Skip to main content

Full text of "George Washington in the Ohio Valley"

See other formats 


LI  B  HARY 

OF   THE 

U  N  IVE.RSITY 

Of    ILLINOIS 

973.41 
W^7Wc-£ 

Cop-  2.  h 

mm 

SURVEY 


J V& 


~\  E\\ 


K& 


<£>  /Fort  Lc  BocuF  a  I 

ff^  tWaterford )       Nilc^hc^y 


&     \ 


\   Venanav  '^x^T^ 
-^  (Fraiildin)  \C^ 


!  U 


£/   wr 


s*         .<o  ; 


( toff0""1  (Ec^flir 


9EO^GE 
WASHLNfGTO 


PENNSYLVANIA 

1753  -  1754 
1754 
1755 
ITyS 


f<\  ^mrf&&^r^^^^zi?r- 

I   Ouccn'Xdiquipp^)  %4% 


JiumviviksCamp   h*%^-\  WW 


kstasTown    i 
^/(Bedford)    1 


farekecessitv  ^^^ConfJucncc)     A; 


<r^:;^     / 


1753-1754  


1754  ♦♦■ 

1755  =================== 

17  5S      


]        ((Cumberland)       ^^j^^y^^ 
c  of  Miles  ^otottv* 


O  lO         20        30        40        50 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://www.archive.org/details/georgewashingtonOOilclel 


George  Washington 


George 
Washington 

in  the 
Ohio  Valley 


HUGH  CLELAND 


UNIVERSITY     OF     PITTSBURGH    PRESS 
Pittsburgh:  195-5- 


LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS  CATALOG  CARD  NUMBER:   55-6874 


©1955 

UNIVERSITY  OF  PITTSBURGH  PRESS 

PRINTED  IN  U.S.A.  BY  DAVIS  &  WARDE,  INC.,  PITTSBURGH,  PA 


■^ 


3-  */ 


(-^yp  *  &L 


To  Fred  and  Doris  and  Philomen 


ONE  OF  A  LIST  OF  BOOKS  IN  THE  CULTURAL 
HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA  MADE 
POSSIBLE  THROUGH  A  GRANT-IN-AID  FROM 
THE    BUHL    FOUNDATION    OF    PITTSBURGH 


Preface 

This  book  relates  some  of  the  important  early  history  of  the 
upper  Ohio  Valley,  with  Pittsburgh  as  its  center,  in  the  words 
of  one  of  its  most  distinguished  visitors,  George  Washington; 
and  occasionally,  to  round  out  the  narrative,  in  the  words  of 
his  contemporaries — soldiers  and  Indian  traders,  friends  and 
enemies,  Colonials,  French,  British,  and  Indians. 

It  is,  essentially,  the  story  of  the  Western  Country  as  it 
helped  to  make  the  man,  and  of  the  man  as  he  helped  to  make 
the  Western  Country. 

The  book  is  directed  primarily  to  people  who  like  to  read 
history  rather  than  to  professional  historians.  The  author,  how- 
ever, has  attempted  to  maintain  scrupulous  historical  accuracy 
and  objectivity,  and  for  those  who  have  a  specialized  interest 
in  the  early  places,  people,  and  events  of  the  region  and  the 
period  named  in  the  story,  there  are  footnotes. 

The  volume  was  prepared  under  the  direction  of  a  committee 
of  three  at  the  University  of  Pittsburgh:  Dr.  John  W.  Oliver, 
professor  emeritus  of  history,  who  helped  the  author  with  the 
same  kindness  he  has  shown  generations  of  students;  Professor 
Agnes  Lynch  Starrett,  director  of  the  University  of  Pittsburgh 
Press,  who  would  make  a  first-rate  historian  if  she  ever  decides 
to  interrupt  her  career  as  editor  and  publisher;  and  Dean  Stanton 
C.  Crawford  of  the  College  of  Liberal  Arts  and  Sciences. 

Thanks  are  due  also  to  Dr.  Donald  H.  Kent,  associate  his- 
torian of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  and  Museum  Commission, 
for  prompt  and  gracious  assistance  in  making  material  avail- 
able; to  University  Librarian  Lorena  Garloch  Byers,  who 
smoothed  the  path  for  the  author  as  only  an  alert  and  sym- 


vit 


PREFACE 

pathetic  librarian  can;  to  Lois  Mulkearn,  Darlington  Librarian, 
who  contributed  freely  of  her  extensive  historial  knowledge 
of  the  period  as  well  as  of  her  technical  knowledge  as  a  librar- 
ian; to  Miss  Rose  Demorest  and  Miss  Dorothy  English  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Room  of  the  Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh  for 
similar  kindness  and  assistance;  and  to  the  late  Mr.  Franklin 
F.  Holbrook  of  the  Library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  West- 
ern Pennsylvania. 

The  Abbe  Arthur  Maheux,  Archivist  of  the  University  of 
Laval  in  Quebec,  generously  gave  permission  to  quote  in  trans- 
lation from  Papiers  Contrecoeur  et  autres  documents  .  .  .  published 
by  the  University  of  Laval.  Dr.  Alfred  P.  James  of  the  history 
department  of  the  University  of  Pittsburgh  gave  unstintingly 
of  his  seemingly  inexhaustible  fund  of  information  about  Vir- 
ginia and  Virginians.  Sympathetic  assistance  came  also  from 
the  late  Dr.  Russell  J.  Ferguson,  head  of  the  history  department 
of  the  University  of  Pittsburgh,  and  from  Miss  Alice  Linton 
of  the  department.  Miss  Leah  Goodman  rendered  valuable 
secretarial  assistance  and  Miss  Betty  Elkin  kindly  checked 
translations  from  the  French. 

The  author's  wife,  Celia,  gave  not  alone  the  invaluable  edi- 
torial and  technical  aid  and  advice  which  falls  to  the  lot  of 
the  historian's  wife,  but  lent  as  well  her  good  spirits  and  en- 
couragement, a  vital  ingredient  of  the  book. 

HUGH  GREGG  CLELAND 

Pittsburgh,  August,  1955 


Vlll 


Contents 

Preface  vii 

Foreword  by  John  W.  Oliver  xi 

AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

FORT  LE  BOEUF  October  31,  1753-January  16,  1754 

TheOhioCountry-1753  1 

Facsimile  of  Washington's  Journal  of  1753  5 

Editor's  Commentary  43 

COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 
FORT  NECESSITY  April  2,  1754-July  9,  1754 

In  Defense  of  His  Majesty's  Lands,  1754  59 

Story  of  the  Washington  Journal  of  1 754  64 

Extracts  from  the  Journal  of  Colonel  Washington  67 

Fort  Necessity:  Eyewitness  and  Contemporary  Accounts  91 

AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  EDWARD  BRADDOCK 
BATTLE  OF  THE  MONONGAHELA  June-July,  1755 

A  Road  to  the  Ohio  1 19 

Braddock's  Campaign:  Eyewitness  and  Contemporary  Accounts    123 

VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  JOHN  FORBES 
FORT  PITT  April-December,  1758 

The  Road  to  Victory  153 

Forbes  and  Pittsburgh:  Eyewitness  and  Contemporary  Accounts     1 59 

LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

October-December,  1770 

Economic  Difficulties  233 

The  Journal  of  1 7  70  240 


•  IX  • 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST:  1784 

"My  Landed  property  West  of  the  Apalachean  Mountains"  273 

The  Journal  of  1784  276 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES:  1794 

The  Whiskey  Rebellion  3  3  3 

Contemporary  Accounts,  Newspapers,  Letters,  Journals,  Records  340 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facsimile:  The  Journal  of  Major  George  Washington 

Williamsburgh  Printed,  London,  Reprinted  mdccliv  8-43 

Typical  Iroquois  (Schoolcraft)  facing  page    80 

Braddock's  Defeat  (Parson  Weem's  Life  of  Washington)  facing  page  112 

Portrait  of  General  John  Forbes  by  John  Watson  facing  page  1 60 

Forbes  Letter  of  1758,  naming  Pittsburgh  facing  page  220 

Map  of  Washington's  Journeys  of  1770,  1784,  1794  facing  page  258 

Map  of  Washington's  Journey  of  1784  facing  page  300 

President's  Thanksgiving  Proclamation  facing  page  348 

End  papers:  Map  of  Washington's  Journeys 
of  1753,  1754,  1755,  1758 


Foreword 

In  the  midst  of  Pittsburgh's  bicentennial  celebrations  (1953, 
Location  Day;  Battle  of  Fort  Necessity;  1955,  Braddock's 
Defeat;  and  1958,  the  conquest  by  the  English  of  the  Forks 
of  the  Ohio),  at  a  most  appropriate  time,  appears  this  interest- 
ing book,  George  Washington  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  In  its  pages, 
through  his  own  accounts  and  those  of  his  contemporaries,  we 
live  with  George  Washington  for  nearly  half  a  century  on  his 
seven  journeys  into  the  Ohio  Valley  to  deal  with  the  problems 
of  the  frontier.  We  meet  him  first  in  1753,  a  youth  of  twenty- 
one,  in  the  role  of  ambassador  to  the  French  at  Fort  Le  Boeuf; 
we  leave  him  in  1794,  five  years  before  his  death,  successfully 
quelling  the  Whiskey  Rebellion,  the  first  insurrection  threaten- 
ing the  newly  established  government  of  which  he  was  the  head. 
Many  separate  studies  of  incidents  and  phases  of  Washing- 
ton's career  and  a  continual  stream  of  Washington  biographies 
have  been  published.  This  book  concentrates  on  the  times 
Washington  came  into  the  Western  Country — five  times  on 
military  maneuvers  and  two  on  his  own  and  others'  land  inter- 
ests. In  letters  and  journals  and  newspaper  accounts  we  see 
with  the  eyes  and  hear  with  the  ears  of  men  who  walked  and 
talked  and  served  with  Washington  in  crises  and  events  which 
called  forth  and  developed  qualities  and  skills  that  made  George 
Washington  a  leader  among  men,  respected  then  and  now, 
universally  and  without  reservation,  as  a  man  of  the  strictest 
honor  and  integrity.  Again  and  again,  as  he  faced  every  test — 
the  hard  life  on  the  frontier  and  the  difficulties  of  tying  together 
diverse  interests  and  loyalties  in  a  raw  new  land — his  good 
judgment,  his  unshakable  dignity,  his  cool  logic,  and  his  respect 


XI 


FOREWORD 

for  others  made  him  stand  out  above  older  and  more  experi- 
enced veterans  of  war  and  politics. 

The  editor  of  this  book,  Hugh  Cleland,  history  department, 
University  of  Pittsburgh,  wisely  has  left  opinions  and  judg- 
ments to  those  whose  records  are  printed  here.  No  comments 
of  his  are  needed  to  let  the  reader  know  that  Washington 
understood  the  Indians  and  that  they  understood  him;  that  he 
was  respected  by  French  officers  who  were  his  enemies  and 
by  British  generals  seasoned  on  foreign  battlefields;  that  his 
journal  entries  in  time  of  peace  are  even  now  a  traveler's  guide 
through  the  Ohio  Valley,  whose  mountain  trails,  flowing 
streams,  cleared  farms,  oak  and  hickory  and  pine  forests,  black 
rich  soil  and  stony  soil  Washington  describes  in  minutest  de- 
tail. Of  few  men  in  world  history  can  it  be  said  as  has  been 
said  of  Washington,  "He  never  sought  honor,  title,  or  position 
of  importance,  but  he  never  tried  to  escape  the  call  of  duty  by 
his  fellow  men."  This,  too,  we  realize  as  we  follow  him  and 
his  companions  on  these  journeys.  When  in  times  of  peace  he 
talked  with  civil  officers,  inventors,  surveyors,  prominent  citi- 
zens, and  the  tenants  who  occupied  his  far-reaching  lands  and 
farms  we  realize  that  he  knew  this  country,  its  terrain  and  its 
people,  as  probably  no  President  since  has  known  it. 

On  a  library  shelf  with  other  books  about  the  Father  of 
His  Country  and  with  other  histories  of  our  nation,  learned 
and  popular,  this  book  will  hold  its  own  sound  place.  It  is  a 
book  for  the  casual  reader,  the  professional  historian,  and  the 
collector.  It  is  Washington's  own  regional  history  of  an  area, 
the  great  Ohio  Valley  of  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  and 
Ohio,  which  has  played  so  great  a  part  in  the  military,  the  eco- 
nomic, and  the  cultural  history  of  the  United  States.  It  seems 
to  say  afresh  that  the  policies  and  the  life  of  the  frontier  set 
the  policies  and  the  life  of  America. 


Xll 


FOREWORD 

As  Herbert  Baxter  Adams  once  said,  "It  would  seem  as 
though  all  lines  of  our  public  policy  lead  back  to  Washington 
as  all  roads  lead  to  Rome." 

JOHN  W.  OLIVER 

Professor  Emeritus  of  History 
University  of  Pittsburgh 


•  xm 


Ambassador  to  the  French 
Fort  LeBoeuf 

October  31,  175-3 — January  16,  1754 


The  Ohio  Country — 1753 

When  George  Washington  first  set  foot  on  the  western  slopes 
of  the  Alleghenies,  late  in  the  autumn  of  1753,  he  entered  a 
wilderness  soon  to  be  a  battleground  for  two  European  civiliza- 
tions. Britain  and  France  both  claimed  the  Ohio  Valley  and 
rapidly  were  approaching  armed  conflict  to  defend  their  claims. 
And  that  was  not  all.  The  powerful  Iroquois  confederation  of 
Indians  claimed  it  as  their  private  hunting  grounds;  and  traders 
from  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  scheming  for  priority  in  trade 
with  the  Indians,  represented  rival  colonial  claims. 

The  upper  Ohio  Valley,  including  what  is  now  Western 
Pennsylvania,  had  been  only  Indian  Country  and  a  bountiful 
hunting  ground  for  them  until  a  short  while  before  Washington 
came.  At  some  date  uncertain  historically,  the  aboriginal  Indian 
tribes  had  disappeared,  and  their  successors,  the  Erie,  had  been 
driven  out  by  the  powerful  Iroquois.  In  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  some  Delawares  and  Shawnees  and  a  few 
Senecas  had  drifted  into  the  region,  largely  from  the  east,  and 
had  been  allowed  to  stay  because  they  acknowledged  the  su- 
zerainty of  the  Iroquois.  The  Iroquois,  from  the  date  of  the 
Lancaster  Treaty,  1 744,  had  been  firm  allies  of  the  British,  and 
since  1603,  had  been  enemies  of  the  Huron,  who  were  allies 
of  the  French. 

Some  white  traders  had  followed  the  Delaware  and  Shawnee 
from  their  eastern  settlements  into  the  wilderness.  They  were 
mostly  from  colonial  Pennsylvania,  which  thought  of  the  re- 
gion as  part  of  Penn's  Woods.  They  provided  the  Indians  with 
manufactured  goods  in  exchange  for  furs,  which  brought  enor- 
mous profits  in  the  European  market.  These  lone  traders  were 
the  first  whites  other  than  the  earliest  French  explorers  to 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

enter  the  western  wilderness.  Since  the  early  years  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  the  entrepreneurs  of  the  forest  had  been  leading 
their  pack  trains  deep  into  what  is  today  western  Ohio.  It  seems 
strange  to  realize  that  the  well-worn  forest  trails — worn  by 
Indian  civilizations  conquered  long  ago  by  other  Indian  civiliza- 
tions buried  deep  under  mounds  and  tall  forest  trees  and  by 
later  Indians  and  traders— were  as  easy  to  follow  then  as  a 
modern  highway  is  today. 

These  far-ranging  colonial  frontiersmen,  the  forerunners  of 
English  civilization  in  the  region,  inevitably  were  to  clash  with 
the  French,  whose  outposts  by  1730  lay  like  a  crescent  around 
the  English  colonies.  From  the  settlements  of  the  French  in  the 
St.  Lawrence  Valley,  these  outposts  ran  along  the  Great  Lakes, 
through  the  Illinois  country  to  the  Mississippi,  and  thence 
south  to  New  Orleans.  Because  British  trade  goods  were  better 
and  cheaper  than  French  goods,  at  such  posts  as  Niagara  and 
Detroit  the  French  fur  trade  suffered  and  the  French  were  in 
danger  of  losing  their  line  of  communication  and  supply  between 
Canada  and  Louisiana — indeed  their  claim  to  the  entire  region. 
Since  the  Indians  sided  with  whoever  supplied  them  best  with 
manufactured  goods,  and  since  Indian  allegiance  was  naturally 
an  important  factor  in  the  control  of  the  wilderness,  a  bitter 
struggle  for  domination  of  the  Indian  trade  had  begun. 

Events  in  Virginia,  too,  intensified  the  white  man's  struggle 
for  control  of  the  upper  Ohio.  Virginia  was  soon  to  claim  that 
the  disputed  land  was  within  her  borders,  for  besides  a  charter 
to  back  her  claims,  Virginia  had  an  agreement  of  sorts  with  the 
Iroquois,  the  1744  Treaty  of  Lancaster.  Hoping  to  realize 
Virginia's  claims,  a  number  of  Virginia  gentlemen,  in  1747, 
launched  the  Ohio  Company  of  Virginia.  This  venture  was 
designed  not  only  to  win  the  Indian  trade  but  also  to  gain  title 
to  vast  lands,  "five  hundred  thousand  acres  ...  on  the  Waters 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

of  the  Ohio,"  and  locate  settlers  on  them.  Among  the  partners 
were  influential  members  of  the  Virginia  legislature,  and  others 
among  whom  were  Lawrence  and  Augustine  Washington,  older 
half-brothers  of  George.  In  1750,  Governor  Robert  Dinwiddie 
of  Virginia  himself  became  a  partner. 

Alarmed  at  the  English  trade  success,  whether  Pennsyl- 
vania's or  Virginia's,  the  French,  in  1749,  had  sent  a  military 
force  under  Celeron  de  Blainville  into  the  upper  Ohio  Valley 
to  win  back  Indian  allegiance  and  to  bury  at  strategic  points 
lead  tablets  asserting  French  sovereignty  over  the  region. 
Celeron  ordered  English  traders  out  of  the  area,  and  subse- 
quently the  French  on  more  than  one  occasion  made  prisoners 
of  English  traders  caught  in  the  region. 

But  the  French  recognized  that  orders  and  threats  were  not 
enough.  The  Indians  they  met  with  in  the  woods  had  become 
too  dependent  on  the  skills  of  British  gunsmiths  and  the  goods 
of  British  traders  to  be  influenced  easily  by  strangers  doing 
little  more  than  to  set  up  new  claims  to  land  the  Indians  con- 
sidered their  own  to  begin  with.  And  so,  in  1753,  the  new 
Governor  of  Canada,  the  Marquis  Duquesne,  began  to  build  a 
string  of  forts  on  the  upper  tributaries  of  the  Ohio.  Early  in 
1753,  Fort  Presque  Isle  (present  Erie,  Pennsylvania)  was 
raised,  followed  by  Fort  Le  Boeuf  (now  Waterford,  Pennsyl- 
vania) near  the  head  of  French  Creek,  an  upper  tributary  of  the 
Allegheny.  A  fort  was  planned  for  Venango  (present  Franklin, 
Pennsylvania)  at  the  junction  of  French  Creek  and  the  Alle- 
gheny; another,  for  Logstown  (now  Ambridge,  Pennsylvania) 
on  the  Ohio  itself.  However,  illness  and  other  difficulties  forced 
postponement  of  these  last  two  projects. 

The  resolute  French  actions  alarmed  the  Pennsylvania  trad- 
ers, but  the  Pennsylvania  legislature,  dominated  by  Quaker 
merchants,  had  already  refused  their  governor  money  to  erect 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

a  fort  on  the  Ohio.  Therefore,  the  burden  of  contesting  the 
French  fell  to  Virginia  and  its  Ohio  Company. 

Already,  in  1752,  just  a  year  before  Washington's  coming, 
commissioners  representing  Virginia  had  met  with  the  Indians 
at  Logstown  and  got  permission,  according  to  Dinwiddie,  "from 
the  original  Proprietors  of  the  Soil,"  for  the  Ohio  Company 
to  erect  a  fort  on  the  Ohio  and  to  establish  settlements  south  of 
the  river. 

The  Company  had  had  a  rough  road  cut  from  Wills  Creek 
in  Maryland  (now  Cumberland)  to  the  Monongahela,  and  in 
1753,  laid  plans  for  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  Chartier's  Creek  on 
the  south  bank  of  the  Ohio  (where  McKees  Rocks,  Pennsyl- 
vania, is  today) .  In  the  same  year  the  Company  established  its 
first  settlement,  known  as  Gist's  Plantation,  near  what  is  now 
Mount  Braddock,  Fayette  County,  Pennsylvania. 

Thus,  in  the  year  George  Washington  first  set  foot  in  the 
Ohio  Valley,  1753,  the  French  were  moving  south  on  the 
Allegheny;  the  British  were  working  their  way  north  in  the 
valley  of  the  Monongahela  to  the  point  where  the  Allegheny 
and  Monongahela  converge — the  point,  now  Pittsburgh,  where 
England  and  France  were  destined  to  collide;  and  the  Indians, 
divided  and  uncertain  in  their  allegiance,  were  watching  and 
waiting. 

And  so,  on  his  first  journey  into  the  Western  Country  and 
on  his  first  grave  and  important  responsibility  in  a  lifetime  of 
grave  and  important  responsibilities,  came  George  Washington, 
twenty-one  years  old,  newly  commissioned  major  in  the  Vir- 
ginia Militia.  He  carried  a  "letter  of  protection  for  safe  passing 
and  repassing  to  the  French  camp"  on  the  "Ohio"  and  a  mes- 
sage from  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  the  French  Commandant- 
all  in  the  name  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain.  He  was  received 
by  the  French  officer  "with  a  Distinction  suitable  to  .  .  .  his 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

own  Quality  and  great  Merit."  With  him  were  a  French  inter- 
preter, Jacob  Vanbraam;  the  experienced  frontiersman,  Chris- 
topher Gist;  and  four  "servitors:"  Barnaby  Currin  and  John 
MacQuire  (seasoned  Indian  traders),  Henry  Steward,  and 
William  Jenkins. 

To  Fort  Le  Boeuf  on  French  Creek  they  travelled — on 
horseback,  on  foot,  and  by  canoe— through  miles  of  great  white 
pine  and  hardwood  forests,  clear  and  shining  streams,  lush 
meadows,  rolling  hills  topped  with  endless  mountain  ridges, 
sharp  stars,  and  cold  blue  skies — the  unbelievable  autumnal 
beauty  of  Western  Pennsylvania — none  of  which  he  mentions 
in  his  Journal,  for  the  delivery  of  the  message,  the  observation 
of  French  strength  and  weakness,  and  the  alertness  to  dangers 
loomed  as  more  important.  And  with  greatest  difficulty  Wash- 
ington travelled  back  to  Williamsburg,  most  of  the  way  on 
foot,  through  the  worst  of  weather,  through  the  snows  and  ice 
of  December  and  through  deep  wilderness  tense  with  the  emo- 
tions of  three  nations — emotions  just  ready  to  explode  into  a 
great  European  war  which  doomed  forever  the  forest  civiliza- 
tion of  a  proud  people,  ended  the  threat  of  a  French  Empire 
in  the  New  World,  and  opened  a  continent,  broader  than  any 
yet  explored,  to  the  unity  of  a  fresh  life  and  hope  for  humanity. 

The  Facsimile  of  Washington's  Journal  of  1753 

George  Washington's  own  account  of  his  first  journey  into 
the  upper  Ohio  Valley  follows  here  as  a  letterpress  facsimile  of 
a  pamphlet  printed  in  London  in  1754  for  T.  Jefferys,  royal 
geographer.  Earlier  in  1754,  the  Journal  had  been  printed  in 
Williamsburg,  Virginia,  by  William  Hunter;  of  this  printing 
two  copies  only  are  known:  one  in  the  Newberry  Library, 
Chicago;  the  other  in  a  private  collection.  Washington's  orig- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

inal  has  not  survived.  There  is  "a  true  copy  verbatim"  made 
by  Wm.  Withers  which  Governor  Dinwiddie  sent  with  other 
pertinent  papers  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  to  which  the  printing 
can  be  compared  and  slight  variations  noted. 

The  Journal  must  have  held  great  interest  in  England,  for 
it  was  printed  also  in  the  London  Magazine,  1754,  vol.  24, 
p.  335,  and  in  The  Gentleman  s  Magazine,  1754,  vol.  24,  p.  294. 
Notices  of  Mr.  JefFerys'  printing  appeared  in  the  Monthly 
Review,  vol.  X,  June,  1754,  pp.  509-10,  as  did  notices  of  the 
magazine  printings.  On  this  side  of  the  water  the  Journal  ap- 
peared in  the  Maryland  Gazette,  March  21  and  28,  1754,  and 
was  copied  in  the  Boston  Gazette,  April  16  to  May  21,  1754. 

The  Jefferys'  pamphlet,  too,  is  rare.  The  one  reproduced 
here  is  in  the  Darlington  Collection  of  Americana.  It  is  from 
the  library  of  the  late  William  McCullough  Darlington,  given 
to  the  University  of  Pittsburgh  by  his  daughters,  Mary  O'Hara 
Darlington  and  Edith  Darlington  Ammon,  in  memory  of  their 
father  and  of  their  mother  (Mary  Carson  Darlington) . 

A  title  page,  thirty-two  pages  of  text,  and  a  map  are  printed 
on  laid  rag  paper,  with  the  watermark,  Strasburg  Bend  and  Lily, 
of  Lubertus  van  Gerrevink. 

The  book  is  bound  in  crimson  leather,  tooled  in  gold. 
Whether  it  was  in  this  binding  when  Mr.  Darlington  acquired 
it  is  not  certain.  Bound  with  it  are  a  listing  of  "Maps,  Plans, 
and  charts  just  imported  by  Thomas  Jeffereys,  Geographer  to 
his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales";  a  gatefold  "Map  of 
the  Western  parts  of  the  colony  of  Virginia,  as  far  as  the 
Mississippi";  an  "Advertisement"  signed  G.  Washington;  a 
printing  of  the  letter  to  the  French  commander  from  Dinwiddie 
and  the  letter  from  the  French  officer  to  the  Governor;  an  en- 
graving of  the  young  Major  Washington;  and  pressed  under 
the  engraving  a  holograph  signature,  G.  Washington. 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

The  engraver  is  unknown,  but  his  work  suggests  the  por- 
traits of  Washington  by  the  American  portrait  painter,  Charles 
William  Peale.  The  "Advertisement"  appeared  in  the  Wil- 
liamsburg edition,  too.  The  engraving  and  the  signature  are 
unique  to  this  binding  of  the  Journal. 


THE  FACSIMILE 


THE 

JOURNAL 

O    F 

Major  George  Wafhington^ 

SENT     BY     THE 

Hon.  Robert  Dinwiddie,  Efq; 
His  Majefty's  Lieutenant-Governor,  and 
Commander  in  Chief  of  Virginia^ 

TO       THE 

Commandant  of  the  French  Forces 

O      N 

OHIO, 

To  which  are  added,  the 

Governor's     LETTER: 

AND       A 

Translation  of  the  French  Officer's  Anfwer, 

WITH 

A  New  M  a  p  of  the  Country  as  far  as  the 
MISSISSIPPI. 


WILLI AMSBURGH  Printed, 

LONDON,   Reprinted    for  T.  Jefferys,    the  Corner 
of  St.  Martin's  Lane, 


MDCCLIV. 

[Price  One  Shilling  ) 


Maps,  Plans  and  Charts  juji  imported  hy 
Thomas  Jefferys,  Geographer  to  his  Royal 
Highnefs  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

LE  Indies  Orientale,    avec  le  cote  de  Coromandel,  ct 
1* Analife  par  M.  D.  Anville. 
Novelles  Cartes  de  les  Indies  Orientale  par  M.  D'apres  dc 

de  Mannivellette. 
Theatre  dc  la  Guerre  in  Italic  par  M.  D'Anville,  prem. 

Partie. 
Mappemende  de  M.  Boulanfger  avec  fon  Memoire,  in 

Quarto. 
Memoire  fur  les  nov.  decouveiter  de  l'Amiral  de  Fonte^ 

avec  Cartes 
Confiderations  Geographiques  :  in  Quarto,  avec  4  Cartes 

par  M.  Buache. 
Canada  de  Robert,  1753. 
Porter  de  France- par  Jalliot,  1754. 
Dekiles  Atlas  complete,  large  taper  and  fmall. 
The  German  Atlas  compleat  by  Homan. 
Atlas  de  France,   175 1. 
The  Chinefe  Atlas  by  D'Anville. 

The  Ruffian  Atlas  compiled  and  engraved  at  Peterfburgh. 
D'Anvilles's  new  Maps  of  Italy,  North  America,  South 

America,  Africa  and  the  Eaftward  Part  of  Aiia 
Bellin's  Sea  Charts. 
Plan  of  Rome 

Venice 

Berlin 

Environs  of  Paris,  9  Sheets 

Paris,  one  Sheet 

— the  Military  School 

Verfailles,  one  Sheet 

Marly 

Nancy 

1'Orient 

Speedily  will  be  pullijbed. 

A  Map  of  the  Seat  of  War  in  the  Eaft  Indies,  with 
a  Memoir. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

AS  //  was  thought  advifeable  by  his 
Honour  the  Governor  to  have  the 
following  Account  of  my  Proceedings  to 
and  from  the  French  on  Ohio,  com- 
mitted to  Print ;  /  think  I  can  do  no 
lefs  than  apologize,  in  fome  Meafure, 
for  the  number  lefs  Imperfe&ions  of  it. 

There  intervened  but  one  Day  between 
my  Arrival  in  Williamfburg,  and  the 
Time  for  the  Council  s  Meeting,  for  me 
to  prepare  and  tranfcribe,  from  the 
rough  Minutes  I  had  taken  in  my  Tra- 
vels, this  Journal ',  the  writing  of  which 
only  was  fuffcient  to  employ  me  clofely 
the  whole  Time,  co?ifeque7itly  admitted  of 
no  Leifure  to  co)fult  of  a  new  and  pro- 
per Form  to  offer  it  in,  or  to  correEl  or 
amend  the  Di&ion  of  the  old:  Neither  was 
I  apprifed,  nor  did  in  the  leaf  conceive, 

when 


Advertisement. 

when  I  wrote  this  for  his  Honour  s  Per- 
ufaly  that  it  ever  would  be  publifhedy 
or  even  have  more  than  a  curfory  Read- 
ing \  till  I  was  informed^  at  the  Meet- 
ing  of  theprefent  General  Affembly,  that 
it  was  already  in  the  Prefs. 

There  is  nothing  can  recommend  it  to 

the  Public,  but  this.    Thofe  Things  which 

came  under  the  Notice  of  my  own  Ob- 

fervation,  I  have  bee?i  explicit  and  jufi 

in  a  Recital  of: Thofe  which  I  have 

gathered  from  Report y  I  have  been  par- 
ticularly cautious  not  to  aug7nent>  but 
collected  the  Opinions  of  the  J  ever  al  In* 
telligencers,  a?id  feleSled  from  the 
whole,  the  mojl  probable  and  conftfle?it 
Account. 

G.  Washington. 


* 


THE 


JOURNAL,^. 


&^&%^^&%^%&%&%:g%&%& 


Wednefday,  Otlober  31ft,  1753. 

S^JoT^  WAS  commiflioned  and  appointed  by 
j5^  1  ^  the  Honourable  Robert  Dinwiddie,  Efq; 
^  v^  Governor,  £sfr.  of  Virginia^  to  vifit  and 
*Lit%Ji  deliver  a  Letter  to  the  Commandant  of 
the  French  Forces  on  the  Ohio,  and  fet  out  on  the 
intended  Journey  the  fame  Day  :  The  next,  I  arrived 
at  Frederickjburg>  and  engaged  Mr.  Jacob  Van- 
braam^  to  be  my  French  Interpreter ;  and  proceed- 
ed with  him  to  Alexandria^  where  we  provided 
NecefTaries.  From  thence  we  went  to  Winchefter* 
and  got  Baggage,  Horfes,  &V.  and  from  thence 
we  purfued  the  new  Road  to  IVills-Creek%  where 
we  arrived  the  14th  at  November. 

Here  I  engaged  Mr.  Gift  to  pilot    us  out,  and 

alfo  hired  four  others  as  Servitors,  Barnaby  Curritt, 

3  and 


(    6    ) 

and  John  Mac-Quirt %  Indian  Traders,  Henry  Stew- 
ardy  and  William  Jenkins  •,  and  in  Company  with 
thofe  Perfons,  left  the  Inhabitants  the  Day  fol- 
lowing. 

The  exceflive  Rains  and  vaft  Quantity  of  Snow 
which  had  fallen,  prevented  our  reaching  Mr.  Fra- 
z/Vr's,  an  Indian  Trader,  at  the  Mouth  of  Turtle- 
Creek,  on  Monongahela  [River]  till Thurfday the  22d. 
We  were  informed  here,  that  ExpreiTes  had  been 
fent  a  few  Days  before  to  the  Traders  down  the 
River,  to  acquaint  them  with  the  French  General's 
Death,  and  the  Return  of  the  major  Part  of  the 
French  Army  into  Winter  Quarters. 

The  Waters  were  quite  impafTable,  without 
fwimming  our  Horfes ;  which  obliged  us  to  get 
the  Loan  of  a  Canoe  from  Frazier,  and  to  fend 
Barnaky  Currin,  and  Henry  Steward,  down  the 
Monongahela,  with  our  Baggage,  to  meet  us  at 
the  Forks  of  Ohio,  about  10  Miles,  there  to  crofs 
the  Aligany* 

As  1  got  down  before  the  Canoe,  I  fpent  fome 
Time  in  viewing  the  Rivers,  and  the  Land  in  the 
Fork  •,  which  I  think  extremely  well  fituated  for  a 
Fort,  as  it  has  the  abfolute  Command  of  both  Ri- 
vers. The  Land  at  the  Point  is  20  or  25  Feet 
above  the  common  Surface  of  the  Water  ;  and  a 
confiderable  Bottom  of  flat,  well- timbered  Land  all 
around  it,  very  convenient  for  Building :  The 
Rivers  are  each  a  Quarter  of  a  Mile,  or  more, 
acrofs,  and  run  here  very  near  at  right  Angles : 
Aligany  bearing  N.  E.  and  Monongahela  S.  E.  The 
former  of  thele  two  is  a  very  rapid  and  fwift  run- 
ning Water  ;  the  Other  deep  and  ftill,  without  any 
perceptible  Fall. 

About  two  Miles  from  this,  on  the  South  Eaft 
Side  of  the  River,    at  the  Place  where  the  Ohio 

*  The  Ohio  and  Aligany  are  the  fame  River. 

Company 


(    7    ) 

Company  intended  to  ered  a  Fort,  lives  Shingift* 
King  of  the  Delaware*  :  We  called  upon  him,  to 
invite  him  to  Council .  at  the  Loggs-Town. 

As  I  had  taken  a  good  deal  of  Notice  Yeilerday 
of  the  Situation  at  the  Forks,  my  Curiofuy  led  me 
to  examine  this  more  particularly,  and  I  think 
it  greatly  inferior,  either  for  Defence  or  Advanta- 
ges ;  efpecially  the  latter  :  For  a  Fort  at  the  Forks 
would  be  equally  well  fituated  on  the  Ohio,  and  have 
the  entire  Command  of  the Mononga beta ;  which  runs 
up  to  our  Settlements  and  is  extremely  well  de- 
figned  for  Water  Carriage,  as  it  is  of  a  deep  {till 
Nature.  Befides  a  Fort  at  the  Fork  might  be  built 
at  a  much  lefs  Expence,  than  at  the  other  Place. — 

Nature  has  well  contrived  this  lower  Place,  for 
Water  Defence  •,  but  the  Hill  whereon  it  mud  (land 
being  about  a  Quarter  of  a  Mile  in  Length,  and 
then  defcending  gradually  on  the  Land  Side,  will 
render  it  difficult  and  very  expenfive,  to  make  a 
fufficient  Fortification  there. — The  whole  Flat  upon 
the  Hill  muft  be  taken-in,  the  Side  next  the  De- 
scent made  extremely  high,  or  elfe  the  Hill  itfelf 
cut  away  :  Otherwife,  the  Enemy  may  raife  Bat- 
teries within  that  Diftance  without  being  expofed 
to  a  fmgle  Shot  from  the  Fort. 

Shingifs  attended  us  to  the  Loggs-Town,  where 
we  arrived  between  Sun-fetting  and  Dark,  the  25th 
Day  after  I  left  Williamfburg.  We  travelled  over 
fbme  extreme  good  and  bad  Land,  to  get  to  this 
Place.— 

As  foon  as  I  came  into  Town,  I  went  to  Mona- 
katoocha  (as  the  Half-king  was  out  at  his  hunting- 
Cabbin  on  little  Beaver-Creek,  about  15  Miles  oft) 
and  informed  him  by  John  Davifon  my  Indian  In- 
terpreter, that  I  was  fent  a  Meflenger  to  the  French 
General ;  and  was  ordered  to*  call  upon  the  Sa- 
chems of  the  Six  Nations y  to  acquaint  them  with 

it.— 


(    8    } 

it. — I  gave  him  a  String  of  Wampum  f,  and  a 
Twift  of  Tobacco,  and  defired  him  to  fend  for  the 
Half-King  ;  which  he  promifed  to  do  by  a  Runner 
3n  the  Morning,  and  for  other  Sachems. — I  invited 
him  and  the  other  great  Men  prefent  to  my  Tent, 
where  they  ftay'd  about  an  Hour  and  return'd. 

According  to  the  beft  Obfervations  I  could  make; 
Mr.  Giff *s  new  Settlement  (which  we  pafs'd  by) 
bears  about  W.N.  W.  70  Miles  from  /F/7/j-Creek 5 
Shanapins,  or  the  Forks  N.  by  W.  or  N.  N.  W. 
about  50  Miles  from  that  •,  and  from  thence  to  th6 
Loggs-Town,  the  Courfe  is  nearly  Weil  about  18 
or  20  Miles:  So  that  the  whole  Diflance,  as  we 
went  and  computed  it,  is  atleafl  135  or  140  Miles 
from  our  back  Inhabitants. 

25/^,  Came  to  Town  four  of  ten  Frenchmen  who 
had  deferted  from  a  Company  at  thtKufkuJkas,  which 
lies  at  the  Mouth  of  this  River.  I  got  the  follow- 
ing Account  from  them.  They  were  fent  from 
New-Orleans  with  100  Men,  and  8  Canoe-Loads 
of  Provifions  to  this  Place  ;  where  they  expected  to 
have  met  the  fame  Number  of  Men,  from  the  Forts 
on  this  Side  Lake  Erie,  to  convoy  them  and  the 
Stores  up,  who  were  not  arrived  when  they  ran- off. 

I  enquired  into  the  Situation  of  the  French,  ori 
the  MiJJiJfippi,  their  Number,  and  what  Forts  they 
had  built.  They  inform'd  me,  That  there  were 
four  fmall  Forts  between  New-Orleans  and  the 
Black- JJlands,  garrifon'd  with  about  30  or  40  Men, 
and  a  few  fmall  Pieces  in  each :  That  at  New-Orle- 
ans, which  is  near  the  Mouth  of  the  MiJJiffippi, 
there  are  35  Companies,  of  40  Men  each,  with  si 
pretty  flrong  Fort  mounting  8  Carriage  Guns  ;  and 
at  the  Black-Iflands  there  are  feveral  Companies* 
and  a  Fort  with  6  Guns.     The  Black-ljlands  are 

-f-  A  kind  of  Indian  Money ;  alfo  given  as  a  Prefent  or  Mark 
Of  Friendfhip. 

about 


(    9    ) 

about  130  Leagues  above  the  Mouth  of  the  Ohio^ 
which  is  about  350  above  New -Or  leans.  They  alfo 
acquainted  me,  that  there  was  a  fmall  pallifado'd 
Fort  on  the  Ohio,  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Obai/h  about 
60  Leagues  from  the  Mijjiftpi.  The  Obaifh  *  head9 
near  the  Weft  End  of  Lake  Erie,  and  affords  the 
Communication  between  the  French  on  Mijjiffippi 
and  chofe  on  the  Lakes.  Thefe  Deferters  came  up 
from  the  lower  Shanoah  Town  with  one  Brown,  an 
Indian  1  rader,  and  were  going  to  Philadelphia. 

About  3  o'clock  this  Evening  the  Half-King 
came  to  Town.  I  went  up  and  invited  him  with 
Davifon,  privately,  to  my  Tent  -,  and  defir'd  him 
to  relate  fome  of  the  Particulars  of  his  Journey  to 
the  French  Commandant,  and  Reception  there: 
Alfo  to  give  me  an  Account  of  the  Ways  and  Dif- 
tance.  He  told  me,  that  the  nearefr.  and  levelled 
Way  was  now  impaffable,  by  ReaTon  of  many  large 
mirey  Savannas  ;  that  we  muft  be  obliged  to  go  by 
Venango,  and  fhould  not  get  to  the  near  Fort  under 
5  or  6  Nights  Sleep,  good  Travelling.  When  he 
went  to  the  Fort,  he  laid  he  was  received  in  a  very 
ftern  Manner  by  the  late  Commander  ;  Who  afk'd 
him  very  abruptly,  what  he  had  come  about,  and 
to  declare  his  Bufinefs :  Which  he  laid  he  did  in  the 
following  Speech. 

Fathers ',  I  am  ccme  to  tell  you  y cur  cwn  Speeches  ; 
what  y cur  cwn  Mcuths  have  declared.  Bathers,  Ton, 
in  former  Days,  fet  a  Silver  Bafon  be j ere  us,  wherein 
there  was  the  Leg  of  a  Beaver,  and  dejir9d  all  the 
'Nations  to  come  and  eat  of  it  ;  to  eat  in  Peace  and 
Plenty,  and  not  to  be  churhjh  to  one  another :  And 
that  if  any  fuch  Per  Jen  Jhould  be  found  to  be  a  Dif- 
turber,    I  here  lay  down  by  the  Edge  of  the  D-Jh  a 

*  Or  Wabajh,  written  by  the  French  Quabach. 

B  Rod, 


(     io     ) 

Rod,  which  you  muft  fee  urge  them  with  •,  and  if  I  your 
Father,  fhould  get  fooli/h,  in  my  old  Days,  I  defire 
yen  may  ufe  it  upon  me  as  well  as  others, 

Novo  Fathers,  it  is  you  who  are  the  Difturbers  in 
this  Land,  by  coming  and  building  your  Towns ;  and 
taking  it  away  unknown  to  us,  and  by  Force. 

Fathers,  We  kindled  a  Fire  a  long  cf'ime  ago,  at  a 
Place  called  Montreal,  where  we  defiredyou  to  flay, 
and  not  to  come  and  intrude  upon  our  Land.  1  now 
defire  you  may  di [patch  to  that  Place  \  for  be  it  known 
to  you,    Fathers,    that  this  is  our  Land,    and  not 


yours. 


Fathers,  I  defire  you  may  hear  me  in  Civilnefs  ;  // 
not,  we  muft  handle  that  Rod  which  was  laid  down 
for  the  Ufe  of  the  abjlreperous.  If  yen  had  come  in 
a  peaceable  Manner,  like  our  Brothers  the  Englifh, 
we  fhould  not  have  been  againft  your  trading  with  us, 
as  they  do-,  but  to  come,  Fathers,  and  build 
Houses  upon  our  Land,  and  to  take  it  by 
Force,   is  what  we  cannot  submit  to. 

Fathers,  Both  you  and  the  Englifh  are  white,  we 
live  in  a  Country  between  -,  therefore  the  Land  belongs 
to  neither  one  nor  t'other  :  But  the  Great  Being  above 
allowed  it  to  be  a  Place  of  Refidence  J  or  us  ;  fo  Fa- 
thers, I  defire  you  to  withdraw,  as  I  have  done  our 
Brothers  the  Englifh  :  For  I  will  keep  you  at  Arms 
length.  1  lay  this  down  as  a  cl  rial  for  both,  to  fee 
which  will  have  the  greatefl  Regard  to  it,  and  that 
Side  we  will  /land  by,  and  make  equal  Sharers  with  us. 
Our  Brothers  the  Engliih  have  heard  this,  and  I 
come  now  to  tell  it  to  you  \  for  I  am  not  afraid  to  dif 
charge  you  off  this  Land. 

This  he  faid  was  the  Subflance  of  what  he  fpoke 
tothe  General,  who  made  this  Reply. 

Now 


(  »  ) 

Now  my  Child,  I  have  heard  your  Speech :  Ton 
/poke  fir  ft,  but  it  is  my  Time  to  /peak  now.  Where 
is  my  Wampum  that  you  took  away,  with  the  Marks 
of  Towns  in  it  ?  This  Wampum  I  do  not  know,  which 
you  have  dif charged  me  off  the  Land  with :  But  you 
need  not  put  your/elf  to  the  Trouble  of  /peaking,  for  I 
wiil  not  hear  you.  I  am  not  afraid  of  Flies,  or  Muf- 
quit  os,  for  Indians  are  fuch  as  thofe.  I  tell  you,  down 
that  River  I  will  go,  and  will  build  upon  it,  accord- 
ing to  my  Command.  If  the  River  was  blocked  up,  1 
have  Fo/  ces  fufficient  to  burft  it  open,  and  tread  under 
my  Feet  all  that  ft  and  in  Oppcfition,  together  with 
their  Alliances  ;  for  my  Force  is  as  the  Sand  upon  the 
SeaShore:  Therefore,  here  is  your  Wampum,  I  fling 
it  at  you.  Child,  you  talk  foolifh-,  you  fay  this  hand 
belongs  to  you,  but  there  is  not  the  Black  of  my  Nail 
yours.  1  jaw  that  Land  fooner  than  yen  did,  before 
the  Shannoahs  and  you  were  at  War  :  Lead  was  the 
Man  who  went  down,  and  took  Pojfeffion  of  that  Ri- 
ver :  It  is  my  Land,  and  I  will  have  it,  let  who  will 
ftand-up  for,  or  fay-againft,  it,  I'll  buy  and  fell  with 
the  Englifh,  .(mockingly).  If  People  will  be  rul'd 
by  me>  they  may  expect  Kindnefs,  but  not  elfe. 

The  Half-King  told  me  he  enquired  of  the  Gene- 
ral after  two  Englifhmen  who  were  made  Prifoners, 
and  received  this  Anfwen 

Child,  Tou  think  it  is  a  very  great  Hardjhip  that 
I  made  Prifoners  of  thofe  two  People  at  Venango. 
Don't  you  concern  y our f elf  with  it :  We  took  and  car- 
ried them  to  Canada,  to  get  Intelligence  of  what  the 
Engliih  were  doing  in  Virginia. 

He  informed  me  that  they  had  built  two  Forts, 

©ne  on  Lake  Erie,    and  another  on  French-Creek, 

B  2  n^a^ 


(      M      ) 

near  a  fmall  Lake  about  15  Miles  afunder,  and  a 
large  Waggon  Road  between  :  They  are  both  built 
after  the  lame  Model,  but  different  in  the  Size; 
that  on  the  Lake  the  largeft.  He  gave  me  a  Plan  of 
them,  of  his  Own  drawing. 

The  Indians  enquired  very  particularly  after  their 
Brothers  in  Carolina  Goal. 

Tney  alio  afked  what  Sort  of  a  Boy  it  was  who 
was  taken  from  the  «5>#//j-Branch  ;  for  they  were 
told  by  fome  Indians,  that  a  Party  of  Trench  Indians 
had  carried  a  white  Boy  by  the  Kujkujka  Town,  to* 
wards  the  Lakes. 

26th.  We  met  in  Council  at  the  Long-Houfer 
about  9  o'clock,  where  I  fpoke  to  them  as 
follows. 

Brothers,  I  have  called  you  together  in  Council,  by 
Order  of  your  Brother  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  to 
acquaint  yen,  that  Iamfent,  with  all poffible  Difpatcb, 
to  vifit,  and  deliver  a  Letter  to  the  French  Comman- 
dant',  of  very  great  Importance  to  your  Brothers  the 
Englifli ;  and  1  dare  jay,  to  you  their  Friends  and 
Allies. 

I  was  defired,  Brothers,  by  your  Brother  the  Go- 
vernor, to  call  upon  you,  the  Sachems  of  the  Nations* 
to  inform  you  of  it9  and  to  a(k  your  Advice  and  Affift- 
ance  to  proceed  the  nearejl  and  beft  Road  to  the  French. 
Tou  fee,  Brothers,  T  have  gotten  thus  far  on  my 
Journey. 

His  Honour  likewife  defired  me  to  apply  to  you  for 
Jome  of  your  young  Men,  to  conduit  and  provide  Pro^ 
vifions  for  us  on  our  Way,  and  be  a  Safeguard  againft 
thofe  French  Indians  who  have  taken  up  the  Hatchet 
againft  us.  I  have  fpoke  this  particularly  to  you* 
Brothers,  becaufe  his  Honour  our  Governor  treats  you 
as  good  Friends  and  Allies  \   and  holds  you  in  great 

Efteem. 


(  13  ) 

Efteem.     $0  confirm  what  1  have  faid>    I  give  you 
this  String  of  Wampum. 

After  they  had  confkiered  for  fome  Time  on  the 
above  Difcourfe,  the  Half- King  got  up  and  fpo'ke. 

Now,  my  Brothers,  in  Regard  to  what  my  Bro- 
ther the  Governor  has  defired  me,  I  return  you  this 
Anfwer. 

I  rely  upon  you  as  a  Brother  ought  to  do,  'as  you 
fay  we  are  Brothers  and  one  People :  We  fJoall  put 
Heart  in  Hand,  and  f peak  to  our  Fathers  the  French 
concerning  the  Speech  they  made  to  me  ;  and  you  may 
depend  that  we  will  endeavour  to  be  your  Guard. 

Brother,  as  you  have  ajked  my  Jldvice,  I  hope 
you  will  be  ruled  by  it,  and  ft  ay  till  I  can  provide  a 
Company  to  go  with  you.  1  he  French  Speech- Belt  is 
not  here,  I  have  it  to  go  for  to  my  hunting-Cabbin: 
Lthewife  the  People  whom  I  have  ordered  in,  are  not 
yet  come,  nor  cannot  till  the  third  Night  from  this  \ 
till  which  Time,  Br  o:  her,  I mufi  beg  you  to  flay. 

I  intend  to  fend  a  Guard  of  Mingo's,  Shannoahs, 
and  Delaware*,  that  cur  Brothers  may  fee  the  Love 
and  Loyalty  we  bear  them. 

As  I  had  Orders  to  make  all  pofTible  Difparch, 
and  waiting  here  was  vciy  contrary  to  my  Incli- 
nation, I  thanked  him  in  the  moft  luirable  Manner  I 
could;  and  told  him,  that  my  Uufincfs  required  the 
greateft  Expedition,  and  would  not  admit  of  that 
Delay.  He  was  not  well  pleafed  that  I  mould  offer 
to  go  before  the  Time  he  had  appointed,  and  told 
me,  that  he  could  not  confent  to  our  going  without 
a  Guard,  for  Fear  fome  Accident  fhouki  befal  us, 
and  draw  a  Reflection  upon  him.  Befides,  fays  he, 
this  is  a  Matter  of  no  imall  Moment,  and  muft 

not 


(  14) 

not  be  entered  into  without  due  Confideration  i  For 
now  I  intend  to  deliver  up  the  Fn*/?^- Speech-Belt, 
and  make  the  Shanoahs  and  Delawares  do  the 
fame.  And  accordingly  he  gave  Orders  to  King 
Shingifs,  who  was  prefent,  to  attend  on  Wednsjday 
Night  with  the  Wampum ;  and  two  Men  of  their 
Nation  to  be  in  Readinefs  to  iet-out  with  us  next 
Morning.  As  I  found  it  was  impoflible  to  get-off 
without  affronting  them  in  the  mod  egregious 
Manner,  I  confented  to  flay. 

I  gave  them  back  a  String  of  Wampum  which  I 
met  with  at  Mr.  Frezicr's,  and  which  they  had  fent 
with  a  Speech  to  his  Honour  the  Governor,  to 
inform  him,  that  three  Nations  of  French  Indians  y 
viz.  Chippoways,  O noways,  and  Orundaks,  had 
taken-up  the  Hatchet  againft  the  Engltjh -,  and  de- 
fired  them  to  repeat  it  over  again  :  But  this  they 
poftponed  doing  till  they  met  in  full  Council  with 
the  Shannoahs  and  Delaware  Chiefs. 

2-jth.  Runners  were  difpatched  very  early  for 
the  Sbannoah  Chirfs.  The  Half-King  fet  out  himfelf 
to  fetch  the  French- Speech-Belt  from  his  hunting 
Cabbin. 

28  th.  He  returned  this  Evening,  and  came  with 
Mcnokatoocha,  and  two  other  Sachems  to  my  Tent  , 
and  begged  (as  they  had  complied  with  his  Ho- 
nour the  Governor's  Requeft,  in  providing  Men, 
&c.)  to  know  on  what  Bufinefs  we  were  going  to 
the  French  ?  this  was  a  Queftion  I  all  along  ex- 
pected, and  had  provided  as  fatisfactory  Anfwers 
to,  as  I  could  ;  which  allayed  their  Curiofity  a 
little. 

Monokatoocha  informed  me,  that  an  Indian  from 
Venango  brought  News,  a  few  Days  ago,  that  the 
French  had  called  all  the  Mingo's,  Belawares,  &c. 
together  at  that  Place-,    and  told  them,  that  they 

intended 


(  15  ) 
intended  to  have  been  down   the  River  this  Fall, 
but  the  Waters  were  growing  cold,  and  the  Winter 
advancing,  which  obliged  them  to  go  into  Quarters  : 
But  that  they  might    affuredly  expect  them  in  the 
Spring,  with  a  far  greater  Number ;  and  defired 
that  they  might  be  quite  paflive,  and  not  to  in- 
termeddle, uniefs  they   had  a    Mind   to  draw  all 
their  Force  upon  them  :   For  that  they  expected  to 
fight  the  Englijh  three  Years  (as  they  iuppofed  there 
would  be  iome  Attempts  made   to  ftop  them)  in 
which  Time   they  fhould    conquer :    But   that    if 
they  fnould  prove    equally   ftrong,    they  and  thex 
Englifhy  would  join  to  cut  them  all  off,  and  divide 
the  Land    between  them :    That  though  they  had 
loft  their  Genera),  and  fome  few  of  their  Soldiers, 
yet    there  were  Men  enough  to  reinforce  them, 
and  make  them  Mailers  of  the  Ohio. 

This  Speech,  he  faid,  was  delivered  to  them  by 
one   Captain   Joncaire  their  Interpreter  in   Chief, 
living  at  Venango »,  and  a  Man  of  Note  in  the  Army. 
2gtb.  The  Half-King  and  Monokatoochay  came 
very  early,  and  begged  me  to  (lay  one  Day  more: 
For  notwithftanding  they  had  ufed  all  the  Diligence 
in  their  Power,  the  Shanoah  Chiefs  had  not  brought 
the  Wampum   they  ordered,  but  would  certainly 
be  in  To-night  •,  if  not,  they  would  delay  me  no 
longer,  but  would  fend  it  after  us  as  ibon   as  they 
arrived.       When    I   found   them   fo    preffing    in 
their  Requeft,  and  knew   that  returning  of  Wam- 
pum    was  the    aboiifhing   of  Agreements  ;      and 
giving  this  up,    was   fhaking-ofT  all  Dependance 
upon  the  French,  I  confented  to  flay,  as  1  believed 
an  OiFence  offered  at  this  Crifis,   might  be  attended 
with  greater  ill  Confequence,  than  another  Day's 
Delay.    They  alio  informed  me,  that Shingifs  could 
not  get-in  his  Men  ->  and  was  prevented  from  com- 
ing 


C  is) 

ing  himfelf  by  his  Wife's  Sicknefs,  (I  bdieve,  by 
Fear  of  the  French)-,  but  that  the  Wampum  of  that 
Nation  was  lodged  with  Knftaloga  one  of  their 
Chiefs  at  Venango. 

In  the  Evening  late  they  came  again  and  ac- 
quainted me  that  the  Sbannoabs  were  not  yet  arriv- 
ed, but  that  it  fhould  not  retard  the  Profecutiort 
of  our  Journey.  He  delivered  in  my  Hearing,  the 
Speeches  that  were  to  be  made  to  the  French  by 
Jejkakake,  one  of  their  old  Chiefs,  which  was 
giving-up  the  Belt  the  late  Commandant  had  afked 
for,  and  repeating  near  the  lame  Speech  he  him- 
felf had  done  before. 

He  alfo  delivered  a  String  of  Wampum  to  this 
Chief,  which  was  fent  by  King  Shingijs,  to  be  given 
to  Kuftaloga,  with  Orders  to  repair  to  the  French, 
and  deliver- up  the  Wampum. 

He  likewiie  gave  a  very  large  String  of  black 
and  white  Wampum,  which  was  to  be  fent  up 
immediately  to  the  Six  Nations,  if  the  French  re- 
fufed  to  quit  the  Land  at  this  Warning  •,  which 
was  the  third  and  laft  Time,  and  was  the  Right 
of  tills  Jejkdkake  to  deliver. 

%ath.  Laft  Night  the  great  Men  aflembled  to 
their  Council-Houfe,  to  confult  further  about  this 
Journey,  and  who  were  to  go :  The  Rcfult  of 
which  was,  that  only  three  ot  their  Chiefs,  with 
one  of  their  beft  Hunters,  fhould  be  our  Convoy. 
The  Reaibn  they  gave  for  not  lending  more,  after 
what  had  been  propofed  at  Council  the  26th,  was, 
that  a  greater  Number  might  give  the  French  Suf- 
picions  of  fome  bad  Defign,  and  caufe  them  to 
be  treated  rudely  :  But  I  rather  think  they  could 
not  get  their  Hunters  in. 

We  fet  out  about  9  o'Glock  with  the  Half-King, 
Jejkakake,  White  Thunder,  and  the  Hunter-,    and 

travelled 


(  17  ) 
travel  led  on  the  Road  to  Venango \  where  we  ar- 
rived the  4th  of  December,  without  any  Thing  re- 
markable happening  but  a  continued  Series  of  bad 
Weather. 

This  is  an  old  Indian  Town,  fituated  at  the 
Mouth  of  French  Creek  on  Ohio  ;  and  lies  near  N, 
about  60  Miles  from  the  Zfljgj-Town,  but  more 
than  70  the  Way  we  were  obliged  to  go. 

We  found  the  French  Colours  hoiftcd  at  a  Houfe 
from  which  they  had  driven  Mr.  John  Frazier,  an 
Englijh  Subject.  I  immediately  repaired  to  it,  to 
know  where  the  Commander  refided.  There  were 
three  Officers,  one  of  whom,  Capt.  Joncaire,  in- 
formed me,  that  he  had  the  "Command  of  the 
Ohio  :  But  that  there  was  a  General  Officer  at  the 
near  Fort,  where  he  advifed  me  to  apply  for  an 
Anfwtr.  He  invited  us  to  fup  with  them  j  and 
treated  us  with  the  greateft  Complaifance. 

The  Wine,  as  they  dofed  themfelves  pretty  plen- 
tifully with  it,  foon  banifhed  the  Rcftraint  which 
at  firft  appeared  in  their  Converfation  ;  and  gave  a 
Licence  to  their  Tongues  to  reveal  their  Sentiments 
more  freely. 

They  told  me,  That  it  was  their  abfolute  De- 
fign  to  take  PofTeffion  of  the  Ohio,  and  by  G —  they 
would  do  it :  For  that  altho'  they  were  fenfible  the 
Englijh  could  raife  two  Men  for  their  one;  yet  they 
knew,  their  Motions  were  too  (low  and  dilatory  to 
•prevent  any  Undertaking  of  theirs.  They  pretend 
ro  have  an  undoubted  Right  to  the  River,  from  a 
Difcovery  made  by  one  La  Solle  60  Years  ago  ;  and 
the  Rife  of  this  Expedition  is,  to  prevent  our  fet- 
tling on  the  River  or  Waters  of  it,  as  they  had 
heard  of  fome  Families  moving-out  in  Order 
thereto.  From  the  beft  Intelligence  I  could  get, 
there  have  been  J  500  Men  on  this  Side  Ontario 

C  Lake 


(  is ; 

Lake  :  But  upon  the  Death  of  the  General  all  were 
recalled  to  about  6  or  700,  who  were  left  to  gar- 
rifon  four  Forts,   1 50  or  there  abouts  in  each.  The 
firft  of  thtm   is  on  French-Creek,     near  a  fmall 
Lake,  about  60  Miles  from  Venango >  near  N.N.  W. 
the  next  lies  on  LakeisnV,    where  the  greater  Fart 
of  their  Stores'  are  kept,  about   15  Miles  from  the 
other.    From  this  it  is  120  Miles  to  the  carrying 
Place,  at  the  Falls  of  Lake  Erie,  where  there  is  a 
fmall  Fort;  .which  they  lodge  their  Goods  at,  in 
bringing  them  from  Montreal,  the  Place  whence  all 
their  Stores  come  from.    The  next  Fort  lies  about 
20  Miles  irom  this,    on  0#/#w-Lake.    Between 
this  Fort  and  Montreal  there  are  three  others,  the 
iirll  of  which  is  near  oppofite  to  the  Englifh  Fort 
Ofwego.     From  the  Fort  on  Lake  Erie  to  Montreal 
is  about  600  Miles,  which  they  fay  requires  no 
more,  if  good  Weather,  than  four  Weeks  Voyage, 
if  they  go  in  Barks  or  large  Veffels,  fo  that  they  may 
crofs  the  Lake  :  But  if  they  come  in  Canoes  it  will 
require  5  or  6  Weeks,  for  they  are  obliged  to  keep 
under  the  Snore. 

5th.  Rain'd  exceffively  all  Day,  which  prevented 
our  Travelling.  Capt.  Joncaire  lent  for  the  Half- 
King,as  he  had  but  juft  heard  that  he  came  with  me: 
He  affected  to  be  much  concerned  that  I  did  not 
make  free  to  bring  them  in  before.  I  excufed  it  in 
the  bed  Manner  I  was  capable,  and  told  him,  I 
did  not  think  their  Company  agreeable,  as  1  had 
heard  him  fay  a  good  deal  in  Diipraife  of  Indians  in 
general.  But  another  Motive  prevented  me  from 
bringing  them  into  his  Company  :  I  knew  he  was 
Interpreter,  and  a  Perfon  of  very  great  Influence 
among  the  Indians,  and  had  lately  ufed  all  pofllble 
Means  to  draw  them  over  to  their  Intereft  •,  there- 
fore I  was  defirous  of  giving  no  Opportunity  that 
could  be  avoided.  When 


(  19  ) 

When  they  came  in,  there  was  great  Pleafure  ex- 
preffed  at  feeing  them.  He  wondred  how  they  could 
be  fo  near  without  coming  to  vifit  him  ♦,  made  fe- 
veral  trifling  Prefents ;  and  applied  Loquor  fo  fait, 
that  they  were  foon  rendred  incapable  of  the  Bufinefs 
they  came  about,  notwithftanding  the  Caution  which 
was  given. 

6th.  The  Half-King  came  to  my  Tent,  quite 
fober,  and  infilled  very  much  that  I  fhould  Hay  and 
hear  what  he  had  to  fay  to  the  French.  I  fain  would 
have  prevented  his  fpeaking  anything,  till  he 
came  to  the  Commandant  •,  but  could  not  prevail. 
He  told  me,  that  at  this  Place  a  Council  Fire  was 
kindled,  where  all  their  Bufinefs  with  thefe  People 
was  to  be  tranfacted ;  and  that  the  Management  of 
the  Indian  Affairs  was  left  folely  to  Monlieur  Jon- 
caire.  As  I  was  defirous  of  .knowing  the  I  flue 
of  this,  1  agreed  to  (lay:  But  fent  our  Horfes  a  little 
"Way  up  French  Creek,  to  raft  over  and  encamp , 
which  1  knew  would  make  it  near  Night. 

About  io  o'Clock  they  met  in  Council.  The 
King  (poke  much  the  fame  as  he  had  before  done 
to  the  General ;  and  offered  the  French  Speech -Be  It 
which  had  before  been  demanded,  with  the  Marks 
of  four  Towns  on  it,  which  Monfieur  Joncaire  re- 
fufed  to  receive  •,  but  defired  him  to  carry  it  to  the 
Fort  to  the  Commander. 

yth.  Monfieur  La  Force,  CommifTary  of  the 
French  Stores,  and  three  other  Soldiers  came  over 
to  accompany  us  up.  We  found  it  extremely 
difficult  to  get  the  Indians  off  To-day,  as  every 
Stratagem  had  been  ufed  to  prevent  their  going-up 
with  me.  .  I  had  laft  Night  left  John  Davifon  (the 
Indian  interpreter  whom  I  brought  with  me  from 
Town,  and  ftrictly  charged  him  not  to  be  out  of 
their  Company,  as  I  could  not  get  them  over  to 

C  2  my 


(  *o  ) 

my  Tent ;  For  they  had  feme  Bufinefs  with  Kujlaloga, 
chiefly  to  know  the  Reafon  why  he  did  not  deliver 
up  the  French  Belt  which  he  had  in  Keeping:  But 
I  was  obliged  to  fend  Mr.  Gift  over  To-day  to  fetch 
them-,  which  he  did  with  great  Perfuafion. 

At  1 1  o'Clock  we  fet  out  for  the  Fort,  and  were 
prevented  from  arriving  there  till  the  nth  by 
exceflive  Rains,  Snows,  and  bad  Travelling,  through 
many  Mires  and  Swamps.  Thefe  we  were  obliged 
to  pafs,  to  avoid  crofling  the  Creek,  which  was 
impofilble,  either  by  fording  or  rafting,  the  Water 
-was  fo  high  and  rapid. 

We  palled  over  much  good  Land  fince  we  left 
Venango,  and  through  feveral  extenfive  and  very 
rich  Meadows  ->  one  of  which  I  believe  was  near 
four  Miles  in  Length,  and  confiderably  wide  in 
fome  Places. 

12th.  I  prepared  early  to  wait  upon  the  Com- 
mander, and  was  received  and  conducted  to  him 
by  the  fecond  Officer  in  Command.  I  acquainted 
him  with  my  Bufinefs,  and  offered  my  Commiflion 
and  Letter:  Both  of  which  he  defired  me  to  keep 
till  the  Arrival  of  Monfieur  Riparti,  Captain,  at 
the  next  Fort,  who  was  fent  for  and  expected  every 
Hour. 

This  Commander  is  a  Knight  of  the  military 
Order  of  St.  Lewis,  and  named  Legardeur  de  St. 
Piere.  He  is  an  elderly  Gentleman,  and  has  much 
the  Air  of  a  Soldier.  He  v/as  fent  over  to  take  the 
Command,  immediately  upon  the  Death  of  the 
late  General,  and  arrived  here  about  feven  Days 
before  me. 

At  2  o'Clock  the  Gentleman  who  was  fent  for 
arrived,  when  I  offered  the  Letter,  &c.  again ; 
which  they  received,  and  adjourned  into  a  private 
Apartment  for  the  Captain  to  tranOate,  who  urv 

derltood 


(   21    ) 

derftood  a  little  Englijh.  After  he  had  done  it,  the 
Commander  defired  I  would  walk-in,  and  bring 
my  Interpreter  to  perufe  and  correct  it;  which 
ldid. 

ipb.  The  chief  Officers  retired,  to  hold  a  Council 
of  War;  which  gave  me  an  Opportunity  of  taking 
the  Dimenfions  of  the  Fort,  and  making  what  Ob- 
fervations  I  could. 

It  is  fituated  on  the  South,  or  Weft  Fork. of 
French  Creek,  near  the  Water;  and  is  almoft  fur- 
rounded  by  the  Creek,  and  a  fmall  Branch  of  it 
which  forms  a  Kind  of  liland.  Four  Hou fes 
compofe  the  Sides.  The  Baftions  are  made  of  Piles 
driven  into  the  Ground,  {landing  more  than  12  Feet 
above  it,  and  fharp  at  Top:  With  Port- Holes  cut 
for  Cannon,  and  Loop- Holes  for  the  fmall  Arms  ro 
fire  through.  There  are  eight  6  lb.  Pieces  mounted, 
in  each  Baftion;  and  one  Piece  of  four  Pound  before 
the  Gate.  In  the  Baftions  are  a  Guard  Houfe, 
Chapel,  Doctor's  Lodging,  and  the  Commander's 
private  Store:  Round  which  are  laid  Plat-Forms  for 
the  Cannon  and  Men  to.ftand  on.  There  are  feveral 
Barracks  without  the  Fort,  for  the  Soldiers  Dwell- 
ing ;  covered,  feme  with  Bark,  and  fome  with 
Boards,  made  chiefly  of  Loggs.  There  are  alfo 
feveral  other  Houfes,  fuch  as  Stables,  Smiths 
Shop,  &c. 

I  could  get  no  certain  Account  of  the  Number 
of  Men  here  :  But  according  to  the  beft  Judgment 
I  could  form,  there  are  an  Hundred  exclufive  of 
Officers,  of  which  there  are  many.  I  alfo  gave 
Orders,  to  the  People  who  were  with  me,  to  take 
an  exact  Account  of  the  Canoes  which  were  hauled- 
up  to  convey  their  Forces  down  in  the  Spring. 
This  they  did,  and  told  50  of  Birch  Bark,  and 
1 70  of  Pine;  befides  many  others  which  were  block- 
£d-outa  in  Readinefs  to  make.  i$ib.  As 


(      22       ) 

14-th.  As  the  Snow  encreafed  very  faft,  ,and  our 
Hones  daily  became  weaker,  I  lent  them  off  un- 
loaded-, under  the  Care  of  Barnaby  Currin  and  two 
others,  to  make  all  convenient  DiJpatch  to  Venango , 
and  there  wait  our  Arrival,  if  there  was  a  Pofpect 
of  the  Rivers  freezing:  Tf  not,  then  to  continue 
down  to  Shdrtdpin's  Town,  at  the  Forks  of  Ohio> 
and  there  to  wait  till  we  came  to  crofs  Aliganey  ;  in- 
tending niyfelf  to  go  down  by  Water,  as  i  had 
the  Offer  of  a  Canoe  or  two. 

As  I  .found  many  Plots  concerted  to  retard  the 
Indians  BufineiS,  and  prevent  their  returning  with 
me;  I  endeavour'd  all  that  lay  in  my  Power  to 
fruttrate  their  Schemes,  and  hurry  them  on*  to  exe- 
cute tiieir  intended  Defign.  They  accordingly  pref- 
fed  lor  Admittance  this  Evening,  which  at  Length 
was  granted  tnem,  privacely,  with  the  Commander 
and  one  or  two  other  Officers.  The  Half-King  told 
nie,  tnat  he  offer'd  the  Wampum  to  the  Comman- 
der, who  evaded  taking  it,  and  made  many  fair 
Promifes  of  Love  and  Friend  fhip  •,  faid  he  wanted 
to  live  in  Peace,  and  trade  amicably  with  them,  as 
a  Proof  of  which  he  would  fend  fome  Goods  imme- 
diately down  to  the  Lc^gVTown  for  them.  But  I 
rather  think  the  Defign  of  that  is,  to  bring  away  all 
our  ftraggling  Traders  they  meet  with,  as  I  pri- 
vately underftood  they  intended  to  carry  an  Officer, 
&c.  with  them.  And  what  rather  confirms  this 
Opinion,  I  was  enquiring  of  the  Commander,  by 
what  Authority  he  had  made  Prifoners  of  feveral  of 
our  Englijh  Subjects.  He  told  me  that  the  Country 
belong'd  to  them;  that  no  EngHJhman  had  a  Right 
to  trade  upon  thofe  Waters  •,  and  that  he  had  Or- 
ders to  make  every  Perfon  Prifoner  who  attempted 
it  on  the  Ohio,  or  the  Waters  of  it. 


(  *3  ) 
I  enquir'd  of  Capt.  Riparti  about  the  Boy  who  was 
tarried  by  this  Place,  as  it  was  done  while  the  Com- 
mand devolved  on  him,  between  theDeath  of  the  late 
General,  and  the  Arrival  of  the  prefent.  Fie  ac- 
knowledged, that  a  Boy  had  been  carried  pad;  and 
that  the  Indians-  had  two  or  three  white  Men's 
Scalps,  (I  was  told  by  fome  of  the  Indians  at  Venangc 
Eight)  but  pretended  to  have  forgotten  the  Name  of 
the  Place  which  the  Boy  came  from,  and  all  the  Par- 
ticular Fads,  though  he  had  queftion'd  him  for 
fome  Hours,  as  they  were  carrying  him  pall.  I 
likewife  enquired  what  they  had  done  with  John 
trotter  and  James  Mac  Clccklan,  two  Penfyhania 
Traders,  whom  they  had  taken,  with  all  their 
Goods.  They  told  me,  that  they  had  been  fent 
to  Canada,    but  were  now  returned  Home. 

This  Evening  I  received  an  Anfwer  to  his  Honour 
the  Governor's  Letter  from  the  Commandant. 

i  $th>  The  Commandant  ordered  a  plentiful  Store 
of  Liquor,  Provifion,  &V.  to  be  put  on  Board  our 
Canoe  ;  and  appeared  to  be  extremely  complaifant, 
though  he  was  exerting  every  Anirice  which  he  could 
invent  to  fet  our  own  Indians  at  Variance  with  us, 
to  prevent  their  going  'till  alter  our  Departure.  Pre- 
fents,  Rewards,  and  every  Thing   which  could  be 

fuggefted  by  him  or   his  Officers. 1  can't  fay 

that  ever  in  my  Life  I  fuffer'dfo  much  Anxiety  as  I 
did  in  this  Affair :  I  faw  that  every  Stratagem  which 
the  moft  fruitful  Brain  could  invent,  was  practiied, 
to  win  the  Half- King  to  their  Interefl;  and  that 
leaving  him  here  was  giving  them  the  Opportunity 

they  aimed  at, 1  went  to  the  Half- King  and 

prefs'd  him  in  the  ftrongeft  Terms  to  go :  He  told 
me  the  Commandant  would  not  difcharge  him  'till 
the  Morning.  1  then  went  to  the  Commandant, 
and  defired  him  to  do  their  Bufinefsj  ajid  conipiajn»d 

of 


(     24     ) 

of  ill  Treatment:  For  keeping  them,  as  they  were 
Part  of  my  Company,  was  detaining  me.  This 
he  promifed  not  to  do,  but  to  forward  my  Journey 
as  much  as  he  could.  He  protefted  he  did  not  keep 
them,  but  was  ignorant  of  the  Caufe  of  their  Stay  ; 

though  I  foon  found  it  out: He  had  promifed 

them  a  prefent  of  Guns,  &c.  if  they  would  wait 
'till  the  Morning. 

As  I  was  very  much  prefs'd,  by  the  Indians,  to 
wait  this  Day  for  them,  I  confented,  on  a  Promife, 
That  nothing  fhould  hinder  them  in  the  Morning. 

1 6th.  The  French  were  not  flack  in  their  Inven- 
tions to  keep  the  Indians  this  Day  alfo :  But  as  they 
were  obligated,  according  to  Promife,  to  give  the 
Prefent,  they  then  endeavoured  to  try  the  Power 
of  Liquor;  which  I  doubt  not  would  have  prevailed 
at  any  otherTime  than  this:  But  I  urged  and  infilled 
with  the  King  fo  clofely  upon  his  Word,  that  he 
refrained,  and  fet-ofT  with  us  as  he  had  engaged. 

We  had  a  tedious  and  very  fatiguing  PafTage 
down  the  Creek.  Several  Times  we  had  like  to  have 
been  ftaved  againft  Rocks;  and  many  Times  were 
obliged  all  Hands  to  get-out  and  remain,  in  the 
Water  Half  an  Hour  or  more,  getting  over  the 
Shoals.  At  one  Place  the  Ice  had  lodged  and  made 
it  impafTable  by  Water  ;  therefore  we  were  obliged 
to  carry  our  Canoe  acrofs  a  Neck. of  Land,  a  Quar- 
ter of  a  Mile  over.  We  did  not  reach  Venango,  till 
the  2 2d,  where  we  met  with  our  Horfes. 

This  Creek  is  extremely  crooked,  I  dare  fay  the 
Diftance  between  the  Fort  and  Venango  can't  be  lefs 
than  130  Miles,  to  follow  the  Meanders-. 

23^,  When  I  got  Things  ready  .to  fet-off,  Ifent 
for  the  Half- King,  to  know  whether  he  intended  to 
go  with  us,  or  by  Water.  He  told  me  that  White- 
Thunder  had  hurt  himfelf  much,  and  was  fick  and 

unable 


(     25     ) 

unable  to  walk  •,  therefore  he  was  obliged  to  carry 
him  down  in  a  Canoe.  As  I  found  he  intended  to 
flay  here  a  Day  or  two,  and  knew  that  Monfieur 
Joncaire  would  employ  every  Scheme  to  fet  him 
againft  the  Englijb  as  he  had  before  done  •,  I  told 
him  I  hoped  he  would  guard  againft  his  Flattery, 
and  let  no  fine  Speeches  influence  him  in  their  Fa- 
vour. Hedefired  I  might  not  be  concerned,  for  he 
knew  the  French  too  well,  for  any  Thing  to  engage 
him  in  their  Behalf;  and  that  though  he  could  not 
go  down  with  us,  he  yet  would  endeavour  to  meet 
at  the  Forks  with  Jofepb  Campbell,  to  deliver  a  Speech 
for  me  to  carry  to  his  Honour  the  Governor.  He 
told  me  he  would  order  the  young  Hunter  to  at- 
tend us,  and  get  Provifion,  &c.  if  wanted. 

Our  Hories  were  now  fo  weak  and  feeble,  and  the 
Baggage  fo  heavy  (as  we  were  obliged  to  provide 
all  the  Neceffaries  which  the  Journey  would  require,) 
that  we  doubted  much  their  performing  it :  there- 
fore myfelf  and  others  (except  the  Drivers  who 
were  obliged  to  ride)  gave-up  our  Horfes  for  Packs, 
to  afiift  along  with  the  Baggage.  I  put  myfelf  in 
an  Indian  walking  Drefs,  and  continued  with  them 
three  Days,  till  1  found  there  was  noProbabihtyof 
their  getting  home  in  any  reafonableTime.  The  Hor- 
fes grew  leis  able  to  travel  every  Day  •,  the  Cold  in- 
creafed  very  faft  ;  and  the  Roads  were  becoming 
much  worfe  by  a  deep  Snow,  continually  freezing  : 
Therefore  as  I  was  uneafy  to  get  back,  to  make  Re- 
port of  my  Proceedings  to  his  Honour  the  Gover- 
nor, I  determined  to  profecute  my  Journey  the  near- 
eft  Way  through  the  Woods,  on  Foot. 

Accordingly  I  left  Mr.  Vanbraam  in  Charge  of 
our  Baggage  ;  with  Money  and  Directions,  to  pro- 
vide Neceffaries  from  Place  to  Pl#ce  for  themfelves 

D  ami 


(       26       ) 

and  Horfes,  and  to  make  the  moft  convenient  Di- 
patch  in  Travelling. 

I  took  my  neceffary  Papers ;  pulled-off  my 
Cloaths  ;  and  tied  myfelf  up  in  a  Match  Coat.  Then 
with  Gun  in  Hand  and  Pack  at  my  Back,  in  which 
were  my  Papers  and  Provifions,  I  fet-out  with  Mr. 
Gift,  fitted  in  the  fame  Manner,  on  IFednefday  the 
26th.  The  Day  following,  juft  after  we  had  pafTed 
a  Place  called  the  Murdering-Tovrn  (where  we  in- 
tended to  quit  the  Path,  and  fteer  acrofs  the  Country 
for  Sbannapim  Town)  we  fell-in  with  a  Party  of  French 
Indians,  who  had  lain  in  Wait  for  us.  One  of  them 
fired  at  Mr.  Gift  or  me,  not  15  Steps  off,  but  fortu- 
nately miffed.  We  took  this  Fellow  into  Cuftody, 
and  kept  him  till  about  9  o'Clcck  at  Night  : 
Then  let  him  go,  and  walked  all  the  remaining  Part 
of  the  Night  without  making  any  Stop  •,  that  we 
might  get  the  Start,  fo  far,  as  to  be  out  of  the 
Reach  of  their  Purfnit  the  next  Day,  fince  we  were 
well  affured  they  would  follow  our  Trad  as  foon  as 
it  was  light.  The  next  Day  we  continued  travelling 
till  quite  dark,  and  got  to  the  River  about  two  Miles 
above  Sbannapins.  We  expected  to  have  found  the 
River  frozen,  but  it  was  not,  only  about  50  Yards 
from  each  Shore  :  The  Ice  I  fuppoie  had  broken  up 
above,  for  it  was  driving  in  vait  Quantities. 

There  was  no  Way  for  getting  over  but  on  a  Raft : 
Which  we-fet  about,  with  but  one  poor  Hatchet, 
and  finifhed  juft  after  Sun-fetting.  This  w7as  a  whole 
Day's  Work :  we  next  got  it  launched,  and  went  on 
Board  of  it:  Then  fet-  off.  But  before  wewere  Half 
Way' over,  we  were  jammed  in  the  Ice,  in  fuch  a 
Manner  that  we  expected  every  Moment  our  Raft  to 
fink,  and  ourfelves  to  perifh.  I  put-out  my  fetting 
Pole  to  try  to  flop  the  Raft,  that  the  Ice  might  pafs 
by  ;  when  the  Rapidity  of  the  Stream  threw  it  with 

fo 


(       27       ) 

fo  much  Violence  againft  the  Pole,  that  it  jirked  me 
out  into  ten  Feet  Water :  But  I  fortunately  faved 
myfelf  by  catching  hold  of  one  of  the  Raft  Logs. 
Notwithfranding  all  our  Efforts  we  could  not  get 
the  Raft  to  either  Shore  ;  but  were  obliged,  as  we 
were  near  an  Ifland,  to  quit  our  Raft  and  make  to  i£. 

The  Cold  was  fo  extremely  fevere,  that  Mr.  Gift 
had  all  his  Fingers,  and  fome  of  his  Toes  frozen  \ 
and  the  Water  was  fhut  up  fo  hard,  that  we  found 
no  Difficulty  in  getting-offthe  Ifland,  on  the  Ice,  in 
the  Morning,  and  went  to  Mr.  Frazier's.  We  met 
here  with  20  Warriors  who  were  going  to  the  South- 
ward  to  War :  But  coming  to  a  Place  upon  the  Head 
of  the  great  Kunnaway,  where  they  found  feven  Peo- 
ple killed  and  fcalped  (all  but  one  Woman  with 
very  light  Hair)  they  turned  about  and  ran  back 
for  Fear  the  Inhabitants  mould  rife  and  take  them 
as  the  Authors  of  the  Murder.  They  report  that 
the  Bodies  were  lying  about  the  Houfe,  and  fome 
of  them  much  torn  and  eaten  by  Hogs :  By  the 
Marks  which  were  left,  they  fay  they  were  French 
Indians  of  the  Ottoway  Nation,  &c.  who  did  it. 

As  we  intended  to  take  Horfes  here,  and  it  re- 
quired fome  Time  to  find  them,  I  went-up  about 
three  Miles  to  the  Mouth  of  Taughyaughgant  to  vifit 
Queen  Alliquippa,  who  had  expreffed  great  Concern 
that  we  paffed  her  in  going  to  the  Fort.  I  made 
her  a  Prelent  of  a  Matchcoat  and  a  Bottle  of  Rum  -, 
which  latter  was  thought  much  the  bed  Pretent  of 
the  two. 

Tuefday  the  id  Day  of  January,  we  left  Mr. 
Frazier's  Houfe,  and  arrived  at  Mr.  Gift's  at  Mo- 
nongahela  the  2d,  where  I  bought  a  Horfe,  Saddle, 
&c.  the  6th  we  met  17  Horfes  loaded  with  Materi- 
als and  Stores  for  a  Fort  at  the  Forks  of  Ohio,  and 
the  Day  after  fome  Families  going^out  to  fettle : 
D  2  This 


(     23     ) 

This  Day  we  arrived  at  Wills  Creek,  after  as  fa- 
tiguing a  Journey  as  it  is  poffible  to  conceive,  ren- 
dered fo  by  exceffive  bad  Weather.  From  the  firil 
Day  of  December  to  the  15th,  there  was  but  one  Day 
on  which  it  did  not  rain  or  fnow  inceffantly  ;  and 
throughout  the  whole  Journey  we  met- with  no- 
thing but  one  continued  Series  of  cold  wet  Weather, 
which  occafioned  very  uncomfortable  Lodgings  ; 
efpecially  after  we  had  quitted  our  Tent,  which  was 
fome  Screen  from  the  Inclemency  of  it. 

On  the  1  ith  I  got  to  Belvoir ;  where  I  flopped  one 
Day  to  take  neceiTary  Reft ;  and  then  fct  out,  and 
arrived  in  Williamjbiirgh  the  16th  ;  when  I  waited 
upon  his  Honour  the  Governor  with  the  Letter  I 
had  brought  from  the  French  Commandant  \  and  to 
give  an  Account  of  the  Succefs  of  my  Proceedings. 
This  I  beg  Leave  to  do  by  offering  the  foregoing 
Narrative  as  it  contains  the  mod  remarkable  Oc- 
currences which  happened  in  my  Journey. 

I  hope  what  has  been  faid  will  be  fufficient  to 
rnake  your  Honour  fatisfied  with  my  Conduct ;  for 
that  was  my  Aim  in  undertaking  the  Journey,  and 
chief  Study  throughout  the  Prolecution  of  it. 

With  the  Hope  of  doing  it,  I,  with  infinite  Plea- 
sure fubicribe  wy{ch\ 

Your  Honour's  mofl  Obedient, 

And  very  humble  Servant, 

G.    TVapi?igton. 


COPT 


(     *9     ) 


COPT  of  his  Honour  the  Governor's  Letter, 
to  the  Commandant  of  the  French  Forces  on 
the  Ohio,  jent  by  Major  Wafhington. 

S  I  R, 

TH  E  Lands  upon  the  River  Ohio,  in  the 
Weftern  Parts  of  the  Colony  of  Virginia,  are 
fo  notoriouOy  known  to  be  the  Property  of  the 
Crown  of  Great-Britain  ;  that  it  is  a  Matter  of  equal 
Concern  and  Surprize  to  me3  to  hear  that  a  Body 
of  French  Forces  are  erecting  FortrefTes,  and  mak- 
ing Settlements  upon  that  River,  within  his  Majef- 
ty's  Dominions. 

The  many  and  repeated  Complaints  I  have  re- 
ceived of  thefe  Acts  of  Hoftility,  lay  me  under  the 
Neceffity,  of  fending,  in  the  Name  of  the  King 
my  Maiter,  the  Bearer  hereof,  George  IVaJhington, 
Efq;  one  of  the  Adjutants  General  of  the  Forces  of 
this  Dominion;  to  complain  to  you  of  the  Encroach- 
ments thus  made,  and  of  the  Injuries  done  to  the 
Subjects  of  Great-Britain,  in  open  Violation  of  the 
Law  of  Nations,  and  the  Treaties  now  fubfifting 
between  the  two  Crowns. 

If  thefe  Facts  are  true,  and  you  fhall  think  fit  to 
juftify  your  Proceedings,  I  muft  delire  you  to  ac- 
quaint me,  by  whofe  Authority  and  Inftructions 
you  have  lately  marched  from  Canada,  with  an 
armed,  Force  -,  and  invaded  the  King  of  Great- 
Britain's 


(  30  ) 
Britain's  Territories,  in  the  Manner  complained  of? 
that  according  to  the  Purport  and  Refolution  of 
your  Anfwer,  I  may  act  agreeably  to  the  Commif- 
fion  I  am  honoured  with,  from  the  King  my 
Mafter. 

However  Sir,  in  Obedience  to  my  Instructions, 
it  becomes  my  Duty  to  require  your  peaceable  De- 
parture ;  and  that  you  would  forbear  profecuting  a 
Purpofe  fo  interruptive  of  the  Harmony  and  good 
Underftanding,  which  his  Majefty  is  defirous  to 
continue  and  cultivate  with  the  mod  Chriftian 
King. 

I  perfuade  myfelfyou  will  receive  and  entertain 
Major  Wajlrington  with  the  Candour  and  Politenefs 
natural  to  your  Nation  ;  and  it  will  give  me  the 
greateft  Satisfaction,  if  you  return  him  with  an  An- 
fwer fuitable  to  my  Wifhes  for  a  very  long  and  laft- 
ing  Peace  between  us.  I  have  the  Honour  to  fub- 
fcribe  myfelf, 

S  I  R, 

Your  moft  obedient,  - 

Humble  Servant, 

Robert  Dinwiddie, 


Williamjburgh,  in  Virginia,! 
Oftober  $ift,  1753.       J 

TRANS- 


(     3*     ) 


TRANSLATION  of  a  Letter  from  Mr. 
Legardeur  de  St.  Piere,  a  principal Trench 
Officer,  in  Anfwer  to  the  Governor's  Letter. 

S  I  R, 

AS  1  have  the  Honour  of  commanding  here  in 
Chief,  Mr.  IVaJhington  delivered  me  the 
Letter  which  you  wrote  to  the  Commandant  of  the 
French  Troops. 

I  mould  have  been  glad  that  you  had  given  him 
Orders,  or  that  he  had  been  inclined  to  proceed  to 
Canada,  to  fee  our  General ;  to  whom  it  better  be- 
longs than  to  mc  to  fet' forth  the  Evidence  and  Rea- 
lity of  the  Rights  of  the  King,  my  Matter,  upon 
the  Lands  fituated  along  the  River  Obio9  and  to 
conteft  the  Preteniions  ot  the  King  of  Great- Britain, 
thereto. 

I  ihall  tranfmit  your  Letter  to  the  Marquis  Du- 
guifne.  His  Anfwer  will  be  a  Law  to  me  ;  and  if  he 
fhall  order  me  to  communicate  it  to  you,  Sir,  you 
may  be  allured  I  fhall  not  fail  to  difpatch  it  to  you 
forthwith. 

As  to  the  Summons  you  fend  me  to  retire,  I  do 
not  think  myfeif  obliged  to  obey  it.  Whatever  may 
be  your  Inftruclions,  I  am  here  by  Virtue  of  the 
Orders  of  my  General  ;  and  I  intreat  you,  Sir,  not 
to  doubt  one  Moment,  but  that  I  am  determin'd 
to  conform  myfeif  to  them  with  ail  the  Exactnefs 

and 


(     32      ) 

and  Refolution  which  can  be  expected  from  the  bed 
Officer. 

I  don't  know  that  in  the  Progrefs  of  this  Cam- 
paign any  Thing  has  paffed  which  can  be  reputed  an 
Act  of  Hoftility,  or  that  is  contrary  to  the  Treaties 
which  fubfift  between  the  two  Crowns-,  the  Continu- 
ation whereof  as  much  interefts,  and  is  as  pleafing 
to  us,  as  the  Eng lijh.  Had  you  been  pleafed,  Sir, 
to  have  defcended  to  particularize  the  Facts  which 
occafioned  your  Complaint,  I  mould  have  had  the 
Honour  of  anfwering  you  in  the  fulleft,  and,  I  am 
perfuaded,  molt  fatisfactory  Manner. 

I  made  it  my  particular  Care  to  receive  Mr.  Wajh- 
ington,  with  a  Diftinction  fuitable  to  your  Dignity, 
as  well  as  his  own  Quality  and  great  Merit.  I  flat- 
ter myfelf  that  he  will  do  me  this  Jnftice  before  you, 
Sir;  and  that  he  will  fignify  to  you  in  the  Man- 
ner I  do  myfelf,  the  profound  Refpect  with  which 
I  am, 

S  I  R, 

Your  moft  humble,  and 
moil  obedient  Servant, 

LSGARDEUR  DE  ST.  PlERE. 


From  the  Fort  fur  La  Riviere  au  Beuf, 
the  15th  of  December  1753* 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

Editors  Commentary 

The  commentary  serves  instead  of  footnotes  for  the  Journal 
reproduced  in  facsimile,  where  of  course  no  footnotes  are  pos- 
sible. No  attempt  is  made  to  present  the  commentary  in  con- 
nected narrative,  for  the  Journal  is  the  real  narrative. 

The  commentary  follows  the  page  numbers  of  the  Jefferys' 
edition  which  is  reproduced  in  facsimile  in  this  volume;  there- 
fore, the  comments  do  not  agree  with  the  paging  of  other  edi- 
tions and  they  refer  to  the  Jefferys'  text,  which  differs  slightly 
from  other  texts. 

Citations  of  sources  are  not  included;  in  many  cases  such 
citations  would  necessarily  be  longer  than  the  comment  itself, 
and  the  bibliography  lists  sources  which  are  usually  cited.  The 
same  plan  is  carried  out  in  subsequent  chapters,  except  that 
there  the  customary  footnotes  are  used  instead  of  a  commentary. 

MAP  OF  THE  WESTERN  PARTS  OF  VIRGINIA 
AS  FAR  AS  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

This  English  notion  of  the  Transappalachian  region  is  not  very 
accurate,  as,  for  example,  a  glance  at  Lake  Huron  or  Lake 
Michigan  will  show.  Shanopin,  a  person,  is  confused  with 
Chaouanon,  a  French  spelling  of  Shawnee.  Shawanon,  another 
rendering  of  Shawnee,  is  confused  with  Seneca.  The  French 
fort  indicated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  was  non-existent. 
With  such  imperfect  geographical  information,  it  is  small  won- 
der that  both  the  English  and  the  French  miscalculated  in  their 
military  planning. 

Three  maps  differing  slightly  yet  containing  approximately 
the  same  information  were  published  in  England  in  July,  1753. 
Washington's  own  map,  published  by  William  Darlington  in 


43 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Gist's  Journals,  has  names  that  can  be  traced  to  a  French  source. 
This  map  is  probably  a  Jefferys'  map. 

PAGE  FIVE 

Robert  Dinwiddie  was  referred  to  at  times  as  the  Governor  and 
at  other  times  as  the  Lieutenant  Governor.  The  title,  Governor 
of  Virginia,  was  honorary,  a  sinecure  bestowed  on  one  or  an- 
other English  lord  who,  as  a  rule,  never  set  foot  in  the  colony. 
The  executive  was  the  Lieutenant  Governor;  this  Dinwiddie 
really  was.  However,  on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  was  usually  addressed  as  Governor— 
thereby  the  confusion. 

The  letter  which  Washington  carried  to  the  French  commander 
is  on  Facsimile  pages  29  and  30.  Dinwiddie  had  been  instructed 
by  the  King  himself,  George  II,  to  send  it. 

Jacob  van  Braam  was  a  Hollander  who  came  to  Virginia  in 
1752.  It  is  reputed  that  he  was  formerly  an  officer  in  the  Dutch 
army.  He  had  advertised  in  Virginia  as  a  French  teacher.  His 
command  of  English  was  limited.  Later,  he  was  in  the  Fort 
Necessity  campaign. 

Wills  Creek,  later  Fort  Cumberland,  is  today  Cumberland, 
Maryland. 

Christopher  Gist  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  a  surveyor,  farmer, 
frontiersman,  and  soldier  who  was  employed  by  the  Ohio  Com- 
pany. Before  accompanying  Washington,  he  had  made  extensive 
explorations  of  the  Ohio  Valley  for  the  Company.  He  had  also 
represented  the  Company  among  the  Indians,  supervised  the 
construction  of  the  Company's  wagon  road  to  the  Monongahela, 
and  established  the  first  Company  settlement,  Gist's  Plantation. 


•44. 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

His  own  records  of  his  early  explorations  are  our  first  descrip- 
tion of  much  of  the  Ohio  Valley. 

Barnaby  Currin,  hired  by  Washington  for  the  trip,  was  an  expe- 
rienced Ohio  Company  Indian  trader. 

page  six 

Of  the  remaining  three  men  hired  by  Washington  at  Wills 
Creek,  a  John  MacQuire  was  with  Washington  later  at  Fort 
Necessity,  and  a  William  Jenkins  participated  in  at  least  part 
of  that  campaign.  Of  Steward,  nothing  is  known. 

John  Frazier,  or  Fraser,  was  an  Indian  trader  who  kept  a  black- 
smith shop  where  he  repaired  guns  and  tools  for  the  Indians. 
His  shop  had  been  at  the  juncture  of  French  Creek  and  the 
Allegheny,  now  Franklin,  Pennsylvania,  until  he  was  driven 
out  by  the  advancing  French;  then  he  set  up  shop  at  Turtle 
Creek.  Later,  in  1754,  he  was  to  serve  as  a  lieutenant  in  the 
company  of  Virginia  Militia  at  Fort  Prince  George. 

The  French  commander  who  died  was  Pierre  Paul,  Sieur  de  Marin. 

PAGE  SEVEN 

Shingas,  chief  of  the  Delawares,  lived  on  the  site  of  present 
McKees  Rocks  "where  the  Ohio  Company  intended  to  erect 
a  fort."  His  rule  over  the  Delawares  was  subject  to  some  con- 
trol by  the  Iroquois,  who  exercised  political  control  over  the 
Delawares,  Shawnees,  and  other  Indians  in  the  upper  Ohio 
watershed.  Shingas  was  an  ally  of  the  British,  but  went  over  to 
the  French  after  Washington's  defeat  at  Fort  Necessity.  During 
the  subsequent  French  and  Indian  War  he  led  many  raids  on 
the  English  settlements.  After  the  final  defeat  of  France  he 
made  peace  with  the  British. 


•45 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Logstown,  located  approximately  where  Ambridge  is  today, 
was  an  Indian  town  probably  established  in  the  1730's.  It  was 
inhabited  by  Shawnee,  Delaware,  and  Iroquois.  Logstown  was 
the  main  center  for  trading  activities  and  diplomatic  councils 
with  the  Indians  of  the  upper  Ohio. 

When  Washington  speaks  of  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio  and  Monon- 
gahela,  he  refers  to  what  we  know  as  the  Forks  of  the  Allegheny 
and  Monongahela.  The  Allegheny  was  frequently  called  the 
Ohio  at  that  time.  The  area  that  Washington  was  observing 
and  comparing  to  the  Forks  was  the  land  adjacent  to  the  mouth 
of  Chartier's  Creek. 

Monakatoocha,  also  known  as  Scarouady,  was  an  Oneida  chief 
sent  by  the  Council  of  the  Six  Nations  (the  Iroquois)  to  exer- 
cise authority  over  the  Shawnees.  Among  the  Ohio  Indians  he 
was  second  in  authority  only  to  the  Half  King,  described  below. 
An  unswerving  friend  of  the  English,  he  was  later  with  Wash- 
ington at  the  Jumonville  skirmish  and  served  also  in  the  Brad- 
dock  campaign. 

The  Half  King,  also  known  as  Tanacharison,  was  a  Seneca 
chief  and  the  main  representative  among  the  Ohio  Indians  of 
the  Iroquois  ruling  body,  the  Onondaga  Council.  The  English 
called  him  the  Half  King  because  of  his  dependence  on  the 
Council  of  the  Six  Nations.  An  enemy  of  the  French,  he  was 
ally,  adviser,  informant,  scout,  and  comrade  in  arms  to  the 
English.  He  was  at  Fort  Prince  George  when  the  French  dis- 
persed the  builders  and  at  the  Jumonville  skirmish. 

John  Davison  was  an  experienced  Indian  trader  and  a  master 
of  the  Indian  dialects  spoken  in  the  Western  Pennsylvania  re- 
gion. Washington  apparently  hired  him  at  Logstown,  which  it 


46 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

seems  was  Davison's  base  of  operations.  Davison  was  the  inter- 
preter for  the  Half  King  and  handled  Half  King's  English 
correspondence  for  him. 

PAGE  EIGHT 

Mr.  Gijfs  new  settlement  is  a  typographical  error  for  Mr. 
Gist's  new  settlement. 

Shannopins  town  was  a  Delaware  village  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  Allegheny  two  miles  above  the  point. 

The  French  deserters  whom  Washington  met  at  Logstown  were 
recorded  as  being  from  Kuskuskas. 

Kuskuskas  was  believed  by  the  late  Douglas  Southall  Freeman, 
Washington's  recent  biographer,  and  John  C.  Fitzpatrick,  editor 
of  Washington's  diaries,  to  be  the  Indian  town  of  Kuskuskies, 
now  New  Castle,  Pennsylvania. 

This  seems  incorrect  for  a  number  of  reasons.  The  French 
military  records  of  the  period,  which  are  fairly  complete,  re- 
cord no  such  expedition.  And  surely,  news  of  a  hundred  French 
at  Kuskuskies,  only  thirty  miles  from  Logstown,  would  have 
excited  further  comment  from  Washington. 

The  Frenchmen  were  undoubtedly  from  Kaskaskia,  the 
French  establishment  on  the  Mississippi  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio.  On  English  maps  of  the  period — Lewis  Evans'  map  of 
1755,  for  example — Kaskaskia  is  spelled  Kuskuskes.  Washington 
speaks  of  Kuskuskas  as  being  "at  the  mouth  of  this  river," 
that  is,  the  Ohio. 

This  could  hardly  be  a  reference  to  Kuskuskies  on  Beaver 
Creek.  It  could  easily  be  a  reference,  however,  to  Kaskaskia. 
While  Kaskaskia  was  some  eighty  miles  north  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio,  Washington  might  well  have  spoken  of  it  as  being 


47 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

in  the  area  of,  or  in  the  direction  of,  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio. 

Also,  Kaskaskia  would  be  a  logical  place  for  the  French 
troops  to  rendezvous,  whereas  Kuskuskies  would  not. 

Finally,  it  was  reported  that  the  deserters  were  picked  up 
by  an  English  trader  at  Lower  Shawnee  Town  (now  Ports- 
mouth, Ohio)  and  were  heading  for  Philadelphia.  If  these  men 
had  deserted  from  Kuskuskies  for  Philadelphia  and  been  picked 
up  at  Lower  Shawnee  Town,  they  had  traveled  two  hundred 
miles  in  the  wrong  direction  and  towards  the  French  settlements 
from  which  they  were  fleeing. 

The  Black  Islands  mentioned  by  the  French  was  no  doubt  Illinois, 
the  French  name  for  the  seventh  administrative  district  of  the 
province  of  Louisiana.  This  district  embraced  what  is  today 
southwestern  Illinois.  Van  Braam,  Washington's  interpreter  of 
French,  apparently  translated  Illinois  as  "isles  noires." 

There  was  no  French  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash.  The 
deserters  must  have  been  talking  about  Vincennes,  which  was 
on  the  Wabash  but  considerably  upstream  from  the  mouth. 
If  the  soldiers  deserted  from  Kaskaskia,  they  probably  never 
saw  Vincennes,  and  were  speaking  only  from  hearsay,  there- 
fore the  error. 

The  French  Commandant  with  whom  the  Half  King  had  ex- 
changed threats  would  have  been  Marin,  who  had  died  before 
Washington's  arrival,  and  not  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  who 
arrived  at  Fort  Le  Boeuf  only  a  few  days  before  Washington  did. 

Venango,  later  the  site  of  the  French  Fort  Machault,  is  today 
Franklin,  Pa. 

PAGE  ELEVEN 

A  man  named  Lead  taking  possession  of  the  river  for  France 


48 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

apparently  meant  Celeron,  who  had  buried  lead  plates  at  vari- 
ous points  to  establish  French  sovereignty. 

PAGE  TWELVE 

Washington's  reference  to  Kuskuska  on  this  page,  as  a  place 
between  the  Potomac  and  the  Great  Lakes,  unlike  the  refer- 
ence on  page  eight,  is  clearly  to  the  Indian  village  of  Kuskuskies 
and  not  to  the  French  settlement  at  Kaskaskia. 

Long-House  was  the  name  the  Indians  gave  to  their  council 
houses. 

PAGE  THIRTEEN 

Mingo  was  the  name  for  the  Iroquois  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  Orig- 
inally Senecas,  these  Iroquois  had  assumed  a  degree  of  inde- 
pendence because  of  their  distance  from  their  original  home. 

PAGE  FIFTEEN 

Philippe  Thomas  Joncaire,  eldest  son  of  Louis  Thomas  Joncaire, 
had  served  France  with  distinction  in  the  Ohio  Country  as 
interpreter,  Indian  agent,  and  soldier.  His  father  had  been  a 
successful  French  agent  among  the  Senecas.  The  son  inherited 
this  influence  and  was  adopted  into  the  tribe;  the  adoption  even- 
tually gave  rise  to  the  belief  that  he  was  part  Indian.  His 
younger  brother,  Chabert,  was  also  in  the  French  army.  The 
two  are  sometimes  confused,  or  even  spoken  of  as  the  same 
person. 

PAGE  SIXTEEN 

Kustaloga,  also  known  as  Custaloga  or  Tuscaloga,  was  a  Dela- 
ware chief  living  at  Venango,  which  was  often  called  Custaloga' s 
town.  He  was  later  a  leader  in  Pontiac's  conspiracy. 


49 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

As  far  as  the  editor  knows,  Jeskakake  and  White  Thunder  do 
not  appear  elsewhere  in  historical  literature. 

The  young  hunter,  not  mentioned  by  name  here,  was  Kiashuta 
or  Guyasutha,  who  was  to  become  a  famous  Iroquois  chief.  He 
has  been  described  variously  as  a  Seneca  and  a  Mingo.  The 
fact  that  he  was  at  Logstown  in  1753  would  indicate  that  he 
was  a  Mingo,  although  the  lines  were  not  too  clearly  drawn. 
Washington  met  him  again  seventeen  years  later  on  another 
trip  to  the  upper  Ohio,  when,  in  the  meantime,  Guyasutha  had 
fought  with  the  French  during  the  French  and  Indian  War  and 
during  Pontiac's  conspiracy.  It  is  believed  that  he  led  the  In- 
dians at  the  Battle  of  Bushy  Run,  the  Indians'  last  stand  in  this 
area.  He  was  at  peace  with  the  settlers  from  then  on  until  the 
American  Revolution,  during  which  he  sided  with  the  British. 
Among  his  forays  in  1782  was  the  burning  of  Hannastown, 
county  seat  of  Westmoreland  County. 

PAGE  SEVENTEEN 

The  exact  route  followed  by  Washington  from  Logstown  to 
Venango  is  not  definitely  known. 

The  reference  to  La  Solle  on  this  page  is  a  misprint  for  La  Salle. 

PAGE  EIGHTEEN 

The  Fall  of  Lake  Erie  referred  to  Niagara  Falls.  The  fort  there 
was  Fort  Niagara;  the  next  was  Fort  Toronto;  and  the  one 
opposite  Oswego  was  Fort  Frontenac. 

PAGE  NINETEEN 

Commissary  (or  Quartermaster)  LaForce  was  one  of  the  out- 
standing French  leaders  in  the  struggle  for  the  Ohio,  especially 


50' 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

able  in  treating  with  the  Indians.  Washington  was  to  meet  him 
again  soon  under  less  friendly  circumstances. 

PAGE  TWENTY 

The  new  commandant,  Legardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  had  assumed 
command  only  a  week  before  Washington  arrived.  He  had  seen 
service  on  the  upper  Ohio  as  early  as  1739,  when  a  French 
expedition  under  Baron  de  Longueuil  descended  the  Ohio  to 
fight  the  Chicksaw  Indians  to  the  south.  Just  before  assuming 
command  on  the  Ohio,  he  had  been  on  an  exploring  expedition 
almost  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Monsieur  Riparti  was  Sieur  de  Repentigny,  who  had  held  the 
French  command  from  the  death  of  Marin  until  the  arrival  of 
St.  Pierre,  after  which  he  became  the  commander  of  Fort 
Presque  Isle. 

PAGE  TWENTY-THREE 

John  Trotter  and  James  MacClocklan  were  captured  at  Venango 
and  taken  to  France  before  they  were  finally  released. 

PAGE  TWENTY-FOUR 

Records  from  December  16  to  23. 

It  will  be  noted  that  Washington  wrote  nothing  of  his  ac- 
tivities between  the  16th  and  23  rd  of  December.  Fortunately, 
Christopher  Gist  also  kept  a  journal  and  has  left  a  record.  His 
entries  from  the  16th  to  the  22nd  are  therefore  given  here: 

JOURNAL  OF  CHRISTOPHER  GIST 

December  16-23,  1754 

Sunday,  16th.  We  set  out  by  water  about  sixteen  miles,  and  en- 
camped. Our  Indians  went  before  us,  passed  the  little  lake,  and  ive 
did  not  come  up  with  them  that  night. 

•51- 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LiBKAKY 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Monday,  17th.  We  set  out,  came  to  our  Indians'  camp.  They  were 
out  hunting;  they  killed  three  bears.  We  stayed  this  day  and 

Tuesday,  18th.  One  of  our  Indians  did  not  come  to  camp.  So  we 
finding  the  waters  lower  very  fast,  were  obliged  to  go  and  leave 
our  Indians. 

Wednesday,  19th.  We  set  out  about  seven  or  eight  miles,  and  en- 
camped, and  the  next  day 

Thursday,  20th.  About  twenty  miles,  where  we  were  stopped 
by  ice,  and  worked  until  night. 

Friday,  21st.  The  ice  was  so  hard  we  could  not  break  our  way 
through  but  were  obliged  to  haul  our  vessels  across  a  point  of  land 
and  put  them  in  the  creek  again.  The  Indians  and  three  French 
canoes  overtook  us  here,  and  the  people  of  one  French  canoe  that  was 
lost,  with  her  cargo  of  powder  and  lead.  This  night  we  encamped 
about  twenty  miles  above  Venango. 

Saturday,  22nd.  Set  out.  The  creek  began  to  be  very  low,  and 
we  were  forced  to  get  out,  to  keep  our  canoe  from  oversetting,  sev- 
eral times;  the  water  freezing  to  our  clothes;  and  we  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  the  French  overset,  and  the  brandy  and  wine  floating  in 
the  creek,  and  run  by  them,  and  left  them  to  shift  for  themselves. 
Came  to  Venango,  and  met  with  our  people  and  horses. 

PAGE  TWENTY-FIVE 

Met  with  our  horses.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  weakened 
horses  had  been  sent  ahead  to  Venango  from  Fort  Le  Boeuf 
under  the  care  of  Barnaby  Currin. 

Joseph  Campbell  was  apparently  a  trader  with  whom  the  Half 
King  expected  to  make  the  trip  down  the  river. 

PAGE  TWENTY-SIX 

A  match  coat  was  a  kind  of  overcoat  of  matching  skins  or  some- 
times of  fur  or  wool. 


