Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1900-04-10

Braddock's Army in the Valley of Vir-


Campbell, of Roanoke, Va, kindly con-
! tributes to the columns of the SPIgIr OF
JEFFERSON the following interesting
article bearing upon the historical Incl
dents and traditions concerning the
march of Braddock's army through the
Valley of Virginia. Dr. Campbell has
given the matter some considerable study,
using information to be gathered from
the Congressional Library at Washing
ton to aid him in his researches, and has
thereby been enabled, as will be seen
from a perusal of this article, to reconcile
seemingly conflicting local claims, it
being clearly shown that Braddock's S
army moved in eHo seperate divisions,
making their halts by the way at totally
different points:
One of the most important and interest
ing of the events of that period covering
the latter portion of the 18th century, to
those living in the Valley of Virginia, was
the struggle carried on by the French and
English for possession of the country ly-
ing west of the Blue Ridge mountains,
English traders and settlers were in the
Valley of Virginia previous to I74S, but
there was no English settlement in the
Ohio valley, In that year the Iugles-
Draper settlement was made at Draper's
Meadows, present site of Blacksburg in
Montgomery county Virginia This was
the first regular English settlement on
Western waters.
Traders, explorers and settlers now
became more numerous, and company
was formed to whom grant was made
by the English crown of 500, 900 acres
of land to be located in the Ohio Valley,
between the waters of the Monongahela
and Kanawha rivers. There was, how
ever a lurking suspicion in the minds of
the-eolonists and the English government
that tn ey had no legal claim to the land,
and for this reason they sought 60 obtain
titles to the lands from the Indians, and
to make treaties with them, binding them
to the English crown.
At that time the whole country from
the Blue Ridge to the Mississippi was
claimed by the Confederacy of the Six
Nations. AT the Treaty of Lancaster,
made at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1744,
the Indians sold the Valley of Virginia for
400 pounds, and gave a deed to the col
onists which covered the Ohio Valley as
we'll as the Virginia Valley. This was a
very important treaty, as it furnished the
basis for the claim afterwards set up by
the English for all that section. The
French too had their plans, and We're not
idle. In 174o they sent an expedition to
take possession of the Ohio Valley in the
name of the King of France. AT that time
it was swarming with English traders,
and the Indians were we'll disposed toward
the English. Four years later two forts
we1e erected by the French on the dis
Puted territory, Against this the English
protested, and Washington carried the
protest. This was unheeded, and Cover
norDinwiddie prepared force of 200 men
to be sent under Washington to build a
fort at the forks of the Ohio. During the
delay in sending the expedition some
backwoodsmen reached the spot and be.
gan the erection of fort. This was af.
terward seized by the French, who built
the now famous Fort DuQuense. The ex.
pedition under Washington atterward
/ fought the French in the battle of Great
Meadows and was defeated. The result
was that not an English flag waved in all
the Ohio Valley, and all the frontier set
Elements were in deadly peril from rowing
bands of French and Indians, who plum
dered and murdered in every direction
The English government now awoke
to the necessity of vigorous methods tc
rescue this great section and protect tn,
defenseless settlers. For this purpose il
1854 an expedition was prepared ant
General Braddock placed in command
General Braddock was man who knew
as much about fighting Indians as Gen
erals Methuen and Butler of to-day know
about fighting Beers and the TRACED,
enacted at Fort Duqucsne was very n1ucl
like the disgraceful defeats the British
armies have been meeting in South Al
rica. The details are familiar.
The chief interest to those now Twin,
in the lower Valley, covered by tn,
counties of Berkeley, Frederick: and JET
ferson is the line of march of this expedl
tion within their borders The historian
have preserved traditions of the campin,
places and OF the route traversed. Othe
traditions exist only in the minds of peo
pie, and attached to various localities
These localities were so widely separate,
as to make 1t impossible to reconicil
them. These traditions tell us that Brad
docks army was at Winchester and Mar
tinsburgt and Charles Town, and nea
Gerardstown. OF course at that TIM
Winchester was tine only place in exist
ence. Near Charles Town is a wel
. Braddock is said to have had dug. Nea
, Martinsburg is a road which Braddock i
said to have cut. Near Gerardstown ca,
be seen the places inwhich prominent me
have dug. seeking for money which it
said Braddock buried in that neighbol
hood while camped there, At this tim
it is easy to reconcile these traditions. a
; we have come into possession not only c
Braddock's Orderly book. giving dail
itinerary of the route. but also of diar
prepared by, some one who accompanie
the expedition. These documents max
! it plain how Braddock could have bee
at Martinsburg and Charles Town durln
this march.
AS nucleus for this expedition tn
English government sent two Br
gades of British regulars, the 44tt1 an