Read Ebook: The Wyoming Military Establishment. A History of the Twenty-fourth Regiment of Connecticut Militia An Address Before the Tioga Point Historical Society Delivered December 3rd 1901 by Tubbs Charles

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First Company, Stephen Fuller, Captain; John Garret, Lieutenant; Christopher Avery, Ensign.

Second Company, Nathaniel Landon, Captain; George Dorrance, Lieutenant; Asahel Buck, Ensign.

Third Company, Samuel Ransom, Captain; Perrin Ross, Lieutenant; Asaph Whittlesey, Ensign.

Fourth Company, Solomon Strong, Captain; Jonathan Parker, Lieutenant; Timothy Keyes, Ensign.

Fifth Company, William McKarachan, Captain; Lazarus Stewart, Jr., Lieutenant; Silas Gore, Ensign.

Sixth Company, Rezin Geer, Captain; Daniel Gore, Lieutenant; Matthias Hollenback, Ensign.

Seventh Company, Stephen Harding, Captain; Elisha Scovill, Lieutenant; John Jenkins, Jr., Ensign.

Eighth Company, Eliab Farnham, Captain; John Shaw, Lieutenant; Elijah Winters, Ensign.

Ninth Company, James Secord, Captain; John De Pui, Lieutenant; Rudolph Fox, Ensign.

Some of these officers had seen service as soldiers in the French and Indian War. Captain Eliab Farnham, of the Lackaway Company, had done a tour of duty lasting twenty-five weeks in 1758 in Capt. Nathan Whiting's Company, 2d Conn. Regt. Lieut. Elisha Scovill had served 32 weeks in 1759 in Capt. Amos Hitchcock's Company in the seventh Connecticut regiment.

Lieutenant Jonathan Parker had served 34 weeks in 1761 in the third company of the First Conn. Regt. commanded by Major David Baldwin.

The citizen liable to serve in the Connecticut militia was a man, between 16 and 50 years of age, but for specified reason many were exempt from the service.

There was an almost immediate call for all the skill and ability of the newly commissioned officers not only in the training field, but in the arena of actual war. The Governor of Pennsylvania had made up his mind to completely destroy the Connecticut settlement at Wyoming. Wyoming was within the Pennsylvania county of Northumberland of which William Cook was Sheriff. William Cook, under pretense of serving sundry writs at Wyoming, took with him an armed force of 700 men under the command of Colonel William Plunket. He called it a "posse."

This force left Northumberland early in December, 1775, marching up the west side of the river over the almost impassable roads. The supplies for the expedition were loaded into boats. Progress was slow, as the boats had to be propelled against the current, encumbered as it often was at that season of the year by floating ice. December 20th, Col. Plunket was at Nescopeck Creek, nineteen miles below the south eastern extremity of the valley. His progress now was closely watched by scouts. On Saturday, the 23d he arrived at Harvey's landing, one-fourth of a mile below the mouth of Harvey's Creek, where he landed, unloaded his boats, and encamped for the night.

What preparation had been made to receive the invader? On this same Saturday Col. Zebulon Butler mustered the newly formed Twenty-fourth regiment. He also collected all the old men and boys who did not belong to the ranks of the regiment and armed them the best he could. In number, his force thus made up, was about four hundred. The two armies spent the night within a half mile of each other. From this point Col. Butler sent out a flag to Col. Plunket, in charge of Lieutenant Garret, inquiring the object of the invasion. Col. Plunket's reply was that he came on a peaceful errand, simply to serve some Pennsylvania writs at Wyoming.

