Fort Mifflin

“ Natives of the neighborhood say that the marshes round about yield fine gunning during the season. Directly across the Delaware from Fort Mifflin—the river being about a mile wide, here—are the remains of Fort Mercer and the outworks which made up this strong little post in the days of the Revolution. Fort Mercer and its earthworks are preserved by the nation, forming a public reservation which annually receives many visitors. ”

“ All through the war Washington showed himself wonderfully patient and hopeful, but it was with intense anxiety he now watched the progress of the enemy in his designs upon Fort Mifflin, unable as he himself was to succor its threatened garrison. ”

“ The English forced the evacuation of Fort Mifflin, November 15, and Fort Mercer was abandoned the 20th, but, in spite of this handicap, the American fleet successfully passed Philadelphia and took refuge above Bristol. ”

“ When it had vanished from sight, Evelyn turned to Captain Raymond, exclaiming, "O sir, will you not point out Forts Mercer and Mifflin to us when we come in sight of them?"
"With pleasure," he replied. "They are at Red Bank. Port Mercer on the New Jersey shore of the Delaware River, a few miles below Philadelphia, Fort Mifflin on the other side of the river on Great and Little Mud Islands. It was, in Revolutionary days, a strong redoubt with quite extensive outworks."
"Did our men fight the British there in the Revolutionary war, papa?" asked Grace. ”

“ The fleet was effectually prevented from cöoperation by the obstructions fixed in the channel of the Delaware, and by two small forts—one called Fort Mifflin, on Mud Island, near the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill, and the other at Red Bank, on the opposite Jersey shore. Strong parties of militia scoured the whole country in the neighborhood of the city, for the purpose of enforcing the resolution of congress, which subjected to martial law all persons supplying provisions to the enemy. ”

“ For six days previous to the evacuation of Fort Mifflin, the fire from the enemy’s batteries and shipping had been incessant. Major Fleury kept a journal of events, which were daily forwarded to General Washington, from which the following are extracts.
“November 10th, at noon.—I am interrupted by the bombs [44] and balls, which fall thickly. The firing increases, but not the effect; our barracks alone suffer. Two o’clock:—the direction of the fire is changed; our palisades suffer; a dozen of them are broken down; one of our cannon is damaged ”

“ The aids expected from the Jersey militia were not received. "Assure yourself," said Lieutenant Colonel Smith, in a letter pressing earnestly for a reinforcement of continental troops, "that no dependence is to be put on the militia; whatever men your excellency determines on sending, no time is to be lost." The garrison of fort Mifflin was now reduced to one hundred and fifty-six effectives, and that of Red Bank did not much exceed two hundred. ”

“ The loss of the assailants was estimated by the Americans at 400 men. The garrison was reinforced from Fort Mifflin, and aided by the galleys which flanked the Hessians in their advance and retreat. The American loss, in killed and wounded, amounted to only thirty-two men.
The ships having been ordered to cooperate with Count Donop, the Augusta, with four smaller vessels, passed the lower line of chevaux-de-frise, opposite to Billingsport, and lay above it, waiting until the assault should be made on the fort. ”

“ It was therefore resolved to employ a sufficient force at once to put down all opposition. The number of militia first called for was twelve thousand; it was subsequently increased to fifteen thousand. The place of rendezvous appointed for the New Jersey troops under Howell, and the Pennsylvanians under Mifflin, was Bedford, in Pennsylvania. Those from Virginia and Maryland—the former under General Morgan, and the latter under General Smith, the hero of Fort Mifflin in 1777, and now the Baltimore member of Congress—assembled at Cumberland, on the Potomac. ”

“ In this state of things, intelligence was received of the successful termination of the northern campaign, in consequence of which great part of the troops who had been employed against Burgoyne, might be drawn to the aid of the army in Pennsylvania. But it was feared that, before these reinforcements could arrive, Sir William Howe would gain possession of the forts, and remove the obstructions to the navigation of the Delaware. This apprehension furnished a strong motive for vigorous attempts to relieve fort Mifflin. ”

