USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. I > Part 30
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31
Washington saw, with deep regret, that the ad- vanced corps did not push forward with the zeal that would have insured success. Edward Brad- dock could not sacrifice the dignity of regular tac- tics, to a regard for American warfare. Every mole-hill must be levelled ; each insignificant brook was to be spanned by a bridge. Not far from the Little Meadows, the fever of Washington became so violent that his life was in hazard, and he was compelled most reluctantly to obey Brad- dock's commands, and remain in camp until he was in some degree restored.
His last counsel was, that rangers, selected from the provincial troops, should be employed to scour the woods in advance of the army, in order to
a Sparks, i. 69, 70; Outline, in Howe, 98.
468 PASSAGE OF THE MONONGAHELA. [CHAP. VIII.
guard against the deadly ambush of the savages.a But no such precaution was adopted. Slowly the troops made their way through the rugged paths leading down the slope from the Alleghanies to the Ohio. , So deliberate was their progress, that four days were employed in marching the nineteen miles which intervened between the Little Mea- dows and the Shallows, near the mouth of the Yohogany.b
Here, on the 8th day of July, Washington re- joined the army, and entered upon his duties as aid to the commander. His fever had left him, but his strength was not fully restored, and nothing but an unconquerable spirit could have prepared him for the scene that followed.
Braddock gave the command for crossing the river. A glance at the map will convey a correct view of the route. Fifteen miles above Pittsburg, where Fort Duquesne then stood, the Monongahela makes an ample bend, commencing at a point im- mediately below the mouth of the Yohogany River. The road along the northern margin of this bend was rugged and circuitous, and to avoid it, the General determined to cross the Mononga- hela twice in a direct route to the French for- tress." On the morning of the 9th the army was in motion, and passed the river without interrup- tion. Those who were eye-witnesses of the scene have told us that one more brilliant and picturesque
a Gordon's America, i. 95; Grim- shaw's U. S., 85.
৳ Marshall, ii. 17; Burk, iii. 199.
c Sparks's Life of Washington, i. 65; Outline, in Howe, 96; Chalmers's Revolt Amer. Colon., ii. 275.
469
A BATTLE IN THE FOREST.
1755.]
has seldom been presented. The British troops were in full uniform, and traversed the woods of America with the regular step of the parade ground. Their bayonets glittered in the sun, and the flash of warlike steel contrasted strongly with the deep and peaceful verdure of the forest shade. The Monongahela flowed tranquilly on their right, the road seldom departed from its borders, and on the left were trees of primitive growth and magni- ficence, among which the woodman's axe had never been heard.ª The men were in high dis- cipline, and their spirits were already excited by the hope of soon entering in triumph into Fort Duquesne. Three hundred regulars, under Colo- nel Gage, formed the advance, and a similar body of two hundred followed at a short interval. Next came the artillery, under the General in person, and these were followed by the provincial troops, the main body of the army, and the baggage train. By one o'clock, the whole had passed the second crossing of the Monongahela, and were ascending the slope from its banks, within seven miles of their proposed point of attack.b
At this moment a terrible fire was opened upon the vanguard by hidden foes, in the long grass and ravines around them. Not an Indian or a French- man could be seen, but their weapons poured death upon the defenceless ranks of the regulars. Volley after volley was heard, and every shot told with
a Washington himself often spoke
of this scene. Sparks, i. 65.
b Sparks, i. 65, 66; Grahame, iii. 396; Burk, iii. 201.
470
A BATTLE IN THE FOREST. [CHAP. VIII.
fatal power among the English troops. Amid this destructive storm the grenadiers halted in confu- sion and returned the fire, but obviously without effect. Brave men may be stricken with fear when assailed by a novel and concealed danger. As their numbers were thinned by each successive dis- charge from the enemy, the regulars lost all pre- sence of mind, and falling back in dismay upon their comrades, involved the whole army in dis- tress and disorder. General Braddock was among the bravest of the brave, but his efforts to restore courage to his troops were utterly in vain. Instead of resorting to a mode of warfare suited to the forest, and directing his men at once to seek the enemy with the bayonet, he attempted to form them into even platoons and solid columns, as though he were manœuvring on the plains of Flanders. The result was most appalling. Crowded together in masses, in which each man did but encumber his fellows, the regulars kept up a wavering fire, wholly ineffective as to the enemy, and often fatal to their own comrades and officers. Upon these masses the French and Indian sharpshooters pour- ed in continuous volleys, not one shot of which was thrown away. The English were cut down in scores, and it soon became evident that their total discomfiture was at hand.a
In no battle in modern ages has there been a greater loss of officers, in proportion to the number
a Grahame, iii. 397; Burk, iii. 202; Sparks, i. 66; Marshall's Am. Colon., 292, 293.
