Continental Congress at York, Pennsylvania and York County in the Revolution

Preface

THE following pages furnish a careful record of the transactions of Continental Congress, while it held its sessions in York from September 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778. Shortly before the Battle of Brandywine Congress adjourned 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 Confederation, 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 important 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 Susquehanna, who performed valiant services at the battle of Fort Washington. No other city of the Union, except Philadelphia, New York and Boston has more interesting 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.

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York, Pa., April 1. 1^)14.

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 declaration of Rights to tlie King, but it was unanswered. 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 government. 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 removed. 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 Philadelphia 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, although 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 battle 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 Lexington and Concord soon spread from Massachusetts 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 Cambridge.

A military spirit had existed in Pennsylvania and the adjoining colonies since the French and Indian war. Companies had been organized in nearly all the centres of

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 fellowcountrymen in New England.

When the news of Lexington and Concord 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 company was officered with a captain, three lieutenants, 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 corporal, 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. Recruiting 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 Congress 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 adjutant-general of the army and who iiad chanced to arrive in York from his home in Virginia on his way to headquarters, decided it would be unwise to refuse the enlistment 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 advanced from the Continental treasury.

" The spirit of the people on this occasion," wrote the local committee of correspondence to Congress, " gave the committee 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 imjust 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" common 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 common cause."

It would be interesting to record the entire muster roll of this band of patriots. The official records being defective, all that can be here given are the following:

MICHAEL DOUDEL.

Fit'st Lieuienant.

HEXRY MILLER.

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

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 Reformed Church on the morning of July ist. They listened to a patriotic sermon delivered 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 Cambridge.

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, commanded by Captain Abraham Miller; one in

Berks County, Captain George Xagel; one in Bedford County, Captain Robert Cluggage ; 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 requested by Congress. By order of Continental Congress and the Pennsylvania Assembly, they were organized into what was termed b}' General Washington in organizing the army, " Colonel Thompson"'s Battalion of Riflemen from Pennsylvania."

THOMPSON'S BATTALION.

Col. William Thompson, who was assigned 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 battalion 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 Washington to recei\-e commissions from Congress, 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 Susquehanna, passed through Reading and Bethlehem, 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

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 unanimously chosen. He started for Boston on horseback June 21, and, while passingthrough 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 according 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 Pennsylvania 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 company 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 discovered. The other band of forty men, under Lieutenant 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 regulars 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 Chetwyn, 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 attracted 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 unerring aim of the Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia riflemen that Cruise, being one of the first of them to be captured, became 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 i6i him from custody. Artliur I-ee, of Virginia, the secret agent in London for the American colonies, upon hearing of Cruise's release, sent for him and after congratulating him upon regaining his freedom, delivered Cruise a package of papers.

" These papers are of the greatest moment 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 Washington 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 Philadelphia, where the news was eagerly received. An impression had been prevalent among the American people that peace commissioners would be sent to adjust the differences 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 independence, than this hiring of foreign mercenaries by the British government. 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 committee, of which he was a member, was adopted July 4 at Independence Hall. Philadelphia.

Thompson's battalion of Pennsylvania riflemen remained with the arm\' under Washington during the summer of 1775, participating in the siege of Boston. Captain Michael Doudel, who commanded the company from York County, resigned his commission on account of ill health- and returned 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 Cambridge. 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 possession of Ploughed Hill and threw up entrenchments, 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 therefrom."

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 person and by most of the officers of rank belonging 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 expedition had been planned to invade Canada. The story goes that this expedition 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