^ijJi 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 I UNIVERSITY OP j 
 V CALIFORNIA/ 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES 
 OF WASHINGTON 
 
 SCHR.OEDER-LOSSING 
 
 REVISED, ENLARGED, AND 
 ENRICHED: AND WITH A 
 SPECIAL INTRODUCTION 
 By EDWARD C. TOWNE, B. A. 
 
 VOLUME I 
 
 ALBANY .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. NEW YORK 
 
 M. M. BELCHER PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 1903 
 
Copyright, 1903, 
 
 By M. M. belcher PUBLISHING CO. 
 
E3R 
 
 PREFACE. Y.l 
 
 THE plan of the present work, in the revised and 
 enlarged form now offered to the public, is that 
 of an attempt to adequately bring out all the 
 facts bearing upon the origin of the United States 
 of America within the period covered by the active 
 career of Washington; and with this to show, in the 
 clearest light possible, the character, conduct, services, 
 and political ideals of Washington; his youth and educa- 
 tion ; his activity and development from sixteen to nine- 
 teen years of age ; his immediate entrance upon public 
 service and attainment of distinction ; his important mili- 
 tary position and experience while yet a very young man ; 
 his remarkable eminence and services as a Colonial soldier 
 in Virginia, then the foremost of the American colonies ; 
 his fearless recognition of the issues of liberty under the 
 oppressive attempts of the ministers of the British King; 
 his leadership in the Virginia demonstrations of protest 
 preparatory to revolution ; his position as the first soldier 
 of the Continent in the earliest Congress of the Colonies ; 
 his unanimous recognition by the Congress as before all 
 others in military and political weight, and his appointment 
 as American Commander-in-Chief ; his conduct of the Rev- 
 olution, both in military service of the highest character 
 and in constant sagacious counsel and effective influence, 
 accomplishing more than all others together in the main- 
 tenance and direction of an otherwise hopeless cause ; the 
 supreme significance and weight of his thought in the 
 
 iii 
 
 063 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 making of the Constitution and the bringing together 
 under it of Colonies not yet educated to faith in a Union ; 
 and the final service and climax of his unsurpassed career 
 in two Presidencies, based on principles of National out- 
 look and union prophetic of the rise of the United States 
 to the highest rank of world power. 
 
 The " Lives of Washington " thus far available for the 
 interest and instruction of the public have in important 
 respects come a good deal short of telling, sufficiently and 
 correctly, all parts of the great story of Washington, and 
 still more have they failed to apply adequate discrimina- 
 tion to the manifestations in Washington of intellectual 
 genius, and noble character, of the very highest type. In 
 the case even of Irving's interesting and valuable " Life," 
 the literary felicity and general spirit with which the work 
 was executed left something to be desired in the method 
 and scope of the narrative ; and for the matter which is 
 throughout of highest interest, Washington's complex and 
 unsurpassed character, his greatness intellectually, and 
 as a soldier and statesman, Irving's study in this direction 
 was less, full and thorough than so great a theme seems 
 now to require, in view of the course of popular discus- 
 sion from 1889 to the present time. Tlie Schroeder- 
 Lossing " Life and Times," of which the present work is 
 an expansion and revision, was of special value because of 
 its large scope, and still more from its constant attention 
 to just appreciation of Washington's very exceptional 
 character, and the greatness everywhere implied in the 
 true story of his career. 
 
 Several recent works have aimed, more or less openly, 
 to apply a method of detraction to the character of Wash- 
 ington, and to reduce his greatness to the common level, 
 upon the theory that we gain a man while we lose a hero. 
 The utterances brought out by the Centennial celebrations 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 which culminated in that of 1889 at New York were 
 almost universally at the level of exceedingly deficient 
 knowledge and profoundly unfortunate misapprehension, 
 even on the part of men of high representative position 
 and character. An edition of the writings of Washington 
 under the editorship of Mr. W. C. Ford, begun in 1888, 
 was executed on lines deliberately and avowedly intended 
 to bring Washington down from his high historic pedestal ; 
 and in sequel to this Mr. Ford's brother undertook a 
 popular volume, designed to reduce Washington from the 
 heroic, almost godlike level, to that of a common his- 
 torical character. To go back to the Schroeder-Lossing 
 narrative is in itself to most effectively expose at once 
 the singular ignorance and the inexpHcable wrong 
 of any " True George Washington " story, or study of 
 character, which fails to carry to the greatest monumental 
 height appreciation of the unparalleled man which Wash- 
 ington was, and the unapproachable services which he 
 rendered as soldier and statesman, to America and to 
 mankind. 
 
 The thorough revision under which the work is now 
 given an expanded form, to make a complete text-book 
 of knowledge not less important than intensely interesting, 
 has aimed to strengthen the proof that the worship almost 
 by the fathers of Washington was but simple justice, and 
 that lapse of time but casts new light on the colossal and 
 splendid figure which Washington must ever be in the 
 history truly told. 
 
 It has been particularly sought to make as perfect as 
 possible from our latest knowledge the panorama of 
 events and of contemporary characters, which make the 
 times and the scenes of the career of Washington forever 
 unique in interest and instruction. There are characters 
 in the great story who had their meed of praise locally 
 
Vi PREFACE. 
 
 and for the time, and the tradition of whose fame still 
 commands the popular ear, in disregard to some extent 
 of the issues of the history and the final verdict of truth 
 and justice; while on other characters, and before all on 
 Washington himself, in the various stages of his activity 
 and the various aspects of his character, has not yet fallen 
 the full light of exact knowledge and critical discrimina- 
 tion. The current story of Washington's education, his 
 attention to surveying, and his miHtary service in Virginia 
 during several eventful years, has either been wrongly 
 told or has not been told at all. An adequate, as well as 
 accurate, account of Washington as a youth, from his 
 father's death to his earliest military employment, and as 
 a character of distinction and a military commander for 
 the seven years preceding his marriage, is given for the 
 first time in the following pages, in the passages added by 
 the present writer. 
 
 And not the least important of the aims of the work as 
 now offered to the public, is that of presenting the facts 
 in such a light of equal justice to the contrasted forms 
 of culture and civilization, of society and political order, 
 pecuHar on the one hand to New England and the North, 
 and on the other to Virginia and the South, as to promote 
 a clear understanding of all the issues of early American 
 history, through which have been reached the develop- 
 ments of the Twentieth Century — that "great empire, 
 . . . stupendous fabric of freedom and empire, . . . 
 an asylum for the poor and oppressed of all nations and re- 
 ligions," whereof Virginia's incomparable son, and he alone, 
 had clear vision. 
 
 EDWARD C. TOWNE. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PART L 
 
 Washington's Ancestors and Boyhood. 
 1657-1751. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE. 
 
 I. His Birth and Ancestors i 
 
 11. Early Days of Washington 15 
 
 III. Incidents of His Youth 52 
 
 IV. His Voyage to Barbadoes 89 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Washington's Military Appointments. 
 
 1751-1758. 
 
 I. Washington a Major 97 
 
 II. Washington's First Battle 174 
 
 III. Washington's Capitulation of Fort Necessity 182 
 
 IV. Defense of the Colonies 202 
 
 V. Washington at the Battle of the Monongahela 214 
 
 VI. Washington the Virginia Commander-in-Chief 250 
 
 VII. Campaign of 1758 — Washington's Marriage 391 
 
 [vii] 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART HI. 
 
 Washington During the Opening Scenes of the 
 Revolution. 
 
 1759-1775. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE. 
 
 I.Washington in Retirement — Campaign of 1759 451 
 
 II. Life at Mount Vernon 470 
 
 III. Causes of the Revolution 487 
 
 IV. The Revolutionary Storm Increasing 521 
 
 V.Washington's Plan of Association 541 
 
 VI. Discontents Producing Violence and Bloodshed 563 
 
 VII. Washington Visits the Western Country 569 
 
 VIII. Political Union of the Colonies 584 
 
 IX. Washington a Politician 599 
 
 X. Washington a Member of the Continental Congress 649 
 
 XL Washington a Member of the Virginia Convention 678 
 
 XII. Partisan Warfare 707 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 Washington Continental Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 1775-1783. 
 
 I. The Continental Congress Appoints Washington Com- 
 mander-in-Chief for All the Colonies 718 
 
 11. The Battle of Bunker Hill 741 
 
 III. Washington Takes Command of the Continental Army, 772 
 
 IV. Washington Sends a Detachment to Canada 809 
 
 V. Washington Expels the British from Boston 822 
 
CONTENTS, ix 
 
 CHAP. PAGE. 
 
 VI. Washington in New York 875 
 
 VII. Washington Crosses the Hudson 932 
 
 VIII. Washington's Masterly Retreat through the Jerseys. . 971 
 
 IX. The Battles of Trenton and Princeton 987 
 
 X. Lord Howe Outgeneraled by Washington 1017 
 
 XL Washington Holds Howe in Check 1069 
 
 XII. Burgoyne's Defeat and Surrender 1105 
 
 XIII. Washington at Valley Forge 1149 
 
 XIV. The Battle of Monmouth 1191 
 
 XV. Washington Directs a Descent on Rhode Island 1213 
 
 XVI. Washington Prepares to Chastise the Indians 1237 
 
 XVII. Washington's Operations in the Northern States 1255 
 
 XVIII. Campaign in the North — Arnold's Treason 1281 
 
 XIX. Operations at the South 1313 
 
 XX. Preparations for a New Campaign 1360 
 
 XXI. The Campaign at the South 1377 
 
 XXII. Continuation of the Campaign at the South 1398 
 
 XXIII. Washington Captures Cornwallis 1412 
 
 XXIV. Final Events of the Revolution 1442 
 
 PART V. 
 
 Washington a Private Citizen. 
 1783-1788. 
 
 I. Washington's Return to Private Life 1509 
 
 11. Washington President of the Constitutional Convention, 1527 
 
X CONTENTS, 
 
 PART VI. 
 
 Washington as President and in Retirement. 
 1789-1799. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE. 
 
 I. Washington Elected First President of the United 
 
 States 1579 
 
 II. Washington's Inauguration and First Administration 
 
 Formed 1594 
 
 TIL Measures for Establishing the Public Credit 1657 
 
 IV. Establishment of a National Bank 1698 
 
 V. Political Parties Developed 1725 
 
 VI. Washington Inaugurates the System of NeutraHty 1775 
 
 VII. Washington Sends Jay to England 1822 
 
 VIII. Washington Quells the Western Insurrection 1847 
 
 IX. Washington Signs Jay's Treaty 1867 
 
 X. Washington Maintains the Treaty-Making Power of 
 
 the Executive 1896 
 
 XI. Washington Retires from the Presidency 1922 
 
 XII. Washington Appointed Lieutenant- General 1969 
 
 XIII. Last Illness, Death, and Character of Washington 1994 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Washington Frontispiece. 
 
 Washington's Interview with His Mother 32 
 
 Washington's First Interview with Mrs. Curtis, after- 
 wards Mrs. Washington 64 
 
 Martha Washington 9^ 
 
 Washington on His Mission to the Ohio 128 
 
 Braddock's Retreat 160 
 
 Patrick Henry 192 
 
 Boston Massacre 224 
 
 Battle of Lexington 256 
 
 Retreat of the British from Concord 288 
 
 Samuel Adams 320 
 
 Joseph Warren 352 
 
 Washington Taking Command of the Army 384 
 
 Richard Montgomery 416 
 
 Vol. II. 
 
 Washington in 1775 Frontispiece. 
 
 General Israel Putnam 496 
 
 Drafting the Declaration of Independence 528 
 
 Benjamin Franklin 560 
 
 The Death Warrant of Major Andre 592 
 
 First Meeting of Washington and Hamilton 624 
 
 Surrender of Col. Rahl at the Battle of Trenton 656 
 
 Washington at the Battle of Princeton 688 
 
 Major-General Henry Knox 720 
 
 Sergeant Molly at the Battle of Monmouth 768 
 
 [»] 
 
xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 PAGB. 
 
 Baron De Kalb Introducing Lafayette to Silas Deane 8x6 
 
 Lady Ackland's Visit to the Camp of General Gates 864 
 
 Battle of Saratoga 912 
 
 Valley Forge — Washington and Lafayette 944 
 
 Vol. III. 
 
 Washington at Trenton Frontispiece. 
 
 Major-General Baron Steuben 1008 
 
 Philip Schuyler 1040 
 
 Horatio Gates 1072 
 
 Battle of Germantown 1104 
 
 Treason of Arnold 1 152 
 
 Robert Morris 1200 
 
 Lee's Cavalry Skirmishing at the Battle of Guilford 1248 
 
 General Francis Marion 1296 
 
 Major-General Nathanael Greene 1344 
 
 Alexander Hamilton 1392 
 
 Robert R. Livingston 1440 
 
 Vol. IV. 
 
 Washington as President Frontispiece. 
 
 Washington's Farewell to His Officers 1536 
 
 Lafayette 1568 
 
 John Jay 1600 
 
 Inauguration of Washington 1632 
 
 The First Cabinet 1680 
 
 John Hancock 1728 
 
 John Adams 1776 
 
 Washington and Family at Mount Vernon 1824 
 
 Chief Justice John Marshall 1872 
 
 Thomas Jefferson 1920 
 
 Henry Laurens 1968 
 
PART 1. 
 HIS ANCESTORS AND BOYHOOD. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HIS BIRTH AND ANCESTORS. 
 
 1657-1739. 
 
 THE eventful times of Washington may well arrest 
 the thoughts of every one who is interested in the 
 origin and destiny of our republic. And the com- 
 bination of causes which made this illustrious man the 
 master-spirit of his day, and the very impersonation of 
 the great principles which he asserted, is a pleasing indi- 
 cation of what may be regarded as not a merely fortuitous, 
 but a divinely ordered, series of events, having for their 
 ultimate object the general welfare of humanity. 
 
 Among leaders and rulers of nations there is not an- 
 other who has illustrated, in so happy a manner, the vir- 
 tues and obligations both of private and public life, and 
 who has afforded so suitable an example for imitation in 
 those virtues and obligations, on the part of every citizen, 
 from the most secluded member of society to the most con- 
 spicuous man of mark in council or in the field. 
 
 One of the most eminent living statesmen of England 
 has said, " He was the greatest man of our own or any 
 age ; the only one upon whom an epithet so thoughtlessly 
 lavished by men, to foster the crimes of their worst ene- 
 mies, may be innocently and^justly bestowed." " It will 
 be the duty of the historian and the sage, in all ages, to let 
 no occasion pass of commemorating this illustrious man ; 
 and, until time shall be no more, will a test of the progress 
 which our race has made in wisdom and in virtue, be 
 
2 WASHINGTON. 
 
 derived from the veneration paid to the immortal name of 
 Washington."'^ And one of the chief of our Revolutionary 
 worthies, who enjoyed every opportunity to form a proper 
 estimate of the quaHties which he commends, says : " If 
 we look over the catalogue of the first magistrates of 
 nations, whether they have been denominated presidents 
 or consuls, kings or princes, where shall we find one whose 
 commanding talents and virtues, whose overruling good 
 fortune, have so completely united all hearts and voices 
 in his favor, who enjoyed the esteem and admiration of 
 foreign nations and fellow citizens with equal unanimity? 
 Qualities so uncommon are no common blessings to the 
 country that possesses them. By these great qualities and 
 their benign effects has Providence marked out the head 
 of this nation, with a hand so distinctly visible as to have 
 been seen by all men and mistaken by none." " His ex- 
 ample is complete, and it will teach wisdom and virtue to 
 magistrates, citizens, and men not only in the present age, 
 but in future generations, as long as our history shall be 
 
 read."t 
 
 It was a happy hour for America when, by the divine 
 ordering of human affairs, she gave birth to the future 
 "Father of his Country." He was born on the 22dJ 
 day of February, and citizens of the United States have 
 good reason to celebrate, with lively enthusiasm, every 
 annual recurrence of the memorable day. 
 
 The period of his birth and boyhood was that during 
 which occurred, as will appear in the sequel, some of the 
 
 *Lord Brougham's Sketch of Washington, in his "Historical 
 Sketches of Statesmen who flourished in the Time of George III." 
 Second Series, Vol. II, last sketch. 
 
 t John Adams's speech to the Senate of the United States, April, 
 1789, and his " Special Message to the Senate, December 23, I799-" 
 
 t The day was the eleventh (Old Style), 1732. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 3 
 
 most extraordinary and oppressive of the proceedings of 
 the British ParHament, in relation to the American colo- 
 nies. And it is a reflection which cannot escape the notice 
 of inteUigent students of history that often, at the very 
 time when oppression has been pushing its exactions to 
 their climax, deliverance and a deliverer have been 
 revealed. 
 
 In November of the very year (1732) when Washington 
 was born, the benevolent and brave Oglethorpe, with 
 120 emigrants, was crossing the Atlantic with his charter 
 to found the colony of Georgia, the future thirteenth State 
 of the original American Confederacy, destined, when the 
 infant energies of Washington should be matured for the 
 exploit, to take part in achieving our national independ- 
 ence. 
 
 It was when he was a child (1733) that England imposed 
 a tax on the importation of sugar into North America. 
 Then too, in the full exercise of the exclusive privilege* 
 to import negro slaves from Africa into the Spanish col- 
 onies, in America, she sent her Asiento ships to these 
 colonies, until her abuse of her privileges led eventually 
 to a war with Spain. And it was during this war (1739), 
 the first war waged for colonial interests, that Porto Bello, 
 the grand mart of Peruvian and Chilian commerce, was 
 captured by the daring Admiral Vernon, whose name 
 afterward became associated with the rural home of our 
 great champion of civil, social, and religious liberty. 
 
 The state of civil affairs in England at this period was 
 extraordinary. 
 
 The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, produced his 
 
 * The treaty for the exclusive right to import negroes, " El 
 Asiento de los Negros," was made by England with Spain, in 
 1713, and was to continue thirty years. 
 
4 WASHINGTON. 
 
 excise scheme (1733), which occasioned an intense feeUng 
 of repugnance throughout the realm. Not only was the 
 offensive measure denounced in Parliament, as a '' plan 
 of arbitrary power," but the people at large, in the provin- 
 cial towns, as well as in the metropoUs, bent on protecting 
 their civil rights from what they deemed the grasp of 
 tyranny, indulged in loud protestations against the prin- 
 ciple of the scheme, burnt the minister in effigy, wore 
 cockades with the motto, " Liberty, Property, and no 
 Excise," and, by the power of the popular will, drove 
 Walpole to rehnquish his measure, with the memorable 
 declaration that "there would be an end of the liberty 
 of England if suppHes were to be raised by the sword." 
 
 The European continent also was at this time greatly 
 agitated by the War of the Polish Succession, in which 
 France, Spain, Sardinia, and a majority of the people of 
 Poland, maintained the claims of Stanislaus, Leczinski; 
 and the Czarina Anne, of Russia, supported by Austria, 
 occupied Poland with foreign troops, placed on the throne 
 Frederick Augustus, in direct opposition to the proclaimed 
 will of the nation, and reasserted what the infant Wash- 
 ington was destined, in less than fifty years, to condemn 
 with greater eloquence than that of words, while he vindi- 
 cated our natural and inalienable rights in opposition to 
 the humiliating dogma, that popular privilege must yield 
 to royal prerogative and the voice of the people to the 
 will of kings. 
 
 Stanislaus II, Poniatowski, born but a few weeks before 
 Washington (January 17, 1732), was the last King of Po- 
 land. The humiliating measures of the Czarina Catha- 
 rine II, caused the kingdom rapidly to degenerate, until 
 at length, during the Presidency of Washington, Stanis- 
 laus was dethroned, and his country dismembered and 
 partitioned by Russia, Austria, and Prussia. This bold 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 5 
 
 illustration of monarchical tyranny, by which the political 
 existence of an ancient kingdom was annihilated, was ex- 
 hibited in the sight of all Europe, while princes and courts 
 that had waged protracted wars to settle punctilios of 
 state etiquette were content to view the solemn spectacle, 
 without indulging one generous impulse in behalf of ill- 
 fated Poland. 
 
 Not many days after Washington's birth, his parents, 
 devout members of the Church of England, which at that 
 time was almost universal in Virginia, dedicated him to 
 God in baptism, and provided for him two godfathers and 
 a godmother, according to the rubric in the baptismal 
 office. The family Bible contains this record : " George 
 Washington, Son of Augustine and Mary, his Wife, was 
 born the nth day of February, 1731-2, about 10 in the 
 morning; and was baptized the 5th of April following: 
 Mr. Beverly Whiting and Captain Christopher Brooks, 
 Godfathers; and Mrs. Mildred Gregory, Godmother." 
 
 This scrupulous conformity to sponsoral provisions im- 
 plies a decent regard also for the solemn vow, promise, 
 and profession made in the baptismal sacrament. And it 
 may reasonably be inferred that the nature of the solemn 
 service was in due time explained and its obligations set 
 forth by the parents and sponsors to the child thus dedi- 
 cated unto God. 
 
 It may be regarded as of special interest that Washing- 
 ton was a son of Virginia, the " Mother of Presidents."* 
 The county of Westmoreland, his birthplace, in the east- 
 ern part of the State, and bordering on the Potomac and 
 Rappahannock rivers, is celebrated as the birthplace of 
 many other distinguished men. President Monroe was 
 
 ♦Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Harrison, and Tyler, Presidents 
 of the United States, were citizens or natives of Virginia. 
 
6 WASHINGTON. 
 
 born there, and also Richard Henry Lee and Thomas 
 Lightfoot Lee, signers of the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence; Thomas, Francis, and Arthur Lee, brothers of Rich- 
 ard Henry; Gen. Henry Lee, who was known during the 
 Revolution as '' Light Horse Harry," and Judge Bushrod 
 Washington. [The son of Gen. Henry Lee was Robert E. 
 Lee of the Civil war.] 
 
 The house in which Washington was born, a single- 
 story, low-pitched, frame building, is no longer standing. 
 It was a ruin before the Revolutionary War. Its site 
 however, half a mile from the junction of Pope's creek 
 with the Potomac, in Washington parish, is indicated by 
 a few remaining fragments and by a clump of decayed 
 fig trees. A few vines and shrubs and a few gentle flowers 
 also seem to delight in decorating, year after year, the 
 hallowed spot and in enlivening its desolation with pleas- 
 ing and suggestive sentiments. The majestic river scen- 
 ery of the Potomac and the neighboring lawns with their 
 velvet greensward, associated with the infancy of Wash- 
 ington, contribute their charm to enliven the patriot pil- 
 grim, who mingles with his delight in these beauties of 
 nature a predominant feeling by which that majestic 
 stream is converted into a lively expression of the pre- 
 vailing emotion of his mind. 
 
 The site of the house which was built by Washington's 
 great-grandfather in the year 1657, when he emigrated to 
 America, was for many years marked by only a simple 
 monumental stone,* bearing the inscription: "Here, the 
 nth of February, 1732, George Washington was born." 
 A suitable monument was erected in 1895. 
 
 Seven years after his birth (1739), the family removed 
 from Westmoreland to a house which was the property 
 
 * It is a slab of freestone, lying horizontally, and it was placed 
 there by George W. P. Custis, Esq., in June, 1815. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 7 
 
 of his father, on the Rappahannock river, nearly opposite 
 Fredericksburg, in Suffolk county. Of this too nothing 
 now remains except a few scattered pieces of brick, wood, 
 and plaster. But the visitor to the spot is naturally 
 prompted to fancy many interesting pictures of youthful 
 sports in and around the homestead. 
 
 A tale still current in Washington's old home neighbor- 
 hood in Virginia recounts how once as a stripling he sat 
 reading upder the shade of an oak tree near his school. 
 Some of his friends had engaged a champion wrestler of 
 the county to test their strength in an impromptu ring. 
 One after another fell a victim to the champion's skill, till, 
 grown bold at last, he strode back and forth like one of 
 the giants of old-time romance, daring the only boy who 
 had not wrestled with him either to put his book down 
 and come into the ring or own himself afraid. 
 
 This was more than the self-contained Washington could 
 stand. Quietly closing his book, he accepted the chal- 
 lenge. Long after, when the student under the oak tree 
 had become the conqueror with whose honored name the 
 whole civilized world resounded, the ex-champion told 
 what followed. After a " fierce, short struggle," he said, 
 " I felt myself grasped and hurled upon the ground with 
 a jar that shook the marrow of my bones." 
 
 It does not concern American citizens, as it does the 
 subjects of European princes, to trace a line of descent 
 from ancestors who wore crowns or coronets, and were 
 adorned with garters, stars, and other such badges of 
 honorable eminence. It is rather a subject of self-gratu- 
 lation on our part that a remote forefather was one of a 
 band of untitled voluntary exiles, who fled from persecu- 
 tion to the rock-bound shore of a new country; or, one 
 of the sturdy adventurers or gallant cavaliers who sought 
 their fortunes among the early colonists of our southern 
 
8 WASHINGTON. 
 
 country. Yet it is, in all cases, a legitimate object of 
 inquiry with us to ascertain the national origin of a 
 family and the time and circumstances of its emigration. 
 
 The first of Washington's paternal ancestors who came 
 to America was his great-grandfather, John Washington. 
 He and his brother Lawrence emigrated from England 
 to the colony of Virginia in the year 1657, while the royal- 
 ists, republicans, and fifth-monarchy men were in the 
 melee of their opposition to the scheme of making Crom- 
 well king, and while many loyal British subjects, eschew- 
 ing the assumptions of the protectorate, were fleeing for 
 refuge to other lands. 
 
 The brothers, John and Lawrence, both purchased es- 
 tates in Westmoreland county. John married, and had 
 several children, one of whom, Lawrence, was the grand- 
 father of our W^ashington. This Lawrence had several 
 children; and his second son, Augustine, was our Wash- 
 ington's father, who married twice. His first wife, Jane 
 Butler, was the mother of four children, two of whom 
 were Lawrence and Augustine ; and his second wife, Mary 
 Ball, celebrated for her beauty, was the mother of six 
 children, of whom our Washington was the first-born.* 
 
 The two brothers who emigrated to America, John and 
 Lawrence, could trace their family, through several gen- 
 erations, to William de Hertburn, a powerful and noble 
 knight, who lived a century after the time of William the 
 Conqueror, and who purchased, in the year 1183, the 
 manor and village of Wessyngton, in the diocese of Dur- 
 ham. From that period, the de Hertburn family took, as 
 then was usual, the name of the estate, and was called 
 
 * There were three other sons, Samuel, John Augustine, and 
 Charles; and there were two daughters, Mildred, who died in in- 
 fancy, and Betty, who married Fielding Lewis, Esq., afterward a 
 devoted patriot of the Revolutionary times. [Betty was of the 
 same grand figure and countenance as her brother George.] 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 9 
 
 de Wessyngton. The orthography of the name, passing 
 through various modifications,* eventually attained its 
 familiar modern form. 
 
 So little interest did our Washington himself evince 
 in relation to his pedigree that he never gave it his serious 
 attention until he received, after his elevation to the Presi- 
 dency, a letter on the subject from Sir Isaac Heard, then 
 Garter King at Arms in London, who was, from his office, 
 naturally led to inquire into the ancestry of the illustrious 
 American, who was at that time the observed of all ob- 
 servers. Washington's reply to Sir Isaac's letter is a 
 characteristic effusion. 
 
 " Philadelphia, 2 May, 1792. 
 
 " Sir. — Your letter of the 7th of December was put 
 into my hands by Mr. Thornton, and I must request that 
 you will accept my acknowledgments, as well for the polite 
 manner in which you express your wishes for my happi- 
 ness, as for the trouble you have taken in making genea- 
 logical collections relative to the family of Washington. 
 
 " This is a subject to which, I confess, I have paid very 
 little attention. My time has been so much occupied in 
 the busy and active scenes of life, from an early period of 
 it, that but a small portion could have been devoted to 
 researches of this nature, even if my inclination or par- 
 ticular circumstances should have prompted to the inquiry. 
 I am therefore apprehensive, that it will not be in my 
 power, circumstanced as I am at present, to furnish you 
 with materials to fill up the sketch which you have sent 
 me, in so accurate a manner as you could wish. We have 
 no ofifice of record in this country, in which exact genea- 
 logical documents are preserved; and very few cases, I 
 believe, occur, where a recurrence to pedigree, for any 
 
 ♦Among these modifications are Wessington, Wassington, 
 Weschington, and Wasshington. 
 
10 WASHINGTON. 
 
 considerable distance back, has been found necessary to 
 establish such points as may frequently arise in older 
 countries. 
 
 " On comparing the tables, which you sent, with such 
 documents as are in my possession, and which I could 
 readily obtain from another branch of the family with 
 whom I am in the habit of correspondence, I find it to be 
 just. I have often heard others of the family, older than 
 myself, say, that our ancestor who first settled in this 
 country came from some one of the northern counties of 
 England ; but whether from Lancashire, Yorkshire, or one 
 still more northerly, I do not precisely remember. 
 
 " The arms inclosed in your letter, are the same that are 
 held by the family here ; though I have also seen, and have 
 used, as you may perceive by the seal to this packet, a 
 flying griffin for the crest.* 
 
 *' If you can derive any information from the inclosed 
 lineage, which will enable you to complete your table, I 
 shall be well pleased in having been the means of assist- 
 ing you in those researches, which you have had the 
 politeness to undertake ; and shall be glad to be informed 
 of the result, and of the ancient pedigree of the family, 
 some of whom I find intermixed with that of Ferrers. 
 
 " Lawrence Washington, from whose will you inclosed 
 an abstract, was my grandfather. The other abstracts 
 which you sent do not, I believe, relate to the family of 
 Washington in Virginia; but, of this I cannot speak 
 positively. 
 
 * The Washington coat of arms, in the families of Buckingham- 
 shire, Kent, Warwickshire, and Northamptonshire, and in the Vir- 
 ginia families, is argent, two bars gules in chief, three mullets of 
 the second. Crest, a raven with wings indorsed proper, issuing 
 out of a ducal coronet or. In Edmondson's Heraldry, are given 
 other arms for other branches of the family. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 11 
 
 " With due consideration, I am, sir, your most obe- 
 dient servant, 
 
 " George Washington." 
 
 In this letter were inclosed particulars respecting the 
 family. " In the year 1657, or thereabouts, and during 
 the usurpation of Oliver Cromwell, John and Lawrence 
 Washington, brothers, emigrated from the north of Eng- 
 land, and settled at Bridge's Creek, on the Potomac river, 
 in the county of Westmoreland. But from whom they 
 descended, the subscriber is possessed of no document 
 to ascertain." * Then follows an account of John, who 
 was Washington's great-grandfather, and of his descend- 
 ants in America. 
 
 While he heeded not the suggestions by which pride 
 and ambition allure so many to genealogical records, 
 Washington did however obey the promptings of benevo- 
 lence, when, on making his will, he desired that a list 
 should be furnished of his blood-relations, both in Europe 
 and America, with a view to his bestowing upon each 
 one of them a gift or souvenir. 
 
 To such inquirers as may be curious on the subject of 
 the remote English ancestors of our Washington's first 
 American progenitor, John, of Virginia, it may be inter- 
 esting to know that he descended lineally from John, of 
 Whitfield, in the county of Lancaster, whose son John, 
 also of Whitfield, was father of John, of Warton, in the 
 same county ; and the eldest son of this John, of Warton, 
 Lawrence, was mayor of Northampton, and had a grant 
 of the manor of Sulgrave, with other valuable lands there, 
 after Henry VIIFs dissolution of the priories, f This 
 
 * It has been recently found that the immediate English an- 
 cestor, father of the emigrants to America, was a Rev. Lawrence 
 Washington, of Essex, in England. 
 
 t In 30 Henry VIII, 1538-1539. 
 
12 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Lawrence, of Northampton, was the great-grandfather of 
 the first American Washington; his son Robert, of Sul- 
 grave, being the father of Lawrence, of Sulgrave, of whom 
 John, of Virginia, was the second son.* 
 
 Among the many reflections awakened by these genea- 
 logical memoranda, one of the most interesting is, that 
 they are a key to what is far more worthy of attention 
 than the mere branches, withered or budding, of a family 
 tree. Among the Washingtons are found many persons 
 of note in the learned professions, in council, and in the 
 field of war; men who won the fame of scholars, the 
 honors of knighthood, the rewards of skill and industry, 
 and the praise of virtue, valor, and high resolve. 
 
 Among the English Washingtons were the noble knight 
 William de Hertburn, a conspicuous chevalier in the train 
 of the princely Count Palatinate, the Bishop of Durhsim; 
 William Weshington, a loyal defender of Henry III, in 
 the wars of the barons; Sir Stephen de Wessington, one 
 of the chevaliers of Edward III ; Sir WilHam, of the privy 
 council of Durham; John, the learnedf and energetic 
 prior of the Benedictines; Lieutenant-Colonel James 
 Washington, one of the loyal subjects of Charles I, in 
 whose cause he was slain at the siege of Pontefract ; 
 Joseph, an eminent lawyer, who translated one of Milton's 
 political treatises ;]: and Sir Henry, famous for his daring 
 
 * [The error of this account has been recently demonstrated, 
 showing that the Lawrence of Sulgrave had a son, Lawrence, who 
 was the father of the John and Lawrence who came to America.] 
 t Author of " De Juribus et Possessionibus Ecclesae Dunelm." 
 t The " Defensio pro Populo Anglicano." He wrote also a trans- 
 lation of part of " Lucian's Dialogues," " Observations upon the 
 Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Kings of England," an " Abridge- 
 ment of the Statutes " to 1687, and the first volume of " Modem 
 Reports." 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 13 
 
 achievement at the storming of Bristol, and for his de- 
 voted loyal constancy at the siege of Worcester. Re- 
 ferring to Sir Henry's exploit at Bristol, Lord Clarendon 
 says, " On Prince Rupert's side, it was assaulted with 
 equal courage; for, though that division led on by the 
 Lord Grandison, colonel-general of the foot, was beaten 
 off, the Lord Grandison himself being hurt, and the other, 
 led by Colonel Bellasis, likewise had no better fortune; 
 yet Colonel Washington, with a less party finding a place 
 in the curtain (between the places assaulted by the other 
 two) weaker than the rest, entered, and quickly made 
 room for the horse to follow."* 
 
 The military qualities of the European ancestors were 
 perpetuated by their American descendants, from the very 
 first who emigrated to this country — John Washington. 
 Tradition says that this American progenitor, before his 
 migration to Virginia, held military rank. After his ar- 
 rival in Virginia he certainly wore the name and performed 
 the duties of a military officer ; his will is indorsed " The 
 will of Lieutenant-Colonel Washington," and when the 
 shores of the Potomac were threatened with an incursion 
 of hostile Indians of the Seneca tribe. Col. John Wash- 
 ington led the Virginia forces which combined with those 
 of Maryland in repelling the savages. He was also a 
 successful and wealthy planter, a magistrate, and a mem- 
 ber of the Virginia House of Burgesses; and the parish 
 in which he resided received, in honor of him, and still 
 retains, his name. 
 
 Col. William Augustine Washington, son of Baily, of 
 Stafford county, Virginia, was commander of a celebrated 
 regiment of cavalry in the Revolutionary War, and 
 
 * Lord Clarendon's " History of the Rebellion," Book VII, 
 vol. IV, p. 134. Oxf. 1839. 
 
14 WASHINGTON. 
 
 achieved such remarkable exploits of valor that Congress 
 awarded to him, after the battle of Cowpens, a silver 
 medal ; and he was familiarly known as " The modern 
 Marcellus/' and " The Sword of his Country." 
 
 From the conquest of Britain in the twelfth century 
 to the independence of its American colonies, seven cen- 
 turies after that epoch, a martial spirit, associated with 
 energy, endurance, resolution, constancy, and valor, ap- 
 pears to have been the prevailing family characteristic 
 of the Washingtons, 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 EARLY DAYS OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 1739-1748. 
 
 IT was while Washington was a boy of about seven 
 years of age (1739), that his father removed from 
 the old homestead. His estate which he now occu- 
 pied was in Stafford county, on the Rappahannock, and 
 in a region remarkable for its salubrity. The new house 
 was very pleasantly situated, and it commanded an ex- 
 tensive land and water prospect. At this rural home, 
 several years of young Washington's boyhood were spent 
 in study and in sports, from his seventh to his eleventh 
 year. 
 
 As an infant and as a youth, he possessed unusual bod- 
 ily health and vigor. He was ever active, hardy, and 
 adventurous, fond of open-air employments and recrea- 
 tions, of athletic exercises, and of the horse, the gun, 
 and the chase. 
 
 His father, who was a good man, and deeply interested 
 in his children's moral and religious education, employed, 
 among other means, several ingenious methods to engage 
 the feelings of his son George, so as to kindle in his mind 
 generous and liberal sentiments, a love of truth, and an 
 habitual and influential recognition of the existence and 
 the providence of God.* 
 
 * Anecdotes illustrating this may be found in the second chapter 
 of the Life of "Washington, by the Rev. M. L. Weems, formerly 
 rector of Mount Vernon parish. 
 
 (15) 
 
16 WASHINGTON. 
 
 When George would commit a fault, and, being de- 
 tected, would not meanly shrink from confessing it, but 
 would at once tell the honest truth, his father would 
 warmly and affectionately commend him for his magna- 
 nimity and integrity. 
 
 He would point out to him the riches of God's bounty 
 m the abundant fruits of the earth, and from this copious 
 text inculcate precepts of ungrudging liberality. 
 
 On a certain occasion he planted seeds in one of his 
 garden beds, so disposed as to exhibit, when they sprung 
 up, the words George Washington. The first discovery 
 of a spectacle so novel, and to him utterly unaccountable 
 and marvelous, naturally awakened in George's mind pro- 
 found astonishment. He repaired to his father, told him 
 of the strange sight, and conducted him to the spot where 
 the wonder might be seen. The father now availed him- 
 self of the absorbing incident to lead his little son to trace 
 the phenomenon to an intelligent cause. He told the 
 secret of his being himself the agent in producing it. 
 And he then explained, in a striking and impressive man- 
 ner, the pervading indications of contrivance and design 
 in the whole visible creation and the wonderful and con- 
 vincing proofs of an intelligent and benevolent Great First 
 Cause. 
 
 This paternal care and discipline was destined however 
 to be of short continuance. The son, when about eleven 
 years of age, was on a visit at Chotanck, where he was 
 enjoying the Easter holidays with Lawrence and Robert 
 Washington, whom he calls, in his will, " the acquaint- 
 ances and friends of my juvenile years," when he was 
 hastily summoned from the happy home of these cousins 
 to change the joys of a holiday with them for the sorrows 
 of a last look in the chamber of death, where lay his ex- 
 piring father, prostrated by a sudden and fatal attack of 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 17 
 
 gout in the stomach. It was also his lot to reach home 
 too late to hear him utter a blessing or a farewell, or to 
 receive any expression of his love, except what affection 
 could fondly associate with a feeble glance of recognition.* 
 
 Augustine Washington was a Virginia planter of the 
 best class. He brought with him from England the char- 
 acteristic qualities of an English gentleman and an intelli- 
 gent and devout attachment to the English Church. In 
 person he was remarkably tall and manly. He was also 
 a man of strong mind, with great energy of purpose ; and 
 his thoughts and feelings were habitually under the con- 
 trol of practical religion. In common with the Virginia 
 planters of his day, he delighted in field sports. His long, 
 heavy gun, still preserved, suggests the thought of a 
 huntsman of extraordinary size of body and power of 
 arm, and warrants the reports which tradition has handed 
 down to us, respecting the large frame and great muscu- 
 lar strength which his distinguished son inherited. 
 
 One who knew him personally, Mr. Withers, of Staf- 
 ford county, has described him as a man of uncommon 
 height, noble appearance, manly proportions, and extraor- 
 dinary muscular power. At the Principio Iron Works 
 on the Rappahannock, he once lifted and placed in a 
 wagon, " a mass of iron which two ordinary men could 
 barely raise from the ground." Yet this gigantic might 
 of muscle never tempted him to take any part in the fre- 
 quent combats which occurred in Virginia in his day, 
 except to stay savage violence by separating combatants. 
 And such was his character for magnanimity, justice, and 
 
 * He died April 12, 1743, at the age of forty-nine years. [At 
 eleven years and nearly two months of age, his oldest son had 
 probably had fully four years of as careful and thorough educa- 
 tion as any boy in any age could have had, or can have in our 
 own time.] 
 
 2 
 
18 WASHINGTON. 
 
 moral worth that he commanded, wherever he appeared 
 and in whatever he engaged, universal and unhesitating 
 deference. 
 
 His disposition was mild, his manners were courteous, 
 and his private character was without reproach. And 
 as he lav on his deathbed, he uttered a declaration that 
 does honor to his memory. " I thank God," said he, 
 " that in all my life I never struck a man in anger ; for 
 if I had, I am sure that from my remarkable muscular 
 powers I should have killed my antagonist, and then his 
 blood, at this awful moment, would have lain heavily upon 
 my soul. As it is, I die at peace with all mankind."* 
 
 The success with which he accumulated property and 
 added field to field, until he could provide plantations for 
 his sons and an independent maintenance for his surviving 
 daughter, illustrates his exemplary diligence and industry, 
 so conspicuous also in the character of his son George. 
 
 Upon the widowed mother now devolved the care of 
 her five children. The eldest, George, was eleven years 
 of age ; and the youngest, Charles, was five. But she was 
 eminently qualified, by nature and religion, to fulfil all 
 her duties to her family. A lady " of the old school," 
 possessed of a strong mind and sound judgment, she 
 united with great simpHcity of manners, energy, honesty, 
 and truthfulness. Her house, the home of hospitality, 
 was also the home of order, neatness, economy, and do- 
 mestic industry. She was a strict disciplinarian; and, by 
 her decision and consistency of character, she obtained 
 over her children and dependents an uncompromising, but 
 benign, control. 
 
 * Letter from George W. P. Custis to Charles Brown, of Boston, 
 April 24, 1851, reprinted in the New England Historical and Genea- 
 logical Register, January, i857- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 19 
 
 Tradition tells that she was deeply interested in form- 
 ing the minds and hearts of her children according to the 
 teachings of the Gospel, and that she daily read to them 
 select parts of Sir Matthew Hale's Contemplations,* a 
 work which abounds in golden maxims of sound wisdom 
 and pure piety. The very volume which she used, and 
 which has her name in it, '' Mary Washington," written 
 by herself, is still preserved among the family relics. And 
 the precepts contained in those portions of the work 
 which appear to have been read most frequently, were 
 so admirably, as well as faithfully, exemplified by her son 
 George throughout his life, that one might almost think 
 that they were written at the close of his career, and 
 were designed as a delineation of his character and a 
 record of his principles. 
 
 Several portions of the work, it is evident, were the 
 familiar lessons of the family; and so happily do these 
 represent Washington's marked moral lineaments that 
 they may be regarded as a striking portrait of him. 
 
 In the portion entitled " The Great Audit," the good 
 steward is represented as giving his account to God. And 
 he says : 
 
 "As to all the blessings and talents wherewith thou hast 
 intrusted me, I have looked up to thee with a thankful 
 heart, as the only Author and Giver of them. I have 
 looked upon myself as unworthy of them. I have looked 
 upon them as committed to my trust and stewardship, 
 to manage them for the ends that they were given, the 
 honor of my Lord and Master. I have therefore been 
 watchful and sober in the use and exercise of them, lest 
 I should be unfaithful in them. If I have at any time, 
 
 * " Contemplations, Moral and Divine," by Sir Matthew Hale, 
 Knight, late Chief Justice of the King's Bench." 
 
20 WASHINGTON. 
 
 through weakness, or inadvertence, or temptation, mis- 
 employed any of them, I have been restless, till I have 
 in some measure rectified my miscarriage, by repentance 
 and amendment. 
 
 "As touching my Conscience, and the light thou hast 
 given me in it — it has been my care to improve that 
 natural light and to furnish, it with the best principles I 
 could. Before I had the knowledge of thy Word, I got 
 as much furniture as I could from the writings of the best 
 moralists and the examples of the best men; after I had 
 the Hght of thy Word, I furnished it with those pure and 
 unerring principles that I found in it. 
 
 " I have been very jealous either of wounding, or griev- 
 ing, or discouraging, or deadening my Conscience. I 
 have therefore chosen, rather to forbear that which 
 seemed but indiflferent, lest there might be somewhat in 
 it that might be unlawful; and would rather gratify my 
 conscience with being too scrupulous, than displease, dis- 
 quiet, or flat it by being too venturous : I have still chosen 
 rather to forbear what might be probably lawful, than 
 to do that which might be possibly unlawful; because, 
 could I not err in the former, I might in the latter. If 
 things were disputable whether they might be done, I 
 rather chose to forbear, because the lawfulness of my 
 forbearance was unquestionable. 
 
 " Concerning my Speech, I have always been careful 
 that I ofifend not with my tongue; my words have been 
 few, unless necessity or thine honor required more speech 
 than ordinary. My words have been true, representing 
 things as they were; and sincere, bearing conformity to 
 my heart and mind.'' 
 
 ■^ "I have esteemed it the most natural and excellent 
 use of my tongue, to set forth thy glory, goodness, power, 
 wisdom, and truth; to instruct others, as I had oppor- 
 
UFE AND TIMES. 21 
 
 tunity, in the knowledge of thee, in their duty to thee, to 
 themselves, and others ; to reprove vice and sin, to en- 
 courage virtue and good living ; to convince of errors ; 
 to maintain the truth; to call upon thy name, and, by 
 vocal prayers, to sanctify my tongue, and to fix my 
 thoughts to the duty about which I was; to persuade to 
 peace and charity and good works." 
 
 " Concerning Human Prudence, and understanding in 
 afifairs, and dexterity in the managing of them, — I have 
 been always careful to mingle justice and honesty with 
 my prudence ; and have always esteemed Prudence, actu- 
 ated by injustice and falsity, the arrantest and most devil- 
 ish practice in the world; because it prostitutes thy gift 
 to the service of hell, and mingles a beam of thy Divine 
 Excellence with an extract of the devil's furnishing, mak- 
 ing a man so much the worse by how much he is wiser 
 than others. 
 
 " I always thought that wisdom which, in a tradesman 
 and in a politician, was mingled with deceit, falsity, and 
 injustice, and deserved the same name ; only, the latter is 
 so much the worse, because it was of the more public and 
 general concernment. Yet, because I have often observed 
 great employments, especially in public affairs, are some- 
 times under great temptations of mingling too much craft 
 and prudence, and then miscall it Policy, I have, as much 
 as may be, avoided such temptations, and if I have met 
 with them, I have resolutely rejected them. 
 
 " I have always observed, that Honesty and Plain-deal- 
 ing in transactions, as well public as private, is the best 
 and soundest prudence and pohcy; and commonly, at the 
 long run, overmatcheth craft and subtlety. Job xii, i6; 
 for, the deceived and deceiver are thine, and thou art 
 privy to the subtlety of the one, and the simplicity of the 
 other; and thou, as the great Moderator and Observer 
 
23 WASHINGTON. 
 
 of men, dost dispense success and disappointments 
 accordingly. 
 
 "As Human Prudence is abused, if mingled with falsity 
 and deceit, though the end be ever so good, so it is much 
 more debased, if directed to a bad end; to the dishonor 
 of thy name, the oppression of thy people, the corrupting 
 of thy worship or truth, or to execute any injustice to- 
 \vards any person. 
 
 *' It hath been my care, as not to err in the manner, so 
 neither in the end, of the exercising of my Prudence. I 
 have ever esteemed my prudence then best employed, 
 when it was exercised in the preservation and support of 
 thy truth, in the upholding of thy faithful ministers, in 
 countermining, discovering, and disappointing the designs 
 of evil and treacherous men, in delivering the oppressed, 
 in righting the injured, in preventing of wars and dis- 
 cords, in preserving the public peace and tranquillity of 
 the people where I live, in faithful advising of my prince ; 
 and in all those offices incumbent upon me, by thy Provi- 
 dence, under every relation. 
 
 " When my End was most unquestionably good, I ever 
 then took most heed that the Means were suitable and 
 justifiable, i. Because, the better the end was, the more 
 easily are we cozened into the use of ill means to effect 
 it. We are too apt to dispense with ourselves in the 
 practice of what is amiss, in order to the accomplishing 
 of an end that is good ; we are apt, while with great in- 
 tention of mind we gaze upon the end, not to take care 
 what course we take so we attain it ; and we are apt to 
 think that God will dispense with, or at least overlook, 
 the miscarriages in our attempts, if the end be good. 
 
 " 2. Because many times, if not most times, thy name 
 and honor do more sufifer by attempting a good end by 
 bad means, than by attempting both a bad end and also 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 23 
 
 by bad means; for, bad ends are suitable to bad means; 
 they are alike ; and it doth not immediately, as such, 
 concern thy honor. But every thing that is good hath 
 somewhat of thee in it ; thy name and thy nature and thy 
 honor is written upon it; and the blemish that is cast 
 upon it is, in some measure, cast upon thee; and the 
 evil and scandal and infamy and ugliness that is in the 
 means, is cast upon the end, and doth disparage and 
 blemish it; and consequently it dishonors thee. To rob 
 for burnt-offerings and to lie for God, is a greater dis- 
 service to thy majesty, than to rob for rapine or to lie 
 for advantage." 
 
 " Touching my eminence of Place or Power, in this 
 world, this is my account. I never sought or desired it, 
 and that for these reasons: i. Because I easily saw, that 
 it was rather a burden than a privilege. It made my 
 charge and my accounts the greater, my contentment and 
 rest the less. I found enough in it to make me decline 
 it in respect of myself, but not any thing that could invite 
 me to seek or desire it. 
 
 " 2. The external glory and splendor also that attended 
 it, I esteemed as vain and frivolous in itself, a bait to 
 allure vain and inconsiderate persons to affect and de- 
 light, not valuable enough to invite a considerate judg- 
 ment to desire or undertake it. I esteemed them as the 
 gilt that covers a bitter pill, and I looked through this 
 dress and outside, and easily saw that it covered a state 
 obnoxious to danger, solicitude, care, trouble, envy, dis- 
 content, unquietness, temptation, and vexation. 
 
 " I esteemed it a condition which, if there were any 
 distempers abroad, they would infallibly be hunting and 
 pushing at it, and if it found any corruptions within, either 
 of pride, vain-glory, insolence, vindictiveness, or the like, 
 It would be sure to draw them out and set them to work." 
 
^4 WASHINGTON, 
 
 *'And if they prevailed, it made my power and greatness 
 not only my burden but my sin; if they prevailed not, 
 yet it required a most watchful, assiduous, and severely 
 vigilant labor and industry, to suppress them. 
 
 " When I undertook any place of power or eminence — 
 First, I looked to my call thereunto to be such as I might 
 discern to be thy call, not my own ambition. Second, 
 that the place were such as might be answered by suit- 
 able abilities in some measure to perform. Third, that 
 my end in it might not be the satisfaction of any pride, 
 ambition, or vanity in myself, but to serve thy Providence 
 and my generation, honestly and faithfully. In all which, 
 my undertaking was not an act of my choice, but of my 
 duty. 
 
 " 3. in the holding or exercising of these places, I 
 kept my heart humble; I valued not myself one rush the 
 more for it. First, because I easily found that that base 
 affection of pride, which commonly is the fly that haunts 
 such employments, would render me dishonorable to thy 
 Majesty, or disserviceable in the employment. Second, 
 because I easily saw great places were slippery places, 
 the mark of envy. It was, therefore, always my care so 
 to behave myself in them, as I might be in a capacity to 
 leave them, and so to leave them, that, when I had left 
 them, I might have no scars and blemishes stick upon 
 me. I carried, therefore, the same evenness of temper 
 in holding them, as might become me if I were without 
 them. Third, I found enough, in great employments, to 
 make me sensible of the danger, troubles, and cares of it; 
 enough to make me humble, but not enough to make me 
 proud and haughty. 
 
 " 4. I never made use of my power or greatness, to 
 serve my own turns ; either to heap up riches, or to op- 
 press my neighbor, or to revenge injuries, or to uphold 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 25 
 
 or bolster out injustice. For, though others thought me 
 great, I knew myself to be still the same ; and in all things, 
 besides the due execution of my place, my deportment 
 was just the same as if I had been no such man ; for, first, 
 I knew that I was but thy steward and minister, and 
 placed there to serve thee and those ends which thou 
 proposedst in my preferment, and not to serve myself, 
 much less my passions or corruptions. And, further, I 
 very well and practically knew, that place and honor and 
 preferment are things extrinsical, and have no ingredi- 
 ence into the man. His value and estimate, before, and 
 under, and after his greatness, is still the same in itself; 
 as the counter that now stands for a penny, anon for six- 
 pence, and then for twelve-pence, is still the same counter, 
 though its place and extrinsical denomination be changed. 
 
 " 5. I improved the opportunity of my place, eminence, 
 and greatness, to serve thee and my country in it, with 
 all vigilance, diligence, and fidelity. I protected, counte- 
 nanced, and encouraged thy worship, name, day, and 
 people. I did faithfully execute justice, according to that 
 station I had. I rescued the oppressed from the cruelty, 
 malice, and insolence of their oppressors. I cleared the 
 innocent from unjust calumnies and reproaches. I was 
 instrumental to place those in offices, places, and employ- 
 ments of trust and consequence, that were honest and 
 faithful. I removed those that were dishonest, irreligious, 
 false, or unjust." 
 
 "Touching my Reputation and Credit, — i. I never af- 
 fected the reputation of being rich, great, crafty, or politic ; 
 but I esteemed much a deserved reputation of justice, 
 honesty, integrity, virtue, and piety. 
 
 " 2. I never thought that reputation was the thing pri- 
 marily to be looked after in the exercise of virtue ; for, 
 that were to affect the substance for the sake of the 
 
26 WASHINGTON. 
 
 shadow, which had been a kind of levity and impotence 
 of mind; but I looked at virtue, and the worth of it, as 
 that which was the first desirable, and reputation as a 
 handsome and useful accession to it. 
 
 " 3. The reputation of justice and honesty I was always 
 careful to keep untainted, upon these grounds. First, 
 because a blemish in my reputation would be dishonor- 
 able to thee. Second, it would be an abuse of a talent 
 which thou hadst committed to me. Third, it would be 
 a weakening of an instrument which thou hadst put into 
 -my hands, upon the strength whereof much good might 
 be done by me. 
 
 " Though I have loved my reputation, and have been 
 vigilant not to lose or impair it, by my own default or 
 neglect, yet I have looked upon it as a brittle thing, — 
 a thing that the devil aims to hit in a special manner, — 
 a thing that is much in the power of a false report, a 
 mistake, a misapprehension, to wound and hurt ; and, not- 
 withstanding all my care, I am at the mercy of others, 
 without God's wonderful overruling^ providence. And as 
 my reputation is the esteem that others have of me; so, 
 that esteem may be blemished without my default. I have, 
 therefore, always taken this care, not to set my heart 
 upon my reputation. 
 
 " I will use all fidelity and honesty, and take care it 
 shall not be lost by any default of itiine ; and if, notwith- 
 standing all this, my reputation be soiled, by evil or en- 
 vious men or angels, I will patiently bear it, and content 
 myself with the serenity of my own conscience. Hie 
 murus aheneus esto. 
 
 ""When thy honor or the good of my country was 
 concerned, I then thought it was a seasonable time to 
 lay out my reputation for the advantage of either; and 
 to act, it, and by and upon it, to the highest, in the use 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 27 
 
 of all lawful means. And upon such an occasion, the 
 counsel of Mordecai to Esther was my encouragement, — 
 Esther iv, 14. Who knoweth whether God hath not given 
 thee this reputation and esteem for such a time as this ? " 
 
 Would American mothers more generally follow the 
 example of the mother of Washington, and, instead of 
 gratifying their children's morbid appetite for popular 
 light literature, cultivate a taste for the teachings of such 
 devout philosophers as Sir Matthew Hale, full many a 
 youthful mind, now sacrificed to sinful folly, might be 
 molded to virtue, piety, and wisdom, and bless our coun- 
 try and mankind. 
 
 [Sir Matthew Hale was from 1637 to 1676 one of the 
 greatest of English lawyers, a judge in the Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas from 1653, chief baron of the exchequer (one 
 of the chief courts of the realm), 1660-1671, and lord chief 
 justice till February, 1676. He began to study for the 
 church, with strong Puritanical leanings, but broke away 
 from severe studies to pursue a life of pleasure, and 
 planned to go as a soldier on the Continent, when a visit 
 to London led to his adoption of the law, in which his 
 studies were exceptionally thorough and his attainments 
 brilliant. He was, moreover, an ardent student of mathe- 
 matics, physics, and chemistry, and even anatomy and 
 architecture. In intellectual distinction he was at the 
 highest level of English culture and in pure and noble 
 character one of the finest examples of English genius 
 for the conduct of life. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says 
 of his career : 
 
 " Hale was called to the bar in 1637, and almost at once 
 found himself in full practice. Though neither a fluent 
 speaker nor bold pleader, in a very few years he was at the 
 head of his profession. He entered public life at perhaps 
 the most critical period of English history. Two parties 
 
28 WASHINGTON. 
 
 were contending in the state, and their obstinacy could not 
 fail to produce a most direful collision. But amidst the 
 confusion Hale steered a middle course, rising in reputa- 
 tion, and an object of solicitation from both parties. Tak- 
 ing Pomponius Atticus as his political model, he was per- 
 suaded that a man, a lawyer, and a judge could best serve 
 his country and benefit his countrymen by holding aloof 
 from partisanship and its violent prejudices, which are so 
 apt to distort and confuse the judgment. But he is best 
 vindicated from the charges of selfishness and cowardice 
 by the thoughts and meditations contained in his private 
 diaries and papers, where the purity and honor of his 
 motives are clearly seen. Among his numerous religious 
 writings the " Contemplations, Moral and Divine," occupy 
 the first place. Others are " The Primitive Origination 
 of Man," 1677; "Of the Nature of True Religion," etc., 
 1684; *'A Brief Abstract of the Christian Religion," 1688. 
 One of his most popular works is the collection of " Letters 
 of Advice to His Children and Grandchildren." 
 
 A woman disposed to read his " Contemplations " must 
 have been thoroughly initiated in the best English culture ; 
 a mother who thought it worth while to read Hale's deeply 
 thoughtful pages to a son was at the level (for our time) 
 of John Stuart Mill or Matthew Arnold. Hale's revolt 
 from his study at Oxford of Aristotle and Calvin left him 
 a Humanist on a broad ethical culture platform, but with 
 some survival of Puritan pietism (enough, unhappily, to 
 betray him into securing the condemnation and execu- 
 tion of two poor women tried before him in 1664 upon 
 the charge of being witches, liable under Bible law, Exodus 
 22 : 18, " Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.") In Wash- 
 ington (as very clearly in his brother Lawrence), the finest 
 humanism was without taint of the Puritan pietism.] 
 
 Another interesting volume of the Washington family 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 29 
 
 library is still preserved,* and may have exerted a whole- 
 some influence upon the mind of Washington in childhood. 
 It is entitled " Short Discourses upon the Whole Common 
 Prayer; abridged to inform the Judgment and excite the 
 Devotion of such as daily use the same." Its title page 
 bears the autograph of Augustine Washington ; and upon 
 the cover leaves of the volume this name of the father is 
 written again and again by his son George in the bold and 
 marked style of his chirography. 
 
 It was the lot of Washington to receive from his father, 
 as well as from his mother, the advantages of a sound re- 
 ligious education ; but, in common with many worthies 
 who have adorned our race, he points the world to the chief 
 earthly source of his successes, — home influence, directed by 
 a mother. 
 
 It was a precept of classical mythology, that all who are 
 earth-born are bound to make, on every suitable occasion, 
 an offering to Earth, their good mother, as a tribute of 
 gratitude for her manifold gifts. Beautiful exhibition of 
 filial duty! And it is recorded of Washington that in the 
 spirit of this precept, and actuated by a sacred domestic 
 feeling of love and reverence, he ever remembered his 
 obligations to his '' honored " mother, as he habitually en- 
 titled her in his letters and in conversation, and that he 
 delighted to associate his regard for her with his life's most 
 eventful epochs, and with its chief honors and successes — 
 with the wreath upon his brow and the flowers strewed 
 along his path.f 
 
 On returning from the battle of the Monongahela, he 
 addressed an affectionate letter to her. Before receiving 
 
 * In the collection of the Boston Athenaeum. 
 t His letters to Major-General Knox, February 20, 1784. and 
 June 17, 1788. 
 
30 WASHINGTON. 
 
 his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the armies of 
 Virginia, he informed her by letter of his probable eleva- 
 tion to that rank. And just before his departure for New 
 York, to be inaugurated President of the United States, 
 he repaired to Fredericksburg to take leave of his " aged 
 mother." It was their last interview. She died a few 
 months after.* 
 
 [Of John Washington, the immediate English ancestor 
 of George Washington, who came out of England when 
 the Puritan Calvinist rage was on, in Cromwell's time. 
 Lodge says : " He made complaint to the Maryland au- 
 thorities, soon after his arrival, against Edward Prescott, 
 merchant, and captain of the ship in which he had come 
 over, for hanging a woman during the voyage for witch- 
 craft. We have a letter of his, explaining that he could 
 not appear at the first trial because he was about to bap- 
 tize his son, and had bidden the neighbors and gossips to 
 the feast. A little incident this, dug out of the musty 
 records, but it shows us an active, generous man, intolerant 
 of oppression, public-spirited and hospitable, social, and 
 friendly in his new relations. He soon after was called to 
 mourn the death of his English wife and of two children, 
 but he speedily consoled himself by taking a second wife, 
 Anne Pope, by whom he had three children, Lawrence, 
 John, and Anne. According to the Virginian tradition, 
 John Washington the elder was a surveyor, and made a 
 location of lands which was set aside because they had 
 been assigned to the Indians. It is quite apparent that 
 he was a forehanded person who acquired property and 
 impressed himself upon his neighbors. In 1667, when he 
 had been but ten years in the Colony, he was chosen to 
 the House of Burgesses; and eight years later he was 
 
 * August, 1789, at the age of eighty-three years. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 31 
 
 made a colonel and sent with a thousand men to join the 
 Marylanders in destroying the ' Susquehannocks/ at the 
 ' Piscataway ' fort, on account of some murdering begun 
 by another tribe. As a feat of arms, the expedition was 
 not a very brilliant affair. The Virginians and Maryland- 
 ers killed half a dozen Indian chiefs during a parley, and 
 then invested the fort. After repulsing several sorties, they 
 stupidly allowed the Indians to escape in the ni^ht and 
 carry murder and pillage through the outlying settle- 
 ments, lighting up first the flames of savage war and then 
 the fiercer fire of domestic insurrection." 
 
 The note of humanist liberality in the matter of the 
 witch is an important indication of the Washington char- 
 acter from the beginning. 
 
 " In the next year," Lodge continues, '' we hear again 
 of John Washington in the House of Burgesses, when 
 Sir William Berkeley assailed his troops for the murder 
 of the Indians killed during a parley. Popular feeHng, 
 however, was clearly with the colonel, for nothing was 
 done, and the matter dropped. At that point, too, in 
 1676, John Washington disappears from sight, and we 
 know only that as his will was proved in 1677, he must 
 have died soon after the scene with Berkeley. He was 
 buried in the family vault at Bridges Creek, and left a good 
 estate to be divided among his children. The colonel was 
 evidently both a prudent and popular man, and quite dis- 
 posed to bustle about in the world in which he found 
 himself. He acquired lands, came to the front at once as 
 a leader, although a newcomer in the country, was evidently 
 a fighting man, as is shown by his selection to command 
 the Virginian forces, and was honored by his neighbors, 
 who gave his name to the parish in which he dwelt. Then 
 he died and his son Lawrence reigned in his stead, and 
 
32 WASHINGTON. 
 
 became by his wife, Mildred Warner, the father of John, 
 Augustine, and Mildred Washington. 
 
 " This second son, Augustine, farmer and planter like his 
 forefathers, married first Jane Butler, by whom he had 
 three sons and a daughter, and second, Mary Ball, by 
 whom he had four sons and two daughters. The eldest 
 child of these second nuptials was named George, and 
 was born on February ii (O. S.), 1732, at Bridges Creek. 
 The house in which this event occurred was a plain, wooden 
 farmhouse of the primitive Virginian pattern, with four 
 rooms on the ground floor, an attic story with a long, 
 sloping roof, and a massive brick chimney. Three years 
 after George Washington's birth it was burned, and the 
 family removed to another estate in Stafford county. The 
 second house was hke the first, and stood on rising 
 ground looking across a meadow to the Rappahannock, 
 and beyond the river to the village of Fredericksburg, 
 which was nearly opposite. Here, in 1743, Augustine 
 Washington died somewhat suddenly, at the age of forty- 
 nine, from an attack of gout brought on by exposure in 
 the rain, and was buried with his fathers in the old vault 
 at Bridges Creek. Here, too, the boyhood of Washing- 
 ton was passed, and therefore it becomes necessary to 
 look about us and see what we can learn of this important 
 period of his life. 
 
 '' We know nothing about his father, except that he was 
 kindly and affectionate, attached to his wife and children, 
 and apparently absorbed in the care of his estates. On 
 his death the children came wholly under the maternal 
 influence and direction." 
 
 The sudden fatal illness of Augustine Washington, like 
 that of his illustrious son, from exposure to chill, shows 
 physical refinement and delicacy, along with the robust 
 vigor of body known to have belonged to both. 
 
:6 ^ 
 
 Co § 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 33 
 
 " Much has been written about the * mother of Wash- 
 ington/ " Lodge goes on to say, '' but as a matter 
 of fact, although she lived to an advanced age, we 
 know scarcely more about her than we do about her 
 husband. She was of gentle birth, and possessed a vigor- 
 ous character and a good deal of business capacity. The 
 advantages of education were given in but slight measure 
 to the Virginian ladies of her time, and Mrs. Washington 
 offered no exception to the general rule. Her reading 
 was confined to a small number of volumes, chiefly of a 
 devotional character, her favorite apparently being Hale's 
 ' Moral and Divine Contemplations.' She evidently knew 
 no language but her own, and her spelling was extremely 
 bad even in that age of uncertain orthography. Certain 
 qualities, however, are clear to us even now through all 
 the dimness. We can see that Mary Washington was 
 gifted with strong sense and had the power of conducting 
 business matters providently and exactly. She was an 
 imperious woman, of strong will, ruling her kingdom 
 alone. Above all she was very dignified, very silent, and 
 very sober-minded. That she was affectionate and loving 
 cannot be doubted, for she retained to the last a profound 
 hold upon the reverential devotion of her son, and yet as 
 he rose steadily to the pinnacle of human greatness, she 
 could only say that ' George had been a good boy, and she 
 was sure he would do his duty.' Not a brilliant woman, 
 evidently, not one suited to shine in courts, conduct in- 
 trigues, or adorn literature, yet able to transmit moral 
 qualities to her oldest son, which, mingled with those of 
 the Washingtons, were of infinite value in the foundation 
 of a great Republic. She found herself a widow at an 
 early age, with a family of young children to educate and 
 support. Her means were narrow, for although Au- 
 gustine Washington was able to leave what was called a 
 3 
 
34 WASHINGTON. 
 
 landed estate to each son, it was little more than idle cap- 
 ital, and the income in ready money was by no means so 
 evident as the acres." 
 
 Lodge errs grievously in implying that we know very 
 little about either the father or the mother of George 
 Washington. For the purpose of the latter's biography 
 we know the most essential facts. Not that they can be 
 read ofif-hand by the uninstructed student, inexpert in 
 noting the significance of what he reads. It is ignorance 
 of history, in examples like Lord Bacon and William 
 Shakespeare, which permits making anything whatever of 
 the bad spelling of a cultivated lady in the first half of the 
 eighteenth century. Besides, the mistake is singularly 
 unfortunate of saying that we know very little, while yet 
 telling much more than a little which is not only of ex- 
 treme interest but of decisive importance. The parentage 
 of George Washington, in the light of the "good few" 
 facts which are given, can be read to no small extent 
 through carefully instructed study of the character of the 
 son ; but such instruction turns on knowledge of the physio- 
 logical and psychical complex which a human being com- 
 monly is. Lodge further says: 
 
 " Many are the myths, and deplorably few the facts, that 
 have come down to us in regard to Washington's boyhood. 
 For the former we are indebted to the illustrious Weems, 
 and to that personage a few more words must be devoted. 
 Weems has been held up to the present age in various 
 ways, usually, it must be confessed, of an unflattering na- 
 ture, and ' mendacious ' is the adjective most commonly 
 applied to him. There has been in reality a good deal of 
 needless confusion about Weems and his book, for he was 
 not a complex character, and neither he nor His writings 
 are difficult to value or understand. By profession a 
 clergyman or preacher, by nature an adventurer, Weems 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 35 
 
 loved notoriety, money, and a wandering life. So he 
 wrote books which he correctly believed would be popular, 
 and sold them not only through the regular channels, but 
 by peddling them himself as he traveled through the coun- 
 try. In this way he gratified all his propensities, and no 
 doubt derived from life a good deal of simple pleasure. 
 Chance brought him near Washington in the closing days, 
 and his commercial instinct told him that here was the sub- 
 ject of all others for his pen and his market. He accord- 
 ingly produced the biography which had so much success. 
 Judged solely as literature, the book is beneath contempt. 
 The style is turgid, overloaded, and at times silly. The 
 statements are loose, the mode of narration confused and 
 incoherent, and the moralizing is flat and commonplace to 
 the last degree. Yet there was a certain sincerity of feel- 
 ing underneath all the bombast and platitudes, and this 
 saved the book. The biography did not go, and was not 
 intended to go, into the hands of the polite society of the 
 great eastern towns. It was meant for the farmers, the 
 pioneers, and the backwoodsmen of the country. It went 
 into their homes, and passed with them beyond the Alle- 
 ghanies and out to the plains and valleys of the great 
 West. The very defects of the book helped it to success 
 among the simple, hard-working, hard-fighting race en- 
 gaged in the conquest of the American continent. To 
 them its heavy and tawdry style, its staring morals, and its 
 real patriotism all seemed eminently befitting the national 
 hero, and thus Weems created the Washington of the 
 popular fancy. The idea grew up with the country, and 
 became so ingrained in the popular thought that finally 
 everybody was affected by it, and even the most stately 
 and solemn of the Washington biographers adopted the 
 unsupported tales of the itinerant parson and book-peddler. 
 
36 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " In regard to the public life of Washington, Weems 
 took the facts known to every one, and drawn for the most 
 part from the gazettes. He then dressed them up in his 
 own peculiar fashion and gave them to the world. All 
 this, forming of course nine-tenths of his book, has passed, 
 despite its success, into oblivion. The remaining tenth 
 described Washington's boyhood until his fourteenth or 
 fifteenth year, and this, which is the work of the author's 
 imagination, has lived. Weems, having set himself up as 
 absolutely the only authority as to this period, has been 
 implicitly followed, and has thus come to demand serious 
 consideration. Until Weems is weighed and disposed of, 
 we cannot even begin an attempt to get at the real Wash- 
 ington." 
 
 Mr. Lodge could hardly have done worse than in this , 
 setting up that we know very little of the facts of Wash- 
 ington's boyhood, when in fact we could not well know 
 more ; that the '' Life " by Weems created the popular 
 Washington, when in fact Washington with Weems was 
 known as no other man in history has ever been known dur- 
 ing his own time ; and that we cannot even begin to get at 
 the real Washington until we have critically disposed of the 
 myths of Weems, when in fact, Weems or no Weems, the 
 large and exact knowledge of the real Washington possible 
 to study without taking account of Weems at all, and of 
 Washington in youth as well as maturity, leaves nothing 
 to be desired, except a general casting upon a rubbish 
 heap of the numerous attempts to tell the story of Wash- 
 ington without anything like real study.] 
 
 The planters of Virginia being at that period without 
 colleges and academies were compelled to employ private 
 tutors for their children or to content themselves with the 
 very meager instructions to be obtained at common 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 37 
 
 country schools.* The masters of these schools moreover 
 possessing, not unfrequently, the smallest supposable modi- 
 
 *[The famous declaration of Sir William Berkeley, " I thank God 
 that there are no free schools," has been misunderstood. It was 
 said partly in view of the system of home teaching by private tutors, 
 which was maintained, for lack of tutors, on the plan referred to 
 by Berkeley in saying: "Every man teaches his own children." By 
 " free schools " Berkeley meant what we should call " ragged 
 schools," or " mission schools," and his idea was that no respectable 
 man wanted such for his own children instead of home teaching by 
 private tutors or by the parent himself. In fact he assumed that no 
 respectable father would so much as think of schooling by the side 
 of the young of the neglected class for his own sons, and the point 
 of his reason for not wanting " free schools " at all was his convic- 
 tion that "learning" given to the lower class chiefly resulted in 
 making them smarter for evil — less submissive to order. The 
 Sunday schools started by Robert Raikes at Gloucester in England 
 towards the close of the i8th century had for their sole object 
 schooling for the lowest class who could get none on week days, and 
 a hundred years later a Sunday school, even if carried on in con- 
 nection with the service of worship, and not as a mission apart, 
 was frequently not used for children of good families, who could 
 have instruction at home, but only for the poor; and as under the 
 system as originated teachers were hired on very low pay, and were 
 very inferior in qualifications, young ladies of any social position 
 commonly thought the service beneath them. American adoption of 
 Sunday schools was on very different lines from the first, because 
 of the extent to which children generally could enjoy common 
 schooling during the week, and only needed for Sunday some va- 
 riety of religious instruction. In George Washington's youth in- 
 struction by his father while he lived was undoubtedly better a great 
 deal than the pretentious, and largely preposterous schooling of 
 which children are the victims at the capital of the state of New 
 York in the first years of the 20th century. And after his father's 
 death the Academy schooling which George Washington had was 
 supplemented by tutoring given him by three or four persons hardly 
 less interested than his father to see him well fitted for the position 
 which he would have in his Virginia life.] 
 
38 WASHINGTON. 
 
 cum of qualifications, had little more capital than self- 
 assurance, a rod and a ferule. And unable to subsist upon 
 the pittance afforded by their school duties, they would 
 add to their literary offices others which sometimes were 
 singularly incongruous. 
 
 A rural pedagogue of this motley class, Washington's 
 first preceptor, a tenant of his father's when the family was 
 residing in Westmoreland, was Mr. Hobby, a pretentious, 
 jovial wight, who kept what was called " the old field 
 school ; " and who in the comprehensive range of his em- 
 ployments was busied both with the minds and the bodies 
 of his neighbors, combining the functions of schoolmaster, 
 parish sexton, and undertaker. It was his joy to see his 
 most honored pupil rise to the greatest height of his renown ; 
 and he would often boast as he recounted anecdotes of the 
 old field school — " It was I who laid the foundation of his 
 greatness ! " 
 
 Soon after his father's death, Washington was sent from 
 the family residence in Suffolk to the old homestead in 
 Westmoreland county, the house in which he was born, 
 and which was then occupied by his half-brother Augus- 
 tine. The object had in view was to provide for him a 
 schoolmaster of a higher grade than he who " laid the 
 foundation of his greatness." He was accordingly placed 
 under the care of Mr. Williams, an excellent teacher of the 
 usual branches of an English education, and, in particular, 
 of geography, bookkeeping, and surveying. 
 
 Under the guidance of this competent master and worthy 
 man our young pupil vigorously pursued his studies until 
 his fourteenth year (1746), when an incident occurred worthy 
 of especial notice from its important bearing on the future 
 of his history. 
 
 This was, his purpose to obtain a midshipman's warrant 
 in the British navy. His half-brother Lawrence who was 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 39 
 
 at that time a man of consideration in Virginia, being a 
 member of the House of Burgesses and adjutant-general 
 of his district, had served under Admiral Vernon and Gen- 
 eral Wentworth in the West Indies. As captain in the 
 American regiment under command of Col. Alexander 
 Spotswood, raised expressly for the West India service, 
 and for co-operating with the British troops in Vernon's 
 expedition, he was with Wentworth when he undertook 
 in the year 1741 the disastrous siege of Carthagena.* 
 
 A midshipman's warrant, obtained through the influence 
 of this half-brother, was put into the hands of our young 
 naval aspirant, greatly to his delight. He made immediate 
 arrangements to embark on board a man-of-war then rid- 
 ing in the Potomac. His baggage was on the ship. All 
 that remained to be done before his departure was to re- 
 ceive his mother's approbation and her blessing. But she 
 had doubts of the advantage of the project. She looked 
 at the many evils associated with scenes of naval service ; 
 and she dwelt upon the thought of a separation by which 
 her son, so young in years and in experience, would 
 be taken away forever from the family manse, and from 
 the shrine of its sacred home influences. She refused her 
 consent to his separation from her. And maternal solici- 
 tude and filial affection soon blended in deciding that the 
 proposed measure should be relinquished. 
 
 [The matter was not decided by the mother upon her 
 own feeling alone. She consulted her brother Joseph in 
 London, who very urgently advised her against the navy 
 as a place for her son, and against sacrificing the promise 
 of his inherited position as a future man of estate in Vir- 
 ginia.] 
 
 * Smollett's " History of England," chap. IV, at the beginning; 
 and his " Roderick Random." 
 
40 WASHINGTON. 
 
 The dutiful son's unmurmuring acquiescence, and his 
 surrender in such circumstances of his heart's joy, are a 
 beautiful comment on his mental and moral discipline. 
 And his filial obedience was in harmony with a divine in- 
 tention. The Unseen was present in the sympathies of 
 that domestic incident. He who controls the fates of men 
 and nations had a higher service than that of a midship- 
 man in reserve for this noble boy. 
 
 [The chief agent in getting young Washington a chance 
 to go to sea was a notable neighbor of Lawrence Wash- 
 ington, whose estate of Belvoir was on the Potomac five 
 miles below Mt. Vernon. This neighbor of Lawrence 
 was Hon, William Fairfax, cousin to the sixth Lord 
 Fairfax, whose inheritance from his mother embraced 
 about a fourth part of the whole of Virginia. He was the 
 son of Henry Fairfax, whose wife, Anna Harrison, was 
 sister to the wife of Henry Washington, one of the Eng- 
 lish Washingtons. Henry Fairfax was the second son 
 of the fourth Lord Fairfax, and in 1691, the year of his 
 son William's birth, he became high sheriff of Yorkshire. 
 The son William was educated at a collegiate school, and 
 went to sea when very young; then served in the British 
 army in Spain; was stationed at St. Helena for a time; 
 and subsequently at the Bahamas, where he married, in 
 1723, Sarah Walker, a daughter of Major Walker, and 
 was appointed chief justice of the island. About the 
 year 1725, on account of the unhealthiness of the climate, 
 he removed to New England, having received the ap- 
 pointment of collector of the customs at Salem and 
 Marblehead. Here the death of his wife in 1731 left him 
 with four children, George William, born at the Baha- 
 mas ; Thomas, Anne, and Sarah, born in Salem. He sub- 
 sequently married Deborah Clarke of Salem, an intimate 
 friend of his first wife, who had expressed, on her death- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 41 
 
 bed, the wish that this might take place for the sake of 
 her children. Thomas, the sixth Lord Fairfax, hearing 
 that the agent in charge of his American estates was not 
 faithful to his interests, invited his cousin William to leave 
 New England and become the superintendent of his es- 
 tates. The offer was accepted in 1734, and he at first took 
 up his residence in Westmoreland county, but subsequently 
 removed to Belvoir, a plantation fourteen miles below 
 Alexandria. His daughter Anne, born in Salem, Mass., 
 about 1726 or 1727, became the wife of Lawrence Wash- 
 ington, whose brother George, fourteen years younger, 
 thus came under the direct influence of William Fairfax, 
 then about fifty-two years of age. A letter of William 
 Fairfax to Lawrence Washington, dated September 10, 
 1746, when George was fourteen years and six months of 
 age, says : " George has been with us, and says he will 
 be steady, and thankfully follow your advice as his best 
 friend." 
 
 It was William Fairfax who " had used his influence to 
 obtain a position for George in the navy, but the mother 
 would not consent to his going to sea, for ' several persons 
 told her it was a bad scheme.' " Mrs. Washington's chief 
 adviser in the matter was her brother, Joseph Ball, resid- 
 ing in London, who wrote as follows : 
 
 " I understand you are advised, and have some thoughts 
 of putting your son to sea. I think he had better be put 
 apprentice to a trade, for a common sailor before the mast 
 has by no m-eans the common liberty of the subject; for 
 they will press him from a ship where he has fifty shillings 
 a month, and make him take twenty-three, and cut and 
 beat him like a negro, or rather like a dog. And as to 
 any considerable promotion in the navy it is not to be ex- 
 pected, as there are always so many gaping for it here who 
 have influence, and he has none " (in Meade), p. 50.] 
 
42 WASHINGTON. 
 
 He resumed his studies at the school of Mr. WilHams. 
 And he continued to pursue them two years longer until 
 he had almost attained to his sixteenth year. This was an 
 early season for his leaving school, but it was the limit of 
 his opportunities. The schoolboy and the college-student 
 of our day, who bask in the broad light afforded by 
 thoroughly furnished educators and the latest and most im- 
 proved text-books, too seldom think how few and fitful 
 were the rays which glimmered on the path of our youthful 
 countrymen in the middle of the last century. Yet a com- 
 pensation for the want of modern artificial helps to learn- 
 ing was afforded by a prevailing stalwart vigor and power- 
 ful grasp of thought. And there was then a freedom from 
 the influence of our literary luxuries, which are so tempt- 
 ing to a relaxation of industry in the pursuit of truth. 
 
 [It is upon less than adequate discrimination that the 
 view is entertained of a short and meagre schooling of 
 young Washington. For what his natural powers and 
 impulses were, and what his father, mother, brother Law- 
 rence, Mr. William Fairfax, Lord Fairfax, and the school 
 he attended were, it may be doubted whether one in twenty 
 of the university graduates of the present time, in either 
 England or America, stand upon the threshold of active 
 life as well disciplined for it as George Washington was, 
 if not at sixteen, at least at his first encounter with the 
 demands aiid responsibilities of a career. Even if four- 
 fifths of what the student in school and college to-day 
 spends much time but scant attention upon were not of 
 absolutely no educational account, yet the instances are 
 exceptional in which a boy of rare character and fine mind 
 gets as good personal training during eight years as 
 George Washington got before he entered upon active 
 life. In proportion as we understand what real educa- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 43 
 
 tion is, and how much self-education counts, we can see 
 that Washington's actual advantages, with his use of them, 
 brought him out upon the stage of his time remarkably 
 well educated and very exceptionally disciplined.] 
 
 At the early period of his schooldays Washington af- 
 forded one of the numerous illustrations of a fact which 
 gives such interest to the history of the childhood of great 
 men. With all due allowance for the propensity of imagi- 
 nation to color with bright tints its pictures of early genius 
 it must be admitted that in many cases the mind does, in 
 its first developments, disclose the secret of its leading 
 bent. At the beginning of life's spring, incipient tendrils 
 indicate the nature of a plant formed to climb. 
 
 Among his playmates our schoolboy was their umpire 
 and their leader. He won their confidence by his native 
 ingenuousness and his strict regard for truth. He was 
 generous and just, he was proverbially a peacemaker, and 
 his word of honor was a bond. His military predilections 
 also now appeared, not only in his delighting when eleven 
 years of age, as boys so generally do, to play '' soldiers," 
 but in his being the master-spirit in many a mimic battle 
 between '' the English " and " the French." 
 
 He was conspicuous moreover in their sports on account 
 of his feats of strength and agility. Among his favorite 
 recreations, in which he was almost without a rival, were 
 lifting and throwing heavy weights, jumping with a pole, 
 and wrestling. He was celebrated too for fleetness like 
 the swift-footed hero of the Iliad; and in racing with his 
 schoolfellows he surpassed them all. And so great was 
 the power of his arm in youth that he would often throw 
 a stone across the Rappahannock at the lower ferry of 
 Fredericksburg — a feat which few men were able to per- 
 form. 
 
44 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " More than fifty years ago," says Mr. Custis,* " I be- 
 came acquainted with two aged and highly estimable gen- 
 tlemen, Lawrence and Robin Washington who were dis- 
 tantly related to and had been companions of the Chief 
 in his juvenile days. They spoke of the fine, manly youth ; 
 and of his gallant demeanor and daring exploits in horse- 
 manship, and the athletic exercises of that remote period." 
 But the manly exercise in which he most excelled was 
 horsemanship. When a boy of but twelve years of age he 
 resolved to ride a spirited, unbroken colt of his mother's — 
 her favorite sorrel — which had hitherto successfully re- 
 sisted all attempts of " horse-tamers." He informed his 
 playmates of his purpose, and accordingly a party of them 
 assembled soon after sunrise on the appointed day to se€ 
 the sport. With great difficulty they penned the mettle- 
 some and fiery animal and after many unsuccessful efforts 
 at length bridled him. The youthful horseman then seized 
 the reins and with a single effort vaulted on the colt's back. 
 Then followed a desperate struggle between horse and 
 rider. The colt could not and would not brook restraint. 
 He had prevailed hitherto and he would prevail again. In 
 all the freedom of his noble nature he had at pleasure 
 ranged the field, snuffed the wind, and thrown off by a 
 bound or leap his waste exuberance. He now reared and 
 sprang. He started violently and suddenly from side to 
 side. He used every instinctive contortion with a view to 
 throw his rider and to regain liberty. It was in vain; his 
 efforts became frantic when he found his master unmoved 
 from his seat, and with a violent, convulsive, furious plunge 
 he fell down dead. 
 
 Conscious of the pain which this result would cause his 
 mother Washington frankly told her the story of his con- 
 
 * Letter to Charles Brown, April 24, 1851. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 45 
 
 duct, and she, in her characteristic manner, said in reply: 
 " I regret the loss of my favorite, but I rejoice in my son 
 who always speaks the truth." 
 
 As proofs of his diligence and industry at school, manu- 
 scripts written by him in boyhood and filling several quires 
 of paper, exhibit records of his studies in geometry, 
 trigonometry, and surveying; and evince the same regard 
 to neatness and method, and the same care and accuracy 
 which were afterward so conspicuous in his letters, his plans 
 of military operations, and his ofhcial documents. There are 
 extant also specimens of his ornamental penmanship, and 
 of his fancy pen-sketch creations of heads half-human, and 
 of nondescript birds, and " gorgons dire." 
 
 In a manuscript book which he wrote at the age of thir- 
 teen years are copies of notes of hand, bills of exchange, re- 
 ceipts, bonds, indentures, bills of sale, land warrants, leases, 
 deeds, and wills, designed to familiarize him with proper 
 forms for transacting business. 
 
 He seems however to have devoted himself in boyhood 
 not merely to intellectual acquirements. He collected and 
 copied out in one of his manuscripts, " Rules of Behavior 
 in Company and Conversation." And the general char- 
 acter of these rules, by which he sought to regulate his 
 demeanor, affords the best evidence of his desire to culti- 
 vate the elegant courtesies and to practice the moral duties 
 which give refined society its peculiar charm. 
 
 Among his rules are the following : — 
 
 " I. Read no letters, books, or papers in company; but 
 when there is a necessity for doing it you must ask leave. 
 Come not near the books or writings of any one so as to 
 read them unless desired; nor give your opinion of them 
 unasked. Also look not nigh when another is writing a 
 letter. 
 
46 WASHINGTON, 
 
 " 2. Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of an- 
 other, though he were your enemy. 
 
 " 3. When you meet with one of greater quality than 
 yourself, stop and retire, especially if it be at a door or any 
 strait place, to give way for him to pass. 
 
 " 4. Let your discourse with men of business be short 
 and comprehensive. 
 
 " 5. In writing or speaking give to every person his due 
 title, according to his degree, and the custom of the place. 
 
 " 6. Wherein you reprove another, be unblamable your- 
 self ; for example is more prevalent than precepts. . 
 
 "7. Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the dis- 
 paragement of any. 
 
 " 8. In your apparel be modest, and endeavor to accom- 
 modate nature rather than to procure admiration. 
 
 " 9. Associate yourself with men of good quality if you 
 esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone 
 than in bad company. 
 
 " 10. Deride no man's misfortune though there seem to 
 be some cause. 
 
 "11. Whisper not in the company of others. 
 
 " 12. Be not apt to relate news if you know not the 
 truth thereof. 
 
 " 13. Be not curious to know the affairs of others ; neither 
 approach to those that speak in private. 
 
 " 14. Undertake not what you cannot perform ; but be 
 careful to keep your promise. 
 
 " 15. Speak not evil of the absent for it is unjust. 
 
 " 16. Be not angry at table whatever happens ; and if you 
 have reason to be so show it not. Put on a cheerful 
 countenance, especially if there be strangers, for good 
 humor makes one dish of meat a feast. 
 
 " 17. When you speak of God or his attributes let it be 
 seriously, in reverence. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 47 
 
 " 1 8. Honor and obey your natural parents though they 
 be poor. 
 
 *' 19. Let your recreations be manful, not sinful. 
 
 '' 20. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark 
 of celestial fire called Conscience." 
 
 These and similar memoranda of the conventionalities of 
 elegant, social intercourse enabled him to control himself 
 by a well-provided formulary instead of trusting to the 
 hazard of mere impromptu impulses. They were the trellis- 
 work that secured an order, regularity, and beauty which 
 imparted a remarkable propriety and decorum to his con- 
 duct at all times and in all circumstances. 
 
 There are also extant certain selections in verse, chiefly 
 of a religious character, made by him at this dawning 
 period of his life. They are of little merit as exhibitions of 
 genius in their author, or of poetic taste in their compiler ; 
 yet they are indicative of what may be regarded as not less 
 desirable in an intelligent and ingenuous lad of thirteen 
 years of age, an interest in devout sentiments. 
 
 He did not enjoy the advantages of a classical education. 
 And not only was he unable to read either Greek or Latin, 
 but he could neither speak nor write in any modern for- 
 eign language. While in daily intercouse with French 
 officers, at one period of the Revolution, he was compelled 
 in interchanging opinions with them to rely in general upon 
 the aid of an interpreter. 
 
 His decided predilection was for mathematics. The 
 exactness, order, and certainty of its processes always were 
 more congenial to the nature of his mind than any of the 
 charms of belles-lettres. 
 
 The only occasion of his being beguiled to compose 
 poetic strains was when, about two years before leaving 
 school, and when the down upon his cheek and chin gave 
 its first distinct hints of his adolescence, he felt some 
 
48 WASHINGTON. 
 
 throbbings of the tender passion. In one of his early manu- 
 scripts are found plaintive breathings of this nature, ut- 
 tered for the relief of his " poor restless heart." 
 
 The object of his attachment it is said was Miss Grimes,* 
 
 * Or perhaps Mary Bland. [More probably Miss Betsy Fauntle- 
 roy. In a communication to " Harper's Weekly," of May 4, 1889, 
 the writer answered as follows the question who was Washington's 
 " Lowland beauty: " 
 
 Of late years the opinion has gained that the lady was Sally 
 Gary, who became the wife of George William Fairfax. This has 
 been hitherto my own conviction, based on certain letters found 
 among the papers of Mrs. Fairfax at her death, at Bath, England 
 (181 1), at the age of eighty-one. It now appears to me certain that 
 the " Lowland beauty " — Washington's first love — was Miss 
 Betsy Fauntleroy. Under date of 20th May, 1752, Washington 
 writes to " William Fauntleroy, Sr. : " 
 
 " Sir. — I should have been down long before this, but my busi- 
 ness in Frederick detained me somewhat longer than I expected, 
 and immediately upon my return from thence I was taken with a 
 violent pleurise, which has reduced me very low; but purpose, as 
 soon as I recover my strength, to wait on Miss Betsy, in hopes of 
 a revocation of the former cruel sentence, and see if I can meet 
 with any alteration in my favor. I have enclosed a letter to her, 
 which should be much obliged to you for the delivery of it. I 
 have nothing tO' add but my best respects to your good lady and 
 family." 
 
 As William Fauntleroy, Sr., had a granddaughter named Eliza- 
 beth, it is a fair inference that she was the Betsy referred to. 
 That she was the " Lowland beauty " may be inferred from the fact 
 that the letter in which this phrase occurs, though undated, bears 
 evidence of having been written about the time which the prob- 
 abilities of such explanation suggest. The letter is addressed 
 " Dear Friend Robin " — possibly Robert Washington of Ghotauk, 
 affectionately remembered in his will — and the material part is as 
 follows: "My place of residence is at present at his lordship's, 
 where I might, was my heart disengaged, pass my time very pleas- 
 antly, as there's a very agreeable young lady lives in the same house 
 (Gol. George Fairfax's wife's sister). But as that's only adding 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 49 
 
 of Westmoreland, whom he calls his '' lowland beauty," and 
 who afterward, as Mrs. Lee, was the mother of Gen. Henry 
 Lee, so famous in the Revolutionary War as " Light 
 Horse Harry," and always regarded by Washington with 
 particular favor. But his " young love " was not declared, 
 although it occasioned for more than two years the in- 
 quietude and depression of spirits usual in such cases. 
 
 [Witjh the letter of May 20, 1752, to William Fauntleroy, 
 Sr., in regard to a "purpose to wait on Miss Betsy 
 [Fauntleroy], in hopes of a revocation of the former cruel 
 sentence, and see if I can meet with any alteration in my 
 favor," and with " a letter enclosed to her," it seems un- 
 necessary to look in any other direction for the object of 
 young Washington's interest. It can be readily under- 
 stood that he was not a lady's man as the average good- 
 looking youth may readily be. He was large, awkward, 
 emotional, and bashful, with nothing to give him self- 
 possession with people beyond the circle of his familiar 
 friends. He was not long in acquiring the poise of self- 
 command and self-carriage, but the earliest falHng in love 
 antedated that particular discipline.] 
 
 Writing to a young companion whom he calls his " dear 
 
 fuel to fire, it makes me the more uneasy, for by often and un- 
 avoidably being in company with her revives my former passion for 
 your Lowland beauty; whereas, was I to live more retired from 
 young women, I might deviate in some measure my sorrows by 
 burying that chaste and troublesome passion in the grave of ob- 
 livion or etearnall forgetfulness, for as I am very well assured, 
 that's the only antidote or remedy that I ever shall be relieved by 
 or only recess that can administer any cure or help to me, as I 
 am well convinced, was I ever to attempt anything, I should only 
 get a denial which would be only adding grief to uneasiness." 
 This letter, written after George Fairfax's marriage (17th Decem- 
 ber, 1748), and before the journey to the Barbadoes (September, 
 1751), was prpbably written in the earlier part of 1751.] 
 4 
 
50 WASHINGTON. 
 
 friend Robin," he remarks that . female society tended to 
 keep alive his passion, whereas, says he, by living " more 
 retired from young women, I might, in some measure, 
 alleviate my sorrows, by burying that chaste and trouble- 
 some passion in the grave of oblivion." 
 
 This natural and venial indulgence in youthful romancing 
 — although rather precocious in a boy of fourteen years — 
 would not perhaps deserve to be mentioned, did it not 
 show that Washington's mind, even at that period of his 
 deepest interest in his studies, was not so absorbed in 
 theorems and computations as to be unconscious of na- 
 ture's gentlest sympathies, and insensible to impressions 
 associated with lifers purest and most refined delights. His 
 mind was sturdy, but his heart was ever gentle and sus- 
 ceptible. 
 
 In the estimate we form of the illustrious and the great, 
 we are apt to be misled by the supposition, that, in the 
 range of their passions and emotions, they are not as 
 other men. And the dazzling halo of this illusion often 
 imparts to them vague and mysterious associations, by 
 which their example, is often greatly diminished in its 
 influence. It is pleasing therefore to record in the his- 
 tory of Washington that he was no ideal and unreal crea- 
 tion; that he had, as we have, a heart as well as a head; 
 that he, as all other children, in their development of man- 
 hood, passed through the metamorphoses of child, little 
 man, boy soldier, lad, youth, lover; and that he is to be 
 regarded not as an inimitable paragon, to excite wonder 
 and admiration, but as a beautiful model, for all young 
 persons who would practice filial obedience, truth, and 
 honesty, diligence in study, decorum in behavior, and 
 whatever else is commendable in a lad or young man, 
 at home and at school, in sports among playmates, and 
 in amusements and recreations of the social circle. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 51 
 
 They who would emulate the achievements of his man- 
 hood should study and imitate the virtues of his early 
 youth. When, at the close of the Revolutionary War, 
 Lafayette, about to depart for France, paid a farewell 
 visit to the mother of Washington, and mingled with his 
 adieus a glowing encomium on her illustrious son, she 
 replied, in her characteristic manner and in memorable 
 words, " I am not surprised at what George has done, 
 for he was always a good boy/' 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF HIS YOUTH. 
 
 1748-1752. 
 
 SOON after leaving school (1748), Washington be- 
 came for a time an inmate in the family of his 
 eldest half-brother Lawrence, on his large patri- 
 monial estate, which then comprised 2,500 acres, and 
 which he called Mount Vernon, in compHment to the 
 admiral under whom he served in the West Indies. 
 
 This half-brother, whom his father sent to England for 
 his education, had enjoyed what were at that time un- 
 common advantages, social and intellectual; and his im- 
 provement of them appeared in his mental acquirements, 
 his cultivated manners, and his elegant accomplishments. 
 He was very afifectionately attached to his half-brother 
 George; and it was his ambition and delight to aid and 
 counsel him in all his studies, and to contribute in every 
 way to his welfare and advancement, while he now prose- 
 cuted his mathematical studies and prepared himself for 
 the duties of a scientific practical surveyor. The daily 
 conversation and the countless little hints and suggestions 
 of such a mentor as his highly-educated brother Law- 
 rence were to our ingenuous young student, then in his 
 seventeenth year, heaven's special provision suited to his 
 case, as refreshing, fertilizing dew to the surrounding 
 green pastures. 
 
 Three years before this time, Lawrence had married 
 Anne Fairfax, eldest daughter of William Fairfax, of 
 
 (62) 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 53 
 
 Fairfax county, Virginia, who had served in the British 
 army in Spain, the East Indies, and New Providence. 
 He had been also Governor of New Providence, Chief 
 Justice of the Bahamas, and President of His Majesty's 
 council in Virginia. 
 
 [From New Providence in the West Indies, after some 
 years of service there, William Fairfax had been trans- 
 ferred to Salem, Massachusetts, upon his request for a 
 change from the unfavorable climate of the Bahamas; 
 and there his daughter Anne was born — a Massachusetts 
 girl therefore; there also Anne's mother died, and a 
 Salem lady, who had been her intimate friend, became 
 in due time her father's second wife. After nine years at 
 Salem, in charge of the customs there, William Fairfax 
 was persuaded by Lord Thomas Fairfax, of whom he 
 was a cousin, to settle in Virginia, as agent for the sur- 
 vey, sale, and general care of the lands held by Lord 
 Fairfax. The fine estate of Belvoir, five miles down the 
 Potomac from Mount Vernon, was the home of William 
 Fairfax, with his Massachusetts wife, while his Massa- 
 chusetts daughter was the mistress of Mount Vernon. In 
 both of these houses George Washington was at home, as 
 he also was with Lord Fairfax at Greenway Court, a 
 house which he occupied.] 
 
 The alliance of Lawrence Washington with a daughter 
 of such a person opened the way for his brother George's 
 acquaintance with the Fairfax family, and eventually for 
 his intimate friendship with the most prominent member 
 of the family, Thomas, the sixth Lord Fairfax, who was 
 a man of education and of great moral worth. He was 
 a graduate of Oxford University, and the contributor, it 
 is said, of some of the papers in Addison's Spectator. 
 He held a commission also in a regiment of horse. 
 
 Descended from an ancient baronial family, and in- 
 
54: WASHINGTON. 
 
 heriting a large fortune, his lordship had moved in the 
 best circles of English society. It was his lot however 
 to be grievously disappointed in an affair of the heart. 
 He sought seclusion from the gay world. On visiting 
 his American estates in Virginia, which he inherited from 
 his mother, he was charmed with the people, the country, 
 and the climate; and he resolved to bid adieu to old 
 associates and to settle in the New World. 
 
 His mother was Catharine, daughter of Thomas, Lord 
 Culpeper, and the estates in Virginia, which he inherited 
 from her, comprehended, according to the original grant 
 which Lord Culpeper received from Charles H, all the 
 lands between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. 
 These lands, it was estimated, contained 5,700,000 acres.* 
 They included a tract of country comprising about a sev- 
 enth part of the present area of Virginia, and are now 
 divided into twenty-one counties, f For several years 
 William Fairfax, as his lordship's agent, superintended 
 these estates. 
 
 Lord Thomas, as he was called, was a man of remark- 
 able appearance. He was tall, muscular, and swarthy, 
 with prominent features, and of an uncommonly large 
 frame. He took up his permanent residence on a domain 
 which he named " Greenway Court," thirteen miles south- 
 east of Winchester, capital of Frederick county. There 
 he lived upon his rents, paying little attention to the 
 
 * Barnaby's " Travels through the Middle Settlements in America 
 in the years 1759 and 1760, with Observations upon the State of the 
 Colonies," p. 159. The whole State comprises thirty-nine millions 
 two hundred and sixty-five thousand acres. 
 
 t The counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, West- 
 moreland, Stafford, King George, Prince William, Fairfax, Loudon, 
 Fauquier, Culpeper, Clarke, Madison, Page, Shenandoah, Hardy, 
 Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley, Jefferson, and Frederick, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 55 
 
 cultivation of his grounds, for he preferred the wildness 
 of primeval forest scenery. He led the life of a bachelor 
 and occupied a single clapboard story-and-a-half house.* 
 From the abundance of his pecuniary means, he dis- 
 pensed his hospitalities and benefactions, especially among 
 the middle and lower classes of the community, in so 
 liberal a manner and in so noble a spirit that he won for 
 himself universal admiration and esteem. He became the 
 principal magistrate of Frederick county, and presided at 
 the Winchester provincial courts ; and, in the French and 
 Indian War, he led the troops of his county to the aid 
 of Washington, then Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial 
 Army of Virginia. 
 
