History of Northumberland Co., PA - Chapter 2



CHAPTER 2 - Pages 42-98
THE COLONIAL PERIOD (Concluded)
PURCHASE OF THE SUSQUEHANNA - ALIENATION OF THE DELAWARE INDIANS -
HOSTILITIES INAUGURATED - RUMORS OF FRENCH INVASION - DEFENSIVE MEASURES
ADOPTED - THE AUGUSTA REGIMENT ORGANIZED TO BUILD A PORT AT SHAMOKIN -
PROGRESS OF THE EXPEDITION-CONSTRUCTION OF FORT AUGUSTA - PRINCIPAL EVENTS
OF COLONEL CLAPHAM'S ADMINISTRATION - EXTRACTS AND INCIDENTS FROM MAJOR
BURD'S JOURNAL - SUBSEQUENT COMMANDING OFFICERS - THE MAGAZINE AND INDIAN
STORE - OPERATIONS IN 1763 - STRENGTH OF THE GARRISON AND ARMAMENT - THE
FLAG - DOCTORS AND CHAPLAINS - PLAN AND DESCRIPTION OF THE FORT - CLOSE OF
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR - PURCHASE OF 1768 - EARLY SURVEY - LISTS OF
PIONEERS - FITHIAN'S JOURNAL - THE YANKEE AND PENNAMITE WAR

   The peaceful intercourse of the trader, the interpreter, and the
missionary, with the Indians of Shamokin and the surrounding region,
the narration of which forms so large a part of the preceding chapter,
was abruptly terminated by the massacre of Penn's creek. This was but
the beginning of a protracted Indian war, the causes of which are to be
found principally in the policy of the provincial authorities in the
purchase of Indian lands.
   The first Indian deed to William Penn was executed on the 15th of
July, 1682, by certain chiefs of the Delaware Indians, and conveyed the
southeastern part of Bucks county. This was negotiated by William
Markham, and when the Proprietor himself arrived the further
acquisition of territory was energetically continued. Numerous deeds of
varying importance were executed by the Delawares during the following
years; and finally, on the 17th of September, 1718, a general release
was signed by their king, Sassoonan, and six of their chiefs for all
the territory between the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers "from Duck
creek to the mountains on this side Lechay." In these negotiations the
Delawares were treated with as an independent tribe, and the various
transactions seem to have been mutually satisfactory.
   Almost before his Colony was firmly established upon the Delaware,
Penn anticipated the extension of settlement to the westward by
negotiating with the Iroquois for the Susquehanna valley. In this he
secured the services of Thomas Dongan, Governor of New York and
subsequently Earl of Limerick, who wrote him as follows regarding the
contemplated purchase under date of October 10, 1683:-
  
   I have had an account from Albany of the Indians being there, and
find they can not agree among themselves; I hope Mr. Graham will find
them there, and that my orders have taken effect, though I would not
advise you to settle any people suddenly upon it before the Indians
agree among themselves, two or three of the most powerful nations being
debarred from any interest in it, as you will see by the inclosed. The
Maquas have been here with me, and told me there was one about to
purchase the land; I have ordered them to agree in a peaceable way about
it and they have promised to send me word as soon as they do, of which I
will immediately after acquaint you. They have also given me the land,
and pretend that they have better interest than any other. They have all
of them agreed to give Susquehanna river to me and this government,
which I have under their bands to show for it.(1)
   From this it is evident that Graham was the agent by whom the original
purchase was made; that the Five Nations were not jointly interested, but
that the Maquas (Mohawks), pretended to a "better interest than any
other," and that the council of the confederation was divided in sentiment
regarding the matter. These differences were at length harmonized, and on
the 22d of October, 1683, Dongan wrote. "The Susquehanna river is given me
by the Indians by a second gift, about which you and I shall not fall
out."(2) It was not until 1696, however, that the transfer was made to
William Penn. On the 12th of January in that year Thomas Dongan granted to
him "all that tract of land lying upon on both sides the river commonly
called by known by the name of the Susquehanna" for one thousand years at
an annual rental of one pepper corn; and on the following day (January 13,
1696), he conveyed the same to William Penn in fee simple at the
consideration of one hundred pounds.
   The lower Susquehanna valley, the southern part of the lands in
question, was occupied at that time by the Susquehannock Indians, and
these transactions were naturally of vital interest to them. At a
conference at Conestoga in 1721, Civility, "a descendant of the ancient
Susquehannock Indians, the old settlers of these parts," stated "that he
had been informed by their old men that they were troubled when they
heard that their lands had been given up to a place so far distant as
New York, and that they were overjoyed when they understood William
Penn had bought them back again." On his second visit to the Province,
the Proprietor, actuated doubtless by motives of policy no less than a
sense of justice, further strengthened his title to the Susquehanna by
securing from the Susquehannocks a release even more absolute than that
which he had obtained from their conquerors. By the terms of this
instrument, which was executed on the 18th of September, 1700, Widaagh
alias Orytyagh and Andaggy Junkquah, "kings or sachems of the
Susquehannock Indians and of the river under that name and lands lying
on both sides thereof," granted and confirmed to William Penn "all the
said river Susquehanna and all the islands therein, and all the lands
situate, lying, and being upon both sides of the said river and next
adjoining to the same, extending to the utmost confines of the lands
which are or formerly were the right of the people or nation called the
Susquehannock Indians," with all the right title, and interest therein
that they or their ancestors " could, might, or ought to have had,
held, or enjoyed." The bargain and sale effected by Dongan were also
distinctly ratified; and on the 23d of April, 1701, the Potomac and
Shawanese Indians, with other chiefs of the Susquehannocks, entered into
a treaty with Penn by which the purchase from Orytyagh and Andaggy
Junkquah was approved and confirmed.
   While the Susquehannocks were apparently well satisfied, the Six
Nations were not. They acknowledged Dongan's deed at a conference with
Governor Gookin at Conestoga in 1710, but several years later the Cayugas
"had the boldness to assert that all the lands upon Susquehanna river
belonged to them and that the English had no right to settle there;" and
although the sale to Dongan was admitted and confirmed at the Conestoga
conference of July, 1721, and at Albany in September, 1722, his transfer
to Penn seems to have been both incomprehensible and unsatisfactory. The
reason for this were thus stated by Canassatego, an Onondaga chief, at the
Lancaster treaty in 1744:-

   Our brother Onas [Penn] a great while ago came to Albany to buy the
Susquehanna lands of us, but our brother, the Governor of New York,
who, as we suppose, had not a good understanding with our brother Onas,
advised us not to sell him any lands, for he would make an ill use of
it; and, pretending to be our good friend, he advised us, in order to
prevent Onas or any other persons imposing upon us, and that we might
always have our land when we should want it, to put it into his hands,
and told us he would keep it for our use and never open his hands but
keep them close shut and not part with any of it but at our request.
Accordingly, we trusted him and put our land into his hands and charged
him to keep it safe for our use. But some time after he went away to
England and carried our land with him, and there sold it to our brother
Onas for a large sum of money; and when, at the instance of our brother
Onas, we were minded to sell him some lands, he told us that we had sold
the Susquehanna lands already to the Governor of New York and that he
had bought them from him in England.(3)
   At length, in pursuance of a decision of the Onondaga council, a
deputation was sent to Philadelphia in the autumn of 1736 for the
purpose of terminating all disputes relating to the Susquehanna river
and lands. A conference was held, resulting in the execution of a deed
by which the Six Nations, on the 11th of October, 1736, released and
confirmed to the Proprietaries "all the said river Susquehanna, with the
lands lying on both sides thereof, to extend eastward as far as the heads
of the branches or springs which run into the said Susquehanna, and all
the lands lying on the west side of the said river to the setting of the
sun, and to extend from the mouth of the said river northward up the same
to the hills or mountains called in the language of the said nations the
Tyannuntasachta or Endless hills and by the Delaware Indians the
Kekkachtananin hills." After the close of the conference the Indians set
out on the return journey; at Tulpehocken, October 25, 1736, they signed a
supplementary document declaring that the "true intent and meaning" of
their deed of the 11th instant was, to release all that part of the
Province between the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers with the Endless
hills as the northern boundary. The Kittatinny range thus became the line
of the Province along the entire north and west frontier from the Delaware
river to the Maryland border.
   The next purchase from the Six Nations was made in 1749. On this
occasion they took the initiative; the conference began at Philadelphia
on the 16th of August, 1749, when, after the usual preliminary exchange
of courtesies, Canassatego reminded the Governor and Council of their
agreement under previous treaties to remove all persons who should
locate upon lands not yet purchased, and of their evident inability to
carry this stipulation into effect; but, as it would involve much
trouble to remove the intruders, the Six Nations were willing "to give
up the land on the east side of Susquehanna from the Blue hills or
Chambers' mill to where Thomas McKee, the Indian trader, lives," and
leave the amount of the consideration for the Governor and Council to
determine. The Governor replied that this proposition could not be
acceded to, as the lands offered were principally mountainous, but if
they would make Shamokin the northern limit and the Delaware river the
eastern boundary the Council and himself were ready to offer a fair
price and bring the transaction to a close. After some further
negotiations it was finally agreed that the northern line should begin
on the Susquehanna river at "the first or nearest mountain to the north
side of the mouth of the creek called in the language of the said Five
Nation Indians Cantaguy and in the language of the Delaware Indians
Mahanoy" and extend in a direct course to the Delaware river at the
mouth of Lackawaxen creek. The amount paid was five hundred pounds, and
the deed was executed on the 22d of August 1749. The course of the
northern boundary of this purchase in Northumberland county coincided
very nearly with the Little mountain.
   As settlers continued to encroach upon the Indian lands beyond the
Kittatinny range and west of the Susquehanna, Tachnechdorus was sent to
the Six Nations in the spring of 1754 to arrange the preliminaries for
another purchase. In the following summer their chiefs were met at Albany
by the Pennsylvania commissioners, who at once opened negotiations for a
release of all their lands as far west as the extent of the Province and
as far north as they were willing to sell. At length they acquiesced in
the proposed western boundary, but Hendrick, the great Mohawk chief made
the following significant utterance in his reply to the commissioners: "We
will never part with the land at Shamokin and Wyoming; our bones are
scattered there, and on this land there has always been a great council
fire." It was finally decided that the northern line should begin on the
Susquehanna river a mile above Penn's creek (a point nearly opposite
Sunbury), and extend "northwest by west" to the confines of the Province.
The deed was signed on the 6th of July, 1754.
   Notwithstanding the comprehensive character of the release of 1718, the
lands thus ceded by the Delawares were insufficient for the extension of
settlements between the Delaware and Susquehanna. In 1732 the region
drained by the Schuylkill and its tributaries was purchased, but while
this quieted the Delawares regarding the Tulpehocken lands, they were
still greatly dissatisfied with the settlement of the Minisink, their
ancient council seat, which they were naturally reluctant to relinquish.
At this juncture a deed, said to have been made in 1686, was produced;
under its alleged provisions the "walking purchase" of 1737 was
consummated, but in a manner highly unsatisfactory to the Delawares, who
absolutely refused to acknowledge its validity. The Six Nations had
released the lands in question by the supplementary deed of 1736, and in
1742 the matter was brought to their consideration at a conference in
Philadelphia. Canassatego, in announcing their decision administered a
terrible castigation to the unfortunate Delawares. "You ought to be taken
by the hair of the head," said he, "and shaked severely till you recover
your senses.......We conquered you, we made women of you, you know you are
women, and can no more sell land than women. Nor is it fit you should have
the power of selling lands, since you would abuse it. This land that you
claim is gone through your guts.....Did you ever tell us that you had sold
this land? Did we ever receive any part, even the value of a pipe shank,
from you for it?..You act a dishonest part, not only in this but in other
matters......And for all these reasons we charge you to remove instantly.
We don't give you the liberty to think about it......We therefore assign
you two places to go, either to Wyoming or Shamokin. You may go to either
of these places, and then we shall have you more under our eye and shall
see how you behave.....This string of wampum serves to forbid you, your
children and grandchildren to the latest posterity, forever meddling in
land affairs."(4) The immediate object of the government in invoking the
authority of the Six Nations was successfully accomplished. The remnant of
the Delawares forthwith removed to the localities designated, and some
continued their journey to the Ohio; but they retained a deep resentment
toward the provincial authorities, and contact with the French on the Ohio
early served to alienate them entirely from the English interest.

