History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 6

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 6

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The intelligence of the aggressive movements of the French caused the English home government to adopt more energetic measures than had previously been employed to meet and resist their advance into the Ohio River country. Among the official commu- nications addressed by the Earl of Holderness, sec- retary of state, to the governors of the several Ameri- can provinces was one to Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, containing directions concerning the French

encroachments. The letter of the secretary was sent by a government ship, and reached Dinwiddie in Oc- tober, 1753. In pursuance of the instructions con- tained, the Governor appointed and commissioned 2 GEORGE WASHINGTON, then a youth of only twenty- one years, but one of the adjutants-general of the military forces of Virginia, as bearer of dispatches to the commanding officer of the intruding French on the Ohio ; 8 charged, also, with the duty of ascertain- ing the numbers and equipment of the French forces there, what forts, if any, they had erected, and vari- ous other items of military intelligence, which are made clear in his letter of instructions, of which the following is a copy :

" Whereas, I have received information of a body of French forces being assembled in a hostile manner on the river Ohio, intending by force of arms to erect certain forts on the said river within this terri- tory, and contrary to the dignity and peace of our sovereign, the King of Great Britain,

" These are therefore to require and direct you, the said George Wash - ington, forthwith to repair to Logstown, on the said river Ohio, and, having there informed yourself where the said French forces have posted themselves, thereupon to proceed to such place, and, being there arrived, to present your credentials, together with my letter, to the chief com- manding officer, and in the name of his Britannic Majesty to demand an answer thereto.

"On your arrival at Logstown you are to address yourself to the Half- King, to Monacatoocha, and the other sachems of the Six Nations, ac- quainting them with your orders to visit and deliver my letter to the French commanding officer, and desiring the said chiefs to appoint you a sufficient number of their warriors to be your safeguard as near the French as you may desire, and to wait your further direction.

" You are diligently to inquire into the numbers and force of the French on the Ohio and the adjacent country ; how they are likely to be

" Following is a copy of the commission :

"TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, ESQUIRE, ONE OF THE ADJUTANTS.GENERAL OF THE TROOPS AND FORCES IN THE COLONY OF VIRGINIA.

" I, reposing especial trust and confidence in the ability, conduct, and fidelity of you, the said GEORGE WASHINGTON, have appointed you my [ express messenger; and you are hereby authorized and empowered to proceed hence with all convenient and possible dispatch to the part or place on the river Ohio where the French have lately erected a fort or forts, or where the commandant of the French forges resides, in order to deliver my letter and message to him ; and After waiting not exceed- ing one week for an answer, you are to take your leave and return im- mediately back.

" To this commission I have set my hand and caused the great seal of this dominion to be affixed, at the city of Williamsburg, the seat of my government, this 30th day of October, in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of his Majesty George the Second, king of Great Britain, &c., &c., annoque Domini 1753.

ROBERT DINWIDDIE." And the following was the tenor of the Governor's passport : " To all to whom these presents may come or concern, greeting :

" Whereas, I have appointed George Washington, Esquire, by commis- sion under the great seal, my express messenger to the commandant of the French forces on the river Ohio, and as he is charged with business of great importance to his Majesty and this dominion,

" I do hereby command all his Majesty's subjects, and particularly re- quire all in alliance and amity with the crown of Great Britain, and all others to whom this passport may come, agreeably to the law of nations, to bo Hiding and assisting as a safeguard to the said George Washington and his attendants in his present passage to and from the river Ohio, as aforesaid.

ROBERT DINWIDDIE."

3 He had previously sent Capt. William Trent on a similar errand. In a letter to the Lords of Trade he said, " My last to you was on the 16th of June, to which I beg you to be referred. . . . The person sent as a commissioner to the commandant of the French forces neglected his duty, and went no farther than Logstown on the Ohio. He reports the French were theu one hundred and fifty miles farther up the river, and I believe was afraid to go to them."

1 Colonial Records, v. 607.

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

assisted from Canada; and what are the difficulties and conveniences of that communication, and the time required for it.

" You are to take care to be truly informed what forts the French have erected, and where; how they are garrisoned and appointed, and what is their distance from each other, and from Logstown; and from the best intelligence you can procure, you are to learn what gave occa- sion to this expedition of the French ; how they are likely to be sup- ported, and what their pretensions are.

