
 May 16, General Wayne, then in York, in 
 command of the Pennsylvania Line, wrote 
 the President of Pennsylvania asking for 
 si.xty head of cattle to be sent within a few 
 days for the use of the Fifth Regiment, 
 which would s-oon arrive. June 26, William 
 Alexander was appointed paymaster of 
 York County militia to succeed Captain 
 William Scott. Major James Moore was 
 appointed recruiting agent for the Pennsyl- 
 vania Line at Hanover. 
 
 November 28, Captain Wil- 
 McPherson's liam Scott wrote to the 
 
 Cavalry. state authorities that a com- 
 pany of cavalry had been 
 organized in the \\estern part of York 
 County. Thirty men had enlisted at Marsii 
 Creek and half that number at Hanover. 
 He further stated that they had elected 
 William McPherson, captain; Robert Mor- 
 rison, lieutenant, and James Gettys, cornet. 
 It would seem that this company was 
 organized for the frontier service, for seven 
 months later, in June 1782, Captain Scott 
 wrote from York: "On Sunda}^ last, I re- 
 ceived the orders from Council of May 23, 
 and agreeal)le to the directions therein con- 
 tained, have ordered one-half of the Light 
 Horse and four classes of militia of York 
 County to hold themselves in readiness to 
 march at the shortest notice. I have also 
 taken an account of the public arms at this 
 town and find sixty-eight unlit for use, 
 which I have ordered to be immediately re- 
 paired. The gunsmiths inform me that 
 they will be all finished in a few days." 
 The gunsmiths in York then were Philip 
 Heckert, Ignatius Lightner, Adam Light- 
 ner, Jacob Letter, Jacob \\'elschantz, 
 Joseph Welschantz, Sr., Joseph Welsch- 
 antz, Jr., and Conrad Welschantz. 
 
 December 22, the Supreme Executive 
 Council formed plans for recruiting the regi- 
 ments of the Pennsylvania Line. This was 
 two months after the surrender of Corn- 
 wallis at ^'orktown, in \'irginia, and these 
 
_'6o 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENXSYLVAXIA 
 
 troops had returned to their native state. 
 York, Lancaster, Reading, Newtown, and 
 CarHsle were the places of rendezvous for 
 the regiments of these Pennsylvania troops. 
 Colonel Richard Humpton, commanding 
 the Second Regiment, was appointed to 
 superintend this recruiting service. 
 
 January 2, 1782, General Lincoln, of the 
 Continental army, reported that General 
 Hazen, commanding the regiment of Con- 
 tinental troops known as "Congress' Own," 
 had been appointed to guard prisoners at 
 York, Lancaster and Reading. The state 
 militia then guarding the prisoners were 
 discharged from the service. February 2^1, 
 Lieutenant Richard Johnston, of Hazen's 
 Regiment, was directed to march with his 
 company, then at York, to Bedford for the 
 defense of the frontier. Captain William 
 Alexander, lieutenant of York County, was 
 ordered to call out forty men from the 
 militia to guard the British, then in the 
 ■\'icinity of York. 
 
 September 5, 1782, a company 
 
 To marched from York to Fort 
 
 Guard Pitt, the' site of Pittsburg, to 
 
 the guard the frontier. This com- 
 
 Frontier. pany was composed of seventy- 
 eight men, rank and file. A 
 wagon also was sent to carry prisoners. 
 
 September 9, Captain Alexander was 
 ordered to call into service one lieutenant, 
 one sergeant, one corporal and fifteen men 
 to guard the prisoners in York. Twenty 
 days later these count}' lieutenants were in- 
 structed that the Continental troops on 
 their return from the western frontier 
 would take the place of the militia in guard- 
 ing prisoners of war in Pennsylvania. It 
 was then ordered that these lieutenants had 
 no further occasion to call out the militia 
 for frontier service since the British had 
 "called in" the savages and would give no 
 further trouble. 
 
 August 5, 1783, Jacob Smyser, of York, 
 wrote to the President of Pennsylvania, 
 "about 200 cattle perished in York County 
 last spring, and the crops for this year 
 failed. If the threatened attempts to en- 
 force collections of taxes be carried out, it 
 will be ruinous to the county. Few indi- 
 \iduals will escape going to jail. Money 
 has very little circulation among our in- 
 habitants, as it has in other more fortunate 
 
 and more populous sections. The mildew 
 and hail have destroyed many fields of grain 
 this year. Collectors of taxes have alread\' 
 brought goods to York from a distance of 
 twenty miles in order to sell them in this 
 town, but met with no encouragement be- 
 cause no one would bid on the distrained 
 goods out of sympathy for the fellow- 
 citizens from whom the goods had been 
 seized." A few months later a riot oc- 
 curred in York as the result of tax collect- 
 ors seizing goods and merchandise from 
 delinquent taxpayers. 
 
 July 28, 1784, William Scott reported 
 that there were still in York, belonging to 
 the government, the following: 75 muskets, 
 20 bayonets, 8 cartridge boxes and 8 can- 
 teens. 
 
 Owing to the depreciation of the cur- 
 rency and the heavy taxes imposed for car- 
 rying on the war, it was often difficult to 
 carry out the provisions of the law and 
 certain officers refused to act. In 1778, 
 George Jacobs, of Paradise, refused to ac- 
 cept a commission as constable of that 
 township. A\'illiam Park, of Monaghan 
 Township, was charged with non-compli- 
 ance with the law because he would not 
 serve a summons on one of his neighbors 
 for the collection of taxes. For the same 
 cause Matthias Hollowpeter, of Warring- 
 ton Township, was indicted. He pleaded 
 guilty and "put himself upon the mercy of 
 his country" because he did not want to 
 distress his neighbors. 
 
 \\'illiam Lukens, the colored 
 
 Brought cook, in Colonel Swope's 
 
 News to Regiment, -in the Flying 
 
 Washington. Camp, was captured at Fort 
 
 AYashington. He soon af- 
 terward escaped from his imprisonment 
 and went to Trenton, where he made shoes 
 for himself out of a cartridge box, given to 
 him by a Hessian soldier. A\'hen Washing- 
 ton crossed New Jersey from New York, 
 Lukens gave the general the information 
 that Hessians were garrisoned at Trenton. 
 As the story goes, this information was of 
 great value to the American army to lay 
 plans for the capture of 1,000 Hessian 
 soldiers under Colonel Rahl. at Trenton, on 
 Christmas night, 1776. After the war he 
 returned to York, where he li\'ed tlie 
 remainder of his life. 
 
THE RE\'OLUTIOX 
 
 26! 
 
 Owing to the depreciation 
 
 A Special in tiie value of Continental 
 
 Commission, currency and the papet' 
 
 money issued by the differ- 
 ent states of the Union, during the Revolu- 
 tion, there was a continual fluctuation in the 
 prices of goods and commodities bought 
 and sold. In order to prevent monopolies, 
 to regulate the price of labor, of manu- 
 factured products and of internal produce, 
 commissioners were appointed by the 
 legislatures of different states to meet at 
 certain places. On March 26, 1777, the 
 states of Xew York. New Jersey, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia 
 appointed commissioners, who, according 
 to arrangements, met in York at the public 
 inn of ^^'illianl White. The delegates who 
 convened here were the following: John 
 Sloss Hobart, Colonel Robert Van Rennse- 
 laer, of Xew York ; Theophilus Elmer, 
 Joseph Holmes, of Xew Jersey : George 
 Henry, Bartram Galbreath, John W'hitehill, 
 Richard Thomas, David McConaughy, of 
 Pennsylvania ; Caesar Rodney, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Thomas Collins. Colonel James 
 Lattamore. of Delaware : Xorman Bruce, 
 John Braceo, Henry Griffith. Joseph Sim. of 
 ^Maryland; Lewis Burwell. Thomas Adams, 
 of \^irginia ; Thomas Armor, clerk. 
 
 These were representative men from the 
 states named and they remained in session 
 eight days. The commissioners could not 
 agree on definite measures. They, how- 
 ever, discussed inatters in detail and passed 
 resolutions to be presented to the different 
 legislatures. In X'ovember of the same 
 year, commissioners from all of the thirteen 
 original states were appointed to assemble 
 at Xew Haven, Connecticut, to regulate the 
 prices of commodities. Colonel Henr}- 
 Slagle. of York County, was one of the 
 representatives of Pennsylvania in that con- 
 vention. 
 
 At the opening of hostilities, in 
 
 Toryism. 
 
 I//0- 
 
 the people of Pennsyl- 
 
 vania, as elsewhere, were divided 
 in their sentiments as to the prosecution of 
 the war. People of English birth who 
 favored King George were Loyalists. 
 Later they became known as Tories. Those 
 who favored the war for independence were 
 called Whigs. The Quakers, in carrying 
 out their religious l)eliefs, were opposed to 
 taking up arms against their fellow-men. 
 
 In the eastern part of the state, many of 
 this class of people were ranked as Tories. 
 After 1776, very few of them were elected 
 to hold public office. Those who joined the 
 arni}- became the fighting Quakers of the 
 Revolution. 
 
 John Webb, an intelligent citizen of Xew- 
 berry Township, was prosecuted because he 
 had opposed the Provincial Conference of 
 Pennsylvania, a bod\' which succeeded the 
 Assembly, which was in part loyal to the 
 British go\ernment. Webb was charged 
 with ha\ing tlireatened Continental Con- 
 gress and the officers of York County who 
 supported that body. He went so far as to 
 say that "within two or three days he could 
 lay the town of York in ashes." 
 
 Kilian Devinger and Andrew Miller, of 
 Shrewsbury Township, were found guilty 
 of treason, in April, 1779, for having pro- 
 cured names to a paper to agree not to 
 muster with the organized militia of the 
 count}'. The paper, which they drew up. 
 bound those who signed it to aid in break- 
 ing open the county jail for the purpose of 
 releasing those who were imprisoned by the 
 state authorities for not obeying the militia 
 laws. 
 
 At the October sessions of court, 1779. 
 Henry ^\'atts, of York County, was indicted 
 for misprison and treason for having said. 
 "Yes, I am a Tory and I acknowledge it. I 
 am an old warrior and one of King George's 
 men. God bless King George ! Hurrah ! 
 Here is health and happiness to King 
 George and down with the rebels! I'll see 
 King George reign here yet in a short 
 time." 
 
 Joseph Smith, of the town of York, in 
 17S0, was found guilty of misdemeanor for 
 asserting that Continental money was 
 worth nothing and the paper money issued 
 by the state no better. He further said to 
 some patriots, "You have only eleven of the 
 thirteen states left and how long will you 
 keep Pennsylvania?" 
 
 Christian Pochtel, of Manheim Town- 
 ship, who was offered twenty pounds each, 
 or about one hundred dollars in Conti- 
 nental money, for three o.xen, refused the 
 offer, stating that he would not sell for 
 paper money because of its depreciation. 
 He offered to sell them for fifteen pounds in 
 gold or silver. Frederick Leather, of 
 Dover Township, likewise refused to sell 
 
262 
 
 HISTORY OK YORK COUXTV, PEXXSVLVAXIA 
 
 lour oxen if he were to recei\'e payment in 
 Continental nione\'. Frederick Young, of 
 ]\lt. Pleasant Township, now in Adams 
 County, also refused to sell his cattle. 
 These oxen were wanted as rations for the 
 Pennsylvania Line under General \\'ayne, 
 then encamped at York, before leaving for 
 the campaign against Cornwallis at York- 
 town. Virginia. 
 
 Samuel Keller, of York County, May lo. 
 1781, was found guilty of misdemeanor for 
 saying to other parties that if they could 
 "keep off the rebel collector of taxes for 
 two months, the King of England will con- 
 ([uer the cotmtry." 
 
 ROLLS OF ASSOCIATORS AND 
 MILITIA. 
 
 At the opening of the Revolution, in 
 1775. able-bodied citizens of Pennsylvania 
 formed themselves into military companies 
 and were known as Associators. Five bat- 
 talions were organized in York County. 
 Xo complete muster roll of these battalions 
 is knoAvn to be in existence. A large pro- 
 portion of them were found by Edward \\'. 
 Spangler, Esq.. and first published in the 
 Spangler Annals, in the year 1896. The 
 original rolls were placed, by Mr. Spangler, 
 in the Historical Society of York County. 
 Printed copies of them will be found in the 
 succeeding pages. After the state constitu- 
 tion of 1776 was adopted, the state militia 
 was organized out of the Associators. 
 cluster rolls of some of the companies from 
 York County ser\-ing in the Continental 
 Line appear in the preceding chapters. 
 
 The muster rolls of the militia companies 
 which follow were largely furnished by 
 Luther R. Kelker, of the Pennsylvania 
 State Library, at Harrisburg. 
 
 The First Battalion of York County As- 
 sociators was organized in 1775 by Colonel 
 James Smith, and included companies from 
 the town of York and the townships of Hel- 
 1am, Windsor, Manchester, York and Co- 
 dorus. This battalion marched, in 1776, to 
 Perth Amboy, New Jersey, where part of 
 its rank and file enlisted in the First Regi- 
 ment of the Flying Camp, commanded by 
 Colonel Michael Swope. of Y'ork. In 1775, 
 Thomas Hartley was lieutenant-colonel and 
 Joseph Donaldson and Michael Swope, 
 majors. The following is a complete mus- 
 
 ter roll of se\-en of the eight companies in 
 
 1776: 
 
 Caftaiii, 
 
 William Bailey. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 John Hay. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 John Mrown, 
 Christian Beiding, 
 Jacob Bamhart, 
 George Beck, 
 Wilial Brown, 
 Jacob Baub, 
 George Brionn, 
 Matthias Crauth, 
 Diter Conn, 
 William Clem. 
 Henry Counselman, 
 John Claydt, 
 Jacob Crist, 
 Abraham Danner, 
 Jacob Doudel, 
 James Dobbins, 
 John Dicks, 
 Jacob Daiwele. 
 Hugh Dobbins, 
 George Erwin, 
 ^Michael Edwards, 
 Jacob Entler, 
 Diter Furth, 
 John Fitz, 
 George Frey, 
 Philip Grener, 
 Christian Greithler, 
 John Grever. 
 George Gulhiahr, 
 Anthony Gyer, 
 Jacob Gron, 
 Seth Goodwein, 
 Philip Gross, 
 Jacob Grever. 
 Adam Grener, 
 Abraham Graufus, 
 Thomas Hickson, 
 Peter Haiier, 
 Philip Heckert, 
 Jacob Hause, 
 George Haide, 
 Peter Hoke, 
 Francis Jones, 
 George Koch, 
 Henry Kiefer, 
 Baltzer Kneible, 
 
 Jr. 
 
 .\braham Kneisle. 
 Christian Kauffman, 
 Joseph Klepper, 
 Daniel Keiser, 
 David Kuff, 
 Christour Lauman, 
 Frederick Laumaster, 
 William Lange, 
 Nathaniel Leightner, 
 Jacob Lether, 
 Nathaniel Leightner, 
 Arthur McMann, 
 James MacCamend, 
 Paul Metzgar, 
 John Mayer, 
 .\ndrew Nonnemacher, 
 John Neit, 
 John Probst, 
 Thomas Rein, 
 Andrew Robinson, 
 ■^acob Sprenkle, 
 Jacob Sheffer, 
 Peter Schlemer, 
 John Schultz. 
 Peter Streber, 
 .•\.ndener Schettle, 
 Henry Schidtz, 
 George StoU, 
 John Shall, 
 John Struhman, 
 William Stoot, 
 John Schultz, 
 Christian Strahman, 
 William Thomson, 
 Jacob Vallvdein, 
 Henry Wa'lter, 
 Jacob Welshans, 
 -Adam Wolf, 
 Joseph Welshans, 
 "George Wilt, 
 Philip Waldismaien, 
 David Welshans, 
 John Welsh, 
 Archibald M. Williams, 
 Frederick Zeigle, 
 Gottlieb Zeigle. 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Charles Lnkens. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Christian Stake. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Ephraim Sherriff. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Joseph Adlum. 
 John Adhim, Jr., 
 John Brown, 
 John Blackburn, 
 Robert Bailey, 
 Charles Barnitz, 
 Jacob Barnitz, 
 Peter Boos, 
 Martin Carman, 
 David Candler, 
 ^ Isaac Davis, 
 .Anthony Dougherty, 
 
 Martin Eichelbergcr, Jr. 
 John Forsythe, 
 George Graham, 
 James Gorman, 
 .\ndrew Grobb, 
 Jacob Holtzinger, 
 Peter Haack. 
 Frederick Huber, 
 Frederick Houseman, 
 Thomas Hancock, 
 Thomas Irons. 
 Godfry Lonberger, 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 263 
 
 Henry Jlyers, 
 William McMunn, 
 William Xitterfeld, 
 Jacob Obb. 
 Thomas Prior, 
 Robert Patton, 
 Robert Paisley, 
 David Parker, 
 
 James Robb, 
 William Skinner, 
 John Shultz, Jr., 
 John Shall. 
 John Smith, 
 George Test, 
 William Vaines, 
 John Willis. 
 
 Captain, 
 
 —1 Rudolph Spanglcr. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Peter Reel. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 George Shuch. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Christopher Stayer. 
 
 Sergeant, 
 
 John Fishel. 
 
 Clerk, 
 
 George Lewis Loeffler. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Henry Bentz 
 
 (son of Philip), 
 Henry Brobeck, 
 George Beyer, 
 Frederick Bickel, 
 Valentine Brenneisen, 
 Daniel Barnitz, 
 Nicholas Brand, 
 Weirich Bentz, 
 Henry Bentz 
 
 (son of John), 
 John Beltzner, 
 Frederick Bringman, 
 John Counselman, 
 George Craft. 
 Herman Cookes, 
 Martin Crever, 
 George Carman, 
 Frederick Dambach, 
 John Dallman, 
 John Detter, 
 Hartman Deitsh, 
 Philip Entler, 
 Philip Gossler, 
 .\ndre\v Hertzog, 
 Conrad Holtzbaum, 
 John Immel, 
 
 Christian Ilgenfritz, 
 Peter King, 
 Conrad Leatherman, 
 George Nebinger, 
 Luke Rose, 
 Joseph Rothrock, 
 Jacob Shuch, 
 Peter Swartz, 
 Christian Sinn, 
 John Shall, 
 Jacob Schneerer, 
 Daniel Spangler, 
 Abraham Sitler, 
 John Smith. 
 Simon Snyder, 
 George Snyder, 
 Francis Thomas, 
 Henry Welsh, 
 Joseph Weisang, 
 Jacob Wolf, 
 Henry Wolf 
 
 (son of John), 
 George Wolf, 
 James Wallace, 
 Henry Wolf. Jr., 
 Matthias Zimmer. 
 
 Captain. 
 
 George Eichelberger. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Michael Hahn. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Baltzer Spangler. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Martin Brenneisen, 
 Nicholas Bernhard, 
 Joseph Boude, 
 George Craff, 
 James Clerck. 
 Jacob Durang. 
 Jacob Eichinger, 
 Jacob Funck, 
 John Flender, 
 George Fritzler, 
 George Fiarar, 
 John Fisher, 
 George Geesev. 
 Michael Graybill, 
 Liidwig Hetrick, 
 Finken Imfelt, 
 James Jones, 
 
 John Kunckel. 
 Michael Kopenhafer, 
 George Moul, 
 Casper MuUer, 
 Jacob Miller, 
 James McCullough, 
 John "Maguire, 
 George Myer, 
 Samuel Nelson, 
 Jacob Xeuman, 
 John Pick. 
 Jacob Rudisil 
 Henry Ranch, 
 Anthony Ritz, 
 Michael Ruger, 
 Jacob Schram, 
 Jacob Schenk, 
 
 Jr., 
 
 George Spangler, 
 Lorentz Small. 
 Jacob Sclireiber, 
 Jacob Schneider, 
 jRudolph Spangler, 
 Stophel Shellc}', 
 Nicholas Upp, 
 John Welsh, 
 
 John Wcrlov, 
 Jolin Wolff,' 
 Ludwig Weisang, 
 Michael Weider, 
 Michael Welsh, 
 Frederick Youce, 
 Henry Zimmerman, 
 Peter -. 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Simon Kopenhafer. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Michael Schrciber. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Andreas Shinerd, Jr. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Jacob Gotvvalt, Sr. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 A. 
 
 Peter Bentz, 
 Jacob Ersman, 
 John Frey, 
 John Gristy, 
 Jacob Graft. 
 Jonas Gastman, 
 John Gastman, 
 Jacob Gotwalt, Jr., 
 Leonard Heindel, 
 George Henry Houser, 
 Jacob Herman, 
 George Henry Haupt, 
 Frederick Heid, 
 Philip Hoffman, 
 Jonas Herman, 
 Nicholas Herrer, 
 Michael Heyd, 
 Jacob Huft, 
 Andreas Heid, 
 .•\mos Hershey, 
 Conrad Insminger, 
 John Kreibel. 
 Gotfried Konig, 
 George Koenich, 
 
 imon Kopenhafer, Jr., 
 Jacob Kauffman, 
 Andreas Kraft, 
 Reinhart Klein, 
 Peter Lang, 
 George Miller, Jr., 
 Henry Noss, 
 
 Henry Ord. 
 Andreas Rittcr, 
 John Reittingcr, 
 P. Reittinger, 
 John Rentzel. 
 Christ Rentzcll, 
 Jonas Rudisill, 
 Philip Rudisill, 
 Henry Rau, 
 John Schwerd. 
 James Schinerd, 
 John Schreiber, 
 Peter Schultz, 
 
 --ilichael Sprenkle, 
 Haus Saal, 
 John Schram, 
 Jacob Schindcl, 
 Frederick Schindel, 
 James Worle, 
 Jacob Worle. 
 Philip Wagner, 
 William Worle, 
 Daniel Worle, 
 Jacob W"agner, 
 
 _^hn Wilt, 
 Sanuiel Wilt. 
 Valentine Wilt, 
 Philip Wintermyer. 
 Peter Winterrecht, 
 George Winterrecht. 
 Philip Weil. 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Jost Herbach. 
 
 First Lieutenant. 
 
 Peter Shultz. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Baltzer Rudisill. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Jlichael Ettingcr. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Daniel Anthony, 
 Nicholas Anthony, 
 Henry Beyer, 
 Christian Bixler, 
 Joseph Bixler, 
 John Bixler, 
 Christian Bixler, 
 Jacob Bixler, 
 William Becker, 
 Jacob Bohn, 
 Nicholas Bohn, 
 Jacob Bohn, Jr., 
 Stephen Beyer, 
 Jacob Beyer, 
 John Beyer. 
 
 William Bear, 
 Conrad Becker, 
 Henry Becker, Jr., 
 John Bcyerley, 
 Peter Elenberger, 
 Michael Ettinger, 
 Dewalt Gross, 
 Samuel Gross, 
 Stophel Grinwalt, 
 Michael Ginder, 
 Conrad Ginder, 
 Christian Heit, 
 John Heit, 
 George Heckler, 
 Casoer Knaub, Jr., 
 
264 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PEXXSYLVAMA 
 
 Jacob Klingman. 
 Frederick Klingman. 
 Pliilip Jacob Hoenig, 
 Valentine Kobler. 
 Joseph Kohler, 
 Jacob Knab, 
 George Klingman, 
 William Keys, 
 Valentine Kohlman, 
 Andreas Klein, 
 Christian Leib, 
 Ezra Lichtenberger, 
 George Lichtenberger, 
 Adam Lichtenberger. 
 Knlian Lichtenberger. 
 Michael Loebenstein, 
 George Loebenstein, 
 John Miller. 
 Michael Melhorn. 
 George Miller, 
 Samuel Miller, 
 George Philip Mohr, 
 
 Adam Miller. 
 George Ringer. 
 Andrew Roth. 
 John Rnth. Jr.. 
 Henry Roth. 
 Michael Ringer. 
 William Rennel, 
 John Reyf, 
 Conrad Snyder, 
 Philip Schweitzer, 
 Paul Storm. 
 Frederick Selcker, 
 Jacob Snyder. Jr., 
 Adam Schcnck, 
 John Seder, 
 Peter Sheaffer, 
 Jacob Schmitt, 
 George Welsh, 
 Jacob Weber, 
 Adam Wilt, 
 Yost Wahl, 
 Jacob Ziegler. 
 
 Captain. 
 George Hoover. 
 
 Lieutenants. 
 Jacob Hederick, 
 John Sharrer. 
 Ensign. 
 Frederick Meyer. 
 Sergeants, 
 Samuel Glassick, 
 Laurence Rohrbach, 
 Theobald Snyder, 
 Michael Behler. 
 
 Corporals, 
 John Adarmel, 
 George Kaltreider, 
 Michael Lorick. 
 Privates, 
 
 Jacob Behler, 
 Jacob Bear, Jr., 
 George Bortner, 
 Daniel Bear. 
 William Becker. 
 Samuel Brenneman, 
 John Brodbeck, 
 John Bower, 
 Benjamin Brenneman, 
 William Brenneman, 
 Jacob Bear, Sr., 
 Peter Castello, 
 Helfrey Craumer, 
 Nicholas Dehoff, 
 George Dehoff, 
 Peter Diskin, 
 Abraham Eberhart, 
 Wendel Eberhart, 
 "Jacob Eppeis, 
 Frederick Frashcr, 
 Adam Foltz, 
 Ulrich Followeider, 
 Jacob Followeider, 
 Frederick Fisher, 
 John Followeider, 
 Peter Gerberick, 
 John Gantz, 
 Jacob Greist, 
 Leonard Girkenhyscr, 
 Peter Henning, 
 LHrich Hoover, 
 Michael Henning, 
 Jacob Houser, 
 George Hamspachcr, 
 
 George Hoover, 
 John Hoover, 
 Daniel Jones, 
 Theobald Kaltreider, 
 Thomas King, 
 Abraham Keller, 
 Peter Krebs, 
 George Krebs, 
 Ulrich Kneyer, 
 Leonard Kneyer, 
 Samuel Lorick, 
 Conrad Ludwig, 
 Henry Menche, 
 Flenrv Newcomer, 
 John ' Ott, 
 
 Christian Rohrbach, Jr., 
 Frederick Roadarmel, 
 Jacob Roadarmel, 
 Henry Rohrbach, 
 Nicholas Rvbold. 
 Vv'illiam Ruhl. 
 Matthias Rybold, 
 George Rybold, 
 Adam Rybold, 
 Henry Roberts, 
 John Ruhl, 
 Clementz Ruhl. 
 Martin Snyder, 
 George Smith, 
 Martin Sheyerer, 
 Matthias Si'nith. 
 Jacob Sharrer. 
 Zacharias Shug, 
 Michael Shcverer, 
 
 Henry Skiles. John Werner, 
 
 Christopher Snyder, Jacob Ziegler, Jr., 
 
 Isaac Varnum, Jacob Ziegler, Sr., 
 
 Richard Willart, Michael Ziegler. 
 Nicholas Weyant, 
 
 The Second Battalion of Associators was 
 organized in 1775 by Colonel Robert AIc- 
 Pherson, of Marsh Creek, and included per- 
 sons living in the present area of Adams 
 County. Part of this battalion enlisted in 
 the Second Regiment of the Flying Camp, 
 at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in 1776. The 
 officers at the time of organization, in 1775, 
 were "Robert McPherson, colonel; David 
 Kennedy, lieutenant-colonel; Moses Mc- 
 Clean and Hugh Dunwoodie, majors. The 
 muster roll of only one company of this 
 battalion was preserved. The rank and 
 file of some of the companies enlisted in the 
 Seventh Pennsylvania Line, commanded by 
 Colonel David Grier. 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Hugh Campbell. 
 
 First Lieutenant. 
 
 William Lowther. 
 
 .Seeond Lieutenant, 
 
 Robert ]\IcElhenney. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Simon Vanarsdalen. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 
 Joseph Hunter. 
 John Armstrong 
 Corporals. 
 
 John McCush. 
 
 William Leach. 
 
 Drummer, 
 
 John Banta. 
 
 Fifer, 
 
 Andrew Little. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Cornelius Cosine, 
 Alexander Wilson, 
 
 Alexander Bogle, 
 James McElhenney, 
 
 Arthur Beaty, 
 Hugh McL.'iughlin, 
 William Duffield, 
 Samuel McManemy, 
 Jacob Smock, 
 Francis Monfort, 
 Benedict Yeary, 
 Henry Little, 
 William Carsman, 
 John McCance. 
 Robert Stewart, 
 Abran'i Banta, 
 Joseph Weast, 
 John Hope, 
 Benjamin Leach, 
 Robert Barber, 
 Jaines Hutchison, 
 Charles Orr, 
 Robert McGowan, 
 Thotuas Orbison, 
 Hugh McWilliams, 
 William McCance, 
 
 Jacob Swiser, 
 John Cumingore, 
 Nathaniel Porter, 
 Abraham Brewer, 
 Lawrence Alonfort, 
 John Sage, 
 David Casart, 
 John Willson, 
 Charles Timmons, 
 Andrew McKiney, 
 Andrew Shiley, 
 Frederick Shetz, 
 Henry Little, 
 Peter' Millar, 
 Andrew Hunter, 
 James Lyon, 
 Nicholas Millar, 
 Patrick Hogan, 
 Farrah Doran, 
 Stephen Giffen, 
 James McCreary, 
 Orbin Wence. 
 
 Amboy, Septcmlier 17, 1776. Mustered 
 then, I captain, 2 lieutenants, i ensign, 3 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 265 
 
 sergeants, 3 corporals, i drummer, i fifer, 
 34 privates. 
 
 Sixteen enlisted in the Flying Camp, 4 on 
 guard, I sick absent, i sick present, i on 
 furlough. 
 
 The Third Battalion of Associators was 
 organized in 1775 by Colonel Richard Mc- 
 Allister, of Hanover, who commanded the 
 Second Pennsylvania Regiment of the 
 Flying Camp, in which a large number of 
 his men enlisted at Perth Amboy, New Jer- 
 sey, in 1776. After the organization of the 
 state militia, in 1777, the Third Battalion 
 was commanded by Colonel David Jameson. 
 Part of this battalion served under Jameson 
 at Germantown, White Alarsh and minor 
 engagements in 1777. It was organized in 
 1775 out of the Associators in the town- 
 ships of Heidelberg, Berwick. Paradise, 
 Mt. Pleasant, Manheim and Germany. 
 
 Caftain, 
 
 Jacob Beaver. 
 
 First Lieutenant. 
 
 Xicholas Baker. 
 
 Second Lieittenant, 
 
 John Bare. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 George Lefeber. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Henry Albright, 
 John Auber. 
 George Auble, 
 George Autick, 
 Conrad Brubaker, 
 Nicholas Bentz, 
 Michael Broocker, 
 Henry Bear, 
 John Byer, 
 Henry Byer, 
 Jacob Byer, 
 William Bradley, 
 George Beaner, 
 Michael Baymiller, 
 John Croan,. Sr., 
 John Croan, 
 Samuel Christ, 
 Jacob Dey, v 
 Peter Ditty, 
 John Dellinger, 
 Henry Deethoff. 
 Jacob Dellinger, 
 John Douchki, 
 Michael Dush, 
 Nicholas Dey, — 
 Ulrich Eleberger, 
 John Ebay, 
 Frederick Eaty, 
 Frederick Fitz, 
 Philip Fry. 
 John Gohn, 
 Philip Gohn. 
 Andrew Gilbert, 4 
 Philip German, 
 Michael Garious, 
 Francis Graff, 
 
 George Gause, 
 James Hines, 
 Adam Heindel, 
 Michael Holder, 
 Philip Hune, 
 .■\ndre\v Heins, 
 Lorentz Hersinger, 
 Laurence Heindel, Jr., 
 Daniel Harkens, 
 Henry Heltzel, 
 Michael Henry, Jr., '^ 
 John Imenheiser. 
 Jeremiah Johnson, 
 Anthony Keller, 
 .•\aron Kephsnyder, 
 Michael Koffeld, 
 Martin Kealer, 
 Frederick Lambert, 
 Christopher Landis, 
 Conrad Lookhoup. 
 John Leaphart. 
 Frederick Lebeknecht. 
 Conrad Lora, 
 John Landis, 
 Conrad Lever, 
 Philip Milhove, 
 ->Michael Mosser, 
 John Mude, 
 George Maxfield. 
 Charles Means, 
 James Murphy, 
 Christopher Noble, 
 Adam Pauls, 
 Laurence Paul, 
 George Poff. 
 Nathan Phersize, 
 
 Michael Petcrman, 
 Christian Rothfon, 
 George Rinehard, 
 Henry Ruby, 
 Joseph Rch, 
 John Rupert, 
 John Stair, — 
 Peter Stcap, 
 John Smith, 
 Adam Stentler, 
 James Strong, 
 Conrad Shaeffcr, 
 Jacob Stakcnar, 
 Peter Seacat, 
 Jacob Stromenger, 
 Jacob Strickler, 
 
 John Simson, 
 Philip Stees, 
 Peter Swartz, 
 John Shenberger, 
 Peter Treckler, 
 John Tome, 
 Paul Tritt, 
 Peter Tritt, 
 John Weber, 
 Peter Wambach, 
 George Woolpack, 
 Ulrich Weber, 
 Nicholas Young, 
 Michael Zimmerman, 
 Michael Ziegler, 
 Philip . 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Godfrey Fry. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 John Bushong. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 George Spangler. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 James Jones. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 John Bush, 
 Wier Bentz, 
 George Boly, 
 Christian Betz, 
 Jacob Byer, 
 George Bentz, 
 Henry Breninger, 
 George Brown, 
 Nicholas Deal, 
 Peter Deal, 
 Samuel Detweiler, 
 George Deal, 
 Jacob Fleger, 
 Peter Foust, 
 Jacob Freed, 
 George Fliger, 
 Michael Fishel, 
 Henry Greenawalt, 
 John Gusler, 
 Christian Hogman, 
 Frederick Houshill, 
 John Immel, 
 Henry Jones, 
 William Johnston, 
 Jacob Keller, 
 Michael Kurtz, 
 Jacob Koch, 
 Conrad Kissinger, 
 Yogam Leaman, 
 Stephen Landis, 
 George Ley, 
 Peter Leman, 
 Jacob Lehman, 
 
 Jacob Lefever, 
 
 Andrew Miller, 
 
 Jacob Morks, 
 _-Daniel Mosser, 
 
 John Minster, 
 
 George Michael Peter, 
 
 Peter Peter, 
 
 Edward Prion, 
 
 John Rode, 
 
 John Rankin. 
 
 Godfrj' Sumwalt, 
 
 Matthias Stuart, 
 
 Henry Stouffer, 
 —William Sprenkle, 
 
 Christian Shewe, 
 
 Daniel Stouffer, 
 
 John Spangler, 
 
 Jacob Speck. 
 
 Jonas Spangler, 
 
 Christian Sipe. 
 
 Philip Spangler, 
 
 Martin Speck, 
 
 Michael Spangler, 
 
 rtenry Spangler, 
 
 George Swartz, 
 
 John Stuart, 
 
 James Shaw, 
 
 John Trychler, 
 
 Henry Wissendaul, 
 
 Peter Wolf, 
 
 Martin Wcller, 
 
 Abraham Welshans. 
 
 Captain, 
 Peter Forte. , 
 
 First Lieutenant. 
 
 Christopher Stoehr. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Andrew Hertzog. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Jacob Welshance. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Henry Bouch. 
 Henry Booser, 
 Henry Bonix, 
 Joseph Craft, 
 .Abraham Danner, 
 
 Peter Dinkle, 
 Lawrence Etter, 
 Jacob Ereon, 
 John Edward, 
 Michael Edward, 
 
266 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 George Fry, 
 George Fritz, 
 William Fondorow, 
 Jacob Fackler, 
 John Good, 
 John Gohoet, 
 Henry Hofe, 
 Vincent Infelt, 
 Isaac Jones, 
 Francis Jones, 
 James Kopp, 
 Francis Koontz, 
 Henry King, 
 Daniel Kiser, 
 John Kean, 
 Nathaniel Lightner, 
 Samuel Leidy, 
 Frederick Laumaster, 
 Godfry Loneberger, 
 George Mock. 
 William McMun, 
 Henry Myer, 
 James McCullock, 
 Alexander McKitrich, 
 Andrew Nunemaker, 
 George Nebinger, 
 John Peasley, 
 Matthias Pourt, 
 
 John Probst, 
 Abraham Pick, 
 George Peck, 
 Anthony Ritz, 
 Godfry Ream, 
 Thomas Ryon, 
 Anthony Rous, 
 Peter Rose, 
 James Smith, 
 Killian Small, 
 George Shook, 
 —Jacob Sprenkle, 
 John Shultz, 
 Martin Shreader, 
 Philip Shipe, 
 Peter Schlimer, 
 Frederick Tombach, 
 Joseph Updegraff, 
 Jacob Updegraff, Jr., 
 Jacob Weaber, 
 Adam Wolf, 
 William White, 
 Frederick Wyer, 
 John Wolf, Jr., 
 David Welshans, 
 John Welch. 
 George Waldimyer, 
 Frederick Youse. 
 
 Henrv Walter, 
 John 'Wolf, 
 Ludwig Weisang, 
 Jacob Welchance, 
 John Williamson, 
 
 Captain, 
 Christopher Lowman. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Ephraim Pennington. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 John Fishel. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Charles Barnitz. 
 
 John Alifred, 
 Henry Bentz, 
 Jacob Bahn, 
 Martin Breneisen, 
 Thomas Beltzhoover, 
 Leonard Benel, 
 Leonard Bensel, 
 Andrew Billmeyer, 
 ilichael Billmeyer, 
 Frederick Bringman, 
 Valentine Breneisen, 
 John Biers, 
 Felix Conoway, 
 Alexander M. Conagle, 
 John Dubman, 
 Alexander Donaldson, 
 Philip Endler, 
 Samuel Fisher, 
 Martin Flinchbaugh, 
 Martin Flinchbaugh, 
 Samuel Fisher, 
 Martin Frey, 
 Adam Gardner, 
 Abram Gravious, 
 George Goodyear, 
 John Gorgus, 
 Philip Greber, 
 Philip Heckert, 
 Christian Hecketurn, 
 Andrew Hoffman, 
 Frederick Housman, 
 John Hickson, 
 George Hope, 
 Thomas Hickson, 
 Jacob Houck, 
 Samuel Koontz, 
 
 Privates, 
 
 George Kidy, 
 Michael Keller, 
 Henry Kyfer, 
 IViartin Kearman, 
 Abram Knisely, 
 John Leisser, 
 Jacob Letter, 
 William Lanius, 
 John Myer, 
 Conrad Miller, 
 
 -^ Michael Mosser, 
 Conrad Miller, 
 
 A Michael Mosser, 
 Jacob Miller, 
 Edward McDermot, 
 Casper Miller, 
 Thomas Owen, 
 John Patterson, 
 John Pick, 
 Thomas Prior, 
 Peter Real, 
 Peter Real, 
 Christopher Slagle, 
 George Schlosser, 
 Jacob Snerely, 
 George Snyder, 
 Jacob Shook, 
 Jacob Snyder, 
 Matthias Sitler, 
 Jacob Schram, 
 Abram Sitler, 
 Peter Shitz, 
 Joseph Tott, 
 George Test, 
 Joseph Updegraff, 
 Samuel Updegraff, 
 
 Michael Welsh, 
 John Wiles, 
 George Weller, 
 Henry Welch. 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Alexander Ligget. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Robert Richey. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Robert Stuart. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Peter Fry. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Aaron Arsdale, 
 Andrew Brown, 
 Rendal Cross, 
 John Cadge, 
 James Cross, 
 John Eff, 
 Archibald Eason, 
 Robert Eakin, 
 John Fisher, 
 Bernat Fry, 
 Conrad Fry, 
 Paul Gier, 
 David Good, 
 Adam Gohn, 
 Robert Greenless, 
 Conrad Gyer, 
 Frederick Hamer, 
 Christopher Heindel, 
 John Handerson, 
 Adam Hindly, 
 Alexander Handerson, 
 Craft Hcrmal, 
 Jacob Imsweller, 
 Jacob Imsweller, 
 Richard Jones, 
 Peter Koble, 
 Alexander Lewis, 
 John Lynck, 
 Christian Laundes, 
 Samuel Laundes, 
 Christian Lootz, 
 Henry Long, 
 William Ligget, 
 Henry Myer, 
 John Myers, 
 James McCavick, 
 James McNarey, 
 Henry Miller, 
 
 Michael Miller, 
 Henry McGarrah, 
 Samuel McCowen, 
 
 Nathan McCoy, ■ 
 
 Jacob Neff, 
 Melker Ortas, 
 Peter Offer, 
 Daniel Peterman, 
 Christopher Fetters, 
 John Peterman, 
 John Russel, 
 Peter Reisinger, 
 Henry Reineberger, 
 Thomas Robertson, 
 James Ross, 
 Jacob Ruby, 
 John Smook, Jr., 
 Jacob Smook, 
 Philip Slifer, 
 Jacob Stegner, 
 George Smith, 
 INIartin Slinger, 
 barkley Sayler, 
 Stephen Slifer, 
 Baltzer Shenberger, 
 Andrew Slinger, 
 George Tyse, 
 Henry Teckert, 
 Henry Tyson, 
 Benjamin Tyson, 
 George Woolbeck, 
 Andrew White, 
 Philip Wambach, 
 Michael Wambach, 
 George Wambach, 
 Leonard Young, 
 William Young, 
 Abraham Young. 
 
 Captain, 
 
 George Long. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Samuel Smith. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Conrad Keesey. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Samuel Mosser. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Henry Alt, 
 Michael Albright, 
 Felix Albright, 
 Peter Byer, 
 John Bushong, 
 Michael Bettinger, 
 Jacob Bettinger, 
 Jacob Bh'myer, 
 Christian Elymyer, 
 Henry Dolman, 
 George Ditterheffer, 
 
 Henry Dome, 
 Bastian Erig, 
 Adam Fishel, 
 Henry Fisher, 
 Frederick Fliger, 
 Jacob Fliger, 
 Casper Fisher, 
 Adam Flinchbaugh, 
 Michael Grimm, 
 Peter Grimm, 
 Philip Grimm, 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 267 
 
 Yost Getz, 
 Jacob Geescy, 
 Michael Harnish. 
 George Hardline, 
 Michael Hinico, 
 Jacob Inner?. 
 Yost Kerchhard, 
 John Kerchhard. 
 Bernard Kousler, 
 lohn Long, 
 Felix .Miller, 
 lohn Myer, 
 \Villiani Miller, 
 George Neaf, 
 Ulrich Xeaf, 
 Andrew Pefferman, 
 Jacob Reman, 
 William Rigert, 
 
 John Reigert, 
 ■H^eter Sprenkle. 
 Henry Snell, 
 Peter Sins, 
 Jacob Sebauld, 
 Nicholas Sins, 
 Jacob Shearer, Jr., 
 Martin Stook, 
 John Shoemaker, 
 Alichael Sytz, 
 Conrad Shentler, 
 Christian Shetler, 
 Jacob Shearer, 
 Abrani Swingwiler, 
 George Wilhelm, 
 Nicholas Waltman, 
 Liulwick Waltman. 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Michael Halm. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 John Minn. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Thomas Iron (Erion). 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Christian Sinn. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Frederick Aderhold, 
 Jacob Bernhard, 
 Xicholas Brand, 
 Peter Bear, 
 Charles Brooks, 
 John Bear, 
 George Craft, 
 -John Collins, 
 David Candler, 
 Adam Cookes. 
 Michael Doudel, 
 Jacob Durang, 
 Jacob Eichinger, 
 Thomas Eaton, 
 Jacob Funk, 
 John Flender, 
 .Adam Greber, 
 Martin Greber, 
 Jacob Gardner, 
 John Greber, 
 George Gees, 
 Christian Herman, 
 Ludwig Headick, 
 Christian Ilginfritz, 
 George Irvin, 
 Samuel Johnston, 
 John Kurtz, 
 Mr. Kenety, 
 John Kunkle, 
 William Kersey, 
 Xathaniel Lightner, 
 William Long, 
 William Love, 
 James Love, 
 John Love, 
 Conrad Letherman, 
 James McLaughlin, 
 George Maul, 
 
 James McKea, 
 Paul Metzgar, 
 Peter Mundorf, 
 Jacob Xewman, 
 Frederick Pickle, 
 Enoch Pennett. 
 Jacob Rothrock, 
 Christopher Sheeley, 
 Jacob Schriber, 
 Jacob Shaffer, 
 Jacob Shank, 
 Simon Snyder, 
 iBaltzer Spangler, 
 George Shall. 
 Andrew Shetley, 
 John Shultz. 
 
 George Michael Spangler, 
 George Stull, 
 Rudolph Spangler, 
 John Shall, 
 George Stake, 
 John Shuhz (hatter), 
 Xathan Updegraff, 
 Abram L'pdegraff, 
 Ambrose Updegraff, 
 Jacob LTpp, 
 William Welsh, 
 John Wall. 
 John Welsh. 
 Michael Widener, 
 Francis Worley, 
 Henry Wolf, 
 Michael Wey, 
 Andrew Welsh, 
 George Wilt. 
 Philip Weltzheimer, 
 Matthias Zimmer. 
 
 Ca/>tain. 
 
 Daniel Eyster. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 John Albrecht, 
 Jacob Becker, Jr., 
 Michael Carl, 
 Jacob Delong, 
 George Drey, 
 
 Paul Drey. 
 John Eburr. 
 Herman Emerick. 
 Christopher Foulk, 
 George Foulk, 
 
 Matthias Frey, 
 Carl Gciger, 
 Jacob Geiger, 
 Christian Gerber, 
 George Gerber, 
 Christian Grieft, 
 Henry Hefner, 
 Jacob Hefner, 
 Andrew Helwig, 
 Abraham Herb, 
 Sebastian Herb, 
 Christian Hoch, 
 Adam Hubcr. 
 George Huber, 
 Jacob Hueder, 
 Thomas Hunt, 
 Peter Kiefer, 
 Jacob Langalt, 
 Abraham Lemritz, 
 Nicholas Lemritz, 
 Jacob Long, 
 Xicholas Meyer, 
 Philip Miller, 
 George Oberdorff. 
 Herman Oberdorff, 
 Jacob Pott, 
 
 George Reber, ,,„--' 
 Michael Reider, 
 Christian Reiff, 
 Henry Reiff, 
 Christian Reiss, 
 Conrad Reiss, 
 George Reiss, 
 Michael Satler, 
 Melchoir Schaum, 
 John Scheiter, 
 John Schuler, 
 Jacob Shacffcr, 
 George Shiver, 
 John Shiver, 
 John Shiver (Shier), 
 Philip Shiver, 
 Daniel Sowasch, 
 Henry Sowasch, 
 Valentine Starr, 
 Adam Sweiger, 
 Casper Werfel, 
 Philip Wanemacher.— 
 Adam Zidnier, 
 Anthony Zidnier, 
 Andrew Ziegler, 
 
 The muster roll of the Fourth Battalion, 
 organized in 1775, cannot be found. This 
 battalion, composed of Associa'tors from 
 Shrewsbury, Chanceford, Fawn and Hope- 
 well Townships, was originally commanded 
 by Colonel William Smith, with Francis 
 Holton, lieutenant-colonel; John Gibson 
 and John Finley, majors. The following is 
 the muster roll of one company from 
 Slirewsbury Township : 
 
 Captain, 
 Gideon Bausley. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 John Patrick. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Peter Smith. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Conrad Taylor. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 John McDonald, 
 David Jones, 
 John Freeland, 
 John Cleek, 
 Corporal, 
 Anthonv Miller. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Jacob Alt, 
 John Ball, 
 Stophel Baker, 
 James Douglas. 
 Thomas Foster, 
 Conrad Free, 
 James Freeland, 
 Michael Howman, 
 Sophel Heively, 
 Adam Hendricks, 
 Thomas Hunt, 
 Jacob Hedrick, 
 John Hendricks, 
 Samuel Jones. 
 Michael Jordan, 
 Xathan Jones, 
 
 John Loran. 
 James Marshall, 
 John Miller. 
 Alexander Osborn, 
 John Orr, 
 Joshua Pearse, 
 Xicholas Rodgers, 
 Frederick Shinliver, 
 Postle Sheeling, 
 Thomas Sparks, 
 George Sword, 
 John Taylor, 
 Stophel Wisehart, 
 George Waltmyer, 
 Aquilla Willey. 
 
268 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVANIA 
 
 The Fifth Battalion of Associators was 
 organized in the townships of Dover, New- 
 berry, Monaghan, Warrington, Hunting- 
 don and Reading. It was originally com- 
 manded by Colonel William Rankin. The 
 following companies served in that bat- 
 talion : 
 
 Ca/'tain. 
 
 Michael Ege. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Joseph Spangler. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 James Liggit. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Reuben Fedro. 
 
 Second .Sergeant, 
 
 Joseph Keeppers. 
 
 First Corporal, 
 
 Adam DantHnger. 
 
 Second Corporal, 
 
 Thomas White. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 James Porter, 
 .'Xmos Povvel, 
 John Rose, 
 William Smith. 
 .\ndrew Stover, 
 John Steiner, 
 Peter Steiner, 
 Frederick Scepter, 
 Casper Stoner, 
 Michael Uhl, 
 Edward Woods, 
 George White, 
 Jacob Weston, 
 Stophel Weinmiller, 
 Stophel Zimmerman. 
 
 John .\lsop, 
 George Batchler, 
 Edward Barton, 
 George Conrad. 
 William Chapman, 
 
 -/■John Davis. 
 
 ' George Dashner, 
 Thomas Eisenal, 
 Michael Fissel, 
 Henry Fissel, 
 Tobias Heine, 
 Frederick Hovias. 
 Henry Krone, 
 Jacob Lishy, 
 Thomas Pussel, 
 Thomas Parker, 
 
 John Aby, 
 George Attig, 
 Henry Albrecht. 
 John Aber, 
 George Aber, 
 John Ber, 
 Henry Ber. 
 Hales Brit, 
 Michael Bentz, 
 Michael Baymiller, 
 Michael Bennet, 
 Jacob Beyer, 
 Philip Beyer, 
 John Beyer, 
 Henry Beyer, 
 Jacob Berber, 
 Peter Breckler, 
 James Bruck, 
 Conrad Biilhans, 
 George Boner, 
 Michael Bricker, 
 William Critly, 
 Conrad Cara, 
 John Crone, Jr., 
 John Crone, Sr., 
 
 Captain, 
 Jacob Blester. 
 
 First Lieutenant. 
 
 Nicholas Beck. 
 
 Ensign. 
 
