64 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
and, of course, there is a constant
demand for new vessels." Further
along, after traversing a portion of the
Ohio river, the same author
writes: "The boats which float upon
the Ohio river are various--from
the ship of several hundred tons burden,
to the mere skiff. Very few, if
any, very large vessels, however, are
now built at Pittsburgh and
Marietta; but the difficulties incident
to getting them to the ocean have
rendered such undertakings infrequent.
An almost innumerable number
of steamboats, barks, keels and arks are
yearly set afloat upon the river
and its tributary streams. The barks are
generally about one hundred
tons burden, have two masts, and are
rigged as schooners or hermaphro-
dite brigs. The keels have, frequently,
covered decks, and sometimes
carry one mast. These and also the barks
are sometimes moved up the
river by polling, and by drawing them
along shore with ropes."
The first steamboat built on western
waters, the New Orleans, was
constructed at Pittsburgh, in the year
1811, but four years after Fulton's
Clermont made its first successful trip
on the Hudson. There is record
of a steamboat having been built by
Capt. John Walker at Elizabeth in
1815, and soon after that there were
yards in operation in various towns
on the Monongahela and Ohio, turning out
the new type of vessels.
These soon largely took the place of all
other kinds of craft in bearing
the commerce of the rivers, and the
sea-going vessels made New Orleans
their port of arrival and departure.
Indeed, so far as a searching
investigation has revealed, no ships
were built in this region after the
construction of the first steamboat.
Thus came to an end a notable
movement which in its entire activity
does not seem to have covered
more than a score of years, but which
must have done much, in its time,
to bring this then obscure region to the
notice of the rest of the world.
PITTSBURGH A KEY TO THE WEST DURING THE
AMERICAN
REVOLUTION.
BY JAMES ALTON JAMES, M. D.,
Professor of History in Northwestern
University.
From the opening of the Revolutionary
War, American leaders
looked to the conquest of Detroit, the
headquarters of the posts and key
to the fur trade and control of the
Indian tribes to the northwest of the
Ohio.1 Throughout the war
this post, in the possession of the British,
"continued," as Washington
wrote, "to be a source of trouble to the whole
western country."2
The garrison at Detroit, at the
beginning of the year 1776, consisted
of 120 soldiers under the command of
Capt. Richard Lernoult. The
Ohio Valley Hist. Ass'n, Fifth Annual
Meeting. 65
fort was defended by a "stockade of
picquets," about nine feet out of
the earth, without "frize or
ditch." Three hundred and fifty French and
English made up the entire number of men
in the town and nearby
country, capable of bearing arms.3 The
majority of these men were
French militiamen assembled under their
own officers. Commanding
the fort were two British armed
schooners and three sloops manned by
thirty "seamen and servants."
There was not a single gunner among
the crews; they were dissatisfied with
the service and incapable of
making much resistance.
Three hundred miles away to the
southeast was Fort Pitt, the only
American fortification (1775) guarding
the long frontier stretching from
Greenbrier, in Southwestern Virginia, to
Kittanning, on the Upper Alle-
gheny.4 This fort was without
a garrison. The inhabitants were de-
pendent on the protection of the militia
of the neighboring counties, and
large numbers were reported to be in a
most defenceless condition.5
From these two centers, in council after
council, were to be exer-
cised all of the diplomatic finesse of
white men in attempts to gain
control over the Indians of the Northwest.
Assembled at some of these
conferences were the chiefs and other
representatives of the Delawares
of the Muskingum and the Ohio; the
Shawnee and Mingo of the Scioto,
the Wyandot, Ottawa and Pottawattomi of
Lake Michigan, the Chippewa
of all the lakes; and, besides these,
the Miami, Seneca, Sauk, and
numerous other tribes. All told, the
Northwestern tribes numbered
some 8,000 warriors.6
In general, the American policy tended
towards securing Indian
neutrality, which was clearly stated by
the Continental Congress in a
speech prepared for the Six Nations
early in July, 1775. The war was
declared to be a family quarrel between
the colonists and Old England,
in which the Indians were in no way
concerned. It was urged that they
should remain at home and not join on
either side, but "keep the
hatchet buried deep."7 They
were apprehensive of the policy to be
pursued by the British. Consequently,
three departments of Indian
affairs were created, to be under the
control of commissioners, whose
duties were to treat with the Indians in
order to preserve their peace and
friendship and prevent them from taking
part in the present commotions.
They were to superintend also the
distribution of arms, ammunition and
clothing, such as was essential to the
existence of the Indians.8
Within a year, however, a resolution was
passed that it was ex-
pedient to engage the Indians in the
service of the united colonies and
especially to secure their cooperation
in bringing about the reduction of
Detroit.9
The British early employed the savages
to cut off outlying settle-
ments. Under plea that the
"rebels" had used Indians in their hostilities
on the frontier of Quebec, after the
capture of Ticonderoga, and that
Vol. XXII -5.
