Birth 19 JUL 1758 – Death 1794 German Twp / Fayette / PA
John Catt was a private in Captain James Sullivan’s Company of the 13th Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel William Russell, during the year 1777. He appears on a morning report dated March 17, 1778, from Captain Sullivan’s Company, part of the 13th Virginia Battalion stationed at Fort Pitt.
The 13th Virginia Regiment, also known as the ‘West Augusta Regiment,’ was the second regiment raised by Colonel William Crawford. It consisted of over 500 men and was originally formed to defend the western frontier against potential Native American threats. In the absence of such threats, the regiment was deployed wherever needed. Its service was primarily in the western territories, including duty at Fort Pitt, Fort McIntosh, and along the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers.
Colonel William Crawford resided near present-day New Haven, across from Connellsville in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, along the Youghiogheny River. In 1778, he commanded forces at Fort Pitt. Later, in 1782, he led the Sandusky Expedition, during which he was captured and executed by burning at the stake on June 11, 1782.
According to Phillip Catt’s pension claim, he served alongside Colonel Crawford in the Sandusky campaign.
On August 14, 1781, John Catt was listed on the roll of Michael Catt’s Company, part of a volunteer regiment under Colonel Zackquille Morgan (son of Morgan Morgan, the first settler in what is now West Virginia). This unit was part of a western frontier expedition under Brigadier General George Rogers Clark.
John Catt joined the company on June 28, 1781. During the expedition, Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Lochry was killed by Mohawk Indians in August 1781. Several men from Lieutenant Baker’s Company, including John Catt, Jacob Franks, Abraham Highley, Val Lawrence, and George Mason, were taken prisoner by Native American forces. This group had failed to rendezvous with General Clark and was ambushed on the Indiana side of the Ohio River, near present-day Louisville, Kentucky.
John Catt was captured on the Miami River, Ohio, on August 24, 1781, and was later released at Fort Ticonderoga on July 18, 1783.
A detailed account of the Lochry Expedition can be found in: Chris McHenry, The Best Men of Westmoreland: An Historical Account of the Lochry Expedition (Lawrenceburg, Indiana; privately printed, 1981).