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 Affairs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781 
 
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AFFAIRS 
 
 AT 
 
 FORT GEAR T RES 
 
 1768-1781. ^ 
 
 ^rvlA^ ^ HO .^jXikich 
 
 ALBANY: 
 
 J. MTJNSELL, 18 STATE STREET, 
 1864. 
 
u 
 
 CORNEL^ 
 
 diversity) 
 
 UBRARY 
 
AFFAIRS AT FORT CHARTRES, 17681781. 
 
 [From the Historical Magazine, Vol. VIII, No. 8.] 
 
 The kindness of one of our historical stu- 
 dents enables us to give our readers the fol- 
 lowing curious letters, dated chiefly at Fort 
 Chartres, and giving impressions of the 
 western country as an English officer found 
 it after the pacification effeicted by much 
 toil, at the close of Pontiac's bold endeav- 
 or to recover by a' combined effort of the 
 aboriginal tribes what all French va,lor 
 had failed to accomplish. 
 
 The period of the letters embraces the 
 time when that great chief of the Ottawas 
 fell at Cahbkia, beneath the knife of an as- 
 sassin, hired by an Englishman, but unfor- 
 tunately the writer, not knowing how pos- 
 terity would thank him for details of the 
 event, makes no allusion to it, although he 
 mentions some of its speedy results. 
 
 Fort Chartres is now a ruin on the bank 
 of the Mississippi, with part of its walls 
 swept away by the turbid tide, and a dense 
 forest around, towering trees even growing 
 in its very midst, so that a stranger unac- 
 quainted with its history might easily attri- 
 bute it to some early race. It stands near 
 Prairie du Rocher, lUiuois, and was built iu 
 1720, at a distance of a mile from the Mis- 
 sissippi, It was repaired in 1750, and at 
 the time of these' letters, owing to a new 
 channel formed by the river, vas not over 
 eighty yards fiQiHi the water. It was a well 
 built stone fort, of irregular form, the sides 
 being about 490 feet each. 
 
 After the surrender of the country it was 
 left in command of St. Ange de Bellerive, 
 an old and experienced officer who held 
 command during the dangerous period of 
 Pontiac's conspiracy, which had made it im- 
 possible for the English authorities to re- 
 
 place him. In vain did Major Loftus,with 
 400 regulars, attempt to reach it by way of 
 New Orleans. Volleys from hidden foes on 
 the shores drove him back with loss and 
 panic to the new Spanish town; in vain 
 Capt. Pitman made a subsequent attempt to 
 penetrate in disguise, he lost heart and re- 
 tired; in va,in did Lt. Fraser seek to reach 
 it overland. Narrowly escaping with life 
 he reached New Orleans also in disguise, to 
 add doubtless to the ill-concealed amusement 
 of the French and Spanish officers, at these 
 ineffectual attempts of the English to get 
 to one of their own Forts. 
 
 When Croghan met Pontiac and peace 
 was arranged, then and then only did Thom- 
 as Stirling, who died in 1808 a General and 
 Baronet, now only a Captain, who had fought 
 bravely under Abercrombie and Amherst, 
 lead from Fort Pitt one hundred of the 42nd 
 Highlanders, and to him on the 10th of 
 October, 1765, did St. Ange surrender the 
 Fort in a long document which the curious 
 reader will find in the N. Y. Colonial Doc- 
 uments. At last the flag of England floated 
 in Illinois. On the 2d of December Major 
 Robert Farmer, of the 34th Foot, arrived 
 with a strong body of troops and assumed 
 command. It is not unlikely that he died 
 in 1768, as his name then disaippeJa,rs from 
 the army lists. At all events Lt. Col. John 
 Wilkins, an officer of considerable experi- 
 ence, arrived there Sept. 5, 1768, and took 
 command of the fort. The following letters 
 give us a glimpse of his regime. He was 
 probably its last commandant, as Father 
 Mississippi in 1772, carried by storm two 
 bastions and a curtain and the English 
 struck their flag and abandoned Fort Ch^^ji 
 
Jiffairs ai Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 
 
 tres, soon to yield the whole Illinois country 
 to a new republic. 
 
 Messrs. Editor : 
 
 The correspondence, of which the follow- 
 ing letters form a part, recently came into 
 my temporary keeping, in the course of a 
 genealogical investigation which I was pur- 
 suing, and seemed worthy of preservation 
 in your valuable Magazine. It consisted of 
 various letters, bills, etc., addressed to one 
 Capt. Thomas Barnsley of Bensalem, Bucks 
 Co. Penn., by various oflEcers of the British 
 Army, stationed at different posts in this 
 country, and covered a period extending 
 from '764 to 771. Capt. Barnsley became 
 Ensign of the 60th Keg. Dec. 26, 1755, and 
 as Lieut, in the Rdyal Americans was 
 wounded at Ticonderoga July 8, 1758 ; be- 
 came aCapt&in May 5, 1759, and, as appears 
 from these documents, had been in '763 and 
 '4 Paymaster to the First Battalion of H. M. 
 Royal American Regiment — and this corres- 
 pondence sufficiently evidences the respect 
 and confidence reposed in his character and 
 judgment, as a man of business as well as a 
 soldier, by all who had any dealings with 
 him. From Colonels to Ensigns — from offi- 
 cial dignitaries to humble tailors — whether 
 in America or in England — all seemed to 
 make him their confidant — to seek his judg- 
 ment — and to be content in his decision and 
 advice. As for Ensign Butricke, the writer 
 of these letters, we know little save what 
 the letters themselves tell us. He seems to 
 have fully shared in the public confidence 
 in Mr. Barnsley ; wrote very long, naivea.nd 
 rather interesting letters, and, as far as we 
 can learn, received not asingle answer from 
 the Captain, yet without apparently suffer- 
 ing any abatement of his previous respect 
 and affection for that reticent personage. 
 
 I, 
 
 A Letter from George Butricke, dated Phil- 
 adelphia, 19th Feb. '768, and addressed 
 to Capt. Thos. Barnsley, residing at Ben- 
 salem — mostly on private and pecuniary 
 matters. 
 
 " We have no kind of ne'ffs at present 
 but that of Miss Hannah Boyts' marriage to 
 
 Mr. Dean, merchant, which I am much 
 pleased with for particular Reasons, you 
 know." 
 
 "Wc.in the Barrack are just as when 
 you was in town, mostly in a Blaze with the 
 fumes of that Dear friend Madiera, which 
 seems to steal on them very powerfully, and 
 very often makes the whole Barr^, as it 
 were, a Hell indeed." 
 
 II. 
 
 To Capt. Thomas Barnsley. 
 
 Philadelphia, the 22d May, '768. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 I have the pleasure to acquaint you that 
 five Companies of our Regiment Reel or- 
 ders yesterday morning to be ready to march 
 at six hours warning, under the Command 
 of Col. Wilkins* for Fort Pitt, and as I am 
 to proceed with them it prevents me having 
 the pleasure to see you at Present, and to 
 prevent there being any mistake betwixt us 
 I have sent my Servant, with the things I 
 mentioned to you when you was here, Vizt : 
 Seven hatt8,i20 yards of, furniture Chintz 
 and Lace, Powder, flints, Ball, &c. 
 
 I shall leave my Large Chest behind, with 
 every thing in it I Cannot Carry, and as I 
 know no person I can so well depend on as 
 our Butcher Kirker, I propose to Leave it 
 with him^ with orders to deliver it to you 
 should any thing happen to me, and before 
 I Leave Town I will send you a list of what 
 it Contains. 
 
 III. 
 
 A letter from Butricke to the same Capt. 
 Barnsley, dated June 23d, 1768, at Phila- 
 delphia, announces his recovery from his 
 " late illness, so as to hope to be able to set 
 off for Fort Pitt to-morrow morning." — 
 
 * Lt. Col. John Wilkins, C»pt. 55th Foot Deo. 
 30, 1755, was Major in 1762. He commanded at 
 Niagara. In 1763 he marched to relieve Detroit 
 but was attacked by the Indians, his troops cut 
 to pieces, and he forced back to Fort Sohlosser. 
 He attempted next to reach it by water but in a 
 Btorm lost seventy men and was again compelled 
 to return. In August, 1764, he was made Major 
 of the 6pth, and on the following June, Lt. Col. 
 of the 18th Royal Irish. Compare Dr. O'Calla- 
 ghan's note, Col. Doo. Tin, 185, 
 
Affairs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 
 
 Complains of the conduct of an Apothecary, 
 one Bass, of that city &c. &c. 
 
 IV. 
 
 FoKT Chaktres, 15th Sept., 1768. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 I had the pleasure to write you the 24th 
 June, the day hefore I left Philadelphia, 
 and the SOtf" I joined Colonel Wilkina at 
 the Crossings of Juniata, he had been 
 detained 14 days by Col. Armstrong, for 
 Want of Carriages. But lucky for me he had 
 got them a few days before I joined him. 
 The 14<ii July we arrived at Fort Pitt, 
 which is now a most shocking place ; the 
 Works and Barracks are all gone to Wreck, 
 But the Country about it seems to be in a 
 thriving way, a great number of settlers are 
 already there, and many more Coming to it 
 daily. 20'*' July we embarked on the Ohio 
 with five companys of the 7 we had 
 Brought up, the other 2 Left there to gar- 
 rison Fort Pitt. It would be needless for 
 me to give you a detail of our Voyage, as we 
 mett with nothing metairil on it but the Loss 
 of one man Drownded. From Fort Pitt to 
 the Scioto River, which you will see by the 
 List of the distances from Each place I send 
 you inclosed, is 366 miles. We met with 
 Little or no game till we arriv'd there. 
 But from thence to the falls, which is 316 
 miles more, the River is covered with all 
 kinds of Grame. We killed so many Bu£Fa- 
 los that We commonly served out one a day 
 to EachCompany,& they Commonly Weigh'd 
 from 4 to 600 lbs. W'. ; they go in Hirds 
 of 20, 30 & some times SO^^, some people 
 say in lOO^ they have seen them. We had 
 such plenty that when a Bull was killed we 
 only took the tongue and left the Rest for 
 the Wolves. Besides this there is the great- 
 est quantities of Turkies, Deer,Greese, Ducks, 
 Bears &c. I Believe the Like is not to be 
 seen in any part of the known World. The 
 River does not abound so much with fish as 
 might be imagin'd, which I Believe is occa- 
 sioned by there Being such quantities of Catt- 
 fish, which are so Large and Numerous that 
 I think they destroy all other But the Turtle. 
 We had such plenty of these two that I 
 think we might have subsisted on them and 
 
