THE REVOLUTION. *Pgs. 74 – 110
**footnotes appear in blue
Patriotic Meetings—Troops sent to the Field—Military Operations under Gens. Hand and McIntosh and Col. Brodhead—Expeditions under Gen. George Rogers Clarke—Fate of Col. Lochry’s Command—The Moravian Expeditions and Massacre.
Washington County had no separate and independent organization or existence during the period of the Revolution until near the close of the great struggle for independence; and as for this very good reason the Revolutionary muster-rolls embrace no military organizations distinctively from this county, and no full regiments or companies are known to have been raised here for regular service in the Continental or Pennsylvania line, it might be inferred that the people then living within the territory that is now the county of Washington took very little, if any, part in the patriotic conflict. But such an inference would be wholly erroneous; for, besides the men who went from the then sparsely populated country west of the Monongahela to join the regiments and companies that were raised on the other side of that river, in Westmoreland County, soon after the opening of hostilities, there were also furnished from the settlements of Washington County, both before and immediately after its erection as such, many hundreds of volunteers and militiamen, who took gallant part, and did good service in the numerous expeditions that were sent from the valleys of the Monongahela and Ohio against the Indian tribes in the Northwest. These campaigns and expeditions were necessary for the protection of the frontiers against incursions and massacres by savages, incited by white renegades and the British, and sometimes led by officers of the royal army. They were as much a part of the Revolutionary conflict as were the battles of Trenton and Monmouth; and the men who took part in them were as much entitled to credit for their bravery and patriotism as were those who fought in the army of Washington on the Delaware and Brandywine.
Early in May, 1775, the tidings came across the Alleghenies that on the 19th of the preceding month a detachment of royal troops from Gen. Gage’s force at Boston had fired on the Massachusetts provincials at Lexington Common; that the yeomanry had returned the fire and harassed the retreating regulars far on their way towards the city. Thus was announced the opening of the first act in the great drama of the Revolution, and the response which it brought forth from the people west of the mountains was prompt and unmistakably patriotic.
The dispute and feud between Virginia and Pennsylvania was then at its height in this region, both States claiming and both attempting to exercise jurisdiction over the country between Laurel Hill and the Ohio; but the partisans of both provinces unhesitatingly laid aside their animosities, or held them in abeyance, and both, on the same day, held large and patriotic meetings, pledging themselves to aid to the extent of their ability the cause of the colonies against the encroachments of Britain. Prominent in the proceedings of both meetings were men from the section of country which six years later became the county of Washington, then embraced, according to the Virginia claim, in the county of Augusta of that colony, and partly, according to Pennsylvania’s claim, in her county of Westmoreland, though there was little attempt on the part of the latter at that time to exercise jurisdiction west of the Monongahela. The meeting called and held under Virginia auspices was reported as follows:
“At a meeting of the inhabitants of that part of Augusta County that lies on the west side of the Laurel Hill, at Pittsburgh, the 16th day of May, 1775, the following gentlemen were chosen a committee for the said district, viz.: George Croghan, John Campbell, Edward Ward, Thomas Smallman, John Canon, John McCullough, William Goe, George Vallandigham, John Gibson, Dorsey Pentecost, Edward Cook, William Crawford, Devereux Smith, John Anderson, David Rogers, Jacob Van Meter, Henry Enoch, James Ennis, George Wilson, William Vance, David Shepherd, William Elliott, Richmond Willis, Samuel Sample, John Ormsby, Richard McMaher, John Nevill, and John Swearingen.”
A standing committee was appointed, to have “full power to meet at such times as they shall judge necessary, and in case of any emergency to call the committee of this district together, and shall be vested with the same power and authority as the other standing committee and committees of correspondence are in the other counties within this colony.”
It was by the meeting “Resolved, unanimously, That this committee have the highest sense of the spirited behavior of their brethren in New England, and do most cordially approve of their opposing the invaders of American rights and privileges to the utmost extreme, and that each member of this committee respectively will animate and encourage their neighborhood to follow the brave example. . . .
“Resolved, That the recommendation of the Richmond Convention of the 20th of last March, relative to the embodying, arming, and disciplining of the militia, be immediately carried into execution with the greatest diligence in this country by the officers appointed for that end, and that the recommendation of the said convention to the several committees of this colony to collect from their constituents, in such manner as shall be most agreeable to them, so much money as shall be sufficient to purchase half a pound of gunpowder and one pound of lead, flints, and cartridge paper for every tithable person in their county be likewise carried into execution.
“This committee, therefore, out of the deepest sense of the expediency of this measure, most earnestly entreat that every member of this committee do collect from each tithable person in their several districts the sum of two shillings and sixpence, which we deem no more than sufficient for the above purpose, and give proper receipts to all such as pay the same into their hands. . . . And this committee, as your representatives, and who are most ardently laboring for your preservation, call on you, our constituents, our friends, brethren, and fellow-sufferers, in the name of God, of all you hold sacred or valuable, for the sake of your wives, children, and unborn generations, that you will every one of you, in your several stations, to the utmost of your power, assist in levying such sum, by not only paying yourselves, but by assisting those who are not at present in a condition to do so. We heartily lament the case of all such as have not this sum at command in this day of necessity; to all such we recommend to tender security to such as Providence has enabled to lend them so much; and this committee do pledge their faith and fortunes to you, their constituents, that we shall, without fee or reward, use our best endeavors to procure, with the money so collected, the ammunition our present exigencies have made so exceedingly necessary.
“As this committee has reason to believe there is a quantity of ammunition destined for this place for the purpose of government, and as this country on the west side of Laurel Hill is greatly distressed for want of ammunition, and deprived of the means of procuring it, by reason of its situation, as easy as the lower counties of this colony, they do earnestly request the committees of Frederick, Augusta, and Hampshire that they will not suffer the ammunition to pass through their counties for the purposes of government, but will secure it for the use of this destitute country, and immediately inform this committee of their having done so. Ordered, that the standing committee be directed to secure such arms and ammunition as are not employed in actual service or private property, and that they get the same repaired, and deliver them to such captains of independent companies as may make application for the same, and taking such captains’ receipt for the arms so delivered.
“Resolved, That this committee do approve of the resolution of the committee of the other part of this county relative to the cultivating a friendship with the Indians, and if any person shall be so depraved as to take the life of any Indian that may come to us in a friendly manner, we will, as one man, use our utmost endeavors to bring such offenders to condign punishment.