1755.]
A BATTLE IN THE FOREST.
471
engaged, than among the English in the slaughter of the Monongahela. . The French had drawn up their forces in the shape of a crescent, in the grass and ravines across the route, and flank- ing parties of Indians extended along the whole line of their enemy's array. Had Braddock or- dered up his ten pieces of light artillery, he might have raked the wood with grape-shot, and given time to his troops for recovery from their panic.ª But the army officers, although possess- ed of dauntless courage, had no experience in forest warfare. The Indians knew them by their brilliant uniforms, and, singling them out as marks for their deadly rifles, brought them down one after another, until of eighty-six who had cross- ed the river with their regiments in the morning, but twenty-three remained unhurt.' Sixty-three were either killed or wounded. While this drama of death was in progress, the Virginia troops alone retained their courage and capacity. Abandoning all attempts to keep close order, they spread them- selves in the wood, and from the shelter of trees returned the fire of the enemy. Yet no part of the English army suffered more than these brave pro- vincials. "They fought like men, and died like soldiers. "c Of one company of twenty-nine, twen- ty-five were killed. Of another, commanded by the gallant Polson, a single private was the only survivor. Captain Peronny, who had been with
a Grahame, iii. 397; Smollett's Continuation, viii. 541, 542.
৳ Sparks, i. 67.
c Burk, iii. 205.
472
PERIL OF WASHINGTON. [CHAP. VIII.
Washington at the Great Meadows, was killed, and with him fell every officer of his command, even to the lowest corporal.a Thirty men were all that remained from three full companies of Virginians who had gone into battle.
On this disastrous day, Washington displayed the courage of a hero, and the conduct of a gene- ral. Two aids of Braddock had fallen, and on the young colonial officer devolved the hazardous duty of distributing his general's commands. As he galloped through the battle-field, his horse received a mortal wound, and sunk beneath him. Another was immediately supplied, but was shot under him before the retreat commenced. Four bullets pierced his coat, yet not one inflicted the slightest wound.b An eye-witness in the conflict, watched his motions with thrilling interest, expecting each moment to see him fall to the ground." A savage chieftain marked him, as he rode again and again through the field, and, drawing his rifle to his shoulder, took deliberate aim, and fired. The ball swerved, from its course : the intended victim was unharmed. The fire was repeated, but with like result. Call- ing his red men around him, the warrior pointed out the young brave, whose life he sought, and di- rected their rifles upon him. But every shot was
a Marshall's Life of Washington, plumbeæ per tunicam transiêre: at- ii. 20; Burk, iii. 205.
tamen incolumis evasit." - Vita Washingtonii, F. Glass, 33. Burk, iii.
b Washington's Writings, in Sparks, i. 67. " Equi duo quibus 205; Frost's Pictor. Hist. U. S., ii. insidebat glandibus plumbeis suf- . 112; Marshall, ii. 18.
fossi fuêre : quatourque glandes
c Dr. Craik, in Marshall, ii. 19.
473
1755.] BRADDOCK MORTALLY WOUNDED.
harmless. The savages desisted, in superstitious fear; yet were they just in their reasoning. A greater Spirit than they had ever worshipped pre- served the future Liberator of America.ª
But his unhappy general was not thus protected. Already three-fourths of his officers had fallen. Sir Peter Halket was stricken down by the first fire, and, a few moments after, the secretary of Brad- dock, and son of Governor Shirley, of Massachu- setts, fell by his side.b. For three hours the car- nage continued, but the commander remained un-
touched. He exposed his person to the hottest fire, and used every exertion to restore confidence to his panic-stricken troops. Three horses in suc- cession fell under him, and at length a musket-ball pierced his right arm, and, passing through his lungs, inflicted a mortal wound.c Washington hastened to his relief, and, with Captain Stewart, of the Guards, brought him off in safety from the
a The incident here mentioned is in Howe's Hist. Collec., 97, and in perfectly well authenticated. See note to Sparks, i. 68. No man has Washington's Writings, in Sparks, ever doubted Braddock's courage ; ii. 475, Appen., and Sparks's Life of Washington, i. 68, 69, in note. but it is absurd in Chalmers, to at- tempt to defend his generalship in b Smollett's Contin., viii. 542; this battle, and in the measures pre- Grahame, iii. 398. ceding it. He says, " The fame of Braddock has been unjustly sullied, partly by ignorance and partly by design. The manner of his march showed the skill of an able general."
