USA > Pennsylvania > Early history of western Pennsylvania, and of the West, and of western expeditions and campaigns, from MDCCLIV to MDCCCXXXIII > Part 45
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APPENDIX-NO. VIII.
Whereas, We have by our commission, bearing date the 24th day of September last past, appointed you to be General and Commander of all, and singular, our forces that are, or shall be in North America. For your better direction in discharge of your trust thereby reposed in you, we have judged it proper to give you the following instructions :
Ist. We, having taken under our royal and serious consideration, the representatives of our subjects in North America, and the present state of our colonies, in order to vindicate our just rights and possessions from all encroachments, and to secure the commerce of our subjects, we have given direction, that two of our regiments of foot, now in Ireland, com- manded by Sir Peter Halket and Col. Dunbar ; and likewise, a suitable train of artillery, transports and store ships, together with a certain number of ships of war, to convey the same, shall forthwith repair to North America.
2d. You shall, immediately upon the receipt of these our instructions, embark on board one of our ships of war, and you shall proceed to North America, where you will take our forces under your command : and we having appointed Augustus Kepple, Esq., to command the squadron of our ships of war, on the American station, we do hereby require and enjoin you to cultivate a good understanding and correspon- dence with the said commander of our squadron, during your continu- ence upon the service with which you are now entrusted. We having given directions of the like nature to the said commander of our squad- ron, with regard to his conduct and correspondence with you.
3d. And whereas, There will be wanting a number of men to make up the designed complements of our said regiments, from five hundred to seven hundred each : And whereas, It is our intention that two other regiments of foot, to consist of one thousand men each, shall be forth- with raised, and commanded by General Shirley and Sir William Pep- perell, whom we have appointed Colonels of the same, in our provinces and colonics in North America, and given directions, that the regiment under the command of the former, should rendevous at Boston ; and that under the command of the latter, at New York and Philadelphia : and we have given orders to our several Governors to be taking the previous steps towards contributing, as far as they can, to have about three thousand men in readiness, to be enlisted for these purposes, and to be put in proportion, as they shall be raised, under your command, and be subject to your distribution into the corps above mentioned. And we having thought proper to dispatch Sir John St. Clair, our Deputy Quarter Master General, and James Pilcher, Esq., our commissary of the musters in North America, to prepare every thing necessary for the arrival of the two regiments from Europe ; and for the raising of the forces above mentioned in America. You will inform yourself of such of our Governors, as you can most conveniently upon your arrival, and of all of them in due time; and likewise of our said Deputy Quarter Master General, and Commissary of the musters, concerning the progress they shall respectively have made in the execution of our commands, above mentioned, in order that you may be enabled, without delay, to act accordingly.
4th. Whereas, It has been represented to us, that the said forces, [ 54]
INSTRUCTIONS TO GEN. BRADDOCK, 1754.
which are to go from Cork, under your command, may be in want of provisions upon their arrival in America, we caused, in consideration thereof, one thousand barrels of beef, and ten tons of butter to be put on board the transport vessels, and to be delivered to you upon your arrival in America, in case you shall find the same to be necessary, in order to be distributed among the officers and troops, and the several persons be- longing to the train of artillery. But it is our royal will and pleasure, that in case the Governors of our colonies shall have provided a proper quantity of provisions for our troops upon their arrival, you will then signify the same to the Commander-in-Chief of our fleet, in those ports, that the said thousand barrels of beef, and ten tons of butter, or such part thereof as shall not be expended, may be applied to the use of our royal navy.
5th. Whereas, We have given orders to our said Governors, to pro- vide, carefully, a sufficient quantity of fresh victuals, for the use of our troops at their arrival ; and they should also furnish all our officers, who may have occasion to go from place to place, with all necessaries for travelling by land, in case there are no means of going by sea ; and likewise, to observe and obey all such orders as shall be given by you, or persons appointed by you from time to time, for quartering the troops, impressing carriages, and providing all necessaries for such, as shall ar- rive, or be raised in America, and that the said several services shall be performed at the charge of the respective governments, wherein the same shall happen. It is our will and pleasure that you should, pur- suant thereto, apply to our said Governor's, or any of them, upon all such exigencies.
