For Safety and Survival

For Safety and Survival. . , The Attack on Hanna's Town, At the end of the Revolutionary War, Seneca warriors and British soldiers attacked Hanna's Town as part of a larger effort to weaken the frontier and push settlers east. This attack followed many years of conflict over ownership of the Ohio Valley. Shifting borders, betrayed treaties, raids on American settlements, and massacres at Native American villages escalated tension between people on the frontier., On July 13, 1782, court was in session and Hanna's Town bustled with activity. At 2 p.m., a group of farmers sounded the alarm that a large force of Seneca and British rangers were approaching. Residents barely had time to gather their families, weapons, and belongings before they fled to the fort. When the attack began, chaos ensued. Smoke from gunfire and buildings ablaze filled the summer air., "Such wanton destruction I never beheld - burning and destroying as they went. The people of this place behaved bravely; retired to the fort, left all a prey to the enemy, and with twenty men only and nine guns in good order, we stood the attack until dark." , Michael Huffnagle to Gen. William Irvine at Fort Pitt, July 14, 1782., The fort was among the few structures spared in the attack, and because of that, most people in Hanna's Town survived. The town itself, however, never recovered. The county seat moved to present-day Greensburg in 1786., (Sidebar):, When word of the attack approached, Westmoreland County Sheriff Matthew Jack rode through the countryside warning the scattered farmsteads of the danger. Later, he helped organize a rescue party that arrived at the fort., When the attack began, court officials ran to the fort with the court records, saving vital documents of the county's history., 13-year-old Peggy Shaw rescued a young child who was caught in the crossfire near the fort entrance. Through she was mortally wounded, she is remembered for her bravery., Seneca leader Guyasuta participated in the attack on Hanna's Town. A skilled warrior and diplomat, he sought peace after the Revolutionary War., Elizabeth Hanna and her oldest daughter Jane were among those captured at nearby Miller's Station and forcibly marched to Fort Niagara. They were imprisoned in Canada until the 1783 Treaty of Paris officially ended the war., (Captions):, This fort was the only line of defense for the people of Hanna's Town, saving many lives. It has been reconstructed on its original site, discovered thanks to archaeological research., The fort has three bastions, which allowed defensive firing in multiple directions and kept attackers from sneaking along the walls undetected., Rendering by E. H. Smith