" When the French commandant has given you the required and nec- essary dispatches, you are to desire of him a proper guard to protect you as far on your return as you may judge for your safety against any straggling Indians or hunters that may be ignorant of your character and molest you. Wishing you good success in your negotiation, and safe and speedy return, I am, &c.

" ROBERT DINWIDDIE.

" WILLIAMSBURG, 30 October, 1753."

On the day of his appointment Washington left Williamsburg, and on the 31st reached Fredericks- burg, Va., where he employed Jacob Van Braam as a French interpreter. The two then went to Alexan- dria, where some necessary purchases were made. Thence they proceeded to Winchester, where pack- horses were purchased; after which they rode to Wills' Creek (Cumberland, Md.), arriving there on the 14th of November. "Here," said Washington in his journal of the tour, "I engaged Mr. Gist1 to pilot us out, and also hired four others as servitors,- Barnaby Currin and John McQuire, Indian traders, Henry Steward, and William Jenkins; and in com- pany with these persons left the inhabitants the next day."

The party, now including seven persons, moved from Wills' Creek in a northwesterly direction, and proceeded by way of Gist's place 2 to Fraser's, on the Monongahela at the mouth of Turtle Creek. They had found the traveling through the wilderness so difficult that the journey to this point from Wills' Creek occupied a week. Referring to this part of the route the journal says, " The excessive rains and vast quantities of snow which have fallen prevented our reaching Mr. Fraser's, an Indian trader, at the mouth of Turtle Creek, on Monongahela River, till Thurs- day, the 22d. We were informed here that expresses had been sent a few days before to the traders down the river, to acquaint them with the French general's death, and the return of the major part of the French army into winter-quarters. The waters were quite impassable without swimming our horses, which obliged us to get the loan of a canoe from Fraser, and to send Barnaby Currin and Henry Steward down the Monongahela with our baggage to meet us at the Forks of the Ohio."

Crossing the Allegheny, Washington found Shin- giss, the Delaware king, who accompanied the party to Logstown, which they reached in twenty-five days from Williamsburg. On their arrival they found the

Indian Monakatoocha, but the Half-King was absent, hunting. Washington told the former, through his Indian interpreter, John Davidson, that he had come as a messenger to the French general, and was ordered to call and inform the sachems of the Six Nations of the fact. The Half-King& was sent for by runners, and at about three o'clock in the afternoon of the . 25th he came in, and visited Washington in his tent, where, through the interpreter, Davidson, he told him that it was a long way to the headquarters of the French commandant on the Allegheny. "He told me," says the journal, "that the nearest and levelest way was now impassable by reason of many large miry savannahs; that we must be obliged to go by Venango, and should not get to the near fort in less than five or six nights' sleep, good traveling." He told Washington that he must wait until a proper guard of Indians could be furnished him. "The people whom I have ordered in," said he, "are not yet come, and cannot until the third night from this ; until which time, brother, I must beg you to stay. I intend to send the guard of Mingoes, Shannoahs, and Delawares, that our brothers may see the love and loyalty we bear them."

Washington was anxious to reach his destination at - the earliest possible time, but, in deference to the wishes of the friendly Tanacharison, he remained until the 30th of November, when, as it is recorded in the journal, "We set out about nine o'clock with : the Half-King, Jeskakake, White Thunder, and the Hunter, and traveled on the road to Venango, where we arrived the 4th of December, without anything remarkable happening but a continued series of bad weather. This is an old Indian town, situated at the mouth of French Creek, on Ohio, and lies near north about sixty miles from Logstown, but more than seventy the way we were obliged to go."

On the 7th the party set out from Venango for the French fort, and reached it on the 11th, having been greatly impeded "by excessive rains, snows, and bad traveling through many mires and swamps." On the 12th, Washington waited on the commander (M. Legardeur de St. Pierre,4 a Knight of St. Louis), ac- quainted him with the business on which he came, and in the afternoon exhibited his commission, and delivered the letter from Governor Dinwiddle. While it was being translated he employed his time in tak- i ing the dimensions of the fort and making other observations with which he was charged. In the evening of the 14th he received the answer of the commandant to the Governor; but although he was now ready to set out on his return, he could not get away until the second day after that, as the French,

1 Christopher Gist, agent of the " Ohio Company," who, a few months previously -- in 1753-had located and built a cabin near the centre of the territory of the present county of Fayette, at the place now known as Mount Braddock.

