100 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
strong frame, he sits his horse well and with a dashing air. His nose is prominent, his eye piercing, his complexion ruddy, his whole appearance that of a man of splendid health and flowing spirits. He is just the fellow to win by his headlong valor the nickname of The Mad.' But he is more than a mere fighter. Skillful, energetic, full of resources and presence of mind, quick to comprehend and prompt to act, of sound judgment and extraordinary courage, he has in him the qualities of a great general, as he shall show many a time in his short life of one and fifty years. Pennsylvania., after her quiet fashion, may not make as much of his fame as it deserves, but impartial history will allow her none the less the honor of having given its most brilliant soldier to the Revolution in her Anthony Wayne.
" And what shall I say of him who bears on his heart the weight of all? Who can measure the anxieties that afflict his mind? Who weigh the burdens that he has to bear ? Who but himself can ever know the responsibilities that rest upon his soul ? Behold him in yonder cottage, his lamp burning steadily through half the winter night, his brain never at rest, his hand always busy, his pen ever at work, now counseling with Greene how to clothe and feed the troops, or with Steuben how to reorganize the service; now writing to Howe about exchanges, or to Livingston about the relief of prisoners, or to Clinton about supplies, or to Congress about enlistments or promotions or finances or the French alliance; opposing foolish and rash councils to-day, urging prompt and rigorous policies tomorrow ; now calming the jealousy of Congress, now soothing the wounded pride of ill-used officers; now answering the complaints of the civil authority, and now those of the starving soldiers, whose sufferings he shares, and by his cheerful courage keeping up the hearts of both. Modest in the midst of pride, wise in the midst of folly, calm in the midst of passion, cheerful in the midst of gloom, steadfast among the wavering, hopeful among the despondent, bold among the timid, prudent among the rash, generous among the selfish, true among the faithless, greatest among good men and best among the great,—such was George Washington at Valley Forge.
"The people in the vicinity of Valley Forge were by no means all Quakers, and among them were many who had no scruples against fighting, including the Scotch-Irish, who rather preferred it. Washington, indeed, wrote, in his letter to Congress explaining the reasons for the failure of his campaign along the Schuylkill, that the people of that region were to a man disaffected ; but in this instance the general, much as we revere his character and admire his abilities, is no safe guide to the historian. But four or five miles away lived Anthony Wayne, the best executive officer in the Revolutionary army. Five miles in another direction lay the Trappe, Whence came Gens. Peter Muhlenberg and Francis Swain. At the Valley Forge was Col. William Dewees, whose property the British destroyed; and on the Schuylkill, a few miles below, lived Col. John Bull, whose house met a similar fate. At near points in the Chester Valley were Col. Lewis Gronow, Lieut.-Col. Caleb Parry, who was killed at Long Island, Dr. John Davis, surgeon of the Pennsylvania Musketry Battalion, and Dr. Samuel Kennedy, who had charge of the hospital at the Yellow Springs. In Vincent was Col. William Evans, and John Beaton, one of the most aetive men in Pennsylvania in the organization of troops and other military measures, was born within sight of Valley Forge. At the time Washington wrote that letter, Capt. Patrick Anderson (whose home, only two miles from the Forge, the British ransacked and devastated) had in his army a company recruited in that neighborhood, and Isaac Anderson was with him temporarily with a company of militia. Capt. William Bodley, whose residence was near where the Phoenixville road is, Capt. Alexander McCaragher, and Capt. John Pugh all had companies in the service some time during the war. Lieuts. Hezekiah Davis, Llewellyn Davis, and Ezekiel Howell lived in the adjacent township of Charlestown. In Providence, across the river, were Capts. Henry Pawling and John Edwards and Lieut. Thomas Morgan.
