Remembering William Thompson

They were a sight to behold-- the companies of riflemen, drawn from counties across the hinterland of the middle colonies, as they marched during their long trek toward Boston in the summer of 1775. Never before had so many young men from the backwoods of America been gathered together, let alone had they been so much on display. There were thirteen companies of riflemen in all, each consisting roughly of a hundred men, drawn from communities from the upper Susquehanna valley to the Shenandoah River. It was the adventure of a lifetime! Some of these men had purchased new clothing for the march to Boston. The riflemen made quite a spectacle of themselves, as each man wore the distinct dress of the American frontier, as described by one rifleman, “a deep ash-colored hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins.” They were also distinguished by the weapons they carried, including a “rifle-barreled gun, a tomahawk or small axe, and a long knife, usually called a scalping knife, which served for all purposes in the woods.” Some of them, like those from Maryland, were “painted like Indians.” Each of the companies walked through Pennsylvania and crossed into New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut before arriving at the American camp in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just west of Boston. As these men passed through the various towns, they provided many easterners their first glimpse of these curious peoples from the backcountry regions of America. Likewise, for many of the riflemen, this was the first time they had the luxury of venturing beyond the backwoods and glimpsing the towns and villages that peppered the Atlantic seaboard. One of the highlights for many of these young men was passing through the Moravian town of Bethlehem, then one of the most elegant and progressive towns in America. “Bethlem,” wrote Captain William Hendricks, “is a small town pleasantly situated on the banks of the Lehay.” Hendricks, who had grown up west of the Susquehanna River, was one of the youngest of the rifle captains, was clearly impressed! “Here are beautiful gardens, with all kinds of fruit and flowers, and also an elegant nunnery.” As lovely as the scenery may have been, it was undoubtedly the Single Sisters’ House that captivated the attention of most of the riflemen as they marched through Bethlehem. The young ladies, having likely never seen such a sight nor so large a collection of young men on parade, stood in the doorways and peered out of the windows of the dormitory, watching and waving as the young soldiers passed by. Private George Morrison of Captain William Hendricks’s company recalled, the most pleasing object that attracted our attention was the Nunery, from the windows of which the nuns viewed us with apparent emotion. Many of them were young and beautiful. They expressed their concern that so many sprightly young men as we were should go to face the enemy, perhaps never to return.