John B. McClelland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Illustration depicting the Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Illustration depicting the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

John B McClelland (1740 – 1782) was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. He was captured by American Indians during the Crawford Expedition and tortured to death at the Shawnee town of Wakatomika.

McClelland was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and after moving to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, lived in that part which fell within Fayette County, Pennsylvania on its organization in 1783.[1] He married Martha Dale on 12 November, 1759, and is buried in Wyandot County, Ohio.

John McClelland was a member of the commission for the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, and later represented Westmoreland County in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

The Convention met in Philadelphia, July 15, 1776, to form a constitution and frame a Government for the state of Pennsylvania.

A committee of prominent citizens met at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, on June 15, 1776, in order to make arrangements for a convention anticipating the separation of the colonies from England.

Attendants were asked by the committee "to choose such persons only to act for them in the ensuing convention as are distinguished for wisdom, integrity, and a firm attachment to the liberties of this province."[2]

In pursuance of this recommendation, delegates were chosen July 5, 1776, and the eight delegates to the convention elected for Westmoreland County were John Moore, Edward Cook, James Perry, James Barr, James Smith, John Carmichael, John McClelland, and Christopher Lobingier.[3]

At the outset of the Revolutionary War, McClelland was appointed to a citizen’s committee to procure arms and ammunition for the defense of the struggling new nation. He, with two of his sons John and Alexander, enlisted in the Colonial Militia of Pennsylvania, a formation within the Continental Army.

He was a Captain in the First Battalion of Westmoreland Militia at the beginning of the Revolution, which was also prominent in the Whiskey Insurrection.[4]

By 1782, the Indians of the frontier allied themselves with the British and started attacking settlers. McClelland was commissioned a Major,[5] and made third in command of an expedition, led by Colonel William Crawford, intended to put an end to Indian attacks on American settlers in that region.

In fact, John McClelland was one of four Majors elected for the Crawford Expedition. The other Majors elected for the expedition included David Williamson of Washington County, Pennsylvania, Thomas Gaddis of Westmoreland (now Fayette), and Joseph Brinton of what is now East Pike Run Township, Pennsylvania.[6]

Upon learning that a British detachment from Detroit was about to join forces with the Wyandot Indian forces, and that a large band of Shawnee warriors had also appeared to the south, Colonel Crawford commenced a retreat, with Major John McClelland leading the way.

However, the volunteer army was soon attacked by the Shawnee and Delaware Indians, and suffered severely. Shortly afterward Major McClelland was wounded, fell from his horse, and was left behind.

At the time, it was believed that Major McClelland was killed outright, and no effort was made to save him from capture.

The remainder of the division became disorganized and panic-stricken and disregarding McClelland's orders to follow the advance in a solid column, did not follow the prescribed route, becoming entangled in the wetlands.

Colonel Crawford's nephew, William Crawford, the Colonel's son-in-law, William Harrison, and Major McClelland all lost their lives at the hands of the Delaware and Shawnee Indians. Colonel Crawford was brutally tortured and burnt at the stake.

Because of his sacrifice, the commission of Lieutenant Colonel was conferred upon Major John B McClelland posthumously.[7]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Boucher, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Chapter 9.
  2. ^ Boucher, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Chapter 23.
  3. ^ Boucher, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Chapter 23.
  4. ^ Boucher, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, 122–31.
  5. ^ Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. 2, 6th Series, 367-403.
  6. ^ Crumrine, History of Washington County, Pennsylvania, 115.
  7. ^ Ellis, History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 98-108.

[edit] References

  • Boucher, John N. History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906.
  • Crumrine, Boyd. History of Washington County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts and Co., 1882. Available online from the University of Pittsburgh Digital Research Library.
  • Ellis, Franklin. History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts and Co., 1882. Available online from the University of Pittsburgh Digital Research Library.
  • Montgomery, Thomas Lynch. Pennsylvania Archives. Harrisburg: C.E. Aughinbaugh, Printer to the State of Pennsylvania, 1914.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../j/o/h/John_B._McClelland_a9ee.html"