Waggener at "Pittsburg" June 1759 - the Northern theatre
Fort Loudoun in Winchester VA exists only because of the French presence on the Forks of the Ohio, otherwise known as the Three Rivers or the Point, or what it is called today - PITTSBURGH. And Fort Loudoun is still in use as a staging ground and supply center because the French threaten to retake back the Forks of the Ohio in 1759, especially in June 1759.
There were 200 Virginia Regiment men assigned to "Pittsburg." Fort Pitt was to come later as it was still more of an encampment than a built up Fort. Thomas Waggener was one of its Captains. He was Colonel George Washington's top guy in building Forts along the South Branch of the Potomac. His training of Charles Smith in the building of those forts gave Charles Smith the ability to be the top Foreman of constructing Fort Loudoun Winchester VA. Captain Waggener was a strong dependable man for GW ever since 1754. Waggener gained experience before that. In 1745. He was involved in the seige of the French Fortress Louisbourg at the head of the St Lawrence in Canada. See more on Waggener's story here. But at this momemt in June 1754 some of Captain Waggener's men were killed during the building of the gigantic Fort Pitt, dwarfing the old burned down Fort Duquesne.
dated Winchester June 4th
that several of Capt . Waggoner's Men
have been killed at Pittsburg lately —
[Notice, the reference is to "Pittsburg", not to a "Fort Pitt" which was still being built]
that the Posts are in a miserable Situation above ,
for Want both of Men and Provisions
that the Regiment is at a low Ebb
from the Losses they have sustained ,
the Small - Pox and Meazles amongst them ,
and great Desertion
French and Indian Attacks
George Washington is no longer their leader.
Fort Duquesne is no longer their target.
But Violence is popping in May and June 1759.
The men of the Virginia Regiment are getting hit.
Thomas Bullitt's men are attacked in May near Fort Ligonier. See the story of that attack on Bullitt's men here.
Waggener's men are attacked near the new Fort Pitt in June.
Because of Indian threat around Fort Cumberland, Colonel Byrd informs the Virginia Executive Council he is sending Capt McKenzie with 50 men.
French Buildup
" . . . Pouchot, [the commander of Fort Niagara], knew that the best time for a British attack had already passed. Niagara had been most vulnerable in the Spring, before he had returned from Montreal with men to reinforce the Winter garrison.
When no British force appeared in May [1759], and when his Seneca informants had brought him no word of any British movement in Mohawk-Oswego corridor by the beginning of June [1759],
Pouchot had felt confident enough to send 2500 of his 3000 men off to reinforce Lignery at Fort Machault, in preparation for the planned summer's campaign in the Ohio Valley."
But by July 6 [1759] . . .
Pouchot ". . . sent urgent word to Fort Machault for Lignery to return with the force intended for the Ohio Country. He [Pouchot] had on hand fewer than 500 men to defend his post [Fort Niagara]. "
Source:
Page 335 Crucible of War, by Fred Anderson, a Borzoi Book published by Alfred A Knopf, a division of Random House, Feb 11, 2000
Attack was ordered
Lt Colonel Adam Stephen received orders in April 1759 to attack Venango. The French have a fort they call Fort Machault. The English called that area where the French Fort was -- the name of Venango. This attack never launched. Stephen did not have enough men, as was noted in the Journals of the Virginia Executive Council. And by July 1759 the French withdrew their force at Machault to try to save Fort Niagara.
After Threat Disappeared
"On July 4, 1759, as the French and Indian War was nearing the end and leaning heavily in Britain's favor, Trent, Ward and George Croghan (now deputy agent to the superintendent of Indian Affairs [William Johnson]), found themselves once again in conference with the Indians of the Six Nations, Shawnees, Delawares and Wyandots (aka Hurons), at the Forks of the Ohio. Their lighting and smoking of the pipe of peace was convincingly hopeful to renew and brighten the chain of friendship,. . . "
page 87-88
Pittsburgh's Lost Outpost, Captain Trent's Fort by Jason A Cherry, Foreword by David L Preston, published by the History Press, Charleston SC, 2019.
Starving in June 1759
Bullitt's cargo of pork was attacked in May 1759. See that story.
