1. Buyers enclosed his own undated memorial to GW and four depositions with this date from himself and three other Sunbury residents (all DLC:GW). The memorial reads: “That your Memorialist, altho’ a private Citizen, readily received Two Officers of the German Regiment, into his House the Begining of last Winter; some difference however arose Between him and them; A Captn Michl Buyar [Bayer] of said Regiment, proceeded from abusive Language, to beat him in his own House, your Memorialist resisted, the other Officer interferred, and perhaps the Business, had thus ended, had not Col: Weltner Commandant of said Regimt with great wrath embarked in the Affair; He immediately Swore that the officers should leave my House; and that he would quarter half a Dozen of Soldiers the greatest Devils he had or could find in his Regiment upon me; I disbelieved this information, at First, But soon found it true—The Officers went away and a Party of armed Men approached my House demanding Quarters; Your Memorialist refused them entrance; & went to the Col.’s Quarters, to expostulate with him on his Conduct; The Soldiers likewise appeared; The Col: however in spite of entreaties; commanded them in the most absolute Manner to make their Quarters good In Consequence of which the best Room in my House was taken, and occupied for some Time, some of the Soldiers however returned to their former Quarters, as liking a Stove Room best, the Weather being very Severe; The Col: finding this, ordered them back again. Your Memorialist by shutting himself and Family up in the back parts of his House, and avoiding all Interco⟨urse⟩ with them, kept it ou[t] of their Power to render him any Damage, in any way save burning his House, & this had like to have happened more than once by their bringing whole Rails into the Room & putting one End into the Fire—The ill Treatment of your Memorialist is only one Instance of the Irregularity of his Conduct: The Fences of the Citizens have been burnt by the Soldiers and the Stockades erected at great Expense for the Protection of the Town have been cut down and burned; notwithstanding a fine Piece of Excellent Timber, within Gunshot of the Town, was taken for Firewood for his Regiment. It is likewis⟨e⟩ currently reported of him that he embezzles the publick Ammunition, selling it out for his private advantage.

“Your Memorialist has sufficient Experience of Col: Weltner, to dread his Revenge, as he knows him to be of a mean and Vindictive Temper; and as it is evident from his Conduct that he neither Regards the Rights of Citizens nor the Laws of Property.

“Your Memorialist therefore most humbly pray⟨s⟩ that he may be removed from the Command of the military in these Parts, as neither yr Memorialist nor any other Person, who has been so unfortunate as to incur his Displeasure, can consider themselves Safe under his Command; As a Bad Man in Power will seldom be at a Loss either for Tools to execute his Will, or for False Witnesses, or Base Men to varnish over his Conduct.”

Buyers swore in his deposition that “the Facts set forth in the foregoing Memorial touching his Treatment rec[eiv]ed of Col: Weltner, are Strictly true; such Facts, as did not so immediately fall under his own Observation, being first proven by the undeniable Testimony of Reputable Witnesses.”

William Maclay deposed that “at his Table some time last Winter, when he endeavoured to settle a difference which had that day arose between John Buyers and one of the Officers that lodged with said Buyers, Col: Weltner Swore that the other Officer should come away, and that he would send him half a Dozen of Soldiers, the greatest Devils in his Regiment; a few days after a Party were actually quartered on said Buyers against his Will. … the Soldiers burned the Neighbours Rails, Col. Weltner said he had ordered them to do so … at another Time … the Soldiers cut down the Stockade at the Back of his House, Col: Weltner said they must do so, and he would repair it if necessary in the Spring; This however he refused to do.” Maclay added that “there was no absolute necessity of c[o]mmitting such Waste, a very convenient and fine Peice of Timber having been taken for firewood for the Regiment and Hospital. The Damage done to the Stockade at this Deponents House, was such as rendered it Useless, upwards of Fifty Peices of hewed & sawed Timber were used in repairing it, exclusive of the lining Peices—As to Col: Weltner’s selling Amunition of which I am questioned—I have repeatedly seen him about weighing Powder and lead to Country People who brought him in Poultrey &ca. He at one Time desired me to Stop Twelve dollars for him, in my Paying of A Countryman for some Venison, adding he had given him Ammunition to that amount, I did so and gave him the Money—I do not however say that the Ammunition so sold belonged to the continent; I have seen Amunition carried up into his Room, which I believed to be brought from the Magazine; But can say no further—Col: Weltner called on me, while I acted as purchasing Comissary, for the Payment of Fowls &ca which he had purchased (as he said) with Money for the Use of his Table, I paid him his Acct taking his Receipt in the usual Form.”