66 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
they had brought Indians for the attack
on Boston, General Gage urged
that General Carleton might be
privileged to use Canadians and Indians
for a counter stroke.10
There was necessity for prompt action on
the part of the Americans,
in order that they might gain the
friendship of the tribes beyond the
Ohio. In the provisional treaty at Camp
Charlotte, Governor Dunmore
promised the Indians that he would
return in the spring and bring it to
completion. By that time, the
revolutionary movement had assumed
such proportions that he deemed it
inadvisable to risk a journey to the
frontier. Again, he found a ready agent
in Dr. John Connolly,11 a bold,
enterprising, restless character, who
had been left in command of the
garrison of seventy-five men at Fort
Dunmore. In a conference at
Williamsburg, in February, Major
Connolly was instructed by Lord
Dunmore to use his efforts to induce the
Indians to espouse the cause of
Great Britain. In this he succeeded, in
so far as he brought together at
Pittsburgh the chiefs of the Delawares
and a few Mingo, whom he
assured that a general treaty, with
presents, was soon to be held with
all the Ohio Indians.12 Disbanding
the garrison in July, he returned to
find Dunmore a fugitive on board a
man-of-war off York. Together they
concocted a plan fraught with grave
consequences for the back country
and for the American cause in general.
In a personal interview, Connolly
won the assent of General Gage to the
plan, and received instructions
for its development.13 It was
designed that Connolly should proceed to
Detroit, where he was to have placed
under his command the garrison
from Fort Gage, led by Capt. Hugh Lord.
This nucleus of an army,
together with the French and Indians of
Detroit, was to proceed to Fort
Pitt. It was hoped that their force
would be enhanced by the Ohio
Indians, for whom liberal presents were
provided, and by numbers of
the militia from Augusta County, who for
their loyalty, were to have
300 acres of land confirmed to each of
them. Forts Pitt and Fincastle
were to be destroyed, should they offer
resistance, and the expedition
was then to take and fortify Fort
Cumberland and capture Alexandria,
assisted by troops led by Dunmore and
landed under protection of the
ships of war.14 Thus were the
Southern colonies to be cut off from the
Northern.
Conditions promised well for the success
of the enterprise. Con-
nolly had won the favor of the Indians;
Fort Pitt, as already noted, was
in a condition to offer but little
defense; and the backwoodsmen were
without the necessary equipment in arms
and ammunition to obstruct such
an expedition. They were disunited,
also, because of the Pennsylvania
and Virginia boundary dispute. A letter
from Connolly to a supposed
friend at Pittsburgh led to his
betrayal. Virginia authorities were in-
formed of the intrigue. Runners were
sent out from all the Southern
provinces into the Indian nations
through which he proposed to pass,
Ohio Valley Hist. Ass'n, Fifth Annual
Meeting. 67
with orders for his arrest.15 With three
associates, he was captured near
Hagerstown, while on his way to Fort
Pitt.16
For upwards of two years thereafter the
frontiers were free from
any general participation in the war.
Meantime, immigration to the
West continued,17 and the contest went
on between British and American
agents for ascendency over the Indians
of that region.
Major Connolly had conducted his treaty
with the Indians at
Pittsburgh in the presence of the
committee of correspondence of West
Augusta County.18 The
provisions and goods furnished by the com-
mittee on that occasion assisted
materially in gaining the good-will of
the Indians for later negotiations. A
petition to Congress from the
committee followed at an early date,
setting forth their fears of a rupture
with the Indians on account of the late
conduct of Governor Dunmore,
and asking that commissioners from
Pennsylvania and Virginia should
be appointed to confer with the Indians
at Pittsburgh.19
On June 24, therefore, six commissioners
were appointed by Vir-
ginia for the purpose of making a treaty
with the Ohio Indians, and a
sum of 2,000 pounds was appropriated for
that purpose. Capt. James
Wood, one of the commissioners, a man
well versed in frontier affairs,
was delegated to visit the tribes and
extend to them an invitation to
attend the conference at Pittsburgh. He
was likewise to explain the
dispute to the Indians, make them
sensible of the great unanimity of the
colonies, and "assure them of our
peaceable intentions towards them
and that we did not stand in need of or
desire any assistance from
them."20
The day following, Captain Wood set out
from Williamsburg on
his hazardous journey of two months,
accompanied by Simon Girty, his
sole companion, who acted as
interpreter. The report made on his return
was not wholly promising for the cause
he represented. His reception
by the Delawares, Shawnee, and other
tribes was friendly, for the fear
excited by the battle of Point Pleasant
was still upon them.21 He
learned, however, that two British
emissaries had already presented belts
and strings of wampum to seventeen
nations, inviting them to unite with
the French and English against the
Virginians.22 They were warned
that an attack by the "Big
Knives" was imminent from two directions,
by the Ohio and by the Great Lakes. The
Virginians were a distinct
people, they were assured, and an attack
upon them would in no case be
resented by the other colonies. Besides,
the invitation to a treaty, which
would be extended to them, should under
no conditions be accepted; for
the representatives who were to meet at
Pittsburgh could not be depended
upon. Similar advice was given the tribes
of the Upper Allegheny
river, brought together at Niagara. Many
of these Indians, at the insti-
gation of Governor Carleton and Guy
Johnson, were induced to go to
Albany, and many more to Montreal, to
join the British armies.
The Virginia commissioners, together
with those appointed by
68 Ohio Arch.
and Hist. Society Publications.
