Larry A. Smail's Blog

Massey (Massa)was born on March 18, 1770. She married John Harbison in 1787. John was wounded in battle while serving under General Arthur St. Clair. I am assuming his wounds may have been during St. Clair’s defeat in Ohio in November of 1791. The soldiers were terribly defeated while fighting the natives during this conflict. Regardless, John was given lighter duty as a scout along the Allegheny frontier of western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. John spent a lot of time away from him. Massey would eventually divorce the man.

The Escape of Massey Harbison by Larry A. Smail

At the time of her abduction, the Harbisons had a log cabin, across the Allegheny river,  just south of present-day Freeport, Pennsylvania. (Freeport, PA is in southern Armstrong County.) A blockhouse was within site of the cabin. This was a place of safety in the event of an Indian uprising. On Sunday, May 22, 1792, a group of Indians invaded the log cabin pulling Massey and her two eldest children from their beds. They began plundering.

She was in her sleeping nightgown only. One of her children was killed on site when he cried and fussed. Massey managed to get outside and scream towards the blockhouse. This act of defiance almost cost her life. One of the Indians stopped the tomahawk of another claiming her as her squaw.

They proceeded to a site east of present-day, Freeport and began to go down a steep river hill. A horse fell and injured Massey’s other son. He was killed on Todd Island as they crossed. Massey stated , later, there were 32 Indians (Delaware and Seneca) with two of them being white men. The group continued on to a site about two miles north of, present-day, Butler, Pennsylvania. Most of Indians left this site leaving two Indians to guard Massey. From this site she managed to escape.

The Indians took up her trail in pursuit. At one point, she hid among a tree top while a native stood and waited. He had heard the noise of the baby. Apparently, he believed he was hearing things and left. She used her hand and cloth to keep the baby silent. Imagine the terror she must have felt at this time. (This is the scene depicted in my painting.) On May 27th, 1792, Massey reached the Allegheny near,the present-day, Six Mile Island north of Pittsburgh.(Just above Sharpsburg, PA.) She had been close to death. She had, barely, survived the elements. She had came close to giving up, but thoughts of her baby helped her persevere. Another day in the wilderness would have, no doubt, killed her. Providence!

Massey passed away on December 9, 1837.

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When one walks through Kittanning, Pennsylvania today it is difficult realizing a great people once lived and died here many years ago. Those people were mainly the people of the great Lenni-Lenape tribe. They are better known as the Delaware Indians.

These natives lived here, possibly,  from as early as 1723. They had been moved west because of the English push and, sad to say, treachery from greedy people of the time. They had lived in peace for many years under William Penn and his fairness to them.

The year of 1755, a different Indian lived in Kit-Han-Ne. (Kittanning) They now had allied themselves with the French and began an all out war with the English, and others to their east.

To thwart these native incursions under the war chiefs, Shingas and Captain Jacobs, a Lieutenant Colonel John Armstrong and 307 men traveled east to attack the natives at their home.

The attack came on September the 8th of 1756. The Indians were miraculously taken by surprise. However, the Pennsylvania troops suffered much as well. the force retreated at one point, but the Delaware and Shawnee living there were met with a morale defeat. They eventually moved further east. Their raids, however, continued.

I wrote a book called The ATTACK ON KIT-HAN-NE. The book can be ordered through: Mechling Bookbindery at http://www.mechlingbooks.com

The original 48 X 30 inch painting shown above was started in 2008. I wasn’t excited about the art and shelved it for a time. The art was much too busy. I was trying to show so much of the area and the art just didn’t work. A couple of years ago I “attacked” the painting and eliminated much of the background.

Hope you like the painting.

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The book!

The recently published Civil War book entitled, “THOSE WHO FOUGHT Allegheny County, PA., and the Gettysburg Campaign” is now on the market. If you enjoy educating yourself with Civil war related writings this is a book you need to check out.

THOSE WHO FOUGHT was written by Arthur B. Fox, M.A with contributions from John Haltigan. My friend, Robert “Slim” Bowser and myself had the honor of meeting with these two historians, as well as, Tom McMillan. (Vice-president of communications for the Pittsburgh Penguins.) The meeting involved becoming acquainted and talking Civil War and the status of this book.

The writings of the book features information on the various regimental units from southwestern Pennsylvania who had fought in the Gettysburg campaign of 1863. Men from my native Armstrong County were involved. One of my ancestors was with the 63rd Pennsylvania at the Peach Orchard.

