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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY: PAPER 9

CONESTOGA WAGONS IN BRADDOCKS CAMPAIGN, 1755

In a speech to the Pennsylvania Assembly on December 19, 1754, Governor Morris suggested a law that would "settle and establish the wages" to be paid for the use of the wagons and horses which soon were to be pressed into military service for the expedition against Fort DuQuesne. His subsequent remarks on the subject were all too indicative of the difficulties which were later to arise. The Assembly however, neglected to pass such an act, and the Maryland and Virginia Assemblies were equally lax in making provision for General Braddock's transportation.

Sir John St. Clair had told Braddock, shortly after his arrival in the colonies in late February 1755, "of a great number of Dutch settlers, at the foot of a mountain called the Blue Ridge, who would undertake to carry by the hundred the provisions and stores...." St. Clair was confident he could have 200 wagons and 1,500 pack horses at Fort Cumberland by early May. On April 21 Braddock reached Frederick, in Maryland. There he found that only 25 wagons had come in and several of these were unserviceable. Furiously the General swore that the expedition was at an end. At this point, Benjamin Franklin, who was in Frederick to placate the wrath of Braddock and St. Clair against the Pennsylvanians, commented on the advantages the expedition might have gained had it landed in Philadelphia instead Alexandria, and pointed out that in eastern Pennsylvania every farmer had a wagon. Braddock then suggested that Franklin try to raise the needed 150 wagons and the 1,500 pack horses. Asking that the terms to be offered be first drawn up, Franklin agreed to the undertaking and was accordingly commissioned. On his return to Pennsylvania, Franklin published an advertisement at Lancaster on April 26, setting forth the terms offered .

Although eventually successful, Franklin was beset by many difficulties in collecting the wagons. Farmers argued that they could not spare teams from the work of their farms. Others were not satisfied with the terms offered. Furthermore, the Quaker-controlled Assembly had little interest in the war and did nothing to regulate the hire of wagons, in spite of the repeated pleas of the governor. Franklin published new advertisements more strongly worded than the first, threatening an impress of wagons and drivers if better cooperation could not be had. Finally the governor found it necessary to issue threatening warrants to the magistrates of four of the more reluctant counties. This action brought in the wagons but caused new difficulties to arise, for in order to prevent trouble the townships had contributed, in addition to the fifteen shillings per day offered in Franklin's terms, from five to fifteen pounds to each owner who would hire out his wagon.

This practice caused others to demand more for their services. Governor Morris wrote to Richard Peters that he was "preparing to send sixty waggon loads of oats and corn from hence , for which I am sorry to say, that I shall be obliged to give more for the transporting of it, than the thing is worth, such advantages are taken by the people of the Public wants...." Two weeks later Edward Shippen, explaining the teamsters side of the argument, told how they had to pay ferriage at the Susquehannah and make the return trip with empty wagons. It would be well to mention here that not all of the wagons were to accompany the expedition; many were to transport supplies only to Conococheague or to Wills Creek, and it was the owners of these wagons who, since they did not feel bound by the same terms offered the 150 accompanying the expedition, most often took advantage of the situation. In addition, wagons were needed to supply Colonel James Burd and his party, who were building the Pennsylvania road from Shippensburg to the forks of the Youghiogheny, where it was to meet with Braddock's road. When word came back to the settlements that Indians had killed several of Burd's wagoners, recruiting became still more difficult. The alarm became so great that the road builders threatened to leave if protection was not sent them. Accordingly, Captain Hogg was sent with his company from Braddock's army to cover them.

The farm wagons used in these operations were often referred to as Conestoga wagons. This term was apparently in general use at least as early as 1750, when the term "Dutch Wagon" was also used in referring to this particular type of vehicle. The Conestoga, deriving its name from the Conestoga valley near Lancaster, was apparently a Pennsylvania adaptation of the English wagon. Unfortunately there are no existing specimens of early wagons of whose age we can be certain, and the few wagon fragments that have been unearthed are insufficient to justify any conclusions. A number of strakes were found in Edmund's Swamp , on the route of the Forbes expedition in 1758. These indicate a wheel diameter of 64 inches and a tire 2 inches wide. The 2-inch tires are undoubtedly relics of a farmer's wagon, since the various military vehicles had tires no less than 3 inches and often on the heavier types 4 inches wide. The use of strakes also indicates that these early wagons had no brakes such as the large Conestogas of a later era had. From all indications it would appear that these early farm wagons differed from the larger freighters of the 1790's and were probably similar to the lighter, farm-type Conestogas of the 19th century. Farm wagons are somewhat smaller than road wagons, generally bear less ornamentation and lack the more graceful lines of the latter.

An approximate description of the size of the wagon, taken from the earliest existing specimens of the same type shows a bed about 12 feet long on the bottom and 14 feet on the top. Depth of the bed ran about 32 inches and the width was approximately 42 to 46 inches. Though there was little standardization in most features, eight bows usually supported the dull white homespun cover. The diameter of the front wheels varied from 40 to 45 inches, while the rear wheels ran 10 to 20 inches larger.

For a 1759 expedition it was recommended that wagon accessories include drag chains, grass cutting knives, axes, shovels, tar buckets , jacks, hobbles, and extra sets of such items as clouts , nails, horseshoes, hames, linch pins, and hamestrings. It is doubtful if many teamsters in the 1755 expedition had so complete a selection of equipment; campaign experience in the mountains of western Pennsylvania was necessary to convince them of this necessity. There is no evidence that the hame bells later to be found on professional teams were used at this early date. The advertisement that was circulated for the 1759 expedition mentions a "slip bell ... for each horse" among the items necessary on an expedition, so it is possible that some drivers of the 1755 expedition may have used a single bell on each horse, as was the custom with pack horses. These bells, kept stuffed during the day, were unstuffed at night when the horses were put out to forage in the woods so that they might be more easily found in the morning. Orme mentions no bells, although he writes of other methods used to avoid losing horses at night.

From the beginning of the march, the roads were a challenge, for both Braddock's and Burd's roads presented what appeared to be unsurmountable obstacles. An examination of the terrain over which they had to pass causes far greater respect for these road builders and drivers than is usually accorded them. Orme again comes forward with the picture of their labors. Major Chapman had marched from Wills Creek at daybreak of May 30, with the advance unit of the army and, says Orme, "it was night before the whole baggage had got over a mountain about two miles from the camp. The ascent and descent were almost a perpendicular rock; three waggons were entirely destroyed, which were replaced from the camp; and many more were extremely shattered." Braddock went out from the fort and reconnoitered this section of road. Although 300 men and the company of miners had been working on the road for several days, the General "thought it impassable by howitzers," and was about to put another 300 to work when Lt. Spendelowe of the detachment of seamen informed him of an easier route he had found. Thus the remainder of the wagons were spared the trip over the "perpendicular rock."

In addition to these difficulties of baggage movement, there was the unavoidable peril of losing horses, particularly at night. Orme gives the following description of the situation:

Most of the horses which brought up the train were either lost, or carried home by their owners, the nature of the country making it impossible to avoid this fatal inconvenience, the whole being a continual forest for several hundred miles without inclosures or bounds by which horses can be secured: they must be turned into the woods for their subsistance, and feed upon leaves and young shoots of trees. Many projects, such as belts, hobles, &c., were tried, but none of these were a security against the wildness of the country and the knavery of the people we were obliged to employ: by these means we lost our horses almost as fast as we could collect them, and those which remained grew very weak, so we found ourselves every day less able to undertake the extra-ordinary march we were to perform.

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