Paxton Boys

The Paxton Boys were drawn from Scots-Irish Presbyterians who lived in the hill country northwest of Lancaster, and across the Susquehanna River in Cumberland County. Many of these settlers were squatters who had encroached on indigenous territory, often in blatant violation of previously signed treaties. As a result, their scattered farms were targeted during the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War by the Lenape and Shawnee.

Reverend John Elder, who was the parson at Paxtang, was a dominant Presbyterian figure on the Pennsylvania frontier.[1] He was known as the "Fighting Parson" and kept his rifle in the pulpit when he delivered his sermons.[2] In 1763, Elder recruited 110 associators to defend against Lenape and Shawnee attacks. Elder realized that he did not have enough men to mount an effective defence, but was not able to convince the Pennsylvania government to allow his rangers to take offensive action.

Citing their Presbyterian faith, the leaders of the Paxton Boys declared that the "Indians" were "Canaanites" and needed to be destroyed.[3] The leaders of the Paxton Boys struggled with the idea of "friendly" indigenous groups and insisted, “the distinction between 'friendly' and 'enemy' Indians was invalid. All Indians were enemies and must be treated accordingly.”[1] The Paxton Boys did not limit their hate to indigenous people but also “Whites, English Quakers, and German Moravians, when they believed that these groups too, jeopardized the security of the backcountry.”[4]

A historically inaccurate 1841 lithograph of the Paxton Boys' massacre of the Susquehannock at Lancaster, Pennsylvania in December 1763.

The Susquehannock (also known as the Conestoga) who inhabited Conestoga Town southwest of Lancaster lived on the land which William Penn had ceded to their ancestors in the 1690s. Once a crossroads of diplomacy and trade, its population had declined to twenty individuals. The Susquehannock had lived peacefully with their colonial neighbors for decades. They bartered brooms and baskets, tended their gardens, fished, and received gifts of clothing and rations from the Pennsylvania government.[5]

Tenseedaagua (Will Sock), a prominent member of the Susquehannock, became a target of the Paxton Boys due to unsubstantiated claims that he was providing aid and intelligence to the Lenape and Shawnee. Matthew Smith, along with five companions, decided to visit Conestoga Town and investigate. Upon their return, Smith claimed that he had seen "dozens of strange, armed Indians" in the little village. Elder sent a written message to dissuade any violence, but it had little effect.[1]

At daybreak on December 14, 1763, fifty or more of the Paxton Boys attacked Conestoga Town, killed and scalped the six Susquehannock they found there, and set the buildings ablaze.[6]

Will Sock was one of fourteen Susquehannock who had been away from Conestoga Town when the attack occurred. He and the others were given refuge in the Lancaster workhouse.

Believing that Will Sock was a murderer as well as a spy, and angry that many of the Susquehannock had escaped, the Paxton Boys rode into Lancaster two weeks later. Elder had appeared before the angry mob and had tried to restrain them, but to little effect. On December 27, 1763, under the leadership of Smith and Stewart, the Paxton Boys broke into the workhouse, and killed, scalped, and dismembered all fourteen of the surviving Susquehannock including the women and children.

William Henry, a resident of Lancaster, described the aftermath:

I saw a number of people running down the street towards the gaol, which enticed me and other lads to follow them. At about sixty or eighty yards from the gaol, we met from twenty-five to thirty men, well mounted on horses, and with rifles, tomahawks, and scalping knives, equipped for murder. I ran into the prison yard, and there, O what a horrid sight presented itself to my view!- Near the back door of the prison, lay an old Indian and his women, particularly well known and esteemed by the people of the town, on account of his placid and friendly conduct. His name was Will Sock; across him and his Native women lay two children, of about the age of three years, whose heads were split with the tomahawk, and their scalps all taken off. Towards the middle of the gaol yard, along the west side of the wall, lay a stout Indian, whom I particularly noticed to have been shot in the breast, his legs were chopped with the tomahawk, his hands cut off, and finally a rifle ball discharged in his mouth; so that his head was blown to atoms, and the brains were splashed against, and yet hanging to the wall, for three or four feet around. This man's hands and feet had also been chopped off with a tomahawk. In this manner lay the whole of them, men, women and children, spread about the prison yard: shot-scalped-hacked-and cut to pieces.[7]

After this second attack Governor John Penn offered a substantial reward for the capture of the ringleaders involved in the massacre, but none were ever identified. Many of the residents of Lancaster County expressed sympathy towards the Paxton Boys and their efforts; therefore no prosecutions occurred. There was a strong feeling that many of the local officials such as the sheriff, the coroners, and the magistrates were not fully cooperating with the government to bring the leaders of the massacre to justice. The Susquehannock murders were meant to “convey a message”, not just to scare the Philadelphia provincial authorities, but also the local elites. Following these successful acts of violence, it was clear to the Paxton leaders that local authorities would struggle to respond to any escalations of violence in the future.[4]

