William Crawford Burned at the Stake
See that guy in the middle? The one tied to the stake? The one with burn marks from a hot poker? Yes, that one.
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Old friend of George Washington's. From the beginning. See letters.
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Was here in Winchester in Washington's VA Regiment at Fort Loudoun.
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He was tasked to find William Smith, deemed "one of the greatest villains upon the continent" who then was sentenced to hang at Fort Loudoun 29 July 1757.
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William Crawford and his brother Valentine helped secure land for George Washington near the Ohio River.
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4 years later Crawford is helping in Lord Dunmore's War 1774.
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Now back to that Stake. June 1782.
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See that White Man on a horse outside the fire perimeter?
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The story:
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"Captain Pipe, who knew Crawford from the 1778 Fort Pitt treaty, spoke to the crowd, pointing out that Crawford had been captured while leading many of the men who had committed the Gnadenhütten murders. Crawford had nothing to do with the massacre, but he had taken part in the "squaw campaign" in which several of Pipe's family members had been killed. Pipe apparently mentioned this as well.[92]
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After Pipe's speech, Crawford was stripped naked and beaten. His hands were tied behind his back, and a rope was tied from his hands to a post in the ground. A large fire was lit about six or seven yards (6 m) from the pole. Indian men shot charges of gunpowder into Crawford's body, then cut off his ears. Crawford was poked with burning pieces of wood from the fire, and hot coals were thrown at him, which he was compelled to walk on. Crawford begged Girty to shoot him, but Girty was unwilling or afraid to intervene. After about two hours of torture, Crawford fell down unconscious. He was scalped, and a woman poured hot coals over his head, which revived him. He began to walk about insensibly as the torture continued. After he finally died, his body was burned.[93]
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Of course you want to know the exact spot?
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And yes, there was a song about this.
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Find all the spots where William Crawford was?
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Click on top right corner square.
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A new window of this map will open.
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Click on Magnifying Glass on top left corner.
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Type in William Crawford
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Or type in anything related to this story to find on this map.
You will see a list of locations. Click on any one of them to see that spot.
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BURN SITE
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THE BURN SITE
The Search for the Colonel William Crawford
Burn Site: An Investigative Report
Parker B. Brown
The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, Vol. 68, No.1Qanuary 1985)
Copyright ©Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Links and Notes of Related Interest
Crawford at Fort Maidstone
Captains Stewart and Bell, Lt. John Campbell, ensigns John Deane and William Crawford, and 6 noncommissioned officers were at Maidstone with 101 soldiers. Captain Gist was in Winchester
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Source:
http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-03-02-0208-0001#GEWN-02-03-02-0208-0001-fn-0005
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GIRTY THE WHITE INDIAN
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Below needs editing.
From French and Indian War Foundation Web site
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William Crawford Burned at the Stake
Still working on this page, researched 2015, 2016 by Jim Moyer , updated 1/1-2/17, 8/20/17, 8/30/17, 9/2/17, 9/3/17, 9/21/2017, 10/11/2017, 3/31/18, 12/5/2018
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Picture credit: see title on this album cover. Click on picture to enlarge,
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See that guy in the middle?
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The one tied to the stake?
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The one with burn marks from a hot poker, maybe by a Brown Bess musket barrel?
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Impact of this
“Burning at the Stake”
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1. national song was made of it
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2. headlines all across the Colonies
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3. while the colonies were still fighting the British.
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4. many years later a statue was made
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5. and even more years later, statue head decapitated
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This “Burning at the Stake” happened in Ohio. June 11, 1782.
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And the decapitation of Crawford’s head, 25 August 2017.
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Maybe he should have stayed here in Winchester VA.
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Crawford at 27 years old, was surveying and working in the Winchester VA area when he first met 16 year old George Washington in 1749.
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This is not a photo.
Move around with Mouse or Touch to see this courthouse and street.
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It was difficult to find a photo of that statue before it was beheaded.
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No news article seemed to carry one.
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So we went to Google Maps and got in a Google Car.
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Here it is. Navigate with your mouse or touch screen.
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New Statue
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Made in China.
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Ohio’s Crawford County Commissioners couldn’t find anyone else to do it.