52 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

The  exact  location  of  Murdering  Town  has  never  been  estab- 
lished, nor  has  its  name  been  explained.  Gist's  account  of  the 
scrape  with  an  Indian  near  Murdering  Town  differs  from 
Washington's: 

JOURNAL  OF  CHRISTOPHER  GIST 

December  27,  1754 

Thursday,  27th.  We  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  set  out 
about  two  o'clock.  Got  to  the  Murthering  town,  on  the  southeast 
fork  of  Beaver  creek.  Here  ive  met  with  an  Indian,  whom  I  thought 
I  had  seen  at  Joncaires,  at  Venango,  when  on  our  journey  up  to 
the  French  fort.  This  fellow  called  me  by  my  Indian  name,  and 
pretended  to  be  glad  to  see  vie.  He  asked  us  several  questions,  as 
how  we  came  to  travel  on  foot,  when  we  left  Venango,  where  we 
parted  with  our  horses,  and  when  they  would  be  there,  etc.  Major 
Washington  insisted  on  travelling  on  the  nearest  way  to  the  forks 
of  Alleghany.  We  asked  the  Indian  if  he  could  go  with  us,  and 
show  us  the  nearest  way.  The  India?!  seemed  very  glad  and  ready 
to  go  with  us.  Upon  which  we  set  out,  and  the  Indian  took  the 
Major  s  pack.  We  travelled  very  brisk  for  eight  or  ten  miles,  when 
the  Major's  feet  grew  very  sore,  and  he  very  weary,  and  the  Indian 
steered  too  much  north-eastwardly .  The  Major  desired  to  encamp, 
to  which  the  Indian  asked  to  carry  his  gun.  But  he  refused  that,  and 
then  the  Indian  grew  churlish,  and  pressed  us  to  keep  on,  telling  us 
that  there  were  Ottawa  Indians  in  these  woods,  and  they  would 
scalp  us  if  we  lay  out;  but  go  to  his  cabin,  and  we  would  be  safe. 
I  thought  very  ill  of  the  fellow,  but  did  not  care  to  let  the  Major 
know  I  mistrusted  him.  But  he  soon  mistrusted  him  as  much  as  I. 
He  said  he  could  hear  a  gun  to  his  cabin,  and  steered  us  more 
northwardly.  We  grew  uneasy,  and  then  he  said  two  whoops  might 
be  heard  to  his  cabin.  We  went  two  miles  further;  then  the  Major 


53 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

said  he  would  stay  at  the  next  water,  and  we  desired  the  Indian  to 
stop  at  the  next  water.  But  before  we  came  to  water,  we  came  to  a 
clear  meadow;  it  was  very  light,  and  snow  on  the  ground.  The 
Indian  made  a  stop,  turned  about;  the  Major  saw  him  point  his  gun 
toward  us  and  fire.  Said  the  Major,  "Are  you  shot?"  "No,"  said  I. 
Upon  which  the  Indian  run  forward  to  a  big  standing  white  oak, 
and  to  loading  his  gun;  but  we  were  soon  with  him.  I  would  have 
killed  him;  but  the  Major  would  not  suffer  me  to  kill  him.  We  let 
him  charge  his  gun;  we  found  he  put  in  a  ball;  then  we  took  care 
of  him.  The  Major  or  I  always  stood  by  the  guns;  we  made  him 
make  a  fire  for  us  by  a  little  run,  as  if  we  intended  to  sleep  there. 
I  said  to  the  Major,  "As  you  will  not  have  him  killed,  we  must 
get  him  away,  and  then  we  must  travel  all  night."  Upon  which  I 
said  to  the  Indian,  "I  suppose  you  were  lost,  and  fired  your  gun." 
He  said,  he  knew  the  way  to  his  cabin,  and  'twas  but  a  little  way. 
"Well,"  said  I,  "do  you  go  home;  and  as  we  are  much  tired,  we 
will  follow  your  track  in  the  morning;  and  here  is  a  cake  of  bread 
for  you,  and  you  must  give  us  meat  in  the  morning."  He  was  glad 
to  get  away.  I  followed  him,  and  listened  until  he  was  fairly  out 
of  the  way,  and  then  we  set  out  about  half  a  mile,  when  we  made  a 
fire,  set  our  compass,  and  fixed  our  course,  and  travelled  all  night, 
and  in  the  morning  we  were  on  the  head  of  Piney  creek. 

Since  Gist's  account  was  written  sooner  after  the  event 
than  Washington's,  and  since  Gist  was  more  at  home  with 
Indians,  his  account  is  the  more  probable.  Washington  appar- 
ently believed  that  the  Indian  was  part  of  the  unseen  band  of 
Ottawas  alluded  to,  and  also  believed  that  they  had  been  lying 
in  wait.  After  all,  when  one  has  been  suddenly  shot  at  by  a 
strange  Indian  at  only  fifteen  paces,  one  is  probably  ready  to 
believe  the  worst. 


54 


AMBASSADOR  TO  THE  FRENCH 

PAGE  TWENTY-SEVEN 

The  island  which  sheltered  the  raftsman,  known  variously  as 
Garrison  Island  or  Wainwright's  Island,  is  since  submerged. 

The  great  Kunnaway  is  an  early  spelling  of  the  Great  Kanawha. 

The  Yaughyaughgane  is  the  present  Youghiogheny. 

Queen  Alliquippa  also  had  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Chartier's 
Creek.  She  has  been  variously  described  as  a  Seneca  or  as  a 
Delaware. 

It  will  be  noted  Washington  records  that  on  the  sixth  of  January 
while  on  the  road  home,  he  "met  17  horses  loaded  with  Mate- 
rials  and  Stores,  for  a  Fort  at  the  Forks  of  Ohio."  If  his  observa- 
tion is  correct,  the  Ohio  Company  or  the  government  of  Vir- 
ginia had  already  decided  on  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio  for  their 
fort  before  Washington  got  back  to  Virginia  from  Fort  Le 
Boeuf.  Just  when  and  by  whom  the  decision  was  made  is  not 
clear,  but  it  may  have  been  that  when  Washington  first  inspected 
the  land  at  the  point  as  a  possible  site  for  a  fort,  he  did  so  be- 
cause he  knew  that  it  already  had  been  so  chosen.  His  is  the 
first  written  reference  to  the  site  which  is  now  Pittsburgh. 

PAGE  THIRTY-ONE 

The  reference  to  the  Marquis  Duguisne  is  obviously  a  misprint 
for  Duquesne. 


55 


Colonel  in  the  Virginia  Militia 
Fort  Necessity 

April  i,  175-4— July  9,  175-4 


In  Defense  of  His  Majesty's  Lands,  1754 

When  young  Major  Washington,  on  January  16,  1754,  de- 
livered the  French  commander's  reply  to  Governor  Dinwiddie, 
the  Governor's  worst  suspicions  were  confirmed:  the  French 
were  moving  into  the  Ohio  Valley.  And— adding  insult  to  in- 
jury—the French  Captain  Joncaire  had  told  Washington  that 
any  action  by  the  English  would  be  "too  slow  and  dilatory  to 
prevent  any  undertaking"  of  the  French.  With  this  taunt  spur- 
ring him  on,  Dinwiddie  energetically  set  about  to  thwart  the 
French  advance. 

The  Governor  did  not  have  at  his  immediate  command  either 
troops  or  funds  for  raising  troops,  and  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
the  lower  chamber  of  the  legislature  of  the  colony,  which 
would  have  to  provide  funds  and  authorize  the  use  of  troops, 
was  not  in  session.  And  so,  he  issued  a  call  for  the  House  of 
Burgesses  to  gather  on  February  14,  more  than  a  month  ahead 
of  schedule.  The  upper  chamber,  the  Governor's  Council,  he 
had  always  at  hand.  An  earlier  date  could  not  be  set  for  con- 
vening the  legislators  because  it  would  take  time  to  notify  them 
and  a  longer  time  for  them  to  gather. 

Primarily  for  the  members  of  the  legislature  Dinwiddie  had 
ordered  the  printing  of  Washington's  account  of  his  journey  to 
the  French  commandant  at  Fort  Le  Boeuf.  He  hoped  that 
Washington's  report  of  the  French  determination  to  occupy  the 
Ohio  Valley  would  stir  them  as  it  had  stirred  him.  And  he 
had  sent  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  late  in  January,  1754,  a  full 
report  of  Washington's  mission:  Washington's  Journal  of  1753, 
"a  true  and  verbatim  copy";  his  own  correspondence  with  the 
French  commander;  a  plan  of  the  French  fort  as  drawn  by 
Washington;  a  report  of  French  strength  and  of  Virginia  weak- 


59 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

ness,  in  men,  supplies,  and  ammunition;  and  assurance  that  he 
would  do  all  to  keep  the  Indians  loyal  and  to  set  up  defense  of 
"His  Majesty's  Lands." 

But  what  was  the  Governor  to  do  until  the  burgesses  gath- 
ered? Time  was  important;  the  French  might  already  be  push- 
ing their  bark  canoes  and  dugout  pirogues  into  the  Allegheny 
River  for  a  sweep  south  to  the  strategic  Forks.  He  decided  to 
take  emergency  measures  at  once.  As  a  partner  in  the  Ohio 
Company,  Dinwiddie  knew  that  the  Company  agent,  William 
Trent,  was  already  in  the  disputed  territory  with  workmen 
and  supplies  on  hand  for  building  a  Company  warehouse  where 
Redstone  Creek  enters  the  Monongahela  River  (now  Browns- 
ville, Pennsylvania) ,  and  a  Company  fort  at  the  Forks  of  the 
Ohio.  Washington  had  met  the  builders  and  some  settlers  on 
his  return  trip  to  Williamsburg.  The  fort  would  fit  well  into 
the  plans  for  repelling  the  French;  but  only  if  it  were  built  in 
time.  The  workmen  should  have  protection  and  help.  Many 
English  traders  were  already  in  the  area,  the  Governor  knew; 
why  not  enlist  them?  After  all,  their  stake  in  holding  off  the 
French  was  direct  and  real;  English  traders  had  been  the  first 
to  suffer  from  the  French  advance;  and  who  would  be  better 
at  frontier  warfare  than  these  rough  men  of  the  wilderness,  who 
knew  both  the  Indians  and  the  country  better  than  any  other 
group  in  the  English  colonies?  Acting  on  this  happy  thought, 
the  Governor  sent  Trent  a  commission  making  him  a  captain 
and  authorizing  him  to  enlist  one  hundred  of  his  fellow  traders 
and  frontiersmen  into  a  company  of  infantry.  This  company, 
to  be  formed  on  the  spot,  was  then  to  guard  and  assist  the  work- 
men building  the  fort  until  more  troops  could  be  hurried  to 
the  defense. 

For  the  first  contingent  of  reinforcements  Dinwiddie  turned 
to  Washington.  At  the  time,  he  hoped  that  part  of  the  Colonial 


60 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

Militia,  as  the  forerunner  of  our  present  National  Guard  was 
then  called,  could  be  persuaded  to  volunteer  for  service  to  help 
erect  and  guard  the  fort;  if  enough  volunteers  did  not  come 
forward,  for  the  daily  pay  of  fifteen  pounds  of  tobacco  paid  to 
Virginia  Militia,  he  would  conscript  enough  more  to  make  up 
a  force.  Major  Washington,  as  an  adjutant  of  the  Colonial 
Militia,  was  assigned  to  recruit  one  hundred  volunteers  and 
with  them  to  speed  to  the  aid  of  Trent  at  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio. 

The  French  characterization  of  the  English  as  dilatory  proved 
all  too  true.  The  Virginia  legislators  did  not  react  as  quickly 
as  Dinwiddie  wanted.  Like  other  Colonial  legislators  they  were 
suspicious  of  a  governor  appointed  by  the  King  and  sent  to 
them  from  Britain.  They  were  especially  suspicious  of  requests 
for  money — money  that  the  colonists  would  have  to  provide 
through  taxes — and  they  were  equally  suspicious  of  requests 
from  a  governor  for  additional  power — such  as  the  power  to 
raise  or  employ  troops.  Some  members  objected  that  Washing- 
ton's report  of  the  French  advance  was  propaganda  aimed  at 
promoting  the  interests  of  the  Ohio  Company.  One  burgess  de- 
clared that  he  felt  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio  really  did  belong  to 
France.  And,  worst  of  all  from  the  Governor's  point  of  view, 
they  generally  agreed  that  the  Governor  was  not  authorized  to 
employ  the  Militia  outside  of  the  province — and,  cautioned  the 
legislators,  the  Ohio  Country  might  well  be  outside  the  prov- 
ince. As  it  turned  out,  the  best  measure  that  the  frustrated  and 
furious  Dinwiddie  could  get  from  the  lawmakers  was  an  appro- 
priation of  ten  thousand  pounds  to  be  used  in  "protecting  the 
frontier." 

Three  different  types  of  troops  were  known  in  the  American 
colonies  at  that  time:  the  Colonial  Militia,  the  British  Regulars, 
and  volunteers  called  occasionally  for  specific  needs. 

Every  able-bodied  free  white  man  over  twenty-one  was  re- 


61 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

quired  by  law  to  be  available  for  service  in  the  Militia  and  to 
provide  his  own  arms  and  ammunition.  The  Militia  was  de- 
signed to  repel  invasion,  and  in  southern  colonies  like  Virginia, 
to  guard  against  slave  revolts.  The  Governor  had  already  been 
blocked  by  the  legislature  in  his  plans  to  use  the  Militia. 

There  were  a  few  units  of  the  British  Regulars  in  the  colonies. 
They  were  professional  career  soldiers  who  were  under  the 
direct  control  of  the  home  government  in  London.  The  nearest 
of  these  units — two  companies  in  New  York  and  one  in  South 
Carolina— were  put  at  the  disposal  of  Dinwiddie.  They  were 
called  by  the  British  war  office  independent  companies — 
independent  because  they  were  not  attached  to  any  regiment. 
These  independent  companies,  however,  were  too  small  a  force 
to  hold  off  the  French  alone,  and  it  would  be  weeks  or  even 
months  before  they  could  reach  the  Virginia  frontier. 

The  only  military  organization  immediately  possible  had  to 
be  volunteers.  Such  a  force  Dinwiddie  decided  to  organize. 
When  he  had  expected  to  be  able  to  use  the  Militia,  Dinwiddie 
had  planned  a  force  of  six  hundred.  Now,  in  the  interests  of 
speed,  and  because  recruiting  proved  difficult,  he  decided  three 
hundred  would  have  to  do,  organized  into  a  regiment  of  six 
companies  of  fifty  men  each. 

There  were  other  components  included  in  the  Governor's 
blossoming  plans.  (Secretly  he  had  ordered  a  uniform  for  him- 
self.) He  called  on  the  governors  of  the  colonies  near-by  for 
troops,  and  confidently  expected  them  to  comply.  For  reasons 
too  various  and  complicated  to  go  into  here,  they  could  not  or 
would  not — but  this  Governor  Dinwiddie  did  not  know  at 
the  time. 

Further,  he  optimistically  expected  to  raise  one  thousand 
warriors  from  among  two  southern  Indian  tribes  allied  to  the 
British:  the  Catawbas  and  the  Cherokees.  The  Catawbas  lived 


62 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

in  western  South  Carolina  and  the  Cherokees  lived  west  of 
the  Catawbas. 

If  these  southern  warriors  had  appeared  on  the  Ohio,  a  deli- 
cate situation  indeed  would  have  presented  itself,  for  the  Cataw- 
bas were  bitter  enemies  of  the  Iroquois,  who  were  the  northern 
Indian  allies  of  the  British.  Fortunately  then,  the  Catawbas 
and  Cherokees  did  not  appear.  Governor  James  Glen  of  South 
Carolina,  suspecting  that  Dinwiddie  was  plotting  to  get  the 
southern  Indians  to  transfer  their  trade  from  South  Carolina  to 
Virginia,  advised  the  Indians  to  stay  home,  and  they  did. 

In  the  meantime,  Trent  and  Washington,  too,  were  plagued 
with  apathy  and  skepticism.  Volunteers  were  scarce,  and  those 
who  came  forward  were  disappointing.  Trent  was  never  able 
to  raise  his  quota.  Washington  wrote  to  the  Governor,  from 
Frederick,  Virginia,  "You  may,  with  almost  equal  success, 
attempt  to  raise  the  dead  to  life  again  as  to  raise  the  force  of  this 
county."  Even  after  the  Governor  had  announced  that  the  regi- 
ment was  to  receive  a  bonus  of  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of 
land  to  divide  among  themselves,  recruits  came  in  slowly.  After 
all,  the  land  was  in  the  distant  Ohio  Country.  Those  who  did 
enlist,  Washington  wrote  Dinwiddie  on  March  9,  1754,  were 
not  only  self-willed  and  ungovernable,  but  "loose,  Idle  persons, 
that  are  quite  destitute  of  House,  and  Home;  and  .  .  .  many  of 
them  of  Cloaths.  There  is  many  of  them  without  Shoes,  others 
want  Stockings,  some  are  without  Shirts,  and  not  a  few  that 
have  Scarce  a  Coat,  or  Waistcoat  to  their  backs. " 

Yet  the  recruiting  went  forward.  A  colonel's  commission  and 
command  of  the  entire  force  were  given  to  Joshua  Fry,  a  former 
mathematics  professor  and  a  respected  officer  of  the  Militia 
with  some  frontier  experience.  Washington  applied  for — and 
received — the  post  of  second  in  command  and  a  commission  in 
the  Virginia  Militia  as  a  lieutenant  colonel— though  he  almost 


63 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

resigned  in  anger  when  he  learned  that  the  pay  would  be  con- 
siderably less  than  that  given  the  same  rank  in  the  British 
Regulars— a  wound  as  much  psychological  as  financial  for  a 
Colonial  officer. 

In  the  meantime,  Trent  and  Gist  sent  word  from  the  Forks 
of  the  Ohio  that  friendly  Indians  reported  the  French  already 
on  the  move.  With  the  report  they  sent  an  urgent  request  for 
reinforcements.  In  reply  the  Governor  ordered  Washington  and 
such  troops  as  were  already  enlisted  to  march  at  once,  and  Colo- 
nel Fry  and  the  rest  of  the  force  to  follow  as  soon  as  possible. 

On  April  2,  1754,  only  three  months  after  his  first  journey 
west  of  the  mountains,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Washington,  at  the 
head  of  two  volunteer  companies,  turned  his  horse  again  west- 
ward towards  the  Allegheny  mountain  ridges. 

Story  of  the  Washington  Journal  of  1754 

Without  records  or  documents  of  some  sort  no  history  can 
be  written.  Sometimes  the  documents  themselves  are  pedes- 
trian or  dull;  more  often  they  are  live  and  dramatic.  But  the 
history  even  of  some  dull  documents  is  as  romantic  as  the  in- 
formation the  document  itself  gives.  Such  is  the  history  of 
Washington's  Journal  for  the  spring  and  summer  of  1754. 

This  Journal  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  no  doubt  dur- 
ing the  confusion  of  the  evacuation  and  retreat  from  Fort 
Necessity.  Since  the  diary  of  the  Virginia  commander  would 
naturally  be  prime  military  intelligence  to  the  French,  it  was 
translated  by  an  unknown  Frenchman  and  a  copy  of  the  trans- 
lation was  forwarded  to  Paris.  Soon  after  the  translation  reached 
Paris,  Britain  and  France  became  engaged  in  a  world-wide  war, 
which  became  known  to  the  old  world  as  the  Seven  Years  War, 
and  to  the  American  colonies  as  the  French  and  Indian  War. 


64« 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

The  military  action  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  in  1754,  marked  the 
first  actual  hostilities  between  the  English  and  the  French.  For 
that  reason,  Washington's  skirmish  with  a  French  detachment 
under  Ensign  Jumonville — which  we  will  learn  of  shortly  and 
which  Washington  had  featured  in  his  Journal — was  presented 
by  the  French  as  one  of  their  grievances  against  the  English. 

To  substantiate  their  charge  that  the  English  had  started  the 
war,  the  French  government,  in  1756,  published  translated  ex- 
cerpts from  Washington's  captured  Journal  as  part  of  a  book 
which  set  forth  the  French  version  of  the  origins  and  causes  of 
the  war.  This  French  government  publication — it  would  be 
called  a  White  Paper  today— was  entitled  Memoire  contenant 
le  precis  des  faits,  avec  leurs  pieces  justificatives,  pour  servir  de 
reponse  aux  observations  envoy  ees  par  les  ministres  cT Angleterre, 
dans  les  cours  de  V Europe.  {Memorial  Containing  the  Summary 
of  the  Facts,  with  Supporting  Documents,  to  Serve  as  Reply  to  the 
Observations  Sent  by  the  Ministers  of  England  to  the  Courts  of 
Europe) . 

Shortly  after  its  publication  the  French  book  was  translated 
into  English  and  appeared  in  English  and  American  editions  as 
The  Conduct  of  the  Late  Ministry  and  as  The  Mystery  Revealed. 
Washington's  Journal,  containing  his  description  of  the  fight 
with  Jumonville,  was  one  of  the  "supporting  documents"  used 
in  the  books. 

Until  recently  the  Memorial  has  been  the  earliest  surviving 
source  of  Washington's  Journal  of  the  campaign.  Historians 
always  have  considered  it  suspect.  The  French  at  the  time  had 
every  reason  to  present  Washington  in  a  poor  light  and,  it  has 
been  thought,  might  have  tampered  with  his  account.  One  his- 
torian has  recorded  that  when  Washington  some  years  later 
saw  the  English  retranslation  of  the  French  translation  of  his 
Journal,  he  complained  that  some  things  were  left  out  and  other 


65 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

things  were  added  "and  the  whole  of  what  I  saw  Englished  is 
very  incorrect." 

The  original  Journal  has  never  been  found,  nor  has  the  French 
translation  which  was  sent  to  Paris.  Another  translation,  how- 
ever, was  sent  from  Governor  Duquesne  to  Contrecouer,  his 
commander  at  Fort  Duquesne,  to  give  Contrecouer  information 
about  English  plans  and  make  it  easier  for  him  to  plan  the  de- 
fense of  the  fort.  Very  recently,  among  the  Contrecouer  papers, 
this  French  translation  of  the  captured  Journal  has  come  to 
light,  together  with  new  information  about  the  contents  of 
Washington's  original  document.  This,  like  the  earlier  transla- 
tion, contains  only  excerpts,  but  the  Contrecouer  copy  contains 
excerpts  not  in  the  Memorial. 

Since  the  passages  that  occur  in  both  translations,  the  Memo- 
rial and  the  Contrecouer,  are  worded  the  same,  we  must  con- 
clude that  the  Memorial  did  not  deliberately  alter  Washington's 
Journal,  although  it  probably  omitted  parts  which  did  not  sup- 
port the  French  view.  Or  the  additions  which  Washington  noted 
several  years  later  could  have  been  the  result  of  honest  mistake, 
for  usually  in  his  notebooks  Washington  kept  drafts  of  letters 
he  sent  while  on  campaign,  and  the  French  translator  could 
have  thought  these  parts  of  the  Journal  and  so  included  them. 

Because  the  Memorial  contains  some  passages  not  in  the 
Contrecouer,  to  present  Washington's  writing  as  fully  as  is  now 
possible,  in  this  book  we  are  presenting  a  combination  of  the 
two,  more  complete  than  either  alone. 

The  passages  from  the  Memorial  we  have  had  printed  in 
italics.  All  statements  in  parentheses  are  part  of  the  original 
text;  those  in  brackets  are  the  editor's  comments. 

We  must  pause  here  to  give  thanks  to  Donald  H.  Kent  who 
has  translated  the  French  text  of  the  two  versions  which  are 
printed  side  by  side  in  Papiers  Contrecouer  et  autres  documents 


66  ■ 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

concemant  le  conflit  anglo-francais  sur  FOhio  de  1745  a  1756. 
Dr.  Kent  has  published  his  translation  in  Pennsylvania  History, 
XIX,  1,  January,  1952.  Dr.  Kent  has  also  made  a  new  and 
superior  translation  of  the  old  Memorial  version,  the  first  made 
in  many  years.  With  his  kind  permission  it  is  Dr.  Kent's  trans- 
lations we  have  used. 

Extract  from  the  Journal  of  Colonel  Washington 
on  his  Oyo  [Ohio]  Expedition 

The  last  of  March,  1754. 

March  31.  I  received  a  commission  from  the  Governor  (of 
Virginia),  dated  the  15th  instant,  for  the  lieutenant-colonelcy 
of  the  Virginia  regiment  under  the  commanding  officer  Joseph 
Fry  [Joshua  Fry],  Esquire,  with  orders  to  take  under  my  com- 
mand the  troops  which  were  then  in  quarters  at  Alexandria, 
and  to  march  with  it  towards  Oyo  and  aid  Captain  Trente 
[William  Trent]1  in  constructing  fortresses  and  in  defending 
the  possessions  of  His  Majesty  against  the  enterprises  and  hos- 
tilities of  the  French. 

April  2.  Everything  being  ready  in  execution  of  our  orders*  we 

*  The  italic  represents  excerpts  from  the  Memorial  copy;  the  nonitalic, 
the  Contrecoeur  version.  Bracketed  material  is  the  editor's;  the  parentheses 
are  in  the  translation. 

1  As  already  noted,  before  being  commissioned  by  the  Governor, 
William  Trent  was  the  agent  of  the  Ohio  Company  charged  with  con- 
structing storehouses  and  a  fort  for  the  Company  in  the  Ohio  Country. 
Trent,  a  Pennsylvanian,  had  been  a  captain  of  Pennsylvania  troops  raised 
in  1 746  to  march  on  Canada,  and  had  spent  time  on  the  New  York  frontier. 
In  the  1740's  he  entered  a  partnership  for  trading  with  his  brother-in-law, 
George  Croghan.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  one  of  the  backers  of  the  firm. 
Trent  also  acted  at  various  times  as  an  Indian  agent  for  Pennsylvania  and 
for  Virginia.  He  was  with  the  Forbes  expedition  in  1758.  In  his  latter 


67 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

began  our  march  on  April  2,  with  tivo  companies  of  infantry, 
commanded  by  Captain  Peter  Hog2  and  Captain-lieutenant  Vam- 
braan  [Van  Braa?n],3  five  subaltern  officers,  two  sergeants,  six  cor- 
porals,  a  drummer,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  soldiers,  a  surgeon- 
major,  a  Swedish  gentleman  volunteer,4"  two5  wagons  guarded  by  a 
lieutenant,  sergeant,  corporal,  and  twenty-five  soldiers. 


April  17.  About  noon  I  met  Mr.  Gist  who  had  been  sent 
from  Oyo  on  express  by  the  Half  King6  in  order  to  find  out 
when  the  English  could  be  expected  there.  He  informed  me 
that  the  Indians  are  very  angry  at  our  delay,  and  that  they 
threaten  to  abandon  the  country;  that  the  French  are  expected 


years  he  engaged  in  wide  land  speculation  in  the  hope  of  recovering  trading 
losses  incurred  during  the  French  and  Indian  War  and  during  Pontiac's 
uprising. 

2  Peter  Hog  (pronounced  with  a  long  "O"),  a  native  of  Scotland,  came 
to  Virginia  about  1745,  and  was  51  years  of  age  in  1754.  He  served  in  the 
Virginia  regiment  until  the  fall  of  Fort  Duquesne  in  1758.  In  later  years 
he  became  a  large  holder  of  western  lands,  many  of  which  were  grants 
given  in  recognition  of  his  military  service. 

3  Van  Braam,  Washington's  French  interpreter  in  1753,  had  reputedly 
been  an  officer  in  the  Dutch  army  prior  to  his  migration  to  America. 

4  The  Swede  was  Carolus  Gustavus  de  Spiltdorph.  Like  many  others 
in  the  Virginia  regiment,  he  later  fell  during  Braddock's  defeat  at  the  Battle 
of  the  Monongahela. 

5  The  Contrecoeur  copy  lists  12  wagons.  This  seems  more  probable 
than  2,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  28  men  were  assigned  to  guard  the  wagons. 
Possibly  the  copyist  for  the  Memorial  omitted  the  figure  "one"  in  "twelve." 

6  Lest  the  reader  think  that  the  struggle  for  the  Ohio  Country  was  only 
between  the  French  and  the  British,  let  the  Half  King  be  kept  in  mind 
throughout  the  campaign.  As  the  most  important  Indian  leader  of  the  upper 
Ohio  region,  it  will  be  seen  that  often  it  was  he  who  decided  the  course 
of  events.  While  he  was  without  doubt  a  staunch  friend  of  the  English, 
that  friendship  hinged  on  English  opposition  to  French  incursions  into  the 
Half  King's  territory. 


68 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

every  day  at  the  lower  part  of  the  river;  that  the  fort  is  begun, 
but  hardly  advanced;  and  several  other  particulars. 


April  20.  I  received  word  that  the  fort  had  been  taken  by 
the  French.  This  news  was  confirmed  two  days  later  by  Cap- 
tain Trente's  ensign,  Mr.  Wart  [Ensign  Edward  Ward],7  who 
had  been  obliged  to  surrender  it  to  a  corps  of  French  of  more 
than  a  thousand  men  under  the  command  of  Captain  Contre- 
coeur,8  who  had  come  from  Venango  (In  French,  from  la  Pres- 
quile),9  with  sixty  boats  and   300  canoes  and   18  pieces  of 

7  Edward  Ward,  a  brother-in-law  of  William  Trent,  was  working  with 
him  in  the  Ohio  Country  when  Trent  received  Dinwiddie's  order  to  enlist 
a  company  for  guarding  the  projected  fort  at  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio.  John 
Frazier  (or  Fraser)  was  made  the  lieutenant  of  the  Company,  and  Ward, 
the  ensign.  In  April,  Ward  was  in  command  of  the  thirty-one  troops  that 
Trent  had  managed  to  enlist  when  word  came  that  the  French  were  almost 
at  hand.  Captain  Trent  was  absent  at  Wills  Creek  seeking  supplies; 
Lieutenant  Frazier  considered  resistance  hopeless  and  refused  to  leave  his 
store  to  return  to  the  Forks.  Only  the  Half  King  was  at  hand  to  advise 
Ward,  and  his  suggestion  was  to  try  to  complete  the  fort.  Ward  and  the 
Half  King  almost  did  complete  it,  but  the  arrival  of  a  large  force  of  French 
on  April  16  forced  surrender. 

8  Claude  Pierre  Pecaudy  de  Contrecoeur  was  a  captain  in  the  French 
Marines,  commander  in  chief  of  the  French  forces  on  the  Ohio  (relieving 
Saint  Pierre),  and  was  to  be  commandant  of  Fort  Duquesne  as  soon  as 
it  was  erected  on  the  spot  where  Ensign  Ward's  little  enclosure,  Fort 
Prince  George,  had  stood.  A  veteran  of  the  wilderness,  he  had  been  with 
Celeron  on  his  trip  down  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio  in  1749,  and  had  com- 
manded Fort  Niagara.  As  already  noted,  one  of  the  two  sources  for 
Washington's  Journal  for  1754  is  the  extract  of  that  captured  document 
sent  to  Contrecoeur  by  Duquesne.  Contrecoeur  was  in  command  of  Fort 
Duquesne  (although  not  of  the  French  field  forces)  during  the  battle  of  the 
Monongahela.  He  later  held  other  commands  on  the  New  York  frontier 
during  the  French  and  Indian  War. 

9  The  French  translator  of  the  Journal  apparently  did  not  know  that 
Venango  and  Presque  Isle  were  not  the  same  place. 


69 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

artillery,  which  were  set  up  as  a  battery  against  the  fort.  He 
then  sent  him  a  summons  to  withdraw. 

Mr.  Wart  also  informed  me  that  the  Indians  still  remain 
firmly  attached  to  our  interests.  He  had  brought  two  young 
men  of  the  Mingo  nation,  so  that  they  would  have  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  that  we  were  on  the  march  with  troops  to  aid  them. 

He  also  gave  me  the  following  speech  which  the  Half  King 
sent  to  me  (This  is  thought  to  be  Tanahisson.)10 

Speech  of  the  Half  King,  Escruniat  [Monacatoocha],11  and 
Belt  of  Wampum12  for  the  Governor  of  Virginia  and  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

My  brothers  the  English,  the  bearer  will  let  you  know  how 
we  have  been  treated  by  the  French.  We  expected  for  a  long 
time  that  they  would  come  and  attack  us;  now  we  see  how 
they  intend  to  treat  us.  We  are  now  ready  to  attack  them,  and 
are  waiting  only  for  your  aid.  Take  courage  and  come  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  you  will  find  us  as  ready  to  fight  them  as  you 
are  yourselves. 

We  have  sent  these  two  young  men  to  see  if  you  are  ready 
to  come,  and  in  that  case  they  will  return  to  us  and  will  let 
us  know  where  you  are,  so  that  we  may  come  and  join  you. 
We  could  wish  indeed,  if  you  can  do  it,  that  the  troops  of  the 

10  Tanahisson  is  a  French  variation  of  Tanacharison. 

11  Escruniat  is  a  variation  of  Scruneyattha,  also  known  as  Scarouady  or 
Monacatootha,  the  Iroquois  chief  who  was  the  Onondago  Council's  leader 
over  the  Shawnees. 

12  Belt  of  Wampum  in  this  instance  is  a  proper  name,  that  of  the  Seneca 
chief,  Tohashwughtonionty.  Donald  Kent,  "Journal  of  1754,"  11,  n., 
points  out  that  The  Diaries  of  George  Washington,  1748-1799,  ed.  John  C. 
Fitzpatrick  (Boston  and  New  York:  Houghton  Mifflin  Co.,  1925),  "give 
the  erroneous  impression  that  Half  King  is  used  here  as  a  title  for  Scarouady, 
and  that  Belt  of  Wampum  refers  to  the  belt  delivered  with  the  speech." 


70 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

two  provinces  might  meet  at  the  fork13  of  the  road.  If  you  do 
not  come  to  our  aid  soon,  it  is  all  over  with  us,  and  I  think 
that  we  shall  never  be  able  to  meet  together  again.  I  say  this 
with  the  greatest  sorrow  in  my  heart. 

A  string  of  wampum. 

The  Half  King  addressed  this  speech  to  me  personally. 

I  am  ready,  if  you  think  it  proper,  to  go  with  these  two 
young  men  to  meet  the  two  Governors,  for  I  no  longer  depend 
on  those  who  have  been  gone  so  long  without  returning  or 
sending  any  word. 

April  23.  Council  of  war  held  at  Wills-creek  (Wills  Creek],  in 
order  to  take  precautions  with  regard  to  the  news  brought  by  Mr. 
Wart. 

Upon  examining  into  the  news  brought  by  Ensign  Wart,  and 
reading  the  summons  made  by  Captain  Contrecoeur,  commanding 
the  French  troops,  and  examining  into  the  speeches  of  the  Half  King 
and  of  other  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  it  appears  that  Mr.  Wart 
was  forced  to  surrender  the  said  fort  on  the  17th  of  this  month  to 
the  French,  who  numbered  more  than  a  thousand  men  and  eighteen 
pieces  of  artillery,  of  which  some  were  nine-pounders;1*  whereas 
the  detachment  of  the  Virginia  regiment,  a?nounting  to  one  hundred 

13  In  the  French  of  both  versions  of  the  Journal,  this  is  written  "fort 
du  chemin"  (Jort  of  the  road).  The  French  translater  of  the  Journal,  how- 
ever, did  not  seem  to  know  the  English  word  fork,  for  in  places  where 
fork  was  clearly  used  by  Washington,  it  is  always  translated  as  fort. 
Kent,  "Journal  of  1754,"  12,  n.,  who  first  pointed  out  this  French  error, 
believes  that  the  "fork  of  the  road"  was  where  the  path  to  Gist's  branched 
off  from  the  path  leading  to  the  mouth  of  the  Redstone. 

14  In  the  Memorial  version  of  the  Journal,  the  French  editor,  at  this 
point,  included  the  following  footnote,  which  is  typical  of  the  French 
editorial  comments  appended  to  the  work:  "Captain  Trent  and  Ensign 
Ward  had  greatly  exaggerated  the  French  forces.  Which  is  natural  common 
enough  for  people  to  do  who  abandon  their  fort  at  a  bare  summons." 


71 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

and  fifty  men,  commanded  by  Colonel  Washington,  had  orders  to 
reinforce  Captain  Trent's  company,  and  that  thus  the  garrison  of 
the  said  fort  consisted  only  of  thirty-three  effective  men. 

It  was  found  impracticable  to  march  toward  the  fort  without 
sufficient  forces;  and  being  strongly  invited  by  the  speeches  of  the 
Indians,  and  especially  by  those  of  the  Half  King,  the  president 
proposed  for  discussion  whether  they  should  not  advance  as  far  as 
Redstone  Creek  {In  French,  as  far  as  the  Creek  de  la  Roche  Rouge) 
upon  the  Monongehele  {In  French,  Mal-engeule) ,  about  thirty- 
seven  miles  on  this  side  of  the  fort,  and  fortify  themselves  there, 
while  clearing  the  roads  so  that  they  could  bring  artillery  and  bag- 
gage, or  to  wait  for  further  orders. 

The  affirmative  was  decided  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  mouth 
of  Red-stone  is  the  first  suitable  place  on  the  Monongehele;  that  the 
storehouses  for  the  Company's  provisions  are  ready  there  to  receive 
our  munitions  and  food;  and  that,  when  opportunities  occur,  the 
heavy  artillery  can  be  transported  by  water  in  case  we  should  find 
it  convenient  to  attack  the  fort;  moreover,  that  would  preserve  our 
men  from  the  sorry  consequences  of  inaction  and  encourage  our  allies 
to  remain  on  our  side. 


May  4.  We  met  Captain  Trente's  factor15  who  informed  us 
that  400  more  French  had  certainly  arrived  at  the  fort  and  that 
the  same  number  were  expected  in  a  short  time.  He  also  in- 
formed us  that  they  were  busy  building  two  strong  houses,  one 
upon  the  Oyo,  and  the  other  upon  the  River  Mai  engueulee 
[Monongahela] ,  both  of  them  about  three  hundred  rods  from 
their  junction;  and  that  they  are  setting  up  a  battery  on  an  islet 
between  them. 

May  5.  We  were  joined  by  another  trader  coming  from 

15  The  identity  of  "Captain  Trent's  factor"  is  not  known. 


72' 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

Aliganie  [Allegheny]  who  confirmed  the  same  news,  and  who 
added  that  the  French  were  building  in  the  place  where  the 
Oyo  Company  [Ohio  Company]  had  at  first  intended  to  build 
a  fort,  at  the  mouth  of  the  small  River  Shuttles  [Chartier's 
Creek] . 

May  7.  We  met  a  trader  who  informed  us  that  the  French 
had  come  to  the  mouth  of  the  Pviver  Rouge,  and  that  they  had 
taken  possession  of  it  with  about  four  hundred  men. 

May  8.  This  report  was  contradicted  by  some  other  traders 
who  came  directly  from  there.16 

May  10.  A  trader  arrived  from  the  Wyendot  country,  hav- 
ing passed  by  the  Mai  engueule  forks  where  he  had  seen  the 
Half  King  and  the  other  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  who  had  just 
received  the  speech  I  had  sent  them.  The  Half  King  showed 
the  pleasure  it  had  given  him  and,  before  the  trader  left,  a  de- 
tachment of  50  men  was  sent  to  meet  us.  He  informs  me  that 
the  French  are  working  with  all  their  might  to  build  a  fort  on 
the  point  which  I  had  indicated  to  the  government.  On  the  way 
this  same  merchant  met  M.  La  Force17  at  Mr.  Gist's  new  plan- 
tation with  three  other  Frenchmen  and  two  Indians  who  had 
come  to  reconnoiter  the  country  of  the  River  Rouge  [Redstone] 
and  the  vicinity  under  the  specious  pretense  of  hunting  deserters. 

May  11.  I  detached  a  party  of  25  men  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Sthefen  [Stephen] 18  and  Ensign  La  Peronie  [La  Peyroney]  ,19 

16  The  flood  of  frontier  rumor  and  counter-rumor  indicated  in  this  and 
the  preceding  entries  is  indicative  of  the  difficult  military  intelligence 
problem  which  Washington  faced  throughout  the  expedition. 

17  M.  La  Force,  it  will  be  recalled,  escorted  Washington  from  Venango 
to  Fort  Le  Boeuf  the  previous  year. 

18  Adam  Stephen,  a  captain  in  the  Virginia  regiment,  joined  Washington 
with  a  detachment  of  troops  before  Washington  left  Wills  Creek.  He  was 
promoted  to  major  in  the  field,  and,  after  the  campaign,  to  lieutenant 
colonel.  He  survived  Braddock's  campaign,  and,  in  1756,  led  an  expedition 


73 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

They  had  orders  to  go  to  Mr.  Gist's  and  to  find  out  exactly 
where  La  Force  and  his  party  were;  and  in  case  they  should  be 
in  the  vicinity,  not  to  pursue  them.  I  also  ordered  them  to 
examine  the  surrounding  woods  closely  and  to  try  to  grab  some 
Frenchmen™  if  they  should  find  one  apart  from  the  rest,  and 
bring  him  in  so  that  information  could  be  gotten  from  him;  to 
secure  exact  information  on  whether  it  is  possible  to  make  a  descent 
by  water;  and  to  look  for  some  suitable  place  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
mouth  of  the  River  de  Red-stone  where  a  fort  might  be  built;  and 
to  greet  the  Half  King  and  send  him  to  me  with  a  small  escort; 
and  likewise  to  get  information  as  to  the  views  of  the  French,  their 
intentions,  what  they  have  done,  and  what  they  have  in  mind  to  do, 
and  to  gather  everything  which  might  give  us  knowledge. 

May  15.  An  express  reached  us  with  letters  which  informed  us 
that  Colonel  Fry,  with  a  detachment  of  more  than  a  hundred  men, 
was  at  Winchester,  and  that  he  was  to  set  out  in  a  few  days  to  join 
us;  and  likewise  that  Colonel  Junis  [Innis]21  was  marching  with 

against  the  Creek  Indians.  He  was  with  Forbes  in  1758,  surviving  Grant's 
defeat.  During  Pontiac's  uprising  he  was  active  in  the  defense  of  the 
Virginia  frontier.  During  the  Revolution  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  major 
general,  but  was  then  dismissed  from  the  service  for  being  intoxicated 
during  an  engagement. 

19  William  La  Peyronie,  or  Peyroney,  a  native  of  France,  settled  in 
Virginia  about  1750.  He  was  Washington's  adjutant.  After  being  wounded 
at  the  Battle  of  Great  Meadows,  Fort  Necessity,  he  was  later  promoted 
to  captain  by  Dinwiddie,  at  Washington's  suggestion.  The  following  year, 
while  commanding  a  company  of  Virginia  Rangers,  he  was  killed  at  the 
Battle  of  the  Monongahela. 

20  These  italicized  words  are  italicized  in  the  original,  so  that,  here, 
the  italics  do  not  indicate  that  the  phrase  is  from  the  Memorial  copy. 

21  Colonel  James  Innes,  a  native  of  Scotland  and  a  close  friend  of 
Dinwiddie,  had  been  a  company  commander  of  Virginia  troops  in  the 
British  attack  on  the  Spanish  colonial  city  of  Cartagena  (in  what  is  now 


74  • 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

three  hundred  and  fifty  men  recruited  in  Carolina;  that  it  was  ex- 
pected that  Maryland  would  raise  two  hundred  men;  that  Penn- 
sylvania had  raised  ten  thousand  pounds  {equivalent  to  about  fifty- 
two  thousand  five  hundred  livres)  to  pay  the  soldiers  of  the  other 
colonies,  this  province  furnishing  no  recruits  at  all;  and  that  Gov- 
ernor Shirley  had  sent  six  hundred  men  to  harass  the  French  in 
Canada.  I  hope  that  that  will  give  them  something  to  do,  and  will 
lessen  the  spirited  parties  which  they  are  sending  to  the  River  Oyo 
with  so  much  zeal. 

May  16.  Met  two  traders  who  say  they  fled  for  fear  of  the 
French,  whose  parties  were  often  seen  toward  Mr.  Gist's. 
These  traders  are  of  the  opinion,  like  many  others,  that  it  is 
not  possible  to  open  a  road  for  loaded  wagons  from  here  to  the 
River  de  la  Roche  Rouse. 


May  17.  This  evening  also  arrive  two  Indians  from  Oyo 
who  come  from  the  fort  of  the  French.  They  report  that  they 
were  using  all  their  forces  to  build  their  fort  which,  six  days 
ago,  was  breasthigh,  two  fathoms  thick,  with  the  intermediate 
space  filled  with  earth,  stones,  etc. 

All  the  trees  which  were  around  it  have  been  cut  and  burned, 
and  grain  has  been  sown  in  their  place.  They  number  only  800 
men  by  their  count;  the  Indians  think  they  number  only  600. 

Columbia)  in  1740.  This  expedition— an  unsuccessful  one— had  provided 
the  only  opportunity  for  Virginians  to  see  military  service  in  Washington's 
time,  until  the  Ohio  expedition  of  1754.  Dinwiddie  appointed  him  com- 
mander in  chief  of  the  expedition  forces  which,  it  was  planned,  would 
become  more  than  the  Virginia  regiment  through  the  addition  of  other 
Colonial  troops  plus  some  Regulars.  At  the  time  he  received  the  command 
he  was  leading  some  North  Carolina  troops  toward  the  frontier.  These 
troops  never  left  the  settlements,  however,  due  to  lack  of  weapons  and 
disputes  over  pay.  Innes  himself  never  got  beyond  Wills  Creek,  where  he 
commanded  Fort  Cumberland  after  the  defeat  of  the  Virginia  regiment. 


75< 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

A  larger  number  is  expected  in  a  few  days.  They  think  that 
this  will  amount  to  1,600,  by  means  of  which,  they  say,  they 
can  defy  the  English. 

May  IS.  The  continuing  high  water  prevented  me  from  mov- 
ing my  men  and  baggage  forward,22  which  made  me  decide  to  get 
into  a  state  of  defense  against  any  immediate  attack  of  the  enemy, 
and  to  go  down  myself  to  observe  the  river.23 

May  20.  I  embarked  in  a  canoe  with  Lieutenant  West24"  three 
soldiers,  and  an  Indian  and  after  going  along  for  the  distance  of 
half  a  mile,  we  were  obliged  to  come  back  on  shore,  where  I  met 
Peter  Suver,  a  trader,  who  was  inclined  to  discourage  me  in  the 
search  I  was  making  for  a  passage  by  water.  That  made  me  change 
my  intention  of  having  canoes  made.  I  had  the  men  march,  as  the 
water  was  low  enough  so  that  they  could  cross.  However,  I  con- 
tinued to  go  down  along  the  river,  and  finding  that  our  canoes  were 
too  small  for  six  men,  we  stopped  and  made  a  boat.  With  this  and 
with  our  canoes  we  reached  Turkey-Foot25  {in  French,  le  pied  de 
dinde)  at  the  beginning  of  the  night.  Eight  or  ten  miles  from  there 
we  met  with  several  slight  obstructions  of  little  consequence,  unless 
the  water  should  get  still  lower.  We  passed  several  places  suitable 
for  canoes. 

22  The  expedition  at  this  point  was  blocked  by  high  water  at  the  ford 
known  as  the  Great  Crossing  of  the  Youghiogheny,  near  what  is  now 
Addison,  Pennsylvania. 

23  Since  many  traders  who  knew  the  area  had  declared  that  cutting  a 
wagon  road  over  Chestnut  Ridge  to  the  mouth  of  the  Redstone  would  be 
very  difficult,  Washington  was  now  contemplating  sending  his  supplies, 
instead,  down  the  Youghiogheny  by  canoe— if  that  should  prove  possible. 

24  Lieutenant  John  West,  Jr.,  was  a  lieutenant  in  Van  Braam's  company 
for  a  period,  but  was  often  on  detached  duty.  He  resigned  his  commission 
shortly  after  the  return  of  the  regiment  to  Wills  Creek  in  July  of  1754. 

25  The  junction  of  the  Youghiogheny,  Laurel  Hill  Creek,  and  Castel- 
man's  River  at  what  is  today  Confluence,  Pennsylvania. 


76 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

May  21.  We  passed  some  time  in  examining  the  place,  which 
we  found  very  suitable  for  the  location  of  a  fort,  as  it  was  at  the 
junction  of  three  branches,  and  in  most  places  there  was  a  good 
gravel  foundation  upon  which  to  establish  it.  The  sketch,  to  be  seen 
here,  is  as  exact  as  I  could  make  it  without  instruments. 

We  went  about  two  miles  to  observe  the  course  of  the  river,  which 
is  narrow  and  with  many  eddies,  full  of  rocks,  and  rapid.  We 
crossed  it,  although  the  water  was  quite  high.  This  makes  me  think 
there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  traveling  it  in  canoes,  which  could 
only  be  with  hard  work,  however. 

Besides  this  rapids,  we  found  others,  but  as  the  water  is  less  deep 
there,  and  the  current  more  gentle,  we  easily  crossed  them,  after  we 
found  little  or  no  depth.  The  mountains  lie  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 
We  went  down  about  ten  miles,  where  a  large  rapids  obliged  us  to 
stop  and  come  ashore.26 

(From  May  22  to  24,  the  journal  contains  only  a  description 
of  the  country.) 

May  24.  This  morning  the  young  Indian  arrived  whom  I 
had  sent  to  the  Half  King,  from  whom  he  brought  me  the  fol- 
lowing letter. 

To  the  first  of  His  Majesty's  officers  whom  this  may  concern. 

Upon  hearing  report  that  the  French  army  is  going  to  meet 
Mr.  George  Washington,  I  exhort  you,  my  brothers,  to  be  on 
your  guard  against  them,  for  they  are  resolved  to  strike  the 
first  English  they  meet.  They  have  been  on  the  march  for  two 
days;  I  cannot  tell  in  what  number.  The  Half  King  and  the 
rest  of  the  chiefs  will  join  you  in  ^\.wq  days  to  hold  a  council. 
I  do  not  say  more,  but  give  my  compliments  to  my  brothers  the 
English. 

Signed,  the  Half  King.27 

26  The  Ohiopyle  Falls  of  the  Youghiogheny,  at  Ohiopyle,  Pennsylvania. 

27  A  surviving  copy  of  this  letter  indicates  that  it  was  actually  written 


77' 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

I  got  as  much  information  as  I  could  from  these  young  In- 
dians about  all  the  circumstances,  but  they  did  not  give  me 
much  enlightenment. 

They  say  that  there  are  often  parties  in  the  field,  but  they 
do  not  know  of  any  large  one  coming  in  this  direction.  The 
French  continue  to  erect  their  fort.  What  is  on  the  land  side  is 
very  well  enclosed,  but  the  side  toward  the  water  is  much 
neglected,  at  least  it  is  undefended.  They  have  only  nine  pieces 
of  cannon,  and  some  of  them  very  small,  and  none  of  them  are 
mounted.  There  are  two  on  the  point,  and  the  others  some  dis- 
tance from  the  fort  on  the  land  side. 

They  report  that  there  are  many  sick  and  that  they  could 
not  find  any  Indian  to  guide  their  small  parties  in  the  direction 
of  our  camp,  as  these  Indians  had  refused  them. 

The  same  day  ive  arrived  at  the  meadows28  at  two  o'clock  where 
we  found  a  trader  who  told  us  he  came  that  morning  from  Mr. 
Gist's,  where  he  had  seen  two  Frenchmen  the  previous  night;  and 
that  he  knew  there  was  a  strong  detachment  on  the  march,  which 
confirmed  the  news  we  had  received  from  the  Half  King.  Conse- 
quently, I  stationed  troops  behind  two  entrenchments  which  were 
natural  formations,  and  had  our  wagons  put  there,  too. 

May  25.  I  sent  out  a  party  on  horseback  along  the  roads  to 
go  scouting,  and,  in  addition,  several  other  small  parties  to 
reconnoiter  the  roads.  I  gave  the  horsemen  orders  to  examine 
the  country  well  and  to  try  to  get  news  of  the  French,  of  their 
strength,  of  their  movement,  etc. 

for  the  Half  King  by  his  English  interpreter,  John  Davison.  Davison  will 
be  remembered  as  Washington's  Indian  interpreter  on  the  journey  to  Fort 
Le  Boeuf,  in  1753. 

28  Washington  had  now  reached  the  Great  Meadows,  where  Fort  Ne- 
cessity was  to  be  erected  and  battle  eventually  joined.  The  location  is 
slightly  south  of  U.  S.  Route  40,  eleven  miles  east  of  Uniontown,  Penn- 
sylvania. 


78 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

In  the  evening  all  these  parties  returned  without  having  dis- 
covered anything,  although  they  went  quite  far  in  the  direction 
from  which  it  was  said  the  party  was  coming. 

May  27.  Mr.  Gist  arrived  early  in  the  morning  with  news 
that  M.  La  Force  with  50  men,  whose  tracks  he  had  seen  five 
miles  from  here  had  gone  to  his  plantation  the  day  before  about 
noon,  and  that  they  would  have  killed  a  cow  and  broken  every- 
thing in  his  house,  if  they  had  not  been  prevented  by  two 
Indians,  whom  he  had  left  to  guard  his  house.  Immediately  I 
sent  out  7  5  men  under  the  command  of  Captain  Hog,  Lieutenant 
Mercer™  Ensign  La  Peronie,  three  Sergeants  and  three  corporals 
with  suitable  instructions. 

The  French  had  made  much  inquiry  at  Mr.  Gist's  on  the 
subject  of  the  Half  King.  I  did  not  fail  to  let  some  young  men 
know  about  this,  who  were  in  our  camp,  and  this  had  the  effect 
I  wanted.  /  made  them  understand  that  the  French  wanted  to 
kill  the  Half  King.  Immediately  they  offered  to  chase  after  the 
French  with  our  men;  and  if  it  was  true  that  they  had  either 
insulted  or  killed  him,  one  of  them  would  go  promptly  to  carry 
the  news  to  the  Mingo  villages  and  arouse  the  warriors  to 
strike.  One  of  these  young  Indians  was  sent  out  toward' s  Mr. 
Gist's,  and  in  case  he  did  not  meet  the  Half  King,  he  was  to 
send  him  a  speech  by  a  Delaware. 

About  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  I  received  an  express 

29  Lieutenant  George  Mercer  was  later  promoted  to  captain  and  for  a 
time  was  Washington's  aide.  After  serving  with  Braddock  he  was  appointed 
lieutenant  colonel  in  a  second  Virginia  regiment,  and  with  it  accompanied 
the  Forbes  expedition.  In  1763  he  went  to  England  as  the  agent  of  the 
Ohio  Company.  Later,  he  was  appointed  Stamp  Agent  for  Virginia,  a 
position  he  was  forced  to  resign  under  popular  pressure.  In  1768  he  served 
briefly  as  lieutenant  governor  of  North  Carolina.  When  he  sold  his  exten- 
sive land  holdings  in  1774  and  1775,  Washington  was  one  of  the  principal 
buyers.  Mercer  died  in  England  in  1784. 


79 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

from  the  Half  King,  who  informed  me  that,  as  he  was  coming 
to  join  us,  they  had  seen  along  the  road  the  tracks  of  two  men 
which  went  down  into  a  gloomy  hollow,30  and  that  he  imagined 
that  the  whole  party  was  hidden  there.  Instantly  I  sent  out 
forty  men;  I  ordered  our  munitions  put  in  a  secure  place,  for 
fear  that  this  was  a  stratagem  of  the  French  to  attack  our  camp. 
I  left  a  guard  there  to  defend  it,  and  with  the  rest  of  my  men 
began  to  march  through  a  heavy  rain,  with  the  night  as  black 
as  pitch  and  by  a  path  scarcely  wide  enough  for  a  man.  We 
were  often  astray  for  15  or  20  minutes  before  we  could  find 
the  path  again,  and  often  we  would  jostle  each  other  without 
being  able  to  see.  We  continued  our  march  all  night  long,  and, 
May  28,  about  sunrise  we  arrived  at  the  camp  of  the  Indians, 
where,  after  holding  council  with  the  Half  King,  we  decided 
to  strike  jointly. 

Therefore,  he  sent  out  a  couple  of  scouts  to  see  where  they 
were  and  how  they  were  arranged,  and  also  to  reconnoiter  the 
vicinity,  after  which  we  carried  out  our  arrangements  to  sur- 
round them,  and  we  began  to  march  in  Indian  fashion,  one  after 
the  other.  We  had  advanced  quite  near  them  according  to  plan, 
when  they  discovered  us.  Then  I  gave  my  men  orders  to  fire; 
my  fire  was  supported  by  Mr.  Wage's  [Lieutenant  Thomas 
Waggoner],31  and  my  men  and  his  received  the  entire  fire  of 
the  French  during  most  of  the  action,  which  lasted  only  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  until  the  enemy  were  routed. 

We  killed  M.  de  Jumonville,32  commanding  this  party,  with 

30  The  French  camp  is  known  today  as  Jumonville' s  Rocks.  It  is  three 
miles  north  of  Summit,  Pennsylvania. 

31  Thomas  Waggoner  was  a  lieutenant  in  Van  Braam's  company.  He 
was  wounded  in  the  Jumonville  skirmish.  The  following  year,  as  a  captain, 
he  fought  well  at  the  Monongahela.  In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1755,  he  served 
creditably  in  defending  the  Virginia  frontier  against  Indian  raids. 

32  Joseph  Coulon  de  Jumonville,  ensign  in  command  of  the  French  de- 


80 


Typical  Iroquois  from  Notes  on  the  Iroquois,  Schoolcraft,  1847 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

nine  others;  we  wounded  one  and  made  21  prisoners,  among 
whom  were  M.  La  Force,  M.  Drouillon,33  and  two  cadets.34 
The  Indians  scalped  the  dead,  and  took  most  of  their  arms. 
Afterward,  we  marched  with  the  prisoners  under  guard  to  the 
camp  of  the  Indians,  where  again  I  held  council  with  the  Half 
King,  etc.  There  I  informed  him  that  the  Governor  wanted  to 
see  him,  and  was  waiting  for  him  at  Wischester  [Winchester] . 
He  replied  that  that  was  impossible  for  the  time  being,  as  his 
men  were  in  too  grave  danger  from  the  French  whom  they 
had  just  attacked;  that  he  must  send  messengers  to  all  the  allied 
nations  to  invite  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet.  In  fact,  he  sent 
the  message,  and  sent  with  it  a  French  scalp,  to  the  Delawares 
by  one  of  their  young  men.  This  man  wished  to  have  a  part 
of  the  presents  which  were  intended  for  them,  and  that  the  rest 
should  be  kept  for  another  occasion.  He  intended  to  go  and 
find  his  family  and  several  others,  in  order  to  bring  them  toward 
Mr.  Gist's,  whither  he  asked  me  to  send  some  horses  and  men 
to  aid  them  in  coming  to  our  camp.  Afterward,  I  proceeded 
with  the  prisoners.  They  informed  me  that  they  had  been  sent 
with  a  summons  for  me  to  retire,  a  specious  pretense  so  that 
they  could  reconnoiter  our  camp  and  learn  our  forces  and  our 
situation.  (See  the  summons  and  the  orders.)  It  was  so  evident 
that  they  had  come  to  reconnoiter  us  that  I  admired  their 
assurance  in  declaring  to  me  that  they  had  come  as  an  embassy. 


tachment,  was  the  younger  brother  of  a  French  captain,  Coulon  de  Villiers. 
Jumonville  was  born  in  the  province  of  Quebec  in  1718  and  entered  military- 
service  at  fifteen.  For  a  review  of  the  two-hundred-year  controversy  over 
the  "assassination"  of  Jumonville,  see  The  Jumonville  Affair,  by  Marcel 
Trudel  in  Pennsylvania  History,  XXI,  351-381. 

33  Drouillon  was  a  major.  The  fact  that  he  was  under  an  ensign  on  the 
expedition  would  indicate  either  that  he  went  along  as  a  volunteer,  or 
that  he  was  new  to  the  Ohio  region  and  therefore  was  not  put  in  command. 

34  M.  de  Boucherville  and  M.  de  Sable. 


81 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Their  instructions  stated  that  they  were  to  get  information 
about  the  roads  and  rivers  and  about  the  country  as  far  as 
Potomac.  Instead  of  coming  as  an  ambassador  should,  publicly 
and  in  an  open  manner,  they  came  with  the  greatest  secrecy 
and  looked  for  the  most  hidden  retreats,  much  more  suitable 
for  deserters  than  for  an  ambassador.  They  camped  there,  they 
remained  hidden  there  for  two  whole  days,  when  they  were 
no  more  than  5  miles  from  us.  They  sent  out  spies  to  recon- 
noiter  our  camp;  the  whole  company  re-traced  its  steps  for  two 
miles;  two  messengers  were  sent,  as  mentioned  in  the  instruc- 
tions, to  warn  M.  de  Contrecoeur  of  the  place  where  we  were 
and  of  our  arrangement,  so  that  he  could  send  out  his  detach- 
ment to  enforce  the  summons  as  soon  as  it  should  be  given. 

Besides,  that  was  an  escort  worthy  of  a  prince  serving  as 
ambassador,  instead  of  which  it  was  only  a  mere  French  petty 
officer;  spies  are  not  needed  by  an  ambassador,  whose  dignity 
is  always  sacred.  If  they  came  with  good  intentions,  why  stay 
for  two  days  five  miles  away  from  us  without  imparting  the 
summons  to  me,  or  revealing  anything  relating  to  his  embassy. 
That  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  give  birth  to  the  strongest 
suspicions,  and  we  ought  to  do  them  this  justice,  that  if  they 
wanted  to  hide,  they  could  not  have  chosen  better  than  they  did. 

The  summons  is  so  insolent,  and  looks  so  much  like  brag- 
ging, that  if  two  men  had  come  to  bring  it  openly,  it  would 
have  been  an  excessive  indulgence  to  have  suffered  them  to 
return. 

The  Half  King's  opinion  in  this  case  is  that  they  had  evil 
designs,  and  that  it  was  a  mere  pretext;  that  they  had  never 
pretended  to  come  to  us  as  anything  but  enemies,  and  that  if 
we  had  been  so  foolish  as  to  let  them  go,  he  would  never  help 
us  to  capture  other  Frenchmen. 

They  pretend  that  they  called  to  us  as  soon  as  we  were  dis- 


82 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

covered.  This  is  an  absolute  falsehood,  for  I  was  then  at  the 
head  of  the  file  going  toward  them,  and  I  can  affirm  that,  as 
soon  as  they  saw  us,  they  ran  for  their  arms  without  calling, 
which  I  should  have  heard  if  they  had  done  so. 

May  29. 1  dispatched  Ensign  la  Tour  [Ensign  James  Towers]35 
to  the  Half  King  with  about  25  men  and  almost  as  many  horses, 
and  as  I  expected  that  there  would  constantly  be  French  parties 
which  would  follow  the  one  which  had  been  defeated,  I  sent  an 
express  to  Colonel  Frey  [Fry]  in  order  to  get  reinforcements. 

After  that,  the  French  wanted  to  speak  to  me,  and  asked  me 
on  what  footing  I  regarded  them,  whether  as  part  of  the  retinue 
of  an  ambassador  or  as  prisoners  of  war.  I  informed  them  that 
it  was  in  the  latter  category,  and  I  told  them  my  reasons  as 
stated  above. 

May  30.  I  detached  Mr.  Wart  [Ward]  and  Mr.  Spindorph 
[Spiltdorph]  to  take  the  prisoners  to  Wischschester  [Win- 
chester], with  an  escort  of  twenty  men. 

Fearing  that  as  soon  as  the  news  of  this  defeat  should  reach 
the  French  we  might  be  attacked  by  considerable  forces,  I  be- 
gan to  raise  a  fort  with  a  little  palisade.36 

June  1 .  A  trader  arrived  with  the  Half  King.  They  say  that, 
at  the  same  time  M.  de  Jumonville  was  sent  here,  another  party 
had  been  detached  toward  the  lower  part  of  the  river,  in  order 
to  capture  and  kill  all  the  English  they  might  find. 

We  are  finishing  our  fort. 

In  the  evening  Mr.  Tours  [Towers]  arrives  with  the  Half 
King,  Queen  Aliguipa  [Aliquippa],  and  about  25  or  30  families, 
making  nearly  80  to  100  persons,  including  women  and  children. 

35  Ensign  James  Towers,  also  written  as  Towner,  was  promoted  to 
lieutenant  before  the  end  of  the  campaign.  He  served  in  Captain  Hog's 
company.  He  resigned  from  the  regiment  in  December  of  1754. 

36  This  was  the  beginning  of  Fort  Necessity  at  the  Great  Meadows. 


83 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

The  old  king,  being  invited  to  come  into  our  tents,  tells  me 
that  he  had  sent  Monakatoocha  to  the  Village  des  Logs  [Logs- 
town]  with  a  belt  of  wampum  and  four  French  scalps  which 
were  to  be  sent  to  the  6  Nations,  to  the  Wyendots,  etc.,  in 
order  to  inform  them  that  they  had  attacked  the  French,  and  to 
ask  for  their  assistance  to  uphold  this  first  blow. 

June  5.  An  Indian  arrives  from  Oyo  who  had  gone  to  the 
French  fort  for  a  short  time  before;  he  confirms  the  news  of 
the  two  traders  taken  by  the  French  and  sent  to  Canada.  He 
says  that  they  have  set  up  their  palisade  and  enclosed  their 
fort  with  very  big  trees. 

There  are  eight  Indian  families  toward  this  side  of  the  river 
who  are  coming  to  join  us.  He  met  one  of  the  Frenchmen37  who 
escaped  from  the  engagement  with  M.  de  Jumonville,  and  who 
was  without  shoes  or  stockings  and  almost  unable  to  walk;  but 
he  had  let  him  go,  not  knowing  that  they  had  been  attacked. 

June  6.  Mr.  Gist  on  his  return  informs  me  of  the  death  of 
poor  Colonel  Fry,38  and  that  the  French  prisoners  arrived  safe 
and  sound  at  Wchestre  [Winchester] ,  with  which  the  Governor 
had  great  satisfaction. 

I  learn  also  that  Mr.  Montour39  is  coming  with  a  commission 
to  command  200  Indians. 

37  His  name  was  Mouceau. 

38  Fry  died  as  the  result  of  a  fall  from  his  horse.  After  his  death,  Wash- 
ington was  promoted  (in  May)  to  colonel  and  assumed  formally  the 
command  of  the  entire  regiment. 

39  Three-quarter  Indian  and  one-quarter  French,  the  son  of  an  Iroquois 
chief,  a  master  of  English,  French,  and  several  Indian  tongues,  Andrew 
Montour  was  an  outstanding  interpreter  and  Indian  agent  for  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia.  He  was  also  a  leading  fur  trader.  Montour  was  not  very 
successful  in  enlisting  Indian  troops  in  1754.  In  1755,  he  served  with 
Braddock  and  remained  an  ally  of  the  English  throughout  the  French  and 
Indian  War. 


84- 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

Mr.  Gist  had  encountered  a  French  deserter  who  had  assured  him 
that  they  numbered  only  five  hundred  men  when  they  took  the 
fort  from  Mr.  Wart,  and  that  they  were  fewer  at  present,  having 
sent  fifteen  men  to  Canada  to  inform  the  Governor  of  their  success; 
that  there  were  still  about  two  hundred  men  who  were  waiting  only 
for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  come  and  join  us. 

]une  9.  The  final  part  of  the  Virginia  Regiment  arrived  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Must  [Major,  later  Lieutenant  Colonel, 
George  Muse]  ,40  We  learned  that  the  independent  company  from 
Carolina  had  arrived  at  Wilscreck  [Wills  Creek] . 

June  10.  I  received  [or,  reviewed]  the  regiment,  and  in  the  eve- 
ning I  had  word  that  some  Frenchmen  were  advancing  toward  us. 
Thereupon  I  sent  a  party  of  Indians  scounting  towards  Gist's,  to 
try  to  find  them  and  learn  their  numbers.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
night  we  had  an  alarm,  but  it  was  false. 

June  12.  Two  of  the  scouts  whom  we  had  sent  out  yesterday, 
returned  after  having  discovered  a  small  party  of  Frenchmen;  the 
others  continued  as  far  as  Stuarfs.*1  Upon  this  news,  I  thought  it 
necessary  to  march  with  the  greater  part  of  the  regiment,  in  order 
to  find  these  ninety  men  of  whom  we  had  intelligence.  Consequently, 
I  gave  Colonel  Must  orders  to  take  away  all  our  baggage  and  muni- 
tions, to  place  them  in  the  fort,  and  to  establish  a  good  guard  there 
until  my  return;  and  I  marched  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  thirty 
men  and  about  thirty  Indians;  but  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  I 

40  George  Muse  had  served  in  the  Cartagena  expedition  and  then  had 
been,  like  Washington,  one  of  the  adjutants  of  the  Virginia  Militia.  Com- 
missioned a  major  in  the  Virginia  regiment,  he  was  promoted  to  lieutenant 
colonel  when  Washington  was  advanced  to  colonel.  During  the  action  at 
Fort  Necessity  he  behaved  in  a  cowardly  manner  and  was  afterwards  in 
disgrace.  His  resignation  was  accepted  immediately  upon  his  return  to 
Virginia. 

41  Stewart's  Crossing  was  a  ford  on  the  Youghiogheny  at  what  is  today 
Connellsville.  Braddock's  army  used  it  in  1755. 


85 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

met  the  other  Indians  who  told  me  there  were  only  nine  deserters, 
and  I  sent  Mr.  Mantour  [Montour]  with  some  Indians  to  bring 
them  in  safely.  I  had  them  clothed,  and  they  give  us  confirmation 
of  what  we  had  conjectured  about  the  designs  of  M.  de  Jumonvilles 
party,  and  that  more  than  a  hundred  soldiers  are  waiting  only  for 
a  favorable  opportunity  to  come  and  join  us;  that  M.  de  Contrecoeur 
was  expecting  a  reinforcement  of  four  hundred  men,  and  that  these 
four  hundred  men  were  to  have  arrived  some  time  before  the  attack 
upon  La  Force;  that  the  fort  was  completed;  that  the  gates  and  the 
front  were  covered  by  artillery;  that  on  the  water  side  there  was  a 
double  palisade;  that  they  have  only  eight  pieces  of  small  cannon; 
and  that  they  know  how  many  men  we  have.  They  inform  me 
also  that  the  Delawares  and  the  Chawanons  [Shawnees]  have 
taken  up  the  hatchet  against  us.  Thereupon  resolved  to  invite 
these  two  nations  to  come  in  council  at  Mr.  Gist's;  for  this 
sent  messengers  and  belts. 

June  13.1  induce  these  deserters  to  write  the  following  letter 
to  their  comrades  who  wish  to  desert.  (It  is  not  in  the  journal.) 

June  15.  I  had  the  men  work  on  the  roads. 

June  16.  We  left  for  the  River  Rouge,  and  were  impeded  a  great 
deal,  as  our  wagons  broke  down  several  times. 

THE  NEXT  FIVE  DAYS 

[The  next  five  days  were  spent  in  preparing  for  and  holding 
a  council  with  the  Indians  at  Gist's.  The  Journal  entries  for 
these  days  consist  of  long  and  very  repetitious  speeches  to  and 
from  the  Indians.  Rather  than  reproduce  the  speeches  here,  we 
have  made  the  following  summary: 

Washington  had  decided  to  call  the  council  with  the  Indians 
to  see  if  the  report  of  the  French  deserters,  that  the  Delawares 
and  Shawnees  had  decided  to  side  with  the  French,  was  true. 
Messengers  were  sent  out  to  call  in  the  Indians  on  the  17th. 


86 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

On  the  18th,  some  Mingoes  from  Logstown — who  had  not 
been  invited  to  the  council — arrived  at  Gist's  and  demanded 
that  they  be  included  in  the  council.  The  questions  they  asked 
and  their  general  attitude  aroused  the  suspicion  that  they  were 
spies  for  the  French. 

On  the  19th,  with  the  arrival  of  the  Half  King  from  the 
Great  Meadows,  the  council  began.  The  Logstown  Mingoes, 
the  ones  suspected  of  being  pro-French,  spoke  first.  They 
wanted  to  know  if  they  would  be  considered  enemies  by  the 
English  if  they  remained  neutral.  Washington  replied  that  the 
English  were  fighting  solely  on  behalf  of  the  Iroquois  and  their 
allies,  to  drive  away  the  French,  and  urged  the  Indians  to  send 
their  women  and  children  east  to  the  settlements  and  to  join 
their  warriors  with  the  regiment.  Those  who  did  not  join  the 
English,  he  threatened  vaguely,  would  "be  responsible  for  all 
the  consequences,"  while  those  who  "manifested  their  bravery 
and  their  energy  at  this  juncture  ...  I  shall  recompense  .  .  . 
in  the  most  generous  way." 

Roughly  the  same  speech  was  made  to  the  Delawares  and 
Shawnees.  However,  these  tribes,  while  protesting  their  con- 
tinued friendship  to  the  English,  declared  that  they  had  been 
ordered  to  remain  neutral  by  the  ruling  Onondago  council  of 
the  Six  Nations. 

The  parties  to  the  council  consumed  almost  three  whole  days 
in  devising,  delivering,  and  listening  to  translations  of  the  vari- 
ous speeches .  Consequently  the  council  did  not  end  until  the  2 1  St.] 


Extracts  from  the  Journal  {continued) 

Afterward,  the  council  broke  up,  and  these  treacherous  de- 
mons who  had  been  sent  by  the  French  to  spy  went  away,  not 


87 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

without  some  suitable  stories  prepared  to  amuse  the  French, 
and  to  tend  to  make  our  own  designs  succeed. 

As  they  had  spoken  to  me  of  1,600  Frenchmen  and  700 
Indians  who  were  on  the  march  to  reinforce  those  at  the  fort, 
I  persuaded  the  Half  King  to  send  out  three  of  his  men  in  order 
to  learn  the  truth,  although  I  believed  that  this  news  was  only 
soldiers'  talk.  These  men  were  sent  secretly  before  the  council 
was  finished,  with  orders  to  go  to  the  fort,  and  to  gather  infor- 
mation painstakingly  from  all  the  Indians  they  would  find  there; 
and  if  there  were  any  news  worth  the  trouble,  one  of  them 
would  return,  and  the  others  would  continue  their  journey  as 
far  as  Venango  and  around  the  lake,  in  order  to  learn  every- 
thing exactly. 

I  also  persuaded  King  Schingues  [Shingas]  to  keep  scouts  in 
the  field  along  the  river  to  give  us  news  in  case  any  Frenchmen 
came.  I  gave  him  a  letter  which  he  was  to  send  me  by  his 
messengers,  in  order  to|prevent  any  one  from  imposing  on  me 
to  alarm  us. 


The  day  the  council  finished,  I  persuaded  Kaquehuston,42  a 
trusty  Delaware,  to  carry  to  the  fort  the  letter  which  the  French 
deserters  had  written  to  their  comrades,  and  I  gave  instructions 
about  how  he  should  carry  on  his  observations  in  several  mat- 

42  Kaquehuston  is  in  all  probability  Kekeuscung,  also  known  as  Kit- 
tiuskund,  who  later  became  a  chief  of  the  Delawares.  He  may  not  have 
been  as  "trusty"  as  Washington  believed,  for  with  the  rest  of  the  Delawares, 
Kekeuscung  went  over  to  the  French.  He  is  known  to  have  helped  to 
harry  the  Forbes  expedition  in  1758  and  to  have  taken  part  in  Pontiac's 
War.  It  is  reported  that  at  the  Battle  of  Bushy  Run,  in  1763,  when  Colonel 
Bouquet's  troops  were  besieged  in  their  flour  sack  fort  while  enroute  to 
raise  the  siege  of  Fort  Pitt,  Kekeuscung  spent  the  night  of  August  5  shout- 
ing threats  and  insults  in  broken  English  at  the  improvised  fort.  He  is 
believed  to  have  fallen  in  the  action  of  the  following  day. 


88 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

ters  of  which  I  spoke  to  him;  for  I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion 
that  the  fort  can  be  surprised,  because  the  French  are  camping 
outside  and  their  guard  cannot  be  kept  very  exactly  because 
of  the  work  they  are  doing. 

I  also  persuaded  George,43  another  trusty  Delaware,  to  visit 
the  fort  a  little  after  Kaquehuston,  and  gave  him  suitable  in- 
structions, recommending  particularly  that  he  hasten  his  return 
so  that  we  might  have  fresh  news. 

Immediately  after  the  council,  in  spite  of  everything  Mr. 
Montour  could  do  to  dissuade  them,  the  Delawares,  like  the 
Half  King  and  all  the  other  Indians,  returned  to  the  Great 
Meadows;  but  although  we  no  longer  had  them,  I  did  not  leave 
off  still  having  our  own  men  constantly  out  scouting  to  fore- 
stall any  surprise. 

As  these  Indians,  spies  of  the  French,  were  very  curious 
and  asked  many  questions  in  order  to  learn  what  way  we  in- 
tended to  go  to  the  fort,  and  when  we  expected  to  arrive  there, 
I  stopped  the  work  on  the  road  and  did  not  push  it  any  farther. 
I  told  them  finally  that  we  intended  to  continue  through  the 
woods,  cutting  down  the  trees,  etc.,  and  that  we  were  waiting 
here  for  the  reinforcement  which  was  coming,  with  our  artil- 
lery and  our  wagons  to  accompany  us  there.  But  as  soon  as 
these  men  had  gone,  I  began  work  marking  out  and  making  a 
road  toward  the  Roche  Rouge  [Redstone  Creek] . 

June  24.  In  the  evening  there  arrive  from  the  Great  Meadows 
three  men,  among  whom  is  the  son  of  Queen  Aliguipa  [Ali- 
quippa].  He  brings  me  a  letter  from  Mr.  Croghon  [Croghan]44 

43  Delaware  George  rose  to  be  a  chief  among  his  people,  and  with  them 
went  over  to  the  French.  He  may  have  received  his  English  name  while  a 
disciple  of  the  famous  frontier  missionary,  Christian  Frederick  Post. 

44  George  Croghan,  a  native  of  Ireland,  came  to  Pennsylvania  in  1741 
and  by  1745  was  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade.  Highly  successful  as  a  trader, 


89 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

who  informs  me  of  the  trouble  he  has  in  finding  any  Indian 
willing  to  come;  that  in  truth  the  Half  King  was  disposed  and 
was  preparing  to  join  us,  but  a  blow  which  he  had  received 
had  prevented  him  from  doing  so.  I  thought  it  would  be  wise 
to  send  Captain  Montour  to  Fort  Necessity  to  see  if  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  persuade  the  Indians  to  come  to  us. 

June  26.  An  Indian  arrives  bringing  us  news  that  Monoca- 
toocha  has  burned  his  village  (Loystown)  [Logstown] ,  and  be- 
gun to  travel  by  water  to  the  Roche  Rouge  with  his  people, 
and  may  be  expected  there  in  two  days.  This  Indian  passed 
near  the  fort  and  is  sure  that  the  French  have  received  no  rein- 
forcements except  a  small  number  of  Indians  who  have  killed, 
he  says,  two  or  three  Delawares.  I  did  not  fail  to  relate  this 
news  with  the  most  appropriate  colors  to  the  Indians  and  par- 
ticularly to  the  Delawares  who  are  here. 

June  27.  Detached  Captain  Louis  [Lewis],45  Lieutenant 
Vagghener  [Waggoner],  and  an  ensign,  two  sergeants,  two  cor- 
porals, a  drummer,  and  60  men  to  complete  building  the  road 
as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  River  de  la  Roche  Rouge  on  the 
Monanghelele.  [Here  the  Journal  ends.] 


he  was  prominent  among  the  English  entrepreneurs  who  won  the  trade 
of  the  Ohio  Indians  from  the  French,  thus  helping  to  precipitate  the  struggle 
for  the  valley.  Besides,  he  was  a  leading  interpreter  and  adviser  for  Penn- 
sylvania on  Indian  affairs.  He  served  the  Virginia  regiment  as  a  contractor 
of  flour  and  horses;  his  failure  at  this  assignment  contributed  to  the  defeat 
of  the  expedition.  The  date  on  which  he  joined  Washington  on  the  expedi- 
tion as  an  interpreter  and  adviser  on  Indian  diplomacy  is  not  known.  In 
1756,  Croghan  became  Deputy  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  under  Sir 
William  Johnson.  He  was  also  active  in  land  speculation.  It  will  be  re- 
called from  an  earlier  note  that  he  was  a  brother-in-law  and  partner  of 
William  Trent.  He  moves  through  the  history  of  the  frontier,  one  of  the 
liveliest  and  most  complex  of  all  the  personalities  in  the  Ohio  Country. 

45  Andrew  Lewis,  a  captain  and  company  commander,  later  was  pro- 
moted to  major  in  the  Virginia  regiment.  He  served  with  Braddock  and 


90- 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

Fort  Necessity: 
Eyewitness  and  Contemporary  Accounts 

Colonel  Washington  was  too  busy  with  more  serious  matters 
in  the  days  after  June  27,  1754,  to  make  his  Journal  entries. 
For  the  story  of  the  rest  of  the  campaign,  therefore,  we  must 
turn  to  many  sources,  all  of  them  incomplete  in  one  way  or 
another.  There  were  no  war  correspondents  with  the  Virginia 
regiment— or  for  that  matter  with  the  French  detachment.  But 
we  do  have  the  accounts  either  of  men  who  were  at  the  battle 
or  who  heard  about  it  shortly  thereafter— men  on  both  sides— 
officers  and  privates,  heroes  and  deserters. 

The  observant  reader  will  note  that  accounts  do  not  agree 
always  as  to  details.  There  are  many  reasons  for  this:  they 
were  written  later  and  from  memory;  the  heat  of  battle  is 
always  confusing;  the  witnesses'  testimony  is  no  doubt  colored 
by  both  patriotic  considerations  and  by  being  personally  in- 
volved. But  these  men,  these  soldiers,  write  with  the  vividness 
of  things  they  felt  deeply.  And  anyway,  theirs  are  the  only 
records  we  have. 

[The  sub-titles  of  the  selections  below  are  the  editor's.] 

COLONEL  WASHINGTON  RECORDS  A  MILITARY  DECISION 

Minutes  of  a  Council  of  War  held  at  Gists  Plantn.48 
At  a  Council  of  War  held  at  Mr.  Gists  June  28th  1754. 


on  the  Virginia  frontier  against  the  Indians  in  the  fall  of  1755.  He  was 
with  Forbes  in  1758,  part  of  Major  James  Grant's  ill-fated  detachment, 
and  in  the  defeat  of  Grant  was  captured  and  taken  to  Canada.  During  the 
Revolution  he  held  a  colonelcy  and  served  creditably  until  his  death  from 
illness  in  1781. 

46  These  minutes  are  in  Washington's  handwriting.  They  are  in  Letters 
to  Washington,  and  Accompanying  Papers,  ed.  Stanislaus  Murray  Hamilton 
(Boston  and  New  York:  Houghton  Mifflin  Co.,  1898-1902),  I,  16-18. 


91 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

After  the  Junction  with  our  own  Detachmt.47  and  the  Inde- 
pendent Company48  to  Consider  what  was  most  prudent  & 
necessary  to  be  Done  in  the  present  Situation  of  Affairs:  It 
was  Unanimously  Resolved  that  it  was  Absolutly  necessary  to 
Return  to  our  Fort  at  the  meadows  &  Wait  there  untill  Supply'd 
with  a  stock  of  provisions  Sufficient  to  serve  us  for  some 
months. 

The  Reasons  for  so  doing  were  very  Weighty: 

Monacatootha  a  man  of  Sense  and  Experience  &  agreed 
friend  to  the  English  Had  left  the  French  Fort  only  two  days 
before  &  had  seen  the  Reinforcmt.  arrive  &  heard  them  declare 
their  Resolution  to  march  and  Attack  the  English  wt  800  of 
their  own  men  &  400  Indians. 

There  was  a  Reinforcemt.  hourly  expected,  we  learned  from 
French  Deserters. 

We  knew,  that  two  of  our  own  men  had  deserted  to  them 
and  acquainted  The  Enemy  of  our  Starving  Condition  and  our 
Numbrs.  &  Situation. 

We  had  wanted49  bread  &  meat  for  six  days  already;  and 
were  still  uncertain  when  any  would  arrive.  We  had  only  about 
25  head  of  Live  Cattle  the  most  of  them  Milch  Cows  to  depend 
upon,  for  400  men,  and  about  one  quart  of  salt  to  use  wt.  our 
Meat,  or  preserve  it. 

The  Enemy  being  thrice  our  Number  &  knowing  our  Cir- 

47  This  is  the  detachment  sent  out  the  day  before  under  Captain  Lewis 
to  work  on  the  road.  It  had  been  recalled  at  the  worsening  military  situation. 

48  The  Independent  Company  from  South  Carolina  had  joined  Wash- 
ington on  the  14th  or  15th  of  June.  It  was  commanded  by  Captain  James 
Mackay.  Because  Mackay  held  a  commission  from  the  King  and  Wash- 
ington was  commissioned  only  by  the  Governor,  Captain  Mackay  would 
not  accept  orders  from  Washington,  but  acted  as  a  separate  command. 
When  Washington  advanced  to  Gist's,  the  Independent  Company  remained 
behind  at  the  Meadows. 

49  "We  had  wanted  bread  and  meat" — that  is,  had  been  without  them. 


92 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

cumstances  would  not  give  us  a  Chance  to  fight  them,  but 
Strive  to  starve  us  out  by  intercepting  our  Convoys.  The  Live 
Cattle  were  Uncertain  as  the  Enemy  strove  to  Block  us  up.  If 
the  Enemy  were  so  Void  of  knowledge  in  Military  Affairs  as 
to  Risk  a  Battle,  We  must  give  a  Total  defeat  to  thrice  our 
Number,— Otherwise  be  Cut  to  pieces  by  so  prodigious  a 
Number  of  their  Indians  in  our  Retreat,  who  are  the  best  peo- 
ple in  the  World  to  improve  a  Victory  and  at  the  best  lose  all 
our  Warlike  Stores  &  Swivles.50  Compell'd  by  these  Reasons 
it  was  Unanimously  Resolv'd  to  Decamp  directly,  and  to  have 
our  swivles  drawn  By  the  men  by  Reason  of  the  Scarcity  of 
horses. 

Besides  the  Indians  decla'd  that  they  would  leave  us,  unless 
we  Returned  to  ye  Meadows.  The  distance  Between  that  & 
Mr.  Gist's  house,  is  thirteen  miles  of  hilly  road  form'd  Natu- 
rally for  Ambushes.  The  French  could  not  so  Easily  Support 
themselves  at  the  Meadow  as  at  Gist's  by  reason  of  distance  to 
Carry  the  Stores  and  Provisions  &  their  want  of  horses  to  do 
it.  They  can  come  within  five  miles  of  Gist's  house  by  water; 
thirteen  miles  further  of  bad  Road  was  a  Great  obstruction  to 
them  &  gave  us  an  Opportunity  of  Obtaining  intelligence,  & 
Securing  our  Convoys.51  While  we  lay  at  Gist's  house  They 
might  pass  us  unobserved  by  a  different  Road  from  Red  Stone 
that  Lay  about  nine  miles  from  us.  But  at  the  Meadows,  both 
Roads  are  United,  and  the  Bearing  of  the  Mountains  makes  it 
difficult  for  an  Enemy  to  come  near  or  pass  us  without  Receiv- 
ing Advice  of  it.  From  all  these  Considerations  this  Resolves 

50  This  refers  to  small  cannon  mounted  on  swivels,  with  which  the 
Virginia  regiment  was  armed. 

51  "Securing  our  convoys" — that  is,  receiving  shipments  of  food  which 
were  supposed  to  be  on  the  way  and  which  would  reach  the  Meadows 
before  it  would  reach  Gist's. 


93 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

was  Signed  by  [There  are  no  signatures.  The  copy  that  has 
survived  is  probably  a  draft  copy.] 

MAJOR  ADAM  STEPHEN  DESCRIBES  THE  RETREAT  FROM 

GIST'S  NEW  SETTLEMENT  TO  FORT  NECESSITY 

AT  THE  GREAT  MEADOWS52 

June  29, 53  we  received  certain  Intelligence,  that  the  French 
were  reinforced  with  300  White  Men,  and  the  same  Number 
of  Indians,  and  that  they  intend  to  march  immediately  to  attack 
us;  Whereupon  Col.  Washington  call'd  a  Council  of  War, 
wherein  it  was  resolved  to  send  an  Express  to  hasten  the  Inde- 
pendents54 to  join  us,  and  that  in  the  mean  Time  we  should  set 
about  fortifying  ourselves,  as  well  as  the  Time  would  permit, 
and  there  wait  the  arrival  of  Cap.  Lewis,  and  Mr.  Poison,55 
who  were  out  on  Detachments,  and  to  whom  Orders  were 
sent  to  join  us  with  the  utmost  Expedition.  Captain  Maccay56 
arrived  at  our  Camp  at  Gist's  House,  in  the  Night,  and  we  were 
joined  by  our  Detachment  next  Forenoon:  when  a  Council  of 
War  was  again  call'd,  wherein  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to 
retreat  immediately,  carrying  all  public  Stores  with  us;  and  as 
we  had  but  two  very  indifferent  Teams,  and  few  Horses,  the 
Officers  loaded  their  own  Horses  with  Ammunition,  and  left 

52  This  account  appeared  in  the  Maryland  Gazette  of  Annapolis  on 
August  29,  1754.  It  is  reprinted  in  Charles  H.  Ambler's  Washington  and 
the  West,  pp.  214-216. 

53  Stephen  places  the  date  one  day  later  than  Washington. 

54  The  Independent  Company. 

55  William  Poison,  a  native  of  Scotland,  was  the  lieutenant  in  Captain 
Stobo's  company.  He  assumed  command  of  the  company  when  Stobo 
became  a  hostage,  and  was  promoted  to  captain  shortly  thereafter,  on 
July  21.  He  was  killed  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  Virginia  Rangers  the 
following  year  at  the  Battle  of  the  Monongahela. 

56  Captain  James  Mackay,  commander  of  the  Independent  Company 
from  South  Carolina. 


94 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

part  of  their  Baggage  behind;  Col.  Washington  setting  them 
an  Example,  by  ordering  his  Horse  to  be  loaded  first,  and  giv- 
ing four  Pistoles57  to  some  Soldiers  to  carry  his  necessary 
Baggage.  We  had  nine  Swivels,  which  were  drawn  by  the 
Soldiers  of  the  Virginia  Regiment  twelve  Miles,  of  the  rough- 
est and  most  hilly  Road  of  any  on  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 
The  independents  refused  to  lend  a  Hand  to  draw  the  Guns, 
or  help  off  with  the  Ammunition;  nor  would  they  do  Duty  as 
Pioneers,58  which  had  an  unhappy  Effect  on  our  Men,  who  no 
sooner  learned  that  it  was  not  the  proper  Duty  of  Soldiers  to 
perform  these  Services,  than  they  became  as  backward  as  the 
Independents.  This  was  one  great  Reason  why  we  had  not 
compleated  our  Works  before  the  Attack. 

July  1st,  we  arrived  very  much  fatigued  at  the  Meadows, 
and  had  continued  our  Retreat,  but  for  want  of  Horses  and 
Conveniences  to  carry  our  Ammunition.  Our  Men  had  been 
eight  Days  without  Bread,  and  instead  of  a  large  Convoy,  which 
we  had  long  expected,  there  arrived  only  a  few  Bags  of  Flour: 
They  were  so  harassed  with  working  on  the  Fortifications  at 
Gist's,59  and  with  marching,  that  they  were  not  able  to  draw 
the  Swivels.  This  being  the  Case,  and  having  certain  Intelli- 
gence that  the  Yorkers60  had  arrived  at  Alexandria  about  twenty 
Days  before,  a  fatal  Stay!  and  a  flying  Report,  that  they  had 
got  to  Will's  Creek  on  their  March  to  join  us,  it  was  thought 
most  advisable  to  fortify  ourselves  in  the  best  Manner  possible, 
and  wait  our  Convoys  and  Reinforcements,  which  we  daily 
expected. 

57  A  pistole  was  worth  $4. 

58  The  Regulars  maintained  that  professional  soldiers  were  not  required 
to  do  manual  labor,  unless  given  extra  pay,  and  Washington  had  no  author- 
ity to  promise  them  extra  pay. 

59  A  fort  had  been  started  at  Gist's  before  retreat  was  decided. 

60  The  two  independent  companies  from  New  York. 


95 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

In  the  mean  Time  an  Express  was  sent  to  inform  them  of  our 
Station,  and  hasten  them  to  our  Assistance.  We  set  about  clear- 
ing the  Woods  nearest  to  us,  and  carrying  in  the  Logs,  to  raise 
a  Breastwork,  and  enlarge  the  Fort. 

COLONEL  WASHINGTON  RECORDS  THE 
DISAPPEARANCE  OF  HIS  INDIAN  ALLIES61 

...  the  few  Indians  while  till  now  had  attended  him;62  and 
who  by  reconnoitering  the  enemy  in  their  March  had  got  ter- 
rified at  their  numbers  and  resolved  to  Retreat  as  they  advised 
us  to  do  also  but  which  was  impracticable  without  abandoning 
our  Stores,  Baggage,  &ca.  as  the  horses  which  had  brought 
them  to  this  place  had  returned  for  Provision  had  left  us  previ- 
ous to  the  Attack. 

COLONEL  WASHINGTON  AND  CAPTAIN  MACKAY 
DESCRIBE  THE  FRENCH  ATTACK  ON  THE  FORT63 

The  third  of  this  Instant  July,  about  9  o'clock,  we  received 
Intelligence  that  the  French,  having  been  reinforced  with  700 
Recruits,  had  left  Monongehela,  and  were  in  full  March  with 
900  Men  to  attack  us.  Upon  this,  as  our  Numbers  were  so 
unequal,  (our  whole  Force  not  exceeding  300)  we  prepared 
for  our  Defence  in  the  best  Manner  we  could,  by  throwing  up 
a  small  Intrenchment,  which  we  had  not  Time  to  perfect, 
before  our  Centinel  gave  Notice,  about  Eleven  o'Clock,  of 
their  Approach,  by  firing  his  Piece,  which  he  did  at  the  Enemy, 

61  From  some  notes  that  Washington  once  prepared  for  the  use  of  a 
biographer.  They  appear  in  The  Writings  of  George  Washington  .  .  .  edited 
by  John  C.  Fitzpatrick,  XXXIX,  39-40. 

62  Washington  here  speaks  of  himself  in  the  third  person. 

63  From  a  newspaper  account  first  printed  in  the  Virginia  Gazette  of 
Williamsburg  and  subsequently  reprinted  in  other  colonial  papers.  It  is 
reprinted  in  Ambler's  Washington  and  the  West,  pp.  211-213. 


96- 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

and  as  we  learned  afterwards  killed  three  of  their  Men,  on 
which  they  began  to  fire  upon  us,  at  about  600  Yards  Distance, 
but  without  any  Effect:  We  immediately  called  all  our  Men 
to  their  Arms,  and  drew  up  in  Order  before  our  Trenches;  but 
as  we  looked  upon  this  distant  Fire  of  the  Enemy  only  as  an 
Artifice  to  intimidate,  or  draw  our  Fire  from  us,  we  waited 
their  nearer  Approach  before  we  returned  their  Salute.  They 
then  advanced  in  a  very  irregular  Manner  to  another  Point  of 
Woods,  about  60  Yards  off,  and  from  thence  made  a  second 
Discharge;  upon  which,  finding  they  had  no  Intention  of  at- 
tacking us  in  the  open  Field,  we  retired  into  our  Trenches,  and 
still  reserved  our  Fire;  as  we  expected  from  their  great  Superi- 
ority of  Numbers,  that  they  would  endeavour  to  force  our 
Trenches;  but  finding  they  did  not  seem  to  intend  this  neither, 
the  Colonel  gave  Orders  to  fire,  which  was  done  with  great 
Alacrity  and  Undauntedness. 

COLONEL  WASHINGTON  REMEMBERS  THE 
FIGHTING  AND  THE  RAIN64 

.  .  .  they  then,  from  every  little  rising,  tree,  stump,  Stone, 
and  bush  kept  up  a  constant  galding65  fire  upon  us;  which  was 
returned  in  the  best  manner  we  could  till  late  in  the  Afternn. 
when  their  fell  the  most  tremendous  rain  that  can  be  conceived, 
filled  our  trenches  with  Water,  Wet,  not  only  the  Ammunition 
in  the  Cartouch66  boxes  and  firelocks,  but  that  which  was  in  a 
small  temporary  Stockade  in  the  middle  of  the  Intrenchment 
called  Fort  Necessity  erected  for  the  sole  purpose  of  its  secur- 
ity, and  that  of  the  few  stores  we  had;  and  left  us  nothing  but 

64  From  the  source  described  in  note  61. 

65  Galling,  that  is,  irritating. 

66  An  early  form  of  cartridge. 


97 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

a  few  (for  all  were  not  provided  with  them)   Bayonets  for 
defence. 

PRIVATE  JOHN  SHAW  DESCRIBES  THE  FIGHTING 
AND  THE  FORT67 

.  .  .  their  Indians  were  thereby  Encouraged  to  Advance  out 
of  the  Wood  and  show  themselves  pretty  near  where  our  Men 
lay  upon  which  Colo.  Washington  Gave  the  Word  to  fire  which 
was  accordingly  done,  and  many  of  the  Indians  were  killed. 
Our  people  having  two  Swivel  Guns  which  were  discharged 
at  the  same  time.  After  this  neither  French  nor  Indians  appeared 
any  more  but  kept  behind  Trees  firing  at  our  Men  the  best 
part  of  the  Day,  As  our  people  did  at  them.  There  was  at  this 
place  a  Small  Stocade  Fort  made  in  a  circular  form  round  a 
Small  House  that  stood  in  the  middle  of  it  to  keep  our  provi- 
sions and  ammunition  in,  and  was  covered  with  Bark  and  some 
Skins  and  might  be  about  fourteen  feet  Square  and  the  Walls 
of  the  Fort  might  be  eight  feet  distance  from  the  said  house  all 
round.  The  French  were  at  that  time  so  near  that  Severall  of 
our  people  were  wounded  by  the  splinters  beat  off  by  the 
Bulletts  from  the  said  House. 

MAJOR  ADAM  STEPHEN  TELLS  OF  THE  PLIGHT 
OF  THE  GARRISON68 

[We]  had  received  no  Intelligence  of  the  approach  of  our 
Convoys  or  Reinforcements,  and  .  .  .  had  only  a  Couple  Bags 
of  Flour  and  a  little  Bacon  left  for  the  Support  of  300  Men. 
We  had  intended  to  have  killed  the  Milch  Cows  which  were 

67  Deposition  of  John  Shaw,  original  manuscript  in  the  British  Public 
Records  Office,  photostats  in  the  Darlington  Memorial  Library  of  the 
University  of  Pittsburgh. 

68  From  the  Maryland  Gazette,  August  29,  1754. 


•98' 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

our  greatest  Dependence  before  the  Engagement,  but  had  no 
Salt  to  preserve  them,  and  they  soon  became  the  property  of  a 
superior  Enemy.  By  the  continued  Rains,  and  Water  in  the 
Trenches,  the  most  of  our  Arms  were  out  of  Order,  and  we 
had  only  a  Couple  of  Screws69  in  the  whole  Regiment  to  clean 
them.  But  what  was  still  worse,  it  was  no  sooner  dark,  than 
one-half  of  our  Men  got  drunk.70 

COLONEL  WASHINGTON  RECORDS  THE  FRENCH 
OFFER  TO  NEGOTIATE71 

We  continued  this  unequal  Fight,  with  an  Enemy  sheltered 
behind  the  Trees,  ourselves  without  Shelter,  in  Trenches  full 
of  Water,  in  a  settled  Rain,  and  the  Enemy  galling  us  on  all 
Sides  incessantly  from  the  Woods,  till  8  o'Clock  at  Night, 
when  the  French  called  to  Parley:  From  the  great  Improbability 
that  such  a  vastly  superior  Force,  and  possessed  of  such  an 
Advantage,  would  offer  a  Parley  first,  we  suspected  a  Deceit, 
and  therefore  refused  to  consent  that  they  should  come  among 
us;  on  which  they  desired  us  to  send  an  Officer  to  them,  and 
engaged  their  Parole72  for  his  Safety.  .  .  . 

MAJOR  STEPHEN  DESCRIBES  THE  READING 
OF  THE  FRENCH  TERMS73 

When  Mr.  Van  Braam  returned  with  the  French  Proposals, 

69  A  tool  used  in  cleaning  fouled  firearms. 

70  Washington  recently  had  been  supplied  with  rum  to  use  as  presents 
for  the  Indians.  Apparently  the  tired,  wet  and  hungry  men  of  the  Virginia 
regiment  had  got  into  it.  When  Coulon  de  Villiers,  the  French  commander, 
inspected  the  fort  after  its  surrender  the  next  day,  he  found  casks  of  rum 
still  unopened.  He  had  the  casks  smashed  to  keep  the  contents  from  his 
own  troops  and  his  Indian  allies. 

71  See  note  63. 

72  Parole  in  this  case  means  "word  of  honor." 

73  See  note  52. 


99 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

we  were  obliged  to  take  the  Sense  of  them  by  word  of  Mouth: 
It  rained  so  heavily  that  he  could  not  give  us  a  written  Trans- 
lation of  them;  we  could  scarcely  keep  the  Candle  light  to 
read  them;  they  were  wrote  in  a  bad  Hand,  on  wet  and  blotted 
Paper  so  that  no  Person  could  read  them  but  Van  Braam  who 
had  heard  them  from  the  mouth  of  the  French  Officer.  Every 
Officer  then  present,  is  willing  to  declare,  that  there  was  no 
such  word  as  Assassination74  mentioned;  the  Terms  expressed 
to  us  were  'the  Death  of  Jumonville.'  If  it  had  been  mentioned, 
we  could  have  got  it  altered,  as  the  French  seemed  very  con- 
descending, and  willing  to  bring  Things  to  a  Conclusion;  dur- 
ing the  whole  course  of  the  Interview:  Upon  our  insisting  on 
it  they  altered  what  was  more  material  to  them,  the  Article 
relating  to  Ammunition,  which  they  wanted  to  detain;  and  that 
of  the  Cannon,  which  they  agreed  to  have  destroyed,  instead 
of  reserved  for  their  Use.  Another  Article,  which  appears  to 
our  Disadvantage,  is  that  whereby  we  obliged  ourselves  not  to 
attempt  an  Establishment  beyond  the  Mountains:  This  was 
translated  to  us,  'Not  to  attempt  Buildings  or  Improvements, 
on  the  Lands  of  his  Most  Christian  Majesty.'  This  we  never 
intended;  but  denied  that  he  had  any  Lands  there,  and  therefore 
thought  it  needless  to  dispute  that  Point. 

THE  ARTICLES  OF  CAPITULATION75 
Capitulation  granted  Mons.  de  Villiers,76  captain  and  com- 

74  As  will  be  shown  subsequently,  the  terms  of  capitulation  signed  by 
Washington  did  admit  that  Jumonville  had  been  "assassinated,"  much  to 
Washington's  later  mortification. 

75  An  English  translation  of  the  Articles  of  Capitulation  may  be  found 
in  Ambler's  Washington  and  the  West,  pp.  216-217.  The  text  in  French  may 
be  found  in  Washington  and  "The  Murder  of  Jumonville"  by  Gilbert  F. 
Leduc,  pp.  219-227. 

76  Louis  Coulon  de  Villiers,  commander  of  the  French  detachment  at 


100. 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

mander  of  infantry  and  troops  of  his  most  Christian  Majesty, 
to  those  English  troops  actually  in  the  fort  of  Necessity  which 
was  built  on  the  lands  of  the  King's  dominions  July  the  3rd, 
at  eight  o'clock  at  night,  1754. 

As  our  intention  has  never  been  to  trouble  the  peace  and 
good  harmony  which  reigns  between  the  two  friendly  princes, 
but  only  to  revenge  the  assassination  which  has  been  done  on 
one  of  our  officers,  bearer  of  a  summons,  upon  his  party,  as 
also  to  hinder  any  establishment  on  the  lands  of  the  dominions 
of  the  King,  my  master;  upon  these  considerations,  we  are  will- 
ing to  grant  protection  or  favor,  to  all  the  English  that  are  in 
the  said  fort,  upon  the  conditions  hereafter  mentioned. 

1.  We  grant  the  English  Commander  to  retire  with  all  his 
garrisons,  to  return  peaceably  into  his  own  country,  and  we 
promise  to  hinder  his  receiving  any  insult  from  us  French,  and 
to  restrain  as  much  as  shall  be  in  our  power  the  Savages  that 
are  with  us. 

2.  He  shall  be  permitted  to  withdraw  and  to  take  with  him 
whatever  belongs  to  them  excepting  the  artillery,  which  we 
reserve  for  ourselves. 

3.  We  grant  them  the  honors  of  war;  they  shall  come  out 
with  drums  beating,  and  with  a  small  piece  of  cannon,  wishing 
to  show  by  this  means  that  we  treat  them  as  friends. 

4.  As  soon  as  these  Articles  are  signed  by  both  parties  they 
shall  take  down  the  English  flag. 

5 .  Tomorrow  at  daybreak  a  detachment  of  French  shall  re- 
ceive the  surrender  of  the  garrison  and  take  possession  of  the 
aforesaid  fort. 

6.  Since  the  English  have  scarcely  any  horses  or  oxen  left, 
they  shall  be  allowed  to  hide  their  property,  in  order  that  they 

the  battle  of  the  Great  Meadows,  was  the  older  brother  of  Jumonville 
and  had  been  given  command  of  the  expedition  for  that  reason. 


101 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

may  return  to  seek  for  it  after  they  shall  have  recovered  their 
horses;  for  this  purpose  they  shall  be  permitted  to  leave  such 
number  of  troops  as  guards  as  they  may  think  proper,  under 
this  condition  that  they  give  their  word  of  honor  that  they  will 
not  work  on  any  establishment  either  in  the  surrounding  coun- 
try or  beyond  the  Highlands  during  one  year  beginning  from 
this  day. 

7.  Since  the  English  have  in  their  power  an  officer  and  two 
cadets,  and,  in  general,  all  the  prisoners  whom  they  took  when 
they  assassinated  Sieur  de  Jumonville  they  now  promise  to  send 
them  with  an  escort  to  Fort  Duquesne,  situated  on  Belle  River, 
and  to  secure  the  safe  performance  of  this  treaty  article,  as  well 
as  on  the  treaty  Messrs.  Jacob  Van  Braam  and  Robert  Stobo,77 
both  Captains  shall  be  delivered  to  us  as  hostages  until  the  ar- 

77  Captain  Robert  Stobo,  later  major,  was  one  of  the  most  romantic 
and  colorful  figures  of  the  French  and  Indian  War.  He  was  born  in  Glasgow 
in  1727,  attended  Glasgow  University,  and  in  1742  came  to  Virginia  as 
the  representative  of  a  group  of  Glasgow  merchants.  Convivial  and  much 
sought  after  socially,  a  friend  of  Governor  Dinwiddie's,  he  was  given  a 
captaincy  in  the  Virginia  regiment.  On  the  campaign  he  was  accompanied 
by  ten  servants  and  a  covered  wagon  loaded  with  equipment  which  in- 
cluded a  large  cask  of  Madeira  wine.  He  and  Van  Braam  were  chosen  as 
hostages,  probably  because  they  were  both  unmarried.  While  a  hostage 
Stobo  was  promoted  to  major.  During  his  imprisonment  at  Fort  Duquesne, 
he  sent  secretly  a  sketch  of  the  fort  to  Washington  by  way  of  a  friendly 
Indian.  This  sketch  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  along  with  other  of 
Braddock's  papers,  when  Braddock  was  defeated,  so  that  Stobo  was  ac- 
cused of  espionage  and  for  a  time  was  under  sentence  of  death.  He  escaped 
twice  from  his  place  of  imprisonment  in  Quebec,  and  twice  was  recaptured; 
his  third  escape  was  successful.  When  he  rejoined  the  English,  he  served 
as  an  adviser  to  General  James  Wolfe  in  the  campaign  against  Quebec. 
Profusely  thanked  and  handsomely  rewarded  by  the  Virginia  assembly 
for  his  services  and  hardships,  he  returned  to  England  and  a  commission  in 
the  Regulars.  Thereafter  he  saw  service  in  the  West  Indies.  Three  novels 
have  contained  fictional  accounts  of  his  life  and  adventures.  Historians  prob- 
ably have  put  no  other  man  in  more  footnotes  than  Robert  Stobo. 


102 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

rival  of  our  French  and  Canadians  herein  before  mentioned. 

We  on  our  part  declare  that  we  shall  give  an  escort  to  send 
back  in  safety  the  two  officers  who  promise  us  our  French  in 
two  months  and  a  half  at  the  latest. 

Made  out  in  duplicate  on  one  of  the  posts  of  our  blockhouse 
the  same  day  and  year  as  before. 

Signed 

James  Mackay 
Go.  Washington 
Coulon  De  Villiers. 

MAJOR  STEPHEN  ALMOST  LOSES  HIS  LUGGAGE78 

.  .  .  every  thing  [was]  afloat  in  the  Encampmt  which  was  in 
a  natural  meadow  or  dry  marsh — This  occasion'd  Stephen  to 
put  on  Shoes  without  Stockings  in  which  trim  he  continued  all 
the  day  of  the  Engag'nt. 

The  Weather  was  Showery,  the  ditches  half  full  of  Water, 
&  fort  half  Leg  deep  of  Mud,  so  that  Stephen's  duty  as  Major 
leading  him  every  where:  He  was  Wet;  Muddy  half  thigh  up; 
without  Stockings,  face  &  hands  besmear'd  with  powder  &  in 
this  pickle  form'd  the  Men  to  march  out  of  the  Fort  early  in 
the  Morning  of  the  4th  according  to  Capitulation— The  Enemy 
allow'd  us  to  Carry  off  the  Baggage,  &  to  march  out  with  the 
honours  of  War — Whilst  Stephen  was  forming  the  men,  His 
Servant  cry'd  out  Major  a  Frenchman  has  Carried  off  you 
Cloaths — Stephen  looking  Round,  observ'd  the  Corner  of  his 
port  Mantua79  on  a  Frenchman  Shoulder,  he  running  into  the 
Crowd — Stephen  pursued  &  overtook  him  Seiz'd  the  port- 

78  This  excerpt  is  taken  from  "Colonel  Steven's  Life  written  by  him- 
self for  B.  Rush  in  1775"  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and 
Biography,  XVIII,  43-50. 

79  A  portmanteau  was  a  traveling  bag  designed  for  use  on  horseback. 


103 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

mantua,  kicked  the  fellow  back  side  &  Return'd.  Upon  Seeing 
this  two  french  Officers,  observ'd  to  Stephen  that  [if]  he  Struck 
the  Men  &  behaved  So,  they  could  not  be  answerable  for  the 
Capitulation.  Stephen  damned  the  Capitulation,  &  Swore  they 
had  Broke  it  already.  The  Officers  Observing  such  pertness  in 
a  dirty,  half  naked  fellow,  ask'd  Stephen,  if  he  was  an  Officer— 
Upon  Which  Stephen,  made  his  Servant  Open  his  portmantua, 
&  put  on  a  flaming  suit  of  laced  Regimentals  Which  in  those 
cheap  days  cost  thirty  pistols — 

The  French  Officers  gazed  at  the  flaming  Regimentals,  on 
Such  a  dirty  fellow  without  Stockings,  were  extremely  Com- 
plaisent,  told  us,  as  we  had  given  hostages,  we  ought  to  get 
hostages  of  them;  that  they  were  very  desirous  of  going  to 
Virginia,  as  they  understood  there  were  a  great  many  Belles 
Madammoiselle  there — 

PRIVATE  JOHN  SHAW  DESCRIBES  THE 
EVACUATION  OF  FORT  NECESSITY80 

[The  Capitulation]  was  accordingly  agreed  to  and  signed  by 
Colo.  Washington,  and  agreed  to  by  all  the  Officers,  And  ac- 
cordingly next  Morning  We  Hoisted  no  Colours.  And  as  soon 
as  it  was  day  the  French  and  their  Indians  came  in  a  Body 
beating  their  Drum  and  formed  themselves  into  two  Ranks  that 
our  People  might  pass  through,  which  they  Accordingly  did 
with  their  Drums  beating,  with  their  Arms  and  what  provisions 
and  Ammunition  they  could  Carry.  But  we  were  obliged  to 
leave  behind  our  Swivel  Guns  and  some  Arms  which  soon  after 
were  destroyed  and  broke  to  pieces  by  the  Indians.  Such  of 
our  men  that  were  in  that  little  Fort  having  broke  the  Heads 
of  the  Powder  Barrels  and  strewn  it  about  that  it  might  be  of 
no  Service  to  the  French. 

