USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. I > Part 31
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At the same time a most auspicious change had taken place in the ministerial rule of the mother country. William Pitt could no longer be kept from the place to which his own great genius, and the love of his countrymen, united to raise him. The moment his mighty hand grasped the helm,
a Burk, iii. 223; Outline, in Howe, 101. Mr. Campbell, 124, 125, doubts the Governor's guilt, but mentions the charges without refuting them. seen in Burk, iii. 223, 224.
Chalmers is ominously silent on the subject.
b The list of members may be
484
GENERAL FORBES.
[CHAP. VIII.
it seemed as though the heavens began to brighten and the storms to lose their power. He infused vigour and confidence into every department of government, and seized, with intuitive readiness, upon the best means for securing the noblest ob- jects. He had long believed that Europe was not the field in which the strife between France and England was to be decided,ª and when he attained to power, he took prompt measures for directing a formidable force against the strongholds of the enemy in America. Unwonted animation every where prevailed, and it was soon manifest that the next campaign would produce results of the highest moment.
An attack on Fort Duquesne was the duty as- signed to the southern division of the English forces; and General Forbes commenced a march from Philadelphia, for the execution of this pur- pose. Colonel Bouquet, with a strong advanced guard of two thousand men, was sent to Raystown, in Pennsylvania, about thirty miles from Wills' Creek, and in a short time Washington received the cheering order to march at the head of the Vir- ginia troops from Winchester, and arrive as early as possible at Fort Cumberland. The Assembly acted with great promptness on General Forbes's requisitions. Money was voted, bounties were of- · fered for enlistment, and in a short time two regi- ments were raised; one commanded by Colonel Byrd, and the other by Washington in person,
2 Grahame, iv. 15.
485
GENERAL FORBES.
1758.]
who was commander-in-chief of the whole colo- nial force.a. In consequence of severe indisposition, General Forbes did not reach Raystown until the middle of September. Here Washington learned, with surprise, that the commander was yet in doubt whether to approach Fort Duquesne by the old and well-known route, known as " Braddock's Road," or to try a new road, leading more directly from Raystown, and that he seemed inclined to prefer the latter. He used every argument that he could devise, to determine General Forbes in fa- vour of Braddock's Road. It had been carefully prepared ; it lay through a country where forage was abundant, and though it crossed mountains and defiles of formidable character, yet the former passage of an army had, in great measure, over- come these obstacles. The new route was liable to all the objections to the first, and it added to them the disadvantages of continuous forests, of roads yet to be prepared, and of unknown localities. Notwithstanding all his remonstrances, Forbes re- solved in favour of the road from Raystown. It is not easy now to decide whether his judgment was founded in wisdom, or whether it was the result rather of his strong desire to please the people of Pennsylvania. It is certain that Washington's predictions of delay were fulfilled, and that no-
2 Sparks, i. 92. See Delaplaine's and Campbell, 126, say that General Repos., ii. 110.
Forbes did not leave Philadelphia b Sparks, i. 93-97, Burk, iii. 226, before November. They are in error.
.
486
MAJOR GRANT.
[CHAP. VIII.
thing but accident gave final success to the expedi- tion.ª
Without further debate, the new road was cut to Loyal Hanna, a point forty-five miles from Rays- town, where a fort was erected, and where Colonel Bouquet took post with his efficient vanguard. It had saved one farther scene of death had the whole army now advanced. Eight thousand men, in fine order, and warned by the disasters of Braddock, would have surrounded Fort Duquesne and com- pelled a capitulation ere it could have been relieved by forces from the Lakes. But a bloodless victory was not awarded. From Loyal Hanna, Major Grant, with a chosen company of eight hundred men, was despatched to reconnoitre the fort and obtain information as to the best mode of attack. (Sept. 24.) In the night he gained a hill near the fork of the two rivers; and detaching Major Lewis with a rear-guard, he advanced near the fortress, and sounded a morning " reveille," as though with express design to draw the enemy upon him.b Profound silence had reigned in and around the point; not a voice had broken it, not a leaf had been stirred, and Grant seemed rashly to hope that a triumph awaited him. But at the first sound of the drum, the gates of the fort were open- ed, and, with terrific war-cries, a hive of savage
a Mr. Burk thinks Washington erred in judgment on this point, iii. Campbell, 127. 228; but higher authorities believe otherwise. Marshall, ii. 60, 66, 68; Sparks, i. 95-98.
b Marshall, ii. 67; Burk, iii. 230;
487
DEFEAT OF MAJOR GRANT.