   The exploration of the Susquehanna valley by Etienne Brulé has been
related in the preceding chapter; and while it can not be positively
stated that this formed the basis of the French pretensions, the
Susquehanna river is given as the western boundary of Pennsylvania in a
map of Louisiana published at Paris in 1721. It was not until 1753,
however, that the French accentuated their claims to Pennsylvania
territory by military occupation, thus precipitating the long struggle
known in colonial history as the French and Indian war. An expedition
against Fort Duquesne, which, from its location at the junction of the
Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, was the most important French post in
the Ohio valley, was undertaken in 1755 under the joint auspices of the
British and colonial governments. The command was intrusted to General
Edward Braddock, an English officer, whose utter ignorance of the
methods of Indian warfare resulted in the almost total annihilation of
his army on the 9th of July, 1755.
   The influence of Braddock's defeat was at once apparent in the
changed attitude of the Delaware Indians. Years of subjection to the
dominant Iroquois, the injustice of the "walking purchase," the coercive
measures of 1742, and, finally, the treaty of 1754, by which the Six
Nations had Virtually sold their lands and those of the Shawanese "from
under their feet," had given cumulative force to the ardor of their
revenge. Their former attachment to the English had resulted largely
from the expectation that the latter would enable them to recover their
former standing as a nation; disappointed in this they embraced with
eagerness the promised assistance of the French, and, in conjunction
with the Shawanese and other allied tribes, ravaged the Pennsylvania
frontier from the Delaware river to the Maryland line with tomahawk and
firebrand.
   Hostilities were inaugurated in the Susquehanna valley on the
16th of October, 1755, when a band of fourteen Indians from the
Allegheny attacked the settlements at Penn's creek, several miles south
of Shamokin on the west side of the river, killed fifteen persons, and
carried off ten prisoners. Two of Conrad Weiser's sons, Frederick and
Peter, had been at Shamokin several days previously and stopped at the
house of George Gabriel, who lived at the present site of Selinsgrove,
on their return. While there a message arrived from Logan, one of
Shikellimy's sons, and Lapacpitton, a friendly Delaware chief; to the
effect that a large body of French and Indians was approaching by way of
the West Branch and that they would dispute their progress if re-enforced
and supplied with arms. But the warning was too late. Intelligence of the
massacre reached Harris's Ferry on the 19th instant, and on the 23d John
Harris, Thomas Forster, Adam Terrence and others to the number of forty
left Paxtang to bury the dead. Finding that this was already done they
were about to return, when Tachnechdorus persuaded them to go on to
Shamokin and confer with the Indians there. They arrived on the 24th and
remained over night; on the following morning they crossed the river and
started down on the west side, but were fired upon by Indians in ambush at
the mouth of Penn's creek and suffered considerable loss.
   This outrage, with others of a similar character at different
points on the frontier, produced the wildest consternation. In a letter
to Governor Morris under date of October 26, 1755, Conrad Weiser wrote.
"I suppose in a few days not one family will be seen on the other side
of Kittatinny hills." Three days later John Harris wrote from Paxtang:
"We expect the enemy upon us every day......I had a certain account of
about fifteen hundred Indians beside French being on their march
against us and Virginia and now close on our borders.......I am informed
that a French officer was expected at Shamokin this week with a party of
Delawares and Shawanese, no doubt to take possession of our river." The
extent to which this rumor gained currency is apparent from a letter of
Governor Morris to General Shirley in which the following statement
occurs: "There is reason to apprehend that the French have designs upon
Shamokin and are going to seize and fortify it, having, it is said,
obtained the consent of the Delaware Indians to do it under the ensnaring
pretense of putting them again into possession of their former country and
rendering them independent of the Six Nations. These Indians we know are
gone against us, and with the Shawanese....are now in several parties
killing our inhabitants in the country near Shamokin, with design no doubt
to give the French time to build their fort and to hinder any obstruction
from us." These reports were confirmed by Andrew Montour, who arrived at
Paxtang from Shamokin on the 31st of October, 1755; he had been as far as
the Great Island in the West Branch of Susquehanna, where a council was
held at which two Delawares stated that fifteen hundred French and Indians
had left Fort Duquesne twenty-one days previously to invade the English
settlements, and that a French fort would be in course of construction at
Shamokin within ten days. The Indians whom he met confidently expected to
spend the approaching winter at Lancaster.
   Of the actual state of affairs at Shamokin there is but meager
information. The attitude of the Indians toward Harris and his party was
one of distrust, and warlike preparations were also in progress at the
time of their visit. When John Schmick and Henry Fry arrived at Wyoming
on the 10th of November, 1755, they were informed that Paxinos and
Abraham, the two principal Shawanese chiefs at that place, "were sent
for to Shamokin, and when they came there they found that the Indians
there were convened to a treaty, where a Mohawk French Indian gave a
string of wampum and addressed the other Indians in these terms: 'Your
grandfather, i.e., the French king, sends you word that I intend to
come down with fifteen hundred men with me;'...... to whom the Indians
made answer, 'If this is your intention, then come not through our
land.'" From this it is apparent that the Shamokin Indians were not at
that time committed to the French interest, conclusive evidence of which
is found in the report of Scarroyady, an Oneida chief, who visited the
Susquehanna cantons shortly after the inroad on Penn's creek. He
absolutely denied that they had been concerned in any attacks upon the
settlements, and declared that they hated Onontio (the Governor of Canada)
as cordially as the English; but they must know whether the latter
intended to fight; if they could not be safe where they were they would go
somewhere else and take care of themselves. "They could not even stay at
Shamokin, he said, "which might have been prevented if the government had
paid a proper regard to their repeated solicitations for a supply of arms
and ammunition for their warriors and of necessaries for their wives and
children. That the town was abandoned in November, 1755, is further shown
by the report of an Iroquois who was sent thither from Harris's Ferry and
found no Indians there. On Saturday, June 5, 1756, six scouts arrived at
Shamokin, "and not observing any enemy, went to the place where the town
had been, the houses being burnt to the ground...... They continued there
till ten o'clock the next day, and, seeing no appearance of an enemy
except some old tracks of Indians and horses, they returned to Fort
Halifax. After abandoning the town the Indians retreated to Nescopec,
Wyoming, Tioga, and other towns on the North Branch and to the French
posts in the Northwest. The Delawares who had been without a king since
the death of Allumapees, elected Teedyuscung to that position. He was
keenly sensible, of the wrongs his people had suffered from their
conquerors at the instance of the English, and, as the first measure for
a restoration of their former tribal standing, inaugurated a series of
hostile, incursions against the frontier Settlements. From the Six Nations
this policy secured a reluctant admission of the equality of the, Delaware
tribe; with the colonial government it was not so successful, however, and
on the 14th of April, 1756, Governor Morris issued a Proclamation
declaring war against the, Delawares and their allies.
   While the Province was thus in constant danger of Indian incursions and
menaced by French invasion, divided counsels prevented the authorities
from adopting efficient measures of defense. The Governor refused his
assent to the taxation of Proprietary estates, and the provincial
Assembly, with equal obstinacy, declined to grant supplies upon any other
basis. These, differences were at length temporarily adjusted, however,
and in January, 1756, Governor Morris elaborated a comprehensive system of
frontier defense. Four forts were erected west of the Susquehanna, viz.:
Pomfret Castle, on Mahantango creek twelve miles from the river; Fort
Granville, on the Juniata at the mouth of Kishocoquillas creek; Fort
Shirley, at Aughwick, and Fort Lyttleton, on the road to the Ohio. Between
the Susquehanna and Delaware a chain of blockhouses was constructed along
the Kittatinny range, with Fort Henry at Tolhoe gap, Fort Lebanon on a
branch of the Schuylkill, and Fort Allen on the Lehigh.
   The erection of a fort at Shamokin was repeatedly urged by friendly
Indians. It was probably first suggested by Andrew Montour and
Monocatootha at Harris's Ferry on the 1st of November, 1755, and at once
received the favorable consideration of the Governor, who wrote to
General Johnson under date of November 15th: "I intend to build a fort
at Shamokin this winter." On the 17th of January, 1756, it was again
brought to the notice of the Governor at a conference at Carlisle. The
fort would, the Indians said, "be a place of refuge in times of
distress for us with our wives and children to fly to for our safety."
The Governor replied that he would "make immediate provision for the
building a strong house at Shamokin" and its construction would probably
have begun at once if the season had permitted. This is evident from a
letter of Governor Morris to Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, in which he
says (February 1, 1758): "I also propose to build a fort at Shamokin at
the forks of Susquehanna as soon as the season will admit a passage up
that river, for the mountains north of the Kittatinny are quite
impassable for carriages." The Indians became impatient at the delay,
and at the conference, of February 22 and April 10, 1756, urgently
requested the Governor to perform what he had promised. The location was
inaccessible, except by water, and opposition from the enemy was not
improbable; the appropriations made by the provincial Assembly were
dispensed under the supervision of a board of Commissioners, who were
not in cordial sympathy with the Governor's plans, and it was not
until April, 1756, that their consent to this project was obtained.
   The consent of the commissioners was coupled with a request that
four hundred troops should be raised for the expedition. The Third
battalion, known as the, August regiment, was accordingly recruited;
the following is a roster of the officers, with the respective dates of
their commissions:-(5)
   Lieutenant Colonel, William Clapham, March 29, 1756.
   Major, James Burd, April 24, 1756.
   Adjutant, Asher Clayton, May 24, 1756.
   Aide-de-Camp, Thomas Lloyd, April 2, 1756.
   Commissary of Provisions, Peter Bard.
   Wagon Master, Robert Irwin, April 12, 1756.
   Captain William Clapham, March 29, 1756; lieutenant, Levi Trump,
April 3, 1756; ensign, John Mears, April 20, 1756.
   Captain, Thomas Lloyd, April 2,1756; lieutenant, Patrick Davis.
[Davies], April 4, 1756; ensign, Samuel J. Atlee, April 23, 1756.
   Captain, Joseph Shippen, April 3, 1756; lieutenant, Charles
Garraway, April 15, 1756; ensign, Charles Brodhead, April 29, 1756.
   Captain, Patrick Work, April 22, 1756; lieutenant, Daniel Clark,
May 1, 1756; ensign, William Patterson, May 14, 1756.
   Captain, James Burd, April 24, 1756; lieutenant, William Anderson,
May 10, 1756; ensign, John Morgan, May 24,1756.
   Captain, Elisha Salter, May 11, 1756; lieutenant, Asher Clayton,
May 24, 1756; ensigns: Samuel Miles, May 24, 1756; Alexander McKee,
August 17, 1756.
   Captain, David Jamison, May 19, 1756; lieutenant, William Clapham,
Jr., August 20, 1756; ensign, Joseph Scott, May 24, 1756.
   Captain, John Hambright, June 12, 1756; lieutenant, William
Plunket; ensign, Patrick Allison, June 25, 1756.
   Captain, Nathaniel Miles; lieutenant, ____ Bryan; ensign, ___
Johnson; sergeant, _____ McCurdy.