80  The  source  for  this  excerpt  is  described  in  note  22. 

.104- 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

We  were  also  obliged  to  leave  with  them  Captn.  Vanbraam 
and  Captn.  Stobo  as  Hostages  for  the  Delivery  of  the  Twenty 
one  prisoners  that  had  been  taken  by  Colo.  Washington  .  .  . 
who  were  then  at  Williamsburgh. 

THE  FRENCH  COMMANDER,  COULON  DE  VILLIERS,81 
DESCRIBES  THE  CAMPAIGN  FROM  THE  FRENCH 
POINT  OF  VIEW 

— Too  much  rain,  Too  little  ammunition,  and 
Trouble  ivith  his  Indian  allies 

July  1.  We  went  and  put  our  wheel-carriages  in  a  secure 
place.  We  disposed  in  order  our  effects,  and  whatever  else  we 
could  dispense  with  in  the  Stock-house.82  I  left  a  good  sergeant 
and  twenty  men  and  a  few  sick  Indians  to  guard  the  effects. 
Some  ammunition  was  shared  out  and  we  marched  on.  Towards 
eleven  o  clock  we  found  the  roads83  so  bad  that,  from  the  first  stop, 
the  chaplain  was  no  longer  able  to  continue  the  trip;  he  gave  us 
general  absolution,  and  returned  to  the  warehouse;  we  saw  some 
tracks  which  made  us  suspect  that  we  were  discovered. 

81  Coulon  de  Villiers'  Journal  was  first  printed  in  the  French  Memorial 
.  .  .  and  appeared  in  English  translation  in  The  Conduct  of  the  Late  Ministry 
and  in  other  places.  None  of  these  versions  was  complete,  however.  The 
excerpt  printed  here  is  translated  from  the  Papiers  Contrecoeur. 

Washington  saw  only  the  incomplete  Memorial  version  of  Coulon  de 
Villiers'  account.  This  version  was  edited  so  as  to  magnify  the  French 
victory  and  hide  French  shortcomings.  This  fact  should  be  kept  in  mind 
when  reading  Washington's  bitter  comments  on  Coulon  de  Villiers'  ac- 
count of  the  battle. 

In  our  translation  of  Coulon  de  Villiers'  Journal,  we  have  placed  in 
italics  those  portions  which  Washington  did  not  see.  They  shed  significant 
light  on  why  Coulon  de  Villiers  offered  to  negotiate. 

82  The  Ohio  Company  warehouse  at  the  mouth  of  Redstone  Creek  on 
the  Monongahela. 

83  The  road  referred  to  was  probably  the  pack  horse  trail  used  by  English 
traders  going  from  Wills  Creek  to  the  warehouse  on  Redstone  Creek. 


105 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

About  three  in  the  afternoon,  having  had  no  account  of  our 
scouts,  I  sent  out  some  others,  who  fell  in  with  the  first.  They 
mistook  each  other,  and  were  just  going  to  fire  at  one  another; 
but  luckily  they  found  out  their  mistake.  They  came  to  us  and 
declared,  that  they  had  been  as  far  as  the  road  which  the  English 
were  making;  that  they  had  seen  no  one  there;  and  that  it  was 
apparent  no  one  had  been  there  for  about  three  days;  we  no 
longer  doubted  but  that  the  English  were  informed  of  our  steps. 
We  continued  our  way,  however,  up  to  a  house  advantageously 
situated  from  which  we  could  send  to  reconnoiter  on  all  sides,  and 
the  troop  settled  down  there  in  such  a  way  that  it  could  defend  itself, 
and  we  passed  the  night  there  waiting  for  our  scouts. 

July  2.  At  break  of  day,  we  set  out  on  our  march,  without 
waiting  the  arrival  of  the  scouts.  After  I  had  marched  for  some 
time,  I  stopped  and  determined  not  to  proceed  farther;  till 
such  time  as  I  received  some  positive  account.  I  dispatched 
some  scouts  towards  the  road;  in  the  meantime  some  of  the 
Indians  arrived  whom  I  had  left  behind  at  the  Stockhouse.  They 
had  made  a  prisoner  who  said  he  was  a  deserter;  I  questioned 
him,  and  threatened  to  hang  him  if  he  tried  to  deceive  me.  I 
was  informed  the  English  had  deserted  their  post,  in  order  to 
draw  near  their  fort;  and  that  they  took  with  them  their  cannon. 
Our  last  scouts  arrived  and  told  me  that  the  first  had  missed  the 
way,  that  they  had  seen  the  track  of  ten  to  twelve  men,  and  that  they 
did  not  doubt  that  this  was  theirs.  I  continued  my  way  and  arrived 
at  an  abandoned  house  from  which  some  of  our  people  discovered 
the  camp84  which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  English;  and  we 
went  there.  This  place  consisted  of  three  houses  ...  I  sent  out 
scouts,  and  took  care  to  have  every  place  searched.  A  great 
many  tools  and  other  utensils  were  found  concealed,  which  I 
ordered  to  be  taken  away.  It  being  late  I  caused  my  detach- 

84  Gist's  Settlement. 


106- 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

ment  who  were  levelling  the  bad  roads  to  encamp  here;  moreover, 
the  weather  was  rainy.  We  had  there  an  alert  caused  by  our  Indians, 
who  were  seeking  some  animals. 

I  again  set  about  asking  the  Englishman  more  questions,  con- 
tinuing to  alternately  frighten  and  flatter  him  with  the  hopes 
of  being  rewarded.  I  communicated  to  the  Indians  whatever 
discoveries  I  made,  and  my  resolution  not  to  expose  them  rashly. 
It  rained  the  whole  night. 

July  3rd.  At  day- break  I  prepared  to  march.  I  invited  the 
Indians  to  supply  me  with  scouts.  The  weather  inclined  to  be 
rainy,  but  I  foresaw  the  necessity  of  preventing  the  enemy 
from  raising  the  fortifications  which  they  might  resolve  to  do, 
and  I  flattered  myself  that  he  would  be  less  alert  in  such  bad  weather. 

The  Nippissings85  and  the  Algonquins86  did  not  wish  to  go  on: 
I  told  them  that  they  could  remain;  I  began  to  march  with  the  other 
tribes,  which  shamed  the  first  into  coming  to  join  me,  with  the 
exception  of  two. 

Before  my  departure  two  of  my  first  scouts  for  whom  I  had  been 
worried  came  back  and  told  me  that  they  had  made  three  prisoners 
who  came  from  the  Chawenons87  and  whom  they  had  taken  back 
to  the  warehouse,  which  was  confirmed  by  a  letter  they  brought  me 
from  the  sergeant  whom  Yd  left  there. 

We  marched  the  whole  day  through  the  rain;  and  I  sent  out 
scout  after  scout:  I  stopped  at  the  place  where  my  brother  had 
been  assassinated;  and  here  I  saw  some  human  bodies  still 
remaining. 

Being  now  about  three  quarters  of  a  league  from  the  English 

85  The  Nipissings  were  a  pro-French  and  anti-Iroquois  tribe  whose  home 
was  the  northeast  shore  of  Lake  Huron. 

86  The  Algonquins,  also  enemies  of  the  Iroquois  and  thus  friends  of  the 
French,  lived  in  the  Gatineau  River  valley  in  present  day  Ontario. 

87  "Chawenons"  was  a  French  version  of  Shawnee. 


107 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

fort;  I  made  each  officer  to  march  in  a  column  at  his  respective 
division,  in  order  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  dispose  of  them 
as  circumstances  should  require. 

I  sent  scouts  who  were  to  go  close  to  the  camp;  and  twenty 
more  to  support  them;  and  I  advanced  myself  in  order;  when 
some  of  my  people  returned  to  tell  me  that  we  were  discovered; 
and  that  the  English  approached  in  order  of  battle  to  attack  us : 
as  it  was  said  they  were  close  to  me,  I  put  my  troops  in  order 
of  battle,  and  in  a  manner  suited  to  woods-fighting.  It  was  not 
long  before  I  perceived  that  my  scouts  had  led  me  wrong;  and 
I  gave  order  to  my  troops  to  advance  towards  that  side  from 
which  I  apprehended  an  attack.  As  we  were  not  acquainted 
with  the  ground,  we  presented  our  flank  to  the  fort  from  whence 
they  began  to  cannonade  us:  I  perceived  almost  at  the  same 
time,  to  the  right,  the  English  coming  towards  us  in  order  of 
battle.88  The  Indians,  and  we  also,  set  up  the  cry,  and  advanced 
to  meet  them:  but  they  gave  us  no  time  to  make  our  discharge: 
they  filed  off,  and  withdrew  into  an  entrenchment  which  lay 
next  to  their  fort.  We  then  set  ourselves  about  investing  the 
fort:  it  was  advantageously  enough  situated  in  a  meadow,  the 
wood  of  which  was  within  musket  shot  of  it.  We  came  as 
close  to  them  as  it  was  possible,  to  the  end  that  his  Majesty's 
subjects  might  not  be  exposed  without  necessity:  the  fire  was 
pretty  brisk  on  both  sides,  and  I  repaired  to  the  place  which 
appeared  most  to  favor  a  sally.  We  succeeded  in  silencing  the 
fire  of  their  cannon,  I  may  say,  with  our  small  arms.  It  is  true 
that  the  zeal  of  our  Canadians  and  soldiers  worried  me,  because  I 
saw  that  we  would  in  a  little  while  be  without  ammunition.  Mr. 

88  It  will  be  recalled  that  Washington  had  drawn  up  the  Virginia  regiment 
in  front  of  the  entrenchments  to  repel  the  charge  that  he  thought  was  coming. 
Coulon  de  Villiers  apparently  mistook  this  defensive  measure  for  an  intended 
attack. 


108' 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

Le  Merrier89  proposed  to  me  making  arrangements  to  bolster  our 
positions  so  as  to  confine  the  English  in  their  fort  and  entirely  pre- 
vent them  from  leaving.  I  ordered  Mr.  De  Bailleul90  to  assemble 
as  many  men  as  possible  in  order  to  help  the  quarter  which  would 
be  attacked  in  case  of  a  general  sortie.  At  this  time  we  distributed 
provisions,  ammunition  and  goods,  vohich  encouraged  the  Indians 
and  militiamen. 

The  enemy's  fire  began  again  at  six  o'clock,  with  more  fury 
than  ever,  and  lasted  till  eight  o'clock.  As  voe  had  spent  our  time 
all  day  drying  things  from  the  rain,  the  Detachment  was  very 
tired.  The  Indians  had  announced  to  me  their  departure  on  the  next 
day.  Rumor  said  that  the  beat  of  drums  and  the  firing  of  cannon 
had  been  heard  from  a  distance.  I  proposed  to  Mr.  Le  Merrier  to 
offer  to  parlay  ivith  the  English.  He  agreed  with  me  and  we  caused 
it  to  be  cried  out,  that  if  the  English  were  desirous  to  speak  to 
us,  we  would  cease  firing:  they  accepted  the  proposal,  and  there 
came  a  captain  to  that  part  of  the  attack  where  I  was.  I  de- 
tached Mr.  le  Mercier  to  receive  him,  and  I  went  into  the 
meadow  myself;  there  we  told  them,  that  as  we  were  not  in 
war,  we  were  willing  to  deliver  them  from  the  cruelties  to 

89  Francois  le  Mercier,  a  relative  of  Contrecoeur,  had  originally  been  in 
command  of  the  detachment  that  took  Fort  Necessity.  Before  the  detachment 
had  left  Fort  Duquesne,  however,  Coulon  de  Villiers  had  arrived  and  had  been 
given  command  because  he  outranked  Le  Mercier  and  in  order  to  have  the 
opportunity  of  avenging  his  brother,  Jumonville.  Le  Mercier  had  served  as  en- 
gineer and  supply  officer  with  Marin's  fort-building  expedition  into  Western 
Pennsylvania  in  1 753  and  thus  was  the  designer  of  the  French  forts  in  the  upper 
Ohio  Valley.  A  few  months  before,  he  had  accepted  the  surrender  of  Ensign 
Ward  for  Contrecoeur  at  the  Point  of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela. 

90  Francois  Piercot  de  Bailleul  was  in  the  Ohio  Country  as  early  as  the 
1739  expedition  of  Baron  de  Longueuil.  In  1753  he  was  with  the  advance 
party  that  began  the  chain  of  French  forts  on  the  upper  Ohio.  Like  many  of 
his  English  foes  at  the  action  at  Fort  Necessity,  he  was  wounded  the  follow- 
ing year  at  the  Battle  of  the  Monongahela. 


109' 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

which  a  more  obstinate  resistance  would  expose  them  from  the 
Indians;  that  this  very  night  we  would  take  away  from  them 
all  hopes  of  slipping  away  from  us.  That  we  now  condescended 
to  show  them  mercy,  as  we  were  come  only  to  take  revenge 
for  the  murder  of  my  brother,  in  violation  of  the  most  sacred 
laws,  and  to  force  them  to  leave  the  King's  territories;  and  we 
agreed  with  them  to  grant  them  the  capitulation,  of  which  a 
copy  is  annexed. 

We  considered  that  nothing  could  be  more  advantageous  to 
the  nation  than  this  capitulation,  it  not  being  natural  in  time  of 
peace  that  we  should  make  prisoners  of  war  who  in  time  of 
war  would  have  been  a  nuisance  to  us  since  they  would  have  con- 
sumed our  provisions.  We  made  the  English  agree  to  give  us  in 
their  own  hands,  that  they  had  committed  an  assassination  on 
us,  in  the  camp  of  my  brother.  We  had  hostages  as  sureties  for 
the  French  whom  they  had  in  their  power:  we  compelled  them 
to  evacuate  the  country  as  belonging  to  the  most  Christian  King. 
We  obliged  them  to  leave  us  their  cannon,  which  consisted  of 
nine  pieces.  We  had  already  destroyed  all  their  horses  and 
cattle,  and  further  we  made  them  give  in  their  own  hand  that 
the  favor  we  showed  them  was  only  to  prove  to  them  how 
greatly  we  desire  to  treat  them  as  friends. 

We  were  able  to  count  up  the  considerable  advantages  held  by 
the  enemy:  almost  as  numerous  as  we;  who  had  been  awaiting  us 
for  several  days;  who  had  a  meadow  in  the  middle  of  which  was 
their  fort;  who  had  nine  pieces  of  cannon,  and  who  were  attacked 
only  by  wild  small  arms  fire  from  natives  little  accustomed  to  this 
military  discipline.  Thus  I  owe  the  success  of  this  enterprise  only 
to  the  valor  and  steadiness  of  the  officers  and  to  the  example  of  the 
cadets  who  composed  our  party. 

That  very  evening  the  articles  of  capitulation  were  signed : 
and  I  had  in  my  camp  the  hostages  I  required. 


110' 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

The  4th,  at  break  of  day,  I  sent  a  detachment  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  fort;  the  garrison  filed  off,  and  the  number  of  their 
dead  and  wounded  raised  compassion  in  me,  notwithstanding 
my  resentment  of  the  manner  in  which  they  had  made  away 
with  my  brother. 

The  Indians,  who  had  in  every  respect,  complied  with  my 
desires,  had  laid  claim  to  the  pillage.  I  opposed  it,  but  the  con- 
sternation of  the  English  was  so  great  that  they  ran  away  and 
left  behind  them  even  their  flag  and  a  pair  of  their  colors.  I 
demolished  their  fort  and  Mr.  le  Mercier  caused  their  cannon 
to  be  destroyed  together  with  the  one  which  had  been  granted 
them  by  their  capitulation,  the  English  not  being  able  to  take 
it  away. 

I  hastened  away,  after  having  first  destroyed  the  casks  of 
liquor,  in  order  to  prevent  the  disorders  which  they  would  have 
inevitably  caused.  One  of  my  Indians  took  ten  English  and 
brought  them  to  me;  I  sent  them  away  by  another.  .  .  . 

I  lost  in  this  attack  only  two  French  and  one  [Indian] ,  I  had 
seventeen  wounded,  of  whom  two  were  Indians,  exclusive  of 
several  wounds  so  slight  as  not  to  require  the  attention  of  the 
surgeon. 

I  marched  this  day  about  two  leagues,  and  caused  our  chief 
sick  to  be  carried  on  litters  by  detachments. 

The  5th  I  arrived  about  nine  o'clock  at  the  camp  which  had 
been  abandoned  by  the  English.91  I  ordered  the  intrenchments 
to  be  demolished  and  the  houses  to  be  burned  to  ashes.  This 
done,  I  marched  on,  after  having  detached  Mr.  De  La  Chau- 
vignerie92  to  burn  all  the  houses  in  the  neighborhood.  .  .  . 

91  Gist's  Plantation. 

92  The  Sieur  de  La  Chauvignerie,  one  of  the  French's  "Indian  experts," 
later  supervised  the  construction  of  Fort  Machault  in  1755  at  what  is  today 
Franklin,  Pennsylvania. 


Ill 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

The  6th  I  set  out  early  in  the  morning  to  the  place  where  we 
left  our  wagons  ...  we  burned  the  warehouse.  .  .  . 

The  7th  I  continued  to  march  ...  I  burned  as  I  went  along 
all  the  settlements  I  met  with,  and  I  turned  over  command  of 
the  detachment  to  Mr.  Contrecoeur  about  4  o'clock. 

COLONEL  WASHINGTON  COMMENTS  ON 
COULON  DE  VILLIERS'  JOURNAL93 

...  I  cannot  help  remarking  on  Villiers'  account  of  the  battle 
of,  and  transactions  at,  the  Meadows,  as  it  is  very  extraor- 
dinary, and  not  less  erroneous  than  inconsistent.  He  says  the 
French  received  the  first  fire.  It  is  well  known,  that  we  re- 
ceived it  at  six  hundred  paces'  distance.  He  also  says,  our  fears 
obliged  us  to  retreat  in  a  most  disorderly  manner  after  the 
capitulation.  How  is  this  consistent  with  his  other  account? 
He  acknowledges,  that  we  sustained  the  attack  warmly  from 
ten  in  the  morning  until  dark,  and  that  he  called  first  to  parley, 
which  strongly  indicates  that  we  were  not  totally  absorbed  in 
fear.  If  the  gentleman  in  his  account  had  adhered  to  the  truth, 
he  must  have  confessed,  that  we  looked  upon  his  offer  to  parley 
as  an  artifice  to  get  into  and  examine  our  trenches,  and  refused 
on  this  account,  until  they  desired  an  officer  might  be  sent  to 
them,  and  gave  their  parole  for  his  safe  return.  He  might  also, 
if  he  had  been  as  great  a  lover  of  the  truth  as  he  was  of  vain- 
glory, have  said,  that  we  absolutely  refused  their  first  and 
second  proposals,  and  would  consent  to  capitulate  on  no  other 
terms  than  such  as  we  obtained.  That  we  were  wilfully,  or 
ignorantly,  deceived  by  our  interpreter  in  regard  to  the  word 
assassination,  I  do  aver,  and  will  to  my  dying  moment;  so  will 

93  This  letter  appears  in  The  Writings  of  Washington  .  .  .  edited  by  Jared 
Sparks  (Boston,  1834),  II,  463-465.  The  original  has  not  been  found  by- 
modern  scholars. 


112 


Dm 
X 

C 


-C   o 


T3 

C 

C 

0 

rt 

i-> 

bn 

<U 

c 

O     <D 

>,  6? 
8  8 
So 

IS     ^H 

<   S3 


o 

o 

c 
o 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

every  officer  that  was  present.  The  interpreter  was  a  Dutchman, 
little  acquainted  with  the  English  tongue,  therefore  might  not 
advert  to  the  tone  and  meaning  of  the  word  in  English:  but 
whatever  his  motives  were  for  so  doing,  certain  it  is,  he  called 
it  the  death,  or  the  loss,  of  the  Sieur  Jumonville.  So  we  received 
and  so  we  understood  it,  until,  to  our  great  surprise  and  morti- 
fication, we  found  it  otherwise  in  a  literal  translation. 

That  we  left  our  baggage  and  horses  at  the  Meadows  is 
certain;  that  there  was  not  even  a  possibility  to  bring  them 
away  is  equally  certain,  as  we  had  every  horse  belonging  to 
the  camp  killed  or  taken  away  during  the  action;  so  that  it  was 
impracticable  to  bring  any  thing  off,  that  our  shoulders  were 
not  able  to  bear;  and  to  wait  there  was  impossible,  for  we  had 
scarce  three  days'  provisions,  and  were  seventy  miles  from  a 
supply;  yet,  to  say  we  came  off  precipitately  is  absolutely  false; 
notwithstanding  they  did,  contrary  to  articles,  suffer  their  In- 
dians to  pillage  our  baggage,94  and  commit  all  kinds  of  irregu- 
larity, we  were  with  them  until  ten  o'clock  the  next  day;  we 
destroyed  our  powder  and  other  stores,  nay,  even  our  private 
baggage,  to  prevent  its  falling  into  their  hands,  as  we  could  not 
bring  it  off.  When  we  had  got  about  a  mile  from  the  place  of 
action,  we  missed  two  or  three  of  the  wounded,  and  sent  a 
party  back  to  bring  them  up;  this  is  the  party  he  speaks  of. 
We  brought  them  all  safe  off,  and  encamped  within  three  miles 
of  the  Meadows.  These  are  circumstances,  I  think,  that  make 
it  evidently  clear,  that  we  were  not  very  apprehensive  of  danger. 
The  colors  he  speaks  of  as  left  were  a  large  flag  of  immense 
size  and  weight;  our  regimental  colors  were  brought  off  and 

94  Actually,  as  the  text  of  the  capitulation  shows,  the  French  promised 
only  "to  restrain  as  much  as  shall  be  in  our  power  the  savages  that  are  with 
us."  Washington  probably  felt  that  the  French  could  have  done  more  to 
restrain  the  always  restless  red  men. 


113 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

are  now  in  my  possession.  Their  gasconades,  and  boasted 
clemency,  must  appear  in  the  most  ludicrous  light  to  every  con- 
siderate person,  who  reads  Villiers's  journal;  such  preparations 
for  an  attack,  such  vigor  and  intrepidity  as  he  pretends  to  have 
conducted  his  march  with,  such  revenge  as  by  his  own  account 
appeared  in  his  attack,  considered,  it  will  hardly  be  thought 
that  compassion  was  his  motive  for  calling  a  parley.  But  to  sum 
up  the  whole,  Mr.  Villiers  pays  himself  no  great  compliment 
in  saying,  we  were  struck  with  a  panic  when  matters  were 
adjusted.  We  surely  could  not  be  afraid  without  cause,  and  if 
we  had  cause  after  capitulation  it  was  a  reflection  upon  himself. 

GOVERNOR  ROBERT  DINWIDDIE  INFORMS  THE 
BRITISH  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  RETREAT95 

.  .  .  our  Forces  were  oblig'd  to  carry  off  the  wounded  Men 
on  their  Backs  to  some  Distance  from  the  Place  of  the  En- 
gagem't,  where  they  left  them  with  a  Guard;  the  Scarcity  of 
Provisions  made  them  make  quick  Marches  to  get  among  the 
Inhabits,  w'ch  was  about  60  Miles  of  bad  road.  The  Surgeon's 
Chest  was  destroy'd,  w'ch  was  a  great  Loss  to  the  Wounded. 
The  Number  of  the  Enemy  killed  in  this  Action  is  uncertain, 
but  by  Acc't  from  some  Dutch  in  their  Service,  they  say  were 
300,96  and  many  wounded.  From  their  great  Superiority  of 
Numbers  at  the  Beginning  of  the  Engagem't,  it  may  be  presum'd 
they  lost  many  Men,  or  some  other  Disaster  y't  they  desired  to 
parley,  so  much  contrary  to  the  Expectat's  of  our  Forces,  who 
were  determin'd  to  sell  their  Lives  dear  rather  than  be  taken 
Prisoners.  The  Number  of  our  People  kill'd  in  the  Action  were 

95  A  letter  from  Dinwiddie  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  in  The  Official  Records 
of  Robert  Dinwiddie  edited  by  R.  A.  Brock  (Richmond,  1883),  I,  239-243. 

96  The  identity  of  the  Dutch  here  referred  to  is  obscure.  The  figure  of 
three  hundred  killed  is  almost  certainly  a  great  exaggeration. 


114- 


COLONEL  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  MILITIA 

30,  and  70  wounded.  Our  few  Forces  have  behav'd  with  great 
Intrepidity  and  resolution  in  this  Action. 

PRIVATE  SHAW  DESERTS  THE  VIRGINIA  REGIMENT97 

This  deponent  then  Marched  on  with  the  Rest  of  our  Men 
to  Will's  Creek  but  were  obliged  to  leave  all  their  Stores  and 
Baggage  behind  them.  At  Wills-Creek  sixteen  of  the  Volun- 
teers of  the  Virginia  Regiment  in  a  Body  went  to  Colo.  Wash- 
ington telling  him,  that  as  they  Came  to  Settle  the  Land  Which 
now  they  had  no  more  thought  of  doing,  They  were  determined 
to  Return  home.  Colo.  Washington  endeavoured  to  persuade 
them  to  Stay,  promising  to  procure  them  some  Gratuity  from 
the  Government  of  Virginia  for  all  their  trouble  and  Losses, 
But  he  could  not  prevail  with  them.  For  they  went  off  in  a 
Body  soon  after  he  and  Captn.  Mackay  set  out  for  Williams- 
burgh98  and,  after  he  was  gone  the  Men  went  off  daily  in  Two's 
and  Three's,  so  that  he  verily  believes  there  were  full  two 
thirds  of  them  gone  when  he  .  .  .  came  off. 

MAJOR  STEPHEN  REPLIES  TO  CRITICS 
OF  THE  CAMPAIGN99 

.  .  .  our  Conduct  is  blamed  by  a  busy  World,  fond  of  rinding 
Fault  without  considering  Circumstances,  or  giving  just  Atten- 
tion to  Reasons  which  might  be  offered  to  obviate  their  Clam- 
ours. Let  any  of  these  brave  Gentlemen,  who  fight  so  many 
successful  Engagements  over  a  Bottle,  imagine  himself  at  the 
Head  of  300  Men,  and  laboring  under  all  the  Disadvantages 
above-mentioned,  and  would  not  accept  of  worse  Terms  than 
Col.  Washington  agreed  to? 

97  Deposition  of  John  Shaw. 

98  Washington  and  Mackay  hurried  ahead  to  Williamsburg  to  report  to 
the  Governor. 

99  See  note  52. 


115 


Aide-de-camp  to 
General  Edward  Braddock 
Battle  of  the  Monongahela 

June -July,  1757 


A  Road  to  the  Ohio 

When  Colonel  George  Washington  rode  into  Williamsburg 
on  July  17,  1754,  to  report  personally  to  Governor  Dinwiddie 
the  defeat  at  Fort  Necessity,  his  military  fortunes  were  at  a 
low  ebb.  In  the  months  following,  however,  they  sank  even 
lower,  before  soaring  again  to  honor  and  distinction. 

As  was  inevitable,  Washington  received  much  of  the  blame 
for  the  unsuccessful  campaign.  He  was  accused  of  bad  judg- 
ment. It  was  said,  further,  that  he  had  attempted  too  much  on 
his  own,  that  he  should  have  waited  for  reinforcements  which 
were  on  the  way,  that  his  motive  had  been  to  win  all  the  glory 
for  himself. 

The  youthful  commander,  however,  was  by  no  means  the 
sole  object  of  criticism.  Others  were  considered  equally  if  not 
more  at  fault.  There  were  the  contractors  who  had  failed  to 
supply  provision.  There  were  the  lethargic  officers  of  the  tardy 
reinforcements  from  New  York  and  North  Carolina.  And  in 
Virginia  eyes,  at  least,  the  leaders  of  other  colonies  were  culp- 
able for  their  enormous  indifference  to  the  French  threat. 

Defeat  or  no  defeat,  the  indefatigable  Governor  Dinwiddie 
was  anxious  to  continue  the  struggle.  He  even  considered  send- 
ing the  Virginia  regiment  right  back  to  the  Ohio  Country  for 
another  attempt.  Just  at  that  moment,  however,  there  loomed 
another  of  the  Governor's  frequent  wrangles  with  the  burgesses 
over  money,  and  the  prospect  of  an  empty  treasury  forced  the 
Governor  to  abandon  a  second  campaign  that  year.  He  had  to 
be  content  with  less  strenuous  actions.  And  so,  he  ordered  the 
building  of  a  fort  at  Wills  Creek  as  a  base  for  future  operations 
and  petitioned  the  home  government  more  strongly  than  ever 
for  Regular  troops. 


119 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Washington  was  relieved  that  the  Virginia  regiment  had  not 
been  ordered  back  into  action,  for  the  half-starved,  ragged,  and 
ill-equipped  ranks  were  thinned  by  continuing  desertion  and 
demoralized  by  lack  of  pay.  Such  duty  as  was  performed  con- 
sisted of  half-hearted  frontier  garrison  activity. 

If  garrison  duty  was  dull,  the  next  development  in  young 
Washington's  martial  career  was  sharp — and  painful.  Dinwiddie 
long  had  been  wrestling  with  the  delicate  and  baffling  problem 
of  differences  between  Colonial  and  Regular  officers.  It  could  be 
solved,  he  knew,  if  he  could  obtain  commissions  from  the  King 
for  his  Virginia  officers,  to  replace  the  lowly  Colonial  com- 
missions which  did  not  carry  authority  over  Regular  officers 
of  even  lesser  title.  The  King,  he  knew,  would  be  unlikely  to 
grant  high  commissions  to  obscure  Colonials,  so  he  hit  upon 
this  plan:  the  Virginia  regiment,  with  its  colonel,  lieutenant 
colonel,  and  major,  could  be  broken  up  into  independent  com- 
panies commanded  by  captains.  For  these  captains  he  would 
try  to  get  commissions  direct  from  the  King. 

Under  this  plan  Colonel  Washington  of  the  Virginia  regiment 
might  hope  for  only  a  captain's  commission.  Naturally,  George 
was  insulted.  The  proud  young  Virginia  colonel  had  been 
offended  not  to  be  able  to  command  mere  captains  with  com- 
missions from  the  King;  how  much  deeper  the  humiliation  now 
to  be  demoted  three  grades  and  put  under  haughty  Regular  cap- 
tains, who  would  outrank  him  even  with  his  captaincy  because 
their  commissions  held  earlier  dates!  He  would  not  do  it!  He 
submitted  his  resignation;  and  the  Governor,  who  by  now  had 
convinced  himself  that  Washington  personally  had  brought  on 
defeat  at  Fort  Necessity  by  disobeying  sage  gubernatorial  ad- 
vice, accepted  the  resignation. 

Washington  was  reluctant  to  quit  his  new  military  career, 
but  now,  at  least,  he  could  give  some  time  and  attention  to  his 


120 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

own  personal  affairs,  which  had  been  largely  neglected  for  the 
past  year.  Although  Washington  already  owned  considerable 
lands,  he  did  not  have  a  homeplace  of  his  own.  Therefore,  in 
December  of  1754,  he  leased  Mount  Vernon,  which  had  been 
the  home  of  his  older  half  brother  Lawrence,  now  dead.  Law- 
rence's widow  had  remarried  and  the  estate  had  passed  into 
the  hands  of  her  new  husband,  George  Lee.  From  him  Wash- 
ington leased  Mount  Vernon,  and  he  spent  much  of  the  winter 
putting  the  place  in  order. 

But  Washington  was  destined  for  a  life  more  strenuous  than 
a  planter's.  Into  the  quiet  colony  came  news  of  military  affairs 
too  exciting  for  him  to  ignore.  The  mother  country  was  send- 
ing an  expedition  to  Virginia;  it  was  a  sizable  one  to  boot — 
two  regiments  of  infantry,  plus  artillery,  engineers,  quarter- 
master troops — the  whole  to  be  commanded,  not  by  some 
Colonial  squire,  such  as  Fry  or  Innes,  but  by  a  major  general 
of  the  Regulars,  Edward  Braddock. 

No  sooner  had  word  of  this  exciting  development  arrived 
than  the  stir  of  preparation  began.  The  quartermaster  of  the 
expedition,  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  arrived  and  began  the  bustle  of 
contracting  for  transport,  setting  up  hospital  facilities,  and  in- 
specting routes  of  march.  St.  Clair  was  followed  by  other  com- 
ponents, so  that  by  early  spring  northern  Virginia  was  a  busy 
military  base. 

This  was  too  much  for  the  retired  colonel  of  twenty-three. 
He  had  left  military  life  only  because  of  the  pride-wounding 
demotion  with  which  he  had  been  threatened.  Now  he  found 
occasion  through  friends  to  make  known  to  General  Braddock 
his  past  services  in  the  Ohio  Country  and  his  willingness  to 
serve  again. 

Had  Washington  known  more  about  the  expedition  and  its 
personnel,  he  might  have  thought  better  of  his  ambitions.  The 


121 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

two  British  regiments  in  their  last  engagement,  in  1745,  had 
run  from  the  field  during  the  brief  fighting  between  Prince 
Charles  Edward  Stuart  and  the  supporters  of  the  House  of  Han- 
over. And  now,  fresh  from  garrison  duty  in  Ireland,  they  looked 
on  service  in  the  wild  new  world  as  a  distasteful  exile.  Further, 
the  regiments  were  understrength,  and  were  to  be  filled  out 
with  Colonial  recruits— to  a  considerable  extent,  as  it  turned 
out,  convicts  and  runaway  indentured  servants. 

Edward  Braddock,  the  commander,  like  his  father  before  him, 
was  a  product  of  the  Coldstream  Guards.  He  had  virtually 
grown  up  on  the  parade  grounds,  and  in  his  forty-five  years  of 
service  had  come  to  be  the  ideal,  peacetime  professional  soldier. 
The  humdrum  of  garrison  life  and  the  procedure  of  army  pro- 
tocol he  knew  well  enough;  the  problems  of  the  drillmaster  and 
administrator  he  could  cope  with  handily;  but  he  had  seen  little 
action,  and  certainly  none  at  all  to  prepare  him  for  fighting 
Ottawa  and  Huron  warriors  on  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela. 

Intellectually,  the  General  was  neither  stupid  nor  brilliant. 
In  the  rather  dashing  society  of  his  brother  officers  he  was  at 
home,  although  not  an  ornament.  His  bravery  was  beyond  ques- 
tion, but  the  campaign  ahead  of  him  was  beyond  solution  with 
mere  bravery. 

Further,  Braddock  was  inclined  to  be  a  little  lazy— after  all, 
after  forty-five  years  in  the  service  one  does  not  get  too  excited 
too  often.  He  depended  on  his  staff,  and  he  did  not  check  them 
too  closely.  In  the  slang  of  soldiery,  he  was  inclined  to  "go 
by  the  book"  and  let  it  go  at  that.  He  was  "going  by  the  book" 
the  day  a  forest  marksman  toppled  him  from  his  horse. 

Oddly  enough,  the  only  victory  his  expedition  was  to  win 
was  not  a  victory  over  the  French  but  a  victory  over  the  forest; 
not  a  triumph  of  arms  but  a  triumph  of  axe  and  shovel,  of  blast- 
ing powder  and  sweating  horse.  His  victory  was  a  road  cut 


122' 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

over  the  mountains  and  down  to  the  rolling  Ohio— a  road, 
symbolically  enough,  built  partly  with  his  own  bones.  The  road 
his  men  built  and  died  upon  became  the  artery  of  a  people 
pouring  westward  to  conquer  finally  with  axe  and  plow  the 
stubborn  foes  that  Braddock  could  not  conquer  with  the  sword 
and  musket. 

Braddock' s  Campaign: 
Eyewitness  and  Contemporary  Accounts 

Since  there  is  no  Washington  diary  for  the  year  1755,  the  story 
of  Washington's  third  journey  to  the  Ohio  is  told  through  his 
own  letters,  supplemented  by  the  letters  of  other  men — French 
and  English— who  marched  to  Braddock's  Field  in  1755. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  ACCEPTS  A  COMMISSION 
/  wish  to  attain  a  small  degree  of  knowledge  in  the  military  art. 

Letter  to  Robert  Orme,1  Mount  Vernon,  March  15,  17552 

Sir:  I  was  not  favoured  with  your  agreeable  Letter  (of  the 
2d)  till  yesterday,  acquainting  me  with  the  notice  his  Excel- 
lency, is  pleased  to  honour  me  with,  by  kindly  desiring  my 
Company  in  his  Family.3  Its  true,  Sir,  I  have,  ever  since  I  de- 
clined a  command  in  this  Service  expressed  and  Inclination  to 

1  Robert  Orme  had  served  with  General  Edward  Braddock  in  the  Cold- 
stream Guards.  In  1755,  like  Washington,  he  was  one  of  the  aides-de-camp 
to  the  General. 

2  The  Writings  of  George  Washington  . . .  edited  by  John  C.  Fitzpatrick,  1, 107. 

3  His  Excellency  refers  to  Braddock.  Joining  Braddock's  "family"  meant, 
in  eighteenth  century  military  terminology,  joining  Braddock's  personal  staff. 
Washington  had  the  rank  of  captain,  granted  by  brevet— that  is,  on  a  tempo- 
rary basis — and  he  served  without  pay. 


123 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

serve  the  Ensuing  Campaigne  as  a  Volunteer;  and  this  believe 
me  Sir,  is  not  a  little  encreased,  since  its  likely  to  be  conducted 
by  a  Gentleman  of  the  General's  great  good  Character; 

But  beside  this,  and  the  laudable  desire  I  may  have  to  serve, 
(with  my  poor  abilitys)  my  King  and  Country,  I  must  be  in- 
genuous enough  to  confess,  I  am  not  a  little  biass'd  by  selfish 
and  private  views.  To  be  plain  Sir,  I  wish  for  nothing  more 
earnestly  than  to  attain  a  small  degree  of  knowledge  in  the 
Military  Art.  .  .  . 

GENERAL  BRADDOCK  ON  VIRGINIANS- 
ON  AMERICAN  ROADS-ON  INDIAN  TRADERS 

Very  indifferent  men — Nothing  can 
well  be  worse — A  parcel  of  banditti 

Letter  to  Robert  Napier,4  Fort  Cumberland,5  June  8,  17556 

...  the  whole  of  the  Forces  are  now  assembled,  making 
about  two  thousand  Effectives,  the  greatest  part  Virginians, 
very  indifferent  Men,  this  Country  affording  no  better;  it  has 
cost  infinite  pains  and  labour  to  bring  them  to  any  sort  of  Regu- 
larity and  Discipline:  Their  Officers  very  little  better,  and  all 
complaining  of  the  ill  Usage  of  the  Country,  who  employ'd 
them  last  Year  without  pay  or  provisions.  I  am  told  they  have 
made  a  pretty  good  hand  of  this  year's  recruiting  Affair,  tho' 
I  can  get  no  proof  of  it.  This  part  of  the  Country  is  absolutely 

4  Robert  Napier  was  the  Adjutant  General  of  the  British  army  and 
Secretary  for  Military  Affairs  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  the  head  of  the 
army  and  second  son  of  the  King,  George  II. 

5  The  fort  built  at  Wills  Creek  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1754  had  been 
named  Fort  Cumberland  after  the  Duke  of  Cumberland. 

6  Military  Affairs  in  North  America  1748-1765,  Selected  Documents  from 
the  Cumberland  Papers  .  .  .  edited  by  Stanley  Pargellis,  pp.  84-92,  which  will 
be  referred  to  hereafter  as  Military  Affairs  by  Pargellis. 


124< 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

unknown  to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  lower  parts  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland,  their  Account  of  the  Roads  and  provisions  utterly 
false.  From  Winchester  to  this  place  which  is  Seventy  Miles 
is  almost  uninhabited,  but  by  a  parcel  of  Banditti  who  call  them- 
selves Indian  Traders,  and  no  Road  passable  but  what  we  were 
oblig'd  to  make  ourselves  with  infinite  Labour.  It  would  take 
up  too  much  of  your  Time  were  I  to  tell  you  particularly  the 
Difficulties  and  Disappointments  I  have  met  with  from  the 
want  of  Honesty  and  Inclination  to  forward  the  Service  in  all 
Orders  of  people  in  these  Colonies,  which  have  occasion'd  the 
great  Delays  in  getting  hither,  as  well  as  my  being  detain'd 
here  a  Month  longer  than  I  intended.  .  .  . 

Nothing  can  well  be  worse  than  the  Road  I  have  already 
pass'd  and  I  have  an  hundred  and  ten  Miles  to  march  thro'  an 
uninhabited  Wilderness  over  steep  rocky  Mountains  and  almost 
impassable  Morasses.  From  this  Description,  which  is  not  ex- 
aggerated you  conceive  the  difficulty  of  getting  good  Intelli- 
gence, all  I  have  is  from  Indians,  whose  veracity  is  no  more  to 
be  depended  upon  [than]  that  of  the  Borderers  here;  their 
Accounts  are  that  the  Number  of  French  at  the  Fort  at  present 
is  but  small,  but  pretend  to  expect  a  great  Reinforcement;  this 
I  do  not  entirely  credit,  as  I  am  very  well  persuaded  they  will 
want  their  Forces  to  the  Northward.7  As  soon  as  I  have  join'd 
the  Detachment,  who  have  been  seven  days  making  a  Road  of 
twenty  four  Miles,  I  shall  send  people  for  Intelligence,  who  I 
have  reason  to  beleive  I  can  confide  in.  I  have  order'd  a  Road 
of  Communication  to  be  cut  from  Philadelphia  to  the  Crossing 
of  the  Yanghyanghain,8  which  is  the  Road  we  ought  to  have 

7  The  British  plan  of  campaign  in  1755  called  for  attacks  on  Canada  by 
way  of  upstate  New  York  and  along  the  Atlantic  Coast,  as  well  as  the  move 
against  Fort  Duquesne. 

8  No  one  in  1755  seemed  to  be  able  to  spell  Youghiogheny . 


125 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

taken,  being  nearer,  and  thro'  an  inhabited  and  well  cultivated 
Country.  ... 


WASHINGTON  ON  HIS  DUTIES 

/  shall  serve  this  campaigne  agreeably  enough 

Letter  to  John  Augustine  Washington,9  Fort  Cumberland, 
May  14,  175510 

I  see  no  prospect  of  moving  from  this  place;  as  we  have 
neither  Horses  nor  Waggons  enough,  and  no  forage  for  them 
to  subsist  upon  but  what  is  expected  from  Philadelphia;  there- 
fore, I  am  well  convinced  that  the  trouble  and  difficulty  we 
must  encounter  in  passing  the  Mountain  for  want  of  proper 
conveniences,  will  equal  all  the  other  Interruptions  of  the  Cam- 
paigne; for  I  conceive  the  March  of  such  a  Train  of  Artillery 
in  these  Roads  to  be  a  tremendous  undertaking:  As  to  any 
danger  from  the  Enemy  I  look  upon  it  as  trifling,  for  I  believe 
they  will  be  oblig'd  to  exert  their  utmost  Force  to  repel  the 
attacks  to  the  Northward.  .  .  . 

The  Gen'l.  has  appointed  me  one  of  his  aids  de  Camps,11  in 
which  Character  I  shall  serve  this  Campaigne,  agreeably  enough, 
as  I  am  thereby  freed  from  all  commands  but  his,  and  give 
Order's  to  all,  which  must  be  implicitly  obey'd. 

I  have  now  a  good  oppertunity,  and  shall  not  neglect  it,  of 
forming  an  acquaintance,  which  may  be  serviceable  hereafter, 

9  John  Augustine  Washington,  or  "Jack/'  was  tne  second  of  George's 
three  younger  brothers.  Although  only  twenty  years  old  at  the  time,  he  man- 
aged Mount  Vernon  for  George  while  George  was  on  campaign  with  Braddock. 

10  The  Writings  of  George  Washington  .  .  .  edited  by  John  C.  Fitzpatrick, 
I,  124. 

II  An  aide-de-camp  is  an  executive  assistant  to  a  general  officer.  He  trans- 
mits orders,  collects  information,  and  otherwise  assists  the  general. 


126 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

if  I  can  find  it  worth  while  pushing  my  Fortune  in  the  Mili- 
tary way. 

I  have  wrote  to  my  two  female  corrispondents12  by  this  op- 
pertunity,  one  of  which  Letters  I  have  inclos'd  to  you,  and 
beg  y'r.  deliverance  off.  I  shall  expect  a  Succinct  acc't  of  all 
that  has  happened  since  my  departure. 

AN  ENGLISHMAN  MEETS  HIS  INDIAN  ALLIES 
They  are  hardly  to  be  described 

Journal  of  a  Seaman,13  Wills  Creek,  May  10  and  19,  175514 

On  the  10th:— Marched  at  5  on  our  way  to  Will's  Creek. 
...  At  1  we  halted  and  formed  a  circle,  when  Colonel  Dunbar15 
told  the  Army  that  as  there  were  a  number  of  Indians16  at 
Will's  Creek,  our  Friends,  it  was  the  General's  positive  orders 
that  they  do  not  molest  them,  or  have  anything  to  say  to  them, 
directly  or  indirectly,  for  fear  of  affronting  them.  .  .  . 

We  found  here  Indian  men,  women  and  children,  to  the  num- 
ber of  about  100,  who  were  greatly  surprised  at  the  regular 

12  The  two  ladies  with  whom  George  corresponded  were  Mrs.  Sarah 
Carlyle  and  Mrs.  Sally  Fairfax,  both  related  by  marriage  to  the  Washington 
family,  and  both  among  Washington's  social  circle. 

13  A  detachment  of  seamen  of  the  Royal  Navy  accompanied  Braddock  to 
handle  block  and  tackle  work  in  moving  the  cannon. 

14  The  History  of  an  Expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne . . .  edited  by  Winthrop 
Sargent,  pp.  373  and  378-79.  The  author  of  the  Journal,  believed  to  have  been 
a  midshipman  in  the  naval  detachment,  has  never  been  identified.  For  more 
information  about  this  Journal,  see  Military  Affairs  by  Pargellis,  p.  104,  note. 

15  Colonel  Thomas  Dunbar  commanded  the  48th  Regiment,  one  of  the 
two  regiments  of  Regulars  in  Braddock's  force. 

16  The  Indians  at  Wills  Creek  were  Half  King's  band  of  Mingoes,  who 
had  been  under  Monacatootha  since  the  death  of  the  Half  King  in  the  fall 
of  1754. 


127 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

way  of  our  soldiers  marching,  and  the  numbers.  I  would  will- 
ingly say  something  of  the  customs  and  manners  of  the  Indians, 
but  they  are  hardly  to  be  described.  The  men  are  tall,  well 
made,  and  active,  but  not  strong,  but  very  dexterous  with  a 
rifle  barrelled  gun,  and  their  tomahawk,  which  they  will  throw 
with  great  certainty  at  any  mark  and  at  a  great  distance.  The 
women  are  not  so  tall  as  the  men,  but  well  made  and  have 
many  children,  but  had  many  more  before  spirits  were  intro- 
duced to  them.  They  paint  themselves  in  an  odd  manner,  red, 
yellow,  and  black  intermixed.  And  the  men  have  the  outer  rim 
of  their  ears  cut,  which  only  hangs  by  a  bit  top  and  bottom, 
and  have  a  tuft  of  hair  left  at  the  top  of  their  heads,  which  is 
dressed  with  feathers.  Their  watch  coat  is  their  chief  clothing, 
which  is  a  thick  blanket  thrown  all  round  them,  and  wear  moc- 
casins instead  of  shoes,  which  are  Deer  skin,  thrown  round  the 
ankle  and  foot.  Their  manner  of  carrying  their  infants  is  odd. 
They  are  laid  on  a  board,  and  tied  on  with  a  broad  bandage, 
with  a  place  to  rest  their  feet  on,  and  a  board  over  their  head 
to  keep  the  sun  off,  and  are  slung  to  the  women's  backs.  These 
people  have  no  notion  of  religion,  or  any  sort  of  Superior  being, 
as  I  take  them  to  be  the  most  ignorant  people  as  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  world  and  other  things.  In  the  day  they  were  in 
our  Camp,  and  in  the  night  they  go  into  their  own,  where  they 
dance  and  make  a  most  horrible  noise. 

On  the  19th: 

.  .  .  This  evening  the  Indians  met  at  the  General's  tent  to 
give  their  answer,  which  was,  that  they  were  greatly  obliged 
to  the  Great  King  their  Father,  who  had  been  so  good  as  to 
send  us  all  here  to  fight  for  them,  and  that  they  would  all  give 
their  attendance,  and  do  what  was  in  their  power  of  recon- 
noitring the  country  and  bringing  intelligence.  .  .  . 

The  General  told  them  he  was  their  Friend,  and  never  would 


128' 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

deceive  them,  after  which  they  sung  the  war  song,  which  is 
shouting  and  making  a  terrible  noise,  declaring  the  French  their 
perpetual  enemies,  which  they  never  did  before.  After  this  the 
General  carried  them  to  the  Artillery,  and  ordered  3  Howitzers, 
3  12-Pounders,  and  3  Cohorns17  to  be  fired,  all  the  drums  and 
fifes  playing,  and  beating  the  point  of  war,  which  astonished 
and  pleased  the  Indians  greatly.  They  then  retired  to  their  own 
Camp,  where  they  ate  a  bullock,  and  danced  their  war  dance, 
which  is  droll  and  odd,  shewing  how  they  scalp  and  fight,  ex- 
pressing in  their  dance  the  exploits  of  their  ancestors,  and  war- 
like actions  of  themselves. 


ROAD  BUILDING  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

One  may  go  twenty  miles  without  seeing  before  him  ten  yards 

Sir  John  St.  Clair18  to  Napier,  Little  Meadows,19 
June  13,  175520 

The  Situation  I  am  in  at  present  puts  it  out  of  my  power  to 
give  you  a  full  discription  of  this  Country;  I  shall  content  my- 
self with  telling  you  that  from  Winchester  to  this  place  is  one 
continued  track  of  Mountains,  and  like  to  continue  so  for  fifty 
Miles  further.  Tho  our  Motions  may  appear  to  you  to  have 
been  slow,  yet  I  may  venture  to  assure  you  that  not  an  Hour 
has  been  lost;  considering  that  no  Magistrate  in  Virginia  or  I 

17  The  cohorn  was  the  forerunner  of  the  modern  mortar,  a  small  cannon 
which  throws  low-velocity  explosive  projectiles  at  a  high  angle. 

18  Lt.  Col.  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  deputy  quartermaster  for  North  America, 
was  in  charge  of  supply  and  road  building  for  Braddock. 

19  Little  Meadows  was  in  western  Maryland  about  ten  miles  west  of  the 
crossing  of  the  Savage  River.  It  was  a  regular  stopping  point  on  the  pack 
road  to  the  Monongahela.  Washington  had  stopped  there  in  1754. 

20  Military  Affairs  by  Pargellis,  pp.  93-95. 


129 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

believe  in  Maryland  gave  themselves  the  least  trouble  to  assist 
in  collecting  the  Country  People  to  work  upon  the  Roads,  and 
to  provide  us  with  Carriages :  But  on  the  Contrary  every  body 
laid  themselves  out  to  put  what  money  they  cou'd  in  their 
Pocketts,  without  forwarding  our  Expedition.  In  this  Situation 
we  never  cou'd  have  subsisted  our  little  Army  at  Wills' s 
Creek,  far  less  carried  on  our  Expedition  had  not  General  Brad- 
dock  contracted  with  the  People  in  Pennsylvania21  for  a  Num- 
ber of  Waggons,  which  they  have  fullfilled;  by  their  Assistance 
we  are  in  motion,  but  must  move  slowly  untill  we  get  over  the 
Mountains.  .  .  . 

Thus  far  I  do  affirm  that  no  time  has  been  lost  in  pursuing 
the  Scheme  laid  down  in  England  for  our  Expedition;  had  it 
been  undertaken  at  the  beginning  from  Pensylvania  it  might 
have  been  carried  on  with  greater  Dispatch  and  less  expence: 

21  Benjamin  Franklin  was  the  contractor.  As  a  prominent  Pennsylvanian, 
he  had  been  calling  on  Braddock  at  a  time  when  the  General  was  desperately 
trying  to  locate  150  wagons  and  fifteen  hundred  horses.  Franklin  offered  to 
try  to  hire  the  needed  articles  in  his  native  Pennsylvania. 

A  few  days  before,  the  quartermaster  of  the  expedition,  Sir  John  St.  Clair, 
had  threatened  Pennsylvanians  with  pillage  and  destruction  because  they 
were  not  working  as  quickly  as  St.  Clair  desired  on  a  supply  road  Pennsyl- 
vania was  to  build  for  the  expedition,  to  run  from  Shippensburg,  Pennsylvania, 
to  a  forward  point  on  Braddock's  line  of  march. 

St.  Clair's  threats  were  rhetorical,  but  the  sly  Franklin  used  them  to  ad- 
vantage in  contracting  for  the  equipment  among  the  Germans  of  southeastern 
Pennsylvania.  In  the  Europe  which  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  had  left  only 
recently,  light  cavalry  known  as  Dragoons  or  Hussars  did  pillage  for  the  army. 

In  a  handbill  distributed  in  the  heavily  German  areas  of  Pennsylvania, 
Franklin  warned  that  the  soldiers  were  coming  for  wagons  and  teams. 
Franklin  kindly  offered  to  try  to  get  good  terms  for  the  farmers  if  they  would 
voluntarily  rent  their  animals  and  vehicles.  If  not,  Franklin  went  on  sadly, 
he  supposed  the  region  would  be  visited  by  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  the  "Hussar." 

With  this  dreadful  word  Franklin  was  able  to  raise  the  required  teams  and 
wagons  without  difficulty. 


130 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

I  am  not  at  all  surprized  that  we  are  ignorant  of  the  Situation 
of  this  Country  in  England,  when  no  one  except  a  few  Hunters 
knows  it  on  the  Spot:  and  their  Knowledge  extends  no  further 
than  in  following  their  Game.  It  is  certain  that  the  ground  is 
not  easy  to  be  reconoitered  for  one  may  go  twenty  Miles  with- 
out seeing  before  him  ten  yards.  .  .  . 

What  was  looked  on  at  home  as  easy  is  our  most  difficult 
point  to  surmount,  I  mean  the  passage  of  this  vast  tract  of 
Mountains;  Had  we  a  Country  we  coud  subsist  in  after  we 
get  over  them,  the  thing  wou'd  be  easy.  .  .  . 

The  Roads  are  either  Rocky  or  full  of  Boggs,  we  are  obliged 
to  blow  the  Rocks  and  lay  Bridges  every  Day;  What  an  happi- 
ness it  is  to  have  wood  at  hand  for  the  latter! 

FROM  WASHINGTON  EN  ROUTE 

They  halt  to  level  every  mold  hill 
and  to  erect  bridges  over  every  brook 

Letter  to  John  Augustine  Washington,  Great  Crossing 
of  the  Youghiogheny,22  June  28,  175523 

Dear  Jack:  Immediately  upon  our  leaving  the  Camp  at 
George's  Creek24  the  14th  Instant  (from  where  I  wrote  to  you) 
I  was  seized  with  violent  Fevers  and  Pains  in  my  head  which 
continued  without  the  least  intermission  till  the  23  following 
when  I  was  relieved  by  the  Generals  absolutely  ordering  the 
Physicians  to  give  me  Doctr.  James's  Powder,25  w'ch  is  the 

22  The  Great  Crossing  of  the  Youghiogheny  was  near  what  is  today  Addi- 
son, Pennsylvania. 

23  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  I,  141-146.  Some  ab- 
breviations used  in  the  original  of  the  letter  have  been  spelled  out  to  facilitate 
reading. 

24  George's  Creek  was  crossed  about  eight  miles  northwest  of  Vills  Creek. 

25  Dr.  James'  Powders  were  a  "patent  medicine"  of  the  day. 


131 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

most  excellent  medecine  in  the  world  for  it  gave  me  immed. 
ease,  and  removed  my  Fev'rs  and  other  complaints  in  4  Days 
time.  My  illness  was  too  violent  to  suffer  me  to  ride,  therefore 
I  was  indebted  to  a  cover'd  Waggon  for  some  part  of  my 
Transp'n;  but  even  in  this  I  could  not  continue  for  the  jolt'g 
was  so  great  that  I  was  left  upon  the  Road  with  a  Guard  and 
necess'rys,  to  wait  the  Arr'l  of  Colo.  Dunbar's  Detach,  which 
was  2  days  March  behind.  The  Genl.  giving  me  his  word  of 
hon'r  that  I  should  be  brought  up  before  he  reach'd  the  French 
Fort;  this  promise,  and  the  Doct'rs  threats  that  if  I  persever'd 
it  wou'd  endanger  my  Life,  determin'd  my  halting  for  the  above 
Detach't. 

As  I  expect  the  Communication  between  this  and  Wills  Cr. 
will  soon  be  too  dangerous  for  single  persons  to  pass,  it  will 
possibly  stop  the  interchange  of  Letters  in  any  measure;  there- 
fore I  shall  attempt  (and  will  go  through  if  I  have  strength)  to 
give  you  an  acct.  of  my  proceedings,  of  our  situation,  and  of 
our  prospects  at  present;  which  I  desire  you  may  communicate 
to  Colo.  Fairfax,26  and  my  Corrse'ds,  for  I  am  too  weak  to 
write  more  than  this  Letter.  In  the  Letter  wh'ch  I  wrote  fr'm 
Georges  Creek,  I  acquainted  you  that  unless  the  numb'r  of 
Wag'ns  were  retrenched  and  the  carry'g  Horses  increased  that 
we  never  should  be  able  to  see  Duquisne:  this,  in  2  Days  after- 
wards (which  was  about  the  time  they  got  to  the  little  Meadows 
with  some  of  their  First  Waggons  and  strongest  Teams,  they 
themselves  were  convinced  off,  for  they  found  that  beside  the 
almost  impossibility  of  gett'g  the  wag'ns  along  at  all;  that  they 

26  Colonel  William  Fairfax  was  the  father-in-law  of  Lawrence  Washing- 
ton, George's  older  half  brother.  He  was  friend  and  benefactor  of  George, 
a  leading  man  of  his  day,  a  member  of  the  Council  (or  upper  house)  of  the 
colony,  and  a  cousin  and  land  agent  of  Lord  Thomas  Fairfax  (one  of  the 
great  landed  proprietors  of  the  colonies  and  the  only  English  peer  resident 
in  the  colonies) . 


132 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

had  often  a  rear  of  3  or  4  miles  of  Waggons;  and  that  the  Sold'rs 
Guarding  them  were  so  dispersed  that  if  we  had  been  attacked 
either  in  Front,  Center,  or  Rear  the  part  so  attack'd  must  have 
been  cut  off  and  totally  dispersed  before  they  cou'd  be  properly 
sustained  by  any  other  Corps. 

At  the  little  Mead'ws  there  was  a  2d.  Council  call'd,  for 
there  had  been  one  before  wherein  it  was  represented  to  all  the 
Off'rs  of  the  difT't  Corps  the  great  necessity  there  was  for 
Horses  and  how  laudable  it  wd.  be  to  retrench  their  Baggage 
and  offer  the  spare  Horses  for  the  Publick  Service.  In  order 
to  encourage  this  I  gave  up  my  best  Horse,  (w'ch  I  have  nev'r 
heard  of  since)  and  took  no  more  baggage  than  half  my  Port- 
manteau would  easily  contain.  .  .  . 

The  General  before  they  met  in  Council  ask'd  my  private 
Opinion  concern' g  the  Expedition.  I  urg'd  it  in  the  warmest 
terms  I  was  Master  off,  to  push  on;  if  we  even  did  it  with  a 
chos'n  Detacht.  for  that  purpose,  with  the  Artillery  and  such 
other  things  as  were  absolutely  necessary;  leav'g  the  baggage 
and  other  Convoys  with  the  Remainder  of  the  Army,  to  follow 
by  slow  and  regular  Marches,  which  they  might  do  safely, 
while  we  were  advanced  in  Front.  As  one  Reason  to  support 
this  Opinion,  I  inform'd  the  Genl.  if  we  could  credit  our 
Intelligence,  the  French  were  weak  at  the  Forks  but  hourly 
expect'd  reinforcements,  which  to  my  certain  knowledge  cou'd 
not  arrive  with  Provisions  or  any  Supplies  during  the  continu- 
ance of  the  Droughth  as  the  Buffalo  River27  down  w'ch  is  their 
only  communication  to  Venango,  must  be  as  Dry  as  we  now 
find  the  great  xing  of  the  Youghe.,  which  may  be  pass'd  dry 
shod.  This  was  a  Scheme  that  took,  and  it  was  det'd  that  the 
Genl.  with  1200  chosen  Men  and  Officers  of  all  the  differ' t 
Corps,  with  the  following  Field  Officer's  (viz,;  Sr.  Peter  Hal- 

27  The  River  aux  Boeufs,  or  French  Creek. 


133 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

kett  who  acts  as  Brigadier,  Lt.  Colo.  Gage,  Lt.  Colo.  Burton, 
and  Major  Sparke,28  with  a  certain  number  of  Waggons  as  the 
Train  would  absolutely  require,  shou'd  March  as  soon  as  things 
cou'd  be  got  in  readiness  for  them,  which  was  compleated,  and 
we  on  our  March  by  the  19th,  leav'g  Colo.  Dunbar  and  Maj. 
Chapman,29  with  the  residue  of  the  two  Reg's,  Companys  most 
of  the  women30  and  in  short  every  thing  behind  except  such 
Provision's  and  other  necessary's  as  we  took  and  carried  upon 
Horses. 

We  set  out  with  less  than  30  Carriages  (Incl'g  all  those  that 
transported  the  Howetzers,  12  pounders  and  6  pounders,  etc.), 
and  all  of  those  strongly  Horsed;  which  was  a  prospect  that 
convey'd  the  most  infinite  delight  to  me  tho'  I  was  excessively 
ill  at  the  time.  But  this  prospect  was  soon  over  turn'd  and  all 
my  sanguine  hopes  brought  very  low  when  I  found,  that  in- 
stead of  pushing  on  with  vigour,  without  regarding  a  little 
rough  Road,  they  were  halting  to  level  every  Mold  Hill,  and 
to  erect  Bridges  over  every  Brook;  by  which  means  we  were 
4  Days  gett'ng  12  Miles;  where  I  was  left  by  the  Doct'r's 
Advice  and  the  Genl's  absolute  Orders,  otherwise  I  wou'd  not 
have  been  prevailed  upon  to  remain  behind  my  own  Detach' t 
as  I  then  imagin'd,  and  believ'd  I  shall  now  find  it  not  very 

28  Sir  Peter  Halkett  commanded  the  44th  regiment,  which,  with  the  48th, 
made  up  the  basic  units  of  Braddock's  command.  Thomas  Gage  was  lieuten- 
ant colonel  of  the  44th;  at  the  beginning  of  the  American  Revolution,  Gage 
rose  to  the  rank  of  general  and  became  the  British  commander  in  North 
America.  Ralph  Burton  was  second  in  command  of  the  48th.  Major  Sparke, 
or  Sparks,  was  with  the  48th. 

29  Major  Chapman  commanded  the  detachment  of  troops  working  on  the 
road  under  the  direction  of  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  the  quartermaster  of  the 
expedition. 

30  Women  regularly  were  attached  to  British  forces  at  that  time  as  washer- 
women and  hospital  attendants.  In  addition,  some  of  the  men  were  accom- 
panied by  their  wives,  although  against  orders. 


134- 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

easy  to  join  my  own  Corps  again,  which  is  25  Miles  advanced 
before  us;  tho'  I  had  the  Generals  word  of  Hon'r  pledg'd  in 
the  most  solemn  manner,  that  I  sh'd  be  brought  up  before  he 
arrived  at  Duquisne.  They  have  had  frequent  Alarms,  and  sev- 
eral Men  scalp'd;  but  this  is  only  done  to  retard  the  March, 
and  to  harass  the  Men  if  they  are  to  be  turn'd  out  every  time  a 
small  party  of  them  attack  the  Guards  at  Night;  (for  I  am 
certain,  they  have  not  sufficient  strength  to  make  head  against 
the  whole) . 

I  have  been  now  6  Days  with  Colo.  Dunbar's  Corps,  who 
are  in  a  miserable  Condition  for  want  of  Horses,  not  hav'g 
more  one  half  enough  for  their  Wag'ns;  so  that  the  only  method 
he  has  of  proceedings,  is  to  March  on  himself  with  as  many 
Waggons  as  those  will  draw,  and  then  Halt  till  the  Remainder 
are  brought  up  which  requires  two  Days  more;  and  I  believe 
shortly  he  will  not  be  able  to  stir  at  all;  but  there  has  been  vile 
management  in  regard  to  Horses  and  while  I  am  mention'g 
this  I  must  not  forget  to  desire  that  you'll  acq't  Colo.  G. 
Fairfax31  that  I  have  made  the  most  strick  enquiry  after  his 
Man  and  Horses,  but  can  hear  nothing  of  either;  at  least  noth- 
ing that  can  be  credited.  I  was  told  that  the  Fellow  was  taken 
ill  upon  the  Road  while  he  was  with  Sir  John  St.  Clair's  Detacht. 
the  certainty  of  this  I  can't  answer  for,  but  I  believe  there  is 
nothing  more  cert'n  than  that  he  is  not  with  any  part  of  the 
Army.  And  unless  the  Horses  stray  and  make  home  themselves, 
I  believe  there  is  1000  to  1  against  his  every  seeing  them  again: 
for  I  gave  up  a  horse  only  one  Day,  and  never  cou'd  see  or 
hear  of  him  afterwards :  My  strength  wont  admit  me  to  say 
more,  tho'  I  have  not  said  half  what  I  intended  concerning  our 
Affairs  here.  Business,  I  shall  not  think  of,  but  dep'd  solely 

31  George  William  Fairfax,  eldest  son  of  Colonel  William  Fairfax,  had 
been  a  close  friend  of  Washington  from  boyhood  days. 


135 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

upon  your  management  of  all  my  aff'rs,  and  doubt  not  but  that 
they  will  be  well  conducted.  You  may  thank  my  friends  for 
the  Lett'rs  I  have  rec'd  which  has  not  been  one  from  any  Mortal 
since  I  left  Fairfax,  except  yourself  and  Mr.  Dalton.32  It  is  a 
piece  of  regard  and  kindness  which  I  should  endeavor  to  ac- 
knowledge was  I  able  and  suffer'd  to  write.  .  .  .  Make  my 
Complim'ts  to  all  who  think  me  worthy  of  their  Enquirys. 

P.S.  July  2d.  A  great  Misfortune  has  attended  me  in  my 
sickness  was,  the  looseing  the  use  of  my  Servant,  for  poor 
John33  was  taken  about  the  same  time  that  I  was,  with  near  the 
same  disorder;  and  was  confin'd  as  long;  so  that  we  did  not 
see  each  other  for  several  Days,  he  is  also  tolerably  well  re- 
covered. We  are  sure  advan'd  almost  as  far  as  the  g't  Meadows; 
and  I  shall  set  out  to  morrow  morning  for  my  own  Corps,  with 
an  Escort  of  100  Men  which  is  to  guard  some  Provision's  up; 
so  that  my  Fears  and  doubts  on  that  head  are  quite  remov'd. 
I  had  a  Letter  yesterday  from  Orme,  who  writes  me  word  that 
they  have  pass'd  the  Youghyangane  for  the  last  time,  that  they 
have  sent  out  Partys  to  scour  the  Country  thereabouts  and  have 
Reason  to  believe  that  the  French  are  greatly  alarm'd  at  their 
approach. 

THE  ARMY  APPROACHES  FORT  DUQUESNE 

The  General  ordered  to  proceed  in  making  the  road  as  usual 
Robert  Orme  to  Napier,  Fort  Cumberland,  July  18,  175534 
After  Marching  abt  twenty  Miles  from  this  place35  to  a 

32  John  Dalton  of  Alexandria,  a  friend. 

33  John  Alton,  Washington's  personal  manservant. 

34  Excerpt  from  Military  Affairs  by  Pargellis,  pp.  98-99.  Like  all  other 
British  accounts  of  the  battle,  it  was  written  after  the  return  of  the  defeated 
army  to  Wills  Creek. 

35  Orme  is  writing  from  Fort  Cumberland,  twenty  miles  from  Little 
Meadows. 


136- 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

Camp  calld  the  little  Meadows,  the  General  finding  the  delay 
so  great  from  the  extreme  line  of  Baggage  and  also  that  it  was 
impossible  from  the  small  number  of  Troops  he  had  to  make 
his  line  of  March  secure,  he  determined  to  proceed  himself 
with  twelve  hundred  Men,  ten  pieces  of  Ordinance,  Ammn  and 
Provisions  proportion^  to  the  undertaking,  and  left  eight  hun- 
dred Men  with  the  body  of  the  Convoy  under  the  Command 
of  Colo  Dunbar  with  orders  to  move  forward  as  fast  as  the 
Nature  of  the  Service  woud  admit;  with  this  Command  His 
Excellency  marched  with  great  expedition  and  safety,  and  En- 
camp'd  on  the  8th  of  this  Instant  within  ten  miles  of  the  French 
Fort.  Here  the  Guides  were  all  summonsed  and  question'd  as 
to  the  first  part  of  the  next  days  March  His  Excellency  having 
been  informd  of  a  very  bad  and  dangerous  Defilee  called  the 
narrows;™  upon  their  report  it  was  judg'd  most  expedient  to 
pass  the  Monongahela  twice  at  two  different  Fords37  which 
were  neither  of  them  knee  deep,  by  which  measure  the  narrows 
were  to  be  avoided  and  a  very  bad  passage  of  the  Turtle  Creek. 
To  secure  the  two  passages  of  the  River  the  General  order'd 
the  two  Grenadier's  Company s  as  a  part  of  a  Detachment 
which  was  to  be  compleated  to  300:  Men  with  two  Six  pounders 
under  the  Command  of  Lieut.  Colo  Gage  with  proper  Guides 
to  March  before  break  of  Day  making  the  two  crossings  of 
the  Monongahela,  of  which  the  first  was  a  mile  distance,  and  to 
take  an  advantageous  Post  at  the  last,  Sir  John  St.  Clair  with  a 
working  party  of  200:  Men  was  to  follow  at  Day  break,  and 
the  whole  was  to  March  at  Six.  This  Plan  was  exactly  and 
punctually  executed,  and  the  Artillery,  Ammunition,  Provisions, 
Baggage  and  all  the  Troops  had  passd  the  river  the  second  time 

36  Turtle  Creek  valley. 

37  One  ford  was  between  present-day  McKeesport  and  Duquesne;  the 
second  ford  was  just  north  of  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek. 


137 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

at  one  o'clock;  as  soon  as  the  whole  was  over  the  General  order'd 
the  two  Detachments  to  advance,  and  Sir  John  St.  Clair  to 
proceed  in  making  the  Road  as  usual.  .  .  . 


ENGINEER  GORDON38  SEES  THE  FOE 
The  enemy  s  Indians  run  along  our  right  and  left  flanks 

Harry  Gordon  to  an  unknown  correspondent, 
Wills  Creek,  July  23,  175539 

The  flank  party s  of  the  Advance  &  Main  Body  were  No 
Stronger  than  Usual  &  Coll:  Gage's  party  march'd  By  files 
four  Deep  our  front  had  not  Got  above  half  a  Mile  from  the 
Banks  of  the  River,  when  the  Guides  which  were  all  the  Scouts 
we  had,  &  who  were  Before  only  about  200  yards  Came  Back, 
&  told  a  Considerable  Body  of  the  Enemy,  Mostly  Indians 
were  at  hand,  I  was  then  just  rode  up  in  Search  of  these  Guides, 
had  Got  Before  the  Grenadiers,  had  an  Opportunity  of  view- 
ing the  Enemy,  &  was  Confirmed  By  the  Report  of  the  Guides 
&  what  I  saw  myself  that  their  whole  Numbers  did  Not 
Exceed  300. 

As  soon  as  the  Enemys  Indians  perceiv'd  our  Grenadiers, 
they  Divided  themselves  &  Run  along  our  right  &  Left  flanks. 
The  Advanced  party  Coll:  Gage  order'd  to  form,  which  Most 
of  them  Did  with  the  front  Rank  upon  the  Ground  &  Begun 
firing,  which  they  continued  for  several  Minutes,  Altho'  the 
Indians  very  soon  Dispers'd  Before  their  front  &  fell  upon  the 
flank  partys,  which  only  consisted  of  an  officer  &  20  men,  who 
were  very  soon  Cut  off.  .  .  . 

38  Harry  Gordon,  a  military  engineer,  was  one  of  several  engineers  en- 
gaged in  road-building. 

39  Military  Affairs  by  Pargellis,  p.  106. 


138 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

SIR  JOHN  ST.  CLAIR  ON  THE  FIGHTING 
For  God-sake  gain  the  riseing  ground 

St.  Clair  to  Napier,  Wills  Creek,  July  22,  175540 

...  we  began  to  feel  the  Enemys  fire  and  to  hear  their  Shouts; 
those  who  were  under  my  Command  immediately  form'd.  On 
those  in  my  front  falling  back  upon  me,  I  ran  to  the  front  to 
see  what  the  matter  was,  when  I  received  a  Shot  through  the 
body.  I  then  return'd  to  my  own  people,  posted  Cap:  Poisons41 
Company  of  Artificers  and  Cap:  Periwees42  Company  of  Rang- 
ers to  Cover  my  two  Cannon.  I  then  went  up  to  General 
Braddock  who  was  then  at  the  head  of  his  own  Guns  and  beg'd 
of  him  for  God-Sake  to  gain  the  riseing  ground  on  our  Right  to 
prevent  our  being  Totally  Surrounded.  I  know  no  further  of  this 
unlucky  affair  to  my  knowledge  being  afterwards  insensible. 

CAPTAIN  ORME  ON  THE  BATTLE 

No  order  coud  ever  be  restored 

Orme  to  Napier,  Fort  Cumberland,  July  18,  175543 

The  French  and  Indians  as  we  found  after  had  possessed  the 
sides  and  Brow  of  a  Hill  in  a  kind  of  Semicircular  form,  from 
the  extremes  of  which,  some  of  them  fired  upon  one  of  our 
advanced  Flank  Parties,  this  immediately  brought  on  a  general 
Pannick,  the  Men  coud  never  be  perswaded  to  form  regularly, 

40  Military  Affairs  by  Pargellis,  p.  103. 

41  William  Poison,  it  will  be  recalled,  had  served  as  a  lieutenant  with 
Washington  at  Fort  Necessity.  He  was  killed  in  the  righting  at  the  Monon- 
gahela. 

42  This  was  actually  Captain  William  La  Peyroney,  who  had  been  Wash- 
ington's adjutant  at  Fort  Necessity.  He  was  killed  in  the  fighting  at  the 
Monongahela. 

43  Pargellis,  Military  Affairs,  p.  99. 


139' 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

and  in  great  confusion  fell  back  upon  the  Party  which  Sir  John 
St.  Clair  commanded,  as  did  Sir  John  St.  Clair  s  upon  Colo 
Burton's,  every  exhortation  entreaty  and  perswation  was  used 
by  the  General  and  Officers  to  make  them  advance  or  fall  back 
into  the  line  of  March,  examples  of  all  kinds  were  likewise 
given  by  the  Genl.  and  the  Officers,  but  the  Pannock  was  so 
universal  and  the  Firing  so  executive  and  uncommon  that  no 
order  coud  ever  be  restor'd,  after  three  hours  of  irregularity, 
and  the  waste  of  all  the  ammunition,  during  which  time  allmost 
all  the  Officer's  were  killed  or  Wounded  by  advancing  some- 
times in  bodys  and  sometimes  separately  in  order  to  encourage 
the  Men.  .  .  . 

ENGINEER  GORDON  ON  THE  BATTLE 

/  turned  &  saw  them  tomohocking  some  of  our  wounded  people 

Gordon  to  an  unknown  correspondent, 
Wills  Creek,  July  23,  175544 

The  General  Order'd  the  officers  to  Endeavor  to  tell  off  1 50 
men,  &  Advance  up  the  hill  to  Dispossess  the  Enemy,  &  an- 
other party  to  Advance  on  the  Left  to  support  the  two  12 
pounders  &  Artillery  people,  who  were  in  great  Danger  of 
Being  Drove  away  By  the  Enemy,  at  that  time  in  possession 
of  the  2  field  pieces  of  the  Advanced  party.  This  was  the  Gen- 
erals Last  Order;  he  had  had  Before  this  time  4  horses  killed 
under  him,  &  now  Receiv'd  his  Mortal  wound.  All  the  Officers 
us'd  their  Utmost  Endeavors  to  Get  the  men  to  Advance  up 
the  hill,  &  to  Advance  on  the  left  to  support  the  Cannon.  But 
the  Enemy's  fire  at  that  time  very  much  Encreasing,  &  a  Num- 
ber of  officers  who  were  Rushing  on  in  the  front  to  Encourage 
the  men  Being  killed  &  wounded,  there  was  Nothing  to  Be 

44  Pargellis,  Military  Affairs,  pp.  107-108. 

.140- 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

seen  But  the  Utmost  panick  &  Confusion  amongst  the  Men; 
yet  those  officers  who  had  Been  wounded  having  Return'd,  & 
those  that  were  not  Wounded,  By  Exhorting  &  threatning  had 
influence  to  keep  a  Body  about  200  an  hour  Longer  in  the  field, 
but  cou'd  not  perswade  them  Either  to  Attempt  the  hill  again, 
or  Advance  far  Enough  to  support  the  Cannon,  whose  officers 
&  men  were  Mostly  kill'd  &  wounded.  The  Cannon  silenc'd, 
&  the  Indian's  shouts  upon  the  Right  Advancing,  the  whole 
Body  gave  way,  &  Cross'd  the  Monongahela  where  we  had 
pass'd  in  the  Morning,  with  great  Difficulty  the  General  &  his 
Aid  de  Camps  who  were  Both  wounded  were  taken  out  of  a 
Waggon,  &  hurry ed  along  across  the  River.  .  .  .  Before  I  had 
got  40  yards  in  the  River,  I  turn'd  about  on  hearing  the  Indians 
Yell,  &  Saw  them  Tomohocking  some  of  our  women  &  wounded 
people,  others  of  them  fir'd  very  Briskly  on  those  that  were 
then  Crossing,  at  which  time  I  Receiv'd  Another  Shot  thro' 
the  Right  Shoulder.  But  the  horse  I  Rode  Escaping,  I  got  across 
the  River.  .  .  . 

Coll:  Burton  tho'  very  much  Wounded  attempted  to  Rally 
on  the  Other  Side,  &  made  a  Speach  to  the  Men  to  Beg  them 
to  get  into  some  Order,  But  Nothing  would  Do,  &  we  found 
that  Every  man  wou'd  Desert  us;  therefore  we  were  oblig'd  to 
go  along.  .  .  . 

WASHINGTON  ON  THE  DEFEAT 

The  Virginia  companies  behavd  like  men  and  died  like  soldiers 

Washington  to  Governor  Dinwiddie, 
Fort  Cumberland,  July  18,  175 545 

...  we  were  attacked  (very  unexpectedly  I  must  own)  by 
abt.  300  French  and  Ind'ns;  Our  numbers  consisted  of  abt. 
1300  well  arm'd  Men,  chiefly  Regular's,  who  were  immedi- 

45  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  I,  148-150. 


141 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

ately  struck  with  such  a  deadly  Panick,  that  nothing  but  con- 
fusion and  disobedience  of  order's  prevail'd  amongst  them:  The 
Officer's  in  gen'l  behav'd  with  incomparable  bravery,  for  which 
they  greatly  suffer'd,  there  being  near  60  kill'd  and  wound'd. 
A  large  proportion,  out  of  the  number  we  had!  The  Virginia 
Companies  behav'd  like  Men  and  died  like  Soldiers;  for  I  be- 
lieve out  of  the  3  Companys  that  were  there  that  day,  scarce 
30  were  left  alive:  Capt.  Peyrouny  and  all  his  Officer's,  down 
to  a  Corporal,  were  kill'd;  Captn.  Poison  shar'd  almost  as  hard 
a  Fate,  for  only  one  of  his  Escap'd:  In  short  the  dastardly 
behaviour  of  the  English  Soldier's  expos'd  all  those  who  were 
inclin'd  to  do  their  duty  to  almost  certain  Death;  and  at  length, 
in  despight  of  every  effort  to  the  contrary,  broke  and  run  as 
Sheep  before  the  Hounds,  leav'g  the  Artillery,  Ammunition, 
Provisions,  and,  every  individual  thing  we  had  with  us  a  prey 
to  the  Enemy;  and  when  we  endeavour'd  to  rally  them  in  hopes 
of  regaining  our  invaluable  loss,  it  was  with  as  much  success 
as  if  we  had  attempted  to  have  stop'd  the  wild  Bears  of  the 
Mountains.  The  Genl.  was  wounded  behind  in  the  shoulder, 
and  into  the  Breast,  of  w'ch  he  died  three  days  after;  his  two 
Aids  de  Camp  were  both  wounded,  but  are  in  a  fair  way  of 
Recovery;  Colo.  Burton  and  Sir  Jno.  St.  Clair  are  also  wounded, 
and  I  hope  will  get  over  it;  Sir  Peter  Halket,  with  many  other 
brave  Officers  were  kill'd  in  the  Field.  I  luckily  escap'd  with't 
a  wound  tho  I  had  four  Bullets  through  my  Coat  and  two 
Horses  shot  under  me.  It  is  suppose  that  we  left  300  or  more 
dead  in  the  Field;  about  that  number  we  brought  of  wounded; 
and  it  is  imagin'd  (I  believe  with  great  Justice  too)  that  two 
thirds  .  .  .  received  their  shott  from  our  own  cowardly  English 
Soldier's  who  gather'd  themselves  into  a  body  contrary  to 
orders  10  or  12  deep,  wou'd  then  level,  Fire  and  shoot  down 
the  Men  before  them. 


142 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

WASHINGTON  ON  HIS  OWN  ACTIONS 

G.  W.  remained  the  sole  aid  through  the  day,  to  the  Genl 

Notes  written  by  Washington  for  a  biography46 

In  the  early  part  of  the  Action  some  of  the  Irregulars  (as 
they  were  called)  without  direcns.  advanced  to  the  right,  in 
loose  order,  to  attack;  but  this,  unhappily  from  the  unusual 
appearance  of  the  movement  being  mistaken  for  cowardice  and 
a  running  away  was  discountenanced,  and  before  it  was  too 
late,  and  the  confusion  became  general  an  offer  was  made  by 
G.W.  to  head  the  Provincials  and  engage  the  enemy  in  their 
own  way;  but  the  propriety  of  it  was  not  seen  into  until  it  was 
too  late  for  execution.  After  this,  many  attempts  were  made  to 
dislodge  the  enemy  from  an  eminence  on  the  Right  but  they  all 
proved  ineffectual;  and  fatal  to  the  Officers;  who  by  great 
exertions  and  good  examples  endeavourd  to  accomplish  it.  In 
one  of  these  the  Genl.  reed,  the  Wd.  of  which  he  died;  but 
previous  to  it,  had  several  horses  killed  and  disabled  under  him. 
Captns.  Orme  and  Morris  his  two  Aids  de  Camp,  having  re- 
ceived wounds  which  rendered  them  unable  to  attd.  G.  W.  re- 
mained the  sole  Aid  through  the  day,  to  the  Genl.  .  .  .  No 
person  knowing  in  the  disordered  State  things  were,  who  the 
surviving  Senr.  Officer  was.  and  the  Troops  by  degrees  going 
off  in  confusion;  without  a  ray  of  hope  left  of  further  opposi- 
tion from  those  that  remained;  G.  W.  placed  the  Genl.  in  a 
small  covered  Cart,  which  carried  some  of  his  most  essential 
equipage,  and  in  the  best  order  he  could,  with  the  best  Troops 
(who  only  contind.  to  be  fired  at)  brought  him  over  the  first 
ford  of  the  Monongahela;  where  they  were  formed  in  the  best 
order  circumstances  would  admit  on  a  piece  of  rising  ground. 

46  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXIX,  41-46. 


143 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 
COLONEL  DUNBAR  ON  THE  INVISIBLE  ENEMY 

The  soldiers  dont  seem  to  think  they  deserve  all  that  is  said 

Dunbar  to  Napier,  Fort  Cumberland,  July  24,  175547 

The  Officers  by  All  Accounts  behaved  As  Well  as  Men  could 
and  the  Soldiers  dont  seem  to  think  they  deserve  all  that  is 
Said,  that  they  fought  an  invisible  Enemy  is  by  All  Accounts 
Certain  for  I  have  heard  many  say  both  Officers  and  Soldiers 
they  did  not  see  One  of  the  Enemy  the  whole  day  tho  A  Warm 
Constant  fire  in  the  front  and  on  both  flanks  Colo  Gage  who 
was  in  the  front  and  first  Attacked  declares  he  does  not  know 
he  saw  One  of  the  Enemy  the  whole  time  this  Manner  of  fight- 
ing confounded  the  people;  they  saw  and  heard  fireing  and  the 
fatal  consequences  but  few  saw  an  Enemy. 

THE  FRENCH  COMMANDER  REPORTS  THE  VICTORY 

Perhaps,  I  should  say,  God  put  himself  on  our  side 

Captain  Contrecoeur  to  Count  La  Galisonniere,48 
Fort  Duquesne,  July  20,  175549 

The  favor  with  which  you  have  honored  me  and  the  role 
which  you  play  in  the  Colony  leads  me  to  inform  you  of  the 
complete  victory  which  we  have  just  won  from  the  English 
three  leagues  from  this  fort.  250  French  and  650  Indians  have 
defeated  2000  English  regular  troops  and  taken  all  their  cannon 
and  baggage.   M.  de  Beaujeu,50  who  had  been  named  to  suc- 

47  Pargellis,  Military  Affairs,  p.  111. 

48  Count  Galisonniere,  a  former  governor  of  Canada,  was  a  high  naval 
officer  and  influential  person  in  the  colony. 

49  Papiers  Contrecoeur  edited  by  Grenier,  pp.  398-99;  in  French. 

50  Daniel-Hyacinthe-Marie  de  Beaujeu,  a  captain,  had  previously  com- 
manded Fort  Niagara. 


144' 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

ceed  me  in  this  command,  led  the  party,  having  as  his  lieuten- 
ants M.  Dumas  and  M.  de  Ligneris.51  He  was  killed  on  the 
third  discharge  from  the  enemy;  these  men  took  his  place  very 
well  and  they  were  well  seconded  by  all  the  other  officers  and 
cadets.  The  enemy  left  500  men  on  the  field  of  battle  and  have 
lost  their  commander  and  almost  all  their  officers. 

I  ask  you,  please,  Monsieur,  to  be  helpful  at  the  colony  at 
this  time  when  nothing  would  please  me  more  than  to  have  to 
have  the  officers  who  served  so  well  under  me  rewarded  for 
their  zeal.  Messiuers  Dumas  and  de  Ligneris  had  a  great  part 
in  our  recent  success,  since  victory  was  very  much  in  the  bal- 
ance52 when  M.  de  Beaujeu  was  killed,  but  these  2  men  encour- 
aged our  troop  so  well  that  all  came  out  for  the  best  end— or, 
perhaps,  I  should  sav,  God  put  himself  on  our  side.  .  .  . 

WASHINGTON  DESCRIBES  THE  RETREAT 

The  dead,  the  dying,  the  groans,  lamentation,  and  crys 

Notes  written  by  Washington  for  a  biography53 

...  by  the  Genls.  order,  he54  rode  forward55  to  halt  those  which 
had  been  earlier  in  the  retreat:  Accordingly,  after  crossing  the 
Monongahela  the  second  time  and  ascending  the  heights,  he 

51  Captain  Jean-Daniel  Dumas  formerly  had  commanded  Fort  Le  Boeuf. 
On  the  month  following  Braddock's  defeat,  he  assumed  command  of  Duquesne 
from  Contrecoeur.  Captain  Frangois-Marie  Le  Marchand  de  Ligneris,  too, 
eventually  rose  to  the  command  of  Fort  Duquesne  and  was  the  last  French 
commander  of  the  post.  Thereafter,  he  assumed  command  of  Fort  Machault 
to  the  north.  In  1759,  he  received  a  mortal  wound  while  trying  to  raise  the 
English  siege  of  Fort  Niagara. 

52  The  bulk  of  the  Canadian  Militia  had  fled  from  the  field  at  the  first 
discharge,  leaving  the  fighting  to  the  French  Regulars  and  the  Indians. 

53  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXIX,  41-46. 

54  Washington  here  speaks  of  himself  in  the  third  person. 

55  Since  the  army  was  now  in  retreat,  riding  "forward"  meant  aivay  from 
the  battlefield. 


145 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

found  Lieutt.  Colo.  Gage  engaged  in  this  business  to  whom  he 
delivered  the  Genls  order  and  then  returned  to  report  the  situa- 
tion he  found  them  in.  When  he  was  again  requested  by  the 
Genl.  whom  he  met  coming  on,  in  his  litter  with  the  first  halted 
troops,  to  proceed  (it  then  being  after  sundown)  to  the  second 
division  under  the  command  of  Colo.  Dunbar,  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  covering  the  retreat,  and  forwarding  on  provisions 
and  refreshments  to  the  retreating  and  wounded  Soldiery.  To 
accomplish  this,  for  the  2d.  division  was  40  odd  miles  in  the 
rear  it  took  up  the  whole  night  and  part  of  the  next  Morning, 
which  from  the  weak  state  in  which  he  was,56  and  the  fatigues, 
and  anxiety  of  the  last  24  hours,  rendered  him  in  a  manner 
wholly  unfit  for  the  execution  of  the  duty  he  was  sent  upon 
when  he  arrived  at  the  Dunbars  Camp.57  To  the  best  of  his 
power  however  he  discharged  it,  and  remained  with  the  seed, 
division  till  the  other  joined  it.  The  shocking  Scenes  which  pre- 
sented themselves  in  this  Nights  March  are  not  to  be  described. 
The  dead,  the  dying,  the  groans,  lamentation,  and  crys  along 
the  Road  of  the  wounded  for  help  (for  those  under  the  latter 
descriptions  endeavoured  from  the  first  commencement  of  the 
action,  or  rather  confusion  to  escape  to  the  2d  divn.)  were 
enough  to  pierce  a  heart  of  adamant,  the  gloom  and  horror  of 
which  was  not  a  little  encreased  by  the  impervious  darkness 
occasioned  by  the  close  shade  of  thick  woods  which  in  places 
rendered  it  impossible  for  the  two  guides  which  attended  to 
know  when  they  were  in,  or  out  of  the  track  but  by  groping 
on  the  ground  with  their  hands. 

Happy  was  it  for  him,  and  the  remains  of  the  first  division 

56  It  will  be  recalled  that  Washington  had  been  violently  ill  only  a  few 
days  before. 

57  Dunbar's  Camp  was  just  north  of  Jumonville's  rocks,  about  three  miles 
north  of  present  Summit,  Pennsylvania,  in  Fayette  County. 


146< 


i 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

that  they  left  such  a  quantity  of  valuable  and  enticing  baggage 
on  the  field  as  to  occasion  a  scramble  and  contention  in  the 
seizure  and  distribution  of  it  among  the  enemy  for  had  a  pursuit 
taken  place,  by  passing  the  defile  which  we  had  avoided;  and 
they  had  got  into  our  rear,  the  whole,  except  a  few  woodsmen, 
would  have  fallen  victims  to  the  merciless  Savages.  Of  about 
12  or  13  hundred  which  were  in  this  action  eight  or  9  hundd. 
were  either  killed  or  wounded;  among  whom  a  large  proportion 
of  brave  and  valuable  Officers  were  included.  The  folly  and 
consequence  of  opposing  compact  bodies  to  the  sparse  manner 
of  Indian  fighting,  in  woods,  which  had  in  a  manner  been  pre- 
dicted, was  now  so  clearly  verified  that  from  hence  forward 
another  mode  obtained  in  all  future  operations. 

As  soon  as  the  two  divisions  united,  the  whole  retreated  to- 
wards Fort  Cumberland;  and  at  an  Incampment  near  the  Great 
Meadows  the  brave,  but  unfortunate  Genl.  Braddock  breathed 
his  last.  He  was  interred  with  the  honors  of  war,  and  as  it  was 
left  to  G.  W.  to  see  this  performed,  and  to  mark  out  the  spot58 
for  the  reception  of  his  remains,  to  guard  against  a  savage 
triumph,  if  the  place  should  be  discovered,  they  were  deposited 
in  the  Road  over  which  the  Army,  Waggons  &ca.  passed  to 
hide  every  trace  by  which  the  entombment  could  be  discovered, 
thus  died  a  man,  whose  good  and  bad  qualities  were  intimately 
blended.  He  was  brave  even  to  a  fault  and  in  regular  Service 
would  have  done  honor  to  his  profession.  His  attachments  were 
warm,  his  enmities  were  strong,  and  having  no  disguise  about 
him,  both  appeared  in  full  force.  He  was  generous  and  disin- 
terested, but  plain  and  blunt  in  his  manner  even  to  rudeness. 

58  The  site  is  about  a  mile  west  of  the  restored  Fort  Necessity  on  Route 
40,  Fayette  County,  Pennsylvania. 


147 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

AN  ENGLISH  OFFICER  ON  THE  RETREAT 

Scandlous  was  the  base  and  hurried  retreat 

Anonymous  letter  on  Braddock's  Campaign, 
Wills  Creek,  July  25,  175559 

Scandlous  as  the  action  was,  more  Scandlous  was  the  base 
and  hurried  Retreat,  with  the  immense  destruction  and  expense 
to  the  Nation — what  was  lost  in  the  Action  with  what  was 
destroy'd  afterwards  by  our  selves,  amounted  upon  a  moderate 
Calculation  to  near  Three  hundred  Thoussand  pounds  value  be- 
sides the  loss  of  Blood  &c.  We  Carried  with  the  sweat  of  our 
Brows,  a  pritty  Train  of  Artillery  up  to  the  ffrench,  which 
they  never  Could  have  obtain'd  otherwise. 

ENGINEER  GORDON  ON  THE  RETREAT 

Nothing  after  we  are  gone  coud  hinder  150 
French  Indians  from  ravaging  to  Alexandria 

Gordon  to  an  unknown  correspondent, 
Wills  Creek,  July  23,  175560 

On  the  Road  I  propos'd  fortifying  a  Camp  ...  10  mile  to 
the  Westward  of  the  Crossing  of  the  Yohiogany,  a  very  ad- 
vantagious  Situation,  &  which  Cover'd  the  Richest  part  of  the 
Country  which  Lyes  Betwixt  Guest's  [Gist's]  &  that,  or  at 
least  I  imagin'd  we  might  have  Been  join'd  By  Coll:  Dunbar's 
party  at  Guest's,  where  a  Good  Camp  might  Easily  Been  had, 

59  Pargellis,  Military  Affairs,  p.  119.  The  author  of  this  anonymous  letter, 
a  ranking  British  officer  with  the  expedition,  has  not  been  positively  identified, 
but  is  believed  to  have  been  Captain  Gabriel  Christy,  an  assistant  to  Quarter- 
master St.  Clair. 

60  Pargellis,  Military  Affairs,  p.  108. 


148 


AIDE-DE-CAMP  TO  GENERAL  BRADDOCK 

which  fortified  with  two  or  three  Redoubts  in  front  cou'd  have 
Been  defended  By  our  Numbers  (above  1000  fitt  for  Duty) 
against  any  force  our  Enemy s  cou'd  Bring  against  us. 

Instead  of  all  this  Nothing  wou'd  Do,  But  Retiring,  &  De- 
stroying immense  Quantitys  of  Amunition  &  Stores,  with 
which  Last  all  our  Instruments  &  Stationary  wares  shar'd  the 
fate. 

Here  we  are  at  present,  But  the  talk  is  of  going  into  Pensil- 
vania,  &  No  talk  of  putting  this  fort  or  the  frontiers  of  this 
Country  in  any  posture  of  Defence;  as  it  is  at  present,  3  pieces 
of  6  pound  Cannon,  with  the  Advantage  the  Ground  wou'd 
Naturally  give  them,  cou'd  knock  the  fort61  to  pieces,  &  nothing 
after  we  are  gone  cou'd  hinder  150  french  Indians  from  Rav- 
aging to  Alexandria. 

WASHINGTON  FEARS  FOR  THE  SETTLEMENTS 

The  poor  remains  of  the  Virginia  troops 
"will  be  too  small  to  guard  our  frontiers 

Washington  to  Governor  Dinwiddie, 
Fort  Cumberland,  July  18,  17  55™ 

I  tremble  at  the  consequences  that  this  defeat  may  have  upon 
our  back  settlers,  who  I  suppose  will  all  leave  their  habitations 
unless  there  are  proper  measures  taken  for  their  security. 

Colo.  Dunbar,  who  commands  at  present,  intends  so  soon  as 
his  Men  are  recruited  at  this  place,  to  continue  his  March  to 
Phila.  into  Winter  Quarters:  so  that  there  will  be  no  Men  left 
here  unless  it  is  the  poor  remains  of  the  Virginia  Troops,  who 
survive  and  will  be  too  small  to  guard  our  Frontiers.  .  .  . 

61  Fort  Cumberland,  from  whence  Gordon  was  writing. 

62  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  I,  1 50. 


149 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

AN  ENGLISH  OFFICER  ON  THE  STRAGGLERS 
The  road  was  full  of  dead  and  people  dieing 

Anonymous  letter  on  Braddock's  campaign, 
Wills  Creek,  July  25,  175563 

.  .  .  from  Guests^  their  was  a  bag  of  flower  left  here  and 
there  on  the  road,  least  any  Soldiers  should  have  been  in  need 
of  it.  Several  stragglers  have  Join'd  us  since  who  says  they 
should  have  starv'd  but  for  Provisions  they  found  on  the  road — 
but  report,  the  road  was  full  of  Dead  and  people  dieing  who 
with  fatigue  or  Wounds  Could  move  on  no  further;  but  lay 
down  to  die — this  melancholy  Accot  Convinces,  what  use  our 
Staying,  would  been  of,  to  save  the  life  of  many  a  poor  fellow. 

WASHINGTON  DENIES  HIS  DEATH 

/  take  this  early  oppertunity  of  contradicting 

Washington  to  John  Augustine  Washington,  July  18,  175565 

Dear  Jack:  As  I  have  heard  since  my  arriv'l  at  this  place,  a 
circumstantial  acct.  of  my  death  and  dying  speech,  I  take  this 
early  oppertunity  of  contradicting  the  first  and  of  assuring  you 
that  I  have  not  as  yet,  composed  the  latter. 

63  Pargellis,  Military  Affairs,  p.  124. 

64  Gist's. 

65  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  I,  152. 


150' 


Virginia  Colonel 

With  General  John  Forbes 

Fort  Pitt 

April  -  December,  17^8 


The  Road  to  Victory 


Fleeing  waggoners  were  the  first  to  reach  Fort  Cumberland 
at  Wills  Creek  with  wild  tales  of  the  disaster  that  had  befallen 
Braddock's  army  on  the  Monongahela.  The  dispirited  army 
which  followed  them  had  not  been  annihilated,  as  the  first  mad 
rumors  had  reported.  Indeed,  had  the  campaign  been  planned 
intelligently,  these  troops  under  Colonel  Thomas  Dunbar,  many 
of  whom  had  seen  no  action,  might  have  taken  Fort  Duquesne. 

Between  the  site  of  battle  and  the  base  at  Fort  Cumberland, 
however,  there  was  neither  fortification  nor  supply  depot  to 
which  the  army  could  fall  back.  And  by  the  time  Dunbar's  men 
had  trudged  the  more  than  seventy  weary  miles  back  to  Fort 
Cumberland,  a  return  to  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio  was  unthinkable. 

At  any  rate,  a  return  was  unthinkable  to  the  unaggressive 
Dunbar.  When  he  reached  Fort  Cumberland  he  paused  only 
long  enough  to  leave  the  sick  and  wounded  with  the  shattered 
remnants  of  the  Virginia  soldiery  as  garrison,  and  then  with 
the  Regulars  hastened  to  Philadelphia  and  "winter  quarters" 
(in  August!). 

The  former  aide-de-camp  to  the  late  General  Braddock  was 
one  campaigner  who  did  not  go  with  the  army  to  Philadelphia. 
Washington,  at  the  death  of  Braddock,  lost  his  only  official  con- 
nection with  the  Regular  Military  Establishment.  From  the 
General  he  had  held  the  brevet,  or  temporary,  commission  of 
General's  aide-de-camp.  With  Braddock's  death,  he  became 
again  a  civilian.  Still  weak  and  ill  from  the  sickness  which  had 
struck  him  down  on  the  campaign,  he  was  glad  enough  to  go 
home  to  Virginia  for  rest  and  recuperation. 

The  year  before,  when  Governor  Dinwiddie  had  been  trying 
to  get  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  to  raise  money  to  send 


153 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

the  Virginia  regiment  to  the  Ohio  Country,  he  had  painted  for 
them  a  frightful  picture  of  the  Indian  warfare  that  would  come 
unless  the  Ohio  Country  was  garrisoned  immediately  with 
English  troops.  At  the  time  it  had  been  a  threat  conjured  up  by 
a  governor  trying  to  win  approval  for  expansionist  schemes. 
Now,  two  campaigns  and  two  defeats  later,  the  threat  was  real. 

For  one  thing,  the  apparent  weakness  of  the  English  was  a 
spur  to  the  savages  to  clear  at  least  one  group  of  white  men  out 
of  their  hunting  grounds.  For  another,  the  French,  who  were 
now  involved  in  earnest,  were  giving  to  Indian  efforts  a  direc- 
tion and  a  purpose  their  own  leadership  had  never  provided. 

Thus,  behind  the  last  straggling  redcoats  limping  from  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio  came  the  war  parties  of  Delaware  and 
Shawnee,  Huron  and  Wyandot.  As  often  as  not,  a  war  party 
included  an  ambitious  French  cadet  or  an  adventurous  Canadian 
Militiaman.  These  Frenchmen  were  seldom  seen;  nor,  for  that 
matter,  were  the  Indians,  except  by  frontier  farmers  who  could 
give  no  report  of  them  because  their  little  clearings  were  stained 
with  their  own  life's  blood. 

To  guard  Virginia's  long  and  irregular  frontier  the  Governor 
had  only  two  alternatives — familiar,  if  not  reassuring.  One  was 
the  Militia  and  the  other  what  remained  of  the  independent 
companies  which  had  been  the  Virginia  regiment. 

The  Militia,  farmers  conscripted  for  the  immediate  action, 
showed  resolution  in  only  one  endeavor:  keeping  a  safe  dis- 
tance between  themselves  and  Indians.  The  romantic  myth  of 
the  stalwart  husbandman  who  became  an  intrepid  fighter  the 
moment  he  laid  aside  plow  for  rifle  is  attractive,  but  had  it  been 
related  to  Governor  Robert  Dinwiddie  of  Virginia,  he  would 
have  waxed  profane. 

Again  the  Governor  and  the  legislature  had  to  turn  to  Vir- 
ginia's own  full-time  soldiers.  The  Virginia  regiment  had  to 


154- 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

be  reconstituted.  Thus  it  was  that  the  harried  Governor,  late 
in  the  summer  of  1755,  again  offered  Washington  command  of 
the  Virginia  regiment— a  command  Dinwiddie  had  taken  away 
from  him  little  more  than  a  year  before.  It  was  hardly  surprising 
that  Washington  at  first  refused.  The  service  of  Virginia  had 
proved  hard  and  the  gratitude  of  Dinwiddie  meager.  Further, 
the  young  planter  now  had  won  a  military  reputation  of  sorts, 
and  his  strong  pride,  which  was  at  once  a  strength  and  a  tor- 
ment to  him,  rebelled  at  undertaking  a  task  which  seemed 
likely  to  result  in  all  blame  and  no  triumph.  But  the  Governor 
persisted,  and  so  did  friends  whose  judgment  Washington  re- 
spected. Added  inducements  were  offered — he  might  choose 
his  own  field  officers;  his  pay  would  be  increased;  he  would 
bear  the  title,  commander  in  chief  of  the  Forces  of  Virginia; 
and  after  all,  the  frontier  must  be  defended.  Washington 
accepted. 

Washington's  reluctance  to  undertake  the  job,  however, 
proved  well  founded.  The  difficulties  which  he  had  anticipated, 
and  which  were  to  test  his  patience  throughout  his  military 
career,  appeared  in  generous  quantity.  Recruits  were  few  in 
number  and  poor  in  quality.  Eventually  the  regiment  was  padded 
out  to  something  like  full  strength  through  the  dubious  measure 
of  drafting  vagrants.  Supplies  were  too  little  and  too  late.  Men 
deserted,  and  the  detachments  sent  to  hunt  them  deserted,  too. 
There  were  the  inevitable  wrangles  over  rank  when  the  com- 
mander of  the  Maryland  troops  at  Fort  Cumberland  turned  up 
with  an  old  commission  from  the  King  and  claimed  he  out- 
ranked the  Virginia  colonel  who  held  only  a  lowly  commission 
from  the  colonial  governor.  The  construction  of  frontier  forts 
went  too  slowly  and  the  consumption  of  provisions  went  too 
fast.  And  through  it  all,  the  Indians  struck— now  here,  now 
there — and  all  too  often  with  impunity.  Once  a  party  of  Militia, 


155 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

called  out  to  reinforce  the  regiment  during  a  particularly  bad 
raid,  returned  from  the  hot  pursuit  of  an  Indian  party  with 
candid  but  maddening  news.  They  had  been  actually  on  the 
verge  of  overtaking  the  Indians,  they  related,  and  therefore 
thought  it  high  time  to  turn  back. 

As  1755  gave  way  to  1756  and  1756  to  1757,  the  fighting 
settled  down  into  a  grim  pattern.  The  Virginians  took  to  send- 
ing out  scalping  parties  of  their  Indian  allies,  the  Cherokee  and 
Catawba,  and  spurred  on  these  undependable  red  men  by  pay- 
ing them  for  scalps.  As  a  desperate  means  to  prevent  desertion 
the  Virginia  regiment  added  to  its  martial  accoutrement  a 
gallows;  its  grisly  shadow  on  the  parade  ground  reminded  the 
rank  and  file  that  this  backwoods'  war  was  in  earnest. 

There  were,  of  course,  lulls  in  what  was  essentially  a  guerilla 
struggle.  And  since  the  military  front,  if  it  could  be  called  that, 
was  only  a  few  days'  ride  from  Williamsburg,  Colonel  Wash- 
ington was  sometimes  able  to  grace  the  ballroom  in  his  regi- 
mental uniform  and  even  visit  occasionally  his  Mount  Vernon 
lands.  He  even  managed,  in  1756,  during  the  winter's  lull,  to 
visit  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston,  and  there  mix  mili- 
tary conferences  with  sight-seeing,  shopping,  and  the  social 
gaiety  that  only  these  cities  could  offer.  In  the  summer  of  1757, 
an  event  occurred  in  the  mother  country  which  was  to  affect 
both  Washington  and  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio  with  which  his 
military  fortunes  were  already  so  much  entwined.  To  the  post 
of  Secretary  of  State  in  the  British  cabinet  came  William  Pitt, 
blistering  debater  in  parliament,  master  strategist  in  military 
council,  daring  gambler  with  the  public  funds — and  for  stagger- 
ing stakes.  With  energy  driven  by  a  touch  of  madness  his 
leadership  turned  the  tide  of  war. 

In  the  American  theater  of  operations  the  rise  of  Pitt  brought 
about  the  great  campaign  of  1758.  Against  the  long  serpent  of 


156' 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

French  encirclement  the  British  fashioned  a  three-pronged  tri- 
dent. In  the  East  a  force  was  to  strike  at  the  fortress  of  Louis- 
burg  which  guarded  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  In  the 
center  an  expedition  was  to  move  against  Ticonderoga.  In  the 
West,  British  arms  were  once  again  to  attempt  the  capture  of 
Fort  Duquesne. 

To  Washington  this  expedition  promised  two  things:  it  would 
settle  accounts  with  the  tormentors  of  the  Virginia  frontier 
and  it  would  afford  a  new  opportunity  for  service  with  the 
Regulars  and  under  experts  in  the  military  profession. 

Virginia  pledged  not  only  one  regiment  for  the  campaign; 
she  raised  a  second.  To  the  command  of  the  second  Virginia 
regiment  was  called  another  proud  Virginian,  William  Byrd, 
III.  And  in  Williamsburg,  Francis  Fauquier  succeeded,  as 
governor  of  Virginia,  the  ill  and  aging  Dinwiddie. 

The  story  of  the  long  campaign  of  1758  follows  in  the  narra- 
tives of  eyewitnesses.  Without  impinging  on  their  accounts,  a 
few  comments  here  will  serve  to  summarize  the  important 
features  of  the  campaign  they  describe  firsthand. 

Under  Brigadier  John  Forbes  and  Colonel  Henry  Bouquet, 
Washington  met  and  served  two  commanders  who  brought  to 
their  assignments  not  only  the  skills  of  their  profession  but,  at 
last,  an  understanding  of  warfare  in  America.  For  Washington 
it  was  a  very  valuable  apprenticeship. 

To  the  campaign  General  Forbes  made  two  signal  contribu- 
tions. In  the  all-important  field  of  supply  his  plan  was  modern 
in  a  logistical  sense.  He  did  not  move  his  troops  until  his  pro- 
visions were  sufficient  and  nearby,  and  he  did  not  move  his 
provisions  until  he  had  fortified  a  base  ready  to  receive  them. 
This  made  for  slow  progress  and  a  long  campaign,  but  it  meant 
that  a  repulse  would  not  be  turned  into  a  route  for  lack  of  a 
nearby  rallying  point,  or  an  army  be  driven  from  the  field  for 


157 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

lack  of  provender.  In  short,  from  Braddock's  errors  came 
Forbes's  success. 

Forbes  made  an  important  contribution  in  the  field  of  diplo- 
macy, too.  While  ready  to  agree  heartily  with  the  frontiers- 
man that  the  only  good  Indian  was  a  dead  one,  he  realized  also 
that  dead  Indians  were  hard  come  by.  He  resolved  instead  of 
killing  Indians  to  gain  their  friendship.  The  delicate  and  danger- 
ous negotiations  to  win  their  confidence  also  slowed  the  cam- 
paign, but  Forbes's  patience  and  tact  finally  won  away  from  the 
French  many  of  their  wavering  red  allies. 

There  were  other  problems,  too.  Relations  between  the  army 
and  the  civil  population  taxed  the  patience  of  the  commanders. 
To  these  quarrels  were  added  the  harassment  of  Indian  foe  and 
the  exasperation  of  Indian  ally — one  could  not  live  with  Indians, 
and,  in  the  forest,  one  could  not  live  without  them. 

To  the  colonials,  too,  the  campaign  presented  problems.  The 
road  General  Forbes  had  his  men  cut  to  Fort  Duquesne  was  to 
them  only  a  necessary  drudgery  detail,  but  to  settlers  and 
traders  it  meant  a  permanent  way  to  the  rich  Ohio  Country 
and  the  vast  watershed  beyond.  And  so,  whether  this  avenue 
to  the  commerce  of  an  island  empire  should  begin  at  the  busy 
quays  of  Philadelphia  or  the  broad  expanses  of  Chesapeake  Bay 
roused  a  controversy  which  launched  an  intercolonial  struggle 
within  the  larger  international  conflict. 

