A Patriot of the Revolution

John Branner (1752-1837)

Catherine Harpine (1753-1817)

Life happened quickly for John Branner and Catherine Harpine, both natives of Shenandoah County, Virginia. They married in July 1773 and welcomed their first child the following February. Their second child arrived fourteen months later on April 13, 1775. A week later, April 19, 1775, shots were fired in Lexington and Concord, marking the beginning of the American Revolution. On January 5, 1777, only two weeks after the birth of their third child, John enlisted for three years’ service in the Continental Army. 

 

John Branner’s name does not show up on any company muster rolls until May 1778 (roll dated June 1778). He is at Valley Forge. Each roll through August 1778, contains the remark, “Sick at Leditz Hospital.”¹

 

Map showing Lititz (red dot) and Washington's Headquarters. (Google Maps)

  

In December 1777, General George Washington moved his weary Continental troops, numbering around 12,000, to winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania where they would remain until June 1778. Also in December, Washington sent orders for sick and wounded soldiers to be quartered in the town of Lititz, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles northwest of Valley Forge.

Winter conditions at Valley Forge took their toll on Washington’s men. Cold, fatigue, shortages of warm clothing, blankets, shoes, food, and other necessities left the soldiers in low spirits and vulnerable to disease. The Marquis de Lafayette arrived with Washington in December, taking on the role of camp inspector, interacting with troops, and working to obtain the resources the soldiers needed. Baron Friedrich von Steuben arrived in February. Using his expertise as a former Prussian military officer, he began training the troops in the art of warfare. The Baron developed a drill system, taught the soldiers combat maneuvers, and by June had produced disciplined, combat-ready troops. By the time Washington departed Valley Forge in June, his soldiers were in better spirits, disciplined, and ready for battle.

 

Baron Steuben Drilling Troops at Valley Forge by E. A. Abbey (Wikimedia Commons)

 

John Branner didn’t fare any better than his comrades-in-arms at Valley Forge. In January 1778, camp fever had taken over the hospital in Lititz. We now know that it was actually typhus, which is spread through bites from infected lice and fleas. Over two hundred years ago, people didn’t understand that crowded, unsanitary conditions, and lack of personal hygiene contribute to the spread of disease, so bedding and clothing was reused without being washed. The result was filth, sickness, and death. John Branner’s stay at the hospital in Lititz lasted from May until August 1778, presumably until the hospital closed on the 28^th of that month. Whether John had been hospitalized due to wounds or because he had contracted camp fever at the encampment at Valley Forge is unknown.²

 

In September 1778, John was transferred to Captain Samuel Booker’s company in same regiment, which appears to be the 11^th Virginia Regiment of Foot, under the command of Colonel Abraham Buford. John’s name is on the Company muster roll for November 1779, dated “at camp” December 1779.^{1, 3}

 

Note: Regiments were consolidated more than once as the war went on due to a decline in troops fit for service. It is likely John was in the 8^th Virginia Regiment of Foot. [See John Branner A Grave-Marking Ceremony.]

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SOURCES 

 

¹Ancestry.com. A roster of Revolutionary ancestors of the Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: A roster of Revolutionary ancestors of the Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution : commemoration of the United States of America bicentennial, July 4, 1976. Evansville, Ind.: Unigraphic, 1976. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/29740/?name=john_branner&event=1777&count=50. Accessed June 9, 2021.

 

²Unchartedadam. “Lititz answers the call of freedom; becomes a hospital town for Revolutionary War wounded,” Uncharted Lancaster. [December 22, 2019.] https://unchartedlancaster.com/2019/12/22/lititz-answers-the-call-of-freedom-by-becoming-a-hospital-town-for-revolutionary-war-wounded/. Accessed June 9, 2021.

³Ancestry.com. U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M246, 138 rolls); War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93; National Archives, Washington. D.C. U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783. Virginia, 11th Regiment, 1776-1778 (Folder 282). https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_11365800145?treeid=10671836&personid=353630473&hintid=1038886362664&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=806754. Accessed June 9, 2021.

 

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 ^{Howell-Richards Family History - June 2021 (Updated July 2021)}