CHAPTER V. — POLITICAL PARTIES DEVELOPED. 1791-1792.
Washington, having received from Congress more ample means for the protection of the frontiers against the Indians, now directed his attention (March, 1791) to an expedition which should carry the war into their own country; this, as we have already seen, being his favorite method of dealing with Indian hostilities. He accordingly appointed Maj.-Gen. Arthur St. Clair, governor of the territory northwest of the Ohio, commander-in-chief of the forces to be employed in the meditated expedition. This officer had served through the war of the Revolution with reputation, though it had never been his fortune to distinguish himself. The evacuation of Ticonderoga had indeed, at one time, subjected him to much public censure, but it was found, upon inquiry, to be unmerited. Other motives, in addition to the persuasion of his fitness for the service, induced Washington to appoint him. With the sword, the olive branch was still to be tendered, and it was thought advisable to place them in the same hands. The governor, having been made officially the negotiator with the tribes inhabiting the territories over which he presided, being a military man acquainted with the country into which the war was to be carried, possessing considerable influence with the inhabitants of the frontiers, and being so placed as to superintend the preparations for the expedition advantageously, seemed to have claims to the station which were not to be overlooked. It was also a consideration of some importance that the high rank he had held in the American army would obviate those difficulties in filling the inferior grades with men of experience, which might certainly be expected should a person who had acted in a less elevated station be selected for the chief command.
After making the necessary arrangements for recruiting the army Washington prepared to make his long contemplated tour through the southern States.
On the 19th of March (1791), in writing to Lafayette, he says: "The tender concern which you express on my late illness awakens emotions which words will not explain, and to which your own sensibility can best do justice. My health is now quite restored, and I flatter myself with a hope of a long exemption from sickness. On Monday next I shall enter on the practice of your friendly prescription of exercise, intending, at that time, to begin a journey to the southward, during which I propose visiting all the southern States."
This tour he performed in his own carriage, drawn by six horses, which were not changed during the journey, which occupied nearly three months. He was accompanied by one of his private secretaries, Major Jackson. Leaving his residence in Market street, Philadelphia, he set off in the latter part of March, and was escorted into Delaware by Mr. Jefferson and General Knox. On the 25th of March he arrived at Annapolis, where he was met by the people in a body, entertained at public dinners and a ball, and, after staying two days, was accompanied on his journey by the governor of Maryland, as far as Georgetown. From this place, on the 29th of March, he writes to Gov. Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina: "I had the pleasure of receiving your Excellency's obliging letter of the 8th instant last evening. I am thus far on my tour through the southern States, but as I travel with only one set of horses, and must make occasional halts, the progress of my journey is exposed to such uncertainty as admits not of fixing a day for my arrival at Charleston. While I express the grateful sense which I entertain of your Excellency's polite offer to accommodate me at your house during my stay in Charleston, your goodness will permit me to deny myself that pleasure. Having, with a view to avoid giving inconvenience to private families, early prescribed to myself the rule of declining all invitations to quarters on my journeys, I have been repeatedly under a similar necessity to the present, of refusing those offers of hospitality which would, otherwise, have been both pleasing and acceptable."
From Georgetown he proceeded to Mount Vernon, where the necessary attention to his private affairs, and some important correspondence on public business, detained him a week. Leaving Mount Vernon, and passing through Fredericksburg, where he dined with some of his old personal friends, he arrived at Richmond on the 11nth of April (1791). His reception there was enthusiastic. He entered the city amidst the roar of cannon and the acclamations of the crowds of people who lined the streets through which he passed. In the evening there was a grand illumination; and during the two days which he remained there, the city was given up to festivities in honor of the favorite hero of Virginia. Similar tokens of welcome were exhibited at Petersburg, Halifax, Newburn, and Wilmington. On leaving the last-mentioned place he was rowed across Cape Fear river in a splendid barge, by six masters of vessels; and on his arrival at Charleston (May 2d) a similar token of honor was accorded to him on a larger scale. From Hadrill's Point, attended by a cortege of distinguished Carolinians, he was conveyed to the city in a twelve-oared barge, manned by thirteen captains of American ships, while other barges and floats, with bands of music and decorations, formed an imposing nautical procession. On landing he was received by Governor Pinckney, the civic authorities, the Cincinnati, and a brilliant military escort, who attended him in procession, amidst the ringing of bells, the firing of cannon, and the acclamations of the people, first to the Exchange, where he was welcomed in a formal address, and then to the house prepared for his reception. {1}
During the week he remained in Charleston, he received the most lively and touching tokens of welcome and affection from the warm-hearted Carolinians, who strove to render him every species of honor. A corporation ball on a grand scale, a large dinner party at Governor Pinckney's mansion, another at Maj. Pierce Butler's, a concert, and a splendid public entertainment given by the merchants of the city, formed a portion only of the testimonials of homage and welcome given on this occasion to their illustrious guest.
He left Charleston on the 9th of May (1791), escorted to Ashley ferry by the governor and a large cavalcade. "At Perrysburg," says Dr. Griswold, "he was met the next day by a committee from Savannah, and, with General Wayne, Major Butler, Mr. Baillie, and Major Jackson, was conducted on board a richly decorated boat, in which the party were rowed down the river by nine sea captains, dressed in light-blue silk jackets, black satin breeches, white silk stockings, and round hats with black ribbons, inscribed with 'Long live the President,' in golden letters. Ten miles from the city they were met by other barges, from one of which a company of gentlemen sung the popular song, 'He comes, the hero comes!' As they drew near the harbor, every vessel and all the shore were discovered to be thronged with people. When the President stepped on the landing he was received by Gen. James Jackson, who introduced him to the mayor and aldermen; and he was soon after conducted, in the midst of a procession, through crowds of spectators, to the house prepared for his accommodation in St. James' square. The same evening he dined with the city authorities and a large number of other gentlemen, at Brown's Coffee House. Cannons were fired during the day, and at night the streets and the shipping were brilliantly illuminated. On Friday he dined with the Cincinnati of the State of Georgia, and attended a ball. On Saturday, accompanied by General McIntosh, who had been second in command under General Lincoln in storming them, he examined the remaining traces of the lines constructed by the British for the defense of Savannah in 1779, and dined with 200 citizens and strangers under a beautiful arbor, supported by numerous columns and ornamented with laurel and bay leaves, erected on an elevation which commanded a view of the town and the harbor.