   The battalion rendezvoused at Fort Hunter, a stockade on the east
side of the Susquehanna river a short distance above Harris's Ferry.
This point was selected by Governor Morris, who, on the 12th of April,
1756, issued instructions to Robert Irwin, "wagon master and conductor
of the boats and canoes." On the 25th of April he wrote to Governor
Shirley: "Your dispatches found me preparing to set out for the
Susquehanna, where the provincial forces are waiting for me." In a
communication dated "Camp at Harris's Ferry, May 23, 1756," he refers
to "the multiplicity and great variety of business in which I have been
constantly employed ever since I came here," from which it is evident
that the expedition was organized under his immediate supervision
   After leaving the camp of rendezvous, the troops marched on the
east side, of the Susquehanna river as far as Fort Halifax. A stop
appears to have been made at McKee's store (opposite the mouth of
Sherman's creek); on the 11th of June, 1756, Colonel Clapham wrote: "On
Saturday last [June 5th] I marched from McKee's store with five
companies and eighteen batteaux and canoes loaded, and arrived here
[Fort Halifax] the next afternoon." He then proceeds to give an account
of the progress of the expedition. Detachments had been stationed as
garrisons at Harris's Ferry, Fort Hunter, and McKee's store.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in ascending the Juniata
rapids; many of the batteaux grounded, "though laden with no more than
four barrels of pork and a few light things." It was Governor Morris's
idea originally to use canoes only in the transportation service; the
substitution of batteaux was due to the suggestion of John Harris. At
the time Colonel Clapham wrote (June 11th) there were twenty batteaux
and two canoes in the service; they had made five trips to McKee's and
two to the "Camp at Armstrong's "(Fort Halifax), and were then absent on
a third. While the transportation of the stores was in progress the
main body of the troops was employed in erecting Fort Halifax; this was
not included in the original design of the expedition, but was undertaken
by Colonel Clapham in the exercise, of his discretionary powers. On the
10th of June ten "ship carpenters" arrived from Harris's Ferry; they were
probably followed by others, and ten days later the Colonel wrote: "The
carpenters are still employed in building batteaux and carriages for the
cannon." On the 1st of July he informed the Governor that "the ship
carpenters have finished the carriages for the cannon, and, as soon as
they have finished the batteaux in hand, which I expect will be done
tomorrow, I shall give them a certificate of their services and discharge
them all except one, who will be absolutely necessary in the passage and
without whose assistance we may probably lose more than his pay can cost
the Province. None of my people are to be depended on in case of an
accident on the water, and I can assure your Honor that I find fatigue and
difficulties enough to conduct so amphibious an expedition with all the
assistance I can possibly command. I am at present extremely engaged in
embarking the regiment's stores, etc. for Shamokin, expecting to march
[in] time enough to encamp tonight on the west side of Susquehanna about
five miles above Fort Halifax." From that place the march was continued on
the west side of the river to a point opposite Sunbury, where the troops
crossed in batteaux.
   On the 12th of June, 1756, the Governor sent Colonel Clapham detailed
instructions regarding the conduct of the expedition; the following is a
transcript of those portions relating to the construction of the fort:-

   Herewith you will also receive two plans of forts, the one a
pentagon, the other a square with one ravelin to protect the curtain
where the gate is, with a ditch, covered way, and glacis. But as it is
impossible to give any explicit directions [for] the particular form of
a fort without viewing and considering the ground on which it is to
stand, I must leave it to you to build it in such form as will best
answer for its own defense, the command of the river and of the country
in its neighborhood, and the plans herewith will serve to show the
proportion that the different parts of the work shall bear to each
other.
   As to the place upon which this fort is to be erected, that must be
in a great measure left to your judgment; but it is necessary to inform
you that it must be on the east side of the Susquehanna, the lands on
the west at the forks and between the branches not being purchased from
the Indians, besides which it would be impossible to relieve and support
a garrison on that side in the winter time. From all the information I
have been able to collect, the land on the south side of the East Branch
opposite the middle of the island is the highest of any of the low land
thereabout and the best place for a fort, as the guns you have will
form a rampart of a moderate height [and] command the main river; but as
these informations come from persons not acquainted with the nature of
such things, I am fearful they are not much to be depended on, and your
own judgment must therefore direct you.
   When you have completed the fort you will cause the ground to be
cleared about it so to a convenient distance and openings to be made to
the river, and you will erect such buildings within the fort and place
them in such a manner as you shall judge best.
   Without the fort at a convenient distance, under the command of
the guns, it will be necessary to build some log houses for Indians,
that they may have places to lodge in without being in the fort.
   As soon as you are in possession of the ground at Shamokin you
will secure yourself by a breastwork in the best manner you can, so
that your men may work in safety.(6)
   Contemporary records contain but meager information regarding the
progress of the work. Captain Levi Trump and Ensign Samuel Miles
(subsequently a colonel in the Revolutionary war and the founder of
Milesburg, Centre county, Pennsylvania) had charge of the workmen. On
the 18th of July Colonel Clapham wrote the Governor that he had but one
team of draught horses, in consequence of which "the works must proceed
very slowly and the expense in the end be proportionable."  In his
reply to this Governor Morris says: "I have your map of the forts and of
the blockhouses and stoccado you have erected, which I much approve, as
your people may under that cover work in safety." This doubtless
referred to the temporary defenses mentioned in his instructions; for on
the 14th of August Colonel Clapham wrote: "We have the walls of the fort
now above half-finished and our other works in such situation that we
can make a very good defense against any body of French and Indians that
shall seat themselves before us without cannon." On the 7th of September
he gave a letter of recommendation to Michael McGuire, who had enlisted
as a private soldier and was "particularly useful as an overseer and
carpenter in the building of the fort...If the government designs to
strengthen this post by doubling the fort with another case of logs and
filling up the intermediate space with earth in order to render it
cannon-proof, which I think ought to be done, such a man will be
particularly serviceable." This letter was addressed to Benjamin
Franklin, to whom, in a communication on the following day, he says:
"This post, which is in my opinion of the utmost consequence to the
Province, is already defensible against all the power of musketry, but
as it is, from the nature of its situation, exposed to a more formidable
descent from the West Branch, it ought, I think, to be rendered still
stronger." Peter Bard, the local commissary, wrote to the Governor on
the 4th of September: "The fort is now almost finished, and a fine one
it is." Colonel Clapham transmitted a plan of the fort to Governor
Denny on the 23d of September, with the, information that its
construction had required "little better than the space of six weeks."
This referred only to the works originally projected, which were
probably constructed from the plans furnished by the Governor without
any special engineering supervision. On the, 17th of October, 1756, E.
Meyer, an engineer in the provincial service, arrived at Harris's Ferry
with James Young, the commissary general; thence they proceeded to Fort
Augusta in company with Captain Lloyd. On the 23d instant Colonel
Clapham acknowledged the receipt of "Mr. Meyer's instructions relative
to the additional works to be made at Augusta;" and on the 8th of
November he wrote:
   I.......have, since the departure of Mr. Meyer, been constantly
employed on the works laid out agreeably to his instructions, but which
must necessarily proceed more slowly for want of stronger teams and
wheelbarrows, as we have at present no other method of removing the dirt
but by hand-barrows and the tedious way of casting it with shovels from
man to man. What still increases the want of horses and carriages is the
necessity we lie under of conveying clay from other places for the
construction of the parapet, what comes out of the ditch being improper
for that purpose, as we find it a foot or two beneath the surface to grow
sandy and not to be consolidated by any force or expedient in our power.
The axes we have are, in general, extremely bad, and even the number of
them insufficient. Tomahawks with square, flat eyes, nails of several
sorts, and especially spades are very much wanted, the wagon master's
presence extremely necessary, and rum for the men employed on the works.(7)
   In a letter evidently written several weeks later he says: "Two
bushels of blue grass seed are necessary wherewith to sow the slopes of
the parapet and glacis and the banks of the river. In eight or ten days
more the ditch will be carried quite round the parapet, the barrier
gates finished and erected, and the pickets of the glacis completed."
   Constant danger was apprehended from French and Indians. On the
30th of July, 1756, Fort Granville was taken and burned, and an attack
upon Fort Augusta was deemed highly probable. The fleet of batteaux
ascended and descended the river under a strong guard, the necessity for
which is apparent from the following statements in Commissary Bard's
letter of September 4th: "On the 23d past one of the soldiers was coming
here from Harris's express, and fifteen miles from this fort was
murdered and scalped. The party that went to escort Captain Lloyd found
and buried him. And last Sunday morning one of our people who attended
the cattle went to the spring, about half a mile from the fort, and
while he was drinking was shot and afterwards scalped and tomahawked."
This melancholy occurrence gave to the Bloody spring its sanguinary
name. The boldness of the aggressors caused much alarm, which was
greatly increased in the following month when Ogagradarisha, a friendly
Iroquois chief, brought intelligence of the approach of a large force of
French and Indians. Dispatches were at once transmitted to Colonel
Clapham, who was then at Harris's Ferry, whence he immediately returned
to Fort Augusta with the determination to defend it to the last
extremity. The garrison was re-enforced and additional works were
constructed, which so increased the strength of the post as to warrant
offensive measures. Information having been received that the bands of
Indians which harassed the frontier rendezvoused at a town on the West
Branch, fifty miles from the fort, Colonel Clapham dispatched a party
composed of thirty-eight privates, two sergeants, and two corporals
under command of Captain John Hambright with Montour as guide to attack
and destroy it should he find it inhabited but leave no indications of
his visit should he find it abandoned. His instructions, which were of
the most specific character, were issued under date of November 4, 1756.
The town, called Chingleclamouse, was situated on the West Branch at the
present site of Clearfield. "Captain Hambright entered the town, found
the cabins all standing, but deserted by the Indians. Agreeably to his
orders he did not touch anything nor destroy the town, in hopes the
Indians would come to settle there again. This was the only Indian town
could be attacked."(8) No important results attended the expedition.
   Much difficulty was experienced in obtaining adequate supplies of
provisions and ammunition. On the 14th of August, 1756, at a time when
there was believed to be imminent danger of an attack, there were but
four half-barrels of powder in store; and so fearful was Colonel Clapham
that the letter containing this information would fall into the hands of
the enemy that he put it in the pad of the courier's pack-saddle. On
this occasion, having found it utterly impossible to continue the
batteau service owing to the low stage of water, he urgently requested
that a number of pack-horses should be engaged, which would render it
possible to transport sufficient provisions from Tulpehocken to keep the
garrison through the winter. On the 1st of September the stock of
provisions was reduced to forty-six barrels of beef and pork, nine of
flour, five of peas, and one bullock - scarcely sufficient for three
days' rations; at this critical juncture Captain Lloyd arrived with
thirty-three cattle and a quantity of supplies, probably the first
received by pack-horses. In a letter to Governor Denny on the 23d of
September Colonel Clapham stated that the supply of flour had twice been
reduced to two barrels, and suggested the appointment of a purchasing
agent.
   In the following month he made a visit to Lancaster and Cumberland
counties, returning on the afternoon of Sunday, October 17th, with
"seventy horse-loads of flour and a quantity of salt, and thirty head of
cattle." Upon the approach of winter it became necessary to revert to
the batteau service again, and in November the Colonel wrote: "The
repairs of the batteaux are now near finished; they will require one
hundred thirteen men to work them, for which expense and the payment of
arrears due on that service I have not in my hands one single shilling.
The season advancing will not admit of the supplying this garrison by
horses but for a short time, when the depth of the creeks, the badness
of the roads, the coldness of the weather, and the length of the way
will render that method impracticable."
   Inadequate provision for the financial requirements of the expedition
occasioned much dissatisfaction among its members. "Everybody seems
disposed cheerfully to contribute their services toward the public good,"
says Colonel Clapham in a letter to Governor Morris on the 20th of June,
1756, "if there was ever any prospect or assurance of being paid for it."
At that time there were twenty-six batteau-men in confinement for mutiny
on account of the failure of the officers to pay them, and it was feared
that others would desert if allowed to leave the camp. Nor was this
discontent confined to the rank and file; the extremely parsimonious
policy of the commissioners by whom the provincial appropriations were
disbursed caused general dissatisfaction among the officers. The
subalterns alleged that seven shillings six pence had been promised each
lieutenant and five shillings six pence to each ensign, while the former
had received but five shillings six pence and the latter four shillings. A
council was accordingly held at the camp at Shamokin on the 18th of July,
1756, at which all the officers of the regiment were present except
Captain Miles, who was in command of the garrison at Fort Halifax; the
reasons of the subalterns for expecting a larger rate of pay than they had
received were recited in a memorial to the Governor, at the conclusion of
which the officers joined in the following resignation:-

   The gentlemen officers beg leave to appeal to his Honor, the Governor,
as an evidence that that opinion universally prevailed throughout the
regiment, and, thinking themselves unjustly dealt with by the gentlemen
commissioners, are unanimously determined not to serve longer on these
terms; they therefore beg leave to return your Honor their most hearty and
sincere thanks for the favors received, the grateful impressions of which
they shall never forget, and at the same time request a permission from
your Honor to resign on the 20th day of August next, desiring to be
relieved accordingly.(9)
   This was transmitted to the Governor by Colonel Clapham, who improved
the opportunity to air his own grievances and those of the other field
officers. The following is an extract from his letter:-
   I entered into this service at the solicitation of some of the
gentlemen commissioners, in dependence on promises which they have never
performed, and have acted ever since not only in two capacities but in
twenty, having, besides the duties of my commissions as colonel and
captain, been obliged to discharge those of an engineer and overseer at
the same time, and undergone in the service incredible fatigues without
materials and without thanks. But as I am to be paid only as a colonel I
intend while I remain in this service only to fulfill the duties of that
commission, which never was yet supposed to include building forts and ten
thousand other services which I have performed; so that the gentlemen
commissioners have only to send engineers, pioneers, and other laborers,
with the necessary teams and utensils, while I, as colonel, preside over
the works, see that your Honor's orders are punctually executed, and only
defend the persons engaged in the execution of them.
   In pursuance of a resolution of your Honor and the gentlemen
commissioners to allow me an aid-de-camp, who was to be paid as a
supernumerary captain in the regiment, I accordingly appointed Captain
Lloyd as my aid-de-amp on April 2, 1756, who has ever since acted as such
in the most fatiguing and disagreeable service on earth, and received only
captain's pay. Your Honor was pleased to appoint Lieutenant Clayton
adjutant to the regiment under my command by a commission bearing date the
24th day of May, 1756, but the gentlemen commissioners have, in defiance
of all known rules, resolved that an officer can discharge but one duty in
a day, and have paid him only as a lieutenant.
   Impowered by your Honor's orders, and in compliance with the exigencies
of the service, I hired a number of batteau-men at two shillings six pence
per day, as will appear by the return made herewith to your Honor, and,
upon demanding from the paymaster general money for the payment of the
respective balances due to them, was surprised to find that the
commissioners had by their instructions restrained him from paying any
incidental charges whatever, as thinking them properly cognizable only by
themselves.
   'Tis extremely cruel, Sir, and unjust to the last degree, that men who
cheerfully ventured their lives in the most dangerous and fatiguing
services of their country, who have numerous families dependent on their
labor, and who have many of them while they were engaged in that service
suffered more from the neglect of their farms and crops at home than the
value of their whole pay - short, whose affairs are ruined by the services
done their country - should some of them receive no pay at all.(10)

   The provincial commissary general, James Young, whose visit to Shamokin
developed such general dissatisfaction among the officers and men, arrived
at that place on the 12th of July and remained four days. He left on
Friday, the 16th instant, in a batteau with four oars, arrived at Harris's
Ferry before night, and on the following day proceeded to Carlisle, whence
he transmitted an account of his transactions to the Governor. He had
followed the instructions of the commissioners in paying the subalterns,
who receipted for the amounts received but not for their full pay. He had
been instructed to pay four hundred men, but found more than that number
in the camp, beside the detachments at Fort Hunter and elsewhere. He was
to pay the men to the 1st of July, deducting one half for clothing:
against this they protested; the captains drew up a statement setting
forth the manifest injustice of such an arrangement, and he was obliged to
yield to their demands. He had no funds to meet Colonel Clapham's bill for
one hundred sixteen batteau-men at two shillings six pence per day, but
was credibly informed that the greater part of them were soldiers in the
regiment and received pay as such. From this it would appear that the
Colonel applied the same principle to them as to himself and his brother
officers, viz., that a man should receive full pay in every capacity in
which he served. He observed that the arbitrary disposition of the
commanding officer had occasioned great dissatisfaction among the
subordinate officers, all of whom except three or four had been placed in
confinement by him and released at his pleasure without trial.(11)
   The straitened condition of provincial finances continued. On the 23d
of September, 1756, Colonel Clapham informed Governor Denny that there was
four months' pay due the regiment, and, as many of the soldiers had
families to support, he was obliged to loan the greater part of his own
salary among them, otherwise he feared they would have deserted or eturned
to their homes at the expiration of their terms of enlistment.(12) At
length, "tired with the discouragements perpetually given to the service
by the commissioners and with their particular treatment of him," he
resigned his commission and was succeeded in command of the Augusta
regiment by Major James Burd, the officer next in rank.

   Major Burd(13) arrived at Fort Augusta on Wednesday, December 8, 1756,
with captains Shippen and Jamison and a supply train. He found Captain
Hambright in command: Colonel Clapham had departed at ten A. M. on the
previous Monday; Captains Lloyd and Salter, Lieutenants Clapham, Trump,
and Miles, and Ensign Patterson were also absent. On the following day he
"inquired into the state of the garrison," and found two hundred eighty
men, with nine officers, for duty. No work had been done for some time; he
found "the ditch unfinished; the pickets up; the beef cistern finished;
the picket gates not done, and the beef all in the store in bulk; no place
provided for the flour, and the salt in casks; - in the heads standing on
the parade; the batteaux all frozen up in the river." The remainder of the
day was occupied in disposing of the supplies of flour and rum he had
brought up, and in dispatching a party to the camp at McKee's for another
consignment. On Friday, December 10th, he "employed a party to build a
smokehouse for the beef; one to haul the batteaux out of the ice upon
the bank to preserve them from being destroyed by the ice when the river
should break up; one to clean out the fort, which was full of heaps of
nuisances; one to throw all the stone out of the pickets; one to ram the
earth about the beef cistern; one to build a bakehouse, and one to build a
chimney in Captain Hambright's barrack; and one to make beds in the guard
house." The completion and renovation of the works, thus early begun, was
energetically continued.
   Some idea of the routine pursued at Fort Augusta under Major Burd's
administration may be gained from the following transcript of his journal
for February 7-20, 1757:-

   7th, Monday. -This day it snows a little in the morning. At work in the
woods getting firewood, twenty-two; at the coal kiln, six; sawyers, two;
making helves, one; getting stuff for helves, two; making wheelbarrows,
two. Very cold, the ice driving but very little.
   8th, Tuesday. -Employed this day as follows: twenty-two men cutting
pickets, one man pointing ditto, six men at the coal, two sawyers, two
making tomahawk helves, two making wheelbarrows, nine putting beef in the
smokehouse, two working at the bakehouse. A clear, cold day.
   9th, Wednesday. -Employed as yesterday. Sent seventeen men out to hunt
up any straggling horses that might be yet in the provincial service, but
could only find four, which I have sent down to be discharged the service.
The two Indians, William Sack and Indian Peter, applied to me for an
escort to conduct them safely to the Conestoga town. I accordingly sent
Volunteer Hughes and two soldiers and four horses, with orders to conduct
them safely home. They set out from this at five P. M. This evening it
rains and blows prodigiously.
   10th, Thursday. -Could not work to-day; it rained and blew prodigiously
all last night and all this day. The saw-pit is full of water. The doctor
made complaint this morning that there was a great deal of under-water in
the hospital; the doctor told me that he thought he had bad success in his
cures, which he imputed to the want of fresh provisions anti vegetables; I
acquainted the doctor that I had some thoughts of removing the hospital to
Fort Halifax or Fort hunter as soon as the weather would permit; he told
me if that was not done many would lose their lives. The river in a fine
state for battenning.
   11th, Friday. -Employed this day as follows: twenty-nine men in the
woods cutting pickets, two carpenters pointing ditto, two carpenters
making tomahawk helves, two carpenters making wheelbarrows, two carpenters
working at the bakehouse, sawyers emptying the water out of the saw-pit,
the smiths at work and colliers. This day it blew very hard and froze most
severely.
   12th, Saturday. -Employed this day as yesterday. This day it freezes
most intensely. The river is quite full of ice. Though the people are at
work, yet they can't do much.
   13th, Sunday. -This morning I ordered a general parade of all the
regiment present at ten A. M. and prayers at eleven A. M. if the weather
would permit. Had the general parade accordingly, and found all the arms
in good order, bright and quite clean. This day it freezes severely, and
is so extremely cold that I omit prayers, the officers complaining it was
too severe.
   14th, Monday. -Employed this day as follows: twenty-one men in the
woods cutting pickets, two pointing ditto, six colliers; two men at the
wheelbarrows, two making ax handles, two making the pork cistern, four
sawyers, three bakers. This day it freezes a little; more moderate than it
has done for some days past; the river is quite full of ice, driving thick
cakes.
   15th, Tuesday. -This morning John Apelby, of Captain Salter's company,
died; two men employed in making a coffin for ditto. Twenty-one men in the
woods cutting pickets, one pointing ditto, six colliers, two making
wheelbarrows, two making ax handles, two wagoners, four sawyers, two at
the pork cistern, three bakers, four smiths. Buried John Apelby this
evening. This day it snows a little; the river continues full of ice.
Finished cutting pickets this evening; the adjutant reports they have cut
upwards of a thousand.
   16th, Wednesday. -This morning Christian Holtsaple, of Captain Salter's
company, died. Seventeen men in the woods piling off pickets and cutting
firewood, one man pointing pickets, six colliers, four smiths, four
sawyers, three bakers, two carpenters making a coffin, two jointing plank
for the pork cistern, two making wheelbarrows, two making ax handles, two
wagoners, four digging a grave. At eleven A. M. two men arrived here with
rum for Mr. Trapnell and informed me that the batteaux were lying weather-
bound at Berry's place. At twelve M. D. Lieutenants Davis and Clapham
arrived here with a party of thirteen men and brought my letters and
confirmed the batteaux being at Berry's place under the command of Captain
Trump. The above Christian Holtsaple was buried this evening. This day I
was taken so ill that I could not read my letters; should have answered
Colonel Clapham's letter and Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong's, but my
indisposition would not permit. It thaws today much.
   17th, Thursday. -This day it rained so hard all day that the soldiers
could not work out of doors; the river clear of ice, and thaws much. The
two men at work making wheelbarrows, one making ax handles, smiths and
bakers at work.
   18th, Friday. -Fine, clear weather. Employed to-day as follows: twenty-
one working in the woods cutting pickets, and cutting and piling brush,
three bakers, six colliers, four sawyers, two making wheelbarrows, two
posting pickets, two jointing plank for the pork cistern, two making ax
helves, two making paddles, two carters. This day at one P. M. Captain
Trump arrived here with Ensigns Brodhead and Scott and the party, and
batteaux with fifty-one barrels flour, three hogsheads of rum, one faggot
steel, twelve barrels pork. At two P. M. it began to rain to-day. We have
great difficulty in getting the batteaux unloaded. Sent Sergeant Lee to
Carlisle express.
   19th, Saturday -It rained all day to-day. No work done except emptying
the batteaux of the remainder of their loading. Which is now all in the
store. Returned to the full allowance of provision, one pound two ounces
of beef and one and one half pounds of flour.
   20th, Sunday -Had a general review of all the regiment; appointed the
party to wait Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong's orders. The fort was so wet
we could not have sermon nor prayers to-day.
  
