Produced by Linda Cantoni and David Widger
THE
LIFE
OF
GEORGE WASHINGTON,
COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE
AMERICAN FORCES,
DURING THE WAR WHICH ESTABLISHED THE INDEPENDENCE OF HIS COUNTRY, AND
FIRST PRESIDENT
OF THE
UNITED STATES.
COMPILED UNDER THE INSPECTION OF
THE HONOURABLE BUSHROD WASHINGTON,
FROM
_ORIGINAL PAPERS_
BEQUEATHED TO HIM BY HIS DECEASED RELATIVE, AND NOW IN POSSESSION OF
THE AUTHOR.
TO WHICH IS PREFIXED,
AN INTRODUCTION,
CONTAINING A COMPENDIOUS VIEW OF THE COLONIES PLANTED BY THE ENGLISH
ON THE
CONTINENT OF NORTH AMERICA,
FROM THEIR SETTLEMENT TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THAT WAR WHICH TERMINATED
IN THEIR
INDEPENDENCE.
BY JOHN MARSHALL.
VOL. II.
THE CITIZENS' GUILD
OF WASHINGTON'S BOYHOOD HOME
FREDERICKSBURG, VA.
1926
Printed in the U.S.A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
Birth of Mr. Washington.... His mission to the French on the Ohio....
Appointed Lieutenant Colonel of a regiment of regular troops....
Surprises Monsieur Jumonville.... Capitulation of fort Necessity....
Is appointed aid-de-camp to General Braddock.... Defeat and death of
that general.... Is appointed to the command of a regiment.... Extreme
distress of the frontiers, and exertions of Colonel Washington to
augment the regular forces of the colony.... Expedition against fort
Du Quesne.... Defeat of Major Grant.... Fort Du Quesne evacuated by
the French, and taken possession of by the English.... Resignation of
Colonel Washington.... His marriage.
CHAPTER II.
Colonel Washington appointed commander-in-chief of the American
forces.... Arrives at Cambridge.... Strength and disposition of the
two armies.... Deficiency of the Americans in arms and ammunitions....
Falmouth burnt.... Success of the American cruisers.... Distress of
the British from the want of fresh provisions.... Measures to form a
continental army.... Difficulty of re-enlisting the troops.... Plan
for attacking Boston.... General Lee detached to New York....
Possession taken of the heights of Dorchester.... Boston evacuated....
Correspondence respecting prisoners.
CHAPTER III.
Invasion of Canada meditated.... Siege of St. John's.... Capture of
fort Chamblée.... Carleton defeated at Longueisle.... St. John's
capitulated.... Montreal surrenders.... Arnold's expedition.... He
arrives before Quebec.... Retires to Point Aux Trembles.... Montgomery
lays siege to Quebec.... Unsuccessful attack on that place.... Death
of Montgomery.... Blockade of Quebec.... General Thomas takes command
of the army.... The blockade raised.... General Sullivan takes the
command.... Battle of the Three Rivers.... Canada evacuated....
General Carleton constructs a fleet.... Enters lake Champlain....
Defeats the American flotilla.... Takes possession of Crown Point....
Retires into winter quarters.
CHAPTER IV.
Transaction in Virginia.... Action at Great Bridge.... Norfolk
evacuated.... Burnt.... Transactions in North Carolina.... Action at
Moore's Creek Bridge.... Invasion of South Carolina.... British fleet
repulsed at Fort Moultrie.... Transactions in New York.... Measures
leading to Independence.... Independence declared.
CHAPTER V.
Lord and Sir William Howe arrive before New York.... Circular letter
of Lord Howe.... State of the American Army.... The British land in
force on Long Island.... Battle of Brooklyn.... Evacuation of Long
Island.... Fruitless negotiations.... New York evacuated.... Skirmish
on the heights of Haerlem.... Letter on the state of the army.
CHAPTER VI.
The British land at Frog's Neck.... The American army evacuates York
Island, except fort Washington.... Both armies move towards the White
Plains.... Battle of the White Plains.... The British army returns to
Kingsbridge.... General Washington crosses the North river.... The
lines of fort Washington carried by the British, and the garrison made
prisoners.... Evacuation of fort Lee.... Weakness of the American
army.... Ineffectual attempts to raise the militia.... General
Washington retreats through Jersey.... General Washington crosses the
Delaware.... Danger of Philadelphia.... Capture of General Lee.... The
British go into winter quarters.... Battle of Trenton.... Of
Princeton.... Firmness of congress.
CHAPTER VII.
American army inoculated.... General Heath moves to Kingsbridge....
Returns to Peekskill.... Skirmishes.... State of the army....
Destruction of stores at Peekskill.... At Danbury.... Expedition to
Sagg Harbour.... Camp formed at Middlebrook.... Sir William Howe moves
out to Somerset Court House.... Returns to Amboy.... Attempts to cut
off the retreat of the American army to Middlebrook.... Lord
Cornwallis skirmishes with Lord Stirling.... General Prescott
surprised and taken.... The British army embarks.
CHAPTER VIII.
General Washington commences his march to the Delaware.... Takes
measures for checking Burgoyne.... British army land at Elk River....
General Washington advances to Brandywine.... Retreat of Maxwell....
Defeat at Brandywine.... Slight skirmish near the White Horse, and
retreat to French Creek.... General Wayne surprised.... General Howe
takes possession of Philadelphia.... Removal of Congress to Lancaster.
CHAPTER IX.
Measures to cut off the communication between the British army and
fleet.... Battle of Germantown.... Measures to intercept supplies to
Philadelphia.... Attack on fort Mifflin.... On Red Bank.... The
Augusta blows up.... Fort Mifflin evacuated.... Fort Mercer
evacuated.... The British open the communication with their fleet....
Washington urged to attack Philadelphia.... General Howe marches out
to Chestnut Hill.... Returns to Philadelphia.... General Washington
goes into winter quarters.
CHAPTER X.
Inquiry into the conduct of General Schuyler.... Burgoyne appears
before Ticonderoga.... Evacuation of that place,... of
Skeensborough.... Colonel Warner defeated.... Evacuation of fort
Anne.... Proclamation of Burgoyne.... Counter-proclamation of
Schuyler.... Burgoyne approaches fort Edward.... Schuyler retires to
Saratoga,... to Stillwater.... St. Leger invests fort Schuyler....
Herkimer defeated.... Colonel Baum detached to Bennington.... is
defeated.... Brechman defeated.... St. Leger abandons the siege of
fort Schuyler.... Murder of Miss M'Crea.... General Gates takes
command.... Burgoyne encamps on the heights of Saratoga.... Battle of
Stillwater.... Burgoyne retreats to Saratoga.... Capitulates.... The
British take forts Montgomery and Clinton.... The forts Independence
and Constitution evacuated by the Americans.... Ticonderoga evacuated
by the British.
CHAPTER XI.
Defects in the Commissary departments.... Distress of the army at
Valley Forge.... The army subsisted by impressments.... Combination in
congress against General Washington.... Correspondence between him and
General Gates.... Distress of the army for clothes.... Washington's
exertions to augment the army.... Congress sends a committee to
camp.... Attempt to surprise Captain Lee.... Congress determines on a
second expedition to Canada.... Abandons it.... General Conway
resigns.... The Baron Steuben appointed Inspector General.... Congress
forbids the embarkation of Burgoyne's army.... Plan of reconciliation
agreed to in Parliament.... Communicated to congress and rejected....
Information of treaties between France and the United States....
Complaints of the treatment of prisoners.... A partial exchange agreed
to.
THE LIFE
OF
GEORGE WASHINGTON
CHAPTER I.
Birth of Mr. Washington.... His mission to the French on the
Ohio.... Appointed Lieutenant Colonel of a regiment of
regular troops.... Surprises Monsieur Jumonville....
Capitulation of fort Necessity.... Is appointed aid-de-camp
to General Braddock.... Defeat and death of that general....
Is appointed to the command of a regiment.... Extreme
distress of the frontiers, and exertions of Colonel
Washington to augment the regular forces of the colony....
Expedition against fort Du Quesne.... Defeat of Major
Grant.... Fort Du Quesne evacuated by the French, and taken
possession of by the English.... Resignation of Colonel
Washington.... His marriage.
{1732}
[Sidenote: Birth of Mr. Washington.]
