Washington's Road (Nemacolin's path) the First Chapter of the Old French WarHulbert, Archer Butler
History
Washington's Road (Nemacolin's path) the First Chapter of the Old French War
Hulbert, Archer Butler
United States -- History -- French and Indian War, 1754-1763; Washington, George, 1732-1799 -- Military leadership
"ART. 4^{th}. As soon as these articles shall be signed by both
parties, they shall take down the English flag.
"ART. 5^{th}. Tomorrow at daybreak a detachment of French shall
lead forth the garrison and take possession of the aforesaid fort.
"ART. 6^{th}. Since the English have scarcely any horses or oxen
left, they shall be allowed to hide their property, in order that
they may return to seek for it after they shall have recovered
their horses; for this purpose they shall be permitted to leave
such number of troops as guards as they may think proper, _under
this condition, that they give their word of honor that they will
work on no establishment either in the surrounding country or
beyond the Highlands during one year beginning from this day_.
"ART. 7^{th}. Since the English have in their power an officer and
two cadets, and, in general, all the prisoners whom they took _when
they murdered Lord Jumonville_, they now promise to send them, with
an escort to Fort Duquesne, situated on Belle River, and to secure
the safe performance of this treaty article, _as well as of the
treaty_, Messrs. Jacob van Braam and Robert Stobo, both Captains,
shall be delivered to us as hostages until the arrival of our
French and Canadians herein before mentioned.
"We on our part declare that we shall give an escort to send back
in safety the two officers who promise us our French in two months
and a half at the latest.
"Copied on one of the posts of our block-house the same day and
year as before.
(Signed.) MESSRS. JAMES MACKAYE, G^c.
G^o. WASHINGTON,
COULON VILLIER."[12]
The parts in italics were those misrepresented by Van Braam. The words
_pendant une année à compter de ce jour_ are not found in the articles
printed by the French government, as though it repudiated Villier's
intimation that the English should ever return. But within sixty-three
hours of a year, an English army, eight times as great as the party now
capitulating, marched across this battle-field. The nice courtesy shown
by the young colonel, in allowing Captain Mackaye's name to take
precedence over his own, is significant, as Mackaye, a king's officer,
had never considered himself amenable to Washington's orders, and his
troops had steadily refused to bear the brunt of the campaign--working
on the road or transporting guns and baggage. In the trenches, however,
the Carolinians did their duty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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