the snow was gone and the woods passable, so that the march could be renewed; and that for the present all operations should cease. Carried on the hurdle, Forbes reached Loyal Hannan. In his correspondence he made the best of everything; there is no doleful dread of failure. Frank in ordinary matters, he made few confidants with regard to the future. Even with men whom he fully trusted, such as Bouquet, he was reticent when he felt it wise to be so. He was never one to cast the blame on another. He had a kindly word for even misfortune. He wrote of Grant after his reverse: "My friend Grant most certainly lost his wits, and by his thirst for fame brought on his own perdition, and ran great risque of ours." He arrived at Loyal Hannan on the 5th of November. The advance parties were in the field "blazing" the line.* Forbes heard much irresolution and doubt, and being desirous of obtaining a decided expression of current opinion, he called a council of war. The council met on the 11th, and the affirmative and negative for prosecuting the expedition are placed on record.† The reasons for persevering were the hope of gaining possession of the Ohio, the desire to obtain control over the Indians who had previously ravaged the province, and to meet public expectation by the capture of the fort. Against continuing operations were: the want of proper clothing, and the impossibility of obtaining it; the scarcity of provisions, and the uncertainty of supply; the want of horses and forage; the necessity of husbanding the supplies; the risk of losing the artillery, if forced to retreat; the impossibility of holding the fort if taken, no provision having been This word, in use in Canada to denote tracing a way through the woods by making marks on trees with an axe leaving the cut apparent through the bark, has been derived from the French word "balise." The first meaning of balise is a sea mark, a beacon. In Canada the term was applied to the evergreens placed on the rivers and open ground to trace out the winter roads on the ice and snow, probably given by the settlers from the sea coast of Brittany. It is not a difficult transition from "balised" to "blazed." The council was composed of colonels Bouquet, Montgomery, St. Clair, Washington, Byrd, Armstrong, Burd and Mercer. Can. Arch., Series A., 13, p. 341. 1758] THE COUNCIL OF WAR. 211 made for that purpose; the risk of the loss of a battle which would expose the province to an Indian invasion. The conclusion ran: "The risks, being so superior to the advantages, left no doubt as to the course which prudence dictates." This euphemistic expression of opinion had little influence upon Forbes. The works upon the road were continued. Washington's letters show that on the 18th the road had been advanced twenty-three miles, and that it had been traced within twelve miles of the fort. Forbes now prepared to carry out his purpose. The intelligence had reached him that the strength of the garrison had been greatly reduced and the supply of provisions almost exhausted. He selected from his force 2,500 picked men; they were to march without tents or baggage, each man carrying his blanket and his haversack of rations. The march commenced on the 18th or 19th and the force was organized at Loyal Hannan, and it was from that post the start was made. It was formed in three columns : Washington on the right, Montgomery in the centre, Bouquet on the left Flanking parties were carefully organized, and the few light horse reconnoitred with the advance guard. There was to be no second episode similar to the destruction of Braddock's force. As the columns advanced the drums at the head of each division beat their measured tap so the drum could be heard if the force were not in direct view. By these means, while the advance was regularly made, the line was kept, order was preserved and confusion avoided. Forbes on his hurdle, with an officer's guard, was carried in advance of Montgomery's column. On the evening of the 23rd the troops were within twelve miles of the fort; the Indian scouts reported that a thick smoke extended up the valley of the river. A few hours later the intelligence was received that the fort had been abandoned and everything burned. A halt was made on the 24th, in order that the true situation should be known, and, it is to be presumed, to guard against surprise. They are dated Chestnut ridge, the 15th; Bushy run, the 17th; Armstrong's Camp, the 18th. Early on the morning of the 25th, with serried ranks, the small force continued its march to the fort. As it entered the clearing, the charred ruins of the building with its surrounding tenements came into view. The fire had destroyed all that had formerly been. The walls of the fort had been undermined and were partially blown up. There were two forts one which stood at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela had been carefully and laboriously constructed, with strong works contained in a narrow space. The second fort was on the bank of the Alleghany, in the form of a parallelogram; it was unfinished, several of the outer works only having lately been begun. About thirty stacks of chimneys were standing to shew where houses had stood. One magazine had been exploded with the walls, the other was uninjured. Sixteen barrels of ammunition, a large quantity of old iron, some gun barrels, and a cart load of scalping knives were found there. It was difficult to determine whether the French had cast their cannon into the river, or carried them away on bateaux. At a later date Amherst describes them as having been found in the river.