6th. And, whereas, we have further directed our said governors, to prevail upon the Assemblies of their respective provinces, to raise, forth- with, as large a sum as can be afforded as their contribution to a common fund, to be employed provisionally for the general service, in North America, particularly for paying the charge of levying the troops, to make up the complements of the regiments above mentioned. It is our will and pleasure that you should give them all the advice and assistance you can towards effecting these good purposes, by establishing such a common fund as may fully supply the intended service. But you will take particular care to prevent payments of any money whatever, to the troops under your commands, except such as shall be pursuant to the returns made to you, of effective men.
7th. We having likewise directed our said governors to correspond, advise and confer with you about all such matters as may tend to the preventing the said levies in their respective provinces. You are hereby required to be aiding and assisting them in the execution of our said instructions ; for which purpose you will not only keep a constant and frequent correspondence in writing with them, but will likewise visit the said provinces, or any one of them, that you shall think it necessary for our service so to do : and, you will remind our said governors to use all possible dispatch, that the execution of our design may not be retarded by the slowness of levies to be made in their respective prov- inces ; or, for the want of transports, victuals, or any other necessaries, at such times and places as you shall think fit to appoint for their general
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APPENDIX-NO. VIII.
rendezvous. And if any preparations should be necessary for carrying on our services which is not contained in these, our instructions, you shall with the concurrence of the governors, who are to assist in any such service, make any such preparations, provided that the same shall appear to you absolutely necessary for the defence of our just rights and dominions ; and you will, in all such emergencies and occurrences that may happen, whether herein mentioned or not provided for by these instructions, not only use your best circumspection, but shall likewise call to your assistance a council of war when necessary, which we have thought fit to appoint upon this occasion, consisting of yourself, the commander-in-chief of our ships in these ports, such governors of our colonies or provinces, and such Colonels and other of our field officers, as shall happen to be at a convenient distance from our said general and commander of our forces ; and you shall with the advice of them, or the majority of them, determine all operations to be performed by our said forces under your command, and all other important points relating thereto, in a manner that shall be most conducive to the ends for which the said forces are intended, and for the faithful discharge of the great trust hereby committed to you.
8th. You will not only cultivate the best harmony and friendship possible with the several governors of our colonies and provinces; but likewise with the chiefs of the Indian tribes, and for the better improve- ment of our good correspondence with the said Indian tribes, you will find some fit and proper person agreeable to the southern Indians, to be sent to them for this purpose, in like manner, as we have ordered Col. Johnson to repair to the northern Indians, as the person thought to be most acceptable to them, to endeavor to engage them to take part, and act with our forces in such operations as you shall think most expedient.
9th. You will inform yourself, from time to time, of the nature and value of the presents that shall be voted, or ordered, by the Assemblies of our different colonies and provinces, in the accustomed manner of the inviting and engaging the Indian tribes to our alliance and interest, and you will be very watchful that a just and faithful distribution be made of the same by all such persons who shall be entrusted therewith, and you shall assist the said persons with your best advice in the said distribu- tion. You will likewise give a particular attention to the prudent disposal of such presents as shall be made upon any occasion, or such as shall have been prepared by Lieut. Governor Dinwiddie for the said Indians out of the money already vested in his hands, or otherwise.
10th. Whereas, it has been represented to us that an illegal corres- pondence and trade is frequently carried on between the French and our subjects, in the several colonies, you will diligently take all possible measures to prevent the continuance of all such dangerous practices ; particularly, that the French should not, upon any account whatever, be supplied with provisions, &e.
11th. Whereas, we have thought it necessary upon this occasion, to establish and ascertain the rank that shall be observed between the officers bearing our immediate commission, and those who act under the commissions of our governors, Lieutenant or Deputy Governors, or the Presidents of our colonies for the time being. We have ordered several
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BRADDOCK'S AND MORRIS' LETTERS, 1755.
printed copies thereof to be put into your hands, to be affixed or dispersed as you shall judge proper in America.
