Friendly Fire
Nov 12, 1758 late afternoon: Forbes orders the first 500 troops out to catch enemy spotted by the outposts. That 500 was led by Washington,according to Douglas Southall Freeman. At least this time the enemy nearby wasn't a surprise like last time 12 Oct 1758 in their last attack on Loyalhanna. The enemy was spotted about 2 miles outside of Loyalhanna. They found the enemy in force sitting near a fire.
There may have been 200 around there.
Or double that.
Maybe the enemy numbered as strong as the attack just 30 days ago of 12 Oct 1758 on Loyalhanna (not called Fort Ligonier until 1 Dec 1758).
A battle ensued.
Well before that battle, Forbes had already ordered a second group of 500 out.
That was led by George Mercer, according to Douglas Southall Freeman. He was Geoge Washington's former aid de camp and Captain of one his Virginia Regiment companies. Now he is a Lt Colonel of the 2nd Virginia Regiment under Colonel Byrd.
Mercer's 500 strong approached through the woods.
Imagine all these men noticing something large approaching in the woods?
They fired on each other.
Colonel George Washington's men of the 1st VA Regiment and Lt Col George Mercer's men of the 2nd VA Regiment fired on each other.
They mistook each other
for the enemy
on an
almost full moon night
under an old forest
primaeveal
shedding its canopy of leaves.
The shooting didn't stop.
It didn't stop
What was said about this?
Forbes said it was 38 wounded or killed.
What did Washington say about this dark moment ?
GW’s Orderly Book,
Camp at Loyall Hannon Novr 12th 1758.
1 Colo. 1 Lt Colo. 1 Major 5 Caps. 15 Subs. 20 Serjts 20 Corpls & 400 Private Men
to March
to morrow morning
at reveille
.
beating to the Ground
where the
Skirmish
was this Evening
and to Carry
a proportion
of Spades
in Order to
Enter the Dead Bodies.
This picture is used to depict that moment of the next morning march to bury the bodies of that Friendly Fire. The Picture's background of the woods is a sketch by Jim Moyer who superimposed photo of the reenactor group, Mercer Co of the VA regiment.
Linger on that last line:
. . . Carry a proportion of Spades in Order to Enter the Dead Bodies.
Sergeant Lindenmuth, A German soldier with Burd's Pennsylvania Provincials, writes in his diary:
The next morning -- we buried our dead with heavy hearts."
About this picture:
We try to show the Moon's light on the faces.
There had been a lot of rain which usually drops the leaves off faster. After the rain had stopped, most of the leaves had fallen allowing the almost full moon to penetrate this forest.
We are thinking Colonel George Washington might not have been on his horse using his sword to knock down muskets firing. We think he got off his horse to be less of a target.
As GW said himself said decades later, long after this war, long after the next war which was the Rev War, he felt at this moment, "never was in more imminent danger by being between two fires, knocking up with his sword the presented pieces.”
An ancestor of Bullitt claims Bullitt was the first to notice the friendly fire debacle and used his hat to wave down the men firing.
The above picture is an Unfinished drawing by Eric Cherry of Colonel George Washington trying to stop his men from firing into Lt Col George Mercer’s men near Loyalhanna (called Fort Ligonier only by 1 Dec 1758).
Compare to another painting:
We like both for different reasons. We don't think this happened on a field. Nor do we think GW was on his horse presenting an easy target. Nor on this horse could GW be "knocking up with his sword the presented pieces.” But in all cases we could be wrong. This painting below is by Chas Fagan. This painting does emphasize the frontier dress (called "Indian dress" ) adopted in lieu of uniform.
But one positive came out this:
A prisoner who gave "actionable intelligence", meaning Forbes changed yesterday's decision.
That yesterday's decision by a Council of War was to delay until Spring.
Unike Grant who felt he could not come that far within sight of the enemy fort and leave with nothing accomplished, Forbes knew such a delay would mean he would not live long enough to see this mission accomplished.
As it happened, Forbes died on 11 March 1759 in Philly.
This decision to delay until Spring also meant the 2nd VA Regiment's term of service would end 1 Dec 1758.
It could only be hoped the Virginia House of Burgess would extend the life of that regiment.
.
Forbes did not recall the Council of War.
Nor did he have time to call a major Court Martial of people he will need.
Based on the prisoner's report, Forbes changed the decsion to full speed ahead.
That's it.
That's our lead story.
There's always more.
Skip around.
Read bits and pieces.
Compiled and written by Jim Moyer 2/25/2018, 10/4/2018, 10/9/2018, 10/10/2018, 11/10/19, 11/13/2022, 11/15/2022, 11/18/2022, 11/20/2022
Table of Contents
Versions of this Friendly Fire mess:
Forbes version 17 Nov 1758
Washington's 3 versions 12 Nov 1758, 28 Nov 1758, August 1786?
Thomas Bullitt memoir version 1758, modified 1890s?
PA Gazette version 30 Nov 1758
William Findley version of interviewing GW 9 May 1818
(Cubbison version included as contrast)
Context:
Gibbous Moon 12 Nov 1758
Indian dress May and July 1758
Douglas Southall Freeman on:
A Prisoner's False Report 12 Oct 1758
A New Prisoner's True Report 12 Nov 1758
Original Word research doc
Forbes Expedition Stories:
Forbes Version
of the Friendly Fire
.
Letter from General Forbes to
17 November 1758:
.
The note below is not only important for several reasons:
.
1. It’s contemporary.
2. Gives a count of killed and wounded.
.
3. Notes that prisoners were captured in a previous skirmish which changed Forbes mind for giving up on the expedition for the Winter.
