"About three o'clock in the afternoon they marched from the fort, in martial array, with the stars and stripes at their head, to the tune of Saint Patrick's Day in the Morning, played on the fife by a true son of Erin, and with drums beating."[40] They proceeded about three miles in column when they formed a line of battle of about 500 yards front. Capt. Dethic Hewit with his so-called regulars, was on the extreme right, with Captain Bidlack next to him, and he joined by Captain Geer. On the extreme left was Capt. Whittlesey and the Salem detachment under Lieut. Bowen. Next to them was the Hanover company under Captain Stewart (McKaracan having that day resigned), and he was joined by Captain Buck, of Kingston. This was the order in which the advance was made. It was made over a plain that was grown up with brush--yellow pines, pitch pines and scrub oak. These bushes could be seen over by a man, but were high enough to conceal a skulking foe. The right rested on a rise of ground near the river, and was led by Lieut. Col. Zebulon Butler, aided by Major John Garret. The left was commanded by Col. Nathan Denison, assisted by Lieut. Col. George Dorrance. The enemy in front had the Tories in the center under Captains Pawling and Hopkins and the British regulars on their extreme left under Captain William Caldwell and Lieutenant Turney. On the enemy's right were the Indians, under cover of the alders in a swamp led by a Seneca Chief named Sayenqueraghta.[41] The Americans advanced with spirit, the enemy purposely falling back under fire for the distance of about a mile, until they came to a cleared field. On the opposite side of this field was a log fence which the British used as a breastwork, and from it poured in such a severe fire that it checked the advance. Just at this point the Indians with brandishing spears and demoniac yells, rushed out of the swamp on the left, in which most of them lay concealed, enveloped the left wing by superior numbers, and turned it in upon the right. In the melee that ensued an effort was made to re-form it, so that it would present a front to the enemy, but in the confusion occasioned by the fierce onset of the enemy the orders were misunderstood and the day was lost. The men retreated in squads at first, firing as they gave ground, but borne down by overwhelming numbers, the retreat became a rout, and every man did the best he could to save himself. It was four miles back to the fort. On the way some of the squads were captured, some in pairs, some singly. The slaughter of captured men by the Indians constitutes what is known in history as the Wyoming Massacre. Some of the fugitives reached Forty Fort; some Wilkes-Barre. Lieut. Col. Zebulon Butler escaped with his life. He and the remnant of Hewit's regulars left the valley. They did not surrender. [Illustration: PITTSTON FORT.]