The French and Indian army at Loyalhanna was under command of De Vitri. He
began battle almost immediately on their arrival. The firing began about
eleven o�clock in the forenoon and lasted four hours. The battle was fought
on or near the ground where is now the town of Ligonier. The army at Ligonier
numbered twenty-five hundred on its first arrival from Bedford; but nearly
three hundred were lost in Grant�s fiasco, leaving only about twenty-two
hundred. But it is probable that some advance companies from Forbes� army at
Bedford had by October 12, reached Ligonier, though there is no record of that
the writer can find. Bouquet was not present at the battle, but was stuck in
the mud at Stony Creek, now in Somerset county, near the present town of
Stoystown. Colonel James Burd commanded the forces in Bouquet�s absence.
The enemy during the battle was probably on lower ground than Burd�s
troops, though the location is not clearly outlined in the reports. It is
known, however, that Burd was on the ground preparing for the coming of the
enemy, and that he was easily way enough to entrench his army on high ground
and allow the enemy to attack him. He was also preparing to erect or was
already erecting a fort, and it is likely that the army was encamped near the
site selected for its location. The enemy coming from Fort Duquesne came, of
course, from the west, but as they approached the camp at Ligonier they veered
their course so as to approach from the southwest and gave battle at once on
their arrival. They undoubtedly approached from this direction rather than
from the west, to more thoroughly surprise the camp. The French made but
little impression on the army during the four hours� fighting in the
afternoon. They renewed the attack after nightfall, but Colonel Burd stormed
the woods in which the French and Indians were concealed, with shells from the
mortars, and they were soon glad to retreat. That Burd and his army did not
follow them up and capture them is evidence that they were well satisfied to
allow them to retreat. Yet Forbes� army with its provisions had not arrived,
and the commissary may have been too weak to support a captured army. The loss
in the army of Ligonier was twelve killed and fifty-five wounded. The loss in
the French army is not known, and the small loss to the British is perhaps why
the accounts of the battle are so meagre. A letter written by Captain Burd to
his wife, the original of which is now in the possission of the Historical
Society at Philadelphia, may be of interest here. It is as follows:
Camp at Loyalhanna, 14 October, 1758
My Dear Love:
I have just time to acquaint you that the French army, consisting of 1200
French and 200 Indians commanded by Monsr. De Vitri attacked me on Thursday,
the 12th, at 11 A.M. with great fury until 3 P.M., at which time I
had the pleasure to see victory to the British Army I had the honor to
command. The enemy attempted on the night of the 12th to attack me
a second time, but in return for their most unmelodious Indian music, I gave
them a number of shells from our mortars which made them retreat soon. Our
loss on this occasion is only 63 men and officers, killed, wounded and
missing. We have only buried ___ of our dead and six of the enemies. The
French were employed all night carrying off their dead and wounded, and I am
apt to think carried off our dead through mistake.
I received your last letter wherein you hoped I might obtain my wish to our
taking Duquesne. We shall try it soon.
I am hearty, and with great regard my dear Sall your ever and affectionate
husband, I am,
James Burd
Forbes� army had mostly arrived at Loyalhanna by November 1st,
and Forbes, himself arrived November 6th. In the meantime, Burd,
Bouquet and Washington began to build a fort, or place of deposit, for on
every had were the signs of winter. Laurel Mountain and Chestnut Ridge, both
in full view of the camp, were covered with snow, and a council of war was
held. The concensus of opinion was that with little knowledge of the country
intervening between the army and Fort Duquesne, with the terrible lesson which
the army had learned by Grant�s foolharady expedition, with no road cut
except the path over which Grant had traveled, and with winter coming on, it
would be unwise to attempt to march an army that distance. Forbes and his army
had consumed fifty days in marching from Bedford to Loyalhanna, a distance of
about fifty miles. He had been so reduced by the journey that much of the way
he was carried on a litter. The outlook was so gloomy that Washington says, an
abandonment of the expedition was contemplated. �Vast as were the
preparation,� says the historian Bancroft, �Forbes would never, but for
Washington, have seen the Ohio.� At all events, a fort and winter quarters
seemed necessary, and its construction was, therefore, pushed forward as
rapidly as possible, and Forbes and Bouquet named it Fort Ligonier, after Sir
John Lord Ligonier, under whom they had served in the British army. The place
of deposit and so much of the fort as was completed were at once used, and the
army set about to prepare winter quarter to remain in until the breaking up of
winter. But just then several stragglers from De Vitri�s army were taken and
valuable though not entirely reliable information concerning the weakness of
the enemy was gained. Furthermore on November 12, the command ran across
another squad of De Vitri�s men who were yet lurking around Fort Ligonier.