.
Forbes’s report to Gen. James Abercromby
on 17 Nov.:
.
“Two hundred of the ennemy
came to attack
our live Cattle and horses on the 12th—
.
I sent 500 men to give them chace
with as many more to Surround them,
there were some killed on both sides,
.
but unfortunately our partys
fired upon each other in the dark
by which we lost two officers
and 38 private kill’d or missing.
.
Wee made three prisoners
from whom wee have had
the only Intelligence
of the Enemys strength,
and which if true
gives me great hopes”
(James, Writings of Forbes, 255–56).
.
.
.
Washington's 3 versions:
Version 1
Below is excerpt from Founders Online:
.
GW’s Orderly Book,
Camp at Loyall Hannon Novr 12th 1758.
1 Colo. 1 Lt Colo. 1 Major 5 Caps. 15 Subs. 20 Serjts 20 Corpls & 400 Private Men .
.
to March to morrow morning at reveille
.
beating to the Ground
where the Skirmish
was this Evening
and to Carry a proportion
of Spades
in Order to Enter the Dead Bodies.
.
End quote.
.
Terse.
“a proportion of Spades in Order to Enter the Dead Bodies”
.
Noting only what needed done –
not what was done,
not observing what had happened.
.
.
.
Version 2
GW Limited Version
28 November 1758
GW does not mention this tragic incident when he writes to Fauquier on 28 Nov. about the success of the campaign except to refer to the “three Prisoners who providentially fell into our hands.”
.
As an aside, those prisoners provide valuable intel. This information convinces General Forbes decide to proceed instead of taking a break for the rest of the winter. In fact, 13 days after The Friendly Fire Incident, the Forbes Expedition claims the site of the abandoned Fort Duquesne.
.
Source: Founders Online footnote:
.
GW writes from a camp at Fort DuQuesne
to Lt Gov Fauquier
28 November 1758
.
” . . . and desertion of their Indians:
of these circumstances we were luckily informed,
by three Prisoners
who providentially fell into our hands
at Loyal-Hannan,
at a time when we
despaired of proceeding;
.
and a Council of War had determined
that it was not advisable to advance
beyond the place above-mentioned,
this season:2
.
But the information above caused us to march on without Tents or Baggage, with a light train of artillery only; with which we have happily succeeded . . .”
.
Source:
VERSION 3
LATE version by George Washington
30 Years after the incident:
Written by GW circa 29-30 years after the event in 1787-1788. This is according to Page xii of “Washington Remembers, edited by Fred Anderson,” (who wrote the excellent, “Crucible of War” on the French and Indian War and its worldwide reach.
.
At the time George Washington
wrote his “Remarks,”
the artist Charles Willson Peale
painted GW
during the 1787 Constitutional Convention
to fix the weak
Articles of Confederation.
.
And on page 24 of “Washington Remember, edited by Fred Anderson,”
Washington is quoted, as instructing his only authorized biographer and former aid de camp, Colo. David Humphreys “…that the whole of what Is here contained may be returned to G.W., or committed to the flames.”
.
The picture shows GW how he looked in 1787 when he wrote the “Remarks” excerpted below.
.
This picture by Charles Willson Peale is the same artist who also painted the first known picture of George Washington in 1772 wearing a French and Indian War uniform.
See the fascinating story on both that 1772 painting and the artist Charles Willson Peale.
.
The following quote of GW’s writings are spaced apart for easy reading and to emphasize different aspects of the 2 skirmishes.
.
Washington refers to himself in 3rd person as G.W. and discusses 2 skirmishes at Loyalhanning, one with the enemy and one between his group and George Mercer’s:
.
“Previous to this, and during the time the Army lay at Loyalhanning a circumstance occurred wch involved the life of G.W. in as much jeopardy as it had ever been before or since.
the enemy sent out a large detachment to reconnoitre our Camp, and to ascertain our strength; in consequence of Intelligence that they were within 2 miles of the Camp a party commanded by Lt Colo. Mercer of the Virga line (a gallant & good Officer) was sent to to dislodge them between who a Severe conflict & hot firing ensued which lasting some time & appearing to approach the Camp …
.
it was conceived that our party was yeilding the ground upon which G.W. with permission of the Genl called (for dispatch) for Volunteers and immediately marched at their head to sustain,
.
as was conjectured the retiring troops, led on by the firing till he came within less than half a mile, & it ceasing, he detached Scouts to investigate the cause & to communicate his approach to his friend Colo. Mercer advancing slowly in the meantime —
.
But it being near dusk
and the intelligence
not having
been fully dissiminated
among Colo. Mercers Corps,
and they taking us,
for the enemy
who had retreated
approaching
in another direction
commenced
a heavy fire
upon the releiving party
which drew fire in return
.
in spite of all the exertions of the Officers one of whom & several privates were killed and many wounded before a stop could be put to it.
to accomplish which G.W. never was in more imminent danger by being between two fires, knocking up with his sword the presented pieces.”
Linger on that last line: ” being between two fires, knocking up with his sword the presented pieces.”
.
Source:
End quote of Page 23 from George Washington’s Remarks chapter in “George Washington Remembers, edited by Fred Anderson.”
Another Source:
.
Eric Cherry, our artist,
was also a reenactor in our Mercer Co of the VA Regiment (1756 to early 1758) is being commissioned to illustrate that scene, as of 2/25/2018. This is an Unfinished drawing by Eric Cherry of Colonel George Washington trying to stop his men from firing into Lt Col George Mercer’s men near Loyalhanna (called Fort Ligonier later)
.