 flour, without the assistance of any other 
 food. We Caught some Catfish of 100 lb. 
 W' : But their Common size is from 30 to 
 70 lb. W' : The Turtle is commonly of 
 30 lb. W': But seldom above that. They 
 are Reckoned to be near as good as those 
 taken at sea for soop. The S'^ Aug. We 
 arrived at the Palls, which you'l see is 
 682 miles from Fort Pitt, in 20 days. We 
 Reckoned this good going. But I think with 
 two or three Boats it might be done in half 
 the time. The Falls appear yerry tremen- 
 dous at first sight, and startled our people 
 much, as thay had not been used to 
 things of this kind before. I made Light of 
 it, and after I had survey'd them well, ofier- 
 ed to go down them immediately in my 
 Boat, which made many of them swear 
 that none but a mad man would attempt a 
 thing of the kind. , However, this pleased 
 the Colonel so much that he swore there was 
 nothing I ever see that I would not at- 
 tempt ; however, he would not sufier me to 
 go down that night. Next morning sent 
 the Engineer Hutchins to see if a passage 
 could be found in the South shore, who re- 
 turn'd at 11 o'clock with the report that it 
 could not be effected. Col. Wilkins Came 
 to me again, tould me to be cautious of 
 what I did, that, he did not, by any means, 
 desire me to hazard my Life in such a man- 
 ner But if I really thought it could be 
 done he would give me Leave. I jumpt at 
 the opportunity, threw some Baggage out of 
 the Boat to make her Light in the head, and 
 went off instantly. I Reeonitred the head 
 of the fall well before I made the attempt, 
 and when I had found the passage went off, 
 and in 2 minutes and 5 seconds pass'd 
 the falls, that are near a Mile in Length, 
 without the Least difficulty, all the peaple 
 was looking out to see what would be our 
 fate and when the Colonel see I had gott 
 safe down he Come to meet me on my Return 
 to the Camp by Land & gave me his hearty 
 thanks. He then ordered the whole to 
 prepare to pass them, and that night we 
 gott of 8 more, & ■ next day completed the 
 passage. These falls are near a mile in 
 Length, and they appear much Like those 
 you have seen on Hudson's River at Fort 
 Miller. Having halted here a day or two 
 
Affairs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 
 
 to put eyery thing in proper order, on tie 
 IS'h wo eiobarked again, and the 23'' ar- 
 rived at the Mississipy Eiver where the Ohio 
 has its confluence 482 miles from the falls 
 the Whole Length- of the Ohio River makes 
 1164 english miles. We was very much 
 surprised to see the difference of the two 
 Rivers at First sight the Ohio Being a fine 
 Clear Jentle Current and the Mississipy a 
 great Rapid full of sand Barrs, and so muddy 
 that its impossible to drink it. Having 
 made our desposition to assend the Missis- 
 sipi, we embarked Early nex» morning But 
 mett with so many difficualties that we only 
 got four miles that night. We continued 
 in the same manner for three days more, and 
 did not gain above 6 or 7 miles a day, 
 the current in many places is so very Rapid 
 and the Navigation so much interrupted by 
 great quantities of trees that falls with the 
 Banks of the River and drives with the fluds 
 in the springs, that we many times Rowdfor 
 8 and four hours and did not gain one 
 mile these difficulties with the inexperi- 
 ence of our men and officers made the Colo- 
 nel almost mad at last he came to a de- 
 termination to send off some person to Ft : 
 Chartres to send down some empty battoes 
 to Lighten some of ours that was so heavy 
 loaded that they was not able to proceed, 
 he again came to me to know if it would 
 be agreeable to me to go on, I immediate- 
 ly embraced his offer and in half an hour 
 Left the Detachment with four men and two 
 Indians in a very small Boat, we Rowd 
 night and day for three days and the 31st 
 Augt arrived at Keskiskee* a Town & 
 River on the English shore about 18 
 miles below P': Chartres; this I think was 
 the most dangerous and fatiguing journey 
 I ever made, I was inform'd when I ar- 
 rived atKeskeskee that I had, had the great- 
 est Luck in the world that I had escapt 
 the enemy Indians that several parties was 
 then out and had Cutt off a boat of the Com- 
 panies, with 8 men, one of which got 
 in, and a Connoe with 8 men, I sent of 
 some boats that night to meet the Colonel 
 and next morning set off in a Callash For 
 Fort Chartres, as I said before is 18 
 
 * Kaskaskia. 
 
