Inthe late eighteenth century, deep divisions

about the best kindof Bradford's legacy is not spierre of the occasion." The Pitts- government and who DAVIDwellknown today, but during burgh Gazette later claimed that a the Whiskey Insurrection in 1794, "nod" from Bradford could have wouldlead itseparated President want- meant the destruction ofone's prop- ed Bradford arrested "byHook, or erty. And when he finally fled down settlers inotherwise by Crook."' author and the , militiaofficers mis- serene southwestern attorney HughHenry Brackenridge, takenly thought that they were ex- describing one event of the "rebel- pected to killhim rather than allow . lion," called Bradford "the Robe- him to escape. 2 Bradford's part in

James P. McClure, whose dissertation at the University ofMichigan dealt with history of the late eighteenth century, is senior associate editor withthe Salmon P. Chase Papers, a documentary publication project at the Department of History, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California. Above: 'On the Monongahela,' by William Wall,1860, (original in oil).

72 'Let Us Be Independent*

the Whiskey Insurrection was so had Bradford as itsprimary focus. As range of strongly held opinions notorious, according to Bracken- a result, what his case tells us about about them. 11 ridge, that he became identified with the region in 1794 has been ne- The population increase in the a Philistine deity of the Old Testa- glected. years preceding the Whiskey Insur- ment: when the people ofWashing- David Bradford was born in rection brought tensions over the ton County learned that Bradford about 1760 and probably breaking off of new counties, in- had finally advised submission to moved to Washington County, cluding part of Allegheny, from the government's terms, "The pop- Pennsylvania, about 1781, the year Washington County. 12 Another at- ular language, withrespect to him, itwas created from part ofWestmo- tempt to reduce the county's size, was, that 'Dagon was fallen.'" 3 reland County. The following year instigated by residents ofthe south- The Whiskey Insurrection was a he— became deputy attorney general— ernportion ofthe county, began by series ofincidents that originated in the state's district attorney for 1792. One of the discontented opposition to a federal excise tax on Washington County, a position southerners decried "the Aristocrat- distilled spirits. Itlost its momen- which he still held in 1794. 5 He ical nest of Washington" with its tum even before thousands ofmili- builtan imposing stone house inthe "juridical &legal grandees." 13 In tiamen marched intoWestern Penn- town of Washington and owned a February 1794, a satirical piece in sylvania inthe fall of1794 to ensure gristmill and sawmill. In 1792 he the Pittsburgh Gazette mocked the compliance with the law.4 David was elected to the Pennsylvania town of Washington as a self-styled Bradford didnotinstigate the excise House ofRepresentatives, where he "Athens of the western world," crisis, but he didmuch to give itthe served asingle term without seeking whose residents looked down on appearance of an insurrection. Itis re-election. 6 One of his contempo- the ignorant "boobies" ofthe coun- unlikely that there wouldhave been raries stated that Bradford favored ty's southern reaches. 14 Washing- —amilitiamuster at Braddock's Field efforts to create a new state in the ton town's "grandees" also feltpres- the largest gathering— ofthe Whis- region in the 1780s but was a "zeal- sures from John Canon's town of key Insurrection without him. ous" supporter ofthe federal consti- Canonsburg to the north. In the He came the closest of any public tution at the time ofits ratification. 7 early 1790s, Canonsburg competed figure to advocating a course of In attempting to explain the with Washington as the county's revolutionary action. He was the Whiskey Insurrection, Judge Alex- center of activity.15 , only leader toresist openly the gov- ander Addison stated that the "nat- In the 1780s a group of Wash- ernment's original plan for the re- uraluntamedness oftemper" offron- ington County residents, including gion's submission to law. tier settlements "was increased by David Bradford, attempted to cre- Many residents of Washington the peculiar circumstances of this ate a structure to contend withsome County and the neighboring region country." 8 By "this country," Add- of their frustration. At the January in the years before 1794 were dis- ison meant Western Pennsylvania, 1787 term of the county's courts, contented, frustrated, and uncer- and the "peculiar circumstances" "the magistrates, sheriff,prothono- tain. Those tensions fed the resis- included a boundary controversy and tary, attornies, and a number of tance to the tax on the product of conflicting claims that began in1774 reputable inhabitants" agreed to the region's many stills. Bradford, between Pennsylvania and . form an association against the pur- for his part, was one ofa number of The two states reached agreement chase or use ofany liquors imported would-be chieftans ina competitive on the issue in 1780, but it was the into the region from east of the political environment. There is lim- middle of the decade before the Allegheny Mountains. 16 Bradford ited information about him, so we boundaries were formally marked. represented the town of Washing- cannot know for certain ifhe acted Washington County's early years ton when acounty committee, call- solely from personal ambition, or were marked by tension over land ing itself "a general Patriotic Con- because he meant to represent oth- titles,disputes over the allocation of vention," met to promote this ob- ers frustrated by the political situa- county offices, and resistance to tax ject. The "convention" expanded tion. For whichever reason, the collection and militia enrollments. the list of concerns. Its delegates Whiskey Insurrection presented him There was agitation for the creation complained about several issues, withan opportunity to gainground of a new state in the region.9 The including an "exceeding burden- politicallyand he took advantage of effects ofthese conflicts were feltfor some" tax collection system, the it.His actions relate more to local years. 10 Warfare with Native Amer- allocation of the county's election power, ambition, and the society icans continued in the 1780s and districts, and a potential "abridge- and politics of Western Pennsylva- early 1790s. Theregion's white pop- ment of our common rights" nia in the 1790s than to the excise ulation swelled after the Revolu- through restrictions on navigation tax. He did not create the Whiskey tion, and opportunities for land- of the Mississippi River. Although Insurrection, but itis important to ownership declined. Cash was scarce only 11 official delegates attended account for his role init.And while and commercial prospects uncer- the meeting, representing fewer than much has been written about the tain. Troubled by all these issues, halfof the county's townships, they insurrection, nohistorical study has Western Pennsylvanians displayed a claimed the power to review bills