But  out  of  the  patience  and  skill  of  John  Forbes,  who  like 
Edward  Braddock  died  far  from  his  homeland,  came  at  last  the 
victory:  the  French  left  forever  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio,  and 
the  road  was  open  westward. 

With  these  many  twisted  strands  is  woven  the  story  of  George 
Washington's  fourth  journey  into  Western  Pennsylvania. 


158 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

Forbes  and  Pittsburgh: 
Eyewitness  and  Contemporary  Accounts 

COLONEL  WASHINGTON  SEEKS  A  RECOMMENDATION 

Washington  to  Brigadier  General  John  Stanwix,1 
Fort  Loudoun,  Virginia,  April  10,  17582 

Dear  Sir:  Permit  me,  at  the  same  time  I  congratulate  you, 
(which  I  most  sincerely  do)  upon  your  promotion,  you  have 
met  with  and  justly  merited,  to  express  my  concern  at  the  pros- 
pect of  parting  with  you.  I  can  truly  say,  it  is  a  matter  of  no 
small  regret  to  me!  and  that  I  should  have  thought  myself  happy 
in  serving  this  campaign  under  your  immediate  command.  But 
every  thing,  I  hope,  is  ordered  for  the  best;  and  it  is  our  duty 
to  submit  to  the  will  of  our  superior.  I  must,  nevertheless,  beg, 
that  you  will  add  one  more  kindness  to  the  many  I  have  experi- 
enced, and  that  is,  to  mention  me  in  favorable  terms  to  General 
Forbes,3  (if  you  are  acquainted  with  that  gentleman,)  not  as  a 

1  General  Stanwix  commanded  all  forces  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia;  he  was  Washington's  immediate  military  superior. 

2  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  172. 

3  General  John  Forbes,  a  native  of  Scotland,  was  a  career  officer,  although 
educated  for  medicine.  He  distinguished  himself  particularly  in  the  War  of 
the  Austrian  Succession  and  won  rapid  promotion.  Early  in  1757  he  had  been 
sent  to  America  as  Colonel  of  the  17th  Foot.  In  December  of  the  same  year, 
Pitt  elevated  him  to  brigadier  general  and  gave  him  command  of  the  expedi- 
tion against  Fort  Duquesne.  He  was  so  ill  throughout  the  campaign  that  he 
was  forced  to  travel  the  last  six  weeks  in  a  litter  between  two  horses,  but  he 
forced  himself  to  continue  in  service  until  the  campaign  was  successful. 
Exhausted  and  emaciated,  he  died  a  few  months  after  his  victory,  on  March 
11,  1759,  and  was  buried  with  military  honors  befitting  his  rank  in  Christ 
Church,  Philadelphia. 


159 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

person,  who  would  depend  upon  him  for  further  recommenda- 
tion to  military  preferment,  for  I  have  long  conquered  all  such 
expectancies,  (and  serve  this  campaign  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  affording  my  best  endeavors  to  bring  matters  to  a  conclu- 
sion), but  as  a  person,  who  would  gladly  be  distinguished  in 
some  measure  from  the  common  run  of  provincial  officers,  as  I 
understand  there  will  be  a  motely  herd  of  us.  .  .  . 

THE  GOVERNOR  OF  CANADA  REPORTS  ON  BORDER  WARFARE 

The  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil4  to  his  home  government, 
Montreal,  February  13,  17585 

Monseigneur, 

Since  the  letter  that  I  had  the  honor  to  write  you,  by  the  last 
vessels,  concerning  the  region  of  the  Belle  Riviere,  nothing 
very  important  has  happened  there,  but  our  parties  continued 
to  harry  our  enemies. 

4  Frenchmen  of  the  Illinois  detachment,  who  had  been  in 
the  field  for  two  months,  came  back  with  the  scalps  of  two 
Englishmen  killed  in  Pinsilvanie. 

A  Canadian  voyageur,  who  had  raised  a  savage  party,  took 
12  prisoners  and  18  scalps  in  the  same  country. 

Two  cadets  of  our  troops  also  returned  with  two  scalps  taken 
on  the  Riviere  Potomack. 

M.  de  Rocheblave,6  at  the  head  of  4  Canadians  and  a  few 
savages,  took  13  prisoners  and  4  scalps.  He  destroyed  a  con- 
siderable number  of  oxen  and  other  animals. 

4  Pierre-Francois  de  Rigaud,  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  had  succeeded  Duquesne 
as  governor  of  New  France. 

5  From  S.  K.  Stevens  and  D.  H.  Kent,  editors,  Wilderness  Chronicles  of 
Northwestern  Pennsylvania  (Harrisburg,  1941),  pp.  109-111.  Cited  hereafter 
as  Wilderness  Chronicles. 

6  Sieur  de  Rocheblave  was  a  cadet  in  the  French  forces  who  led  many 
raiding  parties  against  the  English  frontier. 


160 


Portrait  of  General  John  Forbes  by  John  Watson, 
probably  painted  in  Philadelphia  between  April  20 
and  June  27,  1758,  before  Forbes  came  west  to 
Fort  Duquesne;  owned  by  Alan  Scaife  of  Pittsburgh 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

M.  de  Vercheres7  took  two  prisoners  and  one  scalp  in  the 
settlements  of  Virginia. 

Two  other  cadets  of  our  troops  also  returned  with  two  scalps. 

All  our  parties  have  carried  terror  among  our  enemies  to  a 
point  that  the  settlements  of  the  English  in  Pinsilvanie,  Mari- 
land,  and  Virginia  are  abandoned.  All  the  settlers  have  re- 
treated to  the  city  or  into  the  forest.  .  .  . 

I  had  the  honor,  Monseigneur,  to  report  the  departure  of  the 
Jesuit  to  establish  a  mission  among  the  tribes  of  the  Belle 
Riviere.  He  has  reached  there,  but  at  the  beginning  he  did  not 
have  the  success  that  his  zeal  made  him  desire.  He  has,  never- 
theless, baptised  a  few  children  and  begun  to  instill  the  senti- 
ments of  Christianity  in  several  savages.  This  is  a  work  that 
requires  time  and  patience.  I  am  also  exhorting  this  missionary 
not  to  be  discouraged  and  to  have  as  much  perseverance  as  is 
necessary  for  an  object  of  such  importance. 

COLONEL  WASHINGTON  REPORTS  ON  BORDER  WARFARE 

Washington  to  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  Ft.  Loudoun,  Virginia,  May  4,  1758s 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  now  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  Uca- 
hula,  an  Indian  Warrior,  who  brought  in  the  scalps  mentioned  in 
my  last.  His  account  is  nearly  the  following: 

That,  about  the  1st.  of  last  month,  Lt.  Gist9  with  6  Soldiers, 
and  30  Indians,  left  the  South-branch  of  Potomack-river;  and 
after  a  tedious  march,  occasioned  by  deep  snows  on  the  moun- 
tains, they  got  upon  the  waters  of  Monongahela,  where  Mr. 
Gist,  by  a  fall  from  a  steep  Bank,  got  lamed,  and  was  rendered 

7  A  cadet  named  de  Vercheres  was  stationed  at  Fort  Duquesne  in  1755 
and  was  no  doubt  the  leader  of  the  raiding  party  mentioned. 

8  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  191-92. 

9  Christopher  Gist 


161 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

incapable  of  marching:  That  the  white  men  and  some  Indians 
staid  with  him,  and  the  remainder  of  the  Indians  divided  into 
three  small  parties  and  proceeded,  when  he  (Ucahula)  with 
two  others,  went  down  the  Monongahela  in  a  bark-canoe,  and 
landed  on  the  north-side,  not  far  from  Ft.  du  Quesne. 

That  they  lay  concealed  two  days  to  make  discoveries  and, 
if  possible  to  get  a  prisoner;  but  no  favourable  opportunity 
offering  to  accomplish  the  latter,  they  attacked  a  canoe  in 
which  two  french-men  were  fishing;  both  of  whom  they  killed 
and  scalped,  in  sight  of  some  other  frenchmen,  also  afishing. 

This  indians  account  of  F.  DuQuesne,  corresponds  with  most 
others  I  have  heard,  vizt.  that  it  is  strong  on  the  land-side,  but 
stockaded  only,  where  it  faces  the  Ohio-river.  It  does  not  ap- 
pear, from  his  information,  that  there  are  many  men  there,  or 
that  they  have  thrown  up  any  New  Works.  He  saw  a  party  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  which  he  supposed  to  be  newly  come, 
because  there  were  several  canoes  near  them,  and  they  seemed 
to  be  busy  in  putting  up  bark-huts,  which  however  were  not 
many;  and  only  two  Tents  pitched.  When  he  had  got  about 
1 5  miles  on  this  side  of  Fort  du  Quesne,  he  came  upon  a  large 
indian  encampment,  and  tracks,  steering  towards  Virginia,  and 
after  the  parties  had  joined  and  were  marching  in,  Lt.  Gist 
came  upon  a  track  of  another  large  party,  pursuing  the  same 
course.  These  parties  have  since  fallen  upon  the  back-inhabitants 
of  Augusta-County,  and  destroyed  near  50  persons,  besides  an 
Officer  and  18  men,  belonging  to  Captn.  Hogg's10  ranging- 
company,  who  we  suppose  (for  I  have  no  advice  from  him) 
were  sent  to  the  country-peoples'  assistance.  As  soon  as  I  ob- 
tained notice  of  this,  I  ordered  a  Detachment  from  the  Regi- 
ment, and  some  Indians,  that  were  equipped  for  War,  to  march, 
and  endeavour  to  intercept  their  retreat,  if  they  are  not  too 

10  Peter  Hog,  who  had  commanded  a  company  at  Fort  Necessity. 


162 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

numerous.  I  have  also  engaged  Ucahula,  with  a  small  party  of 
brisk  men,  to  go  immediately  for  Ft.  du  Quesne,  and  try  to 
get  a  Prisoner.  He  seems  confident  of  success,  and  promises 
to  be  back  in  20  days  at  the  farthest. 

COLONEL  HENRY  BOUQUET  DESCRIBES  THE 
PREPARATION  OF  A  CAMPAIGN 

Bouquet11  to  General  John  Forbes,  Carlisle,  Pa.,  June  7,  175812 

Sir, 

As  the  arms,  tents,  and  munitions  have  not  yet  arrived,  I 
have  been  obliged  to  delay  my  departure,  for  there  is  no  one 
here  to  whom  I  can  entrust  the  detail  and  the  distribution  of 
the  different  articles. 

312  muskets,  cartridges,  bayonets,  and  blankets  arrived  to- 
day for  the  provincials.  I  immediately  supplied  Burd13  with 

11  Henry  Bouquet,  a  French-speaking  protestant  from  Switzerland,  was 
an  outstanding  professional  soldier.  His  service  in  the  Dutch  and  Sardinian 
armies  attracted  the  attention  of  the  British  who  offered  him  a  commission 
as  lieutenant  colonel  of  the  new  Royal  American  Regiment.  He  accepted  it, 
and  came  to  America  in  the  spring  of  1756.  After  his  service  under  Forbes, 
he  continued  to  serve  on  the  frontier  throughout  the  war.  During  the  Pontiac 
War,  he  won  a  brilliant  victory  over  the  woods  Indians  at  Bushy  Run. 
Bouquet  skilfully  adapted  European  tactics  to  conditions  of  frontier  warfare. 
In  his  use  of  open  combat  formations,  he  was  a  precursor  of  modern  military 
thinking.  He  died  a  brigadier  general  in  1765,  victim  of  a  fever  contracted 
while  on  campaign  on  the  southern  frontier. 

12  S.  K.  Stevens,  D.  H.  Kent  and  Autumn  L.  Leonard,  editors,  The  Papers 
of  Henry  Bouquet  (Harrisburg,  1951),  II,  47-51.  Cited  hereafter  as  Papers 
of  Bouquet. 

13  Colonel  James  Burd  commanded  the  Second  Battalion  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania regiment  in  Forbes's  army.  In  1755  he  had  been  in  charge  of  building 
from  the  Pennsylvania  settlements  the  supply  road  which  was  to  connect 
with  Braddock's  route  of  march  at  Turkeyfoot,  now  Confluence,  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  1756,  he  commanded  Pennsylvania's  frontier  post  of  Fort  Augusta. 
In  1759,  he  built  Fort  Burd  near  the  mouth  of  Redstone  Creek  as  a  supply 


163 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

169  muskets,  and  delivered  his  old  guns  to  the  two  captains, 
McNight14  and  Boyer,15  to  arm  their  companies  while  waiting 
to  get  others.  This  battalion  is  marching  tomorrow  to  join 
Armstrong16  at  Littleton.17 

In  spite  of  all  the  repairs  made  on  the  roads,  they  are  almost 
impassable  beyond  Shippensburg  because  of  the  continual  rains 
on  the  clay  soil.  Several  wagons  have  stuck  in  the  mud,  and 
several  have  been  three  days  in  going  from  Shippensburg  to 
Fort  Loudoun.18  I  am  having  them  worked  on  continually,  but 
they  must  be  given  time  to  become  hard.  This  is  an  obstacle 
that  cannot  be  overcome. 

Col.  Stephens,19  with  600  men  of  the  Virginia  troops  (5  of 
Washington's  companies,  and  a  company  of  carpenters) ,  is  at 
Fort  Loudoun,  Cumberland  County,  also  busy  repairing  roads. 

One  is  not  through  with  one  difficulty  before  falling  into 

depot  between  Fort  Cumberland  and  Fort  Pitt,  and  in  1760,  rose  to  the 
command  of  Fort  Pitt  itself.  He  later  served  in  Pontiac's  War  and  the 
Revolution. 

14  John  McNight  was  a  captain  of  the  First  Battalion  of  the  Pennsylvania 
regiment. 

15  John  Byers  was  a  captain  of  the  Second  Battalion  of  the  Pennsylvania 
regiment. 

16  Colonel  John  Armstrong,  Irish-born  frontiersman  and  surveyor,  com- 
manded the  Pennsylvania  regiment.  In  1756,  he  had  led  the  successful  sur- 
prise attack  on  the  Delaware  village  of  Kittanning  on  the  Allegheny  River, 
a  point  of  origin  for  many  raids  against  the  frontier.  During  the  Revolution, 
Armstrong  rose  to  the  rank  of  major  general  and  later  served  in  Congress. 

17  Fort  Littleton  was  built  in  1758  in  what  is  today  Fulton  County.  Origi- 
nally part  of  Pennsylvania's  frontier  defense,  it  became  a  post  on  Forbes's  road. 

18  Fort  Loudoun,  Pennsylvania,  like  Fort  Loudoun,  Virginia,  had  been 
named  for  Lord  Loudoun,  British  commander  in  chief  for  North  America 
from  early  in  1756  until  the  spring  of  1758.  Fort  Loudoun,  Pennsylvania, 
was  close  to  the  present  town  of  the  same  name,  and  was  the  starting  point 
for  Forbes's  road. 

19  This  was  Adam  Stephen,  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  first  Virginia  regi- 
ment and  veteran  of  Fort  Necessity  and  Braddock's  defeat. 


164- 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

another.  The  pork  for  our  stores,  which  was  bought  in  Mary- 
land or  Carolina,  is  worthless;  and  you  will  see  by  the  enclosed 
report  that  the  sample  we  have  inspected,  is  not  acceptable.  . .  . 

The  flour  is  not  white,  but  as  it  is  good  and  the  mills  of  this 
country  cannot  grind  it  finer,  I  think— if  you  approve— that 
this  can  be  overlooked.  .  .  . 

We  got  98  horses  yesterday  which  are  better  or,  rather,  not 
so  bad  as  I  was  expecting.  Today  they  were  divided  into  two 
troops.  .  .  . 

I  had  15  men  taken  from  Burd,  and  6  from  the  two  com- 
panies of  new  recruits  here,  to  whom  horses  will  be  given  to- 
morrow. If  all  the  cavalrymen  are  as  well  chosen,  you  can  ex- 
pect a  troop  of  fine  men. 

We  are  waiting  for  the  saddles  and  pistols,  but  they  say  there 
are  neither  brushes  nor  curry-combs.  .  .  . 

Until  tents  can  be  obtained  for  the  new  recruits,  nothing  can 
be  done  with  them.  There  is  no  way  of  accommodating  more 
than  200  men  here;  and  it  is  only  by  having  them  together  that 
they  can  be  chosen,  and  each  man  put  in  the  place  for  which 
he  is  best  suited. 

.  .  .  The  Cherokees  are  behaving  so  badly  that  it  seems  they 
have  made  their  decision,  and  are  ready  to  leave  us.  .  .  . 

The  success  Bosomworth20  has,  will  soon  determine  what 
we  can  expect  of  them.  If  they  wish  to  come  to  Loudoun,  all 
could  yet  be  reconciled;  if  they  refuse,  we  can  no  longer  count 
on  them.  The  only  compensation  left  to  us  if  they  leave,  is 
that  we  will  no  longer  be  obliged  to  hurry.  We  have  no  regular 
attack  to  fear,  and  the  French  will  find  as  many  difficulties  in 
keeping  their  Indians  as  we;  and  if  we  both  lose  them,  the 
advantage  surely  remains  on  our  side. 

20  Captain  Abraham  Bosomworth  was  assigned  to  liason  with  the  southern 
Indians. 


165 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Captain  Gordon21  arrived  here  on  the  4th.  I  expect  his  convoy 
tomorrow.  With  what  he  brought,  we  have  only  about  40,000 
cartridges,  which  for  2000  men  is  only  20  shots  each;  and  none 
are  left  in  reserve,  nor  anything  to  supply  the  artillery. 

At  Winchester  there  were  40  barrels  of  powder  and  170 
boxes  of  bullets,  which  would  still  not  be  enough.  I  think  you 
will  be  obliged  to  buy  two  or  three  hundred  barrels  of  powder 
at  Philadelphia,  for  it  will  be  necessary  to  use  a  great  deal  to 
train  these  new  recruits  a  little,  and  to  drill  our  troops  in  forest 
warfare. 

A  large  part  of  the  provincials  are  armed  with  grooved  rifles 
and  have  their  molds.  Lead  in  bars  will  suit  them  better  than 
bullets — likewise  the  Indians — ,  but  they  also  need  fine  pow- 
der FF. 

I  beg  you  to  send  us  munitions,  cartridge  paper,  and  a  quan- 
tity of  gunflints. 

Each  wagon  should  have  two  ropes  with  two  strong  iron 
hooks  at  the  ends,  so  that  the  soldiers  can  pull  them  out  of  the 
mudholes,  and  help  them  to  climb  the  mountains. 

A  number  of  ropes  an  inch  in  circumference  to  tie  the  loads 
on  the  pack  horses,  if  they  have  not  already  been  provided. 

I  am  exhausting  your  patience  by  so  many  requests,  but  I 
think  I  have  finished.  .  .  . 

As  I  am  obliged  to  make  much  of  the  country  folk  on  the 
one  hand,  while  I  scold  them  on  the  other,  I  cannot  avoid  recom- 
mending a  trifle,  which  is  to  find  some  way  of  paying,  through 
the  medium  of  Mr.  Stevenson22  at  York,  the  cost  of  that  cursed 
horse  which  was  drowned  last  year  in  the  service  of  the  second 

21  This  was  the  same  Harry  Gordon  who  served  as  an  engineer  with 
Braddock. 

22  George  Stevenson  was  a  recruiting  officer  for  the  Pennsylvania  regiment 
in  York  County. 


166 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

battalion  of  the  R.  A.23  That  will  have  a  very  good  effect,  and 
will  smooth  over  many  difficulties. 

The  five  deserters  from  the  Pennsylvania  regiment,  who  were 
arrested  at  Reading,  have  been  brought  here.  I  do  not  think 
that  they  can  be  hung,  as  they  have  not  been  paid,  but  they 
can  be  made  to  fear  it  at  Reas  Town.24 

I  have  collected  a  dozen  poor  horses  which  belonged  to  Gen- 
eral Braddock's  expedition,  and  I  am  assured  that  there  are 
still  more  than  150  included  among  the  strayed,  which  by  the 
law  of  England  belong  to  the  King  until  the  proprietor  shows 
up.  If  you  consider  it  worth  the  trouble,  you  might  have  an 
order  published  to  give  them  up,  promising  a  crown  for  those 
who  bring  or  find  them,  and  menacing  those  who  disobey  with 
the  penalty  of  the  law.  They  could  be  given  to  the  officers  on 
condition  that  they  be  used  for  expresses  when  needed,  and  for 
pack  horses  on  occasion. 

The  number  of  merchants  asking  to  follow  the  army  makes 
me  think  that  if  you  offer  some  encouragement,  you  could  en- 
gage workmen  of  useful  trades,  such  as  tailors,  saddlers,  gun- 
smiths, wheelwrights,  blacksmiths,  etc.,  to  come  with  the  army 
without  wages  and  of  their  own  accord.  This  would  be  very 
helpful  in  the  woods,  and  would  save  paying  those  people.  .  .  . 

THE  GOVERNOR  OF  CANADA  LEARNS  OF  THE 
APPROACH  OF  A  BRITISH  ARMY 

The  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  to  his  home  government,  June  10,  175825 

Monseigneur, 

I  am  still  interested  in  maintaining  savage  parties  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Fort  Chamokin.26 

23  RA.  stood,  not  for  Regular  Army,  as  it  does  in  today's  military  par- 
lance, but  for  Royal  Americans.  This  was  a  regiment  of  the  British  regular 


167 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

The  first  party,  composed  of  12  Irroquois  of  the  Five  Na- 
tions and  14  Loups,27  returned  with  7  prisoners  and  15  scalps. 

The  seond  party  took  7  scalps  and  2  prisoners. 

A  third  Loup  party  returned  with  4  scalps  and  8  prisoners. 

These  prisoners  reported  that  7,000  regulars  had  landed,  but 
they  did  not  know  their  destination. 

The  savages  assured  M.  de  La  Chauvignerie28  that  the  army 
which  was  forming  was  intended  for  the  Belle  Riviere,  and 
that  the  English  would  set  out  on  the  march  from  the  10th  to 
the  15th  of  May. 

It  will  certainly  not  be  my  fault,  Monseigneur,  if  the  care  I 
am  taking  to  harry  our  enemy  vigorously  on  all  sides  does  not 
oblige  them  to  abandon  their  plans. 

"THIS  EXPEDITION,  WHICH  IS  BELIEVED  SO  EASY,  IS  FULL 
OF  ALMOST  INSURMOUNTABLE  DIFFICULTIES" 

Bouquet  to  Forbes,  Fort  Loudoun,  Pennsylvania,  June  11,  175829 

You  are  not  to  overlook  the  fact  that  no  one  in  this  country 
can  be  relied  on.  At  all  times,  private  interests  outweigh  the 
general  welfare.  .  .  . 


army  recruited  in  America.  It  was  later  known  as  the  Sixtieth  Foot. 

24  Fort  Raystown  was  later  renamed  Fort  Bedford  after  the  fourth  Duke 
of  Bedford,  a  leading  British  statesman  of  the  day.  It  is  now  known  as  Bed- 
ford. It  was  a  major  supply  base  for  Forbes's  army. 

25  From  Wilderness  Chronicles,  p.  111. 

26  This  was  Fort  Augusta  at  the  site  of  the  former  Iroquois  village  of 
Shamokin  at  the  forks  of  the  Susquehanna,  now  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania. 

27  Loups  was  the  French  name  for  Delawares. 

28  Michel  Maray  de  la  Chauvignerie,  a  lieutenant,  commanded  Fort 
Machault,  the  French  post  at  Venango,  now  Franklin,  Pennsylvania. 

29  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  73-74. 


168 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

The  farther  I  go  away  from  the  settlements,  the  more  I  see 
that  this  expedition,  which  is  believed  so  easy,  is  full  of  almost 
insurmountable  difficulties.  For  want  of  stores  prepared  in  ad- 
vance, we  shall  consume  daily  almost  as  much  provisions  as 
can  be  transported  over  such  roads. 

If  obliged  to  open  all  the  roads,  we  shall  be  obliged  to  march 
like  tortoises,  very  slowly,  and  carrying  everything  on  our 
backs.  I  am  told  that  Braddock's  army  went  3  days  without 
finding  grass  for  the  horses,  which  made  them  unfit  to  carry 
provisions;  and  he  would  have  been  likely  to  die  of  hunger, 
if  he  had  beaten  the  enemy. 

No  reliance  can  be  made  in  the  reports  of  the  people  who 
claim  to  know  the  country,  after  passing  Reas  Town.  All  whom 
I  have  questioned  contradict  each  other,  and  we  shall  only  learn 
the  truth  about  it  by  exploring  the  country  ourselves. 

WASHINGTON  WRITES  HIS  COMMANDER  OF  THE 
IMPORTANCE  OF  INDIAN  ALLIES 

Washington  to  Forbes,  Fort  Loudoun,  Virginia,  June  19,  175830 

Sir:  Pardon  the  liberty  I  am  going  to  take;  a  liberty,  that 
nothing  but  the  most  disinterested  regard  for  the  safety  and 
welfare  of  these  Colonies  wou'd  cause  me  to  take.  How  far  my 
notions  on  what  I  am  going  to  observe  is  compatable  with 
Reason,  and  how  far  they  may  corrispond  with  your  Sentiments 
on  the  matter,  I  shall  candidly  submit  to  your  [Excellency's 
determination] . 

The  unfortunate  arrival  of  the  Cherokees  into  these  Govern- 
ments so  early  in  the  Spring,31  and  the  unavoidable  Accidents 

30  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  215-16. 

31  The  Cherokees  had  arrived  before  Forbes's  army  was  ready  to  march. 
It  was  feared  that  friction  between  them  and  the  white  population  would 
cause  them  to  go  home  again  before  the  army  marched. 


69 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

that  have  hitherto  prevented  a  junction  of  the  Troops,  intended 
for  the  Western  Expedition,  has  caus'd  the  Indians  (who  natu- 
rally are  of  a  discontented  Tempers)  to  be  tired  of  waiting, 
and  all,  except  those  who  came  with  Colo.  Byrd,32  and  a  few 
others  that  have  promised  to  join  him,  to  return  home;  how 
long  these  can  be  prevail'd  upon  to  remain  with  us,  I  won't 
absolutely  affirm;  but  this  I  can  venture  to  say  not  6  Weeks, 
if  it  requires  that  time  to  form  our  Magazines  and  prepare  for 
our  March,  as  Colo.  Bouquet  seem'd  to  think  it  will.  Now,  in 
this  event,  we  are  left  to  perform  a  March  of  more  than  100 
Miles  from  our  most  advanc'd  Post,  before  we  shall  arrive  at 
Fort  Duquesne;  a  great  part  of  which  over  Mountains  and 
Rocks,  and  thro'  some  such  defiles  as  will  enable  the  Enemy, 
with  assistance  of  their  Indian's  and  Irregulars;  and  their  Supe- 
rior knowledge  of  the  Country,  to  render  our  March  extremely 
arduous,  perhaps  impracticable;  and  at  best  very  tedious;  unless 
assisted  by  a  considerable  Body  of  Indians,  who  I  conceive  to 
be  the  only  Troops  fit  to  cope  with  Indians  in  such  Grounds; 
for,  I  must  beg  leave  further  to  add,  that  I  can  not  look  upon 
strength  and  Success  in  the  Woods  to  be  the  Consequence  of 
Numbers;  on  the  contrary,  I  conceive  the  designs  of  an  un- 
wieldy Body  of  Troops,  marching  as  Convoys,  may  be  frus- 
trated by  a  few;  this  I  am  certain  off,  they  may  be  greatly 
harrass'd;  and  their  March  much  incommoded  by  the  Sculking 
Enemy  we  shall  have  to  deal  with. 

From  what  has,  and  might  be  said  on  this  [occasion  it  would] 
appear  that  Indians,  to  Us,  are  of  the  utmost  Importance;  and 
as  I  understand  your  Excellency  proposes  to  keep  open  the 

32  William  Byrd,  III,  colonel  of  the  second  Virginia  regiment.  Before 
assuming  command  of  the  new  regiment,  Byrd  had  served  as  a  commissioner 
for  Virginia  among  the  southern  Indians,  and  was  more  successful  than  most 
of  his  contemporaries  in  dealing  with  the  red  men. 


170' 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

Communication  with  the  Inhabitants,33  and  secure  a  retreat  by 
the  construction  of  Posts  at  advantageous  situations,  and  proper 
distances,  as  the  Army  advances;  (a  work  truly  of  the  greatest 
Importance,  especially  as  we  will  too  probably  begin  our  March 
with  a  handfull  of  Indians)  I  think  it  wou'd  be  practacable 
by  the  prosecution  of  this  plan,  to  get  a  Number  of  the  Indians, 
(by  sending  a  person  of  abilities  and  adress  immediately  for 
them)  before  we  cou'd  approach  Fort  Duquesne;  and  I  think 
it  is  not  likely  we  shall  meet  with  any  formidable  attack  till 
we  get  pretty  near  that  place.  .  .  . 

WASHINGTON  PROPOSES  INDIAN  DRESS 
FOR  THE  VIRGINIA  REGIMENT 

Washington  to  Bouquet,  Fort  Cumberland,34  July  3,  175835 

My  Men  are  very  bare  of  Cloaths  (Regimentals36  I  mean) , 
and  I  have  no  prospect  of  a  Supply;  this  want,  so  far  from  my 
regretting  during  this  Campaigne,  that  were  I  left  to  pursue 
my  own  Inclinations  I  wou'd  not  only  order  the  Men  to  adopt 
the  Indian  dress,37  but  cause  the  Officers  to  do  it  also,  and  be 
the  first  to  set  the  example  myself.  Nothing  but  the  uncertainty 
of  its  taking  with  the  General  causes  me  to  hesitate  a  moment 
at  leaving  my  Regimentals  at  this  place,  and  proceeding  as  light 
as  any  Indian  in  the  Woods.  'T  is  an  unbecoming  dress,  I  con- 

33  That  is,  keep  a  road  open  to  the  settlements  after  passing  into  unin- 
habited country. 

34  Washington  had  now  left  the  home  base  of  the  Virginia  regiment,  Fort 
Loudoun  at  Winchester,  and  had  arrived  on  July  2nd  at  Fort  Cumberland 
at  Wills  Creek,  there  to  await  further  orders. 

35  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  229. 

36  Regimentals,  that  is,  the  distinctive  uniform  designed  for,  but  usually 
not  supplied,  the  first  Virginia  regiment. 

37  Hunting  shirt  and  leggings. 


171 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

fess,  for  an  officer;  but  convenience  rather  than  shew,  I  think 
shou'd  be  consulted. 

BOUQUET  REPORTS  THE  ENDLESS  DIFFICULTIES  OF  A 
EUROPEAN  ARMY  IN  THE  AMERICAN  WILDERNESS 

Bouquet  to  Forbes,  Camp  near  Raystown,  July  11,  175838 

All  the  letters  I  receive  from  Virginia  are  rilled  with  nothing 
but  the  impossibility  of  finding  a  passage  across  Lawrell  Hill,39 
and  the  ease  of  going  by  Braddock's  road.  This  is  a  matter  of 
politics  between  one  province  and  another,  in  which  we  have 
no  part;  and  I  have  always  avoided  saying  a  word  on  this  sub- 
ject, as  I  am  certain  that  we  shall  find  a  passage,  and  mat- 
in that  case — we  should  for  many  reasons  prefer  this  route, 
if  not  for  the  whole  army,  at  least  for  a  large  detachment. 

I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  assure  you  positively  of  the  possi- 
bility of  this  passage,  as  the  Indian  rascals  I  had  sent  to  explore 
it  with  4  officers  and  30  of  our  men  deserted  them  under  the 
pretext  that  their  omens40  were  bad,  which  forced  them  for 
lack  of  provisions  to  return  without  doing  anything.  .  .  . 

The  Catawbas  have  left  us  like  scoundrels,  after  bringing  us 
one  scalp,  which  was  recognized  by  the  Cherokees  as  an  old 
scalp  which  they  themselves  gave  them41  in  the  spring.  .  .  . 

The  roads  are  strewn  with  broken  wagons.  The  wagon  mas- 
ters for  the  most  part  are  good  for  nothing.  The  officers  who 
are  escorting  them  have  added  further  to  the  evil,  which  has 
obliged  me  to  forbid  them  to  meddle  with  horses  and  wagons 
until  further  orders.  .  .  . 

38  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  179-182. 

39  Laurel  Hill  is  the  next  to  the  last  western  ridge  of  the  Appalachians  in 
Pennsylvania. 

40  The  Indians,  like  other  primitive  people,  were  extremely  superstitious. 

41  One  Indian  tribe  invited  another  tribe  to  join  them  on  the  warpath  by 
sending  the  hoped-for  allies  a  scalp  taken  from  the  intended  enemies. 


172^ 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

If  you  cannot  come  soon,  I  beg  you  to  send  me  a  warrant  for 
general  courts  martial.  An  example  must  be  made  to  stop  deser- 
tion. We  have  a  man  here,  who  has  offered  his  services  to  do 
the  hanging.  .  .  . 

The  sabers  .  .  .  which  were  given  to  the  light  cavalry,  are  a 
joke.  It  is  their  principal  weapon,  and  they  could  not  kill  a 
chicken  with  this  tiny  knife.  ...  I  should  like  you  to  have 
curved  sabers  bought  for  them,  which  they  could  use  on  occa- 
sion. This  expense,  moreover,  is  nothing  if  we  succeed;  and 
if  we  fail,  everything  will  be  likewise  too  expensive. 

OF  INDIAN  RAIDS 
Washington  to  Bouquet,  Fort  Cumberland,  Maryland,  July  13,  175842 

Camp  at  Fort  Cumbd.  abt  9  Thursday  Night,  July  13,  1758. 

Sir:  About  4  Oclock  this  Afternoon,  after  I  had  clos'd  my 
letter  to  you,  I  receiv'd  Intelligence  that  two  Men  were  kill'd 
and  a  third  taken  prisoner  on  the  Road43  about  a  Mile  from  this 
place.  I  got  the  Indians  to  go,  and  sent  a  Command  of  50  Men 
immediately  to  the  spot,  where  they  took  the  Track  of  six 
Indians,  and  followed  them  till  near  dark;  when  the  Indians 
return'd,  as  did  our  Party  also. 

They  discover'd  that  one  of  the  Men  kill'd  was  a  Soldier  of 
the  second  Regiment;  and  that  the  other  two  were  herders  go- 
ing to  our  Grass  Guards44  in  the  most  careless,  stragling  manner, 

42  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  236. 

43  The  road  referred  to  was  Braddock's  Road.  While  Washington  was  at 
Fort  Cumberland,  scouting  and  working  parties  were  sent  out  on  Braddock's 
Road.  At  first,  it  was  thought  that  part  of  the  army  might  use  the  road. 
After  this  idea  was  abandoned,  parties  were  still  sent  out  to  confuse  the 
French  as  to  the  actual  route  planned  by  Forbes. 

44  Grass  guards  were  men  tending  grazing  horses  and  the  cattle  driven 
with  the  army  to  provide  fresh  meat. 


173 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

contrary  to  repeated  Orders  and  positive  orders  given,  to  pre- 
vent Soldiers  stragling  from  camp,  or  small  Parties  going  out. 
The  Mischief  was  done  about  8  this  Morning.  Our  discovery 
of  it  too  late  to  give  us  a  chance  to  overtaking  the  enemy.  I 
thought  it  advisable  nevertheless  to  give  you  Information  that 
the  Enemy  are  abt.,  and  that  I  expect  we  shall  be  pester'd  w'h 
them  all  this  Moon;  haunting  our  Camps;  and  watching  our 
Motions. 

OF  COUNTER-RAIDS 

Washington  to  Bouquet,  Fort  Cumberland,  Maryland,  July  16,  175845 

Camp  at  Fort  Cumberland,  July  16,  1758. 

Sir:  I  was  favoured  with  yours  of  the  14th.  Inst't,  at  11 
Oclock  last  Night,  the  Express  who  brought  it,  informs  me, 
that  he  was  twice  fired  at  by  six  Indians,  and  oblig'd  to  abandon 
his  Horse. 

There's  three  Parties  gone  from  hence  towards  the  Enemy's 
Country  within  these  few  days.  The  largest  of  them,  (consist- 
ing of  an  Officer  and  18  Cherokees,)  March'd  3  days  ago.  I 
always  send  out  some  white  people  with  the  Indians,  and  will 
to  day  or  to  morrow,  send  an  Officer  and  some  alert  white 
men,  with  another  Party  of  Cherokees  as  you  desire  it;  tho' 
I  must  confess,  that  I  think  these  Scalping  Parties  of  Indians 
we  send  out,  will  more  effectually  harass  the  Enemy  (by  keep- 
ing them  under  continual  Alarms)  than  any  Parties  of  white 
People  can  do;  because  small  parties  of  ours  are  not  equal  to 
the  undertaking,  (not  being  so  dexterous  at  skulking  as  Indians;) 
and  large  ones  will  be  discovered  by  their  spies  early  enough 
to  give  the  Enemy  time  to  repell  them  by  a  superior  Force;  .  .  . 

45  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  237. 


174« 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 
BOUQUET  FRETS  ABOUT  INTER-COLONIAL  RIVALRY46 

Bouquet  to  Forbes,  Camp  near  Raystown,  Pennsylvania, 
July  21,  175847 

The  Virginia  party  in  regard  to  your  route  is  continuing  in 
full  force,  and  although  the  secret  motive  animating  them  ap- 
pears to  smack  of  partiality,  it  seems  to  me,  however,  that 
this  is  an  additional  reason  for  acting  with  double  caution  in  a 
matter  of  this  consequence,  in  order  that  we  may  answer  their 
outcries  convincingly  in  case  of  an  accident,  which  they  would 
not  fail  to  attribute  to  the  choice  of  a  new  route. 

GENERAL  FORBES  SUSPECTS  THE  MOTIVES  OF  VIRGINIANS 

Forbes  to  Bouquet,  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  July  23,  175848 

As  I  disclaim  all  parties  myself,  should  be  sorry  that  they 
were  to  Creep  in  amongst  us.  I  therefore  cannot  Conceive  what 
the  Virginia  folks  would  be  att,  for  to  me  it  appears  to  be  them, 
and  them  only,  that  want  to  drive  us  into  the  road  by  Fort 
Cumberland,  no  doubt  in  opposition  to  the  Pennsylvanians  who 
by  Raestown  would  have  a  nigher  Communication  [than  them] 
to  the  Ohio. 

WASHINGTON  PLEADS  FOR  THE  SOUTHERN  ROUTE 
TO  THE  OHIO 

Washington  to  Bouquet,  Fort  Cumberland,  Maryland,  July  25,  175849 

I  shall  most  chearfully  proceed  to  Work  on  any  Road;  — 

46  The  next  nine  excerpts  illustrate  the  controversy  over  the  army's  route. 
Virginians  were  for  Braddock's  route  which  would  strengthen  the  ties  be- 
tween the  Ohio  Country  and  Virginia;  Pennsylvanians  were  for  the  new 
all-Pennsylvania  route.  Forbes  and  Bouquet  were  caught  in  the  middle  of 
the  struggle. 


175 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

pursue  any  Rout;— enter  upon  any  Service  that  the  General  or 
yourself  can  think  me  qualified  for,  or  usefully  employed  in; 
and  shall  never  have  a  Will  of  my  own  where  a  point  of  Duty 
is  required  at  my  hands:  but  since  you  desire  me  to  speake, 
permit  me  to  observe  this;  that  after  having  examind  all  the 
Guides,50  and  been  convinced  by  them  and  every  other  Person 
who  has  knowledge  of  that  Country,  that  a  Road  comparable 
to  General  Braddocks/or  indeed  fit  for  any  Service  at  all,  even 
for  Carrying  Horses51  /cannot  be  made.  ...  I  don't  know  what 
reports  your  Reconnoitring  Parties  have  given,  but  I  have  been 
told  on  all  hands  that  if  any  thing  is  expected  there,  disappoint- 
ments will  ensue,  for  nothing  can  be  taken  that  way  without 
distroying  of  our  Carrying  Horses,  so  extreame  bad  the  Hills  are. 

BOUQUET  LISTS  THE  ADVANTAGES  AND  DISADVANTAGES 
OF  BRADDOCK'S  ROAD 

Bouquet  to  Forbes,  Camp  near  Raystown,  Pennsylvania, 
July  26,  175852 

Colonel  Washington  has  had  the  beginning  of  Braddock's 
Road  cut,  which  I  have  fixed  at  ten  miles  from  Fort  Cumber- 
land. From  the  guides  I  have  sent  you,  you  will  have  learned 
the  advantages  of  this  route,  which  is  open  and  requires  few 
repairs;  and  its  inconveniences,  which  are  the  lack  of  forage, 
its  length,  its  narrow  passes,  and  the  river  crossings.  Colonel 
Washington  who  is  animated  by  a  sincere  zeal  to  contribute 

47  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  252. 

48  Alfred  P.  James,  ed.,  Writings  of  General  John  Forbes  (Menasha,  Wis- 
consin, 1938),  p.  156.  Cited  hereafter  as  Writings  of  Forbes. 

49  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  273-74. 

50  Guides — that  is,  woodsmen  with  a  knowledge  of  the  country. 

51  Pack  horses. 

52  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  277-78. 


176 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

to  the  success  of  this  expedition,  and  ready  to  march  from  what- 
ever direction  you  may  determine  with  the  same  eagerness, 
writes  me  that,  from  all  he  has  heard  and  been  able  to  gather 
from  reports,  our  route  is  impracticable  even  for  pack  horses, 
so  bad  are  the  mountains;  and  that  Braddock's  Road  is  abso- 
lutely the  only  one  to  take,  etc. 

MAJOR  GEORGE  ARMSTRONG  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 
RECOMMENDS  THE  NORTHERN  ROUTE 

Armstrong  to  Bouquet,  Kickenapauling's,53  July  26,  1758 

Sir/ 

I  reached  this  place  Yesterday  about  4  oClock  P.M.  and 
finds  a  Good  Situation  for  a  Deposite  upon  this  Creek,54  some 
of  the  Ground  Cleared  some  time  ago  by  the  Indians,  and  not 
overlooked  by  Hills,  the  nearest  to  it  is  at  least  50  perches. 
Grass  is  extremely  good  and  plenty  of  it,  so  that  it  is  certainly 
the  best  Situation  for  a  Deposite  between  the  Allighany55  and 
Lawrell  hill.  .  .  .  The  Road  we  came  Yesterday  may  be  made 
pretty  Good.  .  .  .  When  I  return  from  Loyalhaning,56  and 
after  the  Works  are  finished,  I  intend  to  employ  myself  in  Sur- 
veying a  very  Good  Plantation  or  two  that  Lays  upon  this  Creek. 

MAJOR  ARMSTRONG  OVERCOMES  THE  TEMPTATION  TO 
COMBINE  LAND  SPECULATION  WITH  SOLDIERING 

Armstrong  to  Bouquet,  Drounding  Creek,57  July  30,  175858 

What  I  dropt  inadvertantly  in  a  former  letter  to  you  in 

53  Kickenapauling,  a  former  Indian  town  named  for  a  Delaware  chief, 
was  on  Quemahoning  Creek  in  Somerset  County.  It  was  on  Forbes's  Route. 

54  Quemahoning  Creek,  now  dammed  to  form  Quemahoning  Reservoir. 

55  The  Allegheny  ridge  of  the  Appalachians. 

56  Loyalhanna  took  it's  name  from  a  previous  Indian  village  of  that  name. 


177 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

respect  of  Surveying  a  Plantation  was  no  more  than  a  Jock,59 
and  wou'd  be  extremely  sorry  to  think  You  wou'd  imagine  I 
wou'd  not  spend  my  time  and  the  time  of  those  that  are  with 
me  as  much  for  the  Service  as  lay  in  my  power,  as  well  by 
punctually  obeying  Your  orders.  .  .  . 

COLONEL  BOUQUET  STATES  THE  CASE 
AGAINST  BRADDOCK'S  ROAD 

Bouquet  to  Forbes,  Raystown,  July  31,  175860 

You  will  see  by  the  enclosed  extract  from  Major  Armstrong's 
letters  what  report61  he  has  made.  Everything  seems  practica- 
ble, and  even  easy,  but  I  distrust  the  observation  of  a  young 
and  inexperienced  man  too  much  to  act  on  his  advice.  I  have 
therefore  sent  Colonel  Burd,  Rhor,62  and  Captain  Ward63  to 
reconnoiter  the  Allegheny,  to  make  a  survey  of  all  the  diffi- 
culties, and  to  put  me  in  a  position  to  determine  what  reliance 
could  be  given  to  the  rest  of  the  explorations.  Unfortunately, 
they  found  things  very  different,  and  that  mountain  over  which 
these  gentlemen  crossed  so  easily  is  worse  than  Sideling  Hill64 

It  was  renamed  Ligonier  after  Sir  John  Ligonier,  commander  in  chief  of  the 
British  army  at  the  time. 

57  Drounding  Creek  was  another  name  for  Quemahoning  Creek. 

58  Paper  of  Bouquet,  II,  286. 

59  A  joke.  Perhaps  someone  had  suggested  to  Major  Armstrong  that  the 
purpose  of  the  expedition  was  not  land  speculating. 

60  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  290-93. 

61  The  report  has  to  do  with  the  suitability  of  various  terrain  between 
Raystown  and  Loyalhanna  for  roadbuilding. 

62  Ensign  Charles  Rhor  was  an  engineering  officer.  He  was  killed  at 
Grant's  defeat. 

63  Captain  Edward  Ward  served  with  the  first  battalion  of  the  Pennsylvania 
regiment. 

64  Sideling  Hill,  as  users  of  the  Pennsylvania  Turnpike  or  the  older  Lincoln 
Highway  know,  is  a  part  of  the  Allegheny  ridge  of  the  Appalachians. 


178' 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

and  the  climb  much  longer.  As  they  did  not  think  a  wagon  road 
could  be  cut  in  this  escarpment  without  an  immense  amount 
of  work,  they  searched  along  the  mountain  for  another  pass, 
and  found  about  two  miles  to  the  north  a  gap  of  which  no  one 
here  had  the  slightest  knowledge.  You  will  see  a  description 
of  it  in  Rhor's  report  and  his  map. 

It  appears  that  with  a  great  deal  of  work  a  road  much  more 
satisfactory  than  the  other  could  be  build  there;  it  remains  to 
be  seen  what  obstacles  are  left  as  far  as  Loyal  Hannon.  .  .  . 

I  think  as  you  do  that  you  cannot  accept  Cumberland65  until 
after  you  have  it  in  your  power  to  demonstrate  the  impossibility 
of  finding  another  road,  or  at  least  the  impossibility  of  opening 
it  without  risking  the  expedition  by  too  great  a  loss  of  time. 

We  are  in  a  cruel  situation,  if  you  are  reduced  to  a  single 
communication.  In  the  64  miles  from  Cumberland  to  Gist's, 
there  are  only  three  places  which  could  furnish  enough  forage 
for  the  army.  The  rest  will  be  enough  for  only  one  night. 

The  frost,  beginning  about  the  end  of  October,  destroys  all 
the  grass,  and  the  rivers  overflowing  in  the  spring  cut  off  all 
communication. 

I  had  an  interview  with  Colonel  Washington  to  find  out  how 
he  imagines  these  difficulties  can  be  overcome.  I  learned  noth- 
ing satisfactory.  Most  of  these  gentlemen  do  not  know  the 
difference  between  a  party  and  an  army,  and  find  every  thing 
easy  which  agrees  with  their  ideas,  jumping  over  all  the  diffi- 
culties. .  .  . 

A  soldier  hunting  horses  was  attacked  four  miles  from  the 
camp  on  the  Cumberland  road  by  three  Indians,  who  aimed  at 
him  from  above.  As  it  had  rained  all  day,  their  guns  failed  to 
discharge.  He  shot  at  them,  and  thinks  he  killed  one  of  them. 
Before  he  could  reload,  the  other  two  attacked  him  with  their 

65  That  is,  Braddock's  road  from  Fort  Cumberland. 

.179- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

knives  and  tomahawks.  He  knocked  one  down  with  the  butt 
of  his  rifle  and,  collaring  the  other,  threw  him  to  the  ground 
and  would  have  beaten  him  to  death  if  other  Indians  had  not 
come  to  his  rescue  with  loud  cries.  He  fled  and,  running  very 
rapidly,  he  escaped  with  six  slight  wounds.  .  .  . 

We  have  something  worse  than  the  Indians.  It  is  smallpox 
in  the  camp.  We  are  keeping  it  as  much  a  secret  as  possible, 
to  prevent  desertion,  and  are  isolating  those  who  have  been 
attacked  by  it. 

WASHINGTON  STATES  THE  CASE  FOR  BRADDOCK'S  ROAD 

Washington  to  Bouquet,  Fort  Cumberland,  Maryland, 
August  2,  175866 

Sir:  Those  matters  we  talk'd  of  relative  to  the  Roads  has 
since  our  parting  been  the  object  of  my  closest  attention,  and 
so  far  am  I  from  altering  my  opinion  that  the  more  time  and 
attention  I  give  thereto,  the  more  I  am  confirm'd  in  it;  as  the 
validity  of  the  reasons  for  taking  the  old  Road  appear  in  a 
stronger  point  of  view.  .  .  . 

Several  years  ago  the  Virginians  and  Pensylvanians  com- 
menc'd  a  Trade  with  the  Indians  settled  on  the  Ohio,  and  to 
remove  the  many  Inconveniences  a  bad  Road  subjected  them 
to,  they,  after  reiterated  efforts  to  discover  where  a  good  one 
might  be  made  were  found  ineffectual,  employ'd  several  of  the 
most  intelligent  Indians  who  in  the  course  of  many  years  hunt- 
ing acquired  a  perfect  knowledge  of  these  Mountains  to  at- 
tempt it,  but  these  Indian's  after  having  taken  the  greatest  pains 
to  gain  the  Rewards  then  offer'd  for  this  discovery  declared 
the  Path  leading  from  Wills  Creek  was  infinitely  preferable  to 
any  that  cou'd  be  made  at  any  other  place;  Time  and  experience 

66  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  252-55. 

•180- 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

so  clearly  demonstrated  this  truth,  that  the  Pensylvania  Traders 
commonly  carried  their  Goods  thither  by  Will's  Creek,  there- 
fore the  Ohio  Company  in  1753  at  a  considerable  Expense 
open'd  a  Road  thither.  In  1754  the  Troops  I  had  the  hon'r  to 
Command  greatly  repair'd  it  as  far  as  Gist's  Plantation;  and 
in  1755  it  was  widened  and  completed  by  General  Braddock 
within  6  miles  of  Fort  Duquesne;  consequently  a  Road  that 
has  been  so  long  open'd,  so  well  repair'd;  and  so  often,  must 
be  much  firmer  and  better  than  a  new  one,  allowing  the  Ground 
to  be  originally  equally  as  good. 

But  supposing  it  was  practicable  to  make  a  Road  from  Rays 
Town  quite  as  good  as  General  Braddock's,  I  ask  if  we  have 
time  to  do  it?  certainly  not,  Surmounting  the  vast  difficulties 
to  be  encounter'd  in  making  it  over  such  monstrous  Mountains, 
covered  with  woods  and  Rocks  wou'd  require  so  much  time 
as  to  blast  our  otherwise  well  grounded  hopes  of  striking  the 
long  wish'd  for  and  Important  Stroke  this  Season;  and  deferring 
it  to  another  year  wou'd,  I  am  morally  certain,  be  productive 
of  the  most  destructive  Consequences  to  the  Southern  and  mid- 
dle Colonies;  for  they  have  to  make  a  noble  push  towards 
ending  those  Calamities  under  which  they  so  long  have  groan'd, 
granted  supplies  beyond  their  abilities.  These  Funds  will,  in  a 
few  months  be  exhausted;  the  Troops  of  course  disbanded.67 
Their  inability  and  discouragement  from  so  great  a  disappoint- 
ment will  prevent  their  attempting  a  similar  effort  against  an- 
other Season,  and  experience  evinces,  that  Expence  and  Num- 
bers must  be  encreas'd  in  proportion  to  our  Delays. 

The  Southern  Indians  have  from  our  bad  Success,  and  inac- 

67  Troops  of  the  second  Virginia  regiment  were  enlisted  only  until  the 
first  of  December,  1758;  troops  of  the  first  Virginia  were  authorized  to  serve 
outside  the  boundaries  of  Virginia  only  until  that  date;  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land, and  North  Carolina  had  appropriated  no  funds  for  paying  their  troops 
beyond  December  1,  1758. 


181 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

tivity,  long  look'd  upon  us  in  a  despicable  light,  have  already- 
committed  Hostilities  on  our  Frontiers,  and  only  wait  the  re- 
sult of  this  Campaign  to  unmask  themselves;  which  wou'd  be 
such  an  acquisition  to  the  Enemy  as  might  terminate  in  our 
Destruction. 

The  favourable  accounts  some  give,  of  the  Forage  on  the 
Rays  Town  Road  being  so  much  better  than  the  other  is  cer- 
tainly exaggerated,  greatly,  as  every  unprejudiced  person  who 
are  acquainted  with  both,  agrees  that  the  only  difference  be- 
tween the  Mountains  here  and  there  is,  that  those  are  more 
inaccessible;  And  it  is  well  known  that  in  both,  the  rich  Valleys, 
between  the  Mountains  abound  with  good  food,  and  those  that 
are  Stony  and  Brushy  are  destitute;  Colo.  Byrd  and  the  Engi- 
neer that  accompanied  him  confirm  this  truth;  And  surely  the 
Meadows  on  this  Road  wou'd  greatly  overbalance  the  advan- 
tage of  having  Grass  to  the  foot  of  the  ridge  on  this  side  the 
Mountain  on  the  Rays  Town  Road  and  all  agree  that  a  more 
barren  Road  is  no  where  to  be  found  than  from  Rays  Town  to 
the  Inhabitants  which  is  likewise  to  be  considered  with  the 
badness  of  the  Road. 

And  the  Principal  objection  made  to  Genl.  Braddock's  Road 
is  that  of  the  waters  to  pass;  but  these  very  rarely  swell  so 
much  as  to  obstruct  the  Passage.  The  Yaughyaughgane  which 
is  the  most  rapid  and  soonest  filled  I  with  a  Body  of  Troops, 
have  cross'd  after  30  odd  days  almost  constant  Rain.  In  fine 
any  difficulties  that  may  arise  therefrom  are  so  trivial  that  they 
are  really  not  worth  mentioning.  The  Monongahela  the  largest 
of  all  these  Rivers,  may  if  necessary,  be  easily  avoided  as  Mr. 
Frazer,68  (the  principal  Guide)  informs  me  by  passing  a  Defile69 

68  John  Frazier,  the  Indian  trader  who  had  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle 
Creek  until  driven  away  by  the  French. 

69  Turtle  Creek  Valley. 


182 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

which  I  cannot  conceive  to  be  so  bad  as  commonly  represented; 
but  even  that  he  tells  me,  may  be  shunn'd. 

It  is  said  again  that  there  are  many  Defiles  on  this  Road,  I 
grant  there  are  some,  but  know  of  none  that  cannot  be  travers'd 
if  found  necessary;  and  I  shou'd  be  glad  to  know  where  a  Road 
can  be  had  over  these  Mountains  not  subject  to  this  Inconven- 
ience, unless  they  kept  the  heights  always,  and  that  is  imprac- 
ticable. 

The  shortness  of  the  Road  from  Rays  Town  to  Fort  Duquesne 
by  Loyal  hanny,  is  us'd  as  an  argument  in  disfavor  of  this  Road, 
and  bears  some  thing  in  it  unaccountable  to  me,  for  I  must  beg 
leave  to  ask  here,  if  it  requires  more  time,  or  is  it  more  difficult 
and  expensive,  to  go  145  miles  in  a  good  Road  already  made  to 
our  hands,  or  to  cut  100  miles  in  length,  great  part  of  which 
over  almost  inaccessible  Mountains,  and,  to  say,  or  think,  we 
can  do  nothing  more  this  Fall  than  to  fortify  some  Post  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Mountains  and  prepare  against  another  Cam- 
paigne  I  must  pray  Heaven,  most  fervently,  to  avert!  .  . . 

ON  LAUREL  HILL  AND  LAURELS 

Washington  to  Major  Frances  Halkett,70 
Fort  Cumberland,  Maryland,  August  2,  175871 

My  dear  Halkett:  I  am  just  return'd  from  a  Conference  held 
with  Colo.  Bouquet.  I  find  him  fix'd,  I  think  I  may  say  fix'd, 
upon  leading  you  a  New  way  to  the  Ohio;  thro  a  Road,  every 
Inch  of  it  to  cut,  at  this  advanced  Season,  when  we  have  scarce 
time  left  to  tread  the  beaten  Tract;  universally  confess'd  to  be 
the  best  Passage  through  the  Mountains. 

If  Colo.  Bouquet  succeeds  in  this  point  with  the  General,  all 

70  Major  Francis  Halkett  was  Forbes's  aide  and  secretary.  Sir  Peter 
Halkett,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  the  Monongahela,  was  his  father. 

71  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  260. 


183 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

is  lost!  All  is  lost  by  Heavens!  Our  Enterprise  Ruin'd;  and  we 
stop'd  at  the  Laurel  Hill  this  Vinter;  not  to  gather  Laurels, 
by  the  by  .  .  . 


INTELLIGENCE  REPORT:  SCOUTING  FORT  DUQUESNE 

Journal  of  Lt.  Coleby  Chew,72  August  7  to  August  18,  175873 

Monday,  August  the  7th  1758 

I  Set  of  from  Rays  town  by  order  of  Colo.  Boquet  With  a 
party  of  indians  &  White  men  to  make  What  Discoverys  I 
could  of  the  strenth  &  situation  of  the  Enemy  to  the  Westward 
&  proceeded  as  far  this  night  as  the  Shawanese  Cabbins.  .  .  ,74 

Tuesday  the  8th  We  continued  our  Course  a  long  the  Old 
Traiding  Path  Crossing  the  Alligany  Ridge  &  encamped — at 
Edmunds  Swamp.  .  .  ,75 

Wednesday  9th  We  marched  abt  9  miles  ...  to  Quimahony76 
Creek  at  Which  place  we  continued  thursday  ye  10th — Friday 
the  11th  We  proceeded  Early  in  the  morning  on  our  Way 
crossed  the  Lauril  Ridge  &  came  to  &  Encampment  at  the 
Loyal :hannon  Old  Town.  .  .  . 

Saturday  the  12th  We  continued  on  our  way  along  the  Old 
Tradg  path  Which  kept  for  ten  or  twelve  miles  for  the  most 
part  a  long  the  low  Ground  of  the  loyalhannon,77  tho  it  some- 
times turned  off  from  the  River  &  Crossed  some  Ridges  & 

72  Lieutenant  Coleby  Chew  was  an  officer  in  the  first  Virginia.  He  was 
killed  on  Grant's  ill-fated  expedition. 

73  S.  M.  Hamilton,  ed.,  Letters  to  Washington,  III,  39-43. 

74  Shawnee  Cabins  was  a  locality  on  the  Shawnee  branch  of  the  Juniata 
River  west  of  Raystown.  It  is  mentioned  in  the  journals  of  early  traders.  The 
site,  south  of  Schellsburg,  Pennsylvania,  became  a  station  on  the  Forbes  road. 

75  Now  called  Miller  Run. 

76  Quemahoning  Creek. 

77  Loyalhanna  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Kiskimenetas. 


184' 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

points  of  hills— the  high  land  is  well  Timbered  the  Ridges  not 
high,  the  low  Ground  of  the  River  &  in  general  of  all  the  Creeks: 
Very  bushy  &  thick.  We  this  Day  Discovered  some  Very  late 
sign  of  Indians.  .  .  . 

Sunday  the  13  th  we  marched  very  early  &  continued  on  tell 
10  oClock  When  our  indians  halted  to  Conger  [conjure]  as 
they  had  all  the  Day  seen  a  fresh  sign  of  Indians;  the  low 
Grounds  &  Swamps  were  Very  thick  &  Bushy:  We  Sent  out 
Scouts  Who  continued  out  tell  Near  Dark  Which  Occasioned 
us  to  Encamp  there  that  Night.  We  Were  informed  by  the  scouts 
that  the  Enemy  had  gone  on  directly  towards  F.  Duquesne: 
this  Afternoon  When  the  Sun  was  a  bout  an  hour  high  we  hear 
12  Cannon  fired  as  we  imagined  at  F[ort]  Dfuquesne]. 

Monday  the  14th.  ...  as  the  provision  was  Near  spent  the 
Indians  this  Night  held  a  Council  in  which  it  was  Determined 
that  all  Except  my  self  a  Serjt  &  five  indians  should  Return. 

Wednesday  the  16th  We  sent  Back  those  that  were  to  Re- 
turn &  proceeded  on  our  way  being  only  seven  in  Number: 
We  came  to  where  a  large  party  of  Indians  had  been  abt  10 
Days  a  goe  I  imagine  from  the  size  of  their  Encampment  abt 
100.  .  .  .  We  here  left  the  Old  Tradg  path  &  went  .  .  .  till  we 
Were  within  two  miles  of:  F:  D:  then  went  to  the  N  of  W: 
&  came  to  an  Old  indian  Town78  on  the  Ohio  Abt  1^  m. 
Above  the  Fort  We  had  a  Very  good  View  up  &  Down  the 
River:  We  saw  some  Cattle  grasing  on  an  Island  Down  the 
River:  We  hid  our  selves  in  a  thickett  till  the  indians  had  con- 
jured and  painted  after  Which  we  Went  Down  The  River 
Within  %  of  a  m[ile]  of  the  F[ort]  then  turned  S.E.  &  went 
up  on  a  stony  Ridge  where  the  Chief  Warriour  took  his  conjur- 
ing Implements  &  tyed  them  abt  the  Necks  of  three  young 
men  indians  &  told  them  they  could  not  be  hurt:  Round  my 

78  Shannopin's  Town. 

.185- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Neck  he  Tyed  the  Otter  Skin  in  Which  the  Conj'g  Implements 
had  been  kept  &  round  the  Serj'ts  neck  he  tyed  a  Bag  of  Paint 
that  had  been  kept  with  the  Implements,  he  then  told  us  that 
not  one  of  us  could  be  shot  for  those  things  Would  turn  the 
Balls  from  us  —  He  then  made  us  Strip  ourselves  of  all  our 
Cloaths  Except  our  Breech  Clouts  &  Mocasons,  then  shook 
hands  With  us  &  told  us  to  go  &  fight  like  men  for  nothing 
could  hurt  us.  The  first  View  had  of  the  fort  was  from  the 
Banks  of  the  Ohio  but  a  Great  Distance:  we  saw  one  Batteau 
two  Cannoes,  there  were  indians  in  the  latter  fishing.  We  were 
there  in  a  pasture  fenced  in  With  Trees  sett  one  on  another. 
We  saw  by  the  Tracks  that  this  pasture,  the  farthest  part  of 
Which  is  only  abt.  %  m:  from  F:  D:  was  much  frequented  by 
indians.  from  Which  I  Could  make  no  Great  Discovery  Except 
of  the  Number  of  tents  till  Almost  sun  seting  at  Which  Time 
I  let  the  Indians  know  that  I  wanted  them  to  Accompany  me 
to  the  top  of  a  Ridge79  that  Run  Down  in  the  forks  Directly 
towards  the  F:  but  they  disliked  the  proposal  &  refused  as  they 
were  in  great  Expectations  of  geting  a  Scalp  there— however 
When  they  saw  that  I  was  Determined  to  go  &  had  proceeded 
on  towards  the  place  they  followed  me — from  the  top  of  this 
Ridge  I  had  an  extraordinary  good  View  as  it  was  considerably 
higher  than  the  F  &  scarce  half  mile  Distant  from  it,  there 
were  fifty  or  sixty  tents  pitched  on  the  Ohio  abt.  100  yards 
from  the  Fort  &  there  are  several  houses  on  Monongahela. 
there  were  Neither  Cannoes  nor  Batteaus  in  this  that  I  Could 
perceive,  nor  Could  I  discover  any  New  Works  abt.  the  fort. 
I  do  imagine  the  men  parade  in  the  Fort  as  I  saw  them  going 
in  at  Retreat  Beating80  but  from  What  I  Saw  I  do  not  judge 
that  they  have  above  300  Frenchmen,  the  Indians  kept  a  con- 

79  Grant's  Hill. 

80  That  is,  when  the  drums  beat  the  evening  retreat. 


186< 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

tinual  Hooping  but  I  Could  not  see  their  Camp  unless  the  Tents 
I  mentioned  were  pitched  for  them  Which  I  judge  were  from 
the  fires  &  the  Appearance  of  the  people  at  them  whom  by 
their  looks,  noise  &c.  I  imagine  to  be  Indians — I  could  see  no 
Sign  of  a  Camp  or  Buildings  on  the  other  Side  of  either  of  the 
Rivers — After  Dark  the  Indians  got  to  Singing  &  Dancing  from 
their  noise  I  judge  them  to  be  abt.  fifty  in  Number  all  which 
the  Cherokees  told  me  were  Shawnese.  As  I  have  taken  a  plan 
of  the  place  &  Fort  as  well  as  I  could  upon  a  Separate  paper, 
I  shall  make  no  mention  of  it  here .  .  .  . 

From  the  top  of  this  Ridge  I  moved  to  another  place  nearer 
to  the  monongahala  but  could  make  no  further  Discovery  From 
this  place  we  went  back  to  the  Chief  Warriour  &  after  some 
consultion  a  greed  to  return  home — upon  Which  we  came  abt. 
a  mile  &  Near  the  Tradg  path  encamped — We  heard  the  In- 
dians singing  &  Dancing  all  night  —  —  — 

Thursday  17th.  As  soon  as  Day  break  we  began  our  march 
which  we  continued  Very  fast  till  1  oClock  in  Which  time  we 
came  about  30  miles  &  overtook  our  party  that  was  ordered 
back  We  then  made  a  short  halt  &  refreshed  our  selves  after 
which  we  continued  our  march  together  &  came  Abt.  12  miles. 
Abt.  2  miles  before  we  encampt  we  came  upon  some  fresh 
Tracks  that  came  along  the  path  Eastwards  —  —  — 

Fryday  the  18th.  we  continued  on  our  Way  pursuing  the 
Tracks  that  we  Came  on  last  Night.  The  low  grounds  & 
Branches  I  mentioned  in  my  Journal  as  I  went  towards  F:  D: 
are  Very  low  &  liable  to  be  Overflowed  &  consequently  Very 
moist  &  Soft  so  that  I  am  a  fraid  a  Road  tho'  them  Will  be 
Very  indifferent  for  Carriages  We  followed  the  Tracks  till 
night  When  we  encamped  abt.  4  miles  from  the  Camp  at 
Quimahony  Creek 

Saterday  the  19th.  We  marched  Early  in  the  morning  &  came 


187 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

to  the  camp  Where  we  found  that  it  was  Ensn.  Aliens81  party 
that  we  had  tracked  &  that  they  arrived  a  Camp  But  last  Night. 


GUERILLA  WARFARE  IN  THE  FOREST 

Bouquet  to  Forbes,  Raystown,  August  8,  175882 

Yesterday  I  had  word  that  three  sutlers'83  wagons  which 
were  going  from  Juniata  to  Fort  Littleton  without  escort,  were 
attacked  beyond  Sideling  Hill  by  nine  Indians  who  scalped  two 
wagoners  and  took  two  prisoners.  And  I  learned  just  now  that 
one  of  our  convoys,  coming  here  escorted  by  only  thirteen  men, 
was  attacked  on  this  side  of  the  same  mountain,  and  had  two 
soldiers  wounded.  On  hearing  of  the  first,  I  sent  out  a  party  of 
thirteen  Indians  and  seven  volunteers  to  cut  them  off  by  an 
ambush  on  the  Franks  town  road.84  Another  party  of  eight  In- 
dians and  five  volunteers  with  an  officer  from  Virginia  has 
marched  in  the  direction  of  Venango,  with  orders  to  take  a  posi- 
tion on  the  communication  with  the  fort  and  to  try  to  discover 
if  there  is  not  a  hidden  camp.  A  third  party  is  on  the  route 
beyond  Loyal  Hannon.  A  fourth  is  going  straight  to  the  fort, 
and  I  have  written  to  Colonel  Washington  to  push  on  ahead 
on  Braddock's  route  to  stay  there  in  ambush.  I  hope  that  we 
shall  encounter  some  party,  and  if  some  of  their  men  can  be 
killed,  that  will  make  them  more  cautious. 

81  Ensign  John  Allen  of  the  first  Virginia. 

82  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  337. 

83  A  sutler  was  an  independent  merchant  who  followed  the  army  to  sell 
provisions  and  supplies  to  the  soldiers. 

84  Frankstown,  located  on  the  branch  of  the  Juniata  River  of  the  same  name, 
is  today  in  Blair  County.  The  Franks  family,  traders  of  Philadelphia,  probably 
gave  the  locality  its  name.  The  Frankstown  trail  led  to  the  Allegheny  River 
at  Kittanning,  by  way  of  Frankstown. 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

INTELLIGENCE  REPORT: 
SCOUTING  THE  ENGLISH  ARTILLERY 

Bouquet  to  Forbes,  Raystown,  August  18,  175885 

The  enemy  has  discovered  us,  as  one  of  their  parties  took  a 
prisoner  Saturday  near  the  Shawnee  Cabins,  who  escaped  after 
being  with  them  for  two  days.  He  said  that  the  six  Indians  who 
captured  him  spoke  English  as  well  as  he  could,  which  makes 
me  fear  that  they  are  some  of  our  friends  the  Delawares.  They 
went  along  about  1 50  paces  from  our  workmen,  and  asked  him 
several  pertinent  questions  about  the  artillery.  When  he  did 
not  give  a  correct  answer,  they  told  him  that  he  lied,  that  we 
had  only  so  many  cannon.  The  rascals  have  doubtless  been  fol- 
lowing the  convoy  for  several  days. 

DIPLOMATIC  REPORT:  FORBES  MOVES  TO 
WIN  BACK  THE  OHIO  INDIANS 

Forbes  to  Bouquet,  Shippensburg,  Pennsylvania,  August  18,  175886 

After  many  Intreigues  with  the  Quakers,  the  Commissioners, 
the  Governour  &c,  and  with  the  Governour  and  Government 
of  new  Jersey  and  by  the  downright  Bullying  of  Sir  William 
Johnson  &c.  I  hope  I  have  now  brought  a  Convention  with  the 
Indians  of  whatever  denomination  or  Tribe,  pretty  near  to  a 
Crissis.87  The  six  nations  and  all  the  Chief  men  of  the  Indians 
living  to  the  eastward  of  the  Lakes  and  upon  the  Ohio  as  far 

85  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  380. 

86  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  383. 

87  Forbes  hoped  to  win  the  western  Indians  away  from  the  French.  In  the 
negotiations,  the  English  commander  had  two  factors  in  his  favor.  The 
French,  due  to  British  naval  action,  were  unable  to  supply  the  Indians  with 
trade  goods  of  sufficient  quantity  and  at  a  reasonable  price.  Further,  the 
Indians  were  beginning  to  suspect  that  the  British  would  win  the  war,  and 
thought  it  politic  to  be  on  the  winning  side. 


189' 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

down  as  the  Wabache,  and  Illinoi,  have  all  accepted  of  our  Belts 
of  Invitation  and  friendship,  and  have  promised  to  meet  the 
Governours  and  Commissioners  from  all  those  different  Prov- 
inces at  East  town88  in  Pennsylvania  by  the  12th  or  midle  of 
September,  where  I  think  nothing  can  prevent  a  solid  peace 
being  established  with  most  of  those  Indian  tribes,  as  the  Indian 
Claims  appear  to  me  both  Just  and  Moderate,  and  what  no  man 
in  their  senses  or  in  our  situation  with  regard  to  the  Indians 
would  hesitate  half  an  hour  in  granting  them. 

COLONEL  BOUQUET  CONSIDERS  A  DECLARATION 
OF  WAR  ON  PENNSYLVANIA 

Bouquet  to  Forbes,  Raystown  Camp,  August  20,  175889 

Forage  is  another  article  which  will  require  .  .  .  wagons. 
Hoops90  says  that  almost  all  those  which  are  in  service  can  no 
longer  be  used,  or  would  take  so  long  on  the  way  that  they 
could  not  be  depended  on,  aside  from  the  expense  and  the  quan- 
tity of  forage  they  consume.  There  remains  only  one  decision 
to  take  in  my  opinion,  which  is  to  dismiss  all  the  wagons  in  bad 
condition  and  hire  new  ones.  That  is  the  difficulty:  to  count 
on  the  good  will  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania  or  on  the 
press  warrants91  of  the  magistrates  would  be  folly,  and  we 
should  die  of  hunger.  You  have  no  more  regular  troops  to  use 
for  that  purpose,  but  there  are  about  300  provincials  between 
Shippensburg,  Carlisle,  and  the  east  side  of  Susquehanna,  not 
counting  the  200  men  at  Fort  Augusta.  These  fine  gentlemen 
will  not  impress  anyone  unless  you  give  them  a  leader  who  will 

88  Easton,  Pennsylvania. 

89  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  398. 

90  Adam  Hoops,  an  army  contractor,  from  Carlisle. 

91  Legal  orders  authorizing  the  use  by  the  military  of  civilians'  wagons. 


190- 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

make  them  step.  I  think  that  Sir  John92  would  be  very  suitable 
for  that  expedition,  and  that  if  you  would  terrorize  the  entire 
province  and  would  find  for  you,  between  Philadelphia,  Lan- 
caster, Berks  County,  and  York,  300  wagons  which  might  bring 
us  in  a  single  trip  about  three  months'  supply  of  flour.  .  .  . 

I  know  that  the  whole  province  will  cry  murder,  but  if  that 
measure  is  necessary  for  the  success  of  the  expedition,  their 
unfounded  complaints  will  not  stop  you. 

THE  ARMY  MARCHES:  INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  THE 
ADVANCE  TO  LOYALHANNA 

Bouquet  to  Col.  James  Burd,  Raystown,  about  August  23,  175893 

Sir 

You  are  to  march  from  Reas  Town  Camp  the  23d  Aug:  wth 
the  R.A. 

1st  Highland  Batt94  5  Companies 

Your  own  Batt. 

one  division  of  artillery 

Entrenching  Tools 

— Waggons  loaded  wth  Provisions. 

You  are  to  proceed  to  Loyal  Hannon,  leaving  your  Waggons 
where  the  Road  is  not  open  with  orders  to  join  you  with  all 
possible  Expedition. 

When  the  three  days  Provisions  taken  by  your  men  are  con- 
sumed (they  are  Served  for  the  25th  Inclusive)  you  will  take 
Provisions  out  of  the  Waggons  of  your  Convoy,  and  make  them 
carry  Part  of  the  other  Waggon's  load: 

The  Horses  are  to  be  tyed  every  night  upon  the  mountain, 

92  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  who  had  performed  the  same  function  for  Braddock. 

93  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  406-408. 

94  Battalion. 


191 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

as  they  would  otherwise  be  lost;  .  .  .  They  could  perhaps  be 
lefft  loose  at  Edmunds  Swamp,  and  Kickeny  Pawlins. 

Lieut  Chew  wth  a  Party  are  to  be  detached  from  the  Top 
of  the  Allegheny  to  reconoitre  in  a  Straight  Line  the  ground 
betwixt  that  place  and  the  Gap  of  Lawrill  hill,  he  is  to  cross 
that  Gap,  observing  the  course  of  the  Water,  and  the  Path; 
and  is  to  join  the  detachment  at  L.  H.  All  the  detachments  of 
the  R.  A.  R.  those  of  the  5  Compys  of  Highlanders,  and  of 
your  own  Battn  are  to  march  with  you  to  Loyal  H.  with  3  or 
4  days  Provisions  for  the  whole.  Col.  Stephens  is  to  march  wth 
you  and  his  Six  Compys. 

at  the  Place  where  you  leave  the  Artillery  and  Waggons, 
your  Men  are  to  carry  the  Tools  themselves,  Packing  on  the 
Horses  the  Saws  GrindStones,  &. 

You  are  to  employ  all  the  Pack  Horses  of  the  first  Batt.  and 
those  that  you  may  find  on  the  Road  to  carry  your  Provisions 
untill  the  Waggons  can  come  to  you,  and  load  the  5  Barrils  of 
Cartridges;  Drive  also  Some  Bullocks. 

As  Soon  as  you  arrive  at  L.H.  Mr.  Basset  is  to  lay  out  your 
Incampment  at  the  Place  assigned  by  Mr.  Rhor,95  with  two 
Small  Redouts  at  200  yards;  All  hands  are  then  to  be  employed 
in  entrenching  the  Camp;  Those  who  have  no  Tools  will  pitch 
the  Tents,  cook,  and  the  rest  releave  one  another  in  the  Work. 

Before  night  the  Ground  must  be  reconoitred  and  your  ad- 
vanced guards  posted;  The  Centrys  are  to  releave  every  hour 
in  the  night,  without  noise. 

No  Drum  is  to  beat  as  long  as  you  judge  that  the  Post  has 
not  been  reconnoitred  by  the  Ennemys. 

Suffer  (in  the  beginning  chieffly)  no  hunters  or  Stragglers, 
to  prevent  their  being  taken.  No  gun  to  be  fired. 

a  Store  house  of  120  foot  long,  and  at  least  25  wide  is  to  be 

95  Lieutenant  Thomas  Basset  and  Ensign  Charles  Rhor  were  engineers. 

•192- 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

built  immediately  to  lodge  your  Provisions  and  Ammunition, 
in  the  Place  where  the  Fort  is  to  be  erected,  and  covered  with 
Shingles. 

All  the  Artificers  are  to  be  put  to  Work:  the  Sayiers96  and 
Shingle  Makers  with  the  Smiths  first. 

an  Hospital  is  to  be  built  near  the  Fort,  and  Ovens.  Mr.  Rhor 
is  to  give  the  direction  for  the  Fort. 

If  there  is  any  possibility  of  making  Hay,  no  time  is  to  be 
lost,  and  the  clear  grounds  are  to  be  kept  for  that  use,  and  not 
Serve  for  Pasture. 

send  proper  People  to  reconnoitre  where  sea  Coal97  could  be 
got,  if  there  is  none,  Char  coal  must  be  made. 

The  houses  of  office  to  be  kept  clean  and  covered  every  day. 

The  ammunition  and  Arms  carefully  inspected,  the  Arms 
loaded  with  a  running  Ball. 

The  Tools  to  be  delivered  to  Each  Party  upon  Receipt  of 
their  Commanding  officer,  who  is  to  See  them  returned  to  the 
Stores  before  night. 

The  Intrenchmt  is  to  be  divided  by  tasks,  and  all  the  officers 
are  to  inspect  the  Work. 

If  you  Send  any  Party  forward,  Don't  permit  them  to  take 
Scalps,  which  Serves  only  to  render  the  Ennemys  more  vigilant. 
No  Party  is  to  be  Sent,  untill  you  hear  from  Major  Armstrong98 
and  Capt.  Shelby.99 

It  would  perhaps  be  proper  to  change  every  day  the  place  of 
your  advanced  Posts;  secure  all  avenues.  If  any  difficulty 
Should  occur  to  you,  Consult  Major  Grant,100  whose  Experi- 

96  Sawyers— that  is,  workmen  who  did  sawing  work. 

97  An  early  name  for  bituminous  coal. 

98  Major  George  Armstrong  served  in  the  third  battalion  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania regiment. 

99  Captain  Evan  Shelby  was  an  officer  of  the  Maryland  troops. 

100  Major  James  Grant  of  the  77th  regiment,  or  Highlanders,  as  the  77th 


193 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

ence  and  perfect  Knowledge  of  the  Service  you  may  rely  in- 
tirely  upon. 

I  give  you  the  above  instructions  by  way  of  Memorandum, 
and  you  are  at  Liberty  to  make  any  alterations  that  your  Judg- 
ment and  the  Circumstances  may  direct. 

Let  me  hear  from  you  every  two  days;  You  know  that  Some 
of  the  Provincial  officers  are  not  vigilant  upon  Guard.  Warn 
them  every  day.  They  could  ruin  all  our  affairs :  Keep  a  Journal 
of  your  Proceedings. 

THE  DEATH  OF  A  CATAWBA  CHIEF 

Washington  to  Bouquet,  Fort  Cumberland,  Maryland, 
August  24,  1758101 

When  the  Convoy  got  within  6  Miles  of  this  garrison  3 
Cuttawba  men  and  2  Squaws  (contrary  to  the  advice  of  the 
Officers)  set  on  before  the  Convoy  for  this  Camp,  and  soon 
after  were  fir'd  upon  by  about  10  or  12  of  the  Enemy;  who  kill'd 
Captn.  Bullen,  and  Captn.  French,102  and  wounded  one  of  the 
Squaws;  the  loss  we  sustain  by  the  death  of  these  two  Indians, 
is  at  this  juncture  very  considerable,  as  they  were  remarkable 
for  their  bravery,  and  attachment  to  Our  Interest;  particularly 
poor  Bullen  whom  (and  the  other)  we  buried  with  Military 
Honours. 

"THE  LUCKLESS  FATE  OF  POOR  VIRGINIA" 

Washington  to  John  Robinson,103  Fort  Cumberland,  Maryland, 
September  1,  1758104 

My  dear  Sir:  We  are  still  Incamp'd  here,  very  sickly;  and 


was  usually  referred  to,  did  not  prove  as  reliable  as  Bouquet  indicates  in 
this  passage. 

101  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  274. 


194' 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

quite  dispirited  at  the  prospect  before  Us.  That  appearance  of 
Glory  once  in  view,  that  hope,  that  laudable  Ambition  of  serv- 
ing Our  Country,  and  meriting  its  applause,  is  now  no  more! 
Tis  dwindled  into  ease;  Sloth,  and  fatal  inactivity,  and  in  a 
Word,  All  is  lost.  .  .  . 

We  seem  then,  to  act  under  an  evil  Geni,  the  conduct  of  our 
Leaders  (if  not  actuated  by  superior  Orders)  is  temper'd  with 
something,  I  don't  care  to  give  a  name  to,  indeed  I  will  go 
further,  and  say  they  are  d— ps,  or  something  worse  to 
P— s— v— n105  Artifice,  to  whose  selfish  views  I  attribute  the 
miscarriage  of  this  Expedition,  for  nothing  now  but  a  Miracle 
can  bring  this  Campaigne  to  a  happy  Issue.  .  .  . 

See  therefore  how  our  time  has  been  mispent;  behold  the 
golden  oppertunity  lost;  and  perhaps  never  regain'd.  How  is  it 
to  be  accounted  for?  can  G— 1  F— s106  have  Orders  for  this? 
Impossible:  Will  then  our  Injur'd  Country107  pass  by  such 
abuses?  I  hope  not.  Rather  let  a  full  Representation  of  the  mat- 
ter go  to  His  Majesty.  Let  him  know  how  grossly  his  Hon'r 
and  the  Publick  money  have  been  prostituted.  I  wish  I  was  sent 
immediately  home  as  an  Aide  to  some  other  on  this  Errand. 
I  think  without  vanity  I  cou'd  set  the  Conduct  of  this  Expedi- 
tion in  its  true  colours,  having  taken  some  pains,  perhaps  more 

102  Despite  their  anglicized  names  and  titles,  Captain  Johnny  Bullen  and 
Captain  French  were  Catawba  warriors.  Bullen  was  "adopted"  by  Bouquet 
as  a  "son."  Bullen  and  French  were  among  the  few  reliable  Indian  allies 
of  the  British. 

103  John  Robinson  was  Speaker  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses. 
Throughout  his  career,  he  speculated  extensively  in  western  lands.  Robinson 
was  a  close  personal  friend  of  Washington's. 

104  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  276-78. 

105  The  two  words  not  spelled  out  are  clearly  "dupes"  and  "Pennsylvanian." 

106  General  Forbes. 

107  In  the  years  before  the  Revolution,  when  Washington  spoke  of  his 
"country,"  he  meant,  as  a  rule,  Virginia. 


195 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

than  any  other  to  dive  into  the  bottom  of  it.  But  no  more,  adieu 
my  dear  Sir.  It  has  long  been  the  luckless  Fate  of  Poor  Virginia 
to  fall  a  Victum  to  the  views  of  her  Crafty  Neighbours;  and 
yield  her  honest  efforts  to  promote  their  common  Interest  at 
the  expence  of  much  Blood  and  Treasure;  while  her  sincerety 
justified  her  Measures.  We  now  can  only  bewail  that  blindness, 
and  wish  for  happier  times,  which  seem  at  so  remote  a  distance, 
that  it  is  rather  to  be  wish'd  than  expected. 

LETTER  TO  WILLIAM  PITT- 
THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN 

Forbes  to  Pitt,  Fort  Loudoun,  Pennsylvania,  September  6,  1758108 

In  my  last  letter  I  had  the  honour  to  acquaint  you,  of  my 
procedings  in  the  new  road  across  the  Alleganey  Mountains, 
and  over  Laurell  Hill  (leaving  the  Rivers  Yohiegany  and  Mo- 
nongahela  to  my  left  hand)  strait  to  the  Ohio,  by  which  I  have 
saved  a  great  deal  of  way,  and  prevented  the  misfortunes  that 
the  overflowing  of  those  rivers  might  occasion.  I  acquainted 
you  likewise  of  the  suspicions  I  had  of  the  small  trust  I  could 
repose  in  the  Pennsylvanians  in  assisting  of  me  with  any  one 
necessary,  or  any  help  in  furthering  the  Service  that  they  did 
not  think  themselves  compelled  to  do  by  the  words  of  your 
letter  to  them. 

As  likewise  of  almost  the  total  defection  and  desertion  of 
the  Southern  Indians  (except  80)  who  after  the  receiving  of 
their  presents  &c.  have  all  returned  home  not  without  commit- 
ting .  .  .  outrages  upon  the  scattered  Inhabitants  of  the  North- 
west parts  of  Virginia  in  their  return. 

I  thought  fit  to  recapitulate  this  least  my  letters  dont  come 
to  hand  regularly  as  there  is  no  post  in  those  parts,  nor  any 

108  Writings  of  Forbes,  202-206. 


196 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

regular  one  anywhere  except  from  Philadelphia,  By  New  York, 
to  Boston;  and  even  there  one  may  be  three  Months  in  receiv- 
ing a  Letter,  that  ought  to  be  delivered  in  ten  days,  besides  my 
letters  must  now  go  by  Mercht.  Ships,  which  makes  the  delivery 
very  precarious.  I  hinted  to  you  in  my  former,  of  my  endeav- 
ouring to  bring  about  a  Treaty  betwixt  the  Delaware  Indians 
&ca.  neighbours  to  those  Provinces,  but  of  late  drove  into  the 
Arms  of  French  and  removed  to  the  Ohio,  as  the  Indians  de- 
mands were  but  few,  and  to  me  seemingly  not  unreasonable,  I 
thought  the  reclaiming  of  those  Tribes  would  be  of  very  great 
Service  to  the  Publick  in  weakening  of  the  French  Interest  by 
setting  a  good  example  to  other  Western  Tribes  of  Indians,  who 
it  is  said  have  all  the  Inclination  to  be  well  with  us,  wanting 
only  an  Opportunity,  and  an  Assurance  of  protection  to  declare 
themselves  for  us,  or  at  least  to  remain  neutralls. 

This  is  almost  brought  to  a  Crisis,  their  Chief  Men  being 
hourly  expected  at  East-town  upon  the  Delaware,  where  the 
Governr.  of  Pennsylvania  and  Jersey  are  to  meet  them  and 
settle  Preliminaries;  I  wish  it  could  have  been  done  sooner,  and 
that  they  could  have  had  time  to  remove,  because  now  my  scene 
of  offensive  Operations  must  imediately  be  put  in  Execution, 
when  it  will  be  hard  for  me  to  distinguish  betwixt  our  friendly 
disposed  Indians,  and  our  real  Enemies. 

My  advanced  post  consisting  of  1 500  Men,  are  now  in  pos- 
session of  a  strong  post109  9  Miles  on  the  other  side  of  Laurell 
Hill  and  about  40  from  Fort  Du  Quesne,  nor  had  the  Enemy 
ever  suspected  my  attempting  such  a  road  till  very  lately,  they 
having  been  all  along  securing  the  strong  passes,  and  fords  of 
the  rivers,  upon  General  Braddock's  route. 

My  greatest  distress  and  what  maybe  a  real  hindrance  to  me 
for  some  days  is  the  provisions,  which  altho'  every  care  im- 

109  Loyalhanna. 


197 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

aginable  was  taken  by  contracting  for  great  Numbers  of  Wag- 
gons and  Baggage  horses  at  a  very  great  Expence.  Yet  all  has 
not  been  able,  to  supply  the  present  consumption,  and  the 
maintaining  of  three  Month's  Provisions  in  store  to  carry  along 
with  us— This  I  early  foresaw  and  acquainted  the  Governr.:, 
and  the  Assembly  Commissioners  of  my  Doubts,  arising  from 
the  villiany  of  the  Inhabitants  in  furnishing  their  worst  Horses 
at  so  critical  a  juncture, — By  contract  they  being  obliged  to 
carry  2000  lb  weight  per  Waggon,  such  a  length  of  road  in 
such  a  specified  time,  but  cannot  carry  above  1400  at  most  and 
take  up  four  and  twenty  days  in  place  of  twelve  to  execute  it  in. 

I  have  wrote  the  Governr.  in  very  strong  Terms  upon  this 
head,  beging  he  would  shew  it  to  their  Assembly  now  sitting, 
in  order  that  they  may  fall  upon  Methods  of  sending  from 
Philadelphia,  and  parts  adjacent,  three  Months  provisions  at 
once  . . .  altho'  sad  experience  makes  me  dread  that  their  dilatory 
Measures,  and  contrary  factions,  will  so  retard,  so  absolutely 
necessary  a  transport  as  to  throw  me,  and  the  little  Army  I 
have  the  honour  to  command,  into  very  great  distress. 

I  was  greatly  afraid  that  the  unfortunate  stop  General  Aber- 
crombie110  met  with,  might  have  enabled  the  French  to  strengthen 
themselves  with  regulars  in  those  parts,  but  from  every  Intel- 
ligence I  can  possibly  get,  any  reinforcements  that  have  joined 
or  are  likely  to  join  them,  are  the  West  Country  Indians,  who 
returned  from  Ticonderoga,  who  likewise  may  tire  at  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  but  of  this  I  hope  to  be  better  informed,  when  still  a 
little  nigher  them,  by  the  Means  of  deserters  of  whom  as  yet 
we  have  not  had  one  come  in,  and  there  is  but  little  trust  to  be 
put  in  the  best  Spies  you  can  find,  or  in  the  small  scouting  parties 

110  Major  General  James  Abercromby  had  succeeded  Lord  Loudoun  as 
British  commander  in  chief  for  North  America.  His  "unfortunate  stop"  was 
his  failure  to  take  Ticonderoga  from  the  French  earlier  in  the  summer. 


198 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

that  you  send  for  discovery,  &  no  truth  at  all  to  be  expected 
from  an  Indian.  .  .  . 

I  vainly  at  the  beginning  flattered  myself  that  some  very 
good  Service  might  be  drawn  from  the  Virginia,  &  Pennsylvania 
Forces,  but  am  sorry  to  find  that  a  few  of  their  principle  Officers 
excepted,  all  the  rest  are  an  extream  bad  Collection  of  broken 
Innkeepers,  Horse  Jockeys,  &  Indian  traders,  and  that  the  Men 
under  them,  are  a  direct  copy  of  their  Officers,  nor  can  it  well 
be  otherwise,  as  they  are  a  gathering  from  the  scum  of  the 
worst  of  people,  in  every  Country,  who  have  wrought  them- 
selves up,  into  a  panick  at  the  very  name  of  Indians  who  at 
the  same  time  are  more  infamous  cowards,  than  any  other  race 
of  mankind. 

If  it  should  please  God  to  grant  Success  to  His  Majesty's 
Arms  in  their  Attempts  upon  the  Ohio,  and  which  I  think  can't 
well  fail,  I  shall  be  greatly  at  a  loss  how  to  dispose  of  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  whether  to  blow  it  up,  and  destroy  it  and  the  whole 
Settlements  thereabout,  or  to  keep  it  and  leave  a  Garrison  there 
for  the  Winter,  the  execution  of  the  first  is  as  easy,  as  the 
second  appears  to  be  attended  with  many  difficulties,  all  of 
which  must  naturally  occur  to  you,  from  its  great  distance  from 
any  of  the  inhabited  parts  of  those  Provinces,  and  consequently 
the  great  difficulties  of  either  supporting  it,  or  supplying  it 
with  Necessaries  during  a  long  severe  Winter. 

I  have  consulted  the  Governours  of  Pennsylvania  and  Vir- 
ginia upon  this  head,  and  to  know  what  Number  of  Troops 
they  could  leave  there  in  case  it  was  thought  proper  to  preserve 
it,  to  which  I  have  had  no  positive  answer,  but  I  know  the 
Pennsylvania  troops  will  disband  the  first  of  December  unless 
their  Assembly  makes  a  new  Provision  for  their  Support. 

In  a  few  days  I  shall  have  most  of  my  Troops  moved  forward 
towards  the  head,  there  to  be  in  readyness  of  seizing  the  first 


199 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

favourable  Opportunity  of  marching  to  the  Banks  of  the  Ohio, 
which  I  now  have  in  my  power  of  doing,  by  a  march  of  48 
hours,  and  if  refused  the  Carriages  demanded  from  the  Penn- 
sylvanians,  or  they  appear  too  tardy,  and  dilatory  in  the  execu- 
tion thereof,  I  shall  most  certainly  try  it  upon  flour,  and  rice, 
with  the  Assistance  of  what  live  Cattle  we  can  carry  forward 
with  us. 

My  health,  that  has  been  extreamly  precarious  these  two 
years,  has  of  late  been  very  near  brought  to  a  close,  by  a  long 
and  severe  attack  of  a  bloody  flux,111  which  has  reduced  me 
to  a  state  of  weakness  that  I  am  obliged  to  travel  in  a  Hurdle 
carried  betwixt  two  Horses,  but  I  hope  the  animating  spirits 
of  being  able  to  do  the  smallest  Service  to  my  King  and  Country, 
will  leave  nothing  undone  on  my  part  that  can  anyways  con- 
tribute to  the  Success  of  so  glorious  a  cause. 


FORBES  DAMNS  PENNSYLVANIANS 

Forbes  to  Bouquet,  Raystown,  September  17,  1758112 

...  I  have  seen  with  regret  for  this  some  time  past  a  Jealousy 
and  suspicion  subsisting  on  the  part  of  the  Virginians  which 
they  can  have  no  reason  for,  as  I  believe  neither  you  nor  I 
values  one  farthing  where  we  get  provisions  from,  provided  we 
are  supplyed,  or  Interest  ourselves  either  with  Virginia  or 
Pennsylvania,  which  last  I  hope  will  be  damn'd  for  their  treat- 
ment of  us  with  the  Waggons,  and  every  other  thing  where  they 
could  profit  by  us  from  their  impositions,  Altho'  at  the  risque 
of  our  perdition. 

111  Dysentery. 

112  Writings  of  Forbes,  212-13. 


200- 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 
THE  FIRST  BATTLE-MAJOR  GRANT'S  DEFEAT 

Washington  to  John  Augustine  Washington, 
Raystown,  September  25,  1758113 

...  I  greatly  bewail  the  misfortune  that  gives  rise  to  the 
following  relation.  Major  Grant  of  the  Highlanders  with  a 
Chosen  detachment  of  800  Marchd  from  Our  advanced  Post  at 
Loyal  Hannan  the  12th  Instt.  for  Fort  Duquesne  what  to  do 
there  I  cannot  certainly  say,  but  it  is  reported  and  I  suppose 
justly,  to  Annoy  the  Enemy  and  gain  Intelligence.  In  the  Night 
of  the  13th.  He  took  post  with  his  Troops  in  sevel.  Columns 
on  a  Hill114  just  above  the  Fort,  from  whence  he  sent  out  to 
Reconnoitre  the  Works,  this  they  did,  and  burnt  a  Log  House 
just  by  the  Walls.  Not  content  with  this  Success  Majr  Grant 
must  needs  sent  an  Engineer  in  full  view  of  the  Fort  next  morn- 
ing with  a  covering  Party  to  take  a  Plan  of  the  place,  he  also 
ordered  Majr  Lewis115  two  Miles  back  to  their  Baggage  Guard 
where  Captn.  Bullet116  Commanded,  and  while  this  was  doing 
causd  the  Revielle  to  beat  in  different  places;  which  causd  the 
Enemy  to  Salle  upon  them  in  very  great  numbers,  hence  ensued 
an  obstinate  Engagement  and  the  running  away  of  the  Pen- 
sylvanians,  who  were  just  behind,  and  ought  to  have  Sustaind 
the  Highlanders.  Majr  Lewis  notwithstanding  his  former  Or- 
ders Marchd  up  the  Virginians  with  great  dispatch  and  Intre- 
pidity ....  their  bravely  fell  with  more  of  my  Officers  besides 
Captn  Walter  Stewart117  who  was  left  wounded  in  the  Field 
(but  is  since  come  in)  I  had  also  62  killd;  this  is  a  heavy 
stroke  upon  the  Regiment  who  only  had  8  Officers  166  Men 

113  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXXVII,  482-83. 

114  Grant's  Hill. 

115  Major  Andrew  Lewis  of  the  first  Virginia. 

116  Captain  Thomas  Bullet  of  the  first  Virginia. 

117  An  officer  of  the  first  Virginia. 


201 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

there.  I  inclose  you  a  Return  of  all  the  Troops  that  were  there, 
of  the  killd  wounded  &ca.  Your  Friend  Bullett  has  acquired  im- 
mense honour  in  this  Action,  defending  himself  with  what 
Virginian's  were  left  against  the  whole  Force  of  the  Enemy 
while  his  Ammunition  lasted,  and  then  was  the  last  Man  that 
left  the  Field.  It  is  with  infinite  pleasure  I  till  you  that  the 
Virginians,  Officers  and  Men,  distinguish  themselves  in  the 
most  eminent  manner,  and  the  General  has  Complimented  me 
publickly  on  their  good  behaviour,  and  that  every  Mouth  re- 
sounds their  Praises.  The  Highlanders  and  them  are  become 
one  People,  shaking  each  other  by  the  hand  wherever  they  meet 
tho  perfect  Stranger's.  .  .  . 

MAJOR  GRANT'S  ACCOUNT-"I  HOPE  I  SHALL  NEVER  SEE 
AGAIN  SUCH  PANNICK  AMONG  TROOPS" 

Grant  to  Forbes,  Fort  Duquesne,  about  September  14,  1758118 

The  Instructions  when  I  left  Loyl  Hannon  was  that  a  par- 
ticular party  should  be  sent  to  Attack  each  Indian  fire,  but  as 
those  Fires  either  had  not  been  made,  or  were  burnt  out  before 
we  got  to  the  Ground,  it  was  impossible  to  make  any  disposi- 
tion of  that  kind.  Major  Lewis  was  informed  of  every  particular 
of  our  Project  before  we  marched  from  Loyal  Hannon,  &  was 
told  there  that  he  was  to  Command  the  Troops  that  was  to  be 
sent  upon  the  Attack,  as  I  was  to  continue  upon  the  height  to 
make  a  Disposition  for  covering  His  retreat  (which  we  did  not 
desire  to  be  made  in  good  Order)  &  for  forming  the  Rear 
Guard  in  our  March  from  the  Fort,  &  you'l  easily  believe  that 
He  &  I  had  frequent  Conversation  upon  the  March  about  our 
Plan  of  Operations.  I  sent  for  Him,  the  moment  ...  the  Troops 

118  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  500-504.  The  French  permitted  Grant  to  send 
this  account  to  Forbes  from  Fort  Duquesne. 


202 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

arrived  upon  the  Hill,  Opposite  to  the  Fort  &  told  him  that  as 
we  had  been  misinformed  by  the  Guides  with  regard  to  the 
distance,  &  by  that  means  had  got  there  much  later  than  we 
expected,  it  was  impossible  to  make  the  projected  disposition 
of  a  party  of  Men  for  the  Attack  of  each  Fire,  but  that  it  was 
impossible  to  continue  another  Day  without  being  discovered, 
&  that  as  the  Night  was  far  advanced  there  was  no  time  to  be 
lost.  I  therefore  ordered  Him  to  march  directly  with  100 
Americans119  200  Highlanders  &  100  Virginians  &  to  Attack 
every  thing  that  was  found  about  the  Fort.  I  gave  Orders  that 
no  Attention  should  be  paid  to  the  Cen tries,  who  probably 
would  challenge  &  in  case  they  were  fired  upon  they  were  not 
to  return  it  upon  any  Account.  But  to  march  On  as  fast  as 
possible  &  were  not  to  fire  a  Shot,  'till  they  were  close  to  the 
Enemy— &  that  after  they  discharged  their  pieces  they  were 
to  Use  their  Bayonets  without  Loading  a  Second  time.  I  told 
the  Major  that  I  would  Order  all  our  Drums  &  Pipes120  to 
beat  the  retreat,  when  it  was  time  for  the  Troops  to  retire,  that 
I  was  indifferent  what  Order  they  came  back  in,  for  that  it 
was  the  same  thing  to  me  if  [there]  was  not  three  of  them  to- 
gether, provided  they  did  the  Business  they  were  sent  upon. 

The  Major  had  not  half  a  Mile  to  march  into  the  open  plain 
where  the  Fort  stands,  the  400  Men  under  His  Command  had 
a  white  Shirt  over  His  Cloaths,  to  prevent  Mistakes,  &  .  .  . 
they  might  even  at  a  distance  distinguish  One  another;  I  saw 
the  Americans  and  Highlanders  march  off  &  gave  directions 
that  the  Virginians  should  fall  in— in  the  Rear,  sending  a  greater 
Number  of  Men,  might  possibly  I  thought  Occasion  confusion, 
&  I  was  of  Opinion  that  400  Men  were  quite  sufficient  to  carry 
the  Service  into  Execution.  I  was  absolutely  certain  we  were 

119  Troops  of  the  Royal  American  regiment. 

120  The  bagpipes  of  the  Highlanders. 


203 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

not  discovered  when  the  Troops  marched  from  the  Hill.  I 
thought  our  loss  must  be  inconsiderable,  &  I  never  doubted 
but  that  everything  would  succeed  beyond  our  most  sanguine 
expectations. 

After  Posting  the  remaining  part  of  the  Troops  in  the  best 
manner  I  could,  I  placed  myself  with  the  Drums  &  Pipes  at 
the  Head  of  the  Highlanders,  who  were  in  the  Center  &  exactly 
Opposite  the  Fort,  during  the  Operation  the  time  passed,  the 
Day  Advanced  fast  upon  us,  &  was  turning  uneasy  at  not  hear- 
ing the  Attack  begin,  when  to  my  great  Astonishment,  Major 
Lewis  came  up  &  told  Me.  "That  is  was  impossible  to  doe 
any  thing,  that  the  Night  was  dark,  that  the  Road  was  bad, 
worse  than  anything  I  had  ever  seen,  that  there  were  Logs  of 
wood  across  it,  that  their  were  fences  to  pass  that  the  troops 
had  fallen  into  Confusion,  &  that  it  was  a  Mercy  they  had  not 
fired  upon  one  another,  that  they  had  made  so  much  noise  he 
was  sure  they  must  be  discovered.  &  that  it  was  impossible 
for  the  Men  to  find  their  way  back  thro'  those  Woods.'7 — these 
were  exactly  the  Words  he  made  use  of— this  behaviour  in  an 
Officer  was  new  to  Me.  His  Conduct  in  Overturning  a  long 
projected  Scheme  &  in  disobeying  such  positive  Orders,  was 
so  Unaccountable  that  I  could  not  speak  to  him  with  common 
patience,  so  that  I  just  made  Answer  to  his  last  words  that 
the  Men  according  to  the  Orders  that  had  been  given  would 
have  found  their  way  back  to  the  Drums  when  the  Retreat  beat. 
— So  I  left  Him  &  went  as  fast  as  I  could  to  Lieut.  McKenzie121 
&  Mr.  Rhor,  to  see  what  the  matter  was  &  to  give  directions 
for  the  Attack  if  the  thing  was  practicable.  I  found  the  Troops 
in  the  greatest  confusion  I  ever  saw  Men  in,  which  to  say  truth 
was  not  surprizing,  for  the  Major  had  brought  them  back  from 

121  Since  there  were  three  Lieutenant  McKenzies  with  Grant,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  which  one  this  was. 


204- 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

the  plain  when  he  returned  himself,  and  every  body  then  took 
a  Road  of  their  own.  I  found  it  was  impossible  to  think  of  form- 
ing them  for  an  Attack,  and  the  Morning  was  too  far  advanced 
to  send  for  the  other  Troops  from  the  other  places  where  they 
were  posted,  tho'  I  was  reduced  after  all  my  hopes  of  Success, 
to  this  melancholly  Situation,  that  something  at  least  might  be 
Attempted,  I  sent  Liets.  Robinson122  &  McDonald,123  with  50 
Men  to  make  an  Attack  at  a  place,  where  Two  or  Three  Fires 
had  been  seen  the  night  before.  I  desired  them  to  kill  a  Dozen 
of  Indians  if  possible,  &  I  would  be  satisfied,  they  went  di- 
rectly to  the  place  they  were  ordered,  &  finding  none  of  the 
Indians  they  set  fire  to  the  House,  but  it  was  daylight  before 
they  could  return  I  mention  this  last  Circumstance  that  it  might 
appear  clearly  to  you  it  was  not  in  my  Power,  to  send  a  greater 
Number. 

The  surprize  was  Compleat  the  Governour124  knew  nothing 
of  us  or  our  March  &  in  all  probability  the  Enterprize  must 
have  succeeded  against  the  Camp  as  well  as  against  the  Indians, 
if  the  Attempt  had  been  made.  So  favourable  an  Opportunity 
I  dare  say  never  was  lost;  The  Difficulties  which  Major  Lewis 
had  represented  to  Me  to  be  unsurmountable  appeared  to  Me 
as  they  Certainly  were  absolutely  imaginary  I  marched  above  12 
Miles  that  night  with  an  advanced  Guard  &  flanking  Parties 
before  it  without  the  least  Confusion  the  Major  had  not  a  Mile 
to  march  to  the  Fort  and  above  two  thirds  of  that  way  in  an 
Open  plain.  &  I  can  safly  declare  that  there  is  no  part  of  the 
Road  in  getting  into  the  plain,  worse  than  what  I  had  passed 
with  out  any  great  difficulty  in  comeing  up  the  Hill.  I  made  no 
Secret  to  the  People  who  were  then  about  Me,  that  I  was  so 

122  Archibald  Robinson  of  the  Highlanders. 

123  One  of  two  Lieutenant  Alexander  McDonalds  with  the  Highlanders. 

124  Captain  de  Ligneris,  commander  of  Fort  Duquesne. 


205 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

much  dissatisfied  with  the  Majors  Conduct,  that  I  was  deter- 
mined to  Carry  him  back  to  Camp  in  Arrest,  that  he  might 
Answer  to  you  for  his  behaviour.  Several  Officers  heard  Me 
say — As  Mr.  Bentick125  if  he  escaped  has  no  doubt  informed, 
that  it  was  my  Intention,  however  I  did  not  think  it  Advisable 
to  take  any  Step  of  that  kind  'till  we  were  out  of  reach  of  the 
Enemy.  I  therefore  sent  Major  Lewis  the  14th  at  break  of  Day 
with  the  Americans  &  Virginians  to  reinforce  Capt.  Bullet  who 
I  had  left  with  about  50  Men  as  a  Guard  upon  our  Horses  & 
Provisions,  within  2  Miles  of  the  Fort  directly  upon  the  Road 
by  which  we  were  to  return  to  our  Camp.  I  was  afraid  the 
Enemy  might  possibly  send  a  Detatchment  that  way  to  take 
Possession  of  some  Passes  to  harrass  us  in  Our  March,  or  per- 
haps to  endeavour  to  cut  us  off  in  case  we  were  forced  to  make 
a  Retreat — &  I  directed  the  Major  to  place  these  Troops  in 
Ambuscade  that  he  might  have  all  the  Advantage  possible  of 
any  party  that  could  be  sent  out. — about  7  in  the  Morning  after 
the  fog  was  gone  &  the  Day  cleared  up  it  was  found  impossible 
to  take  a  Plan  of  the  Fort  from  the  height  where  the  Troops 
were  posted,  &  as  Colo.  Bouquet  &  I  had  settled  that  a  Plan 
should  be  taken  A  la  bar  be  de  la  Garisson126  in  case  Our  Attempt 
did  not  succed  in  the  Night.  I  sent  Mr.  Rhor  with  Capt. 
McDonald127  &  a  hundred  Men  to  take  the  Plan,  with  direc- 
tions not  to  expose  himself  or  the  Troops,  about  the  same  time 
being  informed  that  some  of  the  Enemy  Indians  had  discovered 
Capt.  McKenzie,128  who  was  posted  upon  the  left  almost  face- 
ing  the  Monongehela.  in  Order  to  put  on  a  good  Countenance, 
&  to  Convince  our  Men  they  had  no  reason  to  be  Afraid,  I 

125  Lieutenant  Rudolph  Bentinck  of  the  Royal  American  regiment. 

126  Literally,  "in  the  beard  of  the  garrison." 

127  Captain  William  McDonald  of  the  Highlanders. 

128  Captain  Hugh  McKenzie  of  the  Highlanders. 


206 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

gave  directions  to  our  Drums  to  beat  the  Reveille,  the  Troops 
were  in  an  Advantageous  Post,  &  I  must  own  I  thought  we 
had  nothing  to  fear.  — For  about  half  an  Hour  after  the  Enemy- 
came  from  the  Fort,  in  different  parties,  without  much  Order, 
&  getting  behind  Forces  they  advanced  briskly,  &  Attacked 
our  left  where  there  were  250  Men.  Capt.  McDonald  &  Lieu- 
tennant  Campbel129  were  soon  killed  Lieut.  McDonald  was 
wounded  at  the  same  time,  &  our  People  being  Over  powered, 
gave  way,  where  those  Officers  had  been  killed,  I  did  all  in 
my  power  to  keep  things  in  Order  but  to  no  purpose.  The  100 
Pensylvanians  who  were  posted  upon  the  right  at  the  greatest 
distance  from  the  Enemy,  went  Off  without  Orders,  &  without 
Firing  a  Shott.  in  short  in  less  than  half  an  Hour  all  was  in  Con- 
fusion &  as  soon  as  that  happened  we  were  fired  upon  from 
every  Quarter.  I  endeavoured  to  rally  the  Troops  upon  every 
rising  Ground  &  I  did  all  in  my  Power  in  that  Melancholly 
Situation  to  make  the  best  Retreat  I  could.  I  sent  an  Officer  to 
Major  Lewis  to  make  the  best  disposition  he  could,  with  ye 
Americans  &  Virginians,  till  I  could  come  up,  &  I  was  in  hopes 
to  be  able  to  make  a  Stand  there,  and  at  last  to  make  a  tolerable 
retreat  Unfortunately  upon  hearing  the  firing  the  Major  .  .  . 
thought  the  best  thing  that  could  be  done  was  to  march  to  our 
Assistance.  Unluckily  they  did  not  take  the  same  Road  by 
which  I  marched  the  night  before  &  by  which  they  had  passed 
that  Morning  &  As  I  retired  the  same  way  I  had  Advanced, 
I  never  saw  them,  when  I  found  Capt.  Bullet  &  his  50  Men 
alone,  I  could  not  help  saying  to  him  that  I  was  undone  How- 
ever tho'  there  was  little  or  rather  no  hopes  left,  I  was  Resolved 
to  doe  the  best  I  could,  &  when  ever  I  could  get  anybody  to 
stay  with  Me  We  made  a  Stand  sometimes  with  100  &  some- 
times with  50  just  as  the  Men  thought  proper  for  Orders  were 

129  Perhaps  Lieutenant  John  Campbell  of  the  first  Virginia. 


207 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

to  no  purpose,  Fear  had  then  got  the  better  of  every  other 
passion  &  I  hope  I  shall  never  see  again  such  a  Pannick  among 
Troops,  till  then  I  had  no  conception  of  it. 