 miles 'from Keskeskee and we pass'' thro 
 the finest Country in the known world not 
 a tree to be seen for several miles and the 
 finest Land my Eyes ever beheld. Here they 
 plant Indian Corn in the Spring and never 
 touches it 'til fall when they go to fitch 
 it home, and most of what I see is 10 & 
 12 foot high, they raze Tobacco as fine 
 as in Virginia, they have the greatest 
 quantity of black cattle — the plains for miles 
 are Covered with' them — indeed most of the 
 french peoples Riches Lies in Stock of that 
 kind for there is no kind of money Current 
 there Butt what they make themselves,which 
 is l.iittle notes of so many Livers each, the 
 horses are pritty good for Saddles, and might 
 be made a great deal Better, But they are so 
 careless of them that there is not one geld- 
 ing in all the Colonic of the Illinois, all 
 plowing & Hauling is done by Bullocks. 
 The Country abutt P : Chatres is free for 
 many miles Round it and the finest meddow 
 ever was seen, grass grows here within a 
 mile of the Fort to a great highht, and such 
 quantities of it that there might be hay 
 made for 100000 head of Cattle every sum- 
 mer. Port Chartres is a midling sized 
 Fort built of stone the walls about 2 foot 
 thick and 20 foot high, its Built in a Re- 
 gular Square with a Bastion at each angle 
 with Loop holes to fire small arms thro', 
 there are some port holes for great Guns, But 
 they seldom use them for they shock the 
 works too much, the barracks are very 
 good built of stone. But they will not con- 
 tain more than 200 men exclusive of offi- 
 cers. 
 
 We have been very Lucky both with men 
 and officers in Respect to health, when we 
 took possission of the Fort. 
 
 [The remainder of this letter is lost.] 
 
 (Illinois,) Fokt Chaetees, 30th October, 1768. 
 Deau Sik 
 
 I had the pleasure to write you by Captain 
 Forbes thelS'ii September when the 34th Re- 
 giment embarked from hence for Port Pitt 
 I ha,d the pleasure to acquaint you then we 
 were all arrived here in good health, and as 
 the season was so far advanced we were in 
 
Affairs ai Fort Ckartres, 1768^1781. 
 
 hopes we should not be troubled with the 
 disorders frequent in these Climes for this 
 year, But we was soon convinced otherwise, 
 On Sunday the IS'ii Sep":. I was sitting at 
 Dinner when a sudden Coldness struck me 
 all over without saying any thing of it I 
 Rose from table and walk'd into the fields 
 thinking to shake it off, But to no purpose, 
 I then went to Bed and found myself siezed 
 with aHott fitt which did not last long and af- 
 ter slept pritty well till morning when Ifound 
 myself quiet well, Itould the Doctor of what 
 had happened, who said it would turn to an 
 Intermitting fever and indeed so Ifound it, 
 that day Cap'. Stewart L' : Turner and 
 20 men was siezed in much the same 
 manner and so it Continued that in 3 
 days time there was not one Commissioned 
 Officer, non Commissioned or Private man 
 But one Serg'. 1 Corp', and about nine 
 men but what was siezed in the same man- 
 ner next, day as the Doctor had said mine 
 came on again and in such a Violent man- 
 ner that it laid me up for good. I had jt 
 six days with a Cold and hott fit every day 
 But no shaking till the seventh when I 
 had a very severe Cold fitt, and shuck very 
 much the Doctor was pleased to see it 
 and said he would soon put a stop to it,, 
 which he accordingly did, for from that 
 time I had it no more, in this seven days 
 I had five different servants all taken ill, and 
 should have been in the greatest distress 
 had it not been for a Woman of the Reg*, 
 whom a few days before had Claimed 
 me for a Country man & was very tender 
 and good to me till I was quiet recovered 
 in a few days I was able to make my appear- 
 ance on the parade being the first of the 
 whole Garrison that was taken ill, on go- 
 ing out I found that all or most of them 
 was in a much more dangerous way than I 
 had been that there was hardly any but 
 was dangerously ill of a nervous fever and 
 I Could plainly see we should Loose a great 
 many men the first Visit I paid was to my 
 Dear good friend," Capt Stewart who to my 
 unspeakable grief Ifound was a dying man, 
 and this had Like to have thrown me into a 
 Relapse with greef, the 29th Sepf. Lieut 
 Turner died who you may remember was a 
 very modest good man, the 30"i my Dear 
 
 Stewart died and the 3 October Lieut Pater- 
 son, the men now began to go off fast we 
 for several days Carried; out in a Cart four 
 and five a day, at one time, men and their 
 wives have been Gayried to the graves in 
 the sam3 Cart, and the poor Little Infant Or- 
 phans following, and no person to help or do 
 the Least thing for them, we was now ar- 
 rived at the greatest scenes of Calamity in 
 the midst of which CoL Wil^ins (who was 
 then Lying ill himself) sentfor me toaskme 
 to do the Adjutant's duty. I w^s unwilling 
 to engage in it but thought this was no time 
 to Refuse any thing, and I was immediately 
 put in order to do the duty, you maye^ily . 
 Conceive what a situation I was in with all 
 the Officers and men of the five compys 
 so ill that we Could only mount a Cprp'. 
 and six men and had to Guard a fort in the 
 heart of an Enemys Country, The disorder 
 still Ragged and I have the greatest Reason 
 in the World to believe it was Contagious 
 for hardly any one Came into th« fprt but 
 found themselves siezed soon after. We 
 have now sent to the Grave, three Officers, 
 twenty five men Twelve Women and fifteen 
 Children, since the 29'h Sep' and many 
 more in a Very dangerous way, tho' I am 
 in hopes the could Weather will soon help 
 us. 
 