73 Pittsburgh History, Summer 1991

it confidence in the integrity and wisdom ofany set ofmen living."23 Within this setting David Brad- ford was a striver working tomake a place for himself. Early inhis career inWashington County, he was clerk for a special commission investigat- ing a dispute involving James Marshel, John Canon, and Dorsey Pentecost, prominent contenders for county leadership in the 1780s. 24 Heplayed anactive role inthe Wash- ington County "convention" of 1787. He sat for a term in the assembly. InFebruary 1789 he was one of the founding members, and also one of two "Counsellors," of the "Washington Society for the Relief of Free Negroes and others, unlawfully held inBondage." 25 He was secretary to the trustees of the Washington Academy. In1793 the governor appointed him a commis- sioner to oversee the sale in Wash- ington oflots inthe town ofBeaver, recently laid out on the Ohio Riv- er. 26 And inMarch of 1794, at the under consideration by the state ofPennsylvania to settlement, con- first meeting of "the Democratic legislature, and "infuture our deci- tinuing conflicts with Indians, offi- Society of Pennsylvania, in Wash- sion thereon shall be considered as cial salaries, and the new require - ington County," he was elected the instructions to our representa- ments for county judges. 20 West- group's vice president. This group tives." 17 moreland County politician Willi- was the county's version ofthe Dem- Bradford was one of two dele- am Findley observed that in some ocratic-Republican societies which gates appointed "toprepare an in- quarters "every discription of op- had begun to form inopposition tc strument of association," but the pression that theyhave heard named the policies of the Washington Ad- group did not sustain itself. 18 The is brought into the account." 21 ministration.27 convention illustrates theissues that Six years before the Whiskey In- Yet despite his energy, Bradford concerned the inhabitants of the surrection, "AWashington County was frustrated in his attempts to western counties. Itwasperhaps the Farmer," writing in a Pittsburgh distinguish himself in Washington first attempt to create a standing newspaper, predicted the approach County. His position as deputy at- association in the region based on ofa political crisis: "The period will torney general carried far less polit- township representation. In 1793 shortly arrive, when on our prudent ical weight than judgeships or the and early 1794 there were roughly exertions willdepend the well being offices of prothonotary, clerk of similar meetings in Washington, of these fractured counties; a time courts, sheriff, or recorder ofdeeds Fayette, and Westmoreland coun- which must give birth to petty op- and register of wills. He did not ties. Delegates at those gatherings pressions, or rise in a growth of parlay any of his offices into a sus- complained of an increase in state happiness under an envied democ- tained climb to a position ofsignif- legislators'pay, and ofa new system racy." 22 In 1793 William Littellof icant power. At a time when other requiring county judges tobe trained Fayette County worried that the politicians inthe region were build- lawyers. 19 people, "findingthemselves contin- ing the alliances that were the be- Although government officials ually duped and disappointed by ginning coalescence of a party sys- focused on the resistance to the those in whom they placed the ut- tem, he was not part ofan effective excise law, during the Whiskey In- most confidence, may be induced to political network. He had signifi- surrection people in the region ex- despise all authority and contemn cant family connections but with- pressed their concern about land every law; then follows despotic out visible effect on his political speculation, incomplete land titles, power among the people, which is career. Before the Revolution, his federal policies toward the west, the most dreadful of all." His ad- brothers-in-law, James Allison and navigation of the Mississippi, delays vice: "Letthe people therefore think John McDowell ,had settled inwhat inopening the northwestern corner for themselves, and place no implic- became the northern part ofWash-

74 Let Us Be Independent ington County. Between them, the the people go their own way."35 On the second day, ina committee twoheld numerous offices from the Bradford later stated that he "dis- of representatives from the militia 1770s into the nineteenth century. uaded from all Violence, refused to battalions, Bradford suggested that They were also trustees ofWashing- give any Countenance, or enter into the assembled militia march into ton Academy and then Canonsburg any deliberation." When Canon in- Pittsburgh as a demonstration of Academy, and elders ofthe Chartiers formed him of the incident at Nev- unity and strength. He was made Presbyterian Church. 28 One histori- ille's, he "disapproved inthe Stron- one ofthe "generals" forthe march. 42 an has noted the potential for a gest Terms." 36 TheMingoCreek gathering had "family machine" in an alliance of Within a week, however, Brad- issued a call for a regional meeting, Bradford, Allison, and McDowell. ford dropped this aloof policy. He withdelegates fromevery township, Yet although his sisters' husbands delivered a long address—in support to convene onAugust 14 at Parkin- had influence, Bradford was junior of the excise resisters "a most son's Ferry on the Monongahela to them in age and a more recent violent and inflammatory— oration," River.43 On August 6, Bradford immigrant to the area. Apparently one observer called it at a July 23 wrote letters toresidents ofVirgin- he was not their political crony.29 gathering at the MingoCreek meet- ia's western counties, inviting them , an important inghouse in the Monongahela Val- to send representatives. Inone let- member of the Republican element ley settlements. 37 Soon thereafter ter, he indicated that the central allied withThomas Jefferson, James two men stopped a postal rider car- issue was whether to support those Madison, and others, sat inthe state rying letters from Washington and involved intheincidents atNeville's assembly with Bradford and made Pittsburgh. When Judge Addison house, orinstead "suffer them tofall an acrid assessment of him. "Poor later made inquiries about the plan asacrifice to a federal prosecution." Bradford makes but a poor figure in tointercept the rider,he could "trace He continued: our Legislature," nohigher 38 Gallatin declared. it than Bradford." Brad- On the result ofthisbusiness we "Tenth rate lawyers are the most ford's actions had begun to shape have fullydeliberated, and have unfitpeople tosend there." Gallatin the character of the developing sit- determined, with head, heart* dubbed Bradford "an empty drum, uation. hand, and voice, that we will as ignorant, [indolent] &insignifi-" AtCanonsburg, Bradford, James support the opposition to the cant as he ishaughty &pompous. 30 Marshel, Canon, and four others excise law. The crisis is now The Whiskey Insurrection threw examined the stolen mail. Theyalso, come— :Submission oropposition the region's political system into without citing any authority to do We are—determined in the flux and presented an opportunity so, drew up a circular calling a gen- opposition We aredetermined future agreeably to seek changes. Bradford played eral muster of the region's militia in toact tosys- tem; to formarrangements, guid- important roles at three meetings battalions at Braddock's Field. 39 ed by reason, prudence, forti- opposed to the federal liquor excise Evidently the original reason forthe tude, and 31 spirited conduct. ... in 1791 and 1792. Outright op- muster was to take arms or ammuni- The cause iscommon to us all.44 position to the federal excise before tion from Fort Fayette, the federal July 1794— took the form of—threats garrison inPittsburgh, but after dis- Bradford brought a set ofpro- against or assaults upon offic- cussing the matter withmilitiaoffic- posals for action to the Parkinson's ers responsible for the tax's collec- ers, Bradford consented to issue Ferry meeting. They were unargu- tion.32 There is no evidence that another order countermanding the ably bellicose. Brackenridge, who Bradford was involved in any of muster call.40 Ameeting onthe coun- saw Bradford's "schedule," report- those incidents. Nevertheless, Alex- termand order was held in the town ed that itproposed "Acommittee of ander Addison, the presiding state of Washington, where Marshel safety, magazines, arms, ammuni- judge in the region and a staunch joined U.S. Senator James Ross of tion, clothing, provisions, &c."Al- defender oforder inthe excise crisis, Washington County and others to bert Gallatinlater testified that Brad- later claimed that Bradford's "dis- support a retraction of the muster ford's proposals asked the meeting position inclined him to omit all order. Bradford then reversed him- to "purchase or procure arms, and prosecution of such offences" as self, denounced the countermand, ammunition; subscribe money; raise prosecuting attorney. 33 and encouraged the militia to pro- volunteers, or draught militia;ap- Inmid-July 1794, the serving of ceed to Braddock's Field as origi- point committees tohave the super- writs to distillers incited two armed nally planned. 41 intendence ofthose departments." 45 confrontations at Bower Hill,the Despite confusion over exactly Marshel presented resolutions call- home ofJohn Neville,federal excise what the orders were, the voluntary ingfor acommittee ofsafety "whose inspector for Western Pennsylva- nature ofeach militiaunit's response duty it shall be to call forth the nia. 34 Bradford had no partin those to the call, and the short interval resourses of the Western Country, events, and according to John Can- between the call and the muster, to repel any hostile attempts that on,who consulted him after the first there may have been as many as may be made against the rights of incident at Bower Hill,"Bradford 7,000 people present at the muster the Citizen or of the body of the said he would notbe concerned; let at Braddock's Field on August 1-2. people." 46Bradford insisted that the

