The Wateree messenger. (Camden, S.C.) 1884-1942, July 10, 1935, Image 6
The Riflemen of the Revolution
V ? . ? * - . T-.TO&' .* ' ?'
THE PENNSYLVANIA
COMPANIES
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
j. v?A3 me summer or i<70. On the
benches outside a tavern In the little
Pennsylvania town of Sunbury a group
of villagers lounged In the warm sun
shine and gossiped Idly about the news
from the north. At Concord and Lex
ington In Massachusetts some farmers
had "fit the reg'lars" and there had
been blood-letting a-plenty. Away up
In New York a leader of the Green
Mountain Boys, named Ethan Allen.
uttu muuuereu ai me gates or "Old Tl" on the
shores of Lake Champlnln and demanded the
surrender of the fort "in the name of the Great
Jehovah and the Continental Congress." The
king and hlB ministers had sent three more gen
erals, Burgoyne and Clinton and Howe, to Bos
ton to help General Gage "hang as rebels and
traitors all who continued to resist His Majesty's
Government."
Stirring events, these I But In this sleepy lit
tle village the possibility of war still seemed far
away and unlikely. Then suddenly Its calm wns
broken. A horseman, galloping In haste and
shouting: "Express, ho! Dispatches from Phila
delphia !" as he rode, drew up in a swirl of dust
before the Inn. And this was the news he
brought :
On June 14 the Second Continental congress
had passed a resolution that "six companies of
expert riflemen be Immediately raised In the
Colony of Pennsylvania, two In the Colony of
Maryland and two In the Colony of Virginia,
and thnt each company as soon as completed
shall march to Join the army near Boston, to be
there employed as light Infantry under the com
mand of the chief officer of thnt army." This
chief officer had Just been appointed. lie wns a
Virginian mimed George Washington ? the same
Washington who had distinguished himself at
that "bloody business of Braddock" on the Mon
ongahela twenty years before and who was
even now riding north to "throw Tommy Gage
out of Boston."
So it wns to be war!
Farmers Jogging along the country roads on
their way to the grist mill, stopped to talk of It
over stake-and-rlvet fences with their neighbors.
Packhorse men, setting out on trading expedi
tions to the west, carried word of It to every
backwoods settlement through which they
passed. And at once In many a cabin In the
?clearing, a lanky frontiersman reached up to the
pegs above the fireplace and took down his long
rifle. In his swift, sure hands It had barked
defiance at Pontlac's wnrrlors ; it had brought
many a squirrel tumbling down from the highest
branch a tree; and It had stopped short the
bounding flight of more than one buck deer. But
there was bigger gtfme afield now, game which
offered a target that no rlfiemnn, be he "expert"
or not, wns likely to miss ? the British Redcoats!
So from their cablfts'ln Buffalo Valley and the
other pettlements along the west branch of the
Susquehanna these backwoodsmen hnstened to
Sunbury to enroll In the compnny which their
neighbor, John Lowdon, was forming. Lowdon
had been born of Quaker parents but apparently
he was apostate to the doctrines of the Society
of Friends for he had fought as an ensign In
the French and Indian war. He was an inn
keeper at Lancaster for a time, then moved to
Buffalo Valley where he was a lending member
of the committee of correspondence.
On June 2."3 Ixnvdon's commission as captain
of a rifle company was signed by President John
Hancock and Secretary Charles Thomson of the
Continental congress. Four days Inter he wns
lending his company across the river to Nor
thumberland to bo sworn Into the Continental
service. There they remained until one dny early
In July when young Dick Grosvenor, the com
pnny drummer, beat the long roll to summon
CAPT. 8AM BRADY
thorn to take tip the march to Reading snri
Kaaton and from there start on the long Journey
to Boston.
In the menntlme congress had pnssed another
resolution, directing the Colony of Pennsylvania
to raise two more companies, which, with the
six already authorised, were to be formed Into
a battalion and to be commanded by such of
ficer* as the colonial assembly or convention
should recommend. ICven before this wOrd came
out of Philadelphia the rifle companies were be
ing filled to the overflowing. At Samuel (Jotty's
tavern (later the historic town of Gettysburg),
the York county men were rallying to the lead
ership of tJapt. Michael Doudel. In Berks county
? they were swarming Into Reading to enroll under
Capt. George Nagel. In Northampton county
recruiting (or Capt. Abraham Miller's company
was going forward swiftly and from Bedford
county In the west came word that Capt Robert
Oluggage's men were almost ready to march.