12th. You will herewith receive a copy of the early directions that were sent by our order, on the 28th August, 1753, to our several gov- ernors enjoining and exhorting our colonies in North America to unite together for their common, mutual defence, and you will see by our directions of the 5th July, copies whereof are now also delivered to you, our repeated commands for enforcing the observance of our said orders of the 28th August, 1753, and that we were graciously pleased to order the sum of £10,000, to be remitted in specie to Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie, to draw bills for a farther sum of £10,000, upon the condi- tions mentioned in our warrant of the 3d of July last, and transmitted to the said Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie, on the 27th of September fol- lowing, by our order for the general service and protection of North America ; and, the several other letters of October the 25th and 26th, and of November 4th, to our governors, to Sir Wm. Pepperell and Col. Shirley ; copies of which will be delivered to you herewith, will fully acquaint you with our orders and instructions, which have been signified to our officers and governors upon this subject, at those respective times, will enable you to inform yourself what progress has been made in the execution thereof. And, as extracts of Lieut. Governor Dinwiddie's letters of May 10th, June 18th, and July 24th, relating to the summons of the fort which was erecting on the forks of the Monongahela, and the skirmish that followed soon after, and likewise of the action in the Great Meadows, near the river Ohio, are herewith delivered to you. You will be fully acquainted with what has hitherto happened of a hostile nature upon the banks of that river.
13th. You will not fail to send us the first, and on every occasion that may offer, a full and clear account of your proceedings, and of all mate- rial points, relating to our service by letter to one of our principal Sec- retaries of State, from whom you shall receive from time to time such farther orders as may be necessary for your guidance and direction.
GEORGIUS REX.
[ No. IX. ] GEN. BRADDOCK'S AND GOV. MORRIS' LETTERS, 1755.
WILLIAMSBURG, VA., February 28, 1755.
SIR :- Your answer to Sir John St. Clair's first letter, is just arrived. I waited for the return of the messenger, or would have informed you sooner of my being at William's with his majesty's commission to com - mand all the forces in North America. I cannot help expressing the greatest surprise to find such pusillanimous and improper behavior in your assembly, and to hear of faction and opposition, when liberty and property are invaded, and an absolute refusal to supply either men, money or provisions, for their own defence, while they furnish the enemy with provisions, which his majesty has been informed of, and has ordered all suspected vessels to be stopped and forfeited; but to
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APPENDIX-NO. IX.
provide more effectually against this unnatural proceeding, I think it very advisable to put an embargo upon all provisions, and I should be much obliged to you, if you would immediately issue such an order. It is astonishing to see one of the principal colonies preserving a neu- trality, when his Majesty's dominions are invaded-when the enemy is on the frontier ; nay, when it is undetermined if the Fort of Duquesne is not in the Province of Pennsylvania. His Majesty, to drive the French from their encroachments, and out of the great regard to his subjects in these parts, has ordered two regiments and a train of artillery from England; no measures are taken to repair roads, to provide horses and carriages to transport the stores ; not even subsistence for those troops, who are come to restore and preserve that property, which their factious councils have suffered to be invaded.
My commission empowers me to settle with the rioters as I shall think proper. You may assure your Assembly, I shall have regard to the different behavior of the several colonies, and shall regulate their quar- ters accordingly ; and that I will repair by unpleasant methods, what, for the character and honor of the Assembly, I should be much happier to see cheerfully supplied.
I hope you will not impute any part of this letter as being addressed or directed to you. I am thoroughly satisfied of your good intentions, and the means you have used to obtain the necessary assistance ; nor do I doubt your continuation of them. I must desire you to establish a post with good horses at convenient distances, between Philadelphia and Winchester, for the forwarding yours and receiving my despatches, which may be of great importance during the operation of the cam- paign ; and I desire you will inform me of the places appointed.