75 Pittsburgh History, Summer 1991 standing committee be empowered that the region's geography, troubles who had resisted the gov- ttin case ofany sudden emergency, shielding it behind mountains, ernment's terms of submission. 57 to take such temporary measures as favored separation. 51 Bradford had now been identified they may think necessary." 47 After Bradford's speech a secret tothe administration as alone recal- Bradford was on a committee ballot revealed 17 members against citrant among the prominent citi- appointed to confer with commis- acceptance of the commissioners' zens involved with the "insurrec- sioners from the federal and state terms, while40 favored submission tion." Redick's and Findley's visit governments. When they first met tothe government's terms. 52 Asize- also made itevident that the admin- with the commissioners on August able portion of the standing com- istration was resolved to carry 21,he was apparently the onlymem- mittee had voted against submis- through whatever measures it ber ofthe committee resistant to the sion. Moderates such as Gallatin, thought appropriate to restore fed- notion ofsubmission tothe govern- striving to demonstrate that the re- eral authority and punish the guilty. ment's terms. Brackenridge and gion's political leadership could There was some doubt, too,wheth- Senator Ross, now one ofthe feder- maintain order, believed that Brad- er Bradford's signing ofthe submis- al commissioners, endeavored "to ford, without carrying the day, had sion papers would count for much, take him in tow" and enlisted the done a great deal ofdamage. 53 The since the amnesty excluded anyone aid of Pennsylvania's commission- government's commissioners, dis- who obstructed the law after the ers. According to Gallatin, the next turbed by the lack of consensus, commissioners' formal offer ofterms day Bradford "said he saw the ne- now imposed a new, stiffer require- on August 22. Bradford's speech at cessity of inducing the people to ment: each adult male must sub- Brownsville on August 29 seemed submit," On the 23rd the commit- scribe his name to asubmission form to put him outside the bounds of tee of conference acceded formally in order to be included under the any amnesty, despite the fact that he to the commissioners' terms, which amnesty terms, then each county later counseled for submission and required evidence that the region's must certify whether excise offices signed the papers himself. 58 citizens would submit to the gov- could be reopened. 54 Bradford leftthe region inOcto- ernment's authority.48 On September 11, Bradford ber, before the government's forces At a meeting of the standing signed the submission statement. arrived in the western country. The committee atBrownsville onAugust He also made a two-hour speech exact date of his departure and the 28-29, the conferees presented their recommending submission, justify- details of his leave-taking are un- report advising submission to the ing this reversal, according to what known. 59 He lefthis wifeand several commissioners' terms. Atthe apogee Brackenridge learned of the speech children behind in Washington of his career as a rebel, Bradford from others, "on the principle of County. On October 20,John Nev- now,despite his earlier acquiescence, being deserted, and left tohimself." ille's son-in-law in Pittsburgh re- spoke vehemently against accepting Two days later he was one of those ported the rumor ofhis disappear- the government's terms. "[H]e who met at the county courthouse ance. 60 On the 30th, a militia cap- opposed the acceptance of the to attest to Washington County's tain at Gallipolis on the Ohio River propositions, in direct and violent submission. 55 Although the signing learned that Bradford had passed terms," Brackenridge recalled. of the submissions did not go as downriver alone in a canoe. Four "Speaking of the resources of war, smoothly as the commissioners militiamen overtook him the next arms, ammunition, &c.said he, 'We might have hoped, there was no day, by which time Bradford had willdefeat the first army that comes longer any coherent body of resis- gone aboard a military contractors' over the mountains, and take their tance. boat operated by 13 men. Those arms and baggage.'" 49 William On October 2, another meeting men, several of whom were from Findley described Bradford's speech convened at Parkinson's Ferry to Washington County, resisted the as "a most extravagant harangue, in seek ameans ofassuring the govern- militiamen's attempts to arrest Brad- the course of which he urged the ment of the region's submissive- ford. The militiamen resorted to propriety oferecting anindependent ness. Bradford was present, but de- following the boat some distance government" and criticized the livered no inflammatory speeches. downstream, offering $50 to any- federal government forits handling To Brackenridge he "appeared one who would assist in capturing ofsuch touchyissues as policytoward thoughtful," although he played an Bradford. The government's troops Native Americans, Spanish threats important role in the selection of discovered that Bradford had the toMississippi River commerce, and DavidRedick ofWashington County sympathy ofmany people along the the continued Britishoccupation of and WilliamFindley as emissaries to river,and he eluded—capture. 61 posts inthe Northwest. "Let us be George Washington at Carlisle. 56 Sometime later —the date can- independent^ \said he, and we will According to Washington's ac- not be determined Bradford accomplish these objects in a few count of his meeting with Redick alighted at Bayou Sara, above Baton months." 50 Addison recalled that and Findley, they named Bradford Rouge in Spanish . He Bradford advocated independence as the only one of the "principal continued tohold property inPenn- forWestern Pennsylvania and argued characters" involved in the excise sylvania and elsewhere in the Ohio