 Since; I Recovered I thought it highly 
 Necessary to make my Will in which I have 
 Left every thing to your Disposall tho' 
 Little as I ,have it Comes with a hearty wel- 
 come I hope you will Receive this time 
 enough to write in the Spring, if I dont 
 hear from you then shall be very Uneasy. 
 
 VI. 
 
 (Illinois) Port Chaetbbs, 12fch Febuary 1769. 
 Dbab. Sir 
 
 I had the pleasure to. write you the 30'h 
 October last by an Express that went from 
 hence by land, with despatches for the 
 Commander in Chief which was to acquaint 
 him of our distressed situation at that time, 
 I then wrote you we had Lost three Officers 
 & twenty five men, since that we have 
 Buried fifteen menmore. Almost all the Wo- 
 men and thirty Seven Children that arrived 
 
8 
 
 Affairs at Font Chartres, 1768-1781. 
 
 here with the five companys in perfect 
 health. 
 
 The Colonel has heen kind enough to Ke- 
 commend me for one of the vacant Ensigncy 
 should the promotion go in the Regim'. 
 But there is so Little prohability of it that I 
 dont flatter myself the Lest with hopes of 
 succeeding, tho' one would think it hard 
 too as there are so many Vacancies that 
 some might not take Besides the G-ent: 
 that died here we have Jan Account of one 
 Ens ; Tracy being killed in a Duell at Fort 
 Pitt, and Ensign Howard is on the decline 
 of life here. 
 
 When I wrote you IS'*" Sept'' (which 
 I sent by Capt. Forbes of the 34'ii Ee- 
 gim')' I gave you some Account of this 
 Country It is certainly the finest Land in 
 the known World, it Wants for nothing but 
 inhabitants and cultivation to make it ex- 
 ceed any part of America I have ever been 
 in. You would be surprised to see how 
 Luxuriously everykind of Vegetables grows 
 here, — they grow Wheat,Oats, pease, and In- 
 dian Corn, in great abundance, and there 
 are such quantities of the finest Meadow 
 that the grass is in Common to all, Their 
 Cattle! run in grass so high that you may be 
 within five yards of a large Ox, and not see 
 him, When the french (whom you know 
 are a very Idle set of people in all parts of 
 America they are in) Cut their grass its 
 Common for them to take three or four 
 teams to the Meddow in a morning, mow all 
 day, and bring it home at night, which is all 
 the Making the Hay gets here. The reason 
 they give for bringing it home so soon is, 
 that Were they to Leave it out two days it 
 would be so much dryd with the excessive 
 heat that it would be good for nothing. The 
 Indians that live hereabouts are a very mean. 
 Indolent Drunken set of people, whom 
 the French have entirely at their command. 
 
 Col. Wilkins is taking great pains to set- 
 tle the Affairs of the Gollonie in some kind of 
 Regulation, which as yet has been (since the 
 English possessed it) without any kind of 
 Laws but that of Military Decision. He has 
 now* granted commissions of the peace to 
 
 * His Proclamation, based on Gage's order, is 
 dated Nor. 21, 1768. The Courts began Deo. 6, 
 1768. 
 
 several people, both french and English ; of 
 those he has formd a Court of Judicature, 
 who are allowed to determin on all causes 
 of Debt, without a Jury. How this may 
 answer with the Laws of great Britain I will 
 not Pretend to say. He has appointed Mr. 
 George Morgan President of this Court, 
 which has given great offence to all the 
 french inhabitants in the Colonie,"he being 
 Universally hated by all those people, and 
 indeed has but few friends of any other Na- 
 tion here (The Commandant excepted). In- 
 deed it would surprise you much to see how 
 we are perplexd with party affairs in this 
 Infant Collonie. The French to a man op- 
 pose the Morganians with all their might 
 and I believe would not Scruple to spend 
 their Estates to have their Ends accomplish- 
 ed. Indeed, if half what they allege be 
 truth, they have great Cause of Complaint — 
 for my own share I think there are faults 
 on Both sides. The french are here (as in 
 all other parts I have seen them in) a Cun- 
 ning, litigous, jealous, set of people, By 
 what I can Learn their grand dispute arises 
 from an Opinion of the Commandant favor- 
 ing the Company which he is obliged to do 
 in Consequence of his orders from Gen. Gage 
 because they are the only people that make 
 use of English manufactures the others be- 
 ing all French Wines &c., and of Course is 
 Contraband trade. It would be too tedious 
 to enter into a detail of the many scandalous 
 practices^that is made use of by both parties, 
 to ruin others. Petitions from the french 
 party to the Commandant Aaylj Replete with 
 Rebellion. He on the other hand is en- 
 deavoring to support the Company all in His 
 power by issuing His Proclamations for 
 bringing them to Justice and settling all 
 their affairs on a solid foundation which he 
 takes great pains to do, tho' I am afraid 
 he will not accomplish it shortly : The 19th 
 December last Col. Wilkins ordered a Court 
 of Inquiry to be held to settle some disputes — 
 betwixt Mr. Morgan and the french people, 
 It was Carried on from' day to day till the 
 20th January with the greatest Rancour 
 by both partys, and when it was over not 
 the lest thing settled to either partys satis- 
 faction. What is most extraordinary the 
 french was not able to proove anyone thin"' 
 
