The Heroic Hendry's and their Ultimate Sacrifice in the Revolutionary War

I was researching my family roots a while back when I discovered a concern from the past. One of my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfathers, John Hendry, was from upstate New York and of fighting age during the American Revolution, yet he died in Quebec, Canada. A chill went through me. Why had my ancestor fled his American homeland? Was he trying to avoid military service? Did he support Great Britain’s side? Even though he died almost 200 years before I was born, I made assumptions about him and judged him. 

I later learned the real story. How wrong I was! Two centuries after his death, I am proud to say my ancestor John Hendry was an American military hero who paid the ultimate sacrifice. He even managed to teach this great-great-great-great-great-grandchild of his a lesson centuries after his death - don’t judge people or assume you know their story.

Ever since, I’ve wanted to go to the family gravesite in Harpersfield, New York and pay my respects to that part of my family tree. As I was doing research on how to get there, I found a local newspaper article about someone else who had beaten me to it. That local historian, Rich Walling, was kind enough to let me interview him to get the real story of John Hendry. 

Thanks for letting me interview you Rich. What do we know about who John Hendry was and what he was doing in the early months of 1780? 

John was one of five brothers who served during the American Revolution, which claimed his life, and the lives of two more of them (and their father). Originally from Connecticut, the Hendry's were part of the original patentees, or owners of the Harpersfield Lot, a huge territory along the west bank of the West Branch of the Delaware River, that extended nearly to the Susquehanna. The family was very good friends with the Harpers, who were the leaders in establishing Harpersfield, and the first settlement began in the early 1770s. One-hundred acre lots were created, forests were cleared for cultivation and cabins built on what had been Oneida land, land which was purchased from them by the Harpers. I should also note that the Hendry's were Ulster Scots, or Scots-Irish. These people were fiercely independent and hardened by war and violence back in Northern Ireland; they held no love of the British.

Of course, by the mid-1770s, war clouds gathered between the colonies and England, and the frontier was rapidly becoming a dangerous place. As mentioned before, five Hendry brothers served in the war. Oldest brother Thomas was made a 2nd Lt. in July 1777 and then a major in early March 1780. Brothers James and John were appointed as 2nd Lts. also in March, just one month before the Sugar Bush Raid that devastated the Hendry family.

John and his two older brothers served as rangers based at the Middle Fort on the Schoharie, about 25 miles away - that is present-day Middleburgh, New York. According to records, including pension accounts, local men, including the Hendry's, were on Alarm Duty, which meant they would regularly go out on multi-day patrols looking for signs of the enemy. From 1777 to the end of the war, this part of New York was ravaged by raids led by men such as Joseph Brant, noted Mohawk war captain, and by loyalists. (See photo of Brandt displayed at the military history museum in Ottawa, Canada.) Loyalist activity was high in the Harpersfield area, which was partly settled by Scots who remained loyal to the Crown. In fact, two of the men who were with the Hendry's on their last excursion had ties to Loyalists in the area, although these men were Patriots.

As for the early months of 1780 and what John Hendry was doing, we should be aware that the previous winter, that of 1779-1780 was the most severe on record at the time - even the Hudson River at Manhattan was frozen solid. Food was scarce, animals died, refugees at the three Schoharie forts were starving.

What happened in April 1780?

On April 2nd, Capt. Alexander Harper was ordered to take a scouting party back to Harpersfield on a dual mission: First, to check on Loyalist activity, and second, to spend time to make maple sugar, a product from the vast maple forests of that area. His men were split into five sugar bush camps, where they were surprised and attacked on April 7, 1780. Among the party was William Lamb and his 12-year old son, a free Black civilian named Cornelius Teabout from the Middle Fort, a Continental soldier at home on leave, and men who were part of the rangers, including the three Hendry brothers. Another Hendry brother, David, was back in Connecticut, recuperating from smallpox, or else he too may have been killed or captured.

The Hendry brothers had their camp on a hillside when they were attacked. Major Thomas Hendry, age 36, and James, age 35, were both killed. John, age 30, was captured and made prisoner. He, along with ten other captives, were held overnight in a hog pen at the farm of a local Loyalist named Samuel Claxton, and then marched through the cold and snow nearly 250 miles to Fort Niagara.

The history of that day was actually detailed in a book published in 1882 called The Frontiersmen of New York by Jeptha Simms. Here is the relevant passage: “Thomas Hendry (sic) and his brother James were both killed in the sugar bush by the same Indian, although not then together, who also hurled his tomahawk at John. The latter knew Brant, who was near, and called to him in the Indian tongue and he saved his life. John Henry (sic) was a carpenter by trade, and had known Brant when working at it in the Mohawk valley... From Thomas Henry (sic) (in 1847), a son of this John Henry (sic), who was three years old when his father was captured, and 70 at our interview."

What happened to John Hendry after that?

