Lee Massacre
Union Township, Union County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Major John Lee and his entire family, with the exception of a son Robert, were massacred near here by an Indian war party of August 16, 1782.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On August 16, 1782, Major John Lee and his family were killed near this place in a raid by an Indian war party, with only his son Robert surviving. The attack came during the violent final years of the Revolutionary War on the Pennsylvania frontier, when British-allied raids terrorized isolated valley settlements. Such tragedies were a grim feature of life on the contested edge of the new nation.
Why it matters
The Lee massacre reflects the brutal frontier dimension of the American Revolution, where the war for independence played out not in famous battles but in scattered attacks on backcountry families.
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Related people
- · Major John Lee
- · Robert Lee
Related events
- · Lee Massacre of 1782
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
The Sullivan Expedition Against the Iroquois Indians - Fort Augusta - PLAQUE
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Fort Augusta, guarding the forks of the Susquehanna at Sunbury, was first chosen as a rendezvous for the Sullivan campaign. From here Lt. Col. Adam Hubley's regiment — the one unit quartered at the fort — marched to join the offensive against the Six Nations in 1779. The old fort thus became one of several launching points feeding troops into the larger expedition.
Fought's Mill
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A mill has stood near this spot since 1771, when Fought's Mill first turned grain for the settlers of Buffalo Valley. During the Revolution, the sturdy mill doubled as a place of refuge when frontier raids threatened the scattered farms of the region. It was also here, on November 3, 1776, that Buffalo Valley held its first election under Pennsylvania's new revolutionary state constitution.
The Sullivan Expedition Against the Iroquois Indians - Fort Freeland - PLAQUE
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Jacob Freeland raised a mill on this ground in 1773 and, as war reached the frontier, stockaded it in 1778 for defense. On July 28, 1779, British-allied Tories and Seneca warriors attacked and destroyed the fort, and the inscription records that 108 settlers were killed or taken prisoner. The assault came at the height of the brutal frontier fighting that Sullivan's expedition was meant to answer.
Fort Freeland
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As the Revolution reached the Pennsylvania frontier, settlers fortified Jacob Freeland's house in 1778, ringing it with a stockade against raids. On July 29, 1779, a force of British and allied Indians overwhelmed the small post, and its garrison of 21 were killed or captured—one of the sharp, deadly clashes that made the upper Susquehanna a war zone.