Governor Dinwiddie writ to you concerning flour ; if you can prevail on your Assembly to raise any money, I should be glad you would pro- vide a large quantity, and send it to Winchester.
I was desired, before I left England, to recommend it to the governors of the provinces to make one common fund for the supplies of the several colonies ; that a treasurer should be appointed, with orders to answer any demands; as it is only proposed to expedite business, and as I declare myself quite disinterested, I shall be ready to give an ac- count of the disbursements.
Enclosed are letters from Lord Halifax and Mr. Penn. I hope they contain such matter as may prevail on your Assembly to contribute handsomely to the present service.
I am, sir, your most obedient and humble servant,
E. BRADDOCK.
WILLIAMSBURG, February 28, 1755.
SIR :- As the packet to Governor Shirley, which accompanies this, is of the utmost importance to his Majesty's service, which, as well the welfare of the colonies, may be greatly affected by the delay of it, I beg of you to forward it with all imaginable expedition, by a fresh express to Governor Shirley, and to use the same despatch in forward- ing his answer upon the return of the express to me.
I am, sir, your humble and most obd't serv't, E. BRADDOCK. P. S. I beg you would not keep the express above an hour. [ 58]
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BRADDOCK'S AND MORRIS' LETTERS, 1755.
PHILADELPHIA, March 12, 1755.
SIR :- I was honored with yours of the 28th Feb. last, by express, who came here on the ninth instant at night; and I immediately, by a fresh hand, sent forward the letters to the northern government, and wrote Mr. Delaney to do the same; and you may depend on my send- ing Shirley's letters by express to you as soon as they come.
I heartily congratulate you and this continent on your appointment to the command of his Majesty's forces, and safe arrival among us : events that must give pleasure to all that have any regard for the honor or in- terests of Britain, or the safety of these colonies.
The conduct of the Assemblies upon the continent, almost without exception, has been so very absurd, that they have suffered the French to take possession of the most advantageous places, not only to answer the purposes of a very extensive Indian trade, but to enable them to protect their own settlements and annoy ours; such are their forts at Niagara, Crown Point, and the several ones upon Lake Erie, the river Ohio and its branches. It is now about four years since the Indians first informed us of the designs of the French to take possession of the country upon the Ohio, and were very desirous that we should build them a strong house at, or near the place, where the French fort now stands ; and Mr. Hamilton, then Governor of this Province, recom- mended the matter to the Assembly, but they refused to be at any ex- pense about it, though a thousand pounds sterling would then have been sufficient ; and having shamefully suffered the French to encroach upon them, now more shamefully refuse to afford assistance to the troops that are employed to remove them.
I am heartily sorry that a province, that I have the honor to preside over, should behave in so shocking a manner ; especially as it ought to be the foremost on the present occasion ; not only as it is the country involved, but on account of its riches and number of inhabitants.
I am, sir, almost ashamed to tell you, that we have in this province upwards of three hundred thousand inhabitants ; that we are blessed with a rich soil and temperate climate, and besides our own consumption, raise provisions to supply an army of one hundred thousand men, which is yearly exported from this city, and with other commodities employs upwards of five hundred vessels, mostly owned by the merchants of this town. From a province so circumstanced, what might not have been reasonably expected; especially, as we are burthened with no taxes, and are not only out of debt, but have a revenue of seven thou- sand a year, and fifteen thousand pounds in bank, all at the disposal of the House of Assembly ; and yet, when their all is invaded, they refuse to contribute to the necessary defence of their country, either by establish- ing a militia, or furnishing men, money, or provisions ! The manner in which I have labored in these points with my Assembly, you will see by my several messages to them, which I sent to Governor Dinwid- die, and which I beg leave to be referred to.