“ In that capacity he was acting at the time of the engagement at Fort Mifflin, on the Delaware. He was at the battle of Brandywine, and for his gallantry there Congress gave him a horse. He returned to France soon after the capture of Stony Point.
*** This is a representation of the medal, the size of the original. The device is a helmeted soldier, standing against the ruins of a fort. His right hand is extended, holding a sword upright; the staff of a stand of colors is grasped by his left; the colors are under his feet, and he is trampling upon them. ”

“ Fort Mercer, near Philadelphia. 39N. 74W. Fierce bombardment by British forces under Donop, who died of his wounds; the attack was a failure, 1777 (W. of Ind.) .
Fort Miami, Maumee R., Indiana. 41N. 85W. Surrendered to Indians, 1763 (Pontiac W.) .
Fort Mifflin, opposite Fort Mercer (q.v.) . Besieged by British for six days, when the remainder of defenders escaped, 1777.
Fort Mims, near junction of Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers. 31N. 87W. Slaughter of men, women, and children by Indians, under the chief Weathersford, during the rising of Tecumseh and his brother the prophet, 1812. ”

“ Early in the morning General Mifflin arrived in camp with part of the troops which had been stationed at Fort Washington and King's Bridge. He brought with him Shee's prime Philadelphia regiment, and Magaw's Pennsylvania regiment, both well disciplined and officered, and accustomed to act together. They were so much reduced in number, however, by sickness, that they did not amount in the whole to more than eight hundred men. With Mifflin came also Colonel Glover's Massachusetts regiment, composed chiefly of Marblehead fishermen and sailors, hardy, adroit, and weather-proof ”

“ See De Fleury. Forman—brig.-gen., at Battle of Germantown, 195 Forrest’s battery (Am.) at Trenton, 145 Forts Clinton and Montgomery captured (see map) , 179 Fort Du Quesne, became Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh) , 10 Fort Mercer and its gallant defence, 201 Fort Mifflin, planned by De Fleury (Fr.) ”

“ There was even a plan developed which had the capture of Fort Pitt and the United States Arsenal at Pittsburgh as its objectives.
The greatest popular demonstration was at Parkinson’s Ferry, where 16,000 men were pledged to follow the leadership of Bradford.
President Washington called a cabinet meeting and had General 689Thomas Mifflin, Governor of Pennsylvania, in attendance. Commissioners were sent to apprise the insurgents of their grave danger. ”

“ A letter, dated Fort Washington, August 3d, says: "Four ships, chained and boomed, with a number of amazing large chevaux-de-frise, were sunk close by the fort under command of General Mifflin, which fort mounts thirty-two pieces of heavy cannon. We are thoroughly sanguine that they (the ships up the river) never will be able to join the British fleet, nor assistance from the fleet be afforded to them." Another letter, written at the same date from Tarrytown, on the borders of the Tappan Sea, gives an account of an attack made by six row galleys upon the Phoenix and the Rose. ”

“ We landed at Fort Miflin, which was the principal obstruction to general Howe's progress up the river, in his way to Philadelphia, and obliged him to go several hundred miles round; this fort also kept the whole british fleet at bay, for some time after the army had taken possession of that city.
Fort Miflin, or Mud Fort (so called from it's low situation) is on an island in the Delaware, about one third nearer the Pennsylvania, than the Jersey shore. ”

“ Once on the highway, he spurred his horse, putting him to a sharp canter.
"What troops hold the works on the bay, Mifflin?" asked one of the riders.
"Fellows' and Parsons' brigades, Brereton."
"If they are as good at fighting as at thieving, they'll distinguish themselves."
"Ay," laughed Mifflin. "If the red coats were but chickens or cattle, the New England militia would have had them all captured ere now."
"They'll be heard from to-day," said a third officer. "They've earthworks to git behind, and they'll give the British anuther Bunker Hill." ”

“ The commander of the fort had been warned, but he was as foolish as some of those officers in the Pontiac war. The garrison, of regulars, militia, and volunteers, fought furiously, in vain. More than three hundred and fifty—soldiers, and the families of settlers, both—were killed; only thirty persons escaped.
Now it was the days of King Philip, over again, and this time in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, instead of in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. At the news of Fort Mimms, the settlers fled for protection into towns and block-houses. ”