 George Lafeiber. 
 Privates, 
 
 Nicholas Day, 
 Jacob Day, 
 Michael Dast, 
 John Dauchge, 
 Jacob Dellinger, 
 John Dellinger, 
 Peter Dritt, 
 Peter Diete, 
 Henry Diethoss, 
 Conrad Elleberger, 
 John Frey, 
 Philip Frey, 
 I'Vederick Fitz, 
 Philip Gun, 
 Andreas Gilbert, 
 Philip Gun, 
 John Gon, 
 Frantz Graft, 
 Michael Garius, 
 Michael Henry, Sr., 
 Michael Henry, Jr., 
 Lawrence Hirschinger, 
 Matthias Hartford. 
 Michael Holder, 
 Daniel Herkens, 
 
 y 
 
 Anthony Heins, 
 James Heins, 
 Samuel Heist, 
 Adam Hales, 
 Lawrence Hales, 
 George Hass, 
 Adam Handel, 
 Lawrence Handel, 
 Henry Haltzel, 
 Philip Herman, 
 John Imsheiser, 
 Michael Kaffeld. 
 Anthony Keller, 
 Martin Kuler, 
 Frederick Lambert, 
 Christcl Landis, 
 John Landis, 
 Nicholas Leber, 
 Frederick Lieberknecht, 
 John Libhart, 
 Conrad Leber. 
 John Muth, 
 Jared Mines, 
 Jacob Meyer. 
 George I\Iaxel, 
 Michael Moster, 
 James Murphv. 
 Philip Mulhof, Sr., 
 Philip Mulhof, Jr., 
 Christof Nagel, 
 Michael Peterman, 
 George Paff, 
 
 Joseph Reh, 
 John Rupert, 
 Henry Rupert, 
 George Reinhardt. 
 Christian Rathsban, 
 Peter Stab, 
 John Simden, 
 Jacob Stagmeier. 
 Jacob Strominger, 
 John Schmidt, 
 Adam Stantler, 
 James Shandon, 
 Jacob Strickler, 
 John Star, 
 Conrad Scheffer. 
 Peter Sekatz, 
 Peter Schwartz, 
 John Shenberger, 
 James Strang, 
 Jacob Thorn, 
 John Thom, 
 Frederick LUz, 
 John Weber, 
 George Wollbach, 
 Peter Wambach. 
 George Wachtel, 
 Aaron- Westsnyder, 
 John Weil, 
 Ulrich Weber, 
 Nicholas Young, 
 Michael Ziegler, 
 Michael Zimmerman. 
 
 Captain iMartin Shetter, who resided in 
 the vicinity of Lewisberry, York County, 
 commanded a militia company, which 
 served during part of the Revolution. 
 This company belonged to the present area 
 of Newberry and Fairview Townships, in 
 York County, and in 1782, its muster roll 
 was as follows : 
 
 Andrew Cline, 
 Thomas Winry, 
 John Weire, 
 John Cochcnauer, 
 Philip Beacher. 
 
 George Miller, 
 Jacob Bear, 
 Ludwig Weire, 
 John Hencock, 
 Peter Zeller, 
 
 Abraham Shelley, 
 Valentine Shultz, 
 George Strine, Jr., 
 Frederick Zorger, 
 Philip Fettro, 
 James Hencock, 
 
 Andrew Beadman, 
 Michael Roessler, 
 Jacob Heier. 
 Samuel Braton. 
 John Thaylor. 
 
 First Class, 
 
 Frederick Weaver, 
 George Streine, 
 Joseph Cobele, 
 Joseph Oren. 
 
 Second Class, 
 
 Emanuel Beare, 
 John Finch, 
 John Hetrick. 
 Abraham Shell.v. 
 
 Tliird Class. 
 Jr., George Mayers, 
 
 Andrew Miller, 
 Jacob Heidelbouch, 
 Jacob Forney, 
 Henry Strine. 
 
 Fonrtli Class, 
 
 William Rise, 
 Henry Bush, 
 John Heidelbouch. 
 James Hess. 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Thomas Miller, 
 Christian Baumgartner, 
 Peter Pence, 
 Henry Roessler, 
 
 Class, 
 
 James Love, 
 Matthias Zerger. 
 Michael Wagner, 
 George Bash. 
 
'J'llE RE\'(')LUTIOX 
 
 269 
 
 Si.vth Class, 
 
 Frederick Sline, 
 Abraliara Stiiic, 
 Lorentz Wolf, ' 
 John Colgen, 
 John Breneman. 
 Seventh Class. 
 
 Herman Sncidcr, 
 Michael Row, 
 Jacob Weier, 
 Joseph Fettero, 
 Henry Shultz. 
 Eighth Class, 
 Jacob Kaplor, William Barton, 
 
 William Winry. John !Mathias, 
 
 Tonatlian AlcCrcary, Daniel Brua, 
 
 John Hurst, Peter Miller. 
 
 Adam Snider, 
 
 Joseph Garrctson, 
 Cornelius Garrctson, 
 Daniel Densyl, 
 Emoss Lewis, 
 John Fettero, 
 
 llenry John, 
 George Mansbcrger, 
 Peter Densyl, 
 Michael Coppenhoefer, 
 Henry Bauer, 
 
 Alex. Threw, 
 Robert Torbcrt, 
 John Taylor, 
 William Thomson, 
 John Webb, 
 
 Hugh Whiteford, 
 Samuel Willson, 
 I'enjamin Willson, 
 William Wallace, 
 John Williamson. _ 
 
 'I'lie Sixth Battalion of York County 
 Alilitia, organized in 1776, was composed of 
 eight companies. It was commanded in 
 1777-8 by Colonel \\'illiam Ross, with /jasper 'cienients, 
 David ^Miller as major. The following is a Robert^ Dixon, 
 complete list of eight companies from 
 different sections of York Countv: 
 
 David Anderson, 
 John Anderson, 
 John Bohanan, 
 John Blosser, 
 Peter Bryfugle, 
 Anthony Beaman, 
 William Boyd, 
 Henry Cunningham, 
 Henry Craig, 
 Robert Carswell, 
 Stepliens Cornelius, 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Robert Armstrong, 
 William Bolentine, 
 Benjamin Bifet, 
 Samuel Bohanan, 
 Jonathon Burgess, 
 James Breckenridge, 
 Tames Buchanan, 
 William Clark. 
 Benjamin Ciumingham, 
 Alex. Cooper, 
 Nicholas Cooper, 
 John Commins, 
 Samuel Cuning, 
 William Carkey, 
 William Coloin, 
 Hugh Crawford, 
 Thomas Cooper, 
 Richard Cord, 
 John Cooper, 
 William Cooper, 
 Patrick Downey, 
 John Doherty, 
 William Davis, 
 Isaac Davis, 
 James Edgar, 
 Robert Fliwen, 
 Hugh Faton, 
 Samuel Fulton, 
 Archibald Greeless, 
 Robert Glenn, 
 John Glendenon. 
 William Galougher, 
 James Galeagher, 
 James Heirs, 
 . Joseph Henry. 
 Thomas Hawkins, 
 John Halbort, 
 
 Laird. 
 First Lieutenant, 
 William Reed. 
 
 Ensign. 
 
 David Steelt. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Theophilas Jones, 
 John Lemon, 
 James Lard, 
 John Lewiston, 
 Abram Mickey, 
 Edward Morris, 
 James Milligan, 
 Thomas Morris, 
 George Mitchell, 
 John McCandless, 
 Thomas Matson, 
 Matthias Morrison, 
 Samuel Mclsaac, 
 James McCroney, 
 John Major, 
 William Mclleny, 
 Jacob McCulough, 
 Michael McMullcn, 
 •John Xeal, 
 George Nicle, 
 Theodore Patten, 
 Pattrick Quigley, 
 William Rowen, 
 Jacob Reed. 
 William Russel, 
 James Robinson, 
 Andrew Rowen, 
 Joseph Ross. 
 Robert Rowland, 
 Thomas Steel, 
 William Snodgrass, 
 James Sample, 
 Josiah Scott, 
 Patrick Scott. 
 James Sims, 
 John Thomson. 
 John Tagcrt, 
 
 John Duncan, 
 George Egert, 
 Nicholas Feeple, 
 Andrew Fulton, 
 David Gemmill, 
 John Griffith. 
 Evan Griffith, 
 Henry Householder, 
 Stophel Hively, 
 Jacob Householder, 
 James Hamilton, 
 Solomon James, 
 John Mclsaac, 
 James McAllister, 
 — ^iobert McCay, 
 James McElroy, 
 
 I'irst Lieutenant, 
 
 Isaac McKissick. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 John Smith. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Thomas Dixon. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Michael Morrison, 
 William Melurg, 
 William Neilson, 
 John Neilson, 
 Joseph Nowland, 
 Martin Overmiller, 
 James Pegan, 
 Elisha Pew, 
 James Purdy, 
 Patrick Purdy, 
 David Proudfoot, 
 Robert Proudfoot, 
 Andrew Proudfoot, 
 Sanuiel Rosborough, 
 Adaui Reed, 
 John Smith, 
 William Smith, 
 Robert Swan, 
 Robert Straffort, 
 Jacob Sadler, 
 Samuel Smith, 
 James Steel, 
 Francis Sechrist, 
 Frederick Satler, 
 Andrew Thompson, 
 James Young, 
 Benjamin Yont, 
 Jacob Yost. 
 
 Jr., 
 
 Robert Addair, 
 
 John Carker, 
 
 Philip Conol, 
 
 John Duncan, 
 
 Aaron Finley. 
 
 Samuel Fullerton. 
 
 William Fullerton 
 
 Robert Finley, 
 X George Henry, 
 
 Thomas Kirkwood, 
 
 Francis Helton, 
 ' James Henry. 
 ' William Henry, 
 
 William Johnson, 
 
 Patrick King, 
 
 James Kirk. 
 
 Joseph Kellit, 
 
 John Lusk, 
 
 James Lodge. 
 
 Samuel ^Lartin, 
 
 John McMillon, 
 
 .Mexander .McAllister 
 
 Robert Martin, 
 
 Henry McCormick, 
 
 CaMain, 
 
 Joseph Reed. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Robert Smith. 
 
 Ensign. 
 
 Samuel Collins. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Frederick McPherson, 
 William Mahlin, 
 William Martin. 
 Samuel McMichacl, ._ 
 Samuel Nelson, 
 Riiliert Nelson. 
 William Nichol. 
 Alexander Orr. 
 James Paterson, 
 William Patterson, 
 S.imuel Peden, 
 IX-ivid Patterson. 
 Benjamin Pedan, 
 James Robinson, 
 John Robinson, 
 James Ridgeway, 
 Hugh Reed, 
 Samuel Reed. 
 Row leu Stevens. 
 William Tulerton, 
 Michael Travis. 
 George Thompson, 
 John Wallace. 
 John Williams, 
 
-'70 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLWVXIA 
 
 Aaron Wallace, 
 Matthias Wallace, 
 William Wallace, 
 
 John Wallace. 
 Aloses Wallace. 
 
 Captain, 
 Joseph Reed (Ferryman). 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Joseph Aloffit. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Andrew Warrick. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Samuel Moor. 
 
 Ensign, 
 James Wilson. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 James Agnew. 
 Robert Anderson, 
 James Anderson, 
 Nthemiah Armstrong, 
 John Anderson, 
 Thomas Balden, 
 William Comon, 
 Patrick Colwell, 
 John Cross, 
 Joseph Cross, 
 
 • Conaday, 
 
 William Douglass, 
 Patrick Douglass, 
 ^Matthias Ewen, 
 Samuel Elliot. 
 George Egart, 
 William Edgar, 
 William Edie, 
 William Godfrey, 
 David Hart, 
 Joseph Harrison, 
 James Harper, 
 James Hutchinson, 
 John Howel, 
 Charles Hay, 
 F'rederick Kross, 
 William Ligget, 
 John McCulough, 
 Robert McDonald, 
 Robert McCleland, 
 
 Hugh AlcCutchen, 
 John Miller, 
 John ^larshall, 
 Joseph Manifold, 
 William Morrord, 
 John McKitrick, 
 Benjamin Manifold, 
 David Manson, 
 John Montgomery, 
 John McKell, 
 Alex. Ramz}-, 
 John Ranizy, 
 Thomas Ray, 
 John Richey, 
 Peter Roberts, 
 William Ramsav, 
 Daniel Robb, 
 Samuel Roe, 
 William Spitler, 
 .\braham Cinord, 
 John Shinard. 
 Andrew Sloan, 
 Alexander Thompson, 
 John Willson, 
 William Willson, 
 Samuel Watson, 
 James Willson, 
 Henrv Wert, 
 William Willson, 
 James Willson. 
 
 Captain, 
 
 John Reppey. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 John Colwell. 
 
 Francis Andrew, 
 George Aurson, 
 John Buchanan, 
 John Buck, 
 William Bohanan, 
 John Conor, 
 John Cummins, 
 John Curr_v, 
 John Dougherty, 
 Hugh Dougherty, 
 Alexander FuUerton, 
 John Fullerton, 
 James Greer, 
 James Hill, 
 John Houge, 
 Thomas Johnson, 
 James Lord, 
 Samuel Leeper, 
 Patrick Masewell, 
 John ]\IcHarsy. 
 William Morrison, 
 John Morrison, 
 
 Privates, 
 
 David McCulough. 
 .■\lex. McCullough, 
 Matthew McCall, 
 .\ntlrew McClery, 
 William McCullough, 
 Robert McGill, 
 William McCleland, 
 John McClain, 
 Moses McWhorter, 
 Samuel Pollock, 
 James Parks, 
 John Ramsey. 
 Walter Robinson, 
 Samuel Ramsey, 
 Patrick Smith, 
 Sanniel Stewart, 
 John Stewart, 
 Gavin Scott, 
 Robert Stewart, 
 Jacob Visage, 
 James Woran. 
 Robert Zeliss. 
 
 John Andrew, 
 Charles Bradshaw, 
 Robert Blain, 
 Abraham Barber, 
 George Burkholder, 
 Alex. Cooper, 
 Samuel Caldwell, 
 Alex. Downing, 
 John Douglass, 
 Thomas Duncan, 
 James Downing, 
 John Elder, 
 James Elder, 
 Robert Forsythe, 
 James Forsythe, 
 John Gordon. 
 Robert Hill, 
 William Hill, 
 James Hill, 
 John Hill, 
 James Jolly, 
 Joseph Jackson, 
 John Kelly, 
 Joseph Kobb, 
 William Long, 
 Robert McGhee, 
 John McKinley, 
 David ;\rcKinley, 
 William McCalough, 
 Samuel McClurge, 
 
 Privates, 
 
 John ilcCall, 
 Michael McAnulty, 
 A. McCulough, 
 Thomas Newton, 
 James Newton, 
 James Perron. 
 William Quigley, 
 Joseph Reed, 
 John Reed, 
 John Reed, 
 Henry Robinson, 
 John Robb, 
 Alen Seath, 
 Hugh Sprout, 
 James Stewart, 
 James Spear, 
 James Shaw, 
 John Stewart, 
 Daniel Shaw, 
 Archibald Shaw, 
 William Smiley, 
 Samuel Sprout, 
 James Sprout, 
 William Wedgeworth, 
 Isaac Williams, 
 Cornelius Ward, 
 William Willson, 
 Thomas Willson, 
 Robert Walker. 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Thomas McXerry. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 William Adams. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 IMatthew Adams, 
 John Arnold, 
 William Adams, 
 William Adams, big, 
 William Adams, old, 
 Henry .•\dams, 
 John Armstrong, 
 Joseph Allison, 
 John Buchanan, 
 Jacob Crowl, 
 Henry Crovvl, 
 George Cooster, 
 John Cooster, 
 Philip Elis, 
 George Elis, 
 John French, 
 Henry Fodd, 
 Jacob Gering, 
 Thomas Grove; 
 j\Latthew Hunter, 
 Adam Keener, 
 David Johnson, 
 John Koon, 
 George Keener, 
 Ludwig Keeth, 
 Jacob Koon, 
 
 Michael Koon, 
 Andrew Koon, 
 George List, 
 James ^IcLaughlin, 
 Owin McLaughlin, 
 David ;\IcXarv, 
 William McCforg, 
 John Murphy, 
 John Oolrigh, 
 William Ovvins, 
 Richard Pendry, 
 Robert Pendrj', 
 James Porter, 
 Nicholas Quigley, 
 Adam Quickel, 
 William Reed, 
 Casper Saylor, 
 Nicholas Strayer, 
 Jacob Spotts, 
 Jacob Sypher, 
 Charles Stewart, 
 Ceter Stoyler, 
 Andrew Stayley, 
 John Tinu}', 
 Jacob Weester, 
 Philip Winter. 
 
 The Seventh Battalion of York County 
 Mih'tia, organized under the state con.stitu- 
 tion of 1776, was commanded by David 
 Ivennedy, colonel, with James Agnew. lieu- 
 tenant-colonel, and John \\'eams. major. 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 271 
 
 The following is a complete muster roll 
 this battalion for the years 1777 and 177 
 
 Captain. 
 
 John Myers. 
 
 Second Lieutenant. 
 
 Abraham Bollinger. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Daniel Hamm. 
 
 of Christian Pregiiier, 
 Valentine Runk, 
 Peter Ratt/, 
 John Rose. 
 Christian Road, 
 John Simmon, 
 Philip Senif, 
 Frederick Scptre, 
 Andrew Smith, 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Joseph Allender. 
 Jacob Abley, 
 William Brenneman, 
 Jacob Bealor, Jr., 
 Henr\' Baker, 
 John Beigher, 
 Benjamin Brenneman, 
 Jacob Bealor, 
 Samuel Brenneman, 
 Joseph Brillherd, 
 Martin Barkh\-mer, 
 Helphrey Cramer, 
 Jacob Colier. 
 Nicholas Dehoff, 
 William Frankelberger, 
 Ulrich Fulwider, 
 George Fenceler, 
 Martin Gistwhite, 
 Ulrich Hoover, 
 John Hoover, 
 Michael Hileman, 
 Lawrence Hileman, 
 Jacob Hofner, 
 Henn.- Kesler, 
 Jacob Keller. Sr., 
 George Keller, over age. 
 Andrew Miller, 
 John Miller. 
 George Miller. 
 Jacob Miller. 
 
 Peter XoU, 
 John Ott. 
 Stephen Peter, Jr., 
 Stephen Peter. Sr., 
 Michael Peter. 
 John Rudisill. 
 Christian Ruble. 
 John Rever. 
 
 Rohrbaugh, 
 
 Jacob Rodarmel. 
 Jacob Stambaugh, 
 Peter Stambaugh, 
 John Snell, 
 Henry Snyder. 
 Harry Strayer. 
 Zachary Shoe. 
 Francis Stritehoof. 
 Philip Stambaugh. S 
 Philip Stambaugh. 
 Christian So.abaugh, 
 Martin Snyder, 
 Henry Shiles. 
 George Swartz. 
 Daniel Tones. 
 John Verner. 
 Frederick Waggmen, 
 George Warlev. 
 Harry Warley: Jr.. 
 Henry Warley. over 
 Nicholas Wvant. 
 
 age. 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Thomas White. 
 
 First Lieutenant. 
 
 Robert Jefferis. 
 
 Second Lieutenant. 
 
 John Jefferis. 
 
 Ensign. 
 
 Alexander Lees. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 X'icholas Bentz. 
 Jacob Byers. 
 William Bond. 
 George Conrad. 
 William Chapman, 
 John Dull. 
 •-Hugh Davis. 
 George Dashner. 
 -Adam Dentlinger, 
 John Dicke. Sr., 
 Thomas Evans, 
 John Everson. 
 Henry Frankelberger, 
 ^Latthias Firestone. 
 Samuel Freil. 
 Henry Fissel. 
 Michael Fissel, 
 .-\dam First, 
 Francis Huff, 
 Philip Fissel. 
 Henry Fissel, sadler, 
 Wendel Fissel, 
 Martin First, 
 
 Christian Hershey, 
 Joseph Hershey 
 Joseph Hershey, 
 John Helzel, 
 Tobias Helzel, 
 John Hom, 
 Henry Horn. 
 George Hines. 
 Andrew Hershey, 
 Peter Hershey, 
 Adam Huff, 
 .Abram Koontz, 
 Thomas Hunt, 
 Joseph Keepers. 
 John Kinkennon, 
 Peter Koontz, 
 Michael Leckner, 
 Jacob Mooler, 
 Solomon Mooler, 
 ^^ichael McCann, 
 Philip Miller. 
 Daniel Oaks. 
 Thomas Presel, 
 
 Jr., 
 
 ^lichael Strawsbaugh, 
 Jacob Wire, 
 Daniel Wertz, 
 William White, 
 Jacob Wertz, 
 John Wertz, 
 Frank Wrinkler, 
 Christian Young. 
 
 William .Anderson, 
 Jacob Alt, 
 John Beard, 
 Jacob Buzzard, 
 Peter Baker, 
 Jacob Brillhart, 
 Edward Barton, 
 Jacob Baker, 
 Daniel Bailey, 
 Michael Congle, 
 John Clink, 
 John Dicken, 
 George Dommine, 
 -:rJohn Davis, 
 Henry Downs, 
 Amos Dicken, 
 Thomas Dicken, 
 George Eisenhart, 
 L'rias Freeland, 
 John Freeland, 
 Michael Felter, 
 Christian Frey, 
 Michael Garveric, 
 Adam Hendricks, 
 John Hunt, 
 Michael Hubley, 
 Wendel Horst, 
 Isaac Hendricks, 
 Godleib Howman, 
 Jacob Headick, 
 James Hendrick, 
 Philip Herring. 
 
 Captain, 
 
 John Miller. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Peter Smith. 
 
 Second Lieutenant , 
 
 John McDonald. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Acquilla Wyley. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 William Hendricks, 
 Michael Howman, 
 Nathan Jones, 
 David Jones. 
 John Klinefelter, 
 Daniel Kurfman, 
 John Keller, 
 Lawrence Klinefelter, 
 Andrew Krist, 
 Joseph Lowbridge, 
 Casper Lutz, 
 John Low, 
 Frederick ^liller, 
 James Marshall, 
 Solomon Nonemaker, 
 -^Alexander Osburn, 
 George Peary, 
 William Patterson, 
 Frederick Rule, 
 Sebastian Shilling, 
 James Swinney, 
 Ulrich Sipe, 
 John Shyrer. 
 Jacob Seabaugh, 
 John Shelley. 
 Henry Shaffer. 
 Joseph Turner. 
 George Waltimyer, 
 Ambrose Wilcox, 
 Edward Wood. 
 Christian . 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Peter Zollinger. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Daniel Amer. 
 
 Second Lieutenant . 
 
 Joseph Baltzley. 
 
 Ensign. 
 Anthony Snvd. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 Adam Brener. 
 Jacob Bowser. 
 Christian Baker, 
 Noah Bowser, 
 David Baker, 
 Valentine Barkhymcr, 
 Daniel Bowser, 
 Henry Baltzley, 
 Jacob Bower. 
 Abram Bowser, 
 Ulrich Bernhard, 
 John Bower. 
 John Brener, 
 
 Jacob Baker. 
 John Brigner. 
 Gotlieb Brizner, 
 Nicholas Dillow, 
 Conrad Dull. 
 Philip Emeck, 
 Peter Gise. 
 Nicholas Goip. 
 Wendel Gyer. 
 Henry Heiney. 
 Ludwig Heiner, 
 John Hidler. 
 Conrad Haverstock, 
 
272 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 George Jacobs, 
 Henry Jacobs, 
 Philip Jacobs, 
 John Kell, 
 John Lane, 
 Jacob Long, 
 Henry Long, 
 Patrick McHailey, 
 Richard Mumniett, 
 William Mummett, Sr., 
 John Mummett, 
 William Mummett, Jr., 
 Daniel Noel, 
 Bloss Noel, 
 John Naugle, 
 William Philebe, 
 Adam Player, Sr., 
 
 Adam Pypher, 
 Adam Player, Jr., 
 Peter Prigner, 
 Lawrence Rohrbaugh, 
 Daniel Reincll, 
 Jacob Stiflcr. 
 Jacob Snyder, 
 Philip Swisegood, 
 Jolni Titto, 
 George Tresler, 
 John Taylor, 
 Christopher Walter, 
 Henry Walter, 
 Stophel Weymiller, 
 Frederick Walter, 
 Conrad Walk. 
 
 Captain, 
 
 John Erman. 
 
 First Lieutenant. 
 
 Daniel Peterman. 
 
 Second Lieutenant. 
 
 Michael Busli. 
 
 Ensign. 
 George Erman. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Conrad Alt, 
 Philip Applenian, 
 Matthew Allison, 
 Valentine Armspoker, 
 Earnest Alp, 
 Jacob Bailey, 
 John Brillhart, 
 Jacob Brillhart, 
 David Byer, 
 George Bailey, 
 Michael Bush, 
 Henry Byers, 
 Samuel Brillhart, 
 Bernard Blymyer, 
 Lawrence Cramer, 
 Baltzer Colier, 
 John Colier, 
 Charles Deal, 
 Adam Deal, 
 Gilian Dippinger, 
 Jacob Earhart, 
 Thomas Earhart, 
 Michael Erman, 
 Henry Frey, 
 John Fry, 
 Martin Feigle, 
 Francis Grove. 
 Casper Glatfelter, 
 John Grimes, 
 Henry Hess, 
 Jacob Hildebrand, 
 Nicholas Hope, 
 Feli.x Hildebrand, 
 Charles Hvmes, 
 Martin Hart, 
 Peter Klinefelter, 
 
 Jacob Koffelt, 
 John Klinefelter, 
 Henry Keller, 
 Christian Keller, 
 Andrew Low, 
 Tobias Miller, 
 Edward Musgrove, 
 Michael Myer, 
 Andrew Myer, 
 Christopher Myers, 
 John Miller, 
 Henry Miller, 
 Ulrich Noyer, 
 John Olp, 
 Frederick Phenice, 
 Andrew Peary, 
 Nicholas Peary, 
 Jacob Peck, 
 Christian Rush, 
 Abram Rever, 
 Lawrence Rose, 
 Adam Rose, 
 Conrad Swartz, 
 David Shaffer, 
 Michael Shultz, 
 John Shyrer, 
 Joseph Sites, 
 John Stites, 
 John Stively, 
 Christian Stively, 
 George Seigh, 
 Philip Shaffer, 
 Thomas Tise. 
 Philip Taylor, 
 Matthias Trorbaugh. 
 
 Captain. 
 George Geiselman. 
 First Lieutenant, 
 Frederick Heiner. 
 Bnsign, 
 Valentine Alt. 
 Privates, 
 John Byer, John Crowl, 
 
 Christian Brenneman, John Dicken, 
 
 Joseph Bigler, George Deal, 
 
 George Emick, 
 Jacob Fulwider, 
 .'\ndrew Frederick, 
 Jacob Funhuver, 
 James Flowers, 
 John Grow, 
 Philip Hileman, 
 Jacob Henry, 
 Christian Hosier, 
 Joseph Hosier, 
 ^lichael Hofner, 
 Casper Hildebrand, 
 Henry Hildebrand, 
 ~^ Jacob Henry, 
 Jacob Kurfman, 
 Godfrey Klintinch, 
 Felix Klatfelter, 
 Michael Klatfelter, 
 Christian Klintinch, 
 Henry Klatfelter, 
 Valentine Lore, , 
 Peter Low, 
 Anthony Leaman, 
 Henry Lise, 
 Peter Lise, 
 Jones Lordon, 
 George Low, 
 Michael Mitchel, 
 
 Christian Michael, 
 Emanuel Niswonger, 
 George Nyman, 
 George Piper, 
 John Pope, 
 -\dam Pope, 
 Melchor Pypher, 
 jNIichael Peltz, 
 John Quarterman, 
 Michael Rose, 
 George Sliskman, 
 Henry Swartz, 
 Bernard Spangler 
 
 (son of Jonas), 
 Charles Sliuman, 
 Andrew Shietler, 
 Michael Shenk, 
 Jacob Shaffer, 
 Jacob Shyrer, 
 John Smith, 
 Abram Swartz, 
 Jacob Welshans, 
 Henry Wideman, 
 Jacob Winter, 
 George Walter, 
 Jacob Ziegler, 
 Bernard Ziegler, 
 Christopher Zimmerman. 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Jacob Anient. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Andrew Parley. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Nicholas Andrews,, 
 
 Ensign, 
 Adam Klinefelter. 
 
 Philip .-Vltland, 
 Samuel Arnold, 
 John Appleman, 
 John Byer, 
 Casper Bentzley, 
 John Baker, 
 John Buse, 
 Warne Craver, 
 Matthias Craff, 
 John Deardorf, 
 Peter Deardorf, 
 John Fissel, 
 Adam Fissel, 
 Michael Frederick, 
 Peter Flager, 
 Jacob Fulgemore, 
 Adam Fultz, 
 Valentine Grove, 
 David Griffith, 
 David Griffith, 
 Jacob Howry, 
 Christopher Hyme, 
 John John, 
 Valentine Kulp, 
 Adam Krist, 
 Christopher Kemp, 
 Rudy Klinpeter, 
 John Kaltrider, 
 Philip Krist. 
 Christian Linbaker, 
 Matthias Mummert, 
 John M.ver, 
 Peter Moore, 
 John Nelson, 
 Amos Powel, 
 Peter Puse, 
 
 Priz'ates, 
 
 Ludwig Pope, 
 Michael Paulet, 
 Martin Rafflesperger, 
 George Rudy, 
 Jacob Road, 
 Abram Road, 
 George Road, 
 Matthias Stump, 
 Ivlinman Stoutsberger, 
 Peter Strine, 
 John Stopher, 
 Philip Stoofer, 
 Henry Spangler 
 
 (Rudy's son), 
 Henry Say, 
 John Sunday, 
 John Sharke, 
 Michael Sunday, 
 Jacob Stover, 
 ; Henry Spangler 
 
 (Jonas' son), 
 Jacob Swartz, 
 Bernhard Spangler 
 
 (Rudy's son), 
 Philip Shaffer, 
 Peter Torn, 
 John Tinkey, 
 John Trimmer, 
 Andrew Trimmer, 
 Jacob Tortoisenian, 
 Adam Walter, 
 Philip Wyland, 
 George Wallet, 
 Christian Wiest, 
 John Wiest, 
 Henrv Whaler. 
 
THE REVOLUl'IUX 
 
 273 
 
 Captain, 
 
 John Shyrrer. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Jacob Headrick. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Frederick Mvers. 
 
 Ensign, 
 Jacob Bear. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Henry William Keller, 
 George Krapr, 
 John Livingston, 
 Henry Mankey, 
 Valentine Mickle, 
 James Moore, 
 James Moore, 
 Leonard Myer, 
 Henrv Xycommer, 
 Philip Null, 
 George Portner, 
 Adam Rypold, 
 Nicholas Rypold, 
 George Rypold, 
 Henry Rohrbaugh, 
 William Rule, 
 John Rule, 
 Ludvvick Reighgle, 
 Michael Shearer, 
 Martin Shyrer, 
 Philip Snyder, 
 Dewalt Snyder, 
 George Smith, 
 Matthias Smith, 
 Leonard Sower, 
 Jacob Stake, 
 Henry WilUams, 
 Jacob Warier, 
 Francis Weymiller, 
 Sebastian Widman, 
 Michael Ziegler, Sr., 
 Michael Ziegler. 
 
 George Amspoker, 
 John Brodbeck, 
 Jacob Bear, Sr., 
 Jacob Bailey, 
 George Beck, 
 Stophel Brigner, 
 George Baker, 
 William Baker, 
 Jacob Dates, 
 George Dehoff, 
 Philip Emick, 
 Wendel Everhart, 
 John Everhart, 
 Frederick Fisher, 
 John Fulwider, 
 Frederick Frazier, 
 Samuel Glassick, 
 John Gauntz, 
 Peter Garveric, 
 Frederick Hovice, 
 Michael Hileman, 
 George Huver, 
 Peter Hiney, 
 Jacob Hess, 
 John Howser, 
 Peter Krapr, 
 Jacob Keller 
 
 (son of George), 
 Jacob Kessler, 
 Abram Keller, 
 Jacob Keller, , 
 Andrew Kersh, 
 John Kline, 
 
 After the organization of the mihtia, in 
 1777, the following two companies belonged 
 to the Second Battalion, which included 
 men from different sections of York 
 Cotint}' : 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Emanuel Herman. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 William Mower. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 John Brodrough. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Herman Hoopes. 
 
 Prizvtes, 
 
 >Lartin Ebert, 
 Christian Eblv, 
 Ebly, 
 
 Abraham Greenawalt, 
 John Graff, 
 Philip Heiges, 
 Jacob Hoke, 
 Jacob Hcrritz, 
 John Hoke, 
 Andrew Hoke, 
 John Hagner, 
 Lenhart Holtzapple, 
 John Haler, 
 Robert Inners, 
 John Inners, 
 Casper Koren, 
 Joseph Kreibel, 
 John Kurtz, 
 John Kauffelt, 
 Valentine Krantz, 
 Peter Link, 
 Lenhart Lecrone, 
 George Lecrone, 
 Michael Lau, 
 Jacob Meisenkop, 
 George Menges, 
 Peter Menges, 
 Andreas !Meyer, 
 John ■\Iiller, 
 Ludwig Moll, 
 Simon Nirdnieyer, 
 John Oberdorf, 
 John Ottinger, 
 Jacob Odenwalt, 
 Jacob Ottinger,' 
 
 Dietz Amand, 
 Jacob Bauer, 
 Robert Bayley, 
 Jonas Bott, 
 Jacob Bushong, 
 George Bott, 
 Jacob Bott, 
 Matthias Detter, 
 Gabriel Derr, 
 Michael Emlet, 
 George Eyster, 
 Elias Eyster, 
 George Eyster, Jr. 
 Michael Ebert, 
 Philip Ebert, 
 
 Lenhart Ebly, 
 John Emig, 
 Conrad Eisenhart, 
 Christian Eyster, 
 Michael Finfrock, 
 Gottlieb Fackler, 
 John Fry, 
 George Ferror, 
 Stephen Finfrock, 
 John Gratz, 
 Isaac Gartman, 
 Isaac Gartman, Jr., 
 
 1 Icnry Ottinger, 
 Peter Ottinger, 
 John Oldham, 
 Valentine Obcrdorf, 
 Dietrich Ruppert, 
 Gottlieb Rigcr, 
 Jacob Roemer, 
 Joseph Rothrock, 
 (jcorgc Rothrock, 
 Jacob Rudy, 
 Adam Rolff, 
 John Romer, 
 Philip Stcll, 
 Peter Sprcnkel, 
 George Sprenkcl, 
 Isaac Sterner, 
 Peter Sprenkle, 
 Jacob Schmcisser, 
 Henry Shultz, 
 Andreas Schneider, 
 Matthias Schmeisser, 
 Henry Weltzhofifer, 
 
 Weitzel, 
 
 Peter Wolff, 
 Conrad Weigel, 
 Martin Weigel, 
 Sebastian Weigel, 
 Peter Weigel, 
 Philip Ziegler, 
 Killian Ziegler, 
 Jacob Ziegler, 
 Peter Ziegler. 
 
 Captain. 
 
 Simon Copenhafer. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Michael Schreiber. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Andrew Smith. 
 
 Ensi.iiu, 
 
 Jacob Gotwalt. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 .^fustered. 
 
 Philip Benedict, 
 Peter Bang, 
 Peter Bentz, 
 Henry Decker, 
 Frederick Ehresman, 
 John Frey, 
 Jacob Gotwalt, 
 George Henry Houser, 
 Frederick Haeck, 
 Andreas Haeck, 
 Jacob Herman, 
 John Hearst, 
 John Humrichhouser, 
 Nicholas Hantz, 
 Simon Kopenhafer, 
 Adam Holtzapple, 
 Nicholas Krasz, 
 Godfrey King, 
 
 Xot 
 Jacob Ernst, 
 Andrew Ginigam, 
 Joshua Horten, 
 Jacob Huff. 
 Andrew Hershey, 
 John Herman, 
 John Hoffman. 
 Christian Kneisley, 
 John Kanffman, 
 John Kreibel, 
 Jacob Kanffman, 
 John Nesbinger, 
 
 Reinhart Klein, 
 John Kroll, 
 George Miller, 
 Conrad E. Alenges, 
 Henry Ness, 
 Jacob Ness, 
 Henry Ort. 
 I lenry Rudisill, 
 Jonas Rudisill, 
 George Romi.g, 
 Peter Schultz. 
 Ludwig Shindle, 
 John Schran, 
 Michael Wcntz, 
 George Weitcrecht, 
 Peter Weitcrecht, 
 Valentine Wilt. 
 
 Mustered. 
 
 William Rieth, 
 Andreas Rittcr, 
 John Schmidt, 
 Yost Stork, 
 James Schmidt, 
 Philip Wintermoyer, 
 Conrad Weikel, 
 Nathan Worlcy, 
 Jacob Worlev, 
 John Willis,' 
 James Worley, 
 Frank Worlev. 
 
 18 
 
274 
 
 HlS'lUkV UF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 Tlie following is a muster roll of Captain 
 Archibald McAllister's Company, in 1776, 
 then serving under Colonel Hartley. In the 
 fall of that year Hartley's Regiment joined 
 \\'ashington's army near Trenton, New 
 Jersey. This company, under Captain Mc- 
 Allister, took part in the battles of Brandy- 
 wine, Paoli, Germaritown and White Marsh 
 in 1777, and in 1778, they marched with 
 Hartley's regiment against the Indians on 
 the northern frontier: 
 
 Caplaiii, 
 
 Archibald McVUister. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Isaac Sweeney. 
 
 Sergeant, 
 
 John Lesley. 
 
 Drummers, 
 
 Patrick Conner, 
 
 John Elliot. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Thomas Bissel, 
 Francis Britt, 
 George Britt, 
 James Burke, 
 James Burns, 
 John Carduss, 
 William Chambers, 
 John Clark, 
 Robert Clark, 
 Adam Clendennen, 
 James Crangle, 
 Charles Cro.xel, 
 George Cusick, 
 James Dill, 
 Lewis Denisay, 
 Robert Ellison, 
 John Falls, 
 Henry Gardner, 
 Richard Karper, 
 William Hayes, 
 John Hendrick, 
 Thomas Herington, 
 Thomas Irwin, 
 Thomas Judge. 
 Matthias Kellar, 
 Dennis Leray, 
 
 Muster roll of the Fifth Company, Third 
 Battalion. York County militia, for the 
 years 1783-4: 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Peter Trine. 
 
 Lieutenant, 
 
 John Kneisen. 
 
 Ensign, 
 Peter Messerly. 
 
 Sergeant, 
 Jacob Stauch. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 .\dam Iletzer, 
 John Wilth. 
 Priz'ates, 
 Jacob Weigel, Daniel Rahauser, 
 
 Charles Alitman. George Romigh. 
 
 Baltzer Ham, .Andrew' Coder, 
 
 Andrew Gross, Joseph Sipe, 
 
 John McBride, 
 John McDonald, 
 John McGichen, 
 William McGinness, 
 Henry McGill, 
 John JMcLean, 
 James McManaray, 
 Samuel McAIanamy, 
 John Mahon, 
 Benjamin Missum, 
 Thomas Morrow, 
 Cornelius Murray, 
 Thomas Nicholas, 
 John Page, 
 .Andrew Patterson, 
 Thomas Parker, » 
 Patrick Roch, 
 Paul Terry, 
 Robert Thompson, 
 Christian Timbrooke, 
 Thomas Timpler, 
 .Andrew Walker, 
 .Andrew Webb, 
 Robert White, 
 Frederick Wolf. 
 
 Michael Feyser, 
 George Croun, 
 Thomas Metzler, 
 Jacob Zimmerman, 
 Casper Bierbower, 
 Jacob Bowler, 
 Peter Stryn, 
 Walter Hughes, 
 Peter Thomas, 
 William Crage, 
 Eliser John, 
 John John, 
 George Geyer, 
 Jacob Hoifman, 
 Wendel Gross, 
 Jacob Ruthy, 
 Michael Gross, 
 Ale.x, Ramsey Cober, 
 Nicholas Hoffman, 
 George Stauch, 
 Michael Bennedick, 
 Philip Hoffman, 
 Frederick Beck, 
 Jacob Huber, 
 Alichael Welty, 
 Jacob Welty, 
 Abraham Messerly, 
 Philip Bierbower, 
 David Ramsey, 
 George Ruthy, 
 Jacob Leydig. 
 Sanniel Perck, 
 George Reedman, 
 Frederick Heck, 
 John Bowerway, 
 Jacob Herman, 
 George Eichholtz. 
 Folden Erdel, 
 Samuel Clerk, 
 Henry Ruth}', 
 George Lcvnningcr, 
 Christian Heck, 
 
 The official report of the Third Company, 
 Fifth Battalion, York County militia, 1780: 
 
 Captain. 
 
 William Heaffer. 
 
 Lieutenant, 
 
 Conrad Haverstock. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Martin Berghimer. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 
 John Dressier, 
 
 Michael Dellow, 
 
 Henry Berghimer. 
 
 Corporals, 
 
 Philip Hering, 
 
 John Brenner. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Abraham Jacobs, 
 Ludwig Heaffer. 
 John Mummert. 
 Jacob Becker, 
 Nicholas King, 
 Christopher Speess, 
 Wendel Henry, N 
 George Keentzer, 
 Henry Jacobs. 
 John Hideler, 
 Henry Balsley, 
 Daniel Bowser. 
 Jacob Snider. 
 Yost Hiner, 
 
 Frederick Eichholtz, 
 Adam Guntel. 
 Martin Ilgenfritz, 
 Frederick Aliller, 
 John Rothrof, 
 Jonas Rothrof, 
 Daniel Lebach, 
 John Gross, 
 Jacob Smith, 
 Emanuel Sipe, 
 Philip Sipe, 
 Jacob Bender, 
 George Leyser, 
 Tobias Sipe, 
 Philip Quickcl, 
 .Anthony Bevenour, 
 William Reed. 
 Philip Rothrof, 
 Jonathan Rauhauser, 
 George Huber, 
 Philip Miller, 
 Henry Gertner, 
 LUrich Derr, 
 Jonas A'onner, 
 Christian Hamm, 
 Matthias Henry, Nt, 
 Philip Wilty, 
 Jacob Gross, 
 Jacob Gilbert, 
 Jacob Miller. 
 George Shettle, 
 George Shnellbecker, 
 Matthias Eichholtz, 
 .Andrew Sipe, 
 Barnhart Feyser. 
 Edward Brady, 
 William Ramsey, 
 Casper Cundel, 
 John Qnickel, 
 Michael William, 
 Henrv Bowncr. 
 
 Andrew Young, 
 Philip Jacobs. 
 Henry Stonesifer. 
 Henry Ottinger, 
 Jacob Fause, 
 Peter Gise, 
 George Fans, 
 Samuel .Arnold. 
 Peter Bricgner. 
 William Mummert, 
 Daniel .\mcrt, 
 John Dull. 
 Peter Heaffer. 
 W'endel Gvger, 
 
I'HE REVOLL'TIOX 
 
 -/ 
 
 Richard Minnmcrt. 
 John Xaugle, 
 Andrew liaverstock, 
 Henry Walter. 
 John Bowser, 
 Conrad Dull. 
 Patrick Haley. 
 Philip Haverstock, 
 Jacob Dressier, 
 
 Jacob Steefler, 
 Ludwig Hiner, 
 John Lehn, 
 Gotlecb Breegner, 
 Xicholas Fickes.Nr 
 Jacob Brenner, \ 
 George Ox, 
 Abraham Serflf. 
 Robert Doughertv. 
 
 The following is a return of the Sixth 
 Company, Fifth Battalion, York County 
 militia, from Paradise Township, Septem- 
 ber I, 1781 : 
 
 Cii/'fijiji. 
 
 Andrew Bolly. 
 
 Lifutcnaiit, 
 
 John Stump. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Philip Wyland. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Peter Dierdorf. 
 henry Sprengler, 
 Michael IJonser, 
 Matthias Mummert, 
 John Stoufer. 
 Werner Graver. 
 Henry Spengler. 
 -" Bernhard Spengler. 
 iBernhard Spengler, 
 Christian Wiest, 
 
 Jacob Buss, 
 Philip Christ. 
 Adam Klinepeter, 
 Jacob Amon. 
 Xicholas Enders, 
 Adam Walter, 
 John Kell, 
 George WoUed, 
 Peter Moore, 
 Peter Dewald, 
 Valentine Grof, 
 John Pawl, 
 George Roth. 
 David Baker. 
 Philip Wolst. 
 John Raker. 
 Jacob Stover, 
 Peter Thorn. 
 Philip Shafcr. 
 Rudolph Klinepeter 
 George Bake. 
 Christopher Kamps, 
 John Buss. 
 John Dierdorf, 
 John Trimmer. 
 Andrew Trimmer, 
 George Rudy, 
 John Sherk. 
 John Wiest, 
 Abraham Roth. 
 Casper Goaks. 
 Jacob Stover. 
 John Fishel. 
 Henrv Fishel. 
 
 Christian Linebaugh, 
 Jacob Roth, 
 Philip Altland. 
 Charles Hyme, 
 Henry Klinepeter, 
 Joseph Sunday, 
 John Wide. 
 Andrew Sunday. 
 Henry Fishel. 
 Adam Stover, 
 Michael Howry. 
 Henry Wahler. 
 Jacob Rcnsell. 
 David Griffy. 
 John Myer. 
 George Wide. 
 George Krazingher. 
 George Smith. 
 Martin Rafflesbergcr. 
 Christian Rafflesbergcr. 
 Peter Trimmer. 
 Thomas Louder. 
 William Louder, 
 Jacob Loser. 
 
 Official report of Captain Shearer's Com- 
 pany, Fifth Battalion of York County 
 militia, in 1780: 
 
 Cal'lain. 
 
 John Shearer. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Frederick Fraser, Sr., 
 Samuel Glasik. 
 Deewald Shnider. 
 Xicholas Ziegler. 
 Adam Ripold. 
 George Gross. 
 George .Amspoker. 
 John Brodbek. 
 Jacob Shearer, 
 
 Jacob Bear, 
 Helfrey Cramer, 
 George Krops. 
 George Koltriter, 
 Michael Shultz, 
 ^^ichaeI Rose, 
 Jacob Ziegler. 
 Michael Ehrman. 
 John Sower. 
 
 Henry Kuhn. 
 John Keller. 
 Benjamin Lawson. 
 George Bortner, Sr., 
 Jacob Keller Smith, 
 Daniel Bear, 
 Xicholas Dahoff, 
 h'rederick William, 
 Ludwig Bortner, 
 ALartin Shyrer. 
 Xicholas Ripold, 
 -Abraham Keller, 
 John Werner. 
 Henry Wilhelm, 
 George Smith. 
 George Dahoff, 
 Zachariah Shoe, 
 (leorge Ripold, 
 John Rohrbaugh, 
 George Bortner, 
 Peter Henig, 
 John Gerberick, 
 Jacob Xoll, 
 
 George Huber, 
 Matthias Ripold, 
 Daniel Stouffer, 
 Frederick Fraser, 
 Philip Dahoff, 
 Henry Albrecht, 
 Peter Ollinger, 
 Lugwig Rigel, 
 Jacob Kants, 
 William Ruhl, 
 Daniel Cramer, 
 Jacob Haderik, 
 Frederick Wilhelm, 
 Jacob Keller. 
 Jacob Ziegler. 
 John Eberhard, 
 John Gantz, 
 Benjamin Walker, 
 William Baker, 
 David Xeal, 
 Jacob Kerker, 
 -Adam Foltz, 
 Peter Hah. 
 
 Return of Captain Thomas White's Com- 
 pany of the Fifth Battalion, York County 
 militia, for the year 1780: 
 
 Captain, 
 Thomas White. 
 
 Lieutenant, 
 Lawrence Helman. 
 
 Ensign, 
 Francis Winkler. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 Edward Woods. 
 Christopher Weyncniiller. 
 Ulrich Barnhard. 
 
 Christian Hershey, 
 Joseph Hershey, Jr., 
 Peter Hershey, 
 Joseph Hershey, Sr., 
 Xicholas Pence. 
 Andrew Pence. 
 Michael Fissel, 
 Henry Fissel, 
 Henry Fissel, Jr., 
 George Conrad, 
 Jacob Conrad, 
 George Gentzler, 
 :\IichaeI Miller, 
 Philip Stover, 
 Peter Marc.x, 
 Peter Ratts, 
 Martin Plank, 
 ^'ost Waggoner, 
 John Joseph, 
 Michael Strawsbach, 
 David Griffith, 
 Philip Meyers, 
 Daniel Shynaman, 
 Peter Sander. 
 Jacob Wantz. " 
 
 John Dicks, Sr., 
 John L')icks, Jr., 
 Martin Focrst, 
 Peter Meinhart, 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Jacob Marcx. 
 James Porter, 
 Hugh Fulton. 
 James Cre,gor\-. 
 William Blackburn. 
 -Andrew Hoff, 
 .Adam Hoff, 
 John Kilkanon, 
 John Wertz. 
 X'^alentinc Runk. 
 Joseph Runk. 
 Adam Dentlinger, 
 John Simmons, 
 Leonard Getz, 
 Phillip Hoff, 
 Peter Wertz. 
 Henry Heltzel. 
 John Rose. 
 .■\braham Horn, 
 Joseph Wilson, 
 John Fricky, 
 Elias Wood. 
 John Ortman. 
 Jacob Lischy, 
 Geor,ge Krone. 
 John Hershey, 
 .Abraham Bollinger, 
 Francis Reamer, 
 Conrad Mole. 
 
 Return of Captain Leclmer's Company of 
 York County militia, for the 3'ear 1780: 
 
276 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK 
 
 C (J />/((/", 
 
 Jlichaei Lechncr. 
 
 Lieutenant, 
 
 Henry Kesler. 
 
 Bnsign, 
 
 Henry Karwcr. 
 
 Clerk, 
 
 Christian Roarbach, 
 
 Sergeants, 
 
 Lorenz Roarbach, 
 
 Jacob Eppley, 
 
 Jacob Stambach. 
 
 Corporals, 
 Daniel Jones, 
 Jacob Hefner, 
 John Boelor. 
 
 Fifer, 
 
 Franz Straithof. 
 
 Drummer, 
 
 Frend, Fenes. 
 