Many in Philadelphia were outraged about the December killings of innocent Susquehannock, describing the murders as more savage than those committed by Native Americans. Benjamin Franklin's "Narrative of the Late Massacres" concluded by noting that the Susquehannock would have been safe "among any other people on earth, no matter how primitive, except 'the Christian white savages' of Peckstang and Donegall!"[8]

The Rev. Elder, who was not directly implicated in either attack, wrote to Governor Penn, on January 27, 1764:

The storm which had been so long gathering, has, at length, exploded. Had Government removed the Indians, which had been frequently, but without effect, urged, this painful catastrophe might have been avoided. What could I do with men heated to madness? All that I could do was done. I expostulated; but life and reason were set at defiance. Yet the men in private life are virtuous and respectable; not cruel, but mild and merciful. The time will arrive when each palliating circumstance will be weighed. This deed, magnified into the blackest of crimes, shall be considered as one of those ebullitions of wrath, caused by momentary excitement, to which human infirmity is subjected.[9]

Pennsylvania Associators assemble after news of the Paxton Boys marching on Philadelphia, published 1764.

A month before the Conestoga Massacre, the peaceable Moravian Lenape and Mohican who lived near Bethlehem had been moved to Province Island near Philadelphia for their protection. Following the massacre Governor Penn ordered a further relocation to New York. The governor of New York, however, refused to accept the refugees, and they were forced back to Philadelphia where they were housed in the city barracks.[10]

In February 1764, the Paxton Boys and their followers, a few hundred in total, marched on Philadelphia intending to "put to death all the Indians in the Barracks."[10] Rumors placed the number much higher. Penn appointed Benjamin Franklin to organize a volunteer militia. Franklin was quickly able to raise six companies of infantry, one of artillery, and two of cavalry. Included in the ranks of the citizenry were a substantial number of the normally pacifistic Quakers.[11]

On February 5, the Paxton Boys entered Germantown, a village six miles northwest of Philadelphia. A resident of the town, David Rittenhouse, described the occupation: "I have seen hundreds of Indians traveling the country, and can with truth affirm, that the behavior of these fellows was ten times more savage and brutal than theirs.” The Paxton Boys, he wrote, paraded through the streets, “frightening women, by running the muzzles of their guns through windows, swearing and hallooing: attacking men without the least provocation; dragging them by their hair to the ground, and pretending to scalp them.”[5]

The Paxton Boys halted their march in Germantown after learning about the sizable force that was prepared to meet them in Philadelphia. Seeking an end to the situation, Penn appointed Franklin to lead a delegation to meet with the Paxton Boys. On February 7, after a day of negotiations, they agreed to disperse and submit their grievances in writing.

Two documents were submitted. The Declaration justified the killing of the Susquehannock, criticized the government's failure to establish a scalp bounty, and accused the government of favoring the indigenous population over the colonists. The Remonstrance repeated the accusation of favouritism and the demand for a scalp bounty, and insisted that the Moravian Lenape and Mohican were enemies of Pennsylvania. According to the authors of the Remonstrance, "all Indians were perfidious and deserving of annihilation during wartime."[1] The documents were submitted to Governor Penn and the Assembly, however, the only action taken was the creation of a scalp bounty later that year.[11]

Although a reward was issued, none of the Paxton Boys were ever held accountable for the Conestoga Massacre. The reluctance of the Pennsylvania government to prosecute the perpetrators resulted in a climate in which it became acceptable to murder indigenous persons. Benjamin Franklin wrote, "the Spirit of killing all Indians, Friends and Foes, spread amazingly thro' the whole Country.[6]

The most notorious incident was the January 1768 murder of ten Lenape and Mohicans, including women and children, by Frederick Stump and John Ironcutter in Cumberland Country. Stump and Ironcutter were arrested, however, an armed mob broke into the Carlisle jail and freed them. Stump escaped to Georgia and served under Francis Marion during the Revolutionary War.[6]

The Paxton Boys emboldened attacks not only by individuals but by groups such as the Black Boys. The Black Boy's leader, James Smith, had been captured by the Lenape in 1755 and had lived among them for five years before escaping. In March 1765, at Sideling Hill, Smith and his followers attacked a pack train moving goods from Philadelphia to Fort Pitt. "The goods intercepted at Sidling Hill were being shipped by the Philadelphia firm of Baynton, Wharton, & Morgan for use in the Indian trade. These goods included 'blankets, shirts, vermillion, lead, beads, wampum, tomahawks, scalping knives,' and liquor."[1] The attackers burned the goods, and because they had blackened their faces to disguise their identities, they became known as the Black Boys.