The trade that has been carried on from these colonies with the French at Cape Breton, has certainly enabled them to support an army on the back of us, which they could not otherwise have done, and if that supply be effectually cut off, it must destroy them in time ; but, at
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APPENDIX-NO. IX.
present, their magazines are so full that they will not feel it; for, I have been well informed, that in the month of May last, upwards of forty English vessels were seen in the harbor of Louisburg at one time ; this trade was chiefly carried on from New York, Rhode Island, and Bos- ton : the two last places, indeed, carry their flour for that purpose from hence, which was sent first to those places, but the people here were no otherwise concerned in that supply. However, agreeably to your re- quest, I have made an order, that every vessel carrying provisions, or warlike stores, from hence, should give bond to land the same in some port of the king's dominions, or in the dominions of some prince or state in amity with his Majesty, other than the French King, a copy of which I send you herewith, and also to Commodore Keppel, to whom I also send a copy of the certificate of clearance, that I have ordered to be given to every vessel out of this port that shall give bond in pursu- ance to my order; and any vessel that does not produce such a certifi- cate, may be justly suspected of intending to supply the French.
I had the pleasure of receiving an account of your arrival some days before your express came hither, and immediately summoned the As- sembly of this province, who are to meet on Monday next, the seven- teenth instant, when I shall press upon them the doing every thing that is proper upon the present occasion, in which I promise myself more success from your letter to me, which I shall lay before them, than from any thing I can say. I have ordered the country, from a place called Carlisle, near the Susquehanna, westward to the Turkey's Fort, to be reconnoitered by persons best acquainted with those parts, with whom I sent a draughtsman ; and if it be possible to make a road that way, I will recommend it to the Assembly to enable me to do it.
Governor Shirley's son, who is the only recruiting officer here, has already raised above two hundred men for his father's regiment; in doing which, he has conducted himself with great prudence, and good sense ; and this day I expect a nephew of mine, to whom Gov. Shirley has promised one of his vacant companies, upon his raising one hundred and fifty men ; he has been about ten days returned from Boston, and I believe, has a considerable part of his number already, and will, very soon, in this province, with the aid I shall give him, not only complete the number he has engaged to raise, but will soon fill Shirley's regiment, though it should require a much greater number.
With this, I have the honor to send you a letter from Gov. Shirley to me, of the twenty-fifth ultimo, with a message from him to his Assem- bly, and their resolutions upon it, which, together, contain the plan he had laid for the operations of this summer.
The scheme is very extensive, and to execute it properly, in all its parts, will require a great number of men : more I am afraid, than can be raised and properly equipped in time ; though, I am told, the two thousand men for the eastern service are already raised, and I must do the New England governments the justice to say, that they are very active upon such occasions ; and, if you should approve the plan, and resolve to build a fort near Crown Point, I make no doubt, they would do their part ; but I do not think that the governments of New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, can be prevailed upon to do theirs ; the
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BRADDOCK'S AND MORRIS' LETTERS, 1755.
Assemblies of the two last, are under the influence of Quaker councils, from whom nothing good is to be expected ; and as to New York, the Albany members, who have a great deal of influence in their Legislature, are concerned in a very pernicious, but profitable trade, that is carried on between Albany and Crown Point; and it is to be feared, that they would rather see the former in the hands of the French, than contribute to annoying the latter. By that trade, the French are furnished with the most material articles of their India trade, and are thereby enabled, fully, to supply them, which they could not otherwise do; and within these few months, great quantities of gun powder have been bought up in this town and New York, and am told, sent from Albany to Crown Point ; there being only twelve miles land carriage between them, which you will see marked by a pricked line from the head of lake St. Sacrament to Hudson's river, upon a map I sent to Sir John St. Clair, by the last ex- press.
I shall try what the Assembly will enable me to do, with respect to the post you mention, and write you upon the head, as soon as I can form any judgement of their resolutions.
It will give me the most sensible pleasure, to afford you any assistance in the execution of your important command, not only from my zeal for his Majesty's service, but from the personal regard I have for you, and hope, when the public service will admit, you will give me an oppor- tunity of seeing you in a place that I shall be proud of rendering as agreeable to you as possible, and am
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