THE MOON
The Moon is not shown, but perhaps its glow has cut through the canopy of the forest in the night. he Moon was almost full that night by 10pm. See link: Moon on the 12 November 1758. See link 1 and link 2 also.
Thomas Bullitt's Version
William Marshall Bullitt edited a memoir reportedly left by Thomas Walker Bullitt which includes this account of the tragic encounter: “
Two detachments from Colonel Washington’s regiment (one commanded by himself)
were out upon the frontiers endeavoring to surprise a detachment of French troops from Fort Duquesne (now Fort Pitt),
but instead of falling in with the French,
they met themselves (the day being remarkably dark and foggy);
each party mistook the other for the enemy,
and a very warm fire was immediately commenced on both sides.
Captain Bullitt was one of the first who discovered the mistake,
and running between the two parties,
waving his hat and calling to them,
put a stop to the firing.
It was thought and said by several of the officers,
and among others by Captain Bullitt,
that Colonel Washington did not discover his usual activity and presence of mind upon this occasion.
This censure thrown by Captain Bullitt upon his superior officer gave rise to a resentment in the mind of General Washington which never subsided”
(Bullitt, My Life at Oxmoor, 3–4).
.
Source
Founders Online
5th paragraph of footnote 1
Thomas Bullitt's ancestor who edited his memoir:
PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE version
30 November 1758
This Version is reverse of GW’s account.
.
This version claims
Colonel George Mercer
was sent to assist GW.
.
The Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia) printed an account of the incident on 30 Nov. 1758:
“On the 12th Instant, Colonel Washington being out with a scouting Party, fell in with a Number of the Enemy, about three Miles from our Camp, whom he attacked, killed one, took three Prisoners, an Indian Man and Woman, and one Johnson, an Englishman (who, it is said, was carried off by the Indians some time ago from Lancaster County) and obliged the rest to fly:
That on hearing the Firing at Loyalhanning,
Colonel [George] Mercer,
with a Party of Virginians,
was sent out to the Assistance of Colonel Washington,
who, coming in Sight of our People in the Dusk of the Evening,
and seeing them about a Fire the Enemy had been drove from,
and the two Indians with them,
imagined them to be French;
and Colonel Washington being under the same Mistake,
unhappily a few Shot were exchanged,
by which a Lieutenant, and thirteen or fourteen Virginians, were killed.”
.
Source: Founders Online footnote:
.
Sergeant Lindenmuth
A German soldier with Burd's Pennsylvania Provincials
". . . about 1,100 French and Indians came to attack us. But they were discovered one mile from the Fort [Loyalhanna later called Ligonier]. Immediately 2,000 men were sent to meet them. . . . . to surround them in a valley behind a mountain. They however left their camp and our peope ran into each other in the dark and killed 11 [of our] men and also wounded several of ours. They came back in several hours in a distressed state and our enemy sped quickly away [without] having suffered any injury. The next morning -- we buried our dead with heavy hearts."
Source:
Page 153 of The British Defeat of the French in Pennsylvania, 1758: A Military History of the Forbes Campaign Against Fort Duquesne: by Douglas R. Cubbison. Cited page 35 of the Journal of Johann Michael Lindenmuth.
Was Lindenuth right about the enemy having no casualties?
". . . Captain Shelby of the Maryland Battalion was reputed to have "killed with his own hand one of the leading chiefs of the enemy."
Source:
Page 154 of The British Defeat of the French in Pennsylvania, 1758: A Military History of the Forbes Campaign Against Fort Duquesne: by Douglas R. Cubbison. Cited Shelby family papers.
.
French Version
Captain Pouche
.
"M.de Coriere, a colonial captain [actually a lieutenant of French Marines] marched a detachment of 45 Indans, soldiers & Canadians in the direction of LoyalAnon. He encountered a forward party, which he estimated at 7 to 800 men & attacked it. It withdrew in disorder to the camp."
Source:
Page 153 of The British Defeat of the French in Pennsylvania, 1758: A Military History of the Forbes Campaign Against Fort Duquesne: by Douglas R. Cubbison. Cited Page 160 of Pouchet, Memoirs on the Late War in North America Between France and England.
William Findley’s Version May 1818
Source: Founders Online footnote:
.
In May 1818 William Findley published
his recollections of a conversation
with GW in Philadelphia
which included the following paragraph:
.
“Since I am in the way of writing about Washington,
I will add one serious scene
through which he passed,
which is little known,
and with which he concluded this conversation.
.
He asked me how near
I lived to Layalhana old Fort,
and if I knew a run from the Laurel Hill
that fell into the creek near it.
.
I told him the distance of my residence,
and that I knew the run.
.
He told me that
at a considerable distance up that run
his life was in as great hazard
as ever it had been in war.
.
That he had been ordered
to march some troops
to reinforce a bullock-guard
on their way to the camp—
.
that he marched his party in single file
with trailed arms,
and sent a runner to inform the British officer
in what manner he would meet him.
.
The runner arrived and delivered his message,
but he did not know how it was
that the British officer paid no attention to it,
and the parties met in the dark
and fired on each other
till they killed thirty of their own men;
nor could they be stopped
till he had to go in between the fires
and threw up the muzzles
of their guns with his sword”
.
description begins Niles’ Weekly Register.
76 vols. Baltimore, 1811–49. description ends , 1st ser., 14 [9 May 1818], 179–80).
.
.
Youtube video from
Retracing George Washington's Friendly Fire Incident | Retracing History Episode 6
FRIENDLY FIRE
AS TOLD BY DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN
Source
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, Pages 357-359, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
on the 12th of November,
the outposts sent word that the enemy again was approaching Loyal Hannon Forbes immediately had the drums beat the general assembly and, when the men formed ranks, he sent Washington off in person with 500 of the Virginia troops to pursue the French, who were assumed to be making another raid on the cattle and the horses of the British.
