Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Part 5

Author: Wilson, Erasmus, 1842-1922; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926. cn
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : H.R. Cornell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1192

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This skirmish is deserving of more than a passing notice for several reasons: Because it was the first act of open hostilities in which blood was shed; because it was Washington's first victory; because it demonstrated the fact that the rupture between the French and the English could now be settled only by an appeal to arms; and because it was made to cast a blot on the character of Washington, by which he was extremely distressed when he learned of it later on, as we shall see. American writers have labored with success to clear the Father of their Country of the imputation; but to this day the French refuse to admit it.

It is the purpose of this history to be as impartial as it is possible to make it; and while this important question cannot be treated at length, it is neces- sary to refer to it briefly, and in doing so equal favor will be shown to both contestants. We have seen that both commanders claimed the territory west of the mountains and that neither believed he was invading the territory of a sovereign with whom his own nation was at peace. The conduct of the English was open and honorable. Conrad Weiser was sent to treat with the Indians on the Ohio in 1748; Washington went, openly to the commander of the French near Lake Erie; Trent came to the forks to fortify it as to a place that belonged to the English colonies and was threatened with invasion; and Washington followed to reinforce him and to enable him the more surely to hold the possession of his Britannic Majesty. So, too, the French. They claimed the territory in virtue of discovery, and of the treaties between the two nations; sent Céloron to explore it and take formal possession of it; built forts to repel the invading English, and prepared to hold by force of arms what they believed to be the rightful possessions of their royal master. So far the two nations appear to have acted in good faith; and their claims seem to have been based on about an equal footing. The skirmish in which Jumon- ville, the commander of the French forces, lost his life, brought the important matter to a crisis. But here, also, both parties were in good faith, because each was on lands which he believed belonged to his sovereign; but the conduct of the two nations now became different. Washington, in command of the forces intrusted to him, proceeded to cut a road to the forks, pru- dently keeping scouts in advance, knowing that he was in a country claimed by the enemy. The French sent out a force, claiming that it was an embassy to the Governor of Virginia; but it was not such an embassy as that upon which Washington had gone the previous winter to the French at La Bœuf.

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Thor Clarke

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and delivered his message with a conscious sense of right. On the contrary, the French came with a considerable force, since thirty-two were either killed, wounded or taken prisoners. They inquired carefully regarding Washington's forces, movements, etc., before they reached him, and then concealed them- selves in one of the best places prepared by nature for an ambush. With all due allowance for their claims of friendship, everything shows their design to have been aggressive; and when it is compared with Washington's and Dinwiddie's action a few months before, it appears to the greatest disadvantage.

The routed French retired, having first sent runners to announce the result of the engagement at Fort Duquesne, and receive further orders. The forces under Washington returned to the work of opening the road, and pros- ecuted their labors with as much dispatch as circumstances would permit, till toward the latter part of June, when they were informed that the French were advancing in force to attack them. At first it was resolved to fortify themselves where they were, thirteen miles west of the Great Meadows, but a council of war being held it was judged most prudent to retire to Wills Creek. They set out on their return, but at the end of two days the forces were so fatigued, the supplies so scarce, and the horses able to carry burdens so few, that no alternative was left but to halt at the Great Meadows, fortify themselves and await the approach of the enemy. The rude defensive work was named Fort Necessity. Scouts were kept out who reported the move- ments and strength of the enemy, who appeared on the 3d of July and com- menced the attack. The details of the engagement need not be given; suffice it to say that Washington was forced to surrender to superior numbers, and terms of capitulation as honorable as could have been expected were agreed upon. In these terms it was that Washington was ensnared into the acknowledg- ment of having murdered Jumonville, either through the ignorance of the French language of Jacob Van Bram, who acted as interpreter for Washing- ton, who was not acquainted with French, or through his malice. The Colonial forces now retired to Wills Creek, and little was done for the defense of the frontier till the arrival of General Braddock a year later.

