The Wyoming Massacre Monument

The Battle of Wyoming or its more commonly known name, “The Wyoming Massacre” was a brief but bloody skirmish between Connecticut settlers living along the upper Susquehanna in Pennsylvania and British loyalists and a loose confederation of Iroquois tribes from New York.  It was part of a larger and longer frontier war waged mainly throughout central and western New York in 1777-1778 evolving out of a British strategy to resist patriot expansion and settlement and supporting military force and also blunting possible French ambitions in reclaiming parts of Canada lost in the French and Indian War.

The Spring of 1778 had seen numerous small forays by mostly Indians in their war canoes descending the Susquehanna as far as the present day Wilkes-Barre.  By summer ambitions and strengths led to a larger invasion that largely moved uncontested until again reaching the northern outskirts of Wilkes-Barre.  The killing of three settlers in the present day Pittston area alerted the colonists to the coming invasion and rallied most able bodied men to a stockade at Forty Fort.   The invading force soon reached Forty Fort and demanded its surrender.  The patriot force, believing they were on their own with little chance of arriving help, opted to foray out of the fort and meet the invading force in the open.

The Indian forces soon enveloped the settlers as they engaged loyalist forces.  A panic soon ensured among the soldiers who were mainly untrained militia.  The actual battle of opposing forces took perhaps 30-45 minutes and was followed by a complete rout of patriot forces many of whom attempted to flee southward back to Wilkes-Barre or points farther down the river.

It was months later that the story of the massacre's atrocities (some true, some embellished) circulated throughout the colonies that told of surrendering soldiers being wantonly tortured and then murdered and scalped by their Indian pursuers.  Of approximately 350 defenders no more than 60 had survived the massacre.  The Susquehanna had literally been scoured clean of Connecticut settlements as far down the river as Sunbury.

The frenzy generated by the Indian atrocities and a subsequent similar attack at Cherry Valley, NY resulting in another massacre ultimately led to the Sullivan Expedition of 1779 that crossed the Poconos from Easton to Wilkes-Barre and then marched up river to be joined by Gen. Clinton’s Army at Tioga Point.  The greatly strengthened force then moved into New York for the purpose of destroying Indian villages and ripening crops, a largely successful mission that considerably weakened the Iroquois confederation for the balance of the Revolutionary War.

After the war moved back to New York and calm returned to the Wyoming Valley, returning settlers found stark evidence of the battle.  Skeletal remains and scalped corpses littered the fields especially near the original point of battle.  All remains that could be located were gathered for a common burial in present-day Wyoming.  Today a large underground vault contains all remains that were recovered and is surmounted by a large stone memorial shaft.  Since 1878, the 100^th anniversary of the massacre, appropriate remembrance ceremonies have been held each year on the anniversary date.

As the 20^th century unfolded the Wyoming Massacre Monument was soon a favorite local topic on numerous postcards published by both local and national venders.  The following checklist is an ongoing effort to identify known postcards including identical efforts by multiple venders.  Locations listed in the checklist are taken directly from the postcards themselves and account for the monument being located in Wilkes-Barre, Wyoming, Forty Fort or Pittston.  Additional postcards will be added once found.

The Wyoming Massacre Monument Postcard Checklist