Congress, assembled at Pittsburgh,
September 10. Thus, notwithstanding
English opposition,23 which
in a measure had been overcome by traders,
chiefs and delegates from the Seneca,
Delawares, Wyandot, Mingo, and
Shawnee gathered slowly for the
conference. Each tribe on arrival was
received with "drum and colours and
a salute of small arms from the
garrison."24
During a period of three weeks, the commissioners
strove by speech,
and through presents of clothing and
strings of wampum, to convince the
Indians that they should keep the
hatchet buried, and use all endeavor
to induce the Six Nations and other
tribes to remain absolutely neutral.
They were assured that the cause of
Virginia was the cause of all
America. The commissioners say:25
In this dispute your Interest is
Involved with ours so far as
this, that in Case those People with
whom we are Contending
should Subdue us, your Lands, your
Trade, your Liberty and all
that is dear to you must fall with us,
for if they would Distroy
our flesh and Spill our Blood which is
the same with theirs; what
can you who are no way related to or
Connected with them to
expect? * * * we are not Affraid these
People will Conquer us,
they Can't fight in our Country, and you
Know we Can; we fear
not them, nor any Power on Earth.
In the event of American success, they
declare, with true Ameri-
can assurance, they would be so incensed
against those Indians who
fought against them, "that they
would march an army into their country,
destroy them and take their lands from
them."26 To still further con-
vince the Indians of their
invincibility, they assert that the Indian tribes
at the North were ready to become their
allies, and that the people of
Canada, with the exception of a few of
Governor Carleton's fools, were
friendly to the American cause.27 The
natives were invited to send their
children to be educated among the white
people, without expense to them-
selves.28 No little trouble
was experienced in leading the Indians to
agree to surrender all prisoners and
negroes, and deliver up stolen horses.
This done, peace "to endure
forever" was established.
While the treaty at Pittsburgh has been
made, in the language of
its text, to last "until the sun
shall shine no more, or the waters fail to
run in the Ohio," both of these
reverses of nature seem to have taken
place in the Indian imagination by the
following spring. In the mean-
time, they had been visited by British
agents to secure their adherence.29
The traces to Detroit were well worn by
the tribes which assembled there
to meet Hamilton, who strove in every
way to excite the Indians to
take up the hatchet.30 To this end,
British officers were generous with
their presents and lavish in their
hospitality, partaking with the Indians
in the feast of roast ox, and recovering
their dead anew with rum.
Ohio Valley Hist. Ass'n, Fifth Annual
Meeting. 69
Congress, early in April, appointed Col.
George Morgan Indian
agent for the Middle Department. The
choice was a wise one. For
a number of years he had been a trader
in the Illinois country, where
he had become noted among the Indians
for his generosity and strict
honesty. No man of the time better
understood the methods necessary
in winning the friendship of the Western
tribes. He was instructed to
forward at once the great belt presented
to the Indians at Pittsburgh.31
The commissioners for the Middle
Department were directed to conclude
a treaty with the Western tribes at the
earliest convenient time. Mor-
gan was, so far as possible, to adjust
all differences through arbitra-
tion32--in the language of the instructions :33
Inspire them with justice and humanity,
and dispose them to
introduce the arts of civil and social
life and to encourage the
residence of husbandmen and
handicraftsmen among them.
Arriving at Pittsburgh, May 16, 1776,
Morgan, in his endeavor to
prevent the attendance of the Indians at
a council called by Hamilton
at Detroit, proceeded at once to the
Shawnee towns.34 William Wilson,
a trader who accompanied Morgan,
extended the invitation to other
tribes to assemble at Pittsburgh,
September 10, for the purpose of mak-
ing a treaty.
At the time, the frontier defense was
entrusted to 100 men at Fort
Pitt, 100 at Big Kanawha, and 25 at
Wheeling, all in the pay of Vir-
ginia. These numbers were far too meagre
for the purpose, much less
were they capable of any offensive
warfare.35 Messengers were
dis-
patched to Congress and to Williamsburg,
imploring an augmentation of
the numbers in the garrisons and the
formation of new posts having
proper supplies of ammunition and
provisions.36 The militia of West-
moreland and West Augusta counties were
called out.37 The county-
lieutenants of Hampshire, Dunmore,
Frederick, and Berkeley were di-.
rected to collect provisions and hold
their militia in readiness to march
to Fort Pitt for immediate service.38
A company of militia was ordered
out as "rangers" for Fincastle
County. But notwithstanding the defense-
less condition of the frontier,
apprehension was so widespread lest the
savages should destroy their homes
during their absence, that the militia
was gotten together only after great
delay,39 many absolutely refusing
the draft.40
Not until the 644 warriors and chiefs
representing the Six Nations,
Delawares, Munsee, and Shawnee assembled
at Pittsburgh, was it known
for what purpose they came. The
conference served to dissipate the
widespread gloom, for these Indian
envoys promised "inviolable peace
with the United States and neutrality
during the war with Great
Britain."41 Twelve
chiefs were induced to visit Philadelphia, where they
were introduced to Congress. For a few
months after the treaty, all
the other Western tribes, with the
exception of a few of the Mingo
70 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
known as Pluggy's Band, seemed desirous
of preserving peaceful rela-
tions.42
With difficulty, Colonel Morgan
persuaded the Virginia authorities
that an expedition43 against
these banditti would tend to bring on gen-
eral hostilities with the tribes already
jealous of the slightest encroach-
ment by Americans.44 He
thought it more essential to restrain the front-
iersmen and promote good order among
them; to pacify leading men
among the tribes by liberal donations;
and in all respects treat the
Indians with "Justice, humanity and
hospitality."45
Meantime much time was consumed at
Pittsburgh in the discussion
on the character of aggressive
operations to be undertaken. It was
counseled that an expedition to Detroit
was the only remedy against the
incursions of Indians. Others held this
plan to be impracticable and
unnecessary. No more telling reasons for
the probability of a success-
ful attack on Detroit, were formulated
during the entire war, than those
submitted by Colonel Morgan. He urged:46 first, that the road was
practicable; second, that the Delawares
and Shawnees were disposed to
remain quiet; third, that there were no
powerful tribes near or on the
road to Detroit, to oppose such an
expedition; fourth, that Detroit was
at the time in a defenseless state;
fifth, that it was from that post that
the offending Western Indians were
supplied "in all their wants and
paid for all their murders"; and
sixth, that its possession would induce
all the tribes, through fear and
interest, to enter into an American alli-
ance.47 For the purpose, he
advised from 1,200 to 1,500 regular troops
and such volunteers as might be secured.
He opposed continuously the
plan of General Mcintosh, who looked
toward retaliatory expeditions.
Not only were these expeditions
failures, but they prevented the possi-
bility of the capture of Detroit.
Finding that his advise was unheeded.
and confident that the policy then
adhered to would produce a general
Indian war, Colonel Morgan resigned his
office as Indian agent.
At this critical time, when the control
of the Western Department
was about to pass into the hands of
incompetent men; when conditions
seemed to warrant the recommendation by
the Board of War for the
immediate assembling of the Indians for
another treaty;48 and when it
seemed probable that the British and
their Indian confederates were
prepared to overrun the entire frontier,
the authorities at Detroit were
forced to turn their attention to the
advance of George Rogers Clark.49
With his coming, a new phase of the war
in the West was inaugurated.
The brilliant work of this leader in
capturing the Illinois posts is
a well-known story and the present is
not the occasion on which to
discuss his plans for holding the
conquered territory. His thought
turned to the capture of Detroit, and
his disappointment was a great
one when he learned late in December,
1778, that the expedition which
was to have been lead by General
McIntosh against that post had been
abandoned.
Ohio Valley Hist. Ass'n, Fifth Annual
Meeting. 71
At the close of the campaign against the
Shawnee, 1780, Clark was
free once more to develop plans for the
capture of Detroit. He pro-
ceeded to Richmond, and by December 25,
full instructions were drawn
up under which Clark was to advance with
two thousand men into the
hostile territory at the earliest
practicable moment after the opening of
navigation. The ultimate object of the
expedition was to be the reduc-
tion of Detroit and the acquisition of
Lake Erie. Such a movement
was intended to place the British on the
defensive. If no check were
given their advance, militia would
ultimately have to be withdrawn, it
was feared, from the South to be sent
against them. Governor Jeffer-
son had appealed to Washington to
furnish powder for the expedition,
the burden of which was otherwise to be
borne by Virginia. Washing-
ton ordered Colonel Brodhead, at Fort
Pitt, to give the enterprise every
possible assistance by furnishing, upon
Clark's order, the supplies asked
for and a detachment of Continental
troops, including a company of
artillery as large as could be spared.
But the militia could not be induced
to enlist for the expedition, and the
artillery company ordered to accom-
pany Clark from Fort Pitt was lacking in
the quota of officers and men
necessary for that service and the
equipment in cannon, shells, shot, and
other stores were inadequate.
The accumulation of supplies for the
expedition was so much de-
layed that the time of setting out from
Fort Pitt was extended to June.
During this period of waiting, Clark
learned of the abuses incident to
the conduct of public affairs in the
West. Instances were cited in which
goods belonging to the State were used
in carrying on private trade with
the Indians. Reports of the
subordination of public interests to private
gain were not, however, confined to any
one section. A proclamation
was issued by the Council of
Pennsylvania against forestalling by which
individuals gained control of flour and
other necessities on the market
and thus enhanced the prices. These
lapses in public morals are not
wholly surprising when the commanding
officer at Fort Pitt makes the
following proposal to the Governor of
Pennsylvania: "Should our State
determine to extend its settlements over
the Allegheny river I should be
happy to have an early hint of it
because it will be in my power to
serve several of my friends."50 But
the reply of President Reed came
as a well calculated rebuke to all such
suggestions of graft. "At pres-
ent," he wrote, "my Station
will prevent my engaging in pursuits of that
nature lest it might give offense and
give Reason to a censorious world
to suppose I had made an improper use of
my publick character." On
account of numerous accusations against
him, the leading one being
speculation with public funds, Colonel
Brodhead was, within a year,
forced to resign his command.
Early in May, Clark suffered his
greatest disappointment upon
learning that Col. Brodhead had refused
to allow the regiment under
Colonel John Gibson to accompany him.