c Smollett's Continuation, viii. 542 ; Grahame, iii. 397. An opinion has long prevailed in Pennsylvania, that Braddock was either accident- ally or intentionally shot, by one of Revolt Am. Colon., ii. 276. Mr. his own men. The evidence for Grahame is better authority than this belief does not satisfy me ; but Chalmers. the reader may himself examine it,
474
ROUT OF THE ENGLISH. [CHAP. VIII.
field, that he might escape the Indian scalping- knife, and die among his friends.ª
From this moment, the rout of the English army was complete. The regulars broke from their ranks and fled in dismay towards the river. Artillery, ammunition, baggage, colours, all were abandoned to the enemy ; and it is probable that this circumstance alone preserved the defeated troops from total destruction. The savages re- velled in the plunder spread before them, and the French could not persuade them to leave the field and join them in pursuit.b But for this, the un- happy English might have met the same fearful fate which, nearly one hundred years afterwards, annihilated an army amid the mountains of Aff- ghanistan, in Asia." Few would have survived to tell the tale of death. Yet this thought will afford but melancholy consolation, when we look to the actual loss of the battle of the Monongahela. Twelve hundred men, in buoyant health, had crossed the river, and not more than two hundred returned uninjured.ª Of the French and Indians, it is supposed that not more than forty were killed,
a Burk, iii. 203; Marshall, ii. 19. Grahame says, he was carried off by rative, pp. 4 and 74, 75. Of seven- Colonel Gage, iii. 397. Smollett teen thousand souls, originally com- says, by " Lieutenant-Colonel Gage, posing this army, not more than one and another of his officers," viii. hundred and sixteen escaped.
542. But the American authorities are best on this point.
b Marshall, ii. 19; Grahame, iii. dred and fourteen privates, killed or 398.
e Lieutenant Vincent Eyre's Nar-
d The loss is stated by Mr. Sparks, as sixty-three officers and seven hun- wounded, i. 67.
475
DEATH OF BRADDOCK.
1755.]
and it is probable that each one of these fell under the fire of the provincial forces.
The army retreated to the camp of Dunbar, where Braddock breathed his last. The panic diffused itself even through the troops who had not been in action. A rapid and ruinous retreat was continued. All their heavy baggage was abandoned, or else was burned by order of they knew not whom; the artillery was left; the pub- lic stores were destroyed; and the retrograde march was not arrested until they reached Wills' Creek, nearly one hundred and fifty miles from Fort Duquesne. So fatal a battle had seldom been followed by a flight so long and so disheart- ening.ª
Thus ended the expedition of Edward Brad- dock against Fort Duquesne. Had his hopes been less, and his fears greater, he might at least have avoided defeat, if he did not achieve victory. But years elapsed before officers bred in Europe learned the dangers of Indian warfare. Colonel Dunbar feared for his safety even in Winchester, and in a short time led the remnant of his army to winter quarters in Philadelphia.
Genuine merit often shines more brightly be- cause surrounded by darkness and adverse for- tune. The Legislature of Virginia voted three hundred pounds to Colonel Washington, and pro- portionate sums to the other colonial officers and
a Smollett's Continuation, viii.542. When Dr. Smollett wrote; Xenophon had retreated from Cunaxa, but Napoleon had not fled from Waterloo.
-
476
SAVAGE INCURSIONS. [CHAP. VIII.
privates who had displayed so much heroism in the battle of the Monongahela. All could see that had Washington been chief in command, a triumph might have been hoped for the British arms. He gained rapidly in the confidence and affections of his countrymen. Even the pulpit spake his praises, and one of the most eloquent of Ame- rican ministers named him as an object for the respect of Christian patriots.ª The Governor, not- withstanding his partiality for Innes, could not resist the appeal of facts in favour of the younger officer. The appointment of commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces was tendered to Washington ; but before he would accept it he prescribed indis- pensable conditions, among which were the nomi- nation of his own officers, and a guarantee for the prompt supply of military stores and of payment to his men. These terms were instantly accepted ; and they bear in themselves the highest testimony to the worth of him who could secure them.' The General Assembly voted forty thousand pounds for public exigencies, and increased their regiment to sixteen companies.
