Major George Peter

Source

He [George Peter] was the youngest son of Robert Peter. He was born in George Town on the 28th of September, 1779. When only fifteen years old he joined the Maryland troops against the Whisky Insurrectionists (1794), but his parents sent a messenger to camp and General Washington, hearing of the matter, ordered him home.

At the beginning of the War of 1812, President Madison tendered him a brigadier-generalship, which the condition of private affairs compelled him to decline, but in 1813 he volunteered his services and commanded a battalion of "Flying Artillery."

Among the privates in this battalion were George Peabody and Francis Scott Key... .

Major Peter was one of the largest landowners and farmers in Montgomery County and carried on those farms up to the date of his death, which occurred at Montanvert, near Darnestown, June 22, 1861. He was nearly eighty-two.

Captain Thomas Forster

 One of the notables buried in Erie [PA] Cemetery:

Thomas Forster (1762-1836)
Born near Harrisburg, he served in the Revolution and was a colonel of volunteers during Whiskey Rebellion and also served as captain in the War of 1812. Forster was a collector for the Port of Erie (1799-1836), and was the originator of the Erie and Waterford Turnpike.



Forster's papers are found in the University of Pennsylvania's Van Pelt Rare Book Collection and described as follows:

Thomas Forster Correspondence: letters, documents, accounts, 1793-1837, of Colonel Forster (1762-1836), who led a volunteer regiment during the Whiskey Insurrection and was the first surveyor of the City of Erie, where he served as Collector of the Port from 1799 to 1836.

From the History of Erie County, Pennsylvania: