NORRISTOWN HERALD 
 PRINTING A. PUB. CO. 
 NORRISTOWN. PENNA. 
 
-fat 1 
 
 HENRY WOODMAN 
 
THE HISTORY OF 
 VALLEY FORGE 
 
 By HENRY WOODMAN 
 
 WITH A BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR AND THE AUTHOR S 
 
 FATHER WHO WAS A SOLDIER WITH WASHINGTON 
 
 AT VALLEY FORGE DURING THE WINTERS 
 
 OF 1777 AND 1778 
 
 AUTHORIZED BY THE WOODMAN FAMILY 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 JOHN U. FRANCIS, SR. 
 OAKS, PA. 
 
 1922 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1921 
 
 BY 
 JOHN U. FRANCIS, SR. 
 
GENERAL WASHINGTON 
 
PREFACE 
 
 LARGE portrait of a plain, unassuming man was 
 hanging on the wall of the Old Camp School-house 
 in Valley Forge park, when John U. Francis, Sr., 
 publisher of this history, took charge. Father was 
 born in Lower Providence township, just across the Schuylkill 
 river from the Cradle of American Liberty. His great-grand 
 father, Captain Arnold Francis, had commanded the Provi 
 dence militia and had rendered conspicuous service under 
 Washington at Valley Forge. In the family, Valley Forge 
 was sacred ground and to the name of Washington was ren 
 dered a homage hardly due to mortal man. In keeping with 
 the suffering endured, a resentment toward British arrogance 
 was developed which even today causes the eye to flash at the 
 slightest semblance of the thing on our national horizon. A 
 patriotism purer than father s we have never met. To tell 
 the story of Valley Forge, than whom no man knows it bet 
 ter, and to provide for visitors to the park suitable souvenirs, 
 has been to him a labor of love. The publication of this history 
 is a becoming climax of his labors. 
 
 But year after year the portrait continued to hang on the 
 wall. When at times we visited the Park and inquired, "Whose 
 is that portrait" practically no light could be given. "It was 
 sent down from Headquarters." Some one knew better than 
 father. In the summer of 1919 a group of visitors entered the 
 School-house. One of the ladies pointed to the portrait and 
 said : "That is a portrait of my grandfather, Henry Woodman. 
 He wrote the first history of Valley Forge." The lady was 
 Mrs. Alice Woodman Smith of Wycombe, Bucks county, Pa. 
 She promised a letter giving particulars, and in due time one 
 was received. Miss Mary S., daughter of Henry Woodman, a 
 lady now of some eighty summers, was the embodiment of the 
 first commandment with promise. She had had a small por 
 trait of her father enlarged and had sent it to the Headquar 
 ters at Valley Forge. As already stated, from there it was 
 sent down to the old Camp School-house. 
 
 Henry Woodman, after many years of urging, wrote his 
 
 M19G944 
 
8 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 history of Valley Forge. His home was now near Doyles- 
 town, Bucks county, Pa. It was in 1850 that he wrote, and 
 for The Doylestown Intelligencer. It appeared in the shape of 
 letters for thirty-two consecutive weeks, from April 30 to De 
 cember 3. There is internal evidence that the history at that 
 time awakened national interest. It seems to have been copied 
 by other newspapers. Woodman was requested to print it in 
 book form, but never did so. Through his granddaughter, 
 Mrs. Smith, it was learned where the text of his history could 
 be found. Invaluable service and utmost courtesy were re 
 ceived from the Historical Societies of Montgomery and Bucks 
 counties; and acknowledgments for the same are herewith 
 made. The book as now published is authorized by the Wood 
 man family. 
 
 The advice of John W. Jordan, LL.D., historian of the Val 
 ley Forge Park Commission, seems to us to be good, viz., that 
 we leave Woodman tell his own story, his whole story, and 
 without any attempt at editing. Consequently no editing has 
 been done. Woodman himself in one of the last letters, says 
 that if the history were published in book form, he would 
 make some grammatical corrections. Evident errors of this 
 nature have been corrected, but it is believed that in no way 
 has the individuality of the writer been marred. 
 
 As to the unique fitness of Henry Woodman to write the 
 history of Valley Forge, we refer you to the sketch of him by 
 his daughter, Miss Mary S. Woodman, p. 16, and then to the 
 sketch of his father, Edward Woodman, p. 11, also by Miss 
 Mary S. Woodman. But the book must be read to perceive his 
 surpassing fitness. His mother is his heroine. She was nine 
 teen years of age when the army encamped at Valley Forge, 
 and she resided within the lines of the encampment. She was 
 recognized in her day as a living history of it. 
 
 It has been urged against Woodman that he received his 
 information in his earlier years, that he wrote at the age of 
 fifty-five, and after he had been away from Valley Forge for 
 a quarter of a century, that he wrote only from memory, with 
 out any official papers at hand. In reply we beg to say that 
 he had been told the stories o er and o er in youth by his father, 
 who had been a soldier in the camp here, who tramped with 
 with him over the old encampment grounds from his fifth year 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 9 
 
 and upward, and the father s delight was to explain to his son. 
 He had heard his mother ever and anon tell of "those times." 
 Henry later took visitors over the grounds and acted as in 
 formant, reiterating the stories told him. He had heard the 
 old ladies, lasses at Valley Forge in 1778, recount in conclave 
 to each other encampment reminiscences. Bring up a child in 
 the way in which he should go and when he is old he will not 
 depart from it. Beside his mother lived up almost to the time 
 that he wrote; and his mother s sister was still living. This 
 sister was nine years old at the time of the encampment and 
 was a favorite of Baron DeKalb. At the time of writing Wood 
 man interviewed others who had lived at Valley Forge during 
 the memorable time. Also he had helped old soldiers who had 
 been there to get pensions and had assisted others in securing 
 money from the government for damages incurred through 
 the encampment. Furthermore, he frequently discussed Val 
 ley Forge matters with men of intelligence, of patriotism, and 
 of affairs. He had been a school teacher, a scrivener, a sur 
 veyor at Valley Forge, and a Quaker preacher, all of which 
 tended to make him capable, exact and conscientious, and con 
 sequently more reliable. He wrote when he was mature and 
 before his faculties were impaired. Who can doubt that Provi 
 dence prepared him for his task? Surely his history may be 
 received with confidence. 
 
 The Quaker has been stigmatized as pro-Tory. Valley 
 Forge was a Quaker settlement. William Penn had given his 
 daughter Letitia a manor here of more than 1000 acres; and 
 she in 1705 built what is now known as the old Camp School- 
 house, at present the quarters of the publisher of this history. 
 Here Henry Woodman attended school ; and it is most fitting 
 that his history should now go forth from its walls to educate 
 the nation on Valley Forge. The Quakers were opposed to 
 war ; as a class they were second to none in devotion to the in 
 terests of the colonies. If some were pro-Tory, this cannot be 
 said of Henry Woodman. His father, an Episcopalian by 
 birth, practically a Quaker or Friend at death, was through 
 the Revolution from start to finish, from Carolina to Mas 
 sachusetts. No purer American blood ever flowed than that 
 which coursed through the veins of Henry Woodman. His was 
 red blood, but not too red. His love for Valley Forge is exactly 
 
10 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 the spirit toward it that it should be fostered in American 
 homes. Valley Forge is our national center. Woodman is an 
 expression of American life, not a superimposition upon it. 
 His history should be in every American home. 
 
 He gives the history of Valley Forge from the time his 
 ancestor Evan ap Bevan in 1686 took up here 2000 acres of 
 virgin land, down through the Revolution to the time he wrote 
 the history. Some parts will be found of more interest than 
 others. He not only introduces us to but causes us to form the 
 acquaintance of the generals of Washington s army. Baron 
 DeKalb was quartered at the home of Woodman s grand 
 father. If the Frenchman Lafayette was wounded for our in 
 dependence, for our independence the Prussion DeKalb made 
 the supreme sacrifice ; also Baron Von Steuben, another Prus 
 sian, made Washington s army strong unto invincibility. But 
 we must uphold Poland for Kosciusko s sake, and for the 
 sake of Pulaski, who, like DeKalb, laid down his life 
 for us. We can hardly forgive Lafayette for not coming to 
 Valley Forge when he visited America. Every true American 
 rejoices that we could pay our debts to France and Poland ; but 
 read and answer to your own conscience whether we owe a debt 
 to Prussia. The World War is over, and the words of Lincoln 
 are suited to every American : "With malice toward none, with 
 charity for all." We are sure that this is the spirit of Wood 
 man s history of Valley Forge. 
 
 J. G. FRANCIS. 
 Lebanon, Pa., Feb. 12, 1920. 
 
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION 
 
 OME errors of grammar and some of fact crept into 
 the first edition. These have been corrected as far as 
 we have been able to detect them. This edition is 
 much more profusely illustrated, and misplacement 
 of illustrations has been rectified. A few small addi 
 tions have been made to the preface of the first edition, it be 
 ing deemed better to place them there than in this preface. A 
 Table of Contents and an Index have also been added as well 
 as a list of Illustrations. Some of the headings in the body of 
 the book have been changed and some have been added, pre 
 senting, we believe, a better grasp of the book. What was an 
 Introduction has been made an Appendix. The map of the 
 Park was added already to the second edition. 
 
 As to the identity of the quarters of the generals, we 
 take Woodman as authority. He possessed every means of 
 knowing, and he was above misrepresentation. There is no 
 one whom we regard as at all comparable to him in this mat 
 ter. Where any one clearly differs from him, we at once dis 
 card them. This will cause a revolution as to some accepta 
 tions ; but our course will, we are sure, set wrong acceptations 
 right as surely as did the Revolution. Practically every one 
 who has done any service in determining these locations, 
 whose work has come to our notice, we are confident ultimately 
 drew chiefly from Woodman. 
 
 While Woodman knew and is accepted as knowing, his 
 designations will be worthless unless we can identify them. It 
 was seventy years after the Revolution when he wrote, and it 
 is seventy years since he wrote. The farms had changed 
 hands many times up to when he wrote, and they have changed 
 hands many times since. They have been divided and sub 
 divided. In many cases the original buildings have been torn 
 down and have been succeeded once or twice by new ones. On 
 new farms formed from parts of the old, buildings have been 
 erected which in some cases are much older than the new 
 buildings which succeeded the original ones on the old farms. 
 It will thus be seen that our problem becomes intricate. Had 
 we left ourselves open in the least to discouragement, again 
 and again we would have given up the task. We perserved 
 till the clouds broke and rolled away ; and we believe that over 
 our head is now a clear sky. 
 
 We believe in the traditions of a worthy people ; and none 
 are more worthy than the Quaker farmers of "the Great Val 
 ley" about Valley Forge, under whose roofs Washington and 
 his generals found shelter during the awful winter, the fateful 
 
12 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 winter, of 1777-78. To doubt the traditions of these people 
 falls not short of treason. To doubt them is to nullify the value 
 of Valley Forge Park. Who will sufficiently estimate the in 
 fluence of their simple faith in carrying Washington and his 
 noble band safely through the crucial ordeal? The general 
 who stood next to Washington himself was a regular attendant 
 of the Quaker meetings. He drank from fountains that 
 strengthened. The Quaker s Sword of the Spirit wrought 
 more than the sword of steel. We thank God that the ground 
 of Valley Forge Park, the mecca of our national birth, has re 
 ceived not one drop of brother man s blood that cries out to 
 God for vengeance. 
 
 But back to the tangible. We want to give credit to those 
 descendants of "ye olden time" Quaker farmers of "the Great 
 Valley," who helped us to identify the farms of which Wood 
 man tells. 
 
 First, we called on "Bill" Stephens, whose ancestor s farms 
 quartered so large a part of the army and also Generals Var- 
 num and Huntingdon. There is no question as to the identity 
 of these farms. "Bill" was born under the roof which shel 
 tered Varnum. Treat him tenderly, considerately, for the sake 
 of his fathers. 
 
 To Charles Havard, of Lebanon, Pa., prothonotary of 
 Lebanon county, born also under a roof that sheltered one of 
 Washington s generals, we are indebted for directing us to 
 those who helped us. Clarence Roberts, who is a mixture of 
 all the old Quaker families, and whose farm is a part of the 
 Knox quarter farm, helped us to identify the quarters of 
 Knox, Woodford, Scott and Greene. The four farms on which 
 were Potter, Poor, Mifflin and Sullivan, are the four farms 
 in a sense generally accepted, but they have become obscured 
 and confused among themselves. In unthreading the tangle, 
 we are indebted to Nathan Walker and to the Richards brothers 
 and sister. The History of the Walker family by Mrs. Streets 
 afforded no little help in all these cases. Mrs. Peter Rapp, of 
 Oaks, Pa., whose husband s great-grandfather died at Valley 
 Forge, and whose mother, a born Kennedy, was reared on the 
 Mordecai Moore farm, bears testimony as to the identity of 
 that place. 
 
 The other quarters are not in doubt, and the general ac 
 ceptation accords with our author, likely came from him. Sev 
 eral of the generals were quartered in huts, among them Baron 
 Von Steuben. There is a tradition that in the later stage of 
 the encampment, the Baron was quartered in a little stone 
 house now sandwiched in between the higher stone part and 
 the high brick part of what was the residence of Gen. Fisher, 
 near the Village of Valley Forge, the property now owned by 
 Heinz of the 57 kinds of food preparation ; but our author does 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 13 
 
 not mention this and we pass it by. Woodman was of the im 
 pression that officers were quartered across the river; but 
 as he was never able to clear up the matter, no one has ever 
 made anything of it. We advance the theory that Armstrong 
 was across the river. We hope that the trans-river problem 
 will yet be cleared up. 
 
 We had entertained the hope of interviewing Rev. Quimby, 
 of Berwyn, a few miles south of Valley Forge, on the South 
 Valley Forge, who has written an interesting romance on Val 
 ley Forge. After we had reached our conclusions, our hope 
 was gratified. The beautiful, the magnificent view of the 
 Great Valley from his South Valley Hill lured him into writ 
 ing the story. He weaves in so many authentic incidents that 
 his story may to some extent be accepted as a history of the 
 encampment. But he had read Woodman in full. Mr. Camp 
 bell, now deceased, of Berwyn, had succeeded in doing what 
 we did later, though without our knowledge till our call on 
 Rev. Quimby Mr. Campbell had succeeded in copying with 
 his own hand all of Woodman s History. Rev. Quimby is not 
 an original investigator. He accepted current traditions and 
 wrote his story. But Mr. Campbell did more than copy 
 Woodman. He spent a lot of time and money in locating 
 and photographing the quarters of the generals. His con 
 clusions do not all agree with ours, but his list deserved to 
 overflowing the distinction accorded it by the Valley Forge 
 Park Commission, viz., of being printed in their report of 
 1904. We were gratified to find that Mr. Campbell placed 
 Scott where we had placed him. 
 
 We deem it in place here to say something in particular 
 about the quarters of Knox and Mifflin, for here we run up 
 against generally accepted tradition. Woodman tells us that 
 Maxwell was quartered on the farm now accepted as Knox s 
 quarters and now owned by his worthy descendant, United 
 States Senator Philander C. Knox. Woodman places Knox 
 on the farm joining this one on the south, now owned by 
 Thomas Royal. The error we account for in this way: It 
 became customary in old diagrams to mark only the quarters 
 of Knox to the southwest of the encampment, Maxwell being 
 left out, it being known that Knox was to the southwest, 
 the first farm in that direction was assigned as his quarters. 
 Woodford was also to the southwest, but because others were 
 omitted, he also has been placed on a wrong farm. All must 
 receive their due, if any are to be kept in their proper place. 
 
 Mifflin is assigned to the "Little White Cottage," Miss 
 Thomson s convalescent home for children, on the Thomson 
 estate. This was the main house of the Benj. Jones farm 
 just bought from Jacob Walker and still occupied by him. 
 (See page 119.) At his house Potter was quartered. (See 
 
14 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 page 58.) Benjamin Jones occupied the other house "with 
 a few acres of land." Here Poor was quartered, doubtless 
 after having been with Pulaski on the Beaver farm. This 
 home of Benjamin Jones must have been the old part of the 
 house now occupied by Nathan Walker, which Nathan thinks 
 stood at the time of the Revolution. Woodman clearly 
 places Mifflin on the Havard Walker farm now owned by 
 Commissioner John R. K. Scott. Sullivan was on the farm 
 north of this, also owned by Mr. Scott, the buildings being 
 on the Richards Road. The original houses on both these 
 farms are no longer standing. The old house between Sulli 
 van s quarters and Mr. Scott s summer residence, the Chil 
 dren s Summer Home, was built in 1791. 
 
 Had time and means permitted, further investigations 
 might with profit have been made. We have done what we 
 could and believe the quarters of the generals have been cor 
 rectly identified. Like all people American, we are open to 
 amendment. 
 
 The sale of two editions in the Old Camp School-house 
 the first year is very gratifying to the publisher and his 
 friends, and demonstrates that this text-book on Valley 
 Forge meets a need and that this aspiration to educate the 
 nation on Valley Forge is well under way. 
 
 It has become our conviction that this history was writ 
 ten on the request of Washington himself, for on his last 
 visit to Valley Forge in 1796, just before laying aside his 
 mantle of public service and retiring to Mt. Vernon, Wash 
 ington came to our author s father, plowing in the field, and 
 asked for information concerning the place. (See page 126.) 
 Our author was then less than a year old. The father 
 reared his son for the task which he must have perceived 
 Washington wished performed. Who can doubt that "the 
 Father of His Country" regarded Valley Forge as the realiza 
 tion of the birth of the nation, the place where the prayer 
 of suffering endurance touched the heart of God and caused 
 Him to present to us our priceless gift of national inde 
 pendence, in that freedom wherewith his Son makes free. 
 John 8 : 36. 
 
 Washington said to the father of our historian that "to 
 see the people happy and satisfied, and the desolate fields 
 
 recovering afforded him more real satisfaction 
 
 than all the servile homage that could be paid to his person 
 or station." These words should be preserved in stone or 
 metal in the field in which they were uttered. Surely to 
 have the government administered in the spirit of Philadel 
 phia and Valley Forge would afford him more pleasure than 
 to have the government located in a city or to have a Presi- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 15 
 
 dent sail the ocean in a ship called by his name, however 
 respectful these courtesies may be. 
 
 Heaven is a place as well as a condition, and the condi 
 tion is assured with certainty only in the place; and the con 
 tinuance of the government in its original purity is assured 
 only in the place of its birth. The location of the site of our 
 government in a province originally settled by a part of the 
 Christian Church with headship across the ocean points us to 
 one thing only subjection to foreign domination. Continued 
 possession of the liberty won by the prayer of suffering of 
 Washington and his heroic band is assured with certainty 
 only by the seat of the government in the place of its birth, 
 in the City of Brotherly Love, down past which flows the 
 waters of Valley Forge. 
 
 Because of these things we cannot in vain invoke God s 
 blessing on this book as it goes forth more fully on its mission. 
 God bless it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 J. G. FRANCIS. 
 Lebanon, Pa., Jan. 20, 1921. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Preface 7 
 
 Life of Henry Woodman 19 
 
 Author s Introduction 24 
 
 Valley Forge in 1850 27 
 
 BEFORE THE ENCAMPMENT 
 
 Original Settlement and the Forge 28 
 
 A Depository of Military Stores 30 
 
 The Burning of the Valley Forge 33 
 
 Hunting Jehu Two Women of the Revolution 33 
 
 Unceremonious Visit of the Hessians 39 
 
 Phin s Fort 41 
 
 General Observations 42 
 
 Dewee s Regalia 42 
 
 Howe and Burgoyne 44 
 
 Lydia Darrach and Another "Female" 45 
 
 THE ENCAMPMENT PROPER 
 
 Arrival of the Army 49 
 
 Locating the Encampment 53 
 
 Quarters of the General Officers 57 
 
 Disposition of the Army 59 
 
 Incidents ofthe Camp 62 
 
 More About Wheedon 66 
 
 DeKalb Succeeds Wheedon 67 
 
 Other Distinguished Foreigners 70 
 
 Dubryson s Cave 70 
 
 Steuben s Kitchen , 71 
 
 Sullivan s Bridge 72 
 
 Sufferings of Civilians 74 
 
 Soldiers as Beasts of Burden 74 
 
 Hospitals 75 
 
 About Some of the Officers 76 
 
 Alarms and Losses 79 
 
 The Hanging of a Spy 79 
 
 A Duel 80 
 
 Some Addenda 81 
 
 "Benevolent Females" 83 
 
 Later Celebrities 83 
 
 The Forts 85 
 
 Bake-House and Armory 86 
 
 Provision Store 87 
 
 Before and After 87 
 
 The British Informed 88 
 
 Departure and Desolation 91 
 
 A Few Reflections 93 
 
 A Community Prostrate 95 
 
The German Physician and the Riding Horse 96 
 
 From War to Peace 97 
 
 SUBSEQUENT TO THE ENCAMPMENT 
 
 The Forge Relit 99 
 
 The Headquarters After the War 100 
 
 The Disposition of the Potts Estate 101 
 
 Other Land West of the Creek 104 
 
 An Indian Tale 105 
 
 Across the River 107 
 
 The Pauling Estate 107 
 
 The Wetherill Estates 107 
 
 The Mines near Shannonville (Audubon) 108 
 
 Two Guests of James Vaux 109 
 
 The Bakewell Home and Audubon 109 
 
 A Traveler s Estimate of this Section 110 
 
 East of the Valley Creek Ill 
 
 The Farm of John Brown Ill 
 
 The Farm of Samuel Havard 112 
 
 The Farm of John Havard 112 
 
 Richards and Jones Farms 113 
 
 Farm of John Beaver 115 
 
 Farms of Joseph Walker 116 
 
 About Gen. Wayne 116 
 
 The Farm of Benj. Jones 119 
 
 Farms of Thomas Waters 119 
 
 The Widow of Colonel Dewees Indemnified 120 
 
 Farm of Abijah Stevens 121 
 
 In the County of Montgomery 
 
 West of the River 123 
 
 The Moore Properties 123 
 
 Alexander Kennedy 123 
 
 A Dignified Visitor in a Plain Suit of Black 126 
 
 Letitia Penn s Manor 128 
 
 The Jenkins-Morris Farm 128 
 
 Port Kennedy 129 
 
 The Provost Farm 133 
 
 The David Stephens Farms 136 
 
 Minerals 138 
 
 General Review 143 
 
 New Timber Growth 143 
 
 Pilgrimages and Gatherings 145 
 
 Visit of Lafayette 146 
 
 Conclusion 149 
 
 Heroines of the Story 149 
 
 A Sons Hero 149 
 
 Concluding Requests 151 
 
 Author s Valedictory 153 
 
 Biography of Edward Woodman 157 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Facing Page 
 
 Henry Woodman, the Author, frontispiece 3 
 
 General Washington 4 
 
 Quarters of Wheedon and of DeKalb 38 
 
 Birthplace of the Author 38 
 
 Old Camp School-house, exterior 39 
 
 Old Camp School-house, interior 39 
 
 The March to Valley Forge 48 
 
 In Winter Quarters at Valley Forge 49 
 
 Washington s Headquarters 56 
 
 Interiors of Washington s Headquarters (5) 57 
 
 Generals of the Army 76 
 
 The Nation s Message 77 
 
 Quarters of the P. 0. S. of A 100 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Varnum and of the D. A. R 100 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Huntingdon 101 
 
 Quarters of the Provost Guard 101 
 
 Von Steuben drilling the Soldiers 106 
 
 The Vaux-Bakewell-Wetherill Mansion 107 
 
 The Saylor-Francis Home 107 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Maxwell 110 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Lafayette 110 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Knox Ill 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Lee Ill 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Scott 114 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Woodford 114 
 
 Quarters of Lord Sterling 115 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Pulaski 115 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Wayne 118 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Greene 118 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Potter 119 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Poor 119 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Mifflin 122 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Sullivan 122 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Morgan and Com.-Gen 123 
 
 Quarters of Gen. Muhlenberg 123 
 
THE LIFE OF HENRY WOODMAN 
 
 BY 
 
 HIS DAUGHTER, MARY S. WOODMAN 
 
 EARLY LIFE 
 
 Henry Woodman, the third son and fifth child of Edward 
 and Sarah (Stephens) Woodman, though born at the Valley 
 Homestead on the 20th of December, 1795, cannot be said 
 to have grown up in his parents household. The greater 
 part of his childhood and youth was spent with his grand 
 mother and aunts at their home about half a mile farther up 
 the creek (Valley Creek on which is Valley Forge), in the 
 house built by Grandfather Stephens after the Revolutionary 
 War. 
 
 Being industrious, willing, quick-minded, and always 
 prompt, when things were given to him to do, all the errands 
 of both homes fell to his luck. Of things Father told me of 
 his child life he could not have been a boy as others were, the 
 sports and amusements of other children had no charm for 
 him and he would not engage in many of them. The conse 
 quence was that others, having more of the bad boy in them, 
 had often made a butt of him for their cruel fun. Possessing, 
 as he did, a mind of keen sensibility, he suffered much from 
 the jokes of his companions. Every opportunity for the im 
 provement of his mind was eagerly sought after; and, by 
 the time he was fourteen had made so much progress in all 
 that was taught in the neighboring school, his relatives 
 thought it right to send him to a boarding school. Money was 
 hard to get could they meet the costs? "Well," said his 
 father to Aunt Becky Stephens, "by all means we must edu 
 cate Henry, for he does not know enough ever to make any 
 thing but a scholar." The various kinds of work that called 
 for farm or mechanical skill Henry could not learn, and that 
 is why his father thought him fit only for a scholar. 
 
 SCHOOL-TEACHER, ACCOUNTANT AND SCRIBE 
 
 So it came to pass, when the summer harvest was gath 
 ered, he was sent to Benjamin Moore s boarding school for 
 one year, which was divided into four quarters with 72 days 
 each. When he came home at the end of the school year, the 
 schoolmaster having run away and left an unfinished quarter, 
 the boy, not yet sixteen, was asked to finish it, which he did, 
 and also the succeeding one. 
 
20 l : ;H THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 Next he went to the Gulph School, from there to Judge 
 Jones school-house in Lower Merion township, teaching a 
 year in each place. The time lived in the latter was a pleasant 
 and busy part of his life for he studied the higher branches 
 of mathematics, under the instruction of Enoch Lewis, the 
 celebrated mathematician. He also improved himself in 
 English grammar. At all times Father embraced himself 
 of an opportunity to gain a better education. He became a 
 scholar without cost to his friends, paying back the money 
 advanced for the year s schooling before the two years had 
 elapsed. The wages of a country school-master, however, 
 were so small that he gave up the business of teaching. 
 
 In his twentieth year he went to Philadelphia. He was 
 employed first in a wholesale grocery, remaining ten weeks 
 only, for they sold whiskey and he would not do that. Next 
 he went into an iron store, leaving there to go into the em 
 ploy of Rogers Bros., whose business was wholesale hardware 
 and fine cutlery. They also had a large wood wharf, besides 
 which the firm operated the iron works at Valley Forge. 
 
 His energies were all called into service in that firm. "He 
 held a ready pen, and could post books and count figures 
 faster than either of the brothers. At the wharf he would, 
 if it was required, cord wood with a black man at the other 
 end of the log, then go back to the desk and do efficient work, 
 or perhaps be sent to do their bank business." A daughter 
 of one of the brothers told me, "Your father was the most 
 capable man the firm ever employed because he was a good 
 clerk and not too proud to do all kinds of necessary work or 
 drudgery." The death of Grandfather Woodman brought 
 many changes, Rebecca and Henry had to return from the 
 City, to him a real misfortune. The Rogers Bros, offered 
 him an increase in salary, already a good one; but it was 
 thought by the family he ought to go to the assistance of his 
 mother, and being a conscientious man, he thought so too. 
 I think it was a mistaken idea of duty Aunt Rebecca could 
 have gotten along as well without as with him. But he 
 brought money into the family by surveying, deed-writing, 
 teaching, and other business of similar nature, not by farm 
 ing. [This work, however, helped prepare him for the great 
 work of writing "The History of the Valley Forge." Ed.] 
 
 A QUAKER PREACHER 
 
 Through all the children of Edward and Sarah Woodman 
 ran a deep current of religious thought and feeling. With 
 Henry it was the mainspring of life, a simple religious faith, 
 held with firm convictions, free from sectarian bias, was the 
 influence that controlled his thought and action. He early 
 renounced "the vanities and attractions of the world" and 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 21 
 
 gave his mind to the cultivation of a religious life. During 
 the time he resided in Philadelphia he united with the re 
 ligious Society of Friends, and soon after began to speak a 
 little in meetings for worship. About the year 1825 his gift 
 in the ministry was acknowledged by the "people called 
 Quakers," and he became a recommended minister of the 
 Society. After he moved to Bucks County he experienced 
 some trouble from such members at Wrightstown as could 
 not understand his liberal views in religion. "Through all 
 I have lived in that joy of soul in God and His providence, 
 which cannot be taken away or destroyed," were his own re 
 lation of the trying events. A generous nature, a magnani 
 mous soul, a heart with as little envy and jealousy in it as can 
 be imagined, were my Father s natural attributes. In the 
 social circle he delighted to please and interest all, in his house 
 hold at all times very kind and indulgent, patient and loving, 
 toward all alike. 
 
 MARRIAGE 
 
 Henry Woodman and Mary Smith, daughter of Benjamin 
 and Mary Smith, he an elder of Wrightstown Meeting, were 
 married on September 12, 1827, according to the order and 
 under the care of Wrightstown monthly meeting of Friends, 
 in the meeting-house at Wrightstown, Bucks county, Penn 
 sylvania, May 1st, 1828, he went to reside with his wife and 
 her aged parents. 
 
 Up to about 1840 he ofter visited meetings with a minute. 
 In 1837 Mother accompanied him to Baltimore Yearly-meet 
 ing. She was not strong enough to take such journeys. Father 
 when preaching had a free and easy flow of language, a good 
 clear voice, at no loss for words. Had he been educated for 
 the pulpit, he would have been eloquent. The proudest, the 
 richest, the poorest, and with the same truth add the 
 wickedest folks in the neighborhood sent for Henry Wood 
 man, when any one in the family was buried. To all he 
 went with the same message of gospel truth and love. 
 
 Father had a fondness and good faculty for telling anec 
 dotes. One time when in Norristown over First-day, it so 
 happened several other cousins were in the town visiting. 
 All were invited to take dinner at the hospitable home of 
 Lindley and Margaret Rossitter. They lingered around the 
 table talking of early recollections. Father told something 
 humorous, which all enjoyed except Aunt Ruth, who straight 
 ened up, looked at him, and ejaculated: "Laws! Henry, how 
 can thee go to meeting, preach, come back and be so shallow!" 
 Her brother Henry was serious enough when occasion called 
 for seriousness. 
 
22 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 SCHOOL DIRECTOR 
 
 He was elected a member of the First Board of Directors 
 for the public schools in Buckingham township, became the 
 Secretary of the Board, which he continued to be, with the 
 exception of one year, for a period of twenty-one years. The 
 office was just suited to his unselfish nature, not one cent 
 of money for the services in those days and very little thanks. 
 He could work the same without either. He visited the 
 schools often, where his genial temper rendered him a favorite 
 with the children. He would have some exercise not usual in 
 the school, adding a little humor with his remarks and advice. 
 The good seed he sowed has blossomed for me through the 
 many men and women I have met who have told me of the 
 pleasure it gave them when he came alone into the school 
 room. My pleasure is in knowing that he is thus gratefully 
 remembered by the children he so often benefited. 
 
 "OLIVE BRANCHES" 
 
 As the years passed on in the life of Henry and Mary 
 Woodman the little Woodmans came at intervals until seven 
 olive branches had grown up around the parent tree. They 
 were as follows: 
 
 Benjamin Smith Woodman, born 8th month, 22nd, 1828. 
 
 Edward Woodman, born 8th month, 19th, 1830 ; died aged 
 21 years, a young man of great promise. 
 
 Mary Smith Woodman, born 3rd month, 29th, 1833. [The 
 only daughter and authoress of this delightful sketch of her 
 father, still living on the homestead near Wycombe, Bucks 
 County.] 
 
 Henry Woodman, Jr., born 8th month, 16th, 1835; died 
 in Morrisville, Pa., on 3rd month, 7th, 1905. 
 
 William Woodman, born 7th month, 24th, 1838. 
 
 Comly Woodman, born 12th month, 30th, 1840. 
 
 Wilson Moore Woodman, born 10th month, 3rd, 1845. [His 
 daughter, Alice Woodman Smith, being the connecting link 
 between the Woodmans and the publisher of this book.] 
 
 THE CLOSE OF DAY 
 
 Henry and Mary Woodman continued to live on the Smith 
 homestead in the same house fifty-two consecutive years, 
 dating from their marriage in 1827. On Christmas eve 1879 
 Henry died, aged 84 years. He outlived his father fifty-seven 
 years and was the last survivor of the Valley household. 
 When Father was about 75 years old his mind gave evidence 
 of failure, which gradually increased. Had it not been for an 
 accident that occurred in 1873, he could have retained his 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 23 
 
 faculties in good degree until death. An afternoon in Au 
 gust, when bringing the cows from pasture, the male attacked 
 him. He recovered from his wounds, but his head was so 
 severely injured that his mind was lost to nearly everything 
 he had previously known. Still much of the reverent and 
 spiritual part of his nature remained. A friend said of 
 him : "As he lived so he died, serving the Lord, and in his old 
 age was not forsaken." 
 
 On the fourth day following his death after a silence at 
 home we with a few particular friends proceeded to Wrights- 
 town Meeting-house and found it filled with people. Elizabeth 
 Hicks Plummer gave expression to her feeling in a beauti 
 ful sermon. When all had taken a last look of him who had 
 lived fifty-two years in their midst, he was laid in the spot 
 he many years before had chosen. 
 
 The Homestead 
 
 near 
 
 Wycombe, Bucks Co., Pa. 
 
 May twentieth, nineteen hundred and seven. 
 
 Aged seventy-four 
 
HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 BY HENRY WOODMAN 
 
 LETTER I 
 AUTHOR S INTRODUCTION 
 
 HERE are some places in the State of Pennsylvania 
 which ought to claim a conspicuous place in its 
 history, as they have been rendered memorable 
 on account of their connection with that eventful 
 time when these colonies were contending for 
 their freedom from foreign oppression, and which resulted in 
 the overthrow of British authority, and the final establish 
 ment of our present free independent government. While it 
 is admitted that there are many of sufficient notoriety to 
 claim a place in the historian s page, there are few, if any, 
 that have rendered themselves more worthy of this favor 
 than the Valley Forge. Not that any splendid victories were 
 there achieved for no engagements with the enemy took place 
 there; the confused noise of the battle of the warrior was 
 not heard there; neither were carnage and garments rolled 
 in the blood of the slain beheld in its borders. But it was 
 there that Washington with his destitute and suffering army, 
 towards the close of the year 1777, and in one of the most 
 gloomy seasons of the Revolution, took up his winter quarters 
 and suffered for a period of near seven months, the most se 
 vere privations and hardships. There, but partially sheltered 
 by miserable huts from the inclemency of a severe and pro 
 tracted winter, and almost destitute of clothing and pro 
 visions, sustained by principles of the purest patriotism, they 
 patiently endured their sufferings with true magnanimity, 
 constancy and patient resignation, supported by the hope of 
 ultimately obtaining the independence of their country, and 
 enjoying the inalienable rights of men. 
 
 To preserve an account of these incidents connected with 
 that interesting period, as well as some other matters relating 
 to that place and the surrounding country, is the object of 
 the present and succeeding communications. I was born and 
 raised in the vicinity of the place, and within the lines of the 
 encampment where many of its traces were, and still (1850) 
 are visible ; and many of the inhabitants of the neighborhood 
 had been witnesses of that interesting and deeply trying time, 
 from whom I received an account of the principal events 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 25 
 
 that shall hereafter be noticed particularly those that relate 
 to the period of the Revolution. Among those from whom 
 this information has been derived were my parents; and it 
 was from their lips I have heard the greater part of it. My 
 father was a soldier during the Revolution, and was one of 
 the number encamped there; he belonged to the North Caro 
 lina line, which constituted Washington s life guard, and was, 
 as he informed me, in twelve general engagements. My 
 mother, at the time of the encampment at Valley Forge, was 
 in the nineteenth year of her age, and resided with her father, 
 whose farm was situated within the limits of the encamp 
 ment, and was the resort of numerous American officers, 
 thus affording its inmates, from actual knowledge and ob 
 servation, an intimate acquaintance of the passing events that 
 were transpiring around them. 
 
 Often, in the days of my childhood, have I listened with 
 deep interest to the simple unvarnished relations of that 
 period, as they have fallen from the lips of my parents, 
 when assembled around the fireside, of long winter evenings, 
 sometimes in company with some of the neighbors, who had 
 witnessed the same things; but oftener in company with 
 strangers, and younger people, who felt desirous to hear the 
 recital of these things, and the facts they had witnessed, re 
 lated by them. Their social disposition and happy faculty 
 of communicating these narratives rendered their company 
 particularly interesting and agreeable. I shall never forget 
 the time, when in early youth, I used to accompany my 
 father and traverse the ground of the encampment, where the 
 foundations of the huts, the fortifications and breastworks 
 were still visible; and have heard him, while pointing out 
 some particular objects and explaining their uses or purposes, 
 relate the suffering of that Spartan Band, and not only there, 
 but durmg their severe struggle to accomplish our freedom. 
 Impressions were then made upon my mind that, while reason 
 retains her seat, I trust will never be effaced, even at that 
 time feeling desirous that our freedom and free institutions 
 might be perpetuated to the latest posterity, and that the evils 
 of war might never again be found in our borders. And al 
 though I have since lived to see the inconsistency of wars and 
 fighting with the peaceful religion of Him who emphatically 
 declared that his "Kingdom was not of this world," yet I 
 believe that a narration of some facts connected with that 
 era in the Revolution, taken in contrast with our present 
 happy, peaceable and prosperous condition, may not only be 
 interesting but have a tendency to raise in the minds of the 
 present generation a grateful sense of the blessings we now 
 enjoy, and to incite them not to deeds of war or to raise a 
 thirst for military renown, but to use every exertion on our 
 
26 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 part to preserve pure and unsullied to generations yet unborn, 
 the inestimable blessings of peace, liberty, freedom, and self- 
 government, which we, through the patriotism, perservance 
 and patient sufferings of our ancestors, are now in posses 
 sion of. 
 
 What can be better calculated to call the attention of the 
 present generation, who are now engaged in active duties of 
 life, and also the rising youth, who, in the revolving round of 
 a few more years, must be the future guardians of our coun 
 try, than to remind them of the difficulties, dangers and hard 
 ships of various kinds that were surmounted by their prede 
 cessors in the accomplishment of our freedom, and also plac 
 ing us in possession of the liberty and free system of govern 
 ment we now enjoy? 
 
 Actuated by motives of this nature, I have been induced to 
 present to the public, through the medium of some of the public 
 papers of the County of Bucks, to commence a series of let 
 ters, giving an account of Valley Forge, a place, as already 
 mentioned, that has rendered itself conspicuous on account of 
 its connection with the Revolutionary War; for here it was 
 that during its darkest days, and after the successive de 
 feats of Brandywine and Germantown and the massacre of 
 Paoli and the possession of the City of Philadelphia by the 
 enemy, that a part of the army, with the commander-in-chief , 
 retired into winter quarters under the most gloomy prospects. 
 
 In presenting this series of letters to the people of my 
 adopted county of Bucks and the public generally, it is not 
 my intention to confine myself exclusively to the period of the 
 Revolution, but I shall refer to the early settlement of the 
 place and continue its history down to the present time. 
 Neither shall I limit myself to that portion of country orig 
 inally embraced in the Valley Forge tract, but shall extend 
 the account to portions of country surrounding it in every 
 direction, the most of which was the scene of some interesting 
 events during the Revolution. 
 
BEFORE THE ENCAMPMENT 
 
 LETTER II 
 VALLEY FORGE IN 1850 
 
 |HE Valley Forge is situated on the western side of 
 the River Schuylkill, about twenty-two miles 
 from the city of Philadelphia, in the counties of 
 Chester and Montgomery. The village bearing 
 the name of Valley Forge contains (1850) about 
 forty houses, with a large cotton factory, a grist mill, and 
 numerous other buildings; these lie on a stream of water 
 called the Valley Creek, which forms the dividing line between 
 the two counties, that part lying on the eastern side being 
 in Montgomery, and that on the western in Chester county. The 
 water power for driving the machinery is probably not excel 
 led by any other in Pennsylvania, as the stream passes be 
 tween two abrupt hills from the fertile regions of the great 
 valley, a distance of more than a mile, to the village, near 
 which place these hills, or as they are more familiarly called, 
 Mount Joy and Mount Misery, have their northern termintion, 
 at which place a large dam of more than twenty feet in height, 
 has been constructed, which affords, in the driest seasons, a 
 sufficiency of water to continue the manufacturing business in 
 full operation. A public road from the city of Philadelphia 
 to this place, called the Gulf road, originally terminated here. 
 Another road from Phoenixville, Yellow Springs, Morgan- 
 town, Reading, and many other places, commences at the ter 
 mination of the Gulf road, at the county line, and called Nutt s 
 road, taking its name from a certain Samuel Nutt, who owned 
 extensively at Phoenixville, in Chester county, more than a 
 hundred years ago. Another has within a few years been laid 
 out from the place to the Lancaster turnpike, following the 
 course of the dam through the county of Montgomery, but as 
 I have never travelled it, I cannot say where it terminates. 
 About half a mile east of the village, the Gulf road is inter 
 sected by a road originally leading to the old Lancaster road, 
 by way of the Valley Baptist Meeting House, and has been 
 called the Baptist road, or Valley road. One thing a little re 
 markable is, that, though in a public place, with the Reading 
 railroad passing through a part of the property, there has 
 never been a hotel or tavern in the village. 
 
 As we approach the place on the eastern side by the Gulf 
 road, as we ascend the top of the hill, a little north of the in 
 tersection of the Baptist road, the beautiful river Schuylkill 
 
28 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 bursts full upon the view, and in a line between the observer 
 and the river, is seen the original mansion where General 
 Washington had his headquarters during the encampment in 
 the winter of 1777 and 78. After descending by a somewhat 
 meandering road, we arrive at the Valley Forge, or rather the 
 village bearing that name, the purpose of its original construc 
 tion has long since abandoned, not having been used for the 
 manufacturing of bar iron from pigs for more than sixty 
 years. 
 
 ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT AND THE FORGE 
 
 Concerning its original settlement I am not in the posses 
 sion of any documents calculated to throw much light, or to 
 afford correct or authentic information on the subject. I shall, 
 therefore, rely on the accounts I have received from aged per 
 sons, all of whom have now descended to the grave together 
 with such facts as I have been able to collect from the old title 
 deeds that I have had occasion to examine when engaged in sur 
 veying property contained in the original tract; but as more 
 than twenty-two years have elapsed since that period, and the 
 greater part of the time I have been a resident of this county 
 (Bucks), and not having it in my power to make further in 
 vestigations on this head, the information on this point will 
 be concise and furnished only from recollection. 
 
 The original tract, containing upwards of two thousand 
 acres, was taken by Evan ap Bevan, a native of Radnorshire, 
 in the Principality of Wales, about the year 1686. Whether he 
 emigrated to the country or not, I cannot say with certainty; 
 but, from having seen his name in certain title deeds, I have 
 come to the conclusion that he must have resided for several 
 of the last years of his life in this, then province of Pennsyl 
 vania. One thing is certain, that he was the original ancestor 
 of the Stephens family, since very numerous in that part of the 
 country, and some branches of the family now in possession 
 of a part of other lands granted to him about one hundred 
 and sixty-four years ago. I have always understood that this 
 was the first forge for the manufactory of iron in the Pro 
 vince, and was first commenced by Stephen Evans, a son of 
 the aforesaid Evans ap Bevan (he, according to the usage and 
 custom of the Welsh, taking his father s first name) and Lewis 
 Walker, a son of Isaac, the original ancestor of the Walker 
 family, since and at this time, composing a numerous and re 
 spectable portion of the inhabitants of that portion of country ; 
 some of them now being in possession of the original portion 
 of land granted to him by the proprietor in the year 1684. Of 
 both these families I shall have occasion to speak more fully 
 in some of my future communications. At what time they 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 29 
 
 commenced business I cannot say with certainty, but I have un 
 derstood, from correct authority that, owing to some mistake 
 between them, together with their ignorance of the business, it 
 did not result to the advantage of the parties, and in a few 
 years after resulted in a dissolution of the firm, and after sev 
 eral years of litigation, the property was sold to a certain John 
 Potts of Burlington, in the State of New Jersey, and a large 
 speculator in iron works in different parts of Pennsylvania. 
 
 This sale to John Potts took place about the year 1719, in 
 whose family it remained until 1806. He was the grandfather 
 of David and Isaac Potts, who owned the property at the time 
 of the encampment at that place. During the time the prop 
 erty was owned by different members of the Potts family, 
 nothing remarkable occurred at that time; they continued to 
 pursue the even tenor of their way, diligently engaged in the 
 manufactory of bar iron, and increasing in wealth and num 
 bers, extended the business to other parts of the State. They 
 were very patrician in their habits. They founded Pottsgrove, 
 now Pottstown, on the Schuylkill, in the county of Montgom 
 ery, about twenty-two miles from Norristown, where many 
 members of the family still continue to reside, pursuing their 
 former occupations. The iron business was carried on by dif 
 ferent members of the family at the Valley Forge, until the 
 time of the encampment during the Revolution, when the 
 scenes in connection with that event, and the destruction of 
 the property attendant thereon, and the unsettled state of the 
 country during that period, for awhile put an end to their 
 operations. 
 
 In my next letter I shall advert to the causes that produced 
 these effects. There are no doubt many who know of the en 
 campment, the burning of the Valley Forge by the British, and 
 other circumstances in relation to that, to whom details of 
 these things may be interesting. I shall therefore endeavor 
 to lay them before my readers in a clear and distinct manner, 
 and as much as possible in the order of time in which they oc 
 curred, as I have often heard them related by those who had 
 an opportunity of an experimental knowledge of these things. 
 
