The Great Escape

During the Revolutionary War Pennsylvania was primarily composed of four variants of people. Quakers were loyal to the crown; Paxton Rangers were Scotch-Irish immigrants who were opposed to Indians, Quakers, British Provincial authorities and the crown; citizens of Northumberland County, who were also loyal to the crown, and Connecticut settlers, who were enemies of Quakers and Provincial authorities. While the English were invading Boston in 1770, New England colonists were invading Pennsylvania via the river, trying to move their conquests south. Connecticut settlers had settled in the Wyoming Valley along the North branch of the river and because the Paxton Rangers were frustrated with the lack of military support they were receiving from the Quakers in central Pennsylvania, they too traveled to the Fort Wintermoot in Wyoming to help Connecticut settlers defend their homes. In return for their aid they received protection for their own families. As a result the Yankee-Pennamite wars erupted with Pennsylvania and Connecticut fighting against the normally pacifist Quakers who were forced to protect themselves through physical means. These battles gave the northerners courage and they soon began openly rebelling against the British, claiming thousands of acres along the West Branch of the Susquehanna.

In 1773 Northumberland County petitioned Governor John Penn to help them protect their homeland against these invading Yankees. The offensive began in 1775 when William Maclay wrote to congress and Colonel William Plunket led 700 men in protest against the trespassers. The endeavor failed and the issue lay unresolved for nearly two years. In 1777 word was sent that 8000 British troops planned on gathering at Niagara and pressing south along the branches of the Susquehanna. The Connecticut Yankees and the Paxton Rangers allied themselves with the rest of Pennsylvania and stood their ground. When all three hundred Yankees attacked a British Force which had allied with the Seneca and Cayuga, the entire force was massacred (massacre of Fort Wintermoot) and the Indians, who no longer felt threatened by the Pennsylvania residents, began raiding the frontier. In 1778 alone two men were killed at Pine Creek in January, one man was killed at Bald Eagle and one in Penn’s Valley on May 14, twenty people were killed on the North branch of the Susquehanna on May 17, three men were killed at Bald Eagle, three were taken prisoner at Pine Creek, nine were taken captive and sixteen were killed in Lycoming on May 26, and eight people were killed between Loyalsock and Lycoming on June 10.

On July 3, a militia of three hundred colonists was invaded by an army of Britains, Tories, and Indians at what is modern day Exeter in the Wyoming Valley. The colonists were overwhelmed and several of their forts were either surrendered or abandoned. Indians began scalping every soldier available and many civilians were killed, houses burned, crops destroyed and cattle let loose or stolen. When news of the “Wyoming Massacre” reached settlers ears they panicked and chaos broke loose. More than three thousand citizens from the valley began fleeing down the Susquehanna, trying to escape the madness. Thousands of others living along the North and West branches joined them in the escape. Women and children floated down the river, while husbands and fathers patrolled the banks with rifles. Refuge was found at Fort Augusta, next to the newly founded town of Sunbury. The fort offered protection, provisions, and peace of mind. The exile has become known as the “Great Escape” or the “Great Runaway”. Nearly all of Northumberland County was evacuated.

Fear of a massacre at the fort led reinforcements to arrive in late July. Colonel Thomas Hartley and his men were joined by the local militia at Fort Augusta and began moving up the West Branch overtaking the various Indian towns. This expedition was the first offensive movement of importance on the northern frontier. Eventually, by June of 1779 George Washington assigned General John Sullivan to lead 2000 troops north along the West Branch. The intent was to intimidate the hostile native nations, gain support from the friendly ones, and relieve the frontier of hostility. It was during Sullivan’s expedition that the Six Nations, who had started out as allies of the Pennsylvanian government, but had with time progressed into enemies, were defeated. Sullivan’s victory, which is often overlooked in light of the greater struggle against Britain, was initiated by the gathering of masses at Fort Augusta.