The surprise and disappoint-
72 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
ment were the greater for Brodhead had
already given assurance of his
complete co-operation.51 By the middle
of March, Brodhead regarded
his own condition as desperate He feared an attack from Detroit and
Niagara and in that event he believed
that large numbers of the in-
habitants would aid the enemy.52
Besides he was confident that the
revolt of the Delawares that were not
under Moravian influence was
about to lead to a general Indian war53
and three hundred men were
sent against them.
That volunteers joined this expedition
in order to avoid accompany-
ing Clark cannot be definitely asserted,
but it is certain his enlistments
were materially affected thereby. Col.
Brodhead now sought some argu-
ment which would excuse his policy of
opposition to Clark. He was
desirous of winning laurels for himself
and a number of times had
appealed to Washington for permission to
organize an expedition against
Detroit and Natchez and assistance in
carrying it forward.54 Brodhead
was convinced that he was well within
his instructions in refusing to
grant Clark's request for a regiment.
Clark's position was likewise tenable
for he had interpreted Jef-
ferson's dispatch to mean that by the
consent of Baron Steuben and
Washington, he was to be accompanied by
Col. Gibson's regiment and
Heath's Company.55
Both men appealed to Washington.
"From your Excellencies let-
ters to Col. Brodhead," Clark
wrote, "I conceived him to be at liberty
to furnish what men he pleased, * * * If
you should approve of
the troops in this department joining
our forces tho they are few the
acquisition may be attended with great
& good consequences as two
hundred only might turn the scale in our
favour." The next day he
appealed again for assistance, saying,
"For in part it has been the in-
fluence of our posts in the Illinoise
and Ouabash that have saved the
frontiers and in great measure baffled
the designs of the Enemy at
Detroit. If they get possession of them
they then Command three times
the number of Valuable warriors they do
at present and be fully
Enabled to carry any point they aim at
Except we should have a
formidable force to oppose them."56
Clark assumed that his request would be
granted. Regular officers
and soldiers were desirous of going on
the expedition which was sup-
posed to be aimed against the Indians.57
While awaiting Washington's
reply, boats were completed and
provisions collected. Notwithstanding
the desire of President Reed of
Pennsylvania to render all the assist-
ance within his power58 volunteers
were secured only after the use of
extreme measures due chiefly to the
dispute over the boundary.59 A
general draft was finally resorted to.60 Enforcement of the order in
Monongalia County brought on a riot.61
Among other problems demanding Clark's
attention besides the sup-
pression of this mob,62 was the difficulty of securing supplies
with a
Ohio Valley Hist. Ass'n, Fifth Annual
Meeting. 73
currency which steadily depreciated in
value.63 Findings of the general
court martial were reviewed by him in
which such questions were con-
sidered as the legality of drafting,
punishment of horse-thieves, and
embezzlement of public property.64
Clark's problems were still more
complicated because of a dispatch
from Washington by which he was informed
that Colonel John Con-
nolly was about to join forces with Sir
John Johnson and come by the
way of Lake Ontario against Ft. Pitt and
other western posts.65
In the midst of these preparations,
social life at Ft. Pitt was not
lacking. "We have heard,"
Wrote Col. Gibson, "that the Gentlemen and
Ladies of Stewart's Crossings intend
paying us a visit to-morrow, in
consequence of which a grand Bower is
erected in the Orchard, a Bar-
becue is preparing for tomorrow and a
Ball in the Evening at Col. Gib-
son's Room."66 The celebration of the
"Anniversary of our Glorious
Independence" also received due
attention.67
While the necessary supplies had been
collected by the first of June
at a cost approaching two million
dollars the weeks wore on with Clark
still hoping to secure the requisite
number of volunteers.68 His appeals
to Washington, that Col. Gibson's
regiment might be permitted to accom-
pany him, failed.69 Drafts
were of slight avail, and finally, early in
August, despairing of accomplishing his
designs in the face of deep
seated opposition on the part of the
officials of the western counties
of Pennsylvania, he set out for
Louisville, with four hundred men.70
This number was little more than
adequate to guard the boats which
contained supplies for fully two thousand
men. Clark hoped his force
would be be reenforced in Kentucky and
that he might still accomplish
his object or at least make some
demonstration against the disaffected
Indians.71 Before setting
out, he was forced to draw on his supplies
in order to relieve the distressed
condition of the garrison at Ft. Pitt.72
Plans were outlined whereby Colonel
Gibson was to lead an attack
against the Wyandotte, September 4, and
Clark was to march from
the Mouth of the Miami upon the Shawnee
villages.
Clark's preparations had served as a
defense for the frontiers.
Efforts were redoubled to put Detroit in
condition to withstand an
attack.73 Demands
for presents made by the Indians in council at that
post increased "amazingly."74
By the end of May, the fears of the
British and their allies were increased
by the report that Clark was
descending the Ohio with one thousand
men and that this number
would be increased by a like number from
Kentucky.75 Their confidence
was restored through a dispatch from
General Haldimand contradicting
this rumor and assuring them that
Detroit and the Indian country were
in no danger. They were ordered to act
at once in order to prevent
the farther strengthening of the
frontier settlements.76 Such
an order
meant war on combatant and non-combatant
alike and the garrison of
militia of Pittsburgh were called upon
to assume a full share of the
74 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
defense but the events of which could
not now be even enumerated for
the time allotted to me has already
expired.
