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 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 011 712 403 4 
 

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 L 
 
 ADDEESS 
 
 AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE 
 
 HATBOROUGH MONUMENT, 
 
 coMMJsMoaArjNe tbk 
 
 BATTLE OF THE CROOKED B 
 
 FT 
 
 DELIVERED IN LOM.EK ACADEMY, 
 
 Decern. Ijei- 5, 1861. 
 
 BYE \l V . JACOB B E L Y T L L E . 
 
 PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE MONUMENTAL ASSOCIATION 
 
 DOYLESTOWN, PA 
 
 W. W. H. DAVIS, PRINTER. 
 1862. 
 
 ^^ ^ ^ ^ " - 
 
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ADDRESS 
 
 mi'' 
 DEIIVEEED AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE HATBOROUGH MONUMENT, 
 
 COMMEMOEATIJia THE 
 
 BATTLE OP THE CROOKED BILLET, 
 
 BY REV. JACOB BELVILLE. 
 
 A LITTLE more than a year ago, you were assembled to witness the inaugu- 
 ration of the Hatboro' Monumental Association. To-day, you assembled to 
 ■witness the completion of the work, for which that association was organized. 
 And now, to me has been given the honor of announcing to you that that 
 work is done. It is well done ; — in a manner worthy of this community 
 worthy of the association, and worthy of the events which that work is 
 designed to commemorate. 
 
 Another monument has been erected to departed worth. Another spot 
 has been consecrated to the memory of precious dust and priceless souls. 
 Another stone has been set up, to witness that good deeds cannot die. 
 Another tribute has been paid to that virtue which men in every age have 
 ranked next to the love of God, — the love of Country. Another record has 
 been written in enduring marble, to plead with silent eloquence, for the 
 perpetuation of that government for whose establishment our fathers bled 
 and to command our children and our children's children, that they hand 
 down to their children that heritage our fathers gave us, and which, by the 
 grace of God* we intend to hand down unimpaired to them. 
 
 It is not my province to-day, to search the field of history and portray 
 before you the events which your monument is designed to commemorate. 
 Those events have already been recorded by an abler pen* than mine, and 
 a more eloquent tonguef than mine has rehearsed them in your ears ; and 
 
 * History of Battle of Crooked Billet, by Colonel W. W. H. Davia. 
 t Oration by Colonel J. W. Torney, July 4, 1860. 
 
as the result of that record and rehearsal, those e?ents are familiar t3 you 
 all as housshold words. As you have gathered together here to-day. the 
 hattle of ihe Crooked Billet has been in imagination fought again. Toa 
 have seen that little band of undisciplined yet patriotic men, with Lacey at 
 their head, by the faithlessness of sentinels, and the treachery of their own 
 countrymen, surprised at morning dawn by more than thrice their number 
 of veteran troops. You have seen the enemy closing in upon them, from 
 right and left and rear and front — you have seen Downey, and Thompson, 
 and Pinyard fall — you have seen Lacey with more than half his force break 
 through the oppos-ing foe, and make good his retreat ; and. when your eye 
 has followed them for a moment to a place of security, you have returned to 
 look ou scenes of cruelty, over which even the charity of an enemy would 
 fain throw the mantle of oblivion. 
 
 It is mine, to day. rather to read to you again the les.sons your fathers 
 wrote upon these fields with their blood; — to gather, from the breezes that 
 pliy around this consecrated spot, the warnings and counsels that have been 
 floating in them ever since they were breathed upon them by the spirits that 
 departed here in the struggle for liberty. It is mine, to strike the key note 
 of the monument, to interpret its history and its inscriptions, that it may at 
 once begin its holy mission, by awaking the impulses of patriotism in our 
 lieartj". 
 
 This monument is a tribute of gratitude, a witness that good deeds cannot 
 die. The D.ird of Avon said, "the evil that men do, lives after them, the 
 good is ofi interred with their bones." It is not true; — evil and good are 
 alike imriiortal. Tlrere are gwod de^ds which so enwrap nmcli thai i'S evil, 
 that the eye of man never beholds it, and there are evil deeds which cover 
 a character with a dye of infamy -aa d^eep. that an pterniiy of goodness could 
 not wa^h it out. The preduininant good 9r«yil,: in an individual, a nation, 
 a geneiation, stamps its character for ever. - ^ , 
 
 Good deeds live in the memory. EgUty three years, h.ave passed since 
 the events occurred which we this d;iy cointLeniorate. Their memory is as 
 green to day, as when those years began, and in view of subsequent events, 
 they have a.ssuraed a tnagnitude they did not then possess. 
 
