Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1898-07-07
EARLY VIRGINIA HISTORY.
FIRST DAYS OF MILITARY GLORY II
ALEXANDRIA, l755
No %

Ou luS GN6uluS VI III CH -oi tHO 'iS'
regal company passed the fording o
| Cameron Run aud dashed into the
B lie Haven hamlet The cortege con
sisted of General Braddock, his aide
secretary and servants; Commodore
KeppeI, his secretary and servants
and Governor Dinwiddie and servants
aud company of the royal guards
They had made the journey leisurely
ior the roads st that season OF the yeal
we're not in good condition for travail
and there had been many detentluns tC
exchange civllities with prominent per
sons rs they passed through the differ
ent neighborhoods Their arrival was
welcomed by bonfires and the salutes
cannon. They found all excitement
I'D expectation among the Inhabitants
wnO were living in the midst Of alarms
nd forebouings. Events OF ominous
portent were crowdiug fast upon the
y .ssing days Couriers were coming
o4u III haste from the frontiers with
.ioletul tidires of encroachmerts Of the
Ffeuch aud Indians, and Of how they
- ra ~rrcr gthening their lines of trrts
and augmenting their forces. From
morn till night were heard everywhere
The notes OF busy preparation. The
drum and fife made iucessant calls for
musterlug and drilling, wagons lined
the streets, and schooners and sloops
lay moored at he docks, all bringing
from ueighboring places supplies and
provisions for the subsistence of the
pro peclive mmv. The population OF
the town had been il creased many
times its usual number 10y transient
eccessions. Many families had left
their scattered, outlying homes and
moved in for season, for safety.
The fleet had not yet arrived, but it
had heen sighted down the river. On
the 3rd OF April the conveys, the cele
brated Centurion, flagship, 50 guns;
tne Norwich, Capt. Barring on. 81
guns; the Syren, Capt. PROXY, 20 guns,
passed Light House point and dropped
anchor abreast of the town and were
soon followed by the troop transports
Auna. Captain Nevip; Terrible, Capt
Wright, O.good, Capt. Crlikshank
Concord, Capt. Boyntop; Iadustry
Capt. Miller; Fishburn, Capt. Tlpple;
Halifax, Capt. Terry; Fame, Capt
judo; London, Capt. Brow; Prince
Frederic, Capt. Burton; Isabel aud
Mary, Capt. Hall; Molly, Capt. Curl
inq; Severn, Capt. Rawlings, and the
ordnance store ships Whiting, Capt.
Johnson; Newell, Capt. Montgomery
and Nelly. The transports had brought
over two reg men;s OF British regulars
the most Uf item veterans Of other
wars, the SO commanded by Col
Sir Peter Halket and the 18th com
mAnded by Col Thomas Dunbar
mastering 500 men each and supplies
and provisions. The sight of the fleet
was a welcome, as well as strange,
one to the AleXandrians. 1t gave theui
assurance of protection and safety
aud they hailed with Joy the landing
OF the two regiments which were at
once camped on the adjoining heights
with the different companies of pro
vincials. General Braddock had had
many and varied experiences ss mill
tary man during forty-fve years, and
through favortism had been considered
fit person to be placed in command {
his "Msjestie's forces in America.
But the sequel proved that he wa;
moi; for ne stubbornly wiliul,
arrogant and presumptuous, anu
devoid of all the amenities and
magnetic influences which win the e.
TEEN and ready obedience of the rank
aud file. He began mis- campaign
Virginia by the severest OF military dh
cipline. The men of his command he
looked upon as machines merely, with
no rights he was required to respect.
The journal of Capt. Orme, his aide, still
preserved, shows that for trivial offences
Jne ordinary penalties OF the soldiers
under his command were from one hun.
dred to five hundred lashes on tine bare
back, and for greater offences thou
sand or more. Daniel Morgan, way
oner on the expedition, but afterward:
the foremost soldier OF the revolution
AIRY struggle and the hero OF Quebec
Saratoga and Cowpens, for manlulll
resenting the brutal assault by a lieu,
tenant with his sword was sentenced
ty drum head court martial, with the
approval of the commsnder-in-chief, tt
receive one thousand lashes, and the
sentence was carried out with the saw
ing of only one lash.
Braddock had not calculated for The
peculiar contingencies and difficultie,
which were to attend his campaign il
Virginia. He had thought only o
modes and tactics suited to an opeI
country and OF an enemy with lik'
maneuverings to his own. He mad no
estimated the adverse odds and chance
of foe alert and wary as panther
who was to deliver all unseen from be
hind thickets and tree boles his unerr
ing fire upon steadily advancing col
umn OF red coats He had boasted t
Postmaster. General Benjamin Frank
lin that be would make brief work o
the sway of the French in the valley Q
the OHIO, and thence go on conquerln
and to conquer until not ore OF tncI
.r,,,. ,t,c r.majnad 'Nne :. GuctiO!