Are murders committed during the American Revolution considered True Crimes? That’s a debate for another time, but I find this piece of local history very interesting. Verifiable historical details are tough to come by, and accounts of the events vary greatly, but this story holds a special place for me since it includes my 6th Great Grandfather, John Gardner.
Queen Esther was a member of the Native American Iroquois Indian Confederacy that roamed the Wyoming Valley during the American Revolution. The Confederacy was comprised of six different Indian tribes. It’s alleged that Esther Montour, an American settler, married an Indian named Echogohund, Chief of the Munsee Delaware Indians. After her husband died, Queen Esther became the head of the tribe. It was during the Wyoming Valley Massacre that the Queen lost her only son, after which she got her violent revenge.
Much of the information below comes from a report that Colonel John Franklin sent to the Towanda (Bradford, PA) Republican newspaper in September 1828 – over 50 years after the actual events. Additional information came from a first-hand account of the Massacre by Mark Harding, which was published in July 1778 in the Connecticut Journal. Some dispute the Harding account, but it’s hard to argue since it was reported just after the battle. There are several other sources that provide different details and accounts of the events, but without digging deeper into each source, I consider first-hand accounts to be more reliable.
So here’s my understanding of the events based on these records.
During the American Revolution, settlers from Connecticut migrated to the Wyoming Valley. They built homes along the Susquehanna River from Exeter down to Kingston and up the river towards Harding and Ransom. As the Revolution continued, these “new Americans” wanted to join forces with George Washington’s Continental Army, but they were denied since their location was so close to the Tory (American colonists who were British supporters) and Native American Indian territories. Yes – the Wyoming Valley was actually considered the western edge of the colonies before the frontier lands of America.
The Board of War suggested they stay focused on protecting their territory as the Tories and Native Americans were becoming more hostile. A land dispute was at its core since the King of England gave both the Tories and the Connecticut settlers rights to the land – and the Tories were friends with the Native Americans, but that’s another story.
The Board of War’s position changed in December 1776. The Wyoming men were called to assist Washington in New Jersey. By January 1, 1777, it was estimated that 250-300 Wyoming men marched to New Jersey – taking all of their arms with them. This left the women, children, and elderly behind with very little to protect the settlement.
1885
Throughout 1777, the area remained relatively conflict-free. There was some reported “plundering” by the Tories of a few of their neighbors, but nothing very serious.
In the spring of 1778, word spread that the Tories and Indians were planning an invasion of the territory. The Board of War was petitioned to allow the Wyoming men to return home to protect their settlement, but the Board declined the request. Instead, Captain Dethrick Hewit built up the troops from the inhabitants – which consisted mostly of a ragtag bunch of young children and elderly men. Colonel Zebulon Butler, who lived in the area, was home on furlough and was requested by the men to take control of the forces.
Some Tories were acting aggressively and encouraging the Indians to join them. In return, Bulter and his men captured the rowdy group and held them as prisoners – eventually sending them off to New York.
Around the same time, a “squaw” by the name of Queen Esther arrived in Kingston with a small group of Indians. She was friendly to the group, but the locals were suspicious since she was not accompanied by any Chiefs. Queen Esther promised she wanted peace and proposed that she return with a Chief that would support her intentions. As a gesture of peace, she left two Indians behind and returned back to her village.
Immediately after the Queen left, the suspicious locals began to fortify their position in preparation for attacks. They built four forts on the west side of the Susquehanna river – two in Exeter, one in Jenkins, and one in Wintermoots.
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the Wyoming men were growing more concerned about the possibility of attack. Captains Durkee and Ransom, along with Lieutenants Welles and Ross, resigned from their posts with the Army and started their journey home to protect the settlement.
On June 30th, 1778, several Indians made their way down the Susquehanna and came upon eight-to-ten men who were working in the corn fields. The Indians lay in waiting until the men started to return home with the hopes of capturing all of them – knowing that help would not arrive after dark.
After the men finished working the fields, a couple of them went to check on their deer lick. Armed with rifles, my distant cousins Benjamin Harding and his brother Stukely Harding split off from the group along with unarmed John Gardner, my 6th Great Grandfather. The brothers were frightened by the Indians and fired upon them – setting off a skirmish. The Harding boys were struck with bullets and wounded. The Indians then rushed them and mutilated them with their hatchets and spears.
