USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County : from its first settlement to the present time, first under Virginia as Yohogania, Ohio, or Augusta County until 1781, and subsequently under Pennsylvania > Part 52
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This deponent further made oath that, on the 29th, Mr. Gallatin opened the business of the meeting by proposing a resolution that in the opinion of that committee it was the interest of this country to accept of the terms offered by the commissioners, and, by a speech of great length, stating the impolicy and danger of force in resistance of law, the incompetency of these western counties to contend with the United States, and the necessity of submission. That Mr. Brackenridge followed him also at great length and to the same effect.
This deponent further made oath that then Mr. Bradford rose and an- swered and opposed the various arguments used by Mr. Brackenridge and Mr. Gallatin, alluded to the revolutions in America and in France as models of imitation, and inducements to hope of success in the opposition of these counties to government; stated the capacity of these western counties, from their situation as separted from the eastern country by mountains and from other circumstances, to maintain a successful war against the United States, and in a state of separation to attain and secure all the essential ob- jects and protection, safety, and trade.
This deponent cannot undertake to repeat the expressions of Mr. Brad- ford, but is certain that he has stated the ideas which they communicated to him, and his whole speech seemed manifestly calculated to keep up the opposition to government and prevent the adoption of the resolutions pro- posed by Mr. Gallatin.
This deponent further made oath that Mr. Bradford, in a conversation with this deponent on the 27th of September last, told this deponent that he made the speech before alluded to with a view to maintain his influence with the people under an opinion that unless some show of resistance was made to the terms of accommodation, the people would reject them and consider themselves as betrayed.
Under this state of affairs, and with additional official evidence furnished President Washington in regard to the insurrection, he, on the 7th day of August, 1794, issued the following
Proclamation.
WHEREAS, Combinations to defeat the execution of the laws levying duties upon spirits distilled in the United States and upon stills, have from the time of the commencement of those laws, existed in some of the
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western parts of Pennsylvania. And whereas, the said combinations, pro- ceeding in a manner subversive equally of the just authority of the govern- ment, and of the rights of individuals, have hitherto effected their dangerous and criminal purpose by the influence of certain irregular meetings, whose proceedings have tended to encourage and uphold the spirit of opposition ; by representations of the laws calculated to render them obnoxious ; by endeavors to deter those who might be so disposed from accepting offices under them, through fear of public resentment and injury to person and property, and to compel those who had accepted such offices, by actual violence, to surrender or forbear the execution of them; by circulating vindictive menaces against all those who should otherwise directly or indi- rectly aid in the execution of said laws, or, who yielding to the dictates of conscience and to a sense of obligation, should themselves comply there- with by actually injuring and destroying the property of persons who were understood to have so complied, by inflicting cruel and humiliating punish- ment upon private citizens for no other cause than that of appearing to be the friends of the laws ; by intercepting the public officers on the highways, abusing, assaulting. or otherwise ill-treating them ; by going to their houses in the night, gaining admittance by force, taking away their papers, and committing other outrages ; employing for their unwarrantable purposes the agency of armed banditti, disguised in such a manner as for the most part to escape discovery. And whereas, the endeavors of the legislature to obviate objections to the said laws, by lowering the duties and other altera- tions, conducive to the convenience of those whom they immediately affect (though they have given satisfaction in other quarters) and the endeavors of the executive officers to conciliate a compliance with the laws, by ex- planations, by forbearance, and even by particular accommodations founded on the suggestion of local considerations, have been disappointed of their effect by the machinations of persons whose industry to excite resistance has increased with every appearance of a disposition among the people to relax in their opposition and to acquiesce in the laws-insomuch that many persons in the said western parts of Pennsylvania have at length been hardy enough to perpetrate acts which I am advised amount to treason, being overt acts of levying war against the United States; the said persons having on the 16th and 17th of July last, proceeded in arms (on the second day amounting to several hundreds) to the house of John Neville, Inspector of the Revenue for the fourth survey of the District of Pennsylvania, having repeatedly attacked the said house with the persons therein, wound- ing some of them ; having seized David Lennox, Marshal of the District of Pennsylvania, who previously thereto had been fired upon while in the exe- cution of his duty by a party of armed men, detaining him for some time prisoner, till for the preservation of his life and liberty he found it necessary to enter into stipulations to forbear the execution of certain official duties touching processes issuing out of a court of the United States, and having finally obliged the said inspector of the revenue and the said marshal, from considerations of personal safety, to fly from that part of the country in order, by a circuitous route, to proceed to the seat of government, avowing as the motive of these outrageous proceedings an intention to prevent by force of arms the execution of the said laws, to oblige the said inspector of the revenue to renounce his said office, to withstand by open violence the lawful authority of the government of the United States, and to compel thereby an alteration of the measures of the legislature, and a repeal of the laws aforesaid.