“Resolved, That the sum of fifteen pounds, current money, be raised by subscription, and that the same be transmitted to Robert Carter Nicholas, Esq., for the use of the deputies sent from this colony to the General Congress; which sum of money was immediately paid by the committee then present.” The delegates referred to in this resolution were John Harvie and George Rootes, who were addressed, in instructions from the committee, as “being chosen to represent the people on the west side of the Laurel Hill in the Colonial Congress for the ensuing year,” the committee then instructing them to lay certain specified grievances of the people of this section before the Congress at their first meeting, “as we conceive it highly necessary they should be redressed to put us on a footing with the rest of our brethren in the colony.”
The meeting held on the same day at the county-seat of Westmoreland was not so numerously attended by people west of the Monongahela, the greater part of the prominent men of this section considering themselves as belonging to Virginia and attending the Augusta County meeting at Pittsburgh. The Westmoreland meeting declared themselves to be
“Possessed with the most unshaken loyalty and fidelity to His Majesty King George the Third, whom we acknowledge to be our lawful and rightful king, and who we wish may long be the beloved sovereign of a free and happy people throughout the whole British Empire;” but
“Resolved, unanimously, That the Parliament of Great Britain, by several late acts, have declared the inhabitants of the Massachusetts Bay to be in rebellion, and the ministry, by endeavoring to enforce those acts, have attempted to reduce the said inhabitants to a more wretched state of slavery than ever before existed in any state or country. Not content with violating their constitutional and chartered privileges, they would strip them of the rights of humanity, exposing lives to the wanton and unpunishable sport of a licentious soldiery, and depriving them of the very means of subsistence.” They also resolved that they would oppose the oppressions of the ministry with their lives and their fortunes. “And the better to enable us to accomplish it we will immediately form ourselves into a military body, to consist of companies, to be made up out of the several townships, under the following association, which is declared to be the Association of Westmoreland County.” The objects of which Association were declared to be:
“First. To arm and form ourselves into a regiment, or regiments, and choose officers to command us, in such proportions as shall be thought necessary.
“Second. We will with alacrity endeavor to make ourselves masters of the manual, exercise, and such evolutions as may be necessary to enable us to act in a body with concert, and to that end we will meet at such times and places as shall be appointed, either for the companies or the regiment, by the officers commanding each when chosen.
“Third. That should our country be invaded by a foreign enemy, or should troops be sent from Great Britain to enforce the late arbitrary acts of its Parliament, we will cheerfully submit to military discipline, and to the utmost of our power resist and oppose them, or either of them, and will coincide with any plan that may be formed for the defense of America in general or Pennsylvania in particular.” And the meeting further resolved that when the Parliament should show a willingness to do justice to the colonies, then, and not till then, should the Association of Westmoreland County be dissolved.
About a month after the events above narrated, a small body of men who had volunteered from the frontier settlements crossed the Monongahela River and marched eastward over the mountains to join a Maryland company which was being formed under Capt. Michael Cresap for service in the provincial army. The nominal home of Capt. Cresap was at Old Town, Md., but his base of operations at that time, and for a few previous years, was at Redstone Old Fort, now Brownsville, on the Monongahela, opposite the eastern border of Washington County. Here he had a good house1 and a store, from which he traded at points below on the river. He had been engaged, and somewhat prominent, in the Indian fighting of 1774, known as Dunmore’s war, being the same Capt. Cresap to whom was (wrongfully, it now seems almost certain) charged the crime of killing the family of the Indian chief Logan. The men who now marched to join his company in Maryland are mentioned as “his old companions in arms,” and although none of their names have been preserved, there is little doubt that most, if not all of them, were from the settlements on the Monongahela, and between that river and the Ohio.
[1 The first house having “a shingle roof nailed on” that was ever built west of the mountains.]
Cresap had been in Kentucky in the spring of 1775, but being taken ill there had set out by way of the Ohio and across the mountains for his home in Maryland, where he hoped to recover his health. “On his way across the Allegheny Mountains2 he was met by a faithful friend with a message stating that he had been appointed by the Committee of Safety at Frederick a captain to command one of the two rifle companies required from Maryland by a resolution of Congress. Experienced officers and the very best men that could be procured were demanded. ‘When I communicated my business,’ says the messenger in his artless narrative, ‘and announced his appointment, instead of becoming elated he became pensive and solemn, as if his spirits were really depressed, or as if he had a presentiment that this was his death-warrant. He said he was in bad health, and his affairs in a deranged state, but that nevertheless, as the committee had selected him, and as he understood from me his father had pledged himself that he should accept of this appointment, he would go, let the consequences be what they might. He then directed me to proceed to the west side of the mountains and publish to his old companions in arms this his intention; this I did, and in a very short time collected and brought to him at his residence in Old Town [Maryland] about twenty-two as fine fellows as ever handled rifle, and most, if not all of them, completely equipped.’”
[2 Extract from “Logan and Cresap,” by Col. Brantz Mayer.]
It was in June that these men were raised and moved across the mountains to Frederick, Md., to join Cresap’s company. A letter written from that place on the 1st of the following August to a gentleman in Philadelphia said, “Notwithstanding the urgency of my business, I have been detained three days in this place by an occurrence truly agreeable. I have had the happiness of seeing Capt. Michael Cresap marching at the head of a formidable company of upwards of one hundred and thirty men from the mountains and backwoods, painted like Indians, armed with tomahawks and rifles, dressed in hunting-shirts and moccasins, and though some of them had traveled near eight hundred [?] miles from the banks of the Ohio, they seemed to walk light and easy, and not with less spirit than on the first hour of their march.” . . . They marched in August, and joined Washington’s army near Boston, where and in later campaigns they did good service. Their captain’s health growing worse he resigned and started for Maryland, but died on his way in New York in the following October. The names of the men who were recruited west of the mountains for Cresap’s company cannot be given, but there can be little doubt that most of them were his old comrades of the Dunmore war, and from the settlements between the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers.