The others heard the fighting and came running. James Hadsell and his son, James Jr, were also killed in the fight, along with an African American man named Quocko, while two additional men were taken hostage; Daniel Carr, son-in-law of James Hadsell; and Daniel Waller. James Hadsell’s other young son, John Hadsell, escaped by jumping into the river and hiding under some willows – barely keeping his nose and mouth above water.
John Gardner and the other men were spared because they were unarmed and surrendered without much resistance. But given their treatment afterward, they probably would have chosen death.
It’s believed that, later that night, a couple of men left Fort Wintermoot. When they returned, and the gates were opened to let them in, the two men were joined by a flood of Tories and Indians – and I believe the captured settlers. The two men had infiltrated the settlers, living among them, and were actually Tories.
John Gardner did have the opportunity to say goodbye to his wife and kids. They were inside Fort Wintermoot when he returned. He was chained to a tree while he awaited his fate. After the goodbye, they tied a rope around his neck, loaded him with backpacks, and forced him to walk to the Seneca territory in upstate NY outside of Geneva. Upon arrival, it was said that the Indian squaws pierced his body with kerosene-soaked pine needles and burned him at the stake.
The painting below represents John Gardner and his wife Elizabeth and their children.
Date/Artist Unknown
Upon hearing the news of the skirmish, Zebulon Butler ordered his men to march to the area across the river near Ransom, where they found two Indians watching over the dead bodies. Butler’s men killed the Indians and took the bodies back to Fort Jenkins for burial.
Now, as tensions escalated, another petition was made to the Board of War to send the Wyoming troops home to assist. By now, the troops were around Valley Forge. The Board agreed, but for an unknown reason, delayed the response and had the men marching on a different course – instead of heading back home. Some believed that the Tories were influencing the military leadership, and others believed that some in the Army disagreed with where the Wyoming settlers ended up – on the edge of Tory and Indian Territory. Either way, the reinforcements were delayed and only as far as Northampton County on July 3, where they would spend the night at Shoop’s Inn, about 30 miles from home.
After a couple of days of light fighting, on July 3, 1778, a massive wave of Tories and Indians, led by Colonel John Butler, cousin of Zebulon Butler, brutally attacked and destroyed what little army the settlers could muster.
The two adversaries met along what is now Wyoming Ave, and there were several skirmishes. The settlers were heavily outnumbered by some accounts, 1600-400.
Even against all odds, the settlers felt they were making progress as they marched toward their enemy. Then some confusion came when orders by Col Z. Butler were misinterpreted. Some of the men took to a fallback plan while others began to retreat. Many men tried to escape by making their way to the river, when all of sudden, they realized that they were flanked by the Indians who were in the marshlands by the river. The results were devasting.
Reports vary, but it’s generally estimated that over 360 settlers were killed that day, with only about 30-60 surviving. The Tories and Indians destroyed over 1,000 homes along the way while completely decimating their cattle and crops.
A couple of reports surfaced quickly.
(Philadelphia, PA)
July 14, 1778
July 21, 1778
It was said that, as the day ended, Queen Esther learned that her son had perished in the attack. She ordered the men to round up any remaining settlers. They were detained in a circle around her – and one by one, she brutally beat the men with a maul, a type of hammer, smashing their heads off a rock that was protruding from the ground.
Portrayal of Madame Montour,, and her son, Andrew.
The brutalized remains were thrown in the nearby Susquehanna river – so as to avoid the potential of a traditional burial.
Today, the rock remains a historical site and is covered by a cage to deter vandalism. Some say it still has a red hue to it from all of the blood of the settlers.
Over the years, the Massacre became a celebrated tragedy in American history. It was a rallying cry for Americans to rise up and protect against aggressors. On the 100th anniversary of the Massacre in July 1878, President Rutherford B Hayes was in Wyoming to celebrate the tragic event. Over 50,000 people turned out that day to remember the Massacre and honor the dead.
A historical monument remains in place today. Each side of the monument has an inscription dedicated to those that lost their lives in the battles.
Some say that the accounts of the event are sensationalized and go well beyond what might have actually taken place that day. They claim that the anti-Loyalist and anti-Indian rhetoric was needed to inspire the American people to push to remain free and to justify taking the land of the Native Americans. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
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