Having brought the campaign to an honorable if not successful end,
Col. Washington threw up his commission, and left the service. This
had been his determination for some time past; and he felt that he
could do so now without laying his conduct open to censure or
suspicion, having within his own breast the happy assurance, that, in
the discharge of his late trust, he had acted the part of a faithful
soldier and true patriot, seeking only his country's good. The reasons
that led him to take this step need not be repeated, as you will
readily understand them, if you still bear in mind what I told you a
short time since touching those questions of rank which caused the
difficulty between him and Capt. Mackay.
A visit to his much-beloved mother was the first use he made of his
leisure. The profound love and reverence that never failed to mark his
conduct towards his mother were among the most beautiful traits of his
character. The management of the family estate, and the education of
the younger children, were concerns in which he ever took the
liveliest interest; and to make these labors light and easy to her by
his aid or counsel was a pleasure to him indeed. This grateful duty
duly done, he once more sought the shelter of Mount Vernon, to whose
comforts he had been for so many months a stranger. The toils of a
soldier's life were now exchanged for the peaceful labors of a
husbandman. Nor did this change, to his well-ordered mind, bring with
it any idle regrets; for the quiet pursuits of a farmer's life yielded
him, young, ardent, and adventurous as he was, scarcely less delight
than the profession of arms, and even more as he grew in years.
The affair of the Great Meadows roused the mother-country at last to a
full sense of the danger that threatened her possessions in America.
Accordingly, to regain what had been lost, money, and munitions of
war, and a gallant little army fitted out in the completest style of
that day, were sent over with all possible expedition, under the
command of Major-Gen. Braddock.
From the shrubby heights of Mount Vernon, Washington could look down,
and behold the British ships-of-war as they moved slowly up the
majestic Potomac, their decks thronged with officers and soldiers
dressed in showy uniform, their polished arms and accoutrements
flashing back the cold, clear light of the February sun. From their
encampment at Alexandria, a few miles distant, he could hear the
booming of their morning and evening guns, as it came roiling over the
hills and through the woods, and shook his quiet home like a sullen
summons to arms. Often, no longer able to keep down his youthful
ardor, he would mount his horse, and, galloping up to the town, spend
hours there in watching the different companies, as with the precision
of clockwork they went through their varied and difficult evolutions.
At these sights and sounds, all the martial spirit within him took
fire again.
To Gen. Braddock, who commanded all the forces in America, provincial
as well as royal, Gov. Dinwiddie and other Virginia notables spoke in
the highest terms of the character of young Washington; giving him at
the same time still further particulars of the brave and soldierly
conduct he had so signally shown during the campaign of the previous
year. They took pleasure, they said, in recommending him as one whose
skill and experience in Indian warfare, and thorough acquaintance with
the wild country beyond the borders, were such as could be turned to
the greatest advantage in the course of the following campaign.
Desirous of securing services of such peculiar value, Braddock sent
our young Virginian a courteous invitation to join his staff; offering
him the post of volunteer aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel. Here
was an opportunity of gratifying his taste for arms under one of the
first generals of the day. Could he do it without the sacrifice of
honor or self-respect? Although he had left the service for the best
of reasons, as you must bear in mind, yet there was nothing in these
reasons to hinder him from serving his country, not for pay, but as a
generous volunteer, bearing his own expenses. Besides, such a post as
this would place him altogether above the authority of any equal or
inferior officer who might chance to hold a king's commission.
Debating thus with himself, and urged on by his friends, he accepted
Braddock's invitation, and joined his staff as volunteer aide-de-camp.
Now, would you know what an aide-de-camp is? Wait, and you will find
out for yourselves when we come to the battle of the Monongahela,
where Braddock suffered his gallant little army to be cut to pieces by
the French and Indians.
When Mrs. Washington heard that her son was on the eve of joining the
new army, full of a mother's fears, she hastened to entreat him not
again to expose himself to the dangers and trials of a soldier's life.
Although the army was the only opening to distinction at that time in
the Colonies, yet, to have him ever near her, she would rather have
seen him quietly settled at his beautiful homestead, as an
unpretending farmer, than on the high road to every worldly honor at
the risk of life or virtue. Ever mindful of her slightest wishes, her
son listened respectfully to all her objections, and said all he could
to quiet her motherly fears: but, feeling that he owed his highest
duty to his country, he was not to be turned from his steadfast
purpose; and, taking an affectionate leave of her, he set out to join
his general at Fort Cumberland.
Fort Cumberland was situated on Wills's Creek, and had just been built
by Braddock as a gathering point for the border; and thither he had
removed his whole army, with all his stores, and munitions of war.