Cumberland county was providing two compa
nies, commanded by Capt James Chambers and
Capt. William Hendricks.
In fact, SO prompt had been the response of
the Pennsylvania backwoodsmen to the call,
that on July 11 congress was notified that two
cOffi&a&tet Instead of one hat been enlisted in
Lancaster county by Capt. James ROM and Capt.
Matthew Smith and. that the Battalion of Rifle
tt?u, "raised for the defense of American lib
si'."'*' ' '? * * *? ' ?
A RIFLEMAN OF 1775
(From the Painting by ChappeL)
erty and for repelling any hostile Invasion
thereof" would consist of nine companies. They
were to be commanded by Col. William Thomp
son of Carlisle with Edward Hand of Lancaster
as lieutenant-colonel and Robert Magaw as
major, all "men whose courage we have the
highest opinion of."
Each company consisted of one captain, three
lieutenants, four sergeants, four corporals, a
drummer or trumpeter, and 08 privates. The cap
tain received $20 a month, the lieutenants $13^,
the sergeants $8, the corporals and the drummer
or trumpeter %~yit and the privates $0%. .
These riflemen were a miscellaneous lot. The
majority of them were Irish, German or Welsh,
the second generation of some of the thousands
of Immigrants who, In the early years of the
Eighteenth century had settled In William
Penn's colony. Then, too, there were many de
scendants of the Scots who had been driven by
religious persecution from their native high
lands In the Seventeenth century. They had
sought temporary refuge In the provii.ce of
Ulster, Ireland, whence "between the years 1720
and 1740, thousands of them migrated to Amer
ica and peopled the hills of Pennsylvania's fron
tier with a sturdy, rugged race that was destined
to play an important part In the formation of
our national character." Besides these, there
were others of pure English stock and, to make
the cosmopolitan nature of the battalion more
complete, the rolls of Captain Lowdon's com
pany carried the name of John Shawnee, a
Shawanese Indian warrior.
On these same roils were three other nnmes
which should have made Lowdon's company for
ever famous. One of them was a Gorman, Peter
llentz. Pennsylvania would later hail him, under
the name of Peter Pence, as one of her great
est Indian fighters. Another was a seventeen
year-old boy, a red-headed Irish lad named Sam
uel Brady. The future would see him making the
name of "Capt. Sam IJrady, Chief of Hangers"
a household word along the Pennsylvania-Ohio
border. It would know him as the hero of
"Hrady's Leap" across the chasm of the Cuya
hoga river in northern Ohio. But this would be
only one of many of his hnirbreadth escapes
from the red men.
The third was another Irishman, a rollicking,
dark-eyed Celt nnmod Timothy Murphy. Two
years later the sharp crack of his long ride
would sound the doom of a British army as his
bullet punctuated the death sentence of Gen.
Simon Eraser at Saratoga. Another year would
add to his fame as "the most redoubtedly notori
ous marksman In North America and, as the
"Scout of the Schoharie," he would Itoromo the
terror of hi* Iroquois and Tory enemies In New
York.
No less notable than the eagerness of such
men as these to enlist In the fight for liberty
was their speed In reaching the theater of war.
"Between the 28th. of July and the 2d. Instant,
tho rifle men under the command of Captains
Smith, Lowrion, Doudel, Chambers, Nagel, Miller
and Hendricks passed through New Windsor (a
few miles north of West Point) In the New
York government on their way to Boston," said
a New York Item In the Philadelphia Evening
Post of August 17, 1775. But It was evidently
Incorrect, so far as two of the companies ? -
Nagel's and Doudol's ? were concerned. A letter,
dated from Cambrldgo July 24, 1775, says: "The
Heading company of rltles got Into camp last
Tuesday (18th,); the rest nre hourly expected
and much wnnted." Thus the men from Berks
county had the honor of being the first Penn
sylvania company to appear on tho scene of
action.
By July 25 they had been Joined by their
sharpshootlng brothren from York county under
Captain Doudel. Captain Chambers' company nr
rived on August 7 and Captain Hendricks* on
August 8. On tho same day Tim Murphy, Sam
Brady, Peter Benta and their mates In Captain
Lowry's company shuffled their well-worn moc
casins through the grass on the campus of Har
vard college and shook the dust of the weary
miles from their green-thrummed hunting shirts.