“ For six hours those fishermen-soldiers plied their muffled oars; and boat after boat, filled with the champions of freedom, touched at the various wharves from Fulton Ferry to Whitehall, and left their precious burdens. At six in the morning, nine thousand men, with their baggage and munitions, except heavy artillery, had crossed. Mifflin, with his Pennsylvania battalions and the remains of the regiments of Smallwood and Haslet, formed the covering party, and Washington and his staff, who had been in the saddle all night, remained until the last company had embarked. ”

“ Full of this urbane purpose, they wheel their bristling ranks on the town. Approaching double-quick, they casually lick up, as with a tongue of flame, a brace of abortive blockhouses which obstruct their path. At this, an interior fort opens fire with grapeshot and shrapnel, and the hunting-shirt men spring upon it with the ruthless ferocity of panthers. To quench it is no more than the fighting work of a moment. The General, with his flag already on the ramparts of Fort St. Michael, now feels his clutch at the very throat of Pensacola. ”

“ Williamsburgh, March 5, 1778.
Dear Sir,—By an express which Colonel Finnie sent to camp, I enclosed you an anonymous letter, which I hope got safe to hand. I am anxious to hear something that will serve to explain the strange affair, which I am now informed is taken up, respecting you. Mr. Custis has just paid us a visit, and by him I learn sundry particulars concerning General Mifflin, that much surprise me. It is very hard to trace the schemes and windings of the enemies to America. I really thought that man its friend: however, I am too far from him to judge of his present temper. ”

“ On the 30th of August, 1813, Fort Mimms, which contained one hundred and fifty men, under the command of Major Beasely, besides a number of women and children, was surprised by a party of Indians. The houses were set on fire, and those who escaped the flames fell victims to the tomahawk. Neither age nor sex was spared; and the most horrible cruelties, of which the imagination can conceive, were perpetrated. Out of the three hundred persons which the fort contained, only seventeen escaped to carry the dreadful intelligence to the neighboring stations. ”

“ In August, 1813, the place, popularly known as Fort Mimms, sheltered within its log stockade five hundred and fifty-three persons: soldiers and settlers, men, women, and children. Although Governor Claiborne had himself visited the post during the preceding month and had urged on its commander the necessity for the most unrelaxing vigilance, Beasley and his men evidently came to look upon the affair as a false alarm as the summer days slipped by without bringing any signs of hostile Indians. ”

“ He sprang to his feet and ran up the little incline to the bluff. In spite of the thick woods he could see the ominous glare upon the clouds in the south-west, and knew only too well what it portended. "Cowards! Dogs!" he muttered. "They are burning the Fort!"
His hands shut and opened nervously, and the nails cut deep into the flesh. A savage impulse to wrest every foot of soil from the Indians shook him from head to foot. Here, at the head of Lake Michigan—then the dream came upon him with the claim of mastery. ”

“ Mifflin became a major general in the following February and General Greene was made quartermaster general a few days later. Mifflin made a request to join the army in the field, but Congress desired Washington to make an inquiry into his conduct, which Washington did not do, and Mifflin then tendered his resignation, which Congress refused to accept, and, although Mifflin’s health was miserable, he served throughout the war. ”

“ The most distant of the north-western settlements of America is Michilimackinac, a name given by the Indians, and preserved by the Americans, who possess the fort even to this hour. It is situated at the head of the Lakes Michigan and Huron, and adjacent to the Island of St. Joseph's, where, since the existence of the United States as an independent republic, an English garrison has been maintained, with a view of keeping the original fortress in check. ”

“ Morison’s journal illustrates vividly how completely the military authorities dominated the lives of the fort’s inhabitants. Not only were the soldiers at the mercy of their officers, but civilians, such as Morison’s nephew, William Morison, were helpless in the face of military indifference to their problems since there was no civil authority at Michilimackinac or anywhere else in what is now Michigan to which they might appeal during this period. ”