Good bye Lord Loudoun
Go find out about Loudoun yourself in this link. We're more interested in saying Good Bye to him as we trek thru 1757 in this year of 2021.
Lord Loudoun is the guy never mentioned in James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans, but Lord Loudoun was in power at the time.
The Last of the Mohicans story
uses the real story
of Fort William Henry on Lake George NY
being seized by the French.
After taking the fort
their Indian allies
butchered their captives afterwards.
The horror of this was never forgotten.
Montcalm tried to stop his Indian allies.
On the same day that horror happens
Lord Loudoun
has decided
to abort the mission
to "reduce"
French Fortress Louisbourg.
Lord Loudoun learns from a captured French ship how big the French Navy is at Fortress Louisbourg.
It's too strong.
Lord Loudoun's
100 ships of 6000 men
prepare to
leave Halifax Nova Scotia
to return to NYC,
aborting their mission
to "reduce"
the French Fortress Louisbourg.
So a lot of of good his troops were, eh?
The dates on both siege of Fort William Henry and Loudoun abort his plan to seize Fortress Louisbourg?
The Siege of Fort William Henry is 3–9 August 1757.
Lord Loudoun discovers from a captured French ship 4 Aug 1757 how big a force is there at Fortress Louisbourg. They are too big to attack, he and his advisors decide.
Fort William Henry and its siege and the blood bath were made famous by John Fenimore Cooper in his, "The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757" published in 1826 two months before 2 Presidents died on the same day July 4, 1826.
So next time you think of that scene
in Last of the Mohicans
of the night siege of
Fort William Henry,
think of Lord Loudoun at sea.
It really wasn't his fault though.
He really wanted Howe
to lead those troops at Fort William Henry.
He also wanted redcoats there.
There was one redcoat regular Regiment there
but the provincials did not want the threat
of British Army discipline and rank
to rule them.
Prior to these August dates on Fortress Louisbourg and Fort William Henry,
Lord Loudoun originally planned to "reduce" Quebec.
But William Pitt orders that plan changed.
Fortress Louisbourg was to be the target instead.
And who is to know which plan was better?
On the one hand, targeting Quebec
might have stopped Montcalm
from attacking
Fort William Henry
since Quebec
was really his backdoor
supply chain.
On the other hand, would Lord Loudoun have been bogged down travelling through that wilderness?
Or like Braddock two years earlier on his trek to Fort DuQuesne?
Could Lord Loudoun have travelled down the St Lawrence able to bypass any French Navy hanging around Fortress Louisbourg?
Accomplishments
In any case, there were some accomplishments.
How to assess Lord Loudoun, as we say Good Bye?
We cover Ben Franklin's famous quote, the Supply Chain improvement, the Armada to Halifax, Lord Loudoun's ability to see talent in Personnel, Lord Loudoun's connection to Rogers Rangers, Lord Loudoun's investigation into Colonel George Washington, Lord Loudoun's carefulness not to attack if odds are bad.
Ben Franklin has a different observation. He writes of his conversation with Inis:
""I have called here by order every morning these two weeks past for his lordship's letter, and it is not yet ready."
"Is it possible, when he is so great a writer? for I see him constantly at his escritoire."
"Yes," says Innis, "but he is like St. George on the signs, always on horseback, and never rides on."..."
See picture of St George on the sign.
This quote form Ben Franklin's autobiography involves that time when Ben Franklin is preparing for his trip to London.
At that time Lord Loudoun is finishing up the Philadelphia Conference with Governors and leaders from PA, VA, MD, NC, SC regarding the southern theatre of this war.
Source: See Top of Page 341 Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790; Bigelow, John, 1817-1911; Stevens, Henry, 1819-1886, former owner. DLC; Benjamin Franklin Collection (Library of Congress) DLC
Supply Chain
But then did Lord Loudoun improve the supply chain?
Fred Anderson on page 180 in his Crucible of War, observes the supply chain was improved:
"The fall in the cost of moving supplies offers the best index of Loudoun's success in improving the efficiency of the transport system.
In 1756 it had cost nearly sixpence a mile to move a 200 weight barrel of beef from Albany to Lake George, which meant that the army was spending more than half the value of the beef itself to carry it 60 miles.
By the end of 1757, the same barrel could be transported over the same route for less than two pence a mile."
Armada
And then there's the Armada. Lord Loudoun organized quite an armada going to Halifax and in leaving it.
Fred Anderson in his Crucible of War, writes on Page 184:
" [Lord Loudoun]. . . had performed the unprecedented feat of getting the provincials in the field [at Fort William Henry] on schedule.
Not least of all, he had mounted the largest seaborne expeditionary force ever to sail from an American port, under conditions of tighter security than anyone had managed before. "
This is borne out by all the Governors at the March 1757 conference in Philadelphia. They all admitted they knew next to nothing of any plans up north.
Personnel
Lord Loudoun could see talent.
Douglas Southall Freeman writes,
"... in March, 1757, Forbes had been given the 17th Foot, which was one of the Regiments sent to re-enforce Loudoun for the Louisburg expedition. That officer quickly came to an appreciation of the ability of Forbes and made him Adjutant General In that position, though not conspicuous, Forbes probably had a hand in the numerous and admirable reforms that Loudoun instituted."
Freeman notes that Forbes was originally Braddock's Quartermaster but Braddock replaced him with St Clair.
Source :
Page 306
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, published 1948, Charles Scribner's SonsJohn Forbes proves his abilities here. It certainly shines later in the Forbes Expedition.
Rogers Rangers
Lord Loudoun did see talent. Here's another area where he saw it.
"In September 1757, Lord Loudon ordered him [Rogers] to form a cadet company to train some of his more promising junior officers in the rarefied arts of the small war. . . . To disseminate his officer’s wisdom more widely, Lord Loudon also asked Rogers to summarise these lessons on paper. Based on tried and true Indian practices, these 28 “Rules of Discipline” are one of the most concise and effective statements of small unit tactics . . . "
Source:
And this source is very detailed on Loudoun and Rogers Rangers:
"On January 25, 1757 . . . Richard Rogers had arrived in Boston and was in conference with Lord Loudoun. He turned out to be a most able proxy for his brother, for in the true Rogers' manner he stated that in a fortnight he could raise 100 Rangers in New Hampshire to complete the two Rogers's Companies to 100 each.
Fortunately, Loudoun was laying his plans for an attack on Louisbourg on Cape Briton Isle and they included a large body of Rangers to keep the Indians at bay while British Regulars con- ducted a siege. "
More on Roberts Rangers here.
Source:
Lord Loudoun is Careful
Will we win if we attack?
Fred Anderson writes on page 208 in his Crucible of War:
When the fog lifted and the wind finally turned fair on August 4 {1757], the first reliable intelligence came in with the arrival of the frigate Gosport, which had taken a French prize carry a complete list of the ships at Louisbourg.
Loudoun now asked [Admiral] Holburne the critical question. Could they "attempt the reduction of Louisbourg with any probability of success ?"
"Considering the strength of the enemy and other circumstances." the admiral replied, "it is my opinion that there is no probability of succeeding in any attempt upon Louisbourg at this advanced season of the year."
And then a hurricane arrives when they leave. This prevents French pursuit.
Lord Loudoun was discerning
He was smart enough to do the research on reports that Colonel George Washington is a spy. After due diligence and due process, Lord Loudoun does not believe the reports that Colonel George Washington was a spy. See THAT STORY.
Assessment?
This is an incomplete assessment of Lord Loudoun. We hope this conveys more to this man than the Ben Franklin quote.
More Bad News in
August and September 1757.
So while the carnage at Fort William Henry made it the stuff of legend in the Last of the Mohicans, on that same date, Lord Loudoun decides to quit the mission against Fortress Louisbourg.
And that's not the only bad news.
The Duke of Cumberland is about to lose his whole army in Hanover to the French. By September he capitulates with a truce to save them. His father, King George II, reputedly tells his son, "Here is my son who has ruined me and disgraced himself." Fort Cumberland Maryland is named for this son. For more on that humiliating visit with his father the King, go here.
And that's why another familiar name shows up. John Ligonier replaces the Duke of Cumberland as the new overall Commander in Chief of forces worldwide. After the Forbes Campaign in 1758 the army camp known as Loyalhannon (various spellings) is later turned into a fort named after Ligonier.