Ten days later Captain Hons and his company
' swung Into camf>, to he met with much good
natured banter at his tardy arrival, because his
"Lancaster county Dutchmen were so slow." Al
though there Is no record of the date of arrival |
of the companies commanded by Captains Smith,
Cluggnge and Miller, It was evidently prior to ;
August 18. An army return from Washington's i
headquarters of that date shows that the Penn- I
sylvanla riflemen had three Held officers, nine
captains, 27 lieutenants, the adjutant, quarter
master, surgeon and mate, 29 sergeants, 1M
drummers and fifers and 713 privates present
and fit for duty. j
Besides these regularly enlisted men there
were several "gentlemen volunteers" who had
accompanied the riflemen on their march. Among
them were Edward Kurd, J?sse Lukens, Matthew
Duncan, and John Joseph Ilenry, who later rose
to prominence In the history of their state. But
more important than these was u young doctor
named James Wilkinson.
A native of Tidewater, Md., he had studied
medicine In Philadelphia and there made the
acquaintance of ofllcers of a British regiment,
the Itoyal Irish. Ills association with them, as
he later wrote, "Inspired In me that love of
things military ever after the guiding star of
my life." So he accompanied Colonel Thomp
son's riflemen to Cambridge where began that
amazing career which carried him eventually to
the high position of commander In chief of the
Army of the United States despite the fact that
he was, In the words of one historian, "venal,
cowardous, treacherous, a bribe-taker from
Spain, a traitor to the United States, and faith
less In all relations, public and private."
Soon after the. arrival of the Pennsylvania
companies at Cambridge, the battalion became
the "Second Iteglment of the Ariny of the United
Colonies," thus losing their Identity as "riflemen"
GEN. EDWARD HAND
In the "light Infantry" authorized by congress.
F'. ut they lost none of their characteristic fight
ing qualities, for, ns one of their captains wrote
home, "the riflemen go where they pleaso and
keep the regulars In continual hot water."
Knrly In September Captain Hendricks' and
Captain Smith's companies accompanied Arnold
and Montgomery on their III fated expedition
against Quebec where Hendricks was killed and
most of the riflemen taken prisoners. In the
meantime the other companies wore giving their
officers and the commander-in-chief plenty of
trouble by rebelling against att< mpts to enforce
discipline. Itut their "disobedient and mutinous
behavior" was somewhat forgiven by their con
duct In a skirmish at I^echmere's I'olnt In No
vember which won for Colonel Thompson and his
regiment th<S public thanks of Washington.
On January 1, 177ft, the army was reorganized
and these riflemen became members of the First
Iteglment of the (Continental Army. In March
Thompson became n brigadier-general and Hand
succeeded him as colonel. Under his leadership
the regiment distinguished itself nt the llattles
of f/ong Island, Hrnndywlne, (Jermantown, Paoll
and Monmouth and Its members, frequently re
ferred to In terms of their commander, made
the name "a Hand Illflemnn" a badge of special
distinction for a "first-class fighting man" In the
struggle for American liberty.
6 WMt?rn N*w*pap?r Union.
Uncommon
Sense Bi John Blak0
6. Bell Syndicate -WNU Service
When Cardinal Wolsey charged his
friend Cromwell? not Oliver ? to fling
away ambition, he
Ambition *'"? f';1"8 ver)r
bad advice.
The old gentle
man, who had got "In bad" with Henry
the Eighth was on his way out of the
picture.
Hut It was the wrong kind of am
bition which got him into trouble with
the Big Boss.
The prelate's real ambition was to
run the country and the king and
everybody else.
And the king, being able to do his
own thinking, preferred to conduct the
affairs of the country as he saw tit.
Of course he went a little bit too far
when he began killing off wives, hut he
still was a great man. and had it not
been for his ambition, nobody would
remember him for anything hut one of
the Henrys who had been on the
throne of England for a while.
Keep your ambition working.
Von will need it.
It Is a stimulant to effort. 1t Is a
promoter of thought, it loads men to
do more than they nre expected to do.
No great man has been without it.
The necessity of It ought to be
dwelt upon In the schools.
Young people ought to be urged to
be somebody and do something out of
the common run.
If all men and women were content
to follow the old tracks, to do what
ever is dv>ne la the same way that It
had always been done, they would he
about as progressive as a hill of ants,
and about as useful.
You live here only once, as far as
you know.
Make as long of a stay In U as you
(Tan, and do as much work hs you can.
? ??????
I don't mean Just ordinary plodding
sweat- producing work.
I mean new original work.