In the fall of 1775 the Seventh Virginia Regiment was recruited and organized by Col. William Crawford. This was the first considerable body of men raised in the Monongahela country for the Revolutionary service. Col. Crawford’s home was on the Youghiogheny at Stewart’s Crossing’s (now the borough of New Haven, Fayette Co.), but being an active Virginia partisan, and very popular among the Virginians west of the Monongahela,1 many of his men were recruited in what afterwards became Washington County, the remainder being largely obtained in that part of Westmoreland County which became Fayette. Crawford did not at once receive the colonelcy of the Seventh, but became its commanding officer in 1776. It was afterwards commanded by Col. John Gibson. The regiment entered the service with the Continental army in the East, and remained there for some time, but during the later years of the war served in the Western Department, with headquarters at Fort Pitt.
[1 It was the almost universal opinion among the people west of the Monongahela at that time that they were within the jurisdiction of Augusta Co., Va.]
The Thirteenth Virginia (known as the “West Augusta Regiment”) was afterwards raised, chiefly by Crawford’s efforts, in the same region of country in which the Seventh had been recruited. The Thirteenth (of which Crawford was made colonel) performed its service in the West, being stationed in detachments at Fort Pitt and other points on the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers. An extract from a letter written by Crawford to Gen. Washington,2 dated “Fredericktown, Md., February 12, 1777,” is given below because of its reference to the two regiments raised in the Monongahela country, viz.:
[2 Washington-Crawford Letters, p. 62.]
“Many reasons have we to expect a war [with the Indians] this spring. The chief of the lower settlements upon the Ohio has moved off; and should both the regiments be moved away, it will greatly distress the people, as the last raised by myself [the West Augusta Regiment] was expected to be a guard for them if there was an Indian war. By the Governor of Virginia I was appointed to command that regiment at the request of the people. The conditions were that the soldiers were enlisted during the war, and if an Indian war should come on this spring they were to be continued there, as their interest was on the spot; but if there should be no Indian war in that quarter, then they were to go wherever called. On these conditions many cheerfully enlisted. The regiment, I believe, by this time is nearly made up, as five hundred and odd were made up before I came away, and the officers were recruiting very fast; but should they be ordered away before they get blankets and other necessaries, I do not see how they are to be moved; besides, the inhabitants will be in great fear under the present circumstances. Many men have already been taken from that region, so that if that regiment should march away, it will leave few or none to defend the country. There are no arms, as the chief part of the first men were armed there, which has left the place very bare; but let me be ordered anywhere, and I will go if possible. . . . . “
It seems remarkable that the sparsely-settled country west of Laurel Hill (and principally the Monongahela Valley) should have been able to furnish two full regiments3 (furnishing almost all the arms for one regiment) and put them into the field by the spring of 1777. But there had also been raised under Pennsylvania authority in what was then Westmoreland County (then including the present county of Washington) a company under Capt. Joseph Erwin. It marched to Marcus Hook, where it was incorporated with Col. Samuel Miles’ “Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment.” It was subsequently included in the Thirteenth Pennsylvania, then in the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, and was finally discharged from service at Valley Forge Jan. 1, 1778, by reason of expiration of its term of enlistment. During its period of service the company fought at Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Quibbletown (N. J.), Brandywine, and Germantown. On the roll of this company are found the names of Joseph Brownlee, John Brownlee, Andrew Bryson, Robert Heslet, Leech, Orr, and others, who either were then or afterwards became residents of Washington County.
[3 In February, 1777, Congress appropriated the sum of $20,000, “to be paid to Col. William Crawford for raising and equipping his regiment, which is part of the Virginia new levies.” It is not certain as to which of the regiments raised by Crawford this had reference, but it appears to have been the last one, the “West Augusta Regiment.”]
Under authority of a resolution of Congress dated July 15, 1776,4 was raised the Eighth Regiment of the Pennsylvania line, for the defense of the western frontier, to garrison the posts of Presque Isle, Le Bœuf, and Kittaning. One company of this regiment was raised in Bedford County, and all the remaining seven companies were recruited in the territory then comprised in Westmoreland County. On the 29th of July, 1776, Congress appointed as field-officers of this regiment Col. Eneas McKay, Lieut.-Col. George Wilson, and Maj. Richard Butler. September 22d, David McClure was elected chaplain, and Ephraim Douglass, quartermaster. Among the names of company commanders are found those of Capt. Van Swearingen and Capt. Samuel Brady, both of Washington County. Among the private soldiers Washington County family names are numerous.
[4 Journal, vol. i, pp. 411-19.]
On the 23d of November Congress directed the Board of War to order the regiment to march with all possible expedition by the nearest route “to Brunswick, N. J., or to join Gen. Washington wherever he may be.” On the 4th of November the regiment received orders to march to Amboy, N. J., whereupon Lieut.-Col. George Wilson wrote from the regimental rendezvous to Col. James Wilson as follows:
“Ketanian, Dec. 5th, 1776.
“Dr Colonall: Last Evening We Recd Marching orders, Which I must say is not Disagreeable to me under yee Sircumstances of ye times, for when I entr’d into ye Service I Judged that if a necessity appeared to call us Below it would be Don, therefore it Don’t come on me By Surprise; But as Both ye Officers and Men understood they Ware Raised for ye Defence of ye Western Frontiers, and their fameleys and substance to be Left in so Defenceless a situation in their abstence, seems to Give Sensable trouble, altho I Hope We Will Get over it, By Leving sum of ower trifeling Officers Behind who Pirtend to Have More Wit then seven men that can Rendar a Reason. We are ill Provided for a March at this season, But there is nothing Hard under sum Sircumstances. We Hope Provision Will be made for us Below, Blankets, Campe Kittles, tents, arms, Regimentals, &c., that we may not Cut a Dispisable Figure, But may be Enabled to answer ye expectation of ower Countre.
“I Have Warmly Recommended to ye officers to Lay aside all Personall Resentments at this time, for that it Would be construed By ye Worald that they made use of that Sircumstance to Hide themselves under from ye cause of their countrie, and I hope it Will have a Good Efect at this time. We Have ishued ye Neceserey orders, and appointed ye owt Parties to Randevous at Hanows Town, ye 15th instant, and to March Emeditly from there. We have Recomended it to ye Militia to Station One Hundred Men at this post until further orders. I Hope to have ye Pleasure of Seeing you Soon, as we mean to take Philadelphia in ower Rout. In ye mean time, I am, With Esteem, your Harty Wellwisher and Hble St,
“G. Wilson.