"The names of privates, unfortunately, are not so easily ascertained, but I am ready to furnish satisfactory evidence that the following-named men, living within a circuit of four miles of Valley Forge, served at one time or other in the Revolutionary army: Patrick MacFall, of the Bull tavern, Samuel Roberts, Frederick Yost, Isaac Richardson, William Schofield, James Schofield, George Schofield, Frederick Gearheart, John Parry, Jacob Varley, Jacob Boyer, John Humphrey, Samuel Williams, George Lute, Jacob Humble, Jacob Walters, Benjamin Boyer, Roger Little, Thomas Roberts, Lewis Pearce, James Boyles, Mordecai Williams, Nicholas Pergrin, Frederick
Foose, Peter Rambo, Phineas John, and James Martin, who died in the service. Now it may be that there were other localities in other provinces which contributed more towards the Revolutionary cause, but I do not know them, and certainly this is enough to show that, though there were cases of individual disaffection, any sweeping charge of disloyalty is mistaken. Gen. Howe says, in his 'Narrative,' p. 50, "Through the whole march of the army, from the Head of Elk to Philadelphia, the male inhabitants fit to bear arms (a very few excepted) had deserted their dwellings, and I had great reason to believe were in arms against us.'"
June 19, 1879, Washington's headquarters at 'Valley Forge were dedicated with appropriate and impressive ceremonies, the new corner-stone being laid by the Grand Lodge of Free Masons of Pennsylvania. J. Smith Futhey, the president of the day, then delivered some appropriate remarks, which were followed by an oration by ex-Governor Pollock. Valley Forge he called the " Mecca of America," where civilians would flock to imbibe lessons of patriotism, and soldiers to acquire inspirations of valor. A large assemblage was present, and seven companies of the Sixth Regiment and the Griffen Battery, of Phoenixville, participated in the day's exercises.
HOSPITALS IN CHESTER COUNTY FOR WOUNDED REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS—MONUMENTS ERECTED TO THEIR MEMORY.
After the battle of Brandywine it became necessary to provide hospitals for the sick and wounded. Gen. Lafayette was cared for by the Moravians at Bethlehem. The German Seventh-day Baptists, who had a monastic institution at Ephrata, in Lancaster County, and who were decided Whigs in sentiment, although opposed to war, opened their whole establishment, and converted their large building into a hospital.
The barn of Joseph Downing, at Downingtown, was used as a hospital, and also the next summer, and its use in 1778 prevented the storing of hay in it. Forty soldiers were buried on the Downing farm, but no marks now remain to show the place of interment. In the fall of 1777, Mr. Downing's team was away in the army, when the seeding was done with an old mare and oxen, driven by Joseph Downing, Jr., father of Richard I. Downing, who says he cut up the steps the soldiers used in going up and down in the barn.
The Uwchlan Friends' meeting-house, at Lionville, was occupied as a hospital. This stone meeting-house was erected in 1756, is still standing, and used by the society, and traces of blood therein are still visible from the wounds of the Revolutionary soldiers who for months were lodged in it; many being of the wounded at Paoli. The old school-house at the intersection of the Valley and Brandywine roads, at the Turk's Head tavern (now West Chester), was occupied as a hospital for the accommodation of the wounded Americans who had suffered in the Brandywine battle, a number of whom died and were buried in, the open space left for the use of the school-house, on the north side of the road leading to the Brandywine. The hospitals at Yellow Springs (since called Chester Springs), where Washington had for a time his headquarters, were well arranged and quite commodious, as, owing to the. Springs having been a place of great resort since 1750, great improvements for those days had been made to it by.
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John Bailey, a silversmith of Philadelphia. Washington utilized all these improvements, especially for the sick and wounded of his men.
The wives of Zachariah Rice and Christian Hench died from typhus fever contracted in the hospital at the Yellow Springs while on errands of mercy, carrying food and delicacies to the invalid soldiers. The following spring a surgeon of the army, named Dr. McCuryher, in going from the camp to the Yellow Springs, stopped to water his horse in the creek below the hospital, and the horse becoming frightened, threw his rider, breaking his neck. The doctor's effects were administered to by Maj. Christy, who commanded at the hospital, and were sold at public sale. Maj. George Hartman had seen the notice, and attended the sale with a view to purchase his silver watch. He purchased it for eight hundred dollars, Continental money, being his wages for three campaigns as drummer and driving team for Washington's army while at Valley Forge. This watch he directed should descend to the eldest son in a direct line. During the time the army was encamped at Valley Forge, the hospital at the Yellow Springs was full: of soldiers with typhus fever and smallpox, many of whom died. One of George Hartman's brothers-in-law, who was at home during the winter and played the fife, was sent for almost every morning to assist in playing the "Dead March" at the funeral of a soldier who had died during the night, numbers of whom lie buried in the meadow in front of the old hospital at the Yellow Springs. It being a difficult matter to obtain necessary drugs for the use of the army, our surgeons had recourse to many articles of our indigenous flora, American senna and white-walnut bark being substances largely in demand.
