Lazarus Stewart
Encyclopedia
Captain Lazarus Stewart was an 18th century Pennsylvania
n frontiersman and leader of the Paxton Boys
. He achieved notoriety by leading the massacre of the Susquehannock
s in 1763, and was a prominent military commander — on the Yankee (i.e. Connecticut) side — in the Pennamite Wars. He met his death in battle with the Loyalist
s and Iroquois
at the Wyoming Massacre, in an attack precipitated by his own rashness.
.
, known as the Paxton Boys
, in Paxton Township, captained by Stewart and Asher Clayton.
Several enclaves of Indians existed to the east of the frontier, among the Moravians near Bethlehem
and elsewhere. The nearest of these were the Susquehannock
tribe at Conestoga Town. To the north, such anger was directed by the settlers against the Moravian Indians, for their suspected part in abetting Indian raids, that the Moravians were sent to be kept in protective custody in Philadelphia
. In Lancaster County, feelings were very much aroused against the Susquehannocks, the more so after the Moravians were protected by the Commonwealth — whose authority the frontiersmen doubtless felt should be exerted for their protection against Indians and not vice versa. Col. Elder wrote to the government in September 1763, urging for the Susquehannocks to be removed to Philadelphia as well, but the proposal was declined.
In December 1763, Matthew Smith
, one of the Paxton Boys, took a small scouting party to Conestoga Town to investigate reports of a hostile Indian being sheltered there. The party returned with tales of dozens of strange Indians occupying the town, and began to assemble a more substantial force. Col. Elder heard of the expedition, and sent a written message dissuading it, to no effect. On the morning of December 14, 1763, just before dawn, fifty armed and mounted Paxton Boys descended upon Conestoga Town, killed the six Indians they found there, and burned the town. While the Susquehannocks were probably in communication with hostile Indians on the frontier, the results of the Rangers' attack are hardly consonant with their supposed justification of harboring numerous hostile Indians.
Fourteen of the Susquehannocks had been elsewhere when the massacre occurred, and were removed to the workhouse in Lancaster
for protection. Lazarus Stewart and Smith, asserting that one of those fourteen was known as a murderer, assembled the Paxton Boys again. Ignoring Col. Elder, who now remonstrated with them in person, they descended upon Lancaster on December 27, 1763 and broke into the workhouse. Matthew Smith later claimed that the intent of the raid had been to carry off the single murderous Indian, but the Paxton Boys, in short order, butchered the fourteen unfortunate Susquehannocks. These incidents became known as the Conestoga Massacre.
The shocked government ordered the arrest of those who took part in the massacre, but to no avail. Even those who had opposed the massacres, such as Col. Elder (who was removed from his command and replaced by Maj. Asher Clayton), did not volunteer the names of the ringleaders to the government. The Paxton Boys capped their efforts with a march to Philadelphia (whence the remaining Indians in the state had been removed) in January 1764. While they obtained few concrete concessions, neither Stewart nor any of the other participants in the massacre were prosecuted for their deeds.
. At the time, settlers from Connecticut
were contesting the possession of the area with the Pennsylvanians, in a struggle that became the first of the Pennamite Wars. Captain Zebulon Butler
was able to recruit Stewart and his men for the Connecticut, or Yankee, side, encouraging them with the promise of land in Hanover Township
. Stewart's band, reinforced by ten Yankees, recaptured Fort Durkee from the Pennamites on February 12, 1770. One of his soldiers, Baltzer Stage or Stagard, was the first man to be killed in the conflict, when the Pennamites under Captain Ogden unsuccessfully attempted to retake the fort in March.
On September 24, 1770, a surprise assault by the Pennamites retook Fort Durkee, but Stewart escaped and fled southward. He was arrested two weeks later in York, Pennsylvania
, but escaped at night. He returned to Lancaster County and assembled twenty-five of the Paxton Boys, who retook Fort Durkee by ambush on December 18, 1770. On January 21, 1771, a Pennamite force led by Ogden returned to construct Fort Wyoming and besiege Fort Durkee, but their demand that Fort Durkee be surrendered was met with gunfire. There was one casualty, Ogden's brother Nathaniel. Fearing arrest for murder, and outnumbered by the Pennamites, Stewart and his troops slipped away in the night and fled to Connecticut. The victorious Pennamites destroyed Fort Durkee and took possession of the area.