At  last  inclining  to  the  left  with  about  50  Men,  where  I  was 
told  a  number  of  the  Americans  &  Highlanders  had  gone,  my 
party  diminished  insensibly,  every  Souldier  taking  the  Road  he 
liked  best,  &  I  found  myself  with  not  above  a  Dozen  of  Men 
and  an  Officer  of  the  Pennsylvanians,  who,  had  been  left  with 
Capt.  Bullet  surrounded  on  all  sides,  by  the  Indians,  &  when  I 
expected  every  instant  to  be  cut  in  pieces  without  a  possibility 
of  escapeing,  a  Body  of  the  French  with  a  number  of  their 
Officers  came  up,  &  offered  Me  Quarters,  which  I  accepted 
off.  I  was  then  within  a  short  League  of  the  Fort,  it  was  then 
about  1 1 .  O  Clock,  and  as  far  as  I  can  judge  about  that  time, 
the  French  troops  were  called  back  &  the  pursuit  ended  what 
our  loss  is  you  best  know,  but  it  must  be  considerable. 

This  is  the  best  Acct.  I  can  give  you  of  our  unlucky  affair. 
I  endeavoured  to  execute  the  Orders  which  I  had  received  to 
the  best  of  my  power,  As  I  have  been  misfortunate  the  World 
may  possibly  find  fault  with  my  Conduct.  I  flatter  myself  [that] 
you  will  not.  I  may  have  committed  Mistakes  without  know- 
ing them,  but  if  I  was  sensible  of  them  I  most  certainly  should 
tell  you,  in  what  I  thought  I  had  done  wrong,  I  am  willing  to 
flatter  myself  that  my  being  a  Prisoner  will  be  no  detriment 
to  my  promotion  in  case  Vacancies  should  happen  in  the  Army 
&  Its  to  be  hoped  that  the  proper  Steps  will  be  taken  to  get  me 
exchanged  as  soon  as  possible. 

"IT  WAS  BUT  A  SCENE  OF  CONFUSION" 

Bouquet  to  Forbes,  Layalhanna,  September  17,  1758130 

When  they  arrived  on  the  height,  only  a  single  fire  was  seen, 
130  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  519-520. 


208 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

but  Ensign  Chew131  who  had  been  reconnoitering  said  that  the 
Indians  were  sleeping  in  blockhouses  easy  to  capture.  He  sent 
Major  Lewis  there  with  400  men.  Some  confusion  occurring 
among  his  troops,  he  feared  he  had  been  discovered  and  returned 
to  join  Major  Grant,  who  sent  back  immediately  two  parties 
of  Highlanders.  They  visited  the  blockhouses,  and  found  no 
one  there.  They  set  fire  to  them  and  withdrew. 

The  major,  according  to  his  orders,  had  but  to  retreat,  but 
he  unfortunately  got  the  notion  that  the  garrison  was  too  weak 
to  dare  risk  a  sortie,  and  consequently  he  remained  on  the 
height  until  daybreak.  He  then  had  the  reveille  beaten  in  differ- 
ent places  and  ordered  Major  Lewis  to  go  and  station  himself 
in  ambush  by  the  baggage  with  100  Royal  Americans  and  150 
Virginians.  200  Highlanders,  100  Marylanders,  and  100  Penn- 
sylvanians  were  stationed  on  the  heights,  and  he  sent  McDonald 
with  100  Highlanders,  with  the  drum  beating,  straight  to  the 
fort.  A  party  sallying  from  the  garrison  had  been  discovered, 
and  there  is  likelihood  that  he  wanted  to  cut  off  its  retreat. 
McDonald  was  scarcely  halfway  when  they  heard  the  whoop 
of  the  Indians,  followed  immediately  by  a  sortie  of  about  800 
French  and  Indians,  who  came  and  fell  upon  him.  He  killed  so 
many  of  their  men  by  his  first  volley  that  they  spread  out  and 
surrounded  him.  He  pierced  through  them,  doing  which  he  was 
killed.  Monro's132  and  Hugh  McKenzie's  companies  which 
went  down  to  aid  him  were  thrown  into  disorder,  and  the  cap- 
tains were  killed.  As  the  enemy  continually  received  reinforce- 
ments, all  the  troops  were  very  soon  engaged,  and  the  firing 
kept  up  for  a  long  time  without  our  men  yielding. 

Major  Lewis,  who  was  almost  two  miles  away,  hearing  the 
shots,  pressed  by  his  officers  and  the  soldiers,  left  his  post  to 

131  Coleby  Chew. 

132  Captain  George  Monro  of  the  Highlanders. 


209 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

go  to  their  aid.  He  arrived  just  at  the  moment  when  our  men 
were  retreating  in  disorder  upon  his  post.  He  had  reached  a 
height  which  had  made  his  men  out  of  breath  and,  on  appearing, 
they  found  themselves  under  enemy  fire.  The  action,  however, 
was  still  very  lively  and  disputed  for  a  long  time.  Finally,  our 
men  gave  way  and  it  was  but  a  scene  of  confusion,  despite  all 
Major  Grant's  efforts  to  rally  them.  They  would  probably 
have  been  cut  to  pieces  but  for  Captain  Bullet  of  the  Virginians 
who  with  100  men  sustained  the  battle  with  all  their  forces 
until,  having  lost  two-thirds  of  his  men,  he  was  pushed  in  the 
direction  of  the  river,  where  he  found  the  poor  major.  He  urged 
him  to  retreat,  but  he  told  him  he  would  not  leave  the  field 
of  battle  as  long  as  there  was  a  man  who  would  fight. 

"My  heart  is  broke,"  said  he,  "I  shall  never  outlive  this  day." 
They  were  soon  surrounded,  and  the  Frenchmen,  calling  him 
by  name,  offered  him  quarter.  He  did  not  wish  it.  They  did 
not  want  to  fire  on  him,  wishing  to  take  him  prisoner.  Captain 
Bullet  still  fired,  and  in  the  end  they  fired,  too,  and  routed  his 
party  into  the  Ohio,  where  a  large  number  drowned.  Bullet 
escaped,  but  I  have  no  news  of  the  major.  On  the  first  word 
of  his  misfortune,  I  sent  Lieutenant  Colonel  Stephen  with  300 
men  to  join  Lieutenant  Colonel  Dagworthy133  in  order  to  cover 
their  retreat.  The  Indians  did  not  pursue  very  far.  Our  loss  is 
very  considerable  in  officers,  and  270  men  are  still  missing. 
Several  crossed  the  river,  and  it  is  believed  that  many  escaped 
in  this  way. 

"FRESH  DILEMMAS  EVERY  DAY" 
Forbes  to  Abercromby,  Raystown,  October  8,  1758134 
Mr.  Gordon  the  Engineer  has  either  gone  off  at  the  nail,  or 
133  Lieutenant  Colonel  John  Dagworthy  served  with  the  Marylanders. 


210 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

is  turned  so  dilatory  in  every  measure  under  his  charge  that 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  any  one  thing  done  to  the  purpose 
where  he  is  concerned.  If  a  triffle  is  to  be  done  he  makes  it  a 
labour  to  man  and  horse,  and  if  a  work  of  consequence  makes 
slight  of  it.  This  is  at  present  cruell,  and  now  Rhorr  is  dead 
Hesse135  and  Basset136  dying,  I  have  no  resource.  So  this  branch 
is  infinite  perplexity;  and  the  Qr.  Mn.  Genii137  is  beyond  the 
power  of  man  either  to  change  or  amend.  And  the  immense 
confusion  of  Waggons  and  roads  are  intirely  Sir  Johns  creating, 
who  by  a  certain  dexterity  has  you  in  fresh  Dilemna's  every 
day,  and  with  his  solemn  face  will  tell  you  when  he  has  done 
the  worst,  that  he  really  acted  for  the  best  and  can  justify  it.  .  .  . 
The  Indians  I  cannot  mention  to  you  with  any  manner  of 
patience,  as  I  look  upon  them,  their  Interpreters,  their  Superin- 
tendents, and  every  creature  any  ways  connected  or  attached 
to  them,  as  the  most  imposing  Rogues  that  I  have  ever  had  to 
deal  with.  The  manner  that  they  have  been  manadged  here  for 
these  twelve  months  by  past,  has  absolutely  put  it  out  of  our 
power,  almost  ever  to  have  any  more  dealings,  or  trust  in  them. 
They  have  cost  to  the  provinces  and  Crown,  incredible  sums 
of  money,  and  except  about  14  Catawbas  who  have  behaved 
well  at  major  Grants  affair,  no  one  other  tribe  has  done  any 
one  piece  of  service.  And  they  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  Cher- 
okees  amounting  only  in  the  whole  to  100  men  leaving  you 
every  day,  unless  retained  by  presents,  which  I  do  assure  you 
they  neither  do  nor  ever  can  deserve.  .  .  . 

134  Writings  of  Forbes,  224-26. 

135  Lieutenant  Emanuel  Hess,  an  engineer  of  the  Royal  American  regiment, 
suffered  from  consumption. 

136  Lieutenant  Thomas  Basset,  an  engineer  of  the  Royal  Americans,  ap- 
parently recovered  from  whatever  his  ailment  was,  as  he  was  soon  back  to 
duty  status  and  completed  the  campaign. 

137  The  Quartermaster  General  was  Sir  John  St.  Clair. 


211 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

THE  FRENCH  ATTACK  THE  ADVANCE  POST 

Burd  to  Bouquet,  Loyalhanna,  October  12,  1758138 

This  day  at  11  A:  M  the  enemy  fired  12  Guns  to  the  South 
west  of  us  upon  which  I  sent  out  two  partys  to  surround  them 
but  Instantly  the  firing  increased,  upon  which  I  sent  out  a  large 
party  of  500  men  they  were  forced  to  the  Camp  and  Immedi- 
ately a  regular  Attack  Insued  which  lasted  a  long  time  I  think 
about  two  hours,  but  we  had  the  pleasure  to  do  that  Honr.  to 
His  Majesties  Arms  to  keep  his  Camp  at  Loyal  Hennon.  I 
can't  inform  you  of  our  Loss,  nor  that  of  the  Enemy,  must 
referr  You  for  the  particulars  to  Lieut.  Coll:  Lloyd,139  one  of 
their  Soldiers  which  we  have  mortally  wounded,  says  they  were 
1200  strong  &  200  Indians  but  I  can  Assertain  nothing  of  this 
further.  I  have  drove  them  of  the  field,  but  I  don't  doubt  of  a 
second  Attack,  if  they  do,  I  am  ready.  .  .  . 

Excuse  this  Scrall  being  in  a  little  hurry  at  present— since 
writing  we  have  been  fired  upon. 

THE  FRENCH  ATTACK  FAILS 

Burd  to  Bouquet,  Loyalhanna,  October  13,  1758140 

The  Enemy  has  harrassed  me  all  night,  they  made  some  little 
faints,  but  I  think  they  were  Cheefly  Employed  in  Carrying 
off  their  Dead,  &  wounded,  I  have  had  sundry  partys  out  to 
Day  but  Can't  say  possitvely  wheither  they  are  gon,  or  not 
as  yet,  but  am  apt  to  think  they  gott  enough  of  it  yesterday  to 
suffice  them  for  the  first  Tryal,  I  played  upon  them  with  shels 
last  night  which  soon  stopt  their  savage  Tones.  .  .  . 

138  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  552-53. 

139  Lieutenant  Colonel  Thomas  Lloyd  was  with  the  second  battalion  of 
the  Pennsylvania  regiment.       140  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  556. 


212 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

Capt.  Gordon's  Musick  from  the  Great  Guns  farr  Exceeded 
The  Indian  Solos. 


FORBES  DESCRIBES  THE  FRENCH  ATTACK 

Forbes  to  Abercromby,  Raystown,  October  16,  1758141 

The  12th  in  the  morning  about  eleven  oclock  the  advanced 
post  were  alarmed  by  hearing  some  fireing  about  half  a  mile 
from  them,  which  was  succeeded  by  the  Indian  Halloo  upon 
which  60  of  the  marylanders  run  towards  the  place  whence  the 
noise  came,  and  when  they  got  up,  the  firing  became  brisk — 
whereupon  Colonel  Burd  of  the  pennsylvanians  who  com- 
manded, ordered  a  party  of  the  first  Battalion  of  pennsylvanians 
to  go  and  support  the  Marylanders,  who  had  not  marched  half 
a  mile  when  they  met  with  the  Enemy  who  were  surrounding 
the  Marylanders,  and  gave  them  their  fire  for  some  time,  but 
upon  finding  them  too  numerous  begun  to  retreat,  a  third  party 
was  ordered  out,  but  the  fire  encreasing  and  approaching  the 
breast  work,  the  rest  of  the  troops  were  ordered  to  their  posts 
in  the  breast  work  and  to  line  the  skirts  of  the  wood  to  favour 
the  retreat  of  the  three  party s,  and  the  alarm  Guns  were  fired 
to  make  the  Cattle  and  horse  Guards  take  care  themselves.  In 
about  an  hour  from  the  beginning  the  Enemy  had  drove  our 
people  into  the  breastwork  and  appeared  in  numbers  along  the 
edge  of  the  wood  from  whence  they  begun  afresh  a  very  brisk 
fire,  but  our  Cannon  &  Cohorns  kept  them  at  a  distance,  and 
certainly  did  execution  as  they  were  well  served,142  however 
after  an  hours  firing  and  finding  they  could  make  no  impression 
they  began  to  retire  leaving  only  two  killed  and  one  wounded 
where  the  fire  was  hottest.  It  is  said  that  they  carried  off  the 

141  Writings  of  Forbes,  pp.  231-33. 

142  uwen  served"  here  means  "well  manned  and  fired." 


213 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

killed  and  wounded  as  they  fell  and  retired  in  the  evening  to 
five  miles  distance,  and  next  morning  were  seen  by  some  of  our 
returning  scouting  partys  fifteen  miles  off.  We  saved  all  our 
Bullocks  but  they  have  carried  off  the  officers  horses  and 
Batts143  horses  but  cannot  learn  the  number.  .  .  . 

I  am  apt  to  believe  that  the  Enemy  were  not  so  strong  as 
call'd,  and  that  we  had  above  1500  effective  men  within  .  .  . 
our  breast  work  exclusive  of  sick  and  yet  neither  made  one 
Sortie  or  followed  them  half  a  yard,  but  shamefully  allowed  them 
to  bury  the  few  they  had  killed,  Carry  off  their  wounded  with 
some  Prisoners  and  all  our  horses. 

But  as  the  difficultys  in  roads  and  rains,  provisions  for  man 
and  horse  had  sunk  the  Spirits  of  every  living  annimall  a  Vic- 
tory .  .  .  was  necessary  so  I  puffed  up  everything  and  ordered 
a  General  Feu  de  Joy,1**  which  great  surprized  the  remaining 
few  of  the  Indians,  who  by  this  time  had  all  to  a  man  prepared 
to  leave  us  next  morning.  .  .  . 

It  is  hard  how  to  judge  or  to  choose  the  best  how  to  act  for 
the  good  of  the  Publick,  but  I  know  one  thing  certain,  that  a 
little  good  luck  and  success  often  justifies  the  worst  of  measures 
and  stupidest  of  actions. 

"OUR  AFFAIRS  ARE  NOW  DRAWING  TO  A  CRISIS" 

Washington  to  Francis  Fauquier,  Loyalhanna,  October  30,  1758145 
My  march  to  this  post  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  forming  a 

143  A  bat  horse  carried  an  officer's  personal  luggage. 

144  A  feu  de  joy,  literally,  a  fire  of  joy,  was  a  victory  celebration.  All 
troops  were  issued  blank  cartridges,  and  these  were  then  all  shot  off  at  the 
same  time.  The  Indians,  especially,  enjoyed  this. 

145  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  299-300. 


214' 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

judgment  of  the  road;  and  I  can  truly  say,  that  it  is  indescrib- 
ably bad.  Had  it  not  been  for  an  accidental  discovery  of  a  new 
passage  over  the  Laurel  Hill,  the  carriages  must  inevitably  have 
stopped  on  the  other  side.  This  is  a  fact  nobody  here  takes  upon 
him  to  deny!  The  General  and  great  part  of  the  troops,  &c, 
being  yet  behind,  and  the  weather  growing  very  inclement, 
must  I  apprehend  terminate  our  expedition  for  this  year,  at 
this  place.  But  as  our  affairs  are  now  drawing  to  a  crisis,  and  a 
good  or  a  bad  conclusion  of  them  will  shortly  ensue,  I  choose 
to  suspend  my  judgment,  as  well  as  a  further  account  of  the 
matter,  to  a  future  day. 

JUST  IN  CASE-BOUQUET  JOTS  DOWN  PLANS 
FOR  A  WINTER  EXPEDITION 

A  paper  of  Bouquet's,  about  November  5,  1758146 

The  Battoes  being  ready,  embark  the  men  wth.  Six  days 
Provisions  dressed  and  go  down  Conimax,147  Kiskemenitos  & 
Ohio,  to  disembark  on  the  right  Side  opposite  to  the  Fort, 
where  the  Artillery  must  play  hot  on  the  Fort.  The  Breach 
made  an  assault  can  be  given  or  if  not  thought  advisable,  move 
on  this  Side  &  Open  a  regular  attack.  The  Place  being  much 
raked  by  the  first,  and  the  artillery  probably  dismounted.  It 
would  be  Short  Work. 

As  a  preparation  for  the  expedition,  train  the  soldiers  to 
shoot,  to  take  positions,  to  load  lying  behind  a  log,  to  run,  to 
dig  trenches,  etc. 

146  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  594-95.  This  was  a  memorandum  Bouquet  pre- 
pared for  his  own  use,  probably  for  a  council  of  war. 

147  The  Conemaugh  leads  into  the  Kiskimenetas,  which  in  turn  flows  into 
the  Ohio. 


215 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

FORBES  WRITES  TO  THE  NEWLY  REWON  INDIAN  ALLIES- 

" Return  forthwith  to  your  towns . . . 
let  the  French  fight  their  own  battles." 

Forbes  to  the  Shawanese  and  Delawares  on  the  Ohio, 
Loyalhanna,  November  9,  1758148 

Brethren,  I  embrace  this  opportunity  by  our  brother,  Pes- 
quitomen149  who  is  Now  on  his  Return  home  with  some  of 
your  Uncles,  the  Six  Nations,  from  the  Treaty  of  Easton,  of 
giving  you  Joy  of  the  happy  Conclusion  of  that  great  Council, 
which  is  perfectly  agreable  to  me;  as  it  is  for  the  mutual  ad- 
vantage of  Your  Brothers,  the  Indians,  as  well  as  the  English 
nation. 

I  am  glad  to  find  that  all  past  Disputes  and  Animosities  are 
now  finally  settled,  &  amicably  adjusted;  &  I  hope  they  will 
be  forever  buried  in  Oblivion,  and  that  you  will  now  again  be 
firmly  united  in  the  Interest  of  your  brethren,  the  English.  As 
I  am  now  advancing,  at  the  Head  of  a  large  Army,  against  his 
Majesty's  Enemies,  the  French,  on  the  Ohio,  I  must  strongly 
recomend  to  you  to  send  immediate  Notice  to  any  of  your 
People,  who  may  be  at  the  French  fort,  to  return  forthwith  to 
your  Towns;  where  you  may  sit  by  your  Fires,  with  your 
Wives  and  Children,  quiet  and  undisturbed,  and  smoke  your 
Pipes  in  safety.  Let  the  French  fight  their  own  Battles,  as  they 
were  the  first  Cause  of  the  War,  and  occasion  of  the  long  differ- 
ence, which  hath  subsisted  between  you  &  your  Brethren,  the 
English;  but  I  must  entreat  you  to  restrain  your  young  Men 
from  Crossing  the  Ohio,  as  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to 
distinguish  them  from  our  Enemies;  which  I  expect  you  will 
comply  with,  without  Delay;  lest,  by  your  neglect  thereof,  I 

148  Writings  of  Forbes,  pp.  251-52. 

149  Pisquetomen,  a  Delaware  chief,  was  a  brother  of  Shingas,  "king"  of 
the  Delawares. 


216 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

should  be  the  innocent  Cause  of  some  of  your  Brethren's  Death. 
This  Advice  take  and  keep  in  your  own  Breasts,  and  suffer  it 
not  to  reach  the  Ears  of  the  French. 

As  a  proof  of  the  Truth  and  Sincerity  of  what  I  say,  and  to 
confirm  the  tender  Regard  I  have  for  Lives  and  Welfare  of  our 
Brethren,  on  the  Ohio,  I  send  you  this  String  of  Wampum. 

A  TRAGIC  INCIDENT- VIRGINIANS  FIGHT  VIRGINIANS 

Washington's  notes  for  a  biographer150 

.  .  .  during  the  time  the  Army  lay  at  Loyal  haning  a  circum- 
stance occurred  wch.  involved  the  life  of  G  W  in  as  much 
jeopardy  as  it  had  ever  been  before  or  since  the  enemy  sent  out 
a  large  detachment  to  reconnoitre  our  Camp,  and  to  ascertain 
our  strength;  in  consequence  of  Intelligence  that  they  were 
within  2  Miles  of  the  Camp  a  party  commanded  by  Lt.  Colo 
Mercer151  of  the  Virga.  line  (a  gallant  and  good  Officer)  was 
sent  to  dislodge  them  between  whom  a  severe  conflict  and  hot 
firing  ensued  which  lasting  some  time  and  appearing  to  ap- 
proach the  Camp  it  was  conceived  that  our  party  was  yielding 
the  ground  upon  which  G.  W.  with  permission  of  the  Genl. 
called  (for  dispatch)  for  Volunteers  and  immediately  marched 
at  their  head  to  sustain,  as  was  conjectured  the  retireing  troops, 
led  on  by  the  firing  till  he  came  within  less  than  half  a  mile, 
and  it  ceasing,  he  detached  Scouts  to  investigate  the  cause  and 
to  communicate  his  approach  to  his  friend  Colo.  Mercer,  ad- 
vancing slowly  in  the  meantime.  But  it  being  near  dusk  and 
the  intelligence  not  having  been  fully  dissiminated  among  Colo. 

150  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXIX,  47-48.  The 
incident  described  took  place  on  November  12,  1758. 

151  Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Mercer  was  a  member  of  the  second 
Virginia. 


217 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Mercer's  Corps,  and  they  taking  us,  for  the  enemy  who  had 
retreated  approaching  in  another  direction  commenced  a  heavy 
fire  upon  the  releiving  party  which  drew  fire  in  return  in  spite 
of  all  the  exertions  of  the  Officers  one  of  whom  and  several 
privates  were  killed  and  many  wounded  before  a  stop  could 
be  put  to  it.  to  accomplish  which  G  W  never  was  in  more 
imminent  danger,  by  being  between  two  fires,  knocking  up 
with  his  sword  the  presented  pieces. 

WASHINGTON  OPENS  THE  ROAD 

Washington  to  Forbes,  Camp  Chestnut  Ridge, 
November  17,  1758152 

Sir:  After  the  most  constant  labour  from  day-break  till  night, 
we  were  able  to  open  the  Road  to  this  place  only,  about  6 
miles  from  our  last  Camp.  .  .  . 

I  received  but  36  of  the  42  axes  sent  by  Colo.  Montgomery, 
and  those  in  the  very  worst  order,  last  night  was  spent  in  doing 
the  needful  repairs  to  them.  We  have  4  carriages  with  us,  that 
follow  with  great  ease. 

If  Indians  ever  can  be  of  use  to  us,  it  must  be  now,  in  the 
front,  for  intelligence.  I  therefore  beg  you  will  order  their  con- 
ductors to  bring  them  at  all  events,  and  that  we  may  get  our 
Bullocks  immediately  up;  otherwise,  as  our  meat  will  be  out 
to-morrow,  we  shall  possibly  be  delayed  the  next  day  in  serv- 
ing it  out,  when  we  should  be  marching  to  the  next  Post. 

There  was  a  Sergeant  (Grant)  of  mine,  confined  for  insolent 
behavior  to  an  officer  of  Pennsylvania,  and  tried  at  the  last 
General  Court  martial;  but  the  sentence  was  not  known  when 
I  came  away,  altho'  the  Court  sat  5  days  before.  I  applied  (thro' 
Major  Halkett)  to  get  him  released,  but  could  not.  He  is  a  very 
fine  fellow,  and  I  am  as  desirous  of  getting  him,  as  he  is  to  come. 

152  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  303-304. 


218 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

'TORT  DUQUESNE,  OR  THE  GROUND  RATHER  ON  WHICH 

IT  STOOD,  WAS  POSSESSED  BY  HIS  MAJESTY'S  TROOPS 

ON  THE  25TH  INSTANT." 

Washington  to  Francis  Fauquier,  Fort  Duquesne, 
November  28,  1758153 

Honble.  Sir:  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you,  that  Fort 
Duquesne,  or  the  ground  rather  on  which  it  stood,  was  pos- 
sessed by  his  Majesty's  troops  on  the  25th  instant.  The  enemy, 
after  letting  us  get  within  a  day's  march  of  the  place,  burned 
the  fort,  and  ran  away  (by  the  light  of  it,)  at  night,  going  down 
the  Ohio  by  water,  to  the  number  of  about  five  hundred  men, 
from  our  best  information.  The  possession  of  this  fort  has  been 
matter  of  great  surprise  to  the  whole  army,  and  we  cannot 
attribute  it  to  more  probable  causes,  than  those  of  weakness, 
want  of  provisions,  and  desertion  of  their  Indians.  Of  these 
circumstances  we  were  luckily  informed  by  three  prisoners, 
who  providentially  fell  into  our  hands154  at  Loyal  Hannan,  at 
a  time  when  we  despaired  of  proceeding,  and  a  council  of  war 
had  determined,  that  it  was  not  advisable  to  advance  beyond 
the  place  above  mentioned  this  season,  but  the  information 
above  caused  us  to  march  on  without  tents  or  baggage,  and 
with  a  light  train  of  artillery  only,  with  which  we  have  happily 
succeeded.  .  .  . 

The  General  purposes  to  wait  here  a  few  days  to  settle  mat- 
ters with  the  Indians,  and  then  all  the  troops,  (except  a  suffi- 
cient garrison  which  will  I  suppose  be  left  here,  to  secure  the 
possession,)  will  march  to  their  respective  governments.  .  .  . 

153  From  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  308-10.  The 
following  two  letters  are  out  of  chronological  order  in  the  interest  of  a 
clearer  narrative. 

154  The  prisoners  mentioned  were  taken  in  the  same  skirmish  in  which 
the  Virginia  troops  had  fired  on  each  other.  They  informed  the  British  that 
the  garrison  at  Fort  Duquesne  was  very  weak. 


219 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

This  fortunate,  and,  indeed,  unexpected  success  of  our  arms 
will  be  attended  with  happy  effects.  The  Delawares  are  suing 
for  peace,  and  I  doubt  not  that  other  tribes  on  the  Ohio  will 
follow  their  example.  A  trade,  free,  open,  and  upon  equitable 
terms,  is  what  they  seem  much  to  stickle  for,  and  I  do  not 
know  so  effectual  a  way  of  riveting  them  to  our  interest,  as 
sending  out  goods  immediately  to  this  place  for  that  purpose. 
It  will,  at  the  same  time,  be  a  means  of  supplying  the  garrison 
with  such  necessaries  as  may  be  wanted;  and,  I  think,  those 
colonies,  which  are  as  greatly  interested  in  the  support  of  this 
place  as  Virginia  is,  should  neglect  no  means  in  their  power  to 
establish  and  support  a  strong  garrison  here.  Our  business, 
(wanting  this)  will  be  but  half  finished;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  obtain  a  firm  and  lasting  peace,  if  this  end  is  once 
accomplished  .  .  . 

FORBES  TO  PITT-"I  HAVE  USED  THE  FREEDOM  OF  GIVING 
YOUR  NAME  TO  FORT  DUQUESNE" 

Forbes  to  Pitt,  letter  begun  at  Pittsburgh,  November  27,  1758,  and 
completed  at  Philadelphia,  January  21,  1759155 

Sir, 

I  do  myself  the  Honour  of  acquainting  you  that  it  has  pleased 
God  to  crown  His  Majesty's  Arms  with  Success  over  all  His 
Enemies  upon  the  Ohio,  by  my  having  obliged  the  Enemy  to 
burn  and  abandon  Fort  Du  Quesne,  which  they  effectuated  on 
the  25  th:,  and  of  which  I  took  possession  next  day,  the  Enemy 
having  made  their  Escape  down  the  River  towards  the  Missis- 
sippi in  their  Boats,  being  abandoned  by  their  Indians,  whom  I 
had  previously  engaged  to  leave  them,  and  who  now  seem  all 
willing  and  ready  to  implore  His  Majesty's  most  Gracious 
Protection.  So  give  me  leave  to  congratulate  you  upon  this  great 

155  Writings  of  Forbes,  pp.  267-69. 


220- 


W*  ^f^V&frefyr^-  ^TTpSm^ 


■  .  .  -  r-r ■  -  ■  •  '■• —  -  .  . 

£  •  .    „  7    ,ro 

VnA-zC*"*  /A''*   tfsr/-'/"*****^  /ey*t**   &i4-1/Mj  Amsutmj  j*  * 

.      \.    •      -    \  » 

'f  y^-Ow  ,»i   /&&*;„,'y  yft<v  <,/tf,r  J&V  //eAo£*\%S-.p£ >\ 

*'...  r      :       j 

-   ,      J 

/      ! 


'A//'     VI 


?>? 


■'.■h 


—  C  --' 


.  ■; 


m^MM 


Letter  from  John  Forbes  to  William  Pitt  changing  Fort  Du  Quesne  to  Pittsburgh 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

Event,  of  having  totally  expelled  the  French  from  this  prodigious 
tract  of  Country,  and  of  having  reconciled  the  various  tribes 
of  Indians  inhabiting  it  to  His  Majesty's  Government.  .  .  . 

I  should  have  carried  the  troops  up  the  River  to  the  Lake 
Erie,  and  destroyed  the  French  posts  at  Venango  and  Presque 
Isle,  but  the  Season  of  the  Year,  and  the  Scarcity  of  my  Provi- 
sions, does  by  no  Means  admitt  of  it,  this  last  inconveniance 
(being  obliged  to  carry  every  bit  of  my  Provisions  for  Men 
and  horse  for  betwixt  3  &  400  Miles  thro'  almost  impracticable 
roads  and  Mountains)  renders  it  extremely  difficult  for  me  to 
leave  a  sufficient  Garrison  here  for  the  Protection  of  this  Coun- 
try, as  all  Manner  of  Communication  with  the  inhabited  parts 
of  the  provinces  will  be  cut  off  during  the  Winter  for  at  least 
four  Months,  notwithstanding  that  I  have  built  Forts,  and 
erected  Posts  at  proper  distances,  to  have  kept  the  Communica- 
tion open  if  possible.  .  .  . 

My  Physicians  and  all  our  Hospital  People  unaimously  agree 
that  I  must  go  directly  for  England  for  to  save  my  life,  I  must 
therefore  beg  it  as  the  greatest  favour  that  you  will  be  so  good 
as  to  move  His  Majesty  to  be  graciously  pleased  to  give  me 
His  leave  of  returning  home  as  soon  as  I  possibly  can  in  order 
to  re-establish  my  health,  which  at  present  renders  me  incapable 
of  any  service,  or  doing  any  duty  whatever. 

I  have  used  the  freedom  of  giving  your  name  to  Fort  Du- 
Quesne,  as  I  hope  it  was  in  some  measure  the  being  actuated 
by  your  spirits  that  now  makes  us  Masters  of  the  place.  Nor 
could  I  help  using  the  same  freedom  in  the  naming  of  two  other 
Forts  that  I  built  (Plans  of  which  I  send  you)  the  one  Fort 
Ligonier  &  the  other  Bedford.  I  hope  the  name  Fathers  will 
take  them  under  their  Protection,  In  which  case  these  dreary 
deserts  will  soon  be  the  richest  and  most  fertile  of  any  possest 
by  the  British  in  N.  America. 


221 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

"AFTER  GOD  THE  SUCCESS  OF  THIS  EXPEDITION  IS 
INTIRELY  DUE  TO  THE  GENERAL  .  .  ." 

Bouquet  to  William  Allen,156  Pittsburgh,  November  25,  1758157 

I  take  with  great  pleasure  this  first  opportunity  of  informing 
you  of  the  Reduction  of  this  important  place,  pursuaded  that 
the  success  of  his  Majesty's  Arms  on  this  side  will  give  you  a 
great  satisfaction,  and  reward  you  for  all  the  pains  you  have 
taken  for  the  difficult  supply  of  this  army. 

We  marched  from  Loyal  Hannen  with  2500  picked  men 
without  (Teams)  or  Baggage,  and  a  light-train  of  Artillery  in 
expectation  of  meeting  the  Enemy  and  determine  by  a  battle 
who  should  possess  this  Country. 

The  distance  is  about  Fifty  miles  which  we  marched  in  five 
Days,  a  great  diligence  considering  the  Season,  the  Uncertainty 
of  the  Roads  intirely  unknown  and  the  difficulty  of  making 
them  practicable  for  the  artillery. 

The  23  we  took  post  at  12  Miles  from  hence  and  halted  the 
24  for  Intelligence.  In  the  Evening  our  Indians  reported  that 
they  had  discovered  a  very  thick  smoak  from  the  Front  extend- 
ing in  the  bottom  along  the  Ohio;  a  few  hours  after  they  sent 
word  that  the  Enemies  had  abandoned  their  Fort  after  having 
burnt  everything.  We  marched  this  morning  and  found  the 
Report  true,— they  have  blown  up  and  destroyed  all  their  Forti- 
fications, Houses,  Ovens  and  Magazines;  all  the  Indian  Goods 
burnt  in  their  Stores  which  seems  to  have  been  very  considerable. 

They  seem  to  have  been  about  400  men,  part  is  gone  down 
the  Ohio,  100  by  land  supposed  to  Presque  Isle,  and  200  with 
the  Governor,  Mr.  de  Lignery,158  to  Venango;  where  he  told 

156  William  Allen  was  an  influential  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  assembly. 

157  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  610-11. 

158  de  Ligneris. 


222< 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

the  Indians  he  intended  to  stay  this  Winter,  in  intention  to  dis- 
lodge us  in  the  Spring;  We  could  soon  make  him  ship  his  Quar- 
ters, had  we  only  provisions,  but  we  are  scarcely  able  to  main- 
tain ourselves  a  few  days  here  to  treat  with  the  neighboring 
Indians  who  are  summoned  to  meet  us;  The  Destruction  of 
the  Fort,  the  want  of  Victuals  and  the  impossibility  of  being 
supplied  in  time  at  this  distance  and  season  of  the  year,  obliges 
us  to  go  back  and  to  leave  a  small  detachment  of  200  Men  only, 
by  way  of  keeping  possession  of  the  Ground.  This  successful 
Expedition  can  be  of  great  service  to  the  Provinces,  provided 
they  will  improve  and  support  it:  It  is  now  the  time  to  take 
vigorous  Measures  to  secure  this  Conquest,  and  unless  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania  can  agree  upon  an  immediate  assistance,  all 
our  pains  and  advantages  will  be  loss. 

An  immediate  supply  of  provisions,  Cloathing  and  necessaries 
should  at  any  rate  be  sent  up  for  the  support  of  the  Troops, 
and  Measures  taken  for  the  formation  of  Magazines  on  the 
Frontiers  (Rays  Town  and  Cumberland)  for  the  supply  of  an 
army  to  act  early  in  the  Spring. 

The  souccours  and  directions  from  England  would  be  too 
late,  and  if  the  Colonies  do  not  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost 
of  their  power,  I  am  afraid  they  will  have  occasion  to  repent  it. 

Indian  Goods  ought  to  be  provided  without  delay  with  a 
Commissary  of  proper  person  to  dispose  of  them  either  for 
Trade  or  presents,  as  our  New  friends  cannot  remain  long  un- 
provided and  would  soon  return  to  the  French,  was  we  to  let 
them  want. 

Some  artificers  are  also  greatly  wanted,  such  as  Carpenters, 
Smiths,  Masons,  Gunsmiths  &  chiefly  Ship  builders  &c. 

A  number  of  Cows  and  Bulls,  Mares  and  Stallions,  Garden 
seeds  &c.  every  moment  is  precious  and  the  Land  so  rich,  and 
the  pastures  so  abundant  that  everything  should  thrive,  and  the 


223 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Garrison  would  soon  be  able  to  support  itself. 

Fish  Netts  and  Hooks  would  likewise  be  of  great  use  for 
people  reduced  to  Salt  Meat,  and  some  Rice,  Barley  &c.  to 
prevent  the  Scurvey  among  the  Men.  I  enter  in  all  those  Details 
with  you  because  I  think  the  safety  of  this  post  depends  of  it, 
and  in  the  plenty  you  are  used  to  live,  they  would  not  so  readily 
occur  to  you,  as  to  us  who  are  deficient  of  every  necessary  of 
life.  Could  you  diffuse  in  the  Assembly  the  publick  Spirit  which 
directs  all  your  actions,  I  would  be  very  easy  upon  the  Conse- 
quences, but  I  know  the  disposition  of  people  in  general  always 
indolent  and  ready  to  fall  asleep  on  the  smallest  glance  of  ease 
and  quiet.  You  must  rouse  them,  and  make  them  sensible  that 
this  business  is  but  half  done.  We  have  acted  our  part,  let  you 
do  yours;  It  is  now  in  your  power  to  enjoy  in  peace  and  quietude 
your  Lands  and  possessions,  if  you  will  only  lay  out  in  time  some 
money,  which  may  save  you  ten  times  more,  and  the  lives  of 
thousands  of  your  poor  Inhabitants. 

After  God  the  success  of  this  Expedition  is  intirely  due  to 
the  General,  who  by  bringing  about  the  Treaty  of  Easton,  has 
struck  the  blow  which  has  knocked  the  French  in  the  head,  in 
temporizing  wisely  to  expect  the  Effects  of  that  Treaty,  in 
securing  all  his  posts,  and  giving  nothing  to  chance;  and  not 
yielding  to  the  urging  instances  for  taking  Braddock's  Road, 
which  would  have  been  our  destruction;  In  all  these  measures 
I  say  that  he  has  shown  the  greatest  prudence,  firmness  and 
ability;  Nobody  is  better  informed  of  the  Numberless  diffi- 
culties he  had  to  surmount  than  I  am,  who  had  an  opportunity 
to  see  every  step  that  was  taken  from  the  beginning  and  every 
obstruction  that  was  thrown  in  his  way.  I  wish  the  Nation  may 
be  as  sensible  of  his  service  as  he  really  deserved  and  give 
him  the  only  reward  that  can  flatter  him;  The  pleasure  of  see- 
ing them  pleased  and  satisfied. 


224- 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

"THE  FINEST  AND  MOST  FERTILE  COUNTRY  OF  AMERICA, 
LYING  IN  THE  HAPPIEST  CLIMATE  OF  THE  UNIVERSE" 

A  despatch  dated  November  28,  1758,  from  an  anonymous 

correspondent  at  Pittsburgh  to  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette 

of  December  14,  1758159 

I  HAVE  the  Pleasure  to  write  this  Letter  upon  the  Spot 
where  Fort  Duquesne  once  stood,  while  the  British  Flag  flies 
over  the  Debris  of  its  Bastions  in  Triumph. 

Blessed  be  God,  the  long  look'd  for  Day  is  arrived,  that  has 
now  fixed  us  on  the  Banks  of  the  Ohio  with  great  Propriety 
called  La  Belle  Riviere,  in  the  quiet  and  peaceable  Possession 
of  the  finest  and  most  fertile  Country  of  America,  lying  in  the 
happiest  Climate  in  the  Universe.  This  valuable  Acquisition 
lays  open  to  all  his  Majesty's  Subjects  a  Vein  of  Treasure, 
which,  if  rightly  managed,  may  prove  richer  than  the  Mines 
of  Mexico,  the  Trade  with  the  numerous  Nations  of  Western  Indians: 
It  deprives  our  Enemies  of  the  Benefits  they  expected  from  their 
deep  laid  Schemes,  and  breaks  asunder  the  Chain  of  Communi- 
cation betwixt  Canada  and  Louisiana,  a  Chain  that  threatened 
this  Continent  with  Slavery,  and  therefore  the  chief  Favourite 
and  Mistress  of  the  French  Court.  These  Advantages  have  been 
procured  for  us  by  the  Prudence  and  Abilities  of  General 
Forbes,  without  Stroke  of  Sword,  tho'  had  they  been  purchased 
at  the  Price  of  much  Blood  and  Treasure,  every  Lover  of  his 
Country  must  have  allowed  that  they  would  have  been  cheaply 
bought.  .  .  . 

The  Twenty-sixth  of  this  Month  was  observed,  by  the  Gen- 
eral's Orders,  as  a  Day  of  Publick  Thanksgiving  to  Almighty 
God  for  our  Success;  the  Day  after  we  had  a  grand  feu  de  Joye, 
and  To-day  a  great  Detachment  goes  to  Braddock's  Field  of 
Battle,  to  bury  the  Bones  of  our  slaughtered  Countrymen,  many 

159  Papers  of  Bouquet,  II,  613-14. 


225 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

of  whom  were  butchered  in  cold  Blood  by  (those  crueller  than 
Savages)  the  French,  who,  to  the  eternal  Shame  and  Infamy 
of  their  Country,  have  left  them  lying  above  Ground  ever  since. 
The  unburied  Bodies  of  those  killed  since,  and  strewed  round 
this  Fort,  equally  reproach  them,  and  proclaim  loudly,  to  all 
civilized  Nations,  their  Barbarity. 

Thanks  to  Heaven,  their  Reign  on  this  Continent  promises 
no  long  Duration!  especially  if  Mr.  Pitt  be  preserved,  whose 
great  Soul  animates  all  our  Measures,  infuses  new  Courage  into 
our  Soldiers  and  Sailors,  and  inspires  our  Generals  and  Admirals 
with  the  most  commendable  Conduct. 

SECURING  THE  FRUITS  OF  VICTORY 

Washington  to  Francis  Fauquier,  Loyalhanna,  December  2,  1758160 

The  General  has,  in  his  letters,  told  you  what  garrison  he 
proposed  to  leave  at  Fort  Duquesne,  but  the  want  of  provisions 
rendered  it  impossible  to  leave  more  than  two  hundred  men  in 
all  there.  These,  without  peculiar  exertions,  must,  I  fear,  aban- 
don the  place  or  perish.  To  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  either  of 
these  events  happening,  I  have  by  this  conveyance  wrote  a 
circular  letter  to  the  back  inhabitants  of  Virginia,  setting  forth 
the  great  advantages  of  keeping  that  place,  the  improbability 
of  doing  it  without  their  immediate  assistance,  that  they  may 
travel  safely  out  while  we  hold  that  post,  and  will  be  allowed 
good  prices  for  such  species  of  provisions  as  they  shall  carry. 
Unless  the  most  effectual  measures  are  taken  early  in  the  spring 
to  reinforce  the  garrison  at  Fort  Duquesne  the  place  will  in- 
evitably be  lost,  and  then  our  frontiers  will  fall  into  the  same 
distressed  condition  that  they  have  been  in  for  some  time  past. 
For  I  can  very  confidently  assert,  that  we  never  can  secure 

160  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  II,  312-15. 

•226- 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

them  properly,  if  we  again  lose  our  footing  on  the  Ohio,  as 
we  consequently  lose  the  interest  of  the  Indians.  I  therefore 
think,  that  every  necessary  preparation  should  be  making,  not 
a  moment  should  be  lost  in  taking  the  most  speedy  and  effica- 
cious steps  in  securing  the  infinite  advantages  which  may  be 
derived  from  our  regaining  possession  of  that  important  country. 

That  the  preparative  steps  should  immediately  be  taken  for 
securing  the  communication  from  Virginia,  by  constructing  a 
post  at  Red-stone  Creek,  which  would  greatly  facilitate  the 
supplying  of  our  troops  on  the  Ohio,  where  a  formidable  gar- 
rison should  be  sent,  as  soon  as  the  season  will  admit  of  it. 
That  a  trade  with  the  Indians  should  be  upon  such  terms,  and 
transacted  by  men  of  such  principles,  as  would  at  the  same  time 
turn  out  to  the  reciprocal  advantage  of  the  colony  and  the 
Indians,  and  which  would  effectually  remove  those  bad  impres- 
sions, that  the  Indians  received  from  the  conduct  of  a  set  of 
rascally  fellows,  divested  of  all  faith  and  honor,  and  give  us 
such  an  early  opportunity  of  establishing  an  interest  with  them, 
as  would  be  productive  of  the  most  beneficial  consequences, 
by  getting  a  large  share  of  the  fur-trade,  not  only  of  the  Ohio 
Indians,  but,  in  time,  of  the  numerous  nations  possessing  the 
back  countries  westward  of  it.  And  to  prevent  this  advanta- 
geous commerce  from  suffering  in  its  infancy,  by  the  sinister 
views  of  designing,  selfish  men  of  the  different  provinces,  I 
humbly  conceive  it  absolutely  necessary  that  commissioners 
from  each  of  the  colonies  be  appointed  to  regulate  the  mode  of 
that  trade,  and  fix  it  on  such  a  basis,  that  all  the  attempts  of 
one  colony  undermining  another,  and  thereby  weakening  and 
diminishing  the  general  system  might  be  frustrated.  To  effect 
which  the  General  would  (I  fancy)  cheerfully  give  his  aid. 

Although  none  can  entertain  a  higher  sense  of  the  great  im- 
portance of  maintaining  a  post  on  the  Ohio  than  myself,  yet, 


227 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

under  the  unhappy  circumstances  my  regiment  is,  I  would  by 
no  means  have  agreed  to  leave  any  part  of  it  there,  had  not  the 
General  given  an  express  order  for  it.  I  endeavored  to  shew, 
that  the  King's  troops  ought  to  garrison  it;  but  he  told  me,  as 
he  had  no  instructions  from  the  ministry  relative  thereto,  he 
could  not  order  it,  and  our  men  that  are  left  there,  are  in  such 
a  miserable  situation,  having  hardly  rags  to  cover  their  naked- 
ness, exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  in  this  rigorous 
season,  that,  unless  provision  is  made  by  the  country  for  supply- 
ing them  immediately,  they  must  inevitable  perish,  and  if  the 
first  Virginia  regiment  is  to  be  kept  up  any  longer,  or  any  serv- 
ices are  expected  therefrom  they  should  forthwith  be  clothed; 
as  they  are,  by  their  present  shameful  nakedness,  the  advanced 
season,  and  the  inconceivable  fatigues  of  an  uncommonly  long 
and  laborious  campaign,  rendered  totally  incapable  of  any  kind 
of  service;  and  sickness,  death,  and  desertion  must,  if  not 
speedily  supplied,  greatly  reduce  its  numbers.  .  .  . 

"THUS  ENDED  THAT  CAMPAIGN" 

Washington's  notes  for  a  biographer161 

.  .  .  Thus  ended  that  Campaign,  a  little  before  Christmas  in 
very  inclement  weather  and  the  last  one  made  during  that  War 
by  G  W  whose  health  by  this  time  (as  it  had  been  declining 
for  many  months  before,  occasioned  by  an  inveterate  disorder 
in  his  Bowels)  became  so  precarious  as  to  induce  him  (having 
seen  quiet  restored  by  this  event  to  the  Frontiers  of  his  own 
Country  which  was  the  principal  inducement  to  his  taking 
arms)  to  resign  his  Military  appointments.  The  sollication  of 
the  Troops  which  he  commanded  to  Continue,  their  AfFecte, 
farewell  address  to  him,  when  they  found  the  Situation  of  his 
health  and  other  circumstances  would  not  allow  it.  affected 


228' 


VIRGINIA  COLONEL  WITH  GENERAL  FORBES 

him  exceedingly  and  in  grateful  sensibility  he  expressed  the 
warmth  of  his  attachmt.  to  them  on  that,  and  his  inclination  to 
serve  them  on  every  other  future  occasion. 

161  Fitzpatrick's  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXIX,  48-49. 


229 


ft  ft  ft  ft  ft 

Land  Scout 
In  the  Ohio  Country 

October -December,  1770 


Economic  Difficulties 


Newly  christened  Pittsburgh  was  desolate  and  chill  in  the 
winter  of  1758  as  temporary  shelters  were  raised  slowly  on 
the  ruins  the  French  had  made  of  their  once-proud  Fort 
Duquesne.  Washington  was  turning  his  back  on  it — on  the 
tatterdemalion  garrison,  on  the  recently  hostile  savages  still 
camped  at  the  Forks,  on  the  very  war  itself.  To  a  more  intro- 
spective man,  departure  from  the  scene  would,  no  doubt,  have 
been  the  occasion  for  welling  memories  of  the  more  than  five 
years  he  had  given  to  the  struggle  for  this  ground.  But  Wash- 
ington was  not  introspective,  and  anyway,  he  was  bone-tired 
and  wracked  with  illness.  No  doubt,  as  a  man  sick  and  in  strange 
parts  will  be,  he  was  obsessed  with  getting  home.  At  least  he 
could  comfort  himself  that  the  campaign  was  over. 

If  the  service  of  Virginia  had  been  hard — and  it  had  been — 
the  rewards  were  great.  When  Washington  greeted  the  New 
Year  at  Williamsburg,  after  a  hurried  return  trip  from  the 
Ohio  Country,  he  arrived  as  the  acknowledged  first  soldier  of 
Virginia.  In  addition,  he  was  now  a  lawmaker.  In  the  summer 
of  1758,  he  had  stood  for  burgess  of  Frederick  County,  and 
had  been  elected  even  while  absent  on  the  campaign — for  al- 
though he  was  a  resident  of  Fairfax  County,  he  owned  land  in 
Frederick  County  and  thus  was  known  to  the  residents  there 
as  a  neighbor  as  well  as  a  military  leader. 

On  the  sixth  of  January  of  the  new  year,  1759,  he  added  to 
the  title  of  burgess  that  of  bridegroom.  Before  the  campaign 
of  1758  had  taken  him  into  the  wilderness,  Washington  had  be- 
come engaged  to  a  comely  young  widow  of  his  own  age, 
Martha  Dandridge  Custis.  She  had  been  left  with  two  small 
children— a  boy,  Jacky,  and  a  girl,  Patsy— but  she  had  also 


233 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

been  left  with  what  was,  by  the  standards  of  the  day,  a  very 
large  fortune.  Her  social  standing  was  as  elevated  as  her  amia- 
bility was  pleasing.  For  Washington,  the  alliance  was  from 
every  point  of  view  a  favorable  one.  With  his  new  family  he 
returned  now  to  his  beloved  Mount  Vernon. 

In  the  next  few  years  other  honors  found  their  way  to  the 
master  of  the  broad  estate  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Potomac, 
He  became  a  vestryman  in  his  parish;  a  trustee  of  the  near-by 
city  of  Alexandria;  a  justice  of  the  County  Court.  He  gave  up 
his  seat  as  a  burgess  from  Frederick  County  to  run  for  a  seat 
in  his  own  Fairfax  County,  and  won  handily. 

All  of  these  were  honors  which  a  wealthy  and  well-born 
planter  might  expect  to  accumulate.  To  them  were  added,  how- 
ever, other  duties  which  were  testimony  to  his  probity  and 
neighborliness.  He  was  called  on  frequently  to  act  as  executor 
of  wills  or  as  guardian  to  widows  or  minors.  Although  these 
unselfish  duties  were  time-consuming,  tedious,  and  often  thank- 
less, Washington  gave  to  them  unstintingly  of  time  and  effort 
that  spoke  unmistakably  of  noblesse  oblige.  That  his  neighbors 
so  often  asked  him  for  this  help  was  testimony  to  the  kindly 
regard  and  respect  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  community. 

For  years  Washington  had  been  absorbing  the  harsh  lessons 
of  the  soldier;  now  he  was  to  learn  something  of  the  stubborn 
facts  of  economics.  First  of  all,  there  was  Mount  Vernon  itself 
— during  the  long  war  years  the  plantation  had  gone  to  seed. 
Stock,  tools,  buildings,  fences — all  needed  repair  or  replace- 
ment. In  a  letter  to  an  old  comrade  at  arms,  Captain  Robert 
Stewart,  Washington  described  the  situation: 

This,  upon  my  soul,  is  a  genuine  account  of  my  [financial]  affairs. 
...  I  doubt  not  that  you  will  be  surprised  at  the  badness  of  their  condi- 
tion unless  you  will  consider  under  what  terrible  management  and 
disadvantages  I  found  my  estate  when  I  retired  from  the  public  service 


234- 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

of  this  colony;  and  that  besides  some  purchases  of  land  and  negroes 
I  was  necessitated  to  make  ...  I  had  provisions  of  all  kinds  to  buy 
for  the  first  two  or  three  years;  and  my  plantation  to  stock,  in  short 
with  everything;  buildings  to  make,  and  other  matters,  which  swal- 
lowed up,  well  before  I  knew  where  I  was,  all  the  money  got  by 
marriage,  nay  more,  brought  me  into  debt.  .  .  . 

Adding  to  Washington's  growing  indebtedness,  the  soil  of 
Mount  Vernon  proved  unsuited  to  the  culture  of  tobacco.  After 
repeated  poor  crops,  Washington  turned  to  raising  wheat  instead. 

Whatever  the  crop,  however,  the  economic  relationship  be- 
tween Virginia  and  the  mother  country  stacked  the  cards  against 
the  planter.  Virginia's  principal  cash  crop  rapidly  wore  out 
the  soil.  Under  existing  British  laws  Virginians  could  sell  only 
within  the  British  Empire,  and  could  buy  manufactured  goods 
only  from  Britain.  Most  planters  dealt  through  some  British 
merchant,  or  factor,  who  bought  their  crops  and  sold  them 
manufactured  goods.  These  London  middlemen  naturally- 
wanted  to  pay  prices  as  low  as  possible  for  colonial  products, 
and  to  get  prices  as  high  as  possible  for  the  English  goods  they 
supplied  the  planter — usually  on  credit  and  so  with  interest 
added  to  the  price. 

The  planters  themselves  compounded  their  difficulties  by 
their  wasteful  standard  of  living,  a  practice  which  Washington 
shared.  As  Douglas  Southall  Freeman  has  written  of  Virginia 
society  of  that  day,  "Extravagant  living  was  the  vice  of  a  class 
which  neither  could  pay  what  it  owed  nor  collect  what  was 
owing  it."  Virginians  abused  their  credit  with  London  houses 
until  credit  was  cut  off,  and  in  addition,  often  could  not  pass  up 
the  opportunity  to  acquire  more  and  more  land  in  the  new 
world  until  they  had  over-extended  themselves  into  bankrupt- 
cies which  brought  other  estates  tumbling  down  with  their  own. 

Small  wonder,  then,  that  Virginians  resisted  so  resolutely 


235 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

the  threat  of  a  further  strain  on  their  shaky  economy,  a  strain 
in  the  form  of  taxes  imposed  by  a  distant  parliament.  They 
were  a  society  in  imminent  jeopardy  of  a  general  economic  col- 
lapse, and  the  duties  of  the  Stamp  Act  or  Townshend  Acts 
could  well  be  the  fatal  blow.  Although  Washington  was  better 
off  than  many  of  his  fellows,  he  was  a  prominent  leader  in 
organizing  as  resistance  to  the  new  taxes  a  boycott  of  British 
goods.  The  weapon  was  a  double  blessing:  besides  putting  pres- 
sure on  the  British  parliament  to  remove  the  taxes,  non- 
importation agreements,  temporarily  at  least,  prevented  Vir- 
ginia aristocrats  from  spending  themselves  further  into  debt. 

Because  of  his  public  activity,  Washington  had  expenses 
above  and  beyond  those  of  the  average  planter.  Campaigning 
for  election  to  the  legislature  consumed  not  only  time  but 
money.  In  one  election  alone,  Washington  treated  the  voters 
to  28  gallons  of  run,  50  gallons  of  rum  punch,  34  gallons  of  wine, 
46  gallons  of  beer,  and  2  gallons  of  cider.  (Since  there  were 
fewer  than  four  hundred  voters,  and  since  three  other  candi- 
dates besides  Washington  also  contributed  towards  quenching 
the  thirst  of  the  electorate,  it  must  have  been  a  joyous  election.) 

Expense  did  not  stop  with  the  campaign.  Even  as  today,  the 
time  and  expense  of  serving  in  the  legislature  then  was  hardly 
covered  by  the  pay.  Washington  was  approached  frequently 
for  loans,  especially  by  former  fellow  soldiers.  It  was  part  of 
the  gentleman's  code  of  the  day  that  Washington  should  make 
the  loans  without  interest,  security,  or  even  a  specified  date  of 
repayment.  Small  wonder  the  account  books  of  Mount  Vernon 
showed  greater  and  greater  debits. 

One  would  hardly  expect  the  former  Colonel,  however,  to 
be  so  unresourceful  as  to  meet  his  economic  difficulties  pas- 
sively. As  a  matter  of  fact,  Washington  had  thought  out  a 
remedy — which  was  to  take  him  again,  after  an  absence  of 


236 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

twelve  years,  back  to  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio.  To  a  neighbor, 
Captain  John  Posey,  even  further  in  debt  than  himself,  Wash- 
ington urged  the  advantages  of  recouping  fortune  by  buying 
western  lands: 

.  .  .  there  is  a  large  Field  before  you,  an  opening  prospect  in  the 
back  Country  for  Adventures,  where  numbers  resort  to,  and  where 
an  enterprising  Man  with  very  little  Money  may  lay  the  foundation 
of  a  Noble  Estate  in  the  New  Settlements  Upon  Monongahela  for 
himself  and  posterity.  The  Surplus  money  which  you  might  save  after 
discharging  your  Debts,  would  possibly  secure  you  as  much  Land 
as  in  the  course  of  20  years  would  sell  for  5  times  your  present  Estate. 
For  proof  of  which  only  look  to  Frederick  [County] ,  and  see  what 
Fortunes  were  made  .  .  .  ;  was  it  not  by  taking  up  and  purchasing 
at  very  low  rates  the  rich  back  Lands  which  were  thought  nothing 
of  in  those  days,  but  are  now  the  most  valuable  Lands  we  possess? 
Undoubtedly  it  was,  and  to  pursue  this  plan  is  the  advice  I  would 

offer  my  Brother  were  he  in  your  situation I  would  . .  .ask  whether 

it  would  be  better  to  labor  under  a  load  of  debt,  where  you  are, 
which  must  inevitably  keep  you  in  continual  Anxiety,  and  dread  of 
your  Creditors;  by  selling  the  produce  of  your  labour  at  under  value, 
(the  never  failing  consequence  of  necessitous  Circumstances)  with 
other  evils  too  obvious  to  need  Inumeration,  and  which  must  forever 
lend  a  helping  hand  to  keep  you  low  and  distressed  or  to  Pluck  up 
resolution  at  once  and  disengage  yourself  of  these  Incumbrances  and 
Vexations  .  .  .  [and]  to  remove  back,  where  there  is  a  moral  certainty 
of  laying  the  foundation  of  good  Estates  to  your  Children. 

Washington  was  in  a  much  better  position  to  put  his  own 
advice  into  effect  than  was  his  neighbor,  for  he  would  not  have 
to  sell  his  present  holdings  to  raise  money  for  new  lands.  Under 
the  terms  of  the  proclamation  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  in  1754, 
when  the  Virginia  regiment  was  first  raised,  the  volunteers  of 
that  year  were  entitled  to  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land 
in  the  Ohio  Valley  as  reward  for  their  services.  Washington's 
share  of  this  would  be  for  him  a  goodly  estate  indeed. 


237 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Why,  then,  did  Washington  wait  so  long  to  claim  his  reward? 
The  answer  lay  in  the  troubled  nature  of  the  times  after  1754. 
During  the  ensuing  war  the  French  contested  with  force  of 
arms  any  claim  Virginia  might  have  to  the  Ohio  Valley.  When, 
in  1763,  the  French  finally  surrendered  the  area,  the  doughty 
Pontiac  and  his  war-daubed  braves  took  up  the  struggle.  And 
in  that  same  year,  in  order  to  pacify  the  tribes,  the  King  issued 
his  famous  proclamation  forbidding  English  settlement  beyond 
the  Appalachians. 

But  finally,  late  in  1768,  the  way  was  opened  for  Washington 
to  press  his  claims  under  the  proclamation  of  1754.  Two  new 
treaties,  negotiated  with  the  Indians  in  1768 — the  Treaty  of 
Fort  Stanwix  with  the  Iroquois  and  the  Treaty  of  Hard  Labour 
with  the  Cherokee — opened  the  Ohio  Valley  to  settlement  east 
and  south  of  the  river  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha. 
Since  much  of  the  newly  reopened  area  lay  within  the  boun- 
daries of  Virginia,  Washington  was  now  in  a  position  to  press 
his  claims,  as  a  volunteer  of  1754,  to  land  in  western  Virginia. 

At  the  same  time,  an  opportunity  was  developing  to  acquire 
land  in  Pennsylvania.  For  a  long  time,  what  is  today  the  south- 
western corner  of  Pennsylvania  had  remained  largely  unclaimed 
because  of  a  boundary  dispute  between  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
and  Maryland.  Until  this  dispute  was  settled,  no  man  could  be 
sure  of  any  title  to  land  there.  By  1767,  however,  it  appeared 
that  the  area  would  become  part  of  Pennsylvania.  (Later,  Vir- 
ginia disputed  the  claim  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  southwestern 
counties,  but  in  1767,  Washington  believed  that  Pennsylvania's 
claims  would  hold  good— as,  of  course,  they  eventually  did.) 
The  Pennsylvania  lands  were  to  be  sold  first  come,  first  served, 
and  Washington,  who  was  already  familiar  with  the  area,  re- 
solved to  be  among  the  first. 

Fortunately,  a  friend  of  the  war  years,  William  Crawford, 


238 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

already  lived  in  the  Monongahela  valley  and  was  a  surveyor 
by  trade.  Washington  wrote  to  this  old  friend  proposing  a  part- 
nership to  which  Crawford  agreed.  Crawford  was  to  seek  out, 
survey,  and  claim  choice  lands.  Washington  was  to  supply  the 
necessary  funds  and  give  Crawford  a  share  of  the  lands  for 
his  efforts.  Washington  undertook  to  raise  money  sufficient  for 
the  project,  despite  rather  pressing  debts  to  creditors  in  London, 
because  he  hoped  that  future  income  from  the  new  lands  would 
eventually  make  it  possible  for  him  to  discharge  the  debts. 

In  the  meantime,  Washington  also  pressed  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements for  making  good  the  Virginia  promise  of  1754. 
The  current  governor,  the  Baron  de  Botetourt,  was  persuaded 
to  grant  to  the  veterans  of  the  Virginia  regiment  of  1754  the 
right  to  take  out  their  two  hundred  thousand  acres  in  up  to 
twenty  separate  tracts.  Thereupon,  newspaper  advertisements 
called  the  veterans  of  the  regiment  together  to  present  their 
claims.  At  a  meeting  in  Fredericksburg,  late  in  the  summer  of 
1770,  the  assembled  claimants  appointed  their  former  Colonel 
to  act  on  their  behalf  in  seeking  out  the  land  to  be  claimed. 
The  costs  of  Washington's  journey  were  to  be  shared  by  all. 

The  trip  would  also  serve  another  purpose.  Crawford  had 
written  to  announce  that  he  already  had  acquired  some  choice 
acreage  for  Washington  in  western  Pennsylvania.  The  journey 
would  make  it  possible  for  Washington  to  view  these  lands  in 
person. 

As  the  first  bright  autumnal  hues  appeared  among  the  forests 
of  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  1770,  George  Washington  set  out  once 
more  for  lands  he  had  fought  to  win  and  now  hoped  to  own. 


239 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Remarks  and  Occurs. 

(October)  5  th.  Began  a  journey  to  the  Ohio  in  Company  with 
Doctr.  Craik,1  his  Servant,  and  two  of  mine  with  a  lead  Horse 
with  Baggage.  .  .  . 

6th.  Fed  our  Horses  on  the  Top  of  the  Ridge  at  one  Codleys2 
and  arrivd  at  my  Brother  Samls.3  on  Worthington's  Marsh  a 
little  after  they  had  dind,  the  distance  being  about  30.  Miles; 
from  hence  I  dispatchd  a  Messenger  to  Colo.  Stephens4  appris- 
ing him  of  my  arrival  and  Intended  journey.  .  .  . 

7.  My  Portmanteau  Horse  being  unable  to  proceed,  I  left 
him  at  my  Brother's  and  got  one  of  his  and  proceeded.  ...  At 
Rinkers5  which  appears  to  be  a  cleanly  House  my  boy6  was 
taken  Sick  but  continued  on  to  Pritchard's.7  Pritchard's  is  also 
a  pretty  good  House,  their  being  fine  Pasturage,  good  fences, 
and  Beds  tolerably  clean. 

8.  My  Servant  being  unable  to  travel,  I  left  him  at  Pritchard's 
with  Doctr.  Craik,  and  proceedd.  my  self  with  Vale.  Crawford8 

1  Dr.  James  Craik,  a  native  of  Scotland  and  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  had  been  the  surgeon  with  the  Virginia  regiment  on  the  cam- 
paign of  1754,  and  thus,  like  Washington,  was  entitled  to  receive  land  under 
Governor  Dinwiddie's  proclamation  of  that  year.  Craik  had  also  served  with 
Braddock  and  was  to  serve  later  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  was  long 
Washington's  personal  physician  as  well  as  a  close  friend. 

2  A  tavern  in  what  is  now  Bluemont,  Virginia. 

3  Samuel  Washington,  two  years  younger  than  George,  lived  near  the 
present  Charles  Town,  W  Va. 

4  Adam  Stephen,  another  veteran  of  the  Virginia  regiment. 

5  Jasper  Rinker's  house  was  on  the  Winchester-Cumberland  road. 

6  Billy,  or  William  Lee,  a  slave  purchased  from  the  Lee  family,  probably 
knew  George  Washington  as  well  as  any  other  living  man,  for  he  was  Wash- 
ington's manservant  throughout  these  years  and  throughout  the  Revolution. 

7  Pritchard's  was  a  tavern  on  the  Cacapon  River. 

8  Valentine  Crawford  was  a  brother  of  Captain  William  Crawford,  Wash- 
ington's western  land  agent,  for  whom  see  note  17  below. 


240- 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

to  Colo.  Cresap's,9  in  ordr.  to  learn  from  him  (being  just  arrivd 
from  England)  the  particulars  of  the  Grant  said  to  be  lately 
sold  to  Walpole  and  others,  for  a  certain  Tract  of  Country  on 
the  Ohio.10  .  .  . 

9.  Went  up  to  Rumney11  in  order  to  buy  work  Horses, 
and  meet  Doctr.  Craik  and  my  Baggage;  arrivd  there  abt.  12, 
distance  16  Miles.  In  the  Afternoon  Doctr.  Craik  and  my  Servt. 
(much  amended)  and  the  Baggage,  arrivd  from  Pritchard's; 
said  to  be  28  Miles. 

10.  Having  purchasd  two  Horses,  and  recoverd  another 
which  had  been  gone  from  me  near  3  Years,  I  dispatchd  my  boy 
Giles  with  my  two  Riding  Horses  home,  and  proceeded  on  my 
journey.  .  .  . 

11.  The  Morning  being  wet  and  heavy  we  did  not  set  of[f] 
till  11  Oclock  and  arrivd  that  Night  at  one,  Killam's12  on  a 
branch  of  George  Ck.13  distant  103^  Measurd  Miles  from  the 
North  Branch  of  Potomack.  .  .  . 

9  Colonel  Thomas  Cresap  had  settled  in  western  Maryland  on  the  North 
Branch  of  the  Potomac  at  what  is  now  Oldtown,  Maryland,  by  1740.  He  was 
an  original  member  of  the  Ohio  Company,  for  whom  he  was  in  charge  of 
building  roads  and  warehouses  in  the  Ohio  Country. 

10  The  "Walpole  Grant"  was  a  vast  land-speculating  scheme  similar  to 
the  Ohio  Company.  Benjamin  Franklin,  Samuel  Wharton,  Philadelphia  mer- 
chant, and  Thomas  Walpole,  brother  of  a  leading  British  statesman  of  the 
day  (Horace  Walpole),  were  among  the  promoters.  The  associates  were 
attempting  to  get  the  approval  of  the  British  government  for  the  grant  of  a 
tract  of  land  covering  what  is  now  southwestern  Pennsylvania,  western  West 
Virginia,  and  Kentucky.  If  approved,  the  grant  would  have  included  lands 
claimed  by  Virginia — lands  which  Washington  hoped  to  get  in  payment  for 
his  military  service  of  1754.  The  Walpole  project  later  failed  to  win  the 
approval  of  the  British  government. 

11  The  town  of  Romney  is  now  in  West  Virginia. 

12  Joseph  Gillam  or  Killam  was  a  tavern  keeper. 

13  George's  Creek  was  crossed  west  of  Cumberland  on  Braddock's  Road. 
Braddock's  army  camped  here  in  1755. 


241 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

12.  We  left  Killam's  early  in  the  Morning,  breakfasted  at 
the  little  meadows14  10  Miles  of,  and  lodgd  at  the  great  Cross- 
ings15 20  Miles  further,  which  we  found  a  tolerable  good  days 
work. 

The  Country  we  traveld  over  to  day  was  very  Mountainous 
and  stony,  with  but  very  little  good  Land,  and  that  lying  in 
Spots. 

13.  Set  out  about  Sunrise,  breakfasted  at  the  Great  Mead- 
ows16 13  miles  of[f],  and  reachd  Captn.  Crawford's17  about 
5  Oclock. 

The  Lands  we  travelld  over  to  day  till  we  had  crossd  the 
Laurel  Hill  (except  in  small  spots)  was  very  mountainous  and 
indifferent,  but  when  we  came  down  the  Hill  to  the  Plantation 
of  Mr.  Thos.  Gist,18  the  Ld.  appeard  charming;  that  which 
lay  level  being  as  rich  and  black  as  any  thing  coud  possibly  be; 
the  more  Hilly  kind,  tho  of  a  different  complexion  must  be 
good,  as  well  from  the  Crops  it  produces,  as  from  the  beautiful 
white  Oaks  that  grows  thereon,  the  white  Oak  in  generl.  indi- 
cates poor  Land,19  yet  this  does  not  appear  to  be  of  that  cold 

14  Washington  had  stopped  at  Little  Meadows  in  1753,  1754,  and  1755. 

15  The  Great  Crossings  of  the  Youghiogheny  was  a  ford  near  what  is  now 
Addison,  Pennsylvania. 

16  The  Great  Meadows  was  the  site  of  Fort  Necessity  and  Washington's 
first  battle. 

17  William  Crawford  was  originally  from  Frederick  County,  Virginia,  and 
was  a  surveyor  by  trade.  Washington  and  Crawford  surveyed  together,  per- 
haps as  early  as  1749.  Crawford  served  under  both  Braddock  and  Forbes,  as 
well  as  against  Pontiac.  He  was  acting  as  a  land  agent  for  Washington  as 
early  as  1767,  and  perhaps  before.  In  1770,  he  was  residing  at  his  home  in 
what  is  now  Connellsville,  Pennsylvania.  During  the  Revolutionary  War, 
he  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  After  seeing  action  in  many  of  the  principal 
battles  of  the  war  in  the  East,  he  was  captured  while  leading  an  expedition 
against  the  Ohio  Indians  in  1782,  and  was  burned  at  the  stake  in  what  is  now 
Crawford  County,  Ohio.  18  A  son  of  Christopher  Gist. 

19  In  Washington's  day  and  for  some  time  later,  the  quality  of  land  was 


242' 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

kind.  The  Land  from  Gists  to  Crawford's  is  very  broken,  tho 
not  Mountainous;  in  Spots  exceeding  Rich,  and  in  general  free 
from  Stone.  Crawfords  is  very  fine  Land;  lying  on  Yaughyaugh- 
gane  at  a  place  commonly  called  Stewart's  Crossing.20 

Sunday  14th.  At  Captn.  Crawford's  all  day.  Went  to  see  a 
Coal  Mine  not  far  from  his  house  on  the  Banks  of  the  River; 
the  Coal  seemd  to  be  of  the  very  best  kind,  burning  freely  and 
abundance  of  it. 

Monday  15th.  Went  to  view  some  Land21  which  Captn. 
Crawford  had  taken  up  for  me  near  the  Yaughyaughgane  distant 
about  12  miles.  This  Tract  which  contains  about  1600  Acres 
Includes  some  as  fine  Land  as  ever  I  saw,  a  great  deal  of  Rich 
Meadow,  and  in  general,  is  leveller  than  the  Country  about  it. 
This  Tract  is  well  waterd,  and  has  a  valuable  Mill  Seat22  (ex- 
cept that  the  Stream  is  rather  too  slight,  and  it  is  said  not  con- 
stant more  than  7  or  8  months  in  the  Year;  but  on  acct.  of  the 
Fall,  and  other  conveniences  no  place  can  exceed  it) . 

In  going  to  this  Land  I  passd  through  two  other  Tracts 
which  Captn.  Crawford  had  taken  up  for  my  Brothers  Saml. 
and  John;23  that  belonging  to  the  former,  was  not  so  rich  as 

judged  by  the  type  of  trees  growing  on  it— hence  Washington's  interest  in 
various  kinds  of  trees.  And  how  valuable  these  trees  would  be  today! 

20  Stewart's  Crossing  of  the  Youghiogheny  is  today  within  the  limits  of 
Connellsville,  Pennsylvania.  Braddock's  army  used  the  ford  in  1755. 

21  Crawford  had  had  the  land  surveyed  for  Washington  the  previous  year. 
The  sixteen  hundred  odd  acres  are  now  the  site  of  Perryopolis,  Pennsylvania. 

22  In  partnership  with  a  Virginia  neighbor,  Gilbert  Simpson,  Washington 
had  a  mill  erected  on  the  mill  site  on  what  came  to  be  known  as  Washington's 
Run.  Simpson  operated  the  mill,  which  was  begun  in  1774  and  was  in  opera- 
tion by  1776.  The  mill,  which  was  rebuilt  and  repaired  from  time  to  time, 
survived  until  recent  decades.  The  foundation  and  mill  dam  may  still  be  seen. 
The  land  and  mill  were  sold  by  Washington  to  Israel  Shreve  in  1795. 

23  Samuel,  it  will  be  recalled,  was  two  years  George's  junior;  John 
(Augustine)  was  the  "Jack"  to  whom  George  wrote  during  the  French  and 
Indian  Wars.  He  was  four  years  younger  than  George. 


243 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

some  I  had  seen;  but  very  valuable  on  acct.  of  its  levelness  and 
little  Stone,  the  Soil  and  Timber  being  good;  that  of  the  latter 
had  some  Bottom  Land  upon  sml.  runs  that  was  very  good  (tho 
narrow)  the  Hills  very  rich,  but  the  Land  in  genl.  broken.  I 
intended  to  have  visited  the  Land  which  Crawford  had  procurd 
for  Lund  Washington24  this  day  also,  but  time  falling  short,  I 
was  obligd  to  Postpone  it  making  it  in  the  Night  before  I  got 
back  to  Crawfords,  where  I  found  Colo.  Stephen. 

The  Lands  which  I  passed  over  to  day  were  generally  Hilly, 
and  the  growth  chiefly  white  Oak,  but  very  good  notwith- 
standing; and  what  is  extraordinary,  and  contrary  to  the  prop- 
erty of  all  other  Lands  I  ever  saw  before,  the  Hills  are  the 
richest  Land;  the  Soil  upon  the  Sides  and  Summits  of  them,  be- 
ing as  black  as  Coal  and  the  Growth,  Walnut,  Cherry,  Spice 
Bushes,  etca.;  the  flats  are  not  so  rich;  and  a  good  deal  more 
mixd  with  Stone. 

Tuesday  16.  At  Captn.  Crawford's  till  the  Evening,  when  I 
went  to  Mr.  John  Stephenson25  (on  my  way  to  Pittsburg)  and 
lodgd.  This  day  was  visited  by  one  Mr.  Ennis26  who  had 
travelld  down  the  little  Kanhawa  (almost)  from  the  head  to 
the  Mouth,  on  which  he  says  the  Lands  are  broken,  the  bot- 
toms neither  very  wide  nor  rich,  but  covd.  with  Beach;  at  the 
Mouth  the  Lands  are  good,  and  continue  so  up  the  River;  and 
about  Weeling27  and  Fishing  Ck.28  is,  according  to  his  acct.  a 

24  Lund  Washington,  a  distant  cousin  of  George's,  was  in  Washington's 
employ  as  the  manager  of  several  of  Washington's  Virginia  estates. 

25  John  Stephenson,  a  half-brother  of  William  Crawford,  lived  on  Jacob's 
Creek  in  Fayette  County. 

26  "Mr.  Ennis,"  to  the  editor's  knowledge,  has  left  no  other  footprints  in 
the  sands  of  time. 

27  Wheeling  Creek,  which  flows  into  the  Ohio  at  what  is  now  Wheeling, 
West  Virginia. 

28  Fishing  Creek  enters  the  Ohio  at  New  Martinsville,  West  Virginia. 


244- 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

body  of  fine  Land.  I  also  saw  a  Son  of  Captn.  John  Hardens29 
who  said  he  had  been  from  the  Mouth  of  little  Kanhawa  to 
the  big,30  but  his  discription  of  the  Lands  seemd  to  be  so  vague 
and  indeterminate,  that  it  was  much  doubted  whether  he  ever 
was  there  or  not.  He  says  however  that  at  the  Mouth  of  the 
Big  Kanhawa  there  may  be  abt.  20  or  25,000  Acres  of  Land 
had  in  a  Body  that  is  good,  that  you  are  not  above  five  or  6 
Miles  to  the  Hills,  and  that  the  Falls  of  the  Kanhawa31  are  not 
above  10  Miles  up  it. 

Wednesday  17.  Doctr.  Craik  and  myself  with  Captn.  Craw- 
ford and  others  arrivd  at  Fort  Pitt,  distant  from  the  Crossing 
43}-^  Measurd  Miles.  In  Riding  this  distance  we  pass  over  a 
great  deal  of  exceeding  fine  Land  (chiefly  White  Oak)  espe- 
cially from  Sweisley  Creek32  to  Turtle  Creek,  but  the  whole 
broken;  resembling  (as  I  think  all  the  Lands  in  this  country 
does)  the  Loudoun  Lands33  for  Hills. 

We  lodgd  in  what  is  calld  the  Town,  distant  abt.  300  yards 
from  the  Fort  at  one  Mr.  Semples34  who  keeps  a  very  good 
House  of  Publick  Entertainment;  these  Houses  which  are  built 
of  Logs,  and  rangd  into  Streets  are  on  the  Monongahela,  and  I 
suppose  may  be  abt.  20  in  Number,  and  inhabited  by  Indian 
Traders,  etca. 

The  Fort  is  built  in  the  point  between  the  River  Alligany 
and  Monongahela,  but  not  so  near  the  pitch  of  it  as  Fort  Duquesne 
stood.  It  is  5  sided  and  regular,  two  of  which  (next  the  Land) 

29  John  Harden,  of  Frederick  County,  Virginia,  had  served  with  Washing- 
ton on  the  Virginia  frontier  in  the  fall  of  1755. 

30  The  Big  Kanawha. 

31  Kanawha  Falls  is  39  miles  above  Charlestown,  West  Virginia,  near  the 
present  town  of  Gauley  Bridge,  West  Virginia. 

32  Sewickley  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Youghiogheny. 

33  Loudoun  County,  Virginia. 

34  Samuel  Semple's  tavern  was  at  the  corner  of  Water  and  Ferry  Streets. 


245 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

are  of  Brick,  the  others  Stockade.  A  Mote  incompasses  it.  The 
Garrison  consists  of  two  Companies  of  Royal  Irish  Commanded 
by  one  Captn.  Edmonson.35 

Thursday  18th.  Dind  in  the  Fort  with  Colo.  Croghan36  and 
the  Officers  of  the  Garrison;  Supped  there  also,  meeting  with 
great  civility  from  the  Gentlemen,  and  engaged  to  dine  with 
Colo.  Croghan  the  next  day  at  his  Seat37  abt.  4  Miles  up  the 
Alligany. 

Friday  19th.  Reed,  a  Message  from  Colo.  Croghan  that  the 
White  Mingo38  and  other  Chiefs  of  the  6  Nations  had  some- 
thing to  say  to  me,  and  desiring  that  I  woud  be  at  his  House 
abt.  11  (where  they  were  to  meet).  I  went  up  and  receivd  a 
Speech  with  a  String  of  Wampum  from  the  White  Mingo  to 
the  following  effect: 

That  as  I  was  a  Person  who  some  of  them  remember  to  have 
seen  when  I  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to  the  French,  and  most 
of  them  had  heard  of;  they  were  come  to  bid  me  welcome  to 
this  Country,  and  to  desire  that  the  People  of  Virginia  woud 
consider  them  as  friends  and  Brothers  linked  together  in  one 
chain;  that  I  wd.  inform  the  Governor,  that  it  was  their  wish 
to  live  in  peace  and  harm  [on]  y  with  the  white  People,  and 
that  tho  their  had  been  some  unhappy  differences  between  them 
and  the  People  upon  our  Frontiers,  it  was  all  made  up,  and 

35  Captain  Charles  Edmonstone  served  with  the  1 8th,  or  Royal  Irish, 
Regiment  of  Foot. 

36  George  Croghan,  an  Indian  trader  since  about  1 745,  had  served  with 
Washington  in  1754  as  an  adviser  on  Indian  affairs  and  interpreter,  as  well 
as  a  contracter  of  supplies.  In  1756,  he  had  been  appointed  Deputy  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs  under  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  in  that  capacity,  had 
negotiated  the  final  treaty  of  peace  with  Pontiac.  In  his  later  years,  he  was 
engaged  in  extensive  land  speculation.  For  his  lands  in  the  Pittsburgh  area, 
see  note  47  below. 

37  Croghan' s  home  was  on  Pine  Creek  in  what  is  now  Etna,  Pennsylvania. 

38  White  Mingo  was  a  Seneca  chief. 


246' 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

they  hopd  forgotten;  and  concluded  with  saying,  that,  their 
Brothers  of  Virginia  did  not  come  among  them  and  Trade  as 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  other  Provences  did;  from  whence  they 
were  affraid  that  we  did  not  look  upon  them  with  so  friendly 
an  Eye  as  they  coud  wish. 

To  this  I  answerd  (after  thanking  them  for  their  friendly  wel- 
come) that  all  the  Injuries  and  affronts  that  had  passd  on  either 
side  was  now  totally  forgotten,  and  that  I  was  sure  nothing 
was  more  wishd  and  desird  by  the  People  of  Virginia  than  to 
live  in  the  strictest  friendship  with  them;  that  the  Virginians 
were  a  People  not  so  much  engagd  in  Trade  as  the  Pennsyl- 
vanians,  etca.  wch.  was  the  Reason  of  their  not  being  so  fre- 
quently among  them;  but  that  it  was  possible  they  might  for 
the  time  to  come  have  stricter  connections  with  them,  and  that 
I  woud  acquaint  the  Govr.  with  their  desires. 

After  dining  at  Colo.  Croghan's  we  returnd  to  Pittsburg, 
Colo.  Croghan  with  us,  who  intended  to  accompany  us  part 
of  the  Way  down  the  River,  having  engagd  an  Indian  calld  the 
Pheasant,  and  one  Joseph  Nicholson  an  Interpreter  to  attend 
us  the  whole  Voyage;  also  a  young  Indn.  Warrior.39 

Saturday  20.  We  Imbarkd  in  a  large  Canoe  with  sufficient 
store  of  Provision  and  Necessaries,  and  the  following  Persons 
(besides  Doctr.  Craik  and  myself),  to  wit:  Captn.  Crawford, 
Josh  Nicholson,  Robt.  Bell,  William  Harrison,  Chs.  Morgan 
and  Danl.  Reardon40  a  boy  of  Captn.  Crawford's,  and  the  In- 
dians who  were  in  a  Canoe  by  themselves. 

39  Joseph  Nicholson  had  visited  the  Illinois  Country  and  hunted  in  Ken- 
tucky before  undertaking  this  trip.  Later,  he  served  under  General  Daniel 
Brodhead  against  the  Senecas  in  1779,  and  still  later,  he  was  acting  as  an 
interpreter  to  Cornplanter,  the  Seneca  chief.  The  two  Indians,  to  the  editor's 
knowledge,  do  not  appear  again  in  historical  literature. 

40  Bell,  Harrison  and  Morgan  were  apparently,  like  Reardon,  employees 
of  Crawford. 


247 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

From  Fort  Pitt  we  sent  our  Horses  and  boys  back  to  Captn. 
Crawford's,  w'  orders  to  meet  us  there  again  the  14th  day 
of  November. 

Colo.  Croghan,  Lieutt.  Hamilton41  and  one  Mr.  Magee42  set 
out  with  us.  At  two  we  dind  at  Mr.  MageeV3  and  Incampd 
10  Miles  below,  and  4  above  the  Logs  Town.  We  passd  several 
large  Island  (s)  which  appeard  to  (be)  very  good,  as  the  bot- 
toms also  did  on  each  side  of  the  River,  alternately;  the  Hills 
on  one  side  being  opposite  to  the  bottoms  on  the  other,  which 
seem  generally  to  be  abt.  3  and  4  hundred  yards  wide,  and  so 
vice  versa. 

Sunday  21.  Left  our  Incampment  abt.  6  Oclock  and  break- 
fasted at  the  Logs  Town,  where  we  parted  with  Colo.  Croghan, 
etca.  abt.  9  Oclock.  At  1 1  we  came  to  the  Mouth  of  big  Bever 
Creek,44  opposite  to  which  is  a  good  Situation  for  a  House,45 
and  above  it,  on  the  same  side  (that  is  the  West)  there  appears 
to  be  a  body  of  fine  Land.  About  5  Miles  lower  down  on  the 
East  side  comes  in  Racoon  Ck.46  At  the  Mouth  of  which,  and 
up  it  appears  to  be  a  body  of  good  Land  also.  All  the  Land 
between  this  Creek  and  the  Monongahela  and  for  15  Miles 
back,  is  claimd  by  Colo.  Croghan  under  a  purchase  from  the 
Indians  (and  which  Sale  he  says,  is  confirmd  by  his  Majesty)  ,47 

41  Lieutenant  Robert  Hamilton  was  an  officer  of  the  Fort  Pitt  garrison. 

42  Alexander  McKee,  the  deputy  Indian  agent  at  Fort  Pitt,  sided  with  the 
British  during  the  Revolution. 

43  Now  McKees  Rocks,  Pennsylvania. 

44  Beaver  River,  which  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  north  in  Beaver  County, 
Pennsylvania. 

45  Now  Monaca,  Pennsylvania. 

46  Racoon  Creek  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  southeast. 

47  This  tract  ran  from  the  mouth  of  Racoon  Creek  south  to  near  present 
Independence,  Pennsylvania,  and  then  west  to  near  present  Duquesne,  Penn- 
sylvania. The  northern  and  western  boundaries  of  the  tract  were  formed  by 
the  Ohio  and  Monongahela  rivers.  The  land  was  purchased  from  the  Iroquois 


248 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

On  this  Creek  where  the  Branches  thereof  interlock  with  the 
Waters  of  Shirtees  Creek,48  there  is,  according  to  Colo. 
Croghan's  acct.  a  body  of  fine  Rich  level  Land;  this  Tract  he 
wants  to  sell,  and  offers  at  £5  Ster'g.  pr  hundd.,  with  an  exem- 
tion  of  Quit  rents49  for  20  years;  after  which,  to  be  subject 
to  the  payment  of  4/2  Ster'g  pr.  Hundd.;  provided  he  can  sell 
it  in  10,000  Acre  Lots.  Note  the  unsettled  State  of  this  Country 
renders  any  purchase  dangerous. 

From  Racoon  Creek  to  little  Bever  Creek50  appears  to  me 
to  be  little  short  of  10  Miles,  and  about  3  Miles  below  this  we 
Incampd;  after  hiding  a  Barrl.  of  Bisquet  in  an  Island  (in  Sight) 
to  lighten  our  Canoe. 

Monday  22d.  As  it  began  to  Snow  about  Midnight,  and  con- 
tinued pretty  steadily  at  it,  it  was  about  ]/%  after  Seven  before 
we  left  our  Incampment.  At  the  distance  of  about  8  Miles,  we 
came  to  the  Mouth  of  Yellow  Creek51  (to  the  west)  apposite 
to,  or  rather  below  which,  appears  to  be  a  long  bottom  of  very 
good  Land,  and  the  Assent  to  the  Hill  apparently  gradual. 
There  is  another  pretty  large  bottom  of  very  good  Land  about 
two  or  3  Miles  above  this.  About  11  or  12  Miles  from  this, 
and  just  above  what  is  called  the  long  Island  (which  tho  so 
distinguished  is  not  very  remarkable  for  length,  breadth  or 


in  1749  and  confirmed  at  the  Treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix.  In  1775,  Croghan  sold 
the  land  to  Bernard  Gratz. 

48  Shirtee's  Creek  was  an  early  name  for  Chartier's  Creek,  which  enters 
the  Ohio  at  present  McKees  Rocks,  Pennsylvania. 

49  Quitrents  were  a  survival  of  feudalism.  Originally,  they  were  money 
paid  yearly  to  great  landowners  in  place  of  performing  labor  services.  In  the 
British  colonies,  great  landowners  attempted  to  collect  these  monies  even 
after  selling  land  and  passing  title  to  another  person.  They  proved  difficult  or 
impossible  to  collect  and  disappeared  after  the  Revolution. 

50  Little  Beaver  Creek  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  north  almost  at  the  present 
Pennsylvania-Ohio  border. 

51  Yellow  Creek  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  west  at  Yellow  Creek,  Ohio. 


249' 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

goodness)  comes  in  on  the  east  side  the  River,  a  small  Creek  or 
Run,52  the  name  of  which  I  coud  not  learn;  and  a  Mile  or  two 
below  the  Island,  on  the  West  Side,  comes  in  big  Stony  Creek53 
(not  larger  in  appearance  than  the  other) ;  on  neither  of  which 
does  there  seem  to  be  any  large  bottoms,  or  body's  of  good 
Land.  About  7  Miles  from  the  last  Mentiond  Creek,  28  from 
our  last  Incampment,  and  about  75  from  Pittsburg,  we  came 
to  the  Mingo  Town;54  Situate  on  the  West  Side  the  River  a 
little  above  the  Cross  Creeks.55 

This  place  contains  abt.  Twenty  Cabbins,  and  70  Inhabitants 
of  the  Six  Nations. 

Had  we  set  of[f]  early,  and  kept  pritty  constantly  at  it,  we 
might  have  reachd  lower  than  this  place  to  day;  as  the  Water 
in  many  places  run  pretty  swift,  in  general  more  so  than 
yesterday. 

The  River  from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Logs  Town  has  some  ugly 
Rifts,  and  Shoals,  which  we  found  somewhat  difficult  to  pass, 
whether  from  our  inexperience  of  the  Channel,  or  not,  I  can- 
not undertake  to  say.  From  the  Logs  Town  to  the  Mouth  of 
little  Bever  Creek  is  much  the  same  kind  of  Water;  that  is, 
rapid  in  some  places,  gliding  gently  in  others,  and  quite  still 
in  many.  The  Water  from  little  Bever  Creek  to  the  Mingo 
Town,  in  general,  is  swifter  than  we  found  it  the  preceding  day, 
and  without  any  shallows;  there  being  some  one  part  or  other 
always  deep,  which  is  a  natural  consequence,  as  the  River  in 

52  King  Creek,  which  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  east,  or  West  Virginia,  side. 

53  Known  today  as  Wills  Creek. 

54  Mingo  Town  was  on  the  Ohio  side  at  or  near  present  Mingo  Junction, 
Ohio,  which  is  several  miles  below  Steubqnville,  Ohio. 

55  Cross  Creeks  are  creeks  which  enter  a  river  across  from  each  other— 
that  is,  one  on  one  side  of  the  river  and  one  on  the  other.  The  creek  on  the 
Ohio  side  is  today  called  Indian  Cross  Creek  and  the  one  on  the  West 
Virginia  side,  Virginia  Cross  Creek. 


250 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

all  the  distance  from  Fort  Pitt  to  this  Town  has  not  widend 
any  at  all  nor  doth  the  Bottoms  appear  to  be  any  larger. 

The  Hills  which  come  close  to  the  River  opposite  to  each 
bottom  are  steep:  and  on  the  side  in  view,  in  many  places, 
Rocky  and  cragged;  but  said  to  abound  in  good  land  on  the 
Tops.  These  are  not  a  range  of  Hills;  but  broken  and  cut  in 
two  as  if  there  were  frequent  water  courses  running  through 
(which  however  we  did  not  perceive  to  be  the  case,  conse- 
quently they  must  be  small  if  any).  The  River  along  down 
abounds  in  Wild  Geese,  and  severl.  kinds  of  Ducks  but  in  no 
great  quantity.  We  killd  five  wild  Turkeys  to  day. 

Upon  our  arrival  at  the  Mingo  Town  we  receivd  the  disagree- 
able news  of  two  Traders  being  killd  at  a  Town  calld  the  Grape 
Vine  Town,56  38  miles  below  this;  which  causd  us  to  hesitate 
whether  we  shoud  proceed  or  not,  and  wait  for  further  Intel- 
ligence. 

Tuesday  23.  Several  imperfect  accts.  coming  in,  agreeing  that 
only  one  Person  was  killd,  and  the  Indians  not  supposing  it  to 
be  done  by  their  People,  we  resolvd  to  pursue  our  passage,  till 
we  coud  get  some  more  distinct  Acct.  of  this  Transaction.  Ac- 
cordingly abt.  2  Oclock  we  set  out  with  the  two  Indians  which 
was  to  accompany  us,  in  our  Canoe,  and  in  about  4  Miles  came 
to  the  Mouth  of  a  Creek  calld  Seulf  Creek,57  on  the  East  side; 
at  the  Mouth  of  which  is  a  bottom  of  very  good  Land,  as  I  am 
told  there  likewise  is  up  it. 

The  Cross  Creeks58  (as  they  are  calld)  are  not  large,  that 
on  the  West  side  however  is  biggest.  At  the  Mingo  Town  we 

56  Grape  Vine  Town,  also  known  as  Frank's  Town,  was  a  Delaware  town 
on  what  is  now  known  as  Captina  Creek,  which  enters  the  Ohio  in  Belmont 
County,  Ohio. 

57  This  is  known  today  as  Beech  Bottom  Run  and  is  just  south  of  Wells- 
burg,  West  Virginia. 

58  See  note  55  above. 


251 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

found,  and  left,  60  odd  Warriors  of  the  six  Nations  going  to 
the  Cherokee  Country  to  proceed  to  war  against  the  Cuttaba's59 
About  10  Miles  below  the  Town  we  came  to  two  other  cross 
Creeks  that  on  the  West  side  largest,  but  not  so  big;  and  calld 
by  Nicholson,  French  Creek.60  About  3  Miles  or  a  little  better 
below  this,  at  the  lower  point  of  some  Islands61  which  stand 
contiguous  to  each  other,  we  were  told  by  the  Indians  with 
us  that  three  men  from  Virginia  (by  Virginians  they  mean  all 
the  People  settled  upon  Red  Stone,62  etca.)  had  markd  the 
Land  from  hence  all  the  way  to  Red  Stone;  that  there  was  a 
body  of  exceeding  fine  Land  lying  about  this  place  and  up  oppo- 
site to  the  Mingo  Town,  as  also  down  to  the  Mouth  of  Fishing 
Creek.63  At  this  Place  we  Incampd. 

Wednesday  24th.  We  left  our  Incampment  before  Sunrise, 
and  abt.  Six  Miles  below  it,  we  came  to  the  Mouth  of  a  pretty 
smart  Creek  comg.  in  to  the  Eastward  calld  by  the  Indians 
Split  Island  Creek,64  from  its  running  in  against  an  Island  On 

59  The  Catawbas,  traditional  enemies  of  the  Iroquois,  sided  with  the 
English  in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  as  the  reader  will  recall. 

60  These  cross  creeks  are  known  today  as  Indian  Short  Creek  (on  the 
Ohio  side)  and  Virginia  Short  Creek  (on  the  West  Virginia  side) .  They  are 
north  of  Tiltonville,  Ohio. 

61  Pike  Island,  Upper  Sister  Island,  and  Lower  Sister  Island,  just  north 
of  Wheeling,  West  Virginia. 

62  The  reference  here  is  to  settlements  on  Redstone  Creek,  an  eastern 
tributary  of  the  Monongahela.  The  three  men  referred  to  were  probably 
Ebeneezer,  Silas,  and  Jonathon  Zane,  Virginians,  who  explored  land  for  what 
is  now  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  in  1769,  and  settled  on  it  in  1770.  Ebeneezer 
Zane  later  engaged  in  extensive  land  speculation  in  what  is  now  Ohio.  Zanes- 
ville  and  Lancaster,  Ohio,  are  situated  on  lands  once  owned  by  Zane.  Zane 
laid  out  the  road  from  Wheeling  to  Maysyille,  Kentucky,  known  as  Zane's 
Trace.  It  later  became  part  of  the  National  Road. 

63  Fishing  Creek  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  east  near  New  Martinsville, 
West  Virginia. 

64  This  was  apparently  Wheeling  Creek,  and  the  island,  Wheeling  Island. 


252 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

this  Ck.  there  is  the  appearance  of  good  land  a  distance  up  it. 
Six  miles  below  this  again,  we  came  to  an  other  Creek  on  the 
West  side,  calld  by  Nicholson,  Weeling,65  and  abt.  a  Mile 
lower  down  appears  to  be  an  other  small  Water66  coming  in 
on  the  East  side;  which  I  remark,  because  of  the  Scarcity  of 
them  and  to  shew  how  badly  furnished  this  Country  is  with 
Mill  Seats.  Two  or  three  Miles  below  this  again,  is  another 
Run  on  the  West  side;67  up  which  is  a  near  way  by  Land  to 
the  Mingo  Town;  and  about  4  Miles  lower,  comes  in  another 
on  the  East,68  at  which  place  is  a  path  leading  to  the  settlement 
at  Red  Stone.  Abt.  a  Mile  and  half  below  this  again,  comes  in 
the  Pipe  Creek69  so  calld  by  the  Indians  from  a  Stone  which  is 
found  here  out  of  which  they  make  Pipes;  opposite  to  this  (that 
is  on  the  East  side)  is  a  bottom  of  exceeding  Rich  Land;  but 
as  it  seems  to  lye  low,  I  am  apprehensive  that  it  is  subject  to 
be  overflowd.  This  Bottom  ends  where  the  effects  of  a  hurri- 
cane appears  by  the  destruction  and  havock  among  the  Trees. 
Two  or  three  Miles  below  the  Pipe  Creek  is  a  pretty  large 
Creek  on  the  West  side,  calld  by  Nicholson,  Fox  Grape  Vine,70 
by  others  Captema  Creek,  on  which,  5  Miles  up  it,  is  the  Town 
calld  the  Grape  Vine  Town;  and  at  the  Mouth  of  it,  is  the  place 
where  it  was  said  the  Traders  livd,  and  the  one  was  killd.  To 
this  place  we  came  abt.  3  Oclock  in  the  afternoon,  and  finding 

65  This  would  be  McMahon  Creek  in  Bellaire,  Ohio.  Nicholson  apparently 
mistook  it  for  the  Wheeling  Creek  which  enters  the  Ohio  at  Bridgeport, 
Ohio.  The  party  would  not  have  seen  this  smaller  Wheeling  Creek,  as  it 
enters  the  Ohio  behind  Wheeling  Island. 

66  McMahon  Run,  near  present  McMechen,  West  Virginia. 

67  Weegee  Run. 

68  Big  Grave  Creek,  in  present  Moundsville,  West  Virginia. 

69  Pipe  Creek  is  in  lower  Belmont  County,  Ohio. 

70  Fox  Grape  Vine  Creek  is  now  known  as  Captina  Creek  and  enters  the 
Ohio  from  the  west  just  above  present  Captina,  West  Virginia. 


253 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

no  body  there,  we  agreed  to  Camp;  that  Nicholson  and  one  of 
the  Indians  might  go  up  to  the  Town,  and  enquire  into  the 
truth  of  the  report  concerning  the  Murder. 

Thursday  25th.  About  Seven  Oclock  Nicholson  and  the  In- 
dian returnd;  they  found  nobody  at  the  Town  but  two  old 
Indian  Women  (the  Men  being  a  Hunting)  from  these  they 
learnt  that  the  Trader  was  not  killd,  but  drownd  in  attempting 
to  Ford  the  Ohio;  and  that  only  one  boy,  belonging  to  the 
Trader  (fathr.  to  him)  being  gone  for  Horses  to  take  home 
their  Skins. 

About  half  an  hour  after  7  we  set  out  from  our  Incampment 
around  which,  and  up  the  Creek  is  a  body  of  fine  Land.  In  our 
Passage  down  to  this,  we  see  innumerable  quantities  of  Turkeys, 
and  many  Deer  watering,  and  browsing  on  the  Shore  side,  some 
of  which  we  killd.  Neither  yesterday  nor  the  day  before  did 
we  pass  any  Rifts  or  very  rapid  water,  the  River  gliding  gently 
along;  nor  did  we  perceive  any  alteration  in  the  general  face 
of  the  Country,  except  that  the  bottoms  seemd  to  be  getting  a 
little  longer  and  wider,  as  the  Bends  of  the  River  grew  larger. 

About  5  Miles  from  the  Vine  Creek  comes  in  a  very  large 
Creek  to  the  Eastward  calld  by  the  Indians  Cut  Creek,71  from 
a  Town,  or  Tribe  of  Indians  which  they  say  was  cut  of  entirely 
in  a  very  bloody  Battle  between  them  and  the  Six  Nations.72 
This  Creek  empties  just  at  the  lower  end  of  an  Island,  and  is 
70  or  80  yards  wide,  and  I  fancy  is  the  Creek  commonly  calld 
by  the  People  of  Red  Stone,  etca.,  Weeling.73  It  extends  accord- 

71  This  is  today  Fish  Creek  and  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  east  at  Wood- 
lands, West  Virginia. 

72  Whether  an  Indian  town  was  once  wiped  out  on  this  creek,  and  if  so, 
what  the  details  were,  is  impossible  to  discover.  However,  in  general,  such 
an  event  would  be  entirely  in  keeping  with  the  history  and  behavior  of  the 
Iroquois. 

73  Washington  here  mistook  Fish  Creek  Island  and  Fish  Creek  for  Wheel- 


254- 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

ing  to  the  Indians  acct.  a  great  way,  and  Interlocks  with  the 
Branches  of  Split  Island  Creek;  abounding  in  very  fine  bottoms, 
and  exceeding  good  Land.  Just  below  this  on  the  West  side, 
comes  in  a  sml.  Run74  and  about  5  Miles  below  it  on  the  West 
side  also  another  midling  large  Creek  empty s,  calld  by  the 
Indians  broken  Timber  Creek;75  so  named  from  the  Timber 
that  is  destroyd  on  it  by  a  Hurricane;  on  the  head  of  this  was 
a  Town  of  the  Delawares,  which  is  now  left.  Two  Miles  lower 
down,  on  the  same  side,  is  another  Creek  smaller  than  the  last 
and  bearing  (according  to  the  Indians)  the  same  name;76  oppo- 
site to  these  two  Creeks  (on  the  East  side)  appears  to  be  a 
large  bottom  of  good  Land.  About  2  Miles  below  the  last 
mentioned  Creek,  on  the  East  side,  and  at  the  end  of  the  bottom 
aforementioned,  comes  in  a  sml.  Creek  or  large  Run.77  Seven 
Miles  from  this  comes  in  Muddy  Creek78  on  the  East  side  the 
River,  a  pretty  large  Creek  and  heads  up  against,  and  with, 
some  of  the  waters  of  Monongahela  (according  to  the  Indians 
acct).  and  contains  some  bottoms  of  very  good  Land;  but  in 
general  the  Hills  are  steep,  and  Country  broken  about  it.  At 
the  Mouth  of  this  Creek  is  the  largest  Flat  I  have  seen  upon 
the  River;  the  Bottom  extending  2  or  3  Miles  up  the  River 
above  it,  and  a  Mile  below,  tho  it  does  not  seem  to  be  of  the 
Richest  kind,  and  yet  is  exceeding  good  upon  the  whole,  if  it 
be  not  too  low  and  Subject  to  Freshes.79 

About  half  way  in  the  long  reach80  we  Incampd,  opposite  to 

ing  Island  and  Wheeling  Creek,  which  he  had  already  passed. 

74  Johnson's  Run  in  northern  Monroe  County,  Ohio. 

75  Bishop  Run  in  Monroe  County,  Ohio. 

76  Opossum  Creek  in  Monroe  County,  Ohio. 

77  Proctor  Run,  at  Proctor,  West  Virginia. 

78  Fishing  Creek,  below  New  Martinsville,  West  Virginia. 

79  Washington  here  means  freshets,  or  floods. 

80  The  "Long  Reach"  is  a  straight  stretch  in  the  usually  winding  Ohio, 


255 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

the  beginning  of  a  large  bottom  on  the  East  side  of  the  River. 
At  this  place  we  through  out  some  Lines  at  Night  and  found  a 
Cat  fish  of  the  size  of  our  largest  River  Cats  hookd  to  it  in  the 
Morning,  tho  it  was  of  the  smallest  kind  here.  We  found  no 
Rifts  in  this  days  passage,  but  pretty  swift  water  in  some 
places,  and  still  in  others.  We  found  the  bottoms  increasd  in 
size,  both  as  to  length  and  breadth,  and  the  River  more  choked 
up  with  Fallen  Trees,  and  the  bottom  of  the  River  next  the 
Shores  rather  more  Muddy  but  in  general  stony  as  it  has  been 
all  the  way  down. 

Friday  26th.  Left  our  Incampment  at  half  an  hour  after  6 
Oclock,  and  passd  a  small  run81  on  the  West  side  about  4  Miles 
lower.  At  the  lower  end  of  the  long  reach,  and  for  some  dis- 
tance up  it,  on  the  East  side,  is  a  large  bottom,  but  low,  and 
coverd  with  beach  next  the  River  shore,  which  is  no  Indication 
of  good  Land.  The  long  reach  is  a  strait  course  of  the  river 
for  abt.  18  or  20  Miles  which  appears  the  more  extraordinary 
as  the  Ohio  in  general,  is  remarkably  crooked.  There  are  sev- 
eral Islands  in  this  reach,  some  containing  an  100  or  more 
Acres  of  Land;  but  all  I  apprehend  liable  to  be  overflowed. 

At  the  end  of  this  reach  we  found  one,  Martin,  and  Lindsay 
two  Traders;  and  from  them  learnt,  that  the  Person  drownd 
was  one  Philips  attempting  in  Compafny]  with  Rogers,82  an- 
other Indn.  Trader,  to  Swim  the  River  with  their  Horses  at  an 
improper  place;  Rogers  himself  narrowly  escaping. 

About  12  Miles  below  the  three  Islands83  we  Incampd  just 

running  from  Paden  City,  West  Virginia,  to  Raven  Rock,  West  Virginia. 

81  Probably  Grandview  Run,  just  below  New  Matamoras,  Ohio. 

82  Without  first  names,  it  is  virtually  .impossible  to  discover  the  exact 
identity  of  men  with  such  common  names  as  Martin,  Rogers,  Phillips,  and 
Lindsay.  Even  if  we  knew  their  names,  however,  it  is  unlikely  that  these 
obscure  merchants  of  the  forest  left  any  other  written  trace  by  which  they 
could  be  identified.    83  Three  Brothers  Islands,  near  Eureka,  West  Virginia. 


256« 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

above  the  Mouth  of  a  Creek84  which  appears  pretty  large  at 
the  Mouth  and  just  above  an  Island.  .  .  .  We  met  with  no  Rifts 
to  day,  but  some  pretty  strong  water,  upon  the  whole  tolerable 
gentle.  The  sides  of  the  River  was  a  good  deal  incommoded 
with  old  Trees,  wch.  impeded  our  passage  a  little. 

This  day  provd  clear  and  pleasant,  the  only  day  since  the 
18  th  that  it  did  not  Rain  or  Snow,  or  threaten  the  one  or  other 
very  hard. 

Saturday  27.  Left  our  Incampment  a  Quarter  before  Seven, 
and  after  passing  the  Creek  near  wch.  we  lay,  and  another 
much  the  same  size  and  on  the  same  side85  (West);  also  an 
Island  abt.  2  Miles  in  length  (but  not  wide),  we  came  to  the 
Mouth  of  Muskingham,86  distant  from  our  Incampment  abt.  4 
Miles.  This  River  is  abt.  150  yards  wide  at  the  Mouth;  a  gentle 
currant  and  clear  stream  runs  out  of  it,  and  is  navigable  a  great 
way  into  the  Country  for  Canoes. 

From  Muskingham  to  the  little  Kanhawa87  is  about  1 3  Miles. 
This  is  about  as  wide  at  the  Mouth  as  the  Muskingham,  but 
the  water  much  deeper;  it  runs  up  towards  the  Inhabitants  of 
Monongahela,  and  according  to  the  Indians  acct.  Forks  about 
40  or  50  Miles  up  it;  and  the  Ridge  between  the  two  Prongs 
leads  directly  to  the  Settlement.  To  this  Fork,  and  above,  the 
Water  is  navigable  for  Canoes.  .  .  . 

About  6  or  7  Miles  below  the  Mouth  of  the  Canhawa  we 
came  to  a  small  creek  on  the  west  side,  which  the  Indns.  calld 
little  Hockhocking;88  .  .  .  About  8  Miles  below  little  Hock- 

84  The  Little  Muskingum  River,  which  enters  the  Ohio  just  above  Kerr, 
or  Marietta,  Island.   85  Duck  Creek,  north  of  Marietta,  Ohio. 

86  The  Muskingum  River  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  north.  Marietta,  Ohio, 
later  was  built  on  this  site. 

87  The  Little  Kanawha  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  east  at  what  is  today 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia. 

88  The  Little  Hocking  River  enters  the  Ohio  at  Little  Hocking,  Ohio. 


257 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

hocking  we  Incampd  opposite  to  the  Mouth  of  the  great 
Hockhocking,89  which  tho  so  calld  is  not  a  large  Water;  tho 
the  Indians  say  Canoes  can  go  up  it  40  or  50  Miles. 

Since  we  left  the  little  Kanhawa  the  Lands  neither  appear  so 
level  nor  good.  The  Bends  of  the  River  and  Bottoms  are  longer 
indeed  but  not  so  rich,  as  in  the  upper  part  of  the  River. 

Sunday  28th.  Left  our  Incampment  about  7  Oclock.  Two 
Miles  below,  a  sml.  run90  comes  in  on  the  East  side  thro  a 
piece  of  Land  that  has  a  very  good  appearance,  the  Bottom  be- 
ginning above  our  Incampment,  and  continuing  in  appearance 
wide  for  4  Miles  down,  to  a  place  where  there  comes  in  a  sml. 
Run,91  and  to  the  Hills,  and  to  where  we  found  Kiashuta92  and 
his  Hunting  Party  Incampd. 