They were attacked, one of the killed, and three were taken prisoners. One of
the prisoners proved to be an Englishman who had been taken from his home in
Lancaster county by the Indians. His testimony concerning the weak condition
of Fort Duquesne corresponded entirely with that of the prisoners. It was
therefore resolved to push rapidly forward to try to capture it.
Before leaving Ligonier a circumstance occurred which needlessly involved
Washington in great danger, and this may as well be related here. To quote
from his own words (Scribner�s Monthly Magazine, May, 1894, p. 537): �The
enemy sent out a large detachment to reconnoitre our camp and to ascertain our
strength; in consequence of our intelligence that they were within two miles
of the camp, a party commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mercer, of the Virginia
line, a gallant and good officer, was sent out to dislodge them. A severe
conflict and hot and hot firing ensued, which lasting some time and appearing
to approach the camp, it was believed that our party was yielding the ground,
and upon which, with permission of General Forbes, I called for volunteers and
immediately marched at their head to sustain our troops. Led on by the firing
until we came within less than half a mile of the enemy and the firing
ceasing, scouts were detached to investigate the cause and to communicate with
Colonel Mercer, our troops advancing slowly in the meantime. But, it being
near dark and the intelligence not having been fully disseminated among
Colonel Mercer�s corps, they took us for the enemy, who they supposed were
approaching from another direction. Mercer�s troops commenced a heavy fire
on ours and drew fire in return; in spite of all the exertions of the officers
one officer and several privates were killed and many wounded before a stop
could be put to it. I was, in accomplishing this, never in more imminent
danger, being between two fires and knocking up with my sword the presented
forces.�
The late Dr. William D. McGowan tried to ascertain the location of this
battle, for he regarded it as of great interest that in his last years
Washington, with the memory of all the dangers of the Revolution, indeed, of a
life of warfare fresh upon him, should calmly write that his imminent danger
was here in Westmoreland county. Dr. McGowan was of the opinion that it
occurred on the bluffs northwest of Idlewild.
In preparing for the hard march on Fort Duquesne the army was divided into
three brigades. One of the brigades was under the command of Colonel
Washington, and it was his duty to open up the road. It must be remembered
with great pride by Westmorelanders that it was here in this county that
Washington was first placed in actual command of a brigade. This promotion
came to him at Ligonier in November, 1758. After him came Colonel Armstrong
with about one thousand men to assist in opening the road. They opened up the
western part of what has since been known as the forbes road. Its location in
the main is not a matter of conjecture, for a journal of it was kept, which
was sent to the British War Office in London. This journal is now in the
possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia. The road
across Westmoreland, as shown by this document, is published for the first
time in the map accompanying these pages. The journal is labeled �General
Forbes� Marching Journal to the Ohio,� and is signed, �John Potts.�
Briefly outlined, the road took the same general direction from Bedford to
Westmoreland that was later taken by the Harrisburg and Pittsburg turnpike. It
crossed over Laurel Mountain from Somerset county into Westmoreland, on a line
almost parallel with the pike, but was from one to two miles north of it. It
crossed the crest of the mountain and came down the western slope, and crossed
Laurel Run near the Penrod place, and near Willow Grove schoolhouse. From
there it took the dividing ridge as near as possible between the brooks that
flow into Mill creek and those that flow southward into the Loyalhanna, and
came westwardly to Loyalhanna, where they encamped, and afterwards build Fort
Ligonier. Thus far there is no dispute as to its location. It has always been
supposed that it bore off toward the north from Fort Ligonier and crossed
Chestnut Ridge in the direction of Millwood, and then crossed the southwestern
part of Derry township, and crossed the Loyalhanna at Chchran�s crossing (or
ford) about two and one-half miles below � that is, north of Latrobe, and
that it then journeyed almost directly west to the present Hannastown
settlement and thence to fort duquene. But the �Journal� proves clearly
that such was not the route taken. If this document may be relied upon he
crossed the Loyalhanna a few rods below Fort Ligonier near the present iron
bridge on the road leading from Ligonier to Donegal. From the bank of the
Loyalhanna he journeyed southward through the present Valley cemetery until he
passed around the hill west of Ligonier, where he again turned westward,
passing over the Withrow farm, south of the Fry farm, to the Two Mile Run, and
crossed both it and the four Mile Run and over the Chestnut Ridge in a
comparatively straight line, going west and bearing slightly to the north in
the direction of Youngstown. After crossing the Nine Mile Run he passed out of
that locality and journeyed northward and westward. From the time he left the
Nine Mile Run he kept on the dividing ridge between the waters which flow
north into the Loyalhanna and those which flow south into the Sewickley and
into the Turtle creek. He passed up the Brush Creek valley and out of
Westmoreland near Murrysville, and when nearing the Allegheny river he bent
his course southwardly, passing Shannopinstown, and thence to Fort Duquesne.