On the farm of Herman Prizer, in East Coventry township, formerly stood a barn, torn down many years ago, which was used as a hospital for the American forces during the Revolutionary war. About one hundred and fifty yards northwest of the barn, in a small copse of woods belonging to John Ellis, Esq., are the graves of sixteen. American soldiers. The mounds over these graves are still visible, being side by side, in a straight line, and about four feet apart. There are no head- or foot-stones. About three hundred yards north of the hospital more soldiers_ were buried but a public road was laid out through this section many years ago, and the mounds were leveled down to make a thoroughfare right over the patriots' heads.
Many churches and meeting-houses in Chester County were converted into hospitals, and among them were the German Reformed church in East Vincent township, on the Ridge or Nutt's road, and Zion Lutheran church, on the Schuylkill road, in East Pikeland township, about one mile apart.
Many of the wounded soldiers from the field of Brandywine were removed to these churches, and their moans and groans as they passed along the roads gave the inhabitants indications of how near to them the tide of war was rolling. A small detachment of soldiers accompanied them, and were encamped for a time in a buckwheat-field belonging to Peter Miller, near the German Reformed church. The grain was nearly ready for the sickle, and was wholly destroyed. After the main army took up their winter quarters, in the month of December, 1777, at Valley Forge, the sick and wounded were provided for in private houses, meeting-houses, and wherever suitable accommodations could be had. The German Reformed and Lutheran churches above alluded to continued to be occupied as hospitals during the entire winter of 1777-78. The German Reformed church on the Ridge road, then a log structure, stood on very high ground, and was visible to the naked eye from the Valley Forge encampment, on the North Valley hill, and with the aid of a glass one could be very plainly seen from the other. Gen. Washington, whose heart was with his men, frequently visited these hospitals, and while at the one on the Ridge road his headquarters were at an old log house on the farm recently owned by George Snyder, about one-fourth mile north of the church, and within sight of it.*
A very malignant fever broke out among those quartered in the churches named, and many of them died. Twenty-two were buried on grounds belonging to Henry Hipple, Sr., near the East Vincent church. He always preserved the spot as sacred ground, and protected their graves with a good fence. Two soldiers also died in an old log barn on the farm lately owned by James Hause, about five hundred yards from the church, and were buried on the bank of a small stream on the farm. The place of their burial was marked, and is known. During the same period a number died at Zion church, but there is nothing to mark their resting-place; and their exact number is not known. In the year 1831 steps were taken by the military volunteer organizations of Chester County to inclose the remains of the twenty-two soldiers who were buried near the church on the Ridge road, and to erect a monument to their memory. The monument is at the foot of the hill, and is a marble pyramid about eight feet high, inclosed by a strong wall. It bears the following inscriptions:
On the southwest side :
" Virtue, Liberty, and Independence."
On the southeast side :
" Within these walls surrounding they
Can yet be thought to claim a tear;
Oh, smite thy gentle breast, and say,
The friends of freedom slumber here.'
" We here their humble graves adorn,—
We, too, may fall and ask a tear,
'Tis not the beauty of the morn
That proves the evening shall be clear."
On the northwest side :
" Their names, though lost in earth below,
And hence are not recorded here,
Are known where lasting pleasures flow,
Beyond the reach of death and fear.
* In the winter of 1777-78, it is said, a detachment from the British army, probably piloted by Tories, crossed French Creek at what is now Snyder's Mills, one mile south of the German Reformed church on the Ridge road, for the purpose of endeavoring to capture-Gen. Washington while he was on a visit to the hospital, but they failed in their purpose. There was a village of some seventeen houses near where they crossed the creek, and in their rage they burned. these houses, and killed some of the occupants before they could make" their escape. This is the tradition of that neighborhood.
