Sugarloaf Massacre
| Sugarloaf Massacre | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of American Revolutionary War | |||||
|
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| Belligerents | |||||
|
Indians Loyalists |
Northampton County volunteer militia | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Unknown, possibly Roland Montour | Lieutenant John Fish, Lieutenant John Moyer | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| Unknown, at least 30 | 41 men | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| Unknown, possibly 2 or more | At least 10 dead 2 captured Unknown number wounded |
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The Sugarloaf Massacre was a skirmish that occurred on September 11, 1780 in Pennsylvania. In the event, a number of Native Americans and perhaps a handful of loyalists attacked a small detachment of militia from Northampton County. According to pension files and witness depositions, the militia detachment was led by a Lieutenants John Moyer and John Fish of Captain Johannes Van Etten's company of volunteer militia. The Sugarloaf Massacre was the first major historical event in what would become Luzerne County. In popular local folklore, the Indians and Loyalists were believed to be led by the Seneca chief Roland Montour, though no evidence exists to verify this claim. The bodies of the dead Revolutionary War soldiers were collected on September 17, 1780, according to the commanding officer of the burial detail.
Previous violence between the Iroquois people and white settlers was one of the contributing factors to the events of the Sugarloaf Massacre. Such violence dated back as far as the 17th century. In the year 1780, there were a large number of attacks by Indians in the vicinity of the area where the massacre took place, including an attempted attack on Moses Van Campen.
On June 15, 1780, a group of American militia in Northampton were commissioned to serve for seven months. These soldiers were led by Captain Johannes Van Etten.
The area in the vicinity of the Sugarloaf Massacre, especially the communities of Bloomsburg and Catawissa was home to large numbers of loyalists, who aided the British army during the Revolutionary War. Near the end of the summer of 1780, however, several local people decided to do something about the loyalists in the area. Thus, after receiving orders from the Northampton County Lieutenant Samuel Rea, a detachment of 41 of Van Etten's men, half of his company, would head to the northwestern part of Northampton County, near the border of Northumberland to investigate these settlements. This detachment was placed under the command of Lieutenants Moyer and Fish. They would leave Northampton County in the beginning of September 1780 from Fort Allen and head into Sugarloaf Valley to search for Loyalist sympathizers and spies. Upon leaving the fort, Klader's men crossed the Lehigh River and traveled to the community of Jim Thorpe and then to Nesquehoning Creek, where they camped. The next day, Klader's men traveled over Broad Mountain and through a stretch of wilderness known as the Haselschwamp," which is now Hazleton. The men passed through the swamp on September 10.
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Wikipedia