Behind Washington, George Mercer was to proceed with another 500 men and was to try to surround the enemy.
Washington proceeded briskly and in the late afternoon, at a point about three miles from camp, came upon a party of French and Indians around a fire.
[[[ Jim Moyer's blog note: Douglas Southall Freeman uses Washington's accounts. But Cubbison uses Captain Bullitt's memoir. Cubbison states,"As Captain Thomas Bullitt's account unabashedly states, Washington lost control of the situation and his column collided with Mercer instead of the French and Indians. Although at least Mercer made contact with the French and held his own in the contest, capturing three prisoners in the process, the French were able to slip away, and the Virginian columns ended up engaging each other in the dark." -- source Page 154 of The British Defeat of the French in Pennsylvania, 1758: A Military History of the Forbes Campaign Against Fort Duquesne: by Douglas R. Cubbison. ]]]
In a quick exchange of musketry, one of the alien soldiers was killed By closing in quickly on the others, who undertook to flee, the Virginians captured a white prisoner and two Indians. Washington held these prisoners near the fire and awaited develop-
Footnote 161
See Harry Gordon’s interrogation, in French, of this prisoner, Oct 14, 1758, Shippen Papers, 144.
Footnote 162
So wrote Washington (2 GW, 308-09) He is the only known witness on this point, but there is no reason to question the accuracy of his statement
GEORGE WASHINGTON
Page 358
development. Presently, through the growing darkness, a considerable force
was observed. Almost at the same mstant, both sides delivered a volley. Men fell, the wounded cried out. From the approaching troops there likewise came shouts. Officers yelled their orders — and yelled in English. The men were Mercer’s own. Virginians were firing mto the ranks of their friends. Each side had mistaken the other for French.
As soon as the grim mistake was realized, the men lowered their guns and turned to the care of their wounded. The toll was heavier than in any action Washington had witnessed after Braddock’s defeat. One lieutenant was dead, thirteen other soldiers had been killed, twenty-six had been wounded . [Footnote 163] The enemy, disappearing in the darkness, might say mockingly that he did not need to attack the English they would kill one another It was for Washington an experience so unhappy that he never wrote of it , [Footnote 164] but some of his comrades remembered it Twenty years later, a British officer was to record, “The very first engagement in which he ever was concerned , [Footnote 165] was against his own countrymen ” [Footnote 166]
Washington’s humiliation was not without balm The white prisoner taken by the Virginia Regiment proved to be a British subject, one Johnson, who for some reason had thrown in his fortunes with the French and had served in the garrison at Fort DuQuesne If he could be made to tell the truth, he could give Forbes the information most desired, that of the strength of the enemy at Fort DuQuesne Experienced officers [Footnote 167] took Johnson in hand and informed him in stern terms where he stood For bearing arms against his King, he deserved death. He would receive the extreme penalty, in some extraordinary form, unless he divulged everything he knew about the French and the situation on the Ohio. If he answered every question, and his information later was verified, he would receive a shining reward. Faced with the promise of life and gold as the alternative to torture and death, Johnson talked freely. The previous attack on Loyal Hannon, he said, had been delivered by the French in an effort to make the British think they were strong Actually, the French at Fort DuQuesne
163
in Forbes to Abercromby, Nov 17, 1758 {Forbes, 255), the total casualties are listed The Penn Gazette of Nov 30, 1758, reprinted in Md Gazette of Dec 7, 1758, is authority for the statement that the killed were thirteen or fourteen.
164
At least in any letter that has survived.
165
The officer meant, of course, “as regimental commander ”
166
"An Old Soldier,” Gentleman's Mag , August, 1778, p 368
167
Their identity is not known
RIVAL ROADS TO THE OHIO Page 359
were weak. The contingent that had made the raid on Loyal Hannon had quit the forks of the Allegheny and Monongahela, the Ohio Indians had gone home [Footnote 168]. T
.
The Gibbous Moon?
The Moon was almost full that night by 10pm.
See link: Moon on the 12 November 1758.
Source of picture below:
Return Back
.
Chas Fagan's Painting
'Friendly fire' painting joins Fort Ligonier's Washington gallery
JEFF HIMLER | Friday, April 26, 2019 8:05 p.m.
Ft. Ligonier adds friendly fire painting Ligonier native Chas Fagan unveils his painting, “Flash Point,” April 26, 2019, at the Fort Ligonier museum. It shows George Washington halting gunfire between friendly forces and will be displayed in the museum’s Washington gallery. Renowned artist and Ligonier native Chas Fagan has painted portraits of all the U.S. presidents, including George Washington. Friday evening, he unveiled a more active impression of Washington — as a 26-year-old Virginia colonel faced with “friendly fire” in a French and Indian War engagement near Fort Ligonier.
Fagan presented his painting of the military action, titled “Flash Point,” at the annual meeting of the Fort Ligonier Association, which commissioned the image for display in the new George Washington Gallery at the fort museum. “It’s something I’ve been interested in for a long time,” Fagan said of the Nov. 12, 1758, incident — a pivotal but lesser-known episode in Washington’s pre-Revolutionary War career.
“It shows him as a younger man,” he said of the painting. “His expression is not that of the sedate, square-jawed guy on the dollar bill.” The framed 62-by-44-inch painting will be displayed near a copy of Washington’s “Remarks,” his handwritten account of his years on the Pennsylvania frontier, including the traumatic friendly fire engagement. Fagan drew upon that document as well as other historical works to guide the design of his painting.