You can't cherish any ambition to be
a king today. Those jobs are all arranged
for in advance. The only way you could
get one would be to buy some little
South Sea island and pay the natives to
make you a king.
I'Ut want to do something that
hasn't been done before.
Whether it is In science or politic?
or missionary work doesn't matter.
Don't be satisfied with a little tem
porary success.
Try to pot yourself a job that will
give you influence, and use your in
fluence for progress.
That is open to the objection that It
entails a great deal of work, but one
rarely hears of a healthy man hurting
himself by work.
I have never known a successful
man or woman who did not possess a
high degree of will
The Big power.
Boss you can't b.->
your own boss, you
can't be anybody's boss.
Neither can you do anything Im
portant and useful.
And If you lack importance and use
fulness you are not going to have a
very easy time In the world.
1 Laziness Is natural to most people.
: So is procrastination, which is the
child of laziness.
No matter what your job is, you
must learn to keep at it until you mas
I ter it, or some other fellow is going to
I get far ahead of you in the race for
| independence and security in life.
f'ultlvate your will power.
Force yourself to stick to your work
Ions: after (he demon of laziness whls
| pers In your ear that you are tired
| and need a '""t.
??????#
Don't worry about wearing yourself
nut.
| Worry may do that. Work will not.
Establish some objective, and try to
maintain it.
Pick out something that Is worth do
ing, and which Is within the limits of
possibility.
Without an ear for music, you can
never be a musician.
Without an artist's eve yon can
never become a painter or a sculptor.
Without unusual physical strength
and a good sound heart you can not
become an athlete.
Hut. t here in something that you can
do, and do well, If you have average
common sense and the will to keep
everlastingly at the task you have set
yourself.
Find out what It in. Do not choose
It because you think it may bring you
popularity.
You'll get popularity If you Succeed,
and you won't need to look around
for It.
?
When you undertake anything, keep
at It, arid carry It through.
If, when studying, you find yourself
turning page after page of a book,
following all the printed lines, and not
noting anything that Is there, there
Is something the matter with your will.
.JCeep that will nt work. Train it to he
your bont. Ity and by it will keep you at
work, and then you can begin to think
about doing great thing*.
Rut If the will Isn't exercised. If will
refuse to work, and you will go through
life accomplishing about half as much
as you ought to accomplish, and which
you must accomplish if you want to he
anything hut Just an avernge lazy, un
successful human being.
There are too many of sueh people
In the world now. Much too mnny.
Don't he one of them. Ho your own
bos* as far as It Is possible.
Simplicity and
Chic in Morning
I j-*
P.VTTEIIN 0310
I It's as fresh as the morning dew !
And It was designed for all those
, clover women who like to put in a
; smart appearance at the very be
ginning of ev?ry new day. Three
or four dresses made up by this pat
tern would solve all your house frock
' problems And the expense will
prove trilling. Moreover, this pat
tern has been designed so simply that
to follow it will seem like a tirst les
son in sewing. The yoke ntrd sleeves
all-in-one with a hit of bodice full
ness below, and the decorative pocket
I make* this frock very smart Indeed!
Percale or gingham in gay plaids or
small geometric designs would he ef
fective. Add nobby cork or wooden
buttons.
Pattern 0310 mny he ordered only
in sizes 14, 1G, IS, 20, 32, 31. 30, 38,
40 and 42. Size 1G requires 314
yards 30-inch fabric.
SEND FIFTEEN CENTS In coins
or stamps (coins preferred) for this
pattern. Be sure to write plainly
your NAME, ADDRESS, STYLE
Nl^MREIt and SIZE.
Complete, Diagrammed Sew Chart
j Included.
Send your ord.er to Sewing Circle
Pattern Department, 231! West Eight
! eenth street, Now York.
FOLLOWED PRESCRIPTION
Police Sergeant ? It's a rase ??f lar
ceny, Isn't It. sir?
Doctor ? 10 r ? not exactly, sergeant.
You see, I told him to take sointv
I thing warm immediately, and as tie
went out lie took my overcoat. ?
London Humorist.
Nobody Misted
"What has become ot the forgotten
man ?"
"He doesn't exist," answered Sena
; tor Sorghum. "The I'nited States
| mail makes daily disclosure? that no
j one is so lowly and obscure as not t<?
j be on somebody's sucker list."
Mi * understanding
The Collector ? These antique and
i Irons are hand forged.
The Chump ? Forged? Well, well!
What astonishingly good counter
feits they make now.