Re: Simon Girty & the Dark and Bloody Ground

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Posted by Elaine on January 23, 1999 at 20:29:52:

In Reply to: Re: Simon Girty & the Dark and Bloody Ground posted by Victoria on January 23, 1999 at 18:18:20:


: >>Between these two dates lies Lochrey's Defeat (August 24, 1781). A number of men had been recruited from Westmoreland County, PA under Archibald Lochrey, including my father's grandmother's grandfather named Isaac Anderson, in response to G.R. Clark's call for men to try and take Detroit. They travelled down the Ohio River and got as far as a small creek, now known as Lochrey's Creek, near the mouth of the Miami River when they were attacked by Brant and one of the Girty's. Eckert has it as Simon, I think it was George. Over forty men were killed. There are several versions of this. Some say they were killed in revenge for Brodhead's expedition. Isaac Anderson was the Lt. and put in charge of the survivors. He was a mason and may have been spared by Brant because of this. This was Brant's first major command, and he and Simon got into a vicious fight afterward. Anderson was taken through various locations, ran the gauntlet, was taken to Detroit, and then to Montreal where he escaped from prison. He made his way back to PA, married the daughter of another captive (taken by the Seneca out of Ft. Niagara who left a signed letter and a war club), and moved to Cincinnati and ran the first tavern there. Living in Cinti was Phillip Dick who was on the relief expedition to Dunlop's Station. The families eventually intermarried. (See McBride's Pioneer Biographies, and Kelsay's bio on Brant, and Wither's Chronicles of Border Warfare)

: Victoria
: (P.S. Them Kentucky people are always trouble)


Champ & Victoria,

Thanks for your posts and references. Very interesting!

Two things that you mentioned, Victoria, that interest me. Your mention of your gggg-grandaddy Anderson as a mason & your observation that this *brotherhood* may very well have played a part in Brant's decision to spare his life .... The Freemason Society was one of the 'orders' that Brant embraced. I think it often played a far greater role in historic events or personal decisions than is acknowledged. It is a connection often overlooked.

The other thing; Have you given much thought to the aftermath of captivity? It seems to me that so many released captives married others who had shared the same experiences. For some time in American history, it would almost seem as though former captives
created a sub-culture. They were different. Much the way war veterans have often felt apart from those who "weren't there", the survivors of captivity seem to have formed their own peculiar bonding.

Elaine

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