George Washington, the third son of Augustine Washington, was born on
the 22d of February, 1732, near the banks of the Potowmac, in the
county of Westmoreland, in Virginia. His father first married Miss
Butler, who died in 1728; leaving two sons, Lawrence and Augustine. In
1730, he intermarried with Miss Mary Ball, by whom he had four sons,
George, John, Samuel and Charles; and one daughter, Betty, who
intermarried with Colonel Fielding Lewis, of Fredericksburg.
His great grandfather, John Washington, a gentleman of a respectable
family, had emigrated from the north of England about the year 1657,
and settled on the place where Mr. Washington was born.
At the age of ten years he lost his father. Deprived of one parent, he
became an object of more assiduous attention to the other; who
continued to impress those principles of religion and virtue on his
tender mind, which constituted the solid basis of a character that was
maintained through all the trying vicissitudes of an eventful life.
But his education was limited to those subjects, in which alone the
sons of gentlemen, of moderate fortune, were, at that time, generally
instructed. It was confined to acquisitions strictly useful, not even
extending to foreign languages.
In 1743, his eldest brother intermarried with the daughter of the
Honourable George William Fairfax, then a member of the council; and
this connexion introduced Mr. Washington to Lord Fairfax, the
proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia, who offered him, when in
his eighteenth year, an appointment as surveyor, in the western part
of that territory. His patrimonial estate being inconsiderable, this
appointment was readily accepted; and in the performance of its
duties, he acquired that information respecting vacant lands, and
formed those opinions concerning their future value, which afterwards
contributed greatly to the increase of his private fortune.
{1750}
Those powerful attractions which the profession of arms presents to
young and ardent minds, possessed their full influence over Mr.
Washington. Stimulated by the enthusiasm of military genius, to take
part in the war in which Great Britain was then engaged, he had
pressed so earnestly to enter into the navy, that, at the age of
fifteen, a midshipman's warrant was obtained for him. The interference
of a timid and affectionate mother deferred the commencement, and
changed the direction of his military career. Four years afterwards,
at a time when the militia were to be trained for actual service, he
was appointed one of the Adjutants General of Virginia, with the rank
of Major. The duties annexed to this office soon yielded to others of
a more interesting character.
France was beginning to develop the vast plan of connecting her
extensive dominions in America, by uniting Canada with Louisiana. The
troops of that nation had taken possession of a tract of country
claimed by Virginia, and had commenced a line of posts, to be extended
from the Lakes to the Ohio. The attention of Mr. Dinwiddie, Lieutenant
Governor of that Province, was attracted to these supposed
encroachments; and he deemed it his duty to demand, in the name of the
King his master, that they should be suspended.
{1753}
This mission was toilsome and hazardous. The Envoy would be under the
necessity of passing through an extensive and almost unexplored
wilderness, intersected with rugged mountains and considerable rivers,
and inhabited by fierce savages, who were either hostile to the
English, or of doubtful attachment. While the dangers and fatigues of
this service deterred others from undertaking it, they seem to have
possessed attractions for Mr. Washington, and he engaged in it with
alacrity.
{October 31.}
[Sidenote: His mission to the French on the Ohio.]
On receiving his commission, he left Williamsburg and arrived, on the
14th of November, at Wills' creek, then the extreme frontier
settlement of the English, where guides were engaged to conduct him
over the Alleghany mountains. After surmounting the impediments
occasioned by the snow and high waters, he reached the mouth of Turtle
creek, where he was informed that the French General was dead, and
that the greater part of the army had retired into winter quarters.
Pursuing his route, he examined the country through which he passed
with a military eye, and selected the confluence of the Monongahela
and Alleghany rivers, the place where fort Du Quesne was afterwards
erected by the French, as an advantageous position, which it would be
adviseable to seize and to fortify immediately.
{1754}
{January 16}
After employing a few days among the Indians in that neighbourhood,
and procuring some of their chiefs to accompany him, whose fidelity he
took the most judicious means to secure, he ascended the Alleghany
river. Passing one fort at the mouth of French creek, he proceeded up
the stream to a second, where he was received by Monsieur Le Gardeur
de St. Pierre, the commanding officer on the Ohio, to whom he
delivered the letter of Mr. Dinwiddie, and from whom he received an
answer with which he returned to Williamsburg. The exertions made by
Mr. Washington on this occasion, the perseverance with which he
surmounted the difficulties of the journey, and the judgment displayed
in his conduct towards the Indians, raised him in the public opinion,
as well as in that of the Lieutenant Governor. His journal,[1] drawn
up for the inspection of Mr. Dinwiddie, was published, and impressed
his countrymen with very favourable sentiments of his understanding
and fortitude.
[Footnote 1: See note No. I. at the end of the volume.]
[Sidenote: Appointed lieutenant colonel of a regiment of regular
troops.]
[Sidenote: Surprises Monsieur Jumonville.]
As the answer from the commandant of the French forces on the Ohio
indicated no disposition to withdraw from that country, it was deemed
necessary to make some preparations to maintain the right asserted
over it by the British crown; and the assembly of Virginia authorized
the executive to raise a regiment for that purpose, to consist of
three hundred men. The command of this regiment was given to Mr.
Fry,[2] and Major Washington was appointed Lieutenant Colonel. Anxious
to be engaged in active service, he obtained permission, about the
beginning of April, to advance with two companies to the Great Meadows
in the Alleghany mountains. By this movement he hoped to cover that
frontier, to make himself more perfectly acquainted with the country,
to gain some information respecting the situation and designs of the
French, and to preserve the friendship of the savages. Soon after his
arrival at that place, he was visited by some friendly Indians, who
informed him that the French, having dispersed a party of workmen
employed by the Ohio company to erect a fort on the south-eastern
branch of the Ohio, were themselves engaged in completing a
fortification at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela
rivers: a detachment from which place was then on its march towards
his camp. Open hostilities had not yet commenced; but the country was
considered as invaded: and several circumstances were related,
confirming the opinion that this party was approaching with hostile
views. Among others, it had withdrawn itself some distance from the
path, and had encamped for the night in a bottom, as if to ensure
concealment. Entertaining no doubt of the unfriendly designs with
which these troops were advancing, Lieutenant Colonel Washington
resolved to anticipate them. Availing himself of the offer made by the
Indians to serve him as guides, he proceeded through a dark and rainy
night to the French encampment, which he completely surrounded. At
day-break, his troops fired and rushed upon the party, which
immediately surrendered. One man only escaped capture, and M.
Jumonville alone, the commanding officer, was killed.
[Footnote 2: With an unaffected modesty which the
accumulated honours of his after life could never impair,
Major Washington, though the most distinguished military man
then in Virginia, declined being a candidate for the command
of this regiment. The following letter written on the
occasion to Colonel Richard Corbin, a member of the council,
with whom his family was connected by the ties of friendship
and of affinity, was placed in the hands of the author by
Mr. Francis Corbin, a son of that gentleman.
"DEAR SIR,--In a conversation at Green Spring you gave me
some room to hope for a commission above that of a Major,
and to be ranked among the chief officers of this
expedition. The command of the whole forces is what I
neither look for, expect, or desire; for I must be impartial
enough to confess, it is a charge too great for my youth and
inexperience to be intrusted with. Knowing this, I have too
sincere a love for my country, to undertake that which may
tend to the prejudice of it. But if I could entertain hopes
that you thought me worthy of the post of
Lieutenant-colonel, and would favour me so far as to mention
it at the appointment of officers, I could not but entertain
a true sense of the kindness.
"I flatter myself that under a skilful commander, or man of
sense, (which I most sincerely wish to serve under,) with my
own application and diligent study of my duty, I shall be
able to conduct my steps without censure, and in time,
render myself worthy of the promotion that I shall be
favoured with now."
The commission he solicited was transmitted to him by Mr.
Corbin, in the following laconic letter:
"DEAR GEORGE,--I inclose you your commission. God prosper
you with it.
"Your friend, RICHARD CORBIN."]
While the regiment was on its march to join the detachment advanced in
front, the command devolved on Lieutenant Colonel Washington by the
death of Colonel Fry. Soon after its arrival, it was reinforced by two
independent companies of regulars. After erecting a small stockade at
the Great Meadows, Colonel Washington commenced his march towards fort
Du Quesne, with the intention of dislodging the French from that
place. He had proceeded about thirteen miles, when he was met by some
friendly Indians, who informed him that the French and their savage
allies, "as numerous as the pigeons in the woods," were advancing
rapidly to meet him. Among those who brought this information was a
trusty chief, only two days from the fort on the Ohio, who had
observed the arrival of a considerable reinforcement at that place,
and had heard their intention of marching immediately to attack the
English, with a corps composed of eight hundred French and four
hundred Indians. This intelligence was corroborated by information
previously received from deserters, who had reported that a
reinforcement was expected.
