REPORT OF THE COMMISSION TO LOCATE THE SITE OF THE FRONTIER FORTS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
VOLUME TWO.
CLARENCE M. BUSCH.
STATE PRINTER OF PENNSYLVANIA.
1896.
THE FRONTIER FORTS OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
FORT FAYETTE.
The following description of this structure was given under date May the 19th, 1792: "The fort began last winter at this place, (Pittsburgh), stands on the Allegheny river within about one hundred yards of the bank, on a beautiful rising ground, about one-quarter of a mile higher up than the old garrison of Fort Pitt. It is completely stockaded in, and one range of barracks, a blockhouse in one of the angles finished, and the remainder in forwardness. Captain Hughes, of the Second United States Regiment, commands the fort, which last Saturday, 12th of May, was named Fort Fayette." (130.)
Major Craig to Samuel Hodgdon, Q. M. General, November 9th, 1792: "This morning a detachment of the troops and the artificers, with the necessary tools for building, set off for the winter ground below Logstown, on the Ohio; in a few days the whole army will follow."
Same to Gen. Knox, 30th November, 1792: "This morning at an early hour, the artillery, infantry and rifle corps, except a small garrison left in Fort Fayette, embarked and descended the Ohio to Legionville, the cavalry crossed the Allegheny at the same time and will reach the winter ground as soon as the boats. As soon as the troops had embarked, the General (Wayne) went on board his barge, under a salute from a militia artillery corps of this place, and all have, no doubt, before this time, reached their winter quarters."
The following is extracted from a Philadelphia paper, and is among the authorities furnished by Mr. Craig in his History of Pittsburgh:
"Pittsburgh, May 14th, 1793.
"Lieutenant Col. John Clark, commandant of the 4th SubLegion, is to command the different posts on this frontier—His headquarters will be at this place."In the summer of 1794, when the people about Pittsburgh were terrorized by the mob who collected together to wreak their vengeance on the revenue officials, and the friends of order, on the occasion of the Whiskey Insurrection, a request was made by the inhabitants of the place to the commanding officer at his post for his protection. "Upon this information being communicated to Maj. Thos. Butler, the commandant at Fort Fayette, one of the several gallant brothers, who distinguished themselves during the Revolution, he detached eleven men from his feeble garrison to aid the inspector." (131.)
Speaking of the Pittsburgh of about 1800, Mr. Craig (History of Pittsburgh) has the following:
"The ramparts of Fort Pitt were still standing, and a portion of the officers quarters, a substantial brick building, was used as a malt house. The gates were gone, and the brick wall called the revetment, which supported two of the ramparts facing toward the town, and against which the officers and soldiers used to play ball, were gone, so that the earth all around had assumed the natural slope. Outside the fort on the side next the Allegheny river was a large deep pond, the frequent resort of wild ducks. Along the south side of Liberty street, and extending from Diamond alley to the foot of Fourth street (now Fourth avenue) was another pond, from which a deep ditch led the water into a brick archway, leading from Frontstreet (now First avenue) just below Redoubt alley into the Monongahela.
"By whom this archway was built I have never learned. It was no trifling work. The writer when a boy (132) has often passed through it. The sides, which were from three to four feet high, and the top, were of hard burnt bricks; the bottom of flag stones. Before it was made, there must have been a deep gully extending up from the river below Redoubt alley; and I have supposed, that when Colonel Grant built the Re-doubt on the bank of the river just above that gully, he prob. ably had the arch way or culvert constructed to facilitate the communication between the Redoubt and Fort Pitt."
Notes to Fort Duquesne, Including Notes to Fort Pitt.
(1.) "In January (1754) Wm. Trent was commissioned Captain by Gov. Dinwiddie. He was then engaged in building a strong log storehouse, loop-holed, at Redstone. John Frazier [Frazer] was appointed Lieutenant and Edward Ward, Ensign. Trent was ordered to raise one hundred men. He succeeded in getting about 70. On the 17th of Feb., 1754, he, with Gist, Croghan, and others met at the Forks, and in a few days he proceeded to lay out the ground and have the logs squared and laid, the Half-King, Tanacharison, assisting. Capt. Trent was soon after obliged to go across the mountains to Wills creek for supplies of provisions. On the 13th of April, Frazier being absent at Turtle creek, and Ward left in command, he heard that the French were descending the river; he hastened to complete the stockading of the building, and had the last gate finished when, on the morning of the 17th, the French flotilla was seen approaching near Shannopin's town. They moved down near the fort, landed their canoes, formed and marched their forces within a little better than gun shot of the fort. Contrecoeur immediately sent Le Mercier, commander of the artillery, with two drummers, one of them an interpreter, and a Mingo Indian, called The Owl, as interpreter for the Indians and delivered Ward a written summons to surrender the fort and retreat. Le Mercier looked at his watch; the time was about two. He gave Ward an hour to determine, telling him he must come to the French camp, with his answer in writing. The Half-King advised Ward to temporize–to tell the French commander he must await the arrival of his superior officer. He went to the French camp in company with the Half-King. Roberts, a private soldier, and John Davidson an Indian interpreter, and addressed Contrecoeur as the Half-King had advised. It was refused, and instant answer to the summons demanded, or force would be used to take possession of the fort. Having but forty-one men, of whom only thirty-three were soldiers, Ward surrendered the fort, with liberty to move off with everything at 12 o'clock the next day. That night he was obliged to encamp within 300 yards of the fort, with a friendly party of the Six Nations. Contrecoeur invited Ward to supper and asked him many questions concerning the English government to which he gave no satisfactory answer. He was also solicited to sell the French some of his carpenter tools) but he declined to do so, although offered "any money for them." The next day Ward marched with his men for Redstone and Wills creek. At the latter place he met Col. Washington, to whom he reported the affair. Thus the war commenced here which closed in America, with the surrender of Canada to the British, in 1760." [Wm. M. Darlington, Esq., in Centenary Memorial, p. 259.]
"Early in 1754, Capt. Trent was sent out from Virginia" with about forty men–intended to be recruited on the way–to aid in finishing the fort at the forks of the Ohio, already supposed to be begun by the Ohio Company. The captain's line of march was along Nemacolin's trail to Gist's, and then by the Redstone trail to the mouth of that Creek; where, after having built the storehouse called the Hangard, he proceeded, probably by land and ice, to the forks of the Ohio, where he arrived on the 17th of Feb., and went to work on the fort which soon proved a vain labor." [The Monongahela of Old; by Jas. Veech, p. 42.)
(2.) The purpose of this company (The Ohio Company), was to divert the trade with the Indians north of the Ohio, and its headwaters, (which hitherto, the French and Pennsylvanians had enjoyed) southward, by the Potomac route, and to settle the country round the head of the Ohio with English colonists from Virginia and Maryland. To this end, the king granted to the Company five hundred thousand acres of land west of the mountains, "to be taken chiefly on the south side of the Ohio, between the Monongahela and Kanawha, but with privilege to take part of the quantity north of the Ohio. Two hundred thousand acres were to be taken up at once, and to be free of quit rents, or taxes to the king for ten years, upon condition that the company should, within seven years, seat one hundred families on the lands, built a fort, and maintain a garrison and protect the settlement" * * * * * Thus many settlements were made on lands which were supposed to be in Virginia which were afterwards disclosed to be within the charter limits of Pennsylvania. * * * The incipient movements of this Company (as we have seen) provoked the French and Pennsylvania traders, to jealousy, and to stir up the Indians to hostility. * * * Gen. Washington's brothers, Lawrence and John Angustine, as well as himself, were largely interested in it, and were anxious for its success. Christopher Gist was the Company's agent to select the lands and conciliate the Indians. The company, having imported from London large quantities of goods for the Indian trade, and engaged several settlers, had established trading posts at Wills creek (the New Store), the mouth of Redstone (The Hangard) the mouth of Turtle creek (Frazier's), and elsewhere; had planned their fort at the forks of the Ohio, and were proceeding energetically to the consummation of their designs. * * The Ohio Company was in action only about four years, having never in reality revived after its first check, at the commencement of hostilities with the French and Indians on the frontier. All persons concerned were losers to a considerable amount, though at its outset the scheme promised important advantages both to individuals and to the country at large. [The Monongahela of Old, by Jas. Veech, Sparks, Washington.]
