The Battle of Bushy Run (Part 2) Ambush and Aftermath

Hey CQ Readers!

Thanks to so many of you for joining us a few nights ago at our Fall New Releases Party. It was a delight seeing so many familiar names and meeting new guests.

Last month, I wrote about The Battle of Bushy Run, and today I'm following up with a conclusion about that wilderness melee. Pontiac's War--and the Battle of Bushy Run in particular--is the incident that kicks off my story A Tender Siege in The Highlanders collection, releasing in only two weeks (Nov. 15th). 

In my previous post about this historic battle, we left off with Colonel Bouquet having marched troops and supplies on 340 pack horses deep into the wilderness. When he was 25 miles from Fort Pitt (about a four-day's march) his troops took a brief respite along a small creek where they could refill their canteens. Colonel Bouquet's intent had been to rest the men, then march them overnight through the high and craggy hills of Turtle Creek, but then the unthinkable happened.

The Ambush

There they were, exhausted, thirsty, sweltering in the heat, when war cries and shots echoed out of the thickly forested hills around them. The Indians rained down upon the army's advanced guard, surprising them with sudden ferocity. As soon as Bouquet drove them back, they reappeared again on another flank. As the entire army fell under attack, this pattern went on for hours in the August heat. Troops split apart into pockets of men, fighting as they could. Others charged in small columns up the slopes, but the natives pressed on. Eventually, by continually reinforcing their attack from first one place and then another, the natives surrounded Bouquet's 500 men and attacked the convoy left in the rear. 

The Indians that ambushed Bouquets troops of Highlanders and Royal Americans were the same Indians that had besieged Fort Pitt, which the army had been marching to relieve. The Indians had earlier discovered that troops were on their way to bring that relief, and withdrew from the fort to surprise the troops. 

Bouquet ordered a retreat to protect his supplies. The men marched backward up the slope of Edge Hill having already suffered a loss of 60 killed and wounded.

My Hero

In A Tender Siege, this is where we meet my hero Lachlan McRea. Having fallen to a bullet wound, Lachlan becomes separated from his troops. With the smoke of gunfire filling the woods, and war cries coming from one place and then another, Lachlan can only lie still enough to try and remain undetected in the bush. His heart is torn though. While part of him would rather keep his scull from being cleaved by a tomahawk's blade, another part begs God to take him to his wife Moira and their child, both dead these five years past.  

Meanwhile on Edge Hill

The battle, which began at one in the afternoon, now silenced with the dusk. The troops arranged their store of flour sacks into a fortification to protect the wounded and then set up their defense positions. With nervous anticipation, they expected the attack to begin again at dawn, which it did.

With the sunrise, the same yelping and shrieks began from 500 yards distant. Like before, the shouts came from areas surrounding the army--first here, then echoing there. Perhaps the Indians hoped to terrify the army with their numbers. It remains unclear as to exactly how many warriors were actually involved in the ambush. Historically, some have thought from as few as 110 to hundreds, while modern historians suggest that there were actually smaller numbers that moved around a lot to appear as more.

Depiction of Battle of Bushy Run
The Bushy Run battlefield remains the only preserved battlefield from Pontiac's War in the nation.

Reverse Ambush!

When things appeared their bleakest, Bouquet determined to make a move both daring and brilliant. In hoping to force a concentrated attack by the Indians', he then commanded his men to intentionally weaken the southwest side of their position by withdrawing into a feigned retreat. This had the effect of opening that side like a horseshoe, and the attackers came in. 

Bouquet then sent two companies of light infantry undetected to swing around to the east in order to attack the exposed Native American force. The forces, in effect, looped around and turned the whole business inside out, so that the Indians were now being ambushed instead. Bouquet's forces kept up an unrelenting fire, pursuing the enemy until they were dispersed. 

Colonel Bouquet writes, "The left of the savages which had not been attacked were kept in awe by the remains of our troops posted on the hill for that purpose. Nor durst they attempt to support nor assist their right, but being witness to their defeat, followed their example and fled."

The roads now being cleared, the companies of Bouquet's army were able to take the hill to the front. As soon as litters for the wounded could be made and the flour destroyed (burned) for lack of pack horses to carry it, they marched on without further molestation.

In Hindsight

The troops had last seen Pontiac's warriors heading west back toward Fort Pitt, so they didn't know what to expect. But in hindsight, we know that the Battle of Bushy Run ended the siege at Fort Pitt, and actually brought and end to the war itself, as the Native American coalition fragmented with their defeat. The British still had the problem of resupplying and rebuilding Fort Pitt, but the tide of history had definitely turned.

But what about Lachlan?

After the battle, Bouquet counted fifty men killed, sixty wounded, and five missing. I chose Lachlan to become one of those missing men. 

Hanging between life and death, between reality and visions, Lachlan drags himself through the forest. He's afraid to return to the Forbes Road, unsure who has won the battle. Pillars of distant smoke coming from the direction of Bouquet's forces could mean anything. Through a veil of pain, Lachlan turns northward instead. His journey soon reaches its limits however. It is then he is discovered by an unlikely rescuer.

Pontiac's War, August 1763: 

"I beg Ye to take me." Wounded in battle in the Ameridan wilderness, Lachlan McRea of His Majesty's 42nd Highlanders pleads with God, yearning to be reunited with his lost wife and child. As death hovers near, he is discovered by Wenonah, a native widow doing all she can to survive alone while avoiding the attentions of a dangerous Shawnee warrior. In aiding one another, their perils increase, but if Lachlan can let go of the woman he once loved, he might yet find healing for both body and soul.

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I hope you'll love all these stories that seek to mine history in light of life as it was back then. Blessings to you, and have a treasured Thanksgiving.

Naomi Musch
https://naomimusch.com/

The Battle of Bushy Run (Part 1) and New Fiction: The Highlanders Romance Collection

In one short month (November 15^th to be exact) THE HIGHLANDERS novella collection is due to release, in which each story features a different period of history, and in each one, a heroic Highlander. My story in the collection, titled A TENDER SIEGE, is set on the American Colonial frontier.

You might be wondering what Scottish highlanders would have to do with the American Colonial period. Surprisingly (or not) quite a number of highland regiments fought on the soil of the North American continent. Most of those occurrences took place during the French and Indian Wars. A Tender Siege features such a soldier of His Majesty’s 42^nd Highlanders.

The Period

Last May, I wrote a piece called Pontiac and the Conspiracy that Shook an Empire about the Odawa leader who, on the heels of the last French and Indian War, attempted to form a vast confederacy (some said conspiracy) that would renew the fight against the English. Pontiac’s War, as it came to be called, represented the greatest threat of the 18^th century against the British colonies here in America. It’s during this uprising that A Tender Siege is set.

The Set-Up

As the story begins, we see highland soldier Lachlan McRae marching through the forest under the command of a professional Swiss soldier, Colonel Henry Bouquet. Since June, highlanders of the 42nd and 77th regiments have been arriving from Staten Island to bolster Bouquet's forces. In the sweltering heat of July, they are finally on their way to relieve the Indians’ siege of Fort Pitt in the Pennsylvania wilderness.

A Little More History

The Indians had been wreaking havoc and fury at forts up and down the frontier. They had already captured Forts Detroit, Sandusky, St. Joseph, Miami, Ouiatenon, Michilimackinac, Venango, LeBoeuf, and Presqu’Isle. They have fired on Fort Ligonier and have massacred both soldiers and settlers. During that same time, the Indians continued plucking away at the small contingent of soldiers and families sheltering inside Fort Pitt. The people there have run out of provisions, and communication lines have broken.

After an initial ten days’ march, Bouquet’s army arrived first at Fort Bedford. There Bouquet recruited scouts and woodsmen to join some of his fiercest highlanders in leading them onward. He also procured what further supplies he could. The army then continued on to Fort Ligonier where it transferred mountainous bags of flour it had been carrying in barrels onto 340 packhorses.

Back to the Story

It is now August 5^th, as hot and humid a day as ever there could be, as Bouquet commands his army along a small creek where they might fill their canteens, just five miles east of Bushy Run Station. Surrounded by hills and forests, thirsty and exhausted, the troops plod on both wearily and warily, when the forest comes aliv My hero, Lachlan McRea, is wounded and separated from his troops.

Following is the back cover copy of the story. Next month (November 1^st) I’ll tell you what happened next in the Battle of Bushy Run, and I'll share a little more history behind the story of:

A TENDER SIEGE

Pontiac’s War, August 1763:

“I beg Ye to take me.” Wounded in battle in the American wilderness, Lachlan McRea of His Majesty’s 42nd Highlanders pleads with God, yearning to be reunited with his lost wife and child. As death hovers near, he is discovered by Wenonah, a native widow doing all she can to survive alone while avoiding the attentions of a dangerous Shawnee warrior. In aiding one another, their perils increase. If Lachlan can let go of the woman he once loved, he might find healing for both body and soul.

The Highlanders is available for pre-order here!

