RAYSTOWN BRANCH--EARLY SETTLEMENT OF RAYSTOWN--GENERAL FORBES'S
EXPEDITION--COLONELS WASHINGTON AND BOQUET--COLONEL ARMSTRONG'S
LETTER--SMITH AND HIS BLACK BOYS--BLOODY RUN--ROBBERY--INDIAN
MASSACRES--REVOLUTIONARY LIEUTENANTS OF BEDFORD COUNTY, ETC.
The earliest settlement on the _Raystown_ Branch of the Juniata was
made by a man named Ray, in 1751, who built three cabins near where
Bedford now stands. In 1755 the province agreed to open a wagon-road
from Fort Louden, in Cumberland county, to the forks of the
Youghiogheny River. For this purpose three hundred men were sent up,
but for some cause or other the project was abandoned.
This road was completed in 1758, when the allied forces of Virginia,
Maryland, and Pennsylvania marched against Fort Duquesne, under General
John Forbes. About the same year the fort was built at Raystown, and
called Fort Bedford. Colonels Boquet and Washington first marched to
Bedford with the advance, and were followed by General Forbes, who had
been detained by illness at Carlisle. The successful troops that put to
rout the French without striking a blow, amounting to 7850 men, were
reviewed, where Bedford now stands, a little over _ninety-seven_
years ago. Of the triumphant march and the bloodless victory of General
Forbes and Colonels Boquet and Washington there is little use in
speaking here, more than incidentally mentioning that, profiting by the
dear-bought experience at Braddock's defeat, the suggestion of
Washington to fight the savages after their own manner was adopted,
and, after defeating them in several skirmishes, the Indians fled
before them like chaff before the wind, and when they reached Fort
Duquesne the name and the fort alone remained. The latter was
preserved, but the former was speedily changed to Fort Pitt.
Colonel Armstrong, whose name has already frequently appeared, served
as a captain in the expedition under General Forbes against Fort
Duquesne. It may also be as well to remember that Colonel Washington,
as well as the Virginians generally, jealous of the Pennsylvanians
gaining a footing in the Monongahela country, violently opposed the
cutting of the road from Raystown to the mouth of the Yough, and urged
strongly upon Forbes the propriety of using the old Braddock trail. The
decision of General Forbes procured for the people of Pennsylvania a
wagon-road over the Alleghany at least twenty years before the
inhabitants would have entertained the idea of so formidable an
undertaking. Armstrong wrote to Richard Peters, under date of
"Raystown, October 3, 1758," from whose letter we extract the
following:--
Since our Quixotic expedition you will, no doubt, be greatly
perplexed about our fate. God knows what it may be; but, I assure
you, the better part of the troops are not at all dismayed. The
general came here at a critical and seasonable juncture; he is
weak, but his spirit is good and his head clear, firmly determined
to proceed as far as force and provisions will admit, which,
through divine favor, will be far enough. The road to be opened
from our advanced post is not yet fully determined, and must be
further reconnoitered: 'tis yet a query whether the artillery will
be carried forward with the army when within fifteen or twenty
miles of the fort or not. The order of march and line of battle is
under consideration, and there are many different opinions
respecting it. Upon this the general will have a conference with
the commanders of the sundry corps. About four thousand five
hundred are yet fit for duty, five or six hundred of which may be
laid to the account of keeping of different posts, sickness,
accidents, &c. We know not the number of the enemy, but they are
greatly magnified, by report of sundry of the people with Major
Grant, to what we formerly expected. The Virginians are much
chagrined at the opening of the road through this government, and
Colonel Washington has been a good deal sanguine and obstinate upon
the occasion; but the presence of the general has been of great use
on this as well as other accounts. We hear that three hundred
wagons are on the road. If this month happens to be dry weather, it
will be greatly in our favor. My people are in general healthy, and
are to be collected together immediately, except such as are posted
on the communication and in the artillery. Many of them will be
naked by the end of the campaign, but I dare not enter upon
clothing them, not knowing who or how many of the troops may be
continued. Colonel B----t is a very sensible and useful man;
notwithstanding, had not the general come up, the consequences
would have been dangerous. Please to make my compliments to Mr.
Allen, and, if you please, show him this letter, as I have not a
moment longer to write. About the last of this month will be the
critical hour. Every thing is vastly dear with us, and the money
goes like old boots. The enemy are beginning to kill and carry off
horses, and every now and then scalp a wandering person.
