Carlisle in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Return of the Captives

Walking Tour Stop 1

Photographed by Shane Oliver, October 30, 2021

1. The Return of the Captives Marker

Inscription. Near Pittsburgh, on July 9, 1755, a French and Native American force decimated a small British and colonial army led by Edward Braddock, opening all of Pennsylvania to Indian raids. The Delaware tribe, under their leader Shingas, raided, killing and scalping settlers from Scranton to Virginia. They often took able-bodied settlers, including women and children, captive, weaving them into the fabric of their tribes. The raids reached Carlisle in January 1756 when nine settlers were killed and scalped about ten miles from this square. In November, raiders burned twenty-seven homes in the valley and killed or took captive fifty settlers. A truce was struck in 1758, but raids began again in 1764, and a girl named Dysart was murdered on July 6 near Big Spring. To end the raids, Colonel Henry Bouquet led a force of 1,500 men into Ohio, and the tribes sued for peace. Bouquet insisted on the return of all captured colonists. The tribes quickly complied, bringing nearly 200 captives to Fort Pitt. Bouquet brought many of them back to Carlisle. On December 31, 1764, here in the square, a large group of colonists looking for loved ones

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met them.

One captive was an 18 year-old girl who could not give her name. A German widow, Magdalena Hartman, thought she recognized her as Regina, one of two daughters lost during a raid near Selinsgrove in October 1755, but the girl gave no indication that she knew Magdalena. Perhaps at Colonel Bouquet's suggestion, the woman started to sing a hymn she had sung to her daughter at bedtime, “Allein und doch nicht ganz alleing bin ich.” (Alone and yet not alone am I). Regina recognized the song and began singing it too, thus providing the most poignant and best remembered of all the reunions of loved-ones long lost that took place that day here in this square.

Erected by Historic Carlisle, Inc.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Forts and Castles • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers • War, French and Indian. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1756.

Location. 40° 12.108′ N, 77° 11.354′ W. Marker is in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in Cumberland County. It is on Hanover Street (U.S. 11), on the left when traveling north. Marker

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 7, 2010

2. The Return of the Captives Marker

is 100 feet north of intersection of Hanover and High Streets, next to First Presbyterian Church. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Carlisle PA 17013, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania and in Greater Harrisburg.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: First Presbyterian Church (a few steps from this marker); 1753 Carlisle Indian Conference (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named First Presbyterian Church (within shouting distance of this marker); Shelling of Carlisle (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named First Presbyterian Church (within shouting distance of this marker); Episcopal

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., January 29, 2009

3. The Return of the Captives Marker

First Presbyterian Church in background.

Square (within shouting distance of this marker); Veterans Memorial Courtyard (within shouting distance of this marker); Historical Directory of Carlisle (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Carlisle.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 16, 2022. It was originally submitted on February 2, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,152 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 19, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. 2. submitted on September 5, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 3. submitted on February 2, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.