xt76m901zp52 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt76m901zp52/data/mets.xml Clark, George Rogers, 1752-1818. 19121926  books b92-125-29177544v1 English Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Library, : Springfield, Ill. : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Clark, George Rogers, 1752-1818. Clark's Expedition to the Illinois, 1778-1779. Clark's Expedition against Detroit, 1781.James, James Alton, 1864-1962. George Rogers Clark papers, 1771-1784  / edited with introduction and notes by James Alton James. (vol. 1) text George Rogers Clark papers, 1771-1784  / edited with introduction and notes by James Alton James. (vol. 1) 1912 2002 true xt76m901zp52 section xt76m901zp52 

























        COLLECTIONS

            OF THE

ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL



       LIBRARY



       EDITED BY
CLARENCE WALWORTH ALVORD
    UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS



      VOLUME VIII

 
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              ILLINOIS

    STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY




        BOARD OF TRUSTEES

    EVATS BOUTELL GREENE, Presidentl
CHARLES HENRY RAMMELKAMP, VicePresident
    OTTO LEOPOLD SCHMIDTr, Secretary



    JESSIE PALMER WEBER, Librarian



       ADVISORY COMMNIISSION

    EVARTS BOUTELL GREENE
    JAMES ALTON JAMES
    ANDREW CUNNINGHAM MCLAUGHLIN
    WILLIAM AUGUSTUS MEESE
    EDWARD CARLETON PAGE
    CHARLES HENRY RAiMELKAAIP
    CLARENCE WALWORTH ALVORD, eX offico

 
This page in the original text is blank.

 

















     VIRGINIA SERIES
         VOLUME III


GEORGE ROGERS CLARK PAPERS

         1771- 1781

 

















hI IN  

    l    .-T lo   -

 






























             (GEOR(OE ROGERS CLARK
From a portrait painted by Matthem Harris JoAut in the colIection
       of Colonel R. T. Drtrett of Louisville, Kentucky

 






COLLECTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY
                  VOLUME V"III





         VIRGINIA SERIES, VOLUME III



GEORGE ROGERS CLARK

                PAPERS


                1771-1781









            EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION A.ND NOTES
                      BY
         JAMES ALTON JAMES
             NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY



     PUBLISHED BY TImE TRUSTEES OF THE
ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY
       SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS
             1012

 































          COP7RIGIIT 19'12
                By
THE ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY



niVws  cI COW
   DANWULR, IBrWas

 






PREFACE



  During the year 1908, upon the recommendation
of the Advisory Commission of the Illinois State His-
torical Library the collection of the letters and papers
of George Rogers Clark was begun.     The present
volume, the third of the Virginia Series, contains all
the available Clark papers prior to November, 1781.
The remainder of this material will be published in a
fourth volume which is to follow; and it is planned to
complete the series with a fifth volume on the finan-
ciering of the Revolution in the West, dealing especially
with the contributions and influence of Oliver Pollock.
  In addition to the Clark papers, it has seemed best
to include many letters written to and about Clark
which have not heretofore been printed and which are
believed to bb essential to the explanation of his work.
The aim throughout has been to interpret events
connected with the chief phases of the Revolution in
the West. The general arrangement of the docu-
ments has been chronological though some exceptions
occur, as in the case of the Memoir, where the docu-
ments describe the conditions of a period other than
that in which they were written.
  The division into chapters is purely artificial and
is done for typographical purposes. Nor have all
the topics of the chapters been mentioned in the
headings. On page 639 will be found a complete list
of the printed documents, and on page 631 the full
titles of books to which reference has been made.
  With but few exceptions, the documents have been
                        iii

 



ILLINOIS HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS



selected by myself after careful reading. Most of the
documents here printed have been copied and collated
by the following persons:
    The Draper MSS., by Dr. Louise Phelps Kellogg;
the manuscripts in the Congressional Library, by Dr.
James A. Robertson; those in the Virginia State Library,
by Dr. H. J. Eckenrode; and those in the British
Museum, by Miss Mary Martin of London, England.
The proof-sheets of the Mason letter, the documents
from the Draper Manuscripts and those from the Vir-
ginia State Library have been compared with the
original manuscript.
    I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Reuben
Gold Thwaites and Dr. Louise Phelps Kellogg of
the Wisconsin Historical Society for their many
suggestions and assistance to me in securing many of
these documents; and to Colonel Reuben T. Durrett
of Louisville, Kentucky, for giving me permission
to use the documents in his library. My thanks are
due also to Dr. Arthur Doughty for the copies of docu-
ments from the Canadian Archives; to Dr. H. R. Mc-
Ilwaine for the privileges extended to me in the Vir-
ginia State Library; to Professor Frederick J. Turner
of Harvard University for numerous suggestions rela-
tive to the collection; to Professor Clarence W. Alvord,
editor of these Collections, who has read the manu-
script and proof and otherwise rendered material
assistance; and to Miss Mary G. Doherty of the Illi-
nois State Historical Library stafffor her careful read-
ing of the proof, and the preparation of the Index and
of the List of Documents.
                            JAMES ALTON JAMES.
 EVANSTON, ILLINOIS,
     February, 1912.