Here  we  were  under  a  necessity  of  paying  our  Compliments, 
As  this  person  was  one  of  the  Six  Nation  Chiefs,  and  the  head 
of  them  upon  this  River.  In  the  Person  of  Kiashuta  I  found  an 
old  acquaintance,  he  being  one  of  the  Indians  that  went  with 
me  to  the  French  in  1753.  He  expressd  a  satisfaction  in  seeing 
me,  and  treated  us  with  great  kindness;  giving  us  a  Quarter 
of  very  fine  Buffalo.  He  insisted  upon  our  spending  that  Night 
with  him,  and  in  order  to  retard  us  as  little  as  possible  movd 
his  Camp  down  the  River  about  3  Miles  just  below  the  Mouth 

89  Now  known  as  the  Hocking  River,  this  stream  enters  the  Ohio  from 
the  west  at  Hockingport,  Ohio. 

90  Lee's  Creek,  in  southern  Wood  County,  West  Virginia. 

91  Pond  Creek,  near  the  county  line  between  Wood  and  Jackson  Counties, 
West  Virginia. 

92  Kiashuta,  or  Guyasuta,  as  a  young  hunter,  had  accompanied  Washington 
and  two  older  chiefs  on  the  journey  to  the  French  commandant  on  the  Ohio 
in  1753.  Since  that  time,  he  had  become  a  great  chief.  It  was  believed  that 
during  Pontiac's  War,  in  1763,  he  directed  the  siege  of  Fort  Pitt  and  led  the 
Indians  at  the  battle  of  Bushy  Run.  During  the  Revolutionary  War  he  sided 
with  the  British.  Among  his  depredations  was  the  burning  of  Hannastown, 
county  seat  of  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1782. 


258 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

of  a  Creek,93  the  name  of  which  I  coud  not  learn  (it  not  being 
large);  at  this  place  we  all  Incampd.  After  much  Councelling 
the  overnight,  they  all  came  to  my  fire  the  next  Morning,  with 
great  formality;  when  Kiashuta  rehearsing  what  had  passed 
between  me  and  the  Sachems  at  Colo.  Croghan's,  thankd  me 
for  saying  that  Peace  and  friendship  was  the  wish  of  the  People 
of  Virginia  (with  them)  and  for  recommending  it  to  the  Trad- 
ers to  deal  with  them  upon  a  fair  and  equitable  footing;  and 
then  again  expressed  their  desire  of  having  a  Trade  opend  with 
Virginia,  and  that  the  Governor  thereof  might  not  only  be 
made  acquainted  therewith,  but  of  their  friendly  disposition 
towards  the  white  People;  this  I  promisd  to  do. 

Monday  29th.  The  tedious  ceremony  which  the  Indians  ob- 
serve in  their  Councellings  and  speeches,  detaind  us  till  9 
Oclock.  Opposite  to  the  Creek  just  below  wch.  we  Incampd, 
is  a  pretty  long  bottom,  and  I  believe  tolerable  wide;  but  abt. 
8  or  9  Miles  below  the  aforemend.  Creek  and  just  below  a  pave- 
ment of  Rocks  on  the  West  side,  comes  in  a  Creek94  with  fallen 
Timber  at  the  Mouth,  on  which  the  Indians  say  there  is  wide 
bottoms,  and  good  Land.  The  River  bottom's  above  for  some 
distance  is  very  good,  and  continues  for  near  half  a  Mile  below 
the  Creek;  the  pavement  of  Rocks  are  only  to  be  seen  at  low 
Water.  Abt.  a  mile  or  a  little  better  below  the  Mouth  of  the 
creek  is  another  pavement  of  Rocks  on  the  East  side,  in  a  kind 
of  Sedgey  Ground.  On  this  Creek  many  Buffaloes  use[d  to  be], 
according  to  the  Indians  acct. 

Tuesday  30.  We  set  out  at  50  Minutes  passd  Seven;  the 
Weather  being  windy  and  cloudy  (after  a  Night  of  Rain.) 

.  .  .  The  River  from  this  place95  narrows  very  considerably, 

93  Either  Guy  an  Run  or  Shade  River  in  Meigs  County,  Ohio. 

94  Big  Sandy  Creek  at  Ravenswood,  West  Virginia. 

95  Just  below  the  so-called  Great  Bend  of  the  Ohio.  The  center  of  this 
U-shaped  bend  is  near  Letart,  West  Virginia. 


259 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

and  for  5  or  6  Miles  or  more,  is  scarcely  more  than  150  or 
200  yards  over.  .  .  .  About  10  Miles  below  our  Incampment, 
and  a  little  lower  down  than  the  bottom  described  to  lye  in 
the  shape  of  a  horse  Shoe,  comes  in  a  small  Creek96  on  the 
West  side,  and  opposite  to  this  on  the  East  begins  a  body  of 
flat  Land.  ...  A  Mile  or  two  below  this  we  Landed,97  .  .  .  We 
found  many  shallow  Ponds,  the  sides  of  which  abounding  in 
grass,  invited  innumerable  quantities  of  Wild  fowl  among  which 
I  saw  a  Couple  of  Birds  in  size  between  a  Swan  and  a  Goose; 
and  in  colour  somewhat  between  the  two;  being  darker  than 
the  young  Swan  and  of  a  more  sutty  Colour:  the  cry  of  these 
was  as  unusual  as  the  Bird98  it  self,  as  I  never  heard  any  noise 
resembling  it  before.  .  .  . 

Wednesday  31st.  I  sent  the  Canoe  along  down  to  the  junction 
of  the  two  Rivers  abt.  5  Miles,  that  is  the  Kanhawa  with  the 
Ohio,99  and  set  out  upon  a  hunting  Party  to  view  the  Land. 
We  steerd  nearly  East  for  about  8  or  9  Miles,  then  bore  South- 
wardly, and  Westwardly,  till  we  came  to  our  Camp  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Rivers,  the  Land  from  the  Rivers  appeard  but 
indifferent  and  very  broken;  Whether  these  ridges  might  not 
be  those  that  divide  the  Waters  of  the  Ohio  from  the  Kanhawa 
is  not  certain,  but  I  believe  they  are,  if  so  the  Lands  may  yet 
be  good;  if  not,  that  which  lyes  of  the  River  bottoms  is  good 
for  little. 

November  1st.  A  little  before  eight  Oclock  we  set  of  with 
our  Canoe  up  the  River,100  to  discover  what  kind  of  Lands  lay 
upon  the  Kanhawa.  The  Land  on  both  sides  this  River  just  at 

96  Leading  Creek,  which  enters  the  Ohio  from  the  west  just  south  of 
Middleport,  Ohio. 

97  Somewhere  near  Ten  Mile  Creek  on  the  West  Virginia  side. 

98  This  description  could  fit  a  Great  Blue  Heron  or  an  American  Bittern. 

99  The  Kanawha  enters  the  Ohio  at  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia. 

100  That  is,  up  the  Kanawha,  rather  than  the  Ohio. 


260' 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

the  Mouth  is  very  fine;  but  on  the  East  side  when  you  get 
towards  the  Hills  (which  I  judge  to  be  about  6  or  700  yards 
from  the  River)  it  appears  to  be  wet,  and  better  adapted  for 
Meadow  than  tillage.  .  .  .  We  judgd  we  went  up  this  River 
about  10  Miles  to  day.  On  the  East  side  appear  to  be  some 
good  bottoms  but  small,  neither  long  nor  wide,  and  the  Hills 
back  of  them  rather  steep  and  poor. 

Novr.  2d.  We  proceeded  up  the  River  with  the  Canoe  about 
4  Miles  more,  and  then  incampd  and  went  a  Hunting;  killd  5 
Buffaloes  and  wounded  some  others,  three  deer,  etca.  This 
Country  abounds  in  Buffalo  and  Wild  game  of  all  kinds  as  also 
in  all  kinds  of  wild  fowl,  there  being  in  the  Bottoms  a  great 
many  small  grassy  Ponds  or  Lakes  which  are  full  of  Swans, 
Geese,  and  Ducks  of  different  kinds. 

Some  of  Our  People  went  up  the  River  4  or  5  Miles  higher 
and  found  the  same  kind  of  bottom  on  the  West  side,  and  we 
were  told  by  the  Indians  that  it  continued  to  the  Falls,  which 
they  judgd  to  be  50  or  60  Miles  higher  up.  This  Bottom  next 
the  Water  (in  most  places)  is  very  rich;  as  you  approach  to 
the  Hills  you  come  (in  many)  to  a  thin  white  Oak  Land  and 
poor;  the  Hills  as  far  as  we  coud  judge  were  from  half  a  Mile 
to  a  Mile  from  the  River;  poor  and  steep  in  the  parts  we  see, 
with  Pine  growing  on  them;  whether  they  are  generaly  so,  or 
not,  we  cannot  tell  but  I  fear  they  are. 

Saturday  3.  We  set  of[f]  down  the  River101  on  our  return 
homewards,  and  Incampd  at  the  Mouth;  at  the  Beginning  of 
the  Bottom  above  the  junction  of  the  Rivers,  and  at  the  Mouth 
of  a  branch  on  the  East  side,  I  markd  two  Maples,  an  Elm,  and 
Hoopwood  Tree  as  a  Cornr.  of  the  Soldiers  L[an]d102  (if  we 

101  Back  down  the  Kanawha. 

102  The  land  described  here,  bottomland  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio  from 
Point  Pleasant  to  Letart,  West  Virginia,  was  used  to  meet  the  claims  of 


261 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

can  get  it)  intending  to  take  all  the  bottom  from  hence  to  the 
Rapids  in  the  Great  Bent  into  one  Survey.  I  also  markd  at  the 
Mouth  of  another  Gut  lower  down  on  the  West  side  (at  the 
lower  end  of  the  long  bottom)  an  Ash  and  hoopwood  for  the 
Beginning  of  another  of  the  Soldiers  Survey,  to  extend  up  so 
as  to  Include  all  the  Bottom  (in  a  body)  on  the  West  side. 

Sunday  4.  .  .  .  We  met  a  Canoe  going  to  the  Illinoies  with 
sheep.  .  .  . 

Monday  5  th.  I  set  of[f]  the  Canoe  with  our  Baggage  and 
walkd  across  the  Neck103  on  foot  with  Captn.  Crawford,  dis- 
tant according  to  our  walking  about  8  Miles,  as  we  kept  a 
strait  course  under  the  Foot  of  the  Hills,  which  run  about  So. 
Et.  and  was  two  hours  and  an  half  walking  of  it. 

This  is  a  good  Neck  of  Land  the  Soil  being  generally  good; 
and  in  places  very  rich.  Their  is  a  large  proportion  of  Meadow 
Ground,  and  the  land  as  high,  dry,  and  Level  as  one  coud  wish. 
.  .  .  upon  the  whole  a  valuable  Tract  might  be  had  here,  and  I 
judge  the  quantity  to  be  about  4000  Acres. 

Tuesday  6th.  We  left  our  Incampment  a  little  after  daylight, 
and  in  about  5  Miles  we  came  to  Kiashutas  Hunting  Camp 
which  was  now  removd  to  the  Mouth  of  that  Creek,104  noted 


other  members  of  the  Virginia  regiment.  Washington  did  not  personally  ac- 
quire any  of  this  tract.  In  1772,  however,  he  did  acquire  other  lands  in  the 
area — 10,990  acres  running  for  seventeen  miles  along  the  south  bank  of  the 
Kanawha  from  two  miles  west  of  the  junction  of  the  Kanawha  with  the  Ohio. 
The  land  was  selected  and  surveyed  for  him  by  Crawford  in  1771. 

103  This  neck  of  land,  part  of  Meigs  County,  Ohio,  extends  into  the 
Great  Bend,  for  which  see  note  95  above.  The  travellers  were  now,  of  course, 
retracing  their  steps.  Opposite  from  where  Washington  walked  on  this  day, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Great  Bend,  Washington  later  acquired  4,395  acres 
of  bottomland  in  and  around  the  present  Millwood,  West  Virginia.  Here,  too, 
Crawford  handled  the  details. 

104  Big  Sandy  Creek,  at  present  Ravenswood.  In  1772,  Washington  ac- 
quired 2,448  acres  on  the  site  of  Ravenswood.  Crawford  was  the  surveyor. 


262 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

Octr.  29,  for  having  fallen  Timber  at  the  Mouth  of  it.  .  .  . 

By  the  Kindness  and  Idle  ceremony  of  the  Indians,  I  was 
detaind  at  Kiashutas  Camp  all  the  remaing.  part  of  this  day; 
and  having  a  good  deal  of  conversation  with  him  on  the  Subject 
of  Land.  .  .  . 

(Friday)  16th.105  .  .  .  Here  it  was  for  the  2d  time  the  old  In- 
dian106 with  me  spoke  of  a  fine  piece  of  Land  and  beautiful  place 
for  a  House,  and  in  order  to  give  me  a  more  lively  Idea  of  it, 
chalkd  out  the  situation  upon  his  Deer  skin.  .  .  . 

Saturday  17.  By  this  Morning  the  River  had  fallen  (in  the 
whole)  2  or  3  and  twenty  feet,  and  was  still  lowering.  .  .  . 

105  The  pages  of  the  diary  from  the  6th  to  the  16th  of  November  have  been 
chewed  by  mice.  Such  of  the  original  manuscript  as  remains  is  not  coherent 
and  is  therefore  not  reproduced  here.  It  is  possible  to  glean  from  it  that  by 
the  7th,  the  party  reached  the  Hocking  and  passed  a  Delaware  hunting  party. 
On  the  8th,  Washington,  Crawford,  and  one  of  the  Indians  went  ashore  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Little  Kanawha  and  traveled  overland  almost  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Muskingum,  noting  the  character  of  the  land  as  they  went.  Washington 
later  acquired  a  tract  of  land  in  the  vicinity  traversed  on  this  day.  This  tract 
of  2,314  acres,  since  known  as  Washington  Bottom,  was  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Hocking  River.  It  ran  from  the 
lower  tip  of  what  is  now  Blennerhassett  Island  to  the  lower  tip  of  Newberry 
Island. 

On  the  ninth  the  party  put  ashore  to  pursue  a  bear.  By  the  tenth  continuous 
rains  had  caused  the  river  to  rise  rapidly,  and  the  same  was  true  on  the  1 1th. 
By  the  12th  the  current  was  so  fast  that  progress  became  almost  impossible. 
Therefore,  on  the  13th,  the  young  Indian  with  the  party  was  sent  ahead  to 
have  horses  brought  to  the  Mingo  Town.  That  day,  because  of  the  strong 
current,  only  five  miles  was  made.  Washington  estimated  that  the  river  had 
risen  twenty  feet  and  recorded  that  already  it  was  over  its  banks  in  some 
places.  During  the  day  the  party  met  two  batteaus  and  a  canoe  carrying  pro- 
visions for  the  garrison  at  Fort  Chartres  in  the  Illinois  Country.  By  the  14th, 
the  river  was  falling  and  eleven  miles  was  made.  On  the  15th,  Pipe  Creek 
was  passed.  By  the  16th,  the  party  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Wheeling.  At  this 
point,  the  diary  resumes. 

106  The  Pheasant,  who  had  been  with  the  party  as  a  guide  since  the  party 
left  Fort  Pitt. 


263 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

About  3  Oclock  we  came  to  the  Town107  without  seeing  our 
Horses  the  Indian  (which  was  sent  express  for  them)  having 
passd  through  only  the  morning  before  (being  detaind  by  the 
Creeks  which  were  too  high  to  Ford;  without  going  high  up 
them).  Here  we  resolvd  to  wait  their  arrival  which  was  ex- 
pected tomorrow,  and  here  then  will  end  our  Water  Voyage 
along  a  River,  the  general  course  of  which  from  Bever  Creek 
to  the  Kanhawa  is  about  S  Wt.  (as  near  as  I  coud  determine) ; 
but  in  its  winding  thro  a  narrow  vale,  extreamely  serpentine; 
forming  on  both  sides  the  River  alternately  Necks  of  very  good 
(some  exceeding  fine)  Bottoms;  lying  for  the  Most  part  in  the 
shape  of  a  half  Moon,  and  of  various  sizes. 

There  is  very  little  difference  in  the  genl.  width  of  the  River 
from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Kanhawa;  but  in  the  depth  I  believe  the 
odds  is  considerably  in  favour  of  the  lower  parts;  as  we  found 
no  shallows  below  the  Mingo  Town,  except  in  one  or  two  places 
where  the  River  was  broad;  and  there,  I  do  not  know  but  there 
might  have  been  a  deep  Channel  in  some  part  of  it.  Every  here 
and  there  are  Islands  some  larger,  and  some  smaller,  which 
operating  in  the  nature  of  Locks,  or  stops,  occasion  pretty  still 
water  above,  but  for  the  most  part  strong  and  rapid  water  along 
side  of  them;  however  there  is  none  of  these  so  swift  but  that 
a  Vessel  may  be  Rowd  or  set  up  with  Poles.  When  the  River 
is  in  its  Natural  State,  large  canoes  that  will  carry  5  or  6000 
weight  and  more,  may  be  workd  against  stream  by  4  hands 
20  or  25  Miles  a  day;  and  down,  a  good  deal  more.  The  Indians 
who  are  very  dexterous  (even  there  Women)  in  the  manage- 
ment of  Canoes,  have  there  Hunting  Camps  and  Cabins  all 
along  the  River  for  the  convenience  of  transporting  their  skins 
by  Water  to  Market.  In  the  Fall,  so  soon  as  Hunting  Season 

107  Mingo  Town,  where  they  were  to  be  met  with  their  horses. 


264  • 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

comes  on,  they  set  out  with  their  Family s  for  this  purpose; 
and  in  Hunting  will  move  there  Camps  from  place  to  place  till 
by  the  Spring  they  get  2  or  300  or  more  Miles  from  there 
Towns;  Then  Bever  catch  it  in  there  way  up  which  frequently 
brings  them  into  the  Month  of  May,  when  the  women  are 
employe!  in  Plantg.  The  Men  at  Market,  and  in  Idleness,  till 
the  Fall  again;  when  they  pursue  the  same  course  again.  During 
the  Summer  Months  they  live  a  poor  and  perishing  life. 

The  Indians  who  live  upon  the  Ohio  (the  upper  parts  of  it 
at  least)  are  composed  of  Shawnas,  Delawares,  and  some  of 
the  Mingos,  who  getting  but  little  part  of  the  consideration  that 
was  given  for  the  Lands  Eastward  of  the  Ohio,  view  the  Settle- 
ment of  the  People  upon  this  River  with  an  uneasy  and  jealous 
Eye,  and  do  not  scruple  to  say  that  they  must  be  compensated 
for  their  Right  if  the  People  settle  thereon,  notwithstanding  the 
Cession  of  the  Six  Nation's  thereto.108  On  the  other  hand,  the 
People  from  Virginia  and  elsewhere,  are  exploring  and  Mark- 
ing all  the  Lands  that  are  valuable  not  only  on  Redstone  and 
other  waters  of  Monongahela  but  along  down  the  Ohio  as  low 
as  the  little  Kanhawa;  and  by  next  Summer  I  suppose  will  get 
to  the  great  Kanhawa,  at  least;  how  difficult  it  may  be  to  con- 
tend with  these  People  afterwards  is  easy  to  be  judgd  of  from 
every  day's  experience  of  Lands  actually  settled,  supposing 
these  to  be  made;  then  which  nothing  is  more  probable  if  the 
Indians  permit  them,  from  the  disposition  of  the  People  at  pres- 
ent. A  few  Settlements  in  the  midst  of  some  of  the  large  Bot- 
toms, woud  render  it  impractable  to  get  any  large  qty.  of  Land 
Together;  as  the  Hills  all  the  way  down  the  River  (as  low  as 

108  At  the  Treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  in  1768,  the  Iroquois  had  ceded  rights 
to  the  land  south  of  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio — that  is,  southwestern  Pennsyl- 
vania, western  West  Virginia,  and  Kentucky. 


265 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

I  went)  come  pretty  close  and  are  steep  and  broken,  incapable 
of  Settlements  tho  some  of  them  are  rich  and  only  fit  to  sup- 
port the  Bottoms  with  Timber  and  Wood.  .  .  . 

Sunday,  18th.  Agreed  with  two  Delaware  Indians  to  carry 
up  our  Canoe  to  Fort  Pitt  for  the  doing  of  which  I  was  to  pay 
6  Dollars  and  give  them  a  Quart  Tinn  Can. 

Monday  19th.  The  Delawares  set  of  with  the  Canoe,  and  our 
Horses  not  arriving,  the  day  appeard  exceeding  long  and  tedi- 
ous. Upon  conversing  with  Nicholson,  I  found  he  had  been 
two  or  three  times  to  Fort  Chartres  at  the  Illinois,  and  got 
from  him  the  following  Acct.  of  the  Lands  between  this  and 
that;  and  upon  the  Shawna  River;109  on  which  he  had  been  a 
Hunting. 

The  Lands  down  the  Ohio  grow  more  and  more  level  as 
you  approach  the  Falls,110  and  about  150  Miles  below  them, 
the  Country  appears  quite  Flat,  and  exceeding  rich.  On  the 
Shawna  River  (which  comes  into  the  Ohio  400  Miles  below 
the  Falls  and  about  1100  from  Pittsburg)  up  which  he  had 
hunted  300  and  more  Miles  the  Lands  are  exceeding  Level,  rich, 
and  fine,  but  a  good  deal  intermixd  with  Cain  or  Reed,  which 
might  render  them  difficult  to  clear;  that  game  of  all  kinds  was 
to  be  found  here  in  the  greatest  abundance,  especially  Buffalo. 
That  from  Fort  Chartres111  to  Pittsburg  by  Land,  is  computed 
800  Miles;  and  in  travelling  thro  the  Country  from  that  place 
he  found  the  Soil  very  rich,  the  Ground  exceeding  level  to  O 
Post112  (a  French  Settlement)  and  from  Opost  to  the  Lower 
Shawna  Town113  on  Scioto  equally  flat,  that  he  passd  through 

109  An  early  name  for  the  Cumberland  River  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 

110  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

1 1 1  Fort  Chartres  was  north  of  Kaskaskia  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi. 

112  O  Post  was  Ouabache  (Wabash)  Post,  now  Vincennes,  Indiana. 

113  Lower  ShawneeTown  was  at  the  juncture  of  the  Scioto  and  Ohio  Rivers. 


266- 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

large  Planes  30  Miles  in  length  without  a  Tree  except  little 
Islands  of  Wood,  that  in  these  Planes  thousands,  and  10,000sds. 
of  Buffalo  may  be  seen  feeding;  that  the  distance  from  Fort 
Chartres  to  Opost  is  about  240  Miles  and  the  Country  not  very 
well  Waterd;  from  Opost  to  the  lower  Shawna  Town  and  about 
300  more  abounding  in  good  Springs  and  Rivulets;  that  the 
remainder  of  the  way  to  Fort  Pitt  is  Hilly,  and  the  Hills  larger 
as  you  approach  the  Fort,  tho  the  Ld.  in  general  is  also  good.  .  .  . 

Novr.  20th.  About  One  Oclock  our  Horses  arrivd,  having 
been  prevented  getting  to  Fort  Pitt  by  the  freshes.114  At  Two 
we  set115  out  and  got  about  10  Miles.  The  Indians  travelling 
along  with  us. 

Tuesday  21st.  Reach'd  Fort  Pitt  in  the  Afternoon,  distant 
from  our  last  Incampment  about  25  Miles  and  as  near  as  I  can 
guess  35  from  the  Mingo  Town.  .  .  . 

Thursday  22.  Stayd  at  Pittsburg  all  day.  Invited  the  Officers 
and  some  other  Gentlemen  to  dinner  with  me  at  Samples; 
among  which  was  one  Doctr.  Connelly116  (Nephew  to  Colo. 
Croghan)  a  very  sensible  Intelligent  Man  who  had  travell'd 
over  a  good  deal  of  this  Western  Country  both  by  Land  and 
Water  and  confirms  Nicholson's  Acct.  of  the  good  Land  on  the 
Shawana  River  up  which  he  had  been  near  400  Miles. 

This  Country  (I  mean  the  Shawana  River)  according  to 
Doctr.  Connellys  Acct.  must  be  exceeding  desirable  on  many 
Accts.  The  Climate  is  exceeding  fine,  the  Soil  remarkably  good; 
the  Lands  well  Waterd  with  good  streams,  and  full  level  enough 
for  any  kind  of  Cultivation.  Besides  these  advantages  from  Na- 

114  Freshets,  or  flooded  streams. 

115  The  party  left  the  river  at  Mingo  Town  and  traveled  across  what  is 
today  the  West  Virginia  panhandle  to  Fort  Pitt. 

116  John  Connolly,  in  1774,  during  the  Pennsylvania- Virginia  boundary 
dispute,  occupied  for  Virginia  the  then  abandoned  Fort  Pitt.  During  the 
Revolutionary  War  he  was  a  loyalist. 


267 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

ture,  it  has  others  not  less  Important  to  a  new  settlement,  par- 
ticularly Game  which  is  so  plenty  as  not  only  to  render  the 
Transportation  of  Provisions  there  (bread  only  excepted)  alto- 
gether unnecessary,  but  to  enrich  the  Adventurers  with  the 
Peltry  for  which  there  is  a  constant  and  good  Market. 

Doctr.  Connelly  is  so  much  delighted  with  the  Lands,  and 
Climate  on  this  River;  that  he  seems  to  wish  for  nothing  more 
than  to  induce  100  families  to  go  there  to  live  that  he  might  be 
among  them.  A  New  and  most  desirable  Government  might 
be  established  here  to  be  bounded  (according  to  his  Acct.)  by 
the  Ohio  Northward  and  Westward.  The  Ridge  that  divides 
the  Waters  of  the  Tenesee  or  Cherokee  River  Southward  and 
Westward  and  a  Line  to  be  Run  from  the  Falls  of  Ohio,  or 
above  so  as  to  cross  the  Shawana  River  above  the  Fork  of  it. 

Doctor  Connelly  gives  much  the  same  Acct.  of  the  Land  be- 
tween Fort  Chartres  in  the  Illinois  Country,  and  Post  St.  Vin- 
cent (O  Post)  that  Nicholson  does,  except  in  the  Article  of 
Water,  wch.  the  Doctr.  says  is  bad,  and  in  the  Summer  scarce, 
there  being  little  else  than  stagnate  Water  to  be  met  with. 

Friday  23d.  After  settling  with  the  Indians  and  People  that 
attended  me  down  the  River  and  defray  the  Sundry  Expenses 
accruing  at  Pittsburg,  I  set  of  on  my  return  home  and  after 
dining  at  the  Widow  Mierss.117  on  Turtle  Creek  reachd  Mr. 
John  Stephenson118  (two  or  three  hours  in  the  Night). 

Saturday  24th.  When  we  came  to  Stewards119  Crossing  at 
Crawfords,  the  River  was  too  high  to  Ford  and  his  Canoe  gone 
a  Drift,  however  after  waiting  there  2  or  three  hours  a  Canoe 
was  got  in  which  we  passd  and  Swam  our  Horses.  The  remain- 

117  The  Widow  Meyers'  tavern  was  a  well  known  stopping  place.  It  is 
believed  to  have  stood  at  the  present  corner  of  Sycamore  and  Sixth  Streets 
in  Turtle  Creek,  Pennsylvania. 

118  See  note  25  above.   119  Stewart's. 


268 


LAND  SCOUT  IN  THE  OHIO  COUNTRY 

der  of  this  day  I  spent  at  Captn.  Crawfords,  it  either  Raining 
or  Snowing  hard  all  day. 

Sunday  25th.  I  Set  out  early  in  order  to  see  Lund  Washing- 
ton's Land,  but  the  Ground  and  trees  being  coverd  with  Snow, 
I  was  able  to  form  but  an  indistinct  opinion  of  it,  tho  upon  the 
whole  it  appeard  to  be  a  good  Tract  of  Land  and  as  Level  as 
common  indeed  more  so,  from  this  I  went  to  Mr.  Thos.  Gists, 
and  Dind,  and  then  proceeded  on  to  the  Great  crossing  .  .  . 
where  I  arrivd  about  Eight  Oclock. 

Monday  26th.  Reachd  Killiams  on  George's  Creek  where 
we  met  several  Families  going  over  the  Mountains  to  live,  some 
witht.  having  any  places  provided.  The  Snow  upon  the  Alligany 
Mountains  was  near  knee  deep. 

Tuesday  27th.  We  got  to  Colo.  Cresaps  at  the  Old  Town 
after  calling  at  Fort  Cumberland.  .  .  . 

Wednesday  28th.  The  Old  Town  Gut  was  so  high  as  to  Wet 
us  in  crossing  it,  and  when  we  came  to  Cox's120  the  River  was 
Impassable;  we  were  obligd  therefore  to  cross  in  a  Canoe  and 
swim  our  Horses.  .  .  . 

Thursday  29th.  Set  out  early  and  reachd  my  Brothers121  by 
one  oclock  (about  22  or  3  Miles) .... 

30th.  Reached  Charles  West's122  3  5  Miles  from  my  Brother's. 

[December]  1st.  Reachd  home  from  [Charles]  West's,  after 
an  absence  of  9  Weeks  and  one  Day. 

120  Cox's  Fort  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Cacapon  River. 

121  Samuel  Washington. 

122  Charles  West  was  a  neighbor. 


269 


Landlord  and  Expansionist 
1784 


"My  Landed  property  West  of  the 
Apalachean  Mountains" 

George  Washington  left  Western  Pennsylvania  in  1770,  an 
Englishman,  a  subject  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain;  and  Penn- 
sylvania was  one  of  His  Majesty's  Dominions  Beyond  the  Seas. 
He  returned  in  1784,  not  an  Englishman,  but  an  American;  and 
Pennsylvania,  like  Virginia,  was  one  of  the  free  and  sovereign 
United  States.  No  man  had  done  more  than  Washington  to 
bring  this  about. 

During  the  years  of  fighting  the  Revolution  Washington  did 
not  get  back  to  the  Ohio  Valley  where  he  had  first  heard  the 
whistle  of  bullets.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  war  forced  him  to 
postpone  a  trip  he  had  planned  to  the  West  in  1775.  In  the 
years  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution,  his  employees 
had  been  attempting  to  establish  a  settlement  on  Washington's 
lands  in  the  valley  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  and  Washington  had 
hoped  to  visit  this  and  his  other  holdings  beyond  the  moun- 
tains. But  the  call  to  command  of  the  Continental  Army  halted 
any  thought  of  the  trip,  and  the  Indian  depredations  of  the 
war  itself  forced  his  people  to  abandon  the  Kanawha  settlement. 

Although  the  lands  beyond  the  mountains  were  not  the  set- 
ting for  the  clash  of  the  main  armies,  they  were  an  important 
center  of  events  that  led  into  the  war. 

The  Revolutionary  War,  like  most  great  historical  phenom- 
ena, was  a  complex  event.  In  one  sense,  at  least,  it  was  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  war  that  Washington  had  helped  to  launch  in 
1754,  the  war  for  the  lands  of  the  Ohio  watershed.  True,  the 
French  were  gone  and  the  Indians  were  clearly  going,  but  the 
struggle  for  the  land  was  not  yet  over.  There  remained  the 


273 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

question  of  whether  the  development  of  the  vast  area  would 
rest  with  the  politicians  and  courtiers  of  London,  or  whether 
control  would  be  in  the  hands  of  colonists — the  gentlemen  ad- 
venturers of  Williamsburg  and  Philadelphia,  and  the  frontier 
farmers  of  the  Susquehanna,  the  Mohawk,  and  the  South  Branch 
of  the  Potomac. 

In  1763,  a  Proclamation  by  the  King  had  prohibited  any 
settlement  west  of  a  line  drawn  along  the  top  ridges  of  the 
Appalachians.  The  motive  of  the  Crown  was  to  prevent  costly 
friction  with  the  Indians,  but  the  effect  was  to  bar  squatter  and 
speculator  alike  from  the  new-won  lands  across  the  mountains. 
If  this  were  not  galling  enough,  in  1774,  the  Quebec  Act  placed 
the  whole  area  north  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the  Mississippi 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Governor  of  Quebec,  thus  wiping 
out  at  the  stroke  of  a  pen  thousands  of  claims  held  by  Virgin- 
ians, Pennsylvanians,  Marylanders,  and  other  residents  of  the 
colonies  south  of  Canada.  If  the  British  parliament  did  not  re- 
alize at  the  time  that  these  acts  could  help  precipitate  a  revolu- 
tion, they  came  to  their  senses  later — too  late.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  one  of  the  charges  that  British  war  propaganda  made 
against  Washington  was  that  his  principal  motive  in  waging 
war  against  England  was  the  securing  of  his  vast  land  claims 
in  the  West. 

If  the  transappalachian  area  did  not  see  the  principal  fighting, 
it  was  not  quiet,  either.  As  the  weakest  of  the  antagonists  con- 
testing for  the  area,  the  Indians  calculated  their  best  interests 
lay  with  the  victory  of  the  English;  and  since  they  could  not 
enter  the  field  independently,  they  fought  with  the  King  and 
against  the  Americans.  Again,  the  fort  at  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio 
became  a  bustling  military  base,  although  this  time  the  columns 
which  marched  out  of  it  went  north  against  the  Iroquois  and 
west  against  Detroit,  where  they  once  had  moved  east  against 


274« 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

Ligonier  or  south  against  Winchester.  Wheeling,  which  had 
been  only  the  beginning  of  a  clearing  when  Washington  drifted 
down  the  Ohio  in  1770,  now  stood  Indian  siege  twice.  Wash- 
ington's associate  and  friend,  William  Crawford,  was  captured 
in  an  expedition  against  the  Ohio  Indians,  and  burned  at  the  stake. 

And  besides  fighting  on  their  own  ground,  the  Westerners 
sent  many  a  rifleman  to  the  battles  in  the  East.  At  Saratoga,  at 
King's  Mountain,  at  Cowpens,  and  on  other  fields  the  men  of  the 
western  slopes  and  valleys  fought  bravely  and  with  distinction. 

As  had  been  true  over  most  of  Washington's  military  career, 
far  from  profiting  economically  from  the  war,  he  suffered. 
Throughout  the  war,  Washington  had  refused  to  accept  pay  for 
his  services.  When,  late  in  1783,  he  resigned  his  great  command 
and  returned  to  Mount  Vernon,  he  found  his  private  business 
affairs  in  grievous  straits.  Rents  had  gone  uncollected  and  now 
were  perhaps  uncollectible;  even  if  collected,  they  had  to  be 
paid  in  inflated  currency,  worth  little.  Encouraged  by  the  Brit- 
ish, many  slaves  had  run  away;  the  overseer  of  Mount  Vernon 
had  gone  unpaid  for  years;  the  bookkeeping  was  a  snarl;  fences 
and  fields  needed  repair.  And  in  addition,  swarms  of  guests 
descended  on  the  plantation  to  stay  perhaps  for  a  meal,  perhaps 
for  a  month,  and  all  at  Washington's  expense.  As  a  young  man, 
Washington  had  yearned  for  "public  honor";  now,  like  many 
a  man  before  and  since,  he  tasted  the  bitter  with  the  sweet. 

Need  to  recoup  his  fortunes  was  one  of  the  factors  which 
soon  turned  Washington's  feet  westward.  He  had  long  felt  that 
economic  reverses  in  the  East  could  be  recovered  in  the  West. 
The  situation  at  Mount  Vernon  pressed  him  to  see  to  his  west- 
ern properties,  as  did  the  fact  that  they  had  been  so  long 
neglected.  Like  many  another  veteran  of  many  another  war, 
Washington  had  little  time  to  rest  from  the  trails  of  war  before 
embarking  on  the  uncertain  paths  of  peace.  And  for  him,  the 


275 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

paths  of  peace,  like  his  earliest  paths  of  war,  ran  to  the  West. 

The  paths  of  peace  to  the  West  were  also  future  highways 
of  commerce,  and  that  provided  a  second  reason  for  Washing- 
ton's trip.  A  way  had  to  be  found  to  tie  the  distant  area  across 
the  mountains  to  the  seaboard;  otherwise  what  had  been  won 
so  recently  by  war  and  diplomacy  might  yet  be  lost  to  Britain 
or  Spain.  And  to  a  states-righter,  as  Washington  still  was  in 
1784,  the  ties  of  the  hinterland  should  be  not  simply  with  the 
seaboard,  he  thought,  but  with  Virginia,  too.  At  the  urging  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  Virginia's  great  wartime  governor,  Wash- 
ington agreed  to  investigate  on  his  trip  west  the  possibility 
of  linking,  by  portage  road  or  canal,  the  waters  of  the  Potomac 
with  the  waters  of  the  Ohio.  New  York  State  was  also  plan- 
ning such  a  project,  and  Washington,  who  had  seen  the  Mohawk 
Valley  during  the  war,  knew  that  was  possible.  If  Virginia 
could  lead  in  facilitating  communication  and  commerce  between 
East  and  West,  she  would  serve  herself  as  well  as  the  young 
nation. 

And  so  Washington,  former  commander  in  chief  and  future 
President,  turned  his  back  on  the  tribulations  and  losses  of  the 
Revolution  and  lost  himself  enthusiastically  in  his  first  love — 
surveying  the  land. 

The  Journal  of  1784 
September  1 — October  4 

Having  found  it  indispensably  necessary  to  visit  my  Landed 
property  West  of  the  Apalachean  Mountains,  and  more  espe- 
cially that  part  of  it  which  I  held  in  Copartnership  with  Mr. 
Gilbert  Simpson.1— Having  determined  upon  a  tour  into  that 

1  Gilbert  Simpson  was  a  former  neighbor  of  Washington's  in  Virginia. 


276< 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

Country,  and  having  made  the  necessary  preparations  for  it,  I 
did,  on  the  first  day  of  this  Month  (September)  set  out  on  my 
journey. 

Having  dispatched  my  equipage  about  9  O'clock  A.M:,  con- 
sisting of  3  Servants  and  6  horses,  three  of  which  carried  my 
Baggage,  I  set  out  myself  in  company  with  Doctor  James 
Craik2  .  .  . 

3d.  Having  business  to  transact  with  my  Tenants  in  Berke- 
ley;3 and  others  who  were  directed  to  meet  me  at  my  Brother's 
(Colo.  Charles  Washington's),4  I  left  Doctr.  Craik  and  the 
Baggage  to  follow  slowly,  and  set  out  myself  about  Sun  Rise 
for  that  place  .  .  . 

Colo.  Warner  Washington,5  Mr.  Wormeley,6  Genl.  Morgan,7 
Mr.  Trickett8  and  many  other  Gentlemen  came  here  to  see  me 
— and  one  object  of  my  journey  being  to  obtain  information 

In  1773,  he  went  west  to  build  and  operate  a  mill  for  Washington  on  the  mill- 
site  Crawford  had  acquired  for  Washington,  and  which  Washington  had  in- 
spected in  1770.  Washington  provided  slaves  and  tools  for  the  project;  Simp- 
son was  to  manage  the  property  as  a  partner.  Washington  was  disturbed 
because,  ever  since  the  mill  had  been  put  in  operation,  he  had  received  little 
or  no  income  from  Simpson. 

2  Dr.  Craik,  it  will  be  recalled,  was  Washington's  personal  physician  as 
well  as  a  neighbor  and  good  friend.  Craik  had  gone  west  with  Washington 
in  1770  and  had  served  during  the  Revolution  as  a  medical  officer.  Also  in  the 
party  were  Washington's  nephew  Bushrod  and  Craik's  son  William. 

3  Berkeley  County,  now  West  Virginia. 

4  Charles,  Washington's  next  youngest  brother,  lived  near  Charles  Town 
in  Berkeley  County. 

5  Warner  Washington  was  Washington's  first  cousin. 

6  The  Wormeley  (or  Wormley  as  it  was  also  spelled)  family  were  a  plant- 
ing family  who  were  neighbors  of  Samuel  Washington  and  friends  of  George. 
The  "Mr.  Wormeley"  referred  to  may  have  been  Ralph,  or  his  son,  John. 

7  Brigadier  General  Daniel  Morgan  had  commanded  Berkeley  County 
troops  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

8  Mr.  Trickett  does  not  appear  elsewhere  in  historical  literature,  to  the 
editor's  knowledge. 


277 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

of  the  nearest  and  best  communication  between  the  Eastern9 
and  Western  Waters;  and  to  facilitate  as  much  as  in  me  lay 
the  Inland  Navigation  of  the  Potomack;  I  conversed  a  good 
deal  with  Genl.  Morgan  on  this  subject,  who  said,  a  plan  was 
in  contemplation  to  extend  a  Road  from  Winchester  to  the 
Western  Waters,  to  avoid  if  possible  an  interference  with  any 
other  State,  but  I  could  not  discover  that  Either  himself,  or 
others,  were  able  to  point  it  out  with  precision.  He  seemed  to 
have  no  doubt  but  that  the  Counties  of  Frederk.,  Berkeley  and 
Hampshire  would  contribute  freely  towards  the  extension  of 
the  Navigation  of  Potomack;  as  well  as  towards  opening  a 
Road  from  East  to  West. 

4th.  Having  finished  my  business  with  my  Tenants  (so  far 
at  least  as  partial  payments  could  put  a  close  to  it)  and  provided 
a  Waggon  for  the  transportation  of  my  Baggage  to  the  Warm 
springs  (or  Town  of  Bath)10  to  give  relief  to  my  Horses,11 
which  from  the  extreme  heat  of  the  Weather  began  to  Rub 
and  gaul,  I  set  out  after  dinner,  and  reached  Captn.  Stroads12  a 
Substantial  farmers  betwn.  Opecken  Creek13  and  Martinsburgh14 
— distant  by  estimation  14  Miles  from  my  Brothers. 

Finding  the  Captn.  an  intelligent  Man,  and  one  who  had  been 
several  times  in  the  Western  Country — tho'  not  much  on  the 
communication  between  the  North  Branch  of  Potomack,  and 
the  Waters  of  Monongahela — I  held  much  conversation  with 

9  The  term  "Eastern  Waters"  referred  to  those  east  of  the  Appalachians; 
the  "Western  Waters"  were  those  west  of  the  mountains. 

10  Bath  is  now  known  as  Berkeley  Springs,  West  Virginia. 

11  The  sentence  structure  employed  here  makes  it  appear  that  Washington 
journeyed  to  Bath  to  relieve  his  horses.  Actually,  of  course,  he  "provided  a 
wagon"  to  "give  relief"  to  the  horses,  while  he  went  to  Bath. 

12  Captain  Stroads  is  not  otherwise  identified. 

13  Opequan  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Potomac. 

14  Martinsburg,  now  in  West  Virginia. 


278' 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

him — the  result  of  which  so  far  as  it  respected  the  object  I  had 
in  view,  was,  that  there  are  two  Glades  which  go  under  the 
denomination  of  the  Great  glades — one,  on  the  Waters  of  the 
Yohiogany,  the  other  on  those  of  Cheat  River;15  and  distin- 
guished by  the  name  of  the  Sandy  Creek  Glades.16 — that  the 
Road  to  the  first  goes  by  the  head  of  Pattersons  Creek17— that 
from  the  accts.  he  has  had  of  it,  it  is  rough;— the  distance  he 
knows  not.  That  there  is  a  way  to  the  Sandy  Creek  Glades 
from  the  great  crossing  of  Yohiogany  (or  Braddocks  Road)  and 
a  very  good  one;  but  how  far  the  Waters  of  Potomack  above 
Fort  Cumberland,  and  the  Cheat  River  from  its  Mouth  are 
navigable,  he  professes  not  to  know — and  equally  ignorant  is 
he  of  the  distance  between  them. 

He  says  that  old  Captn.  Thos.  Swearengen18  has  informed 
him,  that  the  Navigable  Water  of  the  little  Kanhawa  comes 
within  a  small  distance  of  the  Navigable  Waters  of  the  Monon- 
gahela,  and  that  a  good  Road,  along  the  Ridge,  may  be  had 
between  the  two  and  a  young  Man  who  we  found  at  his  House 
just  (the  Evening  before)  from  Kentucke  told  us,  that  he  left 
the  Ohio  River  at  Wheeling  (Colo.  David  Shepperds)19  and  in 
about  40  Miles  came  to  Red  stone  old  Fort20  on  the  Mononga- 
hela,  50  Miles  from  its  Mouth. 

15  The  Cheat  River  rises  in  West  Virginia  and  enters  the  Monongahela 
just  north  of  the  Mason-Dixon  Line,  at  Point  Marion,  Pennsylvania. 

16  Sandy  Creek  rises  just  south  of  the  Great  Meadows  and  runs  southwest 
into  the  Cheat. 

17  Patterson's  Creek  is  a  tributary  of  the  Potomac  which  enters  the  North 
Branch  of  the  Potomac  from  the  south. 

18  Thomas  Swearengen,  of  a  numerous  frontier  family,  was  once  a  burgess 
from  Frederick  County;  during  the  French  and  Indian  War,  a  Militia  officer. 

19  Colonel  David  Shepherd,  an  early  resident  of  Wheeling,  directed  the 
defense  of  that  town  when  Indians  attacked  in  1777.  Later  he  was  interested 
in  the  Potomac  Company. 

20  Redstone  Old  Fort  is  present  Brownsville,  Pennsylvania.  The  route 


279 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Captn.  Strodes  rout  to  the  Westward  having  been  for  the 
most  part  by  way  of  New  River21  and  the  Hd'ston,22  through 
(what  is  called)  the  Wilderness  to  Kentucke,  he  adds  that 
when  he  went  out  last  fall  he  passed  through  Staunton,23  by 
the  Augusta  Springs,24  the  Sweet  springs25  to  the  New  River, 
30.— in  all,  103  from  Staunton  to  the  New  River:  from  this 
part  of  the  New  River  to  the  place  called  Chissels  Mines,26  is 
passable  for  Canoes  and  Batteaux  with  little  difficulty;  and 
from  thence  to  the  Roanoke27  where  it  is  as  large  as  the 
Opeckon28  near  his  house  is  only  12  Miles  and  a  tolerably 
level  country. 

5  th.  Dispatched  my  Waggon  (with  the  Baggage)  at  day  light; 
and  at  7  O'clock  followed  it  .  .  .  about  3  Oclock  P.M.  we 
arrived  at  the  Springs,  or  Town  of  Bath  after  travelling  the 
whole  day  through  a  drizling  Rain,  30  Miles. 

6th.   Remained  at  Bath  all  day  and  was  showed  the  Model 

described,  once  known  as  Catfish  Path,  eventually  became  the  Cumberland 
National  Road  and  is  today  U.  S.  Route  No.  40. 

21  The  New  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Big  Kanawha,  rises  near  the  present 
Tennessee- Virginia-North  Carolina  boundary  and  flows  north.  The  route 
here  described  followed  the  New  River  south— that  is,  upstream. 

22  The  Holston  rises  in  the  same  mountainous  area  as  the  New  River, 
but  whereas  the  New  River  flows  north  into  the  Big  Kanawha,  the  Holston 
flows  south  and  west  into  the  Tennessee  River. 

23  Staunton,  Virginia. 

24  Augusta  Springs,  Augusta  County,  Virginia. 

25  Sweet  Springs,  Monroe  County,  West  Virginia. 

26  A  lead  mine  on  the  New  River  near  present  Radford,  Virginia. 

27  The  Roanoke  River  comes  within  a  few  miles  of  the  New  River  near 
Radford,  Virginia. 

Since  the  Roanoke  enters  the  Atlantic  ana1  the  New  River  eventually  reaches 
the  Ohio,  a  portage  between  them  would  provide  an  all-water  route  to  the 
Ohio  Valley.  However,  the  New  River  descends  so  rapidly  that  it  could  not 
be  traversed  even  by  canoes. 

28  See  note  1 3 . 


280' 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

of  a  Boat  constructed  by  the  ingenious  Mr.  Rumsey,29  for  as- 
cending rapid  currents  by  mechanism;  the  principles  of  this  were 
not  only  shown,  and  fully  explained  to  me,  but  to  my  very 
great  satisfaction,  exhibited  in  practice  in  private  under  the  in- 
junction of  Secresy,  untill  he  saw  the  effect  of  an  application 
he  was  about  to  Make  to  the  Assembly  of  this  State,  for  a  reward. 

The  Model,  and  its  operation  upon  the  water,  which  had 
been  made  to  run  pretty  swift,  not  only  convinced  me  of  what  I 
before  thought  next  to,  if  not  quite  impracticable,  but  that  it 
might  be  turned  to  the  greatest  possible  utility  in  inland  Navi- 
gation; and  in  rapid  currents;  that  are  shallow — and  what  adds 
vastly  to  the  value  of  the  discovery,  is  the  simplicity  of  its 
works;  as  they  may  be  made  by  a  common  boat  builder  or  car- 
penter, and  kept  in  order  as  easy  as  a  plow,  or  any  common 
impliment  of  husbandry  on  a  farm. 

Having  obtained  a  Plan  of  this  Town  (Bath)  and  ascertained 
the  situation  of  my  lots  therein,  which  I  examined;  it  appears 
that  the  disposition  of  a  dwelling  House,  Kitchen  and  Stable 
cannot  be  more  advantageously  placed  than  they  are  marked 
in  the  copy  I  have  taken  from  the  plan  of  the  Town;  to  which 
I  refer  for  recollection,  of  my  design;  and  Mr.  Rumsey  being 
willing  to  undertake  those  Buildings,  I  have  agreed  with  him 
to  have  them  finished  by  the  10th  of  next  July.  The  dwelling 
House30  is  to  be  36  feet  by  24,  with  a  gallery  of  7  feet  on  each 
side  of  the  House,  the  whole  fronts, — under  the  House  is  to 
be  a  Cellar  half  the  size  of  it,  walled  with  Stone,  and  the  whole 
underpined.— on  the  first  floor  are  to  be  3  rooms;  one  of  them 
24  by  20  feet,  with  a  chimney  at  the  end  (middle  thereof)  the 

29  James  Rumsey  was  one  of  the  codevelopers,  later,  of  the  steamboat. 
He  was  associated  with  Washington,  in  later  years,  in  the  Potomac  Company. 

30  Bath,  or  Berkeley  Springs,  was  a  popular  health  resort,  often  visited  by 
the  Washington  family.  The  house  was  intended,  no  doubt,  for  that  purpose. 


281 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

other  two  to  be  12  by  16  feet  with  corner  chimneys. — on  the 
upper  Floor  there  are  to  be  two  Rooms  of  equal  sizes,  with 
fire  places;  the  Stair  case  to  go  up  in  the  Gallery. — galleries 
above  also.  The  Kitchen  and  Stable  are  to  be  of  the  same  size 
— 18  by  22;  the  first  with  a  stone  Chimney  and  good  floor 
above.— the  Stable  is  to  be  sunk  in  the  ground  so  as  that  the 
floor  above  it  on  the  North,  or  side  next  the  dwelling  House, 
shall  be  level  with  the  Yard. — to  have  a  partition  therein. — the 
West  part  of  which  to  be  for  a  Carriage,  Harness,  and  Saddles, 
—the  East  for  Hay  or  Grain.— all  three  of  the  Houses  to  be 
shingled  with  .  . . 

Meeting  with  the  Revd.  Mr.  Balmain31  at  this  place,  he  says 
the  distance  from  Staunton  to  the  Sweet  Springs  is  95  Miles; 
that  is,  50  to  what  are  commonly  called  the  Augusta  Springs 
and  45  afterwards— this  differs  widely  from  Captn.  Strodes 
acct.,  and  both  say  they  have  travelled  the  Road. 

From  Colo.  Bruce32  whom  I  also  found  at  this  place,  I  was 
informed  that  he  had  travelled  from  the  North  Branch  of  Poto- 
mack  to  the  Waters  of  Yaughiogany,  and  Monongahela — that 
the  Potomk.  where  it  may  be  made  Navigable — for  instance 
where  McCulloughs  path33  crosses  it  40  Miles  above  the  old 
fort  (Cumberland),  is  but  about  6  Miles  to  a  pretty  large  branch 
of  the  Yohiogany,  but  how  far  it  is  practicable  to  make  the 
latter  navigable  he  knows  not,  never  having  explored  it  any 

31  Alexander  Balmaine  was  an  Episcopal  clergyman  and  had  been  a  chap- 
lain during  the  Revolutionary  War. 

32  Colonel  Andrew  Bruce  later  became  a  resident  of  Allegheny  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  a  judge. 

33  McCulloch's  Path,  named  for  an  obscure  early  Indian  trader,  ran  from 
the  present  Moorefield,  Hardy  County,  West  Virginia,  on  the  South  Branch 
of  the  Potomac,  crossed  the  North  Fork  near  Mount  Storm,  Grant  County, 
West  Virginia,  and  thence  to  the  Cheat  River.  It  had  several  alternate  routes 
in  the  valley  of  the  Cheat. 


282' 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

length  downwards. — that  the  Waters  of  Sandy  Creek,  which 
is  a  branch  of  Cheat  River,  which  is  a  branch  of  Monongahela, 
interlocks  with  these;  and  the  Country  between,  fiat— that  he 
thinks  (in  order  to  avd.  passing  through  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania)34 this  would  be  an  eligible  Road  using  the  ten  Miles 
Ck.35  with  a  portage  to  the  Navigable  Waters  of  the  little 
Kanhawa;  which  from  report  he  says,  are  only  ten  Miles  apart 
—he  adds  that  the  distance  from  the  North  branch  to  Cheat 
Rivr.  is  great  and  from  the  South  branch  greater;  but  it  is  to 
be  observed  that  most  of  this  information  is  from  report — vague 
— and  not  much  to  be  depended  upon;  I  therefore  endeavoured 
to  prevail  upon  Colo.  Bruce  to  explore  the  Country  from  the 
North  Branch  of  Potomack  at  McCulloughs  path,  or  the  high- 
est practicable  Navigation  on  it,  to  the  Nearest  Waters  of 
Yohiogany — thence  to  Sandy  Creek36  and  down  that  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Cheat  River — laying  the  whole  down  by  actual 
surveys  and  exact  measurement;  which  he  has  promised  to  do, 
if  he  can  accomplish  it — on  my  part  I  have  engaged,  if  a  Sur- 
veyor can  be  obtained,  to  run  the  Water  of  the  little  Kanhawa 
from  the  Mouth  to  the  highest  Navigation — thence  across  to 
the  ten  miles  Creek  on  the  Monongahela,  and  up  that  to  the  Mo. 
of  Sandy  Creek,  in  order  to  connect  the  two  Forks  together, 
and  form  a  proper  plan  with  observations— and  even  to  continue 

34  Washington  and  his  fellow  Virginians,  in  1784,  feared  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  rival  state  of  Pennsylvania  might  block  any  link  between  the 
Potomac  and  the  west  which  fell  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania. 
Due  to  this  sharp  commercial  rivalry  in  the  period  before  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution,  Virginians  hoped  to  find  an  all- Virginia  route  to  the  Ohio. 

35  Ten  Mile  Creek  is  a  western  tributary  of  the  Monongahela,  rising  in 
Greene  County  and  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania.  Washington's  infor- 
mation is  in  error  in  suggesting  that  Ten  Mile  Creek  approaches  the  Little 
Kanawha;  perhaps  he  was  thinking  of  the  West  Fork  of  the  Monongahela, 
which  does  come  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Little  Kanawha. 

36  See  note  16. 


283 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

up  the  Cheat  River  further,  to  see  if  a  better  communication 
cannot  be  had  with  the  Potomack  than  by  Sandy  Creek.  .  .  . 

8th.  Set  out  about  7  Oclock  with  the  Doctr.  (Craik)  his 
Son  William,  and  my  Nephew  Bushrod  Washington,37  who 
were  to  make  the  tour  with  us. — about  ten  I  parted  with  them 
.  .  .  and  recrossed  the  Potomack  ...  to  a  tract  of  mine38  on  the 
Virginia  Side  which  I  find  exceedingly  Rich,  and  must  be  very 
valuable— the  lower  end  of  the  Land  is  rich  white  oak  in  places 
springey;  and  in  the  winter  wet.— the  upper  part  is  exceedingly 
rich  and  covered  with  Walnut  of  considerable  size  many  of 
them.  Note— I  requested  a  Mr.  McCraken39  at  whose  House 
I  fed  my  horses,  and  got  a  snack,  and  whose  land  joins  mine — 
to  offer  mine  to  any  who  might  apply  for  £10  the  first  year, 
£15  the  next,  and  £25  the  third — the  Tenant  not  to  remove 
any  of  the  Walnut  timber  from  off  the  Land;  or  to  split  it  into 
Rails;  as  I  should  reserve  that  for  my  own  use. 

After  having  reviewed  this  Land  I  again  crossed  the  River 
and  getting  into  the  Waggon  Road  pursued  my  journey  to  the 
Old  Town  where  I  overtook  my  Company  and  baggage — 
lodged  at  Colo.  Cresaps  abt.  35  Miles  this  day.  .  .  . 

9th.  At  this  place  I  met  with  a  Man  who  lives  at  the  Mouth 
of  ten  Miles  Creek  on  Monongahela,  who  assured  me,  that  this 
Creek  is  not  navigable  for  any  kind  of  Craft  a  Mile  from  its 
Mouth;  unless  the  Water  of  it  is  swelled  by  Rain;  at  which 
time  he  has  known  Batteaux  brought  10  or  12  Miles  down  it. 
He  knows  little  of  the  Country  betwn.  that  and  the  little 
Kanhawa  and  not  more  of  that  above  him,  on  the  Monongahela. 

The  day  proving  rainy  we  remained  here. 

10th.   Set  off  a  little  after  5  Oclock  altho'  the  morning  was 

37  Bushrod  was  the  son  of  Washington's  brother  John  Augustine,  or  "Jack." 

38  In  present  Morgan  County,  West  Virginia,  near  Fifteen  Mile  Creek. 

39  Mr.  McCraken  is  not  otherwise  identified. 


.284' 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

very  unpromising— finding  from  the  Rains  that  had  fallen,  and 
description  of  the  Roads,  part  of  which  between  the  old  Town 
and  this  place  (old  Fort  Cumberland)  we  had  passed,  that  the 
progress  of  my  Baggage  would  be  tedious,  I  resolved  (it  being 
necessary)  to  leave  it  to  follow;  and  proceed  on  myself  to 
Gilbert  Simpson's  to  prepare  for  the  Sale  I  had  advertised  of  my 
moiety  of  the  property40  in  copartnership  with  him — and  to 
make  arrangements  tor  my  trip  to  the  Kanhawa,  if  the  temper 
and  disposition  of  the  Indians  should  render  it  advisable  to 
proceed.  Accordingly,  leaving  Doctr.  Craik,  his  Son,  and  My 
Nephew  with  it,  I  set  out  with  one  Servant  only  .  .  .  and  lodged 
at  Tumbersons41  at  the  little  Meadows  1 5  Miles  further.  .  .  . 

11th.  Set  out  at  half  after  5  oclock  from  Tumbersons,  and  in 
about  V/2  Miles  came  to  what  is  called  the  little  crossing42  of 
the  Yohiogany — the  road  is  not  bad — this  is  a  pretty  consider- 
able water  and,  as  it  is  said  to  have  no  fall  in  it,  may,  I  con- 
ceive, be  improved  into  a  valuable  navigation;  and  from  every 
acct.  I  have  yet  been  able  to  obtain,  communicates  nearest  with 
the  No.  Branch  of  Potomack  of  any  other.  .  .  .  Lodged  at  one 
Daughertys43  a  Mile  and  half  short  of  the  Great  Meadows— a 
tolerable  good  House— the  Road  between  the  Crossing  and 
Daughertys  is  in  places,  tolerable  good,  but  upon  the  whole 
indifferent: — distant  from  the  crossing  12  Miles. 

12th.  Left  Daughertys  about  6  Oclock, — stopped  awhile  at 
the  Great  Meadows44  and  viewed  a  tenament  I  have  there,  which 
appears  to  have  been  but  little  improved,  tho'  capable  of  being 

40  The  mill  on  Washington  Run  near  present  Perryopolis,  Pennsylvania. 

41  Tumberson's,  also  known  as  Tumblestone's  and  Tomlinson's,  was  on 
Braddock's  Road  at  the  Little  Meadows  in  northern  Garrett  County,  Mary- 
land, between  Frostburg  and  Grantsville. 

42  Where  Braddock's  Road  crosses  Casselman  River,  a  branch  of  the 
Youghiogheny,  near  Grantsville,  Maryland. 

43  In  the  vicinity  of  present  Farmington,  Fayette  County. 


285 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

turned  to  great  advantage,  as  the  whole  of  the  ground  called 
the  Meadows  may  be  reclaimed  at  an  easy  comparitive  expence 
and  is  a  very  good  stand  for  a  Tavern.  Much  Hay  may  be  cut 
here  when  the  ground  is  laid  down  in  Grass  and  the  upland, 
East  of  the  Meadow  is  good  for  grain. 

Dined  at  Mr.  Thomas  Gists45  at  the  foot  of  Laurel,46  distant 
from  the  Meadows  12  Miles,  and  arrived  at  Gilbert  Simpson's 
about  5  oclock  12  Miles  further.  Crossing  the  Mountains,  I 
found  tedious  and  fatieguing  ...  in  all  parts  of  the  Road  that 
would  admit  it  I  endeavoured  to  ride  my  usual  travelling  gate 
of  5  Miles  an  hour. 

In  passing  over  the  Mountains,  I  met  numbers  of  Persons 
and  Pack  horses  going  in  with  Ginseng;47  and  for  Salt  and  other 
articles  at  the  Markets  below;  from  most  of  whom  I  made 
enquiries  of  the  nature  of  the  Country  between  the  little 
Kanhawa  and  ten  miles  Creek  (which  had  been  represented  as 
a  short  and  easy  portage)  and  to  my  surprise  found  the  accts. 
wch.  had  been  given  were  so  far  from  the  truth  that  numbers 
with  whom  I  conversed  assured  me  that  the  distance  was  very 
considerable — that  ten  Miles  Ck.  was  not  navigable  even  for 
Canoes  more  than  a  Mile  from  its  mouth  and  few  of  them, 
altho  I  saw  many  who  lived  on  different  parts  of  this  Creek 
would  pretend  to  guess  at  the  distance. 

I  endeavoured  to  get  the  best  acct.  I  could  of  the  navigation 
of  the  Cheat  River,  and  find  that  the  line  which  divides  the 
States  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  crosses  the  Monongahela 

44  The  Great  Meadows,  scene  of  Washington's  first  battle,  was  bought 
for  him  by  Crawford  in  1770. 

45  Son  of  Christopher  Gist. 

46  What  Washington  here  calls  Laurel  Hill  is  known  today  as  Chestnut 
Ridge. 

47  Ginseng,  a  native  American  wild  herb,  is  used  medicinally  and  provided 
an  early  "cash  crop"  for  frontier  farmers. 


286 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

above  the  Mouth  of  it  which  gives  the  command  thereof  to 
Pennsylvania — that  where  the  River  (Cheat)  goes  through  the 
Laurel  hill,  the  navigation  is  difficult;  not  from  shallow  or  rapid 
water,  but  from  an  immense  quantity  of  large  Stones,  which 
stand  so  thick  as  to  render  the  passage  even  of  a  short  Canoe 
impracticable — but  I  could  meet  with  no  person  who  seemed 
to  have  any  accurate  knowledge  of  the  Country  between  the 
navigable,  or  such  part  as  could  be  made  so,  of  this  River  and 
the  North  Branch  of  Potomack — all  seem  to  agree  however 
that  it  is  rough  and  a  good  way  not  to  be  found. 

The  accts.  given  by  those  whom  I  met  of  the  late  Murders, 
and  general  dissatisfaction  of  the  Indians,  occasioned  by  the 
attempt  of  our  people  to  settle  on  the  No.  West  side  of  the 
Ohio,  which  they  claim  as  their  territory;48  indicative  of  a 
hostile  temper  on  our  part,  makes  it  rather  improper  for  me  to 
proceed  to  the  Kanhawa  agreeably  to  my  original  intention, 
especially  as  I  learnt  from  some  of  them  (one  in  particular) 
who  lately  left  the  Settlement  of  Kentucke  that  the  Indians  were 
generally  in  arms  and  gone,  or  going,  to  attack  some  of  our 
Settlements  below — and  that  a  Party  who  had  driven  Cattle  to 
Detroit  had  one  of  their  Company  and  several  of  their  Cattle 
killed  by  the  Indians — but  as  these  accts.  will  either  be  con- 
tradicted or  confirmed  by  some  whom  I  may  meet  at  my  Sale 
on  the  15th  Instt.  my  final  determination  shall  be  postponed 
till  then. 

13th.  I  visited  my  Mill,  and  the  several  tenements  on  this 
Tract  (on  which  Simpson  lives) .  I  do  not  find  the  land  in  general 
equal  to  my  expectation  of  it— some  part  indeed  is  as  rich  as 

48  The  Ohio  Indians  had  sided  with  the  British  during  the  Revolutionary 
War.  When  the  war  ended,  the  Americans  felt  that  they  were  entitled  to 
settle  in  any  area  ceded  by  Great  Britain;  the  Indians,  however,  believed 
that  the  old  boundary  of  the  Ohio  River  still  held.  As  a  result,  there  was  bad 
feeling  and  sporadic  raiding  by  both  sides. 


287' 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

can  be,  some  other  part  is  but  indifferent— the  levellest  is  the 
coldest  and  of  the  meanest  quality— that  which  is  most  broken 
is  the  richest;  tho'  some  of  the  hills  are  not  of  the  first  quality. 

The  Tenements  with  respect  to  the  buildings,  are  but  indif- 
ferently improved — each  have  Meadow  and  are  arable,  but  in 
no  great  quantity. — the  Mill  was  quite  destitute  of  water — the 
works  and  House  appear  to  be  in  very  bad  condition— and  no 
reservoir  of  water — the  stream  as  it  runs,  is  all  the  resource 
it  has; — formerly  there  was  a  dam  to  stop  the  water;  but  that 
giving  way  it  is  brought  in  a  narrow  confined  and  trifling  Race 
.  .  .  the  trunk,  which  conveys  the  water  to  the  wheel  are  in 
bad  order.  In  a  word,  little  Rent,  or  good  is  to  be  expected 
from  the  present  aspect  of  her. 

14th.  Remained  at  Mr.  Gilbert  Simpsons  all  day. — before 
Noon  Colo.  Willm.  Butler49  and  the  officer  Commanding  the 
Garrison  at  Fort  Pitt,  a  Capt.  Lucket50  came  here — as  they  con- 
firmed the  reports  of  the  discontented  temper  of  the  Indians 
and  the  Mischiefs  done  by  some  parties  of  them— and  the 
former  advised  me  not  to  prosecute  my  intended  trip  to  the 
Great  Kanahawa,  I  resolved  to  decline  it. 

This  day  also  the  People  who  lives  on  my  land  on  Millers 
Run51  came  here  to  set  forth  their  pretensions  to  it;  and  to  en- 

49  Colonel  William  Butler,  an  early  resident  of  Pittsburgh,  had  acquired 
his  military  title  while  serving  with  Pennsylvania  troops  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War. 

50  Captain  David  Luckett,  an  officer  of  the  Continental  Line  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, had  elected  to  remain  in  service. 

51  Miller's  Run  is  a  branch  of  Chartiers  Creek.  Washington's  lands  on 
Miller's  Run  were  near  present  Canonsburg  in  Washington  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. Colonel  William  Crawford,  his  land  agent,  had  selected  a  tract  of 
twenty-eight  hundred  acres  for  him  in  1771.  However,  George  Croghan 
also  claimed  the  land  and  proceeded  to  sell  portions  of  it  to  settlers.  When 
Washington  later  took  the  case  to  court,  the  prominent  Pittsburgh  attorney, 
Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge,  represented  the  settlers.  Washington  won  the 


288 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

quire  into  my  Right — after  much  conversation  and  attempts  in 
them  to  discover  all  the  flaws  they  could  in  my  Deed  &ca. — 
and  to  establish  a  fair  and  upright  intention  in  themselves — and 
after  much  councelling  which  proceeded  from  a  division  of 
opinion  among  themselves— they  resolved  (as  all  who  lived  on 
the  land  were  not  here)  to  give  me  their  definite  determination 
when  I  should  come  to  the  land,  which  I  told  them  would  prob- 
ably happen  on  Friday  or  Saturday  next. 

15th.  This  being  the  day  appointed  for  the  Sale  of  my  moiety 
of  the  Co-partnership  Stock52— many  People  were  gathered 
(more  out  of  curiosity  I  believe  than  from  other  motives)  but 
no  great  Sale  made.  My  Mill  I  could  obtain  no  bid  for,  altho  I 
offered  an  exemption  from  the  payment  of  Rent  15  Months. 
The  Plantation  on  which  Mr.  Simpson  lives  rented  well — viz 
for  500  Bushels  of  Wheat,  payable  at  any  place  within  the 
County  that  I  or  my  Agent  might  direct. — the  little  chance  of 
getting  a  good  offer  in  money,  for  Rent,  induced  me  to  set  it 
up  to  be  bid  for  in  Wheat. 

Not  meeting  with  any  person  who  will  give  me  a  satisfactory 
acct.  of  the  Navigation  of  the  Cheat  River  (tho'  they  generally 
agreed  it  was  difficult  where  it  passed  thro'  the  Laurel  Hill) 
nor  any  acct.  of  the  distance  and  kind  of  Country  between  that, 
or  the  Main  branch  of  the  Monongahela  and  the  Waters  of 
Potomack— nor  of  the  Country  between  the  little  Kanhawa  and 
the  Waters  of  Monongahela  tho'  all  agreed  none  of  the  former 
came  near  ten  miles  Creek  as  had  been  confidently  asserted; 
I  gave  up  the  intention  of  returning  home  that  way— resolving 
after  settling  matters  with  those  Persons  who  had  seated  my 

case,  however.  After  his  death,  the  lands  were  sold  by  his  estate  to  Alexander 
Addison,  a  noted  jurist  of  Washington  County. 

52  Washington's  half-interest  in  the  mill.  Gilbert  Simpson,  of  course, 
owned  the  other  half. 


289 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Lands  on  Millers  Run,  to  return  by  the  way  I  came;  or  by 
what  is  commonly  called  the  Turkey  foot  Road.53 

16th.  Continued  at  Simpsons  all  day  in  order  to  finish  the 
business  which  was  begun  yesterday— Gave  leases  to  some  of 
my  Ten[an]ts  on  the  Land  where  I  now  am. 

17th.  Detained  here  by  a  settled  Rain  the  whole  day— which 
gave  me  time  to  close  my  accts.  with  Gilbert  Simpson,  and 
put  a  final  end  to  my  Partnership  with  him.  Agreed  this  day 
with  a  Major  Thomas  Freeman54  to  superintend  my  business 
over  the  Mountains,  upon  terms  to  be  inserted  in  his  Instructions. 

18th.  Set  out  with  Doctr.  Craik  for  my  Land  on  Miller's 
Run  (a  branch  of  Shurtees  Creek)55— crossed  the  Monongahela 
at  Devoirs  Ferry56— 16  miles  from  Simpsons— bated  at  one 
Hamiltons57  about  4  Miles  from  it,  in  Washington  County,  and 
lodged  at  a  Colo.  Cannons58  on  the  Waters  of  Shurtees  Creek 
— a  kind  hospitable  Man;  and  sensible. 

Most  of  the  Land  over  which  we  passed  was  hilly — some 

53  The  Turkeyfoot  Road  was  a  variation  of  Braddock's  Road.  Turkey- 
foot  was  the  name  used  at  the  time  for  the  junction  of  the  Youghiogheny, 
Casselman  River  and  Laurel  Hill  Creek  at  present  Confluence,  Pennsylvania. 

54  Major  Freeman  had  assisted  Washington  as  a  clerk  at  the  sale  at  Simp- 
son's. He  became  Washington's  land  agent  for  the  next  period. 

55  Chartiers  Creek. 

56  Devoir's  Ferry,  also  known  as  De  Bore's  and  DeVore's,  was  begun  on 
the  Monongahela  River  by  James  DeVore  as  early  as  1773  on  the  site  of 
present  Monongahela  City,  Pennsylvania.  Later,  it  was  known  as  Parkinson's 
Ferry.  During  the  Whiskey  Rebellion  of  1794,  Parkinson's  Ferry  was  the 
meeting  place  for  the  delegates  from  the  western  counties  involved. 

57  David  Hamilton,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  lived  at  "Ginger  Hill"  on  the 
road  from  the  river  to  the  town  of  Washington,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a 
leader  of  the  moderates  in  the  Whiskey  Rebellion. 

58  John  Canon,  a  Virginian,  was  an  early  settler  in  the  Chartiers  Creek 
area.  His  military  title  was  the  result  of  Militia  service.  Canon  operated  a 
flour  mill,  was  a  prominent  Presbyterian  layman,  and  helped  to  lay  out 
Canonsburg  and  to  found  Canonsburg  Academy.  In  1787,  he  succeeded 
Thomas  Freeman  as  Washington's  land  agent  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 


290- 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

of  it  very  rich — others  thin— between  a  Colo.  Cooks59  and  the 
Ferry  the  Land  was  rich  but  broken— about  Shurtee  and  from 
thence  to  Colo.  Cannons,  the  Soil  is  very  luxurient  and  very 
uneven. 

19th.  Being  Sunday,  and  the  People  living  on  my  Land,  appar- 
ently very  religious,  it  was  thought  best  to  postpone  going 
among  them  till  tomorrow — but  rode  to  a  Doctr.  Johnsons60 
who  had  the  keeping  of  Colo.  Crawfords61  (surveying)  Records 
—but  not  finding  him  at  home  was  disappointed  in  the  business 
which  carried  me  there. 

20th.    Went  early  this  Morning  to  view  my  Land,  and  to 
receive  the  final  determination  of  those  who  live  upon  it — 
having  obtained  a  Pilot  near  the  Land  I  went  first  to  the  plan- 
tation of  Samuel  McBride,62  who  has  about  5  Acres  of  Meadow 
— and  30  of  arable  Land  under  good  fencing— a  Logged  dwell- 
ing house  with  a  punchion  Roof,  and  Stable,  or  small  barn,  of 
the  same  kind — the  Land  rather  hilly,  but  good,  first  to  the 
plantation  of  Samuel  McBride,  who  has  about 
5  Acres  of  Meadow — and 
30  of  arable  Land 
under  good  fencing — a  Logged  dwelling  house  with  a  punchion 
Roof,  and  Stable,  or  small  barn,  of  the  same  kind — the  Land 
rather  hilly,  but  good,  chiefly  white  oak.  next— 

59  Colonel  Edward  Cook,  who  lived  near  present  Belle  Vernon,  Fayette 
County,  had  been  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  of  1776  and  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Constitutional  Convention  of  the  same  year. 

60  Dr.  Ezekiel  Johnson  lived  northeast  of  Washington,  Pennsylvania. 

61  William  Crawford,  it  will  be  recalled,  had  been  killed  by  Indians 
during  the  Revolutionary  War. 

62  Samuel  McBride  and  his  brother  James  (see  note  63  below)  had  been 
led  to  settle  on  the  Miller's  Run  lands  by  agents  of  George  Croghan.  Croghan 
disputed  Washington's  claim  to  the  tract.  After  the  McBrides  were  ejected, 
they  moved  to  near-by  Robinson  Township  in  Washington  County,  and  still 
have  descendants  in  the  area. 


291 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

James  McBride63 

3  or  4  Acres  of  Meadow 

28  Do      of  arable  Land 

Pretty  good  fencing— Land  rather  broken,  but  good— white 

and  black  oak  mixed — a  dwelling  House  and  barn  (of  midling 

size)  with  Puncheon  Roofs 

Thomas  Biggart64 
Robert  Walker65  living  thereon  as  a  Tenant. — 
No  Meadow.— abt. 
20  Acres  of  arable  Land 
a  dwelling  House  and  single  Barn— fences  tolerable — and  Land 
good. — 

William  Stewart66 

2Y2  Acres  of  Meadow 

20  Do      of  arable  Land 

only  one  house  except  a  kind  of  building  adjoining  for  common 

purposes. — good  Land  and  Midling  fences — 

Matthew  Hillast67 

63  James  McBride  was  the  brother  of  Samuel  McBride,  above. 

64  Thomas  Biggart,  also  written  Biggar  and  Bigger,  came  to  America 
from  Ireland  in  1773  and  moved  to  the  Monongahela  Country  in  the  same 
year.  Like  his  neighbors,  the  McBrides,  he  settled  in  Robinson  Township 
after  his  ejectment,  and  has  descendants  in  the  region  at  present. 

65  Robert  Walker,  like  many  a  simple  frontier  farmer,  has  left  no  other 
trace  in  historical  literature,  to  the  editor's  knowledge.  Since  he  was  a  tenant 
of  Thomas  Biggart's,  he  would  not  appear  in  the  land  ownership  records,  the 
most  likely  source  of  identification.  Others  of  the  settlers  had  bought  their 
claims  from  an  earlier  claimant,  and  had  never  registered  the  change,  thus 
making  identification  difficult  or  impossible. 

66  A  man  named  William  Stewart  settled  at  present  Brownsville  in  the 
early  1750's.  The  site  was  once  known  as  Stewart's  Crossing.  There  were 
many  Stewarts  in  the  Monongahela  country  at  this  time,  however,  and  it  is 
unlikely  that  this  William  Stewart  is  the  one  who  gave  Stewart's  Crossing 
its  name  in  the  1750's. 

67  Matthew  Hillast,  or  Hillis,  whose  claim  only  partly  infringed  on  Wash- 


292 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

has  within  my  line  k  abt. 

7  Acres  of  Meadow 
3  besides,  Arable— also 
a  small  double  Barn. — 

Brice  McGeechen68 

3  Acres  of  Meadows 

20  Do       arable— under 

good  fencing.— A  small  new  Barn  good. — 

Duncan  McGeechen69 

2  Acres  of  Meadow 

38  Do      Arable  Land 

A  good  single  Barn,  dwelling  House  spring  House  and  several 

other  Houses.— the  Plantation  under  good  fencing. 

David  Reed70 

claimed  by  the  last  mentioned  (Duncan  McGeechen) 

2  Acres  of  Meadow 

18  Do      Arable  Land 

No  body  living  on  this  place  at  present — the  dwelling  House 

and  fencing  in  bad  order. 

John  Reed  Esquire71 
4  Acres  of  Meadow 
38  Do  Arable  Do 


ington's,  had  the  satisfaction  of  eventually  buying  ninety-nine  acres  of  the 
Miller's  Run  lands  in  1802.  Hillis  bought  it  from  Alexander  Addison,  who  had 
acquired  it  from  Matthew  Ritchie,  who  had  bought  it  from  Washington. 

68  The  McGeechens  appear  in  the  court  records  of  the  ejectment  suit  as 
McGeehen,  but  do  not  appear  to  be  traceable  further  than  that  under  either 
name. 

69  See  note  above. 

70  David  and  John  Reed,  brothers,  were  natives  of  Lancaster  County, 
Pennsylvania.  They  settled  on  the  Miller's  Run  lands  in  1777.  John  had  be- 
come a  justice  of  the  peace  in  1781,  hence  the  Esquire  after  his  name.  They 
have  descendants  in  the  area. 

71  See  note  above. 


293 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

A  Small  dwelling  House — but  Logs  for  a  large  one,  a  Still 
House — good  Land — and  fencing 

David  Reed 
2  Acres  of  Meadow 
17  Do  Arable. 
A  good  logged  dwelling  House  with  a  bad  Roof—  several  other 
small  Houses  and  an  indifferent  Barn,  or  Stable — bad  fences; 
but  very  good  Land 

William  Hillas72 
20  Acres  of  Arable  Land 
No  Meadow. 
But  one  house,  and  that  indifferent — fences  not  good 

John  Glen73 
2  or  3  Acres  of  Meadow  within  my  Line— his  plantation 
and  the  rest  of  his  Land  without. — 

James  Scott.74 

72  Probably  a  relative  of  Matthew  Hillast  of  note  67  above. 

73  John  Glen  is  not  further  identified.  There  were  several  Glenn  families 
in  the  area  at  the  time,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  man  Washington  dealt  with 
spelled  his  name  with  a  second  N. 

74  The  ejectment  of  James  Scott  would  appear  to  have  had  the  most  far- 
reaching  consequences  socially.  Crawford  had  built  a  cabin  on  the  land  as 
proof  of  occupancy — a  common  procedure.  Scott  was  bold  enough  to  live 
in  a  house  which  stood  athwart  Crawford's  cabin  door.  In  1796,  along  with 
many  other  residents  of  Washington  County,  Scott  had  moved  into  the  newly- 
opened  Beaver  Valley.  Here,  too,  the  land  was  claimed  by  an  eastern  specu- 
lator. In  August  of  1796,  the  settlers— or  squatters— met  at  James  Scott's  to 
organize  an  association  to  protect  their  claims.  The  organization  launched 
at  that  time — which  was  known  as  the  Actual  Settlers — became  a  potent 
force  in  anti-Federalist  (and  therefore  anti-Washington)  politics  in  Western 
Pennsylvania  for  many  years.  The  attorney  for  the  Actual  Settlers  was  Hugh 
Henry  Brackenridge,  who  had  earlier  represented  the  Miller's  Run  settlers. 
The  business  agent  and  organizer  of  the  Actual  Settlers,  John  B.  C.  Lucas, 
used  the  organization  as  a  springboard  to  the  state  legislature  and  eventually 
Congress.  One  of  the  chief  opponents  of  the  Actual  Settlers  was  Judge  Alex- 
ander Addison,  who  had  bought  the  Miller's  Run  lands.  Addison  and  Lucas 


294- 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

Placed  on  the  Land  by  Thomas  Lapsley75 — has  17  Acres  under 

good  fencing — only  a  dwelling  House  (which  stops  the  door 

of  a  Cabbin  built  by  Captn.  Crawford)  white  oak  Land — rather 

thin— but  good  bottom  to  clear  for  Meadow. — 

Matthew  Johnson76 

2  Acres  of  Meadow 

24  Do       Arable  Land 

a  good  logged  house— Materials  for  a  dble  Barn— very  gd. 

Land,  but  indifferent  fences 

James  Scott, 
a  large  Plantation — about 
70  Acres  of  Arable  Land 
4  Do       of  improved  Meadow 
Much  more  may  be  made  into  Meadow. — the  Land  very  good, 
as  the  fences  also  are — A  Barn  dwelling  House  and  some  other 
Houses. — 

The  foregoing  are  all  the  Improvements  upon  this  Tract 
which  contains  2813  Acres 

The  Land  is  leveller  than  is  common  to  be  met  with  in  this 
part  of  the  Country,  and  good;  the  principal  part  of  it  is  white 
oak,  intermixed  in  many  places  with  black  oak;  and  is  estemed 
a  valuable  tract. 

Dined  at  David  Reeds,  after  which  Mr.  James  Scot  and 
Squire  Reed  began  to  enquire  whether  I  would  part  with  the 
Land,  and  upon  what  terms;  adding,  that  tho'  they  did  not 
conceive  they  could  be  dispossessed,  yet  to  avoid  contention, 


were  bitter  opponents  in  a  famous  political  battle  which  was  an  important 
chapter  in  the  downfall  of  Federalism  in  Pennsylvania.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  struggle  began  with  the  Washington  ejectment  suit. 

75  Thomas  Lapsley  is  not  otherwise  identified. 

76  Matthew  Johnson,  or  Johnston,  had  bought  his  land  the  previous  year 
from  one  David  Long. 


295 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

they  would  buy,  if  my  terms  were  Moderate.  I  told  them  I 
had  no  inclination  to  sell;  however,  after  hearing  a  great  deal 
of  their  hardships,  their  Religious  principles  (which  had  brought 
them  together  as  a  society  of  Ceceders) 77  and  unwillingness  to 
seperate  or  remove;  I  told  them  I  would  make  them  a  last 
offer  and  this  was— the  whole  tract  at  25  S.  pr.  Acre,  the  money 
to  be  paid  at  3  annual  payments  with  Interest;— or  to  become 
Tenants  upon  leases  of  999  years,  at  the  annual  Rent  of  Ten 
pounds  pr.  Ct.  pr.  Ann. — The  former  they  had  a  long  consulta- 
tion upon,  and  asked  if  I  wd.  take  that  price  at  a  longer  credit 
without  Interest,  and  being  answered  in  the  Negative  they 
then  determined  to  stand  suit  for  the  Land;  but  it  having  been 
suggested  that  there  were  among  them  some  who  were  disposed 
to  relinquish  their  claim,  I  told  them  I  would  receive  their 
answers  individually;  and  accordingly  by  calling  them  as  they 
stood 

James  Scott  Brice  McGeechin       Duncan  McGeechin 

William  Stewart       Thomas  Biggar  Matthew  Johnson 

Thomas  Lapsley        David  Reed  John  Reed  and 

James  McBride  William  Hillas  John  Glen 

James  McBride 
they  severally  answered,  that  they  meant  to  stand  suit,  and 
abide  the  Issue  of  the  Law. 

This  business  being  thus  finished,  I  returned  to  Colo.  Can- 
nons in  Company  with  himself,  Colo.  Nevil,78  Captn.  Swear- 

77  It  is  almost  certain  that  these  "seceders,"  or  Presbyterians,  had  as  their 
pastor  the  Reverend  John  McMillan,  a  noted  pioneer  clergyman  of  the  area. 

78  Although  Washington  later  refers  to  Colonel  Neville  as  "Josh  Neville" 
and  Joseph  Neville,  he  must  have  meant  Colonel  John  Neville.  To  the  editor's 
knowledge,  there  was  no  Colonel  Joseph  Neville  in  the  Monongahela  Valley 
in  this  period.  John  Neville,  however,  settled  in  Western  Pennsylvania  in 
the  1770's  after  having  served  under  Braddock  as  a  Virginian.  He  had  com- 
manded Fort  Pitt  during  the  early  period  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  then 


296- 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

ingin79  (high  Sherif)  and  a  Captn.  Richie,80  who  had  accom- 
panied me  to  the  Land. 

21st.  Accompanied  by  Colo.  Cannon  and  Captn.  Swearingin 
who  attended  me  to  Debores  ferry  on  the  Monongahela  which 
seperates  the  Counties  of  Fayette  and  Washington,  I  returned 
to  Gilbert  Simpson's  in  the  afternoon;  after  dining  at  one 
Wickermans81  Mill  near  the  Monongahela. 

Colo.  Cannon,  Capt.  Sweringin  and  Captn.  Richie  all  prom- 
ised to  hunt  up  the  evidences  which  could  prove  my  possession 
and  improvement  of  the  Land  before  any  of  the  present  Occu- 
piers ever  saw  it. 

22d.  After  giving  instructions  to  Major  Thomas  Freeman 
respecting  his  conduct  in  my  busines,  and  disposing  of  my 
Baggage  which  was  left  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Gilbert  Simpson 


had  served  for  the  duration  of  the  war  in  the  east,  where  he  rose  to  the  rank 
of  Colonel.  After  holding  several  state  offices  during  the  Confederation  period, 
he  eventually  became  tax  collector  for  the  western  counties,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, had  his  home  burned  during  the  Whiskey  Insurrection.  This  rebellious 
act  led  to  a  train  of  events  which  brought  Washington  back  to  the  west 
again  in  1 794,  not  as  a  friendly  private  citizen,  but  as  the  commander  of  an 
army  prepared  for  civil  war. 

79  Captain  Van  Swearingen  appears  at  first  to  have  gone  throughout  life 
without  a  first  name,  until  it  is  discovered  that  his  family  name  was  simply 
Swearingen  and  that  his  given  name  was  Van.  "Indian  Van,"  as  he  was 
called,  was  a  celebrated  Indian  fighter  and  soldier.  In  the  early  days  of  the 
Revolution,  he  served  with  the  Westmoreland  County  Militia  against  the 
Indians  of  the  Allegheny  Valley.  From  this  post,  he  went  to  the  8th  Penn- 
sylvania regiment  and  transferred  from  it  to  Morgan's  Rifle  Corps.  He  par- 
ticularly distinguished  himself  in  action  at  Saratoga.  As  a  returning  hero,  he 
had  been  elected  Sheriff  of  Washington  County  in  1781.  His  daughter  married 
the  famous  Indian  fighter  and  scout,  Samuel  Brady. 

80  In  later  years,  Matthew  Ritchie  was  Washington's  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania land  agent,  and,  in  1796,  bought  the  Miller's  Run  lands  from  George 
Washington. 

81  Adam  Wickerham  lived  within  the  boundaries  of  the  present  city  of 
Monongahela,  Pennsylvania. 


297 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

— consisting  of  two  leather  and  one  linnen  Valeses  with  my 
Marquee  and  horseman's  Tent  Tent  Poles  and  Pins — all  my 
bedding  except  Sheets  (which  I  take  home  with  me)  the  equip- 
age Trunk  containing  all  that  was  put  into  it  except  the  Silver 
Cups  and  Spoons — Canteens — two  Kegs  of  Spirits — Horse 
Shoes  &ca.  I  set  out  for  Beason  Town,82  in  order  to  meet  with, 
and  engage  Mr.  Thos.  Smith83  to  bring  ejectments,  and  to 
prosecute  my  Suit84  for  the  Land  in  Washington  County,  on 
which  those,  whose  names  are  herein  inserted,  are  settled. 
Reached  Beason  Town  about  dusk  about  (the  way  I  came) 
18  Miles. 

Note. — in  my  equipage  Trunk  and  the  Canteens — were  Ma- 
deira and  Port  Wine— Cherry  bounce— Oyl,  Mustard— Vine- 
gar—and  Spices  of  all  sorts — Tea,  and  Sugar  in  the  Camp 
Kettles  (a  whole  loaf  of  white  sugar  broke  up  about  7  lbs. 
weight)  the  Camp  Kettles  are  under  a  lock,  as  the  Canteens 
and  Trunk  also  are— My  fishing  lines  are  in  the  Canteens. 

At  Beason  Town  I  met  with  Captn  Hardin85  who  informed 

82  Beeson's  Town  was  an  early  name  for  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania.  It 
took  its  name  from  Henry  Beeson,  the  founder  of  the  city,  who  was  a  mill 
operator. 

83  Thomas  Smith,  a  native  of  Scotland  who  had  attended  the  University 
of  Edinburgh,  came  to  America  in  1769  and  began  the  practice  of  law  in 
Bedford,  Pennsylvania.  After  holding  various  local  offices,  he  identified  him- 
self with  the  patriot  cause  in  1775  as  a  member  of  a  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence, and  in  1776  was  a  delegate  to  the  Pennsylvania  Constitutional 
Convention  of  that  year.  From  1780  to  1782,  he  was  a  member  of  Congress. 
In  1 784  he  was  in  Beeson's  Town  "following  the  circuit"— that  is,  as  a  lawyer, 
he  followed  the  circuit  judges  who  rode  from  county  seat  to  county  seat 
hearing  cases.  In  1794,  Smith  was  named  to  the  Pennsylvania  Supreme  Court. 
In  1804,  the  Republicans  tried  to  remove  him  from  office,  but  failed.  He  con- 
tinued to  serve  until  1809. 

84  The  suit  was  won  by  Smith  for  Washington  before  the  Pennsylvania 
Supreme  Court  in  October  of  1786. 

85  John  Hardin  had  been  born  in  Virginia  about  1753.  His  father,  Martin, 


298 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

me,  as  I  had  before  been  informed  by  others,  that  the  West 
fork  of  Monongahela  communicates  very  nearly  with  the  wa- 
ters of  the  little  Kanhawa— that  the  Portage  does  not  exceed 
Nine  Miles— and  that  a  very  good  Waggon  Road  may  be  had 
between— That  from  the  Mouth  of  the  River  Cheat  to  that  of 
the  West  Fork,86  is  computed  to  be  30  Miles,  and  the  Naviga- 
tion good — as  it  also  is  up  the  West  fork,  that  the  South  or 
Main  branch87  of  the  Monongahela  has  considerable  impedi- 
ments in  the  Way;  and  were  it  otherwise,  would  not  answer 
the  purpose  of  a  communication  with  the  North  or  South  Branch 
of  the  Potomack  from  the  westerly  direction  in  which  it  runs. 
That  the  Cheat  River,  tho'  rapid  and  bad,  has  been  navigated 
to  the  Dunkard  bottom88  about  25  Miles  from  its  Mouth  and 
that  he  has  understood  a  good  way  may  be  had  from  thence 
to  the  North  branch,  which  he  thinks  must  be  about  30  Miles 
distant.  He  also  adds,  that  from  the  Settlemts.  on  the  East  of 
the  Alligany,89  to  Monongahela  Court  House90  on  the  West, 
it  is  reported  a  very  good  Road  may  be  opened,  and  is  already 
marked;  from  whence  to  the  Navigable  Water  of  the  little 
Kanhawa  is  abt.       Miles. 

had  moved  to  George's  Creek  in  the  Monongahela  Valley  about  1765.  Like 
Swearingen,  he  had  first  served  with  the  Militia  against  the  Senecas  in  1776 
and  had  then  enlisted  in  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  and  had  served  with  Morgan's 
Rifle  Corps.  In  1786  he  moved  to  Kentucky.  In  1792,  as  a  brigadier  general 
of  the  Kentucky  Militia,  he  was  killed  by  Indians  in  Ohio. 

86  The  West  Fork  of  the  Monongahela  joins  the  Tygart  River  (which  is 
the  east  fork)  at  Fairmont,  West  Virginia. 

87  The  Tygart  River. 

88  Dunkard  Bottom,  on  the  Cheat  River  in  Preston  County,  West  Virginia, 
was  settled  in  1754  by  three  brothers  named  Eckarly,  members  of  the  Dunkard 
sect.  Indians  wiped  out  the  settlement  shortly  afterwards,  but  the  name 
continued. 

89  The  reference  here  is  to  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  of  course,  and  not 
to  the  Allegheny  River. 

90  Present  Morgantown,  West  Virginia. 


299 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

From  this  information  I  resolved  to  return  home  that  way; 
and  my  Baggage  under  the  care  of  Doctr.  Craik  and  Son,  hav- 
ing from  Simpsons,  taken  the  Rout  by  the  New  (or  Turkey 
foot)  Road  as  it  is  called  (which  is  said  to  be  20  Miles  near[er] 
than  Braddocks)  with  a  view  to  make  a  more  minute  enquiry 
into  the  Navigation  of  the  Yohiogany  Waters.  My  Nephew 
and  I  set  out  about  Noon,  with  one  Colo.  Philips91  for  Cheat 
River;  after  I  had  engaged  Mr.  Smith  to  undertake  my  business 
and  had  given  him  such  information  as  I  was  able  to  do. 

Note,  It  is  adjudged  proper  to  ascertain  the  date  of  the 
Warr[an]t  to  Captn.  Posey92 — and  the  identity  of  his  hand 
writing  to  his  Bond  to  me;  the  latter  so  as  to  give  it  authenticity 
— as  also  the  date  of  Lewis's93  return,  on  which  my  Patent 
Issued  because  if  this  is  antecedent  to  the  settlement  of  the 
occupiers  of  my  Land,  it  will  put  the  matter  out  of  all  kind 
of  dispute;  as  the  claim  of  those  people  rests  upon  their  pos- 
sessing the  Land  before  I  had  any  legal  Survey  of  it — not 
viewing  Crawfords  as  authentic.  'Tis  advisable  also,  to  know 
whether  any  location  of  it  was  ever  made  in  the  Land,  or  Sur- 
veyors Office,  and  the  date  of  such  Entry— and  likewise,  what 
Ordainance  it  is  Captn.  Crawford  speaks  of  in  his  Letter  of 
the  20th  of  Septr.  1776  which  passed  he  says  at  the  last  Con- 

91  Colonel  Theophilus  Phillips  lived  near  present  New  Geneva,  Pennsyl- 
vania. For  a  period,  meetings  of  the  Monongahela  County  Court  were  held 
at  his  home. 

92  Captain  John  Posey  lived  adjacent  to  Washington's  Mount  Vernon 
estate.  As  a  veteran  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  Captain  Posey  was  en- 
titled to  a  grant  of  land.  Washington  had  bought  Posey's  rights  to  such  a 
grant,  and  had  selected  the  Miller's  Run  lands. 

93  Thomas  Lewis  had  been  the  Surveyor  of  Augusta  County,  Virginia, 
at  the  time  Crawford  surveyed  the  Miller's  Run  lands  for  Washington.  Pres- 
ent Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  was  part  of  Augusta  County,  Vir- 
ginia, at  the  time. 


300« 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

vention,  for  saving  equitable  claims  on  the  Western  Waters.94 

23d.  Arrived  at  Colo.  Philips  abt.  five  oclock  in  the  after- 
noon 16  Miles  from  Beason  Town  and  near  the  Mouth  of  Cheat 
Rivr.  the  land  thro'  wch.  I  rid  was  for  the  most  part  tolerably 
level — in  some  places  rich — but  in  general  of  a  second  quality 
— crossed  no  water  of  consequence  except  Georges  Creek. 

An  Apology  made  to  me  from  the  Court  of  Fayette  (thro' 
Mr.  Smith)  for  not  addressing  me;95  as  they  found  my  Horses 
Saddled  and  myself  on  the  move. 

Finding  by  enquiries,  that  the  Cheat  River  had  been  passed 
with  Canoes  thro'  those  parts  which  had  been  represented  as 
impassable— and  that  a  Captn.  Hanway96 — the  Surveyor  of 
Monongahela  County  lived  within  two  or  three  Miles  of  it, 
South  side  thereof;  I  resolved  to  pass  it  to  obtain  further  infor- 
mation, and  accordingly  (accompanied  by  Colo.  Philips)  set 
of  in  the  Morning  of  the 

24th.  And  crossed  it  at  the  Mouth,  as  it  was  thought  the 
River  was  too  much  swelled  to  attempt  the  ford  a  little  higher 
up.— the  fork  was  about  2  Miles  and  half  from  Colo.  Philips 
and  the  ground  betw.  very  hilly  tho'  rich  in  places. 

The  Cheat  at  the  Mouth  is  about  125  yds.  wide— the  Monon- 
gahela near  d[ou]ble  that— the  colour  of  the  two  Waters  is 
very  differt.,  that  of  Cheat  is  dark  (occasioned  as  is  conjectured 

94  The  Virginia  Convention  in  the  revolutionary  year  of  1776  had  made 
provisions  for  legalizing  claims  in  the  Western  Country  which  had  been 
established  under  the  former  government. 

95  As  the  late  commander  in  chief,  Washington  would  ordinarily  have 
been  "addressed"  by  the  court  in  a  county  seat  town — that  is,  ceremonial 
speeches  would  have  been  made  and  the  former  general  would  have  had  to 
reply.  In  his  younger  days,  Washington  would  have  welcomed  the  honor; 
now  he  was  no  doubt  glad  to  escape  it. 

96  Captain  Samuel  Hanway  held  the  post  Washington  indicated.  His  office 
was  at  the  home  of  John  Pierpont. 


301 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

by  the  Laurel,  among  which  it  rises,  and  through  which  it  runs) 
the  other  is  clear;  and  there  appears  a  repugnancy  in  both  to 
mix,  as  there  is  a  plain  line  of  division  betwn.  the  two  for  some 
distance  below  the  fork;  which  holds,  I  am  told  near  a  Mile. 
— the  Cheat  keeps  to  the  right  shore  as  it  descends,  and  the 
other  the  left. 

The  Line  which  divides  the  Commonwealths  of  Virginia  and 
Pensylvania  crosses  both  these  Rivers  about  two  Miles  up  each 
from  the  point  of  fork  and  the  Land  between  them  is  high  as 
the  line  runs  being  a  ridge  which  seperates  the  two  Waters — 
but  higher  up  the  fork  a  good  road  (it  is  said)  may  be  had 
from  one  River  to  the  other. 

From  the  Fork  to  the  Surveyors  Office,  which  is  at  the  house 
of  one  Pierpoint,97  is  about  8  Miles  along  the  dividing  Ridge — 
at  this  Office  I  could  obtain  no  information  of  any  Surveys  or 
En  trie  made  for  me  by  Captn.  Wm.  Crawford;  but  from  an 
examination  of  his  books  it  appeared  pretty  evident  that  the 
2500  acres  which  he  (Crawford)  had  surveyed  for  and  offered 
to  me  on  the  little  Kanhawa  (adjoining  the  large  survey  under 
the  proclamation  of  1754)  he  had  entered  for  Mr.  Robert 
Rutherford98— and  that  the  other  tract  in  the  fork  between  the 
Ohio  and  little  Kanhawa  had  been  entered  by  Doctr.  Briscoe99 
and  Sons. 

Pursuing  my  enquiries  respecting  the  Navigation  of  the  West- 
ern Waters,  Captn.  Hanway  proposed,  I  would  stay  all  Night, 
to  send  to  Monongahela  Ct.  House  at  Morgan  town,  for  Colo. 

97  John  Pierpont  lived  at  present  Easton,  West  Virginia. 

98  Robert  Rutherford  was  an  early  settler  in  present  Wood  County,  West 
Virginia. 

99  Dr.  John  Briscoe  had  originally  settled  on  Washington's  Round  Bottom 
tract  below  present  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.  On  learning  that  the  land 
was  already  claimed,  he  moved  to  the  tract  adjoining. 


302- 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

Zachl.  Morgan100  and  others;101  who  would  have  it  in  their 
power  to  give  the  best  accts.  that  were  to  be  obtained,  which, 
assenting  to,  they  were  sent  for  and  came,  and  from  them  I 
received  the  following  intelligence  viz — 

That  from  the  fork  of  Monongahela  and  Cheat,  to  the  Court  House  at 
Morgan  Town,  is,  by  Water,  about  1 1  Miles,  and  from  thence  to  the 
West  fork  of  the  former  is  18  More— from  thence  to  the  carrying 
place  between  it  and  a  branch  of  the  little  Kanhawa,  at  a  place  called 
Bulls  town,102  is  about  40  Miles  by  Land— more  by  Water— and  the 
Navigation  good.  The  carrying  place  is  nine  Miles  and  an  half  be- 
tween the  navigable  parts  of  the  two  Waters;  and  a  good  Road 
between;  there  being  only  one  hill  in  the  way,  and  that  not  bad — 
hence  to  ye  Mo.  of  the  Kanhawa  is  50  Miles. 

That  from  Monongahela  Court  House  13  Miles  along  the  New 
Road103  which  leads  into  Braddock's  Road,  East  of  the  winding  ridge, 

100  Colonel  Zackquill  Morgan  founded  Morgantown,  West  Virginia,  in 
1768.  His  military  title  was  earned  as  a  Militia  officer  during  the  Revolution, 
when  he  saw  action  against  Tories  and  Indians  in  the  Ohio  Valley. 

101  Among  the  "others"  who  gathered  at  the  surveyor's  office  to  discuss 
local  geography  with  Washington  was  Albert  Gallatin,  who  only  that  year 
had  settled  at  the  mouth  of  George's  Creek  on  the  Monongahela  at  present 
New  Geneva,  Pennsylvania.  Washington  had  been  interrogating  the  crowd 
of  settlers  and  hunters  gathered  in  the  surveyor's  rough  log  office,  and  was 
busily  calculating  some  relative  mileages.  Young  Gallatin,  with  the  gift  for 
mathematical  calculation  which  he  later  displayed  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
under  three  presidents,  brashly  volunteered  the  answer  to  Washington. 
Washington  replied  with  what  Gallatin  considered  the  most  withering  look 
he  had  ever  encountered.  But  after  what  must  have  seemed  an  eternity  to 
young  Gallatin,  Washington  acknowledged,  "You  are  right,  sir."  Thus  was 
launched  a  relationship  which  was  to  see,  in  due  time,  Gallatin  become  the 
leading  opponent,  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  of  Wash- 
ington, as  President. 

102  Bullstown  was  an  Indian  village  on  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Little 
Kanawha  in  present  northern  Braxton  County,  West  Virginia. 

103  Roughly,  present  West  Virginia  State  Route  73  to  Bruceton  Mills, 
and  West  Virginia  State  Route  26  and  Pennsylvania  State  Route  281  to 
U.  S.  Route  40. 


303 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

and  McCulloch's  path,  to  one  Joseph  Logston's104  on  the  North  branch 
of  Potomack  is  about  40  Miles — that  this  way  passes  through  Sandy 
Creek  glades,  and  the  glades  of  Yohiogany,  and  may  be  good — but, 
if  the  Road  should  go  from  Clark's  Town105  on  the  Western  fork  of 
Monongahela,  15  Miles  below  the  carrying  place  to  the  aforesaid 
Logston's  it  would  cross  the  Tyger  Valley  River  (the  largest  branch 
of  Monongahela)  above  the  falls  therein,  go  through  the  glades  of 
Monongahela;  cross  Cheat  River  at  the  Dunkers  bottom  (25  Miles 
from  its  Mouth)  and  thence  through  the  Glades  of  Yohiogany — in 
all  fm.  ye  Kaha.  85  Miles.106 

That  the  Cheat  River  where  it  runs  through  the  Laurel  hill  is,  in 
their  opinion,  so  incomoded  with  large  Rock  stones,  rapid  and  dashing 
water  from  one  Rock  to  another,  as  to  become  impassable;  especially 
as  they  do  not  think  a  passage  sufficient  to  admit  a  Canal  can  be  found 
between  the  Hills  and  the  common  bed  of  the  River — but  of  these 
matters  none  of  them  pretended  to  speak  from  actual  knowledge,  or 
observation;  but  from  Report,  and  partial  views. 

That  from  these  rapids  to  the  Dunkers  bottom,  and  four  Miles 
above,  the  Navigation  is  very  good; — after  which  for  8  Miles,  the 
River  is  very  foul,  and  worse  to  pass  than  it  is  through  the  Laurel 
hill;  but  from  thence  upwards  thro'  the  horse  Shoe  bottom,  and  many 
Miles  higher,  it  is  again  good,  and  fit  for  transportation;  but  (tho' 
useful  to  the  Inhabitants  thereof)  will  conduce  nothing  to  the  general 
plan,  as  it  is  thought  no  part  of  the  Cheat  River  runs  nearer  to  the 
navigable  part  of  the  No.  branch  of  Potomack  than  the  Dunkers  bot- 
tom does,  which  they  add  is  about  25  Miles  of  good  road.  From  the 
Dunkers  bottom  to  Clarkes  Town  they  estimate  35  Miles,  and  say 
the  Tyger  Valley  fork  of  the  Monongahela  affords  good  navigation 
above  the  falls107  which  is  7  Miles  only  from  the  Mouth,  and  is  a 
Cater  act  of  25  feet. 

104  Joseph  Logston  lived  on  the  Maryland  side  of  the  North  Branch  of  the 
Potomac,  roughly  opposite  present  Gormania,  West  Virginia. 

105  Present  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia. 

106  The  last  two  routes  described,  by  avoiding  the  mouth  of  the  Cheat 
River,  would  be  all- Virginia  routes  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Ohio.  The 
mouth  of  the  Cheat  is,  of  course,  in  Pennsylvania. 

107  The  Falls  of  the  Tygart  are  north  of  present  Grafton,  West  Virginia. 


304  - 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

25th.  Having  obtained  the  foregoing  information,  and  be- 
ing indeed  somewhat  discouraged  from  the  acct.  given  of  the 
passage  of  the  Cheat  River  through  Laurel  hill  and  also  from 
attempting  to  return  by  the  way  of  the  Dunkers  bottom,  as  the 
path  it  is  said  is  very  blind  and  exceedingly  grown  up  with 
briers,  I  resolved  to  try  the  other  Rout,  along  the  New  Road 
to  Sandy  Creek;  and  thence  by  McCullochs  path  to  Logstons; 
and  accordingly  set  out  before  Sunrise. 

Within  3  Miles  I  came  to  the  River  Cheat  abt.  7  Miles  from 
its  Mouth — at  a  ferry  kept  by  one  Ice;108  of  whom  making 
enquiry,  I  learnt  that  he  himself,  had  passed  from  the  Dunkers 
bottom  both  in  Canoes  and  with  Rafts.  That  a  new  Canoe 
which  I  saw  at  his  Landing  had  come  down  the  day  before  only, 
(the  owner  of  which  had  gone  to  Sandy  Creek) — that  the  first 
rapid  was  about  lj^  Miles  above  his  ferry — that  it  might  be 
between  50  and  100  yards  thro'  it— that  from  this  to  the  Next, 
might  be  a  Mile,  of  good  water — That  these  2  Rapids  were 
much  alike,  and  of  the  same  extent; — that  to  the  next  rapid, 
which  was  the  worst  of  the  three,  it  was  about  5  Miles  of 
smooth  water.  That  the  difficulty  of  passing  these  rapids  lies 
more  in  the  number  of  large  Rocks  which  choak  the  River,  and 
occasion  the  water  not  only  (there  being  also  a  greater  dissent 
here  than  elsewhere)  to  run  swift,  but  meandering  thro'  them 
renders  steerage  dangerous  by  the  sudden  turnings.  That  from 
his  ferry  to  the  Dunkers  bottom,  along  the  River,  is  about  15 
Miles;  and  in  his  opinion,  there  is  room  on  one  side  or  the 
other  of  it  at  each  of  the  Rapids  for  a  Canal. 

This  acct.  being  given  from  the  Man's  own  observation,  who 
seemed  to  have  no  other  meaning  in  what  he  asserted  than  to 
tell  the  truth,  tho'  he,  like  others,  who  for  want  of  competent 

108  Andrew  Ice's  Ferry  is  now  covered  by  the  waters  of  Cheat  Lake. 


305 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

skill  in  these  things  cou'd  not  distinguish  between  real  and 
imaginary  difficulties,  left  no  doubt  on  my  Mind  of  the  prac- 
ticability of  opening  an  easy  passage  by  Water  to  the  Dunker 
bottom.— the  River  at  his  house  may  be  a  hundred  or  more 
yards  wide,  according  to  his  acct.  (which  I  believe  is  rather 
large)  near  a  hundred  miles  by  water  to  Fort  Pitt. 

The  Road  from  Morgan  Town,  or  Monongahela  Ct.  House, 
is  said  to  be  good  to  this  ferry— distance  abt.  6  Miles— the 
dissent  of  the  hill  to  the  River  is  rather  Steep  and  bad— and  the 
assent  from  it,  on  the  North  side,  is  steep  also  tho'  short,  and 
may  be  rendered  much  better;— from  the  ferry  the  Laurel  hill 
is  assended  by  an  easy  and  almost  imperceptible  slope  to  its 
summit  thro'  dry  white  Oak  Land — along  the  top  of  it  the 
Road  continues  for  some  distance,  but  is  not  so  good;  as  the 
Soil  is  richer,  deeper  and  more  stony,  which  inconveniences  (for 
good  roads)  also  attends  the  dissent  on  the  East  side,  tho'  it  is 
regular,  and  in  no  places  steep.  After  crossing  this  hill  the 
road  is  very  good  to  the  ford  of  Sandy  Creek  at  one  James 
Spurgeons109  abt.  15  Miles  from  Ice's  ferry. 

At  the  crossing  of  this  Creek  McCullochs  path,  which  owes 
its  origen  to  Buffaloes,  being  no  other  than  their  tracks  from 
one  lick  to  another  and  consequently  crooked  and  not  well 
chosen,  strikes  off  from  the  New  road  which  passes  great 
Yohiogany  15  Miles  further  on,  and  enters  Braddock  Road  at 
the  place  before  mentioned,  at  the  distance  of  22  Miles. 

