Playing Host
It’s been a busy month – more on that in the coming weeks. But for now, I wanted to post a quick entry on this weekend’s activities.
I’m the president of the local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. I became interested in the group’s genealogical and historical purposes when I discovered an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War. I’ve since found two more patriot ancestors – including one who carried the colonists’ flag during the Battle of Bunker Hill. The SAR is comprised of a number of older gentlemen, and our chapter is no different. Our local chapter is a small group that’s trying to find ways to get involved in the dozens of communities where we live. The territory we cover and the small number of young, active members makes many activities difficult. I’ve found my success in working with the state society.
The leadership of the state society meets quarterly to address routine business and review the reports and activities of officers, chapters, and committees. It’s always in need of host chapters for these meetings. I was offered the chance for my chapter to host a Board of Management meeting and recognized a way to try to engage my chapter members as well as introduce the state to the Revolutionary history of the Northeast corner of Pennsylvania. The board meeting was held November 7 and 8. I just finished the final reports and receipts. It was a great meeting. We finished in the black. And we had fantastic reviews from all the compatriots who I talked with as the activities were completed.
I thought I’d share a bit of the area’s Revolutionary history on here. To promote the event, the host chapter writes a short piece for the state’s magazine. Here’s what I wrote on the Wyoming Massacre (published in the Fall 2008 newsletter):
The Wyoming Monument commemorates the 1778 massacre of American colonists in the Wyoming Valley
The Wyoming Monument
The Wyoming Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania were divided before the American Revolution. Pennsylvania settlers from Philadelphia and westward Connecticut settlers had battled for control of land. Both states pointed to their charters to claim the land that runs along the northern border of Pennsylvania. But the two sides found themselves in agreement with the advent of the Revolution.
The area escaped hostilities and fighting for the first few years of the American Revolution. But after surrendering a fort in Upstate New York in 1777, British troops had rallied local Iroquois tribes to join in raids. A year later, the British, Seneca, and Iroquois gathered near Pittston, Pennsylvania – about midway between modern Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Pennsylvania and Connecticut settlers sent out calls for help and sought refuge in a string of forts in the Wyoming Valley. Determined to save their crops, a band of untrained farmers organized and vowed to help any local Continental forces in dispersing the threat.
On July 3, 1778, the American troops led by Col. Zebulon Butler, left Forty Fort to face off against the British. Butler led about 375 men up the western side of the Susquehanna River. Scouts reported the British were retreating. In fact the British forces, led by Major John Butler, began burning Fort Wintermute and Fort Jenkins as they learned the Americans were advancing. British troops lay in wait with their Indian allies as the Continental soldiers rushed forward. The patriots didn’t realize the trap until they were just a few hundred feet away. Indians and British soldiers leapt out and ambushed the Americans. The inexperienced Americans misunderstood the order to form a line as a retreat.
The Americans were overrun. While some died in battle, many more were killed in the legendary
Less than a month before this picture, a bolt of lightning struck the flag pole near the Wyoming Monument
massacre by their Indian captors. Only 174 survived and returned to the fort. When the British soldiers left the area in the following days, the survivors and colonial settlers fled. Those who fled repeated the stories of the atrocities the Iroquois and Seneca inflicted on the captured Americans. Those rumors would help fuel the Americans’ desire to send the Sullivan Expedition to destroy Indian villages in New York the next year.
As the signature Revolutionary War battle in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Massacre has been long-remembered in the Wyoming Valley. Historical accounts show that a group began to build a monument in 1832 to honor the patriots who died in the battle and subsequent massacre. The monument was finished around 1843. Remains of some of the fallen soldiers are buried beneath the 63-foot tall memorial.
About 35 years later, another group formed to recognize the 100th anniversary of the battle. The Wyoming Commemorative Association was formed in 1878 and hosted President Rutherford B. Hayes as the principal speaker at the initial memorial service. Since then, the association has gathered descendants of those involved at the battle, the Revolution, and other patriotic and community associations for an annual memorial service on July 4.