Now it's mid-December 1757.
William Pitt (the Elder) in London is waiting for a new plan, any plan from Lord Loudoun.
None is coming.
Lord Loudoun has his reasons
for not submitting a new plan,
especially since Pitt
micro managed him before,
changing the plans from an assault on Quebec
to Fortress Louisbourg.
This time period becomes Lord Loudoun's last chapter in North America.
He has to resign or get fired.
This means William Pitt is going to hire a whole new set of leaders for the North American campaign.
A little review of what led up to Lord Loudon's exit from North America:
Founders online footnote expands on this:
Loudoun arrived in Boston on 20 Jan. 1757
to meet with officials of the New England colonies in preparation for his planned expedition to Quebec.
It was not until 1 May that Loudoun received specific orders from William Pitt to attack the French fortress at Louisburg instead of Quebec.
In order to launch the attack on Louisburg,
Loudoun in late May
sailed from New York to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
He was joined there on 10 July by more than 5,000 regular soldiers from Britain and a fleet of British warships, but in August Loudoun decided to abandon the campaign and return to New York.
In December 1757 Pitt recalled Loudoun to England. ----end of Founders online footnote.
[Blog note: Lord Loudon doesn't physically leave in December. He is still in NYC working on many matters, including the organization of Robert Rogers Rangers in Jan and Feb 1758]
The picture above auctioned by Christies portrays a different event, but it gives a sense how Lord Loudoun's fleet looked.
See more on the Size of that Fleet here.
Blog compiled, written by Jim Moyer 12/18/2021
That was our Lead Story.
For more detail,
skip around
and read bits and pieces.
The Loudoun Name
You see Loudoun this. Loudoun that. Who is this Loudoun?
Fort Loudoun Winchester VA was named after this Lord Loudoun. So is the street in Winchester and a county in Virginia. So were 2 other forts named after Lord Loudoun, one in Pennsylvania and one in Tennessee (at the time it was North Carolina). Fort Loudoun in Winchester VA is just one of the chess pieces in the British Empire. And this chess piece was no pawn. This Fort Loudoun was designed by Colonel George Washington and was the headquarters for all the forts and forces in this area as a bulwark (but it hardly was) against French and Indian incursions from their Fort Duquesne in what is now Pittsburgh.
Little Bio on Loudoun
Lord Loudoun was not tall, but you could say he was Mr. Big. He was head of all forces in North America.
He was also Governor of Virginia without ever stepping foot in it.
Lt Governor Robert Dinwiddie did all the work of a Governor. This is why you will read books referring to Dinwiddie as Governor.
In mid December 1757, Lord Loudoun has to resign or get fired.
He resurfaces later in this worldwide war. He leads much larger armies for England's ally Portugal to fight Spain when Spain joined with France. We have some Portugal fans who follow this Fort Loudoun Winchester VA website.
Loudoun's Boss
Across the big pond in London, William Pitt is deciding strategy. And William Pitt, leader of this world wide effort was sacked April 1757 and then recalled in June 1757.
This familiar name lasts to this day as Pittsburgh, named after William Pitt.
William Pitt was Secretary of State for the Southern Department. This was the more senior Secretary of State at the time, so this meant William Pitt was steering the worldwide war effort.
He has this duty from 4 Dec 1756 – 6 April 1757. Then there was this interim of political maneuverings with no one at the rudder. Finally Pitt was recalled to his former position on 27 June 1757 – 5 Oct 1761.
Because he didn't take an official high society title, he became known as the Great Commoner. Yet he had wealth and connections. He was the grandson of "Diamond Pitt." This diamond became known as the Regent Diamond and it's still around.
William Pitt is now referred to as William Pitt, the Elder to differentiate him from his son who became famous.
His son is styled, Pitt, The Younger.
This picture is of the huge monument to William Pitt the Elder, in the Guildhall, London. It stands opposite an equally huge monument to his son, William Pitt the Younger in a balanced composition. - source Wikipedia.
The March 1757 Plan
by William Pitt and Lord Loudoun:
Reduce Fortress Louisbourg, in Nova Scotia. Lord Loudoun had originally meant to attack Quebec, and to fit regular British troops with Americans on the frontier, but Pitt scuttled both ideas in June 1757 to focus on only one target: Fortress Louisbourg.
Hold the line at Fort William Henry in NY by using mostly provincials.
Embargo all colonies. The provincial merchants were trading with the enemy in Canada and the French West Indies.
Do nothing against Fort Duquesne, except scour the woods for enemy French and their Indian, using only provincials and their Indian allies.
Help send troops to Charleston SC, then styled at Charles Town.
The Philadelphia conference in March 1757 mostly covered the southern campaign. Anything north was not discussed. The Louisbourg campaign was kept quiet and not discussed at that conference.
The result of that March 1757 plan?
While Lord Loudoun had called off the assault on Fortress Louisbourg and while at the same time the French seized Fort William Henry.
This was the fort and its siege and the blood bath later made famous by John Fenimore Cooper in his, "The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757" published in 1826 two months before 2 Presidents died on the same day July 4, 1826.
That dates on both siege of Fort William Henry and Loudoun abort his plan to seize Fortress Louisbourg? The Siege of Fort William Henry is 3–9 August 1757. Lord Loudoun discovers from a captured French ship 4 Aug 1757 how big a force is there at Fortress Louisbourg. They are too big to attack, he and his advisors decide.
The embargo failed. See detail on that.
The only moderate success of the March 1757 plan might have been the long campaign by our Indian Allies coming to Fort Loudoun Wincehster VA.
These were the Cherokee, Catawba, Nottoway, Tuscarora. They came to Fort Loudoun to claim their "presents" for helping the Virginia Regiment. Of course the presents were not there. The Catawba had come first and may have claimed all the presents, which were scant, which were meant for all the Indian nations. The Cherokee were so angry at receiving no presents they held 3 days of debate in council at Fort Loudoun. Yet after all that, they still launched their scalping and hunting parties scouring the woods between Fort Loudoun and Fort Duquesne for the French and their Indians. We wish one day to hold a veterans ceremony for those Indian allies. Especially for the brave one who lost their lives in skirmishes. Who knows how many more attacks would have occurred without their help through most of 1757?
New plan ?
Again this new plan looks good. Because the Officers picked were excellent. Personnel is Policy. See more detail on this here.
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SOURCES:
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The size of that Fleet:
Lord Loudoun's "armada" might have been one of the largest ever assembled by the British.
This picture auctioned at Christies portrays a different event. But it gives a sense of Lord Loudoun's fleet.
Fred Anderson in Crucible of War states Fred Anderson, in Crucible of War, Page 184, published in 2000, writes:
"Loudoun's great invasion fleet, numbering more than a hundred sail and carrying six thousand troops, cleared Sandy Hook [see map of Sandy Hook] on June 20, 1757 . . . " heading to Halifax.
Founders Online itself mentions up to 6000 in different footnotes.
Because the Founders Online footnote quoted above discusses only the effort on Canada, their footnote leaves out Lord Loudoun's conference in Philadelphia in March 1757 where he confers with the Governors and leaders of PA, VA, MD, NC, SC on the southern theatre of this war.
Where's Lord Loudoun in July 1757?
Lord Loudoun is up north, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
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More on Loudoun's efforts in July 1757
Footnote to a letter from
From John Hall New York June 1st 1757
To Colonel George Washington
3. Rear Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, governor of New York, was in command of this fleet sailing for Halifax. Robert Rogers (1731–1795) commanded a company of rangers on the expedition. On 21 May nearly 6,000 troops boarded the transports in New York harbor to join forces at Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an expedition from England for an attack on Louisburg and ultimately on Quebec. News of the arrival of French warships in American waters and the delay in the sailing of the expedition from England caused Loudoun to defer until 20 June ordering the fleet of warships and transports at New York to leave for Halifax. In early August Loudoun decided at Halifax against attacking the fortress at Louisburg, bringing the campaign to an end. For further details, see William Fairfax to GW, 22 Jan. 1757, n.4.
Source:
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Fort Cumberland - the story behind the name
Next time you go to Fort Cumberland Maryland, know a story behind this name. Next time you go there, you'll remember the story where King George II said to his son, the Duke of Cumberland: "Here is my son who has ruined me and disgraced himself."