The troops commanded by Colonel Washington were almost destitute of
provisions; and the ground he occupied was not adapted to military
purposes. A road at some distance, leading through other defiles in
the mountains, would enable the French to pass into his rear,
intercept his supplies, and starve him into a surrender, or fight him
with a superiority of three to one.
{June 23.}
In this hazardous situation, a council of war unanimously advised a
retreat to the fort at the Great Meadows, now termed fort Necessity;
where the two roads united, and where the face of the country was such
as not to permit an enemy to pass unperceived. At that place, it was
intended to remain, until reinforcements of men, and supplies of
provisions, should arrive.
{July 2.}
{Third.}
[Sidenote: Capitulation of fort Necessity.]
{Fourth.}
In pursuance of this advice, Colonel Washington returned to fort
Necessity, and began a ditch around the stockade. Before it was
completed, the French, amounting to about fifteen hundred men,
commanded by Monsieur de Villier, appeared before the fort, and
immediately commenced a furious attack upon it. They were received
with great intrepidity by the Americans, who fought partly within the
stockade, and partly in the surrounding ditch, which was nearly filled
with mud and water. Colonel Washington continued the whole day on the
outside of the fort, encouraging the soldiers by his countenance and
example. The assailants fought under cover of the trees and high
grass, with which the country abounds. The engagement was continued
with great resolution from ten in the morning until dark; when
Monsieur de Villier demanded a parley, and offered terms of
capitulation. The proposals first made were rejected; but, in the
course of the night, articles were signed, by which the fort was
surrendered, on condition that its garrison should be allowed the
honours of war--should be permitted to retain their arms and baggage,
and be suffered to march without molestation into the inhabited parts
of Virginia. The capitulation being in French--a language not
understood by any person in the garrison, and being drawn up hastily
in the night, contains an expression which was inaccurately translated
at the time, and of which advantage has been since taken, by the
enemies of Mr. Washington, to imply an admission on his part, that
Monsieur Jumonville was assassinated. An account of the transaction
was published by Monsieur de Villier, which drew from Colonel
Washington a letter to a friend, completely disproving the calumny.
Though entirely discredited at the time, it was revived at a
subsequent period, when circumstances, well understood at the date of
the transaction, were supposed to be forgotten.[3]
[Footnote 3: See note No. II. at the end of the volume.]
The loss of the Americans in this affair is not ascertained. From a
return made on the 9th of July, at Wills' Creek, it appears that the
killed and wounded, of the Virginia regiment, amounted to fifty-eight;
but the loss sustained by the two independent companies is not stated.
That of the assailants was supposed to be more considerable.
Great credit was given to Colonel Washington by his countrymen, for
the courage displayed on this occasion. The legislature evinced its
satisfaction with the conduct of the whole party, by passing a vote of
thanks[4] to him, and the officers under his command; and by giving
three hundred pistoles, to be distributed among the soldiers engaged
in the action.
[Footnote 4: To the vote of thanks, the officers made the
following reply:
"We, the officers of the Virginia regiment, are highly
sensible of the particular mark of distinction with which
you have honoured us, in returning your thanks for our
behaviour in the late action; and can not help testifying
our grateful acknowledgments, for your '_high sense_' of
what we shall always esteem a duty to our country and the
best of kings.
"Favoured with your regard, we shall zealously endeavour to
deserve your applause, and, by our future actions, strive to
convince the worshipful house of burgesses, how much we
esteem their approbation, and, as it ought to be, regard it
as the voice of our country.
"Signed for the whole corps,
"GEO: WASHINGTON."]
The regiment returned to Winchester, to be recruited; soon after which
it was joined by a few companies from North Carolina and Maryland. On
the arrival of this reinforcement, the Lieutenant Governor, with the
advice of council, regardless of the condition or number of the
forces, ordered them immediately to march over the Alleghany
mountains, and to expel the French from fort Du Quesne, or to build
one in its vicinity.
{August.}
{September.}
The little army in Virginia, which was placed under the command of
Colonel Innes, from North Carolina, did not, as now reinforced, exceed
half the number of the enemy, and was neither provided with the means
of moving, nor with supplies for a winter campaign. With as little
consideration, directions had been given for the immediate completion
of the regiment, without furnishing a single shilling for the
recruiting service. Although a long peace may account for many errors
at the commencement of war, some surprise will be felt at such
ill-considered and ill-judged measures. Colonel Washington
remonstrated strongly against these orders, but prepared to execute
them. The assembly, however, having risen without making any provision
for the farther prosecution of the war, this wild expedition was laid
aside, and the Virginia regiment was reduced to independent companies.
In the course of the winter, orders were received "for settling the
rank of the officers of his majesty's forces when serving with the
provincials in North America." These orders directed "that all
officers commissioned by the King, or by his General in North America,
should take rank of all officers commissioned by the Governors of the
respective provinces; and farther, that the general and field officers
of the provincial troops should have no rank when serving with the
general and field officers commissioned by the crown; but that all
captains, and other inferior officers of the royal troops, should take
rank over provincial officers of the same grade, having senior
commissions."
Strong as was his attachment to a military life, Colonel Washington
possessed in too eminent a degree the proud and punctilious feelings
of a soldier, to submit to a degradation so humiliating as was
produced by his loss of rank. Professing his unabated inclination to
continue in the service, if permitted to do so without a sacrifice too
great to be made, he retired indignantly from the station assigned
him, and answered the various letters which he received, pressing him
still to hold his commission, with assurances that he would serve with
pleasure, when he should be enabled to do so without dishonour.
His eldest brother had lately died, and left him a considerable estate
on the Potowmac. This gentleman had served in the expedition against
Carthagena; and, in compliment to the admiral who commanded the fleet
engaged in that enterprise, had named his seat _Mount Vernon_! To this
delightful spot Colonel Washington withdrew, resolving to devote his
future attention to the avocations of private life. This resolution
was not long maintained.
{1755}
{March.}
General Braddock, being informed of his merit, his knowledge of the
country which was to be the theatre of action, and his motives for
retiring from the service, gratified his desire to make one campaign
under a person supposed to possess some knowledge of war, by inviting
him to enter his family as a volunteer aid-de-camp.
[Sidenote: Is appointed aid-de-camp to General Braddock.]
{April.}
{June.}
Having determined to accept this invitation, he joined the
commander-in-chief, immediately after his departure from Alexandria,
and proceeded with him to Wills' Creek. The army, consisting of two
European regiments and a few corps of provincials, was detained at
that place until the 12th of June, by the difficulty of procuring
wagons, horses, and provisions. Colonel Washington, impatient under
these delays, suggested the propriety of using pack-horses instead of
wagons, for conveying the baggage. The commander-in-chief, although
solicitous to hasten the expedition, was so attached to the usages of
regular war, that this salutary advice was at first rejected; but,
soon after the commencement of the march, its propriety became too
obvious to be longer neglected.
{Fifteenth.}
On the third day after the army had moved from its ground, Colonel
Washington was seized with a violent fever, which disabled him from
riding on horseback, and was conveyed in a covered wagon. General
Braddock, who found the difficulties of the march greater than had
been expected, continuing to consult him privately, he strenuously
urged that officer to leave his heavy artillery and baggage with the
rear division of the army; and with a chosen body of troops and some
pieces of light artillery, to press forward with the utmost expedition
to fort Du Quesne. In support of this advice, he stated that the
French were then weak on the Ohio, but hourly expected reinforcements.
During the excessive drought which prevailed at that time, these could
not arrive; because the river Le Boeuf, on which their supplies must
be brought to Venango, did not then afford a sufficient quantity of
water for the purpose. A rapid movement therefore might enable him to
carry the fort, before the arrival of the expected aid; but if this
measure should not be adopted, such were the delays attendant on the
march of the whole army, that rains sufficient to raise the waters
might reasonably be expected, and the whole force of the French would
probably be collected for their reception; a circumstance which would
render the success of the expedition doubtful.
This advice according well with the temper of the commander-in-chief,
it was determined in a council of war, held at the Little Meadows,
that twelve hundred select men, to be commanded by General Braddock in
person, should advance with the utmost expedition against fort Du
Quesne. Colonel Dunbar was to remain with the residue of the two
regiments, and all the heavy baggage.