From  Spurgeon's  to  one  Lemons,110  which  is  a  little  to  the 
right  of  McCullochs  path,  is  reckoned  9  Miles,  and  the  way 
not  bad;  but  from  Lemons  to  the  entrance  of  the  Yohiogany 

109  James  and  John  Spurgeon  settled  in  Sandy  Creek  Glades  of  present 
Preston  County,  West  Virginia,  as  early  as  1767. 

110  Lemon  is  not  otherwise  identified.  Since  he  acted  as  a  guide  for  Wash- 
ington for  several  days,  he  probably  had  been  in  the  country  for  some  time. 


306' 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

glades  which  is  estimated  9  Miles  more  thro'  a  deep  rich  Soil 
in  some  places  and  a  very  rocky  one  in  others,  with  steep  hills 
and  what  is  called  the  briery  Mountains111  to  cross  is  intoler- 
able but  these  might  be  eased  and  a  much  better  way  found  if 
a  little  pains  was  taken  to  slant  them. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  above  glades  I  lodged  this  night,  with 
no  other  shelter  or  cover  than  my  cloak  and  was  unlucky 
enough  to  have  a  heavy  shower  of  Rain — our  horses  also  were 
turned  loose  to  cater  for  themselves  having  nothing  to  give  them 
— from  this  place  my  guide  (Lemon)  informed  me  that  the 
Dunkers  bottom  was  not  more  than  8  Miles  from  us. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe,  that  Sandy  Creek  has  a  fall 
within  a  few  miles  of  its  Mouth  of  40  feet,  and  being  rapid 
besides,  affords  no  navigation  at  all. 

26th.  Having  found  our  Horses  readily  (for  they  nevr.  lost 
sight  of  our  fire)  we  started  at  the  dawning  of  day,  and  pass- 
ing along  a  small  path  much  enclosed  with  weeds  and  bushes, 
loaded  with  Water  from  the  overnights  rain  and  the  showers 
which  were  continually  falling,  we  had  an  uncomfortable  travel 
to  one  Charles  friends,112  about  10  Miles;  where  we  could  get 
nothing  for  our  horses,  and  only  boiled  Corn  for  ourselves. 

In  this  distance,  excepting  two  or  three  places  which  abounded 
in  Stone,  and  no  advantage  taken  of  the  hills  (which  were  not 
large)  we  found  the  ground  would  admit  an  exceedingly  good 
Waggon  Road  with  a  little  causeying113  of  some  parts  of  the 
Glades;  the  Ridges  between  being  chiefly  white  oak  land,  inter- 
mixed with  grit  and  Stone. 

Part  of  these  glades  is  the  property  of  Govr.  Johnson114  of 

111  Briery  Mountain  is  near  present  Cranesville,  Preston  County,  W.Va. 

112  Now  Oakland,  Garrett  County,  Maryland. 

113  Construction  of  a  raised  road  through  marshy  ground. 

114  Governor  Thomas  Johnson  of  Maryland,  a  friend  of  Washington's  and 
leader  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 


307 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Maryland  who  has  settled  two  or  three  families  of  Palatines115 
upon  them.  These  glades  have  a  pretty  appearance,  resembling 
cultivated  Lands  and  improved  Meadows  at  a  distance;  with 
woods  here  and  there  interspersed.  Some  of  them  are  rich,  with 
black  and  lively  Soil— others  are  of  a  stiffer,  and  colder  Nature 
— all  of  them  feel,  very  early,  the  effect  of  frost — the  growth 
of  them,  is  a  grass,  not  much  unlike  what  is  called  fancy  grass, 
without  the  variegated  colours  of  it;  much  intermixed  in  places 
with  fern  and  other  weeds,  as  also  with  alder  and  other  Shrubs. 
The  Land  between  these  glades  is  chiefly  white  oak,  on  a  dry 
stony  Soil.  In  places  there  are  Walnut  and  Crab  tree  bottoms, 
which  are  very  rich.  The  glades  are  not  so  level  as  one  would 
imagine — in  general  they  rise  from  the  small  water  courses 
which  run  through  all  of  them  to  the  Ridges  which  seperate 
one  from  another — but  they  are  highly  beneficial  to  the  cir- 
cumjacent Country  from  whence  the  Cattle  are  driven  to  pas- 
ture in  the  Spring  and  recalled  at  Autumn. 

A  Mile  before  I  came  to  Friends,  I  crossed  the  Great  branch 
of  Yohiogany,  which  is  about  25  or  30  yards  over;  and  impass- 
able, according  to  his  acct.  between  that  and  Braddocks  Road 
on  acct.  of  the  Rapidity  of  the  Water,  quantity  of  Stone,  and 
Falls  therein — but  these  difficulties,  in  the  eyes  of  a  proper 
examiner,  might  be  found  altogether  imaginary;  and  if  so,  the 
Navigation  of  the  Yohiogany  and  No.  Branch  of  Potomack 
may  be  brought  within  10  Miles  and  a  good  Waggon  Road 
betwn.;  but  then,  the  Yohiogany  lyes  altogether  in  the  State 
of  Pensylvania  whose  inclination  (regardless  of  the  interest 
of  that  part  which  lyes  West  of  the  Laurel  hill)  would  be  op- 
posed to  the  extension  of  this  navigation,  as  it  would  be  the 

115  Germans  from  the  region  of  the  Rhine  Valley  then  known  as  the 
Palatinate.  Their  descendants  in  Pennsylvania  are  known  today  as  the  Penn- 
sylvania Dutch. 


308 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

inevitable  means  of  withdrawing  from  them  the  trade  of  all 
their  western  territory. 

The  little  Yohiogany  from  Braddocks  Road  to  the  Falls  be- 
low the  Turkey  foot,  or  3  forks,  may,  in  the  opinion  of  Friend, 
who  is  a  great  Hunter,  and  well  acquainted  with  all  the  Waters, 
as  well  as  hills,  having  lived  in  that  Country  and  followed  no 
other  occupation  for  nine  years,  be  made  navigable — and  this, 
were  it  not  for  the  reason  just  assigned,  being  within  22  Miles 
of  Fort  Cumberland,  would  open  a  very  important  door  to  the 
trade  of  that  Country. 

He  is  also  of  opinion  that  a  very  good  road  may  be  had 
from  the  Dunkers  bottom  to  the  No.  Branch  of  Potomack,  at 
or  near  where  McCullochs  path  crosses  it;  and  that  the  distance 
will  not  exceed  22  Miles,  to  pass  by  his  house,  i.e.  10  to  the 
No.  Branch  and  12  to  the  Dunkers  bottom— half  of  which  (10 
or  11  Miles)  will  go  through  the  glades,  white  Oak  ridges 
will  seperate  them. 

There  will  be  an  intervention  of  two  hills  in  this  road— the 
back  bone116  near  the  Branch— and  the  Briery  Mountain  near 
the  Bottom,  both  of  which  may  be  easily  passed  in  the  lowest 
parts  by  judicious  slants,  and  these  with  some  Causeys  in  the 
richest  and  deepest  parts  of  the  glades  will  enable  a  common 
team  to  draw  twenty  hundred  with  ease  from  one  place  to 
the  other. 

From  Friends  I  passed  by  a  spring  (distance  3  Miles)  .  .  . 
crossed  the  back  bone  and  descended  into  Ryans  glade.117 
Thence  by  Thos.  Logston's118  (the  father  of  Joseph) —The  way 

116  Back  Bone  Mountain,  in  southwestern  Garrett  County,  Maryland. 

117  When  Archer  B.  Hulbert  retraced  Washington's  1784  journey  in  1905, 
Ryan's  Glade  was  on  the  farm  of  William  Lower,  southeast  of  Oakland,  Md. 

us  Washington  here  means  "Thence  to  Thomas  Logston's,"  his  ultimate 
destination  for  the  day.  Thomas  Logston  lived  at  the  juncture  of  the  North 
Branch  of  the  Potomac  and  Stony  Creek,  four  miles  down  stream  from  where 
McCulloch's  path  crossed  the  North  Branch  of  the  Potomac. 

.309- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

and  distances  as  follow— to  the  foot  of  the  back  bone,  about  5 
Miles  of  very  good  ground  for  a  Road;  being  partly  glady,  and 
partly  white  Oak  Ridges. — across  the  Ridge  to  Ryans  glade 
One  Mile  and  half  bad,  the  hill  being  steep,  and  in  places  Stony 
— to  Joseph  Logston's119  V/2  Miles  very  good  going— to  the 
No.  Branch  at  McCullochs  path120  2  Miles— infamous  road — 
and  to  Thos.  Logstons121  4  more,  partly  pretty  good,  and  in 
places  very  bad  but  it  has  been  observed  before  to  what  fortu- 
itous circumstances122  the  paths  of  this  Country  owe  their  be- 
ing, and  how  much  the  ways  may  be  better  chosen  by  a  proper 
investigation  of  it;  and  the  distances  from  place  to  place  reduced. 
This  appeared  evident  from  my  own  observation  and  from 
young  Logston,  who  makes  hunting  his  chief  employment;  and 
according  to  his  own  acct.  is  acquainted  with  every  hill  and 
rivulet  between  the  North  Branch  and  the  Dunkers  bottom. 

He  asserts  that  from  Ryan's  glade  to  the  No.  branch,  2  Miles 
below  the  Mouth  of  Stony  River  (wch.  is  about  4  below 
McCullochs  crossing)  a  very  good  Road  may  be  traced,  and 
the  distance  not  more  than  it  is  from  the  same  place  to  the 
crossing  last  mentioned,  which  is  a  circumstance  of  some  im- 
portance as  the  No.  Branch  above  its  junction  with  Stony  River 
(which  of  the  two  seems  to  contain  the  most  water)  would 
hardly  afford  water  for  Navigation. 

He  agrees  precisely  with  Charles  Friends  respecting  the  Na- 

119  In  1905,  Butler  found  Joseph  Logston's  old  homestead  on  the  farm  of 
William  Willdeson. 

120  Gormania,  West  Virginia. 

121  These  last  four  miles  would  be  along  the  North  Branch,  which  is  here 
not  navigable  and  thus  would  require  extending  a  portage  road  to  the  junc- 
ture with  Stony  Creek.  The  road  Washington  is  mentally  outlining  here 
would  connect  the  Potomac  with  the  Ohio  River  by  way  of  the  Cheat  and 
Monongahela. 

122  They  were  former  Buffalo  Paths. 


310< 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

ture  of  the  Road  between  the  North  Branch  and  the  Dunkers 
bottom;  but  insists  upon  it  that  the  distance  will  not  exceed 
20  Miles  and  that  Friends  ought  to  be  left  two  Miles  to  the 
Westward — this  may  acct.  for  their  difference  of  opinion;  the 
latter  wanting  his  House  to  be  introduced  as  a  stage  and  here 
it  may  be  well  to  observe;  that  however  knowing  these  people 
are,  their  accts.  are  to  be  received  with  great  caution — 
compared  with  each  other — and  these  again  with  one's  own 
observatns.;  as  private  views  are  as  prevalent  in  this,  as  any 
other  Country;  and  are  particularly  exemplified  in  the  article 
of  Roads;  which  (where  they  have  been  marked)  seem  calcu- 
lated more  to  promote  individual  interest,  than  the  public  good. 

From  the  reputed  distances,  as  I  have  given  them  from  place 
to  place  between  Monongahela  Court  House  and  the  No. 
branch  at  McCulloch's  ford,  and  description  of  the  country  over 
which  I  travelled,  it  should  seem  that  Colo,  Morgan  and  those 
with  whom  I  had  the  meeting  at  Captn.  Hanway's,  are  mis- 
taken in  two  points. — viz — measurement  and  the  goodness  of 
Road — They  making  the  distance  between  those  places  only 
40  Miles  and  the  way  good,  whereas  by  my  Acct.  the  first  is 
computed  55  Miles  and  a  part  of  the  Road  very  bad — both 
however  are  easily  accounted  for;  the  rout  being  circuitous, 
and  beasts  instead  of  Men  having  traced  it  out.  Altho'  I  was 
seldom  favored  with  a  sight  of  the  Sun  but  handsomely  be- 
sprinkled with  Rain  the  greater  part  of  the  way  it  was  evident 
to  me  that  from  Pierpoints  (Captn.  Han  ways  Quartrs.)  to  the 
crossing  of  Sandy  Creek,  I  rid  in  a  No.  Et.  direction— from 
thence  for  many  Miles  South — and  afterwards  South  Easterly. 

I  could  obtain  no  good  acct.  of  the  Navigation  of  the  No. 
Branch  between  McCulloch's  crossing  and  Will's  Creek  (or 
Fort  Cumberland)  indeed  there  were  scarce  any  persons  of 
whom  enquiries  could  be  made;  for,  from  Lemon's  to  old  Logs- 


311 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

tons  their  is  only  Friend  and  young  Logston  living  on  the  track 
I  came  and  none  on  it  for  20  Miles  below  him — but  in  general 
I  could  gather  from  them,  especially  from  Joseph  Logston,  who 
has  (he  says)  hunted  along  the  Water  course  of  the  River  that 
there  is  no  fall  in  it— that  from  Fort  Cumberland  to  the  Mouth 
of  Savage  River  the  water  being  good  is  frequently  made  use 
of  in  its  present  State  with  Canoes — and  from  thence  upwards, 
is  only  rapid  in  places  with  loose  Rocks  which  can  readily 
be  removed. 

From  the  Mouth  of  Savage  River  the  State  of  Maryland  (as 
I  was  informed)  were  opening  a  Road  to  their  western  bound- 
ary which  was  to  be  met  by  another  which  the  Inhabitants  of 
Monongahela  County  (in  Virginia)  were  extending  to  the  same 
place  from  the  Dunker  bottom  through  the  glades  of  Yohiogany 
making  in  the  aggregate  abt.  35  Miles — this  Road  will  leave 
Friends  according  to  his  Acct.  a  little  to  the  Eastward  and  will 
upon  the  whole  be  a  good  Road  but  not  equal  to  the  one  which 
may  be  traced  from  the  Dunkers  bottom  to  the  No.  Branch 
at,  or  below  the  fork  of  it  and  Stony  River. 

At  this  place — viz  Mr.  Thos.  Logston's  I  met  a  brother  of 
his,  an  intelligent  man,  who  informed  me  that  some  years  ago 
he  had  travelled  from  the  Mouth  of  Carpenters  Creek  (now 
more  generally  known  by  the  name  of  Dunlaps)  a  branch  of 
Jackson's,123  which  is  the  principal  prong  of  James  River  to 
the  Mouth  of  Howards  Creek  wch.  empties  into  the  Green- 
brier a  large  branch  of  New  River  abe.  Great  Kanhawa— that 

123  The  upper  branches  of  Jackson's  Creek,  which  joins  the  James  at 
present  Covington,  Virginia,  run  parallel  to  the  Greenbriar,  a  tributary  of 
the  New  River,  which  in  turn  joins  the  Big  Kanawha.  A  road  between  the 
upper  branches  of  Jackson's  Creek  and  the  Greenbrier  would  connect  the 
James  River  Valley  with  the  Ohio  River  Valley.  The  citizens  of  central  Vir- 
ginia were  naturally  more  interested  in  this  route  than  in  the  Potomac  route. 


312 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

the  distance  between  them  does  not  exceed  20  Miles — and  not 
a  hill  in  the  way.  If  this  be  fact,  and  he  asserts  it  positively,  a 
communication  with  the  Western  Country  that  way,  if  the  falls 
in  the  Great  Kanhawa  (thro  the  gauly  Mountn.)124  Can  be 
rendered  navigable  will  be  as  ready, — perhaps  more  direct  than 
any  other  for  all  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Ohio  and  its  Waters 
below  the  little  Kanhawa— and  that  these  Falls  are  not  so  tre- 
mendous as  some  have  represented  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
from  several  Circumstances— one  of  which,  in  my  mind,  is 
conclusive— so  far  at  least — as  they  do  not  amount  to  a  Cata- 
ract, and  that  is  that  Fish  ascend  them— it  being  agreed  on  all 
hands  that  the  large  Cats  and  other  fish  of  the  Ohio  are  to  be 
met  with  in  great  abundence  in  the  River  above  them. 

27th.  I  left  Mr.  Logston's  a  little  after  daybreak— at  4  Miles 
thro'  bad  road,  occasioned  by  Stone,  I  crossed  the  Stoney 
River;125  which,  as  hath  been  before  observed,  appears  larger 
than  the  No.  Branch— at  Ten  Miles  I  had  by  an  imperceptible 
rise  gained  the  summit  of  the  Alligany  Mountain  and  began  to 
desend  it  where  it  is  very  steep  and  bad  to  the  Waters  of  Patter- 
sons Creek126  which  embraces  those  of  New  Creek127 — along 
the  heads  of  these,  and  crossing  the  Main  Creek128  and  Moun- 
tain bearing  the  same  name129  ...  I  came  to  .  .  .  Fort  pleasant130 
on  the  South  Branch  about  35  Miles  from  Logston  a  little 
before  the  Suns  setting.  .  .  . 

124  Present  Gauley  Bridge,  West  Virginia. 

125  Washington's  route  from  Thomas  Logston's  had  been  along  the  west 
bank  of  Stoney  Creek,  or  River. 

126  Patterson's  Creek  is  a  tributary  of  the  North  Branch  of  the  Potomac. 

127  Another  tributary  of  the  North  Branch. 

128  That  is,  the  main  branch  of  Patterson's  Creek. 

129  Patterson's  Creek  Mountain. 

130  Present  Old  Fields,  Hardy  County,  West  Virginia. 


313 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

28th.  Remained  at  Colonel  Hite's131  all  day  to  refreash  my- 
self and  rest  my  Horses,  having  had  a  very  fatieguing  journey 
thro'  the  Mountains,  occasioned  not  more  from  the  want  of 
accomodation  and  the  real  necessaries  of  life  than  the  showers 
of  Rain  which  were  continually  falling  and  wetting  the  bushes 
— the  passing  of  which,  under  these  circumstances  was  very 
little  better  than  swimming  of  Rivulets. 

From  Colo.  Hite  ...  I  understood  that  the  navigation  of  the 
South  Branch  in  its  present  State,  is  made  use  of  from  Fort 
pleasant  to  its  Mouth— that  the  most  difficult  part  in  it,  and 
that  would  not  take  £100  to  remove  the  obstruction  (it  being 
only  a  single  rift  of  rocks  across  in  one  place)  is  2  Miles  below 
the  old  Fort132 — that  this,  as  the  Road  goes,  is  40  Miles;  by 
water  more — and  that,  from  any  thing  they  knew,  or  believe 
to  the  contrary,  it  might  at  this  moment  be  used  50  Miles 
higher,  if  any  benefits  were  to  result  from  it. 

29th.  Having  appointed  to  join  Doctr.  Craik  and  my  Bag- 
gage at  Colo.  Warner  Washington's,133  but  finding  it  required 
only  one  day  more  to  take  the  Rout  of  Mr.  Thos.  Lewis's134 
(near  Stanton)135  from  whose  Office  I  wanted  some  papers  to 
enable  me  to  prosecute  my  ejectments  of  those  who  had  pos- 
sessed themselves  of  my  Land  in  the  County  of  Washington, 
State  of  Pensylvania;  and  that  I  might  obtain  a  more  distenct 
acct.  of  the  Communication  between  Jackson's  River  and  the 

131  A  resident  of  Fort  Pleasant,  Abraham  Hite  is  not  otherwise  identified. 
The  Hite  family,  descendants  of  Yost  Hite,  were  very  numerous  in  western 
Virginia. 

132  port  pieasant  had  been  a  frontier  outpost  of  Virginia  during  the  French 
and  Indian  War.  The  fact  that  it  was  now  abandoned  shows  how  far  the 
frontier  had  moved  during  Washington's  adult  lifetime. 

133  Warner  Washington,  George's  first  cousin,  lived  near  Winchester. 

134  See  note  93,  ante. 

135  Staunton,  Virginia. 


314' 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

green  Brier; — I  sent  my  Nephew  Bushrod  Washington  (who 
was  of  my  party)  to  that  place  to  request  the  Doctr.  to  proceed 
— and  ...  I  set  out  for  Rockingham  in  which  County  Mr. 
Lewis  now  lives.  .  .  . 

30th.  ...  I  arrived  at  Mr.  Lewis's136  about  Sundown,  after 
riding  about  40  Miles.  .  .  . 

October  1st.  Dines  at  Mr.  Gabriel  Jones's,137  not  half  a  mile 
from  Mr.  Lewis's,  but  separated  by  the  South  Fork  of  Shan- 
nondoah;  which  is  between  80  and  a  hundred  yards  wide  and 
makes  a  respectable  appearance.  .  .  . 

I  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation  with  this  Gentleman  on 
the  Waters,  and  trade  of  the  Western  Country;  and  particularly 
with  respect  to  the  Navigation  of  the  Great  Kanhawa  and  its 
communication  with  James  and  Roanoke  Rivers. 

His  opinion  is,  that  the  easiest  and  best  communication  be- 
tween the  Eastern  and  Western  Waters  is  from  the  North 
branch  of  Potomack  to  Yohiogany  or  Cheat  River;  and  ulti- 
mately that  the  Trade  between  the  two  Countries  will  settle 
in  this  Channel.  That  altho  James  River  has  an  easy  and  short 
communication  from  the  Mouth  of  Carpenters  or  Dunlaps 
Creek  to  the  Green  brier  which  in  distance  and  kind  of  Country 
is  exactly  as  Logston  described  them,  yet,  that  the  passage  of 
the  New  River,  abe.  Kanhawa,  thro'  the  gauly  Mountain  from 
every  acct.  he  has  had  of  it,  now  is,  and  ever  will  be  attended 
with  considerable  difficulty,  if  it  should  not  prove  impracticable. 
The  Fall  he  has  understood,  altho'  it  may  be  short  of  a  Cateract, 
or  perpendicular  tumble,  runs  with  the  velocity  of  a  stream 
discending  a  Mountain,  and  is  besides  very  Rocky  and  closely 

136  Near  Staunton,  Virginia. 

137  Gabriel  Jones  had  been  Lord  Fairfax's  lawyer.  He  had  also  been  a 
Burgess,  and  later  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Convention  to  ratify  the 
Constitution. 


315 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

confined  between  rugged  hills.  He  adds,  that  from  all  appear- 
ance, a  considerable  part  of  the  Water  with  which  the  River 
above  abounds,  sinks  at  or  above  this  Rapid  or  fall,  as  the  quan- 
tity he  says,  from  report,  is  greatly  diminished,  however,  as  it 
is  not  his  own  observations,  but  report  these  accts.  are  had, 
the  real  difficulty  in  surmounting  the  obstructions  here  described 
may  be  much  less  than  are  apprehended;  wch.  supposition  is 
well  warranted  by  the  ascension  of  the  Fish. 

Mr.  Lewis  is  of  opinion  that  if  the  obstructions  in  this  River 
can  be  removed,  that  the  easiest  communication  of  all,  would 
be  by  the  Roanoke,  as  the  New  River  and  it  are  within  12 
Miles,  and  an  excellent  Waggon  Road  between  them  and  no 
difficulty  that  ever  he  heard  of,  in  the  former,  to  hurt  the  in- 
land Navigation  of  it.  .  .  . 

4th.  Reached  home  before  Sun  down;  having  travelled  on 
the  same  horses  since  the  first  day  of  September  by  the  com- 
puted distances  680  Miles. 

And  tho'  I  was  disappointed  in  one  of  the  objects  which  in- 
duced me  to  undertake  this  journey  namely  to  examine  into 
the  situation  quality  and  advantages  of  the  Land  which  I  hold 
upon  the  Ohio  and  Great  Kanawha— and  to  take  measures  for 
rescuing  them  from  the  hands  of  Land  Jobbers  and  Speculators 
— who  I  had  been  informed  regardless  of  my  legal  and  equitable 
rights,  patents,  &ca.;  had  enclosed  them  within  other  Surveys 
and  were  offering  them  for  Sale  at  Philadelphia  and  in  Europe. 
— I  say  notwithstanding  this  disappointment  I  am  well  pleased 
with  my  journey,  as  it  has  been  the  means  of  my  obtaining  a 
knowledge  of  facts — coming  at, the  temper  and  disposition  of 
the  Western  Inhabitants138— and  making  reflections  thereon, 

138  Washington's  interest  here  in  "the  temper  and  disposition  of  the  West- 
ern Inhabitants"  indicated  that  he  was  well  aware  of  the  growing  conflict 
between  the  western  small  farmers,  especially  beyond  the  mountains,  and 


316' 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

which,  otherwise,  must  have  been  as  wild,  incohert.,  or  perhaps 
as  foreign  from  the  truth,  as  the  inconsistency  of  the  reports 
which  I  had  received  even  from  those  to  whom  most  credit 
seemed  due,  generally  were. 

These  reflections  remain  to  be  summed  up— 

The  more  then  the  Navigation  of  Potomack  is  investigated, 
and  duly  considered,  the  greater  the  advantages  arising  from 
them  appear. 

The  South  or  principal  branch  of  Shannondoah  at  Mr.  Lewis's 
is,  to  traverse  the  river,  at  least  150  Miles  from  its  Mouth;  all 
of  which,  except  the  rapids  .  .  .  now  is,  or  very  easily  may  be 
made  navigable  for  inland  Craft,  and  extended  30  Miles  higher. 
The  South  Branch  of  Potomack  is  already  navigated  from  its 
Mouth  to  Fort  Pleasant;  which,  as  the  Road  goes,  is  40  com- 
puted Miles;  and  the  only  difficulty  in  the  way  (and  that  a  very 
trifling  one)  is  just  below  the  latter,  where  the  River  is  hemmed 
in  by  the  hills  or  mountains  on  each  side.  From  hence,  ...  it 
may,  at  the  most  trifling  expense  imaginable,  be  made  navigable 
50  Miles  higher. 

To  say  nothing  then  of  the  smaller  Waters,  such  as  Pattersons 
Creek,  Cacapehon,  Opekon  &ca.;  which  are  more  or  less 
Navigable;  and  of  the  branches  on  the  Maryland  side,  these 
two  alone  (that  is  the  South  Branch  and  Shannondoah)  would 
afford  water  transportation  for  all  that  fertile  Country  between 
the  bleu  ridge  and  the  Alligany  Mountains;  which  is  immense 
— but  how  trifling  when  viewed  upon  that  immeasurable  scale, 
which  is  inviting  our  attention! 

The  Ohio  River  embraces  this  Commonwealth139  from  its 

the  wealthier  seaboard  region.  This  conflict  figured  largely  in  the  political 
events  connected  with  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  and  with  Washington's 
two  administrations.  In  1794,  Washington  was  to  observe  again  firsthand  a 
different  "temper  and  disposition  of  the  Western  Inhabitants." 
139  Virginia. 


317 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Northern,  almost  to  its  Southern  limits.  It  is  now,  our  western 
boundary  and  lyes  nearly  parallel  to  our  exterior,  and  thickest 
settled  Country. 

Into  this  River  French  Creek,140  big  bever  Creek,141  Musk- 
ingham,142  Hockhocking,143  Scioto,144  and  the  two  Miames145 
(in  its  upper  Region)  and  many  others  (in  the  lower)  pour 
themselves  from  the  westward  through  one  of  the  most  fertile 
Countries  of  the  Globe;  by  a  long  inland  navigation;  which,  in 
its  present  state,  is  passable  for  Canoes  and  such  other  small 
craft  as  has,  hitherto,  been  made  use  of  for  the  Indian  trade. 

French  Creek,  down  which  I  have  myself  come  to  Ve- 
nango,146 from  a  lake147  near  its  source,  is  15  Miles  fromPrisque 
Isle148  on  lake  Erie;  and  the  Country  betwn.  quite  level.  Both 
big  bever  creek  and  Muskingham,  communicates  very  nearly 
with  Cayahoga;149  which  runs  into  lake  Erie;  the  portage150 
with  the  latter  (I  mean  Muskingham)  as  appears  by  the  Maps, 
is  only  one  mile;  and  by  many  other  accts.  a  very  little  further; 

140  Since  the  present  Allegheny  River  was  considered,  at  the  time,  part 
of  the  Ohio,  Washington  here  refers  to  French  Creek  in  northwestern 
Pennsylvania. 

141  The  Beaver  River. 

142  The  Muskingum. 

143  The  Hocking  River. 

144  The  Sciota. 

145  The  Big  and  Little  Miami  Rivers. 

146  Present  Franklin,  Pennsylvania. 

147  Lake  LeBoeuf,  near  present  Waterford,  Pennsylvania. 

148  presque  Isle,  at  present  Erie,  Pennsylvania. 

149  The  Cuyahoga,  which  enters  Lake  Erie  at  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

150  The  upper  branches  of  the  Tuscarawas,  a  tributary  of  the  Muskingum, 
come  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Cuyahoga  in  the  vicinity  of  Akron,  Ohio. 
The  portage  Path  between  the  two  rivers  ran  through  the  present  limits  of 
that  city.  The  route  that  Washington  is  here  outlining  later  was  the  route  of 
the  Ohio  Canal,  which  linked  Lake  Erie  with  the  Ohio  River  through  eastern 
Ohio. 

.318- 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

and  so  level  between,  that  the  Indians  and  Traders,  as  is  affirmed, 
always  drag  their  Canoes  from  one  River  to  the  other  when 
they  go  to  War — to  hunt — or  trade.  The  great  Miame,151  which 
runs  into  the  Ohio,  communicates  with  a  River  of  the  same 
name,152  as  also  with  Sandusky,153  which  empty  themselves  into 
Lake  Erie,  by  short  and  east  Portages.  And  all  of  these  are  so 
many  channels  through  which  not  only  the  produce  of  the  New 
States  contemplated  by  Congress,  but  the  trade  of  all  the  lakes, 
quite  to  that  of  the  Wood,154  may  be  conducted  according  to 
my  information,  and  judgment — at  least  by  one  of  the  Routs — 
thro'  a  shorter,  easier,  and  less  expensive  communication  than 
either  of  those  which  are  now,  or  have  been  used  with  Canada, 
New  Yk.  or  New  Orleans. 

That  this  may  not  appear  an  assertion,  or  even  an  opinion 
unsupported,  I  will  examine  matters  impartially,  and  endeavor 
to  state  facts. 

Detroit  is  a  point,  thro'  which  the  Trade  of  the  Lakes 
Huron,  and  all  those  above  it,  must  pass,  if  it  centers  in  any 
State  of  the  Union;  or  goes  to  Canada;  unless  it  should  pass  by 
the  River  Outawais,155  which  disgorges  itself  into  the  St.  Law- 
rence at  Montreal  and  which  necessity  only  can  compel;  as  it 

151  The  Miami  drains  southwestern  Ohio  and  enters  the  Ohio  River  at 
the  present  Ohio-Indiana  border. 

152  The  Maumee  River  drains  northwestern  Ohio  and  enters  Lake  Erie  at 
present  Toledo,  Ohio.  Its  numerous  tributaries  mesh  with  the  upper  tribu- 
taries of  the  Miami.  The  Miami  Canal  from  Toledo  to  Cincinnati  later  fol- 
lowed the  route  Washington  is  here  indicating. 

153  The  Sandusky  River  rises  in  central  Ohio  and  enters  Sandusky  Bay 
on  Lake  Erie. 

154  Lake  of  the  Woods,  lying  in  present  Minnesota  and  Ontario  Province, 
is  west  of  Lake  Superior. 

155  The  Ottowa  River  forms  the  southern  boundary  between  the  provinces 
of  Ontario  and  Quebec  before  entering  the  Saint  Lawrence  west  of  Montreal. 


319 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

is  from  all  accts.  longer  and  of  more  difficult  navigation  than 
the  St.  Lawrence  itself. 

To  do  this,  the  Waters  which  empty  into  the  Ohio  on  the 
East  Side,  and  which  communicate  nearest  and  best  with  those 
which  run  into  the  Atlantic,  must  also  be  delineated. 

These  are,  Monongahela  and  its  branches,  viz,  Yohiogany 
and  Cheat  and  the  little  and  great  Kanhawas;  and  Greenbrier 
which  empties  into  the  latter. 

The  first156  (unfortunately  for  us)157  is  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Pensylvania  from  its  Mouth  to  the  fork  of  Cheat,  indeed 
2  Miles  higher— as  (which  is  more  to  be  regretted)  the  Yohio- 
gany also  is,  till  it  crosses  the  line  of  Maryland;  these  Rivers 
I  am  persuaded,  afford  much  the  shortest  Routs  from  the  Lakes 
to  the  tide  water  of  the  Atlantic,  but  are  not  under  our  controul; 
being  subject  to  a  power  whose  interest  is  opposed  to  the  ex- 
tension of  their  navigation,  as  it  would  be  the  inevitable  means 
of  withdrawing  from  Philadelphia  all  the  trade  of  that  part  of 
its  western  territory,  which  lyes  beyond  the  Laurel  hill.  Though 
any  attempt  of  that  Government158  to  restrain  it  I  am  equally 
well  persuaded  wd.  cause  a  seperation  of  their  territory;  there 
being  sensible  men  among  them  who  have  it  in  contemplation 
at  this  moment159— but  this  by  the  by.  The  little  Kanhawa, 
which  stands  next  in  order,  and  by  Hutchins's160  table  of  dis- 

156  The  Monongahela. 

157  Virginians. 

158  The  state  government  of  Pennsylvania. 

159  This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  Washington  had  discussed  with  some 
of  the  many  prominent  Pennsylvanians  with  whom  he  talked  in  1784,  the 
possibility  of  Western  Pennsylvania  seceding  to  become  independent  or  join 
Virginia. 

160  Thomas  Hutchins,  a  former  British  army  engineer,  in  1778  published 
A  Topographical  Description  of  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  North 
Carolina.  The  mileage  figures  which  Washington  here  quotes  are  from  that  work. 


320' 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

tances  (between  Fort  Pit  and  the  Mouth  of  the  River  Ohio) 
is  184J/2  Miles  below  the  Monongahela,  is  navigable  between 
40  and  50  Miles  up,  to  a  place  called  Bullstown.161  Thence  there 
is  a  Portage  of  93^  Miles  to  the  West  fork  of  Monongahela — 
Thence  along  the  same  to  the  Mouth  of  Cheat  River  and  up 
it  to  the  Dunker  bottom;  from  whence  a  portage  may  be  had 
to  the  No  branch  of  Potomack. 

Next  to  the  little,  is  the  great  Kanhawa;  which  by  the  above 
table  is  98j^  miles  still  lower  down  the  Ohio.  This  is  a  fine 
Navigable  river  to  the  Falls;  the  practicability  of  opening 
which,  seems  to  be  little  understood;  but  most  assuredly  ought 
to  be  investigated. 

These  then  are  the  ways  by  which  the  produce  of  that  Coun- 
try; and  the  peltry  and  fur  trade  of  the  Lakes  may  be  introduced 
into  this  State;162  and  into  Maryld.;  which  stands  upon  similar 
ground.  There  are  ways,  more  difficult  and  expensive  indeed 
by  which  they  can  also  be  carried  to  Philadelphia — all  of  which, 
with  the  Rout  to  Albany,  and  Montreal,  and  the  distances  by 
Land,  and  Water,  from  place  to  place,  as  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained by  the  best  Maps  now  extant — by  actual  Surveys  made 
since  the  publication  of  them — and  the  information  of  intelligent 
persons— will  appear  as  follow— from  Detroit— which  is  a 
point,  as  has  been  observed,  as  unfavourable  for  us  to  compute 
from  (being  upon  the  North  Western  extremity  of  the  United 
territory)  as  any  beyond  Lake  Erie  can  be. 

viz 
From  Detroit  to  Alexandria  is 

To  Cayahoga  River 125  Miles 

Up  the  same  to  the  Portage 60 

Portage163  to  Bever  Ck 8 

161  See  note  102,  ante.   162  Virginia. 

163  Between  the  upper  Cuyahoga  and  the  Mahoning  Branch  of  the  Beaver, 
roughly  along  the  present  Erie  Railroad  from  Cleveland  to  Youngstown. 


321 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Down  Bever  Ck.  to  the  Ohio 85 

Up  the  Ohio  to  Fort  Pitt 25      303 

The  Mouth  of  Yohiogany 15 

Falls  of  Ditto164 50 

Portage 1 

Three  forks  or  Turkey  foot 8 

Fort  Cumberld.  or  Wills  Creek 30 

Alexandria 200      304 

607 

To  Fort  Pitt  as  above 303 

The  Mouth  of  Cheat  River 75 

Up  it,  to  the  Dunker  bottom 25 

North  branch  of  Potomack 20 

Fort  Cumberland 40 

Alexandria 200     |60 

To  Alexanda.  by  this  Rout  663 

From  Detroit  to  Alexandria  avoiding  Pensylvania*165 

To  the  Mo.  of  Cayahoga 125  Miles 

The  carrying  place  with  Muskingham  River 54 

The  Portage166 1 

The  Mo.  of  Muskingham167 192 

The  little  Kanhawa _12      384 

Up  the  same 40 

Portage  to  the  West  Bra 10       50 

Down  Monongahela  to  Cheat 80 

Up  Cheat  to  the  Dunker  Botm 25 

Portage  to  the  No.  bra.  Potomk 20 

Fort  Cumberland 40 

Alexandria 200     JS65 

Total  by  this  Rout . '. 799 

*the  mouth  of  Cheat  River  and  2  Miles  up  it  is  in  Pensyla. 

164  Ohiopyle,  Pennsylvania. 

165  This  footnote  is  in  the  original;  i.e.,  it  is  Washington's. 

166  Present  Akron,  Ohio.    167  Present  Marietta,  Ohio. 


322 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

From  Detroit  to  Richmond 

To  the  Mouth  of  the  little  Kanhawa  as  above 384  Miles 

The  Great  Kanhawa  by  Hutchin's  Table  of  Distances. .  9 8 Y^ 

The  Falls  of  the  Kanhawa  from  information 90 

A  portage  (supposedly) 10 

The  Mouth  of  Green  brier  and  up  it  to  the  Portage 50 

Portage  to  James  Rr 33      281 

Richmond 175 

Total 840 

Note168 — This  Rout  may  be  more  incorrect169  than  either  of  the  fore- 
going, as  I  had  only  the  Maps,  and  vague  information  for  the  Portages 
— and  for  the  distances  from  the  Mouth  of  the  Kanhawa  to  the  Carry- 
ing place  with  Jacksons  (that  is  James)  River  and  the  length  of  that 
River  from  the  Carrying  place  to  Richmond — the  length  of  the  carry- 
ing place  above  is  also  taken  from  the  Map  tho'  from  Information 
one  would  have  called  it  not  more  than  20  Miles. 

From  Detroit  to  Philadelphia  is  Miles 

To  Presque  Isle 245 

Portage  to  Lebeauf170 15 

Down  french  Creek  to  Venango171 75 

Along  the  Ohio172  to  Toby's  Creek173 _25_     115 

to  the  head  spring  of  Do 45 

By  a  Strait  line  to  the  nearest  Water174  of  Susquea175. . .    15 

168  Thls  note  is  Washington's. 

169  as  Washington  suggests,  his  information  about  this  route  is  less  accu- 
rate. Navigation  from  the  Falls  of  the  Kanawha  to  the  mouth  of  the  Green- 
brier, for  example,  would  be  impossible. 

170  Present  Water  ford,  Pennsylvania. 

171  Present  Franklin,  Pennsylvania. 

172  Here  Washington  refers  to  the  present  Allegheny  as  the  Ohio. 

173  Toby  Creek  is  a  branch  of  the  Clarion  River  in  present  Elk  County, 
Pennsylvania.  In  Washington's  day,  however,  the  entire  Clarion  River  was 
referred  to  as  Toby  Creek. 

174  Bennett  Branch  of  Sinnemahoning  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna.   175  The  Susquehanna. 


323 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Down  the  same  to  the  West  branch 50 

Fort  Augusta176  at  the  Fork 125 

Mackees  (or  Mackoneys) 177  Ck 12 

Up  this 25 

By  a  strait  line  to  Schuylkl.178 15 

Reading 32 

Philadelphia _62      381 

Total 741 

By  another  Rout 

To  Fort  Pitt  as  before179 303 

Up  the  Ohio  to  Tobys  Ck 95 

Thence  to  Phila.  as  above 381 

Total 779 

Note — The  distances  of  places  from  the  Mouth  of  Tobys  Creek  to 
Philada.  are  taken  wholly  from  a  comparative  view  of  Evan's180  and 
Sculls  Maps181 — The  number,  and  length  of  the  Portages;  are  not 
attempted  to  be  given  with  greater  exactness  than  these — and  for 
want  of  more  competent  knowledge,  they  are  taken  by  a  strait  line 
between  the  sources  of  the  different  Waters  which  by  the  Maps 
have  the  nearest  communication  with  each  other — consequently  these 
Routs,  if  there  is  any  truth  in  the  Maps,  must  be  longer  than  the 
given  distances — particularly  in  the  Portages,  or  Land  part  of  the 
Transportation,  because  no  Road  among  Mountns.  can  be  strait — or 
waters  navigable  to  their  fountain  heads. 

176  Present  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania. 

177  Mahanoy  Creek  rises  near  present  Mahanoy  City,  Pennsylvania,  and 
runs  due  east  to  the  Susquehanna. 

178  The  Schuylkill  rises  near  Pottsville,  Pennsylvania,  and  enters  the  Dela- 
ware at  Philadelphia.  The  route  which  Washington  here  describes  was  later 
followed  by  the  Schuylkill  Canal. 

179  That  is,  by  way  of  the  Cuyahoga  and  Beaver. 

180  Lewis  Evans  published  a  map  of  the  Middle  Colonies  in  1775. 

i8i  William  Scull,  son  of  the  Surveyor-General  of  Pennsylvania,  published 
a  map  of  Pennsylvania  in  1770. 


324- 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

From  Detroit  to  Albany  is 

To  Fort  Erie,182  at  the  No.  end  of  Lake  Erie 350 

Fort  Niagara183— 18  Miles  of  wch.  is  Land  transpn. .  .  .    30      380 

Oswego 175 

Fall  of  Onondaga  River184 12 

Portage 1 

Oneida  Lake  by  Water 40 

Length  of  Do.  to  Wood  Ck.185 18 

Wood  Ck.  very  small  and  Crooked 25 

Portage  to  Mohawk186 1        97 

Down  it  to  the  Portage187 60 

Portage 1 

Schenectady 55 

Portage  to  Albany188 J_5_     Ul 

In  all 783 

To  the  City  of  New  York 160 

Total 943 

From  Detroit  to  Montreal  is 

To  Fort  Niagara  as  above 380 

North  end  of  Lake  Ontario 225 

Oswegatche189 60 

Montreal — very  rapid. 110      395 

In  all. "775 

To  Quebec 180 

Total 955 

182  Present  Fort  Erie,  Ontario,  opposite  Buffalo,  New  York. 

183  jrort  Niagara  was  located  on  the  American  side  of  the  Niagara  River 
where  it  enters  Lake  Ontario. 

184  The  branch  of  the  Oswego  River  which  rises  in  Oneida  Lake. 

185  Wood  Creek  rises  near  Rome,  New  York,  and  runs  into  the  eastern 
end  of  Oneida  Lake.  The  route  Washington  describes  here  was  later  followed 
by  the  Erie  Canal  and  today  is  followed  by  the  New  York  State  Barge  Canal. 

186  The  Mohawk  River. 

187  The  portage  around  the  falls  of  the  Mohawk  River  at  present  Little 
Falls,  New  York. 

188  The  portage  around  Cohoes  Falls  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk. 

189  present  Ogdensburg,  New  York. 


325 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Admitting  the  preceeding  Statement,  which  as  has  been  ob- 
served is  given  from  the  best  and  most  authentic  Maps  and 
papers  in  my  possession — from  information — and  partly  from 
observation,  to  be  tolerably  just,  it  would  be  nugatory  to  go 
about  to  prove  that  the  Country  within,  and  bordering  upon 
the  Lakes  Erie,  Huron,  and  Michigan  would  be  more  conven- 
ient when  they  came  to  be  settled — or  that  they  would  embrace 
with  avidity  our  Markets,  if  we  should  remove  the  obstructions 
which  are  at  present  in  the  way  to  them. 

It  may  be  said,  because  it  has  been  said,  and  because  there 
are  some  examples  of  it  in  proof,  that  the  Country  of  Kentucke, 
about  the  Falls,190  and  even  much  higher  up  the  Ohio,  have 
carried  flour  and  other  articles  to  New  Orleans— but  from 
whence  has  it  proceeded?  Will  any  one  who  has  ever  calculated 
the  difference  between  Water  and  Land  transportation  wonder 
at  this? — especially  in  an  infant  settlement  where  the  people 
are  poor  and  weak  handed— and  pay  more  regard  to  their  ease 
than  to  loss  of  time,  or  any  other  circumstance? 

Hitherto,  the  people  of  the  Western  Country  having  had  no 
excitements  to  Industry,  labour  very  little; — the  luxuriency  of 
the  Soil,  with  very  little  culture,  produces  provisions  in  abun- 
dance— these  supplies  the  wants  of  the  encreasing  population — 
and  the  Spaniards191  when  pressed  by  want  have  given  high 
prices  for  flour— other  articles  they  reject;  and  at  times,  (con- 
trary I  think  to  sound  policy)  shut  their  ports  against  them 
altogether — but  let  us  open  a  good  communication  with  the 
Settlements  west  of  us— extend  the  inland  Navigation  as  far  as 
it  can  be  done  with  convenience-*- and  shew  them  by  this  means, 
how  easy  it  is  to  bring  the  produce  of  their  Lands  to  our 
Markets,  and  see  how  astonishingly  our  exports  will  be  in- 

190  The  Falls  of  the  Ohio  at  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

191  Spain  controlled  New  Orleans  at  the  time. 


326« 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

creased;  and  these  States  benefitted  in  a  commercial  point  of 
view — wch.  alone  is  an  object  of  such  Magnitude  as  to  claim 
our  closest  attention — but  when  the  subject  is  considered  in  a 
political  point  of  view,  it  appears  of  much  greater  importance. 

No  well  informed  Mind  need  be  told,  that  the  flanks  and 
rear  of  the  United  territory  are  possessed  by  other  powers,  and 
formidable  ones  too — nor  how  necessary  it  is  to  apply  the 
cement  of  interest  to  bind  all  parts  of  it  together,  by  one  indis- 
soluble band— particularly  the  middle  States  with  the  Country 
immediately  back  of  them— for  what  ties  let  me  ask,  should 
we  have  upon  those  people;  and  how  entirely  unconnected  shod. 
we  be  with  them  if  the  Spaniards  on  their  right192  or  great 
Britain  on  their  left,193  instead  of  throwing  stumbling  blocks 
in  their  way  as  they  now  do;  should  invite  their  trade  and  seek 
alliances  with  them?  What,  when  they  get  strength,  which  will 
be  sooner  than  is  generally  imagined  (from  the  emigration  of 
Foreigners  who  can  have  no  predeliction  for  us,  as  well  as  from 
the  removal  of  our  own  Citizens)  may  be  the  consequence  of 
their  having  formed  such  connections  and  alliances;  requires 
no  uncommon  foresight  to  predict. 

The  Western  Settlers — from  my  own  observation — stand  as 
it  were  on  a  pivot — the  touch  of  a  feather  would  almost  incline 
them  any  way — they  looked  down  the  Mississippi  until  the 
Spaniards  (very  impoliticly  I  think  for  themselves)  threw  diffi- 
culties in  the  way,  and  for  no  other  reason  that  I  can  conceive 
than  because  they  glided  gently  down  the  stream,  without  con- 
sidering perhaps  the  tediousness  of  the  voyage  back,  and  the 
time  necessary  to  perform  it  in;  and  because  they  have  no 
other  means  of  coming  to  us  but  by  a  long  land  transportation 
and  unimproved  Roads. 

192  The  Spanish  in  the  Floridas,  which  at  the  time  extended  along  the  en- 
tire Gulf  coast  to  Louisiana.    193  In  Canada. 


327 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

A  combination  of  circumstances  make  the  present  conjunc- 
ture more  favorable  than  any  other  to  fix  the  trade  of  the  West- 
ern Country  to  our  Markets.  The  jealous  and  untoward  dispo- 
sition of  the  Spaniards  on  one  side,  and  the  private  views  of 
some  individuals  coinciding  with  the  policy  of  the  Court  of  G. 
Britain  on  the  other,  to  retain  the  Posts  of  Oswego,  Niagara, 
Detroit,194  &ca.  (which  tho'  done  under  the  letter  of  the  treaty 
is  certainly  an  infraction  of  the  Spirit  of  it,  and  injurious  to  the 
Union)  may  be  improved  to  the  greatest  advantage  by  this 
State  if  she  would  open  her  arms,  and  embrace  the  means  which 
are  necessary  to  establish  it.  The  way  is  plain,  and  the  expence, 
comparitively  speaking  deserves  not  a  thought,  so  great  would 
be  the  prize.  The  Western  Inhabitants  would  do  their  part 
towards  accomplishing  it,  weak  as  they  now  are,  they  would, 
I  am  persuaded  meet  us  half  way  rather  than  be  driven  into 
the  arms  of,  or  be  in  any  wise  dependent  upon,  foreigners;  the 
consequence  of  which  would  be,  a  seperation,  or  a  War. 

The  way  to  avoid  both,  happily  for  us,  is  easy,  and  dictated 
by  our  clearest  interest.  It  is  to  open  a  wide  door,  and  make  a 
smooth  way  for  the  produce  of  that  Country  to  pass  to  our 
Markets  before  the  trade  may  get  into  another  channel— this, 
in  my  judgment,  would  dry  up  the  other  Sources;  or  if  any 
part  should  flow  down  the  Mississippi,  from  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio,  in  Vessels  which  may  be  built — fitted  for  Sea — and  sold 
with  their  Cargoes,  the  proceeds  I  have  no  manner  of  doubt, 
will  return  this  way;  and  that  it  is  better  to  prevent  an  evil 
than  to  rectify  a  mistake  none  can  deny — commercial  connec- 
tions of  all  others,  are  most  difficult  to  dissolve— if  we  wanted 
proof  of  this,  look  to  the  avidity  with  which  we  are  renewing, 

194  Great  Britain  retained  these  and  other  forts  until  1796  as  security  until 
the  American  debts  owed  to  British  subjects  could  be  collected. 


328 


LANDLORD  AND  EXPANSIONIST 

after  a  total  suspension  of  Eight  years,195  our  corrispondence 
with  Great  Britain; — So,  if  we  are  supine,  and  suffer  without 
a  struggle  the  Settlers  of  the  Western  Country  to  form  commer- 
cial connections  with  the  Spaniards,  Britons,  or  with  any  of  the 
States  in  the  Union  we  shall  find  it  a  difficult  matter  to  dissolve 
them  altho'  a  better  communication  should  thereafter,  be  pre- 
sented to  them — time  only  could  effect  it;  such  is  the  force 
of  habit! 

Rumseys196  discovery  of  working  Boats  against  stream,  by 
mechanical  powers  principally,  may  not  only  be  considered  as 
a  fortunate  invention  for  these  States  in  general  but  as  one  of 
those  circumstances  which  have  combined  to  render  the  present 
epoche  favorable  above  all  others  for  securing  (if  we  are  dis- 
posed to  avail  ourselves  of  them)  a  large  portion  of  the  produce 
of  the  Western  Settlements,  and  of  the  Fur  and  Peltry  of  the 
Lakes,  also— the  importation  of  which  alone,  if  there  were  no 
political  considerations  in  the  way,  is  immense. 

It  may  be  said  perhaps,  that  as  the  most  direct  Routs  from 
the  Lakes  to  the  Navigation  of  Potomack  are  through  the  State 
of  Pensylvania — and  the  intert[ia]  of  that  State  opposed  to  the 
extension  of  the  Waters  of  Monongahela,  that  a  communication 
cannot  be  had  either  by  the  Yohiogany  or  Cheat  River;— but 
herein  I  differ — an  application  to  this  purpose  would  in  my 
opinion,  place  the  Legislature  of  that  Commonwealth  in  a  very 
delicate  situation.  That  it  would  not  be  pleasing  I  can  readily 
conceive,  but  that  they  would  refuse  their  assent,  I  am  by  no 
means  clear  in.  There  is  in  that  State,  at  least  100,000  Souls 
West  of  the  Laurel  hill,  who  are  groaning  under  the  inconven- 
iences of  a  long  land  transportation.  They  are  wishing,  indeed 
looking,  for  the  extension  of  inland  Navigation;  and  if  this  can 
not  be  made  easy  for  them  to  Philadelphia— at  any  rate  it  must 

195  During  the  Revolutionary  War.      196  See  note  29,  ante. 


329 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

be  lengthy — they  will  seek  a  Mart  elsewhere;  and  none  is  so 
convenient  as  that  which  offers  itself  through  Yohiogany  or 
Cheat  River— the  certain  consequence  therefore  of  an  attempt 
to  restrain  the  extension  of  the  Navigation  of  these  Rivers,  (so 
consonant  with  the  interest  of  these  people)  or  to  impose  any 
extra  duties  upon  the  exports,  or  imports,  to  or  from  another 
State,  would  be  a  seperation  of  the  Western  Settlers  from  the 
old  and  more  interior  government;  towards  which  there  is  not 
wanting  a  disposition  at  this  moment  in  the  former. 


330- 


President  of 
The  United  States 

1794 


The  Whiskey  Rebellion 

When  Washington  returned  from  a  visit  to  his  Western  lands 
in  1784,  there  was  as  yet  no  clearly  defined  program  for  the 
political  structure  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  one  hand,  Washington  was  concerned  with  tying  the 
lands  and  peoples  beyond  the  mountains  to  the  eastern  sea- 
board. There  he  was  a  nationalist,  and  there  he  anticipated  the 
major  convictions  which  were  to  mark  his  career  as  a  states- 
man, a  career  which  still  lay  ahead  of  him.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  wanted,  even  more,  to  tie  the  West  to  Virginia  rather  than 
to  the  confederation  as  a  whole,  and  there  he  was  what  he  had 
always  been,  a  states-righter.  Indeed,  in  1784,  he  seems  to  have 
been  contemplating  without  undue  alarm — if  not  with  favor — 
the  possibility  that  western  Pennsylvania  might  separate  from 
the  eastern  part  of  the  state. 

Ten  years  later,  events  had  so  shaped  his  philosophy  that  he 
took  the  lead  in  suppressing  the  movement  of  Western  protest 
which  he  had  viewed  with  equanimity  in  1784. 

If  Washington's  views  in  1784  were  far  from  what  they 
would  be  in  1789,  when  he  became  the  President,  or  in  1794, 
when  he  faced  the  Western  Insurrection,  it  was  because  Wash- 
ington in  1784  had  not  yet  reached  his  full  stature  as  a  national 
figure.  Indeed,  he  felt  then  that  his  service  to  his  country  was 
behind  him  and  that  he  was  permanently  retired  from  public 
life — a  prospect  which  he  found  not  unpleasing.  And  so  he 
approached  the  question  of  keeping  the  Ohio  Valley  tied  to  the 
seaboard  as  a  private  businessman  interested  in  the  commerce 
of  Virginia  rather  than  as  a  statesman  wrestling  with  political 
abstractions. 

However,  even  then,  when  only  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 


333 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

tion  held  the  states  loosely  together,  the  problems  of  an  entre- 
preneur in  a  country  with  thirteen  separate  and  sovereign  gov- 
ernments quickly  became  the  political  problem  of  all  the  states 
in  a  new  nation. 

Washington  was  enthusiastic  over  the  project  of  improving 
the  navigation  of  the  Potomac — indeed,  when  the  Potomac 
Company  was  organized  for  that  purpose,  in  1785,  Washington 
was  chosen  its  president.  The  Potomac  River  was  not  only  a 
beckoning  gateway  to  the  interior  but  also  the  boundary  be- 
tween Virginia  and  Maryland.  Potomac  commerce  would  be, 
inescapably,  interstate  commerce.  And  beyond  the  upper  reaches 
of  the  Potomac,  the  route  to  the  trade  of  the  Ohio  Valley  and 
the  Great  Lakes  led  either  by  way  of  the  Cheat  River  or  the 
Youghiogheny  River — and  both  flowed  through  the  sovereign 
state  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  this  situation,  the  stubborn  facts  of  trade  which  looked 
upon  state  boundaries  as  fetters  began  to  dissolve  the  old,  nar- 
rower states-rights'  point  of  view  in  Washington's  mind. 

There  were,  of  course,  other  reasons  why  men  of  Washing- 
ton's place  in  society  were  finding  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
inadequate.  The  weak  Congress  established  under  the  Articles 
— really  a  council  of  ambassadors  from  thirteen  independent 
states— did  not  have  the  power  to  levy  taxes.  Therefore,  it 
could  not  pay  interest  or  principle  on  the  debt  inherited  from 
the  Revolution.  The  Articles  provided  for  no  executive  or 
judiciary.  And  so,  citizens  of  one  state  could  not  collect  debts 
easily  in  another.  Creditors  were  not  guarded  against  repayment 
in  cheap  paper  money.  Interstate  business  was  at  the  mercy  of 
state  tariff  barriers.  In  foreign  trade  the  United  States  was 
equally  helpless.  And  many  patriots  ground  their  teeth  at  see- 
ing their  new  dearly  won  government  so  nearly  prostrate. 

There  were,  then,  various  sources  which  fed  the  movement 


334' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

for  the  adoption  of  a  strong  centralized  government.  But  none 
led  more  directly  to  the  movement  for  a  new  constitution  than 
the  activities  of  the  Potomac  Company  headed  by  Washington. 

In  1785,  Washington,  aided  by  his  prestige  as  former  com- 
mander in  chief,  won  from  the  legislatures  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland  approval  of  the  Potomac  Company's  project  for  mak- 
ing the  river  navigable  as  far  as  Cumberland.  The  two  states 
agreed  that  both  the  Potomac  River  and  Chesapeake  Bay  were 
to  be  perpetually  free  to  navigation.  Further,  the  two  states 
agreed  to  meet  yearly  to  discuss  their  mutual  problems.  Out  of 
this  gathering  of  commissioners  from  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
meeting  at  Mount  Vernon  as  Washington's  guests,  sprang  the 
movement  for  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

In  1786,  the  Virginia  legislature  proposed  that  the  other 
states  be  invited  to  the  annual  meeting.  Five  states  did  attend  a 
meeting  at  Annapolis :  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Delaware.  This  meeting  recommended  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention  at  Philadelphia  for  the  following  year, 
1787.  Washington  was  persuaded  to  abandon  his  retirement  to 
head  the  distinguished  delegation  which  Virginia  sent  to  the  Con- 
vention. Once  there,  he  was  chosen  unanimously  the  chairman. 

A  full  account  of  the  deliberations  of  the  Convention,  of  the 
resulting  Constitution,  and  of  the  struggle  for  its  ratification 
cannot  be  given  here.  On  the  whole,  the  adoption  of  the  new 
form  of  government  was  a  victory  for  the  commercial,  manu- 
facturing, and  planting  interests  of  the  coastal  area.  Neverthe- 
less, as  the  West  came  to  recognize,  although  much  later,  it 
held  out  benefits  for  them,  too.  A  strong  government  held  out 
the  hope  of  dealing  successfully  with  the  Indians,  the  British 
garrisons  still  on  American  soil,  and  the  Spanish  athwart  the 
Mississippi  at  New  Orleans.  In  spite  of  these  benefits,  at  the 
time  of  its  adoption,  the  settlements  beyond  the  mountains 


335 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

in  the  Western  Country  viewed  the  new  document  with  suspicion. 

Washington's  association  with  the  Constitutional  Convention 
was  the  chief  popular  argument  advanced  for  the  new  document 
during  the  struggle  over  its  ratification.  It  was  not  surprising, 
therefore,  that  he  should  have  been  put  forward  from  the  begin- 
ning for  the  new  office  of  President  of  the  United  States.  He 
was  genuinely  reluctant  to  leave  retirement  again  for  public 
service,  but  he  also  believed  in  the  new  Constitution  and  wanted 
to  help  assure  its  success.  Therefore,  while  he  certainly  did 
not  seek  the  office,  he  accepted  it  when  unanimously  offered  him. 

Washington  was  already  57  years  old  when  he  took  office. 
He  was  not  in  the  best  of  health  at  the  time.  He  was  not,  of 
course,  a  stranger  to  politics,  having  served  in  the  Virginia 
House  of  Burgesses  as  well  as  in  the  Constitutional  Convention. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  was  now  faced,  not  with  fitting  easily 
into  an  already  operating  system,  but  with  launching  a  new 
and  untried  one. 

Therefore,  like  any  wise  executive,  to  a  great  extent  he  relied 
on  subordinates.  The  chief  of  these  was  the  able  and  vigorous 
young  lawyer,  Alexander  Hamilton.  As  an  aide-de-camp  to 
Washington  during  the  Revolution,  and  as  one  of  the  leading 
figures  in  the  movement  for  the  Constitution,  Hamilton  was  in 
many  ways  a  happy  selection.  Although  his  post  was  that  of 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  he  was  actually  a  sort  of  Prime  Min- 
ister to  Washington,  and  the  actual  leader  of  the  Federalist  Party. 

If  on  the  whole,  Hamilton's  program  suited  the  President,  it 
did  not  suit  the  citizens  of  the  Western  states.  In  the  first  place, 
the  small  farmers  of  the  back  country  had  been  against  the 
transfer  of  political  power  from  the  state  governments — which 
were  close  to  home — to  a  national  government  distant  as  the 
one  in  London  had  been  before  the  Revolution. 

When  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  proposed  that  the  new 


336' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

government  redeem  the  bonds  and  notes  of  the  old  Congress 
at  face  value,  the  Western  Countrymen  were  further  angered. 
The  unpaid  notes  of  the  Continental  Congress  period  had  long 
circulated  at  a  fraction  of  their  value  and  were  chiefly  in  the 
hands  of  wealthy  Eastern  speculators  who  were  often  former 
Tories  to  boot.  It  seemed  clearly  a  measure  on  the  part  of 
Hamilton,  who  was  openly  contemptuous  of  democracy,  to  nur- 
ture an  aristocratic  ruling  class. 

It  was,  however,  one  of  the  taxes  imposed  in  1791  to  raise 
money  for  paying  off  the  old  debts  which  most  enraged  the 
husbandmen  of  the  West.  This  was  the  excise  tax  on  whiskey. 
Taxes  on  imported  goods  were  bad  enough,  but  they  could  at 
least  be  collected  from  foreigners  at  the  ports  and  with  a  mini- 
mum of  bureaucracy.  An  excise  tax  laid  on  domestic  articles 
and  collected  from  the  citizens  by  an  army  of  snooping  revenue- 
men  seemed  an  invasion  of  liberty  and  privacy  of  the  type  which 
had  been  one  of  the  main  grievances  against  George  III.  Worst 
of  all  excises,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  settlements  beyond 
the  mountains,  was  this  tax  on  whiskey.  Whiskey  was  the 
"cash  crop"  of  the  upper  Ohio  Valley.  The  grain  of  the  region, 
its  chief  product,  was  all  but  cut  off  from  a  market.  The  moun- 
tains were  an  effective  barrier  to  the  east;  and  to  the  west,  the 
Spanish  at  New  Orleans  blocked  egress  to  the  sea  and  the 
world's  markets  beyond. 

The  distillery,  therefore,  took  the  place  of  transportation. 
Distilled  into  whiskey,  Western  grain  was  more  easily  moved 
to  Eastern  markets,  as  much  as  did  not  find  an  appreciative  con- 
suming public  among  the  backwoodsmen  themselves. 

It  is  barely  possible  that  the  unpopular  excise  tax  might  have 
been  enforced  without  the  military  action  and  the  President's 
intervention,  however,  if  it  had  not  been  for  events  abroad. 
With  their  own  revolution  still  green  in  men's  memories,  there 


337 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

came  to  the  back  country  word  of  the  stirring  events  in  France. 
Successive  dispatches  telling  of  tyranny  overturned  and  the 
common  "citizen"  come  into  his  own,  kindled  the  imaginations 
of  the  citizens  of  the  back  country. 

The  Whiskey  Rebellion — also  known  as  the  Western  Insur- 
rection— could  hardly  be  compared  with  events  in  France,  how- 
ever. The  disorders  which  comprised  the  "insurrection' '  sub- 
sided as  quickly  as  they  had  flared— a  summer  thunderstorm  that 
cleared  the  air  in  the  Western  counties.  All  but  a  few  of  the 
natural  leaders  of  the  region  were  opposed  to  violence  and 
direct  action.  These  leaders  were  able  to  guide  the  rebels  back 
to  peaceful  ways. 

President  Washington  could  not  know  at  the  moment,  how- 
ever, that  the  Western  Insurrection  would  die  a-borning.  He 
was  already  sorely  taxed  by  the  exasperating  intricacies  of 
diplomacy  in  a  world  at  war.  At  home,  he  was  beset  by  a  popu- 
lar development  he  hated  and  feared— the  rise  of  political  par- 
ties. And  the  events  around  Pittsburgh  seemed  ominously  simi- 
lar to  Shays's  Rebellion  in  Massachusetts,  which  a  few  years 
before  had  helped  to  convince  him  that  a  strong  national  gov- 
ernment was  necessary.  After  all,  he  himself  had  written  on  his 
last  trip  to  the  Ohio  Valley  in  1784,  "The  Western  Settlers— 
from  my  own  observation— stand  as  it  were  on  a  pivot— the 
touch  of  a  feather  would  almost  incline  them  any  way.  ..." 

Therefore,  Washington  acted  vigorously  in  the  crisis  to  up- 
hold the  law  and  the  central  government  to  the  extent  of  him- 
self commanding  the  army  sent  out  to  restore  order. 

History  was  to  demonstrate  that  the  President's  actions  were 
in  the  interests  of  the  very  region  he  marched  against,  as  well 
as  of  the  nation  as  a  whole.  The  vital  question  was  still,  as  it 
had  been  since  the  end  of  the  Revolution,  whether  diverse  re- 
gions and  interests  could  be  held  together  in  a  federal  union. 


338 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Had  the  West  broken  away  in  1794,  American  nationhood 
would  have  been  shattered  into  a  continent  of  petty  and  quar- 
reling states,  sinking  into  mutual  ruin.  The  unifying  function 
which  Washington  and  the  Federalists  performed  for  the  North 
American  states  can  best  be  appreciated  when  compared  with 
the  disunity  of  the  Spanish  colonies  in  South  America.  The 
South  Americans  were  able  to  win  their  independence  from 
Spain,  but  were  unable  to  remain  united  afterwards,  and  have 
suffered  from  their  disunity  ever  since. 

It  was  ironic  that  Washington's  last  trip  towards  the  scene 
of  his  early  campaigns  should  be  to  quell  rebellion.  For  he 
understood  these  Western  fellow  countrymen  well — certainly 
better  than  most  of  the  national  leaders — and  the  settlers  in 
turn  understood  him.  He  had  been  among  them  often,  and  many 
a  Western  rifleman  had  served  under  him  against  the  redcoats. 

But  this  was  his  duty,  and  duty  was  the  mark  of  the  man. 
Washington  had  received  his  initial  impulse  to  the  performance 
of  public  duty  as  part  of  the  code  of  aristocracy — noblesse  oblige. 
And  the  stern  exercise  of  the  public  duty — notably  absent  in 
too  many  aristocrats— Washington  learned  in  the  Western 
Country.  In  the  cavernous  forests,  on  his  mission  to  the  French 
commandant  in  1753 ;  through  the  nightmare  of  Fort  Necessity; 
in  the  crucible  of  battle  with  Braddock;  through  the  painful 
guerilla  warfare  on  the  bleeding  Virginia  frontier;  and  on  the 
long  march  to  Fort  Duquesne  with  Forbes  in  1758 — here  was 
shaped  the  character  which  Valley  Forge  had  not  found  wanting. 
And  now  it  was  this  same  sense  of  duty  which  sent  Washington 
again  into  the  field  against  the  Whiskey  Rebels. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  American,  a  new  man  in  the  family 
of  nations,  was  born  on  the  Western  frontier.  Certainly 
this  was  true  of  the  American  who  was  first  among  his 
countrymen. 


339 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON 

DESCRIBES  TO  PRESIDENT  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE 

OPPOSITION  TO  THE  WHISKEY  TAX1 

Treasury  Department, 
Philadelphia,  August  5,  1794 

Sir: — The  disagreeable  crisis  at  which  matters  have  lately 
arrived  in  some  of  the  Western  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  with 
regard  to  the  laws  laying  duties  on  spirits  distilled  within  the 
United  States  and  on  stills,  seems  to  render  proper  a  review  of 
the  circumstances  which  have  attended  those  laws  in  that  scene, 
from  their  commencement  to  the  present  time,  and  of  the  con- 
duct which  has  hitherto  been  observed  on  the  part  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, its  motives  and  effect,  in  order  to  gain  a  better  judge- 
ment of  the  measures  necessary  to  be  pursued  in  the  existing 
emergency. 

The  opposition  to  those  laws  in  the  four  most  western  coun- 
ties of  Pennsylvania  (Allegheny,  Washington,  Fayette  and 
Westmoreland,)  commenced  as  early  as  they  were  known  to 
have  been  passed.  It  has  continued,  with  different  degrees  of 
violence,  in  the  different  counties  and  at  different  periods;  but 
Washington  has  uniformly  distinguished  its  resistance  by  a  more 
excessive  spirit  than  has  appeared  in  the  other  counties,  and 
seems  to  have  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  kindling  and  keep- 
ing alive  the  flame. 

The  opposition  first  manifested  itself  in  the  milder  shape  of 
the  circulation  of  opinions  unfavorable  to  the  law,  and  calcu- 
lated, by  the  influence  of  public  dis-esteem,  to  discourage  the 
accepting  or  holding  offices  under  it,  or  the  complying  with  it 
by  those  who  might  be  so  disposed;  to  which  was  added  a  show 
of  the  discontinuance  of  the  business  of  distilling. 

1  The  source  of  this  letter  is  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Second  Series,  IV, 
83-96. 


340- 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

These  expedients  were  shortly  after  succeeded  by  private 
associations  to  forbear  compliance  with  the  law.  But  it  was  not 
long  before  these  mere  negative  modes  of  opposition  were  per- 
ceived to  be  likely  to  prove  ineffectual.  And  in  proportion  as 
this  was  the  case,  and  as  the  means  of  introducing  the  laws 
into  operation  were  put  into  execution,  the  disposition  to  re- 
sistance became  more  turbulent,  and  more  inclined  to  adopt 
and  practice  violent  expedients;  the  officers  now  began  to  expe- 
rience marks  of  contempt  and  insult;  threats  against  them 
became  more  frequent  and  loud,  and  after  some  time  these 
threats  were  ripened  into  acts  of  ill-treatment  and  outrage. 

These  acts  of  violence  were  preceded  by  certain  meetings 
of  malcontent  persons,  who  entered  into  resolutions  calculated 
at  once  to  confirm,  inflame,  and  systematize  the  spirit  of 
opposition. 

The  first  of  these  meetings  was  holden  at  a  place  called  Red- 
stone, (Old  Fort,)2  on  the  27th  of  July,  1791,  where  it  was 
concerted  that  county  committees  should  be  convened  in  the 
four  counties,  at  the  respective  seats  of  justice  therein.  On  the 
23rd  of  August,  following,  one  of  these  committees  assembled 
in  the  county  of  Washington. 

This  meeting  passed  some  intemperate  resolutions,  which 
were  afterwards  printed  in  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette,3  containing  a 
strong  censure  on  the  law,  declaring  that  any  person  who  had 
accepted  or  might  accept  an  office  under  Congress,  in  order  to 
carry  it  into  effect,  should  be  considered  as  inimical  to  the 
interests  of  the  country;  and  recommending  to  the  citizens  of 
Washington  county  to  treat  every  person  who  had  accepted  or 

2  Present  Brownsville,  Pennsylvania. 

3  The  Pittsburgh  Gazette,  first  newspaper  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  was 
founded  by  John  Scull  in  1786.  It  was  the  only  paper  published  in  the  four 
Western  counties  during  1 794. 


341 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

might  thereafter  accept,  any  such  office,  with  contempt  and  ab- 
solutely to  refuse  all  kind  of  communication  or  intercourse  with 
the  officers,  and  to  withhold  from  them  all  aid,  support  or 
comfort.  .  .  . 

On  the  6th  of .  .  .  September,  the  opposition  broke  out  in  an 
act  of  violence  upon  the  person  and  property  of  Robert  Johnson, 
collector  of  the  revenue  for  the  counties  of  Allegheny  and 
Washington. 

A  party  of  men,  armed  and  disguised,  way-laid  him  at  a 
place  on  Pigeon  Creek,  in  Washington  county,  seized,  tarred 
and  feathered  him,  cut  off  his  hair  and  deprived  him  of  his 
horse,  obliging  him  to  travel  on  foot  a  considerable  distance  in 
that  mortifying  and  painful  situation. 

The  case  was  brought  before  the  district  court  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, out  of  which  processes  issued  against  .  .  .  three  of  the 
persons  concerned  in  the  outrage.  .  .  . 

The  person  who  had  been  sent  with  the  processes  was  seized, 
whipped,  tarred  and  feathered;  and,  after  having  his  money 
and  horse  taken  from  him,  was  blindfolded  and  tied  in  the 
woods,  in  which  condition  he  remained  for  five  hours.  .  .  . 

After  much  effort,  the  inspectors  of  revenue  succeeded  in  pro- 
curing the  house  of  William  Faulkner,4  a  captain  in  the  army, 
for  an  office  of  inspection  in  the  county  of  Washington.  This 
took  place  in  August,  1792.  The  office  was  attended  by  the 
inspector  of  the  revenue  in  person,  till  prevented  by  the  fol- 
lowing incidents : 

Captain  Faulkner,  being  in  pursuit  of  some  deserters  from 
the  troops,  was  encountered  by  a  number  of  people  in  the  same 
neighborhood  where  Mr.  Johnson  had  been  ill-treated  the  pre- 

4  Captain  William  Faulkner  was  a  member  of  the  forces  under  General 
Anthony  Wayne  then  stationed  near  Pittsburgh  while  training  for  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  Ohio  Indians. 


342' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

ceding  year,  who  reproached  him  with  letting  his  house  for  an 
office  of  inspection,  drew  a  knife  upon  him,  threatened  to  scalp 
him,  tar  and  feather  him  and  reduce  his  house  and  property  to 
ashes  if  he  did  not  solemnly  promise  to  prevent  the  further 
use  of  his  house  for  an  office.  Captain  Faulkner  was  induced  to 
make  the  promise  exacted,  and  in  consequence  of  the  circum- 
stances, wrote  a  letter  to  the  inspector,  dated  the  20th  of 
August,  countermanding  the  permission  for  using  his  house, 
and  the  day  following  gave  a  public  notice  in  the  Pittsburgh 
Gazette  that  the  office  of  inspector  should  be  no  longer  kept 
there.  .  .  . 

In  June  following,  the  inspector  of  the  revenue  was  burnt  in 
effigy  in  Allegheny  county,  at  a  place  and  on  a  day  of  some 
public  election,  with  much  display,  in  the  presence  of  and  with- 
out interruption  from  magistrates  and  other  public  officers. 

On  the  night  of  the  2  2d  of  November  another  party  of  men, 
some  of  them  armed  and  all  in  disguise,  went  to  the  house  of 
the . . .  collector  of  Fayette, . .  .broke  and  entered  it  and  demanded 
a  surrender  of  the  officer's  commission  and  official  books; 
upon  his  refusing  to  deliver  them  up,  they  presented  pistols  at 
him  and  swore  that  if  he  did  not  comply  they  would  instantly 
put  him  to  death.  At  length  a  surrender  of  the  commission  and 
books  was  enforced,  but  not  content  with  this  the  rioters,  be- 
fore they  departed,  required  of  the  officer  that  he  should,  within 
two  weeks,  publish  his  resignation  on  pain  of  another  visit  and 
the  destruction  of  his  house. 

Notwithstanding  these  excesses,  the  laws  appeared,  during 
the  latter  periods  of  this  year  (1793)  to  be  rather  gaining 
ground.  Several  principal  distillers,  who  had  formerly  held  out, 
complied,  and  others  discovered  a  disposition  to  comply  which 
was  only  restrained  by  the  fear  of  violence.  .  .  . 


343 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

CONGRESSMAN   WILLIAM    FINDLEY5    OF    WESTMORELAND 
COUNTY  DESCRIBES  THE  INCIDENT  THAT  BEGAN  THE  IN- 
SURRECTION: A  FEDERAL  MARSHAL6  SERVING  SUMMONSES 
IS  FIRED  UPON,  JULY  15,  17947 

When  the  marshall  came  to  Pittsburgh,  he  expressed  his  sur- 
prise and  satisfaction  that  he  had  succeeded  in  serving  the 
processes  without  meeting  with  either  injury  or  insult:  what  a 
pity  it  was  that  he  delayed  to  serve  the  last  one?  .  .  . 

The  next  day,  in  company  with  the  inspector,8  he  went  to 
serve  the  last  writ  on  a  distiller  named  Miller,  near  Peter's 
creek.9  On  leaving  the  place,  a  number  of  men  were  observed 
as  if  in  pursuit  of  them  and  one  gun  was  discharged;  not  how- 
ever, it  is  believed  with  a  design  to  do  execution.  It  is  well 
known  that,  if  the  design  had  been  to  shoot  one,  or  either  of 
them,  they  could  not  have  escaped  from  so  many  men,  few  of 
whom  I  suppose  would  have  missed  their  aim  at  a  pigeon  or  the 
head  of  a  squirrel.  Appearing,  however,  to  be  in  bad  humour, 
the  marshal  and  inspector  rode  off. 

DISTILLER  WILLIAM  MILLER  TELLS  HOW  HE  FELT  ABOUT 
THE  SUMMONS10 

I  felt  myself  mad  with  passion.  I  thought  250  dollars  would 
ruin  me;  and  to  have  to  go  to  the  federal  court,  at  Philadelphia, 

5  William  Findley,  a  Scotch-Irishman  and  former  schoolteacher,  served 
Westmoreland  County  as  state  representative,  state  senator,  or  congressman 
for  forty  years. 

6  David  Lenox. 

7  The  source  of  this  passage  is  William  Findley's  History  of  the  Insurrec- 
tion in  the  Four  Western  Counties  oj Pennsylvania  (Philadelphia,  1 796) ,  pp.  77-78. 

8  John  Neville,  revenue  inspector  of  the  Western  counties. 

9  Peter's  Creek  enters  the  Monongahela  at  Clairton,  Pennsylvania. 

10  This  excerpt  is  from  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge's  Incidents  of  the  Insur- 
rection in  the  Western  Parts  of  Pennsylvania  (Philadelphia,  1795)  I,  121. 


344' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

would  keep  me  from  going  to  Kentucky  this  fall,  after  I  had 
sold  my  plantation,  and  was  getting  ready.  I  felt  my  blood  boil, 
at  seeing  general  Neville  along,  to  pilot  the  sheriff  to  my  very 
door. 

MILLER  TELLS  A   QUESTIONER  HOW  ENRAGED   FARMERS 
ATTACKED  BOWER  HILL,11  THE  HOME  OF  REVENUE  INSPEC- 
TOR JOHN  NEVILLE,  ON  THE  FOLLOWING  DAY, 
JULY  16,  179412 

I  desired  him  to  give  me  the  particulars  of  the  attack  upon 
Neville's  house,  the  first  day.  He  did  so:  he  said  they  had  about 
thirty  men,  with  fifteen  guns,  six  only  in  order.  They  found 
the  general  just  got  up;  after  some  words,  he  fired  first.13  It 
was  from  the  windows.  A  horn  was  blowing  in  the  house,  the 
time  of  the  firing.  Was  the  door  open?  said  I.  It  was,  said  he. 
Why  then  did  you  not  rush  into  the  entry?  We  were  afraid, 
said  he,  that  he  had  a  swivel,  or  a  big  gun  there: 

The  negroes,14  continued  Miller,  by  this  time,  fired  out  of 
their  cabins  upon  our  backs,  and  shot  several;  and  we  got  off 
as  well  as  we  could. 

HUGH  HENRY  BRACKENRIDGE,15  PITTSBURGH  LAWYER,  RE- 
CONSTRUCTS THE  SECOND  ATTACK  ON  NEVILLE'S  HOME, 

JULY  17,  179416 

In  arranging  the  measures  of  the  enterprise,  a  committee  was 
appointed;  with  power  like  that  of  the  national  commissioners 

II  Bower  Hill,  Neville's  home,  was  on  Chartier's  Creek,  in  the  present 
town  of  Bower  Hill,  Allegheny  County,  Pennsylvania. 

12  This  excerpt  is  from  Brackenridge's  Incidents,  I,  122. 

13  Other  accounts  of  this  action  vary  in  detail. 

14  General  Neville,  a  former  Virginian,  was  a  slave  owner. 

15  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge  was  a  Princeton  graduate,  author,  editor, 
and  lawyer.  He  later  became  a  leader  of  the  Democratic-Republican  Party 
and  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  was  one  of  the  levelheaded  members 


345 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

with  the  French  armies.17  This  committee  offered  the  command 
to  a  Benjamin  Parkinson;18  who  excused  himself,  as  not  being 
a  man  of  military  knowledge.  James  M'Farlane19  was  then 
nominated,  and  accepted  it.  This  was  a  major  M  'Farlane  of  the 
militia,  who  had  served  with  reputation,  in  the  rank  of  a  lieu- 
tenant, in  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end  of  it;  and  was  a  man  of  good  private  character;  and  had 
acquired  a  very  handsome  property,  by  industry  in  trade  after 
the  expiration  of  the  war. 

The  body  having  marched,  and  approached  the  house  of  the 
inspector,  the  horses  were  left  with  a  guard;  and  arrangements 
made  for  an  attack,  should  it  be  necessary.  A  flag  was  sent  from 
the  committee,  with  a  demand  of  the  inspector  to  deliver  up  his 
papers.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  ultimate  object  of  the 
rioters.  The  inspector  had  withdrawn  from  the  house;  having 
seen  the  force  that  was  advancing;  conceiving,  I  presume,  that 
a  demand  might  be  made  of  his  person;  and  that,  in  consequence 
of  the  encounter  of  the  preceding  morning,  and  the  loss  sus- 
tained by  the  assailants,  his  life  would  be  in  danger.  In  this  case, 
he  must  have  counted  on  not  being  able  to  defend  the  house. 
Why  then  not  have  given  direction  to  those  whom  he  left  in 
the  house,  not  to  attempt  a  defence?  Perhaps  he  did  it;  but  his 


of  the  Western  Country  who  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  radical  movement 
in  order  to  try  to  lead  it  back  into  safe  paths. 

16  This  excerpt  is  from  Brackenridge's  Incidents,  I,  18-19. 

17  The  reference  here  is  to  the  armies  of  the  French  Revolution,  then  in 
progress.  The  political  events  in  France  after  1789  were  copiously  reported 
in  America,  and  served  as  examples  and  inspirations  to  the  back-country 
radicals. 

18  Benjamin  Parkinson  was  a  leading  citizen  of  Washington  County.  He 
had  been  a  leader  of  the  tax  resisters  for  several  years. 

19  James  McFarlane  was  from  the  Mingo  Creek  settlement,  a  hotbed  of 
opposition  to  the  excise  tax. 


346« 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

brother-in-law,  Kirkpatrick,20  a  major  in  the  service  last  war, 
judging  less  prudently,  entertained  the  idea  of  being  able  to 
defend  it. 

It  being  communicated,  on  the  return  of  the  flag,  that  the 
inspector  had  left  the  house,  a  second  flag  was  sent,  and  a  demand 
made,  that  six  persons  should  be  admitted  into  the  house,  to 
search  for  his  papers,  and  take  them.  This  was  refused;  and 
notice  was  then  given,  by  a  third  flag,  for  the  lady  of  the  in- 
spector, and  any  other  female  part  of  the  family  to  withdraw. 
They  did  withdraw;  and  the  attack  commenced.  About  fifteen 
minutes  after  the  commencement,  a  flag  was  presented,  or  was 
thought  to  be  presented,  from  the  house;  upon  which,  M'Far- 
lane  stepping  from  a  tree,  behind  which  he  stood,  and  com- 
manding a  cessation  of  the  firing,  received  a  ball  in  the  inside 
of  his  thigh,  near  the  groin,  and  instantly  expired.  The  firing 
then  continued;  and  a  message  was  sent  to  the  committee,  who 
were  sitting  at  some  distance,  to  know  whether  the  house 
should  not  be  stormed:  But,  in  the  mean  time,  fire  had  been 
set  to  a  barn,  and  to  other  buildings  adjoining  the  mansion  house; 
and  in  a  short  time,  the  intenseness  of  the  heat,  and  the  evident 
communicability  of  the  flame  to  the  house,  had  struck  those  in 
the  house,  with  a  sense  of  immediate  danger  of  life;  and  they 
began  to  call  for  quarter;  on  which  the  firing  ceased,  and  they 
were  desired  to  come  out,  and  surrender  themselves.  They  came 
out;  and  the  soldiers,21  three  of  whom  were  said  to  have  been 
wounded,  were  suffered  to  pass  by,  and  go  where  they  thought 
proper.  Major  Kirkpatrick  himself,  had  nearly  passed  through, 
when  he  was  distinguished  from  the  soldiers,  and  arrested;  and 

20  Abraham  Kirkpatrick,  later  a  leading  Federalist  in  Pittsburgh. 

21  The  soldiers  were  from  the  garrison  at  Fort  Fayette  in  Pittsburgh. 
They  had  come  to  Bower  Hill  at  Neville's  request  the  previous  day.  There 
were  about  a  dozen  in  the  house  at  the  time  of  the  attack. 


347 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

ordered  to  deliver  his  musket.  This  he  refused;  when  one  pre- 
senting a  gun  to  his  breast,  was  about  to  fire;  he  dropped  upon 
his  knee,  and  asked  quarter.  The  man  took  the  major's  hat  from 
his  head,  and  put  it  on  the  muzzle  of  his  gun;  but  did  him  no 
other  damage — I  depict  these  incidents  merely  to  give  an  inti- 
mate idea  of  the  manners  and  spirit  of  the  people. 

Fire  had  been  put  to  an  end  of  the  mansion  house,  before  the 
fire  communicated  from  the  barn  and  other  buildings.  All  were 
consumed;  one  small  building  excepted;  to  which  fire  was  not 
put,  but  a  guard  set  over  it,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  negroes, 
that  it  contained  their  bacon. 

TOM  THE  TINKER,22  MYTHICAL  LEADER  OF  THE  TAX- 
RESISTERS,  MARSHALS  HIS  FORCES  THROUGH  AN  ADVER- 
TISEMENT IN  THE  PITTSBURGH  GAZETTE,  JULY  19,  179423 

Mr.  Scull,24 

I  am  under  the  necessity  of  requesting  you  to  put  the  follow- 
ing in  your  next  paper— It  was  found  pasted  on  a  tree  near  my 
distillery. 

John  Reed25 
July  23,  1794 

ADVERTISEMENT 

In  taking  a  survey  of  the  troops  under  my  direction  in  the 
late  expedition  against  that  insolent  exciseman  John  Neville, 

22  The  name  "Tom  the  Tinker"  has  an  interesting  history.  Tinkers  were 
itinerant  menders  of  metal  goods,  such  as  pots  and  pans.  When  a  farmer- 
distiller  paid  the  hated  tax  in  the  Western  counties,  his  still  would  be  shot 
full  of  holes.  This  was  jocularly  referred  to  as  "mending"  the  still,  and  the 
mending  was  said  to  have  been  done  by  "Tom  the  Tinker."  The  name  came 
to  stand  for  the  radical  party  generally. 

23  This  item  is  from  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette  of  August  2,  1794. 

24  John  Scull  edited  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette. 

25  John  Reed  is  identified  in  the  advertisement  he  was  forced  to  insert. 


348 


By     the     PRESIDENT 

Of  the  United  States  of  America , 

A  Proclamation. 


HEN  we  review  the  calamities  which  afflicl  \o  many  other  nations, 
the  present  condition  of  the  United  States  affords  much  matter  of 
confolation  andjatisfaction.  Our  exemption  hitherto  from  foreign  war — an 
increafing  profppcVof  the  continuance  of  that  exemption — the  great  degree 
of  internal  tran.:  ilhty  we  have  enjoyed — the  recent  confirmation  of  that 
tranquillity,  by  he  fuppreffion  of  an  infurreclion  which  fo  wantonly  threat- 
ened it— the  hap^V  courfe  of  our  public  affairs  in  general — the  unexampled 
profperity  of  a1  daffes  of  our  citizens,  are  eircumftances  which  peculiarly 
mark  our  fitua'  with  indications  of  the  Divine  Benificence  towards  us. 
In  ftfch  a  cLkts  ngs  ft  rs  in  ;;n  efpecial  manner,  our  duty  as  a  peop'le,  with 

devout  reveren  md  affectionate  gratitude,  to  acknowledge  our  many  and 
great  obligation  >  Almighty  G^d,  and  to  implore  him  to  continue  and 
confirm  the  ble     gs  we  experience. 

Deeply  penei  ted  with  this  fentiment,  I  GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 
Prefident  of  the-United  States,  do  recommend  to  all  religious  focieties  and 
denominations,,  and  to  all  perfons  whomfoever  within  the  United  States,  to 
let  apart  and  oEierve  Thuriday  the  nineteenth  day  of  February  next,  as  a  Day 
of  Public  Thantfgiving  and  Prayer  ;  and  on  that  day  to  meet  together,  and 
render  their  finere  and  hearty  thanks  to  the  Great  Ruler  of  Nations,  for  the 
manifold  and  fimal  mercies,  which  diftinguifh  our  lot  as  a  nation  ;  particularly 
for  the  pofTe (fieri  of  confli:utions  of  government  which  unite,  and  by  their 
union  eftablifh  liberty  with  order — for  the  prefervatiori  of  our  peace  foreign 
and  domeftic — 'or  the  feafonable  controul  which  has  been  given  to  a  fpirit  of 
diforder,  in  the  fuppteffion  of  the  late  infurreclion — and  generally,  for  the 
profperous  coiijfe  of  our  affairs  public  and  private;  and  at  the  fame  time, 
humbly  and  fervently  to  befeeeh  the  Kind  Author  of  thefe  bleflings,  graci- 
oufly  to  prolog  them  to  us — to  imprint  on  our  hearts  a  deep  and  folemn 
fenfe  of  our  obigations  to  him  for  them — to  teach  us  rightly  to  eftimate  their 
immenfe  value— -to  preferve  us  from  the  arrogance  of  profperity,  and  from 
hazarding  the  jpvantages  we  enjoy  by  delufive  purfuits — to  difpofe  us  to 
merit  the  contit  nice  of  his  favours,  by  not  abiding  them,  by  our  gratitude 
for  them,  and  b  a  correfpondent  conduft  as  citizens  and  as  men — to  render 
this  country  nv  *  and  more  a  fafe  and  propitious  afylum  for  the  unfortunate 
of  other  count  es — to  extend  among  us  true  and  ufeful  knowledge — to  dif- 
fufe  and  eftabli  ;  habits  of  fobriety,  order,  morality  and  piety  ;  and  finally,  to 
impart  all  the  !  'effings  we  poflefs,  orafk  for  ourfelves,  to  the  whole  family  of 
mankind. 

In  (cjlimony  whereof,  I  have  caufed  the  Skal  of  the  United  States  of 

__0o»oc,o0    j±y  -Rica,  to  be  affixed  to  thefe  prcfents,  and  Jigned  the  fame  with 
«  %my  Jland.     Done  at  the  city  of   Philadelphia,    the  firfi  day   of 

%    E.  b.    a  j(,  n,irv^  ong  thoufand  feven  hundred  and  ninety-five,  and  of  the 

%0      oo°  hid,  neadence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  nineteenth. 

"Wo  :  Ira] nina toil. 

By  the.  Prefidev.t, 
Edm  :  Randolph. 


Washington's  Proclamation  of  Thanksgiving 
following  the  suppression  of  the  Western  Insurrection 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

I  find  there  were  a  great  many  delinquents,  even  among  those 
who  carry  on  distilling:  it  will  therefore  be  observed  that,  I 
Tom  the  Tinker,  will  not  suffer  any  certain  class  or  set  of  men 
to  be  excluded  the  service  of  this  my  district  when  notified  to 
attend  on  any  expedition  carried  on  in  order  to  obstruct  the 
execution  of  the  excise  law,  and  obtain  a  repeal  thereof. 

And  I  do  declare  on  my  solemn  word,  that  if  such  delinquents 
do  not  come  forth  on  the  next  alarm,  with  equipments,  and  give 
their  assistance  as  much  as  in  them  lies,  in  opposing  the  execu- 
tion and  obtaining  a  repeal  of  the  excise  law,  he  or  they  will 
be  deemed  as  enemies,  and  stand  opposed  to  virtuous  principles 
of  republican  liberty,  and  shall  receive  punishment  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  offence. 

And  whereas  a  certain  John  Reed,  now  resident  in  Washing- 
ton, and  being  at  his  place  near  Pittsburgh,  called  Reedsburgh, 
and  having  a  set  of  stills  at  said  Reedsburgh,  entered  on  the 
excise  docket,26  contrary  to  the  will  and  good  pleaure  of  his 
fellow  citizens,  and  came  not  forward  to  assist  in  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  execution  of  such  law  by  aiding  and  assisting  in  the 
late  expedition,  have,  by  delinquency  manifested  his  approba- 
tion to  the  execution  of  the  aforesaid  law,  is  hereby  charged 
forthwith  to  cause  the  contents  of  this  paper,  without  adding 
or  diminishing,  to  be  published  in  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette,  the 
ensuing  week,  under  the  no  less  penalty  than  the  consumation 
of  his  distillery.  Given  under  my  hand  this  19th  day  of  July, 
1794, 

TOM  THE  TINKER 

P.S.  To  prevent  a  great  deal  of  trouble  it  will  be  necessary 
to  repeal  the  excise  law  and  lay  a  direct  tax  on  all  located  and 
patented  land  in  the  United  States.27 

26  A  still  was  entered  on  the  excise  docket  when  the  tax  on  it  had  been  paid. 

27  The  westerners  favored  a  land  tax  for  two  reasons.  First,  it  would  fall 


349 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

REVENUER  ROBERT  JOHNSON  ANNOUNCES  HIS  RESIGNA- 
TION IN  THE  PITTSBURGH  GAZETTE,  JULY  20,  179428 

Pittsburgh,  July  20,  1794 

Finding  the  opposition  to  the  revenue  law  more  violent  than 
I  expected,  regreting  the  mischief  that  has  been  done,  and  may 
from  the  continuation  of  measures,  seeing  the  opposition  changed 
from  disguised  rabble  to  a  respectable  party,  think  it  my  duty 
and  do  resign  my  commission. 

ROBT  JOHNSON 

ALLEGHENY   COUNTY   POLITICAL   LEADER  JOHN   LUCAS29 
TELLS  HOW  THE  RESPONSIBLE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  COMMU- 
NITY REACTED  TO  THE  EVENTS,  JULY,  179430 

.  .  .  John  Lucas  .  .  .  says  .  .  .  that  on  the  12th  or  13th  day  of 
last  July,  being  lately  returned  home  from  a  voyage  he  had 
undertaken  to  the  Illinois  country,  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge, 
attorney  at  law,  living  in  Pittsburgh  .  .  .  came  to  his  house, 
being  one  or  two  days  before  the  first  riot  had  taken  place  at 
general  Neville's  house;  and  as  it  was  the  first  time  this  de- 
most  heavily  on  the  more  populous  and  wealthy  East,  where  land  values  were 
higher.  Secondly,  if  large  speculators  in  Western  lands  were  forced  to  pay 
federal  taxes  on  their  holdings,  they  might  sell  them  more  quickly  and  at  a 
more  reasonable  rate,  rather  than  holding  them  off  the  market  for  a  higher 
price.  Westerners  were  convinced  that  the  excise  tax  had  been  passed  by 
easterners  to  avoid  a  land  tax. 

28  This  advertisement  appeared  in  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette  of  August  2,  1794. 

29  John  Lucas,  a  wealthy  young  French  university  graduate,  came  to 
America  out  of  sympathy  with  the  ideals  of  the  American  Revolution  and 
settled  near  Pittsburgh  in  1784.  Like  his  friends  Brackenridge  and  Albert 
Gallatin,  he  did  all  he  could  to  keep  the  Western  opposition  within  legal 
bounds.  Lucas  later  became  a  state  representative,  county  judge,  congress- 
man, and  federal  judge. 

30  This  excerpt  is  from  an  affidavit  of  Lucas  in  Brackenridge's  Incidents, 
III,  104-107. 


350 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

ponent  had  seen  Mr.  Brackenridge  since  his  arrival,  a  miscellany 
of  news  reciprocally  given,  soon  became  the  whole  topic  of 
their  conversation.  This  deponent  perfectly  remembers,  that 
amongst  other  things,  he  mentioned  to  Mr.  Brackenridge,  that 
while  he  was  passing  through  Kentucky,  he  had  heard  that 
numbers  of  people  in  that  state  was  displeased  at  the  conduct 
of  the  federal  government  towards  them;31  that  several  com- 
mittees had  been  held  there,  and  had  already  went  to  a  great 
length;  that  this  said  deponent  had  read  a  printed  paper,  pasted 
up  at  a  public  place  in  Kentucky,  containing  several  resolves 
of  a  committee,  and  especially  one  by  which  the  people  of 
Kentucky,  were  invited  at  large  to  meet,  and  take  in  considera- 
tion the  circumstances  of  the  country;  that  some  talked  of  a 
separation  from  the  union,  others  thought  of  other  measures  to 
be  adopted.  Upon  which  account  so  given  ...  to  Mr.  Bracken- 
ridge, he  appeared  ...  to  be  highly  displeased.  .  .  . 

This  deponent  declares,  that  the  first  opportunity  he  had  of 
perceiving  the  disposition  of  Mr.  Brackenridge  in  the  last  dis- 
turbances, was  a  few  days  after  the  committee  held  at  Mingo 
meeting  house,32  when  Mr.  Brackenridge  said  to  this  deponent, 
that  on  his  going  to  meet  with  the  committee  at  Mingo  meeting 
house,  he  fairly  expected  he  would  be  able  to  defeat  any  violent 
measures  that  could  be  proposed  there;  but  to  his  astonishment, 
he  had  met  with  a  numerous  assembly  of  men,  respectable  by 
their  property,  their  abilities,  and  the  popularity  great  many  of 

31  Kentuckians  were  dissatisfied  because  the  federal  government  did  not 
follow  a  sufficiently  strong  policy  towards  Spain,  who  controlled  New 
Orleans  at  the  time.  The  trade  of  Kentucky  went  to  market  down  the  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  through  New  Orleans.  The  whiskey  rebels  looked  on  Ken- 
tucky as  a  potential  ally. 

32  In  the  meeting  at  Mingo  Creek  Church,  the  leaders  of  the  attack  on 
Bower  Hill  tried  to  win  the  backing  of  the  rest  of  the  area.  The  moderates 
tried  to  prevent  further  extreme  measures. 


351 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

them  enjoyed;  that  things  seemed  to  take  a  more  serious  turn 
than  he  expected;  .  .  . 

THE  PITTSBURGH  GAZETTE  ANNOUNCES  THE  COMING  CON- 
VENTION OF  THE  FOUR  WESTERN  COUNTIES,  JULY  23,  179433 

By  a  respectable  number  of  citizens  who  met  on  Wednesday 
the  23rd  inst.  at  the  Meeting-house  on  Mingo  creek,34  it  is 
recommended  to  the  townships  of  the  four  western  Pennsyl- 
vania counties,  and  the  neighbouring  counties  of  Virginia,  to 
meet  and  choose  not  more  than  five  nor  less  than  two  repre- 
sentatives, to  meet  at  Parkinson's  ferry,35  on  the  Monongahela, 
on  Thursday  the  14th  day  of  August  next,  to  take  into  consid- 
eration the  present  situation  of  the  western  country. 

July  24,  1794 

BRACKENRIDGE  TELLS  HOW  HOTHEADS  ROBBED  THE  MAIL 

JULY  26,  179436 

The  post  was  interrupted  on  the  26th  of  July,  on  the  way 
from  Pittsburgh,  and  near  Greensburgh.  The  packet  from 
Washington  and  Pittsburgh  was  taken  out.  It  was  carried  by 
Benjamin  Parkinson  to  Washington,  and  from  thence  it  was  ac- 
companied, by  Bradford37  and  Marshal,38  and  others,  to  Can- 
nonsburgh,  a  village  seven  miles  distant.  It  was  there  opened. 

33  From  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette  of  August  2,  1 794. 

34  The  Mingo  Creek  settlement  was  in  the  area  of  present  Finleyville, 
Washington  County,  Pennsylvania. 

35  Present  Monongahela  City,  Pennsylvania. 

36  This  account  is  from  Brackenridge's  Incidents,  I,  39. 

37  David  Bradford  was  a  young  lawyer  from  Maryland  who  had  migrated 
to  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  became  deputy  attorney  general  and 
a  member  of  the  state  legislature.  He  became  the  chief  leader  of  the  rebels 
and  was  finally  forced  to  flee  the  country  to  avoid  prosecution. 

38  James  Marshall  of  Washington  County  had  been  a  leader  of  the  anti- 
excise  forces  ever  since  the  passage  of  the  tax  law. 


352' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

No  letter,  on  the  late  affairs,  from  any  individual  of  Washing- 
ton: There  were  letters  from  individuals  of  Pittsburgh;  these 
letters  gave  great  offence,  and  made  the  writers  objects  of 
resentment. 

The  result  of  the  convention  at  Canonsburgh,  at  the  opening 
of  the  mail,  was  the  issuing  circular  letters  to  the  officers  of 
the  militia,  proposing  a  rendezvous  at  Braddock's  field,  for  the 
purpose  of  a  march  to  Pittsburgh.  ...  It  was  contemplated  to 
take  the  writers  of  the  letters,  and  imprison  them  in  the  jail 
of  Washington.  These  were  the  objects  contemplated,  accord- 
ing to  the  information  given  me: 

FINDLEY  DESCRIBES  HOW  THE  EXTREMISTS  CALLED  OUT 

THE  MILITIA  AND  MARCHED  ON  PITTSBURGH 

AUGUST  1  AND  2,  179439 

Bradford  reviewed  the  troops  on  the  ground,40  and  is  said  to 
have  assumed  the  powers  and  to  have  received  the  honours  of 
Major-general.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  he  received  every 
honour  that  could  be  conferred.  The  infatuated  disorganizers 
idolised  him,  and  those  who  held  him  in  contempt,  and  looked 
on  the  measures  with  horror,  were  many  of  them  most  obsequi- 
ous in  their  attentions  to  him.  They  believed  that  at  that  moment 
expulsion  or  even  more  severe  punishment  depended  on  his  will. 
His  denunciation  of  cowards  and  traitors,  and  holding  up 
Robespiere's41  system  of  terror  for  imitation  at  the  Mingo  creek 
meeting,  was  well  known  to  them,  and  spread  a  temporary  panic. 

A  committee  was  apointed  at  the  rendezvous,  who  resolved 

39  From  Findley's  History  of  the  Insurrection,  pp.  100-101. 

40  The  Militia  gathered  on  the  scene  of  Braddock's  defeat  of  1755.  The 
present  Edgar  Thompson  Works  of  U.  S.  Steel  Corporation  in  Braddock, 
Pennsylvania,  covers  the  site. 

41  Maximilien  Robespierre,  a  Jacobin  leader  of  the  French  Revolution. 


353 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

that  general  Gibson42  and  colonel  Nevil  should  be  expelled, 
and  authorized  the  Pittsburgh  committee43  to  put  this  resolu- 
tion into  execution.  It  was  resolved  that  the  army,  as  it  was 
called,  should  march  to  Pittsburgh.  On  this  occasion,  the  people 
of  Pittsburgh  went  forward  to  prepare  for  giving  them  the 
most  hospitable  reception  in  their  power,  that  they  might  pass 
through  it  with  good  humour.  Bradford  also  sent  to  the  com- 
mandant of  the  garrison44  to  inform  him  that  no  harm  was  in- 
tended, and  to  request  being  permitted  to  pass  peaceably.  They 
marched  in,  however,  by  the  Monongahela  road  which  did  not 
lead  to  the  garrison,  and  being  furnished  with  refreshments  in 
Pittsburgh  by  the  towns-people,  they  crossed  the  Monongahela 
without  giving  any  disturbance. 

After  crossing  the  river  many  returned  to  their  homes,  and 
these  were  no  doubt  the  most  orderly.  A  great  number  of  the 
well  disposed  people  had  previously  gone  to  their  homes  from 
Braddock's  field.  A  number,  however,  stayed  over  night  near 
Pittsburgh,  and  in  the  night  burned  a  small  barn,  the  property 
of  major  Kirkpatrick,45  with  the  grain  it  contained,  which  was 
then  the  property  of  a  tenant. 

THE  PITTSBURGH  GAZETTE  REPORTS  THE  MARCH  FROM 
BRADDOCK'S  FIELD  TO  PITTSBURGH,  AUGUST  2,  179446 

From  a  Correspondent 

The  behavior  of  the  column  on  their  march  from  Braddock's 

42  John  Gibson  was  major  general  of  the  local  Militia.  Gibson  had  written 
a  letter  hostile  to  the  insurgents,  which  was  among  the  letters  seized  and  read 
when  the  mail  was  robbed. 

43  Pittsburgh  had  held  a  town  meeting  the  previous  day  and  elected  a 
committee  to  negotiate  with  the  Militia. 

44  Fort  Fayette,  located  northeast  of  the  town,  was  commanded  by  Major 
Thomas  Butler  of  the  U.  S.  Army. 

45  Major  Abraham  Kirkpatrick  had  earned  the  popular  ill  will  by  helping 


354' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Field  to  the  town  of  Pittsburgh,  and  until  they  left  the  town, 
was  deserving  of  the  highest  praise  and  commendation.  The 
American  or  French  Armies,  on  their  march  through  a  town 
during  the  revolution  with  Britain,  though  long  formed  to  order 
and  regularity,  never  exceeded  or  perhaps  equalled,  that  of 
these  troops,  hastily  assembled  in  the  course  of  36  hours.  This 
shews  that  principle  supplies  the  place  of  discipline,  and  that  it 
was  the  cause,  not  the  hope  of  plunder  or  rapine  that  brought 
them  to  the  field. 

The  column  consisted  of  about  5400,  about  1 500  which  were 
on  their  way,  and  not  joined  them.  The  countermand  of  orders 
by  mistake  towards  Racoon  and  Sawickly  prevented  the  march 
of  about  2000  more. 

SOME  OF  THE  MARCHERS  DENOUNCE  THE  VIOLENCE 
AUGUST  3,  179447 

We,  the  undersigned,  on  behalf  of  ourselves  and  the  great 
body  of  the  column  that  marched  from  Braddock's  Field  on  the 
3rd  instant,  think  it  necessary  to  express  our  disapprobation  of 
the  disorderly  proceeding  of  those  of  the  troops  who  were  con- 
cerned in  setting  fire  to  the  barn  of  Abraham  Kirkpatrick  on  the 
hill  opposite  the  town  of  Pittsburgh;  also  of  the  attempt  made 
by  others  of  burning  his  house  in  town;  as  these  acts  was  not 
within  the  sentence  of  the  committee  of  the  volunteers  on 
Braddock's  Field,  and  therefore  there  could  be  no  authority  for 
carrying  them  into  effect. 

We  consider  it  as  a  blemish  on  the  good  order  of  the  march 
of  the  column  through  the  town  of  Pittsburgh,  and  their  canton- 
defend  General  Neville's  home  at  Bower  Hill.  He  was  Neville's  brother- 
in-law. 

46  From  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette  of  August  16,  1794. 

47  From  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette  of  August  16,  1794. 


355 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

ment  in  the  neighborhood  of  it.  It  has  been  endeavored  to  be 
removed  as  much  as  possible  by  repairing  the  tenant  of  Kirk- 
patrick  his  damage. 

Edward  Cook,  Francis  McFarlane,  Thomas  Stokely,  Thomas 
Sedgewick,  David  Hamilton,  Absalom  Baird,  James  Perry, 
William  McClure,  William  Nailor,  John  Hughes,  Dixon  Hus- 
ton, Hamilton  Huston,  William  Meetkerke,  James  Marshel.48 

PRESIDENT  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  COMMANDS  THE 
INSURGENTS  TO  DISPERSE,  AUGUST  7,  179449 

BY  THE   PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED   STATES  OF  AMERICA 
A  PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas  combination  to  defeat  the  execution  of  the  laws 
laying  duties  upon  spirits  distilled  within  the  United  States  and 
upon  stills  have  from  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  those 
laws  existed  in  some  of  the  western  parts  of  Pennsylvania;  and 

Whereas  the  said  combinations,  proceeding  in  a  manner  sub- 
versive equally  of  the  just  authority  of  government  and  of  the 
rights  of  individuals,  have  hitherto  effected  their  dangerous  and 
criminal  purpose  by  the  influence  of  certain  irregular  meetings 
whose  proceedings  have  tended  to  encourage  and  uphold  the 
spirit  of  opposition  by  misrepresentations  of  the  laws  calcu- 
lated to  render  them  odious;  by  endeavors  to  deter  those  who 
might  be  so  disposed  from  accepting  offices  under  them  through 
fear  of  public  resentment  and  of  injury  to  person  and  property, 
and  to  compel  those  who  had  accepted  such  offices  by  actual 
violence  to  surrender  or  forbear  the  execution  of  them;  by  cir- 
culating vindicative  menaces  against  all  those  who  should  other- 

48  The  signers  of  this  advertisement  are  a  partial  roster  of  the  responsible 
leaders  of  the  community  who  were  trying  to  terminate  the  disturbances. 

49  From  A  Compilation  of  the  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents,  1789- 
1908,  ed.  James  D.  Richardson  (Washington,  1909),  I,  pp.  158-160. 


356' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

wise,  directly  or  indirectly,  aid  in  the  execution  of  the  said 
laws,  or  who,  yielding  to  the  dictates  of  conscience  and  to  a 
sense  of  obligation,  should  themselves  comply  therewith;  by 
actually  injuring  and  destroying  the  property  of  persons  who 
were  understood  to  have  so  complied;  by  inflicting  cruel  and 
humiliating  punishments  upon  private  citizens  for  no  other  cause 
than  that  of  appearing  to  be  the  friends  of  the  laws;  by  inter- 
cepting the  public  officers  on  the  highways,  abusing,  assaulting, 
and  otherwise  ill-treating  them;  by  going  to  their  houses  in  the 
night,  gaining  admittance  by  force,  taking  away  their  papers, 
and  committing  other  outrages,  employing  for  these  unwarrant- 
able purposes  the  agency  of  armed  banditti  disguised  in  such 
manner  as  for  the  most  part  to  escape  discovery;  and  .  .  .  inso- 
much that  many  persons  in  the  said  western  parts  of  Pennsyl- 
vania have  at  length  been  hardy  enough  to  perpetrate  acts  which 
I  am  advised  amount  to  treason,  being  overt  acts  of  levying 
war  against  the  United  States,  the  said  persons  having  on  the 
16th  and  17th  July  last  past  proceeded  in  arms  (on  the  second 
day  amounting  to  several  hundreds)  to  the  house  of  John 
Neville,  inspector  of  the  revenue  for  the  fourth  survey  of  the 
district  of  Pennsylvania;  having  repeatedly  attacked  the  said 
house  with  the  persons  therein,  wounding  some  of  them;  hav- 
ing seized  David  Lenox,  marshal  of  the  district  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  previous  thereto  had  been  fired  upon  while  in  the  execution 
of  his  duty  by  a  party  of  armed  men,  detaining  him  for  some 
time  prisoner,  till  for  the  preservation  of  his  life  and  the  obtain- 
ing of  his  liberty  he  found  it  necessary  to  enter  into  stipulations 
to  forbear  the  execution  of  certain  official  duties  touching  proc- 
esses issuing  out  of  a  court  of  the  United  States;  and  having 
finally  obliged  the  said  inspector  of  the  said  revenue  and  the 
said  marshal  from  considerations  of  personal  safety  to  fly  from 
that  part  of  the  country.  .  .  . 


