Braddock Road
Date: 2014-01-12T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Braddock's Campaign; 1755

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Braddock Road

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Title: Braddock Road

Author: John Kennedy Lacock

Release date: January 12, 2014 [eBook #44648]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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BRADDOCK ROAD[1]

By John Kennedy Lacock

On September 24, 1754, Major-General Edward Braddock was appointed by the Duke of Cumberland, captain-general of the British army, to the command of the British troops to be sent to Virginia, with the rank of generalissimo of all his Britannic Majesty’s forces on the American continent. Before the expedition could start, however, many weeks had to be spent in extensive preparations, a delay which became so irksome to Braddock that he determined to wait no longer on the tardy movement of the transports. Accordingly, on December 21, 1754, accompanied by Captain Robert Orme, one of his aides, and William Shirley, his military secretary, he set sail for Virginia with Commodore Augustus Keppel, and on February 20, 1755, anchored in Hampton Roads. It was not till January 14, 1755, that the rest of the ships were actually under sail, and not till about March 15 that the entire fleet arrived at Alexandria, Virginia, where the troops were disembarked and temporarily quartered.[2]

ROBERT ORME
AID-DE-CAMP

Meanwhile General Braddock had been busy making the necessary preparations for the expedition against Fort Duquesne. As a matter of first importance, he had written to the governors of the several provinces asking them to meet him in council at Alexandria; and to the five who responded to his invitation on April 14 he submitted various proposals, to which they in turn made formal answer.[3]

Already, however, two days prior to the conference with the governors, the advance column of the army, after much delay caused by the lack of horses and wagons, had set out from Alexandria. The first objective point was Wills Creek,[4] to which the two regiments of the army proceeded by different routes, Sir Peter Halket’s through Virginia via Rock Creek and Winchester, Colonel Thomas Dunbar’s through Maryland via Fredericktown and thence across the Conogogee and into a road five miles north of Winchester. From this point both divisions seem to have marched over the same road to Fort Cumberland.[5] Still further delays were occasioned by the want of wagons and horses for transportation, as well as by the lack of provisions; but by the 19th of May practically all the forces were encamped at the fort, a total of some 2100 men. It had thus taken twenty-seven days to march from Alexandria to Fort Cumberland, a distance of 180 miles; and, one may remark in passing, all the delays up to this point had been occasioned by circumstances over which Braddock had practically no control. He did not reach Fort Cumberland himself till May 10.[6] Then he lost no time in giving his attention to the three matters which were of greatest significance to the success of his expedition,—(1) the Indian question, (2) the arrangements about wagons and provisions, (3) the construction of a road through Pennsylvania to serve as a means of connection with the base of supplies.

Of Braddock’s relations with the Indians there are many conflicting stories; but a careful examination of the most trustworthy accounts will convince an impartial investigator that there is no basis in fact for the charge, often made, that his conduct toward them was impolitic and unjust. On the contrary, it is difficult to find a single fair criticism that can be made against him on this score. However one may account for the circumstance that but eight of them accompanied the expedition, it seems to be practically certain that this small number was not due to the fact that the Indians had not received every reasonable consideration from the English general.

In providing the horses, wagons, and supplies necessary for the undertaking, Braddock was ably assisted by Benjamin Franklin, whose extraordinary efforts, tact, and courage called forth his warm appreciation. “I desired Mr. B. Franklin, postmaster of Pennsylvania, who has great credit in that province,” he wrote on June 5, “to hire me one hundred and fifty wagons and the number of horses necessary, which he did with so much goodness and readiness that it is almost the first instance of integrity, address, and ability that I have seen in all these provinces.”[7]

In the solution of his third problem, that of constructing a road through Pennsylvania in order to have an adequate avenue for securing supplies, Braddock was less successful. He quickly recognized the importance of having the road cut west of the Susquehanna in order to intersect with the route of the army at a place called indifferently Turkey Foot, Crow Foot, or the three forks of the Youghiogheny (at what is now Confluence[8]); and he had the satisfaction of seeing the work of building this road prosecuted with great diligence by Governor Morris of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately for Braddock, however, it proved to be impossible to complete the road in time for it to be of any service to him in the expedition.[9]

From Fort Cumberland westward Braddock had to make a road for his troops across mountains divided by ravines and torrents, over a rugged, desolate, unknown, and uninhabited country. The history of the construction of this road and a description of its course it is the purpose of this paper to set forth; for the growing interest with which the routes of celebrated expeditions are coming to be regarded, and the confusion that attends the tracing of such routes after a lapse of years, make it altogether fitting that the road by which the unfortunate Braddock marched to his disastrous field should be surveyed, mapped, and suitably marked while it is yet possible to trace its course with reasonable definiteness.

In any discussion of this subject three things should be borne clearly in mind: (1) the irregular topography and mountainous nature of the country through which the road had to be built, for there were as many as six ranges of the Alleghanies to be crossed, besides other mountain elevations and passes that presented as great and serious difficulties; (2) the wooded character of the country; (3) the fact that the road had to be constructed by the soldiers of the army. It is noteworthy that the road which Braddock made followed very closely the course of the so-called Nemacolin Indian trail,[10] and that it was used as a pioneer road as far west as Jumonville until late in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

On May 30 a detachment of six hundred men commanded by Major Russell Chapman set out to clear a road twelve feet wide from Fort Cumberland to Little Meadows, twenty miles away; but in spite of some work previously done on Wills Mountain, just west of the fort, they had so great difficulty in passing the elevation that on the first day they got but two miles from the starting-place. In the process, moreover, three of their wagons were entirely destroyed and many more shattered.[11]

Of the road from old Fort Cumberland to the foot of Wills Mountain no trace can be found today, but it seems probable that its course lay along what is now Green Street in Cumberland. There is, however, just as good and as direct a route from the camp by way of Sulphur Spring Hollow, past the present Rose Hill cemetery, with an easy, ascending grade to the ridge of the spur of Wills Mountain, and so on to a point at or near the intersection of the Sulphur Spring, Cresaptown, and Cumberland roads.[12] Something might be said in support of this route. Nevertheless, the former was the direct way to reach the fording at Wills Creek, the old trading-post at this point; and it was the way best known to the Indians.

At the foot of the mountain the road proceeds westerly, parallel to the Cumberland Road but ninety feet north of it, to a point opposite the old Steel House.[13] At this spot the first depression or scar of the Braddock Road can be seen today.

A short distance farther on, the road enters the wooded part of Wills Mountain. At a distance of about four hundred feet westward it veers away to the north from the old Cumberland Road, following to the top of the mountain a succession of absolutely straight lines, no one of which varies more than five degrees from the preceding line. Thence the course bears to the south and joins the Cumberland Road opposite the old Steiner House (now owned by Frederick Lang) in Sandy Gap,[14] about a mile and a half from the junction with the Cresaptown road. To this point the route may be traced with very little difficulty. From Sandy Gap it follows the present course of the old Cumberland Road for about seven-tenths of a mile,[15] crossing the George’s Creek and Cumberland Railroad and the Eckhart branch of the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, to the house now occupied by Edward Kaylor, 380 feet from the latter railroad crossing. Here the line leaves the old Cumberland Road and runs due west four-tenths of a mile, passing under the front or southwest corner of the new house recently built by William Hendrickson, then fording Braddock Run in Alleghany Grove south of Lake View Cottage, thence running through Alleghany Grove to the Vocke road 440 feet south of its intersection with the National turnpike and 700 feet north of the now abandoned part of the old Cumberland Road, and keeping on still in the same straight line 1100 feet westward to the turnpike.

So great was the difficulty experienced by the advance party in passing this mountain that General Braddock himself reconnoitered it, and had determined to put 300 more men at work upon it when he was informed by Mr. Spendelow, lieutenant of the seamen,[16] that he had discovered a pass by way of the Narrows through a valley which led round the foot of the mountain.[17] Thereupon Braddock ordered a survey of this route to be made, with the result that a good road was built in less than three days, over which all troops and supplies for Fort Cumberland were subsequently transported.[18]

Every endeavor of the writer and his party to locate this new road through the Narrows and round Wills Mountain proved fruitless. Of approaches from Fort Cumberland to the Narrows over which an army with baggage trains could pass, four, and only four, were possible.[19] (1) One could cross Wills Creek at the ford or bridge near its mouth;[20] and then go up the left or eastern bank of the stream;[21] (2) one could pass down the decline back of the present Alleghany Academy to the creek, and then follow the shore on either side, fording at the most convenient point; (3) one could go down the sloping ground northward from the fort, reaching the creek about where the cement mill now stands, and then go up the creek as in the second route;[22] (4) one could follow Fayette street and Sulphur Spring valley to the cemetery, and thence turning abruptly to the right go down a little valley to the Narrows, where a crossing of the creek would be immediately necessary. A high bluff, or “stratum,” running down to the very water’s edge of the creek on the right bank of the stream at the eastern entrance to this gap makes it almost unquestionable that the beginning of the pathway through the Narrows was on the left, or eastern, bank of Wills Creek.[23] The question is, did this pathway follow the left bank of the stream through the entire length of the gap, recrossing the creek near the month of Braddock Run; or did it recross it in the Narrows near the present location of the bridge over Wills Creek on the National turnpike, and thence follow the course of the turnpike to the western terminus of the Narrows? Judged by present conditions, the latter view seems the more probable; but it is impossible to do more than make a shrewd guess, for the construction of three separate railroads through this narrow valley has completely altered the banks of the creek and obliterated all traces of the road. In favor of the former contention it should be said that, within the memory of some of the older and more trustworthy citizens of Cumberland, there has been opportunity for the easy construction of a road on the left, or eastern, bank of Wills Creek.[24] Furthermore, at the entrance of the Narrows from the western end the stratum of hard white sandstone formerly extended to the waters of the creek.

Although the ground between these two obstructions to the Narrows on its right bank might have afforded a good roadbed, yet undoubtedly they proved to be obstacles that Braddock’s engineers, with the appliances which they had at hand, could not easily surmount. It is well known to the older residents of Cumberland that as late as 1873 the mass of boulders at the eastern end of the gap, lying along the right bank of the stream, were in their primitive condition when a wagon road was constructed by George Henderson, Jr., to join the Cumberland road on that side of Wills Creek. On the contrary, the left bank presented no such difficulties in the way of road-building; and a careful examination of the ground through the entire length of the gap cannot fail to convince one that in Braddock’s day there was opportunity for the easy construction of a road on that side.

After leaving the gap the road turned into the valley of Braddock Run; but the difficulty of finding present traces of it at this point seems almost insuperable on account of the character of the valley itself. The methods employed by Braddock’s engineers in laying out the road indicate that its course was probably that afterwards followed by the National turnpike to a point near the northwest corner of the Alleghany Grove Camp Ground,[25] just beyond which and south of the turnpike is a distinct hollow or trench. The neighborhood of Alleghany Grove was unquestionably the place of the first encampment, Spendelow Camp.[26]

From the point of intersection with the National turnpike, one-fourth mile west of Alleghany Grove, the Braddock Road keeps north of the turnpike on somewhat higher ground to escape swampy land; thence, in order to avoid the point of a hill (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say a spur of Piney Mountain), it crosses the turnpike to the southward, and after running parallel to it for about 150 yards recrosses it to the northward at or near the point where the present trolley line intersects it. Here there is a well-preserved scar for almost a mile to the point where the road joins the National turnpike near the six-mile post. The route then follows along the north side of the turnpike, crossing Braddock Run, a little to the north of the bridge;[27] thence running westerly north of the Six Mile House, it recrosses Braddock Run, and a few rods beyond passes between the house and barn of Charles Laber. On this farm there is a copious spring of excellent water, locally known as Braddock Spring,[28] situated about 175 feet south of Braddock Road, and according to local tradition marking the site of Spendelow Camp. That this theory is altogether unlikely, however, is shown not only by the fact that the tradition does not harmonize with the best authorities, but also by the topography of the country and the lack of sufficient and suitable ground for an encampment. That an advance party may have spent the night at or near this fine spring is not improbable, but the natural place for the camp was in the neighborhood of Alleghany Grove Camp Ground.[29]

Less than a quarter of a mile west of Charles Laber’s house Braddock Road again crosses Braddock Run; thence turning almost due south in order to avoid a rocky ascent over which no road could be built, it comes into the National turnpike about a mile west of the old toll-house. From this point it coincides with the turnpike for 225 feet; then it veers away to the north for some rods and turns west, crossing the county road known as the Short Gap road about fifty yards north of its junction with the turnpike, and passing the house now owned by John Laber. A short distance west of this point it crosses the turnpike and the Eckhart branch of the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad in order to avoid a very deep hollow, and joins the pike again four hundred feet farther on. After following the old turnpike for about one hundred feet it veers away again to the north of it at Spruce Bridge for about three-quarters of a mile, passing Smith’s Big Rocks, and joining the turnpike again less than quarter of a mile east of Clarysville. From Alleghany Grove Camp Ground to Clarysville there are only a few short stretches where traces of the road cannot be distinctly seen, and in some places the scar is nearly ten feet deep.

At Clarysville the road turns into the valley of Flaggy Run, apparently following the west bank of the stream,[30] along which there is a deep depression formed by an old mill race that might easily be mistaken for the road itself. About half a mile southwest of Clarysville the road turns almost at a right angle, keeping approximately the course of the present county road for three-quarters of a mile up Hoffman Hollow. Here again, running parallel to the present road, is an old tramway roadbed which might readily be taken for Braddock’s path. A short distance beyond the Hoffman coal mines, on the north side of the road, is a very deep scar, which is probably a part of Braddock’s roadbed. At the top of the hill the road turns northward at almost a right angle in order to avoid what was formerly a very wide swamp, and then passes over the ridge and down through Layman’s orchard, where there is a deep scar. Near the end of this ridge, overlooking Frostburg and about five miles from Spendelow Camp, is the site of the second encampment, Martin’s Plantation.[31]

From here the road crosses first the headwaters of the eastern branch of George’s Creek, next the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, and then runs southeast of Frostburg into the premises of James Grose, and on through the Sheatz, Taylor, and William Tiley properties to Braddock Park. About 350 feet north of this park is an old milestone, which is supposed by some writers to have been set up by Braddock.[32] Leaving Braddock Park the line follows the Midlothian road for about four hundred feet; but, soon entering a lane, it crosses the western branch of George’s Creek east of an old spring-house standing near the ruins of the old Musselman farmhouse, and bearing the inscription “C. & S. Musselman, May 30th, 1806.” At this point, one-fourth mile west from Braddock Park, the ascent of Big Savage Mountain begins. Although there are some level spots on the western slope of the mountain, the ascent of more than two miles is very steep and rocky, and the cut is several feet deep in places.[33] The descent for a half mile or more is also very rugged and in places extraordinarily steep.[34] On the east and west slopes the traces of the route are very distinct.

At the foot of the mountain the road unites with a highway a little to the east of Andrew Jackson Moore’s stone house, and continues with it for nearly half a mile, when it apparently turns into a private or secondary road for about another mile to a point where there is a favorable place for fording Savage River, the last water that empties itself into the Potomac.[35] Near a schoolhouse on the north bank of Savage River and a short distance west of the mouth of Carey Run the road begins a very steep ascent of Little Savage Mountain. From this point to the Henry Blocher farm, a little over a mile westward, the course of the road follows closely that of a private way, on either side of which there are for short intervals very clear signs of the location of Braddock Road. From various indications it seems reasonable to conclude that the farm of Henry Blocher, with the adjoining one of George Blocher, marks the location of Braddock’s third encampment, Savage River Camp.[36] There is a local tradition that about five hundred yards west of the Henry Blocher farm a skirmish with the Indians took place, and that near a clump of trees east of Blocher’s house some British soldiers were buried.[37]

From the Henry Blocher farm the line follows the general course of a private road westward for about a mile, crosses Mudlick Run to Read Anderson’s house, and thence leads up a rather formidable hill, on which Braddock’s engineers appear for the first time to have made use of a winding path as a means of ascent. From this hill the road runs by very favorable ground in a nearly straight line to the corner of a wood, and then on through the woods to a township road, which it crosses at a point about a quarter of a mile from the National turnpike. Proceeding in the same straight line westward less than quarter of a mile, it reaches and crosses the turnpike to the north. It was at or near this intersection that the first brigade probably encamped on June 15.[38]

From this point to some woods less than a quarter of a mile westward there is no trace of the road, but through these woods there is a well-marked scar for over half a mile to Two Mile Run. Near this stream are the renowned “Shades of Death,” once a deep forest the tops of whose towering trees intertwined.[39] From the “Shades of Death” the road passes up Red Ridge, crossing another road a few rods to the north of a house now occupied by Henry Meerbach;[40] thence it runs to Wolf Swamp and Red Run,[41] and on to the foot of Meadow Mountain.[42] On the east and west slopes of this mountain the cuts, from six to ten feet deep, are for long distances clearly perceptible. On the western slope the beautiful estate of Little Meadows, now owned by D. F. Kuykendall, of Cumberland, marks the location of the fourth encampment.[43]

