diff options
Diffstat (limited to '7002-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 7002-0.txt | 12556 |
1 files changed, 12556 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/7002-0.txt b/7002-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6b03ea4 --- /dev/null +++ b/7002-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12556 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 7002 *** + + + + +LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON + + +BY WASHINGTON IRVING + + +IN FIVE VOLS. + + +VOL. I. + + + +CHAPTER I. + +GENEALOGY OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY. + + +The Washington family is of an ancient English stock, the genealogy of +which has been traced up to the century immediately succeeding the +Conquest. At that time it was in possession of landed estates and manorial +privileges in the county of Durham, such as were enjoyed only by those, or +their descendants, who had come over from Normandy with the Conqueror, or +fought under his standard. When William the Conqueror laid waste the whole +country north of the Humber, in punishment of the insurrection of the +Northumbrians, he apportioned the estates among his followers, and advanced +Normans and other foreigners to the principal ecclesiastical dignities. One +of the most wealthy and important sees was that of Durham. Hither had been +transported the bones of St. Cuthbert from their original shrine at +Lindisfarne, when it was ravaged by the Danes. That saint, says Camden, was +esteemed by princes and gentry a titular saint against the Scots. +[Footnote: Camden, Brit. iv., 349.] His shrine, therefore, had been held in +peculiar reverence by the Saxons, and the see of Durham endowed with +extraordinary privileges. + +William continued and increased those privileges. He needed a powerful +adherent on this frontier to keep the restless Northumbrians in order, and +check Scottish invasion; and no doubt considered an enlightened +ecclesiastic, appointed by the crown, a safer depositary of such power than +an hereditary noble. + +Having placed a noble and learned native of Loraine in the diocese, +therefore, he erected it into a palatinate, over which the bishop, as Count +Palatine, had temporal, as well as spiritual jurisdiction. He built a +strong castle for his protection, and to serve as a barrier against the +Northern foe. He made him lord high-admiral of the sea and waters adjoining +his palatinate,--lord warden of the marches, and conservator of the league +between England and Scotland. Thenceforth, we are told, the prelates of +Durham owned no earthly superior within their diocese, but continued for +centuries to exercise every right attached to an independent sovereign. +[Footnote: Annals of Roger de Hovedon. Hutchinson's Durham, vol. ii. +Collectanea Curiosa, vol. ii., p. 83.] + +The bishop, as Count Palatine, lived in almost royal state and splendor. He +had his lay chancellor, chamberlains, secretaries, steward, treasurer, +master of the horse, and a host of minor officers. Still he was under +feudal obligations. All landed property in those warlike times, implied +military service. Bishops and abbots, equally with great barons who held +estates immediately of the crown, were obliged, when required, to furnish +the king with armed men in proportion to their domains; but they had their +feudatories under them to aid them in this service. + +The princely prelate of Durham had his barons and knights, who held estates +of him on feudal tenure, and were bound to serve him in peace and war. They +sat occasionally in his councils, gave martial splendor to his court, and +were obliged to have horse and weapon ready for service, for they lived in +a belligerent neighborhood, disturbed occasionally by civil war, and often +by Scottish foray. When the banner of St. Cuthbert, the royal standard of +the province, was displayed, no armed feudatory of the bishop could refuse +to take the field. [Footnote: Robert de Graystanes, Ang. Sac., p. 746.] + +Some of these prelates, in token of the warlike duties of their diocese, +engraved on their seals a knight on horseback armed at all points, +brandishing in one hand a sword, and holding forth in the other the arms of +the see. [Footnote: Camden, Brit. iv., 349.] + +Among the knights who held estates in the palatinate on these warlike +conditions, was WILLIAM DE HERTBURN, the progenitor of the Washingtons. +His Norman name of William would seem to point out his national descent; +and the family long continued to have Norman names of baptism. The surname +of De Hertburn was taken from a village on the palatinate which he held of +the bishop in knight's fee; probably the same now called Hartburn on the +banks of the Tees. It had become a custom among the Norman families of rank +about the time of the Conquest, to take surnames from their castles or +estates; it was not until some time afterwards that surnames became +generally assumed by the people. [Footnote: Lower on Surnames, vol. i., p. +43. Fuller says, that the custom of surnames was brought from France in +Edward the Confessor's time, about fifty years before the Conquest; but did +not become universally settled until some hundred years afterwards. At +first they did not descend hereditarily on the family.--_Fuller, Church +History. Roll Battle Abbey._] + +How or when the De Hertburns first acquired possession of their village is +not known. They may have been companions in arms with Robert de Brus (or +Bruce) a noble knight of Normandy, rewarded by William the Conqueror with +great possessions in the North, and among others, with the lordships of +Hert and Hertness in the county of Durham. + +The first actual mention we find of the family is in the Bolden Book, a +record of all the lands appertaining to the diocese in 1183. In this it is +stated that William de Hertburn had exchanged his village of Hertburn for +the manor and village of Wessyngton, likewise in the diocese; paying the +bishop a quitrent of four pounds, and engaging to attend him with two +greyhounds in grand hunts, and to furnish a man at arms whenever military +aid should be required of the palatinate. [Footnote: THE BOLDEN BOOK. As +this ancient document gives the first trace of the Washington family, it +merits especial mention. In 1183, a survey was made by order of Bishop de +Pusaz of all the lands of the see held in demesne, or by tenants in +villanage. The record was entered in a book called the Bolden Buke; the +parish of Bolden occurring first in alphabetical arrangement. The document +commences in the following manner: Incipit liber qui vocatur Bolden Book. +Anno Dominice Incarnationis, 1183, &c. + +The following is the memorandum in question:-- + +Willus de Herteburn habet Wessyngton (excepta ecclesia et terra ecclesie +partinen) ad excamb. pro villa de Herteburn quam pro hac quietam clamavit: +Et reddit 4 L. Et vadit in _magna caza_ cum 2 Leporar. Et quando +commune auxilium venerit debet dare 1 Militem ad plus de auxilio, +&c.--_Collectanea Curiosa_, vol. ii., p. 89. + +The Bolden Buke is a small folio, deposited in the office of the bishop's +auditor, at Durham.] + +The family changed its surname with its estate, and thenceforward assumed +that of DE WESSYNGTON. [Footnote: The name is probably of Saxon origin. It +existed in England prior to the Conquest. The village of Wassengtone is +mentioned in a Saxon charter as granted by king Edgar in 973 to Thorney +Abbey.--_Collectanea Topographica_, iv., 55.] The condition of +military service attached to its manor will be found to have been often +exacted, nor was the service in the grand hunt an idle form. Hunting came +next to war in those days, as the occupation of the nobility and gentry. +The clergy engaged in it equally with the laity. The hunting establishment +of the Bishop of Durham was on a princely scale. He had his forests, chases +and parks, with their train of foresters, rangers, and park keepers. A +grand hunt was a splendid pageant in which all his barons and knights +attended him with horse and hound. The stipulations with the Seignior of +Wessyngton show how strictly the rights of the chase were defined. All the +game taken by him in going to the forest belonged to the bishop; all taken +on returning belonged to himself. [Footnote: Hutchinson's Durham vol. ii., +p. 489.] + +Hugh de Pusaz (or De Pudsay) during whose episcopate we meet with this +first trace of the De Wessyngtons, was a nephew of king Stephen, and a +prelate of great pretensions; fond of appearing with a train of +ecclesiastics and an armed retinue. When Richard Coeur de Lion put every +thing at pawn and sale to raise funds for a crusade to the Holy Land, the +bishop resolved to accompany him. More wealthy than his sovereign, he made +magnificent preparations. Besides ships to convey his troops and retinue, +he had a sumptuous galley for himself, fitted up with a throne or episcopal +chair of silver, and all the household, and even culinary, utensils, were +of the same costly material. In a word, had not the prelate been induced to +stay at home, and aid the king with his treasures, by being made one of the +regents of the kingdom, and Earl of Northumberland for life, the De +Wessyngtons might have followed the banner of St. Cuthbert to the Holy +wars. + +Nearly seventy years afterwards we find the family still retaining its +manorial estate in the palatinate. The names of Bondo de Wessyngton and +William his son appear on charters of land, granted in 1257 to religious +houses. Soon after occurred the wars of the barons, in which the throne of +Henry III was shaken by the De Mountforts. The chivalry of the palatinate +rallied under the royal standard. On the list of loyal knights who fought +for their sovereign in the disastrous battle of Lewes (1264), in which the +king was taken prisoner, we find the name of William Weshington, of +Weshington. [Footnote: This list of knights was inserted in the Bolden Book +as an additional entry. It is cited at full length by Hutchinson.--_Hist. +Durham_, vol. i., p. 220.] + +During the splendid pontificate of Anthony Beke (or Beak), the knights of +the palatinate had continually to be in the saddle, or buckled in armor. +The prelate was so impatient of rest that he never took more than one +sleep, saying it was unbecoming a man to turn from one side to another in +bed. He was perpetually, when within his diocese, either riding from one +manor to another, or hunting and hawking. Twice he assisted Edward I. with +all his force in invading Scotland. In the progress northward with the +king, the bishop led the van, marching a day in advance of the main body, +with a mercenary force, paid by himself, of one thousand foot and five +hundred horse. Besides these he had his feudatories of the palatinate; six +bannerets and one hundred and sixty knights, not one of whom, says an old +poem, but surpassed Arthur himself, though endowed with the charmed gifts +of Merlin. [Footnote: + Onques Artous pour touz ces charmes, + Si beau prisent ne ot de Merlyn. +SIEGE OF KARLAVEROCK; _an old Poem in Norman French._] We presume the +De Wessyngtons were among those preux chevaliers, as the banner of St. +Cuthbert had been taken from its shrine on the occasion, and of course all +the armed force of the diocese was bound to follow. It was borne in front +of the army by a monk of Durham. There were many rich caparisons, says the +old poem, many beautiful pennons, fluttering from lances, and much neighing +of steeds. The hills and valleys were covered with sumpter horses and +waggons laden with tents and provisions. The Bishop of Durham in his +warlike state appeared, we are told, more like a powerful prince, than a +priest or prelate. [Footnote: Robert de Graystanes, Ang. Sac., p. 746, +cited by Hutchinson, vol. i. p. 239.] + +At the surrender of the crown of Scotland by John Baliol, which ended this +invasion, the bishop negotiated on the part of England. As a trophy of the +event, the chair of Schone used on the inauguration of the Scottish +monarchs, and containing the stone on which Jacob dreamed, the palladium of +Scotland, was transferred to England and deposited in Westminster Abbey. +[Footnote: An extract from an inedited poem, cited by Nicolas in his +translation of the Siege of Carlavarock, gives a striking picture of the +palatinate in these days of its pride and splendor:-- + + There valour bowed before the rood and book, + And kneeling knighthood served a prelate lord, + Yet little deigned he on such train to look, + Or glance of ruth or pity to afford. + + There time has heard the peal rung out at night, + Has seen from every tower the cressets stream, + When the red bale fire on yon western height + Had roused the warder from his fitful dream. + + Has seen old Durham's lion banner float + O'er the proud bulwark, that, with giant pride + And feet deep plunged amidst the circling moat, + The efforts of the roving Scot defied.] + +In the reign of Edward III. we find the De Wessyngtons still mingling in +chivalrous scenes. The name of Sir Stephen de Wessyngton appears on a list +of knights (nobles chevaliers) who were to tilt at a tournament at +Dunstable in 1334. He bore for his device a golden rose on an azure field. +[Footnote: Collect. Topog. et Genealog. T. iv., p. 395.] + +He was soon called to exercise his arms on a sterner field. In 1346, Edward +and his son, the Black Prince, being absent with the armies in France, king +David of Scotland invaded Northumberland with a powerful army. Queen +Philippa, who had remained in England as regent, immediately took the +field, calling the northern prelates and nobles to join her standard. They +all hastened to obey. Among the prelates was Hatfield, the Bishop of +Durham. The sacred banner of St. Cuthbert was again displayed, and the +chivalry of the palatinate assisted at the famous battle of Nevil's cross, +near Durham, in which the Scottish army was defeated and king David taken +prisoner. + +Queen Philippa hastened with a victorious train to cross the sea at Dover, +and join king Edward in his camp before Calais. The prelate of Durham +accompanied her. His military train consisted of three bannerets, +forty-eight knights, one hundred and sixty-four esquires, and eighty +archers, on horseback. [Footnote: Collier's Eccles. Hist., Book VI., Cent. +XIV.] They all arrived to witness the surrender of Calais, (1346) on which +occasion queen Philippa distinguished herself by her noble interference in +saving the lives of its patriot citizens. + +Such were the warlike and stately scenes in which the De Wessyngtons were +called to mingle by their feudal duties as knights of the palatinate. A few +years after the last event (1350), William, at that time lord of the manor +of Wessyngton, had license to settle it and the village upon himself, his +wife, and "his own right heirs." He died in 1367, and his son and heir, +William, succeeded to the estate. The latter is mentioned under the name of +Sir William de Weschington, as one of the knights who sat in the privy +council of the county during the episcopate of John Fordham. [Footnote: +Hutchinson, vol. ii.] During this time the whole force of the palatinate +was roused to pursue a foray of Scots, under Sir William Douglas, who, +having ravaged the country, were returning laden with spoil. It was a fruit +of the feud between the Douglases and the Percys. The marauders were +overtaken by Hotspur Percy, and then took place the battle of Otterbourne, +in which Percy was taken prisoner and Douglas slain. [Footnote: + Theare the Dowglas lost his life, + And the Percye was led away. +FORDUN. _Quoted by Surtee's Hist. Durham_, vol i.] + +For upwards of two hundred years the De Wessyngtons had now sat in the +councils of the palatinate; had mingled with horse and hound in the stately +hunts of its prelates, and followed the banner of St. Cuthbert to the +field; but Sir William, just mentioned, was the last of the family that +rendered this feudal service. He was the last male of the line to which the +inheritance of the manor, by the license granted to his father, was +confined. It passed away from the De Wessyngtons, after his death, by the +marriage of his only daughter and heir, Dionisia, with Sir William Temple +of Studley. By the year 1400 it had become the property of the Blaykestons. +[Footnote: Hutchinson's Durham, vol. ii., p. 489.] + +But though the name of De Wessyngton no longer figured on the chivalrous +roll of the palatinate, it continued for a time to flourish in the +cloisters. In the year 1416, John de Wessyngton was elected prior of the +Benedictine convent, attached to the cathedral. The monks of this convent +had been licensed by Pope Gregory VII. to perform the solemn duties of the +cathedral in place of secular clergy, and William the Conqueror had +ordained that the priors of Durham should enjoy all the liberties, +dignities and honors of abbots; should hold their lands and churches in +their own hands and free disposition, and have the abbot's seat on the left +side of the choir--thus taking rank of every one but the bishop. [Footnote: +Dugdale Monasticon Anglicanum. T. i., p. 231. London ed. 1846.] + +In the course of three centuries and upwards, which had since elapsed, +these honors and privileges had been subject to repeated dispute and +encroachment, and the prior had nearly been elbowed out of the abbot's +chair by the archdeacon. John de Wessyngton was not a man to submit tamely +to such infringements of his rights. He forthwith set himself up as the +champion of his priory, and in a learned tract, _de Juribus et +Possessionibus Ecclesiae Dunelm_, established the validity of the long +controverted claims, and fixed himself firmly in the abbot's chair. His +success in this controversy gained him much renown among his brethren of +the cowl, and in 1426 he presided at the general chapter of the order of +St. Benedict, held at Northampton. + +The stout prior of Durham had other disputes with the bishop and the +secular clergy touching his ecclesiastical functions, in which he was +equally victorious, and several tracts remain in manuscript in the dean and +chapter's library; weapons hung up in the church armory as memorials of his +polemical battles. + +Finally, after fighting divers good fights for the honor of his priory, and +filling the abbot's chair for thirty years, he died, to use an ancient +phrase, "in all the odor of sanctity," in 1446, and was buried like a +soldier on his battle-field, at the door of the north aisle of his church, +near to the altar of St. Benedict. On his tombstone was an inscription in +brass, now unfortunately obliterated, which may have set forth the valiant +deeds of this Washington of the cloisters. [Footnote: Hutchinson's Durham, +vol. ii., passim.] + +By this time the primitive stock of the De Wessyngtons had separated into +divers branches, holding estates in various parts of England; some +distinguishing themselves in the learned professions, others receiving +knighthood for public services. Their names are to be found honorably +recorded in county histories, or engraved on monuments in time-worn +churches and cathedrals, those garnering places of English worthies. By +degrees the seignorial sign of _de_ disappeared from before the family +surname, which also varied from Wessyngton to Wassington, Wasshington, and +finally, to Washington. [Footnote: "The de came to be omitted," says an old +treatise, "when Englishmen and English manners began to prevail upon the +recovery of lost credit."--_Restitution of decayed intelligence in +antiquities._ Lond. 1634. + +About the time of Henry VI., says another treatise, the de or d' was +generally dropped from surnames, when the title of _armiger_, +_esquier_, amongst the heads of families, and _generosus_, or +_gentylman_, among younger sons was substituted.--_Lower on +Surnames_, vol i.] A parish in the county of Durham bears the name as +last written, and in this probably the ancient manor of Wessyngton was +situated. There is another parish of the name in the county of Sussex. + +The branch of the family to which our Washington immediately belongs sprang +from Laurence Washington, Esquire, of Gray's Inn, son of John Washington, +of Warton in Lancashire. This Laurence Washington was for some time mayor +of Northampton, and on the dissolution of the priories by Henry VIII. he +received, in 1538, a grant of the manor of Sulgrave, in Northamptonshire, +with other lands in the vicinity, all confiscated property formerly +belonging to the monastery of St. Andrew's. + +Sulgrave remained in the family until 1620, and was commonly called +"Washington's manor." [Footnote: The manor of Garsdon in Wiltshire has been +mentioned as the homestead of the ancestors of our Washington. This is a +mistake. It was the residence of Sir Laurence Washington, second son of the +above-mentioned grantee of Sulgrave. Elizabeth, granddaughter of this Sir +Laurence, married Robert Shirley, Earl Ferrers and Viscount of Tamworth. +Washington became a baptismal name among the Shirleys--several of the Earls +Ferrers have borne it. + +The writer of these pages visited Sulgrave a few years since. It was in a +quiet rural neighborhood, where the farm-houses were quaint and antiquated. +A part only of the manor house remained, and was inhabited by a farmer. The +Washington crest, in colored glass, was to be seen in a window of what was +now the buttery. A window on which the whole family arms was emblazoned had +been removed to the residence of the actual proprietor of the manor. +Another relic of the ancient manor of the Washingtons was a rookery in a +venerable grove hard by. The rooks, those stanch adherents to old family +abodes, still hovered and cawed about their hereditary nests. In the +pavement of the parish church we were shown a stone slab bearing effigies +on plates of brass of Laurence Wasshington, gent., and Anne his wife, and +their four sons and eleven daughters. The inscription in black letter was +dated 1564.] + +One of the direct descendants of the grantee of Sulgrave was Sir William +Washington, of Packington, in the county of Kent. He married a sister of +George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, the unfortunate favorite of Charles I. +This may have attached the Sulgrave Washingtons to the Stuart dynasty, to +which they adhered loyally and generously throughout all its vicissitudes. +One of the family, Lieutenant Colonel James Washington, took up arms in the +cause of king Charles, and lost his life at the siege of Pontefract castle. +Another of the Sulgrave line, Sir Henry Washington, son and heir of Sir +William, before mentioned, exhibited in the civil wars the old chivalrous +spirit of the knights of the palatinate. He served under prince Rupert at +the storming of Bristol, in 1643, and when the assailants were beaten off +at every point, he broke in with a handful of infantry at a weak part of +the wall, made room for the horse to follow, and opened a path to victory. +[Footnote: Clarendon, Book vii.] + +He distinguished himself still more in 1646, when elevated to the command +of Worcester, the governor having been captured by the enemy. It was a time +of confusion and dismay. The king had fled from Oxford in disguise and gone +to the parliamentary camp at Newark. The royal cause was desperate. In this +crisis Sir Henry received a letter from Fairfax, who, with his victorious +army, was at Haddington, demanding the surrender of Worcester. The +following was Colonel Washington's reply: + +SIR, + +It is acknowledged by your books and by report of your own quarter, that +the king is in some of your armies. That granted, it may be easy for you to +procure his Majesty's commands for the disposal of this garrison. Till then +I shall make good the trust reposed in me. As for conditions, if I shall be +necessitated, I shall make the best I can. The worst I know and fear not; +if I had, the profession of a soldier had not been begun, nor so long +continued by your Excellency's humble servant, + +HENRY WASHINGTON. [Footnote: Greene's Antiquities of Worcester, p. 273.] + +In a few days Colonel Whalley invested the city with five thousand troops. +Sir Henry dispatched messenger after messenger in quest of the king to know +his pleasure. None of them returned. A female emissary was equally +unavailing. Week after week elapsed, until nearly three months had expired. +Provisions began to fail. The city was in confusion. The troops grew +insubordinate. Yet Sir Henry persisted in the defence. General Fairfax, +with 1,500 horse and foot, was daily expected. There was not powder enough +for an hour's contest should the city be stormed. Still Sir Henry "awaited +his Majesty's commands." + +At length news arrived that the king had issued an order for the surrender +of all towns, castles, and forts. A printed copy of the order was shown to +Sir Henry, and on the faith of that document he capitulated (19th July, +1646) on honorable terms, won by his fortitude and perseverance. Those who +believe in hereditary virtues may see foreshadowed in the conduct of this +Washington of Worcester, the magnanimous constancy of purpose, the +disposition to "hope against hope," which bore our Washington triumphantly +through the darkest days of our revolution. + +We have little note of the Sulgrave branch of the family after the death of +Charles I. and the exile of his successor. England, during the +protectorate, became an uncomfortable residence to such as had signalized +themselves as adherents to the house of Stuart. In 1655, an attempt at a +general insurrection drew on them the vengeance of Cromwell. Many of their +party who had no share in the conspiracy, yet sought refuge in other lands, +where they might live free from molestation. This may have been the case +with two brothers, John and Andrew Washington, great-grandsons of the +grantee of Sulgrave, and uncles of Sir Henry, the gallant defender of +Worcester. John had for some time resided at South Cave, in the East Riding +of Yorkshire; [Footnote: South Cave is near the Humber. "In the vicinity is +Cave Castle, an embattled edifice. It has a noble collection of paintings, +including a portrait of General Washington, whose ancestors possessed a +portion of the estate."--_Lewes, Topog. Dict._ vol. i., p. 530.] but +now emigrated with his brother to Virginia; which colony, from its +allegiance to the exiled monarch and the Anglican Church had become a +favorite resort of the Cavaliers. The brothers arrived in Virginia in 1657, +and purchased lands in Westmoreland County, on the northern neck, between +the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. John married a Miss Anne Pope, of the +same county, and took up his residence on Bridges Creek, near where it +falls into the Potomac. He became an extensive planter, and, in process of +time, a magistrate and member of the House of Burgesses. Having a spark of +the old military fire of the family, we find him, as Colonel Washington, +leading the Virginia forces, in co-operation with those of Maryland, +against a band of Seneca Indians, who were ravaging the settlements along +the Potomac. In honor of his public services and private virtues the parish +in which he resided was called after him, and still bears the name of +Washington. He lies buried in a vault on Bridges Creek, which, for +generations, was the family place of sepulture. + +The estate continued in the family. His grandson Augustine, the father of +our Washington, was born there in 1694. He was twice married; first (April +20th, 1715), to Jane, daughter of Caleb Butler, Esq., of Westmoreland +County, by whom he had four children, of whom only two, Lawrence and +Augustine, survived the years of childhood; their mother died November +24th, 1728, and was buried in the family vault. + +On the 6th of March, 1730, he married in second nuptials, Mary, the +daughter of Colonel Ball, a young and beautiful girl, said to be the belle +of the Northern Neck. By her he had four sons, George, Samuel, John +Augustine, and Charles; and two daughters, Elizabeth, or Betty, as she was +commonly called, and Mildred, who died in infancy. + +George, the eldest, the subject of this biography, was born on the 22d of +February (11th, O. S.), 1732, in the homestead on Bridges Creek. This house +commanded a view over many miles of the Potomac, and the opposite shore of +Maryland. It had probably been purchased with the property, and was one of +the primitive farm-houses of Virginia. The roof was steep, and sloped down +into low projecting eaves. It had four rooms on the ground floor, and +others in the attic, and an immense chimney at each end. Not a vestige of +it remains. Two or three decayed fig trees, with shrubs and vines, linger +about the place, and here and there a flower grown wild serves "to mark +where a garden has been." Such at least, was the case a few years since; +but these may have likewise passed away. A stone [Footnote: Placed there by +George W. P. Custis, Esq.] marks the site of the house, and an inscription +denotes its being the birthplace of Washington. + +We have entered with some minuteness into this genealogical detail; tracing +the family step by step through the pages of historical documents for +upwards of six centuries; and we have been tempted to do so by the +documentary proofs it gives of the lineal and enduring worth of the race. +We have shown that, for many generations, and through a variety of eventful +scenes, it has maintained an equality of fortune and respectability, and +whenever brought to the test has acquitted itself with honor and loyalty. +Hereditary rank may be an illusion; but hereditary virtue gives a patent of +innate nobleness beyond all the blazonry of the Herald's College. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE HOME OF WASHINGTON'S BOYHOOD--HIS EARLY EDUCATION--LAWRENCE WASHINGTON +AND HIS CAMPAIGN IN THE WEST INDIES--DEATH OF WASHINGTON'S FATHER--THE +WIDOWED MOTHER AND HER CHILDREN--SCHOOL EXERCISES. + + +Not long after the birth of George, his father removed to an estate in +Stafford County, opposite Fredericksburg. The house was similar in style to +the one at Bridges Creek, and stood on a rising ground overlooking a meadow +which bordered the Rappahannock. This was the home of George's boyhood; the +meadow was his play-ground, and the scene of his early athletic sports; but +this home, like that in which he was born, has disappeared; the site is +only to be traced by fragments of bricks, china, and earthenware. + +In those days the means of instruction in Virginia were limited, and it was +the custom among the wealthy planters to send their sons to England to +complete their education. This was done by Augustine Washington with his +eldest son Lawrence, then about fifteen years of age, and whom he no doubt +considered the future head of the family. George was yet in early +childhood: as his intellect dawned he received the rudiments of education +in the best establishment for the purpose that the neighborhood afforded. +It was what was called, in popular parlance, an "old field school-house;" +humble enough in its pretensions, and kept by one of his father's tenants +named Hobby, who moreover was sexton of the parish. The instruction doled +out by him must have been of the simplest kind, reading, writing, and +ciphering, perhaps; but George had the benefit of mental and moral culture +at home, from an excellent father. + +Several traditional anecdotes have been given to the world, somewhat prolix +and trite, but illustrative of the familiar and practical manner in which +Augustine Washington, in the daily intercourse of domestic life, impressed +the ductile mind of his child with high maxims of religion and virtue, and +imbued him with a spirit of justice and generosity, and above all a +scrupulous love of truth. + +When George was about seven or eight years old his brother Lawrence +returned from England, a well-educated and accomplished youth. There was a +difference of fourteen years in their ages, which may have been one cause +of the strong attachment which took place between them. Lawrence looked +down with a protecting eye upon the boy whose dawning intelligence and +perfect rectitude won his regard; while George looked up to his manly and +cultivated brother as a model in mind and manners. We call particular +attention to this brotherly interchange of affection, from the influence it +had on all the future career of the subject of this memoir. + +Lawrence Washington had something of the old military spirit of the family, +and circumstances soon called it into action. Spanish depredations on +British commerce had recently provoked reprisals. Admiral Vernon, +commander-in-chief in the West Indies, had accordingly captured Porto +Bello, on the Isthmus of Darien. The Spaniards were preparing to revenge +the blow; the French were fitting out ships to aid them. Troops were +embarked in England for another campaign in the West Indies; a regiment of +four battalions was to be raised in the colonies and sent to join them at +Jamaica. There was a sudden outbreak of military ardor in the province; the +sound of drum and fife was heard in the villages with the parade of +recruiting parties. Lawrence Washington, now twenty-two years of age, +caught the infection. He obtained a captain's commission in the newly +raised regiment, and embarked with it for the West Indies in 1740. He +served in the joint expeditions of Admiral Vernon and General Wentworth, in +the land forces commanded by the latter, and acquired the friendship and +confidence of both of those officers. He was present at the siege of +Carthagena, when it was bombarded by the fleet, and when the troops +attempted to escalade the citadel. It was an ineffectual attack; the ships +could not get near enough to throw their shells into the town, and the +scaling ladders proved too short. That part of the attack, however, with +which Lawrence was concerned, distinguished itself by its bravery. The +troops sustained unflinching a destructive fire for several hours, and at +length retired with honor, their small force having sustained a loss of +about six hundred in killed and wounded. + +We have here the secret of that martial spirit so often cited of George in +his boyish days. He had seen his brother fitted out for the wars. He had +heard by letter and otherwise of the warlike scenes in which he was +mingling. All his amusements took a military turn. He made soldiers of his +schoolmates; they had their mimic parades, reviews, and sham fights; a boy +named William Bustle was sometimes his competitor, but George was +commander-in-chief of Hobby's school. + +Lawrence Washington returned home in the autumn of 1742, the campaigns in +the West Indies being ended, and Admiral Vernon and General Wentworth being +recalled to England. It was the intention of Lawrence to rejoin his +regiment in that country, and seek promotion in the army, but circumstances +completely altered his plans. He formed an attachment to Anne, the eldest +daughter of the Honorable William Fairfax, of Fairfax County; his addresses +were well received, and they became engaged. Their nuptials were delayed by +the sudden and untimely death of his father, which took place on the 12th +of April, 1743, after a short but severe attack of gout in the stomach, and +when but forty-nine years of age. George had been absent from home on a +visit during his father's illness, and just returned in time to receive a +parting look of affection. + +Augustine Washington left large possessions, distributed by will among his +children. To Lawrence, the estate on the banks of the Potomac, with other +real property, and several shares in iron works. To Augustine, the second +son by the first marriage, the old homestead and estate in Westmoreland. +The children by the second marriage were severally well provided for, and +George, when he became of age, was to have the house and lands on the +Rappahannock. + +In the month of July the marriage of Lawrence with Miss Fairfax took place. +He now gave up all thoughts of foreign service, and settled himself on his +estate on the banks of the Potomac, to which he gave the name of MOUNT +VERNON, in honor of the admiral. + +Augustine took up his abode at the homestead on Bridges Creek, and married +Anne, daughter and co-heiress of William Aylett, Esquire, of Westmoreland +County. + +George, now eleven years of age, and the other children of the second +marriage, had been left under the guardianship of their mother, to whom was +intrusted the proceeds of all their property until they should severally +come of age. She proved herself worthy of the trust. Endowed with plain, +direct good sense, thorough conscientiousness, and prompt decision, she +governed her family strictly, but kindly, exacting deference while she +inspired affection. George, being her eldest son, was thought to be her +favorite, yet she never gave him undue preference, and the implicit +deference exacted from him in childhood continued to be habitually observed +by him to the day of her death. He inherited from her a high temper and a +spirit of command, but her early precepts and example taught him to +restrain and govern that temper, and to square his conduct on the exact +principles of equity and justice. + +Tradition gives an interesting picture of the widow, with her little flock +gathered round her, as was her daily wont, reading to them lessons of +religion and morality out of some standard work. Her favorite volume was +Sir Matthew Hale's Contemplations, moral and divine. The admirable maxims +therein contained, for outward action as well as self-government, sank deep +into the mind of George, and, doubtless, had a great influence in forming +his character. They certainly were exemplified in his conduct throughout +life. This mother's manual, bearing his mother's name, Mary Washington, +written with her own hand, was ever preserved by him with filial care, and +may still be seen in the archives of Mount Vernon. A precious document! Let +those who wish to know the moral foundation of his character consult its +pages. + +Having no longer the benefit of a father's instructions at home, and the +scope of tuition of Hobby, the sexton, being too limited for the growing +wants of his pupil, George was now sent to reside with Augustine +Washington, at Bridges Creek, and enjoy the benefit of a superior school in +that neighborhood, kept by a Mr. Williams. His education, however, was +plain and practical. He never attempted the learned languages, nor +manifested any inclination for rhetoric or belles-lettres. His object, or +the object of his friends, seems to have been confined to fitting him for +ordinary business. His manuscript school books still exist, and are models +of neatness and accuracy. One of them, it is true, a ciphering book, +preserved in the library at Mount Vernon, has some school-boy attempts at +calligraphy; nondescript birds, executed with a flourish of the pen, or +profiles of faces, probably intended for those of his schoolmates; the rest +are all grave and business-like. Before he was thirteen years of age he had +copied into a volume forms for all kinds of mercantile and legal papers; +bills of exchange, notes of hand, deeds, bonds, and the like. This early +self-tuition gave him throughout life a lawyer's skill in drafting +documents, and a merchant's exactness in keeping accounts; so that all the +concerns of his various estates; his dealings with his domestic stewards +and foreign agents; his accounts with government, and all his financial +transactions are to this day to be seen posted up in books, in his own +handwriting, monuments of his method and unwearied accuracy. + +He was a self-disciplinarian in physical as well as mental matters, and +practised himself in all kinds of athletic exercises, such as running, +leaping, wrestling, pitching quoits and tossing bars. His frame even in +infancy had been large and powerful, and he now excelled most of his +playmates in contests of agility and strength. As a proof of his muscular +power, a place is still pointed out at Fredericksburg, near the lower +ferry, where, when a boy, he flung a stone across the Rappahannock. In +horsemanship too he already excelled, and was ready to back, and able to +manage the most fiery steed. Traditional anecdotes remain of his +achievements in this respect. + +Above all, his inherent probity and the principles of justice on which he +regulated all his conduct, even at this early period of life, were soon +appreciated by his schoolmates; he was referred to as an umpire in their +disputes, and his decisions were never reversed. As he had formerly been +military chieftain, he was now legislator of the school; thus displaying in +boyhood a type of the future man. + + + +CHAPTER III. + +PATERNAL CONDUCT OF AN ELDER BROTHER--THE FAIRFAX FAMILY--WASHINGTON'S CODE +OF MORALS AND MANNERS--SOLDIERS' TALES--THEIR INFLUENCE--WASHINGTON +PREPARES FOR THE NAVY--A MOTHER'S OBJECTIONS--RETURN TO SCHOOL--STUDIES AND +EXERCISES--A SCHOOL-BOY PASSION--THE LOWLAND BEAUTY--LOVE DITTIES AT MOUNT +VERNON--VISIT TO BELVOIR--LORD FAIRFAX--HIS CHARACTER--FOX-HUNTING A REMEDY +FOR LOVE--PROPOSITION FOR A SURVEYING EXPEDITION. + + +The attachment of Lawrence Washington to his brother George seems to have +acquired additional strength and tenderness on their father's death; he now +took a truly paternal interest in his concerns, and had him as frequently +as possible a guest at Mount Vernon. Lawrence had deservedly become a +popular and leading personage in the country. He was a member of the House +of Burgesses, and Adjutant General of the district, with the rank of major, +and a regular salary. A frequent sojourn with him brought George into +familiar intercourse with the family of his father-in-law, the Hon. +William Fairfax, who resided at a beautiful seat called Belvoir, a few +miles below Mount Vernon, and on the same woody ridge bordering the +Potomac. + +William Fairfax was a man of liberal education and intrinsic worth; he had +seen much of the world, and his mind had been enriched and ripened by +varied and adventurous experience. Of an ancient English family in +Yorkshire, he had entered the army at the age of twenty-one; had served +with honor both in the East and West Indies, and officiated as governor of +New Providence, after having aided in rescuing it from pirates. For some +years past he had resided in Virginia, to manage the immense landed estates +of his cousin, Lord Fairfax, and lived at Belvoir in the style of an +English country gentleman, surrounded by an intelligent and cultivated +family of sons and daughters. + +An intimacy with a family like this, in which the frankness and simplicity +of rural and colonial life were united with European refinement, could not +but have a beneficial effect in moulding the character and manners of a +somewhat homebred schoolboy. It was probably his intercourse with them, and +his ambition to acquit himself well in their society, that set him upon +compiling a code of morals and manners which still exists in a manuscript +in his own handwriting, entitled "rules for behavior in company and +conversation." It is extremely minute and circumstantial. Some of the rules +for personal deportment extend to such trivial matters, and are so quaint +and formal, as almost to provoke a smile; but in the main, a better manual +of conduct could not be put into the hands of a youth. The whole code +evinces that rigid propriety and self control to which he subjected +himself, and by which he brought all the impulses of a somewhat ardent +temper under conscientious government. + +Other influences were brought to bear on George during his visit at Mount +Vernon. His brother Lawrence still retained some of his military +inclinations, fostered no doubt by his post of Adjutant General. William +Fairfax, as we have shown, had been a soldier, and in many trying scenes. +Some of Lawrence's comrades of the provincial regiment, who had served with +him in the West Indies, were occasional visitors at Mount Vernon; or a ship +of war, possibly one of Vernon's old fleet, would anchor in the Potomac, +and its officers be welcome guests at the tables of Lawrence and his +father-in-law. Thus military scenes on sea and shore would become the +topics of conversation. The capture of Porto Bello; the bombardment of +Carthagena; old stories of cruisings in the East and West Indies, and +campaigns against the pirates. We can picture to ourselves George, a grave +and earnest boy, with an expanding intellect, and a deep-seated passion for +enterprise, listening to such conversations with a kindling spirit and a +growing desire for military life. In this way most probably was produced +that desire to enter the navy which he evinced when about fourteen years of +age. The opportunity for gratifying it appeared at hand. Ships of war +frequented the colonies, and at times, as we have hinted, were anchored in +the Potomac. The inclination was encouraged by Lawrence Washington and Mr. +Fairfax. Lawrence retained pleasant recollections of his cruisings in the +fleet of Admiral Vernon, and considered the naval service a popular path to +fame and fortune. George was at a suitable age to enter the navy. The great +difficulty was to procure the assent of his mother. She was brought, +however, to acquiesce; a midshipman's warrant was obtained, and it is even +said that the luggage of the youth was actually on board of a man of war, +anchored in the river just below Mount Vernon. + +At the eleventh hour the mother's heart faltered. This was her eldest born. +A son, whose strong and steadfast character promised to be a support to +herself and a protection to her other children. The thought of his being +completely severed from her and exposed to the hardships and perils of a +boisterous profession, overcame even her resolute mind, and at her urgent +remonstrances the nautical scheme was given up. + +To school, therefore, George returned, and continued his studies for nearly +two years longer, devoting himself especially to mathematics, and +accomplishing himself in those branches calculated to fit him either for +civil or military service. Among these, one of the most important in the +actual state of the country was land surveying. In this he schooled himself +thoroughly, using the highest processes of the art; making surveys about +the neighborhood, and keeping regular field books, some of which we have +examined, in which the boundaries and measurements of the fields surveyed +were carefully entered, and diagrams made, with a neatness and exactness as +if the whole related to important land transactions instead of being mere +school exercises. Thus, in his earliest days, there was perseverance and +completeness in all his undertakings. Nothing was left half done, or done +in a hurried and slovenly manner. The habit of mind thus cultivated +continued throughout life; so that however complicated his tasks and +overwhelming his cares, in the arduous and hazardous situations in which he +was often placed, he found time to do every thing, and to do it well. He +had acquired the magic of method, which of itself works wonders. + +In one of these manuscript memorials of his practical studies and +exercises, we have come upon some documents singularly in contrast with all +that we have just cited, and, with his apparently unromantic character. In +a word, there are evidences in his own handwriting, that, before he was +fifteen years of age, he had conceived a passion for some unknown beauty, +so serious as to disturb his otherwise well-regulated mind, and to make him +really unhappy. Why this juvenile attachment was a source of unhappiness we +have no positive means of ascertaining. Perhaps the object of it may have +considered him a mere school-boy, and treated him as such; or his own +shyness may have been in his way, and his "rules for behavior and +conversation" may as yet have sat awkwardly on him, and rendered him formal +and ungainly when he most sought to please. Even in later years he was apt +to be silent and embarrassed in female society. "He was a very bashful +young man," said an old lady, whom he used to visit when they were both in +their nonage. "I used often to wish that he would talk more." + +Whatever may have been the reason, this early attachment seems to have been +a source of poignant discomfort to him. It clung to him after he took a +final leave of school in the autumn of 1747, and went to reside with his +brother Lawrence at Mount Vernon. Here he continued his mathematical +studies and his practice in surveying, disturbed at times by recurrences of +his unlucky passion. Though by no means of a poetical temperament, the +waste pages of his journal betray several attempts to pour forth his +amorous sorrows in verse. They are mere common-place rhymes, such as lovers +at his age are apt to write, in which he bewails his "poor restless heart, +wounded by Cupid's dart," and "bleeding for one who remains pitiless of his +griefs and woes." + +The tenor of some of his verses induce us to believe that he never told his +love; but, as we have already surmised, was prevented by his bashfulness. + + "Ah, woe is me, that I should love and conceal; + Long have I wished and never dare reveal." + +It is difficult to reconcile one's self to the idea of the cool and sedate +Washington, the great champion of American liberty, a woe-worn lover in his +youthful days, "sighing like furnace," and inditing plaintive verses about +the groves of Mount Vernon. We are glad of an opportunity, however, of +penetrating to his native feelings, and finding that under his studied +decorum and reserve he had a heart of flesh throbbing with the warm +impulses of human nature. + +Being a favorite of Sir William Fairfax, he was now an occasional inmate of +Belvoir. Among the persons at present residing there was Thomas, Lord +Fairfax, cousin of William Fairfax, and of whose immense landed property +the latter was the agent. As this nobleman was one of Washington's earliest +friends, and, in some degree the founder of his fortunes, his character and +history are worthy of especial note. + +Lord Fairfax was now nearly sixty years of age, upwards of six feet high, +gaunt and raw-boned, near-sighted, with light gray eyes, sharp features and +an aquiline nose. However ungainly his present appearance, he had figured +to advantage in London life in his younger days. He had received his +education at the university of Oxford, where he acquitted himself with +credit. He afterwards held a commission, and remained for some time in a +regiment of horse called the Blues. His title and connections, of course, +gave him access to the best society, in which he acquired additional +currency by contributing a paper or two to Addison's Spectator, then in +great vogue. + +In the height of his fashionable career, he became strongly attached to a +young lady of rank; paid his addresses, and was accepted. The wedding day +was fixed; the wedding dresses were provided; together with servants and +equipages for the matrimonial establishment. Suddenly the lady broke her +engagement. She had been dazzled by the superior brilliancy of a ducal +coronet. + +It was a cruel blow, alike to the affection and pride of Lord Fairfax, and +wrought a change in both character and conduct. From that time he almost +avoided the sex, and became shy and embarrassed in their society, excepting +among those with whom he was connected or particularly intimate. This may +have been among the reasons which ultimately induced him to abandon the gay +world and bury himself in the wilds of America. He made a voyage to +Virginia about the year 1739, to visit his vast estates there. These he +inherited from his mother, Catharine, daughter of Thomas, Lord Culpepper, +to whom they had been granted by Charles II. The original grant was for all +the lands lying between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers; meaning +thereby, it is said, merely the territory on the northern neck, east of the +Blue Ridge. His lordship, however, discovering that the Potomac headed in +the Allegany Mountains, returned to England and claimed a correspondent +definition of his grant. It was arranged by compromise; extending his +domain into the Allegany Mountains, and comprising, among other lands, a +great portion of the Shenandoah Valley. + +Lord Fairfax had been delighted with his visit to Virginia. The amenity of +the climate, the magnificence of the forest scenery, the abundance of +game,--all pointed it out as a favored land. He was pleased, too, with the +frank, cordial character of the Virginians, and their independent mode of +life; and returned to it with the resolution of taking up his abode there +for the remainder of his days. His early disappointment in love was the +cause of some eccentricities in his conduct; yet he was amiable and +courteous in his manners, and of a liberal and generous spirit. + +Another inmate of Belvoir at this time was George William Fairfax, about +twenty-two years of age, the eldest son of the proprietor. He had been +educated in England, and since his return had married a daughter of Colonel +Carey, of Hampton, on James River. He had recently brought home his bride +and her sister to his father's house. + +The merits of Washington were known and appreciated by the Fairfax family. +Though not quite sixteen years of age, he no longer seemed a boy, nor was +he treated as such. Tall, athletic, and manly for his years, his early +self-training, and the code of conduct he had devised, gave a gravity and +decision to his conduct; his frankness and modesty inspired cordial regard, +and the melancholy, of which he speaks, may have produced a softness in his +manner calculated to win favor in ladies' eyes. According to his own +account, the female society by which he was surrounded had a soothing +effect on that melancholy. The charms of Miss Carey, the sister of the +bride, seem even to have caused a slight fluttering in his bosom; which, +however, was constantly rebuked by the remembrance of his former +passion--so at least we judge from letters to his youthful confidants, +rough drafts of which are still to be seen in his tell-tale journal. + +To one whom he addresses as his dear friend Robin, he writes: "My residence +is at present at his lordship's, where I might, was my heart disengaged, +pass my time very pleasantly, as there's a very agreeable young lady lives +in the same house (Col. George Fairfax's wife's sister); but as that's only +adding fuel to fire, it makes me the more uneasy, for by often and +unavoidably being in company with her, revives my former passion for your +Lowland Beauty; whereas was I to live more retired from young women, I +might in some measure alleviate my sorrows, by burying that chaste and +troublesome passion in the grave of oblivion," &c. + +Similar avowals he makes to another of his young correspondents, whom he +styles, "Dear friend John;" as also to a female confidant, styled "Dear +Sally," to whom he acknowledges that the company of the "very agreeable +young lady, sister-in-law of Col. George Fairfax," in a great measure +cheers his sorrow and dejectedness. + +The object of this early passion is not positively known. Tradition states +that the "lowland beauty" was a Miss Grimes, of Westmoreland, afterwards +Mrs. Lee, and mother of General Henry Lee, who figured in revolutionary +history as Light Horse Harry, and was always a favorite with Washington, +probably from the recollections of his early tenderness for the mother. + +Whatever may have been the soothing effect of the female society by which +he was surrounded at Belvoir, the youth found a more effectual remedy for +his love melancholy in the company of Lord Fairfax. His lordship was a +staunch fox-hunter, and kept horses and hounds in the English style. The +hunting season had arrived. The neighborhood abounded with sport; but +fox-hunting in Virginia required bold and skilful horsemanship. He found +Washington as bold as himself in the saddle, and as eager to follow the +hounds. He forthwith took him into peculiar favor; made him his hunting +companion; and it was probably under the tuition of this hard-riding old +nobleman that the youth imbibed that fondness for the chase for which he +was afterwards remarked. + +Their fox-hunting intercourse was attended with more important results. +His lordship's possessions beyond the Blue Ridge had never been regularly +settled nor surveyed. Lawless intruders--squatters, as they were +called--were planting themselves along the finest streams and in the +richest valleys, and virtually taking possession of the country. It was the +anxious desire of Lord Fairfax to have these lands examined, surveyed, and +portioned out into lots, preparatory to ejecting these interlopers or +bringing them to reasonable terms. In Washington, notwithstanding his +youth, he beheld one fit for the task--having noticed the exercises in +surveying which he kept up while at Mount Vernon, and the aptness and +exactness with which every process was executed. He was well calculated, +too, by his vigor and activity, his courage and hardihood, to cope with the +wild country to be surveyed, and with its still wilder inhabitants. The +proposition had only to be offered to Washington to be eagerly accepted. It +was the very kind of occupation for which he had been diligently training +himself. All the preparations required by one of his simple habits were +soon made, and in a very few days he was ready for his first expedition +into the wilderness. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +EXPEDITION BEYOND THE BLUE RIDGE--THE VALLEY OF THE SHENANDOAH--LORD +HALIFAX--LODGE IN THE WILDERNESS--SURVEYING--LIFE IN THE BACKWOODS-- +INDIANS--WAR DANCE--GERMAN SETTLERS--RETURN HOME--WASHINGTON AS PUBLIC +SURVEYOR--SOJOURN AT GREENWAY COURT--HORSES, HOUNDS, AND BOOKS--RUGGED +EXPERIENCE AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. + + +It was in the month of March (1748), and just after he had completed his +sixteenth year, that Washington set out on horseback on this surveying +expedition, in company with George William Fairfax. Their route lay by +Ashley's Gap, a pass through the Blue Ridge, that beautiful line of +mountains which, as yet, almost formed the western frontier of inhabited +Virginia. Winter still lingered on the tops of the mountains, whence +melting snows sent down torrents, which swelled the rivers and occasionally +rendered them almost impassable. Spring, however, was softening the lower +parts of the landscape and smiling in the valleys. + +They entered the great valley of Virginia, where it is about twenty-five +miles wide; a lovely and temperate region, diversified by gentle swells and +slopes, admirably adapted to cultivation. The Blue Ridge bounds it on one +side, the North Mountain, a ridge of the Alleganies, on the other; while +through it flows that bright and abounding river, which, on account of its +surpassing beauty, was named by the Indians the Shenandoah--that is to say, +"the daughter of the stars." + +The first station of the travellers was at a kind of lodge in the +wilderness, where the steward or land-bailiff of Lord Halifax resided, with +such negroes as were required for farming purposes, and which Washington +terms "his lordship's quarter." It was situated not far from the +Shenandoah, and about twelve miles from the site of the present town of +Winchester. + +In a diary kept with his usual minuteness, Washington speaks with delight +of the beauty of the trees and the richness of the land in the +neighborhood, and of his riding through a noble grove of sugar maples on +the banks of the Shenandoah; and at the present day, the magnificence of +the forests which still exist in this favored region justifies his +eulogium. + +He looked around, however, with an eye to the profitable rather than the +poetical. The gleam of poetry and romance, inspired by his "lowland +beauty," occurs no more. The real business of life has commenced with him. +His diary affords no food for fancy. Every thing is practical. The +qualities of the soil, the relative value of sites and localities, are +faithfully recorded. In these his early habits of observation and his +exercises in surveying had already made him a proficient. + +His surveys commenced in the lower part of the valley, some distance above +the junction of the Shenandoah with the Potomac, and extended for many +miles along the former river. Here and there partial "clearings" had been +made by squatters and hardy pioneers, and their rude husbandry had produced +abundant crops of grain, hemp, and tobacco; civilization, however, had +hardly yet entered the valley, if we may judge from the note of a night's +lodging at the house of one of the settlers--Captain Hite, near the site of +the present town of Winchester. Here, after supper, most of the company +stretched themselves in backwood style, before the fire; but Washington was +shown into a bed-room. Fatigued with a hard day's work at surveying, he +soon undressed; but instead of being nestled between sheets in a +comfortable bed, as at the maternal home, or at Mount Vernon, he found +himself on a couch of matted straw, under a threadbare blanket, swarming +with unwelcome bedfellows. After tossing about for a few moments, he was +glad to put on his clothes again, and rejoin his companions before the +fire. + +Such was his first experience of life in the wilderness; he soon, however, +accustomed himself to "rough it," and adapt himself to fare of all kinds, +though he generally preferred a bivouac before a fire, in the open air, to +the accommodations of a woodman's cabin. Proceeding down the valley to the +banks of the Potomac, they found that river so much swollen by the rain +which had fallen among the Alleganies, as to be unfordable. To while away +the time until it should subside, they made an excursion to examine certain +warm springs in a valley among the mountains, since called the Berkeley +Springs. There they camped out at night, under the stars; the diary makes +no complaint of their accommodations; and their camping-ground is now known +as Bath, one of the favorite watering-places of Virginia. One of the warm +springs was subsequently appropriated by Lord Fairfax to his own use, and +still bears his name. + +After watching in vain for the river to subside, they procured a canoe, on +which they crossed to the Maryland side; swimming their horses. A weary +day's ride of forty miles up the left side of the river, in a continual +rain, and over what Washington pronounces the worst road ever trod by man +or beast, brought them to the house of a Colonel Cresap, opposite the south +branch of the Potomac, where they put up for the night. + +Here they were detained three or four days by inclement weather. On the +second day they were surprised by the appearance of a war party of thirty +Indians, bearing a scalp as a trophy. A little liquor procured the +spectacle of a war-dance. A large space was cleared, and a fire made in the +centre, round which the warriors took their seats. The principal orator +made a speech, reciting their recent exploits, and rousing them to triumph. +One of the warriors started up as if from sleep, and began a series of +movements, half-grotesque, half-tragical; the rest followed. For music, one +savage drummed on a deerskin, stretched over a pot half filled with water; +another rattled a gourd, containing a few shot, and decorated with a +horse's tail. Their strange outcries, and uncouth forms and garbs, seen by +the glare of the fire, and their whoops and yells, made them appear more +like demons than human beings. All this savage gambol was no novelty to +Washington's companions, experienced in frontier life; but to the youth, +fresh from school, it was a strange spectacle, which he sat contemplating +with deep interest, and carefully noted down in his journal. It will be +found that he soon made himself acquainted with the savage character, and +became expert at dealing with these inhabitants of the wilderness. + +From this encampment the party proceeded to the mouth of Patterson's Creek, +where they recrossed the river in a canoe, swimming their horses as before. +More than two weeks were now passed by them in the wild mountainous regions +of Frederick County, and about the south branch of the Potomac, surveying +lands and laying out lots, camped out the greater part of the time, and +subsisting on wild turkeys and other game. Each one was his own cook; +forked sticks served for spits, and chips of wood for dishes. The weather +was unsettled. At one time their tent was blown down; at another they were +driven out of it by smoke; now they were drenched with rain, and now the +straw on which Washington was sleeping caught fire, and he was awakened by +a companion just in time to escape a scorching. + +The only variety to this camp life was a supper at the house of one Solomon +Hedge, Esquire, his majesty's justice of the peace, where there were no +forks at table, nor any knives, but such as the guests brought in their +pockets. During their surveys they were followed by numbers of people, some +of them squatters, anxious, doubtless, to procure a cheap title to the land +they had appropriated; others, German emigrants, with their wives and +children, seeking a new home in the wilderness. Most of the latter could +not speak English; but when spoken to, answered in their native tongue. +They appeared to Washington ignorant as Indians, and uncouth, but "merry, +and full of antic tricks." Such were the progenitors of the sturdy yeomanry +now inhabiting those parts, many of whom still preserve their strong German +characteristics. + +"I have not slept above three or four nights in a bed," writes Washington +to one of his young friends at home, "but after walking a good deal all the +day I have lain down before the fire upon a little straw or fodder, or a +bear skin, whichever was to be had, with man, wife, and children, like dogs +and cats; and happy is he who gets the berth nearest the fire." + +Having completed his surveys, he set forth from the south branch of the +Potomac on his return homeward; crossed the mountains to the great +Cacapehon; traversed the Shenandoah valley; passed through the Blue Ridge, +and on the 12th of April found himself once more at Mount Vernon. For his +services he received, according to his note-book, a doubloon per day when +actively employed, and sometimes six pistoles. [Footnote: A pistole is +$3.60.] + +The manner in which he had acquitted himself in this arduous expedition, +and his accounts of the country surveyed, gave great satisfaction to Lord +Fairfax, who shortly afterwards moved across the Blue Ridge, and took up +his residence at the place heretofore noted as his "quarters." Here he laid +out a manor, containing ten thousand acres of arable grazing lands, vast +meadows, and noble forests, and projected a spacious manor house, giving to +the place the name of Greenway Court. + +It was probably through the influence of Lord Fairfax that Washington +received the appointment of public surveyor. This conferred authority on +his surveys, and entitled them to be recorded in the county offices, and so +invariably correct have these surveys been found that, to this day, +wherever any of them stand on record, they receive implicit credit. + +For three years he continued in this occupation, which proved extremely +profitable, from the vast extent of country to be surveyed and the very +limited number of public surveyors. It made him acquainted, also, with the +country, the nature of the soil in various parts, and the value of +localities; all which proved advantageous to him in his purchases in after +years. Many of the finest parts of the Shenandoah valley are yet owned by +members of the Washington family. + +While thus employed for months at a time surveying the lands beyond the +Blue Ridge, he was often an inmate of Greenway Court. The projected manor +house was never even commenced. On a green knoll overshadowed by trees was +a long stone building one story in height, with dormer windows, two wooden +belfries, chimneys studded with swallow and martin coops, and a roof +sloping down in the old Virginia fashion, into low projecting eaves that +formed a verandah the whole length of the house. It was probably the house +originally occupied by his steward or land agent, but was now devoted to +hospitable purposes, and the reception of guests. As to his lordship, it +was one of his many eccentricities, that he never slept in the main +edifice, but lodged apart in a wooden house not much above twelve feet +square. In a small building was his office, where quitrents were given, +deeds drawn, and business transacted with his tenants. + +About the knoll were out-houses for his numerous servants, black and white, +with stables for saddle-horses and hunters, and kennels for his hounds, for +his lordship retained his keen hunting propensities, and the neighborhood +abounded in game. Indians, half-breeds, and leathern-clad woodsmen loitered +about the place, and partook of the abundance of the kitchen. His +lordship's table was plentiful but plain, and served in the English +fashion. + +Here Washington had full opportunity, in the proper seasons, of indulging +his fondness for field sports, and once more accompanying his lordship in +the chase. The conversation of Lord Fairfax, too, was full of interest and +instruction to an inexperienced youth, from his cultivated talents, his +literary taste, and his past intercourse with the best society of Europe, +and its most distinguished authors. He had brought books, too, with him +into the wilderness, and from Washington's diary we find that during his +sojourn here he was diligently reading the history of England, and the +essays of the Spectator. + +Such was Greenway Court in these its palmy days. We visited it recently and +found it tottering to its fall, mouldering in the midst of a magnificent +country, where nature still flourishes in full luxuriance and beauty. + +Three or four years were thus passed by Washington, the greater part of the +time beyond the Blue Ridge, but occasionally with his brother Lawrence at +Mount Vernon. His rugged and toilsome expeditions in the mountains, among +rude scenes and rough people, inured him to hardships, and made him apt at +expedients; while his intercourse with his cultivated brother, and with the +various members of the Fairfax family, had a happy effect in toning up his +mind and manners, and counteracting the careless and self-indulgent +habitudes of the wilderness. + + + +CHAPTER V. + +ENGLISH AND FRENCH CLAIMS TO THE OHIO VALLEY--WILD STATE OF THE COUNTRY-- +PROJECTS OF SETTLEMENTS--THE OHIO COMPANY--ENLIGHTENED VIEWS OF LAWRENCE +WASHINGTON--FRENCH RIVALRY--CELERON DE BIENVILLE--HIS SIGNS OF OCCUPATION-- +HUGH CRAWFORD--GEORGE CROGHAN, A VETERAN TRADER, AND MONTOUR, HIS +INTERPRETER--THEIR MISSION FROM PENNSYLVANIA TO THE OHIO TRIBES-- +CHRISTOPHER GIST, THE PIONEER OF THE YADKIN--AGENT OF THE OHIO COMPANY-- +HIS EXPEDITION TO THE FRONTIER--REPROBATE TRADERS AT LOGSTOWN--NEGOTIATIONS +WITH THE INDIANS--SCENES IN THE OHIO COUNTRY--DIPLOMACY AT PIQUA--KEGS OF +BRANDY AND ROLLS OF TOBACCO--GIST'S RETURN ACROSS KENTUCKY--A DESERTED +HOME--FRENCH SCHEMES--CAPTAIN JONCAIRE, A DIPLOMAT OF THE WILDERNESS--HIS +SPEECH AT LOGSTOWN--THE INDIANS' LAND--"WHERE?" + + +During the time of Washington's surveying campaigns among the mountains, a +grand colonizing scheme had been set on foot, destined to enlist him in +hardy enterprises, and in some degree to shape the course of his future +fortunes. + +The treaty of peace concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, which had put an end to +the general war of Europe, had left undefined the boundaries between the +British and French possessions in America; a singular remissness, +considering that they had long been a subject in dispute, and a cause of +frequent conflicts in the colonies. Immense regions were still claimed by +both nations, and each was now eager to forestall the other by getting +possession of them, and strengthening its claim by occupancy. + +The most desirable of these regions lay west of the Allegany Mountains, +extending from the lakes to the Ohio, and embracing the valley of that +river and its tributary streams. An immense territory, possessing a +salubrious climate, fertile soil, fine hunting and fishing grounds, and +facilities by lakes and rivers for a vast internal commerce. + +The French claimed all this country quite to the Allegany mountains by the +right of discovery. In 1673, Padre Marquette, with his companion, Joliet, +of Quebec, both subjects of the crown of France, had passed down the +Mississippi in a canoe quite to the Arkansas, thereby, according to an +alleged maxim in the law of nations, establishing the right of their +sovereign, not merely to the river so discovered and its adjacent lands, +but to all the country drained by its tributary streams, of which the Ohio +was one; a claim, the ramifications of which might be spread, like the +meshes of a web, over half the continent. + +To this illimitable claim the English opposed a right derived, at second +hand, from a traditionary Indian conquest. A treaty, they said, had been +made at Lancaster, in 1744, between commissioners from Pennsylvania, +Maryland, and Virginia, and the Iroquois, or Six Nations, whereby the +latter, for four hundred pounds, gave up all right and title to the land +west of the Allegany Mountains, even to the Mississippi, which land, +_according to their traditions_, had been conquered by their +forefathers. + +It is undoubtedly true that such a treaty was made, and such a pretended +transfer of title did take place, under the influence of spirituous +liquors; but it is equally true that the Indians in question did not, at +the time, possess an acre of the land conveyed; and that the tribes +actually in possession scoffed at their pretensions, and claimed the +country as their own from time immemorial. + +Such were the shadowy foundations of claims which the two nations were +determined to maintain to the uttermost, and which ripened into a series of +wars, ending in a loss to England of a great part of her American +possessions, and to France of the whole. + +As yet in the region in question there was not a single white settlement. +Mixed Iroquois tribes of Delawares, Shawnees, and Mingoes, had migrated +into it early in the century from the French settlements in Canada, and +taken up their abodes about the Ohio and its branches. The French pretended +to hold them under their protection; but their allegiance, if ever +acknowledged, had been sapped of late years by the influx of fur traders +from Pennsylvania. These were often rough, lawless men; half Indians in +dress and habits, prone to brawls, and sometimes deadly in their feuds. +They were generally in the employ of some trader, who, at the head of his +retainers and a string of pack-horses, would make his way over mountains +and through forests to the banks of the Ohio, establish his head-quarters +in some Indian town, and disperse his followers to traffic among the +hamlets, hunting-camps and wigwams, exchanging blankets, gaudy colored +cloth, trinketry, powder, shot, and rum, for valuable furs and peltry. In +this way a lucrative trade with these western tribes was springing up and +becoming monopolized by the Pennsylvanians. + +To secure a participation in this trade, and to gain a foothold in this +desirable region, became now the wish of some of the most intelligent and +enterprising men of Virginia and Maryland, among whom were Lawrence and +Augustine Washington. With these views they projected a scheme, in +connection with John Hanbury, a wealthy London merchant, to obtain a grant +of land from the British government, for the purpose of forming settlements +or colonies beyond the Alleganies. Government readily countenanced a scheme +by which French encroachments might be forestalled, and prompt and quiet +possession secured of the great Ohio valley. An association was accordingly +chartered in 1749, by the name of "the Ohio Company," and five hundred +thousand acres of land was granted to it west of the Alleganies; between +the Monongahela and Kanawha rivers; though part of the land might be taken +up north of the Ohio, should it be deemed expedient. The company were to +pay no quitrent for ten years; but they were to select two fifths of their +lands immediately; to settle one hundred families upon them within seven +years; to build a fort at their own expense, and maintain a sufficient +garrison in it for defence against the Indians. + +Mr. Thomas Lee, president of the council of Virginia, took the lead in the +concerns of the company at the outset, and by many has been considered its +founder. On his death, which soon took place, Lawrence Washington had the +chief management. His enlightened mind and liberal spirit shone forth in +his earliest arrangements. He wished to form the settlements with Germans +from Pennsylvania. Being dissenters, however, they would be obliged, on +becoming residents within the jurisdiction of Virginia, to pay parish +rates, and maintain a clergyman of the Church of England, though they might +not understand his language nor relish his doctrines. Lawrence sought to +have them exempted from this double tax on purse and conscience. + +"It has ever been my opinion," said he, "and I hope it ever will be, that +restraints on conscience are cruel in regard to those on whom they are +imposed, and injurious to the country imposing them. England, Holland, and +Prussia I may quote as examples, and much more Pennsylvania, which has +nourished under that delightful liberty, so as to become the admiration of +every man who considers the short time it has been settled. ... This colony +(Virginia) was greatly settled in the latter part of Charles the First's +time, and during the usurpation by the zealous churchmen; and that spirit, +which was then brought in, has ever since continued; so that, except a few +Quakers, we have no dissenters. But what has been the consequence? We have +increased by slow degrees, whilst our neighboring colonies, whose natural +advantages are greatly inferior to ours, have become populous." + +Such were the enlightened views of this brother of our Washington, to whom +the latter owed much of his moral and mental training. The company +proceeded to make preparations for their colonizing scheme. Goods were +imported from England suited to the Indian trade, or for presents to the +chiefs. Rewards were promised to veteran warriors and hunters among the +natives acquainted with the woods and mountains, for the best route to the +Ohio. Before the company had received its charter, however, the French were +in the field. Early in 1749, the Marquis de la Galisonniere, Governor of +Canada, despatched Celeron de Bienville, an intelligent officer, at the +head of three hundred men, to the banks of the Ohio, to make peace, as he +said, between the tribes that had become embroiled with each other during +the late war, and to renew the French possession of the country. Celeron de +Bienville distributed presents among the Indians, made speeches reminding +them of former friendship, and warned them not to trade with the English. + +He furthermore nailed leaden plates to trees, and buried others in the +earth, at the confluence of the Ohio and its tributaries, bearing +inscriptions purporting that all the lands on both sides of the rivers to +their sources appertained, as in foregone times, to the crown of France. +[Footnote: One of these plates, bearing date August 16, 1749, was found in +recent years at the confluence of the Muskingum with the Ohio.] The Indians +gazed at these mysterious plates with wondering eyes, but surmised their +purport. "They mean to steal our country from us," murmured they; and they +determined to seek protection from the English. + +Celeron finding some traders from Pennsylvania trafficking among the +Indians, he summoned them to depart, and wrote by them to James Hamilton, +Governor of Pennsylvania, telling him the object of his errand to those +parts, and his surprise at meeting with English traders in a country to +which England had no pretensions; intimating that, in future, any intruders +of the kind would be rigorously dealt with. + +His letter, and a report of his proceedings on the Ohio, roused the +solicitude of the governor and council of Pennsylvania, for the protection +of their Indian trade. Shortly afterwards, one Hugh Crawford, who had been +trading with the Miami tribes on the Wabash, brought a message from them, +speaking of the promises and threats with which the French were endeavoring +to shake their faith, but assuring the governor that their friendship for +the English "would last while the sun and moon ran round the world." This +message was accompanied by three strings of wampum. + +Governor Hamilton knew the value of Indian friendship, and suggested to the +assembly that it would be better to clinch it with presents, and that as +soon as possible. An envoy accordingly was sent off early in October, who +was supposed to have great influence among the western tribes. This was one +George Croghan, a veteran trader, shrewd and sagacious, who had been +frequently to the Ohio country with pack-horses and followers, and made +himself popular among the Indians by dispensing presents with a lavish +hand. He was accompanied by Andrew Montour, a Canadian of half Indian +descent, who was to act as interpreter. They were provided with a small +present for the emergency; but were to convoke a meeting of all the tribes +at Logstown, on the Ohio, early in the ensuing spring, to receive an ample +present which would be provided by the assembly. + +It was some time later in the same autumn that the Ohio company brought +their plans into operation, and despatched an agent to explore the lands +upon the Ohio and its branches as low as the Great Falls, take note of +their fitness for cultivation, of the passes of the mountains, the courses +and bearings of the rivers, and the strength and disposition of the native +tribes. The man chosen for the purpose was Christopher Gist, a hardy +pioneer, experienced in woodcraft and Indian life, who had his home on the +banks of the Yadkin, near the boundary line of Virginia and North Carolina. +He was allowed a woodsman or two for the service of the expedition. He set +out on the 31st of October, from the banks of the Potomac, by an Indian +path which the hunters had pointed out, leading from Wills' Creek, since +called Fort Cumberland, to the Ohio. Indian paths and buffalo tracks are +the primitive highways of the wilderness. Passing the Juniata, he crossed +the ridges of the Allegany, arrived at Shannopin, a Delaware village on the +south-east side of the Ohio, or rather of that upper branch of it, now +called the Allegany, swam his horses across that river, and descending +along its valley arrived at Logstown, an important Indian village a little +below the site of the present city of Pittsburg. Here usually resided +Tanacharisson, a Seneca chief of great note, being head sachem of the mixed +tribes who had migrated to the Ohio and its branches. He was generally +surnamed the half-king, being subordinate to the Iroquois confederacy. The +chief was absent at this time, as were most of his people, it being the +hunting season. George Croghan, the envoy from Pennsylvania, with Montour +his interpreter, had passed through Logstown a week previously, on his way +to the Twightwees and other tribes, on the Miami branch of the Ohio. Scarce +any one was to be seen about the village but some of Croghan's rough +people, whom he had left behind--"reprobate Indian traders," as Gist terms +them. They regarded the latter with a jealous eye, suspecting him of some +rivalship in trade, or designs on the Indian lands; and intimated +significantly that "he would never go home safe." + +Gist knew the meaning of such hints from men of this stamp in the lawless +depths of the wilderness; but quieted their suspicions by letting them know +that he was on public business, and on good terms with their great man, +George Croghan, to whom he despatched a letter. He took his departure from +Logstown, however, as soon as possible, preferring, as he said, the +solitude of the wilderness to such company. + +At Beaver Creek, a few miles below the village, he left the river and +struck into the interior of the present State of Ohio. Here he overtook +George Croghan at Muskingum, a town of Wyandots and Mingoes. He had ordered +all the traders in his employ who were scattered among the Indian villages, +to rally at this town, where he had hoisted the English flag over his +residence, and over that of the sachem. This was in consequence of the +hostility of the French who had recently captured, in the neighborhood, +three white men in the employ of Frazier, an Indian trader, and had carried +them away prisoners to Canada. + +Gist was well received by the people of Muskingum. They were indignant at +the French violation of their territories, and the capture of their +"English brothers." They had not forgotten the conduct of Celeron de +Bienville in the previous year, and the mysterious plates which he had +nailed against trees and sunk in the ground. "If the French claim the +rivers which run into the lakes," said they, "those which run into the Ohio +belong to us and to our brothers the English." And they were anxious that +Gist should settle among them, and build a fort for their mutual defence. + +A council of the nation was now held, in which Gist invited them, in the +name of the Governor of Virginia, to visit that province, where a large +present of goods awaited them, sent by their father, the great king, over +the water to his Ohio children. The invitation was graciously received, but +no answer could be given until a grand council of the western tribes had +been held, which was to take place at Logstown in the ensuing spring. + +Similar results attended visits made by Gist and Croghan to the Delawares +and the Shawnees at their villages about the Scioto River; all promised to +be at the gathering at Logstown. From the Shawnee village, near the mouth +of the Scioto, the two emissaries shaped their course north two hundred +miles, crossed the Great Moneami, or Miami River, on a raft, swimming their +horses; and on the 17th of February arrived at the Indian town of Piqua. + +These journeyings had carried Gist about a wide extent of country beyond +the Ohio. It was rich and level, watered with streams and rivulets, and +clad with noble forests of hickory, walnut, ash, poplar, sugar-maple, and +wild cherry trees. Occasionally there were spacious plains covered with +wild rye; natural meadows, with blue grass and clover; and buffaloes, +thirty and forty at a time, grazing on them, as in a cultivated pasture. +Deer, elk, and wild turkeys abounded. "Nothing is wanted but cultivation," +said Gist, "to make this a most delightful country." Cultivation has since +proved the truth of his words. The country thus described is the present +State of Ohio. + +Piqua, where Gist and Croghan had arrived, was the principal town of the +Twightwees or Miamis; the most powerful confederacy of the West, combining +four tribes, and extending its influence even beyond the Mississippi. A +king or sachem of one or other of the different tribes presided over the +whole. The head chief at present was the king of the Piankeshas. + +At this town Croghan formed a treaty of alliance in the name of the +Governor of Pennsylvania with two of the Miami tribes. And Gist was +promised by the king of the Piankeshas that the chiefs of the various +tribes would attend the meeting at Logstown to make a treaty with Virginia. + +In the height of these demonstrations of friendship, two Ottawas entered +the council-house, announcing themselves as envoys from the French Governor +of Canada to seek a renewal of ancient alliance. They were received with +all due ceremonial; for none are more ceremonious than the Indians. The +French colors were set up beside the English, and the ambassadors opened +their mission. "Your father, the French king," said they, "remembering his +children on the Ohio, has sent them these two kegs of milk," here, with +great solemnity, they deposited two kegs of brandy,--"and this +tobacco;":--here they deposited a roll ten pounds in weight. "He has made a +clean road for you to come and see him and his officers; and urges you to +come, assuring you that all past differences will be forgotten." + +The Piankesha chief replied in the same figurative style. "It is true our +father has sent for us several times, and has said the road was clear; but +I understand it is not clear--it is foul and bloody, and the French have +made it so. We have cleared a road for our brothers, the English; the +French have made it bad, and have taken some of our brothers prisoners. +This we consider as done to ourselves." So saying, he turned his back upon +the ambassadors, and stalked out of the council-house. + +In the end the ambassadors were assured that the tribes of the Ohio and the +Six Nations were hand in hand with their brothers, the English; and should +war ensue with the French, they were ready to meet it. + +So the French colors were taken down; the "kegs of milk" and roll of +tobacco were rejected; the grand council broke up with a war-dance, and the +ambassadors departed, weeping and howling, and predicting ruin to the +Miamis. + +When Gist returned to the Shawnee town, near the mouth of the Scioto, and +reported to his Indian friends there the alliance he had formed with the +Miami confederacy, there was great feasting and speech-making, and firing +of guns. He had now happily accomplished the chief object of his +mission--nothing remained but to descend the Ohio to the Great Falls. This, +however, he was cautioned not to do. A large party of Indians, allies of +the French, were hunting in that neighborhood, who might kill or capture +him. He crossed the river, attended only by a lad as a travelling companion +and aid, and proceeded cautiously down the east side until within fifteen +miles of the Falls. Here he came upon traps newly set, and Indian +footprints not a day old; and heard the distant report of guns. The story +of Indian hunters then was true. He was in a dangerous neighborhood. The +savages might come upon the tracks of his horses, or hear the bells put +about their necks, when turned loose in the wilderness to graze. + +Abandoning all idea, therefore, of visiting the Falls, and contenting +himself with the information concerning them which he had received from +others, he shaped his course on the 18th of March for the Cuttawa, or +Kentucky River. From the top of a mountain in the vicinity he had a view to +the southwest as far as the eye could reach, over a vast woodland country +in the fresh garniture of spring, and watered by abundant streams; but as +yet only the hunting-ground of savage tribes, and the scene of their +sanguinary combats. In a word, Kentucky lay spread out before him in all +its wild magnificence; long before it was beheld by Daniel Boone. + +For six weeks was this hardy pioneer making his toilful way up the valley +of the Cuttawa, or Kentucky River, to the banks of the Blue Stone; often +checked by precipices, and obliged to seek fords at the heads of tributary +streams; and happy when he could find a buffalo path broken through the +tangled forests, or worn into the everlasting rocks. + +On the 1st of May he climbed a rock sixty feet high, crowning a lofty +mountain, and had a distant view of the great Kanawha, breaking its way +through a vast sierra; crossing that river on a raft of his own +construction, he had many more weary days before him, before he reached his +frontier abode on the banks of the Yadkin. He arrived there in the latter +part of May, but there was no one to welcome the wanderer home. There had +been an Indian massacre in the neighborhood, and he found his house silent +and deserted. His heart sank within him, until an old man whom he met near +the place assured him his family were safe, having fled for refuge to a +settlement thirty-five miles off, on the banks of the Roanoke. There he +rejoined them on the following day. + +While Gist had been making his painful way homeward, the two Ottawa +ambassadors had returned to Fort Sandusky, bringing word to the French that +their flag had been struck in the council-house at Piqua, and their +friendship rejected and their hostility defied by the Miamis. They informed +them also of the gathering of the western tribes that was to take place at +Logstown, to conclude a treaty with the Virginians. + +It was a great object with the French to prevent this treaty, and to spirit +up the Ohio Indians against the English. This they hoped to effect through +the agency of one Captain Joncaire, a veteran diplomatist of the +wilderness, whose character and story deserve a passing notice. + +He had been taken prisoner when quite young by the Iroquois, and adopted +into one of their tribes. This was the making of his fortune. He had grown +up among them, acquired their language, adapted himself to their habits, +and was considered by them as one of themselves. On returning to civilized +life he became a prime instrument in the hands of the Canadian government, +for managing and cajoling the Indians. Sometimes he was an ambassador to +the Iroquois; sometimes a mediator between the jarring tribes; sometimes a +leader of their warriors when employed by the French. When in 1728 the +Delawares and Shawnees migrated to the banks of the Ohio, Joncaire was the +agent who followed them, and prevailed on them to consider themselves under +French protection. When the French wanted to get a commanding site for a +post on the Iroquois lands, near Niagara, Joncaire was the man to manage +it. He craved a situation where he might put up a wigwam, and dwell among +his Iroquois brethren. It was granted of course, "for was he not a son of +the tribe--was he not one of themselves?" By degrees his wigwam grew into +an important trading post; ultimately it became Fort Niagara. Years and +years had elapsed; he had grown gray in Indian diplomacy, and was now sent +once more to maintain French sovereignty over the valley of the Ohio. + +He appeared at Logstown accompanied by another Frenchman, and forty +Iroquois warriors. He found an assemblage of the western tribes, feasting +and rejoicing, and firing of guns, for George Croghan and Montour the +interpreter were there, and had been distributing presents on behalf of the +Governor of Pennsylvania. + +Joncaire was said to have the wit of a Frenchman, and the eloquence of an +Iroquois. He made an animated speech to the chiefs in their own tongue, the +gist of which was that their father Onontio (that is to say, the Governor +of Canada) desired his children of the Ohio to turn away the Indian +traders, and never to deal with them again on pain of his displeasure; so +saying, he laid down a wampum belt of uncommon size, by way of emphasis to +his message. + +For once his eloquence was of no avail; a chief rose indignantly, shook his +finger in his face, and stamping on the ground, "This is our land," said +he. "What right has Onontio here? The English are our brothers. They shall +live among us as long as one of us is alive. We will trade with them, and +not with you;" and so saying he rejected the belt of wampum. + +Joncaire returned to an advanced post recently established on the upper +part of the river, whence he wrote to the Governor of Pennsylvania: "The +Marquis de la Jonquiere, Governor of New France, having ordered me to watch +that the English make no treaty in the Ohio country, I have signified to +the traders of your government to retire. You are not ignorant that all +these lands belong to the King of France, and that the English have no +right to trade in them." He concluded by reiterating the threat made two +years previously by Celeron de Bienville against all intruding fur traders. + +In the mean time, in the face of all these protests and menaces, Mr. Gist, +under sanction of the Virginia Legislature, proceeded in the same year to +survey the lands within the grant of the Ohio company, lying on the south +side of the Ohio river, as far down as the great Kanawha. An old Delaware +sachem, meeting him while thus employed, propounded a somewhat puzzling +question. "The French," said he, "claim all the land on one side of the +Ohio, the English claim all the land on the other side--now where does the +Indians' land lie?" + +Poor savages! Between their "fathers," the French, and their "brothers," +the English, they were in a fair way of being most lovingly shared out of +the whole country. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +PREPARATIONS FOR HOSTILITIES--WASHINGTON APPOINTED DISTRICT ADJUTANT +GENERAL--MOUNT VERNON A SCHOOL OF ARMS--ADJUTANT MUSE A VETERAN +CAMPAIGNER--JACOB VAN BRAAM THE MASTER OF FENCE--ILL HEALTH OF WASHINGTON'S +BROTHER LAWRENCE--VOYAGE WITH HIM TO THE WEST INDIES--SCENES AT BARBADOES-- +TROPICAL FRUITS--BEEFSTEAK AND TRIPE CLUB--RETURN HOME OF WASHINGTON-- +DEATH OF LAWRENCE. + + +The French now prepared for hostile contingencies. They launched an armed +vessel of unusual size on Lake Ontario; fortified their trading house at +Niagara; strengthened their outposts, and advanced others on the upper +waters of the Ohio. A stir of warlike preparation was likewise to be +observed among the British colonies. It was evident that the adverse claims +to the disputed territories, if pushed home, could only be settled by the +stern arbitrament of the sword. + +In Virginia, especially, the war spirit was manifest. The province was +divided into military districts, each having an adjutant-general, with the +rank of major, and the pay of one hundred and fifty pounds a year, whose +duty was to attend to the organization and equipment of the militia. + +Such an appointment was sought by Lawrence Washington for his brother +George. It shows what must have been the maturity of mind of the latter, +and the confidence inspired by his judicious conduct and aptness for +business, that the post should not only be sought for him, but readily +obtained; though he was yet but nineteen years of age. He proved himself +worthy of the appointment. + +He now set about preparing himself, with his usual method and assiduity, +for his new duties. Virginia had among its floating population some +military relics of the late Spanish war. Among these was a certain Adjutant +Muse, a Westmoreland volunteer, who had served with Lawrence Washington in +the campaigns in the West Indies, and had been with him in the attack on +Carthagena. He now undertook to instruct his brother George in the art of +war; lent him treatises on military tactics; put him through the manual +exercise, and gave him some idea of evolutions in the field. Another of +Lawrence's campaigning comrades was Jacob Van Braam, a Dutchman by birth; a +soldier of fortune of the Dalgetty order; who had been in the British army, +but was now out of service, and, professing to be a complete master of +fence, recruited his slender purse in this time of military excitement, by +giving the Virginian youth lessons in the sword exercise. + +Under the instructions of these veterans Mount Vernon, from being a quiet +rural retreat, where Washington, three years previously, had indited love +ditties to his "lowland beauty," was suddenly transformed into a school of +arms, as he practised the manual exercise with Adjutant Muse, or took +lessons on the broadsword from Van Braam. + +His martial studies, however, were interrupted for a time by the critical +state of his brother's health. The constitution of Lawrence had always been +delicate, and he had been obliged repeatedly to travel for a change of air. +There were now pulmonary symptoms of a threatening nature, and by advice of +his physicians he determined to pass a winter in the West Indies, taking +with him his favorite brother George as a companion. + +They accordingly sailed for Barbadoes on the 28th of September, 1751. +George kept a journal of the voyage with logbook brevity; recording the +wind and weather, but no events worth citation. They landed at Barbadoes on +the 3d of November. The resident physician of the place gave a favorable +report of Lawrence's case, and held out hopes of a cure. The brothers were +delighted with the aspect of the country, as they drove out in the cool of +the evening, and beheld on all sides fields of sugar cane, and Indian corn, +and groves of tropical trees, in full fruit and foliage. + +They took up their abode at a house pleasantly situated about a mile from +town, commanding an extensive prospect of sea and land, including Carlyle +bay and its shipping, and belonging to Captain Crofton, commander of James +Fort. + +Barbadoes had its theatre, at which Washington witnessed for the first time +a dramatic representation, a species of amusement of which he afterwards +became fond. It was in the present instance the doleful tragedy of George +Barnwell. "The character of Barnwell, and several others," notes he in his +journal, "were said to be well performed. There was music adapted and +regularly conducted." A safe but abstemious criticism. + +Among the hospitalities of the place the brothers were invited to the house +of a Judge Maynards, to dine with an association of the first people of the +place, who met at each other's house alternately every Saturday, under the +incontestably English title of "The Beefsteak and Tripe Club." Washington +notes with admiration the profusion of tropical fruits with which the table +was loaded, "the granadilla, sapadella, pomegranate, sweet orange, +water-lemon, forbidden fruit, and guava." The homely prosaic beefsteak and +tripe must have contrasted strangely, though sturdily, with these +magnificent poetical fruits of the tropics. But John Bull is faithful to +his native habits and native dishes, whatever may be the country or clime, +and would set up a chop-house at the very gates of paradise. + +The brothers had scarcely been a fortnight at the island when George was +taken down by a severe attack of small-pox. Skilful medical treatment, with +the kind attentions of friends, and especially of his brother, restored him +to health in about three weeks; but his face always remained slightly +marked. + +After his recovery he made excursions about the island, noticing its soil, +productions, fortifications, public works, and the manners of its +inhabitants. While admiring the productiveness of the sugar plantations, he +was shocked at the spendthrift habits of the planters, and their utter want +of management. + +"How wonderful," writes he, "that such people should be in debt, and not be +able to indulge themselves in all the luxuries, as well as the necessaries +of life. Yet so it happens. Estates are often alienated for debts. How +persons coming to estates of two, three, and four hundred acres can want, +is to me most wonderful." How much does this wonder speak for his own +scrupulous principle of always living within compass. + +The residence at Barbadoes failed to have the anticipated effect on the +health of Lawrence, and he determined to seek the sweet climate of Bermuda +in the spring. He felt the absence from his wife, and it was arranged that +George should return to Virginia, and bring her out to meet him at that +island. Accordingly, on the 22d of December, George set sail in the +Industry, bound to Virginia, where he arrived on the 1st February, 1752, +after five weeks of stormy winter seafaring. + +Lawrence remained through the winter at Barbadoes; but the very mildness of +the climate relaxed and enervated him. He felt the want of the bracing +winter weather to which he had been accustomed. Even the invariable beauty +of the climate; the perpetual summer, wearied the restless invalid. "This +is the finest island of the West Indies," said he; "but I own no place can +please me without a change of seasons. We soon tire of the same prospect." +A consolatory truth for the inhabitants of more capricious climes. + +Still some of the worst symptoms of his disorder had disappeared, and he +seemed to be slowly recovering; but the nervous restlessness and desire of +change, often incidental to his malady, had taken hold of him, and early in +March he hastened to Bermuda. He had come too soon. The keen air of early +spring brought on an aggravated return of his worst symptoms. "I have now +got to my last refuge," writes he to a friend, "where I must receive my +final sentence, which at present Dr. Forbes will not pronounce. He leaves +me, however, I think, like a criminal condemned, though not without hopes +of reprieve. But this I am to obtain by meritoriously abstaining from flesh +of every sort, all strong liquors, and by riding as much as I can bear. +These are the only terms on which I am to hope for life." + +He was now afflicted with painful indecision, and his letters perplexed his +family, leaving them uncertain as to his movements, and at a loss how to +act. At one time he talked of remaining a year at Bermuda, and wrote to his +wife to come out with George and rejoin him there; but the very same letter +shows his irresolution and uncertainty, for he leaves her coming to the +decision of herself and friends. As to his own movements, he says, "Six +weeks will determine me what to resolve on. Forbes advises the south of +France, or else Barbadoes." The very next letter, written shortly +afterwards in a moment of despondency, talks of the possibility of +"hurrying home to his grave!" + +The last was no empty foreboding. He did indeed hasten back, and just +reached Mount Vernon in time to die under his own roof, surrounded by his +family and friends, and attended in his last moments by that brother on +whose manly affection his heart seemed to repose. His death took place on +the 26th July, 1752, when but thirty-four years of age. He was a +noble-spirited, pure-minded, accomplished gentleman; honored by the public, +and beloved by his friends. The paternal care ever manifested by him for +his youthful brother, George, and the influence his own character and +conduct must have had upon him in his ductile years, should link their +memories together in history, and endear the name of Lawrence Washington to +every American. + +Lawrence left a wife and an infant daughter to inherit his ample estates. +In case his daughter should die without issue, the estate of Mount Vernon, +and other lands specified in his will, were to be enjoyed by her mother +during her lifetime, and at her death to be inherited by his brother +George. The latter was appointed one of the executors of the will; but such +was the implicit confidence reposed in his judgment and integrity, that, +although he was but twenty years of age, the management of the affairs of +the deceased were soon devolved upon him almost entirely. It is needless to +say that they were managed with consummate skill and scrupulous fidelity. + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +COUNCIL OF THE OHIO TRIBES AT LOGSTOWN--TREATY WITH THE ENGLISH--GIST'S +SETTLEMENT--SPEECHES OF THE HALF-KING AND THE FRENCH COMMANDANT--FRENCH +AGGRESSIONS--THE RUINS OF PIQUA--WASHINGTON SENT ON A MISSION TO THE FRENCH +COMMANDER--JACOB VAN BRAAM, HIS INTERPRETER--CHRISTOPHER GIST, HIS GUIDE-- +HALT AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THE MONONGAHELA AND ALLEGANY--PROJECTED FORT-- +SHINGISS, A DELAWARE SACHEM--LOGSTOWN--THE HALF KING--INDIAN COUNCILS-- +INDIAN DIPLOMACY--RUMORS CONCERNING JONCAIRE--INDIAN ESCORTS--THE +HALF-KING, JESKAKAKE AND WHITE THUNDER. + + +The meeting of the Ohio tribes, Delawares, Shawnees, and Mingoes, to form a +treaty of alliance with Virginia, took place at Logstown, at the appointed +time. The chiefs of the Six Nations declined to attend. "It is not our +custom," said they proudly, "to meet to treat of affairs in the woods and +weeds. If the Governor of Virginia wants to speak with us, and deliver us a +present from our father (the King), we will meet him at Albany, where we +expect the Governor of New York will be present." [Footnote: Letter of Col. +Johnson to Gov. Clinton.--Doc. Hist. N. Y. ii., 624.] + +At Logstown, Colonel Fry and two other commissioners from Virginia, +concluded a treaty with the tribes above named; by which the latter engaged +not to molest any English settlers south of the Ohio. Tanacharisson, the +half-king, now advised that his brothers of Virginia should build a strong +house at the fork of the Monongahela, to resist the designs of the French. +Mr. Gist was accordingly instructed to lay out a town and build a fort at +Chartier's Creek, on the east side of the Ohio, a little below the site of +the present city of Pittsburg. He commenced a settlement, also, in a valley +just beyond Laurel Hill, not far from the Youghiogeny, and prevailed on +eleven families to join him. The Ohio Company, about the same time, +established a trading post, well stocked with English goods, at Wills' +Creek (now the town of Cumberland). + +The Ohio tribes were greatly incensed at the aggressions of the French, who +were erecting posts within their territories, and sent deputations to +remonstrate, but without effect. The half-king, as chief of the western +tribes, repaired to the French post on Lake Erie, where he made his +complaint in person. + +"Fathers," said he, "you are the disturbers of this land by building towns, +and taking the country from us by fraud and force. We kindled a fire a long +time since at Montreal, where we desired you to stay and not to come and +intrude upon our land. I now advise you to return to that place, for this +land is ours. + +"If you had come in a peaceable manner, like our brothers the English, we +should have traded with you as we do with them; but that you should come +and build houses on our land, and take it by force, is what we cannot +submit to. Both you and the English are white. We live in a country between +you both; the land belongs to neither of you. The Great Being allotted it +to us as a residence. So, fathers, I desire you, as I have desired our +brothers the English, to withdraw, for I will keep you both at arm's +length. Whichever most regards this request, that side will we stand by and +consider friends. Our brothers the English have heard this, and I now come +to tell it to you, for I am not afraid to order you off this land." + +"Child," replied the French commandant, "you talk foolishly. You say this +land belongs to you; there is not the black of my nail yours. It is my +land, and I will have it, let who will stand up against me. I am not afraid +of flies and mosquitoes, for as such I consider the Indians. I tell you +that down the river I will go, and build upon it. If it were blocked up I +have forces sufficient to burst it open and trample down all who oppose me. +My force is as the sand upon the sea-shore. Therefore here is your wampum; +I fling it at you." + +Tanacharisson returned, wounded at heart, both by the language and the +haughty manner of the French commandant. He saw the ruin impending over his +race, but looked with hope and trust to the English as the power least +disposed to wrong the red man. + +French influence was successful in other quarters. Some of the Indians who +had been friendly to the English showed signs of alienation. Others menaced +hostilities. There were reports that the French were ascending the +Mississippi from Louisiana. France, it was said, intended to connect +Louisiana and Canada by a chain of military posts, and hem the English +within the Allegany Mountains. + +The Ohio Company complained loudly to the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, +the Hon. Robert Dinwiddie, of the hostile conduct of the French and their +Indian allies. They found in Dinwiddie a ready listener; he was a +stockholder in the company. + +A commissioner, Captain William Trent, was sent to expostulate with the +French commander on the Ohio for his aggressions on the territory of his +Britannic majesty; he bore presents also of guns, powder, shot, and +clothing for the friendly Indians. + +Trent was not a man of the true spirit for a mission to the frontier. He +stopped a short time at Logstown, though the French were one hundred and +fifty miles further up the river, and directed his course to Piqua, the +great town of the Twightwees, where Gist and Croghan had been so well +received by the Miamis, and the French flag struck in the council house. +All now was reversed. The place had been attacked by the French and +Indians; the Miamis defeated with great loss; the English traders taken +prisoners; the Piankesha chief, who had so proudly turned his back upon the +Ottawa ambassadors, had been sacrificed by the hostile savages, and the +French flag hoisted in triumph on the ruins of the town. The whole aspect +of affairs was so threatening on the frontier, that Trent lost heart, and +returned home without accomplishing his errand. + +Governor Dinwiddie now looked round for a person more fitted to fulfil a +mission which required physical strength and moral energy; a courage to +cope with savages, and a sagacity to negotiate with white men. Washington +was pointed out as possessed of those requisites. It is true he was not yet +twenty-two years of age, but public confidence in his judgment and +abilities had been manifested a second time, by renewing his appointment of +adjutant-general, and assigning him the northern division. He was +acquainted too with the matters in litigation, having been in the bosom +councils of his deceased brother. His woodland experience fitted him for an +expedition through the wilderness; and his great discretion and +self-command for a negotiation with wily commanders and fickle savages. He +was accordingly chosen for the expedition. + +By his letter of instructions he was directed to repair to Logstown, and +hold a communication with Tanacharisson, Monacatoocha, alias Scarooyadi, +the next in command, and the other sachems of the mixed tribes friendly to +the English; inform them of the purport of his errand, and request an +escort to the head-quarters of the French commander. To that commander he +was to deliver his credentials, and the letter of Governor Dinwiddie, and +demand an answer in the name of his Britannic majesty; but not to wait for +it beyond a week. On receiving it, he was to request a sufficient escort to +protect him on his return. + +He was, moreover, to acquaint himself with the numbers and force of the +French stationed on the Ohio and in its vicinity; their capability of being +reinforced from Canada; the forts they had erected; where situated, how +garrisoned; the object of their advancing into those parts, and how they +were likely to be supported. + +Washington set off from Williamsburg on the 30th of October (1753), the +very day on which he received his credentials. At Fredericksburg he engaged +his old "master of fence," Jacob Van Braam, to accompany him as +interpreter; though it would appear from subsequent circumstances, that the +veteran swordsman was but indifferently versed either in French or English. + +Having provided himself at Alexandria with necessaries for the journey, he +proceeded to Winchester, then on the frontier, where he procured horses, +tents, and other travelling equipments, and then pushed on by a road newly +opened to Wills' Creek (town of Cumberland), where he arrived on the 14th +of November. + +Here he met with Mr. Gist, the intrepid pioneer, who had explored the Ohio +in the employ of the company, and whom he engaged to accompany and pilot +him in the present expedition. He secured the services also of one John +Davidson as Indian interpreter, and of four frontiersmen, two of whom were +Indian traders. With this little band, and his swordsman and interpreter, +Jacob Van Braam, he set forth on the 15th of November, through a wild +country, rendered almost impassable by recent storms of rain and snow. + +At the mouth of Turtle Creek, on the Monongahela, he found John Frazier the +Indian trader, some of whose people, as heretofore stated, had been sent +off prisoners to Canada. Frazier himself had recently been ejected by the +French from the Indian village of Venango, where he had a gunsmith's +establishment. According to his account the French general who had +commanded on this frontier was dead, and the greater part of the forces +were retired into winter quarters. + +As the rivers were all swollen so that the horses had to swim them, +Washington sent all the baggage down the Monongahela in a canoe under care +of two of the men, who had orders to meet him at the confluence of that +river with the Allegany, where their united waters form the Ohio. + +"As I got down before the canoe," writes he in his journal, "I spent some +time in viewing the rivers, and the land at the Fork, which I think +extremely well situated for a fort, as it has the absolute command of both +rivers. The land at the point is twenty or twenty-five feet above the +common surface of the water, and a considerable bottom of flat, well +timbered land all around it, very convenient for building. The rivers are +each a quarter of a mile or more across, and run here very nearly at right +angles; Allegany bearing north-east, and Monongahela south-east. The former +of these two is a very rapid and swift-running water, the other deep and +still, without any perceptible fall." The Ohio company had intended to +build a fort about two miles from this place, on the south-east side of the +river; but Washington gave the fork the decided preference. French +engineers of experience proved the accuracy of his military eye, by +subsequently choosing it for the site of Fort Duquesne, noted in frontier +history. + +In this neighborhood lived Shingiss, the king or chief sachem of the +Delawares. Washington visited him at his village, to invite him to the +council at Logstown. He was one of the greatest warriors of his tribe, and +subsequently took up the hatchet at various times against the English, +though now he seemed favorably disposed, and readily accepted the +invitation. + +They arrived at Logstown after sunset on the 24th of November. The +half-king was absent at his hunting lodge on Beaver Creek, about fifteen +miles distant; but Washington had runners sent out to invite him and all +the other chiefs to a grand talk on the following day. + +In the morning four French deserters came into the village. They had +deserted from a company of one hundred men, sent up from New Orleans with +eight canoes laden with provisions. Washington drew from them an account of +the French force at New Orleans, and of the forts along the Mississippi, +and at the mouth of the Wabash, by which they kept up a communication with +the lakes; all which he carefully noted down. The deserters were on their +way to Philadelphia, conducted by a Pennsylvania trader. + +About three o'clock the half-king arrived. Washington had a private +conversation with him in his tent, through Davidson, the interpreter. He +found him intelligent, patriotic, and proudly tenacious of his territorial +rights. We have already cited from Washington's papers, the account given +by this chief in this conversation, of his interview with the late French +commander. He stated, moreover, that the French had built two forts, +differing in size, but on the same model, a plan of which he gave, of his +own drawing. The largest was on Lake Erie, the other on French Creek, +fifteen miles apart, with a waggon road between them. The nearest and +levellest way to them was now impassable, lying through large and miry +savannas; they would have, therefore, to go by Venango, and it would take +five or six sleeps (or days) of good travelling to reach the nearest fort. + +On the following morning at nine o'clock, the chiefs assembled at the +council house; where Washington, according to his instructions, informed +them that he was sent by their brother, the Governor of Virginia, to +deliver to the French commandant a letter of great importance, both to +their brothers the English and to themselves; and that he was to ask their +advice and assistance, and some of their young men to accompany and provide +for him on the way, and be his safeguard against the "French Indians" who +had taken up the hatchet. He concluded by presenting the indispensable +document in Indian diplomacy a string of wampum. + +The chiefs, according to etiquette, sat for some moments silent after he +had concluded, as if ruminating on what had been said, or to give him time +for further remark. + +The half-king then rose and spoke in behalf of the tribes, assuring him +that they considered the English and themselves brothers, and one people; +and that they intended to return the French the "speech-belts," or wampums, +which the latter had sent them. This, in Indian diplomacy, is a +renunciation of all friendly relations. An escort would be furnished to +Washington composed of Mingoes, Shannoahs, and Delawares, in token of the +love and loyalty of those several tribes; but three days would be required +to prepare for the journey. + +Washington remonstrated against such delay; but was informed, that an +affair of such moment, where three speech-belts were to be given up, was +not to be entered into without due consideration. Besides, the young men +who were to form the escort were absent hunting, and the half-king could +not suffer the party to go without sufficient protection. His own French +speech-belt, also, was at his hunting lodge, where he must go in quest of +it. Moreover, the Shannoah chiefs were yet absent and must be waited for. +In short, Washington had his first lesson in Indian diplomacy, which for +punctilio, ceremonial, and secret manoeuvring, is equal at least to that of +civilized life. He soon found that to urge a more speedy departure would be +offensive to Indian dignity and decorum, so he was fain to await the +gathering together of the different chiefs with their speech-belts. + +In fact there was some reason for all this caution. Tidings had reached the +sachems that Captain Joncaire had called a meeting at Venango, of the +Mingoes, Delawares, and other tribes, and made them a speech, informing +them that the French, for the present, had gone into winter quarters, but +intended to descend the river in great force, and fight the English in the +spring. He had advised them, therefore, to stand aloof, for should they +interfere, the French and English would join, cut them all off, and divide +their land between them. + +With these rumors preying on their minds, the half-king and three other +chiefs waited on Washington in his tent in the evening, and after +representing that they had complied with all the requisitions of the +Governor of Virginia, endeavored to draw from the youthful ambassador the +true purport of his mission to the French commandant. Washington had +anticipated an inquiry of the kind, knowing how natural it was that these +poor people should regard, with anxiety and distrust, every movement of two +formidable powers thus pressing upon them from opposite sides, he managed, +however, to answer them in such a manner as to allay their solicitude +without transcending the bounds of diplomatic secrecy. + +After a day or two more of delay and further consultations in the council +house, the chiefs determined that but three of their number should +accompany the mission, as a greater number might awaken the suspicions of +the French. Accordingly, on the 30th of November, Washington set out for +the French post, having his usual party augmented by an Indian hunter, and +being accompanied by the half-king, an old Shannoah sachem named Jeskakake, +and another chief, sometimes called Belt of Wampum, from being the keeper +of the speech-belts, but generally bearing the sounding appellation of +White Thunder. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +ARRIVAL AT VENANGO--CAPTAIN JONCAIRE--FRONTIER REVELRY--DISCUSSIONS OVER +THE BOTTLE--THE OLD DIPLOMATIST AND THE YOUNG--THE HALF-KING, JESKAKAKE, +AND WHITE THUNDER STAGGERED--THE SPEECH-BELT--DEPARTURE--LA FORCE, THE WILY +COMMISSARY--FORT AT FRENCH CREEK--THE CHEVALIER LEGARDEUR DE ST. PIERRE, +KNIGHT OF ST. LOUIS--CAPTAIN REPARTI--TRANSACTIONS AT THE FORT--ATTEMPTS +TO SEDUCE THE SACHEMS--MISCHIEF BREWING ON THE FRONTIER--DIFFICULTIES AND +DELAYS IN PARTING--DESCENT OF FRENCH CREEK--ARRIVAL AT VENANGO. + + +Although the distance to Venango, by the route taken, was not above seventy +miles, yet such was the inclemency of the weather and the difficulty of +travelling, that Washington and his party did not arrive there until the +4th of December. The French colors were flying at a house whence John +Frazier, the English trader, had been driven. Washington repaired thither, +and inquired of three French officers whom he saw there where the +commandant resided. One of them promptly replied that he "had the command +of the Ohio." It was, in fact, the redoubtable Captain Joncaire, the +veteran intriguer of the frontier. On being apprised, however, of the +nature of Washington's errand, he informed him that there was a general +officer at the next fort, where he advised him to apply for an answer to +the letter of which he was the bearer. + +In the mean time, he invited Washington and his party to a supper at head +quarters. It proved a jovial one, for Joncaire appears to have been +somewhat of a boon companion, and there is always ready though rough +hospitality in the wilderness. It is true, Washington, for so young a man, +may not have had the most convivial air, but there may have been a moist +look of promise in the old soldier Van Braam. + +Joncaire and his brother officers pushed the bottle briskly. "The wine," +says Washington, "as they dosed themselves pretty plentifully with it, soon +banished the restraint which at first appeared in their conversation, and +gave a license to their tongues to reveal their sentiments more freely. +They told me that it was their absolute design to take possession of the +Ohio, and by G-- they would do it; for that although they were sensible the +English could raise two men for their one, yet they knew their motions were +too slow and dilatory to prevent any undertaking. They pretend to have an +undoubted right to the river from a discovery made by one La Salle sixty +years ago, and the rise of this expedition is to prevent our settling on +the river or the waters of it, as they heard of some families moving out in +order thereto." + +Washington retained his sobriety and his composure throughout all the +rodomontade and bacchanalian outbreak of the mercurial Frenchmen; leaving +the task of pledging them to his master of fence, Van Braam, who was not a +man to flinch from potations. He took careful note, however, of all their +revelations, and collected a variety of information concerning the French +forces; how and where they were distributed; the situations and distances +of their forts, and their means and mode of obtaining supplies. If the +veteran diplomatist of the wilderness had intended this revel for a snare, +he was completely foiled by his youthful competitor. + +On the following day there was no travelling on account of excessive rain. +Joncaire, in the mean time, having discovered that the half-king was with +the mission, expressed his surprise that he had not accompanied it to his +quarters on the preceding day. Washington, in truth, had feared to trust +the sachem within the reach of the politic Frenchman. Nothing would do now +but Joncaire must have the sachems at head-quarters. Here his diplomacy was +triumphant. He received them with open arms. He was enraptured to see them. +His Indian brothers! How could they be so near without coming to visit him? +He made them presents; but, above all, plied them so potently with liquor, +that the poor half-king, Jeskakake, and White Thunder forgot all about +their wrongs, their speeches, their speech-belts, and all the business they +had come upon; paid no heed to the repeated cautions of their English +friends, and were soon in a complete state of frantic extravagance or +drunken oblivion. + +The next day the half-king made his appearance at Washington's tent, +perfectly sober and very much crestfallen. He declared, however, that he +still intended to make his speech to the French, and offered to rehearse it +on the spot; but Washington advised him not to waste his ammunition on +inferior game like Joncaire and his comrades, but to reserve it for the +commandant. The sachem was not to be persuaded. Here, he said, was the +place of the council fire, where they were accustomed to transact their +business with the French; and as to Joncaire, he had all the management of +French affairs with the Indians. + +Washington was fain to attend the council fire and listen to the speech. It +was much the same in purport as that which he had made to the French +general, and he ended by offering to return the French speech-belt; but +this Joncaire refused to receive, telling him to carry it to the commander +at the fort. + +All that day and the next was the party kept at Venango by the stratagems +of Joncaire and his emissaries to detain and seduce the sachems. It was not +until 12 o'clock on the 7th of December, that Washington was able to +extricate them out of their clutches and commence his journey. + +A French commissary by the name of La Force, and three soldiers, set off in +company with him. La Force went as if on ordinary business, but he proved +one of the most active, daring, and mischief-making of those anomalous +agents employed by the French among the Indian tribes. It is probable that +he was at the bottom of many of the perplexities experienced by Washington +at Venango, and now travelled with him for the prosecution of his wiles. He +will be found, hereafter, acting a more prominent part, and ultimately +reaping the fruit of his evil doings. + +After four days of weary travel through snow and rain, and mire and swamp, +the party reached the fort. It was situated on a kind of island on the west +fork of French Creek, about fifteen miles south of Lake Erie, and consisted +of four houses, forming a hollow square, defended by bastions made of +pallisades twelve feet high, picketed, and pierced for cannon and small +arms. Within the bastions were a guard-house, chapel, and other buildings, +and outside were stables, a smith's forge, and log-houses covered with +bark, for the soldiers. + +On the death of the late general, the fort had remained in charge of one +Captain Reparti until within a week past, when the Chevalier Legardeur de +St. Pierre had arrived, and taken command. + +The reception of Washington at the fort was very different from the +unceremonious one experienced at the outpost of Joncaire and his convivial +messmates. When he presented himself at the gate, accompanied by his +interpreter, Van Braam, he was met by the officer second in command and +conducted in due military form to his superior; an ancient and +silver-haired chevalier of the military order of St. Louis, courteous but +ceremonious, mingling the polish of the French gentleman of the old school +with the precision of the soldier. + +Having announced his errand through his interpreter, Van Braam, Washington +offered his credentials and the letter of Governor Dinwiddie, and was +disposed to proceed at once to business with the prompt frankness of a +young man unhackneyed in diplomacy. The chevalier, however, politely +requested him to retain the documents in his possession until his +predecessor, Captain Reparti, should arrive, who was hourly expected from +the next post. + +At two o'clock the captain arrived. The letter and its accompanying +documents were then offered again, and received in due form, and the +chevalier and his officers retired with them into a private apartment, +where the captain, who understood a little English, officiated as +translator. The translation being finished, Washington was requested to +walk in and bring his translator Van Braam, with him, to peruse and correct +it, which he did. + +In this letter, Dinwiddie complained of the intrusion of French forces into +the Ohio country, erecting forts and making settlements in the western +parts of the colony of Virginia, so notoriously known to be the property of +the crown of Great Britain. He inquired by whose authority and instructions +the French Commander-general had marched this force from Canada, and made +this invasion; intimating that his own action would be regulated by the +answer he should receive, and the tenor of the commission with which he was +honored. At the same time he required of the commandant his peaceable +departure, and that he would forbear to prosecute a purpose "so +interruptive of the harmony and good understanding which his majesty was +desirous to continue and cultivate with the most catholic king." + +The latter part of the letter related to the youthful envoy. "I persuade +myself you will receive and entertain Major Washington with the candor and +politeness natural to your nation, and it will give me the greatest +satisfaction if you can return him with an answer suitable to my wishes for +a long and lasting peace between us." + +The two following days were consumed in councils of the chevalier and his +officers over the letter and the necessary reply. Washington occupied +himself in the mean time in observing and taking notes of the plan, +dimensions, and strength of the fort, and of every thing about it. He gave +orders to his people, also, to take an exact account of the canoes in +readiness, and others in the process of construction, for the conveyance of +troops down the river in the ensuing spring. + +As the weather continued stormy, with much snow, and the horses were daily +losing strength, he sent them down, unladen, to Venango, to await his +return by water. In the mean time, he discovered that busy intrigues were +going on to induce the half-king and the other sachems to abandon him, and +renounce all friendship with the English. Upon learning this, he urged the +chiefs to deliver up their "speech-belts" immediately, as they had +promised, thereby shaking off all dependence upon the French. They +accordingly pressed for an audience that very evening. A private one was at +length granted them by the commander, in presence of one or two of his +officers. The half-king reported the result of it to Washington. The +venerable but astute chevalier cautiously evaded the acceptance of the +proffered wampum; made many professions of love and friendship, and said he +wished to live in peace and trade amicably with the tribes of the Ohio, in +proof of which he would send down some goods immediately for them to +Logstown. + +As Washington understood, privately, that an officer was to accompany the +man employed to convey these goods, he suspected that the real design was +to arrest and bring off all straggling English traders they might meet +with. What strengthened this opinion was a frank avowal which had been made +to him by the chevalier, that he had orders to capture every British +subject who should attempt to trade upon the Ohio or its waters. + +Captain Reparti, also, in reply to his inquiry as to what had been done +with two Pennsylvania traders, who had been taken with all their goods, +informed him that they had been sent to Canada, but had since returned +home. He had stated, furthermore, that during the time he held command, a +white boy had been carried captive past the fort by a party of Indians, who +had with them, also, two or three white men's scalps. + +All these circumstances showed him the mischief that was brewing in these +parts, and the treachery and violence that pervaded the frontier, and made +him the more solicitous to accomplish his mission successfully, and conduct +his little band in safety out of a wily neighborhood. + +On the evening of the 14th, the Chevalier de St. Pierre delivered to +Washington his sealed reply to the letter of Governor Dinwiddie. The +purport of previous conversations with the chevalier, and the whole +complexion of affairs on the frontier, left no doubt of the nature of that +reply. + +The business of his mission being accomplished, Washington prepared on the +15th to return by water to Venango; but a secret influence was at work +which retarded every movement. + +"The commandant," writes he, "ordered a plentiful store of liquor and +provisions to be put on board our canoes, and appeared to be extremely +complaisant, though he was exerting every artifice which he could invent to +set our Indians at variance with us, to prevent their going until after our +departure; presents, rewards, and every thing which could be suggested by +him or his officers. I cannot say that ever in my life I suffered so much +anxiety as I did in this affair. I saw that every stratagem which the most +fruitful brain could invent was practised to win the half-king to their +interests, and that leaving him there was giving them the opportunity they +aimed at. I went to the half-king, and pressed him in the strongest terms +to go; he told me that the commandant would not discharge him until the +morning. I then went to the commandant and desired him to do their +business, and complained to him of ill treatment; for, keeping them, as +they were a part of my company, was detaining me. This he promised not to +do, but to forward my journey as much as he could. He protested he did not +keep them, but was ignorant of the cause of their stay; though I soon found +it out. He had promised them a present of guns if they would wait until the +morning. As I was very much pressed by the Indians to wait this day for +them, I consented, on the promise that nothing should hinder them in the +morning." + +The next morning (16th) the French, in fulfilment of their promise, had to +give the present of guns. They then endeavored to detain the sachems with +liquor, which at any other time might have prevailed, but Washington +reminded the half-king that his royal word was pledged to depart, and urged +it upon him so closely that exerting unwonted resolution and self-denial, +he turned his back upon the liquor and embarked. + +It was rough and laborious navigation. French Creek was swollen and +turbulent, and full of floating ice. The frail canoes were several times in +danger of being staved to pieces against rocks. Often the voyagers had to +leap out and remain in the water half an hour at a time, drawing the canoes +over shoals, and at one place to carry them a quarter of a mile across a +neck of land, the river being completely dammed by ice. It was not until +the 22d that they reached Venango. + +Here Washington was obliged, most unwillingly, to part company with the +sachems. White Thunder had hurt himself and was ill and unable to walk, and +the others determined to remain at Venango for a day or two and convey him +down the river in a canoe. There was danger that the smooth-tongued and +convivial Joncaire would avail himself of the interval to ply the poor +monarchs of the woods with flattery and liquor. Washington endeavored to +put the worthy half-king on his guard, knowing that he had once before +shown himself but little proof against the seductions of the bottle. The +sachem, however, desired him not to be concerned; he knew the French too +well for any thing to engage him in their favor; nothing should shake his +faith to his English brothers; and it will be found that in these +assurances he was sincere. + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +RETURN FROM VENANGO--A TRAMP ON FOOT--MURDERING TOWN--THE INDIAN GUIDE-- +TREACHERY--AN ANXIOUS NIGHT--PERILS ON THE ALLEGANY RIVER--QUEEN +ALIQUIPPA--THE OLD WATCH-COAT--RETURN ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE. + + +On the 25th of December, Washington and his little party set out by land +from Venango on their route homeward. They had a long winter's journey +before them, through a wilderness beset with dangers and difficulties. The +packhorses, laden with tents, baggage, and provisions, were completely +jaded; it was feared they would give out. Washington dismounted, gave up +his saddle-horse to aid in transporting the baggage, and requested his +companions to do the same. None but the drivers remained in the saddle. He +now equipped himself in an Indian hunting-dress, and with Van Braam, Gist, +and John Davidson, the Indian interpreter, proceeded on foot. + +The cold increased. There was deep snow that froze as it fell. The horses +grew less and less capable of travelling. For three days they toiled on +slowly and wearily. Washington was impatient to accomplish his journey, and +make his report to the governor; he determined, therefore, to hasten some +distance in advance of the party, and then strike for the Fork of the Ohio +by the nearest course directly through the woods. He accordingly put the +cavalcade under the command of Van Braam, and furnished him with money for +expenses; then disencumbering himself of all superfluous clothing, buckling +himself up in a watch-coat, strapping his pack on his shoulders, containing +his papers and provisions, and taking gun in hand, he left the horses to +flounder on, and struck manfully ahead, accompanied only by Mr. Gist, who +had equipped himself in like manner. + +At night they lit a fire, and "camped" by it in the woods. At two o'clock +in the morning they were again on foot, and pressed forward until they +struck the south-east fork of Beaver Creek, at a place bearing the sinister +name of Murdering Town; probably the scene of some Indian massacre. + +Here Washington, in planning his route, had intended to leave the regular +path, and strike through the woods for Shannopins Town, two or three miles +above the fork of the Ohio, where he hoped to be able to cross the Allegany +River on the ice. + +At Murdering Town he found a party of Indians, who appeared to have known +of his coming, and to have been waiting for him. One of them accosted Mr. +Gist, and expressed great joy at seeing him. The wary woodsman regarded him +narrowly, and thought he had seen him at Joncaire's. If so, he and his +comrades were in the French interest, and their lying in wait boded no +good. The Indian was very curious in his inquiries as to when they had left +Venango; how they came to be travelling on foot; where they had left their +horses, and when it was probable the latter would reach this place. All +these questions increased the distrust of Gist, and rendered him extremely +cautious in reply. + +The route hence to Shannopins Town lay through a trackless wild, of which +the travellers knew nothing; after some consultation, therefore, it was +deemed expedient to engage one of the Indians as a guide. He entered upon +his duties with alacrity, took Washington's pack upon his back, and led the +way by what he said was the most direct course. After travelling briskly +for eight or ten miles Washington became fatigued, and his feet were +chafed; he thought, too, they were taking a direction too much to the +north-east; he came to a halt, therefore, and determined to light a fire, +make a shelter of the bark and branches of trees, and encamp there for the +night. The Indian demurred; he offered, as Washington was fatigued, to +carry his gun, but the latter was too wary to part with his weapon. The +Indian now grew churlish. There were Ottawa Indians in the woods, he said, +who might be attracted by their fire, and surprise and scalp them; he +urged, therefore, that they should continue on: he would take them to his +cabin, where they would be safe. + +Mr. Gist's suspicions increased, but he said nothing. Washington's also +were awakened. They proceeded some distance further: the guide paused and +listened. He had heard, he said, the report of a gun toward the north; it +must be from his cabin; he accordingly turned his steps in that direction. + +Washington began to apprehend an ambuscade of savages. He knew the +hostility of many of them to the English, and what a desirable trophy was +the scalp of a white man. The Indian still kept on toward the north; he +pretended to hear two whoops--they were from his cabin--it could not be far +off. + +They went on two miles further, when Washington signified his determination +to encamp at the first water they should find. The guide said nothing, but +kept doggedly on. After a little while they arrived at an opening in the +woods, and emerging from the deep shadows in which they had been +travelling, found themselves in a clear meadow, rendered still more light +by the glare of the snow upon the ground. Scarcely had they emerged when +the Indian, who was about fifteen paces ahead, suddenly turned, levelled +his gun, and fired. Washington was startled for an instant, but, feeling +that he was not wounded, demanded quickly of Mr. Gist if he was shot. The +latter answered in the negative. The Indian in the mean time had run +forward, and screened himself behind a large white oak, where he was +reloading his gun. They overtook, and seized him. Gist would have put him +to death on the spot, but Washington humanely prevented him. They permitted +him to finish the loading of his gun; but, after he had put in the ball, +took the weapon from him, and let him see that he was under guard. + +Arriving at a small stream they ordered the Indian to make a fire, and took +turns to watch over the guns. While he was thus occupied, Gist, a veteran +woodsman, and accustomed to hold the life of an Indian rather cheap, was +somewhat incommoded by the scruples of his youthful commander, which might +enable the savage to carry out some scheme of treachery. He observed to +Washington that, since he would not suffer the Indian to be killed, they +must manage to get him out of the way, and then decamp with all speed, and +travel all night to leave this perfidious neighborhood behind them; but +first it was necessary to blind the guide as to their intentions. He +accordingly addressed him in a friendly tone, and adverting to the late +circumstance, pretended to suppose that he had lost his way, and fired his +gun merely as a signal. The Indian, whether deceived or not, readily chimed +in with the explanation. He said he now knew the way to his cabin, which +was at no great distance. "Well then," replied Gist, "you can go home, and +as we are tired we will remain here for the night, and follow your track at +daylight. In the mean time here is a cake of bread for you, and you must +give us some meat in the morning." + +Whatever might have been the original designs of the savage, he was +evidently glad to get off. Gist followed him cautiously for a distance, and +listened until the sound of his footsteps died away; returning then to +Washington, they proceeded about half a mile, made another fire, set their +compass and fixed their course by the light of it, then leaving it burning, +pushed forward, and travelled as fast as possible all night, so as to gain +a fair start should any one pursue them at daylight. Continuing on the next +day they never relaxed their speed until nightfall, when they arrived on +the banks of the Allegany River, about two miles above Shannopins Town. + +Washington had expected to find the river frozen completely over; it was so +only for about fifty yards from either shore, while great quantities of +broken ice were driving down the main channel. Trusting that he had +out-travelled pursuit, he encamped on the border of the river; still it was +an anxious night, and he was up at daybreak to devise some means of +reaching the opposite bank. No other mode presented itself than by a raft, +and to construct this they had but one poor hatchet. With this they set +resolutely to work and labored all day, but the sun went down before their +raft was finished. They launched it, however, and getting on board, +endeavored to propel it across with setting poles. Before they were half +way over the raft became jammed between cakes of ice, and they were in +imminent peril. Washington planted his pole on the bottom of the stream, +and leaned against it with all his might, to stay the raft until the ice +should pass by. The rapid current forced the ice against the pole with such +violence that he was jerked into the water, where it was at least ten feet +deep, and only saved himself from being swept away and drowned by catching +hold of one of the raft logs. + +It was now impossible with all their exertions to get to either shore; +abandoning the raft therefore, they got upon an island, near which they +were drifting. Here they passed the night exposed to intense cold by which +the hands and feet of Mr. Gist were frozen. In the morning they found the +drift ice wedged so closely together, that they succeeded in getting from +the island to the opposite side of the river; and before night were in +comfortable quarters at the house of Frazier, the Indian trader, at the +mouth of Turtle Creek on the Monongahela. + +Here they learned from a war party of Indians that a band of Ottawas, a +tribe in the interest of the French, had massacred a whole family of whites +on the banks of the great Kanawha River. + +At Frazier's they were detained two or three days endeavoring to procure +horses. In this interval Washington had again occasion to exercise Indian +diplomacy. About three miles distant, at the mouth of the Youghiogeny +River, dwelt a female sachem, Queen Aliquippa, as the English called her, +whose sovereign dignity had been aggrieved, that the party on their way to +the Ohio, had passed near her royal wigwam without paying their respects to +her. + +Aware of the importance, at this critical juncture, of securing the +friendship of the Indians, Washington availed himself of the interruption +of his journey, to pay a visit of ceremony to this native princess. +Whatever anger she may have felt at past neglect, it was readily appeased +by a present of his old watch-coat; and her good graces were completely +secured by a bottle of rum, which, he intimates, appeared to be peculiarly +acceptable to her majesty. + +Leaving Frazier's on the 1st of January, they arrived on the 2d at the +residence of Mr. Gist, on the Monongahela. Here they separated, and +Washington having purchased a horse, continued his homeward course, passing +horses laden with materials and stores for the fort at the fork of the +Ohio, and families going out to settle there. + +Having crossed the Blue Ridge and stopped one day at Belvoir to rest, he +reached Williamsburg on the 16th of January, where he delivered to Governor +Dinwiddie the letter of the French commandant, and made him a full report +of the events of his mission. + +We have been minute in our account of this expedition as it was an early +test and development of the various talents and characteristics of +Washington. + +The prudence, sagacity, resolution, firmness, and self-devotion manifested +by him throughout; his admirable tact and self-possession in treating with +fickle savages and crafty white men; the soldier's eye with which he had +noticed the commanding and defensible points of the country, and every +thing that would bear upon military operations; and the hardihood with +which he had acquitted himself during a wintry tramp through the +wilderness, through constant storms of rain and snow; often sleeping on the +ground without a tent in the open air, and in danger from treacherous +foes,--all pointed him out, not merely to the governor, but to the public +at large, as one eminently fitted, notwithstanding his youth, for important +trusts involving civil as well as military duties. It is an expedition that +may be considered the foundation of his fortunes. From that moment he was +the rising hope of Virginia. + + + +CHAPTER X. + +REPLY OF THE CHEVALIER DE ST. PIERRE--TRENT'S MISSION TO THE FRONTIER-- +WASHINGTON RECRUITS TROOPS--DINWIDDIE AND THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES-- +INDEPENDENT CONDUCT OF THE VIRGINIANS--EXPEDIENTS TO GAIN RECRUITS-- +JACOB VAN BRAAM IN SERVICE--TOILFUL MARCH TO WILLS' CREEK--CONTRECOEUR +AT THE FORK OF THE OHIO--TRENT'S REFRACTORY TROOPS. + + +The reply of the Chevalier de St. Pierre was such as might have been +expected from that courteous, but wary commander. He should transmit, he +said, the letter of Governor Dinwiddie to his general, the Marquis du +Quesne, "to whom," observed he, "it better belongs than to me to set forth +the evidence and reality of the rights of the king, my master, upon the +lands situated along the river Ohio, and to contest the pretensions of the +King of Great Britain thereto. His answer shall be a law to me. ... As to +the summons you send me to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey +it. Whatever may be your instructions, I am here by virtue of the orders of +my general; and I entreat you, sir, not to doubt one moment but that I am +determined to conform myself to them with all the exactness and resolution +which can be expected from the best officer." ... + +"I made it my particular care," adds he, "to receive Mr. Washington with, a +distinction suitable to your dignity, as well as his own quality and great +merit. I flatter myself that he will do me this justice before you, sir, +and that he will signify to you, in the manner I do myself, the profound +respect with which I am, sir," &c. [Footnote: London Mag., June, 1754.] + +This soldier-like and punctilious letter of the chevalier was considered +evasive, and only intended to gain time. The information given by +Washington of what he had observed on the frontier convinced Governor +Dinwiddie and his council that the French were preparing to descend the +Ohio in the spring, and take military possession of the country. +Washington's journal was printed, and widely promulgated throughout the +colonies and England, and awakened the nation to a sense of the impending +danger, and the necessity of prompt measures to anticipate the French +movements. + +Captain Trent was despatched to the frontier, commissioned to raise a +company of one hundred men, march with all speed to the Fork of the Ohio, +and finish as soon as possible the fort commenced there by the Ohio +Company. He was enjoined to act only on the defensive, but to capture or +destroy whoever should oppose the construction of the works, or disturb the +settlements. The choice of Captain Trent for this service, notwithstanding +his late inefficient expedition, was probably owing to his being +brother-in-law to George Croghan, who had grown to be quite a personage of +consequence on the frontier, where he had an establishment or +trading-house, and was supposed to have great influence among the western +tribes, so as to be able at any time to persuade many of them to take up +the hatchet. + +Washington was empowered to raise a company of like force at Alexandria; to +procure and forward munitions and supplies for the projected fort at the +Fork, and ultimately to have command of both companies. When on the +frontier he was to take council of George Croghan and Andrew Montour the +interpreter, in all matters relating to the Indians, they being esteemed +perfect oracles in that department. + +Governor Dinwiddie in the mean time called upon the governors of the other +provinces to make common cause against the foe; he endeavored, also, to +effect alliances with the Indian tribes of the south, the Catawbas and +Cherokees, by way of counterbalancing the Chippewas and Ottawas, who were +devoted to the French. + +The colonies, however, felt as yet too much like isolated territories; the +spirit of union was wanting. Some pleaded a want of military funds; some +questioned the justice of the cause; some declined taking any hostile step +that might involve them in a war, unless they should have direct orders +from the crown. + +Dinwiddie convened the House of Burgesses to devise measures for the public +security. Here his high idea of prerogative and of gubernatorial dignity +met with a grievous countercheck from the dawning spirit of independence. +High as were the powers vested in the colonial government of Virginia, of +which, though but lieutenant-governor, he had the actual control; they were +counterbalanced by the power inherent in the people, growing out of their +situation and circumstances, and acting through their representatives. + +There was no turbulent factious opposition to government in Virginia; no +"fierce democracy," the rank growth of crowded cities, and a fermenting +populace; but there was the independence of men, living apart in +patriarchal style on their own rural domains; surrounded by their families, +dependants and slaves, among whom their will was law,--and there was the +individuality in character and action of men prone to nurture peculiar +notions and habits of thinking, in the thoughtful solitariness of country +life. + +When Dinwiddie propounded his scheme of operations on the Ohio, some of the +burgesses had the hardihood to doubt the claims of the king to the disputed +territory; a doubt which the governor reprobated as savoring strongly of a +most disloyal French spirit; he fired, as he says, at the thought "that an +English legislature should presume to doubt the right of his majesty to the +interior parts of this continent, the back part of his dominions!" + +Others demurred to any grant of means for military purposes which might be +construed into an act of hostility. To meet this scruple it was suggested +that the grant might be made for the purpose of encouraging and protecting +all settlers on the waters of the Mississippi. And under this specious plea +ten thousand pounds were grudgingly voted; but even this moderate sum was +not put at the absolute disposition of the governor. A committee was +appointed with whom he was to confer as to its appropriation. + +This precaution Dinwiddie considered an insulting invasion of the right he +possessed as governor to control the purse as well as the sword; and he +complained bitterly of the assembly, as deeply tinctured with a republican +way of thinking, and disposed to encroach on the prerogative of the crown, +"which he feared would render them more and more difficult to be _brought +to order_." + +Ways and means being provided, Governor Dinwiddie augmented the number of +troops to be enlisted to three hundred, divided into six companies. The +command of the whole, as before, was offered to Washington, but he shrank +from it, as a charge too great for his youth and inexperience. It was +given, therefore, to Colonel Joshua Fry, an English gentleman of worth and +education, and Washington was made second in command, with the rank of +lieutenant-colonel. + +The recruiting, at first, went on slowly. Those who offered to enlist, says +Washington, were for the most part loose idle persons without house or +home, some without shoes or stockings, some shirtless, and many without +coat or waistcoat. + +He was young in the recruiting service, or he would have known that such is +generally the stuff of which armies are made. In this country especially it +has always been difficult to enlist the active yeomanry by holding out +merely the pay of a soldier. The means of subsistence are too easily +obtained by the industrious, for them to give up home and personal +independence for a mere daily support. Some may be tempted by a love of +adventure; but in general, they require some prospect of ultimate advantage +that may "better their condition." + +Governor Dinwiddie became sensible of this, and resorted to an expedient +rising out of the natural resources of the country, which has since been +frequently adopted, and always with efficacy. He proclaimed a bounty of two +hundred thousand acres of land on the Ohio River, to be divided among the +officers and soldiers who should engage in this expedition; one thousand to +be laid off contiguous to the fort at the fork, for the use of the +garrison. This was a tempting bait to the sons of farmers, who readily +enlisted in the hope of having, at the end of a short campaign, a snug farm +of their own in this land of promise. + +It was a more difficult matter to get officers than soldiers. Very few of +those appointed made their appearance; one of the captains had been +promoted; two declined; Washington found himself left, almost alone, to +manage a number of self-willed, undisciplined recruits. Happily he had with +him, in the rank of lieutenant, that soldier of fortune, Jacob Van Braam, +his old "master of fence," and travelling interpreter. + +In his emergency he forthwith nominated him captain, and wrote to the +governor to confirm the appointment, representing him as the oldest +lieutenant, and an experienced officer. + +On the 2d of April Washington set off from Alexandria for the new fort, at +the fork of the Ohio. He had but two companies with him, amounting to about +one hundred and fifty men; the remainder of the regiment was to follow +under Colonel Fry with the artillery, which was to be conveyed up the +Potomac. While on the march he was joined by a detachment under Captain +Adam Stephen, an officer destined to serve with him at distant periods of +his military career. + +At Winchester he found it impossible to obtain conveyances by gentle means, +and was obliged reluctantly to avail himself of the militia law of +Virginia, and impress horses and waggons for service; giving the owners +orders on government for their appraised value. Even then, out of a great +number impressed, he obtained but ten, after waiting a week; these, too, +were grudgingly furnished by farmers with their worst horses, so that in +steep and difficult passes they were incompetent to the draught, and the +soldiers had continually to put their shoulders to the wheels. + +Thus slenderly fitted out, Washington and his little force made their way +toilfully across the mountains, having to prepare the roads as they went +for the transportation of the cannon, which were to follow on with the +other division under Colonel Fry. They cheered themselves with the thoughts +that this hard work would cease when they should arrive at the company's +trading-post and store-house at Wills' Creek, where Captain Trent was to +have packhorses in readiness, with which they might make the rest of the +way by light stages. Before arriving there they were startled by a rumor +that Trent and all his men had been captured by the French. With regard to +Trent, the news soon proved to be false, for they found him at Wills' Creek +on the 20th of April. With regard to his men there was still an +uncertainty. He had recently left them at the fork of the Ohio, busily at +work on the fort, under the command of his lieutenant, Frazier, late Indian +trader and gunsmith, but now a provincial officer. If the men had been +captured, it must have been since the captain's departure. Washington was +eager to press forward and ascertain the truth, but it was impossible. +Trent, inefficient as usual, had failed to provide packhorses. It was +necessary to send to Winchester, forty miles distant, for baggage waggons, +and await their arrival. All uncertainty as to the fate of the men, +however, was brought to a close by their arrival, on the 25th, conducted by +an ensign, and bringing with them their working implements. The French +might well boast that they had again been too quick for the English. +Captain Contrecoeur, an alert officer, had embarked about a thousand men +with field-pieces, in a fleet of sixty bateaux and three hundred canoes, +dropped down the river from Venango, and suddenly made his appearance +before the fort, on which the men were working, and which was not half +completed. Landing, drawing up his men, and planting his artillery, he +summoned the fort to surrender, allowing one hour for a written reply. + +What was to be done! the whole garrison did not exceed fifty men. Captain +Trent was absent at Wills' Creek; Frazier, his lieutenant, was at his own +residence at Turtle Creek, ten miles distant. There was no officer to reply +but a young ensign of the name of Ward. In his perplexity he turned for +counsel to Tanacharisson, the half-king, who was present in the fort. The +chief advised the ensign to plead insufficiency of rank and powers, and +crave delay until the arrival of his superior officer. The ensign repaired +to the French camp to offer this excuse in person, and was accompanied by +the half-king. They were courteously received, but Contrecoeur was +inflexible. There must be instant surrender, or he would take forcible +possession. All that the ensign could obtain was permission to depart with +his men, taking with them their working tools. The capitulation ended. +Contrecoeur, with true French gayety, invited the ensign to sup with him; +treated him with the utmost politeness, and wished him a pleasant journey, +as he set off the next morning with his men laden with their working tools. + +Such was the ensign's story. He was accompanied by two Indian warriors, +sent by the half-king to ascertain where the detachment was, what was its +strength, and when it might be expected at the Ohio. They bore a speech +from that sachem to Washington, and another, with a belt of wampum for the +Governor of Virginia. In these he plighted his steadfast faith to the +English, and claimed assistance from his brothers of Virginia and +Pennsylvania. + +One of these warriors Washington forwarded on with the speech and wampum to +Governor Dinwiddie. The other he prevailed on to return to the half-king, +bearing a speech from him, addressed to the "Sachems, warriors of the Six +United Nations, Shannoahs and Delawares, our friends and brethren." In this +he informed them that he was on the advance with a part of the army, to +clear the road for a greater force coming with guns, ammunition, and +provisions; and he invited the half-king and another sachem, to meet him on +the road as soon as possible to hold a council. + +In fact, his situation was arduous in the extreme. Regarding the conduct of +the French in the recent occurrence an overt act of war, he found himself +thrown with a handful of raw recruits far on a hostile frontier, in the +midst of a wilderness, with an enemy at hand greatly superior in number and +discipline; provided with artillery, and all the munitions of war, and +within reach of constant supplies and reinforcements. Beside the French +that had come from Venango, he had received credible accounts of another +party ascending the Ohio; and of six hundred Chippewas and Ottawas marching +down Scioto Creek to join the hostile camp. Still, notwithstanding the +accumulating danger, it would not do to fall back, nor show signs of +apprehension. His Indian allies in such case might desert him. The +soldiery, too, might grow restless and dissatisfied. He was already annoyed +by Captain Trent's men, who, having enlisted as volunteers, considered +themselves exempt from the rigor of martial law; and by their example of +loose and refractory conduct, threatened to destroy the subordination of +his own troops. + +In this dilemma he called a council of war, in which it was determined to +proceed to the Ohio Company store-houses, at the mouth of Redstone Creek; +fortify themselves there, and wait for reinforcements. Here they might keep +up a vigilant watch upon the enemy, and get notice of any hostile movement +in time for defence, or retreat; and should they be reinforced sufficiently +to enable them to attack the fort, they could easily drop down the river +with their artillery. + +With these alternatives in view, Washington detached sixty men in advance +to make a road; and at the same time wrote to Governor Dinwiddie for +mortars and grenadoes, and cannon of heavy metal. + +Aware that the Assembly of Pennsylvania was in session, and that the +Maryland Assembly would also meet in the course of a few days, he wrote +directly to the governors of those provinces, acquainting them with the +hostile acts of the French, and with his perilous situation; and +endeavoring to rouse them to cooperation in the common cause. We will here +note in advance that his letter was laid before the Legislature of +Pennsylvania, and a bill was about to be passed making appropriations for +the service of the king; but it fell through, in consequence of a +disagreement between the Assembly and the governor as to the mode in which +the money should be raised; and so no assistance was furnished to +Washington from that quarter. The youthful commander had here a foretaste, +in these his incipient campaigns, of the perils and perplexities which +awaited him from enemies in the field, and lax friends in legislative +councils in the grander operations of his future years. Before setting off +for Redstone Creek, he discharged Trent's refractory men from his +detachment, ordering them to await Colonel Fry's commands; they however, in +the true spirit of volunteers from the backwoods, dispersed to their +several homes. + +It may be as well to observe, in this place, that both Captain Trent and +Lieutenant Frazier were severely censured for being absent from their post +at the time of the French summons. "Trent's behavior," said Washington, in +a letter to Governor Dinwiddie, "has been very tardy, and has convinced the +world of what they before suspected--his great timidity. Lieutenant +Frazier, though not altogether blameless, is much more excusable, for he +would not accept of the commission until he had a promise from his captain +that he should not reside at the fort, nor visit it above once a week, or +as he saw necessity." In fact, Washington, subsequently recommended Frazier +for the office of adjutant. + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +MARCH TO THE LITTLE MEADOWS--RUMORS FROM THE OHIO--CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE +BANKS OF THE YOUGHIOGENY--ATTEMPT TO DESCEND THAT RIVER--ALARMING +REPORTS--SCOUTING PARTIES--PERILOUS SITUATION OF THE CAMP--GIST AND LA +FORCE--MESSAGE FROM THE HALF-KING--FRENCH TRACKS--THE JUMONVILLE +SKIRMISH--TREATMENT OF LA FORCE--POSITION AT THE GREAT MEADOWS--BELLIGERENT +FEELINGS OF A YOUNG SOLDIER. + + +On the 29th of April Washington set out from Wills' Creek at the head of +one hundred and sixty men. He soon overtook those sent in advance to work +the road; they had made but little progress. It was a difficult task to +break a road through the wilderness sufficient for the artillery coming on +with Colonel Fry's division. All hands were now set to work, but with all +their labor they could not accomplish more than four miles a day. They were +toiling through Savage Mountain and that dreary forest region beyond it, +since bearing the sinister name of "The Shades of Death." On the 9th of May +they were not further than twenty miles from Wills' Creek, at a place +called the Little Meadows. + +Every day came gloomy accounts from the Ohio; brought chiefly by traders, +who, with packhorses bearing their effects, were retreating to the more +settled parts of the country. Some exaggerated the number of the French, as +if strongly reinforced. All represented them as diligently at work +constructing a fort. By their account Washington perceived the French had +chosen the very place which he had noted in his journal as best fitted for +the purpose. + +One of the traders gave information concerning La Force the French +emissary, who had beset Washington when on his mission to the frontier, and +acted, as he thought, the part of a spy. He had been at Gist's new +settlement beyond Laurel Hill, and was prowling about the country with four +soldiers at his heels on a pretended hunt after deserters. Washington +suspected him to be on a reconnoitering expedition. + +It was reported, moreover, that the French were lavishing presents on the +Indians about the lower part of the river, to draw them to their standard. +Among all these flying reports and alarms Washington was gratified to learn +that the half-king was on his way to meet him at the head of fifty +warriors. + +After infinite toil through swamps and forests, and over rugged mountains, +the detachment arrived at the Youghiogeny River, where they were detained +some days constructing a bridge to cross it. + +This gave Washington leisure to correspond with Governor Dinwiddie, +concerning matters which had deeply annoyed him. By an ill-judged economy +of the Virginia government at this critical juncture, its provincial +officers received less pay than that allowed in the regular army. It is +true the regular officers were obliged to furnish their own table, but +their superior pay enabled them to do it luxuriously; whereas the +provincials were obliged to do hard duty on salt provisions and water. The +provincial officers resented this inferiority of pay as an indignity, and +declared that nothing prevented them from throwing up their commissions but +unwillingness to recede before approaching danger. + +Washington shared deeply this feeling. "Let him serve voluntarily, and he +would with the greatest pleasure in life devote his services to the +expedition--but to be slaving through woods, rocks, and mountains, for the +shadow of pay--" writes he, "I would rather toil like a day laborer for a +maintenance, if reduced to the necessity, than serve on such ignoble +terms." Parity of pay was indispensable to the dignity of the service. + +Other instances of false economy were pointed out by him, forming so many +drags upon the expedition, that he quite despaired of success. "Be the +consequence what it will, however," adds he, "I am determined not to leave +the regiment, but to be among the last men that leave the Ohio; even if I +serve as a private volunteer, which I greatly prefer to the establishment +we are upon. ... I have a constitution hardy enough to encounter and +undergo the most severe trials, and I flatter myself resolution to face +what any man dares, as shall be proved when it comes to the test." + +And in a letter to his friend Colonel Fairfax--"For my own part," writes +he, "it is a matter almost indifferent whether I serve for full pay or as a +generous volunteer; indeed, did my circumstances correspond with my +inclinations, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter; _for +the motives that have led me here are pure and noble. I had no view of +acquisition but that of honor, by serving faithfully my king and +country_." + +Such were the noble impulses of Washington at the age of twenty-two, and +such continued to actuate him throughout life. We have put the latter part +of the quotation in italics, as applicable to the motives which in after +life carried him into the Revolution. + +While the bridge over the Youghiogeny was in the course of construction, +the Indians assured Washington he would never be able to open a waggon-road +across the mountains to Redstone Creek; he embarked therefore in a canoe +with a lieutenant, three soldiers, and an Indian guide, to try whether it +was possible to descend the river. They had not descended above ten miles +before the Indian refused to go further. Washington soon ascertained the +reason. "Indians," said he, "expect presents--nothing can be done without +them. The French take this method. If you want one or more to conduct a +party, to discover the country, to hunt, or for any particular purpose, +they must be bought; their friendship is not so warm as to prompt them to +these services gratis." The Indian guide in the present instance, was +propitiated by the promise of one of Washington's ruffled shirts, and a +watch-coat. + +The river was bordered by mountains and obstructed by rocks and rapids. +Indians might thread such a labyrinth in their light canoes, but it would +never admit the transportation of troops and military stores. Washington +kept on for thirty miles, until he came to a place where the river fell +nearly forty feet in the space of fifty yards. There he ceased to explore, +and returned to camp, resolving to continue forward by land. + +On the 23d Indian scouts brought word that the French were not above eight +hundred strong, and that about half their number had been detached at night +on a secret expedition. Close upon this report came a message from the +half-king, addressed "to the first of his majesty's officers whom it may +concern." + +"It is reported," said he, "that the French army is coming to meet Major +Washington. Be on your guard against them, my brethren, for they intend to +strike the first English they shall see. They have been on their march two +days. I know not their number. The half-king and the rest of the chiefs +will be with you in five days to hold a council." + +In the evening Washington was told that the French were crossing the ford +of the Youghiogeny about eighteen miles distant. He now hastened to take a +position in a place called the Great Meadows, where he caused the bushes to +be cleared away, made an intrenchment and prepared what he termed "a +charming field for an encounter." + +A party of scouts were mounted on waggon horses, and sent out to +reconnoitre. They returned without having seen an enemy. A sensitiveness +prevailed in the camp. They were surrounded by forests, threatened by +unseen foes, and hourly in danger of surprise. There was an alarm about two +o'clock in the night. The sentries fired upon what they took to be prowling +foes. The troops sprang to arms, and remained on the alert until daybreak. +Not an enemy was to be seen. The roll was called. Six men were missing, who +had deserted. + +On the 25th. Mr. Gist arrived from his place, about fifteen miles distant. +La Force had been there at noon on the previous day, with a detachment of +fifty men, and Gist had since come upon their track within five miles of +the camp. Washington considered La Force a bold, enterprising man, subtle +and dangerous; one to be particularly guarded against. He detached +seventy-five men in pursuit of him and his prowling band. + +About nine o'clock at night came an Indian messenger from the half-king, +who was encamped with several of his people about six miles off. The chief +had seen tracks of two Frenchmen, and was convinced their whole body must +be in ambush near by. + +Washington considered this the force which had been hovering about him for +several days, and determined to forestall their hostile designs. Leaving a +guard with the baggage and ammunition, he set out before ten o'clock, with +forty men, to join his Indian ally. They groped their way in single file, +by footpaths through the woods, in a heavy rain and murky darkness, +tripping occasionally and stumbling over each other, sometimes losing the +track for fifteen or twenty minutes, so that it was near sunrise when they +reached the camp of the half-king. + +That chieftain received the youthful commander with, great demonstrations +of friendship, and engaged to go hand in hand with him against the lurking +enemy. He set out accordingly, accompanied by a few of his warriors and his +associate sachem Scarooyadi or Monacatoocha, and conducted Washington to +the tracks which he had discovered. Upon these he put two of his Indians. +They followed them up like hounds, and brought back word that they had +traced them to a low bottom surrounded by rocks and trees, where the French +were encamped, having built a few cabins for shelter from the rain. + +A plan was now concerted to come upon them by surprise; Washington with, +his men on the right; the half-king with his warriors on the left; all as +silently as possible. Washington was the first upon the ground. As he +advanced from among the rocks and trees at the head of his men, the French +caught sight of him and ran to their arms. A sharp firing instantly took +place, and was kept up on both sides for about fifteen minutes. Washington +and his party were most exposed and received all the enemy's fire. The +balls whistled around him; one man was killed close by him, and three +others wounded. The French at length, having lost several of their number, +gave way and ran. They were soon overtaken; twenty-one were captured, and +but one escaped, a Canadian, who carried the tidings of the affair to the +fort on the Ohio. The Indians would have massacred the prisoners had not +Washington prevented them. Ten of the French had fallen in the skirmish, +and one been wounded. Washington's loss was the one killed and three +wounded which we have mentioned. He had been in the hottest fire, and +having for the first time heard balls whistle about him, considered his +escape miraculous. Jumonville, the French leader, had been shot through the +head at the first fire. He was a young officer of merit, and his fate was +made the subject of lamentation in prose and verse--chiefly through +political motives. + +Of the twenty-one prisoners the two most important were an officer of some +consequence named Drouillon, and the subtle and redoubtable La Force. As +Washington considered the latter an arch mischief-maker, he was rejoiced to +have him in his power. La Force and his companion would fain have assumed +the sacred character of ambassadors, pretending they were coming with a +summons to him to depart from the territories belonging to the crown of +France. + +Unluckily for their pretensions, a letter of instructions, found on +Jumonville, betrayed their real errand, which was to inform themselves of +the roads, rivers, and other features of the country as far as the Potomac; +to send back from time to time, by fleet messengers, all the information +they could collect, and to give word of the day on which they intended to +serve the summons. + +Their conduct had been conformable. Instead of coming in a direct and open +manner to his encampment, when they had ascertained where it was, and +delivering their summons, as they would have done had their designs been +frank and loyal, they had moved back two miles, to one of the most secret +retirements, better for a deserter than an ambassador to encamp in, and +staid there, within five miles of his camp, sending spies to reconnoitre +it, and despatching messengers to Contrecoeur to inform him of its position +and numerical strength, to the end, no doubt, that he might send a +sufficient detachment to enforce the summons as soon as it should be given. +In fact, the footprints which had first led to the discovery of the French +lurking-place, were those of two "runners" or swift messengers, sent by +Jumonville to the fort on the Ohio. + +It would seem that La Force, after all, was but an instrument in the hands +of his commanding officers, and not in their full confidence; for when the +commission and instructions found on Jumonville were read before him, he +professed not to have seen them before, and acknowledged, with somewhat of +an air of ingenuousness, that he believed they had a hostile tendency. +[Footnote: Washington's letter to Dinwiddie, 29th May, 1754.] + +Upon the whole, it was the opinion of Washington and his officers that the +summons, on which so much stress was laid, was a mere specious pretext to +mask their real designs and be used as occasion might require. "That they +were spies rather than any thing else," and were to be treated as prisoners +of war. + +The half-king joined heartily in this opinion; indeed, had the fate of the +prisoners been in his hands, neither diplomacy nor any thing else would +have been of avail. "They came with hostile intentions," he said; "they had +bad hearts, and if his English brothers were so foolish as to let them go, +he would never aid in taking another Frenchman." + +The prisoners were accordingly conducted to the camp at the Great Meadows, +and sent on the following day (29th), under a strong escort to Governor +Dinwiddie, then at Winchester. Washington had treated them with great +courtesy; had furnished Drouillon and La Force with clothing from his own +scanty stock, and, at their request, given them letters to the governor, +bespeaking for them "the respect and favor due to their character and +personal merit." + +A sense of duty, however, obliged him, in his general despatch, to put the +governor on his guard against La Force. "I really think, if released, he +would do more to our disservice than fifty other men, as he is a person +whose active spirit leads him into all parties, and has brought him +acquainted with all parts of the country. Add to this a perfect knowledge +of the Indian tongue, and great influence with the Indians." + +After the departure of the prisoners, he wrote again respecting them: "I +have still stronger presumption, indeed almost confirmation, that they were +sent as spies, and were ordered to wait near us till they were fully +informed of our intentions, situation, and strength, and were to have +acquainted their commander therewith, and to have been lurking here for +reinforcements before they served the summons, if served at all. + +"I doubt not but they will endeavor to amuse you with many smooth stories, +as they did me; but they were confuted in them all, and, by circumstances +too plain to be denied, almost made ashamed of their assertions. + +"I have heard since they went away, they should say they called on us not +to fire; but that I know to be false, for I was the first man that +approached them, and the first whom they saw, and immediately they ran to +their arms, and fired briskly till they were defeated." ... "I fancy they +will have the assurance of asking the privileges due to an embassy, when in +strict justice they ought to be hanged as spies of the worst sort." + +The situation of Washington was now extremely perilous. Contrecoeur, it was +said, had nearly a thousand men with him at the fort, beside Indian allies; +and reinforcements were on the way to join him. The messengers sent by +Jumonville, previous to the late affair, must have apprised him of the +weakness of the encampment on the Great Meadows, Washington hastened to +strengthen it. He wrote by express also to Colonel Fry, who lay ill at +Wills' Creek, urging instant reinforcements; but declaring his resolution +to "fight with very unequal numbers rather than give up one inch of what he +had gained." + +The half-king was full of fight. He sent the scalps of the Frenchmen slain +in the late skirmish, accompanied by black wampum and hatchets, to all his +allies, summoning them to take up arms and join him at Redstone Creek, "for +their brothers, the English, had now begun in earnest." It is said he would +even have sent the scalps of the prisoners had not Washington interfered. +[Footnote: Letter from Virginia.