On Sunday morning. Col. Butler left Ensign Mason F. Alden with 18 men on the ground where he had spent the night. At the same time he sent Capt. Lazarus Stewart of the Hanover Company, with 20 men across the river to the east side above the Nanticoke Falls to prevent the enemy from landing, should they attempt to do so. He then, with the main body of his force, retreated about one mile up the river to a place where a natural defence existed. This consisted of a ridge of rocks projecting about one-half a mile south easterly from the Shawanese mountain to the river. Near the river it was 1 or 2 feet high, but as it ran back toward the mountain it was of great height. Wherever there were breaks in this natural rampart, Butler's men filled in the space with logs and stones. Behind this breastwork the Twenty-fourth regiment and its co-operating forces were stationed. About 11 o'clock Alden and his men became conscious that the enemy was moving, and they withdrew. They announced the approach of the enemy to Col. Butler and joined him behind the fortification. When the enemy advanced it was met with a fusilade of shots along the whole line, killing one man, wounding others and throwing the whole force into the utmost confusion. Without firing a shot Col. Plunket withdrew to the camp at Harvey's Creek.

Late in the afternoon the enemy brought two of its boats by land from Harvey's landing above the Nanticoke Falls. At night fall they were loaded with soldiers and rowed across the river. When they attempted to land they were fired upon by Captain Stewart and his men, who lay in ambush upon the bank, killing one man, and wounding others. The attempt to land was given up and the boats and their cargoes floated down through the rapids and were safely moored at Harvey's landing. Thus ended the events of the day.

On Christmas Day Col. Plunket renewed the attack on the breastwork. He divided his forces into two divisions. One division assailed the fortification in front, while the other attempted a flanking movement on Col. Butler's right. This was promptly met and repelled. The battle lasted nearly all day, but the enemy, baffled at all points, finally withdrew. The invasion known by Col. Plunket's name was at an end. Eight or ten men on each side were killed and many wounded.

The battle with Plunket had made the officers and men of the regiment painfully conscious of their lack of equipment. Powder! How could they get powder? Offer a reward for it? That was what they did at a town meeting, March 10, 1776--two and a half months after the battle. "Voted that the first man that shall make fifty weight of good salt peter, in this town, shall be entitled to ten pounds lawful money, to be paid out of the town treasury."

Patriotism and this bounty no doubt produced an effect, as witness the following: "Mrs. Bethiah Jenkins says. The women took up their floors, dug out the earth, put it in casks, and ran water through it. Then took ashes in another cask and made lye--mixed the water from the earth with weak lye, boiled it, set it out to cool, and the salt peter rose to the top. Charcoal and sulphur were then used, and powder produced."

In May, 1776, John Jenkins, representative to the legislature, obtained leave for the selectmen to erect a powder mill in Westmoreland, but I can not learn that any mill was ever built.

In July of the same year the Council of Safety at Hartford "Voted that the Selectmen of Westmoreland may receive at Messrs. Elderkin & Wales mill, not exceeding 200 pounds of gun powder: they to account to the Colony therefor at the price of 5s, 4d per lb."

Col. Butler, in a letter to Roger Sherman, dated August 6, 1776, speaks of being in want of arms, "as those 80 guns taken from our people at Warrior Run have not been returned."

The Continental Congress the next year undertook to aid in supplying these wants, as witness the following action April 11: "Resolved, that 175 fire arms, either musquets or rifles, 200 wt. powder, 800 wt. lead, and 500 flints be sent to the town of Westmoreland, on the east branch of the Susquehanna river, to the care of Colonel Nathan Denison, to be used by the malitia there, for the defense of the said town, if necessary: the arms to be returned when the service there will admit of it."

I am telling the story of a regiment whose fortunes were profoundly affected by the Revolutionary War. The men of which it was composed were intense rebels against the authority of England. Therefore when the Congress on the 23d of August, "Resolved, That two companies on the Continental Establishment be raised in the town of Westmoreland" it responded with an enlistment of 82 men in each company. Captain Samuel Ransom, Lieutenant Perrin Ross, Ensigns Asahel Buck and Matthias Hollenbeck, with others, were elected as officers. I mention these because they were officers in the Twenty-fourth regiment. The men were all taken from the ranks of the Twenty-fourth regiment. Twenty other men in the summer of 1776 also enlisted under Lieutenant Obadiah Gore, to serve in a New York State regiment under Colonel Weisner, as well as ten more men to serve under Captain Strong. Our regiment thus lost of its most robust men, 194 in the Summer of 1776, who enlisted into the Continental Army.

While this depletion was going on the town assigned additional duties to the field officers at a meeting held August 28. "Voted ye field officers of ye regiment of this town be appointed a committee to view the most suitable places to build forts for ye defense of sd town, and determine on some particular spot or place in each district for the purpose, and mark out the same." Think for a moment of the work imposed on this Committee! Think of the large territory to be gone over, the consideration of reasons for or against any particular location. Think of the work imposed on the men who were to build the forts.

There were some old forts like Forty Fort in Kingston, and Fort Brown in Pittston, that were repaired and enlarged, but in other districts there were no suitable works of the kind and accordingly new sites were selected, and the proposed works laid out on the ground. Such was the case in Wilkes-Barre, Plymouth and Exeter. In Lower Pittston and Hanover, block houses were recommended and built. The work of repairing and building the forts ran through the years 1776, 1777 and was not completed until 1778.

Before closing the regimental history for 1776 I wish to mention the advent of the tenth company into its ranks, representing the train bands of the Districts of Huntington and Salem, of which Frethias Wall was elected Lieutenant and John Franklin, Jr., Ensign, at the October session of the legislature. I have not seen this company assigned its proper place in the regiment in any of the histories. Of this company John Franklin, Jr., was ultimately to become the Captain and Stoddart Bowen the Lieutenant.

In December, 1776, a supplement to the militia law was enacted by the Connecticut legislature, by which the age limit of those liable to serve was extended to persons from 50 to 60 years of age, and many theretofore exempt were brought into the service. These persons were to be formed into companies to be called the "Alarm List," to elect their own officers and to be attached to already existing regiments.

Under this act two companies were formed in Wyoming in 1777--one on the east side of the river, of which William Hooker Smith was elected Captain, one on the west side of the river of which James Bidlack, Sr., was elected Captain. These became attached to the Twenty-fourth regiment.

In popular speech these old men and exempts were called "Reformadoes." Under this Act the Colonels of regiments were given authority "to assemble in martial array and put in warlike posture," the men under their command in case of invasion.

In the Spring of 1777 the regiment took up a new duty. It was the duty of sending out scouting parties. The Indians and Tories up the river were showing activity by occasionally capturing some one, and making a prisoner of him. Lieut. Asa Stevens, of the Kingston Company, went on a scouting expedition and brought in five suspected persons. Ensign John Jenkins, Jr., of the Exeter Company, led a scouting party up as far as Wyalusing, and was himself captured and three other men. Captain Asaph Whittlesey, of the Plymouth Company, led a scouting party up as far as Standing Stone. In January, 1778, Capt. Eliab Farnham, of the Lackaway Company, captured 18 tories that had been disturbing his vicinage and sent them to Hartford under the escort of Lieut. Jonathan Haskell. The legislature declared that these persons should be treated as prisoners of war. This action was necessary, because the frontiersmen held that the prisoners ought to be hanged as cattle thieves. In May, 1778, Nathan Denison memorialized the legislature to be reimbursed as Colonel of the Twenty-fourth regiment, in sending out detachments as scouts and for guards during 1776, 1777 and 1778. The prayer of his memorial was granted.

The enlistment of this company reduced the strength of the regiment. It transferred the service of the men from the state to the service of the United States. It did not, however, withdraw them from the Wyoming Valley.

I will here explain the changes in the officers of the regiment. Under the militia laws of Connecticut there were two general muster days in the year--first Monday of May, first Monday of October. On either new officers could be elected to fill vacancies or for other reasons. Able and ambitious men coveted and strove to become officers of the regiment and of the companies. In the larger and stronger companies the rivalry was great and the officers were in a continual state of flux. In this way there were a large number of ex-officers. The ex-officers retained their titles by courtesy. Once a captain, always a captain. In the Wyoming histories, and upon the monument erected on the battlefield, confusion results, from giving the courtesy titles of ex-officers as much prominence as is given the titles of men who were in commission, and exercised actual command. In view of these and similar facts I have been to much pains to make the roster of those in actual command accurate as it was in the last formation of the regiment.