LETTER III 
 A DEPOSITORY OF MILITARY STORES 
 
 |N MY last it was mentioned, that during a part of 
 the Revolution, owning to the destruction of prop 
 erty and other causes, the manufactory of iron at 
 this place was for a time suspended. This de- 
 Istruction of property was owing to the burning of 
 the Valley Forge, or rather the buildings of all kinds connected 
 with the establishment, by a detachment of British soldiers, 
 under the command of Colonel Gray ; the destroying of timber 
 necessary for manufacturing purposes and the subsequent 
 unsettled state of the country during the war. Every per 
 son who is acquainted with the history of our country, and 
 particularly of the Revolution, knows that this was indeed a 
 gloomy period of its existence, as some yet living can testify. 
 Struggling against an army of superior numbers, well dis 
 ciplined and well furnished with every necessary to carry on 
 the war with vigor, in punishing and bringing into subjec 
 tion a people whom they considered their rebellious subjects 
 every means was resorted to, to compel obedience to their 
 authority; and to reduce, and if possible, crush our veteran 
 troops, who were destitute of almost all the necessaries of 
 life, poorly fed, more poorly clothed, and still more poorly 
 sheltered from the inclemency of the weather. I have often 
 heard my father, who was one of the number, describe the 
 situation of himself and companions in arms, who after a 
 fatiguing and forced march during an inclement day, many 
 of them in this condition, suffering from cold and hunger, 
 and leaving the ground over which they marched, marked 
 with the blood that flowed from their almost naked feet. In 
 this situation when night had overtaken them, they have lain 
 down on the bare ground, with no other canopy but the 
 shades of night, with their knapsacks for pillows; and wrap 
 ping themselves in their blankets, they have lain down, and 
 awoke covered with snow. 
 
 This was the particular situation of our army during the 
 years of 1776 and 1777; and it was near the close of the last 
 year, as mentioned in my first letter, that part of the army, 
 with the commander-in-chief, retired into winter quarters at 
 Valley Forge. Every movement of the Continental Army was 
 watched with the keenest scrutiny, and such was the unset 
 tled state of the colonists at that period, that in may places 
 the parties in favor of one or the other of the contending 
 parties were so nearly balanced, that they might be compared 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 31 
 
 to nicely adjusted scales the addition of a very small mat 
 ter would cause one or the other to have the preponderance. 
 Previous to the American army encamping at the place, and 
 while the possession of the city of Philadelphia, during the 
 ensuing winter, by either party was uncertain, the Valley 
 Forge was selected as a suitable place for the depository of 
 the military stores, arms and ammunition, and the provisions 
 belonging to the continental army. The selection was made 
 on account of its secluded situation and distance from the 
 supposed route of the British army under General Howe, in 
 its march from the Chesapeake Bay, to form a junction with 
 Gen. Burgoyne, who with the army under his command, 
 were on their route from Canada by way of the Lakes, to 
 get possession of the city of Philadelphia in their march; 
 and, as it was also believed by many, that they had this 
 place in view for winter quarters, in case the enemy suc 
 ceeded in getting possession of the city of Philadelphia, be 
 lieving the inhabitants in that section of country, were less 
 loyal than in some other places, and that they generally 
 favored the American cause. 
 
 However correct this last position may have been in 
 general, and however patriotic the most of them might have 
 been; yet from this there were some exceptions. It must 
 be acknowledged that there were some, though not in the 
 immediate vicinity of the place, or residing in that portion of 
 the country which I mean particularly to describe ready to 
 convey the information to the enemy; and one, if not more, 
 who acted as a pilot to conduct a detachment of the British 
 army to the place, who succeeded in destroying the most of 
 the buildings belonging to the manufacturing establishment, 
 and such part of the stores, arms, ammunitions, and pro 
 visions, as had not been hastily removed to the opposite side 
 of the river Schuylkill. 
 
 At the time of the conflagration, the manufacturing of 
 iron at the place was carried on by a person, who will occupy 
 a conspicuous place in this account, named William Dewees, 
 in connection with some members of the Potts family. 
 Whether he at this time owned any part of the real estate 
 or not, I cannot say. He was then married to his second 
 wife, his former one having been a Potts; but whether or 
 not a sister of Isaac and David Potts, mentioned in my last 
 letter, I have never fully informed myself. It was in part 
 owing to ^ this marriage connection that William Dewees, in 
 his life time, founded a claim on government, for damages 
 for losses sustained by the burning of Valley Forge, by the 
 British; and about nine years after his death, was success 
 fully prosecuted by his widow and some of his heirs ; which 
 I merely hint at her, as I shall probably enter into its details 
 
32 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 in some future communications. His second wife was the 
 daughter of a wealthy and respectable inhabitant, named 
 Thomas Waters, residing in the Great Valley, about two miles 
 east of the place of whom some notice will be taken here 
 after. 
 
 William Dewees was at the time a colonel of the Conti 
 nental militia, and served a campaign in the field during the 
 war of the Revolution. Owing to the commission and rank 
 he held in the army, he was rendered particularly obnoxious 
 to the enemy; and they, of course, resorted to every means in 
 their power to harass and, if possible, to take him prisoner. 
 On this account the place of depository for the military 
 stores at Valley Forge was strongly opposed by Col. Dewees 
 (as he will henceforth be called) and his wife, they being al 
 most certain that the buildings would be destroyed, on ac 
 count of his connection with the army, and of course, it could 
 not be a safe depository for them. The sequel proved the 
 soundness of their views. In my next I shall resume the 
 subject. 
 
LETTER IV 
 
 THE BURNING OF THE VALLEY FORGE 
 
 DO NOT know the precise date of the burning of 
 the Valley Forge, but it occurred during the inter 
 val of time between the battles of Brandywine and 
 Germantown, and but a short time previous to the 
 massacre at the Paoli. My mother, though not an 
 eye witness to the scene or conflagration, was placed in a sit 
 uation on that day which made her a prominent character on 
 the occasion. She had been on a perilous embassy, which hav 
 ing accomplished, on her return home, had to pass the place 
 on that day, and but a short time previous to the perpetration 
 of the deed. Having in passing the place, beheld the hurry, 
 bustle and confusion attending upon the removal of the stores 
 belonging to the army to the other side of the river, she often 
 used to relate it; and from this information I shall now pro 
 ceed to insert it here. I consider the circumstances of this 
 journey of sufficient interest to claim a place in this narrative, 
 as they will show the present generation, now lolling in ease 
 and enjoyment, the difficulties that had then to be, through 
 necessity, encountered often by tender and delicate females, 
 and through how much they sometimes presevered, in order to 
 overcome them. 
 
 HUNTING JEHU TWO WOMEN OF THE 
 REVOLUTION 
 
 It has been observed that the Valley Forge was burned be 
 tween the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. Soon 
 after the battle of Brandywine, the sick and wounded were for 
 a short time conveyed to Philadelphia, and the American army 
 under Washington, was marched to Skippack, in the county of 
 Montgomery. General Howe, with that part of the British 
 army under his command, encamped for a few days at the 
 house of Samuel Richards, in the Great Valley, about three 
 miles southeast of the Valley Forge. Kniphausen, who had 
 command of the Hessians, had his quarters at the house of a 
 respectable German named Jacob Fricke, on the adjoining 
 farm. The Hessians during their stay at the place were 
 troublesome neighbors. They committed many depredations 
 and thefts entering with impunity into houses, taking every 
 thing valuable they could lay their hands on, often jeopardiz 
 ing the lives, and spreading dismay among the peacable in 
 habitants, and rendering traveling dangerous and almost im 
 practicable. 
 
 It was during this time that my mother, then not nineteen 
 years of age, left home in company with her aunt, to go to 
 
34 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 the city of Philadelphia, in order to inquire among the sick 
 and wounded soldiery in the hospitals and infirmaries where 
 they had been removed after the battle of Brandywine, and 
 also among the soldiers quartered in the barracks, in order to 
 ascertain whether a soldier, a cousin of hers, and son of her 
 aunt in company with her, had been wounded in the engage 
 ment and removed there, as they had received no accounts 
 from him for some time previous, and knowing that he had 
 been attached to that part of the army that had been in the en 
 gagement, concluding that if not to be found in any of these 
 places, he must either have been slain or taken prisoner, or be 
 with the main body of the army, or in some place suffering 
 want and sickness. 
 
 At that time there were none of the comfortable accom 
 modations we now possess ; no steamboats passing swiftly and 
 majestically upon the navigable rivers; no locomotives with 
 their splendid traveling cars on finely graded railroads, mov 
 ing with incredible velocity from place to place, of which they 
 could avail themselves. They had not at that time the com 
 fortable sheltered wagons or carriages of the present day to 
 protect them from the descending showers. Deprived of all 
 these advantages that we of the present day can enjoy, solitary 
 and alone at this precarious time, these two females undertook 
 their journey on horseback, having in their journey to cross 
 the river Schuylkill, swelled by heavy rains, and over which 
 there were at that time no bridges, and the ferries destroyed, to 
 check the progress of the British army in their march to ob 
 tain possession of the city of Philadelphia. 
 
 Their first effort was to cross the river. On arriving at the 
 old Swede s Ford, they found it too high to ride, and no con 
 veniences in crossing over. They next proceeded down the 
 stream about a mile to the house of a man named John Rambo, 
 who, on account of his dexterity in managing a canoe, was 
 called Canoe John Rambo. He engaged to convey them over, 
 provided they would sit in the canoe, in which were placed 
 their saddles and baggage, and hold their horses by the bridles, 
 that they might swim across the stream. To these proposals 
 they willingly acceded, and were conveyed by him kindly and 
 without charge to the opposite side of the river, where they 
 arrived safe. He assisted them to resume their journey, and 
 in the afternoon of the day that they left home they arrived 
 safely in the city. They called upon a person with whom they 
 were acquainted, named John Williams, a son-in-law of the 
 aforesaid Thomas Waters, with whom they spent that and the 
 succeeding night. He being a man of some influence, he pro 
 cured an order to enable them to proceed in their search, and 
 volunteered to accompany and assist them in their undertak 
 ing. A day and a half were spent in fruitless search through 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 35 
 
 the hospitals, the infirmaries and barracks. In the course of 
 this search, she, with her companions, were witnesses to many 
 appalling scenes of suffering and distress, as well as many 
 loathsome sights of the dead and dying, promiscuously to 
 gether; some suffering from severe wounds and uttering dis 
 mal shrieks and groans, surgeons performing operations of 
 various kinds and others suffering from recent amputations 
 of dangerous kinds, enough, as I have often heard her men 
 tion, to make the stoutest heart shudder, and the most cruel 
 abhor the practice of war; a full description of which if it 
 were necessary, could not be given here. 
 
 Not being able to obtain the slightest information of the 
 object of their search, they concluded he must be dead, and 
 then abandoned all further pursuit, and prepared to return 
 home. Making a few hasty purchases of some articles they 
 stood in need of, they commenced their homeward journey on 
 the afternoon of the third day after their departure. Having 
 proceeded a few miles on the road, and drawing near the Falls 
 of Schuylkill, they saw at some distance before them, a soldier 
 wearing the American uniform. My mother proposed to her 
 aunt to inquire of him concerning her son, but she refused, 
 saying, I will inquire no longer he is dead ; and it is no use 
 to give myself any further trouble." When they met, mother 
 cast her eyes upon him, and he spoke respectfully. She then 
 asked him whether he knew a soldier named Jehu Stephens. 
 Yes/ said he, "and he is now in that house yonder," pointing 
 to one some distance before them on the road ; "he, with many 
 others of us, has been there for some time, sick with the camp 
 fever; he is now better, and able to walk about. We were 
 brought here before the battle of Brandywine for the benefit 
 of pure air to facilitate our recovery. If you wish to see him, 
 I will return with you to the house." Their eyes filled with 
 tears of joy on the discovery, and the soldier returned with 
 them to the place. As soon as their voices were heard, they 
 were recognized by him whom they were seeking, and as soon 
 as the weak state of his health permitted, he came down stairs 
 and stood before them, pale and emaciated, an object suffering 
 under the effects of a tedious illness, often in want of the at 
 tention necessary to the afflicted, for while treated as kindly as 
 circumstances would permit, yet such was their peculiar situa 
 tion, that things necessary for their comfortable provision 
 could not be procured. They conveyed him to a tavern near, 
 provided him with a comfortable meal, left some things with 
 him that he stood in need of, and then proceeded on their 
 journey. As they met with some interesting adventures on 
 their journey, and after their arrival at home, they will form 
 part of my next letter. 
 
LETTER V 
 
 T THE conclusion of my last letter, our travelers 
 were about resuming their homeward journey. 
 When ready to leave the Falls of Schuylkill, the 
 day was far spent, and they had proceeded but a 
 little way when night overtook them, and it com 
 menced raining. Proceeding up the Ridge Road, not being 
 able to cross the river, they concluded to continue to Archibald 
 Thomson s, about a mile above where Norristown now stands. 
 At that time there was no town there ; the only house on the 
 present site of the town, was that of John Bull, who owned the 
 greater part of the land on which Norristown is now built. 
 This house was near Stony Creek bridge, in the upper end of 
 the town ; the next house below, was immediately opposite the 
 old Swedes Ford, more than a mile distant. The town now 
 (1850) contains more than seven thousand inhabitants such 
 has been the rapid increase and march of improvement since 
 that period. They kept on their journey through the rain. 
 When they arrived at Thomson s, they found the house empty, 
 with the exception of a black man, who was left to take care 
 of the premises. Thomson being an officer in the army, fled 
 with his family for fear of the British, who, in a few days 
 after, burned the buildings on his place, and also the barn of 
 John Bull on Stony Creek; although his name partook of 
 loyalty, he was in principle opposed to it, being a staunch Re 
 publican. 
 
 Not thinking it safe to continue there, and not finding 
 quarters as expected, they proceeded on to Henry Pawling s, 
 at Pawling s Ford, on the Schuylkill, about six miles farther 
 up, where they arrived about midnight. Riding up to the 
 house, my mother called out to some of the inmates to arise; 
 her voice was heard and recognized by Nathan Pawling 
 (afterwards sheriff of Montgomery county), who, alarmed at 
 her arriving there at that time of the night, hastily cried out, 
 "What is the matter, Sarah, that you come here at this time of 
 night?" She told him to arise, let them in, and take care of 
 their horses, and she would let him know. This request was 
 soon willingly complied with ; and, other members of the fam 
 ily arising, they were soon comfortably supplied with such 
 things as they stood in need of, in their tired situation. 
 
 Here they learned the disturbed state of things at Valley 
 Forge, which was situate on the opposite side of the river, 
 and from which place they were then removing the stores 
 on temporary rafts, constructed for the purpose, as expediti- 
 ously as possible, across the river, expecting an immediate 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 37 
 
 attack from the enemy ; this caused much fear and consterna 
 tion among the people, and may account for the surprise oc 
 casioned by the arrival of two females at midnight, from the 
 opposite side of the river, and from the scene of confusion and 
 fear. 
 
 The following morning the rain had ceased and the weather 
 was clear and serene; but all was hurry and confusion, occa 
 sioned by removing property from Valley Forge. Upon one 
 of the rafts constructed for the occasion, they were ferried 
 over and safely landed on their own side of the water, not 
 more than two miles from home. Soon after they crossed over, 
 they saw Col. Dewees hurrying to cross over the river, momen 
 tarily expecting the enemy; and Col. Lee, who was stationed 
 here to guard the stores, in company with Col. Hamilton, 
 busily engaged in moving them away. 
 
 Passing on their journey towards home, near the foot of 
 the hill mentioned in my second letter, at the junction of the 
 Gulf and Baptist roads, [where the old school-house stands- 
 Ed.] hearing a noise in the woods on their right, my mother 
 looking in that direction, saw coming toward them a body of 
 British cavalry, moving in the most perfect order, their horses 
 being so trained that they made but little noise in their march. 
 In their front, in company with an officer, rode a guide or pilot, 
 whom she knew, but who shall in this description be nameless ; 
 one who, if report be true, was often engaged in similar ex 
 peditions during the war. They passed on without noticing or 
 molesting them, except that an officer left his station, rode up 
 to them, and inquired of them whether they had been at Valley 
 Forge and seen Col. Dewees? and whether they were removing 
 the military stores? Receiving from her an affirmative an 
 swer, he took his leave and resumed his station in the com 
 pany, who proceeded on to the river, but not by the direct road, 
 and found Col. Dewees on a raft, crossing over to the other 
 side of the river. They fired upon him, killed the Colonel s 
 horse, but did no further injury to any of the company. Cols. 
 Lee and Hamilton each made a hasty retreat from the place, 
 in different directions; and the men engaged on the occasion 
 precipitately fled from the enemy when they saw them ap 
 proaching. Some carbines were fired after them, but none 
 took any effect. The place being thus left to the mercy of 
 the enemy, they set fire to the buildings in which the stores 
 were deposited, the forge and all the buildings appertaining 
 to it, all of which with their contents were destroyed. 
 
 While these things were in progress at Valley Forge, our 
 travelers arrived safely at home, fondly hoping that their 
 perils were at an end. But this hope was short lived, for in a 
 few minutes after their arrival, three Hessians armed with 
 daggers, were seen approaching the house, which they soon en- 
 
38 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 tered, and began to plunder of whatever valuable things they 
 could lay hold of. In my next, I shall give a detail of this un 
 ceremonious visit. In the residue of this I shall confine my 
 self to such matters as relate (as my mother called it) to her 
 journey "to hunt Jehu." 
 
 One of the Hessians saw their saddles, which, upon being 
 taken off the horses, were placed in the sun to dry, He in 
 quired in broken English, whose they were; she replied, 
 "Mine." He then drew his dagger and exclaimed in a rage, 
 as nearly as could be understood: "You rebel, you have been 
 to see Washington !" but offered no further signs of violence. 
 Some little time after they withdrew, she heard the sound of 
 military music, and looking in the direction from whence it 
 came, saw a large number of British soldiers approaching the 
 house. When they came opposite, they made a halt, and an 
 officer came to her and inquired whether Thomas Waters lived 
 there ; she said, "No." His next inquiry was where he lived ; 
 she pointed to the place, it being the next farm. He then asked 
 if she would sell him a loaf of bread ; she told him she would, 
 and then brought him one. "Look at me," said he, "that you 
 may know me again. After we go to Thomas Waters s, we will 
 come back and I will pay you. We expect to encamp there for 
 the night, and return this way." He then joined the company, 
 who proceeded on their march ; but he never came back to pay 
 for the loaf of bread; and she, with the rest of the family, 
 were glad to escape with no greater loss. 
 
 Thus ended the four eventful days of my mother s journey 
 to hunt Jehu. To some these things may seem a fiction; but 
 it is nevertheless an unvarnished truth ; and there are now liv 
 ing in the borough of Doylestown several persons of respect 
 ability who have heard her relate the circumstances mentioned 
 in this narrative, particularly the account of her journey. 
 
 It may not be improper to state in this place, in relation 
 to the burning of the Valley Forge, Colonel Caleb North, since 
 Sheriff of the city and county of Philadelphia, informed me 
 thirty-nine years after the event, that he saw the conflagration 
 from the top of Mt. Joy, near the place. He, in company with 
 Colonel Alexander Hamilton, had been sent to the place 
 Hamilton to join Lee in the removal of the stores, and he, to 
 watch incognito the movements of the British army in the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 In my next I shall give an account more fully of the Hes 
 sians visit to my grandfather s, and the sequel of the march 
 of the British to Thomas Waters s, who was marked as one of 
 their objects of persecution, on account of his being father-in- 
 law to Colonel Dewees, whose family were at this time at the 
 place. 
 
QUARTERS OF WHEEDON AND OF DEKALB 
 
 home of Abijah Stephens, original house razed and present 
 built by Stephens in 1811 and recently improved by Com 
 missioner John R. K. Scott as his summer residence. See 
 pages 49, 57-58, 66-67, 71-72, 121-122. 
 
 The birthplace of the author, Henry Woodman. Now the 
 home of Wm. Foterall, on the south side of Trout Creek, on 
 the road from Port Kennedy to King-of-Prussia. See pages 
 19 and 163-164. 
 
Old School House built by Letitia Perm in 1705 and occupied 
 by the Continental Army as a Hospital during the Winter 
 of 1777-1778. Repaired 1907. Valley Forge Park, Pa. 
 
 Interior of the Old Camp School House. Here the author 
 attended school, and from here his History of Valley Forge 
 goes forth. 
 
LETTER VI 
 
 UNCEREMONIOUS VISIT OF THE HESSIANS 
 
 AVING promised my readers to give a more full 
 detail of the unceremonious visit of the Hessians 
 to my grandfather s family, I now enter upon that 
 duty. When they saw them coming to the house, 
 there were several men sitting on seats at the 
 front door, enough at least, to have prevented their doing 
 much damage; but thinking self-preservation the first law of 
 nature, they all fled in different directions, except my grand 
 father and his only son, the late Stephen Stephens, deceased 
 between four and five years since, a man since well known to 
 many persons in this county, a lad then about thirteen years 
 of age. They sat still to abide the consequences that might 
 befall them. Among those who fled for safety was a chaplain 
 to the American army, belonging to Mifflin s division, named 
 William Rogers, a Baptist clergyman, and afterwards, for 
 many years, professor of rhetoric and belles-letters in the Uni 
 versity of Pennsylvania. Knowing that his dress would be 
 tray him as belonging to the army, he ran into the house, 
 handed my mother his coat and a valuable gold watch to take 
 care of until he should come back, then ran and hid himself 
 under an open ended hogshead in the cellar (as he many years 
 after informed me). She took the watch and hastened with it 
 up stairs, locked it in a drawer, and took the coat to a bunch 
 of bushes near the house, and hid it among them. 
 
 When the Hessians arrived, one of them seized my grand 
 father by the collar, drew his dagger, and robbed him of a 
 watch that was in his pocket, and then proceeded into the 
 house. His mother, an old woman, and who from a paralytic 
 stroke was completely prostrated, both in mind and body, and 
 totally incapable of helping herself, sat tied in an arm chair 
 (one that I think is still in possession of our family) . 
 
 However disposed to treat other members of the family, if 
 not with rudeness, it was far from civility and politeness ; they 
 each, as they passed her, took her affectionately by the hand, 
 and in their broken language called her mother, and appeared 
 to reverence old age. They next proceeded upstairs, and com 
 menced breaking open the drawers and cupboards, rifling 
 them of their contents, and taking whatever they considered 
 of sufficient value to carry off. The first thing of value that 
 attracted their attention was the chaplain s gold watch, which 
 they secured and carried off in triumph. His coat remained 
 unobserved in the bushes, and so might his watch if it had 
 
40 THE HISTORY OP VALLEY FORGE 
 
 been placed in one of the pockets and hid with it, or have been 
 left by him, as he was not discovered. 
 
 Among other things found in ransacking the drawers 
 were a number of cartridges, that had been found by the lad 
 above mentioned, a few days before, and placed in the drawer, 
 without suspecting any evil consequences would arise from 
 this simple circumstance. Finding these so enraged the plun 
 derers, who suspected from this trifling affair that they were 
 connected with the army, that they became so turbulent that 
 fears for their safety were strongly apprehended, the family 
 believing they would proceed to violent measures. Some ex 
 planation being made, and finding nothing further to confirm 
 their suspicions they soon became quiet and offered no further 
 violence to any. 
 
 Having seen the respect they paid to the aged woman be 
 fore mentioned, some of the family availed themselves of the 
 opportunity, while the Hessians were upstairs, of placing in 
 her pockets some silver spoons and other small articles of 
 value, and owing to this circumstance they escaped their no 
 tice. It was well that she did not understand their language 
 or comprehend their meaning, otherwise she would, owing to 
 her dotage, by her words and actions, expressive of her 
 anxiety, have betrayed the secret of their being secreted about 
 her person. After taking whatever they thought proper, and 
 among other things the articles (consisting principally of 
 groceries), which my mother had purchased during her late 
 expedition, they departed from the house. 
 
 Crossing over a small stream of water they found sitting, 
 under a large walnut trees an old man, a brother of my grand 
 father, generally known by the name of Uncle Benjamin, en 
 gaged in shaving splints to make baskets, and who had not 
 been apprised of what was passing in the house. Coming up 
 to him they demanded of him whether he was a rebel man, an 
 epithet very familiar with them. They received from him a 
 very cool reception and abrupt answer, for being armed with 
 a sharp axe, and furnished with several pieces of white oak 
 wood for making splints, about eight feet long, and split into 
 pieces of sufficient lightness to handle with ease, he did not 
 fear them. Instead of answering them, he told them to clear 
 out, or (to use his own expression) he would brain some of 
 them, at the same time making use of actions suitable to the 
 words. They soon left him, either thinking him an object not 
 worthy of their notice, or fearing a stroke from his axe. It 
 was probably well that they desisted, as he was of a very 
 vindictive spirit and given to broils and fighting, and he might, 
 in all probability, have carried his threats into execution. 
 
 They next preceded to Thomas Waters s, and having plun 
 dered the house of many valuable things, took a notion to 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 41 
 
 feast upon some fowls. While in pursuit of them, some ran 
 under an old smoke-house, where one of the pursuers followed 
 them. Whether he succeeded in capturing any fowls or not, 
 tradition does not inform us, but they succeeded in finding 
 something of more value, a large sum of money, in coin, had 
 been secreted there to prevent its falling into the hands of the 
 enemy. Haying succeeded so well, they proceeded to their 
 camp, stopping at the next farm above, and carrying from a 
 tree some green persimmons, a fruit at the time not very 
 palatable to them. 
 
 There is a circumstance connected with this account, I will 
 next mention here. The large walnut tree alluded to is still 
 standing (1850), a few venerable elms, that escaped the rav 
 ages of that period, are the only relics of the Revolution that 
 I know of that now remain on my grandfather s property. 
 
 PHIN S FORT 
 
 Neither can I close this account without introducing to the 
 notice of my readers, one, who at the time of the visit of the 
 Hessians, rendered himself of some notoriety. I allude to a 
 black man, a slave of my grandfather, named Phineas, gener 
 ally called "Phin," for be it known that at the time slavery 
 existed in Pennsylvania, and Friends, of whom my grand 
 father was one, as well as others, held them in unconditional 
 servitude. Phin, seeing the Hessians coming, ran into the 
 house, took down a long gun, which is still in possession 
 of some of the family, and hastily seizing some of the ammuni 
 tion, ran some distance to a sinking hole or cave, where he 
 hid himself for several days, coming home at night for food; 
 and, as he said, determined to defend himself from the enemy. 
 The place of his retreat was afterwards called by my father, 
 "Phin s Fort," a name it still retains and may possibly for 
 some years to come. 
 
 The detachment of British soldiers, mentioned in my last, 
 proceeded to the farm of Thomas Waters, took off a large 
 quantity of hay, grain, and many other articles, drove off some 
 cattle and horses, and then returned the same night to their 
 camp. This was the last time that any of the British or Hes 
 sians were on my grandfather s property in a hostile manner. 
 
 In my next I shall, in addition to some things growing out 
 of the events mentioned in this letter, make some general re 
 marks, on the state of the times, and some other matters, 
 which I trust will be of interest to my readers. 
 
LETTER VII 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 T MUST appear evident from the foregoing ac 
 counts that these were truly troublesome times. 
 As noticed in one of my former letters, parties 
 were nearly balanced. And there were others who 
 wished to assume a neutral position. The latter 
 though not so much persecuted by the contending parties, 
 were subjected to requisitions from both armies, and found 
 their situation at best a very critical one, as much caution 
 was necessary to preserve a strict neutrality, the movements 
 of all were strictly watched. Those who adhered to the 
 crown were persecuted by the colonists and the colonial 
 army; and those who were known to be opposed to British 
 authority, and openly acknowledged themselves in favor of 
 freedom, and especially those who held commissions in the 
 army, or were active in the service of the Continental Con 
 gress, were marked as the objects of revenge by the enemy; 
 while those who held a neutral position and were not active in 
 the cause of freedom, however they might be secretly disposed 
 to favor it, if when requisitions for the use of either army 
 were made upon them, or their houses were entered by the 
 British soldiery, if nothing was found in their possession that 
 would have a tendency to convict them of any of the rebel 
 lious movements of that day, they were seldom much molested. 
 But if anything, however small, was found in their houses, 
 or in their possession, it was often the cause of violence on the 
 part of the enemy. This may account for the rage of the Hes 
 sians, upon finding the cartridges, as before noticed, in pos 
 session of my grandfather; and had they upon that occasion 
 discovered anything else indicative of a hostile nature, or in 
 tended for hostile purposes, their resentment might possibly 
 have known no bounds ; and serious, if not fatal consequences 
 might have followed. 
 
 DEWEE S REGALIA 
 
 The family was at this time in imminent danger, though 
 entirely ignorant of it. The circumstances were these: The 
 family of Colonel Dewees had left Valley Forge, and with 
 the most of their furniture, had removed to his father-in-law s 
 (Thomas Waters ), where his wife and family for the time 
 being professing to be strict loyalists, were staying. Among 
 the articles of furniture removed from Valley Forge were two 
 chests which the wife of the Colonel wished to have kept at my 
 grandfather s, she assuring them they contained nothing but 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 43 
 
 some articles of clothing and some other things, which she 
 wished to have secured in case of the enemy coming upon 
 them. My grandmother, all kindness, consented to the re 
 quest, and they were brought there. When the Hessians visited 
 the house, although the chests were in the house and in one 
 of the rooms they plundered, yet they were not broken open. 
 Feeling uneasy on account of not knowing what was in them, 
 on the following day, my mother went to Sarah Dewees, wife 
 of the Colonel, and requested, or rather demanded the keys, 
 that she might with certainty know what was contained in 
 them; she told her to make herself perfectly easy, as there 
 was nothing in them that if discovered would hurt or injure 
 them. Being peremptory in her demand, the keys were re 
 luctantly delivered to her, and she proceeded to open the 
 chests, and to her surprise, found they contained the Colonel s 
 military uniform and insignias of office, his sword and other 
 weapons worn by officers of his rank, which if they had been 
 discovered, would have produced much destruction of prop 
 erty, if not loss of life. She immediately gathered the whole 
 contents into her arms, carried them to a quarry in a coppice 
 of woods near the house (the place can now be pointed out), 
 in which she threw the whole of them, and covering them 
 with stones, thus spoiled the Colonel s hat and other military 
 accoutrements. By this disinterested act of kindness, we may 
 observe how narrowly they escaped the dangers to which they 
 were unsuspectingly subjected, and the imminent danger they 
 were placed in. 
 
 It may be proper to remark in justice to the commander 
 of the British army, whose policy it was to secure as much as 
 possible the confidence of the people, that these petty robberies 
 and depredations were not sanctioned by him, or committed 
 under his direction. They were done by a few Hessians who 
 strolled from the camp, and committed these acts on their own 
 responsibility. My grandfather s family was not a solitary in 
 stance of suffering from their rapacity. In their predatory 
 movements, at the time alluded to, they paid no respect to 
 persons, but visited all families, and treated all in the same un 
 welcome manner, taking everything of value they could lay 
 hands upon and were able to carry off, so there were few, 
 if any families, but suffered in a greater or less degree, from 
 their approximity to them. In some cases they were followed 
 to the camp, and upon being pointed out to the superior offi 
 cers, they were punished and as far as possible restoration 
 made of the property. But few people in the neighborhood 
 availed themselves of that method; for though the most of 
 them, on account of their religious principles, had assumed 
 a neutral position, yet there were few, if any, but who were 
 heartily disposed to favor the cause of freedom, and opposed 
 
44 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 to the royalist cause; and when the British army took from 
 the people who were known to be neither directly or indi 
 rectly concerned with the opposing party, any articles that 
 were not necessary to the support of their troops, restitution 
 was always promptly made. Not as was generally supposed, 
 so much from a sense of honesty, as a desire to secure from 
 such conduct, the attachment and loyalty of the people. 
 
 HOWE AND BURGOYNE 
 
 The American army having abandoned the city of Phila 
 delphia, and removed their sick and wounded, the British un 
 der command of Gen. Howe, took possession of it. The battle 
 of Germantown took place soon after, the result of which is 
 too well known to be repeated here suffice it to say, that in 
 that engagement Gen. Nash was slain. It was to his division 
 my father belonged ; he was intimately acquainted with the 
 General in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where they both 
 resided previous to the war, and always spoke of him in terms 
 of the highest respect. He was near him when he fell, and 
 was among the few others who conveyed his lifeless body 
 to the cemetery of Towamencin Church, in Montgomery, 
 where it is interred, and where I have understood a monument 
 has been erected to his memory. It was near this place, on 
 the heights of the Perkiomen and Skippack, called the Matha- 
 chen Hills, that Washington with his army retired after the 
 engagements, to recruit his forlorn and distressed soldiers, 
 many of whom were almost ready to give up the cause of free 
 dom as hopeless. 
 
 In my next I shall resume the subject and endeavor to 
 bring it up to the time of the arrival of the army at Valley 
 Forge. 
 
LETTER VIII 
 
 THE close of my last, we left Washington with 
 his troops encamped on the Mathachen Hills, to 
 which place he had retreated to recruit, as far as 
 possibly remained in his power, the strength and 
 spirits of his destitute and suffering army. After 
 tarrying here a few days and receiving some reinforcements, 
 he marched back again towards Philadelphia, to watch the 
 movements of the enemy, and encamped on the heights of 
 Barren Hill, in the township of Whitemarsh, and the Gulf 
 Hills, in Upper Merion township, Montgomery County a 
 portion being on both sides of the river Schuylkill. The 
 British fleet was at this time trying to force a passage up 
 the Delaware to the city of Philadelphia, which after six 
 weeks of fierce and determined opposition, they finally ef 
 fected. While here several small skirmishes took place, but 
 no decisive battles were fought. And it was also while en 
 camped here that two important matters took place, which 
 I shall now advert to. 
 
 The first was the welcome news of the capture of General 
 Burgoyne and his army by General Gates, in the state of 
 New York. This news had the tendency to raise the droop 
 ing spirits of the desponding army, though gloomy the pros 
 pect and trying the condition in which they were placed to 
 hold on and persevere in the cause of freedom and inde 
 pendence, under their severe sufferings and hardships. 
 Previous to this news reaching them, many of them who were 
 persons of wealth and respectability who had exchanged 
 their comfortable homes, their happy firesides, and their 
 plentiful tables, for the toils, hardships and deprivations of 
 a camp and the life of a soldier ; and seeing for a time at least 
 nothing but defeats and disasters attend them, were almost 
 ready to throw down their arms and reluctantly give up the 
 cause of freedom as hopeless, now felt a ray of hope. Ani 
 mated by it, and like a drowning man grasping at a straw 
 to prolong his existence, so they seized on the news of that 
 victory as a fresh stimulus, to excite them to contend for 
 their freedom, looking forward through the dark and 
 gloomy prospect of that day to a brighter and better day, 
 and afresh resolved to still hold on in sustaining the ground 
 they had taken. 
 
 LYDIA DARRACH AND ANOTHER FEMALE 
 
 The other event alluded to was the discovery of a plan 
 of the British army to surprise and capture the army under 
 
46 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 Washington while stationed at these places. The plan was 
 frustrated by the vigilance, sagacity, and I may add, patrio 
 tism of a woman in the city of Philadelphia, named Lydia 
 Darrach, a member of the Society of Friends, at whose house 
 the British officers had a room in which they met to hold pri 
 vate consultations. On one occasion of this kind she over 
 heard a plan of arrangement laid down, and the time agreed 
 upon, to make an attack on the whole army and take them 
 by surprise. This by a well concerted stratagem on her part, 
 which shows how fertile the female mind often is in cases 
 of emergency and difficulties to be overcome, to devise the 
 means necessary to carry them into effect. The information 
 was communicated to Washington and their object defeated. 
 
 These two causes accelerated the removal of the Conti 
 nental troops to Valley Forge. The first inspired them with 
 hope, the second showed them the necessity of being further 
 removed from the enemy, and being fortified in case of an 
 attack. 
 
 Having noticed the ingenuity of the female mind, and how 
 fertile they sometimes are in carrying out any objects they 
 have in view, even under very disadvantageous circumstances, 
 I may be excused if I deviate a little from my subject and 
 locality to relate a circumstance of the kind, which was 
 planned and executed by a female who some years afterward 
 removed to live within the limits of the lines of the encamp 
 ment at Valley Forge, and on that account I give it a place 
 here, though the object she had in view was in direct oppo 
 sition to the interests of the colony. The facts I have heard 
 her relate, and it is from that authority that I insert them, 
 though names will be omitted, as there are some of their 
 descendants living in an adjoining county, who, if willing 
 that the account should be published, would be unwilling to 
 see the names of the persons accompany it. The circum 
 stances occurred soon after the British took possession of 
 Philadelphia, and are as nearly as follows: 
 
 There lived at that time in York county in this state, a 
 man of wealth and influence, who took an active and decided 
 part with the enemy. Owing to his known adherence and 
 open avowal of his attachment to the royal cause, he was ar 
 rested by the Colonial authority, and confined in the prison 
 at York, to await a trial for aiding and abetting the enemy. 
 On account of his wealth and standing he was, though con 
 fined to the house, allowed to have full liberty of the yard, 
 and to have rooms furnished so that he could receive and en 
 tertain company who visited him. On a certain evening he 
 had made an entertainment, to which he had invited the 
 Sheriff and the principal inhabitants of the town, and, it was 
 said, some members of Congress, who were in session at the 
 place. A splendid supper was provided for them, and plenty 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 47 
 
 of wine and other liquors to drink. While the company was en 
 gaged eating and drinking, his wife, the woman alluded to, 
 was on the outside of the wall, preparing to effect his escape, 
 by a plan very systematically arranged between them and 
 successfully carried into effect. 
 
 She had prepared a rope to be thrown over the wall to 
 him; she by holding the other end was to enable him to scale 
 the wall. If he succeeded, two fleet horses were in readiness 
 for them to mount and ride off with all expedition they pos 
 sibly could. The company being engaged as above mentioned, 
 he suddenly complained of indisposition, asked the company 
 to excuse him for a short time, and leaving his hat on the 
 table to avoid suspicion, he walked into the yard. Reaching 
 the place, he found the rope provided too short. She imme 
 diately mounted her horse, which enabled him to reach the 
 end of it, so that he thereby made his escape over the wall, 
 where a hat and change of raiment were in readiness for him. 
 They then set off at full speed to a point on the Susquehanna 
 river, not on the main road, where arrangements had been 
 made to cross over the river, leave the horses, and pursue 
 their journey on others that were to be in readiness on the 
 other side. He was soon missed, finding he had escaped, 
 pursuit was soon commenced, but owing to her well arranged 
 plans, they soon crossed over the river and continued their 
 journey so expeditiously that on the morning of the follow 
 ing day they arrived at a house about three miles from Val 
 ley Forge, where, thirty-six years after, she ended a useful 
 and exemplary life in a good old age. 
 
 They continued there during the day, and in the evening 
 left the place to pursue their journey to join the British 
 in Philadelphia, leaving the place so as to reach the city by 
 daylight. As they drew near the city they found themselves 
 closely pursued, when, to prevent being taken, they separated. 
 He then rode into the river, swam his horse across and es 
 caped to the British, where she having found means to cross 
 the river, soon joined him. 
 
 Whether the sheriff of York county was secretly in favor 
 of the measure or not, is uncertain, and must always re 
 main so. And whether the owner of the house, where they 
 stopped during the day, was previously acquainted with the 
 movement and disposed to favor it, have been a matter of 
 conjecture among the people of the neighborhood, and differ 
 ent sentiments have been entertained concerning the sub jet, 
 some exculpating him from any participation in the matter, 
 while others have considered him censurable and disposed to 
 favor the enemy. I had prepared some comments on the sub 
 ject, but having concluded not to insert them in this work: 
 merely stating that after the war his devotion to our free 
 institutions and tenacity, notwithstanding his religious opin- 
 
48 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 ions, in exercising his right of suffrage during a long period 
 of years, warrants me in uniting with the former opinion, and 
 shall now dismiss the subject. 
 
 Having now completed the principal matters relative to 
 the burning of Valley Forge and other subjects that tran 
 spired about that time, I shall in my next give some account 
 of the arrival of the troops in the vicinity of the place, from 
 recollections of the relations that have been given me by those 
 who were witnesses of the painful scene, principally from 
 members of our own family whose lot it was to reside within 
 the lines of the army during the whole period of its encamp 
 ment at that place, suffering more than can be described, but 
 which I leave to the imagination of the reader to conceive and 
 contrast it with our present happy situation of ease and en 
 joyment. 
 
 And before I conclude, I would just observe that in my 
 next the account will be generally confined to the arrival of 
 the soldiers at my grandfather s, and their situation at the 
 time. And whatever may be related respecting them, may be 
 taken as applicable to other families in the neighborhood, as 
 they all suffered alike during that disastrous time. To enter 
 into particulars would exceed the object in view. I have, 
 therefore, his family taken as a specimen, from being better 
 acquainted with matters that occurred here at the time. 
 
O* 
 
THE ENCAMPMENT PROPER 
 
 LETTER IX 
 ARRIVAL OF THE ARMY 
 
 T WAS in the latter part of the year 1777 (Dec. 
 19), and about six weeks after the battle of Ger- 
 mantown, that the American army, under com 
 mand of Washington, encamped for the winter at 
 Valley Forge. The people of the neighborhood 
 had but little notice given them of the intention of the army 
 encamping there, previous to their arrival at the place. Neces 
 sity obliged the officers to use much secrecy and to be cautious 
 in all their movements, particularly at this critical time, when 
 the people were under a general depression, and the soldiers 
 nearly destitute of food and clothing and other necessaries, 
 and more than two thousand of them had been marched bare 
 footed from one place to another, often through frost and 
 snow, leaving the ground over which they marched marked 
 with blood, to evade an attack from the enemy. At the same 
 time, disheartened and dispirited from successive defeats, and 
 almost worn down with fatigue, in their frequent marches to 
 keep out of the way of their powerful enemy, who, through 
 their emissaries, were mostly apprized of their movements, 
 and were on the alert to secure the most favorable opportunity 
 to crush them at a blow, and reduce the colonies to subjection. 
 Under circumstances of this nature, it was essentially nec 
 essary that all their movements should be conducted with cau 
 tion and secrecy. This may account for little or no notice 
 being given to the inhabitants of the neighborhood, until the 
 officers who preceded the main body of the army to provide 
 quarters for the general officers, on the morning of the day of 
 their movement to the place, arrived at different houses in the 
 vicinity and designated their particular quarters. This gave 
 the inhabitants at whose houses the different officers were to 
 be quartered, but very little time to prepare for their recep 
 tion. 
 
 On that morning, as I have often heard my mother and 
 others of the family relate the circumstances, an officer ar 
 rived at their house, and, without further ceremony, wrote 
 upon the door "GENERAL WHEEDON S QUARTERS," and then 
 informed them that the General with his guard would arrive 
 there during the day. Upon receiving this notice, they began 
 to prepare to receive their visitors. 
 
 Knowing the destitute and suffering state of the army and 
 the hardships the soldiers had to pass through, my grand- 
 
50 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 mother, who possessed a disposition of the most universal 
 benevolence to the whole family; and, however opposed she 
 was to the system of war and bloodshed and the evils attendant 
 upon them, yet, she could view the soldiers in no other light 
 than fellow beings, suffering all the united calamities of hun 
 ger, cold, fatigue and sickness, and her philanthropic mind 
 influenced by a desire to mitigate as far as possible their suf 
 ferings, began immediately to make preparations to provide 
 something for them to eat upon their arrival. They had that 
 season secured a large crop of buckwheat and had in the house 
 at the time a great abundance of meal that had been manu 
 factured from it, and but a few days previous killed a beef. 
 They were, therefore, in some ways, prepared to receive them. 
 They immediately prepared a large tub-full of buckwheat bat 
 ter, and when sufficiently leavened, they commenced baking 
 cakes, to be in readiness when the soldiers arrived, and at the 
 same time, put all their iron pots, of all sorts and sizes into 
 requisition to boil scraps, shins and other pieces of beef, to 
 make a large quantity of soup or broth for them. 
 
 Before proceeding further with this narrative, it may not 
 be improper to take some notice in this place of Gen. Joseph 
 Wheedon, whose quarters were at my grandfather s. Holding, 
 as he did, the rank of a major general, it is somewhat remark 
 able that little or no notice has ever been taken of him in any 
 of the accounts of the Revolution or in American biography. 
 I have no recollection of ever seeing his name in print, and had 
 it not been for the fact of his being quartered there, his name, 
 as regards myself and many of my readers, might have long 
 since sunk in oblivion. Some may, therefore, feel a desire to 
 know who he was. All I can say concerning him is from recol 
 lection of what I have heard from my parents and others who 
 had an opportunity of knowing him at that time. His resi 
 dence was in Nansemond county, in Virginia, where, before 
 the war, he kept what was called in that country an ordinary, 
 that is, in our phrase, a tavern of an inferior kind. It was said 
 of him, while in that capacity, that the drinking utensils of his 
 bar were made of gourds ; whether this story is correct or not 
 I am not able to say ; but it is certain that he was dubbed Joe 
 Gourd by the officers and soldiers under him during his abode 
 at my grandfather s, a name that he was called by for many 
 years afterward, and not entirely abandoned at the present 
 time, as I have heard it given him but a few weeks since, by an 
 aged woman of the family, who well remembers his being at 
 the house at the time alluded to above. 
 
 He was of a very haughty and arrogant disposition, and 
 treated the soldiers under him with the utmost cruelty and 
 tyranny, viewing them more in the capacity of his negro slaves, 
 over whom he was privileged to exercise the most despotic 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 51 
 
 authority, than the brave advocates of freedom, struggling in 
 the cause of obtaining their liberty, and patiently striving to 
 surmount the most formidable objects that opposed their prog 
 ress in the attainment of it. By the accounts I have heard of 
 him 
 
 "The milk of human kindness never warmed his breast." 
 
 He may, therefore, he held up to view as one raised to great 
 ness without merit, and show the abuse such make of their 
 power when dressed with a little brief authority, or deputed 
 to exercise the commands of others. While his authority over 
 those under his command was not only duly but rigidly en 
 forced to keep them in abject subjection and pay servile hom 
 age to his person, he never exercised it to prevent them from 
 taking from the family and others, anything they could lay 
 their hands upon; and, if he did not encourage such acts, he 
 never, as I have understood, endeavored in the least degree to 
 discourage them, or interposed to prevent it. I shall notice 
 him further in some subsequent communication. 
 