1758.]
warriors poured out upon the invaders. Ere the men could draw their rifles to their shoulders, the foe was upon them, and strokes of the deadly toma- hawk were felling them to the ground. The as- sault was so sudden and violent, that the English forces seem to have lost the power of resistance, and instead of a conflict, the view was speedily one of ferocious butchery. Every blow was fatal. No quar- ter was given by the savages. French soldiers had followed them from the fort, and to them alone did the few prisoners who survived owe their safety. Major Grant was attacked by an Indian armed with a tomahawk already reeking with blood, and would have been killed, had not a French officer arrested the blow and taken him captive. At the first sound of battle, Major Lewis had hastened forward with his company, leaving a guard of fifty Virginians, under Captain Bullet, to protect the baggage. But this accession could not turn the tide of victory. The gallant Lewis was himself surrounded by foes; and after striking one dead to his feet, he saved his life by reaching a detach- ment of French, to whom he surrendered himself a prisoner of war.ª
A deed of heroic courage and of consummate skill, preserved the remains of the army. When Captain Bullet saw the course of the combat and the approach of the savages, he formed his plan, and im- parted it to his companions. Stratagem in war has received the direct sanction of a Divine lawgiver ;b
a Burk, iii. 231; Grahame, iv. 31; Marshall, ii. 67.
b Joshua, viii., 1-22, with Matthew Henry's comments.
488
HEROIC CONDUCT OF BULLET. [CHAP. VIII.
and if ever stratagem was justifiable, it was in the case we are now to record. The Indians advanced in a tumultuous band, eager for fresh victims. With muskets heavily loaded, the Virginians pre- sented themselves, and, lowering their arms, made signs of submission, and approached the foe. Al- ready hatchets were raised to meet them with death ; when Bullet, in a voice of thunder, commanded his men to "charge;" and, instantly levelling their. guns, the Virginians poured upon the savages a fire at eight yards' distance, which swept down many of their numbers. A furious rush with presented bayonets followed this fire; the savages gave way on every side; and believing that a strong reinforce- ment was at hand, they did not cease their flight until they reached the main body of the French near Fort Duquesne.ª Hastily collecting the rem- nant of the army, Bullet directed a retreat; and after a march of infinite hazard and fatigue, he re- joined the main body at the camp at Loyal Hanna.
It would be difficult to find in history the record of a more brilliant achievement than that of Bullet, or of one more worthy of the approval of the brave and the honourable. Governor Fauquier promoted the hero to the rank of major, and ever afterwards spoke of his conduct in terms of warm admiration. He had saved the larger part of the army under Grant, yet their loss had been severe. Nineteen officers were killed or captured. Two hundred
a Burk, iii. 232; Campbell, 129, The account given in Howe, is al- 130; Grahame, iv. 31, 32; Marshall, most verbatim from Campbell. ii. 67; Outline, in 'Howe, 162, 103.
489
A SAD MISTAKE.
1758.]
and seventy-three privates were killed, and forty- two were wounded. Few survived as prisoners. Indian warfare seldom offers any prospect other than that of victory or death.
The main army, under General Forbes, advanced from Loyal Hanna, over a road hastily constructed, and nearly impassable. Mountains and defiles, streams and forests, alike opposed their progress ; and the melancholy fate of prior armies warned them to move with ceaseless caution. The pro- vincial troops were employed in the appropriate duty of ranging ; and Washington, at the head of his Virginians, gained daily in the esteem of the commander-in-chief by his vigilance and success. A singular collision occurred near Loyal Hanna, in which friends turned upon each other the wea- pons intended for the savages. Washington had attacked and defeated a body of Indians, of whom he made several prisoners. Colonel Mercer, of the second Virginia regiment, approached during the night, and, seeing the Indian captives, mistook the party for enemies, and ordered his men to fire. Ere the mistake was discovered, several volleys had been exchanged, and fourteen men were killed or wounded.ª
As the army drew near to Fort Duquesne, sad vestiges of previous conflict on all sides met their eyes. Whitening bones strewed the forest where the battle of the Monongahela had raged, and often a ghastly skeleton recalled to the soldier the thought that many whom he had known had fallen here.
ª Burk, iii. 234; Campbell, 132.
490
A BLOODLESS CONQUEST. [CHAP. VIII.
Nearer to the fort, the unburied bodies of the vic- tims who had fell in Major Grant's defeat, were exposed to view. Savage cupidity had in many cases despoiled them, and savage malice had ex- hausted itself in mutilating the defenceless dead.a Already dispirited by a laborious march through the wilderness, the English troops were but too well prepared to yield to the depressing influences of such recollections, and had stern resistance been made to their approach, it would probably have resulted in success.
