The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1895-07-05

under him. but was yet too proud to
retreat before an enemy whom ne nad
despised, and was yet as calmly, as II
on parade, endeavOring to JOIN his
troop under fire that threatened to
annihilate everything within range
At length ball passed through his
right arm, and lodging itself in his
lungs. inflicted a mortal wound. SO,
sinking from the loss of blood, he was
carried from the field in his large mil
itary sash; he family asked Washing
ton "What is to be done?" "We must
retreat" was the answer, "the regu-
lars will not fight and the rangers are
nearly all killed" Frightened, and
deaf alike to commands and threats,
the regulars broke from their ranks
and fled in the widest confusion,
leaving the stores, artillery, and even
| the private papers of Braddock In the
hands of the enemy. Never was route
more disastrous. Out of SO officers 70
were killed and SO wounded. The rank
and file lost ia. The Virginia rangers
suffered the most, one company being
nearly annihilated and another losing
all It's officers even to the last corporal.
The victorious force of the enemy
consisted of only about 80 French reg
ulars and some 400 Indians, of whom
only about 25 were killed and the same
number wounded. Only II of the Eng
! lish were taken prisoners by the ln-
dams and their melancholy fate can
not be better described than in mar
rative of Col. James Smith, an Ameri-
can who was attached to the BraddOck
expedition, and who had been captur-
ed short time before, and was held a
prisoner at DuQuesne at the time of
the defeat.
While walking on the battlements of
the fort on the morning of the
9th of July, he observed the de-
tatchment leave the fort in its adj
vance against the English whom he
learned were now within few
miles of the fort, and he looked
joyfully forward to the arrival of Brad
dock in the evening when he would
be delivered from the clutches of his
savage captors. In the afternoon, how
ever, an Indian runner arrived with
far different intelligence, who an
nounced that the English had been
surrounded and were shot down in
hundreds by an invisible enemy, and
that by shutdown there would not be
one of them left alive. This was ter
rible news to poor Smith, aud he still
hoped for the best, praying that the
fortunes Ofthe day might be reversed,
but about sunset he heard in the dis
lance the well-known scalp halo, fol-
lowed by wild, quick, joyful shrieks,
and accompanied by long continued
firing. This but too surely announced
the fate Of the day. In half an hour
later the party arrived in sight of the
fort, driving before them twelve Brit
ism regulars, stripped naked and with
their faces BACKED; sign that the un-
happy wretches were devoted to fiery
death.
Next came the Indians, displaying
their bloody scalps, of which they had
great number, and dressed IN the
scarlet coats sashes and military hats
of the officers and men. Behind all
came train of baggage horses, laden
with scalps, canteens, muskets and all
the acc0utrements of English soldiers.
The Indians appeared frantic with
joy, and when Smith beheld them en-
tering the fort, dancing, yelling, BRAN
dishing their tOmahawks, and waving
their scalps in the air, while the great
guns of the fort replied to the incessaDt
discharge of rifles without, he said
that it looked LAS if He'll had given
holiday, and turned loose its inhab-
itants upon the upper world"
THE most meanlcholy spectacle was
the band of prisoners. They appeared
detected and anxious. Poor fellows!
They had but a few months before left
London at the command of their supe-
riors, and we may easily imagine their
feelings at the strange and dreadful
spectacle around them. The yells of
delight and generalization were scarce
ly over, when those of vengeance be-
gan. The devoted prisoners-British
regulars-were led out from the fort to
the banks of the Allegheny, aud to the
eternal disgrace of the French COM
mand, were there burned to death with
awful torture. AS fast as one died un-
der the tOrtures, another filled his
place, until the entire twelve persisted
All this took place so near the fort.
that every scream of the victim must
have rang in the ears of the French
Commandant.n
Such was the result of the ill.starred
Braddck eXpedition-an expedition
from which great results had been eX-
pected, and the destruction of which
excited universal horror throughout
the colonies. A period of terror and
desolatiou now ensued, for the savages
attacked all the outlying settlements
and massacred everything that came
III their path. The panic spread even
to the bay shore of Maryland. Many
of the inhabitants from the interior
fled to Baltimore. Preparations were
made by the people of that town to
embark their women and children on
board of vessels preparatory to flight
to Virginia, while some of the Virgin
lans believed that there was no safety
short of England itself.
AS soon as the intelligence of Brad
docks defeat reached Annapolis, Gov.
Sharpe repaired to Frederick; the mil
tia were called out and volunteers
were raised. Fort Cumberland being
too far from the frontier to afford pro.
lection, 1t was decided to build a new
fort, near the present town of Hancock,
washington County, TO be called Fort
Frederick, the Assembly having made
an appropriation of $4,000 for the
work. In about two months it was
occupied by a garrison of 200 men.
The Indian war and depredations
continued for nearly ten years after
Braddock's defeat. For a long time
the Maryland Assembly would make
no appropriation to maintain troops,
and the ruthless savages were left to
deal with the settlers with tamahawk
and firebrand.
In the year 1855, after the whole val
ley between North and South noun