“To Col. James Wilson, of the Honorable the Cont. Congress, Phila.”
Until the 5th of December, 1776, the regiment was styled in the quartermaster’s receipts “the Battalion commanded by Col. Eneas Mackay,” but at that date it is first styled “The Eighth Battalion of Penn’a troops in the Continental service,” showing that it had then been assigned to duty in the Continental line. The regiment marched from Kittaning on the 6th of January, 1777, and it and the Twelfth Pennsylvania were the first regiments of the line in the field. The next notice of it is found in the “Life of Timothy Pickering” (volume i, page 122), in the following reference to the Eighth Pennsylvania:
“March 1, 1777, Saturday.
“Dr. Putnam brought me a billet, of which the following is a copy:
“‘Dear Sir: Our Battalion is so unfortunate as not to have a Doctor, and, in my opinion, dying for want of medicine. I beg you will come down to-morrow morning and visit the sick of my company. For that favor you shall have sufficient satisfaction from your humble servant,
“‘James Pigott,
“‘Capt. of 8 Batt. of Pa.
“‘Quibbletown, Feb. 28, 1777.’
“I desired the Dr. by all means to visit them. They were raised about the Ohio, and had traveled near five hundred miles, as one of the soldiers who came for the Dr. informed me. For 150 miles over mountains, never entering a house, but building fires and encamping in the Snow. Considerable numbers, unused to such hardships, have since died. The Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel among the dead. The Dr. informed he found them quartered in cold shattered houses.”
Cols. Mackay and Wilson having died, Daniel Brodhead became colonel, Richard Butler lieutenant-colonel, and Stephen Bayard major. When Morgan’s rifle command was organized, Lieut.-Col. Butler was made lieutenant-colonel of it, and Maj. James Ross, of the First Pennsylvania, became lieutenant-colonel. According to a return signed by the latter, dated “Mount Pleasant, June 9, 1777,” the number of men enlisted between the 9th of August and the 16th of December, 1776, was six hundred and thirty; enlisted since the 16th of December, thirty-four; making a total of six hundred and eighty-four. The strength of the respective companies was:
Rank
Ser- and
geants. File.
Capt. David Kilgore’s Company . . 3 55
Capt. Samuel Miller’s “ . . 4 82
Capt. Van Swearingen’s “ . . 3 71
Capt. James Pigott’s “ . . 4 55
Capt. Wendel Ourry’s “ . . 4 54
Capt. Andrew Mann’s “ . . 4 58
Capt. James Montgomery’s Company . 2 57
Capt. Michael Huffnagle’s “ . 4 70
Capt. Lieut. John Finley’s “ . 2 77
Capt. Lieut. Basil Prather’s “ . 3 69
From the total thirty-six were deducted as prisoners of war, fourteen missing, fifty-one dead, fifteen discharged, one hundred and twenty-six deserted. Lieut. Matthew Jack, absent from April 13th, wounded. Ensign Gabriel Peterson, absent from April 17th, wounded. Capt. Moses Carson, deserted April 21st. First Lieut. Richard Carson, deserted. Aquila White, ensign, deserted February 23d. Joseph McDolo, first lieutenant, deserted. Thomas Forthay, ensign, deserted. Alexander Simrall, second lieutenant, cashiered. David McKee, ensign, dismissed the service. Ephraim Douglass, quartermaster, taken by the enemy, March 13th.
Capt. Van Swearingen, First Lieut. Basil Prather, and Second Lieut. John Hardin with their commands were detailed on duty with Col. Morgan, and greatly distinguished themselves in the series of actions that resulted in the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne at Saratoga. These commands consisted of picked riflemen out of all the companies of the Eighth Pennsylvania.
A return dated Nov. 1, 1777, shows the strength of the regiment present: colonel, major, two captains, six lieutenants, adjutant, paymaster and surgeon, sergeant-major, quartermaster-sergeant and drum-major, twenty-nine sergeants, nine drums and fifes, one hundred and twelve rank and file fit for duty; twenty-eight sick present, seventy-seven sick absent, one hundred and thirty-nine on command; total, three hundred and fifty-one. Prisoners of war, one sergeant and fifty-eight privates. Capt. Van Swearingen, Lieut. Basil Prather, and Lieut. John Hardin on command with Col. Morgan. Vacant offices: lieutenant-colonel, four captains, three lieutenants, eight ensigns, chaplain, and surgeon’s mate. Lieut.-Col. Ross resigned after the battles of Brandywine and Germantown.
On the 5th of March, 1777, the regiment was ordered to Pittsburgh for the defense of the western frontiers, and by direction of Gen. McIntosh, Col. Brodhead made, about the 12th of July, a detour up the West Branch to check the savages who were ravaging Wyoming and the West Branch Valley. He was at Muncy on the 24th of July, and had ordered Capt. Finley’s company into Penn’s Valley, where two of the latter’s soldiers, Thomas Van Doren and Jacob Shedacre, who had participated in the campaign against Burgoyne, were killed on the 24th, in sight of Potter’s fort, by the Indians. (Pennsylvania Archives, O. S., vol. vi. page 666.) Soon after, Col. Hartley with his regiment relieved Col. Brodhead, and he proceeded with the Eighth to Pittsburgh.
A monthly return of the troops commanded by Col. Brodhead in the Western Department, dated July 30, 1780, gives the strength of the Eighth Pennsylvania: colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, two captains, three lieutenants, four ensigns, adjutant, paymaster, quartermaster, surgeon, surgeon’s mate, sergeant-major, quartermaster-sergeant, one drum and fife major, ten sergeants, ten drums and fifes, one hundred and twenty rank and file fit for duty, four sick, two furloughed, eight on command, three deserted, six joined the Invalid Company.
In a letter from Gen. William Irvine to Gen. Washington, soon after he took command at Fort Pitt, dated Dec. 2, 1781, he says, “I have reformed the remains of the late Eighth Pennsylvania into two companies, and call them a detachment from the Pennsylvania line, to be commanded by Lieut.-Col. Bayard.” [The first company, Capt. Clark, Lieuts. Peterson and Reed; second company, Capt. Brady, Lieuts. Ward and Morrison.]