357 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Whereas  it  is  in  my  judgement  necessary  under  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  to  take  measures  for  calling  forth  the  militia 
in  order  to  suppress  the  combinations  aforesaid,  and  to  cause 
the  laws  to  be  duly  executed;  and  I  have  accordingly  deter- 
mined so  to  do,  feeling  the  deepest  regret  for  the  occasion,  but 
withal  the  most  solemn  conviction  that  the  essential  interests  of 
the  Union  demand  it,  that  the  very  existence  of  Government 
and  the  fundamental  principles  of  social  order  are  materially 
involved  in  the  issue,  and  that  the  patriotism  and  firmness  of 
all  good  citizens  are  seriously  called  upon,  as  occasions  may 
require,  to  aid  in  the  effectual  suppression  of  so  fatal  a  spirit; 

Wherefore,  and  in  pursuance  of  the  proviso  above  recited,  I, 
George  Washington,  President  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby 
command  all  persons  being  insurgents  as  aforesaid,  and  all 
others  whom  it  may  concern,  on  or  before  the  1st  day  of 
September  next  to  disperse  and  retire  peaceably  to  their  respec- 
tive abodes.  And  I  do  moreover  warn  all  persons  whomsoever 
against  aiding,  abetting,  or  comforting  the  perpetrators  of  the 
aforesaid  treasonable  acts,  and  do  require  all  officers  and  other 
citizens,  according  to  their  respective  duties  and  the  laws  of 
the  land,  to  exert  their  utmost  endeavors  to  prevent  and  sup- 
press such  dangerous  proceedings. 

WASHINGTON  SURVEYS  THE  SITUATION,  AUGUST  8,  179450 

TO  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE51 

German  town,52  2  o'Clock,  August  8,  1794 
Sir.  ...  I  request  also  that  all  the  information  that  can  be 

50  From  The  Writings  of  George  Washington  .  .  .  ed.  John  C.  Fitzpatrick, 
XXXIII,  462. 

51  Edmund  Randolph  of  Virginia  had  succeeded  Thomas  Jefferson  as  Sec- 
retary of  State  on  January  2,  1794. 

52  The  President  was  staying  in  Germantown  to  escape  the  heat  of 
Philadelphia. 


358 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

obtained  from  the  Inspector  Neville  and  the  marshal,  may  be 
had  as  soon  as  they  shall  have  arrived  in  the  City;  and  wish  it 
to  be  delivered  before  yourself  and  the  above  gentlemen,  that 
all  of  you  being  thoroughly  possessed  of  the  facts,  and  digesting 
them  well,  may  be  ready  to  meet  me  at  my  house  in  the  City 
tomorrow  morning,  with  your  opinions  on  the  propriety  of 
changing  any  measure  already  resolved  on,  or  for  adding  others 
thereto,  according  to  the  information  which  shall  be  received 
from  them.  It  might  not  be  amiss  that  the  Inspector  and  mar- 
shal shou'd  be  at  hand,  tomorrow  at  the  hour  appointed. 

WASHINGTON  DISCREETLY  INQUIRES  ABOUT  PUBLIC 
OPINION,  AUGUST  8,  179453 

TO  BURGES  BALL54 

German  Town,  August  10,  1794 
Dear  Sir.  .  .  .  What  (under  the  rose  I  ask  it)  is  said,  or 
thought,  as  far  as  it  has  appeared  to  you,  of  the  conduct  of 
the  People  in  the  Western  Counties  of  this  State  (Pennsylvania) 
towards  the  excise  Officers?  and  does  there  seem  to  be  a  dis- 
position among  those  with  whom  you  converse,  to  bring  them 
to  a  Sense  of  their  duty,  and  obedience  to  law,  by  coercion, 
if,  after  they  are  fully  notified  by  the  Proclamation  and  other 
expedients,  of  the  consequences  of  such  outrageous  proceedings, 
they  do  not  Submit  to  the  Laws  of  the  United  States,  and  suffer 
the  Collection  of  the  duties  upon  Spirituous  liquors,  and  Stills, 
to  be  made  as  in  other  places?  In  a  word,  would  their  be  any 
difficulty,  as  far  as  the  matter  has  passed  under  your  observa- 
tion, in  drawing  out  a  part  of  the  Militia  of  Loudoun,  Berkeley 
and  Frederick  to  quell  this  rebellious  spirit,  and  to  support 
order  and  good  government?  You  will  readily  perceive  that 

53  From  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXXIII,  463. 
64  Colonel  Burgess  Ball  was  Washington's  nephew. 


359 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

questions  of  this  sort  from  me  to  you  and  your  answers  are  for 
my  private  information,  and  to  go  no  further  than  ourselves.  .  .  . 

WASHINGTON  DENOUNCES  THE  INSURGENTS, 
AUGUST  10,  179455 

TO  CHARLES  MYNN  THRUSTON56 

(Private) 

Philadelphia,  August  10,  1794 
Dear  Sir.  .  .  .  That . . .  attempts  to  discontent  the  public  mind 
have  been  practiced  with  too  much  success  in  some  of  the  West- 
ern Counties  in  this  State  you  are,  I  am  certain,  not  to  learn. 
Actual  rebellion  against  the  Laws  of  the  United  States  exist 
at  this  moment  notwithstanding  every  lenient  measure  which 
could  comport  with  the  duties  of  the  public  Officers  have  been 
exercised  to  reconcile  them  to  the  collection  of  the  taxes  upon 
spirituous  liquors  and  Stills.  What  may  be  the  consequences  of 
such  violent  and  outrageous  proceedings  is  painful  in  a  high 
degree  even  in  contemplation.  But  if  the  Laws  are  to  be  so 
trampled  upon,  with  impunity,  and  a  minority  (a  small  one  too) 
is  to  dictate  to  the  majority  there  is  an  end  put,  at  one  stroke, 
to  republican  government;  and  nothing  but  anarchy  and  con- 
fusion is  to  be  expected  thereafter;  for  Some  other  man,  or 
society,  may  dislike  another  Law  and  oppose  it  with  equal 
propriety  until  all  Laws  are  prostrate,  and  every  one  (the 
strongest  I  presume)  will  carve  for  himself.  Yet,  there  will  be 
found  persons  I  have  no  doubt,  who,  although  they  may  not 
be  hardy  enough  to  justify  such  opposition  to  the  Laws,  will, 
nevertheless,  be  opposed  to  coercion  even  if  the  proclamation 
and  the  other  temperate  measures  which  are  in  train  by  the 
Executive  to  avert  the  dire  necessity  of  a  resort  to  arms,  should 

55  From  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXXIII,  465. 

56  Rev.  Charles  Mynn  Thruston  was  a  Virginia  neighbor  of  Washington's. 


360- 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

fail.  How  far  such  people  may  extend  their  influence,  and  what 
may  be  the  consequences  thereof  is  not  easy  to  decide;  but  this 
we  know,  that  it  is  not  difficult  by  concealment  of  some  facts, 
and  the  exaggeration  of  others,  (where  there  is  an  influence) 
to  bias  a  well-meaning  mind,  at  least  for  a  time,  truth  will  ulti- 
mately prevail  where  pains  is  taken  to  bring  it  to  light.  .  .  . 

AN  ANONYMOUS  WRITER  PRESENTS  THE  WESTERN  CASE 

IN  HUMOROUS  FORM  IN  THE  PITTSBURGH  GAZETTE 

AUGUST  20,  179457 

AN  INDIAN  TREATY 

Speeches  intended  to  be  spoken  at  a  Treaty  now  holding  with 
the  Six  United  Nations  of  White  Indians  settled  on  the  heads 
of  the  Ohio,  at  the  town  of  Pittsburg,  the  20th  of  August,  1794, 
by  the  Commissioners  sent  from  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose. 
Captain  blanket,  an  Indian  Chief,  spoke  as  follows: 
brothers: — We  welcome  you  to  the  old  Council  Fire  at 
this  place.  ...  As  the  proffer  of  this  treaty  has  originated  with 
your  great  council58  at  Philadelphia,  we  therefore  expect  you 
have  good  terms  to  offer.  But  you  know,  Brothers,  that  it  ever 
has  been  a  custom  to  pay  Indians  well  for  coming  to  treaties, 
and  you  may  be  assured  that  unless  we  are  well  paid,  or  fully 
satisfied,  your  attempts  of  any  kind,  will  not  have  the  least  effect. 
However,  we  doubt  not  but  the  pay  is  provided,  and  that  you 
have  a  sufficiency  of  blankets  and  breech  clouts,  powder  and 
lead  and  that  the  waggons  are  close  at  hand.  You  know,  broth- 
ers, that  our  neighbours,  the  British,  over  the  lakes,  pay  their 
Indians  well,  that  they  have  inexhaustible  stores  of  blankets 

57  This  article,  probably  written  by  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge,  ran  in  the 
Pittsburgh  Gazette  during  the  late  summer  of  1794,  and  is  conveniently  re- 
printed in  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Second  Series,  IV,  545-549. 

58  The  reference  is  to  Congress,  which  then  met  at  Philadelphia. 


361 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

and  ammunition,  and  that  if  they  were  offering  us  a  treaty, 
they  would  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  satisfy  all  our  demands. 

Captain  whiskey  spoke  next: 

brothers:— My  friend  Captain  Blanket  has  indulged  him- 
self in  a  little  drollery  about  blankets,  &c,  but  I  must  speak 
to  the  point.  I  am  told  that  the  people  of  your  great  council 
call  us  a  parcel  of  drunken  raggamuffins,  because  we  indulge 
ourselves  with  a  bottle  of  our  homespun  whiskey,  and  that  we 
ought  to  pay  well  for  this  extraordinary  luxury.  What  would 
they  think  if  the  same  was  said  of  them  for  drinking  beer  and 
cyder?  Surely  the  saying  will  apply  with  equal  force  in  both 
cases.  We  say  that  our  whiskey  shall  not  be  saddled  with  an 
unequal  tax.  You  say  it  shall;  and  to  enforce  the  collection  of 
three  or  four  thousand  dollars  per  ann.  of  nett  proceeds,  you 
will  send  an  army  of  12,950  men  or  double  that  number  if 
necessary.  This  is  a  new  fashioned  kind  of  economy  indeed.  It 
is  a  pitty  this  army  had  not  been  employed  long  ago  in  assisting 
your  old  warrior,  Gen.  Wayne;59  or  chastising  the  British  about 
the  lakes.  However,  I  presume  it  is  the  present  policy  to  guard 
against  offending  a  nation  with  a  king  at  their  head.  But  re- 
member, brothers,  if  we  have  not  a  king  at  our  head,  we  have 
that  powerful  monarch,  Captain  Whiskey,  to  command  us.  By 
the  power  of  his  influence,  and  a  love  to  his  person,  we  are 
compelled  to  every  great  and  heroic  act. 

Your  know,  brothers,  that  Capt.  Whiskey  has  been  a  great 
warrior  in  all  nations  and  in  all  armies.  He  is  a  descendant  of 
that  nation  called  Ireland;  and  to  use  his  own  phrase,  he  has 
peopled  three-fourths  of  this  western  world  with  his  own  hand. 
We,  the  Six  United  Nations  of  White  Indians,  are  principally 
his  legitimate  offspring,  and  those  who  are  not,  have  all  imbibed 

69  General  Anthony  Wayne  was  then  in  command  of  an  American  army 
in  the  field  against  the  Indians  in  Western  Ohio. 


362' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

his  principles  and  passions — that  is  a  love  of  whiskey;  and  will, 
therefore,  fight  for  our  bottle  till  the  last  gasp.  Brothers,  you 
must  not  think  to  frighten  us  with  fine  arranged  lists  of  infantry, 
cavalry  and  artillery,  composed  of  your  water-mellon  armies 
from  the  Jersey  shores;  they  would  cut  a  much  better  figure  in 
warring  with  the  crabs  and  oysters  about  the  Capes  of  Dela- 
ware. It  is  a  common  thing  for  Indians  to  fight  your  best  armies 
at  the  proportion  of  one  to  Rve;  therefore,  we  would  not  hesi- 
tate a  moment  to  attack  this  army  at  the  rate  of  one  to  ten. 
Our  nations  can,  upon  an  emergency,  produce  twenty  thousand 
warriors;  you  may  then  calculate  what  your  army  ought  to  be. 
But  I  must  not  forget  that  I  am  making  an  Indian  speech;  I 
must,  therefore,  give  you  a  smack  of  national  tongue— Tongas h 
Getchie — Tongash  Getchie — very  strong  man,  me  Captain 
Whiskey. 

Capt.  alliance  next  took  the  floor: 

My  friend,  Captain  Whiskey,  has  made  some  fine  flourishes 
about  the  power  of  his  all  conquering  monarch,  Whiskey,  and 
of  the  intrepidity  of  the  sons  of  St.  Patrick  in  defence  of  their 
beloved  bottle.  But  we  will  suppose,  when  matters  are  brought 
to  the  test,  that  we  should  find  ourselves  unequal  to  the  task  of 
repelling  this  tremendous  army,  or  that  the  great  council  should 
still  persevere  in  their  determination  of  imposing  unequal  and 
oppressive  duties  upon  our  whiskey;  who  knows  but  some  evil 
spirit  might  prompt  us  to  a  separation  from  the  union,  and  call 
for  the  alliance  of  some  more  friendly  nation.  You  know  that 
the  great  nation  of  Kentucky  has  already  suggested  this  idea 
to  us.  They  are  at  present  Mississippi  mad,  and  we  are  whiskey 
mad;  it  is  therefore,  hard  to  tell  what  may  be  the  issue  of  such 
united  madness.  It  appears  as  if  the  Kentuckians  were  disposed 
to  bow  knee  to  the  Spanish  monarch  .  .  .  rather  than  be  longer 
deprived  of  their  Mississippi;   and  we  might   be   desperate 


363 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

enough,  rather  than  submit  to  an  odious  excise  or  unequal  taxes, 
to  invite  Prince  William  Henry60  or  some  other  royal  pup,  to 
take  us  by  the  hand  provided  he  would  guarantee  equal  taxation 
and  exempt  our  whiskey. 

This  would  be  a  pleasing  overture  to  the  royal  family  of 
England — they  would  eagerly  embrace  the  favorable  moment 
to  add  again  to  their  curtailed  dominion  in  America,  to  accom- 
modate some  of  their  numerous  brood  with  kingdoms  and  prin- 
cipalities. .  .  .  If  the  Kentuckians  should  also  take  it  into  their 
head  to  withold  supplies  from  your  good  old  warrior  Wayne, 
who  is  very  often  near  starving  in  the  wilderness,  his  army 
must  be  immediately  annihilated,  and  your  great  council  might 
forever  bid  adieu  to  their  territory  west  of  the  mountains.  This 
may  seem  very  improbable  indeed;  but  as  great  wonders  have 
happened  within  Europe  in  the  course  of  three  years  past. 

captain  pacificus  then  arose  and  concluded  the  business  of 
the  day: 

brothers: — My  friend  Alliance  has  made  some  very  alarm- 
ing observations,  and  I  confess  they  have  considerable  weight 
with  me.  A  desperate  people  may  be  drove  to  desperate  re- 
sources, but  as  I  am  of  a  peaceable  disposition  I  shall  readily 
concur  in  every  reasonable  proposition  which  may  have  a  ten- 
dency to  restore  tranquility,  and  secure  our  union  upon  the  true 
principles  of  equality  and  justice.  It  is  now  time  to  know  the 
true  object  of  your  mission;  if  you  are  the  messengers  of  peace 
and  come  to  offer  us  a  treaty,  why  attempt  to  deliver  it  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet?  If  you  are  only  come  to  grant  pardons 
for  past  offences,  you  need  not  have  fatigued  yourselves  with 
such  extraordinary  dispatch  on  the  journey:  we  have  not  yet 
begged  your  pardon;  we  are  not  yet  at  the  gallows  or  the  guil- 
lotine, for  you  will  have  to  catch  us  first  before  you  bring  us 

60  Third  son  of  George  III  and  future  William  IV. 


364- 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

there.  But  as  I  am  rather  more  of  a  counsellor  than  a  warrior, 
I  am  more  disposed  to  lay  hold  of  the  chain61  than  the  toma- 
hawk; I  shall  therefore  propose  that  a  total  suspension  of  all 
hostilities  and  the  cause  thereof,  shall  immediately  take  place 
on  both  sides,  until  the  next  meeting  of  our  great  national 
council.  If  your  powers  are  not  competent  to  this  agreement, 
we  expect,  as  your  old  counsellors  and  peaceable  men,  that  you 
will  at  least  report  and  recommend  it  to  our  good  old  father62 
who  sits  at  the  helm. 

We  know  it  was  his  duty  to  make  proclamation  &c,  &c, 
but  we  expect  everything  that  can  result  from  his  prudence, 
humanity  and  benevolence  towards  his  fellow  creatures. 
A  belt,  on  which  is  inscribed, 
plenty  of  Whiskey  without  Excise. 

JOHN  LUCAS  DESCRIBES  HOW  THE  PEOPLE  WERE  PERSUADED 
TO  AGREE  TO  OBEY  THE  LAW,  AUGUST,  179463 

On  the  21st  of  August,  when  the  committee  of  twelve64  went 
to  confer  at  Pittsburgh,  with  the  commissioners  in  behalf  of 
the  executive,  the  nine  deputies  from  Westmoreland,  Washing- 
ton, and  Allegheny  counties  met  together,  and  while  they  were 
waiting  for  the  three  deputies  from  Fayette,  who  was  not  yet 
arrived,  Mr.  Brackenridge  opened  the  conversation  on  the 
momentous  subject  of  resisting  or  acquiescing  in  the  laws  of 
the  United  States;  and  this  deponent,  who  was  one  of  the  three 

61  Indians  thought  of  a  peace  treaty  as  a  chain,  with  each  of  the  parties 
holding  one  end. 

62  Washington. 

63  Brackenridge's  Incidents,  III,  pp.  104-107. 

64  The  committee,  three  representatives  from  each  of  the  four  counties 
concerned,  had  been  elected  at  the  "convention"  held  at  Parkinson's  Ferry- 
on  August  14.  They  were  chosen  to  meet  with  the  commissioners  sent  by 
the  President  and  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 


365 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

deputies  from  Allegheny  county,  says,  he  witnessed  Mr.  Brack- 
enridge  saying  openly,  before  any  body  had  given  his  opinion, 
that  he  thought  that  submission  was  the  best  step  to  be  taken; 
that  for  his  part,  he  was  fully  determined  to  submit  to  the  laws. 
The  deponent  says,  that  amongst  the  many  that  were  wishing 
secretly  to  see  the  people  returning  to  obedience  to  the  laws, 
Mr.  Brackenridge  is  the  first  man  he  did  hear  speaking  of  sub- 
mission after  the  insurrection. 

The  deponent  says  further,  that  he  went  the  best  part  of  the 
way  from  Pittsburgh  to  attend  the  committee  of  Redstone,65 
held  on  the  28th  and  29th  days  of  last  August;  and  as  they  were 
going  along,  the  deponent  saw  in  Mr.  Brackenridge  all  the 
tokens  of  distress  at  the  appearance  of  so  many  liberty  poles 
raised  through  the  country,  and  so  little  corresponding  with  the 
pacific  views  he  (Mr.  Brackenridge)  was  going  with  his  other 
colleagues  to  propagate  and  support,  before  the  standing  com- 
mittee at  Redstone. 

.  .  .  After  the  report  of  the  conference  held  on  the  21st,  was 
made  on  the  28th,  to  the  standing  committee,  and  the  said  com- 
mittee having  adjourned  to  meet  on  the  morrow,  29th,  Mr. 
Gallatin66  came  to  Mr.  Brackenridge  in  the  street,  and  in  pres- 
ence of  this  deponent  Mr.  Gallatin  proposed  to  Mr.  Bracken- 
ridge to  open  the  matter  on  the  following  day,  which  Mr. 
Brackenridge  declined,  devolving  the  task  on  Mr.  Gallatin,  with 
promise  he  would  support  him  with  all  his  might. . .  .  This  depo- 
nent says,  that  on  the  day  following  he  attended  the  committee 

65  The  committee  elected  to  meet  with  the  President's  commissioners  had 
recommended  submission.  However,  another  "convention"  of  the  four  coun- 
ties was  called  together  at  Redstone  (Brownsville)  to  approve  or  disapprove 
the  action  of  the  committee  in  agreeing  to  submit. 

66  Albert  Gallatin  of  Fayette  County,  later  to  become  successively  a  con- 
gressman, Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  diplomat,  was  the  secretary  of  the 
"convention"  and  one  of  the  moderates. 


366' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

as  a  member  of  it,  and  heard  Mr.  Brackenridge  echoing  there  in 
his  own  language,  the  cogent  and  powerful  arguments  first  made 
use  of  by  Mr.  Gallatin,  and  adding  new  ones  of  his  own;  all  to 
the  purpose  of  disposing  the  committee  to  submit  to  the  laws, 
and  propagate  that  disposition  among  their  constituents. 

WASHINGTON  ANNOUNCES  THAT  TROOPS  ARE  MARCHING 
ON  WESTERN  PENNSYLVANIA,  SEPTEMBER  25,  179467 

PROCLAMATION 

Philadelphia,  September  25,  1794 
Whereas,  from  a  hope  that  the  combinations  against  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  of  the  United  States,  in  certain  of  the  West- 
ern counties  of  Pennsylvania,  would  yield  to  time  and  reflection, 
I  thought  it  sufficient,  in  the  first  instance,  rather  to  take  meas- 
ures for  calling  forth  the  militia  than  immediately  to  embody 
them;  but  the  moment  is  now  come,  when  the  overtures  of 
forgiveness,  with  no  other  condition  than  a  submission  to  law, 
have  been  only  partially  accepted;  when  every  form  of  con- 
ciliation not  inconsistent  with  the  being  of  Government  has 
been  adopted,  without  effect;  when  the  well-disposed  in  those 
counties  are  unable  by  their  influence  and  example  to  reclaim 
the  wicked  from  their  fury,  and  are  compelled  to  associate  in 
their  own  defence;  when  the  proffered  lenity  has  been  per- 
versely misinterpreted  into  an  apprehension  that  the  citizens 
will  march  with  reluctance;  when  the  opportunity  of  examining 
the  serious  consequences  of  a  treasonable  opposition  has  been 
employed  in  propagating  principles  of  anarchy,  endeavoring 
through  emissaries  to  alienate  the  friends  of  order  from  its  sup- 
port, and  inviting  enemies  to  perpetrate  similar  acts  of  insur- 
rection; when  it  is  manifest,  that  violence  would  continue  to 
be  exercised  upon  every  attempt  to  enforce  the  laws;  when, 
67  From  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXXIII,  507-509. 


367 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

therefore,  Government  is  set  at  defiance,  the  contest  being 
whether  a  small  proportion  of  the  United  States  shall  dictate 
to  the  whole  Union,  and,  at  the  expense  of  those  who  desire 
peace,  indulge  a  desperate  ambition; 

Now,  therefore,  I,  george  Washington,  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  obedience  to  that  high  and  irresistible  duty, 
consigned  to  me  by  the  Constitution,  "to  take  care  that  the 
laws  be  faithfully  executed;"  deploring  that  the  American  name 
should  be  sullied  by  the  outrages  of  citizens  on  their  own 
Government;  commiserating  such  as  remain  obstinate  from  de- 
lusion; but  resolved,  in  perfect  reliance  on  that  gracious  Provi- 
dence which  so  signally  displays  its  goodness  towards  this 
country,  to  reduce  the  refractory  to  a  due  subordination  to  the 
laws;  do  hereby  declare  and  make  known,  that,  with  a  satis- 
faction which  can  be  equaled  only  by  the  merits  of  the  militia 
summoned  into  service  from  the  States  of  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland  and  Virginia,  I  have  received  intelligence 
of  their  patriotic  alacrity,  in  obeying  the  call  of  the  present, 
though  painful,  yet  commanding  necessity;  that  a  force,  which, 
according  to  every  reasonable  expectation,  is  adequate  to  the 
exigency,  is  already  in  motion  to  the  scene  of  disaffection;  that 
those  who  have  confided  or  shall  confide  in  the  protection  of 
Government,  shall  meet  full  succor  under  the  standard  and  from 
the  arms  of  the  United  States;  that  those  who  having  offended 
against  the  laws  have  since  entitled  themselves  to  indemnity, 
will  be  treated  with  the  most  liberal  good  faith,  if  they  shall 
not  have  forfeited  their  claim  by  any  subsequent  conduct,  and 
that  instructions  are  given  accordingly. 

And  I  do,  moreover,  exhort  all  individuals,  officers,  and 
bodies  of  men,  to  contemplate  with  abhorrence  the  measures 
leading  directly  or  indirectly  to  those  crimes,  which  produce 
this  resort  to  military  coercion;  to  check,  in  their  respective 


368 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

spheres,  the  efforts  of  misguided  or  designing  men  to  substitute 
their  misrepresentation  in  the  place  of  truth,  and  their  discontents 
in  the  place  of  stable  government;  and  to  call  to  mind,  that  as 
the  people  of  the  United  States  have  been  permitted,  under  the 
Divine  favor,  in  perfect  freedom,  after  solemn  deliberation,  in 
an  enlightened  age,  to  elect  their  own  Government,  so  will 
their  gratitude  for  this  inestimable  blessing  be  best  distinguished 
by  firm  exertions  to  maintain  the  Constitution  and  the  laws. 

And,  lastly,  I  again  warn  all  persons,  whomsoever  and  wher- 
soever,  not  to  abet,  aid,  or  comfort  the  insurgents  aforesaid,  as 
they  will  answer  the  contrary  at  their  peril;  and  I  do  also  re- 
quire all  officers  and  other  citizens,  according  to  their  several 
duties,  as  far  as  may  be  in  their  power,  to  bring  under  the 
cognizance  of  the  law  all  offenders  in  the  premises. 

WASHINGTON  BLAMES  THE  INSURRECTION  ON  HIS  POLITI- 
CAL OPPONENTS  IN  THE  DEMOCRATIC  SOCIETIES68 
SEPTEMBER  25,  179469 

To  BURGES  BALL 

Philadelphia,  September  25,  1794. 
Dear  Sir.  ...  I  hear  with  the  greatest  pleasure  of  the  spirit 
which  so  generally  pervades  the  Militia  of  every  State  that  has 
been  called  upon,  on  the  present  occasion;  and  of  the  decided 
discountenance  the  Incendiaries  of  public  peace  and  order  have 
met  with  in  their  attempt  to  spread  their  nefarious  doctrines, 
with  a  view  to  poison  and  discontent  the  minds  of  the  people 
against  the  government;  particularly  by  endeavouring  to  have 

68  The  Democratic  Societies  were  forerunners  of  the  anti-Federalist  party 
which,  under  the  leadership  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  became  the  opposition 
party  to  the  Federalists  of  Washington  and  Hamilton.  Washington  was  op- 
posed to  political  parties,  as  this  letter  makes  plain. 

69  From  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXXIII,  505-507. 


369 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

it  believed  that  their  liberties  were  assailed,  and  that  all  the 
wicked  and  abominable  measures  that  cod.  be  devised  (under 
specious  guises)  are  practiced  to  sap  the  Constitution,  and  lay 
the  foundation  of  future  Slavery. 

The  Insurrection  in  the  Western  counties  of  this  State  is  a 
striking  evidence  of  this;  and  may  be  considered  as  the  first 
ripe  fruit  of  the  Democratic  Societies.  I  did  not,  I  must  confess; 
expect  their  labours  would  come  to  maturity  so  soon;  though 
I  never  had  a  doubt,  that  such  conduct  would  produce  some 
such  issue;  if  it  did  not  meet  the  frown  of  those  who  were  well 
disposed  to  order  and  good  government,  in  time;  for  can  any 
thing  be  more  absurd,  more  arrogant,  or  more  pernicious  to 
the  peace  of  Society,  than  for  self  created  bodies,  forming  them- 
selves into  permanent  Censors,  and  under  the  shade  of  Night 
in  a  conclave,  resolving  that  acts  of  Congress  which  have  under- 
gone the  most  deliberate,  and  solemn  discussion  by  the  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  people,  chosen  for  the  express  purpose,  and 
bringing  with  them  from  the  different  parts  of  the  Union  the 
sense  of  their  Constituents,  endeavouring  as  far  as  the  nature 
of  the  thing  will  admit,  to  form  that  will  into  Laws  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  whole;  I  say,  under  these  circumstances,  for  a 
self  created,  permanent  body,  (for  no  one  denies  the  right  of 
the  people  to  meet  occasionally,  to  petition  for,  or  to  remon- 
strate against,  any  Act  of  the  Legislature  &ca)  to  declare  that 
this  act  is  unconstitutional,  and  that  act  is  pregnant  of  mischief; 
and  that  all  who  vote  contrary  to  their  dogmas  are  actuated  by 
selfish  motives,  or  under  foreign  influence;  nay  in  plain  terms 
are  traiters  to  their  Country,  is  such  a  stretch  of  arrogant  pre- 
sumption as  is  not  to  be  reconciled  with  laudable  motives; 
especially  when  we  see  the  same  set  of  men  endeavouring  to 
destroy  all  confidence  in  the  Administration,  by  arraigning  all 
its  acts,  without  knowing  on  what  ground,  or  with  what  infor- 


370 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

mation  it  preceeds  and  this  without  regard  to  decency  or  truth. 
These  things  were  evidently  intended,  and  could  not  fail  with- 
out counteraction,  to  disquiet  the  public  mind;  but  I  hope,  and 
trust,  they  will  work  their  own  cure;  especially  when  it  is 
known,  more  generally  than  it  is,  that  the  Democratic  Society 
of  this  place70  (from  which  the  others  have  emanated)  was 
instituted  by  Mr.  Genet71  for  the  express  purpose  of  dissention, 
and  to  draw  a  line  between  the  people  and  the  government, 
after  he  found  the  Officers  of  the  latter  would  not  yield  to  the 
hostile  measures  in  which  he  wanted  to  embroil  this  Country. 

CAPTAIN  DAVID  FORD72  OF  THE  NEW  JERSEY  MILITIA 

DESCRIBES  HOW  PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON  REVIEWED  THE 

TROOPS  AT  CARLISLE,  OCTOBER  3,  4,  and  5,  179473 

Oct.  3d.  Orders  this  day  for  the  troops  to  turn  out  early  in 
the  morning  to  receive  the  President  of  the  United  States,  who 
is  expected  early,  having  lodged  at  Harrisburgh  this  evening. 

4th.  The  greatest  vieing  between  the  New  Jersey  and  Penn- 
sylvania horse  who  should  be  first  on  the  ground  to  receive 
the  President.  At  ten  o'clock,  the  signal  for  mounting  came,  and 
away  went  the  horse.  The  vanguard  of  the  Phila.  horse  very 
improperly  pressed  by  our  troops,  and  took  post  in  front.  This 
was  considered  as  not  polite  by  the  New  Jersey  cavalry,  more 

70  Philadelphia,  the  capital. 

71  Edmund  Genet,  first  embassador  of  revolutionary  France  to  the  United 
States.  His  political  activities  on  behalf  of  American  aid  to  France  in  her 
current  war  with  Britain  forced  the  United  States  to  decide  to  ask  for  his  recall. 

72  David  Ford,  an  officer  in  the  New  Jersey  Militia,  rose  to  the  rank  of 
colonel  in  the  War  of  1812. 

73  From  David  Ford's  "Journal  of  an  Expedition  Made  in  the  Autumn  of 
1 794,  with  a  Detachment  of  New  Jersey  Troops,  into  Western  Pennsylvania, 
to  Aid  in  Surpressing  the  'Whiskey  Rebellion'  "  in  New  Jersey  Historical 
Society  Proceedings,  VIII  (1859),  85. 


371 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

particularly  as  we  were  strangers.  The  President  came  on.  He 
was  met  by  a  very  large  train  of  Generals  and  other  gentlemen, 
and  all  the  troops  that  could  be  mustered.  On  his  approaching 
the  town,  he  was  saluted  by  a  Federal  salute,  and  the  ringing 
of  bells;  and  every  heart  expands  with  joy,  except  the  whiskey 
boys.  They  made  a  passage  through  the  town  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania camp,  and  after  receiving  them,  he  took  up  his  quarters 
in  town.  He  was  accompanied  by  Col.  Hamilton  as  an  aid,  and 
a  small  scout  of  horse.  No  army  ever  received  him  with  more 
heartfelt  joy  and  satisfaction.  I  was  much  mortified  that  I  could 
not  attend  the  train.  I  was  only  a  spectator  of  the  cavalcade. 

5th.  The  officers  of  each  line  of  the  army,  with  the  Governor 
of  each  State,  waited  on  the  President  at  12  o'clock,  and  were 
introduced  to  him,  and  received  with  that  manly  dignity  which 
would  have  won  enemies  had  they  been  there,  unless  their 
hearts  were  as  black  as  their  actions. 


FIFER  SAMUEL  DEWEESE74  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  MILITIA 
SALUTES  THE  PRESIDENT,  OCTOBER  4,  179475 

Previous  to  our  marching,  His  Excellency  Thomas  Mifflin, 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  arrived  from  his  farm  near  Reading 
and  paid  to  each  man  in  the  corps,  the  sum  of  six  dollars.  This 
sum,  each  man  was  to  leave  with  his  family.  Whether  this  was 
out  of  his  own  private  purse,  or  on  account  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania I  do  not  know,  but  I  recollect  that  it  was  said  at  the 
time  that  the  Governor  had  made  a  present  of  six  dollars  to 
every  man  for  the  purpose  above  stated. 

74  Samuel  DeWeese  had  been  a  fifer  in  the  Revolution  and  later  was  a 
captain  in  the  War  of  1812. 

75  From  Samuel  DeWeese' s  A  History  of  the  Life  and  Services  of  Captain 
Samuel  DeWeese  (Baltimore,  1844),  pp.  294-321. 


372 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Captain  Fisher76  received  orders  for  his  company  to  march 
on  to  Carlisle.  We  all  got  in  readiness,  paraded  through  the 
principal  streets  of  Harrisburg,  and  then  marched  for  Carlisle. 
When  we  left  Harrisburg,  we  crossed  over  the  Susquehanna 
river  in  flats.  The  banks  of  the  river  on  the  town  side  were 
covered  with  women  and  children,  and  there  were  great  weep- 
ing and  mourning  indeed.  Our  country  called,  and  duty  was 
clearly  spread  out  before  our  eyes;  we  had  therefore  to  steel 
our  hearts  against  the  cries  of  mothers  and  children,  and  brave 
up  against  the  tide  of  weeping  and  wailing,  by  playing  and 
beating  up  merrily  "Charley  over  the  water."  This,  we  con- 
tinued to  do  until  Harrisburg  was  partly  lost  in  the  distance 
behind  us.  .  .  . 

All  the  officers  were  at  their  posts  in  front  of  the  line  in 
order  to  receive  and  salute  the  Commander-in-Chief  and  suite. 

President  Washington,  the  Governors  (of  states)  then  at 
Carlisle,  formed  at  the  head  of  the  line.  The  brigade  and  field 
officers  that  accompanied  the  President  and  Governors,  took 
their  positions  in  that  line  preparatory  to  the  review. 

All  things  being  in  readiness,  the  President  and  suite  moved 
on  to  a  review  of  the  troops.  The  method  of  salute  was,  each 
regiment  as  the  Commander-in-Chief  and  suite  drew  near,  was 
ordered  to  "present  arms."  Field  officers,  Captains,  Lieutenants, 
&c,  in  line  in  advance  of  the  troops  saluted  by  bringing  the 
hilts  of  their  swords  to  their  faces  and  then  throwing  the  points 
of  their  swords  towards  the  ground  at  some  little  distance  from 
their  bodies  on  their  right  side.  The  musicians  at  the  same 
time  playing  and  beating  a  salute.  The  flag  bearers  at  a  certain 
roll  of  the  drum  would  also  salute  by  waving  their  colours  to 
and  fro.  The  musicians  in  this  grand  line  of  military,  varied 

76  Fisher  commanded  the  company  of  Harrisburg  volunteers  to  which 
DeWeese  belonged. 


373 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

very  much,  in  their  salutes. — Some  Drummers  no  doubt  knew 
what  tune  was  a  salute,  and  could  have  beaten  it  well,  but  their 
Fifers  could  not  play  it,  and  some  Fifers  knew  how  to  play  it, 
but  their  Drummers  could  not  beat  it.  An  acquaintance  of  mine 
of  the  name  of  shipe  who  played  the  Fife  for  a  company  from 
Philadelphia  could  have  played  it,  and  well  too,  (for  many  a 
time  we  had  played  it  together  during  the  Revolution,)  but 
his  Drummer  knew  nothing  about  it.  Some  musicians  played 
and  beat  one  thing  and  some  another.  One  Fifer  I  recollect 
(within  hearing  distance  of  us,)  played  Yankee  Doodle,  and  his 
Drummer  no  doubt  beat  it  well  too,  but  it  was  not  a  salute. 

When  President  Washington  and  his  suite  arrived  at  our 
regiment,  I  struck  up  and  Warriour77  beat  "the  old  British 
Grenadier's  March,"  which  was  always  the  music  played  and 
beat,  and  offered  to  a  superior  officer  as  a  salute  during  the 
revolutionary  war.  This  tune  had  a  great  many  flams  and  rolls 
to  it.  President  Washington  eyed  us  keenly,  as  he  was  passing 
us  and  continued  to  do  so,  even  when  he  had  passed  to  some 
distance  from  us. 

After  this  duty  was  performed,  upon  the  part  of  the  soldiery, 
President  Washington  in  conversation  with  the  officers,  asked 
Captain  Fisher  if  his  musicians  (Warriour  and  myself)  had  not 
been  in  the  Continental  service,  during  the  Revolution.  Captain 
Fisher  informed  him  that  we  had  been;  upon  which  the  Presi- 
dent replied  that  he  had  thought  so,  from  the  manner  of  playing 
and  beating,  and  observed  that  we  performed  the  best  of  any 
in  the  army,  and  were  the  only  musicians  that  played  and  beat 
the  old  (or  usual)  Revolutionary  salute,  which  he  said  was  as 
well  played  and  beat  as  he  had  ever  heard  it  during  the  Revolu- 
tion. Captain  Fisher  was  very  proud  of  our  having  so  far  ex- 
celled as  to  obtain  the  just  praise  of  the  President,  and  said  to 

77  Warriour  (a  surname)  was  DeWeese's  drummer. 

•374. 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

us  upon  his  return,  "Boys  you  have  received  the  praise  of  Presi- 
dent Washington  to-day  for  having  excelled  all  of  the  musicians 
in  the  line  in  playing  and  beating  up  Washington's  favorite 
revolutionary  salute,  for  he  says,  not  a  musician  in  the  whole 
army  has  played  it  to-day  but  yourselves. "  If  Captain  Fisher 
was  proud  of  Washington's  commendation  of  us,  my  readers 
may  judge  that  we  were  not  less  proud  of  it  than  himself  .  .  . 

PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON  WRITES  OF  HIS  PLANS 
OCTOBER  8,  179478 

To  MAJOR  GENERAL  DANIEL  MORGAN79 

Carlisle,  October  8,  1794. 

Dear  Sir:  In  the  moment  I  was  leaving  the  City  of  Philadel- 
phia for  this  place,  your  letter  of  the  24th  Ulto.  was  put  into 
my  hands.  Although  I  regret  the  occasion  which  has  called  you 
into  the  field,  I  rejoice  to  hear  you  are  there;  and  because  it  is 
probable  I  may  meet  you  at  Fort  Cumberland,  whither  I  shall 
proceed,  so  soon  as  I  see  the  Troops  at  this  rendezvous  in 
condition  to  advance.  At  that  place,  or  at  Bedford,  my  ulterior 
resolution  must  be  taken,  either  to  advance  with  the  Troops 
into  the  Insurgent  Counties  of  this  State,  or  to  return  to  Phila- 
delphia for  the  purpose  of  meeting  Congress  the  3d.  of  next 
month. 

Imperious  circumstances  alone  can  justify  my  absence  from 
the  Seat  of  Government  whilst  Congress  are  in  Session;  but 
if  these,  from  the  disposition  of  the  People  in  the  refractory 
Counties,  and  the  state  of  the  information  I  expect  to  receive 
at  the  advanced  Posts,  should  appear  to  exist  the  lesser  must 
yield  to  the  greater  duties  of  my  office  and  I  shall  cross  the 

78  From  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXXIII,  522. 

79  Daniel  Morgan  rose  from  captain  to  general  in  the  Revolution  as  a 
commander  of  frontier  Virginia  riflemen. 


375 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

mountains  with  the  Troops;  if  not,  I  shall  place  the  command 
of  the  combined  force  under  the  orders  of  Governor  Lee80  of 
Virginia  and  repair  to  the  Seat  of  Government.  .  .  . 

WASHINGTON  HEARS  THAT  A  CONVENTION  OF  WESTERN 

DELEGATES  HAS  RESOLVED  TO  SUBMIT  TO  THE  REVENUE 

LAW,  OCTOBER  9,  179481 

TO  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE 

(Private) 

Carlisle,  Oct  9,  1794. 
.  .  .  Little,  of  moment,  has  occurred  since  mine  of  the  6th. 
A  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  60,  at  Parkinson's  ferry  the 
2d.  inst.82  have  resolved  that  if  the  signature  of  the  submission,83 
be  not  universal,  it  is  not  so  much  owing  to  any  existing  dispo- 
sition to  oppose  the  laws  as  to  a  want  of  time  or  information 
to  operate  a  corrisponding  sentiment  &ca.  &ca.  That  they  the 
Committee  (unanimously)  resolve  to  submit  to  the  Laws  of 
the  United  States  and  will  support  them  &ca.  &ca.  That  in 
the  four  western  Counties  of  this  State,  in  their  opinion,  there 
is  a  general  disposition  to  submit  to  all  Laws  of  the  U  S  and 
a  determination  to  support  the  Civil  authy.  in  their  execution. 

80  Henry  Lee,  called  "Light  Horse  Harry"  as  a  commander  of  cavalry 
during  the  Revolution,  was  Governor  of  Virginia  from  1791  to  1794.  He 
coined  the  phrase  that  Washington  was  "first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first 
in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen."  Henry  Lee  was  the  father  of  Robert  E. 
Lee,  the  Confederate  military  leader. 

81  From  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXXIII,  525. 

82  The  "Committee  of  Sixty"  was  the  "convention"  of  the  Western  coun- 
ties. It  met  at  Parkinson's  Ferry  for  a  second  time  on  October  2nd  to  pass 
resolutions  promising  submission  to  the  laws  and  to  elect  a  committee  to 
notify  the  President  of  the  pacific  disposition  of  the  inhabitants. 

83  Under  terms  worked  out  by  the  President's  commissioners  and  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Western  counties,  citizens  were  to  sign  a  promise  to  obey 
the  laws  in  return  for  an  amnesty  for  the  signers. 


376' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

That  Wm.Findley  of  Westmoreland  County  and  David  Redick84 
of  Washington  County  be  Commissioners  to  wait  upon  the 
President  of  the  U.  S.  and  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  with 
a  copy  of  these  Resolutions:  and  to  explain  to  Government 
the  present  State  of  that  Country  that  the  President  may  judge 
whether  an  armed  force  be  now  necessary  to  support  the  Civil 
authority  there. 

These  Commissioners  have  not  made  their  appearance  yet. 
The  Insurgents  are  alarmed,  but  not  yet  brought  to  their  proper 
senses.  Every  mean  is  devised  by  them  and  their  associates  and 
friends  elsewhere  to  induce  a  belief  that  there  is  no  necessity 
for  Troops  crossing  the  mountains;  altho'  we  have  information 
at  the  same  time  that  part  of  the  people  there  are  obliged  to 
embody  themselves  to  repel  the  insults,  of  another  part.  The 
troops  at  this  rendezvous  will  commence  their  march  for  Bed- 
ford tomorrow;  at  which  time  I  shall  set  out  for  Williamsport, 
thence  to  Fort  Cumberland,  and  from  thence  to  Bedford  where 
from  the  information  I  shall  receive  in  the  interem  my  ultimate 
resolution  will  be  taken  to  proceed,  or  turn  my  face  towards 
Philadelphia. 

WASHINGTON  RECORDS  HIS  MEETING  WITH  THE 

COMMISSIONERS  FROM  THE  WESTERN  COUNTIES 

OCTOBER  9  and  10,  179485 

On  the  9th.  William  Findley  and  David  Redick  deputed  by 
the  Committee  of  safety  (as  it  is  dissignated)  which  met  on 

84  William  Findley,  as  previously  mentioned,  was  a  member  of  Congress. 
David  Redick,  one  of  the  founders  of  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  was  a  vet- 
eran of  the  Revolution,  a  lawyer,  the  clerk  of  courts  of  Washington  County, 
and  had  held  several  state  offices. 

85  From  The  Diaries  of  George  Washington,  1748-1799,  ed.  John  C.  Fitz- 
patrick  (Boston,  1925),  IV,  212-216. 


377 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

the  2d  of  this  month  at  Parkinson  Ferry  arrived  in  Camp  with 
the  Resolutions  of  the  said  Committee; — and  to  give  informa- 
tion of  the  State  of  things  in  the  four  Western  Counties  of 
Pennsylvania  to  wit  Washington,  Fayette,  West[morelan]d  and 
Allegany  in  order  to  see  if  it  would  prevent  the  March  of  the 
Army  into  them. 

At  10  oclock  I  had  a  meeting  with  these  persons  in  presence 
of  Govr.  Howell  (of  New  Jersey)  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, Colo.  Hamilton,  and  Mr.  Dandridge:86  Govr.  Mifflin87  was 
invited  to  be  present,  but  excused  himself  on  acct.  of  business. 

I  told  the  Deputies  that  by  one  of  the  Resolutions  it  would 
appear  that  they  were  empowered  to  give  information  of  the 
disposition  and  of  the  existing  state  of  matters  in  the  four  Coun- 
ties abovemen[tione]d;  that  I  was  ready  to  hear,  and  would 
listen  patiently,  and  with  candour  to  what  they  had  to  say. 

Mr.  Findley  began.  He  confined  his  information  to  such  parts 
of  the  four  Counties  as  he  was  best  acquainted  with;  referring 
to  Mr  Redick  for  a  recital  of  what  fell  within  his  knowledge, 
in  the  other  parts  of  these  Counties. 

The  substance  of  Mr.  Findleys  communications  were  as 
follows — viz — That  the  People  in  the  parts  where  he  was  best 
acquainted,  had  seen  there  folly,  and  he  believed  were  disposed 
to  submit  to  the  Laws;  that  he  thought,  but  could  not  undertake 
to  be  responsible,  for  the  reestablishment  of  the  public  Offices 
for  the  collection  of  the  Taxes  on  distilled  spirits  and  Stills — 
intimating  however,  that  it  might  be  best  for  the  present,  and 
until  the  peoples  minds  were  a  little  more  tranquilized,  to  hold 
the  Office  of  Inspection  at  Pitsburgh  under  the  protection — 
or  at  least  under  the  influence  of  the  Garrison;88— That  he 

86  Bartholomew  Dandridge,  Jr.,  was  Washington's  private  secretary. 

87  Governor  Thomas  Mifflin  of  Pennsylvania. 

88  The  garrison  of  Fort  Fayette  in  Pittsburgh. 


378' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

thought  the  Distillers  would  either  enter  their  stills89  or  would 
put  them  down;— That  the  Civilian  authority  was  beginning 
to  recover  its  tone;  and  enumerated  some  instances  of  it;  — 
That  the  ignorance  and  general  want  of  information  among  the 
people  far  exceeded  any  thing  he  had  any  conception  of;  That 
it  was  not  merely  the  excise  law  their  opposition  was  aimed  at, 
but  to  all  law,  and  Government;  — and  to  the  Officers  of  Govern- 
ment;—and  that  the  situation  in  which  he  had  been,  and  the 
life  he  had  led  for  sometime,  was  such,  that  rather  than  go 
through  it  again,  he  would  prefer  quitting  this  scene  altogether. 

Mr.  Redicks  information  was  similar  to  the  above;  except  as 
to  the  three  last  recitals  on  wch  I  do  not  recollect  that  he  ex- 
pressed any  sentiment  further  than  that  the  situation  of  those 
who  were  not  in  the  opposition  to  government  whilst  the  frenzy 
was  at  its  height,  were  obliged  to  sleep  with  their  Arms  by 
their  bed  sides  every  night;  not  knowing  but  that  before  morn- 
ing they  might  have  occasion  to  use  them  in  defence  of  their 
persons,  or  their  properties — 

He  added,  that  for  a  long  time  after  the  riots  commenced, 
and  until  lately,  the  distrust  of  one  another  was  such,  that  even 
friends  were  affraid  to  communicate  their  sentiments  to  each 
other; — That  by  whispers  this  was  brought  about;  and  growing 
bolder  as  they  became  more  communicative  they  found  their 
strength,  and  that  there  was  a  general  disposition  not  only  to 
acquiesce  under,  but  to  support  the  Laws — and  he  gave  some 
instances  also  of  Magistrates  enforcing  them. 

He  said  the  People  of  those  Counties  believed  that  the  oppo- 
sition to  the  Excise  law— or  at  least  that  their  dereliction  to  it, 
in  every  other  part  of  the  U.  States  was  similar  to  their  own, 
and  that  no  Troops  could  be  got  to  march  against  them  for  the 
purpose  of  coercion;— that  every  acct.  until  very  lately,  of 

89  Enter  their  stills  on  the  tax  books. 


379 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Troops  marching  against  them  was  disbelieved;  and  supposed 
to  be  the  fabricated  tales  of  governmental  men; — That  now 
they  had  got  alarmed; — That  many  were  disposing  of  their 
property  at  an  under  rate,  in  order  to  leave  the  Country;  and 
added  (I  think)  that  they  wd.  go  to  Detroit.90 — That  no  per- 
son of  any  consequence,  except  one,  but  what  had  availed  them- 
selves of  the  proffered  amnesty;  that  those  who  were  still  in 
the  opposition,  and  obnoxious  to  the  laws,  were  men  of  little 
or  no  property,  and  cared  but  little  where  they  resided; — That 
he  did  not  believe  there  was  the  least  intention  in  them  to 
oppose  the  Army; — and  that  there  was  not  three  rounds  of 
ammunition  for  them  in  all  the  Western  Country. — He  (and 
I  think  Mr.  Findley  also)  was  apprehensive  that  the  resent- 
ments of  the  Army  might  be  productive  of  treatment  to  some 
of  those  people  that  might  be  attended  with  disagreeable  conse- 
quences; and  on  that  account  seemed  to  deprecate  the  March 
of  it;  declaring  however,  that  it  was  their  wish,  if  the  people 
did  not  give  proofs  of  unequivocal  submission,  that  it  might 
not  stop  short  of  its  object — 

After  hearing  what  both  had  to  say,  I  briefly  told  them — 
That  it  had  been  the  earnest  wish  of  governmt.  to  bring  the 
people  of  those  counties  to  a  sense  of  their  duty,  by  mild,  and 
lenient  means;— That  for  the  purpose  of  representing  to  their 
sober  reflection  the  fatal  consequences  of  such  conduct  Com- 
missioners had  been  sent  amongst  them  that  they  might  be 
warned  in  time  of  what  must  follow,  if  they  persevered  in  their 
opposition  to  the  laws;  but  that  coercion  wou'd  not  be  resorted 
to  except  in  the  dernier  resort: — but,  that  the  season  of  the 
year  made  it  indispensible  that  preparation  for  it  should  keep 
pace  with  the  propositions  that  had  been  made; — That  it  was 
unnecessary  for  me  to  enumerate  the  transactions  of  those  peo- 

90  Detroit  was  still  in  British  hands  at  the  time. 


380 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

pie  (as  they  related  to  the  proceedings  of  government)  foras- 
much as  they  knew  them  as  well  as  I  did;  — (That  the  measure 
which  they  were  not  witness  to  the  adoption  of  was  not  less 
painful  than  expensive — was  inconvenient  and  distressing  in 
every  point  of  view; — but  as  I  considered  the  support  of  the 
Laws  as  an  object  of  the  first  magnitude,  and  the  greatest  part 
of  the  expence  had  already  been  incurred,  that  nothing  short  of 
the  most  unequivocal  proofs  of  absolute  submission  should  re- 
tard the  March  of  the  Army  into  the  Western  counties,  in  order 
to  convince  them  that  the  government  could,  and  would  enforce 
obedience  to  the  laws  not  suffering  them  to  be  insulted  with 
impunity.  Being  asked  again  what  proofs  would  be  required,  I 
answered,  they  knew  as  well  as  I  did,  what  was  due  to  justice 
and  example.  They  understood  my  meaning — and  asked  if  they 
might  have  another  interview.  I  appointed  five  oclock  in  the 
Afternoon  for  it. 

At  this  second  meeting  there  was  little  more  than  a  repeti- 
tion of  what  had  passed  in  the  forenoon; — and  it  being  again 
mentioned  that  all  the  principal  characters  except  one,  in  the 
Western  counties  who  had  been  in  the  opposition,  had  sub- 
mitted to  the  propositions — I  was  induced,  seeing  them  in  the 
Shed  the  next  day,  to  ask  Mr.  Redick  who  that  one  was?  — 
telling  him  at  the  same  time  I  required  no  disclosure  that  he 
did  not  feel  himself  entirely  free  to  make. — He  requesting  a 
little  time  to  think  of  it,  and  asked  for  another  meeting  which 
was  appointed  at  5  oclock  that  afternoon — which  took  place 
accordingly  when  he  said  David  Bradford  was  the  person  he 
had  alluded  to  in  his  former  conversations. — 

He  requested  to  know  if  a  meeting  of  the  people,  by  their 
deputies,  would  be  permitted  by  the  Army  at  any  given  point, 
on  their  March  into  that  Country  (with  fresh  evidence  of  the 
sincerity  of  their  disposition  to  acquiesce  in  what  ever  might 


381 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

be  required) .  I  replied  I  saw  no  objection  to  it,  provided  they 
came  unarmed;  but  to  be  cautious  that  not  a  gun  was  fired,  as 
there  could  be  no  answering  for  the  consequences  in  this  case. 
— I  assured  them  that  every  possible  care  should  be  taken  to 
keep  the  Troops  from  offering  them  any  insult  or  damage,  and 
that  those  who  always  had  been  subordinate  to  the  Laws  and 
such  as  had  availed  themselves  of  the  amnesty,  should  not  be 
injured  in  their  persons  or  property;  and  that  the  treatment  of 
the  rest  would  depend  upon  their  own  conduct.  That  the  Army, 
unless  opposed,  did  not  mean  to  act  as  executioners,  or  bring 
offenders  to  a  military  Tribunal;  but  merely  to  aid  the  civil 
Magistrates,  with  whom  offences  would  lye.  thus  ended  the 
matter.  .  .  . 

FIFER  DEWEESE  REMEMBERS  LIFE  IN  THE  ARMY  DURING 
THE  MARCH  ON  PITTSBURGH,  OCTOBER-NOVEMBER,  179491 

One  day  whilst  we  lay  at  Bedford,  I  received  a  message  with 
orders  (I  being  then  Fife  Major,)  to  bring  my  music  up  to  one 
of  the  officer's  Marquees,92  I  told  the  person  sent  to  me  to 
inform  the  officer  that  I  had  no  fifer,  but  that  I  would  go  myself. 
Warriour  and  myself  played  and  beat  up  the  officer's  quarters. 
We  were  then  placed  at  the  head  of  two  or  three  file  of  men 
and  marched  off  by  a  Sergeant  (who  had  his  orders)  to  the 
jail.— When  we  halted  at  the  jail  door  our  Strawsburg  hog 
thief93  was  brought  out  and  handed  over  to  the  Sergeant  of  the 
guard  who  had  notified  us,  that  when  we  should  march  with 
our  charge  we  should  beat  the  "Rogue's  March."  When  our 
prisoner  was  properly  positioned  we  received  the  order  of 

91  From  DeWeese's  Life  and  Services,  pp.  294-321. 

92  A  tent. 

93  A  soldier  from  Strasburg,  Pennsylvania,  who  had  been  caught  stealing 
a  pig  from  a  farmer. 


382' 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

"forward,"  and  as  we  stepped  off,  we  commenced  to  beat  the 
Rogue's  march  after  him.  He  was  then  conducted  through  the 
camp  and  out  of  town,  about  a  mile.  We  then  discharged  him 
with  several  real  huzzas  loud  and  long,  and  then  by  three  cheers 
or  long  rolls  of  the  drum.  After  he  had  gotten  some  little  dis- 
tance off  from  us  (far  enough  to  ensure  his  security  providing 
his  heels  would  prove  true  to  him,)  he  threw  out  the  challenge 
of  defiance  to  the  whole  of  us.  To  have  judged  of  his  strength 
by  his  words,  he  could  have  thrashed  the  whole  army  then  at 
Bedford.  Besides  threatening  to  "maul"  us  all,  he  stated  that 
he  was  very  glad  that  he  was  that  far  upon  his  road  towards 
home.  He  then  bade  us  an  extremely  polite  adieu  in  Billingsgate 
slang,  and  then  heeled  it  until  he  was  out  of  sight.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  Nothing  of  comfort  kind  could  be  procured  except  hard- 
ware, alias  "good  stuff."  I  took  four  canteens  (my  own  among 
the  number,)  and  went  to  the  sutler's94  wagon,  and  had  them 
rilled.  For  the  four  canteens  full  (a  little  over  a  gallon)  I  paid 
the  sutler  four  silver  dollars,  and  was  very  well  satisfied  to  get 
it  even  at  that  exorbitant  price.  Captain  Alcohol  in  this  par- 
ticular instance  was  of  great  service  to  myself  and  messmates, 
as  also  to  some  of  our  neighboring  messmates.  In  those  days 
of  hardships,  sufferings  and  dangers,  we  did  not  single  our- 
selves out,  and  drink  behind  the  doors  and  swear  "we  didn't 
taste  the  creature,"  as  too  many  of  the  people  do  now-a-days. 
In  this  instance  we  came  up  to  Captain  Whiskey  with  a  bold 
front,  in  open  day  and  acknowledged  his  potent  spell,  and  supe- 
rior worth  in  our  proper  use  of  him.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  We  continued  our  march  until  we  arrived  on  the  top  of 
Laurel  Hill  mountain.— Here  a  halt  was  ordered,  and  each 
soldier  seated  himself  and  partook  of  a  bite  of  cold  victuals. 

94  A  sutler  was  a  traveling  merchant  who  followed  the  army  to  sell  sup- 
plies to  the  troops. 


383 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

After  we  had  finished  our  repast,  an  officer  called  out  to  me, 
requesting  me  to  bring  my  Drummer  along  with  me,  and  play 
him  a  few  good  tunes.  Warriour  and  I  then  went  to  where  this 
officer  and  others  were  seated  taking  their  cold  bite  and  "good 
stuff."  They  invited  us  to  take  a  little  of  the  creature  with  them, 
which  we  did  without  making  any  wry  faces  about  it.  They 
then  asked  us  to  give  them  some  of  our  best  tunes.  We  did  so, 
and  in  doing  it,  we  of  course  done  our  best.  As  we  were  thus 
engaged,  some  of  them  joined  in  a  dance,  and  began  to  skip 
about,  and  trip  it  as  orderly,  lively  and  airy  as  if  they  had  been 
in  a  ball  room.  .  .  . 

After  the  officers  had  done  dancing,  we  were  ordered  to  beat 
up  the  long-roll,  upon  which  the  men  formed,  and  we  moved 
onwards.  We  next  made  a  halt  at  Greensburg  in  Westmoreland 
county,  and  the  next  halt  that  we  made  was  not  far  from  the 
"Bullock  Plains,"  known  by  many  as  Braddock's  Fields.  When 
we  arrived  at  Braddock's  Fields,  we  formed  our  camp,  and 
laid  there  a  few  days.  Whilst  there,  the  soldiers,  many  of  them, 
amused  themselves  by  climbing  up  into  the  trees  for  the  pur- 
pose of  cutting  out  leaden  bullets,  which  had  been  lodged  there 
in  1755,  when  General  Braddock  was  defeated  by  the  Indians 
in  the  campaign  of  that  year. 

WASHINGTON   INSTRUCTS   GENERAL   HENRY   LEE95   THAT 

THE  SOLDIERS  MUST  THEMSELVES  OBEY  THE  LAW 

OCTOBER  20,  179496 

TO  GOVERNOR  HENRY  LEE 

Bedford,  October  20,  1794. 
Sir:  Being  about  to  return  to  the  seat  of  government,  I  can- 

95  Governor  Lee  assumed  command  of  the  army  upon  Washington's  return 
to  Philadelphia. 

96  From  The  Writings  of  George  Washington,  XXXIV,  6-7. 


384< 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

not  take  my  departure  without  conveying  through  you  to  the 
Army  under  your  command  the  very  high  sense  I  entertain  of 
the  enlightened  and  patriotic  zeal  for  the  constitution  and  the 
laws  which  has  led  them  chearfully  to  quit  their  families  and 
homes  and  the  comforts  of  private  life  to  undertake  and  thus 
far  to  perform  a  long  and  fatiguing  march  and  to  encounter  and 
endure  the  hardships  and  privations  of  a  Military  life.  Their 
conduct  hitherto  affords  a  full  assurance  that  their  perseverance 
will  be  equal  to  their  zeal  and  that  they  will  continue  to  per- 
form with  alacrity  whatever  the  full  accomplishment  of  the 
object  of  their  march  shall  render  necessary.  .  .  . 

There  is  but  one  point  on  which  I  think  it  proper  to  add  a 
special  recommendation.  It  is  this,  that  every  officer  and  soldier 
will  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  he  comes  to  support  the  laws 
and  that  it  would  be  peculiarly  unbecoming  to  him  to  be  in  any 
way  the  infractor  of  them;  that  the  essential  principles  of  a 
free  government  confine  the  provinces  of  the  Military  to  these 
two  objects:  1st:  to  combat  and  subdue  all  who  may  be  found 
in  arms  in  opposition  to  the  National  will  and  authority;  2ndly 
to  aid  and  support  the  civil  Magistrate  in  bringing  offenders  to 
justice.  The  dispensation  of  this  justice  belongs  to  the  civil 
Magistrate  and  let  it  ever  be  our  prize  and  our  glory  to  leave 
the  sacred  deposit  there  unviolated.  .  .  . 

QUARTERMASTER  OFFICER  WILLIAM  MICHAEL9?  OF  THE 

PENNSYLVANIA   MILITIA    DESCRIBES   HIS   FIRST   VIEW   OF 

PITTSBURGH,  NOVEMBER  12,  17949* 

12th.  This  morning  we  started  early.  Before  breakfasting  it 

97  William  Michael,  a  native  of  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  was  the 
son  of  an  officer  in  the  Revolution.  He  was  a  hat  maker's  apprentice  when 
called  into  service  in  1794. 

98  From  William  Michael's  "A  Journal  of  the  'Whiskey  Insurrection'  " 


385 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

began  to  snow.  We  traveled  about  33^  miles  and  stopt  at  a  little 
Cabbin  wherein  lived  4  fresh  lively  Irish  Girls.  We  Breakfasted 
here,  beside  a  good  Comfortable  fire.  The  Cabbin  was  very 
small,  not  above  12  feet  square,  wherein  dwelt  content  &  Hos- 
pitality, with  all  the  perfections  of  Rosey  Health.  ...  I  waited 
here  until  our  stores  came  up  with  us;  gave  the  waggoners 
direction  to  come  on  as  fast  as  they  could,  and  then  proceeded 
on  for  the  long  wished  for  Port,  Fort  Pitt.  I  arrived  in  town 
about  2  o'clock.  The  first  Beauty  that  I  observed  in  the  situa- 
tion was  that  of  the  Rivers,  which  I  viewed  with  the  greatest 
delight.  I  then  began  to  find  out  Capt.  Gamble,  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Stores,  but  sought  him  long  in  vain.  I  went  to 
the  Garrison  to  find  him,  he  had  just  left  it.  I  there  met  with 
Mr.  Vandyke  an  acquaintance  and  Physician  in  the  federal 
Army.  He  conducted  me  through  and  several  more,  the  whole 
of  and  every  part  of  the  Garrison.  I  soon  after  met  with  Capt. 
Gamble,  and  conducted  us  to  our  Quarters — Elegant  house  34 
mile  from  the  town.  People  of  the  best  of  Characters  Boarded 
with  us;  a  Mr.  Sample,"  attorney  at  Law,  with  his  Lady.  I  was 
exceedingly  disappointed  with  regard  to  Society.  I  vainly  antic- 
ipated a  Country  awkward  Society.  Mr.  Sample  I  found  an 
agreeable  informed  character,  that  of  his  lady  handsome,  was 
softness  itself,  conversant  and  Informed,  .  .  .  Indeed,  I  never 
expected  so  amiable  a  figure  in  so  rugged  an  Country;  together 
with  6  or  8  more,  in  all  making  agreeable  Society.  .  .  . 

13th.  A  most  beautiful  morn,  but  cold  and  calm.  The  rivers 
looked  this  morning  like  glass.  Mr.  Moderwel  and  I,  after 
eating  a  good  hearty  breakfast,  walked  down  town  to  view  the 
rivers,  the  sight  of  which  was  truly  pleasing.  Along  the  Monon- 

in  Historical  Register:  Notes  and  Queries,  Historical  and  Geneological,  Relating  to 
Interior  Pennsylvania  (January- April,  1883),  I,  pp.  136-137. 
99  Samuel  Semple  of  Pittsburgh. 


386< 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

gahela  shore  were  laying  boats  in  numbers,  both  loaded  and 
unloaded,  ready  to  be  wafted  to  the  new  world  down  the  grand 
Ohio,  a  sight  majestic,  demonstration  of  its  increasing.  From 
that  we  walked  down  the  banks  to  the  junction  of  the  Alle- 
gheny; the  latter  is  something  larger  than  the  former,  and  much 
clearer  and  more  beautiful;  just  on  the  point  is  the  spot  whereon 
was  the  old  French  fort,  but  has  been  erased  long  ago,  and  there 
remains  nothing  but  here  and  there  some  part  of  the  foundation. 
Near  to  that  within  fifty  yards,  is  part  of  the  old  English  fort. 
The  labor  of  the  artificers  must  have  been  indefatigable;  the 
stockades  nearly  all  extirpated,  the  ditches  that  had  been  digged 
to  form  a  channel  from  the  Monongahela  and  the  Allegheny  is 
still  clear  to  be  seen.  The  magazine  is  still  a  good  and  strong 
building.  Braddock's100  fort  is  not  quite  in  so  commanding  a 
situation  as  the  old  French  fort;  but  the  present  garrison101  now 
held  is  in  the  most  inconvenient  situation  of  all  them. 

FIFER  DEWEESE  REMEMBERS  THE  OCCUPATION  OF 
PITTSBURGH,  NOVEMBER,  1794102 

From  Braddock's  Fields  we  moved  on  to  Fort  Pitt,  (now 
Pittsburg)  and  encamped  within  a  mile  of  the  town. 

Whilst  we  laid  at  Fort  Pitt  I  obtained  permission  to  visit 
the  town  every  day  or  two.  The  old  Fort  (DuQuesne,)  which 
had  been  built  for  the  protection  of  this  post,  I  do  not  recollect 
whether  it  was  occupied  by  any  of  our  troops,  but  believe  it 
was  not.  It  was  so  built  as  to  command  the  Alleghany  and 
Monongahela  rivers,  above,  and  at  their  junction,  as  also  the 
Ohio  river  below.  .  .  . 

100  The  writer  errs  here  in  ascribing  the  building  of  Fort  Pitt  to  Braddock, 
who,  of  course,  never  reached  Pittsburgh. 

101  Fort  Fayette. 

102  From  DeWeese's  Life  and  Services,  pp.  294-321. 


387 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

Instead  of  being  met  as  was  threatened  by  a  formidable  foe, 
we  saw  nothing  in  the  form  of  enemies.  The  disaffected,  (those 
that  organized  themselves)  had  disbanded  and  gone  quietly  to 
their  homes. 

The  insurrectionary  spirit  was  every  day  growing  weaker 
and  weaker,  and  in  proportion  as  this  had  manifested  itself  the 
insurgent  force  had  diminished.  Mustering  from  7  to  10,000 
men  only,  and  they  promiscuously  and  hastily  drawn  from  their 
homes,  young  and  old  without  proper  leaders,  proper  discipline, 
military  stores,  &c.  &c,  they  had  thought  it  altogether  futile 
to  attempt  to  resist  (or  cope  with)  a  well  disciplined  army  of 
upwards  of  15,000  strong. 

After  a  number  of  the  more  active  leaders  were  captured  and 
handed  over  to  the  proper  authorities  to  be  dealt  with  according 
to  the  laws  of  the  land,  the  expedition  was  considered  at  an  end. 

Whilst  at  Fort  Pitt,  my  attention  was  attracted  one  day 
by  a  great  crowd  of  soldiers  and  citizens.  I  drew  near  for  the 
purpose  of  learning  the  cause  of  such  a  concourse  of  people. 
I  perceived  that  the  crowd  was  viewing  a  tavern  sign.  The  tav- 
ern keeper  had  commenced  the  business  but  a  short  time  before, 
and  had  put  up  a  sign,  upon  which  was  painted  "St.  Clair's 
Defeat,"103  which  had  occurred  on  the  4th  of  November,  1791 
— The  sign-board  upon  which  this  bloody  massacre  was  painted 
was  full  twenty  feet  in  length.  On  both  its  sides,  whites  and 
Indians  were  painted.  Some  of  the  whites  were  represented  as 
bearing  up  against  the  tide  of  savage  ferocity.  Others,  both 
whites  and  Indians,  were  represented  as  falling  in  death.  Indians 
were  represented  as  firing,  scalping  and  tomahawking  the 
whites.  General  Butler,104  (under  whose  command  I  had  been 

103  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  Governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  was 
defeated  by  the  Indian  leader  Little  Turtle  at  the  present  site  of  Fort  Re- 
covery, Ohio. 

104  Richard  Butler,  of  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Foot. 


388 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

at  York,  Pa.  during  the  Revolutionary  War,)  was  represented 
as  wounded  and  leaning  against  a  tree,  and  an  Indian  before 
him  with  a  tomahawk  in  one  hand,  and  a  scalping-knife  in  the 
other,  spring  towards  him  to  complete  the  work  of  death. 
Indians  were  represented  also  as  taking  aim,  and  firing  from 
behind  trees  and  logs.  Whites  were  also  shown  as  falling,  some 
one  way  and  some  another.  On  each  side  of  this  sign-board,  I 
suppose  there  were  two  or  three  hundred  whites  and  Indians 
represented.  This  sign  must  have  cost  the  landlord  a  great  sum 
of  money,  but  I  suppose  our  soldiers  alone  more  than  paid  for 
it,  for  there  were  crowds  of  them  to  look  at  it  whilst  we  were 
encamped  at  Pittsburg,  and  most  of  them  spent  their  money 
pretty  freely  in  patronizing  his  house. 

CONGRESSMAN  FINDLEY  EXPRESSES  HIS  SUSPICION  THAT 

ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  DELIBERATELY  PROVOKED 

THE  REVOLT105 

Perhaps  the  most  mysterious  circumstance  attending  the 
western  expedition,  was  the  character  sustained  by  the  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury.  .  .  . 

That  he  was  the  responsible  head  of  the  revenue  department, 
and  had  the  direction  of  the  measures  relative  to  the  execution 
of  the  excise  law,  is  evident  from  the  powers  vested  in  him  by 
law  for  that  purpose.  That  he  originated  not  only  the  excise 
system,  and  the  other  revenue  laws,  which  were  enacted  by 
Congress,  previous  to  the  insurrection,  and  the  arrangements 
for  carrying  them  into  execution,  is  evident  from  the  journals 
of  Congress,  and  his  own  reports  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. The  manner  in  which  the  coercive  part  of  the  excise  law 
was  executed,  or  rather,  in  which  the  execution  of  it  was 
neglected,  and  the  influence  which  that  neglect  had  in  promoting 


105 


From  Findley's  History  of  the  Insurrection,  pp.  223-225. 


389 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

the  opposition  to  the  law,  which  finally  burst  forth  into  an  in- 
surrection has  been  noted.  .  .  . 

That  a  government  could  never  be  considered  as  established, 
till  its  power  was  put  to  the  test  by  a  trial  of  its  military  force, 
is  a  sentiment  that  has  been  often  ascribed  to  him,  and  never 
that  I  heard  of  contradicted;  and  that  in  perfect  correspondence 
with  their  principle,  he  even  in  the  cabinet  expressed  his  sorrow 
that  the  town  of  Pittsburgh  had  not  been  burned  by  those 
who  rendezvoused  at  Braddock's  field,  that  so  a  trial  of  the 
military  force  of  the  government  might  have  been  rendered 
the  more  necessary  and  justifiable,  has  been  asserted  by  author- 
ity that  cannot  be  reasonably  doubted.  This  assertion,  which 
leaves  no  doubt  of  the  principle  from  which  it  proceeded,  per- 
fectly coincides  with  the  manner  in  which  the  excise  law  was 
executed  in  the  western  counties,  and  fully  accounts  for  not 
holding  special  sessions  of  the  court  nearer  the  places  where 
the  crimes  were  committed,  after  a  law  had  been  made  for  that 
purpose,  and  may  also  without  any  forced  induction  account 
for  issuing  the  processes  out  of  the  district  court  so  early.  .  .  . 
When  it  was  known  that  a  law  was  about  to  be  passed  to  vest 
the  state  courts  with  powers  for  that  purpose,  and  also  for 
delaying  the  execution  of  the  process,  till  .  .  .  the  state  courts 
were  competent  to  decide  on  the  case,  and  until  the  throng  of 
the  harvest,  which  is  confessedly  the  most  inconvenient  season 
in  the  year  for  farmers  to  attend  at  a  distance  of  about  300 
miles,  and  which  from  other  circumstances,  was  the  most  likely 
to  excite  resistance.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  when  the  dis- 
tillers of  Fayette  county,  without  delay,  sent  to  enter  their  ap- 
pearance at  Philadelphia,  the  writs  were  found  to  be  erroneous, 
and  therefore  null.  What  a  pity  it  was,  that  this  had  not  been 
discovered  before  they  had  been  made  the  instrument  of  pro- 
moting an  insurrection. 


390- 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

If  all  these  circumstances  happened  through  inattention,  that 
inattention  was  highly  culpable;  if  they  were  the  result  of  cool 
design,  the  connection  of  all  the  parts  of  the  plan,  and  its  even- 
tual success,  while  they  afforded  a  striking  evidence  of  dexterity 
and  address,  represent  the  morality  of  the  conductor  in  a  very 
questionable  light. 

PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON  SUMS  UP  THE  WESTERN  INSUR- 
RECTION IN  A  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS,  NOVEMBER  19,  1794106 

SIXTH  ANNUAL  ADDRESS 

United  States,  Nov.  19,  1794 
Fellow-Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  of  the 
House  of  Representatives: 

When  we  call  to  mind  the  gracious  indulgence  of  Heaven 
by  which  the  American  people  became  a  nation;  when  we  sur- 
vey the  general  prosperity  of  our  country,  and  look  forward 
to  the  riches,  power,  and  happiness  to  which  it  seems  destined, 
with  the  deepest  regret  do  I  announce  to  you  that  during  your 
recess  some  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  have  been  found 
capable  of  an  insurrection.  It  is  due,  however,  to  the  character 
of  our  Government  and  to  its  stability,  which  can  not  be  shaken 
by  the  enemies  of  order,  freely  to  unfold  the  course  of  this  event. 

During  the  session  of  the  year  1790  it  was  expedient  to  exer- 
cise the  legislative  power  granted  by  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  "to  lay  and  collect  excises."  In  a  majority  of  the 
States  scarcely  an  objection  was  heard  to  this  mode  of  taxation. 
In  some,  indeed,  alarms  were  at  first  conceived,  until  they  were 
banished  by  reason  and  patriotism.  In  the  four  western  counties 
of  Pennsylvania  a  prejudice,  fostered  and  imbittered  by  the 
artifice  of  men  who  labored  for  an  ascendency  over  the  will  of 
others  by  the  guidance  of  their  passions,  produced  symptoms  of 

106  prom  Richardson's  Messages  and  Papers,  I,  162-165. 


391 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

riot  and  violence.  It  is  well  known  that  Congress  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  examine  the  complaints  which  were  presented,  and  to 
relieve  them  as  far  as  justice  dictated  or  general  convenience 
would  permit.  But  the  impression  which  this  moderation  made 
on  the  discontented  did  not  correspond  to  the  efforts  of  design- 
ing individuals.  The  very  forbearance  to  press  prosecutions  was 
misinterpreted  into  a  fear  of  urging  the  execution  of  the  laws, 
and  associations  of  men  began  to  denounce  threats  against  the 
officers  employed.  From  a  belief  that  by  a  more  formal  concert 
their  operation  might  be  defeated,  certain  self-created  societies 
assumed  the  tone  of  condemnation.  Hence,  while  the  greater 
part  of  Pennsylvania  itself  were  conforming  themselves  to  the 
acts  of  exise,  a  few  counties  were  resolved  to  frustrate  them.  It 
was  now  perceived  that  every  expectation  from  the  tenderness 
which  had  been  hitherto  pursued  was  unavailing,  and  that  further 
delay  could  only  create  an  opinion  of  impotency  or  irresolution 
in  the  Government.  Legal  process  was  therefore  delivered  to 
the  marshal  against  the  rioters  and  delinquent  distillers. 

No  sooner  was  he  understood  to  be  engaged  in  this  duty  than 
the  vengeance  of  armed  men  was  aimed  at  his  person  and  the 
person  and  property  of  the  inspector  of  the  revenue.  They  fired 
upon  the  marshal,  arrested  him,  and  detained  him  for  some 
time  as  a  prisoner.  He  was  obliged,  by  the  jeopardy  of  his  life, 
to  renounce  the  service  of  other  process  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Allegheny  Mountain,  and  a  deputation  was  afterwards  sent 
to  him  to  demand  a  surrender  of  that  which  he  had  served. 

A  numerous  body  repeatedly  attacked  the  house  of  the  in- 
spector, seized  his  papers  of  office,  and  finally  destroyed  by 
fire  his  buildings  and  whatsoever  they  contained.  Both  of  these 
officers,  from  a  just  regard  to  their  safety,  fled  to  the  seat  of 
Government,  it  being  avowed  that  the  motives  to  such  outrages 
were  to  compel  the  resignation  of  the  inspector,  to  withstand 


392* 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

by  force  of  arms  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and  thereby 
to  extort  a  repeal  of  the  laws  of  excise  and  an  alteration  in  the 
conduct  of  Government. 

Upon  the  testimony  of  these  facts  an  associate  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  notified  to  me  that  "in 
the  counties  of  Washington  and  Allegheny,  in  Pennsylvania, 
laws  of  the  United  States  were  opposed,  and  the  execution 
thereof  obstructed,  by  combinations  too  powerful  to  be  sup- 
pressed by  the  ordinary  course  of  judicial  proceedings  or  by 
the  powers  vested  in  the  marshal  of  that  district."  On  this  call, 
momentous  in  the  extreme,  I  sought  and  weighed  what  might 
best  subdue  the  crisis.  .  .  . 

My  proclamation  of  the  7th  of  August  last  was  accordingly 
issued,  and  accompanied  by  the  appointment  of  commissioners, 
who  were  charged  to  repair  to  the  scene  of  insurrection.  They 
were  authorized  to  confer  with  any  bodies  of  men  or  individuals. 
They  were  instructed  to  be  candid  and  explicit  in  stating  the 
sensations  which  had  been  excited  in  the  Executive,  and  his 
earnest  wish  to  avoid  a  resort  to  coercion;  to  represent,  how- 
ever, that,  without  submission,  coercion  must  be  the  resort; 
but  to  invite  them,  at  the  same  time,  to  return  to  the  demeanor 
of  faithful  citizens,  by  such  accommodations  as  lay  within  the 
sphere  of  Executive  power.  Pardon,  too,  was  tendered  to  them 
by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  that  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, upon  no  other  condition  than  a  satisfactory  assurance  of 
obedience  to  the  laws. 

Although  the  report  of  the  commissioners  marks  their  firm- 
ness and  abilities,  and  must  unite  all  virtuous  men,  by  shewing 
that  the  means  of  conciliation  have  been  exhausted,  all  of  those 
who  had  committed  or  abetted  the  tumults  did  not  subscribe 
the  mild  form  which  was  proposed  as  the  atonement,  and  the 
indications  of  a  peaceable  temper  were  neither  sufficiently  gen- 


393 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 

eral  nor  conclusive  to  recommend  or  warrant  the  further  sus- 
pension of  the  march  of  the  militia. 

Thus  the  painful  alternative  could  not  be  discarded.  I  ordered 
the  militia  to  march,  after  once  more  admonishing  the  insur- 
gents in  my  proclamation  of  the  25th  of  September  last. 

It  was  a  task  too  difficult  to  ascertain  with  precision  the  low- 
est degree  of  force  competent  to  the  quelling  of  the  insurrec- 
tion. ...  In  this  uncertainty,  therefore,  I  put  into  motion  15,000 
men,  as  being  an  arm  which,  according  to  all  human  calculation, 
would  be  prompt  and  adequate  in  every  view,  and  might,  per- 
haps, by  rendering  resistance  desparate,  prevent  the  effusion 
of  blood.  .  .  . 

As  commander  in  chief  of  the  militia  when  called  into  the 
actual  service  of  the  United  States,  I  have  visited  the  places 
of  general  rendezvous  to  obtain  more  exact  information  and  to 
direct  a  plan  for  ulterior  movements.  . .  .  Succeeding  intelligence 
has  tended  to  manifest  the  necessity  of  what  has  been  done,  it 
being  now  confessed  by  those  who  were  not  inclined  to  exag- 
gerate the  ill  conduct  of  the  insurgents  that  their  malevolence 
was  not  pointed  merely  to  a  particular  law,  but  that  a  spirit 
inimical  to  all  order  had  actuated  many  of  the  offenders.  If  the 
state  of  things  had  afforded  reason  for  the  continuance  of  my 
presence  with  the  army,  it  would  not  have  been  withholden. 
But  every  appearance  assuring  such  an  issue  as  will  redound 
to  the  reputation  and  strength  of  the  United  States,  I  have 
judged  it  most  proper  to  resume  my  duties  at  the  seat  of  Gov- 
ernment, leaving  the  chief  command  with  the  governor  of 
Virginia. 

Still,  however,  as  it  is  probable  that  in  a  commotion  like  the 
present,  whatsoever  may  be  the  pretense,  the  purposes  of  mis- 
chief and  revenge  may  not  be  laid  aside,  the  stationing  of  a 
small  force  for  a  certain  period  in  the  four  western  counties  of 


394- 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Pennsylvania  will  be  indispensable,  whether  we  contemplate 
the  situation  of  those  who  are  connected  with  the  execution  of 
the  laws  or  of  others  who  may  have  exposed  themselves  by  an 
honorable  attachment  to  them.  Thirty  days  from  the  commence- 
ment of  this  session  being  the  legal  limitation  of  the  employ- 
ment of  the  militia,  Congress  can  not  be  too  early  occupied 
with  this  subject.  .  .  . 


395 


Index 


Abercromby,  James 

(Major  General),  198 
Actual  Settlers  Association,  294 
Addison,  Alexander,  289,  294 
Addison,  Pa.,  76,  242 
Akron  (O.),  318 
Albany,  321 

Alexandria  (Va.),  234,  321 
Algonquins,  107 
Aliquippa,  Queen,  37,  55,  83 
Allegheny,  318 
Allegheny  County,  340 
Allen,  John,  188 
Allen,  William,  222 
Alton,  John,  136 
Ambler,  Charles  H.,  94 
Ambridge,  Pa.,  3 
Ammon,  Edith  Darlington,  6 
Annapolis  (Md),  335 
Armstrong,  George 

(Major),  177,  193 
Armstrong,  John  (Colonel),  164 
Augusta  County,  Va.,  300 
Augusta,  Fort,  168,  324 
Augusta  Springs,  280 

B 
Back  Bone  Mountain,  309 
Bagpipes,  203 

Bailleul,  Francois  Piercot  de,  109 
Ball,  Burgess,  359 
Balmaine,  Alexander,  282 
Bassett,  Lieutenant  Thomas, 

192,  211 
Beaujeu,  Daniel-Hyacinthe-Marie 

de,  144 
Beaver  River,  248,  318 
Bedford,  Duke  of,  168,  221 
Bedford,  Fort,  168,  221 


Beech  Bottom  Run,  251 

Beeson,  Henry,  298 

Beeson's  Town  (Pa.),  298 

Bell,  Robert,  247 

Bellaire,  O.,  253 

Belmont  County,  O.,  251,  253 

Belvoir  (Va.),  38 

Bentinck,  Lieutenant  Rudolph,  206 

Berkeley  Springs,  W.  Va., 

278,  281 
Big  Grave  Creek,  253 
Biggart,  Thomas,  292 
Blennerhassett  Island,  263 
Bluemont,  Va.,  240 
Bosomworth,  Captain  Abraham,  165 
Boston  Gazette,  6 
Boston  (Mass.),  156 
Botetourt,  Baron  de,  239 
Boucherville,  M.  de,  81 
Bouquet,  Colonel  Henry,  157,  163 
Bower  Hill,  345,  347 
Brackenridge,  Hugh  Henry,  288, 

294,  344,  345,  350,  361,  366 
Braddock,  Edward  (General),  121, 

122,  147,  169 
Braddock's  Field,  225,  353,  355, 

384,  387 
Braddock's  Road,  169,  173,  182 
Bradford,  David,  352,  381 
Brady,  Samuel,  297 
Briscoe,  John,  302 
British  Empire,  235 
Brodhead,  General  Daniel,  247 
Brownsville,  Pa.,  60,  279,  341 
Bruce,  Colonel  Andrew,  282 
Buffaloes,  259,  261,  266,  267 
Bullen,  Captain,  194 
Bullet,  Captain  Thomas,  201,  206 
Bullstown,  303 
Burd,  Fort,  163 


397 


INDEX 


Burd,  Colonel  James,  163,  170,  191. 

213 
Burgesses,  House  of,  59 
Burton,  Ralph,  1 34 
Bushy  Run,  Battle  of,  163 
Butler,  Richard,  389 
Butler,  William,  288 
Byers,  John,  1 64 
Byrd,  William  III,  157,  170 


Campbell,  Lieut.  John,  207 

Campbell,  Joseph,  3  5 

Canon,  Colonel  John,  290,  297 

Canonsburg,  Pa.,  288 

Captina  Creek,  251,  253 

Captina,  W.  Va.,  253 

Carlisle  (Pa.),  371 

Carlyle,  Sarah,  127 

Cartagena,  74 

Cat  Fish,  256 

Catawba,  62,  156,  172,  194,  211,  252 

Celeron  de  Blainville,  3,  49 

Chamokin,  Fort,  167 

Charlestown,  W.  Va.,  240,  245 

Chartiers  Creek,  4,  46,  249 

Chartres,  Fort,  263,  266,  267,  268 

Chauvignerie,  Michel  Maray  de  la, 

111,  168 
Cheat  River,  279,  283,  286,  289,  299 
Cherokee,  62,  156,  169,  172,  174, 

238 
Chesapeake  Bay,  335 
Chestnut  Ridge,  218,  286 
Chew,  Lieut.  Coleby,  184,  209 
Christy,  Gabriel,  148 
Clairton,  Pa.,  344 
Clarion  River,  323 
Clarksburg,  W.  Va.,  304 
Coal  Mine,  243 
Conemaugh  River,  215 
Confederation,  Articles  of,  333 
Confluence,  Pa.,  76,  163 
Congress  (Continental),  334,  337 


Connellsville,  Pa.,  242 
Connolly,  John,  267,  268 
Constitution  of  the  U.  S.,  335 
Constitutional  Convention,  335 
Continental  Army,  273 
Contrecoeur,  Capt.  Claude  Pierre 

Pecaudy  de,  66,  69,  112,  144 
Cook,  Edward,  291 
Cornplanter,  247 
Cox's  Fort,  269 

Craik,  James  (Doctor),  240,  277 
Cranes vi lie,  Preston  County, 

W.  Va.,  307 
Crawford  County,  O.,  242 
Crawford,  Valentine,  240 
Crawford,  William,  238,  242,  262, 

275,  288,  291,  300,  302 
Cresap,  Colonel  Thomas,  241 
Croghan,  George,  67,  89,  246,  247, 

288,  291 
Cumberland,  Duke  of,  1 24 
Cumberland,  Fort,  269 
Cumberland,  Md.,  4 
Cumberland  National  Road,  280 
Cumberland  River,  266 
Currin,  Barnaby,  5,  15,  16,  32,  45 
Custis,  Jackie,  233 
Custis,  Martha  Dandridge,  233 
Custis,  Patsy,  233 
Cuyahoga  River,  3 1 8 

D 

Dagworthy,  Lieut.  Colonel  John,  210 
Dalton,  John,  136 
Dandridge,  Bartholomew,  Jr.,  378 
Darlington,  Mary  Carson,  6 
Darlington,  Mary  O'Hara,  6 
Darlington,  William  McCullough, 

6,43 
Davison,  John,  17,  19,  29,  46,  78 
Delaware  George,  89 
Delaware  River,  324 
Delawares,  1,  168,  216,  265,  266 
Democratic  Societies,  369 


398 


INDEX 


Detroit,  2,  274,  321 
DeVilliers,  Coulon,  112 
Devoir's  Ferry,  290 
Deweese,  Samuel,  372,  382 
Dinwiddie,  Robert  (Governor),  3,  4, 

6,  15,40,44,  119,  154,  157 
Drouillon,  Major,  81 
Duck  Creek,  257 
Dumas,  Capt.  Jean-Daniel,  145 
Dunbar,  Col.  Thomas,  127,  153 
Dunbar's  Camp,  146 
Dunkard  Bottom,  299 
Duquesne,  Fort,  219,  220,  225,  233 
Duquesne,  Marquis  (Duquisne), 

3,  41,  66 
Duquesne,  Pa.,  41,  137,  248 


Easton,  Pa.,  190 

Easton,  Treaty  of,  216,  224 

Easton,  W.  Va.,  302 

Eckarly  (Brothers),  299 

Edmonstone,  Capt.  Charles,  246 

Erie  Canal,  325 

Erie,  Fort,  325 

Erie  (Indians),  1 

Erie,  Lake,  18,  21,  28 

Erie,  Pa.,  3 

Etna,  Pa.,  246 

Eureka,  W.  Va.,  256 

Evans,  Lewis,  324 


Fairfax  County  (Va.),  233 
Fairfax,  George  William,  1 3  5 
Fairfax,  Sally,  127 
Fairfax,  Lord  Thomas,  132 
Fairfax,  William,  132 
Faulkner,  Capt.  William,  342 
Fauquier,  Francis,  157 
Fayette  County,  340 
Fayette,  Fort,  354 
Findley,  William,  344,  377,  389 
Fish  Creek,  254 


Fish  Creek  Island,  254 

Fishing  Creek,  244 

Florida,  327 

Forbes,  John,  157,  159 

Ford,  David,  371 

Forks  of  the  Ohio,  1 6,  1 7 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  67,  1 30,  241 

Franklin,  Pa.,  3,45,  318 

Frank's  Town,  251 

Frankstown  Road,  188 

Frazier,  John  (Fraser),  16,  27,  37, 

45,  182 
Frederick  County  (Va.),  233 
Freeman,  Douglas  Southall,  235 
Freeman,  Thomas,  290,  297 
French,  Captain,  194 
French  Creek,  3,  21,  27,  28,  318 
Fry,  Joshua  (Colonel),  63,  67,  84 


Gage,  Thomas,  134 
Galisonniere,  Count  La,  144 
Gallatin,  Albert,  303,  350,  366 
Gauley  Bridge,  W.  Va.,  245,  313 
Genet,  Edmund,  371 
George  II  (King  of  Great  Britain), 

44,  124 
Gibson,  John,  354 
Ginseng,  286 
Gist,  Christopher,  5,  15,  30,  36,  44, 

51,68,  161,242 
Gist,  Thomas,  242,  269,  286 
Gist's  Plantation,  4,  181 
Glen,  Governor  James,  63 
Glen,  John,  294 
Gordon,  Harry,  138,  166 
Gormania,  W.  Va.,  304 
Grafton,  W.  Va.,  304 
Grant,  Major  James,  193,  201,  202 
Grant's  Hill,  186 
Grape  Vine  Town,  251 
Gratz,  Bernard,  249 
Great  Meadows,  78,  94,  242 
Greenbrier  (River),  312,  323 


399 


INDEX 


H 

Half  King,  18,  19,  23,  24,  25,  26,  28, 
29,  32,  33,46,  68,  69,  70,  77,  127 

Halkett,  Major  Frances,  183 

Halkett,  Sir  Peter,  1 34 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  336,  340,  389 

Hamilton,  David,  290 

Hamilton,  Lieutenant  Robert,  248 

Hanway,  Samuel,  301 

Hard  Labour,  Treaty  of,  238 

Hardin,  John,  245,  298 

Harrison,  William,  247 

Henry,  Prince  William,  364 

Hess,  Lieutenant  Emanuel,  211 

Highlanders,  193,  201 

Hillas,  William,  294 

Hillast,  Matthew,  292 

Hite,  Abraham,  314 

Hite,  Yost,  314 

Hocking  River  (Little),  257,  258, 
263,  318 

Hockingport,  O.  258 

Hog,  Peter,  68,  162 

Holston  (River),  280 

Hoops,  Adam,  190 

Hulbert,  Archer  B.,  309 

Hunter,  William,  5 

Huron,  1 

Hussars,  130 

Hutchins,  Thomas,  320 

I 
Ice,  Andrew,  305 
Ice's  Ferry,  305 
Independence,  Pa.,  248 
Independent  Company,  92 
Indian  Cross  Creek,  250 
Indian  Short  Creek,  252 
Innes,  Colonel  James,  74 
Iroquois,  1,  63,  238,  252,  274 

J 
Jackson,  W.  Va.,  258 
Jackson's  Creek,  312 


James  River,  3 1 5 

Jeffereys,  Thomas,  5,  6 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  276,  358,  369 

Jenkins,  William,  5,  16,  45 

Jeskakake,  26 

Johnson,  Ezekiel,  291 

Johnson,  Matthew,  295 

Johnson,  Robert,  350 

Johnson,  Governor  Thomas,  307 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  189,  246 

Joncaire,  Phillippe  Thomas,  25,  27, 

28,  35,49 
Jones,  Gabriel,  315 
Jumonville,  Joseph  Coulon  de,  80, 

100,  113 
Juniata  River,  184 

K 

Kanawha  (Big),  (River),  238,  245, 

261,  265,  273,  312 
Kanawha,  Little,  (River),  244,  257, 

263,  265,  283 
Kaquehuston,  88 
Kaskaskia,  47 
Kent,  Donald  H.,  66,  70 
Kiashuta,  50,  258,  259,  262,  263 
Kickenapauling,  177 
King  Creek,  250 

Kirkpatrick,  Abraham,  347,  354,  355 
Kiskimenetas  River,  215 
Kittanning,  164 
Kuskuska,  22 
Kuskuskies,  18 
Kustaloga,  26,  30,  49 


LaForce,  M.,  29,  50,  73,  79 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  319 
LakeLeBoeuf,  318 
Lancaster,  O.,  252 
Lancaster  (Treaty),  1,  2 
Lapsley,  Thomas,  295 
LaSalle  (LaSolle),  27 
Laurel  Hill,  172,  286 


•400 


INDEX 


LeBoeuf,  Fort,  3,  5 

Leduc,  Gilbert  F.,  100 

Lee,  Henry,  376,  384 

Lee,  Robert  E.,  376 

Lee,  William,  240 

Lenox,  David,  344,  357 

Letart,  W.  Va.,  259 

Lewis,  Andrew,  90,  201,  204,  206 

Lewis,  Thomas,  300,  314 

Ligneris,  Capt.  Francois-Marie 

LeMarchand  de,  145,  205,  222 
Ligonier,  275 
Ligonier,  Fort,  221 
Little  Beaver  Creek,  249 
Little  Cacapon  River,  269 
Little  Meadows,  129,  242 
Littleton,  Fort,  164 
Lloyd,  Lieutenant  Colo.  Thomas, 

212 
Logston,  Joseph,  304,  310 
Logston,  Thomas,  309 
Logstown  (Loggs-Town)  (Pa.), 

3,4,  17,  18,  27,46 
Long,  David,  295 
Long  Reach  (of  the  Ohio),  255 
Longueuil,  Baron  de,  51 
Loudoun,  Fort,  Pa.,  164 
Loudoun,  Fort,  Va.,  164 
Loudoun,  Lord,  164,  327 
Louisburg,  Fort,  157 
Louisiana,  Province  of,  2,  327 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  266,  326 
Loups,  See  Delaware  Indians 
Lower  Shawnee  Town,  266 
Lower  Sister  Island,  252 
Loyalhanna  Creek,  177,  184,  197 
Lucas,  John,  294,  350,  365 
Luckett,  David,  288 

M 
McBride,  James,  292 
McBride,  Samuel,  291 
MacClocklan,  James,  33,  51 
McCulloch's  Path,  282, 305, 306, 309 


McDonald,  Alexander,  205 
McDonald,  Capt.  William,  206 
McFarlane,  James,  346 
McGeechen,  Brice,  293 
McGeechen,  Duncan,  293 
Machault,  Fort,  48,  168 
Mackay,  James,  92,  94 
McKee,  Alexander,  248 
McKees  Rocks,  Pa.,  4,  45,  248 
McKeesport,  (Pa.)  137 
McKenzie,  Lieut.,  204 
McKenzie,  Capt.  Hugh,  206 
McMahon  Creek,  253 
McMahon  Run,  253 
McMechen,  W.  Va.,  253 
McMillan,  Reverend  John,  296 
McNight,  John,  164 
MacQuire,  John,  5,  16,  45 
Mahanoy  City,  Pa.,  324 
Mahanoy  Creek,  324 
Mahoning  (River),  321 
Marietta  Island,  257 
Marietta,  O.,  257,  322 
Marin,  Pierre  Paul,  Sieur  de,  45 
Marshall,  James,  352 
Martinsburg,  W.  Va.,  278 
Maryland  Gazette,  6 
Maumee  River,  319 
Maysville,  Ky.,  252 
Meigs  County,  O.,  259 
Mercer,  George,  79,  217 
Mercier,  Francois  le,  109 
Meyers  (Widow),  268 
Miami  Canal,  319 
Miami  River,  3 1 8 
Michael,  William,  385 
Middleport,  O.,  260 
Mifflin,  Thomas,  372,  378 
Militia,  61 

Miller's  Run,  288,  294 
Millwood,  W.  Va.,  262 
Mingo,  49,  265 
Mingo  Creek,  346 
Mingo  Junction,  O.,  250 


•401 


INDEX 


Mingo  Town,  250,  263,  264 
Mohawk  River,  325 
Mohawk  Valley,  276 
Monaca,  Pa.,  248 
Monacatoocha,  17,  24,  25,  46,  70, 

90,  127 
Monongahela  (River),  4,  237 
Monro,  Capt.  George,  209 
Monroe  County,  O.,  255 
Montour,  Andrew,  84,  89 
Montreal,  20,  28,  321 
Moorefield,  W.  Va.,  282 
Morgan  County,  W.  Va.,  284 
Morgan,  Charles,  247 
Morgan,  Daniel,  277,  375 
Morgan,  Zackquill,  303 
Morgantown,  W.  Va.,  299,  303 
Mouceau  (Canadian  Soldier),  84 
Moundsville,  W.  Va.,  253 
Mount  Braddock,  Fayette  County, 

Pa.,  4 
Mount  Storm  (W.  Va.),  282 
Mount  Vernon,  234,  235,  236,  275, 

335 
Murdering  Town,  36,  53 
Muse,  George,  85 
Muskingum  River,  257,  263,  318 
Muskingum  River  (Little),  257 

N 
Napier,  Sir  Robert,  124 
Necessity,  Fort,  94,  97,  242 
Neville,  John,  296,  344 
Newberry  Island,  263 
Newberry  Library,  5 
New  Geneva,  Pa.,  300,  303 
New  Martinsville,  W.  Va., 

244,  252,  255 
New  Matamoras,  O.,  256 
New  Orleans,  2,  18,  19,  326 
New  River,  280,  312 
New  York  City,  325 
New  York  State,  156,  276 
New  York  State  Barge  Canal,  325 


Niagara,  Fort,  2,  325 
Nicholson,  Joseph,  247,  266 
Nipissing,  106 

O 

Oakland,  Md.,  307 

Ogdensburg,  N.  Y,  325 

Ohio  Canal,  318 

Ohio  Company,  2,  4,  44,  60,  61,  181. 

241 
Ohio,  Great  Bend  of  the,  259 
Ohio  River,  266 
Ohio  Valley,  1 
Ohiopyle  (Pa.),  77,  322 
Old  Fields,  W.  Va.,  313 
Oldtown,  Md.,  241 
Oneida  Lake,  325 
Onondaga  River,  325 
Ontario,  Lake,  27,  28 
Opequan  Creek,  278 
Orme,  Robert,  123 
Oswego,  28,  325 
Ottowa  River,  319 


Parkersburg,  W.  Va.,  257,  302 
Parkinson,  Benjamin,  346,  352 
Parkinson's  Ferry,  290, 352,  365, 376 
Patterson's  Creek,  279,  313 
Peale,  Charles  William,  7 
Pennsylvania  Dutch,  308 
Pennsylvania  Gazette,  225 
Perryopolis,  Pa.,  243,  285 
Peter's  Creek,  344 
Peyronie,  William  La  (Peyroney), 

74,  139 
Philadelphia,  156,  301,  321 
Phillips,  Theophilus,  300,  301 
Pierpont,  John,  301 
Pike  Island,  252 
Pipe  Creek,  253 
Pisquetomen,  216 
Pitt,  Fort,  245,  264,  266,  267,  322 
Pittsburgh  Gazette,  341 


402 


INDEX 


Pitt,  William,  156,  220 
Pittsburgh,  233,  266 
Pleasant,  Fort,  314 
Point  Marion,  Pa.,  279 
Point  Pleasant,  W.  Va.,  260 
Poison,  William,  94,  139 
Pontiac,  246 
Portsmouth,  O.,  48 
Posey,  Capt.  John,  237,  300 
Post,  Christian  Frederick,  89 
Potomac  Company,  334,  335 
Potomac  (River),  276,  334 
Pottsville,  Pa.,  324 
Presque  Isle,  3,  51,  318 
Prince  George,  Fort,  69 
Pritchards  (Tavern),  240 
Proctor,  W.  Va.,  255 


Quakers,  189 
Quebec  Act,  274 
Quemahoning  Creek,  177,  184 
Quitrents,  249 

R 

Racoon  Creek,  248 
Radford,  Va.,  280 
Randolph,  Edmund,  358 
Ravenswood,  W.  Va.,  259,  262 
Raystown,  172,  183 
Raystown,  Fort,  168 
Reardon,  Danl.,  247 
Redick,  David,  377,  381 
Redstone  Creek,  60,  72,  252 
Redstone  Old  Fort,  279 
Reed,  David,  293,  295 
Reed,  John,  293,  348 
Revolutionary  War,  273 
Rhor,  Charles,  178,  192 
Rinker,  Jasper,  240 
Riparti  (Repentiguy) ,  29,  33,  51 
Ritchie,  Matthew,  297 
Roanoke  River,  280 
Robinson,  Archibald,  205 


Robinson,  John,  194,  195 
Rocheblave,  Sieur  de,  1 60 
Romney  (W.  Va.),  241 
Royal  American,  167 
Rumsey,  James,  281 


Sable,  M.  de,  81 

St.  Clair,  General  Arthur,  388 

St.  Clair,  Sir  John,  121,  130,  191,  211 

St.  Lawrence  River,  157 

St.  Piere,  Legardeur  de,  41,  42,  51 

Sandusky  River,  319 

Savage  River,  312 

Schenectady,  325 

Schuylkill  Canal,  324 

Schuylkill  River,  324 

Sciota  (River),  266,  318 

Scott,  James,  294,  295 

Scull,  John,  341,  348 

Scull,  William,  324 

Semple,  Samuel,  245,  386 

Seneca,  1,  49 

Settlers  (Actual),  294 

Sewickley  Creek,  245 

Shanapins  Town  (Shanopin),  18,  32, 

43,  185 
Shannoahs  (Shawnees),  21 
Shaw,  John,  98 
Shawnee,  1,  265 
Shawnee  Cabins,  184 
Shays'  Rebellion,  338 
Shelby,  Capt.  Evan,  193 
Shepherd,  Colo.  David,  279 
Shingas,  17,  24,  25,  26,  45,  88,  216 
Shippensburg,  164 
Shirley,  Governor,  75 
Sideling  Hill,  178 

Simpson,  Gilbert,  276,  285,  288,  297 
Sinnemahoning  Creek,  323 
Six  Nations  (Iroquois),  17,  250,254, 

258,  265 
Smith,  Thomas,  298 
Spiltdorph,  Carolus  Gustavus  de,  68 


403 


INDEX 


Spwgeon,  James,  306 

Spurgeon,  John,  306 

Stanwix  Fort,  Treaty  of,  238,  249, 

265 
Stanwix,  Brigadier  General  John, 

159 
Staunton,  Va.,  280 
Stephen,  Adam,  73,  94,  164,  240 
Stephenson,  John,  244 
Steubenville,  O.,  250 
Stevenson,  George,  166 
Steward,  Henry,  5,  16 
Stewart,  Capt.  Robert,  234 
Stewart,  Capt.  Walter,  201 
Stewart,  William,  292 
Stewarts'  Crossing,  85,  243 
Stobo,  Robert,  102 
Sunbury,  Pa.,  168,  324 
Susquehanna  (River),  323 
Swearengen,  Thomas,  279 
Swearengen,  Van,  296,  297 
Sweet  Springs,  W.  Va.,  280 

T 

Three  Brothers  Islands,  256 

Thruston,  Charles  Mynn,  360 

Ticonderoga,  Fort,  157,  198 

Tiltonville,  O.,  252 

Toby  Creek,  323 

Tohashwughtonionty,  70 

Toledo,  O.,  319 

Tom  The  Tinker,  348,  349 

Towers,  James,  83 

Townsend  Act,  236 

Trade,  Lords  of,  59 

Traders  (Indian),  1 

Trent,  William,  60,  67 

Trotter,  John,  33,  51 

Turkeyfoot  Road,  290 

Turtle  Creek  (Pa.),  45,  137,  182, 

245,  268 
Tuscarawas  (River),  318 
Tygart  River,  299 


U 

Ucahula,  161 
Uniontown,  Pa.,  298 
Upper  Sister  Island,  252 

V 

Van  Braam,  Jacob,  5,  15,  35,  44,  68, 

99,  102 
Vaudreuil,  Marquis  de,  160 
Venango  (Pa.),  3,  19,  21,  24,  27,  28 
Vercheres,  de,  161 
Villiers,  Coulon  de,  81,  100,  105,  112 
Vincennes,  Ind.  48,  266 
Virginia,  280,  333 
Virginia  Cross  Creek,  250 
Virginia  Regiment,  154,  237 
Virginia  Short  Creek,  252 

W 

Wabash  River,  19,  43 
Waggoner,  Thomas,  80 
Walker,  Robert,  292 
"Walpole  Grant,"  The,  241 
Walpole,  Horace,  241 
Walpole,  Thomas,  241 
Ward,  Ensign  Edward,  69 
Ward,  Capt.  Edward,  178 
Washington,  Augustine,  3,  126,  243 
Washington  Bottom,  263 
Washington,  Bushrod,  284,  315 
Washington,  Charles,  277 
Washington,  George  (Signature), 

6,  10 
Washington,  Lawrence,  3,  121 
Washington,  Lund,  244,  269 
Washington,  Pa.,  290,  340 
Washington,  Samuel,  240,  243,  269 
Washington,  Warner,  277,  314 
Waterford,  Pa.,  3,  318 
Wayne,  General  Anthony,  362 
Weegee  Run,  253 
Wellsburg,  W.  Va.,  251 
West,  Charles,  269 
West  Fork  (River),  299 


-404- 


INDEX 


West,  Lieut.  John,  Jr.,  76 
Western  Pennsylvania,  333 
Westmoreland  County,  Pa.,  340 
Wharton,  Samuel,  241 
Wheeling  Creek,  244 
Wheeling  Island,  252 
Wheeling,  W  Va.,  244,  263,  275 
Whiskey  Rebellion,  338 
Whiskey  Tax,  340 
White  Mingo,  246 
White  Thunder,  26,  34 
Wickerham,  Adam,  297 
Wild  Turkeys,  251 
Williamsburg  (Va.),  5,  13,  17,  38, 
156 


Wills  Creek,  4,  15,  18,  38,  44 
Winchester,  Va.,  15 
Withers,  William,  6 
Wood  County,  W.  Va,  258 

Y 

Yellow  Creek,  O,  249 
Youghiogheny,  Great  Crossings  of 
the,  242 


Zane,  Ebeneezer,  252 
Zane,  Jonathon,  252 
Zane,  Silas,  252 
Zane's  Trace,  252 
Zanesville  (O.),  252 


405 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IN  THE  OHIO  VALLEY 
is  set  in  Monotype  Janson — a  type  face  cut  about  1675 
by  Anton  Janson,  a  punch  cutter  and  type  founder  of 
Leipsic— composed  and  printed  by  Davis  &  Warde, 
Inc.,  of  Pittsburgh.  The  book  is  bound  by  Russell- 
Rutter  Company,  Inc.,  of  New  York  and  the  illustra- 
tions are  reproduced  in  Collotype  by  Meriden  Gravure 
Company  of  Connecticut. 

Typography  by  Thomas  C.  Pears,  III;  maps  and  end 
papers  by  Theodore  Bowman;  book  designed  by  Agnes 
L.  Starrett.  Twenty-three  hundred  copies  have  been 
printed  on  Worthy  Permanent  Book— a  beautiful  sheet 
no  longer  made— for  the  University  of  Pittsburgh  Press. 


103! 


^      ^ 


V9 


"\  e\V    yo  r^ 


-/      v. 


yAL L i 

<£>  {Fort  he  Bocuf  . 

{&  (Wrterford )       ^lc^hefV 


\   Venanao  mi^^f 
i — _b  (Franklin)  \u 


WASHINGTON 


}    ft  <"0    ." 


%, 


r  /&■ 


noiny, 


i   AX  Pittsburgh 


PENNSYLVANIA 

1753-  1754 
1754 
1755 
17^8 


\jTort  DuQucs>ic*( 

f5j  Bradclocks  Fic(d     x^tg^     —      -\ 

~>                               ._>    £!%  »          .*/N.r/     Y>v  ¥ 

H  f     ^-&r:»         -:**<?•#  \       * A 

2!  "     -//cT^A%5AV^^>  /-V.   ]  /'(Bedford) 


V  (  J      '•J****  •••••••  *£*»>. 


v^ 


1753-1754 


17  5S 


haM 


Scale  of  Miles  ^otoit^ 

O  lO         20        SO        40        SO