website: www.learnwebskills.com/sar/index.html APR 2012 Fort Lauderdale Chapter chartered December 8, 1966 Volume 45 Number 4

President’s Message Dear Compatriots: On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, members and guests of the Fort Lauderdale Chapter SAR dedicated the Liberty Tree sponsored by the chapter at Rae Carole Armstrong Liberty Tree Park in Plantation. This dedication served as our March meeting. As promised, I wore my colonial uniform for the event. We discussed the history of the first Liberty Tree planted in Boston Commons to protest the British Stamp Tax. The timing of our dedication was perfect as it coincided with the anniversary of the British evacuation of occupied Boston in March 1776 under threat of cannon fire by George Washing- Joe Motes presented an Eagle Scout Certificate to Scout ton and his army on Dorchester Heights. Spencer Reyka, the son of Broward County Sheriff’s We welcomed a new member into the chapter with the in- Offices and former Marine, who was shot to death in the duction of Bill Milam. Bill is a friend of Chapter Vice Presi- line of duty in 2007. dent Lance Pfeifer. The American Revolution Commanders Our April meeting will be at the SeaWatch Restaurant on Sir John Johnson Saturday, April 21, 2012. The lunch will be Dutch Treat, so you will be able to order whatever you like from the menu. Born 11/05/1741 in Mohawk Valley, New York The restaurant’s address is 6002 North Ocean Died 01/04/1830 in , Boulevard, Lauderdale By The Sea, FL 33308. The phone number is (954) 781-2200. Sir John Johnson, of New York (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was a loyalist leader during the American I hope to see everyone there. Revolution. He was the son of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, who had promoted In patriotism, the British settlement of the Mohawk Valley and founded the Ted Duay, President community of Johnstown in Tryon County in the . Continued on page 3

NEXT MEETING - APRIL 21, 2012

SeaWatch Restaurant 6002 North Ocean Boulevard, Lauderdale By The Sea, FL 33308

Future Dates: Saturday, 5/19/2012

FOR RESERVATIONS CALL: 954-441-8735

or e-mail Joe Motes at: [email protected] President Ted Duay stands under the Chapter's Liberty Tree. PAGE 2 FORT LAUDERDALE CHAPTER S.A.R. APR 2012

From left to right - Bill Milam, David Kramer, Rob Joynt, Ted Duay, Bob Dooley, Don Green, Jim Lohmeyer, Bill Platt, Lance Pfeifer, and Joe Motes.

President Ted Duay inducts Bill Milam into the V.P Lance Pfeifer pins the SAR rosette on Bill SAR. Milam. PAGE 3 FORT LAUDERDALE CHAPTER S.A.R. APR 2012

Sir John Johnson, who assumed office in 1771, was the last Provincial Grand Master of Masons in the colonies of Province of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Johnson married Born 01/01/1728 in New London, Connecticut Mary Watts (daughter of John Watts of New York) on 30 June Died 05/12/1796 in Niagara, New York 1773. The couple had eight sons, all of whom served in the British army and navy, and three daughters. John was born to Walter Butler and Deborah Ely, née Den- In 1774, John Johnson inherited his father's title and estates, nison, in New London, Connecticut in 1728.[1] His family making him a wealthy landowner. In 1775, he was appointed soon moved to the frontier in the Mohawk Valley near doorkeeper of the New York Provincial Assembly. modern Fonda, New York. In 1752, he married Catherine Bradt, and the couple raised five children. He knew several American Revolution Indian languages and was employed as an interpreter. In January, 1776, nine months after the outbreak of the Amer- ican Revolution, Johnson gathered several hundred armed In 1755, he was made Captain in the Indian department and supporters at Johnstown. He sent a letter to Governor William saw service in the . He saw action at Tryon, through Captain John McDonell, stating that he and his , the Battle of , the Battle of loyalist neighbors had conferred about raising a battalion for , and Montreal. At the he the British cause. He also said he could also raise five hundred was second in command of the Indians. Indians which when used with his regular troops could retake all of the forts captured by the rebels. On January 20, 1776, After the war he came home, and built his estate up to 26,000 General Schuyler, with a force of Continental troops and the acres (105 km²) at Butlersburg, near Caughnawaga. He was Tryon County militia numbering around 3,000, disarmed John- second only to Sir William Johnson as a wealthy frontier son and about 300 of his loyalist supporters; Johnson was land owner. He was a judge in the Tryon County court. he thereupon paroled. was appointed Lt. Colonel of 's regiment of When Johnson heard of another force being sent to arrest him Tryon County militia. Butler worked under Sir William in May 1776, he decided to flee to Canada. He led about 170 Johnson in the Indian department. Butler was one of the two of his tenants and allies among the Confederacy to members representing Tryon County in the New York as- Montreal, Quebec. Sir John's loyalty to the King cost him his sembly. home in Johnstown and extensive property in the Mohawk Valley, all of which was confiscated after the war. Johnson and Revolutionary War his followers formed the core of the British military regiment known as the King's Royal Regiment of New York, which saw Butler returned to service as a Loyalist when the American substantial action under his command throughout the war. Revolution turned to war in 1775. In May, 1775, he left for Johnson was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1782. Canada in the company of Daniel Claus, Walter Butler, Hon On March 14, 1782 he received the appointment of Superinten- Yost Schuyler and . On July 7, they reached dent General and Inspector General of Indian affairs. His and in August, Montreal. He was involved in authority extended over all northern Indians allied with the the defense of Montreal against an attack lead by Ethan crown. Allen. In November, Carleton sent him to Fort Niagara with instructions to keep the Indians neutral. After War Years In 1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed, establishing the inde- His oldest son Walter Butler served with him, but his wife pendence of the American Colonies. Johnson and thousands of and other children were detained by the American rebels. other loyalists found themselves in permanent exile in Canada. In 1784, Johnson was assigned by the British government to In March, 1777 he sent a party of about one hundred Indians distribute crown lands along the St. Lawrence River and the to Montreal to force the Americans out of Quebec. In May, north shore of to the loyalists who had come to Butler received instructions to employ a body of the Six Canada during the Revolution and to help them settle on these Nations in an attack on New York. On June 5 he received lands. Johnson estimated that he had arranged the settlement of instructions to send as many Indians as he could to Fort 3,776 loyalists during that year. In 1791, Lord Dorchester Oswego for an attack on Fort Stanwix as a part of the recommended him as lieutenant governor of Upper Canada, Saratoga campaign. He was put second in command of the but London turned this recommendation down. Indians, under Daniel Claus.

In 1796, he moved back to Montreal and served in the Legisla- He led the Indians and a small number of Loyalists in a tive Council of Lower Canada and as head of the Indian successful ambush in the Battle of Oriskany. As a result, Department for Lower Canada. He held extensive land hold- after this expedition he was commissioned a lieutenant colo- ings in Upper and Lower Canada, including the seigneuries of nel and given authority to raise his own regiment, which Monnoir and Argenteuil. became known as Butler's Rangers, initially with a strength Johnson died in Montreal in 1830 at the age of 88. He was of eight companies. He traveled back to Fort Niagara and the succeeded to the baronetcy by his eldest son, William. first company was completed in December. Continued on page 4 PAGE 4 FORT LAUDERDALE CHAPTER S.A.R. APR 2012

Fort Lauderdale Chapter Sons of the American Revolution 2133 NW 208 Terrace Pembroke Pines FL 33029-2320

In July 1778, Butler led his rangers and Iroquois allies at the Battle of Wyoming, in which he defeated Zebulon Butler and took Forty Fort. The Patriots suffered heavy losses, and after the battle many homes in the area were burned. Later, the battle was referred to as the Wyoming Valley massacre be- cause some of the victorious Loyalists and Iroquois were said to have executed and scalped prisoners and fleeing enemy soldiers. Later that year, after the burning of Tioga, his son Captain Walter Butler led two companies of rangers and 300 Iroquois allies in a raid which was later referred to as the Cherry Valley massacre. The name of Butler was thereafter anathema to the rebels.

His unit of rangers was spread through frontier outposts from Niagara to Illinois. Butler himself commanded from Fort Niagara. In 1779, he was defeated by the Sullivan Expedition at the Battle of Newtown, and withdrew to Fort Niagara. Continued next month

2012 CHAPTER OFFICERS PRESIDENT - TED DUAY III 11901 TARA DRIVE PLANTATION FL 33325 954-473-2754 VICE-PRESIDENT - LANCE PFEIFER 1360 NE 47th STREET OAKLAND PARK FL 33334-4229 954-491-8769 REGISTRAR / GENEALOGIST - DONALD GREEN 11600 NW 29TH STREET CORAL SPRINGS FL 33065-3446 954-829-2469 SECRETARY -CHARLES CROWELL 950 SW 20 STREET BOCA RATON FL 33486-6832 561-361-7003 TREASURER / SGT-AT-ARMS / EDITOR - JOSEPH MOTES 2133 NW 208 TERRACE PEMBROKE PINES FL 33029-2320 The Fort Lauderdale Chapter's new Liberty 954-441-8735 Tree and plaque at Carole Rae Armstrong Lib- CHANCELLOR - EDWARD SULLIVAN, ESQ 2837 NE 27 STREET erty Tree Park. FORT LAUDERDALE FL 33306-1912 954-564-1014 CHAPLAIN - ROBERT JOYNT 1740 NW 42 STREET OAKLAND PARK FL 33309-4459 954-772-1798 HISTORIAN - GEORGE DENNIS 2771 SE 15 St POMPANO BEACH FL 33062-7506 954-942-3081