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Bushy Run Battlefield expanding
Thursday, December 07, 2000 By Marylynne Pitz, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
A tract of gently rolling farmland in Penn Township, where British soldiers and Native Americans fought fiercely for two days in 1763, will be purchased for $600,000 and become part of Bushy Run Battlefield.
"It is authentic historic ground," said Brent D. Glass, executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.
While the state contributed $225,000 from two separate funds, the township gave $15,000 and additional money came from several foundations, two banks and Preservation Pennsylvania.
Glass, who announced the purchase during a visit to Bushy Run Battlefield yesterday, said an additional $97,000 is needed to complete the land deal by May.
"We have a bit of a challenge closing that gap," Glass said.
The 35-acre tract, which is being sold by Pauline Syster, came perilously close to becoming a residential subdivision, Glass said.
David Miller, acting site administrator at Bushy Run Battlefield, said the property will become part of the southern portion of the historic site.
"A large portion of the first day's battle would have been fought on this piece of property that's being purchased," Miller said.
Once the land is acquired, state museum officials plan to do some archeological digging to find the south fork of a road from Carlisle to Pittsburgh.
The road was built by troops led by British Gen. John Forbes. A map from 1764 shows that the road cuts through the property, Miller said. In later years, settlers used the road to reach Western Pennsylvania.
Col. Henry Bouquet, the Swiss military leader who exhorted his troops to fight in the face of heavy casualties, also traveled Forbes' road.
"Some of that historic military road is on the new property. We feel that that's another reason to try to acquire it," Miller said.
The battle of Bushy Run is significant because it helped crush an Indian rebellion known as Pontiac's War, kept Fort Pitt in British hands and opened the frontier to settlement by Europeans.
Bouquet, who was on his way to Fort Pitt, had planned to let his troops rest at Bushy Run when about 95 Indians attacked the head of his column, wounding 60 British soldiers.
Both sides suffered from a lack of water in the August heat. Bouquet ordered his men to build a makeshift shelter for the wounded with large sacks of flour.
Bushy Run Battlefield, which spreads over 183 acres, will increase to 218 once the acquisition is completed.
Miller said the state also plans to do a land management survey of the new property so historians can gain a clearer understanding of how the battle unfolded.
"Through some historical maps, we know approximately where the troops were located. For a historic battlefield, it's important to do one of those land surveys," he said.
Widespread digging, however, will not be necessary.
"We would want to do some test archeological digs and see if we can find the original road trace," Miller said.
There is also a possibility that Indians who died in the conflict were buried on the battlefield.
"The graves would be on land that we currently own. The thing of it is, we don't know what happened to the Native American dead. We don't know if they were carried off the battlefield or if they were buried on the grounds," Miller said.
State funds for the purchase came from the Growing Greener Fund of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and a Keystone grant from the state Historical & Museum Commission.
Foundations that donated money were the R.K. Mellon Foundation, the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation and the Appel Charitable Trust Fund. The Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society, Irwin Bank and Trust and National City Bank also contributed.
By the first of the year, Miller said, Bushy Run Battlefield's Web site will be up and running and people who wish to contribute money toward the land purchase may do so online. An acquisition fund has been created to accept donations.
The fund is being administered by the Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society and the Pennsylvania Heritage Society.
"In this day and age of urban sprawl, green space is very quickly disappearing in this part of Westmoreland County. This is not only a chance to preserve history, but to preserve the landscape," Miller said.
The purchase, Miller said, makes aesthetic sense, too.
"If a housing development would have gone into that area, that would have detracted from the view people have when they are out here at Bushy Run," he said.
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