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TO WILLIAM FAIRFAX. - George Washington, The Writings of George Washington, vol. I (1748-1757) [1889]Edition used:The Writings of George Washington, collected and edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1889-1893). Vol. I (1748-1757).
Part of: The Writings of George Washington, 14 vols.
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TO WILLIAM FAIRFAX.Camp atWill’s Creek, 7 June, 1755. Honble. Sir,I arrived with my charge safe in camp, the 30th of last month, after waiting a day and piece in Winchester, expecting the cavalry to escort me up; in which being disappointed, I was obliged to make use of a small guard of the militia of Frederick county.1 The General, by 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 occasions, 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 publick supineness, and looks upon the country, I believe, as void of honour and honesty. We have frequent disputes on this head, which are maintained with warmth on both sides, especially on his, who is incapable of arguing without, or giving up any point he asserts, let it be ever so incompatible with reason or common sense.2 There is a line of communication to be opened from Pennsylvania to the French fort Duquesne, along which we are to receive, after a little time, all our convoys of provisions, &c., &c., and to give all manner of encouragement to a people, who ought rather to be chastised for their insensibility to danger, and disregard of their sovereign’s expectation. They, it seems, are to be the favoured people, because they have furnished what their absolute interest alone induced them to do, i. e., 150 wagons, and an equivalent number of horses.1 Major Chapman, with a detachment of 500 men, and the Quartermaster-General, marched two or three days before I arrived here, to open the roads, and lay a deposite of provisions in a small fort, which they are to erect at the Little Meadows. To-morrow, Sir Peter Halket, (with the first brigade,) is to begin their march, and on Monday the General, with the second, will follow. One hospital is filled with sick, and the numbers increase daily, with the bloody flux, which has not yet proved mortal to many. General Innes has accepted of a Commission to be Governour 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. By a letter received from Governor Morris, of Pennsylvania, we have advice, that a party of three hundred men passed Oswego on their way to Fort Duquesne, and that another and larger detachment was expected to pass that place every moment. By the public accounts from Pennsylvania, we are assured, that nine hundred men have certainly passed Oswego to reinforce the French on Ohio; so that from these accounts we have reason to believe, that we shall have more to do than to go up the hills and come down. We are impatient to hear what the powers at home are doing; whether peace, or war is like to be the issue of all these preparations.1 [1 ]“I was escorted by 8 men of the militia of Winchester to this camp; which 8 men were two days assembling; but I believe they would not have been more than as many seconds dispersing, if I had been attacked.” To John A. Washington, 7 June, 1755. [2 ]The governors of the different colonies had promised much, but performed little; and the large deposits of supplies supposed to exist were soon found wanting, or in places where they could be of no service, and no means at hand to transport them to the army. It was at one of these crises that Franklin rendered such efficient aid (Writings, ii., 419). For two hundred miles the troops marched with only salt provisions, and the General was forced to offer large rewards to such as would bring to the camp provisions, paying a higher price than was usual for whatever could be obtained. In one case some salted beef was condemned on its arrival in camp, as unfit for food. The horses were stolen almost as fast as they could be obtained. The contractors failed to supply what they had contracted for, and Cresap lost his position as commissary through his gross negligence. [1 ]These remarks are applied to the Pennsylvanians, who were singularly backward in rendering any aids for the public service. The merit of procuring the wagons and horses, here mentioned, was wholly due to Franklin, and not to any agency or intention of the Assembly. Being at that time postmaster-general in the colonies, he visited General Braddock at Frederic Town, for the purpose of maturing a plan for transmitting despatches between the general and the governors. Becoming acquainted with the obstacles, which opposed the progress of the army, he stipulated with General Braddock to furnish within a given time one hundred and fifty wagons, and a proportionable number of horses, for which a specified sum was to be allowed. He immediately returned to York and Lancaster, sent out an advertisement among the farmers, and in two weeks all the wagons and horses were in readiness at Will’s Creek. He gave his personal security, that the compensation agreed on should be duly paid according to contract. [1 ]To Mrs. Fairfax he wrote from Fort Cumberland, on June 7:— |