The 62nd Pennsylvania has a chapter in the book. (Slim is a living historian for our local 62nd group. The site is: http://62ndpvi.wordpress.com )

Other points of interest in the 202 page book are: care of the wounded; regimental action summaries;  maps; public interest stories; over 60 photographs; past Gettysburg reunions; placement of monuments and much more.

I received my autographed copy this past weekend and was elated to search the pages. I was honored to have my painting, “THE WHEATFIELD-WHIRLPOOL OF DEATH” included within the pages. (More on this painting in past entries within the History category. Stories may be found on: July 6, 2011; August 25, 2011; October 30, 2011; September 4, 2012 and June 19, 2013.)

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I have seen this happen time and time again over my years. That “thing” occurs when people of like thoughts gather together and the new faces immediately appear to be as if they have known each other for years.

This event happened just like that this day. My friend Robert “Slim” Bowser and I met some individuals for lunch at Harmarville, Pennsylvania. The primary reason we were to meet stemmed from a joint interest in the Civil War especially with local regiments and such from the 1861 through 1865 period of time.

A second joint interest is with a Civil War book written by Arthur Fox. Although, most of the groups listed in his upcoming book were originally from Allegheny County, Art chose to include a chapter on the Company D, 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry many of which originated from Armstrong County. This is the county Slim and I call our home. Slim is the highly interested in the story of the 62nd. He, also, has included my painting image of; “The Wheatfield-Whirlpool of Death.”

Others in attendance were Tom McMillan who is the vice president of communications for the Pittsburgh Penguins and John Haltigan another Civil war buff involved with Art’s book. The topic was Civil war and the excitement in our eyes was prominent as you might have imagined.

My father would have called such an exchange as a “Gumsuck.”  he would often refer to parties my mother would attend as such. As children we would always get a chuckle of the term.

Art’s book is scheduled to be out by November of this year. I will include purchasing details upon knowledge.

To read more info on the 62nd PVI visit Slim’s blog site at: http://62ndpvi.wordpress.com/

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My friend, Robert “Slim” Bowser asked me to do a road trip  today. The trip was a business trip in a way. We needed to travel close to the New York border into “God’s Country” of Potter County. We would be covering a section of the beautiful mountain region bordering Route 6. The catch was I needed to home by 6:00 in anticipation of a friend’s visit to do some recordings. (He forgot to come, by the way!)

Slim is a member and current president of the living history Civil War group representing the Company D 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry 5th Corps. www.62ndpvi.wordpress.com  I am honored to be an honorary member. This group does living history programs concerning the 62nd PVI. Activities include parades; grave dedications and programs to educate others about the 62nd PVI during the Civil War. the respect this group has for the past and those brave men is outstanding! take some time to study up on the group from the web site shown above. Many members of the original 62nd PVI came from  my area of Armstrong County.

First Fork Lodge

The final stop on this road trip would be near to a community known as Austin, Pennsylvania. Here we would be stopping at a home built in 1883 currently known as the First Fork Lodge. They owners, Jack and Linda Krafft supply lodging  to hunters and fishermen/ women. The building, also, has a Fly Shop; Sporting Goods and the beauty of art on flagstones. Their web site is: www.firstforklodge.com The other web site in regards to their art on stone products is: www.framingonstone.com  If interested in any art on stone products don’t hesitate to contact Jack and Linda!

The WHEATFIELD…on stone!

The owners have had success with prints from; “THE WHEATFIELD-WHIRLPOOL OF DEATH.”Readers of my blog will recognize this title from past blogs, such as from the July 6 and August 25 sites from 2011. These prints have been anchored to quarried flagstones and sealed. This, of course, allows for the stone texture to show through giving a different dimension to each print.

Our mission was to pick up five of these stones for use for the 62nd PVI group.

Jack, gave us a mini tour of the lower floor of the building. The rooms are chocked -full of art; antiques and hunting and fishing related things. NO TV! The owners encourage those staying to enjoy a sitting room to talk and become acquainted. This is a nice touch in the hurry-up world of today.

Beautiful sunset!

Our travels included returning via Route 872 south through the mountain region of Potter; Elk and Cameron Counties. This is such a beautiful area. We, also came through elk country. We saw over thirty elk and a number of deer. I spotted a large-racked buck that appeared to be tangled in a fence. We turned around and the buck was gone! We saw one grouse crossing the road and was blessed to see an eagle perched high in a sycamore tree. Due to timing restraints our photo opportunities were scarce.

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As a side note: In 1911, 78 individuals were killed when the Austin Dam collapsed. If interested in learning more of this disaster visit: www.austindam.net

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