76 Let Us Be Independent

Valley.62 His wifeElizabeth and their be laid upon him. has influenced succeeding genera- children eventually joined him at Brackenridge intended his nar- tions' views of Bradford. 72 Bayou Sara, described years later as rative to justify the temporizing For his part, Findley meant to "abeautiful settlement" in"certain- course which he and others had release the western country from a lyone of the most favoured spots in followed during the rebellion. The stigma. He needed to control the Louisiana." Itwas anexcellent place Bradford of his account was weak, damage done by the excise resis- to raise cotton, and Bradford be- cowardly, limitedinvision and ana- tance to the political opposition to came a planter. 63 lytical abilities, dominated by a fear the Federalist program. He aimed InMay 1795 a federal grand jury of the crowd but deluded by a no- to show that the frontier counties in indicted him on a tion that he had some control over were traditionally and inherently law charge of high treason. 64 He was the popular tide. One could mistake abiding, and that the incidents of excluded from the general pardons him for an oafish character from 1794 were not the result ofa con- issued by the government in the Brackenridge's satirical novel, Mod- spiratorial program or deep-seated aftermath of the excise troubles. 65 em Chivalry. 70 Brackenridge paint- western rebelliousness. To demon- Living in the Spanish colony, be- ed this picture tolend credence to strate that there was no chronic yond the reach ofU.S. judicial au- the view that he was himself capable political disease in the region, he thorities, he evaded trial,but could of "the management of Bradford." portrayed Bradford, like the Whis- not expect anindividualpardon from But his own account shows that the key Insurrection— itself,as anaberra- Washington. Attorney General scheme did not work.He could not tion subject to a "frenzy."Find- Charles Lee and District Attorney manipulate Bradford at his plea- ley declared that one of Bradford's WilliamRawle advised the president sure. 71 Undaunted, he depicted speeches "didnot contain sufficient that no one who stayed beyond the Bradford as dim and weak, subject good sense to be relished, even by reach of the courts could be "a fit to forces he could neither compre- many of his admirers." It was an object of mercy." 66 hend nor control. Despite Bracken- "absurd and inconsistent exer- In the fall of 1798, Bradford ridge's confident assertions, his in- tion."73 Findley made sure that the took advantage of the presence of terpretation ofBradford says at least Bradford ofhis narrative would not Andrew Ellicott,who had surveyed as much about its author as it does be taken seriously as a political lead- boundaries in Western Pennsylva- about its subject. Nevertheless, it er. nia in the 1780s and was now a commissioner marking the line be- tween the and Span- ish territory, to transmit a petition for pardon to John Adams, Wash- ington's successor as president. Bradford also enlisted James Ross to lobby the administration inhis be- half. Passions had cooled, and Ad- ams pardoned Bradford in March 1799 .67 Hereturned toWashington County at least once to settle busi- ness matters, and he made a tenta- tive return to the practice of law in Louisiana. 68 The latter years of his lifeare especially hard todocument. 69 Even after the excitement and rancor aroused by the incidents of 1794 had settled, Bradford wrote little about his actions or motivations. As a result, he had almost no role in shaping later interpretations of his conduct. His reputation was formed by others' published accounts, most notably Brackenridge's Incidents of the Insurrection and 's History oftheInsurrection. Both were quite willingforBradford toassume as much of the opprobrium for the distasteful incidents of1794 as could

77 Occurrencies at Nevels House had taken place a new scene presented itselfe; a scene impressing on the minds of the Inhabitants of this Country, Ideas, that cannot easily be expressed." There was a "frenzy, that none can concieve of, but those who were amongst us."76 Inhis petition for pardon inSeptember 1798, his only other surviving—comment onhis actions, Bradford again used "frenzy" Findley's word for the situation. Bradford's frenzy,however, was a broader, less superficial phenom- enon than Findley's. Bradford declared that he "fellinto the general errors which misguided the people of the western Counties of Pennsylvania." He characterized his own conduct as shaped by "the difficulty of the times."77 "The Object" ofhis entry into the excise resistance, he wrote toRoss, "was to cover the retreat of the real offenders, and to get Terms ofaccommodations." 78 He meant, apparently, that by widening the affair to involve more of the western counties' population, he might helpobtain a general amnesty toprotect the participants inthe affairs at Neville's house from prosecution. Brad- fordlater admitted that "his ultimate object" inthe mail robbery and Braddock's Field muster had been "to cover what had been done, by making the opposition formidable to the government." 79 With no mention of the intervening events, Brad- ford next, inhis letters to Mifflinand toRoss, referred tohis conduct late inthe crisis, when at the Brownsville meeting on August 29 he opposed the commissioners' terms of submission. He claimed that he had favored submission and obedience to the law, but that many people mistrusted the commissioners and believed their realpurpose was toidentifyoffenders forpunishment or to distribute bribes topopular leaders. Inorder tohave any influence in favor ofsubmission, Bradford claimed, Bradford was far fromthe scene when these accounts it had been necessary for him to show that he had not were published, and James Ross drew the obvious sold out to the government. To shape public opinion in conclusion inhisbehalf: "Having fled,he sustained like favor ofsubmission "required great prudence and con- a scapegoat, all the sins of the people. Every thing bad siderable Length of time. Itrequired that the agents in was ascribed tohim because he was out ofreach &out effecting it should have, or at Least seem to have a of danger." 74 Actually Bradford was much more like Degree of the Spirit and firmness in opposition, that Brackenridge and Findley, and more a part of Western actuated the mass." 80 A week before he wrote Ross and Pennsylvania's politicalculture than either author would Mifflin,Bradford made a similar explanation to Alex- have acknowledged. He was, as they were, attempting ander Addison, arguing that he believed itnecessary to to find a place for himself in an uncongealed political make "some Shew ofresistance" to the commissioners' situation. terms or "the people would consider themselves be- While he never fullyexplained himself, Bradford did trayed and reject them." 81 make some guarded statements about his conduct. On Ironically, Bradford may have borrowed this obfus- October 4, 1794, as Redick and Findley were about to cating line of argument from Brackenridge. In his make their appeal to George Washington, Bradford account, Brackenridge argued that he had only ap- wrote to Ross and to Governor Thomas Mifflin.He peared tobe sympathetic to the excise resisters inorder believed that his behavior was "greatly misrepresented to buy time and gain their trust while he waited for or entirely misunderstood," and asked that he not be passions to cool and worked to moderate the situation. condemned "tilltime &afuture Explanation willthrow He revealed himself toBradford and Marshel sometime more light & afford means of a more correct Judg- before August 21, informing them of his true senti- ment." 75 Inboth letters he referred specifically to only ments. 82 Over a month before he employed ithimself, two aspects of his conduct, essentially the beginning then, Bradford was given the excuse that one might and the end ofhis involvement in the insurrection. appear to sympathize with disorderly elements inorder In the letter to Ross, Bradford declared: "After the to maintain influence over them.

