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days came to Beaver Dam near Frankstown. The expedition camped over night at the "clear fields," near Ashville, a couple of nights following, and thence proceeded most cautiously towards Kittanning, having noticed that an Indian and an Indian boy had but recently preceded them. They arrived near Kittanning late in the evening, intending to surprise the town early in the night; but to their dismay, scouts whom they had sent ahead reported that they had seen the fire of a party of Indians encamped on the path, leaving Lieutenant Hogg with a party to watch and attack them in the morning, by a detour of several miles they arrived near the stronghold which was located on the west bank of the Allegheny as the day was breaking and hastily attacked the Indians, killing many, including Capt. Jacobs, chief of the Delawares, a noted warrior, and completely destroying the town, not however, without loss. On their return they found that Lieut. Hogg's party had fared badly, the Indians they attacked, outnumbering them, so they were defeated. This successful expedition put an end to Indian depredations during this war.
After the capture of Fort Du Quesne in 1758, these tribes were compelled to go to north-eastern Ohio, but during Pontiac's war in 1763, they besieged Fort Pitt, commanded by Capt. Ecuver, to whose relief Col. Bouquet, a noted Belgian soldier in the service of Great Britain, who in 1758 cut out the road for the Forbes expedition, went to his relief, and being ambushed at Bushy Run by a large force of Indians, escaping defeat only by the most adroit strategy, dispersed the Indians, relieved Fort Pitt, again defeated the confederated tribes and compelled them to make peace.
During the Revolutionary War quite a number of the Delawares fought on the side of the patriots, but some of them espoused the cause of the British. During that war the Kittanning Path was often used by hostile Indians and British from Kittarning. Felix Skelly and his cousin, a Mrs. Elder were captured about the beginning of 1778 in Blacklog Valley and taken over this path. At Kittanning Skelly or O'Skelly, escaped across the Allegheny River, and afterwards joined the army of Washington, and fought until the close of the war as did several of his brothers, one of them, Patrick Skelly, having been killed at Yorktown. Felix Skelly died on his farm near the present town of Wilmore, July 3, 1835, and his remains are interred in St. Michael's cemetery, Loretto.
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