The French were now masters of the whole country west of the mountains, and for more than four years they overran the entire province, extending their raids beyond the Susquehanna. Wherever they and their savage allies appeared their path was marked with bloodshed, desolation and ruin. The settlers that were so fortunate as to escape the tomahawk and the scalping- knife fled in consternation to the more thickly settled districts, leaving all behind them that had not already fallen into the hands of the cruel victors, except the little they were able to carry with them in their hasty flight. All seemed lost between the tardiness of the home government, the want of con- certed action among the Colonial authorities and the mistaken proverbial apathy . of Pennsylvania Quakers.

The French had now won the Indians to their side, and had established communication between Canada and the Mississippi; but knowing well that they must maintain by force of arms what they had secured in the same inanner, they strengthened Fort Duquesne till, though small, it was one of the most formidable strongholds on the continent, as it was beyond question the most important. But it had several disadvantages. It was far from the source of supplies and reinforcements, and had no ready communication; it was situated on low ground, surrounded by hills from which it could be bombarded with impunity, and it was on a river that flowed directly from the enemy's country, and from the nearest and best point of communication with that country. The savages, too, upon whom they relied to a great extent, were, if left to themselves, more favorable to the English than to them; and these

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had to be held by constant presents, or by raids on the frontier where plen- tiful booty would reward them for their cooperation.

The home governments, though professedly at peace-for war was not declared till May, 1756-were both preparing to send forces to America. General Edward Braddock, who was given the command of the English army, landed in February, 1755, and began his slow preparations to advance into the enemy's country. Though skilled and brave, he was self-willed and imperi- ous, and had a supreme contempt for the Colonial soldiers and their method of fighting, which he made no efforts to conceal. After many delays his army, consisting of a little more than two thousand men, besides non-combatants and a varying contingent of Indians, arrived at Wills Creek, and prepared to cross the mountains. Washington was one of the General's aids, and the most valuable one; but had it not been for his prudent self-control he could not long have brooked the insolence of the deluded commander. We need not follow the army in its necessarily slow march across the mountains; suffice it to say that when it reached a place on the summit of the Chestnut Ridge, since known as Dunbar's Camp, it was thought well to leave the heavier artillery and much of the supplies there with a subordinate officer, and push forward more rapidly; for the idea of meeting with serious resistance was not entertained by the sanguine commander. And, considered in itself, the movement was a prudent one. Accordingly, taking twelve hundred English and Colonial soldiers, with sufficient artillery and supplies, Braddock pushed forward, arriving on the eastern bank of the Monongahela, a short distance below the mouth of the Youghiogheny, early in the forenoon of July 9th. Washington, who had been forced to remain behind on account of sickness, now joined his leader. Crossing the river at this point, Braddock passed down the west side to avoid the hills that rose precipitously from the water on the east, and recrossed just below the mouth of Turtle Creek. Confident that the French and Indians were watching his movements, he displayed his army to the best advantage while making the ford. It was a little past noon when the rear of the army reached the eastern bank and began its march across the bottom land.

Turning to the French, it is disputed whether Contrecœur or Beaujeu was commander of Fort Duquesne at this time. Contrecœur had asked to be relieved, and Beaujeu had been sent to take his place; both were at the fort, but whether the latter had assumed command or not is not certain, although it would appear that he had not. The near approach of Braddock's army filled the French and Indians with consternation; and, though the fort had been strengthened as much as possible, and forces had been concentrated from Lake Erie and the Illinois country, there was but slender hope of a successful resistance. Beaujeu, however, determined to sally out and meet the enemy, and not yield without making some show of resistance. When his design was made known the previous evening, it was opposed both by the French and Indians as rash, and few, if any, were willing to join him. . The next morning he again expressed his determination, and so worked on the minds of the Indians and French that he succeeded in rallying around his standard a force variously estimated, but which consisted, according to the most reli- able account, of 637 savages, 146 Canadians and 72 regular troops. Subor- dinate in command were MM. Dumas and De Ligneris, both captains in the . regular army, with other inferior officers. He had carefully reconnoitered the ground, and the place where he resolved to meet the enemy was carefully selected. His intention was to dispute the second fording, and then to fall back upon the ravines; but so much time was spent in getting his forces together that he arrived too late, and nothing was left but to lay an ambush

HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.

in the two ravines between which the army under Braddock must pass. The English commander had obstinately refused to keep scouts in advance to prevent a surprise, although Washington and others had frequently urged him to do so, deeming his forces superior to any the enemy could oppose to them. The story of the battle has been frequently told both in French and English, and need not be repeated in detail; suffice it to say, that, about one o'clock, July 9th, the advance guard of the English army was suddenly fired upon by an unseen enemy, thrown into confusion and forced back upon the main body. It is sad to have to relate that the courageous Beaujeu was killed at the first fire. The English were panic-stricken, having to fight an unseen enemy, and the Colonial troops were not permitted to fight the sav- ages in their own fashion. The combat lasted about two hours; the English regulars, terrified at the fiendish warwhoops of the savages, and dispirited with a style of warfare the like of which they had never imagined, gathered together in a body, and offered a tempting mark to the enemy, while they fired at random. The officers did all in their power to retrieve the fortunes of the day, but were a ready mark for the unerring aim of the Indians, and out of 86, 26 were killed and 37 wounded. The Virginians showed great valor, and of the three companies scarcely thirty were left; the regulars, having wasted their ammunition, broke and ran, leaving the artillery, pro- visions, baggage, and even the General's private papers, a prey to the enemy. All attempts to rally them were vain. Seven hundred and fourteen privates were killed or wounded, together with the army chaplain, who was among the latter; while of the French and Indians only three officers and 30 men fell, and about as many were wounded. After having had five horses shot from under him, a ball entered Braddock's side, and he was borne from the field mortally wounded. He was carried across the river with the remnant of his army, and the flight to Dunbar's Camp, on the Chestnut Ridge, was continued with all possible speed. On the IIth they reached the camp, which the news of the defeat had converted into a scene of the greatest confusion. On the following day the remaining artillery, stores and heavy baggage were destroyed, and the retreat began. Colonel Thomas Dunbar, the highest offi- cer under Braddock, assumed command and retreated to Philadelphia to spend the winter. Braddock died on the 13th and was buried near the Great Meadows, where his grave is still pointed out.

It is worthy of note that at the first and at the last battle of the French and English war in America, the generals on both sides lost their lives: Beauje11 and Braddock at the battle of Monongahela, Montcalm and Wolfe at the taking of Quebec.

The effect of Braddock's defeat was widespread and disastrous to the colonists of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Nothing could exceed the terror with which the news filled the frontier, a feeling which extended even to Phila- delphia, where some over-sanguine persons were actually collecting funds to celebrate the victory they felt confident would soon be gained over the French. But where victory was expected and predicted consternation alone appeared. and the tomahawk and scalping-knife were already seen in imagination to glitter at every cabin door. From that day there was no security for human life or property west of the Susquehanna; and soon marauding bands of sav- ages appeared as far east as Reading. All that was ferocious in the breasts of the savages was aroused to activity, and the Canadians, many of whom were only a little less cruel, were ready to join them in the general devastation; even the French soldiers felt a fresh impulse added to the racial, national and religious hatred with which they had for centuries regarded the English. Whence was relief to come? All the forces of the colonies, supposing that

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harmony reigned between their respective governors and assemblies, would not be sufficient to check the elated victors and guard the frontier; and assist- ance could not be expected from the mother country before the middle of another year. Besides, England had sufficient to engage her attention at home. In May, 1756, George II declared war against France, and both as a protection of the colonies and as a means of dividing the forces of the enemy, he planned an American campaign. But the right man was not at the head of it, and it was a pitiable manifestation of military incompetence. The com- mander-in-chief, the Earl of Loudoun, did not reach America before the latter part of July. The one single hope shed on the frontier emanated from the Colonial militia.