78 LetUs Be Independent

Inhis pardon application, Bradford eschewed any detailed examination ofhis part inthe events from July to October 1794 and concentrated on the late stages of the excise crisis, perhaps from a belief that his speech at the Brownsville meeting was the least forgivable ofhis actions. He declared that people misunderstood the intentions of the government's commissioners and a lack of calm reasoning made it"dangerous" to oppose public opinion. As the frenzy receded, Bradford said, he "became as active and as sincere on the part of govern- ment as any friend the gov'. had in that country." His appeal for pardon was humble, contrite, and repentant, butleftthe great bulkofhis actions in1794 unassayed . 83 Anelement common toBradford's letters toMifflin and Ross, his statements toAddison, and his petition to John Adams was the notion that he had resisted submis- sion to retaininfluence withthe people. Whether ornot he genuinely wished to use ittopromote submission, as he later claimed, retaining influence withthe people was more important to him than disengaging himself from what the state and national governments considered a form of revolt. The excise crisis presented him with a chance to increase hispolitical capital inthe region. Ifhe was simply swept along by a popular tide or driven by fear for his own safety, then his conduct was too obstinate, his measures too extreme, and he adhered to a radical course much longer than expediency required. He took deliberate, purposeful action and gave no sign ofresisting a prominent role after addressing the meet- ingat MingoCreek. His youthhad prevented him from taking advantage of the to im- prove his lot, as had so many older men. The Whiskey Insurrection was the next best thing. 84 Inthis sense, Bradford was much more similar to Brackenridge than the latter cared to admit. Bracken- ridge, too, was politically ambitious but frustrated inhis search for a sustained career in elective office. Like Bradford, he had been a one-term assemblyman. Unlike Bradford, he had,by wayofhispolicies, his abrasiveness, and a series of acrimonious exchanges with William Findley inthe Pittsburgh Gazette m1787,made himself unpopular with many of his constituents. 85 Bracken- ridge also labored tobolster his political fortunes inthe fall of 1794, presenting himself as a candidate for Congress. In the process, he acknowledged that Brad- ford held, for a time, real power. Inan effort to explain his own failure to separate himself from any appearance of support for the excise resistance, Brackenridge noted that "Bradford had influence," and that alienating him might have hurt Brackenridge's chances inthe congres- sional race. 86 After the Mingo Creek meeting, wrote Brackenridge, "Iwas thought to be at best but a half- way whig,as the term was,and Bradford the real man to be depended on."87 For a time, then, the two wererivals for popular attention, and Brackenridge was jealous of Bradford's popularity. Brackenridge's sensitive ego was particularly galled by what he saw as Bradford's "idea of superiority over me" during the Whiskey Insurrection. Referring to an earlier day,he confessed that "Bradford,

79 Pittsburgh History, Summer 1991

According toAddison,Bradford cit- talk of liberty, traitors, and aristo- the Braddock's Field muster and ed both the American and theFrench crats in1794 had a sincere founda- march through Pittsburgh a "glori- Revolutions. Brackenridge asserted tion. Over a decade later, as a Lou- ous revolution accomplished with- more generally that "the example of isiana planter, he followed Pennsyl- out bloodshed," he took itonly as a the Terrorists, as they have been vania politics in the pages of the sign that Bradford would continue called, in France, was in the public Aurora and made observations to "at all hazards" to support the ex- mind, especially with Bradford." 9 David Redick, with whom he car- cise resisters. At the muster, when Bradford had some talent for ried on a warm correspondence, Brackenridge tried to cajole Brad- adapting language to meet circum- "When a man begins to growinso- ford into modifying a call for the stances, and it is possible that his lent inoffice," Bradford wrote, "... expulsion ofcertain Pittsburgh res- public statements were rhetorical the people, as they have a right, idents, Bradford replied that he flourishes. For example, inhis peti- ought to dismiss him from their could not, for "the people came out tion forpardon in1798 he depicted employ. This is the glorious privi- to do something, and something the federal government's measures lege ofa republican Government." they must do." Brackenridge inter- during the Whiskey Insurrection as Noting that officeholders "soon preted this statement to mean that humane and reasonable, teaching become graceless towards the peo- Bradford was subject to the whims "the lesson of obedience with the pie," he favored rotation in office, of the mob, that "he saw the neces- affection of a parent." "The best of Referring to a possible revision of sity of giving a tub to the whale." men may err," he stated. "The best the state constitution, he advised This cynicalinterpretation obscures no doubt have erred as well inpol- Pennsylvanians— todo "withitas you Bradford's report that "the people"— itics as inreligion;but there may be please Itis in your ownhands at had set out to "do something" as a repentance as glorious as inno- any and alltimes as pot inthe hands wellas the possibility that Bradford, cence itself which in some degree of the potters." 94 far from intimidated, may have will- may make atonement &reparation Certainly many of his contem- ingly taken on a active role in the for frailties incident to human na- poraries were loathe to accept him process. "We ought tobe firm," he ture."93 as any form ofsincere, even ifmis- toldBrackenridge, "...and unani- While there is little evidence of guided, democrat withthe interests mous." 95 InBradford's eyes, Brack- his political sentiments in general, of the people at heart. When Brack- enridge may have been the waverer there are indications that Bradford's enridge heard that Bradford called and the coward, the man oflimited vision intent on his own self-inter- est. Inreporting that Bradford, inhis Brownsville speech, opposed sub- mission to the government's terms "because he saw the fury of the people against the accepting, and was afraid tohave itthought that he was for submitting," Brackenridge presumed that Bradford was "afraid" for his person. 96 What Bradford ac- tually may have feared was the loss of the popular attention and influ- ence he had attained during the excise crisis. His actions, however motivated, had drawn the notice of thousands and givenhimpower such as he had never possessed. His con- duct identified him to George Wash- ington and as a dangerous rebel, and earned him comparisons with Robespierre. But italso made him popular to a degree he had never known before, as when a militiaman at Braddock's Field waded into the Monongahela to dip a hatful of cool water for him to drink.97