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The new granite statue has been shipped February 4, 2018 and the county hopes to receive the statue by April 1, 2018.
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The original deteriorating sandstone statue of 1906 was decapitated morning of August 25, 2017.
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See crawfordcountynow.com, posted February 2, 2018 by James Massara.
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See 2nd source Olivia Minnier,Bucyrus Telegraph12:49 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2018
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April 26, 2018 Thursday – new statue put in place. See article.
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February 2, 2018 news article
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Photo of the 1906 sandstone statue before it was beheaded August 25, 2017.
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See source is from Flickr
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News article below is reprinted from crawfordcountynow.com, posted February 2, 2018 by James Massara.
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New Col. Crawford statue receives approval to be shipped home
Posted on February 2, 2018 by James Massara
By James Massara
The Crawford County Courthouse soon will have a familiar face keeping watch over the steps on E. Mansfield St.
The Crawford County Commissioners recently approved to have a newly constructed statue of Col. William Crawford to be shipped back to Bucyrus to be placed in the previous location of the original statue, which was placed at the courthouse in 1906.
The replacement comes after vandals decapitated the original statue in August.
The commissioners received photos of the statue from Longstreth Memorials of the statue as it was completed in China. Longstreth Memorials created a smaller clay rendition of the statue using photos of the previous Col. Crawford, and sent the statue to China.
The commissioners said sending the work to China to be completed was not simply an economic decision, but it was also due to the difficulty of finding an artist capable of performing the work.
The statue is expected to be shipped by Feb. 4 and take six to eight weeks to arrive in Crawford County. The commissioners said they hope to have the statue in place by April 1.
The new statue will be granite, a much sturdier rock compared to the previous sandstone, according to the commissioners.
Reports were made that during removal and transportation of the previous statue, the sandstone already was deteriorating.
Other replacements made because of the vandalism of the statue include, new high-definition surveillance cameras being installed around the courthouse.
The commissioners said law enforcement officials do possess a video of the head of the statue being removed, and the issue remains under investigation of the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.
Crawford County Sheriff Scott Kent said the video in his possess is poor grainy quality and was shot from a distance. He said his office has not been able to enhance the video for a clearer picture.
He reported the video showing a person running across the street, but the quality is too poor to possess any useful details.
Story © 2018 Crawford County Now – Images © 2018 Crawford County Now
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News article above is reprinted from crawfordcountynow.com, posted February 2, 2018 by James Massara.
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April 26, 2018 Thursday – new statue put in place. See article.
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Timeline of Crawford
with George Washington
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George Washington’s lifelong friend first met in Winchester VA in 1749. Photo on top is the 1906 sandstone statue of William Crawford decapitated August 25, 2017, located in Ohio’s Crawford County Courthouse. Photo on bottom left is William Crawford being burned at the Stake in 1782. Picture on bottom right is the replacement statue, made in China, expected to arrive April 1, 2018, at Ohio’s Crawford County Courthouse. . Click on all pictures to enlarge.
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Old friend of George Washington’s. From the beginning. See all their letters.
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William Crawford. Land finder for George Washington.
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Crawford was there with Washington at Fort Necessity1754 (name misspelled? or not in returns) , and at Braddock’s Defeat 1755.
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Promoted to Ensign 27 December 1755:
Was here in Winchester in Washington’s VA Regiment at Fort Loudoun.
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Crawford made an Ensign.
Under Christopher Gist’s Company of Scout
Winchester, December 27th 1755
William Crawford1 received his Commission as Ensign in the Company of Scouts commanded by Captain Christopher Gist; who had money delivered him to Recruit with; the General Instructions, and the same private Instructions that were given the Officers at Alexandria the third instant (only the opportunities of Elections were omitted) and was ordered to Rendezvous here the fourteenth of February next.
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Source:
Was here in Winchester in Washington’s VA Regiment at Fort Loudoun.
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December 17, 1756
William Crawford was an ensign in Captain Christopher Gist’s Company of Scouts.
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Colonel George Washington makes it clear that these men should not be treated in any lesser way because they are scouts.
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Being in the Scout Company is not the same as the two Ranger Companies which were militia and separate from the Virginia Regiment.
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And pay and rank should be equal to any other company in the Virginia Regiment, if not more, because of the extra danger a scout will meet.