{June 19.}
Although this select corps commenced its march with only thirty
carriages, including ammunition wagons, the hopes which had been
entertained of the celerity of its movements were not fulfilled. "I
found," said Colonel Washington, in a letter to his brother, written
during the march, "that instead of pushing on with vigour, without
regarding a little rough road, they were halting to level every
mole-hill, and to erect bridges over every brook." By these means they
employed four days in reaching the great crossings of the Yohiogany,
only nineteen miles from the Little Meadows.
Colonel Washington was obliged to stop at that place;--the physician
having declared that his life would be endangered by continuing with
the army. He obeyed, with reluctance, the positive orders of the
general to remain at this camp, under the protection of a small guard,
until the arrival of Colonel Dunbar; having first received a promise
that means should be used to bring him up with the army before it
reached fort Du Quesne.
{July 8.}
The day before the action of the Monongahela he rejoined the general
in a covered wagon; and, though weak, entered on the duties of his
station.
In a short time after the action had commenced, Colonel Washington was
the only aid remaining alive, and unwounded. The whole duty of
carrying the orders of the commander-in-chief, in an engagement with
marksmen who selected officers, and especially those on horseback, for
their objects, devolved on him alone. Under these difficult
circumstances, he manifested that coolness, that self-possession, that
fearlessness of danger which ever distinguished him, and which are so
necessary to the character of a consummate soldier. Two horses were
killed under him, and four balls passed through his coat; but, to the
astonishment of all, he escaped unhurt,--while every other officer on
horseback was either killed or wounded. "I expected every moment,"
says an eye-witness,[5] "to see him fall. His duty and situation
exposed him to every danger. Nothing but the superintending care of
Providence could have saved him from the fate of all around him."
[Footnote 5: Dr. Craik.]
[Sidenote: Defeat and death of that general.]
{August.}
At length, after an action of nearly three hours, General Braddock,
under whom three horses had been killed, received a mortal wound; and
his troops fled in great disorder. Every effort to rally them was
ineffectual until they had crossed the Monongahela, when, being no
longer pursued, they were again formed. The general was brought off in
a small tumbril by Colonel Washington, Captain Stewart of the guards,
and his servant. The defeated detachment retreated with the utmost
precipitation to the rear division of the army; soon after which,
Braddock expired. In the first moments of alarm, all the stores were
destroyed, except those necessary for immediate use; and not long
afterwards, Colonel Dunbar marched the remaining European troops to
Philadelphia, in order to place them in, what he termed, winter
quarters.
Colonel Washington was greatly disappointed and disgusted by the
conduct of the regular troops in this action. In his letter to
Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie, giving an account of it, he said, "They
were struck with such an inconceivable panic, that nothing but
confusion and disobedience of orders prevailed among them. The
officers in general behaved with incomparable bravery, for which they
greatly suffered; there being upwards of sixty killed and wounded--a
large proportion out of what we had.
"The Virginia companies behaved like men, and died like soldiers; for,
I believe, out of three companies on the ground that day, scarce
thirty men were left alive. Captain Peronny, and all his officers down
to a corporal, were killed. Captain Poulson had almost as hard a fate,
for only one of his escaped. In short, the dastardly behaviour of the
regular troops (so called,) exposed those who were inclined to do
their duty, to almost certain death; and, at length, in spite of every
effort to the contrary, they broke, and ran as sheep before hounds;
leaving the artillery, ammunition, provisions, baggage, and in short
every thing, a prey to the enemy; and when we endeavoured to rally
them, in hopes of regaining the ground, and what we had left upon it,
it was with as little success as if we had attempted to have stopped
the wild bears of the mountains, or the rivulets with our feet: for
they would break by, in spite of every effort to prevent it."[6]
[Footnote 6: In another letter, he says, "We have been
beaten, shamefully beaten--shamefully beaten by a handful of
men, who only intended to molest and disturb our march!
Victory was their smallest expectation! But see the wondrous
works of Providence, the uncertainty of human things! We,
but a few moments before, believed our numbers almost equal
to the force of Canada; they only expected to annoy us. Yet,
contrary to all expectation and human probability, and even
to the common course of things, we were totally defeated,
and have sustained the loss of every thing."]
[Illustration: Wakefield--the Birthplace of George Washington
_This is from an etching made in idealization of the original house,
situated on the banks of the Potomac, 38 miles from Fredericksburg, in
Westmoreland County, Virginia, where our First President was born,
February 22, 1732. The original house, which was built by Washington's
father, Augustine, was destroyed by fire more than 150 years ago,
before the Declaration of Independence was signed._]
{August.}
[Sidenote: Is appointed to the command of a regiment.]
Colonel Washington had long been the favourite soldier of Virginia;
and his reputation grew with every occasion for exertion. His conduct
in this battle had been universally extolled;[7] and the common
opinion of his countrymen was, that, had his advice been pursued, the
disaster had been avoided. The assembly was in session, when
intelligence was received of this defeat, and of the abandonment of
the colony by Colonel Dunbar. The legislature, perceiving the
necessity of levying troops for the defence of the province,
determined to raise a regiment, to consist of sixteen companies, the
command of which was offered to Colonel Washington; who was also
designated, in his commission, as the Commander-in-chief of all the
forces raised and to be raised in the colony of Virginia. The uncommon
privilege of naming his Field Officers was added to this honourable
manifestation of the public confidence.
[Footnote 7: In a sermon preached not long after the defeat
of General Braddock, the Rev. Mr. Davies, speaking of that
disaster, and of the preservation of Colonel Washington,
said: "I can not but hope that Providence has preserved that
youth to be the saviour of this country." These words were
afterwards considered as prophetic; and were applied by his
countrymen to an event very opposite to that which was
contemplated by the person who uttered them.]
Retaining still his prepossessions in favour of a military life, he
cheerfully embraced this opportunity of re-entering the army. After
making the necessary arrangements for the recruiting service, and
visiting the posts on the frontiers, which he placed in the best state
of defence of which they were susceptible; he set out for the seat of
government, where objects of the first importance required his
attention; but was overtaken below Fredericksburg by an express,
carrying the intelligence, that a large number of French and Indians,
divided into several parties, had broken up the frontier settlements;
were murdering and capturing men, women, and children; burning their
houses, and destroying their crops. The troops stationed among them
for their protection, were unequal to that duty; and, instead of being
able to afford aid to the inhabitants, were themselves blocked up in
their forts.
[Sidenote: Extreme distress of the frontiers and exertions of Colonel
Washington to augment the regular forces of the colony.]
Colonel Washington hastened back to Winchester, where the utmost
confusion and alarm prevailed. His efforts to raise the militia were
unavailing. Attentive only to individual security, and regardless of
the common danger, they could not be drawn from their families.
Instead of assembling in arms, and obtaining safety by meeting their
invaders, the inhabitants fled into the lower country, and increased
the general terror. In this state of things, he endeavoured to collect
and arm the men who had abandoned their houses, and to remove their
wives and children to a distance from this scene of desolation and
carnage. Pressing orders were at the same time despatched to the newly
appointed officers, to forward their recruits; and to the county
lieutenants, east of the Blue Ridge, to hasten their militia to
Winchester: but before these orders could be executed, the party which
had done so much mischief, and excited such alarm, had recrossed the
Alleghany mountains.
{1756}
{April.}
Early in the following spring, the enemy made another irruption into
the inhabited country, and did great mischief. The number of troops on
the regular establishment was totally insufficient for the protection
of the frontier, and effective service from the militia was found to
be unattainable. The Indians, who were divided into small parties,
concealed themselves with so much dexterity, as seldom to be perceived
until the blow was struck. Their murders were frequently committed in
the very neighbourhood of the forts; and the detachments from the
garrisons, employed in scouring the country, were generally eluded, or
attacked to advantage. In one of these skirmishes, the Americans were
routed, and Captain Mercer was killed. The people either abandoned the
country, or attempted to secure themselves in small stockade forts,
where they were in great distress for provisions, arms, and
ammunition; were often surrounded, and sometimes cut off. Colonel
Washington was deeply affected by this state of things. "I see their
situation," said he, in a letter to the Lieutenant Governor, "I know
their danger, and participate their sufferings, without having it in
my power to give them farther relief than uncertain promises. In
short, I see inevitable destruction in so clear a light, that unless
vigorous measures are taken by the assembly, and speedy assistance
sent from below, the poor inhabitants now in forts must unavoidably
fall, while the remainder are flying before the barbarous foe. In
fine, the melancholy situation of the people; the little prospect of
assistance; the gross and scandalous abuses cast upon the officers in
general, which is reflecting upon me in particular for suffering
misconduct of such extraordinary kind; and the distant prospect, if
any, of gaining reputation in the service, cause me to lament the hour
that gave me a commission, and would induce me, at any other time than
this of imminent danger, to resign, without one hesitating moment, a
command from which I never expect to reap either honour or benefit;
but, on the contrary, have almost an absolute certainty of incurring
displeasure below, while the murder of helpless families may be laid
to my account here."