"It has been frequently said of Washington, that 'no man in the army had a better eye for a horse,' and many of his letters show that he was by no means indifferent as to the qualities or treatment of his stud, during the war and afterward. A tour of 1,900 miles, with the same animals, was a severe test of their capacities, and before reaching Charleston he wrote to Mr. Lear, that though, all things considered, they had got on very well, yet his horses were decidedly worsted, and if brought back would 'not cut capers, as they did on setting out.' On the 13th of May, he says in a letter to the same correspondent:
"'I shall leave this place to-morrow; my horses, especially the two I bought just before I left Philadelphia, and my old white horse, are much worn down, and I have yet 150 or 200 miles of heavy sand to pass before I get fairly into the upper and firmer road.'
"On the way to Augusta he stopped to dine with the widow of his old friend and companion in arms, General Greene, at her seat called Mulberry Grove. On Wednesday, the 18th (May, 1791), Governor Telfair and the principal officers of the State left the capital, with a numerous train of citizens, and proceeded five miles toward Savannah to meet him, and he was conducted to his lodgings accompanied by thousands of people, who filled the air with joyous acclamations. That day he dined with a large party at the Grove, the governor's private residence, near Augusta, where Mrs. Telfair assembled the ladies of the town to meet him at a ball in the evening; on Thursday he received and answered an address from the people, attended a public dinner, and was present at another ball; on Friday he visited the academy and dined again with the governor; and on Saturday he started again on his return, Augusta being the further point of his journey.
"Coming again into South Carolina, he was conducted to Columbia by General Winne, Col. Wade Hampton, and a large number of other citizens, and the next day dined with more than 200 of the principal men and women of the town and neighboring country at the State house, and in the evening attended a ball.
"On Wednesday, the 25th (May, 1791), he dined at Camden, and on the following morning visited this grave of the Baron de Kalb, the places where the British redoubts had been erected, Hobkirk Hill, where General Greene was attacked by Lord Rawdon, and the plains where General Gates was engaged by Lord Cornwallis in 1780. Passing through Charlotte, Salisbury, Salem, Guilford, and other towns, in all of which the love and reverence of the people were exhibited in every variety of manner which taste and ingenuity could suggest, he arrived at Mount Vernon on the 12th of June.
"He remained at his seat between three and four weeks, during which he was occupied with his private affairs, and, with Major L'Enfant and others, with the location of the new seat of government, on the banks of the Potomac. On Thursday, the last day of June (1791), he started for Philadelphia by way of Frederick, York, and Lancaster, and arrived at the presidential residence about noon on the 6th of July, having been absent nearly three months, and during that period performed a journey of 1,887 miles." {2}
Washington was highly pleased with the result of his observations during this tour. In a letter to Hamilton (June 13th), from Mount Vernon on his return, we have occasion to notice the benefit he derived from his habits of method and forethought in any undertaking which he contemplated. "My return to this place," he writes, "is sooner than I expected, owing to the uninterruptedness of my journey by sickness, from bad weather, or accidents of any kind whatsoever. Having obtained, before I left Philadelphia, the most accurate accounts I could get there of the places and roads through and by which I was to perform my tour, and the distances between the former, I formed my line of march accordingly, fixing each day's journey and the day to halt; from neither of which have I departed in a single instance, except staying, from a particular circumstance, two days in Columbia, and none at Charlotte, instead of one at each, and crossing James river at Carter's ferry, in place of Taylor's, as was my original intention. But the improbability of performing a tour of 1,700 miles (I have already rode more) with the same set of horses, without encountering any accident, by which a deviation would be rendered unavoidable, appeared so great, that I allowed eight days for casualties, and six to refresh at this place, when I should have returned to it. None of the former having happened, accounts for the fourteen days I shall remain here before the meeting of the commissioners." {3}
In relation to this tour in the southern States Marshall says: "In passing through them he was received universally with the same marks of affectionate attachment which he had experienced in the northern and central parts of the Union. To the sensibilities which these demonstrations of the regard and esteem of good men could not fail to inspire, was added the high gratification produced by observing the rapid improvements of the country, and the advances made by the government in acquiring the confidence of the people." The numerous letters written by him after his return to Philadelphia, attest the agreeable impressions made by these causes. "In my late tour through the southern States," said he, in a letter of the 28th of July, to Mr. Gouverneur Morris, "I experienced great satisfaction in seeing the good effects of the general government in that part of the Union. The people at large have felt the security which it gives, and the equal justice which it administers to them. The farmer, the merchant, and the mechanic have seen their several interests attended to, and from thence they unite in placing a confidence in their representatives, as well as in those in whose hands the execution of the laws is placed. Industry has there taken place of idleness, and economy of dissipation. Two or three years of good crops, and a ready market for the produce of their lands, have put everyone in good humor, and, in some instances, they even impute to the government what is due only to the goodness of Providence.
"The establishment of public credit is an immense point gained in our national concerns. This, I believe, exceeds the expectation of the most sanguine among us; and a late instance, unparalleled in this country, has been given of the confidence reposed in our measures, by the rapidity with which the subscriptions to the Bank of the United States were filled. In two hours after the books were opened by the commissioners the whole number of shares was taken up, and 4,000 more applied for than were allowed by the institution. This circumstance was not only pleasing, as it related to the confidence in government, but also as it exhibited an unexpected proof of the resources of our citizens."
This visit had undoubtedly some tendency to produce the good disposition which Washington observed with so much pleasure. The affections are, perhaps, more intimately connected with the judgment than we are disposed to admit; and the appearance of the chief magistrate of the Union, who was the object of general love and reverence, could not be without its influence in conciliating the minds of many to the government he administered, and to its measures. But this progress toward conciliation was, perhaps, less considerable than was indicated by appearances. The hostility to the government, which was coeval with its existence, though diminished, was far from being subdued; and under this smooth exterior was concealed a mass of discontent, which, though it did not obtrude itself on the view of the man who united almost all hearts, was active in its exertions to effect its objects.
The difficulties which must impede the recruiting service in a country where coercion is not employed, and where the common wages of labor greatly exceed the pay of a soldier, protracted the completion of the regiments to a late season of the year, but the summer was not permitted to waste in total inaction.
The act passed at the last session for the defense of the frontiers, in addition to its other provisions, had given to the President an unlimited power to call mounted militia into the field. Under this authority two expeditions had been conducted against the villages on the Wabash, in which a few of the Indian warriors were killed, some of their old men, women, and children were made prisoners, and several of their towns and fields of corn were destroyed. The first was led by General Scott, in May, and the second by General Wilkinson, in September. These desultory incursions had not much influence on the war.