   The summer routine was slightly different. The following is a
transcript of the journal from the 17th to the 31st of July, 1757:-
   17th, Sunday.-Had the general review and church twice, at which the
Indians attended. I had all the Indians to dinner with me to-day, which
gave great satisfaction.
   18th, Monday. -Employed fifty-eight parapet, twenty-seven with the
wagon, fourteen cattle guard, ten carpenters, thirteen mauling rails for a
hog pen, four sawyers, four smiths, two gardeners, two bakers, one
chandler. This day at one P. M. the Indians set off quite pleased, and
said they would return in twenty days with all the chiefs of their nations.
   19th, Tuesday, -Employed sixty-three parapet, twenty-six with the
wagon, seventeen cattle guard, eleven carpenters, four smiths, four
sawyers, two gardeners, two bakers, one chandler. Nothing material.
   20th, Wednesday. -Employed sixty-five at the parapet, twenty-seven with
wagon, fifteen cattle guard, eleven carpenters, four smiths, four sawyers,
two bakers, two gardeners, two pin makers, one chandler. This day at three
P. M. Captain Shippen arrived here with the fleet of batteaux and twenty-
seven recruits.
   21st, -Thursday. -Employed fifty-three at the parapet, twenty-six with
the wagon, fourteen cattle guard, ten carpenters, four sawyers, four
smiths, two bakers, two gardeners, one chandler, two pin makers. Nothing
material.
   22d, Friday. -Employed seventy-two at the parapet, twenty-seven with
the wagon, fourteen cattle guard, ten carpenters, four sawyers, four
smiths, two bakers, two gardeners, two masons, two pin makers, one
chandler.
   23d, Saturday. -Employed seventy-two at the parapet, twenty-six with
the wagon, fourteen cattle guard, ten carpenters, four sawyers, four
smiths, two bakers, two gardeners, one chandler, two pin makers. Ordered a
general review tomorrow at four P. M.
   24th, Sunday. -This morning I sent out a reconnoitering party, one
hundred men, with the following officers: Captains Hambright and Trump,
Lieutenant Garraway, Ensigns Brodhead and Allison. Had a general review
today at four P. M. The reconnoitering party returned at nine P. M. and
reported no signs of the enemy.
   25th, Monday. -Employed sixty-two at the parapet, twenty-seven with the
wagon, fourteen cattle guard, four sawyers, four smiths, two gardeners,
two pin makers, one chandler, eight sodders. Ordered the batteaux to be
ready to sail tomorrow; I could not empty the flour sooner, having no
place to put it in. Captain Patterson and Ensign Miles go with the
batteaux and a party of twenty-five soldiers; Lieutenant Garraway, Ensigns
Scott and Allison go recruiting. Ordered Lieutenant Atlee on the
recruiting service from Fort Halifax, and Lieutenant Miles to take post
there.
   26th, Tuesday. -Employed fifty-four at the bank, twenty-six with the
wagon, fourteen cattle guard, eight sodders of the bank, four sawyers, ten
carpenters, four smiths, two gardeners, two bakers, two masons, two
chandlers. This day at M. D. the fleet of batteaux sailed with the
officers, Captain Patterson, Lieutenant Garraway, Ensigns Scott, Miles,
and Allison, with a party of twenty-five men.
   27th, Wednesday.-Employed seventy-four at the parapet, twenty-seven
with the wagon, fourteen cattle guard, ten carpenters, four sawyers, four
smiths, two bakers, two gardeners, one chandler, two masons. Nothing
material.
   28th, Thursday. -Employed seventy at the parapet, twenty-seven with the
wagon, fourteen with the cattle, fifteen carpenters, four sawyers, four
smiths, two bakers, two gardeners, two masons, one chandler. Nothing
material.
   29th, Friday. -Employed sixty-one at the bank, twenty-seven with the
wagon, fourteen cattle guard, four sawyers, four smiths, two bakers, two
gardeners. two masons, one chandler. Nothing material.
   30th, Saturday. -Employed sixty-two at the parapet, thirty with the
wagon, fourteen cattle guard, fifteen carpenters, four sawyers, four
smiths, two gardeners, two bakers, two masons, one chandler. This morning
at two A. M. John Cook, of C. Davis's company, deserted from his post as
sentry on the lower bastion of the palisadoes. This evening I was walking
on me platforms; at twelve P. M. I heard a gun fired about two miles down
the river. Ordered a general review tomorrow at four P. M. An eclipse
visible of the moon at seven P.M.

   Frequent visits were made by friendly Indians. Ogagradarisha, who
succeeded Tachnechdorus as the representative of the Six Nations upon the
North Branch, held several conferences with the commanding officer, and
William Sack, Indian Peter, and others are mentioned by name as visitors
at the fort. On the 10th of March, 1757, five Indians "came down the North
Branch in a canoe with English colors flying" to inform Major Burd that a
large party would arrive in a day or two; on Sunday, the 13th, at two
P.M., "the Indian fleet hove in sight with two stand of English colors
flying, consisting of fifteen canoes and three batteaux; they fired two
rounds," which were answered from the upper bastion of the pickets. "There
were on board upwards of ninety Indians, many of which kings and chiefs of
their people." The entire party was entertained at the fort until the
following Thursday, when they left in batteaux for Harris's Ferry. On the
same day thirty more arrived, among whom were Monocatootha and Seneca
George. They left at noon on Friday, March 18th.
   Every precaution was taken to guard against hostile demonstrations.
Scouting parties ranged the surrounding country on the north and west
within a radius of twenty miles; the batteau fleet and supply trains were
always accompanied by a strong escort; parties at work preparing timber,
hauling materials, or herding cattle were protected by a strong
detachment. Notwithstanding these measures, the enemy frequently
approached on the opposite banks of the river and sometimes had the
temerity to attack in the immediate vicinity of the fort. On the 26th of
February, 1757. Major Burd sent the carters "to the old house at the
spring to bring in some stones," with a covering party consisting of a
corporal and seven men. The sentries, three in number, were shot at by
Indians, and, having heard the firing, Major Burd sent two ensigns with
twenty men to their relief. As they approached the Indians gave a general
huzza, to which the relief party replied; the Major thereupon sent Captain
Trump with two sergeants and twenty men, who pursued the enemy more than
an hour but without overtaking them; they then returned with the bodies of
two of the sentries. Captain Trump was immediately dispatched with Ensigns
Brodhead and Allison, two sergeants, two corporals, and fifty men to
pursue the attacking party; they went as far as the summit of a high
mountain on the North Branch fourteen miles from the fort, but returned on
the following day (Sunday, February 27th) without overtaking them. On the
9th of June, 1757, a party of Indians fired upon the sentries of the
bullock guard, killing one of them, and in the skirmish that ensued
sixteen shots were exchanged. Three detachments were sent out, but the
bullock guard had put the enemy to flight before they arrived. Lieutenant
Handshaw with Ensigns Brodhead and Patterson and thirty men started in
pursuit at break of day on the following morning, but returned without
overtaking them. At ten A. M. on the 23d of June, three parties of Indians
surrounded the cattle guard, killed four men, and wounded five; two
detachments were at once sent from the fort, and upon their approach the
savages fled precipitately, leaving one gun, two tomahawks, and two
match-coats upon the field. Their number was estimated at forty.
   The only aggressive movement of importance during Major Burd's
incumbency was a second expedition to Chingleclamouse. On the evening of
April 7, 1757, after dark, Captain Patterson set out with a party of ten
men under instructions to proceed up the West Branch to that point,
marching as close to the river as possible. When they reached their
destination they found that the principal part of the town had been
destroyed by fire, while the remainder had evidently been deserted for
some time. Having exhausted their supply of provisions, the party
descended the Susquehanna river on rafts and arrived at Fort Augusta on
the 25th of January. For three days they had been obliged to subsist upon
walnuts.
   The terms for which many of the soldiers had enlisted expired in the
spring of 1757, and much firmness was required to induce them to continue
in the service. Having been informed by the adjutant that some had
delivered up their arms and refused to do further duty, Major Burd
addressed the garrison immediately after the general review on Sunday,
March 6, 1757. His opening words were as follows:-

   GENTLEMEN AND FELLOW SOLDIERS: I must first put you in mind of the
cause for which we were sent hither. Was it not for to maintain the honor
and just rights of our glorious sovereign and the protection of our
Country? Did we not all, seemingly, cheerfully embrace this opportunity of
serving our king and country? Have we not taken possession of this ground,
which is allowed to be a place of great importance, and have we not
maintained it, and built a strong fort upon it, and have not these works
been erected at a vast charge to the government, and would all this [have]
been done with no further view than to make a parade to Shamokin? Surely
this can't be the case; and would you, like a parcel of dastardly
poltroons, abandon these works and leave the king's fort with its gates
open to receive the enemies of the crown of Great Britain? Why? Merely
because your times for which you were enlisted expired, and you are not
obligated, you think, to do the duty you owe by nature to your gracious
sovereign and bleeding country. For shame! Forever shame! Everlasting
infamy and just reproach will attend you and all your generations after
you, were you to attempt to act such a base part - a part so unbecoming
the character of a Protestant Briton - a part that would give just cause
to the last of your seed to curse you.