 During the war for independence however he had no 
 sympathy with his gallant young friend, for he continued 
 to the last hour of his long Hfe — having attained to the 
 age of ninety-two — a loyal subject of Great Britain. 
 
 His death occurred soon after the capture of Corn- 
 wallis, and, it is said, was hastened by the effect produced 
 upon his mind by that event. He had scarcely heard the 
 tidings, when he said to his body-servant, " Come, Joe, 
 carry me to my bed; for Fm sure 'tis high time for me 
 to die." 
 
 He gave the land on which was erected, at Winchester, 
 the first Episcopal church built in the Valley of Virginia. 
 Under the chancel of that church his body was deposited 
 in a coffin mounted with massive silver; and when the 
 old church was taken down and replaced by the new one, 
 his remains were removed, and honored with a renewal 
 of the special mark of distinction previously bestowed 
 
 * [Precisely the style of house in which George Washington was 
 born.] 
 
56 WASHINGTON, 
 
 on them. A monumental slab was also erected to his 
 memory. 
 
 When first he met the future chief, he had just come 
 to America, at the age of fifty-seven years, to reside on 
 his domain. He was, at this time, an inmate at Belvoir, 
 the residence of his kinsman and agent, a short distance 
 from Mount Vernon. There, in addition to other sons 
 and daughters in the family, was the highly-educated eld- 
 est son of William Fairfax, George William, then about 
 twenty-two years of age, with his bride and her sister, 
 accomplished daughters of Colonel Carey, of Virginia. 
 
 In the almost daily society of such persons, young 
 Washington enjoyed rare opportunities for intellectual 
 and social culture. His character was appreciated by 
 them. He won their esteem by his sterling integrity, his 
 ingenuousness, and his sound good sense. And Lord 
 Thomas was particularly attached to him. 
 
 His lordship, fond of hunting, kept his horses and his 
 hounds. And his young American friend, also greatly 
 delighting in the chase, became the companion of the old 
 nobleman in his favorite sport, and shared with him many 
 of his adventures *' by field and flood." 
 
 When his lordship soon after resolved to reclaim large 
 portions of the choicest of his lands from settlers who 
 occupied them without right or title, it was an essential 
 prerequisite that the property should be surveyed and 
 divided into lots. Washington's exercises, from time to 
 time, in the practical use of his surveyor's instruments, 
 on his brother's grounds, not only were observed with 
 interest by the families at Mount Vernon and Belvoir, but 
 led Lord Fairfax to entertain a very favorable opinion 
 of his young friend's acquirements. To him therefore he 
 confided the proposed important and laborious service. 
 
 Washington was then just entering his seventeenth 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 57 
 
 year (March, 1748). But he was remarkable for his 
 knowledge and skill as a practical surveyor; and not less 
 for other qualifications, personal and moral, just as neces- 
 sary for the due performance of his task. 
 
 It was, on many accounts, an arduous and perilous 
 undertaking. But our youthful adventurer, accompanied 
 by the Hon. William Fairfax's son, George William, set 
 out for the Alleghany mountains and the South Branch 
 of the Potomac on his hazardous expedition, the priva- 
 tions and fatigues of which are recorded in a journal 
 written by him at the time. The entries are often very 
 brief and general ; but they afford striking pictures of the 
 scenes through which he passed, and give many interest- 
 ing details of his experiences in border life, and in the 
 hardships of the backwoodsman. 
 
 [The surveys had been going on for some time in charge 
 of a regularly-licensed surveyor, and Washington did no 
 more than to take part in them. He was not at first in 
 possession of a license, which was necessary to make a 
 survey legal. He merely assisted therefore, or, having 
 made a special survey, secured the signature on it of a 
 licensed surveyor. In due time he obtained a license 
 and was able to authenticate with his own name the sur- 
 veys which he made. See the more full statement later on.] 
 
 JOURNAL OF JOURNEY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 "March 13th (1748). Rode to his lordship's quarter. 
 About four miles higher up the river Shenandoah, we went 
 through most beautiful groves of sugar-trees, and spent 
 the best part of the day in admiring the trees, and the 
 richness of the land. 
 
^8 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " 14th. We sent our baggage to Captain Kite's, near 
 Fredericktown, and went ourselves down the river about 
 sixteen miles — the land exceedingly rich all the way, 
 producing abundance of grain, hemp, and tobacco — in 
 order to lay off some land on Gate's Marsh and Long 
 Marsh. 
 
 " 15th. Worked hard till night, and then returned. 
 After supper we were lighted into a room; and I, not 
 being so good a woodsman as the rest, stripped myself 
 very orderly and went into the bed, as they called it, when, 
 to my surprise, I found it to be nothing but a little straw 
 matted together, without sheet or any thing else but only 
 one threadbare blanket, with double its weight of vermin. 
 I was glad to get up and put on my clothes and lie as 
 my companions did. Had we not been very tired, I am 
 sure we should not have slept much that night. I made 
 a promise to sleep so no more, choosing rather to sleep 
 in the open air before a fire. 
 
 " i8th. We traveled to Thomas Berwick's on the Poto- 
 mac, where we found the river exceedingly high by reason 
 of the great rains that had fallen among the Alleghanies. 
 They told us .it would not be fordable for several days, 
 it being now six feet higher than usual, and rising. We 
 agreed to stay till Monday. We this day called to see 
 the famed Warm Springs.* We camped out in the field 
 this night. 
 
 " 20th. Finding the river not much abated we in the 
 evening swam our horses over to the Maryland side. 
 
 " 21 St. We went over in a canoe, and traveled up the 
 Maryland side all day, in a continued rain, to Colonel 
 Cresap's, over against the mouth of the South Branch, 
 about forty miles from our place of starting in the 
 
 * In Bath county, in the central part of Virginia. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 59 
 
 morning, and over the worst road, I believe, that ever 
 was trod by man or beast. 
 
 " 23d. Rained till about 2 o'clock, and then cleared up, 
 when we were agreeably surprised at the sight of more 
 than thirty Indians coming from war, with only one scalp. 
 We had some Hquor with us, of which we gave them a 
 part. This, elevating their spirits, put them in the humor 
 of dancing. We then had a war dance. After clearing 
 a large space and making a great fire in the middle, the 
 men seated themselves around it, and the speaker made 
 a grand speech, telling them in what manner they were 
 to dance. After he had finished, the best dancer jumped 
 up as one awaked from sleep and ran and jumped about 
 the ring in a most comical manner. He was followed by 
 the rest. Then began their music, which was performed 
 with a pot half full of water and a deerskin stretched tight 
 over it, and a gourd with some shot in it to rattle, and a 
 piece of horse's tail tied to it to make it look fine. One 
 person kept rattling and another drumming all the while 
 they were dancing. 
 
 " 25th. Left Cresap's and went up to the mouth of Pat- 
 terson's creek. There we swam our horses over the 
 Potomac, and went over ourselves in a canoe, and traveled 
 fifteen miles, where we camped. 
 
 " 26th. Traveled up to Solomon Hedge's, Esquire, one 
 of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace in the county of 
 Frederick, where we camped. When we came to supper, 
 there was neither a knife on the table nor a fork, to eat 
 with; but, as good luck would have it, we had knives of 
 our own. 
 
 " 28th. Traveled up the South Branch — having come 
 to that river yesterday — about thirty miles to Mr. J. R.'s 
 (horse-jockey), and about seventy miles from the mouth 
 of the river. 
 
60 WASHINGTON, 
 
 " 29th. This morning went out and surveyed 500 acres 
 of land. Shot two wild turkeys. 
 
 " 30th. Began our intended business of laying of? lots. 
 
 "April 2d. A blowing, rainy night. Our straw, upon 
 which we were lying, took fire; but I was luckily pre- 
 served by one of our men's awaking when it was in a 
 flame. We have run of¥ four lots this day. 
 
 " 4th. This morning Mr. Fairfax left us with the inten- 
 tion to go down to the mouth of the river. We surveyed 
 two lots and were attended with a great company of 
 people — men, women, and children — who followed us 
 through the woods, showing their antic tricks. They 
 seem to be as ignorant a set of people as the Indians. 
 They would never speak English, but when spoken to 
 they all spoke Dutch. This day our tent was blown down 
 by the violence of the wind. 
 
 " 6th. The last night was so intolerably smoky that we 
 were obliged to leave our tent to the mercy of the wind 
 and fire. Attended this day by the aforesaid company. 
 
 " 7th. This day one of our men killed a wild turkey that 
 weighed twenty pounds. We surveyed 1,500 acres of land 
 and returned to Vanmeter's about i o'clock. I took my 
 horse and went up to see Mr. Fairfax. We slept in Cas- 
 sey's house, which was the first night I had slept in a house 
 since we came to the Branch. 
 
 " 8th. We breakfasted at Cassey's and rode down to 
 Vanmeter's to get our company together, which, when we 
 had accomplished, we rode down below the Trough to 
 lay off lots there. The Trough is a couple of ledges of 
 mountains, impassable, running side by side for seven or 
 eight miles and the river between them. You must ride 
 round the back of the mountains to get below them. We 
 camped in the woods and after we had pitched our tent and 
 made a large fire, we pulled out our knapsack to recruit 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 61 
 
 ourselves. Every one was his own cook. Our spits were 
 forked sticks, our plates were large chips. As for dishes 
 we had none. 
 
 " loth. We took our farewell of the Branch and traveled 
 over hills and mountains to Coddy's, on Great Cacapehon, 
 about forty miles. 
 
 " I2th. Mr. Fairfax got safe home; and I to my brother's 
 house at Mount Vernon; which concludes my journal." 
 
 He received, the year after the time of this excursion 
 (1749), the appointment of public surveyor. And he 
 prosecuted the duties of this office with diligence, travers- 
 ing wild lands between the Potomac and the Rappahan- 
 nock. 
 
 The original record of his appointment is still extant 
 in one of the books in the county clerk's office at the town 
 of Fairfax, the county-seat of Culpeper. It is in these 
 words : 
 
 "20th July, 1749 (o. s.) George Washington, Gent., pro- 
 duced a commission from the president and master of 
 William and Mary College appointing him to be surveyor 
 of this county, which was read, and thereupon he took the 
 usual oaths to his Majesty's person and government and 
 took and subscribed the abjuration oath and test and then 
 took the oath of surveyor according to law," 
 
 The privations and rough fare of his life in the woods 
 continued for three years. Writing to a friend he says : 
 " Since you received my letter in October last, I have 
 not slept above three or four nights in a bed; but, after 
 walking a good deal all day I have lain down before the 
 fire upon a little hay, straw, fodder, or a bear's-skin, which- 
 ever was to be had with man, wife, and children, like dogs 
 and cats, and happy is he who gets the berth nearest the 
 
6^ WASHINGTON. 
 
 fire. Nothing would make it pass off tolerably but a good 
 reward. A doubloon is my constant gain every day that 
 the weather will permit my going out, and sometimes six 
 pistoles.* The coldness of the weather will not allow of 
 my making a long stay as the lodging is rather too cold 
 for the time of year. I have never had my clothes off, 
 but have lain and slept in them, except the few nights I 
 have been in Fredericktown."f 
 
 [There is no indication to what time this letter applies ; 
 but probably the early winter (perhaps of 1749) in con- 
 nection with an expedition " To Survey the Land at the 
 mouth of the Little Cacapehon and the mouth of Fifteen 
 Mile Creek for the Gentlemen of the Ohio," as a " Mem." 
 set down by Washington, later than his record of surveys 
 made in the expedition of March and April, 1748. This 
 " Mem." we shall refer to again presently, in the account 
 given below of the record of travel and surveys made by 
 Washington. There is no ground for assuming that for 
 three years the surveying work was going on all the time, 
 or the most of the time. In the letter to " Dear Friend 
 Robin," without date, but in the "surveying" period, 
 young Washington writes that his " place of residence at 
 present is at his Lordship's " (then at the Belvoir Fairfax 
 house), and he talks of passing his time there, evidently 
 not just then engaged in surveying. 
 
 The quotations given above do not adequately reflect 
 the real facts, not only from omission of important items, 
 but from failure to note the significance of the whole rec- 
 ord. The first entry is: "Friday, March nth. Began 
 my journey in company with Mr. George Fairfax, Esq.: 
 
 * Equivalent to $20. 
 
 t Manuscript letter appended to his journal, and addressed to a 
 friend whom he calls " Dear Richard." It is evidently a rough 
 draft of what he sent to his friend. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 63 
 
 we travelled this day 40 miles." The second entry is: 
 " Saturday, March 12th. Mr. James Genn, the surveyor, 
 came to us : v/e travelled over the Blue Ridge to Capt. 
 Ashby's on Shenandoah River." Then follows : '' Sunday, 
 March 13. Rode to his Lordship's Quarter," etc. 
 
 Mr. James Genn, it will be seen, was "the surveyor," 
 and the party, having- travelled thus far in three days, went 
 on sixteen miles farther, " in order to lay off some Land 
 on Gates Marsh and Long Marsh." On Tuesday, " We 
 set out early with intent to run round the said Land, but 
 being taken in a rain, and it increasing very fast obliged 
 us to return. It clearing about one o'clock, we a second 
 time ventured out and worked hard till night, then re- 
 turned to Pennington's (Gapt. Isaac Pennington's, where 
 they had put up the day before.) This was a single sur- 
 vey, the mere laying off of a large plot of land. On the 
 i6th the party " set out early and finished about one 
 o'clock, and then travelled up to Fredericktown ; took a 
 review of the town, and returned to our Lodgings where 
 we had a good dinner prepared for us : wine and rum 
 punch in plenty ; and a good feather bed with clean sheets." 
 The next day rain detained them, but on clearing they 
 went on twenty-five miles, and that night " had a tolerable 
 good bed to lay on." The following day travelled thirty- 
 five miles to the Potomac, " then about six foot higher 
 than usual by reason of the great rains," and " camped 
 out in the field " that night. The 20th was Sunday, with 
 the river not much abated, and in the evening they " swam 
 their horses over and carried them to Gharles Polks in 
 Maryland for pasturage till the next morning." Travelled 
 the next day up the Maryland side of the Potomac about 
 forty miles to Golonel Gresaps, " right against the mouth 
 of the South Branch." The continued rain on the next 
 day kept the party at Gresaps. The next day's report 
 
64 WASHINGTON. 
 
 was of more rain and seeing a party of Indians ; and noth- 
 ing more than the Indians again on the following day, the 
 24th. On the 25th an advance to Paterson's creek, and 
 thence fifteen miles up that stream, and camped out. Fur- 
 ther up the stream the next day to Solomon Hedges ; then 
 on Sunday, the day after, travelled from Hedges over to 
 the South Branch, " in order to go about intended work 
 of lots." On Monday went on up the South Branch 
 '' about 30 miles to Mr. James Rutlidges ; " and Tuesday, 
 29th, " This morning went out and surveyed 500 acres of 
 land, and went down to one Michael Stumps on the South 
 Fork of the Branch." On Wednesday, 30th: "This 
 morning began our intended business of laying ofif lots. 
 We began at the boundary line of the northern 10 miles 
 above Stumps, and run off two lots and returned to 
 Stumps." Thursday, 31st, "run off three lots, and re- 
 turned to our camping place at Stumps." Friday, April 
 1st, " run off three lots and returned to camp." Saturday, 
 April 2d, " run off four lots this day which reached below 
 Stumps." On Sunday, the 3d, after a night in which the 
 wind carried quite off their tent, so that they were 
 " obliged to lie the latter part of the night without cover- 
 ing," " several persons came to see us," and " one of our 
 men shot a wild turkey." Monday, April 4th : " This 
 morning Mr. Fairfax left us with intent to go down by 
 the mouth of the Branch. We did two lots, and was at- 
 tended by a great company of people as we went through 
 the woods. They speak all Dutch. This day our tent was 
 blown down by the violentness of the wind." Tuesday, 
 5th, " we went out and did four lots, attended by the same 
 company of people." That night "was so intolerably 
 smoky that we were obliged all hands to leave the tent to 
 the mercy of the wind and fire." On Wednesday, 6th, 
 attended by the same company until about twelve o'clock, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 65 
 
 " when we finished," and travelled down the Branch about 
 thirty miles. Caught in a very heavy rain, they " got un- 
 der a straw house until the worst of it was over." The 
 next morning " surveyed 1,500 acres of land and returned 
 about one o'clock." About two " heard that Mr. Fairfax 
 was at Peter Cassey's about two miles off ; took my horse 
 and went up to see him; slept in Cassey's house which 
 was the first night I had slept in a house since I came up 
 to the Branch." Friday, 8th, "We breakfasted at Cas- 
 sey's (Washington and Fairfax) and rode down together 
 to Van Metris's to get all our company together. Rode 
 down below the Trough in order to lay of¥ lots there. 
 Laid off one this day. Camped this night in the woods 
 (instead of at some settler's place). After we had pitched 
 our tent and made a very large fire, we pulled out our 
 knapsack, in order to recruit ourselves. Every one was 
 his own cook. Our spits was forked sticks, our plates a 
 large chip." This exceptional experience is used by Ban- 
 croft to show what sort of hard life Washington had to 
 live as a surveyor. The record shows how they com- 
 monly camped where a settler's house was available for 
 their meals, if not for beds, and how in one house there 
 were no knives, " but, as good luck would have it, we had 
 knives of our own " (at Solomon Hedges, March 26th). 
 Moreover, the very next day, the record is, " Saturday, 
 9th: Set the surveyors to work, whilst Mr. Fairfax and 
 myself stayed at the tent." Their rations were exhausted, 
 and they had to go without until, at four or five in the 
 evening, they "could get some from the neighbors," as 
 they had all along done until these two days deep in the 
 woods. The two young gentlemen, Washington and Fair- 
 fax, were in charge of a party of surveyors; and on this 
 day the former says of himself and his companion, after 
 they got something to eat in the evening, " We then took 
 5 
 
66 WASHINGTON. 
 
 leaves of the rest of our company, and rode down to John 
 Colins in order to set off the next day homewards." The 
 next day was Sunday, April loth, and the two young men 
 " travelled over hills and mountains to Coddy's, on Great 
 Cacapehon, about forty miles." The next day they trav- 
 elled to Fredericktown, and the day after a further long 
 journey to get over the Ridge. A third day brought them 
 home. 
 
 These records show twelve days of surveying in thirty- 
 four days, and in four special places, without the least at- 
 tempt anywhere at a general survey. They do not show 
 Washington acting as a surveyor, but merely taking a 
 hand in the work being done by a party of surveyors. It 
 was a year and four months after this before Washington 
 had a license under which he could himself act as a sur- 
 veyor, and even then he did no more than to execute 
 special surveys. In one only of the four situations men- 
 tioned above were any considerable number of lots sur- 
 veyed, and only seven days were necessary for this; nor 
 was it Washington's work; it was the work of a party of 
 surveyors under Mr. Genn, "the surveyor," in which 
 Washington assisted in only a minor way. The whole 
 story of Lord Fairfax wanting his domain surveyed, and 
 intrusting Washington at sixteen with the work, and the 
 latter going on as a surveyor for three years, until he 
 was nineteen, is unhistorical. For the first half nearly of 
 the three years, until July, 1749, Washington was not a 
 surveyor and could only work at it under some one who 
 was. For the second half, and a little more, of the three 
 years, he did no more than to execute special surveys, 
 laying off an estate here, and a group of lots there. The 
 record of the early work, as given above, has never been 
 fully and correctly given. Even Mr. W, C Ford's edi- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 67 
 
 tion, with all its pretension to reproduce the original, 
 leaves the whole matter in confusion. 
 
 There is in the Department of State at Washington an 
 ancient blank-book, originally of very nice quality, which 
 has in it the record which Washington made of the first 
 weeks of his active life, in March and April, 1748, when 
 he was a youth of sixteen. The new edition of " Wash- 
 ington's Writings" draws first from this book, and by 
 comparison with the original we soon see how Mr. Ford 
 works. 
 
 Mr. Ford omits, at the top of page i, volume I, the title 
 to what he calls ''the earliest manuscript that I have 
 found, except his studies in surveying and summaries of 
 his reading," and of which he says that it " is printed from 
 the original in the Department of State." The original 
 begins: "A Journal of my Journey over the Mountains, 
 began Fryday the nth of March 1747-8." Mr. Ford omits 
 this, and gives in place of it, "Journal of a Survey, 1748," 
 which is not in the original. Not only so, but Mr. Ford 
 is entirely wrong in putting the title " Journal of a Sur- 
 vey " to the document which Washington called " Jour- 
 nal of my Journey." 
 
 The original which Mr. Ford has used is in a small 
 blank-book, on the front cover of which is a remnant of 
 the clasp, showing this to be the front cover, and the in- 
 scription written with a pen. 
 
 Journey over the Moun- 
 tains in 1747 — 
 
 Survey Notes 
 
 Youthful letters 
 
 Mem^ &c. 
 
 A little scrutiny shows that at one and the same time 
 Washington made a double use of the book. On the first 
 page, in the front of the book, he begins a Journal-Record 
 
68 WASHINGTON. 
 
 of his Surveys, as follows: '' March ye 15th, 1747-8 Sur- 
 veyed for George Fairfax, Esq.r. a Tract of Land lying 
 on Cotes Marsh and Long Marsh beginning at three Red 
 Oaks Fx on a Ridge the No. side a spring Branch being 
 corner to the 623 acre Tract," etc. The record of this 
 survey fills the first page and two-thirds of the second. 
 The third page has the record of another survey, begin- 
 ning: "March 29, 1748, Surveyed for Mr James Rut- 
 lidge ye following a piece of Land Beginning at 3 W. O. 
 in ye Mannor Line by a Path leading to ye Clay Lick," etc. 
 
 On page 4 begins a record of Surveys of lots, numbered 
 Lot I, Lot 2, etc., to Lot 20, and ending at the top of page 
 12. This record has the heading " The Courses and Dis- 
 tances of ye Several Lots lay'd of on ye So Fork of Wap- 
 pacomo Began March 30th 1748." Lots i and 2 are placed 
 under March 30th, Lots 3 to 8 under March 31st, Lots 
 9 to 12 under April 2d, Lots 13 and 14, and the " Courses 
 of ye Fork," under April 4th, Lots 15 to 18 under April 
 5th, and Lots 19 and 20 under April 6th. 
 
 On page 13 of the book follows a memorandum of " The 
 Manner how to Draw up a Return when Surveyed for 
 His Lordship or any of ye Family." It begins : " March 
 15th, 1747-8 Then Survey 'd for George Fairfax Esqr. 
 Three Thousand and Twenty Three Acres of Land lying 
 in Frederick County on Long Marsh Joyning Thomas 
 Johnstones Land and bounded as follows." The descrip- 
 tion follows, five lines on page 13, to the top of page 15. 
 The memorandum indicates that the return was to be 
 signed as follows : 
 
 JAMES GENN 
 
 George Ashby ) ^, . 
 Richard Taylor ) 
 Robert Ashby Marker 
 Wm. Lindsey Pilot 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 69 
 
 Genn was, as we have seen, an authorized surveyor, 
 which Washington at the time was not, although he be- 
 came so later by obtaining a license from William and 
 Mary College, upon an examination duly passed. 
 
 The three following leaves, pages 16-21, are torn out, 
 with the writing on them. Page 22 has, on the top half, 
 " The Courses of the Town of Alexandria," and " The 
 Measures of the River," with half a dozen lines under the 
 latter head. Then begins a series of letters, or drafts, the 
 first, addressed to " Dear Sir," breaking off at the top of 
 the next page, and directly followed, to the middle of page 
 25, with a letter addressed, " Dear Friend John." Sub- 
 stantially the same letter, addressed, " Dear Friend Robin," 
 follows, from the top of page 26 to the middle of page 28. 
 A letter, addressed " Dear Sally," follows on pages 29 and 
 30. At the top of page 31a letter was begun, " Dear Sir 
 It would be the greatest satisfaction," and then broken 
 off, but these few words show a care with the pen distinctly 
 better than the usual hand of the writer, but not another 
 hand. There comes next a " Memorandum to have my 
 Coat made by the following Directions," which extends 
 to the middle of page 32. Thence forward pages 33 to 50 
 are blank. Pages 52 to 55 had been torn out, apparently 
 blank, and a letter, addressed " Dear Richard," is written 
 on pages 51 and 56. At the top of page 57 is written: 
 " Mem. To Survey the Land at the Mouth of the Little 
 Cacapehon and the Mouth of Fifteen Mile Creek for the 
 gentlemen of the Ohio Com : " Two-thirds of the next page, 
 the 58th, contains a letter beginning: "I heartily con- 
 gratulate you on the happy news of my Brother's safe ar- 
 rival in health in England, and am joy'd to hear that his 
 stay is likely to be so short." The next thirty-five pages 
 are blank, counting two in one place, and eight in another, 
 torn out. 
 
70 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Then we come to writing which is the other side up, 
 being thirty-four pages, and two or three blank pages, 
 which begin from the other end of the volume, the back 
 end. On pages i to 24 occurs what Washington entitled, 
 "A Journal of my Journey over the Mountains, began 
 Fryday the nth of March 1747-8." It is very plain that 
 while entering in the front of the book his Surveys, in the 
 form both of records and of a journal, Washington turned 
 the book round and entered his journal of travel. Mr. 
 Ford copies the journal of travel (as we have done above), 
 omits the title which stands at the head of the first page 
 of the document itself, and puts to it the title properly 
 belonging to the document in the front end of the book, 
 which he does not copy, the journal-record of surveys. 
 Mr. Ford's first pa^e thus begins with an inexcusable omis- 
 sion of what Washington wrote, and a substitution of 
 something written by himself, which is inapplicable and 
 untrue. 
 
 In a note to his false title, Mr. Ford carries error and 
 misstatement still further. He says : " This is the earliest 
 manuscript of Washington's that I have found, except his 
 studies in surveying and his summaries of his reading, and 
 is printed from the original in the Department of State. 
 It possesses little interest apart from its early date. Lord 
 Fairfax claimed under a patent of James II all of what 
 is now the lower end of the Shenandoah valley, and it was 
 by his directions that Washington surveyed it." There 
 are about as many errors as phrases in this note. The 
 claim of Lord Fairfax was simply that of inheritance from 
 his mother, daughter of Lord Thomas Culpeper, who 
 finally held a limited, though still immense, estate, under 
 an agreement on his part which very greatly modified the 
 eflfect of the original patent. The limit, however, of the 
 estate, as Culpeper's daughter left it to her son, is very 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 71 
 
 inadequately described by saying " the lower end of the 
 Shenandoah valley," since it went well into the Alleghany 
 mountains beyond. And, whatever were the limits, it is 
 most incorrect to say that " Washington surveyed it." 
 One of the earliest letters of Washington speaks of " the 
 other Surveyors," in connection with his request for direc- 
 tions as to " the Surveying of Cacapehon." Both before 
 Washington began, and while he was engaged, there were 
 " other surveyors," who must have done much more than 
 he did; and in this first instance Washington, even if he 
 had general direction as well as gave assistance, was not 
 himself the surveyor. His journal of the second day says, 
 as we have seen, " Mr. James Genn, the Surveyor, came 
 to us." His memorandum of a proper return of one of 
 the surveys shows that it was to bear the signature of 
 Genn as surveyor, and the names of four others, two 
 chainmen, a marker and a pilot, and not Washington's 
 name at all. The journal of April 9th says : '' Set the 
 Surveyors to work, whilst Mr. Fairfax and myself stayed 
 at the tent." The fact was that Washington was not yet 
 a surveyor ; and that when, nearly a year and a half later, 
 he took out a license and thus became one, he was by no 
 means the only one, and did not anything like survey the 
 domain at large of Lord Fairfax. No one in fact " sur- 
 veyed it," in the sense of a general survey. Here and 
 there estates, farms, or lots were marked off by reference 
 only to arbitrarily chosen points and bounds. 
 
 Mr. Ford says that the Journal of a Journey is the earli- 
 est manuscript, etc. ; but this leaves out of view the much 
 greater amount of matter which Washington wrote in the 
 front of the volume, at the back end of which, reversing 
 the book, he wrote the journal of his journey. This mat- 
 ter consists of a record of the surveys made, and of the 
 series of letters, some idea -of which we have g^ven. With 
 
72 WASHINGTON. 
 
 very slight exceptions the whole is of extreme interest, 
 and ought to have been printed, with ample notes of ex- 
 planation. It is certainly of interest to find from two por- 
 tions of what Mr. Ford leaves out, that the first survey 
 made was to mark ofif for George William Fairfax an 
 estate of 3,023 acres, on Long Marsh. Every word of the 
 letters which follow the record of surveys should be given, 
 as only by seeing all can one judge what they really are, 
 whether they are mere drafts never used, or actual letters, 
 and what autobiographical significance they have. 
 
 Mr. Ford says that he has printed from the original. 
 His preface tells us of his rule that " wherever possible, 
 the original is used," and he further says, " I have been 
 specially fortunate in my copyist, to whose industry and 
 accuracy I gladly pay some tribute." But as early as the 
 tenth Hne on the first page there is the palpable blunder of 
 reading "spent the /a.y^ part of the Day in admiring the 
 Trees and Richness of the Land," when the original most 
 plainly has " best part of the Day." In the thirteenth line 
 of page 2, in " Had we not have been," the " have " is care- 
 lessly left out. At the twentieth and twenty-sixth Hues 
 on page 3, " men " is read for " they," and " full " is in- 
 serted into " Pot half of water." In line 6, page 4, " our " 
 is inserted into " knives of own," and '" own " bracketed 
 as not in the text, when it is there most plainly. At line 
 4, page 5, " by " is carelessly put for " to the mouth of the 
 Branch;" at hne 18 we have "up till about 12 o'clock," 
 for " untill." On page 6, at line 18, " untill about 4" has 
 the " about " left out, while the next line omits the " our " 
 in " We then took our leaves." 
 
 These half score of perfectly palpable and needless mis- 
 takes, within half a dozen pages, bring us to page 7, twenty- 
 five lines of which are occupied with the " Dear Richard " 
 letter, "printed from the original," and, as Mr. Ford's 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 73 
 
 preface promises, with " the fulness and accuracy of detail 
 even to an extreme," every letter, punctuation, or want 
 of it, use of capital letters, bad spelling, etc., etc., to meet 
 " the requirements of the modern historical method." The 
 " industry and accuracy " of " my copyist," in this letter 
 of twenty-five lines, must have gone on a vacation, as the 
 copy printed by Mr. Ford contains eighty-five variations 
 from the perfectly legible and plain original. It is in fact 
 from some previously printed copy, which a corrector had 
 altered throughout, and not even a glance at the original 
 has been taken, sufficient to detect so large an omission 
 as that of the words " like a Negro," in the close of the 
 letter. The original has, " I have never had my Cloths 
 of but lay and sleep in them Hke a Negro except the few 
 Nights I have lay'n in Frederick Town." Mr. Ford has it, 
 " I have never had my clothes ofif, but lay & sleep in 
 them, except the few nights I have lay'n in Frederic Town." 
 An editor and copyist who can't together see a Negro so 
 conspicuously manifest will have to be content with being 
 a mutual admiration society of two. The other chief errors 
 of Mr. Ford's copy of this letter are hardly less excusable. 
 The original says, " Dubbleloon," " Birth nearest the fire," 
 " Parcel of Doggs or Catts," " Little Hay Straw Fodder 
 or bairskin," but Mr. Ford has " doubloon," " berth," " par- 
 cel of dogs and cats," and " little hay, straw, fodder, or 
 bearskin," quite as if young Master Washington had not 
 only written more correctly than Lord Bacon and Shakes- 
 peare, but as correctly as we do now. 
 
 Mr. Ford next gives the " Dear Friend Robin " letter ; 
 twenty-six lines of text, which again is not printed from 
 the original, but from a copy altered from that. Pretend- 
 ing that it is accurately copied, Mr. Ford yet gives it to 
 us with fifty-one variations from the original. Thus 
 
74 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " makes me endeavour " is read " I make one endeavor; " 
 and although most of the other words are as in the orig- 
 inal, the spelling, punctuation, and use of capitals are ac- 
 cording to a corrected copy. A note to this letter gives 
 "A curious memorandum," — that about the making of a 
 coat, — and in ten lines there are fifty-one variations from 
 the original. Mr. Ford says of this memorandum that it, 
 "judging from the hand-writing, belongs to this period." 
 He does not tell us whether his accurate copyist concurs 
 in this 'Sapient judgment. The simple fact is that the 
 memorandum occurs as one item among the others in this 
 early little book, like a brick laid into a wall, and there is 
 not the smallest chance to judge about it, it so manifestly 
 goes with the other items. And this is but one sHght 
 illustration of the false pretenses made by Mr. Ford as 
 an editor, collector, annotator, etc. He says of the " Jour- 
 nal," as we have seen : " This is the earliest manuscript 
 that / have found,'' These three last words are pure false 
 pretense. The manuscript in question, and the other early 
 manuscripts, were all ''found" before Mr. Ford's time 
 and labors. They repose in the Hbrary of the Department 
 of State, and Mr. Ford has the leave to see them, which any 
 one can have. Not only has Mr. Ford not looked up any 
 of the material to which he thus refers, but he has not 
 looked at it enough to reproduce it correctly. The manu- 
 script book which he pretends to have " found," with its 
 double character (i) a Journal of Surveys, followed by 
 other papers, reading from the front of the book through 
 about sixty pages, and (2) a " Journal of my Journey over 
 the Mountains," reading from the back end of the book 
 through twenty-four pages, Mr. Ford sees in only its sec- 
 ond character, and copying this he puts to it, not its own 
 title, but that belonging to the book in its. other character. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 75 
 
 These experiences in the wilderness essentially served 
 important purposes which were to be accomplished in the 
 future ordering of events, and in which America and 
 humanity at large were interested. 
 
 They established his reputation as a young man of 
 energy, diligence, ability, and integrity. He might have 
 lingered, without reproach, among the pleasures of Mount 
 Vernon and of Belvoir ; for his society ever was the delight 
 of his brother Lawrence, and at the hospitable mansion and 
 in the elegant society of the Fairfaxes he would always have 
 received a hearty welcome. But it was his manly choice 
 faithfully to fulfil the duties of his chosen occupation as a 
 land surveyor, although required by them to brave the dan- 
 gers and endure the hardships and privations of life in 
 the woods. None that knew him needed any further proofs 
 of his title to their esteem and confidence. 
 
 Another important result of his forest discipline was the 
 development of his naturally vigorous frame. He was re- 
 quired to ride for days together on horseback through wild 
 regions, or to traverse them afoot, continually encounter- 
 ing difficulties which put to a severe test his agility and 
 strength, and thus so exercised his physical powers that 
 while he was yet in youth he had the aspect, the port, and 
 the muscle of maturity. 
 
 The nature of his occupation contributed also to his 
 ability, when casting his eye over an extensive region to 
 form at a glance a correct estimate of distances, which to 
 any one who was inexpert seemed marvelous. And he 
 learned by long practice to discover in the dim disance and 
 identify objects which no common eye could see. 
 
 In his forest experience he made yet another valuable 
 acquisition. This was his familiar acquaintance with the 
 habits and opinions of backwoodsmen. He met them in 
 their rambles, took part with them in their hunting excur- 
 
76 WASHINGTON. 
 
 sions, camped with them in the woods, sat with them in 
 their log cabins, partook of their coarse fare, and formed 
 from his own observation a just estimate of their true char- 
 acter, so that afterward when they became soldiers of his 
 armies he thoroughly understood the secret of commanding 
 and directing their best energies. 
 
 And he enjoyed in his surveying expeditions and in his 
 intercourse with borderers and red men, very favorable 
 opportunities for gaining a knowledge of Indian life in its 
 best and its worst phases. He heard from the lips of the 
 backwoodsman, his spirit-stirring tales of the savage 
 cruelties and of the cunning and the treachery which made 
 the word Indian a signal of alarm. He ascertained also 
 by means of his personal intercourse with these wild men, 
 that there were combined with their worst traits some of 
 a far less repugnant nature. A knowledge of their social 
 habits, their opinions, their prejudices, predilections, and 
 superstitions, their artifices in war, and the best modes 
 of conciliating and controlling or of contending with and 
 overpowering them, he acquired in the very regions where 
 they made their haunts. 
 
 There was moreover an important mental influence de- 
 rived from his frequenting primeval forests and moving 
 among the sights and sounds associated with them. Such 
 sights and sounds do not affect only the poetic and im- 
 aginative, they find a ready response in every ingenuous 
 and susceptible mind. The very silence of the deep woods 
 is significant, and when night shuts out all that the eye 
 finds in them that is of interest, their solemn gloom broken 
 only by the glare of the camp-fire or by the light of the 
 pale moon and twinkling stars, awakens thoughts and 
 emotions which produce a deep and durable impression on 
 the soul. A familiarity with nature, especially in the wild 
 grandeur of her mountain and forest scenery ever has 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 77 
 
 exerted a powerful influence upon the human mind and 
 heart. 
 
 While making his surveys Washington was frequently 
 led to visit Greenway Court, and he would sometimes tarry 
 there for a few days. On these occasions he indulged 
 with his lordship in his favorite field sports, availed him- 
 self of the rare advantages afforded by his well-selected 
 library, and enjoyed the benefit of his edifying and instruc- 
 tive conversation. It appears from the young surveyor's 
 diary and it is a significant record, that instead of light 
 literature, he now devoted his hours for reading chiefly to 
 Addison's Spectator and the History of England. 
 
 During occasional intermissions of severe duty, he re- 
 sorted either to his loved home at his mother's, or to the 
 delightful residence of his brother Lawrence, at Mount 
 Vernon. His attachment to this brother was always 
 ardent and devoted. Lawrence was not only an accom- 
 plished gentleman, possessed of those qualities which com- 
 mand deference, excite regard, and kindle affection, but 
 he had the practical experience of a soldier's life; and, as 
 an active member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, 
 he was familiarly acquainted with political affairs. From 
 intercourse with him, his brother George continued to 
 gather stores of valuable knowledge. 
 
 His employment as a surveyor kept him busily, use- 
 fully, and profitably occupied. And he relied upon this 
 employment for his support, not anticipating by loans the 
 revenues to be derived from his patrimonial inheritance. 
 
 His father had bequeathed to the eldest son, Lawrence, 
 the estate afterward called Mount Vernon. To Augustine, 
 the second son of his first wife, he had given the old 
 homestead in Westmoreland county. And George, at the 
 age of twenty-one, was to inherit the house and lands in 
 Suffolk county. As yet however he derived no benefit 
 
78 WASHINGTON. 
 
 from this landed property. But his industry and diligence 
 in his laborious occupation supplied him with abundant 
 pecuniary means. His habits of life were simple and eco- 
 nomical; he indulged in no gay and expensive pleasures; 
 in early youth a good boy, he had now become an indus- 
 trious young man, and he was maturing his discipline for 
 a step yet higher. 
 
 When, in due course of time, he received his inheritance, 
 unimpaired and unencumbered, and in addition to it the 
 large estate of Mount Vernon, bequeathed to him by his 
 brother Lawrence, and also of valuable lands in Berkeley 
 county, he was intellectually and morally qualified to enter 
 upon the duties, fulfil the obligations, and dispense the 
 hospitalities and bounties of an opulent planter; intelli- 
 gent, honorable, and every way exemplary. 
 
 [Washington did not receive the full property interest 
 of Mount Vernon until the life interest in it of the widow 
 of Lawrence Washington had expired. He made an ar- 
 rangement for possession under which he paid to her and 
 her second husband an annual sum sufficient to materially 
 draw upon his resources. 
 
 Lodge says of the early developments of character in 
 Washington and of the means by which they were brought 
 about : 
 
 "While Washington was working his way through the 
 learning purveyed by Mr. Williams, he was also receiving 
 another education, of a much broader and better sort, 
 from the men and women among whom he found himself, 
 and with whom he made friends. Chief among them was 
 his eldest brother, Lawrence, fourteen years his senior, 
 who had been educated in England, had fought with Ver- 
 non at Carthagena, and had then returned to Virginia, to 
 be to him a generous father and a loving frienB. As the 
 head of the family, Lawrence Washington had received 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 79 
 
 the lion's share of the property, including the estate at 
 Hunting Creek, on the Potomac, which he christened 
 Mount Vernon, after his admiral, and where he settled 
 down and built him a goodly house. To this pleasant spot 
 George Washington journeyed often in vacation time, and 
 there he came to live and further pursue his studies, after 
 leaving school in the autumn of 1747. 
 
 " Lawrence Washington had married the daughter of 
 William Fairfax, the proprietor of Belvoir, a neighboring 
 plantation, and the agent for the vast estates held by his 
 family in Virginia. George Fairfax, Mrs. Washington's 
 brother, had married a Miss Carey, and thus two large 
 and agreeable family connections were thrown open to the 
 young surveyor when he emerged from school. The chief 
 figure, however, in that pleasant winter of 1747-48, so far 
 as an influence upon the character of Washington is con- 
 cerned, was the head of the family into which Lawrence 
 Washington Had married. Thomas, Lord Fairfax, then 
 sixty years of age, had come to Virginia to live upon and 
 look after the kingdom which he had inherited in the wilder- 
 ness. He came of a noble and distinguished race. Grad- 
 uating at Oxford with credit, he served in the army, dab- 
 bled in literature, had his fling in the London world, and 
 was jilted by a beauty who preferred a duke, and gave her 
 faithful but less titled lover an apparently incurable wound. 
 His life having been thus early twisted and set awry. Lord 
 Fairfax, when well past his prime, had determined finally 
 to come to Virginia, bury himself 'in the forests, and look 
 after the almost limitless possessions beyond the Blue 
 Ridge, which he had inherited from his maternal grand- 
 father. Lord Culpeper, of unsavory Restoration memory. 
 It was a piece of great good fortune which threw in Wash- 
 ington's path this accomplished gentleman, familiar with 
 courts and camps, disappointed, but not morose, disillu- 
 
80 WASHINGTON. 
 
 sioned, but still kindly and generous. From him the boy 
 could gain that knowledge of men and manners which no 
 school can give, and which is as important in its way as 
 any that a teacher can impart. 
 
 " Lord Fairfax and Washington became fast friends. 
 They hunted the fox together, and hunted him hard. They 
 engaged in all the rough sports and perilous excitements 
 that Virginia winter life could afford, and the boy's bold 
 and skilful riding, his love of sports, and his fine temper, 
 commended him to the warm and affectionate interest of 
 the old nobleman. Other qualities, too, the experienced 
 man of the world saw in his young companion, a high and 
 persistent courage, robust and calm sense, and, above all, 
 unusual force of will and character. Washington im- 
 pressed profoundly everybody with whom he was brought 
 into personal contact, a fact which is one of the most 
 marked features of his character and career, and one which 
 deserves study more than almost any other. Lord Fair- 
 fax was no exception to the rule. He saw in Washington 
 not simply a promising, brave, open-hearted boy, diligent 
 in practicing his profession, and whom he was anxious to 
 help, but something more ; something which so impressed 
 him that he confided to this lad a task which, according 
 to its performance, would affect both his fortune and his 
 peace. In a word, he trusted Washington, and told him, 
 as the spring of 1748 was opening, to go forth and survey 
 the vast Fairfax estates beyond the Ridge, define their 
 boundaries, and save them from future litigation. With 
 this commission from Lord Fairfax, Washington entered 
 on the first period of his career. He passed it on the fron- 
 tier, fighting nature, the Indians, and the French. He 
 went in a schoolboy; he came out the first soldier in the 
 Colonies and one of the leading men of Virginia. Let us 
 pause a moment and look at him as he stands on the 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 81 
 
 threshold of this momentous period, rightly called mo- 
 mentous because it was the formative period in the life of 
 such a man. 
 
 " He had just passed his sixteenth birthday. He was 
 tall and muscular, approaching the stature of more than 
 six feet which he afterward attained. He was not yet 
 filled out to manly proportions, but was rather spare, after 
 the fashion of youth. He had a well-shaped, active figure, 
 symmetrical except for the unusual length of the arms, 
 indicating uncommon strength. His light brown hair was 
 drawn back from a broad forehead, and grayish-blue eyes 
 looked happily, and perhaps a trifle soberly, on the pleas- 
 ant Virginia world about him. The face was open and 
 manly, with a square, massive jaw, and a general expres- 
 sion of calmness and strength. " Fair and florid," big 
 and strong, he was, take him for all in all, as fine a speci- 
 men of his race as could be found in the EngHsh Colonies. 
 
 " Let us look a little closer through the keen eyes of one 
 who studied many faces to good purpose. The great 
 painter of portraits, Gilbert Stuart, tells us of Washing- 
 ton that he never saw in any man such large eye-sockets, 
 or such a breadth of nose and forehead between the eyes, 
 and that he read there the evidence of the strongest pas- 
 sions possible to human nature. John Bernard, the actor, 
 a good observer, too, saw in Washington's face, in 1797, 
 the signs of an habitual conflict and mastery of passions, 
 witnessed by the compressed mouth and deeply indented 
 brow. The problem had been solved then; but in 1748, 
 passion and will alike slumbered, and no man could tell 
 which would prevail, or whether they would work together 
 to great purpose or go jarring on to nothingness. He 
 rises up to us out of the past in that early springtime a 
 fine, handsome, athletic boy, beloved by those about him, 
 who found him a charming companion and did not guess 
 6 
 
82 WASHINGTON. 
 
 that he might be a terribly dangerous foe. He rises up 
 instinct with Hfe and strength, a being capable, as we 
 know, of great things, whether for good or evil, with hot 
 blood pulsing in his veins and beating in his heart, with 
 violent passions and relentless will still undeveloped, and 
 no one in all that jolly, generous Virginian society even 
 dimly dreamed what that development would be, or what 
 it would mean to the world. 
 
 " Lord Fairfax was so much pleased by the report that 
 he moved across the Blue Ridge, built a hunting lodge 
 preparatory to something more splendid which never came 
 to pass, and laid out a noble manor, to which he gave the 
 name of Greenway Court. He also procured for Wash- 
 ington an appointment as a public surveyor, which con- 
 ferred authority on his surveys and provided him with 
 regular work. Thus started, Washington toiled at fiis 
 profession for three years, living and working as he did 
 on his first expedition. . . . And while he worked and 
 earned he kept an observant eye upon the wilderness, and 
 bought up when he could the best land for himself and 
 his family, laying the foundations of the great landed 
 estate of which he died possessed. 
 
 " There was also a lighter and pleasanter side to this 
 hard-working existence, which was quite as useful and 
 more attractive than toiling in the woods and mountains. 
 The young surveyor passed much of his time at Green- 
 way Court, hunting the fox and rejoicing in all field sports 
 which held high place in that kingdom, while at the same 
 time he profited much in graver fashion by his friendship 
 with such a man as Lord Fairfax. There, too, he had a 
 chance at a library, and his diaries show that he read care- 
 fully the history of England and the essays of the ' Spec- 
 tator.' Neither in early days nor at any other time was 
 he a student, for he had few opportunities, and his life from 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 83 
 
 the beginning was out of doors and among men. But the 
 idea sometimes put forward that Washington cared noth- 
 ing for reading or for books is an idle one. He read at 
 Greenway Court and everywhere else when he had a 
 chance, and he read well and to some purpose, studying 
 men and events in books as he did in the world, and though 
 he never talked of his reading, preserving silence on that 
 as on other things concerning himself, no one ever was 
 able to record an instance in which he showed himself 
 ignorant of history or of literature. He was never a 
 learned man, but so far as his own language could carry 
 him he was an educated one. Thus while he developed 
 the sterner qualities by hard work and a rough life, he did 
 not bring back the coarse habits of the backwoods and the 
 camp-fire, but was able to refine his manners and improve 
 his mind in the excellent society and under the hospitable 
 roof of Lord Fairfax." 
 
 Lodge's assumption that " another education " than that 
 of his four years' schooling played a part of importance 
 in the preparation of Washington for his career is as just 
 as it is important ; and it is correct to make great account 
 of the brotherly tutorship of Lawrence, the fine quality 
 and large variety of the influences represented by the elder 
 William Fairfax and his family at Belvoir ; and the weight 
 of services rendered by Lord Fairfax; but the statement 
 that the latter, out of special trust, commissioned him, in 
 the spring of 1748, "to go forth and survey the vast Fair- 
 fax estates, define their boundaries, and save them from 
 future litigation," is a deplorable example of ignorance 
 and credulity setting the imagination at work upon an 
 utterly baseless tradition. Lord Fairfax had already put 
 his trust in plain " Mr. Genn, the Surveyor," as young 
 Washington's own report calls him, with four other per- 
 sons required, with the surveyor, to make a legal survey 
 
84 WASHINGTON. 
 
 party, and by their five signatures authentic a survey. 
 The ^part played by Washington was that of going along 
 with the surveying party, and giving such assistance as 
 the circumstances permitted, which cannot have been 
 much more than general oversight and some minor ser- 
 vice, because the law required the essential running of 
 lines and making of measurements to be done by the 
 legally qualified surveyor's men. Washington tells how 
 a survey, and all surveys, made for Lord Fairfax, must be 
 reported, and the five names required to be signed do not 
 include his own. 
 
 We know, moreover, from Washington's own account, 
 that the surveys executed in the spring of 1748 amounted 
 to only a laying off of special lots, only one large one in 
 the first place reached, and only a few in each of two other 
 places, while the most considerable work lasted only seven 
 days and covered the survey of only a comparatively small 
 fragment of the vast Fairfax estate. Not only was there 
 no trust in Washington for the month's job of travel and 
 surveying, but there was no such task contemplated as a 
 general " survey of the vast Fairfax estates ; " and if there 
 had been there could not possibly have been any thought 
 of giving the task to young Washington, a mere young 
 gentleman amateur, whose work, however well done, 
 would have had no legal value; nor could a large corps 
 of surveyors have reported in thirty-two days, as Lodge 
 says that Washington did, in a way to give Lord Fairfax 
 satisfaction over an executed survey of his millions of 
 acres of Virginia valleys and mountain wilderness. 
 
 Lodge most unfortunately appears to say that Wash- 
 ington went into the surveying business a schoolboy and 
 came out the first soldier in the Colonies. This, however, 
 is mere unlucky carelessness. He means to count the 
 surveying years as the threshold of the first period of 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 85 
 
 about ten years, but reference to any such first period is 
 misleading. That first period began after the surveying 
 years, which were years of preparation far more than they 
 were of employment, and of preparation with which the 
 surveying work, which was the merest occasional bread 
 and butter work, had very little to do. The statement that 
 Lord Fairfax procured for Washington an appointment 
 as a public surveyor, in consequence of the pleasure given 
 him by the surveys made in March-April, 1748, by Wash- 
 ington is wholly an error. " Mr. Genn, the surveyor," 
 had made the surveys, and the whole was too small and 
 commonplace a matter to call for special recognition. It 
 was a year and three months later that Washington got, 
 not an appointment to the office, but a license, such as 
 various persons held, to act as a legally qualified surveyor. 
 As Washington was at the date of getting his license seven- 
 teen years and five months old, he did not from that date 
 " toil at his profession for three years." Moreover, there 
 was no " profession " in the case. Lord Fairfax himself 
 held a license, which was no more than a permit to direct 
 the running of lines and measuring of lands, and authenti- 
 cate the record by an official signature. What Lodge 
 himself says of how Washington passed his time, shows 
 very plainly that he was not primarily a working surveyor, 
 and that he did not " toil for three years, living and work- 
 ing as he did on his first expedition." One other such 
 expedition he probably took part in, in the autumn of 
 1749, in surveying lands for the Ohio Company, and quite 
 likely he was himself " the surveyor " in this case, and 
 was out a longer time than one the expedition of March- 
 April, 1748. 
 
 Lodge's attempt to throw light on Washington's char- 
 acter at his entrance upon his seventeenth year would have 
 been to the purpose if he had stopped with the very just 
 
86 WASHINGTON. 
 
 sketch of what Washington as a youth of sixteen appeared 
 to be; but the references to Stuart and to Bernard could 
 not be more wide of the mark. The Bernard incident 
 brings out most deHghtfully the charm and beauty of 
 Washington's humanism, and the single touch about signs 
 of an habitual conflict and mastery of passions was a de- 
 plorably false, as it was a scandalously venturesome, guess.^ 
 All that Bernard saw, or could see, were indications of ex- 
 treme sensibility, and it needed knowledge far beyond 
 Bernard's to tell in what form that depth of feeHng would 
 come out in conduct and character. The whole career 
 of Washington gives the lie to no matter whose charge 
 that there were any passions in his nature calculated to 
 lower his character or cause a moment of blameworthy 
 conduct. Extreme outburst of feeling was no more than 
 a rare possibility, and never then of feeling not profoundly 
 just and perfectly natural to a noble nature. As to what 
 Stuart read, it was as ignorant and baseless a reading as 
 could well be made. The student who can quote Stuart 
 to any such purpose as Lodge does loses through his eye 
 for an anecdote Andes and Alps of evidence, attestations 
 filling both America and Europe, to the almost divine 
 perfection of the temper of Washington. 
 
 The assumption under which Lodge speaks of Wash- 
 ington in his youth as " a being capable of great things, 
 whether for good or evil, with hot blood pulsing in his 
 veins and beating in his heart, with violent passions and 
 relentless will still undeveloped," while " no one even 
 dimly dreamed what that development would be," is con- 
 trary absolutely to all that the latest science can tell us 
 and all that the most certain history can testify. No fact 
 of knowledge carries greater significance or bears a more 
 sure character than the origin from birth of great genius, 
 of remarkable powers, of all the great things, whether for 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 87 
 
 good or evil, of the human being; and no fact of the story 
 of Washington means more for his history or rests on 
 ampler testimony than the possession by him from his 
 birth of the self-control, the balance of character, the large 
 and genial humanism which were the glory of his meridian. 
 There was no impression from his later life in what Gen- 
 eral Braddock saw in Washington on the threshold of his 
 great career, and set down as follows, shortly before that 
 bloody battle in which he fell: 
 
 " Is Mr. Washington among your acquaintances ? If 
 not, I recommend you to embrace the first opportunity to 
 form his friendship. He is about twenty-three years of 
 age; with a countenance both mild and pleasant, prom- 
 ising both wit and judgment. He is of comely and digni- 
 fied demeanor, at the same time displays much self-reliance 
 and decision. He strikes me as being a young man of 
 extraordinary and exalted character, and is destined to 
 make no inconsiderable figure in our country." 
 
 The "hot blood," "violent passions," and "relentless 
 will " might have come through inheritance from one 
 parent, but if they had so come they would have persisted 
 through life; and the evidence is complete that neither 
 the later years nor the earlier knew anything of the kind. 
 Lodge himself says of Washington as Braddock saw him : 
 
 " He also made warm friends with the English officers, 
 and was treated with consideration by his commander. 
 The universal practice of all Englishmen was to behave 
 contemptuously to the colonists, but there was something 
 about Washington which made this impossible. They all 
 treated him with the utmost courtesy, vaguely conscious 
 that beneath the pleasant, quiet manner there was a 
 strength of character and ability such as is rarely found, 
 and that this was a man whom it was unsafe to aflfront. 
 There is no stronger instance of Washington's power of 
 
88 WASHINGTON. 
 
 impressing himself upon others than that he commanded 
 now the respect and affection of his general, who was the 
 last man to be easily or favorably affected by a young pro- 
 vincial officer." 
 
 It is entirely without warrant, and with the worst pos- 
 sible discrimination, that Lodge adds to his thoroughly 
 fine indication of the rare gentleman that Washington was 
 seen to be, that he also appeared to be " a man whom it 
 was unsafe to affront." Braddock and his companions 
 could not possibly have thought that any course they 
 chose to take might prove "unsafe," and the evidence 
 shows beyond question that they saw only what Braddock 
 expressed.] 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HIS VOYAGE TO BARBADOES. 
 
 1751-1752. 
 
 THE health of Lawrence Washington awakened at 
 this time saddening apprehensions. A deeply- 
 seated lung affection, from which he long suffered, 
 had induced him to take a voyage to England. This gave 
 no rehef. He then resorted, but in vain, to the Bath 
 Springs of Virginia. And now, at the instance of his medi- 
 cal advisers, he proposed to sail for Barbadoes, which was 
 deemed at that time the healthiest island in the West In- 
 dian archipelago. 
 
 He sailed September 28 (1751), accompanied by his 
 brother George, and reached the island on the third day 
 of November. But the experiment of a few weeks' resi- 
 dence proved utterly unavailing. It was determined there- 
 fore to try the delightful cHmate of the Bermudas (Feb- 
 ruary, 1752.) George was in the mean time to repair to 
 Virginia, and to return with Lawrence's wife, that she 
 might join her husband in the spring. 
 
 Lawrence accordingly sailed to the Bermudas (March, 
 1752). Before the lapse of many days after his arrival how- 
 ever he wrote discouragingly : " I have now got to my 
 last refuge, where I must receive my final sentence. If I 
 grow worse, I shall hurry home to my grave." Soon con- 
 vinced that he should no longer listen to the flattery of 
 
 (80) 
 
90 WASHINGTON. 
 
 hope, he did not tarry at the Bermudas for his wife and 
 brother, but he informed them of his intention to return 
 home without delay. This he happily accomplished. But 
 it was only to linger for a little while, and then (July 26, 
 1752), at the early age of thirty-four years to be removed 
 by death from his wife and his only child, an infant 
 daughter. 
 
 To this daughter he bequeathed Mount Vernon. But 
 she died at an early age, and the estate, according to 
 provisions of the bequest in that event, descended to the 
 favorite brother, George. Their father, Augustine Wash- 
 ington, had expressed a desire in his will, that should Law- 
 rence die without issue, George might inherit this estate. 
 Such a parental preference was calculated to throw around 
 it a sacred interest. And it thus became forever associated 
 with the august name of the Father of his Country. It was 
 his happy home, his calm retreat from life's cares and trials, 
 and his place of sepulture. 
 
 While at Barbadoes with his brother he contracted the 
 small-pox, from which he suffered severely. He bore with 
 him through life, some of the familiar marks usually left 
 by that disease. But his voyage to the island, his short 
 residence there, and his voyage home left far more pleasing 
 reminiscences. 
 
 In the exercise, both of his habitual intelHgent observa- 
 tion of men and things and of his characteristic diligence 
 and industry, he kept a journal in which he entered, while 
 at sea, a daily copy of the ship's log-book together with his 
 own remarks; and, while on land, a brief notice of every 
 thing that arrested his attention. 
 
 At Barbadoes he took notes of the state of civil and 
 military affairs; of agriculture, commerce, and social life; 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 91 
 
 and many of his observations are indicative of qualities 
 and attainments rarely to be met with in a young man of 
 but nineteen years of age. 
 
 The following are among his records at the island: 
 
 " November 4, 175 1. This morning received a card from, 
 Major Clarke, welcoming us to Barbadoes with an in- 
 vitation to breakfast and dine with him. We went ; myself 
 with some reluctance as the small-pox was in the family. 
 We were received in the most kind and friendly manner 
 by him. Mrs. Clarke was much indisposed, insomuch that 
 we had not the pleasure of her company. But in her place 
 officiated Miss Roberts, her niece, and an agreeable young 
 lady. After drinking tea we were again invited to Mr. 
 Carter's, and were desired to make his house ours till we 
 could provide lodgings agreeable to our wishes; which 
 offer we accepted. 
 
 " 5th. Early this morning came Dr. Hilary, an eminent 
 physician, recommended by Major Clarke, to pass his 
 opinion on my brother's disorder ; which he did in a favor- 
 able light, giving great assurances that it was not so fixed 
 but that a cure might be effectually made. In the cool of 
 evening we rode out accompanied by Mr. Carter, to seek 
 lodgings in the country as the Doctor advised; and we 
 were perfectly enraptured with the beautiful prospects 
 which every side presented to our view — the fields of cane, 
 corn, fruit-trees, etc., in a delightful green. We returned 
 without accomplishing our intentions. 
 
 " 7th. Dined with Major Clarke and by him was intro- 
 duced to the surveyor-general and the judges, who likewise 
 dined there. In the evening they complaisantly accom- 
 panied us in another excursion into the country to choose 
 lodgings. We pitched on the house of Captain Croftan, 
 
92 WASHINGTON. 
 
 commander of James's Fort. He was desired to come to 
 town next day to propose terms. We returned by the way 
 of Needham's Fort. 
 
 " 8th. Came Captain Croftan with his proposals, which, 
 though extravagantly dear, my brother was obliged to ac- 
 cept. Fifteen pounds a month were his terms, exclusive of 
 liquor and washing, which we find. In the evening we 
 removed some of our things up and went ourselves. It is 
 very pleasantly situated near the sea and about a mile from 
 town. The prospect is extensive by land and pleasant by 
 sea, as we command a view of Carlyle Bay and the shipping. 
 
 "9th. Received a card from Ma;or Clarke, inviting us 
 to dine with him at Judge Maynard's to-morrow. He had 
 a right to ask, being a member of a club called ' The Beef- 
 steak and Tripe,' instituted by himself. 
 
 '^ loth. We were genteelly received by Judge Maynard 
 and his lady, and agreeably entertained by the company. 
 They have a meeting every Saturday — this being Judge 
 Maynard's day. After dinner there was the greatest collec- 
 tion of fruits set on the table that I have yet seen— -the 
 granadilla, sapadilla, pomegranate, sweet orange, water- 
 melon, forbidden fruit, apples, guavas, etc., etc. We re- 
 ceived invitations from every gentleman there. Mr. War- 
 ren desired Major Clarke to show us the way to his house. 
 Mr. Hacket insisted on our coming Saturday next to his, 
 it being his day to treat with beefsteak and tripe. But 
 above all, the invitation of Mr. Maynard was most 
 kind and friendly. He desired and even insisted, as 
 well as his lady, on our coming to spend some weeks 
 with him, and promised that nothing should be wanting to 
 render our stay agreeable. My brother promised he would 
 accept the invitation as soon as he should be a little dis- 
 engaged from the doctors. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 93 
 
 " 15th. Was treated with a ticket to see the play of 
 * George Barnwell ' acted. The characters of Barnwell and 
 several others were said to be well performed. There was 
 music adapted and regularly conducted. 
 
 " 17th. Was strongly attacked with the smallpox. Sent 
 for Dr. Lanahan, whose attendance was very constant till 
 my recovery and going out — which was not till Thursday, 
 the twelfth of December. 
 
 " December 12th. Went to town and called on Major 
 Clarke's family who had kindly visited me in my illness, 
 and contributed all they could in sending me the neces- 
 saries which the disorder required. On Monday last began 
 the Grand Session; and this day was brought on the trial 
 of Colonel C, a man of opulence and of infamous char- 
 acter. He was brought in guiltless and saved by a single 
 evidence, who was generally reckoned to have been 
 suborned. 
 
 " 22d. Took leave of my brother, Major Clarke, and 
 others, and embarked on board the ' Industry ' for Virginia. 
 Weighed anchor and got out of Carlyle Bay about twelve 
 o'clock. 
 
 " The Governor of Barbadoes seems to keep a proper 
 state, lives very retired and at little expense, and is a gen- 
 tleman of good sense. As he avoids the error of his pre- 
 decessor, he gives no handle for complaint ; but, at the same 
 time, by declining much familiarity he is not over-zealously 
 beloved. 
 
 " There are several singular risings in this island, one 
 above another, so that scarcely any part is deprived of 
 a beautiful prospect, both of sea and land; and what is 
 contrary to observation in other countries, each elevation 
 is better than the next below. 
 
94 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " There are many delicious fruits, but as they are par- 
 ticularly described by Mr. Hughes in his Natural History 
 of the island, I shall say nothing further than that the China 
 orange is good. The avagavo pear is generally much ad- 
 mired, though none pleases my taste so well as the pine. 
 
 " The earth in most parts is extremely rich and as black 
 as our richest marsh-meadows. The common produce of 
 the cane is from forty to seventy polls of sugar, each poll 
 valued at twenty shillings, out of which a third is deducted 
 for expenses. Many acres last year produced in valiie 
 from one hundred and forty to one hundred and seventy 
 pounds, as I was informed by credible authority ; though 
 that was in ginger, and a very extraordinary year for the 
 sale of that article. 
 
 " How wonderful that such a people should be in debt, 
 and not be able to indulge themselves in all the luxuries 
 as well as necessaries of life ! Yet so it happens. Estates 
 are often alienated for debts. How persons, coming to 
 estates of two, three, or four hundred acres • — which are 
 the largest — can want, is to me most wonderful. One- 
 third of their land, or nearly that portion, is generally in 
 train for harvest. The rest is in young cane, Guinea-corn 
 — which greatly supports their negroes • — yams, plantains, 
 potatoes, and the like ; and some part is left waste for stock. 
 Provisions are generally very indifferent, but much better 
 than the same quantity of pasturage would afford in Vir- 
 ginia. The very grass that grows among their corn is not 
 lost, but carefully gathered for provender for their stock. 
 
 " Hospitality and a genteel behavior are shown to every 
 gentleman stranger by the gentlemen inhabitants. Taverns 
 they have none, except in the towns, so that travelers are 
 obliged to go to private houses. The people are said to 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 95 
 
 live to a great age where they are not intemperate. They 
 are however very unhappy in regard to their officers' fees, 
 which are not paid by any law. They complain particularly 
 of the provost-marshal or sheriff-general of the island, 
 patented at home and rented at eight hundred pounds a 
 year. Every other officer is exorbitant in his demands. 
 
 " There are few who may be called middHng people. 
 They are very rich or very poor ; for by a law of the island, 
 every gentleman is obliged to keep a white person for every 
 ten acres, capable of acting in the militia, and consequently 
 the persons so kept cannot be very poor. They are well 
 disciplined, and appointed to their several stations so that 
 in any alarm, every man may be at his post in less than two 
 hours. They have large intrenchments cast up wherever 
 it is possible to land, and as nature has greatly assisted, 
 the island may not improperly be said to be one entire forti- 
 fication." 
 
 Among the illustrations of character afforded by these 
 minutes may be particularly noted, a lively sense of gen- 
 erous and kind hospitalities, a practical interest in agricul- 
 tural pursuits, a soldier's observation of military works, and 
 sagacious views of the moral and political state of society. 
 It may be remarked also, that the journalist's usual calm- 
 ness of mind is at once changed to a glow of emotion by the 
 charms of natural scenery, so that he could indite, " We 
 were perfectly enraptured with the beautiful prospects 
 which every side presented to our view." And we have 
 here, in striking contrast to this, an instance of his char- 
 acteristic slight regard to personal inconvenience and dis- 
 comfort, by his mentioning in brief and general terms the 
 fact of his being assailed by a malignant and deforming 
 contagion : " Was strongly attacked with the smallpox. 
 
96 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Sent for Dr. Lanahan, whose attendance was very con- 
 stant till my recovery and going out." 
 
 In all this there are discoverable in embryo, those very 
 qualities of sound good sense and refined emotion which 
 ever after were prominent in him, as the gentleman, the 
 soldier, and the planter; and especially, a concern for the 
 welfare of others, and a reserve in what related to self, in 
 all his pubHc, social, and domestic occupations, and 
 eventually, in his rural retirement at the close of his career. 
 
MARTHA WASHINGTON. 
 
PART II. 
 HIS MILITARY APPOINTMENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WASHINGTON A MAJOR. 
 
 1751-1754. 
 
 IT was in the year 175 1 that Washington received his 
 first miUtary appointment. This was occasioned by 
 preparations in Virginia to meet an emergency 
 created by French claims to a great part of the British 
 territories in America. 
 
 At the time when Edward III of England asserted his 
 right to the French throne, at the beginning of the four- 
 teenth century, a spirit of implacable alienation was en- 
 gendered between the two rival powers; and, fostered by 
 their rancorous altercations and sanguinary wars, it at 
 length reached the" climax of their settled national 
 antipathy. 
 
 Four hundred years had now elapsed. During this 
 period America was discovered and colonies of the two 
 nations settled on its soil. The British occupied the 
 Atlantic coast and the mouths of rivers, and were in pos- 
 session of all the harbors of the Continent. The French 
 settlements were on the banks of the St. Lawrence and 
 the Mississippi. 
 
 Had it been the policy of both nations simply to pro- 
 7 W 
 
98 WASHINGTON. 
 
 mote the welfare of their respective colonies, the time 
 would have been far distant when national rancor could 
 devise the pretext for a bloody conflict. But while the 
 policy of Great Britain was to strengthen her settlements 
 along the seaboard, that of France was to make acquisi- 
 tions of regions in the interior, and eventually to limit 
 her rival's western progress by the natural cordon of the 
 Alleghanies. 
 
 So unscrupulous was the ambition of France in the 
 adoption of measures to attain her object, that, finding 
 herself excluded from all the harbors, it was seriously 
 proposed — and that too at a time when the rival nations 
 were in comparative amity — to make conquest of the 
 city of New York. It was unhesitatingly admitted that 
 this would be a flagrant outrage of the law of nations; 
 but, said De Callieres, who recommended the measure to 
 his countrymen, it has the sanction of necessity.* Thus 
 the contest was in reality between social progress and 
 territorial aggrandizement. 
 
 On three occasions between the middle of the seven- 
 teenth and eighteenth centuries, when the parent coun- 
 tries were in arms against each other, their respective 
 colonists in America were tempted to engage in bloody 
 conflict. 
 
 James II of England, driven from his throne by subjects 
 of strongly Protestant prejudices, and supplanted by 
 William, Prince of Orange, and his Queen, Mary, found 
 a refuge at the court of Louis XIV of France, who 
 not only extended to him cordial sympathy, but espoused 
 his cause in the seven years' contest, known as 
 " King William's War."* During this period the tragic 
 
 * Legitime par la necessite. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 99 
 
 deeds perpetrated by the French and Indians in America, 
 were marked with great ferocity and cruelty. And the 
 retaHation which these deeds provoked was, although far 
 less abhorrent, fearfully desolating. Port Royal in Acadie 
 was captured and twice plundered. Vigorous measures 
 were adopted also for the conquest of all the French pos- 
 sessions in Canada. At length however the Treaty of 
 Ryswick (1697) stayed for a time the malignant strife in 
 which both parties had associated with themselves hordes 
 of fierce, merciless savages. 
 
 The death of James II gave occasion for another rup- 
 ture between France and England. The claim to the 
 British throne inherited by James's son, James Francis 
 Edward, Prince of Wales, was maintained by Louis XIV, 
 who desired that Queen Anne, who was James's daughter 
 and England's choice, should be supplanted by the 
 Prince, commonly known as the " Pretender." Now 
 began " Queen Anne's War " (1702), which continued for 
 eleven years to embroil the colonists. The sanguinary 
 scenes of the preceding war were re-enacted by the 
 French and Indians. And the English colonists once 
 more engaged in a successful expedition against Port 
 Royal, which had been restored to France. But peace 
 once more was proclaimed after the Treaty of Utrecht 
 (1713) ; and now, for almost half a century, British col- 
 onists were reheved from the visitation of calamities such 
 as once had desolated their happy homes. 
 
 But a new disagreement arrayed England and France 
 against each other, and their colonies in America partook 
 of the evils of another war. The powers of Europe had 
 formally stipulated, in the terms of the Pragmatic Sanc- 
 tion (1744), to secure the Austrian succession to the 
 Archduchess Marie Theresa, Queen of Hungary. George 
 II strictly kept the pledge given by Great Britain. Louis 
 
100 WASHINGTON. 
 
 XIV of France disregarded it. And moreover he 
 covertly abetted Spain in a war with England respecting 
 certain rights of commerce ; and also encouraged and 
 assisted the young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward, 
 grandson of James II, in asserting his father the elder 
 Pretender's claim to the British scepter. Hence the two 
 great nations were involved once more in war; and their 
 subjects in America were soon again committing hostili- 
 ties which constituted what is known among us as " King 
 George's War." The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) 
 brought this to a close and restored to France Louisburg 
 and the Island of Cape Breton; important acquisitions 
 made by the British-American colonists three years 
 before. 
 
 The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was however as inef- 
 fectual as all others made to arrest and quench the heredi- 
 tary feuds which set at irreconcilat|le variance nations 
 whose opinions, predilections, and religious doctrines and 
 worship, as well as their habitual antipathies, conspired 
 to make them natural enemies. 
 
 As early as the year 171 5 Colonel Spottiswoode, then 
 Governor of Virginia, urged, with great earnestness, upoii 
 the British government the absolute necessity of making 
 vigorous resistance to the aggressive policy of France. 
 But his representations, deemed extravagant, were then 
 unheeded. In the year 1751 however such was the 
 progress of the adventurous intruders that it was found 
 advisable in Virginia to take precautionary measures of 
 defense. The colony was, with a view to this, divided 
 into districts, in each of whi(ih there was an adjutant- 
 general or military inspector with the rank of major, who 
 was to keep the militia in constant readiness for action. 
 
 One of these military districts was intrusted to Wash- 
 ington. He was then but nineteen years of age ; yet his 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 101 
 
 early predilections had induced him to study some of the 
 best popular treatises on the art of war. His brother 
 Lawrence, Adjutant Muse of Westmoreland, who was a 
 comrade of Lawrence's in the West Indies, Jacob Van- 
 braam, a skilful fencer, and other soldiers of experience, 
 had already imparted to him a knowledge of tactics, of 
 the manual exercise, and of the use of the sword ; and he 
 was recognized as a well-educated officer. 
 
 He entered with great zeal upon his duties. When 
 Robert Dinwiddie the next year became Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Virginia, the colony was divided into four 
 military districts. Major Washington's conduct had al- 
 ready won for him a good report. He was appointed for 
 the northern division. The counties comprehended in 
 this division he promptly and statedly traversed; and he 
 soon effected the thorough discipline of their militia for 
 warlike operations. 
 
 It was amid the various and peculiar duties required 
 by this position that his characteristic qualities first had 
 free exercise. His natural dignity commanded a ready 
 tribute of respect ; his ability was universally acknowl- 
 edged with deference ; and his integrity, industry, and 
 devotion to the duties of his office exerted that magic 
 and authoritative influence, which is accorded to an hon- 
 ored leader, whom, it was now manifest, a high destiny 
 awaited. And his present military discipline proved to 
 be the very schooling for the great exploits by which he 
 was to be qualified to act as chief defender of the cause 
 of the united colonies and to protect them from the ter- 
 rific bolts of vengeance with which, they were to be 
 assailed. By a remarkable synchronism Dr. Franklin 
 this very year made his memorable experiments in elec- 
 tricity by which he discovered that, in the ordering of 
 Providence, means are provided to divest the thunder- 
 
102 WASHINGTON. 
 
 cloud of its destructive power, and to render its frowns 
 and threats harmless.* 
 
 When Major Washington had for two years been busily 
 occupied in his office the Lieutenant-Governor and his 
 council were informed of new and formidable operations 
 of the French ; of their preparation to establish posts and 
 erect fortifications on the western border ; of their troops 
 having crossed the northern lakes on the way to the Ohio, 
 and having ascended the Mississippi from New Orleans; 
 and of their bold and avowed purpose to adopt all neces- 
 sary measures to possess themselves of the whole extent 
 of territory from Louisiana to Canada. 
 
 The hearts of the people of the Old Dominion throbbed 
 with an intense feeling. The Lieutenant-Governor, who 
 had received orders from the Right Honorable Earl of 
 Holdernesse and instructions from the King, resolved to 
 depute at once a special commissioner to the commandant 
 of the French on the Ohio, for the purpose of learning 
 from him his intentions and ascertaining his authority. 
 
 It was an expedition of more than 500 miles, chiefly 
 through an inhospitable wilderness, and among savages. 
 The difficulty and the danger to be encountered required 
 great caution in selecting the person to whom the com- 
 mission was to be intrusted. The Lieutenant-Governor 
 did not hesitate however to appoint Major Washington, 
 who cheerfully consented to perform, to the best of his 
 ability, the arduous services required. He was now but 
 twenty-one years of age. Yet his discipline as a surveyor 
 of wild lands and his military experience as an adjutant, 
 eminently fitted him for this particular duty. The Gov- 
 
 * Dr. Franklin's experiments were made in June, 1752. See his 
 Works, vol. V, p. 177. Boston, 1844. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 103 
 
 ernor, who was a Scotchman, facetiously said on the occa- 
 sion when he observed the alacrity of the young major: 
 " Ye're a braw lad, and gin you play your cards weel, my 
 boy, ye shall hae nae cause to rue your bargain." 
 
 His instructions to the major explain the nature of the 
 commission, and comprehensively set forth the existing 
 state of things: 
 
 " Whereas I have received information of a body of 
 French forces being assembled in a hostile manner on 
 the river Ohio, intending by force of arms to erect certain 
 forts on the said river within this territory and contrary 
 to the dignity and peace of our sovereign, the King of 
 Great Britain: 
 
 " These are therefore to require and direct you, the 
 said George Washington, forthwith to repair to Logstown 
 on the said river Ohio ; and, having there informed your- 
 self where the said French forces have posted themselves, 
 thereupon to proceed to such place; and being there ar- 
 rived, to present your credentials together with my letter 
 to the chief commanding officer, and in the name of his 
 Britannic Majesty to demand an answer thereto. 
 
 *' On your arrival at Logstown you are to address your- 
 self to the Half-King, to Manacatoocha, and other the 
 sachems of the Six Nations; acquainting them with your 
 orders to visit and deliver my letter to the French com- 
 manding officer, and desiring the said chiefs to appoint 
 you a sufficient number of their warriors to be your safe- 
 guard as near the French as you may desire, and to wait 
 your further direction. 
 
 " You are diligently to inquire into the numbers and 
 force of the French on the Ohio and the adjacent country ; 
 how they are likely to be assisted from Canada ; and what 
 are the difficulties and conveniences of that communica- 
 tion, and the time required for it. 
 
104 WASHINGTON. 
 
 ' ■>^. 
 " You are to take care to be truly informed what forts 
 
 the French have erected, and where; how they are gar- 
 risoned and appointed, and what is their distance from 
 each other, and from Logstown ; and, from the best intel- 
 Hgence you can procure, you are to learn what gave occa- 
 sion to this expedition of the French ; how they are likely 
 to be supported, and what their pretensions are. 
 
 " When the French commandant has given you the 
 required and necessary dispatches, you are to desire of 
 him a proper guard to protect you, as far on your return 
 as you judge for your safety, against any straggling In- 
 dians or hunters that may be ignorant of your character 
 and molest you. 
 
 '* Wishing you good success in your negotiation, and a 
 safe and speedy return, I am, &c. 
 
 " Robert Dinwiddie. 
 
 " Williamsburg, ^oth October. 
 
 The Governor furnished him at the same time with 
 credentials, in which he speaks of " reposing especial trust 
 and confidence" in his "ability, conduct, and fidelity." 
 And he furnished also a passport, commanding all his 
 Majesty's subjects, and requiring '' all in alHance and 
 amity with the crown of Great Britain," " to be aiding 
 and assisting as a safeguard " to his express messenger. 
 
 Only twenty-four hours for preparation had elapsed 
 when the " braw lad " set out on the last day of October, 
 1753. His attendants at first were his old fencing-master, 
 Vanbraam, and two servants. Vanbraam, acquainted 
 with the French language, was to be interpreter. They 
 were afterward joined by an interpreter of Indian lan- 
 guages, John Davidson; by an experienced backwoods- 
 man, Christopher Gist, as guide ; and by four other 
 persons hired as " servitors.'' 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 105 
 
 Major Washington's journal of his tour on this occa- 
 sion, brief as it is, is a document of great and general 
 interest. It tells, in terms pleasingly characteristic, his 
 experience and observations in his important mission. 
 
 The subjoined extracts, while they illustrate the course 
 of our narrative, afiford specimens of his unpretending 
 but significant daily records. 
 
 TOUR OVER THE ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS. 
 
 *' I was commissioned and appointed by the Honorable 
 Robert Dinwiddle, Esq., Governor of Virginia, to visit and 
 deliver a letter to the commandant of the French forces 
 on the Ohio, and set out on the intended journey on the 
 same day. The next I arrived at Fredericksburg and en- 
 gaged Mr. Jacob Vanbraam to be my French interpreter, 
 and proceeded with him to Alexandria, where we provided 
 necessaries. From thence we went to Winchester and 
 got baggage, horses, etc.; and from thence we pursued 
 the new road to Wills Creek, where we arrived on the 
 14th of November. * * * 
 
 " The excessive rains and vast quantity of snow which 
 had fallen prevented our reaching Mr. Frazier's, an Indian 
 trader, at the mouth of Turtle creek, on the Monongahela 
 river, until Thursday the twenty-second. * * * 
 
 " The waters were quite impassable without swimming 
 our horses, which obliged us to get the loan of a canoe 
 from Frazier, and to send Barnaby Currin and Henry 
 Steward* down the Monongahela with our baggage, to 
 meet us at the Fork of the Ohio, about ten miles; there to 
 cross the Alleghany. 
 
 * These persons were two of the four hired " servitors." Barnaby 
 Currin was an Indian trader. 
 
106 WASHINGTON. 
 
 "As I got down before the canoe, I spent some time in 
 viewing the rivers and the land in the Fork, which I think 
 extremely well situated for a fort, as it has the absolute 
 command of both rivers. The land at the point is twenty 
 or twenty-five feet above the common surface of the water, 
 and a considerable bottom of flat, well-timbered land 
 around it, very convenient for building. The rivers are 
 each a quarter of a mile or more across, and run here very 
 nearly at right angles; Alleghany bearing northeast, and 
 Monongahela southeast. The former of these two is a 
 very rapid and swift-running water; the other deep and 
 still, without any perceptible fall. 
 
 ''About two miles from this, on the southeast side of 
 the river, at the place where the Ohio Company intended 
 to erect a fort, lives Shingiss, King of the Delawares. We 
 called upon him to invite him to council at Logstown. 
 
 "As I had taken a good deal of notice yesterday of the 
 situation at the Fork, my curiosity led me to examine 
 this more particularly, and I think it greatly inferior, either 
 for defense or advantages — especially the latter. For 
 a fort at the Fork would be equally well situated on the 
 Ohio and have the entire command of the Monongahela, 
 which runs up our settlement, and is extremely well 
 designed for water carriage as it is of a deep, still nature. 
 Besides, a fort at the Fork* might be built at much less 
 expense than at the other places. * * * 
 
 " Shingiss attended us to the Logstown, where we ar- 
 rived between sunsetting and dark, the twenty-fifth day 
 after I left Williamsburg. * * * 
 
 "As soon as I came into town, I went to Monacatoocha 
 (as the Half-King was out at his hunting cabin on Little 
 Beaver creek, about fifteen miles off), and informed him 
 
 V 
 
 * The spot here designated is the site of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 107 
 
 by John Davidson, my Indian interpreter, that I was sent 
 a messenger to the French general, and was ordered to 
 call upon the sachems of the Six Nations, to acquaint 
 them with it. I gave him a string of wampum and a 
 twist of tobacco, and desired him to send for the Half- 
 King (which he promised to do, by a runner, in the morn- 
 ing), and for other sachems. I invited him and the other 
 great men present to my tent, where they stayed about 
 an hour and returned. * * * 
 
 " November 25th. Came to town four of ten French- 
 men, who had deserted from a company at the Kuskuskas, 
 which lies at the mouth of this river. * * * 
 
 " I inquired into the situation of the French on the 
 Mississippi, their numbers and what forts they had built. 
 They informed me that there were four small forts be- 
 tween New Orleans and the Black Islands, garrisoned 
 with about thirty or forty men and a few small pieces in 
 each' ; that at New Orleans, which is near the mouth of the 
 Mississippi, there are thirty-five companies of forty men 
 each, with a pretty strong fort mounting eight carriage 
 guns; and at the Black Islands there are several com- 
 panies and a fort with six guns. 
 
 " The Black Islands are about 130 leagues above the 
 mouth of the Ohio, which is about 350 above New 
 Orleans. They also acquainted me that there was a 
 small palisadoed fort on the Ohio at the mouth of 
 the Obaish, about sixty leagues from the Mississippi. 
 The Obaish heads near the west end of Lake Erie and 
 affords the communication between the French on the 
 Mississippi and those on the lakes. The deserters came 
 up from the lower Shannoah town with one Brown, an 
 Indian trader, and were going to Philadelphia. 
 
 "About 3 o'clock this evening the Half-King came to 
 
108 WASHINGTON. 
 
 town. * * * He told me he was received in a very 
 stern manner by the late [French] commander. 
 
 " 26th. We met in council at the long house about 9 
 o^clock where I spoke to them as follows : 
 
 " ' Brothers. — I have called you together in council 
 by order of your brother, the Governor of Virginia, to 
 acquaint you that I am sent with all possible dispatch to 
 visit and deliver a letter to the French commandant of 
 very great importance to your brothers, the English, and 
 I dare say to you, their friends and allies. 
 
 " ' I was desired, brothers, by your brother, the Gov- 
 ernor, to call upon you, the sachems of the nations, to 
 inform you of it and to ask your advice and assistance 
 to proceed the nearest and best road to the French. You 
 see, brothers, I have gotten thus far on my journey. 
 
 His Honor likewise desired mq to apply to you for 
 some of your young men to conduct and provide provi- 
 sions for us on our way and be a safeguard against those 
 French Indians who have taken up the hatchet against 
 us. I have spoken thus particularly to you, brothers, 
 because his Honor, our Governor, treats you as good 
 friends and allies, and holds you in great esteem. To 
 confirm what I have said I give you this string of 
 wampum.' 
 
 " After they had considered for some time on the above 
 discourse the Half-King got up and spoke: 
 
 Now, my brother, in regard to what my brother, the 
 Governor, had desired of me I return you this answer : 
 
 " * I rely upon you as a brother ought to do, as you 
 say we are brothers and one people. We shall put heart 
 in hand and speak to our fathers, the French, concerning 
 the speech they made to me and you may depend that we 
 will endeavor to be your guard. 
 
 Brother, as you have asked my advice, I hope you 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 109 
 
 will be ruled by it and stay until I can provide a company 
 to go with you. The French speech belt is not here; I 
 have to go for it to my hunting cabin. Likewise the 
 people whom I have ordered in are not yet come and can- 
 not until the third night from this; until which time, 
 brother, I must beg you to stay. 
 
 " ' I intend to send the guard of Mingoes, Shannoahs, 
 and Delawares, that our brothers may see the love and 
 loyalty we bear them.' 
 
 "As I had orders to make all possible dispatch and 
 waiting here was very contrary to my inclination, I 
 thanked him in the most suitable manner I could, and told 
 him that my business required the greatest expedition, 
 and would not admit of that delay. * * * 
 
 " 30th. We set out about 9 o'clock with the Half-King, 
 Jeskakatke, White Thunder, and the Hunter, and traveled 
 on the road to Venango, where we arrived on the fourth 
 of December, without anything remarkable happening 
 but a continued series of bad weather. 
 
 " This is an old Indian town situated at the mouth of 
 French creek, on the Ohio, and lies near north, about 
 sixty miles from the Logstown, but more than seventy 
 the way we were obliged to go. 
 
 " We found the French colors hoisted at a house from 
 which they had driven Mr. John Frazier, an English 
 subject. I immediately repaired to it to know where the 
 commander resided. There were three officers, one of 
 whom. Captain Joncaire, informed me that he had the 
 command on the Ohio, but that there was a general 
 officer at the near fort, where he advised me to apply for 
 an answer. He invited us to sup with them and treated 
 us with the greatest complaisance. 
 
 " The wine, as they dosed themselves pretty plentifully 
 with it, soon banished the restraint which at first appeared 
 
110 WASHINGTON. 
 
 in their conversation and gave a license to their tongues 
 to reveal their sentiments more freely. 
 
 "They told me that it was their absolute design to take 
 possession of the Ohio, and by G— d they would do it, 
 for, that although they were sensible the EngHsh could 
 raise two men for their one, they knew their motions 
 were too slow and dilatory to prevent any undertaking 
 of theirs. 
 
 " They pretend to have an undoubted right to the river 
 from a discovery made by one La Salle sixty years ago; 
 and the rise of this expedition is to prevent our settling 
 on the river or waters of it, as they heard of some fami- 
 Hes moving out in order thereto. 
 
 " From the best intelligence I could get there have been 
 1,500 men on this side of Ontario lake. But upon the 
 death of the general all were recalled to about 600 or 700, 
 who were left to garrison four forts, 150 or thereabout in 
 each. The first* of them is on French creek, near a small 
 lake about sixty miles from Venango near north-north- 
 west; the next lies on Lake Erie, where the greater part 
 of their stores is kept, about fifteen miles from the other. 
 From this it is 120 miles to the carrying-place at the Falls 
 of Lake Erie, where there is a small fort at which they 
 lodge their goods in bringing them from Montreal, the 
 place from which all their stores are brought. 
 
 "The next fort lies about twenty miles from this on 
 Ontario lake. Between this fort and Montreal there are 
 three others, the first of which is nearly opposite to the 
 English fort Oswego. From the fort on Lake Erie to 
 Montreal is about 600 miles, which, they say, requires no 
 
 *[This first fort, within fifteen miles of Lake Erie, was the final 
 point of the journey; it was about 560 miles from Williamsburg. 
 The journey to it had taken forty-one days.] 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. Ill 
 
 more (if good weather) than four weeks' voyage if they 
 go in barks or large vessels so that they may cross 
 the lake, but if they come in canoes it will require 
 five or six weeks, for they are obliged to keep under 
 the shore. * * * 
 
 " December 7th. Monsieur La Force, commissary of 
 the French stores, and three other soldiers, came over to 
 accompany us up. We found it extremely difficult to get 
 the Indians off to-day, as every stratagem had been used 
 to prevent their going up with me. * * * 
 
 "At 12 o'clock we set out for the fort and were pre- 
 vented arriving there until the eleventh by excessive rains, 
 snows, and bad traveling through many mires and 
 swamps. * * * 
 
 " 1 2th. I prepared early to wait upon the commander 
 and was received and conducted to him by the second 
 officer in command. I acquainted him with my business 
 and offered my commission and letter, both of which he 
 desired me to keep until the arrival of Monsieur Reparti, 
 captain at the next fort, who was sent for and expected 
 every hour. 
 
 "This commander is a knight of the Military Order of 
 St. Louis and named Legardeur de St. Pierre. He is an 
 elderly gentleman and has much the air of a soldier. He 
 was sent over to take the command immediately upon the 
 death of the late general and arrived here about seven 
 days before me. 
 
 "At 2 o'clock the gentleman who was sent for arrived, 
 when I offered the letter, etc., again, which they received, 
 and adjourned into a private apartment for the captain 
 to translate, who understood a little English. After he 
 had done it the commander desired I would walk in and 
 bring my interpreter to peruse and correct it, which I 
 did. 
 
112 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " 13th. The chief officers retired to hold a council of 
 war which gave me an opportunity of taking the dimen- 
 sions of the fort and making what observations I could. 
 
 " It is situated on the south or west fork of French 
 creek, near the water, and is almost surrounded by the 
 creek and a small branch of it, which form a kind of 
 island. Four houses compose the sides. The bastions 
 are made of piles driven in the ground, standing more 
 than twelve feet above it and sharp at top with port holes 
 cut for cannon, and loop holes for the small arms to fire 
 through. There are eight six-pound pieces mounted in 
 each bastion and one piece of four pound before the gate. 
 In the bastions are a guardhouse, chapel, doctor's lodg- 
 ing, and the commander's private store, round which are 
 laid platforms for the cannon and men to stand on. There 
 are several barracks without the fort for the soldiers' 
 dwellings, covered, some with bark and some with boards, 
 made chiefly of logs. There are also several other houses, 
 such as stables, smith's shop, etc. 
 
 " I could get no certain account of the number of men 
 here, but, according to the best judgment I could form, 
 there are a hundred, exclusive of officers, of whom there 
 are many. * * * 
 
 '' 14th. As the snow increased very fast, and our horses 
 daily became weaker, I sent them off unloaded, * * * 
 intending myself, to go down by water. * * * 
 
 [The return from the French station was with a canoe, 
 plentifully stocked with provisions, liquors, and all needed 
 supplies, through the courtesy of the French com- 
 mandant.] 
 
 " I was inquiring of the commander by what authority 
 he had made prisoners of several of our English subjects : 
 He told me that the country belonged to them, that no 
 Englishman had a right to trade upon those waters, and 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 113 
 
 that he had orders to make every person prisoner who at- 
 tempted it on the Ohio or the waters of it. * * * 
 
 " This evening I received an answer to his Honor the 
 Governor's letter, from the commandant. 
 
 " 15th. The commandant ordered a plentiful store of 
 liquor and provisions to be put on board our canoes, and 
 appeared to be extremely complaisant, though he was ex- 
 erting every artifice that he could invent to set our Indians 
 at variance with us and prevent their going until after our 
 departure, presents, rewards, and everything that could be 
 suggested by him or his officers. 
 
 " I cannot say that ever in my life I suffered so much 
 anxiety as I did in this affair. I saw that every stratagem 
 which the most fruitful brain could invent was practiced to 
 win the Half- King to their interest. * * * 
 
 " i6th. We had a tedious and very fatiguing passage 
 down the creek. Several times we had Hke to have been 
 staved against rocks, and many times were obliged, all 
 hands, to get out and remain in the water half an hour or 
 more, getting over the shoals. At one place the ice had 
 lodged and made it impassable by water ; we were therefore 
 obliged to carry our canoe across the neck of land, a quarter 
 of a mile over. We did not reach Venango until the twenty- 
 second, where we met with our horses. * * * 
 
 " 23d. Our horses were now so weak and feeble and the 
 baggage so heavy (as we were obliged to provide all the 
 necessaries which the journey would require), that we 
 doubted much their performing it. Therefore myself and 
 others, except the drivers who were obliged to ride, gave 
 up our horses for packs to assist along with the baggage. 
 
 " I put myself in an Indian walking dress and continued 
 
 with them three days, until I found there was no probability 
 
 of their getting home in any reasonable time. The horses 
 
 became less able to travel every day, the cold increased 
 
 8 
 
114 WASHINGTON. 
 
 very fast, and the roads were becoming much worse by a 
 deep snow continually freezing, therefore as I was un- 
 easy to get back to make report of my proceedings to 
 his Honor the Governor, I determined to prosecute my 
 journey the nearest way through the woods on foot. 
 
 "Accordingly I left Mr. Vanbraam in charge of our bag- 
 gage, with money and directions to provide necessaries 
 from place to place for themselves and horses and to make 
 the most convenient dispatch in traveling. 
 
 " I took my necessary papers, pulled ofif my clothes, and 
 tied myself up in a matchcoat. Then with gun in hand and 
 pack on my back in which were my papers and provisions, 
 I set out with Mr. Gist, fitted in the same manner, on Wed- 
 nesday, the twenty-sixth. 
 
 "The day following just after we had passed a place 
 called Murdering Town (where we intended to quit the path 
 and steer across the country for Shannopin's Town), we 
 fell in with a party of French Indians who had lain in wait 
 for us. One of them fired at Mr. Gist or me not fifteen 
 steps off but fortunately missed. We took this fellow into 
 custody and kept him until about 9 o'clock at night, then 
 let him go and walked all the remaining part of the night 
 without making any stop that we might get the start so far 
 as to be out of the reach of their pursuit the next day, since 
 we were well assured they would follow our track as soon 
 as it was light. 
 
 " The next day we continued traveling until quite dark, 
 and got to the river about two miles above Shannopin's. 
 We expected to find the river frozen, but it was not, only 
 about fifty yards from each shore. The ice, I suppose, had 
 broken up above for it was driving in vast quantities. 
 
 " There was no way for getting over but on a raft which 
 we set about with but one poor hatchet and finished just af- 
 ter sunsetting. This was a whole day's work, we next got 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 115 
 
 it launched then went on board of it and set off. But be- 
 fore we were half way over we were jammed in the ice in 
 such a manner that we expected every moment our raft to 
 sink and ourselves to perish. I put out my setting pole 
 to try to stop the raft that the ice might pass by, when the 
 rapidity of the stream threw it with so much violence against 
 the pole that it jerked me out into ten feet of water, but I 
 fortunately saved myself by catching hold of one of the 
 raft logs. Notwithstanding all our efforts we could not 
 get to either shore but were obliged as we were near an 
 island to quit our raft and make to it. 
 
 " The cold was so extremely severe that Mr. Gist had 
 all his fingers and some of his toes frozen, and the water 
 was shut up so hard that we found no difficulty in getting 
 off the island on the ice in the morning and went to Mr. 
 Frazier's. We met here with twenty warriors who were 
 going to the southward to war, but coming to a place on 
 the head of the Great Kenhawa where they found seven 
 people killed and scalped (all but one woman with very 
 light hair), they turned about and ran back for fear the in- 
 habitants should rise and take them as the authors of the 
 murder. They report that the bodies were lying about the 
 house and some of them much torn and eaten by the hogs. 
 By the marks which were left they say they were French 
 Indians of the Ottaway nation who did it. 
 
 *'As we intended to take horses here and it required 
 some time to find them, I went up about three miles to the 
 mouth of the Youghiogheny to visit Queen Aliquippa, who 
 had expressed great concern that we passed her in going 
 to the fort. I made her a present of a matchcoat and a 
 bottle of rum, which latter was thought much the better 
 present of the two. 
 
 '* Tuesday, the ist of January (1754), we left Mr. Frazier's 
 house and arrived at Mr. Gist's, at Monongahela, the 
 
116 WASHINGTON. 
 
 second, where I bought a horse and saddle. The sixth, we 
 met seventeen horses loaded with materials and stores for 
 a fort at the Fork of the Ohio, and the day after some 
 families going out to settle. This day we arrived at Wills 
 Greek, after as fatiguing a journey as it is possible to con- 
 ceive, rendered so by excessive bad weather. 
 
 " From the first day of December to the fifteenth there 
 was but one day on which it did not rain or snow inces- 
 santly, and throughout the whole journey we met with noth- 
 ing but one continued series of cold, wet weather, which 
 occasioned very uncomfortable lodgings, especially after we 
 had quitted our tent, which was some screen from the in- 
 clemency of it. 
 
 " On the eleventh, I got to Belvoir where I stopped one 
 day to take necessary rest, and then set out and arrived in 
 Williamsburg the sixteenth, when I waited upon his Honor 
 the Governor, with the letter I had brought from the French 
 commandant, and to give an account of the success of my 
 proceedings." 
 
 Gaptain Gist also kept a journal of this expedition.* And 
 some passages of it afford an interesting commentary on 
 what Washington has more briefly recorded: 
 
 " Wednesday, 26th. The major desired me to set out on 
 foot and leave our company as the creeks were frozen and 
 our horses could make but little way. Indeed, I was un- 
 willing he should undertake such a travel who had never 
 been used to walking before this time. But as he insisted 
 on it we set out with our packs, like Indians, and traveled 
 eighteen miles. That night we lodged at an Indian cabin 
 and the major was much fatigued. It was very cold. All 
 
 ♦Published by the Massachusetts Historical Society, Third Series, 
 vol. V. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 117 
 
 the small runs were frozen so that we could hardly get water 
 to drink. 
 
 " Thursday, 27th. We rose early in the morning and set 
 out about 2 o'clock. Got to Murdering Town, on the 
 southeast fork of Beaver creek. Here we met with an In- 
 dian whom I thought I had seen at Joncaire's, at Venango, 
 when on our journey up to the French fort. This fellow 
 called me by my Indian name and pretended to be glad to 
 see me. He asked us several questions, as, how we came 
 to travel on foot, when we left Venango, where we parted 
 with our horses, and when they would be there. Major 
 Washington insisted on traveling the nearest way to the 
 forks of the Alleghany. We asked the Indian if he could 
 go with us and show us the nearest way. The Indian 
 seemed very glad and ready to go with us. Upon which 
 we set out, and the Indian took the major's pack. We 
 traveled very briskly for eight or ten miles when the major's 
 feet grew sore and he very weary, and the Indian steered 
 too much northeastwardly. 
 
 " The major desired to encamp on which the Indian 
 asked to carry his gun. But he refused that and then 
 the Indian grew churlish and pressed us to keep on, 
 telling us that there were Ottawa Indians in these woods 
 and that they would scalp us if we lay out, but to go to 
 his cabin and we should be safe. I thought very ill of the 
 fellow but did not care to let the major know I mistrusted 
 him. But soon he mistrusted him as much as I. He said 
 he could hear a gun to his cabin and steered us more 
 northwardly. We grew uneasy, and then he said that two 
 whoops might be heard to his cabin. We went two miles 
 farther. Then the major said he would stay at the next 
 water, and we desired the Indian to stop at the next 
 water. But before we came to water we came to a clear 
 meadow. It was very light and there was snow on the 
 
118 WASHINGTON. 
 
 ground. The Indian made a stop and turned about. The 
 major saw him point his gun toward us and fire. Said 
 the major, * Are you shot? ' ' No/ said I. Upon this the 
 Indian ran forward to a big standing white oak and went 
 to loading his gun, but we were soon with him. I would 
 have killed him but the major would not suffer me to kill 
 him. 
 