REFERENCES.
1. American Archives, 5th ser., iii, p. 1368; Mich. Pion. and Hist.
Coils., xxvii, pp. 612 et seq.
From this post, a trace led westward by
way of the Maumee and
across the upper Wabash to Post St.
Vincent. In like manner an Indian
path extended to Kaskaskia and other
posts on the upper Mississippi
Not only was it a great centre for the
fur-trade, but in years of good
harvests flour and grain were furnished
to other posts from Detroit.-
Draper MSS., 46J9. The post was of great importance during the
French regime. Indians from the
Northwest took part, in common with
Canadians, in the battle on the Plains
of Abraham. June 29, 1759, a
courier announced that there were about
to arrive 100 French and 150
Indians from Detroit; 600 to 700 Indians
with M. Linctot, 100 Indians
with M. Rayeul, and the convoy of M.
Aubry from Illinois with 600 to
700 Indians. Twelve hundred other
Indians from the same region were
also reported to be on the way.-Wis.
Hist. Coils., xviii, pp. 212, 213.
2. Letter to Daniel Brodhead, Dec. 29,
1780.
3. Thwaites and Kellogg, Revolution
on the Upper Ohio (Madison,
Wis., 1908), pp. 147-151.
Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton arrived
Nov. 9, 1775, but Captain
Lernoult commanded the troops until the
summer of 1776.
The total population in 1773 was about
1,400; 298 of them men.-
Mich. Pion. and Hist. Colls., ix, p. 649. The population in 1778 was
2,144; 564 being men.-ibid., p.
469.
4. Fort Blair, near the mouth of the
Kanawha, had been evacu-
ated by order of Governor Dunmore, and
was burned by some of the
Ohio Indians.-Amer. Archives, 4th
ser., iv, p. 201.
5. George Morgan, Indian agent at Fort
Pitt, in a letter of May
16, 1776, reported that there was
"scarcely powder west of the Mountains
sufficient for every man to prime his
gun and only 200 lb. wt. in the
Fort here."-Letter to Lewis Morris,
Papers of Continental Congress,
vol. 163, entitled "Generals
Clinton, Nicola, et al., pp. 237-239.
6. Delawares and Munsee 600, Shawnee
600, Wyandot 300, Ottawa
600, Chippewa 5,000, Pottawattomi 400,
Kickapoo, Vermillion, and other
small tribes of the Wabash 800, Miami or
Picts 300, Mingo of Pluggy's
Town (Scioto River) 60.-Morgan, Letter
Book, iii, March 27, 1778.
Wyandot 180, Tawa 450, Pottawattomi 450,
Chippewa 5,000, Shaw-
nee 300, Delawares or Munsee 600, Miami
300.-Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes,
iii, pp. 560, 561.
The Sauk, Foxes, and Iowa numbered some
1,400 warriors.
7. July 13, 1775.-Amer. Archives, 4th ser., ii, p. 665.
Ohio Valley Hist. Ass'n, Fifth Annual
Meeting. 75
8. July 12, 1775, in Ibid., p.
1879. The three departments were
Northern, Middle, and Southern. The
Northern Department included
the Six Nations and all other Indians
north of these tribes. The
Southern included the Cherokee and other
Southern tribes. The Middle,
all Indians between the territory of the
two others. There were to be
five commissioners for the Southern and
three each for the two other
departments.
9. Journals of Continental Congress, iv., p. 395.
The commissioners were instructed, May
25, 1776, to offer as an
inducement £50 of Pennsylvania currency
for every prisoner (soldier
of the garrison) brought to them. The Indians
were to be given the
free plunder of the garrison.
Washington was authorized to employ
Indians, on June 17, 1776.-
Id. (new ed.), v, p. 452.
10. June 12, 1775, General Gage to Lord
Dartmouth.-Amer. Ar-
chives, 4th ser., ii, p. 968.
11. Penna. Colon. Records, 1760-1776,
pp. 477, 484, 485, 637, 682.
12. Rev. on Upper Ohio, p. 35.
13. The entire plan is given in Ibid.,
pp. 140-142.
14. Thwaites and Kellogg, Dunmore's
War (Madison, Wis., 1905)
p. 86; Amer. Archives, 4th ser.,
iv, p. 616.
15. Id., iii, p. 1543.
16. A copy of the plan was in their
possession. Capture of Con-
nolly, in Id., iv, p. 616.
17. More "cabin improvements"
were made in 1776 than in any
other year.-Draper MSS., 4C485.
18. Rev. on Upper Ohio, pp. 37,
38.
19. Jour. of Continental Congress (new
ed.), ii, p. 76.
20. Rev. on Upper Ohio, p. 35. *
21. These two tribes had invited others
to unite with them against
the English in 1764.-Wis. Hist.
Colls., xviii, p. 262.
22. Amer. Archives, 4th ser.,
iii, pp. 76-78.
23. Ibid., pp. 1542, 1543.
24. Rev. on Upper Ohio, p. 74.
25. Ibid., p. 95.
26. Amer. Archives, 5th ser., ii,
p. 518.