The site on the Ohio, on which Fort Duquesne, afterwards called Fort Pitt, was built, was by the Indians called Che-on-de-ro-ga, and accordingly by the French called Trois Riviers. It is recorded by that name in the famous Leaden Plate, which was buried there as a memorial of their possession. Gov. Pownall says that until he had occasion to explain this it was always a matter of puzzle to the cabinet ministers, what place in those quarters the French meant to design by Trois Rivieres. .* * * The word Che-on-de-ro-ga denotes the fork of a river, or" the confluence of two branches which go off in one united stream. This the French always translate Trois Rivieres. Extracts from "An analysis of a General Map of the Middle British Colonies," in appendix to Christopher Gist's Journals by W. M. Darlington, p. 273.
"At the time of the first appearance of the white man upon this spot, there were two Indian villages within the present limits of the City of Pittsburgh: Da-un-da-ga, which stood directly in the forks; and Shannopin's Town, which was located on the east bank of the Allegheny river about two miles above its confluence with the Monongahela. Little is known of the former except that the name is of Seneca origin, and is said to mean simply "the forks;" and it is not mentioned, so far as I have been able to learn by any of either of the colonial explorers or traders, or by the French. Even Washington makes no mention of it in the Journal of his expedition to the posts on French creek, in early winter of 1753-4, although he was on the spot and describes the topography of it. With regard to Shannopin's Town, Celoron, in the Journal of his expeditions down the rivers, remarks under date of Aug. 7th, 1749: "I re-embarked and went to the village which is called the ‘Written Rock (Rocher ecrite). They are Iroquois that inhabit this place, and an old squaw of that nation is their leader. She looks upon herself as queen. * * * "This place," he continues, "is one of the prettiest I have yet seen on the Beautiful river." Rev. A. A. Lambing, A. M. "The Centenary of the Borough of Pittsburgh," p. 10. * * * * Olden Time, Vol. 1, p. 327: "In this, every syllable is short, except the penultimate, which has an accent somewhat prolonged, but less so than many other aboriginal words."
Washington was the first person to give a description of the place, which he does in his journal to the posts on French creek. He arrived at Frazer's, at the mouth of Turtle creek, on the 22d of Nov., 1753. He says: "The waters were quite impassable without swimming our horses, which obliged us to get the loan of a canoe from Frazer, and to send Barnaby Curran and Henry Seward down the Monongahela, with our baggage, to meet us at the forks of Ohio, about ten miles below; there to cross the Allegheny.
"As I got down before the canoe, I spent some time in viewing the rivers and the land in 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-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; Allegheny, bearing northeast; and Monongahela, southeast. The former of these two is a very rapid and swift running water, the other deep and still, without any perceptible fall.
"About two miles from this, on the southeast side of the river, at the place where the Ohio Company intended to erect a fort, ‘lives Shingiss, King of the Delawares. We called upon him to invite him to a council at Logstown.
"As I had taken a good deal of notice yesterday of the situation at the forks, my curiosity led me to examine this more particularly, and I think it greatly inferior, either for defence or advantages, especially the latter. For a fort at the forks would be equally well situated on the Ohio, and have the entire command of the Monongahela, which runs up our settlement, and is extremely well designed for water carriage, as it is of deep, still nature. Besides, a fort at the forks might be built at much less expense, than at the other place."
(3.) "In the present Register (The Baptismal Register of Fort Duquesne, Translated with an Introductory Essay and Notes, By Rev. A. A. Lambing, A. M.), the officer here mentioned is called "Monsieur Pierre Claude de Contrecoeur, Esquire, Sieur de Baudy, Captain of Infantry, Commander-in-Chief of the forts of Duquesne, Presqu' Isle and the Riviere au Boeufs." He was in command of Fort Niagara in 1749; but he afterwards succeeded to the command of the detachment which had before belonged to M. Saint Pierre. The last date on which the name of Contrecoeur is found in the Register, is Mar. 2, 1755. What became of M. Contrecoeur after his retiring from Fort Duquesne, nothing has so far been learned.
(4.) Extract from the summons commanding the English to retreat from the Ohio:
"A summons, by order of M. Contrecoeur, Captain of one of the companies of the detachment of the French Marine, Commander-in-Chief of his Most Christian Majesty's Troops, now on Beautiful river, to the Commander of those of the King of Great Britain, at the mouth of the River Monongahela."Sir: Nothing can surprise me more than to see you attempt a settlement upon the lands of the King, my master, which obliges me now, sir, to send you this gentleman. Chevalier Le Mercier, Captain of the Artillery of Canada, to know of you, sir, by virtue of what authority you are come to fortify yourself within the dominions of the King, my master. This action seems so contrary to the last treaty of peace, at Aix La Chapelle, between his Most Christian Majesty and the King of Great Britain, that I do not know to whom to impute such an usurpation, as it is incontestable that the land situated along the Beautiful river belongs to his Most Christian Majesty.
‘I am informed, sir, that your undertaking has been concerted by none else than by a company, who have more in view the advantage of a trade, than to endeavor to keep the union and harmony which subsists between the two crowns of France and Great Britain, although it is as much the interest, sir, of your nation as ours, to preserve it.
"Let it be as it will sir, if you come out into this place, charged with orders, I summon you in the name of the King, my master, by virtue of orders which I got from my General, to retreat peaceably with your troops from off the lands of the King, and not to return, or else I will find myself obliged to fulfill my duty, and compel you to it. I hope, sir, you will not deter an instant, and that you will not force me to the last extremity. In that case, sir, you may be persuaded that I will give orders that there shall be no damage done by my detachment. * * * * (Signed) CONTRECOEUR."
Done at camp, April 16, 1754. [Olden Time, Vol. i, p. 83.](6.) France claimed the country on the waters of the Ohio by right of priority of discovery and exploration, first by La Salle in 1669-70, when he penetrated as far west as the falls near the present city of Louisville. It was resolved by them to expel the English traders and erect a line of forts connecting Canada and Louisiana. In the summer of 1749, Captain Celoron de Bienville, with a detachment of two hundred soldiers and thirty Indians, descended the Allegheny and Ohio rivers to the month of the Wabash, for the purpose of taking military possession of the country. As memorials of the French King's possessions, leaden plates with suitable inscriptions were deposited at different points along the rivers. A number of these plates were found in after years. One deposited at the point of land at the junction of the Ohio and Monongahela rivers, bore date "August 3d, 1749, at the Three rivers." Celoron encamped with his troops for some days at Logstown (a little below the present town of Economy), from which he expelled the English traders, by whom he sent letters to Gov. Hamilton of Pennsylvania, dated at "Our Camp on the Beautiful river at an old Shawnee village, 6th and 10th Aug., 1749," and stating that he was there "by orders of the Marquis de la Galissoniere, General-in-Chief of New France, whose orders are very strict not to suffer any foreign traders within his government." [Centenary Memorial, p. 256.]
Translation of the copy of the leaden plate buried at the forks of the Monongahela and Ohio by Mons. Celoron "by way of taking possession and as a memorial and testimony thereof."
"In the year 1749, in the reign of Louis XV, King of France, Celoron, commandant of a detachment sent by the Marquis de la Galissoniere, Commandant-in-Chief of New France, to re-establish peace in certain villages of the Indians of these districts, have buried this plate at the Three rivers, below Le Boeuf river, this third of August, near the river Oyo, otherwise the Fair river, as a monument of the renewal of the possession that we have taken of the said river Oyo, and of all those which fall into it, and of all the lands on both sides to the sources of the said rivers, as the preceding Kings of France have enjoyed or ought to have enjoyed it, and which they have upheld by force of arms and by treaties, especially by those of Riswick, Utrecht and Aix-la-Chapelle."