 " We let him charge his gun. We found he put in a 
 ball. Then we took care of him. The major or I always 
 stood by the guns. We made the Indian make a fire for us 
 by a little run, as if we intended tO' sleep there. I said to 
 the major, 'As you will not have him killed we must get 
 him away and then we must travel all night.' Upon this 
 I said to the Indian, * I suppose you were lost, and fired 
 your gun.' He said that he knew the way to his cabin and 
 that it was but a little way. ' Well,' said I, ' do you go 
 home, and as we are much tired, we will follow your track 
 in the morning, and here is a cake of bread for you and 
 you must give us meat in the morning.' He was glad to 
 get away. I followed him and listened until he was fairly 
 out of the way. Then we set out about half a mile, when 
 we made a fire, set our compass and fixed our course, and 
 traveled all night. In the morning we were at the head of 
 Piney creek. 
 
 " Friday, 28th. We traveled all the next day down the 
 said creek, and just at night we found some tracks where 
 Indians had been hunting. We parted and appointed a 
 place, a distance off where to meet, it being then dark. We 
 encamped and thought ourselves safe enough to sleep. 
 
 " Saturday, 29th. We set out early, got to Alleghany, 
 made a raft and with much difficulty got over to an island 
 a little above Shannopin's Town. The major having fallen 
 in from off the raft, and my fingers being frost-bitten, and 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 119 
 
 the sun down and it being very cold, we contented our- 
 selves to encamp upon the island. It was deep water be- 
 tween us and the shore, but the cold did us some service 
 for in the morning it was frozen hard enough for us to pass 
 over on the ice," 
 
 Thus was this expedition accomplished through rain and 
 snow, in mid-winter, in intensely cold weather, and amid 
 sufferings and perils that required the constant exercise 
 of extraordinary resolution, fortitude, and endurance. 
 
 The future chief, habited like an Indian, with his gun in 
 his hand and his pack on his back, traversing the trackless 
 wilderness, attended by only one companion, making his 
 way through " many mires and swamps," fording streams, 
 struggling for his life in the rapid current of a river, 
 sometimes carrying his canoe, and " many times obliged 
 to remain in the water half an hour or more, getting over 
 shoals," camping out in the woods and fields, encompassed 
 by hostile savages, amid hardships almost beyond the 
 power of his iron constitution to endure, and exposed 
 to the danger of instant death by the rifle of his treacherous 
 Indian guide! Who can fail to recognize here the Divine 
 Hand that preserved him amid all his sufferings and dan- 
 gers, and that turned aside the deadly ball aimed at him? 
 And who can fail to admire in his treatment of a mur- 
 derous savage his noble generosity of soul. 
 
 Washington's Journal was submitted to Governor Din- 
 widdie. The conduct of the young major met with his Ex- 
 cellency's entire approval, and created also a general senti- 
 ment of admiration. 
 
 [Washington's journal of his expedition to the Ohio 
 to challenge the right of French troops to trespass on 
 ground claimed by England was at once printed, in Vir- 
 ginia and in England, and made him known to all who 
 
120 WASHINGTON, 
 
 took note in Europe of world movements. Sparks says 
 here : 
 
 " To make an impression on the minds of the people, 
 and if possible to work them up to some degree of enthu- 
 siasm, and excite their indignation against the invaders, 
 Governor Dinwiddie caused Major Washington's journal 
 to be published. It was copied into nearly all the news- 
 papei:s of the other Colonies. In London it was reprinted, 
 under the auspices of the government, and accounted a 
 document of much importance, as unfolding the views of 
 the French, and announcing the first positive proof of their 
 hostile acts in the disputed territory." 
 
 Governor Dinwiddie was convinced by the report of his 
 emissary that the French were preparing to appear in 
 force on the Ohio the next spring, and that prompt meas- 
 ures to anticipate the French movements were necessary. 
 He summoned the Virginia Legislature to meet at an 
 early day, to provide for the safety of the Dominion, as 
 Virginia was then called. He also wrote letters to the 
 governors of the other provinces calling on them for aid, 
 in view of the common danger. To New York and the 
 New England Colonies he suggested the sending of troops 
 toward Canada, for the effect that it might have to pre- 
 vent the French commander there from sending reinforce- 
 ments to the Ohio. The proceeding looked in the direc- 
 tion of union, not to say distinct confederation. 
 
 " These appeals," says Sparks, " were of little avail ; the 
 governors had received no instructions ; funds for military 
 objects were not at their disposal ; and the assemblies were 
 slow to impose taxes even for the support of their own 
 governments. Some persons doubted the authority of the 
 Governor of Virginia to meddle in so grave a matter; 
 others were not convinced that the French had encroached 
 upon the King's lands ; and others regarded it as a national 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 121 
 
 concern, in wHich the Colonies had no right to interfere 
 without direct orders and assistance from the King. If 
 treaties have been violated, said they, it is not for us to 
 avenge the insult and precipitate a war by our zeal and 
 rashness. 
 
 " In short, the call was premature, and there was little 
 hope of co-operation from the other Colonies. Messen- 
 gers were dispatched to the southern Indians, the Catawbas 
 and Cherokees, inviting them to join in repelling a com- 
 mon enemy, who had already engaged in their behalf the 
 powerful nations of Chippewas and Ottowas. Reliance 
 was also placed on the friendship of the Twigtwees, Dela- 
 wares, and other tribes beyond the Ohio. 
 
 " When the Assembly met, a difference of opinion pre- 
 vailed as to the measures that ought to be pursued; but 
 iio,ooo were finally voted for the defense of the Colony, 
 cloaked under the title of an act " for the encouragement 
 and protection of the settlers on the Mississippi." The 
 Governor's equanimity was severely tried. The King's 
 prerogative and his own dignity he thought were not 
 treated with due respect. So obtuse were some of the 
 burgesses that they could not perceive the justice of the 
 King's claims to the lands in question, and they had the 
 boldness to let their doubts be known in a full assembly. 
 " You may well conceive," said the Governor in writing 
 to a friend, " how I fired at this ; that an English Legisla- 
 ture should presume to doubt the right of His Majesty 
 to the interior parts of this continent, the back of his do- 
 minions." And, alluding to one of the members, he added, 
 " How this French spirit could possess a person of his high 
 distinction and sense, I know not." Another point was 
 still more annoying to him. The Assembly appointed 
 commissioners to superintend the appropriation of the 
 funds. This act he took as a slight to himself, since by 
 
122 WASHINGTON. 
 
 virtue of his office the disposal of money for pubHc uses 
 ought to rest exclusively with the Governor. Such was 
 his dew of the matter, and he declared that nothing but 
 the extreme urgency of the case should have induced him 
 to sign the bill. 
 
 " To the Earl of Holdernesse he complained of the way- 
 ward temper and strange doings of the Assembly. '' I am 
 sorry to find them/' said he, " very much in a repubHcan 
 way of thinking; and, indeed, they do not act in a proper 
 constitutional way, but make encroachments on the pre- 
 rogative of the crown, in which some former governors 
 have submitted too much to them ; and, I fear, without a 
 very particular instruction, it will be difficult to bring 
 them to order."] 
 
 By order of the Governor and council two companies of 
 a hundred men each were raised in the northern countries 
 and Major Washington was intrusted with the chief com- 
 mand of them. His journal was published by order of the 
 Governor, was widely circulated in Virginia and other col- 
 onies, and was reprinted in England, at the instance of the 
 British government as an unmasking of the secret and un- 
 warrantable designs of France. 
 
 Supplied with the appropriation for " the encourage- 
 ment and protection of settlers on the Mississippi, the 
 Governor increased the number of companies to six, of 
 fifty men each. Major Washington was spoken of as the 
 most suitable leader of the proposed enterprise in which 
 these companies were to be engaged, but in a manner 
 worthy of his character, he declined the post. 
 
 In a letter to Richard Corbin, a member of the Governor's 
 council, he says (March, 1754) : 
 
 " In a conversation with you at Green Spring you gave 
 me some room to hope for a commission above that of 
 major, and to be ranked among the chief officers of this 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 123 
 
 expedition. The command of the whole forces is what I 
 neither look for, expect, nor 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 favor 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 skillful commander, or 
 man of sense — whom 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 favored with now." 
 
 [The reply of Mr. Corbin, acknowledged by Washing- 
 ton from Alexandria, March 20, 1754, was: "Dear 
 George : I enclose you your commission. God prosper 
 you with it. Your Friend, Richard Corbin."] 
 
 The newly raised companies were placed under Col. 
 Joshua Fry and Lieutenant-Colonel Washington. 
 
 Large grants of land on the Ohio river were promised 
 as a bounty to the troops. The British ministry also au- 
 thorized the Governor to summon two companies from 
 New York and one from South Carolina, and North Caro- 
 lina voted supplies and troops. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Washington having collected at Al- 
 exandria by enlistment, two companies, set out with them 
 on the second day of April (1754), and at Wills Creek he 
 was joined on the twentieth by Captain Stephen with an- 
 other company. 
 
 But soon intelligence of a daring outrage committed 
 by the French was conveyed to him. They had descended 
 
124 WASHINGTON. 
 
 the river from Venango, with a mihtary force said to be 
 " upwards of a thousand men," with eighteen pieces of 
 cannon, sixty bateaux, and three hundred canoes, under 
 command of Captain Contrecoeur, and had expelled from 
 their post a party acting under the direction of the Ohio 
 Company. 
 
 This company, an association of Virginia and Maryland 
 planters and London merchants, who proposed to settle 
 lands on the Ohio, had received from the King in the year 
 1749 a grant of 600 acres, with the exclusive right of trade 
 with the neighboring Indians ; and had sent out a party of 
 thirty men to build a fort at or near the Fork of the Ohio. 
 
 [This company was under the command of Captain 
 Trent, an officer closely connected with the trader Cro- 
 ghan.] 
 
 Captain Trent also was occupied there in enlisting men 
 from among the traders to form a company that should 
 co-operate with the troops under Major Washington. But 
 at the time when Captain Contrecoeur appeared Captain 
 Trent and his lieutenant, Frazier, were absent and Ensign 
 Ward was in command. He had with him no more than 
 forty-one men, including the Ohio Company's party. The 
 rash thought of resistance he could not entertain. At the 
 threatening as well as peremptory summons of the French 
 captain, who allowed him but an hour for consideration, he 
 capitulated. On the next day he proceeded with his men 
 to the mouth of Redstone creek. 
 
 The French now seized the post thus vacated ; they com- 
 pleted the unfinished work, and they named it, in honor of 
 the Governor-General of Canada, " Fort Duquesne."' 
 
 This flagrant act, the warrant and the signal for a de- 
 cided opposition, was the commencement of hostilities 
 which continued for seven years and which constitute what 
 is known as the Seven Years' War (1754-1761), or the 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 135 
 
 French and Indian War, an important period in our ante- 
 revolutionary annals. 
 
 [The imperialism which has characterized English de- 
 velopments throughout the world came into play for de- 
 termination of the destiny of North America at the mo- 
 ment when young Washington was just over the threshold 
 of active life. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed Octo- 
 ber i8, 1748, in confident hope of the peace of Europe, 
 left open an immense possibility of contest in America 
 for dominion throughout the vast unsettled region over 
 which hung the star of empire beyond the AUeghanies 
 and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf. Within the limits 
 of what England claimed as her domain, France had 
 planted not only trading posts and block-houses, but a 
 score of forts, and the eagles of conquest were on the 
 wing over the forests from Canada to the Ohio. A num- 
 ber of London merchants and Virginia adventurers had 
 secured, in 1749, a charter granting to them, under the 
 name of '' the Ohio Company," half a milhon acres of 
 land on the Ohio, upon condition of the settlement within 
 seven years of 100 families, the building of a fort at their 
 own cost, and the maintenance of defense against the In- 
 dians. Thomas Lee, president of the council of Vir- 
 ginia, was its first manager; Augustine and Lawrence 
 Washington, older half-brothers of George Washington, 
 were in it, and on Mr. Lee's death the management was 
 in the hands of Lawrence Washington. But before the 
 company could begin operations the French, early in 1749, 
 had begun to assert possession through a deputy of the 
 Governor of Canada, Celeron de Bienville, at the head of 
 300 men. To emphasize this invasion the French fastened 
 upon trees, and also buried in the earth, leaden plates in- 
 scribed with the claims of France to all the lands on the 
 Ohio and its tributaries. They also gave to the Indians 
 
126 WASHINGTON. 
 
 presents and speeches of good-will, and warned them not 
 to trade with the English. Traders from Pennsylvania 
 found in the region they challenged as intruders, and sent 
 notifications to Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, that 
 English traders would be vigorously dealt with for tres- 
 pass on French domain. It was of importance to Penn- 
 vSylvania to preserve friendship and trade with the Indian 
 tribes, and early in October, 1749, Governor Hamilton 
 sent George Croghan, an old and capable trader, to un- 
 dertake to put in execution plans for a general council of 
 all the Indian tribes at Logstown, on the Ohio, in the 
 spring of 1750. About the same time the Ohio Company 
 dispatched a noted pioneer and experienced woodsman, 
 Christopher Gist, to make exploration for lands on the 
 Ohio and its branches, to get information of value to set- 
 tlers, and to deal with the Indian tribes. 
 
 Both Croghan and Gist made their way to Logstown, 
 an Indian village a little farther down the Ohio than the 
 site where Pittsburg now is, and the seat of a Seneca chief 
 of great note, who was known as the Half-King, because 
 of his subordinate relation to the great Iroquois confed- 
 eracy and his headship of the mixed tribes which had 
 " gone West " to the Ohio and its branches from the more 
 eastern seats of Indian power and population. Croghan 
 was at Logstown before Gist, and had gone thence into 
 the heart of the Ohio lands, to Muskingum, and brought 
 together there under the English flag all the agents of his 
 extensive trade among the Indians. Gist overtook Cro- 
 ghan at Muskingum, and at a council of the natives held 
 there g^ve them an invitation from the Governor of Vir- 
 ginia to visit him and receive a large present of goods 
 sent by the great English King to his Ohio children. 
 Visits by the two English emissaries to the Delawares 
 and the Shawnees on the Scioto met with equal welcome, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 127 
 
 and from thence the two went north 200 miles to the In- 
 dian town of Piqua, beyond the Miami river, the seat of 
 the four tribes who formed the most powerful confederacy 
 of the Great West. Here Croghan secured engagements 
 of friendship with Pennsylvania, and Gist took pledges 
 from the chiefs that they would attend the council at Logs- 
 town the next spring. 
 
 During the proceedings here, two Ottawas, sent from 
 the French, appeared on the scene with two kegs of 
 " milk " (i. e., brandy) and a roll of ten pounds of tobacco ; 
 but no impression was made by these ambassadors; on 
 the contrary they were served with notice that the tribes 
 on the Ohio would join the great Six Nations Indian con- 
 federacy, bordering on Lake Ontario, in maintaining 
 friendship with the EngHsh. The Ottawas, therefore, tak- 
 ing the " milk " and tobacco, and leaving their curses, re- 
 turned whence they came. 
 
 The Six Nations had represented to the English that at 
 some former time they had conquered all the way to the 
 Mississippi on the north of the Ohio, and on the basis of 
 this figment of imperialism they had made over that region 
 to the English for " milk," tobacco, and other luxuries of 
 civilization. The dwellers in the region were not con- 
 sulted, and ignorance of any conquest such as the Six 
 Nations alleged was universal among them. 
 
 The French, on their part, alleged discovery and occu- 
 pation. Father Marquette, one of the heroic characters 
 of missionary exploration, had come to Canada in 1666; 
 had founded a mission at the eastern end of Lake Superior ; 
 had gone the next year to the Hurons and Ottawas ; upon 
 their break-up under Sioux attack, had accompanied the 
 Hurons to Mackinaw and established there a mission with 
 a chapel ; and, on hearing here of the great river in the 
 West, had, in 1669, prepared to go in search of it. Pend- 
 
128 WASHINGTON. 
 
 ing the execution of this purpose, orders came to him to 
 join a younger explorer, of Canadian birth, Louis JoHet, 
 in a thorough exploration of the whole course of the 
 unknown stream. 
 
 The two explorers, with five companions, set ofif in May 
 in two canoes, their course being by way of Green Bay, 
 Fox river, and a portage, to the Wisconsin river, and down 
 that stream to its mouth — thus entering the Mississippi 
 June 17, 1673. Near the mouth of the Ohio, as they went 
 south, savages told them that a ten days' journey would 
 bring them to the sea ; and upon reaching the mouth of 
 the Arkansas it was evident to them that the stream led 
 to the Gulf of Mexico, and that its lower course might 
 bring them within reach of Spanish capture. Here, there- 
 fore, having made a journey of 2,500 miles, they returned 
 up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Illinois, and, pass- 
 ing up that river, reached Green Bay in September. After 
 detention there by sickness for a year, Marquette set out 
 on a journey to Kaskaskia, on the river of that name in the 
 IlHnois country, five miles above its mouth and only two 
 miles from the Mississippi, — one of the six Illinois points 
 where the French built up settlements. Marquette's jour- 
 ney to this point was interrupted by his infirmities and 
 the severe December cold, at the portage on the Chicago ; 
 and only after staying there over the winter was he able 
 to go on at the close of March, 1675, ^^^ reach Kaskaskia 
 in April. Erecting a chapel and celebrating Easter in it, 
 the now infirm, worn-out explorer set out to return to 
 Mackinaw, but having gone so far as the passage across 
 Lake Michigan, to the mouth of a small stream, which 
 later bore his name, his rest on a bed of leaves in the 
 shadow of forest trees was the end, May 18, 1675. 
 
 In 1680 Father Hennepin explored the Mississippi from 
 the mouth of the Illinois to the Falls of St. Anthony, and 
 
WASHINGTON ON HIS MISSION TO THE OHIO. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 129 
 
 in 1682, La Salle, who had come to Canada as an ad- 
 venturer m 1666, made a journey covering the Mississippi 
 from the mouth of the Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. La 
 Salle had in August, 1679, sailed with De Tonti, a vet- 
 eran Italian, through the chain of lakes to Green Bay, in 
 the northwestern part of Lake Michigan; and had gone 
 thence to the mouth of the St. Joseph river, at the south- 
 eastern part of the lake, and established there a trading 
 post, which he called Fort Miami. From this point he 
 went up the St. Joseph, crossed over to the Kankakee, 
 paddled down that stream until he reached an Illinois 
 Indian village, and attempted the establishment of a trad- 
 ing post, in January, 1680, on the site of the present 
 Peoria, to which he gave the name Fort Crevecoeur. After 
 putting De Tonti in charge of the fort, and having dis- 
 patched Hennepin to explore the Illinois and the Missis- 
 sippi northward. La Salle started back for Canada, crossed 
 Michigan from the mouth of the St. Joseph to a stream 
 flowing into the Detroit, and, passing thence overland to 
 Lake Erie, navigated that lake to Niagara in a canoe, and 
 organized a party of twenty-three Frenchmen and eigh- 
 teen New England Indians for a journey with supplies to 
 Fort Crevecoeur. 
 
 An attack by the Iroquois on the Illinois settlement had 
 compelled De Tonti to abandon the fort and return to 
 Green Bay. La Salle conducted his party by way of Fort 
 Miami, at the mouth of the St. Joseph, along the southern 
 coast of Lake Michigan, through the Chicago river and 
 across the Illinois, and thence down that stream to the 
 Mississippi. Descending the Mississippi to its separation 
 into three channels. La Salle explored these to the Gulf 
 of Mexico, De Tonti conducting the exploration of the 
 great middle channel. At a suitable spot near the Gulf, 
 a cross and a column were set up with the inscription, 
 9 
 
130 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " Louis the Great, King of France and Navarre, April 9, 
 1682," and La Salle proclaimed the whole valley of the 
 Mississippi and the region of its tributaries as a part of 
 the dominion of France, with the name Louisiana. 
 
 The next year La Salle ascended the Mississippi, re- 
 turned to Quebec in November, went to France, and pro- 
 posed to the King's government that a settlement be made 
 on the lower Mississippi and that steps be taken to secure 
 to France the rich mining country in northern Mexico. 
 A patent was granted, making La Salle commandant of 
 the region from the present State of Illinois to Mexico 
 and westward indefinitely. Four ships, with Beaujeu as 
 navigator, sailed August i, 1684, with a company of 280 
 persons, but through the miscalculations of Beaujeu and 
 his stupid insistence on his own views against La Salle's 
 better knowledge, the fleet got as far beyond the mouth 
 of the Mississippi as the entrance to Matagorda Bay, and 
 with the wreck there of the storeship on which most of 
 the supplies were, the debarkation of the colonists, of 
 whom not a few were characters more fit for a prison than 
 a plantation, was followed by Beaujeu's desertion, leaving 
 only a small ship. The efforts of La Salle to begin agri- 
 culture and trade, after the erection of a fort, were de- 
 feated by the hostility of the Indians, and with what set- 
 tlers were killed, and many perishing by disease, less than 
 forty souls were left at the end of the first year. Half of 
 these, including women and children. La Salle left at the 
 beginning of 1688, while, with his brother, two nephews, 
 and thirteen others, he set off to make his way through 
 what is now Texas to the Illinois. A revolt, however, 
 breaking out very soon, two of the ringleaders stealthily 
 murdered one of the explorer's nephews, and when 
 La Salle turned back to look for him he also was treach- 
 erously killed, March 20, 1688. The remnant of the col- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 131 
 
 ony were either massacred by the Indians or made prison- 
 ers by Spaniards sent to- drive out the French. 
 
 The successor to La Salle in French occupation was 
 Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Bienville, a brother of Le Moyne 
 Iberville, who founded a French settlement at Biloxi, near 
 the mouth of the Mississippi, in 1698. Sauville, another 
 brother, was appointed Governor of Louisiana in 1699, 
 and the next year Bienville constructed a fort fifty-four 
 miles above the mouth of the river. The death of Sau- 
 ville in 1701 left Bienville in charge of the colony, and he 
 settled the seat of government at Mobile, and soon after 
 was joined by his brother Chateaugay, with seventeen set- 
 tlers from France. A further instalment of settlers ar- 
 rived a little later, a score of young women as wives for 
 colonists. Bienville was superseded as Governor by 
 Cadillac in 1713, and the latter by Epinay in 1717. The 
 next year Bienville founded New Orleans, and upon war 
 breaking out between France and Spain he seized Pensa- 
 cola and put his brother Chateaugay in command there. 
 From 1724 to 1733 Bienville was in France, and then for 
 ten years he was again Governor of Louisiana. 
 
 At the date of the treaty of Utrecht (1713), which se- 
 cured an enlargement of the conceded colonial claims of 
 England (against the French) in America, there were not 
 over 500 Europeans in the whole region from the Illinois 
 to the Gulf. Immediately after the treaty the King of 
 France granted proprietary rights in all the territories 
 watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries below the 
 mouth of the Illinois to Antoine Crozat, and it was Crozat 
 who sent out Cadillac as Governor. Matters went badly, 
 and Crozat got rid of his interest to the celebrated specu- 
 lative financier, John Law, who worked the disastrous 
 Mississippi scheme with Bienville (as stated above) as 
 Governor. After the founding of New Orleans, in 1718, 
 
132 WASHINGTON. 
 
 seven vessels came the same year with stores and about 
 1,500 emigrants; and the next year eleven vessels, in- 
 cluding an importation of 500 negroes from the Guinea 
 coast. In 1 72 1 the arrivals were 1,000 white settlers and 
 1,367 slaves. This was in the year following the bursting 
 of Law's financial bubble, but the misfortunes incident to 
 that failed to check the prosperity of the colony. 
 
 In 1732 the grant came to an end, and the province re- 
 verted to the crown. There were at that time not less than 
 4,000 white colonists and 2,000 slaves. By a secret treaty 
 in 1762, made pubHc a year and a half later, and its pro- 
 visions carried into effect in 1769, France transferred 
 Louisiana to Spain. Meanwhile, by a treaty made in Feb- 
 ruary, 1763, Louisiana east of the Mississippi, from the 
 sources of that river to the sea, was ceded to Great Brit- 
 ain, the line, however, to the sea passing along the middle 
 of the Iberville river through the lakes Maurepas and Pont- 
 chartrain, thus leaving out all of what is now Louisiana 
 except the very small part east of the Mississippi and north 
 of the Iberville and lakes line. This was after the war of 
 seven years' duration which we see Washington at the 
 beginning of in 1754, and which closed with the French 
 surrender of Montreal and of all Canada, September 8, 
 1760. It seems pretty evident that France had, before 
 1754, carried on exploration and settlement, from the lakes 
 through the Illinois river prairies and down to the mouth 
 of the Mississippi, which would have warranted insisting 
 that English claims beyond the Alleghanies leave her what 
 is now Michigan and Illinois, and the line of the Missis- 
 sippi to the Gulf; and had French operations kept those 
 limits there would have gone on peaceful developments 
 carrying French-Canadian power from tEe east end of 
 Lake Erie across the Michigan and Illinois lands, and 
 down to the Gulf without the slightest occasion for con- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 133 
 
 flict with England on the Ohio. But when France, car- 
 rying a purely nominal claim up stream along a tributary 
 of the reach and territorial sweep of the OlTio, without 
 action of any sort in pursuance of her claim," made the 
 natural course of English advance of colonial occupation 
 westward an occasion for purely military descent from 
 Canada, with no pretense of colonization purposes, but, 
 on the contrary, with attempts to rouse the savages against 
 English colonization, there was a face of impudence and 
 wickedness m it, the smashing of which, begun by Wash- 
 ington and finished seven years later at Montreal, was 
 richly deserved. The claim of France across Michigan 
 and Illinois, and on the immediate banks of the Mississippi 
 to its mouth, may have been of the best in every respect, 
 and its maintenance might have resulted in a French 
 America carried to the Pacific, with English extension 
 nowhere reaching to the Mississippi, yet the rascal outrage 
 of appearing in arms on the upper Ohio, against English 
 colonization begun by the Ohio Company, and with 
 " milk " and tobacco to buy Indian massacre service, was 
 not only criminal to the last degree, but a blunder of the 
 worst sort. French mission, exploration, and coloniza- 
 tion plans may stand forever to her credit, and pursued 
 on lines of justice and wisdom they might have made 
 North America predominantly French, but French mili- 
 tary attack upon English colonization, and appeal to the 
 murdering savages to help carry on a war of desolation, 
 can only come to judgment as of that madness sent by 
 the gods upon those whose steps take hold on destruction. 
 If now we turn to England's historic claim, in contrast 
 with that of France, it is not writing history to take any 
 notice of so slight and so recent a matter as some trumpery 
 dealing with the Indians south of Ontario, or with any 
 
134 WASHINGTON. 
 
 such aboriginal occupiers, never more than human vermin 
 infesting lands which they not only could not in any re- 
 spectable sense occupy, but which they made the stamp- 
 ing ground of filthy carousal and fearful massacre nearer 
 the level of incarnate devils than of creatures fit to be 
 dealt with as human. The history with which we are con- 
 cerned is that of Washington as a scion of England, and 
 of England making armed contest for continental sway ; 
 and the necessary background lies in that past to which 
 Washington and Virginia, Washington and England in 
 America, were the sequel. The hero of our narrative is 
 on the way to become, on the top of the world, the great- 
 est figure of the English race, and to note the Enes which 
 meet in him we must look back to the times, the scenes, 
 and the historical figures, which made Washington and 
 his career possible. 
 
 The Fourth of July, which we celebrate as Independence 
 Day, ought to be no less celebrated as Discovery Day for 
 America. It is the anniversary of the discovery which 
 resulted in an EngHsh North America. 
 
 John Cabot, of Genoa by birth, and later of Venice, had 
 become an Englishman by residence in the last half of the 
 fifteenth century, at Bristol, on the Avon, near the head 
 of Bristol Channel — the great southwestern Seagate to 
 England. 
 
 It was in 1496, on the 5th of March, that Henry VII of 
 England, in the eleventh year of his reign, granted to John 
 Cabot and his sons a patent empowering them to seek out, 
 subdue, and occupy, at their own charges, any regions 
 which before had " been unknown to all Christians." And 
 under this patent the Cabots sailed, on the 26. of May of 
 the next year, 1497, to attempt discovery in tlie far west 
 of the North Atlantic. A record not long since brought 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. ^35 
 
 to light at Bristol, made this reference to the voyage of 
 the Cabots across the North Atlantic: 
 
 " This year, 1497, on St. John the Baptist's Day (June 
 24, old style, now July 4), the land of America was found 
 by the merchants of Bristowe (Bristol ; Brigstow or Bridge- 
 place, Bristow) in a ship of Bristol called the Matthew, 
 the which said ship departed from the port of Bristowe 
 the 2d of May and came home again 6th August following." 
 
 A royal privy purse record of August 10, 1497, — " To 
 him that found the New Isle, iio," — appears to show, 
 when taken in connection with other records, that the 
 head of the expedition, John Cabot,, was awarded iio, on 
 his return from discovering some island like Newfound- 
 land. The terms of a second patent show that the main- 
 land as well as the island had been discovered. This sec- 
 ond patent, dated February 3, 1498, authorized John Cabot 
 to take six English ships, " and them convey and lede to 
 the Land and Isles of late found by the said John in oure 
 name and by oure commandment." 
 
 Exactly what the discovery thus referred to was we may 
 see from an early notice, which said : 
 
 " In the year of our Lord 1497, John Cabot, a Venetian, 
 and his son Sebastian, discovered that country which no 
 one before his time had ventured to approach, on the 24th 
 of June, about 5 o'clock in the morning. He called the 
 land Terra primum visa, because, as I conjecture, this was 
 the place that first met his eye in looking from the sea. 
 On the contrary, the island which lies opposite the land 
 he called the island of St. John, — as I suppose because it 
 was discovered on the festival of St. John the Baptist." 
 
 The common tradition has been that a second expedition 
 set sail from Bristol in May, 1498, and after searching the 
 coast of the new land far to the north turned about and 
 followed the coast south for some 1,800 miles, or down 
 
136 WASHINGTON. 
 
 past the New England of a future day to what we know as 
 Virginia; and that thus a large discovery of continental 
 land to the west of the North Atlantic was made by Cabot 
 on his two voyages. Both of these voyages had been 
 made before Columbus had anywhere discovered any part 
 of the continental mainland. To a date as late as August, 
 1498, Columbus had not found any land except islands. 
 And when, August i, 1498, he saw land, near the mouths 
 of the Orinoco river in South America, he raised the ques- 
 tion whether it was a continental mainland and a new 
 world, and very confidently decided that it was not. At 
 a later date he again saw a point of the coast of the con- 
 tinent, and he took this also to be the coast of an island ; 
 and at his death he was entirely unconscious that he had 
 seen anything but the islands which he so falsely claimed 
 to be " the Isles of India beyond the Ganges," and upon 
 which he fixed the wholly false name of " West Indies." 
 
 The questions of history which arise in this connection 
 are conclusively deaU with in an admirable study recently 
 published by Henry Harrisse, an elegant volume of 500 
 pages, the title of which we give below.* The volume is 
 notable, not only for the justice of recognition which it 
 gives to John Cabot as alone the discoverer of North 
 America, but for the justice of exposure of the free-and- 
 easy mendacity of the son, Sebastian, in pretending to have 
 been himself the author of what was accomplished entirely 
 without him by his father. Harrisse's own summary of 
 the situation, as he finds it through researches that leave 
 nothing to be desired, is as follows : 
 
 " In the year 1497 a Venetian citizen, called Giovanni 
 
 * " John Cabot, the Discoverer of North America, and Sebastian 
 his Son. A chapter of the Maritime History of England under 
 the Tudors, 1496-1557." By Henry Harrisse. London: Benjamin 
 Franklin Stevens. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. $7.50. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 137 
 
 Caboto, having obtained letters-patent from Henry VII 
 the year previous for a voyage of discovery, crossed the 
 Atlantic ocean, and, under the British flag, discovered the 
 continent of North America. 
 
 " In 1498, he fitted out, in Bristol, a new expedition, 
 and again sailed westward; but scarcely anything further 
 is known of that enterprise." 
 
 Who was John Cabot? He is commonly said to have 
 been a Venetian settled at Bristol in England ; and his son 
 Sebastian is often said to have been an Englishman by 
 virtue of birth in England. Harrisse shows conclusively 
 that John Cabot was, like Columbus, a Genoese; that he 
 was naturaHzed in Venice under a provision permitting 
 this to one who had been a resident in Venice for fifteen 
 years; and that Sebastian was born, not in England, but 
 in Venice. Harrisse further expresses his belief that John 
 Cabot removed with his entire family to England in 1490; 
 that Sebastian, when he first came to England, was a lad 
 of about sixteen; and that when the elder Cabot under- 
 took his memorable voyage of 1497, he was forty-six years 
 of age, and his son, Sebastian (left at home), was about 
 twenty-three. Harrisse thinks it not unlikely that the 
 Cabots came from Venice to London. 
 
 Bristol was known to Columbus in 1477 ^s a port from 
 which bold expeditions were sent forth on the Atlantic 
 to the north and west. To all appearance, as the facts are 
 given by Harrisse, John Cabot's ideas may have antedated 
 the first voyage of Columbus. It was as early as 1474, 
 when John Cabot was still a resident of Venice, that Tos- 
 canelli, upon whose suggestions Columbus acted, was ad- 
 vocating the project of reaching Asia by sailing constantly 
 westward. Evidence exists that Toscanelli's notions with 
 regard to lands across the Atlantic were pretty well cur- 
 rent in Italy, and as likely to have been known to Cabot 
 
138 WASHINGTON. 
 
 as to Columbus. The statement commonly made that 
 John Cabot conceived the notion of a voyage of discovery 
 upon hearing of the success of the first voyage of Colum- 
 bus, is a statement of Sebastian, intrinsically more likely 
 to be false than to be true. A trustworthy testimony is 
 to the effect that John Cabot related, in speaking of his 
 first voyage across the Atlantic, that when he was at Mecca, 
 in Arabia, he inquired from the caravans which brought 
 spice to Europe whence the article came, and that in con- 
 sequence of his belief in the sphericity of the earth, he in- 
 ferred from their reply that it came from a land which lay 
 to the west, and that the project of his voyage was based 
 on the expectation of finding a shorter route to Cathay, 
 by sailing west. Harrisse quotes a dispatch from Lon- 
 don of July 25, 1498, by Pedro de Ayala, which said: 
 " For the last seven years Bristol people have sent out 
 every year two, three, or four caravels in search of the 
 island of Brazil and the Seven Cities, according to the 
 fancy of this Genoese." That the Genoese referred to was 
 not Columbus, and must have been John Cabot, is shown 
 by another part of the dispatch, in which Ayala said : " I 
 have seen the map which was made by the discoverer, who 
 is another Genoese Hke Columbus." When Ayala wrote 
 this dispatch nearly a year had elapsed from John Cabot's 
 return from his voyage of discovery, and manifestly the 
 reference was to him. Harrisse remarks in view of this 
 reference to what the people of Bristol had been engaged 
 in through the suggestion of John Cabot: 
 
 " Efiforts of the kind were not unfrequent in those days. 
 We have cited in another work authentic documents re- 
 ferring to eighteen similar enterprises, projected or at- 
 tempted, between the years 1431 and 1492; that is, an- 
 terior to the memorable voyage of Columbus. Ayala re- 
 fers to attempts of this kind annually renewed, and of 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 139 
 
 which the expedition sent out from Bristol by John Jay, 
 Jr., in July, 1480, under the command of Thomas Lloyd, 
 gives us a pretty clear idea. John Cabot doubtless ad- 
 vised, and may even have laid out plans for such voyages 
 of discovery between 1490, which we suppose to be the 
 date of his first coming to England to settle, and the close 
 of 1495, when he submitted his plans to Henry VII. Be- 
 lief in the existence of the island of Brazil and of a great 
 island called Antilla, or the Seven Cities, had existed be- 
 fore the time of Columbus, and had led to voyages west- 
 ward from Ireland earlier than the time of the Cabots." 
 
 It is more than probable, therefore, that the only service 
 rendered to English exploration by the report of islands 
 reached by Columbus was that of making it easier to se- 
 cure the ear of the English monarch. 
 
 When Henry VII granted the petition of John Cabot, 
 who probably inserted the names of his sons with a view 
 to their inheritance of the interest and to any future prose- 
 cution of it which might be made by them, they were au- 
 thorized, '' upon their own proper costs and charges, to 
 seek out, discover, and find whatsoever isles, countries, 
 regions, or provinces of the heathens or infidels, whatso- 
 ever they be, and in what part of the world soever they 
 be, which before this time have been unknown to all 
 Christians." 
 
 Although authorized so early as March 5, 1496, the ex- 
 pedition did not sail until May of 1497, about the middle 
 of the month, Harrisse thinks, and consisted of but " one 
 small ship, manned by eighteen men." 
 
 We hear nothing of any terrors of the unknown Atlantic 
 preventing the bold venture of a voyage with so small a 
 craft and a crew so few in number. For more than 500 
 years the path of the sea from Ireland west to whatever 
 might be beyond had been more or less open, and the 
 
140 WASHINGTON. 
 
 expedition under John Cabot, small as it was, was no 
 more than average English courage was equal to. Cabot, 
 proceeding to the west coast of Ireland, sailed toward the 
 north and then west, until a mainland was reached, where 
 the country was fine and temperate ; where the sea along 
 the shore was filled with fishes; where the inhabitants 
 used snares to catch game and needles for making nets; 
 where the tides were slack and did not rise as in England ; 
 and returning from which were seen two very large and 
 fertile islands. To Harrisse these points of description 
 imply Labrador inhabited by the Eskimo, in perhaps the 
 vicinity of Cape Chudleigh; and further Harrisse says, 
 referring to what John Cabot reported : 
 
 " It is evident that the Venetian adventurer and his 
 companions were greatly struck with the enormous quan- 
 tity of fish which they found in that region. It surpassed 
 anything of the kind they had ever seen, even in the Ice- 
 landic sea, where cod was then marvelously plentiful. He 
 dwells at length and with evident complacency on that 
 fortunate peculiarity, — ' that sea is covered with fishes, 
 which are taken not only with the net, but also with a 
 basket, in which a stone is put so that the basket may 
 plunge into water. They say that they will bring thence 
 such a quantity of fish that England will have no further 
 need of Iceland, from which a very great commerce of 
 fish called stockfish is brought." It is clear that the exist- 
 ence of vast quantities of cod is a circumstance which is 
 applicable to the entire transatlantic coast north of New 
 England. Yet, however plentiful that species of fish may 
 be on the banks of Newfoundland, the quantity is sur- 
 passed near the entrance of Hudson's strait. Modern ex- 
 plorers report that there cod and salmon ' form in many 
 places a living mass, a vast ocean of living slime, which 
 accumulates on the banks of northern Labrador ; ' and the 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 141 
 
 spot noted for its ' amazing quantity of fish ' is the vicinity 
 of Cape Chudleigh, which the above details and other rea- 
 sons seem to indicate as the place visited by John Cabot 
 in 1497." 
 
 The mention of the enormous amount, the immense 
 mass of codfish in the sea, is of very special significance. 
 This feature of the North Atlantic, clear across from the 
 north of Scotland to Labrador, may be said to have deter- 
 mined the progress of sailing west, first far out into the 
 Atlantic, then to Iceland, then from Iceland to Greenland, 
 and thence to Labrador. For hundreds of years before 
 Columbus the cod in the sea had paved the way from the 
 west coast of Ireland to the codfish coast of America. 
 They tempted and trained the hardy fishermen to bold 
 voyaging, until the bold voyaging, by chance of the storms 
 and stress of weather, carried involuntary explorers as far 
 as Iceland. 
 
 A very interesting paper was recently presented to the 
 Viking Club of London setting forth facts going to show 
 that the original ancient " Thule '' was Iceland ; that the 
 name was given by Celtic settlers from the British Isles; 
 and that the meaning of the name was " Isle of the Sun," 
 or island where the sun does not go down. When the 
 Scandinavians first discovered Iceland, about A. D. 850, 
 it had been colonized long before, to some small extent 
 at least, by Irish monks, who, observing how the sun re- 
 mained above the horizon, even at midnight, naturally 
 gave it a name which meant Sun-Land. At least 700 
 years before Columbus, adventurers by sea from the coast 
 of Ireland, to whom fishing for cod had made familiar the 
 perils of the deep, were accustomed to strike boldly out 
 into the Atlantic with small regard to what might be 
 before them, and whether making long voyages delib- 
 erately or being driven far away in spite of themselves, they 
 
142 WASHINGTON, 
 
 ultimately made the distance from Great Britain to Ice- 
 land and later that from Iceland to Greenland, not to 
 speak of the further step from Greenland to Labrador. 
 The distance from the north of Scotland to Iceland is 500 
 miles; that from Norway to Iceland is 600 miles. The 
 greatest length of Iceland from east to west is 300 miles, 
 and from the west coast of Iceland to Greenland is 250 
 miles. Greenland is continental in extent, but it comes 
 to a point in the south, and this point about breaks in the 
 middle the sea passage from Iceland to Labrador. 
 Through the entire sea from Norway to Labrador the cod 
 have been a bridge from the old world to the new. 
 
 Beyond a doubt the codfish made the destiny of North 
 America. The day of discovery, in which both the United 
 States and British America are alike interested, ought to 
 be celebrated within all the metes and bounds of the con- 
 tinent, from the Arctic coasts to the Gulf of Mexico, and 
 from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with a festival of codfish. 
 The cod in the sea were the stepping-stones by which 
 Irish adventure and English enterprise made the trans- 
 atlantic passage to the possession of the northern conti- 
 nent of the new world. 
 
 That Cabot was back in England early in August is 
 proven by the fact of an official record of August 10, 1497, 
 showing that Henry VII gave £10 as a reward " to hym 
 that founde the new isle." What John Cabot actually 
 found, however, is more accurately mentioned in the new 
 letters-patent given him by Henry VII February 3, 1498, 
 and authorizing him " to take at his pleasure VI Englisshe 
 shippes and them convey and lede to the Londe and Isles 
 of late founde by the seid John." 
 
 For his second expedition Cabot had no difficulty in 
 finding men to accompany him. An Italian, writing home 
 from England at the time, said : " He can enlist as many 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 143 
 
 Englishmen as he pleases and many of our own rascals 
 besides." Harrisse says : ** There is no ground whatever 
 for the assertion, frequently repeated, that John Cabot did 
 not command this second expedition, or that it was under- 
 taken after his death by his son. The name of Sebastian 
 Cabot, who was not one of the grantees in these new 
 letters-patent, appears for the first time, in connection 
 with these voyages, in Peter Martyr's account, printed 
 twenty years after the event, and taken exclusively from 
 Sebastian's own lips, which, as we have shown, is not a 
 recommendation." 
 
 The second expedition sailed early in the spring of 1498, 
 and at the end of July following the first news relative to 
 its progress was received in England. Harrisse thinks 
 that the fleet sailed later than April i, 1498, because of 
 a record which shows that the King loaned £30 on 
 that day to two persons who were " going to the New 
 Isle." The only direct news concerning the expedition 
 after it left Bristol is a statement by Pedro de Ayala in a 
 dispatch of July 25, 1498, that " News has been received 
 of the fleet of five ships." We do not know when the fleet 
 returned to England, nor do we know where the fleet went, 
 nor what discoveries it made, nor whether John Cabot 
 survived the expedition. Our only information bearing 
 upon the matter is that one of the men who borrowed 
 money of the King for " going to the New Isle " repaid 
 the loan in London, June 6, 1501. 
 
 As to the regions visited by John Cabot in the course 
 of his second voyage of discovery, we can only form an 
 opinion by inference from what appears to have been 
 known a little later, as in the year 1501, and which cannot 
 have been known except through John Cabot's discoveries. 
 A celebrated map, that of Juan de la Cosa, made In 1500, 
 indicates points discovered by the English. Harrisse in- 
 
144 WASHINGTON. 
 
 fers that the northernmost represent those noted by Cabot 
 during his first voyage, and that those further south nec- 
 essarily indicate the discoveries of the expedition of 1498. 
 In this view, Cabot must have reached a vicinity south of 
 the CaroHnas. Harrisse constructs a map of the second 
 voyage of John Cabot, which indicates that he sailed south 
 from Newfoundland past Nova Scotia and the whole At- 
 lantic coast to Florida, and thence took his course back 
 to Bristol. 
 
 A point of great interest in the story of John Cabot's 
 discovery of North America is the question of the month 
 and the day of the original discovery in 1497. The only 
 report which we have makes it to have been in June and 
 on the 24th day of the month, which, allowing for the 
 difference between the old style and the new style, would 
 be on our July 4th. Unfortunately the report comes in- 
 directly from Sebastian Cabot, with more than an indica- 
 tion of its doubtful character. Harrisse discusses the facts 
 and comes to the conclusion that the date June 24th was 
 invented in consequence of finding the name of St. John 
 existing on maps of that region, and that the story was 
 told that the name was given because the spot was dis- 
 covered on St. John's Day, June 24th ; but of this we can- 
 not have an approach to positive knowledge, and one 
 may hesitate, if he chooses, to give up the date. It seems 
 to have been a possible date, if we suppose that on the 
 first voyage only a very limited portion of the coast was 
 visited, and in the entire absence of decisive evidence it 
 seems not unreasonable to continue the use of the date 
 and to let July 4th serve as the anniversary of Cabot's 
 original discovery. 
 
 It is customary to assume that the voyages of Cabot 
 were a result of the voyage of Columbus; that he broke 
 the ice and showed the way; that he, first in time and 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 145 
 
 greatest in genius and courage, set forth into the immense 
 unknown seas, and gave the impulse by which all others 
 sailed ; and that to him, because of a supremely great initia- 
 tion, belongs the comprehensive honor of all the discover- 
 ies by which a new world was added to the old. So ram- 
 pant everywhere has been this view that even our best 
 historical accounts are marred by it, and not even our 
 best authorities get the facts in a right light. 
 
 It is a grotesquely false representation on wSich all the 
 honoring of Columbus and of Spain has proceeded, to the 
 neglect of other and far higher claims. It is not so much 
 the Norse claims, going back to about looo A. D., when 
 the whole seaway by Iceland and Ga-eenland to whatever 
 lay beyond was familiar to many adventurous keels. It 
 is far more the claims which the viking-ship development 
 of a later time, in England and in half-English Portugal, 
 presents ; when adventure free and fearless stood not upon 
 royal subsidies and patents of dominion, and had no de- 
 sire to plead the darkness and dread disasters of the seas 
 in apology for blasted expectations. There had been 500 
 years of dauntless breasting of all seas and plunging into 
 unknown deeps, by Saxon, or Celtic, or Norse adventurers 
 before Columbus mustered a trembling courage to run 
 before a favoring wind across the Atlantic. 
 
 The fact is that ignorance and imagination have far too 
 much shaped the popular representation of Columbus. 
 The place of the Genoese sailor in the great age of dis- 
 covery has been grossly exaggerated. He is in reality 
 the fourth, and the least worthy, of the four heroes of dis- 
 covery by whose lives a new world was added to the old 
 world. Before him and above him were Vespucius, Cabot, 
 and Prince Henry of Portugal, known for immortal honor 
 as Prince Henry the Navigator. 
 
 In one of our best historical handbooks the index has 
 10 
 
146 WASHINGTON. 
 
 this correct word — "Columbus discovered the West In- 
 dies " — and the text says of the general facts : 
 
 " Portugal at the end of the fourteenth century (or about 
 1400 A. D. ; it was in fact from about 1418 or 1420, seventy 
 years before Columbus) had led the way in maritime ad- 
 venture, and Portuguese navigators discovered a way to 
 India round the Cape of Good Hope [after attempts cov- 
 ering the whole period 1433-1498]. Spain was anxious 
 to do as much, and in 1492 Columbus had discovered the 
 West Indies." 
 
 The Portuguese navigators, trained and sent forth by 
 Prince Henry, had succeeded, through more than half a 
 century of daring endeavor (1433-1486), in sailing down 
 the entire west coast of Africa and around the stormy cape 
 at its southern extrem.ity, six years before Columbus car- 
 ried out his utterly baseless scheme for getting to India 
 by saiHng west on the South Atlantic; and they actually 
 reached India, at CaHcut on its southwest coast, ten days 
 before Columbus set sail on his. third voyage, in which 
 he first saw the continental mainland, but did not explore 
 it or even discover what it was, his opinion being that it 
 was not a new continent or a new world. 
 
 The true course of events in the century of discovery, 
 and the true place of persons in it, may be seen from these 
 Britannica passages ; which correctly refer the great start 
 made all over the world, not to Columbus and Spain, but 
 to Portugal and the great Portuguese initiator, far behind 
 whom came the Genoese sailor : 
 
 "In the fifteenth century the time was approaching 
 when the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope was almost 
 indefinitely to widen the scope of geographical enterprise. 
 The great event was preceded by the construction of the 
 mariner's compass. Encouraged by the possession of this 
 sure guide, by which, at all times and in all places, he 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 147 
 
 could with certainty steer his course, the navigator gradu- 
 ally abandoned the method of sailing along the shore, and 
 boldly committed his bark to the open sea. Navigation 
 was then destined to make rapid progress. The growing 
 spirit of enterprise, combined with the increasing light of 
 science, prepared the states of Europe for entering upon 
 that great career of discovery, of which the details con- 
 stitute the materials for the history of modern geography. 
 
 " Portugal took the lead in this new and brilliant path, 
 and foremost in the front rank of the worthies of this little 
 hero-nation stands the figure of Prince Henry the Navi- 
 gator. Until his day the pathways of the human race had 
 been the mountain, the river, and the plain, the strait, the 
 lake, and the inland sea. It was he who first conceived 
 the thought of opening a road through the unexplored 
 ocean, — a road replete with danger but abundant with 
 promise. Prince Henry, born March 4, 1394, relinquished 
 the pleasures of the court, and took up his abode on the 
 inhospitable promontory of Sagres, at the extreme south- 
 western angle of Europe. To find the seapath to the 
 ' thesauris Arabum et divitiis Indies ' was the object to which 
 he devoted his life. He collected the information sup- 
 plied by ancient geographers, unweariedly devoted him- 
 self to the study of navigation and cartography, and in- 
 vited, with princely liberality of reward, the co-operation 
 of the boldest and most skilful navigators of every 
 country." 
 
 The sweep of Prince Henry^s early work to the west 
 reached a thousand miles into the Atlantic and made the 
 Azores and the Madeira islands integral parts of Portugal. 
 To the south, down the coast of Africa, to and beyond the 
 Canaries, progress was very slow, but the efforts of Henry 
 not less persistent and hopeful. The Mohammedan re- 
 ligion had propagated cowardly terror of the sea, and had 
 
-L48 WASHINGTON, 
 
 impressed this on the ignorance and superstition of Christ- 
 eTadom. To Prince Henry this paralyzing cowardice was 
 despicable, and in 1433 one of his captains, an Englishman 
 named Giles Jones, or Gil Eannes, carried his ship past 
 Cape Bojador on the African coast, where the dangers 
 had been supposed to be too great for mortal hazard. 
 
 The advance southward was now unsparingly pressed, 
 and by 1446 more than fifty caravels had reached the 
 Guinea coast. Prince Henry died in 1460, but his great 
 work did not die with him; and in a marvelous voyage, 
 lasting from August, i486, to December, 1487, Bartholo- 
 mew Dias, sailing 13,000 miles with two little fifty-ton 
 craft, went storm-driven far beyond the south end of 
 Africa, and thence back to its east coast, and home again 
 by rounding the cape, named by him Tormentoso. 
 
 This cape of storms, where, on a later voyage, the same 
 Dias went down with his ship, was called by the King of 
 Portugal the Cape of Good Hope, because of the expecta- 
 tion now so strong of reaching India by that way, as 
 Prince Henry had planned to do. It was because of wise 
 plans and confident, just expectations, so long patiently 
 pursued, that Portugal let Columbus turn to Spain with 
 his crazy dream of reaching India by sailing west. 
 
 India was reached by the Portuguese navigator, Vasco 
 da Gama, in a voyage lasting from July, 1497, to May, 
 
 1498. When Da Gama got back to Lisbon in August, 
 
 1499, another expedition was sent, a fleet of thirteen ships, 
 commanded by Pedro Alvarez Cabral. It sailed March 
 9th in the year 1500, and through stress of Atlantic storms 
 was carried to the coast of the great southern continent, 
 across the Atlantic from Africa ; and on the 22d of April, 
 1500 A. D., or May ist by new style, its commander 
 Cabral, took possession for Portugal of the great con- 
 tinental mainland which we know as Brazil. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 149 
 
 It was a discovery which belonged in the course of 
 events set in motion by Prince Henry eighty years before. 
 It would have been made exactly the same if Columbus 
 had never sailed. It gave the first news to Europe of 
 continental regions discovered where Columbus had 
 found and had reported only islands. 
 
 Cabral sent the great news back to Portugal, and then 
 turned his prows toward the Cape of Good Hope to make 
 his voyage to India. The fleet met at sea an expedition 
 which had on board Amerigo Vespucius, and which fol- 
 lowed up Cabral's discovery with prolonged coastwise ex- 
 ploration of the new continent. Vespucius got from 
 Cabral news of the finding of a continent, and, after amply 
 verifying it by prolonged explorations, he made a report, 
 in which he told how a " new world " had been discovered ; 
 just what Columbus might have done fully two years earlier 
 if he had not been too §tupid to see and follow up the real 
 facts. The inevitable result followed. Vespucius was the 
 reporter of news of a new world, and because he got a 
 scoop on Columbus, as newspaper men say, he was justly 
 honored, by those who printed the news, with having the 
 new world called Amerige, or America. 
 
 It was thus in the line of Prince Henry, and not in the 
 line of Columbus, that there came into view a new world. 
 Prince Henry was the supreme hero of the age of discov- 
 ery. The mother of the prince was Philippa of Lancaster, 
 daughter of that Duke of Lancaster, son to Edward III 
 of England, who was at one time the patron of John 
 Wyclif. The prince was thus half an Englishman. He 
 was one of the finest minds and fairest characters of his 
 time. At the age of twenty-one he had won European 
 fame as a soldier, and when he began at twenty-two his 
 matchless devotion to science as a means of human prog- 
 ress he was a figure, as a young man, hardly paralleled in 
 
150 WASHINGTON. 
 
 history. The Britannica article devoted to him (Vol. XI, 
 6y2), says : 
 
 " Henry Prince of Portugal, surnamed the Navigator, 
 to whose enlightened foresight and perseverance the hu- 
 man race is indebted for the maritime discovery, within 
 one century, of more than half of the globe, was born at 
 Oporto on the 4th of March, 1394. Prince Henry and 
 his elder brothers, Duarte and Pedro, were sent out in 
 141 5 on an expedition against the important Moorish city 
 of Ceuta, which, after much hard fighting, they succeeded 
 in taking one day. Prince Henry pre-eminently distin- 
 guished himself at the siege. His renown after this be- 
 came so high that he was invited severally by the Pope, 
 the Emperor, and the Kings of Castile and England, to 
 take the command of their respective armies. The Prince, 
 however, had set his mind on other and larger plans, in- 
 volving no less than the hope of reaching InHia by the 
 south point of Africa. Accordingly, in 1418-19, he took 
 up his abode on the extreme southwestern point of Europe, 
 with the purpose of devoting himself to study, and to the 
 direction and encouragement of the expeditions which he 
 proposed to send forth. There he erected an observatory, 
 and at great expense procured the services of a man very 
 skilful in the art of navigation and in the making of maps 
 and instruments, to instruct the Portuguese officers in 
 those sciences. 
 
 "At first his efforts seemed to be crowned with little 
 success, and his various expeditions called down upon him 
 much obloquy from the nobles, who complained of such 
 an amount of useless expenditure; but on the Prince 
 vituperation fell harmless. 
 
 "The glory attaching to the name of Prince Henry 
 does not rest merely on the achievements effected during 
 his own lifetime, but on the stupendous subsequent results 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 151 
 
 in maritime discovery to which his genius and perseverance 
 had lent the primary inspiration. The marvelous results 
 effected within a century from the rounding of Cape Boja- 
 dor in 1433 [nearly sixty years before Columbus], formed 
 one unbroken chain of discovery, which originated in the 
 genius and the efforts of one man. They were the stupen- 
 dous issue of a great thought and of indomitable perse- 
 verance, in spite of twelve years [1420-1432] of costly 
 failure and disheartening ridicule. Had that failure and 
 that ridicule produced on Prince Henry the effect which 
 they ordinarily produce on other men, it is impossible to 
 say what delays would have occurred before these mighty 
 events would have been realized; for it must be borne in 
 mind that the ardor, not only of his own soldiers, but of 
 surrounding nations, owed its impulse to this pertinacity 
 of purpose in him." 
 
 Such is the testimony going to show that the age of 
 discovery not only dates from Prince Plenry long before 
 Columbus, but was created by him, and was in full course 
 to the true discovery in the southern quarter of a new world 
 when Columbus came upon the scene with claims and plans 
 widely out of line with truth, however successful in hap- 
 pening on the islands which he falsely designated the 
 " West Indies." 
 
 And there follows from these facts the manifest con- 
 clusion that when John Cabot sailed, and effected a dis- 
 covery of continental mainland fourteen months before 
 Columbus fooled away at the mouths of the Orinoco his 
 chance to report, or at least record a true discovery of a 
 new continent, he was doing what he might no less have 
 done if Columbus had not " discovered the West Indies." 
 
 Venezuela is of special interest, from the fact of which 
 the Britannica speaks as follows : 
 
 " The coast of Venezuela was the first part of the Ameri- 
 
152 WASHINGTON. 
 
 can mainland sighted by Columbus, who during his third 
 voyage, in 1498, entered the Gulf of Paria and sailed along 
 the coast of the delta of the Orinoco. In the following 
 year a much greater extent of coast was traced out by 
 Alonzo de Ojeda, who was accompanied by the more cele- 
 brated Amerigo Vespucci." 
 
 This brief mention touches the two men between whom 
 lay the opportunity to notify the world that a new con- 
 tinent had been discovered, — Columbus on his third voy- 
 age and Vespucius a year later on his first. Columbus 
 had every advantage, and Vespucius was at every disad- 
 vantage, for giving out to Europe and to all history new 
 continental discoveries. Yet Columbus lost his chance; 
 deliberately threw it away ; turned his back on what should 
 have been the climax of his career, and went steadily 
 downward and backward, discredited by apparent failure 
 and detested as a fraud ; while Vespucius, seizing his oppor- 
 tunity, although a later one, turned in the news to a news- 
 paper man, one of the very earliest that ever had the 
 handling of a printing-press, and by doing so, happened on 
 the great luck of having it suggested that what he had 
 himself called a new world should be given the name, from 
 his own name, of America. 
 
 In the " Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella," describing 
 his third voyage to America, for which he sailed May 30, 
 1498, Columbus relates how he " saw land at noon of Tues- 
 day, the 31st of July," and, putting in for the land, reached 
 a cape which proved to be the southeastern point of the 
 large island of Trinidad, lying opposite the mouths of the 
 Orinoco. Heretofore Columbus had seen nothing but 
 islands ; now he was to see for the first time a continental 
 coast. Sailing along the south coast of this island, Colum- 
 bus passed through the strait between the southwestern 
 point of the island and the coast' of the continent into the 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 153 
 
 great gulf, lying between the island and the delta of the 
 Orinoco. Here he found tremendous currents caused by 
 the floods in the river at, as is supposed, its northern 
 mouths. The delta includes about 200 miles of coast, and 
 that part where Columbus tarried about two weeks seems 
 to have been on the north. The main channel and mouth 
 of the river was discovered by Ojeda later. Columbus 
 took no pains to explore the coast or even to ascertain 
 whether it was more than the coast of an island. 
 
 He had a peculiar reason for failing to do this, a reason 
 which turned upon certain theories of his. He had always 
 read, he tells us, that the world was spherical, as testified 
 by Ptolemy and others, but, he "declares, " I have come to 
 another conclusion respecting the earth, namely, that it 
 is not round, as they describe, but of the form of a pear, 
 which is very round except where the stalk grows, at which 
 part it is most prominent, this protusion being the highest 
 and nearest the sky ; " or, as he said again, " This western 
 half of the world, I maintain, is like the half of a very 
 round pear having a raised projection for the stalk." He 
 inferred that " the extreme blandness of the temperature " 
 must arise " from this country being the most elevated 
 in the world and the nearest to the sky." He had not 
 learned that elevation, as by ascent of a mountain, brings 
 us into a region of cold even in the hottest climate and 
 under the most intense heat of the sun. 
 
 Having thus made out in his own thoughts that he had 
 reached the stem of the globe where, if he could proceed, 
 he would come upon the topmost elevation of the world, 
 he gave utterance to this conviction : " I believe it is im- 
 possible to ascend thither, because I am convinced that it 
 is the spot of the earthly paradise, whither no one can go 
 but by God's permission." He went on to explain that 
 he supposed the earthly paradise to be " on the summit of 
 
154 WASHINGTON. 
 
 the spot which I have described as being in the form of 
 the stalk of a pear," the approach to it being by a constant 
 and gradual ascent, such that " no one could ever reach 
 the top; " while the floods which he had seen he regarded 
 as the abundance of waters pouring down from this top- 
 most spot of the world. He thought that the site coin- 
 cided with the opinion of learned theologians, and further- 
 more he said : " The other evidences agree with the sup- 
 position, for I have never either read or heard of fresh 
 water coming in so large a quantity in close conjunction 
 with the water of the sea; the idea is also corroborated 
 by the blandness of the temperature; and if the water of 
 which I speak does not proceed from the earthly paradise, 
 it appears to be still more marvelous, for I do not believe 
 that there is any river in the world so large or so deep." 
 Columbus pronounced here his opinion that the waters of 
 the sea, by holding a more rapid course just there, had 
 " thus carried away large tracts of land and that from 
 hence has resulted this great number of islands." He fur- 
 ther said in support of his idea that the islands had been 
 washed out to sea from the mainland. " These islands 
 themselves afford an additional proof of it, for all of them, 
 without exception, run lengthwise from west to east, and 
 from the northwest to the southeast." 
 
 The possibility, if not certainty, of an immense mainland 
 open to discovery distinctly presented itself to Columbus. 
 Thus he said : " This land which Your Highnesses have 
 now sent me to explore is very extensive, and I think there 
 are many other countries in the south of which the world 
 has never had any knowledge." Had Columbus sailed off 
 to the south, instead of leaving it to Ojeda, Vespucius, and 
 others, he would have made and reported the discovery 
 of continental mainland. This he did not do, even with 
 the overwhelming suggestion afforded by the flood from 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 155 
 
 the Orinoco of a great river pouring out from a great 
 continent. He finally expressed himself in these terms: 
 *' I think that if the river mentioned does not proceed from 
 the terrestrial paradise, it comes from an immense tract 
 of land situated in the south, of which no knowledge has 
 been hitherto obtained. But the more I reason on the 
 subject the more satisfied I become that the terrestrial 
 paradise is situated in the spot I have described." 
 
 So satisfied was Columbus with what seemed to him a 
 pious conclusion that he made no efifort to verify either 
 then or later the possibility of " an immense tract of land 
 situated in the south of which no knowledge has hitherto, 
 been obtained." He said on the last page of his letter: 
 "And now, during the dispatch of the information respect- 
 ing these lands which I have recently discovered, and where 
 I believe in my soul the earthly paradise is situated, the 
 Adelantado (his brother Bartholomew) will proceed with 
 three ships well stocked with provisions on a further in- 
 vestigation, and will make all the discoveries he can about 
 these parts." Whatever this promise referred to, nothing 
 in the important direction of southern exploration was un- 
 dertaken. It is the more remarkable that he did nothing 
 because the plan of this third voyage had been to take a 
 more southerly course with a view to the possibility of 
 discovering continental land. The turn which both his 
 thoughts and his actions took at the critical moment may 
 have been determined by the fact that he lay helpless and 
 blind at the time under the double stroke of agonizing 
 gout and a malady of the eyes. At any rate, possessed 
 by an entirely false conclusion, he sailed away for Hayti 
 about August 15th, and found both himself and his brother 
 with other things to attend to than the prosecution of new 
 discovery to the south. 
 
 One thing, however, which proved his undoing he thor- 
 
156 WASHINGTON, 
 
 oughly attended to ; he sent home to Spain the most glow- 
 ing account that he could of new discoveries and sent speci- 
 mens of pearls which had been found on the Orinoco coast. 
 This led to voyages permitted by the Spanish crown with- 
 out reference to Columbus and for the special purpose of 
 following up the new discoveries which Columbus had 
 promised to further prosecute. The first of these voyages 
 was that of Ojeda, who sailed May 20, 1499, ^^d Americus 
 Vespucius with him. Ojeda had the charts which Colum- 
 bus sent home, and followed his track along the Orinoco 
 coast, until they entered a gulf where some pile dwellings 
 of the natives suggested to them to leave the name 
 Venezuela, in reference to Venice. This was the earliest 
 christening of any part of the South American continent. 
 Ojeda returned to Spain in June, 1500. Meanwhile Pedro 
 Alonzo Nino, who had been pilot with Columbus on his 
 first voyage, got leave to sail, and did sail early in June, 
 1499, to see what he could discover. He reached the Ori- 
 noco coast only fifteen days later than Ojeda, and, wasting 
 no time in exploration, gathered a rich store of pearls and 
 got back to Spain as early as April, 1500, — the first real 
 evidence of wealth which could be had by sailing to the 
 newly-discovered lands. 
 
 A third voyage was that of Vicente Yanez Pinzon, who 
 had been with Columbus on his first voyage. He got 
 away from Palos with four caravels early in December, 
 1499. Pinzon sailed eager to explore, and accomplished 
 what Columbus had failed to do. He stood boldly to the 
 southwest, crossed the equator, and on January 20, 1500, 
 saw a cape which was probably the most easterly cape of 
 the great southern continent. Pinzon then sailed north, 
 passed the mouth of the Amazon, and passed the Orinoco 
 coast, and after losing two of his ships, got back to Spain 
 in September, 1500. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 157 
 
 Once more, Diego de Lepe, sailing from Palos with 
 two caravels in January, 1500, discovered still farther to 
 the south the coast of the great south continent. And 
 finally, the Portuguese commander, Cabral, after De Gama 
 had succeeded in sailing round Africa to India, set out, 
 March 9, 1500, with a fleet to repeat De Gama's voyage. 
 The fleet took a course or else was driven out of its way, 
 so far to the southwest as to be brought, on April 22d, to 
 what is now the coast of Braz^il. After examining the coast 
 Cabral took possession for Portugal, May i, 1500, and 
 sent a caravel to Portugal with a letter carrying the news 
 of what he had found and what he had done. 
 
 May 13th of the next year, 1501, a new Portuguese fleet 
 sailed for the coast which Cabral had discovered. It met 
 at the Cape de Verde Islands Cabral's fleet, which had been 
 to India, and was then on its return to Portugal. Vespu- 
 cius was with the west-bound fleet, and Cabral's discoveries 
 were now reported to him by Cabral's secretary or inter- 
 preter, Gaspero. This new Portuguese expedition, which 
 Vespucius accompanied, made extended exploration far 
 down the coast of the new continent. By the 3d of April, 
 1502, they had reached the latitude of 52 degrees south, 
 and from thence, being driven off the coast by a gale, they 
 sailed east to Africa, and thence to Lisbon, which they 
 reached September 7, 1502. Vespucius wrote an account 
 in 1503 of this voyage. The Italian original of this ac- 
 count is lost, but a Latin translation of it bore the title, 
 " Mundus Novus." The idea of it was that far to the 
 south of the islands, to which Columbus had exclusively 
 given attention, there was a new world. This account, 
 extensively printed in 1504 and 1505, not only in Latin, 
 but in Italian, German, and Dutch, was the foundation of 
 the fame of Vespucius. 
 
 The press of the world did not at that time amount to 
 
158 WASHINGTON. 
 
 much, but with all that there was Vespucius got in the 
 greatest " scoop," as the modern reporter says, in all his- 
 tory. He effectively reported the discovery of a new 
 world. It was entirely without reference to the altogether 
 different discoveries of Columbus, and Vespucius himself 
 had nothing to do with the naming of the new world. It 
 was from those who printed his story that the suggestion 
 came to name it from the reporter, and the suggestion 
 proved a successful one. The new world, referring solely 
 to a great continental south mainland, was named America, 
 quite separate from the islands to which Columbus had 
 given the name of the Indies. The designation was later 
 extended to include the north continent with the south, 
 but still leaving to Columbus the islands on which he had 
 taken the greatest pains to fasten the name of Indies. 
 
 Columbus, meanwhile, by entirely failing to prove his 
 assertions in regard to gold and other wealth in the Indies, 
 and by sending home natives to be sold as slaves, had so 
 lost the confidence of Isabella as to occasion the sending 
 out an officer of the royal household, Francisco de Boba- 
 dilla, with a commission which resulted in sending Colum- 
 bus back to Spain as a criminal in chains; and, although 
 he succeeded in making his peace with the Spanish crown, 
 and, after two years of disheartening neglect, was permit- 
 ted to make a fourth voyage, nothing ever came of it 
 toward procuring for Columbus a contemporary relation 
 to any discoveries except those on which he had concen- 
 trated his own interests, the islands which he so confidently 
 pronounced to be " The Isles of India beyond the Ganges." 
 
 It is a circumstance of no little interest that experts have 
 expressed the opinion that 400 miles above the mouth of 
 the Orinoco, in southeastern Venezuela, and only thirty 
 miles inland, there is the largest gold mine on earth. If 
 Columbus had been of a sufficiently exploring spirit, had 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 159 
 
 been in health, and had been on the coast at the proper 
 season of the year, he might have found this gold mine, 
 might have reported the discovery of continental land, 
 and might with the greatest certainty have made the world 
 talk about him in connection with a new world, as it but 
 a little later did talk about Vespucius. 
 
 A new and critical Life of Columbus, on lines of the real 
 history of voyages and discoveries, ought to be offered to 
 the world from Chicago, in atonement for the strange 
 ignorance of history, so accessible in the Britannica, with 
 which " Columbian " was written across the whole scene 
 of historical commemoration in 1892-3. 
 
 When John Cabot, on our July 4th, landed on the main- 
 land of North America, he set up a great cross, and un- 
 furled above it the flag of England and the Venetian ban- 
 ner of St. Mark. The England of Queen Elizabeth built 
 on this foundation and made possible the United States of 
 North America. Discovery Day stands above Indepen- 
 dence Day, in the larger view of history. 
 
 The London " Times " of March 6th published the fol- 
 lowing, under the head of " The Cabot Anniversary : " 
 
 " Yesterday was the four hundredth anniversary of an 
 event which has always been understood to mark the 
 foundation of the British Colonial Empire. On March 5, 
 1496, Henry VII granted a petition-preferred by a Bristol 
 captain and his three sons, praying the sanction of the 
 crown to a contemplated voyage in search of unknown 
 countries believed to exist beyond the ocean in northern 
 latitudes. Pursuant to this petition, which is still pre- 
 served in the public record office, the privy seal was on the 
 same day affixed to the first charter authorizing its holders 
 to hoist the EngHsh flag on shores hitherto unknown to 
 Christian people, and to acquire the sovereignty of them 
 for the English crown. This charter, granted to John 
 
160 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Cabot and his sons, Lewis, Sebastian, and Sanctus, stipu- 
 lates that the grantees shall, after every voyage, return 
 to the port of Bristol; that they shall then and there pay 
 to the crown, in money or merchandise, one-fifth of their 
 net profits; that they shall be permitted to import their 
 merchandise free of customs; and that no EngUsh subject 
 shall frequent the continents, islands, villages, towns, 
 castles, and places discovered by them without their license. 
 The Cabot charter and the voyages made pursuant to it 
 were always regarded as the root of England's title to her 
 American possessions. Charters of a similar kind had 
 been from time to time granted by the Portuguese crown. 
 While the Cabot patent disregards the Pope's partition of 
 the globe between Portugal and Spain, it authorizes no 
 intrusion into the southern seas in which each of these 
 powers had already acquired colonial possessions by actual 
 occupancy. Columbus' discoveries were as yet limited to 
 the chain of islands separating the Caribbean sea from the 
 Atlantic. Cabot's discoveries on his first voyage are dis- 
 puted [as to their exact location], but it seems most prob- 
 able that in 1497, if not in 1496, he reached the peninsula 
 of Labrador, and coasted a considerable part, if not the 
 whole, of its Atlantic shore, leaving the shores of Newfound- 
 land, which he mistook, as he very well might do, for two 
 islands instead of one, to starboard on his return. In any 
 case, his title to be considered the first pioneer of English 
 colonization is indisputable, and it is equally certain that 
 the title of the English crown to the shores which he is 
 generally understood to have reached has never been suc- 
 cessfully questioned." 
 
 The recognition thus accorded upon the highest Eng- 
 lish authority to John Cabot as the instrument by which 
 the northern continent of the new world was secured to" 
 England instead of Spain and the English Colonies, which 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 161 
 
 became the United States, were made possible, is beyond 
 all doubt just and true. The four hundredth anniver- 
 sary of the earHest event to which our North America 
 looks back is that noted by the London " Times." The 
 more important four hundredth anniversary in 1897, 
 on the day, as far as it can now be known, which was 
 counted four centuries ago as June 24th, but the present 
 anniversary of which is our July 4th. It is entirely with- 
 out coming into conflict in any way with the claims of 
 Columbus, and doing no wrong to whatever credit his- 
 tory should give to Columbus, that English-speaking peo- 
 ple interested in North America must, if they care any- 
 thing for the truth of history, refer the North America 
 which now exists to John Cabot's historically separate 
 discovery and to 1497 as the true earliest North American 
 date. But it was in the sequel to Cabot's work that Eng- 
 land set a seal of imperial claim across the great north 
 continent. 
 
 The Tudors, who reigned in England from 1485 to 
 1603, were a most remarkable race. They began with 
 Henry VII, 148 5-1 509, under whom the Cabots discov- 
 ered North America. As early as 1491 the age of new 
 learning had fully dawned m England. The Utopia of 
 Sir Thomas More, written a little later, represents this 
 learning on lines which our best advance in culture of 
 every kind has not yet overtaken ; and for a plan the story 
 is credited to a Portuguese who, "for the desire that he 
 had to see and know the far countries of the world, had 
 joined himself in company with Amerike Vespuce, and 
 in the three last voyages of the four that be now in print 
 and abroad in every man's hands, had continued still in his 
 company." This reference of the greatest writer at that 
 date, 1 5 16, shows what figure " Mayster Amerike," or 
 II 
 
162 WASHINGTON. 
 
 "Mayster Vespuce," had cut before the world, and how 
 the narrative put forth by him had excited the universal 
 interest which very naturally and very justly suggested 
 calling the novus mundus, the news of which he gave, 
 America. 
 
 Political exigencies drove Henry VII from the first into 
 close relations with Spain, and these were cemented in 
 1 501 by the marriage of the Infanta Catharine, daughter 
 of Ferdinand and Isabella, to Arthur, Henry's eldest son. 
 The death of Arthur left the Infanta a widow, but circum- 
 stances in Europe caused Spain to so much desire EngUsh 
 good-will that Isabella, contrary to Catholic principle and 
 contrary to the English King's feeling, strongly urged 
 the union of Catharine with Arthur's brother Henry. The 
 wishes of Isabella, a faithful Catholic, secured the consent 
 of the Pope and a betrothal of the Infanta and the Prince 
 took place. He was six years the younger, but when he 
 came to the throne in 1509, her passionate love was, within 
 two months, rewarded by the marriage which a cruel fate 
 would turn to bitterness. Henry VIII was thus the son- 
 in-law of Fedinand, and England a dependent of Spain. 
 Henry promised that he would obey Ferdinand as he had 
 obeyed his own father, and Catharine spoke of Henry and 
 herself as Ferdinand's subjects. 
 
 Isabella had died in 1504, leaving a daughter married 
 to Philip, the son of the Emperor Maximilian. Their son 
 was Charles, who became the Emperor Charles V, and 
 whose son PhiHp was to fill so large and so dark a place 
 in the history of Europe. Ferdinand died in 1516, and 
 was succeeded by his daughter's son, Charles V, who be- 
 came Emperor in 1519, having been elected after his 
 
 father's death. 
 
 The son of Charles V, Philip II of Spain, came to the 
 Spanish throne in 1556. The life of Henry VIII of Eng- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 163 
 
 land had run out in 1547; his son Edward had ruled under 
 anti-Catholic guidance, 1547-53; and Mary had come to 
 the English throne in 1553. To Mary, Philip II, the heir 
 to Spain, was married in 1554, and when he left her in 
 1555 to prepare to succeed the next year to the throne 
 of Spain, nothing seemed more unlikely than English de- 
 fiance, defeat, and destruction of Spanish supremacy. 
 
 Mary was in many ways ardently Spanish, and by so 
 much unpopular with those of her subjects who were every 
 day becoming more and more prejudiced against Spanish 
 power, and most of all against Philip, Mary's Spanish hus- 
 band, who now wore the title of King, while the coin of 
 the realm, bearing the name of Philip with that of Mary, 
 made England seem apparently a part of Spain. And the 
 situation thus unfortunately created by the antagonism of 
 pro-English and pro-Spanish sympathies, became greatly 
 aggravated when it appeared that Mary, who was twelve 
 years older than her husband and in very poor health was 
 childless, and that the marriage virtually gave England to 
 Spain. The death of Mary changed everything. England 
 became the inheritance of her half-sister Elizabeth. 
 
 Henry VIII, to whom the Infanta Catharine, though 
 an excellent and faithful wife, had become a doubtful 
 spouse when he saw no male child survive to be his heir, 
 had been fascinated by a girl of sixteen about 1522, and 
 January 25, 1533, he was secretly married to her, after a 
 long scandal of shameless divorce proceedings to get rid 
 of Catharine. It turned out badly for Anne Boleyn, wife 
 and Queen though she became, because Henry found out, 
 or rather supposed that he did, that she had misbehaved 
 before her marriage, and for that he ruthlessly put her 
 to death. But she had borne to him a daughter, Eliza- 
 beth, a woman destined to the greatest place and the grand- 
 est fortune Engand from first to last has known. Like 
 
1(34 WASHINGTON. 
 
 George Eliot, the woman-Socrates of our time, she got 
 from her mother some points of weakness or wayward- 
 ness of character, but all the same the motherhood of which 
 she came, queenly and powerful for the moment, with what 
 of greatest there was in her father, had served to create, 
 beneath superficial frailties sufficiently scandalous, a lion- 
 hearted mother-monarch the greatest that ever sat on a 
 throne. 
 
 And in the events of her career lay more of the future 
 of the world than in any other life ever known. There 
 would have been no such North America as gave the 
 United States but for the changes which her great reign 
 effected. It has not been noted in history, but the un- 
 questioned fact is that there would have been no Pilgrim 
 Fathers and no planting by them of New England, but 
 for the train'of events set in motion by her peculiar course 
 in the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. The defiance, 
 defeat, and destruction of the supremacy of Spain, in both 
 the old world and the new, was the greatest work of Eliza- 
 beth, due to the might of her spirit and to the masterly 
 skill and courage of her seamen. 
 
 Philip II had reached inordinate greatness, in territory, 
 in arms by land and sea, and in weahh, when the struggle 
 came. Naples and Milan, the best parts of Italy, were 
 his. He ruled the Low Countries, and was master of 
 Flanders, where manufactures were more developed than 
 anywhere else in Europe, and of Antwerp, then the great- 
 est center of commerce of the world. In 1580 he absorbed 
 Portugal and doubled thereby his naval power. Cortez 
 and Pizarro had given him Mexico and Peru, the wealth 
 of which realized those breams of Columbus which were 
 his ruin in the "West Indies." Spain itself put into the 
 field the best soldiers the world had seen since the legions 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 165 
 
 of Rome, and generals as marvelously able as they were 
 ruthlessly cruel. 
 
 The ancestor of Philip, Ferdinand, had very early blot- 
 ted out popular liberty in Castile, Isabella's kingdom, and 
 Philip served that of Aragon in the same way. He set the 
 Duke of Alva, whose niece the son of Columbus married, 
 to crush out both liberty and heresy in the Low Countries ; 
 and when the Thirty Years' War fell with its terrible 
 blight on Germany, it was by the malignity of Spain. 
 There seemed nothing to hinder dealing with England on 
 the same Hues of relentless Spanish despotism; and there 
 was nothing but the spirit of Elizabeth and the skill and 
 courage of her fighting seamen. 
 
 So early as in the reign of Mary, three ships under 
 Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor had struck 
 west and north in quest of a passage to Asia. The com- 
 mander and two of the ships were frozen on the coast of 
 Lapland, but Chancellor got through to the White Sea 
 and opened at Archangel trade with Russia. Again, in 
 1576, Martin Frobisher, representing English thoughts 
 of the new world, sailed to the coast of Labrador in hope 
 of a northwestern passage to India. 
 
 From the time of the Cabots, 1497-8, and notably under 
 Henry VIII, Englishmen sought the North American coast 
 for fish, and found therein a school of hardy seamanship. 
 And as the politics of Spain, aimed to destroy Elizabeth 
 in the interests of Spain and the papacy, gradually de- 
 veloped a desperate antagonism, though without open war, 
 between the two powers, there grew into wide vigor and 
 daring an efifort of England, its people rather than its gov- 
 ernment, and by sea rather than land, to do harm to Spain, 
 and especially to Spanish monopoly of the new world. 
 
 When Charles V came to the throne, at the death of 
 Ferdinand of Aragon, in 15 16, twelve years later than the 
 
166 WASHINGTON. 
 
 death of Isabella, " Spanish rule," in the words of Greene, 
 whose authority cannot be questioned, '' had hardly spread 
 beyond the island of St. Domingo, which Columbus had 
 discovered twenty years before," — so little true is it that 
 Columbus gave to Spain a new world. All that was later 
 work by other hands. Mr. Greene goes on after the state- 
 ment just quoted, as follows : 
 
 " But greed and enterprise drew Cortez to the mainland, 
 and in 1521 his conquest of Mexico added a realm of gold 
 to the dominions of the Emperor. Ten years later the 
 great Empire of Peru yielded to the arms of Pizarro. 
 With the conquest of Chili the whole western coast of 
 South America passed into the hands of Spain; and suc- 
 cessive expeditions planted the Spanish flag at point upon 
 point along the coast of the Atlantic from Florida to the 
 river Plate (south of Brazil). A papal grant had con- 
 veyed the whole of America to the Spanish crown, and 
 fortune seemed for long years to ratify the judgment of 
 the Vatican. No European nation save Portugal disputed 
 the possession of the new world, and Portugal was too 
 busy with its discoveries in Africa and India to claim more 
 than the territory of Brazil. A Huguenot colony which 
 settled in Florida was cut to pieces by the Spaniards. Only 
 in the far north did a few French settlers find rest beside 
 the waters of the St. Lawrence. England had reached the 
 mainland even earlier than Spain, for before Columbus 
 touched its shores [in the south] Sebastian Cabot sailed 
 with an English crew from Bristol in 1497. But no Eng- 
 lishman followed on the track of this bold adventurer ; and 
 while Spain built up her empire in the new world, the 
 English seamen reaped a humbler harvest in the fisheries 
 of Newfoundland. The one result of the first discovery 
 of the western continent was to give an enormous impulse 
 to the most bigoted and tyrannical among the powers of 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 167 
 
 Europe, and to pour the gold of Mexico and Peru into 
 the treasury of Spain." 
 
 Four years had hardly passed from Elizabeth's accession 
 before English seadogs, under one plea or another, were 
 swarming in the English Channel. It became in due time 
 a quest of Spanish booty wherever it could be found ; and 
 that soon meant ripping open the veil thrown by Spain 
 over the seas and shores of America. 
 
 The genuius of Drake led him to set on foot schemes for 
 every possible undoing of Spain in America. In 1572 he 
 sailed to the Isthmus of Panama, where, once a year, were 
 brought the gold and silver from +.he mines of Peru, and 
 bursting with his handful of m.en into the Governor's 
 house, he said to his companions : " I have brought you 
 to the mouth of the treasury of the world." Wounded and 
 beaten off, he frankly proclaimed somewhat later to a 
 Spaniard : " I am resolved, by the help of God, to reap 
 some of the golden harvest which you have got out of the 
 earth and sent to Spain to trouble the earth." He was 
 shown by some natives where to climb a tree, from which, 
 first of Englishmen, he saw the waters of the Pacific, and 
 throwing himself on his knees he prayed to God to allow 
 him to live to sail an English vessel on those seas. 
 
 In 1577 he set sail for a skirmish clear round South 
 America and entirely round the world, with three ships, 
 of which his own, the largest, was of but 100 tons. In 
 the stormy Straits of Magellan he alone passed through, 
 but, ranging up the coast he easily caught the Spaniards 
 everywhere off their guard, and made many captures of 
 precious booty, including the cargo of a great vessel, from 
 which he got a large store of jewels, thirteen chests of 
 silver coin, eighty pounds' weight of gold, and twenty-six 
 tons of silver. 
 
 Going north as high as California he made a landing 
 
168 WASHINGTON. 
 
 in the harbor now that of San Francisco, took possession 
 in the name of Queen Elizabeth, and planted the name 
 '* New Albion." A monument recently erected marks the 
 spot of this prophetic defiance of Spain on the coast thus 
 far exclusively Spanish. 
 
 Drake struck thence directly across the Pacific, reached 
 the true Isles of India beyond the Ganges, 7,000 miles 
 beyond the goal of the voyages of Columbus, and thence 
 took his course home by the way of the south cape of 
 Africa, and came to England in 1580, the first commander 
 who had circumnavigated the globe. Magellan's expedi- 
 tion had gone clear round before him, but the commander 
 had died on the way. 
 
 The King of Spain in a great fury demanded from Eliza- 
 beth the surrender of Drake. Her reply was to make 
 him Sir Francis Drake. Philip angrily insisted on the 
 return of the half million sterling of wealth which the bold 
 sailor had gleaned in Pacific waters. Her reply was to 
 have the jewels which Drake had presented to her set in 
 the crown which she wore. The Spanish ambassador 
 thought to move her by saying that '' matters would come 
 to the cannon," and to this threat her answer was that if 
 he talked in that way to her she would fling him into a 
 dungeon. The official wrote to his master describing how 
 "she quietly, in her most natural voice, as if she were 
 telling a common story, replied that if I used threats of 
 that kind she would fling me into a dungeon." 
 
 This defiance was flung at Philip just as he was reach- 
 ing his highest position of resources and power and ad- 
 vantage. His general in the Netherlands was winning 
 both military and diplomatic success. At the death, in 
 the year of Drake's return, of the King of Portugal, Philip's 
 claim to absorb it was successfully backed by Alva march- 
 ing upon Lisbon, and thus Spain almost doubled her 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 169 
 
 power, more than doubled her naval strength, secured 
 colonies richer than her own, and got the richest trade 
 in the world. With the close of 1583 Spanish successes 
 left Elizabeth face to face with the master of what 
 seemed irresistible forces, to whom it was becoming a 
 necessity to crush England, in order to final defeat of 
 Dutch revolt, and to preserve his monopoly of the new 
 world by disabling the power that suffered Drake to 
 sweep the seas. In August, 1585, Antwerp, the seat of 
 European commerce, which London had not yet become, 
 became the last splendid prize of Spanish victory. 
 
 Yet Elizabeth and her seadogs held their course of cool 
 defiance undaunted. English freebooters dashed boldly 
 into the Spanish seas of the new world, full of hatred of 
 Spain and resolved to win English dominion beyond the 
 Atlantic. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Raleigh's brother-in- 
 law, and one of nature's noblemen, sought the coast of 
 North America to plant a colony, and, returning from de- 
 feat of his plans, was overtaken in his ship of only ten tons 
 by a terrible storm at night. The companions of his voy- 
 age, sailing near when wreck threatened his little craft, 
 heard him cry, " We are as near to heaven by sea as by 
 land." Raleigh himself sent an expedition which planted 
 at least a great name on the continent of North America, 
 that of " Virginia," a compliment to the Virgin Queen of 
 England. 
 
 Drake in 1585 was permitted to sail to the Spanish Main 
 with a fleet of twenty-five vessels, where he burned the 
 cities of St. Domingo and Carthagena to revenge Spanish 
 treatment of English sailors ; plundered the coasts of 
 Cuba and Florida; and gathered a heavy booty, with 
 which he returned home in the summer of 1586. On the 
 continent Elizabeth had taken an open hand with troops 
 as well as money in the stout resistance of the Dutch to 
 
170 . WASHINGTON. 
 
 the prodigious pounding kept up by the generals of Philip ; 
 and with this English army in Flanders and Drake defiant 
 and destructive in the West Indies, it was but too clear to 
 Philip that he must strike with all his might at England. 
 The fight was one of intense antagonism between the two 
 parties into which England was broken by bitter religious 
 differences, and by consequence it was less what the hapless 
 Mary had intended than what the respective parties sought 
 to aocompHsh, the one by using her claims against those 
 of Elizabeth, and the other by making the seat of Eliza- 
 beth more secure through compassing the death of Mary 
 (February 8, 1587). 
 
 The reply of Philip was the Spanish Armada, to all ap- 
 pearance as irresistible as it was immense and magnificent, 
 132 vessels covering seven miles of sea as they swept in 
 a broad crescent past Plymouth harbor, where the 
 English fleet of but eighty vessels lay ready to fall on 
 their rear. Of the thirty larger Queen's ships only four 
 were equal in tonnage to the smallest of the Spanish gal- 
 leons, and the other fifty craft of the eighty were not 
 bigger than the common pleasure yachts of a later time. 
 Spain had sixty-five great galleons; four gigantic gal- 
 leasses carrying fifty guns apiece; fifty-six armed mer- 
 chantmen, and twenty pinnaces ; with 2,500 cannon, 20,000 
 soldiers, and 8,000 seamen. 
 
 But the English shipwrights had put their skill into 
 ships that could be handled better than the Spanish; 
 EngHsh seamanship was vastly better than Spanish; the 
 marine artillery of England made the Spanish method of 
 getting to close quarters and letting musketry do the 
 work almost useless ; and English commanders thoroughly 
 knew the trade of sea fighting, while Philip had put the 
 Armada under a Spanish duke who knew nothing of the 
 sea and nothing of war. The faster English ships, carry- 
 
UFE AND TIMES. 171 
 
 ing more and heavier cannon than the Spanish, and 
 marines and sailors, rather than soldiers, made easy game 
 of the lumbering magnificence, the small-shotted cannon, 
 and the throng of useless musketeers on the great decks 
 of Spain's big Armada. 
 
 Letting the seven miles of Spanish bravery go by be- 
 fore the west wind, Drake and the English captains tore 
 furiously at the rear of the enemy, until with the loss of 
 several ships, they were glad to put into Calais for refuge ; 
 a refuge from the which English fire-ships sent in speedily 
 drove them, and brought on a pitched battle off Grave- 
 lines, in which the English did all the pitching, their 
 swifter ships, and guns of longer range, and heavier shot, 
 riddling unmercifully the helpless bulk of the clumsy Ar- 
 mada. 
 
 Wind and storm came to the aid of the English victors, 
 driving the fleets past the coast of Flanders, where Philip's 
 ablest general, the Duke of Parma, with an army, lay 
 ready for the Armada to fall on the Dutch fleet block- 
 ading his port and to convey him over to the conquest of 
 England. As the tall galleons and gigantic galleasses of 
 Spain swept on before the storm, hard pressed by Eliza- 
 beth's seadogs, Parma saw that it was a worse than Dutch 
 business. With sails torn, masts shot away, and 4,000 
 dead or dying on their crowded decks, the Spanish cap- 
 tains saw no hope but to beat a retreat up the North Sea, 
 around Scotland to the west of Ireland, and so back to 
 Spain. 
 
 Over the top of Scotland the northern storms completed 
 the destruction which Drake's well-handled ships and guns 
 had begun. The flower of Spain's nobility were swallowed 
 by the pitiless sea. Eight thousand Spaniards perished on 
 a storm-swept coast. On a single strand the sea cast up 
 1,100 of the dead. Only fifty ships at last reached Co- 
 
172 WASHINGTON, 
 
 runna, and these brought 10,000 men dying of the pesti- 
 lence which had smitten the suffering ships. 
 
 The question of England and of Spain, on the sea and 
 the land, in the old world and the new, was settled forever. 
 England rose beyond the reach of any foe, and Spain fell, 
 to lose the Netherlands in the near future, to be stripped 
 of her holdings in Italy in the next century, and at last 
 to find all of America gone save the island of Cuba. 
 
 In 1604, after the death of Elizabeth, a treaty of peace 
 with Spain, left England secure of North America. The 
 settlement of Virginia was begun in 1607, and that of 
 New England in 1620. The work begun by Cabot on that 
 day of discovery, which is our July 4, in the year 1497, 
 gave at last the hope of our America. If Queen Elizabeth 
 had been the mere creature of scandalous faults which in 
 every-day externals of character she seems to have been ; 
 if she had not been in her deeper nature and better self 
 colossal in mother concern for her people and in the 
 courage of her race and her throne, there might have 
 long hung across the whole breadth of our South, the 
 Spanish cloud of corroding despotism, which is to this 
 hour the infamy of civilization. If adequate learning had 
 attended the celebration by the United States of what 
 our America has become, and what acknowledgments 
 are due from the land of the Pilgrim Fathers and of 
 Washington, there would have arisen above every other 
 monument of the splendid scene, the memorial figure of 
 the woman-monarch whose captains planted New Albion 
 on the Pacific southwest of our continent, and " Virginia," 
 the Virginia of that time being an empire of which New 
 England was the northeastern part. 
 
 Recurrence to facts such as these more than suggests 
 that " New France " was planted on English domain, that 
 Jacques Cartier, entering the St. Lawrence in 1534, was a 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 173 
 
 French intruder, that all that followed from the mouth 
 of the St. Lawrence to the mouth of the Mississippi tram- 
 pled upon English rights, and that Spain unadvisedly and 
 unwarrantably encroached in attempting any hold what- 
 ever upon soil north of the Gulf. That the gods of world- 
 destiny thought so, is writ large on the history of the end 
 of the nineteenth century.] 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 WASHINGTON'S FIRST BATTLE. 
 
 1754. 
 
 CAPTAIN CONTRECCEUR and his troops were 
 now in full possession of the military work com- 
 menced by Captain Trent, whom they had driven 
 from this post at the Fork of the Ohio. 
 
 With but three companies, consisting of 150 men. 
 Colonel Washington could not prudently proceed to the 
 fort to attack a force so very greatly superior to his own in 
 numbers and equipment. He wrote therefore to the Gov- 
 ernors of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and asked 
 for additions to his little band. 
 
 He resolved to march on however while the proposed 
 enlistment was in progress ; to repair to the mouth of Red- 
 stone creek, which was thirty-seven miles from the cap- 
 tured post ; to erect a fort there, and to wait for reinforce- 
 ments ; but, in the event of their not reaching him in time, 
 to be prepared for a retreat. 
 
 [To Governor Sharpe of Maryland, Washington wrote 
 from Will's Creek April 24, of Captain Trent's surrender 
 of " his small fortress in the Forks of the Monongahela ; " 
 of his arrival thus far with a detachment of 159 men; 
 of Colonel Fry expected to follow with the remainder of 
 the regiments and artillery ; of the work being done upon 
 roads fit for the carriage of the great guns; and of the 
 design to proceed as far as the mouth of Red Stone Creek 
 on the Monongahela, thirty-seven miles above the fort 
 
 (174) 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 175 
 
 surrendered to the French, where a storehouse built by 
 the Ohio Company would, for the present, serve to re- 
 ceive their ammunition and provisions. In apology for 
 writing to one whose acquaintance he had never made, 
 Washington said : " It was the glowing zeal I owe my 
 country that influenced me to impart these advices that 
 should rouse from the lethargy we have fallen into, the 
 heroic spirit of every freeborn Englishman." A letter 
 of similar import was sent to Governor Hamilton of Penn- 
 sylvania, and laid before the Legislature of that Colony. 
 To Governor Dinwiddie he had written April 15, report- 
 ing the steps he had taken, and saying. " I hope my pro- 
 ceedings will be satisfactory to your Honor, as I have, 
 to the utmost of my knowledge, consulted the interest 
 of the expedition and good of my country ; whose rights, 
 while they are asserted in so just a cause, I will defend 
 to the last remains of my life." He further says that at 
 Red Stone Creek " we will fortify ourselves as strongly 
 as the short time will allow."] 
 
 On the 1st day of May he set out from Wills Creek. His 
 march was however very tedious. Many and great diffi- 
 culties were encountered in his course through woods and 
 marshes and among rocks with an inadequate supply of 
 provisions for his men. Having on the 20th day of May 
 (1754), reached the Youghiogheny, a branch of the 
 Monongahela, he found it impossible to convey his troops 
 across but by the tardy process of building a bridge. His 
 effort to avoid this resort he has himself described. And 
 his account affords a new and happy illustration of his char- 
 acteristic qualities: 
 
 " On the 20th of May I embarked in a canoe with Lieu- 
 tenant West, three soldiers, and an Indian. Having fol- 
 lowed the river for about half a mile we were obliged to 
 go ashore, where we found a trader who seemed to dis- 
 
176 WASHINGTON, 
 
 courage my attempt to seek a passage by water, which 
 caused me to change my intention of having canoes made. 
 
 " I ordered the troops to wade the river, as the waters 
 had now sufficiently subsided. I continued to descend the 
 river, but finding our canoe too small for six persons we 
 stopped to construct a bark, with which and the canoe we 
 reached Turkey Foot just as the night began. Eight or 
 ten miles farther onward we encountered several difficulties 
 which were of little consequence. At this point we stopped 
 some time to examine the position and found it well suited 
 for a fort, being at the mouth of three branches or small 
 rivers and having a gravelly foundation. 
 
 " We went down about two miles to examine the course 
 of the river which is straight with many currents and full 
 of rocks and rapids. We crossed it, though the water was 
 high, which induced me to beheve the canoes would easily 
 pass, but this was not effected without difficulty. 
 
 " Besides these rapids we met with others, but the water 
 being more shallow and the current smoother, we passed 
 them easily. We then found the water very deep and 
 mountains rising on both sides. After proceeding ten 
 miles we came to a fall in the river which arrested our 
 progress and compelled us to go ashore and desist from 
 any further attempt."* 
 
 On returning to his men (May 24, 1754) he learned from 
 friendly Indians, sent to him by his ally the Half-King, 
 Tanacharison, that the French, rapidly marching toward 
 him and now near at hand, were resolved on an encounter. 
 He took a favorable position at a level spot in a glade, near 
 a creek, and amid gently rising hills. The glade was known 
 
 *This extract is from a journal of Washington's, which was 
 taken by the French at the battle of the Monongahela, and parts of 
 which were published at Paris, in 1756. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 177 
 
 as " The Great Meadows." " I hurried to this place," says 
 he, ** as a convenient spot. We have, with nature's as- 
 sistance, made a good intrenchment, and by clearing the 
 bushes out of these meadows prepared a charming field for 
 an encounter."* 
 
 Mr. Gist, who now visited the camp, reported, that the 
 day before (May 27, 1754), at his plantation, thirteen miles 
 distant, he had seen M. La Force, a French officer, with 
 fifty men, whose footsteps he traced to a spot five miles 
 from the Great Meadows. Seventy-five of Washington's 
 men were sent in pursuit but could not find the French 
 roving party. 
 
 Tanacharison, together with a number of his warriors, 
 was but six miles from the spot. He also sent, after 8 
 o'clock on the night of the same day, intelligence of a 
 French detachment's being near. With forty of his men. 
 Colonel Washington, at once, before 10 o'clock, hastened 
 to the Indian camp, regardless of a heavy rain and a night 
 of intense darkness and of obstacles offered by an almost 
 impenetrable forest. " We were," says he, " frequently 
 tumbled one over another, and often so lost that fifteen 
 or twenty minutes' search would not find the path again."f 
 
 At early dawn he met in council with his Indian ally. 
 It was agreed to unite in an attack upon the enemy; 
 Washington to be on the right and Tanacharison on the 
 left. 
 
 The French were soon traced to a secluded nook 
 among rocks half a mile distant from the common road. 
 They were surprised in their lurking place. They were 
 attacked (May 28, 1754). And in the skirmish which 
 
 * Letter to Governor Dinwiddie, from Great Meadows, May 27, 
 1754. 
 t Letter to Governor Dinwiddie, May 29, 1754. 
 12 
 
178 WASHINGTON. 
 
 ensued, and which lasted about fifteen minutes, the French 
 party was defeated, eleven of their number being killed 
 and one wounded. Twenty-one were captured. Of Wash- 
 ington's party only one was killed and two or three were 
 wounded. The Indians sustained no loss, as the enemy's 
 fire was aimed exclusively at the band led by Washington. 
 The prisoners were forthwith sent to Governor Dinwiddie. 
 
 Of the slain among the French one was their com- 
 mander, M. de Jumonville. And as the alleged particulars 
 of his death have given cause to an unfortunate and false 
 representation of the fact, and as French writers have, in 
 works of history, biography, and poetry,* put on record 
 sentiments which would detract from the fair fame of 
 Washington, it is proper that the means should be fur- 
 nished for his vindication. 
 