And whereas, by a law of the United States entitled " An act to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress in-
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
surrections, and repel invasions, it is enacted that, whenever the laws of the United States shall be opposed, or the execution thereof obstructed in any State, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary , course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by that act, the same being notified by an associate justice, or the district judge, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the militia of such State to suppress such combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed.
And if the militia of a State where such combinations may happen shall refuse, or be insufficient to suppress the same, it shall be lawful for the President, if the legislature of the United States be not in session, to call forth and employ such members of the militia of any State or States most convenient thereto, as may be necessary, and the use of the militia so to be called forth may be continued, if necessary, until the expiration of thirty days after the commencement of the ensuing session ; provided always, that whenever it may be necessary in the judgment of the President to use the military force hereby directed to be called forth, the President shall forthwith, and previous thereto, by proclamation, command such insurgents " to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within a limited time."
And whereas, James Wilson, an associate justice, on the 4th inst., by writing under his hand, did, from evidence which had been laid before him, notify to me " that in the counties of Washington and Allegheny, in Penn- sylvania, laws of the United States are opposed, and, the execution thereof obstructed by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshal of that district."
And whereas it is in my judgment necessary, under the circumstances of the case, to take measures for calling forth the militia, in order to sup- press the combinations aforesaid, and to cause the laws to be duly exe- cuted, and I have accordingly determined to do so, feeling the deepest regret for the occasion, but withal the most solemn conviction that the essential interests of the Union demand it; that the very existence of go- vernment, and the fundamental principles of social order are materially in- volved in the issue ; and that the patriotism and firmness of all good citi- zens seriously called upon, as occasion may require, to aid in the effectual suppression of so fatal a spirit.
Wherefore, and in pursuance of the proviso above recited, I, George Washington, President of the United States, do hereby command all per- sons being insurgents as aforesaid, and all others whom it may concern, on or before the 1st day of September next to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes. And I do, moreover, warn all persons whomso- ever against aiding, abetting, or comforting the perpetrators of the afore- said treasonable acts. And I do require all officers and other citizens, ac- cording to their respective duties and the laws of the land, to exert their utmost endeavors to prevent and suppress such dangerous proceedings.
In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand.
Done at the city of Philadelphia, the seventh day of August, one thou- sand seven hundred and ninety-four, and of the independence of the United States of America the nineteenth.
By the President :
EDM. RANDOLPH.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
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Washington, after he had learned that his proclamation of the 7th of August, 1794, was rejected, and after he had heard the report of the commissioners, determined to crush out the rebellion, and on the 25th of September, 1794, issued the following proclamation :-
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES :
WHEREAS, From a hope that the combinations against the constitution and laws of the United States in certain of the western counties of Penn- sylvania would yield to time and reflection, I thought it sufficient, in the first instance, rather to take measures for the calling forth of the militia, than immediately to embody them, but the moment has now come when the overtures of forgiveness, with no other condition than a submission to law, have been only partially accepted; when every form of conciliation not inconsistent with the well-being of government has been adopted with- out effect ; when the well-disposed in those counties are unable by their influence and example to reclaim the wicked from their fury, and are com- pelled to associate in their own defence; when the proper lenity has been misinterpreted into an apprehension that the citizens will march with reluc- tance ; when the opportunity of examining the serious consequences of a treasonable opposition has been employed in propagating principles of anarchy, endeavoring through emissaries to alienate the friends of order from its support, and inviting its enemies to perpetrate similar acts of insur- rection ; when it is manifest that violence would continue to be exercised upon every attempt to enforce the laws; when, therefore, government is set at defiance, the contest being whether a small portion of the United States shall dictate to the whole Union, and, at the expense of those who desire peace, indulge a desperate ambition.
