When General George Washington heard about the terrible massacre in Wyoming, he said that the Valley must be made safe for Americans. He put General John Sullivan in command of a large army to rid the whole Susquehanna Valley of the Tories, (the Tories were Americans who remained loyal to the King) and their Indian allies. Part of General Sullivan's army would go to Wyoming and then march north.
In June General Sullivan and his army reached Wyoming Valley. Here they had to wait until the supplies arrived. The days were hot, and there was not much to do. The men turned to fishing to help pass the time. They caught so many fish and made so much chowder that the spot was known as "Chowder Camp". Finally on July 24 more than a hundred boats came into sight. At last the supplies had come.
Four days later 80 loaded wagons and a great number of pack horses arrived. After the long dreary waiting, the march was about to start.
On the last day of July, General Sullivan commanded the army to start north. As the long columns of men started out, the brass band, already afloat on some of the boats, began to play. On the bank 1,200 pack horses and 800 head of cattle slowly followed the men out of camp. The boats moving north were protected by men marching on both sides of the river. The army marched through Exeter Township. Each hour the marchers saw new wonders of nature. Spring-fed waterfalls plunged down high cliffs. Deer and turkey were plentiful. On the bottomlands the tall black walnut trees were four feet thick.
On August 11, the army reached the Tioga River (now the Chemung River).
The soldiers set fire to all the buildings. The army marched into Iroquois country and destroyed every Indian village they found. All the orchards, storehouses and fields were burned.
Late in September Sullivan's men came back to the Susquehanna. Before the snows of winter came, General Sullivan's men had returned to their homes. Nearly five thousand of them had made the big march. |
