To George Washington from Henry Bouquet, 16 November 1758
From Henry Bouquet
Camp at Loyal Hannon 16th Novr 1758
Dear Sir
I am directed by the General to inform you that he had receiv’d your Letter, and Sends you 42 falling axes which could not be collected Sooner.1
The General thinks that Col. Armstrong is not upon the good Road. Therefore desires that you Send Capt. Shelby to blaze the Road before you and bring Col. Armstrong’s Party in it.
The distance of his last Encampment being only 16 miles from here, does not answer our Purpose and the General wishes that you could join him, (in cutting the Road) to day, and march together or his detachmt before you as you may think best, and mark out an Incampmt at about 20, or 22 miles from here, as we had agreed, where you are to Stay intrenching your Camp, untill Col. Montgomery joins you.
You will then take the necessary Tools and march wth a Sufficient force to the heads of Turtle Creek where you ⟨will mark out and intrench your⟩ Camp—leaving to Col. Montgomery’s Brigade the Road to cut to you.2
The Beeves for your four days meat go wth Col. Montgomery’s Brigade, and I Shall bring wth me a Supply for Col. Armstrong’s Party, whose men are to join their respective Corps as they come up.3
I hope to be wth you as Soon as Col. Montgy tho’ I Set out only to morrow. I am Dr Sr Your most obedt hble Servant
H. Bouquet
P:S: As the Troops behind you have no Tools, The General desires that nothing be lefft undone upon the Road, of what you judge necessary; & begs you would get a Chimney built for him in Each of the entrenc⟨hed⟩ Camps.4
ALS, DLC:GW; copy, DLC: Toner Collection. The illegible words inserted in broken brackets are taken from the Toner copy.
1. GW left Loyalhanna with forty-two axes which Capt. John Field had secured. See GW to Forbes, 15 Nov., and Bouquet’s receipt, 16 Nov. (DLC:GW). Bouquet was now sending out forty-two additional axes by Col. Archibald Montgomery. See Bouquet’s receipt, 16 Nov., and GW to Forbes, 17 Nov. (first letter).
2. On 13 Nov. Forbes sent Col. John Armstrong from Loyalhanna with a party of nearly five hundred men to build the first camp, or post, for his army on the route the army was to follow in its rapid march toward Fort Duquesne. As was true of the road that Bouquet had built during the summer and early fall from Carlisle to Raystown and from Raystown to Loyalhanna, the rudimentary road that Forbes was now having cut for his forced march to Fort Duquesne generally followed an old trading path used by traders and Indians traveling between Carlisle and the Ohio country by way of Raystown. Early on the morning of 16 Nov., GW’s brigade began cutting the road toward Armstrong’s camp. GW failed to reach Armstrong’s camp by nightfall; in the meantime Armstrong got the word that Bouquet and Forbes wished him to build the camp at a greater distance from Loyalhanna (see GW to Forbes, 18 Nov.). On the morning of 18 Nov., GW finished cutting the road to Armstrong’s New Camp, just to the south and west of the site of present Hannastown. From New Camp, GW made a rapid march to the headwaters of Turtle Creek, 10 or 12 miles closer to Fort Duquesne, where on 19–20 Nov. he built the second post for the advancing army, called Washington’s Camp (near present Newlonsburg). It was left to Col. Archibald Montgomery’s brigade to cut the road from New Camp to Washington’s Camp, but GW’s men cut most of the road from Washington’s Camp to Bouquet’s Camp (between present Center and Universal), the third and last post built on Forbes’s road, about ten miles from Fort Duquesne.
3. For the composition of Armstrong’s detachment, see Orderly Book, 12 November.
4. Chimneys for Forbes were built at both Armstrong’s New Camp and Washington’s Camp. See GW to Forbes, 18 November.