A short distance from Little Meadows the road crosses Chestnut Ridge. Thence proceeding westwardly, it intersects the National turnpike about one mile east of the Little Crossings bridge over the Castleman River, runs through the farm of Eli Stanton, where there is a very clear scar, and then crosses the Jennings Brothers’ railroad.[44] A quarter of a mile farther westward it intersects the National turnpike near Stanton’s old mill; but, after following the turnpike very closely for a few rods, it veers off to the south, crossing the Castleman River about three hundred yards above the Little Crossings bridge, near a point locally known as Hickory Hole. On the west side of the river the road veers away to the southwest, and a few rods from the fording enters some woods, in which the scar is well marked. Thence turning westward it passes about a quarter of a mile south of Grantsville, and continues in an approximately straight line to Shade Hill, which shows a scar as deep as any on the mountain ranges previously mentioned.[45] At the foot of the western slope of this hill the road crosses Big Shade Run; and a short distance westward, near Little Shade Run, it passes the house and barn now owned by John P. Miller. This was the place of the fifth encampment.

At this point, in plain view of the National turnpike, the road begins the ascent of Negro Mountain. Following a distinct trace for about a mile, the traveller reaches the farm now owned by G. W. Shaw. The road passes north of his house; and, at a point a quarter of a mile to the westward and about the same distance south of the National turnpike, it intersects a country road which extends northward to the turnpike. Continuing from this point in the same straight line, it crosses the turnpike one-fourth of a mile west of a milestone which bears the inscription “104 to Wheeling To Frostburg 16.” Up the mountain for a distance of less than a mile the scar of the road is clearly seen, as far as the north fork of Spiker Run on the eastern slope. From this point, again, the line is easily followed westward for more than half a mile, until it passes immediately south of the Oak Grove or Mennonite church; but from here to the place at which it intersects the National road on the eastern slope of Negro Mountain, at a lane east of the house of H. C. Butler, there are but slight traces.

Along this lane for half a mile through slightly rolling depressions the road runs on to Puzzley Run, and after fording the run passes with a distinct scar north of a vacant log house over a very difficult pass to a lane east of William Augustine’s house, and thence along this lane for several rods to the house, which is built on the very roadbed itself and less than one hundred yards from the National turnpike. From Augustine’s house the line runs parallel to the turnpike, but a few rods south of it, for over two miles to Coon Spiker’s house, showing here and there traces of the road that are more or less distinct. Apparently passing south of this house and on through a lane to the south of Stephen Spiker’s house, it presently, a little to the westward, enters a stretch of woods, through which it proceeds over Keyser Ridge, where, although there is a very luxuriant growth of underbrush, the trace of the road for a little over two miles is so distinct as to leave no doubt in regard to its course over this rocky and very difficult pass. From the woods it emerges into the bottom of the north fork of Mill Run, less than half a mile from the Pennsylvania and Maryland boundary line at Oakton, Maryland.[46] Here, in one of the most picturesque places for an encampment along the entire route, was Bear Camp.[47]

Leaving Bear Camp, the road, after crossing Mill Run, intercepts the Pennsylvania boundary line, and a few rods farther on crosses the National turnpike less than one-fourth of a mile west of Oakton. It then continues its course over Winding Ridge, on which the traces of it are especially well marked. On the west side of this ridge the line passes north of an old milk house and of a stone house owned by William Miller. About half a mile westward it joins the National turnpike, which it follows for nearly six hundred feet, and then veers away in a northerly direction through some woods, crossing the headwaters of Laurel Run near an old chestnut tree, two hundred yards east of Edward J. Augustine’s house. From this point to Addison, a little over a mile distant, the road parallels the turnpike less than quarter of a mile to the north of it.

From Addison the course westward for nearly two miles to John Augustine’s house is well defined, though only here and there does one find noticeable scars of the road. Before reaching John Augustine’s house one comes to Jasper Augustine’s estate, where there was formerly on Braddock Road an old hotel known as the Old Granny Welsh House, of which nothing now remains but a few foundation stones. The exact location of the point at which Braddock Road crosses the National turnpike west of John Augustine’s house is not quite clear; but the line seems to turn almost due south less than three hundred yards west of his house, winding round a hill and then passing through a lane to Jacob Miller’s house.[48] A short distance southwest of this house it strikes north of the north branch of Braddock Run, and about half a mile beyond comes to the forks of the run. Between these forks, and possibly a short distance westward, is the ground which formed the seventh encampment, called Squaw’s Fort.[49]

From this point the road follows Braddock Run to its mouth, fording (without bridging) the Big Crossings of the Youghiogheny at or near the mouth of Braddock Run, about half a mile above where the National road now crosses the river.[50] Keeping on down the west bank of the stream, it begins a sharp ascent of Wolf, or Turkey Garden Hill, at a point opposite Somerfield, and follows the northern side of this hill for some distance before entering Jockey Hollow. The slope of the hill is very steep and the scar distinctly marked; but from Jockey Hollow onward through the valley of Potter Run there are almost no traces of the road. After keeping a little way up this run through the valley of Stuck Hollow, the line turns at almost a right angle to follow the course of a small run leading to Second River Hill, which is less than two hundred yards south of the National road. At the beginning of the ascent on the eastern slope of this hill, just at the entrance to some woods, are three distinct scars that eventually converge into one road, which runs down the western slope and a little farther on passes less than ten rods south of the house of Isaac M. Thomas.[51] A short distance westward from his house the line runs to the north of the house of A. M. Thomas, thence into a township road, then on past Charles Umble’s residence to that of B. F. Miller, and a little way from this place enters the woods on Division Ridge. No other part of the old Braddock Road presents such difficulties as this section of it over Division Ridge, for the underbrush is so thick in places that one is compelled to crawl on hands and knees in order to keep the road. The slopes are very rocky and the passes are exceedingly difficult, but with plainly marked scars. At the western foot of this ridge was situated the camp of the Twelve Springs, which Orme designated as “the camp on the east side the Great Meadows.”[52]

From this point the road, after passing through some woods for over a mile and a half, crosses the Haydentown road near the house of Isaac Savage. About a quarter of a mile west of this place there is a large bog or swamp, a hundred or more yards across, which, if one may judge from present conditions, the expedition probably skirted to the north, and then went on westward in almost a straight line for about a mile and a half till it came to the present township road. From the camp of the Twelve Springs to this place one has very little difficulty in following the old road; but from this point onward for a little over a mile no distinct traces can be found. The most probable inferences, however, support the local tradition that the line coincides with the township road for a few rods, then crosses it north of an old burying-ground, to the east of which formerly stood an old hotel, and then, immediately rejoining it, coincides or closely parallels it for a distance of less than half a mile. At this point the road enters the farm of W. H. Hansel, and, proceeding in a northwesterly direction, presently enters a strip of woods, passes the old Bishop house (unoccupied), and then runs down Hager Hill south of James Bishop’s, a quarter of a mile south of Fort Necessity.[53] For a mile and a half from the James Bishop house the road can be very accurately followed to the point at which it intersects the National turnpike,—a point, it may be noted, about a stone’s throw south of the spot where lie the mortal remains of General Braddock.[54] At this intersection the road leaves the turnpike never again to rejoin it, and turns somewhat to the northwest in order to gain a favorable pass over Chestnut Ridge, the last mountain ridge to be crossed. About a quarter of a mile northward from Braddock’s grave was “the camp on the west side of the Great Meadows,” the Orchard Camp.[55]

SITE OF FORT NECESSITY
FROM PAINTING BY PAUL WEBER, 1854

A short distance from this camp the road runs south of Nemacolin’s Wigwam,[56] and a few rods northward near a schoolhouse enters the wooded part of Chestnut Ridge, on the eastern slope of which it passes the spot called Peddler’s Rocks. On the western slope a sort of transverse road, the traces of which are easily followed except for about a quarter of a mile, was cut to join a township road near the house of John Henry Rankin, three miles and a half from Braddock’s grave. A few rods distant on the west side of the township road are the Half King’s Rocks, better known as the Great Rock, where the old camp of the Half King was located; and close by these rocks and south of the road is “Washington Springs,” the place of Braddock’s tenth encampment, called Rock Fort,[57] two miles south of Dunbar’s camp.