 It has been said that Jumonville, having been surprised 
 and twice fired upon by the EngUsh, " made a sign that 
 he was the bearer of a letter from his commandant," and 
 that " he caused the summons to be read, but the reading 
 was not finished when the English repeated their fire, and 
 killed him."t It has been said that " the EngUsh ranged 
 in a circle round him, listened to the representations which 
 he came to make." "They assassinated Jumonville and 
 immolated eight soldiers, who fell bleeding by the side of 
 their chief." " The detachment of the English who com- 
 mitted this atrocity was commanded by Washington. 
 This officer, who afterward displayed the purest virtues 
 of the warrior, the citizen, and the sage, was then no more 
 
 *M. Thomas composed and published, in 1759, a poem on the 
 subject, remarkable for its extravagance, entitled " L'Assassinat de 
 M. de Jumonville, en Amerique, et la Vengeance de ce Muertre." 
 
 t M. Flassan's " Histoire de la Diplom. FranQaise." Tom. VI, 
 p. 28. Paris, 181 1. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 179 
 
 than twenty-two years old. He could not restrain the 
 wild and undisciplined troops who marched under his 
 orders."* Many other French writers have reiterated this 
 representation and have indulged in strictures marked 
 with great severity. But eloquence and poetry have on 
 this occasion been expended upon a fictitious scene. 
 
 The origin of the false picture may be traced to a Can- 
 adian, Mouceau, one of Jumonville's party, who escaped 
 from the scene of the engagement and to some savages 
 who said that they were present with the French. But 
 no savages whatever were seen with Jumonville at the 
 time, and Mouceau's account has no confirmation from 
 any source. 
 
 When Washington first heard of the allegation, he wrote 
 a letter to Governor Dinwiddie, and declared that the 
 report was " absolutely false." " These officers," says he, 
 alluding to Major Drouillon and M. La Force, who were 
 among the captives on the occasion, " pretend they were 
 coming on an embassy ; but the absurdity of this pretext 
 is too glaring, as you will see by the instructions and 
 summons inclosed. Their instructions were to recon- 
 noiter the country, roads, creeks, and the like, as far as 
 the Potomac, which they were about to do. 
 
 *' These enterprising men were purposely chosen out 
 to procure intelligence which they were to send back by 
 some brisk dispatches, with the mention of the day that 
 they were to serve the summons, which could be with 
 no other view than to get a sufficient reinforcement to 
 fall upon us immediately after. This, with several other 
 reasons, induced all the officers to beheve firmly that they 
 were sent as spies rather than anything else, and has 
 
 ♦ M. Lacretelle's " Hist, de France." Tom. II, p. 234. Paris, 
 1809. 
 
180 WASHINGTON. 
 
 occasioned my detaining them as prisoners, though they 
 expected, or at least had some faint hope, that they should 
 be continued as ambassadors. 
 
 " They, finding that we were encamped, instead of com- 
 ing up in a public manner, sought out one of the most 
 secret retirements, fitter for a deserter than an ambassa- 
 dor to encamp in, and stayed there two or three days, 
 sending spies to reconnoiter our camp, as we are told, 
 though they deny it. Their whole body moved back near 
 two miles ; and they sent ofif two runners to acquaint Con- 
 trecceur with our strength and where we were encamped. 
 Now, thirty-six men would almost have been a retinue 
 for a princely ambassador instead of a petit. 
 
 " Why did they, if their designs were open, stay so long 
 within five miles of us without delivering their message 
 or acquainting me with it? Their waiting could be with 
 no other design than to get detachments to enforce the 
 summons as soon as it was given. 
 
 " They had no occasion to send out spies, for the name 
 of an ambassador is sacred among all nations ; but it was 
 by the track of those spies that they were discovered 
 and that we got intelligence of them. They would not 
 have retired two miles back without delivering the sum- 
 mons and sought a skulking-place (which, to do them 
 justice, was done with great judgment), but for some 
 special reason. Besides, the summons is so insolent, and 
 savors so much of gasconade, that if two men only had 
 come to deliver it openly, it would have been too great 
 an indulgence to send them back."* 
 
 In two other letters to the Governor, he refers to the 
 subject. " I have heard," says he, " since they went away, 
 
 ♦Letter to Governor Dinwiddie, from the camp at the Great 
 Meadows, May 29, 1754. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 181 
 
 that they should say they called to us not to fire; but 
 that I know to be false, for I was the first man that ap- 
 proached them and the first whom they saw; and imme- 
 diately upon it, they ran to their arms and fired briskly 
 till they were defeated." "These deserters corroborate 
 what the others said and we suspected. La Force's party 
 were sent out as spies, and were to show that summons 
 if discovered or overpowered by a superior party of 
 ours."* 
 
 In his journal which was taken by the French and 
 published at Paris, he says : *' They pretend that they 
 called to us as soon as we were discovered, which is abso- 
 lutely false; for I was at the head of the party in ap- 
 proaching them, and I can affirm that as soon as they 
 saw us they ran to their arms without calling, which I 
 should have heard had they done so." 
 
 The Half-King, expressing his opinion of the real inten- 
 tions of Jumonville and his party, said that they had 
 '' bad hearts," and that they " never designed to come 
 but in a hostile manner." 
 
 The fate of Jumonville surely cannot, in the face of 
 Washington's arguments and averment, be termed an '^ as- 
 sassination," without an utter disregard both of the im- 
 port of the word and of the claims of truth. And it is 
 incumbent upon grave historians and biographers of 
 France to cease from reiterating and perpetuating so flag- 
 rant a falsehood, calculated to tarnish the character of 
 one whose name History has enrolled among those of 
 the wisest and the best that have adorned humanity. 
 
 ♦Letter to Governor Dinwiddle, without date; and a letter to 
 him. dated Great Meadows, June lo, 1754. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 WASHINGTON'S CAPITULATION OF FORT NECESSITY. 
 
 1754. 
 
 WASHINGTON was now encamped at the Great 
 Meadows. Colonel Fry, who had long been 
 prevented by sickness from joining him, died 
 at Wills Creek on the last day of May (1754) ; and Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Washington, next to him in rank, suc- 
 ceeded in command. 
 
 A pleasing moral and religious association with Wash- 
 ington and his men at their Fort Necessity is '' his custom 
 to have prayers in the camp." His affectionate friend, the 
 Hon. William Fairfax, of Belvoir, wrote to him while 
 at the Great Meadows : " I will not doubt your having 
 public prayers in the camp, especially when the Indian 
 families are your guests; that they, seeing your plain 
 manner of worship, may have their curiosity excited to 
 be informed why we do not use the ceremonies of the 
 French, which, being well explained to their understand- 
 ing, will more and more dispose them to receive our 
 baptism and unite in strict bonds of cordial friendship." 
 
 As to religious influences upon the red men, which 
 may have been exerted in this manner, we are not in- 
 formed, but the fact of there being stated religious ser- 
 vices at the camp is well known. A public recognition 
 of the providence of God, and of the duty of prayer to 
 him, was the rule of Washington throughout his military 
 career. 
 
 (182) 
 
UFE AND TIMES. 183 
 
 A trial of his principles and a severe test of his forti- 
 tude and prudence occurred at this time. 
 
 The brave officers of his little band, while they were 
 encountering the peculiar trials of wilderness warfare, 
 were so very poorly compensated, in comparison with 
 officers of the King's troops, that dissatisfaction, murmur- 
 ings, and at length loud complaints ensued. Then fol- 
 lowed as a natural consequence irrepressible emotions of 
 jealousy and threats of abruptly abandoning the service. 
 It was a crisis which called for the exercise of great tact 
 and talent. But the emergency served to exemplify the 
 sterling qualities of the future Father of his Country. In 
 letters to the Governor, he set forth, with great earnest- 
 ness and in explicit terms, the fact, the causes, and the 
 only effectual remedy of the discontent. And at the same 
 time he quieted, in a good measure, the prevailing turbu- 
 lence by skillfully touching those chords in the hearts of 
 his comrades which he well knew would respond to senti- 
 ments of honor, patriotism, and loyalty. 
 
 [Washington wrote May i8, 1754, to Dinwiddle of com- 
 plaint by the officers of " the committee's resolves," and 
 of finding himself inclined "to second their just griev- 
 ances." Nothing, he said, prevented their throwing up 
 their commissions except the near danger from the French. 
 The committee had refused to make their pay reasonable, 
 but had allowed a gratuity, and the officers preferred to 
 give their services, taking neither the gratuity nor the 
 scant pay. For himself Washington said : " Giving up my 
 commission is quite contrary to my intention. But let 
 me serve voluntarily ; then I will, with the greatest pleas- 
 ure in life, devote my services to the expedition without 
 any other reward than the satisfaction of serving my 
 country; but to be slaving dangerously for tHe shadow 
 of pay, through woods, rocks, mountains, — I would rather 
 
IM WASHINGTON, 
 
 prefer the great toil of a daily laborer and dig for a main- 
 tenance, provided I were reduced to the necessity, than 
 serve upon such ignoble terms " [as " the present pay," 
 hardly more than half what was paid elsewhere] ; '' the 
 most trifling pay that ever was given to English officers," 
 with " the glorious allowance of solider's diet — a pound 
 of pork, with bread in proportion, per day." Dinwiddle 
 expressed great surprise and concern to find Washington 
 "countenancing in any sort, the discontent that could 
 never be more unreasonable or pernicious than at present." 
 To this Washington replied that when he was informed 
 that the pay of a colonel was to be only fifteen shillings 
 a day, and of a lieutenant-colonel only twelve shillings 
 and sixpense, the fact that it was " less than the British " 
 (by nearly one-half), led him to acquaint Colonel Fairfax 
 with his intention of resigning, and that he was dissuaded 
 from doing so by the promise of Colonel Fairfax " to 
 represent the trifling pay " in the proper quarter and have 
 it enlarged. The number that applied for commissions, 
 he said, would not have been troublesomely large, if the 
 difficulties that would attend a campaign had been known 
 to others as they were known to him. Not that he would 
 resign, he said, because of any difficulties. " For my own 
 part I can answer," he declared, " I have a constitution 
 hardy enough to encounter and undergo the most severe 
 trials, and I flatter myself, resolution to face what any 
 man durst, as shall be proved when it comes to the test, 
 which I beHeve we are on the borders of. 
 
 " There is nothing, sir (I believe), than that the officers 
 on the Canada expedition [projected by General Shirley 
 in 1746, during the previous war with France] had British 
 pay allowed whilst they were in the service. Therefore as 
 this can't be allowed, suffer me to serve as a volunteer, 
 which I assure you, will be the next reward to British 
 
UFE AND TIMES, 185 
 
 pay; for as my services, so far as I have knowledge, will 
 equal those of the best officer, I make it a point of honor 
 not to serve for less and accept a medium. Nevertheless 
 I have communicated your Honor's sentiments to them 
 [the officers serving with him], and as far as I could put 
 on the hypocrite, set forth the advantages that may ac- 
 crue, and advised them to accept the terms, as a refusal 
 might reflect dishonor on their character, leaving it to 
 the world to assign what reasons they please for their 
 quitting tne service. They have promised to consider of 
 it and give your Honor an answer, though I really be- 
 lieve there are some that will not remain long without an 
 alteration. 
 
 " I believe it is well known that we have been at the 
 expense of regimentals, and it is still better known, that 
 under an indispensable necessity of purchasing for this 
 expedition, regimentals and every other necessary were 
 not to be bought for less Virginia currency than British 
 officers could get for sterHng money. 
 
 "We are debarred the pleasure of good living; which, 
 sir (I dare say with me you will concur), to one who has 
 always been used to it, must go somewhat hard, to be 
 confined to a little salt provision and water, and do duty, 
 hard, laborious duty, that is almost inconsistent with that 
 of a soldier, and yet the same reductions (of pay) as if 
 we were allowed to live luxuriously. My pay, according 
 to the British establishment and common exchange, is 
 near twenty-two shillings per day; in the room of that 
 the committee (for I can't in the least imagine your Honor 
 had any hand in it) has provided twelve shillings and six- 
 pense; so long as the service requires me, whereas one- 
 half of the other is ascertained to British officers forever. 
 If we should be fortunate enough to drive the French 
 
186 WASHINGTON. 
 
 from the Ohio, our pay will not be sufficient to discharge 
 our first expenses. 
 
 " I would not have your Honor imagine from this that 
 I have said all these things to have the pay increased, but 
 to justify myself and show your Honor that our com- 
 plaints are not frivolous, but are founded upon strict 
 reason. For my own part, it is a matter almost indif- 
 ferent whether I serve for full pay or as a generous vol- 
 unteer. Indeed, did my circumstances correspond with 
 my inclination, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer 
 the latter; for the motives that led me here were pure and 
 noble ; I had no view of acquisition but that of honor, by 
 serving faithfully my King and country." 
 
 Washington having thus answered Dinwiddie's criti- 
 cism of his report of complaints, and added an account of 
 the battle with the Jumonville detachment, further says: 
 " I shall expect every hour to be attacked, and by unequal 
 numbers, which I must withstand if there are five to one 
 * * * . Your Honor may depend I will not be sur- 
 prised, let them come at what hour they will; and this is 
 as much as I can promise. But my best endeavors shall 
 not be wanting to deserve more. I doubt not but if you 
 hear I am beaten, you will at the same time hear that we 
 have done our duty in fighting as long as there was a 
 possibility of hope. 
 
 " I have sent Lieutenant West to conduct the prisoners 
 in. I have showed them [the two French officers] all 
 the respect I could, and have given some necessary 
 clothing, by which I have disfurnished myself; for having 
 brought no more than two or three shirts from Wills 
 Creek, that we might be light, I was ill provided to fur- 
 nish them." 
 
 The revelations of character in this episode show a 
 preparation, a score of years before the event, for the 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 187 
 
 stand taken by Washington when he was chosen Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of the army of the United Colonies, and 
 the condition that he made that he should have his ex- 
 penses paid, and beyond that should not be upon a footing 
 of pay for his services.] 
 
 Another incident occurred soon after which he con- 
 trolled with the consummate skill of an experienced 
 master in the management of human passions. 
 
 It was a rule adopted by the British ministry, in order- 
 ing military affairs in the Colonies, that officers with royal 
 commissions should take precedence of all others. The 
 operation however of the principle involved in this always 
 tended to provoke jealousy and create discord. 
 
 When an independent company of a hundred men un- 
 der command of Captain Mackay, who had a royal com- 
 mission, went from South Carolina to the Great Meadows, 
 a case presented itself which was exceedingly embarrassing. 
 According to the estabHshed rule, he took rank of Col- 
 onel Washington, who, as a Colonial officer, had received 
 his commission from Governor Dinwiddie. The captain, 
 although on terms of perfect harmony with Washington, 
 could not consistently receive orders from him as a su- 
 perior officer. The encampment also of the King's cap- 
 tain and his company was quite apart from that of the 
 troops under the Colonial colonel. In the event of a con- 
 flict with the enemy — and one was constantly expected 
 — this point of rank might be the cause of serious evils. 
 
 The colonel wrote to the Governor, asking him 
 promptly to decide the matter. The Governor expressed 
 doubts. The embarrassment increased. The colonel's 
 officers and men could not brook the thought of their 
 commander's deposition from his grade; and they cher- 
 ished angry party feelings, which must have led to ruinous 
 
188 WASHINGTON. 
 
 results, had they not been immediately and judiciously 
 controlled. 
 
 In these circumstances Washington, with a bold hand, 
 cut what could not be united. After enlarging and 
 strengthening his Fort Necessity, he resolved to leave 
 Captain Mackay and his men in charge of it and to pro- 
 ceed with his regiment to the Monongahela. 
 
 He accordingly set out and advanced thirteen miles to 
 Gist's plantation. But before he reached this spot, he 
 met with unexpected formidable difficulties in making a 
 road for his artillery and in quieting the noisy cupidity 
 and eluding the sly artifices of pretended Indian alHes, 
 who proved to be French spies. He advised with his 
 officers; he concluded, instead of marching farther, to 
 wait there for the enemy; and he prepared for an en- 
 counter, as he learned that the French might be expected 
 very soon. 
 
 At his request Captain Mackay joined him with his 
 company. Credible accounts of the enemy's reinforce- 
 ment and great strength, it was agreed, however, rendered 
 a retreat advisable. The troops too were quite exhausted 
 with fatigue, having borne on their backs heavy burdens 
 and having dragged over rough roads nine swivels. So 
 poorly moreover were they supplied with horses that the 
 colonel himself, having dismounted and having laden his 
 war-steed with public stores, went on foot, sharing the 
 hardships of the common soldiers. 
 
 The troops succeeded with great difficulty in reaching 
 the Great Meadows, after two days' march. They were 
 compelled to halt there (July i, 1754). For eight days 
 they had eaten no bread and had taken little of any other 
 food. They could not retreat farther. Here then it was 
 resolved to make a stand. Trees were felled, and a log 
 breastwork was raised at the fort. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 189 
 
 Two days elapsed, and then early in the morning, a 
 sentinel, wounded by the enemy, gave the signal of their 
 approach. Before noon distant firing was heard, and 
 the enemy, consisting of French troops and of Indians, 
 reached a wood the third of a mile from Fort Necessity. 
 Washington drew up his regiment of 305 men, including 
 officers, and waited for an assault. 
 
 For nine hours — the rain, without intermission, pour- 
 ing down in torrents — both parties kept up a desultory 
 fire of small-arms. By that time the French had killed 
 all the horses and the cattle at the fort; the rain had 
 filled all the trenches; the firearms of many of the Vir- 
 ginia troops were out of order ; twelve men of these troops 
 were killed and forty-three wounded. 
 
 At 8 o'clock the French proposed a parley. Washing- 
 ton declined ; they urged, and Captain Vanbraam was then 
 deputed to them. Very soon he brought with him from 
 M. de Villiers, the French commander, proposed articles 
 of capitulation. 
 
 The overpowering number of the enemy induced Wash- 
 ington to come to terms. He consented, after a modi- 
 fication of the proposed articles, to leave his fort the next 
 morning (July 4, 1754) ; but he was to leave it with the 
 honors of war, and with the understanding that he should 
 surrender nothing but his artillery. The prisoners of 
 Jumonville's party, it was stipulated, should be returned; 
 and for a year's time no fort should be built at this post, 
 or anywhere beyond the Alleghanies on lands belonging 
 to France. 
 
 The articles of capitulation, written in the French lan- 
 guage, were professedly interpreted by Vanbraam. But 
 they were read by him hastily at night in the open air by 
 the flickering light of a candle during a violent rain. The 
 transaction was altogether a confused and hurried one. And 
 
190 WASHINGTON. 
 
 so bungling and blind was Vanbraam's English oral inter- 
 pretation — the interpretation made by a Dutchman, im- 
 perfectly acquainted with either English or French — that 
 not perhaps through any treachery of his, but rather 
 through the vindictive feelings and artful contrivance of 
 M. de Villiers, brother of Jumonville — Washington and 
 his officers were betrayed into a pledge which they would 
 never have consented to give, and an act of moral suicide 
 which they could never have deliberately committed. They 
 understood from Vanbraam^s interpretation that no fort was 
 to be built beyond the mountains on lands belonging to the 
 King of France; but the terms of the articles are ''neither 
 in this place, nor beyond the mountains."* They under- 
 stood, from Vanbraam's interpretation, that the prisoners 
 were to be returned who had been taken at the time of the 
 death of Jumonville; but the terms of the article are 
 "prisoners taken at Jumonville's assassination." f 
 
 The terms in which M. de Villiers afterward boasted of 
 his diplomacy on the occasion are at once an exposure of 
 his artifice and a vindication of the character of those whom 
 he attempted to confound with self-condemnation. 
 
 When the account which de Villiers gave of the battle 
 was communicated to Washington he made these com- 
 ments upon it: 
 
 " It is very extraordinary and not less erroneous than 
 inconsistent. He says the French received the first fire. 
 It is well known that we received it at 600 paces' distance. 
 He also says our fears obliged us to retreat in a most dis- 
 orderly manner after the capitulation. How is this con- 
 sistent with his other account? He acknowledges that we 
 sustained the attack warmly from 10 in the morning un- 
 
 * Dans ce lieu-ci, ni dega de la hauteur des terres. 
 
 t Les prisonniers fait dans I'assassinat du Sieur de Jumonville. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 191 
 
 til dark, and that he called first to parley, which strongly 
 indicates that we were not totally absorbed in fear. If the 
 gentleman in his account had adhered to the truth he must 
 have confessed that we looked upon his offer to parley as 
 an artifice to get into and examine our trenches, and re- 
 fused on that account, until they desired an officer might 
 be sent to them and gave their parole for his return. He 
 might also, if he had been as great a lover of truth as he 
 was of vainglory, have said that we absolutely refused their 
 first and second proposals and would consent to capitulate 
 on no other terms than such as we obtained. 
 
 " That we were willfully or ignorantly deceived by our 
 interpreter in regard to the word ' assassination ^ I do aver 
 and will to my dying moment; so will every officer who 
 was present. The interpreter was a Dutchman little ac- 
 quainted with the English tongue, and therefore might not 
 advert to the tone and meaning of the word in English; 
 but whatever his motives were for so doing, certain it is he 
 called it the ^ death ' or the ' loss ' of the Sieur Jumonville. 
 So we received and so we understood it until, to our great 
 surprise and mortification, we found it otherwise in a literal 
 translation."* 
 
 On the morning (July 4, 1754) after the signing of the 
 articles of capitulation Washington, amid the beating of 
 his drums and with his colors flying, set out for Wills 
 Creek. He had however scarcely left the Meadows when 
 he encountered 100 Indians, allies of the French, who 
 greatly annoyed him with their hostile purposes and their 
 rapacity. 
 
 On reaching Wills Creek he hastened with Captain 
 Mackay to the Governor at Williamsburg, whom they par- 
 ticularly informed of the events of their expedition. Both 
 
 * Writings of Washington, vol. II, pp. 463, 464. 
 
192 WASHINGTON. 
 
 the Governor and council highly approved of the conduct 
 of the commander, officers, and men. The House of 
 Burgesses voted thanks to them for their bravery, and a 
 pistole — a Spanish gold coin worth about $3.50 — was 
 presented as a gratuity to every soldier. 
 
 The Governor, glowing with intense feelings of loyalty, 
 but quite uneducated in the art of war, projected a new ex- 
 pedition against the French intruders. Colonel Washing- 
 ton was to complete the companies in his regiment and to 
 hasten then as fast as possible to Colonel Innes at Wills 
 Creek, and there uniting his forces with the troops from 
 North Carolina and New York to cross the mountains and 
 capture Fort Duquesne. 
 
 This project Washington earnestly opposed and it was 
 abandoned. 
 
 Among the many striking pictures in the gallery which 
 illustrate his life and character there is not another more 
 expressive of his distinguishing traits. His letter on the 
 subject of the expedition, addressed to the Hon. WilHam 
 Fairfax, then a member of the council, is a remarkable pro- 
 duction. His manner is respectful but his reasoning severe. 
 He sets forth the Governor's scheme as unadvisable and 
 impracticable. 
 
 [Governor Dinwiddle's orders to Washington by letter of 
 August I, 1754, were to get his regiment completed to 
 300 men, and march directly to Wills Creek, to join 
 other forces, in order to immediately march over the Alle- 
 ghany mountains, and either dispossess the French of 
 their fort or build a fort for British occupation; and to 
 have no 3elay, he was to at once march with what com- 
 panies he had complete, leaving to officers remaining to 
 fill up the other companies and follow with them. What 
 ammunition would be wanted he would send immediately. 
 " I depend," the Governor said, " upon your former usual 
 
PATRICK HENRY. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 193 
 
 diligence and spirit to encourage your people to be active 
 on this occasion ; " and again, " I trust much to your dili- 
 gence and despatch in getting your regiment to Wills 
 Creek as soon as possible." 
 
 Washington assured Mr. Fairfax that it was as imprac- 
 ticable to get the regiment to Wills Creek as It would be 
 to dispossess the French of their fort; both were morally 
 impossible. The Governor had said that the plan was 
 resolved on, '' considering the state of our forces ; " and 
 Washington declares that " the state of our forces " is 
 the most decisive reason why nothing of the kind can be 
 done; the men at present are in circumstances so un- 
 happy and their number is so inconsiderable compared 
 with the number of the enemy. " Before our force can 
 be collected," he goes on to say, " with proper stores of 
 provisions, ammunition, working tools, etc., it would bring 
 on a season in which horses cannot travel over the moun- 
 tains on account of snows, want of forage, slipperiness 
 of the roads, high waters, etc. ; neither can men unused to 
 that life, live there, without some other defense from the 
 weather than tents. This I know of my own knowledge, 
 as I was out last winter from the ist of November till 
 some time in January [on the journey to the Ohio, Octo- 
 ber 31, 1 753- January 11, 1754]; and notwithstanding I 
 had a good tent, was as properly prepared, and as well 
 guarded in every respect as I could be against the weather, 
 yet the cold was so intense that it was scarcely support- 
 able. I believe, out of the five or six men that went with 
 me, three of them, though they were as well clad as they 
 could be, were rendered useless by the frost, and were 
 obliged to be left upon the road. But the impossibility 
 of supporting us with provisions is alone sufficient to dis- 
 courage the attempt. 
 
 '* I shall only add some of the difficulties which we are 
 13 
 
194 WASHINGTON. 
 
 particularly subjected to in the Virginia regiment. And 
 to begin, sir, you are sensible of the sufferings our soldiers 
 underwent in the last attempt, in a good season, to take 
 possession of the Fork of the Alleghany and Mononga- 
 hela. You also saw the disorders those sufferings pro- 
 duced among them at Winchester after they returned. 
 They are still fresh in their memories, and have an irri- 
 table effect. Through the indiscretion of Mr. Spitdorph 
 [the bearer of the Governor's orders] they got some inti- 
 mation that they were again ordered out, and it immedi- 
 ately occasioned a general clamor, and caused six men to 
 desert last night. 
 
 " In the next place I have orders to complete my regi- 
 ment, and not a sixpence is sent for that purpose. Can 
 it be imagined that subjects fit for this purpose, who 
 have been so much impressed with, and alarmed at, our 
 want of provisions (which was a main objection to en- 
 listing before), will more readily engage now without 
 money, than they did before with it ? We were then from 
 the 1st of February till the ist of May, and could not 
 complete our 300 men "by 40 ; and the officers suffered so 
 much by having their recruiting expenses withheld, that 
 they unanimously refuse to engage in that duty again, 
 without they are refunded for the past, and a sufficient 
 allowance made them in the future. 
 
 " I have in the next place (to show the state of the 
 regiment) sent you a report by which you will see what 
 great deficiencies there are of men, arms, tents, kettles, 
 screens (which was a fatal want before), bayonets, car- 
 touch-boxes, etc., etc. 
 
 "Again, were our men ever so wilHng to go, for want 
 of the proper necessaries of life, they are unable to do it. 
 The chief part are almost naked, and scarcely a man has 
 either shoes, stockings, or hat. These things the mer- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 195 
 
 chants will not credit them for. The country has made 
 no provision; they have not money themselves; and it 
 cannot be expected that the officers will engage for them 
 again personally, having suffered greatly already on this 
 head; especially now, when we have all the reason in the 
 world to believe they will desert whenever they have an 
 opportunity. There is not a man that has a blanket to 
 secure him from cold or wet. 
 
 "Ammunition is a material article, and that is to come 
 from Williamsburg, or wherever the Governor can pro- 
 cure it * * * . The promise of those traders who 
 offer to contract for large quantities of flour, are not to 
 be depended upon * * * . If we depend on Indian 
 assistance, we must have a large quantity of proper In- 
 dian goods to reward their services and make them 
 presents. It is by this means alone that the French com- 
 mand such an interest among them, and that we had so 
 few. This, with the scarcity of provisions, was proverbial ; 
 [and] would induce them to ask, when they were to join, 
 if we meant to starve them as well as ourselves."] 
 
 As he was then little more than twenty-two years of age 
 (August, 1754) his firm opposition to the will of his su- 
 periors might seem presumptuous, but so proper was the 
 conduct of his procedure, and so cogent and conclusive 
 were his reasonings, that the Governor and council yielded 
 to the control of his master-spirit. 
 
 Yet the fire of the Governor's flaming zeal was not ex- 
 tinguished. As the British government granted to him 
 £10,000 sterling, with the promise of an additional grant 
 of the same amount and 2,000 stand of arms, and as the 
 Burgesses voted £20,000 for the public exigencies his de- 
 termination led him to form yet another scheme. 
 
 [There was however a very serious breach between the 
 
196 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Governor and the Burgesses, the significance of which 
 it is important to note. Mr. Sparks says here: 
 
 " The Governor was destined to struggle with difficulties, 
 and to have his hopes defeated. The Assembly were so 
 perverse, as not to yield to all his demands, and he never 
 ceased to complain of their ' republican way of thinking,' 
 and to deplore their want of respect for the authority of 
 his of^ce and the prerogative of the crown. He had 
 lately prorogued them, as a punishment for their ob- 
 stinacy, and written to the ministry that the representa- 
 tives of the people seemed to him infatuated, and that 
 he was satisfied ' the progress of the French would never 
 be effectually opposed, but by means of an act of Parlia- 
 ment to compel the Colonies to contribute to the common 
 cause independently of assemblies.' When the Burgesses 
 came together again, however, he was consoled by their 
 good nature in granting £20,000 for the public service; 
 and he soon received i 10,000 in specie from the govern- 
 ment in England for the same object. 
 
 Thus encouraged he formed new plans, and as the gift 
 of i 10,000 was under his control he could appropriate it 
 as he pleased."] 
 
 He resolved to raise an army consisting of ten independ- 
 ent companies of 100 men each. No officer of the late Vir- 
 ginia regiment was to hold rank higher than a captain, and 
 in addition to this injudicious and unjust provision every 
 Colonial captain was to yield precedence to a captain royally 
 commissioned. By this scheme Washington was to rank 
 but as the captain of a company and was to be the inferior 
 of certain officers who had been under his command. With 
 due regard to self-respect he could not thus do violence to 
 his sentiments as a man and a soldier. He resigned his 
 commission. 
 
 With a view to prosecute the war the King soon after 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 197 
 
 appointed Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, his Commander- 
 in-Chief, and Colonel Fitzhugh, at General Sharpe's in- 
 stance, earnestly requested Washington to return to the 
 army. " I am confident," said Colonel Fitzhugh, '' that the 
 general has a very great regard for you and will by every 
 circumstance in his power make you happy. For my part 
 I shall be extremely fond of your continuing in the ser- 
 vice and would advise you by no means to quit it. In re- 
 gard to the independent companies they will in no shape 
 interfere with you, as you will hold your post during their 
 continuance here, and when the regiment is reduced will 
 have a separate duty." 
 
 In reply to this Washington wrote with great respect 
 but in a tone of deep emotion and in terms memorably em- 
 phatic : *' You make mention," said he, " of my continuing 
 in the service and retaining my colonel's commission. The 
 idea has filled me with surprise, for if you think me capable 
 of holding a commission that has neither rank nor emolu- 
 ment annexed to it you must entertain a very contemptible 
 opinion of my weakness, and believe me to be more empty 
 than the commission itself. Besides, sir, if I had time I 
 could enumerate many good reasons that forbid all thoughts 
 of my returning, and which to you or any other person 
 would, upon the strictest scrutiny, appear to be well 
 founded. I must be reduced to a very low command, and 
 subjected to that of many who have acted as my inferior 
 officers. In short, every captain, bearing the King's com- 
 mission, every half-pay ofBcer or others appearing with 
 such commission, would rank before me. For these rea- 
 sons I choose to submit to the loss of health which I 
 have already sustained, and the fatigue I have undergone 
 in our first efforts [without the reward of advancement, 
 he means], rather than subject myself to the same incon- 
 veniences and run the risk of a second disappointment. 
 
198 WASHINGTON. 
 
 I shall at least have the consolation of knowing that I 
 have opened the way, when the smallness of our numbers 
 exposed us to the attacks of a superior enemy; that I 
 have hitherto stood the heat and brunt of the day, and 
 escaped untouched in time of extreme danger; and that 
 I have the thanks of my country for the services I have 
 rendered it."* 
 
 So fully was he aware of disingenuousness and unfair 
 dealing in the concocting of the Governor's extraordinary 
 scheme of independent companies by which Colonial su- 
 perior officers were to be set aside, regardless of the ser- 
 vices which they had rendered, and of all conventionalities 
 of military life, that he added in the same letter to Colonel 
 Fitzhugh, " The information I have received shall not sleep 
 in silence that those peremptory orders from home, which 
 you say could not be dispensed with', for reducing the 
 regiment into independent companies, were generated and 
 hatched at Wills Creek. Ingenuous treatment and plain 
 dealing I at least expected. It is to be hoped the project 
 will answer; it shall meet with my acquiescence in every- 
 thing except personal services. I herewith enclose Gov. 
 Sharpe's letter, which I beg you will return to him, with 
 my acknowledgments for the favor he intended me. Assure 
 him, sir, as you truly may, of my reluctance to quit the 
 service, and of the pleasure I should have received in at- 
 tending his fortunes. Also inform him, that it was to 
 obey the call of honor, and the advice of my friends, that 
 I declined it, and not to gratify any desire I had to leave 
 the military line. My inclinations are strongly bent to 
 arms."f 
 
 * Letter to Col. William Fitzhugh, November 15, 1754- 
 t The " peremptory orders from home " were a fiction, as was 
 afterward proved. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 199 
 
 The step which Washington took in resigning his com- 
 mission is by no means to be regarded as an impulse of 
 extreme sensitiveness, or of wounded pride. In the meas- 
 ure adopted by the Governor, there was involved a prin- 
 ciple which could not be practically sanctioned by the 
 Colonies, without a dereliction of self-respect, as well as 
 a humiliating indifference to the claims of common justice 
 and of honor. 
 
 Washington's suspicion of unfairness was also the more 
 manifest as the King's order did not arrive until the fol- 
 lowing spring. But the language of this order exhibited 
 then, in a stronger light than ever, the odiousness as well 
 as unreasonableness of the required humihation. " All 
 troops," says the order, " serving by commission signed by 
 us, or by our general commanding in chief in North 
 America, shall take rank before all troops which may serve 
 by commission from any of the Governors, Lieutenant or 
 Deputy Governors, or President for the time being. And 
 it is our further pleasure that the general and field officers 
 of the provincial troops shall have no rank with the general 
 and field officers who serve by commission from us; but 
 that all captains and other inferior officers of our forces, 
 who are or may be employed in North America, are on all 
 detachments, courts-martial, and other duty wherein they 
 may be joined with officers serving by commission from the 
 Governors, Lieutenant or Deputy Governors, or President 
 for the time being of the said provinces, to command and 
 take post of the said provincial officers of the like rank, 
 though the commissions of the said provincial officers of 
 like rank should be of elder date."* 
 
 [As Sharpe, the Governor of Maryland, had been ap- 
 pointed " general commanding-in-chief," the indignity of 
 
 * Order of the King, dated St. James's, November 12, 1754. 
 
200 WASHINGTON. 
 
 the treatment of Washington appointed by the Governof 
 of Virginia, the " Dominion " Colony, was greater than 
 if the King's commander-in-chief had been an eminent 
 soldier. The animus of the order of the King was that 
 of thoroughly rascal malignity toward colonials tainted 
 with " republican " feeling, such as Dinwiddie's complaints 
 had referred to.] 
 
 The natural consequence of such an expression of royal 
 authority was, as might have been expected, the alienation 
 of many a good and true colonist's loyal feeling. And in 
 the American heart there was thus fostered more and more, 
 by innumerable temptations to jealousy, and provocations 
 to an indignant sense of injustice and wrong, that deep, 
 prevailing, and powerful emotion which eventually drove 
 the Colonies, "appeahng to the Supreme Judge of the world 
 for the rectitude of their intentions," to assert their rights 
 and declare their national independence. 
 
 [An incident of Washington's experience at this time 
 was the refusal of Dinwiddle to execute his engagement, 
 made at the surrender of Fort Necessity, for the return 
 to the French of the prisoners taken in the Jumonville 
 affair. Dinwiddle was stupid (in the EngHsh sense of 
 that word), not only failing to see, but resolute against 
 seeing, while Washington ever had the quick vision of 
 genius and determination not less quick to act upon all 
 the light he had. Dinwiddle insisted on disregarding the 
 engagement made by Washington, because of captures 
 which the French had made at a later date. The French 
 were holding Captains Stobo and Vanbraam, as hostages, 
 for the return of the two French officers, Drouillon and 
 La Force, with two cadets and about twenty private sol- 
 diers. Dinwiddle sent proposals to the French for the re- 
 turn of Drouillon and the two cadets in exchange for Stobo 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 201 
 
 and Vanbraam; and was refused. La Force was kept in 
 close prison, while Drouillon and the two cadets were al- 
 lowed to go at large, and when Washington learned this 
 his protest to Dinwiddie was as indignant as it was honor- 
 able, but it was of no avail. The result was serious to 
 Stobo and Vanbraam, thrust into prison in Quebec, al- 
 though the former managed to escape, while the latter 
 was shipped to Europe and never returned to Virginia.] 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 DEFENSE OF THE COLONIES. 
 
 1754, 1755. 
 
 THE same year that Washington was occupied at the 
 Great Meadows resisting French encroachments 
 there was held at Albany a convention of commis- 
 sioners, convened (June 19, 1754) by order of the British 
 Board of Trade, with a view to conciliate and secure as 
 allies of Great Britain the most powerful of the Indian 
 tribes, the Six Nations. 
 
 These were New York tribes of the Iroquois and con- 
 sisted of the Senecas, Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas, 
 Cayugas, and Tuscaroras, all of whom spoke the same lan- 
 guage. An ancient confederacy of the first five tribes was 
 formed about the middle of the sixteenth century ; and the 
 Tuscaroras, driven from North Carolina in 1714, joined at 
 that period their Iroquois brothers in New York. These 
 six kindred nations thus leagued were very formidable. 
 And as they were implacable enemies of the Algonquin 
 allies of the French, it was now deemed important to se- 
 cure their friendship and co-operation on the eve of an- 
 other war with France. It was accordingly proposed to 
 make presents to them and effect the renewal of an existing 
 treaty. 
 
 The Colonies represented in the convention were those 
 of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Con- 
 necticut, New York, and Maryland. The Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor of Virginia did not deem it advisable to send dele- 
 
 (202) 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 203 
 
 gates, preferring to take an independent, and as he thought, 
 more expeditious course; and indulging the thought that 
 he could effect, in his own way, " a peace between the north- 
 ern and southern Indians and a strict alliance between them 
 and all British subjects on the Continent/' It was the vain 
 and illusive hope of a mind unwisely sanguine. 
 
 The delegates, as was proposed, held conferences with 
 the Indians and distributed among them the numerous and 
 gaudy presents which the several Colonies provided. But 
 they received from the eloquent lips of the Mohawk sachem 
 Hendrick a cutting rebuke for the prevailing neglect of 
 warlike defenses. " It is your fault, brethren," said he, 
 " that we are not strengthened by conquest. We would 
 have gone and taken Crown Point but you hindered us. 
 We had concluded to go and take it, but we were told that 
 it was too late, and that the ice would not bear us. Instead 
 of this you burnt your own fort at Saratoga and ran away 
 from it, which was a shame and a scandal. Look around 
 your country and see : you have no fortifications about you 
 — no, not even to this city. It is but one step from Canada 
 hither and the French may easily come and turn you out 
 of your doors. You are desirous that we should open our 
 minds and our hearts to you. Look at the French ! They 
 are men; they are fortifying everywhere. But, we are 
 ashamed to say it, you are like women; bare and open, 
 without any fortifications." 
 
 The subject of devising a plan of colonial union and 
 confederation for security and defense was submitted to the 
 convention. The delegates unanimously agreed that such a 
 measure was " absolutely necessary," and a committee was 
 appointed to receive proposed schemes and to digest a plan. 
 
 A distinguished pre-eminence in the convention was now 
 won by a delegate from Pennsylvania, Benjamin Franklin, 
 
204 WASHINGTON. 
 
 the committee having selected and approved the plan which 
 he devised and having recommended its adoption. 
 
 The whole number of delegates appointed was twenty- 
 five, every one of whom was in attendance.* And there 
 were among them a number of the master-spirits of the 
 times — men who subsequently exerted a memorable in- 
 fluence in the direction of political affairs. But among 
 them all there was not one other around whom clustered 
 destinies so remarkable as those which awaited the career 
 of Franklin. With his manly presence, his large frame, 
 his ample forehead, and his expressive countenance, 
 mingling blandness with firmness, his eye sparkling with 
 intelligence, and his lip curved with good-nature, he ever 
 was a conspicuous object of attraction and kind interest. 
 
 And his personal history possessed a charm from its 
 pleasing illustration of the true secret of success in life. 
 
 He had risen from poverty and obscurity in his native 
 city of Boston to great prominence among the politicians 
 of Pennsylvania and the literary and scientific men of his 
 time. And he had accomplished this by dint of his ex- 
 traordinary force of character. His forefathers were 
 Englishmen, mechanics, residing in the village of Ecton, 
 Northamptonshire. All his brothers were put to trades 
 in Boston. His father, a man of strong mind and solid 
 
 * The delegates were: Theodore Atkinson, Richard Wibird, 
 Meshech Weare, and Henry Sherburne, of New Hampshire; Sam- 
 uel Welles, John Chandler, Thomas Hutchinson, Oliver Partridge, 
 and John Worthington, of Massachusetts; William Pitkin, Roger 
 Wolcott, and Elisha Williams, of Connecticut; Stephen Hopkins 
 and Martin Howard, of Rhode Island; James Delancey, Joseph 
 Murray, William Johnson, John Chambers, and William Smith, of 
 New York; John Penn, Richard Peters, Isaac Norris, and Benja- 
 min Franklin, of Pennsylvania; Benjamin Tasker and Abraham 
 Barnes, of Maryland. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 205 
 
 judgment, who migrated to America in the year 1685, was 
 a tallow-chandler and soap-boiler; and Benjamin, the 
 youngest of his sons, was employed in cutting candle- 
 wicks, filling molds, attending shop, and going on errands. 
 But the boy's active mind could not long brook drudgery 
 like this. He was apprenticed to his brother James, a 
 printer. He now began to indulge his passion for litera- 
 ture. He wrote ballads and songs, which his brother 
 printed, and which he was sent about the town to sell. 
 
 To a newspaper published by his brother, and called 
 The New England Courant, Benjamin secretly contrib- 
 uted articles which were well received. As an author, 
 and very soon himself a printer and editor, he now rose 
 rapidly in favor with the public. 
 
 He removed to Philadelphia. By industry, thrift, and 
 stern integrity of character he accumulated property. He 
 took a lively interest in the establishment of literary, 
 scientific, and benevolent institutions, and in providing a 
 system of military discipline for Pennsylvania. He made 
 important discoveries in science, especially in relation to 
 electricity and lightning, and attracted the attention of 
 European savants. 
 
 He was chosen clerk to the General Assembly of Penn- 
 sylvania, was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia, and 
 was elected a member of the Provincial Legislature. He 
 now gave his thoughts more and more to public afifairs. 
 In the year 1753 he was appointed Postmaster-General 
 of America, and the next year he was one of the delegates 
 from Pennsylvania to the Albany Convention, where we 
 now find him with his plan of a colonial union. 
 
 He was not a novice as a politician and legislator. The 
 vital importance of a union of the Colonies he had already 
 urged in a spirited article published in his paper. The 
 Pennsylvania Gazette. To this article he appended, in 
 
206 WASHINGTON. 
 
 his favorite style of speaking by symbols, a wood cut 
 which became a very popular device in the Revolutionary 
 War — representing a snake in separate parts, the parts 
 designated by the initial letters of the names of the re- 
 spective Colonies, with a motto in large capitals, "JOIN 
 OR DIE." 
 
 The plan proposed a general government to be admin- 
 istered by a governor-general appointed and supported by 
 the King; and a council chosen by the Colonial As- 
 semblies, for ordering all Indian treaties, and for the 
 defense, support, increase, and extension of the Colonies 
 — the plan to receive the sanction of an act of Parlia- 
 ment. " The Colonies so united," he justly remarks, 
 " would have been sufficiently strong to defend them- 
 selves. There would then have been no need of troops 
 from England; of course the subsequent pretext for tax- 
 ing America, and the bloody contest it occasioned, would 
 have been avoided. But such mistakes are not new; his- 
 tory is full of the errors of states and princes. 
 
 ' Look round the habitable world, how few 
 Know their own good, or, knowing it, pursue.' "* 
 
 Franklin's plan, with a few modifications, was adopted 
 by the convention; and there were appended to it rea- 
 sons and motives for each article. But, on its being sub- 
 mitted to the Assemblies, it was rejected by them all on 
 the ground of its savoring too much of royal prerogative. 
 And when it was received in England by the Board of 
 Trade, they thought, on the other hand, that it was quite 
 too deeply tinctured with popular privilege. It was 
 therefore not even submitted to the notice of the King. 
 
 * FrankHn's " Autobiography," in his Works, vol. I, ch. x, p. 178. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 307 
 
 •The proposal that the united Colonies should be their 
 own defenders, without the aid of the mother country, 
 was viewed with suspicion and jealousy. They would 
 thus be led, it was supposed, to indulge, unduly, feelings 
 of self-importance and of confidence in their own strength, 
 and perhaps, as was apprehended, grow quite too military. 
 
 There was devised therefore a new mode of accomplish- 
 ing the various objects had in view. This was a recourse 
 to occasional meetings of the Governors, attended by 
 one or two members of their respective councils — to con- 
 cert measures, erect forts, and raise troops — and to be 
 supplied with means derived from a tax on the Colonies 
 by act of Parliament. 
 
 Thus the cardinal principle on which turned the destiny 
 of a mighty empire in the new world was distinctly set 
 forth at that time. But from its first promulgation to the 
 period of our national independence, the voice of the 
 people loudly and perseveringly condemned it, refusing 
 to submit to any measure whatever by which their lib- 
 erties would be impaired by taxation without representation. 
 
 It is a coincidence w^orthy of being noted that not only 
 the same year, but the same month, that dates Washing- 
 ton's engagement in his first important military opera- 
 tions, by which he was prepared for the part he was to 
 take in our War of the Revolution, Franklin was busied 
 with his plan, which was the embryo of our national 
 confederation and our union of States. It was on the 
 4th day of July, 1754, that Washington surrendered Fort 
 Necessity, and that Franklin's plan was considered; and 
 on the 4th day of July, 1776, after an interval of just 
 twenty-two years, AVashington was at the head of the 
 Army of the United States of America, and Franklin was 
 signing the Declaration of American Independence! 
 
 Franklin was twenty-six years older than Washington, 
 
208 WASHINGTON. 
 
 being born January 6, 1706, old style ; and at the time of 
 the Albany Convention he was at the age of forty-eight. 
 
 Another scheme proposed by him the same year, with 
 a view to the security and defense of the Colonies on the 
 Atlantic border, was the proposal to found two strong 
 western colonies. 
 
 With his sagacious mind he foresaw and confidently 
 predicted what would inevitably result from the occupa- 
 tion of the region which the western colonies were to 
 occupy. " The great country," said he, " back of the 
 Appalachian mountains, on both sides of the Ohio, and 
 between that river and the lakes, is now well known, both 
 to the English and French, to be one of the finest in 
 North America for the extreme richness and fertility of 
 the land; the healthy temperature of the air and mildness 
 of the climate ; the plenty of hunting, fishing, and fowling ; 
 the facility of trade with the Indians ; and the vast con- 
 venience of inland navigation or water-carriage by the 
 lakes and great rivers many hundred leagues around. 
 
 " From these natural advantages it must undoubtedly 
 — perhaps in less than another century — become a popu- 
 lous and powerful dominion, and a great accession of 
 power either to England or France."* 
 
 It was his scheme therefore to anticipate, frustrate, and 
 effectually control the ambitious purposes of the French 
 Government and at the same time to secure the friend- 
 ship and trade of all the neighboring powerful Indian 
 tribes. 
 
 It was a noble scheme. But the policy of Great Brit- 
 ain, dictated by an undue regard to the interests of trade 
 and commerce, was to occupy the Atlantic coast and not 
 the interior of the country ; and the suspicion and jealousy 
 
 * Works of Franklin, vol. Ill, p. 70. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 209 
 
 which frowned upon the Albany plan of union assumed 
 a more decided expression against inland settlements. 
 
 The British Government concluded to take into its own 
 hands the work of repelling and chastising French in- 
 truders, and to accomplish this neither by a colonial union 
 nor by inland settlements. It resolved however to adopt 
 prompt and vigorous measures for maintaining its claim 
 to the Ohio lands. The French, on the other hand, were 
 just as resolute in asserting prior claims. The settle- 
 ment on the Ohio being calculated, as they thought, to 
 despoil them of the harvest of their Indian trade, to break 
 the chain of their communication between Canada and 
 Louisiana, and to nip the flattering promise of their am- 
 bitious projects, the Governor of Canada had written to 
 the Governors of New York and Pennsylvania, threaten- 
 ing to seize all British subjects who encroached upon the 
 Indian trade. 
 
 In the year 1753 the French seized certain British 
 traders found among the Miamis and Piankeshaws, or, as 
 they were called by the English, Twightwees. Upon this 
 the Twightwees, allies of Great Britain, seized several 
 French traders and sent them to Pennsylvania as repris- 
 als; but at the same time they expressed great dissatis- 
 faction at the Ohio Company's unceremonious settlement 
 among them without permission, and upon lands not pur- 
 chased. The exclusive right also which the company 
 claimed excited the jealousy and caused the opposition 
 of private traders, who were not inactive in fanning the 
 flame of dissatisfaction which had already been kindled 
 among the Indian tribes. 
 
 An impending conflict with France, a threatened rup- 
 ture with the Twightwees, the claims of the Ohio Com- 
 pany, and the rights of Indian trade were subjects which 
 demanded the immediate attention of the Governor of 
 14 
 
210 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Virginia, whose jurisdiction then extended to the Ohio 
 and the Twightwee country. 
 
 The proceedings of the French in dispossessing Captain 
 Trent of his post at the forks of the Ohio, and themselves 
 building a fort there, and in compelling Colonel Wash- 
 ington to surrender Fort Necessity, greatly added to the 
 excitement which the subject created in the mother 
 country. 
 
 [The British ambassador at Paris was instructed to com- 
 plain of the proceedings as in violation of the peace, and 
 the French court protested that no violation was intended. 
 
 " Their ambassador at the court of St. James, gave the 
 same assurances. In the meantime however French ships 
 were fitted out, and troops embarked, to carry out the 
 schemes of the government in America. So profound 
 was the dissimulation of the court of Versailles, that even 
 their own ambassador is said to have been kept in ig- 
 norance of their real designs, and of the hostile game they 
 w^re playing, while he was exerting himself in good faith 
 to lull the suspicions of England, and maintain inter- 
 national peace. When his eyes however were opened, he 
 returned indignantly to France, and upbraided the cabinet 
 with the duplicity of which he had been made the uncon- 
 scious instrument. 
 
 " The British Government now prepared for military 
 operations in America ; none of them professedly aggres- 
 sive, but rather to resist and counteract aggressions. A 
 plan of campaign was devised for 1755, having four ob- 
 jects. 
 
 " To eject the French from lands which they held un- 
 justly, in the province of Nova Scotia. 
 
 "To dislodge them from a fortress which they had 
 erected at Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, within what 
 was claimed as British territory. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 211 
 
 " To dispossess them of the fort which they had con- 
 structed at Niagara, between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. 
 
 " To drive them from the frontiers of Pennsylvania and 
 Virginia, and recover the valley of the Ohio."*] 
 
 The Government voted a milHon of pounds sterling for 
 the defense of the American Colonies. Admiral Boscawen 
 sailed with a fleet to the banks of Newfoundland. Sir 
 Edward Hawke, Admiral Holborne, and Admiral Byng 
 also took the sea with three squadrons. And British 
 cruisers and privateers made fearful havoc with the French 
 West India trade. During the year (1755), 300 French 
 merchant ships and 8,000 French seamen were captured. 
 On the American lakes also and on the frontiers of Vir- 
 ginia and Pennsylvania, there was waged a desultory but 
 fearfully afflictive warfare, accompanied with all the 
 atrocity of savage massacres. 
 
 The arrangements for a campaign against the French 
 in America were committed to Prince William Augustus, 
 Duke of Cumberland, surviving son of the King, and at 
 that time chief manager of British military operations. 
 
 Holding a commission in the Guards, and being well 
 acquainted with their thorough discipline, he chose, as 
 the major-general for the proposed expedition, an officer 
 for forty years connected with them and celebrated as a 
 disciplinarian and tactician. The Duke, stern, harsh, and 
 tyrannous, was the object of general fear and hatred. 
 But discipline was his boast — uncompromising discipline. 
 
 He found an officer after his own heart in Major- 
 General Edward Braddock, who had served under him 
 in Scotland, in his expedition against the Pretender, 
 Charles Edward, in 1746. Braddock was accordingly ap- 
 pointed Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's forces in 
 
 * Irving, vol. I, p. 189. 
 
212 WASHINGTON. 
 
 America. The Duke then conveyed to him a set of in- 
 structions on the conduct of his expedition, and repeatedly 
 cautioned him, orally and in writing, to beware of an 
 ambuscade. 
 
 Flushed with the hope of making short work with the 
 French and their savage allies, General Braddock sailed 
 from Cork, in Ireland, on the 14th day of January (1755), 
 with two regiments of foot, consisting each of 500 British 
 regulars, under Colonel Dunbar and Col. Sir Peter Hal- 
 kett, officers of high repute for ability and experience. 
 
 [Previous to Braddock's arrival, Lieut.-Col. Sir John 
 St. Clair, deputy quartermaster-general, had come from 
 England, and made a tour of inspection in company with 
 Governor Sharpe, of Maryland. The sight of the moun- 
 tain wilderness where Washington's operations had been 
 conducted filled him with dismay; and he sent word to 
 the Governor of Pennsylvania from Wills Creek, on the 
 border beyond which began the pathless forest, that there 
 could be no campaign until a road should be cut, or re- 
 paired where rudely cut, toward the destination of the 
 expedition, and at the same time another put in good con- 
 dition for bringing supplies from Philadelphia. The Gov- 
 ernor of Pennsylvania could command no money, except 
 with the good-will of an Assembly which he described as 
 '' a set of men quite unacquainted with every kind of mili- 
 tary service, and exceedingly unwilling to part with money 
 upon any terms." It was with difficulty that he secured 
 the appointment of commissioners to make the necessary 
 exploration, and survey and lay out the proper roads. Sir 
 John St. Clair, after completing his tour of inspection, 
 traveled by canoe 200 miles down Wills Creek and the 
 Potomac to Alexandria, where Braddock made his head- 
 quarters, where the troops disembarked and encamped, 
 and where colonial levies were to repair. It was but nine 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 213 
 
 miles from Mount Vernon. The levies for augmenting 
 the two British regiments from 500 to 700 each were 
 selected by Sir John St. Clair from Virginia companies 
 recently raised, and after being supplied with their uni- 
 forms were marched to Winchester for their arms, in 
 charge of a British ensign under orders from Braddock 
 " to make them as Hke soldiers as possible."] 
 
 Before the end of February Braddock reached Virginia 
 (February 20, 1755) ; and soon after the transports which 
 carried the troops arrived at Alexandria; the squadron, 
 under Commodore Keppel, including also two ships of 
 war. 
 
 Never before had such an army been seen in the Col- 
 onies. Their appearance and movements — the perfec- 
 tion of military discipline — created universal admiration 
 and inspired very great confidence in the triumphant issue 
 of the expedition. All colonial jealousies and sectional 
 disagreements were merged in the general and heart- 
 cheering sentiment that the long-subsisting and vexatious 
 altercations with the French and their savage allies were 
 about to be effectually terminated, to the future peace 
 and comfort of His Majesty's loyal subjects in America. 
 So great was the confidence reposed in the skill and prow- 
 ess of British regulars. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 WASHINGTON AT THE BATTLE OF THE MONONQAHELA. 
 
 1754, 1755- 
 
 HAVING resigned his commission, Washington was 
 without employment as a military man. But 
 there was slumbering in his bosom many a high 
 resolve, which needed only a suitable occasion for its in- 
 dulgence. And he felt instinctively that it was not yet 
 the hour for his repose from public duty. He spoke of 
 his " reluctance to quit the service," and said, " My in- 
 clinations are strongly bent to arms."* Ill at ease in his 
 retirement, he was ready therefore to meet with cheerful- 
 ness the summons which soon called him once more to 
 the camp. 
 
 Not long after Braddock's arrival in Virginia, he sought 
 out Washington, well known to him by fame ; he learned 
 the story of his retirement from the service; he heartily 
 commended his spirited conduct on the occasion; and 
 he invited him to become one of his aids, retaining his 
 rank as colonel, and acting as a volunteer. This propo- 
 sition fully met the views and wishes of Washington. 
 He promptly accepted Braddock's invitation, and he be- 
 came a member of the generaPs military family. 
 
 Captain Robert Orme, one of the aids of Braddock, 
 had written to Washington in these words: 
 
 * Letter to Colonel Fitzhugh, November 15, 1754. 
 (214) 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 215 
 
 Williamsburg, March 2, 1755. 
 Sir. — The general having been informed that you ex- 
 pressed some desire to make the campaign, but that you 
 decHned it upon some disagreeableness which you thought 
 might arise from the regulations of command, has ordered 
 me to acquaint you that he will be very glad of your com- 
 pany in his family, by which all inconveniences of that kind 
 will be obviated. I shall think myself very happy, to form 
 an acquaintance with a person so universally esteemed, and 
 shall use every opportunity of assuring you how much I 
 am, sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Robert Orme, 
 
 Aide-de-Camp. 
 
 [In reply to Braddock's invitation, Washington wrote to 
 Orme letters of March 15, 1755, and of April 2, in which 
 these expressions occur : 
 
 " I wish earnestly to attain some knowledge in the mili- 
 tary profession, and, believing a more favorable oppor- 
 tunity cannot offer than to serve under a gentleman of 
 General Braddock's abilities and experience, it does not a 
 little contribute to influence my choice. The only bar 
 which can check me in the pursuit of this object is the 
 inconveniences that must necessarily result from some pro- 
 ceedings which happened a little before the General's ar- 
 rival, and which, in some measure, had abated the ardor 
 of my desires, and determined me to lead a life of retire- 
 ment, into which I was just entering at no small expense 
 when your favor was presented to me. I shall do myself 
 the honor of waiting upon his Excellency as soon as I 
 hear of his arrival at Alexandria. I should have embraced 
 this opportunity of writing to him had I not recently ad- 
 dressed a congratulatory letter to him on his safe arrival 
 in this country. 
 
216 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " You do me a singular favor in proposing an acquaint- 
 ance. It cannot but be attended with the most flattering 
 prospects of intimacy on my part, as you may already per- 
 ceive by the familiarity and freedom with which I now 
 enter upon this correspondence. 
 
 " I find myself much embarrassed with my afifairs 
 [April 2d], having no person in whom I can confide, to 
 entrust the management of them with. Notwithstanding, 
 I am determined to do myself the honor of accompanying 
 you, upon this proviso, that the General will be kind 
 enough to permit my return as soon as the active part of 
 the campaign is at an end, if it is desired [i. e., if he should 
 desire it] ; or, if there should be a space of inaction, long 
 enough to admit a visit to my home, that I may be in- 
 dulged in coming to it. I need not add how much I 
 should be obliged by joining you at Wills Creek, instead 
 of doing it at an earlier period and place. These things 
 will not, I hope, be thought unreasonable, when it is con- 
 sidered how unprepared I am at present to quit a family 
 and an estate I was just about to settle, and which is in 
 the utmost confusion." 
 
 To John Robinson, at that time and for many years 
 Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses and Colonial 
 Treasurer, Washington wrote, April 20, 1755 : 
 
 " The sole motive which invites me to the field is the 
 laudable desire of serving my country, and not the grati- 
 fication of any ambitious or lucrative plans. * * * j 
 expect to be a considerable loser in my private affairs by 
 going. It is true I have been importuned to make this 
 campaign by General Braddock, conceiving, I suppose, 
 that the small knowledge I have had an opportunity of 
 acquiring of the country, Indians, etc., was worthy of his 
 notice, and might be useful to him in the progress of his 
 expedition." 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 217 
 
 The matter of 50 odd pounds which he had made good 
 upon a loss which occurred, Washington touches upon, 
 in view of a proposal by the chairman of the military com- 
 mittee that he apply to be reimbursed, and further says : 
 
 '' I should not have asked this had it not proposed, and 
 had I not been so considerable a loser in the service, in 
 valuable papers, clothing, horses and several other things, 
 some of which, and of no inconsiderable value, I carried 
 out entirely for the public use. I had unfortunately got 
 my baggage from Wills Creek but a few days before the 
 engagement, in which I also had a valuable servant 
 wounded, who died soon after." 
 
 To William Byrd Washington wrote, also on the 20th 
 of April, of Braddock's offer, and said of this, '^ a circum- 
 stance which will ease me of expenses that otherwise must 
 had accrued in furnishing stores, camp equipage, etc, 
 whereas the cost will now be easy (comparatively), as 
 baggage, horses, tents, and some other necessaries, will 
 constitute the whole of the charge. Yet to have a family 
 just settling, and in the confusion and disorder mine is 
 in at present, is not a pleasing thing and may be hurtful. 
 But be this as it may, it shall be no hindrance to my mak- 
 ing this campaign."] 
 
 A few days after the general held a meeting at his head- 
 quarters in Alexandria with six of the colonial Governors : 
 Dinwiddle, of Virginia; Delancey, of New York; Sharpe, 
 of Maryland; Dobbs, of North Carolina ; Shirley, of Massa- 
 chusetts ; and Morris, of Pennsylvania. At this meeting a 
 plan for concert in action was devised. Braddock was to 
 proceed against Fort Duquesne, Shirley against Niagara, 
 and Sir William Johnson against Crown Point. The sub- 
 jects discussed and the arrangements made by the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief and the council of Governors possessed a 
 momentous interest. 
 
218 WASHINGTON. 
 
 At this meeting Washington was by invitation present. 
 He was introduced to the Governors, and they accorded to 
 him marked expressions of esteem. Referring to the oc- 
 casion he says : 
 
 " I have had the honor to be introduced to several Gov- 
 ernors and of being well received by them, especially Mr. 
 Shirley, whose character and appearance have perfectly 
 charmed me. I think his every word and action discover 
 in him the gentleman and politician. I heartily wish the 
 same unanimity may prevail among us as appeared to exist 
 between him and his Assembly when they, to expedite the 
 business and to forward his journey hither, sat till ii and 
 12 o'clock every night."* 
 
 Braddock proceeded on his way toward Wills Creek, 
 where the several divisions of his troops which had pur- 
 sued different routes, afterward united, and, including the 
 provincials, formed an army of 2,000 men. 
 
 Washington, detained at home for a few days by private 
 duties there, overtook the general at Fredericktown, Mary- 
 land, and was now with him. But the army, to the annoy- 
 ance and vexation of Braddock, was at a stand. Contracts 
 for provisions and for horses and baggage-wagons were un- 
 fulfilled, and to advance without these was deemed utterly 
 impracticable. 
 
 Braddock was exasperated. He proposed to send dn 
 armed force into the counties of Lancaster, York, and 
 Cumberland, Pennsylvania, '' to seize as many of the best 
 carriages and horses as should be wanted, and to compel 
 as many persons into the service as would be necessary to 
 drive and take care of them." In this emergency suitable 
 measures of relief were devised by Franklin. " Our As- 
 sembly," says he, " apprehending, from some information, 
 
 * Letter to William Fairfax, April 23, 1755. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 319 
 
 that the general had received violent prejudices against 
 them as averse to the service, wished me to wait upon him, 
 not as from them, but as Postmaster-General, under the 
 guise of proposing to settle with him the mode of conduct- 
 ing with most celerity and certainty the dispatches between 
 him and the Governors of the several provinces, with whom 
 he must necessarily have continual correspondence, and of 
 which they proposed to pay the expense. My son accom- 
 panied me on this journey. 
 
 '* We found the general at Fredericktown waiting im- 
 patiently for the return of those he had sent through the 
 back parts of Maryland and Virginia to collect wagons. I 
 stayed with him several days, dined with him daily, and had 
 full opportunities of removing his prejudices by the infor- 
 mation of what the Assembly had before his arrival actually 
 done and were still willing to do to facilitate operations. 
 When I was about to depart the returns of the wagons to 
 be obtained were brought in, by which it appeared that 
 they amounted only to twenty-five, and not all of these were 
 in serviceable condition. The general and all the officers 
 were surprised; declared the expedition was at an end, 
 being impossible ; and exclaimed against the ministers for 
 ignorantly sending them into a country destitute of the 
 means of conveying their stores and baggage, not less 
 than 150 wagons being necessary. 
 
 " I happened to say I thought it was a pity they had not 
 been landed in Pennsylvania, as in that country almost 
 every farmer had his wagon. The general eagerly laid hold 
 of my words and said, * Then you, sir, who are a man of 
 interest there, can probably procure them for us, and I 
 beg you to undertake it.' I asked what terms were to be 
 offered the owners of the wagons ; and I was desired to put 
 on paper the terms that appeared to me necessary. This 
 
320 WASHINGTON. 
 
 I did and they were agreed to, and a commission and in- 
 structions were prepared immediately." 
 
 The energy and personal influence of Franklin soon pro- 
 duced the most cheering results. He published an adver- 
 tisement and an address to the inhabitants of the counties 
 of Lancaster, York, and Cumberland, appealing to their 
 self-interest and to their loyalty. " I received from the 
 general," says he, " about iSoo to be disbursed in advance 
 money to the wagon-owners, but that sum being insuffi- 
 cient I advanced upward of £200 more ; and in two weeks 
 the 150 wagons, with 259 carrying-horses were on their 
 way to the camp." " The owners however, alleging they 
 did not know General Braddock, nor what dependence 
 might be had on his promise, insisted on my bond for the 
 performance which I accordingly gave them."* 
 
 But for the timely services thus rendered by Franklin 
 disastrous consequences must inevitably have ensued from 
 t^e general's exasperation and rashness. 
 
 He was not devoid of noble sentiments and generous im- 
 pulses, but his temper and conduct afforded ample proof 
 that he was very deficient in some of the essential qualities 
 upon which depend the influence and success of a military 
 chief. 
 
 Washington saw this and in one of his letters f he says: 
 " The general, from frequent breaches of contract, has lost 
 all patience; and for want of that temper and moderation 
 which should be used by a man of sense upon these occa- 
 sions, will, I fear, represent us in a light we little deserve; 
 for instead of blaming the individuals, as he ought, he 
 charges all his disappointments to public supineness and 
 looks upon the country I believe as void of honor and 
 
 * Franklin's " Autobiography " in his Works, vol. I, ch. x, pp. 182, 
 183, 187. 
 t Letter to William Fairfax, June 7, i755- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 231 
 
 honesty. We have frequent disputes on this head which 
 are maintained with warmth on both sides, especially on 
 his, as he is incapable of arguing without it, or giving up 
 any point he asserts, be it ever so incompatible with reason 
 or common sense." 
 
 William Shirley, son of the Governor, was Braddock's 
 secretary. In a letter to Governor Morris he says : " We 
 have a general most judiciously chosen for being disquali- 
 fied, for the service he is employed in in almost every 
 respect."* 
 
 He was haughty, self-conceited, self-willed, imperious, 
 and obstinate. He was also excessively "severe. And he 
 greatly lacked the prudence and caution which, in such 
 a warfare as he was about to wage, were absolutely essential 
 to his success. In the temper of his patron, the Duke of 
 Cumberland, who refused to accept the loyal offers of the 
 Scotch lowland lords before the battle of CuUoden, Brad- 
 dock now spurned the thought of employing Indian allies ; 
 and regardless of the dangers against which he had been 
 cautioned he trusted implicitly to the prowess of his brave 
 troops. 
 
 " He was, I think, a brave man," says Franklin, " and 
 might probably have made a figure as a good officer in 
 some European war. But he had too much self-confidence, 
 too high an opinion of the validity of regular troops, and 
 too mean a one of both Americans and Indians. George 
 Croghan, our Indian interpreter, joined him on his march 
 with loo of those people, who might have been of great 
 use to his army as guides and scouts if he had treated them 
 kindly, but he slighted and neglected them and they 
 gradually left him. 
 
 " In conversation with him one day he was giving me 
 
 * Colonial Records, vol. VI, p. 405. 
 
232 WASHINGTON. 
 
 some account of his intended progress. ' After taking Fort 
 Duquesne,' said he, 'I am to proceed to Niagara; and hav- 
 ing taken that to Frontenac, if the season will allow time, 
 and I suppose it will, for Duquesne can hardly detain me 
 above three or four days, and then I 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 read of a former 
 defeat of 1,500 French who invaded the IlHnois 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 com- 
 pletely fortified and assisted with a strong garrison, can 
 probably make but a short resistance. The only danger I 
 apprehend of obstruction to your march is from the am- 
 buscades of the Indians who, by constant practice, are 
 dexterous in laying and executing them ; and the slender 
 line, near four miles long, which your army must make, 
 may expose it to be attacked by surprise in its flanks, and 
 to be cut like a thread into several pieces which, from their 
 distance, cannot come up in time to support each other.' 
 
 " He smiled at my ignorance and replied : ' These 
 savages may indeed be a formidable enemy to your raw 
 American militia, but upon the King's regular and dis- 
 ciplined troops, sir, it is impossible they should make any 
 impression.' "* 
 
 [May 6th Washington wrote to his younger brother, 
 John A. Washington: 
 
 " I hope you will have frequent opportunities to par- 
 ticularize the state of my affairs, which will administer 
 much satisfaction to a person in my situation." 
 
 * Franklin's " Autobiography " in his Works, vol. I, ch. x, pp. 189, 
 190. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 223 
 
 The younger brother evidently was left in charge at 
 Mt. Vernon. May 25th Washington wrote again : 
 
 " I should be glad to hear that you live in perfect har- 
 mony and good fellowship with the family at Belvoir, 
 as it is in their power to be very serviceable to us, as 
 young beginners. I would advise your visiting there of- 
 ten, as one step towards it ; the rest, if any more is neces- 
 sary, your own good sense will sufficiently dictate, — for 
 to that family I am under many obligations, particularly 
 to the old gentleman." 
 
 The " young beginners " reference is to the getting un- 
 der way with the care of the Mt. Vernon estate. 
 
 In a postscript to the same letter Washington appears 
 cherishing political ambition, to the extent of wishing to 
 be elected to the House of Burgesses. Thus he writes 
 to his brother John: 
 
 "As I understand the county of Fairfax is to be divided, 
 and that Mr. Alexander intends to decline serving in it, 
 I should be glad if you could come at Colonel Fairfax's 
 intentions, and let me know whether he purposes to offer 
 himself as a candidate. If he does not, I should be glad 
 to take a poll, if I thought my chance tolerably good. 
 Major Carlyle mentioned it to me in Williamsburgh in a 
 bantering way, and asked how I would like it, saying, at 
 th^e same time, he did not know but they might send me, 
 for one or t'other of the counties, when I might know 
 nothing of the matter. I must confess I should like to 
 go for either in that manner, but more particularly for 
 Fairfax, as I am a resident there. I should be glad if 
 you could discover Major Carlyle's real sentiments on 
 this head; also those of Mr. Dalton, Ramsay, Mason, etc., 
 which I hope and think you may do without disclosing 
 much of mhte, as I know your own good sense can fur- 
 nish you with contrivances. If you should attempt any- 
 
224: WASHINGTON. 
 
 thing in this matter, pray let me know by the first op- 
 portunity how you have succeeded in it, and how those 
 gentlemen stand affected. If they seem inclinable to pro- 
 mote my interest, and things should be drawing to a 
 crisis, you then may declare my intentions, and beg their 
 assistance. If, on the contrary, you find them more in- 
 clined to favor some other, I would have the affair en- 
 tirely dropped. The Revd. Mr. Green's and Capt. Mc- 
 Carty's interests in this matter would be of consequence, 
 and I should be glad if you could sound their pulse upon 
 that occasion. Conduct the whole, 'till you are satisfied 
 of the sentiments of those I have mentioned, with an air 
 of unconcern; after that you may regulate your conduct 
 according to circumstances. Capt. West, the present Bur- 
 gess, and our friend Jack West, could also be serviceable, 
 if they had a mind to assist the interest of, Dear Jack, 
 Your loving brother,"] 
 
 The army provided with wagons, horses, and every nec- 
 essary supply now moved on. But the month of June 
 (1755) had already arrived. And so many and great de- 
 lays occurred, chiefly from rough roads, that the general 
 indulged serious doubts of the feasibility of reaching the 
 French fort before the close of the season. He consulted 
 privately with Washington, who advised him to proceed. 
 " I urged him in the warmest terms I was able," says Wash- 
 ington, " to push forward, if he even did it with a small but 
 chosen band, with such artillery and light stores as were 
 necessary; leaving the heavy artillery, baggage, and the 
 like with the rear division of the army, to follow by slow 
 and easy marches, which they might do safely while we 
 were advanced in front. As one reason to support this 
 opinion, I urged, that if we could credit our intelligence, the 
 French were weak at the Fork at present, but hourly ex- 
 pected reinforcements which, to my certain knowledge, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 225 
 
 could not arrive with provisions or any supplies during the 
 continuance of the drought, as the Buffalo river, down 
 which was their only communication to Venango, must be 
 as dry as we now found the great crossing of the Youg- 
 hiogheny, which may be passed dryshod."* 
 
 In a council of war, held on the occasion, the advice of 
 Washington prevailed. The general with 1,200 men, carry- 
 ing a small supply of necessary stores and a few pieces of 
 light artillery, moved forward, and Colonel Dunbar with 
 600 men and the heavy baggage followed by slow marches. 
 
 Washington accompanied the general in the advanced 
 corps. But when four days had passed and the general 
 with his corps had reached a spot but nineteen miles from 
 the Little Meadows a painful incident occurred (June 14, 
 1755) which greatly distressed the mind of Washington, 
 yet served to exhibit in a strong light his energy and de- 
 termination 
 
 When the army had advanced about ten miles from Wills 
 Creek he was seized with a violent fever by which he was 
 prostrated. Yet he continued with the army. Too feeble 
 to ride on horseback he was carried in a covered wagon 
 until his physician advised, and the general required, that 
 he should not continue with the advanced division. To 
 this he yielded his reluctant consent on the absolute con- 
 dition that before the army's reaching the French fort ar- 
 rangements should be made for his rejoining it. " I had," 
 says he, " the general's word of honor, pledged in the most 
 solemn manner, that I should be brought up before he ar- 
 rived at Fort Duquesne."* 
 
 Attended by a small guard and awaiting the arrival of 
 Colonel Dunbar with the rear army, he continued for some 
 days in a state of extreme debility. Colonel Dunbar's 
 
 * Letter to John A. Washington, June 28, 1755. 
 15 
 
226 WASHINGTON. 
 
 division did not reach him for eight days. His fever 
 moderated at this time, but his weakness, as he himself ad- 
 mitted, was excessive. 
 
 [Of this Washington said in a letter of June 28, 1755 : 
 " On the 14th instant I was seized with violent fevers and 
 pains in my head, which continued without intermission 
 'till the 23d following, when I was relieved, by the Gen- 
 eral's absolutely ordering the physicians to give me 
 Dr. James's powders (one of the most excellent medicines 
 in the world), for it gave me immediate ease, and removed 
 my fevers and other complaints in four days time. My 
 illness was too violent to suffer me to ride; therefore I 
 was indebted to a covered wagon for some part of my 
 transportation; but even in this I could not continue far, 
 for the jolting was so great. I was left upon the road, 
 .with a guard and necessaries, to wait the arrival of Col- 
 onel Dunbar's detachment, which was two days' march 
 behind us, the General giving me his word of honor, that 
 I should be brought up before he reached the French 
 fort. This promise, and the doctor's threats that, if I per- 
 severed in my attempts to get on, in the condition I was, 
 my life would be endangered, determined me to halt for 
 the above detachment." 
 
 It was on the 19th (June), when he had been ill five 
 days, that the advance of Braddock with part of the army 
 began, while Dunbar " with the residue of the two regi- 
 ments, some independent companies (of colonial troops), 
 most of the women, and in short everything not abso- 
 lutely necessary," remained behind. Washington says of 
 the advance : " We set out With less than 30 carriages 
 (including those that transported the ammunition for the 
 howitzers, twelve-pounders, and six-pounders, etc.), and 
 all of them strongly horsed; which was a prospect that 
 conveyed infinite delight to my mind, though I was ex- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 227 
 
 cessively ill at the time. But this prospect was soon 
 clouded, and my hopes brought very low indeed, when I 
 found that instead of pushing on with vigor, without re- 
 garding a little rough road, they were halting to level 
 every molehill, and to erect bridges over every brook, by 
 which means we were four days getting twelve miles. 
 
 " At this camp I was left by the doctor's advice, and the 
 General's absolute orders, without which I should not have 
 been prevailed upon to remain behind ; as I then imagined, 
 and now believe, I shall find it no easy matter to join my 
 own corps again, which is 25 miles advanced before us. 
 
 " I have been now six days with Colonel Dunbar's 
 corps, who are in a miserable condition for want of horses, 
 not having enough for their wagons; so that the only 
 method he has of proceeding, is to march with as many 
 wagons as those will draw, and then halt till the remain- 
 der are brought up with the same horses, which requires 
 two days more ; and shortly, I believe, he will not be able 
 to stir at all. 
 
 ** My strength will not admit me to say more, though 
 I have not said half what I intended concerning our affairs 
 here. Business I shall not think of, but depend solely 
 upon your management of all my affairs, not doubting but 
 that they will be well conducted." 
 
 The next paragraph is an interesting indulgence in genial 
 sarcasm : 
 
 " You may thank my friends for the letters I have re- 
 ceived from them, which, tell them has not been one from 
 any mortal since I left Fairfax, except yourself and Mr. Dal- 
 ton. It is a specimen of their regard and kindness which 
 I should endeavor to acknowledge and thank them for, 
 was I able and suffered to write.'* 
 
 " July 2nd. — We are advanced almost as far as the 
 Great Meadows, and I shall set out tomorrow morning 
 
228 WASHINGTON. 
 
 for my own corps, witn an escort of lOO men, which is 
 to guard some provisions up, so that my fears and doubts 
 on that head are now removed." 
 
 June 30, Washington had written to Robert Orme, one 
 of Braddock's aides : " I came to this camp on Thurs- 
 day last, with the rear of Colonel Dunbar's detachment, 
 and should have continued on with his front today, but 
 was prevented by rain. My fevers are very moderate, and, 
 I hope, near terminating; when I shall have nothing to 
 encounter but weakness which is excessive, and the diffi- 
 culty of getting to you, arising therefrom; but this I 
 would not miss doing, before you reach Duquesne, for five 
 hundred pounds. However, I have no doubt now of doing 
 this, as I am moving on slowly, and the General has given 
 me his word of honor, in the most solemn manner, that 
 It shall be effected. The doctor thinks it imprudent for 
 me to use much exercise for two or three days.''] 
 
 One of the general's aides-de-camp, Capt. Roger Morris, 
 had written to him from the great crossing of the Youg- 
 hiogheny, " I am desired by the general to let you know 
 that he marches to-morrow and next day, but that he 
 shall halt at the Meadows two or three days. It is the de- 
 sire of every individual in the family, and the general's 
 positive commands to you, not to stir but by the advice of 
 the person under whose care you are till you are better, 
 which we all hope will be very soon." On the 30th day of 
 June he said, in a letter to Captain Orme, one of the gen- 
 eral's aides : " As the doctor thinks it imprudent for me 
 to use much exercise for two or three days my movements 
 will be retarded."* But he husbanded his strength; he 
 took advantage of every moment possible for him to pro- 
 ceed; when prevented by rain from continuing with the 
 
 ♦ Letter to John A. Washington, June 28, 1755- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 229 
 
 front of Colonel Dunbar's detachment he joined the rear, 
 yet he moved onward. 
 
 It was with great effort and with pain that he persevered 
 in his purpose; but he at length succeeded, to his own 
 great satisfaction and to the surprise of the general, in 
 reaching the advanced detachment (July 8, 1755) near the 
 junction of the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers, 
 within fifteen miles of the French fort. " On the 8th day 
 of July," says he, in a memorandum, " I rejoined in a cov- 
 ered wagon the advanced division of the army under the 
 immediate command of the general. On the 9th I attended 
 him on horseback, though very low and weak." 
 
 This however was an eventful day long to be remem- 
 bered, which, while it veiled others with the gloom of mis- 
 fortune and calamity, shed around him and his exploits the 
 brightness of a glorious halo. 
 
 [In the memorandum just quoted Washington added to 
 the above : " On this day he was attacked, and defeated, 
 by a party of French and Indians, adjudged not to exceed 
 300. When all hope of rallying the dismayed troops, and 
 recovering the ground, was expired (our provisions and 
 stores being given up) I was ordered to Dunbar's camp."] 
 
 Early in the morning the army advanced in good health 
 and high spirits, and in perfect military order, on the north 
 bank of the majestic Monongahela. To reach the French 
 fort it was necessary first to ford the river and march for 
 some distance on its south bank; then to return to the 
 north bank by fording the stream again. This the well-dis- 
 ciplined troops successfully accomplished. And the man- 
 ner of their doing it was so truly admirable that Washing- 
 ton, who beheld the scene with intense interest, often re- 
 curred to it with the deepest emotion. 
 
 After crossing to the northern margin of the river, ten 
 miles from the fort, an advanced column of the troops 
 
230 WASHINGTON. 
 
 marched over a plain and up an ascent between two ravines. 
 But the remaining columns had scarcely forded the 
 stream when on a sudden heavy discharges of musketry 
 were heard on the front and on the right flank of the ad- 
 vanced party. The hostile forces, consisting of French 
 troops and of Indians, concealed in the ravines and behind 
 trees, kept up a destructive fire, deliberately singling out 
 their victims, and prostrating on the field, among the killed 
 and wounded, more than half of the whole army which so 
 lately presented a model of military order, discipline, and 
 prowess. 
 
 The advanced column, panic-struck, had retreated in dis- 
 may, falling back upon the detachment which next followed. 
 The contagion of alarm here seized the regular troops who, 
 for the first time, heard the Indian yell and war-whoop, 
 and were standing in platoons and receiving the deadly fire 
 of foes who were invisible. 
 
 Of the whole army no part, excepting only the Virginia 
 troops, manifested the presence of mind called for by the 
 emergency. They scattered and betook themselves to trees 
 from behind which they assailed the enemy after the man- 
 ner of the Indian warfare. 
 
 In an account of the battle given by Captain Orme he 
 says : " The men were so extremely deaf to the exhorta- 
 tion of the general and the officers that they fired away 
 in the most irregular manner all their ammunition, and 
 then ran ofif, leaving to the enemy the artillery, ammuni- 
 tion, provision, and baggage ; nor could they be persuaded 
 to stop till they got as far as Gist's plantation; nOr there 
 only in part, many of them proceeding as far as Colonel 
 Dunbar's party, who lay six miles on this side. The offi- 
 cers were absolutely sacrificed by their good behavior, 
 advancing sometimes in bodies, sometimes separately. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 231 
 
 hoping by such example to engage the soldiers to follow 
 them, but to no purpose. The general had five horses 
 shot under him, and at last received a wound through the 
 right arm into his lungs of which he died on the 13th 
 instant. Secretary Shirley was shot through the head; 
 Captain Morris wounded. Colonel Washington had two 
 horses shot under him and his clothes shot through in 
 several places, behaving the whole time with the greatest 
 courage and resolution. Sir Peter Halket was killed 
 upon the spot. Colonel Burton and Sir John St. Clair 
 were wounded."* 
 
 Our " well-armed troops, chiefly regulars, were struck 
 with such a panic," says Washington, " that they behaved 
 with more cowardice than it is possible to conceive. The 
 officers behaved gallantly in order to encourage their men, 
 for which they suffered greatly, there being nearly sixty 
 killed and wounded ; a large proportion of the number we 
 had." " In despite of all the efforts of the officers to the 
 contrary they ran as sheep pursued by dogs, and it was im- 
 possible to rally them." " The general was wounded, of 
 which he died three days after. Sir Peter Halket was killed 
 in the field, where died many other brave officers. I 
 luckily escaped without a wound, though I had four bul- 
 lets through my coat and two horses shot under me. 
 Captains Orme and Morris, two of the aides-de-camp, 
 were wounded early in the engagement, which rendered 
 the duty harder upon me, as I was the only person then 
 left to distribute the general's orders, which I was scarcely 
 able to do, as I was not half recovered from a violent ill- 
 ness that had confined me to my bed and a wagon for 
 above ten days. I am still in a weak and feeble condition 
 which induces me to halt here two or three days in the 
 
 * Letter to the Governor of Pennsylvania, July, .1755. 
 
232 WASHINGTON. 
 
 hope of recovering a little strength to enable me to pro- 
 ceed homeward."* 
 
 The whole number of British officers was eighty-six, 
 twenty-six of whom were killed and thirty-seven wounded. 
 The killed and wounded of the British army was 714. The 
 French had but three officers killed and four wounded, and 
 about sixty soldiers and Indians killed and wounded. 
 Braddock's official papers were taken by the enemy and 
 also Washington's private journal, and his official corre- 
 spondence during the preceding year's campaign. 
 
 [To Governor Dinwiddle Washington wrote July i8th, 
 from Fort Cumberland: 
 
 " When we came to within 7 miles of Duquesne, we 
 were attacked (very unexpectedly) by about 300 French 
 and Indians. Our numbers consisted of about 1,300 well- 
 armed men, chiefly Regulars, who were immediately struck 
 with such an inconceivable panic, that nothing but con- 
 fusion and disobedience of orders prevailed among them. 
 •The officers, in general, behaved with incomparable brav- 
 ery, for which they greatly suffered, there being near 60 
 killed and wounded, — a large proportion out of the num- 
 ber we had. 
 
 " The Virginia companies behaved like men and died like 
 soldiers; for I believe out of three companies that were 
 on the ground that day scarce 30 men were left alive. 
 Capt. Peyroney and all his officers, down to a corporal, 
 were killed; Capt. Poison had almost as hard a fate, for 
 only one of his escaped. In short, the dastardly behavior 
 of the Regular troops (so-called) exposed those who were 
 inclined to do their duty to almost certain death ; and, at 
 length, in despite of every effort to the contrary, broke 
 and ran as sheep before hounds, leaving the artillery, am- 
 * Letter to Mrs. Mary Washington, July 16, 1755. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 233 
 
 munition, provisions, baggage, and, in short, everything, 
 a prey to the enemy. And when we endeavored 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 at- 
 tempted to have stopped the wild bears of the mountains, 
 or rivulets with our feet; for they would break by, in de- 
 spite of every effort that could be made to prevent it. 
 
 " The General was wounded in the shoulder and breast, 
 of which he died three days after ; his two aides were both 
 wounded [Captains Orme and Morris], but are in a fair 
 way of recovery; Colonel Burton and Sir John St. Clair 
 are also wounded, and I hope will get over it ; Sir Peter 
 Halket, with many other brave officers, were killed in the 
 field. It is supposed that we had 300 or more killed; 
 about that number we brought ofif wounded, and it is con- 
 jectured (I believe, with much truth) that two-thirds of 
 both received their shot from our own cowardly Regulars, 
 who gathered themselves into a body, contrary to orders, 
 ten or twelve deep ; would then level, fire, and shoot down 
 the men before them. 
 
 " I tremble at the consequences that this defeat may 
 have upon our back settlers, who, I suppose, will leave 
 their habitations unless there are proper measures taken 
 for their security. Colonel Dunbar, who commands at 
 present, intends, as soon as his men are recruited, to con- 
 tinue his march to Philadelphia for winter quarters ; con- 
 sequently there will be no men left here, unless it is the 
 shattered remains of the Virginia troops, who are totally 
 inadequate to the protection of the frontiers." 
 
 To his brother John, Washington wrote on the same 
 day: 
 
 " As I have heard, since my arrival at this place, a cir- 
 cumstantial account of my death and dying speech, I take 
 this early opportunity of contradicting the first, and of 
 
234 WASHINGTON, 
 
 assuring you that I have not composed the latter. But, 
 by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have 
 been protected beyond all human probability, or expec- 
 tation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two 
 horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, though death 
 was leveling my companions on every side of me! 
 
 ** We have been most scandalously beaten by a trifling body 
 of men; but fatigue and want of time prevent me from 
 giving you any of the details, until I have the happiness 
 of seeing you at Mount Vernon, which I now most ear- 
 nestly wish for, since we are driven in thus far. A feeble 
 state of health obliges me to halt here for two or three 
 days to recover a little strength, that I may thereby be 
 enabled to proceed homeward with more ease."] 
 
 The story of Braddock's ill-fated expedition was at first 
 scarcely credited. The thought of a possibility of his de- 
 feat had not been harbored. Arrangements had actually 
 been made in Philadelphia for the celebration of his antici- 
 pated valiant achievement, and money had been raised 
 there by subscription for bonfires and illuminations. 
 
 Washington arrived home July 26th, and August 2d 
 wrote from Mt. Vernon to Robert Jackson: 
 
 " It is true we have been 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 and the uncertainty of 
 human things ! We but a few moments before believed our 
 numbers almost equal to the Canadian force ; they only ex- 
 pected to annoy us. Yet contrary to all expectation and 
 human probability, and even to the common course of 
 things, we were totally defeated and sustained the loss of 
 every thing. This, as you observe, must be an affecting 
 story to the colony, and will, no doubt, license the tongues 
 of people to censure those whom they think most blamable ; 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 235 
 
 which, by the by, often falls very wrongfully. I join very 
 heartily with you in believing, that when this story comes 
 to be related in future annals, it will meet with unbelief and 
 indignation, for had I not been witness to the fact on that 
 fatal day, I should scarce have given credit to it even now." 
 
 Washington's wonderful preservation and escape with- 
 out a wound, amid so many and great dangers, became 
 very naturally a general topic of conversation throughout 
 the Colonies. 
 
 The divine purpose in the preservation of his life was 
 also recognized by an Indian chief and his warriors who 
 were present at Monongahela and in the battle. Washing- 
 ton having occasion to explore some western wild lands 
 about fifteen years after the time of the battle went in com- 
 pany with his friend. Dr. Craik, to a spot near the junction 
 of the Great Kenhawa and Ohio rivers. While there he 
 was visited by a sachem and his party, who had heard of 
 his arrival in the forest, and who came to him with a tribute 
 of their homage. 
 
 The old chief said that he was present at the battle and 
 among the Indian allies of the French; that he singled him 
 out and repeatedly fired his rifle at him ; that he ordered his 
 young warriors also to make him their only mark ; but that 
 on finding all their bullets turned aside by some invisible 
 and inscrutable interposition he was convinced that the hero 
 at whom he had so often and so truly aimed must be, for 
 some wise purpose, specially protected by the Great Spirit. 
 He now came therefore to testify his veneration. 
 
 When Braddock's troops, retreating from the scene of 
 action, recrossed the Monongahela, Washington has- 
 tened to the rear detachment under Dunbar and ordered 
 vehicles for carrying the wounded from the field. 
 
 The general had already been removed in a wagon 
 and then put on horseback; but it was soon discovered 
 
236 WASHINGTON. 
 
 that he could not ride, and he was borne upon a htter, 
 first to the rear detachment and then toward the Great 
 Meadows. 
 
 On the fourth day he died; and, to conceal his body 
 from hostile savages, it was wrapped in his cloak and 
 interred at night at a spot about a mile west of Fort 
 Necessity. But it was not committed to the earth with- 
 out the rite of sepulture. There was, it is true, no min- 
 ister of the Gospel in attendance. It was customary how- 
 ever, in the absence of a clergyman, for the laity in such 
 emergencies to read the Church of England's office for 
 the burial of the dead. And now Washington, standing 
 near the lifeless body about to be consigned *' dust to 
 dust," read by the light of a torch the words of the solemn 
 burial service. 
 
 [Irving's narrative of the return of Washington to> duty 
 with Braddock, and of the terrible disaster of July 9th, 
 may be quoted here as one of his many matchless sketches 
 of forever memorable scenes : 
 
 " Washington was warmly received on his arrival, espe- 
 cially by his fellow aides-de-camp, Morris and Orme. He 
 was just in time, for the attack upon Fort Duquesne was 
 to be made on the following day. The neighboring coun- 
 try had been reconnoitered to determine upon a plan of 
 attack. The fort stood on the same side of the Mononga- 
 hela with the camp ; but there was a narrow pass between 
 them of about two miles, with the river on the left and 
 a very high mountain on the right, and in its present state 
 quite impassable for carriages. The route determined on 
 was to cross the Monongahela by a ford immediately op- 
 posite to the camp; proceed along the west bank of the 
 river, for about five miles, then recross by another ford to 
 the eastern side, and push on to the fort. The river at 
 these fords was shallow, and the banks were not steep. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 237 
 
 "According to the plan of arrangement, Lieutenant-Col- 
 onel Gage, with the advance, was to cross the river before 
 daybreak, march to the second ford, and recrossing there, 
 take post to secure the passage of the main force. The 
 advance was to be composed of two companies of grena- 
 diers, one hundred and sixty infantry, the independent com- 
 pany of Captain Horatio Gates, and two six-pounders. 
 
 " Washington, who had already seen enough of regular 
 troops to doubt their infallibility in wild bush-fighting, and 
 who knew the dangerous nature of the ground they were 
 to traverse, ventured to suggest, that on the following day 
 the Virginia rangers, being accustomed to the country 
 and to Indian warfare, might be thrown in the advance. 
 The proposition drew an angry reply from the general, 
 indignant very probably, that a young provincial officer 
 should presume to school a veteran like himself. 
 
 " Early next morning (July 9th), before daylight. Colonel 
 Gage crossed with the advance. He was followed at some 
 distance by Sir John St. Clair, quartermaster-general, with 
 a working party of 250 men, to make roads for the artillery 
 and baggage. They had with them their wagons of tools, 
 and two six-pounders. A party of about thirty savages 
 rushed out of the woods as Colonel Gage advanced, but 
 were put to flight before they had done any harm. 
 
 " By sunrise the main body turned out in full uniform, 
 at the beating of 'the general,' their arms, which had 
 been cleaned the night before, were charged with fresh 
 cartridges. The officers were perfectly equipped. All 
 looked as if arrayed for a fete, rather than a battle. Wash- 
 ington, who was still weak and unwell, mounted his horse 
 and joined the staff of the general, who was scrutinizing 
 everything with the eye of a martinet. As it was sup- 
 posed the enemy would be on the watch for the crossing 
 of the troops, it had been agreed that they should do it 
 
238 WASHINGTON. 
 
 in the greatest order, with bayonets fixed, colors flying, 
 and drums and fifes beating and playing.* They accord- 
 ingly made a gallant appearance as they forded the Mon- 
 ongahela, and wound along its banks and through the 
 open forests, gleaming and glittering in morning sunshine 
 and stepping buoyantly to the ' Grenadiers' March/ 
 
 " Washington, with his keen and youthful relish for mili- 
 tary affairs, was delighted with their perfect order and 
 equipment, so different from the rough bush-fighters, to 
 which he had been accustomed. Roused to new life, he 
 forgot his recent ailments, and broke forth in expressions 
 of enjoyment and admiration as he rode in company with 
 his fellow aides-de-camp, Orme and Morris. Often, in 
 after life, he used to speak of the effect upon him of the 
 first sight of a well-disciplined European army, marching 
 in high confidence and bright array, on the eve of a battle. 
 
 " About noon they reached the second ford. Gage, with 
 the advance, was on the opposite side of the Monongahela, 
 posted according to orders; but the river bank had not 
 been sufficiently sloped. The artillery and baggage drew 
 up along the beach and hatted until one, when the second 
 crossing took place, drums beating, fifes playing, and 
 colors flying as before. When all had passed, there was 
 again a halt close by a small stream called Frazier's Run, 
 until the general arranged the order of march. 
 
 " First went the advance, under Gage, preceded by the 
 engineers and guides and six light horsemen. 
 
 " Then Sir John St. Clair and the working party, with 
 their wagons and the two six-pounders. On each side 
 were thrown out four flanking parties. 
 
 " Then, at some distance, the general was to follow with 
 the main body, the artillery and baggage were preceded 
 * Orme's Journal. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 239 
 
 and flanked by light horse and squads of infantry; while 
 the Virginian and other provincial troops were to form 
 the rearguard. 
 
 '' The ground before them was level until about half a 
 mile from the river, where a rising ground, covered with 
 long grass, low bushes, and scattered trees, sloped gently 
 up to a range of hills. The whole country, generally 
 speaking, was a forest, with no clear opening but the 
 road, which was about twelve feet wide, and flanked by 
 two ravines, concealed by trees and thickets. 
 
 " Had Braddock been schooled in the warfare of the 
 woods, or had he adopted the suggestions of Washington, 
 which he rejected so impatiently, he would have thrown 
 out Indian scouts or Virginian rangers in the advance, and 
 on the flanks, to beat up the woods and ravines; but as 
 has been sarcastically observed, he suffered his troops to 
 march forward through the center of the plain, with merely 
 their usual guides and flanking parties, ' as if in a re- 
 view in St. James's Park.' 
 
 *' It was now near 2 o'clock. The advanced party and 
 the working party had crossed the plain and were ascend- 
 ing the rising ground. Braddock was about to follow with 
 the main body, and had given the word to march, when 
 he heard an excessively quick and heavy firing in front. 
 Washington, who was with the general, surmised that the 
 evil he had apprehended had come to pass. For want of 
 scouting parties ahead, the advance parties were suddenly 
 and warmly attacked. Braddock ordered Lieutenant-Col- 
 onel Burton to hasten to their asistance with the vanguard 
 of the main body, 800 strong. The residue, 400, were 
 halted, and posted to protect the artillery and baggage. 
 
 " The firing continued with fearful yelling. There was a 
 terrible uproar. By the general's orders an aide-de-camp 
 spurred forward to bring him an account of the nature of 
 
240 WASHINGTON, 
 
 the attack. Without waiting for his return, the general 
 himself, finding the turmoil increase, moved forward, leav- 
 ing Sir Peter Halket with the command of the baggage. 
 
 The van of the advance had indeed been taken by sur- 
 prise. It was composed of two companies of pioneers to 
 cut the road, and two flank companies of grenadiers to 
 protect them. Suddenly the engineer who preceded them 
 to mark out the road gave the alarm, " French and In- 
 dians ! " A body of them was approaching rapidly, cheered 
 on by a Frenchman in gayly fringed hunting-shirt, whose 
 gorget showed him to be an officer. Th.ere was sharp fir- 
 ing on both sides at first. Several of the enemy fell ; among 
 them their leader; but a murderous fire broke out from 
 among trees and a ravine on the right, and the woods re- 
 sounded with unearthly whoops and yellings. The Indian 
 rifle was at work, leveled by unseen hands. Most of the 
 grenadiers and many of the pioneers were shot down. 
 The survivors were driven in on the advance. 
 
 Gage ordered his men to fix bayonets and form in order 
 of battle. They did so in hurry and trepidation. He 
 would have scaled a hill on the right whence there was 
 the severest firing. Not a platoon would quit the line of 
 march. They were more dismayed by the yells than by 
 the rifles of the unseen savages. The latter extended 
 themselves along the hill and in the ravines; but their 
 whereabouts was only known by their demoniac cries and 
 the pufifs of smoke from their rifles. The soldiers fired 
 wherever they saw the smoke. Their officers tried in vain 
 to restrain them until they should see their foe. All 
 orders were unheeded; in their fright they shot at ran- 
 dom, killing some of their own flanking parties, and of 
 the vanguard, as they came running in. The covert fire 
 grew more intense. In a short time' most of the officers 
 and many of the men of the advance were killed or 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 241 
 
 wounded. Colonel Gage himself received a wound. The 
 advance fell back in dismay upon Sir John St. Clair's 
 corps, which was equally dismayed. The cannon belong- 
 ing to it were deserted. 
 
 Colonel Burton had come up with the reinforcement, 
 and was forming his men to face the rising ground on the 
 right, when both of the advanced detachments fell back 
 upon him, and all now was confusion. 
 
 By this time the general was upon the ground. He 
 tried to rally the men, " They would fight," they said, 
 *' if they could see their enemy ; but it was useless to fire 
 at trees and bushes, and they could not stand to be shot 
 down by an invisible foe." 
 
 The colors were advanced in dififerent places to separate 
 the men of the two regiments. The general ordered the 
 officers to form the men, tell them off into small divisions, 
 and advance with them; but the soldiers could not be 
 prevailed upon either by threats or entreaties. The Vir- 
 ginia troops, accustomed to the Indian mode of fighting, 
 scattered themselves, and took post behind trees, whence 
 they could pick off the lurking foe. In this way they, in 
 some degree, protected the regulars. Washington advised 
 General Braddock to adopt the same plan with the regfu- 
 lars; but he persisted in forming them into platoons; 
 consequently they were cut down from behind logs and 
 trees as fast as they could advance. Several attempted to 
 take to the trees without orders, but the general stormed 
 at them, called them cowards, and even struck them with 
 the flat of his sword. Several of the Virginians, who had 
 taken post and were doing good service in this manner, 
 were slain by the fire of the regulars, directed wherever a 
 smoke appeared among the trees. 
 