Loving history, loving story,

Naomi Musch

www.naomimusch.com 

Documenting the Hochstetler Massacre

My current writing project is The Return, Book 2 of the Northkill Amish Series, which I’m coauthoring with Bob Hostetler, and which releases April 1. This series is closely based on the inspiring true story of Bob’s and my Hochstetler ancestors, well-known among the Amish and Mennonites.

Mural depicting the attack on the Hochstetler farm
(Pennsylvania Dutch Campsite, Shartlesville, PA)

We’re fortunate that so much research has been done on the Hochstetler massacre, which took place on the Pennsylvania boarder on September 20, 1757, during the French and Indian War. We relied heavily on oral accounts passed down by Jakob’s descendents and published in the massive genealogical books of the Hochstetler family, Descendents of Jacob Hochstetler (DJH) and Descendents of Barbara Hochstetler Stutzman (DBH), and information from the Jakob Hochstetler Family Association Newsletter. We’re also greatly indebted to family researchers who located fascinating accounts in newspapers and other records of the day preserved in the Pennsylvania State Archives and in private collections. One of the most fascinating is Jacob’s interrogation by the British after he escaped from the Seneca village where he was held captive for seven months. Beth Hostetler Mark published this account in her compilation Our Flesh and Blood: A Documentary History of the Jacob Hochstetler Family During the French and Indian War Period, 1757–1765. 

Jacob had been behind French lines and in 3 French forts during his captivity, and therefore was brought from Fort Augusta, which he reached on his escape, to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to be interrogated by Colonel Henry Bouquet, second in command to British General John Forbes. This account survives in the Pennsylvania Archives and in Bouquet’s published papers, Vol I covering Dec 11, 1755, to May 31, 1758.

The captives' route

Bouquet’s Papers include the letter of Colonel James Burd, the commander at Fort Augusta to Pennsylvania governor William Denny on May 30, 1758, in which he describes Jacob’s arrival at the fort. “About five minutes before I march’d from Augusta, I observed a white man floating down the west branch on a piece of bark. I sent and took him up, he proved to be a Dutchman that was taken prisoner last Fall nigh to Reading and had made his escape from an Indian town above Vanango. I brought him with me to this place and Col Bouquet took his deposition and sent it to the General to which I beg leave to refer your Honour” (Papers of Henry Bouquet, Vol I, p. 396).

Bouquet’s first reference to Jacob is in a letter to General Forbes dated Carlisle May 29, 1758: “I had a German peasant brought here who was taken prisoner last year, and taken to Venango, etc. I am enclosing his deposition. The man is very stupid, and speaks only rude German. I did not think it necessary to send him to you. He is almost dead of hunger, having lived on grass for several days” (Papers of Henry Bouquet, Vol I, p. 388). Bouquet disliked the nonresistant Amish Swiss Germans who refused to bear arms, and his letters often express disgust at having to protect people who will not protect themselves.

According to Mark, although Jacob’s name was recorded in the deposition as John Hochtattler, “the details included in the ‘Examination’ so closely resemble the family story—both as recorded in newspapers and transmitted by oral tradition (DJH)—that family researchers, including the editor, believe that “John Hochttatler” was actually Jacob Hochstetler.” I haven’t found any record of another Indian captive with a name similar to Hochstetler or one who was from Berks County, Bern Township, and I also concur that the subject of this interrogation must be our ancestor.

This resource has been invaluable to us as we’ve striven to turn the bare historical records into a gripping story. Jacob and his 2 younger sons were taken on a 17-day journey from their home near present-day Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, to the French stronghold of Fort Presque Isle on the shore of Lake Erie—a journey of roughly 300 miles. Clearly, in spite of Bouquet’s unflattering assessment, Jacob must have been a strong, intelligent, and resourceful man to have endured what he did, find a way to escape, keep track of time and miles, give the answers he did during the interrogation despite being “half dead”, return home without any help from the British, and then pursue efforts to locate until finally his sons were returned to him. He was certainly a man of unwavering faith.

Jacob's Examination, p. 1

Following is the “Examination,” which reflects the French transcriber’s spelling, e.g., words like jou” for “you.” The information within brackets was inserted for the sake of clarity. The dates given by the transcriber are incorrect according to facts that have since come to light.

Examination of John Hochstattler

Intelligence given by John Hochstattler a Swiss by nation which settled in Bergs County, Berner Township, near Kauffman’s Creek was taken by the enemy Indians the 12th of October 1757 [actually September 20] and escap’d from them arriving at Shamokin 5th [actually the 24th] May 1758 [Shamokin was formerly an Indian village at the junction of the north and west branches of the Susquehanna River, at the present site of Sunbury, Northumberland County, PA. Fort Augusta was erected there by the colony in 1756].

