The American War for Independence features many iconic warrior types such as the Minute Men and the Continental Line. However, the most distinctive warriors of the war were those who mastered the Pennsylvania long rifle—the one weapon that instilled fear in the hearts of British, Hessians, and their native allies. This edition offers another profile of a character from my upcoming novel, The North Spy. Our American rifleman is famed sniper Timothy Murphy. Though Timothy Murphy receives only a brief mention in the book, his role is crucial.
Frontier Youth
Born in 1751 in the Delaware Water Gap region near Minisink, New Jersey, Timothy Murphy was the son of Irish immigrants—most likely from Donegal. His parents moved with eight-year-old Tim to Shamokin Flats, now Sunbury, Pennsylvania, in 1759. The young Murphy apprenticed under a Mr. Van Campen and moved with him to the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. The valley was a rugged wilderness filled with hard-scrabble backwoods farmers, hunters, trappers, and native tribes. Living among them, the short, dark-haired, but tough Murphy quickly became an expert woodsman and marksman.
Young Rifleman
Some time after the start of the Revolutionary War, Murphy joined the Pennsylvania Battalion of Riflemen with his brother John and marched to join the main American Army at Boston. As part of this elite group of sharpshooters, he fought in the battles of Long Island, Harlem, and White Plains, and he was tested in numerous skirmishes along the way.
Holding the Line
Murphy transferred to the 12th Pennsylvania Line, where he was promoted to sergeant. He led his unit during the critical battles of Trenton and Princeton, earning particular fame for his shooting and stalking abilities. By this point, Murphy was recognized as an expert marksman – capable of hitting a seven-inch target at 250 yards with his long rifle. Traditional smoothbore muskets could scarcely hit the target at less than half that distance.
Morgan's Rifles
In July 1777, Murphy's skills earned him a transfer to Colonel Daniel Morgan's Rifle Corps, which consisted of 500 specially selected men known for their marksmanship. Equipped with the Pennsylvania long rifle and a tomahawk or knife, these riflemen fought from a distance, depending on firepower and avoiding close combat with bayonet-armed regular troops. Tim Murphy would prove to be their top sniper.
War in the North
With a major British invasion from Canada threatening the Hudson Valley, Morgan's Rifles were quickly sent to support General Horatio Gates's Northern Department. The rugged hills and dense woods of northern New York resembled his home in the Wyoming Valley. Murphy's sharpshooting proved invaluable during the battles of Freeman's Farm and Bemis Heights against British forces led by General John Burgoyne.
Battle Sniper
Murphy made history and became a legend among American riflemen on October 7, 1777, during the fight at Bemis Heights. General Benedict Arnold had called on Dan Morgan to find someone to take out the British officer rallying his men under heavy American fire. The best British officer on the field was General Simon Fraser, and Arnold believed he was worth a whole regiment. Morgan chose Murphy for this grim task. The area was thick with trees and heavy with smoke, so Murphy slung his Dickert rifle on his back and climbed a tree to get a better line of sight. He placed his rifle in a fork of the tree and took aim at the general from an extremely long range of 300 yards. Let's pause here to discuss the weapon used by the patriot sniper on that fateful day.
The Rifle
The Dickert rifle was nicknamed the widow-maker by the British because of its deadly use against officers. It was also called the long rifle, the American Rifle, the Dickert Rifle, and the Pennsylvania Rifle. However, it is strangely and widely known by a name given much later – the Kentucky Rifle. Based on a design by Moravian settler Jakob Dickert, the rifle measured about 42 inches long and fired a .50 caliber or larger bullet.
Fatal Shot
Murphy squeezed off his first shot but missed cleanly. Ramming home another bullet with his mallet, he adjusted his aim and fired again, grazing the general's horse. Most officers would have cleared the field with a near miss, but not Fraser, who refused the blandishments of his aides and kept steady, continuing to direct his men. Reluctantly, Murphy focused on the general, and his final shot struck the general's midsection, mortally wounding him.
One of General John Burgoyne's aides, Sir Francis Carr Clerke, was shot dead during the battle. Murphy is also credited with killing him with a mortal shot as he galloped across the field with a message.