Upon further acquaintance, Washington found this old veteran a man of
courteous though somewhat haughty manners, of a hasty and uneven
temper, strict and rigid in the discipline of his soldiers, much given
to martial pomp and parade, and self-conceited and wilful to a degree
that was sometimes scarcely bearable. He was, however, of a sociable
and hospitable turn; often inviting his officers to dine with him, and
entertaining them like princes. So keen a relish had he for the good
things of the table, that he never travelled without his two cooks,
who were said to have been so uncommonly skilful in their line of
business, that they could take a pair of boots, and boil them down
into a very respectable dish of soup, give them only the seasoning to
finish it off with. The little folks, however, must be very cautious
how they receive this story, as their Uncle Juvinell will not
undertake to vouch for the truth of it.
The contractors--that is to say, the men who had been engaged to
furnish the army with a certain number of horses, pack-saddles, and
wagons, by a certain time, and for a certain consideration--had failed
to be as good as their word, and had thereby seriously hindered the
progress of the campaign. As might have been expected, this was enough
to throw such a man as Braddock into a towering passion; and, to mend
his humor, the governors of the different provinces were not as ready
and brisk to answer his call for men and supplies as he thought he had
a right to expect.
So he poured forth his vials of wrath upon whomsoever or whatsoever
chanced to come uppermost. He stormed at the contractors; he railed at
the governors, and sneered at the troops they sent him; he abused the
country in general, and scolded about the bad roads in particular.
Washington, with his usual clearness of insight into character, soon
saw, to his deep disappointment, that this was hardly the man to
conduct a wilderness campaign to any thing like a successful end,
however brave the testy old veteran might be, and expert in the
management of well-drilled regulars in the open and cultivated regions
of the Old World. Of the same opinion was Dr. Franklin, who, being at
that time Postmaster-General of all the Colonies, came to Braddock's
quarters at Fort Cumberland to make some arrangements for transporting
the mail to and from the army during the progress of the expedition. I
will read you his own lively account of this interview, as it will
enable you to see more clearly those faults of Braddock's character
that so soon after brought ruin on his own head, and disgrace upon
English arms in America.
"In conversation with him one day, he was giving me some
account of his intended progress. 'After taking Fort Duquesne,'
said he, 'I am to proceed to Niagara; and, having taken that,
to Frontenac, if the season will allow; and I suppose it will,
for Duquesne can hardly detain me above three or four days: and
then I can see nothing that can obstruct my march to Niagara.'
"Having before revolved in my mind the long line his army must
make in their march by a very narrow road to be cut for them
through the woods and bushes, and also what I had heard of a
former defeat of fifteen hundred French who invaded the
Illinois country, I had conceived some doubts and some fears
for the event of the campaign; but I ventured only to say, 'To
be sure, sir, if you arrive well before Duquesne with these
fine troops, so well provided with artillery, the fort, though
completely fortified and assisted with a very strong garrison,
can probably make but a short resistance. The only danger I
apprehend of obstruction to your march is from the ambuscades
of the Indians, who, by constant practice, are dexterous in
laying and executing them; and the slender line, nearly four
miles long, which your army must make, may expose it to be
attacked by surprise on its flanks, and to be cut like thread
into several pieces, which, from their distance, cannot come up
in time to support one another.' He smiled at my ignorance, and
replied,"'These savages may, indeed, be a formidable enemy to
raw American militia; but upon the king's regular and
disciplined troops, sir, it is impossible they should make an
impression.'
"I was conscious of an impropriety in my disputing with a
military man in matters of his profession, and said no more."
In the course of this interview, Franklin chanced to express a regret
that the army had not been landed in Pennsylvania, where, as every
farmer kept his own wagon and horses, better means would have been
more readily found for transporting the troops, with their heavy guns
and munitions of war, across the country and over the mountains. Quick
to take a hint, Braddock made haste to request him, as a man of
standing in his colony, to furnish him, in the king's name, one
hundred and fifty wagons, and four horses to each wagon, besides a
large number of pack-horses and pack-saddles. This, Franklin readily
undertook to do; and went about it with such diligence, that by the
latter part of spring, even before the time set, he had fulfilled his
promise to the last letter; and Braddock had now the satisfaction of
seeing his army, after all these vexatious delays, in a condition to
move forward.
Meanwhile, Washington was all attention to affairs in camp, and was
daily gaining fresh insight into the art of war, as understood and
practised in the most civilized countries of the Old World. Every day
the men were drilled, and passed under review; their arms and
accoutrements carefully inspected by their officers, to make sure that
they were in perfect order, and ready for use at a moment's notice.
Sentinels and guards were stationed in and about the camp, day and
night.
So strict was the watch kept by this lynx-eyed old general over the
morals of his men, that drunkenness was punished with severe
confinement; and any one found guilty of theft was drummed out of his
regiment, after receiving five hundred stripes on his bare back. Every
Sunday, the soldiers were called together, under the colors of their
separate regiments, to hear divine service performed by their
chaplains.
