been killed, probably, had not Benjamin Harvey, Jr. (apprehending that he himself was in peril), called to the Yankees to desist from firing. Colonel Plunket, it is said, lay down in the bottom of the boat to avoid the shots that were fired at him. The boats were hastily and excitedly backed astern into the channel of the river, whereupon, having got within the suction of the falls, they shot down through them and the rapids below-fortunately without mishap-and were brought-to in the pool at Harvey's Landing. Thus ended the occurrences of Sunday. Early in the morning of Monday-which was Christmas-day-the Pennamites, who had bivouacked on the flat at the mouth of Harvey's Creek, were astir. Colonel Plunket having formed his men in two divisions, again marched up the river to the breastworks, or "rampart rocks," held by the Yankees. While one division stormed the works, the second division ascended the mountain on their left and attempted to turn the right flank of the Yankees. The conflict lasted, with frequent cessations, during the greater part of the day, and on the side of the settlers some three or four men were killed and three times as many wounded. Towards the close of the day Colonel Plunket, finding the position of the Yankees too strong to be carried, withdrew from the field and immediately began his retreat down the west side of the river. He was pursued for some miles by Captain Stewart and his party on the east side, with a view to capture one of the boats of the expedition. But Benjamin Harvey, Jr., who was on board, still a prisoner, called to them not to fire, lest they might injure their friends; and so they returned and let the retreating army pass down without further pursuit. On their way down the river all the settlers under The Susquehanna Company whose homes were located along the route of the Pennamites were plundered by the latter*. A view is herewith given† of a small part of the rocky ledge which, at Christmas-tide more than a century and a-quarter ago, so well served the needs of the Wyoming settlers. Large portions of the ledge have been blasted down and removed from time to time within the last one hundred years, in order to make way for roads and other improvements, but there still remains a considerable part of the sometime rampart. Rampart Rocks" was the name given to this historic ledge subsequently to the battle of December 25, 1775, and upon some of the early surveys and maps of that locality this name will be found. (See the map in the July, 1830, issue of Silliman's American Journal of Science and Arts-Vol. XVIII.) Col. H. B. Wright, in his "Historical Sketches of Plymouth," published in 1873, states (page 107): "More than fifty years ago I remember seeing a large flat rock, set up on edge between two trees, near the natural breastwork upon this battlefield. It stood between two chestnuts, and as the trees grew it became firmly imbedded between them. This was pointed out to me by my father as one of the barricades of the early settlers of the valley, in a battle that had been fought on that ground many years before.""" himself in Buffalo Valley, Pennsylvania, in 1769. He accompanied Colonel Plunket's ill-advised expedi tion from Sunbury against the Yankees at Wyoming as a spectator" However, the inscription on his tombstone.states that he died December 25, 1775, "of a gunshot wound received from the Connecticut intruders, when in company with the Sheriff and magistrates of Northumberland County on a journey to Wioming in order to support the laws of his country.' [See Johnson's "Historical Record," VIII: 226.1 * The facts relating to the Plunket expedition and the battle of "Rampart Rocks," recited in the foregoing account, have been drawn from Miner's "History of Wyoming," Stone's "Poetry and History of Wyoming," Wright's "Historical Sketches of Plymouth," and other sources. + Views of some of the other localities mentioned in the foregoing account of the battle of "Rampart Rocks" will be found facing pages 48, 54, 55 and 312, Vol. I. Under the date of December 27, 1775, Col. Zebulon Butler wrote from Wilkes-Barré to a friend in Hartford, Connecticut, as follows*: "We have lately had a visitation by a body of Tories, under the command of one Plunket-they pretended, by orders from Penn. Be that as it will, the bottom of it is toryism. As we were threatened with death and destruction, we had no other way but to fight. They had 600 or 700 men, two cannons, &c. I marched with about 400 of my regiment, which I thought enough for 700 of such wretches. As soon as they came in sight they fired without saying a word, and rushed to surround us. Our people met them with as much resolution, and a very heavy fire ensued. We soon drove them, killed a number, and drove one wing of the body into the mountain; the main body retreated. This was on the 24th December. At night they attempted to cross the river, to destroy our settlements where the men were chiefly drawn off. I sent a party to receive them, and just as their boats came to shore, with about one hundred men, our people poured in the shot upon them, at about three rods distance, and obliged them to retreat and make off as well as they could. By the best accounts we can get they had fifty or sixty killed and wounded. We had two killed and three wounded, one of whom is since dead. Our enemies are all gone off, I believe for the Winter." Under the date of December 30, 1775, at Sunbury, "William Scull, Sheriff, Samuel Harris, Coroner, William Plunket, Samuel Hunter, Michael Troy and John Weitzel" wrote to Governor Penn at Philadelphia as followst: "In pursuance of your Honour's letter of the 25th ult, the magistrates of this county delivered into the hands of our Sheriff warrants and other legal processes against a number of persons residing at Wyoming in this county, who have been charged on oath with the most illegal practices, and some of them with the greatest