Colonel Washington had been prevented from taking post at fort
Cumberland by an unfortunate and extraordinary difficulty, growing out
of an obscurity in the royal orders, respecting the relative rank of
officers commissioned by the king, and those commissioned by the
governor. A Captain Dagworthy, who was at that place, and of the
former description, insisted on taking the command, although it had
been committed to Lieutenant Colonel Stevens; and, on the same
principle, he contested the rank of Colonel Washington also. This
circumstance had retained that officer at Winchester, where public
stores to a considerable amount were deposited, with only about fifty
men to guard them. In the deep distress of the moment, a council of
war was called, to determine whether he should march this small body
to some of the nearest forts, and, uniting with their petty garrisons,
risk an action; or wait until the militia could be raised. The council
unanimously advised a continuance at Winchester. Lord Fairfax, who
commanded the militia of that and the adjacent counties, had ordered
them to his assistance; but they were slow in assembling. The
unremitting exertion of three days, in the county of Frederick, could
produce only twenty men.
The incompetency of the military force to the defence of the country
having become obvious, the assembly determined to augment the regiment
to fifteen hundred men. In a letter addressed to the house of
burgesses, Colonel Washington urged the necessity of increasing it
still farther, to two thousand men; a less number than which could not
possibly, in his opinion, be sufficient to cover the extensive
frontier of Virginia, should the defensive system be continued. In
support of this demand, he stated, in detail, the forts which must be
garrisoned; and observed, that, with the exception of a few
inhabitants in forts on the south branch of the Potowmac, the north
mountain near Winchester had become the frontier; and that, without
effectual aid, the inhabitants would even pass the Blue Ridge. He
farther observed that the woods seemed "alive with French and
Indians;" and again described so feelingly the situation of the
inhabitants, that the assembly requested the governor to order half
the militia of the adjoining counties to their relief; and the
attorney general, Mr. Peyton Randolph, formed a company of one hundred
gentlemen, who engaged to make the campaign, as volunteers. Ten well
trained woodsmen, or Indians, would have rendered more service.
The distress of the country increased. As had been foreseen,
Winchester became almost the only settlement west of the Blue Ridge,
on the northern frontier; and fears were entertained that the enemy
would soon pass even that barrier, and ravage the country below.
Express after express was sent to hasten the militia, but sent in
vain. At length, about the last of April, the French and their savage
allies, laden with plunder, prisoners, and scalps, returned to fort Du
Quesne.
Some short time after their retreat, the militia appeared. This
temporary increase of strength was employed in searching the country
for small parties of Indians, who lingered behind the main body, and
in making dispositions to repel another invasion. A fort was commenced
at Winchester, which, in honour of the general who had been appointed
to the command of the British troops in America, was called fort
Loudoun; and the perpetual remonstrances of Colonel Washington at
length effected some improvement in the laws for the government of the
troops.
Instead of adopting, in the first instance, that military code which
experience had matured, the assembly passed occasional acts to remedy
particular evils as they occurred; in consequence of which, a state of
insubordination was protracted, and the difficulties of the commanding
officer increased. Slight penalties were at first annexed to serious
military offences; and when an act was obtained to punish mutiny and
desertion with death, such crimes as cowardice in action, and sleeping
on a post, were pretermitted. It was left impossible to hold a general
court martial, without an order from the governor; and the commanding
officer was not at liberty to make those arrangements in other
respects which his own observation suggested, but shackled by the
control of others, who could neither judge so correctly, nor be so
well informed, as himself.
These errors of a government unused to war, though continually
remarked by the officer commanding the troops, were slowly perceived
by those in power, and were never entirely corrected.
Successive incursions continued to be made into the country by small
predatory parties of French and Indians, who kept up a perpetual
alarm, and murdered the defenceless, wherever found. In Pennsylvania,
the inhabitants were driven as far as Carlisle; and in Maryland,
Fredericktown, on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge, became a
frontier. With the Virginia regiment, which did not yet amount to one
thousand men, aided occasionally by militia, Colonel Washington was to
defend a frontier of near four hundred miles in extent, and to
complete a chain of forts. He repeatedly urged the necessity and
propriety of abandoning fort Cumberland, which was too far in advance
of the settlements, and too far north, to be useful, while it required
for its defence a larger portion of his force than could be spared
with a proper regard to the safety of other and more advantageous
positions. The governor, however, thought the abandonment of it
improper, since it was a "_king's fort_;" and Lord Loudoun, on being
consulted, gave the same opinion.
Among the subjects of extreme chagrin to the commander of the Virginia
troops, was the practice of desertion. The prevalence of this crime
was ascribed, in a considerable degree, to the ill-judged parsimony of
the assembly. The daily pay of a soldier was only eight pence, out of
which two pence were stopped for his clothes. This pay was inferior to
what was received in every other part of the continent; and, as ought
to have been foreseen, great discontents were excited by a distinction
so invidious. The remonstrances of the commanding officer, in some
degree, corrected this mischief; and a full suit of regimentals was
allowed to each soldier, without deducting its price from his pay.
This campaign furnishes no event which can interest the reader; yet
the duties of the officer, though minute, were arduous; and the
sufferings of the people, beyond measure afflicting. It adds one to
the many proofs which have been afforded, of the miseries to be
expected by those who defer preparing the means of defence, until the
moment when they ought to be used; and then, rely almost entirely, on
a force neither adequate to the danger, nor of equal continuance.
It is an interesting fact to those who know the present situation of
Virginia, that, so late as the year 1756, the Blue Ridge was the
northwestern frontier; and that she found immense difficulty in
completing a single regiment to protect the inhabitants from the
horrors of the scalping knife, and the still greater horrors of being
led into captivity by savages who added terrors to death by the manner
of inflicting it.
As soon as the main body of the enemy had withdrawn from the
settlements, a tour was made by Colonel Washington to the
south-western frontier. There, as well as to the north, continued
incursions had been made; and there too, the principal defence of the
country was entrusted to an ill-regulated militia. The fatal
consequences of this system are thus stated by him, in a letter to the
lieutenant governor: "The inhabitants are so sensible of their danger,
if left to the protection of these people, that not a man will stay at
his place. This I have from their own mouths, and the principal
inhabitants of Augusta county. The militia are under such bad order
and discipline, that they will come and go, when and where they
please, without regarding time, their officers, or the safety of the
inhabitants, but consulting solely their own inclinations. There
should be, according to your honour's orders, one-third of the militia
of these parts on duty at a time; instead of that, scarce
one-thirtieth is out. They are to be relieved every month, and they
are a great part of that time marching to and from their stations; and
they will not wait one day longer than the limited time, whether
relieved or not, however urgent the necessity for their continuance
may be." Some instances of this, and of gross misbehaviour, were then
enumerated; after which, he pressed the necessity of increasing the
number of regulars to two thousand men.
After returning from this tour, to Winchester, he gave the Lieutenant
Governor, in curious detail, a statement of the situation in which he
found the country, urging, but urging in vain, arguments which will
always be suggested by experience, against relying chiefly on militia
for defence.
Sensible of the impracticability of defending such an extensive
frontier, Colonel Washington continued to press the policy of enabling
him to act on the offensive. The people of Virginia, he thought, could
be protected only by entering the country of the enemy; giving him
employment at home, and removing the source of all their calamities by
taking possession of fort Du Quesne.