(1756.) These movements were not premature, nor was the office of Washington one without responsibility and hazard. Already rumours of savage incursions were borne from the west. The defeat of Braddock had left the whole frontier exposed, and alarm pervaded every family of the
b Burk, iii. 209; Grahame, iii. Rev. Samuel Davies.
a Sparks, i. 71. This was the
1 . 399 ; Sparks, i. 72, 73.
477
INDIAN CRUELTIES.
1756.]
Shenandoah Valley. Washington had arrived at Fredericksburg, on his way to the seat of govern- ment, when intelligence reached him which called him back to Winchester. Large bodies of Indians from the Ohio crossed the Alleghanies, and spread- ing themselves into small parties, carried desolation and death into each defenceless homestead. They gave no quarter, and spared neither age nor sex. Women and children were chosen objects of their barbarity. Many were left weltering in blood on the floors of their own dwellings. Many were carried into the wilderness, to be put to death with nameless tortures. A few survived to return, after years of degradation and suffering, passed among native tribes on the Ohio and the Northern Lakes.ª
In reading of these assaults, we find it difficult to believe that the red man of the American forests is indeed the courageous being that he is some- times represented to be. It is not easy to separate the ideas of generosity and true courage, in con- ceiving the character of any man; but in the savages we find nothing that does not excite dis- gust and contempt. To maltreat woman has always been the characteristic of the coward ; and woman has been universally maltreated by the Indian. To torture the unhappy child, and to glory in his agonies, can evince nothing but a thrice-degraded nature; and such has been
a In Kercheval's History of the Indeed a large part of this interest- Valley of Virginia, 93-104, will be ing work is occupied in telling of found narratives of these incursions. Indian cruelty.
478
INDIAN CRUELTIES.
[CHAP. VIII.
the course of the Indian.a To fly before an infe- rior force of brave men is the act of a craven ; and it has been invariably done by the Indian. To resort to perfidy, falsehood, mean duplicity, is conduct which nature pronounces dishonouring ; and in this has been the chief pride of the Indian. As we trace their steps in their attacks upon the people of the Valley, we know not whether to detest more their remorseless treachery or their base cowardice. Weakness they crushed, but a single manly spirit often held them at bay. One noble woodman of Shenandoah has gained a right to immortality, by slaying five armed savages with the clubbed barrel of his rifle, after the stock had been shivered on the head of the sixth. The Indians fled with horror from his house, believing him to be the Great Author of Death, and warning all their compeers to avoid him.b
So great was the terror caused by these attacks of the savages, that many of its inhabitants forsook the Valley, and fled to counties east of the Blue Ridge. Even after the termination of hostilities between the English and French, the Indian mur- ders continued from time to time, until the year 1766, when they were suspended on the imme- diate Virginia frontier.
A case of this kind, which I would not describe except under compulsion, is detailed in Kerche- val, 106, and repeated in Howe's Hist. Collec., 468.
b His name was Samuel Binga- man. Kercheval, 115, 116, and 118.
a Kercheval, 91 ; Burk, iii. 212.
1757.]
WASHINGTON'S DISTRESS. 479
But when Washington arrived at Winchester, all was confusion and alarm; women flying from their homes-children saved only to tell of butch- ered parents-houses burned to the ground-agri- culture totally ruined : such were the sights which now marred the face of the Valley, of late so lovely and tranquil. The heart of the young commander- in-chief was deeply moved by these ills, and his emotion was not diminished by the thought that he could not entirely avert them. His despatches at this time are written in a strain of sadness and eloquence, to which nothing but profound feeling could have' urged him; and they present him to us as an ardent lover of his country and of his species.ª
(1757.) Under his direction, and with the aid of Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of the Northern Neck, who was county lieutenant of Frederick, a strong fort was built at Winchester, and stockades were erected at various points, in which the inhabitants took refuge when attacked, and where a military force always kept guard. The General Assembly had formed an extensive scheme for a cordon of forts running along the whole line of the Allegha- nies, from the Potomac River to the boundary of North Carolina; but Washington did not approve
could offer myself a willing sacrifice to the butchering enemy, provided that would contribute to the peo. ple's ease." Sparks, i. 80; Burk,
One well-known passage shall be here quoted : " The supplicating tears of the women and moving pe- titions of the men melt me into such deadly sorrow that I solemnly de- iii. 214; Outline, in Howe, 100. clare, if I know my own mind, I
480
LORD LOUDON. [CHAP. VIII.
of this design. It was very expensive, and afford- ed no adequate protection, for the forts would of necessity be far removed from each other, and the savages might pass unmolested between them. Yet he obeyed instructions, and had drawn a plan for twenty-three forts along the mountain ranges. He was indefatigable in his exertions, and at the hazard of his life he visited the western and southern frontier to provide for its safety.ª Al- ready he appears in a character which was after- wards fully developed in the most self-sacrificing patriotism the world has ever seen.