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THE EMBARGO
Why Dinwiddie disobeyed Loudoun's Embargo Mandate
Source:
Page 261 and 262
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
While His Honor [Lord Loudoun] had been in Philadelphia early in March, Lord Loudoun by circular letter had directed all the Governors to impose an embargo on outgoing vessels in order, first, that bottoms might be available for the transport of soldiers, and, second, that information of proposed military movements might be kept from the enemy. [Footnote 41]
Dinwiddle had complied at once, [Footnote 42] but after his return to Virginia, the House of Burgesses presented him an address in which it asked him.
Footnote 41 Pargellis, Loudoun, 265
Footnote 42 2 Din , 597
page 262
to lift the embargo. The legislators asserted that 50,000 bushels of wheat already were aboard ship, destined for regions that were short of bread This gram would be lost if the embargo were continued. [Footnote 43] Most of the tobacco likewise had to be sent to England for goods and credit. If this leaf were held in Virginia, without a market, the people could not pay their taxes. [Footnote 44] Dinwiddie took this as a warning that the Burgesses would not vote money for the war unless he ended the embargo. He consequently asked the Council for its advice and, on its unanimous statement that the raising of the embargo was necessary, Dinwiddie on the 8th of May authorized waiting vessels to put to sea. [Footnote 45]
Loudoun was furious when he heard that the first rupture of his embargo was in the Colony of which he was titular Governor. Knowing that Dinwiddle wished to resign, Loudoun wanted to have him recalled, instead, as punishment The old Scot, greatly disturbed, made the best defence he could, 46 but, for a time, he had the frown of his principal. Not until September, 1757, was Loudoun to relieve Dinwiddie’s mind with the generous assurance that “it is now all over, and I have forgot it. ” [Footnote 47]
Footnote 43 2 Dinwiddie , 665
Footnote 44 Journal H B , 1752-58, p 448
Footnote 45 2 Dinwiddie ,618, 664-65, 2 Sharpe , xo
Footnote 46 2 Dinwiddie ,621, 664-65
Footnote 47 Koontz, Dinwiddie, 385 The course of the controversy is followed briefly in ibid. , and is summarized in Pargellis, Loudoun, 265-67
Source:
Page 261 and 262
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons
GO BACK TO PREVIOUS
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More stories on Lord Loudoun
Is GW a spy?
Lord Loudoun Jan 1757
Lord Loudoun Feb 1757
Lord Loudoun March 1757
Lord Loudoun July 1757
Loudoun wonders if GW is a Traitor?
You see Loudoun this, Loudoun that ---- everywhere in this area of Winchester and northern Virginia, And then you find out that Fort Loudoun was named for a man who might have thought George Washington a traitor?
Rogers Rangers
during the
Louisbourg Expedition 1757
. . .
The men of the two Rogers's Companies were still considered the most experienced Rangers of the Corps because of their longer length of service.
Consequently one of them, Richard Rogers' Company, was moved up to William Henry to serve as the eyes of Webb's army left to guard the Lake George front.
Stark's and Bulkeley' s came down from William Henry and embarked with Rogers' own 166 Company at Albany for New York to await orders to proceed to Louisbourg via Halifax.
Arriving at New York Rogers Rangers were augmented by a new Company of New Hampshire Rangers under the command of Captain John Shepherd. [This is why that Wikipedia article on the history of Loudon New Hampshire claims Loudoun created a Rogers Rangers company.]
page 167
Rogers Rangers had expected their stay in New York would be somewhat on the status of a furlough but they soon discovered differently. Arriving in New York harbour they came to anchor a-half-mile from the transports while their sloops were searched for smallpox victims. Among others removed to the Hospital was Captain John Stark who had fallen prey to the disease while enroute to New York,
After the smallpox search the Companies were assigned to the following transports:
Rogers' Company to the SheffieId .
Stark's Company to the brig Betsey.
Bulkeley' s Company to the snow Tarter.
Shepherd' s Company to the Delight.
Fortunately the Rangers received a much needed addition at this time in the form of Doctor Ammi Ruhamah Cutter of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who became Surgeon to Rogers Rangers for the Campaign.
page 169
Not allowed to gamble. No dice throwing. No liquor on board. Only shore leave in the daytime. No swimming because of a shark attack.
Finally, on June 18, the ships dropped anchor an sailed for Halifax, arriving there on July 1st, The next day, Rogers Rangers were detatched from the army by being quartered on the Dartmouth side of the harbour "in houses left by the people". There were many cases of small pox in the Corps, and Surgeon Cutter was kept very busy. On the 4h he spent all day visiting the sick. At Long Island, on the night of their sailing, occurred one of the most audacious acts committed by an officer of Rogers Rangers. . . [the Brewer Stark feud]
Page 173
Details the end of Roberts Ranger activity at Halifax, Aug 1,2, 1757.
Brewer was courtmartialed there and cashier July 26 but then pardoned.
July 5 two privates deserted. The company was only to go 12 miles away from their hay making work to find them.
Some were captured by Indians. July 13 scouting parties. Gorham was before Rogers. Argument between those two.
three Rangers were taken prisoners at Lawrencetown "by ye Indians" on July 29th
The end of Richard Roberts
Page 173- 175
Captains Richard Rogers and Ogden soon made 174 Richard ^ notable scout which included a skirmish with Rogers' the French advanced fort of Coutre Coeur. This on^^'^ was a noteworthy expedition in the history of Coutre Rogers Rangers for it was the first battle that Richard Rogers commanded in, and the last one that he ever fought. Richard had been in numerous scouts since the creation of the Corps but he had missed being present at La Barbue Creek and at William Henry during its first attackc However he was with his brother in the Corps' Brst engagement at the "Isle of Mutton" in 1755, when Coutre Coeur was their objective. He now conceived the idea of returning to the scene of his first fight and attempt to destroy the French stockade which was a thorn in the side of all scouting parties sent towards Ticonderoga. Arrangements all made, Richard Rogers and Ogden filed out of Fort William Henry with a detatchment from their respective Companies of Rangers. Approaching the end of the lake in boats before daybreak of June 6, Richard stealthly approached Coutre Coeur. His men caught the French by surprise and shot three sentinels on the ramparts of the stockade while rushing in to the attack. The small garrison rallied and manned the walls in time and the Rangers were forced to retire to the bushes on the edge of the clearing but not before a Ranger marksmen brought dcwn a French officer who revealed himself while exhorting his men. He fell dead onto the outside of the stockade. Alarm guns were fired and a strong party sallied out from Ticonderoga. Rogers Rangers kept firing 175 at Coutre Coeur until they arrived, then save the relief party one good volley and fell Hack in good order to their boats and rowed unmo- lested to William Henry. In this action, Richard Rogers* losses were four men wounded; while the French lost at least one officer and three men killed, besides several wounded. This little undecisive victory of Rogers' and Ogden's earned for them considerable fame. Provincial Diaries recorded it and Colonial Newspapers gave lengthy notices and even Loudoun, on board H.M.S. Sutherland the day before his expedition left New York harbour, penned an account to Prime Minister Pitt. Robert Rogers, also, proudly heard of his brother's exploit before sailing but was soon to hear asain of his brother, this time of his death, for almost immediately after his return to Fort William Henry, Richard came down with the smallpox and died on June 2"^,^^^ only two weeks after his last battle. So ended the brief career of the second in command of Rogers Rangers c N
Page 183
Loudoun still feared for the safety of Fort Edward and points south. Consequently Rogers Rangers were rushed from Halifax in advance of the Regular Battalions. On August 7-10, they left Halifax, and to make sure they all embarked, the men were not paid until they were on board.
Pag 184 - 185
Ranger School and Ranger Rules
By September 7, the sloops had been gathered at New York and they sailed up the Hudson, arriving in Albany on the night of the 14th, and 19 4 marched for Fort Edward on the 17th, . . .
During their two days stay at Albany, Rogers' famous Ranging School was formed.
This School consisted of 55 British Volunteers who had been at- tached to the British Regular Regiments as Cadets.
It was a fulfillment of Loudoun' s and the Prime Minister' s plan of imparting Rogers' tactics to these aspirants who were promised available commissions when they had learned the Rangers methods.