Q. By What, and how Many Indians was you taken?
A. By the Delaware and Shawanese 15 in the whole.
Q. Which way did you pas’d before jou came into the Enemys Country?
A. We March’d 3 Days before we arrived at the Est branch of Susquahanna 20 miles from Shamokin where it was fordable, from there whe keept intirely West all along the west Branch, till after 17 Days Journey we arrived on the Ohio. [The Allegheny River. Indians and many Whites considered the it to be the upper course of the Ohio and its headwaters.]
Q. In what place on the Ohio do jou arrivd?
A. Where the French Cr empties in to Ohio there upon the Corner is a small Fort [Fort Mechault built by the French in 1756] Established lately, of Logs, Framed together, there are 25 Men Garrisoned in it, without Artillery, there we passed the Ohio for to come by it, the place is call Wenango [Venango, a former Indian village and important trading post at the mouth of French Creek, the present site of Franklin, Venango Co., PA.]
Q. How do jou proceeded further?

Jacob's Examination, last page

A. Up the French Creek 3 Days traveling on Battoes at the end of it we came to a fort [Fort LeBoeuf built by the French in 1753 at present day Waterford, Erie Co. Pa.] built in the same Maner as the other, and Garrisoned, with 25 Men, from there the French Creek a Road to Presque Isle [Fort Presque Isle built by the French in 1753 at present-day Erie, Pennsylvania] wich is a Days Journey from it Distant.
Q. What became of jou after that?
A. After 3 Days travel Est south Est, I was brought to Buxotons Cr [Buxotons is another spelling of Buckaloons, one of the names given to Brokenstraw Creek and to the village at its mouth near present Irvine, Pa.] where it emptys in the Ohio whe came to an Indian Castle which lys upon the Corner of it, there I was keept Prisoner all the that time.
Q. Do jou ever hear anything of Fort Du Quesne / .
A. Ten Days before I Escaped five Dutch Prisoners was brought up by the Indians from there wich told me there was 300 Man Garrisond in Fort du Quesne, the Provision Scarce, so that the Indians was oblichd to bring away thier Womans and famelys which they generally left there, for to be nourish’d in thier absence / .
Q. Are there any Works about, besyts the Fort jous heard of / .
A. The same People told me that there was a Dutchman Prisoner for 3 years in the Fort, a Baker by Trade, which shewd them a Hill, at the opposite of the Fort over the Monungahela, telling them If the English was there that the could certainly take the Fort with 200 Man because the French had nothing upon it / .
Q. Do jou never heard what Cañons the French had there / .
A. Yes I heard several but all Dismounted / .
Q. Do jou never Learnd if the Indians Receivd Order for Marching against us?
A. 5 Days before I did escape an old Indian was telling to me shewing against all parts of the world, that Indians was coming there and then he shewed about Est south Est, telling that the would attack the English there, wich I did imagine that It was Intended for Shamokin / .
Q. Do you Ever Learn from how the French got Intelligence of / .
A. 6 Weeks before my Departing there came 2 Delaware Indians telling that the came from Shamoking that the Comandat took thier arms from them not trusting, and that the English was Drawing together about Conostoge [Conestoga about seven miles south of Lancaster near present Millersville] or Lancaster, paying up a great Deal of Cattle, that the Designd to attack the great Fort, du Quesne and the was waiting till the grass was groan / .
Q. How do you Escapd from there, how long and in what Mañer do jou was coming, and where did jou arrive / .
A. I got the liberty for hunting, one morning Wery soon took my gun finding Bark Canoe on the River wherein I crossd it, traveling Est for 6 Days from there I arrvd at the source of the west Branch, there I march for 4 Days further till I was sure of it, there I took several Bloks tying them together till I got a flott, there I flotted myself Down the River for 5 Days where I did arrive at Shamokin, Living all time upon grass I passd in the Whole for 15 Days.
(The Papers of Henry Bouquet,1972, Vol I, pp. 391-393)

For more information about this historical event and the series, go to the Northkill website.