It was believed in the United States that the hostility of the Indians was kept up by the traders living in their villages. These persons had, generally, resided in the United States, and, having been compelled to leave the country, in consequence of the part they had taken during the war of the Revolution, felt the resentments which banishment and confiscation seldom fail to inspire. Their enmities were ascribed by many, perhaps unjustly, to the temper of the government in Canada; but some countenance seemed to be given to this opinion by intelligence that, about the commencement of the preceding campaign, large supplies of ammunition had been delivered from the British posts on the lakes to the Indians at war with the United States. While Washington was on his southern tour, he addressed a letter to the Secretary of State, to be communicated to Colonel Beckwith, who still remained in Philadelphia as the informal representative of his nation, in which he expressed his surprise and disappointment at this interference, by the servants or subjects of a foreign State, in a war prosecuted by the United States for the sole purpose of procuring peace and safety for the inhabitants of their frontiers.
On receiving this communication Colonel Beckwith expressed his disbelief that the supplies mentioned had been delivered; but, on being assured of the fact, he avowed the opinion that the transaction was without the knowledge of Lord Dorchester, to whom he said he should communicate, without delay, the ideas of the American government on the subject.
On the 24th of October (1791) the second Congress assembled in Philadelphia. In his speech, at the opening of the session, the President expressed his great satisfaction at the prosperous situation of the country, and particularly mentioned the rapidity with which the shares in the Bank of the United States were subscribed, as "among the striking and pleasing evidences which presented themselves, not only of confidence in the government, but of resources in the community."
Adverting to the measures which had been taken in execution of the laws and resolutions of the last session, "the most important of which," he observed, "respected the defense and security of the western frontiers," he had, he said "negotiated provisional treaties and used other proper means to attach the wavering, and to confirm in their friendship the well-disposed tribes of Indians. The means which he had adopted for a pacification with those of a hostile description having proved unsuccessful, offensive operations had been directed, some of which had proved completely successful, and others were still depending. Overtures of peace were still continued to the deluded tribes, and it was sincerely to be desired that all need of coercion might cease, and that an intimate intercourse might succeed, calculated to advance the happiness of the Indians, and to attach them firmly to the United States."
In marking the line of conduct which ought to be maintained for the promotion of this object, he strongly recommended "justice to the savages, and such rational experiments for imparting to them the blessings of civilization, as might from time to time suit their condition;" and then concluded this subject with saying: "A system corresponding with the mild principles of religion and philanthropy, toward an unenlightened race of men whose happiness materially depends on the conduct of the United States, would be as honorable to the national character, as conformable to the dictates of sound policy."
After stating that measures had been taken for carrying into execution the act laying duties on distilled spirits, he added: "The impressions with which this law has been received by the community have been, upon the whole, such as were to have been expected among enlightened and well-disposed citizens, from the propriety and necessity of the measure. The novelty, however, of the tax, in a considerable part of the United States, and a misconception of some of its provisions, have given occasion, in particular places, to some degree of discontent. But it is satisfactory to know that this disposition yields to proper explanations, and more just apprehensions of the true nature of the law. And I entertain a full confidence that it will, in all, give way to motives which arise out of a just sense of duty, and a virtuous regard to the public welfare.
"If there are any circumstances in the law, which, consistently with its main design, may be so varied as to remove any well-intentioned objections that may happen to exist, it will comport with a wise moderation to make the proper variations. It is desirable, on all occasions, to unite with a steady and firm adherence to constitutional and necessary acts of government, the fullest evidence of a disposition, as far as may be practicable, to consult the wishes of every part of the community, and to lay the foundations of the public administration in the affections of the people."
The answers of the two houses noticed, briefly and generally, the various topics of the speech; and, though perhaps less warm than those of the preceding Congress, manifested great respect for the executive magistrate, and an undiminished confidence in his patriotic exertions to promote the public interests.
Soon after Congress was organized for business a warm debate sprung up in relation to the new apportionment of representatives, in accordance with the census, which had been taken in the preceding year, and the results of which were now ready for the consideration of Congress. The contest was not put to rest till the following April (1792); and not till the third bill was constructed did the two houses agree. The first proposal made by the representatives was to adopt the lowest ratio allowed by the constitution—30,000, which would have raised their numbers to 113, but there would have been large fractions of population in the northern States left unrepresented. The Senate, to lessen those disfranchised remnants, raised the ration to 33,000; but it was alleged that then there were fractions, though not so large, remaining in the southern States. The house would not accept the change, and reiterated its former proposal in a new bill, which also arranged the taking of another census before the expiration of ten years; but the Senate refused its assent to this, and, instead, increased the numbers to 120 by assigning representatives to the largest fractions. This, which violated the letter of the constitution, excited greater heat than ever, and the old threat of breaking up the Union was resorted to. A committee of conference was demanded at length, and in the end the scheme of the Senate was carried by a majority of two out of sixty votes. This decision has been remarked upon as having a curious bearing upon the old political controversies, the representatives of the southern States being found rejecting the amendment of the Senate, which embodied their own State sovereignty principle; and those of the North accepting it, although they were most in favor of the opposite principle of polity.
Washington very justly considered this mode of apportionment as contrary to the constitution, and on the 5th of April returned the bill to Congress, with his objections. The first was, that the constitution had prescribed that representatives should be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, and that there was no one proportion or division which, applied to the respective States, would yield the number and allotment of representatives proposed by the bill; the second, that by the constitution, the number of representatives should not exceed one for every 30,000, which restriction, by the fair and obvious construction, was to be applied to the separate and respective States, and that the bill had allotted to eight States more than one for every 30,000. This was the first instance in which the President had exercised his veto upon any act of Congress. {4}
The bill, not being repassed by two-thirds of both houses, was rejected. A bill afterward passed, April 9, 1792, by a vote of thirty-four to thirty, apportioning the representatives agreeable to a ratio of one for every 33,000 in each State, which received the sanction of the President, and thus, this interesting part of the constitution was finally settled.
During this session of Congress an act passed for establishing a uniform militia.
Washington had manifested, from the commencement of his administration, a peculiar degree of solicitude on this subject, and had repeatedly urged it on Congress.
In his speech at the opening of the present session, he again called the attention of the Legislature to it, and at length a law was enacted, though it was less efficacious than the plan reported by General Knox, the Secretary of War.
In December (1791) intelligence was received by the President, and immediately communicated to Congress, that the American army had been totally defeated on the 4th of the preceding month.
Although the most prompt and judicious measures had been taken to raise the troops and to march them to the frontiers, they could not be assembled in the neighborhood of Fort Washington until the month of September, nor was the establishment even then completed.
The immediate objects of the expedition were to destroy the Indian villages on the Miami, to expel the savages from that country, and to connect it with the Ohio by a chain of posts which would prevent their return during the war.