102 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
“Their feet have trod misfortune's. sands,
Their lives by hardships worn down;
They're gone, we trust, to better lands,
To brighter sunshine of their own."
On the northeast side :
"Sacred to the memory of Twenty-two Revolutionary. Soldiers, who in the fall of 1777, when the American Army had encamped at the. Valley Forge, were lodged in the German Reformed Church, (in sight) then occupied as an hospital; who there, distant from their homes; uncomforted by friends and kind relations, deceased in the spring of 1778, of a fever then prevailing in the camp ; who were interred in this ground and where they slumbered in their peaceful buti neglected tomb [except that Mr. Henry Hippie, Sr., preserved the ground,] until the Unioni Battalion of Volunteers of Chester County, aided by the generous and patriotic people of this vicinity, resolved to have them enclosed and a monument placed over them; the foundation of which accordingly was laid on the 19th of November, 1831, Upon which occasion regular. military ceremonies were observed, and a funeral oration delivered, to perpetuate the profound regard due the individuals who paid the forfeit of their precious lives for our sacred rights, and for privileges which they were never permitted to enjoy,. and to contribute to generations unborn, the memory of the precious price of the Liberty & Independence of our happy Union. They have raised this Monument on the 25th of October 1833, and which they also dedicate to the memory of a number of other Revolutionary Soldiers who, the same time and same manner, deceased in the Lutheran Church (then used as an hospital and are buried near it and in other places of this vicinity)."
In the lapse of years the wall began to crumble and become dilapidated ; a committee was appointed about the year 1868 to take steps for the necessary repairs. The grounds had been donated by the then owner, Henry Hippie, Sr., but they had not been formally conveyed, and Reuben Beerbower, who had become the holder of the legal title, at the request of the committee, by deed dated Nov. 17, 1868, conveyed to Joseph P. Mitchell, Charles Holman, and Davis Yeager, as trustees, in, fee simple, "all that certain Revolutionary soldiers' cemetery and lot of ground,. situated on the Ridge or Nutt's road, in East Vincent town.; ship, Chester County," bounded as described in said deed, and containing twelve and thirtthirty-seven-hundredthsre perches. This deed, which was prepared by Davis Hause, Esq., contains a clear and succinct account of the hospital, and of the erection of the monument. It is recorded in the recorder's 'office, in Deed-Book W. 7, page 297. After the conveyance funds were collected, and a substantial wall re.erre-erectedhree sides of the lot, and an iron fence in front. These repairs and improvements were completed about the year 1870.
GEN. WASHINGTON'S JOURNEY FROM CHESTER
SPRINGS TO READING.
When Washington was about leaving Chester Springs be made inquiries for a trusty guide to pilot him to Reading. Capt. John Ralston was recommended to him to be such an one. The general wrote a few lines, and sent one of his officers to order Capt. Ralston to appear before him. The latter was making some excuses, but the request was pressing. He went with the bearer of the order, though in great alarm, not knowing for what purpose he was wanted. But his good conscience cheered him, as he had done no harm to his country, and had acted the part of a good patriot. With this" feeling he recovered his composure, and when he arrived at Washington's headquarters he was introduced to the general by his guide saying, " Here is Capt. Ralston." Washington , made inquiries how far he lived. froinfrom hengs, and how far his father lived from them how thow all were, and where he had been. When the captain had answered- all these questions, the next was, " Are you acquainted with all the roads in these parts?" When Washington put this last question he stood dirrectlectlyre the captain, who had been requested to take a-seat.