"It was the middle of June [1759] by time drovers brought the first cows to Pittsburgh, where the soldiers had been eating horses and dogs. When the first cattle arrived, the troops butchered forty of them on the spot and, barely pausing to cook them, devoured the beasts without pausing to distinguish entrails from meat."
Source:
Crucible of War, by Fred Anderson,
a Borzoi Book published by Alfred A Knopf, a division of Random House, Feb 11, 2000
Source of lliustration: https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3A31735027612708/viewer#page/8/mode/2up
They were in bad shape in Feb 1759 when Lt Gov of Virginia, Francis Fauquier tells the Council and House of Burgesses these men need Coats made out of blankets now, but they are going to need good new clothing come May 1759.
Barely clothed in June 1759
Lt Gov Fauquier speaking to the Council and House of Burgesses explains the needs of the soldiers.
I should not do Justice to the brave Men
who have hazarded their Lives in defence
of their Country,
and Whose Conduct has done Honor to it,
if l did not represent to you
the naked Condition
in which they are at present:
Out of Commiseration of their wretched State,
I have ordered each of them a Coat to be made of Blanket,
to protect them, in same Measure,
from the Inclemencies and Hardships
of a Winter Season:
This is all I thought proper to do, as they stand provided for till the First of May only
but if they are continued in Pay this will he far from sufficient; they must be entirely new cloathed, it being now more than two Years since their last Cloathing.
That's it.
That's our lead story.
There's always more.
Skip around.
Read bits and pieces.
Compiled and authored by Jim Moyer 6/1/23, 6/2/23, 6/3/23, 6/7/23, 6/10/23, 6/11/23, Warm Springs updated morning of 6/12/23, Pittsburgh updated afternoon of 6/12/2023
Table of Contents
Thomas Waggener
Past Experience
Thomas Waggener was at the defeat and death of Jamonville, May 28, 1754, and was slightly wounded. He had previously served under Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts, in the projected Canada expedition of 1746. He received the thanks of the House of Burgesses for his gallantry at Fort Necessity. Others of the name also served during this period. Ensign Edward Waggener was killed at the defeat of Braddock, and Captain Andrew Waggener received lands under the proclamation of Governor Dinwiddle of 1754 Ed.
Source:
See page 10 for bottom footnote:
Capt. Thomas Waggener, an officer in the Virginia forces since February 1754, was at this time a company commander and the senior officer among the forces of the Virginia Regiment stationed in the forts on the South Branch of the Potomac.
Building Forts
Washington visits Fort Pleasant in 1784 after the Rev War. This fort is an old French and Indian War. Waggener built it in 1756. This fort has other names: Waggener's Lower Fort, Fort Buttermilk. This fort and other forts built by Waggener lied along the South Branch of the Potomac. He trained Charles Smith on the building of these forts. Because of this training, Charles Smith was assigned by Colonel George Washington to be the top foreman of constructing Fort Loudoun in Winchester VA.
Footnote 3. GW was putting Waggener in charge of building the forts along the South Branch of the Potomac down to Fort Dinwiddie on Jackson River. See GW’s instructions to Waggener of this date.
Colonel George Washington writes to Captain Thomas Waggener 9 Jan 1756:
You must build the Fort [on the South Branch] as large as those on Patterson’s Creek, and the same model; taking care not to build any thing that you think will be expensive to the Country.1
Training of Charles Smith to construct Fort Loudoun
Footnote 2. Charles Smith, who was made an ensign in the new Virginia Regiment in September 1755, spent the summer of 1756 as an officer in Waggener’s company working on forts on the South Branch. After his return to Winchester, he became, on 14 Nov. 1756, the overseer of the construction of Fort Loudoun there. See GW’s Orders, 18 Sept. 1755, n.5.
Also in this link are a discussion of the measurements of those forts to be built on the South Branch.
As of this 16 May 1756 letter GW writes to Waggener two forts are built.
Footnote 2. See GW to John Field and GW’s memorandum (regarding George Hedgman), both 16 May 1756. Waggener’s Upper Fort was one of the two forts that Waggener had built in recent months on the South Branch above the Trough. Fort Pleasant was the other. The Upper Fort was at Lunice (Looney’s, Luney’s) Creek where it flows from the northwest into the Branch. Fort Pleasant was at Henry Van Meter’s about 10 miles lower on the South Branch.