Each day�s journey is marked on the map, the eighth bringing him to Fort
Ligonier, and the fourteenth to Fort Duquesne. These days represent the daily
marches of Forbes, not those of the brigades which opened the road. The army
was twelve days in making the road from Ligonier to Fort Duquesne.
That Forbes crossed to the south of the Loyalhanna at Ligonier, and not at
Cochran�s Crossing, has been disputed by high authority on Western
Pennsylvania history. Aside from the �Journal,� which we regard as proof
positive that it crossed at Ligonier, there are two other reasons which
confirm strongly if not positively the accuracy of the journal. The first is
that the brooks which flow into the Loyalhanna from the south were named Two
Mile Run, Four Mile Run, Nine Mile Run and Fourteen Mile Run, their numerals
representing their distance from Fort Ligonier. These names are shown on all
early maps, and are used by all early writers on the subject, indicating
strongly that the early traveling was across these streams, while the streams
flowing into the Loyalhanna from the north, which would have been crossed had
Forbes road gone the other way, have modern names which in no sense connect
them with Fort Ligonier. And, moreover, it is difficult to see why these
streams should have borne such names at all unless they were crossed by the
line of early day traveling, namely, by the Forbes Road. They were not named
by travel on the State road, for it did not go near Fort Ligonier, and the
fort was abandoned before the State road was built. Standing at Ligonier one
can readily see why the sharp bend to the south was necessary after crossing
the Loyalhanna, for a high hill to the west prevent the army from taking that
course directly. By the southern bend they avoided the hill. That the draft
corresponds exactly with the peculiar topography of the country is a strong
evidence of its accuracy. We are, therefore, from this evidence forced to
conclude that the Forbes Road crossed the Loyalhanna at Ligonier, and never
crossed it again.
Though nearly a century and a half has passed away since that damp chilly
November when the road was made, yet in some places it can be followed by its
original cuts and embankments, and in many places is yet used as a public
road. For nearly a half a century it was the principal highway between the
east and the west. It was made about twelve feet wide, and the object being
only to make a temporary military way it was very hurriedly constructed,
particularly, for obvious reasons, after it passed west of Ligonier. The army
was twelve days in constructing the road and in marching from Ligonier to Fort
Duquesne, a distance of fifty-six miles. Notwithstanding the rumors about the
weakness of Fort Duquesne the army moved westward with great caution, allowing
the enemy no opportunity to repeat the surprise of Braddock and Grant. There
were a few friendly Indians with them, and these and some more daring British
were used as scouts in all directions.
On Friday, November 24, these forerunners saw the smoke arising from the
burning barracks of Fort Duquesne. De Lignery was in command of the fort. He,
too, had scouts out, and from there as well as from the actual contest at
Ligonier on October 12 he knew that a defense of the fort was impossible. Most
of his forces took boats down the Ohio river, having first destroyed most of
the provisions and set fire to the fort. The British army was then about
Turtle creek, not far from the unfortunate defeat of three years previous.
General Forbes, seeing the smoke, sent swift riders forward to extinguish the
flames and save everything of use to them. Some supplies were saved, but the
fort was almost entirely consumed. The main army arrived at the dismantled
fort on Saturday, Novermber 25th. Sunday, the 26th, was
by special orders observed as �A day of public Thanksgiving.� Rev. Charles
Beatty, Chaplain of Colonel Clapham;s Pennsylvania regiment, preached that
morning the first Protestant sermon west of the Allegheny Mountains. Beatty
was a Presbyterian. On Tuesday following a large detachment was detailed to
bury the dead of Braddock�s army and to perform a like service to the dead
of their own army on Grant�s Hill.