“It’s incredible to have these notes about this event written out in his own hand,” he said.
Determined to thwart a raiding party of French Marines and Native Americans, two groups of Virginian troops — one of them led by Washington — attempted to surround the enemy.
Instead, with the sun setting and a fog emerging, the Virginians collided with each other.
Adding to the confusion, Fagan noted, some of the Virginians were dressed in civilian garb, having worn out their standard military clothing. At a central point in Fagan’s painting, Washington is seen “knocking up the barrel of the musket with his sword,” to bring a halt to the mistaken exchange of fire.
Captain Thomas Bullitt is another identifiable figure depicted attempting to stop the friendly fire.
“He was recorded as having run down in between the lines waving his hat,” Fagan said.
Fagan had about a year to complete the painting but noted he doesn’t track the time he spends on a given creative project. He completed the image by applying oil paint on linen.
To match the look of the painting with its subject, he said, “I used an older technique, painting in thin layers. I muted the palette and kept it very limited.”
Fagan’s title for the painting is apt because the disastrous engagement ended on a positive note for the forces at Fort Ligonier.
They captured a French prisoner, who revealed the French forces at Fort Duquesne were more vulnerable than the British had believed. Instead of wintering at Fort Ligonier, the British advanced and successfully seized Fort Duquesne, site of the future Pittsburgh.
Fagan noted Washington’s friendly fire incident was a “terrible experience that kind of steeled him for the next phase” — defeating the British in the Revolutionary War.
Visit fortligonier.org for more information about Ligonier’s authentically reconstructed British fort and the associated museum and education center. Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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Sources:
Indian Dress
Washington suggests "Indian dress" to Bouquet 3 July 1758:
"My Men are very bare of Cloaths (Regimentals I mean) and I have no prospect of a Supply—this want, so far from regrettg during this Campaigne, that were I left to pursue my own Inclinations I woud not only cause the Men to adopt the Indian dress but Officers also, and set the example myself:6 \
nothing but the uncertainty of its taking with the General causes me to hesitate a moment at leaving my Regimentals at this place, and proceeding as light as any Indian in the Woods.7
Tis an unbecoming dress I confess for an Officer, but convenience rather than shew I think shoud be consulted—the reduction of Bat-horses alone is sufficient to recommend it, . . . "
Founders Online footnotes:
Footnote 6.
There was a good deal of correspondence among the leaders of the Forbes expedition about adopting “Indian dress” for the troops. On 11 July Bouquet wrote GW that the “dress” worn by Maj. Andrew Lewis and the 200 men who had just arrived at Raystown from GW’s camp at Fort Cumberland “should be our pattern in this expedition.”
GW clearly assumed that it was his letter to Bouquet and his decision to send Lewis and his men to Raystown in hunting shirts and leggings which persuaded General Forbes to adopt this dress for the expedition (see GW to Bouquet, 13 July, and GW to Adam Stephen, 16 July).
But as early as 29 May William Byrd wrote Forbes that he intended to dress the men of his 2d Virginia Regiment “after the Indian Fashion” (ViU: Forbes Papers),
and on 27 June General Forbes wrote Bouquet:
“I have been long in your opinion of equiping Numbers of our men like the Saveges and I fancy Col: Byrd of Virginia has most of his best people equipt in that manner, I could not so well send orders to others to do the same as they had gott provinciall Cloathing, but I was resolved upon getting some of the best people in every Corps to go out a Scouting in that stile for as you justly observe, the Shadow may be often taken for the reality, And I must confess in this country, wee must comply and learn the Art of Warr, from Ennemy Indians or anything else who have seen the Country and Warr carried on in itt” (James, Writings of Forbes, 124–26).
See also GW’s letter to Francis Fauquier, 17 June, about clothing for his and Byrd’s men, and see Fauquier’s response, 25 June.
Footnote 7.
GW made insertions and deletions in this clause in his original letter book (which was exactly as it is here in the receiver’s copy) so that it read: “nothing but the uncertainty of its obtaining the Generals approbation causes me to hesitate a moment to leave my Regimentals at this place, and to proceed as light as any Indian in the Woods.” The copyist made it: “Nothing but the uncertainty of obtaining the general approbation causes me to hesitate a moment to leave my Regimentals at this place, and to proceed as light as any indian in the woods.” If only the recopied letter-book version of this document had survived, as is the case with most of GW’s letters and orders during the French and Indian War, biographers could have taken the passage as pointed evidence of GW’s early sensitivity to public opinion.