Capt. Matthew Jack, in a statement on file, says, “In the year 1778 the Eighth was sent to Pittsburgh to guard the frontier, and placed under the command of Gen. McIntosh; that they went down to the mouth of the Beaver, and there built Fort McIntosh, and from that went, upon McIntosh’s command, to the head of the Muskingum, and there built Fort Laurens. In the year 1779 went up the Allegheny, on Gen. Brodhead’s expedition, attacked the Indians and defeated them, and burned their towns. On the return of the regiment, its time having expired, it was discharged at Pittsburgh.” For a full account of the services of this regiment in the West the reader is referred to “Brodhead’s Letter-Book,” published in the twelfth volume, first series, of Pennsylvania Archives.
Van Swearingen was probably the most noted captain in the Eighth Pennsylvania. On the 19th of September he and a lieutenant and twenty privates were captured in a sudden dash that scattered Morgan’s men. He fell into the hands of the Indians, but was rescued by Gen. Fraser’s batman (one who takes care of his officer’s horse), who took him before the general. The latter interrogated him concerning the number of the American army, but got no answer, except that it was commanded by Gens. Gates and Arnold. He then threatened to hang him. “You may, if you please,” said Van Swearingen. Fraser then rode off, leaving him in care of Sergt. Dunbar, who consigned him to Lieut. Auburey, who ordered him to be placed among the other prisoners, with directions not to be ill treated. Swearingen, after Burgoyne’s army was removed to Virginia, made especial exertions to have Dunbar and Auburey exchanged. Swearingen was the first sheriff of Washington County in 1781. His daughter became the wife of the celebrated Capt. Samuel Brady (also of the Eighth Pennsylvania), so conspicuous in the annals of Western Pennsylvania.
Roster of Field and Staff Officers of the Eighth Pennsylvania.
Colonels.
Mackay, Eneas, of Westmoreland County, July 20, 1776; died in service, Feb. 14, 1777.
Brodhead, Daniel, from lieutenant-colonel Fourth Pennsylvania, March 12, 1777; joined April 1777; transferred to First Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Lieutenant-Colonels.
Wilson, George, July 20, 1776; died in service at Quibbletown, February, 1777.
Butler, Richard, from major, March 12, 1777, ranking from Aug. 28, 1776; transferred to lieutenant-colonel of Morgan’s rifle command, June 9, 1777; promoted colonel of Ninth Pennsylvania, ranking from June 7, 1777; by an altercation subsequent to March 12, 1777, Richard Butler was placed in the First Pennsylvania, and James Ross in Eighth Pennsylvania.
Ross, James, from lieutenant-colonel First Pennsylvania; resigned Sept. 22, 1777.
Bayard, Stephen, from major, ranking Sept. 23, 1777; transferred to Sixth Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Majors.
Butler, Richard, July 20, 1776; promoted lieutenant-colonel March 12, 1777.
Bayard, Stephen, March 12, 1777, ranking from Oct. 4, 1776; promoted lieutenant-colonel, to rank from Sept. 23, 1777.
Vernon, Frederick, from captain Fifth Pennsylvania, ranking from June 7, 1777; transferred to Fourth Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Captains.
Kilgore, David, died July 11, 1814, aged sixty-nine years four months and twelve days; buried in the Presbyterian graveyard of Mount Pleasant (Middle Church), Westmoreland County. – Letter of Nannie H. Kilgore, Greenburg, July 23, 1878.
Miller, Samuel, died in service, Jan. 10, 1778; left a widow, Jane Cruikshank, who resided in Westmoreland County in 1784.
Van Swearingen,1 Aug. 9, 1776. Van Swearingen had been in command of an independent company, in the pay of the State from February to Aug. 11, 1776, in defense of the frontiers in Westmoreland County.
[1 The names of the captains appear, on the first return found, in the order indicated above, but date of commissions cannot be ascertained. Probably they were all dated Aug. 9, 1776, as Van Swearingen’s.]
Piggott, James; on return June 9, 1777, he is marked sick in camp.
Ourry, Wendel.
Mann, Andrew; on return of June 9, 1777, he is marked sick in quarters since May 2d.
Carson, Moses, left the service, April 21, 1777.
Miers, Eliezer.
[The foregoing captains were recommended by the committees of Westmoreland and Bedford Counties, and directed to be commissioned by resolution of Congress Sept. 14, 1776.]
Montgomery, James, died Aug. 26, 1777; his widow, Martha, resided in Westmoreland County in 1824.
Huffnagle, Michael, died Dec. 31, 1819, in Allegheny County, aged sixty-six.
Jack, Matthew, from first lieutenant; became supernumerary Jan. 31, 1779; resided in Westmoreland County in 1835, aged eighty-two.
Stokely, Nehemiah, Oct. 16, 1777; became supernumerary Jan. 31, 1779; died in Westmoreland County in 1811.
Cooke, Thomas, from first lieutenant; became supernumerary Jan. 31, 1779; died in Guernsey County, Ohio, Nov. 5, 1835.
Dawson, Samuel, from Eleventh Pennsylvania, July 1, 1778; died at Fort Pitt, Sept. 6, 1779; buried in First Presbyterian churchyard in Pittsburgh.
Moore, James Frances, from Thirteenth Pennsylvania, July 1, 1778.
Clark, John, from Thirteenth Pennsylvania, July 1, 1778; transferred to First Pennsylvania, July 17, 1781.
Carnahan, James, from Thirteenth Pennsylvania, July 1, 1778; transferred to Fourth Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Finley, Joseph L., from Thirteenth Pennsylvania, July 1, 1778; brigade-major, July 30, 1780; transferred to Second Pennsylvania Jan. 17, 1781.
Crawford, John, from first lieutenant, Aug. 10, 1779; transferred to Sixth Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Brady, Samuel, from captain lieutenant, Aug. 2, 1779; transferred to Third Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Captain Lieutenant.
Brady, Samuel, commission dated July 17, 1776; from Sixth Pennsylvania; promoted captain Aug. 2, 1779.
First Lieutenants.
Moseley, Robert (written Moody in the return), resigned May 16, 1777; resided in Ohio County, Ky., in 1820, aged sixty-nine.
Cooke, Thomas, promoted captain.
Finley, John, promoted captain Oct. 22, 1777.
Jack, Matthew, lost his left hand by the bursting of his gun at Bound Brook, N. J.; promoted captain April 13, 1777.
Hickman, Ezekial.
Carson, Richard, left the service in 1777.
McGeary, William, resigned April 17, 1777.