From Washington Springs the line follows the course of the present road for about a mile, with distinct marks at intervals along the sides; it then continues in a northerly direction eastward of the present road to a point east of Jumonville and of Jumonville’s grave.[58] From here it keeps its northerly course along a very narrow crest of the mountain, past the Honey Comb Rock, and thereafter in the main follows the dividing line between North Union and Dunbar townships to a point about one mile south of the old Meason house on the Gist Plantation, when by a slight deflection northwestward it crosses Cove Run and the Pennsylvania Railroad to Gist’s Plantation, the place of the eleventh encampment.[59] Between the tenth and eleventh encampments the traces of the road are so plain that one does not have to rely on inference.

The last mountain barrier had now been passed. Along this narrow road, cut but twelve feet wide and with the line of march often extending four miles at a time, the army had toiled on day after day, crossing ridge after ridge of the Alleghany Mountains, now plunging down into a deep and often narrow ravine, now climbing a difficult and rocky ascent, but always in the deep shadow of the forest. On such a thoroughfare, running between heavily-wooded forests on either side of the road and made still narrower and often several feet deep by usage, it was of course impossible for a vehicle coming in the opposite direction to pass; but on nearly all the mountain ranges, and especially in the low grounds, there were wider places where by some kind of signals or by some preconcerted understanding the packtrains and wagons, which frequently moved in caravans, could meet and pass one another. Thenceforward, however, the character and general aspect of the country were noticeably different. The land of active coal developments, including coke ovens, had been reached. For many miles to the northward the traveller passes over a vast extent of country from under which the coal has been taken, and from which the props have given way in many places, leaving deep and treacherous holes. Such crevices are especially frequent from Prittstown to a point east of Mount Pleasant, a circumstance which in some places materially interferes with the relocation of Braddock Road.

Leaving Gist’s Plantation the line runs abruptly to the northward, evidently keeping the higher ground to a point about a quarter of a mile east of Leisenring, where it turns into the valley of Opossum Run and follows the stream to its mouth in the Youghiogheny. On the west side of the Youghiogheny, near Robinson’s Falls, was the place of the twelfth encampment.[60] Although no trustworthy scars of the road from Gist’s Plantation to this point are discernible, there can be little doubt that this was the line of march.[61]

Braddock forded the Youghiogheny at Stewart’s Crossing, below the mouth of Opossum Creek, to a point on the opposite side of the river above the mouth of Mounts Creek, half a mile below Connellsville.[62] His next encampment, which was on the east side of the fording, a mile north of the mouth of Mounts Creek, cannot be definitely fixed; but most probably it was on Davidson’s land, southeast of the Narrows.[63] Between this point and the battleground there were still some highlands to be crossed, which, though trivial in comparison with the mountains already traversed, were yet rugged enough to present serious difficulties to the troops, already worn out with previous labors and exertions.

From the camp the road passes through the Narrows, evidently along the present township road, until it strikes the boundary line between Bullskin and Upper Tyrone townships. This it follows in a northeasterly direction for a distance of some mile and a half, with a few noticeable deflections from the present township road, to a point about half a mile east of Valley Works. Here the course veers away to the northeast in almost a straight line to Prittstown, either paralleling or coinciding with the line between Bullskin and Upper Tyrone for the last mile or so. Then, continuing in the same direction beyond Prittstown for a mile and a half, it reaches the John W. Truxell farm (recently purchased by Elmer E. Lauffer[64]), where on the night of July 1 the army seems to have bivouacked in order that a swamp which extended for a considerable distance on either side of Jacob’s Creek might be made passable. From the Truxell farm the line turns almost due north through the swamp, crossing Green Lick Run, and thence keeping a straight line west of the Fairview church to a point a short distance west of Hammondville. Here, at a place called Jacob’s Cabin, still on the east side of Jacob’s Creek, the army encamped. It must be admitted that very few reliable traces of the road from Connellsville to this point were found by the exploring party; but the topography of the country, the course of the road as shown on the earlier maps, the testimony of Orme’s journal and of local tradition, all lead the writer to believe that the route between these two points as here laid down is correct in the main.[65]

Braddock appears to have crossed Jacob’s Creek a short distance west of Pershing Station, on the Scottdale branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad near the spot where Welshonse’s mill formerly stood.[66] On this side of the creek the road follows the township line a distance of one and one-half miles to Eagle Street in Mount Pleasant, and while still within the limits of the town crosses the Pittsburg and Mount Pleasant pike. From Mount Pleasant the course for the next few miles is quite evidently that of the township line between Mount Pleasant and Hempfield townships on the east and north and East Huntingdon and South Huntingdon townships on the west and south respectively. A portion of this line coincides with the road now in use. About a mile north of Mount Pleasant is a very deep scar in an old orchard on the John McAdam farm, a trace which continues to be visible for some rods farther north on the same farm. A little way beyond the point where the Braddock Road leaves the McAdam farm there is also a marked depression for over five hundred yards on the property of the Warden heirs. Extending a mile westward from the intersection of the Mount Pleasant, Hempfield, and East Huntingdon township lines is a great swamp of several hundred acres,[67] which the road skirts to the eastward and then keeps on to the Edwin S. Stoner farm, near Belson’s Run, a tributary of Sewickley Creek. According to local tradition, this farm is the site of the Salt Lick Camp, a view in support of which there is much to be said.[68]

About a quarter of a mile from the Stoner farm the line crosses Belson’s Run southeast of Combato’s store to a private or secondary road known as Braddock’s Lane, which it follows for three-quarters of a mile till it meets a township road. From this point it keeps the present township line to Sewickley Creek, at the point of intersection between Hempfield and South and East Huntingdon townships, half a mile southwest of Hunkers.[69] After crossing Sewickley Creek[70] the road veers away northwest, showing a slight depression a little farther on, south of David Beck’s house. Continuing in practically the same straight line, it apparently joins the boundary line between Sewickley and Hempfield townships, and thence runs westward along this line to the D. F. Knappenberger farm,[71] which offers all the requirements favorable for a camp, and is probably the place of the sixteenth encampment, Thicketty Run.[72]

From this place, which is about a mile southeast of old Madison, the road seems to follow the township line northwestward; for southwest of Madison there are some well-marked scars, and a short distance beyond the town, near the fording of a run on the higher ground approaching the Little Sewickley, there are more traces. After fording the Little Sewickley it passes, still northwestward, through the John Leisure farm,[73] showing on the top of the hill beyond and westward toward the John C. Fox farm some trustworthy scars. At this point, about a mile northwest of the Little Sewickley, it crosses a township road over some falls between John C. Fox’s house and barn, and thence with very perceptible traces keeps on in the same straight line to the William B. Howell farm. From a point one-fourth of a mile southeast of the Howell house it follows the present clay road to a point as far beyond, and thence continues westward to the Hezekiah Gongaware farm.[74] After leaving this place the line is unquestionably that of the present township road for about a quarter of a mile; then, going on in the same direction, it passes about a quarter of a mile south of Byerly’s schoolhouse. At less than half a mile beyond the schoolhouse it joins the present township road again, and thus continues to Circleville, except for one short stretch of a few rods to the east of the road, where there is a very clear depression. In Circleville the road seems to pass east of Long Run church, and a few rods northwest of it crosses the Pittsburg and Philadelphia turnpike. Here, in the neighborhood of Circleville and Stewartsville, the army encamped again.

BRADDOCK’S BATTLEFIELD
FROM PAINTING BY PAUL WEBER, 1854

At this point General Braddock, after causing an examination of the country between the camp and Fort Duquesne to be made, abandoned his design of approaching the fort by the ridge route, being deterred by the deep and rugged ravines of the streams and by the steep and almost perpendicular precipices to the eastward of Circleville and Stewartsville.[75] Turning westward, therefore, at almost a right angle at or near Stewartsville, possibly at Charles Larimer’s barn, the route strikes out in a shorter line coincident with the present county road, undoubtedly following the course of this road for about a mile; thence continuing in the same direction for a little over a mile along a ridge on either side of which is a narrow valley, it intersects the White Oak Level road about half a mile east of the boundary line between Alleghany and Westmoreland counties. From this point it follows naturally down the valley of Long Run, past what was Samson’s old mill,[76] and across Long Run at or near the present bridge to a point about two and a half miles westward, where the army encamped at a very favorable depression now known as McKeesport, two miles north of the Monongahela River and about four miles from the battlefield. A magnificent spring of water marks the site of this encampment, which was called Monongahela Camp.[77]

On the morning of July 9 the army turned into the valley of Crooked Run down what is now known as Riverton Avenue, fording the Monongahela to the north of the mouth of the run in order to avoid the narrow pass on the east side of the river.[78] The route follows down the western bank of the Monongahela through what is now Duquesne, fording the river a second time a short distance west of Turtle Creek. Here, on the eastern bank of the Monongahela, the battle took place.

