History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 14

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216

USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 14

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men remained in it, and Col. Burd, with the rest of his detachment, marched to Fort Pitt.

Gen. Stanwix remained at Fort Pitt until the fol- lowing year, and during his stay was very successful in cultivating the friendship of the Indians. A treaty council was held with them at the old fort on the 4th of July, 1759, and another at the new Fort Pitt in the following October, on which latter occasion Gen. Stanwix announced to the Indians the fall of the French fortress at Quebec,1 which had been taken by the forces of Gen. Wolfe in September, and which event, as he told them, was virtually an ending of the war. The Indians then formally buried the hatchet, and declared themselves the fast friends of the Eng- lish for all time. On the 25th of March, 1760, Gen. Stanwix set out for Philadelphia with a military es- cort and thirty-five chiefs of the Ohio Indians, leav- ing the fort garrisoned by seven hundred men. In September of that year the French post of Montreal surrendered, and this, with the fall of Detroit and other French posts, closed the "French and Indian War."

When the "Pontiac war" broke out in 1763 the Indians in this region, like those in all parts of the West, became actively hostile. They made their first demonstrations about the 1st of June in that year, in the neighborhood of Fort Pitt, then moved across the Alleghenies, and again committed fearful havoc in the settlements of the same region which they had ravaged from the fall of 1755 to 1757. A large body of savages also besieged Fort Pitt, cutting off' all supplies and communication. No information could be obtained as to the situation at the fort, and great alarm was felt for the safety of the garrison. At this crisis Col. Bouquet was ordered forward to its relief with a force composed of a body of colonial troops and the remnants of the Forty-second and Seventy- seventh Royal Regiments (Highlanders), who had then just returned from the siege of Havana, in the island of Cuba. Gen. Bouquet arrived at Fort Bed- ford July 25, 1763, and three days later commenced his march across the mountains, having with him a train of wagons loaded with provisions, stores, and munitions of war for Fort Pitt. At Fort Ligonier he left his wagons, and pushed on with his forces to- wards Fort Pitt. On the second day out from Ligo- nier the troops had marched seventeen miles, and had come within half a mile of Bushy Run (in the present county of Westmoreland), where they were expecting to halt and refresh themselves at a large spring, preparatory to a night march through the dangerous Turtle Creek ravines, when the war-whoop resounded on every side, and the advance-guard of

1 The French Fort Niagara had previously been taken by the English, Aug. 5, 1759. A few days later the French abandoned their posts at Venango and Le Bœuf, but left the Indians in good humor " by distrib- uting Laced Conts, Hats, and other Clothing among them." They told the Indians they were obliged to leave them for a time, but would soon return and take possession of the whole river.

EXPEDITIONS UNDER BOUQUET.

eighteen men were fired upon from ambush. Twelve of the eighteen fell dead at the first fire. The re- maining six ran back to the main body of troops, and then began, at one o'clock P.M., August 5th, the battle of Bushy Run, one of the most desperate con- flicts in which the red men and pale-face ever en- gaged.

In their first assault the Indians were repulsed and pursued a considerable distance, but they immedi- ately returned and again attacked with renewed vigor. Again and again they were repulsed, but as often returned to the attack. The fight continued without intermission through the long hours of that blazing August afternoon, but Bouquet stubbornly held his ground against great odds.

astonished to see the retreating Scots suddenly wheel and dash at them with fixed bayonets. Confident of victory with their superior numbers, and eager for the spoils of the camp, they met the assault of the High- landers with great impetuosity, and even broke the line of steel. But nerved to desperation by the hor- rors of the fate that awaited them in the case of de- feat, encouraged by the knowledge of the strategic movement hastening to a climax, and inspired by the presence and example of the heroic Bouquet, the broken line of Highlanders rallied, reformed, and bore down with dauntless courage on the ferocious savages. The Indians slowly began to yield before the sturdy Scotchmen, when they were startled by volleys from the men in ambush, and perceiving the trap in which they had been caught they gave a de- spairing whoop and fled in wild disorder. Through the woods and over the hills Bouquet's men pursued the flying savages, who never stopped until they were across the Allegheny. The defeat and rout were complete and final. Fort Pitt was relieved, and its garrison was not again disturbed by Indians. In the battle of Bushy Run, Bouquet lost fifty killed and sixty wounded. The loss of the Indians was not known, but sixty of their warriors lay dead on the field after the fight was over.

