^:^*oj^ ^ * * "i "^ E Author Title Imprint. IS— 47372-2 OPO Txlaisk-i '5 Legion 11 HI EAELT SETTLERS OF THE SITE OF HAVRE DE GRACE. 213 Loton "). From the County Court Proceedings, Liber G. l^o. I, ]^ovember Court, 1695 (folio 540) we quote the following: " Bj his Excellency the Governor and Council, October 7th, 1695 : came and appeared in council Jacob Young and William York living upon Susquehanna Eiver and it being proposed to them in council the keeping a ferry and ordinary upon each side of the said river, William York on this side the river and Jacob Young on the other side, for which is settled upon them one shilling and sLx pence for the passage of horse and man and one shilling for a footman, to which they both agree, etc." The same year the Baltimore County Court grants license to William York to keep an ordinary on the south side Susquehanna River and the ferry also (same Liber, folio 391). In 1724 the ferry over Susquehanna River was granted to John Stokes {Balto. Co. Court Proeedings, Liber I. S. ^o. T. W. 4, folio 37). In 1737 it was granted to Himiphrey Wells Stokes, who says in his petition : " the place where your petitioner purposes to keep it at being the old ancient place of ferrying and where the main road directly leads to and both nearer in riding and in ferrying across the river that your petitioner conceives it the most proper place " (Balto. Co. CouH Proceedings, Liber H. W. S. 'So. I. A. 2, folio 143). In the will of Colonel John Stokes, 1727, the testator leaves to his son George " all that,tract called Harmers Towne or commonly called the Ferry with the benefit of the resurvey thereon." (Humphrey Wells Stokes and George Stokes exchanged the lands left them in their father's will, George Stokes taking the lands on the bay which had fallen to his mother from her father Colonel Wells, and Humphrey Wells Stokes taking the lands at the mouth of Susquehanna River.) A little tract of 4l^ acres surveyed for Robert Stokes, son and heir of Humphrey Wells Stokes, in 1756, is described as adjoin- ing "Harmer's Town Resurveyed " "one mile above the mouth of Susquehanna River at the old ferry landing." (Unpatented Certificates E'o. 743; the tract is called "Howell's Deceit"). In 1759 a Land Commission was held to perpetuate the bounds of "Harmer's Town," which then was in the possession of 2 214 MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. Rebecca Stokes, widow of Robert Stokes and daughter of Col- onel William Young of Baltimore County (Balto. Co. Court Proceedings, Liber H. W. S. No. 4, folio 278 et seq.). The depositions taken before this Commission are interesting. The land is described as " situate and lying on Susquehannah Ferry " and is called " Stokes's or the Ferry land or Harman's Town." As settlements advanced up Susquehanna River, begin- ning about the year 1700, there came into existence an " upper ferry " to which there are numerous references in the Baltimore County Court Proceedings. It would appear that the Baltimore County end of this ferry was where Lapidum now is at the mouth of Rock Run. PULASKI'S LEGION. Richard Henry Spencer. Everything connected with the War of the Revolution is interesting to all Americans, but Pulaski's Legion, which fought over many a bravely contested battle-field, has a peculiar charm for Marylanders, for the intrepid commander himself called it " My legion, Maryland legion." The struggle of the thirteen colonies of North America in 1776, for their independence from the mother country, brought to our shores many lovers of liberty and freedom, who offered their services to the United States, among them the gallant Poles Count Casimir Pulaski and Thaddeus Kosciuszko, just from their own struggles in defense of the liberties of their native land ; Baron von Steuben, Baron De Kalb, and the Marquis de La Fayette. They all came to our country to battle for the right and to aid us to gain our independence. Their military services are deeply enshrined in our hearts, and their names are forever linked with the land they helped to free. Casimir Pulaski was born in Podolia, Poland, March 4, 1748. the son of Count Joseph Pulaski, who in 1768 formed the cek ROLL OF Pulaski's legion. 215 brated Confederation of Bar for the preservation of the liberties of Poland. In 1769 the young patriot joined his father and two brothers and enthusiastically participated in the national struggle against the despotism of King Stanislaus Augustus, but which finally resulted in the dismemberment of Poland. Being outlawed and deprived of his estates, he escaped to Turkey in 1772, and proceeded to France in 1775, where he made the acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin and offered his services to the cause of American Independence. Arriving in Philadelphia in the spring of 1777, he joined the army as a volunteer; distinguished himself at the Battle of the Brandy- wine, and four days later (September 15) was appointed by the Continental Congi-ess brigadier general and given command of the cavalry. He took part in the Battle of Germantown October 4, and in March, 1778, having resigned his command, in a letter to Congi-ess he suggested the formation of an inde- pendent corps, which was approved by General Washington. The Continental Congress, on March 28, 1778, after the letter from Count Casimir Pulaski had been read, passed the follow- ing resolution : '' Resolved. That Count Pulaski retain his rank of brigadier in the army ot the United States, and that he raise and have the command of an independent corps to consist of sixty-eight horse, and two hundred foot, the horse to be armed with lances, and the foot equipped in the manner of light infantry; the corps to be raised in such way and composed of such men as General Washington shall think expedient and proper, etc." ^ This corps was afterwards known as Pulaski's Legion, oflB- cered principally by foreigners, and which rendered important services in the War of the Eevolution, especially in the Southern campaigns. In April, 1778, General Pulaski came to Baltimore and ^Jov/rnals of The Continental Congress, 1778, vol. x, p. 291. 