"Considering their present circumstances," he writes: "I would by no means have consented to leave any part of them there, had not the general given me express orders.... By their present nakedness, the advanced season, and the inconceivable fatigues of an uncommonly long and laborious campaign, they are rendered totally incapable of any sort of service; and sickness, death, and desertion must, if they are not speedily supplied, greatly reduce their numbers. To replace them with equally good men will, perhaps, be found impossible."
Irving says, "One of the first offices of the army, after taking possession of the fort, was to collect and bury, in one common tomb, the bones of their fellow-soldiers who had fallen in the battles of Braddock and Grant. In this pious duty it is said every one joined, from the general down to the private soldier; and some veterans assisted, with heavy hearts and frequent ejaculations of poignant feeling, who had been present in the scenes of defeat and carnage."
The fall of Duquesne brought to an end the domination of the French on the Ohio, as Washington predicted, restoring peace to the frontier. Hostile Indians hastened to cast in their allegiance to the English, who had become conquerors, thus laying aside both tomahawk and scalping-knife, at least for a season.
Washington resolved to abandon military life and retire to his estate at Mount Vernon, exchanging the hardships of war for the blessings of peace. He sent in his resignation, whereupon the officers of his command presented him with a flattering testimonial, from which we make the following extracts:
"Sir, we, your most obedient and affectionate officers, beg leave to express our great concern at the disagreeable news we have received of your determination to resign the command of that corps in which we have so long served under you. The happiness we have enjoyed, and the honor we have acquired, together with the mutual regard which has always subsisted between you and your officers, have implanted so sensible an affection in the minds of us all, that we cannot be silent on this critical occasion.
"In our earliest infancy you took us under your tuition, trained us up in the practice of that discipline which alone can constitute good troops, from the punctual observation of which you never suffered the least deviation.
"Your steady adherence to impartial justice, your quick discernment, and invariable regard to merit, wisely intended to inculcate these genuine sentiments of true honor and passion for glory, from which the greatest military achievements have been derived, first heightened our natural emulation and our desire to excel. How much we improved by those regulations and your own example, with what alacrity we have hitherto discharged our duty, with what cheerfulness we have encountered the severest toil, especially while under your particular directions, we submit to yourself, and flatter ourselves that we have, in a great measure, answered your expectations.
"Judge, then, how sensibly we must be affected by the loss of such an excellent commander, such a sincere friend, and so affable a companion.... It gives us additional sorrow, when we reflect, to find our unhappy country will receive a loss no less irreparable than our own. Where will it meet a man so experienced in military affairs—one so renowned for patriotism, conduct, and courage? Who has so great a knowledge of the enemy we have to deal with?... Who, in short, so able to support the military character of Virginia?
"Your approved love to your king and country, and your uncommon perseverance in promoting the honor and true interest of the service, convince us that the most cogent reasons only could induce you to quit it; yet we, with the greatest deference, presume to entreat you to suspend those thoughts for another year, and to lead us on to assist in the glorious work of extirpating our enemies, towards which so considerable advances have been already made. In you we place the most implicit confidence. Your presence only will cause a steady firmness and vigor to actuate in every breast, despising the greatest dangers, and thinking light of toils and hardships, while led on by the man we know and love."
This tribute to the character of an honored commander conveys to the reader a clear view of his illustrious position in the army, confirming the favorable opinions hitherto expressed by the author.