Jlffairs at Fort Chwrtres, 1768-1781. 
 
 They Alleged against Mr. Morgan, It is said 
 here the proceedings will be published in 
 one of the Philadelphia papers But I hope 
 they will think better of it, and not expose 
 themselves so far. 
 
 The Spaniards make but an indifferent 
 appearance here, Ysfo. know, by the Defini- 
 tive Treaty of Peace, they were to have all 
 the Lands to the Westward of the Mississippi 
 River, in Consequence of which they sent 
 one hundred men from the Havana, Under 
 the command of one Gapt. Don Rose,* an 
 old experienced officer, to take possession 
 of their part of the Louisiana Country He 
 took post at a place called paincour, about 
 forty miles above this Eort where ,he has 
 Commanded so much to the people's satis- 
 faction, as will redound much to his honor, 
 tho' he has been so Unlucky with his 
 people by deaths and desertions, that he has 
 now only seventeen men left out of the 
 hundred, It is now said there is another 
 Officer coming up from the Havana to Relieve 
 him and five hundred Spanish Soldiers,who 
 are to be employ'd building a Fort on the 
 Missouri River, which you may see by a map 
 is about sixty miles from hence, on the Spa- 
 nish shore. It is in the heart of the Coun- 
 try of a Tribe of Indians of that name, who 
 are very numerous and give law to all the 
 Indians hereabout. 
 
 It has been talked ever since we arrived 
 here, of Col. Wilkins having orders to es- 
 tablish a post at a place call'd by the French 
 Post St. Vincent, the English call it Q 
 Post.f It is on the Wabash River, Its 
 by Land 240 English miles but to go by 
 Water is 600 at lest from this place, and 
 for this purpose he is fitting up a very 
 Large Boat, by Way of a Row-galley which is 
 to row with 24 Oars, to Carry 35 men With 
 six Months provisions &c and a Brass six- 
 
 * Eious reachpd St. Louis in 1768, but Sir 
 Ange, the former Commander of Port Chartres, 
 remained in command till of 1770. 
 
 ■}■ This is Vinoennes, which the English, who 
 thought that every French place mnst necessa- 
 rily be a Saint, changed to St; Vincent. The 
 French have a way of using art, aux before 
 names, and this has led to mistakes like that in 
 the text. They would speak of Post Vincennes 
 as au Paste, at the Post. Hence we have aux 
 Arcs, Ozark ; aux Sables, Ausable, 
 
 pounder Mounted on her forecastle, Her 
 Gunwales are raised so high that the men 
 are not to be seen Rowing, This Boat is to 
 be Commanded by a Commissioned Officer, 
 and is also to Cruise on the Wabash and Ohio 
 Rivers, to intercept the french and Spanish 
 traders from New Orleans, Carrying on an 
 Illicit trade with our Indians, at Post and 
 on the Rivers, It is likewise to prevent them 
 from killing Buffalo, which the people from 
 New Orleans have done in such, quantities 
 late-ly that were they allowd to, continue it, 
 they would soon destroy 9.11 those aninials. 
 
 I believe when I wrote you by Capt. 
 Forbes I mentioned the farm Capt; Stewart 
 and I had bought in Company, from which 
 we had great expectations. But that poor 
 man being so soon Cutt off, has Rendered all 
 our hopes fruitless, for we was obliged to 
 take in other partners that quiet destroys- 
 all our endeavors, and, things of all kinds 
 being so extravagantly dear that I fear I 
 shall not be able to save any thing out of 
 my pay, had not the?e poor G-etits : died 
 since we came here, I had some hopes of get- 
 ting leave of absence to go to England, But 
 since it has so happened, I fear I may now 
 give up all hopes of it for life, Indeed I 
 should not so much mind that were I in a 
 part of America that one could have the 
 least hopes of health, I cannot so much 
 complain of it myself for I have been very 
 hearty ever since the Stroke I had in Sep- 
 tem'', that I mentioned to you inmy last, But 
 it would shock a Turk to see what the , Poor 
 men, women, & children, have suffered for 
 want of proper nourishment. You may ea- 
 sily Conceive what Wretched state a poor 
 man must be in when in the higth of a 
 fever to have nothing to drink but Cold 
 Water — 
 
