The Pennamite–Yankee Wars or Yankee–Pennamite Wars were a series of conflicts consisting of the First Pennamite War (1769–1770), the Second Pennamite War (1774), and the Third Pennamite War (1784), in which settlers from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

( Yankees) and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

(Pennamites) disputed for control of the

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan ar ...

along the North Branch of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

. Both colonies and later states declared that their original land grants gave them control of this territory. In 1799, the Wyoming Valley became part of Pennsylvania, ending the conflict.

Grants to Connecticut and Pennsylvania

Claims on the

were disputed from the start. The Dutch regarded the

as the border between

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

and the British-controlled

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

. King Charles II rejected all Dutch claims in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and he granted the land to colonial-era

Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...

in 1662. This was two years before his country's conquest of New Netherland and its subsequent conversion into the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

. In 1681, Charles II included the territory in his grant of the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

. The charter of each colony assigned the territory to the colony so that overlapping land claims existed. In the 17th century, fierce resistance by the

Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...

people repelled Anglo settlement and rendered the debate academic. But by the mid-18th century, the double grant became problematic for settlers from each colony seeking to acquire new lands.

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In ...

mentioned the conflict in his pro-independence pamphlet ''

Common Sense Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or know ...

'' as evidence that "Continental matters" could be sensibly regulated only by a Continental government. Both colonies purchased the same land by independent treaties with the Indians who occupied this territory, primarily those of the Iroquoian-speaking nations. Connecticut sent settlers to the area in 1754, but the work of colonization was delayed for a time by the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. France and Britain fought for control in North America as well, in what was called the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

by British colonists. When Britain defeated France, the latter nation ceded its territory east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain. In 1768 the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

repudiated their sale to Connecticut's Susquehanna Company and sold the land to the Penns. This source contains detailed accounts of the conflicts. But in 1769 Yankee settlers from Connecticut founded the town of Wilkes-Barre. Armed bands of Pennsylvanian Pennamites tried to expel them without success from 1769 to 1770, starting the First Pennamite War. This was followed by the Second Pennamite War in 1775. Following the American Revolutionary War, by which the colonists gained independence, settlers erupted in the Third Pennamite War in 1784. Connecticut's claim was confirmed by King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in 1771. In 1773, more settlers from Connecticut erected a new town which they named Westmoreland. In December 1775, the Pennsylvanians refused to leave; the militia of

Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Northumberland County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 91,647. Its county seat is Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Sunb ...

, forced them out of the territory at gunpoint.

Resolution

Conflicts continued between the two claimants at the end of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, and the Continental Congress overturned the king's ruling in 1782 and upheld Pennsylvania's claim to the area. This was the only interstate dispute settled by Congress under the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

. But the state of Pennsylvania sought to force the Yankees from the land in 1784, which began the Third Pennamite War, with Connecticut and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

sending men to help the settlers. During the conflict, the Pennsylvania general John Armstrong, assisting the Pennsylvania representative Alexander Patterson, brought about a truce by promising impartial justice and protection but, as soon as the Yankees were defenseless, he took them prisoner. This treatment swayed public sentiment in favor of the Yankees, and Patterson was withdrawn. Umbrage remained and disputes broke out until the Pennsylvania Legislature confirmed the various land titles in 1788. The controversy ended in 1799, with the Wyoming Valley becoming part of Pennsylvania. Yankee settlers already occupying land became Pennsylvanians with legal claims to their land.

References

Bibliography

* *

Primary sources

, the following printed resources are in the collection of the Connecticut State Library (CSL): * [CSL call number
F157 .W9 B69 1931
* [CSL call number
F157 .W9 D63 1990
. * [CSL call number
F157 .W9 J89
. * [CSL call number
Charles T. Wells Collection F157.W9 S55
. * [CSL call number
F157 .W9 S72
. * [CSL call number
Conn Doc Am35 cb num 32
. * [CSL call number
F159 .W6 W65 1906
.

External links