Darkness closed the conflict, but the hungry, weary troops, almost famished and suffering greatly from thirst, were obliged to keep vigilant watch all night long to guard against surprise. They had lost nearly one-fourth their number, and the Indians had been largely reinforced. With the dawn came re- peated and persistent assaults. The enemy grew bolder as their numbers increased, and the fatigue and distress of the soldiers became more and more apparent. It was comparatively easy for the brave Highlanders to put the savages to rout, charging on them with the bayonet, for no Indian has ever stood The savages retreated to the wilderness, thoroughly humbled and cowed for the time, but they were not yet sufficiently punished to insure peace to the settle- ments. In the following year (1764) Bouquet was sent out with another expedition, composed of the same Highland regiments who fought at Bushy Run, with Pennsylvania and Virginia provincial troops, amounting in all to nearly two thousand men. They assembled at Carlisle on the 5th of August, and im- mediately marched thence over the mountains, arriv- ing at Fort Pitt on the 15th of September. Bouquet up before a well-directed bayonet charge. But the moment the Scotchmen returned to the inner circle of defense the wily and dextrous savages, leaping from tree to tree, returned to the conflict with terrific yells. They pressed close enough to wound the frightened pack-horses, two hundred and fifty of which, laden with provisions and ammunition for the relief of Fort Pitt, were crowded together in the centre. The terrified drivers hid among the bushes regardless of commands from the officers. Matters were becoming desperate. The whites were rapidly falling, and : left Fort Pitt October 3d with his force, and marched

their relentless foes were growing stronger and bolder. It was a crisis requiring the highest kind of military genius and indomitable resolution, but Bouquet was equal to the occasion, and from the very jaws of de- feat, disaster, and death he snatched one of the most brilliant victories ever won over the Indians. down the Ohio, his objective-point being the Tusca- rawas. October 13th he arrived near the forks of the Muskingum, having met no enemy. On the 17th the Indian chiefs met him in council, asking for peace, but nothing was done there. Again they met on the 20th, and promised to bring their white prisoners to Taking advantage of the lay of the ground within the circle of fire with which they were encompassed, Bouquet formed an ambuscade with as large a body of Highlanders as could be spared for a brief space from the outer line of defense. The Indians were led to believe that the army was about to retreat to Fort Ligonier, and they massed their warriors for a charge where the line of defense was made to appear Bouquet at a place about one mile from the forks of the river. Bouquet on the 22d marched his force to the appointed place, where he took the precaution to intrench, to guard against perfidy, and built a house in which to receive the Indians. They came at the time agreed on, and were loud in their professions of a desire for peace. With them was Guyasutha, a Seneca chief, who was once a friend to the whites, but weakest. This was what Bouquet expected and de- | afterwards their most implacable foe. Bouquet treated the Indians sternly, telling them he would yield noth-

sired in order that the cold steel of the Highlanders might tell effectually. Part of the line gave way be- ! ing to them and distrusted their protestations. Which- fore the onset of the savages, and retreated in good ' ever they wanted, peace or war, he was prepared to order towards the centre of the camp, closely fol- give them. If it was peace, then they must deliver up all their white prisoners, and each tribe give hos- tages to vouch for their good faith. lowed by the whooping and exultant warriors; but when fully inside the ambuscade the savages were

64 .

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

The savages could do nothing but accede to the terms offered them, though they did so with a bad grace. The treaty was concluded with King Beaver and other Delaware chiefs on the 7th of November, and with the Shawanese on the 12th of the same month. In a letter written by Bouquet to the Governor of Pennsylvania, dated "Camp at the Forks of Mus- kingum, 15th November, 1764," the general said, " I have the pleasure to inform you that the Mingoes, the Delawares, and the Shawanese after a long strug- gle have at last submitted to the terms prescribed for them, viz. : First, to deliver all the prisoners without exception. Second, to give fourteen hostages, to re- main in our hands as a security for the performance of the first article, and that they shall commit no hos- tilities against his Majesty's subjects."