Founders Online Source:
BAT HORSE REFERENCE IN LETTER ABOVE
FREDERICK POST and
THE Easton INDIAN PEACE TREATY
as told by Douglas Southall Freeman
Source
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, Pages 354-355, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
If the badness <Jf roads vyas a matter of provincial jealousy, as well as one of success or failure in the campaign, a brave, unusual achievement now hghted the darkness of the rainy autumn and strengthened the heart of Forbes He had been hourly mindful of the dangers he would face on the way to Fort DuQuesne if the Indians were his enemy 145 and he had been unwilling to acquiesce m the gloomy conclusion of some of the colonial leaders that the Indians of the Ohio country were now bound permanently to France Instead, Forbes believed the Indians could be brought to see that Britain would win the war and that it was to their interest to be on the winning side. In soldierly conviction, he had undertaken to induce the government of Pennsylvania to negotiate for peace with France’s savage allies 146
Partly because of Forbes’s persistence, Governor William Denny and the Council of Pennsylvania had asked Frednch Post 147 to make a journey to the Ohio and to invite the Indians to renew their old treaties with England. Post, about forty-eight years of age, was a German lay missionary of the Moravian sect Unitas Fratrum, and for the whole of his sixteen years’ residence in America he had been laboring among Indians 148 in whose language he had acquired proficiency He demurred to the Governor’s first appeal on the ground that such a service as was proposed for him did not become a missionary, but he was persuaded by the argument that, in Governor Denny’s words, “bringing about a peace with the Indians would open the way for the servants of God to look for a future harvest.” 149 Post left Philadelphia on the 15th of July and with a few companions went past Fort Augusta to Fort Venango and thence by way of Logstown to Fort DuQuesne. The French on the Ohio demanded of Post’s Indian escort that he be surrendered, but the Indians refused, though they had not then decided
whether they would accept his tender of peace In spite of French machinations and the treachery of one of his companions, Post displayed so much courage, honesty and simple address that the Indians
144
letter of Oct 30, 1758, 2 G W , 300
145
Forbes to Abcrcromby, Sept 21, 1758, Forbes, 21 6
146
See supra, p 310-11
147
He so signed bis journal of July-September, 1758, though he usually is styled Frederick Post See 3 Penn Arch , 544 He is entered in DAB as Christian Frederick Post
148
For the Moravians* work among the Indians, see x Pcnn$ylvama-Germama> 499
149
See Post’s passport of 1759, in 3 Penn Arch , 579
RIVAL ROADS TO THE OHIO
Page 355
agreed after some days to make peace if all the provincial Governors would join in it With this assurance and the promise of some of the Indians to attend a conference soon to be held at Easton, Pennsylvania, Post succeeded in gettmg back to Fort Augusta on the 22nd of September, eight days after Grant’s defeat “Thirty-ttwo days'I did lay m the woods,” he wrote gratefully, “the heavens was my covering, the dew came so hard sometimes that it pricked close* to the skin The Lord has preserved me through all danger and difficulties I have ever been under ” 1,0
While Post had been persuading the savages to end their war with England, Sir William Johnson and others, prodded by Forbes, had been inviting the Chiefs of many tribes to the meeting at Easton Forbes had followed eagerly each step in this adventure of diplomacy and had countenanced military delays he otherwise would have rebuked, because he was afraid a premature blow against Fort DuQuesne might mvolve the death of some of the Indians who, by patience, might be prevailed upon to make peace and to desert the French 1,1 At last, about October 27, Forbes heard that a treaty had been signed under which some of the Indians would make common cause with England but, as he reported to Pitt, “[they] require time, a thing at present so precious to me that I have none to spare” Then he stated his stark alternatives “[I] must in a day or two choose either to risk everything and maich to the enemy’s fort, retreat across the Allegheny if the provincials leave me, or maintain myself where I am to the spring ”
Source
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, Pages 354-355, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
2nd Virgina Regiment Term Limited
as told by Douglas Southall Freeman
Source
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, Pages 355-357, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
... there was danger the little army might be wrecked by discharge. The Second Virginia would cease to exist, under the terms of its enlistment, on December 1 Moreover, at a session of the General Assembly of Virginia recently adjourned, [footnote 153] it had been assumed that Fort DuQuesne would have been captured and the threat to the frontiers of Virginia ended by December 1. Provision accordmgly had been made for the return of the First
footnote 150
Fredrich Post’s journal, a remark ible document, appears in 3 Penn Arch , 520-44. The quotation is from p 543-54 His later journal, No\ 27 ff, 1758, is m ibid , 560 ff Parkmans familiar account is m 2 Montcalm and Wolfe, 150 ff ini See Forbes to Sharpe, Sept 3, 1758, Fotbes, 197, Forbes to Abercromby, Sept 4, 1758, ibid , 200, Forbes to Pitt, Oct 20, 1758, ibid , 238 His reports on the arrival of the natives and the prospects of the conference will be found m ibid , 180-81, 183, 194, 203, 221, 230, 248
footnote 152
Letter of Oct 20-27, 1758 For the minutes of the nineteen day conference at Easton, Oct 7-26, 1758, see 8 Penn Col Rcc , 17 5-223 .
footnote 153
It was convened September 14 and was prorogued October 12 (Journ H f B , 1758-62, P
GEORGE WASHINGTON
Page 356
Regiment to Virginia at that date, and for its muster-out on May 1, 1759 The reason for continuing the life of the Regiment even to the next spring was that uncertainty might prevail for a time after Fort DuQuesne was taken and that the Regiment should prudently be kept in service to guard the frontier 154 Now that there was doubt whether the campaign could be concluded victoriously before the end of November, Governor Fauquier had issued a call for the General Assembly to meet again on November 9 and to prolong the time the First Regiment might remam outside Virginia 155 If the Assembly proved unwilling to do this, then, when one Virginia Regiment disbanded, the other would return to the old frontier It was much the same with the Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina troops No pay beyond
December 1 had been provided for them 156 They might start home with the Virginians and leave the General no troops but the survivors of his 1500 Highlanders.
Footnote 162
So wrote Washington (2 GW, 308-09) He is the only known witness on this point, but there is no reason to question the accuracy of his statement
Source
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, Pages 355-357, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
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Virginia Session closes
On the same day of that attack, not yet known by the legislature, Ooctober 12, 1758 Lt Gov Fauquier announces the last day of this session of the House of Burgessess:.
That you may have a proper Time for the Discharge of your private Functions, it is convenient you should now be prorogued,
and you are accordingly prorogued to the Third Thursday in December next..
Porogued meant closing down. This session was ending. Next Session? Third Thursday in December next? That meant December 21, 1758..
