. -. '~~~'", ' '" ". , I . OPPERt· MERION TOWNSHIP. WINTERING 1777/78 THE 'HISfORy'OF. J .. PETER MUHLENBERG'S HEADQUARTERS:.:" BY .', . Beth Ann Twiss ~.. ,'. t': ~ WINTERING 1777/78 The History of Peter Muhlenberg's Headquarters Beth Ann Twiss History 300D Honors Thesis / Penn TABLE OF CONTENTS, Page 1. ARRIVAL AT VALLEY FORGE • 1 II. HISTORY OF MOORE HOUSE 5 \11. PETER MUHLENBERG'S WINTER 18 IV. CONCLUSION . 23 APPENDIX A. MOORE FAMILY TREE 25 APPENDIX B.. PLk~S 27 APPENDIX C. PICTURES 34 APPENDIX D.MAP 40 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 42 .--. I. ARRIVAL AT VALLEY FORGE On October 29, 1777, orders were issued to the Continental 1 Army to be ready at a moment's notice to march to winter quarters. Despite continual repetition of these orders, the troops did not leave that day or the next day. Not until November 11 did the Army begin to move north and west out· of the immediate Philadelphia area. It crossed the Schuylkill River at Swedesford, spent the night on the Gulph Hills, and finally arrived at its. destination~ Valley Forge, on December 12. The choice of Valley Forge for winter quarters had not been an unanimous decision of the officers; rather, it was a compromise. General George Washington wished to go to Wilmington~ Delaware in order that the Army could conduct guerrilla warfare against the BritishJwho were entrenched in Philadelphia. However, Brigadier-general Peter Muhlenberg suggested Reading, Pennsylvania to Washington in a letter of December 1.2 While Muhlenberg agreed tha tit would be beneficial to "annoy" the enemy, 3 he thought that other disadvantages outweighed this small gain. In Wilmington, the British Army would be too close for comfort, especially since the American Army would inevitably dwindle in 1 "Orderly Book of General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, March 26- December 20, 1777," The Pennsylvania I-Iagazine of His tory and Biography, XXXV (1911), 162. 2Worthington Chauncey Ford, "Defenses of Philadelphia in 1777," The Pennsylvania Magazine, XX (1896),398-400. 3Ibid., 398. I'~" '-.- ,,' '''.'- .... -.' 2 numbers during the winter. He recommended Reading because from there the Americans could prevent the sacking of New Jersey and quickly reach New York if the British should suddenly switch the base of their operations., Perhaps the Continental Army even could be split between Reading and either Lancaster or Easton. Easton offered the additional advantage of further distance from Philadelphia. Thus, there would be .f'ewe;("- '1s&s refugees from Philadelphia whom the Army would have to protect, and there would; be more available housing for· the sick. But with the final choice of Valley Forge, another advantage was accrued. The Army CQuld 4 keep the land secure from British foragers. Yet, the installation of the American Ar~y ruined this land and hurt the people who lived there, for the troops were short of supplies. Even before the Army had arrived at Valley Forge, this problem had manifested itself.', In November, Washington haJ announced a reward to " ..' - whomever could "Produce the Best Substitute for shoes made out of Raw Hides. ,,5 In fact, the shortage of shoes had been a factor in the deci­ sion to quarter the troops rather than conduct a winter campaign.6 Attempting to alleviate shortages while at Valley Forge, the soldiers 7 took food, timber, fences, and animals from the farmer residents. This practice started as soon as the Army arrived, and -it began to build houses for the camp. 4 "Orderly Book of Muhlenberg," 300. SIbid., 184. 6Worthington Chauncey Ford, "Defenses of Philadelphia, in 1777," The Pennsylvania Magazine, XXI (1897), 54. 7Henry Woodman, The History of Valley Forge (Oaks, Pa.: John U. Frances, Sr., 1920), p. 74. 3 The huts J?uil t to h()use the soldiers were explici tlydescribed 8 in the orders of December 18. The brigadier-generals appointed field officers for each regiment to supervise the construction. The regiment was then divided into squads o·ftwelve men, each with a set of tools ~ A twelve-dollar reward would be given .to the squad which built their hut in "the most Nicest and most W~rkmanshiplike Manner.,,9 Dimensions were set at fourteen by sixteen feet with wood and clay walls eighteen inches thicK and six and a half fee thigh. A door atone end would balance the clay fireplace at the other. Due toa wood shortage, Washington desired an alternative to clapboards. on the walls. Therefore, an one hundred-dollar reward was offered· to anyone who .could devise a cheap substitute. Further,when cutting firewood, trunks of trees that 10 measured sixteen,to eighteen feet were to be saved. Officers were to , \ prevent vandalism ~f the camp. However, despite these precautions, the Army had to rely heavily 11 on the inhabitants. Straw was levied for beds, but·often provisions were acquired through plunder. The troops stole food, and some iocal houses were destroyed for timber. By the end of the encampment, a few c1t1zens. were ask' 1ng f or rest1tut1on... 12 When the Army left in May, its mark remained on the land. 8 "Orderly Book of Muhlenberg," 301-2. 