Their commissions would be that of Ensigns (the equivalent of Second Lieutenants, in our present United States and British Armies) . Consequently, they would personally lead the men in action, and British commanders had finally realized that Rogers' "teaching of the future Ensigns was the most 185 logical method of bringing Ranger tactics to the British soldier. Rogers formed these 55 volunteers into a separate Company and took them directly under his wing. While under his command and inspection, Rogers was ordered to do everything in his power to teach them the ranging -discipline and methods of fighting, and to recommend those that showed the most adaptability.
Loudoun's plan was to turn two Companies out of every Regiment of a thousand men into Ranging Companies, and to form a distinct Corps if necessary.
Page 185-186
Rogers' unique training school came into existance on September 14, when General Abercrombie officially issued certificates to all 186 the British Volunteers who wished to serve with Rogers Rangers, . . .
For his pupils benefit and instruction Rogers put into writing his Ranging Rules, which he found by past experience to be of the utmost importance in the training and discipline of his Rangers.
Page 218
The Whipping Post Mutiny:
Rogers travelled to New York and saw Loudoun on January 9th [1758]. Here he met with the same reception that Abercrombie had given him and Loudoun "talked to him of the bad consequences of mutiny in particular and of the consequences of not keeping up discipline"; and Loudoun continues, to say: "that many things made me hesitate about augmenting the Rangers as much as I proposed". After his little lecture, Loudoun listened to Rogers' side of the story and heard of how prejudiced Haviland was against him and his men. Fortunately for Rogers, Loudoun had no great love for the tactless Colonel who behind his back had derided Loudoun's defensive tactics in conducting the War.
pages between
flooding of Rogers Island
Page 232
On February 2, [1758] Loudoun gave Howe his order to proceed when he was ready, and to destroy Crown Point and Ticonderoga, . . .
Source:
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Flight from the Fortress Lyn Cook Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006 - Juvenile Fiction - 156 pages 0 Reviews A Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice 2005 Lyn Cook's newest book takes place during the second seige of the Fortress of Louisbourg, 1757. Like others of her books, the story began as a tribute to a beloved place, which Lyn Cook watched grow from a neglected pile of rubble to one of the most exciting living museums in Canada. The Fortress of Louisbourg was once the bustling gateway to a string of prosperous New World settlements. In 1713, it became the battleground in a winner-take-all war between French and English. The prize? A trade monopoly in the natural resources all of Europe was begging for. Caught in the crossfire were the citizens of Louisbourg, their wives and their children: merchants, shipwrights, adventurers and settlers, tinkers, tailors, soldiers-and spies. In Flight From the Fortress, a French boy comes looking for his English father, a spy for the British. He meets Gaby, a young girl caring for two orphaned infants, and together, they decide to flee the fortress, and find refuge in the forests beyond. As they travel, Philippe's care for Gaby and her charges grows, but never extinguishes his hope of finding his father. He will suffer many dangers and disappointments before he is ready, like Gaby, to take the way out offered him.
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Source
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THE NEW PLAN FOR 1758
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From Pages 303 and 315
we will provide a thumbnail portrait of the new players involved.
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons.
Much had changed during the five months of Washington’s absence from Winchester
First and most conspicuous
was the presence of the largest body of Southern Indians that ever had come to support the English in their war against the French.
These savages had arrived so early in the year that Washington had feared they would prove an embarrassment. If they were sent against the French Indians soon after they reached the Valley, they would expect to go home when they returned from their raid, and if they could be prevailed upon to stay, the cumulative expense to the Colony would be great. 1
At the time of the Colonel’s reopening of his headquarters in Winchester, some 400 savages still were m the town or were roving the country. West of the English settlements, an additional 140 were on the way northward from their villages In spite of the cost, these contingents were to be encouraged to remain, of course, but, once again, Washington was almost as uneasy when he had Indian warriors as he was when he lacked them. He had lost some of his earlier confidence that he knew how to deal with the natives. Actually, he was more adept than ever he had been in keeping them in tractable temper, but in his heart he was disgusted with them and always was uncertain what their next act would be.
Aside from their own unpredictable inclination to leave in a huff when no white man could understand why, there now was a situation which, if known, would provoke them.
The powerful Tedyuskung 2 and other Delaware chiefs had proposed a treaty of peace to Governor Denny of Pennsylvania and had so informed the
commanding officer at Fort Loudoun, with the request that he notify the Cherokees there.
*2 GW , 164
2 The name is spelled m many ways This is the form used in the Handbook of American
Indians
303
3°4
GEORGE WASHINGTON
A council of war, held a few days before Washington’s arrival, had concluded that this information would stir the jealousy of the Southern
natives and would prompt them to assert suspiciously that England was
coming to terms, with an enemy who would turn on them and destroy them. 8 This official silence might be wise, there was no assurance it would be effective. The Cherokees might get the news and decamp in anger. Nothing would be sure to hold them, Washington thought, except an early offensive, of which there seemed to be slight prospect. 4
The second great change
Washington found on his return to active duty was in the British command.
About the time he had been taken sick in the summer of 1757, Lord Loudoun’s proposed expedition against Louisburg had failed so completely that no attempt could be made even to land troops. 5
While Loudoun was at sea, returning to New York, the French under the Marquis de Montcalm had attacked and destroyed Fort William Henry at the lower end of Lake George. Almost the entire garrison had been captured. Several score had been murdered by the Indians after they had surrendered It was a disaster as humiliating as any that British arms had sustained on the continent in a war that had included already the defeat of Braddock and the loss of Oswego. 6
Loudoun’s plan of campaign manifestly had failed in 1757.
What was to be done in 1758 ?
While Washington had been at Mount Vernon, struggling with his malady, the question had been debated on both sides of the Atlantic.
William Pitt had been recalled to office June 29, 1757, as a Secretary of State and had been given supreme control of the war and of foreign affairs.
Waiting on Loudoun's New Plan
When he received the news of failure at Louisburg and of the loss of Fort William Henry, he began to formulate his own plan and awaited critically the proposals of Lord Loudoun, for whom he had no kindly feeling because the General was a supporter of the Duke of Cumberland. Loudoun, for his part, felt that he had not received proper aid from home in the execution of his military designs in 1757, and he resolved to submit no general scheme of operations for the next year. 7 When, therefore, Pitt found no plan set forth in any of Loudoun’s dispatches of the early autumn, 8 the Secretary concluded there was truth to rumors he previously had re-
8 Minutes of council of war, Mch 30, 1758, 3 Penn 4 rch , 367-69, 19 V 65-68
4 2 G W, 171-72
5 Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe , v I, p 485-86
*Ibid , 5 11 ff The surrender was on Aug 9, 1757
1 Pargelhs, Loudoun , 252
8 For a summary of what Loudoun actually had in contemplation see Pargelhs, Loudoun, 356
STILL ANOTHER NEW COMMANDER 3°5
ceived that the General had resolved not to communicate with the ministry. As Pitt subsequently told Loudoun, the situation was one in which he either had to surrender his own duties or relieve the commander in America. 9
About the middle of December, Pitt decided to make the change.
John Ligonier:
He approved at first the suggestion of Newcastle that the operations in
America be under the direction of Sir John Ligonier, who had succeeded the Duke of Cumberland as Commander-in-Chief, 10 but objection was made to this on several grounds. 11
[The blog editor note: This means John Ligonier did stay as overall Commander of Chief of all forces worldwide. But Ambercromy became overall commander of North America but with most duties executed by more competent commanders under him.]
James Abercromby:
In the end, Pitt left Maj Gen James Abercromby as titular head of the forces in America.
Nominally in the care of Abercromby but actually under Pitt himself, were to be three expeditions, one against Louisburg as a preliminary to an advance on Quebec, the second against Fort Ticonderoga, and the third against Fort DuQuesne.
To command the new attack on Louisburg,
named Jeffrey Amherst, whom he promoted forthwith from Colonel to Major General With Amherst were to serve three Brigadiers of promise.
The thrust for Ticonderoga
was to be Abercromby’s own particular charge, though Pitt probably hoped it actually would be directed by Lord Howe, 12 a soldier he held in high esteem. 13
For the operation against Fort DuQuesne,
Pitt’s choice fell on Col John Forbes, of the 17th Foot, who was made Brigadier General.
Incomplete news of these appointments reached New York on the 4th of March 14 and quickly spread up and down the coast. Colonel Stanwix heard some of the details before the 10th, but he, along with many others, understood the new Commander-in-Chief was to be Lord George Sackville.15 To Stanwix himself came a step upward to the rank of Brigadier, with orders to share in the campaign on the Lakes. 16
This transfer of Stanwix and the recall of Loudoun meant to Washington that he had to repeat the process of winning the good opinion of new officers who replaced those whose esteem he had acquired.
