Posted by Jeri on October 12, 2000 at 08:18:58:
In Reply to: The March on the Delaware Indian Village of Kittanning ... Part VII posted by Mike Slease on October 12, 2000 at 02:17:07:
: The Journal of Lt. Col. John Armstrong
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: The March on the Delaware Indian Village of Kittanning
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: August ye 31st to September ye 10th, 2000
: The Kittanning Expedition 2000--Part 7
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: Written by
: Mike Slease, aka, Lt. Col. John Armstrong
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: Thursday, September ye 7th
: Arose before daybreak, and while having breakfast, watched a beautiful sunrise. The day promises to be a glorious one! The sky is clear and the temperature, while cool, is quite pleasant. We were in no hurry today, as we had had a very busy the evening before entertaining the 150 + visitors who came to see us here at St. Joseph's Mission Church.
: After packing the equipment, we moved to the monument where the trader, John Hart, slept in his hollow tree, and took pictures. Then we started along the road toward the next landmark about 4 miles ahead. We had been promised water and food at the home of Amy Dolges. Susquehanna Jack and I went on ahead and located the place, and while we waited for the rest of the men, Amy, her family and friends made us welcome. We answered their many questions and posed for photos with some of her co-workers who took their lunch break to come here to see us. Amy provided us with sandwiches, water, coffee, popcorn, homemade cookies, and apples from her tree. All in all we spent over 2 hours here with this wonderful lady and her family and friends. Eventually, we had to force ourselves to hit the trail again, and resumed our march toward Cookport.
: Along the way, we crossed the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. We were not too far from its source, so this mighty river, which is a mile wide in places further downstream, and eventually makes its way to the Chesapeake, was only about 15 yards wide...not much bigger than a lot of creeks.
: Being at this place reminded me of the story of the miraculous escape and return from Kittanning in 1756, after Lt. Col. Armstrongs raid, of Captain Hugh Mercer. Mercer had been wounded early in the firefight, and on the retreat, not being able to keep up, he became separated from the rest of the army. When he did not turn up at Ft. Shirley some time after the others had, he was given up as having died along the way somewhere or had met his fate at the hands of the Indians, who were pursuing the army. Capt. Mercer somehow made his way to the West Branch of the Susquehanna near Chincklacamoose (Clearfield, PA today), found a bark canoe, and set off downriver. He avoided all contact, traveling mostly at night, and eventually made his way to Ft. Augusta (Sunbury, PA today), where he was taken care of and returned to good health. He had survived on berries and rattlesnake meat, some of which he had in his haversack when he arrived at Ft. Augusta and which "was still sweet." His ordeal had taken well over six weeks. Hugh Mercer survived his wounds and the wilds and during the American Revolution became General Hugh Mercer, one of George Washington's top aides.
: We arrived at the fairgrounds at Cookport late in the afternoon and began to set camp for the night. We were joined there by Dr. Robert Millward and a film crew from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. They are making a video, Injecting Life into History Through Art and Drama. Its purpose is to make history come alive for students and will help them to make connections between past and present events. The Pennsylvania frontier from the late 1740s through the early 1800's is the time frame of this project. It will focus on the frontier paintings of Robert Griffing and period reenactors. The video is to be made available to schools throughout the state as an aesthetic component to teaching history. Dr. Millward and his crew interviewed each of us, and has promised a copy of the product for us.
: We had about 50 visitors in camp this evening. It is quite refreshing to see so many youngsters interested in what we are doing. One young lady named Megan, age 11, asked some extremely well thought out questions and visited, along with her Mom, each of us. They were in camp for about 2 hours. She seemed very disappointed when Mom said they had to go and get her brother from football practice!
: We sat by the fire and recounted the many kindnesses shown us so far on our trek, and the many fantastic people we have met. One incident which stands out loud and clear was the several school busses that passed one afternoon as we trudged along the road, and the smiles and "thumbs up" signs from many of the kids aboard those busses. When your feet, legs, and hips hurt from walking, and your musket feels like it weighs a hundred pounds, and you are feeling rather miserable, little things like that are wonderful morale boosters. They give one the stamina to reach down a little deeper and push on...
: Tomorrow we head for Shaver's Spring...2 days from our objective, and we have not encountered any hostiles yet. The scouts will be sent ahead to reconnoiter the trail to Kittanning, and are to report to me their findings. The closer we get, the more apt we are to be detected...and secrecy is the key to a successful mission.
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Hi Mike,
How wonderful that you and your group will be part of the video used to teach children about the history of the Pennsylvania frontier!
I also enjoyed hearing about Capt. Mercer's ordeal and how he survived. But rattlesnake meat? ((SHUDDER))
..Jeri