Rachel Silverthorn’s Daring Ride In the Muncy Valley in Pennsylvania

By Terry Diener

Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of -------------- Rachel Silverthorne? Many school children are familiar with the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and his fictional account of Paul Revere’s ride, warning the Boston countryside that the British were coming.

But many people may not be aware of the story of Rachel Silverthorne, who, according to stories handed down through generations, was the Muncy Valley’s equivalent, warning settlers in that part of the Susquehanna Valley of an imminent attack by Indians.

My source for Rachel’s story comes from an August 12, 1949 account in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. The article focuses on a mural that hangs in the post office in Muncy Pennsylvania, of Rachel Silverthorne, by artist John Beauchamp of Massachusetts. It was placed there as part of the dedication of the new post office building in 1938.

The newspaper reported: “The story of Rachel Silverthorne as written in an early issue of Now and Then relates that one warm afternoon in July 1778, a small group of settlers stood on the east bank of the Susquehanna River near the mouth of Muncy Creek. The men had just finished putting the last person into the boats which were to start downriver to Sunbury. The group left behind, was composed mostly of bronzed and hardy men.

All had been peaceful in the valley, but a messenger had arrived from Colonel Hunter, commanding the garrison at Fort Augusta at Sunbury, with news that a combined force of British, Tories, and Indians had massacred settlers in the Wyoming Valley on July 3. It was thought advisable to order all settlers north of Muncy Hills to come to the fort at Sunbury.

All went well until August 7 when a small party started gathering harvest in the fields at the mouth of Loyalsock Creek. Finding they could not finish that day, they decided to spend the night there in a crude shelter.

They began their work early in the morning of August 8 and had been working only a short time when the sentinels gave the signal of an Indian attack.

Young James Brady, son of Captain John Brady was in charge, but he was almost instantly shot down and scalped. Several other whites were killed and wounded.

One (member) of the group reached Fort Muncy that afternoon with the news of the attack. A runner was sent to Fort Brady. Captain Brady immediately sent out a call to arms.

A small party of frontiersmen had gathered on the tiny parade rounds within the enclosure. Captain Brady ordered one of his men to saddle his mare and bring the horse to him. He then asked the group, “Who will volunteer to go and warn our friends of their danger?” Rachel Silverthorne volunteered.”

In his 1876 History of Lycoming County, John F. Meginness, mentions Rachel Silverthorne on Page 88 while referencing David Aspen one of the first settlers in Wolf Township. “The exact date of his (Aspen's) settlement cannot be definitely determined. It is probable that his location dates about 1777 or 1778, as on the 8^th of August, 1778, Rachel Silverthorne visited his cabin, then standing on the farm now owned by Mr. M. Steck, near Hughesville, and warned him of the approach of the Indians.”  Aspen’s body was later found near his cabin.

Although the story and heroics may have been embellished over the years, Rachel Silverthorne’s ride appears to have spared the lives of some of the early settlers living in the Muncy area.

Editor's note: I've seen two different spellings of the last name, and chose the one ending in an "e."

Sources: Williamsport Sun Gazette August 12, 1949, Page 6

1876 History of Lycoming County, John F. Meginness Page 88

"Rachel Silverthorne's Ride" (1938) by John W. Beauchamp in the Muncy Post Office, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Public Domain