Now, therefore, I, George Washington, President of the United States, in obedience to that high and irresistible duty consigned to me by the constitution, " to take care that the laws be faithfully executed," deploring that the American name should be sullied by the outrages of citizens on their own government, commiserating such as remain obstinate from delu- sion, but resolved in perfect reliance on that gracious providence which so signally displays its goodness toward this country, to reduce the refractory to a due subordination to the laws, do hereby make known that, with a satisfaction which can be equalled only by the merits of the militia. sur- rounded with the service from the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, I have received intelligence of their patriotic ala- crity in obeying the call of the present, though painful, yet commanding ne- cessity ; that a force which, according to every reasonable expectation, is adequate to the exigency, is already in motion to the scene of disaffection ; that those who have confided or shall confide in the protection of govern- ment shall meet full succor under the standard and arms of the United States ; that those who, having offended against the law, have since enti- tled themselves to indemnity, will be treated with the most liberal and good faith, if they shall not have forfeited their claim by any subsequent conduct, and that instructions are given accordingly. And I do, moreover, expect all individuals and bodies of men to contemplate with abhorrence the measures leading directly or indirectly to those crimes which produce this military coercion; to check in their respective spheres the effort of misguided or designing men to substitute their misrepresentations in the place of truth, and their discontents in the place of stable government ; and so call to mind that, as the people of the United States have been per- mitted under the divine favor, in perfect freedom, after solemn deliberation,
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
and in an enlightened age, to elect their own government, so will their gratitude for this inestimable blessing be best distinguished by firm exer- tions to maintain the constitution and laws. And lastly, I again warn all persons whomsoever and wheresoever, not to abet, aid, or comfort the in- surgents aforesaid, as they will answer the country at their peril; and I do also require all officers and other citizens, according to their several duties, as far as may be in their power, to bring under the cognizance of law all offenders in the premises.
In witness whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand.
Done at the city of Philadelphia, the twenty-fifth day of September, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, and of the independence of the United States of America the nineteenth.
By the President :
EDM. RANDOLPH.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
In accordance with this proclamation, troops from Eastern Penn- sylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia amounting to about fourteen thousand militia, consisting of artillery, cavalry, and infantry, were ordered to advance to quell the rebellion, under the command of Governor Henry Lee, of Virginia. Gen. Morgan led the Virginia troops; Gen. Smith, of Baltimore, the Maryland troops; Governor Howell the New Jersey troops, and Gov. Mifflin the Eastern Penn- sylvania troops. The Virginia and Maryland troops composed the left wing of the army, their place of rendezvous was Cumberland, and their orders were to march across the mountains by Braddock's Road, through Uniontown.
The troops of New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania constituted the right wing ; their place of rendezvous was Carlisle ; their orders were to march to Bedford and take the northern route through Somer- set. Judge Lobingier says the right wing halted in three divisions on this side of the Chesnut Ridge. The advance division encamped on the spot where Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, is built, the second division on Col. Bonnett's farm, and the rear division remained at Lobingier's Mills. They remained in their encampments about eight days ; they then struck their tents and marched to the forks of Yough, in Washington County, where they were met by the left wing of the army, composed of the Maryland and Virginia troops, who had come through Cumberland and Uniontown. This occurrence took place early in October, 1794.
Let us now retrace our steps to inquire what the insurgents were engaged in from the departure of the National and State commission- ers, to the arrival of the army in the forks of Yough, in October.
When the people of the four rebellious counties found so powerful an army advancing, a proposition was made by the members who called the first meeting at Parkinson's Ferry, to again assemble on the 2d .of October, with the view to submit to the laws of the United States. The notice was published in the Pittsburg Gazette, and at the time designated the delegates assembled, and the following is the result of their deliberations :-
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Parkinson's Ferry, Thursday, Oct. 2d, 1794.
A meeting of the delegates of townships of the 14th of August, at Parkinson's Ferry, having been advertised in the Pittsburg Gazette of last Saturday, to be held here this day for the purpose of taking under con- sideration whether it be necessary that any armed force should advance on the part of government, for the purpose of assisting the civil authority in suppressing insurrection and preserving peace,
John Cannon was appointed Chairman ;
Alexander Addison was appointed Secretary.
Agreeably to the recommendation in the advertisement in the Pittsburg Gazette, several of the subscription papers with a number of names annexed in the form of submission prescribed by the commissioners, were produced by members and laid on the table.
The meeting having taken these papers into their consideration and com- municated their respective knowledge of the sentiment of the people in their townships,
1. Resolved, That it is the unanimous opinion of the meeting that if the signature of the submission is not universal, it is not so much owing to any existing disposition to oppose the laws as to a want of time or information to operate a correspondent sentiment, and with respect to the greatest number, a prevailing consciousness of their having had no concern in any outrage, and an idea that their signature would imply a sense of guilt.
2. Resolved, Unanimously, that we will submit to the laws of the United States, that we will not directly or indirectly oppose the execution of the acts for raising a revenue on distilled spirits and stills, and that we will support as far as the law requires, the civil authority in affording the pro- tection due to all officers and other citizens, reserving at the same time our constitutional rights of petition and remonstrance.
3. Resolved, Unanimously, that in our opinion in the four counties of Penn- sylvania, westward of the Allegheny Mountains, there is a general disposi- tion to submit to all laws of the United States, and a determination to support the civil authority in their execution.