The Whiskey Insurrection was as

80 hetU$lk Independent

much as anything else acrisis oflocal political authority inWestern Penn- comprehend as a whole.102Itwould politics. Adivided leadership group sylvania was quite tenuous. Ifhe was be difficulteven tocommunicate an sent mixed signals to the region's motivated by ambition or political effective political message inthose inhabitants and to the state and frustration, then he shows the de- circumstances, harder still to over- national governments across the gree to which localpolitical compe- come inertia and bring about any mountains. Localleaders withclose titioncould be carried. His example real unity of action. Ironically the ties to the federal executive and the implies not only a system in which very localism that made Bradford's enforcement of the excise, along popularity and influence could be task so difficult helped make his with others who simply feared thought attainable by "rebellious" partial success possible. As Judge disruption, saw the excise troubles deeds, but one in which the actual Addison saw the situation, "every as a serious threat to political order." pursuit ofsuch acourse was, atleast neighbourhood, considering itself Tothem itwasliterallya"civilwar. 98 to some extent, possible. That he [as the] people, thought it had a Other politicians, such as Find- was even a temporary success indi- right to do as itpleased." 103 ley and Gallatin, fell on the other cates that many of those who dis- A more astute politician might side of the excise issue, but they, trusted officeholders, or were dis- have seen the limitations on what too, were deeply concerned for the tressed byvarious problems relating was possible inthe region and been region's political stability. They to their situations within the new more cautious. Perhaps he might feared the broader constitutional nation, were— willingtoentertain his also have anticipated the govern- consequences of armed resistance methods at least untilitbecame ment's swift, strong response, al- tolaw. Askey figures inthe growing clear that resisting the authority of though few westerners foresaw that Republican alliance, they were also government had no real chance at George Washington's reaction realists who saw that the excise trou- all. The federal commissioners be- would be so aggressive. Many be- bles gave their Federalist opponents lieved that they saw inWestern Penn- lieved that a punitive force could a potent weapon against the parti- sylvania a people who "have no com- never be raised, or that it would san networks they were laboring to pact among themselves that the will never enter the western counties. buildin the western country. Brad- of the majority shall prevail." 100 Bradford might have seen himself ford, on the other hand, took the Inthe end Bradford failed. His benefitting from any ofa variety of disruption as a political opportuni- goal, as Gallatin expressed it,had conclusions to the excise crisis. He ty. Marshel, Canon, even Bracken- been toinduce the region's popula- demonstrated that a county politi- ridge, didthe same, although not to tion "tomake a common cause with cian of modest prior success could the same degree orinquite the same the rioters." Bradford himself used enhance his standing in the region fashion. similar language: "The cause iscom- bypursuing a bold course ofaction. These elements allmoved in dif- mon to us all."101 He did not suc- Whether the westerners lostintheir ferent directions inthe summer and ceed inmoving the region's people confrontation with government or autumn of1794. Equally significant to a "common cause," either mis- forced concessions on the excise were the region's many officehold- reading the potential for such action issue, any resolution of the crisis ers who made no prominent dem- or failing to communicate a mes- that had left him stillon the scene onstration one way or the other sage that could bring itabout. might have allowed him to claim during the Whiskey Insurrection. He faced a problem, however, status as the champion of the re- Their lack of outspoken involve- which few politicians could have gion's rights.Andhe certainly could ment on the side oflaw and order solved. Western Pennsylvania was a have anticipated a favorable posi- helped bring on the hard response fragmented region. Powerful cen- tion for himself if,in some way, the to the excise resistance, for in the trifugal forces worked against any western country had indeed man- Washington Administration's view, efforts to unite and motivate its aged to separate itself from the rest the local leadership's failure to con- population. The very diversity of of the nation. 104 trol the situation was one of the the residents' political complaints Unless new documents come to factors requiring federal interven- illustrates the problem. For some light, it will never be possible to tion." The lack ofinvolvement by the difficultywas the excise; for oth- know precisely what Bradford was so many of the region's political ers, it was the means of the law's up toin1794. Regardless, his exam- leaders— also set the stage for Brad- enforcement; for others, it was of- ple demonstrates that the Whiskey ford by Gallatin's lights a "tenth ficeholders' salaries, or the right to Insurrection both was and was not rate lawyer"and "empty—drum" unfit ship goods down the Mississippi, or about the federal tax on distilled forthe state legislature to assume protection against Native Ameri- spirits. The excise brought on the a criticalrole during a political crisis. cans, or the resolution ofland titles, crisis and was the primary issue IfBradford, the state's attorney orconflicts overlocal politicalpow- around whichitrevolved. ButBrad- for his county, really was motivated— er. The excise crisis itself was a col- ford, who probably did more than by fear for his own safety or lection of localized incidents char- any other individual to give the because he felt he must behave— as a acterized by a milling confusion, events of1794 their face as an "in- rebel to earn popularity then difficult for anyone at the time to surrection," didnot assume hislead*