 Jacob Boeler, 
 Henry Skiles, 
 Jacob ^Miller, 
 Samuel Brenneman, 
 Martin Sneider, 
 Henry Stambach, 
 -Peter Kreps, 
 George Werly, 
 Stephen Peter, 
 John Rever, 
 -Michael Miller, 
 Alexander Lees, 
 Adani Miller, 
 Abraham Bollinger, 
 John Ham, 
 Christian Noll, 
 Jacob Straithoff, 
 John Myer, 
 Ben Brenneman, 
 George Fransler, 
 Philip Stambach, 
 Jacob Wearly, 
 Adam Hoffman, 
 Daniel Wertz, 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Andrew IMiller, 
 Daniel Ham, 
 Christian Huble, 
 William Becker, 
 Christian Brillhard, 
 George jMiller, 
 Ullrich Huber, 
 John Snell, 
 Henry Werh', 
 Jacob Noll, 
 Thomas Harreys, 
 John Weaver, 
 Jacob Boeler, Jr., 
 , Peter Stombach, 
 John Kline, 
 Lorenz Shultz, 
 Thonias King, 
 Jacob Kesler, 
 John Rudisill. 
 William Brenneman, 
 John Huber, 
 John Miller, 
 Christian Hefner, 
 Michael Peter. 
 
 The following is a muster roll of Captain 
 Reinhart Bott's Company of York County 
 militia, from Manchester Township, 1780: 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Reinhart Bott. 
 
 Lientenant, 
 
 Philip Ziegler, Jr. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Philip Ebert. 
 
 Clerk, 
 
 Killian Ziegler. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 John Dettemar, 
 Jacob Rudy, 
 Peter Hoke. 
 Corporals, 
 Andrew Zieglor, 
 . John Ernst, 
 Henry Dettemar. 
 Priiates. 
 John Haller, Michael Bentz. 
 
 John Emig, Philip Wintermeyer, 
 
 Adam Wolf, Leonhart Wizel, 
 
 Frederick Horn, Frederick Leonhart, 
 
 COUNTY. PEXXSYLV.VXIA 
 
 Peter Weyand, 
 
 
 Jacob Worley, 
 
 Xicholas "Weyand, 
 
 
 John Willis, 
 
 Philip Reitz. 
 
 
 Philip Hehzel, 
 
 Bern lard Holtzappl 
 
 c. 
 
 Solomon Brown, 
 
 Thomas Oldham, 
 
 
 Michael Ebert, Jr., 
 
 Andrew Hoke, 
 
 
 Gotlieb Rieker, 
 
 Robert Lewis, 
 
 
 Peter Lind, 
 
 Matthias Amend, 
 
 
 George Sprenkle, 
 
 Simon W'idmeyer, 
 
 
 Joseph Graybill. 
 
 Yost Strack, 
 
 
 George Eyster, 
 
 Jacob Grofe, 
 
 
 ^lichael Lau. 
 
 JMichael Crouss, 
 
 
 George Eisenhart, 
 
 Edward Skemp, 
 
 
 Martin Wizel, 
 
 Emanuel Herman, 
 
 
 John Hoke, 
 
 Gabriel Derr, 
 
 
 Stephen Finfrock, 
 
 ilattliias Smyser, 
 
 
 John Herman, 
 
 Peter Ottinger, 
 
 
 Joshua Huddon, 
 
 Casper Carver, 
 
 
 ^Michael Sprenkle, 
 
 Jacob Ziegler, 
 
 
 Bernhard Rudy, 
 
 Peter Widerecht, 
 
 
 Peter Wolf, 
 
 Henry Cunningham, 
 
 
 Elias Eyster. 
 
 Francis Jones, 
 
 
 Matthias Detter, 
 
 James Dobbins, 
 
 
 Diter Rupert, 
 
 Martin Life, 
 
 
 James Worley, 
 
 Sebastian Weigle, 
 
 
 Andrew Hershey, 
 
 Henry Shultz, 
 
 
 Frederick Eichelberger, 
 
 Henry Keifer, 
 
 
 Peter Brenneman, 
 
 Andrew Snyder, 
 
 
 Herman Guckes, 
 
 Andrew Weier, 
 
 
 Jacob Franekaberger, 
 
 Philip Hoffman, 
 
 
 George Feeman, 
 
 Peter Bentz, 
 
 
 ^Matthias Keller. 
 
 Jacob Neass, 
 
 
 Matthias Klein. 
 
 George Crantz, 
 
 
 Christian Landes, 
 
 Adam Hoke, 
 
 
 Casper Hammer, 
 
 Jacob Smyser, 
 
 
 John Jones, 
 
 George Lecrone. 
 
 
 Daniel Dippel, 
 
 Henry Weltzhoffer, 
 
 
 George Meisenkoop, 
 
 Matthias Miller, 
 
 
 George Finck, 
 
 John Schram, 
 
 
 Abraham Borger, 
 
 Francis Worley, 
 
 
 George JNIiles, 
 
 John Reisinger, 
 
 
 John Ebert, 
 
 Philip Christ, 
 
 
 Nicholas Hentz, 
 
 Samuel Redinger, 
 
 
 Everet Herr, 
 
 Elisha Kirk, 
 
 
 Anton Weier, 
 
 Peter Lau, 
 
 
 Philip Wolf. 
 
 Gotlieb Fackler, 
 
 
 Anton Raush, 
 
 Martin Ebert, 
 
 
 Michael Speck, 
 
 Peter Alenges, 
 
 
 Valentine Emig, 
 
 lin Jacob Bott, 
 
 
 Frederick Huber, 
 
 j- Peter Sprenkle, 
 "•.y George Bott, 
 
 
 Jacob Hentz, 
 
 
 Michael Finfrock, 
 
 ): David Shad, 
 
 
 Jacob Ottinger. 
 
 Jacob Kauffman, 
 
 
 
 Return of Captain Matthias' Company, 
 
 from Newberry Township, July i, 1780. 
 
 This company 
 
 servei 
 
 d m Michael Smyser s 
 
 Battalion of York County militia: 
 
 
 Captain, 
 
 
 Henry 
 
 Matthias. 
 
 
 Lieu 
 
 tenant. 
 
 
 George Myers. 
 
 
 Lnsign, 
 
 
 Charles Heyer. 
 
 
 Pri 
 
 vates. 
 
 William Mackneley 
 
 
 Thomas Eyeronss, 
 
 John Stone, 
 
 
 Joseph Ruppert, 
 
 John Erss, 
 
 
 George Syds, 
 
 Stofel Bower, 
 
 
 George Bruaw, 
 
 Thomas Wincrey, 
 
 
 George Miller, 
 
 John Whyer, 
 
 
 Conrad Sheffer. 
 
 John Upd'egraff, 
 
 
 JNfartin Shutter, 
 
 James Adams, 
 
 
 Jacob Barr, 
 
THE REVOLUTIOX 
 
 277 
 
 Jacob Gotwald, Jr., 
 Henry John, 
 Samuel Herd, 
 Matthias Sorker, 
 Ludwick Wliyer, 
 Ijetter -Meyer, 
 John Hunder, 
 William Xicliolas, 
 Andrew Miller, 
 Abraham Shelley, 
 Valentine Shultz, 
 George Strine, 
 Jacob Heitelbaugh, 
 George Snyder, 
 Frederick Sorker, 
 Philip Fettrow, 
 Amos Lewis, 
 James Hengoge, 
 Andrew Baitmen, 
 Jacob Norberger, 
 John Hofmen, 
 George Bower. 
 Bastian Whyel. 
 Frederick Heyer, 
 William Updegraff, 
 William Bratain, 
 Michael Ressler, 
 Guy Cancley. 
 Jacob Ruppert, 
 John Nicholas, 
 Philip Bence, 
 Michael Fettrow, 
 
 The following is a return of Captain 
 ^^'iley's Company, York County militia, for 
 the year 1780: 
 
 Cal^tiiiii. 
 
 Aquila Wiley. 
 
 Lieutenant, 
 
 Adam Hendri.x. 
 
 Ensign, 
 
 Andrew Smith. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Boston Shilling. 
 
 I'Vederick Humel, 
 Battereck McMuUen, 
 John Forey, 
 Casper Shctrone, 
 Jacob Forey, 
 i'liomas Miller, 
 Andrew Clyne, 
 James Karmen, 
 Elven John, 
 John Mcnspoker, 
 Joseph Careson, 
 Cornelius Careson, 
 Daniel Densol, 
 Uavid Ensmenger, 
 Christian Bomgerdner, 
 Hcnrj" Bower, 
 Samuel Miller, 
 Jacob Stattessman, 
 George .\Ienspokcr, 
 Michael Bollinger, 
 Jacob ileyer, 
 George Meyer, 
 John Bower, 
 William Remel, 
 Jacob Copier, 
 Robert Miller, 
 William Winery, 
 Frederick Stone, 
 Thomas Bonine, 
 Jonathan McTarey, 
 Samuel Whev. 
 
 James Wilgns, 
 John Millar. 
 Peter Smith, 
 John McDonald, 
 Peter Baker, 
 Daniel Curfman, 
 Christian Keisey, 
 James Moor., 
 \Villiam Wile. 
 Michael Clifclter, 
 Windel Hisa. 
 James Marshal, 
 John Keller. 
 Jacob Ott. 
 George Waltimire, 
 Hennary Waggoner, 
 George Isahart, 
 Thomas Simyard, 
 James McTwina, 
 John Freeland, 
 Jacob Hederick, 
 Daniel Bailey. 
 John McMahon, 
 William Patterson, 
 Conrod Free. 
 Christian Crouse, 
 Frederic Millar, 
 Laurane Clifelter, 
 Jacob Coler. 
 Xehemiah L'nderwood. 
 William .Anderson. 
 
 Michael Heman, 
 Henry Shaver, 
 Henry Downs, 
 John Clifelter, 
 Jacob Bosard, 
 Adam Deal. 
 Isaac Hendrix, 
 Thomas Arms. 
 Solomon Xunemaker, 
 Jacob Mire, 
 Nicholas Rogers. 
 Michael Kensler. 
 Jolm Beard, 
 Adam Lukus. 
 Thomas Sparks. 
 Chrisley Lipc. 
 George Didenhaver, 
 Frederick Rule. 
 Francis Keilev, 
 John ^rillar. 
 Nicholas .Millar, 
 Charles Waltimire, 
 David Waltimire, 
 .'\dam Snn'th. 
 Isaac Low. 
 Paul Hivly. 
 Gasper Prcathaver, 
 James F'reeland. 
 Tlu-imas Hendrix. 
 
 A part of the count}- militia were called 
 out to ser\e for three months or more at a 
 time to guard British prisoners at York, 
 during the years 1777-78-79, and at Camp 
 Security, the British prison four miles 
 southeast of York, in 1781-82. The follow- 
 ing companies served in tliis capacity: 
 
 Capliiin, 
 George Long. 
 
 Licntenants, 
 Christopher Elefritz, 
 John Fischel. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 George Moore, 
 Jacob Sprenkle, 
 John Willard. 
 
 Corporals, 
 ^Lartin Kerman, 
 Seth Goodwin, 
 Philip Wagner. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Forrest McKutchin, 
 Luke McLeese, 
 Peter W. Naught 
 
 (or McDonough), 
 Felix ililler, 
 Patrick Oloan, 
 David Patker, 
 Thomas Ryan, 
 Henry Ryschell, 
 Jacob Speck, 
 Peter Shoemaker, 
 John Wilhelm, 
 George Wilhelm, 
 Philip Wagoner, 
 Casper Williard, 
 George Zech. 
 
 Ciiptains. 
 Christopher Lauman. 
 Daniel i:)oll. 
 
 Jacob Doederly, 
 John Dalsman, 
 George Fleager, 
 Philip Grim, 
 Peter Grim, 
 John Graham, 
 Michael Grim, 
 Jacob Houx, 
 Michael Kurtz, 
 Jacob Kook, 
 Edward Lostikcl, 
 John Long, 
 Jacob Layman, 
 Edward Alusgrove, 
 Henry Miller, 
 iLirtin Maver, 
 
 Privates, 
 
 John Agnew, 
 Jacob Bitner 
 Andrew Colhoon 
 Martin Fry 
 Jacob Graybill 
 Peter Glossbrenner 
 George Giess 
 Peter Hess 
 
 Christian Heckendorn 
 John Hubley 
 John Kock, Jr. 
 George Lutman 
 Henry Lanius 
 Charles Lauman 
 Lgnatius Li.ghtner 
 William Mini 
 John Ptligcr 
 John Philby 
 Barny Smith 
 Henry Small 
 Laurence Shultz 
 Clement Slillinger 
 Jacob Waltimire 
 John Williams 
 Jacob Welsh 
 John Yous 
 
 Hamilton Bagley 
 John Eichelberger 
 Henry Erwin 
 Jacob Korr>" 
 Joel Gray 
 John Hively 
 Stephen Harry 
 Jacob Heckert 
 Richard Hickson 
 Thomas Koontz 
 Peter Kurtz 
 Abraham Lighlner 
 Peter Lightner 
 John Laffertv 
 Philip Miller 
 William ^Layson 
 Dr. Emanuel McDowell 
 Thomas McKinsey 
 William Norris 
 John Strebich 
 Dr. Daniel Shefer 
 George Stall 
 Michael Schreiber 
 John Shetly 
 Joseph Uodegraff 
 Jacob Wclshans. 
 
78 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PEXXSYIA'AXIA 
 
 The following is a muster roll of Captain 
 Samuel Fulton's Company of Y'ork County 
 militia, guarding" the prisoners at Camp Se- 
 curity, in September, 1781 : 
 
 Captain. 
 Samiie! Fulton. 
 
 Lieutenant, 
 Joseph Dodds. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 Alexander Thompson, 
 Alexander Smith, 
 Ezekiel Sinkey. 
 
 Corporals, 
 James Cowhick, 
 John Patton, 
 James Hawkins. 
 
 Fifer. 
 Godfry Sidle. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 John Miirfe\', 
 William McClellan, 
 Jacob McCouUah, 
 Andrew. Miller, 
 Michael Miller, 
 John Moser, 
 Henry Miller, 
 John Owens, 
 John Oble, 
 Ludwick Ortt, 
 Robert Penrey, 
 James Pollock, 
 Peter Pence, 
 Elisha Pew. 
 Thomas Robison, 
 Mandevill Reed, 
 John Rodrof, 
 John Sineard, 
 Michael Simerman, 
 William Scarlet, 
 Joseph Stroup, 
 Peter Strayer, 
 Adam Swope, 
 Jacob Stigner, 
 Adam Shinbarger, 
 Jacob Taylor, 
 Eldrie Terr, 
 Joseph Thompson, 
 Stophel Writer, 
 Moses Wallace, 
 Charles Waltimier, 
 John Waggoner. 
 
 William Cooper, 
 John Cooper, 
 Brainerd Stroyner, 
 Thomas Ramage, 
 Alexander White, 
 William Sullivan, 
 Allen Torbctt, 
 Thomas White, 
 John Hall, 
 
 Samuel Adams, 
 Joseph Alison, 
 William Adams, 
 Thomas Robison, 
 Samuel Barber, 
 John Beveard, 
 Jacob Balsley, 
 Christian Branaman, 
 .\ndrew Brown, 
 Michael Caricker. 
 Valentine Colman, 
 William Donaldson, 
 Joseph Delinger, 
 John Delinger, 
 Adam Darron, 
 Michael Edwards, 
 Frederick Eholes, 
 John Freland, 
 Michael Flint, 
 ■Michael Fedrow, 
 Jacob Freeze, 
 John Good. 
 David Griffith, 
 Tohn Gross, 
 Robert Hill, 
 Isaac Hendrick, 
 Daniel Hair, 
 Michael Henry, 
 Frederick Humble, 
 ^lathias Kernes, 
 Philip Knop. 
 George Lecronc, 
 Cieorge Lininger. 
 
 William ^litchell's Company. December 
 20, 1776, Fifth Battalion, Colonel Matthew 
 Dill : 
 
 Captain. 
 
 William Mitchell. 
 
 First Lieutenant, 
 
 Joseph Eliott. 
 
 .Second Lieutenant, 
 
 Henry Shaeffer. 
 
 Ensign. 
 
 Laurence Oats. 
 
 Sergeant, 
 
 John Lewis. 
 
 Privates. 
 
 Robert Torbett. William McLaughlin, 
 
 Xicholas Shotto, Daniel Williams, 
 
 Francis Boggs, 
 Patrick Shannon, 
 Peter Reeser, 
 John Sullivan, 
 John Bowie, 
 John Williams, 
 Benjamin Coble, 
 John Sickleman, 
 James White. 
 
 Joseph McClellan's Company, September 
 10, 1778, Xinth Pennsylvania Line: 
 
 Captain, 
 
 Joseph McClellan. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 
 Daniel Vanderslice, 
 
 Hugh Flearren, 
 
 Samson Dempsej'. 
 
 Corporals, 
 Samuel Woods, 
 Christian Young. 
 
 Drummer, 
 George Stewart. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 James Callahan, 
 George Shaffer, 
 John Connely, 
 Peter ilager, 
 John Allison, 
 Robert Armstrong, 
 _;^John Davis, 
 :, ;\Iichael Henderliter, 
 
 George Hister, 
 Simon Lauk, 
 Samuel Lewis, 
 Joseph Parker, 
 Thomas Rendals, 
 Xathan Roberts, 
 Charles Stewart, 
 John Stewart, 
 Jonathan Thomas. 
 
 George Alfred, 
 Henry Harper, 
 George Pention, 
 Thomas Sumner, 
 Adam Coch. 
 Daniel Saliday, 
 Daniel Benhart, 
 Frederick Raimeck 
 Jacob Powles, 
 Laughlin Morrison 
 Thomas Powell, 
 Francis Matthews, 
 Patrick Rock, 
 Andrew Shaffer, 
 Robert Eagen, 
 James Haines, 
 James Young, 
 
 Isaac Sweeney's Company of the Xew 
 Eleventh, 1781 : 
 
 Captain, 
 Isaac Sweeney. 
 
 Lieutctiant, 
 
 Septimus Davis. 
 
 Ensig}!, 
 
 William Houston. 
 
 Sergeants, 
 Thomas Wilson, 
 John Gray, 
 Patrick Clemens. 
 
 Corporals. 
 Andrew Miller, 
 Edward Blake, 
 John Smith. 
 
 Drummer, 
 Robert Hunter. 
 
 Fifer. 
 John McElroy. 
 
 George Carman, 
 John Edgar. 
 William Fields. 
 Hu.gh Forsythe, 
 James Hines, 
 
 votes, 
 .\ndrew Kelly, 
 Roger O'Brien, 
 Valentine Stickle, 
 Hugh Swords, 
 William Wilson. ' 
 
THE REVOI.UTIOX 
 
 279 
 
 John Andrew's Company, April 30, 1779, 
 'J'enth Battalion: 
 
 Colonel, 
 John Andrews. 
 
 Adjiilaiil, 
 William Bailey. 
 
 Quartermaster, 
 Robert Chambers. 
 
 Sergeant. 
 M. David Beaty. 
 
 Privates, 
 
 Joseph Bogle, 
 
 Benjamin Whitely, 
 William Stragin, 
 William Reed, 
 John Sarsley, 
 John Slammers, 
 John Hoover, 
 Robert Wilson, 
 Alexander Bogle, 
 David Cassat, 
 William McGrer, 
 Robert Campbell,^ 
 John McCreesy. 
 
 Robert Galbreath, 
 John Hoult, 
 Christian Freet, 
 George Stope. 
 Philip Hounsley, 
 Nathan Grimes, 
 Abraham Iloughtailcn, 
 David Demorest, 
 Henry Buchanan, 
 \\'illiam Coule, 
 Samuel McCush, 
 George McCans, 
 James Wier, 
 
 The following is a list of York County 
 soldiers w-ho served in the First Pennsyl- 
 vania Regiment of Foot : 
 
 Michael Long, 
 Samuel Crawford, 
 
 Robert Campbell, 
 
 James Brown, 
 John Mollin, 
 Robert Garret, 
 Ulrich Faulkner, 
 William Kerr, 
 Charles Boyles, 
 Robert Magee, 
 Thomas Collins, 
 James Berry, 
 Jesse Lester, 
 George Sinn, 
 Mathias Crout, 
 James Robertson, 
 John Kimmins, 
 Jacob Harrington, 
 William Williams, 
 James McDonough, 
 James Mclntyre, 
 Thomas ^IcGee, 
 Jolm ^L'llone, 
 John McKinney, 
 Peter Geehan, 
 Samuel Woods, 
 Martin Hart, 
 George Corkingdate, 
 John Allen, 
 John Summerville, 
 Edward Butler, 
 P.-itrick Preston, 
 Timothy Winters, 
 Baltzer Barge, 
 
 John Campbell, 
 
 Edward Fielding, 
 Evan Holt, 
 James Dougherty, 
 John Vandereramel, 
 George Young, 
 John Whitemari, 
 John Unkey, 
 
 Daniel Johnston, 
 Michael Jones, 
 Patrick Kelly, 
 Robert Keenan, 
 John Leonard, 
 Thomas Maltzer, 
 James Morrison, 
 James McLean, 
 William Welschance, 
 Peter Eversole, 
 William Klorris, 
 Thomas Stewart, 
 Felix McLaughlin, 
 Edward Larder, 
 John McXair, 
 William Pilmore, 
 Thomas Winters, 
 John Gower, 
 John Callahan, 
 James Bradley, 
 Edward Blake, 
 Daniel Campbell, — 
 Henry Crone, 
 Hugh Henley. 
 Thomas Hamilton, 
 Frederick Snyder, 
 Michael Wann, 
 Peter Myers, 
 Michael Kurtz, 
 Samuel Allen, 
 George Albertson, 
 James Allison, 
 Hugh Henderson, 
 Patrick Ryan, 
 Peter McBride, 
 Thomas Moore, 
 Thomas Katen, 
 William Bradshaw, 
 James Welsh, 
 Marty Sullivan, 
 .•\ndrew Crothy, 
 John Fouder. 
 
 The following soldiers from York County 
 served in different commands during the 
 Revolution : 
 
 PennsyKania Artillery — John Benning- 
 ton, Miciiael Kyall, John Kelley, James 
 Ryburn, Frederick Leader, John Johnson, 
 Samuel Laughlin, Alexander Martin, 
 George Stewart, William ^Bergenhoff, 
 Robert Ditcher, Patrick Dixon, James 
 Baker, John Lochert. 
 
 German Regiment — Jacob Krcmer, Jacob 
 McLean, John Richcreek. 
 
 Fourth Pennsylvania Line — Andrew 
 Crotty, George Seittel, John McMeehan, 
 Christian Pepret, Andrew Shoeman, John 
 Cavanaugh, William Smith, John Anderson. 
 
 Fifth Pennsylvania Line — John Deveney, 
 Anthon)- Leaman, .\dam Shuman. 
 
 Sixth Pennsylvania Line — William 
 Brown, Michael Weirich, Joel Gray, 
 Matthias Young, Ludwig Waltman. 
 
 Seventh Pennsylvania Line — John 
 Brown. 
 
 Ninth Pennsylvania Line — John Tate, 
 ensign; Stephen Stephenson, Adam David- 
 son, captain; Samuel Jamieson. George 
 Heffelfinger, Samuel Spicer, Leonard 
 Weyer. 
 
 Eleventh Pennsylvania Line — Robert 
 McMurdie, brigade chaplain. 
 
 New Eleventh Pennsylvania — Martin 
 Bloomenstine, Godlove Shaddow, John 
 Richcreek, Joel Gray, John Snyder, Robert 
 Casebolt. William Brown. 
 
 Thirteenth Pennsylvania — Matthew Far- 
 ney. 
 
 State Regiment of Foot — Captain John 
 Marshall, successor to Captain Philip .Al- 
 bright; Robert Sturgeon, Patrick McGin- 
 nes, ^^'ilIiam Welshance, John Awl, Joseph 
 Mj'ers, Samuel Woods, Edward Carlton, 
 Terrence Stockdale. 
 
 At the Flying Camp, 1776 — Captain 
 Peter Ickes. Second-Lieutenant William 
 Young. Ensign Elisha Grady, Christian 
 Ouiggle. Jacob Klingman, Patrick Gibson, 
 Henrjr Beard, Alexander Frew, George 
 Gelwicks, Charles Wilson. 
 
 The following is a list of commissioned 
 officers of the York County militia for the 
 years 1777-8-9: 
 
 Colonel James Thompson's Battalion at 
 Wilmington, Delaware, Sept. 3, 1777. 
 
 1st Co.. Captains William Dodds, 38 men; 
 
28o 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 _'d Co.. Samuel Ferguson, 41 men; 3d Co., 
 illegible; 4th Co., Thomas Latta, 31 men; 
 3th Co.. John Laird, 32 men; 6th Co., Peter 
 
 Ford. 
 
 len; 7th Co., John Myers, 18 men. 
 
 First Battalion, October i, 1777. 
 
 3d Co., Capt. Christian Kauffman, ist Lt. 
 John Shaffer, 2d Lt. Henry Smith, Ensign 
 Jacob Strehr; 4th Co., Capt. Daniel May, 
 1st Lt. Andrew Milhorn, 2d Lt. Henry 
 Yessler, Ensign Frederick Spahr. 
 
 First Battalion. 
 
 Col. James Thompson, 1778; Lt. Col. 
 Samuel Neilson, 1778; Henry Miller, 1779; 
 Major James Chamberlain, 1778; William 
 Bailey, 1779. 
 
 1st Co., Capt. William Dodds, 1778, John 
 Ehrman, '79; ist Lt. Nealy, '78, Fred. 
 ^^'eare, '79; 2d Lt. Nealy, '78; Ensign Jos. 
 Dodds, '78, Peter Swartz, '79. Rank and 
 file, 104 men. 
 
 2d Co., Capt. David Williams, '78, George 
 Long, '79; 1st Lt. James McNickle, '78, 
 John Korehart, '79; Ensign James Reed, 
 '/8, John Smith, '79. Rank and file, 78 men. 
 
 3d Co., Capt. John Shaver, '78, Michael 
 Hahn, '79; ist Lt. Henry Smith, '78, 
 Christian Zinn, '79; Ensign Jacob Miller, 
 "78, Peter Hank, '79. Rank and file, 95 men. 
 
 4th Co.. Capt. Daniel May, '78, Peter 
 Ford, '79; 1st Lt. Andrew Melhorn, '78, 
 John Jeffries, '79; 2d Lt. Henry Y''essler, 
 '78; Ensign Frederick Spaar, '78, Charles 
 Spangler, '79. Rank and file, 89 men. 
 
 5th Co., Capt. James Parkinson, '78, Peter 
 Imswiller, '79; ist Lt. James Fagen, '78, 
 James Cross, '79; 2d Lt. Alexander Nesbitt, 
 '78; Ensign John May, '78, Ulrich Sellor, 
 '79. Rank and file, 206 men. 
 
 6th Co., Capt. Benjamin Keable, '78, 
 Michael Kaufelt, '79; ist Lt. Henry Shaver, 
 '78, Philip Boyre, '79; 2d Lt. Lawrence 
 Oats, '78; Ensign Michael Dush, "79. 
 Rank and file, 75 men. 
 
 7th Co., Capt. Francis Boner, '78, Ephraim 
 Penington, '79; ist Lt. George Robenet, 
 ■78, Charles Barnet, '79; 2d Lt. John 
 Schrote. '78; Ensign William Brandon, '78. 
 Gotfry Lenhart, '79. Rank and file. 120 
 men. 
 
 8th Co., Capt. John O'Blainiss. '78; ist 
 Lt. John Polk, '78; 2d Lt. William John- 
 ston, '78; Ensign Benjamin Beaty, '78. 
 Rank and file, 106 men. 
 
 Second Battalion. 
 
 Colonel William Rankin, '77-8; Lt. Col. 
 John Ewing, '77-8, Moses McClean. "79; 
 Major John Morgan, '77-8, John Edie, '79. 
 
 1st Co., Capt. William Ashton,'77-8, Sam- 
 uel Cabane. '79; ist Lt. Malachi Steahlev, 
 '77, Tvlilkeah Shley, '78, William Hall, "79; 
 2d Lt. James Elliot, '77-8; Ensign John 
 Crull, '77, John Carroll, '78, John Murphey, 
 Jr., '79. Rank and file, 91 men. 
 
 2d Co., Capt. John Rankin, '77-8, Thomas 
 Bigham, "79; ist Lt. Joseph Hunter, '77-8, 
 William McCay, '79; 2d Lt. John Ashton, 
 '77-8; Ensign Daniel McHenry, '77-8, John 
 Murphey, '79. Rank and file, 88 men. 
 
 3d Co., Capt. Simon Copenhafer, '77-8, 
 Robert Bigham, '79; ist Lt. Michael 
 Shriver, '77-8, \\'illiam jMcMun, '79; 2d Lt. 
 Andrew Smith. '77-8; Ensign Jacob Gut- 
 wait, '77-8, John Sheakley, '79. Rank and 
 file, 60 men. 
 
 4th Co., Capt. Philip Gartner, '77, Jacob 
 Hiar, '78, James Miller, '79; ist Lt. John 
 Higher, '77, Adam Barr, '78, James Mc- 
 Kinley, '79; 2d Lt. Jacob Comfort, '78; 
 Ensign George Hiar, '78, Barabus Mc- 
 Sherry, '79. Rank and file, 66 men. 
 
 5th Co., Capt. Emanuel Herman, '78, 
 Thomas Orbison, '79; ist Lt. William 
 Moneyer, '77, A\'illiam Momer, '78, Joseph 
 Hunter, "79; 2d Lt. John Rothrock, '77, 
 John Bodrough, '78; Ensign Harman 
 Hoopes, '78, Robert Wilson, '79. Rank 
 and file, 81 men. 
 
 6th Co., Capt. John Mansberger, '77-8, 
 James Johnston, '79; ist Lt. Henry Mat- 
 thias, '77-8, John McBride, '79; 2d Lt. 
 George Meyer, '77-8; Ensign Jacob Kepler, 
 '77, Jacob Helpler, '78, John McBride, '79- 
 Rank and file, 7^1 men. 
 
 7th Co., Capt. Yost Herbach, '77-8, Wil- 
 liam Lindsay, '79; ist Lt. Peter Shultz, 
 '77-8, Robert Black, '79; 2d Lt. Baltzer 
 Rudisill, '77-8; Ensign Michael Ettinger, 
 '77-8, Samuel Russel, '79. Rank and file, 
 50 men. 
 
 Sth Co., Capt. A\'illiam Walls, '77-8, 
 Thomas Clingen, '79; ist Lt. Henry Lee- 
 pert. '77-8. Joseph Brown, '79; 2d Lt. John 
 Jordan, '77-8: Ensign James Schultz, '77. 
 Jacob Sholtz, '78.. John McLean, 79. Rank 
 and file, 56 men. 
 
 Third Battalion. 
 
 Colonel l)a\id Jamison. "78; Lt. Col. 
 
THE REVOLUTION- 
 
 281 
 
 Philip Albright, '78, Michael Smyser, 79; 
 Major William Scott, '78, William Ashton. 
 
 79- 
 
 1st Co., Capt. Jacob Beaver, '78, Rinehart 
 
 Bott, '79; 1st Lt. Nicholas Baker, '78, 
 
 George Philip Zeigler, '79; 2d Lt. John 
 
 Bare, '78; Ensign George Lefeber, '78, 
 
 Philip Eberd, '79. Rank and file, 106 men. 
 
 2d Co., Capt. Gotfry Fry, '78. Henry Mat- 
 thias, '79; 1st Lt. John Bushong, '78, 
 George Meyer, '79; 2d Lt. George Spangler, 
 ■78; Ensign James Jones, '78, Charles 
 Hyer. '79. Rank and file, 65 men. 
 
 3d Co.. Capt. Peter Forte, '78, John Mc- 
 Master, '79; ist Lt. Christ Stear, '78, Wil- 
 liam Bennet, '79; 2d Lt. Andrew Hartsock, 
 '78; Ensign Jacob Welshance, '78, John 
 INIapin. '79. Rank and file, 66 men. 
 
 4th Co., Capt. Christopher Lowman, '78. 
 Philip Jacob King, '79; ist Lt. Ephraim 
 Penington, '78, Andrew Cross, '79; 2d Lt. 
 John Fishel, '78; Ensign Charles Barnitz, 
 "78, George ^Volf, '79. Rank and file, 72 
 men. 
 
 5th Co., Capt. Alexander Ligget, '78, 
 Thomas Goald, '79; ist Lt. Robert Richey, 
 '78, George Ensminger, '79; 2d Lt. Robert 
 Stewart, '78: Ensign Peter Fry, '78, Wil- 
 liam Nailor, '79. Rank and file, 75 men. 
 
 6th Co., Capt. George Long, '78, Jacob 
 
 Comfort, '79; 1st Lt. Samnel Smith, '78, 
 
 George Meyer, '79: 2d Lt. Conrad Keesey, 
 
 J '78: Ensign Samnel Mosser, '78, Elias Gise, 
 
 "79. Rank and file, 62 men. 
 
 7th Co.. Capt. :\Iichael Hahn. 78; ist Lt. 
 
 John Mimm, 78; 2d Lt. Thomas , 
 
 78: Ensign Christian Zinn, "78. Rank and 
 file, 75 men. 
 
 Fourth Battalion. 
 
 Colonel John Andrew, '78; Lt. Col. Wil- 
 liam ^\■alker, '78, William Gillelan, 79; 
 Major Simon Vanarsdale, '78, John King, 
 
 79- 
 
 1st Co., Capt. John Calmery, '79; ist Lt. 
 William Hamilton. '78, Samuel Gillelan, 
 '79; 2d Lt, Joseph Pollock, '78; Ensign 
 Adam W'eaver, '78, Nathaniel Glassco, '79. 
 Rank and file, 58 men. 
 
 2d Co., Capt. John King, '78, Robert 
 Cample, '79; ist Lt. James Eliot, '78, John 
 Bodine, '79; 2d Lt. Baltzer Tetrick, '78; 
 Ensign \\illiam Neely, '78, David Scott, 
 '79. Rank and file. 64 men. 
 
 3d Co., Capt. William Gilliland, '78, David 
 
 Stockton, '79; 1st Lt. Matthew Mitchell, 
 '78, John Riner, '79; 2d Lt. William Kel- 
 inery, '78; Ensign Nicholas Glascow, '78, 
 Elisha Gready, '79. Rank and file, 67 men. 
 
 4th Co., Capt. Samuel Morrison, '78, 
 Joseph Pollock, '79; ist Lt, Peregin Mercer, 
 78, William Hamilton, '79; 2d Lt. John 
 Armstrong; Ensign Stephen K. Gififin, '78, 
 Adam W^eaver, '79. Rank and file, 64 men. 
 
 5th Coy Capt. John Mcllvain, 78, Josiah 
 Carr, 'jy; ist Lt. John Range, '78, Lewis 
 Vanarsdelin, '79; 2d Lt. Francis Clapsaddle, 
 '78; Ensign James Geary, '78, John Watson, 
 '79. Rank and file, 74 men. 
 
 6th Co., Capt. John Stockton, 78, James 
 Elliot, '79; 1st Lt. John Anderson, '78, Wil- 
 liam Neally, '79: 2d Lt. David Stockton. 
 "78; Ensign Elisha Grady, '78, Thomas 
 Prior, '79. Rank and file, 64 men. 
 
 7th Co., Capt. Samuel Erwin, '78, Andrew 
 Paterson, '79; ist Lt. William Houghtelin, 
 '78, Abraham Fletcher, '79; 2d Lt. Henry 
 Forney, '78; Ensign William Reed, '78, 
 William Fleming, '79. Rank and file, 79 
 men. 
 
 8th Co., Capt. Thomas Stockton, '78, 
 James Geery, '79: 2d Lt. Daniel Mentieth, 
 "78 ; Ensign Andrew Patterson, 78, George 
 Sheakley, '79. Rank and file, 59 men. 
 
 Fifth Battalion. 
 
 Colonel Joseph Jeffries, 78: Lt. Col. 
 Alichael Ege, '78, Francis Jacob Remer, '79: 
 ]\Iajor Joseph Spangler, 'jS, Joseph Wil- 
 son, '79. 
 
 1st Co., Capt. John Mayer, 'j'^. Thomas 
 \\-hite, '79; 1st Lt. Abraham Bollinger. 78, 
 Lawrence Helman, '79; Ensign Daniel 
 Hum, 78, Francis Winkel, '79. Rank and 
 file, 55 men. 
 
 2d Co., Capt. Adam Black. 78, Acquilla 
 ^\'iley, '79; 1st Lt. William Lindsay. 78, 
 Adam Hendrix. '79; 2d Lt, David Jordan, 
 '78: Ensign Robert Buchanan, '78, Andrew 
 Smith, 79. Rank and file, 60 men. 
 
 3d Co., Capt. William McClane,'78, Peter 
 Zollinger, 79: ist Lt. David Blyth, '78, 
 ^\■illiam Hefer, Jr., '79; 2d Lt. Benjamin 
 Read, 78: Ensign William Hart, '78, ALar- 
 tin Berkhimer. '79. Rank and file, 64 men. 
 
 4th Co., Capt. David Wilson, 78, Michael 
 Leightner, '79; ist Lt. Robert Rowan, '78. 
 Henry Kessler, '79; 2d Lt. John Thomp- 
 son. '78: Ensign John Cotton, 78, John 
 Ham, "79. Rank and file, 64 men. 
 
282 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 5tli Co., Capt. Joseph Morrison, '78, 
 Henry Ferree, '79; ist Lt. James Johnston, 
 '78, John Snyder, '79; 2d Lt. John McBride, 
 '78; Ensign John Buchanan, "78, Michael 
 Snyder, '79. Rank and file, 59 men. 
 
 6th Co., Capt. William ]\Iiller,'78, Andrew 
 Paly, '79; 1st Lt. James Porter, '78, John 
 Stump, 79; Ensign Barnabas McCherry, 
 ■78, Philip ^^'ylan(i, 79. Rank and file, 59 
 men. 
 
 7lh Co., Capt. Thomas Orbison, '78, 
 George Geishelman, '79; ist Lt. Robert 
 McElhenny, 78, Andrew Lau, '79; 2d Lt. 
 Joseph Hunter, '78; Ensign Robert Wil- 
 son, '78, Valentine Alt, '79. Rank and file, 
 60 men. 
 
 8th Co., Capt. John Paxton, '78, John 
 Shorrer, '79; ist Lt. James Marshall, '78, 
 Jacob Barr, '79; 2d Lt. William McMun, 
 ■78, Helfrich Cramer, '79. Rank and file, 
 66 men. 
 
 Sixth Battalion. 
 
 Colonel William Ross, '78; Lt. Col. 
 Samuel Nelson, '79; Major James Cham- 
 berlain, '79. 
 
 ist Co., Capt. Laird, '78, Peter 
 
 Speece, '79; ist Lt. William Reed, '78, Johln 
 Swan, '79; Ensign David Steel, '78, John 
 Snyder, '79. Rank and file, 84 men. 
 
 2d Co., Capt. Casper Reineke, '78, \\'il- 
 liam Coulson, '79; ist Lt. Jacob Rudisell, 
 78, Christian Keener, '79; 2d Lt. Simon 
 Clear, '78; Ensign Elias Davis, '78, 
 ^Latthew Dill, 79. Rank and file, 89 men. 
 
 Sd-tCo.. Capt. Alexander Nesbit, '79, Lt. 
 Charles Brouster, '79; Ensign Henry De- 
 walt, '78, Lazarus Nelson, '79. Rank and 
 file, 85 men. 
 
 4th Co., Capt. Frederick Kurtz, '78, An- 
 drew Willson, '79; 1st Lt. Matthew Baker, 
 '78, James Quigly, '79; 2d Lt. Henry 
 
 M- ; Ensign Charles Vantine, '78, 
 
 AA'illiam Buns, '79. Rank and file, 8^ men. 
 
 5th Co., Capt. Peter Ekes, '78, Francis 
 Boner. '79; ist Lt. Jolin" Mullin, '78, 
 Thomas Black, 79; 2d Lt. Jonas Wolf; 
 Ensign George Harmon, '78, Peter Zeigler, 
 '79. Rank and file, 84 men. 
 
 6th Co., Capt. Leonard Yenswene, '78, 
 William. Dodds, '79; ist Lt. John Wampler, 
 ■78, Joseph Dodds, Jr., '79; 2d Lt. Jacob 
 Xucomer, '78: Ensign Ludwick Wampler, 
 '78, Adam Guchus, "79. Rank and file, 58 
 men. 
 
 7th Co., Capt. Andrew Foreman, '78. John 
 
 Oblanas, '79; ist Lt. Henry Sturgeon, 78, 
 John Polack, "79; 2d Lt. Richard Parsell, 
 "78; Ensign James McMaster, '78, Benja- 
 min Beaty, '79. Rank and file, 86 men. 
 
 8th Co., Capt. Abraham Sell, 78, Daniel 
 May, 79; 1st Lt. Jacob Kitsmiller, '78, An- 
 drew Alilhorn, 79; Ensign Charles Grim, 
 79. Rank and file, 66 men. 
 
 Seventh Battalion. 
 
 Colonel David Kennedy, '78; Lt. Col. 
 James Agnew, '78, Adam Winterode, '79; 
 IMajor John Weans, '78, Joseph Lilley, '79. 
 
 1st Co., Capt. Thomas Latta, '78, Simon 
 Clare, '79; ist Lt. Robert Fletcher, '78, 
 Frederick Eyler, '79; 2d Lt. Samuel Cobain ; 
 Ensign Henry Shultz, '79. Rank and file, 
 69 men. 
 
 2d Co., Capt. Thomas White. "78, Michael 
 Carl, '79; 1st Lt. Robert Geffries, 78. Adam 
 Hooper. '79; 2d Lt. John Gefifries, 78; En- 
 sign Alexander Lee. '78, Henry Felty, '79. 
 Rank and file, 57 men. 
 
 3d Co., Capt. John ]\Iiller, 78. Conrad 
 Shorets, '79; ist Lt. Peter Smith, '78, 
 Henry Dewalt, 79; 2d Lt. John McDonald, 
 '78; Ensign Quiller Winny, '78, Anthony 
 Hinkel, 79. Rank and file, 60 men. 
 
 4th Co., Capt. Abraham Furree, '79, 
 Peter Solinger, '78; ist Lt. Daniel Amer, 
 '78, Christian Koenzan, '79; 2d Lt. Joseph 
 Baltzler, '78; Ensign Anthony Snider. '78, 
 John Smith, '79. Rank and file, 64 men. 
 
 5th Co.. Capt. John Arman, '78, Henry 
 Moore. '79; ist Lt. Daniel Peterman, '78, 
 Henry Hohsteter, '79; 2d Lt. Michael Sech, 
 '78: Ensign George Arman, '78, Ulrich 
 Hohsteter, '79. Rank and file, 65 men. 
 
 6th Co., Capt. George Geiselman, '78, 
 Andrew Foreman, '79; ist Lt. Frederick 
 Hiner, '78, James McMaster, '79; 2d Lt. 
 Henry Sumrough, '78; Ensign Valentine 
 Alt, '78, Peter Foreman. '79. Rank and file, 
 63 men. 
 
 7th Co., Capt. Jacob Anient, '78, John 
 
 Wampler, '79; ist Lt. Alexander . 
 
 '78, Adam Fisher, '79: 2d Lt. Nicholas An- 
 drews, '78; Ensign Adam Clinepeter, '78, 
 Christian Gehret, '79. Rank and file, 55 
 men. 
 
 < 8th Co., Capt. John Sherer, '78. Peter, 
 Ikes. '79; 1st Lt. Jacob Hetrick, 78. Jonas 
 Wolf, '79; 2d Lt. Frederick Mayer," '78; 
 Ensign Jacob Bear, '78, Alexander Adams, 
 '79. Rank and file, 70 iTien. 
 
•A'OLUTIOX 
 
 283 
 
 Eighth BattaUon. 
 
 Colonel Henry .Slagle, "78; Lt. Col. John 
 Laird. '79; Major Joseph Lilley, '78, David 
 Wiley, '79. 
 
 1st Co., Capt. Nicholas Gelwix, '78, James 
 Maffet, '79; 1st Lt. Adam Hoopard, '78, 
 James Patterson, '79; 2d Lt. George Gel- 
 wix, '78; Ensign Henry Felty, '78, Alex- 
 ander Allison, '79. Rank and file, 86 men. 
 
 2d Co., Capt. Thomas Manery, '79; ist 
 Lt. Isaac McKissick. '78, Thomas Gowan, 
 '79; Ensign Thomas Dixon, '78, David 
 Douglass, '79. Rank and file, 62 men. 
 
 3d Co.. Capt. Umphry Andrews, '79, 
 Joseph Reed, '78; ist Lt. Robert Smith, '78, 
 Elias Adams, '79; Ensign Samuel Collins, 
 '78, Allen Anderson, '79. Rank and file, 53 
 men. 
 
 4th Co., Capt. William Gray, '78, John 
 Calwell, '79; 1st Lt. James Patterson, '78, 
 John Sinkler, '79; 2d Lt. Humphries An- 
 drews, '78; Ensign William McCulluch, '78, 
 James Logne, '79. Rank and file, 69 men. 
 
 ;th Co., Capt. James Moffit, '78, Samuel 
 Fulton. '79; 1st Lt. Andrew Warick, '78, 
 Moses Andrews, '79; 2d Lt. Samuel Moor, 
 '78: Ensign Thomas Allison, '78, Thomas 
 Dickson, '79. Rank and file, 64 men. 
 
 6th Co., Capt. John Rippy, '78. James 
 Edger, '79; 1st Lt. John Caldwell, '78, John 
 "Xampble, '79; Ensign John Taylor, '79. 
 Rank and file, 44 men. 
 
 7th Co., Capt. Joseph Reed, '78. Rank 
 and file, 59 men. 
 
 Sth Co., Capt. Thomas McXerey, '78; ist 
 Lt.- William Adams, '78. Rank and file, 54 
 men. 
 
 The following is a miscellaneous list of 
 soldiers from York County who served in 
 the Revolution : Samuel Way, Newberry 
 Township; William Complin. Marsh Creek 
 settlement: Eli Pugh. Warrington Town- 
 ship; Hugh Mcr^Ianus, ilonoghan Town- 
 ship, enlisted February 12. 1782; James 
 Brown, Marsh Creek settlement, enlisted 
 February 13, 1782; Matthew Robinson, 
 Bermudian settlement, March 3. 1782; 
 .Andrew Guin, near James ^loore's mill, in 
 "S'ork County, March 3. 1782: James 
 Walker. York County: John McClelland, 
 York County, in the Third Pennsylvania 
 Regiment; John Hanna. near Tom's Creek, 
 April I, 1782: David Johnston, April 5, 
 1782: John Callahan. .April 8. 1782: Thomas 
 AA'est. Xewberry Township, .April 23. 1782;. 
 
 .\ndrew Graham. Bottstown, June 26, 1782; 
 John Walter, born in Windsor Township; 
 John Flodgskin. York County ; Hugh Mc- 
 Ellvaney, Tyrone Township, September 2, 
 1782; William Magahy, born in York 
 County, lived in Cumberland County; Wil- 
 liam Scarlett, Newberry Township; Robert 
 Miller, York, October 21, 1782; William 
 Johnston, near Michael Ege's iron works; 
 Daniel Gordon, Mt. Pleasant Township, 
 December 12, 1782; James O'Neal, Man- 
 heim Township; John Walker, born in 
 Peach Bottom, last resided near Carlisle, 
 February 22, 1782; Thomas Benson, died 
 in York County in 1808; Jacob Cramer, re- 
 siding in York County in 1829: Matthew 
 Dill, died on Jersey prison ship; Martin 
 Doll, resided in York in 1829: Thomas Duff, - 
 resided in York, 182^ j Vincent linfelt, re- 
 sided in York County in 1829; William 
 Johnson, resided in York County, 1824; 
 Moses Keys, resided in York County in 
 1810; John McCowan, resided in York 
 County, 1819; Daniel Messerly, died in 
 York County; Jacob Myer, resided in York 
 County in 1816; Jacob McMillan, resided in 
 A\'ashington Township in 1812; Michael 
 Nagle, died on Jersey prison ship; Robert 
 Peeling, sergeant, resided in York County 
 
 in 1820; Ryebaker, wounded in 
 
 service, resided in Dover Township in 
 1807: William \\'ilson, died in York County 
 in 1813. 
 