Now over the smoking ruins of Fort Duquesne no longer floated, with its
lillied emblem, the banner of France; in its place was the proud English
standard. Colonel Hugh Mercer was left in charge with a force of two hundred
men. General John Stanwix, of England, succeeded General Forbes, and on
September 3rd, 1759, a new fort was begun. It was named Fort Pitt,
in honor of William Pitt. Around it clustered a few log cabins, and these have
now grown into the wealthiest and most powerful city in the world for its
size. The historian, George Bancroft, has very beautifully referred to the
monument thus erected to the memory of the great English premier, in the
following language: �As long as the Monongahela and the Allegheny shall flow
to form the Ohio, as long as the English tongue shall be the language of
freedom in the boundless valley which their waters traverse, his name shall
stand inscribed on the Gateway of the West.�
The fort was abandoned and fired by De Lignery because of its weakness as
compared with the approaching army. General Shirley had been successful in
northern New York, and the French from that stronghold could not support him.
Hence his abandonment of the fort.
General John Forbes was born in Scotland. Though educated for the medical
profession, he when very young entered the English army and became a
lieutenant in the Scots Dragoons. He won the highest praise from his general,
Lord Ligonier, and other superior officers, and was quartermaster general in
the army of the Duke of Bedford. He was about forty-eight years old when he
reached America. It is said that when the tide of affairs was against him he
swore most violently, but this was a very common vice among the European
generals of his age. All through the American campaign just described he
suffered intensely from a general breaking down of his system. From Fort
Duquesne he was carried all the way to Philadelphia in a litter borne by
horses, and part of the way by men. On March 13, 1759, he died, at forty-nine
years of age. His body lies buried in the chancel of Christ�s Church in
Philadelphia.
An incident important in the life of Washington which grew indirectly out
of this campaign may well be related here. The Virginia forces which were
assembling at Winchester preparatory to marching against Fort Duquesne were
sadly in need of arms, tents, etc. Washington was finally ordered to
Williamsburg to lay their condition before the council with the hope of
securing further aid. He set off promptly on horseback. In crossing the
Pamunkey river on a ferry, he fell in with a Virginia planter named
Chamberlain, who lived near by and who, with the old-time Virginia hospitality
claimed Washington as his guest. Washington pleaded the urgency of this trip
to Williamsburg, but finally consented to remain for dinner. Among the guests
at Chamberlain�s was a charming young widow, Mrs. Martha Custis, a daughter
of John Dandridge, a patrician of Virginia. Her husband had been dead about
three years and had left her a large fortune. She was of fine form, dark eyes
and hair, with frank engaging manners. It is believed that Washington had
never met her before because of his absence on the frontier for several years.
Washington had ordered his servant, Bishop, to have his horses ready to resume
their journey promptly after dinner. The horses pawed at the door, but for
once their master loitered in the path of duty and remained with the host
until the following morning. But though his stay was necessarily brief, his
time was well improved, for even yet before he journeyed westward with his
troops they had mutually plighted their faith, and they were married
immediately at the close of the campaign (January 6, 1759).
As we have seen, the main reason the citizens of Pennsylvania so greatly
desired that Forbes should cut his way through our province was, that this
territory of western Pennsylvania might thus be opened up for new settlers.
Braddock�s expedition had, it is true, opened up a way, but his ignominious
defeat and the increased hostility of the Indians which followed it had
retarded rather than facilitated the settlement of our western border.
Immediately following Forbes� army came, therefore, the first real settlers
of the territory now known as Westmoreland county. The Pennsylvania and
Virginia soldiers of this army were largely disbanded in the early part of
1759. Many of them with their families immediately started west in pursuit of
new homes. Many, it is true, pushed on west to the Ohio valley. Those who
stopped here settled mainly along the Forbes road. Some, indeed, never
returned with Forbes at all. Some of them settled without any right on choice
land which they expected to secure and own by right of occupancy. To others
was granted land by way was called military permits, to which we will refer
further on.
The entire country was then overrun by Indians and it was but natural that
the first settlers in our county should build log cabins around Fort Ligonier,
for there was an established military post with a guard varying from twenty to
one hundred men, under Lieutenant Lloyd, to guard this part of the frontier
and keep the road open. After the few families which thus established
themselves within gunshot of the fort, first came Andrew Byerly in 1759. His
land warrant is No. 36, and is for two hundred and thirty-six acres and
allowance. It was located in the Brush Creek valley, on the Forbes road, about
twenty-five miles west of Fort Ligonier, and about seven miles northwest of
Greensburg. He built a log dwelling house, and kept it also as a stopping
place for those who traveled back and forth over the Forbes road. In a year or
two he had several neighbors who, like himself, were carving homes out of the
dense wilderness. One of these was Christopher Rudebaugh. This was fourteen
years before the formation of the county, and they were virtually within the
legal dominion of Cumberland county. Their lands, as will be seen later on,
were not patented to them: they were at first merely squatters, with perhaps a
show of title from the commander of the fort.
The French and Indian War was settled. There had been a treaty made at
Easton in 1754 between the Delawares, the Shawnees and the white settlers,
and, as the Indians claimed and the Pennsylvania authorities always admitted,
the white settlers had cheated the Indians, who, being ignorant of geography,
had ceded more territory by their treaty than they had meant to part with.
This in a high degree, increased the dangers of our pioneers and induced the
Indians to unite with Braddock�s army. As a result the years from 1755 to
1761 were at best years of great Indian troubles. Nevertheless, many settlers
came from the east.
In 1763, the whole western border was plunged into a most deadly Indian
warfare. This was due mainly to an Indian leader named Pontiac and its history
is best told by Francis Parkman in his most entertaining work, entitled �Pontiac�s
Conspiracy.� He was chief of the Ottawas, and his tribe at this time
centered near Detroit. He had fought with the French at Braddock�s defeat.
He was bold and daring, and had wonderful power, not only in his won tribe but
over all Indians with whom he came in contact. He was, of course, urged on by
the French, but aside from this his foresight and real though misguided
ability gave him a particular grievance against the English settler, viz.:
that their whole tendency and aim was to drive the Indians from their homes
farther west and to forever destroy their hunting grounds. Parkman rates
Pontiac as pre-eminently endowed with courage, resolution and Indian
eloquence, and, moreover, as the ablest leader the American Indians ever
produced. �He could govern,� says Parkman, �with almost despotic sway a
race unruly as the winds, and his authority was derived chiefly from the force
of his own individual mind.� Urged on by the French, he carried on an
inhuman warfare against the white settlers in western Pennsylvania, and
extending as far east as Carlisle, but the western settlements felt his
severest blows. He had a powerful organization composed of warriors from each
of the Six Nations.
There was no warning, either, for one of his many strong points was his
ability to overrun a community before the settlers knew of his presence. Fort
Pitt was in one night absolutely surrounded and cut off from all outside
communications or supplies. Moreover, it was in great danger of falling,
though the English had boasted that after so much bloodshed in its capture it
should forever remain in their possession. Pontiac in a few days had
devastated every settlement and surrounded each fort and blockhouse as far
east as Bedford. It times of Indian incursions the settlers and their families
left their homes and sought refuge in the forts, stockades and blockhouses.
Sometimes the roads leading to these places of safety were crowded with
frightened women and children.
Pontiac particularly aimed his forces against Fort Ligonier. Here were
collected provisions and ammunition. These were sent from Bedford, and thence
by pack-horses under military guard to Fort Pitt, which had no other means of
supply. If then Fort Ligonier fell into the hands of the Indians, Fort Pitt
would soon be forced to surrender or starve. During this war Ligonier was
under to command of Lieutenant Blane, a most excellent officer, while Captain
Ourry had command of Bedford. Had these three forts fallen, the entire western
frontier would have been at the mercy of the Indians. Fort Pitt was commanded
by Captain Ecuyer, with a weak force which Pontiac�s Indians, under
Guyasutha, of the Seneca tribe, hoped to starve out.
In the meantime word was sent out from Ligonier and Bedford to Carlisle,
asking Bouquet�s army to come to their relief. But this would require weeks
of marching over two ranges of mountains. The greatest fear pervaded the
inmates of the Fort at Ligonier. It had, furthermore, large quantities of
military stores ready to be sent to the relief of Fort Pitt. If the Indians
could secure these, all else would be lost and the settlements of the west
laid waste. Fort Ligonier had already been attacked, and failing to take it
they tried to fire it by shooting arrows with inflamable substances attached,
over the stockade, to the combustible buildings inside. Through the alertness
of Captain Blane the attack was withstood and the fire many time extinguished.
