Bunker Hill Hero at Ft. Amanda - Surviving a Stampede

 

Epitaph:

Peter Sunderland

A Revolutionary Soldier

Fought at Bunker Hill

Died Aug. 1, 1827

Aged 90 years

Catherine

His Wife

Died Sept 1, 1831

Aged 85 Years

If you're looking for a real hero of the Revolutionary War, look no further than the cemetery at Fort Amanda. Along the walkway back to the fort, look to your right under a large tree and you'll see the grave marker for Peter Sunderland and his wife Catherine.

The following information was found on the Find-A-Grave site and on the internet site:
http://www.ohiogenealogyexpress.com/auglaize/auglaizeco_bios_s.htm

The Engagement on Bunker Hill

Thirty eight year old Peter Sunderland joined the patriots of the Revolution early in the Spring of 1775. On the night of the 16th of June, the regiment to which he belonged crossed he neck of the bay and entrenched themselves on Breeds Hill. When the morning dawned there was a great sir on board the British fleet that lay in the harbor. Thousands of spectators who climbed to the house-tops in Boston to watch the progress of events, could be seen from the redoubt. About one o'clock the British made an assault on the redoubt and were repulsed with the loss of a great number of men. A second assault was followed with a result equally disastrous. Unfortunately for the Patriots, their ammunition by this time was nearly exhausted. When the third assault was made the patriots had but three rounds of powder and ball, which were expended on the advancing enemy, and then there was a lull. The Americans, now out of ammunition, clubbed their guns and hurled stones at the assailants. After firing the last charge, Sunderland picked up three guns in succession to find that each had been discharged. Upon picking up a fourth gun he was attacked by a British soldier who struck at him with a saber. A quick turn of the gun caused the edge of the instrument to strike directly in his mouth, cutting through each cheek. Again the British soldier struck, and again the blow was partially parried, causing the weapon to cut through the wall of the abdomen. At the state in the encounter, Sunderland succeeded in discharging his gun into the face of his assailant and thrust his bayonet through his body. He hen withdrew in haste from the entrenchment believing that he was the last man in the retreat. He succeeded in reaching a swamp where he found a man accompanied by his wife and an infant. Here Sunderland dressed his wounds as best he could, binding a large handkerchief about his abdomen. He then crossed the swamp; the water in a number of places being so deep that they were compelled to swim. At such places the infant was tossed from one to the other. On reaching the opposite margin of the swamp, Mr. Sunderland concealed himself in a thicket for three days. On the third day he found a relief party and conveyed to a place of safety.

Note: I read another story of this incident in which it said because his mouth had been torn open through the cheeks, he couldn't call for help. Plus, fearing he could be discovered by the British he laid quietly for those 3 days and broke twigs trying to get the attention of passer byes with whom he felt safe.

Source 1: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County -by C. W. Williamson- Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons - 1905

Note: There is much more information including geanology information on the Sunderland family on file in the Allen County Museum.

The Number of Soldiers Engaged and the Casualties

Closest account shows the British began their fight with 2,200 men. Their casualty rate was 226 killed 828 wounded. The patriots began the battle with 1,200 men (700 on the hill and 500 in reserve). Their casualtiy rate was 115 killed and 305 wounded for a total for the day (both sides) 341 killed and 1133 wounded. Even though the patriots on Bunker (Breeds) Hill were outnumbered 2 to 1, they had the advantage of being on the high ground, plus the British came over in waves from Boston and not from a single full on frontal assault. The patriots used up all their ammunition and all they could do was swing their rifles like clubs and throw rocks as the British over ran their position. One Royal Marine wrote "Nothing could be more than so shocking than the carnage that followed the storming of this work. We tumbled over the dead to get at the living, with soldiers stabbing some and dashing out the brains of others. The significance of the battle showed the world that a group of rag tag militia men could give the professionally trained soldiers of the British army a pretty darn good fight. When they ran out of ammunition, they didn't run, they turned their rifles into clubs and fought till the end. We may have lost the battle, but in the end we gained far more than we lost, the resolve to fight.

Then and Now

After the War

Peter Sunderland was born in 1737 the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Barraclough. He married a woman named Catherine Holman, daughter of Francis Holman. After the war, the Sunderlands entered land near Dayton, Ohio on which they resided until 1822 when he and his wife came to the area and lived with their son Dye Sunderland until Peter died in 1827.

Cabin Site

Dye Sunderlands cabin was located on the north side of Ft. Amanda rd and in line with Dug Hill Rd (see pic below). I haven't been in the field for 30 years but last time I was there, the foundation stones were still visible. My reason for posting the site of the cabins is for fear that someday it may be forgotten. The pic below is a recent Google Earth pic and I can tell already that the area has changed dramatically since my last visit

Close Call

While metal detecting can be lots of fun, it can also be dangerous.
I used to take my oldest son Mike with me whenever I went out metal detecting. The owner of the field always warned me to be on the lookout for the bulls who pastured in the field. On one occasion I must have made one mad. I had just made one of my greatest finds (a spur) and as I pulled it from the ground, I turned and saw a bull charging at us at full speed. I dropped the spur and detector, grabbed mike up, and ran for the nearest fence. I deposited Mike (threw him actually) on the safe side of the fence but when I turned around the bull was just a few feet away so I jumped over the fence but snagged the barbed wire and literally tore the back out of my pants. Mike thought it was funny but I didn't (until later). :-)

Music Soothes the Savage Beast (and Bulls)

My last outing in the field was also my most memorable. I was doing my regular searching and got a nice signal. I got down on my knees and carefully started removing dirt. My detector was still making its humming noise. I happened to look up and saw a scene I will remember forever. Completely surrounding me were 6 or 7 of the largest black bulls I've ever seen in my life. I could literally reach out and tough the nose of everyone one of them (In fact I did touch one and yes, it was snotty). They just stood there not moving and I'm looking around for a place I could run through but I was totally surrounded and I started to panic thinking, "Don't move Dave, if these guys run off, you're going to get trampled." The standoff lasted about 2 or 3 minutes until I reached down and turned the tuning knob on my detector so it made a higher pitched sound. After a minute or so, I got the nerve to stand up and it must have been a funny site, me standing in the middle of all these bull but I just started walking slowly between them and touching them so as to have them move and they all just turned around and walked away. It was both scary and cool all at the same time.

I regressed from my original Fort Amanda post so I'll just remind everyone here that next time you're out at Fort Amanda, take time to visit the grave of Peter Sunderland. It's not always we get the opportunity to stand beside the grave of a true American Patriot. While I'm sure Peter appreciates the American flag beside his grave, I have a hunch his wife Catherine, a pioneer woman who braved the same dangers of the frontier as her husband, wouldn't mind a flower or two placed at the grave for her as well.