iv



 













                 TABLE OF CONTENTS
                                                             PAGE
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS               .       .    .       .     ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS                  .       .    .          Xi

INTRODUCTION                      .      .            .       Xiii

CHAPTER I. CLARK AND THE WEST BEFORE THE REVO-
    LUTION, APRIL 14, 1771, TO JUNE 20, 1776               .
      Clark locates and surveys lands on the Ohio; he takes part in
    Dunmore's War; evidence regarding the speech of Logan; Clark
    appointed surveyor for the Ohio Company; Colonel Richard Hen-
    derson's claim in Kentucky, Clark returns to Virginia with a peti-
    tion from the western settlers to the Convention: result of his
    entreaties.

CHAPTER II. PRELIMINARIES TO THE REVOLUTION IN THE
    WEST, DECEMBER 25, 1776, TO JANUARY 2, 1778       .     .  20
    Diary of Clark-, December 25, 1776 to March 30, 1778; opening
    of hostilities in Kentucky; efforts at defense: Clark's return to Vir-
    ginia to ask assistance: his success; description of Kaskaskia; in-
    structions given Clark; promise of land to men willing to enlist.

CHAPTER III. THE CAPTURE OF KASKASKIA AND CAPIT'-
   LATION OF VINCENNES, MARCH 7, 1778, TO JULY 20,
   1778     .    .    .    .     .    .    .    .    .    .   40
     Recruiting for the expedition; attitude of the French leaders;
   Clark's proclamation to the people of Vincennes: messengers sent
   to Vincennes; Clark's relation to Oliver Pollock.

CHAPTER IV. THE CAPTURE OF VINCENNES BY LIEUTENANT-
   GOVERNOR HAMILTON, AND CLARK'S PLANS, AUGUST 6,
   1778 TO FEBRUARY 24, 1779    .          .    .    .    .   64
     Clark's assistance from New Orleans; the situation in Kentucky;
   Governor Henry's report on Clark's successes; resolution of thanks
   to Clark by the House of Delegates; further instructions to Clark;
   John Todd appointed county-lieutenant of the conquered terri-
   tory; instructions to John Todd; Clark plans to recapture Vincennes;
   the command under Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton.
                                V

 




ILLINOIS HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS



CHAPTER V. LETTER TO GEORGE MASON             .    .     .    . 114
      Describes the preparation for the western expedition; difficulties
    encountered; the march to Kaskaskia; capture of the Illinois
    posts; Clark's attitude towards the people and the Indian tribes;
    friendly attitude of Captain de Leyba, Spanish commandant at
    St. Louis; Father Gibault and Dr. Laffont at Vincennes; Hamilton's
    expedition; Clark plans to recapture Vincennes; capture of the
    British garrison.

CHAPTER VI. BOWMAN'S JOURNAL, JANUARY 29 TO MARCH
    20, 1779; CLARK'S JOURNAL, FEBRUARY 23 AND 24,
    1779          .        .    .    .     .       .    .     . 155
      Report of Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton; Clark's letter to Gov-
    ernor Henry, April 29, 1779; Colonel Vigo informs Clark of the
    capture of Vlncennes by Hamilton; Clark determines to march to
    that post; hardships encountered; Clark notifies the inhabitants of
    his approach; the attack on Fort Sackville; terms of surrender.

CHAPTER VII.    CLARK'S MEMOIR, 1773-1779          .    .     . 208
      Clark goes to Kentucky, 1775; Henderson's company; election of
    deputies in Kentucky; John Gabriel Jones and Clark go to Virginia
    to ask the protection of the House of Burgesses; Clark again in
    Kentucky; returns to Virginia, October, 1777, and confers with
    Governor Henry over western affairs; the proposed expedition;
    descends the Ohio and marches to Kaskaskia: capture of Kaskas-
    kia and other Illinois posts: affairs at Vincennes: American relations
    with the Indians; capture of Vincennes; Lieutenant-Governor
    Hamilton sent to Williamsburg; Clark returns to Kaskaskia.