The path of the hostile French and Indians led from a rendezvous on the Allegheny River, as well as from Fort Duquesne, and it was felt that there could be no security till this base of supplies was destroyed. This was Kittan- ning, an important Indian town on the east bank of the river forty-five miles above Fort Duquesne, where the town of the same name now stands. Lying on one of the principal trails from the East to the West, it was a place of great importance to the Indians, and being on the route of the French from the lakes to the fort, it was of no less importance to them. It was known to the latter as Attiqué, and it is mentioned in Céloron's journal as a con- siderabie town. Colonel John Armstrong, who commanded the Colonial forces garrisoning the forts in the Juniata Valley, was ordered by the Governor to fit out and command an expedition against it. Hopes were entertained that the Delaware chief, Captain Jacobs, who made his home there and who was one of the most cunning and cruel of the savage leaders, might either be killed or captured, and that a large number of prisoners held there might also be released. All necessary preparations having been made, Colonel Arm- strong set out from Fort Shirly, a frontier post situated on Aughwick Creek, a short distance southeast of the present town of Huntingdon, on the 30th of August, 1756, with a force of about 300 men. The expedition followed closely the well-known Kittanning Path, and after a march of four days, the little army came unobserved to the immediate vicinity of the town, when they discovered a party of savages stopping for the night in the path. Turn- ing aside, they were enabled to come unseen to the top of the hill overlooking the town. We cannot delay to enter into a detailed account of the battle; suffice it to say that the town was destroyed, with its vast stores of ammunition and provisions, September 8th, Captain Jacobs was killed,-although this is denied by some authorities,-a large number of prisoners were rescued, and the enemy was frustrated in the execution of a well planned attack on the frontier forts, especially Fort Shirly, which was to have been undertaken the next day. Colonel Armstrong received a slight wound, but the expedi- tion was eminently successful; and well did the daring commander deserve to have the county in which the battle took place named after him, that future generations might revere his memory. In the account of the affair which the commander of the French at Fort Duquesne sent the next day to Canada, the credit of leading the Colonial forces is given to "Le Général Wachinton," whose name was already a tower of strength on the frontier.

The results of this skillfully planned and admirably executed attack were not of lasting importance; for, though it broke up the greatest Indian strong- hold in Western Pennsylvania, it counted for little in the struggle between the two most powerful nations of Europe for the possession of the Valley of the Ohio. It could not be followed up, and it consequently gave the frontier only a moment's respite. The English forces in North America were at that time under the command of an incompetent general, and for that

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reason the following year, 1757, but added to the disasters that had attended the English cause since the beginning of the war. West of the Susquehanna the Indians and the French had it all their own way, for the territory of Western Pennsylvania received but little attention, the efforts of the com- mander-in-chief being mainly directed toward the French posts on the head of Lake Champlain. At the close of the year the cause of the enemy seemed everywhere triumphant, and had it not been that hopes were revived by restoration of Pitt to the British ministry, the situation of the colonies would have been truly deplorable; but with the opening of the spring of 1758 the presence of that eminent statesman began to be felt in the councils of the British, and signs of healthy activity began to show themselves in American affairs. Loudoun was recalled, and Abercrombie, seconded by Lord Howe, succeeded him; and, while Amherst and Wolfe were sent to join the fleet in the Northeast, and the commander-in-chief directed his movements against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, General John Forbes was placed in command of the army that was to operate west of the mountains. With this campaign only are we concerned, and space must be given to its details, because with it ended the ascendancy of the French, not only in the Ohio Valley, but also in the whole of North America.

After considerable delay Forbes saw 1,250 Scotch Highlanders arrive from South Carolina, who were joined by 350 Royal Americans. Pennsylvania furnished 2,700 Colonial troops and Virginia 1,900. Yet strong as was Forbes' army, he could hardly have reached the Ohio had it not been for Wash- ington, whose knowledge of the country and of Indian warfare was invalu- able, although he was strongly in favor of following Braddock's route instead of cutting a new one from Bedford, as the commander insisted on doing, and did. The Indians were to be an important factor in the campaign, and when Forbes was about to march, the provincial government determined to make an effort to alienate the tribes on and near the Ohio from the French. Accord- ingly, Christian Frederic Post, a Moravian missionary who was held in high esteem by the Eastern Indians, and especially by the Delawares, was sent out in July. Accompanied by a small number of Indians, he proceeded by the west branch of the Susquehanna and Venango to Kiskakunk, on the Beaver River, about four miles below the present town of New Castle, an important Indian village, where he was well received and attentively listened to. This visit inflicted a severe blow at the confidence of the Indians in the ultimate success of the French, and caused many of them to waver.

