TO THE FRONT!
The French chief in his note to Gov-er-nor Din-wid-die had said, in
words that were smooth but clear, that he would not leave the banks of
the O-hi-o; so the Eng-lish felt as if it were time for them to make
a move, though they did not wish to bring on a war.
Land was set off on the O-hi-o where a fort was built, and the rest
of it left for the use of the troops.
Wash-ing-ton was asked to lead the troops, but he shrank from it as a
charge too great for one so young. So Josh-u-a Fry was made Col-o-nel,
and Wash-ing-ton Lieu-ten-ant Col-o-nel of a force of 300 men.
It was hard work to get men to join the ranks. The pay was small, and
those who had good farms and good homes did not care to leave them.
Those who had a mind to go were for the most part men who did not like
to work, and had no house or home they could call their own.
Some were bare-foot, some had no shirts to their backs, and not a few
were with-out coat or waist-coat, as the vest was called in those
days.
If it was hard work to get this kind of men, it was still more of a
task to find those who would serve as chiefs, and Wash-ing-ton found
him-self left in charge of a lot of raw troops who knew no will but
their own.
But Van-Bra-am, who had taught Wash-ing-ton how to use the sword, was
with him, and gave him just the aid he had need of at this time.
On A-pril 2, 1754, Wash-ing-ton, at the head of 150 men, set off for
the new fort at the Fork of the O-hi-o. The roads were rough, and the
march was slow, and it was not till A-pril 20 that they reached Will's
Creek. Here they were met by a small force, in charge of Cap-tain
Ad-am Ste-phen. The rest of the force, with the field-guns, were to
come by way of the Po-to-mac. These last were in charge of Col-o-nel
Fry.
When Wash-ing-ton reached Will's Creek word was brought him that a
large force of French troops had borne down on the new fort. Cap-tain
Trent, who was in charge of the few troops in the fort, was a-way at
the time, and the young En-sign Ward did not know what to do. He
sought the aid of Half-King, who told him to plead with the French,
and to beg them to wait till the Cap-tain came back, and the two went
at once to the French camp. But the French would not wait, or make
terms of peace. They had come as foes, and told En-sign Ward that if
he did not leave the fort at once, with all his men, they would put
him out by force. All the French would grant was that our men might
take their tools with them; so the next morn they filed out of the
fort, gave up their arms, and took the path to the woods. The French
took the fort and built it up, and called it Fort Du-quesne (_kane_),
which was the name of the Gov-er-nor of Can-a-da.
When the sad news was brought to Wash-ing-ton he was at a loss to know
what to do, or which way to turn. Here he was with a small band of raw
troops right in the midst of foes, red and white, who would soon hem
them in and use them ill if they found out where they were. Yet it
would not do to turn back, or show signs of fear. Col-o-nel Fry had
not yet come up and the weight of care was thrown on Wash-ing-ton.
He let the Gov-er-nors of Penn-syl-va-ni-a and Ma-ry-land know of his
plight, and urged them to send on troops. But none came to his aid.
He had a talk with his chief men, and they all thought it would be
best to push on through the wild lands, make the road as they went on,
and try to reach the mouth of Red-stone Creek, where they would build
a fort. By this means the men would be kept at work, their fears would
be quelled, and a way made for the smooth and swift march of the
troops in the rear.
There was so much to be done that the men, work as hard as they might,
could not clear the way with much speed. There were great trees to be
cut down, rocks to be moved, swamps to be filled up, and streams to be
bridged. While in the midst of these toils, the bread gave out, and
the lack of food made the men too weak to work. In spite of all these
ills they made out to move at the rate of four miles a day, up steep
hills, and through dense woods that have since borne the name of "The
Shades of Death."
While at a large stream where they had to stop to build a bridge,
Wash-ing-ton was told that it was not worth while for him to try to go
by land to Red-stone Creek, when he could go by boat in much less
time.
This would be a good plan, if it would work; and to make sure,
Wash-ing-ton took five men with him in a bark boat down the stream.
One of these men was a red-skin guide. When they had gone ten miles,
the guide said that that was as far as he would go. Wash-ing-ton said,
"Why do you want to leave us now? We need you, and you know that we
can not get on with-out you. Tell us why you wish to leave."
