Battle of Minisink Fought Opposite Lackawaxen July 22, 1779

On July 22, 1779, near what is now the little town of Lackawaxen, Pike County, Pa., was fought one of the fiercest Indian battles on record. This massacre actually took place in the State of New York at Minisink, where the town of Port Jervis, Orange County, now is. Only the Delaware River separated the battleground from Pike County, in this State.

The Shawnee at Minisink are said to have built a town on the east side of the Delaware, three miles south of the mouth of Flat Brook, which was called Pechoquealin. They also had a town on the Pennsylvania side of the river which had the same name, and probably stood near the site of the present town of Shawnee, at the mouth of Shawnee Run, in what is now Lower Smithfield Township, Monroe County.

Secretary James Logan stated in a letter to Governor Clark, of New York, dated August 4, 1737, that when the Shawnee came from the 501South in 1692 one party of them “was placed at Pechoquealin, near Durham, to take care of the iron mines.” Their village was probably on the high ground back of the lower end of Rieglesville, and near the furnace, where traces of an Indian town still are to be seen.

The territory known as the Minisinks was often the scene of strife with the red men, and almost every dell, in what is now Pike County, Pa., and Orange County, N. Y., has its local tradition.

Count Pulaski and his legion of cavalry were stationed at Minisink, during part of the winter of 1778–79. In February he was ordered to South Carolina to join the army under Lincoln. The settlement was thus left wholly unprotected, which being perceived by Joseph Brant, the accomplished Indian warrior, he resolved to make a descent upon it.

Early in July, Joseph Brant, the daring and treacherous Mohawk chief, left the Susquehanna with some 400 warriors. The settlers had received timely warning and threw out scouts to watch the approach of the invaders.

On the night of July 19 the Indians, with Tories disguised as savages, stole upon the little town of Minisink, where Port Jervis now stands, and before the people were aroused from their slumbers several dwellings were set on fire. Without means of defense, the inhabitants sought safety in flight to the mountains. Their small stockade fort, a mill and twelve houses and barns were burned, several persons killed, some taken prisoners, cattle driven away and the booty carried to Grassy Brook, where Brant had left the main body of his warriors.

While these events were being enacted a call for volunteers was responded to and 150 men met the following morning, determined to pursue the savages.

Colonel Tusten, who knew the craftiness of Brant, opposed pursuit, but was overruled. Major Meeker, mounting his horse, shouted, “Let the brave men follow me; the cowards may stay behind.” The line of march was formed, and they traveled seventeen miles, then encamped for the night.

The march was resumed the morning of July 22, and at Half-Way Brook came upon the Indian encampment of the previous night. The number of smoldering fires indicated a large savage force, and the two colonels, with the more prudent, advocated a return rather than further pursuit. The majority determined to pursue.

A scouting party was sent forward, but was discovered and the captain slain. The volunteers pressed onward, and at 9 o’clock the enemy could be seen marching in the direction of the fording place. Brant had already deposited a large part of his plunder in Pike County. The commander of the volunteers determined to intercept them at the ford, but Brant had been watching the movements of his pursuers and, comprehending their designs, he wheeled his column and by a strategicstrategic movement 502brought his whole force in the rear of the Americans. Here he formed an ambuscade and deliberately selected his battleground.

The volunteers were surprised and disappointed at not finding the enemy where they expected him to be, and were marching back when they discovered some of the Indians. One of them, mounted on a horse stolen at Minisink, was shot. This was a signal for action, and the firing soon became general. It was a long and bloody conflict.

The Indians greatly outnumbered the whites, and as the ammunition of the latter was limited, they were careful not to fire at random, but to make every shot count. The fight began at 11 o’clock and at twilight was yet undecided. The ammunition of the militia was expended and the enemy attacked and broke through their line.

The survivors attempted to retreat. Behind a ledge of rocks, Doctor Tusten was dressing the wounds of seventeen who were injured. The Indians fell upon them furiously, and all, including the doctor, were slain.

Some attempted escape by swimming the river; the Indians killed many, but a few reached the wilds of Pike County. A few more escaped under the cover of darkness. Of the whole number that went forth, only thirty returned to relate the dreadful scenes of that day.

This massacre of the wounded is one of the darkest stains upon the memory of Brant, whose honor and humanity were often more conspicuous than that of his Tory allies.

He made a weak defense of his conduct by asserting he had offered good treatment if they would surrender and that his humane proposition was answered by a bullet from an American musket, which pierced his belt.

In the year 1822, the bones of friend and foe were picked up, put in boxes, taken to Goshen, in Orange County, and given a decent burial, and a beautiful monument marks the spot where the mortal remains of the heroes lay who fought what is known as the battle of Minisink.

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