 But to proceed to my narrative. The cakes being baked 
 and the soup got in readiness and well thickened with buck 
 wheat cakes and vegetables, the soldiers soon after began to 
 arrive in a truly deplorable condition; and as regards their 
 clothing, appearance and distress, it need not be repeated. Al 
 most famished with hunger, they soon began like ravenous 
 animals to devour the food provided for them. Before they 
 had finished their meal, the General and suite arrived, and 
 his first introduction was a haughty display of his imperious 
 temper, in driving the poor, fatigued, and famished men out 
 of the house, striking some of them with his sword, using the 
 most blasphemous language, calling them impious names for 
 entering the house, and daring to eat before his arrival, and 
 uttering oaths not to be repeated ; and such was their terror 
 and fear of him, that they fled from his presence as from a 
 dangerous pestilence, or the fury of a lion. 
 
 This cruel treatment was more than my worthy grand 
 mother could tolerate ; for though of the most pacific disposi 
 tion, and endued with a heart of tenderness and compassion 
 towards the meanest insect, yet where suffering humanity was 
 concerned, and it was in her power to administer to its relief, 
 she had not only a firmness of spirt, but a firmness of resolu 
 tion to carry her motives into effect. Unintimidated by the 
 General s supercilious behavior and regardless of his threats, 
 she resolutely commanded some of the soldiers to return and 
 carry out a large iron pot, which is still in possession of our 
 family, and several smaller ones that were well filled with 
 soup, and furnishing them with an additional supply of cakes, 
 that had been previously prepared for the occasion, they did 
 so, and soon devoured their contents, they not being quite so 
 
52 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 fastidious as some of our modern epicures. Often have I 
 heard my aged grandmother describe the events of that day; 
 and always on these occasions her eyes would fill with tears, 
 in recollecting the distressed situation of the soldiers upon 
 their arrival, and describing as she was accustomed to do, the 
 contemptible behavior of the General toward them, not only 
 on that day, but almost every day during the time he had his 
 quarters at their house, though he was there but a short time. 
 
 From what information I have been able to gather, the 
 soldiers upon arriving at their respective quarters, were in 
 the same famished condition, and they were also provided for 
 in a similar manner; but I never heard of any being treated 
 in the same cruel manner that Wheedon treated his men, as re 
 lated in the foregoing account. 
 
 I shall now close the communication by just informing 
 my readers, that in my next I shall give some account of the 
 location of the encampment, and the situation of the surround- 
 country, the erection of fortifications, huts and breast works, 
 and other things relating to the commencement of the encamp 
 ment. 
 
 In describing places on the river Schuylkill, the eastern 
 and western sides of the river are made use of, without re 
 garding the source at the particular places ; its course is so de 
 vious as often to present a very contrary appearance. The 
 city of Philadelphia is on its eastern side, and all places men 
 tioned on that side of the river are given on the eastern side, 
 and those on the opposite side, on the western. 
 
LETTER X 
 LOCATING THE ENCAMPMENT 
 
 HE location of the encampment of the main body of 
 the army was on an eminence lying on the west 
 ern side of the river Schuylkill, commencing on 
 the farm then belonging to Mordecai Moore, the 
 father of Jesse Moore, who was for many years 
 Presiding Judge of the Sixth Judicial District of Pennsyl 
 vania, and extending from thence in a south-westwardly di 
 rection, having the front line of the encampment on the first 
 elevation of the north valley hill, and since called the Front 
 Line Hill, more than two miles, and terminating on the farm 
 of John Brown near the Valley Creek, in Chester County, the 
 greater part of the ground occupied for the purpose, being 
 in the then county of Philadelphia, now Montgomery. In 
 order to protect themselves from an attack from the enemy, 
 they erected at the northern extremities of the encampment, 
 two forts, one on the land of Mordecai Moore, the other about 
 forty rods distant, on the land of John Moore. The remains 
 of them are still sufficiently visible to point out their size and 
 situation, and to show the observer the uses for which they 
 were intended. I shall speak more fully of them in some of my 
 future letters, just mentioning in this place, that in my early 
 clays and as long as I can remember, these were called Mor 
 decai Moore Fort and John Moore s Fort; and as they still 
 retain these names, they will in future references to them, 
 be thus designated. From the first mentioned fort they 
 threw up a breast work, running from thence on the Front 
 Line Hill, nearly its whole length, and terminating at a fort 
 on the farm of John Brown. This was done by digging a 
 ditch of a sufficient depth for the men in front, in case of an 
 attack, to entrench themselves from the fire of the enemy. 
 The earth that was excavated was thrown in such a position 
 as to afford a similar entrenchment for those in the rear. 
 My first recollection of this breastwork was when about five 
 years of age. At that time, I suppose, the ditch was about 
 three feet deep, though after a lapse of twenty-three years, 
 it had been considerably filled up; and the embankment 
 formed by the excavation, about the same height. A consid 
 erable portion of it is still (1850) remaining in a tolerable 
 good state of preservation. Other similar ones, of shorter 
 lengths, were erected in other places, to be used in cases of 
 emergency. 
 
 On the rear line of encampment, a range of forts was 
 
54 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 erected, in a line nearly parallel with the Front Line, com 
 mencing on the land of David Stephens, and were called 
 David Stephens Forts and John Brown s Forts, on account of 
 their being erected on the land of these individuals. I do not 
 know of any forts or redoubts being erected on the Valley 
 Forge estate, neither have I ever seen the remains of any upon 
 any part of it, from which I conclude that there were none 
 on that property. In many places, and particularly between 
 the forts, picket guards were placed to obstruct the advance 
 of cavalry in case of an attack. These were formed of rails 
 with one end sharply pointed, the other placed firmly in the 
 ground, the pointed end elevated at an angle of about fifteen 
 degrees, and placed so closely together that a horseman could 
 not pass between them. Many of the rails used for this pur 
 pose were left on the premises, and I have in my time seen 
 many of them. 
 
 The distance from Valley Forge to the Front Line Hill, 
 in a direct line, is about a mile and a half, which was the 
 greatest width of the encampment. It was much narrower 
 at its north-east and south-west terminations, the river 
 Schuylkill and Valley Creek governing its breadth at these 
 places. 
 
 As I shall have occasion to speak of the Rear Line Hill, 
 as well as the Front Line Hill, I may here mention, that a 
 hill forming the western boundary of the river Schuylkill and 
 running nearly parallel with the Front Line, and leaving the 
 course of the river near Headquarters, and continuing in the 
 same direction up the Valley Creek to the county line, above 
 where the old forge stood that was burned by the British, 
 constituted the Rear Line Hill, and is the hill mentioned in 
 my second letter. 
 
 It was on the ground occupying the space between these 
 two lines, that the temporary huts, for the soldiers and some 
 of the officers to winter in, were erected ; the greater number 
 of them on the farms of Mordecai Moore and David Stephens. 
 The timber was cut down, and the huts or cabins put up in a 
 short time after their arrival, for while a part of the soldiers 
 were engaged in constructing fortifications and breastworks, 
 others were cutting down timber and rearing their rude and 
 miserable huts to shelter them from the severe winter that 
 was approaching, and which was rendered still more so by 
 their destitute and forlorn situation, as described; yet such 
 was the energy with which they engaged in the undertaking, 
 and the alacrity with which they, under every disadvantage, 
 carried it on, that I have understood that in the course of 
 four days after their arrival the most of the work was com 
 pleted. 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 55 
 
 I never saw any of the huts; they were all demolished 
 before my time (1795) ; but the foundations of most of them 
 were still visible. When I first remember visiting the ground, 
 and from having so often seen them, I can form a just esti 
 mate of their size, and from the description given of them 
 by my father. I trust that the information I shall give con 
 cerning them, will be generally correct. The greater num 
 ber of the huts, judging from the foundations as they pre 
 sented themselves, in my early days, varied in size from ten 
 to sixteen feet square, occasionally the foundation of a much 
 larger one presented itself among them. I always under 
 stood that a mess of seven men among the soldiers occupied 
 one hut, and many of the inferior officers had single huts for 
 their accommodation. The sites of many of the officers huts 
 and the names of their occupants were pointed out to me by 
 my father, when I was about eight years of age. Directly 
 on the rear of the breastwork on the Front Line Hill, and 
 about twenty yards distant from it, a line of huts was con 
 structed, commencing on the land of Mordecai Moore, and 
 extending towards its south-western termination. Traces 
 of many of them are still visible, and they appear to have 
 been erected in a nearly uniform line with spaces or passages 
 between them like streets or roads. This regularity in their 
 construction is most apparent on the front and rear lines. 
 Towards the center less order appears to have been observed, 
 as the remains of foundations of the huts clearly indicate. 
 The principal part of the huts on the rear line and in the 
 center were erected on the land of David Stephens, though a 
 number of them were on the Valley Forge estate, and some 
 few in the centre and on both lines were on the land of other 
 persons. A small number were erected on both sides of the 
 lines of encampment, but all traces of them have long since 
 been obliterated, and their foundations ploughed up. I have 
 a faint recollection of having seen the sites of some of them. 
 These huts were constructed in a very rough and ready man 
 ner, and without the aid of the master builders and architects 
 of the present day, for they were hastily built of logs, 
 rudely jointed together in the manner of cribs, and the spaces 
 between them filled up with stone, mud and clay, and what 
 ever other materials the exigency of the case afforded, and 
 covered with earth excavated from the cellars. They had no 
 windows, and an opening was left in one end for a door. It 
 was in this manner the temporary accommodations for the 
 soldiers and some of the officers were hastily formed to shelter 
 them, though very poorly, from the inclemency of the ap 
 proaching winter. They had no attic or basement stories, 
 they were barely high enough to admit a man to stand up 
 right. Some of them had chimneys and places for fires, 
 
56 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 though the most of them had not this convenience, and their 
 fires were generally built upon the ground on the outside of 
 their cabins, and here they performed their cooking opera 
 tions in a very simple and primitive way. 
 
 I have occasionally, in my rambles over the ground in 
 my youthful days, in search of cows, which were turned upon 
 it to pasture (for then the greater part of it either lay a com 
 mon or was an unenclosed forest) found among the founda 
 tions of the huts, the remains of logs that had been used 
 in their construction, and about thirty-nine years ago I found 
 in one of them the remains of a chimney, in a tolerable state 
 preservation, and which I also saw some years afterwards, 
 and a short time previous to my removing to this county, 
 but not having traversed the grounds for the last twenty 
 years, I cannot say whether or not it is still remaining. Upon 
 mentioning these circumstances to my father, he informed me 
 that these were the quarters of some of the general officrs, 
 who on account of the thinly settled state of the country could 
 not obtain them at the dwellings of the inhabitants in the 
 vicinity of the encampment. 
 
 The foregoing description may serve to give my readers a 
 faint, but at best a very faint and imperfect idea, of the man 
 ner and kind of dwellings with which the soldiers were pro 
 vided during that memorable campaign, and we may figure 
 to our imaginations, from the destitute condition, and the 
 want of the very necessaries of life under which they were 
 laboring when they entered them, how much they suffered 
 during their abode at the place. I shall now conclude this 
 epistle, by observing that in my next I shall give some ac 
 count of the general officers, and the place of their different 
 quarters, and some other matters that I have heard related 
 of that period, and probably some accounts of the outposts 
 of the army that were placed as an advanced guard. 
 
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LETTER XI 
 QUARTERS OF THE GENERAL OFFICERS 
 
 AVING in my last given a description of the huts 
 that were hastily erected for a temporary shelter 
 for the soldiers during the winter, I may now ob 
 serve that, when finished, they collected leaves, 
 dead grass, straw, hay, and other materials into 
 their huts to lie upon; and each one having a blanket and 
 knapsack, and seven of them occupying one hut, used their 
 knapsacks for pillows, and their blankets for bed clothes to 
 cover themselves; but they found food and clothing not so 
 easily obtained ; and for want of the latter they often suffered. 
 In a former letter I mentioned that the quarters of the gen 
 eral officers had been designated by some of the subordinate 
 ones, who preceded the main body of the army on the morn 
 ing of their arrival; they were at the following places: 
 
 The headquarters of General Washington was at the house 
 of a minister of the Society of Friends, named Isaac Potts, 
 at the chief mansion at Valley Forge, at that time the largest 
 house in that vicinity and best calculated for headquarters. 
 At the house of David Stephens, it being the next below on 
 the Schuylkill, General Varnum was quartered. Proceeding 
 on to the next one, then occupied by Zachary Davis and be 
 longing to David Stephens, General Huntingdon was quar 
 tered. At the next one on the river, then owner by William 
 Smith, First Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, and 
 occupied at the time by a man named Henry Force, the provost 
 guard was stationed ; and the officers having charge of it were 
 quartered at the house. The next one on the river was then 
 occupied by a man named Michael Shur; he used to boast 
 of having had the command of the Second Regiment quartered 
 at his house, but who the commander was, or to what brigade 
 he belonged, fame has not informed us. I am not certain 
 that any officers were quartered at any of the houses any 
 lower down the river. 
 
 I shall now leave the course of it, and proceed to the house 
 of John Moore, at the northeast extremity of the encampment. 
 General Muhlenberg was quartered at the home of Mordecai 
 Moore, which was the next one above in the Great Valley. 
 General Morgan, when not engaged with his rangers on the 
 outposts, was quartered, and also the Commissary General 
 of the army, at the house of my grandfather, Abijah Stephens, 
 it being next adjoining farm and the place of my nativity. 
 On the southeastern boundary, General Wheedon was quar- 
 
58 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 tered for a short time. General Mifflin had his headquarters 
 at William Godfrey s; General Greene, at Isaac Walker s; 
 Gen. Sullivan, at Thomas Waters ; Gen. Poor, at Benjamin 
 Jones ; Gen. Potter, at Jacob Walter s; and Gen. Wayne, at 
 the house of Joseph Walker these constituting all the farms 
 and houses at that time lying in the Valley in Chester 
 county, on the southeastern and south sides of the encamp 
 ment, except one at that time belonging to a German, named 
 John Beaver, at whose house I have always understood that 
 no officers were quartered. 
 
 On the southwestern extremity, I have always understood 
 the following officers were quartered: Gen. Knox, at the 
 house of John Havard; and Gen. Maxwell, at the house of 
 John Brown; and on the west side of the Valley Creek, at 
 Valley Forge, Gen. Mclntosh was quartered at the house of a 
 respectable colored person, named Joseph Mann. 
 
 I have now in my account travelled around the encamp 
 ment ground and come back to headquarters. I may just 
 observe at this place, that at the time just alluded to, there 
 were no dwelling houses in the limits of the ground, occupied 
 by the main body of the army. Lafayette did not arrive 
 here until some time after the army had encamped at the 
 place. He came in company with DeKalb, Pulaski, Steuben, 
 Kosciusko, Duloyson, and other distinguished foreigners, who 
 joined our army, of some of whom and their quarters some 
 notice will be taken in some of my future letters. 
 
 In addition to these, whose quarters have been mentioned, 
 there were several officers of rank, but where they had quar 
 ters I cannot say with certainty, but conclude the most of them 
 lived during the time in huts ; and I well remember my father 
 showing me the foundations of large huts and telling me they 
 were occupied by officers during the time of the encampment ; 
 and on one occasion he pointed out the one that had been oc 
 cupied by Gen. Lee. This was on the Valley Forge estate, on 
 the north side of the Rear Line Hill. Among those that have 
 not been noticed were Generals Conway, Smallwood, Arm 
 strong, Furman, MacDougal, and many others not now recol 
 lected, the most of whom lived in the camp at the time. 
 
 I have heard it mentioned by persons living at the time 
 that some officers were quartered at the houses of Samuel 
 Jones and Samuel Richards, in the Great Valley, immediately 
 above Joseph Walker s; but not having availed myself of 
 proper information on the subject, I cannot say who they 
 were. I should not suppose that any officers were quartered 
 higher up the Valley than the latter place, as that was be 
 yond the farthest extent of the picket guards in a southerly 
 direction. I am further confirmed in this opinion from a cir 
 cumstance mentioned to me by John Davis, one of the Asso- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 59 
 
 ciate Judges of the county of Chester, and who was at the 
 time of the encampment at the Valley Forge, a captain in 
 the regular army, and whose residence was on the Valley 
 Creek, not more than four miles from the Valley Forge, where 
 he was stationed. He informed me a short time previous to 
 his being deprived of the use of speech by paralysis, that dur 
 ing the whole period the army was there, he was so con 
 stantly engaged that he was at home but twice during the 
 time. While engaged in the service, he kept a journal of many 
 of the occurrences of the camp, a part of which was published 
 in 1823 in the Village Record, a paper published at West 
 Chester at that time, by Hon. Charles Miner, and continued 
 in weekly numbers for several months; and I regret that I 
 cannot now refer to it, not having preserved the numbers, as 
 it contained much interesting information on the subject. 
 
 DISPOSITION OF THE ARMY 
 
 Having now got the troops in their huts, and the general 
 officers mostly in their quarters, it may now be the proper 
 place to mention the disposition of the army, and the positions 
 assigned them. After the fall of Gen. Nash, who commanded 
 the troops constituting Washington s body or life guard, many 
 of whom were slain at the battle of Germantown, the sur 
 vivors of them were placed under the command of Gen. Mc- 
 Intosh, and as body guard to the commander-in-chief, were 
 stationed on a hill a little east of Headquarters. On the hill 
 of the Rear Line, and on both sides of the Gulf road, and ex 
 tending in a southeasterly direction, were stationed the 
 brigades of Generals Conway, Maxwell, Huntingdon and 
 Varnum, the latter being stationed on a hill near his quarters, 
 where a redoubt was erected in order to command a view of 
 the opposite side of the river. The site of the redoubt, which 
 is now so nearly destroyed as to leave but few traces of its 
 existence remaining, was placed on an elevated point of land, 
 from which an extensive view of both sides of the river could 
 be secured, and so near the stream as to employ the artillery 
 to check an attempt of the enemy to cross over near the place ; 
 but their use for the purpose was never required. 
 
 The main body of the army under the command of Gen 
 erals Muhlenberg, Wheedon, Mifflin, Poor, Potter and Wayne, 
 were stationed along the Front Line Hill; and troops under 
 the command of the several officers last named, were so ar 
 ranged as to be nearest their respective quarters. The divi 
 sion of Sullivan was stationed on the Schuylkill between Head 
 quarters and the Fatland ford, about half a mile lower down 
 the river; some further notice of them will be given in a fu 
 ture number. The troops commanded by Knox and Small- 
 
60 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 wood, and afterwards by Lafayette, were stationed on the 
 southeastern extremity of the encampment. 
 
 The artillery, under command of Col. Proctor, were sta 
 tioned on the south side of the Gulf road, between that and the 
 Baptist road in the county of Montgomery, a little north of the 
 Chester county line the place ever since retaining the name 
 of the park. In case of attack from the enemy the direction 
 of the artillery was to be given to Gen. Duportale, chief of 
 the engineers. The foregoing is nearly as correct an account 
 as I can give from memory, as the circumstances have been 
 related to me, by many persons who were conversant with 
 these things and the passing events of the day; but my in 
 formants are now no more in this state of existence. 
 
 The outposts mentioned in my last were placed to watch 
 the movements of the enemy, act as an advanced guard, sur 
 prise foraging parties of the enemy, and intercept any com 
 munications between the disaffected people of that day with 
 the British; and also to prevent trading with them, as there 
 were even some, who, though not adhering to the cause of 
 royalty, yet for the sake of a hard currency, which could al 
 ways be obtained of the enemy, in preference to the depre 
 ciating paper money of that day, ventured at all hazards to 
 trade with them. A line of these outposts commenced at the 
 river Schuylkill opposite the place where the town of Consho- 
 hocken now stands; then known by the name of Matson s 
 Ford, extending in a southwesterly direction several miles; 
 that portion of country, lying between the main body at Val 
 ley Forge and the outposts, being on the prescribed lines of 
 the army. The command of these was given to Gen. Lord 
 Sterling, who was encamped near the Schuylkill on the Gulf 
 Hills, and from this circumstance the place was known as 
 Rebel Hill, a name it still retains. The General while here 
 was quartered at the house of John Reese; and among other 
 officers attached to his brigade, and with him at his quarters, 
 was James Monroe, since President of the United States, and 
 one of the most popular men that has ever filled the executive 
 chair. This house is now standing, having undergone but 
 little if any alteration since that time. It is now occupied by 
 a sister of my mother, now in the eighty-second year of her 
 age, and the last survivor of that generation, and nearly the 
 last one of the Revolution, who was a resident of the neigh 
 borhood of Valley Forge, at the time of the encampment, 
 who was of an age sufficient to remember the passing events 
 of that day. I shall have occasion to speak of her more fully 
 hereafter. 
 
 As mentioned in the forepart of this letter, the rangers 
 of Gen. Morgan were placed on the outposts, his place of 
 rendezvous being on the farm on which Morgan s on the Co- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 61 
 
 lumbia Railroad is now located ; and at the house of Mordecai 
 Morgan, at the original mansion, he had his headquarters 
 when in the neighborhood. I have understood that the Gen 
 eral was distantly related to this family, but on this point 
 I cannot speak correctly; it was from the latter family that 
 the name of Morgan s Corner was called. Here he was said 
 to be particularly useful in preventing many from trading 
 with the British, by supplying them with provisions and 
 otherwise holding communication with them. While thus en 
 gaged, I never heard of any further violent measures being 
 used by him upon any thus surprised and captured, than to 
 secure their produce and then let them return home. He 
 captured some persons from York county, who, with teams 
 were engaged in removing to Philadelphia the furniture of 
 a person mentioned in a former letter, who was taken out of 
 prison by his wife; they let the people go, but secured the 
 goods. Other similar detachments were placed at different 
 stations for similar purposes and a skirmish took place at the 
 house of a person named John Scott in Easttown township, 
 Chester county, between one of these and a foraging party 
 of the enemy, in which one person was killed and several 
 wounded. Major William Brooke of Radnor township, Dela 
 ware county, was the officer who commanded on the occasion. 
 One of the persons wounded at the time was a person named 
 Griffith Reese, a brother to George Reese, sheriff of the city 
 and county of Philadelphia about eighteen years ago. I may 
 also add in this place that the Major Brooke just mentioned 
 is the same whom some of my readers may remember, who 
 after living to an advanced age and enjoyed a respectable 
 standing in the community, in the year 1829, was killed by 
 a blow inflicted by his own son, while laboring under a par 
 tial aberration of mind. 
 
 I shall now close this subject as relates to the general 
 arrangement and disposition of the army; and in my next 
 will relate some incidents that occurred during the time; 
 and endeavor, as far as in my power, to give a description 
 of the hardships and trials that were suffered by them during 
 that severe season. 
 
LETTER XII 
 INCIDENTS OF THE CAMP 
 
 HE ARMY was not partially sheltered from the 
 inclemency of the wind and weather, but still the 
 prospect was far from being a bright one, for 
 "shadows, clouds and darkness" rested upon it. 
 For many weeks after, they suffered for want of 
 food, blankets, and clothes, particulary shoes. Provisions of 
 all kinds were nearly exhausted, their blankets nearly worn 
 out, their clothes, not only tattered and torn, but from long 
 use worn threadbare and scarcely holding together, and the 
 prospect of a further supply, from the reduced state of the 
 country, very precarious. But their greatest suffering was for 
 want of shoes. I have often heard it related by many per 
 sons living in the neighborhood that they had seen the snow 
 and ground over which the soldiers had to pass in perform 
 ing the duties of the camp, marked with the blood that flowed 
 from their feet, and while they beheld these things, and 
 looked upon the objects of suffering, shivering wth cold, and 
 suffering from hunger, which it was not in their power fully 
 to relieve, they have admired the magnanimity and firmness 
 with which they bore all their trials. In addition to those just 
 narrated, there were many other hardships they had to un 
 dergo; that cruel scourge, the small-pox, was introduced into 
 the camp, threatening to destroy all who had not been inocu 
 lated. Owing to neglect or inability on the part of Congress, 
 the commissary department became so exhausted that there 
 was, at one time, not a day s provisions of any kind on hand, 
 and absolute famine threatened them. Some of the troops had 
 been a week, and others three or four days, without a mouth 
 ful of animal food of any kind. Yet, under all these dis 
 couragements, they patiently endured their sufferings for sev- 
 ral weeks without a murmur. To enumerate all their suffer 
 ings that I have heard related, would swell these narrations 
 to an unreasonable length. I shall, therefore, omit many 
 things which, if inserted, would be tautoiogous. 
 
 I shall now refer to a disposition which many among them 
 began to manifest, to leave the army and return to their 
 homes. This disposition had been created and fostered by 
 some leading demagogues, circulating annonymous letters 
 among them, censuring Congress, on account of not supply 
 ing them with the necessaries they required, and secretly en 
 couraging them to revolt and forsake the cause they had es 
 poused. A favorable time to effect their object had been 
 embraced, when the affairs of Congress were at their lowest 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 63 
 
 ebb, and the army in the distressed situation just described, 
 and the country surrounding the encampment, and upon the 
 bounty of which some of them had for some time been sup 
 ported, had become nearly destitute of provisions and other 
 necessaries. Their love for their commander-in-chief and 
 other officers, and their devotion to their country s freedom, 
 had thus far kept them united, and it was now only by the 
 influence of Washington that prevented an open revolt. He 
 reasoned pathetically with them on the impropriety of leaving 
 the army, and lost no time in representing their sufferings to 
 Congress. They then agreed to continue with him without 
 repining. At this particular juncture of time, such was the 
 scarcity of the means of transporting the supplies for the use 
 of the army, that the soldiers and even some of the officers, 
 like beasts of burden, performed with cheerfulness, the duties 
 of providing and carrying wood, provisions and other neces 
 saries for the use of their suffering companions, for there 
 were at this time near three thousand persons so destitute of 
 clothing as to be unfit for duty; fires had to be kept up dur 
 ing the night to prevent them from perishing with cold, and 
 many others from sickness and wounds, were crowded into 
 hospitals and private houses, claiming that attention neces 
 sary on such occasions, but which on account of the desti 
 tute condition of the government they could not fully receive. 
 
 Upon application being made to Congress, and a true 
 representation of the condition of the troops accompanying 
 it, that body appointed a committee to visit them, who, after 
 the performance of their duty and making report, which was 
 done as expeditiously as possible, such relief and assistance 
 was given as the slender means in their power afforded. But 
 the winter, owing to their destitute condition, was one of un 
 common severity, and many ended their days in the service 
 at this place, especially those stationed on the north side of 
 the Rear Line Hill, who were generally from the southern 
 colonies, and not accustomed to the climate, and being in a 
 more exposed situation, many of them died in consequence, 
 and their mortal remains were laid there without a stone 
 to mark the spot where their mouldering ashes sleep," but 
 not "low in the ground," for they were often buried so near 
 the surface as to be .disinterred by hungry swine, and in 
 places where the soil had been washed off, the decaying bones 
 have been presented to view, some of which I have seen within 
 the last thirty years (between 1820 and 1850). 
 
 In the midst of these trying scenes, an attempt was made 
 to remove Washington from the chief command, and place 
 Gen. Gates, then exulting in his triumph in the capture of 
 Burgoyne, in his stead. Whether the latter was concerned in 
 the affair I have not distinctly understood. Generals Lee and 
 
64 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 Conway, neither of them native Americans, and some other 
 officers, together with some members of Congress, were be 
 lieved to be at the head of the movement. Measures were used 
 to bring Lafayette to unite in the scheme, but these, together 
 with the whole project, proved an entire failure, and Washing 
 ton, to the joy of the army at this place, and the majority of 
 the people of the nation, continued in command. Soon after 
 this his wife came from Mt. Vernon to spend the residue of 
 the campaign with him at Headquarters. 
 
 It may be in place here to relate what I have often heard 
 said of Washington, by many persons of the place, that during 
 this, and all other gloomy periods of the Revolution, his con 
 fidence in the final triumph of freedom and the cause of 
 liberty, and the final success of the army under his command, 
 never forsook him. While he felt for the trials of those under 
 his command, and suffered with them, and his benevolent 
 heart bled for their suffering, and as far as in his power, 
 endeavored to mitigate them, yet in his duty to his country, 
 that had entrusted so great a task to him to perform he stood 
 firm and unmoved, comparable to a rock firmly planted on 
 the shore of a tempestuous ocean, against which the wind 
 and waves and adverse storms, may beat with all their com 
 bined fury, but are unable to remove, or even shake it from its 
 centre. To this, may in a great measure, be attributed his 
 peculiar faculty of winning and securing the affections of the 
 army at that critical time, and of their calmly listening to 
 his parental advice, when on the brink of a revolt as noticed 
 above. And it was from this source, and the unshaken con 
 fidence in the goodness of his cause, that on the occasion they 
 relinquished their intentions, and quietly and cheerfully again 
 resumed the severe hardships and self-denying duties of the 
 camp. In this confidence he stood not alone; there was a host 
 of others, equally sanguine, and who endured, with equal firm 
 ness, many severe trials and disappointments, and firmly ad 
 hered and remained devoted to the cause they had espoused, 
 during that memorable winter; time would fail to tell of all. 
 I shall merely mention the names of Greene, Sullivan, Wayne, 
 Mifflin, DeKalb and Lafayette, omitting a number of others 
 equally patriotic and firm in their adherence to the cause of 
 freedom. There is one, however inconsistent his conduct may 
 appear to many, as a professed minister of Christian religion, 
 and incompatible with the gospel of truth, yet his patriotism 
 and devotion to the cause, and his firmness in adhering to it, 
 during the gloomy period of the Revolution, may claim a few 
 passing remarks. I mean the Rev. David Jones, chaplain 
 to General Wayne s brigade, and for many years pastor of 
 the Baptist congregation in the Great Valley. He early mani 
 fested a deadly hatred and hostility to the measures of the 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 65 
 
 British government, and soon after the commencement of the 
 Revolution, published a work in vindication of defensive war. 
 I have understood that it was his practice to preach at dif 
 ferent stations during the time, and to encourage the officers 
 and soldiers in his discourses, to persevere in contending 
 against their enemies, frequently on these occasions using 
 for his texts the fourteenth and nineteenth verses of the 
 fourth chapter of the book of Nehemiah. 
 
 During the encampment at Valley Forge, I have heard it 
 said that Washington used often to retire to solitary places, 
 and on one of these occasions, he was discovered by Isaac 
 Potts engaged in vocal prayer. This circumstance is noticed 
 by Weems in his life of Washington, and some comments 
 made upon it by the author, of this circumstance concerning 
 Isaac Potts, of the consistency of the sword and the Gospel. 
 How far the account of this convincement is correct I am not 
 prepared to say, as it is the only account I have ever seen 
 or heard of it. But I have heard the circumstance related, 
 and the spot was pointed out to me several years before I 
 saw the account published. And while I am not prepared to 
 adopt the conclusion that Mr. Potts was thus convinced of 
 the consistency of the sword and the Gospel, yet through 
 the remainder of his life he was always a warm friend of 
 Washington, and always spoke of him in terms of the highest 
 respect. I was once told by a near relative of his, that pre 
 vious to the time alluded to, he was unsettled in his adherence 
 to the American cause, but his intimate acquaintance with 
 Washington removed his objections, and in his latter days he 
 was a firm republican in principle and practice. 
 
 As I shall not have more to say of the general sufferings 
 of the camp, but shall in my future communications confine 
 myself to other matters of a more special nature that occurred 
 during the time, I will just add before closing, that among 
 those who were stationed here, enduring the sufferings and 
 privations of that day, were many of the wealthy and re 
 spectable from all parts of the Union, and from the South 
 there were some individuals, who have since filled important 
 offices in the government, among whom may be mentioned 
 the Butlers, Claibornes, Blounts, Lewises, Macons, Merre- 
 wethers, and many others from various parts of the Union, 
 whose names are not recollected. In some of my future com 
 munications, I shall have further reference to the subject. 
 
LETTER XIII 
 MORE ABOUT WHEEDON 
 
 N ONE of my former letters some notice was given 
 of General Wheedon, and also of my intention of 
 giving some further information concerning him. 
 It has been observed that he remained at his 
 quarters but a short time, but short as it was, it 
 was long enough for the soldiers under his command to com 
 mit depredations to so great an extent, that it required years 
 to overcome the effects, and to restore the waste places pro 
 duced in consequence of their rapacity. Almost every tree on 
 the place was cut down or destroyed ; all the fences were either 
 used for fuel, or carried off the premises, to be employed in 
 constructing huts, or forming picket guards. Their hay, grain, 
 straw, fodder and vegetables, were all taken, as the General 
 said, for the use of the army; but the real object was believed 
 to be for the sole purpose of serving his own private interests. 
 He exercised no restraint over the soldiers in this particular, 
 the consequence was that all their movable property, not se 
 cured or removed beyond their reach, was taken by the soldiers 
 with impunity, and the family were left nearly destitute of 
 even the common domestic utensils, such as buckets, pots, 
 kettles, pans, plates, knives and forks, and such things as were 
 indispensably necessary. During the time of his quarters 
 there, these depredations were committed, and I have often 
 heard it related by many of the family that the only thing not 
 previously secured, that escaped their rapacity, was a grind 
 stone, which the General had ordered not to be removed on 
 account of the daily use they made of it to grind their knives 
 and other edge tools. I have heretofore hinted at his severity 
 to his soldiers; he always kept a strong guard at the house, 
 and during the most inclement nights, exposed to all kinds 
 of weather, the poor soldiers thus employed, walked to and fro 
 through the yard, poorly fed and still more poorly clad. Often 
 in the dead hours of the night, would some of the member of 
 the family arise from their beds, and from the window of the 
 second story of the house, which was the only part the family 
 occupied, throw to the poor famished guards pieces of meat, 
 crusts of bread, and any kind of provisions they had on hand, 
 which, while shuddering with cold, they would seize with 
 avidity, and devour with the greediness of a ravenous animal. 
 His own aggrandizement and the acquisition of wealth 
 seems to have been his leading motive in entering the service, 
 and the accomplishment of thse objects his governing princi 
 ple. He had a number of private baggage wagons, conducted 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 67 
 
 by his own slaves, and used for the purpose of conveying sup 
 plies for the use of the army, often at extravagant prices, 
 which were extorted from the government on account of its 
 necessitous situation, and at all times embracing every oppor 
 tunity in his power to speculate on the public treasury, receiv 
 ing his pay in continental money. But nearly enough has been 
 said of him, unless it were better, and I shall soon take leave 
 of him, by just mentioning that having in various ways ac 
 cumulated a large amount of Continental money, and fearing 
 it would die on his hands, he sold his teams, collected his 
 slaves, resigned his commission, and returned to his home, to 
 invest his money in real estate, and this is the last account 
 I ever heard of him. 
 
 DEKALB SUCCEEDS WHEEDON 
 
 Upon the resignation of Wheedon, the command of the Vir 
 ginia line was given to Baron DeKalb, a German nobleman, 
 whose character, life, services and death at Camden, in South 
 Carolina, are too well known to need a description here. He 
 also succeeded to the quarters of Wheedon, at my grand 
 father s, and soon a different state of things were produced, 
 and while less servile homage was paid to his person by the 
 soldiers, their affections were more firmly secured by his kind 
 and affectionate treatment to them, at the same time his au 
 thority was more firmly established, and his orders obeyed, 
 and more restraint placed over the soldiers; order and regu 
 larity were restored, and the situation of the family much 
 more pleasant than it had been previous to his arrival. The 
 family having been supplied with things necessary for do 
 mestic purposes, by some of their relatives and friends, who 
 lived beyond the scenes of devastation, the property was 
 through his authority, protected from much further depreda 
 tion. His urbanity rendered him an agreeable companion, and 
 laid the foundation of a lasting friendship between them. 
 Much more might be related concerning the Baron, during his 
 residence at the house, for I call it his residence, as he was 
 there more than four months, and was always considered as 
 one of the family; and from the day of his arrival until he 
 left the place, he was always viewed more as an old friend and 
 acquaintance than a perfect stranger from a foreign land. 
 After leaving the place, whenever opportunity offered, a cor 
 respondence was kept up between him and my grandfather, 
 and his last letter was written a few days previous to the 
 battle of Camden, where he fell, and not received until some 
 weeks after his death. This letter I regret has been lost. An 
 other that was written a few weeks previous is still in pos 
 session of the family, and was published in this and some other 
 papers of this county about two years since. 
 
68 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 I have often heard his person and habits described by my 
 mother ; he was tall of stature, and very erect for a person of 
 his years; being more than sixty years of age, having been 
 forty years in the Prussian service. He had a very open in 
 telligent countenance, dark blue eyes, very expressive, a good set 
 of teeth, well formed head, his hair grey, and his complexion, 
 from long exposure, rather swarthy; in his habits, temperate 
 and abstemious; his conversation, bland and interesting, and 
 manners polite and agreeable, given to sociability a man of 
 liberal education, speaking the English language well for a 
 foreigner. I have heard her say he would sit for hours to 
 gether with the family on long winter evenings, in relating in 
 cidents and many interesting accounts that had taken place 
 under his immediate notice in Europe, one of which was a very 
 lively account of a journey to his native place, a little time be 
 fore his embarking for this country to visit his aged parents 
 whom he had not seen for more than twenty years. The dis 
 tance was about two hundred miles. His father and mother 
 were then about eighty-seven years of age, both of them en 
 joying good health and unimpaired faculties, and capable of 
 performing bodily labor. They were not in affluent circum 
 stances, and the Baron had risen to preferment, not through 
 the influence of wealth or claims to nobility, but through his 
 own merit, having in early youth been accustomed to labor. 
 He used to relate that when he arrived at his father s house, he 
 found his aged mother busily engaged at her spinning, enjoy 
 ing that satisfaction that can be felt only by those who can look 
 in the evening of their day, on the reward of a well-spent life. 
 Upon inquiry for his father, he was informed that he was at 
 work in a wood a short distance from the house; and shortly 
 after he went out to seek him, and met him returning home in 
 company with a grandson, each laden with billets of wood for 
 fuel. The meeting was a joyful one to all parties. When re 
 lating these circumstances, he used to mention it as one of the 
 happist days of his life, recalling to his mind the fond recol 
 lections of early days and the joyous scenes of his youth, which 
 all the honors that had been conferred upon him had not been 
 able to obliterate. His visiting his aged parents and spend 
 ing some time with them in retirement, afforded him a satis 
 faction far superior to the din of battle, the noise of folly, the 
 adulation of flattery, the tinsel of honor, or the baubles of roy 
 alty. The circumstances of this journey were themes of con 
 versation he used to love to dwell upon, and which he hoped 
 again to witness, when his mission in this country should be 
 accomplished. But this hope was never realized. At the 
 battle of Camden, in South Carolina, he fell pierced with 
 wounds, and soon breathed his last, far from his native home, 
 and all his tender connections in life. I have an idea that at 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 69 
 
 the time he was here, he was a widower, and had left a family 
 of children in Prussia; but whether or not this is correct, 
 I am not certain. If it were so, it may be once cause of his 
 particular fondness for the children of the family, some of 
 whom at that time were small. He used to treat them with 
 great kindness, and in hours of relaxation would enjoy him 
 self with their childish sports, always trying to please them 
 and gain their affections. 
 
 It may now be in place to mention a small matter re 
 lated to me a few weeks since, by the only surviving one of 
 the family living at that period the venerable Elizabeth 
 Reese, now living at the quarters of Lord Sterling, near the 
 Gulf Hills, in the eighty-second year of her age. At the time 
 he was at her father s house, she was in the ninth year of her 
 age, and was always his particular favorite. When about to 
 leave the place, upon taking an affectionate leave of the family, 
 when bidding her an affectionate and final farewell, he took 
 from his breast a ribbon, to which was fastened a star, which 
 he always wore as a badge of his nobility, and presented it to 
 her, telling her to keep it in remembrance of him. She kept 
 it for a short time, when a little girl from a distance came to 
 see her, and wanting it, she, to use her own words, "foolishly 
 gave it away," and it was never recovered. When mentioning 
 the circumstance, she expressed her regret at having parted 
 with it, not that it was of any great value, but that now in 
 her old age of having it to look upon, and of having kept it in 
 accordance with his request. 
 
 During his residence at the place he always enjoyed him 
 self agreeably, partook at the same table with the family, fre 
 quently furnishing them from his private stores, with many 
 things that the situation of the family required, but could not 
 be easily obtained on account of foreign trade being sus 
 pended, and but few if any manufactories being put in opera 
 tion, and where any efforts were made to establish them, they 
 were destroyed by the enemy, it being their policy to make the 
 colonies as dependent as possible upon foreign nations, for all 
 the necessaries of life. And such was the confidence reposed 
 in the Baron, that I have often heard it related, that in a few 
 instances when the heads of the family had to leave home for 
 a few days, the family and domestic affairs were left in his 
 charge, and were cheerfully undertaken by him, and his duties 
 were faithfully attended to and discharged. On occasions ex 
 ercising a parental care over the family, and a more rigid dis 
 cipline over the soldiers and officers under his command. 
 I might add more concerning him if it were necessary ; enough 
 has been said to give an idea of his general character, and 
 the friendship that existed between him and the family. 
 
LETTER XIV 
 OTHER DISTINGUISHED FOREIGNERS 
 
 MONG the foreigners that arrived at Valley Forge 
 in company with Baron DeKalb, one of the most 
 noted was Lafayette, who, having been wounded 
 at the battle of Brandywine, did not come with the 
 main body of the army, but remained in order to 
 recover from his wound, and if I mistake not, somewhere in 
 the neighborhood of the battle ground. He took up his quar 
 ters at the house of Samuel Havard, about two miles south of 
 Headquarters, on the Valley Creek, and remained there during 
 the residue of the campaign. He used frequently to visit De 
 Kalb at his quarters, which introduced the Marquis to an ac 
 quaintance with my grandfather s family. Of the other dis 
 tinguished ones were Pulaski and Kosciusko, celebrated Polish 
 officers ; the first was slain at the battle of Savannah, and the 
 second some years after the war returned to his native coun 
 try, and was commander-in-chief of the armies of Poland at 
 the time of their final overthrow, at the battle of the bridge of 
 Prague, by the combined armies of Russia, Austria and Prus 
 sia, and with the fall of whom perished the liberties of Poland, 
 as Campbell the poet, in his vivid description of it, has ob 
 served, 
 
 "Hope for a season bade the world farewell, 
 And freedom shrieked as Kosciusko fell." 
 
 Duportale and Duponceau, French officers of whom I may 
 hereafter take some notice, Baron Steuben and Dubryson, 
 Prussian officers, and many others that I have heard of, some 
 of whose names I have heard, and others I have not heard, or if 
 I heard, cannot now recollect; neither is it very material, as 
 the most of them were not so conspicuous as those above no 
 ticed. I shall therefore pass them by at this time. 
 
 DUBRYSON S CAVE 
 
 Dubryson, who was the particular friend of DeKalb during 
 the time he was there, dwelt in a cave on the premises and 
 near the house of my grandfather, the foundation of which re 
 mained until 1811, being for many years used as a place to 
 break flax in. That year the present mansion house on the 
 farm was erected and the foundation of the cave filled up, and 
 a part of the ground now forming the front yard covers the 
 site of Dubryson s cave. Pulaski I have understood (since 
 writing a former letter) after his arrival had his quarters in 
 the house of John Beaver, with the widow and family; John 
 Beaver died a short time previous to the arrival of the army. 
 The others might have had their quarters in huts in the en- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 71 
 
 campment, as I never heard of any of them having them at any 
 of the houses in the neighborhood. They all used to visit Baron 
 DeKalb at his quarters, as I have been informed by different 
 members of the family. When I was between eight and nine 
 years of age, having had frequent occasion to pass through 
 the encampment ground with my father, and in one of these 
 he pointed out to me the foundations of a large hut, and told 
 me it had been occupied as the quarters of Baron Steuben. 
 This was on the farm of Maurice Stephens, now belonging to 
 William Henry, one of the present representatives in the Gen 
 eral Assembly from the county of Montgomery, and on the 
 same farm on which General Huntingdon was quartered. He 
 at the same time facetiously observed that the place over 
 which we were then passing was called Steuben s Kitchen, 
 from an incident that occurred when he took possession of it, 
 which he then related to me, nearly as follows : 
 
 STEUBEN S KITCHEN 
 
 The Baron was a man of wealth and something of an 
 epicure, had brought with him from Europe a man who was a 
 professed cook, the Baron possibly expecting to live in the 
 same style and fare as sumptuously as he had in his own coun 
 try. If so he met with disappointment. When the cook went 
 to prepare dinner, on inquiring for the kitchen and cooking 
 utensils, was directed to a fire outside the hut, around which 
 forks were driven in the ground, and from poles placed upon 
 them were pieces of meat suspended by strings, hanging be 
 fore the fire to roast; and was told that the place where the 
 fire was burning was the kitchen, and the strings by which the 
 pieces of meat were suspended, the cooking utensils. The cook 
 replied that the services of a man of his abilities were not re 
 quired in America, and he would return to Europe. He soon 
 after quitted the service, and returned home to employ his 
 talents there, not relishing Steuben s Kitchen. Numerous 
 other anecdotes and reminiscences of that period that I have 
 often heard related, many of them by persons who witnessed 
 them, might be related were they deemed of sufficient import 
 ance to claim the attention of my readers; the most of them 
 will therefore be omitted, together with many other incidents 
 that occurred in the neighborhood of the encampment during 
 the time of its continuance there, as the recital of them would 
 be tedious, and requires more time that I can now give the 
 subject. 
 
 SULLIVAN S BRIDGE 
 
 In a former number, I mentioned the place where Sullivan s 
 men were stationed, and promised to give some further infor 
 mation concerning it. As before noticed, they were placed on 
 
72 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 the river Schuylkill, between Headquarters and Fatland Ford. 
 During the time of the encampment at the place, Sullivan and 
 his hardy New England boys constructed a bridge over the 
 river, in order to facilitate their passage across in case they 
 should be compelled to make a hasty retreat from the place, 
 and to afford them more ready means of obtaining necessaries 
 from the opposite side. This was done in the spring of 1778, 
 by building piers in the river and placing timbers upon them 
 in a rough and ready manner. What method they took to erect 
 these pillars in the channel I have never learned. They were 
 placed much nearer together than our modern bridges, and 
 the span formed of one piece of timber, extending from one 
 pier to another. The foundations of these pillars are, for 
 aught I know, still remaining; when the water was low they 
 could be distinctly seen. I have often seen them previous to 
 the river being made navigable by slack water navigation; 
 since that time, the water being raised by a dam constructed 
 about two miles lower down the river, they are covered sev 
 eral feet under water, and the only object to mark the spot 
 where the bridge once stood, is a stone placed on the bank op 
 posite the place with the inscription on it of "Sullivan s 
 Bridge, 1778." But I have got in advance of my narrative, 
 and I must return to Sullivan and his men. 
 