Of the hostages, the Mingoes gave two, the Dela- wares six, and the Shawanese six. Two hundred white captives had already been delivered, " and many of them," said Bouquet, "have remained so many years amongst them [the Indians] that they part from them with the greatest reluctance." But it was a part of the terms granted by Bouquet that all captives should be given up and forced to leave the savages, whether willing to do so or not. " I give you," said Bouquet, on the 6th of November, "twelve days from this date to deliver into my hands at Wakatamake all the prisoners in your possession, without any excep- tion, Englishmen, Frenchmen, women, children, whether adopted in your tribes, married or living amongst you under any denomination and pretense whatsoever, together with all negroes. And you are to furnish the said prisoners with clothing, provisions, and horses to carry them to Fort Pitt. When you have fully complied with these conditions you shall then know on what terms you may obtain the peace you sue for."

Two hundred and six prisoners were given up by the Indians, but there were still nearly one hundred more held by the Shawanese at distant points. These they promised to bring in in the following spring, and did bring nearly all of them. On the 18th of November the troops set out on their return to Fort Pitt, and ar- rived there on the 28th. A few days afterwards Bou- quet left the fort and returned to Philadelphia.

It had been made a part of Bouquet's agreement with the Indians on the Muskingum that they should go to Sir William Johnson on the Mohawk to sub- scribe to a formal treaty of peace. This they did ac- cording to agreement, and a treaty was concluded May 8, 1765.

CHAPTER VI. DUNMORE'S WAR.

IN the year 1774 occurred a series of Indian incur- sions and butcheries (chiefly by the Shawanese) in the white settlements of the western frontier, and a

retaliatory and entirely successful campaign carried on against the savages by white troops under com- mand of Lord Dunmore, then Governor of Virginia, and his lieutenants, which operations, extending through the summer and part of the autumn of the year named, have usually been known as " Dunmore's war." In that conflict the territory which is now Washington County saw but little of actual blood- shed and Indian atrocity, yet in the universal terror and consternation caused by the savage inroads and massacres, most of which occurred farther to the west and south, this region came near being as completely depopulated as all the territory west of the Laurel Hill range had been twenty years before by the panic which succeeded the French victory over Washington at Fort Necessity.

Dunmore's war was the result1 of several collisions

1 In reference to the causes which led to the Indian hostilities of 1774, an extract is given below from a letter written upon that subject, dated at Redstone Old Fort, on the Monongahela, in October, 1774, immedi- ately after the close of Lord Dunmore's successful campaign against the Shawanese. It is not known who was the writer, but he was evidently a person of position under Lord Dunmore, and bad been present with the Governor in the campaign and at the treaty which followed it. The letter is found in American Archives, vol. i. p. 1016, viz .:

" It will not be improper to investigate the cause of the Indian war which broke out in the spring, before I give you a sketch of the history of the expedition which his Excellency Lord Dunmore has carried on 80 successfully against the Shawanese, one of the richest, proudest, and bra- vest of the Indian nations. In order to do this it is necessary to look back as far as the year 1764, when Col. Bouquet made peace with that nation. The Shawanese never complied with the terms of that peace. They did not deliver up the white prisoners, there was no lasting impression made upon them by a stroke from the troops employed against them in that campaign, and they barely acquiesced in some articles of the treaty by command of the Six Nations. The Red Hawk, a Shawanese chief, insulted Col. Bouquet with impunity, and an Indian killed the colonel's footman the day after the peace was made. This murder not being taken notice of gave rise to several daring outrages committed imme- diately after.

" In the year following several murders were committed by the In- dians on New River, and soon after several men employed in the service of Wharton and Company were killed on their passage to Illinois, and the goods belonging to the company carried off. Some time after this outrage a number of men employed to kill meat for the garrison of Fort Chartres were killed, and their rifles, blankets, &c., carried to the Indian towns. These repeated hostilities and outrages being committed with impunity made the Indians bold and daring. Although it was not the Shawanese alone that committed all these hostilities, yet letting one nation pass with impunity when mischief is done inspires the rest of the tribes with courage, so that the officers commanding his Majesty's troops on the Obio at that time, not having power or spirit to pursue the In- dians nor address to reclaim them, mischief became familiar to them; they were sure to kill and plunder whenever it was in their power, and indeed they panted for an opportunity. It is probable you will see Lord Dunmore's speech to some chiefs of the Six Nations who waited on his Lordship; it mentions the particular murders and outrages committed by them every year successively since they pretended to make peace with Col, Bouquet.