--London Mag., 1754.] He went off for his +home, promising to send down the river for all the Mingoes and Shawnees, +and to be back at the camp on the 30th, with thirty or forty warriors, +accompanied by their wives and children. To assist him in the +transportation of his people and their effects thirty men were detached, +and twenty horses. + +"I shall expect every hour to be attacked," writes Washington to Governor +Dinwiddie, on the 29th, "and by unequal numbers, which I must withstand, if +there are five to one, for I fear the consequence will be that we shall +lose the Indians if we suffer ourselves to be driven back. Your honor may +depend I will not be surprised, let them come at what hour they will, and +this is as much as I can promise; but my best endeavors shall not be +wanting to effect more. I doubt not, if you hear I am beaten, but you will +hear at the same time that we have done our duty in fighting as long as +there is a shadow of hope." + +The fact is, that Washington was in a high state of military excitement. He +was a young soldier; had been for the first time in action, and been +successful. The letters we have already quoted show, in some degree, the +fervor of his mind, and his readiness to brave the worst; but a short +letter, written to one of his brothers, on the 31st, lays open the recesses +of his heart. + +"We expect every hour to be attacked by superior force; but if they forbear +but one day longer we shall be prepared for them. ... We have already got +intrenchments, and are about a palisade, which, I hope, will be finished +to-day. The Mingoes have struck the French, and, I hope, will give a good +blow before they have done. I expect forty odd of them here to-night, +which, with our fort, and some reinforcements from Colonel Fry, will enable +us to exert our noble courage with spirit." + +Alluding in a postscript to the late affair, he adds: "I fortunately +escaped without any wound; for the right wing, where I stood, was exposed +to, and received, all the enemy's fire; and it was the part where the man +was killed and the rest wounded. _I heard the bullets whistle, and, +believe me, there is something charming in the sound._" + +This rodomontade, as Horace Walpole terms it, reached the ears of George +II. "He would not say so," observed the king, dryly, "if he had been used +to hear many." [Footnote: This anecdote has hitherto rested on the +authority of Horace Walpole, who gives it in his memoirs of George II., and +in his correspondence. He cites the rodomontade as contained in the express +despatched by Washington, whom he pronounces a "brave braggart." As no +despatch of Washington contains any rodomontade of the kind; as it is quite +at variance with the general tenor of his character; and as Horace Walpole +is well known to have been a "great gossip dealer," apt to catch up any +idle rumor that would give piquancy to a paragraph, the story has been held +in great distrust. We met with the letter recently, however, in a column of +the London Magazine for 1754, page 370, into which it must have found its +way not long after it was written.] + +Washington himself thought so when more experienced in warfare. Being +asked, many years afterwards, whether he really had made such a speech +about the whistling of bullets, "If I said so," replied he quietly, "it was +when I was young." [Footnote: Gordon, Hist. Am. War, vol. ii., p. 203.] He +was, indeed, but twenty-two years old when he said it; it was just after +his first battle; he was flushed with success, and was writing to a +brother. + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +SCARCITY IN THE CAMP--DEATH OF COLONEL FRY--PROMOTIONS--MACKAY AND HIS +INDEPENDENT COMPANY--MAJOR MUSE--INDIAN CEREMONIALS--PUBLIC PRAYERS IN +CAMP--ALARMS--INDEPENDENCE OF AN INDEPENDENT COMPANY--AFFAIRS AT THE GREAT +MEADOWS--DESERTION OF THE INDIAN ALLIES--CAPITULATION OF FORT NECESSITY-- +VAN BRAAM AS AN INTERPRETER--INDIAN PLUNDERERS--RETURN TO WILLIAMSBURG-- +VOTE OF THANKS OF THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES--SUBSEQUENT FORTUNES OF THE +HALF-KING--COMMENTS ON THE AFFAIR OF JUMONVILLE AND THE CONDUCT OF VAN +BRAAM. + + +Scarcity began to prevail in the camp. Contracts had been made with George +Croghan for flour, of which he had large quantities at his frontier +establishment; for he was now trading with the army as well as with the +Indians. None, however, made its appearance. There was mismanagement in the +commissariat. At one time the troops were six days without flour; and even +then had only a casual supply from an Ohio trader. In this time of scarcity +the half-king, his fellow sachem, Scarooyadi, and thirty or forty warriors, +arrived, bringing with them their wives and children--so many more hungry +mouths to be supplied. Washington wrote urgently to Croghan to send forward +all the flour he could furnish. + +News came of the death of Colonel Fry at Wills' Creek, and that he was to +be succeeded in the command of the expedition by Colonel Innes of North +Carolina, who was actually at Winchester with three hundred and fifty North +Carolina troops. Washington, who felt the increasing responsibilities and +difficulties of his situation, rejoiced at the prospect of being under the +command of an experienced officer, who had served in company with his +brother Lawrence at the siege of Carthagena. The colonel, however, never +came to the camp, nor did the North Carolina troops render any service in +the campaign--the fortunes of which might otherwise have been very +different. + +By the death of Fry, the command of the regiment devolved on Washington. +Finding a blank major's commission among Fry's papers, he gave it to +Captain Adam Stephen, who had conducted himself with spirit. As there would +necessarily be other changes, he wrote to Governor Dinwiddie in behalf of +Jacob Van Braam. "He has acted as captain ever since we left Alexandria. He +is an experienced officer, and worthy of the command he has enjoyed." + +The palisaded fort was now completed, and was named Fort Necessity, from +the pinching famine that had prevailed during its construction. The scanty +force in camp was augmented to three hundred, by the arrival from Wills' +Creek of the men who had been under Colonel Fry. With them came the surgeon +of the regiment, Dr. James Craik, a Scotchman by birth, and one destined to +become a faithful and confidential friend of Washington for the remainder +of his life. + +A letter from Governor Dinwiddie announced, however, that Captain Mackay +would soon arrive with an independent company of one hundred men, from +South Carolina. + +The title of independent company had a sound ominous of trouble. Troops of +the kind, raised in the colonies, under direction of the governors, were +paid by the Crown, and the officers had king's commissions; such, +doubtless, had Captain Mackay. "I should have been particularly obliged," +writes Washington to Governor Dinwiddie, "if you had declared whether he +was under my command, or independent of it. I hope he will have more sense +than to insist upon any unreasonable distinction, because he and his +officers have commissions from his majesty. Let him consider, though we are +greatly inferior in respect to advantages of profit, yet we have the same +spirit to serve our gracious king as they have, and are as ready and +willing to sacrifice our lives for our country's good. And here, once more, +and for the last time, I must say, that it will be a circumstance which +will act upon some officers of this regiment, above all measure, to be +obliged to serve upon such different terms, when their lives, their +fortunes, and their operations are equally, and, I dare say, as effectually +exposed as those of others, who are happy enough to have the king's +commission." + +On the 9th arrived Washington's early instructor in military tactics, +Adjutant Muse, recently appointed a major in the regiment. He was +accompanied by Montour, the Indian interpreter, now a provincial captain, +and brought with him nine swivels, and a small supply of powder and ball. +Fifty or sixty horses were forthwith sent to Wills' Creek, to bring on +further supplies, and Mr. Gist was urged to hasten forward the artillery. + +Major Muse was likewise the bearer of a belt of wampum and a speech, from +Governor Dinwiddie to the half-king; with medals for the chiefs, and goods +for presents among the friendly Indians, a measure which had been suggested +by Washington. They were distributed with that grand ceremonial so dear to +the red man. The chiefs assembled, painted and decorated in all their +savage finery; Washington wore a medal sent to him by the governor for such +occasions. The wampum and speech having been delivered, he advanced, and +with all due solemnity, decorated the chiefs and warriors with the medals, +which they were to wear in remembrance of their father the King of England. + +Among the warriors thus decorated was a son of Queen Aliquippa, the savage +princess whose good graces Washington had secured in the preceding year, by +the present of an old watchcoat, and whose friendship was important, her +town being at no great distance from the French fort. She had requested +that her son might be admitted into the war councils of the camp, and +receive an English name. The name of Fairfax was accordingly given to him, +in the customary Indian form; the half-king being desirous of like +distinction, received the name of Dinwiddie. The sachems returned the +compliment in kind, by giving Washington the name of Connotaucarius; the +meaning of which is not explained. + +William Fairfax, Washington's paternal adviser, had recently counselled him +by letter, to have public prayers in his camp; especially when there were +Indian families there; this was accordingly done at the encampment in the +Great Meadows, and it certainly was not one of the least striking pictures +presented in this wild campaign--the youthful commander, presiding with +calm seriousness over a motley assemblage of half-equipped soldiery, +leathern-clad hunters and woodsmen, and painted savages with their wives +and children, and uniting them all in solemn devotion by his own example +and demeanor. + +On the 10th there was agitation in the camp. Scouts hurried in with word, +as Washington understood them, that a party of ninety Frenchmen were +approaching. He instantly ordered out a hundred and fifty of his best men; +put himself at their head, and leaving Major Muse with the rest, to man the +fort and mount the swivels, sallied forth "in the full hope" as he +afterwards wrote to Governor Dinwiddie, "of procuring him another present +of French prisoners." + +It was another effervescence of his youthful military ardor, and doomed to +disappointment. The report of the scouts had been either exaggerated or +misunderstood. The ninety Frenchmen in military array dwindled down into +nine French deserters. + +According to their account, the fort at the fork was completed, and named +Duquesne, in honor of the Governor of Canada, It was proof against all +attack, excepting with bombs, on the land side. The garrison did not exceed +five hundred, but two hundred more were hourly expected, and nine hundred +in the course of a fortnight. + +Washington's suspicions with respect to La Force's party were justified by +the report of these deserters; they had been sent out as spies, and were to +show the summons if discovered or overpowered. The French commander, they +added, had been blamed for sending out so small a party. + +On the same day Captain Mackay arrived, with his independent company of +South Carolinians. The cross-purposes which Washington had apprehended, +soon manifested themselves. The captain was civil and well disposed, but +full of formalities and points of etiquette. Holding a commission direct +from the king, he could not bring himself to acknowledge a provincial +officer as his superior. He encamped separately, kept separate guards, +would not agree that Washington should assign any rallying place for his +men in case of alarm, and objected to receive from him the parole and +countersign, though necessary for their common safety. + +Washington conducted himself with circumspection, avoiding every thing that +might call up a question of command, and reasoning calmly whenever such +question occurred; but he urged the governor by letter, to prescribe their +relative rank and authority. "He thinks you have not a power to give +commissions that will command him. If so, I can very confidently say that +his absence would tend to the public advantage." + +On the 11th of June, Washington resumed the laborious march for Redstone +Creek. As Captain Mackay could not oblige his men to work on the road +unless they were allowed a shilling sterling a day; and as Washington did +not choose to pay this, nor to suffer them to march at their ease while his +own faithful soldiers were laboriously employed; he left the captain and +his Independent company as a guard at Fort Necessity, and undertook to +complete the military road with his own men. + +Accordingly, he and his Virginia troops toiled forward through the narrow +defiles of the mountains, working on the road as they went. Scouts were +sent out in all directions, to prevent surprise. While on the march he was +continually beset by sachems, with their tedious ceremonials and speeches, +all to very little purpose. Some of these chiefs were secretly in the +French interest; few rendered any real assistance, and all expected +presents. + +At Gist's establishment, about thirteen miles from Fort Necessity, +Washington received certain intelligence that ample reinforcements had +arrived at Fort Duquesne, and a large force would instantly be detached +against him. Coming to a halt, he began to throw up intrenchments, calling +in two foraging parties, and sending word to Captain Mackay to join him +with all speed. The captain and his company arrived in the evening; the +foraging parties the next morning. A council of war was held, in which the +idea of awaiting the enemy at this place was unanimously abandoned. + +A rapid and toilsome retreat ensued. There was a deficiency of horses. +Washington gave up his own to aid in transporting the military munitions, +leaving his baggage to be brought on by soldiers, whom he paid liberally. +The other officers followed his example. The weather was sultry; the roads +were rough; provisions were scanty, and the men dispirited by hunger. The +Virginian soldiers took turns to drag the swivels, but felt almost insulted +by the conduct of the South Carolinians, who, piquing themselves upon their +assumed privileges as "king's soldiers," sauntered along at their ease; +refusing to act as pioneers, or participate in the extra labors incident to +a hurried retreat. + +On the 1st of July they reached the Great Meadows. Here the Virginians, +exhausted by fatigue, hunger, and vexation, declared they would carry the +baggage and drag the swivels no further. Contrary to his original +intentions, therefore, Washington determined to halt here for the present, +and fortify, sending off expresses to hasten supplies and reinforcements +from Wills' Creek, where he had reason to believe that two independent +companies from New York, were by this time arrived. + +The retreat to the Great Meadows had not been in the least too precipitate. +Captain de Villiers, a brother-in-law of Jumonville, had actually sallied +forth from Fort Duquesne at the head of upwards of five hundred French, and +several hundred Indians, eager to avenge the death of his relative. +Arriving about dawn of day at Gist's plantation, he surrounded the works +which Washington had hastily thrown up there, and fired into them. Finding +them deserted, he concluded that those of whom he came in search had made +good their retreat to the settlements, and it was too late to pursue them. +He was on the point of returning to Fort Duquesne, when a deserter arrived, +who gave word that Washington had come to a halt in the Great Meadows, +where his troops were in a starving condition; for his own part, he added, +hearing that the French were coming, he had deserted to them to escape +starvation. + +De Villiers ordered the fellow into confinement; to be rewarded if his +words proved true, otherwise to be hanged. He then pushed forward for the +Great Meadows. [Footnote: Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, vol. iv., p. +22.] + +In the mean time Washington had exerted himself to enlarge and strengthen +Fort Necessity, nothing of which had been done by Captain Mackay and his +men, while encamped there. The fort was about a hundred feet square, +protected by trenches and palisades. It stood on the margin of a small +stream, nearly in the centre of the Great Meadows, which is a grassy plain, +perfectly level, surrounded by wooded hills of a moderate height, and at +that place about two hundred and fifty yards wide. Washington asked no +assistance from the South Carolina troops, but set to work with his +Virginians, animating them by word and example; sharing in the labor of +felling trees, hewing off the branches, and rolling up the trunks to form a +breastwork. + +At this critical juncture he was deserted by his Indian allies. They were +disheartened at the scanty preparations for defence against a superior +force, and offended at being subjected to military command. The half-king +thought he had not been sufficiently consulted, and that his advice had not +been sufficiently followed; such, at least, were some of the reasons which +he subsequently gave for abandoning the youthful commander on the approach +of danger. The true reason was a desire to put his wife and children in a +place of safety. Most of his warriors followed his example; very few, and +those probably who had no families at risk, remained in the camp. + +Early in the morning of the 3d, while Washington and his men were working +on the fort, a sentinel came in wounded and bleeding, having been fired +upon. Scouts brought word shortly afterwards that the French were in force, +about four miles off. Washington drew up his men on level ground outside of +the works, to await their attack. About 11 o'clock there was a firing of +musketry from among trees on rising ground, but so distant as to do no +harm; suspecting this to be a stratagem designed to draw his men into the +woods, he ordered them to keep quiet, and refrain from firing until the foe +should show themselves, and draw near. + +The firing was kept up, but still under cover. He now fell back with his +men into the trenches, ordering them to fire whenever they could get sight +of an enemy. In this way there was skirmishing throughout the day; the +French and Indians advancing as near as the covert of the woods would +permit, which in the nearest place was sixty yards, but never into open +sight. In the meanwhile the rain fell in torrents; the harassed and jaded +troops were half drowned in their trenches, and many of their muskets were +rendered unfit for use. + +About eight at night the French requested a parley. Washington hesitated. +It might be a stratagem to gain admittance for a spy into the fort. The +request was repeated, with the addition that an officer might be sent to +treat with them, under their parole for his safety. Unfortunately the +Chevalier de Peyrouney, engineer of the regiment, and the only one who +could speak French correctly, was wounded and disabled. Washington had to +send, therefore, his ancient swordsman and interpreter, Jacob Van Braam. +The captain returned twice with separate terms, in which the garrison was +required to surrender; both were rejected. He returned a third time, with +written articles of capitulation. They were in French. As no implements for +writing were at hand, Van Braam undertook to translate them by word of +mouth. A candle was brought, and held close to the paper while he read. +The rain fell in torrents; it was difficult to keep the light from being +extinguished. The captain rendered the capitulation, article by article, in +mongrel English, while Washington and his officers stood listening, +endeavoring to disentangle the meaning. One article stipulated that on +surrendering the fort they should leave all their military stores, +munitions, and artillery in possession of the French. This was objected to, +and was readily modified. + +The main articles, as Washington and his officers understood them, were, +that they should be allowed to return to the settlements without +molestation from French or Indians. That they should march out of the fort +with the honors of war, drums beating and colors flying, and with all their +effects and military stores excepting the artillery, which should be +destroyed. That they should be allowed to deposit their effects in some +secret place, and leave a guard to protect them until they could send +horses to bring them away; their horses having been nearly all killed or +lost during the action. That they should give their word of honor not to +attempt any buildings or improvements on the lands of his most Christian +Majesty, for the space of a year. That the prisoners taken in the skirmish +of Jumonville should be restored, and until their delivery Captain Van +Braam and Captain Stobo should remain with the French as hostages. +[Footnote: Horace Walpole, in a flippant notice of this capitulation, says: +"The French have tied up the hands of an excellent _fanfaron_, a Major +Washington, whom they took and engaged not to serve for one year." +(Correspondence, vol. iii., p. 73.) Walpole, at this early date, seems to +have considered Washington a perfect fire-eater.] + +The next morning accordingly, Washington and his men marched out of their +forlorn fortress with the honors of war, bearing with them their regimental +colors, but leaving behind a large flag, too cumbrous to be transported. +Scarcely had they begun their march, however, when, in defiance of the +terms of capitulation, they were beset by a large body of Indians, allies +of the French, who began plundering the baggage, and committing other +irregularities. Seeing that the French did not, or could not, prevent them, +and that all the baggage which could not be transported on the shoulders of +his troops would fall into the hands of these savages, Washington ordered +it to be destroyed, as well as the artillery, gunpowder, and other military +stores. All this detained him until ten o'clock, when he set out on his +melancholy march. He had not proceeded above a mile when two or three of +the wounded men were reported to be missing. He immediately detached a few +men back in quest of them, and continued on until three miles from Fort +Necessity, where he encamped for the night, and was rejoined by the +stragglers. + +In this affair, out of the Virginia regiment, consisting of three hundred +and five men, officers included, twelve had been killed, and forty-three +wounded. The number killed and wounded in Captain Mackay's company is not +known. The loss of the French and Indians is supposed to have been much +greater. + +In the following days' march the troops seemed jaded and disheartened; they +were encumbered and delayed by the wounded; provisions were scanty, and +they had seventy weary miles to accomplish before they could meet with +supplies. Washington, however, encouraged them by his own steadfast and +cheerful demeanor, and by sharing all their toils and privations; and at +length conducted them in safety to Wills' Creek, where they found ample +provisions in the military magazines. Leaving them here to recover their +strength, he proceeded with Captain Mackay to Williamsburg, to make his +military report to the governor. + +A copy of the capitulation was subsequently laid before the Virginia House +of Burgesses, with explanations. Notwithstanding the unfortunate result of +the campaign, the conduct of Washington and his officers was properly +appreciated, and they received a vote of thanks for their bravery, and +gallant defence of their country. Three hundred pistoles (nearly eleven +hundred dollars) also were voted to be distributed among the privates who +had been in action. + +From the vote of thanks, two officers were excepted; Major Stobo, who was +charged with cowardice, and Washington's unfortunate master of fence and +blundering interpreter, Jacob Van Braam, who was accused of treachery, in +purposely misinterpreting the articles of capitulation. + +In concluding this chapter, we will anticipate dates to record the fortunes +of the half-king after his withdrawal from the camp. He and several of his +warriors, with their wives and children, retreated to Aughquick, in the +back part of Pennsylvania, where George Croghan had an agency, and was +allowed money from time to time for the maintenance Of Indian allies. By +the by, Washington, in his letter to William Fairfax, expressed himself +much disappointed in Croghan and Montour, who proved, he said, to be great +pretenders, and by vainly boasting of their interest with the Indians, +involved the country in great calamity, causing dependence to be placed +where there was none. [Footnote: Letter to W. Fairfax, Aug. 11th, 1754.] +For, with all their boast, they never could induce above thirty fighting +men to join the camp, and not more than half of those rendered any service. + +As to the half-king, he expressed himself perfectly disgusted with the +white man's mode of warfare. The French, he said, were cowards; the +English, fools. Washington was a good man, but wanted experience: he would +not take advice of the Indians and was always driving them to fight +according to his own notions. For this reason he (the half-king) had +carried off his wife and children to a place of safety. + +After a time the chieftain fell dangerously ill, and a conjurer or +"medicine man" was summoned to inquire into the cause or nature of his +malady. He gave it as his opinion that the French had bewitched him, in +revenge for the great blow he had struck them in the affair of Jumonville; +for the Indians gave him the whole credit of that success, he having sent +round the French scalps as trophies. In the opinion of the conjurer all the +friends of the chieftain concurred, and on his death, which took place +shortly afterwards, there was great lamentation, mingled with threats of +immediate vengeance. The foregoing particulars are gathered from a letter +written by John Harris, an Indian trader, to the Governor of Pennsylvania, +at the request of the half-king's friend and fellow sachem, Monacatoocha, +otherwise called Scarooyadi. "I humbly presume," concludes John Harris, +"that his death is a very great loss, especially at this critical time." +[Footnote: Pennsylvania Archives, vol. ii., p. 178.] + +NOTE. + +We have been thus particular in tracing the affair of the Great Meadows, +step by step, guided by the statements of Washington himself and of one of +his officers, present in the engagement, because it is another of the +events in the early stage of his military career, before the justice and +magnanimity of his character were sufficiently established which have been +subject to misrepresentation. When the articles of capitulation came to be +correctly translated and published, there were passages in them derogatory +to the honor of Washington and his troops, and, which, it would seem, had +purposely been inserted for their humiliation by the French commander; but +which, they protested, had never been rightly translated by Van Braam. For +instance, in the written articles, they were made to stipulate that for the +space of a year, they would not work on any establishment beyond the +mountains; whereas it had been translated by Van Braam "on any +establishment _on the lands of the King of France_" which was quite +another thing, as most of the land beyond the mountains was considered by +them as belonging to the British crown. There were other points, of minor +importance, relative to the disposition of the artillery; but the most +startling and objectionable one was that concerning the previous skirmish +in the Great Meadows. This was mentioned in the written articles as +_l'assassinat du Sieur de Jumonville_, that is to say, the +_murder_ of De Jumonville; an expression from which Washington and his +officers would have revolted with scorn and indignation; and which, if +truly translated, would in all probability have caused the capitulation to +be sent back instantly to the French commander. On the contrary, they +declared it had been translated to them by Van Braam the _death_ of De +Jumonville. + +M. de Villiers, in his account of this transaction to the French +government, avails himself of these passages in the capitulation to cast a +slur on the conduct of Washington. He says, "We made the English consent to +sign that they had assassinated my brother in his camp."--"We caused them +to abandon the lands belonging to the king.--We obliged them to leave their +cannon, which consisted of nine pieces, &c." He further adds: "The English, +struck with panic, took to flight, and left their flag and one of their +colors." We have shown that the flag left was the unwieldy one belonging to +the fort; too cumbrous to be transported by troops who could not carry +their own necessary baggage. The regimental colors, as honorable symbols, +were scrupulously carried off by Washington, and retained by him in after +years. + +M. de Villiers adds another incident intended to degrade his enemy. He +says, "One of my Indians took ten Englishmen, whom he brought to me, and +whom I sent back by another." These, doubtless, were the men detached by +Washington in quest of the wounded loiterers; and who, understanding +neither French nor Indian, found a difficulty in explaining their peaceful +errand. That they were captured by the Indian seems too much of a +gasconade. + +The public opinion at the time was that Van Braam had been suborned by De +Villiers to soften the offensive articles of the capitulation in +translating them, so that they should not wound the pride nor awaken the +scruples of Washington and his officers, yet should stand on record against +them. It is not probable that a French officer of De Villiers' rank would +practise such a base perfidy, nor does the subsequent treatment experienced +by Van Braam from the French corroborate the charge. It is more than +probable the inaccuracy of translation originated in his ignorance of the +precise weight and value of words in the two languages, neither of which +was native to him, and between which he was the blundering agent of +exchange. + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +FOUNDING OF PORT CUMBERLAND--SECRET LETTER OF STOBO--THE INDIAN MESSENGER-- +PROJECT OF DINWIDDIE--HIS PERPLEXITIES--A TAINT OF REPUBLICANISM IN THE +COLONIAL ASSEMBLIES--DINWIDDIE'S MILITARY MEASURES--WASHINGTON QUITS THE +SERVICE--OVERTURES OF GOVERNOR SHARPE, OF MARYLAND--WASHINGTON'S DIGNIFIED +REPLY--QUESTIONS OF RANK BETWEEN ROYAL AND PROVINCIAL TROOPS--TREATMENT OF +THE FRENCH PRISONERS--FATE OF LA FORCE--ANECDOTES OF STOBO AND VAN BRAAM. + + +Early in August Washington rejoined his regiment, which had arrived at +Alexandria by the way of Winchester. Letters from Governor Dinwiddie urged +him to recruit it to the former number of three hundred men, and join +Colonel Innes at Wills' Creek, where that officer was stationed with +Mackay's independent company of South Carolinians, and two independent +companies from New York; and had been employed in erecting a work to serve +as a frontier post and rallying point; which work received the name of Fort +Cumberland, in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, captain-general of the +British army. + +In the mean time the French, elated by their recent triumph, and thinking +no danger at hand, relaxed their vigilance at Fort Duquesne. Stobo, who was +a kind of prisoner at large there, found means to send a letter secretly by +an Indian, dated July 28, and directed to the commander of the English +troops. It was accompanied by a plan of the fort. "There are two hundred +men here," writes he, "and two hundred expected; the rest have gone off in +detachments to the amount of one thousand, besides Indians. None lodge in +the fort but Contrecoeur and the guard, consisting of forty men and five +officers; the rest lodge in bark cabins around the fort. The Indians have +access day and night, and come and go when they please. If one hundred +trusty Shawnees, Mingoes, and Delawares were picked out, they might +surprise the fort, lodging themselves under the palisades by day, and at +night secure the guard with their tomahawks, shut the sally-gate, and the +fort is ours." + +One part of Stobo's letter breathes a loyal and generous spirit of +self-devotion. Alluding to the danger in which he and Van Braam, his +fellow-hostage, might be involved, he says, "Consider the good of the +expedition without regard to us. When we engaged to serve the country it +was expected we were to do it with our lives. For my part, I would die a +hundred deaths to have the pleasure of possessing this fort but one day. +They are so vain of their success at the Meadows it is worse than death to +hear them. Haste to strike." [Footnote: Hazard's Register of Penn., iv., +329.] + +The Indian messenger carried the letter to Aughquick and delivered it into +the hands of George Croghan. The Indian chiefs who were with him insisted +upon his opening it. He did so, but on finding the tenor of it, transmitted +it to the Governor of Pennsylvania. The secret information communicated by +Stobo, may have been the cause of a project suddenly conceived by Governor +Dinwiddie, of a detachment which, by a forced march across the mountains, +might descend upon the French and take Fort Duquesne at a single blow; or, +failing that, might build a rival fort in its vicinity. He accordingly +wrote to Washington to march forthwith for Wills' Creek, with such +companies as were complete, leaving orders with the officers to follow as +soon as they should have enlisted men sufficient to make up their +companies. "The season of the year," added he, "calls for despatch. I +depend upon your usual diligence and spirit to encourage your people to be +active on this occasion." + +The ignorance of Dinwiddie in military affairs, and his want of forecast, +led him perpetually into blunders. Washington saw the rashness of an +attempt to dispossess the French with a force so inferior that it could be +harassed and driven from place to place at their pleasure. Before the +troops could be collected, and munitions of war provided, the season would +be too far advanced. There would be no forage for the horses; the streams +would be swollen and unfordable; the mountains rendered impassable by snow, +and frost, and slippery roads. The men, too, unused to campaigning on the +frontier, would not be able to endure a winter in the wilderness, with no +better shelter than a tent; especially in their present condition, +destitute of almost every thing. Such are a few of the cogent reasons urged +by Washington in a letter to his friend William Fairfax, then in the House +of Burgesses, which no doubt was shown to Governor Dinwiddie, and probably +had an effect in causing the rash project to be abandoned. + +The governor, in truth, was sorely perplexed about this time by +contradictions and cross-purposes, both in military and civil affairs. A +body of three hundred and fifty North Carolinian troops had been enlisted +at high pay, and were to form the chief reinforcement of Colonel Innes at +Wills' Creek. By the time they reached Winchester, however, the provincial +military chest was exhausted, and future pay seemed uncertain; whereupon +they refused to serve any longer, disbanded themselves tumultuously, and +set off for their homes without taking leave. + +The governor found the House of Burgesses equally unmanageable. His demands +for supplies were resisted on what he considered presumptuous pretexts; or +granted sparingly, under mortifying restrictions. His high Tory notions +were outraged by such republican conduct. "There appears to me," said he, +"an infatuation in all the assemblies in this part of the world." In a +letter to the Board of Trade he declared that the only way effectually to +check the progress of the French, would be an act of parliament requiring +the colonies to contribute to the common cause, _independently of +assemblies_; and in another, to the Secretary of State, he urged the +policy of compelling the colonies to their duty to the king by a general +poll-tax of two and sixpence a head. The worthy governor would have made a +fitting counsellor for the Stuart dynasty. Subsequent events have shown how +little his policy was suited to compete with the dawning republicanism of +America. + +In the month of October the House of Burgesses made a grant of twenty +thousand pounds for the public service; and ten thousand more were sent out +from England, beside a supply of firearms. The governor now applied himself +to military matters with renewed spirit; increased the actual force to ten +companies; and, as there had been difficulties among the different kinds of +troops with regard to precedence, he reduced them all to independent +companies; so that there would be no officer in a Virginia regiment above +the rank of captain. + +This shrewd measure, upon which Dinwiddie secretly prided himself as +calculated to put an end to the difficulties in question, immediately drove +Washington out of the service; considering it derogatory to his character +to accept a lower commission than that under which his conduct had gained +him a vote of thanks from the Legislature. + +Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, appointed by the king commander-in-chief of +all the forces engaged against the French, sought to secure his valuable +services, and authorized Colonel Fitzhugh, whom he had placed in temporary +command of the army, to write to him to that effect. The reply of +Washington (15th Nov.) is full of dignity and spirit, and shows how deeply +he felt his military degradation. + +"You make mention," says he, "of my continuing in the service and retaining +my colonel's commission. This idea has filled me with surprise; for if you +think me capable of holding a commission that has neither rank nor +emolument annexed to it, you must maintain a very contemptible opinion of +my weakness, and believe me more empty than the commission itself." After +intimating a suspicion that the project of reducing the regiment into +independent companies, and thereby throwing out the higher officers, was +"generated and hatched at Wills' Creek,"--in other words, was an expedient +of Governor Dinwiddie, instead of being a peremptory order from England, he +adds, "Ingenuous treatment and plain dealing I at least expected. It is to +be hoped the project will answer; it shall meet with my acquiescence in +every thing except personal services. I herewith inclose Governor Sharpe's +letter, which I beg you will return to him with my acknowledgments for the +favor he intended me. Assure him, sir, as you truly may, of my reluctance +to quit the service, and the pleasure I should have received in attending +his fortunes. Inform him, also, that it was to obey the call of honor and +the advice of my friends that I declined it, and not to gratify any desire +I had to leave the military line. My feelings are strongly bent to arms." + +Even had Washington hesitated to take this step, it would have been forced +upon him by a further regulation of government, in the course of the +ensuing winter, settling the rank of officers of his majesty's forces when +joined or serving with the provincial forces in North America, "which +directed that all such as were commissioned by the king, or by his general +commander-in-chief in North America, should take rank of all officers +commissioned by the governors of the respective provinces. And further, +that the general and field officers of the provincial troops should have no +rank when serving with the general and field officers commissioned by the +crown; but that all captains and other inferior officers of the royal +troops should take rank over provincial officers of the same grade, having +older commissions." + +These regulations, originating in that supercilious assumption of +superiority which sometimes overruns and degrades true British pride, would +have been spurned by Washington, as insulting to the character and conduct +of his high-minded brethren of the colonies. How much did this open +disparagement of colonial honor and understanding, contribute to wean from +England the affection of her American subjects, and prepare the way for +their ultimate assertion of independence. + +Another cause of vexation to Washington was the refusal of Governor +Dinwiddie to give up the French prisoners, taken in the affair of De +Jumonville, in fulfilment of the articles of capitulation. His plea was, +that since the capitulation, the French had taken several British subjects, +and sent them prisoners to Canada he considered himself justifiable in +detaining those Frenchmen which he had in his custody. He sent a flag of +truce, however, offering to return the officer Drouillon, and the two +cadets, in exchange for Captains Stobo and Van Braam, whom the French held +as hostages; but his offer was treated with merited disregard. Washington +felt deeply mortified by this obtuseness of the governor on a point of +military punctilio and honorable faith, but his remonstrances were +unavailing. + +The French prisoners were clothed and maintained at the public expense, and +Drouillon and the cadets were allowed to go at large; the private soldiers +were kept in confinement. La Force, also, not having acted in a military +capacity, and having offended against the peace and security of the +frontier, by his intrigues among the Indians, was kept in close durance. +Washington, who knew nothing of this, was shocked on visiting Williamsburg, +to learn that La Force was in prison. He expostulated with the governor on +the subject, but without effect; Dinwiddie was at all times pertinacious, +but particularly so when he felt himself to be a little in the wrong. + +As we shall have no further occasion to mention La Force, in connection +with the subject of this work, we will anticipate a page of his fortunes. +After remaining two years in confinement he succeeded in breaking out of +prison, and escaping into the country. An alarm was given, and circulated +far and wide, for such was the opinion of his personal strength, desperate +courage, wily cunning, and great influence over the Indians, that the most +mischievous results were apprehended should he regain the frontier. In the +mean time he was wandering about the country ignorant of the roads, and +fearing to make inquiries, lest his foreign tongue should betray him. He +reached King and Queen Court House, about thirty miles from Williamsburg, +when a countryman was struck with his foreign air and aspect. La Force +ventured to put a question as to the distance and direction of Fort +Duquesne, and his broken English convinced the countryman of his being the +French prisoner, whose escape had been noised about the country. Watching +an opportunity he seized him, and regardless of offers of great bribes, +conducted him back to the prison of Williamsburg, where he was secured with +double irons, and chained to the floor of his dungeon. + +The refusal of Governor Dinwiddie to fulfil the article of the capitulation +respecting the prisoners, and the rigorous treatment of La Force, operated +hardly upon the hostages, Stobo and Van Braam, who, in retaliation, were +confined in prison in Quebec, though otherwise treated with kindness. They, +also, by extraordinary efforts, succeeded in breaking prison, but found it +more difficult to evade the sentries of a fortified place. Stobo managed to +escape into the country; but the luckless Van Braam sought concealment +under an arch of a causeway leading from the fortress. Here he remained +until nearly exhausted by hunger. Seeing the Governor of Canada passing by, +and despairing of being able to effect his escape, he came forth from his +hiding place, and surrendered himself, invoking his clemency. He was +remanded to prison, but experienced no additional severity. He was +subsequently shipped by the governor from Quebec to England, and never +returned to Virginia. It is this treatment of Van Braam, more than any +thing else, which convinces us that the suspicion of his being in collusion +with the French in regard to the misinterpretation of the articles of +capitulation, was groundless. He was simply a blunderer. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +RETURN TO QUIET LIFE--FRENCH AND ENGLISH PREPARE FOR HOSTILITIES--PLAN OF A +CAMPAIGN--GENERAL BRADDOCK--HIS CHARACTER--SIR JOHN ST. CLAIR, +QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL--HIS TOUR OF INSPECTION--PROJECTED ROADS--ARRIVAL OF +BRADDOCK--MILITARY CONSULTATIONS AND PLANS--COMMODORE KEPPEL AND HIS +SEAMEN--SHIPS AND TROOPS AT ALEXANDRIA--EXCITEMENT OF WASHINGTON--INVITED +TO JOIN THE STAFF OF BRADDOCK--A MOTHER'S OBJECTIONS--WASHINGTON AT +ALEXANDRIA--GRAND COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS--MILITARY ARRANGEMENTS--COLONEL +WILLIAM JOHNSON--SIR JOHN ST. CLAIR AT FORT CUMBERLAND--HIS EXPLOSIONS OF +WRATH--THEIR EFFECTS--INDIANS TO BE ENLISTED--CAPTAIN JACK AND HIS BAND OF +BUSH-BEATERS. + + +Having resigned his commission, and disengaged himself from public affairs, +Washington's first care was to visit his mother, inquire into the state of +domestic concerns, and attend to the welfare of his brothers and sisters. +In these matters he was ever his mother's adjunct and counsellor, +discharging faithfully the duties of an eldest son, who should consider +himself a second father to the family. + +He now took up his abode at Mount Vernon, and prepared to engage in those +agricultural pursuits, for which, even in his youthful days, he had as keen +a relish as for the profession of arms. Scarcely had he entered upon his +rural occupations, however, when the service of his country once more +called him to the field. + +The disastrous affair at the Great Meadows, and the other acts of French +hostility on the Ohio, had roused the attention of the British ministry. +Their ambassador at Paris was instructed to complain of those violations of +the peace. The court of Versailles amused him with general assurances of +amity, and a strict adherence to treaties. Their ambassador at the court of +St. James, the Marquis de Mirepoix, on the faith of his instructions, gave +the same assurances. In the mean time, however, French ships were fitted +out, and troops embarked, to carry out the schemes of the government in +America. So profound was the dissimulation of the court of Versailles, that +even their own ambassador is said to have been kept in ignorance of their +real designs, and of the hostile game they were playing, while he was +exerting himself in good faith, to lull the suspicions of England, and +maintain the international peace. When his eyes, however, were opened, he +returned indignantly to France, and upbraided the cabinet with the +duplicity of which he had been made the unconscious instrument. + +The British government now prepared for military operations in America; +none of them professedly aggressive, but rather to resist and counteract +aggressions. A plan of campaign was devised for 1755, having four objects. + +To eject the French from lands which they held unjustly, in the province of +Nova Scotia. + +To dislodge them from a fortress which they had erected at Crown Point, on +Lake Champlain, within what was claimed as British territory. + +To dispossess them of the fort which they had constructed at Niagara, +between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. + +To drive them from the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and recover +the valley of the Ohio. + +The Duke of Cumberland, captain-general of the British army, had the +organization of this campaign; and through his patronage, Major-general +Edward Braddock was intrusted with the execution of it, being appointed +generalissimo of all the forces in the colonies. + +Braddock was a veteran in service, and had been upwards of forty years in +the guards, that school of exact discipline and technical punctilio. +Cumberland, who held a commission in the guards, and was bigoted to its +routine, may have considered Braddock fitted, by his skill and preciseness +as a tactician, for a command in a new country, inexperienced in military +science, to bring its raw levies into order, and to settle those questions +of rank and etiquette apt to arise where regular and provincial troops are +to act together. + +The result proved the error of such an opinion. Braddock was a brave and +experienced officer but his experience was that of routine, and rendered +him pragmatical and obstinate, impatient of novel expedients "not laid down +in the books," but dictated by emergencies in a "new country," and his +military precision, which would have been brilliant on parade, was a +constant obstacle to alert action in the wilderness. [Footnote: Horace +Walpole, in his letters, relates some anecdotes of Braddock, which give a +familiar picture of him in the fashionable life in which he had mingled in +London, and are of value, as letting us into the private character of a man +whose name has become proverbial in American history. "Braddock," says +Walpole, "is a very Iroquois in disposition. He had a sister, who, having +gamed away all her little fortune at Bath, hanged herself with a truly +English deliberation, leaving a note on the table with these lines: 'To die +is landing on some silent shore,' &c. When Braddock was told of it, he only +said: 'Poor Fanny! I always thought she would play till she would be forced +to tuck herself up.'" + +Braddock himself had been somewhat of a spendthrift. He was touchy also, +and punctilious. "He once had a duel," says Walpole, "with Colonel Glumley, +Lady Bath's brother, who had been his great friend. As they were going to +engage, Glumley, who had good humor and wit (Braddock had the latter) said: +'Braddock, you are a poor dog! here, take my purse, if you kill me you will +be forced to run away, and then you will not have a shilling to support +you.' Braddock refused the purse, insisted on the duel, was disarmed, and +would not even ask for his life."] + +Braddock was to lead in person the grand enterprise of the campaign, that +destined for the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania; it was the +enterprise in which Washington became enlisted, and, therefore, claims our +especial attention. + +Prior to the arrival of Braddock, came out from England Lieutenant-colonel +Sir John St. Clair, deputy quartermaster-general, eager to make himself +acquainted with the field of operations. He made a tour of inspection, in +company with Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, and appears to have been +dismayed at sight of the impracticable wilderness, the region of +Washington's campaign. From Fort Cumberland, he wrote in February to +Governor Morris, of Pennsylvania, to have the road cut, or repaired, toward +the head of the river Youghiogeny, and another opened from Philadelphia for +the transportation of supplies. "No general," writes he, "will advance with +an army without having a communication open to the provinces in his rear, +both for the security of retreat, and to facilitate the transport of +provisions, the supplying of which must greatly depend on your province." +[Footnote: Colonial Records, vi., 300.] + +Unfortunately the governor of Pennsylvania had no money at his command, and +was obliged, for expenses, to apply to his Assembly, "a set of men," writes +he, "quite unacquainted with every kind of military service, and +exceedingly unwilling to part with money on any terms." However, by dint of +exertions, he procured the appointment of commissioners to explore the +country, and survey and lay out the roads required. At the head of the +commission was George Croghan, the Indian trader, whose mission to the +Twightwees we have already spoken of. Times had gone hard with Croghan. The +French had seized great quantities of his goods. The Indians, with whom he +traded, had failed to pay their debts, and he had become a bankrupt. Being +an efficient agent on the frontier, and among the Indians, he still enjoyed +the patronage of the Pennsylvania government. + +When Sir John St. Clair had finished his tour of inspection, he descended +Wills' Creek and the Potomac for two hundred miles in a canoe to +Alexandria, and repaired to Virginia to meet General Braddock. The latter +had landed on the 20th of February at Hampton, in Virginia, and proceeded +to Williamsburg to consult with Governor Dinwiddie. Shortly afterwards he +was joined there by Commodore Keppel, whose squadron of two ships-of-war, +and several transports, had anchored in the Chesapeake. On board of these +ships were two prime regiments of about five hundred men each; one +commanded by Sir Peter Halket, the other by Colonel Dunbar; together with a +train of artillery, and the necessary munitions of war. The regiments were +to be augmented to seven hundred men, each by men selected by Sir John St. +Clair from Virginia companies recently raised. + +Alexandria was fixed upon as the place where the troops should disembark, +and encamp. The ships were accordingly ordered up to that place, and the +levies directed to repair thither. + +The plan of the campaign included the use of Indian allies. Governor +Dinwiddie had already sent Christopher Gist, the pioneer, Washington's +guide in 1753, to engage the Cherokees and Catawbas, the bravest of the +Southern tribes, who he had no doubt would take up the hatchet for the +English, peace being first concluded, through the mediation of his +government, between them and the Six Nations; and he gave Braddock reason +to expect at least four hundred Indians to join him at Port Cumberland. He +laid before him also contracts that he had made for cattle, and promises +that the Assembly of Pennsylvania had made of flour; these, with other +supplies, and a thousand barrels of beef on board of the transports, would +furnish six months' provisions for four thousand men. + +General Braddock apprehended difficulty in procuring wagons and horses +sufficient to attend him in his march. Sir John St. Clair, in the course of +his tour of inspection, had met with two Dutch settlers, at the foot of the +Blue Ridge, who engaged to furnish two hundred waggons, and fifteen hundred +carrying-horses, to be at Fort Cumberland early in May. + +Governor Sharpe was to furnish above a hundred waggons for the +transportation of stores, on the Maryland side of the Potomac. + +Keppel furnished four cannons from his ships, for the attack on Fort +Duquesne, and thirty picked seamen to assist in dragging them over the +mountains; for "soldiers," said he, "cannot be as well acquainted with the +nature of purchases, and making use of tackles, as seamen," They were to +aid also in passing the troops and artillery on floats or in boats, across +the rivers, and were under the command of a midshipman and lieutenant. +[Footnote: Keppel's Life of Keppel, p. 205.] + +"Every thing," writes Captain Robert Orme, one of the general's +aides-de-camp, "seemed to promise so far the greatest success. The +transports were all arrived safe, and the men in health. Provisions, +Indians, carriages, and horses, were already provided; at least were to be +esteemed so, considering the authorities on which they were promised to the +general." + +Trusting to these arrangements, Braddock proceeded to Alexandria. The +troops had all been disembarked before his arrival, and the Virginia levies +selected by Sir John St. Clair, to join the regiments of regulars, were +arrived. There were beside two companies of hatchet men, or carpenters; six +of rangers; and one troop of light horse. The levies, having been clothed, +were ordered to march immediately for Winchester, to be armed, and the +general gave them in charge of an ensign of the 44th, "to make them as like +soldiers as possible." [Footnote: Orme's Journal.] The light horse were +retained by the general as his escort and body guard. + +The din and stir of warlike preparation disturbed the quiet of Mount +Vernon. Washington looked down from his rural retreat upon the ships of war +and transports, as they passed up the Potomac, with the array of arms +gleaming along their decks. The booming of cannon echoed among his groves. +Alexandria was but a few miles distant. Occasionally he mounted his horse, +and rode to that place; it was like a garrisoned town, teeming with troops, +and resounding with the drum and fife. A brilliant campaign was about to +open under the auspices of an experienced general, and with all the means +and appurtenances of European warfare. How different from the starveling +expeditions he had hitherto been doomed to conduct! What an opportunity to +efface the memory of his recent disaster! All his thoughts of rural life +were put to flight. The military part of his character was again in the +ascendant; his great desire was to join the expedition as a volunteer. + +It was reported to General Braddock. The latter was apprised by Governor +Dinwiddie and others, of Washington's personal merits, his knowledge of the +country, and his experience in frontier service. The consequence was, a +letter from Captain Robert Orme, one of Braddock's aides-de-camp, written +by the general's order, inviting Washington to join his staff; the letter +concluded with frank and cordial expressions of esteem on the part of Orme, +which were warmly reciprocated, and laid the foundation of a soldierlike +friendship between them. + +A volunteer situation on the staff of General Braddock offered no emolument +nor command, and would be attended with considerable expense, beside a +sacrifice of his private interests, having no person in whom he had +confidence, to take charge of his affairs in his absence; still he did not +hesitate a moment to accept the invitation. In the position offered to him, +all the questions of military rank which had hitherto annoyed him, would be +obviated. He could indulge his passion for arms without any sacrifice of +dignity, and he looked forward with high anticipation to an opportunity of +acquiring military experience in a corps well organized, and thoroughly +disciplined, and in the family of a commander of acknowledged skill as a +tactician. + +His mother heard with concern of another projected expedition into the +wilderness. Hurrying to Mount Vernon, she entreated him not again to expose +himself to the hardships and perils of these frontier campaigns. She +doubtless felt the value of his presence at home, to manage and protect the +complicated interests of the domestic connection, and had watched with +solicitude over his adventurous campaigning, where so much family welfare +was at hazard. However much a mother's pride may have been gratified by his +early advancement and renown, she had rejoiced on his return to the safer +walks of peaceful life. She was thoroughly practical and prosaic in her +notions; and not to be dazzled by military glory. The passion for arms +which mingled with the more sober elements of Washington's character, would +seem to have been inherited from his father's side of the house; it was, in +fact, the old chivalrous spirit of the De Wessyngtons. + +His mother had once prevented him from entering the navy, when a gallant +frigate was at hand, anchored in the waters of the Potomac; with all his +deference for her, which he retained through life, he could not resist the +appeal to his martial sympathies, which called him to the head-quarters of +General Braddock at Alexandria. + +His arrival was hailed by his young associates, Captains Orme and Morris, +the general's aides-de-camp, who at once received him into frank +companionship, and a cordial intimacy commenced between them, that +continued throughout the campaign. + +He experienced a courteous reception from the general, who expressed in +flattering terms the impression he had received of his merits. Washington +soon appreciated the character of the general. He found him stately and +somewhat haughty, exact in matters of military etiquette and discipline, +positive in giving an opinion, and obstinate in maintaining it; but of an +honorable and generous, though somewhat irritable nature. + +There were at that time four governors, beside Dinwiddie, assembled at +Alexandria, at Braddock's request, to concert a plan of military +operations; Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts; Lieutenant-governor +Delancey, of New York; Lieutenant-governor Sharpe, of Maryland; +Lieutenant-governor Morris, of Pennsylvania. Washington was presented to +them in a manner that showed how well his merits were already appreciated. +Shirley seems particularly to have struck him as the model of a gentleman +and statesman. He was originally a lawyer, and had risen not more by his +talents, than by his implicit devotion to the crown. His son William was +military secretary to Braddock. + +A grand council was held on the 14th of April, composed of General +Braddock, Commodore Keppel, and the governors, at which the general's +commission was read, as were his instructions from the king, relating to a +common fund, to be established by the several colonies, toward defraying +the expenses of the campaign. + +The governors were prepared to answer on this head, letters to the same +purport having been addressed to them by Sir Thomas Robinson, one of the +king's secretaries of state, in the preceding month of October. They +informed Braddock that they had applied to their respective Assemblies for +the establishment of such a fund, but in vain, and gave it as their +unanimous opinion, that such a fund could never be established in the +colonies without the aid of Parliament. They had found it impracticable, +also, to obtain from their respective governments the proportions expected +from them by the crown, toward military expenses in America; and suggested +that ministers should find out some mode of compelling them to do it; and +that, in the mean time, the general should make use of his credit upon +government, for current expenses, lest the expedition should come to a +stand. [Footnote: Colonial Records, vol vi., p. 366.] + +In discussing the campaign, the governors were of opinion that New York +should be made the centre of operations, as it afforded easy access by +water to the heart of the French possessions in Canada. Braddock, however, +did not feel at liberty to depart from his instructions, which specified +the recent establishments of the French on the Ohio as the objects of his +expedition. + +Niagara and Crown Point were to be attacked about the same time with Fort +Duquesne, the former by Governor Shirley, with his own and Sir William +Pepperell's regiments, and some New York companies; the latter by Colonel +William Johnson, sole manager and director of Indian affairs; a personage +worthy of especial note. + +He was a native of Ireland, and had come out to this country in 1734, to +manage the landed estates owned by his uncle, Commodore Sir Peter Warren, +in the Mohawk country. He had resided ever since in the vicinity of the +Mohawk River, in the province of New York. By his agency, and his dealings +with the native tribes, he had acquired great wealth, and become a kind of +potentate in the Indian country. His influence over the Six Nations was +said to be unbounded; and it was principally with the aid of a large force +of their warriors that it was expected he would accomplish his part of the +campaign. The end of June, "nearly in July," was fixed upon as the time +when the several attacks upon Forts Duquesne, Niagara, and Crown Point, +should be carried into execution, and Braddock anticipated an easy +accomplishment of his plans. + +The expulsion of the French from the lands wrongfully held by them in Nova +Scotia, was to be assigned to Colonel Lawrence, Lieutenant-governor of that +province; we will briefly add, in anticipation, that it was effected by +him, with the aid of troops from Massachusetts and elsewhere, led by +Lieutenant-colonel Monckton. + +The business of the Congress being finished, General Braddock would have +set out for Fredericktown, in Maryland, but few waggons or teams had yet +come to remove the artillery. Washington had looked with wonder and dismay +at the huge paraphernalia of war, and the world of superfluities to be +transported across the mountains, recollecting the difficulties he had +experienced in getting over them with his nine swivels and scanty supplies. +"If our march is to be regulated by the slow movements of the train," said +he, "it will be tedious, very tedious, indeed." His predictions excited a +sarcastic smile in Braddock, as betraying the limited notions of a young +provincial officer, little acquainted with the march of armies. + +In the mean while, Sir John St. Clair, who had returned to the frontier, +was storming at the camp at Fort Cumberland. The road required of the +Pennsylvania government had not been commenced. George Croghan and the +other commissioners were but just arrived in camp. Sir John, according to +Croghan, received them in a very disagreeable manner; would not look at +their draughts, nor suffer any representations to be made to him in regard +to the province, "but stormed like a lion rampant;" declaring that the want +of the road and of the provisions promised by Pennsylvania had retarded the +expedition, and might cost them, their lives from the fresh numbers of +French that might be poured into the country.--"That instead of marching to +the Ohio, he would in nine days march his army into Cumberland County to +cut the roads, press horses, waggons, &c.--That he would not suffer a +soldier to handle an axe, but by fire and sword oblige the inhabitants to +do it. ... That he would kill all kinds of cattle, and carry away the +horses, burn the houses, &c.; and that if the French defeated them, by the +delays of Pennsylvania, he would, with his sword drawn, pass through the +province and treat the inhabitants as a parcel of traitors to his master. +That he would write to England by a man-of-war; shake Mr. Penn's +proprietaryship, and represent Pennsylvania as a disaffected province. ... +He told us to go to the general, if we pleased, who would give us _ten +bad words for one that he had given_." + +The explosive wrath of Sir John, which was not to be appeased, shook the +souls of the commissioners, and they wrote to Governor Morris, urging that +people might be set at work upon the road, if the Assembly had made +provision for opening it; and that flour might be sent without delay to the +mouth of Canococheague River, "as being the only remedy left to prevent +these threatened mischiefs." [Footnote: Colonial Records, vol. vi., p. +368.] + +In reply, Mr. Richard Peters, Governor Morris's secretary, wrote in his +name: "Get a number of hands immediately, and further the work by all +possible methods. Your expenses will be paid at the next sitting of +Assembly. Do your duty, and oblige the general and quartermaster if +possible. Finish the road that will be wanted first, and then proceed to +any other that may be thought necessary." + +An additional commission, of a different kind, was intrusted to George +Croghan. Governor Morris by letter requested him to convene at Aughquick, +in Pennsylvania, as many warriors as possible of the mixed tribes of the +Ohio, distribute among them wampum belts sent for the purpose, and engage +them to meet General Braddock when on the march, and render him all the +assistance in their power. + +In reply, Croghan engaged to enlist a strong body of Indians, being sure of +the influence of Scarooyadi, successor to the half-king, and of his +adjunct, White Thunder, keeper of the speech-belts. [Footnote: Colonial +Records, vol. vi., p, 375.] At the instance of Governor Morris, Croghan +secured the services of another kind of force. This was a band of hunters, +resolute men, well acquainted with the country, and inured to hardships. +They were under the command of Captain Jack, one of the most remarkable +characters of Pennsylvania; a complete hero of the wilderness. He had been +for many years a captive among the Indians; and, having learnt their ways, +had formed this association for the protection of the settlements, +receiving a commission of captain from the Governor of Pennsylvania. The +band had become famous for its exploits, and was a terror to the Indians. +Captain Jack was at present protecting the settlements on the +Canococheague; but promised to march by a circuitous route and join +Braddock with his hunters. "They require no shelter for the night," writes +Croghan; "they ask no pay. If the whole army was composed of such men there +would be no cause of apprehension. I shall be with them in time for duty." +[Footnote: Hazard's Register of Penn., vol. iv., p. 416.] + +NOTE. + +The following extract of a letter, dated August, 1750, gives one of the +stories relative to this individual: + +"The 'Black Hunter,' the 'Black Rifle,' the 'Wild Hunter of Juniata,' is a +white man; his history is this: He entered the woods with a few +enterprising companions; built his cabin; cleared a little land, and amused +himself with the pleasures of fishing and hunting. He felt happy, for then +he had not a care. But on an evening, when he returned from a day of sport, +he found his cabin burnt, his wife and children murdered. From that moment +he forsakes civilized man; hunts out caves, in which he lives; protects the +frontier inhabitants from the Indians; and seizes every opportunity of +revenge that offers. He lives the terror of the Indians and the consolation +of the whites. On one occasion, near Juniata, in the middle of a dark +night, a family were suddenly awaked from sleep by the report of a gun; +they jump from their huts, and by the glimmering light from the chimney saw +an Indian fall to rise no more. The open door exposed to view the wild +hunter. 'I have saved your lives,' he cried, then turned and was buried in +the gloom of night."--_Hazard's Register of Penn_., vol. iv., 389. + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +WASHINGTON PROCLAIMED AIDE-DE-CAMP--DISAPPOINTMENTS AT FREDERICKTOWN-- +BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND BRADDOCK--CONTRACTS--DEPARTURE FOR WILLS' CREEK-- +ROUGH ROADS--THE GENERAL IN HIS CHARIOT--CAMP AT FORT CUMBERLAND--HUGH +MERCER--DR. CRAIK--MILITARY TACTICS--CAMP RULES--SECRETARY PETERS--INDIANS +IN CAMP--INDIAN BEAUTIES--THE PRINCESS BRIGHT LIGHTNING--ERRAND TO +WILLIAMSBURG--BRADDOCK'S OPINION OF CONTRACTORS AND INDIANS--ARRIVAL OF +CONVEYANCES. + + +General Braddock set out from Alexandria on the 20th of April. Washington +remained behind a few days to arrange his affairs, and then rejoined him at +Fredericktown, in Maryland, where, on the 10th of May, he was proclaimed +one of the general's aides-de-camp. The troubles of Braddock had already +commenced. The Virginian contractors failed to fulfil their engagements; of +all the immense means of transportation so confidently promised, but +fifteen waggons and a hundred draft-horses had arrived, and there was no +prospect of more. There was equal disappointment in provisions, both as to +quantity and quality; and he had to send round the country to buy cattle +for the subsistence of the troops. + +Fortunately, while the general was venting his spleen in anathemas against +army contractors, Benjamin Franklin arrived at Fredericktown. That eminent +man, then about forty-nine years of age, had been for many years member of +the Pennsylvania Assembly, and was now postmaster-general for America. The +Assembly understood that Braddock was incensed against them, supposing them +adverse to the service of the war. They had procured Franklin to wait upon +him, not as if sent by them, but as if he came in his capacity of +postmaster-general, to arrange for the sure and speedy transmission of +despatches between the commander-in-chief and the governors of the +provinces. + +He was well received, and became a daily guest at the general's table. In +his autobiography, he gives us an instance of the blind confidence and +fatal prejudices by which Braddock was deluded throughout this expedition. +"In conversation with him one day," writes Franklin, "he was giving me some +account of his intended progress. 'After taking Fort Duquesne,' said he, 'I +am to proceed to Niagara; and, having taken that, to Frontenac, if the +season will allow time; and I suppose it will, for Duquesne can hardly +detain me above three or four days: and then I can see nothing that can +obstruct my march to Niagara.' + +"Having before revolved in my mind," continues Franklin, "the long line his +army must make in their march by a very narrow road, to be cut for them +through the woods and bushes, and also what I had heard of a former defeat +of fifteen hundred French, who invaded the Illinois country, I had +conceived some doubts and some fears for the event of the campaign; but I +ventured only to say, 'To be sure, sir, if you arrive well before Duquesne +with these fine troops, so well provided with artillery, the fort, though +completely fortified, and assisted with a very strong garrison, can +probably make but a short resistance. The only danger I apprehend of +obstruction to your march, is from the ambuscades of the Indians, who, by +constant practice, are dexterous in laying and executing them; and the +slender line, nearly four miles long, which your army must make, may expose +it to be attacked by surprise on its flanks, and to be cut like thread into +several pieces, which, from their distance, cannot come up in time to +support one another.' + +"He smiled at my ignorance, and replied: 'These savages may indeed be a +formidable enemy to raw American militia, but upon the king's regular and +disciplined troops, sir, it is impossible they should make an impression.' +I was conscious of an impropriety in my disputing with a military man in +matters of his profession, and said no more." [Footnote: Autobiography of +Franklin. Sparks' Edition, p. 190.] + +As the whole delay of the army was caused by the want of conveyances, +Franklin observed one day to the general that it was a pity the troops had +not been landed in Pennsylvania, where almost every farmer had his waggon. +"Then, sir," replied Braddock, "you who are a man of interest there can +probably procure them for me, and I beg you will." Franklin consented. An +instrument in writing was drawn up, empowering him to contract for one +hundred and fifty waggons, with four horses to each waggon, and fifteen +hundred saddle or packhorses for the service of his majesty's forces, to be +at Wills' Creek on or before the 20th of May, and he promptly departed for +Lancaster to execute the commission. + +After his departure, Braddock, attended by his staff, and his guard of +light horse, set off for Wills' Creek by the way of Winchester, the road +along the north side of the Potomac not being yet made. "This gave him," +writes Washington, "a good opportunity to see the absurdity of the route, +and of damning it very heartily." [Footnote: Draft of a letter, among +Washington's papers, addressed to Major John Carlyle.] + +Three of Washington's horses were knocked up before they reached +Winchester, and he had to purchase others. This was a severe drain of his +campaigning purse; fortunately he was in the neighborhood of Greenway +Court, and was enabled to replenish it by a loan from his old friend Lord +Fairfax. + +The discomforts of the rough road were increased with the general, by his +travelling with some degree of state in a chariot which he had purchased of +Governor Sharpe. In this he dashed by Dunbar's division of the troops, +which he overtook near Wills' Creek; his body guard of light horse +galloping on each side of his chariot, and his staff accompanying him; the +drums beating the Grenadier's march as he passed. In this style, too, he +arrived at Fort Cumberland, amid a thundering salute of seventeen guns. +[Footnote: Journal of the Seamen's detachment.] + +By this time the general discovered that he was not in a region fitted for +such display, and his travelling chariot was abandoned at Fort Cumberland; +otherwise it would soon have become a wreck among the mountains beyond. + +By the 19th of May, the forces were assembled at Fort Cumberland. The two +royal regiments, originally one thousand strong, now increased to fourteen +hundred, by men chosen from the Maryland and Virginia levies. Two +provincial companies of carpenters, or pioneers, thirty men each, with +subalterns and captains. A company of guides, composed of a captain, two +aids, and ten men. The troop of Virginia light horse, commanded by Captain +Stewart; the detachment of thirty sailors with their officers, and the +remnants of two independent companies from New York, one of which was +commanded by Captain Horatio Gates, of whom, we shall have to speak much +hereafter, in the course of this biography. + +Another person in camp, of subsequent notoriety, and who became a warm +friend of Washington, was Dr. Hugh Mercer, a Scotchman, about thirty-three +years of age. About ten years previously he had served as assistant surgeon +in the forces of Charles Edward, and followed his standard to the +disastrous field of Culloden. After the defeat of the "chevalier," Mercer +had escaped by the way of Inverness to America, and taken up his residence +in Virginia. He was now with the Virginia troops, rallying under the +standard of the House of Hanover, in an expedition led by a general who had +aided to drive the chevalier from Scotland. [Footnote: Braddock had been an +officer under the Duke of Cumberland, in his campaign against Charles +Edward.] + +Another young Scotchman in the camp was Dr. James Craik, who had become +strongly attached to Washington, being about the same age, and having been +with him in the affair of the Great Meadows, serving as surgeon in the +Virginia regiment, to which he still belonged. + +At Fort Cumberland, Washington had an opportunity of seeing a force +encamped according to the plan approved of by the council of war; and +military tactics, enforced with all the precision of a martinet. + +The roll of each company was called over morning, noon, and night. There +was strict examination of arms and accoutrements; the commanding officer of +each company being answerable for their being kept in good order. + +The general was very particular in regard to the appearance and drill of +the Virginia recruits and companies, whom he had put under the rigorous +discipline of Ensign Allen. "They performed their evolutions and firings, +as well as could be expected," writes Captain Orme, "but their languid, +spiritless, and unsoldier-like appearance, considered with the lowness and +ignorance of most of their officers, gave little hopes of their future good +behavior." [Footnote: Orme's Journal.] He doubtless echoed the opinion of +the general; how completely were both to be undeceived as to their estimate +of these troops! + +The general held a levee in his tent every morning, from ten to eleven. He +was strict as to the morals of the camp. Drunkenness was severely punished. +A soldier convicted of theft was sentenced to receive one thousand lashes, +and to be drummed out of his regiment. Part of the first part of the +sentence was remitted. Divine service was performed every Sunday, at the +head of the colors of each regiment, by the chaplain. There was the funeral +of a captain who died at this encampment. A captain's guard marched before +the corpse, the captain of it in the rear, the firelocks reversed, the +drums beating the dead march. When near the grave, the guard formed two +lines, facing each other; rested on their arms, muzzles downwards, and +leaned their faces on the butts. The corpse was carried between them, the +sword and sash on the coffin, and the officers following two and two. After +the chaplain of the regiment had read the service, the guard fired three +volleys over the grave, and returned. [Footnote: Orme's Journal. Journal of +the Seamen's detachment.] + +Braddock's camp, in a word, was a complete study for Washington, during the +halt at Fort Cumberland, where he had an opportunity of seeing military +routine in its strictest forms. He had a specimen, too, of convivial life +in the camp, which the general endeavored to maintain, even in the +wilderness, keeping a hospitable table; for he is said to have been +somewhat of a _bon vivant_, and to have had with him "two good cooks, +who could make an excellent ragout out of a pair of boots, had they but +materials to toss them up with." [Footnote: Preface to Winthrop Sargent's +Introductory Memoir.] + +There was great detention at the fort, caused by the want of forage and +supplies, the road not having been finished from Philadelphia. Mr. Richard +Peters, the secretary of Governor Morris, was in camp, to attend to the +matter. He had to bear the brunt of Braddock's complaints. The general +declared he would not stir from Wills' Creek until he had the governor's +assurance that the road would be opened in time. Mr. Peters requested +guards to protect the men while at work, from attacks by the Indians. +Braddock swore he would not furnish guards for the woodcutters,--"let +Pennsylvania do it!" He scoffed at the talk about danger from Indians. +Peters endeavored to make him sensible of the peril which threatened him in +this respect. Should an army of them, led by French officers, beset him in +his march, he would not be able, with all his strength and military skill, +to reach Fort Duquesne without a body of rangers, as well on foot as +horseback. The general, however, "despised his observations." [Footnote: +Colonial Records, vi. 396.] Still, guards had ultimately to be provided, or +the work on the road would have been abandoned. + +Braddock, in fact, was completely chagrined and disappointed about the +Indians. The Cherokees and Catawbas, whom Dinwiddie had given him reason to +expect in such numbers, never arrived. + +George Croghan reached the camp with but about fifty warriors, whom he had +brought from Aughquick. At the general's request he sent a messenger to +invite the Delawares and Shawnees from the Ohio, who returned with two +chiefs of the former tribe. Among the sachems thus assembled were some of +Washington's former allies; Scarooyadi, alias, Monacatoocha, successor to +the half-king; White Thunder, the keeper of the speech-belts, and Silver +Heels, so called, probably, from being swift of foot. + +Notwithstanding his secret contempt for the Indians, Braddock, agreeably to +his instructions, treated them with great ceremony. A grand council was +held in his tent, where all his officers attended. The chiefs, and all the +warriors, came painted and decorated for war. They were received with +military honors, the guards resting on their fire-arms. The general made +them a speech through his interpreter, expressing the grief of their +father, the great king of England, at the death of the half-king, and made +them presents to console them. They in return promised their aid as guides +and scouts, and declared eternal enmity to the French, following the +declaration with the war song, "making a terrible noise." + +The general, to regale and astonish them, ordered all the artillery to be +fired, "the drums and fifes playing and beating the point of war;" the fête +ended by their feasting, in their own camp, on a bullock which the general +had given them, following up their repast by dancing the war dance round a +fire, to the sound of their uncouth drums and rattles, "making night +hideous," by howls and yellings. + +"I have engaged between forty and fifty Indians from the frontiers of your +province to go over the mountains with me," writes Braddock to Governor +Morris, "and shall take Croghan and Montour into service." Croghan was, in +effect, put in command of the Indians, and a warrant given to him of +captain. + +For a time all went well. The Indians had their separate camp, where they +passed half the night singing, dancing, and howling. The British were +amused by their strange ceremonies, their savage antics, and savage +decorations. The Indians, on the other hand, loitered by day about the +English camp, fiercely painted and arrayed, gazing with silent admiration +at the parade of the troops, their marchings and evolutions; and delighted +with the horse-races, with which the young officers recreated themselves. + +Unluckily the warriors had brought their families with them to Wills' +Creek, and the women were even fonder than the men of loitering about the +British camp. They were not destitute of attractions; for the young squaws +resemble the gypsies, having seductive forms, small hands and feet, and +soft voices. Among those who visited the camp was one who no doubt passed +for an Indian princess. She was the daughter of the sachem, White Thunder, +and bore the dazzling name of Bright Lightning. [Footnote: Seamen's +Journal.] The charms of these wild-wood beauties were soon acknowledged. +"The squaws," writes Secretary Peters, "bring in money plenty; the officers +are scandalously fond of them." [Footnote: Letter of Peters to Governor +Morris.] + +The jealousy of the warriors was aroused some of them became furious. To +prevent discord, the squaws were forbidden to come into the British, camp. +This did not prevent their being sought elsewhere. It was ultimately found +necessary, for the sake of quiet, to send Bright Lightning, with all the +other women and children, back to Aughquick. White Thunder, and several of +the warriors, accompanied them for their protection. + +As to, the three Delaware chiefs, they returned to the Ohio, promising the +general they would collect their warriors together, and meet him on his +march. They never kept their word. "These people are villains, and always +side with the strongest," says a shrewd journalist of the expedition. + +During the halt of the troops at Wills' Creek, Washington had been sent to +Williamsburg to bring on four thousand pounds for the military chest. He +returned, after a fortnight's absence, escorted from Winchester by eight +men, "which eight men," writes he, "were two days assembling, but I believe +would not have been more than as many seconds dispersing if I had been +attacked." + +He found the general out of all patience and temper at the delays and +disappointments in regard to horses, waggons, and forage, making no +allowances for the difficulties incident to a new country, and to the novel +and great demands upon its scanty and scattered resources. He accused the +army contractors of want of faith, honor, and honesty; and in his moments +of passion, which were many, extended the stigma to the whole country. +This stung the patriotic sensibility of Washington, and overcame his usual +self-command, and the proud and passionate commander was occasionally +surprised by a well-merited rebuke from his aide-de-camp. "We have frequent +disputes on this head," writes Washington, "which are maintained with +warmth on both sides, especially on his, as he is incapable of arguing +without it, or of giving up any point he asserts, be it ever so +incompatible with reason or common sense." + +The same pertinacity was maintained with respect to the Indians. George +Croghan informed Washington that the sachems considered themselves treated +with slight, in never being consulted in war matters. That he himself had +repeatedly offered the services of the warriors under his command as scouts +and outguards, but his offers had been rejected. Washington ventured to +interfere, and to urge their importance for such purposes, especially now +when they were approaching the stronghold of the enemy. As usual, the +general remained bigoted in his belief of the all-sufficiency of +well-disciplined troops. + +Either from disgust thus caused, or from being actually dismissed, the +warriors began to disappear from the camp. It is said that Colonel Innes, +who was to remain in command at Fort Cumberland, advised the dismissal of +all but a few to serve as guides; certain it is, before Braddock +recommenced his march, none remained to accompany him but Scarooyadi, and +eight of his warriors. [Footnote: Braddock's own secretary, William +Shirley, was disaffected to him. Writing about him to Governor Morris, he +satirically observes: "We have a general most judiciously chosen for being +disqualified for the service he is employed in, in almost every respect." +And of the secondary officers: "As to them, I don't think we have much to +boast. Some are insolent and ignorant; others capable, but rather aiming at +showing their own abilities than making a proper use of them."--_Colonial +Records_, vi., 405.] + +Seeing the general's impatience at the non-arrival of conveyances, +Washington again represented to him the difficulties he would encounter in +attempting to traverse the mountains with such a train of wheel-carriages, +assuring him it would be the most arduous part of the campaign; and +recommended, from his own experience, the substitution, as much as +possible, of packhorses. Braddock, however, had not been sufficiently +harassed by frontier campaigning to depart from his European modes, or to +be swayed in his military operations by so green a counsellor. + +At length the general was relieved from present perplexities by the arrival +of the horses and waggons which Franklin had undertaken to procure. That +eminent man, with his characteristic promptness and unwearied exertions, +and by his great personal popularity, had obtained them from the reluctant +Pennsylvania farmers, being obliged to pledge his own responsibility for +their being fully remunerated. He performed this laborious task out of pure +zeal for the public service, neither expecting nor receiving emolument; +and, in fact, experiencing subsequently great delay and embarrassment +before he was relieved from the pecuniary responsibilities thus +patriotically incurred. + +The arrival of the conveyances put Braddock in good humor with +Pennsylvania. In a letter to Governor Morris, he alludes to the threat of +Sir John St. Clair to go through that province with a drawn sword in his +hand. "He is ashamed of his having talked to you in the manner he did." +Still the general made Franklin's contract for waggons the sole instance in +which he had not experienced deceit and villany. "I hope, however, in spite +of all this," adds he, "that we shall pass a merry Christmas together." + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +MARCH FROM FORT CUMBERLAND--THE GREAT SAVAGE MOUNTAIN--CAMP AT THE LITTLE +MEADOWS--DIVISION OF THE FORCES--CAPTAIN JACK AND HIS BAND--SCAROOYADI IN +DANGER--ILLNESS OF WASHINGTON--HIS HALT AT THE YOUGHIOGENY--MARCH OF +BRADDOCK--THE GREAT MEADOWS--LURKING ENEMIES--THEIR TRACKS--PRECAUTIONS-- +THICKETTY RUN--SCOUTS--INDIAN MURDERS--FUNERAL OF AN INDIAN WARRIOR--CAMP +ON THE MONONGAHELA--WASHINGTON'S ARRIVAL THERE--MARCH FOR FORT DUQUESNE-- +THE FORDING OF THE MONONGAHELA--THE BATTLE--THE RETREAT--DEATH OF BRADDOCK. + + +On the 10th of June, Braddock set off from Fort Cumberland with his +aides-de-camp, and others of his staff, and his body guard of light horse. +Sir Peter Halket, with his brigade, had marched three days previously; and +a detachment of six hundred men, under the command of Colonel Chapman, and +the supervision of Sir John St. Clair, had been employed upwards of ten +days in cutting down trees, removing rocks, and opening a road. + +The march over the mountains proved, as Washington had foretold, a +"tremendous undertaking." It was with difficulty the heavily laden waggons +could be dragged up the steep and rugged roads, newly made, or imperfectly +repaired. Often they extended for three or four miles in a straggling and +broken line, with the soldiers so dispersed, in guarding them, that an +attack on any side would have thrown the whole in confusion. It was the +dreary region of the great Savage Mountain, and the "Shades of Death" that +was again made to echo with the din of arms. + +What outraged Washington's notions of the abstemious frugality suitable to +campaigning in the "backwoods," was the great number of horses and waggons +required by the officers for the transportation of their baggage, camp +equipage, and a thousand articles of artificial necessity. Simple himself +in his tastes and habits, and manfully indifferent to personal indulgences, +he almost doubted whether such sybarites in the camp could be efficient in +the field. + +By the time the advanced corps had struggled over two mountains, and +through the intervening forest, and reached (16th June) the Little Meadows, +where Sir John St. Clair had made a temporary camp, General Braddock had +become aware of the difference between campaigning in a new country, or on +the old well beaten battle-grounds of Europe. He now, of his own accord, +turned to Washington for advice, though it must have been a sore trial to +his pride to seek it of so young a man; but he had by this time sufficient +proof of his sagacity, and his knowledge of the frontier. + +Thus unexpectedly called on, Washington gave his counsel with becoming +modesty, but with his accustomed clearness. There was just now an +opportunity to strike an effective blow at Fort Duquesne, but it might be +lost by delay. The garrison, according to credible reports, was weak; large +reinforcements and supplies, which were on their way, would be detained by +the drought, which rendered the river by which they must come low and +unnavigable. The blow must be struck before they could arrive. He advised +the general, therefore, to divide his forces; leave one part to come on +with the stores and baggage, and all the cumbrous appurtenances of an army, +and to throw himself in the advance with the other part, composed of his +choicest troops, lightened of every thing superfluous that might impede a +rapid march. + +His advice was adopted. Twelve hundred men, selected out of all the +companies, and furnished with ten field-pieces, were to form the first +division, their provisions, and other necessaries, to be carried on +packhorses. The second division, with all the stores, munitions, and heavy +baggage, was to be brought on by Colonel Dunbar. + +The least practicable part of the arrangement was with regard to the +officers of the advance. Washington had urged a retrenchment of their +baggage and camp equipage, that as many of their horses as possible might +be used as packhorses. Here was the difficulty. Brought up, many of them, +in fashionable and luxurious life, or the loitering indulgence of country +quarters, they were so encumbered with what they considered indispensable +necessaries, that out of two hundred and twelve horses generally +appropriated to their use, not more than a dozen could be spared by them +for the public service. Washington, in his own case, acted up to the advice +he had given. He retained no more clothing and effects with him than would +about half fill a portmanteau, and gave up his best steed as a +packhorse,--which he never heard of afterwards. [Footnote: Letter to J. +Augustine Washington. Sparks, ii., 81.] + +During the halt at the Little Meadows, Captain Jack and his band of forest +rangers, whom Croghan had engaged at Governor Morris's suggestion, made +their appearance in the camp; armed and equipped with rifle, knife, +hunting-shirts, leggings and moccasins, and looking almost like a band of +Indians as they issued from the woods. + +The captain asked an interview with the general, by whom, it would seem, he +was not expected. Braddock received him in his tent, in his usual stiff and +stately manner. The "Black Rifle" spoke of himself and his followers as men +inured to hardships, and accustomed to deal with Indians, who preferred +stealth and stratagem to open warfare. He requested his company should be +employed as a reconnoitering party, to beat up the Indians in their +lurking-places and ambuscades. + +Braddock, who had a sovereign contempt for the chivalry of the woods, and +despised their boasted strategy, replied to the hero of the Pennsylvania +settlements in a manner to which he had not been accustomed. "There was +time enough," he said, "for making arrangements; and he had experienced +troops, on whom he could completely rely for all purposes." + +Captain Jack withdrew, indignant at so haughty a reception, and informed +his leathern-clad followers of his rebuff. They forthwith shouldered their +rifles, turned their backs upon the camp, and, headed by the captain, +departed in Indian file through the woods, for the usual scenes of their +exploits, where men knew their value, the banks of the Juniata or the +Conococheague. [Footnote: On the Conococheague and Juniata is left the +history of their exploits. At one time you may hear of the band near Fort +Augusta, next at Fort Franklin, then at Loudon, then at Juniata,--rapid +were the movements of this hardy band.