 It has been several times noticed in former communications, 
 that provisions were very scarce during that winter, to which 
 we may also add that various means were resorted to in order 
 to procure them; and it may be in place here to relate a cir 
 cumstance that was related to me, of the means made use of 
 by these sturdy New Englanders to procure food. The ac 
 count was given me by Henry Pawling, Esq., father of the late 
 Levi Pawling, of Norristown, an eminent lawyer, for many 
 years at the head of the Montgomery county bar, and a repre 
 sentative in the 17th Congress. Henry Pawling, who, at the 
 time of the encampment, owned the property immediately op 
 posite the place, and who resided all his life time on the same 
 farm, informed me that he had often seen them during the 
 winter, when the water was clear and not frozen over, wading 
 in the water, braying the inclemency of the weather to hunt 
 muscles for food, and when thus engaged they would jocosely 
 observe that fresh water clams made good soup. 
 
 I have often heard a story related concerning the bridge, 
 before removing to this county, and since my residence here, 
 I met with an aged man, an officer in the Revolutionary Army, 
 who was encamped there, and present at the time the conver 
 sation took place. I allude to General Samuel Smith, late of 
 Buckingham township, deceased, who related the circumstance 
 nearly as I had always heard it from others. After the work 
 was finished, Sullivan invited General Washington and a num- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 73 
 
 ber of other officers, with some people of the neighborhood, to 
 come and see it and take a walk over it. A number of the offi 
 cers and others complied with the request, among whom was 
 David Stephens, who, residing near the place, was probably 
 better acquainted with the freshets that occurred in the river, 
 and particularly those upon the breaking up of the ice, than 
 any of them present, was asked by Sullivan his opinion of the 
 stability of the bridge, and how long he supposed it would 
 stand, informed him that it might possibly stand till the next 
 ice flood, but he was certain that upon the next breaking up 
 of the ice, if accompanied by a heavy flood, it would be car 
 ried off. Sullivan, who was rather profane in his language, 
 though in other respects an amiable and benevolent man, re 
 plied in language I shall not repeat, his assurance of the dur 
 ability of his structure by positively declaring that all the ice 
 floods the ever were or would be in the Schuylkill would not 
 ever be able to destroy it. It stood during the ensuing sum 
 mer, but at the breaking up of the ice at the close of the next 
 winter, it was, with the exception of the piers, carried away; 
 and thus ended Sullivan s Bridge. One great cause of its be 
 ing so soon carried off. was owing to its not being sufficiently 
 high to admit the water and ice to pass under it ; and the ma 
 terials of which the passage was composed were so slightly 
 put together, that they were unable either to stand a heavy 
 pressure or a sudden rise of the stream. If I should judge 
 from the remains of the piers, I should say the bridge was 
 much narrower than similar structures of the present day, 
 probably not more than tv/elve feet in width; three pieces 
 of timber extended from one pier to another across the stream, 
 and upon these were laid pieces of timber for flooring, formed 
 by splitting a log into two equal parts, the flat sides turned to 
 wards the water, and fastened to the sleepers by boring holes 
 through them, and fastening them with wooden pins. I think 
 I have heard it related that* during the time of the encamp 
 ment the river did not rise to so great a height as it generally 
 did during the winter, that the ice and snow gradually melted 
 off, without doing much damage, which may have been the 
 cause of Sullivan s confidence in the durability of his bridge, 
 which subsequently proved futile. 
 
 I shall now draw the present communication to a close, 
 by observing that in my next I shall have occasion to refer to 
 some occurrences that took place during the time of the en 
 campment, and also to have reference to the surrounding coun 
 try after the close of the winter, and while the soldiers re 
 mained there in order to show, if possible, the dreary pros 
 pect that presented itself, and the discouragement under 
 which the inhabitants labored. 
 
LETTER XIV 
 SUFFERINGS OF CIVILIANS 
 
 HE commencement of the year 1778 was to people 
 residing in the vicinity of Valley Forge, and to 
 the army encamped there, one of deep interest, 
 the remembrance of which was never erased from 
 the minds of those who passed through that try 
 ing season, and were of sufficient age to recollect them. Those 
 who were residents of the neighborhood, and engaged in the 
 active duties of life, felt the severe effects of having the army 
 encamped in their borders, on account of the losses they sus 
 tained, on account of requisitions that were forcibly made 
 upon them for necessaries for the army ; while the soldiers suf 
 fered more than language can describe, from the combined 
 effects of hunger, cold, sickness, want of clothing and almost 
 everything essential to either comfort or convenience. The 
 consequence was that of a general distraint being made upon 
 all persons residing in the neighborhood of the fruits of their 
 labor, and the products of their mills and farms, for the sup 
 port of the great body of men encamped there the number 
 being about eleven thousand all of whom had to be fed and 
 otherwise provided with the necessaries of life. In effecting 
 these objects the country soon became exhausted of provisions, 
 the timberland in the immediate vicinity of the encampment 
 was soon cleared off, the fences destroyed, the stock and 
 poultry taken for the use of the army, and frequently by theft. 
 It is an old adage that necessity knows no law ; and the officers 
 and soldiers at that time, and under the exigency of the oc 
 casion, seem to have been governed by it. The result was that 
 many families, who, if not previously wealthy, were in good 
 circumstances, and enjoying full and plenty of the real neces 
 saries and comforts of life, were reduced to almost actual 
 want. 
 
 SOLDIERS AS BEASTS OF BURDEN 
 
 Before the opening of spring, the fuel necessary for keep 
 ing the half clad warm was so far exhausted that a further 
 supply had to be carried or brought from a distance ; and such 
 was the scarcity of the means of conveyance at the time, that 
 it had to be brought to the camp by manual labor. Often have 
 I heard people, who remembered the time, mention their hav 
 ing seen the soldiers, particularly those from the Eastern 
 States, and some of the subordinate officers, yoke themselves 
 together like oxen, and on temporary sleds formed for the 
 occasion, haul fuel in this manner from a considerable dis- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 75 
 
 tance, eight, ten, or more of them forming a team, and using 
 grape vines to draw them by instead of ropes. And when the 
 provisions and other necessaries in the immediate vicinity of 
 the place became in like manner exhausted, requisitions had 
 to be made from those living more remote from the scene; 
 and foraging parties were accordingly sent to scour various 
 portions of country, in order to secure sustenance for the 
 famishing army; and when thus obtained, the conveyance of 
 them to the place was often attended with great trouble and 
 inconvenience, so that it is evident that much suffering and 
 distress, both to the people and the army were the attendant 
 consequence. 
 
 HOSPITALS 
 
 Yet, under all these trials they spent a period of near seven 
 months, during which time, as before noticed, the small-pox 
 was introduced into the camp, and many died from the effects 
 of it; and hospitals and infirmaries had to be provided for 
 those laboring under the disease. Previous to the encamp 
 ment at the place, the sick and those that had been wounded 
 at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and the massacre 
 of Paoli have been removed to Lancaster and Ephrata in Lan 
 caster county, Reading in Berks county, the neighborhood of 
 the Yellow Springs in Chester county, and other places, where 
 hospitals had been provided for them. For the accommoda 
 tions of those taken sick in the camp, the Friends and Bap 
 tists meeting houses in the Valley were taken possession of, 
 and used for hospitals and infirmaries. For those laboring 
 under contagious diseases, temporary ones were made a short 
 distance beyond the lines of the camp, the location of one in 
 particular I can point out; and many, both soldiers and offi 
 cers, were placed in barns and private houses. Having thus 
 passed through the winter, under all these disadvantages, 
 spring as usual opened with all her beauty ; but such was the 
 state of the country, that no agricultural business could be 
 carried on ; the encampment still remained there ; the crops of 
 winter grain that had been sown the preceding fall, were 
 destroyed; the fruitful fields laid waste; their stock or farm 
 ing utensils lost or carried off ; and nothing but the most 
 dreary prospect presented itself, and the inhabitants and their 
 families had to depend upon other sources for a supply of 
 the common necessaries of life. 
 
 I may also add, that in addition to that portion of the 
 army who came here with the commander-in-chief , re-inforce- 
 ments were arriving at different times during the campaign 
 from the northern army, as their services after the capture 
 of Burgoyne, were not so necessary in that section of country, 
 
76 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 they were sent to augment the forces at this place. This 
 caused an additional demand for things necessary for their 
 support, and increased the burden of the already suffering in 
 habitants of the place. The meeting house belonging to the 
 Society of Friends in the Valley (the main part of the build 
 ing still remaining) being occupied by the army for a hospi 
 tal, they were prevented from holding their meetings at the 
 place ; but they assembled on their stated meeting days at the 
 house of Isaac Walker, near the place, often having company 
 of some of the officers, particularly Gen. Greene, who had 
 been a member of the Society, and who, with others that at 
 tended, always conducted themselves in an orderly and becom 
 ing manner. 
 
 ABOUT SOME OF THE OFFICERS 
 
 The officers who were quartered in different places in the 
 neighborhood, of whom no special notice has been taken, I have 
 always heard them spoken of as men of agreeable manners and 
 social dispositions, though some of them had their peculiarities 
 and eccentricities, yet all endeavored to render the situation 
 of the families as comfortable as lay in their power, and to 
 prevent as little damage as possible being done to their 
 property, so that their company might be as easy and agree 
 able as the circumstances under which they were intruded 
 upon would permit. Of the commander-in-chief , nothing need 
 be said, as his fame in public and private life needs no further 
 eulogium; and abler pens have done justice to him, and his 
 memory lives in the hearts of a grateful people. Of the 
 others I shall notice only a few; among these are Greene, 
 Wayne and Lafayette, of whom I have heard most notice 
 taken. 
 
 Greene was very affable in his conversation, of agreeable 
 manners, and handsome person, rather under the middle size, 
 having the shrewdness peculiar to the people of New England ; 
 his health was delicate, but he preserved it by his temperate 
 and regular habits. 
 
 Wayne, at that time, was about thirty-two years of age, 
 healthy and active,of strong muscular powers, a Pennsyl 
 vania farmer by profession, rather above the middle size, with 
 a fine ruddy countenance, and lively, expressive eyes. Though 
 called Mad Anthony, on account of his daring courage when 
 engaged in battle, his firmness of character and determined 
 resolution, united with a hasty temper; yet in all his inter- 
 couse he was affable and agreeable, not only to the inhabi 
 tants of the neighborhood, but to the officers and men under 
 his command, and remarkable for his amiable behavior and 
 polite and accomplished manners in private life. He was a 
 
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 
 
 George Washington 
 
 MAJOR GENERALS 
 
 DeKalb 
 Greene 
 Lafayette 
 Lee 
 
 Mifflin 
 Steuben 
 Sterling 
 Sullivan 
 
 BRIGADIER GENERALS 
 
 Armstrong 
 
 DuPortale 
 
 Glover 
 
 Huntingdon 
 
 Knox 
 
 Learned 
 
 Mclntosh 
 
 Maxwell 
 
 Muhlenberg 
 
 Patterson 
 
 Poor 
 
 Scott 
 
 Smallwood 
 
 Varnum 
 
 Wayne 
 
 Weedon 
 
 Woodford 
 
 The Generals of the Continental Army at 
 Valley Forge as given on the National Arch. 
 
Naked and starving as they are 
 
 we cannot enough admire 
 the incomparable patience and fidelity 
 
 of the soldiery 
 Washington at Valley Forge, Feb. 16, 1778. 
 
 And here 
 
 in this place 
 
 of sacrifice 
 
 in this valley of humiliation 
 
 in this valley of the shadow 
 
 of that death out of which 
 
 the life of America rose 
 
 regenerate and free 
 
 let us believe 
 with an abiding faith 
 
 that to them 
 union will seem as dear 
 
 and liberty as sweet 
 
 and progress as glorious 
 
 as they were to our fathers 
 
 and are to you and me 
 
 and that the institutions 
 
 which have made us happy 
 
 preserved by the 
 virtue of our children 
 
 shall bless 
 
 the remotest generation 
 of the time to come. 
 
 Henry Armitt Brown. 
 
 The Nation, on her Arch, at Valley Forge, through 
 two of her Sons. 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 77 
 
 man of good education, an excellent mathematician, and for 
 several years previous to the war, while residing on his pa 
 ternal estate, near Paoli, following the occupation of a farmer, 
 and if I mistake not of a tanner. He had also been much en 
 gaged as a practical surveyor, through different sections of 
 the country around Valley Forge, which gave him a thorough 
 knowledge of the location and people of the neighborhood, to 
 many of whom he was related, his place of residence being in 
 Easttown township, Chester county, about six miles from the 
 encampment. I may probably give some further notice con 
 cerning it in a future number. 
 
 Lafayette at this time was young not more than twenty- 
 one years of age. He was married and had left his wife in 
 France. I have heard it said by those who have had an oppor 
 tunity of being acquainted with him, that he was a very hand 
 some person, with a fine, open and intelligent countenance, his 
 hair red, his movements light and active, though not fully re 
 covered from the wound he received at the battle of Brandy- 
 wine, and possessing all the open frankness, vivacity and col 
 loquial powers so peculiar of the people of France. I may in 
 some future numbers have occasion to have some further ref- 
 ence to him. 
 
 Lee and Con way, both foreigners, the one a native of Eng 
 land, the other of Ireland, were remarkable for their high 
 and domineering spirits, and Mclntosh for many singular 
 peculiarities and credulity. I might add much more concern 
 ing Sullivan, Mifflin, Muhlenberg, Potter and many others, 
 whose amiable dispositions and gentlemanly conduct, rendered 
 them agreeable companions in the different families where 
 they were quartered ; and when they left the place, the most 
 of them left a favorable impression and an esteem for them in 
 after life. To dwell longer on the subject would be a mere 
 repetition; I shall now pass from it to other matters. 
 
 In collecting these accounts, and endeavoring to recall to 
 recollection what I have heard in days that are past and gone 
 forever, I find many things occur to recall to remembrance 
 facts that I have heard related of that period, by many per 
 sons who were witnesses to the passing events of the time, 
 which, to use an oft quoted phrase, "tried men s souls," all of 
 whom with one exception are now no longer in this state of 
 existence, the most of which I would glady insert, but they 
 crowd upon my mind to so great an extent, that I must omit 
 the^ most of them, some of which had better be buried in utter 
 oblivion. I have now given an account of many of the prin 
 cipal events that transpired in connection with the encamp 
 ment of the distressed situation of the army upon their ar 
 rival at the place, the complicated sufferings and hardships 
 they underwent during the time they continued there, of the 
 
78 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 combination to remove Washington from the command of the 
 army, and many other matters that occurred previous to and 
 about the time of their arrival, and during their continuance 
 there. I now leave to the imagination of my readers to sup 
 ply the deficiency, if any. And as there are yet some occur- 
 ences of the time that may justly claim further notice, I shall 
 now draw this communication to a conclusion, and in my next 
 I shall give an account of some few transactions that occurred 
 at the place, as I have no recollection of ever seeing them pub 
 lished, that may possibly be of some interest to persons of the 
 present day, especially such as feel an interest in obtaining 
 information concerning that interesting time that our ances 
 tors passed through, to purchase the freedom and liberty we 
 now enjoy. 
 
LETTER XVI 
 ALARMS AND LOSSES 
 
 S MENTIONED in my former letters, the encamp 
 ment continued here near seven months, the move 
 ments and conditions of it, remained very much 
 the same as nothing of much consequence occur 
 red during the time, to disturb or change the daily 
 monotony. There were occasionally during this season, some 
 alarms of the approach of the enemy, which threw the offi 
 cers and soldiers into active preparations to be prepared to 
 receive them, and in some few instances a part of them went 
 out to meet them, but they all turned out to be without 
 foundation. They also had the effect of producing much 
 fear and consternation among the people. Such was the 
 state of both contending powers at this juncture of time, 
 that neither of them felt much disposition to engage in an 
 attack upon the other, and they remained quiet in their re 
 spective positions. 
 
 After passing through the winter, less fuel and clothing 
 were necessary, and through the efforts of Congress, and the 
 persevering enterprise of many of the officers of the army, 
 the Commissary Department was better supplied with pro 
 visions and other military stores, so that the suffering of the 
 soldiers was, in some measure, mitigated. 
 
 The people, as already noticed, suffered severe losses on ac 
 count of their hay, grain, fodder, horses, cattle, swine, 
 poultry, and in fact almost everything they had, being taken 
 for the use of the army. The property thus taken 
 from them by officers acting under the authority of the su 
 perior officers of the army, they were paid for, either by cer 
 tificates upon the Continental Congress, or in the Continental 
 money of the day. The latter soon died in the hands of 
 many of them, and ended in a total loss. 
 
 THE HANGING OF A SPY 
 
 During the time of this campaign, a person, I think from 
 the city of Philadelphia, was found in the camp acting in the 
 capacity of a spy for the enemy, and he was very summarily 
 tried and executed by a military tribunal. The place where 
 the gallows, on which he was hanged, stood was shown to 
 me about twenty-five years ago, by an old man whom I over 
 took on the road near the place. He was a stranger to me. 
 His residence, he said, was at Pittsgrove, in the state of New 
 Jersey, that he was a private in Potter s brigade, and had 
 
80 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 been encamped there, and had witnessed the execution; he 
 also mentioned the name of the individual who had been 
 the victim. I had previously heard of a person of that name 
 being executed as a spy during the time, and the place had 
 been pointed out to me, which was the identical one men 
 tioned by the old man I met with, and I could not but admire 
 his retentive memory, that after a lapse of forty-seven 
 years, he could so clearly point out the place of its location. 
 This circumstance, together with other things that he re 
 lated to me at the time, fully satisfied me that he had been 
 one of the number encamped there, and one that had suf 
 fered severly at the time, and was entitled to a pension, 
 that he was then endeavoring to obtain. 
 
 To satisfy myself more fully on this head, I lately made 
 inquiry of my aunt, now the only one of the family living 
 that witnessed the time, and who well remembers the pass 
 ing events of that day, and she fully confirmed the account 
 given me by the old man. She informed me that she well 
 remembers the day of the execution, and of seeing the gal 
 lows with a portion of the rope upon it, which remained 
 there for a considerable time after the departure of the 
 army, and that she was often at the place while it stood 
 there. It was erected on the land of David Stephens, a little 
 north of the Gulf Road, near the corner of a piece of land 
 known by the name, "The Fifty Acres, " being near the 
 corner of the line between Chester and Montgomery coun 
 ties. The land on which it stood now belongs to William 
 Henry. I have purposely omitted giving the name of the 
 individual who was executed, as there are many of the same 
 name living in various parts of the country, within the cir 
 cle of my acquaintance, but I cannot say whether any of 
 them are connected with him or not. I have, therefore, 
 avoided giving it to the public, but have furnished the 
 printers with it. 
 
 A DUEL 
 
 While the army remained here, a duel took place, between 
 a Lieutenant Green, from New England, and an officer from 
 the South, whose name and rank I have now forgotten. 
 What it was that led to the rash and foolish act I have never 
 understood. The place of meeting was abnut a quarter of a 
 mile northeast of where the gallows stood, on land then be 
 longing to John Moore. In the engagement Greene was 
 wounded, and died soon after, and was buried at the 
 Friends burial ground, at the Valley Meeting-house, with 
 the honors of war (so called). My aunt, the venerable 
 Elizabeth Reese, the person just noticed, now in the 82nd 
 year of her age, says she well remembers seeing the proces 
 sion passing through their orchard, a little north of the 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 81 
 
 house, with muffled drums, and moving slowly to the tune 
 of the dead march. A blanket had been procured in the 
 neighborhood, in which his remains were wrapt, and thus 
 consigned to the grave. 
 
 I have heard my grandmother say that after his death, 
 request was made of her for a sheet to bury him in, but 
 such was her stript condition, that she could not comply 
 with their request. They then called on a woman named 
 Mary Pugh, from whom they obtained the blanket. Twenty- 
 eight years after, in digging a grave at the place, his bones 
 were disinterred. The blanket in which they had been 
 wrapped, when discovered, appeared in a state of preserva 
 tion, but on coming to the air it fell to pieces. I saw the 
 bones soon after they were discovered, and well remember 
 the soundness of the teeth ; the blanket I did not see, but was 
 informed of the circumstances, and whose bones they were, 
 by Isaac Walker, a man of unblemished character and repu 
 tation, who had charge of the graveyard at the time, and 
 who resided near the place at the time of the interment, and 
 who was always renowned for correct observations and re 
 tentive memory. 
 
 SOME ADDENDA 
 
 I shall now make some addition to the former accounts, 
 the information having been recently obtained, and which 
 would more properly belong to my eighth and eleventh letters. 
 In my eighth, I mentioned never having met with any account 
 of General Wheedon in any accounts of the Revolutionary 
 War, or American biography. A few days since, I found in the 
 Pineville library, a work entitled, "Washington and the Gen 
 erals of the Revolution," in which there is a short notice of 
 him, the whole of which is contained in about twenty lines 
 duodecimo pages, and taken from the notes of an English 
 traveler, made about the commencement of the Revolution, 
 who speaks of having lodged at his tavern. The account given 
 concerning him there, I do not think fully correct. He calls 
 him George Wheedon. His name, I always understood, was 
 Joseph Wheedon, and the cause of his resigning his office and 
 returning home, is differently stated from what I have always 
 heard it stated from correct information. 
 
 In my eleventh letter, some mention was made of officers 
 being quartered at the houses of Samuel Jones and Samuel 
 Richard, but could not give positive information concerning 
 them. In the library at Pineville, I also met with a history 
 of the war of independence, in which is an engraved map of 
 the encampment at Valley Forge. The outlines of the encamp 
 ment, the fortifications and breastworks, the courses of the 
 
82 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 river and stream, and many other things are correctly laid 
 down ; but the plan of the arrangements of the different posi 
 tions, and the quarters of the general officers, are not at all 
 as I have heard them represented by persons who had every 
 means in their power to obtain correct information at the time, 
 and most of them from actual knowledge. In that map, Gen 
 erals Woodford, Scott, Clever, Sernea, and Patterson, are rep 
 resented as being stationed on the front line. I never heard of 
 the last three being quartered, or the brigades under their com 
 mand stationed anywhere in the neighborhood, but still they 
 may have been. The two first I now remember, upon seeing 
 their positions laid down upon the map, to have heard that 
 these were the officers that were quartered at the houses of 
 Samuel Jones and Samuel Richards, Woodford at the latter, 
 and Scott at the former place, which is now occupied as a 
 hotel, known by the name of Keugel s Tavern, on the State 
 Road, leading from New Hope, through Doylestown, Norris- 
 town, and West Chester to the Maryland line, about six miles 
 from Norristown and between two and three miles 
 from Valley Forge. I now have a perfect recollection of the 
 two last mentioned officers being quartered at these places, 
 the relation having been given me by a daughter of the said 
 Samuel Richards, the late Elizabeth Walker, who died about 
 sixteen month ago, in the 84th year of her age. 
 
 In my next I shall give you an account of some persons 
 who were here during the time of the campaign, who have 
 since filled some very important and conspicuous stations in 
 the history of our country, and discharged important trusts 
 and filled high offices in government, and some other matters 
 that may be of interest to at least some of my readers. 
 
LETTER XVII 
 "BENEVOLENT FEMALES" 
 
 N THIS letter I hope to bring to a conclusion the 
 greater part of the account I shall give of the en 
 campment. Much more might be added, as I have 
 heard many other things related that would be 
 worthy of notice, particularly the kindness and 
 compassion with which the poor soldiers were treated, by 
 many of the inhabitants of the neighborhood how they were 
 often supplied with food and other necessaries by the charity 
 of the people, and their wants administered to as far as ability 
 was afforded. If necessary I could give the names of many 
 benevolent females, at the houses of whom some of the general 
 officers were quartered, preparing for the hungry guards, af 
 ter exposure during the night, a comfortable breakfast in the 
 morning, and furnishing them with stockings and other nec 
 essary articles, in their tried situations, to protect them from 
 the cold; but to particularize them and their charitable acts 
 would exceed the limits of the design I had in view in the 
 commencement of the work. I shall, therefore, pass by 
 the most of them. Among them there are a few that 
 I shall slightly notice. These are Sarah Walker, Elizabeth 
 Stephens, Priscilla Stephens, Margaret Beaver, Elizabeth 
 Moore and Jane Moore. The first two were dead before 
 my time; the four last all died between the years 
 1812 and 1820. I mention these not because there were no 
 others worthy of a place or notice here, but merely to inform 
 my readers that I once remember to have seen the four last 
 meet together, about thirty years after the campaign, and al 
 though they fought not their "battles o er again," yet they 
 found much exercise for their conversational powers in dis 
 coursing of the events at the time of the campaign ; and al 
 though nearly forty years have elapsed since that time, yet 
 the lively interest I took in listening to them is still fresh in 
 my memory. 
 
 LATER CELEBRITIES 
 
 I shall now proceed to give some notice of persons who 
 were here during the time, who have risen to eminence in po 
 litical affairs, and filled important offices in civil government. 
 The biographies of many of these are too well known to need 
 a repetition in a work like this. The account of them will, 
 therefore, be very brief. 
 
84 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 Among these were two persons, who, on account of the im 
 portant stations they have since filled, and some other circum 
 stances known to most of the American people, which have 
 rendered them very notorious, viz., the death of one, and the 
 subsequent dishonorable life and neglected death of the other ; 
 on this account these two individuals will be first noticed. 
 These were Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr the former 
 one of the aids of the Commander-in-Chief, and his reputed 
 privy counsellor; the latter commanded a regiment attached 
 to General Varnum s brigade. 
 
 Of those that were there, a few only among the many 
 can be enumerated : among these were Colonel Trumbull, more 
 generally known as one of the first historical painters in the 
 United States. He was also one of the aids of the Commander- 
 in-Chief ; and, with Hamilton and others, stationed near or at 
 Headquarters; Timothy Pickering, since extensively known 
 in the National Cabinet and the House of Representatives; 
 George Clinton, since Vice President of the United States; 
 Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War during the administration 
 of Thomas Jefferson, and Commander-in-Chief of the army at 
 the commencement of the War of 1812, and since minister to 
 Portugal; Joseph Hiester, Governor of Pennsylvania, elected 
 in the year 1820 ; Richard Peters, District Judge of the United 
 States Court for the district of Pennsylvania; Thomas For 
 rest, a member of Congress for the city and county of Phila 
 delphia, in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Congresses; 
 Thomas Blount, of North Carolina, a member of Congress, 
 elected to a seat in the House during the early part of the ad 
 ministration of Washington, and successively re-elected dur 
 ing the administrations of Adams, Jefferson, and Madison, un 
 til the time of his death, which occurred at Washington during 
 the early part of the year 1812 ; and many others whose names 
 I might mention, and others that I have forgotten ; and, there 
 fore, let them pass without any further observation. 
 
 In noticing the names of the above persons, commissioned 
 officers of the army only were taken in view. 
 
 Among the privates there were no doubt many who have 
 since risen to eminence in public life, who were unknown even 
 by name to many of the inhabitants of the place. But there 
 was one individual, who was here as a private soldier, in the 
 infantry, suffering, in common with his companions in arms, 
 all the hardships and deprivations that have been so often de 
 scribed, who has since risen to one of the highest gifts in the 
 power of the Chief Magistrate of the nation to bestow. I mean 
 John Marshall, late Chief Justice of the United States. 
 
 I was once informed by John Moore, who owned the land 
 on which the fort bearing his name was erected, and who 
 always resided on the same farm, and at the time of the cam- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 85 
 
 paign must have been more than twenty-one years of age, that 
 during the time James Madison, since President of the United 
 states, was there a private in a troop of cavalry, that he had 
 often seen him during the time. Not having in my possession 
 any biography of James Madison, and having no recollection 
 of ever having in all the accounts I have read of him, seen any 
 mention made of his having, at any time during the contest, 
 entered the service of the Continental Army, I do not state 
 this as a positive fact. My informant was a man of credi 
 bility, but he might have been mistaken in regard to the per 
 son. I heard him mention the circumstance during the can 
 vass of the Presidential election of 1812, between James Madi 
 son and Dewitt Clinton. 
 
 Having now noticed many of the incidents of that interest 
 ing period, in former numbers, I may here be allowed to intro 
 duce a few more additional remarks concerning the encamp 
 ment, which ought more properly to have claimed notice in 
 some former letters, but were inadvertently omitted. These 
 are a further description of the fortifications and an account 
 of some of the public buildings that were erected and used for 
 the army ; a view of the face of the country, as I have heard it 
 represented at the time of its being taken possession of for 
 the use of the army, and the state it was left in on their re 
 moval. 
 
 THE FORTS 
 
 The breastworks have been described. The forts were 
 formed by making large embankments of earth, by digging a 
 trench about eight feet wide and four feet deep, the earth ex 
 cavated in the process forming the embankment. The forts 
 called Moore s Forts on the northeast extremity, were en 
 closed by three mounds, on four sides, with a small exception 
 on the northwest side, which was left open for egress. A fort 
 erected near the house of David Stephens, was constructed on 
 a similar plan, except that the place of egress was on the 
 southeast side. Those that were surrounded by embankments 
 on every side, or nearly so, were in the form of a trapezium, 
 having the longest line on the side from which they had most 
 reason to expect an attack from the enemy. The average 
 length of the lines,or mounds enclosing them, I should suppose 
 varied from ten to sixteen feet in length. The other forts 
 were all erected in the same way, except that, if I rightly recol 
 lect, they were enclosed only on three sides, except those in 
 the centre, which were more strongly entrenched by embank 
 ments on every side. The forts known as John Moore s Fort 
 and David Stephen s Fort, near his residence, were placed on 
 eminences from which a view of the surrounding country on 
 both sides of the river could be commanded, and they be used 
 
86 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 to prevent the enemy crossing the river. The former could 
 also be used to check the progress of an attack on the same side 
 of the river it was constructed. Mordecai Moore s fort could be 
 used on similar occasions, but it chiefly commanded a view of 
 that portion of country, from which the most danger of an at 
 tack was contemplated, as it lay nearest the city of Philadel 
 phia, where the enemy were then encamped. The others on the 
 Rear Line, and one near the termination of the breastwork on 
 the Front Line, to be used in case of an attack by a circuitous 
 route. In addition to these, there were a few others in the 
 centre used as magazines, and intended as places to retreat to, 
 as the last means of defense, should they be found necessary. 
 
 BAKE-HOUSE AND ARMORY 
 
 A public bake-house was established at Valley Forge, in the 
 house now occupied by the proprietor, for the use of the army ; 
 but this was insufficient to supply the whole demand, and many 
 poor families in the neighborhood of the encampment earned 
 their bread by baking for the soldiers and some officers, not 
 in the vicinity of the bake-house. 
 
 A temporary armory was erected on the west side of the 
 Valley Creek, at Valley Forge, and used for the purpose of 
 making and repairing arms for the use of the army, but I 
 never heard of it being used for that purpose by the Conti 
 nental troops after their departure from the place. It stood 
 near the site of the old knitting mill. 
 
 I shall now conclude this letter, by observing that in my 
 next I shall give the account, as promised, of the appearance 
 of the face of the country, at the time of their taking posses 
 sion of it, and some other subjects that occurred at the time. 
 
LETTER XVIII 
 PROVISION STORE 
 
 HE LINES of the encampment did not extend to the 
 westward of the Valley Forge a great distance, 
 not exceeding a mile; as little danger was felt of 
 an attack from that quarter. At the house of a 
 person named Frederic Geerhart, near the west 
 ern line, a general depository or provision store for the use of 
 the army was established. My father, during the most of the 
 campaign, had the charge or superintendency of it. Similar 
 ones may have been established in other places, but I have no 
 recollection of ever hearing of any of them particularly desig 
 nated. It was in depositories of this kind that the provisions 
 for the use of the army, whenever, as was seldom the case, 
 were more than sufficient for the immediate use of the army, 
 were placed, to be delivered out as necessity required in ra 
 tions to the troops for their support. 
 
 BEFORE AND AFTER 
 
 The whole of the country embraced in the lines of the en 
 campment, on both sides of the Valley Creek, and some por 
 tion of country lying in the Great Valley, on the eastern side 
 of the Front Line Hill, at the time of the arrival of the army, 
 was either a dense forest of heavy timber, or highly cultivated 
 farms. As regards the state of agriculture in that day, an 
 extensive business in the manufacture of bar iron and flour 
 for exportation had been carried on at Valley Forge, and that 
 portion of country lying in the Great Valley, being of a highly 
 productive nature, and owned by Thomas Waters, Abijah 
 Stephens, Benjamin Jones, Jacob Walker, John Beaver and 
 Joseph Walker, in Chester county, and Mordecai Moore and 
 John Moore, in Montgomery county, teemed with the flocks 
 and herds, and produced abundantly of the real necessaries of 
 life, which were the chief objects of agriculture of that day; 
 the buildings and improvements on them good, substantial 
 and commodious, for that early day, when luxury and false 
 show and splendor had not usurped the place of real comfort 
 and convenience. But upon their departure, a far different 
 appearance in the face of the country, presented itself. The 
 stately forests, consisting of the venerable oak, the majestic 
 hickory, and numerous other trees, beautiful, young and 
 thrifty, were promiscuously cut down, the fences used for the 
 enclosures taken away, for fuel, or, as before noticed, used in 
 
88 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 the construction of huts or forming pickets. The flocks and 
 herds, lately so abundant upon them, all taken for the use of 
 the army. At the Valley Forge, the sound of the hammer was 
 no longer heard in manufacturing iron ; the naked walls of the 
 buildings, lately used for the purpose, were all that remained 
 to remind observers of the business lately conducted there. It 
 is true, all the buildings on the property of other persons in 
 the vicinity of the encampment, were not destroyed. The 
 enemy and our own troops had not burned or in no other way 
 destroyed any of them, but the people had been, in consequence 
 of the peculiar situation in which they had been placed, and 
 tried state of the army, had been deprived of almost all the 
 necessaries of life in addition to their lands being thus laid 
 waste. So that the country then presented nothing but the 
 picture of wasting and destruction. I cannot, of course re 
 member that period of time, but while writing these things, 
 my mind is carried back in retrospection to the times alluded 
 to, they bring afresh to my memory, what I have so often 
 heard repeated concerning them, that I sometimes almost 
 fancy I lived in that day, and that I have actually beheld the 
 scenes I have endeavored to present to my readers. 
 
 THE BRITISH INFORMED 
 
 In my next I shall have some further allusions to the sub 
 ject. The remainder of this I wish to devote to some matters 
 that occurred near the close of the campaign, and particularly 
 to a circumstance that occurred about that time, that I have 
 never seen any account of, that shows that the movements of 
 the Continental Army were either very closely and secretly 
 watched, or that the fidelity of some of the superior officers 
 was not to be fully trusted to. I have often heard my father 
 relate the circumstance, and as he belonged to the army, and 
 was well acquainted with all its movements, I publish it, prob 
 ably for the first time, upon that authenticity, and endeavor 
 to give it as nearly as possible as I have heard it related by 
 him. In giving this account, it will be necessary to take some 
 notice of the British army, under command of General Howe. 
 
 After the battle of Germantown, and the passage of their 
 fleet up the Delaware to Philadelphia, they were left in abso 
 lute possession of the city, where they entered in triumph to 
 take up their winter quarters, enjoying every luxury and 
 abundance even to excess, as their sovereign, in whose service 
 they were engaged, furnished them liberally with the means 
 of gratifying the vain mind. While Washington and his 
 army were at Valley Forge, suffering all the accumulated 
 miseries, hardships and privations that have been mentioned, 
 many of them barely sheltered from the inclement storms by the 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 89 
 
 miserable huts they dwelt in, the enemy were dwelling secure in 
 their comfortable houses, and though frequently feeling in 
 convenience for the want of fuel, yet they were well fed and 
 well clothed; and, if not marrying and giving in marriage, 
 they were eating and drinking, rioting and feasting, enjoying 
 their parties of pleasure, attending balls and visiting theatres, 
 and various other amusements. And to crown the whole, to 
 wards the close of the campaign, when Gen. Howe was about 
 to leave the country and return to England, the officers re 
 solved to honor him by a splendid pageantry or fete called the 
 Meschianza, for a full description of which my readers are re 
 ferred to Watson s Annals of Philadelphia, and Sheman Day s 
 Historical Researches of Pennsylvania, under the head of 
 "Philadelphia," where they will find a very graphic descrip 
 tion given of it. [It may here be noticed that I saw about two 
 years ago (1848) in the possession of John F. Watson, of Ger- 
 mantown, one of the original cards of invitation to this splen 
 did fete.] 
 
 Through their long and uninterrupted course of selfish 
 pleasure, thinking themselves secure from danger, they had 
 become rather careless about guarding their outposts from 
 surprise. Washington thinking this a very suitable time, to 
 make an attack upon some of these stationed near the Wissa- 
 hickon, between Germantown and the Schuylkill, hoping by a 
 manoeuvre of this kind to partially weaken some of their 
 forces, and to secure some of their stores, arms, ammunition 
 and artillery. In order that the utmost secrecy might be ob 
 served, he called a council of officers, at 12 o clock at night, at 
 Headquarters. Of whom this council consisted, I have never 
 fully understood, but Generals Lee and Knox and Col. Hamil 
 ton, together with a few others constituted it. The result of 
 the conference was that they agreed that on the next day, a 
 detachment of the army was to march from the encampment, 
 across the river Schuylkill, at Matson s Ford, opposite Consho- 
 hocken, and fall upon the outposts early in the morning of the 
 second day of the consultation. The plan being thus ar 
 ranged, it was supposed to be only known to the officers who 
 were present at the conference, and upon whom the utmost 
 secrecy was enjoined, until the commencement of the march. 
 
 Preparations were made to carry the attack into effect, 
 and though they had every reason to believe their movements 
 were known only to the aforesaid officers who were charged 
 with the execution of it, yet Washington with that caution 
 that always characterized him, was unwilling to allow the 
 main body to proceed, without sending in advance a small 
 body of men to reconnoitre the country and if possible, to dis 
 cover whether any of the enemy were lying in ambush or on 
 their way to meet them. This party upon arriving on an emin- 
 
90 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 ence, upon the Gulf Road, near the house of John Hughes, 
 from which place, there is a distinct view of Barren Hill, dis 
 covered a body of the British army marching out to meet 
 them, and it was ascertained they lay in ambush near the 
 Schuylkill, in order that when our troops were crossing the 
 river, which they meant to wade, it being not more than three 
 feet deep, attack them at the time, when owing to the disad 
 vantages in which they would be placed, they would have been 
 easily subdued. It was evident that the enemy had notice of 
 their intended movement, but in what way it was conveyed has 
 never and, in all probability, never will be known. Whether 
 some person, like Lydia Darrah, was listening to the officers 
 while in secret conclave, and conveyed the intelligence, or 
 whether some of the officers proved treacherous, and being 
 in league with some of the disaffected Tories of that day, some 
 of whom were ever ready, through the love of British gold, to 
 act as messengers and thus convey intelligence to the enemy, 
 must always be a matter of conjecture. I could give my 
 father s opinion, but think best to forbear for the present. 
 The prudence and precaution of Washington frustrated their 
 object. The American army, after commencing their march, 
 received the information from the body of men sent in ad 
 vance, and they all returned to camp. 
 
 I shall now take leave of the transactions of the army at 
 the encampment, and in my next give an account of their de 
 parture. 
 
LETTER XIX 
 
 DEPARTURE AND DESOLATION 
 
 N COMMENCING this communication, I shall com 
 mence with the departure of the army from the 
 place; this occurred in the fore part of the sum 
 mer of 1778. The same caution that had ren 
 dered it necessary upon their arrival to conduct 
 their marches with as much secrecy as possible, was as es 
 sential at the time of their departure, and little or no notice 
 was given to the main body of the army, or to the inhabitants 
 of the vicinity, of their removal, previous to the morning of 
 their march. The British having evacuated Philadelphia, our 
 troops took possession of it the same day. Leaving the en 
 campment at Valley Forge was so unexpected to the soldiers 
 that I was once informed by a woman who baked for the army, 
 that she had received from the soldiers her usual supply of 
 flour, to be baked for them on the day of their departure, all 
 of which were left on her hands, furnishing her and her fam 
 ily with an unexpected and welcome supply of the staff of life. 
 I have also heard it related, that soon after their departure, 
 there was found in the camp, by persons whom curiosity had 
 led to visit the place, in huts where baking and other culinary 
 operations were performed, batches of dough left in an un 
 baked state, on account of their sudden march ; and also many 
 other utensils, such as camp kettles, cabooses (one of which I 
 believe is in our family at this time), axes, canteens, and 
 numerous other articles that could not be collected or taken off, 
 in the hurry of the occasion. 
 
 It was a very common thing, since my recollection, to find 
 on the ground some memento of that period. I have often, in 
 company with my elder brothers and other boys, sometimes 
 with grown persons, generally strangers, who, when in the 
 neighborhood, had a curiosity to visit the place, and sometimes 
 alone have I spent hours in traversing the ground in search of 
 these relics of the Revolution not that they were of any great 
 value, but possess them as curiosities to remind us of that 
 period. There is even at the present day, sometimes an occa 
 sional relic of that day turned up by the ploughshare. 
 
 But I am digressing from the subject of their departure, 
 and must return to it; and by introducing a fanciful view of 
 the time and place, endeavor to show my readers the distressed 
 situation and appearance of the place. I must request them, 
 in idea at least, to accompany me to the neighborhood of the 
 place and the scenes I have been describing. Let us fancy 
 ourselves arrived there, and in imagination let us consider it 
 to be in the midsummer of 1778, and that we are standing on 
 Mordecai Moore s fort, from which, in every direction that 
 
92 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 we turn our eyes, on both sides of the Schuylkill, we behold 
 from this eminence, particularly on the western side in the 
 Great Valley, a portion of country excelled by very few, if 
 any, in fertility, in the state of Pennsylvania, and lately fruit 
 ful as the rich lands of Goshen, and beautiful to look upon as 
 the well watered plains of Jordan, and if rightly improved, 
 would produce abundance. But all around is nothing but deso 
 lation the fields are destitute of vegetation, and the lands, 
 once so highly productive, lie uncultivated and without en 
 closure. The trees of the forest are all cut down, and noth 
 ing but the stumps left remaining; wasting destruction and 
 devastation are apparent wherever we turn our eyes on that 
 side of the river. This gloomy prospect leads us to enquire, 
 Why are these things so? 
 
 Let us now imagine that we fall in company with some of 
 the Moores, and Walkers, or Stephenses, or other of the worth 
 ies of that day, who from severe experience had known the 
 causes that had produced these effects ; and they would inform 
 us in answer to our questions, that they were produced from 
 the war they were then engaged in; and the desolation we 
 everywhere behold around us was produced by the encamp 
 ment at that place, that these were the effects of it. They 
 would explain to us the use of the fortifications and redoubts, 
 and show us the pickets, then, pointing to the south and west, 
 would show us the miserable huts that were hastily erected 
 to shelter the poor, famished and suffering soldiers from the 
 inclement storms of the preceding winter; and directing our 
 attention to the place lately abounding with the lofty, tower 
 ing oaks and other stately forest trees, and to their fertile 
 lands, now lying in common ; they would tell us their timber was 
 cut down, and their fences taken to construct huts and pickets 
 and to furnish fuel for the soldiers, to protect and preserve 
 them from the cold chilling wind and driving snow. It is thus 
 they would inform us of the causes that had laid waste that 
 fair portion of country; and at the same time relate to us 
 many interesting anecdotes of that period, which have never 
 been published. They would ask us to accompany them to Val 
 ley Forge, and there they would point to us the same feature of 
 desolation, though not the same fertility of soil, all lying 
 waste; they would show us the naked walls of the buildings, 
 lately burned by the enemy, and tell us that where there is 
 now nothing but gloomy silence, was lately heard the sound of 
 the hammer and the hum of business, and there was seen the 
 hardy laborer busily engaged in manufacturing iron for use 
 ful and peaceful purposes; but now all is still, gloomy and 
 death-like. From thence they would conduct us to other parts 
 of the ground occupied by the encampment; and, in all our 
 rambles, the same evidence of desolation would be still ap- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 93 
 
 parent everywhere in the course of our journey for the fruit 
 ful field had become desolate; and the garden a waste place. 
 But while showing to us the dreary state of things, and, 
 though for the present discouraged under the prospect of 
 things and the state of affairs, yet they would express a hope 
 of the return of better days, when their waste places should 
 through industry be again restored, and their gardens now 
 desolate should blossom as the rose, and peace return like the 
 dove bearing the olive branch and be again restored in our 
 borders. 
 
 I shall now leave this imaginary scene, which has been in 
 troduced as a picture to show the state of the place, after the 
 army had removed from there, and that I might in some of 
 my future numbers contrast it with its present appearance. 
 I shall proceed to remark, that it is not my intention to pur 
 sue the movements of the army any further after leaving the 
 place, my object being to give, as nearly as I possibly can, a 
 history of the Valley Forge, as promised in my first letter. 
 The movements and condition of the army after leaving that 
 place has, therefore, very little if anything further to do with 
 the subject. Those that wish further information on that head 
 are referred to the history of the Revolution. Neither is it 
 necessary for me to dwell much on that period of time that 
 elapsed between their removal from this place to the final es 
 tablishment of our independence by the treaty of Amiens, a 
 period of near five years, as nothing of much importance oc 
 curred in that time that need require notice. In my next I 
 shall refer to some matters relating to the sufferings of the 
 people, and the huts that were left on the land of different per 
 sons in the lines of the encampment, and the difficulties they 
 met with on account of the loss of their property. 
 A FEW REFLECTIONS 
 
 Before I close this account of the departure of the army 
 from the encampment ground, indulge me for a few moments 
 in expressing a few reflections that involuntarily present them 
 selves. In contemplating that interesting period of time when 
 the arrny was encamped here, and reflecting on the number 
 that composed it, a query very naturally arises of this kind 
 Where are they now? Since that period seventy-two years 
 have passed away ; and taking into view that the most of them 
 must have been more than twenty years of age, it must appear 
 very evident that very few if any of them are now (1850) in 
 mutability; if there be any remaining, they have advanced to 
 that age that they are becoming strangers in the midst of a 
 new succession of men. And if it be not the case now, it will 
 be in a very short time, that there will be none left to tell us 
 of these things that they have witnessed and I have endeavored 
 to describe. Among the circle of my acquaintance, which is 
 
94 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 by no means limited, I now know of none of that portion liv 
 ing. And during a residence of more than twenty-two years 
 in Bucks county, I never met but three persons who formed a 
 part of that body, and these have descended to the grave in 
 a good old age. Their names were Samuel Smith, Andrew 
 Dennison and James Kirk the two first well known to many 
 of my readers. An expression made use of by the venerable 
 Andrew Dennison the last time I ever saw him may be with 
 propriety inserted in this place ; the day was cold and windy, 
 the ground covered with snow, when I overtook him in the 
 road near Forestville and gave him a seat in the sleigh to ride 
 with us. Upon some remarks upon the inclemency of the 
 weather, he replied: The people of the present day know 
 nothing about cold ; if the young men of the present day, with 
 all the advantages they possess, had to pass through what I 
 and my fellow soldiers passed through at Valley Forge, the 
 very thoughts of it would make them quail." There may have 
 been during the time of my residence here, many of these 
 patriots living, but I never to my knowledge met with them; 
 there may still be, but I know them not. 
 