I leave this place to-day, as does Colonel Boquet and some pieces
of the artillery.
In 1763, Fort Bedford was the principal depôt for military stores
between Carlisle and Fort Pitt. In order to strengthen it, the command
was given to Captain Ourry, and the small stockades at the Juniata
Crossing and Stony Creek were abandoned and the force concentrated at
Bedford. By this means two volunteer companies were formed to guard the
fort, which, besides being a refuge for the distressed families for ten
or fifteen miles around, contained vast quantities of ammunition and
other government stores.
In 1763, Colonel Boquet again passed up the Raystown Branch with two
regiments of regulars and a large convoy of military stores, to relieve
the beleaguered garrison at Fort Pitt. He found matters in a deplorable
condition at Fort Bedford. The Indians, although they had never made an
attack upon the fort, had for weeks been hovering around the frontier
settlements, and had killed, scalped, or taken prisoner, no less than
eighteen persons. This induced Colonel Boquet to leave two companies of
his army at Bedford.
The names of the persons killed or taken prisoners at that time are not
recorded, and, we regret to say, few of any of the particulars
connected therewith have been preserved.
The town of Bedford was laid out by John Lukens, the surveyor-general,
in 1766, and took its name (in honor of the Duke of Bedford) from the
fort. The town for many years was the most prominent point between
Carlisle and Pittsburg. The county was formed out of Cumberland, in
1771, and embraced a vast extent of territory, from which Huntingdon,
Mifflin, Cambria, Somerset, Westmoreland, Fulton, and Indiana, were
subsequently taken.
During the Revolutionary war, the town of Bedford proper, as well as
the surrounding country, was so well settled that the Indians kept a
respectful distance. On Yellow Creek, one of the tributaries of
Raystown Branch, settlements were made at an early day; also in the
Great Cove. During the Revolution, Colonel John Piper, of Yellow Creek,
was the lieutenant-colonel of the county, and George Ashman lieutenant,
and James Martin, Edward Combs, and Robert Culbertson, were
sub-lieutenants.
Colonel James Smith, whose narrative has been published in several
works, was taken by the Indians in 1755, near Bedford. He was taken to
Fort Duquesne, and was there when the victorious Frenchmen and savages
returned with the scalps and plunder taken from Braddock's vanquished
army. After undergoing some severe trials, such as running the
gauntlet, &c., Smith was taken to Ohio, and, after a ceremony of
baptizing, painting, and hair-pulling, he was adopted, as a warrior "in
good standing," into the Conowaga tribe. No other resort being left, as
a measure of self-defence he adopted the manners and customs of the
tribe, and wandered over the West with them until an opportunity
offered to escape; which did not occur until he reached Montreal, in
1760, when he obtained his freedom in the general exchange of prisoners
which took place.
In 1765, Smith figured conspicuously in Bedford county, as the leader
of the celebrated band of "_Black Boys_," whose singular and summary
administration of justice bore a marked affinity to the code sometimes
adopted by that worthy disseminator of criminal jurisprudence in the
West,--"Judge Lynch." Of the exploits of the famous Black Boys Smith
speaks as follows:--
Shortly after this (1764) the Indians stole horses and killed some
people on the frontiers. The king's proclamation was then
circulating, and set up in various public places, prohibiting any
person from trading with the Indians until further orders.
Notwithstanding all this, about the 1st of March, 1765, a number of
wagons, loaded with Indian goods and warlike stores, were sent from
Philadelphia to Henry Pollens, Conococheague; and from thence
seventy pack-horses were loaded with these goods, in order to carry
them to Fort Pitt. This alarmed the country, and Mr. William
Duffield raised about fifty armed men, and met the pack-horses at
the place where Mercersburg now stands. Mr. Duffield desired the
employers to store up their goods and not proceed until further
orders. They made light of this, and went over the North Mountain,
where they lodged in a small valley called the Great Cove. Mr.
Duffield and his party followed after, and came to their lodging,
and again urged them to store up their goods. He reasoned with them
on the impropriety of their proceedings and the great danger the
frontier inhabitants would be exposed to if the Indians should now
get a supply. He said as it was well known that they had scarcely
any ammunition, and were almost naked, to supply them now would be
a kind of murder, and would be illegally trading at the expense of
the blood and treasure of the frontiers. Notwithstanding his
powerful reasoning, these traders made game of what he said, and
would only answer him by ludicrous burlesque.
