9781422287491

13 A Narrow Escape

memory of John Jacob Mickley, member of the General Committee from Whitehall Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, who, under the cover of dark- ness, and with his farm team hauled the Liberty Bell from Independence Hall, Philadelphia, through the British lines to Bethlehem.” VITAL FIGURES: Farmers Who Saved the Bell Lehigh Valley farmers Frederick Leaser and John Jacob Mickley answered the call to duty in Philadelphia in 1777, where they helped hide the city’s bells from the advancing British army, which intended to melt them down for bullets. The bell from the Pennsylvania State House was first loaded into Mickley’s wagon, but when the wagon broke down on the way to Allentown, the bell was transferred to Leaser’s wagon. Leaser (whose name is also found to be spelled Loeser, Liesser, and Leiser) was born in 1738. He was the father of seven children, and farmed in Lynn Township, Northampton County. At the age of 19, Leaser enlisted in the Colonial Army and fought in the French and Indian War. Later, he enlisted as a private in the Continental Army and fought in the American Revolution. Mickley was a farmer in Whitehall Township, Northampton County. He held a number of positions in his local government, serving as a member of his township’s General Committee, which set the laws for his community.

Text-Dependent Questions Who was the British Army commander in August 1777? What did he hope to accomplish? Research Project The British capture of Philadelphia in 1777 forced General Washington and the Continental Army to spend the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge, about 20 miles away. Using your local library and the Internet, find out why Washington chose this site, and explain what the Army did that winter that prepared it to fight in the spring.