The sentence beginning with "Three rivers, and ending with "August" is only scratched with the point of a knife, and scarcely legible, in a space which was left blank to be filled up when buried.
(7). Marquis de Quesne * * * Nothing is known of his early life; but he was descended from Abraham Duquesne, the famous admiral of Louis XIV. In the latter part of 1754 he demanded his recall to France in order to enter the naval service, with which he was more familiar. Little more is known of him except that in 1758 he was appointed to the command of all the French forces, sea and land, in North America and that soon after he sailed in a small squadron, which was utterly discomfitted by the English. We must agree with the author of Braddock's Expedition, who remarked, that, "It is unjust to the past age, that the names of such men as Duquesne, Dumas and Contrecoeur should be consigned to oblivion. Thus we are left in ignorance of the period of Duquesne's death, and of all save a single circumstance in his latter career." [History of Braddock's Expedition, pp. 29-34.] He was a rigid disciplinarian, and his lofty bearing offended the Canadians; but he commanded their respect, and showed that he was born to rule. [Montcalm & Wolfe, Parkman, Vol. i, p. 85. Quoted in Register, note 35–introduction.]
(8.) "On the tenth of June, (1754), nine deserters from the French arrived at Washington's camp, [at Fort Necessity,] and confirmed intelligence previously received by a messenger sent from Logstown to Tanacharison. These deserters also stated that the fort at the forks was completed," [Olden Time, Vol. i, p. 39.] It has been asserted that the French merely completed the structure which had been begun by Trent, but the following extract from a French official report would seem to refute that assertion: "They the English under Capt. Trent were summoned to depart immediately out of the lands belonging to France. They obeyed and quietly evacuated their fort: they also prayed M. de Contrecoeur to give them some provisions, which they were in want of: he ordered them a plentiful supply, and destroyed their fort." Memoir Contenant le Precis des faits, &c. [Olden Time, Vol. ii, p. 150.]
(9.) Nemacolin's path led from the mouth of Wills creek (Cumberland, Md.), to the forks of the Ohio. It doubtless existed as a purely Indian trail before Nemacolin's time. For when the Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania traders with the Indians on the Ohio, began their operations, perhaps as early as 1740, they procured Indians to show them the best and easiest route, and this was the one they adopted. So says Washington. And when the Ohio Company, was formed, in 1748, and preparing to go into the Ohio Indian trade on a large scale, they proceed Col. Thomas Cresap, [of Old Town. Md.], to engage some trusty Indians to mark and clear the pathway. For this purpose he engaged Nemacolin, a well known Delaware Indian, which resided at the mouth of Dunlap's creek, which, in early times, was called Nemacolin's creek. The commissioner and engineer, with the aid of other Indians, executed the work, in 1750, by blazing the trees, and cutting away and removing the bushes and fallen timber, so as to make it a good pack-horse path. Washington says that "the Ohio Company, in 1753, at a considerable expense, opened the road. In 1754, the troops whom I had the honor to command, greatly repaired it, as far as Gist's plantation; and, in 1755, It was widened and completed by General Braddock to within six miles (about) of Fort Duquesne." This is a brief history of the celebrated Braddock Road. [Monongahela of Old, p. 27.]
(10.) "Washington, who for a time had been stationed at Alexandria to enlist recruits, received from Dinwiddie a, commission as lieutenant-colonel and orders, with one hundred and fifty men, to take command at the forks of the Ohio; 'to finish the fort already begun there by the Ohio Company ;' and 'to make prisoners, kill, or destroy all who interrupted the English settlements.' Officers and men were encouraged by the promise of a royal grant of two hundred thousand acres on the Ohio, to be divided amongst, them." [History of the United States, Vol. iii, p. 72.–Bancroft.]
(11.) "Shamokin Daniel, who came with me, went over to the fort [Duquesne] by himself, and counselled with the Governor, who presented him with a laced coat and hat, a blanket, shirts, ribbons, a new gun, powder, lead, &c. When he returned he was quite changed, and said 'See here, you fools, what the French have given me. I was in Philadelphia, and never received a farthing;' and (directing himself to me) said, 'The English are fools, and so are you.' "–[Post, First Journal.] Washington, while at Fort LeBoeuf, was much annoyed by the conduct of the French who did their utmost to seduce his Indian escort by bribes and promises. [Parkman, Pontiac, chap. iv, n.]
(12.) The interest excited by the adventurous spirit of this man Stobo, who was the first English military prisoner in Fort Duquesne, and who gave the first plan and description of it, induced Neville B. Craig, Esq., the historian of Pittsburgh, to gather the principal incidents of his life. From the result of his inquiry we learn, that Robert Stobo was the only son of William Stobo, a merchant of Glasgow, in which city Robert was born in the year 1727. His father and mother both died when he was young, and he was then, with his own consent, sent to Virginia to serve in a store owned by some Glasgow merchants. He became a great favorite of the Governor, Dinwiddie, who, in 1754, when apprehensions began to be entertained of a frontier war, appointed him the oldest Captain of the Virginia regiment, then raised. After being detained some time he was sent to Quebec. Not, however, as a close prisoner, but having the privilege of going about the neighboring country until some time after Braddock's defeat, when a great change took place in his situation. When General Braddock began his expedition, against Fort Duquesne, copies of the foregoing letters and the accompanying plan of that fort were given to him, and at the time of his defeat they fell into the hands of the enemy, and were published. The consequence was that Stobo was immediately ordered into close confinement. Subsequently he was tried and sentenced to be executed, the sentence, however, was deferred; though his confinement was rendered still more rigorous. At length, however, he effected his escape, and after some most extraordinary adventures indeed, arrived at Louisburgh, on the Island of Cape Breton shortly after General Wolfe had sailed for Quebec. He immediately returned to Quebec, afforded that General much information and pointed out the place of landing. [History of Pittsburgh, p. 39.]
In a memorial, etc., on the side of the French, we have the following: "These hostages named, the one Jacob Ambrane (Vanbraam), and the other Robert Stobo, were two very crafty spies, and found means to carry on a correspondence with the English Generals. There were found among the papers which fell into the hands of the French after the battle of the 9th of July, 1755, [Braddock's Defeat] the letters which Robert Stobo, one of the hostages had written to Major Washington. That of the 28th of July, to which is annexed an exact plan of Fort Du Quesne, which he had himself drawn, deserves above all a careful perusal." (Olden Time, Vol. ii, p. 152.]
(13.) These letters along with many other valuable documents, were secured through the fortunes of war by the French, and were published by the French, under the Royal sanction, at Paris, in 1756. These documents were the private instructions given to Washington and to Braddock; the articles of the capitulation at Fort Necessity, an account from the French point of view of the unfortunate Jumonville affair, the journal of Washington in that campaign, which had not yet been published in England, and many other papers. The chief object of their early publication in Europe was to prejudice the claims of Great Britain as against those of France in America.
There are, in the book, several very ludicrous mistakes, as might well be expected in a work translated from English into French, and then offered to English readers through a translation back from the French. Thus Ensign Ward, is called Ensign Wart; and the word "tomahawk" in Stobo's letter appears thus: "they can conceal themselves so as to dispatch the guard without any difficult with their Tamkanko." Olden Time, Vol. ii, p. 216.]
The full title of this work is as follows: "A memorial containing a summary view of facts, with their authorities, in answer to the observations sent by the English Ministry to the Courts of Europe. Translated from the French. New York, printed and sold by H. Gaine, at the Printing Office of the Bible and Crown, in Hanover Square, 1757."
(14.) La Force, after his capture by Washington at the Jumonville affair, was sent with the other prisoners into Virginia where he yet remained unexchanged.
(15.) "A journal descriptive of some of the French forts: Had from Thomas Forbes, lately a private soldier in the King of France's service." [Christopher Gist's Journals, by Wm. M. Darlington, Esq., p. 151.]