The army under Forbes had been making slow progress, and did not reach Raystown, the present Bedford, before September. Here Colonel Bouquet was awaiting the arrival of the General. But this tardiness was not without a good effect. It gave Post an opportunity of perfecting his negotiations with the wavering Indians; it exhausted their patience at the inactivity of the French, and caused many of them to leave the fort and return to their homes; and it resulted in the consumption of the provisions of the French, and forced them to reduce their forces. In this way the capture of the fort was rendered more certain and less difficult. Bouquet was sent forward from Raystown with a force of 2,000 men to a point on the Loyalhanna, afterward the site of Fort Ligo- nier, while the main body of the army and the General followed with the heavy artillery and baggage. Every day was sealing more certainly the fate of Fort Duquesne. The French began to be disheartened at the suc- cess of the English on the lakes; the distance of the fort from the base of supplies was a serious difficulty, and the mutual jealousies of the authori- ties in Canada rendered the position of the garrison of the fort a very unen- viable one. Nor was the state of affairs at the fort itself any better. General

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Montcalm, writing at this time to his friend Chevalier de Bourlamaque, gives this picture of the condition of affairs at Fort Duquesne: "Mutiny among the Canadians, who want to go home; the officers busy with making money, and stealing like mandarins. Their commander sets the example and will come back with three or four hundred thousand francs; the pettiest ensign, who does not gamble, will have ten, twelve or fifteen hundred francs. The Indians do not like Ligneris, who is drunk every day." Insignificant successes served in a measure to keep up the spirits of the French, but the entire policy of that nation in the New World was erroneous, and the fall of its power was only a question of time. The defeat of Major Grant, September 5th, within a mile of the fort, to which he had been sent with 800 men to reconnoiter, was due rather to his imprudence than to the valor and vigilance of the enemy; and the attaek of the French and Indians on Fort Ligonier, a short time after, produced no permanent result. The fall of Fort Frontenac, at the outlet

of Lake Ontario, August 27th, by cutting off supplies, made it impossible longer to hold Fort Duquesne. All hope being lost, on November 24th, when the English were within ten miles of the fort, it was blown up, and the sur- rounding buildings, about thirty in number, were burnt. The French, who numbered about four hundred, besides a large force of Indians of various tribes, withdrew. Part of the former went down the Ohio to the Illinois country, part across the country to Presqu' Isle, and part with the commander, De Ligneris, up the Allegheny to the fort at the mouth of French Creek. On November 25, 1758, the English advanced in a body, and at evening, says Mr. Bancroft, the youthful Washington could point out to the officers and men the meeting of the waters. The hand of the veteran Armstrong raised the British flag over the ruins of the fort, and as the banner floated to the breeze, the place, at the suggestion of Forbes, was named Pittsburg. The first recorded use of the name is found in a letter from General Forbes to Governor Denny, dated the day after taking possession, from "Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburg, the 26 November, 1758." The minutes of a con- ference held by Colonel Bouquet with the chiefs of the Delaware Indians, "at Pitts-Bourgh, December 4, 1758," gives another form of the same name. The next day after the arrival of the English being Sunday, the army chap- lain, Rev. Charles Beatty, was ordered to preach a sermon in thanksgiving for the superiority of the British arms. He was a Presbyterian.

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Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Part 5

Author: Wilson, Erasmus, 1842-1922; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926. cn Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Chicago : H.R. Cornell & Co. Number of Pages: 1192

Author: Wilson, Erasmus, 1842-1922; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926. cn
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : H.R. Cornell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1192