 When the fevers had somewhat abated, a 
 great many of the men was seized with a 
 Bluddy flux, which now makes great havook 
 amongst them, not a Week but we Burry 
 some and when it will end God only knows, 
 for there are numbers of them just at Deaths 
 door, you would pity theni much to see 
 them so shortly changed from a sett of fine 
 stout hearty Young men, nowaweak,feable, 
 emaciated poor Souls. I Believe by the 
 time you have Read this far you will wis]^i 
 
10 
 
 ^ffai-n at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 
 
 for a Conclusion, and indeed so it reaHy is 
 time. But my heart wishes much to Converse 
 with you and as I Cannot have that happi- 
 ness, hope you will excuse this long epistle, 
 Ensign Howard has been very ill ajl winter 
 It has been offered to him that if he would 
 give in his Kesignation he might return to 
 Europe and I believe I might have the offer 
 of it on the same Conditions I had Mr. Ray- 
 mond's, I consulted the Colonel in it and 
 he advises me to wait and see what may be 
 the Issue of the Last Recommendation. We 
 have had several expresses from Fort Pitt 
 this Winter and I was in great hopes of 
 hearing from you by some of them but not 
 a line has made its appearance, however 
 there is a good time coming in the spring, 
 I long much to know what luck I have had in 
 the Philadelphia Lottery, and hope to hear 
 you have put out that trifle to Interest. 
 
 We have had a fine Winter here as any I 
 have ever seen since I came to America and all 
 the Gents : (except Howard) have been pret- 
 ty healthy, I still keep bustling about am 
 now busy fencing in a Garden for the men, 
 which w'*" my own and the adjutants du- 
 ty that I have done ever since poor Turner 
 Died keeps me constantly employ'd and lam 
 sure ads much to my health. Pray make 
 my most sincere Respects to Miss Shipphard 
 to all my Little Countrymen, MissM Bams- 
 ley, Shiphard and Smith, and the Rest of 
 your good family, and may he who has the 
 giving of all good gifts ever Bless you Sir 
 & all your Undertakings, is the fervent 
 prayer of 
 
 Dear Sir, your poor butsipcere friend, 
 Geo: Bxjtbicke. 
 
 VII. 
 
 FoKT CpAKTREs 27th June 1769 
 Dear Sie 
 
 Though I am not so hfippy as to have 
 heard from you once since I left Phila- 
 delphia, I have not mist any ppporty of 
 Writing to you, and this by Mr, Morgan 
 hciiig a very good one I Cannot let it slip 
 without letting you know that one of your 
 friends is still among the living. — My Jast 
 yras of the 10<t> Febry. which I hope yon 
 
 have Received by this time — In April I was 
 Attack with a severe fever which kept me 
 confined for ten days, and in May again 
 much more severe than the Other tho' it 
 did not last so long, since which I have 
 been very hearty and indeed the whole Gar- 
 rison are much recovered, tho' the Weath- 
 er is most intolerably hott : the men keep up 
 their spirits very well, I am in hopes the 
 seasoning (as they call it here) is now almost 
 over. 
 
 We have been all this Spring, under the 
 greatest apprehension of an Indian Warr,* 
 we had it from all quarters that several 
 nations had entered into a League to strike 
 the English in the Illinois Country this 
 Spring, Col. Wilkins on this information 
 very prudently filled all the stores with pro- 
 visions and sent an Officer with the arm'd 
 Boat to get in a quantity of Wood which 
 was happily effected in a very short time 
 and now we have 280 cords piled up under 
 the Walls of the Fort and we can now bid 
 defiance to all the Indians in America, — rthe 
 16th April a party ^of the Kickapoes broke 
 into a house in this Village; surprised a sol- 
 dier and his Wife in Bed, scalp'd both and 
 got off without the least hurt ; and the 14'h 
 May another party of the Sax and Rey- 
 nardsf attacked some of the Indians that 
 live near this fort killed six, and Carried 
 off Iheir scalps, these strokes alarmed us 
 much, obliged us to keep constantly in the 
 Fort, & watch Night and day, Its now 
 said the stroke intended against us will be 
 in the harvest time. But I am of an Opinion 
 it will blow over for this time or we should 
 have had more of it before now. 
 
 I have had great hopes of getting leave 
 from Col, Wilkins to return to europe, Which 
 he had in some measure promised me when 
 the newadjutapt arrived, but we have heard 
 nothing as yet how those vacancies have been 
 filled ; & Capt Campbell, the Barrack mas- 
 ter here, has got leave to return to Europe 
 
 ♦ These apprehensions were caused by the 
 threats of vengeance made by the Ottawas and 
 their allies, the Kikapoos, Sacs and Foxes 
 against the Illinois, for the murder of Pontiac' 
 at Cahokla by an Illinois. " 
 
 t Foxes (Outaganiies.) 
 
Affairs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1781. 
 
