A B Man 1704-1804

An Easton Lenape Native, with Sullivan’s March 1779

The name Lena’pe which means “the original people”

The Lena’pe also is known as Delaware Indians

Buried on the Brotzman family cemetery plot in Hay’s Cemetery, Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, is A. B…man, a Lena’pe Patriot.

The three Lena’pe chiefs who signed a treaty on September 17, 1778, forty-one years after the “Walking Purchase”, held great promise both for the fledging United States and the Lena’pe. This basically was, that all the land which had been lost to the Iroquois expansionism would be restored, and the Lena’pe in turn would not only allow American troops into their newly-restored territories, but provide guides as well. The three chiefs were the first to commit their people to assist the cause of the American Revolution.

In the Spring of 1779, American and British troops, began to gather in the town of Easton, Pennsylvania The Lena’pe [Delaware] supporters would join them, in keeping with the treaty they signed, including the man buried in the Brotzman plot in Hay Cemetery. The best Native American guides were so highly skilled, in fact that they claimed to be “invisible” in their travels through the dense forests.

This skill would be essential when they entered enemy territory, ascertaining if and where it would be safe for an army of white soldiers to march. These were the skills which the Lena’pe man buried in the Hay Cemetery provided. He was advanced in years, but as tough and strong and woods-smart as the Lena’pe leaders could provide in their quest to fulfill their part of the bargain which they hoped would lead to their statehood in the United States. Article VI in the treaty of September 17, 1778.

Alexander C. Frock, in “New Sources on the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign in 1779”, 1929, provided a personal note by George Washington about one of the Indian guides: “Shawna John” of the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment is well acquainted with all this Country – gives a good account of it – and if he is to be depended upon will be a good guide and a useful person.” Could this “Shawna John” be the A. B. man, Lena’pe patriot buried in the Brotzman plot in Hay Cemetery? We will probably never know.

The Indian scouts were as far as Wyalusing, returning to report that Sullivan and his army could continue without being ambushed by the enemy troops. Another account was the Indian scouts were near the Newtown, the Village near Elmira, New York. They returned and reported finding a great number of fires, the enemy must be very formidable, and mean to enter into battle. They encountered several scouting parties on their way, supposed to scout on the army heading north. Bear in mind the Iroquois scouts were highly skilled also.

It is suggested the Lena’pe warrior buried with the members of the Brotzman family, returned and was cordially welcomed by Abraham Brotzman that he, like other Indians, offered to exchange names with his benefactor thus, A. B…man being grateful for finding a place to live out his days near his old ancestral land. However, Abraham Brotzman declined this honor.

As we all know, the Lena’pe never got to be the fourteenth state in their help in exchange for fighting the British, as promised in the 1778 treaty. It was never ratified by the Congress.

The gravestone of A. B…man had recently been removed and reproductions made of the stone, for posterity. The original stone with Lena’pe pictographs, and the new granite marker has been reset on the site to honor this soldier in the American Revolution, Rededication in 2003.