Wyoming Valley Massacre
From
The World Book Encyclopedia - 1960
One of the many tragedies of the American Revolutionary War, occurred in what is now
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. In 1778, it was an incorporated county in the colony of
Connecticut. At that time, most of the inhabitants of the valley believed in the
American cause of independence from Great Britain. But some of the residents were
Tories, and remained loyal to Great Britain.
As the war went on, the Tories were driven out of the community, and joined other Tory and
Indian bands. In the summer of 1778, these bands attacked Wyoming Valley. The
inhabitants fled for safety to Forty Fort, near the site of the present city of Wilkes-Barre,
Pa. About 300 men defended the fort. An army of 800 fighters, led by a British
officer, opposed them. Six hundred of the attackers were Indians.
On Jul 3, the two groups met in a hard-fought battle. The attackers defeated the
settlers, and killed more than two thirds of them. The Indians tortured many of them
to death. The survivors were left to find their way to the nearest settlements, and
many of them died on the way. The attackers destroyed the village and left the valley
in ruins..
From my notes on Jonathan Franklin
Submitted by: Kenneth K Medulan
Jonathan Franklin died during the battle of Wyoming in the Pennamite Wars. During the
revolution, a large portion of the men of the valley joined the Continental Army. A number
of Tory-Loyalists remained and in 1778 were joined by a group known as Butler's Rangers,
their Indian allies (Iriquois) some Scots and Dutch, whom the Connecticut people had
expelled from the valley at the beginning of the war. The invaders were led by
Sir John Johnson, John Butler, and Joseph Brant. Prior to the attack, the settlers had
taken refuge in the fort known as Forty Fort near Wilkes-Barre. The settlers did not
number over 400, chiefly boys and old men; the British force including 700 Indians was
about 1100. After a desperate battle fought on the 3rd of July, 1778, the settlers were
completely defeated, about 2/3 being killed by the Indians. The greater part of the
inhabitants of the valley were complelled to flee to other settlements and endured great
hardships.
From my notes on Patience (Franklin) Ferguson
Submitted by: Charles Wright
Patience (Franklin) Ferguson, daughter of Jonathan above, was captured by the Indians and many
were massacred, including her two brothers but she was released, a girl of twelve years and for
two weeks she wandered through the woods, eating berries and whatever she could find, but at
length reached civilization and safety.
To submit an article of this type, you may use the mailbox
below.
Please place in the Subject Line:
WEBPAGE-HISTORY
|
To return to previous page use the "Back Button" on your browser
|
|