From a point about a mile southeast from Circleville to Braddock’s Field there are no trustworthy scars of the road; but the topography of the country is such that the line between these two points can be readily determined. Some of the older citizens pointed out to the writer the place at which Braddock forded the Monongahela, for marks of the passage have been visible until within a few years.[79] Recently, however, the whole complexion of the ground on the west side of the river has been changed to so great a degree, not only by the erection of steel works with their large deposits of slag along the banks, but also by the improved methods of navigation, that all traces of Braddock’s movements are forever obliterated. On the eastern side of the Monongahela and west of Turtle Creek, at what is now Braddock, where the battle occurred, encouraging efforts are now on foot that promise to lead to a satisfactory settlement of the point at which the fording actually occurred, as well as of the location of the route through the battlefield and of the ground on which the British and the French troops took position.[80]

BRADDOCK’S GRAVE
FROM PAINTING BY PAUL WEBER, 1854

In the hope of finding some signs of the path through the battlefield, the writer made a somewhat careful examination and study of the place; but the contour of the ground over which the line of march extended was found to be so much altered that even the slightest traces of its course were not perceptible. From a study of the Mackellar maps,[81] however, it would appear that from a point a few rods west of Turtle Creek, eastward and northward of Frazer’s Cabin, the road veered away to the northwest,[82] evidently crossing the Pennsylvania Railroad at or near Thirteenth Street (where there was formerly a hollow way or ravine, it is said), and thence more than probably following the course of the railroad to Robinson Street, and on to a point northward of the old Robinson burying-ground. From here the line would seem to have kept east of the Pennsylvania Railroad and station until it reached a point about six hundred yards beyond the station, between Jones Avenue and Sixth Street. This street may be identified as the second ravine, through which Frazer’s Run flowed and in which the advance column of Braddock’s army was attacked by Captain Beaujeu[83] and his party.[84]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] During the month of August, 1908, the writer conducted the following party over the Braddock Road: Charles Francis Abbott of Somerville, Mass., a sub-master in the Somerville English High School; Henry Temple of Washington, Pa., professor of history at Washington and Jefferson College, and his son John, a student at Washington and Jefferson Academy; Claude S. Larzelere of Mount Pleasant, Michigan, professor of history in the Michigan State Normal School; Ernest K. Weller of Washington, Pa., photographer; Edward B. Murdoch, Esq., and his brother, John H. Murdock, a senior at Washington and Jefferson College. During the months of June and July, 1909, he conducted a second party over the road: Andrew Jackson Waychoff, professor of history at Waynesburg College; Rev. George P. Donehoo of Connellsville, Pa.; Charles P. McCormick of Bentleyville, Pa., principal of the Bentleyville Public School; Edward Westlake of Washington, Pa., principal of the Fifth Ward School at Washington, Pa.; and Ernest K. Weller of Washington, Pa., photographer.

For constant interest and the stimulus of frequent discussions, for many helpful suggestions in regard to the preparation of this paper, and for valuable criticism of the manuscript, the writer is under the deepest obligation to Professor Albert Bushnell Hart of Harvard University; for helpful criticism of the manuscript he is indebted also to Professor Edward Channing and to Professor William Bennett Munro of Harvard University; for conscientious and efficient service in the preparation of the manuscript for the press he owes a peculiar debt of gratitude to Miss Addie F. Rowe of Cambridge; and for practical help at every step of the way he again offers his hearty thanks to the scores of persons who have given him valued and appreciated assistance, some of them at great expense of time and labor.

The accompanying map, made on the ground, but afterwards drafted under the supervision of J. Sutton Wall, chief draughtsman, and William A. Moore, assistant-chief draughtsman of the Interior Department, Harrisburg, Pa., gives a pretty clear idea of the course of the road and the location of the encampments. Of Middleton’s map (originally published in Olden Time, II. op. 528) Lowdermilk says, “The map as now given may be confidently accepted as perfectly accurate in every respect” (Lowdermilk, History of Cumberland, 137). To one who has followed the course of the road for himself, however, the fallacy of such an assertion is apparent; for, though Middleton’s map may fairly be regarded as altogether the best yet published, it does not show the route through the Narrows of Wills Creek at all, nor does it indicate all the deviations from the Cumberland (National) Road. Not that any sweeping claim to absolute accuracy is made for the accompanying map. The writer may be permitted to say, however, that he has exercised great care in laying down the road on the topographic sheets, and that from many trustworthy sources he has gained information which has helped to fix definitely points long since obliterated.

[2] Charles C. Coffin, Old Times in the Colonies, 377.

[3] The five governors were William Shirley of Massachusetts, James De Lancey of New York, Robert Hunter Morris of Pennsylvania, Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia, and Horatio Sharpe of Maryland. The council was held at the Carlisle House, often called the Braddock House, which is still standing. For the answers of the governors, see Documentary History of New York, II. 648-651.

[4] Fort Cumberland, situated on the west side of Wills Creek, was erected and garrisoned during the winter of 1754-5 under the supervision of Colonel James Innes, who called it Fort Mount Pleasant. The name was changed to Fort Cumberland in 1755 by order of General Braddock. Today the Emanuel Episcopal church occupies part of the ground of the old fort, which was situated on a bluff rising from the creek.

[5] See Winthrop Sargent, History of an Expedition against Fort Du Quesne, 366-373. This monograph was published in the United States in 1855 by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The first 280 pages contain an introductory memoir by Sargent; pages 281-358 include the journal of Robert Orme, one of Braddock’s aides-de-camp (this is the only American edition of Orme’s record), and pages 359-389 the journal of a naval officer which is very frequently referred to as the Seaman’s Journal. Of this second journal there seem to be two texts, one preserved in the Royal Artillery Library at Woolwich, England (printed in Hulbert’s Historic Highways of America, IV. 83-107), the other in the possession of the Rev. Francis-Orpen Morris of Newburnholm Rectory, Yorkshire, to whose father it was given by Captain Hewitt. The second text is the one published by Sargent, but the variations between the two manuscripts are unimportant for the present purpose. This paper will refer to the Sargent edition of the second journal under the caption of Seaman Journal; and in citing the Orme Journal it will also use the pagination of Sargent.

[6] On this day Washington was appointed an aide-de-camp to Braddock.

[7] Braddock to Sir Thomas Robinson, Olden Time, II. 237. See also Hulbert, Historic Highways, IV. 68; and Franklin, Works (Bigelow ed.), I. 251, 257.

[8] Orme Journal, 315; see also Thomas Balch, Letters and Papers relating to the Provincial History of Pennsylvania, 34-35.

[9] See Burd Papers (Mss.) in the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. At the time of Braddock’s defeat this Pennsylvania road was completed to the summit of the Alleghany mountain, some 20 miles beyond Raystown, now Bedford, Pa. (see Pennsylvania Colonial Records, VI. 484-485). In 1758 General Forbes constructed a road (now commonly known as the Forbes Road) from Bedford to Fort Duquesne. This route runs about parallel to the Braddock Road, though many miles north of it.

[10] Hulbert, Historic Highways, II. 89-91. In 1753 the Ohio Company had opened up this path or trail at great expense; and in 1754 Washington had repaired the road as far west as Gist’s Plantation (Mt. Washington). See Washington, Writings (Sparks ed.), II. 51.

[11] Orme Journal, 323-324.

[12] The construction of the Cumberland Road was authorized by an act of Congress, approved March 29, 1806, and entitled “An Act to regulate the laying out and making a Road from Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio” (United States, Statutes at Large, II. 357). By the provisions of the act the President was required to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, three discreet and disinterested citizens to constitute a board of commissioners to lay out the road. The men selected were Thomas Moore and Eli Williams of Maryland, and Joseph Kerr of Ohio.

In their second report, under date of January 15, 1808, the commissioners show that the new road followed only a very small portion of the Braddock Road. “The law,” runs the document, “requiring the commissioners to report those parts of the route as are laid on the old road, as well as those on new grounds, and to state those parts which require the most immediate attention and amelioration, the probable expense of making the same passable in the most difficult parts, and through the whole distance, they have to state that, from the crooked and hilly course of the road now traveled, the new route could not be made to occupy any part of it (except an intersection on Wills Mountain [Sandy Gap], another at Jesse Tomlinson’s [Little Meadows], and a third near Big Youghioghana [Somerfield], embracing not a mile of distance in the whole) without unnecessary sacrifices of distance and expense” (Executive Document, 10 Cong., 1 sess., Feb. 19, 1808, 8 pp.).