Lord Loudon had been appointed commander- in-chief of the British forces in America in the place of Governor Shirley, and in honour of him the fort at Winchester received his name. Al- though Virginia had heard of his appointment with pleasure, and though one of her finest coun- ties will perpetuate his memory within her borders, yet in common with other colonies, she soon learned that her admiration had been premature. With much conceit and with little knowledge, imperious in manner, yet undignified in action, his lordship ruled in America only long enough to render him- self contemptible in the two worlds, the old and the new. That he was no general, may be inferred from the fact, that small success and many reverses attended his military operations; that he was ha- bitually dishonest, is declared with emphasis in his mean insinuation that Benjamin Franklin had
a Sparks, i. 85.
1758.]
DINWIDDIE LEAVES VIRGINIA. 481
amassed money by peculation upon the funds in his charge as post-master-general of the colonies.ª Loudon could not believe that a receiving and dis- bursing agent of government could resist tempta- tion. Bankrupt in principle himself, he had no sympathies in common with an honest man.
His lordship established his head-quarters at Philadelphia, where a military convention as- sembled in March to consider the best mode of conducting the war. Washington attended, and was received with marked respect. He had drawn up an address to Loudon, in which he gave a brief history of the cause of hostilities since their com- mencement in Virginia, and with the strength and clearness of a mind perfectly acquainted with its subject, he presented a plan for future operations. He strenuously advised an attack on Fort Du- quesne. Had this counsel prevailed, and had a sufficient force been given to Washington, he would have driven the savages from the frontiers, have captured the French fortress, and have broken the enemy's power on the Ohio, in a single campaign. But discouraging delays were yet to prevail. It was determined that the principal at- tack should be on the lakes and the Canadian bor- ders, and that in the mean time Virginia must be left to her own resources.b
(1758, January.) Early in the succeeding year, Governor Dinwiddie left Virginia to return to
a Grahame, iv. 1, 2; Franklin's b Sparks, i. 88 ; Outline, in Howe, Memoirs, in note, page 2.
101. VOL. I. 31
482
HIS CHARACTER.
[CHAP. VIII.
England, where he intended in future permanently to reside. The Assembly said nothing, but the Council and the municipal authorities of Williams- burg took upon themselves the duty of delivering an address to the Governor, expressing "esteem and respect."a His departure was regretted by few. His activity had seldom been well directed ; his zeal had been generally without knowledge. If he had detected fraud in his superiors in the West Indies, he was himself justly charged with extortion, in exacting a pistole for issuing each pa- tent for land. So unjust was this demand, that the Assembly protested against it in solemn form, and one of Virginia's most gifted sons pleaded the wrong before the King in council.b It is not to the credit of Dinwiddie that his interest was suffi- cient to overpower the colony, and that this iniqui- tous claim was confirmed by the King. In another affair, his character was lost beyond redemption. Twenty thousand pounds had been appropriated by England to repay to Virginia her advances for the public service. Dinwiddie received this fund, and never accounted for its expenditure. He has been openly accused of having diverted it to his private use; and this charge has never been an- swered, either by himself, or by others in his be-
a Burk, iii. 222.
an injurious insinuation against Randolph. Revolt. Am. Colon., ii. 351, 352. He says the "Privy
b This was Peyton Randolph, at that time attorney-general of Vir- ginia. Delaplaine's Repos., ii. 109. Council recommended a compro- Chalmers attempts to defend Din- mise." widdie, and in so doing throws out
483
FRANCIS FAUQUIER.
1758.]
half.ª Until it is refuted, its stain will rest upon his memory.
John Blair, the President of the Council, suc- ceeded to the government in the colony. He was active and decided in his measures, and under his auspices public affairs were skilfully administered. Eight hundred men were ordered into service by direction of Lord Loudon. An Assembly was con- vened, which embraced many of the ablest men Virginia has ever produced. We read their names with reverence, and already find among them the magnanimous supporters of American freedom in a struggle not yet commenced.b. The Governor delivered to them a spirited address, urging the pressure of the war, and asking their aid, which was promised, in terms not less marked by patriot- ism than by prudence and foresight. When Fran- cis Fauquier arrived from England, in June, and assumed the reins of government, he found a peo- ple and an Assembly equally willing to uphold his hands in each measure required for the safety and honour of his charge.
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.