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Source is letter to Captain Robert Stewart, December 17, 1756:
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William Crawford made Lieutenant
July 27, 1757
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1. William Crawford’s familiarity with the Shenandoah Valley region made him a particularly useful young officer in the Virginia Regiment during the next 3 years. See GW to David Bell, 25 April 1756, Robert Stewart to GW, 3 July 1756, and GW to Andrew Lewis, 21 April 1758. GW promoted Crawford to lieutenant 27 July 1757. After the war Crawford often acted as GW’s surveyor and land agent in Pennsylvania. Born in 1732, Crawford was killed at the age of 50by Indians while on the Sandusky expedition in 1782.
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Source is Founders Online Footnote:
http://founders.archives.gov/?q=Date%3A1755-12-27&s=1111311111&r=2
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The first Hanging by George Washington
and it was here in Winchester VA
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Crawford was tasked to find William Smith,
deemed “one of the greatest villains upon the continent”
then was sentenced to hang
at Fort Loudoun, Winchester VA, 29 July 1757.
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Scroll down. We are trying to determine identity of William Smith. Was he the same captured by the French before July 9, 1755, Braddock’s Defeat?
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Proclamation of 1763
Forbids settling in western lands so as not to irritate another expensive Indian War.
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Washington intends to secretly flout this proclamation with his friend William Crawford. GW believes the line drawn by the Proclamation of 1763 will fall one day. And besides it did undo Dinwiddie’s 1754 promise of that same land.
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See GW’s letter to Crawford 17 September 1767:
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The other matter just now hinted at and which I proposd in my last is to join you in attempting to secure some of the most valuable Lands in the Kings part which I think may be accomplished after a while
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notwithst⟨an⟩ding the Proclamation that restrains it at present & prohibits the Settling of them at all for I can never look upon that Proclamation in any other light (but this I say between ourselves) than as a temporary expedien⟨t⟩
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to quiet the Minds of the Indians & must fall of course in a few years esp⟨e⟩cially when those Indians are consenting to our Occupying the Lands.
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any Person therefore who neglects the present oppertunity of hunting ou⟨t⟩ good Lands & in some measure Marking & distinguishing them for their own (in order to keep others from settling them) . . .
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I woud recommend it to you to keep this whole matter a profound Secret,
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or Trust it only with those in whom you can confide &
who can assist you in bringing it to bear
by their discoveries of Land
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and this advice
proceeds from several very good Reasons,
and in the first place
because I might be censurd
for the opinion I have given
in respect to the Kings Proclamation
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& then if the Scheme
I am now proposing to you was known
it might give the alarm to others &
by putting them
upon a Plan of the same nature
(before we coud lay
a proper foundation for success ourselves)
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AND
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set the different Interests a clashing
and very probably in the end
overturn the whole all
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which may be avoided
by a Silent management & the [Scheme]
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snugly carried on by you
under the pretence of hunting other Game
which you may I presume
effectually do at the same time
you are in pursuit of Land which
when fully discovered advise me of it &
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if there appears but a bear possibility
If succeeding any time hence
I will have the Lands
immediately Surveyed
to keep others off &
leave the rest to time & my own Assiduity to Accomplish.
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Because of Dinwiddie’s Promise of Land for the Men of 1754:
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See link – http://www.fayettetrust.org/upload/Col%20Crawford%20Statue.pdf
1765 Crawford settles in what is now Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. And there’s a statue there too.
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1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix Crawford surveyed lands for settlers and speculators. Lt Gov Robert Dinwiddie promised bounty land particularly to only those in service in 1754.
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George Washington writes a letter in 1769 emphasizing the original and limited scope of that bounty land promise.
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Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crawford_(soldier)#Early_career
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Western Land by Ohio Scout Trip 1770
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Pencil by Jim Moyer
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William Crawford and his brother Valentine helped secure land for George Washington near the Ohio River.
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Washington and Crawford and Dr Craik went out there in October to December 1770.
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This is an expedition to view and survey the PROMISED LAND by Lt Gov Dinwiddie’s 1754 proclamation of land for the soldier in the 1754 actions of the French and Indians.
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Context:
The Boston Massacre occurred March 5, 1770.