Then, the captain used to say, his heart beat faster thani ever before as he looked at this monstrous big man. The captain replied " Yea ;" and then he was asked if he knew such and such aroad that the general mentioned. The captain saying he knew of none by that name, the general quickly. clapped ihis hand in his pocket and drew out a book of maps (all which time the captain knew nothing of the general's design), and looking for the road he intended to inquire about, he said : " The Ridge road, leading-by Brumback's church." Whereupon the captain answered " Yes he was well acquainted with it."' " Then," said Washington, laying his hand on the captain's shoulder, " you must be my pilot to Reading," and not until then did the captain's heart cease its violent beating. He was ordered to be ready at such an hour on the morrow at his headquarters, captain did as ordered, and the line of march * was commenced from the Springs to Kimberton (now) ; then continued down Branson's road to where the: General Pike tavern is, where this and the Schuylkill road forks to get across French Creek bridge, as there was no stone bridge known in those times. Then they went up the Ridge road, which went in front of the German Reformed church on the hill (then full of sick soldiers), and thence up the road to where tents had been struck for the first night's quarters. The general occupied the house yet standing, and lately the residence of the family of Widow-Francis, which quarters the captain had gone ahead and. prepared for Washington. Next day the line of march was up the Ridge road to where. the Ridge and Branson's road meets,—the place lately John Young's,—and here was. Washington's second night's lodging. (For this house, when erected, Col. Bull did the masonry work.) The next day the captain was discharged, as the perilous part of the journey was over, and the roads were from this on better known. *
IMPORTANT EVENTS RELATIVE TO CHESTER COUNTY, 1777 TO 1784—DOINGS OF THE COUNCIL OF SAFETY, ETC.
Sept. 17, 1777, Council of Safety urged the fifth class of' Chester County militia into the field with all possible. dispatch. Chester County believed to be well furnished, and that two thousandi blankets might be had there.
Council of Safety to Col. Smith, Lieutenant of Chester County:
"LANCASTER, 14 Novr. 1777.
“Sir, - Information, from persons of character, has come to the Coun cil that Mr. John James, of the city of Philadelphia, a person whose-uniform conversation and conduct has heretofore fixed on him the charge of enmity to the cause of liberty, had lately been clandestinely;
* This anecdote of Capt. Ralston written by Frederick Shruder, his intimate friend, in 1846.
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sent out by General Howe, to promote the views of our Invaders. Such miscreants ought to be hunted down, and laid hold off, by every good man, but Council are particularly bound to secure these dangerous emissaries, in order to their condign punishment. I therefore .apply to you, in order to get the person above named, and any others acting in like manner, certainly and speedily arrested. For this purpose it will be proper to watch the meetings of the Quakers. At these assemblies, agents of this nature will without doubt, be busy and mischievous. Prudence directs that secrecy be used; and therefore the design of laying hold of them should be imparted with caution, and not without necessity. John James is about 35 years of age, five feet & ten inches high ; slenderly made, his eyes dark, he stoops in walking, his shoulders fall greatly; and he leans sideways; his hair, for he wears no wig, is of a dark hue, and his hat very plain. He generally uses clothes of a light drab color, made in the 'strictest :Quaker fashion,' being lengthy in the skirts and without pockets. But as he is a native of Chester County, he will probably be known among you, and better ascertained by your neighbors than by any .description. For this man you have under cover of this letter, a warrant, tho it is expected that all agents of the enemy will be industriously sought after and apprehended by you and many other friends of their country, without such formality."
January 13th. Jacob Dingee and Richard Strode delivered the body of Charles Dingee, late of the county of Chester, to the order of the Council. of Safety, 'agreeably to the condition of a bond by them given, with Thomas Meteer, to His Excellency the President, taken by Elias Boudinot, etc.
"Order by Council, that the said Charles Dingee be committed to the goal of this (Lancaster) County, there to remain until he shall take the oath or afflrmation of allegiance and give security," etc.
March 11, 1778, the Council write to Col. Andrew Boyd, of Chester County, as follows:
"Sir, - Council are informed that there is a quantity of Paper at the paper-mill belonging to Mr. Wilcocks in your county. This is an article so essentially necessary at this time of distress and difficulty, when our ports are shut up, that it is the opinion of Council it should be immediately secured and taken to some place of safety. Council .therefore request you to undertake the business; and as it is probable That the enemy will counteract the design unless you conduct yourself with great secrecy and dispatch, as I am informed that Mr. Wileocks is in the city of Philadelphia, I think it necessary to caution you on this head. You are hereby authorized to call on the wagon Master of your County for wagons as you may have occasion, and if you find a iGuard of Militia to be necessary, which I think it absolutely so, the powers with which you are invested, they may easily be procured, but none of them should be intrusted with the secret unless it be the officer commanding the party. As it is intended that the owner shall be paid a reasonable price for the paper, you will please to leave a certificate with some of the family, for the quantity you may take. It is the request of Council that you make particular inquiry respecting the conduct of the people that are carrying on the business at the Paper-Mill, and what stock of raw material is on hand, as it is hinted to Council that they are unfriendly to the American cause.