On the 7th of September (1791) the regulars moved from their camp in the vicinity of Fort Washington, and marching directly north, toward the object of their destination, established two intermediate posts, Forts Hamilton and Jefferson, at the distance of rather more than forty miles from each other, as places of deposit and of security either for convoys of provisions which might follow the army, or for the army itself should any disaster befall it. The last of these works, Fort Jefferson, was not completed until the 24th of October, before which time reinforcements were received of about 360 militia. After placing garrisons in the forts the effective number of the army, including militia, amounted to rather less than 2,000 men. With this force the general continued his march, which was rendered both slow and laborious by the necessity of opening a road. Small parties of Indians were frequently seen hovering about them and some unimportant skirmishes took place. As the army approached the country in which they might expect to meet an enemy about sixty of the militia deserted in a body. This diminution of force was not in itself an object of much concern. But there was reason to fear that the example, should those who set it be permitted to escape with impunity, would be extensively followed, and it was reported to be the intention of the deserters to plunder convoys of provisions which were advancing at some distance in the rear. To prevent mischiefs of so serious a nature the general detached Major Hamtranck with the first regiment in pursuit of the deserters, and directed him to secure the provisions under a strong guard.
The army, consisting of about 1,400 effective rank and file, continued its march, and, on the 3d of November, encamped about fifteen miles south of the Miami villages. The right wing, under the command of General Butler, formed the first line and lay with a creek, about twelve yards wide, immediately in its front. The left wing, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Darke, formed the second, and between the two lines was an interval of about seventy yards. The right flank was supposed to be secured by the creek, by a steep bank, and by a small body of troops; the left was covered by a party of cavalry and by piquets. The militia crossed the creek and advanced about a quarter of a mile in front, where they also encamped in two lines. On their approach a few Indians who had shown themselves on the opposite side of the creek fled with precipitation.
At this place the general intended to throw up a slight work for the security of the baggage, and, after being joined by Major Hamtranck, to march, as unencumbered and as expeditiously as possible, to the villages he purposed to destroy.
In both of these designs he was anticipated. About half an hour before sunrise on the day following, just after the troops had been dismissed from the parade, an unexpected attack was made upon the militia, who fled in the utmost confusion, and rushing into camp through the first line of Continental troops, which had been formed the instant the first gun was discharged, threw them too into disorder. The exertions of the officers to restore order were not entirely successful. The Indians pressed close upon the heels of the flying militia and engaged General Butler with great intrepidity. The action instantly became extremely warm, and the fire of the assailants, passing round both flanks of the first line, was, in a few minutes, poured with equal fury on the rear division. Its greatest weight was directed against the center of each wing, where the artillery was posted, and the artillerists were mowed down in great numbers. Firing from the ground and from the shelter which the woods afforded, the assailants were scarcely seen but when springing from one cover to another, in which manner they advanced close up to the American lines and to the very mouths of the field pieces. They fought with the daring courage of men whose trade is war and who are stimulated by all those passions which can impel the savage mind to vigorous exertions.
While some of the American soldiers performed their duty with the utmost resolution, others seemed dismayed and terrified. Of this conduct the officers were, as usual, the victims. With a fearlessness which the occasion required, they exposed themselves to the most imminent dangers, and, in their efforts to change the face of affairs, fell in great numbers.
For several days the Commander-in-Chief had been afflicted with a severe disease, under which he still labored, and which must have greatly affected him, but, though unable to display that activity which would have been useful in this severe conflict, neither the feebleness of his body nor the peril of his situation could prevent his delivering his orders with judgment and with self-possession.
It was soon perceived that the American fire could produce, on a concealed enemy, no considerable effect, and that the only hope of victory was placed in the bayonet. At the head of the second regiment, which formed the left of the left wing, Lieutenant-Colonel Darke made an impetuous charge upon the enemy, forced them from their ground with some loss and drove them about 400 yards. He was followed by that whole wing, but the want of a sufficient number of riflemen to press this advantage deprived him of the benefit which ought to have been derived from this effort, and, as soon as he gave over the pursuit, the Indians renewed their attack. In the meantime General Butler was mortally wounded, the left of the right wing was broken, the artillerists almost to a man killed, the guns seized, and the camp penetrated by the enemy. With his own regiment and with the battalions commanded by Majors Butler and Clarke, Darke was ordered again to charge with the bayonet. These orders were executed with intrepidity and momentary success. The Indians were driven out of the camp, and the artillery recovered. But while they were pressed in one point by the bravest of the American troops, their fire was kept up from every other with fatal effect. Several times particular corps charged them, always with partial success, but no universal effort could be made, and in every charge a great loss of officers was sustained, the consequences of which were severely felt. Instead of keeping their ranks, and executing the orders which were given, a great proportion of the soldiers flocked together in crowds and were shot down without resistance. To save the remnant of his army was all that remained to be done, and about half past 9 in the morning General St. Clair ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Darke, with the Second regiment, to charge a body of Indians who had intercepted their retreat and to gain the road. Major Clarke, with his battalion, was directed to cover the rear. These orders were executed and a disorderly flight commenced. The pursuit was kept up about four miles, when, fortunately for the surviving Americans, that avidity for plunder which is a ruling passion among savages, called back the victorious Indians to the camp, where the spoils of their vanquished foes were to be divided. The routed troops continued their flight to Fort Jefferson, a distance of about thirty miles, throwing away their arms on the road. At this place they met Major Hamtranck with the First regiment, and a council of war was called to deliberate on the course to be pursued. As this regiment was far from restoring the strength of the morning, it was determined not to attempt to retrieve the fortune of the day, and, leaving the wounded at Fort Jefferson, the army continued its retreat to Fort Washington.
In this disastrous battle the loss on the part of the Americans was very great when compared with the numbers engaged. Thirty-eight commissioned officers were killed upon the field, and 593 noncommissioned officers and privates were slain and missing. Twenty-one commissioned officers, several of whom afterward died of their wounds, and 242 noncommissioned officers and privates were wounded. Among the dead was the brave and much-lamented General Butler. This gallant officer had served through the war of the Revolution, and had, on more than one occasion, distinguished himself in a remarkable manner. In the list of those who shared his fate were the names of many other excellent officers who had participated in all the toils, the dangers, and the glory of that long conflict which terminated in the independence of their country. At the head of the list of wounded were Lieutenant-Colonels Gibson and Darke, Major Butler, and Adjutant-General Sargent, all of whom were veteran officers of great merit, who displayed their accustomed bravery on this unfortunate day. General St. Clair, in his official letter, observed: "The loss the public has sustained by the fall of so many officers, particularly of General Butler and Major Ferguson, cannot be too much regretted, but it is a circumstance that will alleviate the misfortune in some measure, that all of them fell most gallantly doing their duty."