 Good deeds not only live in memory — they are immortal in, tjieir influence 
 —they are like seeds wliich spring up, a leaf, a twig, a tree^. which every 
 year spreads wider its branches and bears in richer luxuri^nae its fruits. 
 The ouiburs of p.atriotism to day, throughout our land, is.t,hg ripe clusters 
 from the vine our fathers planted and watered with their blood. The 
 patriots, to whose memory your monument is reared, are doing more for 
 their country to-day thai when they died. The blood they shed upon these 
 fii.lis is more powerful to preserve our liberty, than it was io* procure it. It 
 nerves our spirits to endurance in the nation's holy cause, and ministers a 
 witliering rebuke to every cold heart and hesitating hand. 
 
 But I have said that evil is immortal, no less than good. And there are 
 evil deeds remembered here to-day. The men of the Revolution were not 
 all patriots. The very service to which Lacey with his band was appointed, 
 testifies that there were traitors then. He was appointed to protect his 
 country from his countrymen, to prevent the citizens of America from B\xp- 
 
plying to England's hired army the strength which was to be (spent la 
 laying waste her cities, desolating her fields, and polluting her homes with 
 blood. And yet, I confess, fellow ciiizens, that I have always looked upon 
 many of the Tories of the Revolution with mu2h of pity, and on many of 
 their deeds of service to the mother country with somewhat of extenuation.^ 
 Though they were traitors to theircouuiry, they were loyal to the government 
 under which they had been born — ihey resisted a government which was 
 then a new experiment. Still, they will be remembered and execrated as 
 traitors, while a single monument shall stand to tell of the struggles of the 
 Revoluiion. Who then shall pliy the traitors of our day? AVho shall ex- 
 teuiuite their treason ? They need no monument to perpetuate their disgrace. 
 The men of America who look on with cold iuditference upon the struggle in 
 which we are now engaged, wiio are not ready to lay their all upon their 
 country's altar in this her time of peril, are writing the history of their own 
 shame as with an iron pen — they are handing down to their children a 
 heritage of infamy. Their children's children will abjure their names. 
 
 Your monument is a trilute to pnlriotism, a virtue which, as I have already 
 said, has, in the e''ieem of the good of every age, ranked second only to the 
 love of God. Who are the men whose names are handed down to us in 
 sacred history encircled with a God given glory ? Who were Moses and 
 Joshua, Deborah and Gideon, Samsou and Samuel, David and Jelioshaphat 
 and Ilezekiah and Josiah ? Who, but patriots, who loved their God and 
 loved their country. Their patriotism and their piety stand side by side 
 upon the sacred page. They served their counti-y in serving God, and 
 they served God in serving their country. And almost every record of their 
 faith in God, is also a record of some brave and nohie deed for the land they 
 loved. When they prayed, it was for grace and strength to serve their 
 country; and then, gifted by Jeiiovah with a self sacrificing patrioli.«m, 
 they counted nothing too dear to sacrifice upon the altar of their country 
 and their God. 
 
 The school boys here will well remember the story of Voliimnia. the mother 
 of Caius MarciusCoriolanus. An exile from Rome, Caius Marcius had joined 
 the Volscians. He was appointed commander of their forces, and now 
 flushed with victory after victory he was at the head of a powerful army 
 almost at the gates of Rome. Deputation after depuiation went forth from 
 the city. Senators, Pontiffs, Flamens, Augurs, all went forth to intercede 
 with Coriolanus to spiire the city, but all in vain. The women, true to the 
 iustiucis of that piety which in every ago has chaiacteriz d their sex, were 
 gathered in die temple to pray. At length Volurnnia rose up, and with her 
 Valeria, the wife of Coriolanus, and her children, and went forth to his camp 
 to intercede for Rome. He saw them approaching, knew them, and resolved 
 to steel his heart against their entreaties too. But he loved his mother 
 better than his country, and as she drew near he rose to greet her with a 
 kiss. Though she was his mother, she shrank from the pollution of a trait- 
 or's kiss. "Art thou Caius Marcius," said she, "and am I thy mother, or 
 art thou the leader of the Volscians and am I thy foe ? ^'Answer me this, 
 before thou kiasest me." "Shall it be said that it is to me — to me alone — that 
 Kom* ov«« her conqueror and oppressov Had I never ieen a mother, my 
 