 PENSIONERS OF THE REVOLUTION 
 
 The following is a list of soldiers of the 
 Revolution from York County who be- 
 longed to different commands and received 
 pensions under act of 1818: 
 
 John Clark, Major, received an annual 
 allowance of $240, and served in the Penn- 
 sylvania Line: he died .\pril 27, 1819, aged 
 67; Jacob Cramer, private, served in 
 Hazen's German regiment, received an an- 
 nual allowance of $96: died May 19, 1832, 
 aged 78. Robert Ditcher, enlisted in the 
 spring of 1777. in the New York Continen- 
 tal Line, in Captain James Lee's company 
 of artillery then in Philadelphia, attached to 
 the regiment commanded by Colonel Lamb. 
 He was present and took part in the battle 
 of White Plains. Staten Island, Monmouth, 
 ^lud Island and Germantown, and was sev- 
 eral times wounded: died January 10, 1832, 
 aged /S. James Hogg served from January 
 
284 
 
 HIS'l'ORY OF YORK COUXTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 26, 1779. in the First Regiment of ?\!ary- 
 land Line, commanded at first by Colonel 
 Smallwood, and afterward by Colonel 
 Stone. His company was at first that of 
 Captain Nathaniel Ramsay, and afterward 
 that of Captain Hazen; died January 3, 
 1824, aged 79. Frederick Huebner, private, 
 served in Armand's Legion, in the company 
 of Captain Barron, for the term of about 
 three years; died August 17, 1828, aged 76. 
 Jacob McClean, pri\-ate, served in Colonel 
 Housegger's regiment, called the "German 
 Regiment," in the company of Captain 
 Benjamin Weiser, from July, 1776, until 
 1779; died February 18, 1824, aged 66. 
 Zenos Macomber, private, served in Colonel 
 Carter's Regiment from May, 1775, until 
 Januarj-, 1776. -when he enlisted in Colonel 
 Bond's regiment of the ALissachusetts 
 Line. Serving in this regiiuent aliout two 
 months, he was removed and placed in 
 General Washington's foot guard, where he 
 served until January, 1777, when he enlisted 
 in General Washington's horse guard in 
 which he served three years: died in 1835, 
 aged j"^. Conrad Pudding, private, serxed 
 in -Irmand's Legion, in Captain Sheriff's 
 company, from the spring of 1781, until the 
 fall of 1783, when the army was disbanded; 
 died April 30, ]828, aged 74. Thomas 
 Randolph. ])rivale. serx'ed in the Se\enth 
 Regiment of the Virginia Line, commanded 
 by Colonel McClellan. in the company of 
 Captain Peasey, from 1775 to 1778; died 
 June 25, 1828, aged 'i-/. Samuel Ramble, 
 private, served in the First Regiment of the 
 Virginia Line, under Colonel Campbell, in 
 the company commanded by Captain ]\Ioss, 
 during the last three }ears of the war; died 
 July 28, 1830, aged -ji. Godlove (Dedlove) 
 Shadow, pri\'ate, served from the spring of 
 1776, until the close of the war in the 
 regiment commanded by Colonel Moses 
 Hazen, in the comiiany of Captain Duncan; 
 died January 24. 1825. aged 69. Samuel 
 Spicer. private, serx-ed in the Tenth Regi- 
 ment of the Pennsylvania Line, under Colo- 
 nel Humpton, in Captain \\'eaver's com- 
 pany, for about one year before the close of 
 the war: invalid pensioner, received an an- 
 nual allowance of $96 from March 4, 1789; 
 died in 1818. aged 8r. John Schneider, pri- 
 vate, served in Colonel Hartley's regiment. 
 Captain David Grier's company, from 
 Xovemljer 11, 1775. until the end of one 
 
 year and three months. He afterward 
 ser\-ed in the regiment commanded by Colo- 
 nel Haren, in Captain Turner's company 
 from the early jiart of 1777, until the end 
 of the war: died August 11, 1827, aged 76. 
 James Silk, private, ser\'ed in the Maryland 
 Continental Line; died in 1835, aged 84. 
 John Taylor, musician, enlisted in February. 
 1778, at Mt. Holly, New Jersey, in the com- 
 pany of Captain John Cummings. and in 
 the Second Regiment of the New Jersey 
 l^ine, attached to the brigade commanded 
 b\- General Maxwell: continued in service 
 until October. 1783, when lie was dis- 
 charged near Morristown, N. J. He \\'as 
 at the battle of Monmouth, and at the 
 capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown ; he 
 ser\'ed as a ^•olunteer at the storming of 
 Stony Point, by General Wayne, at which 
 he was slightly wounded; died in 1835, aged 
 "jj. r^Iichael \\'eirick, served in the Sixth 
 Regiment of the ^Maryland I-<ine under 
 Colonel A\'illiams and Colonel Stewart, and 
 in the company of Captain Rebelle, during 
 the last five years of the \\-ar ; died August 
 1},. 1825. aged 71. Philip AA'agner, served 
 in the A'irginia Continental Line; died in 
 1835, aged 90. George Lingenfelder, served 
 in Captain Michael McGuire's company, in 
 Colonel Brooks' regiment, of Maryland, 
 from June, 1780, until the close of the war. 
 At the battle of Erandywine he was severely 
 wounded; died in 1818, aged 59. Hum- 
 phrey Andrews, enlisted in Chester County, 
 Pennsylvania, on January 26, 1776, for the 
 term of one year, in the company then com- 
 manded by Captain James Taylor, in the 
 Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, com- 
 manded by Colonel Anthony Wa}-ne. 
 From Chester County he marched by way 
 of New York, Albany-, Ticonderoga and 
 Crown Point, to Montreal, at which place 
 they met the troops under General Thomp- 
 son, who were returning from the battle of 
 Three Rivers. He thence returned with 
 his fellow soldiers to Crown Point, -where 
 he remained until January 24, 1777, sta- 
 tioned between the two armies of Burgoyne 
 and Flowe. ]\Iarching to Chester, he was 
 discharged on the 25th of February. 1777. 
 Andrews was engaged in a skirmish with 
 the British in November. 1776. He died in 
 1818, aged 63. Jacob Mayer, enlisted in 
 York County, served in Colonel AVayne's 
 regiment, in the company commandetl by 
 
THE REVOLUTION 
 
 28: 
 
 Captain James Taylor from Februar}-, 1776, 
 to the end of one year, when he was dis- 
 cliargcd at Chester; died 1828, aged 67. 
 Matthias Kraut served in the Tenth Regi- 
 ment of the Pennsylvania Line, commanded 
 l)y Captain Stout, from 1776, to the close of 
 the war. He died in 1818, aged 58. Jacob 
 Kramer, served in the regiment com- 
 manded by Captain Housegger, and after- 
 ward by Colonel Weltman, in the company 
 commanded by Captain Paulsell, and after- 
 ward b\' Captain Bo}er. He ser\ed from 
 July 19, 1776, until Jul\' 19, 1779. He died 
 in 1818, aged 62. 
 
 The following soldiers from York County 
 who served in the Pennsyhania Line, un- 
 der an act of 1818, received an annual allow- 
 ance of $96, and were dropped from the roll 
 under act of May i, 1820: 
 
 John Brown, private, aged 69; Jacob Fit- 
 zer, private, aged 74; Abraham Greenwalt, 
 private, aged 62; Anthony Lehman, private, 
 served in the Fifth Regiment, under Colo- 
 nel INIcGaw, in the company of Captain 
 Deckert, from February, 1775, to January, 
 ^777' aged 67; David Ramsey, private, 
 served in the First Rifle Regiment, under 
 Colonel Edward Hand, the company under 
 Captain Henry Miller, from July i, 1775, 
 until June, 1776. Being then discharged, 
 he joined Colonel Harnum's regiment, and 
 was in service until taken prisoner at the 
 battle of Brandywine. He w-as present and 
 took part in the battles of Bunker Hill, 
 Long Island, Flat Bush, at one of wdiich he 
 was wounded in the head: aged 71. 
 
 The following soldiers from YorkCounty, 
 who served in the Pennsylvania Line, under 
 act of 1818, received an annual allowance of 
 $96. and died at the dates named : 
 
 John Beatty, private, served in the Sixth 
 Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded by 
 Colonel Irwin, in the company of Abraham 
 Smith, from February, 1776, until February, 
 1777, died August 30, 1829, aged 74; John 
 Jacob Brown (Bauer), private, served in the 
 First Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded 
 by Colonel Chambers, in Captain James 
 \Vilson's company, from September, 1774, 
 until the close of the war, died December 2, 
 1827, aged 82: William Brown, private, en- 
 listed at Philadelphia in the autumn of 1777, 
 for the term of tliree years, in the company 
 commanded by Captain John Doyle, and 
 the First Reariment of the Pennsvlvania 
 
 Line commanded by Colonel Hand. He 
 was at the battles of Brandywine. Trenton, 
 Princeton, Monmouth, Stony Point and 
 Paoli, at the last of which he received sev- 
 eral W'Ounds ; served six years and was dis- 
 charged at Lancaster; died June 12, 1822, 
 aged jy.. William Cline, private, served in 
 Colonel \\'ayne's regiment, in Captain 
 Frazer's company, from December, 1775, 
 to March, 1777; died January 21, 1825, aged 
 70. ^Matthias Crout, private, served in the 
 Tenth Regiment, in a company commanded 
 by Captain Stout, from 1776, to the close of 
 the war; died July 22, 1827, aged 67. John 
 Deveney,. private, served in the Fourth 
 Regiment, commanded by Colonel Anthony 
 Wayne, in Captain Robinson's company, 
 from the fall of 1775, until the close of one 
 year, at which time he entered the Fifth 
 Regiment, in Captain Bartholomew's com- 
 pany, in which he served until the close of 
 the war; died February 15, 1827, aged 69. 
 John Deis, private, served in Captain David 
 Grier's company, in the regiment com- 
 manded by Colonel Hartley, from March, 
 1776, until the end of one year; died April 
 5. 1822, aged 66. Joel Gray, private, served 
 in Colonel Hartley's regiment, in the com- 
 pany of Captain Bush, from October, 1778, 
 until the first of April. 1781 ; died October 
 9, 1820, aged yj. John Lockert, private, 
 served in Colonel Proctor's regiment of ar- 
 tillery, in the company of Captain Duftie, 
 from June, 1777, until June, 1779; died June 
 I, 1830, aged 76 Matthew Liddy, private, 
 died April 24, 1830, aged 87. Christopher 
 Xew (Nerr), private, served in the Second 
 Regiment, commanded by Colonel Stewart, 
 under Captain Patterson, from April, 1777, 
 until January. 1780; died December i, 1826, 
 aged "j}^. John Ohmet. private, served in 
 the Tenth Regiment, commanded by Colo- 
 nel Richard Hunipton. in the company of 
 Captain Flicks, from May. 1777, until the 
 close of the war: died April 16. 1823, aged 
 65. William Smith, private, served in the 
 Second Regiment, under Captain Watson, 
 from February. 1776. until the close of one 
 year; enlisted in the Fourth Regiment, 
 commanded b\' Colonel William Butler, in 
 Captain Bird's company; died July 4. 1821. 
 aged 71. Adam Schuman. pri\ate. served 
 in the Fifth Pennsylvania Regiment, com- 
 manded by Colonel Richard Butler, in Cap- 
 tain Walker's company, commanded by 
 
286 
 
 HIS'I'ORV OK YORK COl'XTV. PEXXSYL\'.\XIA 
 
 Lieutenant Feldman, from tlie spring of 
 1776, until the close of the war; died May 
 16, 1823, aged 80. Michael Shultz, private, 
 served in Colonel Hartley's regiment, in 
 Captain Grier's company, from January, 
 1776, for the term of one year; died Feb- 
 i-uary 8, 1834, aged yy. Joseph Wren, mu- 
 sician, served in the Seventh Regiment, in 
 the company of Captain Wilson, from Jan- 
 viary, 1777, until the close of the war; died 
 July 9, 1827, aged 89. Lewis (Ludvvig) 
 Waltman, musician, served in the Sixth 
 Regiment, commanded by Colonel Butler, 
 in the company of Captain Bush, from the 
 fall of 1777, for the term of three years and 
 a half; died August 8, 1822, aged 64. 
 Rhinehart Wire, musician, died July 7, 1827, 
 aged 70. Edward Smith, private, served in 
 Pulaski's Legion, died June 26, 1832, aged 
 76. Christopher Sype, musician, served in 
 the Pennsylvania Line; died October 2, 
 1832. 
 
 The following soldiers from York County, 
 who served in the Pennsylvania Continen- 
 tal Line, were on the pension rolls in the 
 year 1835, under the act passed in 1818, and 
 received an annual allowance of $96: 
 
 Thomas Burk. fifer, aged 74, served in 
 Tenth Regiment, commanded by Lieuten- 
 ant Colonel Hazen, from June, 1778, until 
 1781 ; William Bargenhoff, private, aged 87; 
 John Cavenough. corporal, aged 83; Martin 
 Doll, private, aged 79; Jonathan Jacobs, 
 private, aged 70; Peter Myers, private, aged 
 74; Martin Miller, private, served in Count 
 Pulaski's Legion, in Captain Seleski's com- 
 pany for the term of eighteen months, aged 
 71; Michael Peter, private, aged 83; Philip 
 Peter Scherer, private, aged 76; Henry 
 Snyder, private, aged 78: Anthony Sloth- 
 our, musician, aged 83; V^alentine Stickel, 
 musician, aged 82; ]\Iichael Warner, musi- 
 cian, served in Captain Jacob Bower's com- 
 pany, from October, 1781, until October, 
 1783, aged 75; Andrew Young, musician, 
 aged 78; Henry Doll, private, served in the 
 First Regiment, under Colonel Stewart, and 
 in the company under Captain Shade, for 
 about one year, aged 78: Frederick Boyer, 
 private, served in the detachment under 
 Colonel Almon, from 1777 to 1779, when he 
 enlisted in a corps of cavalry under Captain 
 Selinski, and under the command of General 
 Pulaski ; served in the corps until nearly the 
 whole of it was destroyed, aged 83. John 
 
 Michael, private, aged 91 ; Christian Pepret, 
 served in Colonel Butler's regiment, in 
 Captain Bush's company, from the year 
 1779 until the close of the war, aged 83. 
 
 The following Revolutionary soldiers, re- 
 siding in York County, were placed on pen- 
 sion rolls March 4, 183 1, most of whom re- 
 ceived an annual allowance varying from 
 $20 to $40 : 
 
 Jonathan Mifflin, deputy-quartermaster, 
 served in Pennsylvania militia, received an- 
 nual allowance of $425; aged 80. Adam 
 Wolf, lieutenant, served in the Pennsylvania 
 State troops, received an annual allowance 
 of $92, aged 84. John Datamar, ensign, 
 served in Pennsylvania State troops, aged 
 //. Henry Feltz, ensign and private, 
 served in Pennsylvania militia, aged 76. 
 James Patterson, pri\-ate, served in Penn- 
 sylvania militia, received an annual allow- 
 ance of $76, aged 80. Henry Baumgard- 
 ner, private, served in Pennsylvania militia, 
 aged 76; John Bullock, private, served in 
 Maryland militia, aged 84; George Bailey, 
 private, served in Pennsylvania militia, aged 
 /T,; John Baker, private, in Maryland mili- 
 tia, aged 76; Heifer Cramer, private, in 
 Pennsylvania militia, aged 79; Joseph Croft, 
 private, in Pennsylvania State troops, aged 
 79; James Cross, private, in Pennsylvania 
 militia, aged 75; Michael Coppenhaffer, 
 private, in Pennsylvania militia: Andrew 
 Finfrock, private, in Pennsylvania militia, 
 aged jy; Henry Geip, private, in Pennsyl- 
 vania militia, aged 78; George Goodyear, 
 private, in Pennsylvania militia, aged 82 ; 
 Philip Gohn, private, in Pennsylvania mili- 
 tia, aged yy: Henry HofT, private, in Penn- 
 sylvania militia, aged 74; Jacob Innois, 
 private, in Pennsylvania militia, aged 82: 
 John Jacobs, private, in Pennsylvania mili- 
 tia, aged 80; George Krebs, private in 
 Pennsylvania militia, aged 80; Valeiitine 
 Kohler, private, in Pennsylvania militia, 
 aged 79; John Kroan. private, in Pennsyl- 
 vania militia, aged yy: Peter Grumbine, 
 private, in Pennsylvania Continental Line, 
 aged yT,: Christian Klinedinst, private, in 
 Pennsylvania militia, aged 76; John Lipp, 
 private, in Maryland militia, aged 88; Nich- 
 olas Leber, private, in Pennsylvania militia, 
 aged 78; Frederick Leader, private, served 
 in artillery and infantry in Pennsylvania 
 Line, aged 74: Philip Miller, private, in 
 Pennsylvania militia, aged 83; Adam Pope, 
 
THE RICXOUUTIOX 
 
 287 
 
 private, in Pennsylvania militia, aged 68: 
 Daniel Pegg, private, in New Jersey militia, 
 received an annual allowance of $53, aged 
 78; Dewalt Rabenstine. pri\ate, in Pennsyl- 
 vania militia, aged "/T,; Jacob Rudy, private, 
 in Penns3'lvania militia, aged 83; Alatthias 
 Ritz, pri\ate, in Pennsylvania militia, aged 
 yy; John Stroman, private, in Pennsylvania 
 State troops, aged y^\ John Schmuck, pri- 
 vate, in Pennsyhania militia, aged 78; 
 Adam Schlott, pri\-ate. in Pennsylvania 
 militia, aged 72; Lewis Shive, private, in 
 Pennsylvania militia, aged 74; Tobias Sype, 
 private, in Pennsylvania militia, aged 73; 
 John Stabb. private, in Pennsylvania mili- 
 tia, aged 75 ; Ludwig Swartz, private, in 
 Pennsylvania militia, aged 75; George 
 Switzen, private, in Pennsylvania mili- 
 tia, aged 71 ; Henry Tome, private, 
 in Pennsylvania militia, aged 80; Alex- 
 ander Thompson, private, in Pennsyl- 
 vania militia, aged 75 ; David W'altagmer, 
 private, in Pennsyhania militia, aged y^: 
 Philip W'ambach. private, in Pennsylvania 
 militia, ag«d 59 : John Welch, private, in 
 Pennsylvania militia, aged 92: Caspar Zegar, 
 private, in Pennsylvania militia, aged 81. 
 
 The following Revolutionarv soldiers 
 were in\alid pensioners residing in York 
 County : 
 
 ■ Thomas Campbell, captain, received an 
 annual allowance of $240. June 7, 1785; 
 Andrew Johnson, lieutenant, received an 
 annual allowance of $60. Februar_\- 15. 1812: 
 Jacob Barnitz. ensign, annual allowance 
 $120, June 7, 1785; George Benedict, annual 
 allowance $40, November 22, 1809; John 
 Cavenaugh. private, annual allowance $20. 
 September 4. 1794: Henry Slotterback, 
 private in Butler's regiment, annual allow- 
 ance $60. March 3. 1827. 
 
 The following is a miscellaneous list of 
 Revolutionary pensioners : 
 
 Robert Peeling, annual allowance $96, 
 died August 2. 1839: Frederick Stine ; 
 Jacob C/inder. served in General Armand's 
 Legion: Dr. William H. Smith, surgeon 
 mate in Pennsyhania Line: Captain 
 George Jenkins, served in Pennsylvania 
 Line: Tliomas Henderson, of Peach Bot- 
 tom Township: Jacob Doudel. served in 
 Pennsylvania Line, died September 21, 
 1831: Philip Graybill, served in the Second 
 Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line, died in 
 1816: Philip Miller, served in Colonel Gib- 
 
 son's regiment of the Pennsylvania Line, 
 enlisted for one year, in 1778; Philip Miller, 
 served in Colonel Stewart's regiment of the 
 Pennsylvania Line; Nicholas James, in 
 1849, aged 83: John Bryan, served in Ar- 
 mand's I^egion until the end of the war, dis- 
 charged at York: Captain Andrew Walker. 
 served in Colonel Hartley's regiment of the 
 Pennsylvania Line, from 1776 to the close 
 of the war; Captain John Doyle; James 
 Bennett, sergeant in Proctor's regiment of 
 artillery in the Pennsylvania Line, died 
 May 12, 1824. 
 
 William Russel. of Franklin Township, 
 ensign in Third Pennsylvania Regiment; 
 vSamuel Spicer. private in Tenth Pennsyl- 
 vania Regiment; Archibald Steel, officer in 
 First Pennsylvania Regiment; John Brown, 
 private in Captain Andrew L'win's com- 
 pany in the Seventh Pennsylvania Regi- 
 ment, under Colonel David Grier ;£Samuel 
 IMosser. Washington County, private in 
 -Vrmand's Legioii7?Christian Babst, private, 
 in Armand's Legron ; Captain John Wamp- 
 ler. engaged seven months' men in 1780; 
 Barnet Slough, private in Armand's Legion; 
 William ^Marshall, of York. pri\-ate Arm- 
 and's Legion. 
 
 The names of the following Revolution- 
 ary pensioners were collected from the 
 records of John Morris, a notary public of 
 the Borough of York, and found in the 
 office of Register of Wills of the count)': 
 Peter Tims or Tome, a private in .Arm- 
 and's Legion; John Boyle: John ' Trie, 
 private Captain Bell's Company, Second 
 Xew A'ork Regiment, Colonel Philip Cort- 
 landt; Peter Christian, private Armand's 
 Legion: John Michael: George Benedict: 
 Da\"id Kramer, private .\rmand's Legion: 
 Ephraim Ferguson, shoemaker, private in 
 Captain Gibson's Company, Fifth Pennsyl- 
 vania Regiment; Andrew McFarlin. dra- 
 goon in Armand's Legion: George Zinn; 
 Thomas Johnson, lieutenant in Colonel 
 Cunningham's Battalion. 
 
 Richard Yarding, a corporal in Captain 
 Graeff's Company, Colonel Swope's Regi- 
 ment, March 27, 1782, received from the 
 comity by order of the court twenty-five 
 pounds, or about $125, for services while a 
 prisoner of war on Long Island. He w^as 
 also allow^ed the pension of a corporal from 
 the county, beginning from the time of his 
 release on account of his disabilitv. 
 
288 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 John Stead, a private in Colonel Hart- 
 le3'"s Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiment, was 
 severely wounded at Paoli. In October, 
 1782, the court allowed him twenty-five 
 shillings per month on account of disability. 
 
 George Stewart, of Windsor Township, 
 must have been one of the youngest sol- 
 diers of the Revolution. . He enlisted in 
 Captain Porter's company in the lower end 
 of York County, as a substitute, when, ac- 
 cording to an official record, he was utterly 
 incapable of carrying a musket. He was 
 sold as a substitute by his master, George 
 Shetter. 
 
 Robert Coney, a soldier of the Revolu- 
 tion, was born at York in 1758 and died De- 
 cember, i860, at his liome in Hamilton 
 County, Ohio, at the age of one hundred 
 and two years. He had entered the army 
 under Washington as a drummer at the age 
 of thirteen. 
 
 John Purnell, the last survivor of the 
 Revolution from York County, died at his 
 residence on South Street, York, May 22, 
 1863, at the age of ninety-eight. In 1777, 
 at the age of eleven years, he became a 
 cabin boy on board one of the war vessels 
 of Commodore Paul Jones, the founder of 
 the American navy, and is supposed to have 
 been with that officer when he won the \'ic- 
 tory over the British off the coast of France. 
 Purnell was a pensioner from the year 1S18 
 to the time of his death in 1863. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 Samuel Adams' Great Speech — John Han- 
 cock's Resignation — Laurens Chosen 
 President — First National Thanksgiving 
 — Articles of Confederation Adopted — 
 Proceedings in 1778. 
 
 In the summer of 1777 General Howe de- 
 termined to leave X^ew York for the purpose 
 of attacking Philadelphia, the seat of the 
 United States Government. He embarked 
 in July with 18,000 men. Finding that the 
 entrance to the Delaware River was well 
 fortified and that strong defenses had been 
 erected a short distance below Philadelphia, 
 he decided to enter Pennsylvania by sailing 
 up the Chesapeake. Owing to a stormy 
 passage, he did not arrive at the head of the 
 bay until August 25, when he landed at 
 Elkton, ]Maryland. 
 
 At this time General Washington with a 
 small army crossed X^ew Jersey to defend 
 Philadelphia. A resolution of Congress 
 was passed, calling out the militia of Penn- 
 sylvania, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. 
 August 26, John Adams, of Massachusetts, 
 then a delegate in Congress and President 
 of the Board of War, wrote: "Congress 
 has been informed that Howe's army has 
 landed upon the banks of the Elk River. 
 The militia are turning out with great alac- 
 rity from Maryland and Pennsylvania. 
 They are distressed for want of arms. 
 ^lany have no arms and others only small 
 fowling pieces." 
 
 Washington now moved his army farther 
 south and on September 11 with 11,000 
 men, met Howe with his 18,000 British 
 regulars and Hessians at Chad's Ford on 
 the Brandywine, where a desperate battle 
 took place. Washington was obliged to re- 
 tire from the field, but the defeat was so 
 slight that he was able to detain Howe for 
 two weeks on the march of only twenty-six 
 miles to Philadelphia. 
 
 During these stirring times when the 
 sound of the British guns was heard in 
 Philadelphia from the battle of Brandywine, 
 Congress resolved to remove the public ^ 
 records to the interior of Pennsylvania and 
 select another place as a temporary capital 
 of the United States. It was hardly to be 
 expected that Washington with his small 
 force could defeat so large a body of the 
 enemy and on September 14, three days 
 after the battle, John Adams wrote from 
 Philadelphia to his wife in Massachusetts: 
 "Howe's army is at Chester, about fifteen 
 miles from this town. General Washing- 
 ton is over the Schuylkill awaiting the flank 
 of Howe's army. How much longer Con- 
 gress will stay is uncertain. If we should 
 move, it will be to Reading, Lancaster, 
 York, Easton or Bethlehem, some town in 
 this state. Don't be anxious about me nor 
 about our great and sacred cause. It is the 
 cause of truth and will prevail." 
 
 On the same day Congress resolved that 
 if obliged to remove from Philadelphia, 
 Lancaster should be the place of meeting , 
 and that the public papers be put in the V 
 care of Abraham Clark, one of the members 
 from New Jersey, who was "empowered to 
 procure wagons sufficient for conveying 
 them and apply to General John Dickinson 
 
COXTIXHXTAL COXGRESS AT YORK 
 
 289 
 
 or any other officer commanding troops in 
 the service of the United States who is 
 hereb}^ directed to furnish a guard to con- 
 duct the said papers safely to Lancaster " 
 
 September 17, Congress resolved that 
 "notwithstanding the brave exertions of the 
 American army, the city of Philadelphia 
 may possibly by the fortune of war, be for a 
 time possessed by the enemy's army " 
 
 It further resohed to grant to General 
 \\'ashington. commander-in-chief, extraor- 
 dinary powers for sixty days with the au- 
 thority to suspend officers of the army for 
 misbehavior, fill vacancies below the rank 
 of brigadier general, and take provisions 
 and other articles, wherever they may be 
 found for the maintenance of the army. He 
 was permitted to pay for these provisions or 
 give certificates for the payment of them, 
 and a pledge of the public credit was given 
 for the future settlement of such certificates. 
 Early on the morning of Sep- 
 Arrive at tember 19, when the members 
 Bethlehem, of Congress were in bed, they 
 received word through Alex- 
 ander Hamilton, then a colonel on the stafif 
 of \\'ashington, that the British army was 
 in possession of the fords over the Schuyl- 
 kill. It was evident that the enemy would 
 be in possession of Philadelphia in a few 
 hours. At this time there were about thirty 
 delegates present from the different states. 
 Having adjourned to meet at Lancaster, 
 this body of patriots to a\oid falling into 
 the hands of the enemy, started northward 
 to Bristol, twenty miles north of Philadel- 
 phia. The official papers of the Board of 
 \\'a.v and the Board of Treasury had been 
 sent to Bristol some days before. They 
 were conveyed to Trenton, to Easton and 
 from thence to Bethlehem. The delegates 
 from the different states seem to have pro- 
 ceeded by the nearest route from Bristol 
 and arrived at Bethlehem, a distance of 
 forty miles, September 22. In the evening 
 of the same day John Adams with the dele- 
 gates arrived from Easton with the official 
 papers guarded by fifty troopers and fifty 
 infantry. 
 
 A band of British Highlanders were then 
 imprisoned at Bethlehem. They were or- 
 dered to Lancaster and from thence taken 
 through York, to Virginia. Their place of 
 imprisonment at Bethlehem was turned into 
 a hospital for wounded soldiers, brought 
 
 there from the battle of Brandywine. Gen- 
 eral Lafayette, who was also wounded at 
 Brandywine, was taken to Bethlehem where 
 he received surgical treatment. On Sep- 
 tember 23, many of the delegates attended 
 the children's meeting in the Moravian 
 chapel. After the services John Hancock 
 took up the service book used by the Mo- 
 ravian pastor. Rev. John Ettwine, and with 
 other delegates, examined it. The pastor 
 explained its use and read that portion for 
 the day containing the words "^^'hoever is 
 not for us is against us." 
 
 The members of Congress while at Beth- 
 lehem signed an official paper authorizing 
 the protection of the property of the Mora- 
 vians. They were John Hancock. Samuel 
 Adams, Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Har- 
 rison, Henry Laurens, John Adams, James 
 Duane. Nathan Brownson. X'athaniel Fol- 
 som, Richard Law, Eliphalet Dyer, Henry 
 ^larchant, \\'illiam Duer, Cornelius Har- 
 nett, Joseph Jones and William Williams. 
 
 The liberty bell from Independence Hall 
 in Philadelphia, which rang out independ- 
 ence after the Declaration had been signed, 
 was brouglit from Philadelphia to Easton 
 and from thence to Bethlehem. Soon after- 
 ward this bell, now so famous in the history 
 of our country, was concealed for several 
 months in a Reformed Church at Allen- 
 town. 
 
 In accordance with the rcsolu- 
 
 One Day tion of Congress, when it ad- 
 
 at journed at Philadelphia to meet 
 
 Lancaster, at Lancaster, the members at 
 
 Bethlehem proceeded to that 
 
 borough on horseback, arriving there on 
 
 the evening of Friday, September 26. At 
 
 this time the Pennsylvania Legislature had 
 
 moved to Lancaster remaining in session 
 
 there until June 20 of the following year. 
 
 Upon arriving at Lancaster, Congress as- 
 sembled in the Court House then situated 
 in Centre Square and began the transaction 
 of business. Several important letters 
 were read. One was received from General 
 Gates, then in command of the Northern 
 army near Saratoga. This letter dated 
 September 15, on account of the exciting 
 condition of affairs had been a long time 
 on the way. It was written four days be- 
 fore Gates had won his first victory at Sar- 
 atoga. A letter of great moment, dated 
 September 2^. was received from General 
 
 19 
 
290 
 
 HISTORY UF YORK COUXTY, PKXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 Washington. This letter -was written at 
 Pottstown whicli was then his headquarters 
 and stated the condition of his army after 
 the defeat of Brandywine, and the need of 
 arms and supphes. A resolution was then 
 passed instructing the Board of War "to 
 cooperate with General Washington in de- 
 vising and carrying into execution effectual 
 measures for supplying the army with fire- 
 arms, shoes, blankets, stockings, provisions 
 and other necessaries." The condition of 
 atTairs around Pliiladelphia at this period 
 was not encouraging to the Americans. 
 Although Washington was receiving rein- 
 forcements there was still danger that he 
 had not a sut^cient army to defeat the 
 enemy in a conflict which seemed inevi- 
 table. Lancaster was only sixty-eight miles* 
 from Pliiladelphia and scouting parties of 
 the enemy frequently approachetl the 
 borders of the county in which Congress 
 was assembled. The Pennsylvania Legis- 
 lature, then about to open its sessions at 
 Lancaster, had begun to grow discouraged 
 and disheartened by reason of the defeat of 
 our army at Brandywine and the capture of 
 Philadelphia by the British. Some of its 
 members were inimical to the cause of inde- 
 pendence and others were opposed to 
 W'ashington as the head of the army. 
 
 At the close of one day's session at Lan- 
 caster, held on Saturday, September 27, the 
 following resolution was adopted: "Re- 
 solved, That the Treasury Board direct the 
 treasurer, with all his papers, forms, etc., to 
 repair to the town of York, in Pennsyl- 
 vania." Immediately after the passage of 
 this resolution, a motion was carried to ad- 
 journ to meet at Y'ork on the following 
 Tuesda_y at 10 o'clock A. M. 
 
 These illustrious patriots 
 
 Cross the whose acts and deeds have 
 
 Susquehanna, added lustre to the pages of 
 
 American history, wended 
 their way toward the Susquehanna in order 
 that the Inroad river might flow between 
 them and the enemy wdiile they transacted 
 the affairs of the infant government at 
 York during the darkest period of the 
 Revolution. They crossed the river on flat 
 boats at Wright's Ferry and proceeded to 
 York. They rode on horseback, except 
 John Hancock, who traveled in a chaise, 
 and Joseph Jones, a meml^er from Virginia, 
 who came here in the private carriage of 
 
 General Washington. Tiie following let- 
 ter, written upon his arri\-al liere, to the 
 commander-in-chief, tells an interesting 
 story : 
 
 York, Pa., September 30, 1777. 
 Uear Sir: I have your phaeton here, though I was 
 obliged to send for it after I left Philadelphia, being 
 put to route the night I received your letter. The bolt 
 that fastens the pole part of the long reins was lost, 
 some brass nails also gone and the lining much dirtied 
 and in some places torn. I will have these little matters 
 repaired and the carriage and harness kept clean and in 
 as good order as I can, which is the least I can do for 
 the use, though I wovild rather buy it, if you are not 
 determined against selling it and submit the price to 
 yourself or your friend. Colonel Harrison, who may 
 view it and pay the cash upon demand to your order. 
 The harness I observe is not matched, though the 
 difference is not very striking. Whether these hap- 
 pened at Philadelphia since you left it there or before, 
 you can judge. 
 
 When Congress assembled September 
 30, 1777, in the Provincial Court House, 
 which stood in Centre Square, York, from 
 1755 to 1841, it beheld the chief cities of the 
 country in the hands of the enemy and the 
 shattered army around Philadelpliia retreat- 
 ing Ijefore a conquering foe. York con- 
 tained 286 houses and aJDOut 1,800 in- 
 hal)itants. There were within the town 
 ■a dozen or more puljlic inns or taverns, as 
 they were then called, at wdiich some of the 
 members with ditliculty secured lodging 
 and .entertainment. A retinue of attend- 
 ants, including the troops of cavalry and a 
 company of infantry which had guarded the 
 transmission of the government papers, 
 also fotmd accommodations at public and 
 private houses as liest they could. The 
 members or delegates to Congress had 
 been elected by their respective states for 
 one year and recei\-ed such compensation 
 as the state legislatures provided. The 
 amounts varied from three to eight dollars 
 a day in Continental money, then wortii 
 about thirty cents on the dollar. The 
 Board of Treasury, presided over Ijv El- 
 bridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, took up its 
 quarters in the residence of Archibald ^Ic- 
 Clean, at the northeast corner of George 
 Street and Centre Square. It was in this 
 building that Michael Hillegas, treasurer, 
 of the United States, distributed during the 
 succeeding nine months, in accordance with 
 the resolutions of Congress, the deposits of 
 the government treasury. The Board of 
 War. presided o\er by John Adams, of 
 Massachusetts, held its meetings in the law 
 olfice of Tames Smith, adjoining his 
 
JOHN HANCOCK 
 
 President of Continental Congress when it assembled in 
 York, September 30, 1777 
 
COXTIXKXTAL COXCRESS AT YORK 
 
 ?9i 
 
 residence on the west side of Soutli Geors^e 
 Street, near Centre Square. Different com- 
 mittees met in the building at the south- 
 west angle of Centre Square. The mem- 
 bers of Congress paid their own expenses 
 while here, except John Hancock, of Mas- 
 sachusetts, the president, who occupied the 
 house of Colonel Michael Swope, on the 
 south side of West Market Street near 
 Centre Square, and his current expenses 
 were paid b)- autliority of tlie government 
 out of the national treasury. 
 
 Daniel Roberdeau, of Philadelphia, who. 
 as a brigadier-general in the army, had 
 captured from the British a prize of $22,000 
 in siher and turned it over to the use of 
 Congress, rented a house on South George 
 Street. Several of the members, including 
 John Adams, Elbridge Gerry, Samuel 
 Adams, Benjamin Harrison, and Richard 
 Henry Lee, lodged in his house. Other 
 members stopped at private houses and at 
 parsonages occupied by different clergy- 
 men of the town. 
 
 Congress held a iM^ief session on 
 Opening September 30 and then ad- 
 Session journed until the following 
 at York, morning at 10 o'clock. The 
 controlling power of the nation 
 was vested in one body, and during the 
 whole period of the war, until 1789, trans- 
 acted the business of the government with 
 closed doors. Xone but members and a 
 few government officials were permitted to 
 attend the sessions. Congress, however, at 
 this time, could only recommend to the 
 states what should be done. It had no 
 power to lay a tax upon the different states 
 or to order that soldiers should be drafted 
 into the army. At this time the new re- 
 public was composed of thirteen indepen- 
 dent states. The Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, passed the year before, had not 
 created a perfect union and our fathers had 
 not yet "brought forth on this continent a 
 new nation.'" The .\rticles of Confedera- 
 tion, which had lieen discussed for se\'eral 
 months at Independence Hall, in Philadel- 
 phia, were now taken up for final passage. 
 It is interesting to state here 
 Where that the court house then used 
 Congress as the Capitol of the United 
 
 Met. States, had been built of brick 
 
 twcntv-two \ears !)efore. It 
 
 was 55 feet long and 45 feet wide. The 
 
 main entrance, through double doors, led 
 from South George Street. The judge's 
 desk, at which the President sat, was at the 
 western end of the building. Back of this, 
 on a small pedestal, perched a plain image 
 representing a statue blindfolded holding 
 the scales of justice. Tw'o rows of seats 
 for jurors extended along the walls to the 
 left and right of the judge's desk. Several 
 taJjles and desks rested on the floor within 
 the bar. immediately l)ehind which stood a 
 large ten-plate wood stove with an eight- 
 inch pipe extending upward and then back 
 to the east wall. The rows of seats to the 
 rear of the Ijar inclined upward to the east- 
 ern end of the building. .At the rear of the 
 court room was a small gallery reached by 
 winding stairs. There were six windows 
 on each of the sides facing north and south 
 George Street, and four windows each at 
 the east and w^est ends of the building. 
 Every window contained two sashes and 
 every sash 18 small panes of glass. The 
 second story of the Court House w'as used 
 for public meetings, entertainments and at 
 times for school purposes. In the original 
 Court House there were only two gable 
 ends, one facing east and the other west 
 Market Street. The gables facing north and 
 south George Street were placed there when 
 the Court House was remodeled in 181 5. 
 
 -V bell had been obtained for St. 
 
 An John's Episcopal Church, on 
 
 Historic Xorth Beaver Street, a few 
 
 Bell. years before. There was no bel- 
 fry on this church and no suitable 
 place to hang the bell, so it was hung on a 
 pole in Centre Square and there rung for 
 religious services and for town meetings. 
 When the news of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence was officially brought to York. 
 James Smith and Archibald McClean 
 ordered that this bell be put in the cupola 
 of the Court House. In response to notifi- 
 cation this historic bell was rung loud and 
 long for lil)erty and independence. After 
 the Revolution this bell was removed to the 
 cupola of St. John's Episcopal Church of 
 York, where it has since been used. A vast 
 crowd of ]5eople had assembled in Centre 
 Square and the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence was read amidst great applause. 
 
 On Tuesday evening, Septem- 
 Hancock's ber 30. John Hancock wrote to 
 
 Letter. .General Washington: 
 
-92 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 York. Pa., 30 September, 1777. 
 
 Sir: — Since my departure from Philadelphia, I have 
 to acknowledge the receipt of your favors. Congress 
 met on Saturday last at Lancaster and upon consulta- 
 tion it was judged most prudent to adjourn to this place, 
 where we now are and where we can prosecute business 
 without interruption and where your despatches w'ill 
 meet us. 
 
 I have just now received by General Gates' aide-de- 
 camp. Major Troup, sundry letters, copies of which I 
 have the honor to enclose to you, by which it appears 
 that our affairs in the northern department wear a 
 favorable aspect and I hope soon to transmit you an 
 account of an issue to the contest in that quarter. 
 
 I w'ish soon to receive the most pleasing accounts 
 from you. We are in daily expectation of agreeable 
 tidings and that General Howe is totally reduced. 
 
 I beg leave to refer you to enclosed papers ; and am 
 with the utmost respect and esteem, sir, 
 
 Your most obedient and verv humble servant, 
 JOHN HANCOCK, 
 
 President. 
 
 Including President Hancock, 
 
 Delegates there were 25 delegates present 
 
 to on October 3, when they voted 
 
 Congress, on the resolution to refer to 
 
 General \\'ashington the deci- 
 sion of priority of rank in the army between 
 Baron de Kalb and General Thomas Con- 
 way. Their names and the states they 
 represented are recorded in the journals of 
 Congress as follows: Nathaniel Folsom, 
 New Hampshire; Samuel Adams, John 
 Adams, Elbridge Gerry and James Lovell, 
 ^Massachusetts : Henry Marchant, Rhode 
 Island; Eliphalet Dyer. William Williams, 
 Richard Law. Connecticut; James Duane, 
 A\'illiam Duer, New York; Daniel Rober- 
 deau, Pennsylvania; Charles Carroll, Sam- 
 uel Chase, ISIaryland; Benjamin Harrison, 
 Joseph Jones, Richard Henry Lee, Francis 
 Lightfoot Lee. Virginia; John Penn, Cor- 
 nelius Harnett, North Carolina; Arthur 
 Aliddleton, Thomas Heyward, Henry 
 Laurens. South Carolina; and Nathan 
 Brownson, Georgia. Only 11 states voted. 
 New Jersey and Delaware were not repre- 
 •■^ented at this time. According to custom, 
 the votes were cast by states. New dele- 
 gates arrived at different times during the 
 succeeding nine months. In all there were 
 67 attending the sessions at York. There 
 does not seem to have been more than 35 
 present at one time. 
 
 October 4, Captain Weaver was voted 
 S2.000 for the purpose of defraying the ex- 
 penses of taking a band of British prisoners 
 froin Lancaster through York to Virginia. 
 Colonel Richard ^IcAllister. of Hanover, 
 lieutenant for "S'ork Conntv. wiis ordered 
 
 by Thomas Wharton, President of the 
 Legislature at Lancaster, to provide thirty 
 men from York County to act as a guard 
 for these prisoners on their march south- 
 ward. 
 
 The commissary-general of purchases 
 was instructed to employ some one to take 
 charge of all the wheat in the several mills 
 near York for the United States. Washing- 
 ton was ordered to make provisions for 
 quartering the troops during the coming- 
 winter. News of the defeat of the British 
 at Bennington by General Stark was re- 
 ceived and that officer was tendered a vote 
 of thanks. A letter was ordered to be writ- 
 ten to General Gates informing him "that 
 Congress highlj' approved of the prowess 
 and behavior of the troops under his com- 
 mand in their late gallant repulse of the 
 enemy under General Burgoyne at Sara- 
 toga." Two companies were raised to 
 guard the government stores at Carlisle. 
 The commissary-general was given the 
 power to seize and press into service 
 ■ wagons, shallops and a store house, within 
 seventy miles of Washington's headquar- 
 ters. George Eichelberger, who had been 
 appointed deputy quartermaster at York, 
 was voted $2,500 for the use of his depart- 
 ment. He was directed to provide mem- 
 bers of Congress with the articles needed 
 for themselves, their servants and their 
 horses at cost. The different state legis- 
 latures were recommended to pass laws to 
 punish by death without the benefit of 
 clergy, any person or persons found guilty 
 of burning or destroying government 
 magazines or stores. 
 
 The British entered Phila- 
 
 Medal for delphia, September 26, and 
 
 Washington, soon after proceeded to the 
 
 village of Germantown, six 
 miles north of the city. AVashington 
 attacked them on October 4 at daybreak, 
 hoping to push their army against the 
 Schuylkill River and destroy it. The dar- 
 ing scheme almost succeeded, but victory 
 was turned into defeat by a sudden panic 
 among the Americans caused by an acci- 
 dent. It was a foggy morning and one 
 American battalion fired into another by 
 mistake. The news of the defeat at Ger- 
 mantown Avas brought to Congress by a 
 despatch bearer. Although the report of 
 the defeat was not encouraging, on October 
 
COXTIXKXTAL CONT.RES? AT Vol 
 
 293 
 
 8 it was resolved "That the thanks of 
 Congress be given to General Washington 
 for his wise and well concerted attack upon 
 the enemy's army near Germantown and 
 to the officers and soldiers of the army for 
 the brave exertions on that occasion; 
 Congress being well satisfied that the best 
 designs and boldest efforts sometimes fail 
 by unforeseen incidents, trusting that on 
 future occasions, the valor and virtue of the 
 army will, bv^ the blessing of heaven, be 
 crowned with complete and deserved suc- 
 cess." Congress then ordered that a medal 
 of honor be presented to the commander- 
 in-chief. 
 
 The second day's session of 
 Chaplains Continental Congress at York 
 White opened \\'ednesday, October i. 
 and Rev. Jacob Duche, who had 
 
 Duffield. served as chaplain, became a 
 loyalist ayd remained in Phila- 
 delphia. Rev. William White, rector of the 
 United Parishes of Christ's, St. Peter's and 
 St. James' Episcopal Churches of Philadel- 
 phia, was elected chaplain. He spent part 
 of the succeedhig winter in York, occupy- 
 ing rooms at the residence, on North 
 George Street, of Rev. John Nicholas 
 Kurtz, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church. 
 At this time he was 29 3'ears of age. In 
 1786 he became the first bishop of Pennsyl- 
 vania. Rev. George Duffield, a native of 
 Lancaster County, and pastor of the Third 
 Presbyterian Church, of Philadelphia, was 
 elected associate chaplain. He was then 45 
 years old and one of the first clergymen in 
 America to advocate the cause of inde- 
 pendence. Before coming here he had 
 served as chaplain in the army and for his 
 intense loyalty to the patriotic cause, the 
 British government otTered a prize for his 
 capture. While in A^ork he w-as the guest 
 of Rev. Daniel Wagner, pastor of Zion 
 Reformed Church, who resided at the par- 
 sonage on the north side of East King near 
 George Street. Early in life Duffield had 
 been pastor of the Presbyterian churclies 
 at Dillsburg and Carlisle. 
 
 B\- resolution Congress now decided that 
 the morning session should begin at 10 .\. 
 yi. and adjourn at i P. AL The afternoon 
 session began at 4 o'clock and continued 
 usually until 10 o'clock at night. The dis- 
 cussions on the momentous f|uestions con- 
 sidered by this body were often carried on 
 
 in the form of conversations. Efforts at 
 oratory were rarely attempted. On one or 
 two occasions, Samuel Adams made patri- 
 otic speeches like those he had delivered in 
 Faneuil Hail. Boston, before the opening of 
 the war. The flute-like tones of Richard 
 Henry Lee always interested his hearers 
 and commanded the closest attention. Pat- 
 rick Henry was governor of Virginia and 
 Thomas Jefiferson, a member of the legis- 
 lature in session at Richmond. Benjamin 
 Franklin, still a member from Pennsyl- 
 vania, was United States commissioner in 
 Paris, endeavoring to secure the recogni- 
 tion of his government 1:)y King Louis XI\ 
 of France. 
 
 Of the delegates to Continental Congress 
 during the entire period of the Revolution, 
 none were more zealous in legislating for , 
 the. prosecution of the war than Samuel 
 Adams, of Massachusetts. He was a man 
 of lofty patriotism and unbounded energy. 
 The English government blamed John 
 Hancock and Samuel Adams more than any 
 others for the origin of the war, and a re- 
 ward of $25,000 was offered for the capture 
 of either of them. Both Hancock and 
 Adams, if ever captured, were to be denied 
 pardon for their alleged treason to the 
 mother country. With .Vdams as the leader 
 of Congress while in York, the struggle for 
 liberty was simply a matter of life and 
 death. Success in establishing freedom 
 would send him down to posterity, honored ^^m 
 by all future generations: failure pointed u^^^^ 
 the prison cell and the ignomiu)' of a rebel 
 doomed to the scaffold. Everything seemed 
 dark and gloomy during the early days of 
 October, 1777, and some of the members 
 of Congress were ready to give up the 
 struggle in despair and accept the over- 
 tures of peace offered by the British gov- 
 ernment. .\bout this time John Adams 
 made the following entry in his diary: 
 
 "The prospect is chilling on 
 
 Adams' every side, gloomy, dark, mel- 
 
 Soliloquy. ancholy and dispiriting. When 
 
 and where will light come 
 from? Shall we have good news from 
 Europe? Shall we hear of a blow struck 
 by Gates against Burgoyne? Is there a 
 possibility tliat Washington may yet defeat 
 Howe? Is there a possibility tliat Mc- 
 Dougall and Dickinson shall destroy tlic 
 British detachment in New Jersey? If 
 
294 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 Pliiladelphia is lost, is the cause of inde- 
 pendence lost?" Then he continues: "Xo, 
 the cause is not lost. Heaven grant us one 
 great soul. One leading mind would extri- 
 cate the best cause from the ruin that 
 seems to await it. \\'e have as good a cause 
 as ever was fought for. One active, mas- 
 terly capacity would bring order out of this 
 confusion and save our country." 
 
 The affairs of the new born nation for a 
 time were controlled by a few men, who 
 met regularly in a caucus at the home of 
 (icneral Roberdeau, of Pennsylvania, who 
 li\ed in a rented house nearly opposite 
 Christ Lutheran Church, on South George 
 Street. Many of the leaders' in Congress, 
 including Henry Laurens, Benjamin Harri- 
 son, Dr. ^\'itherspoon, Richard Henry Lee, 
 Elbridge Gerry and John and Samuel 
 Adams, lodged in tliis house. It was here 
 on one October night of 1/77, that Samuel 
 Adams called a caucus. After obtaining 
 the views of the different members, some of 
 whom were very despondent, Samuel 
 Adams rose and delivered one of the most 
 eloquent speeches in American history, as 
 follows : 
 
 ■'Gentlemen : Your spirits seem 
 Samuel oppressed with the weight of 
 Adams' public calamities, and your sad- 
 Speech, ness of countenance reveals your 
 
 disquietude. A patriot may grieve 
 at the disasters of his country, but he will 
 never despair of tlie commonwealth. Our 
 .aiTairs are said to be desperate, but we are 
 not without hope and not without courage. 
 The eyes of the people of this country are 
 upon us here, and the tone of their feeling 
 is regulated by ours. If we as delegates in 
 Congress give up in despair, and grow 
 desperate, public confidence will be de- 
 stroyed and American lijjerty will be no 
 more. 
 
 "But we are not driven to such straits. 
 Though fortune has been unpropitious, our 
 conditions are not desperate ; our burdens 
 though grievous, can still be borne: our 
 losses, though great, can be retrieved. 
 Through the darkness that shrouds our 
 prosperity, the ark of safety is visible. 
 Despondency, gentlemen, becomes not the 
 dignity of our cause, nor the character of 
 the nation's representatives in Congress. 
 Let us then be aroused and evince a spirit 
 of patriotism that shall inspire the people 
 
 with conlidence in us, in themseh'es and in 
 the cause of our country. Let us show a 
 spirit that will induce us to persevere in this 
 struggle, until our rights shall be estab- 
 lished and our liberty secured. 
 
 "W'e have proclaimed to the worUl our 
 determination to die free men, rather than 
 live slaves; we have appealed to hea\-en for 
 the justice of our cause and in the God of 
 l)attles have we placed our trust. AYe have 
 looked to Providence for help and protec- 
 tion in the past; we must appeal to the 
 same source in the future, for the Almighty 
 Powers from above will sustain us in this 
 struggle for independence. 
 
 "There ha^-e been times since the open- 
 ing of this war when we were reduced 
 almost to distress, but the great arm of 
 Omnipotence has raised us up. Let us still 
 rely for assistance upon Him who is 
 mighty to save. AA'e shall not be abandoned 
 by the Powers above so long as we act 
 worthy of aid and protection. The darkest 
 hour is just before the dawn. Good news 
 may soon reach us from the army and from 
 across the sea." 
 
 The patriotic fervor of the speaker on this 
 occasion, thrilled the small audience and 
 gave them renewed energy in the passage 
 of legislation to aid in carrying on the war. 
 John Hancock, of Massachu- 
 Hancock's setts, who had served as 
 Resignation, president of Congress from 
 ^lay, 1775, expressed a de- 
 sire to retire and visit his home in Boston. 
 He was now forty years of age. After the 
 Boston Massacre. March 5, 1770, he was 
 the head of the committee which asked for 
 the removal of the British troops and at the 
 funeral of the slain, he delivered an address 
 so glowing and fearless in its reprobation 
 of the conduct of the soldiery and their 
 leaders as to greatly offend the governor. 
 Hancock was president of Congress when 
 the Declaration of Independence was 
 passed, and the first to append his name to 
 that immortal document. In his youth he 
 had inherited a large fortune from an uncle 
 and at the opening of the Revolution was 
 the most extensive shipping merchant at 
 Boston. His fortune was estimated at half 
 a million dollars, he being probably the 
 wealthiest man in the L'nited States. On 
 account of his ardent patriotism he became 
 a leader in the cause of American inde- 
 
COX'I'IXEX'I'A!. COXCRESS AT YORK 
 
 295 
 
 pencleiice. October 25, 1777, a committee 
 of Congress reported that his accounts had 
 been audited and there was yet due him 
 $1,392, which was ordered to be paid. As a 
 presiding officer he was dignified, impartial, 
 quick of apprehension and commanded the 
 respect of Congress. lAit was not popular 
 with all his associates. Later in life he em- 
 ployed his large fortune for useful and 
 benevolent purposes and was a liberal 
 donor to Harvard College. While presi- 
 dent of Congress at York, he incurred the 
 displeasure of some of the leading members, 
 including Samuel Adams, who was of an 
 impetuous nature. Going out of the Court 
 House one day, Benjamin Harrison, of Vir- 
 ginia, suggested to Adams that he should 
 forgive John Hancock for his vanity. 
 Adams, in a fit of rage, quickly responded 
 "Yes, Harrison, I can forgive him and I 
 can forget him." After the war, however, 
 they became firm friends and it is an inter- 
 esting fact of history that Samuel Adams 
 succeeded in persuading John Hancock to 
 support the ratification of the constitution 
 of the United States, to which he was 
 originally opposed. When Hancock re- 
 tired from Congress at York, he delivered 
 the following address: 
 
 "Gentlemen: Friday last com- 
 The pleted two years and five 
 
 President's months since you did me the 
 Speech. honor of electing me to fill this 
 chair. As I could neither 
 flatter myself your choice proceeded from 
 any idea of my abilities, but rather from a 
 partial opinion of my attachment to the 
 lil^erties of America. I felt myself under the 
 strongest obligations to discharge the du- 
 ties of the office, and I accepted the appoint- 
 ment with the firmest resolution to go 
 through the business annexed to it in the 
 best manner I was able. Every argument 
 inspired me to exert myself, and I endeav- 
 ored, by industry and attention, to make up 
 for every other deficiency. 
 
 "As to my conduct, both in and out of 
 Congress, in the execution of your business, 
 it is improper for me to say anything. You 
 are the best judges. But I think I shall be 
 forgiven if I say I have spared no pains, 
 expense or labor, to gratify your wishes, 
 and to accomplish the views of Congress. 
 
 "Wy health being much impaired. I find 
 some relaxation absolutely necessary, after 
 
 such constant application: I must therefore 
 request your indulgence for leave of absence 
 for two months. 
 
 "But I cannot take my departure, gentle- 
 men, without expressing my thanks for the 
 civility and politeness I have experienced 
 from you. It is impossible to mention this 
 without a heartfelt pleasure. 
 
 "If in the course of so long a period as I 
 have* had the honor to fill this chair, any 
 expressions may have dropped from me that 
 may have given the least oft'ence to any 
 member, as it was not intentional, so I hope 
 his candor will pass it over. 
 
 "May every happiness, gentlemen, attend 
 you, both as members of this house and as 
 individuals : and I pray heaven that 
 unanimity and perseverance may go hand in 
 hand in this house ; and that everything 
 which may tend to distract or divide your 
 councils be forever banished." 
 
 Having retired from his high position as 
 President of Congress, John Hancock 
 started for his home at Boston. He passed 
 through Reading and reached .Bethlehem 
 on the evening of November 2, stopping 
 over night in that borough at the Sun Inn, 
 a large stone building still in existence. An 
 entry in a local diary of that date reads: 
 "John Hancock passed through on his way 
 from York to Boston. He was escorted 
 hence b}- a troop of fifteen horsemen, who 
 had awaited his arrival. From him we 
 learned that our friend. Henry Laurens, 
 had been chosen President of Congress." 
 As New York was in the hands of the 
 British, he crossed the Hudson at Fislikill. 
 At this point he was met by William Ellcry, 
 who had been elected a delegate to Con- 
 gress from Rhode Island. The latter, 
 describing this meeting, records in his 
 diary : "On our way to the Fishkill we met 
 President John Hancock in a sulky, es- 
 corted by one of his secretaries and two or 
 three other gentlemen, and one light horse- 
 man, returning from Congress at Y^'ork- 
 town. This escort surprised us. as it 
 seemed inadequate to the purpose either of 
 defence or parade. But our surprise was 
 not of long continuance; for we had not 
 ridden far before we met. six or eight light 
 horsemen on the canter, and just as we 
 reached the ferry a boat arrived with many 
 more, all making up the escort of President 
 Hancock." Hancock, being re-elected, re- 
 
296 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANL\ 
 
 turned to Congress as a member in ]\Iav, 
 1778. 
 
 LAURENS CHOSEN PRESIDENT. 
 
 Henry Laurens, who succeeded Hancock 
 as president of Congress, was born in 
 Charleston, South Carolina, in 1724. He 
 had acquired a fortune in mercantile pur- 
 suits in his native city, and at the time he 
 was chosen president, was 53 years of age. 
 He visited London in 1774, and while in 
 that city was one of thirty-eight Americans 
 who signed a petition to dissuade Parlia- 
 ment from passing the Boston port bill. 
 He returned to Charleston, and was chosen 
 as member of the first Provincial Confer- 
 ence of South Carolina. In 1776, he was 
 elected a delegate to Continental Congress. 
 Being a man of experience in public and 
 private affairs, he became a leader of Con- 
 gress soon after he took a seat in that body. 
 AMien John Hancock determined to resign, 
 Laurens was unanimously elected his suc- 
 cessor, November i, and presided over 
 Congress during the remainder of its ses- 
 sions at York and until December 10, 1778. 
 In 1779, he was appointed minister to Hol- 
 land to negotiate a treaty that had been un- 
 officially proposed to William Lee by Van 
 Berckel, pensionary of .Amsterdam. He 
 sailed on the packet "Mercury," which was 
 captured by the British frigate "Vestal," of 
 twenty-eight guns, off Newfoundland. Mr. 
 Laurens threw his papers overboard; but 
 they were reco\'ered, and gave evidence of 
 his mission. The refusal of Holland to 
 punish Van Berckel, at the dictation of 
 Lord North's ministry, was instantly fol- 
 lowed by war between Great Britain and 
 that country. Mr. Laurens was taken to 
 London, examined before the Privy council, 
 and imprisoned in the Tower, on October 6, 
 1780, on "suspicion of high treason," for 
 nearly fifteen months, during which his 
 health was greatly impaired. He was ill 
 when he entered, but no medical attention 
 was provided, and it was more than a year 
 before he was granted pen and ink to draw 
 a bill of exchange to provide for himself. 
 But he obtained a pencil, and frequent 
 communications were carried by a trusty 
 person to the outside world, and he 
 even corresponded with American news- 
 papers. 
 
 ^^'hen his son John appeared in Paris, in 
 
 1781, to negotiate a loan with France, Mr. 
 Laurens was informed that his confinement 
 would be the more rigorous because the 
 3'oung man had openly declared himself an 
 enemy to the king and his country. It was 
 suggested that if Mr. Laurens would advise 
 his son to withdraw from his commission, 
 such action would be received with favor at 
 the British court; but he replied that his 
 son was a man who would never sacrifice 
 honor, even to save his father's life. Laur- 
 ens received attention from many friends, 
 among whom was Edmund Burke. Twice 
 he refused oft'ers of pardon if he would 
 serve the British ministry. While a pris- 
 oner he learned of his son John's death in a 
 skirmish in South Carolina, and on Decem- 
 ber I, 1781, he addressed a petition to the 
 House of Commons, in which he said that 
 he had striven to prevent a rupture between 
 the crown and colonies, and asked for more 
 liberty. He was soon afterward exchanged 
 for Lord Cornwallis and commissioned by 
 Congress one of the ministers to negotiate 
 peace. He then went to Paris, where, with 
 John Jay and Benjamin Franklin, he signed 
 the preliminaries of the treaty, November 
 30, 17S2, and was instrumental in the inser- 
 tion of a clause prohibiting, on the British 
 evacuation, the "carrying away any negroes 
 or other property of the inhabitants." On 
 his return to Charleston he was welcomed 
 with enthusiasm and offered many offices, 
 which his impaired health forced him to 
 decline. He retired to his plantation near 
 Charleston and devoted his life to agricul- 
 ture. He died December 8, 1792. 
 
 Although Washington had been 
 
 Gates' defeated at Brandywine and 
 
 Victory. Germantown, he gave Howe so 
 
 much trouble that the latter 
 could not send reinforcements to Burgoyne 
 at Saratoga. A force of 3,000 fresh troops 
 from England had been sent up the Hudson 
 from New York on the day the battle at 
 Germantown was fought. They arrived too 
 late to save Burgoyne's army from disaster. 
 He had crossed the Hudson on September 
 13 and six days later Benedict Arnold at- 
 tacked him at Bemis Heights and a des- 
 perate but indecisive battle was fought 
 there. 
 
 The news of this engagement was re- 
 ceived by Congress September 30, the day 
 the first session was held at York. It was 
 
HENRY LAURENS 
 
 Who succeeded John Hancock as President of Continental 
 Congress, while in session at York 
 
COX'JIXEXTAL COXGRESS AT YORK 
 
 297 
 
 brought by Colonel Robert Troup, an aide 
 on the staff of General Gates, commander 
 of the Northern Army. The letter con- 
 veyed by Colonel Troup from Gates to John 
 Hancock, President of Congress, stated the 
 engagement began with a brisk skirmish 
 early in the morning. This drew on the 
 main body of the enemy to support the 
 skirmishers. The action was continued 
 until the close of the day, when both 
 armies retired, with the advantage in favor 
 of the Americans. General Gates said in 
 his report to Congress at York, "The good 
 behavior of the troops on this important oc- 
 casion, cannot be surpassed by the most 
 veteran army. To discriminate in praise of 
 the officers would be an injustice, as they 
 all deserve the honor and applause of Con- 
 gress. The armies now remain encamped 
 within two miles of each other. Today I 
 W"rote to all the neighboring states and 
 pressingly demanded the immediate march 
 of their militia. When proper reinforce- 
 ments arrive, I hope to give your Excel- 
 lency more interesting intelligence." 
 
 On October 7, Burgoyne 
 Burgoyne's risked another battle and was 
 Surrender. totally defeated by the Ameri- 
 can army. He retreated to 
 Saratoga, where he found himself sur- 
 rounded, and on the 17th he surrendered 
 what was left of his army, nearly 6,000 men, 
 to General Gates. The honor of the \ic- 
 tor}^ however, is due to Arnold and Mor- 
 gan. Judged by its results, Saratoga was 
 one of the greatest battles of history. It 
 saved New York State, destroyed the 
 British plan of the war, induced England to 
 offer peace with representation in Parlia- 
 ment or anything else except independence, 
 and secured for us the aid of France. .\ 
 delay of ten days had taken place between 
 the last battle and the surrender, before a 
 convention or agreement for terms of sur- 
 render had been made between the two 
 commanding officers. It was finally decided 
 that Burgoyne's army, which became 
 known as the "Convention prisoners," 
 should be marched to Boston. They were 
 afterward divided into small bands, 
 marched southward and held for a long 
 period as prisoners of war in the states of 
 Pennsylvania, Marvland and Virginia. 
 Some of them were kept at Lancaster and 
 York. 
 
 Colonel James Wilkinson, a 
 News young man of twenty years, who 
 Brought was serving as an aide on the 
 to York, staff of General Gates, was as- 
 signed the duty of bringing the 
 news of this brilliant victory and surrender 
 to Congress at York. He left Albany Oc- 
 tober 20 and reached Easton, Pennsylvania, 
 on the 24th, where he stopped one day. 
 Here he met Dr. William Shippen, the 
 director-general of the hospitals. The fol- 
 lowing day he proceeded toward Reading, 
 which he reached on the evening of the 
 27th. While at Reading, he dined with 
 Lord Stirling, of the American army, who 
 had been wounded at Brandywine. One of 
 the guests at the dinner was Alajor James 
 Monroe, afterward President of the United 
 States, and who was then recuperating 
 from a wound he had received at the battle 
 of Trenton. At this dinner, while in con- 
 vivial mood, after drinking too much 
 Madiera wine, W^ilkinson revealed the plot 
 to remove Washington from the head of the 
 army. This plot was known as the "Con- 
 way Cabal." W^ilkinson also dined at Read- 
 ing with General Mifflin, where he met two 
 members of Congress from New England. 
 
 Meantime, heavy rains had fallen and the 
 Schuylkill River had overflowed its banks 
 so that the stream, according to Colonel 
 Wilkinson's statement, was impassable and 
 he remained at Reading three days. He ar- 
 ri\-ed at York October 31, but the news of 
 the victory at Saratoga and the surrender 
 of Burgoyne had reached Congress ten days 
 before he came. ^Military courtesy would 
 have required that General Gates should 
 have communicated this information to 
 AVashington, the head of the army, and 
 from that source it should have been trans- 
 mitted to Congress, but at this early date, 
 he showed his disrespect for his chief. On 
 October 21, according to the journals of 
 Congress, two letters w-ere received by that 
 body giving notification of the surrender of 
 Burgoyne. One of these letters was sent 
 by General Washington from his headquar- 
 ters near Philadelphia, and the other b)^ 
 General Israel Putnam, from Fishkill, X. 
 Y., so that they were informed of the vic- 
 tory before Wilkinson arrived. The infor- 
 mation had been communicated to both 
 Washington and Putnam by Governor 
 Clinton, of X'ew York. 
 
298 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 When Wilkinson arrived at York, Han- 
 cock had resigned as President of Congress 
 and returned to his home in Massachusetts. 
 Charles Thomson, of Philadelphia, secre- 
 tary of Congress, acted as President until 
 November i, when Henry Laurens, of 
 South Carolina, assumed the duties of this 
 office, to which he had lately been chosen. 
 Finding that a change in. office had taken 
 place, Wilkinson appeared before Secretary 
 Thomson and presented him the following 
 letter: 
 
 Camp Saratoga, Oct. 18, 1777. 
 Gates' Sir : — I have the satisfaction to present 
 
 RetJOrt ^°"' Excellency with the convention 
 
 •1^ of Saratoga, by which his Excellency, 
 
 Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, has sur- 
 rendered himself and his whole army into my hands, 
 and they are now upon their march for Boston. This 
 signal and important event is the more glorious, as it 
 was effected with so little loss to the army of the 
 United States. 
 
 This letter will be presented to your Excellency by 
 my adjutant-general. Colonel Wilkinson, to whom I 
 must beg leave to refer your Excellency for the particu- 
 lars that brought this great business to so happy and 
 fortunate a conclusion. 
 
 I desire to be permitted to recommend this gallant 
 officer, in the warmest manner, to Congress ; and entreat 
 that he may be continued in his present office with the 
 brevet of a brigadier-general. 
 
 The honorable Congress will believe me when I assure 
 them, that from the beginning of this contest I have not 
 met with a more promising military genius than Colonel 
 Wilkinson, whose services have been of the greatest 
 importance to this army. 
 I have the honor to be. 
 
 Your Excellency's most obedient and humble servant 
 
 HORATIO GATES. 
 His Excellency John Hancock, Esq., 
 President of Congress. 
 
 "By an order of Congress," 
 
 Wilkinson says Colonel Wilkinson in his 
 
 Before "Memoirs," "I appeared before 
 
 Congress. Congress, October 31, where I 
 
 was received with kindness 
 and treated with indulgence. After having 
 answered sundry questions respecting the 
 relative situation of the two armies before, 
 at and after the convention, the bearing of 
 which in some instances tended to depreci- 
 ate its importance; I observed that I had in 
 charge sundry papers to be submitted to 
 Congress, which required time for their ar- 
 rangement, and thereupon I was pertnitted 
 to withdraw. 
 
 "In the course of this audience, I thought 
 I perceived a disposition on the part of two 
 or three gentlemen . to derogate General 
 Gates' triumph. I had been questioned as 
 to the practicability of making Burgoyne's 
 army prisoners of war, and had heard it 
 
 observed, that it would have been better for 
 the United States if that army had escaped 
 to Canada, where it would have been out of 
 the way ; whereas the Convention would 
 merely serve to transfer it to Sir \\'illiam 
 Howe, and bring Burgoyne's whole force 
 immediatel}- into operation against us on 
 the Atlantic Coast. As unreasonable as 
 these exceptions were, they merited con- 
 sideration, and I determined to exercise the 
 authority General Gates had given me, and 
 meet them by a message to be prepared for 
 Congress in his name. I consulted two of 
 his friends, Samuel Adams and James 
 Lovell, on the subject, to whom I had let- 
 ters, who commended the plan, and I made 
 a draft which they entirely approved. 
 
 "Having prepared and arranged the docu- 
 ments preliminary to the Convention, with 
 returns of the two armies, and of the ord- 
 nance and stores captured, I was again in- 
 troduced to Congress the afternoon of 
 November 3, by Mr. Thompson, Henry 
 Laurens having been chosen the president, 
 and delivered to that body a message from 
 General Gates." 
 
 This message discussed in detail the bat- 
 tle of Saratoga and the surrender of the 
 British army. It was accompanied by 
 various original papers relating to the Con- 
 vention or agreement between Gates and 
 Burgoyne when they decided upon the 
 terms of surrender. 
 
 On November 4, the day after AA'ilkinson 
 appeared the second time before Congress, 
 he wrote an efTusive letter to Gates, ad- 
 dressing him as "My Dear General and 
 Loved Friend." In this letter he bewailed 
 the fact that there was opposition to Gates 
 among the members to Congress. He la- 
 mented that he had not yet been honored 
 with any marks of distinction and also 
 stated that he had met Mrs. Gates and her 
 son. Bob, while in York. 
 
 A proposal was introduced into Congress 
 two days later to present W'ilkinson with a 
 sword. At this juncture Dr. John Wither- 
 spoon, a delegate from New Jersey, in his 
 broad Scotch, dryly remarked "I think ye'd 
 better give the lad a pair of spurs." An- 
 other delegate quickly responded "And a 
 whip so that he may bring official news 
 more promptly another time." 
 
 Colonel Wilkinson remained in York 
 until November g. In the meantime he was 
 
COXTIXEXTAL COXCRESS AT YORK 
 
 299 
 
 made a brigadier-general by brevet. He re- 
 turned to the Xorthern army, going by way 
 of AX'asiiington's headquarters. Twenty 
 years later Colonel Wilkinson was ap- 
 pointed to the head of the army of the 
 United States. 
 
 On November 4, Congress 
 
 Gates passed the following: Resolved, 
 
 Honored. That the thanks of Congress in 
 
 their own name, and in behalf 
 of the inhabitants of the thirteen United 
 States, be presented to Major-General 
 Gates, commander-in-chief in the northern 
 department, and to Majors-General Lincoln 
 and Arnold, and the rest of the officers and 
 troops under his command, for their brave 
 and successful eftorts in support of the in- 
 ilependence of their country, whereby an 
 ami}' of the enemy of 10,000 men has been 
 totally defeated, one large detachment of it, 
 strongly posted and entrenched, having 
 been conquered at Bennington, and another 
 repulsed with loss and disgrace from Fort 
 Schuyler, and the main army of 6,000 men, 
 under Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, after 
 being beaten in different actions and driven 
 from a formidable post and strong entrench- 
 ments, reduced to the necessity of surren- 
 dering themselves upon terms, honorable 
 and advantageous to these states, on the 
 17th day of October last, to Major-General 
 Gates: and that a medal of gold be struck 
 under the direction of the Board of War, 
 in commemoration of this great event, and 
 in the name of these United States, be pre- 
 sented by the president to ^lajor-General 
 Gates. 
 
 General Washington was then informed 
 that it was the desire of Congress that the 
 forts and passes on the Hudson be regained. 
 For this purpose he was instructed to retain 
 Gates in the command of the Northern De- 
 partment. General Israel Putnam, then at 
 Fishkill, Xew York, with 2,500 men, was 
 ordered to join the main armv under Wash- 
 ington near Philadelphia. 
 
 On October 31, President 
 First Laurens appointed Richard 
 
 National Henry Lee. of Virginia; 
 
 Thanksgiving. Samuel Adams, of Massa- 
 chusetts, and General Rob- 
 erdeau. of Pennsylvania, a committee of 
 Congress to draft a national proclamation 
 of Thanksgi\ing, the first in the history of 
 the .American Republic. This historic 
 
 document was written at York by that emi- 
 nent Virginian, Richard Henry Lee, who 
 less than two years before had moved in 
 Congress, at Philadelphia, that "these 
 United States are and of right ought to be 
 free and independent states," and himself 
 became one of the signers of the Declara- 
 tion of Lidependence. On November i the 
 committee appointed to prepare a recom- 
 mendation to set apart a day of public 
 thanksgiving, brought in a report, which 
 was taken into consideration and agreed to 
 unanimously. The proclamation is re- 
 markable in language and thought. Besides 
 breathing forth a spirit of lofty patriotism, 
 it also contains a deep and fervent religious 
 sentiment. Following is the proclamation 
 in full : 
 
 "" "Forasmuch as it is the indispensable 
 duty of all men to adore the superintending 
 pro\idence of Almighty God, to acknowl- 
 edge with gratitude their obligations for 
 benefits received, and to implore such fur- 
 ther blessings as they stand in need of; and 
 it having pleased Him in His abundant 
 mercy, not only to continue to us the in- 
 numerable bounties of His common Prov- 
 idence, but also to smile upon us in the 
 prosecution of a just and necessary war for 
 the defence and establishment of our in- 
 alienable rights and liberties; particularly 
 in that He has been pleased in so great a 
 measure to prosper the means used for the 
 support of our troops and to crown our 
 arms with most signal success. 'Tt is there- 
 fore recommended to the legislature of 
 executive powers of these United States to 
 set apart Thursday, the i8th of December 
 next, for solemn Thanksgiving and praise ; 
 that with one heart and one voice, the peo- 
 ple of this country may express the grateful 
 feelings of their hearts and consecrate 
 themselves to the service of their Divine 
 Benefactor: and that together with their 
 sincere acknowledgments, they niay join in 
 a penitent confession of their manifold sins, 
 whereby they had forfeited every favor; and 
 their humble and earnest supplication may 
 be that it may please God, through the 
 merits of Jesus Christ mercifully to forgive 
 and blot them out of remembrance; that it 
 may please Him graciously, to grant His 
 blessings on the government of these 
 states respectively and prosper the public 
 council of the whole United States; to in- 
 
300 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 spire our commanders, both by land and sea, 
 and all under them, with that wisdom and 
 fortitude, which may render them tit instru- 
 ments under the Providence of Almighty 
 God to secure for these United States, the 
 greatest of all blessings, independence and 
 peace; that it may please Him to prosper 
 the trade and manufactures of the people 
 and the labor of the husbandman, that our 
 land may yield its increase; to take the 
 schools and seminaries of education, so ne- 
 cessary for cultivating the principles of true 
 liberty, virtue and piety, under his nurtur- 
 ing hand and to prosper the means of 
 retigion, for promotion and enlargement of 
 that Kingdom, which consists of righteous- 
 ness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. It 
 is further recommended that servile labor 
 and such recreation as at other times inno- 
 cent, may be unbecoming the purpose of 
 this appointment on so solemn occasion." 
 
 On November i. President Laurens 
 wrote the following letter to each of the 
 Governors of the thirteen states then in the 
 Union : 
 
 York in Pennsyh'ania. Nov. i, 1777- 
 Sir: — The arms of the United vState.s of America 
 having been blessed in the present campaign with re- 
 markable success. Congress has resolved to recommend 
 that Thursday, December i8. ne.xt be set apart to be 
 observed by all inhabitants throughout the Uinted 
 States for a general Thanksgiving to Almighty God. 
 and I hereby transmit to you the enclosed extract from 
 the minutes of Congress for that purpose. 
 
 Your Excellency will be pleased to take the necessary 
 measures for carrying this resolve into effect in the 
 state in which you reside. You will likewise find en- 
 closed certified copy of the minutes, which will show 
 j-our Excellency the authority under which I have the 
 honor of addressing \'0U. 
 
 I am with great esteem and regard, sir, your Excel- 
 lency's most obedient and humble servant. 
 
 ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 
 ADOPTED. 
 
 As early as July. 1775, Benjamin Franklin 
 submitted to Continental Congress a draft 
 of Articles of Confederation for the 
 thirteen Colonies. His plan limited their 
 vitalitv to a time when reconciliation with 
 Great Britain should take place, but if that 
 event did not occur, they should be per- 
 petual. Congress then had no fixed plans 
 for the future and Dr. Franklin's proposi- 
 tion does not seem to have been taken up 
 for discussion at that time. After the 
 Declaration of Independence was passed 
 and signed, in 1-776. it was evident that 
 some agreement to bind the states together 
 
 more firmly was necessary. It was an easy 
 matter to declare the states free and inde- 
 pendent, but it was more difficult to form a 
 perfect union. Congress therefore decided 
 that a committee should be appointed to 
 prepare and properly digest a form of con- 
 federation to be entered into by the several 
 states. The committee when appointed 
 was composed of one delegate from each 
 state with John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, 
 as chairman, and through him this com- 
 mittee reported a draft of Articles of Con- 
 federation on July 12, eight days after the 
 Declaration had been passed. Almost daily 
 discussions on this subject then took place 
 in Congress until August 20. when the 
 report was laid aside and was not taken up 
 until the following April. ^Meanwhile sev- 
 eral of the states had adopted constitutions 
 and Congress was recognized by the differ- 
 ent states as the supreme head in all mat- 
 ters of public finance and plans for the 
 prosecution of the war. During the next 
 six months the subject was debated two or 
 three times a week and several amendments 
 were added. After Congress removed to 
 York and began the vigorous transaction of 
 Inisiness, discussions on the Articles were 
 continued almost daily from October 7 
 until they were passed, November 15. 
 During these discussions, animated 
 speeches were delivered and the conflicting 
 interests of the states were strongly 
 brought into view by the different speakers. 
 After a spirited debate, the Articles of Con- 
 federation were voted upon aflirmatively. 
 The vote of Congress, passing these Ar- 
 ticles, directed that they be submitted to the 
 legislatures of the several states for ap- 
 proval. According to the statement of 
 Daniel Roberdeau, a delegate from Penn- 
 svlvania. the Articles of Confederation as 
 passed at York. November 15. were sent to 
 Lancaster to be printed. After they were 
 printed, Congress directed that, copies be 
 sent to the speakers of the various state 
 legislatures and laid before them for ratifi- 
 cation. They were accompanied by a com- 
 munication requesting the several legis- 
 latures in case they approved of them, to 
 instruct their delegates in Congress, to vote 
 for a ratification of them, which last act 
 should be final and conclusive. Tliis com- 
 munication was in the form of an urgent 
 appeal for immediate and united action. 
 
COXTIXEXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 301 
 
 and endeavored to show that the plan pro- 
 posed was the best that couUl Ije adapted to 
 the circumstances of all. -\ committee of 
 Congress, composed of \\'illiam Duer, 
 James Lovell and Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
 was appointed. November 29, to make a 
 translation of the Articles of Confederation 
 into the French language. This translation 
 was sent to Benjamin Franklin and the 
 other commissioners at Paris, ^vho were en- 
 deavoring to secure a recognition of the 
 American Republic b\' Louis XVI, King of 
 France. 
 
 The different legislatures felt the neces- 
 sity of a firm bond of union between the 
 states, yet they were slow to ratify the Ar- 
 ticles. Some of them could not agree on 
 the plan of representation mentioned in the 
 Articles, because under them each state was 
 entitled to the same voice in Congress 
 whatever might be the difference in popu- 
 lation. 
 
 The most objectionable feature, however, 
 was the plan to determine the boundary 
 lines of the states and the disposition of the 
 unsettled western lands still belonging to 
 England. On June -22, 1778, five days 
 before adjourning at York to meet in Phila- 
 delphia, Congress proceeded to consider the 
 objections of the states to the Articles of 
 Confederation and after a careful consider- 
 ation of them, Richard Henry Lee, of Vir- 
 ginia. Gouverneur ^Morris, of New^ Y'ork, and 
 Francis Dana, of Massachusetts, were ap- 
 l)ointed a committee to prepare a form of 
 ratification. They reported the draft the 
 following day and it was agreed to. 
 
 Six states, ^lassachusetts, Con- 
 Articles necticut, Virginia, Xorth Caro- 
 Ratified. lina. South Carolina and Georgia, 
 
 claimed that their "from sea to 
 sea" charters gave them lands between the 
 mountains and the Mississippi River, and 
 one state, Xew York, had bought the In- 
 dian title to land in the Ohio Valley. The 
 other six states did not have "from sea to 
 sea charters" and so had no claims to west- 
 ern lands. As three of them, New Jersey, 
 Delaware and Maryland, held that the 
 claims 01 their sister states were invalid, 
 they now refused to adopt the Articles un- 
 less the land so claimed was given to Con- 
 gress to be used to pay for the cost of the 
 Revolution. For three years, the land- 
 claiming states refused to be convinced by 
 
 tiiese arguments, but the majority of the 
 states had instructed their delegates to sign 
 the Articles by July 9, 1778. At length, 
 finding that Maryland was determined not 
 to adopt the Articles till her demands were 
 complied with, they began to yield. In 
 February, 1780, Xe^\■ York ceded her claims 
 to Congress, and in January, 1781, Virginia 
 gave up her claim to the country north of 
 the Ohio River. Maryland had now car- 
 Vied her point, and on March 4, 1781, her 
 delegates signed the Articles of Confedera- 
 tion. As all the other states had ratified the 
 Articles, this act on the part of Maryland 
 made them law. and on ]\Iarch 2, 1781, Con- 
 gress met for the first time under a form of 
 government the states were pledged to obey 
 and wdiich was in force until the adoption 
 of the Constitution of the United States, in 
 1789. 
 
 October 17, Congress decided 
 Printing that the Committee of Intelli- 
 Press at gence be authorized to take the 
 York. most speedy and effectual meas- 
 ures for getting a printing press 
 erected in York for the purpose of "convey- 
 ing to the public the intelligence that Con- 
 gress may from time to time receive." The 
 chairman of this committee was Richard 
 Henry Lee, of Virginia, who, with his asso- 
 ciates, completed arrangements for the re- 
 moval to York of the Hall and Sellers 
 Press, which had been conveyed to Lan- 
 caster when Congress left Philadelphia. 
 This printing press originally belonged to 
 Benjamin Franklin, who sold it to Hall and 
 Sellers, publishers of the "Pennsylvania Ga- 
 zette." This paper, by authority of Con- 
 gress, was printed at York from the time 
 the press was brought here until June .27, 
 1778, when Congress returned to Philadel- 
 phia. The files of this paper for that period 
 are now in the State Library at Harris- 
 burg. 
 
 The Hall and Sellers press, when brought 
 to York, was placed in the second story of 
 the building now standing at the southwest 
 corner of Market and Beaver Streets, occu- 
 pied by the Adams Express Company. 
 During the Revolution this building was 
 the residence of Major John Clark, a noted 
 soldier who served on the staff of General 
 Xathaniel Greene. Besides printing the 
 Pennsvlvania Gazette and a variety of 
 pamphlets and documents for Congress, 
 
^02 
 
 TTTS'I'ORV OF YORK COL'-XTV. PRXXSVL\- AXTA 
 
 •Hall and Sellers were authorized to print 
 a vast amount of Continental money. 
 
 The first Board of \\'ar to direct 
 
 New the affairs of the army, similar to 
 
 Board the War Department of today, was 
 
 of appointed in June, 1776. It was 
 
 War. composeil of John Adams, Roger 
 Sherman, Benjamin Harrison, 
 James Wilson, and Edward Rutledge, five 
 members of Congress. This board, with 
 John Adams as president, was continued 
 until 1777. In November of that year, by 
 resolution of Congress, a new Board of 
 A\'ar, composed of three persons, appointed 
 to sit in the place where Congress held its 
 sessions. They were not to be members of 
 Congress and Thomas Mii^in, who had just 
 resigned as quartermaster-general of the 
 army. Colonel Timothy Pickering, adjutant- 
 general of the army, and Colonel Robert 
 Harrison, an aide on Washington's stafi, 
 w'ere appointed the members of this board. 
 They were to receive two thousand dollars 
 a year. Colonel Harrison, the only personal 
 friend of Washington in the board, declined 
 the appointment. On November 2y, Con- 
 gress decided to increase the number to 
 five members, and elected General Horatio 
 Gates, Joseph Trumbull and Richard 
 Peters. 
 
 Henr}- Laurens, President of Congress, 
 then wrote to General Gates, "I have the 
 pleasure of informing j-ou that you have 
 been elected a member of the Board of W' ar 
 and by the unanimous voice of Congress 
 appointed its president, -a circumstance 
 thoroughly e.xpressive of the high sense 
 which Congress entertains of your abilities 
 and peculiar fitness to discharge the duties 
 of that important ofilice, iqion the right 
 execution of which the safety and interest 
 of the United States eminently depend." 
 General Gates was allowed to retain the 
 rank and pay of a major-general in the 
 army and was not to be present at the meet- 
 ings when his ser\-ices were demanded in 
 the field. The membership was now almost 
 entirely opposed to the interest of A\'ash- 
 ington, who had not }-et Icwsmed up as the 
 dominant personality of the Re\-olution. 
 The acting members of the Board of \\'ar 
 at this time were Timothy Pickering, of 
 Massachusetts, and Richard Peters, of 
 Pennsylvania, each of wliom received two 
 thousand dollars a \ear. General Gates 
 
 came to York in January, 1778, still bearing 
 the laurels of his victory at Saratoga. 
 
 Although the Board of 
 Appropriations. Treasury at this period 
 
 did not have a large fund 
 to its credit, the amount of monev dis- 
 tributed by authority of Congress from its 
 vaults and different loan offices during Oc- 
 tober, the first month of its session at York, 
 exceeded one million dollars. An appropri- 
 ation of $352,000 was granted to Thomas 
 Mifflin, (luartermaster-general of the army, 
 in accordance with his request of October 
 14. Of this sum, a warrant on the loan 
 oflice of the State of Connecticut for $50,000 
 was to be sent to the deputy quartermaster- 
 generalat Fishkill, New York; one on the 
 loan office of the State of New Hampshire 
 for $50,000 was to be sent to the deputy 
 quartermaster-general at Hartford, Con- 
 necticut; one on the loan office of the State 
 of X'irginia for $50,000 was to be sent to the 
 deput}' c|uartermaster-general at W^illiams- 
 burg, X'irginia; one on the loan office of the 
 State of New Jersey for $40,000 was to be 
 sent to the deputy quartermaster-general at 
 Easton, and one on, the loan office of the 
 State of Pennsylvania for $60,000. The re- 
 maining $102,000 was to be paid General 
 Mifllin out of the treasury or monies in the 
 hands of the auditor-general. 
 
 The Board of War was voted $300,000 to 
 be sent to the paymaster-general for the use 
 of the ami}' under A\'ashington, near Phila- 
 delphia. A warrant for $200,000 was or- 
 dered drawn on the loan office for the State 
 of Massachusetts in favor of Jonathan 
 Trumbull, Jr., deputy quartermaster-gen- 
 eral, for the use of the army on the Hudson 
 under General Horatio Gates. Other sums 
 advanced by Congress were $14,000 to 
 Colonel George ]\forgan for the public ser- 
 vice at Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg; $10,000 
 to John Baynton, deputy paymaster-general 
 at Fort Pitt ; $3,000 to Ebenezer Hazard, 
 surveyor-general of the postoffice of the 
 United States; $10,000 by warrant on the 
 loan office of Pennsylvania in fa\or of Wil- 
 liam Henry, of Lancaster, for the purchase 
 of shoes and leather and for repairing con- 
 tinental arms; $10,000 to William Bu- 
 chanan, commissary-general, to close his 
 accounts ; $20,000 for Continental troops in 
 Georgia, and $4,000 to George Ross and 
 Comiianv. owners of Marv Ann Furnace, in 
 
COX'l'IXl'.X'IWl. COXC.RI'.SS AT YORK 
 
 303 
 
 part payment for cannon balls for the nav)-. 
 'I'his last item has special local significance. 
 George Ross, of Lancaster, one of the sign- 
 ers of the Declaration of Independence, 
 owned ]\Iary Ann Furnace. This furnace, 
 situated four miles south of Hanover, had 
 been erected in 1762 and made cannon balls 
 for the American army and navy in consid- 
 erable quantities. 
 
 In a letter written by Jonathan 
 
 Expenses Elmer, a delegate from the 
 
 of a State of New Jersey and dated 
 
 Delegate, at York, N^ovember 20, 1777, he 
 
 stated that he would leave York 
 in a few days, after which the State of New 
 Jersey would have no representation in 
 Congress, until new ones were elected by 
 the Legislature. In this letter, he mentions 
 the fact that it cost him 20 shillings, or 
 about $5.00, a day as expenses while at- 
 tending Congress. He said it cost him 
 sixty-five pounds to support himself and his 
 horse during the seven weeks he was at 
 York. He further stated that delegates 
 from other states received a salary from five 
 to eight dollars a day. 
 
 On December, i 1777, Congress 
 Lafayette passed a resolution requesting 
 a Major- that Washington place General 
 General. Lafayette in command of a 
 
 division of Continental troops. 
 Lafayette had recently arrived in this coun- 
 try from France for the purpose of aiding 
 the Americans in the war for independence. 
 He had inherited a dislike for the English 
 crown, for his father had Iseen killed in the 
 French army on English soil, before the 
 son was born. Lafayette had left his young 
 wife and two children in France, to come to 
 America. He landed at Charleston, South 
 Carolina. From thence he traveled with a 
 retinue of attendants to Philadelphia, ar- 
 riving there shortly before the battle of 
 Brandywine. He was only twenty years of 
 age, when Congress, at the request of 
 Washington, promoted him to the rank of 
 major-general in the .\merican army. On 
 the same day that this request was made. 
 Congress ordered that the Committee of 
 Commerce ship with all dispatch, 4,000 
 hogsheads of tobacco to the commissioners 
 of the L^nited States at the Court of France, 
 to comply with a contract made with the 
 authorities of that countrv. 
 
 December i, it ordered that a warrant be 
 issued on Thomas Smith, commissioner of 
 the loan office in the State of Pennsylvania, 
 for $20,000 in favor of John Gibson, auditor- 
 general of Pennsylvania; that a warrant 
 also be issued on Thomas Smith for $50,000 
 to be sent to Dr. William Shippen, director- 
 general of, the government hospitals in con- 
 nection with the army. The same da)-. 
 Congress ordered that a warrant be issued 
 on Michael Hillegas, treasurer of the United 
 States, with his office at the northeast cor- 
 ner of George Street and Centre Square, 
 for the amount of $50,000, for the use of 
 Dr. William Shippen, in his department; 
 ordered that $200,000 be sent to William 
 Buchanan, commissary-general of pur- 
 chases, for the American army; that $10,000 
 be sent to Benjamin Flower, commissary- 
 general of militar}^ stores; that $450,000 be 
 sent to Thomas Mifflin, quartermaster-, 
 general of the army; the sum of $150,000 
 of this amount from the loan office in the 
 State of New York; and $100,000 each from 
 the loan offices of Pennsylvania and New 
 Jersey, and $100,000 on the continental 
 treasurer. 
 
 On December 2, the question of 
 John the retirement of John Adams 
 Adams from Congress came before that 
 Retires, body. He had served continu- 
 ously as a delegate to Congress 
 since 1775, taking a very active part in all 
 its deliberations. Adams seconded the 
 nomination of appointing Washington as 
 the head t)f the armj', in June, 1775, and 
 made a forceful speech on that occasion. 
 For a time, he was the devoted friend and 
 supporter of the commander-in-chief. At 
 this period in the war he was more inclined 
 to favor the promotion of Gates. Late in 
 November, he wrote to a friend in Boston 
 that the money he received as a delegate to 
 Congress was hardly sufficient to pay his 
 hired man, whom he had engaged to take 
 charge of the afTairs of his farm at Quincy, 
 Massachusetts. He had already left York 
 on horseback for Boston before Congress 
 had voted to send him as a special commis- 
 sioner or rather envoy extraordinary to the 
 Court of France. Benjamin Franklin, who 
 was still a member of Congress from Penn- 
 sylvania, was serving on the commission in 
 France in order to secure the alliance of 
 
 This was a busv month for Congress. On that government in the cause of inde- 
 
304 
 
 HIST{3RY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 pendence. Silas Deane, of Connecticut, had 
 pre\'iously been sent to Paris for the same 
 purpose, and Artliiu' Lee, of Virginia, who 
 had been the secret agent of the United 
 Colonies in England, had also been commis- 
 sioned to go to France for the same pur- 
 pose. Communications had frequently been 
 received from Franklin, with reference to 
 the hope of conciliating France in favor of 
 the infant republic. It was now felt neces- 
 sarj' that a member of Congress should 
 proceed across the ocean and confer with 
 the American commissioner at Paris. 
 Adams was selected for that position, be- 
 fore he had determined to go to his home 
 in Massachusetts. He states in a letter that 
 after he had mounted his horse at York for 
 his journey home. Elbridge Gerry, of Mas- 
 sachusetts, told him that he would presently 
 receive a communication from Congress, 
 asking him to go to France. He knew 
 nothing definite about this matter until one 
 month later, when a courier arrived at 
 Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where 
 Adams, as a lawyer, was engaged in the 
 trial of a case in court. This messenger 
 came to the desk where he was sitting, and 
 communicated the news to him. On De- 
 cember 23, he wrote a letter to Congress 
 accepting the appointment of commissioner 
 to the Court of France. 
 
 The attitude of Adams toward General 
 Vashington as commander-in-chief was 
 not understood. In a letter written from 
 York to his wife, in Massachusetts, shortly 
 after Gates' victory at Saratoga, he said, "if 
 there was anj- glory to the American army, 
 it could not be attributed to the com- 
 mander-in-chief." 
 
 Before he had completed his ar- 
 
 Goes rangements to go to France, he 
 
 to was called upon by General 
 
 France. Henry Knox, chief of artillery in 
 
 the American arm}-, and after- 
 ward secretary of war in Washington's first 
 cabinet. In answer to a cjuery concerning 
 his opinion, Adams responded that Wash- 
 ington was an "amiable gentleman." This 
 reply did not satisfy Knox, who was a 
 bosom friend of Washington, and said, "If 
 you go to France as a special commissioner 
 from Congress, you should be an avowed 
 supporter of the commander-in-chief of our 
 army." Before leaving Portsmouth for 
 England, Adams had expressed himself 
 
 more favorably toward Washington. By 
 the time he arrived at Paris, Benjamin 
 Franklin had secured the endorsement of 
 the American republic by Louis XVI, of 
 France, who not only agreed to sign a 
 treaty of amity and commerce, but also to 
 send a fleet and army to aid the Americans 
 in fighting for their freedom. 
 
 The treasury- now had very little money 
 in its vaults and Congress, on December 2, 
 appointed Nathaniel Folsom, of New 
 Hampshire; James Duane, of New York, 
 and Francis Dana, of Massachusetts, a com- 
 mittee to make arrangements for securing 
 a loan. Before Adams had set sail for 
 France, Congress decided that he should 
 unite with Franklin in asking the French 
 government to loan the United States 
 $2,000,000 sterling "on the thirteen United 
 States, for a term not less than ten 3'ears." 
 It was then decided to request the legis- 
 latures of all the states to make a law for 
 the collection of all colonial moneys and 
 bills of credit issued by the authority of 
 England before 1775, and that it should be 
 exchanged for continental money. The 
 sum of $3,100 was ordered to be sent to 
 Colonel George Morgan, commanding Fort 
 Pitt, at the site of Pittsburg, which was 
 then threatened by the Indians. Colonel 
 Thomas Butler, in charge of tlie armory at 
 Lancaster, was voted $1,800. 
 
 On December 3, Congress ordered that 
 $1,000,000 be issued under the direction of 
 the Board of Treasury and on the "faith of 
 .the United States." These bills were to be 
 of the same tenor and date as those issued 
 November 7, 1777, to the amount of 
 $1,000,000. This money was issued at York 
 under authority of an act of Congress 
 passed at Philadelphia and does not bear 
 the impress of York upon it. The number 
 of 15,384 bills with the denomination of $3, 
 $4, $5, $6, $7, each, were issued, and the 
 number of 15,385 bills of $2, $8, and $30 
 each. On this day, Francis Dana, of Mas- 
 sachusetts; Benjamin Rumsey, of Mary- 
 land, and Dr. Joseph Jones, of Virginia, 
 were added to the Board of Treasury. 
 Dana had been transferred to this board 
 from the Board of War. John Gibson was 
 voted $380 in favor of Lieutenant Allen for 
 conveying $300,000 to North Carolina. On 
 December 5, Francis Lewis, of New York, 
 arrived and took his seat in Congress. The 
 
COXTIXEXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 305 
 
 sum of $70,ocx) was voted to James Mease, 
 clothier-general, for the use of the Ameri- 
 can army. The sum of $50,000 was voted 
 to Nathaniel Appleton, commissioner of the 
 loan office of Massachusetts, for the use of 
 the marine department of that state. Joseph 
 Clark was voted $50,000 in favor of the 
 marine committee of Rhode Island. 
 
 On December 8, James Lovell, of Mas- 
 sachusetts, chairman of the committee of 
 foreign atYairs, was ordered by Congress to 
 request Silas Deane, one of the commis- 
 sioners at Paris, to return to America and 
 report to Congress. December 9, Presi- 
 dent Laurens was ordered to communicate 
 with the legislatures of Connecticut, Xew 
 York, Pennsylvania, Jilaryland and South 
 Carolina, asking that those states have a 
 full representation in Congress. On Sep- 
 tember 17, Congress had voted to General 
 Washington, extraordinary powers, for 
 sixty days, shortly before adjourning at 
 Philadelphia. On November 14, these 
 powers were renewed. On December 10, 
 this body urged that Washington should 
 take advantage of all the powers with which 
 he was entrusted, for the purpose of secur- 
 ing provisions and clothing in the region 
 where they were now in camp. The Ameri- 
 can army was then in camp at White 
 Marsh, fourteen miles northwest of Phila- 
 delphia. Thomas Smith, commissioner of 
 the Pennsylvania loan office, was ordered to 
 give the clothier-general $12,000 for the use 
 of General Wayne's brigade of Pennsyl- 
 vania troops, who had recently fought so 
 valiantly at Paoli and Germantown. 
 
 On December 11, Abraham 
 Barracks Clark, delegate from Xew Jer- 
 at York, sey, was sworn in as a member 
 
 of Congress. On this day. 
 Congress voted that barracks be erected in 
 York for the accommodation of troops, "as 
 may be from time to time stationed or de- 
 tained, either as guards or for the purpose 
 of equipment or discipline." December 12, 
 a letter from President Laurens was read 
 to Congress, in which he asked to be re- 
 lieved from the office of President because 
 of ill health. Xo action was taken on this 
 letter and Laurens was persuaded to re- 
 main in his office, although he was unable 
 to attend the sessions for several days. 
 
 On December 13, Francis Lewis, of Xew 
 York, ^^'illiam EUery, of Rhode Island, and 
 
 Cornelius Harnett, of Xorth Carolina, were 
 added to the Committee on Commerce. 
 General Thomas Conway, an Irish soldier, 
 who had received military training in 
 Europe, was appointed inspector-general 'of 
 the army. At the same time, he was raised 
 to the rank of major-general. 
 
 From the time Congress came to 
 
 Smith York, on September 30, to Decem- 
 
 Takes ber 16, General • Roberdeau, of 
 
 His Philadelphia, was the only delegate 
 
 Seat. present from Pennsylvania. On 
 
 this date, James Smith, of York, 
 who had served during the year 1776 and 
 had signed the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, took his seat and was sworn into 
 office. Congress decided to meet twice a 
 day. On December 17, Rev. John Wither- 
 spoon, an eminent clergyman of Xew Jer- 
 sc}-, and president of Princeton College, 
 took his seat in Congress. Jonathan B. 
 Smith, another delegate from Pennsylvania, 
 took his seat in Congress. 
 
 Colonel Rawlins, of the army, and others 
 appeared before Congress and reported that 
 the American prisoners in the hands of the 
 British, in Xew York and elsewhere, were 
 being badly treated. It was also reported 
 that Sir \\'illiam Howe, in command of the 
 British army at Philadelphia, demanded 
 that Congress or the states should furnish 
 the means or provisions for feeding the 
 American prisoners. General Howe had 
 refused to accept continental money for the 
 purchase of provisions. Congress, there- 
 fore, asked that provisions be sent and not 
 money. 
 
 December 20. an amount of money ag- 
 gregating S6oo,ooo was appropriated for the 
 use of W illiam Buchanan, commissary- 
 general of purchases, for the southern, 
 eastern and northern departments of the 
 army, and $200,000 was voted to the State 
 of Connecticut for purchasing provisions 
 for the soldiers. 
 
 There were no sessions from De- 
 Batwell, cember 21 to December 27, 
 the when, on the latter date, a letter 
 
 Loyalist, from Rev. Daniel Batwell, rector 
 of the Episcopal churches at 
 York, Carlisle and York Springs, was read 
 before Congress. Owing to his declared 
 loyalty to the English crown, he had been 
 arrested, dipped in the Codorus Creek and 
 sent to the county jail. In the letter to 
 
 20 
 
3o6 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PKXXSYL\'AXT.\ 
 
 Congress, he claimed that this imprison- 
 ment liad impaired his healtli. He wished 
 to be set free on parole and go to his resi- 
 dence at York Springs. Dr. Henry, sur- 
 geon at the jail and for the prisoners, testi- 
 fied that Rev. Daniel Batwell "labors 
 under a complication of disorders and that 
 pure air and exercise are absolutely neces- 
 sary for his recovery." Congress passed a 
 resolution releasing the prisoner and per- 
 mitting him to go to his farm, providing he 
 would take the oath of allegiance to the 
 State of Pennsylvania; or upon his refusal, 
 was allowed to go with his family within 
 the British lines at Philadelphia. Some 
 time later, Mr. Batwell went to Philadel- 
 phia, and in the fall of 1778, was appointed 
 chaplain of a Tory regiment, serving in the 
 British army. 
 
 Benjamin Harrison, Jr., son of Benjamin 
 Harrison, delegate to Congress, was voted 
 $50,000 to be used by him, as deputy pay- 
 master-general for the troops of the State 
 of Virginia. Letters received from General 
 Washington, describing the condition of 
 his troops then going into camp at Valley 
 Forge, were placed in charge of the Board 
 of War on December 29. On the following 
 day, \A'ashington was re-invested with dic- 
 tatorial powers, which had been granted 
 him when Philadelphia was evacuated. 
 Colonel John Williams, of North Carolina, 
 was voted $5,898, for the purpose of paying 
 the ofBcers and recruits of the several bat- 
 talions from the State of Virginia, quar- 
 tered at York, by order of the Board of 
 ^^'ar. These troops were encamped on the 
 Public Common in the barracks recently 
 erected. They were performing guard 
 duty, during the winter months, while York 
 was the seat of go\'ernment. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN 1778. 
 
 Sessions of Congress opened on January 
 I, 1778, with uncertain conditions for the 
 year. The British occupied Philadelphia, 
 under command of Sir William Howe; Sir 
 Henry Clinton was in command of the city 
 of New Y^ork ; Washington was in camp at 
 Valley Forge. The state militia, or at least 
 a large part of it, had returned home, await- 
 ing a future call to active service. Bur- 
 goyne's troops, nearly 6,000 in number, 
 were still held as prisoners of war near 
 Boston. During the year 1777, there had 
 
 Ijeen only one brilliant success to the 
 American arms. This was the capture of 
 the British army under Burgoyne at Sara- 
 toga. It was true, Henry Laurens, presi- 
 dent of Congress, had issued a national 
 Thanksgiving proclamation during the pre- 
 ceding month, but the condition of affairs 
 was still dark and foreboding. The success 
 of the British at Brandywine, Germantown 
 and Paoli was received with public favor in 
 England. 
 
 It was hoped by the patriots of 
 Seeking the Revolution that the victory at 
 Aid Saratoga and the capture of 6,000 
 
 From troops might influence some for- 
 France. eign power to recognize the 
 American government. England 
 and France had been involved in a war 
 which caused embitterment -between these 
 nations. It was to Benjamin Franklin and 
 his associates at Paris, that Congress now 
 looked with hope. Could he obtain the 
 support of the youthful King of France, 
 Louis XVI? This was the subject often 
 discussed by the small body of American 
 patriots wdio were then holding the ses- 
 sions of Congress in the Provincial Court 
 House at Y'ork. Very few tidings had yet 
 been received from Franklin, who had 
 alread}' become a central figure at the Court 
 of Iving Louis of France. It required 
 several months for communications from 
 him to cross the ocean to Portsmouth, New 
 I^anipshire, or Boston, ^Massachusetts, and 
 from thence conveyed overland across the 
 Hudson at Fishkill, New York, through 
 Bethlehem and Reading to the seat of gov- 
 ernment at York. Such was the condition 
 of affairs when Continental Congress 
 began its duties in January, 1778. There 
 were then about thirty-two delegates 
 present. .Vll of the thirteen states were 
 now represented. 
 
 On New Year's day, the Chevalier de 
 Villefranche, a somewhat noted engineer of 
 France, decided that he would remain in 
 this country. He had served with a corps 
 of engineers in the American army, and 
 was now raised to the rank of major and 
 assigned to duty under the command of 
 Brigadier du Portail. A communication 
 from Baron de Kalb, a German nobleman, 
 who, upon the endorsement of Washington, 
 was created a major-general in the army, 
 was read; also one from Lewis Casimer, 
 
COX'l'IXEX'IWI. CONGRESS AT YORK 307 
 
 * 
 
 l'.aroii (le llolzendorf. It was the custom while the Britisli arnn- was in and around 
 
 of Congress to pay careful attention to Philadelphia. 
 
 communications from distinguished for- On January 12, General Gates, 
 eigners and these were referred to the Sent General Thomas Mifflin and Colo- 
 Board of War for appropriate action. to nel Timothy Pickering were ap- 
 
 Massachusetts usualh- had the largest Valley pointed a committee to visit the 
 
 delegation in Congress at York, and on Forge. American army at Vallej' Forge. 
 
 January I. the credentials of John Hancock, The vessels which had arrived 
 
 Samuel Adams. John Adams. Robert T. from England to transport the British and 
 
 Paine, Elbridge Gerry, Francis Dana and Hessian troops to England, were ordered by 
 
 James Lovell were presented to Congress. Congress to quit the ports of Massachusetts. 
 
 John Hancock, who had served as President Congress decided to annul the agreement 
 
 the first month of its sessions at York, did made at Saratoga, and hold the soldiers as 
 
 not return until May. John Adams, al- prisoners of war. It was further resolved 
 
 though re-elected, at this time was on his that 1,500 American troops be ordered to 
 
 way as a special ambassador to join the guard these prisoners then in camp near 
 
 American commissioners at Paris. Benja- Boston until the British vessels had left the 
 
 min Franklin, one of the delegates from port. 
 
 Pennsylvania, nex'er attended the sessions On January 13, it was resolved that "Gen- 
 
 at York. During this whole period he was eral \\'ashington require of General Howe 
 
 in Paris. passports for American vessels to transport 
 
 On January 3. the sum of $200,000 was to Boston provisions for the use of the 
 
 appropriated for the use of Jonathan prisoners of Burgoyne's, army, during the 
 
 Trumbull, Jr.. as paymaster of the military time this army shall be detained in Massa- 
 
 department emliracing New York and the chusetts."' 
 
 Xew England States. He was the son of On January 14. Dr. John Houston, resid- 
 
 Jonathan Trumbull, of Connecticut, known ing east of York near the Susquehanna, 
 
 to history as "Brother Jonathan." During obtained a warrant for pay as surgeon of 
 
 this month long discussions arose in refer- Colonel Donaldson's Battalion of York 
 
 ence to the agreement between Gates and County militia, serving under General 
 
 Burgoj'ne when the latter surrendered at I'llercer. The Board of War was voted 
 
 Saratoga. The sum of $62,000 was appro- $350,000. The sum of $100,000 was to be 
 
 priated for a (]uantity of sulphur, saltpetre sent to Ebenezer Hancock, deputy pay- 
 
 and lead purchased from Blair ]\IcClenachan master-general at Boston, and $250,000 to 
 
 and James Caldwell, and deposited in care his assistant in the state of Rhode Island, 
 
 of Leonard Jarvis at Dartmouth, Massachu- At the same time $750,000 was voted to the 
 
 setts. Board of War, to be transmitted, $500,000 
 
 January 6, Colonel James Wilkinson, who to William Palfrey, paymaster-general, and 
 
 had brought to Congress the news of the $200,000 to William Bedlow, his assistant 
 
 surrender of Burgoyne and his army, was at Peekskill. 
 
 elected secretary of the Board of War. On January 15, it was resohcd to pur- 
 January 7. letters were received from Gen- chase 30.000 barrels of flour, or wheat 
 eral A\'ashington and General Thomas equivalent to be ground into flour, and sent 
 Conway in reference to a controversy which in different quantities to the towns of Lan- 
 afterwards terminated in what is known as caster, Reading, Bethlehem, Downingtown 
 the "Conway Cabal." On January 8, the and Pottsgrove. On January 16, it w'as re- 
 sum of $1,000,000 of Continental money solved to borrow $10,000,000 on the credit 
 was ordered- to be printed under act of of the United States at an annual interest 
 Congress passed May 20. 1777. On Janu- of six per cent. On January 19, Captain 
 ary 10, a letter was received from General Ephraim Pennington, commanding a de- 
 Washington recommending Major John tachment of York County militia, appointed 
 Clark, of York, to the attention of Congress, as guards to the public stores in the town 
 Major Clark had performed some brilliant of York, was issued a warrant for the pay- 
 feats as chief of scouts in the fall of 1777. ment of rations. 
 
3o8 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 On January 20, a letter was 
 Schuyler's read from General Philip 
 
 Letter. Schuyler, asking for a "speedy 
 inquiry into his conduct," while 
 he was in command of the northern army 
 Ijefore he was superseded by Gates. Stu- 
 dents of history generally accredit Schuyler 
 with having laid the plans for the conquest 
 and capture of Burgoyne at Saratoga. He 
 was removed from his position by a faction 
 in Congress before he had an opportunity 
 to show his military skill. 
 
 On January 22. Congress resolved to emit 
 $2,000,000 of continental currency under 
 act of Congress passed May 20, 1777. On 
 the same day Congress took into considera- 
 tion an expedition to Canada under a plan 
 proposed by General Gates, president of the 
 Board of War. ' This plan was to place 
 (General Lafayette in charge of the expedi- 
 tion, General Thomas Conway second in 
 command, and John Stark, the hero of Ben- 
 nington, brigadier-general. 
 
 On January 23, 'a committee of Congress, 
 composed of James Smith, of York; \^'il- 
 liam Ellery, of Rhode Island, and Eliphalet 
 Dyer, of Connecticut, was appointed to take 
 into consideration the wants of the army, 
 as reported by the military committee 
 which had visited Valley Forge. January 
 28, the auditor-general reported that pay is 
 due Captain Benjamin \VilIiams, paymaster 
 of a detachment of several regiments of Vir- 
 ginia troops, then in York. On January 
 31, the military committee that visited Val- 
 ley Forge, reported the necessity of ap- 
 pointing a quartermaster-general for the 
 army. The aggregate amount of money 
 voted to different departments of the army 
 during the last few days of January, was 
 about $500,000. 
 
 On February 3, Congress 
 Oath of passed an important measure 
 Allegiance, requiring every officer who 
 held or would hold a commis- 
 sion or office from Congress to take the fol- 
 lowing oath : 
 
 "I do acknowledge the United States of 
 -Vmerica to be free, independent and sover- 
 eign states, and declare that the people 
 thereof ow'e no allegiance or obedience to 
 George the Third, king of Great Britain, 
 and I renounce, refuse and abjure any 
 allegiance or obedience to him, and I do 
 swear or af^rm that I will, to the utmost of 
 
 my power, support, maintain and defend the 
 said United States against the said King 
 George the Third, and his heirs and their 
 abettors, assistants and adherents, and will 
 serve the said United States in the office of 
 which I now hold fidelity, according to the 
 best of my skill and understanding. So help 
 me God." 
 
 On February 4, Congress resolved to ap- 
 point Monsieurs Goy, Pierre, Boichard, 
 Parrison, and Niverd, captains of artillery 
 in the continental army, and receive ap- 
 pointments of that command while in 
 America. On the following day a commit- 
 tee of Congress interviewed these officers, 
 then in York, in reference to promises made 
 by the American commissioners at Paris, 
 concerning their expenses until appointed 
 to service in the army. On February 6, 
 Major John Clark and Matthew Clarkson 
 were appointed auditors for the army under 
 command of General Washington. 
 
 General Horatio Gates, who had 
 Gates arrived at York, January 19, to take 
 in the position as president of the 
 York. Board of A\'ar, took up quarters 
 first in a public inn of the town. On 
 February 11, he asked for an appropriation 
 of $1,333 to pay the current expenses of his 
 aide-de-camp and secretary. Later General 
 Gates rented a private residence on the 
 north side of Market near Water Street, 
 which he occupied until he left York, in 
 April, 1778. 
 
 On the same day. Colonel Hartley's regi- 
 ment, then acting as guard to Congress, 
 received two months' pay. February 16, it 
 was resolved to print $2,000,000 of Conti- 
 nental money. On February 26, Congress 
 took up the question of the exchange of 
 prisoners in accordanccwith an agreement 
 made between General Washington and Sir 
 William Howe, commanding the British 
 army in America. The plan proposed was 
 to exchange "officer for officer, soldier for 
 soldier, citizen for citizen so far as number 
 and rank will apply." It Avas decided by a 
 resolution that the several states be re- 
 quired "forthwith to fill up by draft from 
 their militia, or in an}- other way that shall 
 be effectual, their respecti\-e battalions of 
 continental troops. All persons drafted 
 shall serve in the continental battalions for 
 their respective states for the term of nine 
 months." During the month of Februarv, 
 
RESIDENCE OF MAJOR JOHxN CLARK AT THE SOrTH\\ EST CORNER OF 
 MARKET AND BEAVER STREETS 
 
 SAMPLE OF CONTINENTAL NOTE, PRINTED IN 1778. ON THE SECOND 
 FLOOR OF MAJOR CLARK'S RESIDENCE 
 
COX'ITXEXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 309 
 
 in various amounts, $1,325,000 were appro- 
 priated for tlie use of the army. 
 
 On Marcli 4, 1778, Congress gave Wash- 
 ington power to '"employ in the service of 
 the United States a body of Indians, not 
 exceeding 400." On March 5, the sum of 
 $2,000,000 was ordered to be issued under 
 the authority of the United States. On 
 ?klarch 6, Thomas Scott, member of the Su- 
 preme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, 
 and James McLean and R. White, delegates 
 from the State Assembly, then in session at 
 Lancaster, waited upon Congress in refer- 
 ence to the establishment of magazines of 
 commissary stores for the army, and also 
 on the subject of the British prisoners in 
 \^irginia. On March 10, Peter Shultz re- 
 ceived $548 for transporting the baggage 
 of the York County militia, commanded by 
 Colonel Michael Swope, from York to the 
 army in New Jersey, in July, 1776. On the 
 same day, Martin Brenise, of York, re- 
 ceived $153 for attendance upon Congress, 
 from the first of December, 1777, to the first 
 of ]\larch, 1778, at one-third dollar per day, 
 and for ringing the bell, at two-thirds dollar 
 per day. On March 19, owing to the 
 threatened attack of Indians and Tories, 500 
 Pennsylvania militia were ordered to be 
 sent to Easton, Bethlehem, and Reading, 
 to guard the government magazines. 
 
 On March 2t,, John Spangler, George 
 Pentz and Jacob Lefever received pay for 
 transporting baggage of the Pennsylvania 
 militia, while on the way to the army. 
 Peter Wolf, tavern keeper, of West Man- 
 chester Township. recei\-ed pay for feeding 
 militia passing through York County. 
 March 27. ]\Iajor John Clark, of York, one 
 of the auditors of the army, received $Soo 
 to pay contingent expenses of his ofifice. 
 
 On April 4, $1,000,000 of conti- 
 Pulaski's nental money was ordered to be 
 Legion. printed at York. General Wash- 
 ington was empowered to call 
 out 5.000 militia, from the states of Mary- 
 land. Pennsyhania and New Jersey, to re- 
 main in service for such time as he shall 
 recommend. On April 6, Congress \oted 
 that the sum of $50,000 be advanced by the 
 Board of War to Count Pulaski, who had 
 been made a brigadier-general in the Ameri- 
 can army. Even' man who enlisted in his 
 command was to receive $130. including the 
 bountv money. Each trooper and member 
 
 of the light infantry was to receive one 
 stock, one cap, one pair of breeches, one 
 coat, two pairs of stockings, two pairs of 
 gaiters, three pairs of shoes, one pair of 
 buckles, spear and cartridge box. Each 
 trooper was also to receive a pair of boots. 
 a saddle, halters, curry-comb and brush, 
 picket cord, and pack saddle. Count 
 Pulaski came to York in 1778 and partially 
 recruited his legion here, before going 
 south. He was killed soon afterward in an 
 engagement at Savannah, Georgia. 
 
 On April 9, the question of Congress re- 
 moving to some other place was discussed. 
 The following Saturday was set as the time 
 to take into consideration the necessity of 
 going to some more convenient place. The 
 British still held Philadelphia, the State 
 Assembly was in session at Lancaster, and 
 not \ery friendly toward Congress, so the 
 subject of removal was not further con- 
 sidered. 
 
 On A])ril 11, Congress voted 
 New unanimously to emit $5,000,000 in 
 Issue bills of credit on the faith of the 
 
 of L^nited States. It was ordered 
 
 Money, that new cuts be made for striking 
 ofT and printing them, and that 
 the form of the bills should be as follows : 
 
 "This bill entitles the bearer to receive 
 
 Spanish milled dollars, or the value 
 
 thereof in gold or silver, according to a 
 resolution passed by Congress at York. 
 April II, 1778." This issue is known to the 
 collectors of Continental money as the 
 "Yorktown notes." They are the rarest 
 specimens of Continental money because of 
 the successful attempt to counterfeit them. 
 For this reason Congress ordered a large 
 number of these notes to be destroyed. 
 
 It was ordered that the thirteen United 
 States be pledged for the redemption of 
 these bills of credit. The Franklin Press, 
 then in ^'ork. by order of Congress, wa'^ 
 used in printing Continental money. At 
 least $10,000,000. under a preceding act, had 
 been printed at York before the act of April 
 II. 1778. had been passed. At this time 
 paper money had greatly depreciated. It 
 was worth about thirty cents on a dollar. 
 Before the war had ended, in 1783, Congress 
 had issued over $300,000,000 in Continental 
 money. In 1781 one dollar in silver as a 
 base was worth forty dollars in paper 
 money. In 1783 the paper money was al- 
 
;io 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 most worthless. The government never re- 
 deemed it. 
 
 On April 13, Colonel Thomas 
 
 Hartley's Hartley was given authority to 
 Regiment, raise a new regiment from 
 different parts of Pennsylvania. 
 This regiment was to be organized to 
 march against the Indians and Tories who 
 had been committing depredations in 
 northern Pennsylvania and southern New 
 York. 
 
 April 15, Congress ordered that Major- 
 General Gates proceed to Fishkill, New 
 York, to take charge of the American 
 troops at that point, and prevent the 
 British in New York from going up the 
 Hudson. At this period General Gates was 
 still at York as president of the Board of 
 War, having succeeded John Adams, of 
 ilassachusetts, as the head of that impor- 
 tant body. 
 
 On April 17, the sum of $1,500,000 was 
 advanced to Jeremiah Wadsmith, commis- 
 sary-general of purchases for the army. 
 On the following day Congress ordered the 
 Franklin printing press, then in York and 
 operated in a building belonging to Major 
 ^ John Clark, at the southwest corner of 
 ^Market and Beaver Streets, to begin print- 
 ing $500,000 of Continental money, in ac- 
 cordance with an act recently passed. 
 
 On April 18, General A^'ashing•- 
 
 Overtures ton, at Valley Forge, wrote a 
 
 From letter and also sent important 
 
 England. documents to Congress. The 
 messenger arrived on April 20. 
 One of these documents purported to "be 
 the draft of a bill for declaring the inten- 
 tions of the Parliament of Great Britain as 
 to the exercise of what they are pleased to 
 term their right of imposing taxes within 
 these United States; and also the draft of a 
 bill to enable the King of Great Britain to 
 appoint commissioners w'ith powers to 
 treat, consult and agree upon the means of 
 quieting certain disorders wnthin the said 
 states." President Laurens appointed Gov- 
 erneur Morris, of New York: AA'illiam 
 Henry Drayton, of South Carolina, and 
 Francis Dana, of Massachusetts, a com- 
 mittee to examine these documents and 
 report to Congress. Upon its report to 
 Congress, this committee stated that it 
 could not decide whether these papers 
 emanated from England or whether thev 
 
 were prepared for the purpose of deluding 
 Congress, by some schemers in Philadel- 
 phia, which was then in possession of the 
 British. The members of the committee, 
 however, persuaded themselves to believe 
 that they were valid documents and came 
 by authority of Parliament, which body 
 would take into favorable consideration the 
 action of Congress upon them. They be- 
 lie\ed this statement because General 
 Howe "has made divers feeble efforts to set 
 on foot some kind of treaty, during the last 
 winter;" because the British supposed that 
 the "fallacious idea of a cessation of hostili- 
 ties will render these states remiss in their 
 preparation for war;" because, believing the 
 Americans w-earied with war, they suppose 
 "we will accede to their terms for the sake 
 of peace;" that the cessation of hostilities 
 "will prevent foreign powers from giving 
 aid to these states; that it will lead their 
 own subjects to continue a little longer the 
 present w^ar; and that it will detach some 
 weak men in America from the cause of 
 freedom and virtue; because the king, from 
 his own showing, hath reason to apprehend 
 that his fleets and armies, instead of being 
 employed against the territories of these 
 states, will be necessary for the defence of 
 his own dominions. Because the imprac- 
 ticability of subjugating this country being 
 every day more and more manifest, it is to 
 their interest to extricate themselves from 
 the war upon any terms." The committee 
 reported in detail what they termed the 
 weakness and insincerity of the British 
 crown, and concluded its report with a 
 masterly presentation of the question, writ- 
 ten in such forcible and elegant English 
 that it is herewith presented : 
 
 "From all which it appears 
 Committee's evident to your committee. 
 Report. that the said bills are in- 
 
 tended to operate upon the 
 hopes and fears of the good people of these 
 states, so as to create divisions among them 
 and a defection from the common cause, 
 now, by the blessing of Divine Providence, 
 drawing near to a favorable issue ; that they 
 are the sequel of that insidious plan which, 
 from the days of the stamp act down to the 
 present time, hath involved this country in 
 contention and bloodshed,- and that as in 
 other cases so in this, although circum- 
 stances may force them at times, to recede 
 
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT YORl 
 
 3" 
 
 from their unjustifiable claims, there can be 
 no doubt, but they will as heretofore upon 
 the first favorable occasion, again display 
 that lust of domination which hath rent in 
 twain the mighty empire of Britain. 
 
 "Upon the whole matter, the committee 
 beg leave to report it as their opinion, that 
 as the Americans, united in this arduous 
 contest upon principles of common interest. 
 for the defense of common rights and 
 privileges, which union hath been ce- 
 mented by common calamities and by mut- 
 ual good offices and affections; do the. 
 great cause, for which they contend, and in 
 which all mankind are interested, must de- 
 rive its success from the continuance of 
 that union ; wherefore any men or body of 
 men, who should presume to make any 
 separate or partial convention or agree- 
 ment with commissioners under the crown 
 of Great Britain, or any of them, ought to 
 be considered and treated as open and 
 avowed enemies of these United States. 
 
 "And further, the committee beg leave 
 to report it as their opinion, that these 
 United States cannot, with propriety, hold 
 any conference or treaty with any commis- 
 sioners on the part of Great Britain, unless 
 they shall, as a preliminary thereto, either 
 withdraw their fleets and armies or else, in 
 positive and expressed terms acknowledge 
 the independence of the said states. 
 
 "And inasmuch as it appears to be the 
 design of the enemies of these states to lull 
 them into a fatal security, to the end that 
 they may act with a becoming weight and 
 importance, it is the opinion of your com- 
 mittee, that the several states be called 
 upon, to use the most strenuous exertions, 
 to have their respective quotas of conti- 
 nental troops in the field as soon as possible 
 and that all the militia of the said states 
 may be held in readiness to act as occasion 
 ma}-- require." 
 
 The proposition by Parliament to enter 
 into a treaty with the American states at 
 this time is suggestive. France was about 
 to declare war against England. Benjamin 
 Franklin, the American commissioner at 
 Paris, early in March, on behalf of__the 
 United States, had already entered into a 
 treaty of Amity and Commerce and a treaty 
 Alliance with Louis XVL the King of 
 France. He had received the promise that 
 the French would not onlv recognize that 
 
 the United States had the right of belliger- 
 ency,^but would also send a fleet and army 
 to aid in the cause for American inde- 
 pendence. Some months later the fleet, 
 under Count d'Estiang, landed on the coast 
 of Rhode Island. Lord North, the prime 
 minister of England, had sent a communi- 
 cation to Franklin at Paris, asking the 
 privilege of a conference with him on the 
 American war. Franklin responded to the 
 emissary, "Tell Lord North that America 
 has already gained her independence." 
 
 At this period New York 
 Washington's and Philadelphia were both 
 Determination, in the hands of the enemy. 
 Washington had been de- 
 feated at Brandywine and Germantown and 
 his small armj- was wintering at Valley 
 Forge. There were many Americans origi- 
 nally in favor of independence who had 
 joined the ranks of the enemy. Especially 
 was this the case in New Jersey, a part of 
 New York and eastern Pennsylvania. This 
 led the British emissaries who had been 
 sent to Philadelphia to believe that Wash- 
 ington and Congress would accept over- 
 tures of peace. But the general of the army 
 had written to Congress that if peace was 
 then decided upon it would not be lasting. 
 He asserted that he would keep his little 
 army together and fight the British in the 
 mountains of Virginia and Pennsylvania, 
 rather than accept overtures from the 
 British crown at this time in the war. Al- 
 though there was factional opposition in 
 Congress to Washington and there were 
 many people in the United States who felt 
 like accepting some kind of proposition 
 from England to end the war, the great 
 soldier now exerted his reserve power. 
 
 General Washington, in camp 
 Planning at Valley Forge, had begun to 
 a lay plans for a summer cam- 
 
 Campaign, paign against the enemy, still 
 
 quartered in Philadelphia. 
 Owing to the failure to make conciliatory 
 terms with Congress, there were evidences 
 that the British would soon leave Philadel- 
 phia. The state militia had been called out 
 to join in the campaign of 1778. On April 
 23, Congress resolved that extraordinary 
 powers vested in General Washington by 
 the resolutions of September 17, October 8 
 and December 10. 1777, be renewed and 
 extended to August 10, 1778. This gave 
 
31- 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 him control of the army with authority to 
 remove officers for inefficiency, and pro- 
 mote officers for valorous deeds in military 
 achievements. It was at this period that 
 the star of fame of General \Vashington 
 began to rise, and so continued until it 
 reached its zenith at the surrender of Corn- 
 wallis at Yorktown, in October, 1781. 
 Charles Carroll, of Maryland ; William 
 Duer, of New York, and John Banister, of 
 Virginia, were appointed a committee to 
 notify Washington of the resolutions of 
 Congress. On April 24, Nathaniel Greene, 
 then quartermaster-general of the army, 
 was voted $50,000 for his department. The 
 sum of $30,000 was voted to the state of 
 Maryland to aid in recruiting continental 
 troops. 
 
 As the summer campaign was expected to 
 be in New Jersey, it was ordered that the 
 Board of AVar take the most expeditious 
 measures for transporting provisions and 
 stores from the southern states across the 
 Chesapeake Bay. The states of Maryland 
 and Virginia were ordered to utilize the 
 armed galleys on the Chesapeake Bay in 
 transporting these provisions and stores 
 and that the galleys should be under the 
 command of an officer of the continental 
 line. The sailors of Pennsylvania were 
 ordered to Baltimore for use in manning 
 the galleys. 
 
 On April 25, Roger Sherman, of 
 
 Sherman Connecticut, presented his cre- 
 
 Takes dentials and was sworn in as a 
 
 His meml:)er. He had served with dis- 
 Seat. tinction in the First Continental 
 Congress which asseml^led in 
 Philadelphia, in 1774. In 1776 he served 
 Jefferson and Livingston, wliich had 
 drafted the Declaration and presented it to 
 Congress for adoption. He was one of the 
 signers of that document. He was a valu- 
 able acquisition to Congress, which, accord- 
 ing to a yea and nay vote cast that day, 
 contained twenty-seven members. Roger 
 Sherman lived to the age of seventy-two 
 years, and died while a member of the 
 United States Senate from Connecticut. 
 
 On this day important communications 
 were received from General Washington. 
 General Heath, in command of the forces 
 guarding the Saratoga prisoners, then in 
 camp near Boston, reported an agreement 
 which he had entered into with General 
 
 Burgoyne in reference to the pa\ment of 
 provisions for the British prisoners of Bur- 
 goyne's army. Congress discussed the 
 question, respecting an allowance to army 
 officers after tlie war. A motion was offered 
 and carried that the officers of the army 
 should be put on half pay. Later in the 
 war, it was decided to give them public 
 lands. Colonel Hartley, in 1785, was given 
 a large tract of land in the interior part of 
 the state, and Colonel Matthew Dill, in the 
 western part of the state. Some officers 
 accepted public lands as bounty and culti- 
 \'ated them, while others never took ad- 
 vantage of this opportunity. 
 
 On April 27, Congress showed its 
 Silver appreciation of General Washing- 
 From ton by giving him power to call 
 France, into his council of war the com- 
 mander of the artillery, General 
 Knox, before making plans for the summer 
 campaign. An appropriation of $350,000 
 was made to Ebenezer Hancock, deputy 
 paymaster-general at Boston, for use in his 
 department. Congress ordered the Board 
 of War to give directions to General Heath, 
 in command at Boston, how to bring to the 
 United States Treasury at York, the hard 
 money belonging to the government. This 
 resolution refers to the arrival at Boston of 
 $600,000 in silver from France. It was the 
 first silver loan of that government to the 
 United States. This money was put in 
 charge of Captain James B. Fry, who had 
 been a member of the famous "Boston Tea 
 Partv." The wagon in which this money 
 was brought to York, through Massachu- 
 setts, crossing the Hudson at Fishkill, and 
 passing through Bethlehem and Reading, 
 arrivecl at York in charge of two companies 
 of Massachusetts troops. 
 
 On April 28, by a vote of Congress, Gen- 
 eral Conway was permitted to resign his 
 commission in the army. Congress voted 
 $50,000 to Major Harry Lee to purchase 
 horses towards recruiting and equipping his 
 cavalry corps. The sum of $100,000 was 
 appropriated for the benefit of the state of 
 Maryland. April 29, Dr. Nathaniel Scud- 
 der, delegate from New Jersey: George 
 Plater, from Maryland, and Thomas 
 Adams, of Virginia, were elected members 
 of the marine committee to take the places 
 of delegates who were absent. Congress 
 appropriated $100,000 for the vise of Colonel 
 
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 313 
 
 Baylor, of Virginia, for the purpose of pur- 
 chasing horses, arms and accoutrements 
 for Major Lee's cavalry. Benjamin Flower, 
 commissary-general of military stores, was 
 voted $100,000 for the use of his depart- 
 ment, and the sum of $350,000 was voted to 
 Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., paymaster, for the 
 use of his department. 
 
 On May i, a resolution was 
 Lee Returns adopted, excusing from the 
 to Congress, milita persons employed in 
 manufacturing military stores 
 and other articles for the use of the United 
 States. On this day, Richard Henry Lee. 
 who, in 1776, was appointed chairman of the 
 committee to draft the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, but on account of the sickness of 
 his wife declined in favor of Thomas Jeffer- 
 son, arrived in York and again took his seat 
 in Congress. He came with Congress to 
 Y'ork in September, 1777, and remained 
 about three months and together with 
 Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia, returned to 
 his home. Harrison was one of the ablest 
 men of the body and served on more com- 
 mittees than any other delegate. While in 
 York, he suffered from a disease from 
 which he never fully recovered, and died at 
 the age of fifty-one years. Richard Henry 
 Lee was one of the most eloquent men who 
 served in Continental Congress. 
 
 The sum of $150,000 was appropriated 
 for the use of the state of Maryland. An 
 important resolution was adopted, appoint- 
 ing Richard Henry Lee. of Virginia, Gouv- 
 erneur Morris, of New York, and Roger 
 Sherman, of Connecticut, a committee to 
 report proper instructions to be transmitted 
 to the commissioners of the United States 
 at foreign courts. The marine committee 
 was instructed to procure six of the best 
 and swiftest sailing packet boats, for con- 
 veying dispatches to and from France and 
 Spain and the West Indies. 
 
 The committee of commerce reported 
 that it had received from the Board of War 
 an invoice of articles, including medicines 
 to be imported from France, for the cam- 
 paign of 1779. On May 2, Nathan Sellers 
 was given $164 for making a fine mould to 
 be used in manufacturing paper for bills of 
 exchange and for his expenses in coming to 
 York and returning home. John Dunlap. 
 of Philadelphia, was appointed to continue 
 printing the Journals of Congress in place 
 
 of Robert Aitken. Brigadier-General Hand, 
 of Lancaster, who had served with distinc- 
 tion at Long Island and Princeton, and 
 was now in command at Fort Pitt, was re- 
 lieved at his own request. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, Continued 
 
 Alliance with France — Death of Philip 
 Livingston — Baron Steuben at York — 
 Two Plans of Government — The Conway 
 Cabal — Gates-Wilkinson Duel — List of 
 Delegates — Congress Adjourns to Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 The Declaration of Independence made 
 it necessary to seek foreign alliance, and 
 first of all with England's great rival, 
 France. Here Franklin's world-wide fame 
 and his long experience in public life in 
 England and America enabled him to play 
 a part that would have been impossible to 
 any other American. He was thoroughly 
 familiar with European politics. He had 
 learned the French, Italian, and Spanish 
 languages, and his fame as a scientist was 
 known throughout all Europe. He was 
 thus possessed of talismans for opening 
 many a treasure house. Negotiations with 
 the French Court had been already begun 
 through the agency of Arthur Lee, of Vir- 
 ginia, and Silas Deane, of Connecticut. In 
 the fall of 1776 Benjamin Franklin, at the 
 age of seventy, and Thomas Jefferson, at 
 the age of thirty-four, were appointed by 
 Congress as special commissioners to Paris. 
 Jeft'erson asked to be excused, but urged 
 that Franklin should accept the mission. 
 His arrival, on December 21, was the oc- 
 casion of great excitement in the fashion- 
 able world of Paris. France, at this time, 
 was an absolute monarchy, ruled by Louis 
 Sixteenth, who had succeeded to the throne 
 three j^ears before, at the age of twenty. 
 He had succeeded his grandfather, Louis 
 Fifteenth, who was king of France for a 
 period of fifty years. Louis Fifteenth had 
 succeeded his great-grandfather, Louis 
 Fourteenth, who had reigned over France, 
 as an absolute monarch, for a long period 
 of se\entv vears. 
 
314 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 The court of Louis XVI, when 
 Franklin's Frankhn arrived at Paris, was 
 Popularity, the most brilliant in French 
 history. Franklin at once 
 captivated this court by his great learning, 
 his plain habits and his fascinating man- 
 ners. Within a few months after his arrival 
 there, he was the most popular man in all 
 Europe. Even Frederick the Great, the 
 military genius of the continent; Leibnitz, 
 the most distinguished scientist of Europe, 
 and Voltaire, whose remarkable endow- 
 ments had charmed many an intellectual 
 circle, could not vie with the sage from 
 America in popularity. 
 
 Although the French nation was then 
 heavily in debt, and two-thirds of the land 
 was owned by the nobility and clergy, yet 
 through the influence of Beaumarchais, the 
 financial agent of France, and Vergennes, 
 the minister of foreign affairs, Franklin suc- 
 ceeded immediately in making a loan from 
 France for the United States to the amount 
 of two million francs, amounting to about 
 four hundred thousand dollars. The fol- 
 lowing year the sum of four hundred 
 thousand francs was sent across the ocean 
 to aid in the cause of American inde- 
 pendence. Besides these amounts the 
 French sent over a gift of nine million 
 francs, or nearly two million dollars, and 
 guaranteed the interest upon a loan from 
 Holland of two million dollars. In Febru- 
 ary. 1778, the sum of six hundred thousand 
 dollars, in silver coin, sent over by the 
 French government, arrived at Portsmouth, 
 New Hampshire. In all, Franklin had ob- 
 tained as a loan and by gift a sum of five 
 million dollars for the benefit of the infant 
 republic of the United States. 
 
 These triumphs at Paris, and the 
 A victory of the Americans at Sara- 
 Treaty toga, when the entire army under 
 Signed. Burgoyne became prisoners of 
 
 war, brought forth the alliance 
 with France. February 6, 1778, a treaty 
 was signed by the King of France, which 
 resulted in American independence. For 
 the successful management of this negotia- 
 tion, one of the most important in the his- 
 tory of modern diplomacy, the credit is due 
 to the genius of Franklin. 
 
 His name now became famous to every 
 citizen of France. His society was courted 
 by the nobility of that country, as well as 
 
 by all men of science and literature. His 
 home at Passy, then in the suburbs, but 
 now within the city of Paris, was a constant 
 resort for the most distinguished men of 
 France. About a month later, together 
 with the other two commissioners, he was 
 received by the king 'with imposing cere- 
 monies. The reception on this occasion 
 was one of the most brilliant scenes ever 
 witnessed in the fashionable circles of 
 Paris. Marie Antoinette, the beautiful and 
 accomplished queen, from this time forth 
 enthusiastically favored the republic of the 
 United States. 
 
 There were no cables across the 
 
 News Atlantic at this early day. Even 
 
 Brought steamships did not plough the 
 
 to ocean yet for half a century, but 
 
 York. it was desired to send the news 
 of these treaties to America with 
 all possible speed. Vergennes, the French 
 minister, ordered that the swift sailing ves- 
 sel. Mercury, be placed at Franklin's dis- 
 posal. Simeon Deane, a young man then 
 in Paris, and brother of one of the Ameri- 
 can commissioners, was entrusted with this 
 important mission. He received the doc- 
 uments, signed by the King of France, and 
 with a letter addressed to Congress, from 
 Benjamin Franklin, and Silas Deane, left 
 the port of Havre and steered for Ports- 
 mouth, New Hampshire. He arrived there, 
 after a passage of two months. Reaching 
 Boston he called upon John Hancock, and 
 then proceeded on horseback, crossing the 
 Hudson River at Fishkill, New York. He 
 reached Valley Forge, on the evening of 
 April 30. After holding a conference one 
 day with General Washington, he pro- 
 ceeded on his way westward, crossing the 
 Susquehanna at Wright's Ferry, and arriv- 
 ing in York at 3 P. M. in the afternoon of 
 May 2. This was Saturday. Congress had 
 adjourned for that week. Immediately 
 after Simeon Deane rode through Center 
 Square and stopped at a public inn, at the 
 southeast corner of George Street and 
 Center Square, Martin Brenise was ordered 
 to ring the bell in the cupola of the Court 
 House to call Congress together. 
 
 There was great rejoicing atnong all the 
 delegates, and the people of the town, /or 
 the arrival of this news meant even more 
 than the decisive victory of the Americans 
 at Saratoga, and the surrender of Bur- 
 
COXTIXENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 3'5 
 
 goyne. Rev. George Duffield, tlie chaplain 
 of Congress, who preached in Zion Re- 
 formed Church the following day, had a 
 large audience, and after offering up a fer- 
 vent prayer, referred in eloquent words to 
 the cheering news from across the ocean. 
 
 On Monday, May 4, the treaty 
 Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the 
 Ratified, treaty of Alliance were unani- 
 mously adopted by Congress 
 with great enthusiasm. Richard Henry 
 Lee, of Virginia; William Henry Drayton, 
 of South Carolina, and Francis Dana, of 
 Massachusetts, were appointed a committee 
 to prepare a form of ratification of the 
 treaties. At the same time a resolution 
 was passed that "This Congress entertain 
 the highest sense of the magnanimity and 
 wisdom of his most Christian jNIajesty, for 
 entering into a treaty with these United 
 States, at Paris, on the 6th day of February 
 last; and the commissioners, or any of 
 them, representing these states at the Court 
 of France, are directed to present the grate- 
 ful acknowledgments of this Congress to 
 his most Christian IMajesty, for his truly 
 magnanimous conduct respecting these 
 states in the said generous and disinterested 
 treaties, and to assure his Majesty, on the 
 part of Congress, it is sincerely wished that 
 the friendship, so happily commenced be- 
 tween France and these United States may 
 be perpetual." 
 
 Simeon Deane was voted $3,000 in con- 
 sideration of his faithful execution of a 
 most important trust reposed in him by the 
 commissioners of the United States at 
 Paris. 
 
 The following is a copy of the letter 
 which Simeon Deane brought from the 
 American commissioners at Paris to Presi- 
 dent Laurens and Continental Congress at 
 York : 
 
 Passy, February 8, 1778. 
 Sir ; — We have now the satisfaction of acquainting 
 you and the Congress that the treaties with France are 
 at Icnglli completed and signed. The first is a treaty 
 of Amity and Commerce, much on tlie plan of that pro- 
 jected in Congress; the other is a treaty of .Mliance, in 
 which it is stipulated that in case England declares war 
 against France, or occasions a war by attempts to hinder 
 her commerce with us. we should then make common 
 cause of it and join our forces and councils, etc. The 
 great aim of this treaty is declared to be to '"establish 
 the liberty, sovereignty, and independency, absolute and 
 unlimited, of the United States, as well in matters of 
 government as commerce;" and this is guaranteed to us 
 by France, together with all the countries we possess or 
 shall possess at the conclu^i'ln of the w;ir; in n-turn for 
 
 whicli the States guaranty to France all its possessions 
 in America. We do not now add more particulars as 
 you will soon have the whole by a safer conveyance, a 
 frigate being appointed to carry our dis'patches. We 
 only observe to you, and with pleasure, that we have 
 found throughout this business the greatest cordiality 
 in this court ; and th.it no advantage has been taken of 
 our present dilTicultics to obtain hard terms from us ; 
 but such has been the king's magnanimity and goodness, 
 that he has proposed none which we might not have 
 readily agreed to in a state of full prosperity and estab- 
 lished power. The principle laid down as the basis of 
 the treaty being, as declared in the preamble, "the most 
 perfect equality and reciprocity;" the privileges in trade, 
 etc., are mutual, and none are given to France, but what 
 we are at liberty to grant to any other nation. 
 
 On the wliole, we have abundant reason to be satis- 
 fied with the good will of this Court and of the nation 
 in general, which we therefore hope will be cultivated 
 by the Congress by every means which may establish the 
 Union and render it permanent. Spain being slow, there 
 is a separate and secret clause, by which she is to be 
 received into the alliance upon requisition, and there is 
 no doubt of the event. When we mention the good will 
 of this nation to our cause, we may add that of all 
 Europe, which having been offended by the pride and 
 insolence of Britain, wishes to see its power diminished; 
 and all who have received injuries from her are by one 
 of the articles to be invited into our alliance. The prep- 
 arations for war are carried on with immense activity 
 and it is soon e.xpected. 
 
 With our hearty congratulations and our duty to the 
 Congress, we have the honor to be, very respectfully, 
 etc., 
 
 B. FRANKLIN, 
 SILAS DEANE. 
 
 On May 5, Philip Living- 
 Further ston, a signer of the Declara- 
 Proceedings. tion, and a member from the 
 state of New Y^ork, arrived 
 and took his seat in Congress. The sum of 
 $200,000 was appropriated for use in paying 
 debts contracted by William Buchanan, late 
 commissary-general of purchases in the 
 northern district, and the same amount in 
 the southern district. On the same day 
 Nathaniel Greene, quartermaster-general, 
 was granted $3,000,000 for his department. 
 This last appropriation was intended to be 
 used for the campaign in New Jersey, which 
 resulted in the battle and decisive victory at 
 Monmouth. Baron Steuben, then with the 
 army at Valley Forge, was made inspector- 
 general, with the rank of major-general. 
 Although this great German soldier agreed 
 to serve without pay. Congress ordered that 
 his paj' was to commence from the time he 
 joined the army and entered the service of 
 the United States. 
 
 On May 8, Congress voted $56 to Captain 
 Philip Albright, of York, for "sundry con- 
 tingencies for the money press in York." 
 On^Iav 9, it was ordered that $200 be paid 
 to Charles Gist and James Claypoole toward 
 
;i6 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 defraying their expenses for their employ- 
 ment by the treasurer in superintending the 
 making of- paper for loan ofifice certificates 
 and bills of exchange; that $20,000 be ad- 
 vanced to the marine committee for the use 
 of the navy board in the middle district; 
 that $24,000 be advanced to the committee 
 of commerce for use in their department. 
 
 Captain Landais, of the French 
 The navy, appeared in York before the 
 French marine committee of Congress. 
 Sailor. He came to this country with a 
 recommendation from Silas Deane, 
 which was endorsed by Baron Steuben. 
 He had succeeded in quelling a mutiny on 
 board the vessel Flammand and brought the 
 ship safely into an American port. He was 
 voted a sum of money for his services and 
 made a captain in the United States navy. 
 On May 11, Count Pulaski, the Polish 
 nobleman, was voted $15,000 for the pur- 
 pose of purchasing horses and recruiting his 
 Legion, then in the field. Colonel Francis 
 Johnson was elected commissary of pris- 
 oners to succeed Elias Boudinot. \\ho had 
 retired from office. 
 
 On May 14, Ethan Allen, the Connecticut 
 patriot, who had captured Ticonderoga on 
 May 10, 1775, and afterward l)ecame a pris- 
 oner of war, was raised to the rankof colo- 
 nel in recognition of his loyalty and patriot- 
 ism. On May 15, a resolution was adopted 
 ordering John Penn, grandson of William 
 Penn, and Benjamin Chew, late chief justice 
 of Penns}'l\-ania for the provincial govern- 
 ment, to be released from parole and con- 
 veyed without delay into the State of Penn- 
 sylvania. Both of these distinguished per- 
 sons had been charged with disloyaltv to 
 the United States government after the 
 declaration of independence. 
 
 On May 16, Dr. Jonathan Potts, deputy 
 director-general of hospitals for the middle 
 district, was voted $100,000 for the use of 
 his department. The committee on foreign 
 relations was asked to report to Congress 
 the changes in or addition to the instruc- 
 tions and commissions "given to American 
 commissioners at the courts of Berlin, 
 Vienna and Tuscany," On Ma_y 19, Ameri- 
 can officers held as prisoners of war, were 
 voted full pay during the time of their im- 
 prisonment. On May 20, Rev, Dr. Robert 
 Blackwell was appointed chaplain of Gen- 
 eral ^^'ayne's brigade of the Pennsylvania 
 
 Line, Alajor-General Alifllin by resolution 
 of Congress was given leave to join the 
 army under the command of General 
 Washington, .\lthough Mifflin had been 
 charged with Ijeing a leader in the Conway 
 conspiracy, the magnanimity of Washing- 
 ton was shown in this instance by receiving 
 Mifflin back into his military circle. 
 
 By resolution of Congress on May 22, the 
 Board of Treasury was ordered to print 
 $5,000,000. Dr. Jonathan Elmer, of New 
 Jersey, and Daniel Roberdeau, of Pennsyl- 
 vania, appeared before Congress and took 
 their seats in that body. On May 26, Con- 
 gress adopted new rules for the conduct of 
 business at its sessions. 
 
 On May 27 important changes 
 
 Marine took place in the marine com- 
 Committee. mittee of Congress. The 
 new members of this com- 
 mittee were Josiah Bartlett, of New Hamp- 
 shire ; Samuel Adams, of Massachusetts: 
 Gouverneur Morris, of New York; Henry 
 Drayton, of South Carolina. Josiah Bart- 
 lett had recently arrived and taken his seat 
 as a delegate from the state of New Hamp- 
 shire. By profession he was a physician 
 and at the time he arrived in York, he was 
 forty-nine years of age. He is accredited 
 with hax'ing been the first physician in 
 America to introduce into this country the 
 practical use of Peru\'ian bark as a curative 
 drug. Being a man of influence in New 
 Hampshire, he had been chosen a delegate 
 to Congress in 1776. He voted in favor of 
 the Declaration of Independence, and was 
 the second person to sign that immortal 
 document. Dr. Bartlett had been the sur- 
 geon in chief of General Stark's army at the 
 battle of Bennington. In 1779, he left Con- 
 gress to become chief justice of the courts 
 of New Hampshire, and in 1790, under a 
 new constitution, became the first governor 
 of the state. In a personal letter to his 
 family immediately after he arrived in 
 York, Dr. Bartlett described his difficulty 
 in obtaining a good boarding place. He 
 finally secured apartments in a private 
 house on Market Street on the west side of 
 the Codorus. 
 
 Congress decided to reorganize the Amer- 
 ican army in the field and adopted rules and 
 regulations for this reorganization. The 
 committee of Congress who had gone to 
 \\'ashins:ton"s armv had returned and re- 
 
COXTIXEXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 317 
 
 ported a favorable condition in tlie affairs 
 at \'alley Forge. 
 
 June 2, a letter was recei\'ed from General 
 Gates, who had gone to Fishkill, New York, 
 in April to take charge of the army there. 
 Gates enclosed with this letter communica- 
 tions between himself and General \\'ash- 
 ington, relative to the recent controversy, 
 known to history as the "Conway Cabal." 
 A few days before this. Gates had fought a 
 dtiel with Colonel AMlkinson at St. Clair's 
 headquarters on the Hudson River, an ac- 
 count of which is found in the succeeding 
 pages. 
 
 A resolution was adopted \-oting the sum 
 of $420 to Rev. George Dutiield for services 
 as chaplain to Congress from October, 1777, 
 to April 30, 1778. Chaplain Duffield re- 
 ceived the sum of $60 per month as a salary. 
 During the time of his stay in York, he re- 
 sided in the parsonage house occupied by 
 Rev. Daniel Wagner, pastor of Zion Re- 
 formed Church. This liouse stood on the 
 north side of East King Street, east of 
 Court Alley. June 4, a resolution was 
 adopted that three commissioners be ap- 
 pointed to meet with the Delaw^ares, Shaw- 
 anese and other Indian tribes at Fort Pitt 
 on July 2;^. and enter into a treaty with 
 them. One of these commissioners was to 
 be from Pennsylvania and the other two 
 from Virginia. 
 
 News had now arrived of the 
 
 Howe probable evacuation of Phila- 
 
 Returns to delphia by the British army. 
 England. General A\'illiam Howe, who 
 had command of the forces in 
 that city from the time of its capture in 
 October, 1777, was recalled in May by Par- 
 liament, and returned to England. Howe 
 first came to America early in 1775, succeed- 
 ing General Gage as commander of the 
 British forces in America. He commanded 
 the British at the battle of Bunker Hill in 
 
 1775. at Long Island and AVhite Plains in 
 
 1776, and had defeated \\'ashington at 
 Brandy wine and Germantown in 1777. He 
 was charged by Parliament as having spent 
 the winter of 1777-78 in indolence and 
 pleasure, and for this reason was recalled. 
 He was personally popular with many of his 
 subordinate officers. A\ hen they heard of 
 his expected departure for England, he was 
 given a brilliant entertainment, memorable 
 in history as the "Mescliianza." Many 
 
 Tories of Philadelphia took part in this en- 
 tertainment. Flowe was succeeded in com- 
 mand of the British forces by Sir Henry 
 Clinton, an English ofificer of high rank, who 
 had occupied New York City before coming 
 to Philadelphia. 
 
 When Congress anticipated the evacua- 
 tion of Philadelphia, on June 5, Washington 
 was instructed that when he reoccupied the 
 city, he should institute measures for the 
 preservation of order in the city, and to pre- 
 vent the removahtransfer or sale of goods or 
 merchandise, belonging to the King of Great 
 Britain, in possession of the inhabitants. 
 
 June 6, letters were received b\' Congress 
 from General Washington enclosing com- 
 munications which he had received from 
 Sir Henry Clinton and Lord Howe. On 
 the same day, a messenger arrived in York 
 with a communication from Lord Richard 
 Howe, in command of the British navy in 
 American waters, and from General Clinton 
 in charge of the forces at Philadelphia. 
 Accompanying these letters were three acts 
 of the Parliament of Great Britain. These 
 acts offered overtures of peace wdiich Con- 
 gress was requested to accept. A commit- 
 tee composed of William Henry Drayton, 
 Richard Henry Lee, Gouverneur ]\Iorris, 
 John Witherspoon and Samuel Adams, was 
 appointed to repair to the next room and 
 prepare an answer to the letters of Lord 
 Howe and General Clinton. This commit- 
 tee met on the second floor of the pro\incial 
 court house at York, where they drafted 
 the following reply, a copy of w'hich was 
 sent to Howe and Clinton : 
 
 Yorktown, June 6. 1778. 
 Jly Lord : — 
 
 I have had the honor to lay your lordship's letter, of 
 May 27th. with the acts of the British Parliament en- 
 closed, before Congress, and I am instructed to acquaint 
 your lordship, that they have already expressed their 
 sentiments upon bills not essentially different from those 
 acts, in a publication of the 22d of April last. 
 
 Your lortlship may be assured, that when the King of 
 Great Britain shall be seriously disposed to put an end 
 to the uniirovoked and cruel war waged against these 
 United States, Congress will readily attend to such 
 terms of peace, as may consist with the honor of inde- 
 pendent nations, the interest of their constituents, and 
 the sacred regard they mean to pay to treaties. 
 
 I have the honor to be. etc.. 
 
 HENRY LAURENS, President. 
 
 On the same day that 
 
 Peace Congress received these 
 
 Commissioners, communications from the 
 
 British officers, three 
 
 commissioners arrived in Philadelphia on a 
 
!l8 
 
 llIS'l'ORY OF YORK COUXTY. PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 fruitless errand for negotiating terms of 
 peace. These commissioners were Earl of 
 Carlisle, \Villiam Eden, afterward Lord 
 Auckland, and George Johnston, who be- 
 fore the Revolution had served as colonial 
 governor of New York. As the instruc- 
 tions given to them by the English govern- 
 ment had already been conveyed to Con- 
 gress and their acceptance refused, the ar- 
 rival of these commissioners accomplished 
 no purpose except to delay for a few da3's 
 the evacuation of Philadelphia by the Brit- 
 ish forces imder Sir Henry Clinton. How- 
 ever, on June ii, a letter was received from 
 General Washington with a communication 
 from Clinton giving notification of the ar- 
 rival of the British commissioners in Phila- 
 delphia, and asking for a passport for Dr. 
 Ferguson, secretary to the commissioners, 
 to bring a letter from them to Congress. 
 This was referred to a committee composed 
 of Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams and 
 Henry Marchant, who made a report on 
 June 13, and the subject was taken up for 
 debate. While the discussion was in pro- 
 gress, a message arrived from \\'ashing- 
 ton's headquarters at Valley Forge, with a 
 letter from the British commissioners in 
 Philadelphia. Immediately upon its receipt 
 Charles Thomson, secretar}? of Congress, 
 began to read this letter, which was ad- 
 dressed to "His Excellency, Henry Laurens, 
 the president, and others, the members of 
 Congress." A deep silence prevailed until 
 he arrived at some sentences reflecting 
 upon "his most Christian Majesty, Louis 
 XVI of France, the new ally of the Ameri- 
 can government." \\'hen these oiTensi^'e 
 words were reached, there was confusion in 
 the hall of Congress and the secretary or- 
 dered to discontinue the reading of the 
 communication from the commissioners. 
 At the session held on June 16. after mature 
 deliberation, it was decided that the entire 
 communication should be read before Con- 
 gress. The subject was then referred to a 
 committee composed of Richard Henry 
 Lee, Samuel Adams, William Henry Dray- 
 ton, Gouverneur Morris and John Wither- 
 spoon. On June 17 the committee brought 
 in a draught of a letter to be sent to the 
 commissioners, which reads as follows: 
 
 Yorktown. June 17, 1778. 
 Sirs : — I have received the letter from your excel- 
 lencies of the pth inst. with the enclosures, and laid 
 
 them hefore Congress. Nothing but an earnest desire to 
 spare the further effusion of human blood could have 
 induced them to read a paper containing expressions so 
 disrespectful to his most Christian majesty, the good 
 and great ally of these states, or to consider proposi- 
 tions so derogatory to the honor of an independent 
 nation. 
 
 The acts of the British parliament, the commission 
 from your sovereign, and your letter, suppose the peo- 
 ple of these states to be subjects of the crown of Great 
 Britain, and are founded on the idea of dependence, 
 which is utterly inadmissible. 
 
 I am further directed to inform your excellencies, 
 that Congress are inclined to peace, notwithstandmg the 
 unjust claims from which this war originated, and the 
 savage manner in which it hath been conducted. They 
 will, therefore, be ready to enter upon the consideration 
 of a treaty of peace and commerce not inconsistent with 
 treaties already existing, when the king of Great 
 Britain shall demonstrate a sincere disposition for that 
 purpose. The only solid proof of this disposition, will 
 be, an explicit acknowledginent of the independence of 
 these states, or the withdrawing his fleets and armies. 
 
 I have the honor to be your excellencies most obedient 
 anil humble servant, 
 
 HENRY LAURENS, President. 
 
 On June 18, Air. Holker, then in York, 
 petitioned Congress for the payment of 
 400,000 livres "to persons interested therein, 
 as owners or otherwise concerned in the 
 private vessels of war, Hancock and Bos- 
 ton." This matter was referred to a com- 
 mittee composed of Gouverneur Morris, 
 John Witherspoon and Thomas McKean. 
 On June 19, John Hancock, of Massachu- 
 setts, returned to York and took his seat as 
 a delegate in Congress. He had served as 
 president of Continental Congress from the 
 time of its organization until November, 
 1777. He was the first to append his name 
 to the Declaration of Independence. Let- 
 ters from Arthur Lee, of Virginia, then a 
 commissioner at the court of France, were 
 received and read. These letters had been 
 written on the 6th, 15th and 31st of Janu- 
 ary. Another letter addressed to the Com- 
 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the United 
 States was received. This letter was writ- 
 ten at Paris on January 16, and signed by 
 Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, the 
 other two commissioners of the L'nited 
 States at France. These letters had been 
 written a few days before the king of France 
 had signed the treaty of Alliance and the 
 treatv of Amity and Commerce which took 
 place February 6, 1778. 
 
 The - alliance with France now having 
 been formed, and a French fleet and army 
 on their way to American waters. Congress 
 determined to aid Washington in preparing 
 vigorous plans for the summer campaign. 
 
COXTINEXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 319 
 
 A warrant was issued on the treasurer of 
 the United States for $1,500,000 to aid in 
 prosecuting the war; ordered that $500,000 
 be paid to General Nathaniel Greene, 
 quarter-master general of the arm)-; that 
 $2,000,000 be appropriated for the use of 
 Jeremiah W'adsworth, commissary general 
 of purchases for the arm}-; that $100,000 be 
 appropriated for the use of Benjamin 
 Flower, commissary general of military 
 stores. On the same day the sum of 8223 
 livres and $200 was appropriated for the 
 benefit of General Thomas Conway "as a 
 gratuity for his time and expenses previous 
 to his entering into the pay of the United 
 States and for his return to France." He 
 was also voted $321, the balance of his ac- 
 count with the United States. 
 
 On June 20, news of the 
 Evacuation greatest importance reached 
 of York and was communi- 
 
 Philadelphia. cated to Congress. A mes- 
 senger arrived from General 
 W ashington reporting that the British 
 army under Sir Henry Clinton had evacu- 
 ated Philadelphia on the i8th. This news 
 was read in Congress amid the greatest en- 
 thusiasm. It w-as nine months before, 
 almost to the day, that Continental Con- 
 gress, alarmed by the approach of the 
 British army to Philadelphia, quickly ad- 
 journed from Independence Hall to Lan- 
 caster, and after spending one day in that 
 town, removed to York. The information 
 that Clinton and his army had left Phila- 
 delphia was so gratifying that after a few 
 patriotic speeches made by the leaders in 
 Congress, that body adjourned. 
 
 The town of York was wild 
 Enthusiasm with enthusiasm. Bonfires 
 in York. were built on the public com- 
 mon : the provincial Court 
 House, in which Congress had held its ses- 
 sions three-fourths of the year, was bril- 
 liantly illuminated in honor of the event. 
 Militar}- companies paraded the streets, 
 preceded b\- music from the drum and the 
 fife. This so interested the rural folk 
 round a1)Out that on that eventful Saturdaj- 
 afternoon, the streets were filled with peo- 
 ple. At the lodging places of the delegates 
 to Congress, and at the twenty public inns 
 in the town, the evacuation of Philadelphia 
 was the sole topic of conversation. None 
 of the members had received this news with 
 
 greater applause than Samuel Adams and 
 John Hancock, of [Massachusetts; Richard 
 Henry Lee, of Virginia; Daniel Roberdeau 
 and James Smith, of Pennsylvania; Roger 
 Sherman. of Connecticut ; Francis Lewis and 
 Gouverneur Morris, of New York; Josiah 
 Bartlett, of New Hampshire, and the digni- 
 fied and honored president of Congress, 
 Henry Laurens, of South Carolina. In fact 
 toward the close of the sessions at York, all 
 these notable men and several others of 
 equal fame and distinction had been re- 
 elected to Congress and were now holding 
 their seats in that body. Although the en- 
 tire membership did not e.xceed thirty-five, 
 there were more men of great eminence 
 present on this occasion than at any time 
 during the preceding nine months. 
 
 After the adjournment of 
 Independence Congress, the law ofifice of 
 
 a Reality. James Smith, on South 
 George Street, was the 
 centre of interest and attraction. Associ- 
 ated with him while Congress sat in York 
 were twenty-six persons whose names will 
 go down through the ages as immortals of 
 history, because they appended their names 
 to the Declaration of Independence. When 
 that immortal document w^as signed, the 
 government of the United States was only 
 an experiment. Now the condition of 
 afifairs was different. An army fresh from 
 l)rilliant victories in Europe had defeated 
 the Americans on Long Island and captured 
 the city of New York. The same victorious 
 army under General Howe, a near relative 
 of George III, had sailed from New York. 
 passed up the Chesapeake Bay. and, after 
 defeating the Americans at Brandywine 
 and Germantown, had captured and held 
 the Federal City of the infant republic. 
 The victory at Saratoga, the French al- 
 liance, and the notorious conduct of Howe 
 in Philadelphia, had turned the tide of 
 afifairs in favor of independence. The 
 Declaration of Independence was now a 
 reality. Even Frederick tlie Great, then the 
 military genius of all Europe, was not only 
 declaring the praises of A\'ashington as a 
 field marshal, but recognized the eminent 
 statesmanship of the American Congress. 
 
 The fact that many of the most important 
 events, during the whole period of the 
 Revolution, occurred while Congress was 
 in session at Y'ork, is worthy of special com- 
 
320 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 ment and recognition. W hen tliat body 
 arrived here during tlie last days of Septem- 
 ber, 1777, in the language of one of the most 
 distinguished of its members, "darkness and 
 gloom surrounded our country on every 
 side." Now all the bells of the country 
 were ringing a paean of praise and thanks- 
 giving, and the people of the United States 
 were firm in the hope and expectation that 
 ere long the fathers of the republic and the 
 leaders of the American army in the field, 
 would soon found on this continent, "a new 
 nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated 
 to the proposition that all men are created 
 free and equal." Whatever might be said 
 of the efTorts put forth by the American 
 statesmen in Congress during the eventful 
 years of 1777-1778, there was one fact that 
 will always be recorded in the pages of his- 
 tory. They often disagreed on the manner 
 of conducting a campaign. They had fre- 
 quently opposed \\'ashington"s plan of 
 operations, and many of them, before he 
 had risen to eminence as a soldier, had 
 favored his removal from the chief com- 
 mand. But during the darkest period 
 which always comes before the dawn, those 
 illustrious men who legislated for our coun- 
 try during its earliest years, had banded 
 themselves together with one aim and one 
 purpose, and that was to defeat the British 
 troops in America and establish the freedom 
 of the colonies. 
 
 On the following Sunday, after the re- 
 ceipt of the news from Washington that the 
 enemy had left the Federal city of Phila- 
 delphia, the Court House bell in Centre 
 Square rang with glad acclaim, as also did 
 the bells of the Reformed and Lutheran 
 churches. Rev. George DufBeld, then the 
 chaplain to Congress, preached a sermon in 
 the Reformed church. A vast number of 
 people assembled to hear him. The dis- 
 tinguished divine was filled with emotion, 
 but his eloquent and prophetic words were 
 received with such public favor that the 
 audience could scarce refrain from applause. 
 During that eventful Sunday afternoon, as 
 the patriots from the thirteen states met 
 each other on the streets, public inns or at 
 the places where they lodged, congratula- 
 tions were exchanged. 
 
 Rev. Nicholas Kurtz, then the 
 A Pastor's pastor of Christ Lutheran 
 Patriotism. Church, spoke to his congre- 
 
 gation in his native German tongue with 
 great impressiveness. When the war 
 opened, Pastor Kurtz \Aas troubled about 
 the oath of allegiance he had taken to 
 the King of England when he arrived in 
 this country, in 1745, but in 1776, his con- 
 science became clear and he was natural- 
 ized under the first constitution of Pennsyl- 
 vania adopted that year. So firm was he in 
 his patriotism, that when Congress came to 
 York, September, 1777, he invited Bishop 
 William White, then the chaplain to Con- 
 gress, to lodge at his parsonage on North 
 George Street. He also entertained repre- 
 sentatives from the French government, 
 and a delegate in Congress from South 
 Carolina. The large audience room of his 
 stone church, on South George Street, was 
 filled to overflowing to hear the eloquent 
 words of their pastor on this occasion. The 
 Germans of York and elsewhere in Penn- 
 sylvania had earl}^ proved their loyalty to 
 the cause of independence by enlisting in 
 the army. Rev. John Ettwein, afterward 
 for twenty years the senior bishop of the 
 Moravian Church in America, was then a 
 visitor at York to confer with. Congress 
 about some affairs relating to the Mora- 
 vians. He records in his diary that the 
 "daily text (i Cor. x, 13) came to us with 
 special power, considering the event which 
 has happened in Philadelphia, and the de- 
 liverance of this state from the yoke of the 
 British king. Families who fled from 
 Philadelphia, today began to return.'.' 
 
 On June 20, Congress ordered that the 
 several boards of Congress should put 
 themselves in readiness to remove from 
 York. It was resolved to emit $5,000,000 
 in Continental money. Soon after the first 
 session was held in York, Congress had 
 taken up for consideration the adoption of 
 the Articles of Confederation, which had 
 been passed on November 15, 1777. Con- 
 gress called upon the delegates present to 
 report what action had been taken by their 
 respective states upon the ratification of 
 these articles. Owing to a controversy 
 which had arisen in the Legislattire of 
 Maryland in reference to its western 
 boundaries, the delegates from that state 
 reported that their constituents opposed 
 the ratification of the Articles of Confeder- 
 ation until these difficulties were removed. 
 This was the beginning of a long discussion 
 
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 3^1 
 
 which ended in the }-ear 1781. when Mary- 
 land was the last state to ratify them. 
 
 June 23, Titus Hosmer, of Con- 
 Ratifying necticut, arrived and took his 
 
 the seat in Congress. Josiah Bart- 
 
 Articles, lett, from New Hampshire, re- 
 ported that his state, by vote of 
 the legislature, had ratified the Articles of 
 Confederation. The delegates from New 
 York reported that their state had ratified 
 the Articles with the pro\iso that the same 
 shall not be binding on the state until all 
 the other states in the Union should ratify 
 them. The delegates of ^Massachusetts. 
 Connecticut and Rhode Island reported 
 that the legislatures of their states had 
 found objections to the Articles, and asked 
 amendments, which propositions were de- 
 cided in the negative by Congress. 
 
 On June 24, a resolution was adopted 
 that Congress should adjourn on Saturday, 
 June 27, from York to Philadelphia, to meet 
 in Independence Hall, on July 2. A com- 
 mittee was appointed to take measures for 
 a public celebration of the anniversary of 
 independence, at Philadelphia, on the 4th 
 of July next, and were authorized and di- 
 rected to invite the president and council 
 and speaker of the Assembly of the Com- 
 monwealth of Pennsylvania, and such other 
 people of distinction as they should think 
 proper. This committee was composed of 
 William Duer, of New York; John Han- 
 cock, of Massachusetts, and John Mat- 
 thews, of South Carolina. It was resoh'ed 
 "that Congress will, in a body, attend divine 
 worship on Sunday the fifth day of July 
 next, to rettirn thanks for the divine mercy 
 in supporting the independence of these 
 states, and that the chaplains be notified to 
 officiate and preach sermons suited to the 
 occasion." 
 
 Colonel Hartley's Regiment, which had 
 served as a guard to Congress for several 
 months, left York for Washington's camp 
 in two battalions, the first going on Janu- 
 ary 17, and the other on June 24. On June 
 25, a letter from North Carolina reported 
 that the state had ratified the Articles of 
 Confederation. Richard Henry Lee, Gouv- 
 erneur Morris and Francis Dana were ap- 
 pointed a committee to prepare a form of 
 ratification of the Articles of Confederation. 
 On the following day, this committee 
 brought in a draught, which was agreed to. 
 
 and a resolution was adopted that the .\r- 
 ficles should be engrossed and signed before 
 leaving York. This engrossed copy was 
 prepared and brought before Congress, but 
 was found to be incorrect. It was then re- 
 solved that another copy be made, which 
 was signed on July 9, at Philadelphia, by 
 delegates in Congress from all the original 
 thirteen states excepting New Jersey, Dela- 
 ware, Maryland, North Carolina and 
 Georgia. The last two were not at that 
 time represented in Congress. 
 
 Martin Brenise, of York, was voted $45 
 for attending Congress from the ist to the 
 27th of June, and for ringing the bell. John 
 Fisher, the original clock-maker of York, 
 who was also an engraver, was ordered to 
 be paid for renewing two copper plates for 
 loan office certificates, and making two let- 
 ters in the device of the 30 dollar bills. 
 
 A communication from Colonel ^lichael 
 Swope, of York, was read before Congress. 
 He had been captured at Fort Washington 
 in November, 1776, and was still a ])risoner 
 of war. 
 
 The day after Congress adjourned at 
 York most of the delegates prepared to 
 leave. They crossed the Susquehanna at 
 the site of Wrightsville, and proceeded over 
 the direct route to Philadelphia. Citizens 
 from Philadelphia and vicinity, who had fled 
 to Lancaster, York and elsewhere when the 
 British entered that city, now returned to 
 their homes. Congress again convened at 
 Independence Hall. 
 
 William Ellery, a delegate from Rhode 
 Island, wrote an interesting account of his 
 trip to Philadelphia after leaving York, 
 June 28, 1778. He was accompanied by 
 Eldridge Gerry and Francis Dana, of Mas- 
 sachusetts, and Richard Hutson, of South 
 Carolina. In giving a report of his trip he 
 stated that they went to Philadelphia by 
 way of Wilmington and Chester because all 
 the public inns would be occupied at night 
 by other delegates and people who were re- 
 turning to their homes in Philadelphia, 
 after that city had been evacuated by the 
 British. They crossed the Susquehanna 
 River at McCall's Ferry. With some other 
 delegates and citizens they celebrated July 
 4, at Citv Tavern, Philadelphia. 
 
 IMICH.A.EL HILLEGAS, treasurer of 
 the United States during the time that 
 Congress held its first sessions at York, 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 was born in Pliiladelphia in 1728, of Ger- 
 man parentage. He had served with 
 prominence as a member of the Provincial 
 Assembly, and when hostilities opened 
 with the mother country, in 1775, he was a 
 member of the Committee of Safety of his 
 native city. He was chosen as treasurer of 
 the United States soon after the adoption 
 of the Declaration of Independence, and 
 held that office until 1789, a period of 
 thirteen years. This trust was one of great 
 responsibility, and his faithful services to 
 his country through those long years of 
 Revolutionary struggle command the ad- 
 miration of every true American. Pos- 
 sessed of ample means, his devotion to his 
 country stamps him as a pure patriot. In 
 1780, Michael Hillegas was one of the 
 original subscribers to the Bank of Penn- 
 sylvania, organized chiefly for the relief of 
 the government, his subscription being 
 4,000 pounds. He was one of the original 
 members of the American Philosophical 
 Society, and died on September 29, 1804. 
 
 CHARLES THOMPSON, secretary to 
 Continental Congress at York, was born in 
 Ireland, in 1729, and came to America in 
 1740. He obtained a liberal education and' 
 conducted a classical school at New Castle, 
 Delaware. In 1774. he was married to a 
 sister of Benjamin Harrison, a signer of the 
 Declaration of Independence, from Vir- 
 ginia, and settled in Philadelphia. The 
 same year he was elected secretary to the 
 first Continental Congress and held that 
 position continuously until the adoption of 
 the National Constitution in 1789. When 
 Congress adjourned from Philadelphia to 
 York, he accompanied that body and was 
 influential in all the legislation passed while 
 in session here. When John Hancock re- 
 signed the presidency, Thompson presided 
 over Congress until Laurens was inducted 
 into office. During his long career in the 
 secretaryship, he kept voluminous notes of 
 the proceedings of Congress. These he in- 
 tended to publish in permanent form, but 
 changed his mind and destroyed all his 
 manuscripts, fearing that the reflections he 
 might cast upon some of the eminent 
 might affect the future history of the coun- 
 try. He was the author of several books 
 and pamphlets, mostly of a religious char- 
 acter. Late in life, he resided at his country 
 home in Lower Merion, Montgomery 
 
 County, and died there in 1824, at the age 
 of 95. ' 
 
 DEATH OF PHILIP LIVINGSTON. 
 
 The death of Philip Livingston, the 
 distinguished patriot and signer of the 
 Declaration of Independence, was the sad- 
 dest event recorded during the sessions of 
 Congress at York. This occurred early on 
 the morning of June 12, 1778. He had been 
 re-elected a delegate to Congress from the 
 State of New York. At this time Livings- 
 ton's health was in a precarious condition, 
 but Governor Clinton urged that he repair 
 at once to Congress in order to take the 
 place of a retiring member. It seemed ne- 
 cessary that Livingston should make the 
 long journey in his enfeebled condition. 
 
 He bade farewell to his family and 
 Arrives friends, and started on horseback 
 
 at with a single companion and ar- 
 
 York. rived at York, May 4, 1778. On 
 the following day. Congress re- 
 ceived the encouraging news that the King 
 of France had formed a treaty of Amity 
 and Commerce and a treaty of Alliance 
 with the United States. The people 
 of the inland town of York and the 
 distinguished patriots then in session here, 
 were in ecstasy over the news which had 
 been sent to Congress by Benjamin Frank- 
 lin, the American commissioner at Paris. 
 Livingston joined in this rejoicing and on 
 the same day took his seat in Congress. 
 Init the effect of the journey caused a re- 
 lapse two days later. In his humble lodg- 
 ings at a village inn he was tenderly cared 
 for by his fellow delegates. There were 
 four members in Congress at that time who 
 were physicians, and with eager interest 
 they watched his condition and rendered 
 all medical aid that was possible. These 
 men were Josiali Bartlett, of New Hamp- 
 shire; Oliver Wolcott, of Connecticut: 
 Jonathan Elmer, of New Jersey, and Joseph 
 Jones, of Virginia. 
 
 Henry Livingston, one of his sons, was 
 then serving as an aide on the staff of Gen- 
 eral Washington, at Valley Forge. A 
 courier was sent in haste to this encamp- 
 ment to notify the son of his father's illness. 
 Colonel Livingston immediately came to 
 York. The ravages of disease had borne 
 hard on the system of his father, and after 
 a lingering sickness of a little more than 
 
PHILIP LIVINGSTON 
 
 Signer of the Declaration of Independence, who died and 
 is buried at York 
 
COXTIXEXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 one niontli, Philip IJ\ing'ston died in the 
 sixty-third year of his age. Gouverneur 
 Morris, another Xew York delegate then in 
 Congress, three days after Livingston's 
 death, dispatched Governor Clinton, of 
 Xew York, a letter in which he said in part : 
 "I am sorr\' to inform your Excellency 
 and the State of Xew York of the death of 
 my worthy colleague, Philip Livingston. 
 Almost immediately after his arrival here 
 at York, he was confined to his room with. 
 a dangerous malady from which time there 
 seemed to be no chances of recovery. He 
 grew steadily worse and on Friday last, at 
 4 o'clock in the morning, paid the last debt 
 to nature." 
 
 Philip Livingston died of dropsy. 
 His His body was taken in charge by 
 Burial. Francis Lewis, Gouverneur Morris 
 and William Duer, the other dele- 
 gates from Xew York, and buried at 6 
 o'clock on the evening of the day of his 
 death. The Rev. Dr. George Duffield, then 
 chaplain of Congress, officiated at this sad 
 funeral. By invitation of Congress, the 
 three village pastors were present, Xicholas 
 Kurtz, representing the Lutheran congre- 
 gation ; John Ettwein, the INIoravian, and 
 Daniel \\'agner. the German Reformed. 
 The entire delegation in Congress attended 
 the funeral, each with crepe around the 
 arm, which, by resolution, they were re- 
 quired to wear for a period of thirty days. 
 The remains of the distinguished dead were 
 buried in the graveyard to the rear of the 
 German Reformed Church, on West i\Iar- 
 ket Street. York, just as the sun was sink- 
 ing behind the western horizon. 
 
 The remains of Philip Livingston lay en- 
 tombed in the Reformed Churchyard at 
 York, for a period of seventy-eight years. 
 January, 1856, they were removed to 
 Prospect Hill cemetery, a short distance 
 north of York, where they now lie. the spot 
 being marked by a marble shaft, on the face 
 of which is the following inscription: 
 
 Sacred 
 
 To the niemorv of the Honornble 
 
 PHILIP LIVINGSTON', 
 
 Who died June 12, 1778, 
 
 Aged 63 years. 
 
 While attending the Congress of the 
 
 United States, at York Town, 
 
 Penna., as a Delegate from 
 
 the State of Xew York. 
 
 Eminently distinguished for his talents 
 
 and rectitude, he deservedly enjoyed 
 
 the confidence of his country, and 
 
 the love and veneration of his 
 
 friends and children. 
 
 This monument erected by 
 
 His Grandson, 
 
 Stephen Van Renssalaer. 
 
 Livingston was born at Albany, January 
 15, 1716, and was the youngest of four sons. 
 His great-grandfather was a celebrated 
 divine in the church of Scotland and his 
 grandfather, after emigrating to America, 
 came into possession of a large manor on 
 the Hudson. At his death, this manor was 
 inherited by Philip Livingston, father of 
 the signer. Philip Livingston, the son, was 
 gifted with extraordinary mental endow- 
 ments, and after his graduation from Yale 
 College, in 1737, became a prosperous 
 merchant in the city of Xew York. He 
 served nine years as an alderman and was a 
 member of the Colonial Assemblv durinsi 
 the French and Lidian war. At the open- 
 ing of the Revolution, Livingston became 
 an ardent patriot and was one of the 
 earliest in Xew York to oppose British op- 
 pression and favor the freedom of the 
 colonies. L: 1774, he was chosen a member 
 of the first Continental Congress which met 
 at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, and was 
 re-elected to the second Congress which 
 convened at the same place the following 
 year. In 1776, he was one of the fifty-six 
 persons who signed the Declaration of In- 
 dependence. 
 
 On June 14, 1778, the following touching 
 letter was written at York to Dr. Thomas 
 Jones, by Henry Philip Livingston, a son of 
 the statesman, who was the second of the 
 signers to die since they had penned their 
 names to the Declaration of Independence 
 at Philadelphia, July 8, 1776: 
 
 I sincerely lament that Providence has made it neces- 
 sary to address my friends on so mournful an occasion 
 as the present. Oh, for words to soften their distress 
 and lessen the bitter pangs of grief. I feel myself un- 
 equal to the duty and utterly at a loss what to say. 
 
 ]\Iy dear friend, have you received my letter of the 
 nth? It was written with intent to prepare the minds 
 of the family for the melancholy subject of this, and to 
 prevent in some measure the eflfccts of a too sudden 
 impression. L"nhappily, my apprehensions were not ill 
 founded, for the disorder was too malignant and ob- 
 stinate to struggle with. 
 
 Must I tell you ! My dear father expired early on 
 the morning of the 12th, and was buried the same 
 evening. The funeral was conducted in a manner suit- 
 able to his worth and station, being attended by all the 
 military in town, the Congress, the strangers of distinc- 
 tion, and the most respectable citizens. 
 
 My dear mother and sister, grieve not immoderately 
 
HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 even at the loss of an excellent husband and parent. 
 Consider that worth and excellence cannot exempt one 
 from the lot of human nature, for no sooner do we enter 
 the world than we begin to leave it. It is not only 
 natural but commendable to regret the loss of so tender 
 a connection, but what can an excess of sorrow avail. 
 
 I hope to set off for Hurly in two or three days, and 
 1 hope, dear sir, by your influence and consolation to 
 find the family as composed as this distressing event will 
 allow. 
 
 BARON STEUBEN AT YORK. 
 
 Baron Steuben, the distinguished Ger- 
 man officer, came to York in February, 
 1778. He was enthusiastically received by 
 Congress and the officers of the army then 
 here. Steuben, who was 48 years of age. 
 had won fame as a soldier in the Seven 
 Years' War, for German liberty, and also 
 had served as an aide on the staff of Fred- 
 erick the Great of Prussia. He was one of 
 the best trained soldiers of Europe, and the 
 object in bringing him here was to train 
 the American soldiers in the tactics used by 
 the triumphant armies of Frederick the 
 Great. Steuben wa« induced by St. Ger- 
 main, the French minister of war, to join 
 the American cause, while on a visit to 
 Paris in the fall of 1777. Although he held 
 high rank in the Prussian army, he entered 
 into an arrangement with the French min- 
 ister to sail for the United States. Embark- 
 ing in a French gunboat, under the name of 
 Frank, he set sail from Marseilles, Decem- 
 ber II, 1777, and after a stormy passage of 
 fifty-five days, arrived at Portsmouth, New 
 Hampshire, from which town he proceeded 
 to Boston. On Decemljer 6, five days after 
 his arrival at Portsmouth, Steuben ad- 
 ilressed the following letter to Congress at 
 York : v 
 
 Honorable Gentlemen : — The honor of 
 Writes serving a nation, engaged in the noble 
 
 enterprise of defending its rights and 
 
 to liberties, was the motive that brought 
 
 ConoresS. ™^ 'o '^'^'^ continent. I ask neither 
 
 '^ riches nor titles. I am come here from 
 
 the remotest end of Germany, at my 
 own expense, and have given up an honorable and lucra- 
 tive rank. I have made no conditions with your depu- 
 ties in Paris, nor shall I make any with you. My only 
 ambition is to serve you as a volunteer, to deserve the 
 confidence of your general-in-chief, and to follow him 
 in all his operations, as I have done during seven cam- 
 paigns with the King of Prussia. Two and twenty 
 years spent in such a school seem to give me a right of 
 thinking myself among the number of experienced 
 officers; and if I am possessed of the acquirements in 
 the arts of war, they will be much more prized by me 
 if I can employ them in the service of a republic such 
 as I hope soon to see in America. I would willingly 
 purchase, at the expense of my blood, the honor of 
 having my name enrolled among those of the defenders 
 
 of your liberty. Your gracious acceptance will be suffi- 
 cient for me, and I ask no other favor than to be re- 
 ceived among your officers. I venture to hope that you 
 will grant this my request, and that you will be so good 
 as to send me your orders to Boston, where I shall 
 await them, and take suitable measures in accordance. 
 
 On January 14, immediately after receiv- 
 ing the letter from Steuben, Congress 
 unanimously passed the following resolu- 
 tion : 
 
 "Whereas, Baron Steuben, a lieutenant- 
 general in foreign service, has in a most dis- 
 interested and heroic manner, offered his 
 services to these states in the quality of a 
 volunteer, 
 
 "Resolved, That the president present 
 the thanks of Congress, in behalf of these 
 United States, to Baron Steuben, for the 
 zeal he has shown, for the cause of America, 
 and the disinterested tender he has been 
 pleased to make of his military talents; and 
 inform him, that Congress cheerfully ac- 
 cepts of his service as a volunteer in the 
 army of these states, and wish him to repair 
 to General ^Vashington's headquarters as 
 soon as convenient." 
 
 On the same day that Steu- 
 Letter to ben wrote to Congress, he 
 Washington, addressed the following let- 
 ter to Washington : 
 
 Sir : — The enclosed copy of a letter, the original of 
 which I shall have the honor to present to your Excel- 
 lency, will inform you of the motives that brought me 
 over to this land. I shall only add to it, that the object 
 of my greatest ambition is to render your country all 
 the service in my power, and to deserve the title of a 
 citizen of America, by fighting for the cause of your 
 liberty. If the distinguished ranks in which I liave 
 served in Europe should be an obstacle, I had rather 
 serve under your Excellency as a volunteer, than to be 
 an object of discontent to such deserving officers as 
 have already distinguished themselves among you. Such 
 being the sentiments I have always professed, I dare 
 hope that the respectable Congress of the United States 
 of America will accept my services. I could say, more- 
 over, were it not for the fear of offending your modesty, 
 that your Excellency is the only person under whom, 
 after having served the King of Prussia, I could wish 
 to follow a profession, to the study of which I have 
 wholly devoted myself. I intend to go to Boston in a 
 few days, where I shall present my letters to Mr. Han- 
 cock, member of Congress, and there I shall await your 
 Excellency's orders. 
 
 Steuben left Portsmouth on the 
 Meets 1 2th of December, 1777, and set 
 Hancock, out for Boston, where he ar- 
 rived on the 14th, and was re- 
 ceived as cordially as at the former place. 
 He met there John Hancock, who had just 
 retired from the presidency of Congress, 
 and received Washington's reply to his let- 
 
CONTIXEXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 32.5 
 
 ter, by which he was informed that he must 
 repair without delay to York, Pennsyl- 
 vania, where Congress was then sitting, 
 since it belonged exclusively to that body 
 to enter into negotiations with him. At the 
 same time, Hancock communicated to 
 Steuben an order of Congress, that every 
 preparation should be made to make him 
 and his attendants comfortable on their 
 journey to York, and ^Ir. Hancock himself, 
 with great care, made all the necessary ar- 
 rangements. Carriages, sleighs and saddle 
 horses were provided, five negroes were as- 
 signed to them as grooms and drivers, and 
 an agent to prepare quarters and procure 
 provisions. 
 
 Duponceau, the learned 
 
 Duponceau's Frenchman. who accom- 
 
 Story. panied Steuben to America 
 
 as his secretary and inter- 
 preter, after the Revolution remained in this 
 country, locating in Philadelphia. In 1836 
 he published the following description of 
 their trip from Boston to York : 
 
 "Our party consisted of Baron Steulien 
 and his servant, Carl Vogel, a young lad 
 wliom he had brought from Germany, ^Ir. 
 De Francy, an agent of Beaumarchais, and 
 myself. \\'e traveled on horseback. Not- 
 withstanding the recent capture of General 
 Burg03'ne, the situation of the United 
 States at that time was extremely critical. 
 The enemy was in possession of Rhode 
 Island, New York and Philadelphia, with 
 well-organized and disciplined troops, far 
 superior to our own. Our army (if army it 
 might be called) was encamped at Valley 
 Forge, in the depth of a severe winter, 
 without proxisions. without clothes, with- 
 out regular discipline, destitute, in short, of 
 everything but courage and patriotism ; and 
 what was worse than all, disaffection was 
 spreading through the land. In this dismal 
 state of things the baron was advised to 
 keep as far from the coast as possible, lest 
 he should be surprised by parties of the 
 enemy or b}' the Tories, who made fre- 
 quent incursions into the country between 
 New York and Philadelphia. We, there- 
 fore, shaped our course westward, and 
 crossing the states of Massachusetts, Con- 
 necticut, New York and Penns\-lvania, we 
 employed about three weeks in a journey of 
 410 miles in all. which at present would 
 hardh- reciuire as manv davs." 
 
 They stopped on their way, on 
 Reaches Sunday, the i8th of January, at 
 York. Springfield, on the 20th at Hart- 
 ford, on the 28th at Fishkill, on 
 Thursday, the 30th, at Bethlehem, on the 
 2d of Februar}' at Reading, on the 4th at 
 INIanheim, and arrived on Thursday, the 
 5th, at York, and remained here until the 
 19th of February. In his narrative, Du- 
 ponceau relates several incidents of their 
 trip to York. Among these is the amusing 
 story of their experience at Manheim, in 
 Lancaster County, where they lodged for 
 the night before coming to York. 
 
 "A great number of inns, in towns and 
 countries, bore the sign of the King of 
 Prussia, who was still very popular, par- 
 ticularly among the Germans. I remember 
 that at Manheim the baron, with a signifi- 
 cant look, pointed out to me, at the tavern 
 where we dined, a paltry engraving hung 
 up on the wall, on which was represented 
 a Prussian knocking down a Frenchman in 
 great style. Underneath was the following 
 motto : 
 " 'Ein Franzmann zum Preuzen -wie eine 
 
 Meucke.' 
 " 'A Frenchman to a Prussian is no more 
 than a mosquito.' 
 
 "The good baron appeared to enjoy that 
 
 picture exceedingly, and so, no doubt, did 
 
 the German landlord to whom it l:>elonged.'" 
 
 In a letter written to Baron de 
 
 Steuben's Frank, dated July 4. 1779. 
 
 Own Baron Steuben, from his head- 
 
 Story, quarters on the Hudson, thu~ 
 describes his visit to York: 
 
 "The arrangements of my equipage de- 
 tained me more than five weeks in Boston, 
 so that I could not set out for York before 
 the 14th of January. I was received there 
 with the most distinguished attentions. A 
 house was reserved for my use, and a guard 
 of honor placed before tlie door. A day 
 after my arrival. Congress inquired, 
 through a committee of three members, the 
 terms on which I proposed to enter the 
 service. My answer was, that I had no wish 
 to make anv arrangements or terms; that T 
 wished to make tlie campaign as a volun- 
 teer, desiring neither rank nor pay for my- 
 self, and only commissions for the ofificers 
 of my suite. This was agreed to by Con- 
 gress, as I had expected. A resolution of 
 tlianks. in the most obliging terms, was re- 
 
,26 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANLV 
 
 turned, \\ith an offer of defraying all my 
 expenses. My officers received their com- 
 missions, and even my secretary was 
 gratified with the rank and the pay of a 
 captain. 
 
 "I will here observe, that in the military 
 organization of the states, the highest rank 
 is that of major-general, Washington is 
 the oldest major-general, being at the same 
 time invested, in his quality of commander- 
 in-chief, with all the privileges of a general 
 field marshal in Europe. His authority is 
 as unlimited as that of a Stadtholder in Hol- 
 land can be. The other major-generals, 
 whose number does not at present surpass 
 nine, are the commanders of corps, armies, 
 wings and divisions. General Gates is com- 
 mander of the Northern army. General 
 Lincoln of the Southern army, and General 
 Sullivan of the forces against the Indians. 
 All are under the orders of the com- 
 mander-in-chief. The second rank is that 
 of a general of brigade. They are the com- 
 manders of brigades, like the major-gen- 
 erals in European armies. 
 
 "Upon my arrival in the camp, I was 
 again the object of more honors than I was 
 entitled to. General Washington came 
 several miles to meet me on the road, and 
 accompanied me to my quarters, where I 
 found an officer with twenty-five men as a 
 guard of honor. AVhen I declined this, say- 
 ing that I wished to be considered merely 
 as a volunteer, the general answered me in 
 the politest words, that 'The whole army 
 would be gratified to stand sentinel for such 
 volunteers.' He introduced me to Major- 
 General Stirling and several other generals. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Ternant and Major 
 \\'alker were both appointed by Congress 
 as my adjutant-generals. On the same day 
 my name was given as a watchword. The 
 following day the army was mustered, and 
 General Washington accompanied me to 
 review it." 
 
 General Lafayette had left York a few 
 days before Steuben's arrival. General 
 Gates, who had been appointed president of 
 the Board of War, came here on January 19. 
 The fame of Steuben had preceded him to 
 York. He was welcomed and courted by 
 all, and General Gates, in particular, paid 
 him the most assiduous court, and e\-en in- 
 \ited him to make his house his home, 
 which he declined. In a letter \\'ritten to 
 
 John Hancock the day after his arrival at 
 York, Steuben says : 
 
 "Please to accept ni}- grateful thanks for 
 all the kindness you have shown me during 
 my stay in Boston. In this very moment I 
 enjoy the good eff'ects of it, having taken 
 the liberty of quartering myself in an apart- 
 ment of your house in this town. My 
 journey has been extremely painful; but the 
 kind reception I have met with from Con- 
 gress and General Gates on my arrival here, 
 have made me soon forget those past incon- 
 veniences. Now, sir, I am an American, 
 and an American for life; your nation has 
 become as dear to me as your cause already 
 was. You know that my pretensions are 
 very moderate ; I have submitted them to a 
 committee sent to me by Congress. They 
 seem to be satisfied, and so am I, and shall 
 be the more so, when I find the opportunity 
 to render all the services in my power to the 
 United States of America. Three mem- 
 bers of Congress have been appointed for 
 concluding an arrangement with me tomor- 
 row ; that w^ill not take long, my only claims 
 being the confidence of your general-in- 
 chief." 
 
 Freiderich Kapp, the biog- 
 
 Interviewed rapher of Steuben, in re- 
 
 by ferring to the Committee of 
 
 Committee. Congress appointed to wait 
 
 upon the Baron, says: 
 
 "The committee of Congress mentioned 
 b}' Steuljen, which was composed of Doctor 
 AVitherspoon, the chairman, and only per- 
 son who spoke French, Messrs. Henry, of 
 Maryland, and Thomas McKean, waited 
 upon Steuben the day after his arrival, and 
 demanded of him the conditions on which 
 he Avas inclined to serve the United States, 
 and if he had made any stipulations with 
 their commissioners in France? He replied 
 that he liad made no agreement with theni, 
 nor was it his intention to accept of any 
 rank or pay; that he wished to join the 
 army as a volunteer, and to render such 
 services as the commander-in-chief should 
 think him capable of, adding, that he had 
 no other fortune than a revenue of about 
 six hundred guineas per annum, arising 
 from posts of honor in Germany, which he 
 had relinquished to come to this country; 
 that in consideration of this, he expected 
 the L'nited States would defray his neces- 
 sary expenses while in their service; that 
 
COXTINEXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 Z^7 
 
 if, unhappily, this country sliould not suc- 
 ceed in establishing their independence, or 
 if he should not succeed in his endeavors in 
 their service, in either of these cases he 
 should consider the United States as free 
 from any obligations towards him ; but if, 
 on the other hand, the United States should 
 be fortunate enough to establish their 
 freedom, and that if his efforts should be 
 successful, in that case he should expect a 
 full indemnification for the sacrifice he had 
 made in coming over, and such marks of 
 liberality as the justice of the United 
 States should dictate; that he only 
 required commissions for the of^cers 
 attached to his person, namely that 
 of major and aide-de-camp for Mr. De 
 Romanai, that of captain of engineers for 
 ]Mr. De I'Enfant, that of captain of cavalry 
 for Mr. De Depontiere, and the rank of cap- 
 tain for his secretary, Mr. Duponceau; that 
 if these terms were agreeable to Congress 
 he waited for their orders to join the army 
 without delay." 
 
 The committee appointed to in- 
 Services terview Baron Steuben, re- 
 Accepted, ported to Congress on the fol- 
 lowing day. The propositions 
 submitted by the Baron were unanimously 
 accepted and soon afterward he proceeded 
 to Valley Forge, where he began strict 
 training and discipline for the campaign of 
 1778. When he first arrived at the encamp- 
 ment at Valley Forge, he experienced some 
 difficulty because of his lack of familiarity 
 with the English language, but his future 
 career was successful, and the cause of in- 
 dependence owed a debt to him for his 
 achievements in the American army. 
 
 When he arrived at York in February he 
 was assigned to quarters in the house 
 previously occupied by John Hancock, 
 when he was president of Congress. The 
 house stood on the south side of West Mar- 
 ket Street, three doors west of Centre 
 Square, and was owned by Colonel ^Michael 
 Swope, who had commanded a regiment of 
 York County troops at the battle of Fort 
 Washington, where he and almost his en- 
 tire command were captured, in Novem- 
 ber, 1776, and were still prisoners of war in 
 New York City and Long Island. On June 
 23, Continental Congress approved a bill of 
 S104 presented by Airs. Eva Swope, wife of 
 Colonel Swope, for lodging and boarding 
 
 Baron Steuben, his two aides and two 
 servants, for thirteen da3's. 
 
 Baron Steuben returned to York in June, 
 1778, for the purpose of having the duties 
 and powers of his department minutely de- 
 fined and settled by Congress, lie did not 
 tarry here long, however, but on hearing 
 of the evacuation of Philadelphia by the 
 British, hastened to join Washington, who 
 was laying his plans for a summer cam- 
 paign, which resulted in the victory at Mon- 
 mouth and the transfer of the seat of war 
 to the south. 
 
 TWO PLANS OF GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The party conflicts of our Revolutionary 
 leaders were caused by the antagonism be- 
 tween two schools of political thought— the 
 liberative and the constructive. The sole 
 object of the former was to get rid of the 
 British authority in America, wdiich was 
 interpreted to be tyranny. The latter 
 sought to set up in the colonies a constitu- 
 tional system of co-ordinate legislative, ex- 
 ecutive and judicial departments in the 
 place of authority of the British govern- 
 ment. The liberative school sought to en- 
 force government through congressional 
 committees ; the constructive through heads 
 of departments, giving large powers to 
 Washington as commander-in-chief, and to 
 Franklin at the head of the American le- 
 gation at Paris. The contest between the 
 leaders of the conflicting schools of thought 
 among the Fathers of our Republic was 
 dominant while Congress sat in York and 
 continued until the Federal constitution 
 was framed in 1787. 
 
 Samuel Adams, of ■ Massachusetts, 
 through his dislike of executive authority 
 in any shape, became the leader of the 
 liberati\'e school in Congress. Through his 
 opposition to the adoption of scientific 
 principles either in war, in diplomacy or in 
 finance, he came more than once near 
 wrecking the cause which he would gladly 
 have given his life to sustain. Even after 
 the war, both Samuel Adams and John 
 Hancock opposed the ratification of a na- 
 tional constitution, but when they finally 
 accepted it as a wise compromise, they were 
 of the greatest public service to the new 
 government. John Adams, during the 
 Revolution, advocated the same policy and 
 principles as his cousin, Samuel Adams. 
 
HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 \\'hen peace came, he was one of tlie most 
 ardent supporters of constitutional and ex- 
 ecutive authority. Closely allied with these 
 three New England statesmen of this 
 period were Richard Henry Lee and Fran- 
 cis Lightfoot Lee, of Virginia, men of 
 power and influence in Congress. 
 
 In the political history of our country, 
 these statesmen were not constructive in 
 their tendencies. They were civilians and 
 it is remarkable that no military man of 
 eminence accepted the principles of gov- 
 ernment which these men had advocated 
 during the War for Independence. 
 
 General A\'ashington by na- 
 Washington ture and training, both as a 
 a Leader. soldier and a statesman, be- 
 came the great leader among 
 those advocating a constructive policy. He 
 declared that war was an instrument of con- 
 struction of which destruction of English 
 power was merely the preliminary incident. 
 The object he had in view as early as 1776 
 was essentially different from that of the 
 leaders of the liberative school of Revolu- 
 tionary statesmen. Washington had not 
 yet loomed up as the dominating person- 
 ality of the Revolution when the Articles of 
 Confederation were passed by Congress at 
 York, in November, 1777. Between him- 
 self and the supporters of the liberative 
 school there was antagonism, until after 
 the former had driven the British army out 
 of New Jersey, in 1778, and achieved dis- 
 tinction on the field of battle at Trenton, 
 Princeton and Monmouth. These victories 
 attracted the attention of all Europe and 
 called forth favorable comment from Fred- 
 erick the Great. of Prussia. AVashington 
 held that war was essential but should be 
 conducted by trained regulars. Adams and 
 his colleagues thought that America could 
 fight the battles for independence with 
 militia, because they had shown so much 
 patriotic valor at Bunker Hill and the siege 
 of Boston. Washington was one of the 
 earliest who favored an alliance with 
 France, the enemy of England. He courted 
 the friendship of the youthful Lafayette and 
 at once gave him high rank in the army. 
 The diplomacy of the war was largely con- 
 ducted by Washington as the head of the 
 army. In this work he displayed wisdom 
 and forethought to which the French never 
 ceased to paj? tribute. 
 
 Next to A\'ashington in this line of 
 thought was Franklin, whose mind was 
 eminently constructive, and who for 3'ears, 
 as postmaster-general and as colonial agent 
 in London, had acquired the largest expe- 
 rience in American administration of any 
 man then living. Of the same school of 
 thought as Washington and Franklin were 
 Robert Morris, John Lay, Gouverneur Mor- 
 ris, Henry Laurens, Alexander Hamilton, 
 Benjamin Harrison and Robert R. Living- 
 ston. Their opponents argued that Rome 
 enslaved the world by discipline; the Gauls 
 liberated it from Rome's oppression by im- 
 petuous zeal. It was the militia of New 
 England, they claimed, who drove back the 
 British regulars at Lexington and hurled 
 back the enemy's onset at Bunker Hill. But 
 in reply to this, Washington and his friends 
 said that Rome succumbed to her own ener- 
 vation, and that if the untrained farmers 
 who drove back the invaders at Lexington 
 and the half-armed militia who defended 
 Bunker Hill had been fully armed and well- 
 disciplined as soldiers, the British army at 
 Boston would have been forced to capitu- 
 late and the war would have been brought 
 to an early close. But Washington still 
 maintained that a war such as the United 
 States then was engaged in could not be 
 sustained by an army made up of militia or 
 volunteers enlisted for a short term of 
 service. 
 
 These momentous questions had been 
 frequently taken up in Congress during the 
 early part of 1777. They were discussed with 
 vigor and energy soon after Congress arrived 
 at York. This was the turning point in the 
 political thought of that eventuful period. 
 