McDolo, Joseph, left the service in 1777.
[The foregoing first lieutenants were commissioned under the resolution of Congress of Sept. 16, 1776.]
Richardson, Richard, returned June 9, 1777, as recruiting.
Prather, Basil, returned Nov. 1, 1777, as on command with Col. Morgan from June 9th; resigned April 1, 1779.
Hughes, John, Aug. 9, 1776; resigned Nov. 23, 1778; resided in Washington County in 1813.
Crawford, John, from second lieutenant April 18, 1777; promoted captain Aug. 10, 1779; promoted to Second Pennsylvania, with rank of captain, from April 18, 1777.
Hardin, John, July 13, 1777; Nov. 1, 1777, returned as on command with Col. Morgan; resigned in 1779; afterwards Gen. John Hardin, of Kentucky; murdered by the Indians near Sandusky, Ohio, in 1791. – Wilkinson’s Memoirs.
Mickey, Daniel, became supernumerary Jan. 31, 1779.
Peterson, Gabriel, July 26, 1777; died in Allegheny County, Feb. 12, 1832.
Stotesbury, John, from old Eleventh Pennsylvania, commission dated April 9, 1777; he was a prisoner in New York for some time; transferred to the Second Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Neilly, Benjamin, from ensign, Oct. 4, 1777.
Finley, Andrew, on return of Nov. 1, 1777; marked sick since October 16th; retired in 1778; resided in Westmoreland County, 1813.
Amberson, William, in 1779 he was deputy muster-master-general; resided in Mercer County in 1835.
Read, Archibald, vice Joseph Brownlee, Dec. 13, 1778; died in Allegheny County in 1823.
Graham, Alexander, vice Basil Prather, April 1, 1779.
Ward, John, April 2, 1779; transferred to Second Pennsylvania, Jan. 17, 1781.
Second Lieutenants.
Thompson, William, Aug. 9, 1776; resigned May 17, 1777.
Simrall, Alexander, Aug. 9, 1776; left the army in 1777; resided in Jefferson County, Ohio, in 1834, aged eighty-eight.
Guthrie, James, Aug. 9, 1776.
Rogers, Philip, Aug. 9, 1776.
Smith, Samuel, Aug. 9, 1776; killed at Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777.
Mountz, William, Aug. 9, 1776; resigned April 17, 1777.
Beeler, James, Jr., Aug. 9, 1776.
Crawford, John, Aug. 9, 1776; promoted first lieutenant, April 18, 1777.
[The foregoing second lieutenants were commissioned under resolution of Congress, Sept. 14, 1776, dating as above.]
Owine, Barnabas, marked on return of Nov. 1, 1777, as command in the infantry.
Carnahan, John, resigned in 1779.
Ensigns.
Neilly, Benjamin, promoted to first lieutenant, Oct. 4, 1777.
Kerr, Joseph.
Simmons, John.
Wherry, David.
Mecklin, Dewalt, resigned April 17, 1777.
Weaver, Valentine.
Reed, John.
White, Aquila, left the army Feb. 23, 1777; resided in Montgomery County, Ky., in 1834.
[The foregoing second lieutenants were commissioned under resolution of Congress, Sept. 14, 1776.]
Forshay, Thomas, left the service in 1777.
McKee, David, left the service in 1777.
Peterson, Gabriel, on a return of June 9, 1777, he is marked as absent, wounded, from April 17, 1777; promoted to first lieutenant, July 26, 1777.
Guthrie, John, appointed Dec. 21, 1778.
Morrison, James, appointed Dec. 21, 1778.
Wyatt, Thomas, appointed Dec. 21, 1778; resided at St. Louis, Mo., in 1834, aged eighty.
Cooper, William, appointed April 19, 1779.
Davidson, Joshua, appointed April 19, 1779; resided in Brown County, Ohio, in 1833, aged eighty-one.
Chaplain.
McClure, Rev. David, appointed Sept. 12, 1776.
Adjutants.
Huffnagle, Michael, appointed Sept. 7, 1776.
Crawford, John, lieutenant, 1780.
Paymaster.
Boyd, John, July 20, 1776.
Quartermasters.
Douglass, Ephraim, Sept. 12, 1776; taken prisoner while acting as aide-de-camp to Gen. Lincoln, March 13, 1777; exchanged Nov. 27, 1780; prothonotary of Fayette County in 1783; died in 1833.
Neilly, Benjamin, appointed in 1778.
Surgeons.
Morgan, Abel, from old Eleventh; resigned in 1779; died in 1785.
Morton, Hugh, March 7, 1780.
Surgeon’s Mate.
Saple, John Alexander, 1778.
Clothier.
Reed, Archibald, 1778.
Muster-roll of Capt. Nehemiah Stokely’s company, in the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment of Foot, in the service of the United States of America, commanded by Col. Daniel Brodhead, taken for the months of October, November, and December, 1778, and January, 1779.
Captain.
Stokely, Nehemiah, Oct. 16, 1777; supernumerary, Jan. 31, 1779.
First Lieutenant.
Hughes, John, Aug. 9, 1776; resigned Nov. 23, 1778.
Ensign.
Wyatt, Thomas, Dec. 20, 1778; on command at Fort Laurens.
Sergeants.
Crawford, Robert, three years.
Hezlip, Rezin, three years.
Smith, John, three years, on command at Sugar Camp.
Armstrong, George, war.
Corporals.
Bradley, Thomas, three years.
Jarret, William, three years, on command at Fort Laurens.
Ackles, Arthur, three years, on guard at block-house.
Stevenson, James, three years, on command at Sugar Camp.
Drummer.
Bower, Michael.
Privates.
Bacon, John, war, at Fort Laurens.
Caldwell, Robert, three years, on command, making canoes.
Cline, George, three years.
Cooper, Joseph, three years, on command at Fort Laurens.
Counse, Felix, three years.
Eyler, Jonas, war, on command at Fort Laurens.
Fisher, John, three years.
France, Henry, three years.
Handcock, Joseph, three years.
Hill, John, three years.
Holmes, Nicholas, three years.
Holstone, George, three years, on command at Fort Laurens.
Kerr, William, three years.
Lamb, Peter, three years, on command at Fort Laurens.
Lewis, Samuel, war.
Lynch, Patrick, three years, on command, boating.
McCombs, Allen, three years.