(16.) Records vi, 224. Deposition made Decr. 28, 1754.
(17.) Records vi, 224. Decr. 28, 1754.
(18.) Archives ii, 173.
(19.) Archives ii. 173.
(20.) Archives ii, 213.
(21.) Records vi, 181.
(22.) Records vi, 181.
(23.) Governor DeLaney to Gov. Morris. (Arch. ii, 264.)
(24.) Capt. Rutherford to Mr. Allen. (Arch. ii, 288.)(25.) Archives, Second Series, vi, 253.
In regard to the statement of Fort Machault’s location, referred to in foregoing, see Fort Machault.
(26.) In the account of Braddock’s expedition we have followed that of I. D. Rupp in the History of Western Penna., as his version is taken almost literally from the official papers and authoritive writings bearing on the subject. We have verified wherever possible their authenticity. The part which relates the flight of the army after the death of Braddock to Dunbar’s camp is from Parkman’s Montcalm and Wolfe, Vol. ii, p. 223; and whenever necessary we have followed Winthrop Sargent’s “History of an Expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1755, etc.” These, with the Sparks’ Washington are made up for the most part from official documents.
Major-General Edward Braddock, only son of Major-General Braddock, was born before the close of the 17th century. He entered the army as Ensign in the Grenadier company of the Coldstream Guards, 11th of October, 1710; on the 1st August, 1716, was appointed Lieutenant, and fought a duel, with sword and pistol, with Colonel Waller, 26th May, 1718; on the 30th of October, 1734, he became Captain-Lieutenant, and on the 10th February, 1736, Captain, with the army rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He served in Flanders; became second Major of his regiment in 1743; was present at the battle of Fontenoy, 11th May, 1745, and was appointed 1st Major of the Coldstreams, and Lieutenant-Colonel, 21st November, 1745, Brigadier-General, April 23d, 1746, and in 1747 and 1748, served again in Flanders. In 1753 he was appointed Colonel of the 14th Foot; in March of the following year, Major-General; and on the 24th of September, Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty’s troops in America. He sailed from England 21st December, 1754 arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia, 20th of February, 1755, and was killed on the banks of the Monongahela, in Western Pennsylvania, on the 9th July of the same year.
The route Braddock’s army pursued from Fort Cumberland to the Monongahela river, as given by Mr. T. C. Atkinson with his map. [From the Olden Time, Vol. ii. p. 539.]
(27.) Mr. T. C. Atkinson's account of the march is substantially as follows:
General Braddock landed at Alexandria on the 20th of February, 1755. The selection of this port for the debarcation of the troops, was censured at the time, though it is probable it had the approval of Washington. The two regiments he brought with him were defective in numbers, having but about five hundred men each, and it was expected their ranks would be recruited in America. It is shown by the repeated requests on this point made by the General at Cumberland, that this expectation was vain. After numerous delays, and a conference with the Royal Governors, we find Gen. Braddock en route on the 24th of April, when he had reached Frederick town in Maryland. Passing thence through Winchester, Va., he reached Fort Cumberland about the 9th of May. Sir John Sinclair, Deputy Quartermaster General, had preceded him to this point about two weeks.
The army struck the Little Cacapehon, (though pronounced Cacapon, I have used (say Mr. Atkinson) for the occasion the spelling of Washington, and various old documents) about six miles above its mouth, and following the stream, encamped on the Virginia side of the Potomac, preparatory to crossing into Maryland. The water is supposed to have been high at the time, as the spot is known as the Ferry-fields, from the army having been ferried over. This was about the 4th or 5th of May, [1755.]
The army thence pursued the banks of the river, with a slight deviation of route at the mouth of the South Branch, to the village of Old Town, known at that time as the Shawnee Old Town, modern use having dropped the most characteristic part of the name. This place, distant about eight miles from the Ferry-fields, was known at that early day as the residence of Col. Thomas Cresap, an English settler, and the father of the hero of Logan’s speech. The road proceeded thence parallel with the river and at the foot of the hills, till it passes the narrows of Wills mountain, when it struck out a shorter line coincident with the present country road, and lying between the railroad and the mountain, to Fort Cumberland.
From the Little Cacapehon to this point the ground was comparatively easy, and the road had been generally judiciously chosen. Thence forward the character of the ground was altered, not so much in the general aspect of the country, as that the march was about to abandon the valleys, and now the real difficulties of the expedition may be said to have commenced.
The fort had been commenced the previous year, after the surrender at the Great Meadows, by Col. Innes, who had with him the two independent companies of New York and South Carolina. It mounted ten four pounders, besides swivels, and was favorably situated to keep the hostile Indians in check.
The army now consisted of 1,000 regulars, 30 soldiers, and 1,200 provincials, besides a train of artillery. The provincials were from New York and Virginia; one company from the former colony was commanded by Captain Gates, afterwards the hero of Saratoga. On the 8th of June, Braddock having through the interest and exertions of Dr. Franklin, principally, got 150 wagons and 2,000 horses from Pennsylvania, was ready to march.
Scaroodaya, successor to the Half-King of the Senecas, and Monacatootha, whose acquaintance Washington had made on the Ohio, on his mission to LeBoeuf, with about 150 Indians. Senecas and Delawares, accompanied him. George Croghan, the Indian Agent of Penna., and a friendly Indian of great value, called Susquehanna Jack, were also with him.
The first brigade under Sir Peter Halket, led the way on the 8th, and on the 9th the main body followed. Some idea of the difficulties they encountered, may be had when we perceive they spent the third night only five miles from the first. The place of encampment, which is about one-third of a mile from the toll-gate on the National road, is marked by a copious spring bearing Braddock’s name.
For reasons not easy to divine, the route across Wills mountain first adopted for the National road was selected, instead of the more favorable one through the narrows of Wills creek, to which the road has been changed within a few years, for the purpose of avoiding that formidable ascent. The traces are ‘very distinct on the western foot, the route continued up Braddock’s run to the forks of the stream, where Clary’s tavern now [1848] stands, 9 miles from Cumberland, when it turned to the left, in order to reach a point on the ridge favorable to an easy descent into the valley of George’s creek. It is surprising that having reached this high ground, the favorable spur by which the National road accomplishes the ascent of the Great Savage mountain, did not strike the attention of the engineers, as the labor requisite to surmount the barrier from the deep valley of George’s creek, must have contributed greatly to those bitter complaints which Braddock made against the Colonial Governments for their failure to assist him more effectively in the transportation department.
Passing then a mile to the south of Frostburg, the road approaches the east foot of Savage mountain, which it crosses about one mile south of the National road, and thence by every favorable ground through the dense forests of white pine peculiar to this region, it got to the north of the National road, near the gloomy tract called the Shades of Death. This was the 15th of June, when the dense gloom of the summer woods, and the favorable shelter which these enormous pines should give an Indian enemy, must have made a most sensible impression on all minds, of the insecurity of their mode of advance.
This doubtless had a share in causing the council of war held at the Little Meadows the next day. To this place, distant only about twenty miles from Cumberland, Sir John Sinclair and Maj. Chapman had been dispatched on the 27th of May, to build a fort; the army having been seven days in reaching it, it follows as the line of march was upwards of three miles long, the rear was just getting under way when the advance were lighting their evening fires.
Here it may be well enough to clear up an obscurity which enters into many narratives of these early events, from confusing the names of the Little Meadows and Great Meadows, Little Crossings and Great Crossings, which are all distinct localities.
The Little Meadows have been described as at the foot of Meadow mountain; it is well to note that the Great Meadows are about thirty-one miles further west, and near the east foot of Laurel Hill.
By the Little Crossings is meant the Ford of Casselman's river, tributary of the Youghiogheny; and by the Great Crossings, the passage of the Youghiogheny itself. The Little Crossings is two miles west of the Little Meadows, and the Great Crossings seventeen miles further west.