When I beheld this, and found that Mr. Duffield could not compel
them to store up their goods, I collected ten of my old warriors
that I had formerly disciplined in the Indian way, went off
privately after night, and encamped in the woods. The next day, as
usual, we blacked and painted, and waylaid them near Sideling Hill.
I scattered my men about forty rods along the side of the road, and
ordered every two to take a tree, and about eight or ten rods
between each couple, with orders to keep a reserved fire--one not
to fire until his comrade had loaded his gun. By this means we kept
a constant slow fire upon them, from front to rear. We then heard
nothing of these traders' merriment or burlesque. When they saw
their pack-horses falling close by them, they called out, "Pray,
gentlemen, what would you have us to do?" The reply was, "Collect
all your loads to the front, and unload them in one place; take
your private property, and immediately retire." When they were
gone, we burnt what they left, which consisted of blankets, shirts,
vermilion, lead, beads, wampum, tomahawks, scalping-knives, &c.
The traders went back to Fort Louden, and applied to the commanding
officer there, and got a party of Highland soldiers, and went with
them in quest of the robbers, as they called us; and, without
applying to a magistrate or obtaining any civil authority, but
purely upon suspicion, they took a number of creditable persons,
(who were chiefly not anyway concerned in this action,) and
confined them in the guard-house in Fort Louden. I then raised
three hundred riflemen, marched to Fort Louden, and encamped on a
hill in sight of the fort. We were not long there until we had more
than double as many of the British troops prisoners in our camp as
they had of our people in the guard-house. Captain Grant, a
Highland officer who commanded Fort Louden, then sent a flag of
truce to our camp, where we settled a cartel and gave them above
two for one; which enabled us to redeem all our men from the
guard-house without further difficulty.
This exploit of the _Black Boys_ is supposed to have given Bloody
Run its name. Soon after, some British officer wrote an account of the
affair and transmitted it to London, where it was published, and from
which the following is an extract. "The convoy of eighty horses, loaded
with goods, chiefly on His Majesty's account, as presents to the
Indians, and part on account of Indian traders, were surprised in a
narrow and dangerous defile in the mountains by a body of armed men. A
number of horses were killed, and the whole of the goods were carried
away by the plunderers. _The rivulet was dyed with blood, and ran
into the settlement below, carrying with it the stain of crime upon its
surface._"
Notwithstanding Smith's narrative may have been read by a majority of
our readers, we cannot resist the temptation of transferring another
graphic picture of frontier life from his work. He says:--
In the year 1769, the Indians again made incursions on the
frontiers; yet the traders continued carrying goods and warlike
stores to them. The frontiers took the alarm, and a number of
persons collected, destroyed, and plundered, a quantity of their
powder, lead, &c., in Bedford county. Shortly after this, some of
these persons, with others, were apprehended and laid in irons in
the guard-house in Fort Bedford, on suspicion of being the
perpetrators of this crime.
Though I did not altogether approve of the conduct of this new club
of Black Boys, yet I concluded that they should not lie in irons in
the guard-house or remain in confinement by arbitrary or military
power. I resolved, therefore, if possible, to release them, if they
even should be tried by the civil law afterward. I collected
eighteen of my old Black Boys that I had seen tried in the Indian
war, &c. I did not desire a large party, lest they should be too
much alarmed at Bedford, and accordingly be prepared for us. We
marched along the public road in daylight, and made no secret of
our design. We told those whom we met that we were going to take
Fort Bedford, which appeared to them a very unlikely story. Before
this, I made it known to one William Thompson, a man whom I could
trust, and who lived there. Him I employed as a spy, and sent him
along on horseback before, with orders to meet me at a certain
place near Bedford one hour before day. The next day, a little
before sunset, we encamped near the Crossings of Juniata, about
fourteen miles from Bedford, and erected tents, as though we
intended staying all night; and not a man in my company knew to the
contrary save myself. Knowing that they would hear this in Bedford,
and wishing it to be the case, I thought to surprise them by
stealing a march.
