Rev. John Corbley
Greene Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
A noted Baptist minister serving area congregations, Corbley was among some 150 men arrested by federal troops on the "Dreadful Night" of November 13, 1794. A vocal opponent of the U.S. excise tax on whiskey, he was this area's best known participant in the Whiskey Rebellion and was seen as a threat by the Federalists. Imprisoned for a time in Philadelphia, Corbley returned here and remained active in the ministry.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On the western Pennsylvania frontier of the 1790s, a federal excise tax on whiskey struck at the livelihood of farmers who distilled their grain into a marketable, transportable product. Baptist minister John Corbley became the area's most prominent voice against the tax, and on the "Dreadful Night" of November 13, 1794, he was among roughly 150 men rounded up by federal troops sent to crush the resistance. Jailed for a time in Philadelphia, he returned to Greene County and resumed his ministry.
Why it matters
The Whiskey Rebellion was the young republic's first great test of federal authority, and Corbley's arrest shows how ordinary frontier citizens — clergy among them — bore the cost of that constitutional reckoning.
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Related people
- · John Corbley
Related events
- · Whiskey Rebellion
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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