But an easy victory awaited them. The Indians had taken alarm at the advance of a large force, attended with all precaution. Supplies had not reached them from Fort Frontenac, for already that post had yielded to the British arms.b One by one, the warriors withdrew, believing that the Great Spirit had deserted their French allies, and that defeat and disaster would soon arrive. Find- ing that resistance would be vain, cut off from all prospect of aid, and menaced by a greatly superior force, the French, now reduced in numbers to five hundred men, set fire to the fort in every part in which it was combustible, and proceeded down the Ohio in order to gain their posts at Presque Isle and Venango. (Nov. 25.) A mine, prepared ere they left the fortress, exploded as the English drew near, and before the burning fragments had been extin- guished, Colonel Washington entered the wall at
a Grahame, iv. 32; Burk, iii.
b Grahame, iv. 31.
235; Campbell, 132.
491
BRADDOCK'S BATTLE-FIELD.
1758.]
the head of the advanced guard, and planted the British standard upon this long-contested ground.a Immediately repairs were · commenced, a garrison of provincials was assigned for its custody, and the name of Fort Pitt paid a well-earned tribute to the genius of the great man, to whose vigilance and energy his country owed this important conquest.
To the triumph of bloodless victory succeeded the sadness impressed by the discharge of a melan- choly duty. The General and the army were alike moved with desire to collect the mouldering re- mains of those who fell in Braddock's defeat, and consign them to a soldier's grave. Guided by In- dians who had deserted from the French, and many of whom had been actors in the tragedy of the Monongahela, a chosen number of provincial troops entered the forest and approached the field of battle. It is not difficult to believe all that an eye-witness has related of the solemn interest of this scene. In profound silence they trod the withered leaves, which were already falling before the blasts of winter; around them on every side were the bleaching bones of men who had left the soil of Britain to die amid the forests of America. Wild beasts had already visited the field, and many fearful signs gave proof of their ravages. Among
a Burk, iii. 236. Mr. Burk's ac. count would induce the belief that the fort was regularly invested by the English, and that shells were fired into it before the French de- serted; but in truth General Forbes did not resolve to advance to the
walls until he was informed by pri- soners. that the garrison was too weak to resist, and the French left it the day before his arrival. Gra- hame, iv. 32; Sparks, i. 101 ; Mar- 'shall, ii. 69.
492
BRADDOCK'S BATTLE-FIELD. [CHAP. VIII.
the visiters who felt most keenly the emotions ex- cited by this valley of death, was Major Halket, who had mourned the loss of a father and a bro- ther, both slain in the conflict. An Indian guide had told him of the fall of a veteran officer and of the death of the heroic young subaltern, who had sunk across the body of the first as he stooped to his assistance. Now a thrilling discovery was to be made. Two bodies were found, the one lying upon the other ; when the uppermost was removed, Major Halket drew near, and with feelings that would baffle description, examined the other body. A false tooth for which he sought, instantly revealed the dead. With a single cry, "It is my father !" he fell back into the arms of his compa- nions.ª
Gathering together the remains of each victim that could be found, the soldiers proceeded to com- mit them to one common tomb. The hearts of all who participated in this solemnity were bowed with awe and sorrow. Even the Indian warriors looked on in profound stillness, regarding the service as a religious observance to which they owed silent veneration. The genius of one who has described it, has detected in this scene a resemblance to the discovery made by the army of Germanicus amid the forests of Europe ; but the mouldering remains of a whole Roman legion, who fell when the light of Divine truth had not yet gilded the tomb, could
a Galt's Life of West. For the extract here relied upon, I am indebted to Mr. Grahame, note iii. vol. iv. 483, 484.
493
DEATH OF GEENRAL FORBES.
1758.]
not excite in the bosoms of their comrades the awful interest felt by the few who now gave Chris- tian burial to the slain of the Monongahela.ª
With the fall of Fort Duquesne ended the war between France and England, as far as it could be waged on the frontiers of Virginia. General Forbes returned with his army to winter quarters in Phi- ladelphia, and a short time after his arrival, worn down with fatigue and suffering, he expired.b George Washington retired to Mount Vernon, nor did he again draw his sword, until it was un- sheathed to make war, in defence of liberty, upon the very nation whose honour he had often nobly upheld. But though Virginia was no longer the theatre of actual conflict, she looked with absorbing interest upon the progress of war in the northern colonies, knowing that she could not escape the conflagration unless it was there arrested.