"As defensive measures," he observed in a letter to the Lieutenant
Governor, "are evidently insufficient for the security and safety of
the country, I hope no arguments are necessary to evince the necessity
of altering them to a vigorous offensive war, in order to remove the
cause." But in the event, that the assembly should still indulge their
favourite scheme of protecting the inhabitants by forts along the
frontiers, he presented a plan, which, in its execution, would require
two thousand men--these were to be distributed in twenty-two forts,
extending from the river Mayo to the Potowmac, in a line of three
hundred and sixty miles. In a letter written about the same time to
the speaker of the assembly, he said, "The certainty of advantage, by
an offensive scheme of action, renders it, beyond any doubt,
preferable to our defensive measures. Our scattered force, so
separated and dispersed in weak parties, avails little to stop the
secret incursions of the savages. We can only perhaps put them to
flight, or frighten them to some other part of the country, which
answers not the end proposed. Whereas, had we strength enough to
invade their lands, we should restrain them from coming abroad, and
leaving their families exposed. We should then remove the principal
cause, and have stronger probability of success; we should be free
from the many alarms, mischiefs, and murders, that now attend us; we
should inspirit the hearts of our few Indian friends, and gain more
esteem with them. In short, could Pennsylvania and Maryland be induced
to join us in an expedition of this nature, and to petition his
Excellency Lord Loudoun for a small train of artillery, with some
engineers, we should then be able, in all human probability, to subdue
the terror of fort Du Quesne; retrieve our character with the Indians;
and restore peace to our unhappy frontiers."
His total inability to act offensively, or even to afford protection
to the frontiers of Virginia, was not the only distressing and
vexatious circumstance to which he was exposed. The Lieutenant
Governor, to whose commands he was subjected in every minute
particular, and who seems to have been unequal to the difficulties of
his station, frequently deranged his system by orders which could not
be executed without considerable hazard and inconvenience. Colonel
Washington could not always restrain his chagrin on such occasions;
and, on one of them, observed in a letter to an intimate friend, who
possessed great influence in the country, "whence it arises, or why, I
am truly ignorant, but my strongest representations of matters
relative to the peace of the frontiers are disregarded, as idle and
frivolous; my propositions and measures, as partial and selfish; and
all my sincerest endeavours for the service of my country, perverted
to the worst purposes. My orders are dark, doubtful, and uncertain:
to-day approved, tomorrow condemned; left to act and proceed at
hazard; accountable for the consequences, and blamed without the
benefit of defence. If you can think my situation capable of exciting
the smallest degree of envy, or of affording the least satisfaction,
the truth is yet hid from you, and you entertain notions very
different from the reality of the case. However, I am determined to
bear up under all these embarrassments some time longer, in the hope
of better regulations under Lord Loudoun, to whom I look for the
future fate of Virginia."
Not long after this letter was written, Lord Loudoun, in whose person
the offices of Governor and Commander-in-chief were united, arrived in
Virginia. A comprehensive statement of the situation of the colony, in
a military point of view, and of the regiment in particular, was drawn
up and submitted to him by Colonel Washington. In this he enumerated
the errors which had prevented the completion of his regiment, showed
the insufficiency of the militia for any military purpose, and
demonstrated the superiority of an offensive system over that which
had been pursued.
{1757}
This statement was probably presented by Colonel Washington in person,
who was permitted, during the winter, to visit Lord Loudoun in
Philadelphia, where that nobleman met the Governors of Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and North Carolina, and the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia,
in order to consult with them on the measures to be taken, in their
respective Provinces, for the ensuing campaign. He was, however,
disappointed in his favourite hope of being able to act offensively
against the French on the Ohio. Lord Loudoun had determined to direct
all his efforts against Canada, and to leave only twelve hundred men
in the middle and southern colonies. Instead of receiving assistance,
Virginia was required to send four hundred men to South Carolina. Not
discouraged by these disappointments, Colonel Washington continued
indefatigable in his endeavours to impress on Mr. Dinwiddie, and on
the assembly, the importance of reviving, and properly modifying their
military code, which had now expired, of making a more effective
militia law, and of increasing their number of regular troops.
{May.}
So far from succeeding on the last subject, he had the mortification
to witness a measure which crushed his hopes of an adequate regular
force. Being unable to complete the regiment by voluntary enlistment,
the assembly changed its organization, and reduced it to ten
companies; each to consist of one hundred men. Yet his anxious wishes
continued to be directed towards fort Du Quesne. In a letter written
about this time to Colonel Stanwix, who commanded in the middle
colonies, he said, "You will excuse me, sir, for saying, that I think
there never was, and perhaps never again will be, so favourable an
opportunity as the present for reducing fort Du Quesne. Several
prisoners have made their escape from the Ohio this spring, and agree
in their accounts, that there are but three hundred men left in the
garrison; and I do not conceive that the French are so strong in
Canada, as to reinforce this place, and defend themselves at home this
campaign: surely then this is too precious an opportunity to be lost."
But Mr. Pitt did not yet direct the councils of Britain; and a spirit
of enterprise and heroism did not yet animate her generals. The
campaign to the north was inglorious; and to the west, nothing was
even attempted, which might relieve the middle colonies.
{October 8.}
Large bodies of savages, in the service of France, once more spread
desolation and murder over the whole country, west of the Blue Ridge.
The regular troops were inadequate to the protection of the
inhabitants; and the incompetency of the defensive system to their
security became every day more apparent. "I exert every means," said
Colonel Washington, in a letter to Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie, "to
protect a much distressed country; but it is a task too arduous. To
think of defending a frontier of more than three hundred and fifty
miles extent, as ours is, with only seven hundred men, is vain and
idle; especially when that frontier lies more contiguous to the enemy
than any other.
"I am, and for a long time have been, fully convinced, that if we
continue to pursue a defensive plan, the country must be inevitably
lost."
{October 24.}
In another letter he said, "The raising a company of rangers, or
augmenting our strength in some other manner, is so far necessary,
that, without it, the remaining inhabitants of this once fertile and
populous valley will scarcely be detained at their dwellings until the
spring. And if there is no expedition to the westward then, nor a
force more considerable than Virginia can support, posted on our
frontiers; if we still adhere, for the next campaign, to our
destructive defensive schemes, there will not, I dare affirm, be one
soul living on this side the Blue Ridge the ensuing autumn, if we
except the troops in garrison, and a few inhabitants of this town, who
may shelter themselves under the protection of this fort. This I know
to be the immoveable determination of all the settlers of this
country." To the Speaker of the assembly he gave the same opinion; and
added, "I do not know on whom these miserable undone people are to
rely for protection. If the assembly are to give it to them, it is
time that measures were at least concerting, and not when they ought
to be going into execution, as has always been the case. If they are
to seek it from the Commander-in-chief, it is time their condition was
made known to him. For I can not forbear repeating again, that, while
we pursue defensive measures, we pursue inevitable ruin."
{August 27.}
It was impossible for Colonel Washington, zealous in the service of
his country, and ambitious of military fame, to observe the errors
committed in the conduct of the war, without censuring them. These
errors were not confined to the military affairs of the colony. The
Cherokee and Catawba Indians had hitherto remained faithful to the
English, and it was very desirable to engage the warriors of those
tribes heartily in their service; but so miserably was the intercourse
with them conducted, that, though a considerable expense was incurred,
not much assistance was obtained, and great disgust was excited among
them. The freedom with which the Commander-in-chief of the Virginia
forces censured public measures, gave offence to the Lieutenant
Governor, who considered these censures as manifesting a want of
respect for himself. Sometimes he coarsely termed them _impertinent_;
and at other times, charged him with looseness in his information, and
inattention to his duty. On one of these occasions, Colonel Washington
thus concluded a letter of detail, "Nothing remarkable has happened,
and therefore I have nothing to add. I must beg leave, however, before
I conclude, to observe, in justification of my own conduct, that it is
with pleasure I receive reproof when reproof is due, because no person
can be readier to accuse me, than I am to acknowledge an error, when I
have committed it; nor more desirous of atoning for a crime, when I am
sensible of being guilty of one. But, on the other hand, it is with
concern I remark, that my best endeavours lose their reward; and that
my conduct, although I have uniformly studied to make it as
unexceptionable as I could, does not appear to you in a favourable
point of light. Otherwise, your honour would not have accused me of
_loose_ behaviour, and _remissness_ of duty, in matters where, I
think, I have rather exceeded than fallen short of it. This, I think,
is evidently the case in speaking of Indian affairs at all, after
being instructed in very express terms, '_Not to have any concern
with, or management of Indian affairs_.' This has induced me to
forbear mentioning the Indians in my letters to your honour of late,
and to leave the misunderstanding, which you speak of, between Mr.
Aikin and them, to be related by him."
Not long after this, he received a letter informing him of some coarse
calumny, reflecting on his veracity and honour, which had been
reported to the Lieutenant Governor. He enclosed a copy of this letter
to Mr. Dinwiddie, and thus addressed him,--"I should take it
infinitely kind if your honour would please to inform me whether a
report of this nature was ever made to you; and, in that case, who was
the author of it.
