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Fort Antes was a
stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...
surrounding the home of Colonel John Henry Antes, built ''circa'' 1778 in
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Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
in the
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. The fort was built under the direction of Colonel Antes, who was a member of the
Pennsylvania militia The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 pe ...
. It was on the east side of Antes Creek, overlooking and on the
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of the
West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the ex ...
on a
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
in Nippenose Township south of modern day
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in western Lycoming County. The local militia held the
fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
for a short period of time until it was ordered to abandon Fort Antes during the
Big Runaway The Big Runaway was a mass evacuation in June and July 1778 of White settlers from the frontier regions of North Central Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War. It was precipitated by a series of raids against local settlements on th ...
by Colonel Samuel Hunter. Despite being abandoned and attempts by the attacking British forces to burn it down, Fort Antes was one of only two structures in the valley to survive the Big Runaway.


John Henry Antes

John Henry Antes settled along the
West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the ex ...
''
circa Circa is a Latin word meaning "around, approximately". Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear company * Circa (contempora ...
'' 1772. His property was on the very edge of the Pennsylvania frontier. Antes’ neighbors on the north side of the West Branch Susquehanna and west of
Lycoming Creek Lycoming Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River located in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Tioga and Lyco ...
were outside the jurisdiction of the colonial government of Pennsylvania. They banded together to form the
Fair Play Men The Fair Play Men were illegal settlers (squatters) who established their own system of self-rule from 1773 to 1785 in the West Branch Susquehanna River valley of Pennsylvania in what is now the United States. Because they settled in territory clai ...
. Antes, as a Justice of the Peace for what was then Northumberland County, worked closely with the Fair Play Men. He conducted their weddings and his stockade provided some protection against raids conducted by local Native Americans, who began fighting back against the encroachment of the Europeans. Antes built a
gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...
along Antes Creek in 1773. It was the most advanced construction of any kind in frontier north-central Pennsylvania. John Henry Antes served as a Justice of the Peace from July 29, 1775, until January 24, 1776, when he was appointed captain of 58 militiamen under Colonel James Potter. After participating in a raid conducted by Colonel William Plunket against settlers from
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in the
Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan ar ...
near
Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...
, Antes returned to his gristmill, home and future fort in mid-1777. He also was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel that same year.


Frontier Outpost

The
Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...
allies of the British began conducting raids on the Pennsylvania frontier soon after the outset of the American Revolution. An attack at the mouth of Pine Creek in December 1777 and another attack further upstream, near modern Lock Haven, prompted action by Pennsylvania's militia to try to protect the frontiersmen on the West Branch Susquehanna River. Colonel Samuel Hunter ordered Colonel Antes to gather a force of men from the West Branch Valley to gather at Antes' property. The men of the militia built a stockade that was at least 12 feet (4 m) high around the Antes home. The stockade enclosed approximately three quarters of an acre (3,000 m2). Colonel Antes was forced to defend an extensive frontier that was under steady attack from Native American and
Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
forces that were dispatched to Pennsylvania from
Fort Niagara Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great L ...
on
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in
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. Two settlers who were staying near Fort Antes were killed in June 1777. A party of four men and two women had left the safety of the fort and crossed the West Branch of the Susquehanna River to milk some
cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...
s that had been left there to pasture. Zephaniah Miller, Abel Cady, and James Armstrong left the riverbank and meadow to gather a cow who had wandered into the surrounding woods. These three men came under attack by a group of warriors who had been hiding in the woods. Sounds of fighting stirred the men at the fort. They crossed the river despite the objections of Colonel Antes who thought that the Native Americans might have set a trap. Upon reaching the other side of the river, the militiamen found Miller dead and Cady and Armstrong mortally wounded. Only Bouser and the women, one of them Cady's wife, survived the attack. This was just one of many attacks in the West Branch Valley that continued to make life more dangerous for the settlers, who were encroaching on tribal land. All of these attacks and the lack of military help from the Pennsylvania government disheartened the settlers along the West Branch of the Susquehanna. News of impending attacks caused much worry among the settlers and the leaders of the militia. This news was provided by a friendly Native American named Job Chilloway at Fort Reed (modern Lock Haven), who had been converted to
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by Moravian
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
. The
Battle of Wyoming The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois warriors. The battle took place in the Wyoming Val ...
occurred on July 3, 1778 (near what is now
Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...
). A mass attack there overwhelmed small settler forts. Widely reported, but since discredited, reports of a massacre caused the local authorities to order the evacuation of the whole West Branch valley. Although Colonel Antes and his men were successful in building Fort Antes, they were forced to abandon their efforts in July 1778 during the
Big Runaway The Big Runaway was a mass evacuation in June and July 1778 of White settlers from the frontier regions of North Central Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War. It was precipitated by a series of raids against local settlements on th ...
. The raiding parties of Indians and Tories were too numerous for the militia and farmers to defend their lives and property.


