With the passage of the Stamp Act by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765, the American Colonies rebelled against helping boost the treasury of the English government, which was low due to European wars. Within the repeal of the stamp act by Parliament March 18, 1766 was a clause which allowed Parliament the right to tax the colonies. In 1767 came a bill taxing tea, glass, paper, and painter's colors. A bill introduced to Parliament on April 2, 1770, repealed all of this taxation except for tax on tea. Thus began the series of events leading to the American Revolution. Early in June 1774, the Philadelphia Committee on Correspondence called a meeting at Philadelphia to ascertain the sentiments of the people.
In 1774, Northampton County was the second largest of Pennsylvania’s eleven counties, comprising more than 2,500 square miles, three towns (Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton), and some 15,000 people. On December 21, 1774, a Committee of Observation for Northampton County was formed which was the beginnings of the revolution in the county.
 Pennsylvania Currency, 1777, four pound note |
In 1776 there were 54 homes in Allentown, and the number of inhabitants was around 330. Among those was Buechsenschmidt (Gunsmith) Johannes (John) Moll.
When the Revolution broke out, militias took control. Frontier justice replaced the rule of law as zealous patriots preoccupied themselves not with fighting the British but with seizing local political power and persecuting their pacifist neighbors. Patriots pressured Tories out of the county. Plans were made for the raising of a militia and an election was held to select men for the Committee of Safety in the county. The burden of supplying a military force logistically fell upon the people of the county. Requisitions for food, grain, cattle, horses and cloth became commonplace.
The men of Northampton County aided in the production of military goods. Gunsmithing was placed under the virtual control of the Continental Congress, which fixed the prices of the guns and also decreed that all guns should be delivered to the patriot army upon pain of the gunsmiths being branded as enemies and of being deprived of the tools of their trade if they refused.
Men were recruited on the basis of marksmanship. It is said "that the enlisting officer drew a man's nose on a blackboard and announced that only those men closest to the mark would be accepted. It was a servere test for the distance was great but everyone who took the test hit the nose."
They were undoubtedly eager, adventurous young men who flocked to the call of arms. I have found the following members of the Moll/Mull family which served in Pennsylvania regiments during the Revolutionary War:
Carl Mull, Berks County
Henry Mull, Cumberland County
John Mull, Northamption County
Simon Mull, Philadelphia City
John Moll In The Revolutionary War
On June 8th, 1778, Johannes Moll swore to the following:
I do swear and affirm that I will renounce and refuse all allegiance to George the Third, King of Great Britain, his heirs and successors; and that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as a free and independent state, and that I will not at any time do or cause to be done any matter or thing that will be prejudical or injurious to the freedom and independence thereof as declared by Congress; and also that I will discover and make known to some one Justice of the Peace of said State all treason or traitorous conspiracies which I now know or hereafter shall know to be foremed against this or any of the United States of America.
Johannes Moll took the oath when conditions in the Revolutionary forces were far from satisfactory. Yet, it is interesting to note that he had committed himself to the cause of freedom even before he took the oath.
Johannes Mull (John Moll) enlisted as a Private, Eighth Class, of the Third Company of the First Battalion of Northampton County Militia on June 18, 1777. His commanding officer was Capt. George Graff. The militia was divided into eight classes. When a class was called out, many belonging to it could not or would not go. The deficiency was made up by the employment of substitutes, either taken from the other classes or from those not subject by law to the performance of military duty.
 Pennsylvania Currency, 1779, sixty-five dollar note |
In 1777, a arms factory was established in Allentown for repairing arms and bayonets and the manufacturing of saddles. Captain Styles was in charge of the military supplies while John Tyler and Ebenezer Cowell were armorers in the employ of the state who ran the factory. Sixteen local armorers, of which Johannes Moll was one, were actively engaged in repair work at the factory. Wood was procured locally which provided the necessary charcoal for the forging operations as well as replacing the battered stocks of damaged rifles.
A report about the activities of the factory was sent to Thomas Wharten, President of the Supreme Council of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on May 11th, 1778.
Allentown, the 11th of May, 1778Your Excellency recieves herewith an accurate report about the weapons to be found in my posession. . . and how many cann be properly repaired until the 20th of this month:
(in my possession in stock)
800 Muskets and bayonets, scabbards
550 Bayonet belts
750 Cartridge pockets
45 Shot bags and 18 Powderhorns
400 Knapsacks
75 Blankets
25 Tent covers
140 Camp kettles(In John Tyler's possession)
31 rifles(Ready by the 20th of May)
150 Muskets and bayonets by John Tyler
150 Muskets and bayonets by E. CowellThese weapons etc, are positively in good condition and we will do our best to finish still more and to serve our country.
Fredrich Hagner, Sec. Lieut.
On July 20th, 1778, it was reported to the War Office "... the government still has at the least 12,000 stands of arms at Allentown, which can be delivered to the militia on the order of the Council."
Johannes (John) Moll was directly involved in aiding the country during the darkest years of the Revolution by repairing military equipment needed by the Revolutionary Army, as well as being a member of the Northampton County Militia.
He was extraordinarily active in the cause of freedom.