McCaully, Edward, war.
McGreggor, John, war.
McKeehan, David, three years, on command at Fort Laurens.
McKissan, James, three years.
McLaughlin, Patrick, three years.
Matthew, William, three years, on command, boating.
Marman, George, war, on command, recruiting.
Martin, Paul, three years, on command at Fort Laurens.
Miller, George, three years, on command at Fort Laurens.
Richard, Richard, three years.
Shaw, Jacob, three years, on furlough.
Shelhamer, Peter, three years.
Smith, Emanuel, three years.
Smith, Jacob, three years.
Smith, John, war.
Sommerville, William, three years, on command; enlisted Aug. 8, 1776, under Capt. Ourry; October, 1778, appointed conductor of artillery; see letters to Pennsylvania Archives, second series, vol. iii, p. 245, etc.; he was appointed by President Jefferson postmaster at Martinsburg, Va., and died there, March 18, 1826, aged seventy.
Steel, Thomas, war.
Tracey, James, war, on guard.
Turner, William, three years.
Webb, Hugh, war, on command, at Sugar Camp.
Wilkie, Edward, war, on command at Fort Laurens.
Fort McIntosh, Feb. 21, 1779.
Then mustered Capt. Stokely’s company, as specified in the above roll.
Wm. Anderson,
D.M.M. Genl., M.D.
I certify that the within muster-roll is a true state of the company, without fraud to these United States, or to any individual, to the best of my knowledge.
Robert Crawford,
Sergeant.
I do certify that there is no commissioned officer present belonging to the company.
Daniel Brodhead,
Col. 8th Pa. Regt.
Commissioners’ Office for Army Accounts,
New York, July 19, 1786.
This may certify that the above and foregoing is a true copy of the muster-roll of Capt. Stokely’s company, the original of which is filed in this office.
Jno. Pierce, M.G.
Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, Continental Line1
[1 “This roll of the Pennsylvania line of course falls far short of doing justice to the patriotism of Pennsylvania. It is in fact a mere roll of the line as discharged in January, 1781. The hundreds who fell in all the battles of the Revolution, from Quebec to Charleston, are not here; the wounded who dragged their torn limbs home to die in their native valleys are not here. The heaths of New Jersey, from Paramus to Freehold, by a line encircling Morristown and Bound Brook, were, in the summer of 1777, dotted with the graves of the Eighth and Twelfth Pennsylvania. These regiments from the frontier counties of the State – Westmoreland and Northumberland – were the first of the line in the field, though they had come from the banks of the Monongahela and the head-waters of the Susquehanna. At Brandywine the Pennsylvania troops lost heavily, the Eighth and Twelfth and Col. Hartley’s additional regiment in particular, in officers and men; and Col. Patton’s additional regiment, after the battle of Germantown, could not maintain its regimental organization." – The Pennsylvania Line, from July 1, 1776, to Nov. 3, 1783.]
[Those marked (e) are taken from a list in the secretary’s office of soldiers whose depreciated pay escheated to the State.]
Sergeant.
Allison, John, died in Versailles, Ky., June 16, 1823, aged seventy-five
Corporal.
Adams, Robert.
Drummer.
Atkinson, Joseph.
Fifer.
Adams, George.
Privates.
Abrams, Gabriel, Kilgore’s company, 1776-79.
Aikins, Robert, resided in Bedford County, 1790.
Alcorn, James, transferred to Invalid Corps, July 1780.
Allen, William, deserted August, 1778.
Anderson, Johnson.
Anderson, William, resided in Mercer County, 1809.
Anderson, George, resided in Westmoreland County, 1835, aged eighty-four.
Armstrong, George.
Askins, George.
Askins, James, deserted August, 1778.
Atkins, Isaac.
Sergeants.
Baker, Michael, died in Greene County, Ill., Sept. 13, 1831.
Blake, William.
Byles, Joseph, of Piggott’s company.
Fifer.
Bond, John.
Privates.
Bacon, John.
Bannon, Jeremiah.
Beard, John, deserted August, 1778.
Berkett, Robert.
Berlin, Isaac, died in Crawford County, June 16, 1831, aged seventy-six.
Berry, Michael.
Bess, Edward, Van Swearingen’s company, 1778-79; also in Crawford’s campaign; died in Washington County, July 17, 1822, aged seventy-seven.
Blake, Luke William.
Blake, Nicholas, enlisted August, 1776.
Blakeney, Gabriel, private at Long Island; lieutenant in Flying Camp; captured at Fort Washington; resided in Washington County, 1817.
Bodkin, James.
Booth, George.
Boveard, James, Kilgore’s company, 1776-79; died in 1808, in East Buffalo township, Union County.
Boyer, Oziel, killed in action.
Brandon, Michael.
Bright, John (e).
Bristo, Samuel.
Broadstock, William.
Brothers, Matthew.
Brown, John, resided in Armstrong County, 1825.
Burbridge, Thomas, Kilgore’s company; taken December, 1780; in captivity three years; resided in Westmoreland County, 1805.
Burket, Christopher.
Burns, Pearce, transferred to Invalid Corps, August, 1777.
Byan, David, August, 1777-79; Capt. Piggott’s company; served at Saratoga under Van Swearingen; went West with regiment, 1778; at the building of Fort McIntosh and Fort Laurens; Pennsylvania pensioner, 1813.
Sergeants.
Cavenaugh, Barney.
Cheselden, Edward.
Clarke, James.
Cooper, William, of Kilgore’s company.
Crawford, Robert, Aug. 20, 1776-Sept. 15, 1779; resided in Venango County, 1825.
Fifer.
Clark, David (e), Capt. Kilgore’s company, April, 1777.
Privates.
Cain, Bartholomew.
Cain, John.
Calahan, John.
Call, Daniel, resided in Westmoreland County, 1821.
Campbell, George, Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland Co., 1786.
Carr, Daniel.
Carrenger, Martin.
Carswell, Joseph.
Carty, Richard.
Caseves, Patrick, deserted August, 1778.
Castile, Samuel.
Cavenaugh, John.
Cavenaugh, Patrick, enlisted at Carlisle in Capt. Huffnagle’s company; he saved Gen. Lincoln from capture by the British in New Jersey; afterwards express-rider for Gen. Greene; died in Washington County, April 5, 1823, aged eighty-three.
Chambers, Andrew.