At this time Captain Ourry of Bedford, came to the relief of Fort Ligonier by
weakening his own garrison, which, being nearer Carlisle and Philadelphia,
where soldiers were always stationed, was stronger than either of the other
forts. He selected twenty riflemen, all strong young men, accustomed to the
hardships incident to frontier life, and directed them to make their was as
rapidly as possibly over the mountains to Ligonier. They could not come by the
Forbes Road, for that was particularly watched by the Indians. They struck out
through the mountains, and very soon appeared on the hillside east of the
fort, doubtless on what is now East Main street, or between that and the fort.
Then a still greater danger confronted them, for, being unheralded, they dare
not approach the fort lest they be mistaken for the enemy and fired on by
those whom they sought to relieve. But when partly concealed by bushes, and
while creeping nearer the fort, they were discovered and fired on by the
Indians who surrounded it, and with this certificate of good faith were
recognizes by the ever-watchful garrison, who not only opened the gates to
receive them but protected them by firing on their pursuers. This relief came
none too soon. The force was nearly exhausted with fighting, though they had
plenty of provisions, ammunition and water. No one dared for weeks to leave
the stockade. Domestic animals suffered to wander outside were killed by the
besiegers. It was almost a continuous skirmish, and many Indians, with a few
French Canadians urging them on, were killed. Blane formed two companies, each
composed of soldiers and citizens who had come there from the community for
safety, drilled and armed the citizens, and they willingly did watch duty day
and night.
In the meantime Colonel Bouquet, after eighteen days delay incidnet to such
expeditions � for it must be remembered that the community around Carlisle
was also overrun with Pontiac�s Indians � was hastening to their relief.
Carlisle was loath to give up its protection. The town was filled with
settlers who had flocked there for safey. Bouquet�s mission was not an
inviting one. His way lay over the mountians, and except for the narrow road
cut by Forbes was for the main part through an almost trackless forest. Before
him in the wilderness lay the bones of Braddock�s army, and these dead in
number far exceeded his little army. The main army of the colonies was even
then fighting in the northern frontier. His forces were parts of the
Forty-second and Forty-seventh regiments, which had recently landed in
Philadelphia from the West Indies, where they had been fighting the Spaniards.
The Bouquet army numbered less than five hundred, but sixty of them were in
ambulance wagons, and these he hoped would be recovered far enough to do post
duty and relieve the forts on the way. Nor did his soldiers know anything
about Indian warfare save what he taught them as they marched westward. But
the brave Swiss Colonel was a most excellent teacher, for he was ever a match
for the shrewdest Indian warriors.
Not knowing Ourry ahd relieved Ligonier from Bedford, Bouquet sent thirty
men on a rapid and most hazardous march to relieve Captain Blane. They made
the march and entered the fort much as did Ourry�s men, viz.: under the
ineffectual fire of the enemy. All the way Bouquet saw many signs of Indian
incursions but he say no Indians. They even murdered and captured families
with a few miles of his army, but never showed themselves to him. He meant to
give battle to them at Bedford, for in that vicinity their depredations
indicated their presence in large numbers, though they had not attacked the
fort because of its well known strength. But when he arrived there was no army
to be seen nor fought. He reached Bedford on July 25th, when he
recruited his forces by inducing thirty backwoodsmen to accompany them. He
reached Ligonier August 2nd. His arrival again brightened up the
drooping spirits of the fortress. He left at Ligonier much of his heavier
baggage, and with small wagons and packhorses carried forward only such
provisions as were necessary for his army and for the immediate relief of Fort
Pitt, which, like Carlisle, Bedford and Ligonier, was filled to overflowing
with the frightened families of the pioneers, and who were moreover reported
to be almost starving. He rested at Ligonier on August 3rd and on
the 4th marched westward by the Forbes road which he had helped to
make five years before. The first day they marched about nine miles, crossing
Chestnut Ridge, and camped west of the Loyalhanna. On august 5th,
they hoped to reach Bushy Run, nineteen miles away, and it is said by Francis
Parkman that they meant to rest only during the heat of the day and then push
on thirteen miles farther, passing the dangerous ravines east of Turtle Creek
by night time, fearing an attack should they pass by day. The country through
which they were marching was hill, apparently intended for the lurking Indian,
whose strength lay in ambuscades and surprises. They resumed their march at
daylight on the mornign of August 5th, and, though the weather was
very warm, by one o�clock the tired and thirsty band was nearing Bushy Run,
having traveled seventeen miles. Blane had added to Bouquet�s army at
Ligonier what soldiers he could spare from the fort, and he was joined by some
civilians who were in the fort for safety. Among the latter was Andrew Byerly
and several of his neighbors. His forces now amounted to about five hundred
and he had about three hundred and fifty heavily laden pack-horses.