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The trial of the eight accused soldiers opened on November 27, 1770 with John Adams defense attorney for those British regulars.
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At the same time those trials were going on:
Washington and Crawford and Dr Craik went out to the Ohio and the Kanawha in October to December 1770.
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“George Washington at the Great Bend of the Ohio River,” by Guy-Harold Smith. Volume 41, Number 4, October, 1932, pp. 655-667. . http://frenchandindianwarfoundation.org/event/washingtons-trip-out-west/
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“George Washington at the Great Bend of the Ohio River,” by Guy-Harold Smith. Volume 41, Number 4, October, 1932, pp. 655-667.
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“Washington’s Camp Sites on the Ohio River,” by Guy-Harold Smith. Volume 41, Number 1, January, 1932, pp. 1-19.
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“Washington’s ‘Tour to the Ohio’ and Articles of ‘The Mississippi Company,'” by Archer Butler Hulbert. Volume 17, Number 4, October, 1908, pp. 431-488.
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“Colonel William Crawford,” by James H. Anderson. Volume 6, Number 1, January, 1898, pp. 1-32.
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More on search results on Crawford in Ohio Archives:
http://resources.ohiohistory.org/ohj/search/results.php
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Dunmore’s War
4 years later Crawford is helping in Lord Dunmore’s War 1774, with Dunmore in Winchester VA raising troops.
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See link on associating with Simon Girty in Lord Dunmore’s War
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Treaty site of Lord Dunmore’s War
“An Outing on the Congo. A Visit to the Site of Dunmore’s Treaty with the Shawnees 1774,” by William H. Safford. Volume 7, Number 3, April, 1899, pp. 349-366.
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REV WAR
Crawford on 11 October 1776 is Colonel of the 7th Virginia Regiment. at Battle of Long Island and the retreat across New Jersey and at battles of Trenton and Princeton and in the Philadelphia campaign, he commanded a scouting detachment for Washington’s army and by 1777 on the western front to fight the Indians allied with the British.
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Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crawford_(soldier)#American_Revolution
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March 8, 1782
GNADENHUTTEN MASSACRE
From wikipedia:
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The Lenape allies of the British sought revenge for the Gnadenhutten massacre. When General George Washington heard about the massacre, he ordered American soldiers to avoid being captured alive. He feared what the hostile Lenape would do to captured Americans.
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Washington’s close friend William Crawford was captured while leading an expedition against Lenape at Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Crawford had not been at Gnadenhutten but was killed in retaliation.[8]
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Captain Charles Bilderback had participated in the Gnadenhutten massacre and was a survivor of the June 1782 Crawford expedition. Seven years later, in June 1789, he was captured by hostile Lenape in Ohio, who killed him.[9]
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David Williamson, the officer who led the Gnadenhutten massacre, was also a survivor of the Crawford expedition.
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In 1814, decades after the war, he died in poverty.
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The leader of the Home Guard at the time was Captain John Hay who on November 24 led an attack on the Delaware.
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In 1810, Tecumseh reminded future President William Henry Harrison, “You recall the time when the Jesus Indians of the Delawares lived near the Americans, and had confidence in their promises of friendship, and thought they were secure, yet the Americans murdered all the men, women, and children, even as they prayed to Jesus?”[10
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Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnadenhutten_massacre#Aftermath
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JUNE 1782
William Crawford meets his end, burned at the stake as depicted above.
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Some More Timeline Context
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CONTEXT –
Yorktown wasn’t the end of the war.
The Yorktown siege ended 19 October 1781.
Crawford burned at stake June 1782 The Peace Treaty of Paris is 3 September 1783. . So what went on for 2 years? .
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This painting depicts the forces of British Major General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738-1805) (who was not himself present at the surrender), surrendering to French and American forces after the Siege of Yorktown (September 28 – October 19, 1781) during the American
. This link is about some events about that 1781 to 1783 period after Yorktown. See this great site “AfterWARd”
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And this is a great site showing battles and skirmishes AFTER Yorktown 1781 and the Peace Treaty in1783. See this excellent listing of battles by year.
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Click on all pictures to enlarge.