2 " According to the best observation I could make," said Washington in his journal, " Mr. Gist's new settlement (which we passed by) bears about west-northwest seventy miles from Wills' Creek."

8 Tanacharison, the Half-King, was and always continued to be a firm and steadfast friend of the English, but he lived less than a year from the time when Washington met him at Logstown. His death occurred at Harrisburg, Pa. (then Harris' Ferry), in October, 1754.

4 This was not the same commandant who had previously abused the Half-King and called him an "Old Woman," that officer having died about two months before.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S VISIT TO THE FRENCH FORTS IN 1753.

although treating him with the greatest outward show of politeness, were using every artifice with his In- dians to seduce them from their allegiance and friend- ship to the English, and were constantly plying them with brandy, which made the Indians loth to leave the place. Washington could not well go without them, and even if he could have done so, he would have been very unwilling to leave them behind him, subject to the dangerous influence of the French offi- cers and French brandy.

Finally, on the 16th, he induced the Half-King and other Indians to leave, and set out from the fort for Venango, which was reached on the 22d. There the chiefs were determined to remain for a time, and therefore Washington's party was compelled to pro- ceed without them, accompanied only by the Indian, Young Hunter, whom the Half-King had ordered to go with them as a guide. The journal of Washington narrates the events of this stage of the journey as follows: " Our horses were now so weak and feeble, and the baggage so heavy (as we were obliged to pro- vide all the necessaries which the journey would re- quire), that we doubted much their performing it. Therefore, myself and the others, except the drivers, who were obliged to ride, gave up our horses for packs to assist along with the baggage. I put myself in an Indian walking-dress, and continued with them three days, until I found there was no probability of their getting home in reasonable time. The horses became less able to travel every day, the cold increased very fast, and the roads were becoming much worse by a deep snow, continually freezing; therefore, as I was uneasy to get back to make report of my proceed- ings to his Honor, the Governor, I determined to pros- ecute my journey the nearest way through the woods on foot. Accordingly I left Mr. Van Braam in charge of our baggage, with money and directions to provide necessaries from place to place for themselves and horses, and to make the most convenient dispatch in traveling. I took my necessary papers, pulled off my clothes, and tied myself up in a watch-coat. Then, with gun in hand and pack on my back, in which were my papers and provisions, I set out with Mr. Gist, fitted in the same manner, on Wednesday, the 26th."

On the following day the two travelers fell in with a party of French Indians,1 one of whom fired on

them, but fortunately missed. They took the fellow in custody, and kept him with them till nine o'clock at night, when they let him go, and they contin- ued on their way, walking all night, to be out of reach of pursuit. On the next evening at dark they reached the Allegheny just above Shannapin's town. In crossing the river on an improvised craft, Washington was thrown off into the icy current, where the water was ten feet deep, but saved himself by catching at the logs of the raft. They were then obliged to land on an island, and to pass the night there, but in the morning found the river sufficiently frozen to enable them to cross in safety on the ice to the left bank of the river. They suffered severely from cold and exposure, and Gist had his fingers and toes frozen, but they finally succeeded in reach- ing Fraser's, at the mouth of Turtle Creek, on the Monongahela, in the evening of the 30th of De- cember.

The journal proceeds : " As we intended to take horses here (at Fraser's), and it required some time to find them, I went up about three miles, to the mouth of the Youghiogany, to visit Queen Alli- quippa, who had expressed great concern that we passed her in going to the fort. I made her a present of a watch-coat and a bottle of rum, which latter was thought much the better present of the two. Tuesday, the 1st of January, we left Mr. Fra- ser's house, and arrived at Mr. Gist's, at Mononga- hela, the 2d, where I bought a horse and saddle." From Gist's Washington proceeded on his return jour- ney, and, without experiencing any notable incident or adventure (except meeting a party bound for the Forks of the Ohio for the purpose of building a fort there, as will hereafter be noticed), reached Williams- burg on the 16th of January, 1754, and delivered the letter of the French commandant to Governor Dinwiddie.