From the weight of the fire and the circumstance of his being attacked nearly at the same time in front and rear, General St. Clair was of opinion that he was overpowered by numbers. The intelligence afterward collected would make the Indian force to consist of from 1,000 to 1,500 warriors. Of their loss no estimate could be made; the probability is that it bore no proportion to that sustained by the American army.
Nothing could be more unexpected than this severe disaster. The public had confidently anticipated a successful campaign and could not believe that the general who had been unfortunate had not been culpable.
General St. Clair requested with earnestness that a court-martial should sit on his conduct, but this request could not be granted, because the army did not furnish a sufficient number of officers of a grade to form a court for his trial on military principles. Late in the session a committee of the House of Representatives was appointed to inquire into the cause of the failure of the expedition, whose report, in explicit terms, exculpated St. Clair. This inquiry, however, was instituted rather for the purpose of investigating the conduct of civil than of military officers, and was not conducted by military men. More satisfactory testimony in favor of St. Clair is furnished by the circumstance that he still retained the undiminished esteem and good opinion of the President. {5}
The confidence of Washington in St. Clair, however, had been very severely shaken on his first receiving intelligence of his defeat. This fact is known by the recent publication of an anecdote communicated by Mr. Lear to the Hon. Richard Rush, and by him inserted in his "Washington in Domestic Life," as follows:
"An anecdote I derived from Colonel Lear shortly before his death in 1816," says Mr. Rush, "may here be related, showing the height to which his (Washington's) passion would rise yet be controlled. It belongs to his domestic life which I am dealing with, having occurred under his own roof, whilst it marks public feeling the most intense and points to the moral of his life. I give it in Colonel Lear's words as nearly as I can, having made a note of them at the time.
"Toward the close of a winter's day in 1791, an officer in uniform was seen to dismount in front of the President's in Philadelphia, and, giving the bridle to his servant, knocked at the door of his mansion. Learning from the porter that the President was at dinner, he said he was on public business and had dispatches for the President. A servant was sent into the dining-room to give the information to Mr. Lear, who left the table and went into the hall, where the officer repeated what he had said. Mr. Lear replied that, as the President's secretary, he would take charge of the dispatches and deliver them at the proper time. The officer made answer that he had just arrived from the western army, and his orders were to deliver them with all promptitude, and to the President in person, but that he would wait his directions. Mr. Lear returned and in a whisper imparted to the President what had passed. General Washington rose from the table and went to the officer. He was back in a short time, made a word of apology for his absence, but no allusion to the cause of it. He had company that day. Everything went on as usual. Dinner over, the gentlemen passed to the drawing-room of Mrs. Washington, which was open in the evening. The general spoke courteously to every lady in the room, as was his custom. His hours were early, and by 10 o'clock all the company had gone. Mrs. Washington and Mr. Lear remained. Soon Mrs. Washington left the room.
"The general now walked backward and forward slowly for some minutes without speaking. Then he sat down on a sofa by the fire, telling Mr. Lear to sit down. To this moment there had been no change in his manner since his interruption at table. Mr. Lear now perceived emotion. This rising in him, he broke out suddenly: 'It's all over! St. Clair's defeated—routed—the officers nearly all killed—the men by wholesale—the rout complete—too shocking to think of—and a surprise into the bargain!'
"He uttered all this with great vehemence. Then he paused, got up from the sofa, and walked about the room several times, agitated but saying nothing. Near the door he stopped short and stood still a few seconds, when his wrath became terrible.
"'Yes,' he burst forth, 'here on this very spot I took leave of him; I wished him success and honor. You have your instructions, I said, from the Secretary of War; I had a strict eye to them, and will add but one word—beware of a surprise! I repeat it—beware of a surprise! You know how the Indians fight us. He went off with that as my last solemn warning thrown into his ears. And yet! to suffer that army to be cut to pieces—hacked, butchered, tomahawked—by a surprise—the very thing I guarded him against! O God, O God, he's worse than a murderer! How can he answer it to his country! The blood of the slain is upon him—the curse of widows and orphans—the curse of Heaven!'
"This torrent came out in tones appalling. His very frame shook. It was awful said Mr. Lear. More than once he threw his hands up as he hurled imprecations upon St. Clair. Mr. Lear remained speechless—awed into breathless silence.
"The roused chief sat down on the sofa once more. He seemed conscious of his passion and uncomfortable. He was silent. His warmth beginning to subside, he at length said in an altered voice: 'This must not go beyond this room.' Another pause followed—a longer one—when he said in a tone quite low: 'General St. Clair shall have justice. I looked hastily through the dispatches, saw the whole disaster, but not all the particulars. I will receive him without displeasure; I will hear him without prejudice. He shall have full justice.'
"He was now, said Mr. Lear, perfectly calm. Half an hour had gone by. The storm was over, and no sign of it was afterward seen in his conduct or heard in his conversation. The result is known. The whole case was investigated by Congress. St. Clair was exculpated and regained the confidence Washington had in him when appointing him to that command. He had put himself into the thickest of the fight, and escaped unhurt, though so ill as to be carried on a litter, and unable to mount his horse without help."
This anecdote might, at first, seem discreditable to Washington, as exhibiting the mighty strength of his passions when aroused. But upon mature consideration it does him great honor, affording equal evidence of his power of self-control, his public spirit, his disinterestedness, and his candor.
The Indian war now assumed a still more serious aspect. There was reason to fear that the hostile tribes would derive a great accession of strength from the impression which their success would make upon their neighbors; and the reputation of the government was deeply concerned in retrieving the fortune of its arms, and affording protection to its citizens. The President, therefore, lost no time in causing the estimates for a competent force to be prepared and laid before Congress. In conformity with a report made by the Secretary of War, a bill was brought into the House of Representatives, directing three additional regiments of infantry and a squadron of cavalry to be raised, to serve for three years, if not sooner discharged. The whole military establishment, if completed, would amount to about 5,000 men. The additional regiments, however, were to be disbanded as soon as peace should be concluded with the Indians; and the President was authorized to discharge, or to forbear to raise any part of them, "in case events should, in his judgment, render his so doing consistent with the public safety."
This bill met with great opposition. A motion was made to strike out the section which authorized an augmentation of force. This led to a very animated debate, in which the opposition exhibited a determination to embarrass the administration by defeating even the most necessary and useful measures it might propose. The public spirit and good sense of the majority, however, prevailed. The motion for striking out the section was lost, and the bill was carried for the augmentation of force required by the executive.