On November 11, 1834, the new road through the Narrows was opened for travel, the citizens of Cumberland, Frostburg, and the vicinity celebrating the occasion in an enthusiastic and elaborate manner (Lowdermilk, History of Cumberland, 336).

[13] This was formerly the building of the Mount Nebo School for Young Ladies.

[14] This point of intersection may be further verified by reference to the first report (of December 30, 1806) made by the commissioners who laid out the Cumberland Road: “From a stone at the corner of lot No. 1, in Cumberland, near the confluence of Wills Creek and the north branch of Potomac River, thence extending along the street westwardly to cross the hill lying between Cumberland and Gwynn’s Six Mile House, at the gap where Braddock’s Road passes it” (Executive Document, 9 Cong., 2 sess., Jan. 31, 1807, 16 pp.).

[15] It probably follows the turnpike here in order to avoid a very deep hollow. This conclusion of the writer is confirmed by the resurvey of Pleasant Valley patented to Evan Gwynne on October 5, 1795, which calls for “a water oak standing above the three springs that break out in Braddock’s Road” (Deed from Evan Gwynne to Joseph Everstein, May 27, 1834, recorded in Liber R, folios 95-96, in the office of the clerk of Alleghany County, at Cumberland, Maryland). These springs are a few rods west of James H. Percy’s tenant house, which is on the old Cumberland Road.

[16] The Honorable Augustus Keppel, commodore of the fleet, had furnished Braddock with a detachment of thirty sailors and some half-dozen officers to assist in the rigging, cordages, etc. These seamen proved of valuable aid to the expedition in getting the wagons and the artillery down the mountain.

[17] Orme Journal, 324.

[18] Orme Journal, 324; also Seaman Journal, 381-382. For reasons not easy to understand, the Cumberland Road was laid out along the more westerly deflection over Wills Mountain by the way of Sandy Gap, instead of by the natural and more favorable route through the Narrows of Wills Creek. In 1834, however, it was changed to the latter location, and remains the line of the present National turnpike.

[19] The writer has interviewed many of the reliable and trustworthy citizens of Cumberland on this point. To Robert Shriver and J. L. Griffith, respectively president and cashier of the First National Bank of Cumberland, and to the late Robert H. Gordon, one of the leading attorneys of the town, he owes special thanks for their painstaking interest, given at the expense of much valuable time, in aiding him in his attempt to discover the route of the army out of Cumberland. Mr. Shriver, who has made an extensive study of the course of the road from Fort Cumberland to the Narrows, thinks that the weight of evidence favors a route from Fort Cumberland along the gradually sloping ground northwestward to a point on Wills Creek about where the cement mill now stands. From here the road would have been easy, comparatively short, and almost level for the greater part of the distance to the eastern end of the gap, where there would evidently have been a favorable opportunity to ford Wills Creek near the mouth of one of its tributaries. Much might be said in favor of this contention; but, unfortunately, it has thus far failed to yield any results that look toward a definite and authoritative identification of Braddock’s line of march.

[20] It is worthy of note that the bridge was in course of construction at least twelve days before the road through the Narrows was completed (Seaman Journal, 379).

[21] See Shippen’s manuscript draft of 1759, in the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; map in Orme’s Journal, op. 282; and a map in Hulbert, Historic Highways, IV. op. 20. These maps, though necessarily drawn on a small scale, give color to the theory of this route.

[22] See Washington’s manuscript sketch of Fort Cumberland made in 1758, in E. M. Avery, History of the United States, IV. 207.

[23] In 1863 Mr. Robert Shriver made a most excellent photograph of this point, which shows the stratum in its primitive condition.

[24] See Lowdermilk, History of Cumberland, 137; also Searight, The Old Pike, 64, 71 ff. G. G. Townsend of Frostburg, road engineer for Alleghany County, Maryland, has an old blue print, made before the railroads were built, which shows on the left, or eastern, bank of Wills Creek a wagon road running through the Narrows and crossing the creek near the mouth of Braddock Run.

[25] The three engineers who accompanied Braddock’s expedition (Seaman Journal, 364) made striking use of a series of absolutely straight lines in laying out the road, except where the fording of a river required a tortuous route, or where the topography of the country was such as to render their plan utterly impracticable. This device, which impressed itself upon the writer and his party as they were crossing Wills Mountain, afterwards proved of great value to them in their efforts to pick up the road where traces of it were completely obliterated for rods at a time in cultivated fields.

[26] Orme Journal, 327. In fixing the several encampments the writer has been aided to some extent by the maps already published, but chiefly by Orme’s journal, which records the number of miles of each day’s march with great accuracy, and by the topographic sheets, without the aid of which neither the road nor the encampments could have been so definitely located.

[27] From this point to Clarysville the route is through a gap between Dans Mountain and Piney Mountain.

[28] This spring is about one-third of a mile west of the tollgate on the National turnpike.

[29] Although many misstatements and untenable notions as to the location of the road, the places of encampment, etc., are prevalent in the country adjacent to the line of march, yet local tradition is in many cases surprisingly accurate.

[30] See Middleton’s map.

[31] Orme Journal, 333.

[32] See Lowdermilk’s History of Cumberland, 257. This stone, sometimes designated Braddock’s Stone, bears the following inscription: “11 mile To Ft Cumberland 29 Ms To Captn Smyth’s Inn and Bridge Big Crossings & The Best Road To Redstone Old Fort 64 M.” This is fairly legible. The other side reads, “Our countrys rights we will defend.” There is no reason for supposing that this stone was erected by Braddock’s command.

[33] On the summit of the mountain, a few hundred yards to the north of the road, is St. John Rock, 2930 feet above sea level, from which a magnificent view of the surrounding country is to be had.

[34] Three wagons were entirely destroyed in passing this mountain, and several more were shattered (Orme Journal, 335).

[35] It is an interesting fact that throughout the route the fording of a stream was in every case at or slightly below the mouth of a tributary. At such a place there is usually a riffle caused by the formation of a bar of sand, gravel, and mud, the crest of which offers a very practical opportunity for fording. Some of the apparent deviations of the road from what would seem to have been the natural course may have been made for the sake of avoiding a depth of water which might have rendered the streams impassable except by bridging. In other instances a circuitous route may have been the most practicable way of passing a swamp or a bog.

[36] Orme Journal, 335.

[37] Orme mentions no encounter with the Indians at this place of encampment.

[38] According to Orme, the first brigade encamped about three miles west of Savage River (Orme Journal, 335), a location which corresponds with that suggested above. This spot, furthermore, is the only advantageous ground in the vicinity.

[39] Dense forests of white pine formerly covered this region, which, from the deep gloom of the summer woods and the favorable shelter that the pines gave to the Indian enemy, came to be spoken of as the “Shades of Death.” The writer’s party was told that the old wagoners who used to drive from Baltimore to Zanesville dreaded this locality as the darkest and gloomiest place along the entire route. Of the former gloomy forest, however, nothing now remains except the stumps. The trees were cut down years ago, sawed up, and shipped to market.

[40] From Mrs. Henry Meerbach the writer secured two English pennies bearing date of 1724 and 1753 respectively, which, she said, were picked up on Braddock Road on the eastern slope of Meadow Mountain.

[41] This is doubtless the bog to which Orme refers as having “been very well repaired by Sir John St. Clair’s advanced party with infinite labour” (Orme Journal, 335).

[42] This mountain, it may be noted, constitutes the dividing ridge between the waters that flow into the Atlantic and those that enter the Gulf of Mexico.

[43] Orme Journal, 335. The Little Meadows farm at present consists of over 1200 acres. At the time the National turnpike was laid out Jesse Tomlinson owned the land at this point and kept a tavern on Braddock Road. The Tomlinson estate was, indeed, one of the objective points for the turnpike as specified in the first report of the commission appointed to lay out the National road, then uniformly known under the legal name of Cumberland Road (Executive Document, 9 Cong., 2 sess., Jan. 31. 1807, 16 pp.). On June 15, 1755, the entire force had reached Little Meadows, where at a council of war it was determined that General Braddock and Colonel Halket, with a detachment of the best men of the two regiments (in all about 1400, lightly encumbered), should move forward. Colonel Dunbar with the residue (about 900), and the heavy baggage, stores, and artillery, was to advance by slow and easy marches.

