Moravians Under Arms

[spgordon]

Some time ago there was on this forum an extended thread about the prevalence of gun ownership in Northampton County during the French and Indian War. One poster frequently mentioned a report that in the town of Northampton (Allentown) in 1763 there were only 4 guns. A number of us suggested this was a gross misreading of the evidence. I've just come across a document that I had never seen before (but should have). Others may be familiar with it. But I thought I'd mention it here in case not--since it indicates how widespread gun ownership was. It is available here: http://www.fold3.com/image/1/1071804/

It's (relatively) well known that during the French and Indian War the Moravians in Northampton County armed themselves to defend their settlements. (Thinking of Moravians as "pacifists" largely dates from the Revolutionary War.) In July and August 1757, Matthew Schropp wrote to Pennsylvania's Governor to amend a list he had compiled and submitted in November 1756 that enumerated all the men, women, and children in Bethlehem. As part of his corrected list in summer 1757, Schropp wrote:

"In these times of of Trouble and Danger, being become the Frontier, the Brethren, for the defense of themselves and neighbors...have established Military Watches in all their Places, and been at a very great Expense in providing themselves with Arms and Ammunition."

He then went into more detail, noting that:

In Bethlehem, 5 persons kept a "Night Watch" (armed) and, beyond these, there are "44 Singlemen and 25 married, who have Arms"

In Nazareth, 3 persons kept a night watch, and, beyond these, "all the inhabitants mentioned in the Return, except 7 Persons, are provided with Arms and Ammunition"

In Gnadenthal, 2 persons kept a night watch, and "all the Inhabitants, except 5, have Arms"

In Christian's Spring, 2 persons kept a night watch, and "18 of the Single men have Arms"

In Friedensthal Mill, "they all have Arms."

So that's about 75 or so armed men in Bethlehem and 20 or so in Christian's Spring. One would need to know how many inhabitants lived in Nazareth or Gnadenthal at this time to reckon how many men had arms there--but obviously nearly all the inhabitants.

Schropp's letter is interesting, then, both for demonstrating how prevalent arms were in Northampton County at the time and for showing that Moravians during the French and Indian War were comfortable bearing arms in self-defense.

Scott

[rich pierce]

Thanks for sharing this.

[Tom Currie]

I suppose being a pacifist doesn't mean you can't defend yourself.  Now what did all those common Moravian rifles look like ? I suspect only the cream of the crop survived.

Thanks for sharing Scott

[Habu]

Now what did all those common Moravian rifles look like ? I suspect only the cream of the crop survived.

Since they were described as "arms," I have to wonder if they were rifles or smoothbore muskets/fowling pieces. . . .

[Paul E. Wog]

Or, perhaps...pikes, lances, swords
                   Shreck

[spgordon]

I suspect they mean guns--"arms and ammunition" is the typical phrase.

For contemporary Quakers, "pacifism" did mean not using arms even in self-defense: hence the shock expressed when, after the Paxton rangers marched on Philadelphia and threatened the city in February 1764, some young Quakers did bear arms to defend the city ("Look, look!," one pamphlet exclaimed, "a Quaker carrying a musket on his shoulder!"). The Paxton rangers' main grievance was that the Quaker legislators would not fund frontier "defense"--just the sort of defensive actions that Moravians engaged in on their own regarding their Northampton County settlements. This kind of "defense" was expensive, which is actually why Schropp was writing provincial authorities to ask for tax relief in exchange for all the funds they had expended.

During the Revolution, Moravian authorities adopted a position that resembled the Quaker one, though it stemmed from different principles. My only point is that these records from the French and Indian War reveal a very different attitude on the part of Moravian authorities.

[spgordon]

BTW, it seems that the Moravians bought from New York the arms and ammunition they needed to arm themselves and to defend themselves and the settlements below them from Indian attack.

[Eric Kettenburg]

THANK YOU!

Interesting to see that it also goes on to note that they had 13 indians in their pay to act as rangers during the summer season, all of them one might assume also being armed.

I know I have a reference somewhere to one of their agents in Philadelphia specifically trying to acquire blunderbusses for Bethlehem.

[Eric Kettenburg]

BTW, *where* in NY?  NYC, or somewhere else?