--_Hazard's Reg. Penn._, iv., +390; also, v., 194.] + +On the 19th of June Braddock's first division set out, with less than +thirty carriages, including those that transported ammunition for the +artillery, all strongly horsed. The Indians marched with the advanced +party. In the course of the day, Scarooyadi and his son being at a small +distance from the line of march, was surrounded and taken by some French +and Indians. His son escaped, and brought intelligence to his warriors; +they hastened to rescue or revenge him, but found him tied to a tree. The +French had been disposed to shoot him, but their savage allies declared +they would abandon them should they do so; having some tie of friendship or +kindred with the chieftain, who thus rejoined the troops unharmed. + +Washington was disappointed in his anticipations of a rapid march. The +general, though he had adopted his advice in the main, could not carry it +out in detail. His military education was in the way; bigoted to the +regular and elaborate tactics of Europe, he could not stoop to the +make-shift expedients of a new country, where every difficulty is +encountered and mastered in a rough-and-ready style. "I found," said +Washington, "that instead of pushing on with vigor, without regarding a +little rough road, they were halting to level every mole hill, and to erect +bridges over every brook, by which means we were four days in getting +twelve miles." + +For several days Washington had suffered from fever, accompanied by intense +headache, and his illness increased in violence to such a degree that he +was unable to ride, and had to be conveyed for a part of the time in a +covered waggon. His illness continued without intermission until the 23d, +"when I was relieved," says he, "by the general's absolutely ordering the +physician, to give me Dr. James's powders; one of the most excellent +medicines in the world. It gave me immediate relief, and removed my fever +and other complaints in four days' time." + +He was still unable to bear the jolting of the waggon, but it needed +another interposition of the kindly-intended authority of General Braddock, +to bring him to a halt at the great crossings of the Youghiogeny. There the +general assigned him a guard, provided him with necessaries, and requested +him to remain, under care of his physician, Dr. Craik, until the arrival of +Colonel Dunbar's detachment, which was two days' march in the rear; giving +him his word of honor that he should, at all events, be enabled to rejoin +the main division before it reached the French fort. [Footnote: Letter to +John Augustine Washington. Sparks, ii., 80.] + +This kind solicitude on the part of Braddock, shows the real estimation in +which he was held by that officer. Doctor Craik backed the general's +orders, by declaring that should Washington persevere in his attempts to go +on in the condition he then was, his life would be in danger. Orme also +joined his entreaties, and promised, if he would remain, he would keep him +informed by letter of every occurrence of moment. + +Notwithstanding all the kind assurances of Braddock and his aide-de-camp +Orme, it was with gloomy feelings that Washington saw the troops depart; +fearful he might not be able to rejoin them in time for the attack upon the +fort, which, he assured his brother aide-de-camp, he would not miss for +five hundred pounds. + +Leaving Washington at the Youghiogeny, we will follow the march of +Braddock. In the course of the first day (June 24th), he came to a deserted +Indian camp; judging from the number of wigwams, there must have been about +one hundred and seventy warriors. Some of the trees about it had been +stripped, and painted with threats, and bravadoes, and scurrilous taunts +written on them in the French language, showing that there were white men +with the savages. + +The next morning at daybreak, three men venturing beyond the sentinels were +shot and scalped; parties were immediately sent out to scour the woods, and +drive in the stray horses. + +The day's march, passed by the Great Meadows and Fort Necessity, the scene +of Washington's capitulation. Several Indians were seen hovering in the +woods, and the light horse and Indian allies were sent out to surround +them, but did not succeed. In crossing a mountain beyond the Great Meadows, +the carriages had to be lowered with the assistance of the sailors, by +means of tackle. The camp for the night was about two miles beyond Fort +Necessity. Several French and Indians endeavored to reconnoitre it, but +were fired upon by the advanced sentinels. + +The following day (26th) there was a laborious march of but four miles, +owing to the difficulties of the road. The evening halt was at another +deserted Indian camp, strongly posted on a high rock, with a steep and +narrow ascent; it had a spring in the middle, and stood at the termination +of the Indian path to the Monongahela. By this pass the party had come +which attacked Washington the year before, in the Great Meadows. The +Indians and French too, who were hovering about the army, had just left +this camp. The fires they had left were yet burning. The French had +inscribed their names on some of the trees with insulting bravadoes, and +the Indians had designated in triumph the scalps they had taken two days +previously. A party was sent out with guides, to follow their tracks and +fall on them in the night, but again without success. In fact, it was the +Indian boast, that throughout this march of Braddock, they saw him every +day from the mountains, and expected to be able to shoot down his soldiers +"like pigeons." + +The march continued to be toilful and difficult; on one day it did not +exceed two miles, having to cut a passage over a mountain. In cleaning +their guns the men were ordered to draw the charge, instead of firing it +off. No fire was to be lighted in front of the pickets. At night the men +were to take their arms into the tents with them. + +Further on the precautions became still greater. On the advanced pickets +the men were in two divisions, relieving each other every two hours. Half +remained on guard with fixed bayonets, the other half lay down by their +arms. The picket sentinels were doubled. + +On the 4th of July they encamped at Thicketty Run. The country was less +mountainous and rocky, and the woods, consisting chiefly of white pine, +were more open. The general now supposed himself to be within thirty miles +of Fort Duquesne. Ever since his halt at the deserted camp on the rock +beyond the Great Meadows, he had endeavored to prevail upon the Croghan +Indians to scout in the direction of the fort, and bring him intelligence, +but never could succeed. They had probably been deterred by the number of +French and Indian tracks, and by the recent capture of Scarooyadi. This +day, however, two consented to reconnoitre; and shortly after their +departure, Christopher Gist, the resolute pioneer, who acted as guide to +the general, likewise set off as a scout. + +The Indians returned on the 6th. They had been close to Fort Duquesne. +There were no additional works there; they saw a few boats under the fort, +and one with a white flag coming down the Ohio; but there were few men to +be seen, and few tracks of any. They came upon an unfortunate officer, +shooting within half a mile of the fort, and brought a scalp as a trophy of +his fate. None of the passes between the camp and fort were occupied; they +believed there were few men abroad reconnoitering. + +Gist returned soon after them. His account corroborated theirs; but he had +seen a smoke in a valley between the camp and the fort, made probably by +some scouting party. He had intended to prowl about the fort at night, but +had been discovered and pursued by two Indians and narrowly escaped with +his life. + +On the same day, during the march, three or four men loitering in the rear +of the grenadiers were killed and scalped. Several of the grenadiers set +off to take revenge. They came upon a party of Indians, who held up boughs +and grounded their arms, the concerted sign of amity. Not perceiving or +understanding it, the grenadiers fired upon them, and one fell. It proved +to be the son of Scarooyadi. Aware too late of their error, the grenadiers +brought the body to the camp. The conduct of Braddock was admirable on the +occasion. He sent for the father and the other Indians, and condoled with +them on the lamentable occurrence; making them the customary presents of +expiation. But what was more to the point, he caused the youth to be buried +with the honors of war; at his request the officers attended the funeral, +and a volley was fired over the grave. + +These soldierlike tributes of respect to the deceased, and sympathy with +the survivors, soothed the feelings and gratified the pride of the father, +and attached him more firmly to the service. We are glad to record an +anecdote so contrary to the general contempt for the Indians with which +Braddock stands charged. It speaks well for the real kindness of his heart. + +We will return now to Washington in his sick encampment on the banks of the +Youghiogeny where he was left repining at the departure of the troops +without him. To add to his annoyances, his servant, John Alton, a faithful +Welshman, was taken ill with the same malady, and unable to render him any +services. Letters from his fellow aides-de-camp showed him the kind +solicitude that was felt concerning him. At the general's desire, Captain +Morris wrote to him, informing him of their intended halts. + +"It is the desire of every individual in the family," adds he, "and the +general's positive commands to you, not to stir, but by the advice of the +person [Dr. Craik] under whose care you are, till you are better, which we +all hope will be very soon." + +Orme, too, according to promise, kept him informed of the incidents of the +march; the frequent night alarms, and occasional scalping parties. The +night alarms Washington considered mere feints, designed to harass the men +and retard the march; the enemy, he was sure, had not sufficient force for +a serious attack; and he was glad to learn from Orme that the men were in +high spirits and confident of success. + +He now considered himself sufficiently recovered to rejoin the troops, and +his only anxiety was that he should not be able to do it in time for the +great blow. He was rejoiced, therefore, on the 3d of July, by the arrival +of an advanced party of one hundred men convoying provisions. Being still +too weak to mount his horse, he set off with the escort in a covered +waggon; and after a most fatiguing journey, over mountain and through +forest, reached Braddock's camp on the 8th of July. It was on the east side +of the Monongahela, about two miles from the river in the neighborhood of +the town of Queen Aliquippa, and about fifteen miles from Fort Duquesne. + +In consequence of adhering to technical rules and military forms, General +Braddock had consumed a month in marching little more than a hundred miles. +The tardiness of his progress was regarded with surprise and impatience +even in Europe; where his patron, the Duke of Brunswick, was watching the +events of the campaign he had planned. "The Duke," writes Horace Walpole, +"is much dissatisfied at the slowness of General Braddock, _who does not +march as if he was at all impatient to be scalped._" The insinuation of +the satirical wit was unmerited. Braddock was a stranger to fear; but in +his movements he was fettered by system. + +Washington was warmly received on his arrival, especially by his fellow +aides-de-camp, Morris and Orme. He was just in time, for the attack upon +Fort Duquesne was to be made on the following day. The neighboring country +had been reconnoitered to determine upon a plan of attack. The fort stood +on the same side of the Monongahela with the camp; but there was a narrow +pass between them of about two miles, with the river on the left and a very +high mountain on the right, and in its present state quite impassable for +carriages. The route determined on was to cross the Monongahela by a ford +immediately opposite to the camp; proceed along the west bank of the river, +for about five miles, then recross by another ford to the eastern side, and +push on to the fort. The river at these fords was shallow, and the banks +were not steep. + +According to the plan of arrangement, Lieutenant-Colonel Gage, with the +advance, was to cross the river before daybreak, march to the second ford, +and recrossing there, take post to secure the passage of the main force. +The advance was to be composed of two companies of grenadiers, one hundred +and sixty infantry, the independent company of Captain Horatio Gates, and +two six pounders. + +Washington, who had already seen enough of regular troops to doubt their +infallibility in wild bush-fighting, and who knew the dangerous nature of +the ground they were to traverse, ventured to suggest, that on the +following day the Virginia rangers, being accustomed to the country and to +Indian warfare, might be thrown in the advance. The proposition drew an +angry reply from the general, indignant, very probably, that a young +provincial officer should presume to school a veteran like himself. + +Early next morning (July 9th), before daylight, Colonel Gage crossed with +the advance. He was followed, at some distance, by Sir John St. Clair, +quartermaster-general, with a working party of two hundred and fifty men, +to make roads for the artillery and baggage. They had with them their +waggons of tools, and two six pounders. A party of about thirty savages +rushed out of the woods as Colonel Gage advanced, but were put to flight +before they had done any harm. + +By sunrise the main body turned out in full uniform. At the beating of the +general, their arms, which had been cleaned the night before, were charged +with fresh cartridges. The officers were perfectly equipped. All looked as +if arrayed for a fête, rather than a battle. Washington, who was still weak +and unwell, mounted his horse, and joined the staff of the general, who was +scrutinizing every thing with the eye of a martinet. As it was supposed the +enemy would be on the watch for the crossing of the troops, it had been +agreed that they should do it in the greatest order, with bayonets fixed, +colors flying, and drums and fifes beating and playing. [Footnote: Orme's +Journal.] They accordingly made a gallant appearance as they forded the +Monongahela, and wound along its banks, and through the open forests, +gleaming and glittering in morning sunshine, and stepping buoyantly to the +Grenadier's March. + +Washington, with his keen and youthful relish for military affairs, was +delighted with their perfect order and equipment, so different from the +rough bush-fighters, to which he had been accustomed. Roused to new life, +he forgot his recent ailments, and broke forth in expressions of enjoyment +and admiration, as he rode in company with his fellow aides-de-camp, Orme +and Morris. Often, in after life, he used to speak of the effect upon him +of the first sight of a well-disciplined European army, marching in high +confidence and bright array, on the eve of a battle. + +About noon they reached the second ford. Gage, with the advance, was on the +opposite side of the Monongahela, posted according to orders; but the river +bank had not been sufficiently sloped. The artillery and baggage drew up +along the beach and halted until one, when the second crossing took place, +drums beating, fifes playing, and colors flying, as before. When all had +passed, there was again a halt close by a small stream called Frazier's +Run, until the general arranged the order of march. + +First went the advance, under Gage, preceded by the engineers and guides, +and six light horsemen. + +Then, Sir John St. Clair and the working party, with their waggons and the +two six pounders. On each side were thrown out four flanking parties. + +Then, at some distance, the general was to follow with the main body, the +artillery and baggage preceded and flanked by light horse and squads of +infantry; while the Virginian, and other provincial troops, were to form +the rear guard. + +The ground before them was level until about half a mile from the river, +where a rising ground, covered with long grass, low bushes, and scattered +trees, sloped gently up to a range of hills. The whole country, generally +speaking, was a forest, with no clear opening but the road, which was about +twelve feet wide, and flanked by two ravines, concealed by trees and +thickets. + +Had Braddock been schooled in the warfare of the woods, or had he adopted +the suggestions of Washington, which he rejected so impatiently, he would +have thrown out Indian scouts or Virginia rangers in the advance, and on +the flanks, to beat up the woods and ravines; but, as has been +sarcastically observed, he suffered his troops to march forward through the +centre of the plain, with merely their usual guides and flanking parties, +"as if in a review in St. James' Park." + +It was now near two o'clock. The advanced party and the working party had +crossed the plain and were ascending the rising ground. Braddock was about +to follow with the main body and had given the word to march, when he heard +an excessively quick and heavy firing in front. Washington, who was with +the general, surmised that the evil he had apprehended had come to pass. +For want of scouting parties ahead the advance parties were suddenly and +warmly attacked. Braddock ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Burton to hasten to +their assistance with the vanguard of the main body, eight hundred strong. +The residue, four hundred, were halted, and posted to protect the artillery +and baggage. + +The firing continued, with fearful yelling. There was a terrible uproar. By +the general's orders an aide-de-camp spurred forward to bring him an +account of the nature of the attack. Without waiting for his return the +general himself, finding the turmoil increase, moved forward, leaving Sir +Peter Halket with the command of the baggage. [Footnote: Orme's Journal.] + +The van of the advance had indeed been taken by surprise. It was composed +of two companies of carpenters or pioneers to cut the road, and two flank +companies of grenadiers to protect them. Suddenly the engineer who preceded +them to mark out the road gave the alarm, "French and Indians!" A body of +them was approaching rapidly, cheered on by a Frenchman in gaily fringed +hunting-shirt, whose gorget showed him to be an officer. There was sharp +firing on both sides at first. Several of the enemy fell; among them their +leader; but a murderous fire broke out from among trees and a ravine on the +right, and the woods resounded with unearthly whoops and yellings. The +Indian rifle was at work, levelled by unseen hands. Most of the grenadiers +and many of the pioneers were shot down. The survivors were driven in on +the advance. + +Gage ordered his men to fix bayonets and form in order of battle. They did +so in hurry and trepidation. He would have scaled a hill on the right +whence there was the severest firing. Not a platoon would quit the line of +march. They were more dismayed by the yells than by the rifles of the +unseen savages. The latter extended themselves along the hill and in the +ravines; but their whereabouts was only known by their demoniac cries and +the puffs of smoke from their rifles. The soldiers fired wherever they saw +the smoke. Their officers tried in vain to restrain them until they should +see their foe. All orders were unheeded; in their fright they shot at +random, killing some of their own flanking parties, and of the vanguard, as +they came running in. The covert fire grew more intense. In a short time +most of the officers and many of the men of the advance were killed or +wounded. Colonel Gage himself received a wound. The advance fell back in +dismay upon Sir John St. Clair's corps, which was equally dismayed. The +cannon belonging to it were deserted. + +Colonel Burton had come up with the reinforcement, and was forming his men +to face the rising ground on the right, when both of the advanced +detachments fell back upon him, and all now was confusion. + +By this time the general was upon the ground. He tried to rally the men. +"They would fight," they said, "if they could see their enemy; but it was +useless to fire at trees and bushes, and they could not stand to be shot +down by an invisible foe." + +The colors were advanced in different places to separate the men of the two +regiments. The general ordered the officers to form the men, tell them off +into small divisions, and advance with them; but the soldiers could not be +prevailed upon either by threats or entreaties. The Virginia troops, +accustomed to the Indian mode of fighting, scattered themselves, and took +post behind trees, where they could pick off the lurking foe. In this way +they, in some degree, protected the regulars. Washington advised General +Braddock to adopt the same plan with the regulars; but he persisted in +forming them into platoons; consequently they were cut down from behind +logs and trees as fast as they could advance. Several attempted to take to +the trees, without orders, but the general stormed at them, called them +cowards, and even struck them with the flat of his sword. Several of the +Virginians, who had taken post and were doing good service in this manner, +were slain by the fire of the regulars, directed wherever a smoke appeared +among the trees. + +The officers behaved with consummate bravery; and Washington beheld with +admiration those who, in camp or on the march, had appeared to him to have +an almost effeminate regard for personal ease and convenience, now exposing +themselves to imminent death, with a courage that kindled with the +thickening horrors. In the vain hope of inspiriting the men to drive off +the enemy from the flanks and regain the cannon, they would dash forward +singly or in groups. They were invariably shot down; for the Indians aimed +from their coverts at every one on horseback, or who appeared to have +command. + +Some were killed by random shot of their own men, who, crowded in masses, +fired with affrighted rapidity, but without aim. Soldiers in the front +ranks were killed by those in the rear. Between friend and foe, the +slaughter of the officers was terrible. All this while the woods resounded +with the unearthly yellings of the savages, and now and then one of them, +hideously painted, and ruffling with feathered crest, would rush forth to +scalp an officer who had fallen, or seize a horse galloping wildly without +a rider. + +Throughout this disastrous day, Washington distinguished himself by his +courage and presence of mind. His brother aids, Orme and Morris, were +wounded and disabled early in the action, and the whole duty of carrying +the orders of the general devolved on him. His danger was imminent and +incessant. He was in every part of the field, a conspicuous mark for the +murderous rifle. Two horses were shot under him. Four bullets passed +through his coat. His escape without a wound was almost miraculous. Dr. +Craik, who was on the field attending to the wounded, watched him with +anxiety as he rode about in the most exposed manner, and used to say that +he expected every moment to see him fall. At one time he was sent to the +main body to bring the artillery into action. All there was likewise in +confusion; for the Indians had extended themselves along the ravine so as +to flank the reserve and carry slaughter into the ranks. Sir Peter Halket +had been shot down at the head of his regiment. The men who should have +served the guns were paralyzed. Had they raked the ravines with grapeshot +the day might have been saved. In his ardor Washington sprang from his +horse; wheeled and pointed a brass field-piece with his own hand, and +directed an effective discharge into the woods; but neither his efforts nor +example were of avail. The men could not be kept to the guns. + +Braddock still remained in the centre of the field, in the desperate hope +of retrieving the fortunes of the day. The Virginia rangers, who had been +most efficient in covering his position, were nearly all killed or wounded. +His secretary, Shirley, had fallen by his side. Many of his officers had +been slain within his sight, and many of his guard of Virginia light horse. +Five horses had been killed under him; still he kept his ground, vainly +endeavoring to check the flight of his men, or at least to effect their +retreat in good order. At length a bullet passed through his right arm, and +lodged itself in his lungs. He fell from his horse, but was caught by +Captain Stewart of the Virginia guards, who, with the assistance of another +American, and a servant, placed him in a tumbril. It was with much +difficulty they got him out of the field--in his despair he desired to be +left there. [Footnote: Journal of the Seamen's detachment.] + +The rout now became complete. Baggage, stores, artillery, every thing was +abandoned. The waggoners took each a horse out of his team, and fled. The +officers were swept off with the men in this headlong flight. It was +rendered more precipitate by the shouts and yells of the savages, numbers +of whom rushed forth from their coverts, and pursued the fugitives to the +river side, killing several as they dashed across in tumultuous confusion. +Fortunately for the latter, the victors gave up the pursuit in their +eagerness to collect the spoil. + +The shattered army continued its flight after it had crossed the +Monongahela, a wretched wreck of the brilliant little force that had +recently gleamed along its banks, confident of victory. Out of eighty-six +officers, twenty-six had been killed, and thirty-six wounded. The number of +rank and file killed and wounded was upwards of seven hundred. The Virginia +corps had suffered the most; one company had been almost annihilated, +another, beside those killed and wounded in the ranks, had lost all its +officers, even to the corporal. + +About a hundred men were brought to a halt about a quarter of a mile from +the ford of the river. Here was Braddock, with his wounded aides-de-camp +and some of his officers; Dr. Craik dressing his wounds, and Washington +attending him with faithful assiduity. Braddock was still able to give +orders, and had a faint hope of being able to keep possession of the ground +until reinforced. Most of the men were stationed in a very advantageous +spot about two hundred yards from the road; and Lieutenant-Colonel Burton +posted out small parties and sentinels. Before an hour had elapsed most of +the men had stolen off. Being thus deserted, Braddock and his officers +continued their retreat; he would have mounted his horse but was unable, +and had to be carried by soldiers. Orme and Morris were placed on litters +borne by horses. They were subsequently joined by Colonel Gage with eighty +men whom he had rallied. + +Washington, in the mean time, notwithstanding his weak state, being found +most efficient in frontier service, was sent to Colonel Dunbar's camp, +forty miles distant, with orders for him to hurry forward provisions, +hospital stores, and waggons for the wounded, under the escort of two +grenadier companies. It was a hard and a melancholy ride throughout the +night and the following day. The tidings of the defeat preceded him, borne +by the waggoners, who had mounted their horses, on Braddock's fall, and +fled from the field of battle. They had arrived, haggard, at Dunbar's camp +at mid-day; the Indian yells still ringing in their ears. "All was lost!" +they cried. "Braddock was killed! They had seen wounded officers borne off +from the field in bloody sheets! The troops were all cut to pieces!" A +panic fell upon the camp. The drums beat to arms. Many of the soldiers, +waggoners and attendants, took to flight; but most of them were forced back +by the sentinels. + +Washington arrived at the camp in the evening, and found the agitation +still prevailing. The orders which he brought were executed during the +night, and he was in the saddle early in the morning accompanying the +convoy of supplies. At Gist's plantation, about thirteen miles off, he met +Gage and his scanty force escorting Braddock and his wounded officers. +Captain Stewart and a sad remnant of the Virginia light horse still +accompanied the general as his guard. The captain had been unremitting in +his attentions to him during the retreat. There was a halt of one day at +Dunbar's camp for the repose and relief of the wounded. On the 13th they +resumed their melancholy march, and that night reached the Great Meadows. + +The proud spirit of Braddock was broken by his defeat. He remained silent +the first evening after the battle, only ejaculating at night, "who would +have thought it!" He was equally silent the following day; yet hope still +seemed to linger in his breast, from another ejaculation: "We shall better +know how to deal with them another time!" [Footnote: Captain Orme, who gave +these particulars to Dr. Franklin, says that Braddock "died a few minutes +after." This, according to his account, was on the second day; whereas the +general survived upwards of four days. Orme, being conveyed on a litter at +some distance from the general, could only speak of his moods from +hearsay.] + +He was grateful for the attentions paid to him by Captain Stewart and +Washington, and more than once, it is said, expressed his admiration of the +gallantry displayed by the Virginians in the action. It is said, moreover, +that in his last moments, he apologized to Washington for the petulance +with which he had rejected his advice, and bequeathed to him his favorite +charger and his faithful servant, Bishop, who had helped to convey him from +the field. + +Some of these facts, it is true, rest on tradition, yet we are willing to +believe them, as they impart a gleam of just and generous feeling to his +closing scene. He died on the night of the 13th, at the Great Meadows, the +place of Washington's discomfiture in the previous year. His obsequies were +performed before break of day. The chaplain having been wounded, Washington +read the funeral service. All was done in sadness, and without parade, so +as not to attract the attention of lurking savages, who might discover, and +outrage his grave. It is doubtful even whether a volley was fired over it, +that last military honor which he had recently paid to the remains of an +Indian warrior. The place of his sepulture, however, is still known, and +pointed out. + +Reproach spared him not, even when in his grave. The failure of the +expedition was attributed both in England and America to his obstinacy, his +technical pedantry, and his military conceit. He had been continually +warned to be on his guard against ambush and surprise, but without avail. +Had he taken the advice urged on him by Washington and others to employ +scouting parties of Indians and rangers, he would never have been so +signally surprised and defeated. + +Still his dauntless conduct on the field of battle shows him to have been a +man of fearless spirit; and he was universally allowed to be an +accomplished disciplinarian. His melancholy end, too, disarms censure of +its asperity. Whatever may have been his faults and errors, he, in a +manner, expiated them by the hardest lot that can befall a brave soldier, +ambitious of renown--an unhonored grave in a strange land; a memory clouded +by misfortune, and a name for ever coupled with defeat. + +NOTE. + +In narrating the expedition of Braddock, we have frequently cited the +Journals of Captain Orme and of the "Seamen's Detachment;" they were +procured in England by the Hon. Joseph R. Ingersoll, while Minister at the +Court of St. James, and recently published by the Historical Society of +Pennsylvania: ably edited, and illustrated with an admirable Introductory +Memoir by Winthrop Sargent, Esq., member of that Society. + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +ARRIVAL AT FORT CUMBERLAND--LETTERS OF WASHINGTON TO HIS FAMILY--PANIC OF +DUNBAR--FORTUNES OF DR. HUGH MERCER--TRIUMPH OF THE FRENCH. + + +The obsequies of the unfortunate Braddock being finished, the escort +continued its retreat with the sick and wounded. Washington, assisted by +Dr. Craik, watched with assiduity over his comrades, Orme and Morris. As +the horses which bore their litters were nearly knocked up, he despatched +messengers to the commander of Fort Cumberland requesting that others might +be sent on, and that comfortable quarters might be prepared for the +reception of those officers. + +On the 17th, the sad cavalcade reached the fort, and were relieved from the +incessant apprehension of pursuit. Here, too, flying reports had preceded +them, brought by fugitives from the battle; who, with the disposition usual +in such cases to exaggerate, had represented the whole army as massacred. +Fearing these reports might reach home, and affect his family, Washington +wrote to his mother, and his brother, John Augustine, apprising them of his +safety. "The Virginia troops," says he, in a letter to his mother, "showed +a good deal of bravery, and were nearly all killed. ... The dastardly +behavior of those they called regulars exposed all others, that were +ordered to do their duty, to almost certain death; and, at last, in despite +of all the efforts of the officers to the contrary, they ran, as sheep +pursued by dogs, and it was impossible to rally them." + +To his brother, he writes: "As I have heard, since my arrival at this +place, a circumstantial account of my death and dying speech, I take this +early opportunity of contradicting the first, and of assuring you that I +have not composed the latter. But, by the all-powerful dispensations of +Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability, or +expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot +under me, yet escaped unhurt, though death was levelling my companions on +every side of me! + +"We have been most scandalously beaten by a trifling body of men, but +fatigue and want of time prevent me from giving you any of the details, +until I have the happiness of seeing you at Mount Vernon, which I now most +earnestly wish for, since we are driven in thus far. A feeble state of +health obliges me to halt here for two or three days to recover a little +strength, that I may thereby be enabled to proceed homeward with more +ease." + +Dunbar arrived shortly afterward with the remainder of the army. No one +seems to have shared more largely in the panic of the vulgar than that +officer. From the moment he received tidings of the defeat, his camp became +a scene of confusion. All the ammunition, stores, and artillery were +destroyed, to prevent, it was said, their falling into the hands of the +enemy; but, as it was afterwards alleged, to relieve the terror-stricken +commander from all incumbrances, and furnish him with more horses in his +flight toward the settlements. [Footnote: Franklin's Autobiography.] + +At Cumberland his forces amounted to fifteen hundred effective men; enough +for a brave stand to protect the frontier, and recover some of the lost +honor; but he merely paused to leave the sick and wounded under care of two +Virginia and Maryland companies, and some of the train, and then continued +his hasty march, or rather flight, through the country, not thinking +himself safe, as was sneeringly intimated, until he arrived in +Philadelphia, where the inhabitants could protect him. + +The true reason why the enemy did not pursue the retreating army was not +known until some time afterwards, and added to the disgrace of the defeat. +They were not the main force of the French, but a mere detachment of 72 +regulars, 146 Canadians, and 637 Indians, 855 in all, led by Captain de +Beaujeu. De Contrecoeur, the commander of Fort Duquesne, had received +information, through his scouts, that the English, three thousand strong, +were within six leagues of his fort. Despairing of making an effectual +defence against such a superior force, he was balancing in his mind whether +to abandon his fort without awaiting their arrival, or to capitulate on +honorable terms. In this dilemma Beaujeu prevailed on him to let him sally +forth with a detachment to form an ambush, and give check to the enemy. De +Beaujeu was to have taken post at the river, and disputed the passage at +the ford. For that purpose he was hurrying forward when discovered by the +pioneers of Gage's advance party. He was a gallant officer, and fell at the +beginning of the fight. The whole number of killed and wounded of French +and Indians, did not exceed seventy. + +Such was the scanty force which the imagination of the panic-stricken army +had magnified into a great host, and from which they had fled in breathless +terror, abandoning the whole frontier. No one could be more surprised than +the French commander himself, when the ambuscading party returned in +triumph with a long train of packhorses laden with booty, the savages +uncouthly clad in the garments of the slain, grenadier caps, officers' +gold-laced coats, and glittering epaulettes; flourishing swords and sabres, +or firing off muskets, and uttering fiendlike yells of victory. But when De +Contrecoeur was informed of the utter rout and destruction of the much +dreaded British army, his joy was complete. He ordered the guns of the fort +to be fired in triumph, and sent out troops in pursuit of the fugitives. + +The affair of Braddock remains a memorable event in American history, and +has been characterized as "the most extraordinary victory ever obtained, +and the farthest flight ever made." It struck a fatal blow to the deference +for British prowess, which once amounted almost to bigotry, throughout the +provinces. "This whole transaction," observes Franklin, in his +autobiography, "gave us the first suspicion, that our exalted ideas of the +prowess of British regular troops had not been well founded." + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +COSTS OF CAMPAIGNING--MEASURES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY--WASHINGTON IN COMMAND-- +HEAD-QUARTERS AT WINCHESTER--LORD FAIRFAX AND HIS TROOP OF HORSE--INDIAN +RAVAGES--PANIC AT WINCHESTER--CAUSE OF THE ALARM--OPERATIONS ELSEWHERE-- +SHIRLEY AGAINST NIAGARA--JOHNSON AGAINST CROWN POINT--AFFAIR AT LAKE +GEORGE--DEATH OF DIESKAU. + + +Washington arrived at Mount Vernon on the 26th of July, still in feeble +condition from his long illness. His campaigning, thus far, had trenched +upon his private fortune, and impaired one of the best of constitutions. + +In a letter to his brother Augustine, then a member of Assembly at +Williamsburg, he casts up the result of his frontier experience. "I was +employed," writes he, "to go a journey in the winter, when I believe few or +none would have undertaken it, and what did I get by it?--my expenses +borne! I was then appointed, with trifling pay, to conduct a handful of men +to the Ohio. What did I get by that? Why, after putting myself to a +considerable expense in equipping and providing necessaries for the +campaign, I went out, was soundly beaten, and lost all! Came in, and had my +commission taken from me; or, in other words, my command reduced, under +pretence of an order from home (England). I then went out a volunteer with +General Braddock, and lost all my horses, and many other things. But this +being a voluntary act, I ought not to have mentioned it; nor should I have +done it, were it not to show that I have been on the losing order ever +since I entered the service, which is now nearly two years." + +What a striking lesson is furnished by this brief summary! How little was +he aware of the vast advantages he was acquiring in this school of bitter +experience! "In the hand of heaven he stood," to be shaped and trained for +its great purpose; and every trial and vicissitude of his early life, but +fitted him to cope with one or other of the varied and multifarious duties +of his future destiny. + +But though, under the saddening influence of debility and defeat, he might +count the cost of his campaigning, the martial spirit still burned within +him. His connection with the army, it is true, had ceased at the death of +Braddock, but his military duties continued as adjutant-general of the +northern division of the province, and he immediately issued orders for the +county lieutenants to hold the militia in readiness for parade and +exercise, foreseeing that, in the present defenceless state of the +frontier, there would be need of their services. + +Tidings of the rout and retreat of the army had circulated far and near, +and spread consternation throughout the country. Immediate incursions both +of French and Indians were apprehended; and volunteer companies began to +form, for the purpose of marching across the mountains to the scene of +danger. It was intimated to Washington that his services would again be +wanted on the frontier. He declared instantly that he was ready to serve +his country to the extent of his powers; but never on the same terms as +heretofore. + +On the 4th of August, Governor Dinwiddie convened the Assembly to devise +measures for the public safety. The sense of danger had quickened the slow +patriotism of the burgesses; they no longer held back supplies; forty +thousand pounds were promptly voted, and orders issued for the raising of a +regiment of one thousand men. + +Washington's friends urged him to present himself at Williamsburg as a +candidate for the command; they were confident of his success, +notwithstanding that strong interest was making for the governor's +favorite, Colonel Innes. + +With mingled modesty and pride, Washington declined to be a solicitor. The +only terms, he said, on which he would accept a command, were a certainty +as to rank and emoluments, a right to appoint his field officers, and the +supply of a sufficient military chest; but to solicit the command, and, at +the same time, to make stipulations, would be a little incongruous, and +carry with it the face of self-sufficiency. "If," added he, "the command +should be offered to me, the case will then be altered, as I should be at +liberty to make such objections as reason, and my small experience, have +pointed out." + +While this was in agitation, he received letters from his mother, again +imploring him not to risk himself in these frontier wars. His answer was +characteristic, blending the filial deference with which he was accustomed +from childhood to treat her, with a calm patriotism of the Roman stamp. + +"Honored Madam: If it is in my power to avoid going to the Ohio again, I +shall; but if the command is pressed upon me by the general voice of the +country, and offered upon such terms as cannot be objected against, it +would reflect dishonor on me to refuse it; and that, I am sure, must, and +ought, to give you greater uneasiness, than my going in an honorable +command. Upon no other terms will I accept it. At present I have no +proposals made to me, nor have I any advice of such an intention, except +from private hands." + +On the very day that this letter was despatched (Aug. 14), he received +intelligence of his appointment to the command on the terms specified in +his letters to his friends. His commission nominated him commander-in-chief +of all the forces raised, or to be raised in the colony. The Assembly also +voted three hundred pounds to him, and proportionate sums to the other +officers, and to the privates of the Virginia companies, in consideration +of their gallant conduct, and their losses in the late battle. + +The officers next in command under him were Lieutenant-Colonel Adam +Stephens, and Major Andrew Lewis. The former, it will be recollected, had +been with him in the unfortunate affair at the Great Meadows; his advance +in rank shows that his conduct had been meritorious. + +The appointment of Washington to his present station was the more +gratifying and honorable from being a popular one, made in deference to +public sentiment; to which Governor Dinwiddie was obliged to sacrifice his +strong inclination in favor of Colonel Innes. It is thought that the +governor never afterwards regarded Washington with a friendly eye. His +conduct towards him subsequently was on various occasions cold and +ungracious. [Footnote: Sparks' Writings of Washington, vol. ii., p. 161, +note.] + +It is worthy of note that the early popularity of Washington was not the +result of brilliant achievements nor signal success; on the contrary, it +rose among trials and reverses, and may almost be said to have been the +fruit of defeats. It remains an honorable testimony of Virginian +intelligence, that the sterling, enduring, but undazzling qualities of +Washington were thus early discerned and appreciated, though only heralded +by misfortunes. The admirable manner in which he had conducted himself +under these misfortunes, and the sagacity and practical wisdom he had +displayed on all occasions, were universally acknowledged; and it was +observed that, had his modest counsels been adopted by the unfortunate +Braddock, a totally different result might have attended the late campaign. + +An instance of this high appreciation of his merits occurs in a sermon +preached on the 17th of August by the Rev. Samuel Davis, wherein he cites +him as "that heroic youth, Colonel Washington, _whom I cannot but hope +Providence has hitherto preserved in so signal a manner for some important +service to his country._" The expressions of the worthy clergyman may +have been deemed enthusiastic at the time; viewed in connection with +subsequent events they appear almost prophetic. + +Having held a conference with Governor Dinwiddie at Williamsburg, and +received his instructions, Washington repaired, on the 14th of September, +to Winchester, where he fixed his headquarters. It was a place as yet of +trifling magnitude, but important from its position; being a central point +where the main roads met, leading from north to south, and east to west, +and commanding the channels of traffic and communication between some of +the most important colonies and a great extent of frontier. + +Here he was brought into frequent and cordial communication with his old +friend Lord Fairfax. The stir of war had revived a spark of that military +fire which animated the veteran nobleman in the days of his youth, when an +officer in the cavalry regiment of the Blues. He was lord-lieutenant of the +county. Greenway Court was his headquarters. He had organized a troop of +horse, which occasionally was exercised about the lawn of his domain, and +he was now as prompt to mount his steed for a cavalry parade as he ever was +for a fox chase. The arrival of Washington frequently brought the old +nobleman to Winchester to aid the young commander with his counsels or his +sword. + +His services were soon put in requisition. Washington, having visited the +frontier posts, established recruiting places, and taken other measures of +security, had set off for Williamsburg on military business, when an +express arrived at Winchester from Colonel Stephens, who commanded at Fort +Cumberland, giving the alarm that a body of Indians were ravaging the +country, burning the houses, and slaughtering the inhabitants. The express +was instantly forwarded after Washington; in the mean time, Lord Fairfax +sent out orders for the militia of Fairfax and Prince William counties to +arm and hasten to the defence of Winchester, where all was confusion and +affright. One fearful account followed another. The whole country beyond it +was said to be at the mercy of the savages. They had blockaded the rangers +in the little fortresses or outposts provided for the protection of +neighborhoods. They were advancing upon Winchester with fire, tomahawk, and +scalping-knife. The country people were flocking into the town for +safety--the townspeople were moving off to the settlements beyond the Blue +Ridge. The beautiful valley of the Shenandoah was likely to become a scene +of savage desolation. + +In the height of the confusion Washington rode into the town. He had been +overtaken by Colonel Stephens' express. His presence inspired some degree +of confidence, and he succeeded in stopping most of the fugitives. He would +have taken the field at once against the savages, believing their numbers +to be few; but not more than twenty-five of the militia could be mustered +for the service. The rest refused to stir--they would rather die with their +wives and children. + +Expresses were sent off to hurry up the militia ordered out by Lord +Fairfax. Scouts were ordered out to discover the number of the foe, and +convey assurances of succor to the rangers said to be blocked up in the +fortresses, though Washington suspected the latter to be "more encompassed +by fear than by the enemy." Smiths were set to work to furbish up and +repair such firearms as were in the place, and waggons were sent off for +musket balls, flints, and provisions. + +Instead, however, of animated co-operation, Washington was encountered by +difficulties at every step. The waggons in question had to be impressed, +and the waggoners compelled by force to assist. "No orders," writes he, +"are obeyed, but such as a party of soldiers or my own drawn sword +enforces. Without this, not a single horse, for the most earnest occasion, +can be had,--to such a pitch has the insolence of these people arrived, by +having every point hitherto submitted to them. However, I have given up +none, where his majesty's service requires the contrary, and where my +proceedings are justified by my instructions; nor will I, unless they +execute what they threaten--that is, blow out our brains." + +One is tempted to smile at this tirade about the "insolence of the people," +and this zeal for "his majesty's service," on the part of Washington; but +he was as yet a young man and a young officer; loyal to his sovereign, and +with high notions of military authority, which he had acquired in the camp +of Braddock. + +What he thus terms insolence was the dawning spirit of independence, which +he was afterwards the foremost to cherish and promote; and which, in the +present instance, had been provoked by the rough treatment from the +military, which the waggoners and others of the yeomanry had experienced +when employed in Braddock's campaign, and by the neglect to pay them for +their services. Much of Washington's difficulties also arose, doubtlessly, +from the inefficiency of the military laws, for an amendment of which he +had in vain made repeated applications to Governor Dinwiddie. + +In the mean time the panic and confusion increased. On Sunday an express +hurried into town, breathless with haste and terror. The Indians, he said, +were but twelve miles off; they had attacked the house of Isaac Julian; the +inhabitants were flying for their lives. Washington immediately ordered the +town guards to be strengthened; armed some recruits who had just arrived, +and sent out two scouts to reconnoitre the enemy. It was a sleepless night +in Winchester. Horror increased with the dawn; before the men could be +paraded a second express arrived, ten times more terrified than the former. +The Indians were within four miles of the town, killing and destroying all +before them. He had heard the constant firing of the savages and the +shrieks of their victims. + +The terror of Winchester now passed all bounds. Washington put himself at +the head of about forty men, militia and recruits, and pushed for the scene +of carnage. + +The result is almost too ludicrous for record. The whole cause of the alarm +proved to be three drunken troopers, carousing, hallooing, uttering the +most unheard of imprecations, and ever and anon firing off their pistols. +Washington interrupted them in the midst of their revel and blasphemy, and +conducted them prisoners to town. + +The reported attack on the house of Isaac Julian proved equally an absurd +exaggeration. The ferocious party of Indians turned out to be a mulatto and +a negro in quest of cattle. They had been seen by a child of Julian, who +alarmed his father, who alarmed the neighborhood. + +"These circumstances," says Washington, "show what a panic prevails among +the people; how much they are all alarmed at the most usual and customary +cries; and yet how impossible it is to get them to act in any respect for +their common safety." + +They certainly present a lively picture of the feverish state of a frontier +community, hourly in danger of Indian ravage and butchery; than which no +kind of warfare is more fraught with real and imaginary horrors. + +The alarm thus originating had spread throughout the country. A captain, +who arrived with recruits from Alexandria, reported that he had found the +road across the Blue Ridge obstructed by crowds of people flying for their +lives, whom he endeavored in vain to stop. They declared that Winchester +was in flames! + +At length the band of Indians, whose ravages had produced this +consternation throughout the land, and whose numbers did not exceed one +hundred and fifty, being satiated with carnage, conflagration, and plunder, +retreated, bearing off spoils and captives. Intelligent scouts sent out by +Washington, followed their traces, and brought back certain intelligence +that they had recrossed the Allegany Mountains and returned to their homes +on the Ohio. This report allayed the public panic and restored temporary +quiet to the harassed frontier. + +Most of the Indians engaged in these ravages were Delawares and Shawnees, +who, since Braddock's defeat, had been gained over by the French. A +principal instigator was said to be Washington's old acquaintance, Shengis, +and a reward was offered for his head. + +Scarooyadi, successor to the half-king, remained true to the English, and +vindicated his people to the Governor and Council of Pennsylvania from the +charge of having had any share in the late massacres. As to the defeat at +the Monongahela, "it was owing," he said, "to the pride and ignorance of +that great general (Braddock) that came from England. He is now dead; but +he was a bad man when he was alive. He looked upon us as dogs, and would +never hear any thing that was said to him. We often endeavored to advise +him, and tell him of the danger he was in with his soldiers; but he never +appeared pleased with us, and that was the reason that a great many of our +warriors left him." [Footnote: Hazard's Register of Penn., v., p. 252, +266.] + +Scarooyadi was ready with his warriors to take up the hatchet again with +their English brothers against the French. "Let us unite our strength," +said he; "you are numerous, and all the English governors along your +sea-shore can raise men enough; but don't let those that come from over the +great seas be concerned any more. _They art unfit to fight in the woods. +Let us go ourselves--we that came out of this ground._" + +No one felt more strongly than Washington the importance, at this trying +juncture, of securing the assistance of these forest warriors. "It is in +their power," said he, "to be of infinite use to us; and without Indians, +we shall never be able to cope with these cruel foes to our country." +[Footnote: Letter to Dinwiddie.] + +Washington had now time to inform himself of the fate of the other +enterprises included in this year's plan of military operations. We shall +briefly dispose of them, for the sake of carrying on the general course of +events. The history of Washington is linked with the history of the +colonies. The defeat of Braddock paralyzed the expedition against Niagara. +Many of General Shirley's troops, which were assembled at Albany, struck +with the consternation which it caused throughout the country, deserted. +Most of the batteau men, who were to transport stores by various streams, +returned home. It was near the end of August before Shirley was in force at +Oswego. Time was lost in building boats for the lake. Storms and head winds +ensued; then sickness: military incapacity in the general completed the +list of impediments. Deferring the completion of the enterprise until the +following year, Shirley returned to Albany with the main part of his forces +in October, leaving about seven hundred men to garrison the fortifications +he had commenced at Oswego. + +To General William Johnson, it will be recollected, had been confided the +expedition against Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. Preparations were made +for it in Albany, whence the troops were to march, and the artillery, +ammunition, and stores to be conveyed up the Hudson to the carrying-place +between that river and Lake St. Sacrament, as it was termed by the French, +but Lake George, as Johnson named it, in honor of his sovereign. At the +carrying-place a fort was commenced, subsequently called Fort Edward. Part +of the troops remained under General Lyman, to complete and garrison it; +the main force proceeded under General Johnson to Lake George, the plan +being to descend that lake to its outlet at Ticonderoga, in Lake Champlain. +Having to attend the arrival of batteaux forwarded for the purpose from +Albany by the carrying-place, Johnson encamped at the south end of the +lake. He had with him between five and six thousand troops of New York and +New England, and a host of Mohawk warriors, loyally devoted to him. + +It so happened that a French force of upwards of three thousand men, under +the Baron de Dieskau, an old general of high reputation, had recently +arrived at Quebec, destined against Oswego. The baron had proceeded to +Montreal, and sent forward thence seven hundred of his troops, when news +arrived of the army gathering on Lake George for the attack on Crown Point, +perhaps for an inroad into Canada. The public were in consternation; +yielding to their importunities, the baron took post at Crown Point for its +defence. Beside his regular troops, he had with him eight hundred +Canadians, and seven hundred Indians of different tribes. The latter were +under the general command of the Chevalier Legardeur de St. Pierre, the +veteran officer to whom Washington had delivered the despatches of Governor +Dinwiddie on his diplomatic mission to the frontier. The chevalier was a +man of great influence among the Indians. + +In the mean time Johnson remained encamped at the south end of Lake George, +awaiting the arrival of his batteaux. The camp was protected in the rear by +the lake, in front by a bulwark of felled trees; and was flanked by thickly +wooded swamps. + +On the 7th of September, the Indian scouts brought word that they had +discovered three large roads made through the forests toward Fort Edward. +An attack on that post was apprehended. Adams, a hardy waggoner, rode +express with orders to the commander to draw all the troops within the +works. About midnight came other scouts. They had seen the French within +four miles of the carrying-place. They had heard the report of a musket, +and the voice of a man crying for mercy, supposed to be the unfortunate +Adams. In the morning Colonel Williams was detached with one thousand men, +and two hundred Indians, to intercept the enemy in their retreat. + +Within two hours after their departure a heavy fire of musketry, in the +midst of the forest, about three or four miles off, told of a warm +encounter. The drums beat to arms; all were at their posts. The firing grew +sharper and sharper, and nearer and nearer. The detachment under Williams +was evidently retreating. Colonel Cole was sent with three hundred men to +cover their retreat. The breastwork of trees was manned. Some heavy cannon +were dragged up to strengthen the front. A number of men were stationed +with a field-piece on an eminence on the left flank. + +In a short time fugitives made their appearance; first singly, then in +masses, flying in confusion, with a rattling fire behind them, and the +horrible Indian war-whoop. Consternation seized upon the camp, especially +when the French emerged from the forest in battle array, led by the Baron +Dieskau, the gallant commander of Crown Point. Had all his troops been as +daring as himself, the camp might have been carried by assault; but the +Canadians and Indians held back, posted themselves behind trees, and took +to bush-fighting. + +The baron was left with his regulars (two hundred grenadiers) in front of +the camp. He kept up a fire by platoons, but at too great a distance to do +much mischief; the Canadians and Indians fired from their coverts. The +artillery played on them in return. The camp, having recovered from its +panic, opened a fire of musketry. The engagement became general. The French +grenadiers stood their ground bravely for a long time, but were dreadfully +cut up by the artillery and small arms. The action slackened on the part of +the French, until, after a long contest, they gave way. Johnson's men and +the Indians then leaped over the breastwork, and a chance medley fight +ensued, that ended in the slaughter, rout, or capture of the enemy. + +The Baron de Dieskau had been disabled by a wound in the leg. One of his +men, who endeavored to assist him, was shot down by his side. The baron, +left alone in the retreat, was found by the pursuers leaning against the +stump of a tree. As they approached, he felt for his watch to insure kind +treatment by delivering it up. A soldier, thinking he was drawing forth a +pistol to defend himself, shot him through the hips. He was conveyed a +prisoner to the camp, but ultimately died of his wounds. + +The baron had really set off from Crown Point to surprise Fort Edward, and, +if successful, to push on to Albany and Schenectady; lay them in ashes, and +cut off all communication with Oswego. The Canadians and Indians, however, +refused to attack the fort, fearful of its cannon; he had changed his plan, +therefore, and determined to surprise the camp. In the encounter with the +detachment under Williams, the brave Chevalier Legardeur de St. Pierre lost +his life. On the part of the Americans, Hendrick, a famous old Mohawk +sachem, grand ally of General Johnson, was slain. + +Johnson himself received a slight wound early in the action, and retired to +his tent. He did not follow up the victory as he should have done, alleging +that it was first necessary to build a strong fort at his encampment, by +way of keeping up a communication with Albany, and by the time this was +completed, it would be too late to advance against Crown Point. He +accordingly erected a stockaded fort, which received the name of William +Henry; and having garrisoned it, returned to Albany. His services, although +they gained him no laurel-wreath, were rewarded by government with five +thousand pounds, and a baronetcy; and he was made Superintendent of Indian +Affairs. [Footnote: Johnson's Letter to the Colonial Governors, Sept. 9th, +1753. London Mag., 1755., p. 544. Holmes' Am. Annals, vol. ii., p. 63. 4th +edit., 1829.] + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +REFORM IN THE MILITIA LAWS--DISCIPLINE OF THE TROOPS--DAGWORTHY AND THE +QUESTION OF PRECEDENCE--WASHINGTON'S JOURNEY TO BOSTON--STYLE OF +TRAVELLING--CONFERENCE WITH SHIRLEY--THE EARL OF LOUDOUN--MILITARY RULE FOR +THE COLONIES--WASHINGTON AT NEW YORK--MISS MARY PHILIPSE. + + +Mortifying experience had convinced Washington of the inefficiency of the +militia laws, and he now set about effecting a reformation. Through his +great and persevering efforts, an act was passed in the Virginia +Legislature giving prompt operation to courts-martial; punishing +insubordination, mutiny and desertion with adequate severity; strengthening +the authority of a commander, so as to enable him to enforce order and +discipline among officers as well as privates; and to avail himself, in +time of emergency, and for the common safety, of the means and services of +individuals. + +This being effected, he proceeded to fill up his companies, and to enforce +this newly defined authority within his camp. All gaming, drinking, +quarrelling, swearing, and similar excesses, were prohibited under severe +penalties. + +In disciplining his men, they were instructed not merely in ordinary and +regular tactics, but in all the strategy of Indian warfare, and what is +called "bush-fighting,"--a knowledge indispensable in the wild wars of the +wilderness. Stockaded forts, too, were constructed at various points, as +places of refuge and defence, in exposed neighborhoods. Under shelter of +these, the inhabitants began to return to their deserted homes. A shorter +and better road, also, was opened by him between Winchester and Cumberland, +for the transmission of reinforcements and supplies. + +His exertions, however, were impeded by one of those questions of +precedence, which had so often annoyed him, arising from the difference +between crown and provincial commissions. Maryland having by a scanty +appropriation raised a small militia force, stationed Captain Dagworthy, +with a company of thirty men, at Fort Cumberland, which stood within the +boundaries of that province. Dagworthy had served in Canada in the +preceding war, and had received a king's commission. This he had since +commuted for half-pay, and, of course, had virtually parted with its +privileges. He was nothing more, therefore, than a Maryland provincial +captain, at the head of thirty men. He now, however, assumed to act under +his royal commission, and refused to obey the orders of any officer, +however high his rank, who merely held his commission from a governor. Nay, +when Governor, or rather Colonel Innes, who commanded at the fort, was +called away to North Carolina by his private affairs, the captain took upon +himself the command, and insisted upon it as his right. + +Parties instantly arose, and quarrels ensued among the inferior officers; +grave questions were agitated between the Governors of Maryland and +Virginia, as to the fort itself; the former claiming it as within his +province, the latter insisting that, as it had been built according to +orders sent by the king, it was the king's fort, and could not be subject +to the authority of Maryland. + +Washington refrained from mingling in this dispute; but intimated that if +the commander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia must yield precedence to a +Maryland captain of thirty men, he should have to resign his commission, as +he had been compelled to do before, by a question of military rank. + +So difficult was it, however, to settle these disputes of precedence, +especially where the claims of two governors came in collision, that it was +determined to refer the matter to Major-General Shirley, who had succeeded +Braddock in the general command of the colonies. For this purpose +Washington was to go to Boston, obtain a decision from Shirley of the point +in dispute, and a general regulation, by which these difficulties could be +prevented in future. It was thought, also, that in a conference with the +commander-in-chief he might inform himself of the military measures in +contemplation. + +Accordingly, on the 4th of February (1756), leaving Colonel Adam Stephen in +command of the troops, Washington set out on his mission, accompanied by +his aide-de-camp, Captain George Mercer of Virginia, and Captain Stewart of +the Virginia light horse; the officer who had taken care of General +Braddock in his last moments. + +In those days the conveniences of travelling, even between our main cities, +were few, and the roads execrable. The party, therefore, travelled in +Virginia style, on horseback, attended by their black servants in livery. +[Footnote: We have hitherto treated of Washington in his campaigns in the +wilderness, frugal and scanty in his equipments, often, very probably, in +little better than hunter's garb. His present excursion through some of the +Atlantic cities presents him in a different aspect. His recent intercourse +with young British officers, had probably elevated his notions as to style +in dress and appearance; at least we are inclined to suspect so from the +following aristocratical order for clothes, sent shortly before the time in +question, to his correspondent in London. + +"2 complete livery suits for servants; with a spare cloak, and all other +necessary trimmings for two suits more. I would have you choose the livery +by our arms, only as the field of the arms is white, I think the clothes +had better not be quite so, but nearly like the inclosed. The trimmings and +facings of scarlet, and a scarlet waistcoat. If livery lace is not quite +disused, I should be glad to have the cloaks laced. I like that fashion +best, and two silver-laced hats for the above servants. + +"1 set of horse furniture, with livery lace, with the Washington crest on +the housings, &c. The cloak to be of the same piece and color of the +clothes. + +"3 gold and scarlet sword-knots. 3 silver and blue do. 1 fashionable +gold-laced hat."] In this way they accomplished a journey of five hundred +miles in the depth of winter; stopping for some days at Philadelphia and +New York. Those cities were then comparatively small, and the arrival of a +party of young Southern officers attracted attention. The late disastrous +battle was still the theme of every tongue, and the honorable way in which +these young officers had acquitted themselves in it, made them objects of +universal interest. Washington's fame, especially, had gone before him; +having been spread by the officers who had served with him, and by the +public honors decreed him by the Virginia Legislature. "Your name," wrote +his former fellow-campaigner, Gist, in a letter dated in the preceding +autumn, "is more talked of in Philadelphia than that of any other person in +the army, and every body seems willing to venture under your command." + +[Illustration] + +With these prepossessions in his favor, when we consider Washington's noble +person and demeanor, his consummate horsemanship, the admirable horses he +was accustomed to ride, and the aristocratical style of his equipments, we +may imagine the effect produced by himself and his little cavalcade, as +they clattered through the streets of Philadelphia, and New York, and +Boston. It is needless to say, their sojourn in each city was a continual +fête. + +The mission to General Shirley was entirely successful as to the question +of rank. A written order from the Commander-in-chief determined that +Dagworthy was entitled to the rank of a provincial captain, only, and, of +course, must on all occasions give precedence to Colonel Washington, as a +provincial field officer. The latter was disappointed, however, in the hope +of getting himself and his officers put upon the regular establishment, +with commissions from the king, and had to remain subjected to mortifying +questions of rank and etiquette, when serving in company with regular +troops. + +From General Shirley he learnt that the main objects of the ensuing +campaign would be the reduction of Fort Niagara, so as to cut off the +communication between Canada and Louisiana, the capture of Ticonderoga and +Crown Point, as a measure of safety for New York, the besieging of Fort +Duquesne, and the menacing of Quebec by a body of troops which were to +advance by the Kennebec River. + +The official career of General Shirley was drawing to a close. Though a man +of good parts, he had always, until recently, acted in a civil capacity, +and proved incompetent to conduct military operations. He was recalled to +England, and was to be superseded by General Abercrombie, who was coming +out with two regiments. + +The general command in America, however, was to be held by the Earl of +Loudoun, who was invested with powers almost equal to those of a viceroy, +being placed above all the colonial governors. These might claim to be +civil and military representatives of their sovereign, within their +respective colonies; but, even there, were bound to defer and yield +precedence to this their official superior. This was part of a plan devised +long since, but now first brought into operation, by which the ministry +hoped to unite the colonies under military rule, and oblige the Assemblies, +magistrates, and people to furnish quarters and provide a general fund +subject to the control of this military dictator. + +Beside his general command, the Earl of Loudoun was to be governor of +Virginia and colonel of a royal American regiment of four battalions, to be +raised in the colonies, but furnished with officers who, like himself, had +seen foreign service. The campaign would open on his arrival, which, it was +expected, would be early in the spring; and brilliant results were +anticipated. + +Washington remained ten days in Boston, attending, with great interest, the +meetings of the Massachusetts Legislature, in which the plan of military +operations was ably discussed; and receiving the most hospitable attentions +from the polite and intelligent society of the place, after which he +returned to New York. + +Tradition gives very different motives from those of business for his two +sojourns in the latter city. He found there an early friend and +school-mate, Beverly Robinson, son of John Robinson, speaker of the +Virginia House of Burgesses. He was living happily and prosperously with a +young and wealthy bride, having married one of the nieces and heiresses of +Mr. Adolphus Philipse, a rich landholder, whose manor-house is still to be +seen on the banks of the Hudson. At the house of Mr. Beverly Robinson, +where Washington was an honored guest, he met Miss Mary Philipse, sister of +and co-heiress with Mrs. Robinson, a young lady whose personal attractions +are said to have rivalled her reputed wealth. + +We have already given an instance of Washington's early sensibility to +female charms. A life, however, of constant activity and care, passed for +the most part in the wilderness and on the frontier, far from female +society, had left little mood or leisure for the indulgence of the tender +sentiment; but made him more sensible, in the present brief interval of gay +and social life, to the attractions of an elegant woman, brought up in the +polite circle of New York. + +That he was an open admirer of Miss Philipse is an historical fact; that he +sought her hand, but was refused, is traditional, and not very probable. +His military rank, his early laurels and distinguished presence, were all +calculated to win favor in female eyes; but his sojourn in New York was +brief; he may have been diffident in urging his suit with a lady accustomed +to the homage of society and surrounded by admirers. The most probable +version of the story is, that he was called away by his public duties +before he had made sufficient approaches in his siege of the lady's heart +to warrant a summons to surrender. In the latter part of March we find him +at Williamsburg attending the opening of the Legislature of Virginia, eager +to promote measures for the protection of the frontier and the capture of +Fort Duquesne, the leading object of his ambition. Maryland and +Pennsylvania were erecting forts for the defence of their own borders, but +showed no disposition to co-operate with Virginia in the field; and +artillery, artillerymen, and engineers were wanting for an attack on +fortified places. Washington urged, therefore, an augmentation of the +provincial forces, and various improvements in the militia laws. + +While thus engaged, he received a letter from a friend and confidant in New +York, warning him to hasten back to that city before it was too late, as +Captain Morris, who had been his fellow aide-de-camp under Braddock, was +laying close siege to Miss Philipse. Sterner alarms, however, summoned him +in another direction. Expresses from Winchester brought word that the +French had made another sortie from Fort Duquesne, accompanied by a band of +savages, and were spreading terror and desolation through the country. In +this moment of exigency all softer claims were forgotten; Washington +repaired in all haste to his post at Winchester, and Captain Morris was +left to urge his suit unrivalled and carry off the prize. + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +TROUBLES IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY--GREENWAY COURT AND LORD FAIRFAX IN +DANGER--ALARMS AT WINCHESTER--WASHINGTON APPEALED TO FOR PROTECTION-- +ATTACKED BY THE VIRGINIA PRESS--HONORED BY THE PUBLIC--PROJECTS FOR +DEFENCE--SUGGESTIONS OF WASHINGTON--THE GENTLEMEN ASSOCIATORS--RETREAT OF +THE SAVAGES--EXPEDITION AGAINST KITTANNING--CAPTAIN HUGH MERCER--SECOND +STRUGGLE THROUGH THE WILDERNESS. + + +Report had not exaggerated the troubles of the frontier. It was marauded by +merciless bands of savages, led, in some instances, by Frenchmen. +Travellers were murdered, farm-houses burnt down, families butchered, and +even stockaded forts, or houses of refuge, attacked in open day. The +marauders had crossed the mountains and penetrated the valley of the +Shenandoah; and several persons had fallen beneath the tomahawk in the +neighborhood of Winchester. + +Washington's old friend, Lord Fairfax, found himself no longer safe in his +rural abode. Greenway Court was in the midst of a woodland region, +affording a covert approach for the stealthy savage. His lordship was +considered a great chief, whose scalp would be an inestimable trophy for an +Indian warrior. Fears were entertained, therefore, by his friends, that an +attempt would be made to surprise him in his green-wood castle. His nephew, +Colonel Martin, of the militia, who resided with him, suggested the +expediency of a removal to the lower settlements, beyond the Blue Ridge. +The high-spirited old nobleman demurred; his heart cleaved to the home +which he had formed for himself in the wilderness. "I am an old man," said +he, "and it is of little importance whether I fall by the tomahawk or die +of disease and old age; but you are young, and, it is to be hoped, have +many years before you, therefore decide for us both; my only fear is, that +if we retire, the whole district will break up and take to flight; and this +fine country, which I have been at such cost and trouble to improve, will +again become a wilderness." + +Colonel Martin took but a short time to deliberate. He knew the fearless +character of his uncle, and perceived what was his inclination. He +considered that his lordship had numerous retainers, white and black, with +hardy huntsmen and foresters to rally round him, and that Greenway Court +was at no great distance from Winchester; he decided, therefore, that they +should remain and abide the course of events. + +Washington, on his arrival at Winchester, found the inhabitants in great +dismay. He resolved immediately to organize a force, composed partly of +troops from Fort Cumberland, partly of militia from Winchester and its +vicinity, to put himself at its head, and "scour the woods and suspected +places in all the mountains and valleys of this part of the frontier, in +quest of the Indians and their more cruel associates." + +He accordingly despatched an express to Fort Cumberland with orders for a +detachment from the garrison; "but how," said he, "are men to be raised at +Winchester, since orders are no longer regarded in the county?" + +Lord Fairfax, and other militia officers with whom he consulted, advised +that each captain should call a private muster of his men, and read before +them an address, or "exhortation" as it was called, being an appeal to +their patriotism and fears, and a summons to assemble on the 15th of April +to enroll themselves for the projected mountain foray. + +This measure was adopted; the private musterings occurred; the exhortation +was read; the time and place of assemblage appointed; but, when the day of +enrolment arrived, not more than fifteen men appeared upon the ground. In +the mean time the express returned with sad accounts from Fort Cumberland. +No troops could be furnished from that quarter. The garrison was scarcely +strong enough for self-defence, having sent out detachments in different +directions. The express had narrowly escaped with his life, having been +fired upon repeatedly, his horse shot under him, and his clothes riddled +with bullets. The roads, he said, were infested by savages; none but +hunters, who knew how to thread the forests at night, could travel with +safety. + +Horrors accumulated at Winchester. Every hour brought its tale of terror, +true or false, of houses burnt, families massacred, or beleaguered and +famishing in stockaded forts. The danger approached. A scouting party had +been attacked in the Warm Spring Mountain, about twenty miles distant, by a +large body of French and Indians, mostly on horseback. The captain of the +scouting party and several of his men had been slain, and the rest put to +flight. + +An attack on Winchester was apprehended, and the terrors of the people rose +to agony. They now turned to Washington as their main hope. The women +surrounded him, holding up their children, and imploring him with tears and +cries to save them from the savages. The youthful commander looked round on +the suppliant crowd with a countenance beaming with pity, and a heart wrung +with anguish. A letter to Governor Dinwiddie shows the conflict of his +feelings. "I am too little acquainted with pathetic language to attempt a +description of these people's distresses. But what can I do? I see their +situation; I know their danger, and participate their sufferings, without +having it in my power to give them further relief than uncertain +promises."--"The supplicating tears of the women, and moving petitions of +the men, melt me into such deadly sorrow, that I solemnly declare, if I +know my own mind, I could offer myself a willing sacrifice to the +butchering enemy, provided that would contribute to the people's ease." + +The unstudied eloquence of this letter drew from the governor an instant +order for a militia force from the upper counties to his assistance; but +the Virginia newspapers, in descanting on the frontier troubles, threw +discredit on the army and its officers, and attached blame to its +commander. Stung to the quick by this injustice, Washington publicly +declared that nothing but the imminent danger of the times prevented him +from instantly resigning a command from which he could never reap either +honor or benefit. His sensitiveness called forth strong letters from his +friends, assuring him of the high sense entertained at the seat of +government, and elsewhere, of his merits and services. "Your good health +and fortune are the toast of every table," wrote his early friend, Colonel +Fairfax, at that time a member of the governor's council. "Your endeavors +in the service and defence of your country must redound to your honor." + +"Our hopes, dear George," wrote Mr. Robinson, the Speaker of the House of +Burgesses, "are all fixed on you for bringing our affairs to a happy issue. +Consider what fatal consequences to your country your resigning the command +at this time may be, especially as there is no doubt most of the officers +will follow your example." + +In fact, the situation and services of the youthful commander, shut up in a +frontier town, destitute of forces, surrounded by savage foes, gallantly, +though despairingly, devoting himself to the safety of a suffering people, +were properly understood throughout the country, and excited a glow of +enthusiasm in his favor. The Legislature, too, began at length to act, but +timidly and inefficiently. "The country knows her danger," writes one of +the members, "but such is her parsimony that she is willing to wait for the +rains to wet the powder, and the rats to eat the bowstrings of the enemy, +rather than attempt to drive them from her frontiers." + +The measure of relief voted by the Assembly was an additional appropriation +of twenty thousand pounds, and an increase of the provincial force to +fifteen hundred men. With this, it was proposed to erect and garrison a +chain of frontier forts, extending through the ranges of the Allegany +Mountains, from the Potomac to the borders of North Carolina; a distance of +between three and four hundred miles. This was one of the inconsiderate +projects devised by Governor Dinwiddie. + +Washington, in letters to the governor and to the speaker of the House of +Burgesses, urged the impolicy of such a plan, with their actual force and +means. The forts, he observed, ought to be within fifteen or eighteen miles +of each other, that their spies might be able to keep watch over the +intervening country, otherwise the Indians would pass between them +unperceived, effect their ravages, and escape to the mountains, swamps, and +ravines, before the troops from the forts could be assembled to pursue +them. They ought each to be garrisoned with eighty or a hundred men, so as +to afford detachments of sufficient strength, without leaving the garrison +too weak; for the Indians are the most stealthy and patient of spies and +lurkers; will lie in wait for days together about small forts of the kind, +and, if they find, by some chance prisoner, that the garrison is actually +weak, will first surprise and cut off its scouting parties, and then attack +the fort itself. It was evident, therefore, observed he, that to garrison +properly such a line of forts, would require, at least, two thousand men. +And even then, a line of such extent might be broken through at one end +before the other end could yield assistance. Feint attacks, also, might be +made at one point, while the real attack was made at another, quite +distant; and the country be overrun before its widely-posted defenders +could be alarmed and concentrated. Then must be taken into consideration +the immense cost of building so many forts, and the constant and consuming +expense of supplies and transportation. + +His idea of a defensive plan was to build a strong fort at Winchester, the +central point, where all the main roads met of a wide range of scattered +settlements, where tidings could soonest be collected from every quarter, +and whence reinforcements and supplies could most readily be forwarded. It +was to be a grand deposit of military stores, a residence for commanding +officers, a place of refuge for the women and children in time of alarm, +when the men had suddenly to take the field; in a word, it was to be the +citadel of the frontier. + +Beside this, he would have three or four large fortresses erected at +convenient distances upon the frontiers, with powerful garrisons, so as to +be able to throw out, in constant succession, strong scouting parties, to +range the country. Fort Cumberland he condemned as being out of the +province, and out of the track of Indian incursions, insomuch that it +seldom received an alarm until all the mischief had been effected. + +His representations with respect to military laws and regulations were +equally cogent. In the late act of the Assembly for raising a regiment, it +was provided that, in cases of emergency, if recruits should not offer in +sufficient number, the militia might be drafted to supply the deficiencies, +but only to serve until December, and not to be marched out of the +province. In this case, said he, before they have entered upon service, or +got the least smattering of duty, they will claim a discharge; if they are +pursuing an enemy who has committed the most unheard-of cruelties, he has +only to step across the Potomac, and he is safe. Then as to the limits of +service, they might just as easily have been enlisted for seventeen months, +as seven. They would then have been seasoned as well as disciplined; "for +we find by experience," says he, "that our poor ragged soldiers would kill +the most active militia in five days' marching." + +Then, as to punishments: death, it was true, had been decreed for mutiny +and desertion; but there was no punishment for cowardice; for holding +correspondence with the enemy; for quitting, or sleeping on one's post; all +capital offences, according to the military codes of Europe. Neither were +there provisions for quartering or billeting soldiers, or impressing +waggons and other conveyances, in times of exigency. To crown all, no +court-martial could sit out of Virginia; a most embarrassing regulation, +when troops were fifty or a hundred miles beyond the frontier. He earnestly +suggested amendments on all these points, as well as with regard to the +soldiers' pay; which was less than that of the regular troops, or the +troops of most of the other provinces. + +All these suggestions, showing at this youthful age that forethought and +circumspection which distinguished him throughout life, were repeatedly and +eloquently urged upon Governor Dinwiddie, with very little effect. The plan +of a frontier line of twenty-three forts was persisted in. Fort Cumberland +was pertinaciously kept up at a great and useless expense of men and money, +and the militia laws remained lax and inefficient. It was decreed, however, +that the great central fort at Winchester recommended by Washington, should +be erected. + +In the height of the alarm, a company of one hundred gentlemen, mounted and +equipped, volunteered their services to repair to the frontier. They were +headed by Peyton Randolph, attorney-general, a man deservedly popular +throughout the province. Their offer was gladly accepted. They were +denominated the "Gentlemen Associators," and great expectations, of course, +were entertained from their gallantry and devotion. They were empowered, +also, to aid with their judgment in the selection of places for frontier +forts. + +The "Gentlemen Associators," like all gentlemen associators in similar +emergencies, turned out with great zeal and spirit, and immense popular +effect, but wasted their fire in preparation, and on the march. Washington, +who well understood the value of such aid, observed dryly in a letter to +Governor Dinwiddie, "I am heartily glad that you have fixed upon these +gentlemen to point out the places for erecting forts, but regret to find, +their motions so slow." There is no doubt that they would have conducted +themselves gallantly, had they been put to the test; but before they +arrived near the scene of danger the alarm was over. About the beginning of +May, scouts brought in word that the tracks of the marauding savages tended +toward Fort Duquesne, as if on the return. In a little while it was +ascertained that they had recrossed the Allegany Mountain to the Ohio in +such numbers as to leave a beaten track, equal to that made in the +preceding year by the army of Braddock. + +The repeated inroads of the savages called for an effectual and permanent +check. The idea of being constantly subject to the irruptions of a deadly +foe, that moved with stealth and mystery, and was only to be traced by its +ravages, and counted by its footprints, discouraged all settlement of the +country. The beautiful valley of the Shenandoah was fast becoming a +deserted and a silent place. Her people, for the most part, had fled to the +older settlements south of the mountains, and the Blue Ridge was likely +soon to become virtually the frontier line of the province. + +We have to record one signal act of retaliation on the perfidious tribes of +the Ohio, in which a person whose name subsequently became dear to +Americans, was concerned. Prisoners who had escaped from the savages +reported that Shingis, Washington's faithless ally, and another sachem, +called Captain Jacobs, were the two heads of the hostile bands that had +desolated the frontier. That they lived at Kittanning, an Indian town, +about forty miles above Fort Duquesne; at which their warriors were fitted +out for incursions, and whither they returned with their prisoners and +plunder. Captain Jacobs was a daring fellow, and scoffed at palisaded +forts. "He could take any fort," he said, "that would catch fire." + +A party of two hundred and eighty provincials, resolute men, undertook to +surprise, and destroy this savage nest. It was commanded by Colonel John +Armstrong; and with him went Dr. Hugh Mercer, of subsequent renown, who had +received a captain's commission from Pennsylvania, on the 6th of March, +1756. + +Armstrong led his men rapidly, but secretly, over mountain, and through +forest, until, after a long and perilous march, they reached the Allegany. +It was a moonlight night when they arrived in the neighborhood of +Kittanning. They were guided to the village by whoops and yells, and the +sound of the Indian drum. The warriors were celebrating their exploits by +the triumphant scalp-dance. After a while the revel ceased, and a number of +fires appeared here and there in a corn-field. They were made by such of +the Indians as slept in the open air, and were intended to drive off the +gnats. Armstrong and his men lay down "quiet and hush," observing every +thing narrowly, and waiting until the moon should set, and the warriors be +asleep. At length the moon went down, the fires burned low; all was quiet. +Armstrong now roused his men, some of whom, wearied by their long march, +had fallen asleep. He divided his forces; part were to attack the warriors +in the corn-field, part were despatched to the houses, which were dimly +seen by the first streak of day. There was sharp firing in both quarters, +for the Indians, though taken by surprise, fought bravely, inspired by the +war-whoop of their chief, Captain Jacobs. The women and children fled to +the woods. Several of the provincials were killed and wounded. Captain Hugh +Mercer received a wound in the arm, and was taken to the top of a hill. The +fierce chieftain, Captain Jacobs, was besieged in his house, which had +port-holes; whence he and his warriors made havoc among the assailants. The +adjoining houses were set on fire. The chief was summoned to surrender +himself. He replied he was a man, and would not be a prisoner. He was told +he would be burnt. His reply was, "he would kill four or five before he +died." The flames and smoke approached. "One of the besieged warriors, to +show his manhood, began to sing. A squaw at the same time was heard to cry, +but was severely rebuked by the men." [Footnote: Letter from Col. +Armstrong.] + +In the end, the warriors were driven out by the flames; some escaped, and +some were shot. Among the latter was Captain Jacobs, and his gigantic son, +said to be seven feet high. Fire was now set to all the houses, thirty in +number. "During the burning of the houses," says Colonel Armstrong, "we +were agreeably entertained with a quick succession of charged guns, +gradually firing off as reached by the fire, but much more so with the vast +explosion of sundry bags, and large kegs of powder, wherewith almost every +house abounded." The colonel was in a strange condition to enjoy such an +entertainment, having received a wound from a large musket-ball in the +shoulder. + +The object of the expedition was accomplished. Thirty or forty of the +warriors were slain; their stronghold was a smoking ruin. There was danger +of the victors being cut off by a detachment from Fort Duquesne. They made +the best of their way, therefore, to their horses, which had been left at a +distance, and set off rapidly on their march to Fort Lyttleton, about sixty +miles north of Fort Cumberland. + +Colonel Armstrong had reached Fort Lyttleton on the 14th of September, six +days after the battle, and fears were entertained that he had been +intercepted by the Indians and was lost. He, with his ensign and eleven +men, had separated from the main body when they began their march, and had +taken another and what was supposed a safer road. He had with him a woman, +a boy, and two little girls, recaptured from the Indians. The whole party +ultimately arrived safe at Fort Lyttleton, but it would seem that Mercer, +weak and faint from his fractured arm, must have fallen behind, or in some +way become separated from them, and had a long, solitary, and painful +struggle through the wilderness, reaching the fort sick, weary, and half +famished. [Footnote: "We hear that Captain Mercer was fourteen days in +getting to Fort Lyttleton. He had a miraculous escape, living ten days on +two dried clams and a rattlesnake, with the assistance of a few +berries."