[Figure 5.—Bands and Hub Boxing shown in figure 3. These and the strakes shown in figures 2-4, parts of an old Pennsylvania farm wagon, were found in Edmunds Swamp, Pennsylvania, along the route of the Forbes Expedition of 1758.]
Contemporary letters and newspaper advertisements attest to the fact that farm wagons were the type used by Braddock. For example, Franklin's advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette on May 22, 1755, noted that "several Neighbors may conveniently join in fitting out a Waggon, as was lately done in the Back Counties." Had these wagon owners been other than farmers of poor means, such a notation would have been unnecessary. In another communication to the inhabitants of Lancaster, York, and Cumberland Counties Franklin said, "three or four of such as cannot separately spare from the business of their Plantations a Wagon and four Horses and a Driver, may do it together, one furnishing the Waggon, another one or two Horses, and another the Driver, and divide the pay proportionably between you."[16] Many letters describe the owners of the wagons with such phrases as "the Poorer sort," and "narrow circumstances of the Country People, who are to supply the waggons...."[17] These remarks indicate that farm wagons were used and suggest that the larger Conestogas, such as were driven by professional teamsters, probably had not yet been developed.
That Braddock's wagons were small is evidenced by the loads carried. Governor Morris seems to indicate loads as small as thirty-five bushels when he sent a dispatch to Braddock informing him that he had bought "one thousand bushels of Oats and one thousand bushels of Indian Corn in this town [Philadelphia], and have directed sixty waggons to be taken up."[18] This is substantiated by a remark in Captain Orme's journal, in which he states that "The loads of all waggons were to be reduced to fourteen hundred weight...." Under the same date, June 11, he indicated that the farmers wagons were smaller than the English wagons when he wrote "all the King's waggons were also sent back to the fort, they being too heavy and requiring large horses for the shafts...."[19] Another communication from Morris states that he "dispatched fifty-two waggons from this town, each carrying fifty bushels of grain, one half oats the ether Indian Corn."[20] This makes a load of about 2,200 pounds,[21] quite in agreement with the statement in the Gentlemen's Magazine of August 1755, that loads were commonly around one ton. A load of one ton is small in comparison to those hauled by later wagons that sometimes carried as much as five or even six tons.
An approximate description of the size of the wagon, taken from the earliest existing specimens of the same type shows a bed about 12 feet long on the bottom and 14 feet on the top. Depth of the bed ran about 32 inches and the width was approximately 42 to 46 inches. Though there was little standardization in most features, eight bows usually supported the dull white homespun cover. The diameter of the front wheels varied from 40 to 45 inches, while the rear wheels ran 10 to 20 inches larger.[22]
[Figure 6.—Restored Freight-Carrying Conestoga Wagon, about 1830, in the collection of the author. The tongue is not full length. (Photo by the author.)]
For a 1759 expedition it was recommended that wagon accessories include drag chains, grass cutting knives, axes, shovels, tar buckets (for lubricating axles), jacks, hobbles, and extra sets of such items as clouts (axle-bearing plates), nails, horseshoes, hames, linch pins, and hamestrings.[23] It is doubtful if many teamsters in the 1755 expedition had so complete a selection of equipment; campaign experience in the mountains of western Pennsylvania was necessary to convince them of this necessity. There is no evidence that the hame bells later to be found on professional teams were used at this early date. The advertisement[24] that was circulated for the 1759 expedition mentions a "slip bell ... for each horse" among the items necessary on an expedition, so it is possible that some drivers of the 1755 expedition may have used a single bell on each horse, as was the custom with pack horses. These bells, kept stuffed during the day, were unstuffed at night when the horses were put out to forage in the woods so that they might be more easily found in the morning. Orme mentions no bells, although he writes of other methods used to avoid losing horses at night.
Early in May detachments of the Army began to arrive at Wills Creek. During the advance to Wills Creek the lack of transportation had been keenly felt. Wagons had been forced to shuttle back and forth between camps in order to keep all stores and provisions moving forward.[25] By the latter part of May the Pennsylvania wagons were coming in; about 90 arrived on May 20. That same night 30 wagons had to be sent on to Winchester to bring up to Wills Creek the provisions which could not be brought earlier for lack of wagons. Also, 300 of the pack horses had to be sent back to Conococheague, through which the wagons had just passed, to bring up the flour which agent Cresap of that place had through neglect or intention failed to forward in the wagons as he had been directed. On May 27, 100 wagons were on hand, with some still coming in.[26] According to the accounts of the commission later appointed to settle wagoner's claims, 146 wagons with teams, and about 510 pack horses were provided by Pennsylvanians to accompany the army.[27]
[Figure 7.—Farm-Type Conestoga Wagon, about 1850 in the collection of the author. The tongue is not full length. (Photo by the author.)]