216 MARYLAND HISTOEICAL MAGAZINE. opened a recruiting office, notice of which was duly published in The Maryland Jourml and Baltimore Advertiser, Tuesday, April 14,1778, as follows: . ^^^,,,,^ ,,,s. '^ Congress having resolved to raise a Corps, con- sisting of Infantry and Cavalry, to be commanded by General Count Pulaski, all those who desire to dis- tinguish themselves in the service of their country, are invited to enlist in that corps, which is established on the same principles as the Ex)man Legions were. The frequent opportunities which the nature of the service of that corps will offer to the enterprising, brave and vigilant soldiers, who shall serve in it, are motives which ought to influence those who are qualified lor admission into it, to prefer it to other corps not so inmiediately destined to harrass the enemy; and the many captures which will infallibly be ^lade ^st indemnify the Legionary soldiers for the hardships they must sustain, and the inconsiderable sum given for bounty, the term for their service being no longer than one year from the time that the corps shall be completed. Their dress is calculated to give a martial appearance, and to secure the soldier against the in- clemency of the weather and season. The time for action approaching, those, who desire to have an opportunity of distin^ishing themselves m tha corps, are requested to apply to Mr. de Sequid (de Sell), Captain of Pulaski's Legion, at Mrs. Boss's house." ^ Tn the months of April, May, Jme, and My, 17T8, the galtnt Pormainly orgUd and disciplined in Batamore an ■ Mrs. Eos. boarding house occupied the upper ^^^^^ ^^^'^^^^^ deuee of Dr. John Stevenson on the ^^ "'"JJ^f^^:,,, ^u.j (no» SstrrwSe^trCr:: =.... stood hetore the .e.t fire of 1904. ROLL OF Pulaski's legion". 217 independent corps of three companies of horse, armed with lances, and three companies of infantry, a total of three hun- dred and thirty, of which twenty-eight were from Pennsylvania, and about sixty-two more than was at first proposed. Just before the legion was ordered to the front, there was a review of it in Baltimore, according to the following item of news in The Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, Tuesday, August 4, 1778 : "On Wednesday last (July 29th), the Hon. Gen- eral Count Pulaski, reviewed his Independent Legion in this Town. They made a martial appearance and performed many Manoeuvers in a Maimer that re- flected the highest Honour on both officers and pri- vates." Doubtless the beautiful crimson silk banner, embroidered by the fair hands of the Moravian single sisters of Bethlehem, Pa., and which had been presented to the legion two months before by the patriotic women of Baltimore, fluttered in the breeze from the upright lance on that midsummer day. According to the Diaries in the Moravian Archives at Beth- lehem, Pa., on " April 16, 1778, General Pulaski and Colonel Kobatsch (Kowatsch) attend the meeting this afternoon." And on " May 17. (Sunday), In the English morning service, there were present Samuel Adams, Delegate from Massachusetts and General Pulaski, with some members of his corps, in full dress uniform." ^ In a careful examination of all the diaries at Bethlehem there is not the slightest reference to the presentation of a banner, such as Longfellow narrates in his poem, to be found. It was during the interval between April 16 and May 17, that the banner was made. " Recent investigations go to show that the General, on visiting the Sisters' House, saw their beautiful embroidery and that he then ordered them to prepare * The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. xirr, pp. 82-83 (1889). 218 MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE. a small cavalry banner for his legion and that the whole trans- action was a simple business one." "* In Longfellow's Complete Poetical Worhs, 1893, edited by Horace E. Scudder, in a note to the Hiymn of the Moravian Nuns, at the consecration of Pulaski's Banner, the editor says: " The historic facts in regard to the banner appear to be that Pulaski ordered it of the Moravian sisters at Bethlehem, who helped to support their house by needlework." On September 30, 1778, by a resolution in Congress, General Pulaski, with his legion, was directed to repair to Princeton to wait the orders of General Washington, or the commanding oflScer in New Jersey. On October 15, while on the march to Little Egg Harbor, N. J., the enemy attacked the " corps, with 400 Men, at 3 o'clock, A. M., and after a smart Conflict were repulsed and pursued, with considerable loss on the side of the Enemy — and that the Count's Loss was estimated at about 30 Men Killed, Wounded and Missing: amongst the former were Lieut. Col. Baron de Bose and Lieut, de la Borderie." ^ In Eebruary, 1779, Pulaski was ordered to South Carolina, and later, in the same year he commanded the American and French cavalry at the siege of Savannah and during the attack of October 9, was mortally wounded. Captain Paul Bentalou, one of his officers, was by his side and although himself wounded, attended him until he died two days later on board the United States brig, the Wasp, on her way to Charleston, S. C, when his body was reluctantly consigned to a watery grave.