In July 1771, one hundred men under Captains Butler and Stewart returned to the Wyoming Valley to lay siege to Fort Wyoming. Captain Ogden slipped through the lines at night to raise a relief column in Philadelphia. The relief force was ambushed by the Yankees and lost their baggage and supplies. After a month-long siege, Fort Wyoming capitulated on August 15, 1771, and there would be peace in the Wyoming Valley for the next four years, in which Stewart and his militiamen could enjoy the cultivation of the lands granted them for their military services. He and his wife, Martha Espy raised a family of seven children here.
The war resumed in August 1775, when a strong Pennsylvania force of seven hundred men under Colonel William Plunkett was dispatched to the area. They defeated the outnumbered Yankees in September, and drove out the settlers on the west bank of the Susquehanna River
. Connecticut was able to raise four hundred men, under Zebulon Butler (now a colonel), and the confrontation took place at Christmas in conditions of heavy snow. Captain Stewart, with twenty men, ambushed the Pennsylvania column at Rampart Rocks on December 24, 1775 and caused them to flee back to their camp. The next day, he and his company attacked the Pennamites as they attempted to cross the river into Wilkes-Barre under cover of darkness, and broke up their attack. After an unsuccessful attack by the Pennamites on the Yankee positions at Rampart Rocks, Plunkett's column withdrew. By now, the attention of both parties was fixed upon a greater theater of war, the American Revolution
.
troops and Iroquois
under Colonel John Butler
approached the Wyoming Valley. Colonel Zebulon Butler, home on leave from the Continental Army
at the time, was chosen to lead the militia which assembled at Forty Fort
. Colonel Butler favored delay, as reinforcements might be expected from Philadelphia and other local forts. However, Captain Stewart (who commanded the company of men from Hanover Township) and others argued that they should immediately attack and drive off the enemy before they could be besieged in Forty Fort. Their counsel carried the day, and the militia marched out on July 3, 1778. They encountered the Loyalist and Indian forces a few miles away. Getting into bad order as they attacked the Loyalists, an onset by the Iroquois panicked the militia as they attempted to dress their lines, and utterly routed them. Captain Stewart and his cousin, Lieutenant Lazarus Stewart, Jr. were both killed in the fight. The troops wounded and taken prisoner were tortured and killed in what became known as the Wyoming Valley massacre
.
After hearing of the defeat, Stewart's wife and children fled down the Susquehanna, and remained in Lancaster County until the close of the war.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
n frontiersman and leader of the Paxton Boys
Paxton Boys
The Paxton Boys were a vigilante group who murdered 20 Susquehannock in events collectively called the Conestoga Massacre. Scots-Irish frontiersmen from central Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna River formed a vigilante group to retaliate against local American Indians in the aftermath of the...
. He achieved notoriety by leading the massacre of the Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
s in 1763, and was a prominent military commander — on the Yankee (i.e. Connecticut) side — in the Pennamite Wars. He met his death in battle with the Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
s and Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
at the Wyoming Massacre, in an attack precipitated by his own rashness.
Early life
Stewart was born in Hanover Township, Lancaster County (now East Hanover Twp., Dauphin County), Pennsylvania. He was well-educated for the time and place, and was raised as a farmerFarmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
.
Pontiac's War and massacre
During the summer of 1763, Indian raids fell heavily upon the western settlements of Pennsylvania. "Carlisle was become the barrier not a single Individual beyond it." In the crisis, the response of the State government was singularly dilatory. There had long been friction between the Presbyterian settlers of the frontier and the Quaker-dominated government, and the damage done by the Indians rankled. Colonel Rev. John Elder raised two companies of militiaMilitia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, known as the Paxton Boys
Paxton Boys
The Paxton Boys were a vigilante group who murdered 20 Susquehannock in events collectively called the Conestoga Massacre. Scots-Irish frontiersmen from central Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna River formed a vigilante group to retaliate against local American Indians in the aftermath of the...