There seemed to be no end to the succession— Fry, Innes, Braddock, -Shirley, Sharpe, Loudoun, and now Forbes.
In all these changes, Washington himself had received no recognition. 9 In Loudoun’s own words, “cither he must not be minister or I could not be General”
(Pargelhs, Loudoun , 347)
19 Ligonier, a most picturesque French Huguenot, had not then been raised to the peerage
11 Pargelhs, Loudoun , 340-41
12 This was George Augustus, third Viscount Howe, one of three brothers who often are
confused
13 This i^ merely a paraphrase of Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe , v 2, p 51
14 See A P James, ed , Writings of Genet al John Forbes (cited hereafter as Forbes ), 54
15 2 Hamilton , 273 13 Cf 2 G W , 172 n
GEORGE WASHINGTON
306
from the home government So far as Whitehall was concerned, he might as well not exist. There had been no word of official praise, no fulfilment of the hope, long cherished and long frustrated, of a royal commission Discouraged by this experience, Washington expected no advancement in the new organization, but as always, if he was to serve, he wished distinction, “honor” as he so often had termed it.
He proceeded once again to have himself recommended to the new General — and to have it done promptly.
Forbes had assumed command about March 21. 17
In a letter of congratulation that Washington wrote Stanwix on the 10th of April, less than a week after his return to Winchester, he said with complete candor “ I should have thought myself happy in serving this campaign under your immediate command. But everything, I hope, is ordered for the best, and it is our duty to submit to the will of our superior. I must, nevertheless, beg that you will add one more kindness to the many I have experienced, and that is, to mention me in favorable terms to General Forbes (if 'you are acquainted with that gentleman) and not as a person who would depend upon him for further recommendation to military preferment, for I have long conquered all such expectancies (and serve this campaign merely for the purpose of affording my best endeavors to bring matters to a conclusion) but as a person who would gladly be distinguished in some measure from the common run of provincial officers, as I understand there will be a motley herd of us. ” 18
John Forbes:
Had Washington known more at the time of John Forbes, he would not have been content merely to hope that his new commander would “distinguish him” from “the common run of provincial officers .” The Virginian would have realized that whether or not he continued in the profession of arms, he could learn much from Forbes.
That officer was 50 years of age, a Scot, born of good blood and first schooled for medicine but drawn to a military career by love of it. He had served with energy in the War of the Austrian Succession and in the Scottish campaign of 1745-46. His special distinction had been as a Quartermaster, a service m which, as Washington well knew, there had been much backwardness and lack of skill throughout the operations m Virginia Forbes had sought the post of Quartermaster General m Braddock’s army and had felt some disappointment when Sir John St Clair re-
17 Forbes, 59, 61
18 Letter of Apr 10, 1758, 2 G W , 172-73 Washington himself underlined “common
run,”
STILL ANOTHER NEW COMMANDER
3°7
ceived it. 19
Then, in March, 1757, Forbes had been given the 17th Foot, which was one of the Regiments sent to reenforce Loudoun for the Louisburg expedition. That officer quickly came to an appreciation of the ability of Forbes and made him Adjutant General In that position, though not conspicuous, Forbes probably had a ’hand in the numerous and admirable reforms that Loudoun instituted. 20
Washington could not have found in America a better instructor in the art of army administration. Nor could he have been associated with a man of greater patience, cheer and cordiality in relations with officers and with men Forbes was cautious in not wishing to advance a yard until his troops were equipped and supplied, but he was tireless in effort to prepare them While he never had been proclaimed brilliant, he was able, courageous and thorough. 21 Benjamin Franklin credited a messenger with saying of Lord Loudoun, “He is like St. George on the signs, always on horseback, but never rides on. ” 22 It could have been said of Forbes that he was not apt to mount till he was ready to move.
Transfer of command to this interesting man was, to repeat, the second
new condition Washington found on his return to Winchester in April, 1758, and manifestly it had importance at least equal that of the first new condition, the presence of a large force of friendly Indian warriors. A third change was in Washington’s military status When he had served in Braddock’s campaign, he had acted as a staff officer, not as a commander of infantry, though he had to rush in and try to direct troops on the dreadful field of the Monongahela. As chief of the Virginia Regiment m i 755 ~ 57 > l 16 had been subject in theory to British officers and in reality to Dinwiddle’s direction, but most of the time, and both to his gratification and distress of mind, he had been Commander-in-Chief. Now he was to have a Regiment of infantry as previously, but he was to serve “in the line” under any Colonel or Brigadier of the regular establishment who might be designated.
Nor was Washington to be Virginia’s sole Colonel, at the head of her
only Regiment The General Assembly had met almost on the eve of
19 See John Forbes to Hugh Forbes, Oct 19, I 754 > Forbes, x Those who are interested in the might-have-beens of history may find this a theme for mental speculation Would the outcome of the campaign of 1755 have been different if Forbes, rather than the bungling, ill tempered St Clair, had been Quartermaster* 5
~^A considerable part of Pargellis’s valuable Lord Loudoun in America is devoted to an
analysis of these reforms
f 1 The fullest sketch of a life concerning which there is singularly little information is that
of A P James in Forbes
22 1 Franklin's Writings (Bigelow), 299
GEORGE WASHINGTON
308
his departure for Winchester, and, in a session that ended April 12, 28
had passed a bill to raise the armed forces of the Colony to 2000 men,
exclusive of the previously created ranger Companies. The additional 1000 volunteers were to be allowed a bounty of ^10 each, 24 and were to be enlisted for service to Dec 1, 1758, and no longer. 25
This new Regiment was to have its own field and company officers, precisely as Washington’s Regiment had. 26
In the new law, there was some unintended vagueness concerning the authority of Washington over these troops as Commander-m-Chief, 27 though, of course, when the two units were operating together and were not under a regular, Washington, as senior officer, would be authorized to issue orders to the other Colonel.
William Byrd III:
Choice of that officer was the prerogative of John Blair, the President
of the Council and acting Governor, who accepted an offer William Byrd III of Westover made to recruit and to lead the new troops. Byrd at the time had been distinguished as one of the negotiators of the treaty with the Catawbas and Cherokees. 28 Previously, he had lived in England as a member of the household of his uncle-in-law, Col Francis Otway, and there perhaps had developed taste for a military life. When Loudoun came to America, Byrd joined him as a volunteer 29 and won much praise. “[He] accompanied the army to Halifax last year,” Forbes was soon to write of Byrd, “and set a noble example to all the gentlemen of the continent who have either inclination or abilities to serve the King and their country.” 30 Byrd, who was in his twenty-ninth year, 81 possessed marked skill in dealing with the Indians and had won a measure of their confidence He was, too, of a family much more distinguished in Virginia than that of Washington, but in public reputation at this time he did not rival his senior Colonel. Socially he might outshine the tall young officer from the Potomac, he had yet to win “honor” comparable to that which Washington had gained. 32
z&Journ H B, 1752-58, p 506 24 7 H 164, sec 1
25 Ibid , 168, sec xvi ™lbtd , 1 68, sec xiv
27 Sections 1 and 11 of the act provided for the enlistment and the employment of the troops
‘‘by the president or commander m chief,” but section xvi spoke of action by “the president and
commander in chief for the time being” (7 H 164, 169) While it seems reasonable to assume
that Washington is the Commander-in-Chief to whom reference is made m the one instance
and that the president is titular Commander-in-Chief in the later section, the language is not as
explicit as it should have been
28 See John Blair to William Byrd III, Mch 8, 1758, Emmett Coll , NYPL, No 13471
29 Pargellis, Loudoun, 310, 31 x n 30 Forbes to Pitt, July 10, 1758, 1 Pitt, 294
31 Born at Westover, Sept 9, 1729, son of William Byrd II and Maria Taylor Byrd (See
37 £302 )
32 For rejection by Washington and his council of a proposal to incorporate some of his
officers m the Second Regiment, see 2 Hamilton, 281-82
STILL ANOTHER NEW COMMANDER 309
The law that created Byrd’s Regiment had gone further than any of the earlier statutes in providing for the use of the Virginia troops. All
except the rangers could be united, “by direction of the Governor or
Commander-in-Chief to the forces that shall be sent to our assistance by his Majesty or any of the neighboring Colonies, and may be marched to annoy or attack the enemy m such manner as shall be thought proper by the commanding officer of his Majesty’s forces in North America” 33 Emergency and unhappy experience thus had combined at last to sweep away all restrictions, save those of time, on the employment of the two Regiments. They were to be Virginia’s contribution to the common cause Furthermore, the General Assembly authorized a draft of such militia as might be needed to garrison the frontier forts until December 20, if it should be necessary to send the two Regiments outside Virginia. 34
These three developments —
the presence of Indians,
the change of command,
and the recruiting and equipment of the larger force —
set Washington’s task for the two months that followed his return to the
Valley Recruiting proved less difficult than in the past. 33
Although Forbes did not believe he would receive more than half the 2000 troops Virginia had authorized, 36 Washington’s Regiment numbered 950 or
more by May 28, and Byrd, with 900, was so close to authorized strength that the official formation of the Regiment was set for May 29 37 Even St Clair, who had found no words too furiously contemptuous for descnbmg the Virginia troops of 1755, had to admit now that their successors were “a fine body of men ” 38 The high bounty and short term of enlistment had accomphshed what never had been achieved previously. 39
The drafting of militiamen
in anticipation of the departure of the garrisons of the frontier forts might be another and a sadder tale.