To lend variety to the scene, the Indians of the neighboring
wilderness came flocking in to join their fortunes with the English,
or bring information of the movements or designs of the French. Among
these came his old friend and ally, White Thunder, keeper of the
speech-belt; and Silver Heels, a renowned warrior, so called, no
doubt, from his being uncommonly nimble of foot. Also, as we shall
meet him again hereafter, should be mentioned another sachem, whose
Indian name the little folks must excuse their Uncle Juvinell from
giving them in full. By your leave, then, for the sake of brevity and
convenience, we will call him by the last two syllables of his name,
Yadi. From them Washington learned, much to his regret, that his red
brother, the Half King, had died a few months before; having, as the
conjurors or medicine-men of his tribe pretended, been bewitched by
the French for the terrible blow he had dealt them at the battle of
Jumonville, which had filled them with such terror, that they dared
not hope for safety in the wide earth till certain that he walked and
ate and slept no more among living men.
Although Braddock held these savage allies in high contempt, yet when
Washington pointed out to him how much was to be gained by their
friendship, and how much to be lost by their enmity, he was persuaded,
for that one time at least, to treat them with marked respect and
distinction.
To give them an overwhelming idea of the power and splendor of English
arms, he received them with all the honors of war,--fifes playing,
drums beating, and the regulars lowering their muskets as they passed
on to the general's tent. Here Braddock received them in the midst of
his officers, and made them a speech of welcome, in the course of
which he told them of the deep sorrow felt by their great father, the
King of England, for the death of his red brother, the Half King; and
that, to console his red children in America for so grievous a loss,
as well as to reward them for their friendship and services to the
English, he had sent them many rich and handsome presents, which they
should receive before leaving the fort. This speech was answered by a
dozen warriors in as many orations, which being very long and very
flowery, and very little to the point, bored their English listeners
dreadfully. The peace-pipe smoked and the Big Talk ended, Braddock, by
way of putting a cap on the grand occasion, ordered all the fifes to
play, and drums to beat, and, in the midst of the music, all the guns
in the fort to be fired at once. He then caused a bullock to be
killed, and roasted whole, for the refreshment of his Indian guests.
The Indians, in their turn, to show how sensible they were of the
honor done them by this distinguished reception, entertained the
English by dancing their war-dances and singing their war-songs: by
which you are to understand that they jumped and whirled and capered
about in a thousand outlandish antics till they grew limber and weak
in the knees, and yelped and bellowed and howled till their bodies
were almost empty of breath; when, from very exhaustion, they hushed
their barbarous din, and night and slumber fell on the camp. In the
daytime, these lords of the forest, tricked out in all their savage
finery, their faces streaked with war-paint and their scalp-locks
brave with gay bunches of feathers, would stalk about the fort, big
with wonder over every thing they saw. Now and then, they would follow
with admiring eyes the rapid and skilful movement of the red-coated
regulars, as one or other of the regiments, like some huge machine,
went through their martial exercises; or, standing on the ramparts,
they would watch with still keener zest and interest the young
officers as they amused themselves by racing their horses outside the
fort.
As ill luck would have it, these warriors had brought with them their
wives and children, among whom were many very pretty Indian girls,
with plump, round forms, little hands and feet, and beady, roguish
eyes. As female society was not by any means one of the charms of life
at Fort Cumberland, the coming of these wild beauties was hailed with
the liveliest delight by the young English officers, who, the moment
they laid eyes on them, fell to loving them to desperation. First
among these forest belles was one who went by the expressive name of
Bright Lightning; so called, no doubt, from being the favorite
daughter of White Thunder. It being noised abroad that she was a
savage princess of the very first blood, she, of course, at once
became the centre of fashionable attraction, and the leading toast of
all the young blades in camp. No sooner, however, did the warriors get
wind of these gallantries, than they were quite beside themselves with
rage and jealousy, and straightway put an end to them; making the
erring fair ones pack off home, bag and baggage, sorely to their
disappointment, as well as to that of the young British lions, who
were quite inconsolable for their loss.
This scandalous behavior on the part of the English--of which,
however, your Uncle Juvinell may have spoken more lightly than he
ought--was, as you may well believe, very disgusting to Washington,
who was a young man of the purest thoughts and habits. As may be
naturally supposed, it gave deep and lasting offence to the sachems;
and when to this is coupled the fact, that their wishes and opinions
touching war-matters were never heeded or consulted, we cannot wonder
that they one by one forsook the English, with all their warriors, and
came no more.
Foreseeing this, and well knowing what valuable service these people
could render as scouts and spies, Washington had gone to Braddock,
time and again, warning him to treat them with more regard to their
peculiar whims and customs, if he did not wish to lose the advantages
to be expected from their friendship, or bring upon him the terrible
consequences of their enmity. As this wise and timely advice came from
a young provincial colonel, the wrong-headed old general treated it,
of course, with high disdain, and to the last remained obstinate in
the belief that he could march to the very heart of the continent
without meeting an enemy who could withstand his well-drilled regulars
and fine artillery.
And thus, my dear children, did this rash and wilful man cast lightly
away the golden opportunity, wherein, by a few kind words, or tokens
of respect, he could have gained the lasting friendship of this
much-despised race, and thereby made them, in all human likelihood,
the humble means of saving from early destruction the finest army,
which, up to that time, had carried its banners to the Western World.