The treasury was not in a condition to meet the demands upon it, which the increased expenses of the war would unavoidably occasion, and sources of additional revenue were to be explored. A select committee, to whom this subject was referred, brought in a resolution directing Mr. Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, to report his opinion to the House, on the best mode of raising those additional supplies which the public service might require for the current year.
This proposition gave rise to a very animated debate.
It will be recollected that when the act for establishing the Treasury Department was under consideration, the clause which rendered it the duty of the secretary to digest and report plans for the improvement and management of the revenue, and for the support of public credit, was earnestly opposed. A large majority, however, was in favor of the principle, and, after being so modified as only to admit a report if required by the House, it was retained in the bill.
In complying with the various resolutions of Congress, calling for reports on subjects connected with his department, Hamilton had submitted plans which, having been profoundly considered, were well digested, and accompanied by arguments, the force of which it was difficult to resist. His measures were generally supported by a majority of Congress; and, while the high credit of the United States was believed to attest their wisdom, the masterly manner in which his reports were drawn, contributed to raise still higher that reputation for great talents which he had long possessed. To the further admission of these reports, it was determined, on this occasion, to make a vigorous resistance.
But the opposition was not successful. On taking the question the resolution was carried, thirty-one members voting in its favor, and twenty-seven against it.
The report made by Hamilton, in pursuance of this resolution, recommended certain augmentations of the duties on imports, and was immediately referred to the consideration of a committee of the whole House. Resolutions were then passed which were to form the basis of a bill; and which adopted, not only the principles, but, with the exception of a few unimportant alterations, the minute details of the report.
Before the question was taken on the bill a motion was made to limit its duration, the vote upon which marked the progress of opinion in the House respecting those systems of finance which were believed to have established the credit of the United States.
Hamilton had deemed it indispensable to the creation of public credit that the appropriations of funds for the payment of the interest, and the gradual redemption of the principal of the national debt, should be not only sufficient, but permanent also. A party was found in the first Congress who opposed this principle, and were in favor of retaining a full power over the subject in each branch of the Legislature, by making annual appropriations. The arguments which had failed in Congress appear to have been more successfully employed with the people. Among the multiplied vices which were ascribed to the funding system, it was charged with introducing a permanent and extensive mortgage of funds, which was alleged to strengthen unduly the hands of the executive magistrate, and to be one of the many evidences which existed of monarchical propensities in those who administered the government.
The report lately made by Hamilton, and the bill founded on that report, contemplated a permanent increase of the duties on certain specified articles, and a permanent appropriation of the revenue arising from them to the purposes of the national debt. Thirty-one members were in favor of the motion for limiting the duration of the bill, and only thirty against it. By the rules of the House, the speaker has a right first to vote as a member, and, if the numbers should then be equally divided, to decide as speaker. Being opposed to the limitation, the motion was lost by his voice, and Hamilton's measure was carried through in its original form.
On the 8th of May (1792), after an active and interesting session, Congress adjourned to the first Monday in November.
Among the bills passed at this session of Congress the most important were that for the apportionment of the representatives, and that for the augmentation of the military force, inasmuch as the discussion of these measures served to develop the political parties which had begun to divide Congress and the people. In apportioning the representatives many members of Congress endeavored to obtain the largest possible number, in order to preserve the rights of the States and check the power of the executive. On the same principles the army bill was opposed, as having a tendency to increase executive power and patronage, and thus endanger the liberties of the country.
Throughout the United States the party opposed to the constitution had charged its supporters with a desire to establish a monarchy on the ruins of Republican government; and the constitution itself was alleged to contain principles which would prove the truth of this charge. The leaders of that party had, therefore, been ready, from the instant the government came into operation, to discover, in all its measures, those monarchical tendencies which they had perceived in the instrument they opposed.
The salaries allowed to public officers, though so low as not to afford a decent maintenance to those who resided at the seat of government, were declared to be so enormously high, as clearly to manifest a total disregard of that simplicity and economy which were the characteristics of republics. {6}
The levees of the President, and the evening parties of Mrs. Washington, were said to be imitations of regal institutions, designed to accustom the American people to the pomp and manners of European courts. The Vice-President, too, was said to keep up the state and dignity of a monarch, and to illustrate, by his conduct, the principles which were inculcated in his political works.
The Indian war, they alleged, was misconducted, and unnecessarily prolonged, for the purposes of expending the public money, and of affording a pretext for augmenting the military establishment, and increasing the revenue.
All this prodigal waste of the money of the people was designed to keep up the national debt, and the influence it gave the government; which, united with standing armies and immense revenues, would enable their rulers to rivet the chains which they were secretly forging. Every prediction which had been uttered respecting the anti-Republican principles of the government, was said to be rapidly verifying, and that which was disbelieved as prophecy, was daily becoming history. If a remedy for these ills was not found in the increased representation of the people which would take place at the ensuing elections, they would become too monstrous to be borne; and when it was recollected that the division of opinion was marked by a geographical line, there was reason to fear that the Union would be broken into one or more confederacies.
These irritable symptoms had assumed appearances of increased malignity during the session of Congress which had just terminated; and, to Washington, who firmly believed that the Union and the liberty of the States depended on the preservation of the government, they were the more unpleasant and the more alarming because they were displayed in full force in his cabinet.
The feud between Jefferson and Hamilton, to which we have already referred, still continued in full force, and they were regarded, as in fact they were, respectively, the heads of the two parties. They disagreed not only on the internal affairs but on the foreign policy of the government: Jefferson having a leaning towards the Revolutionists of France, and Hamilton favoring a conciliatory policy toward Great Britain.
In all popular governments the press is the most ready channel by which the opinions and the passions of the few are communicated to the many; and of the press, the two great parties forming in the United States sought to avail themselves. The "Gazette of the United States" supported the systems of Hamilton, while other papers enlisted themselves under the banners of the opposition. Conspicuous among these was the "National Gazette," a paper edited by Philip Freneau, the poet, a clerk in the Department of State. The avowed purpose for which Jefferson patronized this paper was to present to the eye of the American people European intelligence derived from the "Leyden Gazette," instead of English papers; but it soon became the vehicle of calumny against the funding and banking systems; against the duty on home-made spirits, which was denominated an excuse, and against the men who had proposed and supported those measures. With, perhaps, equal asperity, the papers attached to the party which had defended these systems, assailed the motives of the leaders of the opposition.
