These recollections are by Phebe Mendanhall Thomas, who was born in 1770 and died in 1875, at 104 years, 6 MOs and 12 days...pretty amazing in itself!
"My first recollections of the War were of the Battle of Brandywine. We heard the guns all day and Mother would say whenever we heard a great volley of noise, "Dear me, what are they doing?": But they let us know what they had been doing in the evening. Father said it was a great battle near, he could only judge where, by the directions of the sound.
In the evening a great company of American soldiers came. Father told us to shut up the front of the house and come back to the kitchen. They came flocking into the yard, and sat down on the cider press, trough and benches, and every place thy could find. They seemed so tired. Father said "bring bread and cheese and cut for them." They were so hungry.
Margaret. Stephen's wife, came running in with her 2 children. Stephen was away off at the other end of the place and knew nothing of it. As it happened both houses, ours and Stephen's, had baked that day, and we cut up all the bread and cheese we had. I know, I got no supper and they had to bake bread on the iron.
Then after a bit a Captain came on his horse. He was wounded and had his servant and a Doctor. He wanted to stay all night. Father didn't want him to stay, for he told him he expected the English would be along in the morning, and would tear us all to pieces, but they didn't mind that. They took oll hie horse, brought him in and they staid. The girls brought him a bed, and he laid there in the common house and the Doctor staid with him. the servant slept in the barn. They all got their suppers too.
Next morning the wounded man was too bad to get on his horse. They got the horse there, and the girls helped to lift him, but he coudn't get on. Father didn't want him there when the English came. As the wounded man was laying there, Adam came running in and said "The Red-Coats are coming? The Red-Coats are coming?" The poor sick man raised up and called for mercy. The Doctor hid under the porch, but is was only one of the neighbors that had a reddish-brown coat.
Mother and Father sat up all the night and about daybreak Father went out to the barn to see if the servant was still there. He found him snoring away. He touched him with his foot and said "What, out here still?" The man jumped up and rubbed his eyes, and then put off for the Black Horse, where the soldiers had gone the night before) note; the Black Horse was a tavern located at Edgmont Great Road from Chester).
Finding that the Captain couldn't ride (he had a bullet in his thigh), Father geared up a great black horse we had, a noble fellow, to the carriage, and they took him to the Black Horse. Oh! How glad I was to see father come home. He had just put the horse away, when the English came, sure enough, but they didn't come to the house.
We were so afraid while Father was away, but he wasn't gone long. I remember when I saw him coming I couldn't think what made the gears all white, but it was the foam. It was 10 miles to the Black Horse, and back and he driven very fast. Well, as I said, he just got the horse put away, when we saw the Red-Coats coming. One big officer came to ask if there was any way of avoiding big hill. They had the poorest little horses to pull their big guns, they couldn't pull them up the big hill by the barn. Father went to show them that they shouldn't go on the grain. He went out there without his hat, and he told the officer he wanted to go to the house to get his hat, and besides he'd left no one at the house, but women and children, and that he'd heard their men sometimes behaved very badly. The officer turned to a man behind him and said "Go guard the gentleman's house." The man came galloping up, and that frightened us, for we thought they were all coming, and Father was away. However,he galloped up to the gate, and there he stopped.
While he was there, a woman came with a can, and tried to get in at the gate. He refused to let her come in, but she was a right soldier, and would push in. So he struck her a right blow with his sword. Mother ran out and said "don't hurt her, maybe she wants something." sure enough she wanted milk, so Lizzie took some out and filled her can. We couldn't tell what the man could mean sitting there on his horse, saying nothing. However, after a bit Father came, and then he rode away.
We heard the guns the day of the battle of Germantown. Father was sure there must be a battle somewhere and he thought maybe after night he could see the light, so he went up to the garret window, our house was very high, but he couldn't see anything. Mother went with him, and then I didn't want to be left behind, so I followed. Oh? I was afraid. I was only 7 years old then.
The Americans took 2 of Stephen's horses, to do some hauling at Chester, and wanted him to go along to drive them, but he wouldn't go. I remember Mother and B'tha would often say "I wonder how Godfrey's getting along?" He was gone a good many days, it might be 2 weeks, when I saw him away at the meadow, across the mill, I cried out, "There comes Godfrey!" They said "No, it can't be him, because he hasn't got the horses." I knew him. So they all ran out into the yard to see him, and when he came he was so sad. He had done the hauling for the Americans, and was coming home when the English met a mile or so from home, down by the church, and took the horses from him. Oh? How he did swear, and called them all the bad names...He could do that, for he was a big rough fellow. After the War when they were settling up, the English offered to pay Stephen for them, but he wouldn't take the money, so it went into the Treasury to school poor Children.
