Washington's Skill.—Providential Care acknowledged.—Lord Loudon.—New Expedition.—General Forbes.
stubbornness of that general, his contempt of the Indians, and the cowardice of many of his regular troops, an army thirteen hundred strong was half destroyed and utterly defeated by about one half that number, a large portion of whom were Indians. * Every mounted officer, except Washington, was slain before Braddock fell, and the whole duty of distributing orders devolved upon the youthful colonel, who was almost too weak from sickness to be in the saddle when the action commenced. **
William Pitt entered the British ministry at the close of 1757, and one of his first acts was the preparation of a plan for the campaign of 1758 against the French and Indians.
Lord Loudoun, who had been appointed to the chief command of the troops in America, *** was also appointed the successor of Dinwiddie, who left Virginia in January, 1758.
Loudoun's deputy, Francis Fauquier, a man greatly esteemed, performed the functions of governor. Pitt, in his arrangements, planned an expedition against Fort Duquesne. Every thing was devised upon a just and liberal scale. Brigadier-general Forbes **** was intrusted with the command of the expedition. The Virginian army was augmented to two thousand men. These were divided into two regiments. The first was under Colonel Washington, who was likewise commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces; the second was under Colonel William Byrd, of Westover, mentioned on page 441. After much delay in the collecting of men and munitions, the Virginians were ordered to Fort Cumberland, on the Potomac, at Will's Creek, to join the other portions of the expedition. The illness of General Forbes detained him long in Philadelphia, and, when able to move, his perversity of judgment placed many obstacles in the way of
* In a letter to his mother, written at Fort Cumberland nine days after the battle, Washington said, after mentioning the slaughter of the Virginia troops; "In short, the dastardly behavior of those they call regulars exposed all others who were inclined to do their duty to almost certain death; and at last, in despite of all the efforts of the officers to the contrary, they ran as sheep pursued by dogs, and it was impossible to 'rally them." He used similar language in writing to Governor Dinwiddie.
** Colonel Washington had two horses shot under him, and four bullets passed through his coat. ** Secretary Shirley was shot through the head, Sir Peter Halket was instantly killed, and among the wounded officers were Colonel Burton, Sir John St. Clair, Lieutenant Colonel Gage, Colonel Orme, Major Sparks, and Brigade-major Halket. Five captains were killed, and five wounded; fifteen lieutenants killed, and twenty-two wounded; out of eighty-six officers, twenty-six were killed, and thirty-seven wounded. The killed and wounded of the privates amounted to seven hundred and fourteen. One half of them were supposed to be killed, and these were stripped and scalped by the Indians.