Chambers, Moses, from Ligonier; deserted August, 1778.
Chriswell, Joseph.
Churchfield, John, enlisted July, 1776; wounded in the leg in the battle of Germantown; resided in Westmoreland County 1835, aged eighty-six.
Clark, Benjamin, Kilgore’s company; wounded at Bound Brook, 1777; also, in 1778, on march to Fort McIntosh; resided in Steubenville, Ohio, 1815.
Close, Robert.
Coleman, Joseph.
Conner, John.
Connor, Bryan, enlisted July 2, 1777.
Conway, Felix.
Cooper, Joseph,1 deserted August, 1778; died Jan. 16, 1823, in Bedford County, aged sixty-eight.
[1 The fact of a soldier being marked on one roll deserted amounted to nothing, because they usually returned after a few months’ absence.]
Cooper, Leonard, from Maryland; deserted August, 1778.
Cooper, William, Aug. 17, 1776-September, 1779; resided in Venango County, 1810.
Corner, Felix.
Coveney, Felix.
Cripps, John.
Critchlow, James, enlisted August, 1776, in Capt. Moses Carson’s company; served in all the Saratoga engagements under Lieut.-Col. Butler; resided in Butler County, 1835, aged seventy-eight.
Crosley, Timothy.
Cruikshank, Andrew, Miller’s company, Aug. 17, 1776-September, 1779; resided in Butler County, 1810.
Curtin, John.
Sergeants.
Dennison, James.
Donnalson, William.
Corporal.
Davis, William, died in Muskingum County, Ohio, in 1834, aged eighty-two.
Privates.
Darragh, John.
Davis, John, died in Holmes County, Ohio, June 7, 1830, aged sixty-four.
Dempsey, Thomas.
Dennis, Michael.
Dennis, Thomas, killed in April, 1779.
Dennison, Joseph (e), transferred to Seventh Regiment.
Desperett, Henry.
Dickerson, Henry, enlisted 1776 in Van Swearingen’s company; at Saratoga, etc.; resided in Washington County in 1813.
Dickson, William.
Dolphin, Joseph.
Dougherty, James, alias Capt. Fitzpatrick, deserted August, 1778, and executed for robbery.
Dougherty, Mordecai, brother of above, deserted August, 1778.
Dowden, John.
Du Kinson, Joseph, killed in action.
Sergeant.
Evans, Arnold (e).
Drummer.
Edwards, John.
Fifer.
Evans, Anthony, promoted to fife-major, Third Pennsylvania.
Privates.
Edwards, David (e).
Everall, Charles.
Quartermaster-Sergeant.
Fletcher, Simon.
Sergeants.
Font, Matthew.
Forbes, William.
Corporal.
Fitzgibbons, James.
Privates.
Faith, Abraham, Capt. Mann’s company, Aug. 15, 1776-Nov. 19, 1779; resided in Somerset County in 1825, aged seventy-four.
Faughey, James, deserted August, 1778
Finn, James, transferred to Invalid Corps.
Fitzgibbons, David.
Fossbrooke, or Frostbrook, John, resided in Bath Co., Ky, in 1834, aged one hundred and four.
Fulton, Joseph, July 4, 1776.
Corporal.
Gladwin, John.
Privates.
Gallagher, Michael, June 7, 1776; deserted before he reached the regiment.
Gallagher, John.
Germain, Henry.
Gibbons, David.
Gibson, Henry.
Gill, William, wounded in hand at Bound Brook; resided in Mercer County in 1833, aged eighty-four.
Girdler, James.
Glenn, Hugh, killed in action.
Graham, Alexander, deserted August, 1778.
Graham, William, Capt. Kilgore’s company; resided in Westmoreland County in 1811.
Greenland, James.
Grimes, John.
Guthery, Archibald, killed August, 1779.
Gwyne, Joseph, June 7, 1776; served three years; resided in Greene County in 1808.
Corporal.
Halpen, Joseph.
Privates.
Hamill, Hugh, Finley’s company, 1776-79; resided in Westmoreland County in 1809.
Hancock, Joseph (e), Capt. Mann’s company, 1777; resided in Wayne County, Ind., in 1834, aged seventy-seven.
Hanley, Michael.
Hardesty, Obadiah, resided in Lawrence County, Ill., in 1833, aged seventy-one.
Harman, Conrad, died in Muskingum County, Ohio, June 9, 1822, aged seventy-five.
Harvey, Samuel.
Hezlip, Rezin, Stokely’s company; resided in Baltimore in 1813.
Hayes, Jacob, from Brandywine, deserted August, 1778.
Hayes, Joel, from Brandywine, deserted August, 1778.
Hiere, David, deserted August, 1778.
Hoback, Philip, resided in Madison County, Ind., in 1820, aged sixty-four.
Hockley, Richard, Capt. Clark’s company; resided in Westmoreland County in 1813.
Hotten, John, Aug. 2, 1776-Sept. 17, 1779; resided in Westmoreland County in 1812.
Humbar, Nicholas.
Hunter, Nicholas (e).
Hunter, Robert, John Finley’s company; wounded at Bound Brook and Paoli; resided in Westmoreland County in 1808.
Hutchinson, John.
Sergeant.
Jamison, John, Capt. Miller’s company; enlisted in 1776, at Kittaning; served three years; resided in Butler County in 1835, aged eighty-four.
Privates.
Jennings, Benjamin, Sept. 9, 1776-Sept. 9, 1779, in Kilgore’s company; drafted into rifle command; resided in Somerset County in 1807.
Johnson, Peter (e), resided in Harrison County, Va., in 1829.
Jones, Benjamin, resided in Champaign County, Ohio in 1833, aged seventy-one.
Jordan, John, Westmoreland County.
Justice, Jacob, resided in Bedford County in 1820.
Sergeant.
Kearns, Robert.
Drummer.
Kidder, Benjamin.
Fifer.
McKinney, or Kenney, Peter, Capt. Clark’s company, 1776-79; resided in Butler County in 1835, aged seventy.
Privates.
Kain, John.
Kairns, Godfrey.
Kean, Thomas, Aug. 23, 1776, Capt. Montgomery’s company; he was an indentured servant of William Rankin.
Kelly, Edward.
Kelly, Roberts.
Kelly, Thomas.
Kemble, Jacob.
Kerr, Daniel.