"P. S.—Mr. Wilcocks has in his possession a Mould for making paper belonging to this State, which I request you to bring away. 'It is marked with the word Pennsylvania in 24 places. He did promise, if the enemy eame that way, he would throw it into the Mill Dam."
April 2, 1778, in Council, at Lancaster. An order was drawn on the treasurer in favor of Stephen Cochran, Esq., for the sum of two thousand pounds, to be by him paid to Mr. Samuel Futhey, of the county of Chester, to purchase horses with to mount the cavalry, agreeably to the request of the committee of Congress lately at camp.
April 12th. Forfeited estates noted to be sold: of Nathaniel Vernon (late sheriff of Chester County), of Curtis Lewis '(blacksmith), and of Richard Swanwick, all of Chester County.
April 22d. Col. Andrew Boyd writes to President Wharton, acquainting His Excellency of a set of " Tory horse-thieves" that is in this county. According to the Pennsylvania Archives, in some few instances it was reported that the Quakers insulted, and even attempted to fire on, two different guards Col. Boyd had in collecting fines ; so the colonel himself wrote.
May 5th. An order was drawn on the treasurer in favor of .Caleb Davis for fifteen pounds for six days' riding to Gen. Potter's camp, and through the neighborhood of Darby and Chester, in order to gain intelligence.
May 6th. The Council; taking into consideration the appointing of commissioners, agreeably to the act of attainder, etc., ordered that the following persons be appointed, to wit : For Chester County, William Evans, Thomas Cheyney, Thomas Levis, Patterson Bell, and John Hannum.
May 8th. Council orders that, among others, Henry Skyles, Thomas Bulla, and David Dawson, husbandmen ; Jacob James, late of the township of Goshen, inn-keeper ; Joseph Thomas (heretofore sub-sheriff), yeoman ; Nathaniel Vernon, Jr., laborer ; and John Swanwick, late of the custom-house, Philadelphia, all late of the county of Chester, be required to appear and abide trial for adhering to the enemy, etc.
May 21st. Resolved, That a warrant do issue to the wagon-master of Philadelphia County for fifty wagons, and the like warrant to the wagon-master of Chester County for .forty wagons.
June 4, 1778. On the representation of Col. John Hannum of' the ravages made by the enemy in their march through Chester County, and of the great quantities of provisions, forage, etc., which have been furnished by the people of that county for the use of the army, for which they have received certificates only, and the great difficulties the people are under in raising the substitute money and militia fines due from them, Ordered, That good and sufficient certificates from the known commissioners, deputy quartermasters, or commissaries be received in payment of substitute money and militia fines from those persons to whom such certificates have been given, but not from any persons who may have obtained assignments of such certificates, except only in such cases where divers persons, each having such certificates, pay their fines by some one of such certificates.
June 4, 1778. John McMekin, constable of the township of East Fallowfield, in Chester County, laid before the Council an account of expenses in bringing to the gaol of this (Lancaster) county from the county of Chester James Chalfant and Evan Chalfant, charged with having taken prisoner one of the inhabitants of said county, and attempting to carry him to the enemy, amounting to the sum of eleven pound's and six shillings, which was allowed.
June 15, 1778. A proclamation was issued by the Supreme Executive Council designating as . traitors a large number of persons—nearly five hundred—belonging to the commonwealth, of whom sixty-five are named as now or late of the county of Chester.
January 15, 1779. Capt. William Mackey, of the Pennsylvania regiment, who was wounded at the battle of Brandywine, taken prisoner, and now on parole, prays for a suit
104 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
of clothes, whereupon ordered by Council that he be furnished with same and two shirts.