counL/y had utill been free." No wonder that Caius Marcius quailed before 
 the bursting patriotism of that noble mother's heart. No wonder that he 
 cried, "Oh, my mother, thou hast saved thy country, but lost thy son." No 
 •wonder that he went back to the Volscians and died the victim of his double 
 treason. Her's was a genuine patriotism that looked on every earthly tie as 
 nothing when compared with that which bound her to her country, that 
 overshadowed even the instincts of a mother's love. This is the patriotism 
 that has commanded the reverence of true men in every age. This makes 
 us bow before the hero of Fort Sumpter. He sacrificed the ties of family 
 to serve his countrj'. This invests with a peculiar interest the services of 
 Fairfax, in the capture of those arch-rebels from the deck of the Trent. He 
 is a Virginian, bound to the enemies of his country by the ties of blood, but 
 bound to that country by stronger ties, by all the noble impulses of his 
 patriotic heart. This is true patriotism ; it rises above all considerations of 
 interest ; it tramples on the dictatesof ambition ; it turns a deaf ear to the 
 voice of friends and kindred. It counts noi^ilabor a toil, no endurance a 
 suffering, no loss a sacrifice, if the country be but thereby served. It knows 
 no limit, but the law of God ; and there it alwaj-^s finds a refuge, for God is 
 the patriot's God. 
 
 But wherefore should a luan love his country ? I might tell you that it 
 is the residence and the guardian of all his dearest interests ; that it is the 
 protection which government affords which preserves not only our liberties, 
 but our homes and our altars ; that without it the domestic circle would soon 
 lose its charm, and the temples of religion would be razed to the ground ; 
 that rapine and violence would soon make a hell of earth. But true patri- 
 otism rests upon a foundation deeper far than any considerations of interest 
 or advantage. I am weary of that mathematical philosophy which would 
 calculate love to country and love to God by the pennyweight ; it would sell 
 God and tlie country for a very few pieces of silver. True patriotism has 
 its foundation in the God-like nature which the Creator first gave to man. 
 Why does every true man love his country? Why does the eye, not blinded 
 by disease, love beauty ? Because it is its nature. Why does the ear that 
 is not deaf, delight in melody? Because God made it so. Even so the man 
 that is a man, in whom sin has not utterly obliterated every element of his 
 moral nature, loves his country, because God made him so. It is the 
 necessary requirement of the primary instincts of his soul. 
 
 The men to whom this monument is reared, vsere patriots. They did not 
 achieve, it is true, what the world calls great deeds, deeds which at once 
 would write their names upon the roll of fame. But they did the greatest 
 deed man can do for his country, they died in its defence. They stood in 
 their lot, between their country and her foes. They fought until they fell 
 the victims of treachery and violence, all that the bravest and the best could 
 do. It is sometimes said that circumstances make great men. It is true, 
 but they must have the material and the time. The Revolution would never 
 have made a Washington, if it had not had a Washington to make him of. 
 Nor yet would the world have ever known the AVashington it does, had not 
 God granted a long life for the developm.ent of his greatness. They say, the 
 woi'ld has seen but one Washington. But one was spared, 'tjs true, but 
 
many an embrj'O WasLington lunj Lave yielded up bis life on the fields of 
 the Revolution. There may have been a Washington in patriotism, in 
 courage, in every element of greatness, among that little band, to whose 
 memory you have erected your monument today. Many a Washington may 
 be doing duty in the r;inks to-day — some may already have gone to their 
 long home in the struggle in -which we are now engaged, whose names will 
 never be known to fame. Let your monuments ever be reared, not so much 
 to great deeds as to brave and loyal hearts, that, in the holy atmosphere 
 that surrounds them, your children may breathe the inspiration of true 
 patriotism, and before them swear eternal fidelity to their country, if not 
 eternal hatred to its foes. 
 
 But I have said, the monument is a plea for the Republic. I confess I 
 blush with shame to utter words like these — a plea for such a government 
 as ours ? When I preach the gospel there is one service which always 
 mantles my cheek with shame — to plead with man to love his God — with 
 such poor worms as we to love a being such as the great and good Jehovah. 
 Even so, with reverence I say it, I blush to plead with the citizens of 
 America, with men who know what it cost to establish this government, 
 who have experienced its beneficence and know something of its value, to 
 plead with such to preserve and not destroy it. 
 