The preceding narrative of the journeying of Gov- ernor Dinwiddie's young envoy to and from the French fort "Le Bœuf" is given in these pages at considerable length, less on account of the import- ance of the events and incidents related than be- cause it has reference to the first appearance of George Washington in the territory west of the Alleghenies, which he afterwards frequently visited, and became largely interested in as a property-owner. Within this territory is the spot which has become historic as his first battle-ground, and here were first disclosed his highest military abilities, in the wild and disor- dered retreat of Braddock's army from the field of disaster on the Monongahela.

1 Gist, however, in his diary, does not mention any party of Indians, but only the one who fired on them. He says, "We rose early in the morning and set out about two o'clock, and got to the Murderingtown, on the southeast fork of Beaver Creek. Here we met an Indian whom I thought I had seen at Joncaire's, at Venango, when on our journey up to the French fort. This fellow called me by my Indian name, and pre- tended to be glad to see me. I thought very ill of the fellow, but did not care to let the Major (Washington) know I mistrusted him. But he soon mistrusted him as much as I did. . . . It was very light and snow was on the ground. The Indian made a stop and turned about. The Major saw him point his gun at us, and he fired. Said the Major, ' Are you shot ?' 'No,' said I, upon which the Indian ran forward to a big

standing white-oak, and began loading his gun, but we were soon with him. I would have killed him, but the Major would not suffer me. We let him charge his gun. We found he put in a ball, then we took care of him."

HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

CHAPTER III.

FRENCH OCCUPATION AT THE HEAD OF THE OHIO -WASHINGTON'S CAMPAIGN OF 1754.

THE result of Washington's expedition was to show beyond all doubt that the design of the French was to occupy in force all the country bordering the head- waters of the Ohio River. Thereupon Governor Dinwiddie transmitted Washington's statement to England, and meanwhile, without waiting for instruc- tions from the home government, commenced prepar- ations for raising a force to be sent to the "Forks of the Ohio" (Pittsburgh), to take possession of that point, and to construct a defensive work to enable them to hold the position against the French. A party had already gone forward from Virginia across the moun- tains for the same purpose, it being the one alluded to in Washington's journal of the trip to Le Bœuf, where he says, "The 6th [of January, on his return from Gist's to Wills' Creek] we met seventeen horses loaded with materials and stores for a fort at the fork of the Ohio, and the day after, some families going out to settle."

The first military force that moved westward hav- ing the Ohio River for its objective-point was a com- pany under Capt. William Trent, which marched from Virginia in January, 1754. From Wills' Creek Capt. Trent moved his force of about thirty-three men1 over the same route which Washington had traversed to Gist's settlement. From Gist's he marched to the Monongahela, at the mouth of Redstone Creek, where his men were for a time employed in erecting a store-house (called the "Hangard") for the Ohio Company. After completing it they continued their march to the site of the present city of Pittsburgh, which place they reached on the 17th of February, fand there met Christopher Gist and several others. 1 They immediately commenced work in the construc- tion of the fort, preparation for which had been begun in the previous August, as has been shown by Fraser's letter of that date. But at that time it was the Ohio

Company who proposed to do it; now it was to be done under direction of the government of Virginia.

Not long after the commencement of the work, Capt. Trent returned by way of the Hangard and Gist's to Wills' Creek, and Lieut. Fraser went to his home on the Monongahela, at the mouth of Turtle Creek, leaving the other commissioned officer, En- sign Ward, in charge of the men engaged in the con- struction of the fort.

The work progressed slowly (on account of the severity of the weather) for about two months, when suddenly, on the 17th of April, Ensign Ward found himself confronted by a hostile force of about seven hundred French and Indians, having with them eigh- teen light pieces of artillery. This force, which had come down the Allegheny River in sixty bateaux and a great number of canoes, was under command of Capt. Contrecœur, who at once demanded a sur- render of the work and position. The responsibility lay wholly with Ward, as he was the only commis- sioned officer with the force ; but the Half-King, Tana- charison, who was present, and firm as ever in his loyalty to the English, advised the ensign to reply to Contrecœur that as he was not an officer of rank, and had no authority to answer the demand, he hoped that the French commander would wait until the ar- rival of his superior officer, whom he would at once send for. But Contrecœur refused to accede to this, and demanded immediate surrender, saying that, in case of non-compliance, he would immediately take possession by force of arms.

