The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1890-09-01
MoReAs,s FAMOUS DUTCH MESS
Novel Body Guard Of the Noted Virginia Sol
der of the Revolution.

MORGAN's FAMOUS DUTCH MESS"
Novel Body Guard of the Noted virginia Sol
der of the Revolution.
Kansas City star
The other day an old naval officer who
was born and has resided in the quaint,
historical town of Winchester, Va, Tor
more than half-century, related some OF
the curious traditions of that venerable
about i745. One was of Gen. Daniel Nor
gan-he of revolutionary fame-and his
dutch mess" Organized long before the
struggle between the colonies and The
%Sapss oU Of SIX ies Of wins
chester. They were the primitive white
settlers of that portion of Virginia. Bosom
friends of Morgan. they had accompanied
him on all his expeditions against the
Indians long before the revolution, and
| priced themselves on being called buck
SKINS" in contradistinction to the later
settlers, who wore 'hnsey- woolsey." They
were with Morgan in Braddock's campaign.
| and they afterwards followed him In
| Arnold's expedition to Canada. where they
| were captured with their leader. During
| the campaign they carried any one of their
| number who might be sick or wounded,
| and by this mutual and unselfish interest
were able to withstand the rigor and fear
full hardships of Arnold's memorable north
ern campaign.
| These six remarkable men assisted Nor
gan to recruit, organize and drill his
| mIssioned colonel by General Washington.
| The corps was composed entirely of sharp
shooters. They had no bayonets on their
| guns, and their dress was a hunting-coat,
Indian leggings. mocasins and fur caps.
| According to tradition they made their own
| clothes. The six acted as personal aids of
Morgan, and performed etaff duty of every
description. They were quarteEnasters.
| cOmmissaries and adjutants inGifferently,
| as the case might be. but they were never
| commissioned officers; prlvates they were
and priyates they remained. from the be-
ginning of their remarkable service until
the end of the war. The mess" together
| with MOrgan-as did every man of the
| corps--carried turkey bones," by means
of which they could call each other
when they were separated and required
| assistance. Their peculiar whistle was
source of curiosity to the English officers.
| who heard it at night from the tops of trees
and in all Imaginable places. These six al
ways led the skirmish lines, acting as cap
tains, and were wonderfully efficient as
scouts. which duty they always performed
| whenever they were temporarily detached
| from Morgan. This may seem strange to
those who have been soldiers, but it must
be remembered that Morgan always fought
INDEPENDENTLY of all corps commands and
/ other organizations.
The corps first came into notoriety at the
battle of Saratoga. where General Gates
| captured General BurgOyne and his seven
thousand Hessans. The prisoners were
| turned over to MOrgan's men to be con-
Quoted to the valley ofVirginia. where they
| remained till the war closed. Then nearly
| half of them refused to return to their ma
| tive Hesse and Darmstadt, but became cit
| liens of the United States; their numerous
descendants are to be found in the valley
| to-day.
| These Hessians were all skilled artisans
in leather, stone and iron; the stone fences
| and elegant massive stone houses in that
| part of Virginia were built by them. They
| taught the inhabitants a new order of
| things, which, in measure, is followed to-
| day. The great stone mansions are called
| Hessian houses. Those soldiers who fol-
lowed Sheridan into the valley will remem-
Der them.
General Morgan's rifle corps fought in
nearly all of the engagements from Quebec
| to Kings Mountain in North Carolina. dur
| ing the entire seven years war. The ira
dition is that the day of their return to
| Winchester from which Morgan went out
a colonel and came back a general. was the
greatest that the place had ever seen. 1t
| was o triumph like that of the emperOrs of
Rome when they returned from conquest.
Strange as it may appear, the Dutch
| out as privates, returned with no greater
| rank and were all safe and unhurt
When the revolution was over, through
| the counsel of General Washing ton, Gem
eral Morgan ran for and was elected to
| Congress. and through Washington's influ-
| ence became stanch Federalist. He as
| sisted in the passage of the act which gave
TO all discharged soldiers land warrants.
the first ever issued by the government.
| On General Morgan's return to Winchester
with the land warrants for his Dutch
| mess" he converted them into cash, and
his favOrite comrades purchased land
! around Winchester and with the aid of
| the Hessians built themselves large and
| comfortable homes. which are, In several
instances, occupied by their descendants
| to-day.
General Morgan died in 1901, but all CT his
| "mess" survived him. While he was sick
| they alone nursed him, and they took sole
care of his body when he died. They pre-
coffin, carried it on their shoulders through
the streets of Winchester, lowered it into
| the grave and covered it, and would allow
no one else to touch 1T or perform any duty
connected with the ceremonies. They
alone fired the regulation nine rounds over
| their beloved leaders grave.
These famous old men dropped off one by
| one until, by the year 1880. there was none
living. They were all buried on the high
divide east of Winchester. called Church
hill, the whole of which tract was donated
by Lord Fairfax to the town for church
purposes. and OH which. Until the Inaugural
{, ton of the civil war. were located the six
churches and their attached grave-yards.
In the rear of these churches is Monnt
| Hebron Cemetery incorporated in 1850; in
its rear is the Stonewall Cemetery, and
alongside of 1t the Federal National Gem
etery. In the center of Mount Hebron was
laid out large. circular plot. intended as
and his Dutch mess" but up to 1866 none
| of the SIX occupied the plot because their
descendants objected to the removal of
their bones from the family lots in their
respective grave-yards.
| ~~&-
VI