9Ibid., 302. 10Ibid. Order of December 20, 1777. llIbid. l2William J. Buck, History of Montgomery County (Norristown: E.L. Acker, 1859), p. 55. 4 The fields are destitute of vegetation and the lands~ once so highly productive~ lie uncultivated and without enclosure. The trees of the forest are cut dmm and nothing but the stumps left remaining . • • 13 . Another imposition on the inhabitants was the quartering of the of ficers • While the lower rank:i.ugoffic.er.s had huts a t the ;-ear of the regiments, the higher ranking officers were stationed in various· residences surrounding and within the campground. For instance~ Washington ,?perated out of the modest home of Issac Potts on the north- west corner of the encampment. Brigadier-general Muhlenberg) on the 14 other hand, stayed at the small Moore residence on Trout Run, a half a mile southeast of the most eastern entrenchments. The area was occupied by the brigades of Patterson and Weedon as well as.by those of Muhlenberg. They all were protected by the forts of two locals, \ \. 15 Mordecai and John Moore. ,. • -, 13Woodman~ History of Valley Forge, 92. Woodman was the descendant of a resident and wrote this account in 1850. l4Trout Run is also called Mashi~c Creek, and some trout do still live there despite industrial surroundings. 15 See map of Valley Forge Encampment, Appendix D. 5 II. HISTORY OF MOORE HOUSE The Moore family of which Mordecai and John Moore were descendants arrived in Upper Merion Township from England in the early eighteenth century. At that time, mos t o·f the township was part of Le ti tia Penn's Manor of Mount Joy. Her father originally deeded her 5000 acres in 1683, but in subsequent years, Letitia and her husband, William Aubrey, l acquired additional adjoining tracts. However, shortly after the turn of the century,· the Aubreys began to sell portions of the Manor to . 2 settlers. John Moore, "described in the conveyance as a carpenter," bought 400 acres of this land from a David Powell in 1709. Within the next seventy years, the land passed through three 3 generations of the .. Moore family. When the firs t John 1100re died was not certain, but in.l7lS, an Orphan's Court petition was filed in Philadelphia County for a John Moore. Perhaps this John was the original settler's son, because in 1734, a John Moore owned ISO acres of Upper 4 Merion land indicating a division of the 400-acre plot.. This son of the settler probably died sometime in the mid-1700's. In fact, the 1 John H. Reed, "Benjamin Eastburn," The Bulletin of the Historical Society of Montgomery County, XVI (Spring, 1967), p. 301. 2Ellwood Roberts, ed., Biographical Annals of 110ntgomery County, Pennsylvania, Vol. ~ (New York: T.S. Benham and Co. and Lewis Publish­ ing Co., 1904), p. 497. 4J •Do Scott, Combination Atlas Map of Montgomery County, Pennsyl­ vania (Philadelphi~/: J.L. Smith, 1877), po 26. 6 Philadelphia Index of Wills and Administrations did record a will of a John Moore in l7~6. His tract of land then would have passed to his son, another namesake. This John Moore owned 294 acres at his death on 5 January 1, 1778. It was he for whom a fort at Valley Forge was named, 6 and it was his home in which General Muhlenberg was quartered. John's house was cramped with his family of five children and the General, for it consisted of only one room with a full basement and 7 garret. The earliest description of this building was in the Window 8 Pane Tax o·f 1798,) ". at which time the house was owned by Richard Moore, John v s son. Yet, undoubtedly, this was the building in which Muhlenberg stayed because .it was probably built before 1750. While there was no documentaty evidence of the construction date, the small size, irregular plan, and asymmetrical facade suggested an early date. Building in the , \ ". first half of the 'eighteenth century, especially by rural people,- tended " to meet personal exigencies rather than following aesthetic principles. Therefore, it was not rare to find houses which did not follow the early Georgian style of absolute symmetry and multiple rooms. Either the 5 The number of acres are stated in Deed Book 3, page 193, in Montgomery County, and the death date is verified by many of the authors, including Edward Hocker and Henry Woodman. 6 Though I found no writings by Muhlenberg which mentioned the Moores or his soujourn in their home, all of the secondary sources r read said that Muhlenberg stayed in the Moore house.