Source:
That was going to be way too late.
1 December 1758 was the ending date of service for most of the recruits of the Virginia Regiments. This would have been okay if the Forbes expedition was going to sit out the Winter and resume the campaign in the Spring.
But reports emerged in November from captured enemy indicating Fort Duquesne was vulnerable. This meant the expedition needed to move forward towards the enemy Fort Duquesne. This might involve a long seige. This might take longer than the 1st of December.
So, the House of Burgesses came back into session to extend date of service past 1 Dec 1758.
November 9, 1758
Lt Gov Fauquier opened an emergency session of the House of Burgesses.
Gentlemen of the Council, Mr Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Burgesses,It was very far from my Intention, when we last parted, to call you together again so soon;
but by a Letter I have received from Colonel Byrd,
/ find our Forces will most probablybe in Action before Fort Du Quesne, at the very time prescribed for their Return into thisColony; I therefore thought it not only expedient, but necessary, to summon you on thisOccasion.
.The withdrawing our Regiments from the rest of his Majesty’s Forces at a time when theEvent of the Expedition (for which only, Part of them were raised) is at the Crisis, would bethe greatest Disservice to the common Cause, and at the same Time subject this Colony toall the Censure Disappointment can invent for the Failure of the Expedition, if that shouldbe the fatal Consequence of such Measures.
.But, when I reflect on the whole Tenor of your Conduct during the Course of the War, Ifeel the strongest Conviction that I need not use these, or any other Arguments, to induce youto make such Alterations, in the Disposal of, and Provision for, the Regiments, as the presentCircumstances require:
I am very sensible that one of our Regiments
[meaning the 2nd Virginia Regiment]
cannot be continued beyond the first of December,
without Breach of the public Faith, which I shall always deemtoo sacred to be touched; but I have great Reason to hope that Honor will supply the Place ofLaw, Law, and that this Body of Virginians will be influenced by the first, to do that voluntarily,which the last cannot compel them to.
.I have nothing to add, but to recommend to you the utmost Expedition;
for if your Resolvesare not known to the Army before the first of December,
all will be frustrated:
And, in orderto remove all Obstacles which may occasion Delay, I am desirous (on my Part) to waive allForms of Ceremony, which Custom may have introduced in Relation to myself.
Mr Speaker also reported,
that the Governor had delivered to him
a Letter of the 22d of October last,
from General Forbes,
also a Letter from Colonel Byrd,
of the 21st of October,
which he had desired him to lay before this House; and he accordingly deliveredthem in at the Table, where they were read, and ordered to lye on the Table.
Upon a Motion made,Resolved, That this House will resolve itself into a Committee, to consider of theGovernor’s Speech immediately.
Source:
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A PRISONER'S FALSE REPORT?
as told by Douglas Southall Freeman
Source
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, Page 357, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
Uncertainty prevailed both as to the weather and as to the strength of the enemy.
None of the Indians would undertake reconnaissance as far as Fort DuQuesne at that bleak and treacherous season.
A solitary prisoner captured in the affair at Loyal Hannon had insisted there were 1000 white soldiers on the Ohio and abundant Indian support.
[Footnote 161]
This was a higher figure than had been accepted m September, but it might be correct.
The vigor of the reception given Grant and the boldness of the advance on Loyal Hannon had not indicated that the enemy lacked strength.
If, then, any less force than that of the entire command were thrown against the enemy’s stronghold, the result with Forbes might be as ruinous as with Braddock.
Footnote 161
See Harry Gordon’s interrogation, in French, of this prisoner, Oct 14, 1758, Shippen Papers, 144.
Source
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, Page 357, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
A New Prisoner's True Report
Richard Johnson
12 Nov 1758 interrogated
Washington’s humiliation was not without balm. The white prisoner taken by the Virginia Regiment proved to be a British subject, one Johnson, who for some reason had thrown in his fortunes with the French and had served in the garrison at Fort DuQuesne. If he could be made to tell the truth, he could give Forbes the information most desired, that of the strength of the enemy at Fort DuQuesne. Experienced officers [footnote 167] took Johnson in hand and informed him in stern terms where he stood For bearing arms against his King, he deserved death. He would receive the extreme penalty, in some extraordinary form, unless he divulged everything he knew about the French and the situation on the Ohio. If he answered every question, and his information later was verified, he would receive a shining reward Faced with the promise of life and gold as the alternative to torture and dp arbj Johnson talked freely The previous attack on Loyal Hannon, he said, had been delivered by the French in an effort to make the British think they were strong. Actually, the French at Fort DuQuesne
Footnote 167: Their identity is not known
RIVAL ROADS TO THE OHIO Page 359
were weak. The contingent that had made the raid on Loyal Hannon had quit the forks of the Allegheny and Monongahela, the Ohio Indians had gone home [Footnote 168].
To this story, Johnson adhered. Similar information was given by the two captured Indians, who were examined separately and with much care.
Forbes believed his opportunity, his last opportunity, had come. He would gamble on the truth of this new intelligence, his advanced units must cut a road quickly over the last barrier of Chestnut Ridge, then with an unencumbered, fast-moving force he would march for Fort DuQuesne. Twenty-five hundred of the strongest men of the army must be selected. Each must take a blanket and a knapsack and nothing besides Tentage and baggage were to be left behind. Only provisions, ammunition and some light artillery would be conveyed on wheels [Footnote 169].
To assure fullest mobility, Forbes divided his attacking force into three Brigades. One of these was to be commanded by Colonel Bouquet, and another by Lt Col Archibald Montgomery of the 77th.
