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Author: David A. Peters
Michael Wheeland was born in 1748 in Quakertown, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, the son of Michael [Sr.] and Magdelena (Baker/Becker) Weiland. Other variant spellings are used, Wyland, Weyland, and Wheeland.
Michael Sr, the father, emigrated in about 1743 to Pennsylvania from Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany, in about 1743. After his marriage, he lived for a time in Bucks and Philadelphia (now Montgomery) Counties before migrating to Lancaster and Berks Counties and finally White Deer Township, Northumberland (now Union) County in the 1770s or earlier.
In the Spring of 1776, Michael [the son] was living in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, when he enlisted in the company of Captain Peter Grubb, commanded by Colonel Samuel Miles of the 1st Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment.
His pension record indicates he was at the Battle of Long Island. Most of Mile’s Regiment was deployed on the far left of the American line at the town of Bedford and the Jamacia Pass; like most of Brigadier General William “Lord Stirling” Alexander’s Brigade, Mile’s Regiment took heavy casualties. There is no record of him at Trenton and Princeton; although the regiment was engaged in these two battles, some of the regiment furloughed about this time. In the late Winter and early Spring of 1777, Mile’s Regiment and Colonel Samuel Atlee’s Musketry Battalion were merged to form the Pennsylvania Regiment of Foot, commanded by Colonel John Bull. He was soon replaced by Colonel Walter Stewart and designated the 13th Pennsylvania Continental Regiment. He is also recorded as being engaged at the Battles of Brandywine and Monmouth.
In June and July of 1778, British allied Iroquois and Loyalist Militia, like Butler’s Rangers, were marauding throughout the Susquehanna River Valley of North Central Pennsylvania, burning out farms, taking captives, and massacring the settlers of the region. Many of these settlers “ran away,” seeking refuge in the local forts and blockhouses, such as Fort Augusta, Brady’s blockhouse, and Ante’s Fort. The militia of Northumberland County and neighboring counties were called out. Continental Line soldiers from the region were furloughed or returned in companies for ranger duty and to help evacuate the settlers, such as Hawkins Boon’s Company of Morgan’s Rifle Corp; among their numbers were two legendary frontier riflemen Sam Brady and Timothy Murphy (of Saratoga fame). These raids culminated in the Wyoming Valley Massacre and the subsequent retaliatory Sullivan’s Expedition of 1779, ending the Iroquois’ de facto involvement in the American Revolution. Sam Brady’s father, John, and brother, James, both Captains in the 12th Pennsylvania, were killed in skirmishes with the Iroquois; John Brady was killed at Fort Freeland at Warrior’s Run near Williamsport in Aug of 1779 with Captains Hawkins Boon and Sam Daugherty and James on 13 Jul 1779 at Fort Augusta, Sunbury.
Michael, according to family accounts, was helping a friend named Bashore evacuate his family across Susquehanna; while rowing across the river, he took two musket balls, one through the cheek and another lodged in his shoulder; this caused fits of nervous shakes, especially later in life according to his daughter Mary (Wheeland) Campbell. From his wounding in the Summer of 1778 to his discharge in February 1780, he was attached to the Invalid Corp and was pensioned in 1818.
After his discharge, he returned to White Deer Township, now Union County, Pennsylvania, near Milton. He married Elizabeth Hildabidle in 1783. They had four known children:
Michael was born about 1784.
Elizabeth was born about 1790 and married Samuel McRoberts.
Mary was born on 12 September 1792 and married Thomas Campbell.
Jacob was born about 1795 and married Elizabeth Parks.
The Patriot died on 24 April 1832 in Milton, Northumberland, Pennsylvania, and is thought to be buried at the Harmony Cemetery in Milton.
Sources:
Revolutionary War Pension file S40674
Pennsylvania Archives
Pension Rolls
Pennsylvania in the War of Revolution
Battalions and Line
Find-a-Grave
Abstracts of Graves of Revolutionary War Patriots
US Pensioners 1818-1872
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