The Great Cove massacre was an attack by Shawnee and Lenape warriors led by Shingas, on the community of Great Cove, Pennsylvania (sometimes referred to as Big Cove, modern day McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania in what was, at the time, Cumberland County) on 1 November 1755, in which about 50 settlers were killed or captured. Following the attack, settlers returned to the community to rebuild, and the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania began constructing a chain of forts and blockhouses to protect settlers and fend off further raids. These forts provided an important defense during the French and Indian War.Sipe, Chester Hale. The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania: An Account of the Indian Events, in Pennsylvania, of the French and Indian War, Pontiac's War, Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War and the Indian Uprising from 1789 to 1795; Tragedies of the Pennsylvania Frontier Based Primarily on the Penna. Archives and Colonial Records. Telegraph Press, 1931.
Background
The communities of Great Cove, Little Cove (Franklin County) and the Conolloways were probably settled soon after 1730 by Scotch-Irish immigrants. The land at that time was still recognized as belonging to Native Americans, but settlers set up homesteads and cleared the land without seeking formal ownership, in spite of "frequent prohibitions on the part of the government and admonitions of the great danger they run of being cut off by the Indians, as these settlements were on lands not purchased of them."Rupp, Israel Daniel, Fralish, John Cecil. The History and Topography of Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin, Bedford, Adams, and Perry Counties, Pennsylvania, Rupp History, 1846 In 1742, the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy lodged a formal complaint, and settlers were warned against establishing homesteads in the area, but they continued to do so. In May 1750, 62 settlers living illegally on the Aughwick, Licking Creek and at Great Cove were convicted of trespassing and forcibly expelled by Provincial government authorities. The commission overseeing the expulsion included Conrad Weiser, Richard Peters, George Croghan and Sheriff John Potter of Cumberland County.Egle, William H. An Illustrated History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg: De Witt C. Goodrich & Co., 1876 Eleven cabins were burned in Path Valley, and three cabins were burned in Great Cove.William H. Koontz, ed. History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Chicago: Waterman, Watkins & Co., 1884 The area was subsequently referred to as Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania.Elsie S. Greathead, The history of Fulton County, Pennsylvania, Fulton County News, McConnellsburg PA, 1936 Nonetheless, settlers returned to the area and reestablished their communities. Within a few months of burning the cabins, Richard Peters wrote to Conrad Weiser that "The People over the Hills are combin'd against the Government, [and] are putting in new Cropps and bid us Defiance."Wallace, Paul A. W. Conrad Weiser, 1696-1760: Friend of Colonist and Mohawk, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1945. On the date of the massacre, 93 families are known to have resided in Great Cove, Little Cove, and the Conolloways.
Following General Edward Braddock's defeat on 9 July 1755 at the Battle of the Monongahela, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, Pennsylvania was left without a professional military force.Samuel J. Newland, The Pennsylvania Militia: Defending the Commonwealth and the Nation, 1669–1870, Annville, PA, 2002 Lenape chiefs Shingas and Captain Jacobs launched dozens of Shawnee and Delaware raids against British colonial settlements,Matthew C. Ward, Breaking the Backcountry: The Seven Years’ War in Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1754–1765, Pittsburgh, 2003 killing and capturing hundreds of colonists and destroying settlements across western and central Pennsylvania.William Albert Hunter, "Victory at Kittanning", Pennsylvania History, vol. 23, no. 3, July 1956; pp 376-407 The nearby settlement of Penn's Creek was destroyed by Lenape warriors on 16 October.Denaci, Ruth Ann "The Penn's Creek Massacre and the Captivity of Marie Le Roy and Barbara Leininger". Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. 74(3): Summer 2007. Pp 307–332
Massacre
On 1 November 1755, a band of about 100 Lenape and Shawnee warriors, and possibly a few French soldiers, launched attacks on the Great Cove settlement and a neighboring settlement known as the Conolloways, with the force splitting into two groups of 50 just before the assault. The Lenape chief Shingas is known to have participated, and also Captain Jacobs. At least one source states that the Lenape leader Tamaqua also took part in the attack.Uriah James Jones, History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley, Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1889 Some of the settlers received advance warning of the attack, reportedly from a settler named Patrick Burns who had escaped from captivity among the Indians, and about half of those living in the two communities fled.
