The Colonial History to the War of the Revolution

foregoing is but a very small part of the men who enlisted from this locality.

The wagons required by Gen. Stanwix, so far at least as Chester County was concerned, seem not to have been forthcoming, for on Aug. 13, 1759, he wrote to the Governor from Bedford,¹ complaining that Lancaster County was the most backward, but that "Bucks and Chester have given us only Nominal Assistance, by sending us impressed Waggons, unfit for this Service, by the Weakness of the Horses and Carriages. The Managers meet with more opposition in these two Counties than in any of the others, as the Magistrates seem unwilling to disoblige them; and unless they are spurred by the fear of incurring your Displeasure, I am afraid they will not exert their Authority in such a manner as will Answer the Purpose."

Notwithstanding the constant assertion of Gen. Stanwix, the number of horses and wagons furnished by Chester County, according to the account-book of Roger Hunk,² was not inconsiderable, particularly when we consider that the expedition really was of little moment in the shaping of events, and was useful only in that it made permanent the settlement then first called Pittsburgh.

² Futhey and Cope's "History of Chester County," pp. 54-58.

The history of the province at this period is exceeding interesting, but, strange as it may appear, for almost a decade no event of sufficient importance to impress itself on the fleeting years seems to have occurred in our county. The French war, which was most honorable to the colonial arms, was approaching its conclusion, and in 1761, after the subjugation of Canada was complete, the whole of the provincial forces raised by Pennsylvania were discharged, excepting one hundred and fifty men. Considerable alarm was felt along the Delaware and at Philadelphia when the intelligence was received that about the beginning of the year (January 4th) 1762 Great Britain had declared war against Spain. The defenseless condition of the city of Philadelphia, its wealth and importance, it was feared would attract the combined naval power of France and Spain to attempt its capture, therefore the Assembly, which had been hastily convened, appropriated twenty-three thousand five hundred pounds, the parliamentary allotment for 1759,³ to the defense of the city, and also voted five thousand pounds to erect a fort mounting twenty guns on Mud Island, at the site of the present Fort Mifflin. However, the province breathed more freely when, in January, 1763, news was received that on the 3d of November, 1762, peace had been proclaimed with both France and Spain.

In 1765 we find that no less than three lotteries were authorized by the Legislature for the benefit of churches within the territory of the present county of Delaware, viz.: St. Paul's, at Chester; St. John's, at Concord; and St. Martin's, at Marcus Hook. 1768 "was a year of jubilee⁴ for our good people, for the commissioners and assessors, after inspecting into the affairs of the county, "find no necessity for raising a tax this year."

⁴ Smith's "History of Delaware County," p. 274.

The power and wealth exhibited by the colonies during the French war amazed the home government, hence Mr. Grenville, in his desire to relieve the pressure of taxation at home, -- the result of that war, -- as well as to personally acquire reputation as a shrewd financier, proposed to raise a revenue from the colonies for the direct use of the British treasury. The scheme was not devoid of arguments to commend it to a debt-ridden people, yet the history of the provinces ought to have clearly demonstrated that such a measure would be met with determined resistance. The decided stand taken by the latter in 1754, when a plan for colonial taxation was suggested, should have fully indicated the temper of the people, who, whenever called on, had freely contributed pecuniary aid to the king by a vote of the Assembly, but who had always denied the right of the English Parliament to levy taxes on the provinces unless the latter had representation in the home legislative bodies. And perhaps no more objectionable form could the duties be made to assume than that which levied a tax on colonial imports, which resulted in almost destroying the colonial trade with the Spanish and French West India islands. It is unnecessary for me to discuss further this topic of colonial taxation, the resistance to which finally culminated in the Revolutionary war, and subsequently the formation of the United States as a nation.

It seems that Chester was the outpost where the customs officer was stationed to board vessels and prevent violations of the revenue laws. We learn that on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 23, 1771, about four o'clock, Alban Davis, who was attached to the custom-house schooner then lying off Chester, noticed several vessels coming up the river, among the number a light brig and a pilot-boat. Capt. Thomas Muskett, of the revenue cutter, boarded the pilot-boat, and signaled the schooner to come alongside. The crew on the pilot-boat then stated they wished to go down the river, which brought the inquiry from the officer what was their cargo, and the command to open the hatches or he would seize the vessel. Those in charge of the craft being insolent, the officer "put the broad arrow on the boat's mast." Whereupon the captain of the latter said that, as he had no further business on the vessel, he would go ashore. The revenue cutter and her prize, lashed together, had sailed up abreast of Red Bank, when the ebb-tide compelled them to anchor. Shortly before ten o'clock that evening, a pilot-boat coming down the river stood directly for the government schooner, when Capt. Muskett