July 13, 1779. Andrew Boyd was desired to purchase and forward six hundred barrels of flour from Chester County to Philadelphia.
July 14th. William Clingan, Esq., of Chester County, was appointed to receive subscriptions, and transmit the same to the loan-officer, agreeably to the resolve of Congress of June 29th for borrowing twenty millions of dollars.
June 15, 1780. Col. John Hannum writes from Bradford, Chester County, to President Reed :
"SIR,—Pursuant to your orders, I have collected 28 cattle and 101 sheep,—all that I could collect in so short a time, not having reed your orders till the 11th inst. It gives me concern that the army is reduced to the extremity they are, being well assured that one person may be found that will engage to furnish the Penny troops with every necessary provisions, and to suffer death the day they are destitute thereof."
June 27th. Council drew orders in favor of Gideon Gilpin, James Hannum, Israel Gilpin, and Caleb Pyle, for cattle purchased by John Hannum for the use of the army.
August 4th. The Council appoint David Wilson, Thomas Strawbridge, Owen Thomas, John Crosby, George Pierce, and Joseph Speer to collect horses in Chester County, especially from the disaffected, for the use of the government. John Beaton appointed paymaster of the Chester County militia.
February 14, 1783. Col. John Hannum wrote to President Dickinson about the sale of Hog Island, the property of Joseph Galloway, attainted for high treason.
March 1, 1783. The Executive Council received a petition from Frederick Buzzard, convicted of misdemeanors upon three, indictments in Chester County in aiding British prisoners to escape, praying remission of his fines, and upon consideration two-thirds of them were remitted. On February 12, 1784, Buzzard again petitioned, and for the remission of the other one-third, but his prayer was rejected.
On February 22, 1783, in the Executive Council, a petition was read from Anne Allen, in behalf of her husband, John Allen, convicted of misdemeanors in Chester County in aiding British prisoners to escape, together with a recommendation from Honorable George Bryan in his behalf, and on consideration the fine and punishment of whipping was remitted.
May 13, 1783. Upon the petition of Isaac Pyle, convicted of a misdemeanor in aiding British prisoners to escape, and sentenced at the late Court of Oyer and Terminer, held for the county of Chester, to a fine of fifteen pounds, etc., Council orders that his imprisonment, on his discharging the fine adjudged to the State, his fees, and the costs of prosecution, and upon his also finding sufficient security for his good behavior, be remitted.
Rev. John Carmichael to the president :
"EAST CALN, Jan'y 27th, 1780.
"May it Please your Excellency : As a Sworn, faithful member of the State, I think it my duty to inform your Excellency of what I have by good authority, which I believe to be fact, viz : The atrocious villany of a certain Phenias Whiteker, a Miller in this Neighborhood, in the Township of East Caln, in this County of Chester. The affair, by information, is as followeth :
" When a Division of our Standing army, on their march to the Southerd came up on their way as far as Downingstown, they were, it is said, out of flour to make bread; the mills in all these parts were then froze fast, except this Phenias Whiteker's; the Commisary bought sixty bushels of Wheat of Mr. John Ligget, my next Neighbour, to grind down for the relief of the Troops. But when this Enemy, this Phenias Whiteker, knew it was for our soldiers, he would not grind one grain of it, for he had it then in his power to strike a capital blow for one man against 500 brave Troops under pretense of Conscience, for he professes to be a Quaker, but if it was Conscience, it must have been a very ignorant and partial one, for on that principle he ought not to grind for any of the people in these parts who have taken the oath of alegience to the State and who are supporters of the war, for we are as much to blame or more than the soldiers, we are their employers.
"I think such impotent, insolent contempt of Government ought not to pass over unnoticed, least it may make him and the like of him to despise authority. It is very probable no regular information is tabled to any magistrate yet on the heat, or he would be delt with; he is in the midst of a whig settlement.
"If your excellency will write to William Clingan, Esq'r, a faithful, Judicious magistrate close bye, to call this Basket before him, and if he be found guilty let him be dealt With as the state of the case may require. I hope your excellency's &c. Family are well. I am
"Your Excellency's most obedient
"& Very Humble Ser't,
"JOHN CARMICHAEL.