CHAPTER VIII. ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT AND
    PREPARATIONS FOR THE CAPTURE OF DETROIT, MAY 12,
    1779 TO JUNE 16, 1779    .     .    .     .    .     .    . 303
      Economic conditions in the Illinois country; civil government
    established; John Todd, Jr., "governor"; election of magistrates;
    fidelity of the French at Cahokia and Kaskaskia; situation at
    Detroit and Michillimackinac; Clark's property.

CHAPTER IX. CLARK'S RETURN TO THE FALLS OF THE OHIO
   AND EVENTS TO THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR 1779             .    . 337
     Distribution of the Illinois troops; Clark voted a sword by the
   Virginia assembly; conflict between the civil and the military
   authorities; reasons for a fort near the mouth of the Ohio; soldiers
   in distress through lack of clothing and food; plan of operations,
   November 16, 1779; depreciation of continental money in the West.



Vil

 







CONTENTS



CHAPrER X. ESTABLISHMENT OF A POST AT THE MOUTH OF
    THE OHIO AND DEFENSE OF THE WEST UNTIL AUGUST 1,
    1780                     .             .       .    .       380
      A post to be established at the mouth of the Ohio; Jefferson in-
    structs Clark relative thereto; conflict between the military and
    civil authorities at the Illinois posts; conditions in Kentucky
    during the spring of 1780; petitions to Clark for relief; Clark favors
    an expedition against Detroit; British plans to capture the Illinois
    posts and St. Louis; Clark constructs a fort at the mouth of the
    Ohio; invasion of Kentucky; conditions at Fort Jefferson;
    conditions at Vincennes.
CHAPTER XI. CLARK'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SHAWNEE,
    AND EVENTS TO THE CLOSE OF 1780                .     .    . 451
      Re-enforcements to be sent from Virginia; expedition against
    the Shawnee, August 2, 1780; distress of the inhabitants at Fort
    'Jefferson; similar conditions at the other western posts.
CHAPTER XII. JEFFERSON AND WASHINGTON AGREE TO CO-
    OPERATE IN SENDING AN EXPEDITION AGAINST DETROIT
    TO BE LED BY CLARK          .     .    .    .        .    . 485
      Clark in Virginia and plans for a formidable expedition against
    Detroit; Jefferson promotes the plan; Clark serves in the eastern
    army under Baron Steuben; Washington in favor of an expedition
    against Detroit; Clark made brigadier-general; difficulties en-
    countered in securing men for the expedition; Colonel Brodhead
    unwilling to cooperate with Clark; President Joseph Reed of
    Pennsylvania ready to give all possible assistance; Clark appeals
    to Washington; Washington's reply.
CHAPTER XIII. PLANS FOR THE EXPEDITION AGAINST DE-
   TROIT AGAIN DOOMED TO FAILURE, JUNE 12, 1781 TO
   OCTOBER 1, 1781     .    .     .    .     .    .     .    . 565
      Clark begins to fear the outcome; general opposition to the
   draught; lack of food at Fort Pitt; county-lieutenants of western
   Pennsylvania not willing to aid Clark; Clark returns to the Falls
   of the Ohio; Clark's appeal to the Kentucky commissioners; Clark's
   officers advise against an expedition to Detroit; his disappointment



Vlt

 
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS



PORTRAIT OF GEORGE ROGERS CLARK
PORTRAIT OF JOHN SANDERS
PORTRAIT OF GEORGE ROGERS CLARK
PORTRAIT OF DOCTOR JOHN CONNOLLY
PORTRAIT OF GEORGE ROGERS CLARK



      PAGE
Frontispiece
       119
       255
       385
.   . 509

 
This page in the original text is blank.

 










ILIST OF ABBREVIATIONS



A. D. S. -
A L. S.
B. M. -
C. A.=
Draper MSS.,

D. S. =-
f.  
I. H. C. -
K. MSS.
I . S. c
I I-=

I 1=

( )=



      Autograph Document Signed.
      Autograph Letter Signed.
      British Museum.
      Canadian Archives.
48J28 = Draper Manuscripts, Clark Papers, vol. 48,
        p. 28; 2W39= Harmar Papers, etc.
      Document Signed.
      Folio.
      Illincis Histcrical Collections.
      Kaskaskia Maruscripts.
      Letter Signed.
      With Italics: editorial explanations within
        documents or translations.
      With Roman: words supplied by editor in
        documents or translations.
      In document, implied in document, or sup-
        plied punctuation.