 In the original draught of Washington's Farewell Address, now in the 
 possession of James Lenox, of New York, is this paragraph, which does 
 not appear in the printed copies : 
 
 " Besides the more seriou's causes already hinted as threatening the 
 existence of our Union, there is one less dangerous, but sufficiently 
 dangerous to make it prudent to bs upon our guard against it. I allude 
 to the petulance of party differences of opinion. It is not uncommon to 
 hear the irritations which these excite, vent themselves in declarations that 
 the different parts of the United States are ill-affected to each other, in 
 menaces that the Union will be dissolved by this or that measure. Intima- 
 tions like these are as indiscreet as they are intemperate. Though 
 frequently made with levity and without any really evil intention, they 
 have a tendency to produce the consequence which they indicate. They 
 teach the minds of men to consider the Union as precarious ; as an object 
 to wliich they ought not to attach their hopes and fortunes, and thus chill 
 the sentiment in its favor. By alarming the pride of those to whom they 
 are addressed, they set ingenuity at work to depreciate the value of the 
 thing, and to discover reasons of indifference towards it. This is not wise, 
 rt will be much wiser to habituate ourselves to reverence the Union as the 
 palladium of our national happiness ; to accommodate constantly our words 
 and actions to tha,t idea, and to discountenance whatever may suggest a 
 suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned." 
 
 Opposite this paragraph on the margin these words are written in IVasli- 
 ington's own hand — "Not important enough." He would not insult the 
 true men of his day by warning them further than he had already done, 
 against a thought entertained only by the lowest demagogues. He little 
 thought that in our day a mighty host would be gathered on the soil of his 
 own Virginia, some bearing his own honored name, to destroy that govern- 
 
inent fo the establishment of which he consecrated hiS life. He little 
 thought that, within sight of his own grave, a youthful warrior, burning 
 with the fire of his own patriotic spirit, would be ruthlessly murdered for 
 flinging ti> the breeze his country's flag. He little thought that ere the men 
 of Ills day were in their graves, the work of his life would be the tiockery 
 of madmen, the plaything of fools. And yet though to day there still 
 stands before you one who was bora in the midst of the perils of the Revo- 
 lution, wedded in youth to the daugtiter of him who led the little bund to 
 whose memory you have erected your monument,* already six hundred 
 thousand men are under arms at the call or this government to protect it 
 from the assaults of those who have lived in peace under its protection and 
 have grown many and mighty under its fostering care. And wherefore this 
 deadly assault on this most beaeficeut government ? — this government 
 which has cherished all its citizens of every seciinn and of every class, as 
 no other government ever did on earth ? — tliis government under which 
 science aid the arts, literature ami religion alike hive flourislu>d, which, 
 in the ordinary and naruval working of its plans, bestows rn every cilizea 
 ftlike honors and rewards which pale the liglit of the titles and honors 
 which kings dispense to a favored few ? — this government against which 
 even the mad malice of rebellion dare not utter aught of evil but misgiv- 
 ings for tjie future ? Alas ! my fellow citizens, the prediction which W ash- 
 iugton dared not to breathe is fulfilled. A multitude, of those who have 
 inherited the fruits of his self sacrificing life have sunk to a depth of 
 infnniy, his noble na'ure could not sound. "The petulance of party 
 differences of opinion," has done its work. The ballot-box, in the legiii- 
 n ate exercise of its constitutional functions, has dethroned one party and 
 enthroned another. And under what plea doe*' this iniquitous rebellion 
 marshal its hosts ? Because of fears, well-founded fears, that the powers 
 of this Government, under its present administration, will not be prostituted 
 to tiie extension and perpeiuati,)u of slavery, an institution, which has ever 
 been regarded by the civilized and Ciiristian world as a dark blot upon the 
 record of our fame ; an institution of which Washington himself ihus wrote 
 in language worthy of himsi^lf and worthy of his struggles in the cause of 
 human freedom : — "I never mean, unless some particular circu-i'Stances 
 compel me to il, lo possess another slave by purchase, it being among my 
 first wishes to see some plan adopted by which slavery, in this country, 
 may be abolished by law." "T wish from my soul that the Legislature of 
 this State (Virginia) could see tho policy of a gradual abolition of 
 slavory." To perpetuate and extend this institution, to nationalize it and 
 make " owned'' labor the great characteristic of the Government is the 
 great aim of those who, to accomplish these humiliating ends, have banded 
 to destroy a government whose tendencies have ever been to universal 
 freedom. We wage no war on slavery. In constitutional rights were 
 secured by the solemn oath of one who never broke liis oath. It wages 
 war on us and oii our Government to obtain guarantees for the future 
 ■which were never given by any Constitution under Heaven — security for 
 
 • i)r. DariiaiftoB, of West Chester, whe married th« asnght«r of S»E8ral Lac»y, wa» preMnI 
 