The third temporary Brigade, the only one entrusted to a provincial officer, was assigned to Washington [Footnote 170]. He was not promoted and he could not be by Forbes, but in official papers and doubtless in formal salutation, he now was “Brigadier Washington”. Even if he were merely acting at that rank, he had a standing to which many a Colonel of the regular establishment, twice his age, had aspired in vain. Brigadier - - it had a pleasant, martial sound. His command was to be his own Regiment, two Companies of artificers, and the Maryland, North Carolina and Delaware contingents, [Footnote 171] whose joint first assignment was the unspectacular but indispensable one of helping to clear the projected road across Chestnut Ridge, the last great barrier on the way to the French stronghold.
168
Penn Gazette, Nov 30, 1758
169
Volume 2 GW , 308-09, Capt John Haslet to Rev Dr Alison, Nov 26, 1758, 6 Hazards His Reg , 227 Bouquet to Chief Justice William Allen, Nov 25, 1758, ibid , 226-27
170
Forbes's Orderly Book Nov 14, 1758. In 2 Ford 108, is a note between a letter of October 8 and one of October 30 to the effect that “on the 14th” the army was divided. This note was copied in Vol2 GW , p298. Casual reading would create the impression that this arrangement was made on the 14th of October, but Ford meant to give the date clearly set forth in the Orderly Book., November 14
171
Ibid The Delaware troops, as usual, were mentioned as the men from the ‘low counties ”
Source
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, Pages 357-359, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
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ORIGNAL RESEARCH WORD DOC
FRIENDLY FIRE
Compiled and written by Jim Moyer 2/25/2018, 10/4/2018, 10/9/2018, 10/10/2018, 11/10/19
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SHORT OVERVIEW
MERCER VS WASHINGTON FRIENDLY FIRE HORROR
November 12 Night 1758
Friendly Fire Melee of the Forbes Expedition.
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They ran into each other mistaking the other for the enemy. Almost a Full Moon evening, Nov 12, 1758.
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George Washington writes,
G.W. never was in more imminent danger by being between two fires, knocking up with his sword the presented pieces.”
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Which Mercer? Hugh or George?
Confusion on which Mercer.
It was George Mercer not Hugh Mercer.
.
Both were at Loyalhanna, which was called Fort Ligonier only after Fort Duquesne fell.
.
But it was George Mercer’s men and George Washington’s men who engaged shooting each other.
.
DISAMBIGUATION OF THE MERCERS
Hugh Mercer on the Pennsylvania side.
George Mercer on the Virginia side. And more on this George Mercer than you want to know.
.
Colonel Hugh Mercer commands Fort Pitt 17 December 1758 after Colonel Bouquets meets with the Iroquois. Hugh Mercer moves away from Fort Pitt in PA to Fredericksburg VA.
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George Mercer now a Lt Colonel
It involves our former Captain George Mercer who has now graduated to Lieutenant Colonel, under Colonel William Byrd III commanding the newly formed 2nd Virginia Regiment.
.
Mistakes:
“From 1754-1760, he was lieutenant colonel in William Byrd’s Second Virginia Regiment.” <– Those years are wrong. Captain George Mercer became Lt Colonel of the 2nd VA Regiment in 1758.
.
Confusion on the Mt Vernon Website
.
“The last major action of the Forbes Expedition
took place on the night of November 12,
when a force of thirty French-Canadians
and 140 Native Americans
attacked British troops
guarding a horse herd.
.
Forbes sent Washington’s regiment and then Colonel Hugh Mercer‘s troops towards the gunfire.
.
Mercer’s men moved in an arc behind the French positions as Washington’s men advanced.
.
The events of that night are murky, but it is likely that Mercer’s advance guard opened fire on Washington’s men after mistaking them for the enemy.”
.
This is the wrong Mercer. It is not Pennsylvania’s Hugh Mercer but our former Captain George Mercer, who is now in this friendly fire the rank of a Lt Colonel under Byrd III’s 2nd VA Regiment. See link – http://fortligonier.org/history/george-washington/
MOUNT VERNON WEBSITE HAS SINCE CORRECTED THIS MISTAKE
Another Correction
The Wikipedia article on William Byrd wrongly states he led the 2nd Va Regiment in the year 1756. Byrd assumed the lead over the 2nd VA Regiment in 1758.
.
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Loyalhannon
This fort and camp was known later as Fort Ligonier AFTER Fort Duquesne fell.
.
During the Forbes Expedition, most letters refer to it as Loyalhanning or some spelling close to that.
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The spellings are often Loyalhanning, Loyalhanna, Loyalhannon.
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..
Forbes Expedition Stories:
See all the links to those stories
The Postmortem on Forbes
Friendly Fire
Friendly Fire Bad - Prisoner Good!
Friendly Fire - Who found the French first?
Friendly Fire - Where did it happen?
Would Forbes' Chaplains talked of Guy Fawkes Day?
How Little Carpenter left the Forbes Expedition
Andrew Lewis hostage
Oct 12, 1758 attack on Loyalhanna
Batmen on Forbes Expedition
Court Martials at Reas town
Sept 14, 1758 Grant's Defeat
Reas town & Loyalhanna (later as Forts Bedford & Ligonier)
GW for the Road not Taken
Cherokee Conjurers right near Fort Duquesne
Cherokee during and after leaving the Forbes Expedition
Washington runs for election just as Forbes Expedition gears up
Compiled and written by Jim Moyer 2/25/2018, 10/4/2018, 10/9/2018, 10/10/2018, 11/10/19, 11/13/2022, 11/15/2022, 11/18/2022, 11/20/2022
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