When President Blair undertook to pass the issue to Washington, with
33 7 H 1 64, sec 11 34 7 H 169, sec xvi
35 Except as respects the payment of recruiting expenses, for which see minutes of a council
of officers at Fort Loudoun, May 9, 1758, and Washington to Robinson, May 10, 1758, 305
Papers of G W , 14, 15, LC
36 Forbes, 77, 87, 91
37 See 2 G W , 202, St Clair to Col Henry Bouquet, May 27, 28, June 9, 1758, Brit Mus
Add MS 21639, p 1, 3, 5 Virginia’s new Governor, Francis Fauquier, writing Washington,
June 25, 1758, remarked that French regimentals from a prize-ship had been purchased for the
Regiment (8 Papers of G W , LC)
38 St Clair to Bouquet, May 27, loc cit For Sharpe’s similar commendation, see infra, p 317
3 $ For the echo of some of the difficulties of even this successful recruiting effort, see John
Blair to unnamed correspondent (either George Mercer or Thomas Walker), June 3, 1758, and
Francis Fauquier to William Byrd, June 19, 1758, Journ H B , 1758-61, p 261-63
GEORGE WASHINGTON
3 io
authority to call some of the militia of nearby Counties to the forts, the
Colonel carefully avoided the responsibility “I could by no means think of executing (willingly) that discretionary power with which you were pleased to invest me, of ordering out the militia. It is an affair, Sir, of too important and delicate a nature for me to have the management of, for much discontent will be the inevitable consequence of this draft ” 40 Washington spoke from experience, Blair was guided by hope that the logic of replacing the Regiments with militia would prevail over the reluctance of individuals. There, for the time, the matter rested. 41
Savage allies
raised new problems, daily Raids of hostile scalping parties took heavy toll in West Augusta. 42 From Bedford and from Halifax came reports of much misbehavior by Cherokees returning South from Winchester. 43 The need of Indians with whom to fight Indians was as manifest as ever; diplomacy, firmness and understanding of them were the imperatives. In full knowledge of this, Forbes, St Clair and Washington all were doubtful whether the redmen would remain away from home and with the Virginia forces 44 or, contrarily, would wander into Pennsylvania and make trouble while Forbes was negotiating with the Delawares and Shawnees. 45
On May 27,
Colonel Byrd arrived at Winchester with fifty-seven Indian warriors, but he had to report that he had met on the trail many who were going back
to the Carolinas and that he had not been able to prevail on any of
them to return with him. 46
By the third week in June,
all the Indians had departed except for those with Byrd. 47 Lamenting this, Washington once again had to insist that Indians were the “only troops fit to cope with Indians” in forest warfare. 48 In the Cherokee country itself, some of the headmen had promised to be ready to start for Virginia on the 21st of June, but on the day they were to depart, they said their conjurers had warned them that much sickness and death would attend them, for which reason they had decided not to go northward until autumn. 49 In the
40 Washington to John Blair, Apr 24, 1758, 2 GW, 183-84 See also minutes o£ council,
2 Hamilton, 282
41 1 Pitt, 229, 2 Hamilton, 289 42 2 GW, 192-93
4 $ Williamsburg report of May 2 6, 1758, Md Gazette, June 29, 1758
44 2 <3 W , 179, 182-83, Forbes, 65, 77, 88
45 2 Hamilton, 285, 2 G W , 198-201
4 6 St. Clair to Bouquet, May 27, 1758, Br Mus Add MS 21639, P 1
47 Ibid , p 3, 5, Forbes, 108, 109, 113
48 Letter to Forbes, June 19, 1758, 2 GW, 21 6
^Certificate of Paul Demere et al , June 22, 1758, Journ H B , 1758-61, p 263-64
STILL ANOTHER NEW COMMANDER
3 11
face of this discouragement, it might have appeared that such hope as the English had of overcoming die adverse odds in the struggle for the frontier might depend on winning over some of the Indians who were said to be dissatisfied with their French allies. To this. end, Forbes and the Pennsylvania authorities already were maneuvering with some skill. 50
Throughout this recruiting, this adjustment to new commanders, and this humiliating effort to satisfy the insatiable Indians, preparations were being made hourly to move the Virginia Regiments — the “Virginia Brigade” as St Clair once styled the force — across the Potomac and then, in due time, to Pennsylvania for the advance on Fort DuQuesne.
At the outset the questions that most concerned Washington, Sir John St Clair and others had to do with wagons, tents, cartridge boxes, powder horns, blankets, hatchets and varied items of equipment relatively unimportant in themselves but essential to such an orderly advance as Forbes proposed to make. 51 The General had given Governor Sharpe 52 and Col Henry Bouquet 53 authority to move the Virginians. Sir John St Clair himself came to Winchester and undertook to equip the troops. 54 Before St Clair could put Washington’s troops under marching orders , 55 he determined to procure such equipment as he could from the Colony and accordingly directed Washington to go to Williamsburg to ask for arms and tentage and to “settle the affairs of the two Virginia Regiments. ” 56
For a manifest personal reason, Washington was glad to go to the vicinity of the White House, but he was hurried and was anxious to
50 The background is conveniently sketched in Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, v 2, p 149
Fredrich Post’s journal of his remarkable missions, mentioned infra, p 355, will be found among
the most interesting documents of the French and Indian War
51 See St Clair to Bouquet, May 31, 1758, Br Mus Add MS 21639, p 5 Bouquet, m his
letter of June 3, 1758 to St Clair, announced that he would forward hatchets, because the men
“cannot encamp or get fuel without* — a reminder of the density of the woodland through which
the army had to advance {ibid , p 9)
52 Forbes, 90 53 Ibid , 95, 96
54 Cf 2 G W, 203 55 ibid
S^Ibid It doubtless is possible to interpret the language of Washington’s orders to Adam Stephen as an intimation that St Clair desired to take into his own hands the direction of everything and, to that end, wished to send Washington off. The instructions to Stephen began “Sir John St Clair having, by virtue of a power from the Commander-in-Chief for the Southern
District, put the troops of this Colony under marching orders, and at the same time thought it necessary that I wait upon the President to settle” etc. St Clair’s own explanation was “Mr President Blair has laid me under many inconveniences by his not coming here, so that I was obliged to send Colonel Washington to him” (St Clair to Bouquet, May 27, 1758, Br Mus
Add MS 21639, P 1). Taken with St Clair’s subsequent expression of satisfaction on the result of Washington’s visit, these quotations made it appear improbable that St Clair sent Washington off because he wished to be rid of the Virginia Colonel. St Clair did not have to resort to this
expedient to exercise command, it was his by seniority. Service as quartermaster did not disqualify him for line duty
312
GEORGE WASHINGTON
get back to the frontier in time to share in an offensive he so long had
been urging. Leaving Winchester on the 24th of May, 57 he was in
Williamsburg on the 28th with a long succession of written questions,
to which he asked the President to make early and explicit reply. These
inquiries concerned not only equipment but also pay, promotion, recruiting and the future of Fort Loudoun, 58 and, in some instances, they called for more study than Washington’s impatience allowed. As soon as the acting Governor had reached a decision, George rode over to the Pamunkey and paid homage to Martha Custis, and then, June 5, he started for Winchester 50 To the satisfaction of St Clair, he was back at his post on the 9th. The Britisher wrote “Mr President Blair has been graciously pleased to grant everything I asked except a careful officer at [Fort] Loudoun to take care of the valuable stores, lest they be embezzled ” 60 It would be necessary, St Clair thought, to move these supplies to Fort Cumberland or to some other post where he could keep an eye on them. To settle this and other questions, St Clair rode over to Conococheague and took Washington with him for a conference on the 13th of June with Governor Sharpe and Col Henry Bouquet. 61
Henry Bouquet:
Although Washington had exchanged letters frequently with Bouquet, this apparently was the first time he ever had met the man who was to be Forbes’s most trusted lieutenant and Washington’s immediate superior Henry Bouquet, Swiss-born and thirty-nine years of age, was portly and undistinguished in appearance, but of attractive and friendly manners. He had received careful schooling before he entered the Dutch army as a cadet in 1736, and subsequently he extended his framing by service with the Sardinian forces in the War of the Austrian Succession So admirable was his performance in every test that the Prince of Orange in 1748 made him Captain-Commandant of the newly organized Swiss Guards, with rank of Lieutenant Colonel. As
57 That is to say, his orders of that date suggest that he was on the point of leaving See 2
G W , 203-05
6 $ 2 G W , 205-09
His entries in Ledger A, folio 39, suggest that he may have spent some of his time in Williamsburg at the residence of Colonel Bassett, to whose servants he gave 12 shillings. His gratuity to Mrs Custis ’s servants was 14* 6 d, compared with 303- on each of his two previous visits. This indicates either that his visit was brief or, less probably, that he thought he need not be overgenerous with Negroes who soon were to be, in effect, his own. Later expenditures on the road show that Washington proceeded directly from the White House toward Winchester and that he did not return via Williamsburg
60 St Clair to Bouquet, June 9, 1758, Br Mus Add MS 21639, p 17
61 Sec Bouquet to Forbes, June 14, 1758, Br Mus Add MS 21640, p 61 Conococheague,
it will be remembered, was the site of Maidstone Fort
STILL ANOTHER NEW COMMANDER
3 I 3
circumstance led Bouquet afterward to close and pleasant contact with
the British army, he accepted in the autumn of 1755 an invitation to become Lieutenant Colonel of the proposed new Royal American Regimment. In recruiting his Battalion, he showed a most notable combination of energy, patience, and firmness Pennsylvania farmers denounced him for enlisting their indentured servants, the Assembly protested sternly when he marched 547 men to Philadelphia in December, 1756, and asked that quarters be provided for them In these and in virtually all his other controversies, he ultimately won his point with a minimum of ill-will 62
Next to his definite ability and rounded training as a soldier. Bouquet’s greatest quality was his freedom from the binding tradition of the British and German armies. In Charleston, South Carolina, where he had commanded during the months a French attack was anticipated, he had amazed the holders of colonial commission by his considerate treatment of them and their troops “We are looked upon in quite another light by all the officers,” George Mercer had written Washington, “than we were by General Braddock or Mr Orme, and do our duty equally without any partiality or particular notice taken of one more than the other .” Incredibly, the regular officers had made no demand “for necessaries for their own troops in which ours are not joined. ” 63 This was due to Bouquet With like understanding, after he returned to Pennsylvania, he had begun to study new, more flexible tactics for forest fighting by British regulars. 64 He was as careful as he was skillful and on matters he did not understand, such as dealings with the Indians, he sought the best counsel he could get. 65
By temperament as by training, Bouquet probably was second only to Forbes among all the soldiers m America from whom Washington could learn.
For the consideration of Colonel Bouquet, the Virginian had prepared in advance seven groups of questions concernmg equipment, the garrisoning of Fort Loudoun and the March to Wills Creek. To all of these he received clear and immediate answers in an English at least as good as that of the average British or colonial officer of his rank. 66
62 Cf Fisher in 3 Penn Mag , 125 “Few English commanders lived so long in America so
free from censure of the people ”
63 Letter of Aug 17, 1757, 2 Hamilton, 176, 177
6* Branch m 52 Penn Mag , 45, Joseph Shippen to his father, Aug 15, 1758, Shippen
Papers See also Edward Hutton, Henry Bouquet , 2 Fortesque, Bntish Army , 334 An ex-
cellent bibliography is attached to S M Pargellis’s article on Bouquet in DAB
65 Cf Bouquet to Forbes, May 22, 1758 “As I do not understand Indian affairs I have
taken George McGee m my service to take over this** (Br Mus Add MS 21640, p 36)
66 Washington’s questions are in Br Mus Add MS 21658, Bouquet’s reply is m 8 Papers
of G W, LC
GEORGE WASHINGTON
3M
At the conference where Washington became acquainted with this remarkable man, Bouquet did not give the Virginia troops their marching orders, but, instead left the duty to St. Clair. That officer prepared instructions in detail and handed them to Washington, 67 who returned that evening to Winchester. 68 The usual eleventh-hour difficulties were encountered but by hard, vexatious work on Washington’s part, they finally were overcome. 60
On the 24th of June, Washington left Winchester for Fort Cumberland with five Companies of the First Virginia and a Company of artificers of the Second — close to 600 men, and probably more than George ever had commanded on the road in a single body. 70
It was not a fast or a flawlessly managed march. The road had been almost impassable until repaired three days before the start, 71 three bullocks were lost as they were being driven with the column, at Pearsall’s, for reasons with which Washington was unacquainted, he had to take over a convoy of wagons loaded with fodder. 72
Not until the afternoon of July 2 did the disgusted Virginian, his tired men and his twenty-eight wagons 73 reach Fort Cumberland “My march,” the Colonel had to report, “by bad teams and bad roads was much delayed” 74 — not an auspicious introduction to the command of Colonel Bouquet.
By that time, the last of Forbes’s artillery and supply ships had reached Philadelphia, 75 his cannon had been put in the road to catch up with his infantry, 76 he himself was on his way to Carlisle, where he was to arrive on the 4th. 77 The heads of his three columns then were at that post, at Raystown, 78 and at Fort Cumberland His force was to number close to 7000, of whom about 1400 were Scotch Highlanders. 79
Operations were to be different from Braddock’s in this fundamental.
Braddock had established an advance base at Cumberland and had undertaken to proceed straight from that point, with his wagon tram, to Fort DuQuesne Forbes intended to establish successive depots as he
67 2 Hamilton , 320-21 88 2 G W, 210
^2 G W , 221, 223, 227 For complaints over the small worth of the men left to guard
Fort Loudoun and the country South of Winchester, see 2 Hamilton , 335, 337, 340, 373 The
appearance of Indians between Cresap’s and Fort Cumberland was reported by Cresap to
Bouquet, June 19, 1758
TO a G W„ 227 71 2 G W , 221
72 Ibid t 224-27 73 Ibid , 228
7 *Ibid , 227 75 Forbes , 109, 113
7 ®Ibid , 126 77 Ibid , 126, 128
78 The present Bedford, in the County of that name, thirty miles North and slightly East of
Fort Cumberland
Forbes, xi
STILL ANOTHER NEW COMMANDER 315
advanced Braddock had attempted a long jump, Forbes was to make a number of hops Washington had seen the one method result in failure, he now was to share m a test of the other An interesting opportunity was about to open for him — if he was of the temper to make the most of it.
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First posted in Feacebook
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Fort Loudoun Winchester Virginia
December 19, 2021 at 1028am
Sunday Word 1 As we trek thru mid December 1757, it is time to say Good Bye to Lord Loudoun. You might as well know a bit about him before he leaves. After all his name never left us. We got Fort Loudoun, Loudoun street mall, Loudoun County VA, two other forts in PA and TN named after him. There's even a Loudoun New Hampshire because where a company of Rogers Rangers was raised because Lord Loudoun desired to expand the Rogers Rangers size. Lord Loudoun is the guy never mentioned in the Last of the Mohicans. While that story mentions the true story of the siege of Fort William Henry, Lord Loudoun is the overall commander of all North American forces . During that same time, Lord Loudoun was getting ready to leave Halifax Nova Scotia with around 6000 men in 100 ships. A lot of good they were, right? Fort William Henry in NY was taken and a legendary slaughter by French indian allies took place on the prisoners. . . . Read the back story on all this. Our fort here in Winchester was a chess piece in this world wide war. Good bye Lord Loudoun. At least he was smart enough to not believe the reports that Colonel George Washington was a French spy.