--_New York Mercury for October_ 4, 1756.] We shall have to +speak hereafter of his services when under the standard of Washington, +whose friend and neighbor he subsequently became. [Footnote: Mercer was a +Scotchman, about thirty-four years of age. About ten years previously he +had served as Assistant Surgeon in the forces of Charles Edward, and +followed his standard to the disastrous field of Culloden. After the defeat +of the "Chevalier," he had escaped by the way of Inverness to America, and +taken up his residence on the frontier of Pennsylvania.] + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +FOUNDING OF FORT LOUDOUN--WASHINGTON'S TOUR OF INSPECTION--INEFFICIENCY OF +THE MILITIA SYSTEM--GENTLEMEN SOLDIERS--CROSS-PURPOSES WITH DINWIDDIE-- +MILITARY AFFAIRS IN THE NORTH--DELAYS OF LORD LOUDOUN--ACTIVITY OF +MONTCALM--LOUDOUN IN WINTER QUARTERS. + + +Throughout the summer of 1756, Washington exerted himself diligently in +carrying out measures determined upon for frontier security. The great +fortress at Winchester was commenced, and the work urged forward as +expeditiously as the delays and perplexities incident to a badly organized +service would permit. It received the name of Fort Loudoun, in honor of the +commander-in-chief, whose arrival in Virginia was hopefully anticipated. + +As to the sites of the frontier posts, they were decided upon by Washington +and his officers, after frequent and long consultations; parties were sent +out to work on them, and men recruited, and militia drafted, to garrison +them. Washington visited occasionally such as were in progress, and near at +hand. It was a service of some peril, for the mountains and forests were +still infested by prowling savages, especially in the neighborhood of these +new forts. At one time when he was reconnoitering a wild part of the +country, attended merely by a servant and a guide, two men were murdered by +the Indians in a solitary defile shortly after he had passed through it. + +In the autumn, he made a tour of inspection along the whole line, +accompanied by his friend, Captain Hugh Mercer, who had recovered from his +recent wounds. This tour furnished repeated proofs of the inefficiency of +the militia system. In one place he attempted to raise a force with which +to scour a region infested by roving bands of savages. After waiting +several days, but five men answered to his summons. In another place, where +three companies had been ordered to the relief of a fort, attacked by the +Indians, all that could be mustered were a captain, a lieutenant, and seven +or eight men. + +When the militia were drafted, and appeared under arms, the case was not +much better. It was now late in the autumn; their term of service, by the +act of the Legislature, expired in December,--half of the time, therefore, +was lost in marching out and home. Their waste of provisions was enormous. +To be put on allowance, like other soldiers, they considered an indignity. +They would sooner starve than carry a few days' provisions on their backs. +On the march, when breakfast was wanted, they would knock down the first +beeves they met with, and, after regaling themselves, march on till dinner, +when they would take the same method; and so for supper, to the great +oppression of the people. For the want of proper military laws, they were +obstinate, self-willed, and perverse. Every individual had his own crude +notion of things, and would undertake to direct. If his advice were +neglected, he would think himself slighted, abused, and injured, and, to +redress himself, would depart for his home. + +The garrisons were weak for want of men, but more so from indolence and +irregularity. None were in a posture of defence; few but might be surprised +with the greatest ease. At one fort, the Indians rushed from their +lurking-place, pounced upon several children playing under the walls, and +bore them off before they were discovered. Another fort was surprised, and +many of the people massacred in the same manner. In the course of his tour, +as he and his party approached a fort, he heard a quick firing for several +minutes; concluding that it was attacked, they hastened to its relief, but +found the garrison were merely amusing themselves firing at a mark, or for +wagers. In this way they would waste their ammunition as freely as they did +their provisions. In the mean time, the inhabitants of the country were in +a wretched situation, feeling the little dependence to be put on militia, +who were slow in coming to their assistance, indifferent about their +preservation, unwilling to continue, and regardless of every thing but of +their own ease. In short, they were so apprehensive of approaching ruin, +that the whole back country was in a general motion towards the southern +colonies. + +From the Catawba, he was escorted along a range of forts by a colonel, and +about thirty men, chiefly officers. "With this small company of +irregulars," says he, "with whom order, regularity, circumspection, and +vigilance were matters of derision and contempt, we set out, and, by the +protection of Providence, reached Augusta court-house in seven days, +without meeting the enemy; otherwise, we must have fallen a sacrifice, +through the indiscretion of these whooping, hallooing, _gentlemen_ +soldiers!" + +How lively a picture does this give of the militia system at all times, +when not subjected to strict military law. + +What rendered this year's service peculiarly irksome and embarrassing to +Washington, was the nature of his correspondence with Governor Dinwiddie. +That gentleman, either from the natural hurry and confusion of his mind, or +from a real disposition to perplex, was extremely ambiguous and +unsatisfactory in most of his orders and replies. "So much am I kept in the +dark," says Washington, in one of his letters, "that I do not know whether +to prepare for the offensive or defensive. What would be absolutely +necessary for the one, would be quite useless for the other." And again: +"The orders I receive are full of ambiguity. I am left like a wanderer in +the wilderness, to proceed at hazard. I am answerable for consequences, and +blamed, without the privilege of defence." + +In nothing was this disposition to perplex more apparent than in the +governor's replies respecting Fort Cumberland. Washington had repeatedly +urged the abandonment of this fort as a place of frontier deposit, being +within the bounds of another province, and out of the track of Indian +incursion; so that often the alarm would not reach there until after the +mischief had been effected. He applied, at length, for particular and +positive directions from the governor on this head. "The following," says +he, "is an exact copy of his answer:--'Fort Cumberland is a _king_'s +fort, and built chiefly at the charge of the colony, therefore properly +under our direction until a new governor is appointed.' Now, whether I am +to understand this aye or no to the plain simple question asked, Is the +fort to be continued or removed? I know not. But in all important matters I +am directed in this ambiguous and uncertain way." + +Governor Dinwiddie subsequently made himself explicit on this point. Taking +offence at some of Washington's comments on the military affairs of the +frontier, he made the stand of a self-willed and obstinate man, in the case +of Fort Cumberland; and represented it in such light to Lord Loudoun, as to +draw from his lordship an order that it should be kept up: and an implied +censure of the conduct of Washington in slighting a post of such paramount +importance. "I cannot agree with Colonel Washington," writes his lordship, +"in not drawing in the posts from the stockade forts, in order to defend +that advanced one; and I should imagine much more of the frontier will be +exposed by retiring your advanced posts near Winchester, where I understand +he is retired; for, from your letter, I take it for granted he has before +this executed his plan, without waiting for any advice. If he leaves any of +the great quantity of stores behind, it will be very unfortunate, and he +ought to consider that it must lie at his own door." + +Thus powerfully supported, Dinwiddie went so far as to order that the +garrisons should be withdrawn from the stockades and small frontier forts, +and most of the troops from Winchester, to strengthen Fort Cumberland, +which was now to become headquarters; thus weakening the most important +points and places, to concentrate a force where it was not wanted, and +would be out of the way in most cases of alarm. By these meddlesome moves, +made by Governor Dinwiddie from a distance, without knowing any thing of +the game, all previous arrangements were reversed, every thing was thrown +into confusion, and enormous losses and expenses were incurred. + +"Whence it arises, or why, I am truly ignorant," writes Washington to Mr. +Speaker Robinson, "but my strongest representations of matters relative to +the frontiers are disregarded as idle and frivolous; my propositions and +measures as partial and selfish; and all my sincerest endeavors for the +service of my country are perverted to the worst purposes. My orders are +dark and uncertain; to-day approved, to-morrow disapproved." + +Whence all this contradiction and embarrassment arose has since been +explained, and with apparent reason. Governor Dinwiddie had never recovered +from the pique caused by the popular elevation of Washington to the command +in preference to his favorite, Colonel Innes. His irritation was kept alive +by a little Scottish faction, who were desirous of disgusting Washington +with the service, so as to induce him to resign, and make way for his +rival. They might have carried their point during the panic at Winchester, +had not his patriotism and his sympathy with the public distress been more +powerful than his self-love. He determined, he said, to bear up under these +embarrassments in the hope of better regulations when Lord Loudoun should +arrive; to whom he looked for the future fate of Virginia. + +While these events were occurring on the Virginia frontier, military +affairs went on tardily and heavily at the north. The campaign against +Canada, which was to have opened early in the year, hung fire. The armament +coming out for the purpose, under Lord Loudoun, was delayed through the +want of energy and union in the British cabinet. General Abercrombie, who +was to be next in command to his lordship, and to succeed to General +Shirley, set sail in advance for New York with two regiments, but did not +reach Albany, the head-quarters of military operation, until the 25th of +June. He billeted his soldiers upon the town, much to the disgust of the +inhabitants, and talked of ditching and stockading it, but postponed all +exterior enterprises until the arrival of Lord Loudoun; then the campaign +was to open in earnest. + +On the 12th of July, came word that the forts Ontario and Oswego, on each +side of the mouth of the Oswego River, were menaced by the Drench. They had +been imperfectly constructed by Shirley, and were insufficiently +garrisoned, yet contained a great amount of military and naval stores, and +protected the vessels which cruised on Lake Ontario. + +Major-general Webb was ordered by Abercrombie to hold himself in readiness +to march with one regiment to the relief of these forts, but received no +further orders. Every thing awaited the arrival at Albany of Lord Loudoun, +which at length took place, on the 29th of July. There were now at least +ten thousand troops, regulars and provincials, loitering in an idle camp at +Albany, yet relief to Oswego was still delayed. Lord Loudoun was in favor +of it, but the governments of New York and New England urged the immediate +reduction of Crown Point, as necessary for the security of their frontier. +After much debate, it was agreed that General Webb should march to the +relief of Oswego. He left Albany on the 12th of August, but had scarce +reached the carrying-place, between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, when +he received news that Oswego was reduced, and its garrison captured. While +the British commanders had debated, Field-marshal the Marquis De Montcalm, +newly arrived from France, had acted. He was a different kind of soldier +from Abercrombie or Loudoun. A capacious mind and enterprising spirit +animated a small, but active and untiring frame. Quick in thought, quick in +speech, quicker still in action, he comprehended every thing at a glance, +and moved from point to point of the province with a celerity and secrecy +that completely baffled his slow and pondering antagonists. Crown Point and +Ticonderoga were visited, and steps taken to strengthen their works, and +provide for their security; then hastening to Montreal, he put himself at +the head of a force of regulars, Canadians, and Indians; ascended the St. +Lawrence to Lake Ontario; blocked up the mouth of the Oswego by his +vessels, landed his guns, and besieged the two forts; drove the garrison +out of one into the other; killed the commander, Colonel Mercer, and +compelled the garrisons to surrender prisoners of war. With the forts was +taken an immense amount of military stores, ammunition, and provisions; one +hundred and twenty-one cannon, fourteen mortars, six vessels of war, a vast +number of batteaux, and three chests of money. His blow achieved, Montcalm +returned in triumph to Montreal, and sent the colors of the captured forts +to be hung up as trophies in the Canadian churches. + +The season was now too far advanced for Lord Loudoun to enter upon any +great military enterprise; he postponed, therefore, the great northern +campaign, so much talked of and debated, until the following year; and +having taken measures for the protection of his frontiers, and for more +active operations in the spring, returned to New York, hung up his sword, +and went into comfortable winter-quarters. + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +WASHINGTON VINDICATES HIS CONDUCT TO LORD LOUDOUN--HIS RECEPTION BY HIS +LORDSHIP--MILITARY PLANS--LORD LOUDOUN AT HALIFAX--MONTCALM ON LAKE +GEORGE--HIS TRIUMPHS--LORD LOUDOUN'S FAILURES--WASHINGTON AT WINCHESTER-- +CONTINUED MISUNDERSTANDINGS WITH DINWIDDIE--RETURN TO MOUNT VERNON. + + +Circumstances had led Washington to think that Lord Loudoun "had received +impressions to his prejudice by false representations of facts," and that a +wrong idea prevailed at head-quarters respecting the state of military +affairs in Virginia. He was anxious, therefore, for an opportunity of +placing all these matters in a proper light; and, understanding that there +was to be a meeting in Philadelphia in the month of March, between Lord +Loudoun and the southern governors, to consult about measures of defence +for their respective provinces, he wrote to Governor Dinwiddie for +permission to attend it. + +"I cannot conceive," writes Dinwiddie in reply, "what service you can be of +in going there, as the plan concerted will, in course, be communicated to +you and the other officers. However, as you seem so earnest to go, I now +give you leave." + +This ungracious reply seemed to warrant the suspicions entertained by some +of Washington's friends, that it was the busy pen of Governor Dinwiddie +which had given the "false representation of facts," to Lord Loudoun. About +a month, therefore, before the time of the meeting, Washington addressed a +long letter to his lordship, explanatory of military affairs in the quarter +where he had commanded. In this he set forth the various defects in the +militia laws of Virginia; the errors in its system of defence, and the +inevitable confusion which had thence resulted. + +Adverting to his own conduct: "The orders I receive," said he, "are full of +ambiguity. I am left like a wanderer in the wilderness to proceed at +hazard. I am answerable for consequences, and blamed, without the privilege +of defence. ... It is not to be wondered at, if, under such peculiar +circumstances, I should be sick of a service which promises so little of a +soldier's reward. + +"I have long been satisfied of the impossibility of continuing in this +service, without loss of honor. Indeed, I was fully convinced of it before +I accepted the command the second time, seeing the cloudy prospect before +me; and I did, for this reason, reject the offer, until I was ashamed any +longer to refuse, not caring to expose my character to public censure. The +solicitations of the country overcame my objections, and induced me to +accept it. Another reason has of late operated to continue me in the +service until now, and that is, the dawn of hope that arose, when I heard +your lordship was destined, by his majesty, for the important command of +his armies in America, and appointed to the government of his dominion of +Virginia. Hence it was, that I drew my hopes, and fondly pronounced your +lordship our patron. Although I have not the honor to be known to your +lordship, yet your name was familiar to my ear, on account of the important +services rendered to his majesty in other parts of the world." + +The manner in which Washington was received by Lord Loudoun on arriving in +Philadelphia, showed him at once, that his long, explanatory letter had +produced the desired effect, and that his character and conduct were justly +appreciated. During his sojourn in Philadelphia he was frequently consulted +on points of frontier service, and his advice was generally adopted. On one +point it failed. He advised that an attack should be made on Fort Duquesne, +simultaneous with the attempts on Canada. At such time a great part of the +garrison would be drawn away to aid in the defence of that province, and a +blow might be struck more likely to insure the peace and safety of the +southern frontier, than all its forts and defences. + +Lord Loudoun, however, was not to be convinced, or at least persuaded. +According to his plan, the middle and southern provinces were to maintain a +merely defensive warfare; and as Virginia would be required to send four +hundred of her troops to the aid of South Carolina, she would, in fact, be +left weaker than before. + +Washington was also disappointed a second time, in the hope of having his +regiment placed on the same footing as the regular army, and of obtaining a +king's commission; the latter he was destined never to hold. + +His representations with respect to Fort Cumberland had the desired effect +in counteracting the mischievous intermeddling of Dinwiddie. The Virginia +troops and stores were ordered to be again removed to Fort Loudoun, at +Winchester, which once more became head-quarters, while Fort Cumberland was +left to be occupied by a Maryland garrison. Washington was instructed, +likewise, to correspond and co-operate, in military affairs, with Colonel +Stanwix, who was stationed on the Pennsylvania frontier, with five hundred +men from the Royal American regiment, and to whom he would be, in some +measure, subordinate. This proved a correspondence of friendship, as well +as duty; Colonel Stanwix being a gentleman of high moral worth, as well as +great ability in military affairs. + +The great plan of operations at the north was again doomed to failure. The +reduction of Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, which had long been meditated, +was laid aside, and the capture of Louisburg substituted, as an acquisition +of far greater importance. This was a place of great consequence, situated +on the isle of Cape Breton, and strongly fortified. It commanded the +fisheries of Newfoundland, overawed New England, and was a main bulwark to +Acadia. + +In the course of July, Lord Loudoun set sail for Halifax with all the +troops he could collect, amounting to about six thousand men, to join with +Admiral Holbourne, who had just arrived at that port with eleven ships of +the line, a fire-ship, bomb-ketch, and fleet of transports, having on board +six thousand men. With this united force Lord Loudoun anticipated the +certain capture of Louisburg. + +Scarce had the tidings of his lordship's departure reached Canada, when the +active Montcalm again took the field, to follow up the successes of the +preceding year. Fort William Henry, which Sir Wm. Johnson had erected on +the southern shore of Lake George, was now his object; it commanded the +lake, and was an important protection to the British frontier. A brave old +officer, Colonel Monro, with about five hundred men, formed the garrison; +more than three times that number of militia were intrenched near by. +Montcalm had, early in the season, made three ineffectual attempts upon the +fort; he now trusted to be more successful. Collecting his forces from +Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and the adjacent posts, with a considerable +number of Canadians and Indians, altogether nearly eight thousand men, he +advanced up the lake, on the 1st of August, in a fleet of boats, with +swarms of Indian canoes in the advance. The fort came near being surprised; +but the troops encamped without it, abandoned their tents and hurried +within the works. A summons to surrender was answered by a brave defiance. +Montcalm invested the fort, made his approaches, and battered it with his +artillery. For five days its veteran commander kept up a vigorous defence, +trusting to receive assistance from General Webb, who had failed to relieve +Fort Oswego in the preceding year, and who was now at Fort Edward, about +fifteen miles distant, with upwards of five thousand men. Instead of this, +Webb, who overrated the French forces, sent him a letter, advising him to +capitulate. The letter was intercepted by Montcalm, but still forwarded to +Monro. The obstinate old soldier, however, persisted in his defence, until +most of his cannon were burst, and his ammunition expended. At length, in +the month of August, he hung out a flag of truce, and obtained honorable +terms from an enemy who knew how to appreciate his valor. Montcalm +demolished the fort, carried off all the artillery and munitions of war, +with vessels employed in the navigation of the lake; and having thus +completed his destruction of the British defences on this frontier, +returned once more in triumph with the spoils of victory, to hang up fresh +trophies in the churches of Canada. + +Lord Loudoun, in the mean time, formed his junction with Admiral Holbourne +at Halifax, and the troops were embarked with all diligence on board of the +transports. Unfortunately, the French were again too quick for them. +Admiral de Bois de la Mothe had arrived at Louisburg, with a large naval +and land force; it was ascertained that he had seventeen ships of the line, +and three frigates, quietly moored in the harbor; that the place was well +fortified and supplied with provisions and ammunition, and garrisoned with +six thousand regular troops; three thousand natives, and thirteen hundred +Indians. + +Some hot-heads would have urged an attempt against all such array of force, +but Lord Loudoun was aware of the probability of defeat, and the disgrace +and ruin that it would bring upon British arms in America. He wisely, +though ingloriously, returned to New York. Admiral Holbourne made a silly +demonstration of his fleet off the harbor of Louisburg, approaching within +two miles of the batteries, but retired on seeing the French admiral +preparing to unmoor. He afterwards returned with a reinforcement of four +ships of the line; cruised before Louisburg, endeavoring to draw the enemy +to an engagement, which De la Mothe had the wisdom to decline; was +overtaken by a hurricane, in which one of his ships was lost, eleven were +dismasted, others had to throw their guns overboard, and all returned in a +shattered condition to England. Thus ended the northern campaign by land +and sea, a subject of great mortification to the nation, and ridicule and +triumph to the enemy. + +During these unfortunate operations to the north, Washington was stationed +at Winchester, shorn of part of his force by the detachment to South +Carolina, and left with seven hundred men to defend a frontier of more than +three hundred and fifty miles in extent. The capture and demolition of +Oswego by Montcalm had produced a disastrous effect. The whole country of +the five nations was abandoned to the French. The frontiers of +Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia were harassed by repeated inroads of +French and Indians, and Washington had the mortification to see the noble +valley of the Shenandoah almost deserted by its inhabitants, and fast +relapsing into a wilderness. + +The year wore away on his part in the harassing service of defending a wide +frontier with an insufficient and badly organized force, and the vexations +he experienced were heightened by continual misunderstandings with Governor +Dinwiddie. From the ungracious tenor of several of that gentleman's +letters, and from private information, he was led to believe that some +secret enemy had been making false representations of his motives and +conduct, and prejudicing the governor against him. He vindicated himself +warmly from the alleged aspersions, proudly appealing to the whole course +of his public career in proof of their falsity. "It is uncertain," said he, +"in what light my services may have appeared to your honor; but this I +know, and it is the highest consolation I am capable of feeling, that no +man that ever was employed in a public capacity has endeavored to discharge +the trust reposed in him with greater honesty and more zeal for the +country's interest than I have done; and if there is any person living who +can say, with justice, that I have offered any intentional wrong to the +public, I will cheerfully submit to the most ignominious punishment that an +injured people ought to inflict. On the other hand, it is hard to have my +character arraigned, and my actions condemned, without a hearing." + +His magnanimous appeal had but little effect. Dinwiddie was evidently +actuated by the petty pique of a narrow and illiberal mind, impatient of +contradiction, even when in error. He took advantage of his official +station to vent his spleen and gratify his petulance in a variety of ways +incompatible with the courtesy of a gentleman. It may excite a grave smile +at the present day to find Washington charged by this very small-minded man +with looseness in his way of writing to him; with remissness in his duty +towards him; and even with impertinence in the able and eloquent +representations which he felt compelled to make of disastrous mismanagement +in military affairs; and still more, to find his reasonable request, after +a long course of severe duty, for a temporary leave of absence to attend to +his private concerns peremptorily refused, and that with as little courtesy +as though he were a mere subaltern seeking to absent himself on a party of +pleasure. + +The multiplied vexations which Washington had latterly experienced from +this man, had preyed upon his spirits, and contributed, with his incessant +toils and anxieties, to undermine his health. For some time he struggled +with repeated attacks of dysentery and fever, and continued in the exercise +of his duties; but the increased violence of his malady, and the urgent +advice of his friend Dr. Craik, the army surgeon, induced him to relinquish +his post towards the end of the year and retire to Mount Vernon. + +The administration of Dinwiddie, however, was now at an end. He set sail +for England in January, 1758, very little regretted, excepting by his +immediate hangers-on, and leaving a character overshadowed by the +imputation of avarice and extortion in the exaction of illegal fees, and of +downright delinquency in regard to large sums transmitted to him by +government to be paid over to the province in indemnification of its extra +expenses; for the disposition of which sums he failed to render an account. + +He was evidently a sordid, narrow-minded, and somewhat arrogant man; +bustling rather than active; prone to meddle with matters of which he was +profoundly ignorant, and absurdly unwilling to have his ignorance +enlightened. + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +WASHINGTON RECOVERS HIS HEALTH--AGAIN IN COMMAND AT FORT LOUDOUN-- +ADMINISTRATION OF PITT--LOUDOUN SUCCEEDED BY GENERAL ABERCROMBIE-- +MILITARY ARRANGEMENTS--WASHINGTON COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE VIRGINIA +FORCES--AMHERST AGAINST LOUISBURG--GENERAL WOLFE--MONTGOMERY--CAPTURE OF +LOUISBURG--ABERCROMBIE ON LAKE GEORGE--DEATH OF LORD HOWE--REPULSE OF +ABERCROMBIE--SUCCESS OF BRADSTREET AT OSWEGO. + + +For several months Washington was afflicted by returns of his malady, +accompanied by symptoms indicative, as he thought, of a decline. "My +constitution," writes he to his friend Colonel Stanwix, "is much impaired, +and nothing can retrieve it but the greatest care and the most circumspect +course of life. This being the case, as I have now no prospect left of +preferment in the military way, and despair of rendering that immediate +service which my country may require from the person commanding its troops, +I have thoughts of quitting my command and retiring from all public +business, leaving my post to be filled by some other person more capable of +the task, and who may, perhaps, have his endeavors crowned with better +success than mine have been." + +A gradual improvement in his health, and a change in his prospects, +encouraged him to continue in what really was his favorite career, and at +the beginning of April he was again in command at Fort Loudoun. Mr. Francis +Fauquier had been appointed successor to Dinwiddie, and, until he should +arrive, Mr. John Blair, president of the council, had, from his office, +charge of the government. In the latter Washington had a friend who +appreciated his character and services, and was disposed to carry out his +plans. + +The general aspect of affairs, also, was more animating. Under the able and +intrepid administration of William Pitt, who had control of the British +cabinet, an effort was made to retrieve the disgraces of the late American +campaign, and to carry on the war with greater vigor. The instructions for +a common fund were discontinued; there was no more talk of taxation by +Parliament. Lord Loudoun, from whom so much had been anticipated, had +disappointed by his inactivity, and been relieved from a command in which +he had attempted much and done so little. His friends alleged that his +inactivity was owing to a want of unanimity and co-operation in the +colonial governments, which paralyzed all his well meant efforts. Franklin, +it is probable, probed the matter with his usual sagacity when he +characterized him as a man "entirely made up of indecision."--"Like St. +George on the signs, he was always on horseback, but never rode on." + +On the return of his lordship to England, the general command in America +devolved on Major-general Abercrombie, and the forces were divided into +three detached bodies; one, under Major-general Amherst, was to operate in +the north with the fleet under Boscawen, for the reduction of Louisburg and +the island of Cape Breton; another, under Abercrombie himself, was to +proceed against Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain; and the +third, under Brigadier-general Forbes, who had the charge of the middle and +southern colonies, was to undertake the reduction of Fort Duquesne. The +colonial troops were to be supplied, like the regulars, with arms, +ammunition, tents, and provisions, at the expense of government, but +clothed and paid by the colonies; for which the king would recommend to +Parliament a proper compensation. The provincial officers appointed by the +governors, and of no higher rank than colonel, were to be equal in command, +when united in service with those who held direct from the king, according +to the date of their commissions. By these wise provisions of Mr. Pitt a +fertile cause of heartburnings and dissensions was removed. + +It was with the greatest satisfaction Washington saw his favorite measure +at last adopted, the reduction of Fort Duquesne; and he resolved to +continue in the service until that object was accomplished. In a letter to +Stanwix, who was now a brigadier-general, he modestly requested to be +mentioned in favorable terms to General Forbes, "not," said he, "as a +person who would depend upon him for further recommendation to military +preferment (for I have long conquered all such inclinations, and shall +serve this campaign merely for the purpose of affording my best endeavors +to bring matters to a conclusion), 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 motley herd of us." He had the +satisfaction subsequently of enjoying the fullest confidence of General +Forbes, who knew too well the sound judgment and practical ability evinced +by him in the unfortunate campaign of Braddock not to be desirous of +availing himself of his counsels. + +Washington still was commander-in-chief of the Virginia troops, now +augmented, by an act of the Assembly, to two regiments of one thousand men +each; one led by himself, the other by Colonel Byrd; the whole destined to +make a part of the army of General Forbes in the expedition against Fort +Duquesne. + +Of the animation which he felt at the prospect of serving in this +long-desired campaign, and revisiting with an effective force the scene of +past disasters, we have a proof in a short letter, written during the +excitement of the moment, to Major Francis Halket, his former companion in +arms. + +"My dear Halket:--Are we to have you once more among us? And shall we +revisit together a hapless spot, that proved so fatal to many of our former +brave companions? Yes; and I rejoice at it, hoping it will now be in our +power to testify a just abhorrence of the cruel butcheries exercised on our +friends in the unfortunate day of General Braddock's defeat; and, moreover, +to show our enemies, that we can practise all that lenity of which they +only boast, without affording any adequate proof." + +Before we proceed to narrate the expedition against Fort Duquesne, however, +we will briefly notice the conduct of the two other expeditions, which +formed important parts in the plan of military operations for the year. And +first, of that against Louisburg and the Island of Cape Breton. + +Major-general Amherst, who conducted this expedition, embarked with between +ten and twelve thousand men, in the fleet of Admiral Boscawen, and set sail +about the end of May, from Halifax, in Nova Scotia. Along with him went +Brigadier-general James Wolfe, an officer young in years, but a veteran, in +military experience, and destined to gain, an almost romantic celebrity. +He may almost be said to have been born in the camp, for he was the son of +Major-general Wolfe, a veteran officer of merit, and when a lad had +witnessed the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy. While a mere youth he had +distinguished himself at the battle of Laffeldt, in the Netherlands; and +now, after having been eighteen years in the service, he was but thirty-one +years of age. In America, however, he was to win his lasting laurels. + +On the 2d of June, the fleet arrived at the Bay of Gabarus, about seven +miles to the west of Louisburg. The latter place was garrisoned by two +thousand five hundred regulars, and three hundred militia, and subsequently +reinforced by upwards of four hundred Canadians and Indians. In the harbor +were six ships-of-the-line, and five frigates; three of which were sunk +across the mouth. For several days the troops were prevented from landing +by boisterous weather, and a heavy surf. The French improved that time to +strengthen a chain of forts along the shore, deepening trenches, and +constructing batteries. + +On the 8th of June, preparations for landing were made before daybreak. The +troops were embarked in boats in three divisions, under Brigadiers Wolfe, +Whetmore, and Laurens. The landing was to be attempted west of the harbor, +at a place feebly secured. Several frigates and sloops previously scoured +the beach with their shot, after which Wolfe pulled for shore with his +divisions; the other two divisions distracting the attention of the enemy, +by making a show of landing in other parts. The surf still ran high, the +enemy opened a fire of cannon and musketry from their batteries, many boats +were upset, many men slain, but Wolfe pushed forward, sprang into the water +when the boats grounded, dashed through the surf with his men, stormed the +enemy's breastworks and batteries, and drove them from the shore. Among the +subalterns who stood by Wolfe on this occasion, was an Irish youth, +twenty-one years of age, named Richard Montgomery, whom, for his gallantry, +Wolfe promoted to a lieutenancy, and who was destined, in after years, to +gain an imperishable renown. The other divisions effected a landing after a +severe conflict; artillery and stores were brought on shore, and Louisburg +was formally invested. + +The weather continued boisterous; the heavy cannon, and the various +munitions necessary for a siege, were landed with difficulty. Amherst, +moreover, was a cautious man, and made his approaches slowly, securing his +camp by redoubts and epaulements. The Chevalier Drucour, who commanded at +Louisburg, called in his outposts, and prepared for a desperate defence; +keeping up a heavy fire from his batteries, and from the ships in the +harbor. + +Wolfe, with a strong detachment, surprised at night, and took possession of +Light House Point, on the north-east side of the entrance to the harbor. +Here he threw up batteries in addition to those already there, from which +he was enabled greatly to annoy both town and shipping, as well as to aid +Amherst in his slow, but regular and sure approaches. + +On the 21st of July, the three largest of the enemy's ships were set on +fire by a bombshell. On the night of the 25th two other of the ships were +boarded, sword in hand, from boats of the squadron; one being aground, was +burnt, the other was towed out of the harbor in triumph. The brave Drucour +kept up the defence until all the ships were either taken or destroyed; +forty, out of fifty-two pieces of cannon dismounted, and his works mere +heaps of ruins. When driven to capitulate, he refused the terms proposed, +as being too severe, and, when threatened with a general assault, by sea +and land, determined to abide it, rather than submit to what he considered +a humiliation. The prayers and petitions of the inhabitants, however, +overcame his obstinacy. The place was surrendered, and he and his garrison +became prisoners of war. Captain Amherst, brother to the general, carried +home the news to England, with eleven pair of colors, taken at Louisburg. +There were rejoicings throughout the kingdom. The colors were borne in +triumph through the streets of London, with a parade of horse and foot, +kettle drums and trumpets, and the thunder of artillery, and were put up as +trophies in St. Paul's Cathedral. + +Boscawen, who was a member of Parliament, received a unanimous vote of +praise from the House of Commons, and the youthful Wolfe, who returned +shortly after the victory to England, was hailed as the hero of the +enterprise. + +We have disposed of one of the three great expeditions contemplated in the +plan of the year's campaign. The second was that against the French forts +on Lakes George and Champlain. At the beginning of July, Abercrombie was +encamped on the borders of Lake George, with between six and seven thousand +regulars, and upwards of nine thousand provincials, from New England, New +York, and New Jersey. Major Israel Putnam, of Connecticut, who had served +on this lake, under Sir William Johnson, in the campaign in which Dieskau +was defeated and slain, had been detached with a scouting party to +reconnoitre the neighborhood. After his return and report, Abercrombie +prepared to proceed against Ticonderoga, situated on a tongue of land in +Lake Champlain, at the mouth of the strait communicating with Lake George. + +On the 5th of July, the forces were embarked in one hundred and twenty-five +whale-boats, and nine hundred batteaux, with the artillery on rafts. The +vast flotilla proceeded slowly down the lake, with banners and pennons +fluttering in the summer breeze; arms glittering in the sunshine, and +martial music echoing along the wood-clad mountains. With Abercrombie went +Lord Howe, a young nobleman brave and enterprising, full of martial +enthusiasm, and endeared to the soldiery by the generosity of his +disposition, and the sweetness of his manners. + +On the first night they bivouacked for some hours at Sabbath-day Point, but +re-embarked before midnight. The next day they landed on a point on the +western shore, just at the entrance of the strait leading to Lake +Champlain. Here they were formed into three columns, and pushed forward. + +They soon came upon the enemy's advanced guard, a battalion encamped behind +a log breastwork. The French set fire to their camp, and retreated. The +columns kept their form, and pressed forward, but, through ignorance of +their guides, became bewildered in a dense forest, fell into confusion, and +blundered upon each other. + +Lord Howe urged on with the van of the right centre column. Putnam, who was +with him, and more experienced in forest warfare, endeavored in vain to +inspire him with caution. After a time they came upon a detachment of the +retreating foe, who, like themselves, had lost their way. A severe conflict +ensued. Lord Howe, who gallantly led the van, was killed at the onset. His +fall gave new ardor to his troops. The enemy were routed, some slain, some +drowned, about one hundred and fifty taken prisoners, including five +officers. Nothing further was done that day. The death of Lord Howe more +than counterbalanced the defeat of the enemy. His loss was bewailed not +merely by the army, but by the American people; for it is singular how much +this young nobleman, in a short time, had made himself beloved. The point +near which the troops had landed still bears his name; the place where he +fell is still pointed out; and Massachusetts voted him a monument in +Westminster Abbey. + +With Lord Howe expired the master spirit of the enterprise. Abercrombie +fell back to the landing-place. The next day he sent out a strong +detachment of regulars, royal provincials, and batteaux men, under +Lieutenant-colonel Bradstreet, of New York, to secure a saw-mill, which the +enemy had abandoned. This done, he followed on the same evening with the +main forces, and took post at the mill, within two miles of the fort. Here +he was joined by Sir William Johnson, with between four and five hundred +savage warriors from the Mohawk River. + +Montcalm had called in all his forces, between three and four thousand men, +and was strongly posted behind deep intrenchments and breastworks eight +feet high; with an abatis, or felled trees, in front of his lines, +presenting a horrid barrier, with their jagged boughs pointing outward. +Abercrombie was deceived as to the strength of the French works; his +engineers persuaded him they were formidable only in appearance, but really +weak and flimsy. Without waiting for the arrival of his cannon, and against +the opinion of his most judicious officers, he gave orders to storm the +works. Never were rash orders more gallantly obeyed. The men rushed forward +with fixed bayonets, and attempted to force their way through, or scramble +over the abatis, under a sheeted fire of swivels and musketry. In the +desperation of the moment, the officers even tried to cut their way through +with their swords. Some even reached the parapet, where they were shot +down. The breastwork was too high to be surmounted, and gave a secure +covert to the enemy. Repeated assaults were made, and as often repelled, +with dreadful havoc. The Iroquois warriors, who had arrived with Sir +William Johnson, took no part, it is said, in this fierce conflict, but +stood aloof as unconcerned spectators of the bloody strife of white men. + +After four hours of desperate and fruitless fighting, Abercrombie, who had +all the time remained aloof at the saw-mills gave up the ill-judged +attempt, and withdrew once more to the landing-place, with the loss of +nearly two thousand in killed and wounded. Had not the vastly inferior +force of Montcalm prevented him from sallying beyond his trenches, the +retreat of the British might have been pushed to a headlong and disastrous +flight. + +Abercrombie had still nearly four times the number of the enemy, with +cannon, and all the means of carrying on a siege, with every prospect of +success; but the failure of this rash assault seems completely to have +dismayed him. The next day he re-embarked all his troops, and returned +across that lake where his disgraced banners had recently waved so proudly. + +While the general was planning fortifications on Lake George, Colonel +Bradstreet obtained permission to carry into effect an expedition which he +had for some time meditated, and which had been a favored project with the +lamented Howe. This was to reduce Fort Frontenac, the stronghold of the +French on the north side of the entrance of Lake Ontario, commanding the +mouth of the St. Lawrence. This post was a central point of Indian trade, +where the tribes resorted from all parts of a vast interior; sometimes a +distance of a thousand miles, to traffic away their peltries with the +fur-traders. It was, moreover, a magazine for the more southern posts, +among which was Fort Duquesne on the Ohio. + +Bradstreet was an officer of spirit. Pushing his way along the valley of +the Mohawk and by the Oneida, where he was joined by several warriors of +the Six Nations, he arrived at Oswego in August, with nearly three thousand +men; the greater part of them provincial troops of New York and +Massachusetts. Embarking at Oswego in open boats, he crossed Lake Ontario, +and landed within a mile of Frontenac. The fort mounted sixty guns, and +several mortars, yet though a place of such importance, the garrison +consisted of merely one hundred and ten men, and a few Indians. These +either fled, or surrendered at discretion. In the fort was an immense +amount of merchandise and military stores; part of the latter intended for +the supply of Fort Duquesne. In the harbor were nine armed vessels, some of +them carrying eighteen guns; the whole of the enemy's shipping on the lake. +Two of these Colonel Bradstreet freighted with part of the spoils of the +fort, the others he destroyed; then having dismantled the fortifications, +and laid waste every thing which he could not carry away, he recrossed the +lake to Oswego, and returned with his troops to the army on Lake George. + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +SLOW OPERATIONS--WASHINGTON ORDERS OUT THE MILITIA--MISSION TO +WILLIAMSBURG--HALT AT MR. CHAMBERLAYNE'S--MRS. MARTHA CUSTIS--A BRIEF +COURTSHIP--AN ENGAGEMENT--RETURN TO WINCHESTER--THE RIFLE DRESS--INDIAN +SCOUTS--WASHINGTON ELECTED TO THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES--TIDINGS OF AMHERST'S +SUCCESS--THE NEW ROAD TO FORT DUQUESNE--MARCH FOR THE FORT--INDISCREET +CONDUCT OF MAJOR GRANT--DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES--WASHINGTON ADVANCES +AGAINST FORT DUQUESNE--END OF THE EXPEDITION--WASHINGTON RETURNS HOME-- +HIS MARRIAGE. + + +Operations went on slowly in that part of the year's campaign in which +Washington was immediately engaged--the expedition against Fort Duquesne. +Brigadier-general Forbes, who was commander-in-chief, was detained at +Philadelphia by those delays and cross-purposes incident to military +affairs in a new country. Colonel Bouquet, who was to command the advanced +division, took his station, with a corps of regulars, at Raystown, in the +centre of Pennsylvania. There slowly assembled troops from various parts. +Three thousand Pennsylvanians, twelve hundred and fifty South Carolinians, +and a few hundred men from elsewhere. + +Washington, in the mean time, gathered together his scattered regiment at +Winchester, some from a distance of two hundred miles, and diligently +disciplined his recruits. He had two Virginia regiments under him, +amounting, when complete, to about nineteen hundred men. Seven hundred +Indian warriors, also, came lagging into his camp, lured by the prospect of +a successful campaign. + +The president of the council had given Washington a discretionary power in +the present juncture to order out militia for the purpose of garrisoning +the fort in the absence of the regular troops. Washington exercised the +power with extreme reluctance. He considered it, he said, an affair of too +important and delicate a nature for him to manage, and apprehended the +discontent it might occasion. In fact, his sympathies were always with the +husbandmen and the laborers of the soil, and he deplored the evils imposed +upon them by arbitrary drafts for military service; a scruple not often +indulged by youthful commanders. + +The force thus assembling was in want of arms, tents, field-equipage, and +almost every requisite. Washington had made repeated representations, by +letter, of the destitute state of the Virginia troops, but without avail; +he was now ordered by Sir John St. Clair, the quartermaster-general of the +forces, under General Forbes, to repair to Williamsburg, and lay the state +of the case before the council. He set off promptly on horseback, attended +by Bishop, the well-trained military servant, who had served the late +General Braddock. It proved an eventful journey, though not in a military +point of view. In crossing a ferry of the Pamunkey, a branch of York River, +he fell in company with a Mr. Chamberlayne, who lived in the neighborhood, +and who, in the spirit of Virginian hospitality, claimed him as a guest. It +was with difficulty Washington could be prevailed on to halt for dinner, so +impatient was he to arrive at Williamsburg, and accomplish his mission. + +Among the guests at Mr. Chamberlayne's was a young and blooming widow, Mrs. +Martha Custis, daughter of Mr. John Dandridge, both patrician names in the +province. Her husband, John Parke Custis, had been dead about three years, +leaving her with two young children, and a large fortune. She is +represented as being rather below the middle size, but extremely well +shaped, with an agreeable countenance, dark hazel eyes and hair, and those +frank, engaging manners, so captivating in Southern women. We are not +informed whether Washington had met with her before; probably not during +her widowhood, as during that time he had been almost continually on the +frontier. We have shown that, with all his gravity and reserve, he was +quickly susceptible to female charms; and they may have had a greater +effect upon him when thus casually encountered in fleeting moments snatched +from the cares and perplexities and rude scenes of frontier warfare. At any +rate, his heart appears to have been taken by surprise. + +The dinner, which in those days was an earlier meal than at present, seemed +all too short. The afternoon passed away like a dream. Bishop was punctual +to the orders he had received on halting; the horses pawed at the door; but +for once Washington loitered in the path of duty. The horses were +countermanded, and it was not until the next morning that he was again in +the saddle, spurring for Williamsburg. Happily the White House, the +residence of Mrs. Custis, was in New Kent County, at no great distance from +that city, so that he had opportunities of visiting her in the intervals of +business. His time for courtship, however, was brief. Military duties +called him back almost immediately to Winchester; but he feared, should he +leave the matter in suspense, some more enterprising rival might supplant +him during his absence, as in the case of Miss Philipse, at New York. He +improved, therefore, his brief opportunity to the utmost. The blooming +widow had many suitors, but Washington was graced with that renown so +ennobling in the eyes of woman. In a word, before they separated, they had +mutually plighted their faith, and the marriage was to take place as soon +as the campaign against Fort Duquesne was at an end. + +Before returning to Winchester, Washington was obliged to hold conferences +with Sir John St. Clair and Colonel Bouquet, at an intermediate rendezvous, +to give them information respecting the frontiers, and arrange about the +marching of his troops. His constant word to them was forward! forward! +For the precious time for action was slipping away, and he feared their +Indian allies, so important to their security while on the march, might, +with their usual fickleness, lose patience, and return home. + +On arriving at Winchester, he found his troops restless and discontented +from prolonged inaction. The inhabitants impatient of the burdens imposed +on them, and of the disturbances of an idle camp; while the Indians, as he +apprehended, had deserted outright. It was a great relief, therefore, when +he received orders from the commander-in-chief to repair to Fort +Cumberland. He arrived there on the 2d of July, and proceeded to open a +road between that post and head-quarters, at Raystown, thirty miles +distant, where Colonel Bouquet was stationed. + +His troops were scantily supplied with regimental clothing. The weather was +oppressively warm. He now conceived the idea of equipping them in the light +Indian hunting garb, and even of adopting it himself. Two companies were +accordingly equipped in this style, and sent under the command of Major +Lewis to head-quarters. "It is an unbecoming dress, I own, for an officer," +writes Washington, "but convenience rather than show, I think, should be +consulted. The reduction of bat-horses alone would be sufficient to +recommend it; for nothing is more certain than that less baggage would be +required." + +The experiment was successful. "The dress takes very well here," writes +Colonel Bouquet; "and, thank God, we see nothing but shirts and blankets. +... Their dress should be one pattern for this expedition." Such was +probably the origin of the American rifle dress, afterwards so much worn in +warfare, and modelled on the Indian costume. + +The army was now annoyed by scouting parties of Indians hovering about the +neighborhood. Expresses passing between the posts were fired upon; a +waggoner was shot down. Washington sent out counter-parties of Cherokees. +Colonel Bouquet required that each party should be accompanied by an +officer and a number of white men. Washington complied with the order, +though he considered them an encumbrance rather than an advantage, "Small +parties of Indians," said he, "will more effectually harass the enemy by +keeping them under continual alarms, than any parties of white men can do. +For small parties of the latter are not equal to the task, not being so +dexterous at skulking as Indians; and large parties will be discovered by +their spies early enough to have a superior force opposed to them." With +all his efforts, however, he was never able fully to make the officers of +the regular army appreciate the importance of Indian allies in these +campaigns in the wilderness. + +On the other hand, he earnestly discountenanced a proposition of Colonel +Bouquet, to make an irruption into the enemy's country with a strong party +of regulars. Such a detachment, he observed, could not be sent without a +cumbersome train of supplies, which would discover it to the enemy, who +must at that time be collecting his whole force at Fort Duquesne; the +enterprise, therefore, would be likely to terminate in a miscarriage, if +not in the destruction of the party. We shall see that his opinion was +oracular. + +As Washington intended to retire from military life at the close of this +campaign, he had proposed himself to the electors of Frederick County as +their representative in the House of Burgesses. The election was coming on +at Winchester; his friends pressed him to attend it, and Colonel Bouquet +gave him leave of absence; but he declined to absent himself from his post +for the promotion of his political interests. There were three competitors +in the field, yet so high was the public opinion of his merit, that, though +Winchester had been his head-quarters for two or three years past, and he +had occasionally enforced martial law with a rigorous hand, he was elected +by a large majority. The election was carried on somewhat in the English +style. There was much eating and drinking at the expense of the candidate. +Washington appeared on the hustings by proxy, and his representative was +chaired about the town with enthusiastic applause and huzzaing for Colonel +Washington. + +On the 21st of July arrived tidings of the brilliant success of that part +of the scheme of the year's campaign conducted by General Amherst and +Admiral Boscawen, who had reduced the strong town of Louisburg and gained +possession of the Island of Cape Breton. This intelligence increased +Washington's impatience at the delays of the expedition with which he was +connected. He wished to rival these successes by a brilliant blow in the +south. Perhaps a desire for personal distinction in the eyes of the lady of +his choice may have been at the bottom of this impatience; for we are told +that he kept up a constant correspondence with her throughout the campaign. + +Understanding that the commander-in-chief had some thoughts of throwing a +body of light troops in the advance, he wrote to Colonel Bouquet, earnestly +soliciting his influence to have himself and his Virginia regiment included +in the detachment. "If any argument is needed to obtain this favor," said +he, "I hope, without vanity, I may be allowed to say, that from long +intimacy with these woods, and frequent scouting in them, my men are at +least as well acquainted with all the passes and difficulties as any troops +that will be employed." + +He soon learnt to his surprise, however, that the road to which his men +were accustomed, and which had been worked by Braddock's troops in his +campaign, was not to be taken in the present expedition, but a new one +opened through the heart of Pennsylvania, from Raystown to Fort Duquesne, +on the track generally taken by the northern traders. He instantly +commenced long and repeated remonstrances on the subject; representing that +Braddock's road, from recent examination, only needed partial repairs, and +showing by clear calculation that an army could reach Fort Duquesne by that +route in thirty-four days, so that the whole campaign might be effected by +the middle of October; whereas the extreme labor of opening a new road +across mountains, swamps, and through a densely wooded country, would +detain them so late, that the season would be over before they could reach +the scene of action. His representations were of no avail. The officers of +the regular service had received a fearful idea of Braddock's road from his +own despatches, wherein he had described it as lying "across mountains and +rocks of an excessive height, vastly steep, and divided by torrents and +rivers," whereas the Pennsylvania traders, who were anxious for the opening +of the new road through their province, described the country through which +it would pass as less difficult, and its streams less subject to +inundation; above all, it was a direct line, and fifty miles nearer. This +route, therefore, to the great regret of Washington and the indignation of +the Virginia Assembly, was definitively adopted, and sixteen hundred men +were immediately thrown in the advance from Raystown to work upon it. + +The first of September found Washington still encamped at Fort Cumberland, +his troops sickly and dispirited, and the brilliant expedition which he had +anticipated, dwindling down into a tedious operation of road-making. In the +mean time, his scouts brought him word that the whole force at Fort +Duquesne on the 13th of August, Indians included, did not exceed eight +hundred men: had an early campaign been pressed forward, as he recommended, +the place by this time would have been captured. At length, in the month of +September, he received orders from General Forbes to join him with his +troops at Raystown, where he had just arrived, having been detained by +severe illness. He was received by the general with the highest marks of +respect. On all occasions, both in private and at councils of war, that +commander treated his opinions with the greatest deference. He, moreover, +adopted a plan drawn out by Washington for the march of the army; and an +order of battle which still exists, furnishing a proof of his skill in +frontier warfare. + +It was now the middle of September; yet the great body of men engaged in +opening the new military road, after incredible toil, had not advanced +above forty-five miles, to a place called Loyal Hannan, a little beyond +Laurel Hill. Colonel Bouquet, who commanded the division of nearly two +thousand men sent forward to open this road, had halted at Loyal Hannan to +establish a military post and deposit. + +He was upwards of fifty miles from Fort Duquesne, and was tempted to adopt +the measure, so strongly discountenanced by Washington, of sending a party +on a foray into the enemy's country. He accordingly detached Major Grant +with eight hundred picked men, some of them Highlanders, others, in Indian +garb, the part of Washington's Virginian regiment sent forward by him from +Cumberland under command of Major Lewis. + +The instructions given to Major Grant were merely to reconnoitre the +country in the neighborhood of Fort Duquesne, and ascertain the strength +and position of the enemy. He conducted the enterprise with the +foolhardiness of a man eager for personal notoriety. His whole object seems +to have been by open bravado to provoke an action. The enemy were apprised, +through their scouts, of his approach, but suffered him to advance +unmolested. Arriving at night in the neighborhood of the fort, he posted +his men on a hill, and sent out a party of observation, who set fire to a +log house near the walls and returned to the encampment. As if this were +not sufficient to put the enemy on the alert, he ordered the reveille to be +beaten in the morning in several places; then, posting Major Lewis with his +provincial troops at a distance in the rear to protect the baggage, he +marshalled his regulars in battle array, and sent an engineer, with a +covering party, to take a plan of the works in full view of the garrison. + +Not a gun was fired by the fort; the silence which was maintained was +mistaken for fear, and increased the arrogance and blind security of the +British commander. At length, when he was thrown off his guard, there was a +sudden sally of the garrison, and an attack on the flanks by Indians hid in +ambush. A scene now occurred similar to that at the defeat of Braddock. +The British officers marshalled their men according to European tactics, +and the Highlanders for some time stood their ground bravely; but the +destructive fire and horrid yells of the Indians soon produced panic and +confusion. Major Lewis, at the first noise of the attack, left Captain +Bullitt, with fifty Virginians, to guard the baggage, and hastened with the +main part of his men to the scene of action. The contest was kept up for +some time, but the confusion was irretrievable. The Indians sallied from +their concealment, and attacked with the tomahawk and scalping-knife. Lewis +fought hand to hand with an Indian brave, whom, he laid dead at his feet, +but was surrounded by others, and only saved his life by surrendering +himself to a French officer. Major Grant surrendered himself in like +manner. The whole detachment was put to the rout with dreadful carnage. + +Captain Bullitt rallied several of the fugitives, and prepared to make a +forlorn stand, as the only chance where the enemy was overwhelming and +merciless. Despatching the most valuable baggage with the strongest horses, +he made a barricade with the baggage waggons, behind which he posted his +men, giving them orders how they were to act. All this was the thought and +the work almost of a moment, for the savages, having finished the havoc and +plunder of the field of battle, were hastening in pursuit of the fugitives. +Bullitt suffered them to come near, when, on a concerted signal, a +destructive fire was opened from behind the baggage waggons. They were +checked for a time; but were again pressing forward in greater numbers, +when Bullitt and his men held out the signal of capitulation, and advanced +as if to surrender. When within eight yards of the enemy, they suddenly +levelled their arms, poured a most effective volley, and then charged with +the bayonet. The Indians fled in dismay, and Bullitt took advantage of this +check to retreat with all speed, collecting the wounded and the scattered +fugitives as he advanced. The routed detachment came back in fragments to +Colonel Bouquet's camp at Loyal Hannan, with the loss of twenty-one +officers and two hundred and seventy-three privates killed and taken. The +Highlanders and the Virginians were those that fought the best and suffered +the most in this bloody battle. Washington's regiment lost six officers and +sixty-two privates. + +If Washington could have taken any pride in seeing his presages of +misfortune verified, he might have been gratified by the result of this +rash "irruption into the enemy's country," which was exactly what he had +predicted. In his letters to Governor Fauquier, however, he bears lightly +on the error of Col Bouquet. "From all accounts I can collect," says he, +"it appears very clear that this was a very ill-concerted, or a very +ill-executed plan, perhaps both; but it seems to be generally acknowledged +that Major Grant exceeded his orders, and that no disposition was made for +engaging." + +Washington, who was at Raystown when the disastrous news arrived, was +publicly complimented by General Forbes, on the gallant conduct of his +Virginian troops, and Bullitt's behavior was "a matter of great +admiration." The latter was soon after rewarded with a major's commission. + +As a further mark of the high opinion now entertained of provincial troops +for frontier service, Washington was given the command of a division, +partly composed of his own men, to keep in the advance of the main body, +clear the roads, throw out scouting parties, and repel Indian attacks. + +It was the 5th of November before the whole army assembled at Loyal Hannan. +Winter was now at hand, and upwards of fifty miles of wilderness were yet +to be traversed, by a road not yet formed, before they could reach Fort +Duquesne. Again, Washington's predictions seemed likely to be verified, and +the expedition to be defeated by delay; for in a council of war it was +determined to be impracticable to advance further with the army that +season. Three prisoners, however, who were brought in, gave such an account +of the weak state of the garrison at Fort Duquesne, its want of provisions, +and the defection of the Indians, that it was determined to push forward. +The march was accordingly resumed, but without tents or baggage, and with +only a light train of artillery. + +Washington still kept the advance. After leaving Loyal Hannan, the road +presented traces of the late defeat of Grant; being strewed with human +bones, the sad relics of fugitives cut down by the Indians, or of wounded +soldiers who had died on the retreat; they lay mouldering in various stages +of decay, mingled with the bones of horses and of oxen. As they approached +Fort Duquesne these mementoes of former disasters became more frequent; and +the bones of those massacred in the defeat of Braddock, still lay scattered +about the battle field, whitening in the sun. + +At length the army arrived in sight of Fort Duquesne, advancing with great +precaution, and expecting a vigorous defence; but that formidable fortress, +the terror and scourge of the frontier, and the object of such warlike +enterprise, fell without a blow. The recent successes of the English forces +in Canada, particularly the capture and destruction of Fort Frontenac, had +left the garrison without hope of reinforcements and supplies. The whole +force, at the time, did not exceed five hundred men, and the provisions +were nearly exhausted. The commander, therefore, waited only until the +English army was within one day's march, when he embarked his troops at +night in batteaux, blew up his magazines, set fire to the fort, and +retreated down the Ohio, by the light of the flames. On the 25th of +November, Washington, with the advanced guard, marched in, and planted the +British flag on the yet smoking ruins. + +One of the first offices of the army was to collect and bury, in one common +tomb, the bones of their fellow-soldiers who had fallen in the battles of +Braddock and Grant. In this pious duty it is said every one joined, from +the general down to the private soldier; and some veterans assisted, with +heavy hearts and frequent ejaculations of poignant feeling, who had been +present in the scenes of defeat and carnage. + +The ruins of the fortress were now put in a defensible state, and +garrisoned by two hundred men from Washington's regiment; the name was +changed to that of Fort Pitt, in honor of the illustrious British minister, +whose measures had given vigor and effect to this year's campaign; it has +since been modified into Pittsburg, and designates one of the most busy and +populous cities of the interior. + +The reduction of Fort Duquesne terminated, as Washington had foreseen, the +troubles and dangers of the southern frontier. The French domination of the +Ohio was at an end; the Indians, as usual, paid homage to the conquering +power, and a treaty of peace was concluded with all the tribes between the +Ohio and the lakes. + +With this campaign ended, for the present, the military career of +Washington. His great object was attained, the restoration of quiet and +security to his native province; and, having abandoned all hope of +attaining rank in the regular army, and his health being much impaired, he +gave up his commission at the close of the year, and retired from the +service, followed by the applause of his fellow-soldiers, and the gratitude +and admiration of all his countrymen. + +His marriage with Mrs. Custis took place shortly after his return. It was +celebrated on the 6th of January, 1759, at the White House, the residence +of the bride, in the good old hospitable style of Virginia, amid a joyous +assemblage of relatives and friends. + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +PLAN OF OPERATIONS FOR 1759--INVESTMENT OF FORT NIAGARA--DEATH OF +PRIDEAUX--SUCCESS OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON--AMHERST AT TICONDEROGA--WOLFE AT +QUEBEC--HIS TRIUMPH AND DEATH--FATE OF MONTCALM--CAPITULATION OF QUEBEC-- +ATTEMPT OF DE LEVI TO RETAKE IT--ARRIVAL OF A BRITISH FLEET--LAST STAND OF +THE FRENCH AT MONTREAL--SURRENDER OF CANADA. + + +Before following Washington into the retirement of domestic life, we think +it proper to notice the events which closed the great struggle between +England and France for empire in America. In that struggle he had first +become practised in arms, and schooled in the ways of the world; and its +results will be found connected with the history of his later years. + +General Abercrombie had been superseded as commander-in-chief of the forces +in America by Major-general Amherst, who had gained great favor by the +reduction of Louisburg. According to the plan of operations for 1759, +General Wolfe, who had risen to fame by his gallant conduct in the same +affair, was to ascend the St. Lawrence in a fleet of ships of war, with +eight thousand men, as soon as the river should be free of ice, and lay +siege to Quebec, the capital of Canada. General Amherst, in the mean time, +was to advance, as Abercrombie had done, by Lake George, against +Ticonderoga and Crown Point; reduce those forts, cross Lake Champlain, push +on to the St. Lawrence, and co-operate with Wolfe. + +A third expedition, under Brigadier-general Prideaux, aided by Sir William +Johnson and his Indian warriors, was to attack Fort Niagara, which +controlled the whole country of the Six Nations, and commanded the +navigation of the great lakes, and the intercourse between Canada and +Louisiana. Having reduced this fort, he was to traverse Lake Ontario, +descend the St. Lawrence, capture Montreal, and join his forces with those +of Amherst. + +The last mentioned expedition was the first executed. General Prideaux +embarked at Oswego on the first of July, with a large body of troops, +regulars and provincials,--the latter partly from New York. He was +accompanied by Sir William Johnson, and his Indian braves of the Mohawk. +Landing at an inlet of Lake Ontario, within a few miles of Fort Niagara, he +advanced, without being opposed, and proceeded to invest it. The garrison, +six hundred strong, made a resolute defence. The siege was carried on by +regular approaches, but pressed with vigor. On the 20th of July, Prideaux, +in visiting his trenches, was killed by the bursting of a cohorn. Informed +by express of this misfortune, General Amherst detached from the main army +Brigadier-general Gage, the officer who had led Braddock's advance, to take +the command. + +In the mean time, the siege had been conducted by Sir William Johnson with +courage and sagacity. He was destitute of military science, but had a +natural aptness for warfare, especially for the rough kind carried on in +the wilderness. Being informed by his scouts that twelve hundred regular +troops, drawn from Detroit, Venango, and Presque Isle, and led by D'Aubry, +with a number of Indian auxiliaries, were hastening to the rescue, he +detached a force of grenadiers and light infantry, with some of his Mohawk +warriors, to intercept them. They came in sight of each other on the road, +between Niagara Falls and the fort, within the thundering sound of the one, +and the distant view of the other. Johnson's "braves" advanced to have a +parley with the hostile redskins. The latter received them with a +war-whoop, and Frenchman and savage made an impetuous onset. Johnson's +regulars and provincials stood their ground firmly, while his red warriors +fell on the flanks of the enemy. After a sharp conflict, the French were +broken, routed, and pursued through the woods, with great carnage. Among +the prisoners taken were seventeen officers. The next day Sir William +Johnson sent a trumpet, summoning the garrison to surrender, to spare the +effusion of blood, and prevent outrages by the Indians. They had no +alternative; were permitted to march out with the honors of war, and were +protected by Sir William from his Indian allies. Thus was secured the key +to the communication between Lakes Ontario and Erie, and to the vast +interior region connected with them. The blow alarmed the French for the +safety of Montreal, and De Levi, the second in command of their Canadian +forces, hastened up from before Quebec, and took post at the fort of +Oswegatchie (now Ogdensburg), to defend the passes of the St. Lawrence. + +We now proceed to notice the expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown +Point. In the month of July, General Amherst embarked with nearly twelve +thousand men, at the upper part of Lake George, and proceeded down it, as +Abercrombie had done in the preceding year, in a vast fleet of whale-boats, +batteaux, and rafts, and all the glitter and parade of war. On the 22d, the +army debarked at the lower part of the lake, and advanced toward +Ticonderoga. After a slight skirmish with the advanced guard, they secured +the old post at the saw-mill. + +Montcalm was no longer in the fort; he was absent for the protection of +Quebec. The garrison did not exceed four hundred men. Bourlamarque, a brave +officer, who commanded, at first seemed disposed to make defence; but, +against such overwhelming force, it would have been madness. Dismantling +the fortifications, therefore, he abandoned them, as he did likewise those +at Crown Point, and retreated down the lake, to assemble forces, and make a +stand at the Isle Aux Noix, for the protection of Montreal and the +province. + +Instead of following him up, and hastening to co-operate with Wolfe, +General Amherst proceeded to repair the works at Ticonderoga, and erect a +new fort at Crown Point, though neither were in present danger of being +attacked, nor would be of use if Canada were conquered. Amherst, however, +was one of those cautious men, who, in seeking to be sure, are apt to be +fatally slow. His delay enabled the enemy to rally their forces at Isle Aux +Noix, and call in Canadian reinforcements, while it deprived Wolfe of that +co-operation which, it will be shown, was most essential to the general +success of the campaign. + +Wolfe, with his eight thousand men, ascended the St. Lawrence in the fleet, +in the month of June. With him came Brigadiers, Monckton, Townshend and +Murray, youthful and brave like himself, and like himself, already schooled +in arms. Monckton, it will be recollected, had signalized himself, when a +colonel, in the expedition in 1755, in which the French were driven from +Nova Scotia. The grenadiers of the army were commanded by Colonel Guy +Carleton, and part of the light infantry by Lieutenant-Colonel William +Howe, both destined to celebrity in after years, in the annals of the +American Revolution. Colonel Howe was brother of the gallant Lord Howe, +whose fall in the preceding year was so generally lamented. Among the +officers of the fleet, was Jervis, the future admiral, and ultimately Earl +St. Vincent; and the master of one of the ships, was James Cook, afterwards +renowned as a discoverer. + +About the end of June, the troops debarked on the large, populous, and +well-cultivated Isle of Orleans, a little below Quebec, and encamped in its +fertile fields. Quebec, the citadel of Canada, was strong by nature. It was +built round the point of a rocky promontory, and flanked by precipices. The +crystal current of the St. Lawrence swept by it on the right, and the river +St. Charles flowed along on the left, before mingling with that mighty +stream. The place was tolerably fortified, but art had not yet rendered it, +as at the present day, impregnable. + +Montcalm commanded the post. His troops were more numerous than the +assailants but the greater part were Canadians, many of them inhabitants of +Quebec; and he had a host of savages. His forces were drawn out along the +northern shore below the city, from the river St. Charles to the Falls of +Montmorency, and their position was secured by deep intrenchments. + +The night after the debarkation of Wolfe's troops a furious storm caused +great damage to the transports, and sank some of the small craft. While it +was still raging, a number of fire-ships, sent to destroy the fleet, came +driving down. They were boarded intrepidly by the British seamen, and towed +out of the way of doing harm. After much resistance, Wolfe established +batteries at the west point of the Isle of Orleans, and at Point Levi, on +the right (or south) bank of the St. Lawrence, within cannon range of the +city. Colonel Guy Carleton, commanded at the former battery; Brigadier +Monckton at the latter. From Point Levi bombshells and red-hot shot were +discharged; many houses were set on fire in the upper town, the lower town +was reduced to rubbish; the main fort, however, remained unharmed. + +Anxious for a decisive action, Wolfe, on the 9th of July, crossed over in +boats from the Isle of Orleans, to the north bank of the St. Lawrence, and +encamped below the Montmorency. It was an ill-judged position, for there +was still that tumultuous stream, with its rocky banks, between him and the +camp of Montcalm; but the ground he had chosen was higher than that +occupied by the latter, and the Montmorency had a ford below the falls, +passable at low tide. Another ford was discovered, three miles within land, +but the banks were steep, and shagged with forest. At both fords the +vigilant Montcalm had thrown up breastworks, and posted troops. + +On the 18th of July, Wolfe made a reconnoitring expedition up the river, +with two armed sloops, and two transports with troops. He passed Quebec +unharmed, and carefully noted the shores above it. Rugged cliffs rose +almost from the water's edge. Above them, he was told, was an extent of +level ground, called the Plains of Abraham, by which the upper town might +be approached on its weakest side; but how was that plain to be attained, +when the cliffs, for the most part, were inaccessible, and every +practicable place fortified? + +He returned to Montmorency disappointed, and resolved to attack Montcalm in +his camp, however difficult to be approached, and however strongly posted. +Townshend and Murray, with their brigades, were to cross the Montmorency at +low tide, below the falls, and storm the redoubt thrown up in front of the +ford. Monckton, at the same time, was to cross, with part of his brigade, +in boats from Point Levi. The ship Centurion, stationed in the channel, was +to check the fire of a battery which commanded the ford; a train of +artillery, planted on an eminence, was to enfilade the enemy's +intrenchments; and two armed, flat-bottomed boats, were to be run on shore, +near the redoubt, and favor the crossing of the troops. + +As usual, in complicated orders, part were misunderstood, or neglected, and +confusion was the consequence. Many of the boats from Point Levi ran +aground on a shallow in the river, where they were exposed to a severe fire +of shot and shells. Wolfe, who was on the shore, directing every thing, +endeavored to stop his impatient troops until the boats could be got +afloat, and the men landed. Thirteen companies of grenadiers, and two +hundred provincials were the first to land. Without waiting for Brigadier +Monckton and his regiments; without waiting for the co-operation of the +troops under Townshend; without waiting even to be drawn up in form, the +grenadiers rushed impetuously towards the enemy's intrenchments. A sheeted +fire mowed them down, and drove them to take shelter behind the redoubt, +near the ford, which the enemy had abandoned. Here they remained, unable to +form under the galling fire to which they were exposed, whenever they +ventured from their covert. Monckton's brigade at length was landed, drawn +up in order, and advanced to their relief, driving back the enemy. Thus +protected, the grenadiers retreated as precipitately as they had advanced, +leaving many of their comrades wounded on the field, who were massacred and +scalped in their sight, by the savages. The delay thus caused was fatal to +the enterprise. The day was advanced; the weather became stormy; the tide +began to make; at a later hour, retreat, in case of a second repulse, would +be impossible, Wolfe, therefore, gave up the attack, and withdrew across +the river, having lost upwards of four hundred men, through this headlong +impetuosity of the grenadiers. The two vessels which had been run aground, +were set on fire, lest they should fall into the hands of the enemy. +[Footnote: Wolfe's Letter to Pitt, Sept. 2d, 1759.] + +Brigadier Murray was now detached with twelve hundred men, in transports, +to ascend above the town, and co-operate with Rear-admiral Holmes, in +destroying the enemy's shipping, and making descents upon the north shore. +The shipping were safe from attack; some stores and ammunition were +destroyed; some prisoners taken, and Murray returned with the news of the +capture of Fort Niagara, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point, and that Amherst was +preparing to attack the Isle Aux Noix. + +Wolfe, of a delicate constitution and sensitive nature, had been deeply +mortified by the severe check sustained at the Falls of Montmorency, +fancying himself disgraced; and these successes of his fellow-commanders in +other parts increased his self-upbraiding. The difficulties multiplying +around him, and the delay of General Amherst in hastening to his aid, +preyed incessantly on his spirits; he was dejected even to despondency, and +declared he would never return without success, to be exposed, like other +unfortunate commanders, to the sneers and reproaches of the populace. The +agitation of his mind, and his acute sensibility, brought on a fever, which +for some time incapacitated him from taking the field. + +In the midst of his illness he called a council of war, in which the whole +plan of operations was altered. It was determined to convey troops above +the town, and endeavor to make a diversion in that direction, or draw +Montcalm into the open field. Before carrying this plan into effect, Wolfe +again reconnoitred the town in company with Admiral Saunders, but nothing +better suggested itself. + +The brief Canadian summer was over; they were in the month of September. +The camp at Montmorency was broken up. The troops were transported to Point +Levi, leaving a sufficient number to man the batteries on the Isle of +Orleans. On the fifth and sixth of September the embarkation took place +above Point Levi, in transports which had been sent up for the purpose. +Montcalm detached De Bougainville with fifteen hundred men to keep along +the north shore above the town, watch the movements of the squadron, and +prevent a landing. To deceive him, Admiral Holmes moved with the ships of +war three leagues beyond the place where the landing was to be attempted. +He was to drop down, however, in the night, and protect the landing. Cook, +the future discoverer, also, was employed with others to sound the river +and place buoys opposite the camp of Montcalm, as if an attack were +meditated in that quarter. + +Wolfe was still suffering under the effects of his late fever. "My +constitution," writes he to a friend, "is entirely ruined, without the +consolation of having done any considerable service to the state, and +without any prospect of it." Still he was unremitting in his exertions, +seeking to wipe out the fancied disgrace incurred at the Falls of +Montmorency. It was in this mood he is said to have composed and sung at +his evening mess that little campaigning song still linked with his name: + + Why, soldiers, why + Should we be melancholy, boys? + Why, soldiers, why? + Whose business 'tis to die! + +Even when embarked in his midnight enterprise, the presentiment of death +seems to have cast its shadow over him. A midshipman who was present, +[Footnote: Afterwards Professor John Robison, of Edinburgh.] used to +relate, that as Wolfe sat among his officers, and the boats floated down +silently with the current, he recited, in low and touching tones, Gray's +Elegy in a country churchyard, then just published. One stanza may +especially have accorded with his melancholy mood. + + "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, + And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, + Await alike the inevitable hour. + The paths of glory lead but to the grave." + +"Now, gentlemen," said he, when he had finished, "I would rather be the +author of that poem than take Quebec." + +The descent was made in flat-bottomed boats, past midnight, on the 13th of +September. They dropped down silently with the swift current. "_Qui va +la?_" (who goes there?) cried a sentinel from the shore. "_La +France_," replied a captain in the first boat, who understood the French +language. "_A quel regiment?_" was the demand. "_De la Reine_" +(the queen's), replied the captain, knowing that regiment was in De +Bougainville's detachment. Fortunately, a convoy of provisions was expected +down from De Bougainville's, which the sentinel supposed this to be. +"_Passe_," cried he, and the boats glided on without further +challenge. The landing took place in a cove near Cape Diamond, which still +bears Wolfe's name. He had marked it in reconnoitering, and saw that a +cragged path straggled up from it to the Heights of Abraham, which might be +climbed, though with difficulty, and that it appeared to be slightly +guarded at top. Wolfe was among the first that landed and ascended up the +steep and narrow path, where not more than two could go abreast, and which +had been broken up by cross ditches. Colonel Howe, at the same time, with +the light infantry and Highlanders, scrambled up the woody precipices, +helping themselves by the roots and branches, and putting to flight a +sergeant's guard posted at the summit. Wolfe drew up the men in order as +they mounted; and by the break of day found himself in possession of the +fateful Plains of Abraham. + +Montcalm was thunderstruck when word was brought to him in his camp that +the English were on the heights threatening the weakest part of the town. +Abandoning his intrenchments, he hastened across the river St. Charles and +ascended the heights, which slope up gradually from its banks. His force +was equal in number to that of the English, but a great part was made up of +colony troops and savages. When he saw the formidable host of regulars he +had to contend with, he sent off swift messengers to summon De Bougainville +with his detachment to his aid; and De Vaudreuil to reinforce him, with +fifteen hundred men from the camp. In the mean time he prepared to flank +the left of the English line and force them to the opposite precipices. +Wolfe saw his aim, and sent Brigadier Townshend to counteract him with a +regiment which was formed _en potence_, and supported by two +battalions, presenting on the left a double front. + +The French, in their haste, thinking they were to repel a mere scouting +party, had brought but three light field-pieces with them; the English had +but a single gun, which the sailors had dragged up the heights. With these +they cannonaded each other for a time, Montcalm still waiting for the aid +he had summoned. At length, about nine o'clock, losing all patience, he led +on his disciplined troops to a close conflict with small arms, the Indians +to support them by a galling fire from thickets and corn-fields. The French +advanced gallantly, but irregularly; firing rapidly, but with little +effect. The English reserved their fire until their assailants were within +forty yards, and then delivered it in deadly volleys. They suffered, +however, from the lurking savages, who singled out the officers. Wolfe, who +was in front of the line, a conspicuous mark, was wounded by a ball in the +wrist. He bound his handkerchief round the wound and led on the grenadiers, +with fixed bayonets, to charge the foe, who began to waver. Another ball +struck him in the breast. He felt the wound to be mortal, and feared his +fall might dishearten the troops. Leaning on a lieutenant for support; "Let +not my brave fellows see me drop," said he faintly. He was borne off to the +rear; water was brought to quench his thirst, and he was asked if he would +have a surgeon. "It is needless," he replied; "it is all over with me." He +desired those about him to lay him down. The lieutenant seated himself on +the ground, and supported him in his arms. "They run! they run! see how +they run!" cried one of the attendants. "Who run?" demanded Wolfe, +earnestly, like one aroused from sleep. "The enemy, sir; they give way +every where." The spirit of the expiring hero flashed up. "Go, one of you, +my lads, to Colonel Burton; tell him to march Webb's regiment with all +speed down to Charles' River, to cut off the retreat by the bridge." Then +turning on his side; "Now, God be praised, I will die in peace!" said he, +and expired, [Footnote: Hist. Jour. of Capt. John Knox, vol. i., p. +79.]