[44] At this point it may be well to clear up an obscurity likely to arise from a confusion of the following names: Little Meadows is at the western slope of Meadow Mountain, twenty miles from Cumberland; Great Meadows, which marks the site of Fort Necessity, is about thirty-one miles farther west; Little Crossings is a ford of the Castleman River just east of Grantsville and two miles west of Little Meadows; Great Crossings is the passage of the Youghiogheny about half a mile above Somerfield and sixteen miles west of Little Crossings.

[45] This is the only region on the entire route in which pine trees in any considerable quantity still remain.

[46] Orme very accurately and tersely describes this day’s march over Keyser Ridge: “We could not reach our ground till about 7 of the clock, which was three hours later than common, as there was no water, nor even earth enough to fix a tent, between the great Mountain and this place” (Orme Journal, 338).

[47] At this camp, Washington, prostrated by a violent attack of fever, was left under a guard to await the arrival of Dunbar with the rest of the army. That it was really here, and not, as is usually asserted, at Little Meadows or Little Crossings that Washington was left, is clear from his own words. “We set out [from Little Meadows],” he wrote to his brother on June 28, “with less than thirty carriages including those that transported the ammunition for the howitzers, twelve-pounders, and six-pounders, and all of them strongly horsed; which was a prospect that conveyed infinite delight to my mind, though I was exceedingly ill at the time. But this prospect was soon clouded, and my hope brought very low indeed, when I found that, instead of pushing on with vigor, without regarding a little rough road, they were halting to level every mole-hill, and to erect bridges over every brook, by which means we were four days in getting twelve miles. At this camp I was left by the Doctor’s advice, and the General’s positive orders” (Washington, Writings, Sparks ed., II. 82-83).

What Washington says about the length of time spent in marching from Little Meadows helps to fix the location of the camp; for it agrees with Orme’s assertion that they left Little Meadows on June 19 and marched from the camp on June 23 (Orme Journal, 336-340). Even in the matter of distance there is a difference of only a mile between the two accounts, and this difference may be accounted for by the fact that Orme always uses the phrase “we marched about” so many miles. See also Pennsylvania Gazette, July 3, 1755.

[48] See Shippen’s manuscript draft of 1759, in the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

[49] Orme Journal, 340. This camping-ground was reached June 23, 1755. Shippen’s draft would seem to confirm the foregoing statements as to the course of the road from Addison to the Youghiogheny. On file, however, in the land office of the Interior Department at Harrisburg, under date of Oct. 8, 1788 is the survey of a tract (also marked Braddock’s Old Road) situated near the headwaters of the south branch of Braddock’s Run, about one mile south of Addison. This discovery, recently made, necessitates a further examination of the ground in order, if possible, to determine the exact location of the road between the state line and the Youghiogheny.

[50] According to Orme, the Youghiogheny is at this point “about one hundred yards wide, about three feet deep, with a very strong current” (Orme Journal, 340).

[51] The writer secured from Mr. Thomas an old axe that was found near Braddock Road. There is every reason to believe that it was used by one of Braddock’s wood-choppers.

[52] Orme Journal, 341. This camp was about four miles east of Great Meadows, on land now occupied by Albert Landman. Formerly one Job Clark kept a hotel at Twelve Springs on Braddock Road, one mile south of the National turnpike.

[53] Orme Journal, 341. Although the day was fast waning when the cortege passed Fort Necessity,—the place where Washington had the previous year capitulated with the honors of war to Coulon de Villiers,—no stop was made there. This fort, of which some of the outlines still remain, is situated on Meadow Run in Great Meadows, a few hundred yards south of the National turnpike. In 1767 Washington acquired, under the name of Mt. Washington, a tract of 334 acres embracing Fort Necessity. That portion of Great Meadows which includes the old fort is now owned by Lewis Fazenbaker. On July 4, 1908, a very suitable marker was erected to commemorate the battle there.

[54] The grave is enclosed by a board fence, within which are a number of beautiful pine trees. A marker was erected at this point on July 4, 1908. In 1909 a number of spirited citizens of Uniontown, Pa., organized an association known as “The General Edward Braddock Memorial Park Association.” They have purchased twenty-four acres of land, including Braddock’s grave, and, in order to preserve to posterity this historic spot, they propose to erect a suitable monument to his memory and otherwise embellish the grounds.

[55] Orme Journal, 343. This orchard, situated about two miles from Fort Necessity and referred to by many writers, must have consisted of crab apple trees at that time. In this camp Braddock died, July 13, 1755.

[56] Owned by Henry Harrison Wiggins.

[57] “This Indian camp was in a strong position, being upon a high rock with a very narrow and steep ascent to the top. It had a spring in the middle, and stood at the termination of the Indian path to the Monongahela, at the confluence of Red Stone Creek” (Orme Journal, 343). By the aid of this description the writer was able to identify the Half King’s Rocks even to the minutest detail.

[58] Jumonville marks the northernmost point reached by Dunbar’s regiment. Near the grave is the ledge of rocks on which Washington and the Half King took position in their attack on Jumonville, May 28, 1754, in what proved to be the initial battle of the French and Indian War. As Francis Parkman tersely puts it, “This obscure skirmish began the war that set the world on fire” (Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, 1905, I. 156).

[59] Orme Journal, 344.

[60] Orme Journal, 344. James Veech says in his Monongahela of Old (p. 60) that this encampment was “a short half mile below New Haven,” on land then (1858) owned by Daniel Rogers; but Judge Veech is confused by Orme’s entry of June 28, which says, “The troops marched about five miles to a camp on the east [west] side of Yoxhio Geni” (Orme Journal, 344). It is worthy of note that Orme uses the term “the troops marched” and not his customary phrase “we marched,” a circumstance from which it seems reasonable to infer that the advance column halted a day at this encampment, and that on June 29 the officers and the rest of the army at Gist’s Plantation joined it here.

[61] See Shippen’s drafts, to which reference has already been made. Through the courtesy of J. Sutton Wall, chief draughtsman of the Interior Department, Harrisburg, Pa., who has made a draft connecting a number of tracts lying southward from Stewart’s Crossing along the line of Braddock Road to Gist’s place and the foot of Laurel Ridge, the writer has been greatly aided in the preparation of his own sketch. In the connected draft a few of the tracts do not show the road; but a sufficient number do show it to corroborate the conclusions reached by him relative to the course of the road from Gist’s place to Stewart’s Crossing, and hence to enable him, on the accompanying map, to lay down the road between these two points with greater accuracy.

[62] Olden Time, II. 543; Veech, The Monongahela of Old, 60-61.

[63] Orme Journal, 345; Veech, The Monongahela of Old, 61.

[64] Mr. Truxell writes to me, under date of November 30, 1908, that this farm has been owned by the Truxells since 1806, and that in the course of his life he has ploughed up at least a quart of bullets, sometimes as many as a dozen at a single ploughing.

[65] In regard to Braddock’s movements on July 1st and 2d, the writer desires to offer a plausible solution of some statements in Orme’s journal that have led to no little confusion and inaccurate assertion on the part of those who have written on the subject.

“On the first of July,” says Orme, “we marched about five miles, but could advance no further by reason of a great swamp which required much work to make it passable.” This bivouac, as has already been said, is undoubtedly on the farm of John Truxell. The army, which was close at the heels of the advance or working party, had to halt there till a corduroy road could be thrown across the swamp, a process that required time.

“On the 2d July,” continues Orme, “we marched to Jacob’s Cabin, about 6 miles from the camp.” Notice the words “from the camp.” The preceding stop was then a bivouac, not a camp. The camp referred to was the encampment one mile on the east side of the Youghiogheny, at Stewart’s Crossing. This day’s march would be about one mile, and the place of encampment Jacob’s Cabin. The two halting places were evidently both on the east side of Jacob’s Creek. What is commonly known as the Great Swamp Camp was only the bivouac to which reference has been made.

This view of the matter seems, however, not to have been taken by any of the cartographers: but in estimating the value of maps one must, of course, consider whether the author’s first-hand knowledge, as well as his borrowed data, be trustworthy or not, and must also take into account the purpose for which the map was made. Professor Channing has pointed out among other things that, while “a lie in print is a persistent thing,” one on a map is even less eradicable, and for three reasons: (1) because the historical evidence on maps is liable to error, and an error once made is copied by other cartographers, with the result that a false impression frequently continues through centuries; (2) because the topography is often wholly wrong, especially on the earlier maps, a fact that is too commonly overlooked by historians; (3) because, as our own national history has abundantly proved, boundaries are frequently delineated imperfectly, inaccurately, and without basis in fact. In a word, Professor Channing thinks that maps are often taken too seriously, that the historical information given by them is liable to error, and that they simply raise a presumption.