* The dead bodies of those slain in Grant's attack still lay on the field unburied, within a quarter of a mile of the fort. The fact speaks little for the humanity of the French, or their care for the health of their own garrison. † On the 25th of November the British took possession of the ground on which the ruins stood. It was the last day of French rule on the Ohio. Within a few hours of the event * Amherst to Pitt, 4th February, 1759. Can. Arch., Series A. & W. I., vol. 89, p. 107. + Captain Heslet, in a letter to the Rev. Dr. Alison, states that a boy twelve years old, who had been their prisoner, escaped on the 2nd [? 22nd] instant, informed them that they had carried a prodigious quantity of wood into the fort, and that five prisoners taken at Grant's defeat had been burned on the parade. Other prisoners had been given to the Indians, who tomahawked them on the spot. The story is not authenticated. It has also been stated that the Indians had placed upon poles the heads of the highlanders killed in the skirmish with Grant's force, and in derision hung their kilts around them. It appears to me to be a romance of after production: it is not confirmed. I do not myself consider it worthy of credence. 1758] PITTSBURG. 213 the site was called Pittsburg, in honour of the great minister. Posterity has accepted the baptism, although few remember the name and services of the general who conferred it. Forbes related how the old title had passed away through conquest, and that the spot in future would be identified with Pitt's glory.* After the return of Aubry from his expedition, de Ligneris saw that his only hope lay in the lateness of the season; that an attack before spring would become impossible. He resolved accordingly to reduce the strength of the garrison, retaining such a force that he could feed, with the hope that during the winter he would be cared for. Aubry returned to the Illinois with his detachment; Saint Ours carried the men of his force to Montreal, where he arrived at the end of November; de Bellaître started for Detroit with the troops he had brought. There now only remained 400 of the garrison with de Ligneris. Some of the artillery and the invalids he sent with Aubry to the Illinois, descending the Ohio. As the scouts informed de Ligneris of the march of Forbes, that each hour the three columns were advancing nearer to enclose him in their fold, he resolved to destroy the fort, and to abandon it. On the 23rd of November he sent off his canoes with all he could remove to fort Machault, at the junction of the Alleghany, with French creek; about one hundred miles from Pittsburg, now known as Venango.+ When all * "I have used the freedom of giving your name to fort du Quesne, as I hope it was in some measure the being actuated by your spirit that now makes me master of the place. Nor could I help using the same freedom in the naming of the two other forts that I built; (plans of which I send you) the one Fort Ligonier, the other Bedford. I hope the name-fathers will take them under their protection, in which case those dreary deserts will soon be richest and most fertile of any possest by the British in No America." Forbes to Pitt. Pittsburg, 27th November, 1758. Can. Arch., Series 87.2, p. 489. : In captain Lee's journal, 19th September to 4th October, 1759, the following distances are given in Bouquet's handwriting: From Niagara to Presqu' Isle.... Presqu' Isle to le Beuf... Le Beuf to Venango... Venango to Pittsburg.. [Can. Arch., Bouquet Coll., Series A., 14.2, p. 583.] 230 miles. had departed, he blew up the walls, and burned the outer buildings. It remained for the British to establish themselves at the abandoned fort. It was not possible to follow de Ligneris up the Alleghany to fort Machault, for winter had commenced, and there were no supplies. Such an expedition itself called for preparation, and it remained a duty to be undertaken in the spring. Moreover, the force was three hundred miles. from Philadelphia, the men without warm clothing, exposed to the severe cold. There was no fear of any permanent want of supplies; the road was open, and the convoys could be sufficiently protected. The men had submitted without a murmur to their privations, and could be perfectly relied upon; but it was plain that the operations could not be extended, and all that could be done was to secure the conquest. A spot was selected and protected with a stockade and made. as defensible as possible. Lieutenant-colonel Mercer was placed in charge with a force of provincial troops. Forbes wrote to governor Denny, of Pennsylvania, the day after he had taken possession, congratulating him upon the event, adding that he would be compelled to leave two hundred of the Pennsylvanian troops to join a proportion of Virginians and Marylanders. "I hope," added Forbes, "the Provinces will be so sensible of the great Benefit of this new Acquisition as to enable me to fix this noble, fine Country to all Perpetuity under the Dominion of Great Britain." He asked for instructions with regard to the provincial troops; and that the governor would remember that Montgomery's battalion and the Royal Americans, after so long and tedious a campaign, "were to be taken care of in some comfortable winter quarters." "I flatter myself," continued Forbes, "that if I get to Philadelphia under your Cares and good Companys, I shall run a good chance of re-establishing a health, that I run the risque of ruining to give your Province all the Satisfaction in the Power of my weak Abilities." It was not to be. Forbes' health had been too rudely * New York Doc., X., p. 905. |