 The officers behaved with consummate bravery; and 
 Washington beheld with admiration those who. in camp 
 i6 
 
242 WASHINGTON. 
 
 or on the march, had appeared to him to have an almost 
 effeminate regard for personal ease and convenience, now 
 exposing themselves to imminent death, with a courage 
 that kindled with the thickening horrors. In the vain 
 hope of inspiriting the men tO' drive off the enemy from 
 the flanks and regain the cannon, they would dash for- 
 ward singly or in groups. They were invariably shot 
 down; for the Indians aimed from their coverts at every 
 one on horseback, or who appeared to have command. 
 
 Some were killed by random shot of their own men, 
 who, crowded in masses, fired with affrighted rapidity, 
 but without aim. Soldiers in the front ranks were killed 
 by those in the rear. Between friend and foe, the slaughter 
 of the officers was terrible. All this while the woods re- 
 sounded with the unearthly yellings of the savages, and 
 now and then one of them, hideously painted, and ruffling 
 with feathered crest, would rush forth to scalp an officer 
 who had fallen, or seize a horse galloping wildly without 
 a rider. 
 
 Throughout this disastrous day, Washington distin- 
 guished himself by his courage and presence of mind. His 
 brother aides, Orme and Morris, were wounded and dis- 
 abled early in the action, and the whole duty of carrying 
 the orders of the general devolved on him. His danger 
 was imminent and incessant. He was in every part of 
 the field, a conspicuous mark for the murderous rifle. Two 
 horses were shot under him. Four bullets passed through 
 his coat. His escape without a wound was almost miracu- 
 lous. Dr. Craik, who was on the field attending to the 
 wounded, watched him' with anxiety as he rode about in 
 the most exposed manner, and used to say that he ex- 
 pected every moment to see him fall. At one time he was 
 sent to the main body to bring the artillery into action. 
 All there was likewise in confusion; for the Indians had 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. . 243 
 
 extended themselves along the ravine so as to flank the 
 reserve and carry slaughter into the ranks. Sir Peter Hal- 
 ket had been shot down at the head of his regiment. The 
 men who should have served the guns were paralyzed. 
 Had they raked the ravines with grape-shot the day might 
 have been saved. In his ardor Washington sprang from 
 his horse, wheeled and pointed a brass field-piece with his 
 own hand, and directed an effective discharge into the 
 woods; but neither his efforts nor example were of avail. 
 The men could not be kept to the guns. 
 
 Braddock still remained in the center of the field, in the 
 desperate hope of retrieving the fortunes of the day. The 
 Virginia rangers, who had been most efficient in covering 
 his position, were nearly all killed or wounded. His sec- 
 retary, Shirley, had fallen by his side. Many of his officers 
 had been slain within his sight, and many of his guard 
 of Virginia light horse. Five horses had been killed under 
 him ; still he kept his ground, vainly endeavoring to check 
 the flight of his men, or at least to effect their retreat 
 in good order. At length a bullet passed through his 
 right arm and lodged itself in his lungs. He fell from 
 his horse, but was caught by Captain Stewart of the 
 Virginia guards, who, with the assistance of another 
 American, and a servant, placed him in a tumbril. It 
 was with much difficulty they got him out of the field — 
 in his despair he desired to be left there. 
 
 The rout now became complete. Baggage, stores, ar- 
 tillery, everything was abandoned. The wagoners took 
 each a horse out of his team and fled. The officers were 
 swept off with the men in this headlong flight. It was 
 rendered more precipitate by the shouts and yells of the 
 savages, numbers of whom rushed forth from their cov- 
 erts, and pursued the fugitives to the river side, killing 
 several as they dashed across in tumultuous confusion. 
 
244 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Fortunately for the latter, the victors gave up the pursuit 
 in their eagerness to collect the spoil. 
 
 The shattered army continued its flight after it had 
 crossed the Monongahela, a wretched wreck of the brilliant 
 little force that had recently gleamed along its banks, 
 confident of victory. Out of eighty-six officers, twenty- 
 six had been killed, and thirty-six wounded. The number 
 of rank and file killed and wounded was upward of seven 
 hundred. The Virginia corps had suffered the most ; one 
 company had been almost annihilated, another, beside 
 those killed and wounded in the ranks, had lost all its 
 officers, even to the corporal. 
 
 About a hundred men were brought to a halt about a 
 quarter of a mile from the ford of the river. Here was 
 Braddock, with his wounded aides-de-camp and some of 
 his officers. Dr. Craik dressing his wounds, and Washing- 
 ton attending him with faithful assiduity. Braddock was 
 still able to give orders, and had a faint hope of being 
 able to keep possession of the ground until reinforced. 
 Most of the men were stationed in a very advantageous 
 spot about two hundred yards from the road; and Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Burton posted out small parties and sen- 
 tinels. Before an hour had elapsed most of the men had 
 stolen oflf. Being thus deserted, Braddock and his .officers 
 continued their retreat ; he would have mounted his horse, 
 but was unable, and had to be carried by soldiers. Orme 
 and Morris were placed on litters borne by horses They 
 were subsequently joined by Colonel Gage with eighty 
 men whom he had rallied. 
 
 Washington, in the meantime, notwithstanding his weak 
 state, being found most efficient in frontier service, was 
 sent to Colonel Dunbar's camp, forty miles distant, with 
 orders for him to hurry forward provisions, hospital stores, 
 and wagons for the wounded, under the escort of two 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 245 
 
 grenadier companies. It was a hard and a melancholy 
 ride throughout the night and the following day. The 
 tidings of the defeat preceded him, borne by the wagoners, 
 who had mounted their horses on Braddock's fall, and 
 fled from the field of battle. They had arrived, haggard, 
 at Dunbar's camp at midday; the Indians yells still ring- 
 ing in their ears. **A11 was lost ! " they cried. " Brad- 
 dock was killed! They had seen wounded officers borne 
 off from the field in bloody sheets! The troops were all 
 cut to pieces ! " A panic fell upon the camp. The drums 
 beat to arms. Many of the soldiers, wagoners, and at- 
 tendants, took to flight; but most of them were forced 
 back by the sentinels. 
 
 Washington arrived at the camp in the evening, and 
 found the agitation still prevailing. The orders which he 
 brought were executed during the night, and he was in 
 the saddle early in the morning accompanying the convoy 
 of supplies. At Gist's plantation, about thirteen miles off, 
 he met Gage and his scanty force escortin?g Braddock and 
 his wounded officers. Captain Stewart and a sad remnant 
 of the Virginia light horse still accompanied the general 
 as his guard. The captain had been unremitting in his 
 attentions to him during the retreat. There was a halt of 
 one day at Dunbar's camp for the repose and relief of 
 the wounded. On the 13th they resumed their melancholy 
 march, and that night reached the Great Meadows. 
 
 The proud spirit of Braddock was broken by his de- 
 feat. He remained silent the first evening after the battle, 
 only ejaculating at night, " Who would have thought it ! " 
 He was equally silent the following day; yet hope still 
 seemed to linger in his breast, from another ejaculation : 
 " We shall better know how to deal with them another 
 time!" 
 
 He was grateful for the attentions paid to him by Cap- 
 
246 WASHINGTON. 
 
 tain Stewart and Washington, and more than once, it is 
 said, expressed his admiration of the gallantry displayed 
 by the Virginians in the action. It is said, moreover, that 
 in his last moments he apologized to Washington for the 
 petulance with which he had rejected his advice, and be- 
 queathed to him his favorite charger, and his faithful ser- 
 vant, Bishop, who had helped to convey him from the field. 
 
 Some of these facts, it is true, rest on tradition, yet we 
 are willing to believe them, as they impart a gleam of 
 just and generous feeling to his closing scene. He died 
 on the night of the 13th, at the Great Meadows, the place 
 of Washington's discomfiture in the previous year. His 
 obsequies were performed before break of day. The 
 chaplain having been wounded, Washington read the fu- 
 neral service. All was done in sadness, and without pa- 
 rade, so as not to attract the attention of lurking savages, 
 who might discover and outrage his grave."]'*' 
 
 Before the occurrence of the disastrous affair at the 
 Monongahela, Braddock received an offer of the services 
 of a hundred friendly Indians. But so self-confident was 
 he, and so contemptuous was his opinion of the savages 
 and their mode of warfare, that, regardless of Washing- 
 ton's counsels on the subject, he treated their offer with 
 cold and even offensive indifference. Had he employed 
 them as scouts, they would undoubtedly have discovered 
 the enemy's ambuscade and have enabled him to antici- 
 pate their fatal stratagem; and, by means of the grape- 
 shot of a few field pieces, not only to reveal the hiding 
 places of the invisible foe, but to convert their ravines 
 from places of security into vast repositories of the dead. 
 
 In the confidence of power, he appears to have dis- 
 dained the customary prudential measures for discovering 
 the enemy's plans and detecting their machinations. 
 
 * See Irving, Vol. I, p. 230. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 247 
 
 On the other hand, M. Contrecoeur, commandant of 
 the French fort, resorted to every practicable expedient 
 to ascertain, in detail, whatever he required to know re- 
 specting Braddock's army and its movements. He was 
 convinced that the thought of contending with the British 
 army in a pitched battle was preposterous. He was at 
 a loss to decide in what manner he could most judiciously 
 receive it. At this crisis one of his captains, M. Beaujeu, 
 volunteered, with a mixed party of French, Canadians, 
 and Indians, to annoy the British forces while crossing 
 the Monongahela and to retard their progress toward 
 the fort. Arriving too late to effect their purpose at the 
 river, Beaujeu and his party betook themselves to the 
 ravines, and lay in ambush behind trees and in the long 
 grass with which the ravines were skirted. They were 
 in all but about 850 men, including 600 Indians. They 
 thought not for a moment of being able to put to rout 
 the British army. But on this occasion as on many 
 others in the history of war, presumptuous confidence 
 was suddenly converted into dismay; and inferior num- 
 bers were awarded the success of a triumph, alike unex- 
 pected and wonderful. 
 
 Amid the prevailing gloom of this melancholy scene, 
 the mind finds a pleasing rehef in contemplating the char- 
 acter and conduct of Washington. When all the other 
 mounted officers of Braddock's army were, without ex- 
 ception, slain or disabled, the Virginian aide-de-camp, 
 mysteriously protected with a view to the fulfillment of 
 a high destiny, was preserved from death and was not 
 even wounded. His friend, Dr. Craik, who was a witness 
 of this remarkable divine interposition, observed : " I ex- 
 pected every moment to see him fall. His duty and situa- 
 tion exposed him to every danger. Nothing but the 
 
248 WASHINGTON. 
 
 superintending care of Providence could have saved him 
 from the fate of all around him." He was suffering from 
 the effect of his debilitating fever, and he was then on 
 horseback for the first time after his partial recovery; 
 but he displayed, as if acting under the control of a super- 
 human impulse, the most extraordinary presence of mind, 
 accompanied with intrepidity, firmness, discretion, and 
 sound judgment. 
 
 And his generous and kind sympathies also were in 
 active exercise. He had been assisted by Captain Stew- 
 art, of the Virginia Guards, and by a servant, in bearing 
 the wounded general from the field; but, on consigning 
 him to the captain's special care, he had immediately re- 
 turned to his post of duty and of danger. With spirit 
 and skill he rallied the panic-stricken troops after their 
 having crossed the Monongahela. It now devolved upon 
 him to hasten to the rear detachment of the army and 
 order wagons for the wounded ; and he accomplished this, 
 to the relief of many a suffering officer and soldier. 
 
 The particular and important duties which, in the order- 
 ing of events, were successively assigned to him, and 
 which he faithfully performed, conspired to commend his 
 character and conduct to universal admiration. The story 
 spread of his being endowed with a charmed life; and 
 his friends and countrymen spontaneously indulged in 
 glowing anticipations of the future of his history. An 
 eloquent preacher of the time, the Rev. Samuel Davies, 
 afterward president of Princeton College, in a sermon 
 preached before one of the volunteer companies, com- 
 mented upon the prevailing military spirit, and said: "As 
 a remarkable instance of this, I may point out to the 
 public that heroic youth, Colonel Washington, whom I 
 cannot but hope Providence has hitherto preserved in so 
 
UFE AND TIMES. 249 
 
 signal a manner for some important service to his 
 country."* 
 
 [One author, with surprising misinformation and depend- 
 ence on imagination, garnishes a meager sketch of Brad- 
 dock's defeat with these amazingly false references to 
 Washington : 
 
 ''As soon as his fever abated a little, he left Colonel 
 Dunbar, and being unable to sit on a horse, was conveyed 
 to the front in a wagon. 
 
 " Washington at the outset, flung himself headlong into 
 the fight. * * * All through that dreadful carnage he 
 rode fiercely about, raging with the excitement of battle. 
 
 " Splendidly reckless on the day of battle, * * * he 
 comes before us^ above all things the fighting man, hot- 
 blooded and fierce in action." 
 
 Washington's fever had abated as early as June 23, and 
 it was not until July 3, that he started to overtake Brad- 
 dock. On July 9 he did no flinging of himself headlong 
 into the battle. He was Braddock's aide, strictly confined 
 to carrying Braddock's orders, except as some action came 
 within his reach, as when he was sent to order the artil- 
 lery to get at work, and sprang from his horse to wheel 
 and point a brass field-piece. He did no riding fiercely 
 about, raging with the excitement of battle, and the writer 
 had no more reason for putting up stuff of this kind than he 
 would have had for saying that Washington took to the 
 woods in mad fool- fury to get a swordcut at the savages, 
 and yelled so loud that he was heard at Mount Vernon. 
 "Above all things, the fighting man, hot-blooded and fierce 
 in action," is a description of Washington which could not 
 well be more grotesquely and thoroughly false.] 
 
 * " Religion and Patriotism the Constituents of a Good Soldier," 
 a sermon preached August 17, 1755. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WASHINGTON, THE VIRGINIA COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 
 
 1755-1757. 
 
 THE deplorable result of Braddock's formidable ex- 
 pedition not only created a general and startling 
 sensation throughout the Colonies, but prompted 
 new and powerful emotions of self-reliance. 
 
 And the subsequent conduct of Colonel Dunbar in aban- 
 doning the Colonies tended greatly to increase this state 
 of feeling. In command of the rear detachment of Brad- 
 dock's army he was forty miles from the scene of action 
 during the battle of the Monongahela. But the retreating 
 troops of the advanced detachment fell back upon his 
 party, and in the consternation of their flight they spread 
 the contagion of their panic. 
 
 To disappoint the French and Indians should they con- 
 tinue in pursuit, the artillery and all the stores that could 
 not be removed were now destroyed, and the colonel hur- 
 ried on his march. He was at that time in command of 
 more than 1,000 men. The important obligation devolved 
 upon him to protect the settlements. He received urgent 
 communications from the Governors of Virginia, Mary- 
 land, and Pennsylvania, requesting that detachments of his 
 army might be posted on their frontiers, now in a state of 
 great alarm. But regardless of their appeals and adopting 
 no measures of resistance nor of defense in behalf of the 
 Colonies, be rapidly pursued his march to Philadelphia to 
 
 (250) 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 251 
 
 what he called his winter quarters, for the purpose, it would 
 appear, rather of receiving than of affording protection. 
 
 The complaints created by this proceeding were of course 
 loud and general. In the irritation which it produced the 
 intrepidity of brave Virginia troops was invidiously con- 
 trasted with the cowardly conduct of professed veterans. 
 In some terse remarks on the subject Dr. Franklin says: 
 ** This whole transaction gave us Americans the first sus- 
 picion that our exalted ideas of the prowess of British regu- 
 lar troops had not been well founded."* 
 
 The news of Dunbar's conduct was received while the 
 Virginia Assembly was in session. And it convinced the 
 minds of members of the Assembly that the time had come 
 for a resort to vigorous measures of self-preservation. 
 
 [General Braddock's expedition had been especially 
 aimed at the operations of the French on the Ohio, but in 
 connection therewith plans had been determined upon at 
 the meeting of the Governors, April 14, 1755, with Brad- 
 dock and Commodore Keppel, for expeditions against the 
 French, both at Niagara and at Crown Point. Governor 
 Shirley, with Sir William Pepperell's regiments and some 
 New York companies, was to attack the force of Indians 
 and French at Niagara, about the end of June, and Col. 
 Wm. Johnson, the rich Mohawk country potentate, with 
 a large force of the warriors of the Six Nations, was to 
 proceed against Crown Point. 
 
 But with Braddock's overthrow, and the slaughter of 
 his army which sent terror everywhere that the news came, 
 the plans of Shirley against Niagara went to pieces ; the 
 men engaged for river transportation of stores evaded 
 serving ; it was near the end of August before the expedi- 
 tion was in force at Oswego ; and with delays and troubles 
 
 *Dr. Franklin's "Autobiography," near the close of chap, x; 
 Works, vol. I, p. 192. 
 
252 WASHINGTON. 
 
 there, Shirley did no more than to commence fortifying, 
 and leaving 700 men as a garrison, returned to Albany in 
 October with the main part of his forces. 
 
 The plans for Johnson's attack upon Crown Point were 
 hardly more successful. The expedition ascended the 
 Hudson to the point from which land carriage crossed to 
 the lower end of the lake, to which Johnson gave the name 
 of Lake George. Here a fort was begun, to which was 
 given later the name of Fort Edward. Leaving General 
 Lyman to complete and defend the fort, Johnson pro- 
 ceeded to Lake George with a force of 5,000 to 6,000 
 troops of New York and New England, and a very large 
 contingent of Mohawk Indians. The French commander 
 recently arrived at Quebec, Baron de Dieskau, with a force 
 of 3,000 men, was aiming at Oswego, and had gone to 
 Montreal, and sent forward 700 of his troops, when the 
 news came of Johnson's formidable expedition on the 
 way to Crown Point, and perhaps to Canada. The Baron 
 took post at Crown Point with regular troops, 800 Ca- 
 nadians, and 700 Indians, and he thence set off for Fort 
 Edward, from which Johnson had advanced to Lake 
 George. He hoped to surprise the fort, and make a dash 
 south for the destruction of Albany and Schenectady, and 
 thus cut off all communication with Oswego. Johnson 
 meanwhile, in camp at the south end of Lake George, 
 awaiting the boat service for proceeding north, learned 
 September 7th, of the peril of French attack at Fort Ed- 
 ward, and the next morning sent Colonel Williams with 
 1,000 men and 200 Indians, to intercept the French. 
 Within two hours, heavy firing, which soon indicated that 
 Williams was retreating, caused Johnson's command to 
 take measures for defense, such as were possible with only 
 a breastwork of trees, some heavy cannon on the front, 
 and a field-piece on an eminence on the left flank. The 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 253 
 
 fleeing troops of Williams arriving in wild confusion, 
 with the enemy in close pursuit, and soon after the French 
 regulars in battle line, with Canadians and Indians, seemed 
 to portend overwhelming defeat for Johnson's command, 
 and the capture of his camp. In the moment of extremest 
 peril, however, Dieskau's Canadians and Indians flinched 
 from direct assault, took to bush-fighting, and left the 
 baron with 200 grenadiers a compact target for the artil- 
 lery and musketry fire of Johnson's garrison, and at a 
 distance short of any serious effect of their platoon firing. 
 The action became more and more one of British success, 
 until the French grenadiers, terribly cut up, gave way, 
 and Johnson's men with the Mohawks issued from their 
 camp in a fierce onset, which became a slaughter of the 
 assailants, an utter rout or capture of the French, with 
 their gallant commander so severely wounded as to result 
 in his death. It appeared that the plan of Dieskau for 
 surprising Fort Edward he was obliged to change because 
 his Canadians and Indians, fearing the firq of cannon, re- 
 fused to make the assault; and when he turned back to 
 surprise Johnson's camp the same hesitation of his Cana- 
 dian troops and Indian allies caused the disaster with which 
 his expedition ended. 
 
 Johnson, on his part, hesitating to advance upon Crown 
 Point until he could leave a strong fort on the site of 
 his camp, consumed the season in building a stockaded 
 fort, which he named Fort William Henry.] 
 
 Washington, still suffering from the effects of his fever, 
 remained at Mount Vernon for at least temporary relief 
 from toil, and for the recruiting of his energies. He felt, 
 with the whole community, that an important crisis had 
 arrived. The military spirit was abroad. The sound of 
 martial music and the signs of warlike preparations were 
 heard and seen at every step. 
 
254 WASHINGTON. 
 
 [Augustine Washington, the older half-brother of 
 George, was at this time a member of the House of Bur- 
 gesses in session at Williamsburg, and to him Washing- 
 ton wrote, August 2, 1755 : 
 
 " The pleasure of your company at Mount Vernon al- 
 ways did, and always will, afford me infinite satisfaction; 
 but at this time, I am too sensible how needful the country 
 is of all its members, to have a wish to hear that any are 
 absent from the Assembly. I most sincerely wish that 
 unanimity may prevail in all your councils, and that a 
 happy issue may attend your deliberations at this im- 
 portant crisis. 
 
 " I am not able, were I ever so willing, to meet you in 
 town, for I assure you it is with some difficulty, and with 
 much fatigue, that I visit my plantations in the Neck ; so 
 much has a sickness of 5 weeks' continuance reduced 
 me. But though it is not in my power to meet you 
 there, I can nevertheless assure you that I am so little 
 dispirited at what has happened, that I am always ready 
 and always willing, to render my country any services 
 that I am capable of, but never upon the terms I have 
 done; having suffered much in my private fortune, be- 
 sides impairing one of the best of constitutions. I was 
 employed to go a journey in the winter, when I believe 
 few or none would have undertaken it, and what did I 
 get by it ? — my expenses borne ! I was then appointed, 
 with trifling pay, to conduct a handful of men to the 
 Ohio. What did I get by this ? Why, after putting my- 
 self to a considerable expense in equipping and providing 
 necessaries for the campaign, / went out, was soundly beaten, 
 and lost all! Came in, and had my commission taken from 
 me, or in other words, my command reduced, under pre- 
 tense of an order from home (England). I then went 
 out a volunteer with General Braddock, and lost all my 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 255 
 
 horses, and many other things. But this being a volun- 
 tary act, I ought not to have mentioned it; nor should 
 I have done it, were it not to show that I have been on 
 the losing order ever since I entered the service^ which is now 
 nearly two years. 
 
 " So that I think I cannot be blamed, should I, if I 
 leave my family again, endeavor to do it upon such terms 
 as to prevent my suffering; to gain by it being the least 
 of my expectation. 
 
 " I doubt not but you have heard the particulars of our 
 shameful defeat, which really was so scandalous that I 
 hate to mention it. You desire to know what artillery 
 was taken in the late engagement. It is easily told. We 
 lost all that we carried out, excepting two six-pounders, 
 and a few cohorns, that were left with Col. Dunbar; and 
 the cohorns have since been destroyed to expedite his 
 flight. You also ask, whether I think the forces can march 
 out again this fall. I answer, I think it impossible, at 
 least, for them to do the French any damage (unless it 
 be by starving them), for want of a proper train of artil- 
 lery; yet they may be very serviceable in erecting small 
 fortresses at convenient places to deposit provisions in, 
 by which means the country will be eased of an immense 
 expense in the carriage, and it will also be a means of 
 securing retreat, if we should be put to the rout again. 
 The success of this though will depend greatly upon what 
 Gov. Shirley does at Niagara; for, if he succeeds, their 
 communication with Canada will be entirely cut ofif. 
 
 " It is impossible for me to guess at the number of re- 
 cruits that may be wanting, as that must depend altogether 
 upon the strength of the French on the Ohio, which, to 
 my great astonishment, we were always strangers to. 
 
 " I thank you very heartily for your kind offer of a 
 chair, and for your goodness in sending my things ; and, 
 
356 WASHINGTON, 
 
 after begging you to excuse the imperfections of the 
 above, (which are, in part, owing to my having much 
 company that hurries me,) I shall conclude, Dear Sir, your 
 most affectionate brother." 
 
 It was with this older half-brother that Washington had 
 spent the four years of schooling after his father's death. 
 The terms of cordial pleasure and affection used by Wash- 
 ington do not preclude formal respect. 
 
 The results of Washington's venture with Braddock, to 
 his health, as well as exposure to perils of battle, naturally 
 prompted the young soldier's mother to give expression 
 to her anxiety not to have him venture again; and to her 
 he replied as follows : 
 
 " Honored Madam : If it is in my power to avoid going 
 to the Ohio again, I shall; but if the command is pressed 
 upon me by the general voice of the country, and offered upon 
 such terms as cannot be objected against, it would reflect 
 dishonor on me to refuse it; and that, I am sure, must, 
 and ought, to give you greater uneasiness than my going 
 in an honorable command. Upon no other terms will I 
 accept it. At present I have no proposals made to me, 
 nor have I any advice of such an intention, except from 
 private hands." 
 
 At the Virginia capital the question of recognition of 
 Washington's military abilities and services was much agi- 
 tated, and while it was known that Gov. Dinwiddle's per- 
 sonal favorite was Colonel Innes,* it was understood that 
 
 * Colonel James Innes was from Scotland, a settler in New 
 Hanover, North Carolina. He had seen service in the British ex- 
 pedition of 1740-1741 against Carthagena. In 1754 he marched 
 from North CaroHna with 350 men, reaching Winchester June 
 30tn, and upon Colonel Fry's death Dinwiddie gave him the com- 
 mand of the Ohio expedition, at the same time giving Washington 
 the command of the Virginia troops. The North Carolina troops 
 disbanded before joining Washington's. Dinwiddie wrote to 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 257 
 
 the weight of Washington's claims was conceded by his 
 excellency; and Washington's friends wrote urging him 
 to appear on the scene, with a view to its being known 
 that he would not refuse to serve as commander-in-chief 
 of the Virginia forces, if the terms insisted on by him 
 were comA)lied with. To Mr. Warner Lewis, one of the 
 friends in correspondence with Washington, he wrote, Au- 
 gust 14th, as follows: 
 
 " After returning you my most sincere and grateful 
 thanks for your kind condolence on my late indisposition, 
 and for the generous (and give me leave farther to say) 
 partial opinion you have entertained of my military abili- 
 ties, I must express my concern for not having it in my 
 power to meet you, and other friends who have signified 
 their desire of seeing me in Williamsburg. 
 
 " Your letter only came to hand at nine last night, 
 and you inform me that the Assembly will break up the 
 latter end of the week, which allows a time too short in 
 which to perform a journey of a hundred and sixty miles, 
 especially by a person in my weak and feeble condition; 
 for, although I am happily recovered from the disorder, 
 which brought me to so low an ebb, by a sickness of 
 nearly five weeks continuance, yet my strength is not re- 
 turned to me. Had I got timely notice, I would have at- 
 tempted the ride, by slow and easy journeys, if it had 
 
 Washington, June 25, 1754, that in view of the fact that some of 
 the troops were organized as independent companies, he had or- 
 dered Colonel Innes to command in chief, and Washington to be 
 second in command. About a year later, when Washington had 
 resigned from the army, and was serving as a volunteer aide with 
 Braddock, he said in a letter of June 7, 1755, to William Fairfax: 
 " General Innes has accepted a commission to be Governor of 
 Fort Cumberland, where he is to reside; and will shortly receive 
 another to be hangman, or something of that kind, and for which 
 he is equally qualified." 
 17 
 
258 WASHINGTON. 
 
 been only for the satisfaction of seeing my friends, who, 
 I flatter myself, from what you say, are kind enough to 
 sympathize in my good and evil fortunes. 
 
 " The chief reason (next to indisposition), that prevented 
 me from coming down to this Assembly, was a determina- 
 tion not to offer my services ; and that determination pro- 
 ceeded from the following reasons: First, a belief that 
 I could not get a command upon such terms as I should 
 incline to accept; for I must confess to you, that I never 
 will quit my family, injure my fortune, and (above all) 
 impair my health, to run the risk of such changes and 
 vicissitudes as I have met with, but shall expect, if I am 
 employed again, to have something certain. 
 
 " Again, was I to accept the command, I should insist 
 upon some things which ignorance and inexperience made 
 me overlook before, particularly that of having the offi- 
 cers appointed, in some measure, with my advice and with 
 my concurrence ; for, I must add, I think a commanding 
 officer's not having this liberty appears to me to be a 
 strange thing, when it is considered how much the con- 
 duct and bravery of an officer influence the men, how 
 much a commanding officer is answerable for the behavior 
 of the inferior officers, and how much his good or ill suc- 
 cess, in time of action, depends upon the conduct of each 
 particular one, especially too, in this kind of fighting, 
 where, being dispersed, each and every one of them at 
 that time has a greater liberty to misbehave than if he 
 were [in a body of men] regularly and compactly drawn 
 up under the eyes of his superior officer. 
 
 " On the other hand, how little credit is given to a com- 
 mander, who, after a defeat, in relating the cause of it, 
 justly lays the blame on some individual, whose cowardly 
 behavior betrayed the whole to ruin! How little does 
 the world consider the circumstances, and how apt are 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 259 
 
 mankind to level their vindictive censures against the un- 
 fortunate chief, who perhaps merited least of the blame ! 
 
 " Does it not then appear that the appointing of offi- 
 cers is a thing of the utmost consequence; a thing that 
 requires the greates,t circumspection ? Ought it to be left 
 to blind chance, or, what is still worse, ta partiality? 
 Should it not be left to a man whose life (and what is 
 still dearer, his honor) depends upon their good behavior ? 
 
 " There are necessary officers yet wanting, for whom no 
 provision has been made. A small military chest is so 
 absolutely necessary, that it is impossible to do without, 
 nor can any man conduct an affair of this kind who has 
 it not. 
 
 " These things I should expect if the appointment fell 
 upon me. 
 
 " But, besides all these, I had other reasons, which 
 withheld me from offering my services. I believe our cir- 
 cumstances are brought to that unhappy dilemma, that 
 no man can gain any honor by conducting our forces at 
 this time, but will rather lose in his reputation if he at- 
 tempts it. For I am confident, the progress of military 
 movements must be slow, for want of conveniences to 
 transport our provisions, ammunition, and stores over the 
 mountain ; occasioned, in a great measure, by the late ill- 
 treatment of the wagoners and horsedrivers, who have 
 received little compensation for their labor, and nothing 
 for their lost horses and wagons; which will be an infal- 
 lible cause of preventing all from assisting that are not 
 compelled. So that I am fully sensible, whoever under- 
 takes this command will meet with such insurmountable 
 obstacles that he will soon be viewed in the light of an 
 idle, indolent body ; have his conduct criticised ; and meet 
 perhaps with opprobrious abuse, when it may be as much 
 
260 WASHINGTON, 
 
 out of his power to avoid delays as it would to command 
 the raging seas in a storm. 
 
 " Viewing these things in the light I do has no small 
 influence upon me, as I am very apprehensive I should 
 lose what at present constitutes the chief part gf my hap- 
 piness, i. e., the esteem and notice which the country has 
 been pleased to honor me with. 
 
 " It is possible you may infer from what I have said 
 that my intentions are to decline at all events; but my 
 meaning is not so. I am determined not to ofifer; because 
 to solicit the command, and at the same time to make 
 my proposals, would be a little incongruous and would 
 carry with it the face of self-sufficiency. But if the com- 
 mand should be offered, the case is then altered, as I 
 should be at liberty to make such objections as reason 
 and my small experience had pointed out. I hope you 
 will make my compliments to all enquiring friends. 
 
 " I am, dear Warner, your most affectionate friend, and 
 obedient servant."] 
 
 The House of Burgesses made a liberal appropriation 
 for the public service. They voted to Colonel Washington 
 and to all the surviving officers and privates with him at 
 the Monongahela, a liberal grant, in consideration of " their 
 gallant behavior and their losses." They increased the regi- 
 ment to sixteen companies, and they appointed Colonel 
 Washington to the chief command with unusual evidences 
 of their consideration. 
 
 His character and talents were appreciated more highly 
 than ever. He was the favorite soldier and the military 
 master-spirit of Virginia. The House of Burgesses au- 
 thorized him to name his field officers ; they allowed him 
 an aide-de-camp and secretary, and they entitled him in his 
 commission " Commander-in-Chief of all the forces raised, 
 or to be raised, in the Colony of Virginia." 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 261 
 
 [The date of the governor's commission and instructions 
 to Washington, upon his appointment as Virginian com- 
 mander-in-chief, was August 14, 1755, when Washington 
 was twenty-three years and six months of age. The gov- 
 ernor's action had provided for raising sixteen companies, 
 making the force 1,000 men, to be incorporated into a 
 regiment. 
 
 To Charles Lewis, at this time, Washington wrote (Au- 
 gust 14, 1755) : " I wish, my Dear Charles, it was more 
 in my power than it is, to answer the favorable opinion 
 my friends have conceived of my military abilities. Let 
 them not be deceived; I am unequal to the task, and do 
 assure you that it requires more experience than I am 
 master of, to conduct an afifair of the importance that 
 this is now arisen to."] 
 
 Governor Dinwiddie, in one of his official communica- 
 tions to the British Government, spoke of the Virginia 
 colonel as " a man of great merit and resolution ; " and he 
 added : " I am convinced had Braddock survived he would 
 have recommended him to royal favor." But the universal 
 sentiment of the people was far more efficacious in promot- 
 ing his influence and in forwarding his ultimate purposes 
 than all that could have been derived from royal favor. It 
 is a memorable fact that Washington, with all his acknowl- 
 edged merits, was never favored with even one testimony 
 of approbation from the King or the ministry. 
 
 [Dinwiddie wrote in the official communication men- 
 tioned : " Our officers are greatly dispirited for want of 
 his majesty's commissions, that, when they join the regu- 
 lars, they may have some rank ; and I am persuaded it 
 would be of infinite service, if his Majesty would graciously 
 please to honor them with his commissions, the same as 
 Gen. Shirley's and Sir William Pepperell's regiments."] 
 
 It was but a month after his return from the Mononga- 
 
262 WASHINGTON. 
 
 hela that he received his new commission. But he entered 
 upon the duties of his office promptly and energetically. 
 He visited all the outposts, even to Fort Dinwiddle, and 
 acquired a particular knowledge of his field of labor. 
 
 At this time an incursion of the Indians on the western 
 border of the province created great alarm. Their ravages 
 were bloody and dreadful, and the fears which they created 
 were not less desolating to many a happy home on the 
 frontier. A detachment of the militia was sent against the 
 invaders; a prompt and severe infliction taught them that 
 their depredations and massacres would m.eet with speedy 
 vengeance, and thus they were effectually restrained for a 
 time from the repetition of atrocities. 
 
 The militia accomplished an important object. Their ex- 
 pedition was attended however with many and painful evi- 
 dences of a want of military subordination and control. 
 In the whole militia system there were imperfections and 
 difficulties, numerous and formidable, arising chiefly from 
 the impotence of the existing army regulations. 
 
 As a measure of supreme importance the revision and 
 remodeling of these regulations now engaged the thoughts 
 of Washington. He made it the constant theme of his com- 
 munications to the Governor and the Assembly; he rallied 
 round it the thoughts and feelings of many influential men ; 
 and he had at last the great satisfaction of seeing it re- 
 garded with the attention which it deserved, and of finding 
 every desirable provision made for a proper military code. 
 
 [To John Robinson, speaker of the House of Burgesses 
 and of very exceptional eminence as a Virginian of wealth, 
 social distinction, and political importance, Washington 
 wrote from Alexandria, September ii, 1755: 
 
 " After a small halt at Fredericksburg, to issue out or- 
 ders to the recruiting officers appointed to that rendez- 
 vous, I proceeded to this place, in order to collect a return 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 263 
 
 of the provisions, clothing, etc., that were lodged here, 
 an exact copy of which I herewith send you. I find, after 
 the soldiers have their short allowances, there will arise 
 great inconveniences, if stores of clothing are not laid 
 in to supply their wants; particularly shoes, stockings, 
 and shirts, for these are the least durable and mostly 
 needed. 
 
 " The method I would recommend is, for the country 
 to provide these things, and lodge them, or a convenient 
 part thereof, in the hands of the quartermaster, who may 
 be appointed to receive and deliver them to the soldiers, 
 by particular orders from their captains, taking care to 
 produce these orders, and proper vouchers for the deliv- 
 ery, each pay-day, when it must be deducted out of the 
 soldier's pay who receives it. And then this, I think, 
 will be a means of keeping them always provided and fit 
 for duty, preventing the officers from supplying the men, 
 which is generally attended with misunderstandings ; and 
 will also be a means of discouraging followers of the army 
 from demanding such exorbitant prices, as is usually prac- 
 ticed on these occasions. However, I only offer this as 
 the most efficacious method I can at present think of. If 
 any other more eligible can be found, I should be glad 
 to see it executed, as something of the kind must be done, 
 otherwise the soldiers will be barefoot, etc., which al- 
 ways pleads for exemption from duty, and, indeed, in 
 the approaching season, will be a very just one. You 
 will be a judge, when you see the returns, what had best 
 be done with the provisions. The quantity is too great 
 for the present consumption, and to wagon it up can never 
 answer the expense. 
 
 " Major Carlyle thinks the West India market best, as 
 the returns will be in rum, which he can soon turn into 
 flour at the camp. 
 
264 WASHINGTON, 
 
 " I am afraid I shall not be able to push things with 
 vigor this fall, for want of a commissary who will act with 
 spirit. Mr. Dick seems determined not to enter into any 
 further contracts, unless he is better supported, or till 
 he meets the committee in October, by which time the 
 best season for engaging beef will be almost over. And 
 the Governor, by the advice of Sir John St. Clair, ex- 
 pressed, just as I was coming away, his desire of hav- 
 ing him continued; so that I am entirely ignorant how 
 to act. The making of contracts is foreign to my duty; 
 neither have I time; and to see the service suffer will 
 give me infinite uneasiness, as I would gladly conduct 
 everything, as I am capable, with life and spirit, which 
 never can be done without a fund of money is lodged in 
 camp for defraying the contingent charges. As I believed 
 it difficult to get all the clothing in any one part of the 
 country, I engaged it where I could, and have got shoes, 
 stockings, shirts, and hats enough upon tolerably good 
 terms, as you may see by the enclosed. 
 
 '' Major Carlyle is also willing to engage loo complete 
 suits, as good as those imported, for £3, or less; which 
 I have acquainted the Governor of, and I believe it to be 
 as cheap as can be got below, as it is the making chiefly 
 thsut occasions the difference between the imported and 
 those provided here." 
 
 On the same date as the above Washington wrote to 
 Governor Dinwiddle, that he was afraid the recruiting 
 would be greatly delayed; that at the general muster in 
 the county an attempt failed ; and that even a draft would 
 answer no end under the existing regulations, which had 
 no effect to keep men from deserting. 
 
 After despatching the business at Alexandria, Wash- 
 ington went on to Winchester, September 14th; from 
 thence proceeded to Fort Cumberland and took com- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 265 
 
 mand of the troops there ; went on from Fort Cumberland 
 to Fort Dinwiddle, on Jackson's river, September 24th; 
 and thence returned to Alexandria, where he arrived Oc- 
 tober 2(1. Proceeding thence he was at Fredericksburg, 
 October 5th, on his way to Williamsburg, and went for- 
 ward on the 7th. He continued on to Colonel Baylor's 
 and was there overtaken by an express messenger with 
 information of a massacre of settlers by Indians. After 
 a letter to the governor, he hurried back to Fredericks- 
 burg, and wrote again to Dinwiddle, as follows, October 
 
 8,1755: 
 
 " I arrived at this place in less than three hours after I 
 wrote you from Colonel Baylor's; and some small time 
 after, arrived also Colonel Stephen, who gives a worse ac- 
 count than he related in his letter ; but as he is the bearer 
 of this, I shall be less prolix, referring to him for 
 particulars. 
 
 " I shall set out this evening for Winchester, where I 
 expect to be joined by the recruits from Alexandria and 
 this place, as soon as they can possibly march that dis- 
 tance; also, by 100 men from Prince William and Fred- 
 erick [counties]. And I have written to Fairfax county, 
 desiring that a troop of horse may hold themselves in 
 readiness to march at an hour's warning. So that I doubt 
 not, but with the assistance of these, I shall be able to 
 repulse the enemy, if they are still committing their out- 
 rages upon the Inhabitants. We are at a loss for a want 
 of almost every necessary. Tents, kettles, arms, ammu- 
 nition, cartridge-paper, etc., etc., we are distressed for. 
 Therefore, I hope, as your Honor did not send to Phila- 
 delphia for them, you will, if possible, endeavor to get 
 them below, and send them by the first opportunity to this 
 place, or Alexandria, with orders that they may be for- 
 warded immediately to Winchester, 
 
266 WASHINGTON, 
 
 " I must again take the liberty of mentioning to your 
 Honor the necessity there is of putting the miUtia, when 
 they are drawn out into actual service, under better regu- 
 lation than they are at present, as well as there is of put- 
 ting us under a military law. Otherwise we shall only be 
 a burdensome charge to the country, and the others will 
 prove its ruin. That this may not appear an unmeaning 
 expression, I shall refer your Honor to Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Stephen, who can give you some late proofs of their diso- 
 bedience and inconsistent behavior. 
 
 '* I find I cannot possibly be in Williamsburg, as these 
 affairs will engage some time, till the 6th, 7th, or 8th 
 of November, when I should be glad to meet a committee, 
 in order to settle with them and your Honor some points 
 that are very necessary for the good of the expedition. 
 
 " Colonel Stephen has orders to receive some money 
 below (if he can), that we may be enabled to pay the 
 troops, and to keep them in spirits, and to answer such 
 immediate charges as cannot be dispensed with, until I 
 come down. And I should be glad if your Honor would 
 order him to repair therewith (as soon as he has done his 
 business with the committee) to Winchester; and from 
 thence, with a proper guard to Fort Cumberland. I hope 
 the treasury will have a sufficient sum of money prepared 
 against I come down, that I meet with no great delay. 
 
 " I should be glad your Honor would give Colonel 
 Stephen all the assistance you can in getting the money. 
 There are about 70 recruits at this place, and I left 25 at 
 Alexandria, which I suppose are augmented before this 
 by officers, who, I am sorry to say, have paid slight regard 
 to orders, in not being in at the time appointed (Oct. ist). 
 The most flagrant proof of this is Captain Harrison, whom 
 I have heard nothing of, though he had positive orders to 
 be here at the aforesaid time." 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 267 
 
 The matter of securing Indians to fight Indians, Indian 
 allies of the EngUsh to oppose to the murdering savages 
 set on against the EngHsh by the French, very particularly 
 engaged the attention of Washington. He wrote from 
 Winchester, October lo, 1755, to Andrew Montour, a man 
 of note in dealings with the Indians on the Ohio, the fol- 
 lowing letter : 
 
 " Dear Montour 
 
 " I wrote, some time ago, a letter of invitation from 
 Fort Cumberland, desiring yourself, your family, and 
 friendly Indians, to come and reside among us, but that 
 letter not coming to hand, I am induced to send a second 
 express, with the same invitation, being pleased that I 
 have it in my power to do something for you on a better 
 footing than ever it has been done. I was greatly en- 
 raptured when I heard you were at the head of 300 In- 
 dians on a march toward Venango, being satisfied that 
 your hearty attachment to our glorious cause, your cour- 
 age, of which I have had very great proofs, and your 
 presence among the Indians, would animate their just in- 
 dignation to do something noble, something worthy them- 
 selves, and honorable to you. I hope you will use your 
 interest (as I know you have much) in bringing our 
 Brothers once more to our service; assure them, as you 
 truly may, that nothing which I can do shall be wanting 
 to make them happy; assure them, also, that as I have 
 the chief command, I am invested with power to treat 
 them as Brethren and Allies, which, I am sorry to say, 
 they have not been of late. Recommend me kindly to 
 our good friend, Monocatoooha, and others; tell them 
 how happy it would make Conotocaurius to have an op- 
 portunity of taking them by the hand at Fort Cumber- 
 land, and how glad he would be to treat them as Brothers 
 of our Great King beyond the waters. Flattering myself 
 
268 WASHINGTON, 
 
 that you will come, I doubt not but you'll bring as many 
 of them with you as possible, as that will afford Me what 
 alone I want ; that is, an opportunity of doing something 
 equal to your wishes. 
 
 " I am, Dear Montour, your real friend and assured 
 humble servant. 
 
 " N. B. I doubt not but you have heard of the ravages 
 committed on our frontiers by the French Indians, and, 
 I suppose, the French themselves. I am now on my 
 march against them, and hope to give them cause of re- 
 penting of their rashness." 
 
 To another frontiersman, Gist, Washington gave instruc- 
 tions to visit Montour and use his utmost influence with 
 him to induce him to bring in Indians for service against 
 the French Indians. To Gist he wrote : " I will promise 
 if he brings many to do something handsome for him. 
 You had better be silent on this head though, lest where 
 you are measures may be taken by the Pennsylvanians 
 to prevent him from bringing any Indians." 
 
 On Oct. nth, Washington wrote at length on the state 
 of things with the people on the frontier and in the 
 army which he was trying to get together and to march 
 with to the scene of the disturbances and perils. Thus 
 he said : 
 
 " Honorable Sir : As I think it my indispensable duty 
 to inform you particularly of my proceedings, and to give 
 the most plain and authentic account, from time to time, 
 of our situation, I must acquaint your Honor that, imme- 
 diately after giving the necessary orders at Fredericks- 
 burg, and despatching expresses to hurry the recruits from 
 Alexandria, I rode post to this place, passing by Lord 
 Fairfax's, who was not at home, but here, where I arrived 
 yesterday about noon, and found everything in the great- 
 ^3t hurry and confusion, by the back inhabitants flocking 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 369 
 
 in, and those of the town removing out, which I have 
 prevented as far as it was in my power. I was desirous 
 of proceeding immediately, at the head of some militia, to 
 put a stop to the ravages of the enemy, believing their 
 numbers to be few ; but was told by Colonel Martin, who 
 had attempted to raise the militia for the same purpose 
 that it was impossible to get above 20 or 25 men, they 
 having absolutely refused to stir, choosing, as they say, 
 to die with their wives and families. 
 
 " Finding this expedient likely to prove abortive, I sent 
 off expresses to hurry the recruits from below, and the 
 militia from Fairfax, Prince William, etc., which Lord 
 Fairfax had ordered out, and I also hired spies to go out 
 and see, to discover the numbers of the enemy, and to en- 
 courage the rangers, who, we were told, are blocked up by 
 the Indians in small fortresses. But, if I may offer my 
 opinion, I believe thev are more encompassed by fear than 
 by the enemy. 
 
 " I have also impressed wagons and sent them to Cono- 
 cocheague, for flour, musket-shots, and flints, powder, 
 and trifling quantity of paper, bought at extravagant 
 prices, for cartridges. I expect from below six or eight 
 smiths who are now at work, repairing the firearms that 
 are here, which are all that we have to depend on. A 
 man was hired, the 24th of last month, to do the whole, 
 but neglected and was just moving off in wagons to Penn- 
 sylvania. I impressed his wagons and compelled him by 
 force to assist in this work. In all things I meet with 
 the greatest opposition. No orders are obeyed, but what 
 a party of soldiers, or my own drawn sword, enforces; 
 without this a single horse, for the most urgent occa- 
 sion, cannot be had, to such a pitch has the insolence of 
 these people arrived, by having every point hitherto sub- 
 mitted to them. However, I have given up none, where 
 
270 WASHINGTON. 
 
 his Majesty's service requires the contrary, and where my 
 proceedings are justified by my instructions; nor will I do 
 it, unless they execute what they threaten, i. e., 'to blow 
 out my brains.' 
 
 " I have invited the poor distressed people (driven from 
 their habitations) to lodge their families in some place of 
 security, and to join our parties in scouring the woods 
 where the enemy lie, and believe some will cheerfully as- 
 sist. I also have taken and shall continue to take every 
 previous step to forward the march of the recruits, etc., 
 so soon as they arrive here, and your Honor may depend 
 that nothing that is in my power to do shall be wanting 
 for the good of the service. 
 
 " I would again hint the necessity of putting the militia 
 under a better regulation, had I not mentioned it twice 
 before, and a third time may seem impertinent ; but I must 
 once more beg leave to declare, (for here I am more im- 
 mediately concerned,) that, unless the Assembly will enact 
 a law to enforce the military law in all its parts, that I 
 m^ist, with great regret, decline the honor that has been 
 so generously intended me, and for this only reason I 
 do it — the foreknowledge I have of failing in every point 
 that might justly be expected from a person invested with 
 full power to exert this authority. I see the growing in- 
 solence of the soldiers, the indolence and inactivity of the 
 officers, who are all sensible how confined their punish- 
 ments are, in regard to what they ought to be. In fine, 
 I can plainly see, that under our present establishment we 
 shall become a nuisance, an insupportable charge to our 
 country, and never answer any one expectation of the 
 Assembly. 
 
 " And here I must assume the freedom to express some 
 surprise, that we alone should be so tenacious of our lib- 
 erty as not to invest a power where interest and politics 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 271 
 
 so unanswerably demand it, and from whence so much 
 good must consequently ensue. Do we not see that every 
 nation under the sun find their account therein, and with- 
 out it no order, no regularity can be observed? Why 
 then should it be expected from us, (who are all young 
 and inexperienced,) to govern and keep up a proper spirit 
 of discipline without laws, when the best and most expe- 
 rienced can scarcely do it with them ? Then if we consult 
 our interest, I am sure it is loudly called for; for I can 
 confidently assert, that money expended in recruiting, 
 clothing, arming, maintaining, and subsisting soldiers, 
 who have deserted, has cost the country an immense sum, 
 which might have been prevented, were we under restraints 
 that would terrify the soldiers from such practices. 
 
 " One thing more on this head I will recommend, and 
 then quit the subject; i. e. to have the inhabitants liable 
 to certain heavy fines, or corporal punishments, for en- 
 tertaining of deserters, and a reward for taking them up. 
 If this was done it would be next to an impossibility for 
 a soldier to escape; but, on the contrary, as things now 
 stand, they are not only seduced to run away, but are 
 also harbored, and assisted with every necessary means 
 to do it. 
 
 " Sunday Noon. — Last night arrived an express, just 
 spent with fatigue and fear, reporting that a party of In- 
 dians were about 12 miles oflf, at the plantation of one 
 Isaac Julian, and that the inhabitants were flying in the 
 most promiscuous manner from their dwellings. I imme- 
 diately ordered the town guards to be strengthened ; Per- 
 kins's lieutenant to be in readiness with his companies; 
 some recruits, who had only arrived about half an hour 
 before, to be armed; and sent two men, well acquainted 
 with the roads, to go up that road and lay in wait, to see 
 if they could discover the number and motion of the In- 
 
27^ WASHINGTON. 
 
 dians, that we might have timely notice of their approach. 
 This morning, before we could parade the men, to march 
 upon the last alarm, arrived a second express, ten times 
 more terrified than the former, with information that the 
 Indians had got within four miles of the town, and were 
 killing and destroying all before them, for that he himself 
 had heard constant firing and shrieks of the unhappy mur- 
 dered. Upon this I immediately collected what force I 
 could, which consisted of 22 men recruited for the rangers 
 and 19 of the militia, and marched directly to the place 
 where these horrid murders were said to be committed. 
 When we came there, whom should we find occasioning 
 all this disturbance but three drunken soldiers of the light- 
 horse, carousing, firing their pistols, and uttering the most 
 unheard of imprecations! These we took and marched 
 prisoners to town [Winchester], where we met the men 
 I sent out last night, and learned that the party of Indians, 
 discovered by Isaac JuHan, proved to be a mulatto and 
 negro, seen hunting of cattle by his child, who alarmed 
 the father, and the father the neighborhood. These cir- 
 cumstances are related only to show what a panic prevails 
 among the people; how much they are alarmed at the 
 most usual and customary cries ; and yet how impossible 
 it is to get them to act in any respect for their common 
 safety. As an instance of this — Colonel Fairfax, who ar- 
 rived in town when we were upon a scout, immediately 
 sent to a noble captain, not far oflf, to repair with his com- 
 pany forthwith to Winchester. With coolness and mode- 
 ration this great captain answered that his wife, family, 
 and corn were all at stake; so were his soldiers; there- 
 fore it was impossible for him to come. Such is the ex- 
 ample of the officers ; such the behavior of the men ; and 
 upon such circumstances depends the safety of our 
 country ! '* 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 273 
 
 The date of the continuance of this communication the 
 next day shows that Washington began it Sunday morn- 
 ing, and went on with it Sunday noon. He went on 
 further the next morning as follows: 
 
 " Monday morning, 12th — The men I hired to bring 
 intelligence from the Branch returned last night, with let- 
 ters from Captain Ashby, and the other parties there; by 
 which I learn that the Indians are gone off ; scouts having 
 been dispersed upon those waters for several days, with- 
 out discovering tracks or other signs of the enemy. 
 
 " I am also informed that it is believed their numbers 
 amounted to about 150; that 70 of our men are killed and 
 missing, and that several houses and plantations are de- 
 stroyed, but not so great havoc made as was represented 
 at first. The rangers, and a small company of militia, or- 
 dered there by Lord Fairfax, I am given to understand, 
 intend to march down on Monday next, who will be imme- 
 diately followed by all the inhabitants of those parts, that 
 had gathered together under their protection. I have, 
 therefore, sent peremptory orders to the contrary, but 
 what obedience will be paid to them a little time will re- 
 veal. I have ordered those men, that were recruited for 
 the rangers, to join their respective companies. And there 
 is also a party of militia marched with them under the 
 command of Captain Harden. Captain Waggener is this 
 instant arrived with 30 recruits, which he marched from 
 Bellhaven in less than three days — a great march indeed ! 
 Major Lewis and his recruits from Fredericksburg I ex- 
 pect in tomorrow, when, with these and 22 of Captain 
 Bell's now here, I shall proceed by quick marches to Fort 
 Cumberland, in order to strengthen that garrison. Be- 
 sides these, I think it absolutely necessary that there should 
 be two or three companies (exclusively) of rangers, to 
 guard the Potomac waters until such time as our regiment 
 18 
 
274 WASHINGTON. 
 
 is completed. And, indeed, these rangers and volunteer 
 companies in Augusta (county) with some of their militia, 
 should be properly disposed of on these frontiers, for 
 fear of an attack from that quarter. This though is sub- 
 mitted to your honor's judgment, and waits your orders 
 for execution if thought expedient. 
 
 " Captain Waggener informs me, that it was with diffi- 
 culty he passed the Ridge for the crowds of people who 
 were flying as if every moment was death. He endeavored, 
 but in vain, to stop them ; they firmly believing that Win- 
 chester was in flames. I shall send expresses down the 
 several roads in hopes of bringing back the inhabitants, 
 who are really frightened out of their senses. I despatched 
 an express immediately upon my arrival at this place, with 
 a copy of the enclosed to Andrew Montour, who I heard 
 was at a place called Long Island with 300 Indians, to 
 see if he could engage him and them to join us. The 
 letter savors a little of flattery, etc., etc., but this, I hope, 
 is justifiable on such occasions. I also wrote to Gist, ac- 
 quainting him with the favor you intended him, and de- 
 sired he would repair home in order to raise his com- 
 panies of scouts (he having been commissioned Captain 
 of a company of scouts). 
 
 "I shall defer writing to the Speaker and Committee 
 upon any other head than that of commissary, still hoping 
 to be down by the time mentioned in my last (provided 
 no new disturbances happen,) having some points to set- 
 tle that I am uneasy and urgent about. I have been 
 obliged to do duty very foreign to my own ; but that I 
 shall never hesitate about, when the good of the service 
 requires it. 
 
 " In a journey from Fort Cumberland to Fort Dinwiddle, 
 which I made purposely to see the situation of our fron- 
 tiers, how the rangers were posted and how troops might 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. '275 
 
 be disposed of for the defense of the country, I purchased 
 650 beeves, to be delivered at Fort Cumberland by the 
 1st of November, at 10 shillings per hundred weight, ex- 
 cept a few that I was obliged to give eleven shillings for ; 
 and have my own bonds now out for the performance of 
 covenants, this being the commissary's business, who, I 
 am sorry to say, has hitherto been of no use, but of dis- 
 service to me, in neglecting my orders, and leaving this 
 place without flour, and Fredericksburg without any pro- 
 visions for the recruits, although he had timely notice 
 given. I must beg that, if Mr. Dick will not act, some 
 other person may be appointed that will; for, if things 
 remain in this uncertain situation, the season will pass 
 without having provision made for the winter, or sum- 
 mer's campaign. Whoever acts as commissary should be 
 sent up immediately about salting the provisions, etc. It 
 will be difficult, I beheve, to provide a quantity of pork. 
 I enquired as I rode through Hampshire, Augusta, etc., 
 and could not hear of much for sale. 
 
 '' Most of the new appointed officers have been ex- 
 tremely deficient in their duties by not repairing to their 
 rendezvous according to appointment. Capt. McKenzie, 
 Lieut. King and Ensigns Miller and Dean, who were or- 
 dered to send their recruits to Alexandria by the first of 
 October, were not arrived when Capt. Waggener left that 
 place, nor have we heard anything of Capt. Harrison, 
 whose recruits should have been at Fredericksburg by 
 the same time ; and Capt. Bell only sent his here on Sat- 
 urday last. If these practises are allowed of, we may as 
 well quit altogether, for no duty can ever be carried on 
 if there is not the greatest punctuality observed, one thing 
 always depending so immediately upon another. 
 
 " I have appointed Capt. George Mercer (whose se- 
 niority entitled him to it) my aide-de-camp ; and Mr. Kirk- 
 
276 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Patrick of Alexandria, my secretary, a young man bred 
 to business, of good character, well recommended, and 
 a person of whose abilities I had not the least doubt. 
 
 " I hope your Honor will be kind enough to despatch 
 Colonel Stephen, with orders to repair hither immediately, 
 and excuse the prolixity of this. I was wiUing to give 
 a circumstantial account of our situation, that you may 
 be the better enabled to judge what orders are necessary 
 to give." 
 
 "Winchester, Oct. 13, 1755: Major Lewis is just ar- 
 rived, and on Thursday I shall begin my march to Fort 
 Cumberland, allowing the recruits one day to refresh 
 themselves." 
 
 Either the same day or the next Washington issued the 
 following " Advertisement " to warn people not to give 
 way to panic fear so far as to forsake their homes and 
 leave their plantations to go to ruin: 
 
 " Advertisement. — Whereas divers timorous persons 
 run through the country and alarm its inhabitants by false 
 reports of the Indians having attacked and destroyed the 
 country — even Winchester itself, and that they are still 
 proceeding: 
 
 " This is to give notice to all people, that I have great 
 reason to believe that the Indians who committed the late 
 cruelties (though no lower than the South Branch) are re- 
 turned home, as I have certain accounts that they have 
 not been seen nor heard of these ten days past. And I 
 do advise all my countrymen not to be alarmed on every 
 false report they may hear, as they must now be satisfied, 
 from the many false ones that have been made; but to 
 keep to their homes, and take care of their crops, as I 
 can ventured to assure them that in a short time the fron- 
 tiers will be so well guarded that no mischief can be done, 
 either to them or their plantations, which must of course 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 277 
 
 be destroyed, if they desert them in so shameful a 
 mamier/' 
 
 The views of Washington in regard to maintenance of 
 a good hold upon Indians not engaged by the French, 
 he expressed in a letter of October 17, 1755, to Governor 
 Dinwiddle : 
 
 " Last night by the return of the express, who went 
 to Capt. Montour, I received the enclosed from Mr. Har- 
 ris at Susquehanna. I think no means should be neg- 
 lected to preserve what few Indians still remain in our 
 interest. For which reason I shall send Mr. Gist, as soon 
 as he arrives (which I expect will be to-day), to Harris's 
 Ferry, in hopes of engaging and bringing with him the 
 Belt of Wampum and other Indians that are at that place. 
 I shall further desire him to send an Indian express to 
 Andrew Montour, to try if he cannot be brought with 
 them. 
 
 " In however trifling a light the French attempting to 
 alienate the affections of our southern Indians may at 
 first appear, I must look upon it as a thing of the utmost 
 consequence, that requires our greatest and most immedi- 
 ate attention. I have often wondered at not hearing this 
 was attempted before, and had it noted among other memo- 
 randums to acquaint your Honor with when I should come 
 down. 
 
 " The French policy in treating with the Indians is so 
 prevalent, that I should not be in the least surprised, were 
 they to engage the Cherokees, Catawbas, etc., unless 
 timely and vigorous measures are taken to prevent it. A 
 pusillanimous behavior now will ill suit the times ; and trust- 
 ing to traders and common interpreters, who will sell their 
 integrity to the highest bidder, may prove the destruction 
 of these aflfairs. I therefore think that if a person ol dis- 
 tinction, acquainted with their language is to be found, 
 
278 WASHINGTON. 
 
 his price should be come to at any rate. If no such person 
 can be had, a man of sense and character, to conduct the 
 Indians to any council that may be held, or superintend 
 any other matters will be found extremely necessary. It 
 is impertinent, I own, in me to offer my opinion in these 
 affairs, when better judges may direct; but my steady and 
 hearty zeal for the cause, and the great impositions I 
 have known practised by the traders, etc., upon these 
 occasions would not suffer me to be quite silent. I have 
 heard from undoubted authority, that some of the Chero- 
 kees, who have been introduced to us as Sachems and 
 Princes by this interpreter, who shares the profits, have 
 been no other than common hunters, and bloodthirsty 
 villains. 
 
 "We have no accounts yet of the militia from Fairfax, 
 etc. This day I marched with about one hundred men to 
 Fort Cumberland. Yesterday an express informed me of 
 eighty odd. recruits at Fredericksburg, which I have 
 ordered to proceed to this place; but, for want of that 
 regularity being observed by which I should know where 
 every officer, etc., is, my orders are only conditional, and 
 always confused. The commissary is much wanted ; there- 
 fore I hope your Honor will send him up immediately; if 
 not, things will greatly suffer here. Whatever necessaries 
 your Honor gets below I should be glad to have sent to 
 Alexandria; from whence they are much more handy than 
 from Fredericksburg. Besides, as provision is lodged there, 
 and none at any other place, it will be better for the men, 
 to be all sent there that can anyways conveniently. For 
 we have met with insufferable difficulties at Fredericksburg, 
 and in our march from thence, through neglect of the 
 commissary, who is greatly wanted up here. Therefore, 
 I hope your Honor will order him." 
 
 After the journey to Fort Cumberland, and returning 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 279 
 
 from Williamsburg to headquarters at Winchester, Wash- 
 ington was at Fredericksburg, and there wrote, Novem- 
 ber i8, 1755, to Lieut.-Col. Adam Stephen: 
 
 " I came to this place on Sunday last, and intended to 
 proceed immediately up ; but receiving yours and other 
 letters contradicting the reports lately transmitted, deter- 
 mined me to go to Alexandria, where I shall wait a few 
 days, hoping to meet the express from General Shirley, to 
 whom the Governor sent for commissions for the field 
 officers. 
 
 ** I beg that you will be particularly careful in seeing 
 strict order observed among the soldiers, as that is the 
 life of military discipline. We now have it in our power 
 to enforce obedience [through a military law recently 
 passed by the Assembly of the colony] ; and obedience will 
 be expected from us, the men being subject to death as 
 in military law. The Assembly have also oflfered a reward 
 to all who will apprehend deserters, and a severe punish- 
 ment upon those who shall entertain or suffer them to pass ; 
 also upon any constable who refuses to convey them to 
 the company or troop to which they belong, or shall suffer 
 them to escape after such deserters are committed to his 
 custody. 
 
 " These things, with the articles of war and a proper 
 exhortation, I would have you read immediately to the 
 men, and see that it is frequently done hereafter. I must 
 desire that you will use all possible means to facilitate the 
 salting our provisions, and give the commissary such as- 
 sistance of men, etc., as he shall reasonably require. The 
 Governor approves of the committee's resolve, in not al- 
 lowing either the Maryland or Carolina companies to be 
 supported out of our provisions. This you are to make 
 them acquainted with, and, in case any of the compa- 
 nies should be discharged to use your utmost endeavors 
 
28§ WASHINGTON. 
 
 to enlist as man}^ of the men as you can. Lieutenant Mc- 
 Manners has leave to go to Carolina if he desires it. The 
 Assembly would make no alteration in our militia law; 
 nor would the Governor order them to be drafted to com- 
 plete our regiment, so that the slow method of recruiting 
 is likely to be our only means to raise the men. I think, 
 could a brisk officer, and two or three sergeants, be 
 sent among the militia stationed on the South Branch, 
 they would have a probable chance of engaging many, as 
 some were inclinable in Winchester to list. Doctor Craik 
 is expected round to Alexandria in a vessel, with medicines 
 and other stores for the regiment. So soon as he arrives, 
 I shall take care to despatch him to you. 
 
 "The Colonels Byrd and Randolph [members of the 
 Governor's Council and gentlemen of distinction] are ap- 
 pointed commissioners [to visit and conciliate the south- 
 ern Indians], and will set out very shortly, with a present, 
 etc., to the country of the Cherokees, in order to engage 
 them to our interest." 
 
 To the same officer Washington wrote again November 
 28, 1755, from Alexandria: 
 
 " I received your two letters by Jenkins last night, and 
 was greatly surprised to hear that Commissary Walker 
 was not arrived at camp when he came away. He set 
 out from Williamsburg about the 12th instant, with orders 
 to proceed immediately up; but such disobedience of 
 commands, as I have generally met with, is insufferable, 
 and shall not go unpunished. The account you enclosed 
 of the method of receiving the beef, I suppose is custom- 
 ary; but for want of judgment in those affairs, I can 
 neither applaud nor condemn it. I am as much astonished 
 as you were surprised at the quantity of salt said to be 
 wanted for the provision, but certain it is, that if it, or a 
 greater quantity, is necessary, it must be had. I have 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 281 
 
 left a discretionary power in Commissary Walker to kill 
 or winter the Carolina beeves as the interest of the ser- 
 vice requires. Pray assist him with your advice, and urge 
 him on to make the necessary purchases of flour and pork 
 m time. 
 
 " The Governor did not seem inclinable to promote the 
 removal of the fort; however, the Committee have lodged 
 a discretionary power in my hands, and have resolved to 
 pay for all extraordinary labor. I would, therefore, have 
 as little labor lost at Fort Cumberland as possible; at 
 least until I come up, which will be very shortly, my stay 
 here being only for a few days, in order to receive re- 
 cruits, and hurry up the stores to Winchester. 
 
 " I believe those who say Governor Sharpe [of Mary- 
 land] is to command, can only wish it. I do not know 
 that Governor Shirley [at Boston, in chief command for 
 the King's regular troops in America] has a power to ap- 
 point a chief to our forces, — to regulars he may. As to 
 that affair of turning the storehouse into a dwelling-room, 
 I do not know what better answer to give than saying 
 that this is one among the many instances that might 
 be offered of the inconvenience of having a fort in Mary- 
 land. As soon as I hear from Gov. Shirley, which is 
 hourly expected, I can give a more determined answer. 
 
 " There has been such total negligence among the re- 
 cruiting officers in general, such disregard of the service 
 they were employed in, and such idle proceedings, that I 
 am determined to send out none until we all meet, when 
 each officer shall have his own men, and have only this 
 alternative, either to complete his number or lose his com- 
 mission. There are several officers who have been out 
 six weeks, or two months, without getting a man, spend- 
 ing their time in all the gayety of pleasurable mirth, with 
 their relations and friends; not attempting, nor having a 
 
"282 WASHINGTON. 
 
 possible chance of recruiting any but those who, out of 
 their incHnation to the service, will proffer themselves. 
 
 " I should be glad to have ten or twelve wagons sent 
 to this place, for salt enough may be had here to load 
 that number, and it comes upon easier terms than at 
 Fredericksburg, by sixpence or eightpence per bushel. 
 Those stores at Watkins Ferry should be hurried up as 
 fast as the water affords opportunities, if it were only to 
 prevent disputes. 
 
 " If the paymaster is at Winchester, and not on his way 
 to Fort Dinwiddie, order him down here immediately. If 
 he should be going with pay to Captain Hogg [whose 
 unpaid men had mutinied] , he is to proceed with despatch ;' 
 but if he is at Fort Cumberland, order him down to Win- 
 chester, to wait there until I arrive." 
 
 December 5, 1755, Washington wrote to Governor Din- 
 widdie from Alexandria : 
 
 " I have sent the bearer. Captain John Mercer (who has 
 accounts to settle with the Committee), to the Treasurer 
 for the balance of that £10,000; and to acquaint your 
 Honor, that, meeting with letters at Fredericksburg, in- 
 forming me that all was peaceable above, and that noth- 
 ing was so immediately wanting as salt, I got what I could 
 at that place, and hastened on here to engage more, to 
 receive the recruits expected in, and to wait the arrival of 
 the vessel with arms, etc., from James River, in order to 
 forward them up with the greater despatch. The vessel 
 is not yet arrived. 
 
 " I have impatiently expected to hear the result of your 
 Honor's letter to Governor Shirley, and wish that the 
 delays may not prove ominous. In that case, I shall not 
 know how to act ; for I can never submit to the command 
 of Captain Dagworthy, since you have honored me with 
 the command of the Virginia regiment, etc. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. '283 
 
 " The country has sustained inconceivable losses, by de- 
 laying the commissaries at Williamsburg. Many of the 
 beeves are dead, through absolute poverty, and the chief 
 part of them too poor to slaughter. We are at a loss how 
 to act, for want of the mutiny bill ; and should be obliged 
 to your Honor, if you will have fifty or a hundred printed, 
 and sent by the bearer. There is a clause in that bill, 
 which, if you are not kind enough to obviate it, will pre- 
 vent entirely the good intention of it, that is, delaying the 
 execution of sentences, until your Honor shall be made 
 acquainted with the proceedings of the court. This, at 
 times when there is the greatest occasion for examples, 
 will be morally impossible; I mean, when we are on our 
 march, perhaps near the Ohio, when none but strong par- 
 ties can pass with safety. At all times it must be attended 
 with great expense, trouble, and inconveniency. This I 
 represented to Col. Corbin, and some other gentlemen of 
 the Council, when I was down, who said that the objec- 
 tion would be removed, by your Honor's giving blank 
 warrants, to be filled up as occasion should require. This 
 would effectually remedy all those evils, and put things 
 in their proper channel. 
 
 " We suffer greatly for want of kettles ; those sent from 
 below, being tin, are of short duration. We shall also, in 
 a little time, suffer as much for the want of clothing; none 
 can be got in these parts ; those which Major Carlyle and 
 Dalton contracted to furnish we are disappointed of. 
 Shoes and stockings we have, and can get more if wanted, 
 but nothing else. I should be glad your Honor would 
 direct what is to be done in these cases; and that you 
 would be kind enough to desire the treasurer to send some 
 part of the money in gold and silver. Were this done we 
 might often get necessaries for the regiment in Maryland, 
 
284 • WASHINGTON. 
 
 or Pennsylvania, when they cannot be had here. But with 
 our money it is impossible ; our paper not passing there. 
 
 '' The recruiting service goes on extremely slow. Yes- 
 terday being a day appointed for rendezvousing at this 
 place, there came in ten officers with twenty men only. If 
 I had any other than paper money, and you approved of 
 it, I would send to Pennsylvania and the borders of Caro- 
 lina. I am confident men might be had there. Your 
 Honor never having given any particular directions about 
 the provisions, I should be glad to know, whether you 
 would have more laid in than what will serve for 1200 men, 
 that I may give orders accordingly. 
 
 *'As I cannot now conceive that any great danger can 
 be apprehended at Fort Cumberland this winter, I am sensi- 
 ble that my constant attendance there cannot be so ser- 
 viceable as riding from place to place, making the proper 
 dispositions, and seeing that all our necessaries are for- 
 warded up with despatch. I therefore think it advisable 
 to inform your Honor of it, hoping it will correspond with 
 your own opinion. 
 
 " I forgot to mention when I was down, that Mr. Living- 
 ston, the Fort Major, was appointed adjutant to our regi- 
 ment. I know of none else whose long servitude in a 
 military way had better qualified for the office. He was 
 appointed the 17th of September. 
 
 " Captain Mercer's pay as aid-de-camp seems yet doubt- 
 ful. I should be glad if your Honor would fix it ; as so 
 is Captain Stewart's. If Captain Stewart's is increased, 
 I suppose all the officers belonging to the light-horse will 
 expect to have theirs augmented also. Colonel Stephen, 
 in a late letter, discovered an inclination to go to the Creek 
 and Cherokee Indians this winter. I told him where to 
 apply, if he had any such thoughts. I believe, on so useful 
 a business, he might be spared until the spring. If your 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 285 
 
 Honor think proper to order the Act of Assembly for 
 apprehending deserters, and against harboring them, to be 
 published every Sunday in each parish church, until the 
 people are made acquainted with the law, it would have 
 a very good effect. The commonalty in general err more 
 through ignorance than design. Few of them are acquainted 
 that such a law exists, and there is no other certain way 
 of bringing it to their knowledge. There are a great many 
 of the men that did once belong to our companies, de- 
 serted from the regiments into which they were drafted, 
 that would now gladly return, if they could be sure of 
 indemnity. If your Honor would be kind enough to in- 
 timate this to General Shirley, or the colonels of those 
 regiments, it would be of service to us. Without leave, 
 we dare not receive them." 
 
 December 28, 1755, Washington wrote from Winchester 
 to Lieut.-Col. Adam Stephen : 
 
 " Captain John Mercer only returned last night from 
 Williamsburg, and brings no satisfactory answers to any- 
 thing I questioned the Governor upon. 
 
 " The express, that was sent to General Shirley, is re- 
 turned without seeing him ; however, the Governor writes 
 that he expects answers to his letters by Colonel Hunter, 
 who is now at New York, and waits the arrival of the 
 General at that place. The Governor is very strongly of 
 the opinion, that Captain Dagworthy has no right to con- 
 tend for the command ; and in his letter he says, after men- 
 tioning the return of the express, and his expectancy of 
 satisfactory letters, * But I am of opinion you might have 
 obviated the inconsistent dispute with Captain Dag- 
 worthy, by asking him if he did not command a provincial 
 company by virtue of Governor Sharpe's commission; as 
 that he had formerly from his Majesty now ceases, as he is 
 not on the half-pay list ; if so, the method you are to take 
 
286 WASHINGTON. 
 
 is very obvious, as your commission from me is greater 
 than what he has.' And in WilHamsburg, when I was 
 down there, both he and Colonel Fitzhugh told me, that 
 Dagworthy could have no more pretensions to command 
 me, or either of the field-officers of the Virginia regiment, 
 than we have to command General Shirley; and further 
 gave it as their opinion, that as Dagworthy's was only a 
 botched-up commission at best, and as he commanded a 
 provincial company, and by virtue of a governor's commis- 
 sion, that he ought to be arrested for his presumption. 
 They say, allowing his commission from the King to be 
 valid, yet, as he is not there by order of his Majesty, he 
 can have no better pretensions than a visiting half-pay offi- 
 cer, who transiently passes through the camp, to assume 
 the command. 
 
 " I wish you would sound him on this head, and hear 
 how he will answer these things, and let me know when 
 you come down, which I desire may be immediately, as 
 I want much to consult you upon several accounts. The 
 paymaster and commissary (if he is not very much en- 
 gaged) must accompany you. Desire both to have their 
 accounts settled, and brought with them, as that is neces- 
 sary before I can give more money. 
 
 " I have sent you one of the mutiny bills which I re- 
 ceived from below, but I think, indeed I believe it is abso- 
 lutely necessary, as we still want the power, to postpone 
 trials until after your return. Also desire all the officers 
 who have received money for recruiting, to make up their 
 accounts immediately; and charge for no more men than 
 have actually been received at the several rendezvous. 
 Allowance will be made for no others. The arrears of pay 
 for these officers and soldiers who have not received for 
 the months of January and February, are immediately to 
 be made out, and sent down by you with the recruiting ac- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 287 
 
 counts. Desire them to charge for no men but what are 
 present, as I can pay for no others now. 
 
 " Enclosed is a commission for Captain Waggener, which 
 I have neglected giving before ; so long as I have had it. 
 Desire him, as the command upon your leaving the place 
 will devolve upon him, to be very circumspect in his duty, 
 and to see that the troops are duly drawn out and trained 
 to their exercise, and practised to bush-fighting." 
 
 To Governor R. H. Morris, of Pennsylvania, Washing- 
 ton wrote from Winchester, January' 5, 1756: 
 
 '' I am sorry it has not been in my power to acknowledge 
 the receipt of yours until now. At the time that your 
 letter came to Winchester, I was at Williamsburg; before 
 I got back it was conveyed thither; and so from place to 
 place has it been tossing almost till this time. 
 
 " There is nothing more necessary than good intelli- 
 gence to frustrate a designing enemy, and nothing that 
 requires greater pains to obtain. I shall, therefore, cheer- 
 fully come into any measures you can propose to settle a 
 correspondence for this salutary end; and you may de- 
 pend upon receiving (when the provinces are threatened) 
 the earliest and best intelligence that I can procure. 
 
 " I sympathized in general concern to see the inactivity 
 of your province in a time of eminent danger; but am 
 pleased to find, that a feeling sense of wrongs has roused 
 the spirit of your martial Assembly to vote a sum which, 
 with your judicious application, will turn to a general good. 
 
 " We took some pretty vigorous measures to collect a 
 force upon our frontiers upon the first alarm, which has 
 kept us peaceable ever since. How long this may last is 
 uncertain, since that force, which were militia, are dis- 
 banded, and the recruiting service almost stagnated. 
 
 " If you propose to levy troops, and their designation is 
 not a secret, I should be favored were I let into the scheme, 
 
288 WASHINGTON. 
 
 that we may act conjointly, so far as the nature of things 
 will admit. 
 
 " Pray direct to me at Alexandria, to which place I de- 
 sign to go in about ten days from this." 
 
 In communicating to the officers of the Virginia regi- 
 ment the fact that an officer had been tried by court-martial 
 and suspended, Washington made this address, January 8, 
 1756: 
 
 " This timely warning of the effects of misbehavior will, 
 I hope, be instrumental in animating the younger officers 
 to a laudable emulation in the service of their countr>^ 
 Not that I apprehend any of them can be guilty of of- 
 fences of this nature; but there are many other misde- 
 meanors, that will, without due circumspection, gain upon 
 inactive minds, and produce consequences equally dis- 
 graceful. 
 
 " I would, therefore, earnestly recommend, in every 
 point of duty, willingness to undertake, and intrepid reso- 
 lution to execute. Remember that it is the actions, and 
 not the commission, that make the officer, and that there 
 is more expected from him than the title. Do not forget 
 that there ought to be a time appropriated to attain this 
 knowledge, as well as to indulge pleasure. And as we 
 now have no opportunities to improve from example, let 
 us read for this desirable end. There are Bland's and 
 other treatises which will give the wished-for information. 
 
 " I think it my duty, gentlemen, as I have the honor to 
 preside over you, to give this friendly admonition ; especi- 
 ally as I am determined, as far as my small experience in 
 service, my abilities, and interest of the service may dic- 
 tate, to observe the strictest discipline through the whole 
 economy of my behavior. On the other hand, you may 
 as certainly depend upon having the strictest justice admin- 
 istered to all, and that I shall make it the most agreeable 
 
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LIFE AND TIMES, 289 
 
 part of my duty to study merit, and reward the brave and 
 deserving. I assure you, gentlemen, that partiality shall 
 never bias my conduct, nor shall prejudice injure any; 
 but, throughout the whole tenor of my proceedings, I shall 
 endeavor, as far as I am able, to reward and punish, with- 
 out the least diminution." 
 
 January 14, 1756, Washington wrote to Governor Din- 
 widdie from Alexandria: 
 
 " Major Lewis, being at Winchester when your letter 
 came to hand, was immediately despatched to Augusta, 
 to take upon him the command of the troops destined 
 against the Shawnese Town; with orders to follow such 
 directions as he should receive from you. This scheme, 
 though, I am apprehensive will prove abortive, as we are 
 told that those Indians are removed up the river, into the 
 neighborhood of Fort Duquesne. 
 
 " I have given all necessary orders for training the men 
 to a proper use of their arms, and the method of Indian 
 fighting, and hope in a little time to make them expert. 
 And I should be glad to have your Honor's express com- 
 mands, either to prepare for taking the field, or for guard- 
 ing our frontiers, in the spring, because the steps for these 
 two are very different. I have already built two forts on 
 Patterson's Creek, which have engaged the chief of the 
 inhabitants to return to the plantations; and have now 
 ordered Captain Waggener with 60 men to build and 
 garrison two others, on places I have pointed out high 
 up on the South Branch, which will be a means of securing 
 near a hundred miles of our frontiers, exclusive of the 
 command at Fort Dinwiddie, on Jackson's river. And, 
 indeed, without a much greater number of men than we 
 have a visible prospect of getting, I do not see how it is 
 possible to think of passing the mountains, or acting more 
 than defensively. This seems to be the full determination 
 19 
 
290 WASHINGTON, 
 
 of the Pennsylvanlans ; so that there can be no hope of 
 assistance from that quarter. If we only act defensively, 
 I would most earnestly recommend the building of a 
 strong fort at some convenient place in Virginia, as that 
 in Maryland, not to say anything of its situation, which 
 is extremely bad, will ever be an eyesore to this colony, 
 and attended with more inconvenience than it is possible 
 to enumerate. One instance of this I have taken notice 
 of, in a letter that accompanies this, and many more I 
 could recite, were it necessary. 
 
 " If we take the field there is no time to carry on a work 
 of this kind, but we should immediately set about engag- 
 ing wagons, horses, forage, pack-saddles, etc. And here 
 I cannot help remarking, that I believe it will be impossible 
 to get wagons or horses sufficient, without the old score 
 is paid off ; as the people are really ruined for want of their 
 money, and complain justly of their grievances. 
 
 " I represented in my last the inconveniences of the 
 late act of Assembly, which obliges us first to send to 
 your Honor for a commission to hold general courts- 
 martial, and then to delay execution until a warrant can 
 be had from Williamsburg; and I hope you will take the 
 thing into consideration. We have several deserters now 
 on hand, whom I have taken by vigorous measures, and 
 who should be made examples to others, as this practice 
 is continued with greater spirit than ever. 
 
 " Unless clothing is soon provided, the men will be un- 
 fit for any kind of service. And I know of no expedient 
 to procure them, but by sending to the northward, as 
 cloth cannot be had here. I left, among other returns, an 
 exact account of the clothing at every place, when I was 
 in Williamsburg. I shan't care to lay in provisions for 
 more than looo men, unless I have your Honor's orders. 
 We have put out such of the beeves as were unfit for 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 291 
 
 slaughtering. If they survive the winter they may be 
 useful in the summer. 
 
 " Ensign Poison having received a commission in Col- 
 onel Gage's regiment, makes a vacancy here which, with 
 your approbation, will be filled by Mr. Dennis McCarthy, 
 whom you once appointed a captain. He has continued 
 a volunteer ever since, and has recruited several men into 
 the service, and I hope your Honor will allow me the 
 liberty, as you once promised me, of filling up the vacan- 
 cies as they happen, with Ihe volunteers, who serve with 
 that expectation. We have several with us, that seem 
 to be very deserving young gentlemen. I shall observe 
 the strictest justice in promoting them according to their 
 merit, and their time of entering the service I have or- 
 dered Capt. Hog to render immediately a fair account to 
 the company of the money sent him. He was ordered to 
 lay in provisions for only 12 months. Capt. Stewart has 
 recruited his complement of men. I should be glad to 
 know whether he is to complete his horse against the 
 spring and provide accoutrements. 
 
 "I have been obliged to suspend Ensign Dekeyser for 
 misbehavior until your pleasure is known. See the pro- 
 ceedings of the enquiring courts. His character in many 
 other respectc has been infamous. I have also been 
 obliged to threaten, in your name, the new appointed offi- 
 cers with the same fate if they are not more diligent in 
 recruiting the companies, as each received his commission 
 upon those terms. Capt. Mercer comes down for more 
 money and to satisfy how the iio,ooo has been applied. 
 
 ''' The skipper of the vessels has embezzled some of the 
 stores; but for want of a particular invoice of them, we 
 cannot ascertain the loss. He is kept in confinement until 
 your Honor's pleasure is known.'* 
 
392 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Under the same date Washington wrote again to Gov. 
 Dinwiddie ftom Alexandria: 
 
 " When I was down the Committee among* other things 
 resolved, that the Maryland and Carolina companies 
 should not be supported with our provisions. This re- 
 solve (I think) met with your approbation ; upon which I 
 wrote to Colonel Stephen, desiring him to acquaint Cap- 
 tain Dagworthy thereof, who paid slight regard to it, 
 saying it was in the King's garrison, and all the troops 
 had an equal right to draw provisions with us, by his 
 order as commanding officer, and that we, after it was 
 put there, had no power to remove it without his leave. 
 I should, therefore, be glad of your Honor's peremptory 
 orders what to do in this case, as I do not care to act 
 without instructions, lest it should appear to proceed from 
 pique and resentment at having the command disputed. 
 This is one among the numberless inconveniences of hav- 
 ing the fort in Maryland. Captain Dagworthy, I dare 
 venture to affirm, is encouraged to say this by Governor 
 Sharpe, who we know has wrote to him to keep the com- 
 mand. This Captain Dagworthy acquainted Colonel 
 Stephen of himself. As I have not yet heard how Gen- 
 eral Shirley has answered your Honor's request, I fear 
 the success, especially as it is next to an impossibility (as 
 Governor Sharpe has been there to plead Captain Dag- 
 worthy's cause) by writing to make the General ac- 
 quainted with the nature of the dispute. The officers 
 have drawn up a memorial to be presented to the Gen- 
 eral, and, that it may be properly strengthened, they hum- 
 bly beg your solicitation to have us (as we have certain 
 advices that it is in his power) put upon the establish- 
 ment. This would at once put an end to contention, 
 which is the root of evil, and destructive to the best of 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 293 
 
 Operations; and turn all our movements into a free, easy 
 channel. 
 
 " They have urged it in the warmest manner to me, to 
 appear personally before the General for that end, which 
 I would, at this disagreeable season, gladly do, things be- 
 ing thus circumstanced, if I had your permission; which 
 I more freely ask, since I am determined to resign a com- 
 mission, which you were generously pleased to offer me, 
 (and for which I shall always retain a grateful sense of 
 the favor), rather than submit to the command of a per- 
 son, who, I think, has not such superlative merit to bal- 
 ance the inequality of rank, however he adheres to what 
 he calls his right, and in which I know he is supported 
 by Governor Sharpe. He says, that he has no commis- 
 sion from the province of Maryland, but acts by virtue 
 of that from the King; that this was the condition of his 
 engaging in the Maryland service ; and when he was sent 
 up there the ist of last October, was ordered by Governor 
 Sharpe and Sir John St. Clair not to give up his right. 
 To my certain knowledge his rank was disputed before 
 General Burgoyne, who gave it in his favor; and he ac- 
 cordingly took place of every captain upon the expedition, 
 except Capt. James Mercer and Capt. Rutherford, whose 
 commissions were older than his ; so that I should not by 
 any means choose to act, as your Honor hinted in your 
 last, lest I should be called to an account myself. 
 
 " I have, during my stay above (at Winchester) from 
 the 1st of December to this, disposed of all the men and 
 officers (that are not recruiting and can be spared from 
 the fort) in the best manner I can for the defence of the 
 inhabitants, and they will need no further orders till I 
 could return. And the recruiting officers are allowed till 
 the first of March to repair to their rendezvous, which 
 leaves at present nothing to do' at the Fort, but to train 
 
294 WASHINGTON. 
 
 and discipline the men, and prepare and salt the provi- 
 sions. For the better perfecting both these, I have left 
 full and clear directions. 
 
 " Besides, in other respects, I think my going to the 
 northward might be of service, as I should thereby, so 
 far as they thought proper to communicate, be acquainted 
 with the plan of operations, especially the Pennsylvanians \ 
 so as to act, as much as the nature of things would admit, 
 in concert. 
 
 " If you think proper to comply with my request, I 
 should be glad of any letters, such as you think would 
 enforce the petition to the General, or any of the Gov- 
 ernors in my way there." 
 
 Two weeks later, February i, 1756, Washington wrote 
 from Alexandria to Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen: 
 
 " Looking upon our affairs at this crtical juncture to 
 be of such importance, and having a personal acquaintance 
 with General Shirley, which I thought might add some 
 weight to the strength of our memorial, I solicited leave, 
 which is obtained, to visit him in person, and accordingly 
 set out in two days for Boston, having procured letters, 
 etc., from the Governor, which was the result of a Council 
 for the purpose called. You may depend upon it, I shall 
 leave no stone unturned for this salutary end ; and, I think, 
 if reason, justice, and every other equitable right can claim 
 attention, we deserve to be heard. 
 
 "As I have taken the fatigue, etc., of this tedious jour- 
 ney upon myself, (which I never thought of until I had left 
 Winchester), I hope you will conduct everything in my 
 absence for the interest and honor of the service. And 
 I must exhort you in the most earnest manner to strict 
 discipline and due exercise of arms. 
 
 " You may tell Mr. Livingston from me, that, if the 
 soldiers are not skilled in arms equal to what may reason- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 295 
 
 ably be expected, he most assuredly shall answer it at my 
 return. And I must ingenuously tell you, that I also ex- 
 pect to find them expert at bush-fighting. 
 
 "The Governor seems determined to make the officers 
 comply with the terms of getting their commissions, or 
 forfeit them, and approves of Dekeyser's suspension, and 
 orders that he shall not be admitted into the camp. He 
 seems uneasy at what I own gives me much concern, L e., 
 that gaming seems to be introduced into the camp. I 
 am ordered to discourage it, and must desire that you will 
 intimate the same. 
 
 " Things not being rightly settled for punishing de- 
 serters according to their crimes, you must go on in the 
 old way of whipping stoutly." 
 
 To Governor Dinwiddie, Washington wrote from Alex- 
 andria, February 2, 1756: 
 
 " I can but return my hearty thanks for your kind con- 
 descension in suffering me to wait upon General Shirley, 
 as I am very well assured it was done with the intention 
 to favor my suit. 
 
 " There is as yet an unanswerable argument against our 
 taking the field, which I forgot to mention in my last ; that 
 is, the want of a train of artillery, and, what is full as nec- 
 essary, engineers to conduct the affair, if we hope to ap- 
 proach Fort Duquesne. By the advices, which we have 
 received hitherto from the northward, the Pennsylvanians 
 are determined to act defensively. For that purpose they 
 have posted their new raised levies upon their frontiers 
 at different passes, and have received the additional 
 strength and favor of a detachment or two from the regu- 
 lars. I have ordered, besides the forts that are built and 
 are now building, that a road which I had reconnoitred, 
 and which proves nearer and better, to be immediately 
 opened for the more easy transportation of stores, etc.. 
 
296 WASHINGTON, 
 
 from Winchester to Fort Cumberland ; so there is not the 
 least fear of the soldiers being corrupted through 
 idleness." 
 
 After explaining that the commission for calling gen- 
 eral courts-martial did not empower the commander to 
 act without first receiving an order from the Governor 
 to do so, Washington further said : 
 
 " I have always, so far as it was in my power, en- 
 deavored to discourage gaming in the camp; and always 
 shall so long as I have the honor to preside there. 
 
 " I cannot help observing that your Honor, if you have 
 not seen the clothing lately sent up, has been imposed 
 upon by the contractors, for they are really unfit for use ; 
 at least, will soon be so."] 
 
 The chronic difficulty of the old contest between royal 
 and provincial officers had not yet been laid. At Fort 
 Cumberland a royally commissioned officer, Captain Dag- 
 worthy, with a small company of Maryland militia, refused 
 obedience to the Virginia provincial commander-in-chief, 
 and according to the King's order in the case of royal and 
 provincial officers, he even claimed precedency in rank. 
 The commander appealed to Governor Dinwiddle but could 
 not induce him to take decisive measures in the case, and 
 the Governor of Maryland actually sustained the claim of 
 Dagworthy. To settle this annoying and embarrassing dis- 
 pute Washington, at the request of his officers, with the 
 approval of Governor Dinwiddle and with commendatory 
 letters from him (Feb. 4, 1756), repaired to Boston to 
 General Shirley, who then was Commander-in-Chief of 
 the British troops in America. It was now midwinter, 
 but attended by Captain Mercer, who was his aide, and 
 by Captain Stewart, he performed the journey of 500 
 miles on horseback. 
 
 General Shirley's decision on the subject was ready and 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 297 
 
 positive. He issued an order requiring Captain Dagworthy 
 to yield obedience to the Virginia commander. Washing- 
 ton he received in the kindest manner, and he acquainted 
 him with the details of his plan of the next season's cam- 
 paign. 
 
 The journey to Boston by way of Philadelphia, New 
 York, and ocher principal cities, little as such results 
 could have been anticipated or could be desired by sticklers 
 for the superiority of royal commissions, essentially con- 
 tributed to Washington's celebrity, influence, and knowl- 
 edge of affairs. In less than two months' time he was 
 again engrossed with measures for repelling intrusions of 
 the French and for staying depredations and incursions of 
 the savages, which had become frequent and very daring. 
 
 [Washington left Alexandria for Boston, February 4, 
 1756. He was in Philadelphia on the 8th, where the old 
 campaigner. Gist, had found reason the autumn before 
 to write to him : " Your name is more talked of in Phila- 
 delphia than that of any other person in the army, and 
 everybody seems willing to venture under your com- 
 mand." The New York Mercury of February i6th re- 
 corded his arrival in New York on the 15th, and on the 
 26th he had left for Boston on the Friday previous, the 
 25th. He passed through New London, Newport, and 
 Providence, and was in Boston February 27th-March loth. 
 He was in New York on the return March 14th; was in 
 Philadelphia March 17th; and March 23d was at Alexan- 
 dria, to resume his duties as Commander-in-Chief on the 
 frontier. April 7, 1756, he wrote from Winchester to 
 Governor Dinwiddie: 
 
 '' I arrived here yesterday, and think it advisable to 
 despatch an express to inform you of the unhappy situa- 
 tion of affairs in this quarter. The enemy have returned 
 in greater numbers, committed several murders not far 
 
298 WASHINGTON. 
 
 from Winchester, and even are so daring as to attack our 
 forts in open day, as your Honor may see by the enclosed 
 letters and papers. Many of the inhabitants are in a 
 miserable situation by their losses, and so apprehensive 
 of danger that, I believe, unless a stop is put to the depre- 
 dations of the Indians, the Blue Ridge w^ill soon become 
 our frontier. 
 
 ''I find it impossible to continue on to Fort Cumber- 
 land, until a body of men can be raised, in order to do 
 v^rhat I have advised with Lord Fairfax, and other officers 
 of the militia, who have ordered each captain to call a 
 private muster, and to read the exhortation enclosed (for 
 orders are no longer regarded in this county), in hopes 
 that this expedient may meet with the wished-for success. 
 If it should, I shall with such men as are ordered from 
 Fort Cumberland to join these, scour the woods and sus- 
 pected places, in all the mountains, valleys, etc., on this 
 part of our frontiers, and doubt not but I shall fall in with 
 the Indians and their more cruel associates ! I hope the 
 present emergency of affairs, assisted by such good news 
 as the Assembly may by this time have received from 
 England, and the Commissioners, will determine them 
 to take vigorous measures for their own and country's 
 safety, and no longer depend on an uncertain way of rais- 
 ing men for their own protection. However absurd it 
 may appear, it is nevertheless certain, that 500 Indians 
 have it more in their power to annoy the inhabitants than 
 ten times their number of regulars. For besides the ad- 
 vantageous way they have of fighting in the woods, their 
 cunning and craft are not to be equalled, neither their 
 activity and indefatigable sufferings. They prowl about 
 like wolves, and, like them, do their mischief by stealth. 
 They depend upon their dexterity in hunting and upon 
 the cattle of the inhabitants for provisions. For which 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 299 
 
 reason, I own, I do not think it unworthy the notice of 
 the legislature to compel the inhabitants (if a general war 
 is likely to ensue, and things to continue in this un- 
 happy situation for any time), to live in townships, work- 
 ing at each others farms by turns, and to drive their cattle 
 into the thickly settled parts of the country. Were this 
 done, they could not be cut off by small parties, and large 
 ones could not subsist without provisions." 
 
 To Speaker Robinson, Washington also wrote: 
 
 "If the fears of the people do not magnify numbers, 
 those of the enemy are not inconsiderable. They have 
 made many ineffectual attempts upon several of our forts, 
 destroyed cattle, burned plantations, and this in defiance 
 of our smaller parties, while they dexterously avoid the 
 larger. Our detachments, by what I can learn, have 
 sought them diligently, but the cunning and vigilance of 
 Indians in the woods are no more to be conceived, than 
 they are to be equalled by our people. Indians are only 
 match for Indians ; and without these, we shall ever fight 
 upon unequal terms. I hope the Assembly since they 
 see the difficulty of getting men by enlistment, will no 
 longer depend upon that uncertain way of raising them, 
 but make each of the lower Counties furnish its full pro- 
 portion." 
 
 The work of the recruiting officers for the whole win- 
 ter had only secured 600 men. In the letter to Dinwiddie 
 of April 7th, Washington went on to say : 
 
 " It seemed to be the sentiment of the House of Bur- 
 gesses when I was down, that a chain of forts should be 
 erected upon our frontiers, for the defence of the people. 
 This expedient, in my opinion, without an inconceivable 
 number of men, will never answer their expectations." 
 
 The House had voted in the spring session to erect a 
 chain of forts beginning at Harry Enochs, on Great 
 
300 - WASHINGTON. 
 
 Cape-capon, in the county of Hampshire, and extending 
 to the south fork of Mayo-river in Halifax county, the 
 number and distance from each other to be such as the 
 governor or the commander-in-chief of the colony should 
 think necessary." 
 
 After a reference to Major Lewis's expedition, intended 
 to reach the Indian Shawanes Town, but prevented by the 
 state of the rivers, swollen by heavy rains and melting 
 snow, Washington goes on to say: 
 
 " It was an expedition, from which, on account of the 
 length of the march down, I always had little expectation 
 of, and often expressed my uneasy apprehensions on that 
 head. But since they are returned, with the Indians that 
 accompanied them, I think it would be a very happy step 
 to prevail upon the latter to proceed as far as Fort Cum- 
 berland. It is in their power to be of infinite use to us ; 
 and without Indians, we shall never be able to cope with 
 those cruel foes to our country. 
 
 " I would therefore beg leave to recommend in a very 
 earnest manner, that your Honor would send an express 
 to them immediately for this desirable end. I should 
 have done it myself, but was uncertain whether it might 
 prove agreeable or not. I also hope your Honor will 
 order Major Lewis to secure his guides, as I understand 
 he attributes all his misfortunes to their misconduct. Such 
 offences as those should meet with adequate punishment, 
 else we may ever be misled by designing villains. 
 
 " Since writing the above, Mr. Pearis, who commanded 
 a party as per enclosed list, is returned, who relates, that, 
 upon the North River, he fell in with a small body of In- 
 dians which he engaged, and, after a dispute of half an 
 hour, put them to flight. M. Douville, commander of the 
 party, was killed and scalped, and his instructions found 
 about him, which I enclose. We had one man killed, and 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 301 
 
 two wounded. Mr. Pearis sends the scalp by Jenkins ; 
 and I hope, ahhough it is not an Indian's, they will meet 
 with an adequate reward at least, as the Monsieur's is of 
 much more consequence. The whole party jointly claim 
 the reward, no person pretending solely to assume the 
 merit." 
 
 The Assembly had offered, in August, 1755, a reward of 
 iio for every scalp of a male Indian above the age of 
 twelve. This reward was increased to £15 in April, 1757, 
 and a further sum of £30 for each scalp taken within the 
 next two years. Maryland had, in September, 1756, made 
 the reward for an Indian scalp £50. 
 
 The letter to Dinwiddie continues : 
 
 " Your Honor may in some measure penetrate into the 
 daring designs of the French by their instructions, where 
 orders are given to burn, if possible, our magazine at 
 Conococheague, a place that is in the midst of a thickly 
 settled country." 
 
 The orders in question were given by Dumas, who had 
 succeeded Contrecoeur as French commandant at Fort 
 Duquesne. In translation they read as follows : " Fort 
 Duquesne, March 23, 1756. The Sieur Douville, at the 
 head of a detachment of 50 savages, is ordered to go and 
 observe the motions of the enemy in the neighborhood 
 of Fort Cumberland. He will endeavor to harass their 
 convoys, and burn their magazines at Conococheague, 
 should this be practicable. He must use every effort to 
 take prisoners, who may confirm what we already know 
 of the enemies designs. The Sieur Douville will employ 
 all his talent and all his credit to prevent the savages from 
 committing any cruelties on those who may fall into their 
 hands. Honor and humanity ought, in this respect, to 
 serve as our guide." 
 