27. Rev. on Upper Ohio, p. 95.
28. Amer. Archives, 4th ser.,
iii, p. 1542.
29. Rev. on Upper Ohio, p. 144.
30. Morgan Letter Book, ii, Aug.
31, 1776.
31. Jour. of Continental Congress, iv,
p. 268.
32. One of the arbitrators was to be
selected by the commissioners
-or, in their absence, by the Indian
agent-and one each by the parties
in the dispute.-Ibid. p. 268.
33. Ibid., pp. 294, 301.
76 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
34. Amer. Archives, 5th ser., ii, p. 514.
35. Morgan Letter Book, i, Aug.
18, 1776; to committee on Indian
affairs.
36. Congress directed that a ton of
gunpowder should immediately
be sent.-Jour. Continental Congress, iv,
p. 396.
37. Rev. on Upper Ohio, p. 200.
38. Morgan Letter Book, ii, Aug.
31, 1776; commissioners to
county-lieutenants.
39. Amer. Archives, 5th ser., ii,
p. 513.
40. Rev. on Upper Ohio, pp. 174,
240.
41. Morgan Letter Book, i, Nov.
8, 1776: Morgan to John Han-
cock. Amer. Archives, 5th ser.,
iii, pp. 599, 600.
42. Morgan Letter Book, i, Jan.
4, 1777.
43. Ibid., March 12, 1777.
"You are to take command,"
wrote Patrick Henry to Col. David
Shepherd, "of 300 men drawn from
the militia of Monongalia, Yoho-
gania and Ohio Counties or either of
them and to march with utmost
secrecy and expedition to punish the
Indians of Pluggy's Town for
their late cruelties committed upon the
people of this state."
44. They were at the time exercised
because of the settlement of
lands on the Ohio, below the Kanawha and
in Kentucky.
45. Morgan Letter Book, i, April
1, 1777.
46. Morgan Letter Book, iii, July
17, 1778: submitted to Col.
Daniel Brodhead.
47. It was his belief that there were
only some 300 hostile In-
dians in the Western Department.
Schoolcraft estimated that of the
7,280 Indians capable of bearing arms,
only 390 were in the employ
of the British. In this estimate,
however, he did not include the num-
bers enlisted from the Sauk, Fox, and
Iowa tribes. These alone were
able to summon 1,400
warriors.-Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes, iii, pp.
560, 561.
48. June 28, 1778. Jour. of
Continental Congress, xi, p. 568.
49. Hamilton learned of the capture of
Kaskaskia on Aug. 6,
1778.-Mich. Pion. and Hist. Colls., ix, p. 490.
50. Penna. Archives, 1779-1781, p. 121.
51. Feb. 24, 1781, Brodhead to Clark,
See post, p. - . "You
may rely on every supply I am authorized
to afford to facilitate your
expedition."
52. Col. Brodhead to the President of
Congress, May 30, 1781
Draper Coll., Trip 1860, vi, p. 120.
March 19, 1781, Brodhead to Clark, see post
p.
"An Indian man has just brought in
a letter which was sent by
some of the inhabitants to the Enemy at
Detroit with information
that about one hundred of them were
ready to join them so soon as
Ohio Valley Hist. Ass'n, Fifth Annual
Meeting. 77
they could be informed they should be
received by the Commanding
officer there."
53. March, 1781. Brodhead to Clark. See post,
p.
"I have wrote the County
Lieutenants to meet at my quarters on
the 15th instant to consult on means to
protect our Settlements and
annoy the Enemy."
54. Draper MSS., Brodhead Papers, 1, H 122.
Washington to Brodhead, Jan. 4, 1780.
Washington stated that
from the estimate he makes of the
garrison at Detroit, the men in
Garrison at Ft. Pitt together with the
militia would not be adequate
to make the attempt and that the same
was true of Natchez.
55. May 20, 1781, Clark to Washington,
See post, p.
Gibson agreed with Clark in this
interpretation.
56. See post, p.
57. Draper MSS., 51J57.
58. See post, p. - . President Reed wrote Clark, May 15,
1781: "But from common report we
learn, that an expedition under
your command is destined against
Detroit. We are very sensible of
its importance to this State as well as
Virginia and there is no Gentle-
man in whose abilities and good conduct
we have more Confidence on such
an occasion. After this it seems
unnecessary to add, that it will give
us great Satisfaction if the inhabitants
of this State cheerfully concur
in it. * * *"
59. Draper MSS., 51J49, 56.
60. Draper MSS., 30J51. June 12,
1781.
61. Draper MSS., 51J58, 59.
62. See post, p.
"We the subscribers being Accessary
to a Riot in Suppressing a
draught in this County on the 12th Inst.
Being Sensible of our Error
and as assurity of our future good
conduct do hereby Engage to serve
Ten months in the Continental Service in
Case we Should be guilty
of the like misdeminor."
63. See post, p. Colonel Gibson to Clark.
"I am sorry to have to inform you
that a set of Rascals have
begun to depreciate the Virginia money
now in Circulation and some
of them have even gone so far as to
refuse taking it, in particular
Smith the Brewer has refused to take it
in payment for Beer, I am
much afraid it will reach the Country
and of Course retard your pro-
ceedings."