On 2 November, The Pennsylvania Gazette reported:
"By Express this Day from Conegochtig (Conococheague) we are informed, that Yesterday the Settlements in the Great Cove and Cannalaways [Conolloways, a community on the Tonoloway Creek] were attacked by a Party of Indians, and several Houses seen in Flames, which, with the Firing of many Guns, gives sufficient Reason to think that the Inhabitants are all cut off or fled; we expect daily to be attacked here, and at Harris's Ferry, as these two Places have been particularly threatned: We have great Numbers from Lancaster and York Counties coming in every Day to our Assistance.""Extract of a letter from Shippensburg, Nov 2, 1755," in The Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Thu, Nov 6, 1755, p. 2
In a letter written on 2 November, Sheriff Potter gives an account of the attack and describes his efforts to pursue the Indians, stating that he took 40 men into the community but did not encounter any of the attackers. Later they were joined by "a recruit" of 60 men and "held counsel whether to pursue up the valley all night or return to McDowell's, [but]...there were not six of these men that would consent to go in pursuit of the Indians." On 6 November, Adam Hoops wrote to Governor Robert Morris that Captain Hance Hamilton was arriving from York County with 200 men and that another 200 men from Lancaster County were prepared to fight. Pennsylvania militia searched the area but lost the trail in the newly-fallen snow, although they found the body of a child, probably killed because he or she was unable to keep pace with the fleeing warriors.Ian K. Steele, Setting All the Captives Free: Capture, Adjustment, and Recollection in Allegheny Country, Vol. 71 of McGill-Queen's Native and Northern Series; McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, 2013.
No definitive account of the number of casualties exists, although a Pennsylvania Gazette article published on 13 November names seven of those killed and eighteen taken captive, 11 of whom were children. Sheriff Potter testified on 14 November to provincial authorities that "of ninety-three families which were settled in the two coves and the Conolloways, forty-seven [persons] were either killed or taken [prisoner]." In his letter of 6 November, Adam Hoops reported "about fifty persons killed or taken."
Captives
Captives taken during the raid were escorted back to Kittanning, a Lenape community that served as a staging area for raids on Pennsylvania settlements. Captain Jacobs told the Flemings that captives would be resettled as slaves among Native American communities sympathetic to the French in the Ohio Country, but some captives were taken to Canada and sold to the French there. At least one captive is known to have escaped near Oswego, New York in September, 1756. Three captives were released by the Lenape chief Tamaqua at the Lancaster Council of August 1762, and several others were handed over to Colonel Henry Bouquet at his camp on the Muskingum River in November 1764.
William and Elizabeth Fleming
William and Elizabeth Fleming survived the massacre and were captured but managed to escape. In 1756, they published an account in Boston, describing their experiences.Roy Harvey Pearce, "The Significances of the Captivity Narrative," American Literature, Vol. 19, No. 1; March, 1947, pp. 1-20William and Elizabeth Fleming, A narrative of the sufferings and surprizing deliverances of William and Elizabeth Fleming, who were taken captive by Capt. Jacob, commander of the Indians, who lately made the incursions on the frontier of Pennsylvania, as related by themselves. Boston, Mass.: Green and Russell, 1756."Details of the Great Cove Massacre, as given by two captives fortunate enough to have escaped," The Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Thu, Feb 26, 1756, p. 3 In this account, the Flemings state that William heard the warning issued by Patrick Burns, and immediately rode off to collect his pregnant wife and flee. He was ambushed by warriors on the way, however, and was captured. One warrior identified himself as Captain Jacobs, the leader of the assault, and he told Fleming to lead him to "those Houses that were Most defenceless; and added...that he would Spare my Life on Condition I would help." Fleming then informed them that he was concerned for the safety of his wife, at which point Captain Jacobs said that, if Fleming led them to her, they would spare her life. He agreed, hoping that as they approached the settlement, his neighbors might rescue him. After taking Elizabeth Fleming captive, the Indians ransacked the Flemings' home and set fire to it, then did the same to a neighbor's home, forcing William and Elizabeth to carry bags of items they had looted from the homes.
That night, at a campfire, Captain Jacobs informed the Flemings that the Indians had learned during the failed Braddock Expedition, that General Edward Braddock "had threatned to destroy all the Indians on the Continent, after they had conquered the French, and they were informed by the French, the Pennsylvanians, Marylanders and Virginians had laid the same Plot." Jacobs added that the French "had often assured the Indians it was no Sin to destroy Hereticks, and all the English were such," and that the Indians would not "abuse" (rape) his wife, as they believed that this would bring bad luck. After the warriors fell asleep, the Flemings managed to escape, but got separated in the darkness. William eventually reached the burning houses of Great Cove, then went on to Conococheague settlement, where he found 300 Pennsylvania militia, under the command of Hance Hamilton, preparing to pursue the Indians. Elizabeth describes her escape, stating that she managed to reach Great Cove but found it abandoned and in flames. Several times she came close to Indians but managed to avoid detection by hiding. After three days wandering through the devastated community, she was found by a group of settlers and taken to one of their homes at Conococheague settlement, where she was reunited with William.
Charles Stuart
Charles Stuart was captured during the massacre and held prisoner until 1757. On his return to Pennsylvania, he wrote a lengthy statement of his experiences, probably intended for military authorities. The manuscript was published in 1926.Beverly W. Bond, ed. "The Captivity of Charles Stuart, 1755-57," The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Jun., 1926, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 58-81