81 Pittsburgh History, Summer 1991

ership role as an unhappy distiller. and Prominent Men (Philadelphia, Harper, "The Class Structure ofWest- His message had to do with pow- 1882), 250, 483; Boyd Crumrine, The ernPennsylvania intheLate Eighteenth 105 Courts ofJustice, Bench andBarofWash- Century" (Ph.D. diss., University of er. ington County, Pennsylvania (Washing- Pittsburgh, 1969) as their basis. See Bradford gambled his political ton,Pa., 1902), 263, 263-64n, 304;Pa. also Lee Soltow and Kenneth W.Keller, future and lost. Yetinthe short run Arch., 11In; docket, Westmoreland "Tenancy and Asset- Holding in Late he a remarkable success. a County quarter sessions courts, Apr. Eighteenth -Century Washington Coun- was For (typescript), Clerk of Pennsylvania," Pennsylva- time, acts 1773-Apr. 1783 ty, Western his assertive called the Courts Office, Greensburg, Pa., 168. nia Historical Magazine 65 (January tune, and people who were bright- Crumrine provided the basic biograph- 1982), 1-15. er,abler, or more thoughtful react- ical outline upon which subsequent nis- 12 Pittsburgh Gazette, June 9, 1787; ed to his lead. His eventual lack of torians have directlyorindirectlyrelied. Solon J. Buck and Elizabeth Hawthorn success illustrates the nature of the An alternate version puts Bradford in Buck, The Planting of Civilizationin significant the western country by 1773 or 1774: Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, forces that made him so Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, 1939), 172;Crumrine,ed., Washington to George Washington and others eds., The Diaries ofGeorge Washington, County, 241; McClure, "The Ends of for those weeks in 1794. The feel- vol. 6: Jan. 1790-Dec. 1799 (Charlot- the American Earth," 550-51. tesville, Va., 1979), 188-89n4. 13 Jean Badollet to AlbertGallatin,Dec. ings ofimpotence, frustration, and 6 restless discontent inWestern Penn- Crumrine, ed., Washington County, 14, 1793, Jan. 30, 1793 (originals at 471, 603; Earle R. Forrest, History of New-YorkHistoricalSociety, citedhere- sylvania were so unfocused that he Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chi- after as NYHS), inCarl E. Prince and was unable to forge them into a cago, 1926), 1:834; Dorothy E. Fen- Helene H.Fineman, co-directors, The movement ofany real power. Nev- nell,"FromRebelliousness to Insurrec- Papers of Albert Gallatin, microfilm ertheless, his adventurism and the tion: A Social History of the Whiskey edition (Philadelphia, 1969), reel 1(cit- Rebellion, 1765-1802" (Ph.D. diss., ed hereafter as Gallatin Papers). Re- fleetingsuccess itbrought himdem- University ofPittsburgh, 1981), 286. garding the efforts fora new county, see onstrate important features of the 7 WilliamFindley, History ofthe Insur- Gallatin to Badollet, Feb. 22, 1792, region's political fabric in the early rection, in theFour Western Counties of Dec. 18, 1792, May 3, 1793, July 31, years of the new republic* Pennsylvania inthe TearM.DCCXCIV. 1793, and Badollet to Gallatin, July 8, Witha Recitalofthe Circumstances Spe- 1793, July 23, 1793, Aug. 2, 1793, ciallyConnected Therewith: and an His- ibid.; and Pittsburgh Gazette, May 25, 1George Washington to Alexander toricalReview of the Previous Situation 1793. Hamilton, Oct. 26,1794, inHarold C. 0/r^C0«»^(Philadelphia, 1796),95- 14 Ibid.,Feb. 15, 1794. Another issue Syrett, et al., eds., The Papers of 96. Findley was confused about some distressing the county's southern resi- Alexander Hamilton (27 vols., New facts ofBradford's past. He reported, dents was levies for courthouse con- York, 1961-1987), 17:344, 345- for instance, that Bradford became the struction. Badollet to Gallatin, Jan. 30, footnote 11(cited hereafter as Hamilton deputy attorney general for Washing- 1792, Gallatin Papers (original at Papers). [Footnote references indicated ton County at the time ofthe county's NYHS); Pittsburgh Gazette, May 25, byn hereafter.] formation in 1781, and that he had 1793; Crumrine, ed., Washington Coun- 2 , Incidents represented the area inthe Virginiaas- ty, 464-66; Alfred Creigh, History of oftheInsurrection inthe Western Parts of sembly before resolution ofthe Virgin- Washington Countyfrom itsFirstSettle- Pennsylvania, Inthe Tear 1794(3 vols. ia-Pennsylvania boundary conflict.Find- ment to the Present Time (Washington, bound as one, Philadelphia,1795), 1:59; ley may have been wrong about Brad- Pa., 1870), 136-37. Pittsburgh Gazette, Nov. 8, 1794; ford's positions on the new-state and 15 Crumrine, ed., Washington County, Captain Francis D'Hebecourt toHenry constitutional questions. 464, 601-03, 606; Creigh, History of Lee, Nov. 10, 1794, and Lee to 8Richard H. Kohn, ed., "Judge Alex- Washington County, 150-51, 220-22; D'Hebecourt, Nov. 22, 1794, inJohn ander Addison onthe Originand Histo- Buck and Buck, Planting of Civiliza- B. Linn and William H. Egle, eds., ry ofthe ," inSteven tion, 393-94; Pittsburgh Gazette, Jan. Pennsylvania Archives^ Second Series, R. Boyd, ed., The Whiskey Rebellion: 19, 1793; Alexander Addison to [John vol.4 (Harrisburg,1876),450-51, 470- Past andPresent Perspectives (Westport, Hoge], Dec. 17, 1791, Historical Col- 71 (cited hereafter as Pa. Arch.). A Conn., 1985), 52. lection, Washington and Jefferson Col- reprint of this volume of the 9 James P. McClure, "The Ends of the lege, Washington, Pa. Pennsylvania Archives, differing from American Earth: Pittsburgh and the 16 Pittsburgh Gazette, Jan. 27, 1787. the original edition inpagination, was Upper Ohio Valley to 1795" (Ph.D. 17 Ibid.,Feb. 17,1787. issued in1896. diss., University of Michigan, 1983), 18 The "Patriotic Convention" drew at- 3Brackenrictae, Incidents oftheInsurrec- 382-417. Slaughter, WhiskeyRebellion, tacks from critics who declared it the tion,2:29. The reference is to 1Samuel gives almost no notice to the Virginia- product ofasmall self-interested group. 5:2-5, where the idolof Dagon falls Pennsylvania jurisdictional conflict and "Censor" and "Publicus" rose to the onto its face after the Arkof the Cove- probably exaggerates the "Westsylva- meeting's defense. Ibid.,Feb. 24, Mar. nant is brought intoDagon's temple at nia" movement of the revolutionary 3,Mar. 17, Mar. 24, 1787. Ashdod. period. Fennell, "From Rebelliousness 19McClure, "The Ends ofthe American 4 Two books have dealt withthe Whis- toInsurrection," 7-8,24-38, pays more Earth," 577-78. The Hamilton's Dis- key Insurrection in detail: Leland D. heed to the boundary dispute and its trictSociety (better known as the Min- Baldwin, Whiskey Rebels: The Story ofa political legacy. go Creek Society), which was the orga- Frontier Uprising, rev.ed. (Pittsburgh, fo Kohn, ed., "Judge Alexander Addi- nizational force behind the opening in- 1968), originally published in 1939; son," 52. cidents ofthe Whiskey Insurrection in and Thomas P^ Slaughter, The Whiskey 11 McClure, "TheEnds ofthe American July 1794, was related tothese efforts at Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue totheAmer- Earth," 531-61. Allstudies incorporat- politicalorganization withinthe region. ican Revolution (, 1986). ing the issue oflandownership, includ- Ibid., 578-91. On the issue of official 5 Boyd Crumrine, ed., HistoryofWash- ing Fennell, "From Rebelliousness to salaries, see Jean Badollet to AlbertGall- ington County, Pennsylvania, withBio- Revolution," and Slaughter, Whiskey atin, June 6,1793, GallatinPapers^orig- graphical Sketches ofManyofitsPioneers Rebellion, have used Robert Eugene inal at NYHS)and the letter of"William

82 Let Us Be Independent

Tell" in the Pitts- burgh Gazette, Aug. 17, 1793. 20 Report of'the Com- missioners, Appoint- ed by the President of the United. States of America, to Confer withtheInsurgents in the Western Counties of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1794), 5-6; Brack- enridge, Incidents of the Insurrection, 1:86-87, 99-100; Hamilton Papers, 17:30, 31. On the Presque Isle and In- dian warfare issues, see William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott to Thomas Mifflin (draft),June5,1794, and Irvine to Mifflin (copy), June 23, 1794, Irvine Papers, 12:54, 61, Histori- cal Society ofPenn- sylvania (hereafter HSP). 21 Findley to William Bradford, Sept. 16, 1794, Wallace Papers, 3:38, HSP. 22 Pittsburgh Gazette, Apr. 12, 1788. 23 William Littellto \u25a0July 15, 1793, Pittsburgh Gazette, Aug.3 and 10, 1793. 24 Minutes of the First [-Third] SessionfsJ of the Seventh General Assembly, of the Commonwealth of (typescripts), David Bradford Letters, er, "The Democratic Societies and the Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1782- Lousiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Whiskey Insurrection," Pennsylvania 1783),966;MinutesoftheFirst[-SecondJ Collection, Louisiana State University Magazine ofHistory and Biography 62 Session[s] ofthe NinthGeneral Assembly (hereafter LSU). For Bradford's role in (1938), 342-47; Link,Democratic-Re- of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania a case involvinga runaway slave from publican Societies, 14, 145-46. The ad- (Philadelphia, 1784-1785), 301; Virginia, see William McMachan to ministration's bleak view ofdemocratic McClure, "The Ends of the American Henry Lee, Sept. 25, 1792, with societies, made explicitinthe aftermath Earth," 403-08. As noted inCrumrine, enclosures, inLetters Received by the ofthe Whiskey Insurrection, was shaped ed.,Historyof'Washington County, 224n, Executive, Box75,VirginiaStateLibrary inlarge part by remonstrances from the Marshel's name frequently appears as (VSLhereafter). Washington County group. Hamilton "Marshall,"buthe signed it"Marshel." 26 Eugene Perry Link, Democratic- Papers, 16:258-60. 25 Pittsburgh Gazette, Feb. 14, 1789. Republican Societies, 1790-1800 28 Crumrine, ed., Washington County, Bradfordwasaslaveholder.ini 788, in (Morningside Heights, N.Y., 1942), 529,707-08,869-70,876. accordance withPennsylvania's gradual 170; AlbertGallatin, et al. to governor "Russell J. Ferguson, Early Western abolition act, he registered two slave (abstract), received Feb. 28, 1793, PennsylvaniaPolitics(Vittsburgh, 1938), children fromhis household. He owned GallatinPapers (originalat Pennsylvania 47.In1792, James Hutchinson named two slaves in1790, and later had slaves Historical and Museum Commission); McDowell and Allison, but not inLouisiana. Typescript ofWashington Pittsburgh Gazette, Mar. 30, 1793. Bradford, as political allies ofWilliam County's slave registration lists, at 27 David Redick, et al. to John Breckin- Findley, James Smiley, and Albert Western Pennsylvania HistoricalSociety; ridge,Apr.2,1794, HarryInnes Papers, Gallatin. Neither Findley nor Gallatin Crumrine, ed., Washington County, 259; vol.5,LibraryofCongress (LChereaf- was on particularly friendly terms with U.S. Bureau ofthe Census, Heads of ter);PhilipS. Foner, ed., TheDemocrat- Bradford. Hutchinson to Gallatin,Sept. Familiesat theFirstCensus ofthe United ic-Republican Societies, 1790-1800: A 25, 1792, GallatinPapers (original at States Taken in the Tear 1790: Documentary Sourcebook of Constitu- NYHS). Pennsylvania (Washington, D.C., tions, Declarations, Addresses, Resolu- 30Gallatin toThomas Clare, 9Mar.1793, 1908) 246' Bradford to David Redick, tions, and Toasts (Westport, Conn., and to Jean Badollet, same date, Gallatin Nov. 30, 1801, and Feb. 9, 1803 1976), 127-30, 133-35; WilliamMill- Papers (originals at NYHS). Gallatin's

