THE MARCH TO BEDFORD. However, in 18 days after his arrival at Carlisle, by judicious and energetic measures, a convoy was procured and the army set out on its perilous march. His entire force did not exceed 500 men, of whom the most effective were the 42d Highlanders. Sixty of the 77th regiment were so weak that they had to be conveyed in wagons. They were intended for garrison duty at Bedford &c., while effective men at those forts were to join the army of deliverance. The bare-legged Highlanders with their kilts and plaids, and their infirm appearance, gave little assurance to the anxious people who watched their departure. The fate of Braddock a few years previous had not been forgotten, nor the desolation and despair that ensued. Nearly twice as many English troops had been slain on that fatal day as Bouquet had in his entire command, while the Indians that now infested the woods were far more numerous than those who routed the proudest of the Britons eight years previous. At Shippensburg, as at Carlisle, a great crowd of starving people were found, who had fled from the tomahawk and scalping knife. "On July 25, 1763 there were in Shippensburg 1384 of our poor distressed back inhabitants, viz : 301 men, 345 women and 738 children, many of whom were obliged to lie in barns, stables, cellars and under old leaky sheds, the dwelling houses being all crowded," says the chronicles of those days. In such a state of affairs it would seem that the provincial authorites and frontiers-men themselves would have united in one grand effort to drive out the savage destroyers of life and property. But Bouquet could get little or no aid from that quarter. A suicidal Quaker policy pervaded the civil authorities, while the settlers seemed benumbed with fear and despondancy. * * * He writes to Amherst, “I find myself utterly abandoned by the very people I am ordered to protect I have borne very patiently the ill usage of this province, having still hopes that they will do something for us; and B * therefore have avoided a quarrel with them." His efforts to engage a body of frontiersmen for the campaign were fruitless. They preferred to remain for the defence of their families, forgetting that their homes and families could never be secure until the savages had been driven back to their haunts beyond the Ohio and chastised into submission. Such a force of men, used to the woods and enured to pioneer life, would have been of vast service in the march. The Highlanders were sure to get lost in the woods when sent out as flankers. As Bouquet wrote to Amherst July 26, "I cannot send a Highlander out of my sight without running the risk of losing the man, which exposes me to surprises from the skulking villians I have to deal with." Doubtless, however, the tactics resorted to in 1758 to make his men effective against Indian attack and surprise during the Forbes campaign, were called into vigorous play during this march, as the outcome at Bushy Run clearly indicates. At Bedford, where he arrived July 25, Bouquet was more fortunate in enlisting frontiersmen and succeeded in getting about thirty to march with the army for flanking and scouting purposes. Murders had continued in the settlements, three men having been killed near Shippensburg by prowling savages after the army passed. But thus far the troops had met with little molestation. THE MARCH TO LIGONIER. Now, however, began the real perils of the march, and greater caution was needed. Forests, rocks, ravines and thickets abounded on every side, inviting their wily foe to ambush the troops as they threaded their way through the valleys and across the mountains. But Bouquet knew exactly what the exigencies of the situation required. July 28, the army started from Fort Bedford. A band of backwoodsmen led the way, followed closely by the pioneers; the wagons and cattle were in the centre guarded by the regulars and a rear guard of backwoodsmen closed up the line. Frontier riflemen, or provincial rangers, scoured the woods on all sides, making surprise impossible. Bouquet himself, with musket in hand, oftentimes led the advance. Thus they toiled along the tedious way, which Burd, under Bouquet's orders, had opened through the wilderness five years before. The mountain air, the pure water and delightful scenery had an inspiriting effect upon the Highlanders, who grew stronger as they marched along. August 2, the little garrison and small body of pioneer settlers, who had held Fort Ligonier for two long months, were transported with the sight of the red coats of the Royal Americans and the kilts and plaids of the Highlanders marching to their rescue. 