"It is evident from a variety of circumstances, and especially from
the change in your honour's conduct towards me, that some person, as
well inclined to detract, but better skilled in the art of detraction
than the author of the above stupid scandal, has made free with my
character. For I can not suppose, that malice so absurd, so barefaced,
so diametrically opposite to truth, to common policy, and, in short,
to everything but villany, as the above is, could impress you with so
ill an opinion of my honour and honesty.
"If it be possible that ----, for my belief is staggered, not being
conscious of having given the least cause to any one, much less to
that gentleman, to reflect so grossly; I say, if it be possible that
---- could descend so low as to be the propagator of this story, he
must either be vastly ignorant of the state of affairs in this country
_at that time_, or else, he must suppose that the whole body of the
inhabitants had combined with me in executing the deceitful fraud. Or
why did they, almost to a man, forsake their dwellings in the greatest
terror and confusion; and while one half of them sought shelter in
paltry forts, (of their own building,) the other should flee to the
adjacent counties for refuge; numbers of them even to Carolina, from
whence they have never returned?
"These are facts well known; but not better known than that these
wretched people, while they lay pent up in forts, destitute of the
common supports of life, (having in their precipitate flight
forgotten, or rather, been unable to secure any kind of necessaries,)
did despatch messengers of their own, (thinking I had not represented
their miseries in the piteous manner they deserved,) with addresses to
your honour and the assembly, praying relief. And did I ever send any
alarming account, without sending also the original papers (or the
copies) which gave rise to it?
"That I have foibles, and perhaps many of them, I shall not deny. I
should esteem myself, as the world also would, vain and empty, were I
to arrogate perfection.
"Knowledge in military matters is to be acquired only by practice and
experience; and if I have erred, great allowance should be made for
want of them; unless my errors should appear to be wilful; and then, I
conceive, it would be more generous to charge me with my faults, and
to let me stand or fall according to evidence, than to stigmatize me
behind my back.
"It is uncertain in what light my services may have appeared to your
Honour: but this I know, and it is the highest consolation I am
capable of feeling, that no man that ever was employed in a public
capacity, has endeavoured to discharge the trust reposed in him with
greater honesty, and more zeal for the country's interest than I have
done; and if there is any person living, who can say with justice that
I have offered any intentional wrong to the public, I will cheerfully
submit to the most ignominious punishment that an injured people ought
to inflict. On the other hand, it is hard to have my character
arraigned, and my actions condemned, without a hearing.
"I must therefore again beg in _more plain_, and in very _earnest_
terms, to know if ---- has taken the liberty of representing my conduct
to your Honour with such ungentlemanly freedom as the letter implies.
Your condescension herein will be acknowledged a singular favour."
In a letter, some short time after this, to the Lieutenant Governor,
he said, "I do not know that I ever gave your Honour cause to suspect
me of ingratitude; a crime I detest, and would most carefully avoid.
If an open, disinterested behaviour carries offence, I may have
offended; for I have all along laid it down as a maxim, to represent
facts freely and impartially, but not more so to others than to you,
sir. If instances of my ungrateful behaviour had been particularized,
I would have answered them. But I have been long convinced that my
actions and their motives have been maliciously aggravated." A request
that he might be permitted to come to Williamsburg for the settlement
of some accounts, which he was desirous of adjusting under the
inspection of the Lieutenant Governor, who proposed to leave the
province in the following November, was refused in abrupt and
disobliging terms. In answer to the letter containing the refusal,
Colonel Washington, after stating the immoveable disposition of the
inhabitants to leave the country unless more sufficiently protected,
added, "To give a more succinct account of their affairs than I could
in writing, was the principal, among many other reasons, that induced
me to ask leave to come down. It was not to enjoy a party of pleasure
that I asked leave of absence. I have indulged with few of those,
winter or summer."
Mr. Dinwiddie soon afterwards took leave of Virginia, and the
government devolved on Mr. Blair, the President of the Council.
Between him and the commander of the colonial troops the utmost
cordiality existed.
[Sidenote: General Forbes undertakes the expedition against Fort Du
Quesne.]
After the close of this campaign, Lord Loudoun returned to England,
and General Abercrombie succeeded to the command of the army. The
department of the middle and southern provinces was committed to
General Forbes, who, to the inexpressible gratification of Colonel
Washington, determined to undertake an expedition against fort Du
Quesne.
{1758}
He urged an early campaign, but he urged it ineffectually; and, before
the troops were assembled, a large body of French and Indians broke
into the country, and renewed the horrors of the tomahawk and
scalping-knife. The county of Augusta was ravaged and about sixty
persons were murdered. The attempts made to intercept these savages
were unsuccessful; and they recrossed the Alleghany, with their
plunder, prisoners, and scalps.
{May 24.}
At length, orders were given to assemble the regiment at Winchester,
and be in readiness to march in fifteen days. On receiving them,
Colonel Washington called in his recruiting parties; but so
inattentive had the government been to his representations that,
previous to marching his regiment, he was under the necessity of
repairing to Williamsburg, personally to enforce his solicitations for
arms, ammunition, money, and clothing. That these preparations for an
expedition vitally interesting to Virginia, should remain to be made
after the season for action had commenced, does not furnish stronger
evidence of the difficulties encountered by the chief of the military
department, than is given by another circumstance of about the same
date. He was under the necessity of pointing out and urging the
propriety of allowing to his regiment, which had performed much severe
service, the same pay which had been granted to a second regiment,
voted the preceding session of Assembly, to serve for a single year.
Among other motives for an early campaign, Colonel Washington had
urged the impracticability of detaining the Indians. His fears were
well founded. Before a junction of the troops had been made, these
savages became impatient to return to their homes; and, finding that
the expedition would yet be delayed a considerable time, they left the
army, with promises to rejoin it at the proper season.
{June 24.}
In pursuance of the orders which had been received, the Virginia
troops moved in detachments from Winchester to fort Cumberland, where
they assembled early in July: after which, they were employed in
opening a road to Raystown, where Colonel Bouquet was stationed. As
the English were continually harassed by small parties of French and
Indians, the general had contemplated advancing a strong detachment
over the Alleghany mountains, for the purpose of giving them
employment at home. By the advice of Colonel Washington this plan was
relinquished. In support of his opinion, he stated the probability
that a large force was collected at fort Du Quesne, and the
impracticability of moving a strong detachment, without such a
quantity of provisions, as would expose it to the danger of being
discovered and cut to pieces. He advised to harass them with small
parties, principally of Indians; and this advice was pursued.
{July.}
Colonel Washington had expected that the army would march by
Braddock's road: but, late in July, he had the mortification to
receive a letter from Colonel Bouquet, asking an interview with him,
in order to consult on opening a new road from Raystown, and
requesting his opinion on that route. "I shall," says he, in answer to
this letter, "most cheerfully work on any road, pursue any route, or
enter upon any service, that the general or yourself may think me
usefully employed in, or qualified for; and shall never have a will of
my own, when a duty is required of me. But since you desire me to
speak my sentiments freely, permit me to observe, that, after having
conversed with all the guides, and having been informed by others
acquainted with the country, I am convinced that a road, to be
compared with General Braddock's, or indeed that will be fit for
transportation even by pack-horses, can not be made. I own I have no
predilection for the route you have in contemplation for me."
A few days after writing this letter, he had an interview with Colonel
Bouquet, whom he found decided in favour of opening the new road.
After their separation, Colonel Washington, with his permission,
addressed to him a letter to be laid before General Forbes, then
indisposed at Carlisle, in which he stated his reasons against this
measure. He concluded his arguments against the new road: arguments
which appear to be unanswerable, by declaring his fears that, should
the attempt be made, they would be able to do nothing more than
fortify some post on the other side of the Alleghany, and prepare for
another campaign. This he prayed Heaven to avert.
He was equally opposed to a scheme which had been suggested of
marching by the two different routes, and recommended an order of
march by Braddock's road, which would bring the whole army before fort
Du Quesne in thirty-four days, with a supply of provisions for
eighty-six days.
{August 2.}
In a letter of the same date addressed to Major Halket, aid of General
Forbes, Colonel Washington thus expressed his forebodings of the
mischiefs to be apprehended from the adoption of the proposed route.
"I am just returned from a conference held with Colonel Bouquet. I
find him fixed--I think I may say unalterably fixed--to lead you a new
way to the Ohio, through a road, every inch of which is to be cut at
this advanced season, when we have scarcely time left to tread the
beaten track, universally confessed to be the best passage through the
mountains.
