Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
as guides, scouts, etc., if he had treated them kindly; but he
slighted and neglected them, and they gradually left him.
In conversation with him one day, he was giving me some account of his
intended progress. "After taking Fort Duquesne,"[97] says he, "I am to
proceed to Niagara; and, having taken that, to Frontenac,[98] if the
season will allow time; and I suppose it will, for Duquesne can hardly
detain me above three or four days; and then I see nothing that can
obstruct my march to Niagara." Having before revolv'd in my mind the
long line his army must make in their march by a very narrow road, to
be cut for them thro' the woods and bushes, and also what I had read
of a former defeat of fifteen hundred French, who invaded the Iroquois
country, I had conceiv'd some doubts and some fears for the event of
the campaign. But I ventur'd only to say, "To be sure, sir, if you
arrive well before Duquesne, with these fine troops, so well provided
with artillery, that place not yet completely fortified, and as we
hear with no very strong garrison, can probably make but a short
resistance. The only danger I apprehend of obstruction to your march
is from ambuscades of Indians, who, by constant practice, are
dexterous in laying and executing them; and the slender line, near
four miles long, which your army must make, may expose it to be
attack'd by surprise in its flanks, and to be cut like a thread into
several pieces, which, from their distance, cannot come up in time to
support each other."
[97] Pittsburg.
[98] Kingston, at the eastern end of Lake Ontario.
He smil'd at my ignorance, and reply'd, "These savages may, indeed, be
a formidable enemy to your raw American militia, but upon the king's
regular and disciplin'd troops, sir, it is impossible they should make
any impression." I was conscious of an impropriety in my disputing
with a military man in matters of his profession, and said no more.
The enemy, however, did not take the advantage of his army which I
apprehended its long line of march expos'd it to, but let it advance
without interruption till within nine miles of the place; and then,
when more in a body (for it had just passed a river, where the front
had halted till all were come over), and in a more open part of the
woods than any it had pass'd, attack'd its advanced guard by heavy
fire from behind trees and bushes, which was the first intelligence
the general had of an enemy's being near him. This guard being
disordered, the general hurried the troops up to their assistance,
which was done in great confusion, thro' waggons, baggage, and cattle;
and presently the fire came upon their flank: the officers, being on
horseback, were more easily distinguish'd, pick'd out as marks, and
fell very fast; and the soldiers were crowded together in a huddle,
having or hearing no orders, and standing to be shot at till
two-thirds of them were killed; and then, being seiz'd with a panick,
the whole fled with precipitation.
The waggoners took each a horse out of his team and scamper'd; their
example was immediately followed by others; so that all the waggons,
provisions, artillery, and stores were left to the enemy. The general,
being wounded, was brought off with difficulty; his secretary, Mr.
Shirley, was killed by his side; and out of eighty-six officers,
sixty-three were killed or wounded, and seven hundred and fourteen men
killed out of eleven hundred. These eleven hundred had been picked men
from the whole army; the rest had been left behind with Colonel
Dunbar, who was to follow with the heavier part of the stores,
provisions, and baggage. The flyers, not being pursu'd, arriv'd at
Dunbar's camp, and the panick they brought with them instantly seiz'd
him and all his people; and, tho' he had now above one thousand men,
and the enemy who had beaten Braddock did not at most exceed four
hundred Indians and French together, instead of proceeding, and
endeavouring to recover some of the lost honour, he ordered all the
stores, ammunition, etc., to be destroy'd, that he might have more
horses to assist his flight towards the settlements, and less lumber
to remove. He was there met with requests from the governors of
Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, that he would post his troops on
the frontier, so as to afford some protection to the inhabitants; but
he continued his hasty march thro' all the country, not thinking
himself safe till he arrived at Philadelphia, where the inhabitants
could protect him. This whole transaction gave us Americans the first
suspicion that our exalted ideas of the prowess of British regulars
had not been well founded.[99]
[99] Other accounts of this expedition and defeat may be
found in Fiske's _Washington and his Country_, or
Lodge's _George Washington_, Vol. 1.
In their first march, too, from their landing till they got beyond the
settlements, they had plundered and stripped the inhabitants, totally
ruining some poor families, besides insulting, abusing, and confining
the people if they remonstrated. This was enough to put us out of
conceit of such defenders, if we had really wanted any. How different
was the conduct of our French friends in 1781, who, during a march
thro' the most inhabited part of our country from Rhode Island to
Virginia, near seven hundred miles, occasioned not the smallest
complaint for the loss of a pig, a chicken, or even an apple.
Captain Orme, who was one of the general's aids-de-camp, and, being
grievously wounded, was brought off with him, and continu'd with him
to his death, which happen'd in a few days, told me that he was
totally silent all the first day, and at night only said, "_Who would
have thought it?_" That he was silent again the following day, saying
only at last, "_We shall better know how to deal with them another
time_"; and dy'd in a few minutes after.