66 The Campbells were coming" indeed, as the record of the bloody fight a few days later fully demonstrates. The clan Campbell, whose members have marched so oft in many lands to glory and the grave, was well represented in the rank and file of Bouquet's army of deliver ance. The Indians disappeared as the troops approached, but no tidings had been received from Fort Pitt for weeks. Bouquet wisely resolved to leave his wagons and oxen behind, which were the most cumbrous part of his convoy, in order to advance more rapidly and be in better shape to resist attack. Three hundred and forty pack horses were loaded with supplies for the needy garrison at Fort Pitt, and on the 4th day of August the army marched about a dozen miles and encamped for the night. Andrew Byerly and his son Michael accompanied the troops, in hopes of recovering some of their property, which had been left to the mercy of the Indians when the family had fled from Bushy Run over two months ago. After proceeding a few miles, the boy was sent back for some reason, to remain at Fort Ligonier. On his return he saw numerous Indian trails crossing the dusty road, over which the army had passed. The savages were on the alert to ascertain the number and character of the troops, and watching their opportunity to surprise and ambush them. Bouquet had his plans well arranged for the speedy relief of Fort Pitt in a way that would be most likely to thwart the designs of the savages. His intention was to push on to Bushy Run, which would be an excellent place for man and beast to rest and recuperate for a few hours, and then set out and make a forced march by night through the defiles at Turtle Creek, where he expected the savages would try to ambuscade his troops. BUSHY RUN BATTLE. Accordingly, on the morning of August 5, 1763, the troops set out at an early hour over the hills, and through the hollows of what now forms the heart of Westmoreland county, Pa. Along the Forbes road, shrouded on all sides by dense forests, they moved at a lively rate. By one o'clock the jaded column had advanced seventeen miles, and Andrew Byerly, along with a detachment of eighteen soldiers in the advance, cheered the weary troops with the welcome tidings that Bushy Run, their resting place, was only half a mile distant. All were pushing forward with renewed vigor, when suddenly the whole line was startled by the report of rifles in the front. A fierce assault had been made on the vanguard and the firing was quick and sharp. Twelve out of eighteen fell in the unequal conflict that ensued before the two advance companies could press forward to the relief of their comrades. The firing became furious, indicating that the Indians were in large force and were fighting with unusual courage. The convoy of packhorses was halted, the troops were formed into line and a general bayonet charge was made through the forest. The yelping savages gave way before the cold steel of the Highlanders. But just as the route seemed cleared in front, terrible war whoops resounded through the woods on either flank, and an uproar among the packhorse drivers indicated that the convoy was attacked in the rear. The troops in advance were instantly recalled to defend the convoy. Driving away the savages by repeated bayonet charges they formed a circle around the crowded and frantic horses. It was a new kind of work for the Highlanders, but they bore themselves with great steadiness and remarkable fortitude in spite of the terrific and confusing yells of their ferocious assailants and the deadly shots that came pouring in upon them from every thicket, tree or covert, large enough to conceal a foe. Nothing but implicit confidence in their commander and in the pluck and fidelity of each other could account for their undaunted gallantry under such trying circumstances. It seemed like pandemonium broke loose. Walter Scott has described such a scene : "At once there rose so wild a yell Within that dark and narrow dell, As all the fiends from heaven that fell, Rushing up with terrific whoops, the painted demons would pour in a heavy fire, and when the Highlanders would charge bayonet they would dodge and vanish behind trees and thickets only to renew the assault the moment the troops returned toward the circle of defence. Many brave men fell on that hot afternoon. Captain Lieut. Graham and Lieut. McIntosh of the 42d Highlanders were killed and Lieut. Graham wounded. Lieut. Donald Campbell of the 77th was wounded and Lieut. Dow, of the Royal Americans, was shot through the body, after killing three Indians. A Upwards of sixty men were killed or wounded in the action which lasted until dark. It was impossible to change position and the troops were obliged to lay upon their arms where they had stood during the fight. Numerous sentinels were posted to guard against a night attack. space was made in the centre of the camp for the wounded, around whom a wall of flour bags was erected to protect them from the bullets which flew among them thick and fast from all side during the fight. It was indeed a sad and dreary night for the wounded. The agony of thirst was almost intolerable, springs ran out of the hill sides near by, but the savages guarded them well with their skirmish line, and it was almost certain death to approach them. At imminent risk Byerly managed to convey a few hatfuls of water to the wounded Highlanders. A grateful shower of rain also afforded |