Ohio History Journal

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OHIO

OHIO

Archaeological and Historical

PUBLICATIONS

WASHINGTON'S CAMP SITES ON THE OHIO

RIVER

 

BY GUY-HAROLD SMITH

Ohio State University

In the autumn of 1770 George Washington made a

journey into the interior of North America in the

interest of the Virginia soldiers who had fought in

the Indian wars, and had been promised western lands

as reward for their services. Also Washington had

personal reasons for making this reconnaissance of the

lands along the Ohio River. He had the foresight to

envision the development of the trans-Appalachian

country and characteristically he was interested in ac-

quiring some of the choice lands before they were pre-

empted by others. The story of Washington and the

Ohio valley has been told elsewhere,1 therefore we will

be content to follow him down the Ohio River and

back again to Fort Pitt at the junction of the Alle-

gheny and Monongahela Rivers.

Washington began his journey to the Ohio River on

October 5, 1770, but he did not begin the actual de-

scent of the river until the 20th of the month. The

intervening fifteen days were consumed in the journey

to the junction of the two rivers which jointly become

the Ohio, and by certain other journeys and stop-

overs which delayed him somewhat. He spent some

time with Captain William Crawford who was Wash-

1 Archer B. Hulbert, Washington and the West, New York, 1905.

(1)