 
This page in the original text is blank.


 











                    INTRODUCTION

          I. CONTEST FOR INDIAN ALLIANCE

  From the opening of the Revolutionary War, Ameri-
can leaders desired the conquest of Detroit, the head-
quarters of the posts and the key to the fur trade and
to -the control of the Indian tribes northwest of
the Ohio.' Throughout the war this post, in the
possession of the British, continued, as Washington
wrote, "to be a constant source of trouble to the whole
Western country.
  The garrison at Detroit, at the beginning of the year
1776, consisted of one hundred and twenty soldiers
under the command of Captain Richard B. Lernoult.
The fort was defended by a Stocade of Picquets
about 9 Feet out of the earth, without Frize or
ditch." Three hundred and fifty French and English
made up the entire number of fighting men in the
'A mer. Archives, 4th ser., iii., 1368; Mich. Pioneer and Hist. Coll., xxviI.,
612 et seq. From this post, a trace led westward by way of the Maunee and
across the upper Wabash to Post Vincennes. In like manner, an Indian path
extended to Kaskaskia and other posts on the upper Mississippi. Not only was
it a great center 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 North-
west 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 one hundred French and one hundred-and fifty Indians from Detroit;
six hundred to seven hundred Indians with M. Linctot, one hundred Indians
with M. Rayeul, and the convoy of M. Aubry from Illinois with six hundred to
seven hundred Indians. Twelve hundred other Indians from the same region
were also reported to be on the way. Winis. list. Coll., XVIIi., 212.
2Washington, Writings (Sparks ed.), vii., 345.
                            x..

 



xiv   ILLINOIS HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS



town and near-by country' the majority of whom were
French militia-men assembled under their own officers.
Commanding the fort were two British armed schooners
and three sloops manned by thirty "seamen and ser-
vants." There was not a single gunner among the
crews who 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 Kittanrning on the upper
Allegheny.2 This fort was without a garrison. The
inhabitants of the town were dependent on the protec-
tion of the militia of the neighboring counties and
large numbers were reported to be in a most defenseless
conditions
  From these two centers, in council after council,
was to be exercised all the diplomatic finesse of white
men in their attempts to gain control over the Indians
of the Northwest Assemrled at some of these con-
ferences 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 Potawatomi of Lake Michigan; the

'Thwaites and Kellogg, Roluion on the Upper Ohio, 147 et seg. Lieutenant-
Governor Hamilton arrived November 9, 1775, but Captain Lernoult com-
manded the troops until the summer of 1776. The total population in 1773
was about 1,400; 298 of them men (Mich. Pioeer and Hist. CoU., ix., 649).
The population in 1778 was 2,144, 564 being men. Ibid., 469.
'Fort Blair, near the mouth of the Kanawha, had been evacuated by order
of Governor Dunmore and was burned by some of the Ohio Indians. Amer.
Arckms, 4th ser., Iv., 201.
'George Morgan, Indian agent at Port 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 Cont. Cong., cLxiu., entitled "Generals Clinton,
Nixon, Nicola, et al.," 237 et seq.

 




CONTEST FOR INDIAN ALLIANCE



Chippewa of all the Lakes; and, besides these, the
Miami, Seneca, Sauk and numerous other tribes.
All told, the northwestern tribes numbered some eight
thousand warriors.,
  Even before the actual outbreak of hostilities, leaders
on both sides were considering the Indian as a factor
in the contest. In March, 1775, the Provincial Con-
gress of Massachusetts accepted the proffered services
of a number of the Stockbridge Indians and enlisted
them as minute-men.- Colonel Guy Johnson, obedient
to orders, removed dissenting missionaries from among
the Iroquois. One of these men, Samuel Kirkland,
who had been forbidden to return to his post among
the Oneida, declared that in attempting to keep the
Indians neutral his interpretation of the acts of Con-
gress to the sachems "had done more real good to the
cause of the country or the cause of truth and justice
than five hundred pounds of presents would have
effected."3 Through him the Massachusetts Pro-
vincial Congress, April 4, 1775, appealed to the Iroquois
to whet their hatchets and be prepared together with
the colonists to defend their liberties and lives.4
It was declared that since the colonists were to be