It was of course impracticable for this ensign's com- mand of about thirty-three men to hold the position against a force of more than twenty times their num- ber, with artillery ; and, therefore, the unfinished fort was surrendered2 without further parley. The French

1 That the strength of Trent's company did not exceed thirty-three men is stated in the deposition (elsewhere given in this work) of Eusign (afterwards Major) Ward, the officer in command when the company and the fort which they were building at the head of the Ohio were sur- rendered to the French about two months later." There appears no reason to doubt Ward's statement, as he was certainly in a position to know the facts; and it is difficult to reconcile it with what is found in a letter addressed by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to Governor Ham- ilton, of Pennsylvania, dated Williamsburg, March 21, 1754, and also in a letter from George Croghan to Governor Hamilton, dated March 23, 1754. In the letter first referred to Dinwiddie says, ". . . In January I commissioned William Trent to raise one hundred men; he had got seventy and has begun a fort at the forks of the Monongalio." And Croghan (who had then just returned east from the Ohio) said in his letter, " Mr. Trent had received a commission from the Governor of Virginia, and had enlisted about seventy men before I left Ohio. I left him and his men at the mouth of Monongalio building a fort, which seemed to give the Indians great pleasure and put them in high spirits" (Colonial Records, vi. page 21). Perhaps Croghan included soldiers and laborers, while Ward had reference only to the former. There seems to be no other explanation of the discrepancy in the statements.

2 The following from the " Calendar of Virginia State Papers and other Manuscripts, 1652 to 1781, preserved in the capitol at Richmond ; ar- ranged and edited by William Palmer, M.D., under authority of the Legislature of Virginia, vol. i., 1876," gives authentic information as to Captain Trent's operations at the head of the Ohio, and the surrender of the partially constructed fort by Ensign Ward to the French comman- der, viz. :

" Deposition taken March 10, 1777, at the house of Mr. John Ormsby, in Pittsburgh, &c. Agreeable to Notice given to Col. George Morgan, Agent for the Indiana Company, before James Wood and Charles Simms, pursuant to a resolution of the Honble the Convention of Virginia ap- pointing them Commissioners for Collecting Evidence on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia against the several Persons pretending to claim Lands within the Territory and Limits thereof, under Deeds of Purchases from Indians.

"Major Edward Ward Deposeth and saith that in the beginning of the year 1754, William Trent Esquire was appointed by Governor Din- widdie of Virginia, Captain of a Company to be raised, of which this Depo- nent was appointed Ensign, by the said Trent. Who assembled the Chiefs and Deputies of the Six Nations, and requested of them permission to Erect a Trading House at the Junction of the Allegheny and Mononga- hale Rivers, to carry on a Free and open Trade with the Six Nations, and their dependants ; which was granted by the said deputies, with this restriction, that he was to form no Settlements or improvements on the said Land, but on the Contrary to Evacuate the same when required by the Six Nations.

" After which the said Capt. Trent inlisted a number of men not ex- ceeding thirty-three, and proceeded to erect a Fort at the place before mentioned. That on the 17th of April following, and before the Fort

WASHINGTON'S CAMPAIGN OF 1754.

commander received Ensign Ward with great polite- ness, invited him to supper that. evening, and enter- tained him for the night. On the morning of the 18th, Ward took his departure, marched his men up the valley of the Monongahela, and on the 19th arrived at the mouth of Redstone Creek. From that point he pushed on by way of Gist's, and thence to the Great Crossings of the Youghiogheny, and arrived at Wills' Creek on the 22d of April. The fort which Ward had been compelled to surrender to Contrecœur was completed by the French force with all practicable dispatch, and named "Fort Du Quesne" in honor of the Marquis Du Quesne, the French Governor-Gen- eral of Canada.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 6

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