4. Resolved, Unanimously, that Wm. Findley, of Westmoreland County, and David Reddick, of Washington County, be appointed commissioners to wait on the President of the United States, and the Governor of Penn- sylvania, with a copy of these resolutions, and to explain to the government the present state of this country, and detail such circumstances as may enable the President to judge whether an armed force be now necessary to support the civil authority in these counties.
5. Resolved, Unanimously, that the secretary of the meeting transmit a copy of these resolutions by post to the President of the United States and to the Governor of Pennsylvania, and have a copy printed in the Pitts- burg Gazette.
The people through their delegates having thus triumphed by the foregoing resolutions, a new state of affairs was about being inaugu- rated. Loyal men were emboldened in publicly declaring their attachment to the Constitution, the laws, and their country ; while the disloyal cowered before the gaze of public indignation. Wilke- son, in his Recollections, says, in speaking of this subject, that Brad- ford and a few others who had the worst to fear, fled to the Spanish country on the Mississippi. Others equally guilty, but less notorious offenders, sought security in sequestered settlements.
According to the instructions of the meeting contained in the
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY.
fourth resolution, Messrs. Findley and Reddick went to Carlisle to meet Gen. Washington and Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, who had accompanied the right wing of the army thus far. After hearing the committee, their protestations and asseverations, declaring eternal fidelity to the Constitution and the laws, and that the people had been misled by designing, ambitious, and unprincipled men, General Washington remarked (says Gallatin) that he had two great objects in view in calling out the militia : first, to show not only to the inhabitants of the western country, but to the Union at large, and indeed to foreign nations, both the possibility of a repub- lican government exerting its physical strength in order to enforce the execution of the laws when opposed, and the readiness of the American citizens to make every sacrifice and to encounter every difficulty and danger for the sake of supporting that fundamental principle of government. Second, to procure a full and complete restoration of order and submission to the laws, amongst the insur- gents. The first object, the President said, was fully attained, and no doubt could remain, from the success of the experiment, of the practicability of a republican government, although extending over a large territory, supporting itself, even in the case of a disobedience of any part of the body politic. On the second head he observed that although the meeting of October 2, which they represented, had given it as their opinion that there was a unanimous disposition to submit to and support the laws, there was no positive, unequivocal, and explicit declaration that offices of inspection would be imme- diately and safely established. In the next place, that whatever might be the grounds of the opinion of the meeting, until the law was actually carried into operation, it was only an opinion, and that the general expenses of the campaign being already incurred, and the great sacrifices of individuals being already made, there remained no motive sufficiently strong to induce the magistrate, whose duty it was to enforce the execution of the laws, to run any unnecessary risk by intrusting that care to the exertions of the country itself, as long as any doubt might remain of their sincerity or power, the force embodied being fully competent to that object, and so far on the march to the intended spot. The President concluded by adding that as the amnesty which he had once offered through the commis- sioners had not been universally embraced by the offenders, some atonement for past offences had become necessary.
Thus ended the negotiation, and Messrs. Findley and Reddick re- turned and called another meeting of the committees of the town- ships of the four western counties of Pennsylvania and of sundry other citizens at Parkinson's Ferry, the 24th of October, 1794, when the following resolutions were adopted :-
1. Resolved, That in our opinion, the civil authority is now fully compe -. tent to enforce the laws and to punish both past and future offences, inas- much as the people at large are determined to support every description of civil officers in the legal discharge of their duty.
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2. Resolved, That in our opinion all persons who may be charged or sus- pected with having committed any offence against the United States or the State during the late disturbances (and who have not entitled themselves to the act of oblivion), ought immediately to surrender themselves to the civil authority in order to stand their trial; that if there be any such persons amongst us, they are ready to surrender themselves accordingly, and that we will unite in giving our assistance to bring to justice such offenders as shall not surrender.
3. Resolved, That in our opinion offices of inspection may be immediately opened in the respective counties of this survey without any danger of vio- lence being offered to any of the officers, and that the distillers are ready and willing to enter their stills.
Messrs. William Findley, David Reddick, Ephraim Douglass, and Thos. Morton were then appointed to wait on the President of the United States with the foregoing resolutions. JAMES EDGAR, Chairman.
Attest-ALBERT GALLATIN, Secretary.
Messrs. Findley and Reddick again recrossed the mountains and made fuller and stronger professions of loyalty and obedience to General Alexander Hamilton, the President having returned to Philadelphia, leaving him as his deputy. A proclamation of am- nesty was afterwards issued, and the re-establishment of law and order was perfected by the citizens renewing their oath of allegiance and fealty to government .*
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