A tall dense forest spreading for countless miles around covered the hills
and deep hollows. Byerly and his pioneer neighbors were in front, when
suddenly the sharp rattle of musketry, mingled with the Indian yelping,
sounded through the woods. The rear pushed up to support the advance of the
army, but the firing only increased. The fire was returned, for a few Indians
could be seen, and on these a general charge with fixed bayonets was ordered.
This very soon cleared the ground, but only temporarily, for it almost
instantly burst out in the rear, which showed Bouquet that his convoy of
supplies was attacked. The troops at once fell back, drove the Indians away,
and formed a cirlce around the terrified pack-horses. The attacking party was
Guyasutha, heading a band of Indian warriors that he had collected from as far
east as Laurel Hill and from around Fort Pitt. They knew the ground well, and
fought from every possible place of concealment. The regular soldiers and
Scotch Highlanders, though not accustomed to such warfare, inspired by the
skillful commander, stood up bravely and resisted them in splendid shape.
Again and again bands of Indians, now on one side, then on the other, would
rush toward the circle, trying to break in. They were fired at and regularly
chased back by bayonets, but escaping behind trees with great activity, very
few of them were killed. The British suffered more, for they were less
accustomed to bush-fighting, and necessarily had to remain at one place to
guard the convoy. Thus the fight was carried on for seven hours without
intermission, and only ceased when the forest was darkened by the approach of
night. Then the soldiers camped for the night in the same position they had
occupied all afternoon, with sentinels in every direction. Thirst had
quickened their march at one o�clock, when the word had been passed around
that they were nearing Bushy Run. But now the surrounding enemy forbade their
moving from the higher ground, and not a drop of water was to be found there.
Bouquet wrote that their �thirst was more intolerable than the enemy�s
fire.� Night was perhaps more horrible than day. Bouquet himself was
doubtful whether his army could survive the contest which he knew the rising
sun would bring him. He therefore wrote an account of the day�s doings to
Sir Jeffrey Amherst, and closes with these words: �Whatever our fate may be,
I thought it necessary to give your Excellency this early information, that
you may, at all events, take such measures as you think proper with the
provinces, for their own safety, and the effectual relief of Fort Pitt; as, in
case of another engagement, I fear insurmountable difficulties in protecting
and transporting our provision, being already so much weakened by the losses
of this day, in men and horses, besides the additional necessity of carrying
the wounded, whose situation is truly deplorable.�
About sixty of his men and several officers had been killed and wounded. A
place in the centre of the camp, surrounded by flour bags, was prepared for
them, but shots were fired against them nearly all night. With the earliest
dawn of morning the battle was renewed from all sides at once, and except that
it was more furious, it was fought very much like that of the day before. This
was kept up until about ten o�clock, when the fertile mind of the commander
(and it is said on the urgency of Byerly) �conceived a masterly strategem.�
He knew that if the enemy coud be brought and held together he could easily
whip them. He knew, too, that from their increased audacity, the enemy thought
Bouquet was about to surrender. So he ordered two companies which formed part
of the circle to fall back to the central part of the camp, while the
remaining circle spread out to fill up the gaps made, apparently to cover the
retreat of the two companies. The line forming the circle was also drawn in
because of their fewer numbers. The Indians, as was intended, mistook this for
a retreat, and, bloodthirsty for a rich harvest of scalps and provisions, with
furious yells rushed headlong towards the circle. But below the circle there
was a depression in the ground, covered with a thick growth of trees, which
concealed it from the Indians, who were swarming around the circle. Through
this depression these two companies rapidly ran, and very soon came around
behind the furious assailants and opened fire on them. The Indians thus
surprised, and many of them killed at the first fire, stood their ground until
the Highlanders, with yells as wild as their own, fell on them with bayonets.