The conclusion of the council was to push on with a picked force of 1,200 men, and 12 pieces of cannon; and the line of march, now more compact, was resumed on the 19th. Passing over ground to the south of the Little Crossings, and of the village of Grantsville, which it skirted, the army spent the night of the 21st at the Bear Camp, a locality I have not been able to identify, but suppose it to be about midway to the Great Crossings, which it reached on the 23d. The route thence to the Great Meadows or Fort Necessity, was well chosen, though over a mountainous tract, conforming very nearly to the ground now occupied by the National road, and keeping on the dividing ridge between the waters flowing into the Youghiogheny on the one hand, and the Cheat river on the other. Having crossed the Youghiogheny, we are now on the classic ground of Washington's early career, where the skirmish with Jumonville, and Fort Necessity, indicate the country laid open for them in the previous year. About one mile west of the Great Meadows, and near the spot now marked as Braddock's Grave, the road struck off more to the northwest, in order to reach a pass through Laurel Hill, that would enable them to strike the Youghiogheny, at a point afterwards known as Stewart's Crossings, and about half a mile below the present town of Connellsville. This part of the route is marked by the farm known as Mount Braddock. This second crossing of the Youghiogheny was effected on the 30th of June. The high grounds intervening between the river and its next tributary. Jacob's creek, though trivial in comparison with what they had already passed, it may be supposed, presented serious obstacles to the troops, worn out with previous exertions. On the 3d of July a council of war was held at Jacob's creek, to consider the propriety of bringing forward Col. Dunbar with the reserve, and although urged by Sir John Sinclair with, as one may suppose, his characteristic vehemence, the measure was rejected on sufficient grounds. From the crossing of Jacob's creek, which was at the point where Welchhonse's mill now stands, about one and a half miles below Mount Pleasant turnpike near the village of the same name, and thence by a more westwardly course, passing the Great Sewickley near Painter's Salt Works, thence south and west of the postoffice of Madison and Jacksonville, it reached the Brush Fork of Turtle creek. It must strike those who examine the map, that the route for some distance, in the rear and ahead of Mount Pleasant, is out of the proper direction for Fort Duquesne, and accordingly we find on the 7th of July, Gen. Braddock in doubt as to his proper way of proceeding. The crossing of Brush creek which he had now reached, appeared to be attended with so much hazard, that parties were sent to reconnoitre, some of whom advanced so far as to kill a French officer within half a mile of Fort Duquesne.
Their examinations induced a great divergence to the left, and availing himself of the Valley of Long run, which he turned into, as is supposed, at Stewartsville, passing by the place now known as Samson's mill, the army made one of the best marches of the campaign, and halted for the night at a favorable depression between that stream and Crooked run, and about two miles from the Monongahela. At this spot, about four miles from the battle ground, which is yet well known as Braddock's spring, he was rejoined by Washington on the morning of the 9th of July.
The approach to the river was now down the valley of Crooked run, to its mouth, where the point of fording is still manifest, from a deep notch in the west bank, though rendered somewhat obscure by the improved navigation of the river. The advance, under Col. Gage, crossed about 8 o clock, and continued by the foot of the hill bordering the broad river bottom to the second fording, which he had effected nearby as soon as the rear had got through the first.
The second and last fording at the mouth of Turtle creek, was in full view of the enemy's position, and about one mile distant. By 1 o'clock the whole army had gained the right bank, and was drawn up on the bottom land, near Frazier's house, (spoken of by Washington, as his stopping place, on his mission to LeBoeuf), and about three-fourths of a mile distant from the ambuscade.
The advance was now about to march, and while a part of the army was yet standing on the plain, the firing was heard. Not an enemy had yet been seen."
Braddock's Grave.—"A few yards west of the Braddock Run on the National Turnpike in Wharton township, Fayette county, on the north side of the road is the grave of Braddock. When the road was being prepared in 1812, human bones were dug up a few yards from the road on Braddock's Rim, some military trappings found with them indicated an officer of rank, and as General Braddock was known to have been buried on this run, the bones were supposed to be his. Some of them were sent to Peale's Museum in Philadelphia. Abraham Stewart gathered them up as well as he could secure them, and placed them under a tree, and a board with‘Braddock's Grave" marked on it was fastened to the tree. In 1872, J. King, Editor of the Pittsburgh Gazette, came out to Chalk Hill, cut down the old tree inclosed the spot with the neat fence now standing, and planted the pine trees now round the grave." [Evert's History of Fayette Co.]
(28.) "The Register of Fort Duquesne," &c. This Register is a translation from the original Registry of baptisms and deaths, &c., as it was kept at Fort Duquesne during the time of the French occupancy, by their priest, the Rev. Charles Baron. It was copied from the Records in Canada, under the supervision of Mr. John Gilmary Shea, LL. D., and edited with a historical introduction and exhaustive notes by Rev. A. Lambing, A. M ., and published at Pittsburgh, Pa., 1885. The Register extends from June, 1 1754 to December, 1756. The most interesting entry in the Register is that in which is recorded the death and burial of Beaujeu. It is as follows:
"In the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, on the ninth of July, was killed in the battle fought with the English, and the same day as above, Mr. Lienard Daniel, Esquire, Sieur de Beaujeu, Captain of Infantry, Commander of Fort Duquesne and of the army, who was aged about forty-five years, having been at confession and performed his devotions the same day. His remains were interred on the twelfth of the same month, in the cemetery of Fort Duquesne under time title of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin at the Beautiful river, and that with customary ceremonies by us, recollect priest, time undersigned chaplain of the King at the above-mentioned fort. In testimony whereof we have signed.
Fr. Denys Baron, P. R.,
Chaplain.""The precise location of this cemetery cannot now be determined, nor will it ever be, from the fact that much of the of the point has been filled from eight to twelve feet above its level at the time of the French."
Father Lambing continues further, giving a reasonable explanation of these unsatisfactory averments, and says: "The conflicting statements may, perhaps, be reconciled in one of two ways: Either Beaujeu had not yet assumed command, and then he is spoken of in the Register as commander by anticipation, as one who held the commission but had not yet begun to exercise the duties of the office to which he was appointed; or else he was actually in command, as is stated in the Register, but being dead, Contrecoeur could, without fear of contradiction, take the honor of victory to himself, and claim recognition from the home government for his eminent services. We need not be surprised at this statement, for it is well known that veracity was not among the most eminent virtues of some of the representatives of France in the New World. Nor would the Governor-General be likely to refuse his countenance to the fraud, if proper influence were brought to bear upon him. I am at a loss which of these opinions to embrace, but regard the latter as the more probable. The reader can choose for himself. But whatever may be said of the commander at the time of the battle, Contrecoeur resumed command after that time. M. Dumas was a subordinate officer under Beaujeu at the battle, and the historian of General Braddock states that for his gallant conduct on the occasion he "was early in the subsequent year promoted to succeed M. de Contrecoeur in the command of Fort Duquesne. This is a mistake. His name appears in the Register as commander at least as early as September 18, 1755."
The supposition of Father Lambing would seem to be altogether tenable. The trickery and corruption of the Canadian officials exceeds all belief. It is hard to say what would have been represented in a petition for a pension had Beaujeu lived to make application for it.
Touching this conflict of authority we may observe that in the Journal of Operations of the Army, &c., Arch., vi, 2d Series, it is said "M. de Beaujeu, who was in command of the fort, notified of their march, and much embarrassed to prevent the siege with his handful of men, determined to go and meet the enemy."
In the paper called "An account of what has occurred this year in Canada." Arch., vi, 328, reference is made to Contrecoeur in the following words: "Sieur de Contrecoeur, Captain in the Canadian troops, who was in command of that fort [Duquesne]," etc.
See further as to the details of this expedition and relative subjects, Winthrop Sargent's History of an expedition against Fort Duquesne * * * * Parkman's writings, especially Montcalm and Wolfe, Penna. Archives, second series, Vol. vi.
