Robert Callender (ca. 1726 – July 29, 1776)"Robert Callender," The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, Volume XXIII - Number 4, Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 1964 was a frontiersman and a soldier, becoming one of the most prominent fur-traders in colonial Pennsylvania. He fought in the French and Indian War"From George Washington to Robert Callender, 20 October 1755," Founders Online, National Archives, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 2, 14 August 1755 – 15 April 1756, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983, p. 129. and took part in the Kittanning Expedition.Myers, James P. "Pennsylvania's Awakening: the Kittanning Raid of 1756." Pennsylvania History 66 (Summer 1999), pp. 399–420 He was commander of Carlisle Fort, participated in the Forbes Expedition, and was commissioned colonel at the start of the American Revolutionary War. Because of his knowledge of trails and terrain in Pennsylvania, his advice was sought by George Washington, John Forbes, and Henry Bouquet. He died at age 50 in 1776.
Birth and early life
Little is known about Callender's early life,Judith Ridner, "Relying of the "Saucy" Men of the Backcountry: Middlemen and the Fur Trade in Pennsylvania," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, April 2005, Vol. 129, No. 2, pp. 133-162 as most of his papers were destroyed in a house fire in Carlisle.Bouquet, Henry, The papers of Col. Henry Bouquet, prepared by Frontier Forts and Trails Survey, Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration; edited by Sylvester K. Stevens and Donald H. Kent. Dept. of Public Instruction, Pennsylvania Historical Commission, State Library of PennsylvaniaJames P. Myers Jr., "Mapping Pennsylvania's Western Frontier in 1756," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 123, No. 1/2 (Jan. - Apr., 1999), pp. 3-29 Many sources report that he was of Scottish descent, born in Ireland, and that he immigrated to North America as a young man. At least one source reports that he was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania."Col Robert Callender," Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Research Database, 2025
Career as a fur trader
Callender may have started trading furs in Pennsylvania as early as 1748.William Trent, Journal of Captain William Trent from Logstown to Pickawillany, A.D. 1752, Alfred Goodman, ed. Cincinnati: Robert Clark, 1871 In 1749, he entered into a business partnership with George Croghan, William Trent, and Michael Teaffe.A. T. Volwiler, "George Croghan and the Westward Movement, 1741-1782," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 46, No. 4 (1922), pp. 273-311 After about 1750, Callender maintained a mill and two homes in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, including an estate at Middlesex TownshipJohn Fralish, "Middlesex Township," Cumberland County Historical Society, Gardner Digital Library, 2016 and a second home at Silver Spring.William Henry Egle, ed. Notes and Queries, Historical, Biographical and Genealogical, Relating Chiefly to Interior Pennsylvania, Volume 2, Harrisburg: Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1895 He conducted much of his trade there, with the intent of making Carlisle a center for the Pennsylvania fur trade.
On February 22, 1750, Callender was a signatory of a treaty drawn up by George Croghan, without authorization from the Pennsylvania governor."Ratified Indian Treaty 4: Extracts from the Treaty with the Indians - Loggstown (Printed Copy), June 1, 1752," General Records of the United States Government, Series: Indian Treaties Croghan, Andrew Montour, Christopher Gist, and Callender were in Pickawillany, where they were greeted warmly by the Twightwee (Miami) residents, who told Croghan that they "desired that they might be admitted into the alliance of the English; that thereupon, Mr. Montour and he (though they had no authority from the Governor), rather than discourage these people at so critical a time...drew up an instrument which was executed on both sides."Charles Augustus Hanna, The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path Volume 2, Putnam's sons, 1911
In January 1751, Callender traveled with Croghan, Gist, and Montour to the Ohio village of Lower Shawneetown to establish trade relations with the Shawnee and other Ohio tribes.Christopher Gist, "The Journal of Christopher Gist, 1750–1751," From Lewis P. Summers, 1929, Annals of Southwest Virginia, 1769–1800. Abingdon, VA. In June 1752, a warehouse owned by Croghan, Trent, Callender, and Teaffe was destroyed during the attack on Pickawillany, and its contents looted. Callender probably lost goods worth over £1000. He later interviewed one of the only white survivors of the attack, Thomas Burney, when Burney reached Carlisle.
By late 1753, Callender was operating at least three trading houses, one each on the Muskingum and Scioto rivers and a third on Beaver Creek in what is now Fayette County, Pennsylvania."From George Washington to Robert Dinwiddie, 9 May 1754," Founders Online, National Archives, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 1, 7 July 1748 – 14 August 1755, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983, pp. 93–96. At the outset of the French and Indian War in 1754, the fur trade was disrupted by fighting and Native American raids on Pennsylvania settlements. In April 1754, Callender was trading furs on the Allegheny River and delivered a message to Ensign Edward Ward at Fort Prince George, warning him that a large force of French troops and Native American warriors was approaching the fort. A warehouse full of goods owned by Croghan, Trent, Callender, and Teaffe (valued at over £2500) was captured when French troops took the fort on April 18 1754.Landis, Charles Israel, "Captain William Trent, an Indian trader," Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 23, no. 10; Lancaster: Lancaster County Historical Society, 1919; pp 173-183 At about the same time, the warehouse shared by Trent, Croghan and Callender at Lower Shawneetown was confiscated by the Native American residents, who were under threat from the French to stop trading with the English. Soon after this, Callender's business relationship with Trent ended and he began supplying the British Army with horses, provisions, animal feed, and other materials.