John was held captive and transferred to a prison at Quebec, where he was permitted to write letters home. In his letters, he told of being offered by the British to be sent to Bermuda to work as a carpenter. He refused. We do know that other men captured in that raid were held in irons for at least a year. We do not know the exact date, or even the year, but John Hendry died as a prisoner of war at Quebec. 

Here is how the story was told in The Frontiersmen of New York by Jeptha Simms: “On his arrival in Canada, he was set to work, and the enemy wanted him to go to Bermuda to work there, and on his refusing to do it, to subdue his indifferent spirit, as they said, he was confined in a dungeon at Quebec, in which he died. He wrote to his family that they might know why he was thus cruelly treated.” 

What gravesites or other markers exist to note all of this?

There are two markers that honor John. One is at the Stevens Rural Cemetery in Harpersfield, New York and the other is at the North Kortright Cemetery in the neighboring town. One says "When my Brother was murdered, I was standing by. But in Quebek (sic) prison I was doomed to die." At the Harpersfield cemetery there is a marker honoring Thomas and John. It states: "Sacred to the memory of Thomas and John Hendry who were sacrificed by the Tory party April 8, 1780 for the Crime called Democracy." Another memorial marker for James Hendry is next to it. It says "While British tyranny overspread this land, I was slain by cruel hands."

How did you find all of this? What archives, libraries, websites, etc. did you tap to uncover this history?

The first and most readily available sources are local histories, the earliest dating to 1845 and based on eye-witness information. These sources must be verified and expanded upon by using primary sources. For example, the date of April 8, 1780 is incorrect, the date of John's birth of 1745 is incorrect (he was born in 1750). One source misnames William Stevens as James Stevens, and so on. Another wonderful source is the pension records of veterans and their widows. Although John's widow did not file for a pension, his brother David's widow did, in 1839. This pension describes the situation on the Harpersfield frontier, how local men were organized into alarm companies, raids by the enemy and so on. It also includes details about the April 7, 1780 raid and tells of the deaths of Thomas and James Hendry, and the capture of John.

I also understand that you also have an ancestor who was an American military hero. Tell us about him so we can remember him and his service.

My cousin was William Henry Walling, who received the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War. I have access to his wartime correspondence and am working on publishing them, either in print or electronically.

Thanks for letting me interview you, Rich. Please introduce yourself and explain how you are involved in local history near Harpersfield, New York.

Thank you for asking and thank you for being a proud American whose ancestors sacrificed so much in the struggle to create the United States of America. 

As for my interest in local history in the Harpersfield area, I have to step back a moment to explain that my interest in history in general was fostered & encouraged by my mom and dad, both of whom were officers during World War Two. My mom in the US Navy and my dad in the US Army Air Corps. As a baby boomer, my folks took my brothers and I to battlefields and historic forts throughout the North East. Both of my parents were from near Lake George, and I grew up on tales of Rogers Rangers, the French & Indian War and the many battles in the "North Country." For even more explanation of my love of history is the circumstance that I am descended by Wallings who landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1623. One-hundred and fifty years later, some forty Walling men, all cousins, fought in the American Revolution, from ten different states. 

Which brings me in a round-about way to actually answering your question: My involvement in local history near Harpersfield, NY. The town is a beautiful, rural community on the edge of the Western Catskills. One of those forty Walling men I just mentioned was Simeon Walling. He served in the Sullivan Campaign in 1779 along the Susquehanna and at the end of the war, returned to Rhode Island to find his wife pregnant by another man. Without saying a word, he slipped away and walked 250 miles back to the Susquehanna, where he and other veterans founded the town of Oneonta. When I moved from suburban New Jersey to the Harpersfield area, I found many Walling cousins living here, and have since become good friends with them. That innate love of history that is "in my blood," found new horizons when I moved here last summer, and I haven't stopped exploring since.

Thank you so much for your time Rich. If people want to find more from you, where should they go?

I may be reached here on LinkedIn. You can also see a recent newspaper article about me. And again, Victor, thank you for your interest, commitment & for being a part of keeping the history of our great nation alive. The Hendry's sacrificed so much and that sacrifice should never be dismissed or forgotten.

=== Like this article? Click on the subscribe button up in the top right of this article to get my weekly articles about leadership lessons from history. 

About the Author: Victor Prince is a corporate trainer, executive coach, and an Amazon Top 20 best-selling leadership author who helps organizations build leadership, strategy, communications, and critical thinking skills. Follow Victor on LinkedIN to access his 100+ articles on leadership, strategy, learning & development, and more.

Photo Credits: Photo 1 (Header of Headstones) - Courtesy of Rich Walling; Photo 2 (Soldier) - Public Domain; Photo 3 - (Brandt from Museum) - Taken by author; Photo 4 - (Indian Raid Sign) - From cbmccarthy on WikimediaCommons; Photo 5 (Prison ship) - Public domain photo.