With the Continental Army
Morgan's Rifles soon marched south to join the main Continental Army. As a result, Murphy was at Valley Forge during that famous winter cantonment. When the British Army evacuated Philadelphia in June 1778, General Washington pursued their rear guard. Murphy was not present on the field during the June 28, 1778, Battle of Monmouth. However, the next day, David Elerson and two other riflemen captured the ornate coach of a retreating British general.
Frontier War
While things were improving for the Americans in the mid-Atlantic, the situation in the north had grown unstable. After Burgoyne's defeat, the British resorted to raiding the New York and Pennsylvania frontiers with bands of Loyalists and Mohawk Indians. The situation called for rugged frontier fighters to meet the threat. Murphy was assigned to one of the companies of riflemen dispatched to the region.
Mohawk Valley
Moving north with three companies of Morgan's Riflemen to the Mohawk Valley, Murphy tracked down and killed the notorious Loyalist leader, Christopher Service. He also took part in the action at Unadilla in November 1778 in the pursuit of the Iroquois, Seneca, and Loyalist raiders under Chief Joseph Brant, who had sacked Cherry Valley. He partook in many bloody skirmishes – many of which remain enshrouded in myth and are thus difficult to verify – but Murphy excelled as a ruthless Indian fighter.
Punitive Expedition
In response to the depredations by Loyalists and Iroquois on New York settlements, General Washington ordered a punitive expedition. In August 1779, General John Sullivan's army marched into the core of Iroquois territory. During this campaign, Murphy was part of a scout company commanded by Lieutenant Thomas Boyd. Many actions occurred as the riflemen patrolled, raided, and ambushed. On September 13, an Iroquois war party ambushed Boyd's company. The resourceful Murphy narrowly escaped death, but Boyd and 22 of Murphy's fellow riflemen were massacred.
Capture and Escape
But Murphy's luck ran out in 1780 when he and another rifleman fell into the hands of an Iroquois war party, which took their captives back to their village to be ritually tortured and killed. Desperate, Murphy used all his resourcefulness for a last chance to survive. That evening, he and his companion slipped from their bonds. They seized knives from their sleeping captors and silently killed eleven warriors before escaping.
War in the Valley
The following September, Murphy was assigned to help defend Middle Fort in the Schoharie Valley. On October 16, the fort was besieged by a force of Loyalists and Indians led by Major John Johnson, Chief Joseph Brant, and Cornplanter. The fort's commander, Major Melanchthon Woolsey, decided to surrender, but Murphy—knowing the fate that awaited him at the hands of vengeful Indians—strongly refused to capitulate. He then fired on several flags of truce and threatened to shoot Woolsey if he raised the white flag. Eventually, Johnson withdrew and left the garrison intact. Murphy and the riflemen pursued and sniped at Johnson's force all the way back to Canada.
Virginia Sniper
In April 1781, Murphy joined the 3rd Pennsylvania Continental Infantry and fought under General "Mad" Anthony Wayne – himself a badass of the war. Murphy fought at the engagement at Green Springs on 16 July 1781 and was later present at the siege and Lord Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown in October 1781.
Skirmishing to the End
Six years carrying a rifle had come to an end. Or had it? Following Yorktown, Murphy mustered out of the Continental Army as it slowly disbanded in anticipation of a peace treaty. He returned to the Schoharie Valley but did not put down the gun. Instead, he spent the rest of the war skirmishing with hostile tribesmen allied to Britain. In recognition of his legendary feats and prowess, he was formally introduced to General Washington on 3 August 1783.
Yankee Farmer
After the war, Murphy returned to a life of relative obscurity while farming in upstate New York. Exchanging the gun for the plow, Murphy became a farmer and family man. He married twice. First, to Margaret (Peggy) Feek, daughter of a Dutch farmer. They had five sons and four daughters. After Peggy died in 1807, Murphy married Mary Roberston. The couple soon moved to Charlotteville, New York, and raised four more sons. Although he never learned to read or write, Tim acquired several farms, a grist mill, and became a local political leader.
Sniper's Legacy
On 27 June 1818, patriot sniper Tim Murphy died in Fultonham, New York, of throat cancer. Like his contemporaries Sam Brady and Daniel Boone, he was among the most legendary frontiersmen of the Revolutionary War.