 Of those who have been alluded to who have paid the debt 
 of nature, and who were among the number who shared the 
 severe sufferings of the camp, it is an instructive and interest 
 ing engagement to contemplate the subsequent history of their 
 lives. Among those who survived the war and returned to 
 their families and friends, could it be possible for us to ascer 
 tain fully their future lives, we would see some among them 
 rising to eminent stations in civil government, others in com 
 mercial, mercantile, agricultural and mechanical operations, 
 that have risen to wealth, eminence and respectability; some 
 who, in the various and devious paths of literature, have shone 
 conspicuous and become ornaments to their country and a 
 blessing to civil and religious society. We look upon the lives 
 of those with a pleasing satisfaction, and may feel justly proud 
 of and thankful for our free and liberal government, which 
 gives to all an equal opportunity to eminence in the world, and 
 fulfil our duties as members of this great and growing re 
 public. But while we enjoy this fond view, there is cause of 
 deep regret, when we also reflect that there are many others of 
 them who were blessed with talents and abilities to have rn- 
 dered themselves equally eminent and useful and to have made 
 them if not equally opulent, at least wholly respectable, who 
 have through low and debasing habits, to which they have 
 given way, lost their standing in society, glided down the 
 streams of intemperance and insignificance, and been buried 
 in the gulf of oblivion. But while we regret their infirmities, 
 let us draw a veil over their frailities, and leave them to re 
 pose. 
 
LETTER XX 
 A COMMUNITY PROSTRATE 
 
 |N MY LAST, the army had left the encampment, 
 and I had endeavored to represent in as clear a 
 manner as possible the dreary state of the neigh 
 borhood after their removal ; but the state of 
 things can be better imagined than described. 
 Language would fail to give anything like an adequate idea 
 of it, as I have heard it often represented by persons who had 
 learned and known the then state of things by experience. I 
 may here remark that while all parts lying contiguous suf 
 fered from the effects in a greater or less degree, that part 
 of it lying on the south and east of the Front Line Hill suf 
 fered most severely. The greater part of the men were sta 
 tioned there, and their destitute condition placed them in a 
 situation, in which to obtain fuel and provisions necessary 
 forced them to observe the old adage concerning it, viz., that 
 "necessity knows no law," and acting under the impulse of 
 it, the country was soon cleared of all the timber, rails, pro 
 visions, and all other things they could possibly obtain. 
 
 Among those who suffered most severely was my grand 
 father in truth this calamity fell heavily upon him. His tim 
 ber, as before noticed, was all cut down and carried off the 
 premises, either for fuel or constructing of huts, and all the 
 rails on his farm of more than two hundred acres were used 
 for similar purposes. Very few huts were erected on his 
 premises, it lying principally on the south of the Front Line 
 Hill. From the destruction of timber and loss of rails and 
 other property none was exempt, all fared alike, no par 
 tiality was shown in this respect, except as the general offi 
 cers quartered at different places exercised in some measure 
 their authority when it was carried to too great an excess in 
 taking things that were used in the different families for do 
 mestic purposes. While the army remained here, the people 
 of the place were very much on an equality as regarded their 
 property and living, and the future prospects of overcoming 
 their losses very much the same. As the prospect was a very 
 dreary one, they all concluded that their timber and rails were 
 all destroyed, and difficulties would have to be surmounted be 
 fore their property could be partially restored to its former 
 condition; but after the removal of the army, some felt the 
 effects of it more than others. The huts which had been 
 erected for the use of the army remained on the prem 
 ises after their departure, and the rails forming the 
 
96 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 pickets were left there. As noticed in a former communica 
 tion, the huts and pickets were principally on the farms of 
 Mordecai Moore and David Stephens ; the rails left in the pick 
 ets answered for fencing, and the timber of which the huts 
 were constructed answered for purpose of fuel and rail. 
 These two men had suffered in common with others the loss 
 of timber and the destruction of fences, but owing to the cir 
 cumstances of the huts and pickets being left on their prem 
 ises, they did not feel the loss of their timber to so great an 
 extent as some others. The farms of Thomas Waters, Joseph 
 Walker, Benjamin Jones, John Bean and others lying on the 
 southeast of the encampment being further from the main 
 body of the army, I have understood suffered not so severely 
 from the effects of the encampment, as the owners of the land 
 had timber land in other places that escaped the ravages of the 
 army, so they had to supply them with fencing and fuel. But 
 this was not the case with my grandfather, he had none of 
 these means to resort to. His only dependence for fuel was the 
 few huts that were left standing on his premises. Unlike 
 some others, he had no timber land that escaped destruction 
 to resort to for fencing ; he was thus placed under the neces 
 sity of purchasing and hauling from a considerable distance 
 rails to enclose his land, and also buy all the horses and a great 
 deal of other stock for conducting farming operations, and 
 having in common with others, lost the greater part of his 
 movable property and household goods during the encamp 
 ment, particularly in the early part of it, as mentioned in for 
 mer communications. All these things had to be provided for 
 the family, which required much expense and labor, so that 
 his situation was truly a very trying one, from the effects of 
 which he had never fully recovered during the remainder of 
 his days. It is true he received from the government some re 
 muneration for the damages sustained, but it was in Conti 
 nental money, which soon depreciated and was eventually re 
 pudiated, so that the whole may be said to have ended in a 
 total loss. 
 
 THE GERMAN PHYSICIAN AND THE RIDING HORSE 
 
 I may here mention without too much digression a circum 
 stance that shows how little regard was paid to the rights 
 of another in regard to property, by some of the persons con 
 nected with the army. My grandfather in the early part of 
 the campaign had all his horses taken from him except one, 
 a favorite riding horse which he had occasion to use fre 
 quently, as he was much engaged both in the camp and the 
 surrounding country as a surgeon, or healer of fractures, 
 ulcers of various kinds, dislocations and other similar mala 
 dies and casualties. On this account this horse was never 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 97 
 
 taken or used by any of the officers or men. On the morning 
 of the departure of the army, a German physician, who had 
 spent a considerable portion of time with Dubryson, took the 
 horse by stealth, called at a house near the place, borrowed a 
 saddle, and informed the person he obtained it of, that he had 
 borrowed a horse of Doctor Stephens (as he called him) to 
 ride to the ferry at Philadelphia, and would return with him 
 in the evening or the morning of the following day. He never 
 returned with horse or saddle, and thus my grandfather s last 
 horse was taken from him. 
 
 FROM WAR TO PEACE 
 
 The peculiar situation of the country at this time, and the 
 losses the people had sustained continued to oppress them not 
 only during the remainder of the war but for several years 
 after, so that little progress was made by many of them to 
 resuscitate their desolated farms, and the iron manufacturing 
 business at Valley Forge was during the residue of the war sus 
 pended. The owners of the farms thus laid waste generally con 
 tinued to reside upon them during the remainder of the war. 
 David Stephens, soon after the removal of the army, with his 
 wife and some other branches of the family, moved toNantmeal 
 in Chester county, and continued there some years. The man 
 sion that had been occupied by Colonel Dewees at Valley 
 Forge, having been burned, he with his family removed to 
 a house of his father-in-law in the Valley, the place where 
 Gen. Mifflin had been quartered, at which place he continued 
 to reside for several years, except a small portion of time that 
 he resided in Philadelphia. As I shall take some notice of the 
 most of these persons in a future communication, I shall take 
 no further notice of them at present. 
 
 Having noticed many of the principal events of that period 
 in the history of our country, that transpired in the neigh 
 borhood of the Valley Forge during that interesting and 
 deeply trying time, though there are yet many things that 
 might be related, I must omit them, as time and many pressing 
 engagements preclude my entering more fully into the subject. 
 I promised my readers in the commencement of the work, to 
 carry it on from its early settlement to the present time 
 (1850). I shall, therefore, now dismiss the consideration of 
 any matters connected with the war of the Revolution, or the 
 campaign at Valley Forge, which have already claimed so 
 much of your attention, only as they may occasionally come 
 in future numbers by way of reference, and in my future let 
 ters I shall turn from the gloomy picture of things, from the 
 "lines and tented fields," to that period of time when peace 
 with her olive branch had returned to our borders, when the 
 destructive sword had been exchanged for the plowshare, and 
 
98 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 danger and destruction no longer hovered around us. When 
 the Valley Forge had been rebuilt, and instead of confused 
 noise of the camp being heard in its borders, was heard afresh 
 the noise of the hammer in the manufacturing of iron, the 
 most valuable and useful of all mineral substances, when the 
 farms in that fair portion of country, surrounding it on every 
 side, no longer lay waste and unproductive, but through the 
 hand of industry and the blessings of peace, they were again 
 restored, the waste places enclosed, and the fields clothed with 
 plenty for the sustenance of man and beast. 
 
 In my next, I shall commence an account of the rebuilding 
 of the Valley Forge, the revival of business at the place, and 
 confining myself exclusively to the original estate at it was at 
 the time of the conclusion of the war, notice its different 
 owner, the changes of manufacturing business at different 
 periods, the improvements it has undergone, its present state, 
 and many other things in connection with the place, the most 
 of which have occurred since my time, and will be generally 
 furnished from actual knowledge and observation. 
 
LETTER XXI 
 THE FORGE RELIT 
 
 !|N THIS communication I propose giving an account 
 of the Valley Forge from the termination of the 
 war down to the present time, confining myself as 
 much as possible to the Valley Forge tract of land 
 as it was held at that time, and shall endeavor to 
 present it in as connected a manner as it will admit of. About 
 the time alluded to, another forge was built considerably 
 lower down the stream than the former one that was burned 
 by the British. The present (1850) cotton factory covers the 
 site of the forge last erected. It stood there and was used 
 as a tilt mill until the year 1814. A slitting and rolling mill 
 were erected a few years after the forge, on the opposite side 
 of the stream, in Chester county. These buildings were erected 
 by William Dewees, David Potts and Isaac Potts. The former 
 commenced the manufactory of bar iron, and the place again 
 began to assume the prospect of business being revived. 
 Neither of the others was engaged at that time with him as 
 partners in the manufacturing business. David Potts resid 
 ing in the city of Philadelphia, where he kept an iron store; 
 and Isaac Potts lived at headquarters he having the grist 
 mill at the place. 
 
 William Dewees, who was very aristocratic, and who 
 moved in a style far above his means to support, in a few 
 years failed, was sold out by the sheriff, which closed his 
 business at the place, and ended his connection with the fam 
 ily. About the year 1792, an assessment of the damage clone to 
 the Valley Forge estate by the burning of the different build 
 ings by the enemy, was taken by John Bartholemew and John 
 Davis; and if I recollect right, the amount of valuation was 
 over twelve thousand dollars. William Dewees petitioned Con 
 gress at that time for damages he had sustained on the occa 
 sion ; but owing to the low state of the national treasury at the 
 time, it was not granted. He kept a duplicate of the docu 
 ments prepared on the occasion, but nothing further was done 
 by him in the business in his life time. The sequel of his life 
 I shall not pursue more than to say that it was marked by a 
 sad reverse of fortune, and he ended his days at an advanced 
 age, near the place in the year 1809. Of the claim I shall speak 
 more of in some future number. 
 
 The business of the Forge and other iron works, after the 
 failure of William Dewees, was for a few years carried on by 
 Isaac Potts, during which time a division of the property took 
 
100 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 place David Potts taking the iron works and all the land in 
 Chester and Montgomery, lying on the south side of Nutt s 
 road and the Gulf road, and a small part on the north side of 
 the Gulf road in Montgomery, on which the mansion house 
 and some other buildings had been erected, having the privi 
 lege of a road or passage from the Gulf road to the river 
 Schuylkill and a landing thereon forever, for all articles, flour 
 and wheat and other grain excepted, it being understood be 
 tween them that no grist or other mill for manufacturing or 
 grinding flour or grain of any kind should be erected on any 
 part of the estate of David Potts. Isaac Potts took the mill 
 and farm on which headquarters stood, lying on the Schuyl 
 kill, with the privilege of using the above road or passage to 
 the Gulf road forever, for all articles, iron and charcoal manu 
 factured on the premises only excepted, it being likewise un 
 derstood that no works of any kind for the manufacture of 
 iron should be erected on the place. The prohibitions have 
 been observed by all subsequent owners of any part of either 
 estate, a clause to that effect being inserted in the deeds of all 
 purchasers since that time, at least all I have ever written 
 or have in my possession. 
 
 THE HEADQUARTERS AFTER THE WAR 
 
 As the headquarters of Washington is the most noted place 
 in the vicinity, I shall now proceed with an account of them, 
 detached from any other matter. Isaac Potts continued to re 
 side there, some time after the division of the property. About 
 1794, if my memory serves me correctly, he sold the property 
 to Jacob Paul of Germantown, in whose family it remained 
 till 1826 ; it then belonged to his son, Joseph Paul. It was then 
 purchased by an association of people who entertained the vis 
 ionary idea of establishing a community of mutual interests at 
 the place, on the principles of Robert Owen, of New Lanark, 
 in Scotland. The existence of this project, if it ever existed at 
 all except in imagination or theory, was very brief. The meas 
 ure proved a complete failure, and the property was taken by 
 James Jones, one of the number, and the only wealthy person 
 among them, who, about two years after removed to the place, 
 and resided in the mansion occupied as headquarters until his 
 death, which occurred about ten year ago (1840) at an ad 
 vanced age. His family still (1850) resides there. A few years 
 since the old mill, erected prior to the Revolution, and which 
 had escaped the ravages of that period, was destroyed by fire, 
 communicated by sparks from the locomotive on the Reading 
 Railroad, that passes near it. The mansion is still standing, 
 having undergone very little alteration. It has been often vis 
 ited by strangers and others, on account of its connection with 
 
THE QUARTERS OF THE PATRIOTIC ORDER SONS OF AMERICA 
 
 at Valley Forge, which organization saved to the State 
 Washington s Headquarters, the nucleus of the Park. The 
 pillar of stones to the right is said to be a corner of the 
 Joseph Mann house, where Gen. Mclntosh was quartered. 
 See pages 58 and 59. 
 
 THE QUARTERS OF GEN. VARNUM. 
 
 and now the Quarters of the Daughters of the American 
 Revolution. See pages 57, 59 and 137. 
 
GEN. HUNTINGDON S QUARTERS 
 
 The lower part of the residence to the foreground, part of 
 the original house, owned by David Stephens, larger part 
 erected by his son, Squire Maurice Stephens, in 1816. The 
 sDring house down back, in the rear, is in two parts, which 
 likely correspond in age with the two parts of the house. 
 Now in the Park and known as the. "Shepherd Farm." See 
 pages 57, 71 and 136. 
 
 QUARTERS OF THE PROVOST GUARD 
 See pages 57 and 133. 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 101 
 
 the Revolution, some of whom I have conducted there; and I 
 have often pointed out the place to travelers who have been 
 passing on the public road. There are yet some things re 
 maining about the building to remind visitors of that interest 
 ing period, particularly the secret doors that were planned for 
 the Commander-in-Chief to effect an escape in case of an 
 emergency. 
 
 THE DISPOSITION OF THE POTTS ESTATE 
 
 I shall now proceed to give an account of that part of the 
 estate owned by David Potts. Shortly after the division of 
 the property, he removed to reside there. He soon quit the 
 manufactory of bar iron and the rolling and slitting of iron, 
 and the tilt hammer was substituted instead. While he abode 
 there, he disposed of some parts of it lying in Chester county, 
 the greater part of his land being there. At the time of his 
 death, he owned more than eight hundred acres of land, more 
 than seven hundred of it being woodland, young and thrifty, 
 having nearly all grown up since the Revolution. He died in 
 the year 1798, and the property was held by some of his fam 
 ily until the year 1806, the business being conducted by his 
 son-in-law, Reese Brooke, and his son, James Potts. In that 
 year it was sold to Ralph Peacock of Philadelphia, who held it 
 and conducted the business there between two and three 
 years, when he disposed of it to Jacob Vodges of Philadelphia, 
 who took possession of it sometime during the summer of 
 1802 (There is some discrepancy here. Ed.) and held it about 
 six years. From the death of David Potts until purchased by 
 Jacob Vodges, no part of the real estate had been sold, except 
 a lot of about fourteen acres, by the heirs of David Potts. Dur 
 ing the time it was held by Jacob Vodges, some of the wood 
 land in Montgomery county was sold off in lots to different 
 persons; and five hundred acres of it in Chester county was 
 sold to John Conard and Joseph Barnes, the former of Ger- 
 mantown, the latter of Philadelphia, the latter at the time Pro- 
 thonotary of the Supreme Court for the Eastern District of 
 Pennsylvania and since Judge of the District Court of Phila 
 delphia, the former at the time Associate Judge of the Cir 
 cuit Court of the city and county of Philadelphia, subsequently 
 a member of the Fifteenth Congress, Prothonotary of the 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in the room of Mr. 
 Barnes), and Marshal of the Eastern District of the State of 
 Pennsylvania. He now resides in Elkton, in the State of 
 Maryland. His native place was in this county (Bucks), about 
 three miles from Doylestown. They purchased it upon specu 
 lation, and soon after sold about four hundred acres of it off 
 in lots of from three to seven acres, the remainder to a per 
 son in the neighborhood, thus placing the original tract at that 
 
102 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 time in the hands of a great many different owners, and this 
 is the situation it is now placed in, and in all probability will 
 always remain so, as it all consists of superior chestnut tim 
 ber land, purchased by wealthy farmers in many parts of the 
 county, for the purpose of furnishing them with rail timber. 
 I shall dwell no longer on that part of the property. 
 
 About the commencement of the year 1814, he sold the 
 greater part of the residue of the estate, with all the water 
 power and improvements lying on both sides of the Valley 
 creek, reserving about thirty acres in Chester and about fifty 
 in Montgomery county, to John Rogers, of the firm of Rogers 
 and Brothers, hardware merchants in Philadelphia. 
 
 It would seem that the purchase by Jacob Vodges was an 
 unprofitable one, for shortly after disposing of all except the 
 part reserved above, and after struggling under adverse cir 
 cumstances during all the time he held it, he had ultimately 
 to give up to assignees, who disposed of the remainder of it 
 to different people. I shall now in my further description of it, 
 limit myself to the part purchased by John Rogers. He took 
 possession of it early in the year 1814, and immediately in 
 connection with Joshua Marlin, commenced the erection of 
 commodious buildings, for the manufacture of various kinds 
 of domestic hardware; but before they were completed peace 
 took place between this country and Great Britain, which 
 checked the spirit and progress of the manufacturing busi 
 ness and decreased the value of property, and brought on 
 a languishing state of affairs at the place. In my next I shall 
 resume the subject, as I shall not be able to finish in this. 
 
LETTER XXII 
 
 HE conclusion of my last letter informed my readers 
 of the languishing state of things at the place 
 brought about by the check given to manufac 
 tories by peace being made with England. The 
 original operations that had been carried on at the 
 place after falling into the hands of John Rogers were utterly 
 given up; and a large amount of capital had been expended 
 in order to commence the manufactory of various articles of 
 iron ware, both in cast and wrought iron, which, previous to 
 the war, we had depended upon foreign nations for a supply, 
 and which could at that time be imported at a much lower rate 
 than they could be made in the country, even under the most 
 favorable circumstances of our then infant manufactures, 
 prevented it being used for the purpose he had first intended. 
 This led to other schemes and operations for several years, 
 such as the manufacture of shovels, spades, hoes, mill, cross 
 cut, pit, boat-builder s and circular saws, some branches of 
 which proved abortive, while some others, although the owner 
 and proprietor found it a losing concern, yet some others that 
 were associated with him, have since found a source of profit 
 arising from them, and have acquired fortunes. 
 
 Things continued in this fluctuating state at the place until 
 the commencement of the year 1821, when they settled on a 
 more permanent basis. Brooke Evans of the city of Philadel 
 phia, having obtained from the general government a contract 
 to make ten thousand stand of arms, took a lease on that part 
 of the property on the west side of the Valley Creek, in Ches 
 ter county, and an armory was erected there on the site of the 
 old stilling mill, and operations soon commenced in that line. 
 In the fall of the same year, the manufacture of domestic 
 hardware having ceased, the factory and all the buildings at 
 tached to it, on the south side of the Gulf road, in the county 
 of Montgomery, were taken by Hugh Wagstaff of Delaware 
 county, for the purpose of manufacturing cotton, and soon 
 put into successful operation. The establishment of these fac 
 tories gave renewed vigor to the place. An influx of persons 
 to those already there, was soon added, and the place soon be 
 gan to increase, and an additional number of houses was soon 
 erected, and two stores opened in the village. The death of 
 Hugh Wagstaff, which took place in 1823, checked the steady 
 operation of the cotton business, but it soon assumed its 
 usual vigor, and for more than two years after that event, it 
 was carried on by John Rogers himself, who removed from 
 the city, and took up his residence at Valley Forge. Toward 
 
104 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 the close of the year 1825, the whole of Valley Forge estate 
 was professed to be purchased by the aforesaid community 
 for the sum of sixty-five thousand dollars, and at the same 
 time they contracted for other properties in the vicinity, to the 
 amount of seventeen thousand more; but they soon found it 
 much easier to purchase than to comply with the conditions on 
 which they professed to purchase. It soon fell to nought, and 
 the whole property, except that comprising the estate known 
 as Headquarters, which has been noticed, was taken back 
 again. John Rogers continued after this short intermission 
 to reside there for several years. He then disposed of the 
 property to a person named Jason Waters from some one of 
 the New England states, who after residing there a few years 
 and the business declining from various causes, he became em 
 barrassed and the property was sold by the sheriff to Charles 
 Rogers, a nephew of John Rogers. The manufacturing busi 
 ness, I think, is now (1850) conducted by an Englishman 
 named Ogden. Charles Rogers now resides there, and being 
 a man of great wealth, and disposed to improve the property, 
 it is now in a fair way of improving in appearance and pros 
 perity. Many new and substantial buildings have been erected 
 by him; among them, on a very elevated point on the Rear 
 Line Hill, is an observatory, furnished with a large telescope, 
 from which an extended view of the surrounding country, in 
 every direction, may be enjoyed, affording to the observer a 
 very beautiful and diversified prospect of the most lovely and 
 interesting scenery in its native grandeur, highly cultivated 
 farms, splendid mansions and commodious farm houses, neat 
 cottages and handsome villages, the navigable river, the rail 
 road thronged with cars, beautiful streams, hills and dales, 
 "fountains and fresh shades" in abundance, till observation is 
 satisfied in passing 
 
 "From house to house, and hill to hill, 
 And contemplation has her fill." 
 
 OTHER LAND WEST OF THE CREEK 
 
 Having now completed the account of that part of the orig 
 inal tract of the Valley Forge estate that was held by the Potts 
 family at the time of the encampment, I shall next proceed to 
 notice a portion of country lying on the western side of the 
 Valley creek, the most of it embraced in the lines. The most 
 of this at the time of the Revolution belonged to David Potts, 
 and is included in the general description of his property al 
 ready given. The rest of it was never remarkable for any oc 
 currences during the war that I have ever heard mentioned, 
 neither do I remember to have heard of any of the general 
 officers being quartered in that section. The land is rather 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 105 
 
 hilly and broken, though well watered and having some ex 
 cellent springs. The quality of the soil is good, and having 
 been mostly held by industrious farmers, they have quietly 
 pursued their peaceful pursuits, the most of them on a limited 
 scale. It was supposed until lately to possess very few, if any, 
 inducements for speculators to enter upon it, as it was not 
 known to contain any valuable mineral substances beneath its 
 surface. In my early days I have heard it said that bitumin 
 ous coal existed in the hills of that region, and tales were re 
 lated of its being known by Indians. If there be any, it has 
 never yet been discovered, and probably never will, as geolo 
 gists never found anything to indicate its existence in that 
 region. 
 
 AN INDIAN TALE 
 
 Among the Indian tales, I have heard one so directly re 
 lated, that I shall give it a place here. Frederick Geerhart, 
 mentioned in a former letter, at whose house a general pro 
 vision store or depository for the use of the army was estab 
 lished, was a blacksmith by trade, and resided there many 
 years previous to the war, and while some Indians continued 
 to dwell in that part of the country. On one occasion an 
 Indian called upon him to have some repairs done to his gun. 
 Not having any coal on hand, he told him he could not do it, 
 assigning that as a reason. The Indian told him that if he 
 would let him have a bag, he would soon procure him some. 
 Being furnished with one, he started off in a southeasterly di 
 rection and returned in a short time with about a bushel of 
 bituminous coal, with which he repaired the gun. The coal 
 was said to be of the same nature and kind of the far famed 
 Virginia coal, formerly so extensively used by blacksmiths. 
 Upon inquiry where he obtained it, and offering him a power 
 ful inducement (a bottle of rum) to show the place, he con 
 sented, and took Geerhart to a hole on a hillside, as he used to 
 relate it, not three miles from his house, where the Indian 
 uncovered an opening in the ground of sufficient dimensions to 
 admit a full grown person to crawl in. Upon entering a few 
 feet in the ground, coal was found in abundance. Wood was at 
 that time very plenty, and the owner of the land on which it 
 was found, and of whom Geerhart claimed a fee for showing 
 him the place, said that he did not wish its existence on his 
 property to be known, as he would have nothing to do with it 
 himself, or dispose of it to any other person for the purpose 
 of mining it. The place, if any, has therefore remained a 
 secret. Geerhart soon after the close of the war, removed to 
 the western part of the state of New York, and in a few years 
 died there. My father, to whom he related the account and 
 from whom I received it, never placed full confidence in it. 
 
106 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 In the year 1830, when the mania for speculation in coal lands, 
 particularly in Schuylkill county, raged to so great an extent, 
 these legendary tales concerning it were again revived, and a 
 few persons, supposing it to exist on their land, commenced 
 searching for it, but all to no profitable purpose no trace of 
 it was ever discovered, and they soon relinquished the pur 
 suit. 
 
 Other discoveries have been made in that section of coun 
 try; and some small manufacturing establishments have been 
 commenced, which taken in connection with the Reading Rail 
 road and the Schuylkill navigation, have recently considerably 
 altered the state of things among them. Of these things I shall 
 speak more fully in my next letter, and also give some account 
 of a portion of country lying on the eastern side of the river, 
 immediately opposite the Valley Forge estate, and the section 
 of country I have last alluded to, as its contiguity to the en 
 campment ground justly entitles it to a place in these com 
 munications. 
 
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THE VAUX-BAKEWELL-WETHERILL MANSION 
 
 where Washington and Howe were guests of James Vaux 
 on the same day. See pages 107-110. Original house with 
 additions. 
 
 SAYLOR-FRANCIS HOME 
 
 joining the Wether ill property on the north. The stone 
 barn amid outbuildings used as a hospital. The publisher 
 of this book has induced the G. A. R. to place a marker 
 above the resting place of soldiers buried on the farm. 
 
LETTER XXIII 
 ACROSS THE RIVER 
 
 N THE eastern side of the Schuylkill, and immedi 
 ately opposite the encampment ground, is a por 
 tion of country which on account of its contiguity 
 to the place, and its connection with it, particu 
 larly after the construction of Sullivan s Bridge, 
 
 I shall give a place in these narratives, as promised at the 
 
 close of my last letter. 
 
 THE PAWLING ESTATE 
 
 The river at Headquarters makes a great bend. A large 
 tract of land directly opposite the place, bounded on the south 
 and east by the river, at the time of the Revolution, and for 
 many years after, belonged to the Pawling family; and if 
 I mistake not it was first patented by Henry Pawling, the orig 
 inal ancestor of the family, who emigrated to this Province 
 at a very early period of the proprietary government. At the 
 time of the Revolution it belonged to Henry Pawling, the 
 grandfather of Levi Pawling, mentioned in a former letter, 
 who then lived in a mansion near Pawling s Bridge, the same 
 one mentioned in my fifth letter, where my mother arrived at 
 midnight, when returning home from her journey to hunt 
 Jehu. New and commodious buildings had also been erected 
 on the property, immediately opposite Headquarters, and 
 were occupied by Henry Pawling, Esq. These two houses I 
 have understood were the resort of many officers during the 
 time of the encampment ; and it is more than probable that some 
 general officers were quartered there; if so, I know not who 
 theye were, not having in proper time availed myself of cor 
 rect information on the subject. It is a rich alluvial soil, al 
 most imperceptibly rising from the river; and for beauty of 
 situation and fertility of soil, is exceeded by none that I know 
 of, lying on either side of the river. Some of the land was 
 held by members of the family till very lately; the last of it 
 was sold since the death of William Pawling, the last surviv 
 ing son of Henry Pawling, Esq., to the Wetherills, druggists 
 and manufacturers of white lead, in Philadelphia, who have 
 also at different times since the commencement of the war 
 with Great Britain in 1812, purchased large tracts of valuable 
 land in the neighborhood, of which I shall now proceed to give 
 a more general notice, as far as my knowledge extends of their 
 possessions. 
 
108 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 When I removed from that part of the country, a little 
 more than twenty-two years ago, the family of Wetherills 
 owned all the land lying on the east side of the river Schuyl- 
 kill, commencing about a mile below Valley Forge, and ex 
 tended up the same to the mouth of the Perkiomen Creek 
 it being more than two miles in extent on the river, except 
 ing the land just mentioned, that then belonged to William 
 Pawling (since purchased by them) and a farm belonging to 
 John Shearer, Esq., and still held by him. Since owned by 
 them, all the property has been much improved by the erection 
 of suitable and commodious buildings of various kinds, 
 adapted to and necessary for the comfortable accommodation 
 and proper management of large and highly productive farms. 
 It may also be noticed, that they had purchased a large and 
 valuable farm on the western side of the Perkiomen Creek, 
 formerly the property of Thomas Vanderslice. In addition 
 to the buildings and improvements just mentioned, they have 
 erected splendid edifices for private summer residences on 
 some of the properties. These things have much improved 
 the appearance of that part of the country; and the most of 
 them being placed in elevated situations, can be seen with 
 advantage from many places of the encampment ground ; and 
 when viewed from this distance, and taken in connection with 
 the beautiful scenery, and the variegated landscape, by which 
 it is on all sides accompanied, renders the prospect extremely 
 beautiful and picturesque. 
 
 THE MINES NEAR SHANNONVILLE 
 
 I shall now give some notice concerning some valuable 
 mineral substances, supposed to exist in the bowels of the earth, 
 in that section of country. It is now near fifty years since a 
 lead mine was opened on or near the Perkiomen, near a place 
 now called Shannonville. It has been since then worked at 
 various times, and by different persons and companies; but I 
 never heard of it being very lucrative, as they all in succes 
 sion abandoned it previous to the year 1826. About the com 
 mencement of that year a person from Cornwall, England, 
 named Sheffield, who professed to have large experience in the 
 business of mining, commenced working them, and was very 
 confident and sanguine of success in the undertaking. He 
 continued business but a short time, and then like his prede 
 cessors gave it up. I do not know whether the Wetherills 
 have purchased this property or not; neither do I know 
 whether the business of mining is carried on there at present 
 or not. Recently copper has been discovered in many places, 
 on both sides of the Schuylkill, in the vicinity of the Valley 
 Forge; and considerable business has been done in making 
 preparation for commencing operations in mining for that 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 109 
 
 substance a more full account of which will be given in some 
 future numbers. 
 
 I hope I may be excused if I encroach upon the time and 
 patience of some of my readers, by giving a more general de 
 scription of the property belonging to the Wetherills, lying 
 farther down the river, and likewise relating some other ac 
 counts in connection with it. It commences on the river and 
 extends in a northwesterly direction about three-fourths of a 
 mile. There is a gradual ascent from the river to the main 
 buildings, which are erected on the most elevated part of the 
 premises, about two hundred feet above the stream, the man 
 sion fronting upon it. From the rear of the house, the ground 
 gradually descends toward the Perkiomen. I speak of the 
 property as it was the last time I was there, about twenty- 
 four years ago. From this place, particularly about the man 
 sion, one of the most beautiful prospects is afforded to the 
 observer of the surrounding country, that it is possible to 
 conceive. Here may be viewed, not only the greater part of 
 the country occupied as the encampment ground, but in every 
 direction as far as the sight extends, can be enjoyed a view 
 calculated to charm and please. Those who have visited Pros 
 pect Hill on the Neshaminy, on the road from Doylestown to 
 Norristown may form some idea of it. 
 
 THE GUESTS OF JAMES VAUX 
 
 This property during the time of the Revolution, and while 
 the army was encamped at Valley Forge, belonged to a per 
 son named James Vaux, who then resided there. It is remark 
 able for a circumstance that occurred there, during the time 
 that he mentioned to me, a short time before his death. He 
 said two distinguished persons were guests at his table on the 
 same day General Washington and General Howe the for 
 mer took breakfast with him; and the latter, supper. This 
 occurred the day after the engagement was to have taken 
 place at the White Horse, about two miles from Goshen Meet 
 inghouse, in Chester county, but was prevented by a heavy fall 
 of rain during the night previous. Those who may have read 
 the history of the Revolutionary War, may remember the ac 
 count. I could write much concerning that event, as I have 
 heard it related by my father, who was one of the number 
 who experienced the effects of it; but as it does not properly 
 belong to these narratives, I shall at this time omit it. But 
 to return to my story. He also informed me that they both 
 lodged at his house the one on the night previous to his 
 taking breakfast with him, the other on the night subsequent 
 to his taking supper. During the war he maintained as nearly 
 as possible a strictly neutral position, he being a member of 
 the Society of Friends, and his hospitable mansion was open to 
 
110 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 both contending powers. He sold the property and removed 
 to the city of Philadelphia, where he continued to reside dur 
 ing the remainder of his life, continuing a steadfast member 
 of the religious society to which he was attached, and always 
 exercised his right of suffrage. He died at an advanced age, 
 about twenty-four years ago. Some of his connections still 
 reside in the city, one of whom a few years since was Re 
 corder of the city. 
 
 THE BAKEWELL HOUSE AND AUDUBON 
 
 I do not know to whom James Vaux sold the property. 
 When I first remember it, it then belonged to a wealthy Eng 
 lishman named William Bakewell, the person by whom the 
 celebrated Bakewell sheep were first introduced into this coun 
 try, he importing them from the farm of his brother in Eng 
 land. He died at the place in the year 1820. His family re 
 moved to Kentucky shortly after, where one of his daughters 
 had previously resided several years, having married Joseph 
 D. Audubon, the celebrated ornithologist, universally known 
 in literary circles. 
 
 A TRAVELER S ESTIMATE OF THIS SECTION 
 
 I shall conclude by mentioning that an English traveler 
 named Robert Sutcliffe, who spent a considerable portion of 
 time in this country, in the years 1804-5 and 6, and kept a 
 narrative of his journey has given a very graphic description 
 of this property ; but as only the initials of the owner s name 
 are given, a stranger would not know it was the same prop 
 erty though I do not think the picture is much too highly 
 painted. He (Robert Sutcliffe) speaks of accompanying M. 
 R., meaning Matthew Roberts (a brother of the Honorable 
 Jonathan Roberts), to his cousin, W. B. s, meaning William 
 Bakewell, and proceeds to pass high encomiums upon the farm 
 and appurtenances; should any of my readers see the work, 
 they will there find it more fully described. I might say much 
 more concerning the other places in the parts lying on the 
 eastern side of the river, particularly the Norris Manor, the 
 most of which is still held by branches of the family; but as 
 the most of them, though equally as near the Valley Forge as 
 some as will hereafter be described, yet not being embraced 
 in the lines of the encampment to proceed further with these 
 would exceed the limits of my original intention. 
 
 In my next I shall proceed to that portion of the country ly 
 ing around Valley Forge, on the east side of the Valley 
 Creek, where the different officers mentioned were quartered. 
 
QUARTERS OF GEN. MAXWELL 
 
 original building, erroneously referred to as the quarters 
 of Gen. Knox, then owned by John Brown, now owned by 
 U. S. Senator P. C. Knox and known as the Valley Forge 
 Farm. See pages 58 and 111 and also the Preface to the 
 Third Edition of this History. 
 
 QUARTERS OF GEN. LAFAYETTE 
 
 original building, owned by Samuel Havard, now known 
 as the Harry Wilson farm. See page 112. 
 
QUARTERS OF GEN. KNOX 
 
 owned by John Havard, long known as the Davis farm, 
 now owned by Thomas Royal. Gen. Duportale was also 
 quartered here, who cut his initials on a door jamb, which 
 a repairing carpenter some years ago regarded as an in 
 trusion of his world and he planed them out. See pages 
 58 and 112 and Preface to Third Edition. 
 
 QUARTERS OF GEN. LEE 
 
 owned by David Havard, and years later by his grandson 
 David Havard, now the farm of Col. Cassatt. See page 115 
 
LETTER XXIV 
 
 EAST OF THE VALLEY CREEK 
 
 ]N THIS I shall commence giving a description of 
 that section of country in Chester and Montgom 
 ery counties lying within the limits of the en 
 campment and immediately in their vicinity, 
 where the general officers mentioned in my former 
 letters were quartered. In so doing I shall refer to the per 
 sons who owned or occupied them at the time of the encamp 
 ment, and also have reference to some of their different 
 owners since that period, and the owners of them at the 
 present time, together with some remarks and observations 
 concerning some of the changes they have since passed 
 through, many of which I shall state from actual knowledge, 
 they having mostly taken place since my recollection, par 
 ticularly the time of the death of the most of the owners and 
 occupants of the places at the time of the Revolution. 
 
 THE FARM OF JOHN BROWN 
 
 In the first place I shall commence with those on the 
 southwestern boundary, which, at the time, belonged to 
 John Brown, Samuel Havard, John Havard and Samuel 
 Richards. These all live on the south side of the Baptist 
 road, except a portion of the land then belonging to John 
 Brown. At his house Gen. Maxwell was quartered, and on 
 a part of the estate some of the breastworks were thrown up, 
 and a part of it still remains in a tolerably good state of 
 preservation. There were also erected on this property, sev 
 eral forts, the most of which are still remaining visible, and 
 have undergone but little alteration since that time, as they 
 were all on land that has never been cultivated, having been 
 kept for a woodland. These remains of the Revolution are 
 frequently visited by persons who have it within their power 
 and feel an interest in these things. He continued to reside 
 there the remainder of his days. His farm was large and 
 very productive, being in the rich Valley of Chester county. 
 By strict economy and persevering industry, he became very 
 wealthy, lived to an old age, and died in the year 1823. The 
 farm previous to his death had been divided into two farms, 
 both at this time sufficiently large. They are now owned, 
 the original mansion place by his daughter, the other by 
 his daughter-in-law, widow of his only son. It belongs to her 
 during her life time, and then descends to her children. There 
 is now none of his male descendants left of the same name. 
 
112 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 THE FARM OF SAMUEL HAVARD 
 
 Lafayette was quartered at the house of Samuel Havard. 
 This farm joined John Brown s on the south, and lay a little 
 beyond the lines of the encampment. It was held by him 
 during his life time. He was a very wealthy man, lived and 
 died unmarried. His death occurred in the year 1808, leav 
 ing all the property, with a very small exception, both real 
 and personal, to a grandson of his brother. This caused 
 much dissatisfaction among other and nearer relations of his, 
 and after many years and much money were spent in litiga 
 tion, the will was finally established, and the legatee placed 
 in peaceable possession of the property. He soon after re 
 linquished his profession as a physician in which he was pre 
 viously fast rising into eminence, and entered into a career of 
 land speculation, which soon dissipated the property, and the 
 real estate was sold to John Sharpless of Delaware county, 
 who held it for several years, being occupied by his son-in- 
 law. Since the death of John Sharpless the property was 
 sold. It is now owned by John Worthington and David Wil 
 son. It is divided into two farms, each containing more than 
 eighty acres. John Worthington occupied the farm and man 
 sion house in which Lafayette resided. The house having, 
 the last time I saw it, undergone but very little change since 
 that time. 
 
 THE FARM OF JOHN HAVARD 
 
 The farm of John Havard, at whose house Knox was 
 quartered, adjoining the latter one, is situated on the State 
 road, from New Hope to the Maryland line, and extends to 
 wards the Valley Forge, on both sides of the Baptist road. 
 That portion lying on the northeast of the latter road was in 
 the lines of the encampment, upon which many lines are still 
 visible. He died before my time, and I never remember to 
 have understood the time. He left one daughter. She married 
 a man named William Davis. They lived during their life 
 times upon it. Their deaths occurred within five weeks of 
 each other; not quite two years ago. Some of their children 
 still reside there and own the property. The eastern extremity 
 of this place was the extent of the picket guard in that di 
 rection. The remains of a chimney stood there for many 
 years after, even since my remembrance, it was called the 
 stone picket, and it is sometimes designated by that name 
 even at this time, when all traces of it are obliterated. Wil 
 liam Davis at the time of his death, was about eighty-two 
 years of age, being one of the last survivors of that period, 
 who retained a lively recollection of the time of the encamp 
 ment. He possessed a good memory, and retained his bodily 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 113 
 
 and mental powers, to the close of life. I regret not having 
 availed myself of more information that he might have 
 given me on these subjects. I may, at this place, notice an 
 account he gave me about twenty-six years ago, which ex 
 hibits acute observation and strength of memory. He was 
 at work in his barn, and observed a person at some distance, 
 coming towards the house. He told some persons who were 
 engaged with him,that he, calling at the same time by his name 
 was a person who was a sergeant in the army, and who used 
 to be at his father s during the Revolution, and whom he had 
 not seen since that time. This was correct. He had, after 
 a lapse of nearly half a century, returned to the place to 
 seek for some person to enable him to prove his services 
 in the army, to entitle him to a pension. 
 
 RICHARDS AND JONES FARMS 
 
 The farms of Samuel Richards and Samuel Jones, lying 
 on the southeast of the last described one, I shall now take 
 some notice of, having, since I commenced this letter, received 
 some additional information concerning them. As noticed in 
 a former letter, Woodford and Scott were quartered at these 
 places. I have since understood that the residence of Samuel 
 Jones was not at the place now occupied as Kendt s tavern, 
 on the State road ; but the next farm above Samuel Richard s, 
 in the Valley. The place, now Kendalt s, was, at the time 
 of the encampment, occupied by a man named Anthony 
 Moore, but who removed from the place shortly after, and 
 before the close of the war, it was the residence of a per 
 son of the name of Samuel Jones, a relative of the former 
 mentioned one. I have further learned that no officers were 
 quartered, for any length of time, at Anthony Moore s. 
 
 Before proceeding to a further description of them, I will 
 mention that I yesterday called on an old friend and rela 
 tion, the venerable Lewis Walker of the city of Philadelphia, 
 now near eighty-five years of age, whom I had not seen for 
 near twenty years, and found him in possession of his men 
 tal and bodily powers, and actively engaged in his mercan 
 tile business. It was at his father s that Gen. Wayne was 
 quartered, and he was at that time, more than ten years of 
 age. From him I obtained the foregoing information, in 
 addition to much other, which I shall insert in future num 
 bers. 
 
 The farm, or rather farms, of Samuel Jones, for there 
 were two of them the one occupied by him at the time, the 
 other by Jacob Fricke are situated in the Great Valley. I 
 do not know at what time he died. He left two sons, Enoch 
 and Nathaniel, to whom the property descended. The farm 
 of Enoch Jones, the place where Scott was quartered, has, 
 
114 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 since his death, been sold, and none of his descendants are 
 now in possession of any part of it. The other one, I think, is 
 still all held by descendants of Nathaniel Jones. In my conver 
 sation with Lewis Walker, he also informed me that, in ad 
 dition to the general officers quartered at the different 
 places, that in most instances, the field officers attached to the 
 divisions and brigades, were mostly with them in their quar 
 ters. I shall give a full account of the staff attached to Gen. 
 Wayne s brigade, in my next, as I received it from Lewis 
 Walker. 
 
 The farm of Samuel Richards has, since his death, passed 
 into several different hands. It was a highly productive 
 farm, and still remains so. Samuel Richards died either 
 during or soon after the Revolution. The property was held 
 by some of his children and descendants, until the year 1815 ; 
 since then it has been successively owned by Samuel Barry 
 and Jonathan Phillips. It now belongs to some of the descend 
 ants of Jonathan Phillips. It has recently undergone many im 
 provements in building and cultivation of soil. 
 
 In my next I shall have some occasion to make some ad 
 dition to some former accounts, having received the informa 
 tion in the manner just related, and as they contain reminis 
 cences of the period of the encampment at Valley Forge, I 
 hope that the introduction of them at this period of my nar 
 ration, will not be looked upon as too great a digression in the 
 order of time and place, in their arrangement. 
 
QUARTERS OF GEX. SCOTT 
 
 but better known as the quarters of Lord Howe, Com 
 mander of the British Army, original house, owned by 
 Samuel Jones, now by Mr. Bodine, who has greatly re 
 modeled it. See pages 58, and 113-4. 
 
 QUARTERS OF GEN. WOODFORD. 
 
 but previously the quarters of the Hessian General Knip- 
 hausen, the two parts to the right constituting the original 
 house, the third part built in 1792 and the large part 
 shortly before 1850, then owned by Samuel Richard, years 
 ago known as the Dewees farm, now owned by A. G. Mc- 
 Collum. See pages 33, and 113-114. 
 
QUARTERS OF GEN. LORD STERLING 
 
 original house, owned by Rev. Wm. Currie, later by Jos. R. 
 Walker, later by Sanderson, furnisher of the State Capitol, 
 now greatly neglected, west of Valley Creek and west of 
 residence of Senator Knox. See page 115. 
 