The secretary's papers, with all the general's orders, instructions,
and correspondence, falling into the enemy's hands, they selected and
translated into French a number of the articles, which they printed,
to prove the hostile intentions of the British court before the
declaration of war. Among these I saw some letters of the general to
the ministry, speaking highly of the great service I had rendered the
army, and recommending me to their notice. David Hume,[100] too, who was
some years after secretary to Lord Hertford, when minister in France,
and afterward to General Conway, when secretary of state, told me he
had seen among the papers in that office, letters from Braddock highly
recommending me. But, the expedition having been unfortunate, my
service, it seems, was not thought of much value, for those
recommendations were never of any use to me.
[100] A famous Scotch philosopher and historian
(1711-1776).
As to rewards from himself, I ask'd only one, which was, that he would
give orders to his officers not to enlist any more of our bought
servants, and that he would discharge such as had been already
enlisted. This he readily granted, and several were accordingly
return'd to their masters, on my application. Dunbar, when the command
devolv'd on him, was not so generous. He being at Philadelphia, on his
retreat, or rather flight, I apply'd to him for the discharge of the
servants of three poor farmers of Lancaster county that he had
enlisted, reminding him of the late general's orders on that head. He
promised me that, if the masters would come to him at Trenton, where
he should be in a few days on his march to New York, he would there
deliver their men to them. They accordingly were at the expense and
trouble of going to Trenton, and there he refus'd to perform his
promise, to their great loss and disappointment.
As soon as the loss of the waggons and horses was generally known, all
the owners came upon me for the valuation which I had given bond to
pay. Their demands gave me a great deal of trouble, my acquainting
them that the money was ready in the paymaster's hands, but that
orders for paying it must first be obtained from General Shirley,[101]
and my assuring them that I had apply'd to that general by letter;
but, he being at a distance, an answer could not soon be receiv'd, and
they must have patience, all this was not sufficient to satisfy, and
some began to sue me. General Shirley at length relieved me from this
terrible situation by appointing commissioners to examine the claims,
and ordering payment. They amounted to near twenty thousand pound,
which to pay would have ruined me.
[101] Governor of Massachusetts and commander of the
British forces in America.
Before we had the news of this defeat, the two Doctors Bond came to me
with a subscription paper for raising money to defray the expense of a
grand firework, which it was intended to exhibit at a rejoicing on
receipt of the news of our taking Fort Duquesne. I looked grave, and
said it would, I thought, be time enough to prepare for the rejoicing
when we knew we should have occasion to rejoice. They seem'd surpris'd
that I did not immediately comply with their proposal. "Why the
d----l!" says one of them, "you surely don't suppose that the
fort will not be taken?" "I don't know that it will not be taken, but
I know that the events of war are subject to great uncertainty." I
gave them the reasons of my doubting; the subscription was dropt, and
the projectors thereby missed the mortification they would have
undergone if the firework had been prepared. Dr. Bond, on some other
occasion afterward, said that he did not like Franklin's forebodings.
Governor Morris, who had continually worried the Assembly with message
after message before the defeat of Braddock, to beat them into the
making of acts to raise money for the defense of the province, without
taxing, among others, the proprietary estates, and had rejected all
their bills for not having such an exempting clause, now redoubled his
attacks with more hope of success, the danger and necessity being
greater. The Assembly, however, continu'd firm, believing they had
justice on their side, and that it would be giving up an essential
right if they suffered the governor to amend their money-bills. In one
of the last, indeed, which was for granting fifty thousand pounds, his
propos'd amendment was only of a single word. The bill express'd "that
all estates, real and personal, were to be taxed, those of the
proprietaries _not_ excepted." His amendment was, for _not_ read
_only_: a small, but very material alteration. However, when the news
of this disaster reached England, our friends there whom we had taken
care to furnish with all the Assembly's answers to the governor's
messages, rais'd a clamor against the proprietaries for their meanness
and injustice in giving their governor such instructions; some going
so far as to say that, by obstructing the defense of their province,
they forfeited their right to it. They were intimidated by this, and
sent orders to their receiver-general to add five thousand pounds of
their money to whatever sum might be given by the Assembly for such
purpose.
This, being notified to the House, was accepted in lieu of their share
of a general tax, and a new bill was form'd, with an exempting clause,
which passed accordingly. By this act I was appointed one of the
commissioners for disposing of the money, sixty thousand pounds. I had
been active in modelling the bill and procuring its passage, and had,
at the same time, drawn a bill for establishing and disciplining a
voluntary militia, which I carried thro' the House without much
difficulty, as care was taken in it to leave the Quakers at their
liberty. To promote the association necessary to form the militia, I