--soothed in his last moments by the idea that victory would obliterate +the imagined disgrace at Montmorency. + +Brigadier Murray had indeed broken the centre of the enemy, and the +Highlanders were making deadly havoc with their claymores, driving the +French into the town or down to their works on the river St. Charles. +Monckton, the first brigadier, was disabled by a wound in the lungs, and +the command devolved on Townshend, who hastened to re-form the troops of +the centre, disordered in pursuing the enemy. By this time De Bougainville +appeared at a distance in the rear, advancing with two thousand fresh +troops, but he arrived too late to retrieve the day. The gallant Montcalm +had received his death-wound near St. John's Gate, while endeavoring to +rally his flying troops, and had been borne into the town. + +Townshend advanced with a force to receive De Bougainville; but the latter +avoided a combat, and retired into woods and swamps, where it was not +thought prudent to follow him. The English had obtained a complete victory; +slain about five hundred of the enemy; taken above a thousand prisoners, +and among them several officers; and had a strong position on the Plains of +Abraham, which they hastened to fortify with redoubts and artillery, drawn +up the heights. + +The brave Montcalm wrote a letter to General Townshend, recommending the +prisoners to British humanity. When told by his surgeon that he could not +survive above a few hours; "So much the better," replied he; "I shall not +live to see the surrender of Quebec." To De Ramsey, the French king's +lieutenant, who commanded the garrison, he consigned the defence of the +city. "To your keeping," said he, "I commend the honor of France. I'll +neither give orders, nor interfere any further. I have business to attend +to of greater moment than your ruined garrison, and this wretched country. +My time is short,--I shall pass this night with God, and prepare myself for +death. I wish you all comfort; and to be happily extricated from your +present perplexities." He then called for his chaplain, who, with the +bishop of the colony, remained with him through the night. He expired early +in the morning, dying like a brave soldier and a devout Catholic. Never did +two worthier foes mingle their life blood on the battle-field than Wolfe +and Montcalm. [Footnote: Knox; Hist. Jour., vol. i., p. 77.] + +Preparations were now made by the army and the fleet to make an attack on +both upper and lower town; but the spirit of the garrison was broken, and +the inhabitants were clamorous for the safety of their wives and children. +On the 17th of September, Quebec capitulated, and was taken possession of +by the British, who hastened to put it in a complete posture of defence. A +garrison of six thousand effective men was placed in it, under the command +of Brigadier-general Murray, and victualled from the fleet. General +Townshend embarked with Admiral Saunders, and returned to England; and the +wounded General Monckton was conveyed to New York, of which he afterwards +became governor. + +Had Amherst followed up his success at Ticonderoga the preceding summer, +the year's campaign would have ended, as had been projected, in the +subjugation of Canada. His cautious delay gave De Levi, the successor of +Montcalm, time to rally, concentrate the scattered French forces, and +struggle for the salvation of the province. + +In the following spring, as soon as the river St. Lawrence opened, he +approached Quebec, and landed at Point an Tremble, about twelve miles off. +The garrison had suffered dreadfully during the winter from excessive cold; +want of vegetables and of fresh provisions. Many had died of scurvy, and +many more were ill. Murray, sanguine and injudicious, on hearing that De +Levi was advancing with ten thousand men, and five hundred Indians, sallied +out with his diminished forces of not more than three thousand. English +soldiers, he boasted, were habituated to victory; he had a fine train of +artillery, and stood a better chance in the field than cooped up in a +wretched fortification. If defeated, he would defend the place to the last +extremity, and then retreat to the Isle of Orleans, and wait for +reinforcements. More brave than discreet, he attacked the vanguard of the +enemy; the battle which took place was fierce and sanguinary. Murray's +troops had caught his own headlong valor, and fought until near a third of +their number were slain. They were at length driven back into the town, +leaving their boasted train of artillery on the field. + +De Levi opened trenches before the town the very evening of the battle. +Three French ships, which had descended the river, furnished him with +cannon, mortars, and ammunition. By the 11th of May, he had one bomb +battery, and three batteries of cannon. Murray, equally alert within the +walls, strengthened his defences, and kept up a vigorous fire. His garrison +was now reduced to two hundred and twenty effective men, and he himself, +with all his vaunting spirit, was driven almost to despair, when a British +fleet arrived in the river. The whole scene was now reversed. One of the +French frigates was driven on the rocks above Cape Diamond; another ran on +shore, and was burnt; the rest of their vessels were either taken, or +destroyed. The besieging army retreated in the night, leaving provisions, +implements, and artillery behind them; and so rapid was their flight, that +Murray, who sallied forth on the following day, could not overtake them. + +A last stand for the preservation of the colony was now made by the French +at Montreal, where De Vaudreuil fixed his headquarters, fortified himself, +and called in all possible aid, Canadian and Indian. + +The cautious, but tardy Amherst was now in the field to carry out the plan +in which he had fallen short in the previous year. He sent orders to +General Murray to advance by water against Montreal, with all the force +that could be spared from Quebec; he detached a body of troops under +Colonel Haviland from Crown Point, to cross Lake Champlain, take possession +of the Isle Aux Noix, and push on to the St. Lawrence, while he took the +roundabout way with his main army by the Mohawk and Oneida rivers to Lake +Ontario; thence to descend the St. Lawrence to Montreal. + +Murray, according to orders, embarked his troops in a great number of small +vessels, and ascended the river in characteristic style, publishing +manifestoes in the Canadian villages, disarming the inhabitants, and +exacting the oath of neutrality. He looked forward to new laurels at +Montreal, but the slow and sure Amherst had anticipated him. That worthy +general, after delaying on Lake Ontario to send out cruisers, and stopping +to repair petty forts on the upper part of the St. Lawrence, which had been +deserted by their garrisons, or surrendered without firing a gun, arrived +on the 6th of September at the island of Montreal, routed some light +skirmishing parties, and presented himself before the town. Vaudreuil found +himself threatened by an army of nearly ten thousand men, and a host of +Indians; for Amherst had called in the aid of Sir William Johnson, and his +Mohawk braves. To withstand a siege in an almost open town against such +superior force, was out of the question; especially as Murray from Quebec, +and Haviland from Crown Point, were at hand with additional troops. A +capitulation accordingly took place on the 8th of September, including the +surrender not merely of Montreal, but of all Canada. + +Thus ended the contest between France and England for dominion in America, +in which, as has been said, the first gun was fired in Washington's +encounter with De Jumonville. A French statesman and diplomatist consoled +himself by the persuasion that it would be a fatal triumph to England. It +would remove the only check by which her colonies were kept in awe. "They +will no longer need her protection," said he; "she will call on them to +contribute toward supporting the burdens they have helped to bring on her, +and _they will answer by striking off_ all _dependence_." +[Footnote: Count de Vergennes, French ambassador at Constantinople.] + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +WASHINGTON'S INSTALLATION IN THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES--HIS RURAL LIFE--MOUNT +VERNON AND ITS VICINITY--ARISTOCRATICAL DAYS OF VIRGINIA--WASHINGTON'S +MANAGEMENT OF HIS ESTATE--DOMESTIC HABITS--FOX-HUNTING--LORD FAIRFAX-- +FISHING AND DUCK-SHOOTING--THE POACHER--LYNCH LAW--AQUATIC STATE--LIFE AT +ANNAPOLIS--WASHINGTON IN THE DISMAL SWAMP. + + +For three months after his marriage, Washington resided with his bride at +the "White House." During his sojourn there, he repaired to Williamsburg, +to take his seat in the House of Burgesses. By a vote of the House, it had +been determined to greet his instalment by a signal testimonial of respect. +Accordingly, as soon as he took his seat, Mr. Robinson, the Speaker, in +eloquent language, dictated by the warmth of private friendship, returned +thanks, on behalf of the colony, for the distinguished military services he +had rendered to his country. + +Washington rose to reply; blushed-stammered-trembled, and could not utter a +word. "Sit down, Mr. Washington," said the Speaker, with a smile; "your +modesty equals your valor, and that surpasses the power of any language I +possess." + +Such was Washington's first launch into civil life, in which he was to be +distinguished by the same judgment, devotion, courage, and magnanimity +exhibited in his military career. He attended the House frequently during +the remainder of the session, after which he conducted his bride to his +favorite abode of Mount Vernon. + +Mr. Custis, the first husband of Mrs. Washington, had left large landed +property, and forty-five thousand pounds sterling in money. One third fell +to his widow in her own right; two thirds were inherited equally by her two +children,--a boy of six, and a girl of four years of age. By a decree of +the General Court, Washington was intrusted with the care of the property +inherited by the children; a sacred and delicate trust, which he discharged +in the most faithful and judicious manner; becoming more like a parent, +than a mere guardian to them. + +From a letter to his correspondent in England, it would appear that he had +long entertained a desire to visit that country. Had he done so, his +acknowledged merit and military services would have insured him a +distinguished reception; and it has been intimated, that the signal favor +of government might have changed the current of his career. We believe him, +however, to have been too pure a patriot, and too clearly possessed of the +true interests of his country, to be diverted from the course which he +ultimately adopted. His marriage, at any rate, had put an end to all +travelling inclinations. In his letter from Mount Vernon, he writes: "I am +now, I believe, fixed in this seat, with an agreeable partner for life, and +I hope to find more happiness in retirement than I ever experienced in the +wide and bustling world." + +This was no Utopian dream transiently indulged, amid the charms of novelty. +It was a deliberate purpose with him, the result of innate and enduring +inclinations. Throughout the whole course of his career, agricultural life +appears to have been his _beau ideal_ of existence, which haunted his +thoughts even amid the stern duties of the field, and to which he recurred +with unflagging interest whenever enabled to indulge his natural bias. + +Mount Vernon was his harbor of repose, where he repeatedly furled his sail, +and fancied himself anchored for life. No impulse of ambition tempted him +thence; nothing but the call of his country, and his devotion to the public +good. The place was endeared to him by the remembrance of his brother +Lawrence, and of the happy days he had passed here with that brother in the +days of boyhood; but it was a delightful place in itself, and well +calculated to inspire the rural feeling. + +The mansion was beautifully situated on a swelling height, crowned with +wood, and commanding a magnificent view up and down the Potomac. The +grounds immediately about it were laid out somewhat in the English taste. +The estate was apportioned into separate farms, devoted to different kinds +of culture, each having its allotted laborers. Much, however, was still +covered with wild woods, seamed with deep dells and runs of water, and +indented with inlets; haunts of deer, and lurking-places of foxes. The +whole woody region along the Potomac from Mount Vernon to Belvoir, and far +beyond, with its range of forests and hills, and picturesque promontories, +afforded sport of various kinds, and was a noble hunting-ground. Washington +had hunted through it with old Lord Fairfax in his stripling days; we do +not wonder that his feelings throughout life incessantly reverted to it. + +"No estate in United America," observes he, in one of his letters, "is more +pleasantly situated. In a high and healthy country; in a latitude between +the extremes of heat and cold; on one of the finest rivers in the world; a +river well stocked with various kinds of fish at all seasons of the year, +and in the spring with shad, herrings, bass, carp, sturgeon, &c., in great +abundance. The borders of the estate are washed by more than ten miles of +tide water; several valuable fisheries appertain to it: the whole shore, in +fact, is one entire fishery." + +These were, as yet, the aristocratical days of Virginia. The estates were +large, and continued in the same families by entails. Many of the wealthy +planters were connected with old families in England. The young men, +especially the elder sons, were often sent to finish their education there, +and on their return brought out the tastes and habits of the mother +country. The governors of Virginia were from the higher ranks of society, +and maintained a corresponding state. The "established," or Episcopal +church, predominated throughout the "ancient dominion," as it was termed; +each county was divided into parishes, as in England,--each with its +parochial church, its parsonage, and glebe. Washington was vestryman of two +parishes, Fairfax and Truro; the parochial church of the former was at +Alexandria, ten miles from Mount Vernon; of the latter, at Pohick, about +seven miles. The church at Pohick was rebuilt on a plan of his own, and in +a great measure at his expense. At one or other of these churches he +attended every Sunday, when the weather and the roads permitted. His +demeanor was reverential and devout. Mrs. Washington knelt during the +prayers; he always stood, as was the custom at that time. Both were +communicants. + +Among his occasional visitors and associates were Captain Hugh Mercer and +Dr. Craik; the former, after his narrow escapes from the tomahawk and +scalping-knife, was quietly settled at Fredericksburg; the latter, after +the campaigns on the frontier were over, had taken up his residence at +Alexandria, and was now Washington's family physician. Both were drawn to +him by campaigning ties and recollections, and were ever welcome at Mount +Vernon. + +A style of living prevailed among the opulent Virginian families in those +days that has long since faded away. The houses were spacious, commodious, +liberal in all their appointments, and fitted to cope with the free-handed, +open-hearted hospitality of the owners. Nothing was more common than to see +handsome services of plate, elegant equipages, and superb carriage +horses--all imported from England. + +The Virginians have always been noted for their love of horses; a manly +passion which, in those days of opulence, they indulged without regard to +expense. The rich planters vied with each other in their studs, importing +the best English stocks. Mention is made of one of the Randolphs of +Tuckahoe, who built a stable for his favorite dapple-gray horse, +Shakespeare, with a recess for the bed of the negro groom, who always slept +beside him at night. + +Washington, by his marriage, had added above one hundred thousand dollars +to his already considerable fortune, and was enabled to live in ample and +dignified style. His intimacy with the Fairfaxes, and his intercourse with +British officers of rank, had perhaps had their influence on his mode of +living. He had his chariot and four, with black postilions in livery, for +the use of Mrs. Washington and her lady visitors. As for himself, he always +appeared on horseback. His stable was well filled and admirably regulated. +His stud was thoroughbred and in excellent order. His household books +contain registers of the names, ages, and marks of his various horses; such +as Ajax, Blueskin, Valiant, Magnolia (an Arab), &c. Also his dogs, chiefly +fox-hounds, Vulcan, Singer, Ringwood, Sweetlips, Forrester, Music, +Rockwood, Truelove, &c. [Footnote: In one of his letter-books we find +orders on his London agent for riding equipments. For example: + +1 Man's riding-saddle, hogskin seat, large plated stirrups and every thing +complete. Double reined bridle and Pelham bit, plated. + +A very neat and fashionable Newmarket saddle-cloth. + +A large and best portmanteau, saddle, bridle, and pillion. + +Cloak-bag surcingle; checked saddle-cloth, holsters, &c. + +A riding-frock of a handsome drab-colored broadcloth, with plain double +gilt buttons. + +A riding waistcoat of superfine scarlet cloth and gold lace, with buttons +like those of the coat. + +A blue surtout coat. + +A neat switch whip, silver cap. + +Black velvet cap for servant.] + +A large Virginia estate, in those days, was a little empire. The +mansion-house was the seat of government, with its numerous dependencies, +such as kitchens, smoke-house, workshops and stables. In this mansion the +planter ruled supreme; his steward or overseer was his prime minister and +executive officer; he had his legion of house negroes for domestic service, +and his host of field negroes for the culture of tobacco, Indian corn, and +other crops, and for other out of door labor. Their quarter formed a kind +of hamlet apart, composed of various huts, with little gardens and poultry +yards, all well stocked, and swarms of little negroes gambolling in the +sunshine. Then there were large wooden edifices for curing tobacco, the +staple and most profitable production, and mills for grinding wheat and +Indian corn, of which large fields were cultivated for the supply of the +family and the maintenance of the negroes. + +Among the slaves were artificers of all kinds, tailors, shoemakers, +carpenters, smiths, wheelwrights, and so forth; so that a plantation +produced every thing within itself for ordinary use: as to articles of +fashion and elegance, luxuries, and expensive clothing, they were imported +from London; for the planters on the main rivers, especially the Potomac, +carried on an immediate trade with England. Their tobacco was put up by +their own negroes, bore their own marks, was shipped on board of vessels +which came up the rivers for the purpose, and consigned to some agent in +Liverpool or Bristol, with whom the planter kept an account. + +The Virginia planters were prone to leave the care of their estates too +much to their overseers, and to think personal labor a degradation. +Washington carried into his rural affairs the same method, activity, and +circumspection that had distinguished him in military life. He kept his own +accounts, posted up his books and balanced them with mercantile exactness. +We have examined them as well as his diaries recording his daily +occupations, and his letter-books, containing entries of shipments of +tobacco, and correspondence with his London agents. They are monuments of +his business habits. [Footnote: The following letter of Washington to his +London correspondents will give an idea of the early intercourse of the +Virginia planters with the mother country. + +"Our goods by the Liberty, Capt. Walker, came to hand in good order and +soon after his arrival, as they generally do when shipped in a vessel to +this river [the Potomac], and scarce ever when they go to any others; for +it don't often happen that a vessel bound to one river has goods of any +consequence to another; and the masters, in these cases, keep the packages +till an accidental conveyance offers, and for want of better opportunities +frequently commit them to boatmen who care very little for the goods so +they get their freight, and often land them wherever it suits their +convenience, not where they have engaged to do so. ... A ship from London +to Virginia may be in Rappahannock or any of the other rivers three months +before I know any thing of their arrival, and may make twenty voyages +without my seeing or even hearing of the captain."] + +The products of his estate also became so noted for the faithfulness, as to +quality and quantity, with which they were put up, that it is said any +barrel of flour that bore the brand of George Washington, Mount Vernon, was +exempted from the customary inspection in the West India ports. [Footnote: +Speech of the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop on laying the corner-stone of +Washington's Monument.] + +He was an early riser, often before daybreak in the winter when the nights +were long. On such occasions he lit his own fire and wrote or read by +candle-light. He breakfasted at seven in summer, at eight in winter. Two +small cups of tea and three or four cakes of Indian meal (called hoe +cakes), formed his frugal repast. Immediately after breakfast he mounted +his horse and visited those parts of the estate where any work was going +on, seeing to every thing with his own eyes, and often aiding with his own +hand. + +Dinner was served at two o'clock. He ate heartily, but was no epicure, nor +critical about his food. His beverage was small beer or cider, and two +glasses of old Madeira. He took tea, of which he was very fond, early in +the evening, and retired for the night about nine o'clock. + +If confined to the house by bad weather, he took that occasion to arrange +his papers, post up his accounts, or write letters; passing part of the +time in reading, and occasionally reading aloud to the family. + +He treated his negroes with kindness; attended to their comforts; was +particularly careful of them in sickness; but never tolerated idleness, and +exacted a faithful performance of all their allotted tasks. He had a quick +eye at calculating each man's capabilities. An entry in his diary gives a +curious instance of this. Four of his negroes, employed as carpenters, were +hewing and shaping timber. It appeared to him, in noticing the amount of +work accomplished between two succeeding mornings, that they loitered at +their labor. Sitting down quietly he timed their operations; how long it +took them to get their cross-cut saw and other implements ready; how long +to clear away the branches from the trunk of a fallen tree; how long to hew +and saw it; what time was expended in considering and consulting, and after +all, how much work was effected during the time he looked on. From this he +made his computation how much they could execute in the course of a day, +working entirely at their ease. + +At another time we find him working for a part of two days with Peter, his +smith, to make a plough on a new invention of his own. This, after two or +three failures, he accomplished. Then, with less than his usual judgment, +he put his two chariot horses to the plough, and ran a great risk of +spoiling them, in giving his new invention a trial over ground thickly +swarded. + +Anon, during a thunderstorm, a frightened negro alarms the house with word +that the mill is giving way, upon which there is a general turn out of all +the forces, with Washington at their head, wheeling and shovelling gravel, +during a pelting rain, to check the rushing water. + +Washington delighted in the chase. In the hunting season, when he rode out +early in the morning to visit distant parts of the estate, where work was +going on, he often took some of the dogs with him for the chance of +starting a fox, which he occasionally did, though he was not always +successful in killing him. He was a bold rider and an admirable horseman, +though he never claimed the merit of being an accomplished fox-hunter. In +the height of the season, however, he would be out with the foxhounds two +or three times a week, accompanied by his guests at Mount Vernon and the +gentlemen of the neighborhood, especially the Fairfaxes of Belvoir, of +which estate his friend George William Fairfax was now the proprietor. On +such occasions there would be a hunting dinner at one or other of those +establishments, at which convivial repasts Washington is said to have +enjoyed himself with unwonted hilarity. + +Now and then his old friend and instructor in the noble art of venery, Lord +Fairfax, would be on a visit to his relatives at Belvoir, and then the +hunting was kept up with unusual spirit. [Footnote: Hunting memoranda from +Washington's journal, Mount Vernon. + +Nov. 22.--Hunting with Lord Fairfax and his brother, and Colonel Fairfax. + +Nov. 25.--Mr. Bryan Fairfax, Mr. Grayson, and Phil. Alexander came here by +sunrise. Hunted and catched a fox with these, Lord Fairfax, his brother, +and Col. Fairfax,--all of whom, with Mr. Fairfax and Mr. Wilson of England, +dined here. 26th and 29th.--Hunted again with the same company. + +Dec. 5.--Fox-hunting with Lord Fairfax and his brother, and Colonel +Fairfax. Started a fox and lost it. Dined at Belvoir, and returned in the +evening.] + +His lordship, however, since the alarms of Indian war had ceased, lived +almost entirely at Greenway Court, where Washington was occasionally a +guest, when called by public business to Winchester. Lord Fairfax had made +himself a favorite throughout the neighborhood. As lord-lieutenant and +custos rotulorum of Frederick County, he presided at county courts held at +Winchester, where, during the sessions, he kept open table. He acted also +as surveyor and overseer of the public roads and highways, and was +unremitted in his exertions and plans for the improvement of the country. +Hunting, however, was his passion. When the sport was poor near home, he +would take his hounds to a distant part of the country, establish himself +at an inn, and keep open house and open table to every person of good +character and respectable appearance who chose to join him in following the +hounds. + +It was probably in quest of sport of the kind that he now and then, in the +hunting season, revisited his old haunts and former companions on the banks +of the Potomac, and then the beautiful woodland region about Belvoir and +Mount Vernon was sure to ring at early morn with the inspiring music of the +hound. + +The waters of the Potomac also afforded occasional amusement in fishing and +shooting. The fishing was sometimes on a grand scale, when the herrings +came up the river in shoals, and the negroes of Mount Vernon were +marshalled forth to draw the seine, which was generally done with great +success. Canvas-back ducks abounded at the proper season, and the shooting +of them was one of Washington's favorite recreations. The river border of +his domain, however, was somewhat subject to invasion. An oysterman once +anchored his craft at the landing-place, and disturbed the quiet of the +neighborhood by the insolent and disorderly conduct of himself and crew. It +took a campaign of three days to expel these invaders from the premises. + +A more summary course was pursued with another interloper. This was a +vagabond who infested the creeks and inlets which bordered the estate, +lurking in a canoe among the reeds and bushes, and making great havoc among +the canvas-back ducks. He had been warned off repeatedly, but without +effect. As Washington was one day riding about the estate he heard the +report of a gun from the margin of the river. Spurring in that direction he +dashed through the bushes and came upon the culprit just as he was pushing +his canoe from shore. The latter raised his gun with a menacing look; but +Washington rode into the stream, seized the painter of the canoe, drew it +to shore, sprang from his horse, wrested the gun from the hands of the +astonished delinquent, and inflicted on him a lesson in "Lynch law" that +effectually cured him of all inclination to trespass again on these +forbidden shores. + +The Potomac, in the palmy days of Virginia, was occasionally the scene of a +little aquatic state and ostentation among the rich planters who resided on +its banks. They had beautiful barges, which, like their land equipages, +were imported from England; and mention is made of a Mr. Digges who always +received Washington in his barge, rowed by six negroes, arrayed in a kind +of uniform of check shirts and black velvet caps. At one time, according to +notes in Washington's diary, the whole neighborhood is thrown into a +paroxysm of festivity, by the anchoring of a British frigate (the Boston) +in the river, just in front of the hospitable mansion of the Fairfaxes. A +succession of dinners and breakfasts takes place at Mount Vernon and +Belvoir, with occasional tea parties on board of the frigate. The +commander, Sir Thomas Adams, his officers, and his midshipmen, are +cherished guests, and have the freedom of both establishments. + +Occasionally he and Mrs. Washington would pay a visit to Annapolis, at that +time the seat of government of Maryland, and partake of the gayeties which +prevailed during the session of the legislature. The society of these seats +of provincial governments was always polite and fashionable, and more +exclusive than in these republican days, being, in a manner, the outposts +of the English aristocracy, where all places of dignity or profit were +secured for younger sons, and poor, but proud relatives. During the session +of the Legislature, dinners and balls abounded, and there were occasional +attempts at theatricals. The latter was an amusement for which Washington +always had a relish, though he never had an opportunity of gratifying it +effectually. Neither was he disinclined to mingle in the dance, and we +remember to have heard venerable ladies, who had been belles in his day, +pride themselves on having had him for a partner, though, they added, he +was apt to be a ceremonious and grave one. [Footnote: We have had an +amusing picture of Annapolis, as it was at this period, furnished to us, +some years since by an octogenarian who had resided there in his boyhood. +"In those parts of the country," said he, "where the roads were too rough +for carriages, the ladies used to ride on ponies, followed by black +servants on horseback; in this way his mother, then advanced in life, used +to travel, in a scarlet cloth riding habit, which she had procured from +England. Nay, in this way, on emergencies," he added, "the young ladies +from the country used to come to the balls at Annapolis, riding with their +hoops arranged 'fore and aft' like lateen sails; and after dancing all +night, would ride home again in the morning."] + +In this round of rural occupation, rural amusements, and social +intercourse, Washington passed several tranquil years, the halcyon season +of his life. His already established reputation drew many visitors to Mount +Vernon; some of his early companions in arms were his occasional guests, +and his friendships and connections linked him with some of the most +prominent and worthy people of the country, who were sure to be received +with cordial, but simple and unpretending hospitality. His marriage was +unblessed with children; but those of Mrs. Washington experienced from him +parental care and affection, and the formation of their minds and manners +was one of the dearest objects of his attention. His domestic concerns and +social enjoyments, however, were not permitted to interfere with his public +duties. He was active by nature, and eminently a man of business by habit. +As judge of the county court, and member of the House of Burgesses, he had +numerous calls upon his time and thoughts, and was often drawn from home; +for whatever trust he undertook, he was sure to fulfil with scrupulous +exactness. + +About this time we find him engaged, with other men of enterprise, in a +project to drain the great Dismal Swamp, and render it capable of +cultivation. This vast morass was about thirty miles long, and ten miles +wide, and its interior but little known. With his usual zeal and hardihood +he explored it on horseback and on foot. In many parts it was covered with +dark and gloomy woods of cedar, cypress, and hemlock, or deciduous trees, +the branches of which were hung with long drooping moss. Other parts were +almost inaccessible, from the density of brakes and thickets, entangled +with vines, briers, and creeping plants, and intersected by creeks and +standing pools. Occasionally the soil, composed of dead vegetable fibre, +was over his horse's fetlocks, and sometimes he had to dismount and make +his way on foot over a quaking bog that shook beneath his tread. + +In the centre of the morass he came to a great piece of water, six miles +long, and three broad, called Drummond's Pond, but more poetically +celebrated as the Lake of the Dismal Swamp. It was more elevated than any +other part of the swamp, and capable of feeding canals, by which the whole +might be traversed. Having made the circuit of it, and noted all its +characteristics, he encamped for the night upon the firm land which +bordered it, and finished his explorations on the following day. + +In the ensuing session of the Virginia Legislature, the association in +behalf of which he had acted, was chartered under the name of the Dismal +Swamp Company; and to his observations and forecast may be traced the +subsequent improvement and prosperity of that once desolate region. + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +TREATY OF PEACE--PONTIAC'S WAR--COURSE OF PUBLIC EVENTS--BOARD OF TRADE +AGAINST PAPER CURRENCY--RESTRICTIVE POLICY OF ENGLAND--NAVIGATION LAWS-- +DISCONTENTS IN NEW ENGLAND--OF THE OTHER COLONIES--PROJECTS TO RAISE +REVENUE BY TAXATION--BLOW AT THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY--NAVAL +COMMANDERS EMPLOYED AS CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICERS--RETALIATION OF THE +COLONISTS--TAXATION RESISTED IN BOSTON--PASSING OF THE STAMP ACT--BURST OF +OPPOSITION IN VIRGINIA--SPEECH OF PATRICK HENRY. + + +Tidings of peace gladdened the colonies in the spring of 1763. The +definitive treaty between England and France had been signed at +Fontainbleau. Now, it was trusted, there would be an end to those horrid +ravages that had desolated the interior of the country. "The desert and the +silent place would rejoice, and the wilderness would blossom like the +rose." + +The month of May proved the fallacy of such hopes. In that month the famous +insurrection of the Indian tribes broke out, which, from the name of the +chief who was its prime mover and master spirit, is commonly called +Pontiac's war. The Delawares and Shawnees, and other of those emigrant +tribes of the Ohio, among whom Washington had mingled, were foremost in +this conspiracy. Some of the chiefs who had been his allies, had now taken +up the hatchet against the English. The plot was deep laid, and conducted +with. Indian craft and secrecy. At a concerted time an attack was made upon +all the posts from Detroit to Fort Pitt (late Fort Duquesne). Several of +the small stockaded forts, the places of refuge of woodland neighborhoods, +were surprised and sacked with remorseless butchery. The frontiers of +Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, were laid waste; traders in the +wilderness were plundered and slain; hamlets and farmhouses were wrapped in +flames, and their inhabitants massacred. Shingis, with his Delaware +warriors, blockaded Fort Pitt, which, for some time, was in imminent +danger. Detroit, also, came near falling into the hands of the savages. It +needed all the influence of Sir William Johnson, that potentate in savage +life, to keep the Six Nations from joining this formidable conspiracy; had +they done so, the triumph of the tomahawk and scalping knife would have +been complete; as it was, a considerable time elapsed before the frontier +was restored to tolerable tranquillity. + +Fortunately, Washington's retirement from the army prevented his being +entangled in this savage war, which raged throughout the regions he had +repeatedly visited, or rather his active spirit had been diverted into a +more peaceful channel, for he was at this time occupied in the enterprise +just noticed, for draining the great Dismal Swamp. + +Public events were now taking a tendency which, without any political +aspiration or forethought of his own, was destined gradually to bear him +away from his quiet home and individual pursuits, and launch him upon a +grander and wider sphere of action than any in which he had hitherto been +engaged. + +The prediction of the Count de Vergennes was in the process of fulfilment. +The recent war of Great Britain for dominion in America, though crowned +with success, had engendered a progeny of discontents in her colonies. +Washington was among the first to perceive its bitter fruits. British +merchants had complained loudly of losses sustained by the depreciation of +the colonial paper, issued during the late war, in times of emergency, and +had addressed a memorial on the subject to the Board of Trade. Scarce was +peace concluded, when an order from the board declared that no paper, +issued by colonial Assemblies, should thenceforward be a legal tender in +the payment of debts. Washington deprecated this "stir of the merchants" as +peculiarly ill-timed; and expressed an apprehension that the orders in +question "would get the whole country in flames." + +We do not profess, in this personal memoir, to enter into a wide scope of +general history, but shall content ourselves with a glance at the +circumstances and events which gradually kindled the conflagration thus +apprehended by the anxious mind of Washington. + +Whatever might be the natural affection of the colonies for the mother +country,--and there are abundant evidences to prove that it was deep-rooted +and strong,--it had never been properly reciprocated. They yearned to be +considered as children; they were treated by her as changelings. Burke +testifies that her policy toward them from the beginning had been purely +commercial, and her commercial policy wholly restrictive. "It was the +system of a monopoly." + +Her navigation laws had shut their ports against foreign vessels; obliged +them to export their productions only to countries belonging to the British +crown; to import European goods solely from England, and in English ships; +and had subjected the trade between the colonies to duties. All +manufactures, too, in the colonies that might interfere with those of the +mother country had been either totally prohibited, or subjected to +intolerable restraints. + +The acts of Parliament, imposing these prohibitions and restrictions, had +at various times produced sore discontent and opposition on the part of the +colonies, especially among those of New England. The interests of these +last were chiefly commercial, and among them the republican spirit +predominated. They had sprung into existence during that part of the reign +of James I. when disputes ran high about kingly prerogative and popular +privilege. + +The Pilgrims, as they styled themselves, who founded Plymouth Colony in +1620, had been incensed while in England by what they stigmatized as the +oppressions of the monarchy, and the established church. They had sought +the wilds of America for the indulgence of freedom of opinion, and had +brought with them the spirit of independence and self-government. Those who +followed them in the reign of Charles I. were imbued with the same spirit, +and gave a lasting character to the people of New England. + +Other colonies, having been formed under other circumstances, might be +inclined toward a monarchical government, and disposed to acquiesce in its +exactions; but the republican spirit was ever alive in New England, +watching over "natural and chartered rights," and prompt to defend them +against any infringement. Its example and instigation had gradually an +effect on the other colonies; a general impatience was evinced from time to +time of parliamentary interference in colonial affairs, and a disposition +in the various provincial Legislatures to think and act for themselves in +matters of civil and religious, as well as commercial polity. + +There was nothing, however, to which the jealous sensibilities of the +colonies were more alive than to any attempt of the mother country to draw +a revenue from them by taxation. From the earliest period of their +existence, they had maintained the principle that they could only be taxed +by a Legislature in which they were represented. Sir Robert Walpole, when +at the head of the British government, was aware of their jealous +sensibility on this point, and cautious of provoking it. When American +taxation was suggested, "it must be a bolder man than himself," he replied, +"and one less friendly to commerce, who should venture on such an +expedient. For his part, he would encourage the trade of the colonies to +the utmost; one half of the profits would be sure to come into the royal +exchequer through the increased demand for British manufactures. +_This_" said he, sagaciously, "_is taxing them more agreeably to +their own constitution and laws_." + +Subsequent ministers adopted a widely different policy. During the progress +of the French war, various projects were discussed in England with regard +to the colonies, which were to be carried into effect on the return of +peace. The open avowal of some of these plans, and vague rumors of others, +more than ever irritated the jealous feelings of the colonists, and put the +dragon spirit of New England on the alert. + +In 1760, there was an attempt in Boston to collect duties on foreign sugar +and molasses imported into the colonies. Writs of assistance were applied +for by the custom-house officers, authorizing them to break open ships, +stores, and private dwellings, in quest of articles that had paid no duty; +and to call the assistance of others in the discharge of their odious task. +The merchants opposed the execution of the writ on constitutional grounds. +The question was argued in court, where James Otis spoke so eloquently in +vindication of American rights, that all his hearers went away ready to +take arms against writs of assistance. "Then and there," says John Adams, +who was present, "was the first scene of opposition to the arbitrary claims +of Great Britain. Then and there American Independence was born." + +Another ministerial measure was to instruct the provincial governors to +commission judges. Not as theretofore "during good behavior," but "during +the king's pleasure." New York was the first to resent this blow at the +independence of the judiciary. The lawyers appealed to the public through +the press against an act which subjected the halls of justice to the +prerogative. Their appeals were felt beyond the bounds of the province, and +awakened a general spirit of resistance. + +Thus matters stood at the conclusion of the war. One of the first measures +of ministers, on the return of peace, was to enjoin on all naval officers +stationed on the coasts of the American colonies the performance, under +oath, of the duties of custom-house officers, for the suppression of +smuggling. This fell ruinously upon a clandestine trade which had long been +connived at between the English and Spanish colonies, profitable to both, +but especially to the former, and beneficial to the mother country, opening +a market to her manufactures. + +"Men-of-war," says Burke, "were for the first time armed with the regular +commissions of custom-house officers, invested the coasts, and gave the +collection of revenue the air of hostile contribution. ... They fell so +indiscriminately on all sorts of contraband, or supposed contraband, that +some of the most valuable branches of trade were driven violently from our +ports, which caused an universal consternation throughout the colonies." +[Footnote: Burke on the state of the nation.] + +As a measure of retaliation, the colonists resolved not to purchase British +fabrics, but to clothe themselves as much as possible in home manufactures. +The demand for British goods in Boston alone was diminished upwards of +£10,000 sterling in the course of a year. + +In 1764, George Grenville, now at the head of government, ventured upon the +policy from which Walpole had so wisely abstained. Early in March the +eventful question was debated, "whether they had a right to tax America." +It was decided in the affirmative. Next followed a resolution, declaring it +proper to charge certain stamp duties in the colonies and plantations, but +no immediate step was taken to carry it into effect. Mr. Grenville, +however, gave notice to the American agents in London, that he should +introduce such a measure on the ensuing session of Parliament. In the mean +time Parliament perpetuated certain duties on sugar and +molasses--heretofore subjects of complaint and opposition--now reduced and +modified so as to discourage smuggling, and thereby to render them more +productive. Duties, also, were imposed on other articles of foreign produce +or manufacture imported into the colonies. To reconcile the latter to these +impositions, it was stated that the revenue thus raised was to be +appropriated to their protection and security; in other words, to the +support of a standing army, intended to be quartered upon them. + +We have here briefly stated but a part of what Burke terms an "infinite +variety of paper chains," extending through no less than twenty-nine acts +of Parliament, from 1660 to 1764, by which the colonies had been held in +thraldom. + +The New Englanders were the first to take the field against the project of +taxation. They denounced it as a violation of their rights as freemen; of +their chartered rights, by which they were to tax themselves for their +support and defence; of their rights as British subjects, who ought not to +be taxed but by themselves or their representatives. They sent petitions +and remonstrances on the subject to the king, the lords and the commons, in +which they were seconded by New York and Virginia. Franklin appeared in +London at the head of agents from Pennsylvania, Connecticut and South +Carolina, to deprecate, in person, measures so fraught with mischief. The +most eloquent arguments were used by British orators and statesmen to +dissuade Grenville from enforcing them. He was warned of the sturdy +independence of the colonists, and the spirit of resistance he might +provoke. All was in vain. Grenville, "great in daring and little in views," +says Horace Walpole, "was charmed to have an untrodden field before him of +calculation and experiment." In March, 1765, the act was passed, according +to which all instruments in writing were to be executed on stamped paper, +to be purchased from the agents of the British government. What was more: +all offences against the act could be tried in any royal, marine or +admiralty court throughout the colonies, however distant from the place +where the offence had been committed; thus interfering with that most +inestimable right, a trial by jury. + +It was an ominous sign that the first burst of opposition to this act +should take place in Virginia. That colony had hitherto been slow to accord +with the republican spirit of New England. Founded at an earlier period of +the reign of James I., before kingly prerogative and ecclesiastical +supremacy had been made matters of doubt and fierce dispute, it had grown +up in loyal attachment to king, church, and constitution; was +aristocratical in its tastes and habits, and had been remarked above all +the other colonies for its sympathies with the mother country. Moreover, it +had not so many pecuniary interests involved in these questions as had the +people of New England, being an agricultural rather than a commercial +province; but the Virginians are of a quick and generous spirit, readily +aroused on all points of honorable pride, and they resented the stamp act +as an outrage on their rights. + +Washington occupied his seat in the House of Burgesses, when, on the 29th +of May, the stamp act became a subject of discussion. We have seen no +previous opinions of his on the subject. His correspondence hitherto had +not turned on political or speculative themes; being engrossed by either +military or agricultural matters, and evincing little anticipation of the +vortex of public duties into which he was about to be drawn. All his +previous conduct and writings show a loyal devotion to the crown, with a +patriotic attachment to his country. It is probable that on the present +occasion that latent patriotism received its first electric shock. + +Among the Burgesses sat Patrick Henry, a young lawyer who had recently +distinguished himself by pleading against the exercise of the royal +prerogative in church matters, and who was now for the first time a member +of the House. Rising in his place, he introduced his celebrated +resolutions, declaring that the General Assembly of Virginia had the +exclusive right and power to lay taxes and impositions upon the +inhabitants, and that whoever maintained the contrary should be deemed an +enemy to the colony. + +The speaker, Mr. Robinson, objected to the resolutions, as inflammatory. +Henry vindicated them, as justified by the nature of the case; went into an +able and constitutional discussion of colonial rights, and an eloquent +exposition of the manner in which they had been assailed; wound up by one +of those daring flights of declamation for which he was remarkable, and +startled the House by a warning flash from history: "Caesar had his Brutus; +Charles his Cromwell, and George the Third--('Treason! treason!' resounded +from the neighborhood of the Chair)--may profit by their examples," added +Henry. "Sir, if this be treason (bowing to the speaker), make the most of +it!" + +The resolutions were modified, to accommodate them to the scruples of the +speaker and some of the members, but their spirit was retained. The +Lieutenant-governor (Fauquier), startled by this patriotic outbreak, +dissolved the Assembly, and issued writs for a new election; but the +clarion had sounded. "The resolves of the Assembly of Virginia," says a +correspondent of the ministry, "gave the signal for a general outcry over +the continent. The movers and supporters of them were applauded as the +protectors and assertors of American liberty." [Footnote: Letter to +Secretary Conway, New York, Sept. 23.--_Parliamentary Register_.] + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +WASHINGTON'S IDEAS CONCERNING THE STAMP ACT--OPPOSITION TO IT IN THE +COLONIES--PORTENTOUS CEREMONIES AT BOSTON AND NEW YORK--NON-IMPORTATION +AGREEMENT AMONG THE MERCHANTS--WASHINGTON AND GEORGE MASON--DISMISSAL OF +GRENVILLE FROM THE BRITISH CABINET--FRANKLIN BEFORE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS-- +REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT--JOY OF WASHINGTON--FRESH CAUSES OF COLONIAL +DISSENSIONS--CIRCULAR OF THE GENERAL COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS--EMBARKATION +OF TROOPS FOR BOSTON--MEASURES OF THE BOSTONIANS. + + +Washington returned to Mount Vernon full of anxious thoughts inspired by +the political events of the day, and the legislative scene which he +witnessed. His recent letters had spoken of the state of peaceful +tranquillity in which he was living; those now written from his rural home +show that he fully participated in the popular feeling, and that while he +had a presentiment of an arduous struggle, his patriotic mind was revolving +means of coping with it. Such is the tenor of a letter written to his +wife's uncle, Francis Dandridge, then in London. "The stamp act," said he, +"engrosses the conversation of the speculative part of the colonists, who +look upon this unconstitutional method of taxation as a direful attack upon +their liberties, and loudly exclaim against the violation. What may be the +result of this, and of some other (I think I may add ill-judged) measures, +I will not undertake to determine; but this I may venture to affirm, that +the advantage accruing to the mother country will fall greatly short of the +expectation of the ministry; for certain it is, that our whole substance +already in a manner flows to Great Britain, and that whatsoever contributes +to lessen our importations must be hurtful to her manufactures. The eyes of +our people already begin to be opened; and they will perceive, that many +luxuries, for which we lavish our substance in Great Britain, can well be +dispensed with. This, consequently, will introduce frugality, and be a +necessary incitement to industry. ... As to the stamp act, regarded in a +single view, one of the first bad consequences attending it, is, that our +courts of judicature must inevitably be shut up; for it is impossible, or +next to impossible, under our present circumstances, that the act of +Parliament can be complied with, were we ever so willing to enforce its +execution. And not to say (which alone would be sufficient) that we have +not money enough to pay for the stamps, there are many other cogent reasons +which prove that it would be ineffectual." + +A letter of the same date to his agents in London, of ample length and +minute in all its details, shows that, while deeply interested in the +course of public affairs, his practical mind was enabled thoroughly and +ably to manage the financial concerns of his estate and of the estate of +Mrs. Washington's son, John Parke Custis, towards whom, he acted the part +of a faithful and affectionate guardian. In those days, Virginia planters +were still in direct and frequent correspondence with their London factors; +and Washington's letters respecting his shipments of tobacco, and the +returns required in various articles for household and personal use, are +perfect models for a man of business. And this may be remarked throughout +his whole career, that no pressure of events nor multiplicity of cares +prevented a clear, steadfast, undercurrent of attention to domestic +affairs, and the interest and well-being of all dependent upon him. + +In the mean time, from his quiet abode at Mount Vernon, he seemed to hear +the patriotic voice of Patrick Henry, which had startled the House of +Burgesses, echoing throughout the land, and rousing one legislative body +after another to follow the example of that of Virginia. At the instigation +of the General Court or Assembly of Massachusetts, a Congress was held in +New York in October, composed of delegates from Massachusetts, Rhode +Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, +Maryland, and South Carolina. In this they denounced the acts of Parliament +imposing taxes on them without their consent, and extending the +jurisdiction of the courts of admiralty, as violations of their rights and +liberties as natural born subjects of Great Britain, and prepared an +address to the king, and a petition to both Houses of Parliament, praying +for redress. Similar petitions were forwarded to England by the colonies +not represented in the Congress. + +The very preparations for enforcing the stamp act called forth popular +tumults in various places. In Boston the stamp distributor was hanged in +effigy; his windows were broken; a house intended for a stamp office was +pulled down, and the effigy burnt in a bonfire made of the fragments. The +lieutenant-governor, chief justice, and sheriff, attempting to allay the +tumult, were pelted. The stamp officer thought himself happy to be hanged +merely in effigy, and next day publicly renounced the perilous office. + +Various were the proceedings in other places, all manifesting public scorn +and defiance of the act. In Virginia, Mr. George Mercer had been appointed +distributor of stamps, but on his arrival at Williamsburg publicly declined +officiating. It was a fresh triumph to the popular cause. The bells were +rung for joy; the town was illuminated, and Mercer was hailed with +acclamations of the people. [Footnote: Holmes's Annals, vol. ii., p. 138.] + +The 1st of November, the day when the act was to go into operation, was +ushered in with portentous solemnities. There was great tolling of bells +and burning of effigies in the New England colonies. At Boston the ships +displayed their colors but half-mast high. Many shops were shut; funeral +knells resounded from the steeples, and there was a grand auto-da-fe, in +which the promoters of the act were paraded, and suffered martyrdom in +effigy. + +At New York the printed act was carried about the streets on a pole, +surmounted by a death's head, with a scroll bearing the inscription, "The +folly of England and ruin of America." Colden, the lieutenant-governor, who +acquired considerable odium by recommending to government the taxation of +the colonies, the institution of hereditary Assemblies, and other Tory +measures, seeing that a popular storm was rising, retired into the fort, +taking with him the stamp papers, and garrisoned it with marines from a +ship of war. The mob broke into his stable; drew out his chariot; put his +effigy into it; paraded it through the streets to the common (now the +Park), where they hung it on a gallows. In the evening it was taken down, +put again into the chariot, with the devil for a companion, and escorted +back by torchlight to the Bowling Green; where the whole pageant, chariot +and all, was burnt under the very guns of the fort. + +These are specimens of the marks of popular reprobation with which the +stamp act was universally nullified. No one would venture to carry it into +execution. In fact no stamped paper was to be seen; all had been either +destroyed or concealed. All transactions which required stamps to give them +validity were suspended, or were executed by private compact. The courts of +justice were closed, until at length some conducted their business without +stamps. Union was becoming the watch-word. The merchants of New York, +Philadelphia, Boston, and such other colonies as had ventured publicly to +oppose the stamp act, agreed to import no more British manufactures after +the 1st of January unless it should be repealed. So passed away the year +1765. + +As yet Washington took no prominent part in the public agitation. Indeed he +was never disposed to put himself forward on popular occasions, his innate +modesty forbade it; it was others who knew his worth that called him forth; +but when once he engaged in any public measure, he devoted himself to it +with conscientiousness and persevering zeal. At present he remained a quiet +but vigilant observer of events from his eagle nest at Mount Vernon. He had +some few intimates in his neighborhood who accorded with him in sentiment. +One of the ablest and most efficient of these was Mr. George Mason, with +whom he had occasional conversations on the state of affairs. His friends +the Fairfaxes, though liberal in feelings and opinions, were too strong in +their devotion to the crown not to regard with an uneasy eye the tendency +of the popular bias. From one motive or other, the earnest attention of all +the inmates and visitors at Mount Vernon, was turned to England, watching +the movements of the ministry. + +The dismissal of Mr. Grenville from the cabinet gave a temporary change to +public affairs. Perhaps nothing had a greater effect in favor of the +colonies than an examination of Dr. Franklin before the House of Commons, +on the subject of the stamp act. + +"What," he was asked, "was the temper of America towards Great Britain, +before the year 1763?" + +"The best in the world. They submitted willingly to the government of the +crown, and paid, in all their courts, obedience to the acts of Parliament. +Numerous as the people are in the several old provinces, they cost you +nothing in forts, citadels, garrisons, or armies, to keep them in +subjection. They were governed by this country at the expense only of a +little pen, ink, and paper. They were led by a thread. They had not only a +respect, but an affection for Great Britain, for its laws, its customs, and +manners, and even a fondness for its fashions, that greatly increased the +commerce. Natives of Great Britain were always treated with particular +regard; to be an Old-England man was, of itself, a character of some +respect, and gave a kind of rank among us." + +"And what is their temper now?" + +"Oh! very much altered." + +"If the act is not repealed, what do you think will be the consequences?" + +"A total loss of the respect and affection the people of America bear to +this country, and of all the commerce that depends on that respect and +affection." + +"Do you think the people of America would submit to pay the stamp duty if +it was moderated?" + +"No, never, unless compelled by force of arms." [Footnote: Parliamentary +Register, 1766.] + +The act was repealed on the 18th of March, 1766, to the great joy of the +sincere friends of both countries, and to no one more than to Washington. +In one of his letters he observes: "Had the Parliament of Great Britain +resolved upon enforcing it, the consequences, I conceive, would have been +more direful than is generally apprehended, both to the mother country and +her colonies. All, therefore, who were instrumental in procuring the +repeal, are entitled to the thanks of every British subject, and have mine +cordially." [Footnote: Sparks. Writings of Washington, ii., 345, note.] + +Still, there was a fatal clause in the repeal, which declared that the +king, with the consent of Parliament, had power and authority to make laws +and statutes of sufficient force and validity to "bind the colonies, and +people of America, in all cases whatsoever." + +As the people of America were contending for principles, not mere pecuniary +interests, this reserved power of the crown and Parliament left the dispute +still open, and chilled the feeling of gratitude which the repeal might +otherwise have inspired. Further aliment for public discontent was +furnished by other acts of Parliament. One imposed duties on glass, +pasteboard, white and red lead, painters' colors, and tea; the duties to be +collected on the arrival of the articles in the colonies; another empowered +naval officers to enforce the acts of trade and navigation. Another wounded +to the quick the pride and sensibilities of New York. The mutiny act had +recently been extended to America, with an additional clause, requiring the +provincial Assemblies to provide the troops sent out with quarters, and to +furnish them with fire, beds, candles, and other necessaries, at the +expense of the colonies. The Governor and Assembly of New York refused to +comply with, this requisition as to stationary forces, insisting that it +applied only to troops on a march. An act of Parliament now suspended the +powers of the governor and Assembly until they should comply. Chatham +attributed this opposition of the colonists to the mutiny act to "their +jealousy of being somehow or other taxed internally by the Parliament; the +act," said he, "asserting the right of Parliament, has certainly spread a +most unfortunate jealousy and diffidence of government here throughout +America, and makes them jealous of the least distinction between this +country and that, lest the same principle may be extended to taxing them." +[Footnote: Chatham's Correspondence, vol. iii., p. 189-192.] + +Boston continued to be the focus of what the ministerialists termed +sedition. The General Court of Massachusetts, not content with petitioning +the king for relief against the recent measures of Parliament, especially +those imposing taxes as a means of revenue, drew up a circular, calling on +the other colonial Legislatures to join with them in suitable efforts to +obtain redress. In the ensuing session, Governor Sir Francis Bernard called +upon them to rescind the resolution on which the circular was +founded,--they refused to comply, and the General Court was consequently +dissolved. The governors of colonies required of their Legislatures an +assurance that they would not reply to the Massachusetts circular,--these +Legislatures likewise refused compliance and were dissolved. All this added +to the growing excitement. + +Memorials were addressed to the lords, spiritual and temporal, and +remonstrances to the House of Commons, against taxation for revenue, as +destructive to the liberties of the colonists; and against the act +suspending the legislative power of the province of New York, as menacing +the welfare of the colonies in general. + +Nothing, however, produced a more powerful effect upon the public +sensibilities throughout the country, than certain military demonstrations +at Boston. In consequence of repeated collisions between the people of that +place and the commissioners of customs, two regiments were held in +readiness at Halifax to embark for Boston in the ships of Commodore Hood +whenever Governor Bernard, or the general, should give the word, "Had this +force been landed in Boston six months ago," writes the commodore, "I am +perfectly persuaded no address or remonstrances would have been sent from +the other colonies, and that all would have been tolerably quiet and +orderly at this time throughout America." [Footnote: Grenville Papers, vol. +iv., p. 362.] + +Tidings reached Boston that these troops were embarked and that they were +coming to overawe the people. What was to be done? The General Court had +been dissolved, and the governor refused to convene it without the royal +command. A convention, therefore, from various towns met at Boston, on the +22d of September, to devise measures for the public safety; but disclaiming +all pretensions to legislative powers. While the convention was yet in +session (September 28th), the two regiments arrived, with seven armed +vessels. "I am very confident," writes Commodore Hood from Halifax, "the +spirited measures now pursuing will soon effect order in America." + +On the contrary, these "spirited measures" added, fuel to the fire they +were intended to quench. It was resolved in a town meeting that the king +had no right to send troops thither without the consent of the Assembly; +that Great Britain had broken the original compact, and that, therefore, +the king's officers had no longer any business there. [Footnote: Whately to +Grenville. Gren. Papers, vol. iv., p. 389.] + +The "selectmen" accordingly refused to find quarters for the soldiers in +the town; the council refused to find barracks for them, lest it should be +construed into a compliance with the disputed clause of the mutiny act. +Some of the troops, therefore, which had tents, were encamped on the +common; others, by the governor's orders, were quartered in the +state-house, and others in Faneuil Hall, to the great indignation of the +public, who were grievously scandalized at seeing field-pieces planted in +front of the state-house; sentinels stationed at the doors, challenging +every one who passed; and, above all, at having the sacred quiet of the +Sabbath disturbed by drum and fife, and other military music. + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +CHEERFUL LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON--WASHINGTON AND GEORGE MASON--CORRESPONDENCE +CONCERNING THE NON-IMPORTATION AGREEMENT--FEELING TOWARD ENGLAND--OPENING +OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION--SEMI-REGAL STATE OF LORD BOTETOURT--HIGH-TONED +PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSE--SYMPATHY WITH NEW ENGLAND--DISSOLVED BY LORD +BOTETOURT--WASHINGTON AND THE ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION. + + +Throughout these public agitations, Washington endeavored to preserve his +equanimity. Removed from the heated throngs of cities, his diary denotes a +cheerful and healthful life at Mount Vernon, devoted to those rural +occupations in which he delighted, and varied occasionally by his favorite +field sports. Sometimes he is duck-shooting on the Potomac. Repeatedly we +find note of his being out at sunrise with the hounds, in company with old +Lord Fairfax, Bryan Fairfax, and others; and ending the day's sport by a +dinner at Mount Vernon, or Belvoir. + +Still he was too true a patriot not to sympathize in the struggle for +colonial rights which now agitated the whole country, and we find him +gradually carried more and more into the current of political affairs. + +A letter written on the 5th of April, 1769, to his friend, George Mason, +shows the important stand he was disposed to take. In the previous year, +the merchants and traders of Boston, Salem, Connecticut, and New York, had +agreed to suspend for a time the importation of all articles subject to +taxation. Similar resolutions had recently been adopted by the merchants of +Philadelphia. Washington's letter is emphatic in support of the measure. +"At a time," writes he, "when our lordly masters in Great Britain will be +satisfied with nothing less, than the deprivation of American freedom, it +seems highly necessary that something should be done to avert the stroke, +and maintain the liberty which we have derived from our ancestors. But the +manner of doing it, to answer the purpose effectually, is the point in +question. That no man should scruple, or hesitate a moment in defence of so +valuable a blessing, is clearly my opinion; yet arms should be the last +resource--the _dernier ressort_. We have already, it is said, proved +the inefficacy of addresses to the throne, and remonstrances to Parliament. +How far their attention to our rights and interests is to be awakened, or +alarmed, by starving their trade and manufactures, remains to be tried. + +"The northern colonies, it appears, are endeavoring to adopt this scheme. +In my opinion, it is a good one, and must be attended with salutary +effects, provided it can be carried pretty generally into execution. ... +That there will be a difficulty attending it every where from clashing +interests, and selfish, designing men, ever attentive to their own gain, +and watchful of every turn that can assist their lucrative views, cannot be +denied, and in the tobacco colonies, where the trade is so diffused, and in +a manner wholly conducted by factors for their principals at home, these +difficulties are certainly enhanced, but I think not insurmountably +increased, if the gentlemen in their several counties will be at some pains +to explain matters to the people, and stimulate them to cordial agreements +to purchase none but certain enumerated articles out of any of the stores, +after a definite period, and neither import, nor purchase any themselves. +... I can see but one class of people, the merchants excepted, who will +not, or ought not, to wish well to the scheme,--namely, they who live +genteelly and hospitably on clear estates. Such as these, were they not to +consider the valuable object in view, and the good of others, might think +it hard to be curtailed in their living and enjoyments." + +This was precisely the class to which Washington belonged; but he was ready +and willing to make the sacrifices required. "I think the scheme a good +one," added he, "and that it ought to be tried here, with such alterations +as our circumstances render absolutely necessary." + +Mason, in his reply, concurred with him in opinion. "Our all is at stake," +said he, "and the little conveniences and comforts of life, when set in +competition with our liberty, ought to be rejected, not with reluctance, +but with pleasure. Yet it is plain that, in the tobacco colonies, we cannot +at present confine our importations within such narrow bounds as the +northern colonies. A plan of this kind, to be practicable, must be adapted +to our circumstances; for, if not steadily executed, it had better have +remained unattempted. We may retrench all manner of superfluities, finery +of all descriptions, and confine ourselves to linens, woollens, &c., not +exceeding a certain price. It is amazing how much this practice, if adopted +in all the colonies, would lessen the American imports, and distress the +various trades and manufactures of Great Britain. This would awaken their +attention. They would see, they would feel, the oppressions we groan under, +and exert themselves to procure us redress. This, once obtained, we should +no longer discontinue our importations, confining ourselves still not to +import any article that should hereafter be taxed by act of Parliament for +raising a revenue in America; for, however singular I may be in the +opinion, _I am thoroughly convinced, that, justice and harmony happily +restored, it is not the interest of these colonies to refuse British +manufactures. Our supplying our mother country with gross materials, and +taking her manufactures in return, is the true chain of connection between +us. These are the bands which, if not broken by oppression, must long hold +us together, by maintaining a constant reciprocation of interests_." + +The latter part of the above quotation shows the spirit which actuated +Washington and the friends of his confidence; as yet there was no thought +nor desire of alienation from the mother country, but only a fixed +determination to be placed on an equality of rights and privileges with her +other children. + +A single word in the passage cited from Washington's letter, evinces the +chord which still vibrated in the American bosom: he incidentally speaks of +England as _home_. It was the familiar term with which she was usually +indicated by those of English descent; and the writer of these pages +remembers when the endearing phrase still lingered on Anglo-American lips +even after the Revolution. How easy would it have been before that era for +the mother country to have rallied back the affections of her colonial +children, by a proper attention to their complaints! They asked for nothing +but what they were entitled to, and what she had taught them to prize as +their dearest inheritance. The spirit of liberty which they manifested had +been derived from her own precept and example. + +The result of the correspondence between Washington and Mason was the draft +by the latter of a plan of association, the members of which were to pledge +themselves not to import or use any articles of British merchandise or +manufacture subject to duty. This paper Washington was to submit to the +consideration of the House of Burgesses, at the approaching session in the +month of May. + +The Legislature of Virginia opened on this occasion with a brilliant +pageant. While military force was arrayed to overawe the republican +Puritans of the east, it was thought to dazzle the aristocratical +descendants of the cavaliers by the reflex of regal splendor. Lord +Botetourt, one of the king's lords of the bedchamber, had recently come out +as governor of the province. Junius described him as "a cringing, bowing, +fawning, sword-bearing courtier." Horace Walpole predicted that he would +turn the heads of the Virginians in one way or other. "If his graces do not +captivate them he will enrage them to fury; for I take all his +_douceur_ to be enamelled on iron." [Footnote: Grenville papers, iv., +note to p. 330.] The words of political satirists and court wits, however, +are always to be taken with great distrust. However his lordship may have +bowed in presence of royalty, he elsewhere conducted himself with dignity, +and won general favor by his endearing manners. He certainly showed +promptness of spirit in his reply to the king on being informed of his +appointment. "When will you be ready to go?" asked George III. "To-night, +sir." + +He had come out, however, with a wrong idea of the Americans. They had been +represented to him as factious, immoral, and prone to sedition; but vain +and luxurious, and easily captivated by parade and splendor. The latter +foibles were aimed at in his appointment and fitting out. It was supposed +that his titled rank would have its effect. Then to prepare him for +occasions of ceremony, a coach of state was presented to him by the king. +He was allowed, moreover, the quantity of plate usually given to +ambassadors, whereupon the joke was circulated that he was going "plenipo +to the Cherokees." [Footnote: Whately to Geo. Grenville. Grenville papers.] + +His opening of the session was in the style of the royal opening of +Parliament. He proceeded in due parade from his dwelling to the capitol, in +his state coach, drawn by six milk-white horses. Having delivered his +speech according to royal form, he returned home with the same pomp and +circumstance. + +The time had gone by, however, for such display to have the anticipated +effect. The Virginian legislators penetrated the intention of this pompous +ceremonial, and regarded it with a depreciating smile. Sterner matters +occupied their thoughts; they had come prepared to battle for their rights, +and their proceedings soon showed Lord Botetourt how much he had mistaken +them. Spirited resolutions were passed, denouncing the recent act of +Parliament imposing taxes; the power to do which, on the inhabitants of +this colony, "was legally and constitutionally vested in the House of +Burgesses, with consent of the council and of the king, or of his governor, +for the time being." Copies of these resolutions were ordered to be +forwarded by the speaker to the Legislatures of the other colonies, with a +request for their concurrence. + +Other proceedings of the Burgesses showed their sympathy with their +fellow-patriots of New England. A joint address of both Houses of +Parliament had recently been made to the king, assuring him of their +support in any further measures for the due execution of the laws in +Massachusetts, and beseeching him that all persons charged with treason, or +misprision of treason, committed within that colony since the 30th of +December, 1767, might be sent to Great Britain for trial. + +As Massachusetts had no General Assembly at this time, having been +dissolved by government, the Legislature of Virginia generously took up the +cause. An address to the king was resolved on, stating, that all trials for +treason, or misprision of treason, or for any crime whatever committed by +any person residing in a colony, ought to be in and before his majesty's +courts within said colony; and beseeching the king to avert from his loyal +subjects those dangers and miseries which would ensue from seizing and +carrying beyond sea any person residing in America suspected of any crime +whatever, thereby depriving them of the inestimable privilege of being +tried by a jury from the vicinage, as well as the liberty of producing +witnesses on such trial. + +Disdaining any further application to Parliament, the House ordered the +speaker to transmit this address to the colonies' agent in England, with +directions to cause it to be presented to the king, and afterwards to be +printed and published in the English papers. + +Lord Botetourt was astonished and dismayed when he heard of these +high-toned proceedings. Repairing to the capitol on the following day at +noon, he summoned the speaker and members to the council chamber, and +addressed them in the following words: "Mr. Speaker, and gentlemen of the +House of Burgesses, I have heard of your resolves, and augur ill of their +effects. You have made it my duty to dissolve you, and you are dissolved +accordingly." + +The spirit conjured up by the late decrees of Parliament was not so easily +allayed. The Burgesses adjourned to a private house. Peyton Randolph, their +late speaker, was elected moderator. Washington now brought forward a draft +of the articles of association, concerted between him and George Mason. +They formed the groundwork of an instrument signed by all present, pledging +themselves neither to import, nor use any goods, merchandise, or +manufactures taxed by Parliament to raise a revenue in America. This +instrument was sent throughout the country for signature, and the scheme of +non-importation, hitherto confined to a few northern colonies, was soon +universally adopted. For his own part, Washington adhered to it rigorously +throughout the year. The articles proscribed by it were never to be seen in +his house, and his agent in London was enjoined to ship nothing for him +while subject to taxation. + +The popular ferment in Virginia was gradually allayed by the amiable and +conciliatory conduct of Lord Botetourt. His lordship soon became aware of +the erroneous notions with which he had entered upon office. His semi-royal +equipage and state were laid aside. He examined into public grievances; +became a strenuous advocate for the repeal of taxes; and, authorized by his +despatches from the ministry, assured the public that such repeal would +speedily take place. His assurance was received with implicit faith, and +for a while Virginia was quieted. + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +HOOD AT BOSTON--THE GENERAL COURT REFUSES TO DO BUSINESS UNDER MILITARY +SWAY--RESISTS THE BILLETING ACT--EFFECT OF THE NON-IMPORTATION +ASSOCIATION--LORD NORTH PREMIER--DUTIES REVOKED EXCEPT ON TEA--THE BOSTON +MASSACRE--DISUSE OF TEA--CONCILIATORY CONDUCT OF LORD BOTETOURT--HIS DEATH. + + +"The worst is past, and the spirit of sedition broken," writes Hood to +Grenville, early in the spring of 1769. [Footnote: Grenville Papers, vol. +iii.] When the commodore wrote this, his ships were in the harbor, and +troops occupied the town, and he flattered himself that at length turbulent +Boston was quelled. But it only awaited its time to be seditious according +to rule; there was always an irresistible "method in its madness." + +In the month of May, the General Court, hitherto prorogued, met according +to charter. A committee immediately waited on the governor, stating it was +impossible to do business with dignity and freedom while the town was +invested by sea and land, and a military guard was stationed at the +state-house, with cannon pointed at the door; and they requested the +governor, as his majesty's representative, to have such forces removed out +of the port and gates of the city during the session of the Assembly. + +The governor replied that he had no authority over either the ships or +troops. The court persisted in refusing to transact business while so +circumstanced, and the governor was obliged to transfer the session to +Cambridge. There he addressed a message to that body in July, requiring +funds for the payment of the troops, and quarters for their accommodation. +The Assembly, after ample discussion of past grievances, resolved, that the +establishment of a standing army in the colony in a time of peace was an +invasion of natural rights; that a standing army was not known as a part of +the British constitution, and that the sending an armed force to aid the +civil authority was unprecedented, and highly dangerous to the people. + +After waiting some days without receiving an answer to his message, the +governor sent to know whether the Assembly would, or would not, make +provision for the troops. In their reply, they followed the example of the +Legislature of New York, in commenting on the mutiny, or billeting act, and +ended by declining to furnish funds for the purposes specified, "being +incompatible with their own honor and interest, and their duty to their +constituents." They were in consequence again prorogued, to meet in Boston +on the 10th of January. + +So stood affairs in Massachusetts. In the mean time, the non-importation +associations, being generally observed throughout the colonies, produced +the effect on British commerce which Washington had anticipated, and +Parliament was incessantly importuned by petitions from British merchants, +imploring its intervention to save them from ruin. + +Early in 1770, an important change took place in the British cabinet. The +Duke of Grafton suddenly resigned, and the reins of government passed into +the hands of Lord North. He was a man of limited capacity, but a favorite +of the king, and subservient to his narrow colonial policy. His +administration, so eventful to America, commenced with an error. In the +month of March, an act was passed, revoking all the duties laid in 1767, +_excepting that on tea_. This single tax was continued, as he +observed, "to maintain the parliamentary right of taxation,"--the very +right which was the grand object of contest. In this, however, he was in +fact yielding, against his better judgment, to the stubborn tenacity of the +king. + +He endeavored to reconcile the opposition, and perhaps himself, to the +measure, by plausible reasoning. An impost of threepence on the pound could +never, he alleged, be opposed by the colonists, unless they were determined +to rebel against Great Britain. Besides, a duty on that article, payable in +England, and amounting to nearly one shilling on the pound, was taken off +on its exportation to America, so that the inhabitants of the colonies +saved ninepence on the pound. + +Here was the stumbling-block at the threshold of Lord North's +administration. In vain the members of the opposition urged that this +single exception, while it would produce no revenue, would keep alive the +whole cause of contention; that so long as a single external duty was +enforced, the colonies would consider their rights invaded, and would +remain unappeased. Lord North was not to be convinced; or rather, he knew +the royal will was inflexible, and he complied with its behests. "The +properest time to exert our right of taxation," said he, "is when the right +is refused. To temporize is to yield; and the authority of the mother +country, if it is now unsupported, will be relinquished for ever: _a +total repeal cannot be thought of, till America is prostrate at our +feet_." [Footnote: Holmes's Amer. Annals, vol. ii., p. 173.] + +On the very day in which this ominous bill was passed in Parliament, a +sinister occurrence took place in Boston. Some of the young men of the +place insulted the military while under arms; the latter resented it; the +young men, after a scuffle, were put to flight, and pursued. The alarm +bells rang,--a mob assembled; the custom-house was threatened; the troops, +in protecting it, were assailed with clubs and stones, and obliged to use +their fire-arms, before the tumult could be quelled. Four of the populace +were killed, and several wounded. The troops were now removed from the +town, which remained in the highest state of exasperation; and this +untoward occurrence received the opprobrious, and somewhat extravagant name +of "the Boston massacre." + +The colonists, as a matter of convenience, resumed the consumption of those +articles on which the duties had been repealed; but continued, on +principle, the rigorous disuse of tea, excepting such as had been smuggled +in. New England was particularly earnest in the matter; many of the +inhabitants, in the spirit of their Puritan progenitors, made a covenant to +drink no more of the forbidden beverage, until the duty on tea should be +repealed. + +In Virginia the public discontents, which had been allayed by the +conciliatory conduct of Lord Botetourt, and by his assurances, made on the +strength of letters received from the ministry, that the grievances +complained of would be speedily redressed, now broke out with more violence +than ever. The Virginians spurned the mock-remedy which left the real cause +of complaint untouched. His lordship also felt deeply wounded by the +disingenuousness of ministers which had led him into such a predicament, +and wrote home demanding his discharge. Before it arrived, an attack of +bilious fever, acting upon a delicate and sensitive frame, enfeebled by +anxiety and chagrin, laid him in his grave. He left behind him a name +endeared to the Virginians by his amiable manners, his liberal patronage of +the arts, and, above all, by his zealous intercession for their rights. +Washington himself testifies that he was inclined "to render every just and +reasonable service to the people whom he governed." A statue to his memory +was decreed by the House of Burgesses, to be erected in the area of the +capitol. It is still to be seen, though in a mutilated condition, in +Williamsburg, the old seat of government, and a county in Virginia +continues to bear his honored name. + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +EXPEDITION OF WASHINGTON TO THE OHIO, IN BEHALF OF SOLDIERS' CLAIMS-- +UNEASY STATE OF THE FRONTIER--VISIT TO FORT PITT--GEORGE CROGHAN--HIS +MISHAPS DURING PONTIAC'S WAR--WASHINGTON DESCENDS THE OHIO--SCENES AND +ADVENTURES ALONG THE RIVER--INDIAN HUNTING CAMP--INTERVIEW WITH AN OLD +SACHEM AT THE MOUTH OF THE KANAWHA--RETURN--CLAIMS OF STOBO AND VAN +BRAAM--LETTER TO COLONEL GEORGE MUSE. + + +In the midst of these popular turmoils, Washington was induced, by public +as well as private considerations, to make another expedition to the Ohio. +He was one of the Virginia Board of Commissioners, appointed, at the close +of the late war, to settle the military accounts of the colony. Among the +claims which came before the board, were those of the officers and soldiers +who had engaged to serve until peace, under the proclamation of Governor +Dinwiddie, holding forth a bounty of two hundred thousand acres of land, to +be apportioned among them according to rank. Those claims were yet +unsatisfied, for governments, like individuals, are slow to pay off in +peaceful times the debts incurred while in the fighting mood. Washington +became the champion of those claims, and an opportunity now presented +itself for their liquidation. The Six Nations, by a treaty in 1768, had +ceded to the British crown, in consideration of a sum of money, all the +lands possessed by them south of the Ohio. Land offices would soon be +opened for the sale of them. Squatters and speculators were already +preparing to swarm in, set up their marks on the choicest spots, and +establish what were called pre-emption rights. Washington determined at +once to visit the lands thus ceded; affix his mark on such tracts as he +should select, and apply for a grant from government in behalf of the +"soldier's claim." + +The expedition would be attended with some degree of danger. The frontier +was yet in an uneasy state. It is true some time had elapsed since the war +of Pontiac, but some of the Indian tribes were almost ready to resume the +hatchet. The Delawares, Shawnees, and Mingoes, complained that the Six +Nations had not given them their full share of the consideration money of +the late sale, and they talked of exacting the deficiency from the white +men who came to settle in what had been their hunting-grounds. Traders, +squatters, and other adventurers into the wilderness, were occasionally +murdered, and further troubles were apprehended. + +Washington had for a companion in this expedition his friend and neighbor, +Dr. Craik, and it was with strong community of feeling they looked forward +peaceably to revisit the scenes of their military experience. They set out +on the 5th of October with three negro attendants, two belonging to +Washington, and one to the doctor. The whole party was mounted, and there +was a led horse for the baggage. + +After twelve days' travelling they arrived at Fort Pitt (late Fort +Duquesne). It was garrisoned by two companies of royal Irish, commanded by +a Captain Edmonson. A hamlet of about twenty log-houses, inhabited by +Indian traders, had sprung up within three hundred yards of the fort, and +was called "the town." It was the embryo city of Pittsburg, now so +populous. At one of the houses, a tolerable frontier inn, they took up +their quarters; but during their brief sojourn, they were entertained with +great hospitality at the fort. + +Here at dinner Washington met his old acquaintance, George Croghan, who had +figured in so many capacities and experienced so many vicissitudes on the +frontier. He was now Colonel Croghan, deputy-agent to Sir William Johnson, +and had his residence--or seat, as Washington terms it--on the banks of the +Allegany River, about four miles from the fort. + +Croghan had experienced troubles and dangers during the Pontiac war, both +from white man and savage. At one time, while he was convoying presents +from Sir William to the Delawares and Shawnees, his caravan was set upon +and plundered by a band of backwoodsmen of Pennsylvania--men resembling +Indians in garb and habits, and fully as lawless. At another time, when +encamped at the mouth of the Wabash with some of his Indian allies, a band +of Kickapoos, supposing the latter to be Cherokees, their deadly enemies, +rushed forth from the woods with horrid yells, shot down several of his +companions, and wounded himself. It must be added, that no white men could +have made more ample apologies than did the Kickapoos, when they discovered +that they had fired upon friends. + +Another of Croghan's perils was from the redoubtable Pontiac himself. That +chieftain had heard of his being on a mission to win off, by dint of +presents, the other sachems of the conspiracy, and declared, significantly, +that he had a large kettle boiling in which he intended to seethe the +ambassador. It was fortunate for Croghan that he did not meet with the +formidable chieftain while in this exasperated mood. He subsequently +encountered him when Pontiac's spirits were broken by reverses. They smoked +the pipe of peace together, and the colonel claimed the credit of having, +by his diplomacy, persuaded the sachem to bury the hatchet. + +On the day following the repast at the fort, Washington visited Croghan at +his abode on the Allegany River, where he found several of the chiefs of +the Six Nations assembled. One of them, the White Mingo by name, made him a +speech, accompanied, as usual, by a belt of wampum. Some of his companions, +he said, remembered to have seen him in 1753, when he came on his embassy +to the French commander; most of them had heard of him. They had now come +to welcome him to their country. They wished the people of Virginia to +consider them as friends and brothers, linked together in one chain, and +requested him to inform the governor of their desire to live in peace and +harmony with the white men. As to certain unhappy differences which had +taken place between them on the frontiers, they were all made up, and, they +hoped, forgotten. + +Washington accepted the "speech-belt," and made a suitable reply, assuring +the chiefs that nothing was more desired by the people of Virginia than to +live with them on terms of the strictest friendship. + +At Pittsburg the travellers left their horses, and embarked in a large +canoe, to make a voyage down the Ohio as far as the Great Kanawha. Colonel +Croghan engaged two Indians for their service, and an interpreter named +John Nicholson. The colonel and some of the officers of the garrison +accompanied them as far as Logstown, the scene of Washington's early +diplomacy, and his first interview with the half-king. Here they +breakfasted together; after which they separated, the colonel and his +companions cheering the voyagers from the shore, as the canoe was borne off +by the current of the beautiful Ohio. + +It was now the hunting season, when the Indians leave their towns, set off +with their families, and lead a roving life in cabins and hunting-camps +along the river; shifting from place to place, as game abounds or +decreases, and often extending their migrations two or three hundred miles +down the stream. The women were as dexterous as the men in the management +of the canoe, but were generally engaged in the domestic labors of the +lodge while their husbands were abroad hunting. + +Washington's propensities as a sportsman had here full play. Deer were +continually to be seen coming down to the water's edge to drink, or +browsing along the shore; there were innumerable flocks of wild turkeys, +and streaming flights of ducks and geese; so that as the voyagers floated +along, they were enabled to load their canoe with game. At night they +encamped on the river bank, lit their fire and made a sumptuous hunter's +repast. Washington always relished this wild-wood life; and the present had +that spice of danger in it, which has a peculiar charm for adventurous +minds. The great object of his expedition, however, is evinced in his +constant notes on the features and character of the country; the quality of +the soil as indicated by the nature of the trees, and the level tracts +fitted for settlements. + +About seventy-five miles below Pittsburg the voyagers landed at a Mingo +town, which they found in a stir of warlike preparation--sixty of the +warriors being about to set off on a foray into the Cherokee country +against the Catawbas. + +Here the voyagers were brought to a pause by a report that two white men, +traders, had been murdered about thirty-eight miles further down the river. +Reports of the kind were not to be treated lightly. Indian faith was +uncertain along the frontier, and white men were often shot down in the +wilderness for plunder or revenge. On the following day the report +moderated. Only one man was said to have been killed, and that not by +Indians; so Washington determined to continue forward until he could obtain +correct information in the matter. + +On the 24th, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the voyagers arrived at +Captema Creek, at the mouth of which the trader was said to have been +killed. As all was quiet and no one to be seen, they agreed to encamp, +while Nicholson the interpreter, and one of the Indians, repaired to a +village a few miles up the creek to inquire about the murder. They found +but two old women at the village. The men were all absent, hunting. The +interpreter returned to camp in the evening, bringing the truth of the +murderous tale. A trader had fallen a victim to his temerity, having been +drowned in attempting, in company with another, to swim his horse across +the Ohio. + +Two days more of voyaging brought them to an Indian hunting camp, near the +mouth of the Muskingum. Here it was necessary to land and make a +ceremonious visit, for the chief of the hunting party was Kiashuta, a +Seneca sachem, the head of the river tribes. He was noted to have been +among the first to raise the hatchet in Pontiac's conspiracy, and almost +equally vindictive with that potent warrior. As Washington approached the +chieftain, he recognized him for one of the Indians who had accompanied him +on his mission to the French in 1753. + +Kiashuta retained a perfect recollection of the youthful ambassador, though +seventeen years had matured him into thoughtful manhood. With hunter's +hospitality he gave him a quarter of a fine buffalo just slain, but +insisted that they should encamp together for the night; and in order not +to retard him, moved with his own party to a good camping place some +distance down the river. Here they had long talks and council-fires over +night and in the morning, with all the "tedious ceremony," says Washington, +"which the Indians observe in their counsellings and speeches." Kiashuta +had heard of what had passed between Washington and the "White Mingo," and +other sachems, at Colonel Croghan's, and was eager to express his own +desire for peace and friendship with Virginia, and fair dealings with her +traders; all which Washington promised to report faithfully to the +governor. It was not until a late hour in the morning that he was enabled +to bring these conferences to a close, and pursue his voyage. + +At the mouth of the Great Kanawha the voyagers encamped for a day or two to +examine the lands in the neighborhood, and Washington set up his mark upon +such as he intended to claim on behalf of the soldiers' grant. It was a +fine sporting country, having small lakes or grassy ponds abounding with +water-fowl, such as ducks, geese, and swans. Flocks of turkeys, as usual; +and, for larger game, deer and buffalo; so that their camp abounded with +provisions. + +Here Washington was visited by an old sachem, who approached him with great +reverence, at the head of several of his tribe, and addressed him through +Nicholson, the interpreter. He had heard, he said, of his being in that +part of the country, and had come from a great distance to see him. On +further discourse, the sachem made known that he was one of the warriors in +the service of the French, who lay in ambush on the banks of the +Monongahela and wrought such havoc in Braddock's army. He declared that he +and his young men had singled out Washington, as he made himself +conspicuous riding about the field of battle with the general's orders, and +had fired at him repeatedly, but without success; whence they had concluded +that he was under the protection of the Great Spirit, had a charmed life, +and could not be slain in battle. + +At the Great Kanawha Washington's expedition down the Ohio terminated; +having visited all the points he wished to examine. His return to Fort +Pitt, and thence homeward, affords no incident worthy of note. The whole +expedition, however, was one of that hardy and adventurous kind, mingled +with practical purposes, in which he delighted. This winter voyage down the +Ohio in a canoe, with the doctor for a companion and two Indians for crew, +through regions yet insecure from the capricious hostility of prowling +savages, is not one of the least striking of his frontier "experiences." +The hazardous nature of it was made apparent shortly afterwards by another +outbreak of the Ohio tribes; one of its bloodiest actions took place on the +very banks of the Great Kanawha, in which Colonel Lewis and a number of +brave Virginians lost their lives. + +NOTE. + +In the final adjustment of claims under Governor Dinwiddie's proclamation, +Washington, acting on behalf of the officers and soldiers, obtained grants +for the lands he had marked out in the course of his visit to the Ohio. +Fifteen thousand acres were awarded to a field-officer, nine thousand to a +captain, six thousand to a subaltern, and so on. Among the claims which he +entered were those of Stobo and Van Braam, the hostages in the capitulation +at the Great Meadows. After many vicissitudes they were now in London, and +nine thousand acres were awarded to each of them. Their domains were +ultimately purchased by Washington through his London agent. + +Another claimant was Colonel George Muse, Washington's early instructor in +military science. His claim was admitted with difficulty, for he stood +accused of having acted the part of a poltroon in the campaign, and +Washington seems to have considered the charge well founded. Still he +appears to have been dissatisfied with the share of land assigned him, and +to have written to Washington somewhat rudely on the subject. His letter is +not extant, but we subjoin Washington's reply almost entire, as a specimen +of the caustic pen he could wield under a mingled emotion of scorn and +indignation. + +"Sir,--Your impertinent letter was delivered to me yesterday. As I am not +accustomed to receive such from any man, nor would have taken the same +language from you personally, without letting you feel some marks of my +resentment, I advise you to be cautious in writing me a second of the same +tenor; for though I understand you were drunk when you did it, yet give me +leave to tell you that drunkenness is no excuse for rudeness. But for your +stupidity and sottishness you might have known, by attending to the public +gazette, that you had your full quantity of ten thousand acres of land +allowed you; that is, nine thousand and seventy-three acres in the great +tract, and the remainder in the small tract. + +"But suppose you had really fallen short, do you think your superlative +merit entitles you to greater indulgence than others? Or, if it did, that I +was to make it good to you, when it was at the option of the governor and +council to allow but five hundred acres in the whole, if they had been so +inclined? If either of these should happen to be your opinion, I am very +well convinced that you will be singular in it; and all my concern is that +I ever engaged myself in behalf of so ungrateful and dirty a fellow as you +are." + +N.B.