Source:
Only Waggener and his men on the South Branch should stay:
#39 (p. 21) - 1 matching term
At a Council held December 9th, 1756
...Whereupon it was the Opinion of the Board that the former Order of Council for reinforcing Fort Cumberland with a hundred Men should be carried into Execution; but as that Number cannot be supplied from Winchester, where they think it necessary a hundred Men should remain with a proper Officer, that all the small Forts, except that on the South Branch commanded by Captain Waggoner; should be evacuated for that purpose. ...
Battle of the Trough
This battle was fought on the South Branch area known as The Trough just north of Fort Pleasant Late March or early April 1756.
This encounter became known locally as the "Battle of the Trough" and was detailed to the author Samuel Kercheval when he visited the area in 1830.[11] According to one account, at the time of the fight a company of British regulars [ they were not British regulars but were instead a company of the Virginia Regiment] were quartered at Fort Pleasant under the command of Capt. Waggener who had overseen the building of the fort shortly before. Waggener supposedly refused to come to the aid of the besieged settlers, a mere mile and a half away. Adding insult to injury, this account further relates that Waggener, after being called a coward, had several of the survivors of the fight pursued and whipped.[12] Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Trough
There were no court martials after this battle, as there were after the Battle of the Great Cacapon on 18 April 1756. Colonel George Washington did not remove Waggener from command, but continued to rely on Waggener as the overall commander of that area along the South Branch of the Potomac.
Waggener is part of 200 Virginia Regiment men left at Fort Pitt
Waggener at Fort Pitt
Footnote 4. GW used Lt. Nathaniel Gist of the 1st Virginia Regiment as a scout in his march from Loyalhanna to Fort Duquesne. Francis Austin, a 42–year-old Englishman, was a sergeant in Capt. Thomas Waggener’s company in the 1st Virginia Regiment, which at this time was stationed at Pittsburgh.
Source is Founders Online footnote to a letter Robt Stewart wrote to GW 31 Dec 1758: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-06-02-0146
200 men
Forbes, according to the council minutes, went on to say “that he shall send off the Virginia Troops as soon as he can give them four Days Provisions, to set them on their March . . . hoping the Colony of Virginia will contribute, with other adjoining Provinces to enable him to fix a proper Fort, and maintain a suitable Garrison for the Defence of the Country, to establish an equitable and just Traffick with the Indians, and to allow them proper hunting Boundaries—giving an Account of the infamous Behaviour of the Little Carpenter . . . that the rest of his Nation leave him the next Day, all well satisfied—that he shall be obliged to keep about Two Hundred of Col. Washington’s Battalion, as a Part of the Troops necessary there this Winter” (Exec. Journals of Virginia Councildescription beginsH. R. McIlwaine et al., eds. Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia. 6 vols. Richmond, 1925–66.description ends, 6:121–24).
Source:
Complaint about interrogating a French Prisoner
To George Washington from Thomas Waggener et al., 19 June 1757
From Thomas Waggener et al. [Winchester] June 19. 1757 Sir We understand that Mr Atkins has either complain’d or intends to complain to you that we had the Insolence to desire one of the Cherokee Warriours with the french Prisoner to come & drink a Glass of Wine with us,
if it is so, we shou’d be very much oblig’d to you if you wou’d inform that Gentleman that as our Officers & Men risk’d their Lives in taking of the Prisoner, we are entitled to speak to him when we please,
Mr Baker in particular imagines that without any Offence to Mr Atkins he may take that Liberty, & we apprehend that whatever command he may have over the Indians he can have none over us—
We can’t help observing that from the former Behaviour of Mr Atkins We imagin’d he had been better acquainted with the Rules of good Manners than to send such a Message to Gentlemen who from their Station in Life their Births & Education ought to be treated with Respect.
We are with great Esteem Sir Your most Obedient Servts
Thos Waggener and all the officers
We are likewise inform’d that Mr Atkins said that neither you nor any of us had a Right to speak to the Prisoner until he had done with him.
LS, DLC:GW.
The text of the letter appears not to be in Thomas Waggener’s hand.
1. For Atkin’s complaints, see Atkin to GW, 19 June 1757.
Source:
These Stories are related to that French Prisoner Belestre
That prisoner was captured during this skirmish
Brave Harry of Agincourt is used to call Spotswood and Baker companies. Baker company is the one that brought back the prisoner and where Swallow the Cherokee warrior was killed.
Belestre was the French prisoner caught by the Baker Company and Cherokee. He was actually held as a Cherokee prisoner. This story is about Belestre being a Gason.
Story of Belestre the French Prisoner held at Fort Loudoun Winchester VA
The problem with Atkin in July 1757
And stories about Swallow the Cherokee killed
along with capture of that French prisoner
May 2023 posted
May 2022 posted
May 2021 posted
More links to Waggener
26 letters between GW and Waggener
3 references to Waggener
Waggener as Captain of one of the companies
Waggener had a bearded man in his company
Future generations of Waggeners
1776 a later generation - Journal of American Revolution JAR
26 references to Waggener
Fort Pitt in June 1759
Letters from officers are still datelined at Pittsburg or Pittsburgh, but not so often Fort Pitt, because this place was more of a village, more of an encampment than fort.
By mid-August [1759] soldiers and artisans were busily constructing a sawmill, felling and hauling trees, quarrying sandstone, mining coal, burning Lime, making bricks, and shoveling and hauling tens of thousands of cubic yards of dirt necessary to build the fort. On September 10 [1759] , its inner walls began to rise with a wide glacis and moat."
Source:
Page 328 Crucible of War, by Fred Anderson, a Borzoi Book published by Alfred A Knopf, a division of Random House, Feb 11, 2000
Loyalhanna (Fort Ligonier), Raystown (Fort Bedford) and Pittburgh and Fort Pitt.
Title
150 years of unparalleled thrift: Pittsburgh Sesqui-centennial chronicling a development from a frontier camp to a mighty city; official history and programme One hundred fifty years of unparalleled thrift Pittsburgh Sesqui-centennial chronicling a development from a frontier camp to a might city
Contributor
White, Edward , 1851- Lucas, De Witt B. University of Pittsburgh (depositor)
Statement of Responsibility
by Edward White, official editor and publisher for the Executive committee ; De Witt B. Lucas, associate editor ; Issued under authority of the Executive committee of the Sesqui-centennial.Date 1908 Identifier 31735027612708 Extent 59, [5] p. illus., fold. pl., col. port. 28 cm. Place of Publication PittsburghPublisher Edward White] Collection Historic Pittsburgh Book Collection ContributorUniversity of Pittsburgh https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3A31735027612708/viewer#page/8/mode/2up
RESEARCH NOTES
#81 (p.55)
JOURNAL of the House of Burgesses Thursday, the 22nd of February, 32 Geo. II. 1759.
A Meffage from the Go\'ernor was (ielivei'ed by M' Walthoe.
M' Speaker, and Gentlemen of the Houfe of Burgeffes. The Governor comtnands the inunediate Attendance of your Houfe in the Council Chamber. Accordingly M'' Speaker, with the Houfe, went up to attend the Governor, And being returned, reported. That the Houfe had attended the Governor in the Council Chamber ; and that the Governor was pleafed to make a Speech to the Council and this Houfe, of which he had (to prevent Mif takes) obtained a Copy, which he read to the Houfe, and afterwards delivered in at the Table, where it was again read, and is as follows :
Gentlemen of the Council, Mr Speaker, and Gentlemen of the Houfe of Burgeffes. It gives me the greatest Pleafure that I can open this Seffion of Affembly with my Congratulations to you on the happy Event of the Surrender of Fort Du Quefne to his Majefty's Forces, under the Command of Brigadier-General Forbes; An Event of the utmost Importance to this Colony, as it brings with it the Advantages of opening an Intercourfe of Friendfhip and Commerce with the Weftern Indian Nations on the Banks of the Ohio, and puts his Majefty in Poffeffion of a very extenfive, fine and fertile Trade of Country.
It is a Duty we owe to his Majefty, to ourfelves, and our Pofterity, that we fhould ufe our beft Endeavours, and take the ftrongeft Precaution to keep our Poffeffion of thefe Benefits uninterrupted.
The Indians are desirous to embrace our Friendship, to obtain which they have made offers; but at the same Time have frankly told us, we arc not to exped the Continuance of it any longer than we can preserve the Country, and. protect them from the Revenge of the now exasperated French :
And tltat we may effedually do this, it is neceffary we fhould drive thefe reftlefs, ambitious, perfidious Neighbours from all their Settlements in thefe Parts, from which they can annoy and difturb us.
To this Purpofe
Major -General Amherft, a Commander who has already proved himfelf a brave, prudent and careful Officer, whom his Majefty has been pleafed to appoint to command his Troops in North America (o frefh Inftance of his paternal Care of thefe Colonies) lias wrote to me te defire I would ufe my Intereft with you. Gentlemen,
that you would join his Majesty's Forces with the fame Number of Men which you paid last Year.
Here I find myfelf at a Lofs. I well know the great Debt this Colony has contraded; I well know the Chearfulnefs with which you have undertaken every Thing recommended to you: The Fir ft, deters me from ufing any Arguments; The Laft, renders all needlefs, and I can only fay, tlmt by employing your Efforts this Year, it is pi-obable we may, by following the repeated Blows already given, be able to drive the Enemy from our Frontiers, and fo it may become the laft of this burthen- fome and expenfive War.
End of page
#82 (p.56)
[ 56 ] I fhould not do Juftice to the brave Men who have hazarded their Lives in defence of their Country, and Whose Conduct has done Honor toit, ifldidnot reprefent toyou the naked Condi- tion in which they are at prcfent: Out of Commiferation of their wretched State,
I have ordered each of them a Coat to be made of Blanket, to protect them, in same Measure, from the Inclemencies and Hardships of a Winter Season: This is all I thought proper to do, as they stand provided for till the First of May only;
but if they are continued in Pay this will he far from sufficient; they must be entirely new cloathed, it being now more than two Years fince their last Cloathing.
Whatever Refoliitions you may come to on this Head, the fooner they are made knmvn the better, that all may be ready by the ufual Time of Troops taking the Field.
Gentlemen of the Hoiife of Bnrgeffes, The Meafures which I have recommended to yourCon-fideration,andpoffibiy fomeothers which may occur to yourfelves to be neceffary for the Safety of the Colony, will create a large Expence; in the providing for which, J am confident, from the Experience I have already had of your tender Concern for the People, that you will have a due Attention to their Eafe and Comfort; who, as they are the Strength of a Country, ought to be the principal Care of the Legiflature.
Gentlemen of the Council, and of the Houfe of Burgeffes.
From a Defire to leffen the Expences of the Country as much as poffible,
I have dismissed and ordered Home all the Militia, and every other Body of Men, excepting the Regiment and the Four Companies of Rangers established by Law.
I have contracted for the Provisions of all these on the cheapest Terms, both that the Men may be well supplied, and the Country freed from the Hardships attending an Impress.
And for the Defence of the Frontiers I have disposed the Troops according to the best Information I could get, to procure which I have neglected no Means in my Power; and I sincerely hope the End intended will be fully and effedually answered,
by my having stationed the whole Regiment, excepting the Detachment left in Fort Du Quesne by Order of Brigadier -General Forbes, in the most proper and commodious Forts and Posts in the several Counties of Hampshire, Frederick, and Augusta ; and the Rangers in the Counties of Bedford and Halifax.
I have informed you of every Thing which appears to me neceffary for your prefent Deliberation ; and I hope a fteady Unanimity will prevail in all your Counfels for the Inter- efts and Support of this Colony, in the Profperity of which I feel myfelf fincerely and ftrongly interefted.
Refolved,
That an humble Addrefs be prefented to his Honor.to return him Thanks for his aflfe(5lionate Speech : To exprefs the Pleafure we receive from the late good Succefs of his Majefty's Arms, and to affure him that our Affedlion to his Majefty, our Grat- itude to his Honor, and our Regard to the true Intereft of this Colony, will lead us to do every Thing in our Power that may tend to produce greater Glory to his Majefty, and a fafe and honorable Peace to his Dominions.
Ordered, T
hat a Committee be appointed to draw up an Addrefs to the Governor, purfuant to the faid Refolution ; and it is referred to M' Attorney and M'' Landon Carter to prepare and bring in the fame.
Mr Speaker informed the House, That the Governor had delivered him a Letter, of the eighteenth of September last, from Mr Secretary Pitt; also a Letter, of the thirteenth of December, from Major-General Amherst; and desired him to lay them before the House.
And the faid Letters were read, and ordered to lie on the Table.
Refolved.
That this Houfe will take the Governor's Speech into Confideration To- morrow.
Ordered,
That the Reverend M' William Yates be continued Chaplain to this Houfe and that he attend to read Prayers every Morning at Ten o'Clock.
Ordered,
That William Francis, Thomas Broadrib, James Lavie, and James Yates, be continued in their refpedlive Offices of Door keepers to this Houfe ; and that tliey give their Attendance accordingly.
A new Member, having taken the Oaths appointed to be taken by A6t of ParHament, inftead of the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, and taken and fubfcribed the Oath of Abjuration, and alfo fubfcribed the Teft, was admitted to his Place in the Houfe, And then the Houfe adjourned till To-morrow Morning, Eleven "'Clock.
.
.
Address to Pitt and Amherst's letters
Sir,
We his Majefsy's moft dutiful Subjects, the Burgesses of Virginia, beg Leave to return your Honor our sincere Thanks for your kind Speech, at the Opening of this Session.
The Recovery of Fort Du Quesne, as it has been the constant Object of our Wishes, niuft necessarily give a Pleasure equal to the several Advantages that will arise from it to this and the rest of the British Colonies.
We are sensible of the Concern that your Honor must feel in recommending a Matter that will increafe the great Debt already contraded, on Account of the War; and we flatter ourselves,
if in any Instance we fall short of Major-General Amherst's Expectations,
it will not be imputed to a Want of Duty and Affection to his Majesty,
Gratitude to your Honor for that tender Regard you have hitherto shewn for our Prosperity, or a strict Attachment to the true Interest of those we represent,
but to our Poverty alone, which has often obstructed many a noble and honest Intention.
.
Recognition of GW
That the Thanks of this Houfe be given to George Wafhington, Efq ; a Member of this Houfe, late Colonel of the firft Virginia Regiment, for his faithful Services to his
Majefty, and this Colony, and for his brave and fteady Behaviour, from the firft En- croachments and HoftiHties of the French and their Indians, to his Refignation, after the happy Redu(5lion of Fort Du Quefne: And accordingly M' Speaker, from the Chair, returned him (he ftanding in his Place) the Thanks of the Houfe.
.
.
Sunset Laws expiring
Resolved,
That the Act of Assembly, made in the twenty-seventh Year of his present Majesty's Reign, intituled, An Act for continuing the Act, intituled. An Act for reviving the Duty upon Slaves, for a Term therein mentioned, which will expire on the twentieth Day of April, 1760, ought to be further continued.
Resolved,
That the Act of Assembly, made in the twenty-eighth Year of his prefent Majesty's Reign, intituled. An Act for continuing so much of the Act of Assembly, intituled. An Act for the Encouragement and Protection of the Settlers upon the Waters of the Mississippi as relates to the raising and imposing, collecting and paying the Duties therein mentioned, wliich will expire on the fourteenth Day of February, 1760, ought to be further continued, with Amendments.
Resolved,
That the Act of Assembly, made in the thirtieth Year of his prefent Majesty's Reign, intituled. An Act for the better regulating and disciplining the Militia, which will expire on the eighth Day of June, 1760, ought to be continued.th
Resolved,
That the Kd of Assembly, made in the thirtieth Year of his present Majesty's Reign, intituled. An Act for further continuing certain Acts of Assembly, therein mentioned, which will expire on the 10th Day of June, 1^61, ought to be further continued, with Amendments.
Resolved,
That the Act of Assembly, made in the thirtieth Year of his present Majesty's Reign, intituled, An Act for continuing the Act, intituled, An Act for laying an additional Duty on Rum and other distilled Spirits, not being of the Produce of his Majesty's Sugar I (lands, which will expire on the first Day of August, 1761, ought to be further continued s
Resolved,
That the Act of Assembly, made in the thirty-second Year of his present Majesty's Reign, intituled, An Act for continuing an Act, intituled, An Act for reducing the feveral Acts for making Provision against Invasions and Insurrections into one Act, which will expire on the eighth Day of June 1760, ought to be further continued.
Resolved,
That the Act of Assembly, made in the thirty-second Year of his present Majesty's Reign, intituled. An Act for further continuing an Act, intituled. An Act for the better regulating and collecting certain Officers fees, and for other Purposes therein mentioned which will expire on the twelfth Day of April, 1760, ought to be further continued, with Amendments.
.
.
Returning Prisoner petitions
A Petition of Crofby Eger, fetting forth. That he was taken Prifoner by the Enemy in General Braddock's Engagement, where he received feveral Wounds, and was removed from Fort to Fort till he arrived at Quebec, from whence, after a tedious Imprifonment. he was fent to Plymouth, and there remained two Months in the Hofpital, in an ill State of Health. That on his Return from thence to Bofton, he was again taken Prifoner by a French Privateer, and carried to Bourdeanx, where he remained six Months, and is but late i-etumed to this country, being now entirely deftitute, and rendered incapable of providing for himfelf and Family, and praying the Confideration of this Houfe.
Alfo a Petition of William Shaw, fetting forth, That in the Month of November, 1756, he was taken Prifoner on the Frontiers of this Colony, and carried to Fort Du Quefne, where he was tortured in the moft cruel and barbarous Manner, his Toes being cut off one by one, and Day after Day, by Order of the French Commandant. From thence, after a long Imprifonment, and the moft inhuman Treatment, he was fent to Quebec, and from thence he at length arrived in England: That he is lately returned here, in a helplefs Sit- uation, unable to procure his Livelihood, and praying the Confideration of this Hotife, were feverally prefented to the Houfe and read.
M'' Bland, from the Committee of Claims, reported, That the Committee had, accord- ing to Order, had under their Confideration the Petitions of William Shaw and Crofby Eger, to them referred, and had come to a Refolution thereupon, which he read in his Place, and then delivered in at the Table, where the fame was again twice read, and agreed to by the Houfe, as follows:
Refolved, That the Allegations of the faid Petitions are true ; and that the faid William Shaw ought to be allowed the Sum of £60, and the faid Crofby Eger the Sum of ;£i5, as a Recompenfe for their Wounds received and Hardfhips fuffered in the Service of the Colony.
Ordered, That it be an Inftru(5lion to the faid Committee to make Allowances to the faid Shaw and Eger in the Book of Claims, purfuant to the faid Refolution.
A Petition of William Brajfit, fetting forth, That he was lately a Soldier in Captain Stewart's Company, in the Virginia Regiment, and being ordered out in purfuit of fomc Deferters, came up with them in the Night, and from them received a Wound which occafioned the Lofs of one of his Legs, after which he was difcharged from the faid Regi- ment as unfit for Service, and praying the Confideration of this Houfe, was prefented to the Houfe and read.
M' Bland, from the Committee of Claims, reported. That the Committee had, according to Order, had under their Confideration, the Petition of William Braffit, to them referred, and had come to a Refolution thereupon, which he read in his Place, and then delivered in at the Table, where the fame was again twice read, and agreed to by the Houfe, as follows:
Refolved, That the Allegations of the faid Petition are titie, and that the faid William Braffit ought to be allowed the Sum of £^0 as a Recompence for the I^ofs of his Leg, occafioned by a Wound received in the Service of the Colony.
Ordered, That it be an Inftrudlion to the Committee of Claims to make an Allowance to the faid William Braffit in the Book of Claims, purfuant to the faid Refolution
.
A Claim of Benjamin Martin, for a Mare impreffed, and loft in the Service of this Colony.
Ordinarys giving credit to seafarers
Refolved, That the Petition of the Ordinary keepers in the Town of York, praying that they may be allowed to give Credit to feafaring Men and Travellers for more than Twenty Shillings in one Year, is reafonable.
Ordered, That it be an Inftrudtion to the faid Committee to receive a Claufe or Claufes for allowing the like Liberty to the Ordinary keepers in all Towns in this Colony, eftab- lifhed by Law.
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