This schism in his cabinet was a subject of extreme mortification to Washington. Entertaining a high respect for the talents, and a real esteem for the characters of both gentlemen, he was unwilling to part with either, and exerted all the influence he possessed to effect a reconciliation between them. In a letter of the 23d of August (1792), addressed to Jefferson, after reviewing the critical situation of the United States with respect to its external relations, he thus expressed himself on this delicate subject: "How unfortunate, and how much is it to be regretted then, that while we are encompassed on all sides with avowed enemies and insidious friends, internal dissensions should be harassing and tearing our vitals. The last, to me, is the most serious, the most alarming, and the most afflicting of the two, and, without more charity for the opinions of one another in governmental matters, or some more infallible criterion by which the truth of speculative opinions, before they have undergone the test of experience, are to be forejudged, than has yet fallen to the lot of fallibility, I believe it will be difficult, if not impracticable, to manage the reins of government, or to keep the parts of it together; for if, instead of laying our shoulders to the machine, after measures are decided on, one pulls this way, and another that, before the utility of the thing is fairly tried, it must inevitably be torn asunder; and, in my opinion, the fairest prospect of happiness and prosperity that ever was presented to man will be lost, perhaps forever.
"My earnest wish and my fondest hope, therefore, is, that instead of wounding suspicions and irritating charges, there may be liberal allowances, mutual forbearances, and temporizing yielding on all sides. Under the exercise of these, matters will go on smoothly; and, if possible, more prosperously. Without them everything must rub; the wheels of government will clog; our enemies will triumph, and, by throwing their weight into the disaffected scale, may accomplish the ruin of the goodly fabric we have been erecting.
"I do not mean to apply this advice, or these observations, to any particular person or character. I have given them in the same general terms to other officers of the government, because the disagreements which have arisen from difference of opinions and the attacks which have been made upon almost all the measures of government, and most of its executive officers, have for a long time past filled me with painful sensations, and cannot fail, I think, of producing unhappy consequences at home and abroad."
In a subsequent letter to Jefferson, in answer to one which enclosed some documents designed to prove that, though desirous of amending the constitution, he had favored its adoption, the President said: "I did not require the evidence of the extracts which you enclosed me, to convince me of your attachment to the constitution of the United States, or of your disposition to promote the general welfare of this country, but I regret, deeply regret, the difference of opinion which has arisen and divided you and another principal officer of the government, and wish devoutly there could be an accommodation of them by mutual yieldings.
"A measure of this sort would produce harmony and consequent good in our public councils, and the contrary will inevitably produce confusion and serious mischiefs—and for what? because mankind cannot think alike, but would adopt different means to attain the same end. For I will frankly and solemnly declare that I believe the views of both to be pure and well meant, and that experience only will decide with respect to the salubrity of the measures which are the subjects of this dispute.
"Why, then, when some of the best citizens of the United States, men of discernment, uniform and tried patriots, who have no sinister views to promote, but are chaste in their ways of thinking and acting, are to be found, some on one side and some on the other, of the questions which have caused these agitations—why should either of you be so tenacious of your opinions as to make no allowance for those of the other?
"I could and, indeed, was about to add more on this interesting subject, but will forbear, at least for the present, after expressing a wish that the cup which has been presented to us may not be snatched from our lips by a discordance of action, when I am persuaded there is no discordance in your views. I have a great, a sincere esteem and regard for you both, and ardently wish that some line could be marked out by which both of you could walk."
On the same subject Washington addressed a letter to Hamilton, from which the following is an extract:
"Differences in political opinions are as unavoidable as, to a certain point, they may be necessary; but it is exceedingly to be regretted that subjects cannot be discussed with temper, on the one hand, or decisions submitted to on the other, without improperly implicating the motives which led to them; and this regret borders on chagrin when we find that men of abilities, zealous patriots, having the same general objects in view, and the same upright intentions to prosecute them, will not exercise more charity in deciding on the opinions and actions of each other. When matters get to such lengths, the natural inference is that both sides have strained the cords beyond their bearing, that a middle course would be found the best, until experience shall have decided on the right way; or, which is not to be expected, because it is denied to mortals, until there shall be some infallible rule by which to forejudge events.
"Having premised these things, I would fain hope that liberal allowances will be made for the political opinions of each other, and instead of those wounding suspicions and irritating charges, with which some of our gazettes are so strongly impregnated, and which cannot fail, if persevered in, of pushing matters to extremity, and thereby tearing the machine asunder, that there might be mutual forbearance and temporizing yieldings on all sides. Without these, I do not see how the reins of government are to be managed or how the union of the States can be much longer preserved.
"How unfortunate would it be if a fabric so goodly, erected under so many providential circumstances, after acquiring in its first stages so much respectability, should, from diversity of sentiment, or internal obstructions to some of the acts of government (for I cannot prevail on myself to believe that these measures are as yet the acts of a determined party), be brought to the verge of dissolution! Melancholy thought! But while it shows the consequences of diversified opinions, where pushed with too much tenacity, it exhibits evidence also of the necessity of accommodation, and of the propriety of adopting such healing measures as may restore harmony to the discordant members of the Union, and the governing powers of it.
"I do not mean to apply this advice to any measures which are passed or to any particular character. I have given it, in the same general terms, to other officers of the government. My earnest wish is that balm may be poured into all the wounds which have been given, to prevent them from gangrening, and to avoid those fatal consequences which the community may sustain if it is withheld. The friends of the Union must wish this; those who are not, but who wish to see it rended, will be disappointed; and all things, I hope, will go well."
These earnest endeavors to soothe the angry passions and to conciliate the jarring discords of the cabinet were unsuccessful. The hostility which was so much and so sincerely lamented sustained no diminution, and its consequences became every day more diffusive.
Among the immediate effects of these internal dissensions was the encouragement they afforded to a daring and criminal resistance which was made to the execution of the laws imposing a duty on spirits distilled within the United States.
To the inhabitants of that part of Pennsylvania which lies west of the Alleghany mountains this duty was, from local considerations, peculiarly odious; nor was their hostility to the measure diminished by any affection for the source in which it originated. The constitution itself had encountered the most decided opposition from that part of the State, and that early enmity to the government, which exerted every faculty to prevent its adoption, had sustained no abatement. Its measures generally, and the whole system of finance particularly, had been reprobated with peculiar bitterness by many of the most popular men of that district. With these dispositions a tax law, the operation of which was extended to them, could not be favorably received, however generally it might be supported in other parts of the Union. But when, to this pre-existing temper, were superadded the motives which arose from perceiving that the measure was censured on the floor of Congress as unnecessary and tyrannical; that resistance to its execution was treated as probable; that a powerful and active party, pervading the Union, arraigned with extreme acrimony the whole system of finance as being antagonistic to liberty, and, with all the passionate vehemence of conviction, charged its advocates with designing to subvert the republican institutions of America, we ought not to be surprised that the awful impressions, which usually restrain combinations to resist the laws, were lessened, and that the malcontents were emboldened to hope that those combinations might be successful.
