Arthur St. Clair, born in Edinburgh in 1734, graduated at the
university of that city, and began the study of medicine. His ardent
temperament, however, could ill brook the quiet monotony of a doctor’s
life, so enlisting in the British army, he came to this country in
1755. He was present at the battle on the “Heights of Abraham,” and
after the peace of 1763 was given command of Fort Ligonier in western
Pennsylvania. During the next ten years, he purchased a tract of land,
married, engaged in the business of a farmer and land surveyor, and
became a magistrate in Westmoreland County. His patriotism being well
known, he was appointed colonel in the Continental army in December,
1775, and in 1776 was ordered to Canada, arriving in the vicinity
of Quebec just in time to cover the retreat of the troops under
Arnold. On the 9th of August following, he received his commission as
brigadier-general, and joining Washington in the autumn, took part
in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. The confidence and esteem
of his commander-in-chief and of Congress found expression in his
advancement to the rank of major-general on the 19th of February, 1777;
and soon after he was intrusted with the command of Fort Ticonderoga.
On the approach of Burgoyne the following July, he deemed it best to
abandon this fortress and to retreat, as the smallness of the garrison
and the lack of everything necessary to withstand either an assault
or a siege rendered defeat inevitable. His conduct, however, was
severely criticised by Congress, and he was suspended and summoned to
Philadelphia for trial. Despite all his efforts to the contrary, this
investigation was delayed for many months. At last he was tried by
court-martial in October, 1778, and fully exonerated of all charges
against him. Washington’s confidence in him had never been shaken, and
he made it apparent by employing him in various important missions. He
served to the close of the war, and in 1786 was elected to Congress
from Pennsylvania, and soon afterward was chosen president of that
body. In 1788, Congress appointed him first governor of the Northwest
Territory, but in 1791, he suffered a terrible defeat by the Indians
of that section, and again his conduct was investigated and again
he was acquitted of all blame. In 1802, being removed by President
Jefferson from the office of governor, he returned to Ligonier Valley.
Broken in health, stripped of his fortune, and unable to make good
his just claims against the Government, he had abandoned all hope,
when the State of Pennsylvania settled an annuity upon him of $300,
which was afterward increased to $650 a year. He died at Greensburg,
Pennsylvania, on the 31st of August, 1818.