64. Draper MSS., 51J73.
James Thompson convicted of horse theft
and desertion was forced
to run the gauntlet through the Brigade.
65. Connolly, recently exchanged, had
proceeded from New York
to Quebec. Sparks, Washington's
Writings, vii, 25.
78 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
"I doubt Sir," Clark wrote
Jefferson relative to Connolly's expedi-
tion, "we shall as usual be obliged
to play a desperate game this cam-
paign. If we had the 2,000 men just
proposed such intelligence would
give me pleasure." See post, p.
66. Gibson to Clark, June 26, 1781. See post,
p.
67. Draper MSS., 51J65.
68. Va. State Papers, ii, 140,
June 2, 1781. See post, p.
Clark in a letter to Jefferson (August
2, 1781), says he had given
Col. Harrison £126,581 to enable him to
collect stores. £300,000 had
already been forwarded to Col. Harrison.
Jefferson to Clark, April 20,
1781. Jefferson's Letter Book, 1781.
69. Papers of the Continental Congress,
Reports of the Board of
War, 147. Vol. v, pp. 323-325.
Washington to the Board of War, June
8, 1781. "As it seemed the public
wish, that the expedition of Col.
Clarke against Detroit should be
supported, I gave orders to Col. Clarke
against Detroit should be supported, I
gave orders to Col. Brodhead
to deliver him a certain quantity of
artillery and Stores and to detach
Captain Craig with his Company of
Artillery, as there were neither
officers nor men of the Virginia Militia
acquainted with that kind of
Service.
"I recommended also a small
detachment of Continental Troops
from the 8th Pennsylvania and 9th
Virginia Regiments, but it was
at the discretion of the Commandant and
in case they could be safely
spared. I mentioned that I did not
imagine the command could not
exceed that of a Major and perhaps not
of a Captain. If therefore
Col. Brodhead saw that the post could
not be defended if such a de-
tachment of Infantry was made, he was
justifyable not sending it."
70. Va. State Papers, ii, 345. In
a letter to Col. Davis, W. Crog-
han declared that the reason Clark was
unable to get so few men at
Ft. Pitt was "owing to the dispute
that Subsists here between the Vir-
ginians & Pennsylvanians respecting
the true bounds of the Latter, and
the general being a Virginian was
opposed by the most noted men
here in the Pennsylvania party. The
people here bleam Virginia Very
much for making them & their lands
(which beyond a shadow of
doubt is far out of the true bounds of
Pennsylvania) over to Pennsyl-
vania."
Draper MSS., 16S4-59.
The force accompanying Clark was
composed of Col. Crockett's
regiment of Virginia State Troops and
Capt. Craig's company of Artil-
lery, together with volunteers and
militia.
Clark was represented by some of the
leading men opposed to
him as a flour merchant, and again as a
trader and land jobber for
the State of Virginia. Draper MSS., 51J18.
James Marshall, County Lieutenant of
Washington County and
County Lieutenants Cook and Davis, were
named by Clark as his
Ohio Valley Hist. Ass'n, Fifth Annual
Meeting. 79
main opponents. Clark to President Reed,
August 4, 1781, post, p.
Marshall advised the people to pay no
attention to the drafts ordered
for Clark and offered protection to
those who refused. He had told
Clark that while he could do nothing for
the expedition as an official
that as a private person he would give
every assistance within his
power. Penna Archives, 1781-1783,
p. 318.
71. See post, p.
72. See post, p.
73. See post, p.
74. Mich. Pioneer and Hist. Coll's., x,
p. 465.
75. Simon Girty to Major De Peyster, Mich.
Pioneer and Hist.
Coll's., pp. 478, 479. This rumor was started on account of the
expedi-
tion against the Delawares by Col.
Brodhead.
THE FUTURE OF NAVIGATION ON OUR WESTERN
RIVERS.
BY HON. ALBERT BETTINGER.
Stretching out between the Allegheny and
Rocky Mountain ranges
for a distance of 2,000 miles lies the
Mississippi Valley, containing three-
fifths of the area of the U. S. and more
than half our population. The
Mississippi River, rising in the
northern part of Minnesota and flowing
straight on to the Gulf of Mexico,
bisects this great valley, and in its
course forms the boundary line between
ten great states. From the
foothills of the Rockies in the
northwestern corner of the Valley, after
passing through the wheatfields of the
Dakotas and Nebraska, and
receiving many tributaries great and
small, comes the Missouri River,
entering the Mississippi a few miles
above St. Louis. Further down
this great central stream is met by the
Red, Arkansas, White and
Quachita Rivers, draining the
Southwestern portion of the Valley.
From the Northeast, running diagonally
through the State of Illinois,
the Illinois River meets the Mississippi
a short distance above St.
Louis-and great efforts, now in
progress, are soon to convert this
river into an effective connection with
the Great Lakes System at
Chicago.
The valley of the Mississippi is
politically and commercially more
important than any other valley on the
face of the globe. Here, more
than anywhere else will be determined
the future of the United States,
and, indeed, of the whole western world;
and the type of civilization
reached in this mighty valley, in this
vast stretch of country lying be-
tween the Alleghenies and the Rockies,
the Great Lakes and the Gulf,