" The most recent murders committed by the Indians before the white people began to retaliate were that of Capt. Russell's son, three more white men, and two of his negroes, on the 15th of October, 1773; that of a. Dutch family on the Kanawha in June of the same year, and one Richard in the July following ; and that of Mr. Hogg and three white men on the Great Kanawha early in April, 1774. Things being in this situation, a message was sent to the Shawanese, inviting them to a con- ference in order to bury the tomahawk and brighten the chain of friend- ship. They fired upon the messengers, and it was with difficulty they escaped with their lives. Immediately on their return letters were written by some gentlemen at Fort Pitt, and dispersed among the in-

DUNMORE'S WAR.

which took place in the spring of 1774, on the Ohio River above the mouth of the Little Kanawha, be- tween Indians and parties of white men, some of whom had rendezvoused in that region for the pur. pose of making explorations in the country farther to the southwest, and others who had gone there to clear lands and make preparations for settlement. Of the latter class was Capt. Michael Cresap, who was the owner of a store or trading-post at Redstone Old Fort (now Brownsville), on the Monongahela, which was his base of operations, but who had taken up (under authority of the colonial government of Vir- ginia) extensive tracts of land at and below the mouth of Middle Island Creek (now Sistersville, W. Va.), and had gone there in the early spring of the year named with a party of men to make clearings and build houses upon his lands there. Ebenezer Zane, afterwards a famed Indian-fighter and guide, was en- gaged at the same time and in the same way with a small party of men on lands which he had taken up at or near the mouth of Sandy Creek. . Another and larger party had gathered at the mouth of the Little Kanawha (the present site of Parkersburg, W. Va.), and were waiting there for the arrival of other Virginians who were expected to join them at that point, from whence they were to proceed down the river to the then scarcely known region of Ken- tucky, there to explore with a view to the planting of settlements. A leading spirit in this party (though not, strictly speaking, the leader of it) was George Rogers Clarke, who a few years later became widely famed as the general who led a body of Virginia troops on an expedition (which proved entirely suc- cessful) against Vincennes and other British posts in and west of the valley of the Wabash. Many years afterwards Gen. Clarke wrote an account (dated June 17, 1798) of the circumstances attending the com- mencement of hostilities in the spring of 1774, and of the movements of his party of Virginians and the other parties with Cresap and Zane along the Ohio at that time. His account, which was written at Louis- ville, Ky., is as follows :

habitants of the Ohio, assuring them that a war with the Shawanese was unavoidable, and desiring them to be on their guard, as it was uncertain where the Indians would strike first. In the mean time two men of the names of Greathouse and Baker sold some rum near the mouth of Yel- low Creek, and with them some Indians got drunk and were killed. Lord Dunmore has ordered that the manner of their being killed be in- quired into. Many officers and other adventurers who were down the Ohio in order to explore the country and have lands surveyed, upon re- ceiving the above intelligence and seeing the letters from the gentlemen at Fort Pitt, thought proper to return. Capt. Michael Cresap was one of these gentlemen. On their return to the river they fell in with a party of Indians, and being apprehensive that the Indians were preparing to attack them, as appeared by their manœuvres, the white people, being the smallest number, thought it advisable to have the advantage of the first fire, whereupon they engaged, and after exchanging a few shots killed two or three Indians and dispersed the rest; hostilities being then commenced on both sides, the matter became serious."