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Now back to that Stake. June 11, 1782
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A version of the burning at the stake:
Location of Crawford’s Burning,” Volume 18, Number 4, October, 1909, pp. 582-584.
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Photo of painting taken by James Boroff, Seneca County Museum in Tiffin, Ohio, USA.
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This article byJennifer Feehan BLADE STAFF WRITER published on May 22, 2011, Updated May 23, 2011 9:31 a. m., states that Seneca Museum might be sold, but apparently as of 2018, the museum still stands.
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Site confirms where the painting sits. Click on link: http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15005coll27/id/41523/rec/14
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At one point this article stated the museum holding the picture might be sold. See link from 5/22/2011.
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See that White Man on a horse outside the fire perimeter?
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Simon Girty.
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The story :
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“Captain Pipe, who knew Crawford
from the 1778 Fort Pitt treaty,
spoke to the crowd,
pointing out that Crawford had been captured
while leading many of the men
who had committed the Gnadenhütten murders.
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Crawford had nothing to do with the massacre,
but he had taken part in the “squaw campaign”
in which several of Pipe’s family members
had been killed.
Pipe apparently mentioned this as well.[92]
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After Pipe’s speech, Crawford was stripped naked and beaten.
His hands were tied behind his back,
and a rope was tied from his hands to a post in the ground.
A large fire was lit about six or seven yards (6 m) from the pole.
Indian men shot charges of gunpowder into Crawford’s body,
then cut off his ears.
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Crawford was poked with burning pieces of wood from the fire,
and hot coals were thrown at him,
which he was compelled to walk on.
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[Ed. Note: Simon Girty is the man depicted on the white horse in the above painting.]
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Eric Marchbein, 72, of Squirrel Hill, who initiated the drive for this historical marker years ago, said the Girtys lived at the bottom of the rigid colonial caste system even before their capture. Because they traded with Indians, they were held in lower esteem than indentured servants and known as “the Injun Girtys.” The great Seneca leader Guyasuta brought his protege, Simon Girty, to Fort Pitt in 1764 in keeping with the treaty requirement that all English captives be returned following the French and Indian War. By then, the young man had fully embraced Indian culture. In that light, it’s understandable that in 1778, during the American Revolution, Mr. Girty left his station as an American officer and fought alongside Indians on the frontier.
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Crawford begged Girty to shoot him,
but Girty was unwilling or afraid to intervene.
After about two hours of torture, Crawford fell down unconscious.
He was scalped, and a woman poured hot coals over his head,
which revived him.
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He began to walk about insensibly
as the torture continued.
After he finally died, his body was burned.[93]
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Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawford_expedition
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Source on Simon Girty historical marker:
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/brian-oneill/2017/10/08/Scapegoat-frontiersman-gets-his-due-at-last-simon-girty-historical-marker/stories/201710080080
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Where was the spot?
Where was Crawford burned at the Stake?
Of course you want to know the exact spot?
Stay tuned. Will provide soon some links.
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And yes, there was a song about this.
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When was William Crawford born? 1722 or 1732?
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Allen Scholl’s genealogical study of the Crawfords, “The Brothers Crawford,” I found that, using a compilation of resources, he had pinned William Crawford’s birth down to August 2, 1722 in Westmoreland County, Virginia based on a compilation of records. . For instance, if he was born in 1732, that meant that he was only 15 years old when he married Hannah Vance and 16 when his first child was born. Furthermore, it would have meant that his wife, Hannah, was eight years older. .
Statue of a 16 Year Old George Washington put into place at Washington’s Office Museum on Cork and Braddock Winchester VA. GW was 16 when he met William Crawford, 28, in Winchester area. This Painting is by Barry Vance. Exhibit at Museum of Shenandoah Valley Sept 2, 2017 through June 2018.
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See link about this Statue of young 16 year old George Washington.
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George Washington, History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington, written by the former rector of the Mount Vernon Parish, Mason L. Weems. In this wildly inaccurate book that also created the famous cherry tree myth, Weems alludes to a teenage Washington participating in athletic games with the Crawford brothers during Washington’s first visit to the Shenandoah Valley in 1749. Therefore, Weems and a host of historians that followed merely assumed these two men were the same age and assigned a birthdate of 1732 to Crawford.