   He informed them in the most positive terms of his determination not to
"suffer the king's fort to be left without a garrison to defend it," and
assured them upon his honor that as soon as the government should send
other troops they would not be obliged to continue in the service after
their terms had expired unless they should voluntarily re-enlist With this
promise, and the further assurance that should be paid until discharged,
they consented to "stay and do duty."
   Shortly after this (March 18,1757) information was received that eight
hundred French and Indians had arrived at the headwaters of the West
Branch, and were about to make a descent upon the fort. An express was
forthwith dispatched with letters conveying this intelligence and also the
fact "that the garrison refused to do duty for want of pay, and that there
was a scarcity of provisions and ammunition." The letters were received by
the Governor and Council on the 21st of March; the supply bill was under
consideration at the time, and the dispute between the executive and
legislative branches of the government relative to the taxation of
Proprietary estates was again in progress. Lord Loudoun, commander-in-
chief of his Majesty's forces in America, was then at Philadelphia, and
the Governor consulted him regarding Major Burd's intelligence. He advised
the immediate passage of the supply bill as prepared by the Assembly,
which was accordingly done, and thus the condition and needs of the
garrison at Fort Augusta effected the temporary settlement of an important
colonial administrative question.
   With the batteau-men Major Burd was equally firm. On the 26th of May,
1757, a number of batteaux arrived under the command of Lieutenant
Handshaw; he reported gross insubordination on the part of the batteau-
men, three of whom were placed in confinement. On the following day Major
Burd was told that the others were coming to him to demand the reason for
this, and thereupon informed them that if they had anything to say they
should send two or three of their number, but if they came in a body he
would shoot the first man that approached. Two of them accordingly
informed him that they were employed for the batteaux service only, to
which the Major replied that they were part of his command, and that he
should expect them to conform to the directions of his officers in any
manner that the exigencies of the service might require. The next day (May
28th) they informed him that they would do no other duty than work their
respective batteaux, and that he might continue them in the service on
those terms or give them their discharges. He replied that he would do
neither, but was fully determined to make examples of all whom he found
"guilty of this piece of mutiny;" and if they imagined he found any
difficulty to get batteau-men they were much deceived. On the following
morning they were paraded by the adjutant, acknowledged their fault, and
promised to comply with the officers' orders in future.
   The completion of the works, although begun by Major Burd when he
assumed command, was partially suspended during the winter months. The
internal arrangements of the fort were improved, however; a bakehouse,
smokehouse, beef cistern, pork cistern, etc. were provided, while pickets
for the outer defenses were cut in the surrounding forests to the number
of more than a thousand. As soon as the condition of the ground would
permit, the completion of the earth-works was resumed; thirty men were
employed "at the ditch" on the 18th of March, twenty-seven on the 19th,
fifty-six on the 20th (Sunday), and fifty-five on the 21st, including "
all the cooks, servants, and guard." It was not until the 10th of August
that the parapet was finished; the counterscarp and ditch, "glassee,"
platforms, etc. next received attention, but were yet in an unfinished
condition at the time Major Burd's journal closes (October 14, 1757).
A fish-dam and wharf were constructed, brick making and lime burning were
carried on, and a garden was cleared and inclosed.
   Major Burd took his departure on the 18th of December, 1757, and,
although he retained command of the Augusta regiment, the conduct of
affairs at Fort Augusta devolved upon the subordinate officers at that
post. Captain Joseph Shippen succeeded to the command; on the 27th of
March, 1758, he left the fort on leave of absence from Colonel Burd, and
in the report for April 1st Major Thomas Lloyd appears as commandant. By a
reorganization of the provincial forces the Augusta regiment had been
incorporated in the second battalion of the Pennsylvania regiment, of
which James Burd was lieutenant colonel and Thomas Lloyd major;
subsequently the former became colonel and the latter lieutenant colonel.
Nearly the whole of this battalion was attached to General Forbes's
command and participated in the expedition against Fort Duquesne; Captain
Trump was the only officer of his rank who remained at Fort Augusta and
the command therefore devolved upon him, prior to June 2, 1758. He
occupied this position until April, 1759, and doubtless later. In
September of that year Major Jacob Orndt, of the First battalion, was in
command. Caleb Graydon, successively ensign, lieutenant, and captain, was
in charge when Colonel Burd arrived at the fort on the 15th of February,
1760. It does not appear that the Colonel remained longer than several
weeks, after which Lieutenant Graydon resumed command, and was in charge
when Colonel Burd again arrived in 1763.
   The principal addition to the works during this period was the powder
magazine. Its erection was first recommended by Harry Gordon (who styles
himself "engineer and captain") in the following terms:-
   A magazine ought to be built in the south bastion, twelve by twenty
feet in the clear, also a laboratory of the same dimensions in the east
bastion: the wall of the magazine to be two and one half feet thick, with
three buttresses, two feet thick at the bottom beveling to nine inches at
top, in each side; the breadth of buttresses, three and one half feet; the
magazine to have an arch of two and one half brick thick, and to be
underground within one and one half feet of the top of the arch; the
walls, seven feet high from the level of the floor, and to have a
foundation two feet below the floor; great care taken to lay the joists
and to fill up between with ruble stone and gravel, rammed; the joists to
be covered with plank two and one half inches thick; an air hole one foot
square to be practiced in the gable end, opposite the door; the passage to
the magazine to have a zig-zag, and over the arch some fine plaster laid,
then covered with fine gravel and four feet of earth atop.(14)
   Captain Gordon's recommendation was transmitted under date of May 6,
1758. Instructions were issued to Captain Trump, the commanding officer,
to undertake the work, which was begun under very discouraging
circumstances. "I have got but few tradesmen to carry on any building," he
wrote Governor Denny on the 19th of July, 1758; "one carpenter, two
masons, one smith are left here. I have begun to build a powder magazine,
(as there has never been any other than the common provision store, an
unfit place to hold powder.) and, am obliged to leave it unfinished for
want of lime and stone. The limestone is to fetch six miles and it is
impossible to fetch them any other way than by water; and all the batteau-
men are discharged, so it is impossible for me to carry it on any further
without some more assistance." It does not appear that the garrison was
materially re-enforced, although its effective strength was probably
increased by employing batteau-men, and thus the magazine was finally
constructed. Of all the military works that once constituted Fort Augusta
the subterranean portion of this structure alone remains. From the highway
on the bank of the river it presents the appearance of a small mound of
earth. A narrow stone stairway descends to the interior, which is ten by
twelve feet in dimensions; the walls are constructed of stone and the
arched ceiling of brick, manufactured, in all probability, at the fort.
Over this underground chamber a wooden building formerly stood; there is
some reason to think that this was the magazine proper, for William Maclay
refers to it as "this magazine, under which there is a small but complete
dungeon.(15) It was enlarged and strengthened, and served for a brief
period as the first jail of Northumberland county. The "small but complete
dungeon" is all that now remains of the only fortification erected within
the present limits of Northumberland county during the colonial period.(16)
  
   An Indian trading house was also built This was done at the special
request of the Indians living on the Susquehanna, who had been pacified
and desired a convenient place for the exchange of peltries, etc. for
clothing and supplies. The Governor and Assembly had some difficulty in
agreeing upon a plan for the regulation of this trade, and the delay in
establishing stores caused much dissatisfaction among the Indians. At
length these differences were adjusted; on the 20th of January, 1758,
Captain Shippen informed Major Burd that several parties of Delawares had
arrived "with skins to trade at the store," and in the list of supplies
received he mentioned "a quantity for Mr. Carson's store." On the 1st of
July, 1758, Captain Trump wrote: "Agreeably to your orders to me I have
begun to dig the cellar for the store house for Indian goods, but there is
not carpenters' tools here sufficient to complete the building of the
house." Temporary quarters were provided, however, regarding which he
wrote on the 19th instant: "It is impossible for me to carry on the Indian
store house for want of workmen and tools, and as this last draft has
taken all the workmen from me save the few [I] have mentioned to your
Honor; but I have for the present fitted up one of the barracks that is
almost joining the present Indian store, which will hold a great quantity
of skins." A trading house was eventually erected, however; it stood
outside the fort, and was removed in 1763. The work of demolition was
begun on the 16th of July; the materials were taken inside the fort and
used for other purposes. The business had been conducted under the
auspices of the government, with Nathaniel Holland as resident agent
several years, and during this time the coming and going of parties of
friendly Indians were the principal occurrences that varied the monotony
of routine garrison life.

   Fort Augusta again became the scene of active military operations in
1763. A preconcerted attack had been made upon the western posts by the
Indians under the direction of Pontiac and Guyasutha, and measures were at
once taken to put Fort Augusta in a condition for defense. In the
temporary absence of Lieutenant Graydon, Lieutenant Samuel Hunter was in
command. On the 5th of June, 1763, he received a letter from John Harris
informing him that Colonel Clapham and twelve men had been killed at
Pittsburgh; on the following day he had a letter from Colonel Armstrong,
stating that the post at Sandusky had been taken; he was also warned by a
friendly Indian to be on his guard, as the fort was in danger of attack at
any time. It was at once ordered that the reveille should beat at
daybreak, when all the garrison were to proceed to the bastions under
arms. Twelve men, with a sergeant and corporal, were detailed to mount
guard, and a sentry was stationed in each bastion. The gates were ordered
to be shut at dusk. Directions were given that all the small arms should
be charged, "that each man might have two or three by him for present
use." It was subsequently ordered that no soldier should have any dealings
with the Indians upon any pretense whatever, or fire his piece except at
the command of an officer or at an enemy; and the sentries were directed
to let no "man, woman, or child go on the ramparts." On the 8th of June
the entire garrison was employed "to put the fort in the best position "
for immediate defense and continued at that work several weeks. Lieutenant
Graydon arrived on the 15th and Colonel Burd on the 18th instant; the
latter at once assumed command. One week later a conference was held with
more than a score of Indians, during which he took the precaution to have
the garrison under arms. In order to insure a supply of water in case of
siege the construction of a covered way to the river was begun on the 29th
of June, when "three houses at the south end of the town, were pulled
down. On the following day it was ordered, "That every one passing through
either one of the barrier gates shut them after them to prevent cattle
going into the covered way; also, to walk on the covered way as near the
pickets as they can." On the 2d of July the "pickets in the covered way"
were finished. The erection of a new guard house over the back gate" was
begun July 20th, probably with the former materials of the Indian trading
house; it was completed and first occupied on the 4th of August. While
these improvements were in progress a barricade was thrown up against the
upper side of the redoubt and the defenses otherwise strengthened.
   Although the anticipated attack did not occur, military movements of
some consequence were made on both branches of the Susquehanna. On
Thursday, August 25, 1763, at twelve M., Captains Patterson and Bedford
and George Allen arrived at Fort Augusta with one hundred fourteen men,
and left on the same day to destroy several Indian towns sixty miles
distant on the West Branch. They encountered the enemy thirty miles up the
river, and in the skirmish that ensued four of their party were killed and
four wounded. Captains Patterson and Bedford returned to the fort at noon
on Saturday, the 27th instant; George Allen and John Wood, with the
remainder of the party, arrived at five p.m. on the same day. On their
retreat down the river the latter had intercepted three Indians from
Bethlehem, who, as they were suspected of carrying intelligence and
supplies to the hostile Indians, were killed on the hill north of
Northumberland. The entire party remained at Fort Augusta until Sunday,
August 28th, when they departed for the settlements whence they had come.
A second expedition against the Indian rendezvous at Great Island was made
in the following October under the command of Colonel John Armstrong.
After destroying the Indian corn fields and villages, the party retreated
down the West Branch; Captains Patterson, Bedford, Sharp, Laughlin, and
Crawford, with two hundred men, arrived at Fort Augusta on the 11th of
October, and Captains Piper and Lindsay, with fifty men, on the following
day; Colonel Armstrong had left the latter party about seven miles from
the fort, "intending to go the nearest way to Carlisle." On the 13th of
October Major Clayton reached the fort with eighty men, en route to
Wyoming; they resumed their march on the 15th, accompanied by Lieutenant
Hunter and twenty-four of the garrison. On the 20th instant they
returned, having destroyed what provisions and implements they found.
   The journal kept at Fort Augusta from June 5 to December 31, 1763, is
not prolific in details. The arrival and departure of the batteaux and
supply trains and their convoys are regularly noted; cattle and sheep were
brought in herds, as formerly, and slaughtered upon the approach of
winter, when the meat was cured and stored. These and other matters
relating to the commissary department, the defensive operations and
offensive movements noted, the holding of courts martial, intelligence
brought by Indians, and the state of the weather, mainly constitute the
subject matter of the journal. It was evidently begun by Lieutenant
Hunter; after Colonel Burd's arrival the entry for each day was signed by
the officer of the guard, in which capacity the names of Lieutenants
Graydon, Hunter, Wiggins, Blyth, and Hendricks, Mr. Irvine, and Colonel
Burd appear. The Colonel arrived on the 18th of June and remained until
the 20th of August; he again arrived on the 9th of November and remained
several weeks. On the 23d of February, 1764, he wrote Governor Penn that
he had "sent out sundry parties [from Fort Augusta] to endeavor to
discover and come up with the enemy to prevent their falling down upon the
inhabitants, and, in case they should have gone past, to lay an ambush for
them on their return," but without making any discoveries at all.
Lieutenant Graydon was in command in November and December, 1764, and May,
1765.
   At this point it may be proper to summarize the numerical strength of
the garrison at the various dates to which authentic information relates.
James Young, the commissary general, visited Shamokin in July, 1756, with
instructions to pay three hundred eighty-four privates and sixteen
sergeants, but found more than that number in the camp, beside the
detachments at McKee's and Fort Hunter. "The garrison consists of three
hundred twenty effective men," wrote Colonel Clapham on the 14th of
October, 1756. On the 18th he informed the Governor that Captain Christian
Busse arrived at the fort on the evening of that day with his company,
which formed part of Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Weiser's battalion. He also
transmitted a return of the regiment on the 18th of October; it shows
seven companies, of which the respective strength was as follows:
colonel's, forty-three; major's, forty-four; Captain Lloyd's, thirty-nine;
Captain Shippen's, forty-four; Captain Work's, forty-three; Captain
Hambright's, forty-nine; Captain Salter's, forty-four - total, three
hundred six, of whom one hundred sixty-four were "duty men." There were
fourteen sergeants, fourteen corporals, and seven drummers; two bakers,
three blacksmiths, one herdsman, fourteen cooks, thirty-seven carpenters,
six masons, five sawyers, six coal burners, two clerks, two butchers, and
four brickmakers; four were on furlough, four on provost duty, fourteen
sick and lame, and three attending the sick; six deserters were reported.
Captain Busse's company was not included in this report; it was probably
not regarded as part of the regular garrison, and on the 8th of November
was ordered to return to its former station. When Major Burd arrived
(December 8, 1756,) there were two hundred eighty men "doing duty" and
nine officers "for duty." The terms for which many of the men had enlisted
expired in the following spring, and three companies of Lieutenant Colonel
Weiser's battalion - those of Captains Patterson, Wetterholt, and Morgan -
were ordered to Fort Augusta to take their places. Captain James Patterson
arrived with his company on the 2d of April, 1757, and on the 6th more
than a hundred men whose terms had expired took their departure. Captain
John Nicholas Wetterholt and Lieutenant James Handshaw arrived on the 27th
of April with fifty men, and Captain Jacob Morgan and Lieutenant Andrew
Engel on the 4th of May with thirty men. "A great many discharged men"
left the fort on the 10th of May and others on the 15th. Their former
officers thereupon engaged in recruiting, and in the course of a few
months the companies that originally composed the garrison were
strengthened sufficiently to permit the withdrawal of the re-enforcement
from Weiser's battalion.
   On the 1st of January, 1758, Captain Shippen reported eight companies,
accredited, respectively, to Major James Burd and Captains Thomas Lloyd,
Joseph Shippen, Patrick Work, David Jamison, John Hambright, and Levi
Trump, and Lieutenant Patrick Davis. The total number of men was three
hundred thirty-seven, of whom two hundred thirty-two were fit for duty.
Adjutant Kern's return of February 5, 1758, states that there were twenty-
five companies in the provincial service at that time, eight of which were
stationed at Fort Augusta, from which the relative importance of that post
may be inferred. These eight companies, according to Commissary Young's
report of February 9th, numbered three hundred sixty-two men. The "Return
of the garrison at Fort Augusta, consisting of detachments from the First
and Second battalions of the Pennsylvania regiment, Major Thomas Lloyd,
commandant," April 1, 1758, shows a total of three hundred forty-eight
men, two hundred five of whom were fit for duty; there were eight
companies, accredited, respectively, to Lieutenant Colonel James Burd,
Major Thomas Lloyd, and Captains Joseph Shippen, Patrick Work, David
Jamison, John Hambright, Levi Trump, and Asher Clayton. Shortly
afterward nearly the entire effective force was detached for service in
Forbes's expedition against Fort Duquesne, and on the 2d of June but four
men of Colonel Burd's company, fourteen of Major Lloyd's, thirteen of
Major Shippen's, fifteen of Captain Work's, eighteen of Captain Jamison's,
four of Captain Hambright's, forty of Captain Trump's, and thirteen of
Captain Clayton's remained - a total of one hundred twenty-one, of whom
ninety-nine were fit for duty. Captain Trump, the commandant at that time,
wrote Governor Denny on the 1st of July that "Captain Robert Eastburn and
Captain [Paul] Jackson arrived here on the 20th ultimo, with part of their
companies. Thirty of their men, according to orders, they left at Hunter's
fort, under the command of Ensign Price." In his report for July 1st he
gives the total number of men as one hundred eighty-nine, of whom one
hundred sixty were fit for duty. Peter Bard, the local commissary,
accompanied the detachments of Captains Eastburn and Jackson, and in a
letter to the Governor on the 1st of July says: "What were here before we
came, one-hundred twenty odd, are the cullings of the whole battalion, and
several of them sick and lame, so that we have but a very weak garrison."
The state of affairs on the 19th of July was thus described by Captain
Trump:-