 These last words Mr. W. C. Ford says, " at least give a 
 
WASHINGTON. 
 
 favorable indication of the commandant's humanity," the 
 fact having been that the words in no way operated to 
 hold the hand of savage massacre, and most manifestly 
 were neither intended nor expected to have any such 
 result. Washington's letter goes on to say of the threat- 
 ened magazine : 
 
 " I have ordered the party there to be made as strong 
 as time and our present circumstances will afford, for fear 
 they should attempt to execute the orders of Dumas. I 
 have also ordered up an officer and 20 recruits to assist 
 Joseph Edwards, and the people on those waters (the 
 Great Cacapehon). The people of this town are under 
 dreadful apprehensions of an attack, and all the roads 
 between this and Fort Cumberland are much infested. As 
 I apprehend you will be obliged to draft men, I hope care 
 will be taken that none shall be chosen but active, reso- 
 lute men, — men, who are practised to arms, and are 
 marksmen. 
 
 " I also hope that a good many more will be taken than 
 what are requisite to complete our numbers to what the 
 Assembly design to establish; as many of those we have 
 got are really in a manner unfit for duty; and were re- 
 ceived more through necessity than choice ; and will very 
 badly bear a re-examination. Another thing I would beg 
 leave to recommend; and that is, that such men as are 
 drafted, should be only taken for a time, by which means 
 we shall get better men, and which will in all probability 
 stay with us." 
 
 " I think it not amiss," Washington said in a letter to 
 Speaker Robinson, " that they should serve only 18 or 20 
 months, and then be discharged. Twenty months will 
 embrace two full campaigns, which will, I apprehend, 
 bring matters to a crisis one way or another." 
 
 In a letter of April 9, 1756, to Governor Morris, of 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 303 
 
 Pennsylvania, Washington related the success of the party 
 which encountered Douville with his detachment of sav- 
 ages, and then went on to say : 
 
 " The accident that has determined the fate of M. Dou- 
 ville has, I believe, dispersed his party, for I don't hear of 
 any mischief done in this colony since, though we are not 
 without numbers who are making hourly discoveries. 
 
 " I have sent you a copy of the instructions that were 
 found about this officer, that you may see how bold and 
 enterprising the enemy have grown, how unconfined are 
 the ambitious designs of the French, and how much it will 
 be in their power (if the Colonies continue in their fatal 
 lethargy) to give a final stab to liberty and property. 
 
 " Nothing I more sincerely wish than a Union to the 
 Colonies in this time of eminent danger, and that you may 
 find your Assembly in a temper of mind to act consist- 
 ently with their preservation. What Maryland has done 
 or will do, I know not, but this I am certain of, that 
 Virginia will do everything that can he expected to promote the 
 public good. 
 
 " I went to Williamsburg fully resolved to resign my 
 commission, but was disuaded from it at least for a time. 
 
 " P. S. A letter this instant arriving from WilHamsburg 
 informs that our Assembly have voted £20,000 more, and 
 that their forces should be increased to 2000 men. A 
 laudable example this, and I hope not a singular one." 
 
 In a letter of April 10, 1756, Governor Sharpe of Mary- 
 land said to Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, who was 
 British Commander-in-Chief for America: 
 
 "The enclosed letter I am desired to forward to your 
 Excellency from Colonel Washington, and to request you 
 to commission and appoint him second in command, in 
 case these colonies shall raise a sufl^icient number of troops 
 for carrying on an expedition or making a diversion to 
 
304 WASHINGTON. 
 
 the westward this summer. As Mr. Washington is much 
 esteemed in Virginia, and i^ally seems a gentleman of 
 merit, I should be exceedingly glad to learn that your 
 Excellency is not averse to favoring his application and 
 request." 
 
 To John Robinson, Speaker of the House of Burgesses, 
 Washington wrote from Winchester, April i6, 1756: 
 
 " When I wrote you last, I was in high hopes of being 
 by this time at the head of a large party scouring the 
 Alleghany Hills. But the timidity of the inhabitants of 
 this county is to be equalled by nothing but their perverse- 
 ness. Yesterday was the time appointed for all to meet 
 who were inclined to join for this desirable end, and only 
 15 came, some of whom refused to go but upon terms 
 such as must have rendered their services burthensome 
 to the country. Therefore, I am again reduced to the 
 necessity of waiting the arrival of a party from Fort Cum- 
 berland before I can leave this place. There has been 
 no mischief done since I wrote you last, which I attribute 
 in some measure to the frequent parties I have ordered 
 out in pursuit of the enemy. Yesterday I received an 
 account which made me suspect that the Indians rendez- 
 voused upon the back of the Warm Spring Mountain. I 
 have, therefore, sent orders to an officer who is out with 
 a party of 100 men, to proceed thither with the best 
 guides he can procure, and search that mountain well; 
 which, if the intelligence be true, I hope he will render 
 a good account of them. 
 
 " Nothing, Sir, equals the pleasure I felt at hearing of 
 the generous supplies the Assembly have voted. But to 
 find that the men and money which they have given are 
 properly disposed of, and that the men are formed for the 
 service of the country, and not to make commissions to 
 serve individuals, I have sent the Governor a plan or 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 305 
 
 scheme, of which you have a copy; to form the 2000 men 
 into one regiment, consisting of two battalions, of ten 
 companies each ; with five field officers each having a com- 
 pany, and every company to consist of one captain, two 
 lieutenants, one ensign, four sergeants, four corporals, 
 two drummers, and 87 private men: which will save the 
 country the annual expense of £5006 i6s. and 8d., as you 
 may see by the enclosed. And we at the same time be 
 better appointed, and established more after the British 
 custom than we now are, or shall be if formed into two 
 regiments, or one regiment with only 50 men in a com- 
 pany. The difference, £5006 i6s. 8d., would go a great 
 length either in clothing, or defraying incident charges 
 of the regiment. Another difference is that of giving the 
 field officers companies, which is practised in all parts of 
 the world but this, and here discontinued evidently to 
 the disadvantage of the country, as the field officers who 
 have no companies are allowed in the same proportion 
 as if they had, and three captains are paid to do this duty. 
 
 " I have made bold. Sir, to offer my opinion freely, and 
 if it meets with the approbation of your House, I should 
 be glad if you would help it into execution. Otherwise, 
 as I am sensible the Governor may be strongly impor- 
 tuned for commissions, he may good-naturedly grant 
 them without considering how manifest an injury it will 
 be to the country and service in general. 
 
 "As I am convinced that no other method can be used 
 to raise 2000 men, but by drafting, I hope to be excused 
 when I again repeat, how great care should be observed 
 in choosing active marksmen. The manifest inferiority of 
 inactive persons, unused to arms, in this kind of service, 
 although equal in numbers, to lively persons who have 
 practised hunting, is inconceivable. The chance against 
 them is more than two to one. Another thing I hope will 
 20 
 
306 WASHINGTON. 
 
 merit the consideration of the Assembly, and that is, that 
 they will put all such men as are raised for the expedition 
 in actual pay, and under the same dicipRne that ours are 
 at present ; otherwise, I am very well convinced their good 
 intentioijs will prove abortive, and all the drafts quit the 
 service as soon, or before, they are brought into it. 
 
 " I do not conceive it to be a hardship to put even drafts 
 under martial law, if they are only taken for a certain time, 
 which I could wish to be the case, as I thereby hope for 
 better men/* 
 
 To Governor Dinwiddie in this connection Washington 
 wrote : 
 
 " I have a brother that has long discovered an inclina- 
 tion to enter the service, but has till this been dissuaded 
 from it by my mother, who now, I believe, will give consent. 
 I must, therefore, beg that, if your Honor should issue any 
 new commission before I come down, you will think of 
 him and reserve a Lieutenancy. I flatter myself that he 
 will endeavor to deserve it as well as some that have, and 
 others that may get (commissions)." 
 
 April 1 8, 1756, Washington wrote from Winchester to 
 Dinwiddie : 
 
 " It gave me infinite concern to find in yours by Gov- 
 ernor Innes, that any representations should inflame the 
 Assembly against the Virginia regiment, or give cause 
 to suspect the morality and good behavior of the officers. 
 (Dinwiddie had reported " that the Assembly were greatly 
 inflamed, being told that the greatest immoralities and 
 drunkenness have been much countenanced and proper 
 discipline neglected "). How far any of the individuals 
 may have deserved such invidious reflections, I will not 
 take it upon me to determine, but this I am certain of, 
 and can call my conscience, and what, I suppose, will be a 
 still more demonstrable proof in the eyes of the world, my 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 307 
 
 orders, to witness how much I have, both by threats and 
 persuasive means, endeavored to discountenance gaming, 
 drinking, swearing, and irregularities of every other kind ; 
 while I have, on the other hand, practised every artifice 
 to inspire a laudable emulation in the officers for the ser- 
 vice of their country, and to encourage the soldiers in 
 the unerring exercise of their duty. How far I have failed 
 in this desirable end I cannot pretend to say. But it is 
 nevertheless a point, which does in my opinion merit 
 some scrutiny, before it meets with a final condemnation. 
 Yet I will not undertake to vouch for the conduct of many 
 of the officers, as I know there are some who have the 
 seeds of idleness very strongly engrafted in their natures ; 
 and I also know that the unhappy difference about the 
 command, which has kept me from Fort Cumberland, has 
 consequently prevented me from enforcing the orders 
 which I never failed to send. 
 
 " However, if I continue in the service, I shall take care 
 to act with a little more vigor than has hitherto been 
 practised, since I find it so necessary. 
 
 " I wrote your Honor in my last how unsuccessfully we 
 attempted to raise the militia, and that I was reduced to 
 the necessity of waiting here the arrival of an escort from 
 Fort Cumberland. 
 
 "The garrison at Fort Cumberland is barely manned. 
 The rest are out on parties; yet the Indians continue to 
 hunt the roads, and pick up stragghng persons." 
 
 On the next day Washington further wrote to Din- 
 widdie : 
 
 " Since writing my letter of yesterday's date, the en- 
 closed came to hand, by which your Honor will be in- 
 formed of a very unlucky affair (a skirmish with the In- 
 dians at Edwards's Fort, in which Captain J. Mercer and 
 several of his party were killed). 
 
308 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " I immediately consulted Governor Innes, and such 
 officers of my regiment as were at this place, on the neces- 
 sary steps to be taken. They unanimously advised that 1 
 should remain here with the 50 recruits that are in town, 
 for the defence of the place, until the militia be raised, 
 that we may thereby be enabled to compose a formidable 
 body and march out against the enemy. This engagement 
 happened within 20 miles of Winchester, and the sergeant, 
 who brought the letter, assures me that they have reason 
 to imagine, that their numbers are greater than the letter 
 informs. He says that there were many French amongst 
 them, and that the chief part of the whole were mounted 
 on horseback; so that there is a great probability that 
 they may have a design upon this place. 
 
 ** I have sent an express to Lord Fairfax, with a copy 
 of Stark's letter, and have desired, in the most earnest 
 manner, that he will be expeditious in calling the militia; 
 but, alas! that is an unhappy dependence; yet the only 
 one we have at present." 
 
 ''Washington's old friend, Lord Fairfax," says Irving, 
 had "found himself no longer safe in his rural abode. 
 Greenway Court was in the midst of a woodland region, 
 affording a covert approach for the stealthy savage. His 
 lordship was considered a great chief, whose scalp would 
 be an inestimable trophy for an Indian warrior. Fears 
 were entertained, therefore, by his friends, that an attempt 
 would be made to surprise him in his greenwood castle. 
 His nephew. Colonel Martin of the militia, who resided 
 with him, suggested the expediency of a removal to the 
 lower settlements, beyond Blue Ridge. The high-spirited 
 old nobleman demurred; his heart cleaved to the home 
 which he had formed for himself in the wilderness. 'I 
 am an old man,' said he, 'and it is of little importance 
 whether I fall by the tomahawk or die of disease and old 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 309 
 
 age ; but you are young, and, it is to be hoped, have many 
 years before you, therefore decide for us both; my only 
 fear is, that if we retire, the whole district will break up 
 and take to flight ; and this fine country, which I have been 
 at such cost and trouble to improve, will again become 
 a wilderness.' 
 
 " Colonel Martin took but a short time to deliberate. 
 He knew the fearless character of his uncle, and perceived 
 what was his inclination. He considered that his lordship 
 had numerous retainers, white and black, with hardy hunts- 
 men and foresters to rally round him, and that Greenway 
 Court was at no great distance from Winchester; he de- 
 cided, therefore, that they should remain and abide the 
 course of events." 
 
 To Lord Fairfax, April 19th, Washington wrote : 
 
 " Unless I can throw some ammunition into Edwards's 
 Fort to-night, the remainder of our party, and the inhab- 
 itants that are there, will more than probably fall a sacri- 
 fice to the Indians, as the bearer, who came off with the 
 enclosed, assures me that the fort was surrounded, and 
 that an assault was expected to-day."] 
 
 They had waylaid and massacred scouting parties. They 
 had attacked forts. In a skirmish they had routed a party 
 of Americans and had killed Captain Mercer. They had 
 also slain other military officers, and they had robbed and 
 murdered occupants of villages and plantations but a few 
 miles from large towns, and even within twenty miles of 
 the Commander-in-Chief's headquarters at Winchester. 
 
 The whole frontier of Virginia for the distance of more 
 than 350 miles was exposed to the encroachments of the 
 savages. And the sufferings of the settlers, throughout 
 that range of border territory, were peculiarly afflictive at 
 this crisis. Their once happy homes were now haunted by 
 continual apprehensions of scenes of blood. While at the 
 
310 WASHINGTON. 
 
 plough or while gathering the fruits yielded by their 
 orchards or gardens they were liable to be surprised by the 
 demoniac red man, seen coming at a distance, or discov- 
 ered lurking behind trunks of trees, or crouching in high 
 grass and among underwood. The cheerful harvest song 
 of the borderer might, at any moment, be interrupted and 
 hushed by the Indian whoop or yell. And the engaging 
 pictures of rural domestic life, afforded by the mother at 
 her spinning-wheel or in her household duties, her children 
 in their gleeful sports, and her infant in the cradle, might 
 suddenly be transformed into tragic scenes of blood, which 
 none but fiends in the human form could have the heart 
 to create or could look upon without remorse. 
 
 At the signal of Indians coming the borderers would 
 sometimes be able to flee unharmed, but it was to surrender 
 life's comforts and often common necessaries. They might 
 resort for protection, as they frequently did, to stockade 
 forts, but there, surrounded by their pursuers, they were 
 generally reduced to extreme thirst and hunger, and on at- 
 tempting to escape for their lives, were hunted down and 
 slain. And to these evils were added those of captivity 
 and torture, for the fierce and bloodthirsty red man of the 
 woods seizes ruthlessly and indiscriminately men, women, 
 children, and even tender babes, and, not content with 
 slaughter, deHghts at times in protracted merciless cruelty, 
 and exults at shrieks of anguish extorted from his victims. 
 The want of suitable legislative measures providing for 
 this state of things was felt and lamented. Unfurnished 
 with the necessary men and means for defense the com- 
 mander-in-chief appealed to Governor Dinwiddie in touch- 
 ing terms. In one of his appeals he uses these glowing 
 words: " Your honor may see to what unhappy straits the 
 distressed inhabitants and myself are reduced. I am too 
 little acquainted, sir, with pathetic language, to attempt a 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 311 
 
 description of the people's distresses, though I have a 
 generous soul sensible of wrongs and swelling for redress. 
 But what can I do? If bleeding, dying! would glut their 
 insatiate revenge, I would be a willing offering to savage 
 fury, and die by inches to save a people. I see their situa- 
 tion, know their danger, and participate their sufferings, 
 without having it in my power to give them further relief 
 than uncertain promises. In short, I see inevitable de- 
 struction in so clear a light that unless vigorous measures 
 are taken by the Assembly and speedy assistance sent 
 from below, the poor inhabitants that are now in forts 
 must unavoidably fall while the remainder are fleeing be- 
 fore the barbarous foe. 
 
 " In fine, the melancholy situation of the people, the 
 little prospect of assistance, the gross and scandalous 
 abuse cast upon the officers in general, which is reflecting 
 upon me in particular, for suffering misconduct of such 
 extraordinary kinds, and the distant prospect, if any, of 
 gaining honor and 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 dan- 
 ger, to resign, without one hesitating moment, a command 
 from which I never expect to reap either honor 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 ! 
 
 " The supplicating tears of the women, and moving peti- 
 tions of the men, melt me into such deadly sorrow that I 
 solemnly declare, if I know my own mind, I could offer 
 myself a willing sacrifice to the butchering enemy, provided 
 that would contribute to the people's ease. 
 
 [" Lord Fairfax has ordered men from the adjacent 
 counties, but when they will come, or in what numbers, I 
 cannot pretend to determine. If I may judge from the sue- 
 
31^ . WASHINGTON, 
 
 cess we have met with here, I have but little hopes, as 
 three days incessant endeavors have produced but 20 men. 
 
 " I have too often urged my opinion for vigorous meas- 
 ures ; therefore I shall only add, that, besides the accounts 
 you will receive in the letters, we are told from all parts 
 that the woods seem to be alive with Indians, who feast 
 upon the fat of the land. As we have not more than a 
 barrel or two of powder at this place (Winchester), the 
 rest being at Fort Cumberland, I could wish your Honor 
 would send some up. I have written to Alexandria and 
 Fredericksburg, desiring that two barrels may be sent 
 from each place, but whether there is any at either, I 
 know not. I have sent orders to Captain Harrison to 
 be diligent on the waters where he is posted, and to use 
 his utmost endeavors to protect the people; and, if possi- 
 ble, to surprise the enemy at their sleeping places Ashby's 
 letter is a very extraordinary one (reporting that 400 In- 
 dians had demanded the surrender of his fort, 1500 had 
 gone to Fort Cumberland and 2000 to the Juniata). The 
 design of the Indians was only, in my opinion, to intimi- 
 date him into a surrender. For which reason I have writ- 
 ten him word, that if they do attack him, he must defend 
 that place to the last extremity, and when he is bereft of 
 hope, then to lay a train to blow up the fort, and retire 
 by night to Fort Cumberland. A small fort, which we 
 have at the mouth of Patterson's Creek, containing an 
 officer and 30 men guarding stores, was attacked smartly 
 by the French and Indians ; they were as warmly received, 
 upon which they retired. Our men at present are dis- 
 persed into such small bodies, guarding the people and 
 public stores, that we are not able to make, or even form 
 a body."]* 
 
 His heartfelt concern for the people's welfare could not 
 * Letter to Governor Dinwiddie, April 22, 1756. 
 
UFE AND TIMES. 313 
 
 find utterance in words more glowing. He was willing to 
 surrender his life for their sake. Yet at the very period 
 when thus, in the spirit of the Roman Decii, he was in- 
 dulging intense emotions of self-sacrifice, his feelings were 
 subjected to a severe torture. A plot was formed to efTect 
 his removal from his post. Numerous reports to the dis- 
 credit of the army, the officers, and the commander, were 
 industriously circulated through the columns of a news- 
 paper. 
 
 The keen sensibilities of the commander were of course 
 deeply wounded, especially as the authors of the libelous 
 reports did not meet with prompt rebukes in his behalf. 
 Indulging the noble independence of his mind he thought 
 of at once resigning his commission. This was the secret 
 hope of his calumniators. But it was doomed to bitter 
 disappointment. The faction which sought by means of 
 his retirement and of their favor with their Scotch country- 
 man. Governor Dinwiddie, to gain rank and emolument, 
 was detected and rewarded to the full measure with deserved 
 obloquy, and Colonel Washington gave free utterance to 
 such sentiments as the occasion demanded and caused his 
 merits to shine with increased luster. Robinson, the 
 Speaker of the House of Burgesses, said : *' Our hopes. 
 Dear George, are all fixed on you for bringing our affairs 
 to a happy issue. Consider of what fatal consequences 
 to your country your resigning the command at this time 
 may be; more especially as there is no doubt that most 
 of the officers would follow your example. I hope you 
 will allow your ruling passion, the love of your country, 
 to stifle your resentment at least till the arrival of Lord 
 Loudoun, or the meeting of the Assembly, when you 
 may be sure of having justice done. Who those of 
 your pretended friends are who give credit to the ma- 
 licious reflections in that scandalous libel I assure you I 
 
314 WASHINGTON. 
 
 am ignorant; and I do declare that I never heard any man 
 of honor or reputation speak the least disrespectful of you, 
 or censure your conduct, and there is no well-wisher of his 
 country that would not be greatly concerned to hear of 
 your resigning." 
 
 An affectionate friend wrote to him : " You cannot but 
 know that nothing but want of power in your country has 
 prevented it from adding every honor and reward that per- 
 fect merit could have entitled itself to. How are we grieved 
 to hear Col. George Washington hinting to his country 
 that he is willing to retire! Give me leave, as your most 
 intimate friend, to persuade you to forget that anything 
 has been said to your dishonor; and recollect that it could 
 not have come from any man that knew you. And as it 
 may have been the artifice of one in no esteem among your 
 countrymen to raise in you such unjust suspicions as would 
 induce you to desert the cause that his own preferment 
 might meet with no obstacle, I am confident you will 
 endeavor to give us the good effects, not only of duty but 
 of great cheerfulness and satisfaction in such a service. 
 No, sir; rather let Braddock's bed be your aim than any- 
 thing that might discolor those laurels which I promise 
 myself are kept in store for you."* 
 
 Another friend wrote : " From my constant attendance 
 in the House (of Burgesses), I can with great truth say, 
 I never heard your conduct questioned. Whenever you 
 are mentioned, it is with the greatest respect. Your or- 
 ders and instructions appear in a light worthy of the most 
 experienced officer. I can assure you that a very great 
 majority of the House prefer you to any other person." 
 
 Colonel William Fairfax, a member of the Governor's 
 council, thus eloquently appealed to him : " Your endeavors 
 in the service and defense of your country must redound 
 
 * Letter from Landon Carter. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 315 
 
 to your honor; therefore do not let any unavoidable inter- 
 ruptions sicken your mind in the attempts you may pursue. 
 Your good health and fortune are the toast of every table. 
 Among the Romans, such a general acclamation and pub- 
 lic regard, shown to any of their chieftains, were always 
 esteemed a high honor and gratefully accepted."* 
 
 [Sparks says of this plot against Washington: **^The 
 Governor, being a Scotchman, was surrounded by a knot 
 of Caledonian friends, who wished to profit by this alli- 
 ance, and obtain for themselves a larger share of consid- 
 eration than they could command in the present order of 
 things. The discontented, and such as thought their 
 merits undervalued, naturally fell into this faction. To 
 create dissatisfaction in the army, and cause the officers 
 to resign from disgust, would not only distract the coun- 
 sels of the ruling party, but make room for new promo- 
 tions. Colonel Innes, the governor's favorite, would 
 ascend to the chief command, and the subordinate places 
 would be reserved for his adherents. Hence false rumors 
 were set afloat, and the pen of detraction was busy to dis- 
 seminate them. Stories were circulated to the disparage- 
 ment of the army, charging the officers with gross irregu- 
 larities and neglect of duty, and indirectly throwing the 
 blame upon the commander. A malicious person filled a 
 gazette with tales of this sort, which seemed for the mo- 
 ment to receive public countenance. But the artifice was 
 easily seen through, and its aims were defeated, by the 
 leaders on the patriotic side, who looked to Colonel Wash- 
 ington as a pillar of support to their cause."] 
 
 These powerful appeals addressed to the noble and gen- 
 erous mind of Washington could not fail of success. He 
 continued in his office. And he was even cheered to pur- 
 sue its duties with increased alacrity. 
 
 * Letter to Washington, 
 
316 WASHINGTON. 
 
 At this time (1756) the Assembly resolved to increase 
 the army to 1,500 men and to estabHsh a Hne of twenty- 
 three forts which, extending from the Potomac to North 
 CaroHna, would constitute a frontier defense for about 300 
 miles. But this, in the opinion of the commander, was an 
 inadequate provision for the existing exigency. He urged 
 the House of Burgesses to increase the army to 2,000 men. 
 He pointed to the great extent of the frontier to be pro- 
 tected; he pointed to the forts which required to be gar- 
 risoned; and he pointed to the inhabitants of the border 
 country retiring before the enemy until they were about 
 even to cross the Blue Ridge. 
 
 The powerful eloquence of his appeal was not without 
 effect. There prevailed a general and intense feeling. The 
 Burgesses requested the Governor to summon half the 
 militia of the adjoining counties to co-operate in meeting 
 the fearful emergency. And the Attorney-General, Mr. 
 Peyton Randolph, in the ardor of his military zeal on the 
 occasion, formed a company of 100 gentlemen to act as 
 volunteers in the approaching campaign. His conduct was 
 an expressive indication of the spirit of the times. But the 
 measure which he adopted was evidently far more credit- 
 able to his heart than to his head. Judge Marshall, allud- 
 ing to the incident, very judidiously observes " Ten well- 
 trained woodsmen or Indians would have rendered more 
 service." 
 
 The House of Burgesses' scheme to establish a line of 
 forts from the Potomac to North Carolina was disapproved 
 of by the Governor. Washington, also, for reasons which 
 he assigned, preferred a few strong to many feeble gar- 
 risons ; yet in obedience to the Assembly's will he planned 
 and constructed the proposed military works. In doing 
 this however he encountered many and perplexing annoy- 
 ances, arising chiefly from Governor Dinwiddie's exer- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 317 
 
 cise of his prerogative in military matters, and from the 
 Governor of Maryland's deranging the Virginia Assembly's 
 plans. 
 
 To provide eflfectually for relief from all existing evils 
 Washington sent a full narrative of the state of things to 
 the Earl of Loudoun, who had succeeded General Shirley 
 as commander-in-chief, and was then at New York. It 
 was the first intention of Lord Loudoun to go to Virginia. 
 This intention however he did not fulfill. But he held at 
 Philadelphia a meeting of the Governors of Pennsylvania, 
 Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. Washington, who 
 was present at the meeting, was favorably regarded by the 
 Governors in their consultations. 
 
 It was his wish that the Virginia troops should be put 
 upon the regular establishment and that he and his officers 
 should hold royal commissions. In this wish however he 
 was disappointed; yet, by an arrangement agreeable to 
 him, he and all the provincial officers not comprehended 
 in the northern army, were to conduct their operations 
 under the general orders of Colonel Stanwix, an accom- 
 plished British officer stationed in the interior of Penn- 
 sylvania, and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the mid- 
 dle and southern provinces. 
 
 The thoughts of the Governors were directed particu- 
 larly toward Canada and the northern lakes, and they re- 
 solved to take no ofifensive measures in the South. Fort 
 Cumberland, being situated in Maryland, they agreed to 
 commit to that province's keeping. The defense of Vir- 
 ginia against savages was to be provided for by Colonel 
 Stanwix. 
 
 It was a welcome communication which Washington re- 
 ceived from Governor Dinwiddie, instructing him to look 
 to the British colonel for orders. " Colonel Stanwix," said 
 the Governor, " being appointed commander-in-chief, you 
 
318 WASHINGTON. 
 
 must submit to his orders without regard to any you may 
 receive from me; he being near the place can direct affairs 
 better than I can." 
 
 The intercourse of Washington with this accompHshed 
 mihtary officer was always of the most agreeable nature. 
 Colonel Stanwix was a gentlemen of education and refine- 
 ment. He was promoted in the year 1758 to the rank of 
 brigadier-general, and, being sent to an important post at 
 the head of boat navigation on the Mohawk, he built a 
 fort there, called, in honor of his name. Fort Stanwix. 
 This military work, afterward called Fort Schuyler, was 
 greatly celebrated during the Revolutionary War. 
 
 [The extraordinary interest and importance of the pas- 
 sage in Washington's life covering his military service on 
 the frontiers to the west and northwest of Virginia, are 
 very inadequately shown by any narrative of the general 
 facts, without large reproduction of his own account of 
 particulars. The interest, in fact, of what he said, in vari- 
 ous letters and elaborate communications, far exceeds 
 that of anything that was done, and it is most surprising 
 that no story of the years 1756 and 1757, in his own words, 
 has ever been attempted. That story we add here as 
 of the greatest importance for knowledge of Washington 
 at 24 and 25 years of age. 
 
 April 24, 1756, Washington wrote from Winchester to 
 Governor Dinwiddle: 
 
 " Not an hour, nay scarcely a minute passes, that does 
 not produce fresh alarms and melancholy accounts; so 
 that I am distracted what to do. Nor is it possible for 
 me to give the people the necessary assistance for their 
 defense, upon account of the small number we have, or 
 are likely to be here for some time. The inhabitants are 
 removing daily, and in a short time will leave this county 
 as desolate as Hampshire, where scarce a family lives. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 319 
 
 " Three families were murdered the night before last 
 within 12 miles from this place; and every day we have 
 accounts of such cruelties and barbarities as are shocking 
 to human nature. Nor is it possible to conceive the situa- 
 tion of this miserable country. Such numbers of French 
 and Indians are all around, no road is safe to travel; 
 and here we know not the hour how soon we may be 
 attacked. 
 
 " I have written for the militia of Fairfax, Prince Wil- 
 liam, and Culpeper (counties), and expect them here in 
 a very few days. But how they are to be supplied with 
 ammunition and provision, I am quite at a loss. The 
 distance of Fort Cumberland from^ us, where these sup- 
 plies are, renders them useless, in a manner, and puts 
 us to the greatest straits; and the inhabitants leaving their 
 farms will make it impossible for the militia to subsist 
 without provisions, which are now very scarce, and will 
 be more so. I should therefore be glad your Honor 
 would send up arms, ammunition, and provisions, and 
 give immediate orders for the Irish beef at Alexandria, 
 which cannot be had without your consent. 
 
 " Your Honor spoke of sending some Indians to our 
 assistance, in which no time should be lost, nor means 
 omitted to engage all the Catawbas and Qierokees that 
 can possibly be gathered together, and immediately dis- 
 patched hither. For without Indians to oppose Indians, 
 we may expect but small success. And I should think 
 it no bad scheme, (while the Indians remain here in such 
 numbers,) to have a detachment sent out with some 
 friendly Indians to make an attempt upon their towns, — 
 though this should be executed with all imaginable secrecy. 
 
 **I have been just now informed, that numbers about 
 the neighborhood hold councils and cabals to very dis- 
 honorable purposes, and unworthy the thoughts of a Brit- 
 
320 WASHINGTON. 
 
 ish subject. Despairing of assistance and protection from 
 below (as they foolishly conjecture), they talk of capitu- 
 lating and coming upon terms with the French and 
 Indians, rather than lose their lives and fortunes through 
 obstinacy. My force, at present, is very weak, and un- 
 able to take the necessary measures with those suspected; 
 but, as soon as the militia arrive, be assured I will do 
 my utmost to detect and secure such pests of society, 
 if my information is not groundless, which I should be 
 pleased to tind so." 
 
 Reporting that a council of war had determined that 
 " Enoch's " fort should be abandoned and that all of the 
 garrison possible to be spared at Fort Edwards should 
 march to Winchester; and also that there had been a 
 fight with the French and Indians at Fort Hopewell, on 
 the South Branch, with the waters so high that assist- 
 ance could not be sent, — Washington added: 
 
 " From these and other circumstances, you may form 
 but a faint idea of the wretched and unhappy situation 
 of this country, nor can it be conceived. 
 
 " My extreme hurry, confusion, and anxiety must 
 plead an excuse for incorrectness, &c." 
 
 To John Robinson, Speaker of the House of Burgesses, 
 an ardent friend, and the recognized political chief of the 
 colony, Washington wrote the same day, from Winchester: 
 
 " The deplorable situation of this people is no more 
 to be described than mty anxiety and uneasiness for their 
 relief. And I see in so clear a light the inevitable de- 
 struction of this county without immediate assistance, 
 that I cannot look forward but with the most poignant 
 sorrow. 
 
 "You may expect, by the time this comes to hand, 
 that, without a considerable reinforcement, Frederick 
 county will not be mistress of fifteen families. They are 
 
SAMUEL ADAMS. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 321 
 
 now retreating to the securest parts in droves of fifties. 
 In short, everything has too melancholy an appearance 
 for pen to communicate. I have therefore sent an officer, 
 whose good sense and judicious observations will be a 
 more effectual way of transmitting an account of the peo- 
 ple's distresses. 
 
 " I wish the Assembly had given 2000 men, instead of 
 1500, and that I had been acquainted with the dispositions 
 they intended to make. Since I am ignorant of this, I 
 hope it will not be thought presuming when I offer my 
 sentiments upon the subject. 
 
 " We are. Sir, first to consider, that if a chain of forts 
 is to be erected upon our frontiers, it is done with a de- 
 sign to protect the people. Therefore, if these forts are 
 more than 15 and 18 miles, or a day's march, asunder, and 
 garrisoned with less than 80 or 100 men each, the intention 
 is lost, and for these reasons, ist, if they are greater dis- 
 tances, it is inconvenient for the soldiers to scout, and 
 allows the enemy to pass between without being easily dis- 
 covered, and when discovered so soon pursued. And sec- 
 ondly, if they are garrisoned with less than 80 or 100 men 
 each, the number will be too few to afford detachments. 
 Then, again, our frontiers are so extensive, that, were the 
 enemy to attack us on the one side, before the trocp? on 
 the other could get to their assistance, they might overrun 
 and destroy half the country. And it is more than proba- 
 ble, if they had a design upon the first, they would make 
 a feint upon the other. Then we are to consider what 
 sums the building of 20 forts would cost, and the remov- 
 ing stores and provisions to each; and in the last place, 
 we are to consider where and when this expense is to 
 end. For, if we do not endeavor to remove the cause, 
 we are as Hable to the same incursions seven years hence 
 21 
 
322 WASHINGTON, 
 
 as now, if the war continues, and they are allowed to re- 
 main on the Ohio. 
 
 " I shall next give the reasons, which I think make 
 for a defensive plan. If the neighboring Colonies refuse 
 us their assistance, we have neither strength or abilities 
 of ourselves to conduct an expedition; or, if we had, and 
 were the whole to join us, I do not see to what pur- 
 pose, since we have neither a train of artillery, artillery- 
 men, engineers, &c., to execute any scheme beyond the 
 mountains against a regular fortress. Again, we have 
 not, that I can see either stores or provisions, arms or 
 ammunition, wagons or horses, in any degree propor- 
 tioned to the service; and to undertake an affair, where 
 we are sure to fall through, would be productive of the 
 worst consequences, and another defeat would entirely 
 lose us the interest of every Indian. 
 
 " If, then, we cannot act offensively with a prospect 
 of success, we must be upon the defensive; and that there 
 is no way to protect the people, or save ourselves, but 
 by a chain of forts, is evidently certain. 
 
 " I would beg leave, in that case, to propose that there 
 should be a strong fort erected at this place (Winches- 
 ter) for a general receptacle of all the stores, &c., and 
 a place of residence for the commanding officers, to be 
 garrisoned with one company for the security of the 
 stores, and to serve as escorts for all wagons that are 
 going higher up, because it is the most public and most 
 convenient for intelligence of any in the country, and the 
 most convenient to the part that will ever be attacked by 
 numbers, it lying directly on the road to Fort Duquesne, 
 from whence, and their Indian allies, who are still higher 
 up, we have the greatest reason to apprehend danger. It 
 also lies convenient to the inhabitants for raising the mili- 
 tia when occasion requires. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 323 
 
 " I have found by experience, that being just within the 
 inhabitants is absolutely necessary to give orders for the 
 defense of the people; and that Fort Cumberland is of no 
 more use towards the defence of the country than Fort 
 George at Hampton, and know as little what is doing, 
 For the people so soon as they are alarmed, immediately 
 fly towards, and at this time there is not an inhabitant 
 living between here and Fort Cumberland, except a few 
 settlements upon the Manor about a fort we built there, 
 and a few families at Edwards's, on Cacapehon, with a 
 guard of ours; which makes this very town at present the 
 outmost frontiers, and though a place trifling in itself, 
 is yet of the utmost importance, as it commands the com- 
 munication from east to west, as well as from north to 
 south; for at this place do almost all the roads center; 
 and secures the great roads of one half of our frontiers 
 to the markets of the neighboring colonies, as well as 
 to those on Rappahannock and Potomack. At Fort Cum- 
 berland I would have one company garrisoned to secure 
 the place, to procure the earliest intelligence, and to cover 
 all detachments that may be sent towards the Ohio, 
 which is all the use that it can ever be of. In the next 
 place, I would propose, that a good fort should be erected 
 between this and Fort Cumberland, which shall be in a 
 line with the chain of forts across the country, and be 
 garrisoned with two companies. This I would advise, 
 because, as I before observed, if we are ever attacked 
 by a large body, it must be here, as they have no other 
 road to our frontiers, either to transport men or neces- 
 saries. 
 
 " These three forts that I have already spoken of will em- 
 ploy four companies, which will be a tolerable body, if the 
 companies are large, which they would be according to the 
 plan I sent you. And it would be a trifling expense to 
 
324 WASHINGTON. 
 
 augment each company to lOO privates, which will make 
 2000 exclusive of officers, which were included in the 
 scheme last sent. 
 
 " After this is done, I would post the remaining com- 
 panies equidistant, or at proper passes, along our fron- 
 tiers, agreeable to the enclosed sketch, and order com- 
 munications to be opened between fort and fort, and large 
 detachments scouting to discover the tracks of the enemy. 
 
 " And now, Sir, one thing to add, which requires the 
 Assembly's attention, and that is, in what vale, or upon 
 what part of our frontiers these forts are to be built? 
 For I am to tell you that the Great Ridge or North Moun- 
 tain, so called in Evans's map, to which I refer, is now 
 become our exterior bound, there not being one inhabitant 
 beyond that on all the Potomack waters, except a few 
 families on the South Branch, and at Joseph Edwards's, 
 on Cacapehon, guarded by a party of ours. So that it 
 requires some consideration to determine whether we are 
 to build near this to protect the present inhabitants; or 
 on the South Branch, or Patterson's Creek, in the hopes 
 of drawing back those who have forsaken their dwellings. 
 
 " If we do not build there, that country will ever want 
 settlers; and if we do, there is so great a blank, with such 
 a series of mountains between, that it will be next to im- 
 possible to guard the people effectually. I could again 
 wish that the Assembly had given 2000 men, exclusive of 
 officers, to be formed into two battalions of ten companies 
 each, with four field officers. Indeed, 1500 men are a 
 greater number than ever was in a regiment of only one 
 battalion, and they should be divided into two, with four 
 field officers, who should be posted so as to have the im- 
 mediate care of a certain number of forts, with orders to 
 draw from one to another, as occasion should require. 
 
 " I could add more on this subject, but I am so hurried 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 325 
 
 that I am obliged to refer for further particulars to the 
 bearer, who will tell you that, to carry on all these works, 
 a number of tools, as well as many other necessaries, will 
 be absolutely wanted. 
 
 " I have given my opinion with candor, and submit to 
 correction with the greatest pleasure. Confusion and 
 hurry must apoligize for the incoherence and incorrect- 
 ness hereof." 
 
 In the same letter to Robinson, Washington said: 
 
 " I am sorry to hear the reflections upon the conduct 
 of the officers. I could wish that their names had been 
 particularized, that justice might be done to the inno- 
 cent and guilty! for it is extremely hard, that the whole 
 corps should suffer the most ungenteel reproaches for the 
 inadvertence and misconduct of a few." 
 
 The orders of Washington were as strict as language 
 could make them, and as severe in the penalties threat- 
 ened as could be ventured. A soldier found drunk was 
 liable to lOO lashes, and one presuming to quarrel or 
 fight to 500 lashes, — a figure more meant for terror by 
 threat than for execution. 
 
 April 27, 1756, in a second letter to Robinson, Wash- 
 ington added further observations on the defense of the 
 frontiers by a chain of forts. Thus he said: 
 
 '* If the province of Maryland makes no provision for 
 its frontiers, we shall have a long, unguarded space quite 
 open and defenceless from Wills Creek to the mouth of 
 Shanandoah, where the enemy may have, and have already 
 given proof of, free egress and regress in crossing Poto- 
 mack; plundering, burning, murdering and destroying all 
 before them. It is matter of moment, and worthy the 
 Assembly's notice. For we must secure that weak side, 
 if our neighbors are so indifferent as to disregard their 
 own safety, because of its connexion with ours. In this 
 
326 WASHINGTON. 
 
 case the number of forts will be increased to two or three 
 more. Another material point to be regarded by the As- 
 sembly, and of very great importance to the inhabitants, 
 is the situation of these forts intended along the frontiers. 
 As I mentioned to you before, placing them on the for- 
 mer utmost frontiers would be of small service to defend 
 the present frontier settlements, now so remote from the 
 former. 
 
 '* I would again urge the necessity of a large and strong 
 fort at this town. It being the center of all the public 
 roads, it will be the sole refuge for the inhabitants upon 
 any alarm. Had such a place of defence been here, it 
 would have hindered some hundreds of famiHes from mov- 
 ing further than this that are now lost to the country. 
 The women and children might have been secure, while 
 the men would have gone in a body against the savages, 
 whereas the number of men now left is so small that no 
 assistance or defence can be made to any purpose. Win- 
 chester is now the farthest boundary of this county — no 
 inhabitants beyond it; and if measures are not taken to 
 maintain it, we must retire below the Blue Ridge in a 
 very short time. Should this panic and fear continue, 
 not a soul will be left on this side the Ridge; and what 
 now remain are collected in small forts (out of which 
 there is no prevailing on them to stir) and every planta- 
 tion deserted. 
 
 ** I have exerted every power for the protection and 
 peace of this distressed, unhappy people, and used my 
 utmost to persuade them to continue, until assistance 
 come, though to little efifect. I have repeatedly urged 
 Lord Fairfax to send for the miHtia of the adjacent coun- 
 ties, and have sent myself several expresses to hurry 
 them on." 
 
 In pursuance of the urgent advice thus given, a fort 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 327 
 
 was ordered to be built at Winchester for the defense of 
 Frederick county. Another letter of the same date (April 
 27, 1756), addressed to Governor Dinwiddie, Washing- 
 ton said: 
 
 '' Desolation and murder still increase, and no pros- 
 pects of relief. The Blue Ridge is now our frontier, no 
 men being left in this county, except a few that keep close 
 with a number of women and children in forts, which 
 they have erected for that purpose. There are now no 
 militia in this county; when there were they could not 
 be brought to action. If the inhabitants of the adjacent 
 counties pursue the same system of disobedience, the 
 whole must fall an inevitable sacrifice; and there is room 
 to fear they have caught the infection, since I have sent 
 (besides divers letters to Lord Fairfax) express after ex- 
 press to hurry them on, and yet have no tidings of their 
 march. We have the greatest reason to believe that the 
 number of the enemy is very considerable, and as they are 
 spread all over this part of the country; and that their 
 success, and the spoils with which they have enriched 
 themselves, dished up with a good deal of French policy, 
 will encourage the Indians of distant nations to fall upon 
 our inhabitants in greater numbers, and, if possible, with 
 greater rapidity. They enjoy the sweets of a profitable 
 war, and will no doubt improve the success which ever 
 must attend their arms, without we have Indians to op- 
 pose theirs. I would therefore advise, as I often have 
 done, that there should be neither trouble nor expense 
 omitted to bring the few who are still inclined into our 
 service, and that too with the greatest care and expedition. 
 A small number, just to point out the wiles and tracks of 
 the enemy, is better than none; for which reason I must 
 earnestly recommend that those who accompanied Major 
 Lewis should be immediately sent up, and such of the 
 
328 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Catawbas as can be engaged in our interest. If such an- 
 other torrent as this has been, (or may be ere it is done,) 
 should press upon our settlements, there will not be a 
 living creature left in Frederick county; and how soon 
 Fairfax and Prince William may share its fate is easily 
 conceived, if we only consider a cruel and bloodthirsty 
 enemy, conquerors already possessed of the finest parts 
 of Virginia, plenteously filled with all kinds of provisions, 
 pursuing a people overcome with fear and consternation 
 at the inhuman murders of these barbarous savages. 
 
 " The inhabitants, who are now in forts, are greatly 
 distressed for the want of ammunition and provision, and 
 are incessantly importuning me for both; neither of which 
 have I at this place to spare. To hear the cries of the 
 hungry, who have fled for refuge to these places, with 
 nothing more than they carry on their backs, is exceed- 
 ingly moving. 
 
 " I have been formerly, and am at present, pretty full 
 in offering my opmion and counsel upon matters which 
 regard the public interest and safety. These have been 
 solely the object of all my thoughts, words, and actions; 
 and, in order to avoid censure in every part of my con- 
 duct, I make it a rule to obey the dictates of your Honor, 
 the Assembly, and a good conscience." 
 
 May 3, 1756, Washington wrote to Governor Din- 
 widdle from Winchester: 
 
 '' We have some reason to believe the Indians are re- 
 turned to Fort Duquesne, as some scouts from Fort Cum- 
 berland saw their tracks that way; and many corroborat- 
 ing accounts affirm that the roads over the Alleghaney 
 mountains are as much beaten as they were last year by 
 General Braddock's army. From these and other cir- 
 cumstances we may judge their numbers were considera- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 329 
 
 ble. Whether they are gone for the season, or only to 
 bring in a larger party, I am at a loss to determine. 
 
 " Though I have often troubled you on this head, I 
 must again beg leave to desire your particular instruc- 
 tions, and information of what is to be done, as, being 
 in a state of uncertainty, without knowing the plan of 
 operations, or what scheme to go upon, reduces me to 
 the greatest straits, and leaves me to guess at everything. 
 Orders that are absolutely necessary to be despatched to 
 the officers one day, appear the next as necessary to be 
 contradicted. * * * So much am I kept in the dark 
 that I do not know whether to prepare for the offensive 
 or defensive; and what might be absolutely necessary in 
 the one would be quite useless in the other. 
 
 " There are now in town about 150 of the Fairfax mili- 
 tia; 300 are expected from Prince William; and with the 
 soldiers and militia now here, I intend to go out and 
 scour the woods hereabouts for three or four days until 
 the others arrive. 
 
 " I want very much to go to Fort Cumberland to regu- 
 late affairs there, but fear I cannot spare time, as my 
 presence will be very necessary here. 
 
 *' Clothes for the men are very much wanted. There 
 are none in store, and some men, who have been en- 
 listed these two months, to whom we could give nothing 
 but a blanket, shoes, and shirt, are justly dissatisfied at 
 having two pence per day stopped from them [out of a 
 wage of eight pence per day, the purpose being to pay 
 for clothes]. Provision here is scarce, and the commis- 
 sary much wanted to lay in more. I have been, and still 
 am, obliged to do this duty, as well as most others, which 
 I would take upon me, rather than let anything be want- 
 ing for the good of the country, which I could do." 
 
 Colonel William Fairfax, Washington's early friend, 
 
330 WASHINGTON. 
 
 wrote to him at this time in regard to the trouble he had 
 with the mihtia assembled at Winchester: 
 
 " I am sensible that such a medley of undisciplined mili- 
 tia must create you various troubles, but, having Caesar's 
 Commentaries, and perhaps Quintus Curtius, you have 
 therein read of greater fatigues, murmurings, mutinies, 
 and defections, than will probably come to your share; 
 though, if any of those casualties should interrupt your 
 quiet, I doubt not you would bear them with a magnanim- 
 ity equal to that of any of the heroes of those times. The 
 Council and Burgesses are mostly your friends; so that 
 if you have not always particular instructions from the 
 Governor, which you think necessary and desire, the omis- 
 sion, or neglect, may proceed from the confidence enter- 
 tained in your ability and discretion to do what is fit and 
 praiseworthy." 
 
 May 23, 1756, Washington wrote to Governor Dinwid- 
 die from Winchester: 
 
 " The spirit of desertion was so remarkable in the mili- 
 tia, that it had a surprising effect upon the regiment, and 
 encouraged many of the soldiers to desert. 
 
 " I found it absolutely impossible to go to Fort Cum- 
 berland at this time, without letting matters of greater 
 importance suffer in my absence here; such a multiplicity 
 of different kinds of business am I engaged in. 
 
 " I am heartily glad your Honor has fixed upon the 
 gentlemen Associators to point out the place for erect- 
 ing of forts, but am sorry to find their motions so slow. 
 
 " Your Honor approved the scheme I sent down for 
 forming the regiment into two battalions of twenty com- 
 panies, but never gave any directions concerning the ap- 
 pointment. Nor do I think there can be any plan judi- 
 ciously concerted, until we know what number of forts are 
 to be built upon our frontiers. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 331 
 
 " At this place I have begun the fort according to your 
 orders, and found that the work would not be conducted 
 if I was away, which was one among many reasons that 
 detained me here." 
 
 The gentlemen Associators referred to in the above 
 were about one hundred leading gentlemen of the colony, 
 headed by Peyton Randolph, the Attorney-General. They 
 organized as volunteers upon the special alarm of great 
 peril on the frontier, and marched towards Winchester, 
 but undertook no further service when the alarm subsided. 
 When Robinson, the Speaker of the Assembly, gave no- 
 tice to Washington of the organization of the company 
 of gentlemen volunteers, he said further: 
 
 " The Council and House of Burgesses have agreed on 
 a representation to his Majesty, in which you and the 
 other officers are recommended to his Majesty's favor. 
 Our hopes. Dear George, are all fixed on you for bring- 
 ing our affairs to a happy issue." 
 
 Governor Dinwiddie wrote. May 28, 1756, to Major-Gen- 
 eral Abercrombie: 
 
 " As we are told the Earl of Lx)udoun is to raise three 
 regiments on this continent, on the British establishment, 
 I dearn't venture to trouble him immediately on his arri- 
 val with any recommendations; but, good Sir, give me 
 leave to pray your interest with his Lordship in favor of 
 Colonel George Washington, who, I will venture to say, 
 is a very deserving gentleman, and has from the begin- 
 ning commanded the forces of this dominion. General 
 Braddock had so high an esteem for his merit, that he 
 made him one of his aid-de-camps, and, if he had sur- 
 vived, I believe he would have provided handsomely for 
 him in the regulars. He is a person much beloved here, 
 and he has gone through many hardships in the service; 
 and I really think he has great merit, and believe he can 
 
332 WASHINGTON. 
 
 raise more men here than any one present that I know. 
 If his Lordship will be so kind as to promote him in the 
 British establishment, I think he will answer my recom- 
 mendation." 
 
 June 25, 1756, Washington wrote to Governor Din- 
 widdie from Winchester: 
 
 " I intend to take the advice of a council of war about 
 the line on which. these forts are to be erected, and shall 
 visit all the ground that I conveniently can, and direct 
 the building. 
 
 " It is a work that must be conducted tedious, for these 
 reasons: the scarcity of tools, smallness of our numbers, 
 and want of conductors. We can only attempt to build 
 fort after fort, not attempting too many at a time. 
 
 " Two hundred and forty six drafts are the total number 
 brought in, out of which number several have deserted. 
 
 " I was in hope that by garrisoning the forts with 
 part of the militia, we should have been able to have mus- 
 tered a greater number of soldiers to work upon the forts 
 that are to be built. But I am under the greatest appre- 
 hensions that all who are now up will desert. They go 
 ofif in twenties, and all threaten to return [home] if they 
 are not relieved in a very short time or discharged. 
 * * * If they should go, as I suppose they will, we 
 shall again be much exposed, and cannot defend so ex- 
 tensive a frontier. 
 
 " Governor Sharpe is building a fort on Potomac river, 
 which may be of great service towards the protection of 
 our people on that side." 
 
 In a letter of July 13, 1756, from Fort Cumberland, to 
 Captain Waggener, Washington said: 
 
 " From the great confidence I repose in your diHgence, 
 I have appointed you to a command on which much de- 
 pends; and I doubt not you will see the work carried on 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 333 
 
 with expedition. And I must particularly recommend it 
 to you to keep up a strict command, both over officers 
 and men, as you will be answerable for any delays or 
 neglect which may happen for want of due discipline; and 
 I would not wish your good nature should occasion you 
 to overlook a fault in an officer, who may be our best 
 friend. 
 
 " The Governor has ordered the militia to be discharged 
 as soon as harvest is over, since they are so unwilling to 
 continue until December." 
 
 Captain Waggener was ordered to see whether a fort 
 erected by the people would answer for a public fort, and 
 if so to garrison it; and then go on to the next place in 
 the proposed chain of forts; get all the timbers ready, and 
 by that time a plan of the kind of forts to be built would 
 reach him. 
 
 To Captain Peter Hog orders were given to attend to 
 the building of forts southward from Fort Dinwiddle 
 towards Mayo river. He was to secure at Augusta Court- 
 house expeditions calling out the miHtia of Augusta county 
 to aid the soldiers in building the forts. These orders were 
 given at Winchester, July 21, 1756; and on the same day, 
 in a letter to Captain Hog, Washington said: 
 
 " There is a part of your recruiting account which much 
 astonishes me, and I thought you nor no officer who 
 valued his character, would have presumed to have done 
 such a thing, as he must be certain it would appear as a 
 palpable fraud in him." 
 
 Washington had provided both money and provision for 
 sending to Waggener some enhsted men, and the latter 
 had charged for the subsistence of these men before he 
 received them, when he had been at no cost on their 
 account. 
 
 July 22, 1756, Washinton wrote to Captain Stewart from 
 
334 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Winchester, giving directions in regard to the construc- 
 tion of forts, and the tools which he had secured, and 
 other tools which he must borrow, hire, or buy from the 
 inhabitants. He further said: 
 
 " I have too great an opinion of your good sense and 
 discretion to think you need any admonition to induce 
 you to a diligent discharge of your duty. You see our 
 situation, know our danger, and bear witness of the peo- 
 ple's sufferings, which are sufficient excitements to a gen- 
 erous mind. 
 
 " This instant I received yours of yesterday's date, and 
 am extremely sorry that the Indians have visited us at 
 this critical juncture of harvesting, especially as it will 
 prevent your proceedings in the operations ordered. 
 
 " If you can learn from good intelligence that their num- 
 bers are great and motions designed for Virginia, endeavor 
 to give the inhabitants notice, that they may lodge their 
 women and children, and assist against the enemy. 
 
 *' If you find they are only flying parties of the Indians, 
 I would advise the settlers by no means to neglect their 
 harvest, as their whole support depends upon it, and your 
 assistance to get it in. 
 
 " I have sent you two barrels of powder, and four boxes 
 of ball. As to cartridge paper, I neither have nor can 
 get any upon any terms. You must get horns and 
 pouches, if you send over the neighborhood for them." 
 
 August 4, 1756, Washington wrote to Dinwiddle from 
 Winchester that the necessary orders and directions for 
 the chain of forts to be built on the frontiers had been 
 attended to, and plans and tools despatched with the or- 
 ders to all the officers appointed to the work. The Coun- 
 cil and himself had not wholly followed the act of the As- 
 sembly, some changes being required by the situation of 
 the country, but the scheme adopted would undoubtedly 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 335 
 
 give '' the best chain that can possibly be erected for the 
 defence of the people.'' 
 
 " I make no doubt your Honor has ere this heard of the 
 defeat of Lieutenant Rutherford of the Rangers, escort- 
 ing an express to me at Fort Cumberland, and of the das- 
 tardly behavior of the militia, who ran off without one 
 half of them having discharged their pieces, although they 
 were apprised of the ambuscade by one of their flanking 
 parties, before the Indians fired upon them; and ran back 
 to Ashby's Fort, contrary to orders, persuasions, threats, 
 &c. They are all ordered in (from detachment duty as 
 guards to the plantations), as soon as the people have se- 
 cured their harvest. Through the passive behavior of their 
 officers they have been very refractory. 
 
 " I think with the number of men we have, there is but 
 a poor prospect of our finishing our forts in time, and a 
 much worse of defending our frontiers properly, and I 
 would be glad if some expedient could be fallen upon to 
 augment it. 
 
 " There is an act of Parliament to allow all servants to 
 enlist, and the owners to be paid a reasonable allowance 
 for them. If we had this privilege, we could soon com- 
 plete the regiment. * * * If we have not this liberty 
 granted us, the servants will all run off to the regular 
 officers who are recruiting about us ; and that would be to 
 weaken our colony much. For my part I see no other 
 expedient. 
 
 " Your Honor sees plainly how little our strength has 
 been augmented by the drafts, and in three or four months 
 they are to be discharged. 
 
 " I could wish we were clear of Fort Cumberland. It 
 takes a great part of our small force to garrison it, and I 
 see no service that it is to our colony; for since the In- 
 dians have driven the inhabitants so low down, they do 
 
336 WASHINGTON. 
 
 not hestiate to follow them as far as this place. There 
 have been several families murdered, on the Maryland 
 side, this week ; and Fort Cumberland is now so much out 
 of the way that they seldom hear of those things within 
 a month after they are done. Our men want many neces- 
 saries, until the arrival of their regimentals, which cannot 
 be had without sending to Philadelphia ; and the great loss 
 we shall suffer by sending them our paper money, has 
 prevented my purchasing these things, until the men are 
 almost naked. 
 
 "We cannot afford to put up with the loss of sending, 
 paper money, which I am credibly informed may be bought 
 up in Philadelphia for fifteen per cent their currency. 
 
 " We are in great want of drums here, and none can 
 be bought. We now have many young drummers learn- 
 ing here. 
 
 " I could by no means bring the Quakers to any terms. 
 They chose rather to be whipped to death than bear arms, 
 or lend us any assistance whatever upon the fort, or any- 
 thing of self-defence. Some of their friends have been 
 security for their appearance, when they are called for; 
 and I have released them from the guard house until I 
 receive further orders from your Honor, which they have 
 agreed to apply for. 
 
 " I observe your Honor's proposal of carrying on an 
 expedition against the Ohio. I have always thought it 
 the best and only method to put a stop to the incursions 
 of the enemy, as they would then be obliged to stay at 
 home to defend their own possessions. But we are quite 
 unprepared for such an undertaking. If it is fixed upon, 
 now is the time for buying up provisions, and laying them 
 in at the most convenient place. The Pennsylvania butch- 
 ers are buying quantities of beef here, which should be put 
 a stop to, if we are to march towards the Ohio. If we 
 
LIFE AND TIMES SSt 
 
 are still to remain on the defensive, and garrison the chain 
 of forts, provisions must be laid in at each of them; and 
 I much fear, if we march from the frontiers, all the inhab- 
 itants will quit their plantations." 
 
 An English letter of May ii, 1756, to the Governor of 
 Pennsylvania, stated that the King had appointed the 
 Earl of Loudoun to succeed Governor Shirley as British 
 Commander-in-Chief for America, — a bad choice, on ac- 
 count of the Earl's incompetency. When Pitt came into 
 power he was recalled. Loudoun was empowered to raise 
 in the Colonies a Royal American regiment, to consist 
 of four battalions and be commanded by officers commis- 
 sioned by the King. Permission to enlist servants was 
 given, and the consequent recruiting made trouble with 
 the colonial service. By servants were meant whites '" in- 
 dented " to service for a term of years, not negro slaves, 
 unless in exceptional cases. The Virginia drafting of men 
 was made a farce almost by permitting a person drafted 
 to escape service upon paying iio, and by making the 
 term of service too short. The Quakers got off easily, 
 through Dinwiddle's orders to " use them with lenity," 
 merely holding them, '' at their own expense," to the end 
 of the term for which they were drafted. 
 
 August 5, 1756, Washington addressed a very long let- 
 ter to his most influential friend, John Robinson, Speaker 
 of the Assembly. In this he said : 
 
 " Captain Gist has at divers times entreated me, in the 
 most interesting manner, to intercede in his behalf, that 
 he may get the balance of his account, his distresses calling 
 aloud for all the assistance that all these sums can con- 
 tribute. I do not know really who to apply to for this 
 purpose, or whose right it is to pay the account, but it 
 is certainly wrong not to pay him at all. If a hearty zeal 
 for the interest of this colony, many losses in serving it 
 22 
 
338 WASHINGTON. 
 
 atid true distress, can recommend him to any favor, he 
 certainly merits indulgence. The Governor bids him go 
 to the Committee, and the Committee think the Governor 
 should pay it. So that the poor man suffers greatly and 
 would be glad to know his doom at once, as it has been 
 so long depending. 
 
 " I could heartily wish the Governor and Committee 
 would resolve me, whether Fort Cumberland is to be gar- 
 risoned with any of the Virginia forces or not. It lies in 
 a most defenceless posture, and I do not care to be at 
 expense in erecting new, or repairing old works, until I 
 am satisfied on this point. 
 
 " The place at present contains all our provisions and 
 valuable stores, and is not capable of an hour's defence, 
 if the enemy were to bring only one single half-pounder 
 against it ; which they might do with great ease on horse- 
 back. It lies so remote now from this, as well as the 
 neighboring inhabitants, that it requires as much force 
 to keep the communication open to it, as a fort at the 
 Meadows would do, and employs 150 men, who are a dead 
 charge to the country, as they can be of no other use than 
 just to protect and guard the stores, which might as well 
 be lodged at Cox's [on Patterson's Creek, 25 miles nearer 
 to Winchester] ; indeed better. A strong guard there 
 would not only protect the stores, but also the few re- 
 maining inhabitants at the Branch [south Branch of 
 Potomac], and at the same time waylay and annoy the 
 enemy, as they pass and repass the mountains; whereas 
 those at Fort Cumberland, lying out in a corner, quite 
 remote from the inhabitants to where the Indians always 
 repair to do their murders, can have no intelligence of 
 anything that is doing, but remain in total ignorance of 
 all transactions. When I was down I applied to the Gov- 
 ernor for his particular and positive directions in this af- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 339 
 
 fair. The following is an exact copy of his answer. — 
 ' Fort Cumberland is a King's fort, and built chiefly at 
 the charge of the colony, therefore properly under our 
 direction, until a governor is appointed.' Whether I am 
 to understand this ay or no to the question, ' Is the fort 
 to be continued ? ' — I know not. But in all important 
 matters I am directed in this ambiguous and uncertain 
 way." 
 
 In a written expression of his view Dinwiddie appears 
 as saying, " Its a King's fort and a magazine for stores ; 
 its not in my power to order it to be deserted * * * 
 at present it must be properly supported with men." 
 Robinson said on this matter in reply to Washington, 
 "The Committee were all of opinion with you, that the 
 keeping Fort Cumberland was an unnecessary expense ; 
 but, upon my mentioning their opinion to the Governor, 
 he appeared very warm, and said my Lord Loudoun 
 might do what he pleased, but for his part he would not 
 remove the garrison, or order the fort to be demolished, 
 for his right hand." 
 
 The letter of Washington to Robinson touched upon 
 other points : 
 
 " Great and inconceivable difficulties arise in the execu- 
 tion of my commands, as well as infinite loss and disrepute 
 to the service, by my not having power to pay for [the 
 return of] deserters. Many of our deserters are appre- 
 hended in Maryland, and some in Pennsylvania, and, for 
 the sake of a reward, are brought hither. But when they 
 [who bring them] are to receive certificates only, that 
 they are entitled to 200 pounds of tobacco, and those 
 certificates are to be given in to a court of claims, there 
 to lie perhaps till they are quite forgot, gives so much 
 dissatisfaction, that many, I believe, rather than appre- 
 
340 WASHINGTON, 
 
 hend one, would aid iifty to escape, and this too among 
 our own people. 
 
 *' I should be glad to know whether the act of the As- 
 sembly prohibits the forces from marching out of the col- 
 ony. If we cannot take any of the forces out of the col- 
 ony, the disadvantages the country may labor under are 
 not to be described; for the enemy may commit the most 
 unheard of cruelties, and by stepping across the Potomac 
 evade pursuit, and mock our best endeavors to scourge 
 them. 
 
 " The inconveniences that arise from paying the soldiers 
 in large bills are not to be conceived. We are obliged 
 afterwards to give the pay of two or three soldiers to one 
 man. He, ten to one, drinks, games, or pays it away; 
 by which means the parties are all dissatisfied, and per- 
 petually complaining for want of their pay. It also pre- 
 vents them from laying out their pay for absolute neces- 
 saries, and obliges them many times to drink it out; for 
 they put it into the tavern-keeper's hands, who will give 
 no change, unless they consent to take the greatest part 
 in liquor. In short, for five shillings cash you may at any 
 time purchase a month's pay from the soldiers; in such 
 contempt do they hold the currency. Besides small bills 
 (if the thing is practicable) I should be extremely glad to 
 receive some part of the money in Spanish and Portugal 
 gold and silver. There are many things wanted for the 
 use of the regiment which cannot be had here and may 
 be had at Philadelphia; but their undervaluing of our 
 [paper] money has prevented my sending thither. 
 
 ''At the repeated instances of the soldiers, I must pay 
 so much regard to their representations as to transmit 
 their complaints. They think it extremely hard, as it is 
 indeed. Sir, that they, who perhaps do more duty, and 
 undergo more fatigue and hardship, from the nature of 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 341 
 
 the service and situation of the country, than any troops 
 upon the continent, should be allowed the least pay, and 
 the smallest encouragements in other respects. The 
 CaroHnians received British pay; the Marylanders, I be- 
 lieve, do the same; Pennsylvania is exorbitant in reward- 
 ing their soldiers [i8d. a day and subsistence, to 8d. a day 
 in Virginia] ; the Jerseys and New Yorkers I do not re- 
 member what it is they give; but the New England gov- 
 ernments give more than a shilling per day, our money, 
 besides an allowance of rum, peas, tobacco, ginger, vine- 
 gar, etc., etc. 
 
 " Our soldiers complain that their pay is insufficient 
 even to furnish shoes, shirts, stockings, etc., which their 
 officers, in order to keep them fit for duty, oblige them 
 to provide. This, they say, deprives them of the means 
 of purchasing any of the necessaries of life, and obliges 
 them to drag through a disagreeable service in the most 
 disagreeable manner. That their pay will not afiford more 
 than enough (if that) to keep them in clothes, I should 
 be convinced of for these reasons, if experience had not 
 taught me. The British soldiers are allowed eight pence 
 sterling per day, with many necessaries that ours are not, 
 and can buy what is requisite upon the cheapest terms; 
 and lie one half the year in camp, or garrison, when they 
 cannot consume the fifth part of what ours do in continual 
 marches over mountains, rocks, rivers, etc. Then, Sir, 
 is it possible that our men, who receive a fourth less, have 
 two pence per day stoppages for their regimental clothing, 
 and all other stoppages that British soldiers have, and 
 are obliged, by being in continual action, to lay in triple 
 the quantity of ammunition and clothes, and at double the 
 price, should be able to clear quarters? It is not to be 
 done, and this is the reason why the men have always 
 been so naked and bare of clothes. 
 
342 WASHINGTON. 
 
 "And I dare say you will be candid enough to allow, 
 that there are few men who would choose to have their 
 lives exposed, without some view or hope of reward, to 
 the incessant assaults of a merciless enemy. 
 
 "Another thing there is which gives them great uneasi- 
 ness, and that is, seeing no regular provision made for the 
 maimed and wounded. They acknowledge the generosity 
 of the Assembly, and have the highest veneration for that 
 respectable House; they look with gratitude on the care 
 that has been taken of their brother soldiers ; but say this 
 is only an act of will, and another Assembly may be much 
 less liberal. We have no certainty that this generosity 
 may continue, consequently can have nothing in view but 
 the most gloomy prospects, and no encouragement to be 
 bold and active; and the probable effects of which are 
 wounds, which no sooner happen, and they unfit for ser- 
 vice, than they are discharged, and turned upon an un- 
 charitable world to beg, steal, or starve. In short, they 
 have a true sense of all that can happen, and do not think 
 slightly of the fatigues they encounter in scouring these 
 mountains with their provisions on their backs, lying out 
 and watching for the enemy, with no other covering or 
 conveniency, to shelter them from the inclemency of the 
 weather than trees and rocks! The old soldiers are af- 
 fected, and complain of their hardships and little encour- 
 agement, in piteous terms ; and they give these as reasons 
 for so much desertion. The money that is given in pay- 
 ing for deserters, expresses, horse-hire, losses and abuse 
 of horses, would go a great length toward advancing their 
 pay, which I hope would contribute not a little to remove 
 the cause of this expense. I would not have it here un- 
 derstood, though, that I mean to recommend anything 
 extraordinary; no, I would give them British pay, and 
 entitle them to the same privileges during their stay in 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 343 
 
 the service, and as a reward or compliment for their toil, 
 rather than a matter of right. Were the country to give 
 them one suit of regimental clothes a year, without receiv- 
 ing the two pence stoppage, it would be a full allowance, 
 and give great content and satisfaction. All they want 
 (they say) is to be entitled to the privileges and immuni- 
 ties of soldiers, of which they are well informed by some 
 who have been a number of years in the army, then they 
 should think it no hardship to be subject to the punish- 
 ments and fatigues. 
 
 " Were this done, and an order given by the Committee 
 empowering me to provide for them, according to the 
 rules and customs of the army, then I should know what 
 I was about, and I could do it without hesitation or fear, 
 and, am convinced, to the satisfaction and interest of the 
 country. 
 
 **As the case now stands, we are upon such odd estab- 
 lishment, under such uncertain regulations, and subject to 
 so much inconvenience, that I am wandering in a wilder- 
 ness of difficulties, and am ignorant of the ways to extri- 
 cate myself, and to steer for the satisfaction of the coun- 
 try, of the soldiers, or of myself. Having no certain rules 
 for the direction of my conduct, I am afraid to turn to 
 this hand or to that, lest it should be censured. 
 
 ''^If such an order, as I before spoke of, was to issue 
 from your Board, I would then immediately provide upon 
 the best terms a quantity of all kinds of ammunition, 
 clothes, etc., for the use of the regiment, and deliver them 
 out to each company as their wants required, taking care 
 to deduct the value of all such things from their pay. By 
 this means the soldiers would be always provided and fit 
 for duty, and do it cheerfully, and the country sustains no 
 other loss than advancing, and lying out of, the money 
 for a few months to lay in those stores, as this money is 
 
344 WASHINGTON. 
 
 always restored by the soldiers again. I have hitherto 
 been afraid to advance any sums of money for this pur- 
 pose, and always bought at extravagant prices, and have 
 been obliged to send to different parts, ere they could be 
 had, which has also contributed to the cause of their 
 nakedness. 
 
 " The officers are almost as uneasy and dispirited as the 
 men, doing every part of duty with languor and indiffer- 
 ence. When they are ordered to provide themselves with 
 suitable necessaries, they complain of an uncertain estab- 
 lishment, and the probability of being disbanded, and, so, 
 things rendered useless. So that I really most heartily 
 wish for a change. The surgeon has entreated me to 
 mention his case, which I shall do by enclosing his letters. 
 He has behaved extremely well, and discharged his duty 
 in every capacity since he came into the regim.ent. He 
 has long discovered an inchnation to quit the service, the 
 encouragement being so small ; and I believe would have 
 done it, had not the officers, to show their regard and will- 
 ingness to detain him, subscribed each one day's pay in 
 every month. This, as they are likely to be so much dis- 
 persed, and can receive no benefit from him, they intend 
 to withdraw (he says) and therefore begs me to solicit 
 the gentlemen of the committee on his behalf ; otherwise 
 he will be obliged to seek some other method of getting 
 his livelihood. 
 
 '' If it is thought necessary to establish an hospital, I 
 believe there can scarcely be a doubt but that this is the 
 place ; and then I hope he will be appointed director, with 
 aSvanced pay. Whether or not, I could really wish his 
 pay or perquisites was increased, for the reasons he gives. 
 " I beg, Sir, with very great earnestness, that the gentle- 
 men of the Committee will communicate their sentiments 
 fully upon all these several matters, and approve or dis- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 345 
 
 approve of everything therein. I only wait to know their 
 intention, and then act in strict conformity thereto. 
 
 " If the Committee find my account satisfactory and 
 distinct, as I have no doubt of it, it would be a great obli- 
 gation if they would make a final settlement to that date, 
 and begin a new account. They will find little trouble, or 
 difficulty, in overhauling short accounts, kept in a regular 
 method, plain and perspicuous, which is the very life of^ 
 business." 
 
 It will be seen that on August 4th Washington wrote a 
 long letter to Governor Dinwiddle, and on August 5th 
 another and very long letter to Speaker Robinson, the 
 former making nine printed pages, and the latter thirteen. 
 On August 5th he also wrote letters to Captain Waggener 
 and to Colonel Stephen. To Waggener he said : 
 
 " I have so many places and people to defend ; so great 
 calls from every quarter for men ; and so little prospects 
 for getting any, that I find it impossible to comply with 
 the act of Assembly, and opinion of the Council of War, 
 in building the chain of forts on the frontiers. You must, 
 therefore, notwithstanding all the orders which have here- 
 tofore been given, immediately despatch Capt. Bell, with 
 his whole company to Capt. Cox's fort. * * * Your 
 own and the two remaining companies, you are to dis- 
 pose of in the most eligible manner for the protection of 
 the inhabitants above the Trough ; and I could most ear- 
 nestly wish that you would, if the thing is practicable, 
 erect a fort in that settlement, twenty miles above your 
 upper fort." 
 
 To Colonel Stephen he said : 
 
 " The views of the enemy are designed against the lower 
 inhabitants. They have laid Maryland and Pennsylvania 
 waste, as low as Carlisle, the inhabitants of which place 
 we are told are flying with the utmost consternation. 
 
346 WASHINGTON. 
 
 They have made an attempt on the Virginia side, killed 
 one and captivated another four miles hitherwards, but 
 retreated back, for how long a time, God knows. 
 
 " Yesterday I wrote you [and -the same to Waggener], 
 and desired that all the captains would be punctual in 
 making me weekly returns, signed by themselves and offi- 
 cers, signifying the state and strength of their companies, 
 and shall here repeat these orders, because I am fully 
 resolved to suspend the first Captain (or commander of 
 a company) that fails in this point, or that is negligent 
 and incorrect in making them out, tho' they may err but 
 in one man. By my returns of the regiment including 
 drafts, scouts, and rangers, I can only make 926 men; 
 while Mr Boyd, exclusive of Captain Hog's company, has 
 issued pay for 1080.'' 
 
 To Governor Dinwiddie Washington wrote from Win- 
 chester August 14, 1756: 
 
 " We have built some and altered other forts, as far 
 south on the Potomac waters as any settlers have been 
 molested; and there only remains one body of inhabitants, 
 at a place called the Upper Tract, which needs a guard 
 upon these waters, and thither I have ordered a party. 
 
 " There have been two or three men killed and scalped 
 at different places since my last, though every precaution 
 has been taken to prevent it. The fatiguing service, low 
 pay, and great hardships in which our men have been en- 
 gaged, cause, notwithstanding the greatest care and vigil- 
 ance to the contrary, great and scandalous desertions. 
 Yesterday I received an account from Captain Stewart 
 of sixteen men deserting in a party. Frequently two or 
 three went oflf before, as they have done from this place. 
 We never fail to pursue, and use all possible means to 
 apprehend them; but seldom with success, as they are 
 generally aided and assisted ofiF by the inhabitants. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 347 
 
 "A report prevailed in town yesterday that a large body 
 of Indians, headed by some French, intended to attack 
 Fort Cumberland "this fall. The consequence of a success- 
 ful enterprise, and the absolute impossibility (considering 
 the weakness of the place, badness of situation, and divi- 
 sion of our force) of preventing its falling, are motives 
 sufficient to apprehend the worst, especially when we con- 
 sider that our provision, and, what is still more valuable, 
 all our ammunition and stores, are lodged in that defence- 
 less place. 
 
 "All the militia are returned [home] save 30 from Cul- 
 peper, who stay willingly with Captain Fields." 
 
 To Lord Thomas Fairfax, August 29, 1756, Washington 
 wrote from Winchester : 
 
 " It is with infinite concern I see the distresses of the 
 people, and hear their complaints, without being able to 
 afford them relief. I have so often troubled your Honor 
 for aid from the militia, that I am almost ashamed to re- 
 peat my demands; nor should mention them again, did 
 I not think it absolutely necessary at this time to save the 
 most valuable and flourishing part of this county from 
 immediate desertion. And how soon the remainder part, 
 as well as the adjacent counties, may share the same fate, 
 is too obvious to reason, and to your Lordship's good 
 sense for me to demonstrate. The whole settlement of 
 Conococheague in Maryland is fled, and there now remain 
 only two families from thence to Fredericktown, which 
 is several miles below the Blue Ridge. By which means 
 we are quite exposed, and have no better security on that 
 side than the Potomac river for many miles below the 
 Shenandoah; and how great security that is to us may 
 easily be discerned when we consider with what facility 
 the enemy have passed and repassed it already. That the 
 Maryland settlements are all abandoned is certainly fact. 
 
348 WASHINGTON, 
 
 1 thought it expedient to inform your Lordship of the 
 reasons for asking succours for these unhappy people, 
 and how absolutely necessary it is to use without delay 
 such vigorous measures as will save that settlement from 
 total desolation. 
 
 " When Hampshire [county] was invaded, and called 
 on Frederick for assistance, the people of the latter re- 
 fused their aid, answering, ' Let them defend themselves, 
 as we shall do if they come to us.' Now the enemy have 
 forced through that county, and begin to infest this, those 
 a little removed from danger are equally infatuated; and 
 will be, I fear, until all in turn fall a sacrifice to an insult- 
 ing and merciless enemy. 
 
 " I am so weak-handed here that I could not, without 
 stagnating the public works, spare a man to these peo- 
 ples assistance. Yet I look upon the retaining of them 
 to be so essential to the well-being of the county in gen- 
 eral, that I have ordered all the men that can possibly be 
 spared, to march thitherwards ; to remain there until your 
 Lordship can relieve them to return to these works. I 
 hope your Lordship will exert your authority in raising 
 men. This will redress the complaints of the people, be- 
 low, who say they cannot leave their families to the mercy 
 of the enemy while they are scouring the woods." 
 
 To Colonel Stephen, Washington wrote September 6, 
 1765, from W^inchester: 
 
 " I am in hopes our men for the future will be better 
 satisfied, as the Committee have allowed them eight pence 
 per day and their clothes without any stoppages or deduc- 
 tions. 
 
 " The Governor informs me that he just received an 
 express from Major Lewis, acquainting him that he might 
 expect 150 Cherokees to be at this place in a fortnight; 
 and that the Catawba king had engaged to send 50 war- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 349 
 
 riors to our assistance. This will be a considerable help 
 to us, as we shall be able to carry the war into their own 
 country, and use them in the same manner they have 
 us for 12 months past. He adds that the Catawbas and 
 Cherokees are very firmly attached to our interest, and 
 will still furnish us with more assistance when the fort in 
 that country is completed. It is already in great for- 
 wardness. 
 
 " I have got orders from the Governor to enlist ser- 
 vants, the masters to be paid a reasonable price upon 
 the first purchase, deducting for the time they have served. 
 Complaint has been made that the officers and soldiers 
 upon party [a recruiting party] take up the strays they 
 find in the woods. Let these practices be discouraged. 
 Ensign Roy had my promise to be appointed to my com- 
 pany, as it is the company he before belonged to, in case 
 my brother did not accept, and he has declined it. 
 
 " Waters and Burrass behaved extremely ill when they 
 were sent down last. If I could lay my hands on them, 
 I would try the effect of looo lashes on the former, and 
 whether a general court martial would not condemn the 
 latter to the life eternal. 
 
 " Capt. Peachy applied to me for leave to take up 
 strays, etc., and said it was practised by the Marylanders 
 and Pennsylvanians. If the people of those provinces are 
 guilty of unlawful practices, I cannot think it should be 
 any excitement to us to follow their example: for under 
 that pretence of getting strays in the mountains, is car- 
 ried on a scene of the greatest iniquity that can be im- 
 agined. The horses of our deserted settlements are taken 
 up, sold, and made away with, to the infinite detriment 
 and oppression of the people, who complain of these griev- 
 ances in the most sensible manner, and urge that they 
 
350 WASHINGTON. 
 
 are more oppressed by their own people than by the 
 enemy." 
 
 To Governor Dinwiddie, Washington wrote September 
 8, 1756, of this enhsting of servants : 
 
 " It is the best, most expeditious, nay, only method, I 
 know of now to recruit the forces. It will occasion great 
 murmuring and discontent to the masters, if they are not 
 paid immediately for their servants. 
 
 " The men are much satisfied with the augmentation of 
 their pay, but nothing will prevent their desertion while 
 they are kindly received and entertained through the Col- 
 ony, and even under the eye of the civil magistrate. Those 
 delivered to the constables are always suffered to escape, 
 and no notice taken of it. 
 
 " The Indians are a very covetous people, and expect 
 to be well rewarded for the least service. 
 
 " People here in general are very selfish ; every person 
 expects forces at his own door, and is angry to see them 
 at his neighbors. 
 
 " The number of tipling houses kept here is a great 
 grievance. 
 
 ''All the efforts which have been made here to raise the 
 militia have been ineffectual. 
 
 " I am glad the Cherokees have determined to come 
 to our assistance, and to hear of the firm attachment of 
 them and the Catawbas to our interest. They will be of 
 particular service — more than twice their number of white 
 men. When they arrive, which I pray may be soon, we 
 may deal with the French in their own way ; and, by visit- 
 ing their country, will keep their Indians at home. 
 
 "We have been happy in being tolerable peaceable of 
 late, and holding our own, while Maryland and Pennsyl-. 
 vanir. fly in the utmost consternation. The frontiers of 
 Maryland are abandoned for many miles below the Blue 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 351 
 
 Ridge, as low as Fredericktown, through which place I 
 am credibly informed no less than 350 waggons, trans- 
 porting the affrighted families, passed in the space of three 
 days. The Potomac is deserted on the Maryland side 40 
 miles below Conococheague, and as much in a parallel 
 below Winchester, and is now more than any the theatre 
 of bloodshed and cruelty. 
 
 " Those Indians who are now coming should be showed 
 all possible respect, and the greatest care taken of them, 
 as upon them much depends. It is a critical time, they 
 are very humorsome, and their assistance very necessary ! 
 One false step might not only lose us that, but even turn 
 them against us. All kinds of necessary goods, etc., 
 should be got for them. 
 
 " If your Honor does not care to trouble yourself about 
 it, and please to give me orders, and furnish me with 
 money or letters of credit (for our paper money passes to 
 great disadvantage), I will get them immediately from 
 Philadelphia, which is the only place that I know of that 
 we can possibly be supplied from. 
 
 "As the most of our present corps [of officers] are 
 gentlemen of family, and have now been sometime in the 
 service, I fear we should exchange for the worse, if we 
 aim at a change." 
 
 In a letter of August 14, 1756, Washington had said to 
 the Governor: 
 
 "As a general meeting of all the persons concerned in 
 the estate of my deceased brother is appointed to be held 
 at Alexandria, about the middle of September next, for 
 making a final settlement of all his affairs; and as I am 
 deeply interested, not only as an executor and heir to 
 part of his estate, but also in a very important dispute, 
 subsisting between Colonel [George] Lee, who married 
 the widow, and my brothers and self, concerning advice 
 
352 WASHINGTON. 
 
 in the will, which brings the whole personal estate in 
 question, — I say, as this is a matter of very great mo- 
 ment to me, I hope your Honor will readily consent to 
 my attending this meeting, provided no disadvantage is 
 likely to arise during my absence; in which case, I shall 
 not offer to quit my command." 
 
 On this matter Washington wrote to the Governor from 
 Mount Vernon, September 23, 1756: 
 
 " Under your kind indulgence I came to this place a few 
 days ago, expecting to meet the executors of my deceased 
 brother, in order to make a final settlement of his affairs. 
 I was disappointed though in this design, by the Assem- 
 bly having called away the principal persons concerned." 
 
 On public matters, Washington further said in this 
 letter : 
 
 " I have often urged the necessity of enforcing the 
 articles of war in all their parts, where it is not incompati- 
 ble with the nature of this service. 
 
 " We are under a kind of regulation at present that ren- 
 ders command extremely difficult and precarious, as no 
 crimes are particularly notified but mutiny and desertion. 
 
 " I beg leave to observe in regard to Fort Cumberland, 
 that if it is continued we must be confined to act defen- 
 sively, and keep our forces dispersed as they now are. The 
 place must be fortified with strong works, or else inevi- 
 tably fall, garrison and stores, into the enemy's hands. 
 How fatal a stroke ! And what noise this will make, the 
 censure of mankind will speedily declare. 
 
 " I did, from the beginning, express my sentiments 
 against having small garrisons in a chain of forts along 
 our frontiers. 
 
 " The most effectual way that I can see, though none 
 can answer while we act defensively, is to have no more 
 than three or four large, strong forts, built at convenient 
 
JOSEPH WARREN. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 353 
 
 distances, upon our frontiers; in which strong garrisons 
 must be maintained. 
 
 " Unless the Assembly concerts some measures to aug- 
 ment their force, the country, I fear, must inevitably fall. 
 The frontiers, since this time a twelve month, are totally 
 deserted for 50 miles and upwards quite from north to 
 south, and all below that greatly thinned by the removal 
 of numbers; occasioned in some measure by Maryland 
 and Pennsylvania giving ground so much faster than we 
 do, which exposes a very fine country of ours on that side, 
 as low as Monocacy, in Maryland, several miles on this 
 side of the Blue Ridge. 
 
 ** I believe I might also add, that no person who re- 
 gards his character, will undertake a command without 
 the means of preserving it ; since his conduct is culpable 
 for all misfortunes, and never right but when successful. 
 
 " I cannot think any number under 2000 men sufficient 
 to cover our extensive frontiers, and with them it is im- 
 possible to prevent misfortunes, however easy the world 
 may think it. What means can be used to raise these 
 men, I know not, unless the listing servants is thought 
 expedient; and that alone will prove ineffectual. 
 
 *' I apprehend it will be thought advisable to keep a 
 garrison always at Fort Loudoun [Winchester] ; for which 
 reason I would beg leave to represent the great nuisance 
 the number of tippling-houses in Winchester are to the 
 soldiers, who, by this means, in despite of the utmost care 
 and vigilance, are, so long as their pay holds good, in- 
 cessantly drunk, and unfit for service. 
 
 "The rates of their liquor are immoderately high, and 
 the publicans throughout the country charge one shilHng 
 per meal, currency, for soldier's diet; and the country only 
 allows the recruiting officer eight pence per day for the 
 maintenance of a soldier. 
 23 
 
354 WASHINGTON. 
 
 " The want of a chaplain does, I humbly conceive, re- 
 flect dishonor upon the regiment, as all other officers are 
 allowed. The gentlemen of the corps are sensible of this, 
 and did propose to support one at their private expense." 
 
 September 28, 1756, Washington wrote from Winches- 
 ter to Governor Dinwiddle: 
 
 " I arrived here last night, * * * and set out to- 
 morrow for Augusta." 
 
 October 10, 1756, Washington wrote from Halifax, 
 where the southernmost fort was, that he had met within 
 five miles of the Carolina Hne, the commissioner to secure 
 some hundreds of Indian aUies, Major Lewis, and the 
 result of his trip to the Cherokees was seven men and 
 three women, instead of the expected 400. At Augusta 
 Courthouse, hearing of Indian depredations, Washington 
 had applied to Colonel Stewart to raise a party of the 
 militia with which to himself march to Jackson's river, 
 to scour the woods there, and if possible fall in with the 
 enemy; and the best Stewart had been able to do, with 
 Washington waiting five days, was only five men. In this 
 situation Washington had proceeded sixty miles to 
 Luney's Ferry on the James river, in hope of getting men 
 from Colonel Buchanan, and this officer had told him with 
 very great concern that he was finding it utterly impos- 
 sible to raise men by any orders that he could give. The 
 only service Buchanan had been able to render was that 
 of accompanying Washington to Voss's, on the Roanoke, 
 where Captain Hog was building a fort; and here they had 
 found Captain Hog engaged in building a fort with only 
 eighteen of his company while a militia Captain Hunt with 
 thirty men would not strike a stroke unless upon a guar- 
 antee of being paid forty pounds of tobacco per day for 
 each man. The place was " a pass of very great import- 
 ance, being a very great inroad of the enemy," where a 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 355 
 
 fort would protect an extensive country. Washington 
 had hardly passed from this point, on the way " to visit 
 the range of forts in this country," when " two men were 
 killed along the same road." Not one of the inhabitants 
 dared stay with only militia protection. '' The militia," 
 said Washington, " are in such bad order and discipline, 
 that they will go and come when and where they please, 
 without regarding time, their officers, or the safety of 
 the inhabitants, but consulting solely their own inclina- 
 tions." Where one-third should be out on duty hardly 
 one-thirteenth obeyed the order, and being to be relieved 
 every month " they are more than that time marching to 
 and from their stations, and will not wait one day longer 
 than the limited time, let the necessity for it be ever so 
 urgent." And in fact, even if their month was not out, 
 an urgent necessity for action would send them away, leav- 
 ing Captain Hog and his only eighteen men, for example, 
 to face Indian attack alone. 
 
 *' Perhaps it may be thought that I reflect unjustly," 
 Washington went on to say. " I really do not. Sir; I 
 scorn to make unjust remarks on the behavior of the 
 militia, as much as I despise and contemn the persons 
 who detract from mine and the character of the regiment. 
 Were it not that I consulted the good of the public, and 
 thought these garrisons merited redress, I should not think 
 ii worth my mention. I only want to make the country 
 sensible how ardeatly I have studied to promote her cause, 
 and wish very sincerely my successor may fill my place 
 more to their satisfaction in every respect than I have 
 been able to do. 
 
 " I mentioned in my last that I did not think a less 
 number than 2000 men would be sufficient to defend our 
 extensive and much exposed frontiers from the ravages 
 of the enemy. I have not had one reason to alter my 
 
35G WASHINGTON. 
 
 opinion, but many to strengthen and to confirm it. And 
 I flatter myself the country will, when they know my mo- 
 tives, be convinced that I have had no sinister views, no 
 vain motives of commanding a number of men, that urge 
 me to recommend this number to your Honor, but that 
 it proceeds from the knowledge I have acquired of the 
 country, people, &c., to be defended. 
 
 " I set out this day on my return to the fort at the head 
 of Catawba, where Colonel Buchanan promised to meet 
 me with a party to conduct me along our frontiers, up 
 Jackson's River to Fort Dinwiddie, and higher if needful." 
 
 The reference above to " my successor " was due to 
 Washington's intention of resigning in consequen(;e of ma- 
 lignant charges against his regiment in a communication 
 to the Virginia Gazette. The complaints referred to in 
 Washington's letter of April i8, 1756, to Governor Din- 
 widdie, had been renewed, and a broadside of scurrilous 
 abuse launched in the communication mentioned. 
 
 In a letter of October 23, 1756, to Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Stephen, in command at Fort Cumberland, Washington 
 referred to this officer an order from Governor Dinwiddie 
 to have a council of officers pass upon the question of 
 keeping up or giving up that fortress This council of 
 war, held October 30, 1756, consisted of fifteen officers, 
 and its president. Colonel Stephen; and their decision was 
 to call on Washington for an immediate reinforcement 
 to the garrison; to have some of the most valuable stores 
 removed to Winchester; to go on with the works for 
 strengthening the fort; and to refer to Lord Loudoun the 
 question of a more adequate strengthening of the place 
 and reinforcing of the garrison. 
 
 Washington's letter to Colonel Stephen had announced 
 his intention to urge upon the Assembly the advantages 
 and necessity of an offensive campaign ; an attempt against 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 357 
 
 Fort Duquesne, " as you and everybody else must allow 
 that carrying the war into the enemy's country is the sur- 
 est method of peace at home and success abroad." " The 
 policy of the French," he continued, " is so subtle that 
 not a friendly Indian will we have on the continent if we 
 do not soon dislodge them from the Ohio. I shall exert 
 every power to make this plan go down with the Assem- 
 bly, and press them to vigorous measures for the safety 
 and interest of the Country, preferably to the defensive, 
 and demonstrate fully to them everything I think demands 
 their concern, as to the frontiers. I also would have you 
 collect whatever comes under your own observation in 
 these respects, that we may omit nothing requisite for 
 the Assembly's regard." 
 
 In view of the decision of the council of war as to Fort 
 Cumberland, Washington expressed this opinion: 
 
 '' The situation of Fort Cumberland is extremely un- 
 suitable for defence, and in no ways fit for fortification — 
 and a fort somewhere in that neighborhood rather more 
 advanced to the westward, well-fortified and strongly gar- 
 risoned would contribute much to the mutual safety and 
 interest of the three colonies. Because it secures the 
 only gap of the Alleghany at present made passable for 
 wheel-carriages and which would forward an Expedition 
 to the Ohio. Now would the three colonies consent to 
 furnish proportionable supplies, I should think it highly 
 expedient to maintain that pass by erecting a Fortress of 
 strength towards the Little Meadows, in advance to the 
 Enemy, which would give us yet more advantages, and 
 Fort Cumberland would still answer its present purpose 
 without attempting its improvement while covered by the 
 other. Or should Virginia herself take the weight of this 
 Enterprise — or could it be accomplished by any means 
 whatever — I should be extremely fond of the expedient. 
 
358 WASHINGTON. 
 
 But to view Fort Cumberland in its present defenseless 
 posture, relative to Virginia in particular, — and at this 
 gloomy juncture of aftairs — I can not entertain very fav- 
 orable sentiments of supporting it. 
 
 " As to the address of the council to me for reinforce- 
 ment, they must have known that it was out of my power 
 to grant it. 
 
 " Upon the whole, were it at any other time than this — 
 knowmg the weakness of our strength, doubting the as- 
 sistance of our neighbors, and dreading the consequence 
 of leaving the place longer exposed, although great part of 
 the stores is already removed, I should vote for demol- 
 ishing it. . But the affair being of great importance, I only 
 offer my sentiments; and submit to his Honor the Gov- 
 ernor, and the Assembly, for the determination of the 
 case." 
 
 This fort was " built of stockades about nine feet high 
 above ground and never intended for defence against ar- 
 tillery;" also it was "commanded by a rising ground 
 about 150 yards northwest of the stockades, and over- 
 looked by several hills within cannon shot ; " also the bar- 
 racks were " without the fort, ill-built, and easily set on 
 fire by the enemy; as any number of men can come under 
 the banks of the Potomac and Will's Creek, within pistol 
 shot of the barracks, and the fort itself, without being 
 exposed to a shot from cannon or small arms : " and finally, 
 the roads here made it the only place south of Albany 
 exposed to an attack from carriage guns. 
 
 November 9, 1756, Washington wrote from Winchester 
 to Governor Dinwiddie: 
 
 '' From Fort Trial on Smith's River, I returned to Fort 
 William on the Catawba, where I met Colonel Buchanan 
 with about 30 men, chiefly officers, to conduct me up 
 Jackson's river, along the range of forts. With this small 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 359 
 
 company of irregulars [militia], with whom order, regu- 
 larity, circumspection, and vigilance were matters of de- 
 rision and contempt, we set out, and, by the protection 
 of Providence, reached Augusta Court-House in seven 
 days, without meeting the enemy; otherwise we must have 
 fallen a sacrifice, through the indiscretion of these whoop- 
 ing, hallooing gentlemen soldiers! 
 
 " The jaunt afiforded me an opportunity of seeing the 
 bad regulation of the militia, the disorderly proceedings 
 of the garrisons, and the unhappy circumstances of the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 " For want of proper laws to govern the militia by (for 
 I cannot ascribe it to any other cause), they are obstinate, 
 self-willed, perverse, of little or no service to the people, 
 and very burthensome to the country. Every mean indi- 
 vidual has his own crude notions of things, and must un- 
 dertake to direct. If his advice is neglected, he thinks 
 himself slighted, abused, and injured; and, to redress his 
 wrongs will depart for home. 
 
 " I found the garrisons [militia] very weak for want of 
 men; but more so by indolence and irregularity. None 
 I saw in a posture of defence, and few that might not be 
 surprised with the greatest ease. They keep no guard, 
 but just when the enemy is about. So that the neighbor- 
 hood may be ravaged by the enemy, and they not the 
 wiser. Of the ammunition they are as careless as of the 
 provisions, firing it away frequently at targets for wagers. 
 Of the many forts which I passed by, I saw but one or 
 two that had their captains present, they being absent 
 chiefly on their own business. 
 
 " These men afford no assistance to the unhappy settlers 
 who are driven from their plantations, either in securing 
 their harvests or gathering in their corn. The wretched 
 inhabitants feel their insecurity from militia preservation, 
 
360 WASHINGTON. 
 
 who are slow in coming to their assistance, indifferent 
 about their preservation, unwilling to continue, and re- 
 gardless of everything but their own ease. In short, they 
 are so affected with approaching ruin, that the whole back 
 country is in motion towards the southern colonies. They, 
 petitioned me in the most earnest manner for companies 
 of the regiment. But, alas! it is not in my power to 
 assist them with any, except I leave this dangerous quar- 
 ter [about Winchester] more exposed than they are." 
 
 It will be noted that this account refers to forts wholly 
 in charge of militia, and not under Washington's direc- 
 tion. He points out the contrast between service such as 
 his enlisted soldiers could give and that of the militia. To 
 a large extent the Governor managed the militia move- 
 ments, and Washington's exposure of the system was none 
 too pleasant for him. He sent orders to Washington, by 
 a letter of November i8th, resenting criticism that seemed 
 to touch him, and requiring Washington "to march im- 
 mediately loo men to Fort Cumberland from the forces at 
 Winchester," and to remain there himself in command. 
 Washington wrote in reply from Alexandria, on his way 
 down to Williamsburg, November 24, 1756: 
 
 '* At this place I received your Honor's letter of the 
 i8th, and shall take care to pay the strictest obedience 
 to your orders, and the opinion [that Fort Cumberland 
 should not be given up, but should be reinforced from 
 Winchester], as far as I can. The detachment ordered 
 from Winchester exceeds, I beHeve the number of enHsted 
 men we have there; and the drafts, which made our 
 strength at that place to consist of about 160 men, will 
 leave us in seven days. I have no hope of enlisting any, nor 
 prolonging their stay, as we have heretofore engaged those 
 who were willing to serve. However, my true endeavors 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 361 
 
 shall be strictly aiding for this (more than ever) neces- 
 sary purpose. 
 
 " I am very sorry if any expression in my letter should 
 be deemed unmannerly. I have endeavored to demean 
 myself in that proper respect due to superiors; and in the 
 instance mentioned I can truly say, so far from intending 
 a charge or affront of any kind, it was distant from my 
 thoughts. 
 
 " I seem also to be reprimanded for giving a vague 
 account of my tour to the southward. I was rather fear- 
 ful of blame for meddhng with matters I had no imme- 
 diate concern with the [the militia garrisons in the quarter 
 of which he spoke not being under his immediate com- 
 mand; yet Dinwiddle complained that he had not reported 
 the officers by name, the same as if they had been under 
 his command; and he testily declared it ''unmannerly" 
 to speak of failure with the Indians, as if incompetent 
 persons had been sent on this mission by himself]. I 
 related the situation of our frontiers as well as I was capa- 
 ble, with a design, from which I have never intention- 
 ally swerved, to serve my country; and am sorry to find 
 that this, and my best endeavors of late, meet with unfav- 
 orable constructions. What it proceeds from I know not. 
 
 " So soon as I march from Winchester, which will im- 
 mediately happen, as I am setting out thence, I shall write 
 your Honor a more distinct account of the situation at 
 that place, which will be left entirely destitute of all pro- 
 tection, notwithstanding it now contains all the public 
 stores of any importance, as they were removed from Fort 
 Cumberland, and in the most dangerous part of our fron- 
 tiers. The works, which have been constructed, and 
 conducted on, with infinite pains and labor will be unfin- 
 ished and exposed; and the materials for completing the 
 building, which have been collected with unspeakable dif- 
 
36S WASHINGTON. 
 
 ficulty and expense, left to be pillaged and destroyed by 
 the inhabitants of the town; because, as I before observed, 
 lOO men will exceed the number, I am pretty confident, 
 which we have there, when the drafts go off. So, to com- 
 ply with my orders (which I shall literally do, if I can,) 
 not a man will be left there to secure the works, or defend 
 the King's stores." 
 
 A week later, December 2, 1756, Washington wrote to 
 the Governor from Winchester (Fort Loudoun), that 
 " wagons and provisions in readiness to go up with this 
 escort" the commissary had been unable to supply; and 
 further he said: 
 
 " The return of our strength, which I called in so soon 
 as I arrived, is herewith sent, signed by the adjutant, 
 amounting, exclusive of the drafts, to 81 effectives, in- 
 cluding the sick, and young drummers, who were sent 
 here to learn. 
 
 " Your Honor's late and unexpected order has caused 
 the utmost terror and consternation in the people, and 
 will, I fear, be productive of numberless evils, not only 
 to this place, but to the country in general, who seem to 
 be in the greatest dread for the consequences. The stores 
 of every kind have all been brought from Fort Cumber- 
 land, save those indispensably necessary there, at a very 
 great expense, and lie in the court-house and other pub- 
 lic buildings, to the no small inconvenience and detri- 
 ment of the county. I am convinced, if your Honor were 
 truly informed of the situation of this place, — in every 
 degree our utmost and most exposed frontier, there be- 
 ing no inhabitants between this and the Branch, and none 
 there but what are forted in, — you would not think it 
 prudent to leave such a quantity of valuable stores ex- 
 posed to the insults of a few; for a very few indeed might 
 reduce them, and the town too, to ashes. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 363 
 
 " In the next place, the works, which have been begun 
 and continued with labor and hardship, lie open, untena- 
 ble, and exposed to the weather, to say no more; and 
 the materials, which have been collected with cost and 
 infinite difficulty, to the mercy of every pillager; our tim- 
 ber and scantling, used and burnt by the town's people; 
 our plank, which has been brought from far, stolen and 
 destroyed; and the lime, if not stolen, left to be wasted, 
 &c., &c. And, this is not the worst. A building, which 
 in time might and would have been very strong and de- 
 fensible, and an asylum in the greatest danger, in a man- 
 ner totally abandoned. As the case now stands, we have 
 no place tenable, no place of safety; all is exposed and 
 open to attacks; and by not having a garrison at this 
 place, no convoys can get up to us, and the communication 
 with the inhabitants entirely cut off, so that soldiers and 
 inhabitants cannot be assisting each other. 
 
