While I was looking through some new Myers family history documents, I stumbled upon an amazing story of a family ancestor named George Saltzman. He was the brother of my Great great great great great great great Grandfather Anthony Saltzman.
Before I get into the story, I would like to say that the research in this story was not done by me, but rather by a distant relative by the name of Norman Myers. His hobby was genealogy, and he traveled the world (Quite literally) looking for Myers ancestors and their records. When he died, he left behind mountains of research, most of which has never been published or shared. He intended to write a book, but died before he got to it. I have received bits and pieces of his work, but I have never read it all. All that to say, I would like to thank Norman and his nephew, Alan Caldwell, for researching, discovering, and then sharing this information.
We don't know exactly when George Saltzman was born. What we do know is that he came from Germany to America in 1751 with his family. The family settled in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. When George came of age, he moved several miles north of the family onto his own farm. There is no evidence that he ever married or that he left behind any direct descendants.
On
June 14, 1775 the Continental Congress authorized formation of six companies of
expert riflemen from Pennsylvania. John
Adams, in a letter to his wife, spoke
of the vote to raise ten companies of southern riflemen. These men were described for their “skillful use of a peculiar kind of musket, called a rifle.”
General Washington daily expected the arrival of the “Rifle Companies” which used the deadly rifle. This weapon was almost unknown to the New Englanders but the Pennsylvania gunsmiths had for a number of years been making the weapon. It differed from the musket in that spiral grooves within the barrel caused the ball to spin making it accurate. The piece of greased leather around the ball clung to the rifle barrel holding in all the expanding gas. In addition to increasing the accuracy, this expanded the range.
In late July of 1775, the regiment moved out and marched to Boston. There, they were attached to the Second Regiment of the Army of the Colonies. They were involved in several small skirmishes in Massachusetts, current day Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
After his stint in northern New England, he was moved to Long Island, and fought there at the Battle of Long Island. After the Americans lost this battle, the Continental Army retreated through New York, New Jersey, and then Pennsylvania. On October 16, 1776 on a clothing account at Philadelphia, George Saltzman drew one jacket, one pair of britches, one shirt, one pair of shoes, one pair of stockings, and one blanket. He was a member of Captain James Parr’s Company at that time with the documents endorsed to show it was part of Colonel Hand’s Regiment. This was the last official surviving record of George Saltzman. However, he is not believed to have died right after that. In fact, a record in Clinton County dated 1779 says that he didn't die (Or at least, that no word of his death came until) until 1778 or 79. He is believed to have continued fighting all the way through the autumn of 1777 and perhaps longer.
This is where the story gets interesting. Not long after Saltzman drew his last consignment of clothes, Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River. Captain James Parr's company was not only there, but, according to records and accounts of the battle, played a key part in taking Trenton and then later Princeton. After these battles, they were attached to the army of Daniel Morgan, (Ironically another of our ancestors, but that's a story for another day.) and moved to upper New York.
That autumn, (1777) the 1st and 2nd battles of Saratoga occurred. Many of you know the basic outline of the battle, but for the sake of clarity, I will write a quick summary. British General Burgyone was trying to capture Albany, New York. The American army of Horatio Gates, Benedict Arnold, and Daniel Morgan stood in their way. The British tried to break through on September 19th, but the battle ended in a draw, with both sides withdrawing from the field with numerous casualties. However, Burgyone was determined to get to Albany. So on October 7th, he sent one of his subordinates, General Simon Frasier to try and break through the American line. It is here that my ancestor comes into play. The tide of the battle was just starting to swing to the British, and the Americans began to panic. American Captain James Parr recognized the signs of defeat, and decided to do something drastic to stop it. He sent sniper Timothy Murphy of the Pennsylvania Rifle Company up a huge tree, and told him to shoot down the British. Murphy decided to aim big. He searched for General Frasier himself. He found him and then, at a distance of 300 yards, he shot him dead. Many historians believe that shot to be the turning point in the War. The British panicked and ran, and the Americans pursued. Just a few days later, Burgyone surrendered. He lost most of his 7,000 troops in the surrender, a massive amount in those days. The awesome thing is, George Saltzman was in the same company as Timothy Murphy and probably at the base of the tree when Frasier was shot. Just to think that I had relative there to witness that moment is awesome. I have read and studied so much about that war, that battle, that moment, and yet I never ever suspected that I had a close relative who witnessed it.
This story has a sad and a happy ending. The sad thing is that Saltzman disappeared not long after that. Family tradition says that he was killed by Indians in a skirmish just after the Battle of Saratoga. While there is no evidence that that is true, the family probably got that story from one of the soldiers who did make it home from the Pennsylvania Sharp Shooters, and therefore, it is the most likely ending. The happy ending, is that Saltzman did not die in vain. The United States continued on, and won against unthinkable odds and became its own sovereign country. It continues on today.
George Saltzman has an unblemished military record. He was a man who gave everything he loved for the love of his country. He gave his life so that we could live free. I hope that his memory will never be forgotten. Thanks for reading.
JM