 11 
 
 & Las appointed me to act in his absence, 
 with a Salary of two shillings sterling p' 
 day, This with two I expect for doing tlie 
 adjutant's duty, will I hope enable me to 
 make you a Remittance of a hundi'ed York 
 in a short time, If I have not some letters 
 from you soon, I shall think you have quiet 
 forgot me. Pray give my kind respects to 
 Miss Jemima, and all the rest of your good 
 family and believe me 
 Dear sir 
 
 Yours Most affectionately 
 
 Geo. Btjtbicke. 
 To Captain Banisley 
 
 Superscribed 
 To 
 
 Captain Baensley Esq' 
 
 At Bensalem in Bucks Co 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 Pr : favor of ) 
 
 CrEO. Morgan, Esq' : ) 
 
 VIII. 
 FoET Chaetres 29th Decemr 1769. 
 Dear Sir. 
 
 I cannot let slip this opportunity tho' 
 am at a loss what to write, 'Tis almost 
 two years since I had the pleasure to see 
 you, and in all that time not one Line, tho' 
 when I consider former times, I am not 
 so much surprised for I Remember when I 
 •was at Niagara a letter in two years was 
 look'd upon as a great favour. 
 
 This is the fifth I have wrote you since I 
 came to this place and I took particular care 
 to send them by good hands, so that I hope 
 they are all come to hand. We are now in 
 a melancholy situation we have not had 
 the Least Accounts from any Quarter since 
 thefirst of June,'Tis thought the Indians have 
 Cut of the Expresses from fort Pitt on the 
 River Ohio, and we have Ace = by french- 
 men from New Orleans that since the Span- 
 iards have returned to that place they have 
 forbid all English or french from Landing 
 there, If this be true all our Commuica- 
 tions are shutt up, the Indians are all out 
 hunting now. But its said we shall certain- 
 
 ly have an Indian Warr in the Spring, In 
 my last I inform'd you of ray intention to re- 
 turn to Europe, But I have fear I shall not 
 be able to Accomplish it, not only for the 
 Reason above given. But my having so ma- 
 ny employments on my hands, which will 
 Render it very difficult. 
 
 I now do the duty of Q'' Mas^ :, adju- 
 tant. Barrack Master and since the death of 
 poor Captain Lieut Lane have been Obliged 
 to act as paymaster tho' was given to Under- 
 stand it was intended for another person, 
 there are two candidates for this place, vizt : 
 Lieut Chapman and one Rumsey who yoa 
 may remember in the 42' Regm', he is Re- 
 commended for an Ensigncy in this Regi ; 
 and if he succeeds the present Commanding 
 Officer will give him the paymasters place, 
 — I could not help observing to Lt, Colonel 
 Wilkins that I thought it something strange 
 being desired to do a duty for a Regim', and 
 the emoluments given to another Person, 
 but he gave me to understand that he was 
 a Better Judge for me, than I was for my- 
 self, it then struck me of the Repeated Ad- 
 vice you have given me, and I immediately 
 tould him there was no kind of duty he 
 would desire me to do ; but I should be hap- 
 py in executing it, by this you will see I 
 still am on a good footing with him. But 
 you will pitty me when I tell you that the 
 whole Corp and he are on very Bad terms, 
 this makes me have a very difficult Card to 
 play, however I hope to Rubb it out for a 
 few years in order to save a little more money 
 and I hope to be able to send you a Bill in 
 the Spring for one hundred Penn: Curr, I 
 have not time to say more at present, there- 
 fore Conclude with my sincere respects to all 
 your family wishing you and them a Merry 
 Christmas and many a happy New Year. 
 
 GrEO. BUTRIOKE. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Letter dated at Fort Chartres, on the 30ih 
 May 1770 — is sent " by some Indians just 
 going off for Port Pitt by land" — speaks of 
 some money matters, and the necessaries of 
 Life there are " very dear" — He still con- 
 tinues to hold the numerous offices in the 
 Reg', before described, and says "I keep in 
 
12 
 
 Jlffairs at Fort ChaHres, 1768-1781. 
 
 with the person [Col. Wilkins ?] as you de- 
 sired, tho' I assure you it is attended with 
 many disag;reeable Circumstances, however 
 I shall still adhei-e to your advice. I am 
 sorry to tell you there are many disagreea- 
 ble things passes in this part of the world. 
 I have Steered clear as yet, some think it 
 will be a means of bringing us back to Phil- 
 ad'' for Court Matials &c &c." 
 
 His next letter dated June 13, 1770, 
 mentions the preceding letter, and says " I 
 have no news, health and I are again friends 
 and we go hand in hand in spite of Climate, 
 
 or a most shocking unhealthy Country, 
 &c. 
 
 The next letter dated May 2, 1771, still 
 complains that he has not yet rec' a line 
 from Cap', B — sends this by way of Fort 
 Pitt, and a draft will be sent by Lieut. 
 Chapman of same Keg'. " who will embark 
 Jbr Philadelphia, by way of New Orleans in 
 a few days,"' and adds, 
 
 " 1 am sorry to hear there is so great a 
 probability of a Spanish war, "We have fre- 
 quent alarms here of enemy Indians, we 
 have lost one man kill'd and scalped this 
 Spring."