"If Colonel Bouquet succeeds in this point with the general, all is
lost! all is lost indeed! our enterprise is ruined! and we shall be
stopped at the Laurel hill this winter; but not to gather laurels,
except of the kind which cover the mountains. The southern Indians
will turn against us, and these colonies will be desolated by such an
accession to the enemy's strength. These must be the consequences of a
miscarriage; and a miscarriage, the almost necessary consequence of an
attempt to march the army by this route."
Colonel Washington's remonstrances and arguments were unavailing; and
the new route was adopted. His extreme chagrin at this measure, and at
the delays resulting from it, was expressed in anxious letters to Mr.
Fauquier, then governor of Virginia, and to the speaker of the house
of burgesses.
{September 2.}
In a letter to the speaker, written while at fort Cumberland, he said:
"We are still encamped here; very sickly, and dispirited at the
prospect before us. That appearance of glory which we once had in
view--that hope--that laudable ambition of serving our country, and
meriting its applause, are now no more: all is dwindled into ease,
sloth, and fatal inactivity. In a word, all is lost, if the ways of
men in power, like certain ways of Providence, are not inscrutable.
But we who view the actions of great men at a distance can only form
conjectures agreeably to a limited perception; and, being ignorant of
the comprehensive schemes which may be in contemplation, might mistake
egregiously in judging of things from appearances, or by the lump. Yet
every f--l will have his notions--will prattle and talk away; and why
may not I? We seem then, in my opinion, to act under the guidance of
an evil genius. The conduct of our leaders, if not actuated by
superior orders, is tempered with something--I do not care to give a
name to. Nothing now but a miracle can bring this campaign to a happy
issue." He then recapitulated the arguments he had urged against
attempting a new road, and added, "But I spoke unavailingly. The road
was immediately begun; and since then, from one to two thousand men
have constantly wrought on it. By the last accounts I have received,
they had cut it to the foot of the Laurel hill, about thirty-five
miles; and I suppose, by this time, fifteen hundred men have taken
post about ten miles further, at a placed called Loyal Hanna, where
our next fort is to be constructed.
"We have certain intelligence that the French strength at fort Du
Quesne did not exceed eight hundred men, the thirteenth ultimo;
including about three or four hundred Indians. See how our time has
been misspent--behold how the golden opportunity is lost--perhaps,
never to be regained! How is it to be accounted for? Can General
Forbes have orders for this?--Impossible. Will then our injured
country pass by such abuses? I hope not. Rather let a full
representation of the matter go to his majesty; let him know how
grossly his glory and interests, and the public money have been
prostituted."
{September 22.}
[Sidenote: Defeat of Major Grant.]
Colonel Washington was soon afterwards ordered to Raystown. Major
Grant had been previously detached from the advanced post at Loyal
Hanna, with a select corps of eight hundred men, to reconnoitre the
country about fort Du Quesne. In the night he reached a hill near the
fort, and sent forward a party for the purpose of discovery. They
burnt a log house, and returned. Next morning, Major Grant detached
Major Lewis, of Colonel Washington's regiment, with a baggage guard,
two miles into his rear; and sent an engineer, with a covering party,
within full view of the fort, to take a plan of the works. In the mean
time he ordered the _reveillée_ to be beaten in different places. An
action soon commenced, on which Major Lewis, leaving Captain Bullett,
with about fifty Virginians to guard the baggage, advanced with the
utmost celerity to support Major Grant. The English were defeated with
considerable loss; and both Major Grant and Major Lewis were taken
prisoners. In this action, the Virginians evidenced the spirit with
which they had been trained. Out of eight officers, five were killed,
a sixth wounded, and a seventh taken prisoner. Captain Bullett, who
defended the baggage with great resolution, and contributed to save
the remnant of the detachment, was the only officer who escaped
unhurt. Of one hundred and sixty-two men, sixty-two were killed on the
spot, and two wounded. This conduct reflected high honour on the
commanding officer of the regiment as well as on the troops; and he
received, on the occasion, the compliments of the general. The total
loss was two hundred and seventy-three killed, and forty-two wounded.
{October 8.}
It was at length determined that the main body of the army should move
from Raystown; and the general called on the colonels of regiments, to
submit severally to his consideration, a plan for his march. That
proposed by Colonel Washington has been preserved, and appears to have
been judiciously formed.
They reached the camp at Loyal Hanna, through a road indescribably
bad, about the fifth of November; where, as had been predicted, a
council of war determined that it was unadviseable to proceed farther
this campaign. It would have been almost impossible to winter an army
in that position. They must have retreated from the cold inhospitable
wilderness into which they had penetrated, or have suffered immensely;
perhaps have perished. Fortunately, some prisoners were taken, who
informed them of the extreme distress of the fort. Deriving no support
from Canada, the garrison was weak; in great want of provisions; and
had been deserted by the Indians. These encouraging circumstances
changed the resolution which had been taken, and determined the
general to prosecute the expedition.
[Sidenote: Fort Du Quesne evacuated by the French, and taken
possession of by the English.]
{November 25.}
Colonel Washington was advanced in front; and, with immense labour,
opened a way for the main body of the army. The troops moved forward
with slow and painful steps until they reached fort Du Quesne, of
which they took peaceable possession; the garrison having on the
preceding night, after evacuating and setting it on fire, proceeded
down the Ohio in boats.
To other causes than the vigour of the officer who conducted this
enterprise, the capture of this important place is to be ascribed. The
naval armaments of Britain had intercepted the reinforcements designed
by France for her colonies; and the pressure on Canada was such as to
disable the governor of that province from detaching troops to fort Du
Quesne. Without the aid of these causes, the extraordinary and
unaccountable delays of the campaign must have defeated its object.
The works were repaired, and the new fort received the name of the
great minister, who, with unparalleled vigour and talents, then
governed the nation.
After furnishing two hundred men from his regiment as a garrison for
fort Pitt, Colonel Washington marched back to Winchester; whence he
soon afterwards proceeded to Williamsburg, to take his seat in the
General Assembly, of which he had been elected a member by the county
of Frederick, while at fort Cumberland.
A cessation of Indian hostility being the consequence of expelling the
French from the Ohio, Virginia was relieved from the dangers with
which she had been threatened; and the object for which alone he had
continued in the service, after perceiving that he should not be
placed on the permanent establishment, was accomplished. His health
was much impaired, and his domestic affairs required his attention.
[Sidenote: Resignation and marriage of Colonel Washington.]
Impelled by these and other motives of a private nature, he determined
to withdraw from a service, which he might now quit without dishonour;
and, about the close of the year, resigned his commission, as colonel
of the first Virginia regiment, and commander-in-chief of all the
troops raised in the colony.
[Illustration: The Washington Family Burial Ground
_Wakefield, Westmoreland County, Virginia_
_Here rest the mortal remains of George Washington's
great-grandfather, Colonel John Washington, who came to Virginia in
1658 and was buried here in 1677; of his grandfather, Lawrence
Washington, buried in 1697; of his grandmother, Jane (Butler), in
1729; of his father, Augustine Washington, in 1743; and other members
of the Washington family._]
The officers whom he had commanded were greatly attached to him. They
manifested their esteem and their regret at parting, by a very
affectionate address,[8] expressive of the high opinion they
entertained both of his military and private character.
[Footnote 8: See note No. III. at the end of the volume.]
This opinion was not confined to the officers of his regiment. It was
common to Virginia; and had been adopted by the British officers with
whom he served. The duties he performed, though not splendid, were
arduous; and were executed with zeal, and with judgment. The exact
discipline he established in his regiment, when the temper of Virginia
was extremely hostile to discipline, does credit to his military
character, and the gallantry the troops displayed, whenever called
into action, manifests the spirit infused into them by their
commander.
The difficulties of his situation, while unable to cover the frontier
from the French and Indians, who were spreading death and desolation
in every quarter, were incalculably great; and no better evidence of
his exertions, under these distressing circumstances, can be given,
than the undiminished confidence still placed in him, by those whom he
was unable to protect.
The efforts to which he incessantly stimulated his country for the
purpose of obtaining possession of the Ohio; the system for the
conduct of the war which he continually recommended; the vigorous and
active measures always urged upon those by whom he was commanded;
manifest an ardent and enterprising mind, tempered by judgment, and
quickly improved by experience.
Not long after his resignation, he was married to Mrs. Custis; a young
lady to whom he had been for some time attached; and who, to a large
fortune and fine person, added those amiable accomplishments which
ensure domestic happiness, and fill, with silent but unceasing
felicity, the quiet scenes of private life.