Site of the Battle of Johnstown – October 25, 1781
Take Route 29 west out of Johnstown. Pass by Johnson Hall on your right and immediately turn right onto Johnson Avenue (Co Route 115). Look for the marker on your right just before the intersection of Johnson and O'Neill avenues. Please also note a boulder with bronze relief commemorating this battlefield, dedicated in 1909 by Johnstown Chapter, D.A.R. An earlier marker was replaced in 1976 by Lewis G. Decker, President of the Sons of the American Revolution in presence of a direct descendant of Col. Willett, in conjunction with the reenactment of the battle by the Brigade of the American Revolution at nearby Johnson Hall.
South and west of this marker, one of the last battles of the Revolution took place when British and Loyalist forces led by Major John Ross and Captain Walter Butler were engaged by our militia commanded by Colonel Marnius Willett and were forced from the field at dusk. Ross’s forces then fled for Canada. A few days after, Willett’s forces caught up with their rear guard at West Canada Creek where Capt. Butler was killed. News of both Butler’s death and Cornwallis’s defeat at Yorktown reached Johnstown at about the same time, causing local citizens to rejoice and celebrate.