PHILIP'S REVOLUTIONARY SONS

THE FISHBURNS,  by John E. FISHBURN

(Text -- pp. 21-23)

And he and his brother Ludwich were Soldiers in the Revolution War Under Washington Command and Helped to fought the Battle of Lexington and Bunkers Hill and Trenton and Brandawine and Germantown and was One of the Boys that Had Stayed through the Winter at the Vally Forge at Philadelphia Penn and got clear of all the Shells and Bullets Without herd or Wonded.

This quotation is from the manuscript of Philip B. Fishburn, written in 1893, and refers to Philip and his brother, Ludwig There is no mention of the service of their brothers Peter and Deterick.

In Vera Weaver's book and other sources are listed the service records of all four brothers as verified in the Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Vol.VII, pages given below in parenthesis. They are as follows:

 Weaver also states that Peter and Philip participated in the battles of Trenton and Princeton during their 1776 enlistment, and that Philip fought at Brandywine and Germantown and was at Valley Forge. Kelker's History of Dauphin County, Vol.II, p.880, states that Fridley's company was raised in the vicinity of Hummelstown and served in the Campaign of 1776, and was present at Trenton and Princeton. Philip's and Peter's listings were recorded in this company as of May 27, 1776. If this information is correct, then  these two brothers joined up together. In another piece of evidence, we have a document signed by Philip to serve until the first day of November, 1776. This, according to Weaver, was the service given under Captain Fridley. The actual Revolutionary War records of Philip and Ludwig, sworn to by both men in court, are in the National Archives. Peter and Deterick had both died before the Act of June 7, 1832, was passed by Congress, and therefore no original pension record of their service exists.

On August 27, 1836, Ludwig appeared before Calvin Blyth and Valentine Hummel, Judges of the Court of Common Pleas for Dauphin County, to give a signed declaration, under oath, attesting to his Revolutionary War service in order to secure a pension under the Act of 1832. In this declaration, which is in the National Archives, Ludwig stated that he joined the company of Captain Hays as a drafted militiaman in October, 1777, and marched to the City of Lancaster under command of Colonel Robert Elder and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Clark, and from there to Fox Chase Point in Chester County where Captain Hays' company joined the regiment under the command of General Potter. Later, Ludwig, under the battalion command of Colonel Elder, crossed the Schuylkill, and at a place called Bamhill, joined the brigade of General Irvine. They were encamped about three miles from the British at Chestnut Hill. In December, the British forces, which had been plundering the countryside, engaged the Americans in what became known as the battle or skirmish of Chestnut Hill. Ludwig was in this engagement. General Irvine was wounded by grapeshot and captured. Captain Hays was also slightly wounded. A private, Henry Slaughterback, was found wounded two days later, hiding in the woods, and Ludwig and seven others carried him about ten miles to medical aid.

In January of 1778, Ludwig was drafted as a militiaman to stand guard at the public stores in Lebanon County. In June, he served as a wagoner in removing public stores from Lebanon to Philadelphia and afterwards to Car lisle under Wagonmaster Patrick Kelly. In the fall of the same year, Ludwig again entered the service as a wagoner under John McGowan and assisted in conveying arms from Hummelstown to Philadelphia. He later served as a Wagonmaster in moving ammunition from Philadelphia to Virginia, length of service not stated. Unfortunately. Ludwig's pension claim was not allowed as his wagon service was not considered as being of a military character.

In the above record, given in detail because it is at variance with accepted authority, there is no mention of a Captain William Laud as taken from the Pennsylvania Archives. Ludwig would certainly have mentioned such service in his sworn testimony as his pension depended upon it. This record also does not indicate any service in 1782. As it was, his pension was denied, so we can only conclude that the Archives entries, written over one hundred years after the events cited, are incorrect.
What about Philip? What does his sworn testimony say as to his actual service? The record in the National Archives clearly states the following:

 The record further states that his service was under Generals Irvine, Wayne, and Washington. There is no mention of Captains Fridley or Laud, nor any service in 1782. What are we to make of this? He certainly signed the "Patriotic Resolves", supposedly under Captain Fridley but Fridley's name is not mentioned, only Colonel Burd's. The answer would seem to be that Philip may have been recruited under Fridley but was shortly after assigned to the company of Captain Japes Cowden. As to the records in the Archives , the conclusion has to be that they are also incorrect. Both Philip and Ludwig swore in court as to their records for pension purposes and not one of the entries given in Weaver's book is mentioned.

From the evidence, Philip's enlistment in 1776, and probably Peter's, were up on November 1 of that year. The battle of Trenton took place on December 26, 1776, and Princeton on January 3, 1777. Philip was certainly not in either one and Peter's participation is doubtful, at best. As to the rest of Peter's record as given in the Archives, and Deterick's, we have no recourse but to accept them as given, although certainly they are now open to doubt. Philip B. Fishburn's statements have no basis in fact except for Philip's service at Brandywine and Germantown. Neither Philip nor Ludwig was at Valley Forge. Again, the original records provide the best evidence.

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