 QUARTERS OF GEN. PULASKI 
 
 and for a time of Gen. Poor, original building, owned by 
 John Beaver, now by Frank Graham Thomson, who has 
 called back the colonial home into the midst of modern cul 
 ture. Here Devault Beaver shot the soldier for milking the 
 cow. See pages 115 and 116, also 58 and 71. 
 
LETTER XXV 
 FARM OF JOHN BEAVER 
 
 HE FARM of John Beaver was situated on the 
 northeast of the farms of John Havard and John 
 Brown. As noticed in my former letter, John 
 Brown died about the time of the army encamp- 
 
 1 ing at the place ; some officers were quartered for 
 
 a short time at the place, but none permanently. Generals Poor 
 and Pulaski, I have understood, were among the number. The 
 latter was not stationary here. During the time he was con 
 nected with the cavalry, and they were mostly in the neighbor 
 hood of Trenton, in New Jersey. This property has been 
 owned by Rev. William Currie, one of the King s chaplains, 
 previously to the Revolution; but who, upon the war of the 
 Revolution, was deprived of the privilege of officiating in that 
 capacity on account of his adherence to the royal cause. After 
 disposing of this estate, he purchased another lying on the 
 west side of the Valley Creek adjoining the Valley Forge es 
 tate, where he resided the remainder of his days. He lived 
 to a very great age, and died since my recollection, I think in 
 the year 1803, some of his descendants still occupying the 
 property. It now belongs to Joseph R. Walker, his great 
 grandson, and his mother, now near eighty years of age, re 
 sides with him. Levi Walker also informed me that General 
 Stirling, a part of the time of the encampment, was quartered 
 at this place ; and that General Lee, the latter part of the time, 
 was quartered at the house of David Havard, on the farm ad 
 joining it on the southeast. Many of the descendants of Rev. 
 William Currie still reside in that and other parts of the coun 
 try and in the city of Philadelphia. 
 
 But to return to the farm of John Beaver. The most of it 
 fell into the possession of his son, Devault Beaver, who, pos 
 sessing the thrift, industry and economy, so peculiar to that 
 useful and highly respectable portion of the inhabitants of 
 Pennsylvania, the German farmer, he not only improved the 
 fertility of the soil, but erected large, good and substantial 
 buildings upon it ; and by making additions to the original es 
 tate at different times, it became, in his life time, celebrated 
 as one of the largest and most productive, as well as highly 
 improved, farms in that section of country, a position it still 
 continues to hold. He continued to reside upon it, increasing 
 in wealth and prosperity, until his death, in the fall of 1837, in 
 the eighty-second year of his age, leaving many descendants. 
 Some of his sons have since deceased; the survivors of them 
 
116 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 are now engaged in the honorable employment of practical 
 farmers. The property is now owned by his son-in-law. 
 
 FARMS OF JOSEPH WALKER 
 
 The farms of Joseph Walker will next claim our attention. 
 At that time they consisted of two farms. The original man 
 sion occupied by him is still standing. This farm was on the 
 southwest of the place; the one occupied by his son, Isaac 
 Walker, on the northeast. The whole tract of land contained 
 more than three hundred acres, and is still held by the family. 
 Its present owners are Joseph Walker, son of Isaac Walker, 
 and Richard C. Walker and William Walker, sons of Thomas 
 Walker. Richard C. Walker occupies the original mansion; 
 and on the southeastern extremity of it, he has erected a small 
 village, where several branches of mechanical business are 
 conducted. It was here that Wayne was quartered. At the 
 place where Joseph Walker now resides, General Greene was 
 quartered. The middle section of the farm, held by William 
 Walker, is of more recent origin, the buildings having all been 
 erected since my recollection. It may be noted as rather an 
 uncommon occurrence, that this part of the property is now 
 in the sixth generation of the family. The present proprietors 
 are men of industry and enterprise; and, while they have 
 steadily increased in wealth, they have also increased in the 
 value of their respective lands, by suitable, useful and com 
 modious buildings and other improvements. 
 
 ABOUT GENERAL WAYNE 
 
 I shall now turn back to the period of the encampment, in 
 order to insert some of the incidents of that period, related 
 to me by Lewis Walker, in my recent conversation with him 
 on the subject. He informed me that the staff of General 
 Wayne consisted of Colonel Thomas Robinson, of Naaman s 
 Creek, near the Pennsylvania and Delaware state line, Major 
 Benjamin Fishbourne, of the city of Philadelphia, and Major 
 Ryan of Virginia. These had their quarters in company with 
 the General at his father s. I think I have heard it said that 
 they were all connected with him either by relationship or 
 marriage ties. In addition to these, there was also at their 
 house, during the time Dr. Robert Blackwell, of the city of 
 Philadelphia, at that time a physician to the army, afterwards 
 a clergyman, and for many years one of the officiating minis 
 ters of the united churches of Christ, St. Peters and St. James, 
 in the city of Philadelphia, celebrated in his latter days for 
 his immense wealth. Colonel Robinson spent the latter part 
 of his life at his farm, on Naaman s Creek; and Major Fish- 
 bourne was first Governor of the North-Western Territory, 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 117 
 
 then embracing all that section of country lying west of the 
 Ohio river, and now divided into so many different states and 
 territories, and teeming with inhabitants; and Major Ryan, 
 after the war, returned to Virginia. 
 
 At the time they were quartered here, Wayne and Fish- 
 bourne each had in their service an Irishman in the capacity 
 of waiters and to take care of their horses. The name of 
 Wayne s servant was Patrick Joyce ; and that of Fishbourne s 
 was Philip his other name could not be recalled. These two 
 men undertook to rob them of their horses, clothing, money 
 and other articles of value, they could get hold of, and then 
 desert to the British. It so happened that the night fixed upon 
 for carrying their design into execution, Colonel Robinson had 
 occasion to rise early to attend to some duties, and not find 
 ing his change of raiment that had been brough home the 
 preceding evening by his washer-woman, and placed by him 
 in a situation that he knew where to find them, he proceeded 
 to make a further search, and soon found that many other 
 things had disappeared, among others the saddles and bridles 
 of Wayne and Fishbourne, and their boots and pistols. He 
 then alarmed the others, and the servants were observed in 
 the act of taking the horses from the stable. The guard was 
 ordered to stop them, which they did. In the morning they 
 were tried, and each one sentenced to receive two hundred 
 lashes on the bare skin. The sentence was carried into execu 
 tion, Lewis Walker having been a witness to it. They were 
 afterwards turned away, and, in all probability went to the 
 British. 
 
 During the time of the war, Joseph Walker endeavored as 
 much as possible to take no part with either of the contend 
 ing powers, he being a man of pacific principles, and a mem 
 ber of the Society of Friends. This gave occasion for many 
 to condemn him as a Tory, by many of the Republican party, 
 but such was his steady and consistent conduct through that 
 trying and severe campaign, that he escaped with less loss of 
 his property than many others. He had a large field of rye, 
 and one of wheat, and the whole of his mowing ground, that 
 was not destroyed, Wayne having placed a strong guard over 
 them, to prevent the enclosures being taken away, or any per 
 son entering upon them. It was remarked in some of my for 
 mer communications that the soldiers had suffered much from 
 the small-pox; and this suffering was prolonged from being 
 deprived of suitable food to facilitate their recovery. Lewis 
 Walker, in our recent conversation, informed me that he well 
 remembers them, in the spring of 1778, coming to their houses, 
 bearing the marks of suffering, and craving of their benev 
 olent mother, something to relieve their sufferings. One thing 
 they particularly desired was vegetable food, as they had 
 
118 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 long been confined to the salted provisions of the camp. Their 
 meadow abounded at that time with docks and other greens, 
 but the guard would not permit them to enter. Upon making 
 their complaints to her, she took the responsibility upon her 
 self, told the guards to let them enter and collect them to boil 
 with their salted provisions. They did so, and recovered grad 
 ually upon change of diet. Neither the guard, soldiers or 
 herself were ever molested for the liberty they had taken. 
 
 A short time previous to the close of the campaign, he said 
 a dinner party was given at his father s, by Gen. Wayne and 
 staff, to the officers and many of their neighbors. A large 
 temporary table, capable of accommodating a hundred per 
 sons was prepared for the occasion, under the shade of some 
 trees near the house, where they partook of the dinner, there 
 being more than a hundred persons who dined there on the 
 occasion, the fare not being quite so sumptuous as some of our 
 modern entertainment. Among the guests on the occasion 
 was the Commander-in-Chief and his wife, the wife of Gen. 
 Wayne, and nearly all the generals and field officers of the en 
 campment, and some of the neighbors of both sexes. He 
 (Lewis Walker) says that he was sent to invite some of the 
 officers on the occasion, and remembered the figure he made 
 at the time. He mounted an old horse, without a saddle, with 
 a blind halter instead of a bridle and thus equipped he rode 
 barefooted about, to spread the invitations to them. He re 
 lated to me many other things that occurred at the time, some 
 of which have been noticed, others I shall omit. 
 
 Joseph Walker died in the year 1818, in the eighty-eighth 
 year of his age, leaving a numerous family of descendants. 
 Among the survivors of them are two of his sons Lewis, 
 from whom most of the contents of this letter have been ob 
 tained ; and Enoch Walker, now advanced in years and resid 
 ing in Susquehanna county. His son, Isaac Walker, with whom 
 Greene was quartered, resided at the same place all his days, 
 and died in 1822 in the sixty-eighth year of his age, leaving 
 also a numerous family of children and grandchildren, many 
 of whom still reside in the neighborhood of the place. 
 
 I shall now conclude by requesting the publishers to for 
 ward to Lewis Walker, Market Street, between Eleventh and 
 Twelfth, Philadelphia, and Enoch Walker, Dimmick Post 
 Office, Susquehanna county, Pa., each a copy of the paper con 
 taining this number. In my next, I shall proceed with my de 
 scription of the other properties where officers were quartered. 
 
QUARTERS OF GEN. WAYNE 
 
 original house, owned by Joseph Walker, on a corner of his 
 farm is located New Centerville. See pages 58 and 116-118. 
 
 QUARTERS OF GEN. GREENE 
 
 "Rehobeth," the original home of the Walkers in the "Great 
 Valley," on which is built the Friends Meeting-house, 
 parts of original wall still standing, owned by Isaac 
 Walker, in 1850 by Jos. Walker, now by Charles Walker. 
 See pages 58 and 116. 
 
QUARTERS OF GEN. POTTER 
 
 erroneously accepted as the quarters of Gen. Mifflin, orig 
 inal house, bullet hole in the door, owned by Benj. Jones 
 and occupied by Jacob Walker, birthplace of the authoress 
 of the History of the Walker family, now known as the 
 "Little White Cottage," the quarters of Miss Anne Thom 
 son s convalescent children. See pages 58 and 119 and 
 Preface to Third Edition. 
 
 QUARTERS OF GEN. POOR 
 
 original house part of present one, owned and occupied by 
 Benj. Jones, now by Nathan Walker. See pages 58 and 119. 
 
LETTER XXVI 
 
 THE FARM OF BENJAMIN JONES 
 
 HE FARMS where Potter, Poor, Mifflin and Sulli 
 van were quartered, will next claim our attention. 
 The farm of Jacob Walker had been disposed of 
 at the time to Benjamin Jones. A part of it ex 
 tended to the Front Line Hill, and in common with 
 others, in similar situations, it was laid waste and the timber 
 upon it destroyed, and some huts erected upon it. There were 
 upon this farm two dwelling houses Jacob Walker then oc 
 cupying one; and Benjamin Jones, the other. The latter hav 
 ing purchased the whole of the property, he for several years 
 carried on an extensive business in the manufactory of 
 scythes and sickles, but had discontinued it before my recol 
 lection. He continued to reside on the farm the remainder of 
 his days and died at an advanced age, in the year 1815. The 
 house in which he resided, and, where Poor was quartered, 
 with a few acres of land, I think is still held by some of the 
 family. The residue of the estate (the original mansion of 
 Jacob Walker) is now owned by a person from Sheffield, in 
 England, named Geo. Greaves, formerly extensively engaged 
 in Sheffield, in the manufactory of various articles of cutlery 
 and hardware. He does not at present reside on the property. 
 This farm has been rented for many years, and though a 
 highly productive one, yet it has not been improved as regards 
 its buildings and appurtenances, as much as some of the others 
 immediately surrounding it. 
 
 FARMS OF THOMAS WATERS 
 
 The farms of Thomas Waters adjoined this estate on the 
 northeast. He owned a large body of land, consisting of four 
 farms three of them in the county of Chester, the other in 
 the county of Montgomery. I shall now notice the two imme 
 diately adjoining the farm of Benjamin Jones. The others 
 were not, as I have ever been informed remarkable for any- 
 claim attention. One of the farms, at the time of the encamp- 
 thing of sufficient importance, during the Revolution, to 
 ment, was occupied by William Godfrey. At this place Mifflin 
 was quartered. He did not remain there during the whole 
 time. He retired to Reading for a part of the time, in order 
 to recruit his health and strength. William Godfrey, soon af 
 ter the close of the war, removed to York county, where he 
 died about the year 1813, advanced in years. 
 
120 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 After the burning of the Valley Forge, the family of Col 
 onel Dewees removed to this place and continued there for 
 several years. While residing here he again resumed the 
 manufacturing of iron at Valley Forge, and also engaged in a 
 similar business at Heidelberg, in the now county of Lebanon. 
 He became embarrassed in his affairs, and was sold out by 
 the Sheriff, and the latter part of his days was spent in 
 poverty and neglect of the world. Thomas Waters died about 
 the year 1791,, and by will bequeathed his property to his 
 grandson, Thomas W. Dewees. He soon dissipated the prop 
 erty, and disposed of it to a person named John Miller, a stone 
 cutter of the city of Philadelphia, and a native of Scotland. 
 He being a man of wealth and enterprise, soon after erected a 
 large and substantial barn, finished in the most complete man 
 ned, and the second one of the kind erected in that portion of 
 country, where so many similar ones have since been erected. 
 John Miller died in 1814. The property was soon after sold 
 to Hananiah Walker for two hundred dollars per acre. It is 
 now owned by his two sons, and divided into two farms. This 
 farm is justly celebrated for its fertility of soil, and for hav 
 ing water in every enclosure upon it. 
 
 The farm on which Thomas Walker lived during the Revo 
 lution was situate on the northwest of the one last described, 
 and lying near the lines of the encampment, but not extend 
 ing to them. It was here the Hessians found the money, and 
 it was here the British drove away the cattle, and took many 
 other things. Here General Sullivan was quartered, and it 
 was here that Thomas Waters and Colonel Dewees both died. 
 It was also here that the family of Colonel Dewees, after his 
 embarrassment and the death of Thomas Waters, retired to 
 reside. The property being bequeathed to Waters Dewees, sub 
 ject to a life right in it for his mother, amounting in sub 
 stance to the whole of the income of the farm. Colonel De- 
 wees, as noticed in a former communication, died in the year 
 1809. 
 
 THE WIDOW OF COL. DEWEES INDEMNIFIED 
 
 About seven years after his death, his widow and some 
 of the heirs, finding the papers relative to the claim on gov 
 ernment, for damages sustained by the burning of Valley 
 Forge, again resumed their petition to that body, and after 
 carrying it through two successive sessions, in the first being 
 negatived, but in the second passed by both houses, and a 
 compensation of seven thousand five hundred dollars allowed 
 them. During the time of its prosecution, I was engaged in 
 the store of a son-in-law of the Colonel s, in the city of Phila 
 delphia, and had to call upon Caleb North, William Jackson, 
 George A. Baker, and several others of the surviving officers 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 121 
 
 of the Revolution, to procure their signatures to the 
 of his having witnessed the conflagration from an eminence on 
 Mount Joy. On account of his knowledge of the country, he 
 being a native of Chester county, his place of abode not be 
 ing more than twelve miles from the place, he had been sent, 
 as noticed, incognito, to watch the movements of the detach 
 ment of the British army that destroyed it. Upon presenting 
 him with the papers, he read them with emotion, particularly 
 the certificates of Washington, Wayne, Mifflin and other offi 
 cers of the Revolution, drawing at the same time the lively 
 recollection of what he had beheld, and the scenes he had 
 passed through, and observed that it required something more 
 of him than a mere signature. He accordingly prepared a cer 
 tificate setting forth a statement of the facts, to accompany 
 the documents, to the city of Washington. 
 
 The widow of Colonel Dewees continued to reside here un 
 til the spring of 1821. The property was then sold to Mordecai 
 Davis. It has since passed into the ownership of his son, Jo 
 seph Davis, the present proprietor. The widow of Colonel De- 
 wees died at Valley Forge in the latter part of 1822, aged near 
 eighty years. This farm is fertile and highly productive in 
 its nature. Upon it was erected in the year 1799, the first large 
 and commodious stone barn in that part of the country, it 
 being ninety feet in length, and forty-five inwidth. This 
 farm has long been celebrated on account of the number of 
 cattle that are annually fed upon it by its present owner, and 
 also of the numerous agricultural products that are raised 
 upon it, particulary wheat, Indian corn and hay. 
 
 FARM OF ABIJAH STEPHENS 
 
 All the property lying between this farm and the Front 
 Line Hill, in Chester county, belonged at the time of the en 
 campment to Abijah Stephens (my grandfather). Much has 
 already been said concerning it, in connection with the ac 
 counts of the Revolution. I shall say but little further on the 
 subject. The natural fertility of the soil is the same as those 
 already mentioned as lying in the rich Valley of Chester 
 county, but owing to its proximity to the camp, and other 
 causes that I have mentioned, it not only suffered more se 
 verely, and was placed in a situation more difficult to overcome 
 the disadvantages under which it was placed. My grand 
 father was a selft-taught surgeon and practitioner in the art 
 of healing ulcers, abscesses of various kinds, setting of broken 
 bones and dislocations, curing spasms, cuts and bruises, but 
 never undertook to attend in cases of sickness of any kind. At 
 this time the number of physicians was very limited, and he 
 having an extensive practice, did not engage in the resusci 
 tating of his farm with that energy that characterized some 
 
122 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 others. The improvements were more gradual. In his life time 
 the land was fenced, the soil cultivated, but with the excep. 
 tion of a new house erected by him, where he lived the latter 
 part of his life, he erected no other buildings upon it. His 
 farm, at the close of the Revolution, consisted of about three 
 hundred and fifty acres of land, about one hundred and thirty 
 of which he disposed of in his life time. He died on the 
 twenty-first day of the eleventh month (November), one thou 
 sand, eight hundred and two, aged seventy years and nine 
 months. He was born the same day as General Washington. 
 Through life he sustained the character of an affectionate 
 husband and father, friend and honest man, his fame as a 
 practitioner, in various instances, is still remembered, and the 
 virtue of his celebrated adhesive, sticking plaster will long 
 be remembered, and used as a valuable and important family 
 acquisition. 
 
 He left at his death, one son and six daughters. By will 
 he bequeathed the great body of his land to his son, Stephen 
 Stephens, who deceased about five years ago. The original 
 mansion and other buildings on the property, at the time of 
 the Revolution, have all been superseded by new ones, and 
 since his death that part of the estate has been divided into 
 three parts, and it is now owned by one of his sons, who re 
 sides near the original mansion. His daughter owns an 
 other portion of it, and three of his grandchildren the residue. 
 A part of this property is now in possession of the sixth 
 generation of the lineal descent of Evan ap Bevan, their orig 
 inal ancestor. 
 
 A small portion, consisting of eleven acres of land, with 
 the appurtenances, has recently, on account of the death of 
 one of the daughters of Abijah Stephens, been disposed of out 
 of the family. The residue is still in possession of some 
 branches of the family. The descendants of Abijah Stephens 
 are very numerous, though but few of them now bear the 
 name. 
 
 I have now finished a description of all the property lying 
 in the county of Chester, as contemplated in my original de 
 sign. In my next I shall proceed to that portion lying in the 
 county of Montgomery. 
 
 I had originally anticipated concluding these narratives 
 with this number, but I find I shall not be able to do so, as 
 there are yet some very interesting accounts of the improve 
 ments that have lately taken place, and some occurrences 
 and reminiscences that have transpired in that section of 
 country, particularly in that portion of it that has not yet 
 been fully described. I shall, therefore, be under the neces 
 sity of adding a few more additional numbers to those that 
 have been finished. 
 
QUARTERS OF GEN. MIFFLIN. 
 
 original house razed, site designated by x, having stood 
 across lane from the barn, present house some distance to 
 northeast, owned by Thos. Waters, tenanted by Wm. God 
 frey, within present recollection home of Havard Walker, 
 now by Commissioner John R. K. Scott. See pages 58 and 
 119 and 120, also the Preface to Third edition. 
 
 QUARTERS OF GEN. SULLIVAN. 
 
 original house razed, but foundation, about 50 feet in 
 length, clearly discernible, to rear of the present house, 
 home of Thos. Waters, long known as a Davis farm, now 
 owned by Commissioner John R. K. Scott. See pages 38, 
 40-41, 58, 120-121. 
 
QUARTERS OF GEN. MORGAN AND THE COMMISSARY GENERAL 
 
 original building and cave, owned by Mordecai Moore, later 
 by Alexander Kennedy, then by David Zook, now by Sen. 
 Croft. See pages 57, 123-124. 
 
 QUARTERS OF GEN. MUHLENBERG. 
 
 original house, east of Port Kennedy, owned by John Moore, 
 now by Mr. Irvin. See pages 57, 124-125. 
 
LETTER XXVII 
 THE MOORE PROPERTIES 
 
 HE PROPERTY embraced in the lines of the en 
 campment, and lying in the northeastern and 
 northern section of it, in the county of Mont 
 gomery, will claim our notice in this communica 
 tion. The greater portion of this property at that 
 time belonged to John and Mordecai Moore, and has been no 
 ticed in some former numbers. On this property fortifica 
 tions were constructed and pickets placed. At John Moore s, 
 which was the furthest from Headquarters, Muhlenberg was 
 quartered in company with a number of inferior officers; 
 and at the house of Mordecai Moore, the Commissary Gen 
 eral of the army was stationed, and General Morgan was oc 
 casionally quartered at the place. 
 
 Much has been already said concerning this property in 
 the general account of the encampment. I shall, therefore, 
 in this number inform my readers, that Mordecai Moore 
 continued to reside there till the spring of 1801. He had 
 raised a family of six sons and two daughters; these had all 
 left him previous to that time. His daughters were married, 
 and his sons had principally removed to other parts of the 
 country to seek their fortunes some as mechanics and two 
 as professional men. He and his wife, being advanced in 
 years and the property resuscitated from the effects of the 
 war, removed to Abington township in the same county, to 
 reside with their son, who was settled there as a practitioner 
 of medicine, and rented his farm during the residue of his 
 life. He died at Abington in the summer of 1803, advanced 
 in years. 
 
 ALEXANDER KENNEDY 
 
 Some time after his decease, the property was sold to 
 Alexander Kennedy, a native of Ireland, who removed to re 
 side upon it in 1805, and continued there until his death, in 
 the fall of 1844, aged sixty-three years. From a small be 
 ginning upon his arrival in this country, he increased in 
 wealth and property, and at the same time by an exemplary 
 life and character, he lived universally respected, and died 
 sincerely lamented, not only by his family, but also by a 
 large circle of friends and acquaintances. I may here notice 
 something concerning him, that shows the reverses of fortune 
 that people sometimes pass through. When he first arrived in 
 
124 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 the country, he was engaged in the capacity of a footman, to 
 a person in the neighborhood, of a haughty disposition, and 
 it was his business to hold his horse, follow him on foot from 
 place to place, to take care of it when he rode out in his 
 chair, and perform other menial services. In the course of 
 a few years time became altered; the servant became a man 
 of wealth and respectability, the master became a poor, dis 
 tressed and debilitated object, scarcely able to travel from 
 one house to another an evidence of the truth of the declara 
 tion of the wise man, that "pride goeth before destruction, 
 and a haughty spirit before a fall. * I have seen him when 
 thus reduced, ask of Alexander Kennedy to allow him the 
 privilege of riding in his ox-cart, such were the reverses 
 of fortune that had overtaken him. But to resume the sub 
 ject. 
 
 After the decease of Alexander Kennedy, his family con 
 tinued to reside on the property until the spring of 1837. It 
 was then sold to David Zook, the present owner and occu 
 pant of the greater part of it. He married a granddaughter 
 of Mordecai Moore, so that a part of the property has now 
 got into possession of a branch of its original owner. The 
 southwestern portion of the farm, that part on which the 
 huts and breastworks were erected, is now owned by Abra 
 ham Beidler. The whole of the property originally belong 
 ing to the Moore family, and owned by Alexander Kennedy at 
 the time of his death, consisting of more than two hundred 
 acres, is under a state of high cultivation and is abundantly 
 productive, and continues improving under the present en 
 terprising owners of it. 
 
 The farm or rather farms of John Moore will now claim 
 our attention. As noticed in a former letter, John Moore, the 
 owner of them, at the time Muhlenberg took up his headquar 
 ters at the place, died soon after, on the first day of the 
 year 1778. Two of his sons, John and Richard Moore, took 
 possession of the property. The mansion where Muhlenberg 
 was quartered was taken by Richard Moore, and was the 
 farthest extent of the lines of the encampment in a north 
 eastern direction, and nearest to the city of Philadelphia. 
 Another farm, lying on the west of this property and nearer 
 the Schuylkill, the one on which the fort was erected, and 
 also a considerable number of the huts, was taken by John 
 Moore. They both held these farms during their lives. 
 John Moore died in the spring of 1822, and Richard Moore 
 in the fall of 1823; they both were at their decease between 
 sixty-five and seventy years of age. During their lifetimes 
 they had each purchased considerable real estate adjoining 
 their paternal farms, which will be noticed in some future 
 numbers. The children of John Moore now own none of 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 125 
 
 the real estate; it has passed into the ownership of different 
 persons some during his lifetime, the residue since his 
 death. The two sons of Richard Moore, Edwin and Samuel, 
 now own all the real estate of their father held by him at 
 his decease; and the former one now (1850) owns the man 
 sion and about seventy acres of the farm of John Moore. 
 These farms, together with the others I have been describ 
 ing, are all situated in the Great Valley; and for richness 
 of soil, convenience of market, contiguity of railroads, canals 
 and turnpikes, abundance of limestone and other advantages 
 which might be enumerated, are such as place it in a situa 
 tion that is not excelled by any other portion of country in 
 Eastern Pennsylvania. On the farm of Edwin Moore are 
 several large and beautiful springs of limestone water. They 
 issue out of the northwest side of a hill about a mile from 
 the Schuylkill, supplying in their course a large flouring mill 
 with a constant supply of water; and so uniform is the quan 
 tity that it is not impeded by drought in summer or frost 
 in winter. To describe the beauty of the largest of these 
 springs and the transparency of the water issuing from them 
 in a meandering course until it reaches the mill dam, is not 
 in my power. They must be seen to be duly appreciated. The 
 stream in my earlier clays used to be noted for its abundance 
 of fine trout, and was much frequented by anglers. To the 
 truth of this assertion my friend, William Henry, of Doyles- 
 town, can bear ample proof. Of late they have much de 
 creased. Belonging to Edwin and Samuel Moore is a piece 
 of land containing in connection with about fifteen acres of 
 land in Montgomery county, now in possession of our family, 
 that is known by the name of the mine land on account of 
 its having been purchased about two hundred and fifty years 
 ago (1700) by a company of people for the purpose of digging 
 for copper. As the business of mining in this line has re 
 cently been commenced in many places in that vicinity, I 
 shall devote a greater portion of time to a more general ac 
 count of it in some future numbers. 
 
 The greater part of the country that I have described on 
 the western side of the Schuylkill, particularly that part lying 
 in the Great Valley, was laid waste, and but little exertion 
 was made by most of the owners of it to improve it until 
 after the conclusion of the war. They then commenced the 
 restoration of their farms. The hand of industry soon caused 
 the face of the country to assume a different aspect, but it 
 was for many years after before some of it was restored. 
 In commencing this work they encountered many difficulties. 
 Continental money died on their hands. The government 
 was for many years after in a very unsettled state. The for 
 eign trade was crippled by the war. And many other dis 
 couraging circumstances had to be surmounted by perse- 
 
126 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 vering industry and patient resignation. In the few years 
 these were overcome; their lands were enclosed; where 
 lately nothing was beheld but desolation could be seen the 
 fruitful fields crowned with abundance of grain of every 
 description, for the sustenance of man and beast, and in sum 
 mer clad with verdant grass, on which flocks and herds were 
 quietly feeding and the whole face of the country bearing 
 witness of the blessings of peace in contrast with the evils 
 of war. The adoption of the present Constitution of the 
 United States, the revival of trade and commerce, the de 
 mand of our produce in foreign ports, and the establish 
 ment of a sound currency, soon placed the agricultural inter 
 ests of that period on a firm and lucrative foundation. 
 
 A DIGNIFIED VISITOR IN A PLAIN SUIT OF BLACK 
 
 I shall close this communication with an account I have 
 often heard related by my father. In the latter part of the 
 summer of 1796, he was engaged in ploughing in a field near 
 the Front Line Hill. It was in the afternoon of the day, and 
 observed an elderly person of a very dignified appearance, 
 dressed in a plain suit of black, on horseback, accompanied 
 by a black waiter, ride to a place in the road opposite to him, 
 where he alighted from his horse and came into the field 
 to him, and shaking hands cordially with him, told him he 
 had called to make some inquiry of him, concerning the 
 owners and occupants of the different places about there, 
 and also in regard to the system of farming practised in that 
 part of the country, the kinds of grain and vegetables raised, 
 the time of sowing and planting, the best method of tilling 
 the ground, the quantity raised, and numerous other things 
 relative to farming and agriculture, and asking after some 
 families in the neighborhood. As answers were given he 
 noted them down in a memorandum book. 
 
 My father informed him that he was unable to give as 
 correct information as he could wish, as he had not been 
 brought up to the farming business, and was not a native 
 of that part of the country, having settled there since the 
 war, that he came from North Carolina, where he resided 
 previous to the Revolution, that he had been in the army and 
 was one of the number encamped there during the war. This 
 gave a new turn to the conversation. The stranger informed 
 him that he had also been in the army and encamped there, 
 and was expecting in a few months to leave the city of Phila 
 delphia, with no prospect of ever returning. He had taken 
 a journey to visit the place, view the old encampment ground, 
 which had been the scene of so much suffering and distress, 
 and see how far the inhabitants were recovering from the 
 disasters they had experienced, and the losses they had sus- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 127 
 
 tained from that event, adding that his name was George 
 Washington. 
 
 Upon receiving this information, my father told him that 
 his costume and appearance were so altered that he did not 
 recognize him, or he would have paid more respect to his 
 old Commander and the Chief Magistrate of the Union. He 
 replied that to see the people happy and satisfied, and the 
 desolate fields recovering from the disasters they had experi 
 enced, and particularly to meet with any old companion of his 
 in arms and suffering now peacefully engaged in the most 
 useful of all employments, afforded him more real satisfac 
 tion than all the servile homage that could be paid to his 
 person or station. He then asked his name, noted it in his 
 memorandum book, and said that pressing engagements ren 
 dered it necessary for him to return to the city that night, 
 or he would visit some of his former friends at their houses. 
 Then taking him by the hand bade him an affectionate fare 
 well. 
 
 In my next, I shall describe the property in the county of 
 Montgomery, in the lines of the encampment, lying on the 
 river. 
 
LETTER XXVIII 
 
 LAETITIA PENN S MANOR 
 
 |HE PROPERTY I shall now proceed to describe con 
 sists of a tract of land lying in the county of Mont 
 gomery, on the river Schuylkill, extending down 
 the same from the Valley Forge tract to the north 
 of a small stream (originally called Cedar Creek), 
 and bounded on the southeast by a line called the Bilton Line, 
 commencing near the mouth of the stream, and running a 
 southwesterly course until it strikes the Valley Creek, a part 
 of said line being the county line of Chester and Montgomery 
 counties. 
 
 This tract containing more than a thousand acres was 
 called "Laetitia Penn s Manor," on account of it having been 
 given by William Penn to his daughter Laetitia. The greater 
 part of it has been referred to as the property of David 
 Stephens, William Smith and the place where the commander 
 of the Second Regiment was quartered. 
 
 THE JENKINS-MORRIS FARM 
 
 There is one farm lying on the river, adjoining the latter 
 one, and still lower down, that having suffered in some meas 
 ure from the effects of the encampment, I shall therefore take 
 some notice of it. This was owned by a person named Jenkins. 
 He first settled there more than one hundred years ago (before 
 1750). From him a pool in the river, celebrated for it depth 
 and good fishing, and also an island took their names. 
 
 This property passed into other hands, more than eighty 
 years ago. But whether sold by him in his life time or since 
 his death, I cannot say. He died about that time. My mother 
 deceased a little more than three years since, in the eighty- 
 ninth year of her age, remembered him, though she was very 
 young at the time of his death. He was a Welshman, and used 
 to converse with her grandmother in that language. This was 
 the principal recollection she had of him. At the time of the 
 Revolution and for more than twenty years after, it belonged 
 to Robert Morris, the great financier and the founder of Mor- 
 risville in this county (Bucks). After his embarrassment it 
 was sold by the Sheriff to John Moore, and with the excep 
 tion of the mill and appurtenances and fifteen acres of land 
 sold to Isaac Beaver, it was held by him till his death in 1822. 
 It was soon after sold to Dennis Conard, the present owner 
 and occupant. The original mansion erected by Jenkins is, I 
 think, still standing on the property, though new and substan- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 129 
 
 tial buildings have been erected upon it by the present proprie 
 tor. At the time of the war this property was occupied by a 
 minister of the Society of Friends, named Abraham Griffith, 
 and it more than probable that some officers may have been 
 quartered there. It suffered some little destruction of timber 
 from the soldiers, but owning to its distance from the main 
 body of the encampment, it was not so much devastated as 
 some others. 
 
 While this property belonged to Robert Morris, he used 
 sometimes to form parties for the purpose of fishing for the 
 speckled trout that abounded in the stream on and near the 
 premises, to which he invited the President and heads of the 
 different departments of government, members of Congress 
 and other distinguished officers and citizens of Philadelphia, 
 numbers of whom often attended on these occasions for the 
 two-fold object of enjoying the pleasure of the party and visit 
 ing the old ground of the encampment. 
 
 PORT KENNEDY 
 
 The farm mentioned as the quarters of the commander of 
 the Second Regiment, and the next in course as we proceed up 
 the river, with the one next above, where the provost s guard 
 was placed, were originally owned by a person named Egling- 
 ton, who left two daughters, to whom the property descended. 
 One of them named Mary, to whom the former one belonged 
 married a person named David Riley, and for some years re 
 sided upon it. This was previous to the Revolution. They 
 mortgaged this property to a person named Thomas Hazelton, 
 and neither principal or interest of the mortgage was paid. 
 The Rileys moved off the property, and upon the death of 
 Hazelton, the claim descended to his two daughters, who took 
 possession of it by virtue of the mortgage. One of them mar 
 ried a sea captain named Alexander Hodgson, the other went 
 to England, lived there the remainder of her days, and died 
 unmarried within the last thirty years. Alexander Hodgson 
 died more than forty years ago. His widow died since my 
 removal to this county (about 1828) . They left no children. 
 
 My first recollection of this property was when in the 
 fourth year of my age. It was then occupied by Michael Shur. 
 It was then called Hodgson s place, and celebrated on account 
 of a great spring that rises upon it by two distinct heads, 
 which issue from under a large beech tree, and unite together 
 immediately after flowing from the hill. Either of these 
 springs are as large as Ingham s great spring in this county, 
 but rising so near the river, and not possessing sufficient natur 
 al advantages, the water power has never been used for manu 
 facturing purposes. There is one thing remarkable about these 
 springs, that is, that though they rise within a few feet of 
 
130 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 each other, the one is soft sandstone, the other hard limestone 
 water. 
 
 This place having with others suffered from the effects of 
 the encampment, it did not, like some others, advance in the 
 same course of improvement. The greater part of it lay a 
 common for more than fifty years after, doubts as to the 
 ownership of it preventing much improvement being made 
 upon it. The Hazelton family holding it by virtue of the mort 
 gage, and the Riley family having moved off without paying 
 principal or interest, or in any other way disposing of it, the 
 fences went to decay. The buildings were poor and trifling, 
 the soil became exhausted, and for many years previous to the 
 year 1820, the greater part of it was the picture of desolation 
 and barrenness. 
 
 About this time seven-sixteenths of the whole estate was 
 sold by an agent of the widow Hodgson to Alexander Ken 
 nedy, John Elliott, John Frick and Lewis Wanwag. The other 
 sixteenth which was her full share, was retained by the agent 
 until a disputed line should be settled. Previous to the fall of 
 1824, Alexander Kennedy purchased all the right and interest 
 in the property belonging to John Elliott and Lewis Wanwag so 
 that at the time of his decease he was owner of three-eights of 
 the whole estate. Since that time his heirs have purchased 
 the right and title of all the other owners, thus becoming ab 
 solute owners of the whole property. The estate, with the ex 
 ception of some building lots, and about thirteen acres of lime 
 stone land, the latter sold to Robert Bethel, formerly of this 
 county, now belongs to William, David R., and John Ken 
 nedy. There is now (1850) on this property more than fifty 
 houses, sixty lime kilns in constant operation, employing more 
 than four hundred men; a large hotel, three stories high and 
 forty feet square; four stores, two blacksmith shops and 
 wheelright shops; and numerous other manufacturing trades 
 carried on at the place ; and two lumber yards and several coal 
 yards, doing an extensive business. 
 
 This place is called Port Kennedy, and is celebrated for 
 the great quantity of lime that is burnt, and shipped in canal 
 boats annually from there to various parts of the states of 
 Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The 
 amount sent from this place during last year, I was informed 
 by two of the proprietors, was more than one million, two 
 hundred and fifty thousand bushels. We may then safely 
 hazard the opinion that it is the most extensive operation, in 
 that line of business, in the Union. Here, at times and sea 
 sons, on working days, if some unavoidable circumstance does 
 not prevent, may be seen the jolly sons of Emerald Isle, s*ome 
 driving their carts loaded with lime and coal, to and from 
 the river, some hauling stones to fill the kilns, others are 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 131 
 
 quarrying, some engaged in filling, while others are loading 
 carts, and, in fact all the different operations attendant upon 
 it, are conducted at the same time, at different kilns, belong 
 ing to the same person. Each of the workmen appearing to 
 enjoy themselves in their different avocations, if the joyous 
 song or merry whistle may be taken as an evidence of con 
 tentment. The boats that carry the lime from the place are 
 large and commodious, and of last the most of them furnished 
 with masts and sail to be used in tide-water. They generally 
 contain about three thousand bushels. 
 
 In addition to the different branches of business men 
 tioned above, it may also be noticed that the arable land has 
 been much improved by the present active and enterprising 
 ow r ners; so that the land which for half a century lay bar 
 ren and unproductive, a waste and almost useless common, 
 now abounds with plenty, and is enclosed, producing an abund 
 ance of the fruits of the earth for the sustenance of mankind. 
 An evidence of the truth of it is apparent by the large and 
 well-filled barns on the premises. 
 
 The Reading Railroad passes through the property, and 
 last year (1849) a bridge was constructed across the river, 
 which more intimately connects the business on both sides of 
 the river; and while it is of mutual benefit, it will have a 
 tendency to still enhance the value of real estate in the imme 
 diate vicinity ; though it is now to be regretted that recent in 
 juries done to it by freshets have rendered it at present unfit 
 for crossing with vehicles of any kind. It is now being re 
 paired. 
 
 The quarries and limekilns on this property are objects of 
 great importance, but I shall fail giving a full description of 
 them. These, independent of other things, equally interesting, 
 would be worthy of a visit. The limestone lies near the sur 
 face, and is easily quarried. There are two hills of consider 
 able elevation extending about three-fourths of the whole 
 length of the farm, which are a solid body of limestone. A 
 small vale of about sixty feet in width passes between them, 
 and gradually descends toward the river, which is the great 
 thoroughfare for the numerous teams employed in conducting 
 the business. Acres of ground have been excavated for the 
 purpose of procuring limetone. In some places roads or cart- 
 ways have been cut through solid bodies of limestone and lead 
 to quarries belonging to different persons, one of which I lately 
 examined. It had then a base line on a level with the cause 
 way, of about one hundred and thirteen feet. Its perpendicu 
 lar height was about eighty feet, and it extended in length 
 more than two hundred feet. This quarry is owned by David 
 Zook, who has purchased a small portion of the estate, and is 
 extensively engaged in the lime business. A public road now 
 
132 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 passes through this property, between these two hills, and 
 leads from Port Kennedy, through a part of the old encamp 
 ment, to the Gulf Road. The lime kilns are erected at various 
 places some on the river, others on both sides of the road just 
 mentioned, generally from six to twelve abreast, and containing 
 from two to three thousand bushels. It may also be observed 
 that several large basins have been excavated on the river, 
 for the purpose of boats entering to receive and discharge 
 their cargoes, and there are also a few docks for boats to enter 
 for similar purposes. 
 
 The greater part of the business of the place is done 
 through the medium of the canal. Coal and lumber are brought 
 in this way the former from the mines in the county of 
 Schuylkill, the latter generally from the Susquehanna by way 
 of the Union Canal. Little business is done here, or at any 
 other place on the river by the Reading Railroad, when the 
 navigation is open, except that the mail is transported by the 
 locomotive train of cars, and a passenger train stops daily 
 at this place. There is a postoffice also established here, called 
 Port Kennedy Postoffice. The Reading Railroad is chiefly em 
 ployed in conveying coal from Pottsville to Richmond on the 
 Delaware, having enough to do in that line. Much more might 
 be said concerning the changes and improvements this prop 
 erty has undergone within the last twenty years, were it 
 deemed requisite. Enough has been said to show the bless 
 ings of peace, enterprise and industry, in contrast with the 
 curses of war, devastation and destruction. 
 
 I shall conclude with some observations that I heard made 
 a few years ago by an old man now living in Abington town 
 ship, Montgomery county, who resided at Port Kennedy forty- 
 six years ago. 
 
 He was returning from Pottsville in a boat, which stopped 
 for a short time at the place, and he availed himself of the op 
 portunity of taking a view of the property, but everything was 
 strange around him. He went to view the spring, the old house 
 in which he lived, the waste fields and other objects which he 
 left there. The spring still remained, but the site of it, in its 
 native beauty, had been destroyed by buildings erected over it. 
 Instead of the old house and miserable barn, new and splendid 
 buildings had been erected upon it; the waste fields were en 
 closed, and the whole face of it had undergone a thorough 
 change, and the only objects that he could see to remind him 
 of the days of his residence there were an old shellbark hickory 
 tree (a part of which is still remaining) (1850) , and the large 
 limestone rock on the bank of the river. These, he said, were 
 all he could recognize, and in narrating the account he ob 
 served that if he could have been placed there, without pre 
 vious knowledge of his locality, he could not possibly have 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 133 
 
 known where he was, so great had been the change. In relat 
 ing this account I was forcibly reminded of Washington Irv- 
 ing s humorous tale of Rip Van Winkle sleeping twenty years 
 on the Catskill Mountain, and awakening and finding himself 
 a stranger to everything transpiring around him. 
 
 LETTER XXIX 
 THE PROVOST FARM 
 
 N THIS communication I shall first proceed to give 
 a description of the farm on which the provost 
 guard was placed during the Revolution, and the 
 officers having charge of rt were quartered. At the 
 time the property containing one hundred and 
 twenty-five acres was owned by William Smith, first Presi 
 dent of the University of Pennsylvania, and then occupied 
 by a person, as a tenant, named Henry Force. The provost 
 was kept in an old log barn on the premises, that stood as a 
 relic of that period until 1830; it was then demolished and a 
 new and commodious stone barn erected near the site of 
 the old one. This place having within the last twenty years 
 undergone much alteration, it will, therefore, claim consider 
 able attention. In order that the account may be kept in 
 a connected form, I shall now refer to the early history of 
 the place. As observed in my last, this property was orig 
 inally owned by a person named Eglington, and at his death, 
 it fell to his daughter, who sold it to Henry Pawling, the 
 grandfather of Levi Pawling, mentioned in one of my former 
 letters. While in his possession to added to it an island in the 
 river, called Catfish island (noted on account of a large but- 
 tonwood tree growing on it at the time, cut down thirty 
 years since), he taking up and patenting another called Fat- 
 land Island, about a half mile higher up the river. It has 
 since that time had many owners, numbers of them I shall 
 not refer to, as they cannot particularly interest many 
 readers. I shall, therefore, just observe that from time of 
 the Proprietor of Pennsylvania granting it to his daughter, 
 up to the year 1812, it had passed through sixteen different 
 conveyances. I have never heard anything more of sufficient 
 notice occurring here during the time of the encampment to 
 claim any further observation. It has suffered in common 
 with others contiguous to it it. I shall, therefore, pass by that 
 period, and confine myself to incidents that have occurred 
 since my recollection, which extends back to the commence- 
 men of the present century. It was then I first remember 
 being upon it. I was then in the fifth year of my age ; it was 
 at that time owned by Andrew Porter, the father of David E. 
 Porter, Ex-Governor of Pennsylvania, and in the occupancy 
 of Michael Shur. As noted, it had suffered from the effects 
 
134 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 of the war, and having changed owners and tenants so often 
 it had not improved much either in quality or appearance 
 at that period. It was soon after sold to a person named 
 Stephen Kingston from Philadelphia, who held it about four 
 years. 
 
 During the time the property was owned by Stephen 
 Kingston, he made considerable alterations upon it, and 
 transformed the appearance of part of it, but made very 
 little useful or durable improvements; although enough was 
 expended upon it, in enclosing three sides of a ten acre with 
 a stone wall of solid masonry, four and a half feet high and 
 eighteen inches thick, and erecting an ungainly stone edifice 
 covering much ground and affording little room to have 
 erected suitable buildings of all kinds necessary for the ac 
 commodation of such a farm. There was also expended by 
 him in making pleasure gardens and fish ponds, and en 
 deavoring to rear tropical fruit and numerous other things 
 equally useless, to have closed the whole estate with good 
 and substantial fence. How much further he would have 
 extended these things is uncertain, his avowed object being 
 (as it might seem) to effect these things first, and then im 
 prove the land. But the means failed; he became embar 
 rassed, the place was sold, and then the work ceased to be 
 carried on. They gradually fell into decay; and at this time 
 there is scarcely anything except the house, which has un 
 dergone some alterations, left on the premises, to remind the 
 observer of the existence of these things. 
 