 The defeat of the American 
 Antagonism army under W'ashington at 
 to Brandywine and German- 
 
 Washington, town, and the success of 
 Gates at Saratoga shortly 
 after Congress arrived in York, intensified 
 the feeling of the liberative school of states- 
 men in and out of Congress and culminated 
 in serious antagonism to Washington. The 
 attempts to undermine Washington owed 
 their origin to the attitude of certain mem- 
 bers of Congress toward him as com- 
 mander-in-chief. Had it not been for the 
 vigorous opposition of his political ene- 
 mies, no army rival would have ventured 
 to push forward. 
 
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 329 
 
 Early in 1777, John Adams declared that 
 he was "sick of the Fabian system," adopted 
 by the head of the army. After President 
 Laurens had issued his proclamation for 
 the national thanksgiving in honor of the 
 victory at Saratoga, Adams wrote from 
 York to his wife in Massachusetts: "One 
 cause of it ought to be that the glory of 
 turning the tide of arms is not immediately 
 due to the commander-in-chief. ... If 
 it had, idolatry and adulation would have 
 been unbounded." James Lovell, the 
 schoolmaster from Boston, then a delegate 
 in Congress, asserted that "our affairs are 
 Fabiused into a very disagreeable posture," 
 and wrote that "depend upon it for every 
 ten soldiers placed under the command of 
 our Fabius, five recruits will be wanted an- 
 nually during the war." William Williams, 
 a member from Connecticut, agreed with 
 Jonathan Trumbull that the time had come 
 when "a much exalted character should 
 make way for a general." He suggested if 
 this was not done "voluntaril}^" those to 
 whom the public looked should "see to it." 
 Abraham Clark, a member from New Jer- 
 sey, said, "we may talk of the enemy's 
 cruelty as we will, but we have no greater 
 cruelty to complain of than the manage- 
 ment of our own army." Jonathan D. Sar- 
 gent, noted as a jurist and later attorney- 
 general of Pennsylvania, asserted: "We 
 want a general— thousands of lives and mil- 
 lions of property are yearly sacrificed to the 
 inefficiency of our commander-in-chief. 
 Two battles he has lost for us by two such 
 blunders as might have disgraced a soldier 
 of three months' standing, and yet we are 
 so attached to this man that I fear we shall 
 rather sink with him than throw him off 
 our shoulders." Richard Henry Lee, of 
 Virginia, agreed with Mifflin that Gates 
 was needed to "procure the indispensable 
 changes in our army." Other delegates to 
 Congress who were inimical to \\'ashing- 
 ton, either by openly expressed opinion or 
 by vote, were Elbridge Gerry, Samuel 
 Adams, \\'illiam Ellery, Eliphalet Dyer, 
 Samuel Chase and F. L. Lee. 
 
 There were other men conspicuous in the 
 aft'airs of the government and in the army 
 who displayed strong opposition to W^ash- 
 ington. Thomas Mififlin, of Pennsylvania, 
 who, at the request of A\'ashington, had 
 been appointed quartermaster-general of 
 
 the army, became unsparing in his criticism 
 of his commander. He had served in this 
 position for several months, but owing to 
 some reflections made by Washington upon 
 the management of his department, grew 
 impetuous and resigned his position in the 
 army and was outspoken in his strictures on 
 the management of the campaign which 
 had resulted in the defeats at Brandywine 
 and Germantown. 
 
 Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, who 
 filled the position of surgeon and physician- 
 general of the middle district, took occa- 
 sion to speak of Washington in the most 
 scathing terms. He often dealt in vituper- 
 ation in making remarks about others. He 
 quarreled with Dr. William Shippen, 
 surgeon-general of the army, and even 
 went so far as to ask for the removal of the 
 latter. This incident brought forth from 
 Washington that the criticism made by 
 Rush against Shippen originated in bad 
 motives. Rush retorted by picturing the 
 army in a woeful condition. He claimed 
 that Washington was controlled by General 
 Greene, a "sycophant," General Knox, the 
 commander of artillery, and Alexander 
 Hamilton, one of his aides, a young man of 
 twenty-one. He further predicted that the 
 war would never end with him as com- 
 mander-in-chief. Two months later. Rush 
 came to York and resigned his commission 
 in the army. Soon afterward he wrote an 
 anonymous letter to Patrick Henry, then 
 governor of Virginia, containing bitter sar- 
 casm and scathing reflections on Washing- 
 ton's character and ability as a soldier. 
 The letter was forwarded to Washington, 
 who recognized the handwriting of his an- 
 tagonist. After reading it, Washington re- 
 marked: "We have caught the sly fox at 
 last." 
 
 Early in October, soon after 
 
 Laurens Congress assembled in York, 
 
 a Henry Laurens, a distinguished 
 
 Friend. member from South Carolina. 
 
 wrote : "General Washington 
 complains of the want of many essential 
 articles for the army. He is the most to be 
 pitied of any man I know. The essentials 
 should have been supplied. If they had 
 been provided some time ago, hundreds, 
 perhaps thousands, of desertions would 
 have been prevented and there would be no 
 British army in Philadelphia." 
 
?30 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 On October i6, Henry Laurens wrote to 
 his son, then serving on the staff of General 
 ^Vashington : "I am writing this letter with 
 difficulty in the hall of Congress. There is 
 a constant buzzing and confusion about me 
 amongst the delegates. Some of them are 
 asking why General A\'ashington has not 
 demanded supplies of which he claims there 
 is a scarcit}', from the people and the 
 Tories? why has he not prevented deser- 
 tions and kept the British emissaries from 
 entering his camp? The general opinion 
 is that the difficulty arises from the want of 
 discipline in the American army." 
 
 The Supreme Executive 
 
 The State Council and General As- 
 
 Legislature. sembly of Pennsylvania, then 
 
 in session at Lancaster, when 
 they heard, in December, that Washington 
 was about to go into winter quarters at Val- 
 ley Forge, sent a remonstrance to Congress. 
 Instead of being loyal to the commander- 
 in-chief by furnishing the needed supplies 
 for his army in the field and camp, these 
 bodies clamored against the decimated 
 army taking up quarters for the winter. 
 They claimed that the withdrawal of the 
 American army from the vicinity of Phila- 
 delphia would give the enemy opportunity 
 of foraging the region of eastern Pennsyl- 
 vania and even endangering the safety of 
 the legislature at Lancaster and Congress 
 at York. This would incur a loss of repu- 
 tation to the cause of independence, prevent 
 the enlistment of the militia for the safety 
 of the commonwealth, afi'ect the raising of 
 taxes, and bring forth a multitude of other 
 evils, civil and military, including submis- 
 sion to the enemy. It was a wild, erratic 
 and impetuous remonstrance unworthy of 
 men claiming to be American patriots. 
 They insisted on a winter campaign and 
 further stated that the inland towns such 
 as Lancaster and York were filled with 
 refugees to such an extent that it was im- 
 possible to accommodate soldiers quartered 
 in these places. 
 
 In reply to this opposition of the Penn- 
 sylvania Legislature, Washington said: "I 
 can assure these gentlemen that it is much 
 easier to draw up remonstrances by their 
 warm firesides than to endure the rigors of 
 winter encampment without sufficient food 
 and clothing on the bleak hills of Valley 
 Forge." 
 
 Again he said : "It is easy to bear the de- 
 vices of private enemies whose ill will only 
 arises from their common hatred to the 
 cause we are engaged in ; but I confess, I 
 cannot help feeling the most painful sensa- 
 tions, whene\'er I have reason to believe I 
 am the object of persecution to men, who 
 are embarked in the same general interest, 
 and whose friendship my heart does not 
 reproach me with ever having done any- 
 thing to forfeit. A\"ith many, it is a suffi- 
 cient cause to hate and wish the ruin of a 
 man, because he has been happy enough to 
 be the object of his country's favor." 
 
 It is related in Dunlap's History of New 
 York, upon the authority of Morgan Lewis, 
 an aide on the staff of General Gates, that in 
 January, 1778, a day had been appointed 
 by the opponents of AA'ashington in Con- 
 gress for one of their members to move for 
 the appointment of a committee to proceed 
 to the camp at Valley Forge and report 
 adversely to the intents of the commander- 
 in-chief, and that the motion would have 
 been adopted had not the opponents of 
 AA'ashington unexpectedly lost their ma- 
 jority. 
 
 At that time there were five delegates 
 chosen to represent the state of New York 
 in Congress. These men were James 
 Duane, Philip Livingstone, Francis Lewis, 
 William Duer and Gouverneur Morris. 
 Only two of them were present, Duer and 
 Lewis. The former was confined to his bed 
 by sickness and it was thought he would be 
 unable to attend the session of Congress 
 when the vote for the appointment of the 
 committee was to be taken. By a resolu- 
 tion of the legislature of New York the 
 presence of two delegates was necessary to 
 entitle the state to a vote in Congress. 
 Lewis was an active member of the naval 
 board and a correspondent of Franklin, 
 whose war polic}' coincided with that of 
 AA'ashington. He kept himself thoroughly 
 posted in what was being done by the op- 
 ponents of the commander-in-chief. In the 
 event of Duer being unable to attend this 
 important session he dispatched a letter to 
 Gouverneur Morris, who was then on his 
 way to York, so that two delegates from 
 the state would be on hand. Says Julia 
 Delafield, the granddaughter and biog- 
 rapher of Francis Lewis : 
 
 "Morris was his intimate friend. He 
 
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COXTIXHXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 331 
 
 wrote to Morris informing him of the 
 emergenc}', and begging iiim to come to 
 York at once. Duer sent for his physician, 
 Dr. Joseph Jones, one of the delegates from 
 X'irginia, and requested him to have a cot 
 ready to take him to the Court House. Dr. 
 Jones replied. 'If you go you will endanger 
 your life.' 'W ill 1 die before I reach the 
 house?' 'Xo, but you may die in conse- 
 quence of the exertion.' 'Then I will go. 
 If you will not assist me, somebody else 
 must; but I prefer j-our aid.' 
 
 "The day appointed by the conspirators 
 to bring forward their motion, Gates, his 
 staff, and Gouverneur Morris arrived at 
 York. They had all been detained on the 
 Lancaster side of the river by the ice that 
 obstructed the channel of the Susquehanna. 
 Morgan Lewis and Morris repaired at once 
 to the quarters of the New York delegates. 
 There they found Francis Lewis w'ith his 
 friend Duer, the latter wrapped in blankets, 
 his cot and his bearers ready to convey him 
 to the Hall of Congress. The arrival of 
 Morris made it unnecessary for him to risk 
 his life. The opponents of A\'ashington, 
 finding that they were outnumbered, did 
 not bring forward their motion." 
 
 THE CON'WAY CABAL. 
 
 This was the condition of affairs in Con- 
 gress at York, and throughout the thirteen 
 original states at war with Great Britain at 
 the opening of the year 177S. Washington 
 had gone into winter quarters at Valley 
 Forge and had there commenced the erec- 
 tion of log huts for his soldiers in the camp. 
 Fortunately, for the commander-in-chief 
 and the future destiny of the country, there 
 were strong men in and out of Congress 
 who remained loyal to their chief. 
 
 But the contending factions of 
 
 Gates' Congress had brought forth 
 
 Ambition, the aspirations of General 
 
 Gates, the hero of Saratoga, to 
 supplant W^ashington as the head of the 
 army. Congress had invited him to York 
 to l)ecome president of the Board of War. 
 Prominent men believed him superior in 
 military genius to Washington. So much 
 applause caused his head to be turned. His 
 vanity was only e.xcelled by his arrogance, 
 for he had neglected to inform Washington, 
 as was his duty, of the victory at Saratoga 
 before sending his message to Congress. 
 
 Washington congratulated Gates upon his 
 victory, but reproved him for not comply- 
 ing with the rules of the army by sending a 
 direct communication to him as com- 
 mander-in-chief. After the surrender, Gates 
 had declined to quickl}' send a part of the 
 army to the assistance of \\'ashington, near 
 Philadelphia. Washington sent Alexander 
 Hamilton, one of his aides, and by that 
 means secured the return to the main army 
 of ^Morgan's Riflemen, who had distin- 
 guished themselves at the battle of Sara- 
 toga. Had he been re-inforced earlier by 
 these valiant soldiers, it is claimed that 
 AA'ashington might have saved the forts on 
 the Delaware and prevented the British 
 from occupying Philadelphia during the 
 winter. Gates took advantage of the situa- 
 tion and entered into correspondence with 
 General Thomas Conway, General j\Iifflin 
 and other officers of the army, who were 
 disaft'ected toward Washington. 
 
 Thomas Conway was Washing- 
 Conway's ton's traducer to Gates. He 
 Intrigues, was an Irish-French soldier of 
 rank, who unfortunately had 
 been made a brigadier-general in the Con- 
 tinental army. Having made friends of the 
 New England delegates in Congress, it was 
 then proposed by them to advance him to 
 the rank of major-general, which Washing- 
 ton had opposed on the grounds that "his 
 merit and importance exist more in his 
 imagination than in reality." For the 
 moment this was sufficient to prevent Con- 
 waj^'s promotion, and even if he had not 
 before been opposed to his commander, he 
 now became his bitter enemy. 
 
 Colonel James Wilkinson, an aide on the 
 staff" of Gates, had been assigned to the 
 duty of carrying the news of the victory at 
 Saratoga to York, and stopped on the way 
 at Reading, Pennsylvania, where he re- 
 mained three days. Lord Stirling, an officer 
 in the American army, who had been 
 wounded at Brandywine, had been taken to 
 that town until his recovery. While in a 
 convivial mood, after having drank too 
 freely, Wilkinson revealed the secrets of the 
 cabal to Major Williams, an aide on the 
 staff of Lord Stirling. This information 
 w-as communicated to Washington, who 
 sent to Conway the following brief note: 
 
 Sir: A letter which I received last night 
 contained the following paragraph : — "In a 
 
33^ 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY. PEXXSYLVANIA 
 
 letter from General Conway to General 
 Gates, he says, 'Heaven has determined to 
 save your country or a weak general and 
 bad counsellors would have ruined it.' "' I 
 am, sir, vour humble servant, 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 This brought the attention of Washing- 
 ton and his friends to what seemed to be a 
 conspiracy to elevate Gates to the chief 
 command of the army. Conway did not 
 know what answer to make to this startling 
 note. Meantime, General Mifflin wrote to 
 Gates that an extract from one of Conway's 
 letters had fallen into the hands of Wash- 
 ington, and cautioned him to be more care- 
 ful of his correspondence in the future. The 
 plotters now became seriously alarmed. 
 ^\'ashington's curt letter left them in the 
 dark. 
 
 Gates replied to Mifflin: "There is 
 scarcely a man living who takes greater 
 care of his papers than I do. I never fail to 
 lock them up and keep the key in my 
 pocket." He then arrived at the conclusion 
 that Alexander Hamilton, who had visited 
 him at Albany, had stealthily ransacked his 
 effects and read his private correspondence. 
 Gates wrote to Washington stating that he 
 understood that some of Conway's confi- 
 dential letters to himself had fallen into 
 AA'ashington's hands. He then sent a copy 
 of the letter to Congress in order that that 
 body might assist in the discovery of the 
 person who committed this alleged misde- 
 meanor. The purpose of this artifice was 
 to create, in Congress, an impression un- 
 favorable to Washington, by making it ap- 
 pear that he had encouraged his aides-de- 
 camp in prying into the portfolios of other 
 generals. Washington discerned the 
 treacherous purpose of the letter and 
 wrote to Gates : "Your letter came to my 
 hands a few days ago, and to my great sur- 
 prise, informed me that a copy of it had 
 been sent to Congress, for what reason, I 
 find myself unable to account ; but as some 
 end was doubtless intended to be answered 
 by it, I am laid under the disagreeable ne- 
 cessity of returning my answer through the 
 same channel, lest any member of that 
 honorable body should harbor an unfavor- 
 able suspicion of my having practiced some 
 indirect means to come at the contents of 
 the confidential letters between you and 
 General Conwav." 
 
 In this letter. Washington further related 
 how Wilkinson had babbled over his cups 
 at Reading and revealed the secret, which 
 had spread consternation among the 
 friends of the commander-in-chief. He had 
 communicated this discovery to Conway to 
 let that officer know that his intriguing dis- 
 position was observed and watched. He 
 had mentioned this to no one else but 
 Lafayette. Washington did not know that 
 Conway was in correspondence with Gates, 
 and had even supposed that Wilkinson's 
 information was given with the sanction of 
 Gates and with friendly intent to forearm 
 him against a secret enemy. "But in this," 
 lie wrote, in concluding this remarkable let- 
 ter, "as in other matters of late, I have 
 found myself mistaken." 
 
 Had it not been for the treach- 
 Wilkinson erous letter of Gates, Wash- 
 Blamed, ington never would have sus- 
 pected him. Amid this dis- 
 comfiture. Gates had a single ray of hope. 
 It appeared that Washington thus far had 
 no definite information except the sentence 
 dropped in AA'ilkinson's conversation. 
 Gates now attempted to make Wilkinson 
 the scapegoat for all. and wrote again to 
 Washington. den3'ing his intimacy with 
 Conway, and declared that he had received 
 Ijut one letter from him. He protested that 
 this letter contained no such paragraph as 
 that of which Washington had been in- 
 formed. The information that Wilkinson 
 had revealed, he declared to be a ^•illainous 
 slander. In a previous letter to Washing- 
 ton, Gates had admitted the existence of 
 several letters which he had received from 
 Conway. A stinging reply from Washing,- 
 ton put Gates in a very uncomfortable 
 position, from which there was no retreat. 
 AA'hen Colonel AA'ilkinson heard of this 
 matter, his youthful blood boiled with rage. 
 Having been selected as president 
 Gates of the Board of AA'ar, General 
 at Gates resigned from his command 
 York, of the northern army, then at Al- 
 bany, and came to York, arriving 
 liere January 19. By many of the delegates 
 in Congress he was received with great en- 
 thusiasm. The victory which he had won 
 at Saratoga had gained for him temporarily 
 a brilliant reputation as a soldier. He had 
 won the first decisive battle of the Revo- 
 lution. The surrender of Burgoyne, which 
 
CONTIXEXTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 353 
 
 followed, was largely instrumental in se- 
 curing the alliance with France. The abil- 
 ity of Washington had not yet been dis- 
 covered by some of the leading" statesmen 
 of the country. Men who never had seen 
 Gates were shouting his praise and he re- 
 ceived a cordial welcome when he reached 
 the inland town of York, then the capital of 
 the infant republic of the United States. 
 His wife and son had preceded him some 
 time before and had been given the best 
 accommodations that could be afiforded 
 them. Gates was called upon, fawned and 
 flattered by his supporters in Congress and 
 by the army officers who were then 
 present in York. 
 
 Soon after his arrival, lie as- 
 Head of sumed his duties as president 
 the Board of the Board of \\'ar. Associ- 
 of War. ated with him on this board 
 were four men, all supposed to 
 be inimical to W'ashington as the head of 
 the army. These men were Colonel Tim- 
 othy Pickering, of Virginia; Richard Pe- 
 ters, of Pennsylvania; General Thomas 
 Mifflin, and Colonel Joseph Trumbull, of 
 Connecticut. Encouraged by the flattery 
 he had received, and buoyant with the hope 
 that his name would soon be glittering as 
 the commander-in-chief of the American 
 army. Gates began the duties to which 
 Congress had assigned him. The Board of 
 War w'as then the directing power of the 
 army, and he aimed to use this influential 
 position which he now held to elevate him- 
 self to the highest military position in this 
 country. 
 
 When General Gates arrived at York he 
 took up his quarters at a public inn, where 
 he remained two or three weeks. On Feb- 
 ruary II, a bill amounting to $1,333 '^^'^^ 
 ordered to be paid by Congress as expenses 
 for himself, his family and his aides from 
 the time of his arrival. Among the aides 
 who accompanied him were Colonel Mor- 
 gan Lewis, son of Francis Lewis, then a 
 member of Congress from Xew York ; Cap- 
 tain John Armstrong, son of General John 
 Armstrong, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and 
 Colonel Robert Troup, who had brought 
 the news of the first battle of Saratoga to 
 Congress during the previous October. 
 Later Gates rented a house on the north 
 side of West ^Larket Street near Water, 
 which he occupied until he returned to the 
 
 northern army at Fishkill, Xew York, in 
 April. 
 
 General Lafayette, the youthful 
 Lafayette patriot of France, came to York 
 at York. from Washington's headquar- 
 ters at Valley Forge, on Janu- 
 ary 30, 177S, eleven days after the arrival 
 of Gates. Colonel Pickering arrived the 
 same day. During the interim, the subject 
 of supplanting Washington by Gates for 
 the head of the army was an important 
 topic for discussion, among members of 
 Congress in private council and other ad- 
 herents of Gates, then in York. Lafayette 
 had arrived in America from France, June 
 14, 1777, landing at Georgetown, South 
 Carolina. He had proceeded to Philadel- 
 phia, part of the way in a carriage, which 
 broke down, and the remainder of the 
 distance on horseback. It required him 
 more than a month to reach Philadelphia. 
 He had come to this country for the pur- 
 pose of joining the American forces, and 
 aid them in fighting for independence. He 
 had inherited a dislike for the British gov- 
 ernment, for his father had been killed in 
 battle on English soil, before Lafayette was 
 born. When he came to this country, he 
 was only nineteen years of age, and at first 
 received a cold reception from Congress. 
 After he had declared his wish to serve as 
 a volunteer and at his own expense. Con- 
 gress appointed him a brigadier-general, 
 July 31, 1777. The next day he was intro- 
 duced to Washington, and the lifelong 
 friendship between the two men was at 
 once begun. Wasliington received him 
 with great cordiality and for a time he 
 served as an aide on the stafT of the com- 
 mander-in-chief. 
 
 At the battle of Brandywine Lafayette 
 received his first baptism of fire and was 
 wounded while gallantly leading a recon- 
 noitering party to find out the position of 
 a division of the enemy. His wound was 
 first dressed by Dr. \\'illiam ]Magaw, of 
 Cumberland County, a surgeon in Wayne's 
 brigade. He was conveyed in the private 
 carriage of Henry Laurens, to Bethlehem, 
 Pennsylvania, where he remained two 
 months until he had recovered from his 
 wound. On November 25, in a recon- 
 naissance of General Greene against Corn- 
 wallis's position at Gloucester Point. Lafay- 
 ette, with 300 men, defeated a superior 
 
334 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUXTY. PEXXSYLVAXIA 
 
 force of Hessians. In recognition of this 
 service, he was appointed, December 4, to 
 command a division of Washington's army 
 lately under General Stephen, who had been 
 removed for alleged misconduct at the bat- 
 tle of Germantown. Lafayette spent part 
 of the winter at Valley Forge. 
 
 Soon after Gates became 
 Canadian president of the Board of War, 
 Expedition that body conceived a plan for 
 Planned. the invasion of Canada. They 
 invited Lafayette to York for 
 the purpose of receiving instructions to 
 take charge of the Canadian expedition, 
 with General Thomas Conway second in 
 command. Washington had disapproved 
 of this expedition, but Congress and the 
 Board of War claimed that with the aid of 
 Stark and his Green Mountain boys, and a 
 small force of regulars stationed at Albany, 
 they could make up an invading army of 
 3,000 men. On January 24, while still at 
 Valley Forge, Lafayette received a letter 
 from Gates, containing information of his 
 appointment as commander of the Cana- 
 dian expedition. He refused to accept the 
 appointment until he had consulted W'ash- 
 ington, and made it a condition that Baron 
 de Kalb, who ranked Conway, should ac- 
 company the expedition. He then came to 
 York for instructions, where he was re- 
 ceived with great enthusiasm by Gates and 
 his friends. They laid plans to win his in- 
 fluence and support. 
 
 A banquet had been prepared in 
 
 An honor of the French patriot. 
 
 Historic Lafayette was flattered and 
 
 Banquet, toasted and a brilliant campaign 
 
 was predicted. Gates assured 
 him that a large army would be at Albany, 
 New York, ready to march. Lafayette 
 listened with placid composure and equa- 
 nimity of mind. The fawning flattery 
 which he had received from the intriguers 
 against W^ashington did not turn his head. 
 Although of an impulsive nature, like most 
 Frenchmen, vanity was not one of his 
 characteristics. He had already avowed his 
 loyalty to the commander-in-chief, for 
 whom he showed the most profound vener- 
 ation. The ties of affection which linked 
 Washington and Lafayette together in after 
 years had already been formed. He de- 
 termined not to oppose the views of his 
 commander, whom he had just left at Val- 
 
 ley Forge, but in obedience to duty, he had 
 come to York to discuss the plan of invad- 
 ing Canada. The rank to be accorded him 
 by Congress and the Board of War was a 
 promotion, and if this expedition would fur- 
 ther the cause of independence, he had 
 decided to take conmiand of the army. 
 
 Lafayette now found himself in company 
 opposed to the interests of his friend. The 
 air of the banquet was distasteful to him. 
 After a number of toasts had been offered. 
 General Gates, as president of the Board of 
 War, handed to Lafayette the commission 
 which Congress had voted him on January 
 23. Deeply impressed with the scenes and 
 incidents that had transpired, the youthful 
 Lafayette accepted his commission of 
 major-general, then with calm dignity he 
 rose from his chair, while breathless 
 silence pervaded the room. All eyes were 
 riveted upon him and the suspense that 
 awaited his action produced a profound im- 
 pression upon every one present. All that 
 is definitely known of this incident is what 
 Lafayette recorded in his own "Memoirs," 
 published in the French language, some 
 years later. He says : 
 
 "I arose from my chair and 
 Toast to referred to the numerous 
 Washington, toasts that had already been 
 offered in the interests of 
 the American government and the prosecu- 
 tion of the war. Then I reminded all 
 present that there was one toast that had 
 not yet been drunk. I then proposed the 
 health of the commander-in-chief at Valley 
 Forge. After I had done this, I looked 
 around the table and saw the faces of the 
 bancjueters redden with shame. 
 
 "The deep silence then grew deeper. 
 X^one dared refuse the toast, but some 
 merely raised their glasses to their lips, 
 while others cautiously put them down un- 
 tasted." 
 
 It was evident to all the opponents 
 Plans of Washington that their plans 
 Foiled, had been foiled, for the young 
 soldier had displayed the loyalty 
 to his chief that afterward marked him as 
 one of the most eminent patriots of the 
 Revolution. W'ith a shrug of the shoulders, 
 he stepped away from the table and left the 
 room. He retired to his quarters that 
 night, feeling that he had won a victory 
 and saved- the armv from the loss of Wash- 
 
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS A'J' YORK 
 
 335 
 
 ington, whose ability finally succeeded in 
 winning triumph to the American arms in 
 the War for Independence. 
 
 Having accepted the commission and re- 
 ceived his instructions. Lafayette soon 
 afterward proceeded to Albany to assume 
 his duties as commander of the northern 
 army. When he reached there, he found 
 neither troops, supplies nor equipments in 
 readiness. Instead of 3,000 regulars, which 
 Gates had promised, he found barely 1,200, 
 and these were not equipped or clothed for 
 a march into Canada. The plan of invasion 
 ended in a complete fiasco. The scheme 
 itself was condemned by public opinion. 
 The opposition which Washington had 
 shown to it increased his power and in- 
 fluence in Congress. Lafayette and de 
 Kalb were glad to return to their chief at 
 \'alley Forge. 
 
 The antagonism to Washing- 
 The Cabal ton among many delegates to 
 Collapsed. Congress now declined. Gates 
 continued his work as president 
 of the Board of War, but his influence was 
 on the wane. He remained in York for a 
 considerable time. On April 15, he was ap- 
 pointed by Congress to proceed to Fishkill, 
 New York, and take charge of the army at 
 that point. Very little is definitely known 
 of his career in this position. During the 
 summer of 1778, he retired from the army 
 and repaired to his estate in Berkeley 
 County, Virginia. There were still mem- 
 bers in Congress who recognized his mili- 
 tar\' achie\-ements at Saratoga and believed 
 that he possessed ability to command an 
 army. On June 13, 1780, he was recalled 
 from his retirement by Congress and placed 
 in command of the army in North Carolina, 
 designed to check the progress of Corn- 
 wallis northward through that state. In 
 the battle near Camden, South Carolina, 
 August 16. he was defeated and his army 
 nearly annihilated. He was soon afterward 
 succeeded by General Nathaniel Greene, 
 and suspended from duty. Thus ended his 
 military career in the Revolution. 
 
 At the close of the war. he retired to his 
 estate in Virginia, where he lived until 
 1790, when he removed to New York City, 
 where, after a long illness, he died, April 
 10, 1806, at the age of 78 years. General 
 Gates was a man of pleasant address and 
 
 cultivated manners. He possessed an in- 
 teresting personality and a good education. 
 Though having many faults, the chief of 
 which was an overwhelming confidence in 
 his own ability, combined with arrogance 
 and untruthfulness, he had also some noble 
 traits. Before he removed to New York he 
 emancipated his slaves and provided for the 
 support of those who could not take care 
 of themselves. 
 
 Mrs. Gates, wdio spent several 
 Mrs. Gates months at York, was a 
 at York. woman of rare accomplish- 
 ments. \\'hile here she shared 
 an enviable hospitality, entertaining the 
 friends of her husband, who had achieved 
 distinction by his victory at Saratoga. She 
 was the daughter of James Valence, of 
 Liverpool, England. At her father's death, 
 before the Revolution, she came to this 
 country, bringing with her $450,000, a 
 wealth which exceeded that of any other 
 woman in America. Their son and only 
 ciiild, Robert, died shortly before the bat- 
 tle of Camden. During the Revolution, 
 jMrs. Gates spent a large portion of her 
 fortune in a lavish hospitality upon her 
 Iiusband's companions in arms, especially 
 those in indigent circumstances. ]\Iany 
 Revolutionary heroes were participants of 
 her bounty, including Thaddeus Kosci- 
 uszko. the Polish nobleman, who, when 
 wounded, laj^ six months at her home, 
 nursed by herself and her husband. 
 
 GATES-WILKINSON DUEL. 
 
 At the opening of the war, Gates was an 
 ardent patriot, and was present at York on 
 his way to the army, July i, 1775, when the 
 first troops Were about to march from here 
 to join ^^'ash^ngton at Boston. In the 
 spring of 1778, General Gates was forty- 
 eight years of age. Wilkinson was twenty. 
 This trained soldier and his youthful aide 
 had been intimate friends from the open- 
 ing of the war until the Conway Cabal was 
 discovered by the friends of Washington. 
 In the fall of 1777, when Congress ap- 
 pointed Gates president of the Board of 
 A\'ar, he requested that Colonel Wilkinson 
 should be its secretary. 
 
 Wilkinson remained with the Northern 
 army on the Hudson for a time after Gates 
 had come to York. The fact that Wilkin- 
 
536 
 
 HISTORY OP YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 son, while in a convivial mood, had revealed 
 the Cabal to an army friend at Reading, 
 while on his way to York, in October, with 
 the official papers describing the surrender 
 of Burgoyne, caused an estrangement be- 
 tween himself and his superior officer. 
 \\'hen Gates discovered that his secret cor- 
 respondence with Conway had reached 
 ^Vashington, he tried to shift the responsi- 
 bility upon Wilkinson. 
 
 Early in February, 1778, Wilkin- 
 Trouble son. who had been raised to the 
 Brewing, rank of brigadier-general, re- 
 ceived a letter from President 
 Laurens to come at once to York and as- 
 sume the duties of secretary to the Board 
 of War. He left the military post at Al- 
 bany, traveled in a sleigh to Reading, and 
 from thence to Lancaster on horseback. 
 Upon his arrival at Reading, for the first 
 time, he heard that Gates had denounced 
 him as the betrayer of Conway's letter. 
 This news was confirmed when he reached 
 Lancaster, where he remained one day. 
 Meantime he sent a messenger with a let- 
 ter to Gates, in York, charging the latter 
 with impugning his honor. In this letter, 
 he said, "What motive, sir, could induce me 
 to injure you or General Conway? You, 
 my boasted patron, friend and benefactor, 
 he a stranger for whom I entertained favor- 
 able sentiments." 
 
 The response made by Gates to this let- 
 ter was offensive in language and widened 
 the breach between the two men. In sub- 
 stance it said Wilkinson could have any 
 satisfaction he desired. 
 
 "Immediately after receiving 
 The this letter," says AVilkinson, in 
 
 Challenge, his Memoirs, "I repaired to 
 York, arriving in that town by 
 twilight on the evening of February 23, to 
 avoid observation. During the night I met 
 my early companion and friend, Captain 
 Stoddert. I recounted my wrongs to him 
 and requested him to bear a message from 
 me to General Gates. He remonstrated 
 against my intention to challenge Gates to 
 fight a duel, and warned me that I was 
 going headlong to destruction. For the 
 first time we parted in displeasure. Soon 
 afterward I met with Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Ball, of the Virginia Line, whose spirit was 
 as independent as his fortune. He deliv- 
 ered to Gates the following note : 
 
 "Sir:— 
 
 "I have discharged my duty to you and ni\' conscience. 
 Meet me tomorrow morning behind the Episcopal 
 Church and I will then stipulate the satisfaction which 
 you have promised to grant, 
 
 "I am your most humble servant, 
 
 "JAMES WILKINSON." 
 
 This was an open challenge to fight a 
 duel with his old commander. He had de- 
 termined to defend his integrity and his 
 honor. Gates had charged him with false 
 representations at Reading to Major Wil- 
 liams, an aide to Lord Stirling. These 
 charges he could not endure and he now 
 discovered that he was to be made the 
 scapegoat of the Conway conspirators. So 
 Colonel Ball, in obedience to his request, 
 carried the challenge to the residence of 
 General Gates, on the north side of Market 
 Street, near Water. He was met at the 
 doorway by the general, who read the chal- 
 lenge with evident surprise. This w^as the 
 age of duelling; if a man would not accept 
 a challenge he was considered a coward. 
 With calm dignity, he responded : 
 
 "All right, sir. We will meet tomorrow 
 morning at 8 o'clock." 
 
 "He made no reference to the 
 
 The kind of weapons to be used nor 
 Meeting the distance. The place desig- 
 Place. nated as the duelling ground was 
 on the lawn to the rear of the 
 Episcopal Church, near the Codorus Creek. 
 At 8 o'clock on the following morning, 
 Colonel Wilkinson walked dow-n Beaver 
 Street, accompanied by his second, Colonel 
 Ball. They saw General Gates standing on 
 the street in front of the Episcopal Church, 
 in company with Captain Stoddert. Gates 
 was unarmed, for during the night he had 
 decided to meet his former friend on terms 
 of peace. Wilkinson halted a distance away 
 and Stoddert approached him, saying; 
 
 "General Gates wishes to speak to you." 
 
 "I will meet him on the duelling ground 
 in answer to the challenge which he ac- 
 cepted," said W'ilkinson. 
 
 Then Captain Stoddert pleaded with the 
 young soldier and begged him to walk 
 down to the church and greet his former 
 chief, who did not wish to fight a duel with 
 a person for whom he entertained the high- 
 est regard and affection. 
 
 "There is no occasion to fight a duel. 
 Go with me and meet the general standing 
 yonder in front of the church." 
 
COXTIXENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 83r 
 
 A minute later the young colonel, who 
 had brought the news of the victory at 
 Saratoga to Congress, was greeted with a 
 warm clasp of the hand from the former 
 commander of the Xorthern army, wiio had 
 received the sword of Sir John Burgoyne 
 and accepted the terms of surrender of 
 (i,000 British and Hessian soldiers at Sara- 
 toga, a few months before. It was a strik- 
 ing scene, and doubtless, was witnessed by 
 very few persons, for little mention is made 
 of this incident in the pri\ate correspond- 
 ence of the members of Congress then in 
 York, or in the family traditions of the citi- 
 zens. 
 
 " Come, my dear boy," said General 
 Gates, with tender emotion, " we must be 
 friends again. There is no cause for ill will 
 between us. Conway has acknowledged 
 that he wrote a letter criticizing Washing- 
 ton and has since made harsh statements 
 about him." 
 
 .\fter this friendly greeting, 
 Wilkinson General Gates and Colonel 
 Retires. Wilkinson left Colonel Ball 
 and Captain Stoddert behind 
 and walked away together. They engaged 
 in a long conversation about the episode at 
 Reading and their relation to General Stir- 
 ling and Thomas Conway. Before they 
 separated, it was agreed that Wilkinson 
 would assume his duties the next day, as 
 secretary of the Board of War. In his 
 private correspondence he recorded that 
 when he went to the war office he found 
 General Gates barely civil and that he 
 found Richard Peters and Timothy Picker- 
 ing, other members of the board, agreeable 
 companions. The coolness of the president 
 of the board made his position uncomfort- 
 able, and a few days later he resigned his 
 position and went to Valley Forge, where 
 he personally met Lord Stirling and Gen- 
 eral Washington and recounted to them 
 his difficulties with General Gates. 
 
 The estrangement between General 
 Gates and Colonel Wilkinson, which began 
 at York, in February, 177S, continued for 
 several months. Different statements had 
 been made concerning the conduct of 
 Gates when he failed to meet the challenge 
 made by his opponent at York. After re- 
 maining a short time at Valley Forge, 
 ^\'ilkinson returned to the Xorthern armv 
 
 on the Hudson. He now held the rank of 
 l)rigadier-general in the army, but as yet 
 had been assigned to no important duty. 
 .\fter Gates returned to the Xorthern army, 
 near Kingston, on the Hudson, the two men 
 again met. 
 
 The controversy about the Conway 
 The Cabal had not been settled. Wilk- 
 Duel. inson decided to meet his opponent 
 
 again on the field of honor and chal- 
 lenged Gates to a duel, which took place 
 near St. Clair's headquarters on the Hud- 
 son, September 4, 1778. Captain John Car- 
 ter, of Virginia, acted as second to Wilkin- 
 son, and Thaddeus Kosciuszko, the Polish 
 nobleman who was serving as a colonel in 
 the American army, w'as second to Gates. 
 In the duel flint-lock pistols were used. At 
 the first shot, Wilkinson fired in the air, 
 while Gates' pistol flashed the powder in 
 the pan and did not discharge the ball. 
 The}- charged their pistols a second time 
 and when the order was given, Wilkinson 
 hred, but Gates refused. When the word 
 was given the third time. General Wilkin- 
 son fired but missed his aim and the flint- 
 lock which Gates held again flashed in the 
 pan. The seconds now interposed and the 
 antagonists shook hands. .After the duel 
 General Gates signed a certificate to the 
 effect that Wilkinson behaved like a gentle- 
 man in the encounter at York. Upon re- 
 cjuest, Wilkinson refused to sign and deliver 
 up a similar certificate concerning the con- 
 duct of Gates at York. Wilkinson then 
 challenged Gates to another duel, but Gates 
 refused, and the two men never became 
 firm friends. 
 
 Captain Ball, who was selected as second 
 to Wilkinson for the proposed duel at 
 \'ork, commanded a Virginia company, 
 then encamped at York. Captain Benjamin 
 Stoddert, second to General Gates, com- 
 manded a company of Colonel Hartley's 
 Regiment, then acting as a guard to Con- 
 gress. 
 
 General Thomas Conway, the 
 Thomas reputed leader of the conspiracy 
 Conway, against Washington, was a na- 
 tive of Ireland, born in the year 
 1733. He had served for a time in the 
 French army and came to this country at 
 the request of Silas Deane, the American 
 commissioner at Paris. In May. 1777, he 
 
338 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 was made a brigadier-general and in the fall 
 of the same year, took part in the battles of 
 Brandywine and Germantown. Embittered 
 by Washington's opposition to his promo- 
 tion to the rank of major-general, he began 
 to write anonymous letters to prominent 
 men, criticizing the ability of Washington 
 as commander-in-chief. Conway came to 
 York late in January, 177S. About the 
 same time, Lafayette arrived here to meet 
 the Board of War, and receive instructions 
 regarding the projected Canada campaign. 
 Conway was present at the famous banquet 
 given by Gates in honor of Lafayette. 
 After the plan to invade Canada had ended 
 in a fiasco, Conway lost favor with Con- 
 gress, and in a fit of passion he resigned his 
 commission, and left the army. Because of 
 his repeated attacks on Washington, he 
 was challenged by General Cadwallader to 
 fight a duel. The antagonists met July 22, 
 1778, near Philadelphia, and Conway was 
 shot in the mouth, the ball passing through 
 his neck. A few days later he wrote a letter 
 of apology to Washington, disclaiming that 
 he ever conceived a plan for the latter's re- 
 moval as commander-in-chief of the army. 
 He then returned to Paris and entered the 
 French army. During the French Revolu- 
 tion he was obliged to flee the country. 
 Nothing further is known of him. He is 
 supposed to have died about 1800 in ob- 
 scurity in the city of London. 
 
 LIST OF DELEGATES AT YORK. 
 
 Continental Congress was first brought 
 together in September, 1774, at Carpenter's 
 Hall, Philadelphia. From the time of its 
 organization until the Constitution of the 
 United States went into efi^ect. in 1789, it 
 was composed of one body, which elected 
 its presiding officer. John Hancock was 
 president of Congress from May, 1775, 
 until October 31, 1777, when lie resigned. 
 He was succeeded by Henry Laurens, of 
 South Carolina, who presided o\er Con- 
 gress eight of the nine months it sat in 
 York. The delegates were chosen annually 
 by the state legislatures. 
 
 Few of the American patriots who 
 organized this legislative body in 1774, be- 
 lieved that its deliberations would result in 
 creating a new nation on the western conti- 
 nent. It first met to adjust the grievances 
 
 against the mother country and issued a 
 Declaration of Rights in 1774. This Con- 
 gress petitioned the King and Parliament, 
 in 1775, and finally passed the Declaration 
 of Independence, in 177(). 
 
 When Congress convened at York, Sep- 
 temljer 30, 1777, in the minds of some of its 
 members and many people of the United 
 States, there was little hope that the army 
 under Washington would eventually de- 
 feat the British forces in America. At that 
 time, everything was dark and foreboding 
 and the success of the War for Indepen- 
 dence seemed doubtful. Tlie patriots who 
 came here, however, continued to legislate 
 for the army and the establishment of the 
 freedom of the United States. While Con- 
 gress held its sessions in York, it passed the 
 Articles of Confederation, which, when 
 adopted, made the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence a reality. It received the news of 
 the surrender of Burgoyne's army at Sara- 
 toga; made Baron Steuben a major-general 
 and sent him to the headquarters of the 
 army to drill the American soldiers in the 
 military tactics used by Frederick the Great 
 of Prussia. It received the news from the 
 American commissioners at Paris that the 
 French nation had entered into a treaty of 
 Alliance with the United States, and would 
 send money, a fleet and an army to aid in 
 tlie struggle for American independence. 
 
 It was during the month of June, 1778, 
 that Congress at York, and Washington at 
 Valley Forge planned the campaign result- 
 ing in the victory over the enemy at Mon- 
 mouth, which transferred the seat of the 
 war to the south. 
 
 Continental Congress sat for a brief 
 period at Princeton, one day at Lancaster, 
 about two months at Baltimore, and a short 
 time at Annapolis, but transacted no busi- 
 ness at these places of importance to the 
 nation. While in session at York, some of 
 the greatest event in the whole history of 
 the Revolution occurred. This historic im- 
 portance of York as the temporary seat of 
 the national government has never been 
 fully set forth by historians. In the preced- 
 ing pages an eft'ort has been made to give 
 in detail the transactions of Congress and 
 the current events during the darkest period 
 of the Revolution, which ended in the dawn 
 of independence. When Congress assem- 
 
A copy from a drawing formerly in the Emmett collection in New York 
 and now in the possession of the Historical Society of York County. It is 
 supposed to be the only authentic portrait of James Smith in existence. 
 
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AT YORK 
 
 339 
 
 bled at York, it was composed of no more 
 than thirty members. At stated limes, 
 newly-elected delegates arrived, taking the 
 places of those who had returned to their 
 homes. There were never more than forty 
 members present at one time. In all there 
 were sixty-four delegates from the thirteen 
 original states who occuijied seats in Con- 
 gress from the time it came to York until it 
 returned to Philadelphia. Twenty-six of 
 these had. the pre\ious year, signed the 
 Declaration of Independence. 
 
 The following is the list of delegates at 
 York : 
 
 New Hampshire — Nathaniel Folsom, 
 George Frost, John W'entworth, Dr. Josiah 
 Bartlett. 
 
 Massachusetts — Samuel .\dams. El- 
 bridge Gerr}-, James Lovell, John Adams, 
 Francis Dana, John Hancock, Dr. Samuel 
 Holten. 
 
 Connecticut — William Williams, Elipha- 
 let Dyer, Richard Law, Titus Hosmer. 
 Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntingdon, Dr. 
 Oliver Wolcott. 
 
 Rhode Island — Henry Marchant, Wil- 
 liam Ellery, John Collins. 
 
 New York — James Duane, William Duer, 
 Francis Lewis, Gou\erneur Morris, Philip 
 Livingston. 
 
 New Jersey — John Witherspoon, Dr. 
 Jonathan Elmer, Abraham Clark, Dr. Na- 
 thaniel Scudder. 
 
 Pennsylvania — Robert Morris, Daniel 
 Roberdeau, James Smith, Jonathan Bayard 
 Smith, William Clingan, Joseph Reed. 
 
 Delaware — Thomas McKean. 
 
 Maryland — Charles Carroll, Samuel 
 Chase, Benjamin Rumsey, George Plater. 
 William Smith, James Forbes, John Henrv. 
 
 J'-- 
 
 Virginia — Francis Lightfoot Lee, Rich- 
 ard Henry Lee, John Harvie, Benjamin 
 Harrison, Dr. Joseph Junes, Thomas Ad- 
 ams, John Bannister. 
 
 North Carolina — John Penn, Cornelius 
 Harnett, Dr. Thomas Burke. 
 
 South Carolina — Henry Laurens, Thomas 
 Heyward, Jr., Arthur Middleton, John 
 Matthews, Richard Hutson, William Henrv 
 Drayton. 
 
 Georgia — Edward Langvvorthy, George 
 Walton, Dr. Nathan Brownson, Joseph 
 Wood. 
 
 JAMES SMITH, signer of the Declara- 
 tion of Independence, was born in the north 
 of Ireland. His father, John Smith, was a 
 well-to-do farmer, but, induced by his 
 brothers, who had previously emigrated to 
 this country and settled in Chester County, 
 he came to Pennsylvania in 1720, and soon 
 afterward settled on the west side of the 
 Susquehanna in what is now York County. 
 John Smith died in the neighborhood of 
 York in 1761. His eldest son, George, 
 studied law at Lancaster, but shortly after 
 his admission to the bar (1740) was 
 drowned in the Susquehanna while bath- 
 ing. The third son, Arthur, was a farmer, 
 and removed to western Pennsylvania prior 
 to the Revolution. James, the second son, 
 received a liberal education, having been 
 placed under the charge of the Rev. Dr. 
 Alison, provost of the College of Philadel- 
 phia. After completing his studies in 
 Philadelphia, he began to read law at Lan- 
 caster, where he was admitted to the bar 
 in 1745. He subsequently went to the 
 Cumberland Valley, where he practiced 
 both law and surveying, remaining four or 
 five years, and then settled at York. When 
 the Revolution began, Smith became one 
 of the first advocates of independence. He 
 was chosen a member of the Provincial 
 Deputies, July 15, 1774, and was the author 
 of the " draught of instructions " to the Pro- 
 vincial Assembly. He was a member of 
 the Provincial Convention of January 23, 
 1775; of the Provincial Conference of June 
 18, 1776: and of the Convention of the loth 
 of July following. In 1775 he was commis- 
 sioned colonel of the First Battalion of As- 
 sociators of York County, and throughout 
 the Revolutionary struggle was largely in- 
 strumental in organizing troops for the 
 patriot army. In 1776 he was elected a 
 delegate to the Continental Congress, and 
 his name is affixed to the Declaration of 
 Independence. He was re-elected the fol- 
 lowing year and took his seat while Con- 
 gress was in session in York. He was 
 elected a member of the Assembly in 1779, 
 and November 20, 1780, commissioned 
 judge of the High Court of .Appeals. 
 
 The Supreme Executive Council ap- 
 pointed Colonel Smith a brigadier-general 
 of the Pennsylvania militia, Alay 23, 1782, 
 vice General Potter promoted. He was ap- 
 
340 
 
 HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 pointed one of the counsellors on the part 
 of Pennsylvania in the controversy be- 
 tween that State and Connecticut, Febru- 
 ary 10, 1784. In the following year the As- 
 sembly elected him to Congress, in the 
 place of Matthew Clarkson, resigned, but 
 his advanced age obliged him to decline a 
 re-election. Smith relinquished the practice 
 of law in 1801, and from that period until 
 his death lived in quiet retirement. He 
 died at York on the 11th day of July, 1806. 
 With an uncommonly retentive memory, 
 with a vein of good humor and a fund of 
 anecdotes, his excellent conversational 
 powers drew around him many who en- 
 joyed his sharp wit and lively manners, and 
 made his old age bright and cheerful. 
 James Smith married, in 1752, Eleanor, 
 daughter of John Armor, of New Castle, 
 Delaware. She and two children survived 
 him several years. 
 
 During the revolution, James Smith 
 owned and occupied a dwelling house on 
 the west side of South George Street near 
 King. When Congress was in session at 
 York, his home was a place of meeting of 
 the distinguished statesmen who were then 
 serving as delegates and on important com- 
 mittees. His law office, a two-story build- 
 ing which stood on the corner of South 
 George Street and Mason Alley, a short 
 distance north of his residence, was used as 
 
 a meeting place of the Board of War, when 
 it was presided over by John Adams, of 
 Massachusetts. In 1805, his law office con- 
 taining his library, many valuable docu- 
 ments and letters which he received from 
 distinguished men, was destroyed by fire. 
 
 James and Eleanor Smith had five chil- 
 dren : Margaret, the eldest, was born Sep- 
 tember 14, 1753, married James Johnson, 
 whose grandson. Dr. William Johnson, for 
 many years was a practicing physician at 
 York. Mrs. Johnson died at York, January 
 18, 1838. Mary, the second daughter, mar- 
 ried James Kelly, a memljer of the York 
 County Bar, and died at York, September 4, 
 1793. George, one of the sons, was born 
 April 24, 1769, died unmarried at the age 
 of 32, when his estate was inherited by his 
 l)rother. Arthur died before he grew to 
 manhood. James, the other son, owned 
 considerable property and died without 
 descendants, leaving his property to his 
 cousins. The remains of James Smith, to- 
 gether with his wife, who died July 13, 1818, 
 and some of his children, were buried in the 
 Presbyterian churchyard, on East Market 
 Street, York. 
 
 The public documents which lie prepared 
 and the speeches he delivered during and 
 after the Revolution show that he was a 
 man of strong intellect, literary training, 
 and an able lawyer. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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