The opposition to the duty on distilled spirits had been carried so far, and so daring had become the resistance to the law, as to require a proclamation from the President, warning all persons against unlawful combinations and proceedings tending to obstruct the operations of the laws. But such was the state of feeling that the proclamation produced no salutary effect.
Anxious to avoid extremities, the government resolved upon another course. Prosecutions were instituted against delinquents. The spirits distilled in the noncomplying counties were intercepted in their way to market and seized by the officers of the revenue, and the agents for the army were directed to purchase only those spirits on which the duty had been paid. Could the distillers have obeyed their wishes, these measures would have produced the desired effect. But, impelled by a furious multitude, they found it much more dangerous to obey the laws than to resist them.
Diplomatic intercourse had at length been opened with Great Britain, who had sent, on her own motion, Mr. George Hammond as minister Plenipotentiary to the United States. Mr. Hammond arrived at Philadelphia in the autumn of 1791, and soon after entered upon a long correspondence with the Secretary of State respecting the nonexecution of the treaty of peace. The British minister having entrusted to him only powers to negotiate, not to conclude, to make, not to adjust, complaints, the course of the discussion, and the principles avowed by the respective parties, speedily demonstrated the slight probability which existed of their being able to agree upon a commercial treaty.
The Indians in the Northwest still maintaining their attitude of hostility preparations for prosecuting the war with vigor were earnestly pressed. General Wayne was appointed to succeed St. Clair in the command, but the inducements to enter the service were so small that the ranks filled up very slowly and the meditated expedition could not be undertaken prudently during the present year. Meanwhile, the clamor against the war continued to be loud and violent. From respect for opinions extensively professed it was thought advisable to make still another effort to procure peace by a direct communication of the views of the executive. The fate of those who were employed in these efforts was still more to be lamented than their failure. Colonel Harden and Major Truman, two brave officers and estimable men, were severally dispatched with propositions of peace, and each was murdered by the savages.
During the session of Congress Thomas Pinckney was nominated minister plenipotentiary to England, and Gouverneur Morris as minister plenipotentiary to France. Both these nominations were confirmed by the Senate. William Short was appointed minister resident at the Hague and was commissioned, with Mr. Carmichael, to effect a treaty with Spain. Paul Jones, during the summer, was appointed a commissioner for treating with the Dey of Algiers on the subject of peace and the ransoming of American captives. The letter informing of his appointment did not, however, reach him, for Jones died at Paris on the 18th of July, 1792, in abject poverty and destitution.
In May (1792), Washington wrote to the Earl of Buchan, transmitting his portrait, painted by Mr. Robertson, which had been solicited by the earl. In the same letter he thanked the earl for a box made of the oak that sheltered William Wallace after the battle of Falkirk. In making this present the earl had requested Washington, in the event of his decease, to leave it to the man in his own country who should appear, in his judgment, to merit it best. Washington wisely decided otherwise, and, in his will, directed it to be returned to the Earl of Buchan.
On the 9th of May (1792), the day after the rising of Congress, Washington set out from Philadelphia for Mount Vernon, but returned early in June. In July he went again to Mount Vernon, accompanied by Mrs. Washington and her two little grandchildren, intending to remain there till near the meeting of Congress, which was to take place in November. During this short residence at his beloved home Washington had much to distract his attention from his favorite rural pursuits. He was in constant correspondence with the members of the cabinet and public affairs. To Hamilton he was writing about the resistance to the tax on spirituous liquors, on the dissension between him and Jefferson, and on politics; to General Knox, Secretary of War, on the preparations for Wayne's campaign against the Indians; to Jefferson, Secretary of State, on foreign affairs, on the troubles with the Spaniards in Florida, and on the Indian war, as well as on his quarrel with Hamilton, and to Randolph, Attorney-General, on the state of parties and the licentiousness of the press.
On the subject of newspaper abuse Washington appears to have felt a degree of sensitiveness which, at the present, is rare among public men. Hitherto he appears to have been personally free from this annoyance, but he was unwilling to see his administration calumniated by political demagogues.
Writing to Gouverneur Morris, the American minister in France (October 20, 1792), he says. "From the complexion of some of our newspapers foreigners would be led to believe that inveterate political dissensions exist among us, and that we are on the very verge of disunion, but the fact is otherwise. The great body of the people now feel the advantages of the general government, and would not, I am persuaded, do anything that should destroy it, but this kind of representations is an evil which must be placed in opposition to the infinite benefits resulting from a free press, and I am sure you need not be told that in this country a personal difference in political sentiments is often made to take the garb of general dissensions."
Besides the public business which pressed heavily on Washington during his present residence at Mount Vernon he found a new source of anxiety in the alarming illness of his nephew, George Augustine Washington, to whom the care of the estate had been entrusted since 1789, when the duties of the Presidency had called the chief to the seat of government. This gentleman had served in the Revolutionary War as aid to Lafayette, with the rank of major. Writing to Lafayette (June 10, 1792), Washington says: "I am afraid my nephew George, your old aid, will never have his health perfectly re-established. He has lately been attacked with the alarming symptom of spitting large quantities of blood, and the physicians give no hope of a restoration, unless it can be effected by a change of air and a total dereliction of business, to which he is too anxiously attentive. He will, if he should be taken from his family and friends, leave three fine children, two sons and a daughter. To the eldest of the boys he has given the name of Fayette, and a fine-looking child he is."
George Augustine Washington sunk rapidly after this and died at the residence of Colonel Bassett, where he had gone for a change of air, on the 5th of February, 1793. Washington, on hearing of his decease, wrote immediately from Philadelphia, to his widow, {7} condoling with her on the heavy loss, and inviting her to reside, with her children, at Mount Vernon.
In the latter part of October Washington returned to Philadelphia, in anticipation of the meeting of Congress.
On the 5th of November (1792), Congress again convened. In Washington's speech, delivered at the commencement of the session, Indian affairs were treated at considerable length, and the continuance of the war was mentioned as a subject of much regret. "The reiterated endeavors," it was said, "which had been made to effect a pacification had hitherto issued in new and outrageous proofs of persevering hostility on the part of the tribes with whom the United States were in contest.