 « tli» rrsMsen f the 5isaa!~»at. 
 
the perpetuity of its tyranny. Thia must be granted or the Republic ehall 
 fall — so rebellion has decreed. And was it for this God op ned in thia 
 ■wes ern world a refuge for the oppressed of every land? — was it for this 
 that Liberty raised here her standard, and fought and won the battles of 
 the Revolution, that here might be established a nursery of slavery ? — that 
 Religion might sanctify the tyrant's chains and baptize them aa a holy 
 thing ? — that we and our children might throw back into our fathers' teeth 
 their own declaration, that "all men were created free and equal"? — and 
 have we grown so great that we can afford to take from under us our very 
 foundations? On the contrary, this land belongs to Liberty. The spirit of 
 Liberty first settled it, the spirit of Liberty rescued it through seas of blood 
 from the rule of kings. If the Republic fall, I will not say that Liberty 
 must fall. No! Liberty is of God, and it will live to wave its banner over 
 every tyrant's grave ; but if this Republic fall, then exiled Liberty onoe 
 more must seek another home, peihaps on Africa's long neglected soil. 
 
 But it must not fall. The monument you have erected to-day ia 
 another plea for its perpetuity. It points you back to the wild woods, 
 and humble, scattered dwellings, by which this spot was surrounded in 
 revolutionary limes, and then as it surveys the cultivated fields, the cheerful 
 homes and smiling villages, which now surround it, it tells of the beneficence 
 of that government which under God has been the author of this prosperity 
 not only here but in every portion of this mighty land. 
 
 The history which ii hands down reminds us that this free government 
 was bought with blood, and fires us all with devotion to resolve, — it shall 
 never be iold for less. 
 
 But you need no monument to plead with you. I see, before me, men of 
 every party, Republicans, and Democrats alike ; — adherents of him who 
 passed from earth, with patriotic warnings and counsels on his dying lips, 
 amid the Erst bursting of the storm, and those who once were adherents of 
 him who, now a despicable traitor, dishonors one of Kentucky's noblest 
 names. You know no party now, but the party of your country. You ar« 
 Americans all — animated by one spirit, the spirit thus breathed by our own 
 poet : 
 
 " Our Country calls, away, aw.ay. 
 
 To where the blood-stream blots the green, 
 Strike to defeud the mildest sway 
 
 That time in all her course has seea ; 
 See, from a thousand coverts, see 
 
 Spring the armed f les that haunt her track i 
 They aim to strike her down, and we 
 
 Must beat the banded traitors back. 
 Few. few were they whose swords, of old, 
 
 Won the fair land in which we dwell, 
 But we are many, we who hold 
 
 The firm resolve to guard it well. 
 Strike for this broad and happy land 
 
 Blow after blow, till men shall se» 
 That might and right go hand in hand. 
 
 And glorious must their triumph ba." 
 
 The decree has gone forth — ''the Union shall bo preserved." A solemn 
 oath has been breathed before the great Jehovah, and His blessing sought 
 in faith and obedience upon it. They tell us that our foes have asked God's 
 blasting 4k;,. end that they pray with faith, but it i« a faith not honorsd by 
 
