EDINBURG, Pa. – There is a clearing near the intersection of U.S. Route 224 and Jackson Street in Edinburg, Pa., near New Castle and just south of the Mahoning River in Lawrence County. A historical marker at its entrance identifies the site that was once among the Kuskuskies Towns, a string of four Native American settlements forged during the early 18th century that dotted the Beaver, Shenango and Mahoning rivers.
According to the marker – erected in 1947 by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission – the settlement was the last of the four Native American villages forced to evacuate after tracts of land in this region were parceled to Pennsylvania military veterans as a reward for their service during the American War for Independence. These “donation lands” lured settlers west during the latter half of the 1780s, reinvigorating a movement that would uproot long-standing Native American communities and shape future conflict over the ensuing decades.
A path leading into the clearing reveals more though. Tucked into a grassy, peaceful, glade obscured by high brush and trees is a cemetery where a dozen of these Revolutionary War soldiers are buried.
Ashton Cemetery is a small place that holds approximately 30 headstones, 12 of which are veterans who served in the Revolution. The site is well-maintained, and freshly planted flags that adorn some of the gravesites indicate special care and attention has been taken to preserve the legacies of those buried here.
CAPTAIN’S GRAVE
Anchoring the cemetery is the grave of Capt. Joseph Ashton, who was born in Philadelphia in 1760 and died in 1817. His stone – situated at the back of the yard – stands apart from others, as the original headstone was replaced several years ago with a sturdy, marble marker that is clear and legible. According to his marker, Ashton served in the artillery regiment of the Continental Army during the Revolution.
Yet there’s more to Ashton’s service than his gravesite allows. Indeed, a closer examination reveals a remarkable military career that spanned the entire duration of the Revolution and the Early Republic.
Records from the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania show that Ashton embarked on his military career at age 15, enlisting in Col. John Lamb’s Independent Company New York Artillery regiment on July 16, 1775, four months after the first shots of the Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord. Shortly thereafter, Lamb’s company – including Ashton – was selected to join Benedict Arnold’s campaign to invade Canada and lay siege to Quebec, one of the most arduous and futile military endeavors of the war.
Ashton, now a First Sergeant, was taken prisoner on Dec. 31, 1775, in Quebec, and then released in August 1776, according to records. Lamb as well was wounded and taken prisoner during the battle and was paroled several months later.
Lamb was then appointed to command the Continental Artillery Regiment. Ashton followed on Jan. 1, 1777, earning the rank of Second Lieutenant and Lamb’s adjutant, Society of the Cincinnati records show. On Aug. 10, 1779, Lamb’s unit was reconstituted as the Second Continental Artillery Regiment, with Ashton rising to the rank of First Lieutenant. The following month, Ashton was appointed adjutant to the Continental Army’s garrison at West Point, per the directive of Gen. George Washington.
“Lieutenant Joseph Ashton and Lieutt Chillion Ford of Coll (sic) Lamb’s regiment of artillery, are appointed the former adjutant from the 1st day of July last, the latter Quarter Master from the 1st of August following,” reads Washington’s general orders dated Sept. 11, 1779. Ashton served as adjutant at West Point until November of 1779. He then rejoined the Second Continental Artillery Regiment at Washington’s encampment at Morristown, N.J., where he and others endured a brutal winter starved of provisions.
TWO BATTLES
In April 1780, Ashton’s artillery unit was ordered into position alongside New Jersey militia to defend Morristown against a probable British and Hessian offensive.
The New Jersey “Summer Campaign” resulted in two major engagements, the Battle of Connecticut Farms on June 7, 1780, and the Battle of Springfield on June 23. The artillery regiments, along with local militia and New Jersey Continentals, successfully repulsed a coordinated British-Hessian advance to capture Washington’s army, and were the last major engagements between the Americans and British in the northern theater.
In October 1780, Ashton was reassigned to the Fourth Continental Artillery Regiment, and was appointed paymaster on Jan. 16, 1781. The following April, Ashton was promoted to captain.
According to records, Ashton retired from the Continental Army in November 1783, two months after the Treaty of Paris was signed and effectively ending the war. Ashton then repaired to Fort Pitt, where he served in the Pennsylvania militia, and participated in the ill-fated military campaign led by Josiah Harmar against Native American tribes in the Northwest Territory. Accounts also show that Ashton also went into private business in Pittsburgh by the mid-1790s.
According to “A History of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania,” published in 1877, Ashton arrived “previous to the war of 1812, and settled on the farm lying just above Edinburg,” the land on which he and 11 other veterans of the Revolution are interred today.
Pictured at top: A sign identifies Ashton Cemetery in Edinburg, Pa., the final resting place of several veterans who served during the American Revolution.