The red-man said, "Me want gifts. The red-men will not work with-out
them. The French know this, and are wise. If you want the red-men to
be your guides, you must buy them. They do not love you so well that
they will serve you with-out pay."
Wash-ing-ton told the guide that when they got back he would give him
a fine white shirt with a frill on it, and a good great-coat, and this
put an end to the "strike" for that time. They kept on in the small
boat for a score of miles, till they came to a place where there was a
falls in the stream at least 40 feet. This put a stop to their course,
and Wash-ing-ton went back to camp with his mind made up to go on by
land.
He was on his way to join his troops when word was brought him from
Half-King to be on his guard, as the French were close at hand. They
had been on the march for two days, and meant to strike the first foe
they should see.
Half-King said that he and the rest of his chiefs would be with
Wash-ing-ton in five days to have a talk.
Wash-ing-ton set to work at once to get his troops in shape to meet
the foe. Scouts were sent out. There was a scare in the night. The
troops sprang to arms, and kept on the march till day-break. In the
mean-time, at nine o'clock at night, word came from Half-King, who was
then six miles from the camp, that he had seen the tracks of two
French-men, and the whole force was near that place.
Wash-ing-ton put him-self at the head of two score men, left the rest
to guard the camp, and set off to join Half-King. The men had to grope
their way by foot-paths through the woods. The night was dark and
there had been quite a fall of rain, so that they slipped and fell,
and lost their way, and had to climb the great rocks, and the trees
that had been blown down and blocked their way.
It was near sun-rise when they came to the camp of Half-King, who at
once set out with a few of his braves to show Wash-ing-ton the tracks
he had seen. Then Half-King called up two of his braves, showed them
the tracks, and told them what to do. They took the scent, and went
off like hounds, and brought back word that they had traced the
foot-prints to a place shut in by rocks and trees where the French
were in camp.
It was planned to take them off their guard. Wash-ing-ton was to move
on the right, Half-King and his men on the left. They made not a
sound. Wash-ing-ton was the first on the ground, and as he came out
from the rocks and trees at the head of his men, the French caught
sight of him and ran to their arms.
A sharp fire was kept up on both sides. De Ju-mon-ville, who led the
French troops, was killed, with ten of his men. One of Wash-ing-ton's
men was killed, and two or three met with wounds. None of the red-men
were hurt, as the French did not aim their guns at them at all. In
less than half an hour the French gave way, and ran, but
Wash-ing-ton's men soon came up with them, took them, and they were
sent, in charge of a strong guard, to Gov-er-nor Din-wid-die.
This was the first act of war, in which blood had been shed, and
Wash-ing-ton had to bear a great deal of blame from both France and
Eng-land till the truth was made known. He was thought to have been
too rash, and too bold, and in more haste to make war than to seek for
peace. These sins were charged to his youth, for it was not known then
how much more calm, and wise, and shrewd he was than most men who were
twice his age.
The French claimed that this band had been sent out to ask
Wash-ing-ton, in a kind way, to leave the lands that were held by the
crown of France. But Wash-ing-ton was sure they were spies; and
Half-King said they had bad hearts, and if our men were such fools as
to let them go, he would give them no more aid.
Half-King was full of fight, and Wash-ing-ton was flushed with pride,
and in haste to move on and brave the worst. He wrote home: "The
Min-goes have struck the French, and I hope will give a good blow
be-fore they have done."
Then he told of the fight he had been in, and how he had won it, and
was not hurt though he stood in the midst of the fierce fire. The
balls whizzed by him, "and," said Wash-ing-ton "I was charmed with the
sound."
This boast came to the ears of George II. who said, in a dry sort of a
way, "He would not say so if he had heard ma-ny."
When long years had passed, some one asked Wash-ing-ton if he had made
such a speech. "If I did," said he, "it was when I was young." And he
was but 22 years of age.
He knew that as soon as the French heard of the fight and their bad
luck, they would send a strong force out to meet him, so he set all
his men to work to add to the size of the earth-work, and to fence it
in so that it might be more of a strong-hold. Then he gave to it the
name of _Fort Ne-ces-si-ty_, for it had been thrown up in great haste
in time of great need, when food was so scant it was feared the troops
would starve to death. At one time, for six days they had no flour,
and, of course, no bread.