Has your family preserved genealogical records and historical accounts? If so, please share a brief story about one of your ancestors.

~~~

J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers and a lifelong student of history. She is also an author, editor, and publisher. Northkill, Book 1 of the Northkill Amish Series coauthored with Bob Hostetler, won Foreword Magazine’s 2014 INDYFAB Book of the Year Bronze Award for historical fiction. Book 2, The Return, releases in Spring 2017. Her American Patriot Series is the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. One Holy Night, a contemporary retelling of the Christmas story, was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year.

The Amish in Colonial America

I was raised as a Mennonite by parents who grew up Amish, and I have a multitude of Amish relatives. With the continuing interest in this conservative denomination and the popularity of Amish romances, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the origins of the Amish church in America, especially their main settlement in the mid 1700s, the Northkill Amish Church, named for the creek that wound through it.

Northkill Marker

For the past few years I’ve spent considerable time researching the lives of my Hochstetler ancestors for the novel a cousin, author Bob Hostetler, and I have coauthored, releasing March 1. Titled Northkill, the story focuses on the family of Jacob Hochstetler, whose farm came under attack during the French and Indian War. The story of the Hochstetler massacre is well known in the Amish and Mennonite communities, and a plaque marks the site of the farm where it happened, near present-day Shartlesville, Pennsylvania. We were determined to make our fictional depiction of this story as accurate as possible 257 years later, which meant not only doing intensive research, but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually living in their time. Writing Northkill has been a fascinating and emotional journey, all the more so because as direct descendents of the story’s main characters we owe our very existence to them.

The Amish came to America because of severe persecution in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries due to their insistence on believers’ baptism and opposition to military service. They were drawn to Pennsylvania by William Penn’s assurances of religious freedom and economic opportunity denied them in Europe. The Northkill Creek area in Berks County was opened for settlement in 1736, and that year a couple of Amish families settled there, with others following the next year. My great-great-great-great-great grandfather and grandmother, with two small children, were part of a group that landed at Philadelphia on November 9, 1738, aboard the ship Charming Nancy.

They soon joined other members of their church in the Northkill settlement 75 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Additional groups immigrated to the area in 1742, and again in 1749, when Bishop Jacob Hertzler arrived to provide leadership for the growing congregation. The earliest known organized Amish church in America, it included nearly 200 families at its height. It remained the largest Amish settlement in America into the 1780s, when it slowly declined as families moved westward in search of better farmland.

The Northkill settlement lay at the foot of the Blue Mountain, the legal boundary of English settlements according to treaties with the Native Americans. However, white settlers persisted in crossing the mountains into territory claimed by the French and their native allies. Hostilities finally broke out in 1754, with the French enlisting the Indians to attack the border settlements. During the French and Indian War over 200 settlers were killed in Berks County alone. The Indian attack against my ancestors’ farm early on the morning of September 20, 1757, was one of those horrific incidents.

On Monday, September 19, the Hochstetler family hosted an apfelschnitzen (apple cutting) frolic for the young people of the church. The youth traditionally stayed late into the evening to enjoy games and courting, but their guests finally left and the family went to bed. In the dark hours of Tuesday morning, the oldest son still living at home, Jacob Jr., roused when the family’s dog set up a clamor. When he opened the door, 17-year-old Jacob was shot in the leg by a member of a war party composed of Delaware and Shawnee warriors who surrounded the house.

The family managed to barricade themselves inside. Because the Amish hold fast to the commandment not to kill, Jacob made what must have been a truly wrenching decision that they wouldn’t shoot at their attackers despite the hunting rifles at hand and his sons’ desperate pleas. When the Indians set fire to the house, Jacob, his wife, three sons, and a young daughter were forced to take refuge in the cellar. During the terrifying hours that followed, they repeatedly beat out flaming embers while the house burned above their heads.

Artist's Depiction of Attack on Hochstetler Farm

At last dawn brightened the sky. Seeing through a narrow window in the foundation that the Indians had withdrawn and believing themselves safe, the family hurriedly forced their way out, barely escaping the flames. But one of the warriors, a young man called Tom Lyons, had lingered in the orchard to pick ripe peaches. When he saw them emerge from the blazing structure, he called the rest of the war party back, and they fell upon their defenseless victims.

The mother, the wounded son, and the young daughter were killed and scalped. Jacob and two sons, Joseph, 15 years old, and Christian, 11, were carried away into captivity. Their journey, described in a remarkable deposition preserved in the papers of British Colonel Henry Bouquet after Jacob’s dramatic escape, will be the subject of book 2 of the series, The Return. It will cover the captives’ lives among the Indian clans the French gave them to, Jacob’s harrowing escape and his efforts to find his boys, Joseph and Christian’s forced return home after the war, and their difficulty in assimilating into a culture they had largely forgotten, while reestablishing a relationship with the father whose decision had torn apart their lives.

The story of my ancestors is a deeply moving account of obedience, hope, and endurance, and of God’s unfailing faithfulness to His people even in the worst of trials. In the centuries since the attack, our family has been extraordinarily blessed. Jacob’s descendants have spread throughout the world and their accomplishments span a wide range of endeavors. My ancestors’ example daily inspires me to faithful discipleship, and my hope and prayer is that it will equally inspire readers in their walk with the Lord.

For more information, visit my Northkill blog.