LERIE quote (Erie) Beaver C NEW YORK Allegheny Venango(Franklin) PENNSYLVA Logstown Duquesne Pittsburgh) Braddock's Battle Field Will Ft.Necessity Harrisburg Susau manding them both, was at once perceived by the young ambassador, who noted the spot as the site of a fortress. Washington was now conducted across the Alleghany by the chief of the Delawares, and thence twenty miles down the river to Logstown. Here a council was held with the Indians, who renewed their pledges of friendship and fidelity to the English. The emissaries of the French were already in the country trying in every conceivable way to entice the Red men into an alliance; but every proposal was rejected. In the beginning of December, Washington and his party moved northward to the French post at Venango. The officers of the fort took no pains to conceal their purpose; the project of uniting Canada and Louisiana by way of the Ohio valley was openly avowed. VIR Gt. KanawhaR. W KanawhaR. NI ARY LA Williamsbur From Venango, Washington set out through the forest to Fort le Boeuf on French Creek, fifty miles above its junction with the Alleghany. This was the last stage in the journey. It was still fourteen miles to Presque Isle; but St. Pierre, the French commander, had come down from that place to superintend the fortifications at Le Boeuf. Here the conference was held. Washington was received with great courtesy, but the general of the French refused to enter into any discussion on the rights of nations. He was acting, he said, under military instructions given by the governor of New France. He had been commanded by his superior officer to eject every Englishman from the valley of the Ohio, and he meant to carry out his orders to the letter. A firm but courteous reply was returned to Governor Dinwiddie's message. France claimed{ the country of the Ohio in virtue of discovery, exploration and occupation, and her claim should be made good by force of arms. Washington was kindly dismissed, but not until he had noted with keen anxiety the immense preparations which were making at Le Bœuf. There lay a fleet of fifty birch-bark canoes and a hundred and seventy boats of pine ready to descend the river to the site of Pittsburg. For the French, as well as the English, had noted the importance of that spot, and had determined to fortify it as soon as the ice should break in the rivers. It was now the dead of winter. Washington returned to Ve 1754 nango, and then, with Gist as his sole companion, left the river and In the mean time, the Ohio Company had not been idle. About mid-winter a party of thirty-three men had been organized and placed under command of Trent, with orders to proceed at once to the source of the Ohio and erect a fort. The company must have been marching to its destination when Washington returned to Virginia. It was not far from the middle of March, 1754, when Trent's party reached the confluence of the Alleghany and the Monongahela, and built the first rude stockade on the site of Pittsburg.* After all the threats and boasting of the French, the English had beaten them and seized the key to the Ohio valley. But it was a short-lived triumph. As soon as the approaching spring broke the ice-gorges in the Alleghany, the French fleet of boats, already prepared at Venango, came sweeping down the river. It was in vain for Trent with his handful of men to offer resistance. Washington had now been commissioned as lieutenant-colonel, and was stationed at Alexandria to enlist recruits for the Ohio. A regiment of a hundred and fifty men had been enrolled; but it was impossible to bring succor to Trent in time to save the post. On the 17th of April the little band of Englishmen at the head of the Ohio surrendered to the enemy and withdrew from the country. The French immediately occupied the place, felled the forest-trees, built barracks and laid the foundations of FORT DU QUESNE. To recapture this place by force of arms Colonel Washington set out from Will's Creek in the early part of May, 1754. Nego* The accounts of this important event are very obscure and unsatisfactory. tiations had failed; remonstrance had been tried in vain; the possession of the disputed territory was now to be determined by the harsher methods of war. CHAPTER XXXI. CAMPAIGNS OF WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK. WASHINGTON now found himself in command of a little army of 1754 Virginians. His commission was brief and easily understood: To construct a fort at the source of the Ohio; to destroy whoever opposed him in the work; to capture, kill or repel all who interrupted the progress of the English settlements in that country. In the month of April the young commander left Will's Creek, but the march westward was slow and toilsome. The men were obliged to drag their cannons. The roads were miserable; rain fell in torrents on the tentless soldiers; rivers were bridgeless; provisions insufficient. All the while the faithful Half-King was urging Washington by repeated despatches to hasten to the rescue of the Red men. On the 26th of May the English regiment reached the Great Meadows. Here Washington was informed that a company of French was on the march to attack him. The enemy had been seen on the Youghiogheny only a few miles distant. A stockade was immediately erected, to which the commander gave the appropriate name of Fort Necessity. Ascertaining from the scouts of the Half-King that the French company in the neighborhood was only a scouting-party, Washington, after conference with the Mingo chiefs, determined to strike the first blow. Two Indians followed the trail of the French, and discovered their hidingplace in a rocky ravine. The English advanced cautiously, intending to surprise and capture the whole force; but the French were on the alert, saw the approaching soldiers and flew to arms. Washington with musket in hand was at the head of his company. "Fire!" was the clear command that rang through