Papers of Jonathan Forman, September 21, 1794 - October 25, 1794 [electronic resource].

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Papers of Jonathan Forman, September 21, 1794 - October 25, 1794 [electronic resource].

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/671398828

Jonathan Forman's papers consist of a seven-page journal he kept during the march of the New Jersey militia to western Pennsylvania in 1794. Forman mentions various officers, mostly Revolutionary veterans, and describes the countryside and towns along the route. He remarks on Norristown, Reading, Harrisburg, Carlisle and Bedford, among others. The journal recounts an incident in Myers Town where an "itinerant man" insulted an officer and then fought the soldier attempting to put him "under guard." In the struggle, the man was bayoneted and killed by the soldier. Forman mentions the tensions this caused with 500 Irishmen digging a local canal; this incident was ultimately referred by local authorities to the governor of Pennsylvania. Otherwise, Forman reports a positive reception by local communities. The diary also mentions a dinner with President George Washington held in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for the militia officers. Transcription drafts were created by staff at the Darlington Memorial Library in 1982 and 1985 and are maintained with the papers.

0.25 linear feet ( 1 box)

University of Pittsburgh

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SNAC Resource ID: 7965387

University of Pittsburgh

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University of Pittsburgh. University Library System. Digital Research Library.

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Forman, Jonathan, 1755-1809

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64j0cj9 (person)

Beginning in 1791, there was unrest in western Pennsylvania over the excise tax on whiskey. Whiskey was a product made from locally grown grain, and the tax hurt the livelihood of farmers. Western Pennsylvanians were geographically and politically isolated from the federal government in Philadelphia that often failed to protect them from Indian attacks. In 1794, these sentiments built into violence and President Washington called militias from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to q...