The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Johannes "John" Santee was born in 1757 in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, the son of Abraham Santee, an early settler of Northampton County.
In August 1777, he was mustered into Captain Weygandt's Company, Colonel Labar's Battalion, Northampton County Militia, initially as a Fifer and later as a Private. In the fall of 1777, after the Battle of Germantown, his unit marched to meet up with Washington's Army at Whitemarsh. The battalion became part of Irvine's Brigade of Pennsylvania Militia. Washington's Army was in a very good defensive position along a ridgeline with creeks protecting each flank. Irvine's Brigade was posted on a hill (now known as Militia Hill) that anchored the American right flank. General Howe's British forces moved north from Germantown to Whitemarsh. Howe sent a probing attack force consisting of some Hessian Jaegers, the 16th Light Dragoons, and Simcoe's Queen's Rangers (a Loyalist unit) toward the American right flank.
Washington ordered Irvine's Brigade to advance and attack that force. The American attack was repulsed, and Irvine was wounded and captured. The Pennsylvania Militia retreated in good order and reoccupied their hilltop positions. Howe, taken aback by the American aggressiveness and recognizing the strength of the American position, decided against a full-scale assault and retired toward Philadelphia and winter quarters. John Santee and his fellow militiamen were discharged and returned home for the winter, while Washington's Continentals entered winter quarters at Valley Forge.
Unlike most of his militia counterparts, this was not John's only active duty stint. He served tours in 1778, 1779, and 1780, volunteering to serve in campaigns against the Iroquois Nation on the Pennsylvania frontier.
He married Maria Gross in 1782 and settled down to a life of farming in Northampton County. He applied for and was granted a pension in 1840. His pension records his service in the Northampton County Militia at Whitemarsh and also credits him with serving in the Pennsylvania Line during the campaigns against the Iroquois.
The Patriot died in 1848 and was buried in the church cemetery in Hecktown, Moore Township, Northampton County.
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