As was expected, they could not withstand a charge with bayonets, and
gradually lost ground. But, while the charge was in progress, bouquet, with
the eye of a soldier, seeing the direction the Indians must flee when
overcome, had concealed two other companies taken from other parts of the
circle, in the bushes, with orders to await the approach of the enemy. Pressed
by the terrific Highlanders, now maddened with hunger and thirst, they soon
passed directly in front of the two companies, concealed in the bushes. These
arose and fired squarely into them, and then charged with bayonets. This
completed the rout and the four companies united drove them flying down the
hill, firing as rapidly as possible, but giving the Indians no time to reload.
Many were killed, and the remainder of this division were scattered in
hopeless confusion.
While this took place a smaller body of Indians had maintained a steady
contest and about an equal one, with those who still guarded the other side of
the circle, but, when they saw their comrades flying in disorder through the
woods, and saw the victorious troops advancing to attack them with bayonets,
they lost courage and ran. In a few minutes all was quiet, and not a living
Indian was left on the ground. There were sixty dead ones, however, and among
them were several prominent chiefs and warriors, and the blood stained leaves
showed that many more of those who fled were badly wounded. The British took
but one prisoner, whom they immediately shot like a wild beast. Bouquet�s
loss was eight officers and one hundred and fifteen men, undoubtedly greater
than that of the enemy. The first battle lasted seven hours, the second about
six. The weakened army moved only to Bushy Run that afternoon, where they
encamped for the night. During the march to Fort Pitt, twenty-four miles, they
were annoyed more or less by small attacks, but reached their destination
without further severe loss. Though the contestants were nearly equally
matched as to numbers, Bouquet had fewer troops than the enemy. The Indians
never fought with more fury, and were equalled only by the valor of the
Highlanders. A great deal has been said and written about this battle. The
consensus of opinion in history is that it was one of the ablest contested
battles ever fought in America between white men and Indians. It was fought on
and near the land of Andrew Byerly, about twenty-six miles from Fort Ligonier,
and about eight miles northwest from Greensburg.
Colonel Henry Bouquet was born in Switzerland in 1720, and almost from his
boyhood was a soldier, first as a cadet, and then under the King of Sardinia.
Next he enlisted in the Holland Guards, after which he was made
lieutenant-colonel of the Swiss Guard (1748). In 1754, he was made
lieutenant-colonel of a regiment organized by the Duke of Cumberland for
service in the American colonies, and came to America in 1755. He was fond of
society, and became a great favorite in Philadelphia, where he was stationed.
His personal appearance was commanding and dignified. He, though a Swiss,
wrote the English language with an exactness much superior to the average
foreign officers of his day. Naturally he was full of resources in times of
emergency, and was without the arrogance of many of the officers of his time.
Unlike Braddock, he almost intuitively acquired a practical knowledge of
Indian warfare. No soldier in America of foreign birth so distinguished
himself in this direction as he. Often, when necessary, he penetrated dark
ravines in advance of his men, armed with a rifle and playing the role of a
scout. The year following the battle of Bushy Run he organized a force which
set out from Fort Pitt and invaded the Indian country as far as the Muskingum
valley in Ohio. He baffled the savages at every point, and so chastised them
that they were glad to sue for peace. The rusult was the �Treaty of Bouquet�
(1764). The assembly of Pennsylvania and the Burgesses of Virginia adopted
addresses of gratitude and recommended him to His Majesty, King George III,
for promotion. He was accordingly made a brigadier-general and sent to British
America in charge of the English armies, where he died suddenly in 1767. It
was on this second expedition (1764), that he built the now famous block house
of Pittsburgh, a cut of which is here given.
Guyasutha, commanding the Indians at Bushy Run, was a chief of the Senecas,
and with him were members of the Ohio tribes. He, too, was a strong warrior,
though by no means so powerful as Pontiac. He was a real savage, without
mercy, and never made peace save when compelled to. When Washington made his
famous trip to Venango (1753), Guyasutha accompanied him as a guide.
Washington thought kindly of him, and paid him a visit at his house in 1770,
when on his way to the Ohio, at which time he says the chief treated him with
great kindness.