 " My residing at Fort Cumberland, lying more ad- 
 vanced, and wide of all other forts, will prevent me from 
 having the immediate direction of any but that; will ren- 
 der it impossible to deliver stores regularly; a total stag- 
 nation of business must ensue, because no person will or 
 can come to me there [for payment of contingent ex- 
 penses] ; and receiving intelligence and distributing orders, 
 so convenient at Winchester, will be impossible. 
 
 " I declare, upon my honor, that I am not loath to 
 leave this, but had rather be at Fort Cumberland (if I 
 could do my duty there) a thousand times over; for I 
 am tired of the place, the inhabitants, the life I lead here ; 
 and if, after what I have said, you should think it neces- 
 sary that I reside at that place, I shall acquiesce with 
 pleasure and cheerfulness, and be freed from much anxiety, 
 plague, and business. To be at Fort Cumberland \yomi'- 
 
364 WASHINGTON. 
 
 times I think highly expedient, and have hitherto done 
 it. Three weeks ago I came from that place." 
 
 December 19, 1756, Washington wrote from Fort Lou- 
 doun to Dinwiddie: 
 
 "Your letter of the loth came to hand the 15th; in 
 consequence of which I despatched orders immediately 
 to all the garrisons on the Branch to evacuate their forts 
 and repair to Pearsall's, where they would meet the flour, 
 &c., from this place and escort it to Fort Cumberland. 
 1 expect the provisions purchased for the support of these 
 forts, and now lying in bulk, will be wasted and destroyed, 
 notwithstanding I have given directions to the assistant 
 commissary on the Branch, and to Waggener's company, 
 to use their utmost diHgence in collecting the whole, and 
 securing them where his company is posted. An escort, 
 with all the flour we have been able to procure, sets out 
 from this on Tuesday next. I expect to depart sooner 
 myself, after leaving directions with Captain Mercer, 
 whom I have appointed to command here, and shall repair 
 as expeditiously as possible to Fort Cumberland. 
 
 " I am at a loss to understand the meaning of your 
 Honor's orders, and the opinion of the Council, when I 
 am directed to evacuate all the stockade forts, and at 
 the same time to march only 100 men to Fort Cumber- 
 land, and to continue the like number here to garrison 
 Fort Loudoun. If the stockade forts are all abandoned, 
 there will be more men than are required for these two 
 purposes, and the communication between them, of near 
 80 miles, will be left without a settler, unguarded and 
 exposed." 
 
 In his orders to the several commanders of forts now 
 evacuated Washington wrote: 
 
 " I heartily commiserate the poor, unhappy inhabitants, 
 left by this means exposed to every excursion of a mer- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 365 
 
 ciless enemy, and wish it were in my power to offer them 
 better support than good wishes (merely) will afford.. 
 You may assure the settlement that this unexpected, and, 
 if I may be allowed to say, unavoidable step was taken 
 without my concurrence and knowledge; that it is an ex- 
 press order from the Governor, and can neither be evaded 
 nor delayed. Therefore, any representations to me of 
 their danger, and the necessity of continuing troops 
 among them, will be fruitless; I have inclination, but no 
 power left, to serve them. It is also the Governor's or- 
 der, that the forts be left standing for the inhabitants to 
 possess if they think proper." 
 
 Washington's letter to Dinwiddle of December 19th 
 continued as follows : 
 
 " I have read that paragraph in Lord Loudoun's letter, 
 which your Honor was pleased to send me, over and 
 over again, but am unable to comprehend the meaning 
 of it. What scheme it is, I was carrying into execution 
 without waiting advice, I am at a loss to know, unless it 
 was building the chain of forts along our frontiers, which 
 I not only undertook conformably to an act of Assembly, 
 and by your own orders, but, with respect to the places, 
 in pursuance of a council of war. 
 
 " I see with much regret that his Excellency Lord Lou- 
 doun seems to have prejudged my proceedings, without 
 being thoroughly informed what were the springs and mo- 
 tives that have actuated my conduct. How far I have 
 mistaken the means to recommend my services, I know 
 not, but I am certain of this, that no man ever intended 
 better, or studied the interest of his country with more 
 affectionate zeal, than 1 have done. 
 
 " I believe we are the only troops upon the continent, 
 that are kept summer and winter to the severest duty, 
 with the least respite or indulgence. The delay of the 
 
366 WASHINGTON. 
 
 soldiers' clothes occasions unaccountable murmurs and 
 complaints, and I am very much afraid we shall have few 
 men left, if they arrive not in a week or two. Your Honor 
 would be astonished to see the naked condition of the 
 poor wretches; and how they possibly can subsist, much 
 less work, in such severe weather. Had we but blankets 
 to give them, or anything to defend them from the cold, 
 they might perhaps be easy." 
 
 Of the same date as this letter to Dinwiddle, December 
 I9» 1756, is one to Speaker Robinson^ in which Washing- 
 ton said: 
 
 " All the stockade forts on the Branch are to be evacu- 
 ated, and in course ^all the settlements abandoned, except 
 what lie under the immediate protection of Captain Wag- 
 gener's fort, the only place exempted in their resolve. 
 Surely his Honor and the Council are not fully acquainted 
 with the situation and circumstances of the unhappy fron- 
 tiers, thus to expose so valuable a tract as the Branch, 
 ia order to support a fortification in itself of very little 
 importance to the inhabitants or the colony. The former 
 order of Council would have endangered not only the 
 loss of Fort Loudoun [being built at Winchester, extra 
 large and strong, under Washington's own direction], the 
 stores, and Winchester, but a general removal of the set- 
 tlers of this valley, even to the Blue Ridge. This last 
 hath the same object in view, vizt.. Fort Cumberland, and, 
 to maintain it, the best lands in Virginia are laid open 
 to the mercy of a cruel and inhuman enemy. These peo- 
 ple have long struggled with the dangers of savage in- 
 cursions, daily soliciting defence, and willing to keep their 
 ground. To encourage them, all my little help has been 
 administered, and they seemed satisfied with my inten- 
 tions, resolving to continue while any probability of sup- 
 port remained. The disposition I had made of our small 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 3G7 
 
 regiment gave general satisfaction to the settlements, and 
 content beg*an to appear everywhere. The necessary 
 measures for provisions and stores were agreeably con- 
 certed, and every regulation established for the season. 
 But the late command reverses, confuses, and incom- 
 modes everything; to say nothing of the extraordinary 
 expense of carriage, disappointments, losses, and altera- 
 tions, which must fall heavy on 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 propo- 
 sitions and measures as partial and selfish; and all my 
 sincerest endeavors for the service of my country per- 
 verted to the worst purposes. My orders are dark, doubt- 
 ful, and uncertain; today 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 to excite the small- 
 est degree of envy, or afford 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 de- 
 termined to bear up under all these embarrassments some 
 time longer, in hope of better regulation on the arrival 
 of Lord Loudoun, to whom I look for the future fate of 
 Virginia. 
 
 " His Lordship, I think, has received impressions tend- 
 ing to prejudice, by false representation of facts, if I may 
 judge from a paragraph of one of his letters to the Gov- 
 ernor, and on which is founded the resolve to support 
 Fort Cumberland at all events. The severity of the sea- 
 son, and nakedness of the soldiers, are matters of much 
 compassion, and give rise to infinite complaints. Nor is 
 it possible to obviate them, unless their clothing should 
 come in immediately. You would be surprised how the 
 
3G8 WASHINGTON. 
 
 poor creatures live, much more how they can do duty. 
 Had we but blankets, they might be appeased for a little 
 time; and as we have not, I fear many will desert." 
 
 In reply to this Speaker Robinson wrote to Washington : 
 
 *' I am truly concerned at the uneasiness you are under 
 in your present situation, and the more so as I am sensi- 
 ble you have too much reason for it. The resolution of 
 defending Fort Cumberland, and evacuating the other 
 forts, was taken before I knew or mistrusted anything of 
 the matter. I must confess I was not a little surprised 
 at it, and took the liberty to expostulate with many of the 
 Council upon it, who gave me in answer, that Lord Lou- 
 doun had insisted that Fort Cumberland should be pre- 
 served, and, as we had so few troops, it could not be 
 done without breaking up the small forts, and taking the 
 men from them. 
 
 " It was to no purpose to tell them that our frontiers 
 would thereby be entirely exposed to our cruel and savage 
 enemy, and that they could receive no protection from 
 Fort Cumberland, as it was in Maryland, and so remote 
 from any of our inhabitants; — and further, that the act 
 of Assembly, which gave the money solely for the de- 
 fence and protection of our frontiers, would be violated, 
 and the money applied otherwise than the Assembly in- 
 tended. Yet, notwithstanding all I could say, they per- 
 sisted in their resolution, without alleging any other rea- 
 son than that it was in pursuance of Lord Loudoun's 
 desire. 
 
 " It cannot be a difficult matter to guess, who was the 
 author and promoter of this advice and resolution, or by 
 whom Lord Loudoun has been persuaded that the place 
 is of such importance. But supposing it were really so, 
 it ought to be defended by the people in whose province 
 it is, or at least at the expense of the three colonies 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 369 
 
 jointly, and our own frontiers not left exposed for the de- 
 fence of a place from which we cannot receive the least ad- 
 vantage or protection. The present unhappy state of our 
 country [Virginia only is meant] must fill the mind of every 
 well-wisher to it with dismal and gloomy apprehensions; 
 and without some speedy alterations in our counsels, 
 which may God send, the fate of it must be soon 
 determined." 
 
 About this time, December, 1756, Washington ad- 
 dressed a formal letter to Robinson, inscribed, ''To the 
 Speaker of the House of Burgesses," in which he renewed 
 his protest of the previous May (the i8th) against what 
 he heard by several letters, " that the Assembly are in- 
 censed against the Virginia regiment; and think they have 
 cause to accuse the officers of all inordinate vices; but 
 more" especially of drunkenness and profanity ! " As in 
 his letter of May 18, 1756, Washington protested the 
 abundant proofs going "to show on the one hand that 
 my incessant endeavors have been directed to discounte- 
 nance gaming, drinking, swearing, and other vices, with 
 which all camps too much abound; while, on the other, 
 I have used every expedient to inspire a laudable emula- 
 tion in the officers, and an unerring exercise of Duty in the 
 Soldiers. 
 
 " I can not help observing, that if the country think they 
 have cause to condemn my conduct, and have a person 
 in view that will act, that he may do. But who will en- 
 deavor to act more for her Interests than I have done? 
 It will give me the greatest pleasure to resign a com- 
 mand which I solemnly declare I accepted against my 
 will. 
 
 *' I know, Sir, that inexperience may have led me into 
 innumerable errors. For which reason I should think 
 myself an unworthy member of the community and 
 24 
 
370 WASHINGTON. 
 
 greatly deficient in the love I owe my country, which has 
 ever been the first principle of my actions, were I to re- 
 quire more than a distant hint of its dissatisfaction to re- 
 sign a commission which I confess to you I am no ways 
 fond of keeping. 
 
 " These sentiments I communicate to you. Sir, not only 
 as to a Gentleman for whom I entertain the highest re- 
 spect and greatest friendship; but also as a member of 
 the Assembly, that the contents, if you think proper, may 
 be communicated to the whole. For, be assured, I shall 
 never wish to hold a Commission, when it ceases to be 
 by unanimous consent. 
 
 " I am far from attempting to vindicate the characters 
 of all the officers. There are some who have the seeds of 
 Idleness too strongly instilled into their constitution, 
 either to be serviceable to themselves, or beneficial to the 
 Country. Yet even those have not missed my best ad- 
 vice : nor have my unwearied endeavors ever been want- 
 ing to serve my country with the highest integrity. No 
 sordid views have influenced my conduct, nor have the 
 hopes of unlawful gains swerved me in any measure from 
 the strictest dictates of Honor! I have diligently sought 
 the public welfare; and have endeavored to inculcate the 
 same principles on all that are under me." 
 
 January 12, 1757, Washington wrote to Governor Din- 
 widdie from Fort Cumberland: 
 
 " We have as many men at work here, preparing timber 
 to strengthen the works, as tools will supply; but I wish 
 I had been ordered to build a new fort rather than at- 
 tempt to repair the old one. 
 
 " No more forts were evacuated than were requisite to 
 reinforce this Garrison with 100 men, and to continue 100 
 at Fort Loudoun (Winchester), according to order. The 
 others are continued at their former posts." 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 371 
 
 In February, 1757, Washington sent to Lord Loudoun 
 a letter, reviewing at considerable length the course of 
 events, and his own experience, since the outbreak of hos- 
 tilities between the French and English. The document 
 is a masterly presentation, fit in both matter and style to 
 be compared with the ablest state papers from our pres- 
 ent Secretary of War or Secretary of State, whose work 
 is at the highest level of intelligence, judgment, and ability. 
 As Lord Loudoun's secretary acknowledged receiving the 
 letter February 2y, 17S7> it must have been written just 
 as Washington became twenty-five years of age. The 
 more notable paragraphs of this expert recital of war pro- 
 ceedings and experiences are the following: 
 
 " The sums of money, my Lord, which have been 
 granted by this colony to carry on war, have been very 
 considerable ; and to reflect to what little purpose is mat- 
 ter of great concern, and will seem surprising to those 
 who are not acquainted with the causes, and the con- 
 fusion with which all our affairs have hitherto been con- 
 ducted, owing to our having no fixed object or pursuing 
 any regular system, or plan of operation. 
 
 "As I have studied with attention and care the nature 
 of the service in which we are engaged, have been engaged 
 therein from the beginning of the present broils, and have 
 been an eye-witness to all the movements and various 
 proceedings, I beg leave to ofifer a concise and candid 
 account of our circumstances to your Lordship; from 
 which many errors may be discovered, that merit redress 
 in a very high degree. 
 
 " It was not until it was too late, we discovered that 
 the French were on the Ohio; or rather, that we could be 
 persuaded they came there with a design to invade his 
 Majesty's dominions. Nay, after I was sent out in De- 
 cember, 1753, and brought undoubted testimony even 
 
372 WASHINGTON. 
 
 from themselves of their avowed design, it was yet 
 thought a fiction, and a scheme to promote the interest of 
 a private company, even by some who had a share in the 
 government. These unfavorable surmises caused great 
 delay in raising the first men and money, and gave the 
 active enemy time to take possession of the Fork of Ohio 
 (which they now call Duquesne), before we were in suffi- 
 cient strength to advance thither, which has been the chief 
 source of all our past and present misfortunes. For by 
 this means, the French getting between us and our In- 
 dian allies, they fixed those in their interests who were 
 wavering, and obliged the others to neutrality, 'till the 
 unhappy defeat of his (late) Excellency General Braddock. 
 
 "The troops under Colonel Dunbar going into quar- 
 ters in July, and the inactivity of the neighboring col- 
 onies, and the incapacity of this, conspired to give the 
 French great room to exult, and the Indians little reason 
 to expect a vigorous offensive war on our side. 
 
 " Virginia, it is true, was not inactive all this time ; on 
 the contrary, voted a handsome supply for raising men 
 to carry on the war, or, more properly, to defend herself. 
 But even in this she signally failed. 
 
 "The men first levied to repel the enemy marched for 
 Ohio the beginning of April, 1754, without tents, without 
 clothes, in short without any conveniences to shelter 
 them, in that remarkably cold and wet season, from the 
 inclemency of the weather, or to make the service tolerably 
 agreeable. In this state did they, notwithstanding, con- 
 tinue, till the battle of the Meadows, in July following, 
 never receiving in all that space any subsistence; and 
 were very often under the greatest straits and difficulties 
 for want of provisions. 
 
 "These things were productive of great murmurings 
 and discontent, and rendered the service so distasteful to 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 373 
 
 the men that, not being paid immediately upon coming 
 in, they thought themselves bubbled, and that no reward 
 for their services was ever intended. This caused great 
 desertion; and the deserters, spreading over the country, 
 recounting their sufferings and want of pay, which rags 
 and poverty sufficiently testified, fixed in the mind of the 
 populace such horrid impressions of the hardships they 
 had encountered, that no arguments could remove these 
 prejudices, or facilitate the recruiting service. 
 
 " This put the Assembly upon enacting a law to im- 
 press vagrants, which added to our difficulties, for, com- 
 pelling these abandoned miscreants into the service, they 
 embraced every opportunity to effect their escape, gave 
 a loose rein to their vicious principles, and invented the 
 most unheard of stories to palliate desertion and gain 
 compassion; in which they not only succeeded, but ob- 
 tained protection also. So that it was next to impossible, 
 after this, to apprehend deserters, while the civil officers 
 rather connived at their escape than aided in securing 
 them. 
 
 " Thus were affairs situated, when we were ordered, in 
 September, 1755, to recruit our force to 1200 men. 'Tis 
 easy therefore to conceive, under these circumstances, 
 why we did not fulfil the order, especially when the offi- 
 cers were not sufficiently allowed for this arduous task. 
 We continued, however, using our endeavors until March 
 following, without much success. 
 
 " The Assembly, meeting about that time, came to a 
 resolution of augmenting our numbers to 1500 men, by 
 drafting the militia, (who were to continue in the service 
 until December only) ; and by a clause in the act, exempt- 
 ing all those who should pay ten pounds, our numbers 
 were very little increased, one part of the people paying 
 that sum, and many of the poorer sort absconding. The 
 
374 WASHINGTON, 
 
 funds arising from these forfeitures were thrown into the 
 treasury; whereas, had they been deposited in proper 
 hands for recruiting, the money might have turned to 
 good account. But a greater grievance than either of 
 these was restraining the forces from marching out of 
 the colony, or acting offensively, and ordering them to 
 build forts, and garrison them, along our frontiers (of 
 more than 300 miles in extent). How equal they, or any 
 like number, are to the task, and how repugnant a de- 
 fensive plan is to the true interest and welfare of the col- 
 ony, I submit to any judge to determine who will con- 
 sider the following particulars. 
 
 " First, that erecting forts at greater distances than 15 
 or 18 miles, or a day's march asunder, and garrisoning 
 them with less than 80 or 100 men, is not answering the 
 intention. 
 
 " Indian parties are generally intermixed with some 
 Frenchmen, and are so dexterous at skulking, that their 
 spies, lying about these small forts for some days and 
 taking a prisoner, make certain discoveries of the strength 
 of the garrison ; and then, upon observing a scouting party 
 coming out, will first cut it off, and afterwards attempt 
 the fort. Instances of this have lately happened. 
 
 " Secondly, our frontiers are of such extent, that if the 
 enemy were to make a formidable attack on one side, be- 
 fore the troops on the other could get to their assistance, 
 they might overrun the country. 
 
 " Thirdly, what it must cost the country to build these 
 forts, and to remove stores and provisions into them ; and 
 
 " Fourthly, and lastly, where and when this expense 
 will end. For we may be assured, if we do not endeavor 
 to remove the cause, we shall be as liable to the same 
 incursions seven years hence as now; indeed more so. 
 Because, if the French are allowed to possess those lands 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 375 
 
 in peace [to the westwards and on the Ohio], they will 
 have the entire command of the Indians, and grow stronger 
 in their alliance ; while we, by our defensive schemes and 
 pusillanimous behavior, will exhaust our treasury, reduce 
 our strength, and become the contempt of these savage 
 nations, who are every day enriching themselves with the 
 plunder and spoils of our people. 
 
 " It will evidently appear from the whole tenor of my 
 conduct, but more especially from reiterated representa- 
 tions, how strongly I have urged the Governor and Assem- 
 bly to pursue different measures, and to convince them, 
 by all the reasonings I was capable of offering, of the im- 
 possibility of covering so extensive a frontier from Indian 
 incursions, without more force than Virginia can main- 
 tain. I have endeavored to demonstrate, that it would 
 require fewer men to remove the cause than to prevent 
 the effects while the cause subsists. This, notwithstand- 
 ing, was the measure adopted, and the plan under which 
 we have acted for eight months past, with the disagreeable 
 reflection of doing no essential service to our country, nor 
 gaining honor to ourselves, or reputation to our regi- 
 ment. However, under these disadvantageous restraints, 
 the regiment has not been inactive ; on the contrary, it 
 has performed a vast deal of work, and has been very 
 alert in defending the people, which will appear by ob- 
 serving that, notwithstanding we are more contiguous to 
 the French and their Indian allies, and more exposed to 
 their frequent incursions than any of the neighboring 
 colonies, we have not lost half the inhabitants which 
 others have done, but considerably more soldiers in their 
 defence. In the course of this campaign, since March, 
 I mean fMarch, 1756, to end of February, 1757, a full 
 twelve month], (as we have had but one constant cam- 
 paign, and continued scene of action, since we first en- 
 
376 WASHINGTON. 
 
 tered the service), our troops have been engaged in up- 
 wards of twenty skirmishes, and we have, had near an 
 hundred men killed and wounded — from a small regi- 
 ment dispersed over the country, and acting upon the 
 defensive, as ours is by order. This, I conceive, will not 
 appear inconsiderable to those who are in the least de- 
 gree acquainted with the nature of this service, and the 
 posture of our affairs; however it may seem to chimney 
 corner politicians, who are thirsting for news, and expect- 
 ing by every express to hear in what manner Fort Du- 
 quesne was taken and the garrison led away captive by 
 our small numbers ; although we are restrained from mak- 
 ing the attempt, were our hopes of success ever so rational ! 
 
 " The first men raised, if I rightly remember, were 
 under no law; if any, the militia law, which was next of 
 kin to it. But under this we remained a short time, and, 
 instilling notions into the soldiers, who knew no better, 
 that they were governed by the articles of war [Governor 
 Dinwiddie held this view], we felt little inconvenience; and 
 the next campaign we were joined by the regulars, and 
 made subject to their laws. After the regulars left us 
 the Assembly passed an act in September, as before men- 
 tioned, to raise 1200 men, and, in order (I suppose) to 
 improve upon the act of Parliament, prepared a military 
 code of their own, but such a one as no military discipline 
 could be preserved by while it lasted. This being repre- 
 sented by the most pressing and repeated remonstrances, 
 induced the Assembly to pass a bill in October following, 
 for one year only, making mutiny and desertion death, 
 but took no cognizance of many other crimes equally 
 punishable by act of Parliament." 
 
 After mention of other grievances, especially the 
 wretched character of the service rendered by the militia, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 377 
 
 and the effect which all these things had had to make 
 him sick of the service, Washington said in conclusion : 
 
 " I do not know, my Lord, in what light this short and 
 disinterested relation may be received by your Lordship; 
 but with the utmost candor and submission it is offered. 
 It contains no misrepresentations, nor aggravated rela- 
 tion of facts, nor unjust reflections. 
 
 " Virginia is a country young in war, and, till the break- 
 ing out of these disturbances, has remained in the most 
 profound and tranquil peace, never studying war nor war- 
 fare. It is not, therefore, to be imagined that she can fall 
 into proper measures at once. All that can be expected 
 at her hands she cheerfully offers, — the sinews of war, — 
 and those only want your Lordship's ability and experi- 
 ence to be properly applied and directed." 
 
 The secretary who sent an acknowledgment of the re- 
 ceipt of this communication wrote : " His Lordship seems 
 very much pleased with the accounts you have given him 
 of the situation of affairs to the southward." 
 
 Lord Loudoun called a meeting of all the southern gov- 
 ernors at Philadelphia, and Washington attended a nine 
 days' conference, March 15-24, 1757. He had established 
 himself in command and fort-building at Fort Cumber- 
 land, but at the Philadelphia conference it was decided to 
 have the Virginia troops there withdraw as soon as Mary- 
 land could garrison the fort, and this permitted Washing- 
 ton to return to Fort Loudoun (Winchester). From that 
 place he wrote to Richard Washington, a merchant of 
 London, England, April 15, 1757: 
 
 " I have been posted for 20 months past upon our cold 
 an3 barren frontiers, to perform, I think I may say, im- 
 possibilities ; that is, to protect from the cruel incursions 
 of a crafty, savage enemy a line of inhabitants of more than 
 350 miles in extent, with a force inadequate to the task." 
 
378 WASHINGTON. 
 
 April 29, 1757, Washington sent a letter to Governor 
 Dinwiddie, in which he carefully reviewed the urgent 
 needs of the service, and the situation at Winchester, and 
 inquired in regard to a proposed change in the terms of 
 his service, which had been 30 shillings a day as pay, and 
 2 per cent, commissions for examining, settling, and pay- 
 ing off accounts, out of which were met the expenses of 
 his table. The Governor discontinued the 2 per cent, 
 commission, but allowed in place of it a special sum of 
 i20o for table expenses, etc. 
 
 To Robinson, Speaker of the House of Burgesses, 
 Washington wrote May 30th, and again June 10, 1757, 
 urgently representing the bad system in use for securing 
 and employing Indian allies. The French had an agent, 
 with an ample supply of Indian goods, whose sole busi- 
 ness it was to manage the Indians under employment. 
 " Unless some person," said Washington, " is appointed 
 to manage the Indian affairs of this colony, under the 
 direction of the Governor, or the southern agent, a vast 
 expense and but Httle advantage will accrue from the 
 coming of these Indians among us. And I know of no 
 person so well qualified for an undertaking of this sort as 
 the bearer. Captain Gist. He has had extensive dealings 
 with the Indians, is in great esteem among them, well 
 acquainted with their manners and customs, is indefatiga- 
 ble, and patient,— most excellent qualities indeed where 
 Indians are concerned. And for his capacity, honesty, and 
 zeal, I dare venture to engage." The " southern agent," 
 a Mr. Atkin, proposed to appoint Gist to the care of In- 
 dian affairs in Virginia, but in the letter of June loth, 
 Washington said : "A person of a readier pen, and hav- 
 ing more time than myself, might amuse you with the 
 vicissitudes of Indian affairs since Mr. Atkin came up." 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 379 
 
 On another matter Washington declared to Robinson in 
 this letter of June lo, 1757 : 
 
 " Unless you will interest yourself in sending money to 
 me to discharge the public debts, I must inevitably suffer 
 very considerably, as the country people all think me 
 pledged to them, let what will happen. They are grown 
 very clamorous, and will be more than ever incensed if 
 there should come an inadequate sum, and that sum be 
 appropriated to the payment of the soldiers. 
 
 " I am convinced it would give pleasure to the Gov- 
 ernor to hear that I was involved in trouble, however 
 undeservedly, such are his dispositions toward me." 
 
 Washington found himself about this time under a sec- 
 ond commander, besides Governor Dinwiddle, a Colonel 
 Stanwix, appointed by Lord Loudoun to the chief com- 
 mand of the forces of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Vir- 
 ginia. Dinwiddle recognized in a notification to Wash- 
 ington that he was to take his orders from Stanwix, and 
 yet he went on giving orders himself all the same. Wash- 
 ington wrote to Stanwix June 15, 1757, and after reporting 
 a success against a small French and Indian party, further 
 said : 
 
 " Our Assembly have granted a further sum of i8o,ooo 
 for the service of the ensuing year, and have agreed (I 
 befieve) to complete their regiment of this colony to 1200 
 men, besides three companies of rangers of 100 each. Our 
 strength, since the detachment to South Carolina has em- 
 barked [200 men, by order of Lord Loudoun], is reduced 
 to 420 rank and file only and these much weakened by 
 the number of posts we hold." 
 
 June 20th Washington wrote to Stanwix: ''We work 
 on this Fort [at Winchester], both night and day, intend- 
 ing to make it tenable against the worst event." Again 
 June 28th he wrote : " We were reinforced, upon the late 
 
380 WASHINGTON. 
 
 alarm, by 170 militia from the adjacent counties, one half 
 of them unarmed, and the whole without ammunition or 
 provisions." There had been, June i6th, what a few days 
 proved to be a false report, that a large French and Indian 
 force was on the way from Fort Duquesne with a train 
 of artillery, evidently making for Fort Cumberland, and 
 probably aimed at Fort Loudoun at Winchester. 
 
 In a letter of July 11, 1757, Washington reported to 
 Governor Dinwiddle that no less than twenty-four more 
 of the drafted men, after receiving their money and clothes, 
 had deserted the night before ; and of one party of seven, 
 two had been captured. It seemed to Washington that 
 nothing but the most rigorous measures would have any 
 effect, and he asked the Governor to supply him with 
 blank warrants to execute courts-martial sentences. By 
 a letter of July 20th to Governor Sharpe, of Maryland, 
 Washington complained that many deserters from Virginia 
 were harbored in Maryland, and that " some in authority, 
 either from an ill-placed compassion, or from that spirit 
 of opposition to the service which is too prevalent through 
 the continent, have not only countenanced those deserters, 
 but made use of your Excellency's name for that purpose." 
 To Colonel Stanwix Washington reported July 15, 1757, 
 that out of 400 drafts that he had received 114 had de- 
 serted ; and that for terror of the rascals he had caused to 
 be erected '' a Gallows near 40 feet high," and was deter- 
 mined to hang two or three on it, if he could be justified 
 in it. To the same Washington reported July 30th that 
 of twenty-two deserters who had been apprehended he had 
 caused two to be hanged, but August 27th he wrote to the 
 Governor : 
 
 "As your Honor was pleased to leave to my discretion 
 to punish or pardon the criminals, I have resolved on the 
 latter, since I find example of so little weight, and since 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 381 
 
 those poor unhappy criminals have undergone no small 
 pain of body and mind, in a dark prison, closely ironed." 
 
 September 17, 1757, Washington said in a letter to 
 Dinwiddie : " Lenity, so far from producing its desired 
 effects, rather emboldens them in these villainous under- 
 takings. One of those who were condemned to be 
 hanged, deserted immediately upon receiving his pardon. 
 In short, they tire my patience, and almost weary me to 
 death." 
 
 Under date of July 29, 1757, Washington issued " Gen- 
 eral Instructions to all the Captains of Companies " — a 
 document carefully written, from exact and complete 
 knowledge of military duties, and of the special needs of 
 the Virginia situation, and with full manifestation of the 
 highest ideals. In a letter of July 30, 1757, Washington 
 asked Colonel Stanwix for leave of absence August ist, to 
 attend a " meeting of the executors of an estate that I am 
 much interested in a dividend of, and have suffered much 
 already by the unsettled state it has remained in." In 
 reply Stanwix wrote that he was to act in any such matter 
 at his own discretion, without asking leave. At the same 
 time Dinwiddie, applied to in the same way, was disagree- 
 aj3le enough to refuse leave. August 27th, in a letter to 
 Dinwiddie, Washington said: 
 
 " It is with concern I remark that my best endeavors 
 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 favorable point of Tight." 
 
 In his letter of September 17, 1757, l^o Dinwiddie, Wash- 
 ington said, in regard to an application made directly to 
 the Governor for a commission as lieutenant for William 
 Henry Fairfax: 
 
 " If you please to bestow it on Mr. Fairfax, I should 
 take it infinitely kind if you would oblige me so far as to 
 
382 WASHINGTON, 
 
 send the commission immediately from yourself to that 
 gentleman. For although I esteem him greatly on ac- 
 count of his father, for whose memory and friendship I 
 shall ever retain a most grateful sense, yet, making him 
 lieutenant over many old ensigns will occasion great con- 
 fusion in the corps, and bring censure on me ; far the offi- 
 cers will readily conceive that my friendship and partiality 
 for the family were the causes of it. If Mr. Fairfax would 
 accept an ensigncy, the matter might pretty easily be ac- 
 commodated." 
 
 In a second letter of September 17th to Dinwiddie, 
 Washington enclosed a written report of what Mr. Carter 
 said Mr. Robinson told him that he heard Col. Richard 
 Corbin say that Captain Peachy affirmed to him, that the 
 alarm about Indians on the frontier was a baseless scare, 
 in execution of a scheme by which Washington sought 
 to cause the Assembly to levy largely both in men and 
 money. The communication was from Peachy, who pro- 
 nounced the report scandalous and its author a scoundrel 
 — thus leaving the matter upon Corbin if what Carter 
 said Robinson said, could be trusted. Washington said 
 of it to Dinwiddie : 
 
 " I should take it infinitely kind if your Honor woul^i 
 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 Honor'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 char- 
 acter. For I cannot suppose that malice so absurd, so 
 barefaced, so diametrically opposite to truth, to common 
 policy, and, in short, to everything but villainy, as the 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 383 
 
 above report is, could impress you with so ill an opinion 
 of my honor and honesty. 
 
 " If it be possible that Colonel Corbin — (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 Colonel Corbin 
 could descend so low as to be the propagator of this story, 
 he must either be vastly ignorant in the state of affairs in 
 this county [Frederick] at that time, or else he must sup- 
 pose that the whole body of the inhabitants had combined 
 with me in executing the deceitful fraud. 
 
 It is uncertain in what light my services may have 
 appeared to your Honor; but this I know, and it is the 
 highest consolation I am capable of feeUng, that no 
 man, that ever was employed in a public capacity, has 
 endeavored 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 ofifered 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 Col. Corbin has taken the liberty 
 of representing my character to your Honor with such 
 ungentlemanly freedom as the letter [of Capt. Peachy] 
 implies." 
 
 Dinwiddie replied that the report to Washington's dis- 
 credit he had never heard of before; that he could not 
 think Colonel Corbin guilty of having started it ; and that he 
 had never known of anything to justify it. " But» you 
 know," Dinwiddie added, " I had great reason to suspect 
 you of ingratitude, which I am convinced your own con- 
 
384 WASHINGTON. 
 
 science and reflection must allow I had reason to be angry; 
 but this I endeavor to forget. As I have his Majesty's 
 leave to go for England, I propose leaving this in Novem- 
 ber, and I wish my successor may show you as much 
 friendship as I have done." 
 
 To Captain Peachy Washington wrote September i8, 
 1757: 
 
 " In answer to that part [of your letter] which relates 
 to Colonel Corbin's gross and infamous reflections on my 
 conduct last spring, it will be needless, I dare say, to ob- 
 serve further at this time, than that the liberty which he 
 has been pleased to allow himself in sporting with my 
 character, is little else than a comic entertainment, discov- 
 ering at one view his passionate fondness for your friend, 
 his inviolable love of truth, his unfathomable knowledge, 
 and the masterly strokes of his wisdom in displaying it." 
 To Governor Dinwiddie Washington wrote from Fort 
 Loudoun (Winchester) September 24, 1757: 
 
 " The inhabitants of this valuable and fertile valley are 
 terrified beyond expression [because of " the late depreda- 
 tions in this neighborhood"]. Some have abandoned 
 their plantations, and many are packing up their most 
 valuable effects in order to follow them. Another irrup- 
 tion into the heart of this settlement will, I am afraid, 
 be of fatal consequence to it. I was always persuaded, 
 and almost every day affords new matter for confirming 
 me in the opinion, that the enemy can, with the utmost fa- 
 cility, render abortive every plan which can be concerted, 
 upon our present system of defence; and that the only 
 method of effectually defending such a vast extent of 
 mountains covered with thick woods, as our frontiers, 
 against such an enemy, is by carrying the war into their 
 country. And I think I may, without assuming uncom- 
 mon penetration, venture to affirm, that, unless an expe- 
 
li'-i-SiJiMji UN J A KING COMMAND Ut fJlE ARMY 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 385 
 
 dition is carried on against the Ohio next spring, this 
 country will not be another year in our possession." 
 
 October 5th Washington further said: " As I have neg- 
 lected nothing in my power, it is very evident that nothing 
 but vigorous offensive measures (next campaign) can 
 save the country, at least all west of the Blue Ridge, from 
 inevitable desolation." And of a personal matter he said: 
 
 " I do not know that I ever gave your Honor cause 
 to suspect me of ingratitude, a crime I detest, and would 
 most carefully avoid. If an open, disinterested behavior 
 carries offence, I may have offended; because I have all 
 along laid it down as a maxim, to represent facts freely 
 and impartially, but no more to others than I have to 
 you. Sir. If instances of my ungrateful behavior had 
 been particularized, I would have answered to them. But 
 I have long been convinced, that my actions and their 
 motives have been mahciously aggravated." 
 
 To Colonel Stanwix Washington wrote, October 8, 
 1757, from Fort Loudoun: 
 
 " I exert every means in my power to protect a much 
 distressed country, but it is a task too arduous. To think 
 of defending a frontier, as ours is, of more than 350 miles 
 extent, with only 700 men, is vain and idle, especially 
 when that frontier lies more contiguous to the enemy 
 than any other. I am, and have for a long time been, 
 fully convinced that, if we continue to pursue a defensive 
 plan, the country must be inevitably lost." 
 
 October 9, 1757, Washington wrote to Dinwiddie of 
 the lawless thieving practiced by the Tippling-House keep- 
 ers, receiving and concealing stores, arms, etc., belonging 
 to the regiment, and of the rascally, illegal conduct of the 
 justices in giving no redress through the courts. Again, 
 October 24th, he wrote to Dinwiddie of the inevitable 
 destruction of the country about Winchester unless a new 
 
 25 
 
386 WASHINGTON. 
 
 policy could be put in execution. To Speaker Robinson 
 he urged the same views in a letter of October 25th. His 
 last letter to Dinwiddie was one of November 5th, in re- 
 gard to Indian affairs under the very bad system admin- 
 istered by the agent, Atkin. Dinwiddie sailed for Eng- 
 land in January, after Washington had gone home to 
 Mount Vernon under a severe indisposition which brought 
 him' so low with dysentery and fever that it was more 
 than four months before he was able to resume his com- 
 mand. Speaker Robinson wrote to him in reply to his 
 letter of October 25th: 
 
 " We have not yet heard who is to succeed him. God 
 grant it may be somebody better acquainted with the un- 
 happy business we have in hand, and who, by his con- 
 duct and counsel, may dispel the cloud now hanging over 
 this distressed country. Till that event, I beg, my dear 
 friend, that you will bear, so far as a man of honor ought, 
 the discouragements and slights you have too often met 
 with, and continue to serve your country, as I am con- 
 vinced you have always hitherto done, in the best man- 
 ner you can with the small assistance afforded you."] 
 
 The laborious and unintermitted devotion to his duties 
 proved at the close of the year 1757 so injurious to the 
 health of Washington that he yielded to the entreaties of 
 his physician, withdrew from the army, and retired to 
 Mount Vernon (1757). But it was not his fortune to 
 enjoy, even there, a refreshing repose that might reno- 
 vate his strength. Prostrated by a lingering and debili- 
 tating fever he was disqualified for duty, and he was 
 unable to return to the army until after the lapse of four 
 months. 
 
 It was a source of pleasing reflection to him however as 
 he lay on his bed of sickness, or enjoyed the calm delights 
 of his retreat at Mount Vernon, that his efforts in his 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 387 
 
 country's cause had not been altogether ineffectual. He 
 had traversed the whole frontier and become familiarly 
 acquainted with its condition and its wants; he had suc- 
 ceeded in awakening a general and deep feeling in be- 
 half of the suffering borderers; he had vindicated himself 
 from the unfavorable insinuations of s^ecret enemies; he 
 had induced the Assembly to erect at Winchester a large 
 fort called Fort Loudoun, in honor of the British com- 
 mander-in-chief; and he had promptly and vigorously 
 constructed the military works proposed by the Burgesses, 
 visiting these works in person, and amid many perils in 
 the wilderness bringing his labors in great part to a suc- 
 cessful issue. He had also, by his earnest recommenda- 
 tion, directed the public mind to the importance of cap- 
 turing Fort Duquesne and to the necessity of speedy 
 measures for this purpose. 
 
 In his retirement his mind dwelt continually upon the 
 interesting subjects associated with the defenses of the 
 frontier, and especially upon the capture of Fort Duquesne 
 as a grand climacteric. In the progress of events, during 
 the next year, it was his good fortune and great joy to see 
 that stronghold of his country's cruel enemies reduced, and 
 to take an active and prominent part in measures which re- 
 stored peace and prosperity to those regions where a savage 
 and merciless warfare had so long been spreading desolation. 
 
 [Sparks remarks as follows on the campaign from which 
 Washington retired worn out and dangerously sick: 
 
 " The campaign, being a defensive one, presented no 
 opportunities for acquiring glory; but the demands on 
 the resources and address of the commander were not the 
 less pressing. The scene varied little from that of the 
 preceding year, except that the difficulties were more nu- 
 merous and complicatd. There were the same unceasing 
 incursions of the savages, but more sanguinary and terri- 
 
388 WASHINGTON. 
 
 fying, the same tardiness in the enlistments, the same 
 troubles with the militia, the same neglect in supplying 
 the wants of the army; and on every side were heard 
 murm>urs of discontent from the soldiers, and cries of dis- 
 tress from the inhabitants. 
 
 " And what increased these vexations was, that the gov- 
 ernor, tenacious of his authority, intrusted as little power 
 as possible to the head of the army. Totally unskilled 
 in military affairs, and residing two hundred miles from 
 the scene of action, he yet undertook to regulate the prin- 
 cipal operations, sending expresses back and forth, and 
 issuing vague and contradictory orders, seldom adapted to 
 circumstances, frequently impracticable. This absurd in- 
 terference was borne with becoming patience and forti- 
 tude by the Commander-in-Chief; but not without keen 
 remonstrance to the Speaker of the Assembly and other 
 friends, against being made responsible for military events, 
 while the power to control them was withheld, or so 
 heavily clogged as to paralyze its action. The patriotic 
 party in the legislature sympathized with him, and would 
 gladly have procured redress, had not the governor pos- 
 sessed prerogatives, which they could not encroach upon, 
 and which he seemed ambitious to exercise; the more so, 
 perhaps, as the leaders of the majority, learning his foible 
 in this respect, had thwarted many of his schemes, and 
 especially had assumed to themselves the appropriation of 
 the public moneys, which by ancient usage had been un- 
 vder the direction of the Governor and Council." 
 
 The muddle created by the senseless meddHng of Din- 
 Viddie, after Colonel Stanwix had come into chief British 
 command, and the contrast between Dinwiddle and Stan- 
 wix, are brought out by Sparks in the following: 
 
 " During the summer of 1757, Colonel Washington was 
 in some sort under the command of Colonel Stanwix, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 389 
 
 but to what extent he did not know, as he had received 
 no instructions on that head, and the Governor continued 
 to issue his orders as formerly. At length the Governor 
 wrote as follows ; — ' Colonel Stanwix being appointed 
 Commander-in-Chief [of the middle and southern prov- 
 inces], you must submit to his orders, without regard to 
 any you may receive from me; he, being near the place, 
 can direct affairs better than I can.' This was peculiarly 
 agreeable to the Commander of the Virginia regiment; 
 for Colonel Stanwix was a military man, and a gentle- 
 man of an elevated and liberal spirit. His letters bear a 
 high testimony to his good sense, as well as to the delicacy 
 of his feelings, the amenity of his temper, and the gener- 
 osity of his character. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the above direction, the Governor did 
 not cease to write, give commands, require returns, and 
 utter complaints as usual, thereby increasing the endless 
 perplexities and bewildering doubts, with which Colonel 
 Washington was harassed in all his plans and operations. 
 
 " He had requested leave of absence from Governor Din- 
 widdie for a few days to attend to certain private affairs, of 
 a very pressing nature, at Mount Vernon. He afterwards 
 repeated this request, and, as he seemed to be under two 
 commanders, he thought it expedient to consult them 
 both. The Governor answered; — 'As to the settlement 
 of your brother's estate, your absence on that account 
 from Fort Loudoun must be suspended, till our affairs 
 give a better prospect.' Colonel Stanwix replied to the 
 same request; — 'More than two weeks ago I answered 
 your letter, in which you mentioned its being convenient 
 to your private affairs to attend to them for a fortnight. 
 In that answer I expressed my concern, that you should 
 think such a thing necessary to mention to me, as I am 
 sure you would not choose to be out of call, should the 
 
390 WASHINGTON. 
 
 service require your immediate attendance; and I hope 
 you will always take that liberty upon yourself, which I 
 hope you will now do." 
 
 In closing the Dinwiddie chapter of Washington's ca- 
 reer Sparks remarks very justly: 
 
 "As a school of experience it ultimately proved ad- 
 vantageous to him. It was his good fortune, likewise, to 
 gain honor and reputation even in so barren a field, by 
 retaining the confidence of his fellow citizens, and ful- 
 filling the expectations of his friends in the legislature, 
 who had pressed upon him the command, and urged his 
 holding it. 
 
 " But the fatigue of body and mind, which he suffered 
 from the severity of his labors, gradually undermined his 
 strength, and his physician insisted on his retiring from 
 the army. He went to Mount Vernon, where his disease 
 settled into a fever, and reduced him so low, that he was 
 confined four months, till the ist of March, 1758, before 
 he was able to resume his command."] 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CAHPAIGN OF 1758— WASHINGTON'S MARRIAGE. 
 
 1758. 
 
 WASHINGTON was at Fredericksburg, January 
 31, 1758, and wrote to his cordial friend, John 
 Blair, president of the Council and acting Gov- 
 ernor, in regard to the inopportune arrival then expected 
 of a considerable party of Indians. Twenty days later 
 he wrote again: 
 
 ** I set out for Williamsburg the day after the date of 
 my letter, but found I was unable to proceed, my fever 
 and pain increasing upon me to a high degree; and the 
 physicians assured me, that I might endanger my life by 
 prosecuting the journey." 
 
 From Mount Vernon, March 4, 1758, Washington wrote: 
 
 " I have never been able to return to my command, 
 since I wrote to you last, my disorder at times returning 
 obstinately upon me, in spite of the efforts of all the sons 
 of yEsculapius, whom I have hitherto consulted. At cer- 
 tain periods I have been reduced to great extremity, and 
 have now too much reason to apprehend an approaching 
 decay, being visited with several symptoms of such a 
 disease. 
 
 " I am now under a strict regimen, and shall set out 
 tomorrow for WilHamsburg to receive the advice of the 
 best physicians there. My constitution is certainly greatly 
 impaired, and as nothing can retrieve it but the greatest 
 care and the most circumspect conduct; as I now have 
 
 (391) 
 
39» WASHINGTON. 
 
 no prospect left of preferment in the military way; and 
 as I despair of rendering that immediate service which 
 my country may require from the person commanding 
 their troops, I have some thoughts of quitting my com- 
 mand, and retiring from all public business, leaving my 
 post to be filled by some other person more capable of 
 the task, and who may, perhaps, have his endeavors 
 crowned with better success than mine have been."] 
 
 The campaign of 1758 was destined to terminate Wash- 
 ington's doubts and anxieties. In April of this year he 
 was in command at Fort Loudoun with improved health. 
 His old enemy, the wrong-headed and pragmatical Gov- 
 ernor Dinwiddie, had yielded his place to Mr. Francis Fau- 
 quier, until whose arrival from England an old friend of 
 Washington, Mr. John Blair, president of Council, was act- 
 ing Governor. 
 
 A change not less auspicious had taken place in the ad- 
 ministration of affairs in the mother country. The activity 
 of the French and the supineness of the English in the 
 recent campaigns in America seemed to threaten the loss 
 of the Colonies. The British nation had become alarmed 
 and indignant and the King had found it necessary to 
 change his councils. At the head of the new ministry he 
 placed the celebrated William Pitt, afterward Earl of Chat- 
 ham, pre-eminently a man of action, who from the humble 
 post of ensign in the Guards had raised himself to his pres- 
 ent elevated position. Under his administration, public 
 confidence, not only in England, but in the Colonies, at once 
 revived and all were inspired with new life and vigor. He 
 was equally popular in both hemispheres, and so promptly 
 did the Governors of the northern Colonies obey the requi- 
 sitions of his circular letter of 1757 that by May, in the fol- 
 lowing year Massachusetts had 7,000, Connecticut 5,000, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 393 
 
 and New Hampshire 3,000 troops prepared to take the 
 field.* The authorities of the mother country were not less 
 active. While British fleets were blockading or capturing 
 the French armaments intended for America, Admiral Bos- 
 cawen was dispatched to Halifax with a formidable squad- 
 ron of ships and an army of 12,000 men. The imbecile and 
 dilatory Lord Loudoun was recalled and General Aber- 
 crombie placed in the chief command who, early in the 
 spring, was ready to enter upon the campaign with an army 
 of 50,000 men, the largest ever embodied in America. 
 
 Three points of attack were marked out for this cam- 
 paign : The first, Louisburg ; the second, Ticonderoga and 
 Crown Point ; and the third. Fort Duquesne. In the last 
 of these expeditions, Washington, to his great joy, was 
 destined to take a part ; but as its success was entirely de- 
 pendent, in the sequel, on the operations of the other two, 
 it becomes necessary first to notice them somewhat in detail. 
 
 The expedition against Louisburg was conducted by Gen- 
 eral Amherst, assisted by the remarkable military skill and 
 daring enterprise of General Wolfe, destined, in the next 
 
 * The arrangements made by Pitt with reference to the relative 
 rank of royal and provincial troops, and the relative expenses of 
 the crown and the colonies, were not less satisfactory than his 
 prompt and energetic measures for carrying on the campaign. 
 
 " He stipulated that the colonial troops raised for this purpose 
 should be supplied with arms, ammunition, tents, and provisions 
 in the same manner as the regular troops, and at the King's ex- 
 pense; so that the only charge to the Colonies would be that of 
 levying, clothing, and paying the men. The Governors were also 
 authorized to issue commissions to provincial officers, from col- 
 onels downward, and these officers were to hold rank in the united 
 army according to their commissions. Had this liberal and just 
 system been adopted at the outset, it would have put a very different 
 face upon the military affairs of the Colonies." — Sparks's " Writings 
 of Washington," vol. H, p. 289, note. 
 
394 WASHINGTON. 
 
 campaign, to become the conqueror of Quebec. Richard 
 Montgomery, whose immortality was afterward won under 
 other auspices before the same city, also served in this ex- 
 pedition as a subaltern, and gained promotion from Wolfe 
 for his gallantry. 
 
 On the 28th of May (1758) the expedition sailed from 
 Halifax, the fleet under command of Admiral Boscawen 
 being composed of twenty ships-of-the-Hne and eighteen 
 frigates, and the army, under General Amherst, of 14,000 
 men. They arrived in Cabarus bay on the 2d of June. 
 The garrison of Louisburg, commanded by the Chevalier 
 Drucour, an officer of courage and experience, was com- 
 posed of 2,500 regulars, aided by 600 militia and Indians. 
 The harbor being secured by five ships-of-the-line, one fifty- 
 gun ship, and five frigates, three of which were sunk across 
 the mouth of the basin, it was found necessary to land at 
 some distance from the town. Prevented from landing by 
 a heavy surf until the 8th, the brave Wolfe then led the army 
 in three divisions of boats to nearly the same place where 
 the small army of New England men, under the command 
 of the able and courageous Lieut.-Gen. William Pepperrell, 
 had landed to besiege and capture Louisburg in 1745. 
 
 The enemy were arrayed along the shore, and, after mak- 
 ing some resistance to the impetuous onset of Wolfe, fled 
 to the city. The British lost in killed or drowned forty- 
 three regulars and six provincials, and the French lost two 
 lieutenants killed and seventy prisoners. Two large guns 
 and thirty-two small ones, planted along the shore, were 
 taken, with their ammunition. The French destroyed the 
 fortress to which they had given the name of Royal Bat- 
 tery and called in their outposts. The artillery and stores 
 were now brought on shore, and General Wolfe with 1,800 
 men marched around Green Hill and the northeast harbor 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 395 
 
 to the lighthouse, which the enemy deserted, destroying 
 their cannon. Several strong batteries were forthwith 
 added to those erected by the enemy on this spot, which 
 commanded the eastern side of the harbor. Approaches 
 were also made on the opposite side of the town and the 
 siege was steadily though cautiously continued. A French 
 frigate attempting to escape from the harbor was captured. 
 A heavy cannonade being kept up against the town and the 
 vessels in the harbor, a bomb set on fire and blew up one 
 of the largest ships, and the flames were communicated to 
 two others, which shared the same fate (July 21, 1758). 
 The batteries erected at the lighthouse meantime had 
 silenced the battery of the enemy, situated on one of the 
 islands at the entrance of the harbor. 
 
 On July 25th the admiral sent in 600 men in the night 
 to destroy the two remaining ships-of-the-line, who burnt 
 the Prudent, a seventy-four, and towed off the Bienfaisant, 
 a sixty-four, to the northeast harbor. This gallant exploit 
 putting the English in complete possession of the harbor, 
 and several breaches having been made practicable in the 
 works, the brave Drucour, finding the place no longer 
 tenable, proposed terms of capitulation. The English com- 
 manders, who were on the point of sending six ships into 
 the harbor to aid in an assault, required that the garrison 
 should surrender as prisoners of war. Drucour at first re- 
 jected these humiliating terms and determined to hold out 
 to the last, but overcome by the importunities of the suf- 
 fering inhabitants of the town he at length acceded to the 
 conditions prescribed; and Louisburg, with all its artillery, 
 provisions, and military stores, together with Island Royal, 
 St. Johns, and their dependencies, were placed in the hands 
 of the English, who at once took possession of the island 
 of Cape Breton. They found 221 pieces of cannon and 
 
396 WASHINGTON. 
 
 eighteen mortars, with a very large quantity of stores and 
 ammunition in the fortress. The inhabitants of Cape Bre- 
 ton were sent to France in EngHsh ships, but the garrison, 
 sea officers, sailors, and marines, amounting collectively to 
 3,291 men, were carried prisoners to England. The news 
 of the brilliant success of the expedition was received with 
 great rejoicing throughout the Colonies, and the event was 
 triumphantly celebrated in London. 
 
 Soon after the surrender of Louisburg, General Wolfe 
 returned to England, while General Amherst* sailed with 
 part of his army to Boston and from thence marched to 
 Fort William Henry to take part in the second expedition 
 of the campaign, the leading incidents of which we now 
 proceed to notice. 
 
 The force destined for the expedition against Ticonderoga 
 and Crown Point consisted of 16,000 men, attended by a 
 powerful train of artillery, and led by the commander-in- 
 chief, General Abercrombie. Subordinate to him, in com- 
 mand of 5,000 of these men, was George Howe, lord vis- 
 count, the most popular of all the British officers who ever 
 
 * Like Wolfe, Amherst was selected by Chatham to aid in the 
 execution of that eminent statesman's great military designs; and 
 his success proved that the minister had formed a just estimate of 
 his courage and ability. The services which he rendered to Great 
 Britain in America fully entitled him to the honors with which he 
 was afterward rewarded. He was described as having been "a 
 thorough good soldier:" cautious but enterprising; temperate and 
 collected in the greatest difficulties; strict in the enforcement of 
 discipline, yet averse to mere military parade, and particularly 
 kind to the men under his command. He erected a column, near 
 his residence at Riverhead, commemorating the escape of himself 
 and his two brothers, Lieutenant-General and Admiral Amherst, 
 from the perils of war; and recording those successes of the British 
 forces in Canada, to which he had materially contributed by his 
 bravery and skill. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 397 
 
 served in the Colonies. Abercrombie was as remarkable 
 for timidity and imbecility as Howe was for courage and 
 enterprise. 
 
 On the 5th of July (1758) Abercrombie embarked his 
 troops on Lake George on board of 125 whale-boats and 
 900 batteaux, with rafts for the artillery, and passing down 
 the lake landed on the west side near its outlet. The troops 
 were formed into four columns, the British in the center 
 and the provincials on the flanks. In this order they 
 marched toward the advanced guard of the French which, 
 consisting of one battalion only, posted in a log breast- 
 work, set fire to their camp and made a precipitate retreat. 
 
 While Abercrombie was urging forward his march 
 through the woods toward Ticonderoga, the columns were 
 thrown into confusion and in some degree entangled with 
 each other. At this juncture Lord Howe, at the head of 
 the right center column, fell in with a part of the advanced 
 guard of the enemy, who had lost their way in the woods 
 in retreating from Lake George, and immediately attacked 
 and dispersed it, killing 300 of the enemy and taking 148 
 prisoners. This success however was dearly purchased by 
 the death of Lord Howe* himself, who fell at the first fire. 
 
 Abercrombie ordered the troops to fall back to the land^ 
 ing place on Lake George and bivouac for the night. The 
 
 * George Howe, Lord Viscount, was the eldest son of Sir E. 
 Scrope, second lord viscount in Ireland. He commanded five 
 thousand British troops, which arrived at Halifax in July, 1757- 
 The next year, when Abercrombie marched against Ticonderoga, 
 in an attack on the advanced guard of the French posted in the 
 woods, Lord Howe fell at the first fire, in July, 1758, aged ZZ- " In 
 him," says Manto, " the soul of the army seemed to expire." By 
 his military talents and many virtues, he had acquired esteem and 
 affection. Massachusetts erected a monument to his memory in 
 Westminster Abbey, at an expense of £250. 
 
398 WASHINGTON. 
 
 master-spirit of the enterprise was no more, and the in- 
 capable Abercrombie was left to encounter the able and 
 indefatigable Montcalm. This officer, who was in com- 
 mand at Ticonderoga, had caused trees to be felled in front 
 of the breastwork of the fortress at some distance, having 
 some of their branches sharpened to a point, so as to retard 
 assailants and entangle them in the branches. 
 
 The engineer sent forward by Abercrombie the next 
 morning to reconnoiter the works seems not to have no- 
 ticed the character of this abattis as, on his return, he re- 
 ported that the works were unfinished and might easily be 
 taken. Abercrombie, posted at some sawmills two miles 
 from the fort, without waiting for his artillery, ordered an 
 immediate assault (July 8, 1758). The contest lasted four 
 hours. The soldiers fought bravely, but were cut down by 
 the merciless fire of the French, securely posted behind 
 their works, and the result was a defeat, with the loss of 
 2,000 men and 2,500 stand of arms. Abercrombie ordered 
 a retreat to his former camp on the south side of Lake 
 George, whence he immediately recrossed the lake, and en- 
 tirely abandoned the project of capturing Ticonderoga.* 
 
 The only success accomplished by this portion of the 
 army during the campaign is due to the enterprise of one 
 of the heroes of Louisburg. 
 
 Col. John Bradstreet, who had served as captain in 
 Lieutenant-General Pepperrell's regiment at Louisburg in 
 I745> and his intimate friend and protege, was in this dis- 
 astrous engagement against Ticonderoga with Aber- 
 crombie, and immediately afterward earnestly solicited per- 
 mission to march against Fort Frontenac, near the head 
 
 *This defeat induced Pitt to order Abercrombie home, and to 
 give the command to Amherst, who had returned from Louisburg. 
 Amherst marched back, and commanded the army on Lake Cham- 
 plain to the end of the war. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 399 
 
 of Lake Ontario, with a force of 3,000 men, chiefly pro- 
 vincial mihtia,* carrying eight pieces of cannon and two 
 mortars. The troops embarked at Oswego on the evening 
 of the 25th of August (1758), and landed within a mile of 
 Fort Frontenac which, after a spirited assault of two days, 
 surrendered at discretion. The Indians having previously 
 deserted left but no prisoners of war. But the captors 
 found in the fort sixty pieces of cannon, sixteen small 
 mortars, a large number of small arms, a vast quantity 
 of provisions, military stores, and merchandise, and nine 
 armed vessels. Having destroyed the fort, vessels, and 
 stores. Colonel Bradstreet returned to the main army. 
 For this noble achievement,! he was subsequently pro- 
 
 * The proportions, as given by Dr. Parsons in his " Life of Sir 
 William Pepperrell," are as follows: 
 
 Regulars i3S 
 
 New York Provincial Militia 1,112 
 
 New Jersey Provincial Militia 412 
 
 Boston Provincial Militia 675 
 
 Rhode Island Provincial Militia 318 
 
 Batteau men 300 
 
 2,952 
 
 tjohn Bradstreet was born in England. He was Lieutenant- 
 Governor of St. Johns, Newfoundland, in 1746. He was afterward 
 renowned for his military services. In the year 1756, it being 
 deemed of the highest importance to keep open the communica- 
 tion with Fort Oswego, on Lake Ontario, General Shirley enlisted 
 forty companies of boatmen, and placed them under the command 
 of Bradstreet, to effect this object. In the spring of this year, a 
 well-stockaded post of twenty-five men had been cut off. The 
 enemy having possession of the passage through the Onondaga 
 river, rendered it necessary to transport the requisite boats across 
 the country. On his return from Oswego in July, 1756, Colonel 
 Bradstreet, who was apprehensive of being surprised, ordered the 
 several divisions to keep as close together as possible. He was at 
 the head of about three hundred boatmen in the first division, when, 
 
400 WASHINGTON. 
 
 moted to the rank of brigadier-general in the royal army, 
 to the great joy and satisfaction of his old commander 
 and patron, Sir William Pepperrell. 
 
 The fall of Frontenac cut off the supplies intended for 
 Fort Duquesne and hastened its reduction. 
 
 We now proceed to notice the operations of the third 
 expedition of the campaign of 1758, that, namely, which was 
 intended for the reduction of Fort Duquesne, in which 
 Washington took a very active part. We left him at Fort 
 Loudoun, writing to the Speaker of the House of Burgesses 
 on the importance of carrying the war into the enemy's 
 country. His wishes in this respect were now to be grati- 
 fied, and that on an extensive scale, and yet perhaps there 
 is not a period in the whole career of Washington during 
 which his patience and patriotism were more severely tried 
 than during the progress of this expedition. The army 
 destined to operate against Fort Duquesne was placed un- 
 der the command of General Forbes, and the force at his 
 disposal was more than sufficient for the purpose, but the 
 measures adopted by him were as badly conceived as if they 
 had been expressly intended to defeat the expedition.* 
 
 at the distance of nine miles from the fort, the enemy issued from 
 an ambuscade and attacked him. He instantly landed upon a small 
 island, and, with only six men, maintained his position until he 
 was reinforced. A general engagement ensued, in which Brad- 
 street gallantly attacked a more numerous enemy, and entirely 
 routed them, killing and wounding about two hundred men. His 
 own loss was about thirty. In the year 1758, he planned an expedi- 
 tion against Fort Frontenac, and being intrusted with the command 
 of 3,000 men, he invested the fort and compelled the garrison to 
 surrender on the 27th of August. In 1764, he compelled the Dela- 
 wares, Shawnees, and other Indians, to conclude treaties of peace. 
 He was appointed general in 1772, and died in 1774. 
 
 * " The troops actually employed under General Forbes were 1,200 
 Highlanders, 350 Royal Americans, about 2,700 provincials from 
 Pennsylvania, 1,600 from Virginia, two or three hundred from Mary- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 401 
 
 The Virginia Assembly promptly complied with the 
 requisition of the minister, furnishing two regiments, 
 amounting to i,8oo men as their contingent. One of these 
 was commanded by Colonel Washington, who still retained 
 his rank as commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces. The 
 other was under the command of Colonel Byrd. Washing- 
 ton warmly recommended an early campaign for this among 
 other reasons: Seven hundred Indians had in April (1758) 
 assembled at Winchester, whose patience would be ex- 
 hausted unless they were promptly employed, and in the 
 event of their desertion he observes : " No words can tell 
 how much they will be missed." He was at length ordered 
 to collect the Virginia troops at Winchester, and hold them 
 in readiness for active service. At this late moment, when 
 the duties of the field demanded all his attention, he was 
 under the necessity of making a journey to Williamsburg, 
 the seat of government, in order to obtain a supply of arms, 
 clothing, and money for his regiment, and to secure for 
 his own veteran soldiers the same pay which the Assembly, 
 in their recent session, had voted for the new regiment 
 raised for the present campaign. While he was training 
 the newly-enlisted soldiers and preparing supplies and the 
 means of transportation the soldiers were becoming im- 
 patient, and the Indians, as he had anticipated, grew dis- 
 contented, and nearly all of them returned to their homes. 
 
 While Washington was thus occupied at Winchester, 
 General Forbes was detained by illness at Philadelphia, and 
 
 land, who had been stationed in garrison at Fort Frederic, under 
 Colonel Dagworthy, and also two companies from North Carolina, 
 making in all, including the wagoners, between six and seven 
 thousand men. This army was more than five months penetrating 
 to the Ohio, where it was found, at last, that they had to oppose 
 only five hundred of the enemy."— Sparks's " Writings of Washing- 
 ton," vol. II, p. 289, note. 
 26 
 
40^ WASHINGTON. 
 
 Colonel Bouquet was in command at Raystown, thirty 
 miles from Fort Cumberland. The intermediate place be- 
 tween this point and Washington's quarters at Winchester 
 was designated for conferences between him, Colonel 
 Bouquet, and the quartermaster-general. Sir John St. Clair, 
 in order to determine a uniform- plan of action and make 
 the necessary arrangements. 
 
 [In view of an offensive campaign against the French 
 and Indians on the Ohio, — a repetition of the design 
 which Braddock's terrible defeat interrupted, Washington 
 wrote to one of Braddock's officers. Major Halket, April 
 12, 1758: 
 
 "Are we to have you once more among us? And shall 
 we revisit together a hapless spot, that proved so fatal to 
 many of our (former) brave companions? Yes; and I 
 rejoice at it, hoping it will now be in our power to tes- 
 tify a just abhorrence of the cruel butchery exercised on 
 our friends in the unfortunate day of Braddock's defeat; 
 and, moreover, to show our enemies, that we can practise 
 all that lenity of which they only boast, without affording 
 any adequate proofs at all." 
 
 In a letter of April 17, 1758, to the President of the 
 Council, Washington said: 
 
 " The last Assembly, in their Supply Bill, provided for 
 a chaplain to our regiment, for whom I had often very 
 unsuccessfully applied to Governor Dinwiddie. I now 
 flatter myself, that your Honor will be pleased to appoint 
 a sober, serious man for this duty. Common decency. 
 Sir, in a camp calls for the services of a divine, and which 
 ought not to be dispensed with, although the world should 
 be so uncharitable as to think us void of religion, and 
 incapable of good instructions." 
 
 At Williamsburg, May 28, 1758, Washington wrote a 
 long statement of the needs of his troops, and of the ser- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 403 
 
 vice to be required of them. He began: "I came here 
 at this critical juncture, by the express order of Sir John 
 St. Clair, to represent in the fullest manner the posture of 
 our affairs at Winchester, and to obviate any doubts that 
 might arise from the best written narrative. I shall make 
 use of the following method, as the most effectual I 
 can at present suggest, to lay sundry matters before you, 
 for your information, approbation, and direction." The 
 letter goes on with a statement under twelve heads, for 
 the first of which a letter from Sir John St. Clair is sub- 
 mitted. 
 
 It was an incident of this journey to Williamsburg, and 
 the stay there which the business required, which led 
 to Washington's marriage engagement. Irving tells the 
 story as follows, after an account of the gathering at Win- 
 chester of the troops which were to be under Washington's 
 command: 
 
 " The force thus assembling was in want of arms, tents, 
 field-equipage, and almost every requisite. Washington 
 had made repeated representations, by letter, of the des- 
 titute state of the Virginia troops, but without avail; he 
 was now ordered by Sir John St. Clair, the quartermas- 
 ter-general of the forces, under General Forbes, to repair 
 to Williamsburg, and lay the state of the case before the 
 council. He set off promptly on horseback attended by 
 Bishop, the well-trained military servant, who had served 
 the late General Braddock. It proved an eventful jour- 
 ney, though not in a military point of view. In crossing 
 a ferry of the Pamunkey, a branch of York River, he fell 
 in company with a Mr. Chamberlayne, who lived in the 
 neighborhood, and who, in the spirit of Virginian hospi- 
 tality, claimed him as a guest. It was with difficulty 
 Washington could be prevailed on to halt for dinner, so 
 
404 WASHINGTON. 
 
 impatient was he to arrive at Williamsburg, and accom- 
 plish his mission. 
 
 " Among the guests at Mr. Chamberlayne's was a young 
 and blooming widow, Mrs. Martha Custis, daughter of 
 Mr. John Dandridge, both patrician names in the prov- 
 ince. Her husband, John Parke Custis, had been dead 
 about three years, leaving her with two young children, 
 and a large fortune. She is represented as being rather 
 below the middle size, but extremely well shaped, with 
 an agreeable countenance, dark hazel eyes and hair, and 
 those frank, engaging manners, so captivating in Southern 
 women. We are not informed whether Washington had 
 met with her before; probably not during her widow- 
 hood, as during that time he had been almost continually 
 on the frontier. 
 
 " It was not until the next morning that he was again 
 in the saddle, spurring for Williamsburg. Happily the 
 White House, the residence of Mrs. Custis, was in New 
 Kent County, at no great distance from that city, so that 
 he had opportunities of visiting her in the intervals of 
 business. 
 
 " Before returning to Winchester, Washington was 
 obliged to hold conferences with Sir John St. Clair and 
 Colonel Bouquet, at an intermediate rendezvous, to give 
 them information respecting the frontiers, and arrange 
 about the marching of his troops.*' 
 
 It was on the 13th of June, after about three weeks' 
 stay at Williamsburg, that Washington returned to his 
 command; and on the 24th he marched from Winchester 
 for Fort Cumberland. A month later, July 20th, he sent 
 the following letter from Fort Cumberland: 
 
 " To Martha Custis. 
 
 "We have begun our march for the Ohio. A courier 
 is starting for Williamsburg, and I embrace the opportun- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 405 
 
 ity to send a few words to one whose life is now insepara- 
 ble from mine. Since that happy hour when we, made our 
 pledges to each other, my thoughts have been continually 
 going to you as to another self. That an All Powerful 
 Providence may keep us both in safety is the prayer of 
 your ever faithful & Ever affectionate Friend, 
 
 G°. Washington." 
 
 June 19, 1758, Washington wrote to General Forbes 
 a letter of suggestions in regard to the employment of 
 Indian allies. The march, he said, '' of more than 100 
 miles from our advanced post [at Fort Cumberland], be- 
 fore we shall arrive at Fort Duquesne; a great part of 
 which will be over mountains and rocks, and through de- 
 files; will enable the enemy, with their superior knowledge 
 of the country, to render extremely arduous, unsafe, and, 
 at best, tedious, our intended expedition, unless we also 
 can be assisted by a body of Indians, — the best, if not 
 the only troops fit to cope with Indians in such grounds." 
 In view, therefore, of the extreme importance of Indian 
 aid, Washington proposed that " A person of abiHties and 
 address be sent immediately to the Cherokee nation to 
 get a number of the Indians to our assistance," while the 
 plan of army advances was being worked out. 
 
 The same day Washington sent a letter to Fauquier, 
 the new Governor, calling his attention to the scandalous 
 fashion in which an order calling out 100 militia had been 
 complied with. " 73 only came; and not one of them pro- 
 vided, as the law directs, with arms and ammunition." 
 Upon representation of the matter in the proper quarter, 
 "near 100 arms were sent, out of which number scarce 
 five were serviceable, and not more than 30 could be 
 made to fire." Washington adds: "I immediately set 
 smiths to repairing the arms, and I have, with the assist- 
 ance of 35 old muskets, which I caused to be delivered 
 
406 WASHINGTON. 
 
 out of the store here, got this company at last completed 
 [in outfit — not in numbers, as there were but 68, when 
 there ought to have been lOO.]. Till this time they have 
 been a dead expense to the pubHc, and of no service to 
 the inhabitants. This, Sir, is a true statement of facts, 
 and really merits reprehension: for, if such behavior is 
 suffered to escape unnoticed, the most destructive conse- 
 quences may accrue."] 
 
 At length Washington received the long-desired order to 
 advance with the Virginia regiments from Winchester to 
 Fort Cumberland, where he arrived early in July (1758).* 
 
 [Marching from Winchester, June 24th, " with five com- 
 panies of the First Virginia regiment, and a company of 
 artificers of the Second," Washington, " much delayed by 
 
 *The following extract from a letter of Robert Munford to 
 Colonel Bland, dated Fort Cumberland, July 6, 1758, gives us a 
 glimpse of camp life, and of the estimation in which Washington 
 was held, at that time, by the officers serving under his command: 
 
 "After being delayed at Winchester five or six weeks longer 
 than expected (in which time, I was ordered express to Williams- 
 burg, and allowed but a day after my return to prepare), we pushed 
 oflf into the wide ocean. I was permitted to walk every step of 
 the way to this humble fort, to eat little, and lay hard, over moun- 
 tain, through mud and water, yet as merry and hearty as ever. 
 Our flankers and sentries pretend they saw the enemy daily, but 
 they never approached us. A detachment is this moment ordered 
 of? to clear a road thirty miles, and our companies to cover the 
 working party. We are in fine scalping-ground, I assure you; the 
 guns pop about us, and you may see the fellows prick up their 
 ears, like deer, every moment. Our colonel (Washington) is an 
 -example of fortitude in either danger or hardships, and by his 
 «asy, polite behavior, has gained not only the regard but affection 
 of both officers and soldiers. He has kindly invited me to his 
 table for the campaign, offered me any sum of money I may have 
 occasion for, without charging either principal or interest, and 
 signified his approbation of my conduct hitherto in such a manner 
 as is to me of advantage."— Bland Papers, p. 9. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 407 
 
 bad teams and bad roads/' arrived at camp near Fort 
 Cumberland, July 2d, in the afternoon. 
 
 July 19th, Washington said in a letter to Colonel Bou- 
 quet, the commander of the expedition: 
 
 " I am excessively obliged by the very handsome and 
 polite manner, by which you are pleased to give me leave 
 to attend the election at Winchester. Though my being 
 there on that occasion would, at any other time, be very 
 agreeable to me, yet at this juncture I can hardly per- 
 suade myself to think of being absent from my more im- 
 mediate duty, even for a few days." 
 
 This refers to Washington's standing for election as 
 one of the two members of the House of Burgesses for 
 Frederick county. The election took place July 24th, and 
 the result of the poll was, Washington, 307; Colonel Mar- 
 tin, a nephew of Lord Fairfax, 240; and two others, 199 
 and 45, respectively. These same two now defeated had 
 been elected on a previous occasion with 271 and 270 
 votes, while Washington, who was also a candidate, got 
 only 40 votes. At least such an election report was found 
 among his papers, but with no indication of date. It was 
 in a letter of May 25, 1755, that Washington asked his 
 brother, John A. Washington, to ascertain how matters 
 stood, favorable or unfavorable to his standing as a 
 candidate. 
 
 To one of his supporters in the election, Washington 
 wrote, July 29, 1758: 
 
 " Permit me to return you my sincerest thanks for your 
 great assistance at the late election, and to assure you 
 that I shall ever retain a lively sense of the favor. 
 
 " Our expedition seems overcast with too many ills to 
 give you any satisfaction in a transient relation of them. 
 God knows what's intended; for nothing seems ripe for 
 
408 WASHINGTON. 
 
 execution; backwardness, and I would if I dare say more, 
 appears in all things — all but the approach of winter." 
 
 To Colonel James Wood, who was known in the " far 
 west " of Virginia as the " founder " of Winchester, and 
 who had personally represented Washington in the elec- 
 tion proceedings, Washington wrote: 
 
 " If thanks from a heart replete with joy and grati- 
 tude can in any measure compensate for the fatigue, 
 anxiety, and pain, you had at my election, be assured 
 you have them. 
 
 " How I shall thank Mrs. Wood for her favorable wishes, 
 and how acknowledge my sense of obligations to the peo- 
 ple in general for their choice of me, I am at a loss to 
 resolve on. But why? Can I do it more effectually than 
 by making their interest (as it really is) my own, and doing 
 everything that lies in my little power for the honor and 
 welfare of the country? I think not; and my best endeav- 
 ors they may always command. I promise this now, when 
 promises may be regarded; before they might pass as 
 words of course. 
 
 " I am extremely thankful to you and my other friends 
 for entertaining the freeholders in my name. I hope no 
 exception was taken to any that voted against me, but 
 that all were alike treated and all had enough. My only 
 fear is that you spent with too sparing a hand." 
 
 One of Washington's friends had said in a letter to him 
 immediately after the election: 
 
 '' The punctual discharge of every trust, your humane 
 and equitable treatment of each individual, and your ardent 
 zeal for the common cause, have gained your point with 
 credit; as your friends could, with the greatest warmth 
 and truth, urge the worth of those noble endowments and 
 principles, as well as your superior interest both here and 
 in the House." " Considering the command," says Sparks, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 409 
 
 " which he had been obHged to exercise in Frederic County 
 for near five years, and the restraints which the exigency of 
 circumstances required him occasionally to put upon the in- 
 habitants, this result was deemed a triumphant proof of 
 his abilities, address, and power to win the affections and 
 confidence of the people." 
 
 " From this time till the beginning of the revolution, a 
 period of fifteen years, Washington was constantly a mem- 
 ber of the House of Burgesses, being returned by a large 
 majority of votes at every election. For seven years he 
 represented, jointly with another delegate, the County of 
 Frederic, in which Winchester was, and afterwards the 
 County of Fairfax, in which he resided. There were 
 commonly two sessions in a year, and sometimes three. 
 It appears, from a record left in his handwriting, that he 
 gave his attendance punctually, and from the beginning 
 to the end of almost every session. It was a maxim with 
 him through life, to execute punctually and thoroughly 
 every charge which he undertook. 
 
 " His influence in public bodies was produced more by 
 the soundness of his judgment, his quick perceptions, and 
 his directness and undeviating sincerity, than by eloquence 
 or art in recommending his opinions. He seldom spoke, 
 never harangued, and it is not known that he ever made 
 a set speech, or entered into a stormy debate. But his 
 attention was at all times awake. He studied profoundly 
 the prominent topics of discussion, and, whenever occasion 
 required, was prepared to deliver his sentiments clearly, 
 and to act with decision and firmness. His practice may 
 be inferred from the counsel he gave to a nephew, who 
 had just taken his seat for the first time in the Assembly. 
 
 " ' The only advice I will offer,' said he, ' if you have 
 a mind to command the attention of the House, is to 
 speak seldom but on important subjects, except such as 
 
410 WASHINGTON, 
 
 particularly relate to your constituents; and, in the former 
 case, make yourself perfectly master of the subject. Never 
 exceed a decent warmth, and submit your sentiments with 
 diffidence. A dictatorial style, though it may carry con- 
 viction, is always accompanied with disgust' " 
 
 Sparks gives an account of Washington's action in a 
 meeting of the parish of Truro, which shows exactly what 
 kind of speaker he was. Sparks says: 
 
 '' In the affairs of Truro Parish, to which Mount Ver- 
 non belonged, he took a lively concern and exercised a 
 salutary control. He was a vestryman of that parish. 
 On one occasion he gained a triumph of some moment, 
 which Mr. Massey, the clergyman, who lived to an ad- 
 vanced age, used to mention as an instance of his address. 
 The old church was falling to ruin, and it was resolved 
 that another should be built. Several meetings were held, 
 and a warm dispute arose respecting its location, the old 
 one being remote from the center, and inconveniently 
 situated for many of the parishoners. A meeting for set- 
 tling the question was finally held. George Mason, who 
 led the party that adhered to the ancient site, made an 
 eloquent harangue, in which he appealed with great effect 
 to the sensibilities of the people, conjuring them not to 
 desert the spot consecrated by the bones of their ances- 
 tors and the most hallowed associations. Mr. Massey 
 said every one present seemed moved by this discourse, 
 and for the moment, he thought there would not be a 
 dissenting voice. Washington then rose and drew from 
 his pocket a roll of paper, containing an exact survey of 
 Truro Parish, on which was marked the site of the old 
 church, the proposed site of the new one, and the place 
 where each parishoner resided. He spread this map be- 
 fore the audience, explained it in a few words, and then 
 added, that it was for them to determine, whether they 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 411 
 
 would be carried away by an impulse of feeling, or act 
 upon the obvious principles of reason and justice. The 
 argument, thus confirmed by ocular demonstration, was 
 conclusive, and the church was erected on the new site." 
 
 George Mason, of Gunston Hall, was a neighbor and in- 
 timate friend of Washington; and intellectually at the head 
 of the citizenship of Virginia, until Washington rose to a 
 height reached by no one who, at any time or anywhere, 
 came into comparison with him. The common impression 
 that he was no speaker, or at least had no habit of speak- 
 ing, is entirely erroneous. Both as a writer and as a 
 speaker he was head and shoulders above the most notable 
 of his time, with the difiference that in speaking he went 
 right to the point, put the matter unanswerably, and had 
 carried conviction before an orator would have got his 
 eloquence under way.] 
 
 Through the month the troops were employed in open- 
 ing a new road from Fort Cumberland to Raystown, and 
 repairing the old one leading toward the Great Meadows. 
 As they were greatly annoyed in this service by flying par- 
 ties of the enemy it was proposed to send a considerable 
 detachment over the mountains to restrain the French and 
 Indians from this annoyance; but Colonel Washington 
 strongly objected to this measure because the detachment 
 would be exposed to the whole force of the enemy on the 
 Ohio and must be defeated. The plan was in consequence 
 given up, and by his advice frequent scouts were substituted. 
 
 Washington's excellent judgment in this matter was 
 fully illustrated by the subsequent disaster which befel the 
 detachment of Colonel Grant. 
 
 While Colonel Washington was posted at Fort Cumber- 
 land he adopted a style of dress for the soldiers which is 
 supposed by Mr. Irving to have given rise to the dress 
 
41^ WASHINGTON. 
 
 worn by American riflemen in the subsequent wars. It 
 was the Indian dress. In a letter to Colonel Bouquet dated 
 July 3, 1758, he thus alludes to it: 
 
 " My men are very bare of regimental clothing, and I 
 have no prospect of a supply. So far from regretting this 
 want during the present campaign, if I were left to pursue 
 my own inclinations, I would not only order the men to 
 adopt the Indian dress but cause the officers to do it also, 
 and be the first to set the example myself. Nothing but 
 the uncertainty of obtaining the general approbation causes 
 me to hesitate a moment to leave my regimentals at this 
 place and proceed as light as any Indian in the woods. It 
 is an unbecoming dress I own for any officer, but con- 
 venience, rather than show, I think, should be consulted. 
 The reduction of bat-horses alone would be sufficient to 
 recommend it, for nothing is more certain than that less 
 baggage would be required and the public benefited in pro- 
 portion." 
 
 From a letter addressed by him to Colonel Bouquet dated 
 July 9th we learn that his plan was adopted, and found to 
 answer an excellent purpose. In this letter he thus ex- 
 presses himself: 
 
 " It gives me great pleasure to find that you approve the 
 dress I have put my men into. It is evident that soldiers 
 in that trim are better able to carry their provisions, are 
 fitter for the active service we must engage in, less liable 
 to sink under the fatigues of ^a march, and we thus get rid 
 of much baggage which would lengthen our line of march. 
 These and not whim or caprice were my reasons for order- 
 ing this dress." 
 
 A practicable military road having been opened for the 
 passage of General Braddock's army to Fort Duquesne, 
 Colonel Washington had taken it for granted that this 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 413 
 
 would be the route taken by General Forbes' army in the 
 present campaign. We may imagine therefore his surprise 
 and mortification when late in July (1758) he received 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 cheer- 
 fully work on any road, pursue any route, or enter upon 
 any service, that the general or yourself may think me use- 
 fully employed in, or quahfied 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 trans- 
 portation even by pack-horses, cannot be made. I own 
 I have no predilection for the route you have in contem- 
 plation for me." 
 
 In the interview with Colonel Bouquet, which took place 
 a few days after his writing this letter, Colonel Washing- 
 ton found that officer strongly in favor of opening the new 
 route. After their separation he, with the permission of 
 Colonel Bouquet, addressed to him a letter which was to 
 be laid before General Forbes, setting forth his reasons 
 against making a new road. He was apprehensive that the 
 loss of time occasioned by attempting it would be so great 
 that they would be able to do nothing more than fortify 
 some post on the other side of the Alleghany and prepare 
 for another campaign. He was equally opposed to another 
 scheme which had been proposed of dividing the army and 
 marching by two different routes. 
 
 In the following letter to Colonel Bouquet, Colonel 
 
414 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Washington produces unanswerable arguments in support 
 of his own views on both these questions : 
 
 " Camp at Fort Cumberland, 
 " August 2, 1758. 
 
 " Sir. — The matters of which we spoke relative to the 
 roads, have, since our parting, been the subject of my closest 
 reflection, and so far am I from altering my opinion that 
 the more time and attention I bestow the more I am con- 
 firmed in it, and the reasons for taking Braddock's road 
 appear in a stronger point of view. To enumerate the 
 whole of these reasons would be tedious, and to you, who 
 are so much master of the subject, unnecessary. I shall 
 therefore briefly mention a few only, which I think so ob- 
 vious in themselves, that they must effectually remove ob- 
 jections. 
 
 " Several years ago the Virginians and Pennsylvanians 
 commenced a trade with the Indians settled on the Ohio, 
 and to obviate the many inconveniences of a bad road they, 
 after reiterated and ineffectual efforts to discover where a 
 good one might be made, employed for the purpose several 
 of the most intelligent Indians who, in the course of many 
 years hunting, had acquired a perfect knowledge of these 
 mountains. The Indians having taken the greatest pains 
 to gain the rewards offered for this discovery declared that 
 the path leading from Wills Creek was infinitely preferable 
 to any that could be made at any other place. Time and 
 experience so clearly demonstrated this truth that the 
 Pennsylvania traders commonly carried out their goods by 
 Wills Creek. Therefore the Ohio Company, in 1753, at 
 a considerable expense, opened the road. In 1754 the 
 troops whom I had the honor to command greatly repaired 
 it as far as Gist's plantation; and in 1755 it was widened 
 and completed by General Braddock to within six miles 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 415 
 
 of Fort Duquesne. A road that has so long been opened, 
 and so well and so often repaired, must be firmer and bet- 
 ter than a new one, allowing the ground to be equally good. 
 
 " But supposing it were practicable to make a road from 
 Raystown quite as good as General Braddock's, I ask have 
 we time to do it? Certainly not. To surmount the diffi- 
 culties to be encountered in making it over such moun- 
 tains, covered with woods and rocks, would require so much 
 time as to blast our otherwise well-grounded hopes of 
 striking the important stroke this season. 
 
 " The favorable accounts that some give of the forage 
 on the Raystown road, as being so much better than that 
 on the other, are certainly exaggerated. It is well known 
 that on both routes the rich valleys between the mountains 
 abound with good forage, and that those which are stony 
 and bushy are destitute of it. Colonel Byrd and the engi- 
 neer who accompanied him confirm this fact. Surely the 
 meadows on Braddock's road would greatly overbalance 
 the advantage of having grass to the foot of the ridge on 
 the Raystown road, and all agree that a more barren road 
 is nowhere to be found than that from Raystown to the in- 
 habitants, which is likewise to- be considered. 
 
 "Another principal objection made to General Brad- 
 dock's road is in regard to the waters. But these seldom 
 swell so much as to obstruct the passage. The Youghiog- 
 heny river, which is the most rapid and soonest filled, I 
 have crossed with a body of troops after more than thirty 
 days* almost continual rain. In fine, any difficulties on this 
 score are so trivial that they really are not worth mention- 
 ing. The Monongahela, the largest of all these rivers, may, 
 if necessary, easily be avoided, as Mr. Frazer, the principal 
 guide, informs me, by passing a defile; and even that, he 
 says, may be shunned. 
 
 "Again, it is said, there are many defiles on this road. I 
 
416 WASHINGTON. 
 
 grant that there are some, but I know of none that may 
 not be traversed, and I should be glad to be informed 
 where a road can be had over these mountains not subject 
 to the same inconvenience. The shortness of the distance 
 between Raystown and Loyal Hanna is used as an argu- 
 ment against this road, which bears in it something unac- 
 countable to me; for I must beg leave to ask whether it 
 requires more time or is more difficult and expensive to 
 go 145 miles in a good road already made to our hands 
 than to cut 100 miles anew, and a great part of the way 
 over impassable mountains. 
 
 " That the old road is many miles nearer Winchester, in 
 Virginia, and Fort Frederick, in Maryland, than the con- 
 templated one, is incontestable; and I will here show the 
 distances from Carlisle by the two routes, fixing the differ- 
 ent stages, some of which I have from information only, 
 but others I believe to be exact.* From this computation 
 there appears to be a difiference of nineteen miles only. 
 Were all the supplies necessarily to come from Carlisle, it 
 is well known that the goodness of the old road is a suffi- 
 cient compensation for the shortness of the other, as the 
 wrecked and broken wagons there clearly demonstrate. 
 
 " I shall next give you my reasons against dividing the 
 army in the manner you propose. 
 
 * From Carlisle to Fort Duquesne, by way of Raystown : 
 
 Miles. 
 
 From Carlisle to Shippensburg 21 
 
 From Shippensburg to Fort Loudoun 24 
 
 From Fort Loudoun to Fort Littleton 20 
 
 From Fort Littleton to Juniata Crossing 14 
 
 From Juniata Crossing to Raystown 14 
 
 93 
 From Raystown to Fort Duquesne 100 
 
 193 
 
RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 4ir 
 
 " First, then, by dividing our army we shall divide our 
 strength, and by pursuing quite distinct routes put it en- 
 tirely out of the power of each division to succor the other, 
 as the proposed new road has no communication with the 
 old one. 
 
 " Secondly, to march in this manner will be attended 
 with many inconveniences. If we depart from our ad- 
 vanced posts at the same time, and make no deposits by 
 the way, those troops that go from Raystown, as they will 
 be light, with carrying-horses only, will arrive at Fort 
 Duquesne long before the others and must, if the enemy 
 are strong there, be exposed to many insults in their ad- 
 vance and in their intrenchments from the cannon of the 
 enemy, which they may draw out upon them at pleasure. 
 If they are not strong enough to do this, we have but little 
 to apprehend from them in whatever way we may go. 
 
 " Thirdly, if that division which escorts the convoy is 
 permitted to march first we risk our all in a manner, and 
 shall be ruined if any accident happens to the artillery and 
 the stores. 
 
 " Lastly, if we advance on both roads by deposits, we 
 must double our number of troops over the mountains and 
 distress ourselves by victualing them at these deposits, be- 
 
 From Carlisle to Fort Duquesne, by way of Forts Frederick and 
 Cumberland: 
 
 Miles. 
 
 From Carlisle to Shippensburg 21 
 
 From Shippensburg to Chambers's 12 
 
 From Chambers's to Pacelin's 12 
 
 From Pacelin's to Fort Frederick 12 
 
 From Fort Frederick to Fort Cumberland 4Q 
 
 97 
 From Fort Cumberland to Fort Duquesne 115 
 
 212 
 37 = 
 
41S WASHINGTON. 
 
 sides losing the proposed advantage, that of stealing a 
 march. For we cannot suppose that the French, who have 
 their scouts constantly out, can be so deficient in point of 
 intelligence as to be unacquainted with our motions while 
 we are advancing by slow degrees toward them. 
 
 " From what has been said relative to the two roads, it 
 appears to me very clear that the old one is infinitely better 
 than the other can be made, and that there is no room to 
 hesitate in deciding which to take, when we consider the 
 advanced season and the little time left to execute our plan. 
 
 " I shall therefore in the last place offer, as desired, my 
 sentiments on advancing by deposits. The first deposit I 
 should have proposed to be at the Little Meadows had time 
 permitted; but as the case now stands I think it should be 
 at the Great Crossing or the Great Meadows. The Great 
 Crossing I esteem the most advantageous post on several 
 accounts, especially on those of water and security of pas- 
 sage; but then it does not abound with forage, as the 
 Meadows do, nor with so much level land fit for culture. 
 To this latter place a body of 1500 men may march with 
 300 wagons (or with carrying-horses, which would be 
 much better), allowing each wagon to carry eight hundred 
 weight of flour and four hundred of salt meat. 
 
 " Our next deposit will probably be at Salt Lick, about 
 thirty-five miles from the Meadows. To this place I think 
 it necessary to send 2,500 men to construct some post, tak- 
 ing six days' provisions only, which is sufficient to serve 
 them till the convoy comes up, by which time an intrenched 
 camp, or some other defensive work may be effected. From 
 hence I conceive it highly expedient to detach three or four 
 thousand of the best troops to invest the fort, and to pre- 
 vent, if possible, an engagement in the woods, which of all 
 things ought to be avoided. The artillery and stores may 
 be brought up in four days from Salt Lick. From that time 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 419 
 
 I will allow eighteen days more, for the carrying-horses to 
 make a trip to Raystown for provisions, passing along the 
 old path by Loyal Hanna. They may do it in this time, as 
 the horses will go down light. 
 
 " From this statement and by my calculations, in which 
 large allowance is made for the quantity of provisions, as 
 well as for the time of transporting them, it appears that 
 from the day on which the front division begins its march 
 till the whole army arrives before Fort Duquesne will be 
 thirty-four days. There will be also eighty-seven days' pro- 
 vision on hand, allowing for the consumption on the march. 
 Eighteen days added to the above will make fifty-two in all, 
 the number required for our operations. These ought to 
 be finished, if possible, by the middle of October (1758)."* 
 
 In a letter addressed to Major Halket, aide of General 
 Forbes, Colonel Washington expressed himself as follows 
 in relation to the new 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 con- 
 sequences of a miscarriage, and a miscarriage the almost' 
 necessary consequence of an attempt to march the army by 
 
 * Sparks's " Writings of Washington," vol. II, p. 392. 
 
420 WASHINGTON. 
 
 this new route. I have given my reasons at large to 
 Colonel Bouquet. He desired that I should do so, that 
 he might forward them to the General. Should this hap- 
 pen you will be able to judge of their weight. I am unin- 
 fluenced by prejudice, having no hopes or fears but for 
 the general good.'' 
 
 Colonel Washington's arguments and remonstrances on 
 the subject of dividing the army and advancing on two 
 different routes had their due weight and that scheme was 
 abandoned. But on the question regarding the new route, 
 his powerful influence was unavailing. The Pennsyl- 
 vanians* wanted a new road to the western country made 
 
 * How this selfish conduct of the Pennsylvanians was regarded 
 by the Virginians under Washington's command is illustrated by 
 the following extract from a letter of Robert Munford to Colonel 
 Bland, dated camp near For^ Cumberland, May 4, 1758: 
 
 " If 'tis honorable to be in the service of one's country, 'tis a 
 reputation gained by the most cruel hardships you can imagine, 
 occasioned more by a real anxiety for its welfare than by what the 
 poor carcass suffers. Every officer seems discontented in camp, 
 happy on command, so deep is the interest of our country implanted 
 in the minds of all. Sometimes the army wears a gloomy, then 
 a joyous aspect, just as the news either confirms our stay here, or 
 immediate departure. The general (Forbes), with the smallpox 
 in one, the flux in the other division of our forces, and no pro- 
 visions ready, are indeed excuses for our being here at present; 
 yet all might have been prevented. A few hearty prayers are every 
 moment offered up for those self-interested Pennsylvanians, who 
 endeavor to prevail on our general to cut a road for their con- 
 venience from Raystown to Fort Duquesne. That a trifling good 
 to particulars should retard what would conduce to the general 
 welfare! 'Tis a set of dirty Dutchmen, they say, that keep us here! 
 It would be impertinent to condemn, yet I must think our leaders 
 too deliberate at this important juncture, when all are warm for 
 action, all breathing revenge against an enemy that has even dared 
 to scalp our men before our eyes. The amusement we have in 
 the mean time is only following the brave dogs over the moun- 
 tains for some miles, and our sole satisfaction sufficient fatigue 
 to make us sleep sound."— Bland Papers, p. 13. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 421 
 
 at the expense of the Crown, and at the risk of defeating 
 the object of the campaign, they carried their point with 
 General Forbes, who, as commander-in-chief had full 
 power to decide the question. How this decision affected 
 Washington may be seen by the following letters: 
 
 [August 5th Washington wrote to Governor Fauquier 
 from the Fort Cumberland camp : 
 
 ** I am sorry to inform you that we are still encamped 
 here, and have little prospect of de-camping, unless a 
 fatal resolution takes place, of opening a new road from 
 Rays Town to Fort Duquesne. In this event, I have no 
 doubt that the Virginia troops will be honored with a full 
 share of the labor, as they have already been in opening 
 a communication from hence to Rays Town, and doing the 
 principal part of the work at that place. 
 
 "' I am just returned from a conference held with Col. 
 Bouquet. In this conference I urged, in the most forcible 
 terms I was master of, the advanced season as an argu- 
 ment against new discoveries. I pressed also the diffi- 
 culties attending the cutting a road over these mountains, 
 — known to me from experience; the length of time it 
 must require to do it ; the little time left for that service ; 
 the moral certainty of its obstructing our march, beyond 
 what the advanced season will admit — and the probable 
 miscarriage of the expedition from that cause ; and lastly 
 I endeavored to represent the distressed condition the col- 
 onies would be reduced to consequent thereon. In fine, 
 I said everything which the importance of the subject sug- 
 gested to me, to avert a measure that seemed to forebode 
 the manifest ruin of the expedition. 
 
 " This is the light in which it presents itself to my 
 mind. I pray Heaven my fears may not be realized! But 
 the thoughts of opening a road 100 miles, over mountains 
 almost inaccessible, at this advanced season, when there 
 
42» WASHINGTON. 
 
 is already a good road made, — a road universally con- 
 fessed to be the best that either is or can be found any- 
 where through these mountains, prognosticates something 
 not quite favorable. 
 
 " I have now drawn up a representation of real facts to 
 be presented to the General; in which I think the advan- 
 tages of going the old road, and moral certainty of failing 
 in the new are so clearly demonstrated that they must 
 strike every unbiassed mind. 
 
 " The small-pox getting among the troops is another 
 unpromising circumstance. An officer and two men of 
 my regiment are now confined with it at Rays Town. 
 
 " From this narrative of our aflfairs your Honor may 
 draw conclusions. You may depend the statement is true ; 
 free from exaggerations and flowing from a mind deeply 
 affected at the prospect before us. I hope, as I once said 
 before, that I see matters in too strong a point of view 
 and that my apprehensions for the consequences of open- 
 ing a new road are groundless." 
 
 " P. S. I was this moment presented with a letter from 
 Col. Bouquet telHng me, that the General had directed 
 the other road to be opened. I expect, therefore, to be 
 ordered that way immediately." 
 
 The next day Washington again wrote to Colonel Bou- 
 quet, his immediate commanding officer: 
 
 " The General's orders, — or the order of any superior 
 officer, will, when once given, be a law to me. I shall 
 never hesitate in obeying them; but, till this order came 
 out [from General Forbes, * lying indisposed at Carlyle'], 
 I thought it incumbent on me to say what I could to 
 divert you (the Commanding Officer present) from a reso- 
 lution of opening a new road, of which I had the most 
 unfavorable reports, and believe from the height of the 
 hills,—- the steepness of them, the unevenness of the ground 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 423 
 
 in general, — and, what above all principally weighed with 
 me, the shortness of the season, that it was impossible to 
 open a road in time to answer our purpose. I am still 
 in this opinion, partly from my own observations of the 
 country, and partly from the information of as good judges 
 as any that will be employed. My duty therefore obliged 
 me to declare my sentiments upon the occasion with that 
 candor and freedom of which you are witness. If I am 
 deceived in my opinion, I shall acknowledge my error as 
 becomes a gentleman led astray from judgment, and not 
 by prejudice, in opposing a measure so conducive to the 
 public weal as you seem to have conceived this to be. If 
 I, unfortunately, am right, my conduct will acquit me of 
 having discharged my duty on this important occasion; 
 on the good success of which our all, in a manner, de- 
 pends." 
 
 August i8, 1758, in view of a possible order " to proceed 
 with a body of troops on General Braddock's road," Wash- 
 ington remarked in a letter to Bouquet on what this 
 would require, and further said: 
 
 " The greatest part of my regiment is on the other road ; 
 so that I have but few remaining with me of the First 
 regiment, and 8 companies of the Second only, whose 
 officers and men can be supposed to know little of the 
 service, and less of the country; and near, or I believe, 
 quite a fifth of them sick. 
 
 *'With regard to keeping out a succession of strong 
 parties on this road from our troops here, I must beg 
 leave to observe, that we have not so much as one carry- 
 ing horse to take provisions out upon, being under a 
 necessity t'other day of pressing five horses from some 
 countrymen (that came to camp on business) before I 
 could equip Capt. McKenzie's party [four officers and 
 75 rank and file] for a 14 days march. That we have 
 
4M WASHINGTON. 
 
 not an ounce of salt provisions of any kind here, and that 
 it is impossible to preserve the fresh, (especially as we 
 have no salt) by any other means than barbacuring it in 
 the Indian manner. 
 
 "A great many of Col. Byrd's men [the Second regi- 
 ment] are, as I before remarked, very sickly; the rest 
 became low spirited and dejected. Of course the greatest 
 share of the service must fall upon the four companies 
 of the First Regiment. This sickness and depression of 
 spirits cannot arise, I conceive, from the situation of our 
 camp, which is undoubtedly the most healthy and best 
 aired in this vicinity, but is caused, I apprehend, by the 
 change in their way of living, (most of them till now 
 having lived in ease and afifluence), and by the limestone 
 water. The soldiers of the ist regiment would be sickly, 
 like those of the 2nd, was it not owing to some such 
 causes as these." 
 
 To Colonel Bouquet Washington wrote, August 28, 
 1758: 
 
 " Your favor by Mr. Hoops has in some measure re- 
 vived a hope that was almost extinguished, of doing some- 
 thing this campaign. We must doubtless expect to en- 
 counter many difficulties in opening a new road through 
 bad grounds in a woody country of which the enemy are 
 possesst, but since you hope our point may be carried I 
 would feign expect the surmounting these obstacles. 
 