' Delawares and Munsee six hundred, Shawnee six hundred, Wyandot three
hundred, Ottawa six hundred, Chippewa five thousand, Potawatomi four
hundred, Kickapoo, Vermilion and other small tribes of the Wabash eight
hundred, Miami or Pickawillanee three hundred, Mingo of Pluggy's Town
(Scioto River) sixty. (Morgan, Letter-Book, iI., March 27, 1778.) Wyan-
dot one hundred and eighty, Ottawa four hundred and fifty, Potawat-
omi four hundred and fifty, Chippewa five thousand, Shawnee three hundred,
Delawares and Munsee six hundred, Miami three hundred, Vermilion and other
Wabash tribes eight hundred. (Schoolcraft, Archives of Aboriginal Knowledge,
1iX., 560.) The Sauk, Foxes and Iowa numbered some fourteen hundred
warriors in 1806. Ibid., 562.
2Amer. Archsives, 4th scr., i., 1347.
3N. Y. Col. Docs., viii., 656.
'Amer. A rckives, 4th ser., r., 1349.



XV

 



xx i  ILLINOIS HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS



deprived of guns and powder by order of the British
government that the Indians would, in consequence, be
unable to secure the necessary means of procuring food
and clothing.
  It is not certain which of the urgent invitations
issued in May, 1775 by Colonel Guy Johnson, and by
Ethan Allen to take up arms, met with the earliest
response. The latter wrote to some of the Canadian
tribes:2 "I want to have your warriours come and see
me, and help me fight the King's Regular Troops. You
know they stand all along close together, rank and file,
and my men fight so as Indians do, and I want your
warriours to join with me and my warriours, like broth-
ers, and ambush the Regulars: if you will, I will give you
money, blankets, tomahawks, knives, paint, and any-
thing that there is in the army, just like brothers; and
I will go with you into the woods to scout; and my men
and your men will sleep together, and eat and drink
together, and fight Regulars, because they first killed
our brothers."
  "Ye know my warriours must fight, but if you our
brother Indians do not fight on either side, we will still
be friends and brothers; and you may come and hunt
in our woods, and come with your canoes in the lake,
and let us have venison at our forts on the lake, and
have rum, bread, and what you want and be like
brothers."
  At first the general 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
'Amer. Archives, 4th ser., il., 665.
2This letter was written from Crown Point, May 24, 1775. Ibid., 713.

 




CONTEST FOR INDIAN ALLIANCE



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."l Since, however, they were apprehensive
of the policy to be pursued by the British 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 their taking apart in
the present commotions. They were to superintend
also the distribution of such arms, ammunition, and
clothing as were essential to the Indians' existence.2
  Within a year, however, a resolution was passed that
it was highly expedient to engage the Indians in the
service of the united colonies and especially tp secure
their co-operation in bringing about the reduction of
Detroit. Notwithstanding the arraignment of the
British in the Declaration of Independence for the en-
listment of savages, Congress granted Washington full
power to use Indians as auxiliaries and to offer them
bounties for all their prisoners.3
  In a dispatch to Congress, Colonel George Morgan
outlined the plan which, in general, was pursued by
Indian agents of the best type on the frontier. "We
'July 13, 1775.
2July 12, 1775, Amer. Archives, 4th ser., Il., 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.
3 Journals Cont. Cong. (new ed.), Iv., 395. The commissioners were in-
structed, May 25, 1776, to offer an inducement of pound;50 Pennsylvania cur-
rency for every prisoner (soldier of the garrison) brought to them. The
Indians were to be given the free plunder of the garrison. On June 17, 1776,
Washington was authorized to employ Indians. Ibid., v., 452.



xvii

 



Xviii   ILLINOIS HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS

shall ever hold it our duty," he wrote, "to exert our ut-
most influence to prevent hostilities, and to promote
peace and Harmony with the Indian Tribes ..... The
cheapest and most humane mode of obtaining an alli-
ance with the savages is by buying of their Friendship;
they have been long taught by contending Nations to
be bought and sold ..... We are well satisfied we can
bestow our Country no service more essential to her
Interest, than by restraining the hostilities of the
Indians, and giving ease to the minds of our Frontier
Inhabitants." "
  Indeed, this was the safest course to pursue, for on
the frontiers constant danger from retaliatory attacks
outweighed any assistance which might be secured
through the enlistment of Indians.
  The British early employed the savages to cut off
outlying settlements. Under plea that the "rebels"
had used Indians in their hostilities on the frontier of
Quebec, after the capture of Ticonderoga, and that 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.2
The letter which followed, containing "His Majesty's
commands for engaging a body of Indians," and promis-
ing a large assortment of goods for presents, was of
form merely. On the day it was written, five hundred
Indians were brought to Montreal to join the English
army.3 Thereafter, the British were to enlist the
savages for service with the regular army as well as to

'Morgan, Leter Book, ii., July 30, 1776.
'General Gage to Lord Dartmouth, June 12, 1775. Amer. Archives, 4th
ser., iI., 968.
3July 24, 1775, N. Y. Col. Does., viii., 596.