"his Excellency Jos. Reed, Esq'r.
" P. S.—please to not make my name public if it is not necessary, as it will kindle the rage of the whole quaker society against me, and they may, perhaps employ some Ruffin to Burn my House and Barn or do me so great mischief secritly, for they have not taken the oaths to the States, and we know they are our bitter enemies, if they dared to show it. But if it is necessary to enform how you come by your information, in order to write to Mr. Clingan to do his duty, I cheerfully submit and leave the consequence in the hand of a wise and Good Providence.
" J. C."
DAMAGES INFLICTED BY THE BRITISH ARMY UPON THE PEOPLE OF CHESTER COUNTY, AS REPORTED TO THE AUTHORITIES.
The greatest amount of property taken and destroyed was in Birmingham and Tredyffrin townships, owing to the fact that the army lay for a considerable time, comparatively in each of these townships. Goshen township appears to have been the next largest sufferer.
Near the close of the contest—viz., Sept. 21, 1782—the Legislature of Pennsylvania passed an " act for procuring an estimate of the damages sustained by the inhabitants of Pennsylvania from the troops and adherents of the king of Great Britain during the present war." By this act the county commissioners of every county which had been invaded were directed to call on the assessors, to procure and return accounts and estimates of the damages that had been done by the enemy since the 18th of April, 1775, to register such accounts and estimates, and to transmit the originals to the Executive Council. The precise object to be accomplished by this act is not now very obvious. It is not likely the Legislature intended to foot the bills themselves. If it was designed as preparatory to a reclam ation of damages from the mother-country for the outrages committed, it certainly failed to produce any beneficial results.
The estimates of damages sustained in the county of Chester, made in pursuance of the provisions of this law and returned to the commissioners, were carefully recorded, as directed, and the record may be seen in the office of the commissioners at West Chester.
GENERAL HISTORY - 105
The Society of Friends, who in a portion of the route traversed by the British army constituted a considerable portion of the community, generally declined to report their losses to the public authorities, and the plunder being indiscriminate, whether of loyalists or rebels, the estimates thus furnished from the various townships are probably not more than a moiety of the damages really sustained.
At the period when the returns were made the county (then including Delaware County) was divided into three election districts. The returns are registered according to townships, and the townships in each of the three election districts are classed together.
The three districts were known as the Chester, Red Lion, and Chatham districts, these being the names of the places at which the general elections were held. Chester, situated on the Delaware River, was the seat of justice of the county ; Red Lion was a public-house in the township of Uwchlan (at the present village of Lionville), receiving its name from the sign it exhibited ; and Chatham was a public-house in Londongrove township, which had for its sign a portrait of the famous English earl bearing that title. The name Chatham was conferred upon this house by Hon. Thomas McKean, afterwards chief justice and Governor of Pennsylvania, who was the owner of the property. The Earl of Chatham had favored the cause of the colonies in the British Parliament, and hence was very popular in this county.
In order to afford the reader an idea of the wanton character and extent of the ravages committed by the British army on its passage through Chester County, as well as the valuation in those days of the property taken, the reports of a few of the inhabitants will be given in full detail, after which summary statements will be presented of the losses sustained in the respective townships.
The returns were made in pounds, shillings, and pence, in what was known as Pennsylvania currency, seven shillings and sixpence being equal to one dollar, or three pounds to eight dollars.
The first return we will present is that of Charles Dilworth, who at that time owned and kept the tavern at Dilworthtown. It will be seen that his total loss amounted to £820 15s. 3d., equivalent to $2188.70,—a pretty large sum in those days ; indeed, he appears to have been pretty well cleaned out. Mr. Dilworth was afterwards sheriff of Chester County from 1789 to 1792.
"An account of property taken, damage, waste, spoil, and destruction done and committed by the army of the king of Great Britain and their adherents, under the immediate command of Sir William Howe, commander-in-chief, from the 11th to the 16th days of September, 1777, to the property; real and personal, belonging to Charles Dilworth, of Birmingham, viz. :