obedience. They trust in vain Jehovah's promise, who defy His law. But 
 we have sought His blessing in the maintenance of right. Fathers, sons, 
 husbands, brothers, are already in the field, ready to win the patriot's 
 reward, victory or an honored grave. And we are left, all ready to obey, 
 whenever our country calls. If we are true to ourselves, our cause, and 
 our God, we cannot fail. God never laid such broad and deep foundations, 
 as He has laid in this fair land, merely to amuse the universe with their 
 destruction. Surely God has not given man the cup of liberty, that, just as 
 he begins to drink, He may dash it in derision from hi.s lips. God is no triflor, 
 nor yet is He the advocate of wrong. He is not the patron of falsehood and 
 robbery and treason and rebellion. If our cause fail it will not be because 
 it is not just, nor because it has not the Divine blessing. It will be because 
 we are recreant to our trust, because we lack the virtue for the service to 
 which God has called us. Their's was a noble service who purchased the 
 liberty we have for eighty-five years enjoyed. What tributes of gratitude 
 and praise have since gone up to heaven for their mighty deeds. On what 
 scenes of gladness, the fruits of their brave deeds, have their departed 
 spirits looked duwu and smiled. Our's is a nobler service still. Their's was 
 the ship upon the stocks — our's is the ship at sea, laden with a precious 
 freight. They guarded the littlu seed — we the tree laden with blossoms, 
 just ready to produce abundant fruit. We bear into the strife the interests 
 of thirty millions of people in our own land, the iuterests of the down-trod- 
 den and oppressed of every land, the interests of posterity, the interests 
 of liberty, of education, of religion throughout the world. Our's is a 
 solemn work. Let us perform it in a solemn. God-fearing spirit. If Ave 
 are faithful, what glorious rewards await us. What blessings will descend 
 upon posterity, what thanksgivings will ascend to God for our service when 
 we are in our graves. If we are faithless, we shall entail a curse upon the 
 world and our memory shall be accursed. If we are faithless, then let the 
 world never know that we have lived. Let the monuments which tell of the 
 great deeds of our fathers be destroyed. Let Bunker Hill and Lexington 
 and Concord and Trenton and Saratoga and Yorktown be forever forgotten 
 Let the monument we have reared to-day be razed to its foundation. Let 
 it not stand a monument to our shame, to tell to coming generations that 
 we were too weak to keep what our fathers entrusted to our hands Let 
 oblivion engulph us all. Let not our memory be preserved, like that o f 
 Israel of old, as a warning of the fate of those who forsake God and perish 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Thursda)', the 5th of December, 1861, was the day fixed upon for inaugii* 
 fating the "Crooked Billet." Monument, at Hatborough, Montgomery county, 
 in commtmoration of those who fell at the Battle of the Crooked Billet, May 
 1st, 1778, and who were cruelly massacred by the British troops and Toiies, 
 led on by the Tories of the Revolution, residing in tlie viciniiy. Tlie dty 
 was most auspicious, calm and beautiful, the sun rendering it mild by his 
 warm rays. The inaugural ceremonies were conducted at tlie base of the 
 monument, in the forenoon, and as soon as the faolumn was c;ipped, and the 
 urn being raised to its position, Rav. Dr. Stselb was calk-d upon and 
 addressed the Throne of Grace in a solemn prayer. Several pati-iaiic and 
 eloquent addresses were made by gentlemen, who were present by invitation 
 of the Managers. The venerable and highly esteem d Dr. W.m. Darli.vgto:: 
 celebrated for his scientific, historical, and literary attainmins, an 1 wlio is 
 now in his eightieth year, but whose intellect is as vigorous, active, and 
 bright as in his younger days, was present, and his lively conversation lent 
 a charm and gave additional interest to the occasion. He was accompanied 
 by two young ladies, direct descendants of Goneral Lacey. Tlie motuiment 
 i? beautiful, large and imposing, and stands upon a high bank overlooking 
 the road. It consists of a plinth, five feet square and one foot thick, and a 
 double base, all of Montgomery county marble; upon this rests a die, 
 enriched with a projecting moulding, on wliich is the Latin motto, ••Dcfensores 
 Liberiacis p"r Iiisidias AbrnpU;" on the square below is engi-aved the inscrip- 
 tion ; above this is another die, bearing the coat ofarmsof the "OldKeysione 
 State," ia alto relievo ; this is exquisitely beautiful and an adtnirably exe- 
 cuted piece of workmanship — the horses are well proportioned and seem 
 instinct with life, the head of the eagle has a beautiful curve, and all the 
 parts are well worked out; rising from this second die is a well proportioned 
 shaft or obelisk, nine feet high, on which is sculptured full sized cross- 
 swords and a shield, in bold relief; upon the obelisk is a neat capitol, and 
 the whole is surmounted with an urn, from which issues a fl ima. It stands 
 some twenty-four feet high and is of the finest Italian marble from the baso 
 up. The monument will be surrounded by a wall and an iron railin|f. 
 
10 
 INSCRIPTION ON THE MONUMENT. 
 
 Defensores L.ibertafis per Insldias Abrupt!. 
 
 [Xh© Defenders of Liberty slala by gurprise.J 
 ON THE WEST FRONT. 
 
 CROOKED BILLET BATTLE, MAY 1, 1778. 
 
 GENERAL JOHN LACEY, 
 
 commaQding the American patriots who were here engaged in conflict 
 
 FOR INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 EOrTH SIDB. 
 
 The Patriots of 1776 
 
 ACHIEVED OUR INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Their Successor^ 
 
 JESTABLISHED IT IN 1812. 
 
 AYe are now struggling 
 
 FOR ITS PERPETUATION I^J 1861. 
 
 "The Union must and shall be Fraerved." 
 
 EAST SIDE. 
 