Military career
Callender's sale of horses and equipment to the army brought him in contact with officers who needed experienced frontiersmen to do scouting and reconnaissance, as he had traveled most of the trade routes across western and central Pennsylvania. In October 1755, George Washington offered Callender a military commission in exchange for Callender's assistance in recruiting "some likely young fellows, acquainted with the woods"."From George Washington to Robert Callender, 20 October 1755," Founders Online, National Archives The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 2, 14 August 1755 – 15 April 1756, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983, p. 129. In January 1756, Callender was commissioned a captain lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment.Thomas Lynch Montgomery, ed. Muster Rolls, Etc., 1743-1787. Harrisburg Publishing Company, state printer, 1906. His knowledge of trails and terrain in Pennsylvania was of great value to Major John Armstrong in planning a raid that required troops to cross a largely unmapped region. Callender may have drawn or contributed to two of the best-known maps of the Pennsylvania frontier, both produced in 1756.
Kittanning Expedition
In September, Callender took part in Armstrong's Kittanning Expedition, which attacked the village of Kittanning, a staging-area for Lenape raids against Pennsylvania settlements, and destroyed it, killing the Lenape war chief Captain Jacobs. Callender reportedly set fire to Jacobs' house, forcing Jacobs to try to escape from a cockloft, where he was killed. In a letter to Governor Thomas Penn, the Reverend Thomas Barton wrote about the event: "One Mr. Callender, who at that Time bore only a Lieutenant's Commission, distinguish'd himself by the most uncommon Bravery & Resolution. It is asserted that when Jacobs took to a House, out of which he kill'd & wounded Many of our Men, Callender undertook to fire it, which he accomplish'd at the infinite Hazard of his Life; And that when our People precipitately retreated upon a Report prevailing that the French were to be up that Day from Fort Duquesne, Callender not content to leave the Houses standing, went back with a small Body of Men, & set Fire to them all."
As a reward for his heroism, Callender was given a captain's commission, and in October 1756, he was given command of Carlisle Fort.Hunter, William Albert. Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier: 1753–1758, (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited, 2018. His captain's commission was renewed in December 1757.
Forbes Expedition
Callender was in charge of transporting military supplies during the Forbes Expedition. On June 21, 1758, Henry Bouquet wrote to General John Forbes: "Captain Callender would be the most suitable man in America for the work I am having him do (that is, as wagon-master general); he is equally useful in other ways because of his energy and his knowledge of the country." In another letter in August, Bouquet mentioned "Callender, the most knowing man for the Roads & Situation." General Forbes assigned Callender to determine the best route for his army to use to cross the Allegheny Ridge, when marching to Fort Duquesne. Callender was active in scouting and even suggested a route where a road could be built, to move supplies quickly through the terrain.William A. Hunter, "Thomas Barton and the Forbes Expedition," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Oct 1971, Vol. 95, No. 4; University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 431-483"Orderly Book, 22 November 1758," Founders Online, National Archives, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 6, 4 September 1758 – 26 December 1760, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1988, pp. 153–154.
Callender's position as Wagon-Master General was challenging, as food, ammunition and other supplies had to be transported to troops in 23 forts across Pennsylvania, in addition to supplying troops as they advanced towards Fort Duquesne. This required Callender to oversee enormous numbers of horses, wagons and drivers, employed almost constantly, and often under attack. In July 1759, Callender's supply train for the army included 1,100 pack horses, but due to the demands on them to transport supplies, by August, 420 of these horses were no longer able to work because of saddle-sores. In April 1760, Callender sent a report to Bouquet accounting for a total of 1,643 horses lost, killed or "retired" due to illness. In May 1760, Callender wrote to Bouquet noting that it had been difficult to maintain these horses due to the demanding schedule and the many injuries and fatalities suffered during attacks by the French and Native Americans. By then, only 120 horses had survived from the previous year.
Pontiac's War
Between 1760 and 1763, Callender took a leave of absence from the army to attend to his businesses, but at the start of Pontiac's War in 1763, he was re-commissioned as a captain and took charge of supply transports. In June 1763, Bouquet ordered Callender to transport ten horses loaded with gunpowder to Fort Bedford, but because no troops were available to escort this valuable shipment, he ordered Callender to recruit local settlers to accompany the powder to the fort.Henry Bouquet, History of Colonel Henry Bouquet and the Western Frontiers of Pennsylvania, 1747-1764, Mary Carson Darlington, ed. Privately printed, 1920
Bloody Run and the Indiana land grant