It would not be proper to trace, with minuteness, the course of the memorable campaigns of 1758 and 59. They belong to American history, and
a Mr. Burk gives a translation from Tacitus, but I have thought it best to present a passage in all the original force which the master mind has imparted. " Prima Vari castra, lato ambitu et dimensis prin- cipiis, trium legionum manus osten- tabant: dein semiruto vallo, humili fossa accisæ jam reliquia conse- disse intelligebantur : medio campi albentia ossa, ut fugerant, ut resti- terant disjecta vel aggerata : adjace- bant fragmina telorum, equorumque
artus, simul truncis arborum antefixa ora : lucis propinquis barbara aræ, apud quas tribunos ac primorum ordinum centuriones mactaverant. Et cladis ejus superstites, pugnam et vincula elapsi, referebant, ' hic ceci- disse legatos : illic raptas aquilas : primum ubi vulnus Varo adactum : ubi infelici dextra et suo ictu mortem invenerit.' " Taciti Annalium lib. i. Ixi. 38; edit. Lipsiæ, 1829.
b Grahame, iv. 33 ; Sparks, i. 101.
· 494
CAMPAIGNS OF 1758 AND 1759. [CHAP. VIII.
will never be forgotten; but they have only an in- direct- bearing upon the fate of the Old Dominion. Again an expedition was prepared against Cape Breton and Louisbourg, and the prize which had been so lightly yielded was reconquered by Eng- land, to be surrendered no more. Abercrombie crossed the placid bosom of Lake George, with a glittering array of soldiery ; but his incompetence was soon apparent, and nothing but the capture of Fort Frontenac by Colonel Bradstreet, the able subaltern of a feeble commander, could have atoned for the disgrace of the British arms. (1759.) In the succeeding year, intense activity pervaded the forces intended to operate in America. A great soul in the mother country directed their move- ments, and inspired them with one common pur- pose. Amherst marched against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and reduced them successively under his control. Prideaux embarked upon Lake Ontario, and attacked the French fortress at Niagara. He fell a martyr to his zeal, but he had done enough to insure success, and his brave troops completed the triumph they would willingly have shared with himself. And the young General who as- cended the Heights of Abraham, added the crown- ing stone to the column of English victory in America. Wolfe and Montcalm both fell upon the field of battle, but the one in death could rejoice in view of his country's triumph, and the other could only breathe the wish of a hero, that he might not see the fall of the glory of France upon the Ameri- can continent.ª
a Grahame, iv. 55.
495
PEACE OF PARIS.
1763.]
Every where England was victorious. On sea and on land, among the isles of the western world and in the East India domain, in the Mediterra- nean and on the frontiers of Canada, she enjoyed a continued course of success and conquest. Spain was humbled, and France desired peace. . William Pitt had retired from the direction of public affairs in his country ; but the result of his measures now appeared, and England, as she has too often done, gained the benefit of labour for which she had then · bestowed but meagre gratitude. Noble commis- sioners from the two rival kingdoms met at Fon- tainebleau in 1762, and agreed upon the articles of a treaty, which was definitively concluded at Paris early in the following year. (1763, February 10.) If Aix-la-Chapelle had brought dishonour to Bri- tain, the Treaty of Paris more than atoned. She gained a full title to Nova Scotia and Canada, to Cape Breton and Louisbourg, to the St. Lawrence and all its adjoining islands. She divided the Mississippi with her rival by a line running down its middle through the lakes Maurepas and Pont- chartrain. She resigned Havana to Spain, but received in return the beautiful region known as the Floridas, with the town of St. Augustine and the port of Pensacola. Avarice might have been sated with her gains, and ambition content with her glory.
Thus the civilized world was once more at peace. Virginia partook of the common blessing, and made it the source of other advantages. Her population had rapidly increased, and notwith-
496
COMING EVENTS.
[CHAP. VIII.
standing the late war, her progress had been on- ward. If she had not grown evenly with some of her sisters of the North, she had at least not fallen far beneath them. Her hand was watched to point the way to future greatness. Already principles had found advocates upon her soil, which were destined to diffuse themselves throughout the western world, and to teach man that he was born for higher destinies than any which had yet be- fallen him. She was not yet aware of the strug- gle that was approaching, and in which she was to fill so conspicuous a part; but changes were in progress within her own bosom, which were si- lently preparing her for the decisive hour. Her infancy, her childhood, even her youth had passed away ; and as the impulses of maturity began to manifest themselves, she slowly learned from them the high duties to which she was summoned. Upon her history, for a season, the curtain must now fall; but when it shall rise again, it will be to present her raising the voice of eloquence, wield- ing the pen of learning, and shedding the blood of self-sacrifice in the sacred cause of a nation's liberty.
END OF VOL. I.
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