 A GRATEFUL TKIBCTB 
 
 by the 
 
 HATBOROUGII MONUMENT ASSOCIATION, 
 
 eiLifilERED AND EREOiei) 
 
 A. D. 1861. 
 
 KOEXn SIDE. 
 tX MXMOET OF PATUOTIO 
 
 JOHN DOWNEY', 
 And others who were cruelly slain on this ground, in the struggle for 
 
 AMEEICAN LIBERTY. 
 
 Dr. William Darlikgtos, of West Chester, a son-in-law of General Lacey, 
 being present and called upon, addressed the audience briefly, thanking 
 the people of the neighborhood for the patriotistn they had shown by the 
 erection of a beautiful monument, and said it was chiefly owing to the energy 
 of the gallant Colonel of the 10-lih Ringgold Regiment,* Pennsylvania Volun- 
 teers, and his friends, that this enterprise, which we had been called upon 
 to-day to consumiiate, had been commenced. 
 
 General John Davis replied that he could not permit it to go forth, that 
 bis family were the only ones prominent in this movement, that where all 
 had acted so nobly all should share the praise — that to the ladies of Hat- 
 borough and vicinity they were principally indebted; it was to them, who had 
 labored so assiduously and earnestly in this good work, that the managers 
 were enabled to complete the enterprise. 
 
 * C j1. "VT, W. H. Dar^S; who was tho pi-inie moveT in th« entGrjirlse t« raise thFa moinnnont. 
 
11 
 
 The Eev. Mr. Tolaicd, of Chestaut Iliil, was prsssnt and added his tesii- 
 raony in favor of what had been done by the patriotic sons of patriotic sires, 
 to perpetuate the memory of the gallant brave who had given up their lives 
 on that sacred spot. Ite iffas glad to see before him the veterans of the war 
 of 1812; Dr. Darlington, a Major, aud Gen. John Davis, a Captain of that 
 war; they were connecting links that bind the past with the present, that 
 unite the patriotism of 1812 and 1861, the defenders of Libertr against 
 foreign aggression, and the protectors of that liberty against a wicked and 
 causeless rebellion. The olden scenes of 1776 were being enacted over 
 again by those brave spirits who have obeyed their country's call and 
 are now at the seat of war. Those who had professed to be our brethren 
 were now in open rebellion against us, and attempting to overthrow the 
 Constitution and the Government. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Hand was also glad to add his testimony to what had already 
 been said. He congratulated the community upon what had been accom- 
 plished. This was a fitting and beautiful testimonial to the brave men, -rtrho 
 in the dark days of the Revolution had risked their all, and some had even 
 given up their livfs upon that field to secure our liberties. The events of 
 this day were encouraging to those Vtho were now in the service of their 
 country. Tliey had gone forth upon a sense of dutv to crush this spirit of 
 rebellion, and a grateful people would reward them. Those who fell upon 
 this spot little thought they would have their names handed down to pos- 
 teidty and their deeds live in imperisable marble; over eighty years have 
 passed awaj' and they are not forgotten. 
 
 It may not, perhaps, be out of plac^-, here, to add the following summary 
 of General Lacey's personal history : 
 
 John Lacet, Jr., son of John and Jane Lacey, was born in Bucks oounty, 
 Pennsylvania, on the 4ih day of February, 1755. His great grandfather, 
 William Lacey, was among the earliest settlers under William Penn, and 
 omigrated from the Isle of Wight, England. His family were plain Quakers ; 
 and the subject of these notes was educated among the straightest of the 
 sect. But when the clouds were gathering, whicli portended tlie storm of 
 the E,evolution, young Lacey promptly took position in the ranks of the 
 patriots, and was chosen "Stdndard Bearer'' in the Second Battalion of the 
 Bucks County Militia. Before he reached the age of 21 years, he received 
 from the Continental Congress a cetamission as 
 
 "Captain in the 4th Battalion of Pennsylvania Troops, in the Army of 
 the United Colonies, raised for the defense of American Liberty, and for 
 repelling every hostile iuvasioa thereof. Signed by order of Congress. 
 
 " John Hancock, President. 
 " Attest, Ckas. Thomson, Secretary. 
 
 "Philadelphia, January 5tb, 1776." 
 