I will first call attention to the changes in the regimental officers. Colonel Zebulon Butler resigned to enter the Continental service January 1, 1777. Lt. Col. Nathan Denison was promoted to be colonel. This occasioned a vacancy in the office of lieutenant-colonel, which was filled by the election of Lazarus Stewart, the famous Captain of the Paxtang Rangers, who declined to accept, and thereupon Major George Dorrance was promoted to that office in Oct., 1777. Major William Judd resigned to enter the Continental service, and his place was filled in May, 1777, by the promotion of Lieut. George Dorrance and on his elevation to the Lt. Colonelcy, Captain John Garret was elected Major in Oct., 1777.

I have given a list of the Company officers as "established" at the organization of the regiment. They underwent many changes as heretofore indicated. I will give them as they existed in May, 1778, when the last changes were made of which there is a record. This is a list of the Captains beginning with the first Company and thus on through to the tenth. They were as follows: James Bidlack, Jr., Aholiab Buck, Asaph Whittlesey, Jeremiah Blanchard, William McKarachan, Rezin Geer, Stephen Harding, Eliab Farnham, Robert Carr and John Franklin, Jr.

The Lieutenants were Lebbeus Tubbs, Elijah Shoemaker, Aaron Gaylord, Timothy Keyes, Roswell Franklin, Daniel Gore, Elisha Scovil, John Shaw, Nathan Kingsbury and Stoddart Bowen.

The Ensigns were: John Comstock, Asa Gore, William White, Jeremiah Bigford, Titus Hinman, John Hagerman, John Jenkins, Jr., Elijah Winters, Rudolph Fox and Nathaniel Goss. John Jenkins, Jr., of the Exeter company, probably should not be included as he had recently been elected a lieutenant in the Continental Service. This company had no Ensign in commission.

Some of these new officers had seen service in the old French war. Lieutenant Lebbeus Tubbs had served two enlistments--one of 26 weeks in 1755, in Capt. Nicholas Bishop's company of the first Conn, regiment--another in 1759 of 27 weeks in Capt. John Pitkin's company of the Fourth Conn. Regt.

In the latter year he was in the expedition sent out for the reduction of Crown Point. Ensign William White served 35 weeks in 1756 in Capt. Samuel Champlin's Company in the First Conn, regiment. Ensign Titus Hinman in 1755 served 32 weeks in Capt. Benjamin Hinman's company in the Second Conn. regiment.

The Twenty-fourth regiment availed itself of other means of becoming efficient. Two deserters from the British army--Abraham Pike and Sergeant Boyd--were employed as drill masters, and spent much time in putting the men through their evolutions.

It had need of the skill of all its officers, of the efficiency of all its men. While I have been talking about officers, important events have been hastening toward a conclusion, on the northern border. They now claim attention. Up to this time no murders had been committed by the Indians. They now became frequent. Scouting parties of the regiment were continually going out and coming in. They heralded the approach of an invading army. Premonitory signs of its coming had not been wanting.

It consisted of about 1,100 British soldiers, Indians and Tories, under the command of Major John Butler. This force had been gathered at Kanadaseago and other points in Western New York. The time was the month of June, when nature puts on her best apparel. It approached Wyoming in boats. I can imagine the wild and weird flotilla, tricked out in barbaric splendor, as it rounded Tioga Point, and swept out into the broad waters of the Susquehanna, receiving welcome reinforcements to its numbers as it passed Queen Esther's flats and the meadows of Sheshequin. It landed above Wyoming in Keeler's Eddy. It marched about twenty miles by land and was ready to do its work.