As the moon rose about eleven o'clock, I ordered my boys to march,
and we went on, at the rate of five miles an hour, until we met
Thompson at the place appointed. He told us that the commanding
officer had frequently heard of us by travellers, and had ordered
thirty men upon guard. He said they knew our number, and only made
game of the notion of eighteen men coming to rescue the prisoners;
but they did not expect us until toward the middle of the day. I
asked him if the gate was open. He said it was then shut, but he
expected they would open it, as usual, at daylight, as they
apprehended no danger. I then moved my men privately up under the
banks of the Juniata, where we lay concealed about one hundred
yards from the fort gate. I had ordered the men to keep a profound
silence until we got into it. I then sent off Thompson again to
spy. At daylight he returned and told us that the gate was open,
and three sentinels were standing upon the wall; that the guards
were taking a morning dram, and the arms standing together in one
place. I then concluded to rush into the fort, and told Thompson to
run before me to the arms. We ran with all our might; and, as it
was a misty morning, the sentinels scarcely saw us until we were
within the gate and took possession of the arms. Just as we were
entering, two of them discharged their guns, though I do not
believe they aimed at us. We then raised a shout, which surprised
the town, though some of them were well pleased with the news. We
compelled a blacksmith to take the irons off the prisoners, and
then we left the place. This, I believe, was the first British fort
in America that was taken by what they call American rebels.
For this exploit Smith was arrested, and, in the scuffle which attended
the arrest--for he made a powerful resistance,--one of his captors was
shot. He was taken to Carlisle and tried for murder; but, having the
sympathies of the people with him, he was triumphantly acquitted. He
afterward filled several important stations, and for a time served as a
colonel in the Revolutionary army in New Jersey. In 1778 he moved to
Kentucky, and joined McIntosh in his efforts against the savages. He
had evidently imbibed the habits of frontier life so thoroughly that
the strict routine of military discipline and its restraints were
totally unsuited to his ideas of fighting.
After the year 1769, numerous robberies were committed near Bedford.
The robbers taking the precaution to blacken their faces, all their
crimes, as well as many others, were charged upon Smith's Black Boys,
until they were looked upon as a band of outlaws. Under date of January
26, 1773, John Frazer and George Woods wrote from Bedford to Governor
Penn, as follows:--
_May it please Your Honor_:--
The many robberies that have lately been committed in the eastern
parts of this county oblige us to trouble you with this letter.
There are a number of people, who, we suspect, now reside at or
near the Sideling Hill, that have been guilty of several
highway-robberies, and have taken from different people--travelling
on the public road between this place and Carlisle--considerable
sums of money; in particular, a certain James McCashlan, of this
place, hath made oath before us that he has been robbed of
twenty-two pounds and a silver watch. We have already done our
endeavor to apprehend the robbers, but have not succeeded, as there
can be no positive proof made who they are, on account of their
blacking themselves, which renders it impossible for any person
robbed to discover or know who are the perpetrators.
We, therefore, pray your honor would take this matter into
consideration, and grant us such relief as your honor may seem most
reasonable for the safety of the public in general, and in
particular for the inhabitants of this county.
These magistrates labored under the conviction that the highwaymen were
none else than a portion of Smith's gang of Black Boys; or else why ask
government for aid to disperse a few robbers, when men, arms, and
ammunition, were plenty in Bedford?
The letter of Frazer and Woods was accompanied by an affidavit from
McCashlan, setting forth that he was robbed, and that he had cause to
suspect "a certain John Gibson and William Paxton" of committing the
robbery. These were two of Smith's Black Boys; but it subsequently
appeared that a couple of independent footpads had relieved Mr.
McCashlan of his pounds and watch, and not a party of the regular Black
Boys, who, no doubt, had sins enough of their own to answer for,
without having all the depredations committed in the county placed to
their account.
Although we spared no effort to get some account of the Indian
massacres near Bedford during the Revolution, we failed, and must
content ourself--if we do not our readers--by giving the two following,
which we copy from Mr. Day's "Historical Collections:"--
About December, 1777, a number of families came into the fort from
the neighborhood of Johnstown. Among them were Samuel Adams, one
Thornton, and Bridges. After the alarm had somewhat subsided, they
agreed to return to their property. A party started with
pack-horses, reached the place, and, not seeing any Indians,
collected their property and commenced their return. After
proceeding some distance, a dog belonging to one of the party
showed signs of uneasiness and ran back. Bridges and Thornton
desired the others to wait while they would go back for him. They
went back, and had proceeded but two or three hundred yards when a
body of Indians, who had been lying in wait on each side of the
way, but who had been afraid to fire on account of the number of
the whites, suddenly rose up and took them prisoners. The others,
not knowing what detained their companions, went back after them.