As part of the instructions to Ensign Douville (or Donville) given by Dumas when in command of Fort Duquesne, as above referred to, are these: "He shall spare no pains to make prisoners who may be able to confirm to us what we already know of the enemy's designs. * * * * Sieur Douville will employ all his talents and influence to prevent the Indians exercising any cruelty on those who will fall into their hands. Honor and humanity ought to be our guides in that regard." This was given from Fort Duquesne, 23d of March, 1756. * * * * These are different sentiments from those generally heard throughout that time, and they indicate a different humanity than that which witnessed the naked savages, yelling like famished wolves round their prisoners whom the fire was scorching on that night after the defeat, as the scene occurred on time opposite shore from Fort Duquesne.
"Return of the artillery, munitions of war and other effects belonging to the English, found on the field of battle after the action which took place on the 9th of July, 1755, within three leagues of Fort Duquesne on the Oyo, between a detachment of 200 Canadians and 650 Indians, commanded by Captain de Beaujeu, and a body of 2,000 Englishmen under the command of General Braddock, exclusive of the considerable plunder that the Indians took: 4 brass pieces with the arms of England, of the calibre of 11 lbs; 4 brass pieces with the arms of England, of the calibre of 5-1/2 lbs; 4 brass mortars or howitzers of 7-1/2 in. diameter; 3 other grenade mortars, of 4-1/2 inch; 175 balls of 11 lbs; 57 howitzers of 6-3/4 inch; 17 barrels powder, of 100 lbs; 19,740 musket cartridges; the artifices for the artillery; the other articles necessary for a siege; a great quantity of muskets, fit and unfit for service; a quantity of broken carriages; 4 or 500 horses, some of them killed; about 100 head of horned cattle; a greater number of barrels of powder and flour, broken; about 600 dead, of whom a great number are officers, and wounded in proportion; 20 men or women taken prisoners by the Indians; very considerable booty in furniture, clothing and utensils; a lot of papers which have not been translated for want of time; among others, the plan of Fort Duquesne with its exact proportions.
"Note.—The Indians have plundered a great deal of gold and silver coin. (Arch., 2d Series, Vol. vi, p.)
The plan of the fort above referred to is the one which Captain Robert Stobo drew whilst a prisoner or hostage at Fort Duquesne.
(29.) Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, Chapter vii.
(30.) Archives, 2d Series, Vol. vi, p. 262.
(31.) History Western Penna., page 118.
(32.) Arch., Vol. ii, p. 530.
(33.) These extracts are taken from the Papers Relating to the French Occupancy, and are selected from them with regard to their bearing on Fort Duquesne and the Frontiers during that period. (Arch., 2d series, Vol. vi.)
(34.) Montcalm to Count D'Argenson. Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 352.
(35.) Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 354.
Ensign Douville was killed in an attack on a small fort on the north branch of the Cacapehon, in Hampshire county, Virginia. The name is written Donville in vi Arch., 600, and by
Sargent in his Braddock's Expedition, p. 224.(36.) Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 359.
(37.) Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 364.
(38.) Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 380.
(39.) Craig's History of Pittsburgh, p. 39. Archives iii, 147.
(40.) Further examination of Michael La Chauvinerie, Junior, 26th Oct., 1757. (Arch., Vol. iii, p. 205.)
(41.) History Western Penna., p.138. Montcalm and Wolfe, Chap. xxii, note.
(42.) Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 423.
(43.) Arch., 2d Series, Vol. vi, p. 425.
(44.) Arch., 2d Series, Vol. vi, p. 427.
They regarded the Loyalhanna as the Kiskiminetas which they called the River d'Attique.
(45.) Arch., 2d Series, Vol. vi, p. 418.
(46.) Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 351.
(47.) Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 355
(48.) Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 402.
(49.) Arch., 2d S., Vol. vi, p. 402.
(50.) Parkman, M. & W., Chap. xxii, n.
(51.) Arch., Vol. iii, p. 543.
(52.) Parkman M. & W., Chap. xxii.(53.) Parkman, M. & W., Chap. xxii.
(54.) Haslet's letter in Olden Time, Vol. i, p. 184, et seq.
(55.) Post's Second Journal, Nov. 22, 1758.
(56.) Col. Bouquet to Wm. Allen, Esq., C. J., Olden Time, Vol. i, p. 182. Gen. Forbes to Gov. Denny, Hist. Western Penna., Appx., p. 300.
A letter from the Hon. Colonel Bouquet, to Wm. Allen, Esq., Chief Justice of Pennsylvania :
"Fort Duquesne, 25th November, 1758.
"Dear Sir: I take, with great pleasure, the first opportunity of informing you of the reduction of this important place, persuaded that the success of his Majesty's arms on this side, will give you a great satisfaction, and reward you for all the pains you have taken for the difficult supply of this army."We marched from Loyal Hannon with twenty-five hundred picked men, without tents or baggage, and a light train of artillery, in the expectation of meeting the enemies and determining by a battle, who should possess this country. The distance is about fifty miles, which we marched in five days, a great diligence considering the season—the uncertainty of the roads entirely unknown, and the difficulty of making them practicable for the artillery.
"The 23d we took post at twelve miles from hence, and halted the 24th for intelligence. In the evening our Indians reported that they had discovered a very thick smoke from the fort, and in the bottom along the Ohio. A few hours after, they sent word that the enemies had abandoned their fort, after having burnt everything.
"We marched this morning, and found the report true. They have blown up and destroyed all their fortifications, houses, ovens and magazines; all their Indian goods were burnt in the stores, which seems to have been very considerable. "They seem to have been about four-hundred men; part have gone down the Ohio; one hundred by land, supposed to Presque Isle, and two hundred with the Governor M. de Lignery, to Venango, where he told the Indians, he intended to stay this winter, with an intention to dislodge us in the spring. We would soon make him shift his quarters, had we only provisions, but we are scarcely able to maintain ourselves here a few days to treat with the neighboring Indians, who are summoned to meet us. The destruction of the fort, the want of victuals, and the impossibility of being supplied in time at this distance and season of the year, obliges us to go back and leave a small detachment of two hundred men only, by way of keeping possession of the ground.
"This successful expedition can be of great service to the provinces, provided they will improve and support it. It is now the time to take vigorous measures to secure this conquest; and unless Virginia and Pennsylvania can agree upon an immediate assistance, all our pains and advantages will be lost.
"An immediate supply of provisions, clothing and necessaries, should at any rate be sent up for the support of the troops; and measures taken for the formation of magazines on the frontiers (Raystown and Cumberland), for the supply of an army to act early in the spring.
"The succors and directions from England would be too late, and if the colonies do not exert themselves to the utmost of their power, I am afraid they will have occasion to repent it."
(57.) Olden Time, Vol. i, p. 181.
(58.) Probably the ground where prisoners ran the gauntlet. See Smith's Narr.
(59.) Olden Time, Vol. i, p. 186.
(60.) See Fort Machault. Register, p. 30, whereat authorities are given.
(61.) Hist. Western Penna., Appx., p. 300.
(62.) Records, Vol. viii, p. 232. Centennial Celebration of the incorporation of Pittsburgh . Address Rev. Lambing, as to the authority for the form of the word.
(63.) It has been said, and apparently it seems to be correct, that "Fort Pitt" as applicable to the structure was first used by Gen. Stanwix, Dec. 24, 1759, in the body of the letter, where it is referred to. (Arch., Vol. iii, p. 696.) Even that letter he writes from "Pittsburgh." Other letters of his are dated at "Camp at Pittsburgh," though not invariably so.
(64.) Centenary Memorial, by Wm. M. Darlington, P 266. et seq.
(65.) Col. Mercer to Gov. Denny. (Records, viii, p. 292.
(66.) Records, viii, 314.
(67.) Records, viii, 315.
(68.) Records, viii, 316.
(69.) See Fort Machault. (Arch., iii, 671 & 674.)
(70.) Records, viii, 376.
(71.) Records, viii, 377.
(72.) Records, viii, 391.
(73.) Arch., iii, 685.