 This 4th Battalion (or Regiment) was commanded by Colonel Anthonit 
 WATNJi, of Chester county. Captain Lacey's company, in the ensuing spring, 
 was marched, with the Regiment, to the Canada frontier, where he remained 
 on duly with it until the close of the campaign ; when, in consequence of a 
 misunderstanding with (he Colonel, he resigned his commission. So far, 
 however, was the Captain from leaving the service, he was soon appointed 
 
12 
 
 \:y 'oti'j FennsyiTunia Legislature, owe ot tie suli-Lieutennnts of Bucks county, 
 vriih fliG rank of Lieutenant Colonel; and v.'iis actively einplojed in organiz- 
 ing the Militia of tlie county. 
 
 In the aulumu of 1777, when the British had got possession of Philadelphit», 
 they sent a strong foragine; party to tlie wert side of the Schuylkill, where 
 the Americana were posted, near the Gulf Mills. Lieutenant Colonel Lacey 
 was there in command of a regitnent, when a severe engagement took place. 
 A portion of the Miliiia acquitted themselves with credit. General Potter, 
 who was in cooimand, speaking of the affair, said : — " My people behaved 
 well; espepially those regiinenis commanded by the Colonels Chambers, 
 Murray, and Lacey. His Excellency (Washington) returned ua thanks in 
 General Orders." 
 
 On the 7ih of January, 3778, the Council met at Lancaster, and ordered 
 that Colonel Lucey take the command of the Militia of this State, which may 
 be stationed between the Scliuylkill and Delaware, until further orders. 
 
 Two days afterward, Pres^ideut Wharton wrote as follows: 
 
 " L.\NCASTEK. January 9, 1778. 
 
 Sir, — You are this day appointed to be a Brigadier General of this State ; 
 and the Secretary will, by Colonel Hart, forward to you a commission, 
 empowering you to act as such. 
 
 "To Brigadier General L.^cet, at Camp." 
 
 At this dnte, thejuvenile Brigadier — appointed to relieve General Potter 
 —was not quite 2'i years of age! His duty was, to cut off supplies, and 
 prevent all illicit inlei'cour.se betv/eeii the disaft'cct d country people and the 
 enemy in the city. The British officers denounced vengeance on the troops 
 tiius einploycl. and swore thpy would speedily have the young General in 
 their possession, dead or alive. General Lacey had a most arduous and 
 ungracious duty to perform, among his Tory neighbors, and old acquaint- 
 ances, — some of whom never forgave h-m ; but he acquitted laimself vigor- 
 ously — with a fluctuating force, continually varying from some 40 or 50, to 
 about 500 men, — until the unfortunate surprise of his camp, at the Crooked 
 Billet, on the morning of the Ist of Jl.iy, 1778. In the beginning of June, 
 following. General Lacey whs relieved of his anxious charge, by tlie return 
 of General Potter to the command of the district; and in a few days there- 
 after the Briii.sh army vacated Phibidelpliia. 
 
 General Lacey, nevertheles'^. continued to serve as a Brigadier of Militia, 
 until near llie close of the Pwevoluiionary contest; and his Brigade was 
 repeatedly called out, by threatening events. While in this command (viz : 
 in January, 1781), he married Miss Axastasia, daughter of Colonel Thomas 
 Keynolws, of NdW Jersey, — a gentleman descended from an Irish family, 
 in Dublin ; and soon afterward he engaged extens'vely in iron works, on 
 the Raiicocus creek, at the villnge known as the New Mills, (now Pemberton.) 
 in the county of Biirlington. In this pursuit, — nnd occasionally in public 
 life, as a IMagisfvatc and Le;rislitor. — General Lacey continued until bis 
 decease, on the 17ili of February, 181-1, aged 59 years. 
 
 General Lacey, at his death, left four children, — three daugbtera and one 
 son : — 
 
 Ilia eWo't dinditer ^^•13 m^rrieJ to 'Wniiam L. Smitli. of Eurlinccton county. N.J. 
 
 His sec mil ilaiv4it>T " '• " Dr. ^Villiam D.arlinston. of West Chester Pa. 
 
 His youngest d;iughtor " " .Tonatlian llmgh. of Bnrlinston county. N. .T. 
 
 His "son. Tlioni:^3 II. Lacey — tho only survivor — ro-irles at 3Ioaut lloUy. Burlington co.. N. .T. 
 
 His descendants are not numerous ; but they have been privileged to see 
 the rise of a great and magnificent Republic. — as well as to witness the 
 outbreak of the most wanton and wicked rebellion that the world ever saw. 
 They have mostly inherited the loyal spirit of their ancestor, — nnd some of 
 them are now engaged as oiScers in the great Volunteer army, devoted to the 
 defence of the Governrnt-nt, which their grand-sire aided to establish. 
 
 ESTO rHREEr^Al 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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