John Morison deposed that “last Winter while the Guard was kept in a Part of the County Jail, upon the Guards complaining that they had no Firewood; He heard Col. Weltner give Orders to the Corporal of the Guard not only to burn the Stockade at the Jail, But to burn every thing excepting the Houses in which People were living; That accordingly the Corporal began to cut down the Stockade and a Breach was made which to⟨ok⟩ about thirty Pieces of hewed Timber to repair it.” Morrison could not “say that the Guard cut every Peice down, But to them & the aforesaid Orders, it was owing that any Breach was made in the said Stockade.” He “assisted at the repairing the Stockade which covered the Back of Wm Maclay’s Hou⟨se⟩” and “That so much of the said Stockade had been cut down as to render it totally useless as a defense, and That upwards of Fifty Peices of hewed Timber were used in repairing it exclusive of the Peices made Use of for lining.”

William Dewart attested that “last Winter the Soldiers of the German Regimt begining to pull down his Fences and burn his Rails, he applyed to Col: Weltner, and The Col: told him he would order them to desist; The Soldiers however, continued to take his Rails.” He “apply’d to the Col: ⟨a⟩ second Time the Col. then said he could not help it, That if he knew the Magistrates Rails he would burn them all first; He however promised that all Fences should be repaired in the Spring: This However was not done by the Soldiers.” Dewart declared “that he was called on as an Appraiser, to Value some Timber which was found necessary to repair the Stockades in the said Town, The Timber was valued at £400:0:0 that the Timber so valued was not sufficient to repair the Damages, That about fifty Peices of hewed Timber were used at the Stockade at Wm Maclay’s House to make up the Breaches—that the Repairs were only a Single Row of Timber—whereas the old Stockade was double, so that near one hundred Peices of the old Stockade must have been cut down.” Dewart gave “his Opinion that there was no Occasion for such Waste as a very valuable and Convenient Peice of Timber Land within Gun-shot of the Town, had been given up to the Soldiers for Firewood.”

David McKinney, justice of the peace for Northumberland County, certified the depositions at Sunbury on 18 May and wrote that Buyers, Maclay, Morrison, and Dewart “are men of fair Character and independent Circumstances: and That the said John Buyers made solemn Oath to the Following Facts viz. That he offered the whole of another House for Quarters for the Soldiery, if wanted, That the said House so offered was in good sufficient and tenentable Repair That he made this offer to Col: Weltner to Col: [William] Cooke the D.Q.M.G. and to John Weitzel his assistant—his Offer however was disregarded: from whence it is evident That Col: Weltners Conduct must have been directed by Malice in his treatment of the said Deponent; These Facts the Deponent declares were omitted in his Memorial only th[r]o Haste and inattention.”

2. On 4 April, the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council read and forwarded to the Board of War a similar memorial from Buyers and a related letter from William Maclay (see Pa. Col. Records description begins Colonial Records of Pennsylvania. 16 vols. Harrisburg, 1840–53. description ends , 12:305; and Joseph Reed to Weltner, 4 April, in Pa. Archives description begins Samuel Hazard et al., eds. Pennsylvania Archives. 9 ser., 138 vols. Philadelphia and Harrisburg, 1852–1949. description ends , 1st ser., 8:161–62). The board’s reply to Reed on 6 April expressed concern over Weltner’s conduct “as set forth in Mr Byer’s Memorial & Mr Maclay’s Letter,” copies of which the board intended to transmit to GW (Pa. Archives description begins Samuel Hazard et al., eds. Pennsylvania Archives. 9 ser., 138 vols. Philadelphia and Harrisburg, 1852–1949. description ends , 1st ser., 8:165–66).