 " Tis a melancholy reflection, though, to find there is 
 even a doubt of success, when so much is depending, and 
 when, in all human probability, we might have been in 
 full possession of the Ohio by now, if, rather than running 
 ourselves into difficulties and expense of cutting an entire 
 new road the distance we have, first and last Braddock's 
 had been adopted. 
 
 " I could wish most sincerely that our route was fixed 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 425 
 
 that we might be in motion; for we are all ot us most 
 heartily tired and sick of inactivity." 
 
 "We are still encamped here, very sickly and dispirited at 
 the prospect before us. The 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 cer- 
 tain 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 from 
 appearances, or by the lump. Yet every fool 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. 
 
 " In my last I told you that I had employed my small 
 abilities in opposing the measures then concerting. To 
 do this, I not only represented the advanced season, the 
 difficulty of cutting a new road over these mountains, the 
 little time left for that service, the moral certainty of its 
 obstructing our march, and the miscarriage of the expe- 
 dition consequent thereupon. But I endeavored to rep- 
 resent, also, the great struggle Virginia had made this 
 year in raising a second regiment upon so short a notice, 
 and the great expense of doing it, and her inabihty for a 
 future exertion in case of need. I spoke my fears con-i 
 cerning the southern Indians, in the event of a miscar- 
 riage; and in fine I spoke all wwavailingly, for the road 
 was immediately begun, and since then from one to two 
 
426 WASHINGTON. 
 
 thousand men have constantly wrought upon 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 1,500 men have taken post about ten miles far- 
 ther at a place called Loyal Hanna, where our new fort 
 is to be constructed. 
 
 " We have certain intelligence that the French strength 
 at Fort Duquesne did not exceed 800 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 represen- 
 tation of the matter go to His Majesty, let him know how 
 grossly his interests and the public money have been 
 prostituted. I wish I were sent immediately home, as 
 an aid to some other on this errand. I think, without 
 vanity, I could set the conduct of this expedition in its 
 true colors, having taken some pains, perhaps more than 
 any other man, to dive to the bottom of it. 
 
 " It hath long been the luckless fate of Virginia to fall 
 a victim to the views of her crafty neighbors, and yield 
 her honest efforts to promote their common interests, at 
 the expense of much blood and treasure ! whilst openness 
 and sincerity have governed her measures. We now can 
 only bewail our prospects, and wish for happier times, 
 but these seem at so remote a distance that they are 
 indeed rather to be wished than expected."] 
 
 Well might Washington complain. When this letter 
 was written, parties had been sent forward by Colonel 
 Bouquet to work upon the new road, and six weeks had 
 already been wasted in this fruitless labor, forty-five miles 
 only being gained in that time. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 427 
 
 [September 2, 1758, two months after his arrival there, 
 Washington wrote from the Fort Cumberland camp, to 
 Governor Fauquier: 
 
 " If you are surprised to find us still encamped at this 
 place, I shall only remark that your surprise cannot well 
 exceed my own. 
 
 " In my last I informed your Honor that a resolution 
 was taken to open a new road from Rays Town to Fort 
 Duquesne. It was instantly begun, and since that time 
 from one to two thousand men have wrought on it con- 
 tinually [from August 5]. They had, by the last accounts 
 I received, cut it to the foot of Laurel Hill, about 35 miles, 
 and I suppose by this time have taken posts at Loyal 
 Hanna, 10 miles farther, where I understand another fort 
 is to be built. 
 
 " What time it will require to build a fort at Loyal 
 Hanna, and, after that is accomplished, what further 
 time is necessary to cut the road through very rugged 
 grounds to Fort Duquesne, I must leave to time to reveal. 
 
 " The first division of the Artillery has passed the Alle- 
 ghany hill, and I suppose may by now be got up with the 
 advanced working party. The second division I believe 
 may have marched by this; and they talk of putting all 
 the troops in motion immediately. We have not in our 
 stores at Rays Town two months' provisions for the- army; 
 and if the best judges are to be credited, the nipping 
 frosts will soon destroy the herbage on the mountains; 
 and then, although the communication be not quite 
 stopped, the subsistence for horses is rendered very diffi- 
 cult, till snows and frosts prevent all intercourse with the 
 Ohio, — and these set in early in November. The road 
 from Rays Town to Carlyle, whence the provisions and 
 stores chiefly come, is perhaps worse than any other on the 
 continent, infinitely worse than any part of the road 
 
428 WASHINGTON. 
 
 from hence to Fort Duquesne, along General Braddock's 
 road, and hath already worn out the greatest part of the 
 horses that have been employed in transporting the 
 provisions. 
 
 " I can give your Honor no satisfactory account of the 
 General. He lay ill at Carlyle a long time; from thence 
 (gathering a little strength) he moved to Shippensburgh, 
 where his disorder returned, and where I am told he now 
 is. By a letter received from him he hopes soon to be 
 at Rays Town, where he desires to see Col. Byrd and 
 myself. But alas, the Expedition must either stand or 
 fall by the present plan. 
 
 " In the conference which I had with Colonel Bouquet, 
 I did, among other things, to avert the resolve of opening 
 a new road, represent the great expense the colony of 
 Virginia had been at to support the war; the charge of 
 raising a second regiment at so short notice; the time 
 limited for its service; and therefore the cruelty of risk- 
 ing the success of an expedition upon such precarious 
 measures, when so much depends on it, and our inability 
 to do more. 
 
 " But I urged in vain. The Pennsylvanians, whose pres- 
 ent as well as future interest it was to conduct the expe- 
 dition through their Government, and along that way, be- 
 cause it secures their frontiers at present and the trade 
 hereafter — a chain of forts being erected — had preju- 
 diced the General absolutely against this road; made him 
 believe we were the partial people; and determined him 
 at all events to pursue that route. So that their sentiments 
 are already known on this matter and to them, as instiga- 
 tors, may be attributed the great misfortune of this mis- 
 carriage. 
 
 " The contractor has orders to lay in, at Loyal Hanna, 
 for 4000 men the winter. Whence it is imagined that 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 429 
 
 our expedition for this campaign will end there. Should 
 we serve to make up the troops which garrison that place, 
 our frontiers will thereby not only be exposed, but the 
 soldiers, for want of clothing and proper conveniences 
 must absolutely perish, few of them having a whole coat 
 to their backs, and many none at all. 
 
 " I have thus given your Honor a full and impartial 
 account of the present posture of affairs here; of which 
 any use may be made you shall think proper. I may pos- 
 sibly be blamed for expressing my sentiments so freely, — 
 but never can be ashamed of urging the truth; and none 
 but obvious facts are stated here. The General, I dare 
 say from his good character, can account fully, and no 
 doubt satisfactorily, for these delays that surprise all who 
 judge from appearances; but I really cannot." 
 
 In a private letter of September 12, 1758, a thought, in 
 close line with one of the most striking of Shakespeare's 
 utterances, appears in Washington's avowal of " an opin- 
 ion, which I have long entertained, that there is a Destiny 
 which has the control of 'our actions, not to be resisted 
 by the strongest efforts of Human Nature." The letter 
 is most plainly to one who had been so completely the 
 object of Washington's earlier affection that no other per- 
 son could so deeply command his devotion and create his 
 happiness. It is said that Mrs. Custis, when Washington 
 met her, strikingly resembled the person who might have 
 been Mrs. Washington if she had not already provided 
 herself with a husband in Colonel William Fairfax's son, 
 George William Fairfax, who was eight years older than 
 Washington. If Mrs. George William Fairfax was the per- 
 son upon whom Washington's earliest sense of perfect 
 womanly charm had rested, there seems no reason to 
 doubt that it was when hardly more than upon the thresh- 
 old of manhood, with his home about as much at Belvoir, 
 
430 WASHINGTON. 
 
 the mansion of the Fairfaxes, as at his brother Law- 
 rence's Mount Vernon mansion, that the interchange of 
 interest in each other began, with the amplest security 
 for conventional and actual propriety on both sides, with 
 the occasions of kindness to, and regard for, a young 
 friend appeahng most naturally to her, and with the very 
 exceptional rise of feeling in him natural to maturity be- 
 yond his years, and to the rarest genius for deep, pure, 
 and powerful emotion; until both the one and the other 
 found interest in each other awakened, far beyond what 
 could be carried into effect, or could be expressed from 
 one to the other, save as correspondence might venture 
 a little way. The letter was as follows: 
 
 " Yesterday I was honored with your short but very 
 agreeable favor of the first inst. How joyfully I catch 
 at the happy occasion of renewing a correspondence 
 which I feared was disrelished on your part, I leave to 
 time, that never faiHng expositor of all things, and to a 
 monitor equally faithful in my own breast, to testify. In 
 silence I now express my joy; silence, which, in some 
 cases, I wish the present, speaks more intelligently than 
 the sweetest eloquence. 
 
 " If you allow that any honor can be derived from my 
 opposition to our present system of management [in the 
 expedition matters], you destroy the merit of it entirely 
 in me by attributing my anxiety [for the better conduct 
 and earlier success of the campaign] to the animating 
 prospect of possessing Mrs. Custis, when — I need not 
 tell you, guess yourself [meaning apparently, to say, yet 
 not say, "when, to return to the happiness of Belvoir, 
 of your society, would not less have been an animating 
 prospect."] Should not my own honor and country's wel- 
 fare be the excitement? Tis true, I profess myself a votary 
 of Love. I acknowledge that a lady is in the case, and 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 431 
 
 further I confess that this lady is known to you. Yes, 
 Madame, as well as she is to one who is too sensible 
 of her charms to deny the power whose influence he 
 feels and must ever submit to. I feel the force of her 
 amiable beauties in the recollection of a thousand tender 
 passages that I could wish to obliterate, till I am bid to 
 revive them. But experience, alas! sadly reminds me how 
 impossible this is, and evinces an opinion which I have 
 long entertained, that there is a Destiny which has the 
 control of our actions, not to be resisted by the strongest 
 efforts of Human Nature. 
 
 " You have drawn me. Dear Madame, or rather I have 
 drawn myself, into an honest confession of a simple fact. 
 Misconstrue not my meaning; doubt it not, nor expose it. 
 The world has no business to know the object of my Love, 
 declared in this manner to you, when I want to conceal it. 
 One thing above all things in this world I wish to know, 
 and only one person of your acquaintance can solve me 
 that, or guess my meaning. But adieu to this till happier 
 times, if 1 ever shall see them. The hours at present are 
 melancholy dull. I dare believe you are as happy as you 
 say. I wish I was happy also. Mirth, good humor, ease 
 of mind, and — what else? — cannot fail to render you so. 
 
 " I cannot easily forgive the unseasonable haste of my 
 last express [messenger], if he deprived me thereby of 
 a single word you intended to add. The time of the pres- 
 ent messenger is, as the last might have been, entirely 
 at your disposal. I can't expect to hear from my friends 
 more than this once [i. e. by the return of his messenger] 
 before the fate of this expedition will some how or other 
 be determined. I therefore beg to know when you set 
 out for Hampton, and when you expect to return to Bel- 
 voir again. And I should be glad also to hear of your 
 speedy departure, as I shall thereby hope for your return 
 
4:32 WASHINGTON. 
 
 before I get down. The disappointment of seeing your 
 family [i. e. to be disappointed of seeing], would give 
 me much concern. F'rom anything I can yet see 'tis 
 hardly possible to say when we shall finish. I don't think 
 there is a possibility of it till the middle of November. 
 Your letter to Captain Gist I forwarded by a safe hand 
 the moment it came to me. His answer shall be carefully 
 transmitted. 
 
 " Col. Mercer, to whom I delivered your message and 
 compliments, joins me very heartily in wishing you and 
 the Ladies of Belvoir the perfect enjoyment of every hap- 
 piness the world affords. Be assured that I am. Dear 
 Madame, with the most unfeigned regard, your most 
 obedient and most obliged humble servant." 
 
 If, as seems undeniable, there is in the expressions used 
 in this letter a bold, yet veiled avowal that the person ad- 
 dressed had engaged his feelings to the, utmost possible, 
 it seems no less certain that the expressions used imply 
 that there had never been any understanding between 
 the two, through which he could have been sure what her 
 feelings were, and that he wished, ''above all things in 
 this world," to be allowed to know it if the interest which 
 he felt was similarly feh by her. It seems impossible not 
 to assume that she had not found an ideal satisfaction in 
 her marriage, yet maintained her position in it all the 
 same, while yet finding in her husband's younger comrade 
 the grounds of such satisfaction, and not wholly conceal- 
 ing it from the object of her interest. And strongly as 
 Washington expressed his " wish to know " the one thing 
 of greatest interest to his feeHngs, as he turned back to 
 his Belvoir experiences, there seems not the slightest 
 reason to suppose that it could have meant to him anything 
 more than a mental satisfaction, or could have given 
 him even a thought of pause in the matter of his engage- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 433 
 
 ment to Mrs. Custis. That Washington was not a Httle 
 in the dark as to what might be true of the feeHngs of 
 Mrs. Fairfax, from the avoidance on her part of giving 
 him any indication adequate to satisfy his " wish to know," 
 appears very plainly from his recurring to the matter in 
 a second letter, September 25, but only to the extent of 
 these ^ew words: 
 
 " Do we still misunderstand the meaning of each other's 
 letters? I think it must appear so, though I would feign 
 hope the contrary, as I cannot speak plainer without. But 
 I'll say no more, and leave you to guess the rest." 
 
 In this letter Washington says : " I am extremely glad 
 to find that Mr. Fairfax has escaped the dangers of the 
 siege at Louisberg." The younger brother of George 
 WilHam Fairfax was in the army with Wolfe, and was 
 killed at the siege of Quebec. If George William Fairfax 
 had fallen at Louisberg, the personal story of Washington 
 might have been different but for the fact that the engage- 
 ment already made was as binding to his honor, and as 
 satisfactory to judgment and feeling, as the earlier interest 
 was in some degree deeper — after the manner of such first 
 exceptionally deep interest. 
 
 If we recur to the interest of the mere youth in " Miss 
 Betsy," an account of which is given at page 48, it will 
 be seen that the youth of twenty showed very deep feeling 
 under the impression made upon him by Miss Betsy 
 Fauntleroy; that while this feeling was strongest his " place 
 of residence " was with the Fairfaxes, where the family 
 included Mrs. George William Fairfax and her sister, " a 
 very agreeable young lady;" and that he avoided becoming 
 interested in the young lady, partly because of the strength 
 of his feeling for Miss Betsy, and partly because he felt 
 convinced that he would " only get a denial," if he ven- 
 tured anything. In this situation Mrs. Fairfax and her 
 28 
 
434 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Husband's comrade could hardly fail to unconsciously 
 come into a relation of perhaps unguarded interest on her 
 part, and of unguarded self-disclosure on his part, the 
 almost inevitable result of which, to her, would be to know, 
 as no one else could, the depth, purity, charm, and strength 
 of his nature, not yet revealed to common observation; 
 while to him would come the consciousness of attraction 
 and satisfaction, in a singularly sympathetic and beautiful 
 woman, very much beyond anything through which any 
 "young lady" could appeal to him. Mrs. Fairfax was 
 but two years his senior; she had been married four years 
 in 1752; and with no more than commonplace gifts and 
 excellence in Mr. Fairfax, a deeply sympathetic knowledge 
 of Washington, in the rarest promise of his genius and 
 character, may well have made an impression as profound, 
 beyond every other known to her experience, as it was 
 necessarily pathetic. There is no evidence that to either 
 the whole experience was more than a transaction of 
 silence or of dumb distance signals, with no effect what- 
 ever upon the actual life of either. It should be plain, 
 however, that there were three stages in the emotional 
 experience of Washington, in relation with three persons, 
 Betsy Fauntleroy, Mrs. Fairfax, and Mrs. Custis, and that 
 upon the latter fell all the conscience, honor, and fidelity 
 of the mature man.] 
 
 General Forbes had at length arrived at his headquarters 
 at Raystown (September 15, 1758). The advanced party 
 were constructing a fort at Loyal Hanna, most of the Vir- 
 ginia troops were still at Fort Cumberland, whereas, if the 
 old route by Braddock's road had been adopted. General 
 Forbes with his army of 6,000 men might already have 
 reached Fort Duquesne, at that time garrisoned by only 
 800 men. 
 
 So much dissatisfied were the Virginia House of Bur- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 435 
 
 gesses with this state of affairs, that they were on the point 
 of recalling the forces of that Colony and placing them on 
 their own frontier, but the apprehension that the failure of 
 the expedition might be ascribed to this proceeding in- 
 duced them to extend the period of service for their troops 
 to the end of the year. 
 
 We have already seen that Washington disapproved of 
 the scheme of sending forward detachments of any con« 
 siderable force in advance of the main body of the army. 
 His excellent judgment on this head was fully evinced by 
 the disastrous fate of Major Grant's detachment. This 
 officer was detailed from the advanced post at Loyal Hanna 
 on the 2ist of September (1758), with 800 men, for the 
 purpose of reconnoitering the enemy's position at Fort 
 Duquesne. His proceedings were singularly imprudent. 
 Having arrived, without molestation, at a hill near the fort, 
 in the night, he sent forward a small party to make observa- 
 tions, who burnt a log cabin and returned. 
 
 Next morning Major Grant having ordered Major Lewis, 
 of Washington's Virginia regiment, with a baggage-guard 
 to a point two miles in his rear, sent forward an engineer 
 with a covering party within full view of the garrison to 
 take a plan of the works. As if all these proceedings were 
 not sufficient to give the enemy notice of his presence, he 
 ordered the reveille to be beaten in several places. 
 
 The intelligent French commander of Fort Duquesne 
 observed and duly appreciated this silly and impudent 
 bravado and took speedy measures to punish it. Having 
 posted Indians in ambuscade on his enemy's flanks he made 
 a sudden sally from the fort, and soon spread dismay and 
 cofifusion among the ranks of the British soldiers. The 
 Highlanders, who composed a part of the detachment, stood 
 their ground well for some time before they broke and 
 fled. The Virginians from Washington's regiment gave 
 
436 WASHINGTON, 
 
 evidence of the thorough manner in which they had been 
 trained for border warfare. They bore the brunt of the 
 battle, losing out of eight officers, five killed, one wounded, 
 and one taken prisoner, while of the rank and file, out of 
 162, sixty-two were killed and two wounded. 
 
 On hearing the firing, Major Lewis left Captain Bullitt 
 with fifty Virginians to guard the baggage, and hastened 
 to join in the fight. He was speedily engaged with the 
 Indians who had emerged from their ambuscade in the 
 woods. Surrounded and nearly overpowered, he surren- 
 dered to a French officer. Major Grant was also taken 
 prisoner. The main body of the detachment was routed, 
 and sought safety in the neighboring forest. 
 
 Captain Bullitt after sending ofif a portion of the baggage- 
 wagons made a stand behind a breastwork formed of the 
 remaining ones and drove back the Indians who were 
 rushing forward to secure the plunder. He then effected 
 a rapid retreat with the remnant of the detachment. Scat- 
 tered fugitives from the main body who had been dis- 
 persed slowly found their way through the woods to Loyal 
 Hanna. The total loss was 270 killed and 42 wounded. 
 
 Washington received, in the compliments of the general, 
 a satisfactory intimation that the conduct of the portion 
 of his regiment engaged in this action was duly appreciated 
 at headquarters, and Captain Bullitt's promotion to the 
 rank of major was a further testimony to the courage and 
 good behavior of the Virginians. 
 
 [Washington wrote September 25, 1758, to Governor 
 Fauquier, of this affair: 
 
 "The I2th instant Major Grant, of the Highland bat- 
 talion, with a chosen detachment of 800 men marched 
 from our advanced post, at Loyal Hannan, for Fort Du- 
 quesne; — what to do there (unless to meet the fate he did) 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 437 
 
 I cannot certainly inform you. However, to get intelli- 
 gence and annoy the Enemy, was the ostensible plan. 
 
 " On the 13th, in the night, they arrived near that place; 
 formed upon the hill in two columns; and sent a party 
 to the fort to make discoveries, which they accompHshed 
 accordingly — and burned a log-house not far from the 
 walls without interruption. Stimulated by this success the 
 major kept his post and disposition until day; then de- 
 tached Major Lewis and part of his command two miles 
 back to their baggage guard and sent an engineer with a 
 covering party in full view of the fort, to take a plan of 
 the works — at the same time causing the reveille to beat 
 in several different places. 
 
 "The Enemy hereupon sallied out, and an obstinate 
 Engagement began, for the particulars of which I beg 
 leave to refer your Honor to the enclosed letters and re- 
 turn of the regiment. Major Lewis, it is said, met his 
 fate in bravely advancing to sustain Major Grant. Our 
 officers and men have acquired very great applause for 
 their gallant behavior during the action. I had the honor 
 to be publicly complimented yesterday by the General on 
 the occasion. The havock that was made of them is a 
 demonstrable proof of their obstinate defence, having six 
 officers killed, and a seventh wounded, out of eight. Major 
 Lewis who cheerfully went upon this enterprise (when he 
 found there was no dissuading Colonel Bouquet from the 
 attempt, desired his friends to remember that he had op- 
 posed the undertaking to the utmost. 
 
 " What may be the consequence of this affair, I will not 
 take upon me to decide, but this I may venture to declare, 
 that our affairs in general appear with a greater gloom 
 than ever; and I see no probability of opening the road 
 this campaign. How then can we expect a favorable issue 
 to the expedition. I have used my best endeavors to sup- 
 
438 WASHINGTON. 
 
 ply my men with the necessaries they want. Seventy 
 blankets I got from the General upon a promise to return 
 them again." 
 
 In the letter to Mrs. Fairfax of the same date, the few 
 personal words of which have been quoted above, Wash- 
 ington said, of Major Grant's further proceedings making 
 observations, etc. : 
 
 " Egg'd on rather than satisfied by this success. Major 
 Grant must needs insult the Enemy next morning by 
 beating the reveille in different places in view. This 
 caused a great body of men to sally from the Fort, and an 
 obstinate engagement to ensue, which was maintained on 
 our side with the utmost efforts that bravery could yield, 
 till, being overpowered and quite surrounded, they were 
 obliged to retreat with the loss of 22 officers killed and 278 
 men, besides wounded. 
 
 " This is a heavy blow to our affairs here, and a sad 
 stroke upon my regiment, that has lost out of 8 officers, 
 and 168 that were in the action, 6 of the former killed and 
 a 7th wounded. Among the slain was our dear Major 
 Lewis. 
 
 " Thus it is the lives of the brave are often disposed of. 
 But who is there that does not rather envy than regret 
 a death that gives birth to honor and glorious memory? 
 
 " I am extremely glad to find that Mr. Fairfax has 
 escaped the dangers of the siege of Louisberg. Already 
 have we experienced greater losses than our army sus- 
 tained at that place, and have gained not one obvious 
 advantage. So miserably has this expedition been man- 
 aged that I expect after a month's further trial, and the 
 loss of many more men by the sword, cold, and famine, 
 we shall give the expedition over as impracticable this 
 season, and retire to the inhabitants [i. e. the settlements 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 439 
 
 on the frontier from which they had marched], condemned 
 by the world and derided by our friends." 
 
 September 28th Washington further wrote that by a 
 flag of truce sent to Fort Duquesne it had been '' learned 
 with certainty that Major Grant with two other Highland 
 officers, and Major Lewis," with some other officers and 
 thirty privates, " were made prisoners in the late action, 
 and sent immediately to Montreal." The letter also said: 
 " We find that the frosts have already changed the face of 
 nature among these mountains. We know there is not 
 more than a month left for enterprise; we know also that 
 a number of horses cannot subsist after that time on a road 
 stripped of its herbage — and very few there are who ap- 
 prehend that our affairs can be brought to favorable issue 
 by that period, nor do I see how it is possible, if everything 
 else answered, that men half naked can live in tents much 
 longer."] 
 
 At length the main body of the army received orders to 
 advance from Raystown. The general called on the 
 colonels of regiments to submit severally, for his considera- 
 tion, a plan for his march. The plan submitted by Wash- 
 ington is given by Mr. Sparks,* and evinces sound judg- 
 ment and practical acquaintance with frontier warfare. 
 
 [From camp at Rays Town, October 8, 1758, Washing- 
 ton sent to General Forbes plans for a line of march, of 
 which he said: 
 
 *' They express my thoughts on a line of march through 
 a country covered with woods, and how that line of 
 march may be formed in an instant into an order of battle. 
 The plan is calculated for a forced march with field-pieces 
 only, unincumbered with wagons. It represents, first, a 
 line of march; and, secondly, how that line of march may 
 in an instant be thrown into an order of battle in the 
 
 * Washington's " Writings," vol. II, p. 313. 
 
440 WASHINGTON. 
 
 woods. This plan supposes 4,000 privates, 1,000 of whom, 
 (picked men), are to march in the front in three divisions, 
 each division having a field-officer to command it, besides 
 the commander of the whole ; and is always to be in readi- 
 ness to oppose the enemy, whose attack, if the necessary 
 precautions are observed, must always be in front." 
 
 The statement of particulars of the operation of the 
 plan gives clear proof of thorough knowledge of the style 
 of warfare required in service such as that of the expedi- 
 tion in hand.] 
 
 Washington at his own request was put in the advance. 
 He was placed at the head of a division numbering 1,000 
 men, with the temporary rank of brigadier-general, and 
 ordered to move in front of the main army, clear the road, 
 and take precautions against a surprise by the enemy. The 
 main body did not reach Loyal Hanna till the 5th of No- 
 vember (1758). The road was indescribably bad, and frost 
 and snow were already announcing the near approach of 
 winter. The soldiers were dispirited, as well they might be, 
 for they were ill-clad for the season, surrounded by a wilder- 
 ness of forests, and still at the distance of fifty miles from 
 Fort Duquesne. 
 
 A council of war was now held in which, as Washington 
 had foreseen and predicted, it was decided that it was in- 
 expedient to proceed further in the campaign. To winter 
 on the ground was nearly impossible. The alternative was 
 to retreat or sufTer hardships similar to those which the 
 army under Washington's command subsequently suffered 
 at Valley Forge. 
 
 Fortunately, we should rather say, providentially, three 
 prisoners were taken from whom information was obtained 
 of the actual condition of Fort Duquesne. The garrison 
 was greatly reduced. The Indians had all deserted them. 
 The usual supplies of provisions and the expected reinforce- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 44I 
 
 ments from Canada had failed. A single well-directed blow 
 would accomplish the object of the campaign. 
 
 This report determined General Forbes to prosecute the 
 expedition. Washington was advanced in front as before, 
 to open a road for the main body of the army and establish 
 deposits. The tents and heavy baggage were left at Loyal 
 Hanna and only a light train of artillery was taken forward 
 with the army. Inspirited with the prospect of final success 
 both officers and men now performed their duty with 
 alacrity. 
 
 The road however was long and difficult, and it was not 
 till the 25th of November that the army arrived at Fort 
 Duquesne. Instead of having to prosecute a siege and 
 assault, General Forbes took quiet possession of the fort, 
 which was already abandoned by the enemy. 
 
 Colonel Bradstreet's capture of Fort Frontenac had cut 
 off the usual supplies and reinforcements intended for this 
 post, and the garrison consisting of only 500 men had on 
 the preceding night evacuated the place, after setting it on 
 fire, and proceeded down the Ohio in boats. 
 
 [October 30, 1758, Washington wrote to Governor Fau- 
 quier from the camp at Loyal Hanna, explaining how he 
 had made a sudden march from Rays Town, and further 
 saying: 
 
 *' My march to this post gave me an opportunity of 
 forming a judgment of the road, and I can truly say that 
 it is indescribably bad. Had it not been for an accidental 
 discovery of a new passage over the Laurel Hill, the car- 
 riages must inevitably have stopped on the other side. 
 This is a fact nobody here takes it upon him to deny. 
 The general, and great part of the troops, etc., being yet 
 behind, and the weather growing very inclement, must, 
 I apprehend, terminate our expedition for this year at this 
 place. But as our affairs are now drawing to a crisis, and 
 
44^ WASHINGTON. 
 
 a good or bad conclusion of them will shortly ensue, I 
 choose to suspend my judgment, as well as a further ac- 
 count of the matter, to a future day." 
 
 November 5th Washington further wrote to Fauquier: 
 
 " The General being arrived, with most of the artillery 
 and troops, we expect to move forward in a very few days, 
 encountering every hardship that an advanced season, 
 want of clothes, and a small stock of provisions will ex- 
 pose us to. But it is no longer a time for pointing out 
 difficulties, and I hope my next will run in a more agree- 
 able strain." 
 
 The circumstances under which the forward movement 
 was being made are not mentioned in Washington's letters 
 until that of November 28th, reporting arrival at Fort 
 Duquesne on the 25th, after the French had burned down 
 the fort and gone down the Ohio. In the letter referred 
 to, Washington said: 
 
 " The possession of this fort has been a matter of sur- 
 prise to the whole army, and we cannot attribute it to more 
 probable causes than those of weakness, want of pro- 
 visions, and desertion of their Indians. Of these circum- 
 stances we were luckily informed by three prisoners who 
 providentially fell into our hands at Loyal Hanna, at a 
 time when we despaired of proceeding, and a council of 
 war had determined that it was not advisable to advance 
 further this season; but the information above caused us 
 to march on without tents or baggage, and with a light 
 train of artillery only, with which we have happily suc- 
 ceeded." 
 
 Of the particulars of this success Washington wrote to 
 General Forbes, November 17, from camp near Bushy 
 Run: 
 "After the most constant labor from daybreak till night, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 443 
 
 we were able to open the road to this place, only about 
 six miles from our last camp. 
 
 " I shall struggle hard to be up with Colonel Armstrong 
 tonight, being but two and a half miles from his last camp." 
 
 That night he wrote further: 
 
 " I have opened the road between seven and eight miles 
 today, and am' yet three miles short of Colonel Armstrong, 
 who marched at 8 o'clock." 
 
 The next day he wrote from Armstrong's camp that he 
 had arrived there about 1 1 o'clock, having opened the road 
 before him; that he halted there to slaughter and dress 
 beef for the troops; and that he should go forward with 
 i,ooo men at 3 the next morning. The march thus re- 
 newed led directly on to Fort Duquesne, possession of 
 which, or rather of the spot on which it had stood, was 
 had November 25th. In the letter reporting this to Gov- 
 ernor Fauquier, Washington said: 
 
 " I cannot help premising, in this place, the hardships 
 the troops have undergone, and the naked condition they 
 now are in, in order that you may judge if it is not neces- 
 sary that they should have some little recess from fatigue, 
 and time to provide themselves with necessaries, for at 
 present they are destitute of every comfort of life. If I 
 do not get your orders to the contrary, I shall march the 
 troops under my command directly to Winchester. 
 
 " This fortunate, and indeed unexpected success of our 
 arms will be attended with happy effects. The Delawares 
 are suing for peace, and I doubt not that other tribes on 
 the Ohio will follow their example. A trade, free, open, 
 and upon equitable terms, is what they seem much to 
 stickle for, and I do not know so effectual a way of rivet- 
 ing them to our interest, as sending out goods immediately 
 to this place for that purpose. It will, at the same time, 
 be a means of supplying the garrison with such necessaries 
 
444 WASHINGTON. 
 
 as may be wanted; and I think, those Colonies which are 
 as greatly interested as Virginia is, should neglect no 
 means in their power to establish and support a strong 
 garrison here. Our business, wanting this, will be but half 
 finished; while, on the other hand, we obtain a firm and 
 lasting peace, if this end is once accomplished. 
 
 " General Forbes is very assiduous in getting these 
 matters settled upon a solid basis, and has great merit 
 (which I hope will be rewarded) for the happy issue which 
 he has broug-ht our affairs to, infirm and worn down as 
 he is." 
 
 The general had followed in the rear of his army in a 
 litter, and a few weeks later he died at Philadelphia.] 
 
 After taking possession of the fort General Forbes* 
 caused the works to be repaired and gave it the name of 
 Fort Pitt, in honor of the Prime Minister. The flourishing 
 city of Pittsburg now stands near the ruins of " Old Fort 
 Duquesne." 
 
 Two hundred men from Washington's regiment formed 
 the garrison of Fort Pitt. This measure was adopted against 
 his remonstrances. General Forbes declining to leave a 
 detachment from the regular army in consequence of an 
 opinion he had formed that by such a step he would exceed 
 his authority. 
 
 Washington marched back with the remainder of his com- 
 
 *John Forbes was a native of Petincrief, Fifeshire, Scotland, 
 and was educated as a physician. He abandoned his profession, 
 entered the army, and in 1745 was advanced to the rank of lieu- 
 tenant-colonel. He acted as quartermaster-general of the army 
 under the Duke of Cumberland, and in 1757 was appointed briga- 
 dier-general, and sent to America. He was successful in the expe- 
 dition against Fort Duquesne — the works being abandoned on 
 his approach. After having concluded treaties with the Indian 
 tribes on the Ohio, he returned to Philadelphia, and died in that 
 city, March 13, 1759, aged 49. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 4:4:5 
 
 mand to Winchester. On his way he stopped at Loyal 
 Hanna whence he addressed a circular letter to the frontier 
 inhabitants, requesting them to forward supplies to the 
 Virginians at Fort Pitt, and promising remuneration. 
 Leaving his troops at Winchester, he proceeded to Wil- 
 liamsburg, to take his seat in the Legislature of Virginia, of 
 which he had been elected a member while he was on duty 
 at Fort Cumberland. 
 
 [December 2, 1758, Washington wrote from Loyal 
 Hanna that he had made the attempt to proceed to Vir- 
 ginia at once to represent the situation on the Ohio to 
 Governor Fauquier, and had been prevented by want of 
 horses, those which he had being " entirely knocked up." 
 He further said: 
 
 " The General has, in his letters, told you what gar- 
 rison he proposed to leave at Fort Duquesne, but the want 
 of provisions rendered it impossible to leave more than 
 200 men in all there. These, without great exertions, 
 must, I fear, abandon the place or perish. To prevent, as 
 far as possible, either of these events happening, I have 
 by this conveyance written a circular letter to the back 
 inhabitants of Virginia, setting forth the great advantages 
 of keeping that place; the improbability of doing it with- 
 out their immediate assistance; that they may travel safely 
 out while we hold that post; and that they will be allowed 
 good prices for such species of provisions as they shall 
 carry. 
 
 " Unless the most effectual measures are taken early in 
 the spring to reinforce the garrison at Fort Duquesne, the 
 place will inevitably be lost, and then our frontiers will 
 fall into the same distressed condition that they have been 
 in for some time past. For I can very confidently assert, 
 that we never can secure them properly, if we again lose 
 our footing on the Ohio, as we consequently lose the in- 
 
446 WASHINGTON. 
 
 terest of the Indians. I therefore think that every neces- 
 sary preparation should be making, not a moment should 
 be lost in taking the most speedy and efficacious steps 
 in securing the infinite advantages which may be derived 
 from our regaining possession of that important country. 
 "That the preparatory steps should immediately be 
 taken for securing the communication from Virginia, by 
 constructing a post at Redstone Creek, which would 
 greatly facilitate the supplying of our troops on the Ohio, 
 where a formidable garrison should be sent as soon as the 
 season will admit of it. 
 
 "That a trade with the Indians should be upon such 
 terms, and transacted by men of such principles, as would 
 at the same time turn out to the reciprocal advantage of 
 the colony and the Indians, and which would effectually 
 remove those bad impressions that the Indians received 
 from the conduct of a set of rascally fellows, divested of 
 all faith and honor; and give us such an early opportunity 
 of estabHshing an interest with them as would be pro- 
 ductive of the most beneficial consequences, on getting a 
 large share of the fur trade, not only of the Ohio Indians, 
 but, in time, of the numerous nations possessing the back 
 country westward of it. And to prevent this advantageous 
 commerce from suffering in its infancy, by the sinister 
 views of designing, selfish men of the different provinces, I 
 humbly conceive it absolutely necessary that commissioners 
 from each of the colonies be appointed to regulate the 
 mode of that trade, and to fix it on such a basis that all 
 the attempts of one colony undermining another, and 
 thereby weakening and diminishing the general system, 
 might be frustrated. 
 
 "Although none can entertain a higher sense of the great 
 importance of maintaining a post on the Ohio than myself, 
 yet, under the present circumstances of my regiment, I 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 447 
 
 would by no means have agreed to leave any part of it 
 there, had not the General given an express order for it. 
 Our men that are left there are in such a miserable situa- 
 tion, having hardly rags to cover their nakedness, that un- 
 less provision is made by the country for supplying them 
 immediately they must inevitably perish; and if the First 
 Virginia Regiment is to be kept up any longer, or any 
 services are expected therefrom, they should forthwith be 
 clothed as they are. By their present shameful nakedness, 
 the advanced season, and the inconceivable fatigues of an 
 uncommonly long and laborious campaign, they are ren- 
 dered totally incapable of any kind of service ; and sickness, 
 death, and desertion must, if their wants are not speedily 
 supplied, greatly reduce its numbers. To replace them 
 with equally good men will, perhaps, be found impos- 
 sible."] 
 
 As the frontier of Virginia was now relieved from the 
 incursions of the French and Indians, Washington's 
 patriotic motives for continuing in the military service had 
 ceased to operate. No royal commission such as had 
 been tendered to Sir William Pepperrell for his single suc- 
 cessful campaign at Louisburg was offered for his accept- 
 ance and his military career for the present was closed. 
 About the end of the year (1758), he resigned his com- 
 mission as colonel of the first Virginia regiment and com- 
 mander-in-chief of all the troops raised in the Colony. 
 
 " The officers whom he commanded," says Marshall,* 
 " were greatly attached to him. They manifested their 
 esteem and their regret at parting by a very affectionate 
 address, expressive of the high opinion they entertained 
 both of his military and private character. 
 
 " This opinion was not confined to the officers of his 
 regiment ; it was common to Virginia and had been adopted 
 
 ♦Life of Washington, chapter I. 
 
448 WASHINGTON. 
 
 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 disci- 
 pline he estabHshed in his regiment when the temper of 
 Virginia was extremely hostile to discipline does credit to 
 his military character, and the gallantry the troops dis- 
 played whenever called into action, manifests the spirit in- 
 fused into them by their commander. 
 
 " The difficulties of his situation while unable to cover 
 the frontier from the French and Indians who were spread- 
 mg 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 undimin- 
 ished 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." 
 
 In a former part of this chapter, we have mentioned a 
 visit of Washington to the seat of government at Williams- 
 burg for the purpose of obtaining supplies and an augmen- 
 tation of pay for the soldiers of his regiment. It was during 
 this journey that he became acquainted with the lady with 
 whom he was afterward united in marriage. Her maiden 
 name was Martha Danbridge. She was descended from an 
 ancient family that migrated to the Colony. She was born 
 in the county of New Kent, May, 1732. At the age of 
 seventeen she had been married to Col. Daniel Parke 
 Custis, a planter of the same county, and resided at the 
 "White House," on the banks of Pamunkey river. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 449 
 
 Mrs. Custis was early left a widow with two children* 
 and a large fortune. She was on a visit to the family of a 
 neighbor, Mr. Chamberlayne, when Washington first met 
 her on his journey from Winchester to Williamsburg. f 
 
 " It was in 1758," says her biographer, J " that an officer 
 attired in a military undress and attended by a body servant 
 tall and militaire as his chief, crossed the ferry called Wil- 
 liams', over the Pamunkey, a branch of the York river. On 
 the boat touching the southern or New Kent side, the 
 soldier's progress was arrested by one of those personages 
 who give the beau ideal of the Virginia gentleman of the 
 old regime — the very soul of kindness and hospitality. He 
 would hear of no excuse on the officer's part for declining 
 the invitation to stop at his house. In vain the colonel 
 pleaded important business at Williamsburg ; Mr. Chamber- 
 layne insisted that his friend must dine with him at the 
 very least. He promised as a tempation to introduce him 
 to a young and charming widow who chanced then to be 
 an inmate of his dwelling. At last the soldier surrendered 
 at discretion, resolving however to pursue his journey the 
 same evening. They proceeded to the mansion. Mr. 
 Chamberlayne presented Colonel Washington to his various 
 guests among whom was the beautiful Mrs. Custis. Tradi- 
 tion says that the two were favorably impressed with each 
 other at the first interview. 
 
 The acquaintance thus auspiciously commenced was fol- 
 lowed by an engagement soon after, the marriage being 
 deferred till the close of the campaign. It took place at the 
 lady's residence, the " White House," on the 6th of January, 
 
 1759- 
 The mansion of Mount Vernon, which became their resi- 
 
 * Martha, who died at Mount Vernon, 1777, and John, who died 
 in 1781. 
 t Custis, " Memoir of Martha Washington." 
 t Mrs. Ellet, " Women of the Revolution." 
 29 
 
450 WASHINGTON. 
 
 dence soon after the marriage, was then a very small build- 
 ing compared with its present extent, and the numerous out- 
 buildings attached to it. The mansion-house consisted of 
 four rooms on a floor forming the center pf the present 
 building, and remained pretty much in that state up to 1774, 
 when Colonel Washington repaired to the first Congress in 
 Philadelphia, and from thence to the command-in-chief 
 of the armies of his country assembled before Cambridge, 
 July, 1775. The commander-in-chief returned no more to 
 reside at Mount Vernon till after the peace of 1783. Mrs. 
 Washington accompanied the general to the lines before 
 Boston and witnessed its siege and evacuation. She then 
 returned to Virginia, the subsequent campaigns being of 
 too momentous a character to allow of her accompanying 
 the army. 
 
 At the close of each campaign an aide-de-camp repaired 
 to Mount Vernon to escort her to the headquarters. The 
 arrival of Mrs. Washington at camp was an event much 
 anticipated and was always the signal for the ladies of the 
 general officers to repair to the bosoms of their lords. The 
 arrival of the aide-de-camp escorting the plain chariot with 
 the neat postillions in their scarlet and white liveries was 
 deemed an epoch in the army and served to diffuse a cheer- 
 ing influence amid the gloom which hung over our destinies 
 at Valley Forge, Morristown, and West Point. Mrs. Wash- 
 ington always remained at the headquarters till the opening 
 of the campaign, and often remarked in after life that it had 
 been her fortune to hear the first cannon at the opening 
 and the last at the closing of all the campaigns of the 
 Revolutionary War. During the whole of that mighty 
 period when we struggled for independence, Mrs. Wash- 
 ington preserved her equanimity, together with a degree 
 of cheerfulness that inspired all around her with the bright- 
 est hopes for our ultimate success.* 
 
 * Custis, " Memoir of Martha Washington." 
 
PART 111. 
 OPENING SCENES OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WASHINGTON IN RETIREMENT— CAMPAIGN OF 1759. 
 
 1759. 
 
 THE marriage of Washington to Mrs. Custis brought 
 with it a large accession to his fortune. By it he 
 became entitled to a third part of the estate of the 
 deceased Daniel Parke Custis, and he was invested with the 
 care of the other two-thirds by a decree of the general court 
 which he obtained in order to strenghten the power he pre- 
 viously had in consequence of his wife's administration of 
 the whole estate.* 
 
 The addition thus made to Washington's estate was not 
 less than $100,000. He had also the estate of Mount Ver- 
 non and considerable tracts of land in various parts of 
 Virginia, selected while he was employed in surveying. 
 
 Mrs. Custis at the time of her second marriage had two 
 children, a son six years old and a daughter four, to each 
 of whom was left a third of the estate of their father. 
 Washington became guardian of these children, an office 
 which he discharged with strict fidelity and paternal af- 
 fection. 
 
 * Letter to Robert Gary.— Sparks* "Writings of Washington/' 
 
 vol. II, p. 328. 
 
 (451) 
 
45» WASHINGTON. 
 
 The newly-married couple remained at the " White 
 House," the late residence of the Custis family for three 
 months after their marriage, during which time Washing- 
 ton appears to have given his attention to the aflfairs of the 
 estate. They then retired to Washington's favorite resi- 
 dence. Mount Vernon. 
 
 During the first year of their residence in this delightful 
 home occurred the campaign of 1759, which, although 
 Washington took no active part in it, forms too important 
 and influential a portion of the history of his " Times," to 
 be passed over in silence. We shall therefore notice briefly 
 its more important events. 
 
 The plan of the campaign was that three powerful armies 
 should enter the French possessions by three different 
 routes and attack all their strongholds at nearly the same 
 time. At the head of one division of the army, Brigadier- 
 General Wolfe, who had so recently signalized himself at 
 the siege of Louisburg, was to ascend the St. Lawrence and 
 lay siege to Quebec, escorted by a strong fleet to co-operate 
 with his troops. 
 
 The central and main body composed of British and pro- 
 vincials was to be conducted against Ticonderoga and 
 Crown Point, by the able, but cautious. General Amherst, 
 the new commander-in-chief, who, after making himself 
 master of these places, was to proceed over Lake Champlain 
 and by the way of Richelieu river to the St. Lawrence, and 
 descending that river form a junction with General Wolfe 
 before the walls of Quebec. This latter service however 
 he was not destined to accomplish in season to render any 
 assistance to Wolfe. 
 
 The third army to be composed principally of provincials 
 reinforced by a strong body of friendly Indians under 
 the direction of Sir William Johnson was to be commanded 
 by General Prideaux, who was to lead this division first 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 453 
 
 against Niagara and after the reduction of that place, to 
 embark on Lake Ontario and proceed down the St. Law- 
 rence against Montreal. 
 
 Early in the winter, General Amherst commenced prepa- 
 rations for his part of the enterprise, but it was not till the 
 last of May that his troops, 12,000 in number, were as- 
 sembled at Albany, and it was as late as the 22d of July 
 (1759), when after crossing Lake George in boats, batteaux, 
 and rafts, he appeared before Ticonderoga. 
 
 Montcalm, who had so successfully resisted the attack 
 of Abercrombie in the preceding year, was no longer in 
 command at Ticonderoga being engaged in preparations 
 for the defense of Quebec. The garrison consisting of only 
 400 men was under the command of Bourlamarque. Per- 
 ceiving the utter folly of attempting a defense against such 
 fearful odds, he dismantled the fortifications and abandoned 
 them as well as those at Crown Point, and retreated to Isle 
 aux Noix, a convenient point for concentrating a force for 
 the defense of Montreal and the province. 
 
 Instead of pursuing him with a view to a speedy junction 
 of his forces with those of General Wolfe, General Amherst 
 committed the grave error of wasting time in repairing the 
 works at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Meantime the 
 enemy were assembling a force of between three and four 
 thousand at Isle aux Noix. 
 
 The result of General Amherst's extreme caution and 
 delay was that he failed to effect a junction of his forces 
 with those of General Wolfe, and his army at the close of 
 the season went into winter quarters at Crown Point. 
 
 In the prosecution of the enterprise against Niagara, Gen- 
 eral Prideaux had embarked with an army on Lake Ontario, 
 and on the 6th of July (1759), landed without opposition 
 within about three miles from the fort which he invested in 
 form. While directing the operations of the siege he was 
 
454 WASHINGTON. 
 
 killed by the bursting- of a cohorn, and the command de- 
 volved on Sir William Johnson.* That general, prosecuting 
 with judgment and vigor the plan of his predecessor, pushed 
 the attack of Niagara with an intrepidity that soon brought 
 the besiegers within lOO yards of the covered way. 
 
 Meanwhile, the French, alarmed at the danger of losing 
 a post which was a key to their interior empire in America, 
 had collected a large body of regular troops from the neigh- 
 boring garrisons of Detroit, Venango, and Presqu' Isle, 
 with which and a party of Indians they resolved if possible 
 to raise the siege. Apprised of their intention to hazard 
 a battle, General Johnson order his light infantry, sup- 
 ported by some grenadiers and regular foot, to take post 
 between the cataract of Niagara and the fortress ; placed the 
 
 * Sir William Johnson was born in Ireland, about the year 1715. 
 Early in life he went to America with his uncle, Sir Peter Warren, 
 and, after hesitating for some time as to what profession he should 
 adopt, at length entered the army, in which he gradually rose to 
 the rank of major-general. In 1755 he was placed at the head of 
 an expedition against Crown Point, which however he did not 
 succeed in capturing, although he obtained a brilliant victory 
 over the French under General Dieskau, whom he took prisoner. 
 Parliament testified its approbation of Johnson's conduct on this 
 occasion by voting him £5,000. In 1759 he commanded the pro- 
 vincials of New York, and acted under Prideaux at the siege of 
 Niagara, as related in the text. 
 
 He now devoted his attention to the establishment of a more 
 permanent and extensive communion than had previously existed 
 between the British and the Indians, and effected several advan- 
 tageous treaties with the Senecas and other tribes. In June, 1760, 
 he induced 1,000 of the Iroquois to join General Amherst at 
 Oswego; and, subsequently, encouraged the colonists to intermarry 
 with the aboriginal inhabitants. He was at length chosen colonel 
 of the Six Nations, as well as superintendent of Indian affairs for 
 the northern parts of America; and settling on the banks of the 
 Mohawk river, he soon became well acquainted with the manners 
 and language of the Indians, relative to which he sent an inter- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 455 
 
 auxiliary Indians on his flanks, and together with this 
 preparation for an engagement took effectual measures for 
 securing his lines and bridHng the garrison. 
 
 About nine in the morning of the 24th of July (1759), 
 the enemy appeared and the horrible sound of the warwhoop 
 from the hostile Indians was the signal of battle. The 
 French charged with great impetuosity but were received 
 with firmness, and in less than an hour were completely 
 routed. 
 
 This battle decided the fate of Niagara. Sir William 
 Johnson the next morning opened negotiations with the 
 French commandant, and in a few hours a capitulation was 
 signed. The garrison consisting of 607 men were to march 
 out with the honors of war to be embarked on the lake 
 and carried to New York, and the women and children 
 were to be carried to Montreal. The reduction of Niagara 
 
 esting communication to the Royal Society, in November, 1772. 
 He died about two years afterward, leaving a son, who succeeded 
 to the baronetage. 
 
 Brave, energetic, and enterprising, Johnson was particularly 
 well qualified for the services on which he was employed. He is 
 described as having possessed such a genius for acquiring popu- 
 larity among all kinds of men that the regular troops respected, 
 the provincials loved, and the Indians almost adored him. It is 
 added that he was a man of perfect integrity, and employed his 
 talents solely for the benefit of his country. The victory which 
 he obtained over Dieskau, although it did not lead to the result 
 that had been expected, infused confidence into the British, who 
 appear to have been greatly disheartened by the recent defeat, 
 by the French ard Indians, of General Braddock's forces near 
 Fort Duquesne. The capture of Niagara effectually broke oflf, 
 according to the Annual Register of the period, " that communi- 
 cation so much talked of, and so much dreaded, between Canada 
 and Louisiana; and by this stroke, one of the capital political 
 designs of the French, which gave occasion to the war, was 
 defeated in its direct and immediate object." 
 
456 WASHINGTON. 
 
 effectually cut off the communication between Canada and 
 Louisiana. 
 
 The expedition against the capital of Canada was the 
 most daring and important. Strong by nature and still 
 stronger by art, Quebec had obtained the appellation of the 
 Gibraltar of America, and every attempt against it had 
 failed. It was now commanded by Montcalm, an officer of 
 distinguished reputation, and its capture must have appeared 
 chimerical to any one but Pitt. He judged rightly however 
 that the boldest and most dangerous enterprises are often 
 the most successful, especially when committed to ardent 
 minds glowing with enthusiasm and emulous of glory. Such 
 a mind he had discovered in General Wolfe, whose conduct 
 at Louisburg had attracted his attention. He appointed 
 him to conduct the expedition and gave him for assistants, 
 Brigadier-Generals Monckton, Townshend, and Murray; 
 all, like himself, young and ardent. 
 
 Early in the season he sailed from Halifax with 8,000 
 troops, and near the last of June (1759) landed the whole 
 army on the island of Orleans, a few miles below Quebec. 
 From this position he could take a near and distinct view 
 of the obstacles to be overcome. These were so great that 
 even the bold and sanguine Wolfe perceived more to fear 
 than to hope. 
 
 " When," he says in a letter to Pitt, " that succors of all 
 kinds had been thrown into Quebec, that five batteries of 
 regular troops, some of the troops of the Colony, and every 
 Canadian that was able to bear arms, besides several nations 
 of savages had taken the field in a very advantageous 
 situation, I could not flatter myself that I should be able 
 to reduce the place. I sought however an occasion to at- 
 tack their army knowing well that with these troops I was 
 able to fight and that a victory might disperse them." 
 
 Quebec stands on the north side of the St. Lawrence 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 457 
 
 and consists of an upper and lower town. The lower town 
 lies between the river and a bold and lofty eminence which 
 runs parallel to it far to the westward. 
 
 At the top of this eminence is a plain upon which the 
 upper town is situated. Below or east of the city is the river 
 St. Charles, whose channel is rough and whose banks are 
 steep and broken. At a short distance farther down is the 
 Montmorency, and between these two rivers and reaching 
 from one to the other was encamped the French army, 
 strongly intrenched, and superior in number to that of the 
 English, but they were chiefly Canadians. There was also 
 a large auxiliary force of Indians. 
 
 General Wolfe took possession of Point Levi on the 
 southern bank of the St. Lawrence, and there erected bat- 
 teries against the town. The cannonade which was kept 
 up, though it destroyed many houses, made but little im- 
 pression on the works which were too strong and too re- 
 mote to be materially affected, their elevation at the same 
 time placing them beyond the reach of the fleet. Convinced 
 of the impossibility of reducing the place unless he could 
 erect batteries on the north side of the St. Lawrence, Wolfe 
 soon decided on more daring measures. 
 
 The northern shore of the St. Lawrence to a considerable 
 distance above Quebec is so bold and rocky as to render 
 a landing in the face of an enemy impracticable. If an 
 attempt were made below the town, the river Montmorency 
 passed, and the French driven from their intrenchments, 
 the St. Charles would present a new and perhaps insuper- 
 able barrier. 
 
 With every obstacle fully in view, Wolfe heroically ob- 
 serving that a " victorious army finds no difficulties," re- 
 solved to pass the Montmorency and bring Montcalm to 
 an engagement. In pursuance of this resolution thirteen 
 companies of English grenadiers and part of the second 
 
458 WASHINGTON. 
 
 battalion of Royal Americans were landed at the mouth 
 of that river, while two divisions under Generals Townshend 
 and Murray prepared to cross it higher up. Wolfe's plan 
 was to attack first a redoubt close to the water's edge, ap- 
 parently beyond reach of the fire from the enemy's intrench- 
 ments, in the belief that the P>ench by attempting to 
 support that fortification would put it in his power to 
 bring on a general engagement, or if they should submit 
 to the loss of the redoubt, that he could afterward ex- 
 amine their situation with coolness and advantageously 
 regulate his future operations. 
 
 On the approach of the British troops the redoubt was 
 evacuated, and the general observing some confusion in the 
 French camp changed his original plan and determined 
 not to delay an attack. Orders were immediately dis- 
 patched to the Generals Townshend and Murray to keep 
 their divisions in readiness for fording the river, and the 
 grenadiers and Royal Americans were directed to form on 
 the beach until they could be properly sustained. 
 
 These troops however not waiting for support rushed im- 
 petuously toward the enemy's intrenchments, but they were 
 received with so strong and steady a fire from the French 
 musketry that they were instantly thrown into disorder and 
 obliged to seek shelter at the redoubt which the enemy 
 had abandoned. Detained here awhile by a dreadful thun- 
 derstorm they were still within reach of a severe fire from 
 the French, and many gallant officers exposing their persons 
 in attempting to form their troops were killed, the whole loss 
 amounting to nearly 500 men. The plan of attack being 
 efifectually disconcerted, the English general gave orders 
 for repassing the river and returning to the Isle of Orleans. 
 
 Compelled to abandon the attack on that side, Wolfe 
 deemed that advantage might result from attempting to 
 destroy the French fleet, and by distracting the attention 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 459 
 
 of Montcalm with continual descents upon the northern 
 shore. General Murray with 1,200 men in transports made 
 two vigorous but abortive attempts to land, and though 
 more successful in the third he did nothing more than burn 
 a magazine of warlike stores. The enemy's fleet was effectu- 
 ally secured against attacks, either by land or water, and the 
 commander-in-chief was again obliged to submit to the 
 mortification of recalling his troops. 
 
 At this juncture, intelligence arrived that Ticonderoga 
 and Crown Point had been abandoned, but that General 
 Amherst, instead of pressing forward to their assistance, 
 was preparing to attack the Isle aux Noix. 
 
 While Wolfe rejoiced at the triumph of his brethren in 
 arms he could not avoid contrasting their success with his 
 own disastrous efforts. His mind, alike lofty and suscep- 
 tible, was deeply impressed by the disasters at Mont- 
 morency; and his extreme anxiety, preying upon his deli- 
 cate frame, sensibly affected his health. He was observed 
 frequently to sigh, and as if life was only valuable while it 
 added to his glory, he declared to his intimate friends that 
 he would not survive the disgrace which he imagined would 
 attend the failure of his enterprise. 
 
 In a letter written to Mr. Pitt at this time he says : " The 
 French did not attempt to interrupt us, but some of their 
 savages came down to murder such wounded as could not 
 be brought off, and to scalp the dead, as their custom is." 
 His situation seemed growing desperate and his health be- 
 gan to fail him. In his letter to Pitt, which was written 
 from his headquarters at Montmorency on the 2d of Sep- 
 tember (1759), i^oi*e than a month after this failure, he con- 
 fessed that he had descended to the dubiousness and de- 
 spondency of consulting a council of war. After saying 
 that he had been suffering by a fever, he adds : " I found 
 
460 WASHINGTON. 
 
 myself so ill and am still so weak that I begged the general 
 officers to consult together for the public utility. * * * 
 To the uncommon strength of this country the enemy have 
 added, for the defense of the river, a great number of float- 
 ing batteries and boats. By the vigilance of these and the 
 Indians round our posts, it has been impossible to execute 
 anything by surprise. * * * ^^ have the whole force 
 of Canada to oppose. In the situation there is such a choice 
 of difficulties that I own myseif at a loss how to determine. 
 The affairs of Great Britain require the most vigorous 
 measures, but then the courage of a handful of brave men 
 should be exerted only where there is some hope of a favor- 
 able event." When this letter reached England it excited 
 consternation and anger. Pitt feared that he had been mis- 
 taken in his favorite general, and that the next news would 
 be either that he had been destroyed or had capitulated. 
 But in the conclusion of his melancholy epistle Wolfe had 
 said he would do his best — and that best turned out 
 a miracle in war. He declared that he would rather die 
 than be brought to a court-martial for miscarrying. 
 
 Nothing however could shake the resolution of this 
 valiant commander or induce him to abandon the attempt. 
 In a council of his principal officers, called on this critical 
 occasion, it was resolved that all the future operations 
 should be above the town. The camp at the Isle of Or- 
 leans was accordingly abandoned, and the whole army hav- 
 ing embarked on board the fleet, a part of it was landed 
 at Point Levi and a part higher up the river. 
 
 Montcalm, apprehending from this movement that the 
 invaders might make a distant descent and come on the 
 back of the city of Quebec, detached M. de Bougainville, 
 with 1,500 men, to watch their motions and prevent their 
 landing. 
 
 Baffled and harassed in all his previous assaults General 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 461 
 
 Wolfe seems to have determined to finish the enterprise by 
 a single bold and determined effort. The admiral sailed 
 several leagues up the river, making occasional demonstra- 
 tions of a design to land troops, and during the night 
 a strong detachment in fiat-bottomed boats fell silently 
 down the stream to a point about a mile above the city. 
 
 The beach was shelving, the bank high and precipitous, 
 and the only path by which it could be scaled was now de- 
 fended by a captain's g-uard and a battery of four guns. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Howe,* with the van, soon clambered 
 up the rocks, drove away the guard, and seized upon the 
 battery. 
 
 The army landed about an hour before day and by day- 
 break was marshaled on the Heights of Abraham. 
 
 Montcalm could not at first believe this intelligence, but 
 as soon as assured of its truth, he made all prudent haste 
 to decide a battle which it was no longer possible to avoid. 
 Leaving his camp at Montmorency he crossed the river St. 
 Charles with the intention of attacking the English army. 
 
 No sooner did Wolfe observe this movement than he be- 
 gan to form his order of battle. His troops consisted of 
 six battalions and the Louisburg grenadiers. The right 
 wing was commanded by General Monckton and the left 
 by General Murray. The right flank was covered by the 
 Louisburg grenadiers and the rear and left by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Howe's light infantry. 
 
 The form in which the French advanced, indicating an 
 intention to outflank the left of the English army, General 
 Townshend was sent with the battalion of Amherst and 
 the two battalions of Royal Americans to that part of the 
 line, and they were formed en potence^ so as to present a 
 double front to the enemy. The body of reserve consisted 
 
 * Sir William Howe, subsequently distinguished in the Revolu- 
 tionary War. 
 
4G^ WASHINGTON, 
 
 of one regiment drawn up in eight divisions with large in- 
 tervals. 
 
 The dispositions made by the French general were not 
 less masterly. The right and left wings were composed 
 about equally of European and Colonial troops. The center 
 consisted of a column formed of two battalions of regulars. 
 Fifteen hundred Indians and Canadians, excellent marks- 
 men, advancing in front, screened by surrounding thickets, 
 began the battle. Their irregular fire proved fatal to many 
 British officers, but it was soon silenced by the steady fire 
 of the English. 
 
 About 9 in the morning the main body of the French 
 advanced briskly to the charge and the action soon became 
 general. Montcalm having taken post on the left of the 
 French army and Wolfe on the right of the English, the 
 two generals met each other where the battle was most 
 severe. The English troops reserved their fire until the 
 French had advanced within forty yards of their line, and 
 then by a general discharge made terrible havoc among 
 their ranks. The fire of the English was vigorously main- 
 tained and the enemy everywhere yielded. 
 
 General Wolfe who, exposed in the front of his battalions, 
 had been wounded in the wrist, betraying no symptoms -of 
 pain wrapped a handkerchief round his arm and continued 
 to encourage his men. Soon after he received a shot in the 
 groin, but concealing the wound he was pressing on at the 
 head of his grenadiers with fixed bayonets, when a third 
 ball pierced his breast. 
 
 Perceiving that his wound was mortal his only anxiety 
 appears to have been that the soldiers might not be dis- 
 heartened by seeing him fall. Leaning on a lieutenant for 
 support, he said " Let not my brave fellows see me drop." 
 He was conveyed to the rear, where, careless about himself, 
 he discovered in the agonies of death the greatest solicitude 
 
LIFE AND TIMES, 463 
 
 concerning the result of the battle. Faint and exhausted 
 with the pain of his wounds he rested his head on the arm 
 of an officer. He was aroused by cries of " They fly, they 
 fly ! see them fly ! " " Who fly ? '"' exclaimed the dying hero. 
 " The French," answered his attendant. Nerving himself 
 to a last effort of duty he gave a hasty order for cutting 
 off the enemy's retreat, and then turning on his side, he 
 said " Now, God be praised, I will die in peace," and ex- 
 pired. 
 
 We cannot forbear quoting in this connection the simple 
 and feeling observations of General Townshend respecting 
 his heroic friend, whose fate threw so affecting a luster on 
 this memorable victory : " I am not ashamed to own to 
 you that my heart does not exult in the midst of this suc- 
 cess. I have lost but a friend in General Wolfe; our 
 country has lost a sure support and a perpetual honor. If 
 the world were sensible at how dear a price we have pur- 
 chased Quebec in his death, it would damp the public joy. 
 Our best consolation is that Providence seemed not to 
 promise that he should remain long among us. He was 
 himself sensible of the weakness of his constitution and 
 determined to crowd into a few years actions that would 
 have adorned length of life." 
 
 The army, not disconcerted by the fall of their general, 
 continued the action under Monckton on whom the com- 
 mand now devolved, but who, receiving a ball through his 
 body, soon yielded the command to Genei^al Townshend. 
 
 Montcalm, fighting in front of his battalions, received a 
 mortal wound* about the same time, and General Senezer- 
 gns, the second in command, also fell. The British grena- 
 diers pressed on with their bayonets. General Murray, 
 
 * Montcalm was every way worthy to be a competitor of Wolfe. 
 He had the truest military genius of any officer whom the French 
 had ever employed in America. After he had received his mortal 
 
464 WASHINGTON. 
 
 briskly advancing with the troops under his direction, broke 
 the center of the French army. 
 
 The Highlanders drawing their broadswords completed 
 the confusion of the enemy, and after having lost their first 
 and second in command the right and center of the French 
 were entirely driven from the field, and the left was follow- 
 ing their example when Bougainville appeared in the rear, 
 with the 1,500 men who had been sent to oppose the land- 
 ing of the English. Two battalions and two pieces of ar- 
 tillery were detached to meet him, but he retired and the 
 British troops were left the undisputed masters of the field. 
 The loss of the French was much greater than that of the 
 English. The corps of French regulars was almost entirely 
 annihilated. The killed and wounded of the EngHsh army 
 did not amount to 600 men. 
 
 Although Quebec was still strongly defended by its fortifi- 
 cations, and might possibly be relieved by Bougainville or 
 from Montreal, yet General Townshend had scarcely 
 finished a road in the bank to get his heavy artillery for a 
 siege, when the inhabitants capitulated, on condition that 
 during the war they might still enjoy their own civil and 
 religious rights. A garrison of 5,000 men was left under 
 General Murray, and the fleet sailed out of the St. Law- 
 rence. 
 
 The fall of Quebec did not immediately produce the sub- 
 mission of Canada. The main body of the French army, 
 which, after the battle on the Plains of Abraham, retired 
 to Montreal, and which still consisted of ten battalions of 
 regulars, had been reinforced by 10,000 Canadian militia 
 and a body of Indians. 
 
 wound he was carried into the city; and when informed that it 
 was mortal his reply was, " I am glad of it." On being told that 
 he could survive but a few hours, " So much the better," he 
 replied, " I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec.'* 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 465 
 
 With these forces M. de Levi, who had succeeded the 
 Marquis of Montcalm in the chief command, resolved to 
 attempt the recovery of Quebec. He had hoped to carry 
 the place by a coup de main, during the winter, but on recon- 
 noitering he found the outposts so well secured, and the 
 Governor so vigilant and active, that he postponed the en- 
 terprise until spring. 
 
 In the month of April (1760), when the upper part of the 
 St. Lawrence was so open as to admit of transportation by 
 water, his artillery, military stores, and heavy baggage 
 were embarked at Montreal and fell down the river under 
 convoy of six frigates, and M. de Levi, after a march of 
 ten days arrived with his army at Point au Tremble, within 
 a few miles of Quebec. 
 
 General Murray, to whom the care of maintaining the 
 English conquest had been intrusted, had taken every pre- 
 caution to preserve it, but his troops had suffered so much 
 by the extreme cold of the winter, and by the want of vege- 
 tables and fresh provisions that instead of 5,000, the origi- 
 nal number of his garrison, there were not at this time 
 above 3,000 men fit for service. 
 
 With this small but valiant body the English general re- 
 solved to meet the enemy in the field, and on the 28th of 
 April marched out to the Plains of Abraham where, near 
 Sillery, he attacked the French under M. de Levi with great 
 impetuosity. He was received with firmness, and after a 
 fierce encounter, finding himself outflanked and in danger 
 of being surrouiided by superior numbers, he called off his 
 troops and retired into the city. 
 
 In this action the loss of the English was near 1,000 men, 
 and that of the French still greater. The French general 
 lost no time in improving his victory. On the very even- 
 ing of the battle he opened trenches before the town, but 
 30 
 
466 WASHINGTON. 
 
 it was the nth of May before he could mount his batteries 
 and bring his guns to bear on the fortifications. 
 
 By that time General Murray, who had been indefati- 
 gable in his exertions, had completed some outworks and 
 planted so numerous an artillery on his ramparts that his 
 fire was very superior to that of the besiegers, and in a 
 manner silenced their batteries. A British fleet arriving 
 most opportunely a few days after, M. de Levi immediately 
 raised the siege and precipitately retired to Montreal. 
 
 Here the Marquis of Vaudreuil, Governor-General of 
 Canada, had fixed his headquarters and determined to make 
 his last stand. For this purpose he called in all his detach- 
 ments and collected around him the whole force of the 
 Colony. 
 
 The English, on the other hand, were resolved on the 
 total annihilation of the French power in Canada, and Gen- 
 eral Amherst prepared to overwhelm it with an irresistible 
 superiority of numbers. 
 
 Almost on the same day the armies from Quebec, from 
 Lake Ontario, and from Lake Champlain were concen- 
 trated before Montreal, and M. de Vaudreuil found him- 
 self obliged on the 8th of September, 1760, to sign a 
 capitulation by which that city and the whole of Canada 
 were transferred to British dominion. He obtained liberal 
 stipulations for the good treatment of the inhabitants, and 
 particularly the free exercise of the Catholic faith, and the 
 preservation of the property belonging to the religious 
 communities. He even demanded that the bishop should 
 continue to be appointed by the French monarch, but this 
 was of course refused. The possession of Canada, as well 
 as of all the adjoining countries, was confirmed to Britain 
 by the peace of Paris, signed on the loth of February, 
 
 1763- 
 The population at the time of the conquest was stated by 
 
'LIFE AND TIMES. 467 
 
 Governor Murray to amount to 69,275, consisting mostly 
 of cultivators, a frugal, industrious, and moral race ; with a 
 noblesse, also very poor, but much respected, among them. 
 The Indians converted to Catholics were estimated at 7,400. 
 The inhabitants were involved in great calamity by the re- 
 fusal of the French Government to pay the bills drawn and 
 the paper currency issued by M. Bigot, the late intendant, 
 who had been guilty of most extensive peculation. The 
 gross sum is stated by Raynal at 80,000,000 livres 
 (i3,333,ooo sterling), but considering the small number and 
 poverty of the people we cannot help suspecting it to 
 be much exaggerated. It is said that the claims were, on 
 grounds of equity, reduced to 38,000,000; though, accord- 
 ing to M'Gregor, no more was received in turn for them 
 than £250,000 in money, and £125,000 in bonds, which 
 never became effective. 
 
 The terms in favor of the French residents were faith- 
 fully and even liberally fulfilled by the British Government. 
 All offices however were conferred on British subjects, who 
 then consisted only of military men, with not quite 500 
 petty traders, many of whom were ill-fitted for so import- 
 ant a situation. They showed a bigoted spirit and an offen- 
 sive contempt of the old inhabitants, including even their 
 class of nobles. General Murray, notwithstanding, strenu- 
 ously protected the latter, without regard to repeated com- 
 plaints made against him to the ministry at home, and by 
 this impartial conduct he gained their confidence in a de- 
 gree which became conspicuous on occasion of the great 
 revolt of the united Colonies. 
 
 During that momentous period, though pressingly in- 
 vited to assist the latter, the Canadians never swerved from 
 their allegiance. With a view to conciliate them the " Que- 
 bec Act," passed in 1774, changed the English civil law, 
 which had been at first introduced, for the ancient system 
 
468 WASHINGTON. 
 
 called the Coutume de Paris. The French language was also 
 directed to be employed in the law courts, and other changes 
 made with the view of gratifying that nation. These con- 
 cessions did not however give universal satisfaction, es- 
 pecially as they were not attended with any grant of a na- 
 tional representation. 
 
 In the prosecution of the war between Great Britain and 
 France, which was terminated by the peace of Paris Feb- 
 ruary lo, 1763, after a conflict lasting seven years the ad- 
 vantages which Great Britain derived from the Colonies 
 were severely felt by her enemies. Upward of 400 priva- 
 teers which were fitted out of the ports of the British 
 Colonies successfully cruised on French property. These 
 not only ravaged the West India islands belonging to his 
 most Catholic Majesty, but made many captures on the 
 coast of France. Besides distressing the French nation by 
 privateering, the Colonies furnished 23,800 men to co-oper- 
 ate with the British regular forces in North America. They 
 also sent powerful aids, both in men and provisions, out 
 of their own limits, which facilitated the reduction of Mar- 
 tinique and of Havana. The success of their privateers — 
 the co-operation of their land forces — the convenience of 
 their harbors, and the contiguity to the West India islands, 
 made the Colonies great acquisitions to Britain and for- 
 midable adversaries to France. From their growing im- 
 portance the latter had much to fear. Their continued 
 union with Great Britain threatened the subversion of the 
 commerce and American possessions of France. 
 
 After hostilities had raged nearly eight years, a general 
 peace was concluded, on terms by which France ceded 
 Canada to Great Britain. The Spaniards having also taken 
 part in the war were, at the termination of it, induced to re- 
 Hnquish to the same power both East and West Florida. 
 This peace gave Great Britain possession of an extent of 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 469 
 
 country equal in dimensions to several of the kingdoms of 
 Europe. The possession of Canada in the north and of the 
 two Floridas in the south, made her almost sole mistress 
 of the North American continent. 
 
 This laid a foundation for future greatness which ex- 
 cited the envy and the fears of Europe. Her navy, her 
 commerce, and her manufactures had greatly increased 
 when she held but a part of the continent, and when she 
 was bounded by the formidable powers of France and Spain. 
 Her probable future greatness, when without a rival, and 
 with a growing vent for her manufactures and increasing 
 employment for her marine, threatened to destroy that bal- 
 ance of power which European sovereigns had for a long 
 time endeavored to preserve. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON. 
 
 1759-1763. 
 
 DURING the stirring events which are recorded in the 
 preceding chapter, Washington remained at Mount 
 Vernon, busily engaged in the care of his extensive 
 plantation. He occasionally refers to them however in his 
 letters. Writing to his London agent in September, 1759, 
 he says : " The scale of fortune in America is turned 
 greatly in our favor, and success has become the companion 
 of our fortunate generals. It would be folly in me to at- 
 tempt particularizing their actions, since you receive ac- 
 counts in a channel so much more direct than from hence." 
 In another letter to the same correspondent (May 10, 1760) 
 he says : " The French are so well drubbed, and seem so 
 much humbled in America that I apprehend our generals 
 will find it no difficult matter to reduce Canada to our 
 obedience this summer. But what may be Montgomery's 
 fate in the Cherokee country I cannot so readily deter- 
 mine. It seems he has made a prosperous beginning, hav- 
 ing penetrated into the heart of the country, and he is now 
 advancing his troops in high health and spirits to the re- 
 lief of Fort Loudoun. But let him be wary. He has a 
 crafty, subtle enemy to deal with that may give him most 
 trouble when he least expects it." 
 
 No man ever understood the character of the Indians 
 more thoroughly than Washington. His intercourse with 
 them during that portion of the Seven Years' War, in 
 
 (470) 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 471 
 
 which he took an active part, had made him well acquainted 
 with their native disposition and their peculiar tactics in 
 war. How justly his apprehensions for the safety of Mont- 
 gomery and his detachment were conceived, will appear 
 from the following account of his expedition, extracted from 
 Dr. Holmes's American Annals. 
 
 During these decisive operations in the north, the Eng- 
 lish colonists in the south sustained no small calamity from 
 the natives. The French were no sooner driven from Fort 
 Duquesne than their baleful influence appeared among the 
 Upper Cherokees. Unhappily, at that time, a quarrel with 
 the Virginians contributed to alienate those Indian tribes 
 from the English, with whom they had long been in alliance. 
 The Cherokees, agreeably to treaty, had sent considerable 
 parties of their warriors to assist the British in their ex- 
 peditions against Fort Duquesne, Many of these warriors, 
 on their return home through the back parts of Virginia, 
 losing their horses, laid hold on such as they found run- 
 ning wild in the woods, without supposing them to belong 
 to any individuals. The Virginians, resenting this injury, 
 killed twelve or fourteen of the unsuspicious warriors and 
 took several prisoners. The Cherokees, highly provoked 
 at this ungrateful usage from allies whose frontiers they had 
 been helping to defend, determined to take revenge. The 
 French inflamed their vindictive rage by telling them that 
 the English intended to kill every man of them, and to 
 make their wives and children slaves, and at the same time 
 furnished them with arms and ammunition. The frontiers 
 of Carolina soon feeling the horrible effects of their incur- 
 sions, Governor Littleton, toward the close of the last year 
 (1759), had marched at the head of 800 militia and 300 regu- 
 lars into the country of the Cherokees where, without any 
 bloodshed, a treaty of peace was concluded. 
 
 Early in the present year, when joyous celebrations of the 
 
47^ WASHINGTON. 
 
 peace were scarcely concluded, the Governor was informed 
 that fresh hostilities had been committed by the Chero- 
 kees, who had killed fourteen men within a mile of Fort 
 Prince George. The war soon becoming general an ex- 
 press was sent to General Amherst, the commander-in- 
 chief in America, acquainting him with the distressed state 
 of Carolina and imploring his assistance. A battalion of 
 Highlanders and four companies of the Royal Scots were 
 accordingly sent under the command of Colonel Montgom- 
 ery for the relief of that province. Before the end of April 
 (1760) Montgomery landed his troops in Carolina and 
 encamped at Monk's Corner. A few weeks after his arrival 
 he marched to the Congaree, where he was joined by the 
 whole force of the province, and immediately set out for the 
 Cherokee country. After burning all the towns in the 
 lower nation, in which sixty Indians were killed and forty 
 made prisoners, he marched to the relief of Fort Prince 
 George, which was invested by the savages. After reliev- 
 ing that fort, finding the Indians not disposed to listen to 
 proposals of accommodation, he marched forward through 
 the dismal wilderness, where he encountered many hard- 
 ships and dangers, until he came within five miles of 
 Etchoe, the lowest town in the middle settlements. Here 
 he found a deep valley covered with bushes, in the middle 
 of which was a muddy river, with steep clay banks. Col- 
 onel Morrison, who commanded a company of rangers, 
 had orders to advance and scour the thicket, but scarcely 
 had he entered it, when the Indians, springing from their 
 covert, fired upon them and killed the captain and many 
 of his men. The light infantry and grenadiers being now 
 ordered to advance against the invisible enemy, a heavy 
 fire began on both sides. Colonel Montgomery, finding 
 the number of the Indians to be great, and their determina- 
 tion to dispute this pass obstinate, ordered the Royal Scots 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 473 
 
 to advance between the enemy and a rising ground on the 
 right, while the Highlanders marched toward the left, to 
 sustain the infantry and grenadiers. The Indians at length 
 giving way, and having taken possession of a hill, con- 
 tinued still to retreat as the army advanced. Montgomery 
 gave orders to the line to face about and march directly 
 for Etchoe. The enemy, observing this movement, got be- 
 hind the hill and ran to alarm their wives and children. 
 Perceiving the difficulty and hazard of a further pursuit the 
 English commander gave orders for a retreat, which was 
 conducted with great regularity to Fort Prince George. 
 During this action, which continued above an hour. Colonel 
 Montgomery had twenty men killed and seventy-six 
 wounded. 
 
 To revenge this invasion, the Cherokees blockaded Fort 
 Loudoun, situated near the confines of Virginia. This post, 
 consisting of 200 men commanded by Captain Demere, 
 being 150 miles from Charleston, was cut ofif from all com- 
 munication with the English. The garrison, having sub- 
 sisted some time on horseflesh, was ultimately reduced to 
 such extremity as to be obliged to surrender the place on 
 capitulation. The troops were to march out with their 
 ammunition and baggage, and to be conducted to Virginia 
 or Fort Prince George, but after marching about fifteen 
 miles from the fort they were at night deserted by their 
 attendants, and the next morning surrounded by the In- 
 dians, who poured in a heavy fire upon them, accompanied 
 with the most hideous yells. Captain Demere, with three 
 other officers and about twenty-six privates, fell at the first 
 onset. The rest were made prisoners, and after being kept 
 some time in a miserable state of captivity were redeemed 
 by the province at a great expense. The Cherokees could 
 at this time bring into the field 3,000 warriors. 
 
474 WASHINGTON. 
 
 We have already noticed the election of Washington as 
 a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, while he 
 was engaged in his military duties during the campaign of 
 1758. Being solicited by some of his friends to obtain 
 leave of absence and join in the electioneering contest, he 
 had declined leaving his post, but the result was not the 
 less triumphant and gratifying on this account. Great mili- 
 tary services had already become in America the best pass- 
 port to political honors. 
 
 [In a letter of September 20, 1759, to Richard Wash- 
 ington, of London, England, a relative who attended to 
 EngHsh business for him, Washington wrote: 
 
 " My brother is safe arrived; but little benefited in 
 point of health by his trip to England. The longing desire 
 which for many years I have had of visiting the great 
 metropolis of that kingdom, is not in the least abated by 
 his prejudices, because I think the small share of health 
 he enjoyed there must have given a sensible check to any 
 pleasures he might figure to himself, and would render any 
 place irksome — but I am now tied by the leg and must 
 set incHnation aside. 
 
 "The scale of fortune in America is turned greatly in 
 our favor, and Success is become the boon companion of 
 our Fortunate Generals. ' Twould be folly in me to attempt 
 particularizing their actions since you receive accounts in 
 a channel so much more direct than from hence. 
 
 " I am now, I believe, fixed at this seat (Mount Vernon) 
 with an agreeable consort for life; and hope to find more 
 happiness in retirement than I ever experienced amidst 
 a wide and bustling world. I thank you heartily for your 
 affectionate wishes. Why wont you give me an occasion 
 of congratulating you in the same manner? None would 
 do it with more cordiality and true sincerity." 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 475 
 
 To Robert Gary & Co., of London, English merchants, 
 Washington stated, in a letter of September 20, 1759: 
 
 " I am possessed of several plantations on this river 
 (Potomac) and the fine lands of Shenandoah, and should 
 be glad if you would ingenuously tell me what prices I 
 might expect you to render for tobaccos made thereon, of 
 the same seed as that of the estate's, and managed in every 
 respect in the same manner as the best tobaccos on James 
 and York rivers are." 
 
 In a very large order for goods to be sent from London, 
 the following items appear: Busts of Alexander the 
 Great, of JuHus Gsesar, of Gharles XIL of Sweden, and of 
 the King of Prussia; these not to exceed fifteen inches in 
 height; and two smaller busts, of Prince Eugene and the 
 Duke of Marlborough. 
 
 In a letter of August 10, 1760, Washington speaks of 
 " Golonel Fairfax's departure for England in a ship for 
 London," and in the same letter he says to his correspond- 
 ent, Richard Washington: 
 
 '' My indulging myself in a trip to England depends upon 
 so many contingencies, which, in all probability, may never 
 occur, that I dare not even think of such a gratification. 
 Nothing, however, is more ardently desired. But Mrs. 
 Washington and myself would both think ourselves very 
 happy in the opportunity of showing you the Virginia 
 hospitality, which is the most agreeable entertainment we 
 can give, or a stranger expect to find, in an infant, woody 
 country like ours." 
 
 About a year later Washington wrote : " Golonel Fairfax 
 very much surprises his friends in Virginia by not writing 
 to any of them. Just upon his arrival at London he 
 favored a few with a short letter advertising them of that 
 agreeable circumstance, and I have heard of no other 
 letter that has come from him since, although I have seen 
 
476 WASHINGTON. 
 
 some from the ladies, the superscription of which has been 
 in his handwriting." 
 
 At this date Washington speaks of " a valuable purchase 
 I have just made of about 2,000 acres of land adjoining this 
 seat," and then adds: " Since writing the foregoing I have 
 added to my landed purchase." He remarks on the possi- 
 bility of somewhat overdrawing his account in case of a 
 special " prospect of advantage," and yet says: '' My own 
 aversion to running in debt will always secure me against 
 a step of this nature, unless a manifest advantage is Hkely 
 to be the result of it."J 
 
 While he was still residing at the ''White House," before 
 returning to Mount Vernon, a session of the House of 
 Burgesses took place, which he attended. An incident, re- 
 ferred to by all his biographers, took place during this 
 session, which is thus described by Mr. Wirt in his " Life 
 of Patrick Henry : " 
 
 By a vote of the House, the Speaker, Mr. Robinson, was 
 directed to return their thanks to Colonel Washington, on 
 behalf of the Colony, for the distinguished military services 
 which he had rendered to his country. As soon as Colonel 
 Washington took his seat, Mr. Robinson, in obedience to 
 this order, and following the impulse of his own generous 
 and grateful heart, discharged the duty with great dignity, 
 but with such warmth of coloring and strength of expres- 
 sion as entirely confounded the young hero. He rose to 
 express his acknowledgments for the honor, but such was 
 his trepidation and confusion that he could not give dis- 
 tinct utterance to a single syllable. He blushed, stam- 
 mered, and trembled for a second, when the Speaker re- 
 lieved him by a stroke of address that would have done 
 honor to Louis XIV in his proudest and happiest moment: 
 " Sit down, Mr. Washington," said he, with a conciliating 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 477 
 
 smile, " your modesty equals your valor, and that surpasses 
 the power of any language that I possess." 
 
 Washington by repeated elections retained his seat in the 
 House of Burgesses till the commencement of the Revolu- 
 tionary War, a period of fifteen years ; discharging his legis- 
 lative duties with that scrupulous fidelity which, through 
 life, he observed in fulfilling every engagement upon which 
 he entered. His career as a legislator was precisely such 
 as might have been anticipated from his general character. 
 His decisions were formed upon a thorough and careful 
 investigation of facts, and his course was marked by firm- 
 ness and candor. The few words which, on rare occasions, 
 he deemed it worth while to address to the House in de- 
 bate, were consequently always listened to with a degree 
 of attention and deference which was the best tribute to 
 his sound judgment and weight of character. In the stormy 
 times which immediately preceded the Revolution, he was 
 ever found taking part with the patriotic members of the 
 House. 
 
 Washington was extremely fond of agriculture and of 
 rural pleasures and pursuits, and on taking up his residence 
 at Mount Vernon, it was his settled purpose to pass in these 
 the remainder of his life. But Providence had in reserve 
 for him a higher destiny than that of farming, hunting, 
 fishing, and interchanging hospitalities with other country 
 gentlemen. Such however were his pursuits during a con- 
 siderable part of his prime of life — no' less than fifteen 
 years. 
 
 It must be observed however that while he was engaged 
 in these rural pursuits he devoted his whole attention to 
 them; it being a maxim with him that whatever is worth 
 doing at all is worth doing well and thoroughly. He su- 
 perintended personally all the agricultural operations on his 
 estate, kept his own accounts, shipped the produce of his 
 
478 WASHINGTON. 
 
 plantation to London, Bristol, or Liverpool, and received 
 from thence his supplies in his own name. All the details 
 of these operations were attended to by him with the most 
 scrupulous care, nothing being too trivial to escape his 
 attention. 
 
 The staple article of culture in Virginia at that time was 
 tobacco, and this formed the chief product of Washington's 
 plantation. He exported it to England, putting it on board 
 of vessels which came up the Potomac to Mount Vernon to 
 receive it. 
 
 In the colonial times it was the policy of the mother 
 country to discourage every species of American manufac- 
 tures, and not only agricultural implements and clothing, 
 but almost everything required for the daily use of a family, 
 was imported from Great Britain. These it was Washing- 
 ton's practice to order twice a year from his agent in Lon- 
 don, and the minuteness and particularity of his orders show 
 his habitual accuracy and somewhat of fondness for detail. 
 In a letter to his London agent dated loth August, 1760, 
 Washington says : " My indulging myself in a trip to Eng- 
 land depends upon so many contingencies which in all 
 probability may never occur that I dare not even think 
 of such a gratification." If the visit thus referred to 
 had ever taken place we cannot doubt of the cordiality of 
 his reception. His character and public services were well 
 known in the mother country, but we cannot admit the 
 probability suggested by some writers that any tokens of 
 royal favor which he might have received, would have at- 
 tached him to the cause of Great Britain in the approaching 
 contest between her and her American Colonies. Wash- 
 ington notwithstanding the conspicuous positions which 
 he occupied at different periods of his life appears to have 
 been by no means ambitious of public tokens of applause, 
 and if he had a strong desire to visit Europe it was un- 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 479 
 
 doubtedly with a view to enlarge his knowledge by personal 
 observation of European life. 
 
 He had, it must be admitted, many strong reasons for 
 declining to travel abroad. Every imaginable external 
 means of happiness appears to have been at his disposal. 
 An independent fortune, a beautiful and amiable wife, in- 
 teresting and lovely children to whom, though not his own, 
 he stood in a paternal relation, agreeable and distinguished 
 neighbors, an employment peculiarly suited to his taste, and 
 a residence which has always been admired as one of the 
 most delightful in the world and which was endeared to him 
 by recollections of his early life. 
 
 Of Mount Vernon he speaks in strong terms of praise in 
 a letter to Arthur Young (1783). " No estate," he says, 
 *' in United America is more pleasantly situated than this. 
 It lies in a high, dry, and healthy country 300 miles by 
 water from the sea, and as you will see by the plan on one 
 of the finest rivers in the world. Its margin is washed by 
 more than ten miles of tide-water, from the bed of which 
 and the innumerable coves, inlets, and small marshes with 
 which it abounds an inexhaustible fund of rich mud may be 
 drawn as a manure, either to be used separately or in a 
 compost, according to the judgment of the farmer. It is 
 situated in a latitude between the extremes of heat and 
 cold, and is the same distance by land and water with good 
 roads and the best navigation to and from the Federal city, 
 Alexandria, and Georgetown, distant from the first twelve, 
 
 from the second nine, and from the last sixteen miles. 
 ****** 
 
 " This river which encompasses the land the distance 
 above mentioned, is well supplied with various kinds of fish 
 at all seasons of the year, and in the spring, with the 
 greatest profusion of shad, herrings, bass, carp, perch, stur- 
 
480 WASHINGTON. 
 
 geon, etc. Several valuable fisheries appertain to the es- 
 tate ; the whole shore, in short, is one entire fishery/' 
 
 [In a letter of July 14, 1761, to Richard Washington in 
 London, Washington reported that " a mixture of bad 
 health and indolence together " had kept him from answer- 
 ing letters; and August 26th he writes from " The Warm 
 Springs " : 
 
 " They are situated very badly on the east side of a steep 
 mountain, and inclosed by hills on all sides, so that the 
 afternoon's sun is hid by 4 o'clock and the fogs hang over 
 us till 9 or 10, which occasions great damps, and the morn- 
 ings and evenings to be cool. 
 
 " Lodgings can be had on no terms, but building for 
 them; and I am of opinion that numbers get more hurt, 
 by their manner of lying, than the waters can do them 
 good. Had we not succeeded in getting a tent and marquee 
 from Winchester we should have been in a most miserable 
 situation here. 
 
 " In regard to myself I must beg leave to say, that I 
 was much overcome with the fatigue of the ride and 
 weather together. Our journey was not of the most 
 agreeable sort, through such weather and such roads as 
 we had to encounter; these last for twenty or twenty-five 
 miles from hence are almost impassable for carriages, not 
 so much from the mountainous country (but this in fact 
 is very rugged) as from' trees that have fallen across the 
 road and rendered the way intolerable. However, I think 
 my fevers are a good deal abated, although my pains grow 
 rather worse, and my sleep equally disturbed. What ef- 
 fect the waters may have upon me I can't say at present, 
 but I expect nothing from the air — this certainly must be 
 unwholesome. I purpose to stay here a fortnight and 
 longer if benefited. 
 
 " P. S. If I could be upon any certainty of your coming, 
 
LIFE AND TIMES. 481 
 
 or could only get four days previous notice of your arrival, 
 I would get a house built, such as are here erected, for 
 your reception. 
 
 "August 30th. Since writing the above I have hired a 
 person, — a Fairfax man returning home for his wife — to 
 carry some letters to Mrs. Washington, under whose cover 
 this goes. I think myself benefited by the waters, and 
 am now with hopes of their making a cure of me." 
 
 October 20, 1761, Washington wrote to his London 
 friend, Richard Washington: 
 
 " Since my last, of the 14th July, I have in appearance 
 been very near my last gasp. The indisposition then 
 spoken of increased upon me, and I fell into a very low 
 and dangerous state. I once thought the grim king would 
 master my utmost efforts, and that I must sink, in spite 
 of a noble struggle; but, thank God, I have now got the 
 better of the disorder, and shall soon be restored, I hope, 
 to perfect health again." 
 
 In a letter of April, 1763, to Robert Stewart, who had 
 written asking for a loan of £400, Washington alleged the 
 state of his affairs as making it impossible for him to raise 
 more than £300, and that only by using funds which he 
 had intended sending to his London creditors ; and to this 
 he added: 
 
 " This is a genuine account of my affairs in England. 
 Here they are a little better, because I am not much in 
 debt I doubt not but you will be surprised at the badness 
 of their condition unless you will consider under what 
 terrible management and disadvantages I found my estate 
 when I retired from the public service of this colony; and 
 that, besides some purchases of lands and negroes I was 
 necessitated to make adjoining me (in order to support 
 the expenses of a large family), I had provisions of all 
 \inds to buy for the first two or three years; and my 
 31 
 
482 WASHINGTON, 
 
 plantation to stock in short with everything; buildings to 
 make, and other matters, which swallowed up, before I 
 well knew where I was, all the money I got by marriage, 
 nay more, brought me in debt — and I beHeve I may ap- 
 peal to your knowledge of my circumstances before."] 
 
 At the time when Washington was passing his time in 
 cultivating the fertile lands of Mount Vernon, the neigh- 
 boring estates were large and their owners wealthy, and 
 among them the practice of a liberal hospitality was uni- 
 versal. Many of the planters were connected with the old 
 cavalier families in England, descendants of the men who 
 in Governor Berkeley's time were the first to proclaim 
 the accession of Charles II to the throne. It is not sur- 
 prising that among them it was a common practice to send 
 their sons to England to receive their education. The tone 
 of society was English, and to tell the truth rather aristo- 
 cratic. The Episcopal Church was as firmly established in 
 Virginia as that of the Congregational Puritans in New 
 England. The parishes were large, being in proportion to 
 the large plantations of which they were composed. Wash- 
 ington held the ofBce of vestrymen in two of them, Truro 
 and Fairfax. The place of worship of Truro parish was at 
 Pohick, seven miles distant from the mansion of Mount 
 Vernon, and the pastor during a part of the time when 
 Washington was a vestryman was the Rev. Mason L. 
 Weems, so well and extensively known through his lively 
 and eccentric biography of his illustrious parishioner. The 
 place of worship for Fairfax county was Alexandria, ten 
 miles from Mount Vernon. 
 
 Washington took a lively interest in the afifairs of the 
 church at Pohick. 
 
 About 1764 the old church which stood in a different 
 part of the parish had fallen into decay and it was re- 
 solved to build a new one. Its location became a matter 
 
LIFE AND TIMES 483 
 
 of considerable excitement in the parish, some contending 
 for the site on which the old edifice stood and others for one 
 near the center of the parish and more conveniently situ- 
 ated. Among the latter was Washington. A meeting for 
 settling the question was finally held. George Mason, who 
 led the party favorable to the old site, made an eloquent 
 harangue, conjuring the people not to desert the sacred 
 spot consecrated by the bones of their ancestors. It had a 
 powerful effect and it was thought that there would not be a 
 dissenting voice. Washington then arose and drew from his 
 pocket an accurate survey which he had made of the whole 
 parish, in which was marked the site of the old church 
 and the proposed location of the new one together with the 
 place of residence of each parishioner. He spread this 
 map before the audience, briefly explained it, expressed his 
 hope that they would not allow their judgments to be 
 guided by their feelings and sat down. This mode of argu- 
 ment so perfectly characteristic of Washington decided 
 the question. The new site was adopted by a decisive 
 majority and Pohick church was built in 1765. 
 
 Among the neighbors and occasional visitors of Wash- 
 ington were George Mason, of Gunston Hall, his fellow 
 vestryman mentioned above. Lord Fairfax, his early friend 
 and patron, Capt. Hugh Mercer, already noted for his ad- 
 ventures among the Indians,* and Dr. Craik, who had at- 
 tended Washington in Braddock's expedition and was his 
 family physician through life. 
 
 With these and others he exchanged those liberal and 
 rather magnificent hospitalities so prevalent in Virginia in 
 the old colonial times. In their spacious mansions, guests 
 were entertained in the English style for weeks together, 
 and the English nobility were rivaled in the gentlemanly 
 
 ♦Afterward General Mercer. He was killed at the battle of 
 Princeton. 
 
48-i WASHINGTON. 
 
 •ft 
 amusements of hunting and horse-racing. Washington 
 himself took dehght in hunting and always kept a splendid 
 stud of horses, many of them of high blood and breeding 
 irqported from the mother country. He sometimes visited 
 Lord Fairfax at Greenway Court and joined in the hunting 
 expeditions of that eccentric but accomplished and courte- 
 ous nobleman. " Lord Fairfax was passionately fond of 
 hunting and often passed weeks together in the pleasures 
 of the chase. When on these expeditions he made it a 
 rule that he who got the fox, cut off his tail and held it up, 
 should share in the jollification which was to follow free of 
 expense. Soon as the fox was started the young men of 
 the company dashed after him with great impetuosity, while 
 Fairfax leisurely waited behind with a favorite servant who 
 was familiar with the watercourses and of a quick ear to 
 discover the course of the fox. Following his directions 
 his lordship would start after the game, and in most in- 
 stances secure the prize and stick the tail of the fox in his 
 hat in triumph."* 
 
 Lord Fairfax returned the visits of Washington and 
 often joined the numerous company who were entertained 
 at Mount Vernon, and engage4 with them in hunting over 
 the extensive domain of that and the neighboring estates. 
 
 Washington occasionally amused himself with the sport 
 so distasteful to Franklin. He sometimes engaged in fish- 
 ing. The waters about Mount Vernon as we have already 
 seen were stocked with fish in great abundance and variety. 
 Fowling and duck shooting in particular were also favorite 
 amusements with him, and in the late and winter months 
 the waters of the Potomac river abounded with flocks of 
 canvas-back ducks the favorite object of the sportsman in 
 that region. 
 
 *Lossing, "Field-Book of the Revolution." — Howe, Hist. Coll. 
 of Virginia. 
 
LIFE AND TIMES 485 
 
 [Sparks says of the social position of Washington at 
 this time: 
 
 " During the periods of his attending the House of 
 Burgesses at WilHamsburg, he met on terms of intimacy 
 the eminent men of Virginia, who, in imitation of the gov- 
 ernors (sometimes noblemen, and always from the higher 
 ranks of English society), lived in a style of magnificence, 
 which has long since passed away, and given place to the 
 republican simplicity of modern times. He was a frequent 
 visitor at AnnapoHs, the seat of government in Maryland, 
 renowned as the resort of the polite, wealthy, and fashion- 
 able. At Mount Vernon he returned the civilities he had 
 received, and practised, on a large and generous scale, the 
 hospitality for which the southern planters have ever been 
 distinguished. When he was at home, a day seldom 
 passed without the company of friends or strangers at his 
 house. In his diaries the names of these visitors are often 
 mentioned, and we find among them the Governors of 
 Virginia and Maryland, and nearly all the celebrated men 
 of the southern and middle colonies, who were at that 
 time and afterward conspicuous in the history of the 
 country. 
 
 " One of his nearest neighbors was George Mason, of 
 Gunston Hall, a man possessing remarkable intellectual 
 powers, deeply conversant with political science, and 
 thoroughly versed in the topics of dispute then existing 
 between England and America. Lord Fairfax was also a 
 constant guest at Mount Vernon, who, although eccentric 
 in his habits, possessed a cultivated mind, social quali- 
 ties, and a perfect knowledge of the world. To these may 
 be added a large circle of relatives and acquaintances, who 
 sought his society, and to whom his house was always 
 open."] 
 
 One of Washington's habits shows the same disinter- 
 ested character which marked his great public acts. This 
 
486 WASHINGTON. 
 
 is his invariable willingness to make himself useful to his 
 friends and neighbors by acts of kindness. His corre- 
 spondence abounds with evidence of the readiness with 
 which he undertook trusts, acted in arbitrations, executed 
 commissions for persons at a distance, gave information 
 on disputed points, and answered with courtesy the letters 
 of persons who really had no particular claim to his at- 
 tention. All such offices of kindness he found time to dis- 
 charge notwithstanding the many and various demands 
 upon his time arising from the personal oversight of his 
 estate, the management of his shipments abroad, and im- 
 ports of his own supplies, and the keeping of his own ac- 
 counts — to say nothing of his duties as host to the many 
 visitors whom his well-known hospitality attracted to 
 Mount Vernon. 
 
 Among the tasks which he voluntarily imposed upon 
 himself in this spirit of disinterested kindness was that of 
 taking care that justice was done to the Virginia soldiers 
 who had served under his command in the Seven Years' 
 War, and who had thus become entitled to certain grants 
 of land. His office of commissioner for settling the mili- 
 tary accounts of the Colony enabled him to exert himself 
 effectually in this matter. 
 
 During the early part of the period which followed his 
 marriage and settlement at Mount Vernon, he joined a 
 company who had undertaken to drain the Great Dismal 
 swamp on the borders of Virginia and North Carolina, 
 with a view of using the land for agricultural purposes, 
 and he actually visited and explored this formidable and 
 almost inaccessible tract. The chartering of the Dismal 
 Swamp Company by the Virginia House of Burgesses 
 at its next session led to important results. We shall see 
 in the sequel that this was by no means the only instance 
 of Washington's active promotion of the cause of internal 
 improvement. 
 

 
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