crimes. The Sheriff, apprehensive of resistance, judged it prudent to raise the posse of the county, and a body of near 500 men accompanied him to the neighborhood of Wyoming, where they were met by some people from Wyoming (one of whom was said to be an officer). To these men the intention of the Sheriff and his posse was sufficiently explained, and the strongest assurances given that no violence or molestation should be offered to any person submitting to the laws. The Sheriff proceeded, however, but a little farther, when he was most unexpectedly fired upon-one man [Hugh McWilliams] killed, and three others dangerously wounded. It was soon found impossible to force a passage on that side of the river, as the narrows, naturally strong, had been fortified with the greatest care, and were lined with numbers of men, to whom ours bore no reasonable proportion. "An attempt was made to cross the river, with design, if possible, to arrive at the settlement of the persons against whom process had issued, without further molestation. This attempt was, for greater secrecy, made in the night. When the boats had nearly reached the opposite shore, and were entangled in a margin of ice too thin to bear the weight of a man, they were, without any previous challenge, fired upon repeatedly by a party from the top of the bank. Jesse Lukens received a mortal wound, of which he is since dead. Sundry others narrowly escaped. As a landing could not be effected, the boats returned. Baffled in this second attempt, the weather being intolerably severe, and receiving information that the persons we wished to arrest were the chief in command in their breastworks, it was thought advisable to desist from any further attempt. The boat with the wounded men was fired on while within gunshot; a constant fire was kept up on our men from the opposite side [of the river], while they retreated through a long One man only, however, was wounded-in the arm." narrows. * * * Governor Penn transmitted to the Provincial Assembly the foregoing letter, with an explanatory message, in which he stated, among other things: "As a considerable expense must have arisen on this attempt to execute the laws of the Government, I doubt not you will readily make provision for defraying it."‡ * See "American Archives," Fourth Series, IV: 470. † See ibid., page 1473. Fourteen years after the Plunket expedition occurred the following bill was paid by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: "The Province of Pennsylvania To Capt. Thomas Gaskin, Dr. To six large socket poles lost at the same time, "For a large boat lost returning from Wyoming in the expedition with Dr. William Plunket,. To 12 days' service of myself, @3s. 9d. per day, To 12 days' service of two boatmen, @2s. 6d. per day, To finding myself and hands provisions, 22232 0 0 15 "December, 1775. £28. 5s. Od." In 1790 the following accounts relative to the Plunket expedition were rendered against the Commonwealth. (See "Pennsylvania Archives," Second Series, XVIII: 696, 698.) The General Assembly of Connecticut convened in special session December 14, 1775, and among the important Acts passed by it was one for raising and equipping a body of "minute-men," to be held "in readiness for the better defence of the Colony." The Act provided that one-fourth part of the militia of the Colony should be forthwith selected by voluntary enlistment, with as many other able-bodied, effective men, not included in any militia roll, as were inclined to enlist-"to stand in readiness as minute-men for the defence of Connecticut and the rest of the United Colonies." The officers and men were directed to equip themselves with arms and ammunition prescribed by existing law, and they were required to come together once a fortnight for half a day's muster and drill. Owing to the comparative smallness of the population of Westmoreland, and the large extent of territory over which the people were scattered, the Assembly declared that this Act should "not extend to include or affect the 24th Regiment of Militia." It was at this session that the Assembly passed the resolution relative to the manual-exercise to be thereafter used by the militia of the Colony-as noted on page 827, ante. At this same session the Assembly enacted the following important law relative to Westmoreland.* "That the town of Westmoreland in this Colony shall be bounded east by the River Delaware, south by a line of latitude just 41° north from the equator, and extend west on said line to the termination of fifteen English miles west of the East Branch of the River Susquehanna; from thence to run northerly a straight line to the forks of the River Tioga, and continuing the same course to the north line of this Colony, which shall be the west line of said town and of the county of Litchfield. And said town is bounded north by the north line of this Colony, as described in the Charter from King Charles II.* (1) "The State of Pennsylvania Dr. to William Sayres, for sundries furnished the Troops on the Wyoming Expedition, by order of the Magistrates of Northumberland County, in the year 1775. £ S. d. મરના 11 1000001000000 7 lbs. Soap, @ls., Do. for firewood for the wounded, 2 6 Sundries furnished the different Companies and wounded, by order of Squire Allison and [former] Sheriff Cook, 41 10 7 £78, 1s. 11d." (2) "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to Robert King, Dr. 1775 £ S. d. December 14. To a canoe lent Samuel Maclay, Esq., for public Service. Broke in the ice before returned, 1 10 1776 January 18. To a wagon, horse and driver, and finding the same for four days, haul- To my pay as Lieutenant of militia, under the Command of Col William To hauling twenty-one loads of firewood, by order of Dr. Benjamin Allison, Esq., for the use of the men wounded at Wyoming, and then under the care of Dr. Allison, . . "Total, * See "Colonial Records of Connecticut," XV: 197. |