 Its next owner was George Davis, from the city of Phila 
 delphia; he held it about two years. It subsequently fell 
 into possession and ownership of Frederick Weisel. It was 
 disposed of to Samuel Richards in the year 1811, who con 
 tinued to reside in it until the year 1824. It was then sold 
 to Thomas J. Walker, who removed to reside upon it in the 
 spring of that year. While held by Samuel Richards, he 
 sold off the southeastern part of it, about thirty-two acres, 
 which reduced it down to about ninety-three acres. 
 
 During the time it was held by the persons last men 
 tioned, no improvement of any consequence was made upon 
 it. The land grew but little if any better in quality, many of 
 the enclosures had gone to decay, and that part that was 
 sold by Samuel Richards was turned out as a useless common, 
 and had remained so for a number of years. 
 
 The death of Thomas J. Walker occurred about five 
 months after his removal to the place. He was an enter 
 prising man, and had his life been spared a few years longer, 
 he would no doubt have improved the property. It was held 
 by his executors until the spring of 1828, when it was dis 
 posed of by them to Isaac Sharpless, who at that time took 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 135 
 
 up his residence upon it. The most of the soil was good, and 
 all it wanted was proper cultivation. 
 
 The period had now arrived when this place was to as 
 sume a different appearance, under the management of its 
 then thrifty, industrious and enterprising owner. Inde 
 pendent of its natural good soil, it possessed other advantages ; 
 it abounded in limestone of a superior quality. The naviga 
 tion of the Schuylkill had been fully completed; the spirit 
 of improving the soil by the application of lime as a manure, 
 or rather fertilizer of the soil, was now engaging the atten 
 tion of farmers in various sections of the country, particu 
 larly those to whom the navigation of the river opened an 
 easy facility of obtaining it through that medium. Hence 
 extensive trade in that line was opened, not only to vari 
 ous parts of our own state, both up and down the river, but 
 also in various parts of the states of New Jersey, Delaware 
 and Maryland. These combined advantages being improved 
 by the owner of the property, it soon began to assume a very 
 different appearance. 
 
 The useless stone wall was taken down, and the materials 
 used for constructing a large stone barn, and other conven 
 ient and necessary buildings. The fences were all renewed by 
 good and substantial ones; and the place seen at the time 
 he took possession of it as the scene of dilapidation and decay, 
 now wears a bright prospect a monument of the enterprise 
 of its last industrious owner. 
 
 While owned by Isaac Sharpless, he disposed of all that 
 portion of it lying on the southeast side of a public road 
 leading from Port Kennedy to the Valley Forge, except a 
 small portion reserved for limestone. On this part of the 
 farm, an extensive business in the manufacturing of lime is 
 carried on principally by Richard C. Walker and sons, but 
 not to so great an extent as at Port Kennedy the business 
 at this place conducted by them being more generally to parts 
 of Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties, and hauled 
 by large teams, though considerable is done by canal and 
 railroad. On this portion of the property several good 
 dwellings have been erected since it came into their possession, 
 together with a dwelling house, wheelwright and blacksmith 
 shop, erected by others, there being about one hundred in 
 habitants residing upon it. 
 
 The Reading Railroad passes through this farm, between 
 the original mansion and the river; and from the house 
 can be enjoyed an uninterrupted view of both the railroad 
 and the river. Here at ail hours of the day, may be seen and 
 heard the numerous trains of coal and other cars, continu 
 ally ascending and descending upon the railroad, conveying 
 daily thousands of tons of anthracite coal, from the extensive 
 mines in Schuylkill county, to Richmond on the Delaware, 
 
136 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 in the city of Philadelphia, and other productions of the soil, 
 and articles of manufacture and merchandise. In addition 
 to these, when the navigation is unobstructed may be seen 
 large coal boats, passing to and from the same regions; and 
 others laden with lumber and other articles, by way of the 
 Union Canal, from various parts of the interior of our own 
 state. I have often seen more than a dozen large boats of 
 this description at one view from the place, thus engaged. 
 
 It may also be noticed that a lumber and coal yard was 
 commenced on this property by Dr. Jones Davis, about the 
 year 1832; but it has for several years been abandoned. I 
 have now in this and my last letter, given a general account 
 of these two estates, that lay waste so many years, and have 
 recently undergone so much improvement. In doing so I 
 have had considerable allusion to the business done on the 
 Reading Railroad and the Schuylkill Canal, and I hope I 
 will be excused, if I through this medium, just suggest to 
 the people of Bucks county, particularly those in the vicinity 
 of New Hope, Doylestown, and other places immediately on 
 the route, the advantages that would accrue to them if a 
 railroad from New Hope to Norristown could be constructed. 
 I merely mention them; at present I shall make no further 
 comments on them; but resume my general subject. 
 
 THE DAVID STEPHENS FARMS 
 
 The property belonging to David Stephens is now the only 
 one that remains to be described that was embraced in the 
 lines of the encampment. It consisted of two farms, extend 
 ing from the last described one unto the Valley Forge tract, 
 and lying upon the river Schuylkill. 
 
 The lower one, at the time of the war, was occupied by 
 a person named Zachary Davis; and at his house General 
 Huntingdon had his quarters. This farm, which was large 
 and valuable, after the death of David Stephens, which I 
 think was about the year 1786, fell to his son, Maurice 
 Stephens, more generally known by the name of Esquire 
 Stephens, on account of his holding the commission of a jus 
 tice of the peace for more than thirty-five years. He lived 
 and died unmarried, and not being very energetic, he did 
 not improve his farm to any great extent, except that he 
 erected a large and commodious barn and house upon it. 
 He became involved, and spent the great part of it during 
 his life time; he died in the fall of 1827. For some years 
 before his death he was blind, and his faculties were im 
 paired. 
 
 The property, about two years previous to his death, was 
 sold to William Henry, of the county of Philadelphia, who 
 now resides upon it, having removed there shortly after pur 
 chasing it. The property has been much improved since it has 
 come into his possession; part of it that had laid a common 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 137 
 
 since the Revolution, and probably longer, has been enclosed, 
 and now is under a high state of cultivation; additional 
 buildings have been erected upon it, and other land lying con 
 tiguous to it has been purchased by him, so that it now stands 
 conspicuous as one of the largest and most highly cultivated 
 farms in that portion of the ground of the encampment. Wil 
 liam Henry is at present one of the representatives in the 
 legislature of Pennsylvania. 
 
 On this property there was a number of huts erected, 
 though I do not know of any fortifications or breastworks 
 being thrown up on it. It was in a hut on this property, 
 that Baron Steuben resided during a part of the time of 
 the encampment, being engaged in teaching the soldiers mili 
 tary tactics; and it was upon it that the soldiery were ex 
 ercised by him on these occasions. I have heard my father 
 relate the awkward blunders and confusion that often oc 
 curred at such times, on account of the Baron being unable 
 to speak the English language, and the soldiers not under 
 standing his orders and instructions given in German. 
 
 The next farm above was where David Stephens resided. 
 Varnum was quartered upon this part of the farm; and 
 near the mansion the fort was erected that I have noticed 
 in a former number, upon an eminence commanding a view 
 of both sides of the river. There are very few traces of it 
 left remaining; but its site can be pointed out by many per 
 sons, as well as myself, who remember to have seen it before 
 it was destroyed. A beautiful prospect of the surrounding 
 country can be enjoyed by this eminence. This part of the 
 property since his death was owned by his son, Abijah 
 Stephens. He made during his life time many improvements 
 upon it, by the addition of suitable and commodious build 
 ings, and also in the improvement of the soil. The mansion 
 in which Varnum dwelt is standing. Abijah Stephens died in 
 the fall of 1825, aged sixty-seven years. The property is 
 now owned by his son, William Stephens, who resides upon it. 
 
 The residue of the farm of David Stephens, consisting 
 of more than one hundred and twenty acres, fell into posses 
 sion of his only daughter, Eleanor Richardson; she died 
 about 1820. The most of it now belongs to her children, 
 though some of it had passed into other hands in her life 
 time, and some since her death. On part of this property 
 many of the remains of the encampment still (1850) remain 
 visible, such as fortifications, breastworks (particularly the 
 fort used for the magazine) , and the traces of the foundations 
 of the huts. It was opposite the upper end of this property, 
 on the river, that Sullivan s bridge was erected; next above 
 it on the river, were the Headquarters of General Washing 
 ton. 
 
 I have now finished the description of all the property 
 embraced in the lines of the encampment; and a few more 
 communications will finish this prolonged account. 
 
LETTER XXX 
 MINERALS 
 
 HE DISCOVERY of large quantities of copper on 
 some of the property I have been describing, and, 
 also upon lands lying contiguous to the Valley 
 Forge and Pickering, a stream that empties into 
 the Schuylkill about three miles above Valley 
 Forge, having recently attracted much attention, and en 
 hanced the value of property, particularly that portion of it 
 last noticed. I shall proceed in this communication to give 
 some account concerning it. 
 
 In some former letters, I observed, concerning that portion 
 of country, that recent discoveries and establishment of some 
 manufactories on a small scale, had made some innovations 
 upon the regular habits of the inhabitants resident upon it. 
 Since the geological survey of Pennsylvania, discoveries have 
 been made of the existence of copper in its natural state, in 
 many place in the vicinity of Valley Forge, and the attention 
 of capitalists has recently been turned towards mining opera 
 tions in that line. For this purpose two companies have been 
 organized, and large tracts or portions of land lying on both 
 sides of the Schuylkill, in the counties of Chester and Mont 
 gomery, have been secured by them, either by purchase or 
 lease for a number of years, in order to carry on the business. 
 The land supposed to contain the article, lying between the 
 Valley Forge and Pickering Creek, have been purchased by a 
 company from Philadelphia, called Remington & Co. The other 
 company, I have understood, are Englishmen from Cornwall 
 in England, called Pedrick & Co., and that they have leased 
 portions of land in Montgomery county, on both sides of the 
 river, and that the operations are now being carried on by 
 them with every prospect of success. 
 
 I shall now refer to some remarks, in a recent communica 
 tion, concerning a tract of land, a part of which is now owned 
 by Edwin or Samuel Moore, that was purchased for a similar 
 purpose near one hundred and fifty years ago. Copper, at 
 that time, was know to exist on that land, and it was then pur 
 chased by a company, and operations in that line commenced, 
 not so much for the sake of the copper as the hope that they 
 would also find, in connection with it, silver and gold in abund 
 ance. For this purpose numerous pits were dug in various 
 places upon the northeastern part of it ; and I have understood 
 that enough of copper was obtained for the purpose of defray 
 ing the expenses of digging, and to enable the company to pay 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 139 
 
 for the land. But at that early period the people had not the 
 advantages which we now possess ; mechanic arts had made 
 but little progress, and for want of the means of pumping 
 the water by hydraulic apparatus, they had, in all cases, after 
 sinking the pit to nearly a uniform depth, encountered springs 
 of water so abundant as to arrest their progress and put an 
 end to their labors. In process of time, all further efforts to 
 obtain not only gold and silver, but even copper, were entirely 
 abandoned, and the land lay uncultivated and unimproved for 
 many years, until it fell into possession of my grandfather and 
 Thomas Waters. A part of it held by my grandfather is still 
 in possession of a part of the family. The residue, since his 
 death, and that portion owned by Thomas Waters, has all of 
 it passed, within the last fifty years, into the ownership of 
 Richard Moore, the father of the present owners of it. I may 
 just observe that while a part of this property was owned by 
 the late Stephen Stephens, a quarry of gypsum was supposed 
 to to be discovered upon it; but if so, it has never amounted 
 to anything further than a supposed discovery. A portion of 
 this tract was taken by Pedrick & Co., for the purpose of min 
 ing for copper. I may here observe that about the time the 
 mining was in operation, about the commencement of the last 
 century, that similar operations were commenced on the prop 
 erty of my great-grandfather, Stephen Evans, and that the 
 remains of numerous pits are still visible, lying on the Gulf 
 road, on the farm of the late Stephen Stephens, in Chester 
 county. Tradition says, that copper was found there to some 
 extent, but the same cause that frustrated their design on the 
 mine tract, operated against them at that place, and the work 
 was abandoned. I have no doubt that copper does exist in that 
 particular section, from the fact that in digging wells about 
 the depth of thirty feet, water is generally obtained, and it 
 has been found in some instances, to taste strongly of copper, 
 and when taken up in a tin or earthen vessel and let to stand 
 for some time, a thick sediment, resembling a solution of cop 
 peras, is found settled in the bottom of the vessel. 
 
 Another peculiarity of this tract that I have been describ 
 ing, is the kind of stone found on and near it surface. It is 
 of that kind commonly called the honey-comb, on account of its 
 light porous nature and its supposed resemblance to the honey 
 comb of the bee. It abounds on what is called the mine tract, 
 generally lying on the surface or in detached rocks fast in the 
 ground, many of them crystalized, with crystals of various 
 sizes, the most of them of a clear white color, with four regu 
 lar sides, and terminating in a point so sharp and hard that 
 glass has sometimes been cut with them. Many of these crys 
 tals lie loose on the ground, but the great body of them are 
 found adhering to the honey-comb stone. Many buildings have 
 buildings have been erected in the neighborhood with this 
 
140 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 kind of stone; they are very light, and on this account, they 
 are very useful, as they do not require much bodily strength 
 to raise them to the top of the building. Although very light 
 and porous, yet they form a solid substantial wall and are im 
 pervious to water. Many other varieties of minerals are found 
 in that district; so much so that they have attracted the at 
 tention of mineralogists, and numerous specimens of them 
 have been obtained to place in cabinets of different persons. 
 I have collected many of them and forwarded them to different 
 persons. Some of them I think may be found in the extensive 
 mineral cabinet of my friend, John Watson, of Greenville, 
 Buckingham township, Bucks county. 
 
 I have never heard of any iron being found in any part of 
 the country immediately in the vicinity of Valley Forge; and 
 from the circumstance that very little attraction of the needle 
 has ever been noticed on any part of the property that I have 
 described (except in the immediate locality of the old Valley 
 Forge and other iron works), and no furnaces ever having 
 been erected there, I conclude that it does not exist in that sec 
 tion. It has recently been found in abundance in the neigh 
 borhood of Kimberton, in Pikeland township, in Vincent and 
 other places in Chester county; near the Gulf, and in Ply 
 mouth and Whitemarsh townships, in Montgomery county; 
 and a large profitable business is carried on at these places, but 
 as they do not properly belong to my subject, I shall make no 
 further observations upon them. While the manufacture of 
 iron was carried on at Valley Forge, the pigs were obtained 
 from various parts of Berks and Chester counties, where the 
 Potts family held several valuable furnaces. 
 
 The great source of mineral wealth in that portion of coun 
 try that has been described, lying on the eastern side of the 
 Schuylkill and the Valley Creek, consists in immense bodies of 
 limestone, lying on the Schuylkill and in the Great Valley. 
 These, in many places, have been, particularly within the last 
 thirty years, improved to great advantage by the owners of 
 them, and have proved a twofold source of profit, not only to 
 them, but to all portions of the country where agriculture has 
 been benefited by the application of lime as a manure, thus 
 enriching both the vender and the purchaser. 
 
 Having already said much on that subject in some former 
 numbers, I shall dismiss the subject by observing that to see 
 the various operations in this line of business, would amply 
 repay the man of leisure to visit the place. In addition to the 
 limestone, building stone of a valuable quality abounds on al 
 most all of this property, particularly those lying on the river. 
 Since the property known as Headquarters has been owned by 
 James Jones, free stone of an excellent quality has been found 
 upon it, and large quantities of the article have been sent by 
 boats to Philadelphia and other places for buildings of differ- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 141 
 
 ent kinds. On a part of the property formerly belonging to 
 David Stephens (now Isaac Richardson) clay for the manu 
 facture of crucible for the use of brass foundries has been ob 
 tained, but never to any great extend. 
 
 As noticed in the commencement of this letter, large quan 
 tities of copper have been discovered in that section of country 
 lying on the western side of the Valley Creek, in Chester 
 county. On account of this discovery, Remington & Co. have 
 purchased large portions of land in this district; and I have 
 understood, on some of the property purchased by them, rich 
 veins, yielding at the rate of seventy per cent, have been found 
 within fifteen feet of the surface, and that successful operations 
 in that line are now being conducted. I have never yet visited 
 them to be able to convey correct information from actual ob 
 servation and enquiry. I, therefore, make this statement from 
 such information as I have received from others in whose 
 reports I could rely. I have seen some specimens of this mine, 
 but have never had any in my possession. I have likewise un 
 derstood that the operations of mining, in the manner that 
 they are conducted, are objects worthy of a visit, and intend, 
 as soon as possible, if nothing intervenes to prevent, to en 
 deavor to accomplish it. The greatest body and most profit 
 able vein of copper, I am informed, has been found on a farm 
 in Schuylkill township, Chester county, about two miles north 
 west of Valley Forge. How far similar discoveries in other 
 places have been made, I have not learned; but one thing is 
 certain, that these discoveries had a tendency to enhance the 
 value of the land, and the company last alluded to have, within 
 the present year, purchased, at an advanced price, all the land 
 they could obtain in the immediate neighborhood of these dis 
 coveries, and it is sincerely to be hoped that their prospect 
 may be fully realized and ultimately crowned with success. 
 
 On the western side ofthe Schuylkill, near the lead mines 
 of Perkiomen, similar operations are now in progression. These 
 I believe are carried on by Pedrick & Co., on some of the prop 
 erty of the Wetherill family, but to what extent or with what 
 prospect of success I have not understood, I only state this 
 from report. 
 
 Whether or not gold will ever be discovered, I cannot tell, 
 neither is it a matter of great moment to any whether it ever is 
 found, as the pursuit of it would interfere with the habits of 
 industry. It is but a few years since this precious metal was 
 supposed to have been found, but it proved a failure. A black 
 man has purchased a barren and broken spot of land for the 
 purpose of putting up a house upon it. In digging the cellar, 
 he found among the earth, particles resembling brass filings, 
 and also found similar ones amongst the sand at the bottom of 
 a small stream of water that passed through it. These he 
 and some other persons supposed, when first discovered, to be 
 
142 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 gold dust; and for a short time it produced considerable ex 
 citement; and large offers were made for his lot, but he de 
 clined selling ; but it was soon found upon strict investigation 
 that it turned out to be nothing more than mica, and thus 
 ended the discovery of gold in that quarter. The discovery 
 of the copper is of more recent date. 
 
 In two more communications I expect to finish these narra 
 tives, and these will be principally confined to relating some 
 circumstances that have taken place in connection with the 
 encampment ground, the most of which have come under my 
 immediate notice, and taken place since my recollection. These 
 things will claim the attention of my next letter ; and as I com 
 menced with an introductory, I expect to conclude with a vale 
 dictory. 
 
LETTER XXXI 
 GENERAL REVIEW 
 
 |S I contemplate concluding these narratives in my 
 next letter, I shall devote the most of the present 
 one to taking a general review of the old encamp 
 ment ground, and endeavor to give some further 
 information concerning it, in addition to that al 
 ready furnished, believing this to be the better way of con 
 veying it to the public. In some of my former letters, I no 
 ticed that when the army took possession of the place prin 
 cipally occupied as the encampment ground, it was mostly a 
 dense forest, heavily set with timber, consisting generally of 
 hickory, various kinds of oak, and other timber common to 
 the native forests of that section of country. Nearly all the 
 land lying between the front and rear lines, and the north 
 eastern and southwestern limits of the lines of the encamp 
 ment was thus circumstanced. The farms of David Stephens, 
 and the two next below him on the river, were the only prop 
 erties within these prescribed lines that had any buildings 
 upon them at the time. There was also at the time a portion 
 of cleared land, about seventy acres, belonging to my grand 
 father, within these limits, since disposed of to John Havard, 
 that was cultivated, but there were no buildings upon it. 
 
 NEW TIMBER GROWTH 
 
 It is hardly necessary again to say that the timber was all 
 destroyed by the army. After the departure of the army, as 
 noticed in former numbers, the greater part of the land that 
 had been previously cleared and cultivated, was again enclosed 
 for agricultural purposes, but much the greater portion of 
 what had been timber land, was left to lie without enclosure 
 for many years, some of it even to the present time. In the 
 course of a short time, the timber commenced growing upon 
 it with great rapidity, being much more heavily set with 
 young and thrifty sprouts, than it had been before it was de 
 stroyed. The soil being naturally good, it was in summer well 
 set with grass, which afforded abundant pasturage for the 
 numerous herds of cattle, sheep, and sometimes horses, that 
 were turned upon it by the inhabitants generally to graze at 
 that time, when large portions of land could only with great 
 difficulty be fenced for farming. It also remained an accom 
 modation to numbers for many years after, as I experiment 
 ally know. While penning these lines they recall to my mind. 
 
144 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 the scenes of my youth and my childhood, and the many happy 
 hours that were then spent, and that I have passed in them 
 when alone, barefooted, and rudel yclad in native homespun. 
 I have been engaged in hunting cows and horses upon these 
 grounds, where these remains of the sufferings of the people 
 were then visible, and could be viewed without fear or danger ; 
 for peace with her olive branch, had driven out the demon of 
 war with all his horrors; the sword had been exchanged for 
 the ploughshare, and the spear for the pruning hook; and 
 often upon these occasions have I been accompanied with an 
 intimate acquaintance of mine from the city of Philadelphia, 
 about a year younger than myself, who used sometimes to 
 spend his summer vacations in our family, and who, though 
 young at the time, used to take great interest in viewing these 
 things, and listening to the relations that were given by my 
 father and mother, of that period. In our rambles on these 
 occasions, in examining the remains of the encampment and 
 searching for relics of that period to more fully remind us 
 of that time, and to preserve them as mementos of it. The re 
 membrance of these things carries me back in retrospection 
 to that period, and leads me involuntarily to exclaim, Oh, 
 happy days, now past and gone forever, no more to be recalled 
 in this state of being days of my youth, when perplexing 
 cares and disquietude came not near my dwelling, when earth s 
 engrossing cares and entanglements were strangers, and the 
 ingratitude of man to his fellow-man was unknown, and when 
 I had not fully and experimentally realized the truth of the 
 language of the poet : 
 
 "What is friendship but a name, 
 
 A charm that lulls to sleep, 
 A shade that follows wealth and fame 
 
 But leaves the wretched weep." 
 
 But why indulge these morbid feelings? enough of these 
 reflections. Disappointments, distress, and tribulations of va 
 rious kinds, are the common lot of mankind, and ever will re 
 main to be. But where is the friend of my youth, who used 
 to ramble with me over these grounds? Death has long since 
 called him hence, more than twenty years since he paid the last 
 debt of nature. I mention not his name. He was a youth of 
 bright talents, improved by education, and flattering prospects 
 in the world ; and as he grew up to manhood, was the life and 
 source of entertainment among his friends and acquaintance; 
 his company was sought after and courted in the fashionable 
 world, on account of his wealth and accomplishments; but 
 alas ! having nothing beyond these to rely upon, he became the 
 victim of intemperance, and while young in years, he sank 
 into an inebriate s grave. 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 145 
 
 But to resume the subject. The growth of the timber was 
 very rapid, and none of the land that was cleared at that time 
 was cultivated for agricultural purposes, woodland being con 
 sidered of greater value, and a sparse population, it was suf 
 fered to grow up. I first remember traversing this ground, 
 in the fall of the fifth year of my age, in company with my two 
 older brothers, to gather chestnuts. This was about twenty- 
 two years after the timber had been destroyed. The chestnut 
 and hickory trees had grown sufficiently large to produce 
 an abundance of nuts; and that with other timber growing 
 upon it, was then being cut for fuel and rail timber. It also 
 abounded with native grapes, and large quantities were an 
 nually gathered from what was called the camp. It used to be 
 a common thing for parties of both sexes to be formed to go 
 hunting them. On these occasions it used to be customary 
 for the men and boys to climb the small trees and saplings, 
 and bend them down, and the company then unite in gathering 
 the grapes. But this employment has now ceased ; the cupidity 
 of man has now leveled the greater part of this extensive 
 forest, and it is now enclosed and raising agricultural prod 
 ucts. 
 
 While on the subject, I may mention one of these freaks 
 of nature, or changes in kinds of timber which sometimes 
 takes place upon a second growth; this is evident on this 
 ground. I have understood that previous to the Revolution, 
 very little chestnut timber grew on that part of the ground 
 cleared off by the army, on the eastern side of the Valley 
 Creek. Since that time large portions of chestnut and other 
 timber not then growing upon it, has since grown there, while 
 the native timber previous to that time, has been comparatively 
 small. This change in the growth of the timber was noticed 
 by the late Judge Peters, of the county of Philadelphia; he 
 published an account of it in the Archives of Useful Knowl 
 edge. He was encamped there during the time of its de 
 struction, and had seen it previous; upon visiting it some 
 time after he was forcibly struck with the changes of the 
 timber that was then growing upon it. 
 
 PILGRIMAGES AND GATHERINGS 
 
 The ground occupied by the army encamped there, has 
 always been an object of attraction, and, as such, has often 
 been visited by various persons. Many a venerable patriot, 
 who composed a part of that Spartan Band encamped there, 
 has in his old days travelled miles to again behold it, and 
 to review the scenes of that suffering period. I have seen 
 some of them thus engaged in visiting the place, and marked 
 the emotion visible in their venerable countenances, and seen 
 the tears trickle down their aged and withered cheeks, when 
 
146 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 on the verge of the grave, they have looked upon it, and these 
 things have again been called to their remembrance; and re 
 marked the joy that was also manifest when contrasting the 
 happy and prosperous situation, not only of that portion of 
 the country, but the nation at large, with the gloomy state of 
 things they had there witnessed. These have in all probability 
 all gone down to the grave. 
 
 In order that the recollections of that period may not be 
 forgotten, associations of various kinds have been held upon 
 the ground; such as military parades, celebrations and poli 
 tical meetings, the most of the latter during several presi 
 dential campaigns within the last twenty-five years. I can 
 say but little concerning any of these meetings nothing 
 from actual observation, though the most of them have oc 
 curred since my time; but having never been in the practice 
 of attending any meetings, either political or military (except 
 to exercise my right of suffrage for civil officers), I shall say 
 but little concerning them. The political meetings were al 
 ways of a party kind ; and on such times care was taken as far 
 as practicable, to collect surviving officers and soldiers of the 
 Revolution to attend. The military parades were generally 
 volunteer companies, who met to drill on what is called the 
 old ground. On one occasion of this kind, when a troop of 
 cavalry that was forming in Chester county met upon the 
 ground, a quarrel ensued between the captain of the company 
 and a Polish exile named La Reuf , who was employed to teach 
 them cavalry tactics. It proved nearly fatal to the latter. 
 Fifty-three years have elapsed, it was before my recollection ; 
 but I have often heard the story related by some who had seen 
 the encounter. The captain of that company, who has since 
 filled very important stations in civil government, and been a 
 candidate for other high offices, is still living, being over 
 eighty years of age. Another individual that then belonged to 
 it, near the same age, and living near him, is the only other 
 surviving person present on the occasion. 
 
 VISIT OF LAFAYETTE 
 
 When Lafayette, as the nation s guest, in the years of 
 1824 and 1825, was in this country, preparations were made 
 to induce him to visit the Valley Forge, intending, if it could be 
 effected, to welcome him by having a large and enthusiastic 
 meeting upon his arrival. It is unnecessary to say much con 
 cerning his visit to this country, as it is well remembered by 
 many of my readers the flattering reception he met with in 
 all his journey, and the universal respect paid to him on the 
 occasion is not forgotten, as it was then the general topic of 
 conversation, and has since been so often repeated that but 
 few persons are now to be found of sufficient age and observa- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 147 
 
 tion, but what are conversant with the circumstances of his 
 visit to this country. At this time there was residing in that 
 section of country, several persons then advanced in years, 
 who had been acquainted with him during his abode there 
 at the time of the encampment, who felt desirous of seeing 
 him. Among this number were my mother and her sister, 
 the late Mary Rossiter, about two years younger. They had 
 been intimately acquainted with him at the time, he having 
 frequently visited DeKalb at their father s house, mingling 
 in social converse with the family on these occasions; for in 
 private life or when released from duty for a short time, 
 he was of a sociable and very agreeable disposition, and 
 highly relished the opportunity thus afforded him of min 
 gling in family circles. This gave them some knowledge of 
 his general character and habits, at least as they were in 
 early life. On this account they wished to see him, if they 
 could have met him as in former times, in their social family 
 circle; and when conversing upon the subject, they observed 
 to one another, after some remarks upon the attention and 
 applause everywhere bestowed upon him, that they were very 
 certain that it would afford him more satisfaction to spend a 
 few hours in social conversation, on the events of the Revolu 
 tion, the scenes of the encampment, and of Baron DeKalb, 
 and other officers that used to be in company together at their 
 father s during that period, than to be hurried from place to 
 place, to gratify public curiosity, to attend public meetings, 
 and receive the plaudits of the multitude. 
 
 In order to ascertain his views on the subject of a visit to 
 the place, a committee was appointed to visit him on the sub 
 ject, and invite him to visit the spot, once the scene of suffer 
 ing to him and his companions in arms. One of the number, 
 the late George B. Loundes, who, at the time, resided at Head 
 quarters, had an interview with him at West Chester, and spent 
 about an hour with him in private company. Lafayette in 
 quired concerning the place, the changes it had passed through, 
 its present state, the old encampment ground, and for many of 
 the families residing there at the time with whom he had been 
 acquainted ; and, upon finding that there were some of them 
 still remaining in the neighborhood of the place, though like 
 himself, advanced in years, he desired his love affectionately 
 to them all, and regretted that he could not have the oppor 
 tunity of visiting them; and also, to inform his once young 
 now old friends, that it would afford him inexpressible satis 
 faction, if he could be permitted to visit them, at their respec 
 tive habitations, mingle with them in social converse as in by 
 gone days, and spend a short portion of time with them in re 
 tirement from the pomp and ceremony that surrounded him, 
 and visit the old encampment ground, the famed scene of suf 
 fering and distress that was indelibly imprinted on his mem- 
 
148 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 ory ; and that it would not only be his desire to do so, but, if it 
 could be accomplished in this manner, he would avail himself 
 of the opportunity. The opportunity was not afforded him, 
 and he could not comply. 
 
 The time of his departure to his native land was then near 
 at hand, and he therefore declined a visit to the place, much 
 to the regret of many who desired to see him. For the same 
 reasons he declined a visit to the Honorable Isaac Wayne, at 
 his resident in Easttown township, Chester county, at the man 
 sion occupied by his father, the late General Anthony Wayne. 
 In a former letter, I mentioned that I might give some further 
 notice concerning this place. It is a large and commodious 
 house, that has been in possession of the family for more than 
 a hundred years ; an elegant engraving of it, and also a very 
 correct one, may be seen in Sherman Day s historical re 
 searches of Pennsylvania, to which my readers are referred. 
 The present occupant and owner, the only son of the General, 
 and the last of the name of that branch of the family, is more 
 than eighty years of age, and, of course, feel the infirmities of 
 age. He has, in his lifetime, filled numerous offices of trust 
 and responsibility, in the general and state government, and 
 was the unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in 
 1814. He and the Hon. Jonathan Roberts, near the same age, 
 and known by the stations he has filled in public life, and who 
 resides in Upper Merion township, about five miles from Val 
 ley Forge, are all the persons I know of now living within 
 that distance of the place, that were of sufficient age at the 
 time of the encampment to remember the transaction of it ; and 
 they must, ere long, cease to be amongst us. 
 
 This communication has been extended to an unusual 
 length, and I must now conclude for the present; and in my 
 next, if possible, draw the whole subject to a conclusion. 
 
LETTER XXXII 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 RESUME my pen in order to commence my last 
 communication on the subject that has so long oc 
 cupied our attention. Much more might have been 
 said upon it, as I have obtained some further in 
 formation since their publication, from a few aged 
 persons whom I have met, but as the proper time for insert 
 ing them has passed, I, therefore, shall reluctantly omit them, 
 and proceed to a conclusion. 
 
 I may here remark that an intimate female friend of mine, 
 residing in the borough of Doylestown, enquired of me 
 whether I would conclude with a heroine to my story. This 
 request, I understood, was made at the suggestions of others 
 of the borough. In answer to the inquiry and request, I may 
 inform them that it was not my intention to introduce any 
 works of fiction or romance in these narratives, and I shall ad 
 here to it. All that has been inserted are facts that I have 
 heard related, or that have transpired under my immediate 
 notice, and as such, have endeavored to give a full and im 
 partial narrative concerning them. It is true there may have 
 some errors occurred in relating the history, but I trust noth 
 ing material, and they may be overlooked. If any of my 
 readers desire a hero or heroine to complete these sketches, I 
 think they can find them in the true accounts given of my 
 mother s journey to hunt Jehu, and the female friend alluded 
 to who released her husband from York prison ; these accounts 
 with a little further addition concerning the sequel of their 
 lives may answer for heroines to my history. I shall, there 
 fore, proceed to give a few more additional particulars con 
 cerning them. 
 
 HEROINES OF THE HISTORY 
 
 The latter, who released her husband, soon after her ar 
 rival in Philadelphia, was, with other Americans who favored 
 the royal cause, sent to England. After a residence there of 
 several years, they removed to Nova Scotia, and from thence 
 to Montreal in Canada. At the latter place, I think, her hus 
 band died, and she, with her family, removed to the neighbor 
 hood of Spring Garden township, in Chester county; where, 
 
150 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 sometime after, she married the person at whose house they 
 arrived the morning after their flight from York, he having, in 
 the meantime, become a widower. She then removed to reside 
 with him at the place where she spent the residue of her days, 
 a useful and highly esteemed member of the religious Society 
 of Friends, a kind neighbor and affectionate mother, and, after 
 having fulfilled these various duties, she closed a useful and 
 exemplary life in a good old age, in the spring of 1813. 
 
 To complete the story of my heroine, I hope I may be ex 
 cused if I pay a small tribute to my parents, from whom I re 
 ceived the greater part of the foregoing accounts concerning 
 the Revolution. In the first place, though not properly in the 
 order of time, yet to connect the matter now engaged, I shall 
 give the sequel of the life of my worthy mother. She was one, 
 born and died on the same spot of earth, and her long life was 
 attended with many vicissitudes, and had to encounter many 
 severe hardships and trials through her long life, particularly 
 about the period of the Revolution, and her four days eventful 
 journey mentioned in my fourth and fifth numbers, may be 
 taken as a sample of what she and many others, similarly sit 
 uated, had to pass through; but possessing strong powers of 
 mind and health of body, she was enabled to persevere through 
 all; and though fortune smiled not upon her, and disappoint 
 ment and distress often marked her passing through life, yet 
 she attained a great age, retaining to the last her mental fac 
 ulties and memory, though for several years of her life de 
 prived of the blessings of sight and hearing, and in other re 
 spects much debilitated, yet her recollection was vivid, and 
 having the use of her conversational powers and a happy 
 facility in conveying her sentiments, her company, even in old 
 age, was very interesting. She abounded in anecdotes, reminis 
 cences and historical facts of the period of the Revolution, par 
 ticularly the time of the encampment; and having been in 
 timately acquainted with Washington, DeKalb, Lafayette, 
 Wayne, Greene, Mifflin, Sullivan, and many others of the gen 
 eral officers of that period, she was often visited by persons 
 of all ages and both sexes, who were eager to obtain informa 
 tion concerning those times; so much so that she used fre 
 quently to observe, in a jocose manner, that she believed people 
 considered her a history of the encampment at Valley Forge. 
 Her death occurred, on the same farm on which she was born 
 and lived the greater part of her life, a little more than three 
 years since, in the eighty-ninth year of her age. 
 
 I hope to be indulged, if I, in this place, make a few re 
 marks concerning my father. Although his death occurred 
 many years before my mother s, yet I have placed it here in 
 order to place the accounts of my heroines in connection. My 
 father, if living at this time (1850) , would have been one hun 
 dred years old. The early part of his life, previous to join- 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 151 
 
 ing the army, and till near it close, was spent in various places, 
 both on sea and land. The place of his nativity was in the 
 state, then colony, of Maryland ; and I have heard him relate 
 many incidents of his early life. He was left an orphan when 
 very young, and never had any knowledge of his parents or 
 family connections. He left that country when young and 
 never returned to it. Among other things related, I have heard 
 him mention having seen, when young, General Braddock with 
 his army land at Annapolis. After some time spent in various 
 places, he settled, when young, in Hillsborough, in the state 
 or North Carolina. While residing there he was one of a num 
 ber of young men who accompanied Daniel Boone and Hender 
 son to Kentucky. Soon after this expedition, he entered the 
 army, and continued in it till the close of the war. He finally 
 settled, about forty years before his death, at the place where 
 a part of our family still reside, where he spent the remainder 
 of his days. He was deprived of life by a fatal accident, on the 
 23d of twelfth month, (December) 1820, aged seventy-one 
 years. I addition to what I have heard him relate concerning 
 the encampment at Valley Forge that has been inserted, much 
 more might have been added concerning that particular time, 
 but it must be omitted. And if time afforded me the oppor 
 tunity of embodying in language the various accounts of his 
 early life, the incidents of the Revolution that he witnessed, 
 the many battles and marches he engaged in, and also some 
 events of his subsequent life, it would afford material for sev 
 eral months publication in similar communications to this and 
 the preceding ones, and furnish some additional historical 
 facts concerning the Revolution, that have never been pub 
 lished, but I shall now take leave of the subject and draw to 
 wards a close. 
 
 Having now given a history of all the farms that were in 
 the immediate vicinity of Valley Forge, particularly those that 
 were embraced in the lines of the encampment, and such as 
 were the theatre of important and interesting events during 
 that period, and in some of my former letters have had refer 
 ence to the early settlement of some of them, the state of 
 things at the time of the Revolution, the tried situation of the 
 inhabitants during that period, the quarters of the different 
 general officers, the desolate state of the country after the 
 removal of the army, its improvement since that time, also its 
 present situation and owners, and likewise the discoveries of 
 various mineral substances that have recently been discovered 
 in that section of country, I am sensible that many of these 
 things may not be of sufficient interest to many persons unac 
 quainted with the localities of the place, and the families and 
 persons who have been alluded to. I have, therefore, inserted 
 them that should any who are strangers to them visit that por 
 tion of country, they may, upon inquiry, ascertain the differ 
 ent places referred to in the preceding communications; and 
 
152 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 I hope they will accept of these last remarks as an excuse for 
 their publication, if any be necessary. 
 
 In preparing this account of a portion of country intimately 
 connected with our national existence, and identified with the 
 history of the Revolution, I am aware of not doing justice to 
 the subject and of embodying it in language as clear and com 
 prehensive as I could have wished for the information of my 
 numerous readers, not only of the papers of this county, but 
 in many other places I have been informed these documents 
 have been published, yet I hope I shall so far succeed in my 
 undertaking as to induce some among those who never have, 
 to visit the place and behold what I have endeavored to de 
 scribe. 
 
 I would, therefore, request those who have leisure and in 
 clination to visit the place. A few hours ride from the borough 
 of Doylestown would convey them there, a journey that would 
 amply repay their toil. At Port Kennedy they would find an 
 excellent hotel, furnished with every accommodation. In 
 traveling the country many traces of the encampment would 
 be found, to remind them of the troublesome times our an 
 cestors passed through to purchase our freedom. And those 
 who witnessed that period would not be met with, as these are 
 nearly all gone down to the grave, and the few survivors are 
 far advanced in years, and none residing in the immediate 
 vicinity, yet in their rambles they would meet with many to 
 whom these things are known, among whom are some of the 
 descendants of the Moores, the Stephenses, the Walkers and 
 other families which have been noticed, who still would de 
 light to point out the situations, localities, objects and im 
 provements that have been mentioned. 
 
 It is not, as in a former letter, in imagination but in reality, 
 that I now request some of my readers who have never vis 
 ited these places to visit the place, and first to stand upon the 
 spot once known as Mprdecai Moore s fort, and from this 
 eminence view the portion of country that I have been de 
 scribing once a scene of desolation from the effects of the en 
 campment, and where many a patriot of the Revolution suf 
 fered more than language can describe, from the cold, chill 
 ing wind and driving snows, and other accumulated suffer 
 ings, already noticed, and while you figure to your imagination 
 the state of things then existing there, contrast it with its now 
 prosperous condition. On every side as far as the sight ex 
 tends, is seen the marks of industry exhibited in a highly 
 cultivated country, large buildings and fruitful abounding 
 with plenty and teeming with flocks and herds. On the south 
 and east will be seen the fruitful farms of the Great Valley, 
 exceeded by few, if any, in the state, and on the north and west 
 the beautiful Schuylkill and Reading Railroad, the former ma 
 jestically bearing on its placid bosom its large boats laden 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 153 
 
 with coal, lime and numerous other products; the latter with 
 the numerous pleasure and burden cars, propelled by locomo 
 tives, freighted in like manner and moving with incredible 
 velocity from one place to another ; while near upon the Schyl- 
 kill may be seen the thriving village of Port Kennedy, and also 
 see and behold the hum of business carried on at the place. In 
 addition to these artificial improvements, may be beheld on both 
 sides of the river nature s scenery equally beautiful and inter 
 esting, that while gazing on these things the viewer will be 
 almost led to exclaim with Dyer in his poetic description of 
 "Grouger Hill," nearly as follows : 
 
 "Ever charming, ever new 
 When will the landscape tire the view ; 
 The river/ village, dome and farm, 
 Each gives each a double charm." 
 
 From this place traverse the old encampment ground ; view 
 the remains of the fortifications and the breastworks and the 
 outlines of the huts, visit Headquarters at Valley Forge, view 
 the different manufactories of the place, the copper mines in 
 the vicinity, the lime kilns at Port Kennedy, and many other 
 things that may be found in the limits of that section of coun 
 try, which has been described, but which time would fail to 
 enumerate, and which must be seen to be duly appreciated. I, 
 therefore, leave them for the personal examination of any who 
 feel sufficiently interested in the subject to visit them, fully 
 persuaded that few, if any, would regret their visit. I shall 
 now proceed to 
 
 AUTHOR S VALEDICTORY 
 
 In drawing these narratives to a conclusion I may acknowl 
 edge the flattering accounts I have received of their reception, 
 not only in this my adopted county, but in other parts of the 
 country, and in the halls of our National Legislature. It con 
 firms me in an opinion that I entertained in the commence 
 ment of the work, that the subject is one of deep interest, and 
 worthy of being rescued from oblivion. And this small section 
 of country will always occupy a conspicuous place in the his 
 tory of our national existence. In this, our large and vastly 
 extended Republic, there are, no doubt, in the greater part of 
 it the descendants of those who were there during that gloomy 
 period, and to whom they will prove interesting, and recall to 
 their memories many things that they have heard related by 
 those who witnessed these things. But I regret that it was not 
 undertaken at an earlier period, particularly while my friend, 
 the late Matthias Holstein, of Norristown, was living, who 
 was always desirous that these accounts should be preserved 
 
154 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 and given to the public, and who urgently requested me to un 
 dertake it. His death occurred before I commenced the col 
 lection, which I deferred for a considerable time, hoping an 
 able writer, who was in possession of the same and more ma 
 terials for the compilation of a work of this kind, would have 
 undertaken it. I may also add that I have been frequently 
 solicited of late to have them published in a volume, in order 
 more fully to preserve them, And the question is often asked 
 whether it will be done. In reply, I can only say at present, 
 that the manuscripts will be preserved, but if they should ever 
 be published, it will be necessary for them to undergo a re 
 vision, as many of them were written in haste, and sent to 
 the printer without previous correction, which may account 
 for many errors and omissions, as well as grammatical con 
 structions in the publication of different communications. 
 Should they ever be published in a volume, some extraneous 
 matter and repetitions will be omitted, and considerable addi 
 tional information, some of which was purposely omitted in 
 order to make the account as short as possible, and some that 
 has been furnished since commencing the publication, but not 
 received in proper time, will be inserted. 
 
 While penning this last communication my mind is clothed 
 with serious impressions, when thought carries me back to the 
 Revolution, and memory brings to my recollection those who 
 were then the owners or occupants of that land that was the 
 scene of the events that have been described. The most of 
 them I remember, but more than thirty years have rolled 
 around since the last of them have gone down to the grave; 
 and of their children there are but three of them left remain 
 ing, and these are more than four score years of age. Myself 
 and the contemporaries of my youthful days, who still survive, 
 are now growing old, and in a quarter of a century more how 
 few of us will be in this state of existence ; the most of us will 
 be mouldering in the dust, and our children and grandchildren 
 will fill our places. We cannot look into futurity and behold 
 the future destiny of our now prosperous and happy country, 
 but when we look back on the last quarter of a century, how 
 are we struck with admiration and amazement, when we see 
 the great advancement and the many improvements that have 
 taken place during that period. And how great has been the 
 extent of our country, and the increase of population since the 
 adoption of our present Constitution. Our territory and pop 
 ulation are no longer confined to the original thirteen states, 
 and the limited territory we then possessed. It now extends 
 from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and from the British 
 possessions on the north and east, to the Mexican on the south, 
 the most of it abounding with inhabitants, moral and intel 
 ligent, all members of this great Republic, and equallly inter 
 ested in its preservation. All these acquisitions which it is 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 155 
 
 needless to detail, and the many improvements that we see 
 around us have taken place since the commencement of the 
 present century, and are still moving onward. Who can cal 
 culate the advancement they may continue to make in a few 
 years, if they continue to progress in the same ratio what 
 the youth of the present generation will live to behold when we 
 are no more ! 
 
 The perpetuation of our free institutions, the cultivation of 
 universal peace with all nations, the subject of general educa 
 tion, the acquirement of industrious and correct habits, are 
 subjects next to our gratitude to the Great Author of all good 
 for the many blessings we enjoy ought to claim our serious 
 consideration, in order that they may descend as rich legacies 
 to our latest posterity. 
 
 And let us ever remember the hardships and sufferings 
 our predecessors passed through in order to obtain it, a part of 
 which may be learned by perusing the foregoing narrative. It 
 was by being united they obtained it, and by continuing united 
 it will be preserved. And by contrasting the present state of 
 our country, and the changes that have taken place since the 
 period of the Revolution, and when we view its present happy 
 and prosperous condition compared with the gloomy state of 
 things then existing, let it teach us to value the blessings of 
 peace and industry, and fondly hope that it will ever continue 
 to dwell in our land and the day arrive when "nation shall 
 not lift up the sword against nation, and the sons of men learn 
 war no more." 
 