Gen. Stanwix to Gov. Denny: "Pittsburgh, Oct. 18th, 1759. We are proceeding here to establish a good post, by erecting a respectable fort. Our advancements are far unequal to my wishes, beginning so very late as the 10th of September, which was as soon as I got up working tools, and have continued as many troops here as I can feed for the works, to have been often brought to eight day's provisions. It is this that must bound every enterprise of every sort in this so distant a country, and all land carriages. The troops in the garrison, and on the communication, suffered greatly by death and desertions, altho' they were then paid to the first of October, and now only to the first of August." (Records viii, 427.)
(74.) Arch., iii, 693.
(75.) Western Penna., Appx., 127.
(76.) Western Penna., Appx., 129.
(77.) Records, viii, 383.
(78.) Western Penna., Appx., 139.
(79.) Arch., iii, 711.
(80.) Wm. M. Darlington in Cent. Mem., p. 267.
(81.) Hist. Pittsburgh, p. 85.
Extract of a letter from Pittsburgh, Sept. 24, (1759), "It is now near a month since the army has been employed in erecting a most formidable fortification; such a one as will, to latest posterity, secure the British empire on the Ohio. There is no need to enumerate the abilities of the chief engineer, nor the spirit shown by the troops, in executing the important task: the fort will soon be a lasting monument of both." Ibid.
(82.) Craig's Hist. Pittsburgh p. 87.
(83.) Olden Time, Vol. i, p. 199.
(84.) Arch., 2d Series, vii, 422.
(85.) Arch., iv, 39.
(86. Records, viii, 509.
(87.) Records, viii, 510.
(88.) Records, viii, 511.
(89.) Records, viii, 578.
(90.) Records, viii, 582.
(91.) Col. Burd's Journal. (Arch., 2d S., vii, 428.)
(92.) Records, viii, 592.
(93.) Arch., iii, 744. Records, viii, 646. Records, viii, 739.
(94.) Records, viii, 676.
(95.) Records, viii, 776.
(96.) Parkman, Pontiac, Chap. vii.
(97.) Parkman, Pontiac, Chap. vii.
(98.) Parkman, Pontiac, Chap. xviii. The account of the siege of Fort Pitt by the Indians, is largely taken from Parkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac, omitting therefrom such matters as is not clearly verified by authentic documents. Mr. Parkman has treated exhaustively the French and Indian war, having had access to papers and correspondence which had not theretofore been used, and chiefly the Bouquet and Haldiman Paper, copies of which he obtained from the original manuscript collection of the British Museum. He has also exhausted all the contemporary as well as the latter authorities.
(99.) Parkman, Pontiac, xviii (Vol ii, p. 6, n). Extract from a letter, Ecuyer to Bouquet: "Just as I had finished my letter Three men came in from Clapham's, with the Melancholy News, that Yesterday, at three O'Clock in the Afternoon, the Indians Murdered Clapham, and Every Body in his House: These three men were out at work, & escaped through the Woods. I Immediately Armed them, and sent them to Assist our People at Bushy Run. The Indians have told Byerly (at Bushy Run) to leave his Place in Four Days, or he and his Family would all be murdered: I am Uneasy for the little Posts—as for this, I will answer for it."(100.) Report of Conference with the Indians at Fort Pitt July 26th, 1763. Taken from MS. by Mr. Parkman. Id.
(101.) See Bouquet's expedition and Battle of Bushy Run, elsewhere, and Fort Ligonier.
(102.) Craig's History of Pittsburgh. p. 93.
(103.) Craig's Hist. Pittsburgh, p. 95.
(104.) The Major's name is sometimes written Edmonstone, and sometimes Edmondson. He signs his name Edmondstone where he himself had occasion to write it.
(105.) Arch. iv, 457.
The following is an extract from the message of Richard Penn, Governor, to the Assembly, on the 29th of Jan., 1773, (Records x, 69): "It cannot but be doubted but that the late Military Establishment at Fort Pitt, did very greatly Contribute to the rapid Population of the Country beyond the mountain, and that the withdrawing the King's Troops must of course not only depress the spirits of the Present Settlers, but retard the progress of the Settlement.
"I persuade myself that you will view the safety and protection of that Extensive and Flourishing district as an object of General importance, and worthy of the Public attention; and as it appeals to me that time most proper, and indeed the only assistance which can be afforded these people, is the supporting a small Garrison at that Post or Place, I find myself under the Necessity of applying to you to enable me to carry that Measure into Execution."
On the 5th of the same month in another message he says: "Altho' there may be no prospect of a speedy renewal of Hostilities on the part of the Indians, it may yet be good policy to guard in time against the worst that can happen, especially as the measure proposed will be attended with no great expense to the public; a garrison of 25 or 30 men to keep possession of that important place, being perhaps sufficient for the present." (Records x, 71.)
(106.) Records x, 141.
We have not entered into the merits of the claim of Edward Ward on a part of the land which belonged to the fortification after it had been dismantled by the British government, in 1772. The details of the contention which grew out of this claim may be seen in the notes to the Washington-Irvine Correspondence, the St. Clair papers, the Olden Time, Craig's History of Pittsburgh, and the Pennsylvania Archives and Colonial Records. We have alluded to it so far as was necessary in the treatment of our subject.
(107.) Arch. iv, 457
(108.) Arch. iv, 561.
(109.) Arch. iv, 629.
(110.) Craig's History of Pittsburgh, 121.
"To bring the account of this controversy, which has already occupied so much space to a close, we mention that under the kinder feelings produced by united resistance to Great Britain, movements were made early in 1779, to bring the question to an amicable settlement. For this purpose George Bryan, John Ewing and David Rittenhouse, on the part of Pennsylvania, and Dr. James Madison, late Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and Robert Andrews, on the part of Virginia, were appointed Commissioners to agree upon a boundary. These gentlemen met at Baltimore on the 31st of August. 1779, and entered into the following agreement:
"‘We (naming the Commissioners) do hereby mutually, in behalf of our respective states, ratify and confirm the following agreement, viz: To extend Mason and Dixon's line due west five degrees of longitude, to be computed from the Delaware river, for the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, and that a meridian, drawn from the western extremity thereof, to the northern limit of said state, be the western boundary of said State forever.'"
This agreement was confirmed and ratified by the Legislature of Virginia, upon certain conditions, on the 23d of June, 1780, and by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, on the 23d of September, 1780.
It now only remained to mark the lines upon the ground, so that the citizens should know to what authorities they owed allegiance and obedience, and to whom to look for protection." [Craig, Hist. Pittsburgh, p. 124, et seq.]
(111.) Captain Neville was then about forty-three or forty-four, about the same age as Washington, of whom he was an early acquaintance, and with whom he had served twenty years previous, in Braddock's expedition and defeat. He had, in the preceding year been elected a delegate to the Provincial Convention, which appointed Peyton Randolph, George Washington and others, delegates to the first Continental Congress, but was prevented from attending by sickness.
(112.) Craig's Hist. of Pittsburgh, p. 141.
(113.) Wash. Irvine Cor., p. 17.
Col. John Proctor in a letter to President Wharton from "Westmoreland county, Apr. ye 26th, 1778.
"Sir, I am able to inform you that Capt. Alexander McKee with sevin other Vilons is gon to the Indians, and since there is a Serj't and twenty od men gon from Pittsburgh of the Soldiers. What may be the fate of this Country God only knowes, but at Prisent it wears a most Dismal aspect." [Arch. vi, 445.]
(114.) Wash. Irvine Cor., p. 22.
(115.) Wash. Irvine Cor., 24.
(116.) Wash. Irv. Cor., 26.
(117.) Wash. Irvine Cor., p. 134.
