Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1904-02-18

The part Of the history of the Car
lyle HOUSE, however, in which we are
most interested is that dealing direct
ly with Washington as national char
anter. Most Of us are fairly familiar
with Lieut.-Col Washington's work
with the Virginians against the French
at Great Meadows; and we know with
what spirit he resigned his commits
sion from Gov. Dinwiddie rather than
take that misguided Scotchman's die
tum that provincial officers should
rank no higher than captains when
serving in concert with British regu-
lars
Maj.-Gen. Braddock, however, had
formed very different opinion of
Washington, and in recognition of the
young mans services, invited him to
become one Of his staff and to serve
in his military family with the rank of
colonel. 1t is in this we are inter-
ested.
Making his headquarters in the Car
lyle House, Braddock set to work at
once to fully organize his forces, part
OF his military command long being
recruited in Alexandria. In mid-April
Of 1755 Braddock had called together
IN Alexandria the governors of Mas
sachusetts, New York, Maryland.
Pennsylvania and Virginia, who were
William Shirley, James De Lancey,
Horatio Sharpe, Robert Hunter Morris
and Robert Dinwiddie. 1t was to the
councils of such men that Washing
ton was hidden by Braddock, and it
he received his commission as colonel
on Braddocks staff. The walls, waias.
coting, woodwork, mantel, etc. of the
very room in which this occurred re.
main to-day just as they were on
hat momentous occasion.
1t takes no particularly vivid mag
nation to animate that place to-day
with sense of the atmosphere of that
time, now century and a half gone
by, and the use to which the building
is now put-a repository for antique
furniture of the artistic sort--only
tends to give further touch to the
ancient halo about the place.
This room referred to leads directly
upon the broad central hallway of the
house, and, according to tradition, it
was at the foot Of the still beautiful
solid mahogany staircase of this hall
way that Washington stood waiting
the coming of fair Sallie Fairfax on
the occasion Of a ball in the house.
and. likewise according to honored
tradition. it was in the room directly
opposite the one in which he received
his commission and counselled with
the colonial rulers that he proposed
to the same fair Sallie and was re-
jected.
But for the unusually substantial
manner in which the house and it's
old-fort foundation were built, the
place would long ago have lost much
of it's originality. The ravages OF
time are now beginning to tell and 1t
will be but question Of few years,
If something is not done to prevent
the attacks Of relic hunters and the
natural decay of materials, before the
building is ruined.
To-day the Braddock House, which
is not without its civil war history
for 1t was there that Col. Ellsworth
of the zouaYes was shot IL els
practically deserted, only the wide
sweep OF its ground floor, which once
was the scene of many a ball and i'm
portant function, is now Uttered with
mahogany relics OF every section Of
Virginia. The work Of preparing this
furniture for the market is fast mar
ring the walls and injuring wainscot-
ing and the like, and the Carlyle
House suffers In common with It's
more recent neighbor.