The Big Runaway

Robert Covenhoven, who had served under
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
in the Continental Army, rode west along the
ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
of
Bald Eagle Mountain Bald Eagle Mountain – once known locally as Muncy Mountain – is a stratigraphic ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of central Pennsylvania, United States, running east of the Allegheny Front and northwest of Mount Nittany. It lies alo ...
to warn settlers and the militia at Fort Antes. Covenhoven followed the ridge for two reasons: first, experience told him that the Native Americans would not be on the level summit of the ridge, thus making him safe from personal attack, and second, he would be able to scout the situation in the valley from atop the ridge. Covenhoven, who was joined by an unnamed employee of Culbertson's Mill in modern Duboistown, was able to see Fort Antes from the ridge. As he slowly approached the stockade, Covenhoven heard the report of a rifle shot and made a run for the fort thinking that he was under fire. This proved to be false - although there were Native Americans in the area and one did fire his weapon, the fire was not aimed at Robert Covenhoven. Instead, a young woman outside the stockade milking a cow was the target, as evidenced by the bullet hole that pierced the folds of her dress. After giving the orders that prompted the Big Runaway, Covenhoven returned to Fort Augusta. Covenhoven is listed as a Fair Play Man and one of the signers of the Tiadaghton Declaration of Independence. Following the war, he continued to serve as a scout on the frontier before retiring to Piatt Township on the north side of the West Branch Susquehanna River. Most settlers had already gathered at Fort Antes, prior to Covenhoven's arrival, but now the fort and the settlers' homes and fields were abandoned, with
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
driven along and a few possessions floated on rafts on the river east to what is now Muncy, then further south to Fort Augusta at what is now Sunbury. Women and children rode on the rafts, while the men walked on the river bank to protect them and to drive along the livestock they had been able to save. Their abandoned property was burnt by the attackers. Some settlers reported fleeing at night, with the glow of their burning settlements lighting the sky behind them. Fort Horn and the other Fair Play Men settlements were all destroyed. Only Fort Antes (made of hard-to-burn peeled oak logs) and the fortified Wallis House (made of stone) in Muncy Township survived the flames. The property losses were estimated at £40,000, and there were deaths among the settlers. Colonel Hunter, the commander of Fort Augusta who had ordered the mass evacuation, was criticized roundly. Many at the time felt that military assistance would have allowed the settlers to withstand the attackers.


Post war years

Colonel Henry Antes was one of the first settlers to return to the West Branch Valley following the Big Runaway. He found that his mill had been destroyed, but that his home within the fort had not. Antes soon built a larger home on Antes Creek and the fort was abandoned. It gradually decayed before being dismantled. The ground was leveled and then farmed, and today there are no remnants of Fort Antes to be seen above the ground. Colonel Antes was elected the sheriff of Northumberland County in 1782, thirteen years before Lycoming County was established. John Henry Antes died on May 18, 1820, when he was 83 years old.


References

*{{cite web , url = http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?lon=-77.2386&lat=41.1911 , title = Fort Antes Cemetery, USGS Linden (PA) Topo Map , access-date = 2008-06-29 , author = United States Geological Survey , publisher =
TopoQuest TopoQuest is a free web mapping service built on open source software that provides internet-based topographic map for most of the United States. The site is one of three internet services used by Wikipedia for providing topographic maps. It arose ...
, author-link = United States Geological Survey Buildings and structures in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania History of Pennsylvania Antes Antes