" This Country [Kentucky] was explored in 1773. A resolution was formed to make a settlement in the spring following, and the mouth of the Little Kana-

wha appointed the place of general rendezvous, in order to descend the Ohio from thence in a body. Early in the spring the Indians had done some mis- chief. Reports from their towns were alarming, which deterred many. About eighty or ninety men only arrived at the appointed rendezvous, where we lay some days. A small party of hunters that lay about ten miles below us were fired upon by the In- dians, whom the hunters beat back and returned to camp. This and many other circumstances led us to believe that the Indians were determined on war. The whole party was enrolled, and determined to ex- ecute their project of forming a settlement in Ken- tucky, as we had every necessary store that could be thought of. An Indian town called the Horsehead Bottom, on the Scioto, and near its mouth, lay nearly in our way. The determination was to cross the country and surprise it. Who was to command was the question. There were but few among us who had experience in Indian warfare, and they were such as we did not choose to be commanded by. We knew of Capt. Cresap being on the river, about fifteen miles above us, with some hands settling a plantation, and that he had concluded to follow us to Kentucky as soon as he had fixed there his people. We also knew that he had been experienced in a former war. He was proposed, and it was unanimously agreed to send for him to command the party. Messengers were dispatched, and in half an hour returned with Cresap. He had heard of our resolution by some of his hun- ters that had fallen in with ours, and had set out to come to us.

"We thought our army, as we called it, complete, and the destruction of the Indians sure. A council was called, and to our astonishment our intended commander-in-chief was the person that dissuaded us from the enterprise. He said that appearances were very suspicious, but there was no certainty of a war; that if we made the attempt proposed he had no doubt of our success, but a war would at any rate be the result, and that we should be blamed for it, and perhaps justly. But if we were determined to pro- ceed he would lay aside all considerations, send to his camp for his people, and share our fortunes. He was then asked what he would advise. His answer was that we should return to Wheeling as a conven- ient spot to hear what was going forward ; that a few weeks would determine. As it was early in the spring, if we found the Indians were not disposed for war, we should have full time to return and make our estab- lishment in Kentucky. This was adopted, and in two hours the whole were under way. . . .

"On our arrival at Wheeling (the whole country being pretty well settled thereabouts) the whole of the inhabitants appeared to be alarmed. They flocked to our camp from every direction, and all we could say we could not keep them from under our wings. We offered to cover their neighborhood with scouts until further information if they would return to

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

their plantations, but nothing would prevail. By this time we had got to be a formidable party. All the hunters, men without families, etc., in that quar- ter had joined our party. Our arrival at Wheeling was soon known at Pittsburgh. The whole of that country at that time being. under the jurisdiction of Virginia,1 Dr. Connolly2 had been appointed by Dun- more captain-commandant of the district, which was called West Augusta.3 He, learning of us, sent a message addressed to the party, letting us know that a war was to be apprehended, and requesting that we would keep our position for a few days, as messages had been sent to the Indians, and a few days would determine the doubt. The answer he got was, that we had no inclination to quit our quarters for some time, that during our stay we should be careful that the enemy did not harass the neighborhood that we lay in. But before this answer could reach Pitts- burgh he sent a second express, addressed to Capt. Cresap, as the most influential man amongst us, in- forming him that the messengers had returned from the Indians, that war was inevitable, and begging him to use his influence with the party to get them to cover the country by scouts until the inhabitants could fortify themselves. The reception of this letter was the epoch of open hostilities with the Indians. A new post was planted, a council was called, and the letter read by Cresap, all the Indian traders being summoned on so important an occasion. Action was had, and war declared in the most solemn manner; and the same evening (April 26th) two scalps were brought into camp. The next day some canoes of Indians were discovered on the river, keeping the advantage of an island to cover themselves from our view. They were chased fifteen miles and driven ashore at Pipe Creek. A battle ensued; a few were wounded on both sides, one Indian only taken pris- oner. On examining their canoes we found a consid- erable. quantity of ammunition and other warlike stores. On our return to camp a resolution was adopted to march the next day and attack Logan's4 camp on the Ohio, about thirty miles above us. We did march about five miles, and then halted to take some refreshments. Here the impropriety of execut- ing the projected enterprise was argued. The con- versation was brought forward by Cresap himself. It was generally agreed that those Indians had no hos- tile intentions, as they were hunting, and their party was composed of men, women, and children, with all their stuff with them. This we knew, as I myself and

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History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 14

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1216

Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Hungerford, Austin N
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : H.L. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1216