, in Paxton Township, captained by Stewart and Asher Clayton.
Several enclaves of Indians existed to the east of the frontier, among the Moravians near Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
and elsewhere. The nearest of these were the Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
tribe at Conestoga Town. To the north, such anger was directed by the settlers against the Moravian Indians, for their suspected part in abetting Indian raids, that the Moravians were sent to be kept in protective custody in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. In Lancaster County, feelings were very much aroused against the Susquehannocks, the more so after the Moravians were protected by the Commonwealth — whose authority the frontiersmen doubtless felt should be exerted for their protection against Indians and not vice versa. Col. Elder wrote to the government in September 1763, urging for the Susquehannocks to be removed to Philadelphia as well, but the proposal was declined.
In December 1763, Matthew Smith
Matthew Smith (Pennsylvania statesman)
Matthew Smith —the dates of his birth and death apparently unknown—was a Pennsylvania politician. He served briefly as Vice-President of Pennsylvania following the resignation of George Bryan on 11 October 1779...
, one of the Paxton Boys, took a small scouting party to Conestoga Town to investigate reports of a hostile Indian being sheltered there. The party returned with tales of dozens of strange Indians occupying the town, and began to assemble a more substantial force. Col. Elder heard of the expedition, and sent a written message dissuading it, to no effect. On the morning of December 14, 1763, just before dawn, fifty armed and mounted Paxton Boys descended upon Conestoga Town, killed the six Indians they found there, and burned the town. While the Susquehannocks were probably in communication with hostile Indians on the frontier, the results of the Rangers' attack are hardly consonant with their supposed justification of harboring numerous hostile Indians.
Fourteen of the Susquehannocks had been elsewhere when the massacre occurred, and were removed to the workhouse in Lancaster
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
for protection. Lazarus Stewart and Smith, asserting that one of those fourteen was known as a murderer, assembled the Paxton Boys again. Ignoring Col. Elder, who now remonstrated with them in person, they descended upon Lancaster on December 27, 1763 and broke into the workhouse. Matthew Smith later claimed that the intent of the raid had been to carry off the single murderous Indian, but the Paxton Boys, in short order, butchered the fourteen unfortunate Susquehannocks. These incidents became known as the Conestoga Massacre.
The shocked government ordered the arrest of those who took part in the massacre, but to no avail. Even those who had opposed the massacres, such as Col. Elder (who was removed from his command and replaced by Maj. Asher Clayton), did not volunteer the names of the ringleaders to the government. The Paxton Boys capped their efforts with a march to Philadelphia (whence the remaining Indians in the state had been removed) in January 1764. While they obtained few concrete concessions, neither Stewart nor any of the other participants in the massacre were prosecuted for their deeds.
Yankee-Pennamite War
Stewart had no love for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and in January 1770, he led thirty-nine militiamen from Lancaster County to the Wyoming ValleyWyoming Valley
Wyoming Valley is a region of northeastern Pennsylvania. As a metropolitan area, it is also known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, after its principal cities, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre....
. At the time, settlers from Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
were contesting the possession of the area with the Pennsylvanians, in a struggle that became the first of the Pennamite Wars. Captain Zebulon Butler
Zebulon Butler
Zebulon Butler was a soldier and politician from Connecticut who served during the American Revolutionary War. He represented the Wyoming Valley in the Connecticut Assembly....
was able to recruit Stewart and his men for the Connecticut, or Yankee, side, encouraging them with the promise of land in Hanover Township
Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Hanover Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 11,488 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which of it is land and is water. The Susquehanna River drains it and...
. Stewart's band, reinforced by ten Yankees, recaptured Fort Durkee from the Pennamites on February 12, 1770. One of his soldiers, Baltzer Stage or Stagard, was the first man to be killed in the conflict, when the Pennamites under Captain Ogden unsuccessfully attempted to retake the fort in March.