the forest, and the first volley of a great war went flying on its mission of death. The engagement was brief and decisive. Jumonville, the leader of the French, and ten of his party were killed, and twenty-one were made prisoners. A month of precious time was now lost in delays. While Washington at Fort Necessity waited in vain for reinforcements, the French at 1754 Fort du Quesne were collecting in great numbers. One small company of volunteers from South Carolina arrived at the English camp; but the captain was an arrogant blockhead who, having a commission from the king, undertook to supersede Washington. The latter, with the Virginians, spent the time of waiting in cutting a road for twenty miles across the rough country in the direction of Fort du Quesne. The Indians were greatly discouraged at the dilatory conduct of the colonies, and the strong war-parties which had been expected to join Washington from the Muskingum and the Miami did not arrive. His whole effective force scarcely numbered four hundred. Learning that the French general De Villiers was approaching with a large body of troops, besides Indian auxiliaries, Washington deemed it prudent to fall back to Fort Necessity. The Carolina captain, who had remained within the fortifications, had done nothing to strengthen the works, although there was the greatest need. The little fort stood in an open space, midway between two eminences covered with trees. Scarcely were Washington's forces safe within the enclosure, when on the 3d of July the regiment of De Villiers, numbering six hundred, besides the savage allies, came in sight, and surrounded the fort. The French stationed themselves on the eminence, about sixty yards distant from the stockade. From this position they could fire down upon the English with fatal effect. Many of the Indians climbed into the tree-tops, where they were concealed by the thick foliage. For nine hours, during a rain-storm, the assailants poured an incessant shower of balls upon the heroic band in the fort. Thirty of Washington's men were killed, but his tranquil presence encouraged the rest, and the fire of the French was returned with unabated vigor. At length De Villiers, fearing that his ammunition would be exhausted, proposed a parley. Washington, seeing that it would be impossible to hold out much longer, accepted the honorable terms of capitulation which were offered by the French general. On the 4th of July the English garrison, retaining all its accoutrements, marched out of the little fort, so bravely defended, and withdrew from the country. The whole valley of the Ohio remained in undisturbed possession of the French. Meanwhile, a congress of the American colonies had assembled at Albany. The objects had in view were twofold: first, to renew the treaty with the Iroquois confederacy; and secondly, to stir up the colonial authorities to some sort of concerted action against the French. The Iroquois had wavered from the beginning of the war; the recent reverses of the English had not strengthened the loyalty of the Red men. As to the French aggressions, something must be done speedily, or the flag of England could never be borne into the vast country west of the Alleghanies. The congress was not wanting in abilities of the highest order. No such venerable and dignified body of men had ever before assembled on the American continent. There were Hutchinson of Massachusetts, Hopkins of Rhode Island, Franklin of Pennsylvania, and others scarcely less distinguished. After a few days' consultation, the Iroquois, but half satisfied, renewed their treaty and departed. The chieftains were anxious and uneasy lest, through inactivity and want of union on the part of the colonies, the Six Nations should be left to contend alone with the power of France. The convention next took up the important question of uniting the colonies in a common government. On the 10th day of July, Benjamin Franklin laid before the commissioners the draft of a federal constitution. His vast and comprehensive mind had realized the true condition. and wants of the country; the critical situation of the colonies demanded a central government. How else could revenues be raised, an army be organized and the common welfare be provided for? According to the proposed plan of union, Philadelphia, a central city, was to be the cap~ ital. It was urged in behalf of this clause that the delegates of New Hampshire and Georgia, the colonies most remote, could reach the seat of government in fifteen or twenty days! Slow-going old patriots! The chief executive of the new confederation was to be a governor-general appointed and supported by the king. The legislative authority was vested in a congress composed of delegates to be chosen triennially by the general assemblies of the respective provinces. Each colony should be represented in proportion to its contributions to the general government, but no colony should have less than two or more than seven representatives in congress. With the governor was lodged the power of appointing all military officers and of vetoing objectionable laws. The appointment of civil officers, the raising of troops, the levying of taxes, the superintendence of Indian affairs, the regulation of commerce, and all the general duties of government, belonged to congress. This body was to convene once a year, to choose its own officers, and to remain in session not longer than six weeks.* Such was the constitution drafted by Franklin and adopted, not without serious opposition, by the commissioners at Albany. It remained for the colonies to ratify or reject the new scheme of government. Copies of the proposed constitution were at once transmitted to the several colonial capitals, and were everywhere received with disfavor; in Connecticut, rejected; in Massachusetts, opposed; in New York, adopted with indifferThe chief objection urged against the instrument was the power of ence. 17 See Appendix C. |