Two separate brutal slayings in 1782 that killed more than 90 people are part of my ancient ancestry.

Robert Wallace had been hunting in the woods near his cabin in February 1782 and was returning home. The war between the colonies and England officially ended with the battle of Yorktown in the fall of 1781, but the fighting was far from over. Robert, my fifth-great-grandfather, had been a soldier for the Continental Army and was still a member of one of the militias that had formed in western Pennsylvania. Washington had been a county less than a year, and pockets of rebels organized in these militias because they were living on a dangerous frontier. Savage attacks from unfriendly native tribes were common. Natives would cross the Ohio River at Mingo Bottom, near present-day Steubenville, and terrorize the settlers living on the fringe. Robert already had seen the perils of war. He was honored on Jan. 17, 2025, by the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) for his service. However, Robert was about to experience a tragic personal event firsthand.

Within view of his cabin, Robert could see the smoke rising above the trees. As he drew closer, he saw the cabin’s smoldering remains. His wife was gone. His children were gone. There were tracks in the snow, so he followed them for a while. But the tracks disappeared. Robert ran to neighboring cabins and hastily raised a search party. Although raids by native tribes were common at the time, this one was different. Jane McCoy Wallace, 30, and her 1-year-old daughter were too difficult to carry, so the raiding party disposed of them. They tomahawked and scalped Jane and bashed Martha against a tree. Then, they hung Jane’s body in plain sight for the search party to see.

Tempers burn

Anger had been building in the western Pennsylvania frontier. It was sparsely populated with farmland and woods. There had been a great deal of talk about the army taking captive the natives and missionaries to bring them back to Fort Pitt for trial. But nothing came of it, so tempers burned. Col. David Williamson agreed to lead the party of 160 men across the Ohio River in pursuit of the natives and the two Wallace boys who were still with them.

The expedition set out on March 4, 1782, for Gnadenhutten. Some historians consider the events that happened next a violent and unnecessary extension of the war. In his article “Moravians in the Middle,” Eric Sterner states the Gnadenhutten Massacre is one of the most heinous crimes of The American Revolution.

Not all the natives in Ohio were savage. Gnadenhutten was a peaceful community along the Tuscarawas River south of present-day New Philadelphia. Moravian missionaries led by John Heckewelder and David Zeisberger brought Christianity to members of the Delaware and Munsey tribes. After early failures, they established Gnadenhutten as a Christian settlement. The community took a stance of neutrality during the war and declined to offer support to either side. That didn’t sit well, and no one trusted them.

Town Falls

When the Pennsylvania militiamen arrived at Gnadenhutten on March 7, 1782, Heckewelder and Zeisberger were absent. The men found something that had belonged to Jane, and a small girl was wearing Martha’s dress. The militia charged, convicted, and sentenced the Moravians for murder on the spot. Moravian natives pleaded their innocence. They said they had acquired the Wallace items while trading with other natives. But their pleas went unheard.

Militia officers, including Williamson, began to get nervous. The men would not give up in their anger. Tempers continued to flare, and they wanted blood. It was decided. The men would kill the Moravians the next day, March 8. Williamson himself and several others did not participate in when the rest of the men slaughtered 90 Moravian natives. A couple of boys lived to tell the story of what happened in the community that day.

Wallace Rebuilds

Many years later, Paul Green would memorialize the Gnadenhutten Massacre in an outdoor play, Trumpet in the Land. One of the Wallace boys, John, died while in captivity. The other, Robert, was raised by natives near Sandusky. He became known as “Indian Bob” after his father negotiated his return. A few years after the massacre, Robert married Mary Grant, my fifth great-grandmother. They had a few children, including James, my fourth great-grandfather.

Robert Wallace’s tract was one of the first in what would become Hanover Township. The land stayed in the family for many generations. My grand aunt Dorothy Dusa Saxton wrote this story about “Wallace Bower” 50 years ago. The farm later became the S.M. McConnell farm when Sarah Jane Wallace married Samuel Matthew McConnell, the grandson of Matthew McConnell. Matthew is also recognized for his patriotism by SAR.

I hesitated when I applied to have Robert recognized because I felt uneasy about honoring Robert for his service. These events were the catalyst to the Gnadenhutten Massacre. Another genealogist and historian said that the history is the history. We don’t want to promote the events any more than we want to hide them. Although the Gnadenhutten Massacre left a permanent blemish on our family, it had nothing to do with Robert’s service. By sharing these stories of the past, we are less likely to repeat the errors.