When they arrived near the spot the Indians fired on them, but
without doing any injury. The whites instantly turned and fled,
excepting Samuel Adams, who took a tree, and began to fight in the
Indian style. In a few minutes, however, he was killed, but not
without doing the same fearful service for his adversary. He and
one of the Indians shot at and killed each other at the same
moment. When the news reached the fort a party volunteered to visit
the ground. When they reached it, although the snow had fallen
ankle-deep, they readily found the bodies of Adams and the Indian,
the face of the latter having been covered by his companions with
Adams's hunting-shirt.
A singular circumstance also occurred about that time in the
neighborhood of the Alleghany Mountain. A man named Wells had made
a very considerable improvement, and was esteemed rather wealthy
for that region. He, like others, had been forced with his family
from his house, and had gone for protection to the fort. In the
fall of the year, he concluded to return to his place and dig his
crop of potatoes. For that purpose, he took with him six or seven
men, an Irish servant girl to cook, and an old plough-horse. After
they had finished their job, they made preparations to return to
the fort the next day. During the night, Wells dreamed that on his
way to his family he had been attacked and gored by a bull; and so
strong an impression did the dream make that he mentioned it to his
companions, and told them that he was sure some danger awaited
them. He slept again, and dreamed that he was about to shoot a
deer, and, when cocking his gun, the main-spring broke. In his
dream he thought he heard distinctly the crack of the spring when
it broke. He again awoke, and his fears were confirmed, and he
immediately urged his friends to rise and get ready to start.
Directly after he arose he went to his gun to examine it, and, in
cocking it, the main-spring snapped off. This circumstance alarmed
them, and they soon had breakfast, and were ready to leave. To
prevent delay, the girl was put on the horse and started off, and,
as soon as it was light enough, the rest followed. Before they had
gone far, a young dog, belonging to Wells, manifested much alarm,
and ran back to the house. Wells called him, but, after going a
short distance, he invariably ran back.
Not wishing to leave him, as he was valuable, he went after him,
but had gone only a short distance toward the house, when five
Indians rose from behind a large tree that had fallen, and
approached him with extended hands. The men who were with him fled
instantly, and he would have followed, but the Indians were so
close that he thought it useless. As they approached him, however,
he fancied the looks of a very powerful Indian, who was nearest
him, boded no good, and being a swift runner, and thinking it "neck
or nothing" at any rate, determined to attempt an escape. As the
Indian approached, he threw at him his useless rifle, and dashed
off toward the woods in the direction his companions had gone.
Instead of firing, the Indians commenced a pursuit, for the purpose
of making him a prisoner, but he outran them. After running some
distance, and when they thought he would escape, they all stopped
and fired at once, and every bullet struck him, but without doing
him much injury or retarding his flight. Soon after this he saw
where his companions concealed themselves, and, as he passed, he
begged them to fire on the Indians, and save him; but they were
afraid, and kept quiet. He continued his flight, and, after a short
time, overtook the girl with the horse. She quickly understood his
danger, and dismounted instantly, urging him to take her place,
while she would save herself by concealment. He mounted, but
without a whip, and for want of one could not get the old horse out
of a trot. This delay brought the Indians upon him again directly,
and as soon as they were near enough they fired--and this time with
more effect, as one of the balls struck him in the hip and lodged
in his groin. But this saved his life; it frightened the horse into
a gallop, and he escaped, although he suffered severely for several
months afterward.
The Indians were afterward pursued, and surprised at their morning
meal; and, when fired on, four of them were killed, but the other,
though wounded, made his escape. Bridges, who was taken prisoner
near Johnstown when Adams was murdered, saw him come to his people,
and describes him as having been shot through the chest, with
leaves stuffed in the bullet-holes to stop the bleeding.
The first white child born in Raystown was William Frazer. When the
Revolution broke out, Bedford county furnished two companies, a greater
portion of one of the companies being recruited in what now constitutes
Huntingdon and Blair counties. Among these were a man named McDonald,
another named Fee, from the mouth of Raystown Branch, and George
Weston, a brother of the tory shot at Kittaning, and a man named
Cluggage.
The town of Bedford was for a long time the residence of General A. St.
Clair and a number of others who subsequently figured prominently in
the affairs of the nation. For pure patriotism and a willingness to
spend their blood and treasure for the cause of liberty, as well as the
defence of their brethren on the confines of the county, few towns
could excel Bedford, which reflected such credit upon them as will be
remembered by the grateful descendants of the frontier-men when history
fails to do them justice.