They took Father's find horse for a fine. They had heavy fines laid on everybody to support the War. Friends wouldn't pay these fines, so they took what they wanted, and they took the finest horse. They wouldn't take the old mare.
I remember B'tha getting on the black horse to ride over to Thomas Speakman's and as she was most to the Cross Roads she saw some soldiers coming. She didn't know whether they were American or English, but she turned in a great hurry and came home full tilt.
I remember I was out on the horse block, and saw her coming. I told Mother. "There comes B'tha" "Why, no? she said, "She's not coming back already. But she ran out, ann sure enough there she was. Mother said "Why Bthy, what's thee doing back so soon?" and she said "I met some soldiers coming and I was afraid they'd take my horse." So, she'd missed her visit.
In the time of the War and afterward the Collectors use to come to get the tax. Friends wouldn't pay, so they took cows, and anything they pleased. I remember 2 came there one day. Father was away. Mother and the girls were away behind the house washing, and there was no one there but me. they took down the big candlestick first. They would always take that down, but never carried it away with them. Then they went to the closet under the
steps. Father had told Mother and us, if the Collectors came while he was away, not to let them take anything that was John Gest's; he was a boy that Father was Guardian for, and he had the best of his goods at out house. Well, they went to the closet. I was sitting in the big arm chair. John Gess' pewter was away back in the closet. I called to them "Don't take John Gess' pewter!" They shut the door in a hurry and went to the cupboard with the glass doors where the china, silver spoons and glass were kept, and took our big silver spoons. I remember one of them putting a spoon to his lips and saying, "You could get a good mouthful with this."They would take beds, looking-glasses, bureaus and anything at all. I remember one night, Adam and B'thy and I were coming home from school, and we met 2 men, one carrying a big looking glass under his arm. Adam called out to them, "That's our big looking-glass!" Billy said, "Hush, hush!" "No, I won't hush. It is our big looking glass." The men laughted. However, we ran home, and there sure enough was out big looking glass gone.
All that winter, after the Battle of Brandywine, the Americans had what they called Light Horsemen riding about. They always carried a sword. They would sometimes come to our house to get lodging. They would come and get Good food and a night's sleep, and their horse fed. One night, one of them came, Father took the candle to light him to bed, and asked which room he should take him to, but he mis-gook the room. Lizzie had made up a good bed for him, but Father took him into a room where there was nothing but a rug on the bed. He went off without his breakfast. They wondered about that, for they'd always staid for breakfast. But, after a while, Lizzie went it make her bed and came down laughing, and said "No wonder he went without his breakfast, for he made his bed first." they laughed at her about it, but when they found the mistake that had been made they supposed that he was offended about his bed....But Father said, "Well, anyhow, a good feather bed, and a rug is better than sleeping in camp."
Father didn't farm the place, Stephen farmed it for him, but Father had to pay the fines, as he owned it. We had 2 cows af first, but they took them. Then he bought more, once or twice, by they took them, too, so at last he borrowed old Tommy Messer ( supposed to be Mercer). they didn't take her. They didn't come into the houses while they could get anything out of doors, but after they had taken the big horse and the cows, they wouldn't take the old mare, and came into the house and took besides the looking glass and spoons, a big feather bed. I remember them pulling off the clothes, taking a sheet and tying the bed up in it. They always looked at the big brass candlestick Grandfather bro't from England with him but they never took it. Adam took it at the appraisement after Father's death. He took it to town with him and I don't know what became of it.
Several years after all this, I saw Washington. I was living at Darby then, with my brother in law John Humphrey. Washington was on his way to Phila. to take his seat as President. They'd built him a house there. I could see him as plainly, even his features. He was a bulky man, had a long nose and a short upper lip. I afterward saw a sign at a tavern on the West Chester road, with his picture painted on it, and I knew it as soon as I saw it from its likeness to him.
It was on first day afternoon we saw a company of Light Horseman going thru Darby on their way to meet him. I was at Hannah Sharpless', she spoke to me at meeting and asked me to come over there that afternoon. We were all sitting there in the little room. close by the pavement, and we heard a great tramping out in the road, and there came a great company of men with their horses prancing. It seemed as tho they couldn't make them prance enough. They stopped at the tavern there, and told where they were going to meet Washington - that he was coming next morning. It flew all over town at once. I believe it was at Hook they were to meet him. And the next morning he did come.
The girl and I were in the wash-house, washing, and John Humphrey came in and said "Now girls if you want to see Washington, he's coming". Well, we got a good sight of him as he went thru Darby."
This page updated on February 17, 2009