   Captain Montgomery arrived here on the 16th instant with three
Subalterns and sixty-two private men, who were drafts out of several
companies of the newly raised levies. General Forbes has ordered Captain
Robert Eastburn and Captain Paul Jackson and their subalterns with thirty-
five of each company (which is more than they have here) to march and join
him at Raystown; likewise ordered me to draft forty of the best men
belonging to Colonel Burd's battalion and send them to him with two
officers, viz.: Lieutenant Brodhead and Ensign Haller. There is but one
officer left here beside myself of Colonel Burd's battalion, which is
Ensign Henry; I have no ensign; the above drafts march from this place
this day. There is only one hundred forty-three men left here, out of
which number there's ten whose times are expired and will not enlist
again, beside two men more that Major Lloyd has sent discharges for; and a
great part of them that are left are blind, lame, sick, old, and decrepit,
not fit to be intrusted with any charge.

    On the 1st of August and 1st of September, 1758, Captain Trump
reported one hundred sixty-nine men, accredited to fifteen different
companies, ranging in numerical strength from one to thirty; one hundred
forty-one were fit for duty on the 1st of August and one hundred twenty-
two on the 1st of September. When Colonel Burd, accompanied by Ensign
Morgan and two companies, arrived on the 15th of February, 1760, the
garrison numbered thirty-six men, who "marched off" four days later.
Two companies, accredited to Colonel Burd and Captain Caleb Graydon,
respectively, constituted the garrison on the 1st of October, 1763; the
total number of men was eighty-eight, of whom sixty were fit for duty.
On the 20th of July, 1764, the "Board of Commissioners for Defense"
decided to maintain four companies between the Susquehanna and Delaware,
"including thirty men to garrison Fort Augusta," who were to be
"victualled by the crown." In the return of the muster of the First
battalion at Lancaster, July 23-25, 1764, forty-seven men are accredited
to Captain Hunter's company and sixteen as a "detachment of Captain
Graydon's;" they were detailed for service on Bouquet's expedition,
leaving Captain Graydon in command of the thirty who remained in
garrison at Fort Augusta. Some difficulty was experienced in providing
funds for their pay, as evidenced by the following message from the
Governor to the Assembly:-

     GENTLEMEN: From the great importance of Fort Augusta to the
protection of this Province when engaged in a war with the Indians, I
thought it absolutely necessary to keep a garrison in it the last year,
and am of opinion that, till the final conclusion of a peace with the
savages, it will be highly imprudent to abandon that post. The garrison
has been paid up to the 1st of January last year out of the supplies
granted to his Majesty last year, but as that fund is nearly exhausted,
I recommend it to you to consider and provide ways and means for the
future subsistence and support of the troops stationed there till it may
be thought advisable either to reduce or disband them. JOHN PENN(17)
   February 9, 1765.
  
   The reply of the Assembly was as follows:-

   After due consideration of your message dated the 9th instant we
are of opinion that, as the cannon and other military stores at Fort
Augusta can not be at present removed from thence, it may be prudent to
defer any resolution concerning the evacuation of that post until
further certainty of peace being firmly established with the Indians;
yet, in the meantime, as the fund from which that garrison has been paid
up to the 1st of last month is nearly exhausted, we should approve an
immediate reduction of the troops stationed there; although, in respect
to disbanding the whole garrison we can only recommend to your Honor and
the provincial commissioners, when more satisfied of the Indians'
fidelity and conveniency offers for water carriage from Shamokin, to
lose no time in removing the cannon and stores above mentioned and
disbanding the remainder of the garrison, in order to ease the public of
that burden whenever it can be done with safety and prudence.(18)
   Colonel Bouquet's expedition to the Muskingum in the autumn of 1764
had been entirely successful; the Indians sued for peace, and gave
hostages as security for the release of all their prisoners when a general
treaty should be ratified. As soon as Governor Penn received intelligence
that they had fulfilled their promises to Colonel Bouquet in this and
other respects he "gave orders that Fort Augusta should he evacuated and
commissioned Colonel Francis to settle the accounts of that garrison."
It does not appear that his orders were immediately carried into
execution, however; the following is the transcript of a letter, hitherto
unpublished and now in the possession of William T. Grant of Sunbury,
which affords some information regarding the subsequent military
occupation of this post:-
  
           Philadelphia, April 21, 1768.
   SIR: Although Fort Augusta, which you were heretofore ordered to
keep possession of, may be within the words of an act of Assembly lately
made for removing settlers from the lands unpurchased of the Indians,
yet I am persuaded it was not within the design of the law. You will,
therefore, with the people that were left there with you, continue to
keep possession of it as before the passing [of] the act. But I desire
you will take special care that no new settlements are made there or in
the neighborhood of it beyond the line of the purchase, for any such new
settlements will be within the intent of the act, and those who presume
to settle in disobedience of it may depend upon being prosecuted in the
most vigorous manner. I am, Sir,
         Your most obedient humble servant,
                JOHN PENN.
     Captain Samuel Hunter.

   From this it appears that a nominal garrison was sustained at Fort
Augusta in 1768, with Captain Hunter as commandant, and that he was also
intrusted with the duty of administering the law against intruders upon
lands to which the Indian title had not yet been extinguished.
   The amount of stores, ammunition, and ordnance at the fort were
frequently reported.(19) Six four-pound cannon, two swivels, and six
blunderbusses constituted the armament on the 6th of October, 1756. On
the 3d of November the commanding officer at Fort Hunter was ordered "to
weigh the two cannon which now lie in the water and place them on the
bank at some convenient place for transportation;" and on the 19th of
May, 1757, Major Burd made the following entry in his journal: "This day
at eleven A. M. Captain Patterson arrived here with the batteaux and
brought two four-pound cannon." Eight cannon, two swivels, and seven
blunderbusses were reported by Captain Shippen on the 1st of March,
1758, and by Captain Trump on the 1st of June in the same year. On the
19th of July, 1758, Captain Trump wrote Governor Denny that "The four
pieces of cannon are come up that were sent from Philadelphia, but
there's not a person to make carriages for them, so they'll be useless
till such time as there's a fit person sent here to make them." Twelve
cannon, two swivels, and seven blunder-busses were reported by Commissary
Bard on the 1st of August, 1st of October, and 1st of December, 1758, and
by Captain Graydon on the 1st of October, 1763.
   One of these old cannon is now in the possession of Sunbury Steam
Fire Company, No. 1; the following interesting facts in its history have
been developed by the researches of Dr. B. H. Awl: From Fort Augusta it
was taken to Muncy and not returned until 1774; it was thrown into the
river, out of which it was taken by Jacob Mantz, Samuel Hahn, and George
Shoop in 1798. It then remained at Sunbury until 1824, when it was
surreptitiously removed to Selinsgrove and placed in the cellar of a Mr.
Baker. In the following year a party from Sunbury, composed of George
Hileman, John Epley, John Weaver, John Pickering, James McCormick, Jacob
Diehl, and others, succeeded in regaining possession and placed it under
a bed in the attic of John Weaver's hotel (the old stone building at the
southeast corner of Market and Third streets). It was brought into
requisition at the next 4th of July celebration and then hidden in the
cellar of Robins's tannery on Market street, from which it was shortly
afterward abstracted by Charles Awl, Samuel Kessler, Charles Baum, Elias
Hummel, Michael Kleckner, Thomas Halabush, Samuel Winter, and Thomas
Getgen, taken to New Berlin, and concealed in the cellar of a hotel.
Intelligence of its hiding place having reached Sunbury, Charles
Bradford, Jacob Keefer, Ezekiel Follmer, and others went to New Berlin
in the night for the purpose of recovering the stolen property. They
entered the cellar by a side door; the cannon had been placed upon a
raised platform, which collapsed under their weight when they attempted
to lift it off. The noise wakened a woman, who came down the inside
stairway with a candle; Bradford knocked it from her hand, and the
entire party sought safety in flight. Selinsgrove next succeeded in
securing possession of the cannon, and from that place it was brought to
Sunbury in 1834 by Dr. R. H. Awl, Charles Rhinehart, Henry V. Simpson,
Thomas McEwen, Jeremiah Mantz, Jacob and John Richtstine, Isaac Zeigler,
Edward Lyon, Peter Zimmerman, and George Mahan. Here it has since
remained. In 1849 an attempt was made to remove it to Danville, but
Captains Charles J. Bruner and Henry Wharton had been warned of the plot
and the cannon was securely guarded at the house of Benjamin Krohn on
Front street. When the Danville party arrived they found their designs
effectually frustrated, and since that time Sunbury has enjoyed
undisputed possession of this migratory piece of ordnance. It was
chained to a five- hundred-pound stone in the "old barracks" on Front
street for a time, and subsequently kept in Peter Weimer's cellar,
Zeigler's tannery, the county jail; John Shissler's cellar, etc. For
some years it was in the possession of Samuel Huey, from whom the
present owners obtained it.

