John Corbly Massacre Monument

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

On May 10, 1782, Reverend John Corbly sadly lost his wife and a few of his children from a heinous attack by Native Americans. The monument erected in the Garads Fort cemetery pays tribute to the lives of Elizabeth Corbly and her children who were killed on that fateful day.

Images

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Corbly family were making their regular Sunday morning walk to church when they were attacked by a group of Native Americans. Reverend John Corbly was slightly behind his family as he was meditating on the sermon he would soon preach. He was ripped from his thoughts after he heard the shrieking cry of his wife. As he was running to them, she told him to run and get help. As she was yelling this, an Indian tried to knock her to the ground. She would not fall so she was scalped and shot. The infant she was clinging to was also scalped and killed. A young son, Isiah, was attacked on the head with a hatchet, and his sister, Elizabeth, was scalped. The eldest daughter, Delilah, was able to get away and hide in a tree. When she though the area was safe, she began making her way back to the fort. One of the Native Americans who stayed close to the area saw her and attacked her. She was scalped as well.

After the attack, the Reverend returned to the site of the massacre. He saw the mutilation of his loved ones and lost consciousness. He was found and led to the fort by a friend. Once safe in the fort, it was found that some of the family members were still alive. Isiah only lived for 24-hours, but Elizabeth and Delilah survived into adulthood. Elizabeth passed away at age 21, but Delilah married, had many children, and passed away in Ohio at the age of 64.

The Reverend had another son, John Jr., that was not mentioned in his telling of the event. There is some discussion about where John Jr. was during the attack, but most have come to the assumption that he was further ahead of his family and was able to get away and call for help, after his dog attacked one of the Indians.

The monument placed in the Garards Fort cemetery was dedicated in 1990 by the Garards Fort Cemetrey Association. This monument will forever memorialize the innocent lives lost on that fateful day in 1782.

Sources

Corbly Family Massacre, The Corbly Association. Accessed February 25th 2021. http://johncorblydescendants.org/?page_id=13.

Accessed February 25th 2021.

https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_the_Discovery_of_America/Gl3GNi4mxNQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=corbly%20philadelphia.