one of the soundest lawyers and purest men in the State. This place is three hundred and twenty-four miles from Philadelphia, two hundred and seventeen from Harrisburg, and twenty-four from Pittsburg. It is ten hundred and ninety-one feet above tide-water. The railroad at this place, not quite finished as yet, will be in operation a few months ensuing. A railroad is also being constructed from Greens burg to Wheeling, which will probably intercept a large amount of the trade of the Ohio, during the season of low water above that point, as well as a portion of the travel now enjoyed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. With these splendid improvements, concentrating at Greensburg, it will probably assume an active business aspect in striking contrast to its past career.

The remains of Gen. Arthur Saint Clair are buried in the Presbyterian church-yard of this place, over which a handsome pyramidal monument has been erected by his brethren of the Masonic fraternity. Gen. St. Clair, in addition to his connection with the Revolutionary struggle, bore a conspicuous part in the political movements of this State, having been a member of Congress, a member of the Convention to form the Constitution of the State, a candidate for Governor, &c., &c. His military career, on several occasions, exposed him to censure; but he was a true patriot, and withal a useful and valuable The latter portion of his life was embittered with pecuniary misfortunes, and he lived for some time in comparative seclusion amongst the hills of the Chesnut Ridge.

man.

Twenty-one miles from Greensburg, and ten from Pittsburg, we pass the scene of Gen. Braddock's battle with the French and Indians, which took place in 1755. The entire region of country watered by the Ohio and its tributaries had long been claimed by the French, upon the strength of the original discoveries of La Salle. They accordingly built forts at various points along the Ohio, the Alleghany and Monongahela, and established themselves in the friendship of the Indians then living along those rivers. In the meantime, the authorities of Virginia and Pennsylvania conceiving that the country rightfully belonged to the British Crown, and constituted a portion of their respective colonies, took measures to oppose the further occupancy of the French. In the prosecution of this work, the fort at Pittsburg was commenced in 1754, under the authority of the Governor of Virginia; but, before its completion, the French captured it, and held it under the name of Fort Du Quesne, until 1758, when it

was abandoned to Gen. Forbes. Soon after it was enlarged and improved by Gen. Stanwix, and named Fort Pitt, in honor of the distinguished British statesman, and from which Pittsburg subsequently took its name. It thus remained in possession of the English until the commencement of the Revolutionary war, when it was seized and ever after held by the Americans-including, also, the whole surrounding country-the claim of Virginia in the meantime having been amicably arranged.

It was in view of the incursions of the French, that General Washington, in 1753, then a mere youth, was dispatched by the Governor of Virginia on an expedition to the head waters of the Ohio, to ascertain and report the state of the country. This was one of the most perilous journeys that could have been undertaken-his path laid through immense wildernesses, covered with the snows of a severe winter, and beset, at every turn, with hostile Indians. One of the most memorable incidents of this journey, (which exhibits the remarkable boldness and indefatigable energy of him who afterwards became the embodiment of our revolutionary struggle,) was the passage of the Alleghany River, about two miles above the present city of Pittsburg. The man who could thus push his way across a wild,

icy stream, was well qualified, subsequently, to cross the Delaware with the American army under his directing eye.

"I took my papers," said General Washington, in describing this perilous enterprise, "pulled off my clothes, and tied myself up in a watch-coat. Then, with gun in hand, and pack on my back, in which were my papers and provisions, I set out with Mr. Gist, fitted in the same manner, on Wednesday the 26th of December. The day following, just after we had passed a place called Murdering Town, (where we intended to quit the path and steer across the country for Shannopin's Town,) we fell in with a party of French Indians, who had lain in wait for us. One of them fired at Mr. Gist or me, not fifteen steps off, but fortunately missed. We took this fellow into custody, and kept him until about nine o'clock at night, then let him go, and walked all the remaining part of the night without making any stop, that we might get the start so far as to be out of the reach of their pursuit the next day, since we were well assured they would follow our track as soon as it was light. The next day we continued travelling until quite dark, and got to the river about two miles above

BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT.

173

Shannopin's. We expected to have found the river frozen, but it was not, only about fifty yards from each shore. The ice, I suppose, had broken up above, for it was driving in vast quantities.

There was no way for getting over but on a raft, which we set about with but one poor hatchet, and finished just after sun-setting. This was a whole day's work; we next got it launched, then went on board of it, and set off; but before we were half way over, we were jammed in the ice in such a manner that we expected every moment our raft to sink, and ourselves to perish. I put out my setting-pole to try to stop the raft, that the ice might pass by, when the rapidity of the stream threw it with so much violence against the pole, that it jerked me out into ten feet water; but I fortunately saved myself by catching hold of one of the raft-logs. Notwithstanding all our efforts, we could not get to either shore, but were obliged, as we were near an island, to quit our raft and make to it. (Now called Washington's Island.).

"The cold was so extremely severe, that Mr. Gist had all his fingers and some of his toes frozen; and the water was shut up so hard, that we found no difficulty in getting off the island on the ice in the morning, and went to Mr. Frazier's."

A short time after his return to Virginia, the expedition of General Braddock was undertaken. He had arrived in this country in 1755, with the 44th and 45th regiments of royal troops, which were subsequently joined by others, with numerous wagons and horses, obtained through the exertions of Dr. Franklin, in the eastern portion of Pennsylvania. The army moved on the 9th of June, but its progress through the wilderness was much retarded by the wagon trains, which were finally left behind at the suggestion of Washington, acting as aid-de-camp to the commanding General. The General with thirteen hundred men moved forward, leaving Col. Dunbar to follow with the baggage and the remaining troops. The army crossed to the left bank of the Monongahela, below the mouth of the Youghiogany, being prevented by the rugged hills from continuing along the right bank to the fort at Pittsburg, the object of attack. At noon, however, they recrossed to the right bank of the river, near Turtle Creek, some eight miles from Pittsburg. Here occurred the battle. The sloping hills were covered with a dense forest to the water's edge, and their sides were worn with deep ravines and gulleys, rendering the spot a favorite one for the Indian. Captain Orme, an aid of Braddock, says:

"As soon as the whole had got on the fort side of the Monongahela, we heard a very heavy and quick fire in our front. We immediately advanced in order to sustain them, but the detachment of the five hundred men gave way, and fell back upon us, which caused such confusion and struck so great a panic among our men, that afterwards no military expedient could be made use of that had any effect upon them. The men were so extremely deaf to the exhortation of the officers, that they fired away in the most irregular manner all their ammunition, and then ran off, leaving to the enemy the artillery, ammunition, provisions and baggage; nor could they be persuaded to stop till they got as far as Gist's plantation, while many of them proceeded as far as Col. Dunbar's party, some six miles distant. The officers were absolutely sacrificed by their unparalleled good behaviour -advancing sometimes in bodies and sometimes separately-hoping, by such example, to engage the soldiers to follow them; but to no purpose. The whole number of killed and wounded amounted to between six and seven hundred, among which were many officers, including Gen. Braddock himself, with two of his aids. Gen. Morris, speaking of this action, says: "The defeat of our troops appears to be owing to the want of care and caution in the leaders, who have been too secure, and held in great contempt the Indian manner of fighting. Even by Captain Orme's account they were not aware of the attack. And there are others that say that the French and Indians lined the way on each side, and in the front and behind ravines, that we knew nothing of till they fired upon us." Gen. Washington, nine days after the battle, wrote to his mother, as follows: "When we came there we were attacked by a party of French and Indians, whose number did not probably exceed five hundred men, while ours consisted of about thirteen hundred well-armed troops, chiefly regular soldiers who were struck with such a panic that they behaved with more cowardice than it is possible to conceive. officers behaved gallantly in order to encourage their men, for which they suffered greatly, there being near sixty killed and wounded-a large proportion of the number we had. The Virginia troops showed a good deal of bravery, and were nearly all killed; for I believe out of three companies that were there, scarcely thirty men are left alive. Capt. Peyrouny and all his officers, down to a corporal, were killed. Capt. Polson had nearly as hard a fate, for only one of his was left. In short, the dastardly behavior of those they call regulars exposed

The