Luke Swetland’s Narratives Revisited

This article is based on Revolutionary War veteran Luke Swetland’s (1729–1823) narrative¹ printed in the 1780s regarding his experiences as an Indian captive, plus the 1875 publication from Amos O. Osborn of two manuscripts ascribed to Swetland; and Edward Merrifield’s 1915 version, which combines Osborn’s information to sequentially depict events. Due to the damaged document then available to them, Osborn and Merrifield start Swetland’s narrative with his second night as a captive. This article uses Swetland’s full narrative, the events in chronological order, with dates, entries, and notes added for clarification. After the war, Luke Swetland applied for the Revolutionary War veteran pension, which was partially paid by bounty land in the “New Connecticut” area, now in the state of Ohio.

Luke Swetland enlisted in September 1776, in the 1st Independent Company of Westmoreland County, in Connecticut’s 4th Regiment. This company was led by Capt. Robert Durkee, a cousin of John Durkee, who was the colonel of Connecticut’s 4th Regiment. Prior to the war, John Durkee had been an active Sons of Liberty member, a colonial group against unfair taxes levied by Great Britain. In 1769, John Durkee led a group of some forty Connecticut families to the Wyoming Valley, an area by the Susquehannah River, where they founded Wilkes-Barre and Forty Fort. The new colonists interacted with individuals of several Native American tribes, such as the Nanticokes, Shawanese, and Delawares, already in residence. There were ongoing conflicts over the valley boundaries between the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), the Connecticut (Yankees) settlers, and the Pennsylvania (Pennamites) residents, which were not resolved until 1799 in Pennsylvania’s favor.

The Wyoming Valley Yankees, among them Luke Swetland and his family, saw themselves primarily as farmers in search of land for crops and livestock, and sustained themselves within the Congregational church community, a fortress of religion, hard work, education, and local elections of government. Living on the frontier, these families had to be as self-reliant as possible, especially in troubled times.

Tensions continued to escalate in the valley and elsewhere in the colonies. In late December 1777, Lt. Col. John Butler formed Butler’s Rangers to support the British government, working in close alliance with the Iroquois, led by English-educated Joseph Brant. Among this band of Loyalist Rangers were several valley settlers whom Luke knew well, including Parshall Terry Jr. and Thomas Hill, both 1776 enlistees in Captain Durkee’s company. On July 3, 1778, Butler’s Rangers and allied Indians attacked the Wyoming Valley Yankees. After the battle, Butler counted 227 Connecticut scalps, while only three of his own men were killed and eight wounded.² Butler’s men and allies devastated the area, burning about a thousand homes as residents fled into the wilderness to seek safety. The local Yankee forts were surrendered to the Loyalists.

Patriot Col. Zebulon Butler returned a month after the massacre with volunteer militia men, including Luke Swetland, where Camp Westmoreland was established with military discipline.

Among the court martial trials held at Camp Westmoreland was one recorded for October 9, 1778, a case against long-serving soldier Benjamin Clark for disobedience as he had refused to march when ordered. Benjamin Clark, like Luke Swetland, had enlisted in September 1776 in Captain Durkee’s company. Per orders of General Washington, the company had marched to Valley Forge in December 1776. Even after Captain Durkee and many others were discharged in early 1778 to return home, Clark had continued to serve in the newly formed company led by Simon Spalding. Spalding’s company returned to the Wyoming Valley soon after the massacre, and were under the command of Colonel Butler. During the October 1778 trial, Clark pled guilty, stating he disobeyed as he had no shoes to march in. The sentence was seventy-five lashes “well-laid on his bare back,” which Colonel Butler approved, noting that “As Benjamin Clark has the character of a good soldier, the commanding officer thinks proper to forgive him for this time, and hopes this will be sufficient warning to him and his brother soldiers not to...