XXXII
It was about noon when, as I have said, being in the rear of the Forty-eighth Foot, we heard a noise behind us. We drew up at the side within the wood to see what was coming.
Amid a great dust came General Braddock, in a fine red chariot bought of Governor Sharpe, with an escort of light horse, all in great haste, and bumping over the worst road possible. Presently they flew by the troops, who saluted, the drums beating the Grenadier’s March, a tune I was to hear again.
“If I were the general,” I said, “I should have preferred a horse to a coach.”
“Not if you were he,” said his lordship.
“But the man is not a fool,” I ventured to say. “He seemed to me not to want for intelligence.”
“An intelligent fool, George, is the worst fool. His intelligence feeds his folly.”
This, like much else that his lordship said to me, was not so plain as it would be now, and, accordingly, I made no reply.
After being silent for a time, his lordship went on to say that I should do well to talk little, and quietly to observe things for myself; that he himself knew General Braddock to be a spendthrift, obstinate as a pig, and very self-confident; and, finally, that I knew what a lot of drilled regulars would be worth in the woods. He feared also that the officers were quite unfit for the service.
As it was the way of his lordship to mock at most things, it did not affect me as much as what I saw and heard later, for, unfortunately, he was not alone in his opinion concerning the general.
By and by, the general having preceded us by an hour, we heard the salute of seventeen guns, fired as he entered the camp.
We came in sight of the tents about Wills Creek early in the afternoon, and were walking our horses, very tired, man and beast, when a gentleman came towards us. He was mounted on a rather uneasy animal, and I saw, as he met us and we bowed, that his girth was loose and he in danger of a fall. I dismounted and, with an apology,set it right. He thanked me and got off his horse, saying, as was plain to see, that he was no horseman and would walk, preferring two certain legs to four uncertain ones. On this his lordship also dismounted, and, our servants taking the horses, we walked on together. But first his lordship said: “I am Lord Fairfax, and this is my friend, Colonel George Washington. May we have the honour to know your name?”
He replied, “I am Benjamin Franklin,” and asked if this were Colonel Washington who had been in command in the Jumonville affair. I said I had had that good fortune, and after this he turned to his lordship, and, they conversing, I was able to observe the looks and ways of Mr. Franklin, who was now the Postmaster-General and known throughout the colonies as a learned man, and in affairs very competent. I was to be deeply engaged with him in the future.
He was at this time a vigorous man of forty-nine years, with a great head and a kindly look, clad very simply in a gray suit. When he began to talk I envied him the ease and exactness with which he expressed himself, and the prudence he showed inspeech, of which quality his lordship had little.
When at last the Postmaster-General learned that I was to serve as a volunteer aide, he smiled and remarked that that was to manufacture glory for others and not even to get pay. To this I replied that I considered my ends were clear enough to me, for that I was, as it were, an apprentice, and was bent to acquire experience in war under one who knew the business. He said he hoped I should not be disappointed, and at this I saw his lordship smile; and so no more of moment passed between us, for we met Captain Orme and Sir John St. Clair, and were soon in the camp.
Here was our most western fort. It lay very well, what there was of it finished, just where Wills Creek falls into the Potomac.
I went, with Captain Orme guiding me, to headquarters at the fort to report, passing a few Indians and squads of ill-clad Virginians whom an officer, one Ensign Allen, was cursing and trying to drill into regulars.
Everybody was out of temper for one reason or another. Sir John could getneither waggons nor flour, and the Indian squaws were making mischief because of the unchecked license of the younger officers.
Having reported, I was received very agreeably by the general and his aides, and he would have me to dine with him that day. At four in the afternoon—for the general kept very fashionable hours—we sat down in a great room in the fort, and as he told us his cooks could make a good ragout out of old boots, we were served with a great variety of dishes, and in fine state.
The general had Lord Fairfax on his right and Mr. Franklin on his left, and I was fortunate to find myself beside a very courteous gentleman just come to the fort, Mr. Richard Peters, secretary of Governor Morris of Pennsylvania. I engaged this gentleman in talk concerning the proprietary government and the Quakers, and their unwillingness to be taxed for defence, until, the wine being freely used and then punch more than enough, men’s tongues were loosed. There were toasts to the King and the governor, and at last I heard the general’s voice raised.
He said: “Your health, Mr. Peters, andwhen do you set out to cut that road for my troops? You are long about it.” Mr. Peters said quietly: “When, sir, I get guards against the Indians for the wood-cutters; until then it will not be possible.”
The general damned Pennsylvania and the Quakers, and said: “That colony must find guards for their own wood-cutters, and as to the Indians, his Majesty’s regulars laugh at the idea of danger from them.” Upon which, several officers, not very sober, cried out, “Hear, hear!”
Mr. Peters, who had taken very little wine, replied that they were not to be despised, meaning the savages, but that every step of the march would be at risk of ambuscades.
Then, to my amazement, General Braddock cried out that he despised such counsels and that the colonials were like old women.
On this Mr. Peters rose, and one or two other gentlemen, and I saw Mr. Franklin glance at him. As he hesitated, I said so that he alone could hear: “Pardon me, Mr. Peters, the man is drunk, and you are entirely right.” Then I saw that his lordship spoke quickly to the general, who criedout: “My apologies, Mr. Peters, and a glass with you. We have had too many vinous counsellors. You shall have your guards”—as indeed he did, but not until my lord had been very urgent, and also Mr. Franklin. Mr. Peters, very grave, bowed and sat down. When shortly his lordship went away, I made my own excuses and followed him.
The next day I happened to be in his lordship’s quarters and Mr. Franklin present, when General Braddock called to pay his respects to Lord Fairfax. We rose to go out, but his lordship detained us. The general was in high spirits. He said to Mr. Franklin: “Only let the colonies keep their promise and all will be well.”
I confess I was unprepared for the confidence with which he assured Mr. Franklin that he would take Duquesne and go on to Niagara and Frontenac, and that the fort would be an affair of a day or two.
“But, sir,” said Mr. Franklin, “you must march through a narrow road in pathless, dense forests, and your line will be some four miles long. You will, I hope, take Duquesne, but you will be, I fear, in constant danger of being cut in two, for theFrench and Indians are dexterous in ambuscades, and to send back relief quickly, if attacked, will be nigh to impossible with woods all about you. As to the waggons we talked of, I will get you all the waggons you want out of Pennsylvania, and shall set out for Lancaster at once.”
The general thanked him, but said he must remind Mr. Franklin that he talked as a civilian, and that, although these savages might be formidable to raw American militia, they would make no impression on disciplined troops, and much more to like effect.
Mr. Franklin replied quietly: “I am conscious, sir, of the impropriety of arguing such matters with a military man, but I should like to ask Colonel Washington his opinion. He has had some experience in the irregular warfare of our woods.”
His lordship, desirous, as I learned later, that I should not contradict my superiour, said: “I beg to answer for Mr. Washington that I am sure General Braddock will, as time serves, consult such colonial officers as have seen service on the frontier.”
After other talk the general rose, and said he should be sure to take his lordship’s advice.