The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1928-11-09
CHAPTER x
The Long Trail Ends
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<Hort Cumberland on Wills creek with
nee hundred wounded soldiers. It
Is impossible to picture the amaze
ment and CONSERVATION that smoth
cred the colonies when 1t was definite
" known that the army had been de-
feated and broken. There had been
40 concern In the public mind as to
the outcome of the campaign.
The first uncertain news was re
ceived by Colonel James Innes, com.
mander at Fort Cumberland. This
was on July eleventh, two days after
the battle. He Immediately started
expresses to the neighboring provinces
to announce his grave fear that the
army had met with reverses. While
these messengers were carrying the
astounding news the wagOners, who
had first fed the bloody field, were
Beginning to reach the outlying settle
ments. Governor Morris was at Car
isle when a half-starved half-mad
WAGNER logged his exhausted mount
into the settlement and began crying
out that BraddUck had been defeated
that the entire army had been ami
hilated, and that he. the WAGNER, was
the only survivor.
The provinces were stunned On
the sixteenth another messenger
brought further details. General Brad
dock was dead and had been buried
at Great Meadows on the fourteenth
and the army and Dunbar's wagons
had passed over his grave to hide II
from the savages. On 4she day this
man brought his dismal budget, Gov
ernOr Morris sent out call for the
assembly to meet him In Philadelphia
on the twenty third. so as to permit
Dunbar to take the offensive and pre-
vent the triumphant enemy from over
running our frontiers and from bring
ing the az to the eastern settlements
Dunbar promptly announced bis de
termination to be done with forest
lighting; and he marched his twelve
hundred soldiers to Philadelphia and
left three hundred wounded men at
Wills creek. His army went into
camp on Society hill, and in. vain did
Governor Morris urge him to send q
few men to patrol the Susquehanna
Enough refugees came in to swell the
army to fifteen hundred, and without
raising his hand to protect the border
Dunbar the Tardy sailed with this
force for New York in October.
Stupefaction was replaced by dis
may as this. the only fighting force In
the south, war withdrawn In very
auth were the colonies aroused to
d realization that they must protect
themselves by doing their own fight.
ing, and no longer depend upon over
seas armies. Once Dunbar's tnten
ti0ns to withdraw from the province
became known, Governor DinwiGdie
Arged Pennsylvania and Maryland to
unite with Virginia in building q
strong fort at the Great crossing or
on Great Meadows This wise plan
for protecting the border came to
nothing because of the colonies in.
ability to overcome factional jealous
les and to agree as to the division of
the expense, labor and the like. So
we drifted into three years of rapine
and slaughter.
reached Carlisle the day after
Governor Morris started for Philadel
phia. My. wounds. aggravated by ex-
posure, forced me to travel slowly !:
and my efforts to find some trace of
the Dinwold girl permitted many sur
vivors to pass me-. Mine was old news
when did arrive. In Carlisle ! fell
In with three rangers who were cut
off from the ford when the final rout
oiled the narrow road. They were
forced to advance north. or close to
DuQuesne, to escape the savages They
had concealed themselves in the woods
near the Allegheny, and from what
they had observed learned how five
HUNDRED of Pontiac's Ottawas had
Quarreled with the French over the
division of the booty. and had thrown
back the ak and had killed and
calped two Frenchmen very close to
he spot where my informants were
hiding.
1 recovered from my wounds and
became active in preparing defense
against the red swarms we knew
would soon be upon US. As rapidly as
possible string of forts was built
from the Delaware and Susquehanna
to the Potomac. There were Fort
Bedford at aea's Town, Fort LigOnia
on the site of the old Indian town OF
Loyal Hanna In Westmoreland cOun-
~, Fort Loudon at the foot of Blue
mountain, Fort Lowther at Carlisle
and Chambers fort a few miles west
Of that town.
And there were other forts. as well
as numeroHe small blockhOuses. erect.
ed xsu1Hirl be next three years. For
kw after the battle of the
we worked feverishly
lhtage of the brief period
IN hs required to convince
emselyes that the war path to the
lst was unobstructed. Then the storm
egan to break.
The first blow struck by the raiders
was in Cumberland county, and SoOT