What was the situation at Wyoming? What the preparation to receive it? We have detailed the building of the forts; the establishment of the regiment and its depletion from time to time to recruit the Continental service. The forts were there--and the regiment--what there was of it.

We left the enemy at the head of the valley. It signified its approach by killing six men in Exeter on the 30th of June, 1778. On the first day of July it seized Fort Wintermoot. This fort was occupied by Elisha Scovil, lieutenant of the Exeter company and a few patriotic men. The Wintermoots and other non-combatants in the fort were Tories and after making the best show of resistance he could, Scovil capitulated. At Fort Jenkins, one mile above Fort Wintermoot, were eight men, including Stephen Harding, Captain of the 7th company. Resistance against such odds was useless and it surrendered on the second of July, although the articles of capitulation were dated on the first. This disposes of one of the companies of the Twenty-fourth regiment.

To the valley below a vague knowledge of what was happening was communicated by scouts and by persons who had escaped when the Hardings and Hadsells were killed on the 30th of June. Some information was obtained by a reconnoisance in force on the first of July.

In consequence the population gathered into the several forts on the first and second days of July.

Of these, Forty Fort in Kingston was the largest and the strongest. In it Col. Nathan Denison established his headquarters. He endeavored to concentrate his regiment at this point. There were many obstacles in the way. Captain Robert Carr's Up River company could not be reached because of the proximity of the enemy. According to Hollister, this Company was at Capouse Meadows . Captain Eliab Farnham's Lackaway company was 70 miles away and could not be reached on account of the distance. This company did not learn of the invasion until it was over. Thus these two companies were unavailable. So far as adding to the force of lighting men was concerned, they did not do it. Denison sent a messenger express to Captain Franklin in Huntington, who dispatched Lieutenant Stoddart Bowen with the first of his men who could be gotten together. He sent another messenger to Wilkes-Barre. Zebulon Butler, Lt. Col. of the third regiment of the Connecticut line was then at Wilkes-Barre on furlough. Denison asked him to come to Forty Fort. When there, by common consent, he assumed command of all the forces.

Early in the afternoon of Friday, July 3d, the two Wilkes-Barre, the Hanover, Plymouth, Kingston and part of the Huntington companies were at the rendezvous mustering not more than 200 men. In addition to these were Captain Hewit's company of Continental Soldiers, some old men, young boys, and refugees from all sides, who were willing to risk their lives, but did not belong to any military organization. Perhaps 400 would be a fair estimate to put on the whole number of fighting men. On the 2d and again on the 3d day of July the enemy demanded the surrender of the Forts and all the military forces in the Valley.

What shall be done? Great uncertainty existed, as to the strength and intention of the enemy. Shall the force now in hand await the coming of promised reinforcements?--the more complete concentration of the regiment, the advance of the enemy? or shall they march out and give battle? A council of war was held in which the pros and cons were warmly debated. It was decided to give battle.

"About three o'clock in the afternoon they marched from the fort, in martial array, with the stars and stripes at their head, to the tune of Saint Patrick's Day in the Morning, played on the fife by a true son of Erin, and with drums beating." They proceeded about three miles in column when they formed a line of battle of about 500 yards front. Capt. Dethic Hewit with his so-called regulars, was on the extreme right, with Captain Bidlack next to him, and he joined by Captain Geer. On the extreme left was Capt. Whittlesey and the Salem detachment under Lieut. Bowen. Next to them was the Hanover company under Captain Stewart , and he was joined by Captain Buck, of Kingston. This was the order in which the advance was made. It was made over a plain that was grown up with brush--yellow pines, pitch pines and scrub oak. These bushes could be seen over by a man, but were high enough to conceal a skulking foe. The right rested on a rise of ground near the river, and was led by Lieut. Col. Zebulon Butler, aided by Major John Garret. The left was commanded by Col. Nathan Denison, assisted by Lieut. Col. George Dorrance.

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