Introduction

Early military history of the Juniata Valley

By Mark DeVecchis

INTRODUCTION

Memorial Day: May 30, 2022 (last Monday in May) we honor those U. S. Soldiers who have died in service to our Country.

Veterans Day, November 11th: We honor all American Veterans

In this introduction I will focus on some early American history, The Mayflower, the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Some content can be confusing with wars, dates, and years.

It is essential to start earlier in our “land’s” history – back to the Mayflower (1620), because it seems like a good starting point not only for the first Pilgrims coming to our Country but also its effects on Mifflin County.

The French and Indian war began in 1754 at Jumonville Glen and ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris. Many of the same people would fight in the Revolutionary War only on opposite sides. There were only 12 years between them. The Revolutionary War started April 19, 1775, and the British Surrender at Yorktown was October 17, 1781. However, the surrender of the British didn’t end the war, the 1783 Treaty of Paris did (a different Treaty of Paris). We don’t need to get hung up on the dates and “Paris” Treaties.

What is interesting is what happened in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War that affected the colonies including the land that would become Mifflin County.

But here is the twist — Mifflin and Juniata counties did not exist as a county in either the French and Indian War nor the Revolutionary War. At that time, we were part of Cumberland County which was formed in 1750 with Carlisle as the county seat. Cumberland County encompassed almost 2/3 of the State of Pennsylvania, including the land now known as Mifflin and Juniata counties.

Mifflin County was formed from Cumberland County in 1789 and Juniata County from Mifflin County in 1831. If you are confused, you are not alone. It would take more than one history book to explain everything from King Phillip’s War (1675), Queen Anne’s War (1702), Pontiac’s War (1763), Lord Dunmore’s War (1774) and others to make sense of it all.

The date the United States Army was “born” was June 14, 1775, when George Washington was appointed as general by the Continental Congress to head up an army to fight the Revolutionary War. Knowing that the Revolutionary War started on April 19, 1775, at Lexington and Concord and lives were lost on both sides, before there was an American Army or a country, I am going to take the liberty of saying these militia soldiers were part of the effort to free us from British control and therefore cannot be excluded on Memorial Day.

I also believe we have to look back to see what led to the Revolutionary War and that goes back to the French and Indian War and the cost to the British Government to support it. The French and Indian War started in Western Pennsylvania in 1754 by none other than Colonel George Washington of the British Army, back when colonists were British subjects. That War became part of the Seven Years War.

The dates are not that important. Just keep in mind that references to Mifflin County prior to 1789 are in regard to the land area that it encompasses today and those living there at the time.

In considering who is honored on Memorial Day, where should we begin?

We can add or think of those who fought in the French and Indian War and the Battle of Lexington and Concord along with other wars and skirmishes among those who fought for our most basic foundational freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Many fought and many died for the same goals that fed our nation’s beginnings. What you read here today is only a very small sampling of those who gave it their all.

From those days of the Mayflower until today, you can count eight wars historically and about 19 conflicts from 1600 to 2000 on the land of the continental United States.