It is certainly true that, judged by the exceedingly accurate and reliable journal of Orme, the map accompanying Sargent’s History of an Expedition against Fort Du Quesne (op. 282) is in almost every instance wholly inaccurate in regard to the location of Braddock’s camps, which it represents as scattered promiscuously along the route. In scarcely a single respect, indeed, whether as to route or as to location of camps, mountains, rivers, or anything else, can it be depended upon. To cite a single instance, it puts Camp 6 (Bear Camp) on the Youghiogheny, when this, as we have seen, is the location of Squaw’s Fort (see p. 23). No clue to the authorship of this map or to any authority for it can be discovered. Similar fallacies occur in the work of one of our latest historians, E. M. Avery, who in his History of the United States and its People (Cleveland, 1904, IV. 67) also prints a beautifully-colored but inaccurate map. Judge Veech, too (in his Monongahela of Old, 61), recognizes an apparent inconsistency in Orme’s journal at this point; but, like the others, he only adds more fuel to the flame of confusion.

[66] Veech, The Monongahela of Old, 61. Only a small part of the foundation of this mill is now to be seen.

[67] Jacob’s Swamp. This is not to be confused with the swampy land along Jacob’s Creek.

[68] It is only fair to say, however, that there is much difference of opinion in regard to the location of this camp. On July 3 Orme records, “The swamp being repaired, we marched about six miles to the Salt Lick Creek.” Many of the later maps and later accounts of the period identify Jacob’s Creek with Salt Lick Creek (see Sargent’s History, 346; Veech’s Monongahela of Old, 61; Scull’s map, 1770, etc.); but there is no real authority for holding that the Salt Lick Creek mentioned by Orme is Jacob’s Creek. A small tributary of the Youghiogheny, now known as Indian Creek, was, it is true, formerly called Salt Lick Creek, whence came the name of Salt Lick township; but the well-known salt licks and Painter’s Salt Works were located along the banks of Sewickley Creek near Hunkers. Here salt wells used to be drilled to a depth of about five hundred feet; and to these wells stock was driven from miles around, and people came from far and near to boil down the salt water in order to secure salt for domestic use. In the absence, therefore, of any authoritative evidence that the Salt Lick Creek mentioned by Orme is Jacob’s Creek, it seems to the writer that the most probable location of Salt Lick Camp is on the Edward Stoner farm, about two miles east from the fording of Sewickley Creek. Among other indications that point to this farm as a favorable place for encampment one notes the fact that a short distance west of the Stoner house, under a large oak tree, there was formerly an excellent spring (now filled up), and that there is also a run near by. Mr. Stoner showed me a one-pound cannon ball which he found in a stump less than a quarter of a mile from the road, and said that other bullets had been picked up on the farm.

[69] Eugene Warden, Esq., of Mount Pleasant, Pa., has aided the writer very materially in the location of the road through Westmoreland County by calling his attention to the following document, which establishes definitely the fording of Jacob’s Creek and the course of the road to Sewickley Creek.

“The Commissioner of Westmoreland County, pursuant to the directions of an Act of Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, entitled ‘An Act for laying out competent Districts for the appointment of Justices of the Peace, passed April 4, 1803,’ laid out the said county into the following districts, to wit:....”

“Huntingdon South:—Beginning at the mouth of Big Sewickley; thence up the river Youghiogheny to the mouth of Jacob’s Creek; thence up said creek to Braddock’s Fording; thence along Braddock’s Road to Mt. Pleasant District line to a corner of Hempfield District; thence along said line to Big Sewickley; thence down said creek to the place of beginning.” (Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County, Pa., Continuance Docket No. 5, p. 443.)

[70] This fording was called Goudy (or Gowdy) Ford.

[71] See Orme Journal, 346.

[72] On July 4 Orme writes, “We marched about six miles to Thicketty Run.” This day they would cross Sewickley Creek a short distance west of Hunkers, and their most likely place of encampment would be on the D. F. Knappenberger farm, about two miles south of the fording, on Little Sewickley Greek or Thicketty Run. This solution, which makes Salt Lick Creek the Sewickley Creek and Thicketty Run the Little Sewickley Creek, is no mere whim of the writer, but has been reached from a knowledge of the country supplemented by the topographic sheets and by a reasonable interpretation of Orme’s journal. If he is correct in his reasoning, there is no inconsistency in Orme’s account.

[73] Now owned by a coal company.

[74] According to the distance travelled from the preceding camp, the seventeenth encampment, or Monacatuca Camp, would be on this farm; but, according to local tradition it was on the William B. Howell farm, a mile away. This is the one camp as to the location of which the writer has been unable to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. Considering the lay of the land, however, he sees no good reason why the army should not have made the distance mentioned by Orme.

[75] Judge Veech is in error when he says that the road “crossed the present tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad and turnpike west of Greensburg” (Veech, The Monongahela of Old, 62). The railroad is beyond this precipice. On this point see Orme Journal, 351.

[76] Only a millstone is left to mark the location of the old mill.

[77] The spring is situated on a lot owned by Mrs. Elizabeth Bennett, a short distance from the corner of Bennett Avenue and Braddock Street. Washington, who had been left at Bear Camp, joined Braddock here.

[78] Orme Journal, 352. Mr. Wall of Harrisburg communicated to me a copy of a draft of a survey made July 29, 1828, on “Application No. 2169,” showing the location of the road down Crooked Run (Braddock Run) to the Monongahela and across it to a point a short distance beyond. This fording of the river is often designated Braddock’s Upper Ford.

[79] On file in the Department of Interior Affairs is a “Map and Profile for a slackwater navigation along the Monongahela River from the Virginia Line to Pittsburg as examined in 1828 by Edward F. Gay, Engineer,” which shows Braddock’s Upper Riffle at the mouth of Crooked Run, and Braddock’s Lower Riffle at the mouth of Turtle Creek.

[80] G. E. F. Gray, chief clerk of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works at Braddock, Pa., wrote to me under date of December 9, 1908, that their chief engineer, Sydney Dillon, had already done some preliminary work toward locating the original banks of Turtle Creek and of the Monongahela River, and toward fixing the place of Frazer’s Cabin and of the road through Braddock. The steel works are located on a part of the battlefield, along the river.

On February 11, 1909, Mr. Dillon communicated to me the results of his labors based on a study of the ground in connection with the two maps made by Patrick Mackellar, Braddock’s chief engineer (Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, 1905, I. op. 214-215), supplemented by the plan in Winsor’s Narrative and Critical History of America, V. 449, and by the Carnegie McCandless Company’s property map of 1873. This is by far the most able and careful study of the battlefield that has been made in modern times. Mr. Dillon’s plans enable one to follow the course of the road through the battlefield, and to form an idea of the action with a distinctness that has not been possible heretofore. In order to comprehend the nature of the fight, however, and to understand the conditions that made Braddock’s defeat almost inevitable, one must see the field for himself.

[81] On the two plans of the battlefield drawn by Patrick Mackellar, see Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe (1905), I. 229, n. 1.

[82] See maps, ibid., op. 214-215, and in Sargent’s Expedition against Fort Du Quesne, op. 219.

[83] Hyacinth Mary Liénard de Beaujeu.

[84] If the course of the road as thus indicated be correct, then the thickest of the fight would have been east of the Pennsylvania Railroad between Thirteenth and Sixth Streets, the location of the Hollow Way and of Frazer’s Run respectively. The writer was told that when the Pennsylvania Railroad built its roadbed through the battlefield it unearthed a great number of human skeletons, a circumstance which, if true, would seem to confirm his conclusion as to the ground on which the principal fighting took place. Mr. Dillon seems to think that the Hollow Way was between Ann and Verona Streets, and that the farthest point reached by Braddock’s party was across the ravine near Corey Avenue. Another view is that the course of the road never extended above or east of the Pennsylvania Railroad, but stopped a few rods short of it in the Robinson burying-ground.

Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
Gwynn’s Six Mile Houe=> Gwynn’s Six Mile House {pg 8 n.}
National turnpke=> National turnpike {pg 18 n.}
Crooked run=> Crooked Run {pg 35 n.}

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Table of Contents

- BRADDOCK ROAD[1]
- FOOTNOTES:
- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE