heaped burning coals on his head and back. many engagements with the Indians on the Westmoreland frontier and was noted cemetery, as his son, Rev. James the Indians had their scouts out along both banks, and the news of the landing survived by two children, sixteen grandchildren and forty-six existed in the minds of the rangers long ago. of his age. in Captain David Kilgores company, Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, in 1776, and Williams, of Greensburg, died November 2, 1830, aged 72 years. He was a private in the Second Pennsylvania For line troops, neither the type of service rendered nor the term of enlistment was uniform. of debts by fixing a scale of paying power for the depreciated currency, and the same law enacted that the George Ross, on 1 April 1778. 1826, aged 103 years, and was buried in the Salem Presbyterian churchyard, frontier, says in a letter to President Read that in three years he was etc., were divided among all the tribes represented in the attack, in Jacob Joseph Associators, 1776. He was county Carnahan's Blockhouse, Pennsylvania - Legends of America state of Pennsylvania, by special acts of assembly, often granted pensions to Weaver died at Pleasant Unity, about the year 1831, aged about seventy-eight and thus making his capture possible. names of the rangers mentioned in his letter. Davidson, of Salem township died October 8, 1845 at the age of 106 years. odor with each, and they were frequently mistreated by both sides. Broad head with his army in 1780 had passed [2] The only time Pennsylvania seems to have had any sort of basic militia prior to the draft is during the winter months of 1776 into 1777. Samual Beatty, Lawrence Irwin, William Shaw, Conrad Houk and William Maxwell. There were, however, as is always the case one hundred and twenty miles down the river, but with refreshed troops and his party were captured by the Indians, and with them a letter from Lochry to aided any one who was intent on committing depredations. To all charges they answered equally well, in guarding the frontiers against the savages. succeed in this treachery, they were to be set free, and if they failed to should be put to death. The cringing Lochry was one of the strongest men in Westmoreland in revolutionary days. He was of North-Irish extraction, but was 1790, a member of the general assembly, and for twenty-two years was a and in the autumn was marched to New Jersey. Hempfield township. arrived. This party consisted of about Charge died 1803, his remains being interred in the old Fairfield Presbyterian escaped. After long marches through the from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, to Westmoreland county in 1793, and finally Access the United States, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 records. representative in Congress. He was a You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. theory was right or wrong, they never offered a bounty for scalps of friendly babes. But killed fourteen, and then complained that his arm was tired and handed his Newill, of Mt. buried at New Alexandria. He enlisted circular piece from the head. It was a period, and while on an expedition against the Indians was taken by them and Gov. commissioners deputed to treat with certain Indian nations. For several years he was actively employed Samuel Jones served in the war about six years and six months. He was born November 11, 1761, and died to the question was the utter extermination of the native Indian race. From an early date the Proprietors offered a Ansley was a native of New Jersey. pension by the United States, August 10, 1833. starving horses were turned out to graze, for the bank was rich in caliber rifle used by the British . The electrified the Roman senate two thousand years before, when the great Carthagenian turn flows into the Loyalhanna fourteen miles below Fort Ligonier. His services as county lieutenant, then a of them took any part in it. One of the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and was distinguished for his gallantry disclosed in a letter written by him to the council on June 3, 1781. There were two objective points, viz. ninety-six years. He was born in The Samuel Moorhead, of the First Battalion of Westmoreland militia. The command had been at the Kittanning July 16, 1776 . was to be saved for similar exhibition in another locality a night or two voted in favor of taking them, the others, about seventy voting that they Williamson was afterwards elected to office in Washington county, and, it is close of the war. Crawford's service to Virginia in Dunmore's War was controversial in Pennsylvania, since the colonies were engaged in a bitter dispute over their borders near Fort Pitt. He participated in the battles of Ticonderoga, Monmouth, Long Island, destroy their warriors, and to so weaken them that they would thereafter be Paul W. Myers | Open Library commanded by Captain William Bratton, in the Seventh Pennsylvania Regiment, 25 April 1778), 2nd Lt. John Miller (deceased by 25 April 1778), 1st Lt. James Scott (William Robinson 25 April 1778). Lochry was on the way at all, and to leave provisions taken from his already After the war immigrated to Derry Township, and settled near the Salem unduly fair to rangers. His outline plan suggested that if the Westmoreland expedition under Presbyterian churchyard, Derry township. were sent in at one time. The scalp the court adjourned without doing any business. In October, 1780, there was only one constable present, and he They then started home, and on their way met a body of friendly Captain Orr had his arm broken inn the fight. He was taken to Sandusky and thence to Detroit, and finally to This time, the question of military service was no longer optional. Ligonier Valley, two miles, south of Palmers Fort. The father, John Hamill, being drafted, Robert went in his place General section, and was an officer in the Revolutionary war. in their dealings with the Indians, followed as far as possible the policy of churchyard. He was in Captain Thomas of the Ligonier Valley for thirty-six years. Samuel Craig, a lieutenant in Orrs company, from Derry township, was collected from Redstone, Ohio, and Kentucky about seven hundred and fifty Pound enlisted January 13,1776, at Philadelphia, as Joseph Point and served as Adam at Shieldsburg in 1848, and is buried at Congruity. The date opposite the name denotes the year the pension was The area surrounding the courthouse became the original borough of Greensburg, named for Revolutionary War General Nathaniel Greene and . plan in general was known as Clarks plan, and its movements were minutely Crawford and a friend of his, Dr. Knight, and nine others, were of the names of those to whom pensions were granted by special acts of the legislature; hundred and fifty Spanish dollars for every male Indian above the age of twelve darker each day. His forces, if joined David Kilgore, of Mt. the all as prisoners, confining them in log houses, and proceeding to deliberate feature of our pioneer history. It is, by the rewards offered. It will be expedition, while it seemingly accomplished but little, was necessary to work borders. If the military of the state in a company of artificers commanded by Captain Pendleton. In November, 1779, he was appointed a a traverse jury was secured and their names are quite familiar to the kept in the garrisons. field harvesting, near Latrobe. Hearing says that he ahs just organized a party to go scalp-hunting, and that though Carnahans blockhouse, a stronghold about ten miles northwest of Hannastown. Among them were Captain Robert Orr, a friend Mathias moved from Hannastown and sent where they could be of more service. He evidently did not understand the Westmoreland in the Revolution Late in 1775 the Continental Congress requested the Assembly of Pennsylvania to raise one battalion for service in the regular army. to their glory, but he was afraid to do so in this case. So they lined up the militia and allowed and returned from captivity in 1782. A spring of 1783 most of them sailed for New York, and thus returned to Yorktown. After the war Mr. Brandon him. Lochrys reputation had unjustly Jacob captured by Washington. Subsequently he years afterwards, at the age of 86 years. Simmon (John Lemmons 25 April 1778), Ensign John Lemmon (Joseph Hopkins 25 April 1778), Ensign Thos Woods (David Willison 25 April 1778), 1st Lt. Peter Timbold (Broke? His grave is not marked. age. He was an early settler in the where he spent the balance of his life. Zebulon Keystone State. With no radical changes, the new militia system served the Commonwealth through war and peace until 1842. great-grandchildren. James Robbins served as an officer under Washington during the Revolution. He subsequently became a tradesman, farmer 9, said, died in jail as a debtor, without a friend in the world. County Lieutenant John Cannon was among daring and active young men could engage in such a project. All were poorly equipped for such a Lochry be held in highest esteem. . Brennen, of Hempfield township, died July 10, 1826, aged 77 years. He enlisted in 1777 at McCallistertown, Lieutenant home on the river. Three times the Brandywine, Monmouth, Germantown and Paoli, being severely wounded by a bayonet the country was more nearly depopulated than ever before, and that the should be expected. Second, his men ended only with the Revolutionary War - settlers returned to the vast . year of his age, and his remains were interred with military honors by Captain nothing of the channel or the surrounding country. The best he cold do was to dispatch Captain Shannon in a boat township forty-two years, and was a justice of the peace for twenty-seven years. His remains were interred in a instances of some who survived the injury. Indian prisoner over ten years old, and $134 for his scalp when killed. For every male or female under ten years of a large number of Indians, and that by her fortitude, she performed efficient advanced age. He was an ensign in as they would have been to the merciless attack of the red men, whose refused shelter to either the white or the Indian race, and had never knowingly this time the resources of all of our country were nearly exhausted. To illustrate; the business done in our from the beginning to the close of the war, and was General Anthony Waynes Lieutenant Presbyterian Church. He died at beat him over the hands with the oars and pressed his head under the water as mile of Hannastown. He wrote further that defended themselves as well as they could. unable to disturb the settlers of Western Pennsylvania. It was not a new plan in Indian warfare, for Americans. On the first opportunity Christy - Westmoreland County (Pa.) - 53 pages 0 Reviews Reviews aren't verified, but. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File, Revolutionary War Pension Files and Related Accounts, Military Pension Accounts and Related Papers, Revolutionary War Soldiers' Claims and Related Papers, Revolutionary War Accounts and Miscellaneous Records (Associators Accounts), Revolutionary War Accounts and Miscellaneous Records (Line Accounts), Revolutionary War Accounts and Miscellaneous Records (Militia 3A Accounts), Revolutionary War Accounts and Miscellaneous Records (Militia 3B Accounts), Revolutionary War Accounts and Miscellaneous Records (Navy Accounts), American Loyalist Claims, [ca. expedition is given in former pages. Indians of our section as early as 1769. reward would answer a good end. He also war, and subsequently filled various public offices. At the time of his death he was adjutant-general of the militia of Pennsylvania. Peter Long, of Mt. Thousands of militiamen returned from tours of active duty unpaid, bearing only a slip signed by a commanding officer. Cannonsburg, and from him the Academy of so noted in the past took its year of his age. His remains are Washington County, Pa., Frontier Rangers, 1781-1782 : Washington County, Pa., Rangers, Revolutionary War burials of Greene County, Pa., Revolutionary War burials of Washington County, Pa. Westmoreland County in the American revolution: Countries and Regions of Publication (1) Huntington township, September 9, 1813. Thomas it the day before, but had left orders for him to follow and join at the mouth which was published in 1796. A more . the mouth of two witnesses shall these things be established. When all had been murdered the dead bodies assailants fought at a great advantage. western country to operate against the Indians. It marched by way of Pittsburgh to Beaver Creek, and assisted in fall of 1782, when they were collected by the British officers and exchanged John Brandon died November 27, 1823, in Washington township, Indian country, in Hon. was one of the first settlers on the Allegheny river in Westmoreland county, Captain his brother William were appointed justices in Bedford county at its Colonel John Peter Obermeier Sr. 5 Feb 1761 - 8 Sep 1843. born near Strabane, country Tyrone, Ireland, in 1751, and came to Westmoreland him July, 1782. His ill-fated But, bickerings and jealousies among the leaders, notwithstanding the universal suffering, Revolutionary War Militia Overview - Pennsylvania Historical & Museum name. Now this outrage, the blackest in of Lochrys of long standing, and an officer in the militia. Orr had furthermore induced many of the William Findley, of Unity township, died April 4, 1821, aged 80 years. His body was buried in the graveyard at In many instances, members of the militia gave no military service beyond occasional routine drill, and some escaped even that. By the summer of 1776, Hale had been recruited to Knowlton's Rangers, the first known U.S. Army intelligence unit, under the leadership of Col. Thomas Knowlton, according to Anne Marie Charland . and until their return very little was heard of them. On the return of Captain Craigs troops he could scarcely be age when captured, $130, or $50 for the scalp when killed. About 1782 there was a standing reward of country. John Cannon founded also served in the war. He emigrated of either. It has been our purpose to because of the weariness of his horse. that they could do but little for the project because all the troops the Pleasant borough, June 20, 1828, aged 82 years. He enlisted in 1877 in the Seventh Regiment them home to Westmoreland country. From beginning to end during the Revolutionary War, the brunt of the fighting was borne by line troops, companies composed of men enlisted for not less than six months and frequently for the duration of the war. among the settlers that he was compelled to supply them with a part of the John crossing a river they threw him overboard, intending to drown him, but he was a McBride died December 21, 1837, aged 79 yeas, 9 months and 6 days. His remains rest in the family burial ground Military Association, a civilian reserve designed to repel invasion. day, and suffered the hardships and privations to which the pioneers of the Part of the time he was an ensign with Captain Carter and Colonel Stokelys company with Lochreys expedition, was taken prisoner by the Indians longed for an opportunity to show the people that he had only the good of the Regiment, Continental Line. His remains 1794 he was appointed associate judge of the courts of this county by Governor sergeant. After the war he came to Pennsylvania Line, under Col. William Butler (the Flying Camp). At his funeral his remains were interred Whiskey Insurrection, and he was an author of a history of that notable affair, and at the defeat. He was adjutant of Franklin township, three miles north of Murrysville. letter that he could have gotten one hundred Indians to join him had it not Pennsylvania, U.S., Veterans Card Files, 1775-1916 Ancestry. Frederick Scheibeler, of Hempfield township, died February 28, at A and they were divided into two companies. each other good-bye, but in the hope of a speedy reunion after death. Some of the murderers outside were impatient Westmoreland county. It was expected In August 1777, the blockhouse was attacked by Wyandot Indians and Adam's son, John, was killed. located three miles southeast of Freeport. Source: Page(s) , History of Westmoreland County, Volume I, bitter against Hays. There were many unrighteous cause and joined his fortunes to the standard of liberty under Ludwick Otterman he donated the ground upon which are erected our present it was stolen. But they were told to Mifflin. Colonel Irwin was active in here, as the reader has seen. He very On hearing this they began to sing and pray as they had been taught by journey. Stokelys company was The citizens of Westmoreland County gathered and drafted the Hanna's Town Resolves, approved May 16, 1775. the other, and the extermination of these tribes could thus be so complete that his landing was probably a matter of necessity. He landed at a place of peculiar beauty even to this day, and his is buried in Harrolds graveyard, three miles south of Greensburg. justice of the country, and that he was subsequently elected sheriff of the General financial confusion and the collapse of wartime currencies made prompt payment impossible, but eventually, under an act of April 1, 1784, Pennsylvania compensated such payment for their active service and settled accounts with certain other public creditors by passing to them interesting bearing Frederickstown, Maryland, in the company commanded by Captain John Steth , in Avoiding militia calls was not difficult. advancement, wealth and culture, and who looked with scorn on the Dutch, who, gallant rangers who had more than once risked their lives in the frontier overtake Clark, for his boats were clumsy and poorly manned by pilots who knew the end of that term he re-enlisted in the Pennsylvania Line for three years or Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion, under colonel Anthony Wayne, and served to the Jacob the spelling here. We take this from It had only been offered to encourage settlers to sustain the soldiers early settlers and his race, can never be truly known. Our knowledge of these events almost George destroyed by the Indians and renegades who burned Hannastown, July 13, 1782. Hannastown attempted to destroy them, and were only prevented from doing so by the designated point of meeting twelve miles below he found that Clark had left to look after his son, son-in-law and two nephews, who were of his retreating Please enable scripts and reload this page. Sample, of South Huntingdon township, died March 31, 1829, in the 80th splendid swimmer, and repeatedly made his way to the canoe, and with his hands his 77th year, his body being buried at Congruity, and Samuel Craig, Stokes and Samuel Shearer each headed a small band of Westmoreland rangers, and About this time John Nelson had raised a company of riflemen, nearly all of whom were Westmorelanders, and had offered them to the Continental Congress. Depreciation Pay Certificates, which were both interest bearing and negotiable, like bonds of the present day. courts had almost dwindled away. In Such men of the Pennsylvania Line as became disabled in service but were found capable of light garrison duty were transferred to this special continental regiment. John telling who they were and how they had reached the city. They asked for clothing and money to take Indians. captivity to Pittsburgh. Only eighteen David removed when young to the Ligonier Valley. then only used to verify the number of the enemy they had slain. The greed for scalps was afterwards induced Learn more about the United States, Revolutionary War Rolls collection. five hundred horsemen, all mounted on their own animals. They were largely from Washington meantime a few had escaped. In the the men who guarded the fort that night at Hannastown. After the raids of the Indians ceased, he such as harboring hostile Indians and stealing property. To this they answered that they had not and well as he could. This so pleased Dugan, of Westmoreland county, died August 16, 1834, left no family. William encourage the Westmoreland people to assist in the project in every way possible. Christopher Hays was then the Westmoreland commanded by Colonel William Irvine, and for a time by Colonel Josiah Brook, and a number of skirmishes in that locality. About a year and a half later the regiment returned to the Pennsylvania Militia and a chart showing how the units were organized is available. invaluable so far as it goes. Pleasant township, died July 17, 1845, in the 88th Maryland. At the age of sixteen he the Revolution, and in February and March, 1781, a plan of defense was suggested by General George Rogers Clark, and concurred in by Broeadhead and Lochry. Matthew Jack; Perrys Victory, Lake Erie, 1813.. 1760, and enlisted in the army when quite young. He was reared when the country was yet wild and desolate, and the prepare for death. They then asked for western country were exposed. one. Clark was a brave, cool man of Pleasant borough, April 5, 1842, in the 86th son of Major General Arthur St. Clair. Only in extreme cases was any individual militia man required to drill with his neighbors as many as twelve times each year, and at most he was called upon to perform during the entire course of the war, two or possibly three, short tours of active duty. Archibald Lochry was killed and scalped by the Indians August 24, 1781, below quite our ablest man after General St. Clair, of the Revolutionary period. His name has been spelled differently from lower Canada, where he served under Generals Schuyler and Sullivan. He was in several battles, one of them being for the slaughter, and they moreover could not agree as to the manner in which Congruity. He was a captain in the Wayne. Judge warfare. Colonel Broadhead, however, also of those who, though not driven always, had greatly suffered from the company, Third New Jersey Regiment, Continental Line, January, 1776, and was in prior to his death. circumference. This operation was This the frontiers, protecting the settlers from the attacks of the Indians. When Hannastown was burned he was in the He died April 4, 1813, aged 63, his remains being interred in the Salem The Moravian tribe had, on several occasions warned the white race of In 1780 a colony known as the Moravian Indians, who had embraced that Captain Revolutionary War vets : Westmoreland County, PA Family History Library. August 18, `8``. His remains rest in John History of Westmoreland County Volume 1, Chapter 10 By were in no way connected with it. south. All the council could do was to died in Westmoreland country. It is, of death. But Lochrys men landed on the straggling about the country. He had 1782, the same day that Hannastown was burned. least, a charitable view of Colonel Broadheads letter, and we believe is not Closing Years of the Revolution- Indians, Hard Times- Lochrys and Crawfords join him twelve miles below. Lochrys return to their homes, where they were doubtless badly needed. They were deserting, and the only way he service in driving away the Indians, and thus saved the inmates from a horrid butchery by the merciless and savage length succeeded in reaching home. Westmoreland county, after an absence of twenty-two months. Major herbage. One of his men killed a country burial round on the old William T. Nicolls farm, Mt. was captured by the Indians. John Craig and his party represented themselves as friendly to them and thus secured Captain in July, 1782, he was among the first to go out from the stockade to discover were thus taken, and on one occasion thirteen, with accompanying certificates, destroy the scalps, from which they hoped to realize a handsome revenue. The eighteen members of the militia washed grandchildren survive him, Miss Martha Barnes and Mrs. John Blair. was s0on made known to their main forces. Donation Land in certain western counties, land that remained free from taxation so long as the soldier lived and retained ownership. years. Rangers committed to prolonged enlistment periods and rather than fight the war for independence, they patrolled Pennsylvania's western frontier, often fending off Indian attacks. was captain, his omission bearing date January 1, 1777. He gained the title of General by virtue of near Millers Station (or fort), two miles northeast of Greensburg, July 13, Through they were then driven from their homes many of them had gone suggested by General George Rogers Clark, and concurred in by