Another attack followed in May on a pack train transporting goods for the garrison at Fort Pitt. Suspecting that these supplies would be used for indigenous trade, the Black Boys ambushed the traders and killed their pack horses. When British soldiers from Fort Loudoun went to investigate, they were fired upon but suffered no casualties. Fort Loudoun was later besieged when the British commander refused to return confiscated weapons. Much like the Paxton Boys, none of the Black Boys were ever convicted.[6]

The Wyoming Valley, located along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River in Northeastern Pennsylvania, was claimed by both Pennsylvania and Connecticut. In 1768, Pennsylvania acted upon its claim and hired land speculator Amos Ogden to bring in settlers and defend the valley against intruders from Connecticut. At the same time the directors of Connecticut's Susquehanna Company voted to send forty settlers to the valley. These competing land claims triggered the Pennamite-Yankee War.[12]

Ogden arrived in the valley in January 1769 and established a fort which became known as Fort Ogden. In February, the settlers from Connecticut arrived followed a few months later by a second group led by John Durkee. As a counter to Fort Ogden, the newcomers constructed fortified houses surrounded by a stockade which they named Fort Durkee. In November, however, Ogden captured Fort Durkee and expelled or arrested most of the Connecticut settlers.[13]

Meanwhile the Susquehanna Company began offering land to disaffected Pennsylvanians. In December 1769, Lazurus Stewart agreed to bring the Paxton Boys to the Wyoming Valley in exchange for land. Two months later, Stewart accompanied by Susquehanna Company agent Zebulon Butler and about forty of the Paxton Boys set out for the Wyoming Valley.[12] They captured and razed Fort Ogden, plundered and destroyed the houses of Pennsylvania settlers, and reoccupied Fort Durkee.

In September 1770, a surprise assault by Pennsylvanian forces under Ogden retook Fort Durkee. Three months later, Stewart, having twice escaped arrest in Lancaster County, returned with the Paxton Boys and recaptured the fort. A month later, Ogden's forces reentered the valley, besieged Fort Durkee, and began construction of Fort Wyoming. Their demand for the Paxton Boys to surrender was rebuked. During the siege, a third attempt was made to arrest Stewart, during which Nathan Ogden, the brother of Amos Ogden, was ambushed and killed.[12] Stewart abandoned Fort Durkee and escaped to Connecticut with several of his followers.

The victorious Pennsylvanians destroyed Fort Durkee and took control of the Wyoming Valley. In early July 1771, however, one hundred men under Butler and Stewart returned and laid siege to Fort Wyoming. Ogden slipped through the lines at night and obtained reinforcements in Philadelphia. Stewart ambushed the relief force but most managed to reach the fort. After a month-long siege, Fort Wyoming capitulated, and for the next four years the Wyoming Valley enjoyed relative peace.[13]

The Pennamite-Yankee War resumed in 1775, when a Pennsylvania force of several hundred men under Colonel William Plunket approached the Wyoming Valley from the south. Connecticut raised a militia of four hundred men under Butler, and a confrontation took place over two days at Christmas. Stewart, with twenty men, ambushed the Pennsylvanians on Christmas Eve as they attempted to cross to the east side of the Susquehanna under cover of darkness. On Christmas Day, Plunket attacked Butler's position on the west side of the river but was forced to withdraw.[13]

The Paxton Boys still in Lancaster County and those with Lazarus Stewart in the Wyoming Valley sided with the Patriots during the American Revolution.[1]

In late June 1778, a strong force of Loyalist troops and Iroquois under Major John Bulter approached the Wyoming Valley from the north. 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 he anticipated the arrival of reinforcements, however, Stewart (who had taken over command of the company from Hanover Township) insisted that they should immediately attack and drive off the enemy before they could be besieged in Forty Fort. The militia and a company of Continentals marched out on July 3, 1778, and encountered the enemy a few miles upriver. During the Battle of Wyoming, a flanking maneuver by the Iroquois panicked the militia and utterly routed them. Stewart and his cousin, Lazarus Stewart, Jr. both died in the battle. The men wounded or taken prisoner as they fled the battlefield were killed by the Iroquois in what is commonly known as the Wyoming Massacre.[14]

Each of these books references the Paxton Boys:

• The Light in the Forest (1953) by Conrad Richter
• Mason & Dixon (1997) by Thomas Pynchon
• Conestoga Winter: A Story of Border Vengeance (2013) by Robert J. Shade
• The Amish Seamstress (2013) by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould
• Ghost River: The Fall & Rise of the Conestoga (2019) by Lee Francis 4 and Weshoyot Alvitre

• Enoch Brown school massacre
• Gnadenhutten massacre

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paxton Boys.

• Digital Paxton. Digital collection of primary sources and contextual essays relating to the Paxton Boys.
• "A Narrative of the Late Massacres, in Lancaster County, of a Number of Indians, Friends of this Province, by Persons Unknown". Benjamin Franklin's account of the Conestoga Massacre and criticism of the Paxton Boys.
• Egle, William Henry (1890). Glimpses of the History of Old Paxtang Church. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Harrisburg Publishing Company.