® The banner of the legion was most probably used during the rest of the war, as the survivors of the legion were incorporated * Permsylvcmia Archives, 2d Series, vol, xr, p. 153 (1880). • The Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, Tuesday, October 27, 1778. 'Pulaski Vindicated, etc., by Paul Bentalou (anonymous), p. 30 (1824) ; also. History of Georgia, by Charles C. Jones, Jr., LL. D., vol. n, p. 403 (1883). BOLL OF Pulaski's legion. 219 by a resolution of Congress Febrnarj 23, 1780, with the corpg of Colonel Armand, the Marquis de la Rouerie. Captain (afterwards Colonel) Bentalou, on retiring from the army, took the banner home with him to Baltimore, together with a lancer's spear and Pulaski's sword cross belt, which had been bequeathed to him by Pulaski just before he died. For forty-five years he preserved the banner, as he says, " as a holy and glorious inheritance, as a precious relic," but on the memorable visit of General La Fayette to Baltimore, October 7-11, 1824, it was carried by the Forsyth Company of Volun- teers, Captain John F. Hoss, attached to the Second Regiment of Maryland Riflemen, on the day of the review of the citizen soldiers of Baltimore by the nation's guest."^ After the review it was deposited in the Baltimore Museum, where it remained for twenty years. The ownership of the Museum passed through various hands, but soon after it came into the possession of Mr. Edmund Peale it was presented by him March 6, 1845, through Mr. Brantz Mayer, corresponding secretary, to The Maryland Historical Society. Colonel Paul Bentalou, who was Captain of the First Troop of Dragoons, in a pamphlet published by him in Baltimore, a few months before his death December 10, 1826, entitled " Reply to Judge Johnson's Remarlcs, etc.. Relating to Count Pulaski/' page 39, in possession of The Maryland Historical Society, in referring to the banner says: "It was deposited in the Baltimore Museum as ' a relick of old days,' interesting to Baltimore at least, which, when a village, had been the cradle of the legion, and whose women, with a touch of patriotism, had caused this standard to be made and presented to the young corps/' The poet Longfellow has thrown around this banner such a glamour of romance and beauty, that it is to be regretted that it is lacking in historic truth. Including such historical writers as Lossing, Scharf, and others, everyone has been misled by Longfellow's poem written by him in 1825, before 1^ was 19 ' Federal Gazette and Baltimore Daily Advertiser, October 8, 1824. 220 MARYLAND HISTOEICAL MAGAZINE. years of age, and one year before Bentalou's pamphlet appeared, in thinking that the banner was not only embroidered by the Moravian single sisters (they were not nuns) of Bethlehem, Pa., but also had been presented by them to Pulaski's Legion. Baltimore has honored the name of Colonel Bentalou, Pulaski's friend and fellow soldier, a man of the very highest character and reputation, and who was United States Marshal for Maryland at the time of his death in 1826, at the age of 91, by naming a street after him in the western part of the city. A noble, brave, and venerable soldier, who long survived his old commander, but who never forgot him. In a letter to the Council of Maryland, dated Annapolis, the 10th April 1779, Count Pulaski writes : " I Came down to have the honour of presenting my Compliments to you ; in the meantime call for your assistance in my recruiting. — I clame Gentelmen for your steem and amity, calling my legion, Mary- land legion I'll endeavor myself to have that name forever hon- oured by our friends and respected by our enemies, and that way reach to the glory whom I and my officers are found off." ^ The banner is associated with the thoughts and handiwork of the Moravian single sisters of Bethlehem ; the inspired hymn of a youthful poet ; the patriotic gift of Baltimore women, whose sons doubtless were members of the corps ; the romantic valor of the commander of the legion and the heroism of soldiers who died for the cause of liberty and freedom. ROLL OP PITLASKPS LEGION. Officers. Count Casimir Pulaski Brigadier General. Appointed by the Continental Congress, April 18, 1778. Michael de Kowatz (Kowatsch) Colonel Commandant. Count Julius de Mountford Major. John de Zielinski » Captain Lancers. * Maryland Archives, vol. xxi, p. 34. 'Jowrnals of the Continental Congress, Vol. x, p. 364. ROLL OF PULASKIS LEGION. 221 u (I ii (( iC u Infantry. Appointed by the Continental Congress, October 5, 1778. Charles Baron de Bose Lieutenant Colonel. Peter (Paul) Bentalou Captain Dragoons. Henry Bedkin Jerome Le Brun de Bellecour James Chevalier de Segond Frederick Paschke Joseph Baldesqui, (Paymaster) William Palmer John Seydelin James de Bronville Francois de Roth John Stey Francois Antoine de Troye William Welch Joseph de la Borderie George Elton Adam Melchoir ^^ Lieutenant a (( a a <( Dragoons. Infantry. 2°