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This letter mentions that Lord Loudoun may not have left yet
and that Lt Col John Young might be the next governor
but we believe it was no rumor as the Founders Online alleges
Instead we believe that info came from Dinwiddie who only said Lord Loudoun recommended the man and so assumed that recommendation would have great weight
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To George Washington from John Blair, 5 February 1758
From John Blair Wmsburgh Feby 5th 1758. Sir Your two Letters of 30th & 31st Ult. were brought to me by yor Express, on Friday afternoon; by whom, being desirous to consult, I sent them to Mr Nelson immediatly, (his horse & he being well able, he said, to go on) but he & Mr Secretary happening to be out of Town, I did not get them back till this afternoon, with their Advice.1
As to your Several Reasons for leave to come hither we think them very cogent; and therefore, as I apprehend no damage can be expected to arise from it, and strong reasons for admitting it, You have my Leave to come to Williamsburgh for the Purposes mention’d in yor first. As to the Contents of yor second, expressing yor concern at such a Number of Indians coming to us, at such an unseasonable Time; we wish the Spring had been advanced first, & the rigour of Winter over, before they came; but as Col. Read in his of the 3d Ult. says that a Runner was come to him with the News of 7 or 800 of them being but five days march behind him, and we have yet no certain Intelligence of them, I see no dependance on it. Once Mr Adam Dickinson from Augusta who came to me the 28th Ult. for some Arms & Ammunition for his Son John, Captain of a Company of Rangers, told me he heard that 600, were at Col. Reads,
[This looks like Lord Loudoun is still around]
and that they were going to my Lord Loudoun, but that afterwds he heard it was a Company of 40 or 50, only, & that the rest were behind; of which however we have no certainty. On the Report of their going to my Lord, Sir John St clair seem’d pleased, & said my Lord would make them wellcome;2
and by Mr Nelson’s advice I have writ, by that Mr Dickinson, to Mr Gist, (as I intended to write to you) to encourage the Indians (of any number) to go to my Lord, who would receive & reward them well: and I desire you will press it upon him. But we are much surprised to hear that Mr Gist is in no wise prepared to receive them, as our late Govr told us that he had above a £1000. pounds worth in Indian Goods left in his hands for such purpose. I desire a particular Accot of what he has.3 We do not imagine their numbers will be any thing near so large as talkt of, and I hope they will not come this good while yet, unless they are going to my Lord. They are said to be Creeks & Cherokees together.
Col. Read represented his want of Ammunition in the Magazine he built last year,4 to comply with Majr Lewis’s orders to the severall Captains under him.5 Whereupon by advice of the Council I sent up to the Glebe als. Osburns6 6. Barls of Powder ten Boxes of Shot 200 lb. wt in Each, making 2 Ton of Shot, wch is more than sufficient for the Powder, but he wanted Shot for the Powder he had by him. I likewise sent up to Capt. Dickinson 100 lb. of Powder & 200 lb. of Lead to supply his company, and also ten Muskets wth Bayonets & Cartouches, 20 Swords, 200. Gunflints, & 8 Trading Kettles for their Use.
We have hired two Transports to bring back our Two Companys from So. Carolina & are providing a large quantity of Bread & Flour to be sold there to pay off their arrears to their coming away, & they are to be landed at Fredericksburgh.7
I have not add, but my hearty wishes for your perfect recovery, & to assure you that I am Sir Yor most humble Servant
John Blair, P.
We hear Colo. Young has got his Commission come for this Government.8
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. Secretary Thomas Nelson and William Nelson were next in seniority to John Blair on the colonial council.
2. John St. Clair was in Annapolis in December 1757 and seems to have gone from there to Williamsburg. See Horatio Sharpe to Dinwiddie, 21 Dec. 1757, in Browne, Sharpe Correspondence, 2:112.
3. Christopher Gist wrote GW on 3 Feb. that he was sending to Williamsburg an account of the goods in his hands.
4. As early as August 1756 Dinwiddie referred to Clement Read’s plans to build “a Magazine for Provisions & Amunition, in a proper Place convenient for supplying the Forces & Forts on the frontiers of Augusta” (Dinwiddie to Read, 23 Aug. 1756, ViHi: Dinwiddie Papers), but it seems not to have been built until early 1757. The minutes of the council’s meeting of 15 Dec. 1756 included the following statement: “The Governor was pleased to communicate to the Board a Letter from Colo. Read dated the 10th Instant, signifying that, in his Judgment, after due Consideration, taken thereon, the most convenient and eligible Spot whereon to erect a Place for keeping Arms, Ammunition and Provision in our present Circumstances, would be on a Ridge between Little Roanoke River, and Ward’s fork in Lunenburg with his Reasons” (Exec. Journals of Virginia Council, 6:22–23). At the next meeting of the council Read’s response was read: “The Governor communicated to the Board a Letter from Colo. Read dated Lunenburg January 5th signifying that on Receipt of his Honor’s Letter of the 15th of December with a Copy of the Order of Council inclosed, he had employed Persons to build the House proposed for keeping Arms, Ammunition and Provisions, and hopes to have it finished in a Month on reasonable Terms” (ibid., 23–24). Read’s magazine at the forks of what is today called Roanoke Creek in Charlotte County is shown on the 1775 printing of the Fry—Jefferson map as “Read.” See also Dinwiddie to Read, 24 Nov. 1756, 15 Dec. 1756, in Brock, Dinwiddie Papers, 2:557–58, 564; and 24 Jan. 1758 in Exec. Journals of Virginia Council, 6:79–80.
5. Maj. Andrew Lewis was the senior officer of the contingent of the Virginia Regiment that went to Augusta County in August 1757. His command was composed of his own company, Capt. John McNeill’s (formerly Robert Spotswood’s), and Capt. Henry Woodward’s (see GW to Andrew Lewis, 29 July 1757). He was also responsible for three ranger companies on Virginia’s southern frontier (see Dinwiddie to Lewis, 17 Dec. 1756, 23 Dec. 1756, 19 Sept. 1757, October 1757, 1 Dec. 1757, and Withers to Lewis, 15 Aug. 1757, all in Brock, Dinwiddie Papers, 2:566–67, 569, 699, 710–11, 719–20, 685–86).
6. See note 4. At the meeting of the council on 12 Jan. 1758 Blair reported that Clement Read “would send to the Glebe on James River” for powder and lead (Exec. Journals of Virginia Council, 6:79). The glebe may have been the old glebe of Dale Parish, Chesterfield County, south of James River, which was put up for sale in 1759 and was described as “adjacent to a publick warehouse where a great trade is carried on” (7 Hening 341–42). The glebe seems to have been in the general vicinity of Osborns, an important shipping area on James River below the falls where there were large tobacco warehouses.
7. Loudoun wrote Col. Henry Bouquet of the Royal Americans in Charleston, S.C., on 12 Oct. 1757 with instructions to send back to Virginia from Carolina the companies of the Virginia Regiment commanded by Adam Stephen and George Mercer (see Bouquet to Dinwiddie, 16 Dec. 1757, in Stevens, Bouquet Papers, 1:261). Dinwiddie reportedly had not sent the transports for the troops in Carolina when he left Virginia on 12 Jan. 1758, but on the day of his departure the minutes of the Virginia Council noted that “Transports had been order’d to bring [the troops] back” from Carolina (Exec. Journals of Virginia Council, 6:78–79). Adam Stephen arrived with his detachment in Fredericksburg on 22 April, and GW wrote John St. Clair on 4 May 1758 that Mercer’s and Stephen’s companies had arrived at Fort Loudoun on 3 May 1758.
8. There seems to have been a false rumor that Lord Loudoun, governor of Virginia, had succeeded in getting his protegé Lt. Col. John Young, paymaster of the Royal American Regiment, an appointment as lieutenant governor of Virginia to replace Robert Dinwiddie.
An entry for 12 Jan. 1758 in the Exec. Journals of Virginia Council mentions the impending “Arrival of the Honourable Colonel Young (whom we may soon expect to succeed [Governor Dinwiddie]).”
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