 



CONTEST FOR INDIAN ALLIANCE



employ them with more terrible results in cutting off
outlying settlements and raiding the frontiers.
   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 pro-
visional 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 Revolu-
tionary movement had assumed such proportions that
he deemed it inadvisable to risk a journey to the
frontier. Once more he found a ready agent in Dr.
John Connolly,' 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 in-
structed 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.2
Disbanding the garrison in July, he returned to find
Governor 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 inter-
view, Connolly won the assent of General Gage to the
plan and received instructions for its development.3
It was designed that Connolly should proceed to
'Pa. Archives, xv., 477, 484, 485, 637, 682.
'Thwaites and Kellogg, Rev. on Upper Ohio, 35.
'The entire plan is given in ibid., 140 et seq. Connolly, after his inter-
view with Gage in Boston, returned with his instructions to Lord Dunmore.
Craig, The Olden Time, I., 521.



SAC

 



xx    ILLINOIS HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS



Detroit, where he was to command the garrison
from Fort Gage, led by Captain 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 this 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 three hun-
dred acres of land confirmed to each of them. Forts Pitt
and Fincastle were to be destroyed, should they offer re-
sistance, 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. The southern colonies
were in this manner to be cut off from the northern.
  Conditions promised well for the success of the
enterprise. Connolly 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 with-
out the necessary equipment in arms and ammunition
to obstruct such an expedition. They were disunited,
also, because of the Pennsylvania and Virginia boun-
dary dispute. A letter from Connolly to a supposed
friend at Pittsburgh led to his betrayal. Virginia
authorities were informed of the intrigue and runners
bearing orders for his arrest, were sent out from all the
southern provinces into the Indian nations through
which he purposed to pass. He and three associates
were captured near Hagerstown, while on their way
to Fort Pitt.2
lAmer. Archives, 4th ser., III., 1543.
2Ak copy cf the plan was in their possession. Capture of Connolly, in ibid.,
IV., 616.

 



CONTEST FOR INDIAN ALLIANCE



  For upwards of two years thereafter, the frontier
wvas free from any general participation in the war.
Meantime, immigration to the West continued,' 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.2 The
provisions and goods furnished by the committee 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 Pennsyl-
vania and Virginia be appointed to confer with the
Indians at Pittsburgh.3
  On June 24, therefore, six commissioners were
appointed by Virginia for the purpose of making a
treaty with the Ohio Indians and a sum of pound;2,000
was appropriated for that purpose. Captain James
Wood, one of the commissioners 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 unanim-
ity 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."4
'More "cabin improvements" were made in 1776 than in any other year.
Draper MSS., 4C485.
2Thwaites and Kellogg, Rev. on Upper Ohio, 37.
3journals Cont. Cong., ii., 76.
4Thwaites and Kellogg, Rer. on Upper OJhio, 35.



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ILLINOIS HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS



   The day following, Captain Wood set out from
Williamsburg on his hazardous journey of two months,
accompanied by Simon Girty,1 his sole companion,
who acted as interpreter. The report made on his re-
turn was not wholly promising for the cause he repre-
sented. 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.2
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.3 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 as
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
instigation of Governor Carleton and Guy Johnson,
were induced to go to Albany and many more to
Montreal to join the British armies.
'Simon Girty was born in Pennsylvania in 1741. As a boy, he was captured
by the Indians and liyed with them for three years. He later became chief of
the Delaware tribe. At the opening of the Revolution he was engaged in
enlisting men for the American army, but in 1778, he joined the British at
Detroit. During the remainder of the war he was a leader of numerous
Indian attacks against the frontier settlements and was greatly feared and
bated. Butterfield, History of the Girtys, 73.
These two tribes had invited others to unite with them against the English
in 1764. Wis. Hist. Coll., xviii., 262.
3Amer. Archives, 4th ser