--The above is from the letter as it exists in the archives of the +Department of State at Washington. It differs in two or three particulars +from that published among Washington's writings. + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +LORD DUNMORE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA--PIQUES THE PRIDE OF THE VIRGINIANS-- +OPPOSITION OF THE ASSEMBLY--CORRESPONDING COMMITTEES--DEATH OF MISS +CUSTIS--WASHINGTON'S GUARDIANSHIP OF JOHN PARKE CUSTIS--HIS OPINIONS AS TO +PREMATURE TRAVEL AND PREMATURE MARRIAGE. + + +The discontents of Virginia, which had been partially soothed by the +amiable administration of Lord Botetourt, were irritated anew under his +successor, the Earl of Dunmore. This nobleman had for a short time held the +government of New York. When appointed to that of Virginia, he lingered for +several months at his former post. In the mean time, he sent his military +secretary, Captain Foy, to attend to the despatch of business until his +arrival; awarding to him a salary and fees to be paid by the colony. + +The pride of the Virginians was piqued at his lingering at New York, as if +he preferred its gayety and luxury to the comparative quiet and simplicity +of Williamsburg. Their pride was still more piqued on his arrival, by what +they considered haughtiness on his part. The spirit of the "Ancient +Dominion" was roused, and his lordship experienced opposition at his very +outset. + +The first measure of the Assembly, at its opening, was to demand by what +right he had awarded a salary and fees to his secretary without consulting +it; and to question whether it was authorized by the crown. + +His lordship had the good policy to rescind the unauthorized act, and in so +doing mitigated the ire of the Assembly; but he lost no time in proroguing +a body, which, from various symptoms, appeared to be too independent, and +disposed to be untractable. + +He continued to prorogue it from time to time, seeking in the interim to +conciliate the Virginians, and soothe their irritated pride. At length, +after repeated prorogations, he was compelled by circumstances to convene +it on the 1st of March, 1773. + +Washington was prompt in his attendance on the occasion; and foremost among +the patriotic members, who eagerly availed themselves of this long wished +for opportunity to legislate upon the general affairs of the colonies. One +of their most important measures was the appointment of a committee of +eleven persons, "whose business it should be to obtain the most clear and +authentic intelligence of all such acts and resolutions of the British +Parliament, or proceedings of administration, as may relate to or affect +the British colonies, and to maintain with their sister colonies a +correspondence and communication." + +The plan thus proposed by their "noble, patriotic sister colony of +Virginia," [Footnote: Boston Town Records.] was promptly adopted by the +people of Massachusetts, and soon met with general concurrence. These +corresponding committees, in effect, became the executive power of the +patriot party, producing the happiest concert of design and action +throughout the colonies. + +Notwithstanding the decided part taken by Washington in the popular +movement, very friendly relations existed between him and Lord Dunmore. +The latter appreciated his character, and sought to avail himself of his +experience in the affairs of the province. It was even concerted that +Washington should accompany his lordship on an extensive tour, which the +latter intended to make in the course of the summer along the western +frontier. A melancholy circumstance occurred to defeat this arrangement. + +We have spoken of Washington's paternal conduct towards the two children of +Mrs. Washington. The daughter, Miss Custis, had long been an object of +extreme solicitude. She was of a fragile constitution, and for some time +past had been in very declining health. Early in the present summer, +symptoms indicated a rapid change for the worse. Washington was absent from +home at the time. On his return to Mount Vernon, he found her in the last +stage of consumption. + +Though not a man given to bursts of sensibility, he is said on the present +occasion to have evinced the deepest affliction; kneeling by her bedside, +and pouring out earnest prayers for her recovery. She expired on the 19th +of June, in the seventeenth year of her age. This, of course, put an end to +Washington's intention of accompanying Lord Dunmore to the frontier; he +remained at home to console Mrs. Washington in her affliction,--furnishing +his lordship, however, with travelling hints and directions, and +recommending proper guides. And here we will take occasion to give a few +brief particulars of domestic affairs at Mount Vernon. + +For a long time previous to the death of Miss Custis, her mother, +despairing of her recovery, had centred her hopes in her son, John Parke +Custis. This rendered Washington's guardianship of him a delicate and +difficult task. He was lively, susceptible, and impulsive; had an +independent fortune in his own right, and an indulgent mother, ever ready +to plead in his behalf against wholesome discipline. He had been placed +under the care and instruction of an Episcopal clergyman at Annapolis, but +was occasionally at home, mounting his horse, and taking a part, while yet +a boy, in the fox-hunts at Mount Vernon. His education had consequently +been irregular and imperfect, and not such as Washington would have +enforced had he possessed over him the absolute authority of a father. +Shortly after the return of the latter from his tour to the Ohio, he was +concerned to find that there was an idea entertained of sending the lad +abroad, though but little more than sixteen years of age, to travel under +the care of his clerical tutor. Through his judicious interference, the +travelling scheme was postponed, and it was resolved to give the young +gentleman's mind the benefit of a little preparatory home culture. + +Little more than a year elapsed before the sallying impulses of the youth +had taken a new direction. He was in love; what was more, he was engaged to +the object of his passion, and on the high road to matrimony. + +Washington now opposed himself to premature marriage as he had done to +premature travel. A correspondence ensued between him and the young lady's +father, Benedict Calvert, Esq. The match was a satisfactory one to all +parties, but it was agreed, that it was expedient for the youth to pass a +year or two previously at college. Washington accordingly accompanied him +to New York, and placed him under the care of the Rev. Dr. Cooper, +president of King's (now Columbia) College, to pursue his studies in that +institution. All this occurred before the death of his sister. Within a +year after that melancholy event, he became impatient for a union with the +object of his choice. His mother, now more indulgent than ever to this, her +only child, yielded her consent, and Washington no longer made opposition. + +"It has been against my wishes," writes the latter to President Cooper, +"that he should quit college in order that he may soon enter into a new +scene of life, which I think he would be much fitter for some years hence +than now. But having his own inclination, the desires of his mother, and +the acquiescence of almost all his relatives to encounter, I did not care, +as he is the last of the family, to push my opposition too far; I have, +therefore, submitted to a kind of necessity." + +The marriage was celebrated on the 3d of February, 1774, before the +bridegroom was twenty-one years of age. + +NOTE. + +We are induced to subjoin extracts of two letters from Washington relative +to young Custis. The first gives his objections to premature travel; the +second to premature matrimony. Both are worthy of consideration in this +country, where our young people have such a general disposition to "go +ahead." + +_To the reverend Jonathan Boucher (the tutor of young Custis)._ + +... "I cannot help giving it as my opinion, that his education, however +advanced it may be for a youth of his age, is by no means ripe enough for a +travelling tour; not that I think his becoming a mere scholar is a +desirable education for a gentleman, but I conceive a knowledge of books is +the basis upon which all other knowledge is to be built, and in travelling +he is to become acquainted with men and things, rather than books. At +present, however well versed he may be in the principles of the Latin +language (which is not to be wondered at, as he began the study of it as +soon as he could speak), he is unacquainted with several of the classic +authors that might be useful to him. He is ignorant of Greek, the +advantages of learning which I do not pretend to judge of; and he knows +nothing of French, which is absolutely necessary to him as a traveller. He +has little or no acquaintance with arithmetic, and is totally ignorant of +the mathematics--than which, at least, so much of them as relates to +surveying, nothing can be more essentially necessary to any man possessed +of a large landed estate, the bounds of some part or other of which are +always in controversy. Now whether he has time between this and next spring +to acquire a sufficient knowledge of these studies, I leave you to judge; +as, also, whether a boy of seventeen years old (which will be his age next +November), can have any just notions of the end and design of travelling. I +have already given it as my opinion that it would be precipitating this +event, unless he were to go immediately to the university for a couple of +years; in which case he could see nothing of America; which might be a +disadvantage to him, as it is to be expected that every man, who travels +with a view of observing the laws and customs of other countries, should be +able to give some description of the situation and government of his own." + +The following are extracts from the letter to Benedict Calvert, Esq., the +young lady's father: + +"I write to you on a subject of importance, and of no small embarrassment +to me; My son-in-law and ward, Mr. Custis, has, as I have been informed, +paid his addresses to your second daughter; and having made some progress +in her affections, has solicited her in marriage. How far a union of this +sort may be agreeable to you, you best can tell; but I should think myself +wanting in candor, were I not to confess that Miss Nelly's amiable +qualities are acknowledged on all hands, and that an alliance with your +family will be pleasing to his. + +"This acknowledgment being made, you must permit me to add, sir, that at +this, or in any short time, his youth, inexperience, and unripened +education are, and will be, insuperable obstacles, in my opinion, to the +completion of the marriage. As his guardian, I conceive it my indispensable +duty to endeavor to carry him through a regular course of education (many +branches of which, I am sorry to say, he is totally deficient in), and to +guide his youth to a more advanced age, before an event, on which his own +peace and the happiness of another are to depend, takes place. ... If the +affection which they have avowed for each other is fixed upon a solid +basis, it will receive no diminution in the course of two or three years; +in which time he may prosecute his studies, and thereby render himself more +deserving of the lady, and useful to society. If, unfortunately, as they +are both young, there should be an abatement of affection on either side, +or both, it had better precede than follow marriage. + +"Delivering my sentiments thus freely, will not, I hope, lead you into a +belief that I am desirous of breaking off the match. To postpone it is all +I have in view; for I shall recommend to the young gentleman, with the +warmth that becomes a man of honor, to consider himself as much engaged to +your daughter, as if the indissoluble knot were tied; and as the surest +means of effecting this, to apply himself closely to his studies, by which +he will, in a great measure, avoid those little flirtations with other +young ladies, that may, by dividing the attention, contribute not a little +to divide the affection." + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +LORD NORTH'S BILL FAVORING THE EXPORTATION OF TEAS--SHIPS FREIGHTED WITH +TEA TO THE COLONIES--SENT BACK FROM SOME OF THE PORTS--TEA DESTROYED AT +BOSTON--PASSAGE OF THE BOSTON PORT BILL--SESSION OF THE HOUSE OF +BURGESSES--SPLENDID OPENING--BURST OF INDIGNATION AT THE PORT BILL--HOUSE +DISSOLVED--RESOLUTIONS AT THE RALEIGH TAVERN--PROJECT OF A GENERAL +CONGRESS--WASHINGTON AND LORD DUNMORE--THE PORT BILL GOES INTO +EFFECT--GENERAL GAGE AT BOSTON--LEAGUE AND COVENANT. + + +The general covenant throughout the colonies against the use of taxed tea, +had operated disastrously against the interests of the East India Company, +and produced an immense accumulation of the proscribed article in their +warehouses. To remedy this, Lord North brought in a bill (1773), by which +the company were allowed to export their teas from England to any part +whatever, without paying export duty. This, by enabling them to offer their +teas at a low price in the colonies would, he supposed, tempt the Americans +to purchase large quantities, thus relieving the company, and at the same +time benefiting the revenue by the impost duty. Confiding in the wisdom of +this policy, the company disgorged their warehouses, freighted several +ships with tea, and sent them to various parts of the colonies. This +brought matters to a crisis. One sentiment, one determination, pervaded the +whole continent. Taxation was to receive its definitive blow. Whoever +submitted to it was an enemy to his country. From New York and Philadelphia +the ships were sent back, unladen, to London. In Charleston the tea was +unloaded, and stored away in cellars and other places, where it perished. +At Boston the action was still more decisive. The ships anchored in the +harbor. Some small parcels of tea were brought on shore, but the sale of +them was prohibited. The captains of the ships, seeing the desperate state +of the case, would have made sail back for England, but they could not +obtain the consent of the consignees, a clearance at the custom-house, or a +passport from the governor to clear the fort. It was evident, the tea was +to be forced upon the people of Boston, and the principle of taxation +established. + +To settle the matter completely, and prove that, on a point of principle, +they were not to be trifled with, a number of the inhabitants, disguised as +Indians, boarded the ships in the night (18th December), broke open all the +chests of tea, and emptied the contents into the sea. This was no rash and +intemperate proceeding of a mob, but the well-considered, though resolute +act of sober, respectable citizens, men of reflection, but determination. +The whole was done calmly, and in perfect order; after which the actors in +the scene dispersed without tumult, and returned quietly to their homes. + +The general opposition of the colonies to the principle of taxation had +given great annoyance to government, but this individual act concentrated +all its wrath upon Boston. A bill was forthwith passed in Parliament +(commonly called the Boston port bill), by which all lading and unlading of +goods, wares, and merchandise, were to cease in that town and harbor, on +and after the 4th of June, and the officers of the customs to be +transferred to Salem. + +Another law, passed soon after, altered the charter of the province, +decreeing that all counsellors, judges, and magistrates, should be +appointed by the crown, and hold office during the royal pleasure. + +This was followed by a third, intended for the suppression of riots; and +providing that any person indicted for murder, or other capital offence, +committed in aiding the magistracy, might be sent by the governor to some +other colony, or to Great Britain, for trial. + +Such was the bolt of Parliamentary wrath fulminated against the devoted +town of Boston. Before it fell there was a session in May, of the Virginia +House of Burgesses. The social position of Lord Dunmore had been +strengthened in the province by the arrival of his lady, and a numerous +family of sons and daughters. The old Virginia aristocracy had vied with +each other in hospitable attentions to the family. A court circle had +sprung up. Regulations had been drawn up by a herald, and published +officially, determining the rank and precedence of civil and military +officers, and their wives. The aristocracy of the Ancient Dominion was +furbishing up its former splendor. Carriages and four rolled into the +streets of Williamsburg, with horses handsomely caparisoned, bringing the +wealthy planters and their families to the seat of government. + +Washington arrived in Williamsburg on the 16th, and dined with the governor +on the day of his arrival, having a distinguished position in the court +circle, and being still on terms of intimacy with his lordship. The House +of Burgesses was opened in form, and one of its first measures was an +address of congratulation to the governor, on the arrival of his lady. It +was followed up by an agreement among the members to give her ladyship a +splendid ball, on the 27th of the month. + +All things were going on smoothly and smilingly, when a letter, received +through the corresponding committee, brought intelligence of the vindictive +measure of Parliament, by which the port of Boston was to be closed on the +approaching 1st of June. + +The letter was read in the House of Burgesses, and produced a general burst +of indignation. All other business was thrown aside, and this became the +sole subject of discussion. A protest against this and other recent acts of +Parliament was entered upon the journal of the House, and a resolution was +adopted, on the 24th of May, setting apart the 1st of June as a day of +fasting, prayer, and humiliation; in which the divine interposition was to +be implored, to avert the heavy calamity threatening destruction to their +rights, and all the evils of civil war; and to give the people one heart +and one mind in firmly opposing every injury to American liberties. + +On the following morning, while the Burgesses were engaged in animated +debate, they were summoned to attend Lord Dunmore in the council chamber, +where he made them the following laconic speech: "Mr. Speaker, and +Gentlemen of the House of Burgesses: I have in my hand a paper, published +by order of your House, conceived in such terms, as reflect highly upon his +majesty, and the Parliament of Great Britain, which makes it necessary for +me to dissolve you, and you are dissolved accordingly." + +As on a former occasion, the Assembly, though dissolved, was not dispersed. +The members adjourned to the long room of the old Raleigh tavern, and +passed resolutions, denouncing the Boston port bill as a most dangerous +attempt to destroy the constitutional liberty and rights of all North +America; recommending their countrymen to desist from the use, not merely +of tea, but of all kinds of East Indian commodities: pronouncing an attack +on one of the colonies, to enforce arbitrary taxes, an attack on all; and +ordering the committee of correspondence to communicate with the other +corresponding committees, on the expediency of appointing deputies from the +several colonies of British America, to meet annually in GENERAL CONGRESS, +at such place as might be deemed expedient, to deliberate on such measures +as the united interests of the colonies might require. + +This was the first recommendation of a General Congress by any public +assembly, though it had been previously proposed in town meetings at New +York and Boston. A resolution to the same effect was passed in the Assembly +of Massachusetts before it was aware of the proceedings of the Virginia +Legislature. The measure recommended met with prompt and general +concurrence throughout the colonies, and the fifth day of September next +ensuing was fixed upon for the meeting of the first Congress, which was to +be held at Philadelphia. + +Notwithstanding Lord Dunmore's abrupt dissolution of the House of +Burgesses, the members still continued on courteous terms with him, and the +ball which they had decreed early in the session in honor of Lady Dunmore, +was celebrated on the 27th with unwavering gallantry. + +As to Washington, widely as he differed from Lord Dunmore on important +points of policy, his intimacy with him remained uninterrupted. By +memorandums in his diary it appears that he dined and passed the evening at +his lordship's on the 25th, the very day of the meeting at the Raleigh +tavern. That he rode out with him to his farm, and breakfasted there with +him on the 26th, and on the evening of the 27th attended the ball given to +her ladyship. Such was the well-bred decorum that seemed to quiet the +turbulence of popular excitement, without checking the full and firm +expression of popular opinion. + +On the 29th, two days after the ball, letters arrived from Boston giving +the proceedings of a town meeting, recommending that a general league +should be formed throughout the colonies suspending all trade with Great +Britain. But twenty-five members of the late House of Burgesses, including +Washington, were at that time remaining in Williamsburg. They held a +meeting on the following day, at which Peyton Randolph presided as +moderator. After some discussion it was determined to issue a printed +circular, bearing their signatures, and calling a meeting of all the +members of the late House of Burgesses, on the 1st of August, to take into +consideration this measure of a general league. The circular recommended +them, also, to collect, in the mean time, the sense of their respective +counties. + +Washington was still at Williamsburg on the 1st of June, the day when the +port bill was to be enforced at Boston. It was ushered in by the tolling of +bells, and observed by all true patriots as a day of fasting and +humiliation. Washington notes in his diary that he fasted rigidly, and +attended the services appointed in the church. Still his friendly +intercourse with the Dunmore family was continued during the remainder of +his sojourn in Williamsburg, where he was detained by business until the +20th, when he set out on his return to Mount Vernon. + +In the mean time the Boston port bill had been carried into effect. On the +1st of June the harbor of Boston was closed at noon, and all business +ceased. The two other parliamentary acts altering the charter of +Massachusetts were to be enforced. No public meetings, excepting the annual +town meetings in March and May, were to be held without permission of the +governor. + +General Thomas Gage had recently been appointed to the military command of +Massachusetts, and the carrying out of these offensive acts. He was the +same officer who, as lieutenant-colonel, had led the advance guard on the +field of Braddock's defeat. Fortune had since gone well with him. Rising in +the service, he had been governor of Montreal, and had succeeded Amherst in +the command of the British forces on this continent. He was linked to the +country also by domestic ties, having married into one of the most +respectable families of New Jersey. In the various situations in which he +had hitherto been placed he had won esteem, and rendered himself popular. +Not much was expected from him in his present post by those who knew him +well. William Smith, the historian, speaking of him to Adams, "Gage," said +he, "was a good-natured, peaceable, sociable man while here (in New York), +but altogether unfit for a governor of Massachusetts. He will lose all the +character he has acquired as a man, a gentleman, and a general, and dwindle +down into a mere scribbling governor--a mere Bernard or Hutchinson." + +With all Gage's experience in America, he had formed a most erroneous +opinion of the character of the people. "The Americans," said he to the +king, "will be lions only as long as the English are lambs;" and he +engaged, with five regiments, to keep Boston quiet! + +The manner in which his attempts to enforce the recent acts of Parliament +were resented, showed how egregiously he was in error. At the suggestion of +the Assembly, a paper was circulated through the province by the committee +of correspondence, entitled "a solemn league and covenant," the subscribers +to which bound themselves to break off all intercourse with Great Britain +from the 1st of August, until the colony should be restored to the +enjoyment of its chartered rights; and to renounce all dealings with those +who should refuse to enter into this compact. + +The very title of league and covenant had an ominous sound, and startled +General Gage. He issued a proclamation, denouncing it as illegal and +traitorous. Furthermore, he encamped a force of infantry and artillery on +Boston Common, as if prepared to enact the lion. An alarm spread through +the adjacent country. "Boston is to be blockaded! Boston is to be reduced +to obedience by force or famine!" The spirit of the yeomanry was aroused. +They sent in word to the inhabitants promising to come to their aid if +necessary; and urging them to stand fast to the faith. Affairs were coming +to a crisis. It was predicted that the new acts of Parliament would bring +on "a most important and decisive trial." + +[Illustration] + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +WASHINGTON CHAIRMAN OF A POLITICAL MEETING--CORRESPONDENCE WITH BRYAN +FAIRFAX--PATRIOTIC RESOLUTIONS--WASHINGTON'S OPINIONS ON PUBLIC +AFFAIRS--NON-IMPORTATION SCHEME--CONVENTION AT WILLIAMSBURG--WASHINGTON +APPOINTED A DELEGATE TO THE GENERAL CONGRESS--LETTER FROM BRYAN +FAIRFAX--PERPLEXITIES OF GENERAL GAGE AT BOSTON. + + +Shortly after Washington's return to Mount Vernon, in the latter part of +June, he presided as moderator at a meeting of the inhabitants of Fairfax +County, wherein, after the recent acts of Parliament had been discussed, a +committee was appointed, with himself as chairman, to draw up resolutions +expressive of the sentiments of the present meeting, and to report the same +at a general meeting of the county, to be held in the court-house on the +18th of July. + +The course that public measures were taking shocked the loyal feelings of +Washington's valued friend, Bryan Fairfax, of Tarlston Hall, a younger +brother of George William, who was absent in England. He was a man of +liberal sentiments, but attached to the ancient rule; and, in a letter to +Washington, advised a petition to the throne, which would give Parliament +an opportunity to repeal the offensive acts. + +"I would heartily join you in your political sentiments," writes Washington +in reply, "as far as relates to a humble and dutiful petition to the +throne, provided there was the most distant hope of success. But have we +not tried this already? Have we not addressed the lords, and remonstrated +to the commons? And to what end? Does it not appear as clear as the sun in +its meridian brightness that there is a regular, systematic plan to fix the +right and practice of taxation upon us? ... Is not the attack upon the +liberty and property of the people of Boston, before restitution of the +loss to the India Company was demanded, a plain and self-evident proof of +what they are aiming at? Do not the subsequent bills for depriving the +Massachusetts Bay of its charter, and for transporting offenders to other +colonies or to Great Britain for trial, where it is impossible, from the +nature of things, that justice can be obtained, convince us that the +administration is determined to stick at nothing to carry its point? Ought +we not, then, to put our virtue and fortitude to the severest tests?" + +The committee met according to appointment, with Washington as chairman. +The resolutions framed at the meeting insisted, as usual, on the right of +self-government, and the principle that taxation and representation were in +their nature inseparable. That the various acts of Parliament for raising +revenue; taking away trials by jury; ordering that persons might be tried +in a different country from that in which the cause of accusation +originated; closing the port of Boston; abrogating the charter of +Massachusetts Bay, &c., &c.,--were all part of a premeditated design and +system to introduce arbitrary government into the colonies. That the sudden +and repeated dissolutions of Assemblies whenever they presumed to examine +the illegality of ministerial mandates, or deliberated on the violated +rights of their constituents, were part of the same system, and calculated +and intended to drive the people of the colonies to a state of desperation, +and to dissolve the compact by which their ancestors bound themselves and +their posterity to remain dependent on the British crown. The resolutions, +furthermore, recommended the most perfect union and co-operation among the +colonies; solemn covenants with respect to non-importation and +non-intercourse, and a renunciation of all dealings with any colony, town, +or province, that should refuse to agree to the plan adopted by the General +Congress. + +They also recommended a dutiful petition and remonstrance from the Congress +to the king, asserting their constitutional rights and privileges; +lamenting the necessity of entering into measures that might be +displeasing; declaring their attachment to his person, family, and +government, and their desire to continue in dependence upon Great Britain; +beseeching him not to reduce his faithful subjects of America to +desperation, and to reflect, that _from our sovereign there can be but +one appeal._ + +These resolutions are the more worthy of note, as expressive of the +opinions and feelings of Washington at this eventful time, if not being +entirely dictated by him. The last sentence is of awful import, suggesting +the possibility of being driven to an appeal to arms. + +Bryan Fairfax, who was aware of their purport, addressed a long letter to +Washington, on the 17th of July, the day preceding that in which they were +to be reported by the committee, stating his objections to several of them, +and requesting that his letter might be publicly read. The letter was not +received until after the committee had gone to the court-house on the 18th, +with the resolutions revised, corrected, and ready to be reported. +Washington glanced over the letter hastily, and handed it round to several +of the gentlemen present. They, with one exception, advised that it should +not be publicly read, as it was not likely to make any converts, and was +repugnant, as some thought, to every principle they were contending for. +Washington forbore, therefore, to give it any further publicity. + +The resolutions reported by the committee were adopted, and Washington was +chosen a delegate to represent the county at the General Convention of the +province, to be held at Williamsburg on the 1st of August. After the +meeting had adjourned, he felt doubtful whether Fairfax might not be +dissatisfied that his letter had not been read, as he requested, to the +county at large; he wrote to him, therefore, explaining the circumstances +which prevented it; at the same time replying to some of the objections +which Fairfax had made to certain of the resolutions. He reiterated his +belief that an appeal would be ineffectual. "What is it we are contending +against?" asked he; "Is it against paying the duty of threepence per pound +on tea because burdensome? No, it is the right only, that we have all along +disputed; and to this end, we have already petitioned his majesty in as +humble and dutiful a manner as subjects could do. Nay, more, we applied to +the House of Lords and House of Commons in their different legislative +capacities, setting forth that, as Englishmen, we could not be deprived of +this essential and valuable part of our constitution. ... + +"The conduct of the Boston people could not justify the rigor of their +measures, unless there had been a requisition of payment, and refusal of +it; nor did that conduct require an act to deprive the government of +Massachusetts Bay of their charter, or to exempt offenders from trial in +the places where offences were committed, as there was not, nor could there +be, a single instance produced to manifest the necessity of it. Are not all +these things evident proofs of a fixed and uniform plan to tax us? If we +want further proofs, do not all the debates in the House of Commons serve +to confirm this? And has not General Gage's conduct since his arrival, in +stopping the address of his council, and publishing a proclamation, more +becoming a Turkish bashaw than an English governor, declaring it treason to +associate in any manner by which the commerce of Great Britain is to be +affected,--has not this exhibited an unexampled testimony of the most +despotic system of tyranny that ever was practised in a free government?" + +The popular measure on which Washington laid the greatest stress as a means +of obtaining redress from government, was the non-importation scheme; "for +I am convinced," said he, "as much as of my existence, that there is no +relief for us but in their distress; and I think--at least I hope--that +there is public virtue enough left among us to deny ourselves every thing +but the bare necessaries of life to accomplish this end." At the same time, +he forcibly condemned a suggestion that remittances to England should be +withheld. "While we are accusing others of injustice," said he, "we should +be just ourselves; and how this can be whilst we owe a considerable debt, +and refuse payment of it to Great Britain is to me inconceivable: nothing +but the last extremity can justify it." + +On the 1st of August, the convention of representatives from all parts of +Virginia assembled at Williamsburg. Washington appeared on behalf of +Fairfax County, and presented the resolutions, already cited, as the sense +of his constituents. He is said, by one who was present, to have spoken in +support of them in a strain of uncommon eloquence, which shows how his +latent ardor had been excited on the occasion, as eloquence was not in +general among his attributes. It is evident, however, that he was roused to +an unusual pitch of enthusiasm, for he is said to have declared that he was +ready to raise one thousand men, subsist them at his own expense, and march +at their head to the relief of Boston. [Footnote: See information given to +the elder Adams, by Mr. Lynch of South Carolina.--_Adams's Diary_.] + +The Convention was six days in session. Resolutions, in the same spirit +with those passed in Fairfax County, were adopted, and Peyton Randolph, +Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, +Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pendleton, were appointed delegates, to +represent the people of Virginia in the General Congress. + +Shortly after Washington's return from Williamsburg, he received a reply +from Bryan Fairfax, to his last letter. Fairfax, who was really a man of +liberal views, seemed anxious to vindicate himself from any suspicions of +the contrary. In adverting to the partial suppression of his letter by some +of the gentlemen of the committee: "I am uneasy to find," writes he, "that +any one should look upon the letter sent down as repugnant to the +principles we are contending for; and, therefore, when you have leisure, I +shall take it as a favor if you will let me know wherein it was thought so. +I beg leave to look upon you as a friend, and it is a great relief to +unbosom one's thoughts to a friend. Besides, the information, and the +correction of my errors, which I may obtain from a correspondence, are +great inducements to it. For I am convinced that no man in the colony +wishes its prosperity more, would go greater lengths to serve it, or is, at +the same time, a better subject to the crown. Pray excuse these +compliments, they may be tolerable from a friend." [Footnote: Sparks. +Washington's Writings, vol. ii., p. 329.] + +The hurry of various occupations prevented Washington, in his reply, from +entering into any further discussion of the popular theme. "I can only in +general add," said he, "that an innate spirit of freedom first told me that +the measures which the administration have for some time been, and now are +violently pursuing, are opposed to every principle of natural justice; +whilst much abler heads than my own have fully convinced me, that they are +not only repugnant to natural right, but subversive of the laws and +constitution of Great Britain itself. ... I shall conclude with remarking +that, if you disavow the right of Parliament to tax us, unrepresented as we +are, we only differ in the mode of opposition, and this difference +principally arises from your belief that they (the Parliament I mean), want +a decent opportunity to repeal the acts; whilst I am fully convinced that +there has been a regular systematic plan to enforce them, and that nothing +but unanimity and firmness in the colonies, which they did not expect, can +prevent it. By the best advices from Boston, it seems that General Gage is +exceedingly disconcerted at the quiet and steady conduct of the people of +the Massachusetts Bay, and at the measures pursuing by the other +governments. I dare say he expected to force those oppressed people into +compliance, or irritate them to acts of violence before this, for a more +colorable pretence of ruling that, and the other colonies, with a high +hand." + +Washington had formed a correct opinion of the position of General Gage. +From the time of taking command at Boston, he had been perplexed how to +manage its inhabitants. Had they been hot-headed, impulsive, and prone to +paroxysm, his task would have been comparatively easy; but it was the cool, +shrewd common sense, by which all their movements were regulated, that +confounded him. + +High-handed measures had failed of the anticipated effect. Their harbor had +been thronged with ships; their town with troops. The port bill had put an +end to commerce; wharves were deserted, warehouses closed; streets +grass-grown and silent. The rich were growing poor, and the poor were +without employ; yet the spirit of the people was unbroken. There was no +uproar, however; no riots; every thing was awfully systematic and according +to rule. Town meetings were held, in which public rights and public +measures were eloquently discussed by John Adams, Josiah Quincy, and other +eminent men. Over these meetings Samuel Adams presided as moderator; a man +clear in judgment, calm in conduct, inflexible in resolution; deeply +grounded in civil and political history, and infallible on all points of +constitutional law. + +Alarmed at the powerful influence of these assemblages, government issued +an act prohibiting them after the 1st of August. The act was evaded by +convoking the meetings before that day, and _keeping them alive_ +indefinitely. Gage was at a loss how to act. It would not do to disperse +these assemblages by force of arms; for, the people who composed them +mingled the soldier with the polemic; and, like their prototypes, the +covenanters of yore, if prone to argue, were as ready to fight. So the +meetings continued to be held portinaciously. Faneuil Hall was at times +unable to hold them, and they swarmed from that revolutionary hive into old +South Church. The liberty tree became a rallying place for any popular +movement, and a flag hoisted on it was saluted by all processions as the +emblem of the popular cause. + +Opposition to the new plan of government assumed a more violent aspect at +the extremity of the province, and was abetted by Connecticut. "It is very +high," writes Gage, (August 27th,) "in Berkshire County, and makes way +rapidly to the rest. At Worcester they threaten resistance, purchase arms, +provide powder, cast balls, and threaten to attack any troops who may +oppose them. I apprehend I shall soon have to march a body of troops into +that township." + +The time appointed for the meeting of the General Congress at Philadelphia +was now at hand. Delegates had already gone on from Massachusetts. "It is +not possible to guess," writes Gage, "what a body composed of such +heterogeneous matter will determine; but the members from hence, I am +assured, will promote the most haughty and insolent resolves; for their +plan has ever been, by threats and high-sounding sedition, to terrify and +intimidate." + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +MEETING OF THE FIRST CONGRESS--OPENING CEREMONIES--ELOQUENCE OF PATRICK +HENRY AND HENRY LEE--DECLARATORY RESOLUTION--BILL OF RIGHTS--STATE +PAPERS--CHATHAM'S OPINIONS OF CONGRESS--WASHINGTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH +CAPT. MACKENZIE--VIEWS WITH RESPECT TO INDEPENDENCE--DEPARTURE OF FAIRFAX +FOR ENGLAND. + + +When the time approached for the meeting of the General Congress at +Philadelphia, Washington was joined at Mount Vernon by Patrick Henry and +Edmund Pendleton, and they performed the journey together on horseback. It +was a noble companionship. Henry was then in the youthful vigor and +elasticity of his bounding genius; ardent, acute, fanciful, eloquent. +Pendleton, schooled in public life, a veteran in council, with native force +of intellect, and habits of deep reflection. Washington, in the meridian of +his days, mature in wisdom, comprehensive in mind, sagacious in foresight. +Such were the apostles of liberty, repairing on their august pilgrimage to +Philadelphia from all parts of the land, to lay the foundations of a mighty +empire. Well may we say of that eventful period, "There were giants in +those days." + +Congress assembled on Monday, the 5th of September, in a large room in +Carpenter's Hall. There were fifty-one delegates, representing all the +colonies excepting Georgia. + +The meeting has been described as "awfully solemn." The most eminent men of +the various colonies, were now for the first time brought together; they +were known to each other by fame, but were, personally, strangers. The +object which had called them together, was of incalculable magnitude. The +liberties of no less than three millions of people, with that of all their +posterity, were staked on the wisdom and energy of their councils. +[Footnote: Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry, p. 224.] + +"It is such an assembly," writes John Adams, who was present, "as never +before came together on a sudden, in any part of the world. Here are +fortunes, abilities, learning, eloquence, acuteness, equal to any I ever +met with in my life. Here is a diversity of religions, educations, manners, +interests, such as it would seem impossible to unite in one plan of +conduct." + +There being an inequality in the number of delegates from the different +colonies, a question arose as to the mode of voting; whether by colonies, +by the poll, or by interests. + +Patrick Henry scouted the idea of sectional distinctions or individual +interests. "All America," said he, "is thrown into one mass. Where are your +landmarks--your boundaries of colonies? They are all thrown down. The +distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers and New +Englanders, are no more. _I am not a Virginian, but an American._" +[Footnote: J. Adams' Diary.] + +After some debate, it was determined that each colony should have but one +vote, whatever might be the number of its delegates. The deliberations of +the House were to be with closed doors, and nothing but the resolves +promulgated, unless by order of the majority. + +To give proper dignity and solemnity to the proceedings of the House, it +was moved on the following day, that each morning the session should be +opened by prayer. To this it was demurred, that as the delegates were of +different religious sects, they might not consent to join in the same form +of worship. + +Upon this, Mr. Samuel Adams arose and said: "He would willingly join in +prayer with any gentleman of piety and virtue, whatever might be his cloth, +provided he was a friend of his country;" and he moved that the reverend +Mr. Duché, of Philadelphia, who answered to that description, might be +invited to officiate as chaplain. This was one step towards unanimity of +feeling, Mr. Adams being a strong Congregationalist, and Mr. Duché an +eminent Episcopalian clergyman. The motion was carried into effect; the +invitation was given and accepted. + +In the course of the day, a rumor reached Philadelphia that Boston had been +cannonaded by the British. It produced a strong sensation; and when +Congress met on the following morning (7th), the effect was visible in +every countenance. The delegates from the east were greeted with a warmer +grasp of the hand by their associates from the south. + +The reverend Mr. Duché, according to invitation, appeared in his +canonicals, attended by his clerk. The morning service of the Episcopal +church was read with great solemnity, the clerk making the responses. The +Psalter for the 7th day of the month includes the 35th Psalm, wherein David +prays for protection against his enemies. "Plead my cause, O Lord, with +them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. + +"Take hold of shield and buckler and stand up for my help. + +"Draw out, also, the spear, and stop the way of them that persecute me. Say +unto my soul, I am thy salvation," &c., &c. + +The imploring words of this psalm, spoke the feelings of all hearts +present; but especially of those from New England. John Adams writes in a +letter to his wife: "You must remember this was the morning after we heard +the horrible rumor of the cannonade of Boston. I never saw a greater effect +upon an audience. It seemed as if heaven had ordained that psalm to be read +on that morning. After this, Mr. Duché unexpectedly struck out into an +extemporary prayer, which filled the bosom of every man present. +Episcopalian as he is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervor, +such ardor, such earnestness and pathos, and in language so eloquent and +sublime, for America, for the Congress, for the province of Massachusetts +Bay, and especially the town of Boston. It has had an excellent effect upon +every body here." [Footnote: John Adams' Correspondence and Diary.] + +It has been remarked that Washington was especially devout on this +occasion--kneeling, while others stood up. In this, however, each, no +doubt, observed the attitude in prayer to which he was accustomed. +Washington knelt, being an Episcopalian. + +The rumored attack upon Boston, rendered the service of the day deeply +affecting to all present. They were one political family, actuated by one +feeling, and sympathizing with the weal and woe of each individual member. +The rumor proved to be erroneous; but it had produced a most beneficial +effect in calling forth and quickening the spirit of union, so vitally +important in that assemblage. + +Owing to closed doors, and the want of reporters, no record exists of the +discussions and speeches made in the first Congress. Mr. Wirt, speaking +from tradition, informs us that a long and deep silence followed the +organization of that august body; the members looking round upon each +other, individually reluctant to open a business so fearfully momentous. +This "deep and deathlike silence" was beginning to become painfully +embarrassing, when Patrick Henry arose. He faltered at first, as was his +habit; but his exordium was impressive; and as he launched forth into a +recital of colonial wrongs he kindled with his subject, until he poured +forth one of those eloquent appeals which had so often shaken the House of +Burgesses and gained him the fame of being the greatest orator of Virginia. +He sat down, according to Mr. Wirt, amidst murmurs of astonishment and +applause, and was now admitted, on every hand, to be the first orator of +America. He was followed by Richard Henry Lee, who, according to the same +writer, charmed the house with a different kind of eloquence, chaste and +classical; contrasting, in its cultivated graces, with the wild and grand +effusions of Henry. "The superior powers of these great men, however," adds +he, "were manifested only in debate, and while general grievances were the +topic; when called down from the heights of declamation to that severer +test of intellectual excellence, the details of business, they found +themselves in a body of cool-headed, reflecting, and most able men, by whom +they were, in their turn, completely thrown into the shade." [Footnote: +Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry.] + +The first public measure of Congress was a resolution declaratory of their +feelings with regard to the recent acts of Parliament, violating the rights +of the people of Massachusetts, and of their determination to combine in +resisting any force that might attempt to carry those acts into execution. + +A committee of two from each province reported a series of resolutions, +which were adopted and promulgated by Congress, as a "declaration of +colonial rights." In this were enumerated their natural rights to the +enjoyment of life, liberty, and property; and their rights as British +subjects. Among the latter was participation in legislative councils. This +they could not exercise through representatives in Parliament; they +claimed, therefore, the power of legislating in their provincial +assemblies; consenting, however, to such acts of Parliament as might be +essential to the regulation of trade; but excluding all taxation, internal +or external, for raising revenue in America. + +The common law of England was claimed as a birthright, including the right +of trial by a jury of the vicinage; of holding public meetings to consider +grievances; and of petitioning the king. The benefits of all such statutes +as existed at the time of the colonization were likewise claimed; together +with the immunities and privileges granted by royal charters, or secured by +provincial laws. + +The maintenance of a standing army in any colony in time of peace, without +the consent of its legislature, was pronounced contrary to law. The +exercise of the legislative power in the colonies by a council appointed +during pleasure by the crown, was declared to be unconstitutional, and +destructive to the freedom of American legislation. + +Then followed a specification of the acts of Parliament, passed during the +reign of George III., infringing and violating these rights. These were: +the sugar act; the stamp act; the two acts for quartering troops; the tea +act; the act suspending the New York legislature; the two acts for the +trial in Great Britain of offences committed in America; the Boston port +bill; the act for regulating the government of Massachusetts, and the +Quebec act. + +"To these grievous acts and measures," it was added, "Americans cannot +submit; but in hopes their fellow subjects in Great Britain will, on a +revision of them, restore us to that state in which both countries found +happiness and prosperity, we have, for the present, only resolved to pursue +the following peaceable measures: + +"1st. To enter into a non-importation, non-consumption, and non-exportation +agreement, or association. + +"2d. To prepare an address to the people of Great Britain, and a memorial +to the inhabitants of British America. + +"3d. To prepare a loyal address to his majesty." + +The above-mentioned association was accordingly formed, and committees were +to be appointed in every county, city, and town, to maintain it vigilantly +and strictly. + +Masterly state papers were issued by Congress in conformity to the +resolutions: viz., a petition to the king, drafted by Mr. Dickinson, of +Philadelphia; an address to the people of Canada by the same hand, inviting +them to join the league of the colonies; another to the people of Great +Britain, drafted by John Jay, of New York; and a memorial to the +inhabitants of the British colonies by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia. +[Footnote: See Correspondence and Diary of J. Adams, vols. ii. and ix.] + +The Congress remained in session fifty-one days. Every subject, according +to Adams, was discussed "with a moderation, an acuteness, and a minuteness +equal to that of Queen Elizabeth's privy council." [Footnote: Letter to +William Tudor, 29th Sept., 1774.] The papers issued by it have deservedly +been pronounced masterpieces of practical talent and political wisdom. +Chatham, when speaking on the subject in the House of Lords, could not +restrain his enthusiasm. "When your lordships," said he, "look at the +papers transmitted to us from America; when you consider their decency, +firmness, and wisdom, you cannot but respect their cause, and wish to make +it your own. For myself, I must declare and avow that, in the master states +of the world, I know not the people, or senate, who, in such a complication +of difficult circumstances, can stand in preference to the delegates of +America assembled in General Congress at Philadelphia." + +From the secrecy that enveloped its discussions, we are ignorant of the +part taken by Washington in the debates; the similarity of the resolutions, +however, in spirit and substance to those of the Fairfax County meeting, in +which he presided, and the coincidence of the measures adopted with those +therein recommended, show that he had a powerful agency in the whole +proceedings of this eventful assembly. Patrick Henry, being asked, on his +return home, whom he considered the greatest man in Congress, replied: "If +you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, is by far the +greatest orator; but if you speak of solid information and sound judgment, +Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest man on that floor." + +How thoroughly and zealously he participated in the feelings which actuated +Congress in this memorable session, may be gathered from his correspondence +with a friend enlisted in the royal cause. This was Captain Robert +Mackenzie, who had formerly served under him in his Virginia regiment +during the French war, but now held a commission in the regular army, and +was stationed among the British troops at Boston. + +Mackenzie, in a letter, had spoken with loyal abhorrence of the state of +affairs in the "unhappy province" of Massachusetts, and the fixed aim of +its inhabitants at "total independence." "The rebellious and numerous +meetings of men in arms," said he, "their scandalous and ungenerous attacks +upon the best characters in the province, obliging them to save themselves +by flight, and their repeated, but feeble threats, to dispossess the +troops, have furnished sufficient reasons to General Gage to put the town +in a formidable state of defence, about which we are now fully employed, +and which will be shortly accomplished to their great mortification." + +"Permit me," writes Washington in reply, "with the freedom of a friend (for +you know I always esteemed you), to express my sorrow that fortune should +place you in a service that must fix curses, to the latest posterity, upon +the contrivers, and, if success (which, by the by, is impossible) +accompanies it, execrations upon all those who have been instrumental in +the execution. ... When you condemn the conduct of the Massachusetts +people, you reason from effects, not causes, otherwise you would not wonder +at a people, who are every day receiving fresh proofs of a systematic +assertion of an arbitrary power, deeply planned to overturn the laws and +constitution of their country, and to violate the most essential and +valuable rights of mankind, being irritated, and with difficulty +restrained, from acts of the greatest violence and intemperance. + +"For my own part, I view things in a very different point of light from the +one in which you seem to consider them; and though you are led to believe, +by venal men, that the people of Massachusetts are rebellious, setting up +for independency, and what not, give me leave, my good friend, to tell you +that you are abused, grossly abused. ... I think I can announce it as a +fact, that it is not the wish or interest of that government, or any other +upon this continent, separately or collectively, to set up for +independence; but this you may at the same time rely on, that none of them +will ever submit to the loss of their valuable rights and privileges, which +are essential to the happiness of every free state, and without which, +life, liberty, and property, are rendered totally insecure. + +"These, sir, being certain consequences, which must naturally result from +the late acts of Parliament relative to America in general, and the +government of Massachusetts in particular, is it to be wondered at that men +who wish to avert the impending blow, should attempt to oppose its +progress, or prepare for their defence, if it cannot be averted? Surely I +may be allowed to answer in the negative; and give me leave to add, as my +opinion, that more blood will be spilled on this occasion, if the ministry +are determined to push matters to extremity, than history has ever yet +furnished instances of in the annals of North America; and such a vital +wound will be given to the peace of this great country, as time itself +cannot cure, or eradicate the remembrance of." + +In concluding, he repeats his views with respect to independence: "I am +well satisfied that no such thing is desired by any thinking man in all +North America; on the contrary, that it is the ardent wish of the warmest +advocates for liberty, that peace and tranquillity, upon constitutional +grounds, may be restored, and the horrors of civil discord prevented." +[Footnote: Sparks. Washington's Writings, vol. ii., p. 899.] + +This letter we have considered especially worthy of citation, from its +being so full and explicit a declaration of Washington's sentiments and +opinions at this critical juncture. His views on the question of +independence are particularly noteworthy, from his being at this time in +daily and confidential communication with the leaders of the popular +movement, and among them with the delegates from Boston. It is evident that +the filial feeling still throbbed toward the mother country, and a complete +separation from her had not yet entered into the alternatives of her +colonial children. + +On the breaking up of Congress, Washington hastened back to Mount Vernon, +where his presence was more than usually important to the happiness of Mrs. +Washington, from the loneliness caused by the recent death of her daughter, +and the absence of her son. The cheerfulness of the neighborhood had been +diminished of late by the departure of George William Fairfax for England, +to take possession of estates which had devolved to him in that kingdom. +His estate of Belvoir, so closely allied with that of Mount Vernon by +family ties and reciprocal hospitality, was left in charge of a steward, or +overseer. Through some accident the house took fire, and was burnt to the +ground. It was never rebuilt. The course of political events which swept +Washington from his quiet home into the current of public and military +life, prevented William Fairfax, who was a royalist, though a liberal one, +from returning to his once happy abode, and the hospitable intercommunion +of Mount Vernon and Belvoir was at an end for ever. + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +GAGE'S MILITARY MEASURES--REMOVAL OF GUNPOWDER FROM THE ARSENAL--PUBLIC +AGITATION--ALARMS IN THE COUNTRY--CIVIL GOVERNMENT OBSTRUCTED--BELLIGERENT +SYMPTOMS--ISRAEL PUTNAM AND GENERAL CHARLES LEE, THEIR CHARACTERS AND +STORIES--GENERAL ELECTION--SELF-CONSTITUTED CONGRESS--HANCOCK PRESIDENT-- +ADJOURNS TO CONCORD--REMONSTRANCE TO GAGE--HIS PERPLEXITIES--GENERALS +ARTEMAS WARD AND SETH POMEROY--COMMITTEE OF SAFETY--COMMITTEE OF +SUPPLIES--RESTLESSNESS THROUGHOUT THE LAND--INDEPENDENT COMPANIES IN +VIRGINIA--MILITARY TONE AT MOUNT VERNON--WASHINGTON'S MILITARY +GUESTS--MAJOR HORATIO GATES--ANECDOTES CONCERNING HIM--GENERAL CHARLES +LEE--HIS PECULIARITIES AND DOGS--WASHINGTON AT THE RICHMOND CONVENTION-- +WAR SPEECH OF PATRICK HENRY--WASHINGTON'S MILITARY INTENTIONS. + + +The rumor of the cannonading of Boston, which had thrown such a gloom over +the religious ceremonial at the opening of Congress, had been caused by +measures of Governor Gage. The public mind, in Boston and its vicinity, had +been rendered excessively jealous and sensitive by the landing and +encamping of artillery upon the Common, and Welsh Fusiliers on Fort Hill, +and by the planting of four large field-pieces on Boston Neck, the only +entrance to the town by land. The country people were arming and +disciplining themselves in every direction, and collecting and depositing +arms and ammunition in places where they would be at hand in case of +emergency. Gage, on the other hand, issued orders that the munitions of war +in all the public magazines should be brought to Boston. One of these +magazines was the arsenal in the north-west part of Charlestown, between +Medford and Cambridge. Two companies of the king's troops passed silently +in boats up Mystic River in the night; took possession of a large quantity +of gunpowder deposited there, and conveyed it to Castle Williams. +Intelligence of this sacking of the arsenal flew with lightning speed +through the neighborhood. In the morning several thousands of patriots were +assembled at Cambridge, weapon in hand, and were with difficulty prevented +from marching upon Boston to compel a restitution of the powder. In the +confusion and agitation, a rumor stole out into the country that Boston was +to be attacked; followed by another that the ships were cannonading the +town, and the soldiers shooting down the inhabitants. The whole country was +forthwith in arms. Numerous bodies of the Connecticut people had made some +marches before the report was contradicted. [Footnote: Holmes's Annals, +ii., 191.--Letter of Gage to Lord Dartmouth.] + +To guard against any irruption from the country, Gage encamped the 59th +regiment on Boston Neck, and employed the soldiers in intrenching and +fortifying it. + +In the mean time the belligerent feelings of the inhabitants were +encouraged, by learning how the rumor of their being cannonaded had been +received in the General Congress, and by assurances from all parts that the +cause of Boston would be made the common cause of America. "It is +surprising," writes General Gage, "that so many of the other provinces +interest themselves so much in this. They have some warm friends in New +York, and I learn that the people of Charleston, South Carolina, are as mad +as they are here." [Footnote: Gage to Dartmouth, Sept. 20.] + +The commissions were arrived for those civil officers appointed by the +crown under the new modifications of the charter: many, however, were +afraid to accept of them. Those who did soon resigned, finding it +impossible to withstand the odium of the people. The civil government +throughout the province became obstructed in all its operations. It was +enough for a man to be supposed of the governmental party to incur popular +ill-will. + +Among other portentous signs, war-hawks began to appear above the horizon. +Mrs. Cushing, wife to a member of Congress, writes to her husband, "Two of +the greatest military characters of the day are visiting this distressed +town. General Charles Lee, who has served in Poland, and Colonel Israel +Putnam, whose bravery and character need no description." As these two men +will take a prominent part in coming events, we pause to give a word or two +concerning them. + +Israel Putnam was a soldier of native growth. One of the military +productions of the French war; seasoned and proved in frontier campaigning. +He had served at Louisburg, Fort Duquesne, and Crown Point; had signalized +himself in Indian warfare; been captured by the savages, tied to a stake to +be tortured and burnt, and had only been rescued by the interference, at +the eleventh hour, of a French partisan of the Indians. + +Since the peace, he had returned to agricultural life, and was now a farmer +at Pomfret, in Connecticut, where the scars of his wounds and the tales of +his exploits rendered him a hero in popular estimation. The war spirit yet +burned within him. He was now chairman of a committee of vigilance, and had +come to Boston in discharge of his political and semi-belligerent +functions. + +General Charles Lee was a military man of a different stamp; an Englishman +by birth, and a highly cultivated production of European warfare. He was +the son of a British officer, Lieutenant-colonel John Lee, of the dragoons, +who married the daughter of Sir Henry Bunbury, Bart., and afterwards rose +to be a general. Lee was born in 1731, and may almost be said to have been +cradled in the army, for he received a commission by the time he was eleven +years of age. He had an irregular education; part of the time in England, +part on the continent, and must have scrambled his way into knowledge; yet +by aptness, diligence and ambition, he had acquired a considerable portion, +being a Greek and Latin scholar, and acquainted with modern languages. The +art of war was his especial study from his boyhood, and he had early +opportunities of practical experience. At the age of twenty-four, he +commanded a company of grenadiers in the 44th regiment, and served in the +French war in America, where he was brought into military companionship +with Sir William Johnson's Mohawk warriors, whom he used to extol for their +manly beauty, their dress, their graceful carriage and good breeding. In +fact, he rendered himself so much of a favorite among them, that they +admitted him to smoke in their councils, and adopted him into the tribe of +the Bear, giving him an Indian name, signifying "Boiling Water." + +At the battle of Ticonderoga, where Abercrombie was defeated, he was shot +through the body, while leading his men against the French breastworks. In +the next campaign, he was present at the siege of Fort Niagara, where +General Prideaux fell, and where Sir William Johnson, with his British +troops and Mohawk warriors, eventually won the fortress. Lee had, probably, +an opportunity on this occasion of fighting side by side with some of his +adopted brethren of the Bear tribe, as we are told he was much exposed +during the engagement with the French and Indians, and that two balls +grazed his hair. A military errand, afterwards, took him across Lake Erie, +and down the northern branch of the Ohio to Fort Duquesne, and thence by a +long march of seven hundred miles to Crown Point, where he joined General +Amherst. In 1760, he was among the forces which followed that general from +Lake Ontario down the St. Lawrence; and was present at the surrender of +Montreal, which completed the conquest of Canada. + +In 1762, he bore a colonel's commission, and served under Brigadier-general +Burgoyne in Portugal, where he was intrusted with an enterprise against a +Spanish post at the old Moorish castle of Villa Velha, on the banks of the +Tagus. He forded the river in the night, pushed his way through mountain +passes, and at 2 o'clock in the morning, rushed with his grenadiers into +the enemy's camp before daylight, where every thing was carried at the +point of the bayonet, assisted by a charge of dragoons. The war over, he +returned to England, bearing testimonials of bravery and good conduct from +his commander-in-chief, the Count de la Lippe, and from the king of +Portugal. [Footnote: Life of Charles Lee, by Jared Sparks. Also, Memoirs of +Charles Lee; published in London, 1792.] + +Wielding the pen as well as the sword, Lee undertook to write on questions +of colonial policy, relative to Pontiac's war, in which he took the +opposition side. This lost him the favor of the ministry, and with it all +hope of further promotion. + +He now determined to offer his services to Poland, supposed to be on the +verge of a war. Recommendations from his old commander, the Count de la +Lippe, procured him access to some of the continental courts. He was well +received by Frederick the Great, and had several conversations with him, +chiefly on American affairs. At Warsaw, his military reputation secured him +the favor of Poniatowsky, recently elected king of Poland, with the name of +Stanislaus Augustus, who admitted him to his table, and made him one of his +aides-de-camp. Lee was disappointed in his hope of active service. There +was agitation in the country, but the power of the king was not adequate to +raise forces sufficient for its suppression. He had few troops, and those +not trustworthy; and the town was full of the disaffected. "We have +frequent alarms," said Lee, "and the pleasure of sleeping every night with +our pistols on our pillows." + +By way of relieving his restlessness, Lee, at the suggestion of the king, +set off to accompany the Polish ambassador to Constantinople. The latter +travelled too slow for him; so he dashed ahead when on the frontiers of +Turkey, with an escort of the grand seignior's treasure; came near +perishing with cold and hunger among the Bulgarian mountains, and after his +arrival at the Turkish capital, ran a risk of being buried under the ruins +of his house in an earthquake. + +Late in the same year (1766), he was again in England, an applicant for +military appointment, bearing a letter from king Stanislaus to king George. +His meddling pen is supposed again to have marred his fortunes, having +indulged in sarcastic comments on the military character of General +Townshend and Lord George Sackville. "I am not at all surprised," said a +friend to him, "that you find the door shut against you by a person who has +such unbounded credit, as you have ever too freely indulged in a liberty of +declaiming, which many invidious persons have not failed to inform him of. +The principle on which you thus freely speak your mind, is honest and +patriotic, but not politic." + +The disappointments which Lee met with during a residence of two years in +England, and a protracted attendance on people in power, rankled in his +bosom, and embittered his subsequent resentment against the king and his +ministers. + +In 1768, he was again on his way to Poland, with the design of performing a +campaign in the Russian service. "I flatter myself," said he, "that a +little more practice will make me a good soldier. If not, it will serve to +talk over my kitchen fire in my old age, which will soon come upon us all." + +He now looked forward to spirited service. "I am to have a command of +Cossacks and Wallacks," writes he, "a kind of people I have a good opinion +of. I am determined not to serve in the line. One might as well be a +churchwarden." + +The friendship of king Stanislaus continued. "He treats me more like a +brother than a patron," said Lee. In 1769, the latter was raised to the +rank of major-general in the Polish army, and left Warsaw to join the +Russian force, which was crossing the Dniester and advancing into Moldavia. +He arrived in time to take part in a severe action between the Russians and +Turks, in which the Cossacks and hussars were terribly cut up by the +Turkish cavalry, in a ravine near the city of Chotzim. It was a long and +doubtful conflict, with various changes; but the rumored approach of the +grand vizier, with a hundred and seventy thousand men, compelled the +Russians to abandon the enterprise and recross the Dniester. + +Lee never returned to Poland, though he ever retained a devoted attachment +to Stanislaus. He for some time led a restless life about Europe--visiting +Italy, Sicily, Malta, and the south of Spain; troubled with attacks of +rheumatism, gout, and the effects of a "Hungarian fever." He had become +more and more cynical and irascible, and had more than one "affair of +honor," in one of which he killed his antagonist. His splenetic feelings, +as well as his political sentiments, were occasionally vented in severe +attacks upon the ministry, full of irony and sarcasm. They appeared in the +public journals, and gained him such reputation, that even the papers of +Junius were by some attributed to him. + +In the questions which had risen between England and her colonies, he had +strongly advocated the cause of the latter; and it was the feelings thus +excited, and the recollections, perhaps, of his early campaigns, that had +recently brought him to America. Here he had arrived in the latter part of +1773, had visited various parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, +taking an active part in the political agitations of the country. His +caustic attacks upon the ministry; his conversational powers and his +poignant sallies, had gained him great reputation; but his military renown +rendered him especially interesting at the present juncture. A general, who +had served in the famous campaigns of Europe, commanded Cossacks, fought +with Turks, talked with Frederick the Great, and been aide-de-camp to the +king of Poland, was a prodigious acquisition to the patriot cause! On the +other hand, his visit to Boston was looked upon with uneasiness by the +British officers, who knew his adventurous character. It was surmised that +he was exciting a spirit of revolt, with a view to putting himself at its +head. These suspicions found their way into the London papers, and alarmed +the British cabinet. "Have an attention to his conduct," writes Lord +Dartmouth to Gage, "and take every legal method to prevent his effecting +any of those dangerous purposes he is said to have in view." + +Lee, when subsequently informed of these suspicions, scoffed at them in a +letter to his friend, Edmund Burke, and declared that he had not the +"temerity and vanity" to aspire to the aims imputed to him. + +"To think myself qualified for the most important charge that ever was +committed to mortal man," writes he, "is the last stage of presumption; nor +do I think the Americans would, or ought to confide in a man, let his +qualifications be ever so great, who has no property among them. It is +true, I most devoutly wish them success in the glorious struggle; that I +have expressed my wishes both in writing and _viva voce_, but my +errand to Boston was mere curiosity to see a people in so singular +circumstances; and I had likewise an ambition to be acquainted with some of +their leading men; with them only I associated during my stay in Boston. +Our ingenious gentlemen in the camp, therefore, very naturally concluded my +design was to put myself at their head." + +To resume the course of events at Boston. Gage on the 1st of September, +before this popular agitation, had issued writs for an election of an +assembly to meet at Salem in October; seeing, however, the irritated state +of the public mind, he now countermanded the same by proclamation. The +people, disregarding the countermand, carried the election, and ninety of +the new members thus elected met at the appointed time. They waited a whole +day for the governor to attend, administer the oaths, and open the session; +but as he did not make his appearance, they voted themselves a provincial +Congress, and chose for president of it John Hancock,--a man of great +wealth, popular, and somewhat showy talents, and ardent patriotism; and +eminent from his social position. + +This self-constituted body adjourned to Concord, about twenty miles from +Boston; quietly assumed supreme authority, and issued a remonstrance to the +governor, virtually calling him to account for his military operations in +fortifying Boston Neck, and collecting warlike stores about him, thereby +alarming the fears of the whole province, and menacing the lives and +property of the Bostonians. + +General Gage, overlooking the irregularity of its organization, entered +into explanations with the Assembly, but failed to give satisfaction. As +winter approached, he found his situation more and more critical. Boston +was the only place in Massachusetts that now contained British forces, and +it had become the refuge of all the "_tories_" of the province; that +is to say, of all those devoted to the British government. There was +animosity between them and the principal inhabitants, among whom +revolutionary principles prevailed. The town itself, almost insulated by +nature, and surrounded by a hostile country, was like a place besieged. + +The provincial Congress conducted its affairs with the order and system so +formidable to General Gage. Having adopted a plan for organizing the +militia, it had nominated general officers, two of whom, Artemas Ward and +Seth Pomeroy, had accepted. + +The executive powers were vested in a committee of safety. This was to +determine when the services of the militia were necessary; was to call them +forth,--to nominate their officers to the Congress,--to commission them, +and direct the operations of the army. Another committee was appointed to +furnish supplies to the forces when called out; hence, named the Committee +of Supplies. + +Under such auspices, the militia went on arming and disciplining itself in +every direction. They associated themselves in large bodies, and engaged, +verbally or by writing, to assemble in arms at the shortest notice for the +common defence, subject to the orders of the committee of safety. + +Arrangements had been made for keeping up an active correspondence between +different parts of the country, and spreading an alarm in case of any +threatening danger. Under the direction of the committees just mentioned, +large quantities of military stores had been collected and deposited at +Concord and Worcester. + +This semi-belligerent state of affairs in Massachusetts produced a general +restlessness throughout the land. The weakhearted apprehended coming +troubles; the resolute prepared to brave them. Military measures, hitherto +confined to New England, extended to the middle and southern provinces, and +the roll of the drum resounded through the villages. + +Virginia was among the first to buckle on its armor. It had long been a +custom among its inhabitants to form themselves into independent companies, +equipped at their own expense, having their own peculiar uniform, and +electing their own officers, though holding themselves subject to militia +law. They had hitherto been self-disciplined; but now they continually +resorted to Washington for instruction and advice; considering him the +highest authority on military affairs. He was frequently called from home, +therefore, in the course of the winter and spring, to different parts of +the country to review independent companies; all of which were anxious to +put themselves under his command as field-officer. + +Mount Vernon, therefore, again assumed a military tone as in former days, +when he took his first lessons there in the art of war. He had his old +campaigning associates with him occasionally, Dr. Craik and Captain Hugh +Mercer, to talk of past scenes and discuss the possibility of future +service. Mercer was already bestirring himself in disciplining the militia +about Fredericksburg, where he resided. + +Two occasional and important guests at Mount Vernon, in this momentous +crisis, were General Charles Lee, of whom we have just spoken, and Major +Horatio Gates. As the latter is destined to occupy an important page in +this memoir, we will give a few particulars concerning him. He was an +Englishman by birth, the son of a captain in the British army. Horace +Walpole, whose Christian name he bore, speaks of him in one of his letters +as his godson, though some have insinuated that he stood in filial +relationship of a less sanctified character. He had received a liberal +education, and, when but twenty-one years of age, had served as a volunteer +under General Edward Cornwallis, Governor of Halifax. He was afterwards +captain of a New York independent company, with which, it may be +remembered, he marched in the campaign of Braddock, in which he was +severely wounded. For two or three subsequent years he was with his company +in the western part of the province of New York, receiving the appointment +of brigade major. He accompanied General Monckton as aide-de-camp to the +West Indies, and gained credit at the capture of Martinico. Being +despatched to London with tidings of the victory, he was rewarded by the +appointment of major to a regiment of foot; and afterwards, as a special +mark of royal favor, a majority in the Royal Americans. His promotion did +not equal his expectations and fancied deserts. He was married, and wanted +something more lucrative; so he sold out on half-pay and became an +applicant for some profitable post under government, which he hoped to +obtain through the influence of General Monckton and some friends in the +aristocracy. Thus several years were passed, partly with his family in +retirement, partly in London, paying court to patrons and men in power, +until, finding there was no likelihood of success, and having sold his +commission and half-pay, he emigrated to Virginia in 1772, a disappointed +man; purchased an estate in Berkeley County, beyond the Blue Ridge; +espoused the popular cause, and renewed his old campaigning acquaintance +with Washington. + +He was now about forty-six years of age, of a florid complexion and goodly +presence, though a little inclined to corpulency; social, insinuating, and +somewhat specious in his manners, with a strong degree of self-approbation. +A long course of solicitation; haunting public offices and antechambers, +and "knocking about town," had taught him, it was said, how to wheedle and +flatter, and accommodate himself to the humors of others, so as to be the +boon companion of gentlemen, and "hail fellow well met" with the vulgar. + +Lee, who was an old friend and former associate in arms, had recently been +induced by him to purchase an estate in his neighborhood in Berkeley +County, with a view to making it his abode, having a moderate competency, a +claim to land on the Ohio, and the half-pay of a British colonel. Both of +these officers, disappointed in the British service, looked forward +probably to greater success in the patriot cause. + +Lee had been at Philadelphia since his visit to Boston, and had made +himself acquainted with the leading members of Congress during the session. +He was evidently cultivating an intimacy with every one likely to have +influence in the approaching struggle. + +To Washington, the visits of these gentlemen were extremely welcome at this +juncture, from their military knowledge and experience, especially as much +of it had been acquired in America, in the same kind of warfare, if not the +very same campaigns in which he himself had mingled. Both were interested +in the popular cause. Lee was full of plans for the organization and +disciplining of the militia, and occasionally accompanied Washington in his +attendance on provincial reviews. He was subsequently very efficient at +Annapolis in promoting and superintending the organization of the Maryland +militia. + +It is doubtful whether the visits of Lee were as interesting to Mrs. +Washington as to the general. He was whimsical, eccentric, and at times +almost rude; negligent also, and slovenly in person and attire; for though +he had occasionally associated with kings and princes, he had also +campaigned with Mohawks and Cossacks, and seems to have relished their +"good breeding." What was still more annoying in a well regulated mansion, +he was always followed by a legion of dogs, which shared his affections +with his horses, and took their seats by him when at table. "I must have +some object to embrace," said he misanthropically. "When I can be convinced +that men are as worthy objects as dogs, I shall transfer my benevolence, +and become as staunch a philanthropist as the canting Addison affected to +be." [Footnote: Lee to Adams. Life and Works of Adams, ii., 414.] + +In his passion for horses and dogs, Washington, to a certain degree, could +sympathize with him, and had noble specimens of both in his stable and +kennel, which Lee doubtless inspected with a learned eye. During the season +in question, Washington, according to his diary, was occasionally in the +saddle at an early hour following the fox-hounds. It was the last time for +many a year that he was to gallop about his beloved hunting-grounds of +Mount Vernon and Belvoir. + +In the month of March the second Virginia convention was held at Richmond. +Washington attended as delegate from Fairfax County. In this assembly, +Patrick Henry, with his usual ardor and eloquence, advocated measures for +embodying, arming and disciplining a militia force, and providing for the +defence of the colony. "It is useless," said he, "to address further +petitions to government, or to await the effect of those already addressed +to the throne. The time for supplication is past; the time for action is at +hand. We must fight, Mr. Speaker," exclaimed he emphatically; "I repeat it, +sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms, and to the God of Hosts, is all that +is left us!" + +Washington joined him in the conviction, and was one of a committee that +reported a plan for carrying those measures into effect. He was not an +impulsive man to raise the battle cry, but the executive man to marshal the +troops into the field, and carry on the war. + +His brother, John Augustine, was raising and disciplining an independent +company; Washington offered to accept the command of it, _should occasion +require it to be drawn out_. He did the same with respect to an +independent company at Richmond. "It is my full intention, if needful," +writes he to his brother, "_to devote my life and fortune to the +cause_." [Footnote: Letter to John Augustine. Sparks, ii., 405.] + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +INFATUATION IN BRITISH COUNCILS--COLONEL GRANT, THE BRAGGART--COERCIVE +MEASURES--EXPEDITION AGAINST THE MILITARY MAGAZINE AT CONCORD--BATTLE OF +LEXINGTON--THE CRY OF BLOOD THROUGH THE LAND--OLD SOLDIERS OF THE FRENCH +WAR--JOHN STARK--ISRAEL PUTNAM--RISING OF THE YEOMANRY--MEASURES OF LORD +DUNMORE IN VIRGINIA--INDIGNATION OF THE VIRGINIANS--HUGH MERCER AND THE +FRIENDS OF LIBERTY--ARRIVAL OF THE NEWS OF LEXINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON-- +EFFECT ON BRYAN FAIRFAX, GATES, AND WASHINGTON. + + +While the spirit of revolt was daily gaining strength and determination in +America, a strange infatuation reigned in the British councils. While the +wisdom and eloquence of Chatham were exerted in vain in behalf of American +rights, an empty braggadocio, elevated to a seat in Parliament, was able to +captivate the attention of the members, and influence their votes by gross +misrepresentations of the Americans and their cause. This was no other than +Colonel Grant, the same shallow soldier who, exceeding his instructions, +had been guilty of a foolhardy bravado before the walls of Fort Duquesne, +which brought slaughter and defeat upon his troops. From misleading the +army, he was now promoted to a station where he might mislead the councils +of his country. We are told that he entertained Parliament, especially the +ministerial side of the House, with ludicrous stories of the cowardice of +Americans. He had served with them, he said, and knew them well, and would +venture to say they would never dare to face an English army; that they +were destitute of every requisite to make good soldiers, and that a very +slight force would be sufficient for their complete reduction. With five +regiments, he could march through all America! + +How often has England been misled to her cost by such slanderous +misrepresentations of the American character! Grant talked of having served +with the Americans; had he already forgotten that in the field of +Braddock's defeat, when the British regulars fled, it was alone the +desperate stand of a handful of Virginians, which covered their disgraceful +flight, and saved them from being overtaken and massacred by the savages? + +This taunting and braggart speech of Grant was made in the face of the +conciliatory bill of the venerable Chatham, devised with a view to redress +the wrongs of America. The councils of the arrogant and scornful prevailed; +and instead of the proposed bill, further measures of a stringent nature +were adopted, coercive of some of the middle and southern colonies, but +ruinous to the trade and fisheries of New England. + +At length the bolt, so long suspended, fell! The troops at Boston had been +augmented to about four thousand men. Goaded on by the instigations of the +tories, and alarmed by the energetic measures of the whigs, General Gage +now resolved to deal the latter a crippling blow. This was to surprise and +destroy their magazine of military stores at Concord, about twenty miles +from Boston. It was to be effected on the night of the 18th of April, by a +force detached for the purpose. + +Preparations were made with great secrecy. Boats for the transportation of +the troops were launched, and moored under the sterns of the men-of-war. +Grenadiers and light infantry were relieved from duty, and held in +readiness. On the 18th, officers were stationed on the roads leading from +Boston, to prevent any intelligence of the expedition getting into the +country. At night orders were issued by General Gage that no person should +leave the town. About ten o'clock, from eight to nine hundred men, +grenadiers, light infantry, and marines, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel +Smith, embarked in the boats at the foot of Boston Common, and crossed to +Lechmere Point, in Cambridge, whence they were to march silently, and +without beat of drum, to the place of destination. + +The measures of General Gage had not been shrouded in all the secrecy he +imagined. Mystery often defeats itself by the suspicions it awakens. Dr. +Joseph Warren, one of the committee of safety, had observed the preparatory +disposition of the boats and troops, and surmised some sinister intention. +He sent notice of these movements to John Hancock and Samuel Adams, both +members of the provincial Congress, but at that time privately sojourning +with a friend at Lexington. A design on the magazine at Concord was +suspected, and the committee of safety ordered that the cannon collected +there should be secreted, and part of the stores removed. + +On the night of the 18th, Dr. Warren sent off two messengers by different +routes to give the alarm that the king's troops were actually sallying +forth. The messengers got out of Boston just before the order of General +Gage went into effect, to prevent any one from leaving the town. About the +same time a lantern was hung out of an upper window of the north church, in +the direction of Charlestown. This was a preconcerted signal to the +patriots of that place, who instantly despatched swift messengers to rouse +the country. + +In the mean time, Colonel Smith set out on his nocturnal march from +Lechmere Point by an unfrequented path across marshes, where at times the +troops had to wade through water. He had proceeded but a few miles when +alarm guns, booming through the night air, and the clang of village bells, +showed that the news of his approach was travelling before him, and the +people were rising. He now sent back to General Gage for a reinforcement, +while Major Pitcairne was detached with six companies to press forward, and +secure the bridges at Concord. + +Pitcairn advanced rapidly, capturing every one that he met, or overtook. +Within a mile and half of Lexington, however, a horseman was too quick on +the spur for him, and galloping to the village, gave the alarm that the +redcoats were coming. Drums were beaten; guns fired. By the time that +Pitcairn entered the village, about seventy or eighty of the yeomanry, in +military array, were mustered on the green near the church. It was a part +of the "constitutional army," pledged to resist by force any open hostility +of British troops. Besides these, there were a number of lookers on, armed +and unarmed. + +The sound of drum, and the array of men in arms, indicated a hostile +determination. Pitcairn halted his men within a short distance of the +church, and ordered them to prime and load. They then advanced at double +quick time. The major, riding forward, waved his sword, and ordered the +rebels, as he termed them, to disperse. Other of the officers echoed his +words as they advanced: "Disperse, ye villains! Lay down your arms, ye +rebels, and disperse!" The orders were disregarded. A scene of confusion +ensued, with firing on both sides; which party commenced it, has been a +matter of dispute. Pitcairn always maintained that, finding the militia +would not disperse, he turned to order his men to draw out, and surround +them, when he saw a flash in the pan from the gun of a countryman posted +behind a wall, and almost instantly the report of two or three muskets. +These he supposed to be from the Americans, as his horse was wounded, as +was also a soldier close by him. His troops rushed on, and a promiscuous +fire took place, though, as he declared, he made repeated signals with his +sword for his men to forbear. + +The firing of the Americans was irregular, and without much effect; that of +the British was more fatal. Eight of the patriots were killed, and ten +wounded, and the whole put to flight. The victors formed on the common, +fired a volley, and gave three cheers for one of the most inglorious and +disastrous triumphs ever achieved by British arms. + +Colonel Smith soon arrived with the residue of the detachment, and they all +marched on towards Concord, about six miles distant. + +The alarm had reached that place in the dead hour of the preceding night. +The church bell roused the inhabitants. They gathered together in anxious +consultation. The militia and minute men seized their arms, and repaired to +the parade ground, near the church. Here they were subsequently joined by +armed yeomanry from Lincoln, and elsewhere. Exertions were now made to +remove and conceal the military stores. A scout, who had been sent out for +intelligence, brought word that the British had fired upon the people at +Lexington, and were advancing upon Concord. There was great excitement and +indignation. Part of the militia marched down the Lexington road to meet +them, but returned, reporting their force to be three times that of the +Americans. The whole of the militia now retired to an eminence about a mile +from the centre of the town, and formed themselves into two battalions. + +About seven o'clock, the British came in sight, advancing with quick step, +their arms glittering in the morning sun. They entered in two divisions by +different roads. Concord is traversed by a river of the same name, having +two bridges, the north and the south. The grenadiers and light infantry +took post in the centre of the town, while strong parties of light troops +were detached to secure the bridges, and destroy the military stores. Two +hours were expended in the work of destruction without much success, so +much of the stores having been removed, or concealed. During all this time +the yeomanry from the neighboring towns were hurrying in with such weapons +as were at hand, and joining the militia on the height, until the little +cloud of war gathering there numbered about four hundred and fifty. + +About ten o'clock, a body of three hundred undertook to dislodge the +British from the north bridge. As they approached, the latter fired upon +them, killing two, and wounding a third. The patriots returned the fire +with spirit and effect. The British retreated to the main body, the +Americans pursuing them across the bridge. + +By this time all the military stores which could be found had been +destroyed; Colonel Smith, therefore, made preparations for a retreat. The +scattered troops were collected, the dead were buried, and conveyances +procured for the wounded. About noon he commenced his retrograde march for +Boston. It was high time. His troops were jaded by the night march, and the +morning's toils and skirmishings. + +The country was thoroughly alarmed. The yeomanry were hurrying from every +quarter to the scene of action. As the British began their retreat, the +Americans began the work of sore and galling retaliation. Along the open +road, the former were harassed incessantly by rustic marksmen, who took +deliberate aim from behind trees, or over stone fences. Where the road +passed through woods, the British found themselves between two fires, dealt +by unseen foes, the minute men having posted themselves on each side among +the bushes. It was in vain they threw out flankers, and endeavored to +dislodge their assailants; each pause gave time for other pursuers to come +within reach, and open attacks from different quarters. For several miles +they urged their way along woody defiles, or roads skirted with fences and +stone walls, the retreat growing more and more disastrous; some were shot +down, some gave out through mere exhaustion; the rest hurried on, without +stopping to aid the fatigued, or wounded. Before reaching Lexington, +Colonel Smith received a severe wound in the leg, and the situation of the +retreating troops was becoming extremely critical, when, about two o'clock, +they were met by Lord Percy, with a brigade of one thousand men, and two +field-pieces. His lordship had been detached from Boston about nine o'clock +by General Gage, in compliance with Colonel Smith's urgent call for a +reinforcement, and had marched gaily through Roxbury to the tune of "Yankee +Doodle," in derision of the "rebels." He now found the latter a more +formidable foe than he had anticipated. Opening his brigade to the right +and left, he received the retreating troops into a hollow square; where, +fainting and exhausted, they threw themselves on the ground to rest. His +lordship showed no disposition to advance upon their assailants, but +contented himself with keeping them at bay with his field-pieces, which +opened a vigorous fire from an eminence. + +Hitherto the Provincials, being hasty levies, without a leader, had acted +from individual impulse, without much concert; but now General Heath was +upon the ground. He was one of those authorized to take command when the +minute men should be called out. That class of combatants promptly obeyed +his orders, and he was efficacious in rallying them, and bringing them into +military order, when checked and scattered by the fire of the field-pieces. + +Dr. Warren, also, arrived on horseback, having spurred from Boston on +receiving news of the skirmishing. In the subsequent part of the day, he +was one of the most active and efficient men in the field. His presence, +like that of General Heath, regulated the infuriated ardor of the militia, +and brought it into system. + +Lord Percy, having allowed the troops a short interval for repose and +refreshment, continued the retreat toward Boston. As soon as he got under +march, the galling assault by the pursuing yeomanry was recommenced in +flank and rear. The British soldiery, irritated in turn, acted as if in an +enemy's country. Houses and shops were burnt down in Lexington; private +dwellings along the road were plundered, and their inhabitants maltreated. +In one instance, an unoffending invalid was wantonly slain in his own +house. All this increased the exasperation of the yeomanry. There was +occasional sharp skirmishing, with bloodshed on both sides, but in general +a dogged pursuit, where the retreating troops were galled at every step. +Their march became more and more impeded by the number of their wounded. +Lord Percy narrowly escaped death from a musket-ball, which struck off a +button of his waistcoat. One of his officers remained behind wounded in +West Cambridge. His ammunition was failing as he approached Charlestown. +The provincials pressed upon him in rear, others were advancing from +Roxbury, Dorchester, and Milton; Colonel Pickering, with the Essex militia, +seven hundred strong, was at hand; there was danger of being intercepted in +the retreat to Charlestown. The field-pieces were again brought into play, +to check the ardor of the pursuit; but they were no longer objects of +terror. The sharpest firing of the provincials was near Prospect Hill, as +the harassed enemy hurried along the Charlestown road, eager to reach the +Neck, and get under cover of their ships. The pursuit terminated a little +after sunset, at Charlestown Common, where General Heath brought the minute +men to a halt. Within half an hour more, a powerful body of men, from +Marblehead and Salem, came up to join in the chase. "If the retreat," +writes Washington, "had not been as precipitate as it was,--and God knows +it could not well have been more so,--the ministerial troops must have +surrendered, or been totally cut off." + +The distant firing from the mainland had reached the British at Boston. The +troops which, in the morning, had marched through Roxbury, to the tune of +Yankee Doodle, might have been seen at sunset, hounded along the old +Cambridge road to Charlestown Neck, by mere armed yeomanry. Gage was +astounded at the catastrophe. It was but a short time previous that one of +his officers, in writing to friends in England, scoffed at the idea of the +Americans taking up arms. "Whenever it comes to blows," said he, "he that +can run the fastest, will think himself well off, believe me. Any two +regiments here ought to be decimated, if they did not beat in the field the +whole force of the Massachusetts province." How frequently, throughout this +Revolution, had the English to pay the penalty of thus undervaluing the +spirit they were provoking! + +In this memorable affair, the British loss was seventy-three killed, one +hundred and seventy-four wounded, and twenty-six missing. Among the slain +were eighteen officers. The loss of the Americans was forty-nine killed, +thirty-nine wounded, and five missing. This was the first blood shed in the +revolutionary struggle; a mere drop in amount, but a deluge in its +effects,--rending the colonies for ever from the mother country. + +The cry of blood from the field of Lexington, went through the land. None +felt the appeal more than the old soldiers of the French war. It roused +John Stark, of New Hampshire--a trapper and hunter in his youth, a veteran +in Indian warfare, a campaigner under Abercrombie and Amherst, now the +military oracle of a rustic neighborhood. Within ten minutes after +receiving the alarm, he was spurring towards the sea-coast, and on the way +stirring up the volunteers of the Massachusetts borders, to assemble +forthwith at Bedford, in the vicinity of Boston. + +Equally alert was his old comrade in frontier exploits, Colonel Israel +Putnam. A man on horseback, with a drum, passed through his neighborhood in +Connecticut, proclaiming British violence at Lexington. Putnam was in the +field ploughing, assisted by his son. In an instant the team was unyoked; +the plough left in the furrow; the lad sent home to give word of his +father's departure; and Putnam, on horseback, in his working garb, urging +with all speed to the camp. Such was the spirit aroused throughout the +country. The sturdy yeomanry, from all parts, were hastening toward Boston +with such weapons as were at hand; and happy was he who could command a +rusty fowling-piece and a powder-horn. + +The news reached Virginia at a critical moment. Lord Dunmore, obeying a +general order issued by the ministry to all the provincial governors, had +seized upon the military munitions of the province. Here was a similar +measure to that of Gage. The cry went forth that the subjugation of the +colonies was to be attempted. All Virginia was in combustion. The standard +of liberty was reared in every county; there was a general cry to arms. +Washington was looked to, from various quarters, to take command. His old +comrade in arms, Hugh Mercer, was about marching down to Williamsburg at +the head of a body of resolute men, seven hundred strong, entitled "The +friends of constitutional liberty and America," whom he had organized and +drilled in Fredericksburg, and nothing but a timely concession of Lord +Dunmore, with respect to some powder which he had seized, prevented his +being beset in his palace. + +Before Hugh Mercer and the Friends of Liberty disbanded themselves, they +exchanged a mutual pledge to reassemble at a moment's warning, whenever +called on to defend the liberty and rights of this or any other sister +colony. + +Washington was at Mount Vernon, preparing to set out for Philadelphia as a +delegate to the second Congress, when he received tidings of the affair at +Lexington. Bryan Fairfax and Major Horatio Gates were his guests at the +time. They all regarded the event as decisive in its consequences; but they +regarded it with different feelings. The worthy and gentle-spirited Fairfax +deplored it deeply. He foresaw that it must break up all his pleasant +relations in life; arraying his dearest friends against the government to +which, notwithstanding the errors of its policy, he was loyally attached +and resolved to adhere. + +Gates, on the contrary, viewed it with the eye of a soldier and a +place-hunter--hitherto disappointed in both capacities. This event promised +to open a new avenue to importance and command, and he determined to enter +upon it. + +Washington's feelings were of a mingled nature. They may be gathered from a +letter to his friend and neighbor, George William Fairfax, then in England, +in which he lays the blame of this "deplorable affair" on the ministry and +their military agents; and concludes with the following words, in which the +yearnings of the patriot give affecting solemnity to the implied resolve of +the soldier: "Unhappy it is to reflect that a brother's sword has been +sheathed in a brother's breast; and that the once happy and peaceful plains +of America, are to be either drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. +Sad alternative! _But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?_" + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +ENLISTING OF TROOPS IN THE EAST--CAMP AT BOSTON--GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD-- +SCHEME TO SURPRISE TICONDEROGA--NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS--ETHAN ALLEN AND THE +GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS--BENEDICT ARNOLD--AFFAIR OF TICONDEROGA AND CROWN +POINT--A DASH AT ST. JOHN'S. + + +At the eastward, the march of the Revolution went on with accelerated +speed. Thirty thousand men had been deemed necessary for the defence of the +country. The provincial Congress of Massachusetts resolved to raise +thirteen thousand six hundred, as its quota. Circular letters, also, were +issued by the committee of safety, urging the towns to enlist troops with +all speed, and calling for military aid from the other New England +provinces. + +Their appeals were promptly answered. Bodies of militia, and parties of +volunteers from New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut, hastened to +join the minute men of Massachusetts in forming a camp in the neighborhood +of Boston. With the troops of Connecticut, came Israel Putnam; having +recently raised a regiment in that province, and received from its Assembly +the commission of brigadier-general. Some of his old comrades in French and +Indian warfare, had hastened to join his standard. Such were two of his +captains, Durkee and Knowlton. The latter, who was his especial favorite, +had fought by his side when a mere boy. + +The command of the camp was given to General Artemas Ward, already +mentioned. He was a native of Shrewsbury, in Massachusetts, and a veteran +of the seven years' war--having served as lieutenant-colonel under +Abercrombie. He had, likewise, been a member of the legislative bodies, and +had recently been made, by the provincial Congress of Massachusetts, +commander-in-chief of its forces. + +As affairs were now drawing to a crisis, and war was considered inevitable, +some bold spirits in Connecticut conceived a project for the outset. This +was the surprisal of the old forts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, already +famous in the French war. Their situation on Lake Champlain gave them the +command of the main route to Canada; so that the possession of them would +be all-important in case of hostilities. They were feebly garrisoned and +negligently guarded, and abundantly furnished with artillery and military +stores, so much needed by the patriot army. + +This scheme was set on foot in the purlieus, as it were, of the provincial +Legislature of Connecticut, then in session. It was not openly sanctioned +by that body, but secretly favored, and money lent from the treasury to +those engaged in it. A committee was appointed, also, to accompany them to +the frontier, aid them in raising troops, and exercise over them, a degree +of superintendence and control. + +Sixteen men were thus enlisted in Connecticut, a greater number in +Massachusetts, but the greatest accession of force, was from what was +called the "New Hampshire Grants." This was a region having the Connecticut +River on one side, and Lake Champlain and the Hudson River on the +other--being, in fact, the country forming the present State of Vermont. It +had long been a disputed territory, claimed by New York and New Hampshire. +George II. had decided in favor of New York; but the Governor of New +Hampshire had made grants of between one and two hundred townships in it, +whence it had acquired the name of the New Hampshire Grants. The settlers +on those grants resisted the attempts of New York to eject them, and formed +themselves into an association, called "The Green Mountain Boys." Resolute, +strong-handed fellows they were, with Ethan Allen at their head, a native +of Connecticut, but brought up among the Green Mountains. He and his +lieutenants, Seth Warner and Remember Baker, were outlawed by the +Legislature of New York, and rewards offered for their apprehension. They +and their associates armed themselves, set New York at defiance, and swore +they would be the death of any one who should attempt their arrest. + +Thus Ethan Allen was becoming a kind of Robin Hood among the mountains, +when the present crisis changed the relative position of things as if by +magic. Boundary feuds were forgotten amid the great questions of colonial +rights. Ethan Allen at once stepped forward, a patriot, and volunteered +with his Green Mountain Boys to serve in the popular cause. He was well +fitted for the enterprise in question, by his experience as a frontier +champion, his robustness of mind and body, and his fearless spirit. He had +a kind of rough eloquence, also, that was very effective with his +followers. "His style," says one, who knew him personally, "was a singular +compound of local barbarisms, scriptural phrases, and oriental wildness; +and though unclassic, and sometimes ungrammatical, was highly animated and +forcible." Washington, in one of his letters, says there was "an original +something in him which commanded admiration." + +Thus reinforced, the party, now two hundred and seventy strong, pushed +forward to Castleton, a place within a few miles of the head of Lake +Champlain. Here a council of war was held on the 2d of May. Ethan Allen was +placed at the head of the expedition, with James Easton and Seth Warner as +second and third in command. Detachments were sent off to Skenesborough +(now Whitehall), and another place on the lake, with orders to seize all +the boats they could find and bring them to Shoreham, opposite Ticonderoga, +whither Allen prepared to proceed with the main body. + +At this juncture, another adventurous spirit arrived at Castleton. This was +BENEDICT ARNOLD, since so sadly renowned. He, too, had conceived the +project of surprising Ticonderoga and Crown Point; or, perhaps, had caught +the idea from its first agitators in Connecticut,--in the militia of which +province he held a captain's commission. He had proposed the scheme to the +Massachusetts committee of safety. It had met with their approbation. They +had given him a colonel's commission, authorized him to raise a force in +Western Massachusetts, not exceeding four hundred men, and furnished him +with money and means. Arnold had enlisted but a few officers and men when +he heard of the expedition from Connecticut being on the march. He +instantly hurried on with one attendant to overtake it, leaving his few +recruits to follow, as best they could: in this way he reached Castleton +just after the council of war. + +Producing the colonel's commission received from the Massachusetts +committee of safety, he now aspired to the supreme command. His claims were +disregarded by the Green Mountain Boys; they would follow no leader but +Ethan Allen. As they formed the majority of the party, Arnold was fain to +acquiesce, and serve as a volunteer, with the rank, but not the command of +colonel. + +The party arrived at Shoreham, opposite Ticonderoga, on the night of the +9th of May. The detachment sent in quest of boats had failed to arrive. +There were a few boats at hand, with which the transportation was +commenced. It was slow work; the night wore away; day was about to break, +and but eighty-three men, with Allen and Arnold, had crossed. Should they +wait for the residue, day would dawn, the garrison wake, and their +enterprise might fail. Allen drew up his men, addressed them in his own +emphatic style, and announced his intention to make a dash at the fort +without waiting for more force. "It is a desperate attempt," said he, "and +I ask no man to go against his will. I will take the lead, and be the first +to advance. You that are willing to follow, poise your firelocks." Not a +firelock but was poised. + +They mounted the hill briskly, but in silence, guided by a boy from the +neighborhood. The day dawned as Allen arrived at a sally port. A sentry +pulled trigger on him, but his piece missed fire. He retreated through a +covered way. Allen and his men followed. Another sentry thrust at Easton +with his bayonet, but was struck down by Allen, and begged for quarter. It +was granted on condition of his leading the way instantly to the quarters +of the commandant, Captain Delaplace, who was yet in bed. Being arrived +there, Allen thundered at the door, and demanded a surrender of the fort. +By this time his followers had formed into two lines on the parade-ground, +and given three hearty cheers. The commandant appeared at his door +half-dressed, "the frightened face of his pretty wife peering over his +shoulder." He gazed at Allen in bewildered astonishment. "By whose +authority do you act?" exclaimed he. "In the name of the great Jehovah, and +the Continental Congress!" replied Allen, with a flourish of his sword, and +an oath which we do not care to subjoin. + +There was no disputing the point. The garrison, like the commander, had +been startled from sleep, and made prisoners as they rushed forth in their +confusion. A surrender accordingly took place. The captain, and forty-eight +men, which composed his garrison, were sent prisoners to Hartford, in +Connecticut. A great supply of military and naval stores, so important in +the present crisis, was found in the fortress. + +Colonel Seth Warner, who had brought over the residue of the party from +Shoreham, was now sent with a detachment against Crown Point, which +surrendered on the 12th of May, without firing a gun; the whole garrison +being a sergeant and twelve men. Here were taken upward of a hundred +cannon. + +Arnold now insisted vehemently on his right to command Ticonderoga; being, +as he said, the only officer invested with legal authority. His claims had +again to yield to the superior popularity of Ethan Allen, to whom the +Connecticut committee, which had accompanied the enterprise, gave an +instrument in writing, investing him with the command of the fortress, and +its dependencies, until he should receive the orders of the Connecticut +Assembly, or the Continental Congress. Arnold, while forced to acquiesce, +sent a protest, and a statement of his grievances to the Massachusetts +Legislature. In the mean time, his chagrin was appeased by a new project. +The detachment originally sent to seize upon boats at Skenesborough, +arrived with a schooner, and several bateaux. It was immediately concerted +between Allen and Arnold to cruise in them down the lake, and surprise St. +John's, on the Sorel River, the frontier post of Canada. The schooner was +accordingly armed with cannon from the fort. Arnold, who had been a seaman +in his youth, took the command of her, while Allen and his Green Mountain +Boys embarked in the bateaux. + +Arnold outsailed the other craft, and arriving at St. John's, surprised and +made prisoners of a sergeant and twelve men; captured a king's sloop of +seventy tons, with two brass six-pounders and seven men; took four bateaux, +destroyed several others, and then, learning that troops were on the way +from Montreal and Chamblee, spread all his sails to a favoring breeze, and +swept up the lake with his prizes and prisoners, and some valuable stores, +which he had secured. + +He had not sailed far when he met Ethan Allen and the bateaux. Salutes were +exchanged; cannon on one side, musketry on the other. Allen boarded the +sloop; learnt from Arnold the particulars of his success, and determined to +push on, take possession of St. John's, and garrison it with one hundred of +his Green Mountain Boys. He was foiled in the attempt by the superior force +which had arrived; so he returned to his station at Ticonderoga. + +Thus a partisan band, unpractised in the art of war, had, by a series of +daring exploits, and almost without the loss of a man, won for the patriots +the command of Lakes George and Champlain, and thrown open the great +highway to Canada. + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + +SECOND SESSION OF CONGRESS--JOHN HANCOCK--PETITION TO THE KING--FEDERAL +UNION--MILITARY MEASURES--DEBATES ABOUT THE ARMY--QUESTION AS TO +COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF--APPOINTMENT OF WASHINGTON--OTHER APPOINTMENTS--LETTERS +OF WASHINGTON TO HIS WIFE AND BROTHER--PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE. + + +The second General Congress assembled at Philadelphia on the 10th of May. +Peyton Randolph was again elected as president; but being obliged to +return, and occupy his place as speaker of the Virginia Assembly, John +Hancock, of Massachusetts, was elevated to the chair. + +A lingering feeling of attachment to the mother country, struggling with +the growing spirit of self-government, was manifested in the proceedings of +this remarkable body. Many of those most active in vindicating colonial +rights, and Washington among the number, still indulged the hope of an +eventual reconciliation, while few entertained, or, at least, avowed the +idea of complete independence. + +A second "humble and dutiful" petition to the king was moved, but met with +strong opposition. John Adams condemned it as an imbecile measure, +calculated to embarrass the proceedings of Congress. He was for prompt and +vigorous action. Other members concurred with him. Indeed, the measure +itself seemed but a mere form, intended to reconcile the half-scrupulous; +for subsequently, when it was carried, Congress, in face of it, went on to +assume and exercise the powers of a sovereign authority. A federal union +was formed, leaving to each colony the right of regulating its internal +affairs according to its own individual constitution, but vesting in +Congress the power of making peace or war; of entering into treaties and +alliances; of regulating general commerce; in a word, of legislating on all +such matters as regarded the security and welfare of the whole community. + +The executive power was to be vested in a council of twelve, chosen by +Congress from among its own members, and to hold office for a limited time. +Such colonies as had not sent delegates to Congress, might yet become +members of the confederacy by agreeing to its conditions. Georgia, which +had hitherto hesitated, soon joined the league, which thus extended from +Nova Scotia to Florida. + +Congress lost no time in exercising their federated powers. In virtue of +them, they ordered the enlistment of troops, the construction of forts in +various parts of the colonies, the provision of arms, ammunition, and +military stores; while to defray the expense of these, and other measures, +avowedly of self-defence, they authorized the emission of notes to the +amount of three millions of dollars, bearing the inscription of "The United +Colonies;" the faith of the confederacy being pledged for their redemption. + +A retaliating decree was passed, prohibiting all supplies of provisions to +the British fisheries; and another, declaring the province of Massachusetts +Bay absolved from its compact with the crown, by the violation of its +charter; and recommending it to form an internal government for itself. + +The public sense of Washington's military talents and experience, was +evinced in his being chairman of all the committees appointed for military +affairs. Most of the rules and regulations for the army, and the measures +for defence, were devised by him. + +The situation of the New England army, actually besieging Boston, became an +early and absorbing consideration. It was without munitions of war, without +arms, clothing, or pay; in fact, without legislative countenance or +encouragement. Unless sanctioned and assisted by Congress, there was danger +of its dissolution. If dissolved, how could another be collected? If +dissolved, what would there be to prevent the British from sallying out of +Boston, and spreading desolation throughout the country? + +All this was the subject of much discussion out of doors. The disposition +to uphold the army was general; but the difficult question was, who should +be commander-in-chief? Adams, in his diary, gives us glimpses of the +conflict of opinions and interests within doors. There was a southern +party, he said, which could not brook the idea of a New England army, +commanded by a New England general. "Whether this jealousy was sincere," +writes he, "or whether it was mere pride, and a haughty ambition of +furnishing a southern general to command the northern army, I cannot say; +but the intention was very visible to me, that Colonel Washington was their +object; and so many of our stanchest men were in the plan, that we could +carry nothing without conceding to it. There was another embarrassment, +which was never publicly known, and which was carefully concealed by those +who knew it: the Massachusetts and other New England delegates were +divided. Mr. Hancock and Mr. Cushing hung back; Mr. Paine did not come +forward, and even Mr. Samuel Adams was irresolute. Mr. Hancock himself had +an ambition to be appointed commander-in-chief. Whether he thought an +election a compliment due to him, and intended to have the honor of +declining it, or whether he would have accepted it, I know not. To the +compliment, he had some pretensions; for, at that time, his exertions, +sacrifices, and general merits in the cause of his country, had been +incomparably greater than those of Colonel Washington. But the delicacy of +his health, and his entire want of experience in actual service, though an +excellent militia officer, were decisive objections to him in my mind." + +General Charles Lee was at that time in Philadelphia. His former visit had +made him well acquainted with the leading members of Congress. The active +interest he had manifested in the cause was well known, and the public had +an almost extravagant idea of his military qualifications. He was of +foreign birth, however, and it was deemed improper to confide the supreme +command to any but a native-born American. In fact, if he was sincere in +what we have quoted from his letter to Burke, he did not aspire to such a +signal mark of confidence. + +The opinion evidently inclined in favor of Washington; yet it was promoted +by no clique of partisans or admirers. More than one of the Virginia +delegates, says Adams, were cool on the subject of this appointment; and +particularly Mr. Pendleton, was clear and full against it. It is scarcely +necessary to add, that Washington in this, as in every other situation in +life, made no step in advance to clutch the impending honor. + +Adams, in his diary, claims the credit of bringing the members of Congress +to a decision. Rising in his place, one day, and stating briefly, but +earnestly, the exigencies of the case, he moved that Congress should adopt +the army at Cambridge, and appoint a general. Though this was not the time +to nominate the person, "yet," adds he, "as I had reason to believe this +was a point of some difficulty, I had no hesitation to declare, that I had +but one gentleman in my mind for that important command, and that was a +gentleman from Virginia, who was among us and very well known to all of us; +a gentleman, whose skill and experience as an officer, whose independent +fortune, great talents, and excellent universal character would command the +approbation of all America, and unite the cordial exertions of all the +colonies better than any other person in the Union. Mr. Washington, who +happened to sit near the door, as soon as he heard me allude to him, from +his usual modesty, darted into the library-room. Mr. Hancock, who was our +president, which gave me an opportunity to observe his countenance, while I +was speaking on the state of the colonies, the army at Cambridge, and the +enemy, heard me with visible pleasure; but when I came to describe +Washington for the commander, I never remarked a more sudden and striking +change of countenance. Mortification and resentment were expressed as +forcibly as his face could exhibit them." + +"When the subject came under debate, several delegates opposed the +appointment of Washington; not from personal objections, but because the +army were all from New England, and had a general of their own, General +Artemas Ward, with whom they appeared well satisfied; and under whose +command they had proved themselves able to imprison the British army in +Boston; which was all that was to be expected or desired." + +The subject was postponed to a future day. In the interim, pains were taken +out of doors to obtain a unanimity, and the voices were in general so +clearly in favor of Washington, that the dissentient members were persuaded +to withdraw their opposition. + +On the 15th of June, the army was regularly adopted by Congress, and the +pay of the Commander-in-chief fixed at five hundred dollars a month. Many +still clung to the idea, that in all these proceedings they were merely +opposing the measures of the ministry, and not the authority of the crown, +and thus the army before Boston was designated as the Continental Army, in +contradistinction to that under General Gage, which was called the +Ministerial Army. + +In this stage of the business Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, rose, and nominated +Washington for the station of commander-in-chief. The election was by +ballot, and was unanimous. It was formally announced to him by the +president, on the following day, when he had taken his seat in Congress. +Rising in his place, he briefly expressed his high and grateful sense of +the honor conferred on him, and his sincere devotion to the cause. "But," +added he, "lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my +reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room, that +I this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal +to the command I am honored with. As to pay, I beg leave to assure the +Congress that, as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to +accept this arduous employment, at the expense of my domestic ease and +happiness, I do not wish to make any profit of it. I will keep an exact +account of my expenses. Those, I doubt not, they will discharge, and that +is all I desire." + +"There is something charming to me in the conduct of Washington," writes +Adams to a friend; "a gentleman of one of the first fortunes upon the +continent, leaving his delicious retirement, his family and friends, +sacrificing his ease, and hazarding all, in the cause of his country. His +views are noble and disinterested. He declared, when he accepted the mighty +trust, that he would lay before us an exact account of his expenses, and +not accept a shilling of pay." + +Four major-generals were to be appointed. Among those specified were +General Charles Lee and General Ward. Mr. Mifflin, of Philadelphia, who was +Lee's especial friend and admirer, urged that he should be second in +command. "General Lee," said he, "would serve cheerfully under Washington; +but considering his rank, character, and experience, could not be expected +to serve under any other. He must be _aut secundus, aut nullus_." + +Adams, on the other hand, as strenuously objected that it would be a great +deal to expect that General Ward, who was actually in command of the army +in Boston, should serve under any man; but under a stranger he ought not to +serve. General Ward, accordingly, was elected the second in command, and +Lee the third. The other two major-generals were, Philip Schuyler, of New +York, and Israel Putnam, of Connecticut. Eight brigadier-generals were +likewise appointed; Seth Pomeroy, Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, +William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathaniel +Greene. + +Notwithstanding Mr. Mifflin's objection to having Lee ranked under Ward, as +being beneath his dignity and merits, he himself made no scruple to +acquiesce; though, judging from his supercilious character, and from +circumstances in his subsequent conduct, he no doubt considered himself +vastly superior to the provincial officers placed over him. + +At Washington's express request, his old friend, Major Horatio Gates, then +absent at his estate in Virginia, was appointed adjutant-general, with the +rank of brigadier. + +Adams, according to his own account, was extremely loth to admit either Lee +or Gates into the American service, although he considered them officers of +great experience and confessed abilities. He apprehended difficulties, he +said, from the "natural prejudices and virtuous attachment of our +countrymen to their own officers." "But," adds he, "considering the earnest +desire of General Washington to have the assistance of those officers, the +extreme attachment of many of our best friends in the southern colonies to +them, the reputation they would give to our arms in Europe, and especially +with the ministerial generals and army in Boston, as well as the real +American merit of both, I could not withhold my vote from either." + +The reader will possibly call these circumstances to mind when, on a future +page, he finds how Lee and Grates requited the friendship to which chiefly +they owed their appointments. + +In this momentous change in his condition, which suddenly altered all his +course of life, and called him immediately to the camp, Washington's +thoughts recurred to Mount Vernon, and its rural delights, so dear to his +heart, whence he was to be again exiled. His chief concern, however, was on +account of the distress it might cause to his wife. His letter to her on +the subject is written in a tone of manly tenderness. "You may believe me," +writes he, "when I assure you, in the most solemn manner, that, so far from +seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid +it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and the family, but +from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity; and I +should enjoy more real happiness in one month with you at home than I have +the most distant prospect of finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven +times seven years. But as it has been a kind of destiny that has thrown me +upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking it is designed to +answer some good purpose. ... + +"I shall rely confidently on that Providence which has heretofore +preserved, and been bountiful to me, not doubting but that I shall return +safe to you in the Fall. I shall feel no pain from the toil or danger of +the campaign; my unhappiness will flow from the uneasiness I know you will +feel from being left alone. I therefore beg that you will summon your whole +fortitude, and pass your time as agreeably as possible. Nothing will give +me so much sincere satisfaction as to hear this, and to hear it from your +own pen." + +And to his favorite brother, John Augustine, he writes: "I am now to bid +adieu to you, and to every kind of domestic ease, for a while. I am +embarked on a wide ocean, boundless in its prospect, and in which, perhaps, +no safe harbor is to be found. I have been called upon by the unanimous +voice of the colonies to take the command of the continental army; an honor +I neither sought after, nor desired, as I am thoroughly convinced that it +requires great abilities, and much more experience, than I am master of." +And subsequently, referring to his wife: "I shall hope that my friends will +visit, and endeavor to keep up the spirits of my wife as much as they can, +for my departure will, I know, be a cutting stroke upon her; and on this +account alone I have many disagreeable sensations." + +On the 20th of June, he received his commission from the president of +Congress. The following day was fixed upon for his departure for the army. +He reviewed previously, at the request of their officers, several militia +companies of horse and foot. Every one was anxious to see the new +commander, and rarely has the public _beau ideal_ of a commander been +so fully answered. He was now in the vigor of his days, forty-three years +of age, stately in person, noble in his demeanor, calm and dignified in his +deportment; as he sat his horse, with manly grace, his military presence +delighted every eye, and wherever he went the air rang with acclamations. + +[Illustration] + + + +CHAPTER XL. + +MORE TROOPS ARRIVE AT BOSTON--GENERALS HOWE, BURGOYNE, AND CLINTON-- +PROCLAMATION OF GAGE--NATURE OF THE AMERICAN ARMY--SCORNFUL CONDUCT OF THE +BRITISH OFFICERS--PROJECT OF THE AMERICANS TO SEIZE UPON BREED'S HILL-- +PUTNAM'S OPINION OF IT--SANCTIONED BY PRESCOTT--NOCTURNAL MARCH OF THE +DETACHMENT--FORTIFYING OF BUNKER'S HILL--BREAK OF DAY, AND ASTONISHMENT OF +THE ENEMY. + + +While Congress had been deliberating on the adoption of the army, and the +nomination of a commander-in-chief, events had been thickening and drawing +to a crisis in the excited region about Boston. The provincial troops which +blockaded the town prevented supplies by land, the neighboring country +refused to furnish them by water; fresh provisions and vegetables were no +longer to be procured, and Boston began to experience the privations of a +besieged city. + +On the 25th of May, arrived ships of war and transports from England, +bringing large reinforcements, under Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Henry +Clinton, commanders of high reputation. + +As the ships entered the harbor, and the "rebel camp" was pointed out, ten +thousand yeomanry beleaguering a town garrisoned by five thousand regulars, +Burgoyne could not restrain a burst of surprise and scorn. "What!" cried +he, "ten thousand peasants keep five thousand king's troops shut up! Well, +let us get in, and we'll soon find elbow-room." + +Inspirited by these reinforcements, General Gage determined to take the +field. Previously, however, in conformity to instructions from Lord +Dartmouth, the head of the war department, he issued a proclamation (12th +June), putting the province under martial law, threatening to treat as +rebels and traitors all malcontents who should continue under arms, +together with their aiders and abettors; but offering pardon to all who +should lay down their arms, and return to their allegiance. From this +proffered amnesty, however, John Hancock and Samuel Adams were especially +excepted; their offences being pronounced "too flagitious not to meet with +condign punishment." + +This proclamation only served to put the patriots on the alert against such +measures as might be expected to follow, and of which their friends in +Boston stood ready to apprise them. The besieging force, in the mean time, +was daily augmented by recruits and volunteers, and now amounted to about +fifteen thousand men distributed at various points. Its character and +organization were peculiar. As has well been observed, it could not be +called a national army, for, as yet, there was no nation to own it; it was +not under the authority of the Continental Congress, the act of that body +recognizing it not having as yet been passed, and the authority of that +body itself not having been acknowledged. It was, in fact, a fortuitous +assemblage of four distinct bodies of troops, belonging to different +provinces, and each having a leader of its own election. About ten thousand +belonged to Massachusetts, and were under the command of General Artemas +Ward, whose head-quarters were at Cambridge. Another body of troops, under +Colonel John Stark, already mentioned, came from New Hampshire. Rhode +Island furnished a third, under the command of General Nathaniel Greene. A +fourth was from Connecticut, under the veteran Putnam. + +These bodies of troops, being from different colonies, were independent of +each other, and had their several commanders. Those from New Hampshire were +instructed to obey General Ward as commander-in-chief; with the rest, it +was a voluntary act, rendered in consideration of his being military chief +of Massachusetts, the province which, as allies, they came to defend. +There was, in fact, but little organization in the army. Nothing kept it +together, and gave it unity of action, but a common feeling of exasperated +patriotism. + +The troops knew but little of military discipline. Almost all were familiar +with the use of fire-arms in hunting and fowling; many had served in +frontier campaigns against the French, and in "bush-fighting" with the +Indians; but none were acquainted with regular service or the discipline of +European armies. There was a regiment of artillery, partly organized by +Colonel Gridley, a skilful engineer, and furnished with nine field-pieces; +but the greater part of the troops were without military dress or +accoutrements; most of them were hasty levies of yeomanry, some of whom had +seized their rifles and fowling-pieces, and turned out in their working +clothes and homespun country garbs. It was an army of volunteers, +subordinate through inclination and respect to officers of their own +choice, and depending for sustenance on supplies sent from, their several +towns. + +Such was the army spread over an extent of ten or twelve miles, and keeping +watch upon the town of Boston, containing at that time a population of +seventeen thousand souls, and garrisoned with more than ten thousand +British troops, disciplined and experienced in the wars of Europe. + +In the disposition of these forces, General Ward had stationed himself at +Cambridge, with the main body of about nine thousand men and four companies +of artillery. Lieutenant-general Thomas, second in command, was posted, +with five thousand Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island troops, and +three or four companies of artillery, at Roxbury and Dorchester, forming +the right wing of the army; while the left, composed in a great measure of +New Hampshire troops, stretched through Medford to the hills of Chelsea. + +It was a great annoyance to the British officers and soldiers, to be thus +hemmed in by what they termed a rustic rout with calico frocks and +fowling-pieces. The same scornful and taunting spirit prevailed among them, +that the cavaliers of yore indulged toward the Covenanters. Considering +episcopacy as the only loyal and royal faith, they insulted and desecrated +the "sectarian" places of worship. One was turned into a riding school for +the cavalry, and the fire in the stove was kindled with books from the +library of its pastor. The Provincials retaliated by turning the Episcopal +church at Cambridge into a barrack, and melting down its organ-pipes into +bullets. + +Both parties panted for action; the British through impatience of their +humiliating position, and an eagerness to chastise what they considered the +presumption of their besiegers; the Provincials through enthusiasm in their +cause, a thirst for enterprise and exploit, and, it must be added, an +unconsciousness of their own military deficiencies. + +We have already mentioned the peninsula of Charlestown (called from a +village of the same name), which lies opposite to the north side of Boston. +The heights, which swell up in rear of the village, overlook the town and +shipping. The project was conceived in the besieging camp to seize and +occupy those heights. A council of war was held upon the subject. The +arguments in favor of the attempt were, that the army was anxious to be +employed; that the country was dissatisfied with its inactivity, and that +the enemy might thus be drawn out to ground where they might be fought to +advantage. General Putnam was one of the most strenuous in favor of the +measure. + +Some of the more wary and judicious, among whom were General Ward and Dr. +Warren, doubted the expediency of intrenching themselves on those heights, +and the possibility of maintaining so exposed a post, scantily furnished, +as they were, with ordnance and ammunition. Besides, it might bring on a +general engagement, which it was not safe to risk. + +Putnam made light of the danger. He was confident of the bravery of the +militia if intrenched, having seen it tried in the old French war. "The +Americans," said he, "are never afraid of their heads; they only think of +their legs; shelter them, and they'll fight for ever." He was seconded by +General Pomeroy, a leader of like stamp, and another veteran of the French +war. He had been a hunter in his time; a dead shot with a rifle, and was +ready to lead troops against the enemy, "with five cartridges to a man." + +The daring councils of such men are always captivating to the +inexperienced; but in the present instance, they were sanctioned by one +whose opinion in such matters, and in this vicinity, possessed peculiar +weight. This was Colonel William Prescott, of Pepperell, who commanded a +regiment of minute men. He, too, had seen service in the French war, and +acquired reputation as a lieutenant of infantry at the capture of Cape +Breton. This was sufficient to constitute him an oracle in the present +instance. He was now about fifty years of age, tall and commanding in his +appearance, and retaining the port of a soldier. What was more, he had a +military garb; being equipped with a three-cornered hat, a top wig, and a +single-breasted blue coat, with facings and lapped up at the skirts. All +this served to give him consequence among the rustic militia officers with +whom he was in council. + +His opinion, probably, settled the question; and it was determined to seize +on and fortify Bunker's Hill and Dorchester Heights. In deference, however, +to the suggestions of the more cautious, it was agreed to postpone the +measure until they were sufficiently supplied with the munitions of war to +be able to maintain the heights when seized. + +Secret intelligence hurried forward the project. General Gage, it was said, +intended to take possession of Dorchester Heights on the night of the 18th +of June. These heights lay on the opposite side of Boston, and the +committee were ignorant of their localities. Those on Charlestown Neck, +being near at hand, had some time before been reconnoitered by Colonel +Richard Gridley, and other of the engineers. It was determined to seize and +fortify these heights on the night of Friday, the 16th of June, in +anticipation of the movement of General Gage. Troops were draughted for the +purpose from the Massachusetts regiments of Colonels Prescott, Frye and +Bridges. There was also a fatigue party of about two hundred men from +Putnam's Connecticut troops, led by his favorite officer, Captain Knowlton; +together with a company of forty-nine artillery men, with two field-pieces, +commanded by Captain Samuel Gridley. + +A little before sunset the troops, about twelve hundred in all, assembled +on the common, in front of General Ward's quarters. They came provided with +packs, blankets and provisions for four-and-twenty hours, but ignorant of +the object of the expedition. Being all paraded, prayers were offered up by +the reverend President Langdon, of Harvard College; after which they all +set forward on their silent march. + +Colonel Prescott, from his experience in military matters, and his being an +officer in the Massachusetts line, had been chosen by General Ward to +conduct the enterprise. His written orders were to fortify Bunker's Hill, +and defend the works until he should be relieved. Colonel Richard Gridley, +the chief engineer, who had likewise served in the French war, was to +accompany him and plan the fortifications. It was understood that +reinforcements and refreshments would be sent to the fatigue party in the +morning. + +The detachment left Cambridge about 9 o'clock, Colonel Prescott taking the +lead, preceded by two sergeants with dark lanterns. At Charlestown Neck +they were joined by Major Brooks, of Bridges' regiment, and General Putnam; +and here were the waggons laden with intrenching tools, which first gave +the men an indication of the nature of the enterprise. + +Charlestown Neck is a narrow isthmus, connecting the peninsula with the +main land; having the Mystic River, about half a mile wide, on the north, +and a large embayment of Charles River on the south or right side. + +It was now necessary to proceed with the utmost caution, for they were +coming on ground over which the British kept jealous watch. They had +erected a battery at Boston on Copp's Hill, immediately opposite to +Charlestown. Five of their vessels of war were stationed so as to bear upon +the peninsula from different directions, and the guns of one of them swept +the isthmus, or narrow neck just mentioned. + +Across this isthmus, Colonel Prescott conducted the detachment +undiscovered, and up the ascent of Bunker's Hill. This commences at the +Neck, and slopes up for about three hundred yards to its summit, which is +about one hundred and twelve feet high. It then declines toward the south, +and is connected by a ridge with Breed's Hill, about sixty or seventy feet +high. The crests of the two hills are about seven hundred yards apart. + +On attaining the heights, a question rose which of the two they should +proceed to fortify. Bunker's Hill was specified in the written orders given +to Colonel Prescott by General Ward, but Breed's Hill was much nearer to +Boston, and had a better command of the town and shipping. Bunker's Hill, +also, being on the upper and narrower part of the peninsula, was itself +commanded by the same ship which raked the Neck. Putnam was clear for +commencing at Breed's Hill, and making the principal work there, while a +minor work might be thrown up at Bunker's Hill, as a protection in the +rear, and a rallying point, in case of being driven out of the main work. +Others concurred with this opinion, yet there was a hesitation in deviating +from the letter of their orders. At length Colonel Gridley became +impatient; the night was waning; delay might prostrate the whole +enterprise. Breed's Hill was then determined on. Gridley marked out the +lines for the fortifications; the men stacked their guns; threw off their +packs; seized their trenching tools, and set to work with great spirit; but +so much time had been wasted in discussion, that it was midnight before +they struck the first spade into the ground. + +Prescott, who felt the responsibility of his charge, almost despaired of +carrying on these operations undiscovered. A party was sent out by him +silently to patrol the shore at the foot of the heights, and watch for any +movement of the enemy. Not willing to trust entirely to the vigilance of +others, he twice went down during the night to the water's edge; +reconnoitering every thing scrupulously, and noting every sight and sound. +It was a warm, still, summer's night; the stars shone brightly, but every +thing was quiet. Boston was buried in sleep. The sentry's cry of "All's +well" could be heard distinctly from its shores, together with the drowsy +calling of the watch on board of the ships of war, and then all would +relapse into silence. Satisfied that the enemy were perfectly unconscious +of what was going on upon the hill, he returned to the works, and a little +before daybreak called in the patrolling party. + +So spiritedly, though silently, had the labor been carried on, that by +morning a strong redoubt was thrown up as a main work, flanked on the left +by a breastwork, partly cannon-proof, extending down the crest of Breed's +Hill to a piece of marshy ground called the Slough. To support the right of +the redoubt, some troops were thrown into the village of Charlestown, at +the southern foot of the hill. The great object of Prescott's solicitude +was now attained, a sufficient bulwark to screen his men before they should +be discovered; for he doubted the possibility of keeping raw recruits to +their post, if openly exposed to the fire of artillery, and the attack of +disciplined troops. + +[Illustration: FORTIFYING BREED'S HILL IN THE NIGHT. JUNE 16, 1775.] + +At dawn of day, the Americans at work were espied by the sailors on board +of the ships of war, and the alarm was given. The captain of the Lively, +the nearest ship, without waiting for orders, put a spring upon her cable, +and bringing her guns to bear, opened a fire upon the hill. The other ships +and a floating battery followed his example. Their shot did no mischief to +the works, but one man, among a number who had incautiously ventured +outside, was killed. A subaltern reported his death to Colonel Prescott, +and asked what was to be done. "Bury him," was the reply. The chaplain +gathered some of his military flock around him, and was proceeding to +perform suitable obsequies over the "first martyr," but Prescott ordered +that the men should disperse to their work, and the deceased be buried +immediately. It seemed shocking to men accustomed to the funeral +solemnities of peaceful life to bury a man without prayers, but Prescott +saw that the sight of this man suddenly shot down had agitated the nerves +of his comrades, unaccustomed to scenes of war. Some of them, in fact, +quietly left the hill, and did not return to it. + +To inspire confidence by example, Prescott now mounted the parapet, and +walked leisurely about, inspecting the works, giving directions, and +talking cheerfully with the men. In a little while they got over their +dread of cannon-balls, and some even made them a subject of joke, or rather +bravado; a species of sham courage occasionally manifested by young +soldiers, but never by veterans. + +The cannonading roused the town of Boston. General Gage could scarcely +believe his eyes when he beheld on the opposite hill a fortification full +of men, which had sprung up in the course of the night. As he reconnoitered +it through a glass from Copp's Hill, the tall figure of Prescott, in +military garb, walking the parapet, caught his eye. "Who is that officer +who appears in command?" asked he. The question was answered by Counsellor +Willard, Prescott's brother-in-law, who was at hand, and recognized his +relative. "Will he fight?" demanded Gage, quickly. "Yes, sir! he is an old +soldier, and will fight to the last drop of blood; but I cannot answer for +his men." + +"The works must be carried!" exclaimed Gage. + +He called a council of war. The Americans might intend to cannonade Boston +from this new fortification; it was unanimously resolved to dislodge them. +How was this to be done? A majority of the council, including Clinton and +Grant, advised that a force should be landed on Charlestown Neck, under the +protection of their batteries, so as to attack the Americans in rear, and +cut off their retreat. General Gage objected that it would place his troops +between two armies; one at Cambridge, superior in numbers, the other on the +heights, strongly fortified. He was for landing in front of the works, and +pushing directly up the hill; a plan adopted through a confidence that raw +militia would never stand their ground against the assault of veteran +troops; another instance of undervaluing the American spirit, which was to +cost the enemy a lamentable loss of life. + +[Illustration] + + + +CHAPTER XLI. + +BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. + + +The sound of drum and trumpet, the clatter of hoofs, the rattling of +gun-carriages, and all the other military din and bustle in the streets of +Boston, soon apprised the Americans on their rudely fortified height of an +impending attack. They were ill fitted to withstand it, being jaded by the +night's labor, and want of sleep; hungry and thirsty, having brought but +scanty supplies, and oppressed by the heat of the weather. Prescott sent +repeated messages to General Ward, asking reinforcements and provisions. +Putnam seconded the request in person, urging the exigencies of the case. +Ward hesitated. He feared to weaken his main body at Cambridge, as his +military stores were deposited there, and it might have to sustain the +principal attack. At length, having taken advice of the council of safety, +he issued orders for Colonels Stark and Read, then at Medford, to march to +the relief of Prescott with their New Hampshire regiments. The orders +reached Medford about 11 o'clock. Ammunition was distributed in all haste; +two flints, a gill of powder, and fifteen balls to each man. The balls had +to be suited to the different calibres of the guns; the powder to be +carried in powder-horns, or loose in the pocket, for there were no +cartridges prepared. It was the rude turn out of yeoman soldiery destitute +of regular accoutrements. + +In the mean while, the Americans on Breed's Hill were sustaining the fire +from the ships, and from the battery on Copp's Hill, which opened upon them +about ten o'clock. They returned an occasional shot from one corner of the +redoubt, without much harm to the enemy, and continued strengthening their +position until about 11 o'clock, when they ceased to work, piled their +intrenching tools in the rear, and looked out anxiously and impatiently for +the anticipated reinforcements and supplies. + +About this time General Putnam, who had been to headquarters, arrived at +the redoubt on horseback. Some words passed between him and Prescott with +regard to the intrenching tools, which have been variously reported. The +most probable version is, that he urged to have them taken from their +present place, where they might fall into the hands of the enemy, and +carried to Bunker's Hill, to be employed in throwing up a redoubt, which +was part of the original plan, and which would be very important should the +troops be obliged to retreat from Breed's Hill. To this Prescott demurred +that those employed to convey them, and who were already jaded with toil, +might not return to his redoubt. A large part of the tools were ultimately +carried to Bunker's Hill, and a breastwork commenced by order of General +Putnam. The importance of such a work was afterwards made apparent. + +About noon the Americans descried twenty-eight barges crossing from Boston +in parallel lines. They contained a large detachment of grenadiers, +rangers, and light infantry, admirably equipped, and commanded by +Major-general Howe. They made a splendid and formidable appearance with +their scarlet uniforms, and the sun flashing upon muskets and bayonets, and +brass fieldpieces. A heavy fire from the ships and batteries covered their +advance, but no attempt was made to oppose them, and they landed about 1 +o'clock at Moulton's Point, a little to the north of Breed's Hill. + +Here General Howe made a pause. On reconnoitering the works from this +point, the Americans appeared to be much more strongly posted than he had +imagined. He descried troops also hastening to their assistance. These were +the New Hampshire troops, led on by Stark. Howe immediately sent over to +General Gage for more forces, and a supply of cannon-balls; those brought +by him being found, through some egregious oversight, too large for the +ordnance. While awaiting their arrival, refreshments were served out to the +troops, with "grog," by the bucketful; and tantalizing it was, to the +hungry and thirsty provincials, to look down from their ramparts of earth, +and see their invaders seated in groups upon the grass eating and drinking, +and preparing themselves by a hearty meal for the coming encounter. Their +only consolation was to take advantage of the delay, while the enemy were +carousing, to strengthen their position. The breast-work on the left of the +redoubt extended to what was called the Slough, but beyond this, the ridge +of the hill, and the slope toward Mystic River, were undefended, leaving a +pass by which the enemy might turn the left flank of the position, and +seize upon Bunker's Hill. Putnam ordered his chosen officer, Captain +Knowlton, to cover this pass with the Connecticut troops under his command. +A novel kind of rampart, savoring of rural device, was suggested by the +rustic general. About six hundred feet in the rear of the redoubt, and +about one hundred feet to the left of the breastwork, was a post and +rail-fence, set in a low foot-wall of stone, and extending down to Mystic +River. The posts and rails of another fence were hastily pulled up, and set +a few feet in behind this, and the intermediate space was filled up with +new mown hay from the adjacent meadows. This double fence, it will be +found, proved an important protection to the redoubt, although there still +remained an unprotected interval of about seven hundred feet. + +While Knowlton and his men were putting up this fence, Putnam proceeded +with other of his troops to throw up the work on Bunker's Hill, despatching +his son, Captain Putnam, on horseback, to hurry up the remainder of his men +from Cambridge. By this time his compeer in French and Indian warfare, the +veteran Stark, made his appearance with the New Hampshire troops, five +hundred strong. He had grown cool and wary with age, and his march from +Medford, a distance of five or six miles, had been in character. He led his +men at a moderate pace to bring them into action fresh and vigorous. In +crossing the Neck, which was enfiladed by the enemy's ships and batteries, +Captain Dearborn, who was by his side, suggested a quick step. The veteran +shook his head: "One fresh man in action is worth ten tired ones," replied +he, and marched steadily on. + +Putnam detained some of Stark's men to aid in throwing up the works on +Bunker's Hill, and directed him to reinforce Knowlton with the rest. Stark +made a short speech to his men now that they were likely to have warm work. +He then pushed on, and did good service that day at the rustic bulwark. + +About 2 o'clock, Warren arrived on the heights, ready to engage in their +perilous defence, although he had opposed the scheme of their occupation. +He had recently been elected a major-general, but had not received his +commission; like Pomeroy, he came to serve in the ranks with a musket on +his shoulder. Putnam offered him the command at the fence; he declined it, +and merely asked where he could be of most service as a volunteer. Putnam +pointed to the redoubt, observing that there he would be under cover. +"Don't think I seek a place of safety," replied Warren, quickly; "where +will the attack be hottest?" Putnam still pointed to the redoubt. "That is +the enemy's object; if that can be maintained, the day is ours." + +Warren was cheered by the troops as he entered the redoubt. Colonel +Prescott tendered him the command. He again declined. "I have come to serve +only as a volunteer, and shall be happy to learn from a soldier of your +experience." Such were the noble spirits assembled on these perilous +heights. + +The British now prepared for a general assault. An easy victory was +anticipated; the main thought was, how to make it most effectual. The left +wing, commanded by General Pigot, was to mount the hill and force the +redoubt, while General Howe, with the right wing, was to push on between +the fort and Mystic River, turn the left flank of the Americans, and cut +off their retreat. + +General Pigot, accordingly, advanced up the hill under cover of a fire from +field-pieces and howitzers planted on a small height near the landing-place +on Moulton's Point. His troops commenced a discharge of musketry while yet +at a long distance from the redoubts. The Americans within the works, +obedient to strict command, retained their fire until the enemy were within +thirty or forty paces, when they opened upon them with a tremendous volley. +Being all marksmen, accustomed to take deliberate aim, the slaughter was +immense, and especially fatal to officers. The assailants fell back in some +confusion; but, rallied on by their officers, advanced within pistol shot. +Another volley, more effective than the first, made them again recoil. To +add to their confusion, they were galled by a flanking fire from the +handful of Provincials posted in Charlestown. Shocked at the carnage, and +seeing the confusion of his troops, General Pigot was urged to give the +word for a retreat. + +In the mean while, General Howe, with the right wing, advanced along Mystic +River toward the fence where Stark, Read and Knowlton were stationed, +thinking to carry this slight breastwork with ease, and so get in the rear +of the fortress. His artillery proved of little avail, being stopped by a +swampy piece of ground, while his columns suffered from two or three +fieldpieces with which Putnam had fortified the fence. Howe's men kept up a +fire of musketry as they advanced; but, not taking aim, their shot passed +over the heads of the Americans. The latter had received the same orders +with those in the redoubt, not to fire until the enemy should be within +thirty paces. Some few transgressed the command. Putnam rode up and swore +he would cut down the next man that fired contrary to orders. When the +British arrived within the stated distance a sheeted fire opened upon them +from rifles, muskets, and fowling-pieces, all levelled with deadly aim. The +carnage, as in the other instance, was horrible. The British were thrown +into confusion and fell back; some even retreated to the boats. + +There was a general pause on the part of the British. The American officers +availed themselves of it to prepare for another attack, which must soon be +made. Prescott mingled among his men in the redoubt, who were all in high +spirits at the severe check they had given "the regulars." He praised them +for their steadfastness in maintaining their post, and their good conduct +in reserving their fire until the word of command, and exhorted them to do +the same in the next attack. + +Putnam rode about Bunker's Hill and its skirts, to rally and bring on +reinforcements which had been checked or scattered in crossing Charlestown +Neck by the raking fire from the ships and batteries. Before many could be +brought to the scene of action the British had commenced their second +attack. They again ascended the hill to storm the redoubt; their advance +was covered as before by discharges of artillery. Charlestown, which had +annoyed them on their first attack by a flanking fire, was in flames, by +shells thrown from Copp's Hill, and by marines from the ships. Being built +of wood, the place was soon wrapped in a general conflagration. The thunder +of artillery from batteries and ships, the bursting of bomb-shells; the +sharp discharges of musketry; the shouts and yells of the combatants; the +crash of burning buildings, and the dense volumes of smoke, which obscured +the summer sun, all formed a tremendous spectacle. "Sure I am," said +Burgoyne in one of his letters,--"Sure I am nothing ever has or ever can be +more dreadfully terrible than what was to be seen or heard at this time. +The most incessant discharge of guns that ever was heard by mortal ears." + +The American troops, although unused to war, stood undismayed amidst a +scene where it was bursting upon them with all its horrors. Reserving their +fire, as before, until the enemy was close at hand, they again poured forth +repeated volleys with the fatal aim of sharpshooters. The British stood the +first shock, and continued to advance; but the incessant stream of fire +staggered them. Their officers remonstrated, threatened, and even attempted +to goad them on with their swords, but the havoc was too deadly; whole +ranks were mowed down; many of the officers were either slain or wounded, +and among them several of the staff of General Howe. The troops again gave +way and retreated down the hill. + +All this passed under the eye of thousands of spectators of both sexes and +all ages, watching from afar every turn of a battle in which the lives of +those most dear to them were at hazard. The British soldiery in Boston +gazed with astonishment and almost incredulity at the resolute and +protracted stand of raw militia whom they had been taught to despise, and +at the havoc made among their own veteran troops. Every convoy of wounded +brought over to the town increased their consternation, and General +Clinton, who had watched the action from Copp's Hill, embarking in a boat, +hurried over as a volunteer, taking with him reinforcements. + +A third attack was now determined on, though some of Howe's officers +remonstrated, declaring it would be downright butchery. A different plan +was adopted. Instead of advancing in front of the redoubt, it was to be +taken in flank on the left, where the open space between the breastwork and +the fortified fence presented a weak point. It having been accidentally +discovered that the ammunition of the Americans was nearly expended, +preparations were made to carry the works at the point of the bayonet; and +the soldiery threw off their knapsacks, and some even their coats, to be +more light for action. + +General Howe, with the main body, now made a feint of attacking the +fortified fence; but, while a part of his force was thus engaged, the rest +brought some of the field-pieces to enfilade the breastwork on the left of +the redoubt. A raking fire soon drove the Americans out of this exposed +place into the enclosure. Much damage, too, was done in the latter by balls +which entered the sallyport. + +The troops were now led on to assail the works; those who flinched were, as +before, goaded on by the swords of the officers. The Americans again +reserved their fire until their assailants were close at hand, and then +made a murderous volley, by which several officers were laid low, and +General Howe himself was wounded in the foot. The British soldiery this +time likewise reserved their fire and rushed on with fixed bayonet. Clinton +and Pigot had reached the southern and eastern sides of the redoubt, and it +was now assailed on three sides at once. Prescott ordered those who had no +bayonets to retire to the back part of the redoubt and fire on the enemy as +they showed themselves on the parapet. The first who mounted exclaimed in +triumph, "The day is ours!" He was instantly shot down, and so were several +others who mounted about the same time. The Americans, however, had fired +their last round, their ammunition was exhausted; and now succeeded a +desperate and deadly struggle, hand to hand, with bayonets, stones, and the +stocks of their muskets. At length, as the British continued to pour in, +Prescott gave the order to retreat. His men had to cut their way through +two divisions of the enemy who were getting in rear of the redoubt, and +they received a destructive volley from those who had formed on the +captured works. By that volley fell the patriot Warren, who had +distinguished himself throughout the action. He was among the last to leave +the redoubt, and had scarce done so when he was shot through the head with +a musket-ball, and fell dead on the spot. + +While the Americans were thus slowly dislodged from the redoubt, Stark, +Read and Knowlton maintained their ground at the fortified fence; which, +indeed, had been nobly defended throughout the action. Pomeroy +distinguished himself here by his sharpshooting until his musket was +shattered by a ball. The resistance at this hastily constructed work was +kept up after the troops in the redoubt had given way, and until Colonel +Prescott had left the hill; thus defeating General Howe's design of cutting +off the retreat of the main body; which would have produced a scene of +direful confusion and slaughter. Having effected their purpose, the brave +associates at the fence abandoned their weak outpost, retiring slowly, and +disputing the ground inch by inch, with a regularity remarkable in troops +many of whom had never before been in action. + +The main retreat was across Bunker's Hill, where Putnam had endeavored to +throw up a breastwork. The veteran, sword in hand, rode to the rear of the +retreating troops, regardless of the balls whistling about him. His only +thought was to rally them at the unfinished works. "Halt! make a stand +here!" cried he, "we can check them yet. In God's name, form and give them +one shot more." + +Pomeroy, wielding his shattered musket as a truncheon, seconded him in his +efforts to stay the torrent. It was impossible, however, to bring the +troops to a stand. They continued on down the hill to the Neck and across +it to Cambridge, exposed to a raking fire from the ships and batteries, and +only protected by a single piece of ordnance. The British were too +exhausted to pursue them; they contented themselves with taking possession +of Bunker's Hill, were reinforced from Boston, and threw up additional +works during the night. + +We have collected the preceding facts from various sources, examining them +carefully, and endeavoring to arrange them with scrupulous fidelity. We may +appear to have been more minute in the account of the battle than the +number of troops engaged would warrant; but it was one of the most +momentous conflicts in our revolutionary history. It was the first regular +battle between the British and the Americans, and most eventful in its +consequences. The former had gained the ground for which they contended; +but, if a victory, it was more disastrous and humiliating to them than an +ordinary defeat. They had ridiculed and despised their enemy, representing +them as dastardly and inefficient; yet here their best troops, led on by +experienced officers, had repeatedly been repulsed by an inferior force of +that enemy,--mere yeomanry,--from works thrown up in a single night, and +had suffered a loss rarely paralleled in battle with the most veteran +soldiery; for, according to their own returns, their killed and wounded, +out of a detachment of two thousand men, amounted to one thousand and fifty +four, and a large proportion of them officers. The loss of the Americans +did not exceed four hundred and fifty. + +To the latter this defeat, if defeat it might be called, had the effect of +a triumph. It gave them confidence in themselves and consequence in the +eyes of their enemies. They had proved to themselves and to others that +they could measure weapons with the disciplined soldiers of Europe, and +inflict the most harm in the conflict. + +Among the British officer's slain was Major Pitcairn, who, at Lexington, +had shed the first blood in the Revolutionary war. + +In the death of Warren the Americans had to lament the loss of a +distinguished patriot and a most estimable man. It was deplored as a public +calamity. His friend Elbridge Gerry had endeavored to dissuade him from +risking his life in this perilous conflict, "Dulce et decorum est pro +patria mori," replied Warren, as if he had foreseen his fate--a fate to be +envied by those ambitious of an honorable fame. He was one of the first who +fell in the glorious cause of his country, and his name has become +consecrated in its history. + +There has been much discussion of the relative merits of the American +officers engaged in this affair--a difficult question where no one appears +to have had the general command. Prescott conducted the troops in the night +enterprise; he superintended the building of the redoubt, and defended it +throughout the battle; his name, therefore, will ever shine most +conspicuous, and deservedly so, on this bright page of our Revolutionary +history. + +Putnam also was a leading spirit throughout the affair; one of the first to +prompt and of the last to maintain it. He appears to have been active and +efficient at every point; sometimes fortifying; sometimes hurrying up +reinforcements; inspiriting the men by his presence while they were able to +maintain their ground, and fighting gallantly at the outpost to cover their +retreat. The brave old man, riding about in the heat of the action, on this +sultry day, "with a hanger belted across his brawny shoulders, over a +waistcoat without sleeves," has been sneered at by a contemporary, as "much +fitter to head a band of sickle men or ditchers than musketeers." But this +very description illustrates his character, and identifies him with the +times and the service. A yeoman warrior fresh from the plough, in the garb +of rural labor; a patriot brave and generous, but rough and ready, who +thought not of himself in time of danger, but was ready to serve in any +way, and to sacrifice official rank and self-glorification to the good of +the cause. He was eminently a soldier for the occasion. His name has long +been a favorite one with young and old; one of the talismanic names of the +Revolution, the very mention of which is like the sound of a trumpet. Such +names are the precious jewels of our history, to be garnered up among the +treasures of the nation, and kept immaculate from the tarnishing breath of +the cynic and the doubter. + +NOTE.--In treating of the battle of Bunker's Hill, and of other occurrences +about Boston at this period of the Revolution, we have had repeated +occasion to consult the History of the Siege of Boston, by Richard +Frothingham, Jr.; a work abounding with facts as to persons and events, and +full of interest for the American reader. + + + +CHAPTER XLII. + +DEPARTURE FROM PHILADELPHIA--ANECDOTES OF GENERAL SCHUYLER--OF LEE-- +TIDINGS OF BUNKER HILL--MILITARY COUNCILS--POPULATION OF NEW YORK--THE +JOHNSON FAMILY--GOVERNOR TRYON--ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK--MILITARY INSTRUCTIONS +TO SCHUYLER--ARRIVAL AT THE CAMP. + + +In a preceding chapter we left Washington preparing to depart from +Philadelphia for the army before Boston. He set out on horseback on the +21st of June, having for military companions of his journey Major-generals +Lee and Schuyler, and being accompanied for a distance by several private +friends. As an escort he had a "gentleman troop" of Philadelphia, commanded +by Captain Markoe; the whole formed a brilliant cavalcade. + +General Schuyler was a man eminently calculated to sympathize with +Washington in all his patriotic views and feelings, and became one of his +most faithful coadjutors. Sprung from one of the earliest and most +respectable Dutch families which colonized New York, all his interests and +affections were identified with the country. He had received a good +education; applied himself at an early age to the exact sciences, and +became versed in finance, military engineering, and political economy. He +was one of those native born soldiers who had acquired experience in that +American school of arms, the old French war. When but twenty-two years of +age he commanded a company of New York levies under Sir William Johnson, of +Mohawk renown, which gave him an early opportunity of becoming acquainted +with the Indian tribes, their country and their policy. In 1758 he was in +Abercrombie's expedition against Ticonderoga, accompanying Lord Viscount +Howe as chief of the commissariat department; a post well qualified to give +him experience in the business part of war. When that gallant young +nobleman fell on the banks of Lake George, Schuyler conveyed his corpse +back to Albany and attended to his honorable obsequies. Since the close of +the French war he had served his country in various civil stations, and +been one of the most zealous and eloquent vindicators of colonial rights. +He was one of the "glorious minority" of the New York General Assembly; +George Clinton, Colonel Woodhull, Colonel Philip Livingston and others; +who, when that body was timid and wavering, battled nobly against British +influence and oppression. His last stand had been recently as a delegate to +Congress, where he had served with Washington on the committee to prepare +rules and regulations for the army, and where the latter had witnessed his +judgment, activity, practical science, and sincere devotion to the cause. + +Many things concurred to produce perfect harmony of operation between these +distinguished men. They were nearly of the same age, Schuyler being one +year the youngest. Both were men of agricultural, as well as military +tastes. Both were men of property, living at their ease in little rural +paradises; Washington on the grove-clad heights of Mount Vernon, Schuyler +on the pastoral banks of the upper Hudson, where he had a noble estate at +Saratoga, inherited from an uncle; and the old family mansion, near the +city of Albany, half hid among ancestral trees. Yet both were exiling +themselves from these happy abodes, and putting life and fortune at hazard +in the service of their country. + +Schuyler and Lee had early military recollections to draw them together. +Both had served under Abercrombie in the expedition against Ticonderoga. +There was some part of Lee's conduct in that expedition which both he and +Schuyler might deem it expedient at this moment to forget. Lee was at that +time a young captain, naturally presumptuous, and flushed with the +arrogance of military power. On his march along the banks of the Hudson, he +acted as if in a conquered country, impressing horses and oxen, and seizing +upon supplies, without exhibiting any proper warrant. It was enough for +him, "they were necessary for the service of his troops." Should any one +question his right, the reply was a volley of execrations. + +Among those who experienced this unsoldierly treatment was Mrs. Schuyler, +the aunt of the general; a lady of aristocratical station, revered +throughout her neighborhood. Her cattle were impressed, herself insulted. +She had her revenge. After the unfortunate affair at Ticonderoga, a number +of the wounded were brought down along the Hudson to the Schuyler mansion. +Lee was among the number. The high-minded mistress of the house never +alluded to his past conduct. He was received like his brother officers with +the kindest sympathy. Sheets and tablecloths were torn up to serve as +bandages. Every thing was done to alleviate their sufferings. Lee's cynic +heart was conquered. "He swore in his vehement manner that he was sure +there would be a place reserved for Mrs. Schuyler in heaven, though no +other woman should be there, and that he should wish for nothing better +than to share her final destiny!" [Footnote: Memoirs of an American Lady +(Mrs. Grant, of Laggan), vol. ii., chap. ix.] + +Seventeen years had since elapsed, and Lee and the nephew of Mrs. Schuyler +were again allied in military service, but under a different banner; and +recollections of past times must have given peculiar interest to their +present intercourse. In fact, the journey of Washington with his associate +generals, experienced like him in the wild expeditions of the old French +war, was a revival of early campaigning feelings. + +They had scarcely proceeded twenty miles from Philadelphia when they were +met by a courier, spurring with all speed, bearing despatches from the army +to Congress, communicating tidings of the battle of Bunker's Hill. +Washington eagerly inquired particulars; above all, how acted the militia? +When told that they stood their ground bravely; sustained the enemy's +fire--reserved their own until at close quarters, and then delivered it +with deadly effect; it seemed as if a weight of doubt and solicitude were +lifted from his heart. "The liberties of the country are safe!" exclaimed +he. + +The news of the battle of Bunker's Hill had startled the whole country; and +this clattering cavalcade, escorting the commander-in-chief to the army, +was the gaze and wonder of every town and village. + +The journey may be said to have been a continual council of war between +Washington and the two generals. Even the contrast in character of the two +latter made them regard questions from different points of view. Schuyler, +a warm-hearted patriot, with every thing staked on the cause; Lee, a +soldier of fortune, indifferent to the ties of home and country, drawing +his sword without enthusiasm; more through resentment against a government +which had disappointed him, than zeal for liberty or for colonial rights. + +One of the most frequent subjects of conversation was the province of New +York. Its power and position rendered it the great link of the confederacy; +what measures were necessary for its defence, and most calculated to secure +its adherence to the cause? A lingering attachment to the crown, kept up by +the influence of British merchants, and military and civil functionaries in +royal pay, had rendered it slow in coming into the colonial compact; and it +was only on the contemptuous dismissal of their statement of grievances, +unheard, that its people had thrown off their allegiance, as much in sorrow +as in anger. + +No person was better fitted to give an account of the interior of New York +than General Schuyler; and the hawk-eyed Lee during a recent sojourn had +made its capital somewhat of a study; but there was much yet for both of +them to learn. + +The population of New York was more varied in its elements than that of +almost any other of the provinces, and had to be cautiously studied. The +New Yorkers were of a mixed origin, and stamped with the peculiarities of +their respective ancestors. The descendants of the old Dutch and Huguenot +families, the earliest settlers, were still among the soundest and best of +the population. They inherited the love of liberty, civil and religious, of +their forefathers, and were those who stood foremost in the present +struggle for popular rights. Such were the Jays, the Bensons, the Beekmans, +the Hoffmans, the Van Hornes, the Roosevelts, the Duyckinks, the Pintards, +the Yateses, and others whose names figure in the patriotic documents of +the day. Some of them, doubtless, cherished a remembrance of the time when +their forefathers were lords of the land, and felt an innate propensity to +join in resistance to the government by which their supremacy had been +overturned. A great proportion of the more modern families, dating from the +downfall of the Dutch government in 1664, were English and Scotch, and +among these were many loyal adherents to the crown. Then there was a +mixture of the whole, produced by the intermarriages of upwards of a +century, which partook of every shade of character and sentiment. The +operations of foreign commerce, and the regular communications with the +mother country through packets and ships of war, kept these elements in +constant action, and contributed to produce that mercurial temperament, +that fondness for excitement, and proneness to pleasure, which +distinguished them from their neighbors on either side--the austere +Puritans of New England, and the quiet "Friends" of Pennsylvania. + +There was a power, too, of a formidable kind within the interior of the +province, which was an object of much solicitude. This was the "Johnson +Family." We have repeatedly had occasion to speak of Sir William Johnson, +his majesty's general agent for Indian affairs, of his great wealth, and +his almost sovereign sway over the Six Nations. He had originally received +that appointment through the influence of the Schuyler family. Both +Generals Schuyler and Lee, when young men, had campaigned with him; and it +was among the Mohawk warriors, who rallied under his standard, that Lee had +beheld his vaunted models of good-breeding. + +In the recent difficulties between the crown and colonies, Sir William had +naturally been in favor of the government which had enriched and honored +him, but he had viewed with deep concern the acts of Parliament which were +goading the colonists to armed resistance. In the height of his solicitude, +he received despatches ordering him, in case of hostilities, to enlist the +Indians in the cause of government. To the agitation of feelings produced +by these orders many have attributed a stroke of apoplexy, of which he +died, on the 11th of July, 1774, about a year before the time of which we +are treating. + +His son and heir, Sir John Johnson, and his sons-in-law, Colonel Guy +Johnson and Colonel Claus, felt none of the reluctance of Sir William to +use harsh measures in support of royalty. They lived in a degree of rude +feudal style in stone mansions capable of defence, situated on the Mohawk +River and in its vicinity; they had many Scottish Highlanders for tenants; +and among their adherents were violent men, such as the Butlers of Tryon +County, and Brant, the Mohawk sachem, since famous in Indian warfare. They +had recently gone about with armed retainers, overawing and breaking up +patriotic assemblages, and it was known they could at any time bring a +force of warriors in the field. + +Recent accounts stated that Sir John was fortifying the old family hall at +Johnstown with swivels, and had a hundred and fifty Roman Catholic +Highlanders quartered in and about it, all armed and ready to obey his +orders. + +Colonel Guy Johnson, however, was the most active and zealous of the +family. Pretending to apprehend a design on the part of the New England +people to surprise and carry him off, he fortified his stone mansion on the +Mohawk, called Guy's Park, and assembled there a part of his militia +regiment, and other of his adherents, to the number of five hundred. He +held a great Indian council there, likewise, in which the chiefs of the Six +Nations recalled the friendship and good deeds of the late Sir William +Johnson, and avowed their determination to stand by and defend every branch +of his family. + +As yet it was uncertain whether Colonel Guy really intended to take an open +part in the appeal to arms. Should he do so, he would carry with him a +great force of the native tribes, and might almost domineer over the +frontier. + +Tryon, the governor of New York, was at present absent in England, having +been called home by the ministry to give an account of the affairs of the +province, and to receive instructions for its management. He was a tory in +heart, and had been a zealous opponent of all colonial movements, and his +talents and address gave him great influence over an important part of the +community. Should he return with hostile instructions, and should he and +the Johnsons co-operate, the one controlling the bay and harbor of New York +and the waters of the Hudson by means of ships and land forces; the others +overrunning the valley of the Mohawk and the regions beyond Albany with +savage hordes, this great central province might be wrested from the +confederacy, and all intercourse broken off between the eastern and +southern colonies. + +All these circumstances and considerations, many of which came under +discussion in the course of this military journey, rendered the command of +New York a post of especial trust and importance, and determined Washington +to confide it to General Schuyler. He was peculiarly fitted for it by his +military talents, his intimate knowledge of the province and its concerns, +especially what related to the upper parts of it, and his experience in +Indian affairs. + +At Newark, in the Jerseys, Washington was met on the 25th by a committee of +the provincial Congress, sent to conduct him to the city. The Congress was +in a perplexity. It had in a manner usurped and exercised the powers of +Governor Tryon during his absence, while at the same time it professed +allegiance to the crown which had appointed him. He was now in the harbor, +just arrived from England, and hourly expected to land. Washington, too, +was approaching. How were these double claims to ceremonious respect +happening at the same time to be managed? + +In this dilemma a regiment of militia was turned out, and the colonel +instructed to pay military honors to whichever of the distinguished +functionaries should first arrive. Washington was earlier than the governor +by several hours, and received those honors. Peter Van Burgh Livingston, +president of the New York Congress, next delivered a congratulatory +address, the latter part of which evinces the cautious reserve with which, +in these revolutionary times, military power was intrusted to an +individual:-- + +"Confiding in you, sir, and in the worthy generals immediately under your +command, we have the most flattering hopes of success in the glorious +struggle for American liberty, and the fullest assurances that _whenever +this important contest shall be decided by that fondest wish of each +American soul, an accommodation with our mother country, you will +cheerfully resign the important deposit committed into your hands, and +reassume the character of our worthiest citizen_." + +The following was Washington's reply, in behalf of himself and his +generals, to this part of the address. + +"As to the fatal, but necessary operations of war, when we assumed the +soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen; and we shall most sincerely +rejoice with you in that happy hour, when the establishment of American +liberty on the most firm and solid foundations, shall enable us to return +to our private stations, in the bosom of a free, peaceful, and happy +country." + +The landing of Governor Tryon took place about eight o'clock in the +evening. The military honors were repeated; he was received with great +respect by the mayor and common council, and transports of loyalty by those +devoted to the crown. It was unknown what instructions he had received from +the ministry, but it was rumored that a large force would soon arrive from +England, subject to his directions. At this very moment a ship of war, the +Asia, lay anchored opposite the city; its grim batteries bearing upon it, +greatly to the disquiet of the faint-hearted among its inhabitants. + +In this situation of affairs Washington was happy to leave such an +efficient person as General Schuyler in command of the place. According to +his instructions, the latter was to make returns once a month, and oftener, +should circumstances require it, to Washington, as commander-in-chief, and +to the Continental Congress, of the forces under him, and the state of his +supplies; and to send the earliest advices of all events of importance. He +was to keep a wary eye on Colonel Guy Johnson, and to counteract any +prejudicial influence he might exercise over the Indians. With respect to +Governor Tryon, Washington hinted at a bold and decided line of conduct. +"If forcible measures are judged necessary respecting the person of the +governor, I should have no difficulty in ordering them, if the Continental +Congress were not sitting; but as that is the case, _and the seizing of a +governor quite a new thing_, I must refer you to that body for +direction." + +Had Congress thought proper to direct such a measure, Schuyler certainly +would have been the man to execute it. + +At New York, Washington had learned all the details of the battle of +Bunker's Hill; they quickened his impatience to arrive at the camp. He +departed, therefore, on the 26th, accompanied by General Lee, and escorted +as far as Kingsbridge, the termination of New York Island, by Markoe's +Philadelphia light horse, and several companies of militia. + +In the mean time the provincial Congress of Massachusetts, then in session +at Watertown, had made arrangements for the expected arrival of Washington. +According to a resolve of that body, the president's house in Cambridge, +excepting one room reserved by the president for his own use, was to be +taken, cleared, prepared, and furnished for the reception of the +Commander-in-Chief and General Lee. The Congress had likewise sent on a +deputation which met Washington at Springfield, on the frontiers of the +province, and provided escorts and accommodations for him along the road. +Thus honorably attended from town to town, and escorted by volunteer +companies and cavalcades of gentlemen, he arrived at Watertown on the 2d of +July, where he was greeted by Congress with a congratulatory address, in +which, however, was frankly stated the undisciplined state of the army he +was summoned to command. An address of cordial welcome was likewise made to +General Lee. + +The ceremony over, Washington was again in the saddle; and, escorted by a +troop of light horse and a cavalcade of citizens, proceeded to the +head-quarters provided for him at Cambridge, three miles distant. As he +entered the confines of the camp the shouts of the multitude and the +thundering of artillery gave note to the enemy beleaguered in Boston of his +arrival. + +His military reputation had preceded him and excited great expectations. +They were not disappointed. His personal appearance, notwithstanding the +dust of travel, was calculated to captivate the public eye. As he rode +through the camp, amidst a throng of officers, he was the admiration of the +soldiery and of a curious throng collected from the surrounding country. +Happy was the countryman who could get a full view of him to carry home an +account of it to his neighbors. "I have been much gratified this day with a +view of General Washington," writes a contemporary chronicler, "His +excellency was on horseback, in company with several military gentlemen. It +was not difficult to distinguish him from all others. He is tall and +well-proportioned, and his personal appearance truly noble and majestic." +[Footnote: Thacher.--Military Journal.] + +The fair sex were still more enthusiastic in their admiration, if we may +judge from the following passage of a letter written by the intelligent and +accomplished wife of John Adams to her husband: "Dignity, ease, and +complacency, the gentleman and the soldier, look agreeably blended in him. +Modesty marks every line and feature of his face. Those lines of Dryden +instantly occurred to me: + + 'Mark his majestic fabric! He's a temple + Sacred by birth, and built by hands divine; + His soul's the deity that lodges there; + Nor is the pile unworthy of the God.'" + +With Washington, modest at all times, there was no false excitement on the +present occasion; nothing to call forth emotions of self-glorification. The +honors and congratulations with which he was received, the acclamations of +the public, the cheerings of the army, only told him how much was expected +from him; and when he looked round upon the raw and rustic levies he was to +command, "a mixed multitude of people, under very little discipline, order, +or government," scattered in rough encampments about hill and dale, +beleaguering a city garrisoned by veteran troops, with ships of war +anchored about its harbor, and strong outposts guarding it, he felt the +awful responsibility of his situation, and the complicated and stupendous +task before him. He spoke of it, however, not despondingly nor boastfully +and with defiance; but with that solemn and sedate resolution, and that +hopeful reliance on Supreme Goodness, which belonged to his magnanimous +nature. The cause of his country, he observed, had called him to an active +and dangerous duty, but _he trusted that Divine Providence, which wisely +orders the affairs of men, would enable him to discharge it with fidelity +and success_. [Footnote: Letter to Governor Trumbull.--Sparks, iii., +31.] + + + + +END OF VOL. I. + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 7002 *** |