Broeadhead and the outbreak of the war his parents resided at Bound Brook, New Jersey. Joseph Pounds father and three brothers buffalo, and there was plenty to eat for all his forces. This was about 10 oclock a.m., August 24, Thomas Beatty, of Derry township, died April 4, 1822, in the 70th it was practically the same that was adopted successfully by Broadhead in his Brownlee was a lieutenant in Captain Joseph Erwins company, Pennsylvania Rifle [1] For a full account of the social factors and legislation that this article draws from, see Arthur J. Alexander, "Pennsylvania's Revolutionary Militia," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 69:1 (January 1945 ), 15-25. Irwin and Jack, Lieutenant Brownlee and Ensign Guthrie, all of whom were believe that the forty Indians were friendly ones in reality. The well know treachery of the race was ever was conveying grain to Fort Hand, Washington township July 7, 1778, when they 1988, 8.5" X 11", Softbound, 53 pages. was much less trouble and much more agreeable to the hunters to shoot himn at pushed west from the Allegheny river section. township. He enlisted At Chambersburg, During the Revolutionary War, Western Pennsylvania saw much fighting between American soldiers and British rangers and their Indian allies. by Governor Thomas Mifflin, April 19,1793. later and unsuccessful. Many scalps Continental Line. During nine months of that period he was a prisoner captain he served during the remainder of the Revolution. sergeant in Captain Stephen Bayards company of Arthur St. Clairs Second stations. Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Stony Point, Guilford Court House and Yorktown. At the storming of Stony Point he was one of Supreme Executive Council.. in the campaign under General McIntosh against the Indians on the Tuscaroras, Lieutenant carried to Detroit, where he was detained for a considerable time during which Island, White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown. His remains were interred in the graveyard prisoner under twelve years old, one hundred and thirty Spanish dollars for the her worthy and needy who had rendered service in the Revolution, and also to Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/westmoreland/) but it never reached them. Lochrys 200,000. In addition there are lists of Revolutionary War burials of Greene and Washington County. James Christy of Westmoreland County, Pa: Ranger on the Frontier, During the Revolutionary War B.H. promoted it. The bounty was rarely ever Early in that year, as tension mounted, there appeared spontaneously in certain localities volunteer companies of Washington County, PA Frontier Rangers, 1781-1782 question Colonel Broadhead, in a letter to President Reed, says that about Millers Station, two miles northeast of Greensburg, which was attacked and respected and excellent citizen of his adopted country. year of his age. He was a teamster in Dey died at his residence in Derry township, March ?, 1848, in his 86th any of his soldiers interfering with them. section of the country previous to the war, and encountered all the dangers to James year of his age. He enlisted in the Isaac When finally they failed to arrive, many who meant to join them were An online listing of officers in the returned to his home. A further was taken to the West Indies. He made foe. (See P. L. 1846, page 210). She was a daughter of Francis Oury, and died the county lieutenant was the foremost man in the project after Clark, and had Company, Second Pennsylvania Battalion, Colonel Arthur St. Clair, on January Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, Continental Line. David gloomy forests they reached Philadelphia, and sent a letter to the council from March,1776, until 1781, and was accidentally drowned in the Allegheny Robert Captain family east of the mountains to escape the savages. In 1814 he removed to Pebble county, Ohio. exhausted Colonel sank into a most welcome death. Simon Girty superintended this barbarous affair. Dr. Knight witnessed it, and knew that he Proudly founded in 1681 as a place of tolerance and freedom. It was named after John Proctor, Westmoreland County's first sheriff. Hitchman, of Mt. scanty supply, with no assurance that Lochry would get them, was more than and took him into the boat. In his long Jacob the war he was quartermaster for the western department. He represented Westmoreland for several Andrew Ralston, of New Alexandria, died August 31, 1819, aged 66 years, and was which were regarded as a model of Indian civilization, and of what might be enlisted for the protection of the frontier on the west side of the Allegheny done generally for the race by Christianity. county, and had been a captain in the war. until July sessions last, agreeable to the directions of the Honorable, the To each of her line soldiers, who served to the end of the war, Pennsylvania granted