In fact, William Crawford was 10 years older than Washington. When they first met in 1750, young Washington was 18 years old and on his first surveying expedition to the Shenandoah Valley on behalf of Lord Fairfax. . By this time, Crawford, who was 28 years old, had his own surveying business, which was why Washington hired him as a chainman on several surveys. He also had a farm, was married, and had three young children.
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I found it quite remarkable that one offhand passage in a biography of questionable accuracy influenced so many writers and historians. . https://robertnthompson.com/2017/02/22/when-was-william-crawford-born/ . https://robertnthompson.com/2017/02/28/washington-and-crawford/ . Mt Vernon website supports birthdate 1722 and it adds Crawford over 6 feet tall? do Company rolls support this?
. In 1749, while surveying land for Lord Fairfax, George Washington met a young man remarkably like himself. The person was William Crawford, a Virginian standing well over six feet tall who had been born in 1722 and raised by a widowed mother. The two men struck up a friendship that lasted for more than thirty years until Crawford’s death at the hands of Native American warriors deep in the Ohio Country during the last days of the American Revolution. . Washington invited the young man to join him on his trip through northern Virginia and even taught the craft of surveying to his protégé. – Really ???? the above says Crawford already had a survey business. . http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/william-crawford/ . The brothers Crawford : Colonel William, 1722-1782 and Valentine Jr., 1724-1777 / Allen W. Scholl. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005724790 . . .
Disambiguation?
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crawford . William Crawford (his last name was also spelled Craford or Crafford) (died by April 15, 1762) was an American soldier, politician, and founder of Portsmouth, Virginia.[1] He served as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for over thirty years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crawford_(Virginia) . But Crawford did destroy the Salt Lick Town in Columbus Ohio on the Scioto River . William Crawford (2 September 1722 – 11 June 1782) was an American soldier and surveyor who worked as a western land agent for George Washington. Crawford fought in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. He was tortured and burned at the stake by American Indians in retaliation for the Gnadenhutten massacre, a notorious incident near the end of the American Revolution.
. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crawford_(soldier) . . .
Letters between
William Crawford
and George Washington
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The Washington-Crawford letters. Being the correspondence between George Washington and William Crawford, from 1767 to 1781, concerning western lands. With an appendix, containing later letters of Washington on the same subject; and letters from Valentine Crawford to Washington, written in 1774 and 1775, chronologically arranged and carefully annotated . https://archive.org/details/washingtoncrawfo00washiala . . 1757 – 1781 Founders online William Crawford and George Washington https://founders.archives.gov/search/Correspondent%3A%22Washington%2C%20George%22%20Correspondent%3A%22Crawford%2C%20William%22 . 1773 to 1774 Valentine Crawford and Washington https://founders.archives.gov/search/Correspondent%3A%22Crawford%2C%20Valentine%22%20Correspondent%3A%22Washington%2C%20George%22 . October 1770 Washington’s trip to the West references to both Crawfords and their step brother Stephenson https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-02-02-0005-0027 . . .
Hearing of Crawford’s Death
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George Washington to William Irvine, August 6, 1782
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I lament the failure of the former Expedition—and am particularly affected with the disastrous fate of Colo. Crawford—no other than the extremest Tortures which could be inflicted by the Savages could, I think, have been expected, by those who were unhappy eno’ to fall into their Hands, especially under the present Exasperation of their Minds, for the Treatment given their Moravian friends. For this reason, no person should at this Time, suffer himself to fall alive into the Hands of the Indians.With great Regard & Esteem I am sir Your most Obedient & humble Servant . https://founders.archives.gov/?q=Date%3A1782-08-06&s=1111311111&r=7 .
. Image of that actual letter http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage . 8 letters and one order that same day https://founders.archives.gov/index.xqy?q=Date%3A1782-08-06&s=1111211111&r=1 . .
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Remember that deserter Crawford found when he was in the Virginia Regiment based at Fort Loudoun Winchester VA ?
WILLIAM SMITH ?
THE SAME HANGED MAN?
Compiled by Jim Moyer 2/9/2016, updated 3/31/18
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Was this the same deserter William Crawford captured for court martial and hanging in 1757as the same one captured by the French beforeBraddock’s Defeat in 1755?
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The answer is most likely NO.