News came of the death of Col-o-nel Fry, at Will's creek, and
Wash-ing-ton was forced to take charge of the whole force. Fry's
troops--300 in all--came up from Will's Creek, and Half-King brought
40 red-men with their wives and young ones and these all had to be fed
and cared for.
Young as he was Wash-ing-ton was like a fa-ther to this strange group
of men. On Sundays, when in camp, he read to them from the word of
God, and by all his acts made them feel that he was a good and true
man, and fit to be their chief.
The red-men did quite well as spies and scouts, but were not of much
use in the field, and they, and some men from South Car-o-li-na, did
much to vex young Wash-ing-ton.
Half-King did not like the way that white men fought, so he took
him-self and his band off to a safe place. The white men from South
Car-o-li-na, who had come out to serve their king, were too proud to
soil their hands or to do hard work, nor would they be led by a man of
the rank of Col-o-nel.
In the midst of all these straits Wash-ing-ton stood calm and firm.
The South Car-o-li-na troops were left to guard the fort, while the
rest of the men set out to clear the road to Red-stone Creek. Their
march was slow, and full of toil, and at the end of two weeks they had
gone but 13 miles. Here at Gist's home, where they stopped to rest,
word came to Wash-ing-ton that a large force of the French were to be
sent out to fight him. Word was sent to the fort to have the men that
were there join them with all speed.
They reached Gist's at dusk, and by dawn of the next day all our
troops were in that place, where it was at first thought they would
wait for the foe.
But this plan they gave up, for it was deemed best to make haste back
to the fort, where they might at least screen them-selves from the
fire of the foe.
The roads were rough; the heat was great; the food was scant, and the
men weak and worn out. There were but few steeds, and these had to
bear such great loads that they could not move with speed.
Wash-ing-ton gave up his own horse and went on foot, and the rest of
the head men did the same.
The troops from Vir-gin-i-a worked with a will and would take turns
and haul the big field guns, while the King's troops, from South
Car-o-li-na, walked at their ease, and would not lend a hand, or do a
stroke of work.
On the morn of Ju-ly 3, scouts brought word to the fort that the
French were but four miles off, and in great force. Wash-ing-ton at
once drew up his men on the ground out-side of the fort, to wait for
the foe.
Ere noon the French were quite near the fort and the sound of their
guns was heard.
Wash-ing-ton thought this was a trick to draw his men out in-to the
woods, so he told them to hold their fire till the foe came in sight.
But as the French did not show them-selves, though they still kept up
their fire, he drew his troops back to the fort and bade them fire at
will, and do their best to hit their mark.
The rain fell all day long, so that the men in the fort were half
drowned, and some of the guns scarce fit for use.
The fire was kept up till eight o'clock at night, when the French
sent word they would like to make terms with our men.
Wash-ing-ton thought it was a trick to find out the state of things in
the fort, and for a time gave no heed to the call. The French sent two
or three times, and at last brought the terms for Wash-ing-ton to
read. They were in French. There was no-thing at hand to write with,
so Van Bra-am, who could speak French, was called on to give the key.
It was a queer scene. A light was brought, and held close to his face
so that he could see to read. The rain fell in such sheets that it was
hard work to keep up the flame. Van Bra-am mixed up Dutch, French, and
Eng-lish in a sad way, while Wash-ing-ton and his chief aids stood
near with heads bent, and tried their best to guess what was meant.
They made out at last that the main terms were that the troops might
march out of the fort, and fear no harm from French or red-skins as
they made their way back to their homes. The drums might beat and the
flags fly, and they could take with them all the goods and stores, and
all that was in the fort--but the large guns. These the French would
break up. And our men should pledge them-selves not to build on the
lands which were claimed by the King of France for the space of one
year.
The weak had to yield to the strong, and Wash-ing-ton and his men laid
down their arms and marched out of the fort.
A note of thanks was sent to Wash-ing-ton, and all his head men but
Van Bra-am, who was thought to have read the terms in such a way as to
harm our side and serve the French.
But there were those who felt that Van Bra-am was as true as he was
brave, and that it was the fault of his head and not his heart, for it
was a hard task for a Dutch-man to turn French in-to Eng-lish, and
make sense of it.