Daniel Brodhead was born at Marbletown, Ulster county, New York, in 1736. His great grandfather, Daniel Brodhead, was a royalist and captain of grenadiers in the reign of Charles II. He came with the expedition under Colonel Nichols in 1664, that captured the Netherlands (now New York) from the Dutch, and settled in Marbletown in 1665. His son Richard, and his son Daniel, the father of the subject of this sketch, also resided in Marbletown. Daniel Brodhead, Sr., in 1736, removed to a place called Dansville on Brodhead's Creek, near Stroudsburgh, Monroe county, Pennsylvania, when Daniel Brodhead, Jr., was an infant. The latter and his brothers became famous for their courage in conflicts with the Indians on the border, their father's house having been attacked by the savages December 11th, 1755. Daniel became a resident of Reading in 1771, where he was deputy surveyor. In July, 1775, he was appointed a delegate from Berks county to the provincial convention at Philadelphia. At the breaking out of the Revolution, Daniel was elected a lieutenant-colonel (commissioned October 25, 1776), and subsequently became colonel of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment; his promotion was March 12, 1777, to rank from September 29, 1776. He participated in the battle of Long Island, and in other battles in which Washington's army was engaged. He marched to Fort Pitt, as has been already stated, in the summer of 1778, his regiment forming a part of Brigadier-General Lachlan McIntosh's command in the Western Department. Here, as we have seen, he served until the next spring, when he succeeded to the command in the West, headquarters at Fort Pitt. He retained this position until September 17, 1781, making a very efficient and active commander, twice leading expeditions into the Indian country, in both of which he was successful; but was superseded in his command at Pittsburgh by Colonel John Gibson. Brodhead was, at that date, colonel of the First Pennsylvania Regiment, to which position he was assigned January 17, 1781. After the war, he was Surveyor General of Pennsylvania. He was appointed to that office November 3, 1789, and held the place eleven years, he having previously served in the General Assembly. He died at Milford, Pike county. November 15, 1809. He was twice married. By his first wife he had two children; by his second, none. In 1872, at Milford, an appropriate monument was erected to his memory.
(118.) Letter Book to Oct. 20, 1780, in the Twelfth volume of the Archives, and the Correspondence from 1780 to Oct. 28th, 1781, in Olden Time, Volume ii, 376.
(119.) The report is found in the Archives xii, 155.
(120.) This Correspondence is in Olden Time, Vol. ii.
(121.) C. W. Butterfield, Esq. Introduction to the Washington-Irvine Correspondence, page 61, etc. Mr. Butterfield's statement is as condensed as is consistent with clearness. We have given sufficient references to indicate how much indebted we are to this compilation.
(122.) On the 6th of Nov., 1781, Gen. Irvine, on receipt of the news of the surrender of Cornwallis, issued an order to fire thirteen pieces of artillery in the fort, and the issue of a gill of whisky extraordinary to officers amid privates.
The Eighth Pennsylvania regiment, under command of Daniel Brodhead as Colonel marched, as previously explained, to Fort Pitt in the summer of 1778 to take part in an expedition under Brigadier-General Lachlan McIntosh against Detroit. The enterprise, it will already be seen, proved abortive, but the regiment remained in the Western Department; when, upon the arrival of Irvine, ‘‘its remains" were reformed into a "detachment from the Pennsylvania line, to be commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Bayard, as above indicated; the whole consisted of only two companies, the first commanded by Capt. Clark and Lieuts. Peterson and Reed; the second by Capt. Brady and Lieuts. Ward and Morrison.
(123.) Wash.-Irvine Cor., 66 and 67.
The Commander-in-Chief did not countenance the scheme of building the fort.
(124.) Hinds and Fisher had been tried by court-martial when Col. Gibson was in command, and sentenced to death. Upon representations made to the Commander-in-Chief the sentence in Fisher's case was not approved. Of Hinds' case the General knowing nothing more than what was contained in the papers submitted, left the case under the circumstances to General Irvine. For further information see the orders and proceedings in the Washington-Irvine Correspondence, notes p. 82.
(125.) Major Isaac Craig, was Deputy Quartermaster General, &c. He left a very large mass of papers and correspondence which has been well taken care of by his descendants. We shall have occasion to refer to him hereafter. For further information as to the subject connected with Major Craig's official duties, see the Second Series, Penna. Archives, Volume iv; the Letter Book of Maj. Isaac Craig running through several numbers of the Historical Register of 1884, and "Fort Pitt ," a compilation by the late Wm. M. Darlington Esq.
(126.) Wash.-Irvine Cor., 141.
(127.) Craig s Pittsburgh, 182.
(128.) Centennial Celebration of the Incorporation of Pittsburgh. Address by Rev. A. A. Lambing, p. 18. * * * * For Lee's Journal: See Olden Time.
On the 30th of November, 1782, preliminary articles of peace between the United States and Great Britain were signed at Paris. Commenting on the scarcity of information of affairs here at this period, Mr. Craig (Hist. of Pgh.) says. "From the period when the news of that event was received here, military movements and preparation would cease and business would probably stagnate for a time. In the fall of 1783, the proprietaries, John Penn, Jr., and John Penn, concluded to sell the lands within the Manor of Pittsburgh. The first sale was made in January, 1784, to Isaac Craig and Stephen Bayard, of all the ground between Fort Pitt and the Allegheny river, "supposed to contain about three acres. Subsequently, however, to the date of that agreement, the proprietaries concluded to lay out a town at the junction of the rivers, so as to embrace within its limits the three acres agreed to be sold, as well as all the ground covered by the fort. We presume, the purchasers of the three acres assented to this division of the ground, as they afterward received a deed describing the ground, not by the acre, but by the metes and bounds fixed by the plan of the town, except that the lots on the Monongahela were described as extending to the river, instead of being limited by Water street, as the plan exhibits them.
"The laying out of the town was complete by Thos. Vickroy, of Bedford county, in June, and approved by Tench Francis, the attorney of the proprietors, on the 30th Sept., 1784. Sales immediately commenced, many applications for lots were made as soon as the survey was completed and before it had been traced on paper."
(129.) Craig's Pittsburgh, 210-213.
The foregoing extracts in the text are mostly from the same authority.
(130.) Arch. xii, 437. Quoting Penna. Gazette, xi, 39.
(131.) Craig, 248.
(132.) The date of the publication of the History from which this extract is taken is 1851.
"Isaac Craig was born at Ballykeel-Ednagonnel, County Down, Ireland, of Presbyterian parents, about the year 1742, emigrating to America at the close of the year 1765 or beginning of 1766, and settled in Philadelphia, working as a journeyman house carpenter, which trade he had previously learned, becoming finally a master builder, and laboring with success until the breaking out of the Revolution. In November, 1775, he received an appointment as the oldest lieutenant of marines in the navy, and, in that capacity, served ten months, being promoted, after some active service, to a captaincy of marines. Having joined the army with his company as infantry, he was present at the crossing of the Delaware, the capture of the Hessians at Trenton, and at the battle of Princeton. On the 3d of March, 1777, he was appointed a captain of artillery in the regiment of Pennsylvania troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Proctor in which regiment he continued to
serve until it was disbanded at the close of the war. He was engaged with his company in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. Early in the spring of 1778, he was ordered to Carlisle. Here he remained until August, 1778. On the 29th of March, 1779, he was ordered to the command of the fort at Billingsport, on the Delaware, below Philadelphia, being relieved May 2d following. He was ordered with his regiment to Easton, May 20, 1779, and marched with Sullivan in his expedition against the Six Nations, returning to Easton, October 18, following. On January, 1780, he was with the army at Morristown, New Jersey. On the 20th of April, he was ordered to Fort Pitt with artillery and military stores, reaching that post on the 25th of June. He continued in command of the artillery there until the 29th of July, 1781, when he left with his detachment for the Falls (Louisville) in aid of Clark, as before narrated; getting back to Fort Pitt on the 26th of November.On the 12th of March, 1782, Captain Craig was promoted to be major, his commission bearing date March 13, 1782, to rank from October 7, 1781. His duties at Fort Pitt and the confidence reposed in him by General Irvine have already been indicated in previous pages. Major Craig continued at that post until the close of the war, when he became a citizen of Pittsburgh."
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