 In taking leave of my readers, and concluding the subject, I 
 may remark, that when I review what I have been writing, and 
 contemplate the changes that have taken place since my recol 
 lection, and when thought carries me back to that time when 
 the foot of civilized man never had trod the ground that had 
 been described, recur to its early settlement, and lastly reflect 
 upon the number of my friends and acquaintances of all ages 
 and different periods, that since my time have been laid in the 
 dust, I am forcibly reminded of one of the poetic effusions of 
 my early friend and associate, Charles W. Thomson, now 
 Rector of the Episcopal Church at York, in this state, entitled 
 the "Islet of Ona," a poetic name given by him to a small 
 island in the Schuylkill, near Fairmount, on which the lines 
 were written by him, containing a description of the surround 
 ing country previous to its being settled by civilized inhabi 
 tants, and contrasting it with its then present state, and al 
 luding to its primitive settlers and its original inhabitants, 
 who had been numbered with the dead, he concluded with the 
 following lines, that so correspond with my present feelings, 
 
156 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 that I know of nothing more appropriate for me to conclude 
 this my last communication with. They are as follows : 
 
 "And when another century, 
 As unperceived has passed away 
 
 Fleeting from day to day: 
 Alas! the scene must shift again 
 And we who now our seats retain, 
 
 Will sleep as sound as they." 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 EDWARD WOODMAN, FATHER OF THE HISTORIAN 
 
 A sketch by his granddaughter, Miss Mary S. Woodman, for his 
 descendants. 
 
 EARLY LIFE 
 
 It may be said that Edward Woodman is the first one of the family 
 we know of with any certainty. He was born in Chestertown, Md., on 
 Christmas Day, 1749. His parents, whose Christian names are not 
 known by the writer, were of English origin or direct from England. 
 But it is supposed they were descendants of the New England pioneers 
 that settled at Newburyport, Mass., and were among the settlers. (A 
 genealogy written by Cyrus Woodman, one of the New England Wood- 
 mans, gives a very interesting account of them down to the present day. 
 They were a sturdy and upright people.) 
 
 His father, he was told, died in August, before his birth. His mother 
 landed at Chestertown soon after the death of her husband, which oc 
 curred at sea. From what has been told the writer, it is safe to conclude 
 his parents had previously established a home at Chestertown. His 
 earliest remembrance of himself was living with his mother, an old 
 negress and a negro lad at Chestertown. His mother died when he was 
 quite young. He could remember his baptism in the Episcopal church. 
 Whether his mother was living at the time is not known. After the 
 death of his mother, he was taken into the family of William Clayton, 
 also the two negroes. The old woman curled his hair and dressed him, 
 besides other things needful in the care of a child. All the comforts of 
 that early time were bestowed upon the little orphan boy. A pony was 
 kept for his sole use. When the boy Edward was old enough to go to 
 school, the pony was saddled and he rode it, the negro boy walking along 
 side, carrying a basket with his dinner in it. When the school closed 
 for the day, the negro came with the pony to take him back to the 
 Clayton home. The negro boy often told him he owned the old woman 
 and himself, and that they did not belong to Master William Clayton. 
 From the care taken of him by the two slaves, and many other atten 
 tions he received, we suppose he was the owner of property, real or per 
 sonal, and that William Clayton was the guardian. 
 
 Things went well with the boy while William Clayton lived. Judg 
 ing from the many things he used to tell of boyish tricks and pranks of 
 which he was guilty, not sinful but annoying to those who had to live 
 with him, he certainly was not always a pleasure to the Clayton family. 
 William Clayton and his wife were very kind to him at all times, Mrs. 
 Clayton often taking him with her when she went on horseback to visit 
 her friends. He was on his pony, one or more of the daughters on their 
 ponies, all going on a visit, where he was given a full share of all the 
 pleasures of the table and household. How long William Clayton lived 
 after he took his ward into his family I cannot say. He was a kind 
 man to all his family and slaves. To his daughters and the orphan 
 whom he sheltered he was over indulgent, at least so the boy thought 
 after he came to the mature thoughts of manhood. He used afterwards 
 to say sometimes, "What a spoiled, careless, disagreeable boy I must 
 have been." 
 
158 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 FOUR YEARS WITH PIRATES 
 
 Time, which brings changes to all things, brought a great change 
 to young Edward. When he was thirteen or fourteen years old, he did 
 not remember the exact age at the time, he took life into his own manage 
 ment. William Clayton was dead but he was still with the widow and 
 daughters. The girls scolded him so much and so often he got tired of 
 it, so concluded to run away. 
 
 Clayton owned a ship that traded between Chestertown and the 
 Island of Barbadoes. The ship was back from a voyage and loading for 
 another. A good opportunity thought the boy, so off he went, the 
 thoughtless, misguided little fellow. The sailors hid him from the cap 
 tain, till the ship was so far out that he could not be put ashore. On 
 the return voyage the captain thought to add still more to the profits, 
 either for the Clayton family or for himself. So he sailed to Virginia, 
 disposed of his cargo, reloaded and set sail again, bound for Halifax. 
 The breezes may have been good, and the skies fair, but fortune was not 
 so kind. When only a few days out, they were run down, captured and 
 robbed of such things as were wanted by a ship that had sailed under 
 letters of marque, authorized by the English government to prey upon 
 the French during the French and Indian War in Canada. The war 
 being over, the captain and the crew banded themselves into a perfectly 
 lawless set, that lived by stealing on land and sea whatever they could 
 without danger to themselves. What became of Clayton s ship, captain 
 or crew, I am unable to say further than that they were allowed to go 
 unhurt. But the young wayfaring boy was taken from it and put on 
 board the pirate vessel. After getting enough for their wants awhile, 
 they would go to some remote part of the West Indies or elsewhere. 
 When it was consumed, out again for another voyage of plunder twice 
 going south of the equator. Though theft was the means by which they 
 lived, no murder or other outrage was committed. They were simply 
 vagabonds on sea. Little Ned was not asked to do anything he did not 
 wish to, was treated with kindness at all times, but the life of a half 
 pirate did not accord with his nature. Nature will under adverse con 
 ditions, in part if not entirely, assert itself. So in the case of the captive 
 boy a secret desire was ever present in his mind to get away from his 
 dishonest captors. Four years passed before the opportunity came to 
 escape. 
 
 The ship was sailing off the coast of North Carolina. In some way 
 it became unseaworthy and put into one of the ports of that colony. See 
 ing his time had come, he made good his escape, and ran back into the 
 thinly settled parts of the country, and worked for the settlers till he felt 
 safe in going to the more populous parts of the colony. So far as there 
 is any account of his life in North Carolina, he lived in several different 
 places. At one time he lived at or near New Garden, a settlement of 
 Friends from New Garden, Chester county, Pa. On another occasion 
 Col. Henderson (see history of North Carolina) was collecting supplies 
 to fill a treaty with the Indians of the frontier. He took fifty men, each 
 furnished with a horse to ride. The horse, in addition to carrying the 
 rider, was loaded with a large saddle-bag, in each end of which was a 
 little keg of rum and small trinkets for the Indians. Still more each 
 man led two pack horses loaded with blankets, knives and other things 
 Edward Woodman was one of these men. Daniel Boone was the guide 
 and assistant of Col. Henderson. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF MOORE S CREEK BRIDGE 
 
 The family accounts of my grandfather are so fragamentary, I 
 write with constant fear my history may not be correct or properly con 
 nected. At one time he lived in Tyrell county. On the outbreak of the 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 159 
 
 Revolutionary War, his home was near Hillsboro, where, in company 
 with many others of the patriots, he was drilling for whatever service 
 they might be called upon to perform. The officers under whom the pa 
 triots were enlisted were Gen. Moore and Col. Caswell. One day when 
 they were at work in the fields, a company came saying they were or 
 ganizing with all possible speed and were to repair to the home of Col. 
 Caswell, near what is now Fayetteville, N. C. He ungeared the "crit 
 ters" (horses), gave them to the charge of a black boy at work with 
 him, at the same time telling him to go in the house and say to the 
 women folks that when he came back he would bid them good-bye. Little 
 did or could he foresee the many privations and hardships before him 
 or that he would never see the women folks again. 
 
 The cause for the sudden calling together of the minute men was to 
 intercept a body of Scotch and Irish settlers, together with the Tories 
 to the number of 1500, under the command of Major Gen. McCloud and 
 Brig.-Gen. McDonald. A correspondence had been carried on between 
 Sir Henry Clinton at New York and Gen. McCloud. Their plan was 
 for Clinton to send a fleet that should sail up the Cape Fear river to 
 Wilmington and there land. McCloud would there join Sir Henry s men, 
 and the united forces were then to march throughout the colony and 
 subdue the patriots and thus secure N. C. to the English. 
 
 The enemy met with no opposition till one day s march from Wil 
 mington. Gen. Moore being apprized from the first, unknown to Mc 
 Cloud, was watching his movements from the rear. Caswell with 900 
 men went ahead and placed them in ambush on the opposite side of the 
 bridge spanning Moore s Creek. The bridge was reached through a 
 long narrow defile of hills on each side that prevented retreat. General 
 McCloud, dressed in Highland uniform, as were also his men, came rid 
 ing on the bridge, waved his sword and called on his men to follow. 
 Half of the flooring of the bridge on the side on which the patriots 
 lay had been removed. At that point McCloud halted. On the instant 
 Col. Caswell opened fire, killing Gen. McCloud and all who were on the 
 bridge, Gen. McDonald rallied the men and fired, but with no effect, 
 Caswell s men being so well protected by tall trees and underwood. 
 Caswell returned the fire with such deadly effect and the enemy lost 
 so heavily that Gen. McDonald soon made a complete surrender. Officers 
 and men took oath not to engage again against the colonists. All were 
 sent under guard to their homes except 300 Scotchmen, who were held 
 as hostages and exchanged for our men who were confined on prison 
 ships. 
 
 WOODEN PINS FOR FORT MOULTRIE 
 
 The battle of Moore s Creek Bridge, Feb. 27, 1776, marks the time 
 when Edward Woodman entered the American army. The next active 
 service he saw was when the British fleet appeared off Charleston, S. C., 
 and attacked the fortifications on Sullivan s Island, June 4, 1776. Ed 
 ward was one of the soldiers who helped build Fort Moultrie, the palm 
 etto logs being fastened together with wooden pins which he and nine 
 teen others had been detached to make. He was not given to boasting 
 but was always proud of having been one of the twenty men who made 
 the wooden pins. 
 
 OFF TO THE NORTH 
 
 As soon as the British sailed away, the division to which he was at 
 tached was ordered to march north. After marching thirty days over 
 bad roads, much of the way only horse paths, many of the men had 
 died from heat and fatigue. The horses became so lame that the men 
 walked much of the way. They could get plenty to eat. "The time for 
 
160 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 empty stomachs," he used facetiously to say, "had not yet come," at the 
 same time giving a merry wink with his bright eyes. When they had 
 reached within one day s march of Boston, they were turned and sent 
 to Long Island, where Washington met a serious defeat. He saw much 
 hard fighting and skirmishing on Long Island. The officers under whom 
 he came north cannot be named, but they were now attached to Washing 
 ton s army, and for the greater number of the ensuing years shared all 
 the hardships and privations of that heroic band of officers and men. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF TRENTON 
 
 In the late autumn of 1776 Washington was encamped on the bank 
 of the Delaware river, upon Jericho Hill, near McConky s Ferry, in 
 Bucks county, Penn. The army was much reduced in numbers, owing 
 to much discontent among the soldiers, caused largely by their poor 
 clothing and not having been paid money due them. Many whose term 
 of enlistment had expired returned to their homes. Our brave grand 
 father remained firm and true to the cause of Independence. On that 
 memorable night of Christmas, 1776, Washington crossed the Delaware 
 at McConky s Ferry, now known as Taylorsville. On this crossing into 
 New Jersey we all know the results "from the books we have read." 
 Gen. Sullivan crossed ahead of his men. When his horse was over, he 
 mounted and sat silently watching his soldiers till all were over. Then 
 taking a pinch of stuff, he said, "Come on, boys." And onward they 
 went through darkness and snow. 
 
 An incident occurred that night which was the experience of one 
 or more of Edward Woodman s friends (they had likes and dislikes 
 among their comrades), a memory of whom held a place in his heart 
 through life. Though the greater part of the army crossed at Mc 
 Conky s Ferry, two companies went up to CoryelPs Ferry (New Hope), 
 where they ferried across. Having first to go up the river and then down 
 in the darkness and snow, daylight came before they reached Trenton. 
 At length they came upon a better road and all took to running. When 
 nearing Trenton the officer called a halt and told them to slow and to 
 form in line so as to be ready for action. After going forward a few 
 hundred yards in good order, they saw and heard three fifers coming to 
 meet them playing "White Cockade and Peacock Feather, American 
 Boys Fight Forever." The music told the victory, the line broke imme 
 diately. Every man felt tired and hungry, a feeling he had not thought 
 of before he saw the fifers. A more limp and lazy set of soldiers never 
 before marched into a place of victory. If any of their descendants de 
 sire to know in what part of the capture of Trenton grandfather par 
 ticipated, by consulting history and finding the part of Gen. Sullivan, it 
 can be known. That was the command he was under. After the capture 
 of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton, he was still alive, still sharing 
 the privations and hardships of his patriotic comrades. 
 
 A HORSE S BREATH 
 
 There is another incident connected with his army life that may 
 come in here, as I do not know where he was at the time it occurred. 
 Winter was approaching. An officer with a small squad of soldiers was 
 sent to examine a place which lay some miles distant from where the 
 army was encamped, the object being to search for a good situation for 
 winter quarters. One blanket, a gun and some ammunition was all they 
 carried with them. After a day of more than usual fatigue, they lay 
 down on the ground with their guns besides them, all near together to 
 keep warmer. It was already dark. The officer and men were sure 
 there were no British in the neighborhood. So sure were they, no guard 
 was placed over them, a great mistake, for one of the men awoke in the 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 161 
 
 night and going a little distance from the others, found they were sur 
 rounded by British horsemen. The order was "Every man run and save 
 his life as he can." Grandfather had not run far when he felt the breath 
 of a horse against his face. Turning around he saw the rider bending 
 forward to strike him with his sword. Being too quick for him, he ran 
 his bayonet into his assailant s abdomen. The man gave a scream, 
 turned his horse and rode away. Aunt Ruth said her father always 
 spoke of the events of that time with sadness. He would say, "That poor 
 man was the only person I ever knew to a certainty I killed." Running 
 on he came to a woods and going into it a short distance he found 
 himself on a steep hill. Knowing he could not be followed, he hunted 
 for a big tree and sat down on the sheltered side with his back to the 
 trunk, and was soon asleep. On waking in the morning (as he thought) 
 the sun was up. Looking around he saw only a few feet from where 
 he had spent the night a high rocky bank with a deep creek at the bot 
 tom. Again his life had been spared by not falling over and drowning. 
 Coming from another direction and leading down the hill was a well 
 trodden path. Following it he saw two sets of farm buildings on the 
 other side of the creek. After walking more than a mile he came upon 
 foot-stones. The path led up to one of the farm houses, where they 
 gave him his supper and shelter for the night. The sun was almost set. 
 He had slept in the woods nearly the whole day. When the sun had 
 risen in the morning, it had shone through the leafless trees and warmed 
 him so he slept till after noon. The house was filled with women and 
 children, the men of both families being in the American army. The 
 women and children, from a grandmother to a nursing child, were living 
 together to help each other as best they could. The other house was 
 abandoned. Morning came and he was about to leave, when one of the 
 women said: "Soldier, you are numbered with the dead. Stay and work 
 for us; we need your help so much." He had told them how he came to 
 be there and of the skirmish in the night. The offer was good, the sum 
 mer campaign was over, so he stayed and worked hard in preparing 
 material for a fence which the women and children could build in the 
 spring. He was well clothed and fed, even had stockings and shoes, 
 the only ones he ever got during his whole term of service in the Revo 
 lution. The shoes he had on when first sent north wore out on the 
 march and he aferward went barefoot with the one exception. He did 
 not suffer so much as many of his comrades, whose feet often cracked 
 and bled. It was his practice often to wash his feet, which he thought 
 was the cause of their always being so sound and well. 
 
 Spring came and the one whose life we are trying to follow turned 
 his mind again to what he felt to be his greatest duty. Taking his gun 
 one morning in March and bidding the family farewell, he trudged off to 
 the army again. On reaching the encampment he asked to see Gen. Sul 
 livan. The officer who received him asked many questions. What had he 
 come there for? Why must he see Gen. Sullivan? etc., etc. Handing the 
 officer, his gun, he answered: "Search me well, see that I have nothing 
 with which to injure the commander, and take me to him. I have some 
 thing to say to him I can say to no one else." To Sullivan he was sent, 
 and he told his story how he had escaped in the night and where the 
 winter was spent, and gave his reasons for not returning sooner. "Now 
 the time is come I might be needed. Here I am, you see." The General 
 listened quietly to all he had to say, then answered : "My boy, I am glad 
 you are back and gladder yet you are alive." Then giving him a hearty 
 handshake and a pinch of snuff, he sent him back to his place in the 
 ranks of the army. The reason for insisting to see Sullivan was that 
 if he reported to any other officer, the danger of being treated as a de 
 serter was hanging over him. Sullivan was a man of such nobility of 
 character, no fear was to be apprehended from that score. 
 
 It is to be regretted we do not know in what locality the foregoing 
 occurrence happened, but suppose it somewhere in New England. It was 
 
162 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 so cold the milk froze in their living room. Nor do we know the date ef 
 the winter. 
 
 AT BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN 
 
 In August, 1777, Washington with his army was encamped in War 
 wick township, Bucks county, Pa. Wm. J. Buck states there were North 
 Carolina troops among them. We suppose our grandfather was there. 
 Family annals tell to a certainty he was in the Battle of Brandywine, 
 Sept. 11, 1777; and also at Germantown, Oct. 3, 1777. In the 
 death of Gen. Nash, which occurred in the latter battle, he 
 suffered what he always felt to be a personal loss. They 
 had been acquainted in North Carolina, and throughout all the changes, 
 hard or easy, that the fortunes of war brought to them, Gen. Nash was 
 his firm friend. Our grandfather was near him when he fell. He was 
 one to help bear him from the field and bury him in the graveyard 
 belonging to the church at Towamencin, Pa. 
 
 AT VALLEY FORGE 
 
 Throughout all his wanderings, far or near, there is no place 
 around which so much interest centers or so great a desire is felt by his 
 descendants to know all about him as his coming to Valley Forge, Dec., 
 1777. 
 
 Very soon after the army became encamped, smallpox broke out. 
 Our great-grandfather Abijah Stephens went early every morning to 
 the camp and stayed late in the evening, waiting on the sick. One eve 
 ning when he came home, he said to his wife: "Priscilla, there is a 
 soldier that helps me to nurse the sick, that came from North Carolina, 
 he told me today. He knows thy brother, William Thomas. He has 
 worked for him and other Friends who went from Chester county." 
 
 Twice the soldier was brought home by the "Doctor" to see Priscilla, 
 but how long the visits were is not told, though she was well pleased 
 with him on both occasions. After he married her daughter, she be 
 came much attached to him. Aunt Ruth said: "Well she might be, for 
 he was faithful in all things, great or small, that added to her comfort 
 or happiness." 
 
 In June, 1778, Washington moved the army from Valley Forge; and 
 among the 11,000 the ragged, barefooted soldier, that was in the future 
 to become our grandfather, marched away with no thought or expecta 
 tion of ever returning. 
 
 HIS WAR RECORD 
 
 It would be a pleasure to give some of the varying vicissitudes 
 through which, with his comrades in arms, he was destined to pass before 
 fate sent his returning footsteps to the home of Abijah Stephens. 
 
 He enrolled hmiself with the first movement in North Carolina, en 
 countered the first fighting at Moore s Creek Bridge, N. C., under com 
 mand of Gen. Moore and Col. Caswell. His second term of enlistment 
 expired August, 1782. The long Revolution was nearly over for the 
 Colonies, for him it was ended. The division in which he was serving 
 lay somewhere in the vicinity of New York City. During his campaign 
 of service he met the enemy 21 times, some of them skirmishes. At 
 Trenton there was no fighting. At no time was he wounded badly enough 
 to leave the field, though the greater number of the engagements were 
 hard battles, and in several he was exposed to great peril. Neither was he 
 ever sick. Having had the smallpox, he escaped that when it raged 
 with such violence at Valley Forge. Thus we see him leaving the last 
 scenes of war sound and well. 
 
THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 168 
 
 ON THE HOMEWARD WAY 
 
 Two others who had enlisted at the same time he did, like him were 
 at liberty to go home. The three started for North Carolina, getting 
 food at the farm houses on the way. One of the men proposed that they 
 go by way of Valley Forge and see how the encampment looked by that 
 time. Grandfather answered: "That is exactly the thing to do. I know 
 Dr. Stephens. He and his wife are benevolent Quakers, a good place to 
 put into for a few days and get rested, fed up and may be clothed." 
 There was a little irony in saying "may be clothed." From the account 
 that comes down of the condition their clothing was in, to be clothed 
 was a foregone necessity. 
 
 To all who came to the hospitable home of Abijah Stephens, the latch 
 string hung out. But our returning patriots could not enter when they 
 reached that open door. The miserable rags they wore were so com 
 pletely worn out, not one of them was fit to appear in the presence of 
 women. The barn afforded a place of refuge. A call brought the men. 
 Food was given them. Grandmother Stephens, whose benevolence knew 
 no bounds and whose generosity never failed, soon had sufficient cloth 
 ing gathered together for their necessities. Trout Creek was near, no 
 time was lost in availing themselves of its waters. With hair cut and 
 combed, clothed in clean raiment, shaved with a razor (in the army their 
 beards had to be cut with scissors) they went to the house and ate sup 
 per with the family off the table. Taking chairs outside they sat around 
 for a friendly talk. It takes little effort of the imagination to suppose 
 their feelings on that evening. It seemed the foreshadow of Paradise. 
 
 At the time of which I write, there were many families around the 
 Valley, Radnor, and Newtown Square who had relatives residing in 
 North Carolina. The men were asked to stay till letters could be writ 
 ten for them to take to the friends and relatives so far away. Two 
 weeks passed, the letters were written, the seed wheat they had en 
 gaged to thresh was done, the time to g0 was fixed upon, the morning 
 came, Edward Woodman was sick and not able to go. Both the others 
 had left good homes and parents they were anxious to reach and see. 
 They went on, leaving their companion prostrate at the home of Abijah 
 and Priscilla Stephens. For many days it was thought he would never 
 get well. He never did fully recover a giddiness in his head, which fol 
 lowed the fever. It would attack him at times during his whole life and 
 in the end caused his death. Years after when William Thomas visited 
 his relatives in Chester county, he said the letters were not received, that 
 the men did not reach their homes. They were in all probability taken 
 with the same fever and died on the homeward journey. 
 
 After his recovery Edward Woodman worked for different persons. 
 The vicinity of Valley Forge became his home. At one time he worked 
 
 for Walker, a carpenter. The new-found home that at first 
 
 seemed only chance proved permanent, and at last became his final rest 
 ing place. When able to go to work, he left the Stephen s home and did 
 not again become a resident of the household until his marriage gave 
 him an assured place in the family. 
 
 A HOME IN THE VALLEY 
 
 Edward Woodman and Sarah Stephens were married about five 
 years after he came to Chester Valley. They settled on the little farm 
 that Grandfather Stephens gave them. The land was to be her dower 
 and was taken off the lower end of the Stephen s farm. It was lo 
 cated on the Trout Run in what is locally known as the Valley. The 
 public road running from Port Kennedy to King-of-Prussia passes 
 through the land. 
 * * * ****** 
 
164 THE HISTORY OF VALLEY FORGE 
 
 On the morning of Dec. 23, 1820, some persons that lived among 
 the Valley Hills came to the door begging, and went away saying they 
 would be back and get the things. So many demands had been made 
 that season, grandmother felt all she had to give was already gone and 
 had said so to the family at breakfast. Grandfather had finished up 
 the chores about the barn, came to the window calling: "Sally, do not 
 send the poor helpless creatures away from our door empty-handed, 
 they are so needy. Hunt something up to give them." 
 
 With a pathos touching to hear, grandmother related to my mother 
 his last words, "Something to give them," adding, "My husband s life 
 was one of service and charity, his last words the expression of his kind 
 benevolent nature." From the window he went to the barn on the Val 
 ley Farm to thresh. The sound of the flail was heard at the house but no 
 one noticed it cease. Dinner was ready and Abisha s little son Edward 
 went to call him. He came back saying, grandfather was asleep and 
 would not wake up. The girl went and came back running, having found 
 him on the floor alive but unconscious. He was carried to the house 
 and died in a few minutes. The neighbors on looking saw he had 
 threshed one flooring. Some sheaves lay on the floor for the second. The 
 pitchfork in the mow with a sheaf sticking on the prongs showed be 
 yond doubt he had fallen from the mow to the floor, caused from one 
 of the frequent giddy attacks. The following Christmas would have been 
 his 71st birthday. Friends and relatives held him in such high esteem 
 his funeral procession was a mile long, following on in close line to the 
 Friends burying ground at the Valley Meeting-house, where all that 
 was mortal of Edward Woodman found final resting place. 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY 
 
 There was much in the religious Society of Friends he admired. 
 Their outward form suited his tastes, the inner quiet communion suited 
 his spiritual needs. He always wore plain clothes in cut and color, went 
 regularly to meeting on First Days, was particular to pay meeting 
 rates, and to discharge a full share of the necessary work in keeping 
 the grounds around the meeting-house in good order. When asked why 
 he did not become a member, he answered: "That testimony against 
 war keeps me out. I went into the Revolution with a sense of duty 
 and still think it was right." 
 
 Aunt Ruth said that in middle life he was erect, nearly six feet 
 tall, with broad shoulders, full chest, fine muscular development through 
 out, very blue eyes, a sallow complexion, hair light brown and curly, 
 worn brushed back from his forehead and temples and hanging from the 
 crown of his head to his coat collar a mass of curls. 
 
 The nieces and nephews have told us of many kind deeds; how he 
 always looked on the bright side of life and had always a smile of 
 welcome and good humored joke when they came to see Aunt Sallie. 
 His daughters said beneath his easy, courteous manner and gayety was 
 a tended conscience, guiding strong religious convictions, which often, 
 when alone with his family, he used to express with beautiful language. 
 They said it was past their undertsanding how their father could come 
 through the vicissitudes and temptations of his youth and early man 
 hood and keep his morals and integrity, but he did. A soldier who had 
 known him in the army said of him: "His conduct at all times was 
 characterized by courage, manifesting no fear in time of danger. Through 
 cold, hunger and fatigue his cheerfulness never failed, and often raised 
 the drooping spirits of his comrades." 
 
INDEX 
 
 Agriculture, 87, 97, 115, 120, 121, 
 
 125, 126, 127, 135, 140 
 American Army, 39, 40, 44, 45, 46, 
 
 49, 59, 76 
 
 Amiens, Treaty of, 93 
 Archives of Useful Knowledge, 145 
 Armstrong, Gen., 58 
 armory, 86, 103 
 arms, 31, 89 
 artillery, 59, 60, 89 
 Audubon, Joseph, 110 
 Austria, 70 
 
 barns, 75, 120, 121 
 
 Barnes, Joseph, 101 
 
 Bakewell, Wm., 109 
 
 Bakewell sheep, 110 
 
 Baptist Road, 27, 37, 60, 111, 112 
 
 Baptist meeting-house, 27, 64, 75 
 
 Baker, Geo. A., 120 
 
 Barry, Samuel, 114 
 
 Bartholomew, John, 99 
 
 Barren Hill, 45, 89 
 
 Beaver, Devault, 115 
 Isaac, 128 
 
 Beaver, John, 58, 71, 87, 115 
 
 Beaver, Margaret, 83 
 
 Bean, John, 96 
 
 Beidler, Abr., 124 
 
 Bethel, Robt., 130 
 
 Bilton Line, the, 128 
 
 Blackwell, Dr. (Rev.) Robt., 116 
 
 Blounts, 65 
 
 Blount, Thos., 84 
 
 bread, 86 
 
 breastworks, 25, 124 
 
 Brandywine, 26, 33, 34, 35,70,75,77 
 
 British, 24, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37, 
 38, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 60, 61, 
 64, 88, 89, 90, 91, 99, 120, 121 
 
 Brooks, Reese, 101 
 
 Brown, John, 53, 58, 111, 112, 115 
 
 Brown, Fort, 54 
 
 Brooks, Major Wm., 61 
 
 Bucks, County of, 26, 28, 94 
 
 Bull, John, 36 
 
 Burgoyne, Gen., 31, 45, 63, 76 
 
 Burr, Aaron, 84 
 
 burials, 63 
 
 Butlers, 65 
 
 camp, 45, 54 
 Campbell, poet, 70 
 
 Camden, battle of, 67, 68 
 Catfish Island, 133 
 canal, 130, 132, 136 
 cattle, 41, 55, 121 
 Chester county, 27, 122 
 Christ, 25 
 cavalry, 115 
 Clinton, Geo., 84 
 
 Dewitt, 85 
 Cedar Creek, 128 
 Claibornes, 65 
 Clever, Gen., 82 
 clothing, 24, 57, 49, 79 
 coal, 105 
 colonists, 42 
 Columbia Railroad, 60 
 Commissary Dept., 79 
 
 General, 123 
 
 Congress, 46, 62, 63, 64, 72, 79, 99 
 copper, 108, 125, 138, 139, 141, 142 
 Conway, Gen., 58, 59, 63, 77 
 Continental Army, 30, 31, 85, 88, 93 
 money, 60,67,79,96,125 
 Conshohocken, 60, 89 
 Conrad, John, 101 
 
 Dennis, 128 
 cooking, 55 
 cotton, 103 
 crops, 75 
 crystals, 139 
 Currie, Rev. Wm., 115 
 
 Darrach, Lydia, 46, 90 
 
 Dav 
 
 is, Geo., 134 
 
 Hon. John, 58, 99 
 Dr. Jones, 136 
 Joseph, 121 
 Mordecai, 121 
 Wm., 112, 113 
 Zachary, 57, 136 
 Day s Hist. Researches, 89 
 Dearborn, Henry, 84 
 Delaware river, 45 
 DeKalb, Baron, 58, 64, 67-69, 70, 
 
 147, 150 
 
 Dennison, Andrew, 94 
 Dewees, Col. Wm., 31, 32, 37, 38, 
 
 42, 43, 97, 99, 120, 121 
 Dewees, Sarah, 43 
 
 Thomas W., 120 
 Waters, 120 
 widow, 120, 121 
 
Doylestown, 38 
 Dubryson, Gen., 58, 70, 71, 97 
 Duportale, Gen., 60, 70 
 Duponceau, Gen., 70 
 
 Easttown, 77 
 
 encampment, 25, 29, 48, 53, 79, 81, 
 
 87, 91, 92, 93 
 encampment ground, 46, 54, 81, 
 
 107, 108, 109, 111, 129 
 Eglington, Mr., 129, 133 
 Elliott, John, 130 
 engineers, 60 
 England, 77, 103 
 Ephrata, 75 
 
 Evan ap Bevan, 28, 122 
 Evans, Brooks, 103 
 " Stephen, 28 
 
 Fatland Ford, 59, 72 
 
 Island, 133 
 Fifty Acres, the, 80 
 Fishbourne, Major Benj., 116, 117 
 fishing, 129 
 flour, 87 
 
 food, 49, 50, 51, 57, 62, 66, 72 
 forage, 75 
 
 Force, Henry, 57, 133 
 flocks, 88 
 Forge, the, 20,26,27,28, 29, 30, 31, 
 
 33, 36, 37, 38, 42, 54, 88, 92, 120, 121 
 forts, 53, 54, 85, 86, 137 
 Forrest, Thomas, 84 
 free stone, 140, 141 
 Frick, John, 130 
 Fricke, Jacob, 33, 113 
 fortifications, 25, 111, 123 
 France, 77 
 Friends (Quakers), 57 109, 117 
 
 129, 150 
 
 Friends meeting-house, 75, 76, 80 
 Front Line Hill, 53, 54, 55, 59, 82, 
 
 86, 87, 95, 119, 121, 126 
 fuel, 74, 75, 79, 88, 89, 92, 95, 96 
 Furman, Gen., 58 
 
 Gates, Gen., 45, 63 
 
 Geerhart, Frederic, 87, 105 
 
 German farmer, 115 
 
 Germantown, 26, 33, 49, 75, 88, 89 
 
 Godfrey, Wm., 58, 119 
 
 gold, 141, 142 
 
 Goshen, 92 
 
 Goshen meeting-house, 109 
 
 grain, 41 
 
 Gray, Col., 30 
 
 Green, Lieutenant, 80 
 
 Greene, Gen., 58,64,76,116,118,150 
 
 Greaves, Geo., 119 
 
 Griffith, Rev. Abr., 129 
 
 grist mill, 100, 125 
 guards, 83 
 Gulf Hills, 45, 60, 69 
 Gulf Road, 27, 37, 59, 60, 80, 89, 
 100, 103, 131 
 
 Hamilton, Col. Alex., 37, 38, 84, 89 
 hardware, 102, 119 
 Havard, David, 115 
 
 John, 58, 111, 112, 115, 143 
 Samuel, 70, 111, 112 
 Hazelton, Thomas, 129 
 Headquarters, 28, 54, 57, 59, 70, 72, 
 84, 89, 99, 100, 104, 107, 123, 137, 
 
 147 
 Hessians, 33, 37, 38, 39, sq., 42, 43, 
 
 120 
 
 Heister, Jos., 84 
 Heidelberg, Leb. Co., Pa., 120 
 Henry, Wm., 71, 80, 136, 137 
 herds, 88 
 
 Hodgson, Capt. Alex., 129 
 Holstein, Matthias, 153 
 honey-comb stone, 139 
 hospitals, 34, 35, 63, 75 
 hunger, 51, 52 
 
 Huntingdon, Gen., 57, 59, 71, 136 
 huts, 24, 25, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 66, 
 
 88, 92, 93, 95, 96, 124, 137 
 Howe, Gen., 31, 44, 88, 89, 109 
 Hughes, John, 89 
 
 Indians, 105 
 Ireland, 77 
 
 iron, 28, 29, 30, 31, 87, 88, 92, 97, 
 99, 100, 101, 103, 120, 140 
 
 Jackson, Wm., 120 
 Jenkins, Mr., 128 
 " farm, 128 
 " island, 128 
 " pool, 128 
 Jefferson, Thos., 84 
 Jones, Benj., 87, 96, 119 
 Rev. David, 64 
 Enoch, 113 
 James, 100 
 Nathaniel, 113, 114 
 Samuel, 58, 81, 82, 113 
 Jordan, 92 
 
 Keugel s Tavern, 82, 113 
 
 Kirk, James, 94 
 
 Kennedy, Alex., 123, 124, 130 
 
 David R., 130 
 
 John, 130 
 
 Wm., 130 
 
 Port, 130, 131 
 Kingston, Stephen, 134 
 Kniphausen, Gen., 33 
 Knox, Gen., 58, 59, 89, 112 
 Kosciusko, Gen., 58, 70 
 
Lafayette, Gen., 58, 59, 64, 70, 76, 
 
 77, 112, 146, 147 
 Lancaster, 75 
 lead, 107, 108, 141 
 Lee, Col., 37, 38 
 Lee, Gen., 58, 63, 77, 89, 115 
 Lewises, 65 
 lime, 130, 135, 140 
 loyalists, 42 
 MacDougai, Gen., 58 
 Madison, James, 84, 85 
 Macons, 65 
 Mann, Jos. (col.), 58 
 Marlin, Joshua, 102 
 Marshal, Chief Justice John, 84 
 Mathachen, 44 
 Matson s Ford, 60, 89 
 Maxwell, Gen., 58, 59, 111 
 Mclntosh, Gen., 58, 59, 77 
 Merion, Upper, 45 
 Merriwethers, 65 
 Meschianza, 89 
 militia, 32 
 Miller, John, 120 
 Mifflin, Gen., 39, 58, 59, 64, 77, 97, 
 
 119, 121, 150 
 Miner, Hon. Chas., 59 
 Montgomery County, 27, 29, 36, 45, 
 
 Monroe, James, 60 
 Moore, Anthony, 113 
 
 Elizabeth, 83 
 
 Edwin, 124 
 
 Jane, 83 
 
 Jesse, 53 
 
 John, 57, 80, 87, 123, 124 
 
 John, Jr., 124, 125 
 
 Mordecai, 53, 54, 55, 57, 87, 
 96, 123, 124 
 
 Richard, 124 
 
 Samuel, 124, 138 
 Moores, the, 92, 152 
 Moores Fort, 85 
 
 Mordecai, 53, 86, 152 
 " John, 53, 85 
 Morgan, Gen., 57, 60, 61, 123 
 
 Mordecai, 60 
 Morgan s Corner, 61 
 Morris, Robert, 128, 129 
 Morrisville, 128 
 Mount Joy, 27, 38, 121 
 Mount Misery, 27 
 Muhlenberg, Gen., 57, 59, 77, 123 
 
 Nash, Gen., 44, 59 
 Nantmeal, 97 
 New England, 75, 76 
 New Englanders, 72, 75 
 Neshaminy Creek, 109 
 neutrals, 42, 43, 109, 117 
 
 New York, 45 
 Norris Manor, 110 
 Norristown, 29, 36 
 North, Caleb, 38, 120, 121 
 North Carolina, 44 
 Nutt, Samuel, 27 
 Nutt s Road, 27, 100 
 
 observatory, 104 
 
 officers, 5G, 58, 71, 74, 79, 80, 81, 
 
 82, 95, 107, 114, 118, 123, 129 
 Owen, Robert, 100 
 
 Park, the, 60 
 pasturage, 143 
 Patterson, Gen., 82 
 Paul, Jacob, 100 
 Joseph, 100 
 
 Pawling (Pauling) family, 107 
 Henry, 36, 72, 107, 133 
 Levi, 72, 107, 133 
 Nathan, 36 
 Wm., 107, 108 
 Paoli, 26, 33, 75, 77 
 Pawling s Bridge, 107 
 
 Ford, 36 
 
 peace, 97, 98, 126, 155 
 Penn, Wm., 128 
 " Letitia, 128 
 
 Letitia s Manor, 128 
 Pennsylvania, 92 
 pensions, 80, 87, 133 
 Peacock, Ralph, 101 
 Peters, Richard, 84 
 " Judge, 145 
 
 Philadelphia, 26, 27, 31, 33, 34, 38, 
 44, 79, 86, 88,89, 91, 97, 99, 101. 
 124,126 
 pension, 80 
 
 Perkiomen Creek, 44, 108, 109 
 Phillips, Jonathan, 114 
 Pickering, Timothy, 84 
 pickets, 54, 88, 92, 96, 123 
 picket guard, 112 
 Pineville, N. J., 81 
 Poland, 70 
 
 Poor, Gen., 58, 59, 115, 119 
 Porter, Andrew, 133 
 
 " Gov. David E., 133 
 Potter, Gen., 59, 119 
 Potts, family of, 29, 31 
 
 David, 29, 31,99, 100, 101, 104 
 Isaac, 29, 31, 59-65, 99, 100 
 " James, 101 
 
 John, 29 
 
 Pittsgrove, N. J., 80 
 Pottstown, 29 
 Pittsgrove, N. J., 80 
 provost, 57 
 
 guard, 133 
 
provisions, 31, 74, 79, 87, 95 
 Proctor, Col., 59, 60 
 Prussia, 68, 69, 70 
 Pugh, Mary, 81 
 Pulaski, Gen., 58, 70, 115 
 
 rafts, 37 
 
 Rambo, (Canoe) John, 34 
 
 rangers, 57, 60 
 
 Reading, 75, 119 
 
 Reading Railroad, 27, 100, 131, 132, 
 
 135 
 Rear Line Hill, 54, 58, 59, 63, 86, 
 
 104 
 
 rebels, 31, 40 
 Rebel Hill, 60 
 Record, The Village, 59 
 redoubt, 59 
 Reese, Mrs. Elizabeth, 69, 80 
 
 " George, 61 
 
 " Griffith, 61 
 
 " John, 60 
 religion, 25, 39, 43, 47, 50, 64, 65, 
 
 97, 109, 115, 117, 129 
 relics, 91 
 Republican, 36 
 Ridge Road, 36 
 Richardson, Eleanor, 137 
 Richard, Samuel, 33, 58, 81, 82, 
 
 111, 113, 114 
 Riley, David, 129 
 Roberts, Hon. Jonathan, 148 
 
 Matthew, 110 
 
 Robinson, Col. Thomas, 116, 117 
 Rodgers, Charles, 104 
 & Co., 102 
 John, 102, 103, 104 
 Rogers, Rev. Wm., 39 
 royalists, 30, 31, 36, 37, 42,43,44,46 
 Russia, 70 
 Ryan, Major, 116, 117 
 
 Savannah, 70 
 
 Schuylkill County, 105 
 
 Falls of, 35, 36 
 river, 27, 31, 34, 45, 52, 
 53, 54, 59, 60, 72, 73, 89, 90, 92, 
 100, 107, 108, 124, 125,152 
 
 Scott, Gen., 82, 113 
 
 secret doors, 101 
 
 Sernea, Gen., 82 
 
 shoes, 49, 62 
 
 Shur, Michael, 57, 129, 134 
 
 Shannonville (now Audubon), 108 
 
 Sharpless, Isaac, 134, 135 
 John, 112 
 
 Shearer, John, 108 
 
 sick, the, 75, 121 
 
 Skippack, 33, 44 
 
 slavery, 41, 50 
 
 small-pox, 62, 75, 117, 118 
 
 Smallwood, Gen., 58, 59 
 Smith, Provost Wm., 57, 128, 138 
 " Samuel, 94 
 " Gen. Samuel, 73 
 Southerners, 63, 65 
 South, the, 80 
 
 springs of water, 125, 129, 130, 132 
 spy, 31, 37, 79 
 State Road, 82, 112, 113 
 Stephens, Dr. Abijah, 42, 51, 57, 67, 
 70, 87, 95, 96, 121, 122, 143 
 Abijah, Jr., 137 
 adhesive plaster, 122 
 Benj., 40 
 Elizabeth, 83 
 David, 53, 55, 57, 73, 80, 
 85, 96, 97, 128, 136, 143 
 (Fort), 54, 85 
 family, 28, 70, 92, 152 
 Grandmother, 50, 51, 52, 
 81, 83 
 
 Jehu, 35, 38, 107 
 " Maurice, 71, 136 
 
 Sarah, 36 
 " Stephen. 39, 122 
 
 Wm., 137 
 
 Sterling, Gen. Lord, 60, 69, 115 
 Steuben, Baron, 58, 70, 71, 137 
 Steuben s Kitchen, 71 
 stores, military, 31, 32, 33, 37, 38, 
 
 79, 89 
 
 Stony Creek, 36 
 Sullivan, Gen., 58, 59, 64, 72, 73, 
 
 77, 119, 120, 150 
 
 Sullivan s Bridge, 72, 73, 107, 137 
 surgery, 96 
 Sutcliffe, Robert, 110 
 Susquehanna river, 47 
 Swede s Ford, 34, 36 
 
 tavern, 35 
 
 Thomson, Archibald, 36 
 
 Rev. Chas., 155 
 timber, 30, 41, 54, 74, 87, 95, 96, 
 
 101, 102, 143, 145 
 Tories, 42, 90, 117 
 Towamencin, 44 
 Trumbull, Col., 84 
 
 University of Pa., 39, 57 
 
 Valley Creek, 27, 53, 54, 58, 59, 70, 
 
 86, 87. 102, 103, 115 
 Valley forge, the , 24, 25, 26, 27, 
 
 92, 93, 97, 98, 120 
 Valley Forge estate, 20, 28, 29, 38, 
 
 54, 55, 99, 115, 136 
 Valley, the Great, 32, 57, 58, 75, 87, 
 
 92, 111, 113, 125 and 152 
 Valley Road, 27 
 
Vanderslice, Thomas, 108 
 Varnum, Gen., 57, 59, 84, 137 
 Vaux, James, 109 
 Virginia, 50 
 Vodges, Jacob, 101, 102 
 
 Wag-staff, Hugh, 103 
 
 Wales, 28 
 
 Walker, Enoch, 118 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth, 82 
 
 Hanniah, 120 
 
 Isaac, 28, 58, 76, 81, 116, 
 117, 118 
 
 Jacob, 87, 119 
 
 Joseph, 87, 96, 115, 116, 
 117, 118 
 
 Lewis, 28, 113, 114, 115, 
 116, 117, 118 
 
 Richard C., 116, 135 
 
 Sarah, 83 
 
 Thomas, 116, 134 
 
 Wm., 116 
 
 Walkers, the, 92, 152 
 Walters, Jacob, 58 
 Wanwag, Lewis, 130 
 War of 1812, 84 
 Waters, Thomas, 32, 34, 38, 40, 41, 
 
 42, 87, 96, 119, 120 
 Watson, John, 89 
 Zook, David, 124, 131 
 
 Wayne, Gen. Anthony, 58, 59, 64, 
 76, 113, 114, lie-US^ 121, 148, 150 
 
 Wayne, Hon. Isaac, 148, 150 
 
 Washington, Gen., 24, 25, 28, 30, 
 33, 38, 44, 45, 46, 57, 59, 63, 64, 
 65, 77, 81, 84, 88, 90, 109, 118, 
 121, 122, 126, 127, 150,151 
 
 Washington, Lady, 64, 118 
 
 Weem s History, 65 
 
 Weisel, Frederick, 134 
 
 Wetherill s, 107, 108 
 
 West Chester, 59, 147 
 
 Wheedon, Gen., 49, 50, 58, 59, 66, 
 67, 81 
 
 White Horse, 109 
 
 Williams, John, 34 
 
 Wilson, David, 112 
 
 Wissahickon, 89 
 
 Woodford, Gen., 82, 113 
 
 Woodman, Edward, 30, 87, 109, 126 
 127, 150, 151, 157-164 
 Mrs. Edward, 150, 168 
 Henry, 7-10, 24-25 
 
 Worthington, John, 112 
 
 wounded, the, 75 
 
 Yellow Springs, 75 
 York County, 46, 47, 61 
 
 Watson s Annals, 89 
 
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