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The link from British Battles states William Smith as the name of a prisoner at Fort DuQuesne but it should be James Smith.
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“In 1755 while helping his cousin William Smith, roads commissioner, build a road west towards Cumberland County he was taken captive by the Indians . . .”
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And another quote:
“His [James Smith] cousin and brother in law Justice William Smith would continue to provide the legal framework for directing the[Black Boys] rebellion while James led the men in the field.” Source http://smithrebellion1765.com/?page_id=101
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9 July 1755
This British Battles link is wrong.
This prisoner’s name should be James Smith.
“12 prisoners were stripped naked and dragged back to Fort Duquesne. A prisoner William Smith watched as the prisoners were tortured to death during the night at the river-side. “ See source: http://www.britishbattles.com/french-indian-war/battle-of-monongahela-1755-braddocks-defeat/
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One more disambiguation:
We are still looking at James Smith’s cousin and brother in law, the Roads Commissioner and then Justice William Smith. Is he also the same William Smith in this link? William Smith’s A Brief State of the Province of Pennsylvania. And this link: https://libraries.psu.edu/about/collections/unearthing-past-student-research-pennsylvania-history/battle-quaker-pennsylvania .
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Here are the links about a William Smith sentenced to hang at Fort Loudoun:
One of 2 to Hang
William Smith was one of the two convicted deserters hanged on 29 July 1757. For his identity, see GW to William Crawford, 20 July 1757, n.1. Source : http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-04-02-0218#GEWN-02-04-02-0218-fn-0004
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20 Year Old Sadler 1. In the list of deserters advertised by Dinwiddie (see GW to Dinwiddie, 11 July 1757, n.4) a William Smith is named. He is identified as a 20–year-old “sadler.” See the General Court-Martial,25–26 July 1757, at which a William Smith in Crawford’s custody was tried for desertion and sentenced to be hanged. He was executed on 29 July. Source – http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-04-02-0211#GEWN-02-04-02-0211-fn-0001
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108 Deserters 4. The enclosure has not been found, but in a proclamation dated 19 July 1757 Dinwiddie listed the names and gave the descriptions of 108 drafted men from twenty-six counties who had deserted from the Virginia Regiment, offering a reward of £5 for every deserter returned to Winchester (Virginia Gazette [Williamsburg], 2 Sept. 1757). Source: http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-04-02-0193#GEWN-02-04-02-0193-fn-0004
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This was one man of two sentenced to hang at Fort Loudoun Winchester VA. See extensive story.
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Just to summarize on conflating two different William Smiths and one James Smith:
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James Smith is a prisoner held at Fort DuQuesne captured before Braddock’s Defeat giving an eye witness account of the treatment given Braddock’s men.
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The British Battles link mixed him with William Smith who was Roads Commissioner in PA . This link connects the two. http://smithrebellion1765.com/?page_id=101
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The British Battles link mentions the wrong Smith – https://www.britishbattles.com/french-indian-war/battle-of-monongahela-1755-braddocks-defeat/
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Notes for further follow up
From George Washington to William Crawford, 20 July 1757 To William Crawford [Fort Loudoun, 20 July 1757] To Ensign Crawford By George Washington Esquire; Colonel of the Virginia Regiment. You are ordered forthwith to go in pursuit of Wm Smith, a Deserter from the aforesaid regiment, and to use your best endeavours to apprehend and bring him to justice at this place.1 If he shou’d resist, and stand upon his defence, contrary to the Laws of the country; you are in that case, to fire upon him as an Enemy. Given &c. this 20th July 1757. G:W. LB, DLC:GW. 1. In the list of deserters advertised by Dinwiddie (see GW to Dinwiddie, 11 July 1757, n.4) a William Smith is named. He is identified as a 20–year-old “sadler.” See the General Court-Martial, 25–26 July, at which a William Smith in Crawford’s custody was tried for desertion and sentenced to be hanged. He was executed on 29 July. Index Entries Permalink What’s this? http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-04-02-0211 . . All the letters between GW and William Crawford: . http://founders.archives.gov/search/Correspondent%3A%22Washington%2C%20George%22%20Correspondent%3A%22Crawford%2C%20William%22 . . . =====================================
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