   Several allusions are made to the flag in the official papers relating
to Fort Augusta "We want a good, large flag to grace it" wrote Commissary
Bard on the 4th of September, 1756. The want was evidently supplied, but
on the 1st of July, 1758, it was again expressed by Captain Trump, in
the following words: "Our colors are entirely worn out, and should be
extremely glad of a new one; the staff is seventy feet high." Captain
Graydon made the following entry in the journal under date of September
14,1763: "This day got a new flag-staff placed and our flag hoisted."
   Reference is frequently made to the health of the garrison. There was a
hospital at the fort, but it was not constructed with reference to
sanitary requirements, and on the 10th of February, 1757, Dr. John Morgan,
the post surgeon, made complaint to Major Burd regarding the amount of
"under water" in it; he also attributed his lack of success in the
treatment of patients to the want of fresh provisions and vegetables, and
readily assented to a proposition for the removal of the sick to Fort
Halifax or Hunter. The latter was selected; and "the hospital, consisting
of twenty-four sick," was sent thither by batteaux on the 23d of February.
"Forty of the hospital" left the fort by similar conveyance on the 6th of
April; their destination, and possibly that of the others also, was
probably Harris's Ferry, for Doctor Morgan is reported in the return of
April 1st as absent since March 29th "visiting the sick at Harris's." "I
desired Captain Young to acquaint your Honor that there was neither
surgeon nor doctor here," wrote Commissary Bard from Fort Augusta on the
1st of July, 1758, "since which he informs me there is one appointed for
us; I hope he will be here soon, as several of our men are suffering for
the want of one. I believe Doctor Morgan left us but few drugs, as the
shop looks very thin," Dr. John Bond was commissioned as surgeon on the
11th of May, 1758, and his name appears in the returns of August 1,
September 1, and December 1,1758. On the 17th of October, 1763, Colonel
Burd wrote that a surgeon and medicines were much needed, which is clearly
evident from the following paragraph in his letter of November 25th: "The
smallpox has been brought to this place, I believe by the volunteer
parties; there is sundry of the soldiers down in them and a great number
of the garrison has never had them, so that I expect they will be
infected. I have no medicines, and therefore nature must do the whole." On
the 10th of December he wrote: "I am glad a surgeon is allowed; Lieutenant
Thomas Wiggins of my company is a surgeon, having served his
apprenticeship with Doctor Thompson in Lancaster. He attended my family
there; I always found him careful and I believe he understands his
business, therefore would recommend him to your Honor for the double
commission." He was accordingly appointed, and was the last resident
surgeon at the fort.
   But meager provision was made for the spiritual interests of the
garrison. Among the Sunday entries in Major Burd's journal are the
following: December 2, l756 - "I have thought it my duty today to employ
the carpenters in working at the beef cisterns. This day it rained so
hard that we could not have sermon." March 19th - "This day we had two
sermons, one forenoon and one afternoon, by Doctor Morgan." March 26th-
"Had prayers and a sermon this forenoon and prayers in the afternoon by
Doctor Morgan." January 2, 1757- "The weather this day would not permit
sermon nor prayers." January 9th- No reference to religious exercises.
January 16th- "Doctor Morgan read prayers this morning." January 23d "We
had prayers today at eleven o'clock" January 30th- "This day it rained so
hard all day that we could not have prayers." February 6th- "We could
not have sermon nor prayers." February 13th- "So extremely cold that I
omit prayers, the officers complaining it was too severe." February
20th- "The fort was so wet we could not have sermon nor prayers to-day."
February 27th- "No prayers on account of the severity of the weather."
Parson Steele, the first regularly appointed chaplain, arrived on the
24th of March; on the following Sunday (the 27th) Major Burd wrote:
"It snowed and rained so much today that we could not have
sermon, but we had prayers toward evening in a general parade and the
chaplain prayed in each of the barracks and the hospital." It is not
probable that Parson Steele remained very long; he returned on the 10th
of July, but again took his departure on the 11th of August.
   The accompanying plan of Fort Augusta is reproduced from that
published in Volume XII. of the Pennsylvania Archives, to which the
following explanatory notes are appended:-

   The above plan was drawn from a copy of the original to which the
following note is attached: Isaac Craig, engineer. "Faithfully copied by
me for Richard Biddle, Esq., from the original deposited in the
geographical and topographical collection attached to library of his
late Majesty, George the Third, and presented by his Majesty, King
George the Forth, to the British Museum.
    London, March, 1880.  WILLIAM OSMAN."
  
   Fort Augusta stands at about forty yards distance from the river,
on a bank twenty-four feet from the surface of the water; that side of
the fort marked with single lines, which fronts the river, is a strong
palisade, the bases of the logs being sunk four feet into the earth, the
tops holed and spiked into strong ribbands, which run transversely and
are mortised into several logs at twelve feet distance from each other,
which are larger and higher than the rest, the joints between each
palisade broke with firm logs well fitted on the inside and supported by
the platform. The three sides represented by double lines are composed
of logs laid horizontally, neatly done, dove-tailed, and trunnelled
down; they are squared - some of the lower ends three feet diameter, the
least from two feet one half to eighteen inches diameter - and are
mostly white oak. There are six four cannon mounted, one in the
.......of each bastion fronting the river and one in the ...... , and
one in the flank of each of the opposite bastions; the woods cleared to
the distance of three hundred yards, and some progress made in cutting
the bank of the river into a glacis.
   On the 23d of September, 1756, Colonel Clapham transmitted a plan
of the fort to Governor Denny - probably the original of which that in
the British Museum is a copy, as the foregoing description harmonizes
fully with what is known of the fort at that date. The magazine, Indian
trading house, etc. had not been erected at that time, nor are they
indicated on this plan; moreover, six cannon constituted the armament
until May 19, 1757, so that the plan must have been made prior to that
date.
   The site of the fort was embraced in the manor of Pomfret, and
continued in possession of the Penn family until 1780. The demolition of
the works probably began as soon as it became evident that they would be
no longer required for military purposes. Colonel Samuel Hunter lived at
the fort until his death in 1784; his residence and that of his family
after his decease was the building originally erected as the colonel's
quarters, of which an engraving is herewith given. It is reproduced from
a painting in the possession of Captain John Buyers, of Selinsgrove,
Pennsylvania, which bears the following indorsement: "A view of the 'old
house' at Fort Augusta, one mile above Sunbury, Pennsylvania, at the
junction of the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna, in the year
1825. Painted by Mrs. Amelia Donnel." This is believed to be the only
picture of any part of the fort now extant, and is here published for the
first time. If the author's inference regarding the date of the plan is
correct, the building represented was erected in 1756, and was, until the
time of its removal, the oldest house in the upper Susquehanna valley. It
fronted toward the interior of the fort.

   That part of the porch north of the door was originally inclosed,
and formed a small apartment with one window On the north; in this
apartment reliable tradition asserts that the first court for
Northumberland county was held.
   The close of the French and Indian war and the collapse of
Pontiac's conspiracy were followed by the disbandment of the provincial
forces and virtual evacuation of the frontier posts; a feeling of
security pervaded the border communities, the conviction became general
that a period of tranquility was at hand, and the progress of settlement
on the northern and western confines of the Province early rendered
further concessions of territory from the Indians necessary. One
important result of the war was the recession of much the larger part of
the purchase of 1754; this was done at a treaty at Easton in October,
1758, when the chiefs of the Six Nations also executed a release for the
territory east of the Allegheny mountains and south of a line northwest
and west from a point on the Susquehanna river one mile above the mouth
of Penn's creek. The next purchase, the last and most important under
Proprietary auspices, was consummated at Fort Stanwix, now Rome, New
York, November 5, 1768; the territory ceded was bounded on the north and
west by the North Branch of Susquehanna, Towanda creek, Lycoming creek,
the West Branch of Susquehanna, and the Allegheny and Ohio rivers from
Kittanning to the line of the State.
   The first survey in Northumberland county within the bounds of
the purchase of 1768 was the manor of Pomfret. The warrant was issued,
October 29, 1768, and the survey was made on the 19th of December in the
same year by William Scull, deputy surveyor. The manor was bounded as
follows: Beginning at a sugar tree marked T. R. P. on the east bank of
the Susquehanna river at the south side of the mouth of Shamokin creek;
thence up the east bank of the Susquehanna river and the North Branch
thereof eleven hundred eighty-two perches to a beech marked T. R. P.
eight perches northeast of a small run; thence south ten degrees east
two hundred eighty perches to a small hickory marked T. R. P.; thence
north eighty degrees east eight hundred forty-four perches to a chestnut
oak marked T. R. P.; thence south ten degrees east four hundred perches
to a pine marked T. R. P.; thence south sixty-seven degrees west eight
hundred sixty-five perches to a post; thence south eighty degrees west
seven hundred perches to the place of beginning, embracing four thousand
seven hundred sixty-six acres and allowance of six per cent.
   The officers' lands were next surveyed. The officers of the
First and Second battalions of the Pennsylvania regiment who had served
in Bouquet's expedition formed an association(20) at Carlisle in 1764 and
entered into an agreement to "apply to the Proprietaries for a tract of
land, sufficiently extensive and conveniently situated, whereon to erect
a compact and defensible town." In pursuance of this agreement an
application was made to the Proprietaries on the 30th of April, 1760; as
stated therein, their object Was, "to embody themselves in a compact
settlement on some good land at some distance from the inhabited part of
the Province, where, by their industry, they might procure a comfortable
subsistence for themselves, and by their arms, union, and increase become
a Powerful barrier to the Province." They requested the Proprietaries to
make a new purchase from the Indians, and apportion among them forty
thousand acres of amble land on the West Branch of the Susquehanna. Four
years elapsed before their plans were realized. On the 3d of February,
1769, it was ordered by the Board of Property "That Colonel Francis and
the officers of the First and Second battalions of the Pennsylvania
regiment be allowed to take up twenty-four thousand acres, to be divided
among them in distinct surveys, on the waters of the West Branch of
Susquehanna, to be seated with a family for each three hundred acres
within two years from the time of survey, paying five pounds Sterling
per hundred and one penny Sterling per acre." The officers acceded to
the terms proposed at a meeting at Fort Augusta in the latter part of
February, and appointed Captains Hunter and Irvine to accompany William
Scull in making the surveys of their lands east of the West Branch. At
a meeting of the officers at Harris's Ferry on the 16th of May he
reported having surveyed six thousand ninety-six acres, which were
apportioned to Lieutenant Colonel Turbutt Francis, Ensign A. Stein,
Captain Samuel Hunter, Captain Nicholas Houssegger, Lieutenant Daniel
Hunsicker, Captain William Piper, and Lieutenant James Hays, all of whom
were officers in the First battalion except Captain Piper, of the
Second. Colonel Francis's tract embraced the site of Milton; Ensign
Stein's, the mouth of Muddy Run; Captain Hunter's, the mouth of Warrior
Run; Captain Houssegger's, the site of Watsontown, above which were
those of Lieutenant Hunsicker, Captain Piper, and Lieutenant Hays.
   Applications for lands in the new purchase were first received
at the provincial land office on the 3d of April, 1769, agreeably to the
following advertisement:
   The land office will be opened on the 3rd day of April next at
ten O'clock in the morning to receive applications from all persons
inclinable to take up lands in the new purchase, upon the terms of five
Pounds Sterling per hundred acres and one penny per acre per annum quit-
rent. No Person will be allowed to take up more than three hundred acres
without the Special license of the Proprietaries or Governor. The
surveys upon all applications are to be made and returned Within six
months and the whole purchase money paid at one payment, and patent
taken out within twelve months from the date of the application, with
interest and quit-rent from six months after the application. If there
be a failure on the side of the party applying, in either procuring his
survey and return to be made or in paying the purchase money and
obtaining the patent, the application and survey will be utterly void,
and the Proprietaries will be at li