On September 24, 1770, a surprise assault by the Pennamites retook Fort Durkee, but Stewart escaped and fled southward. He was arrested two weeks later in York, Pennsylvania
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
, but escaped at night. He returned to Lancaster County and assembled twenty-five of the Paxton Boys, who retook Fort Durkee by ambush on December 18, 1770. On January 21, 1771, a Pennamite force led by Ogden returned to construct Fort Wyoming and besiege Fort Durkee, but their demand that Fort Durkee be surrendered was met with gunfire. There was one casualty, Ogden's brother Nathaniel. Fearing arrest for murder, and outnumbered by the Pennamites, Stewart and his troops slipped away in the night and fled to Connecticut. The victorious Pennamites destroyed Fort Durkee and took possession of the area.
In July 1771, one hundred men under Captains Butler and Stewart returned to the Wyoming Valley to lay siege to Fort Wyoming. Captain Ogden slipped through the lines at night to raise a relief column in Philadelphia. The relief force was ambushed by the Yankees and lost their baggage and supplies. After a month-long siege, Fort Wyoming capitulated on August 15, 1771, and there would be peace in the Wyoming Valley for the next four years, in which Stewart and his militiamen could enjoy the cultivation of the lands granted them for their military services. He and his wife, Martha Espy raised a family of seven children here.
The war resumed in August 1775, when a strong Pennsylvania force of seven hundred men under Colonel William Plunkett was dispatched to the area. They defeated the outnumbered Yankees in September, and drove out the settlers on the west bank of the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
. Connecticut was able to raise four hundred men, under Zebulon Butler (now a colonel), and the confrontation took place at Christmas in conditions of heavy snow. Captain Stewart, with twenty men, ambushed the Pennsylvania column at Rampart Rocks on December 24, 1775 and caused them to flee back to their camp. The next day, he and his company attacked the Pennamites as they attempted to cross the river into Wilkes-Barre under cover of darkness, and broke up their attack. After an unsuccessful attack by the Pennamites on the Yankee positions at Rampart Rocks, Plunkett's column withdrew. By now, the attention of both parties was fixed upon a greater theater of war, the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
Revolutionary War
In July 1778, a strong force of LoyalistLoyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
troops and Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
under Colonel John Butler
John Butler (pioneer)
John Butler was a Loyalist who led an irregular militia unit known as Butler's Rangers on the northern frontier in the American Revolutionary War. He led Seneca and Cayuga forces in the Saratoga campaign. He later raised and commanded a regiment of rangers.-Background:John was born to Walter...
approached the Wyoming Valley. Colonel Zebulon Butler, home on leave from the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
at the time, was chosen to lead the militia which assembled at Forty Fort
Forty Fort
Forty Fort was a stronghold built by settlers from Connecticut on the Susquehanna River in Westmoreland County, Connecticut, now Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.It was a place of refuge for displaced settlers during the Battle of Wyoming in 1778....
. Colonel Butler favored delay, as reinforcements might be expected from Philadelphia and other local forts. However, Captain Stewart (who commanded the company of men from Hanover Township) and others argued that they should immediately attack and drive off the enemy before they could be besieged in Forty Fort. Their counsel carried the day, and the militia marched out on July 3, 1778. They encountered the Loyalist and Indian forces a few miles away. Getting into bad order as they attacked the Loyalists, an onset by the Iroquois panicked the militia as they attempted to dress their lines, and utterly routed them. Captain Stewart and his cousin, Lieutenant Lazarus Stewart, Jr. were both killed in the fight. The troops wounded and taken prisoner were tortured and killed in what became known as the Wyoming Valley massacre
Wyoming Valley massacre
The Battle of Wyoming was an encounter during the American Revolutionary War between American Patriots and Loyalists accompanied by Iroquois raiders that took place in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania on July 3, 1778...
.
After hearing of the defeat, Stewart's wife and children fled down the Susquehanna, and remained in Lancaster County until the close of the war.