83 Pittsburgh History, Summer 1991

opinion may have been shaped by tended. NevillePapers, Carnegie Library,Pitts- Bradford's opposition to Gallatin's 42 Brackenridge, Incidents ofthe Insur- burgh (CLP hereafter); printed inPa. election to the Senate the previous rection, 1:66, 3:148. For first-hand ac- Arch., 390-91. There were newspaper month. Ferguson, Early Western counts ofthe discussions inthe commit- reports ofpapers, supposed to contain Pennsylvania Politics, 120. tee that daysee ibid.,1:52-65; 3:83-85, details ofseparatist activities over sever- 31Aug. 1791 Washington County 110-11,119-20. James Carnahan's col- al years, foundinBradford's house after meeting: HamiltonPapers, 17:28-29n6. orful description of Bradford "infull he fled the region. Baldwin, Whiskey Sept. 1791 Pittsburgh meeting: martialuniform," withplumed hat and Rebels, 299n4; Slaughter, Whiskey Re- Brackenridge, Incidents of the drawn sword as he "harangued the bellion, 267nl8. As Baldwin noted, if Insurrection, 3:18; Pa. Arch., 20-22. multitude," findsno support inwitness- such papers really existed they surely Aug. 1792 Pittsburgh meeting: ibid., es' accounts. Carnahan apparently was wouldhave appeared as evidence in the 29-31; answers given by Josiah not present at Braddock's Field. He prosecution or insurgents. Itseems un- Tannehill, [1792-1793], in vol. 2 of gave his account ofthe Whiskey Insur- likely,too, that Bradford, ifinvolved in Pennsylvania Whiskey Rebellion rectionin1852 and didnot cite sources clandestine activities overalongperiod, Collection, 1792-1796, LC (cited of information for most of what he wouldbe so careless as to leave behind hereafter as Pa. Whisk. Reb. Coll.,LC); described. James Carnahan, "ThePenn- damning evidence. Before the Parkin- this meeting's proceedings are also in sylvania Insurrection of 1794, Com- son's Ferry meeting ofAug. 14, Brack- Hamilton Papers, 12:308-09n, and monly Called the 'Whiskey Insurrec- enridge heard vague talk of making Gallatin Papers, reel 1. tion,'" Proceedings of the New Jersey himself orBradford "governor, on this 32 Baldwin, Whiskey Rebels, chapters 3- Historical Society 6 (1853), 127, 145. side ofthe mountains," but at the meet- 4;Slaughter, Whiskey Rebellion, 11-12, Regarding the numbers involved, see ing he "heard not a whisper of the 109, 113, 150-51, 158, 166. Fennell, Baldwin, Whiskey Rebels, 146-47, who kind." Brackenridge, Incidents of the "FromRebelliousness toInsurrection," tried to distinguish between those Insurrection, 1:99. 5-24, puts the assaults on excise officers present at the muster and those who 52Ibid.,1:116-18. These totals allowfor withinthe context ofritualizedviolence marched to Pittsburgh. In addition to six men who later said they voted nay on the Pennsylvania frontier. the sources he cited, see Pittsburgh Ga- through misunderstanding. 33Kohn, ed., "Judge Alexander Addi- zette, Aug. 9, 1794. 53 Speech of AlbertGallatin, 18. son," 53;see also deposition ofWilliam 43 Pittsburgh Gazette, July 26, 1794. 54 Pa. Arch.,212-15, 233-37, 348-59; Goudy, Sept. 29, 1792, Pa. Whisk.Reb. 44 To inhabitants ofMonongalia Coun- WilliamBradford, James Ross, and Jas- Coll.,LC,vol. 1. ty,Aug. 6,1794, inBrackenridge, Inci- per Yeates to Edmund Randolph, Sept. "Baldwin, Whiskey Rebels, 113-20; dents of the Insurrection, l:38n; also 2,1794, and W.Bradford and Yeates to Slaughter, Whiskey Rebellion, 177-81. printed in Pa. Arch., 111-12. For a Randolph, Sept. 5, 1794, Pa. Whisk. 35 Brackenridge, Incidents ofthe Insur- letter toHarrison County residents, see Reb. Coll., LC,vol.1. rection, 3:136,quoting WilliamRawle's Bradford to J.McCally,K.Robinson, T. 55 Brackenridge, Incidents of the Insur- notes oftrialtestimony. Cottrall, and J. Black, Aug. 6, 1794 rection^ 2:20, 28-29: submission for 36Bradford to James Ross, Oct. 4,1794, (contemporary copy), Executive Papers Washington Township, and statement Timothy Pickering Papers, Massachu- ofHenry Lee, box 86, VSL,printed in bythe county's justices and committee- setts Historical Society (MHS hereaf- William P. Palmer, ed., Calendar of men, Pa. Whisk. Reb. Coll.,LC,vol.2. ter); Bradford to Governor Thomas VirginiaState Papers and Other Manu- 56 Brackenridge, Incidents of the Mifflin,Oct. 4, 1794, Pa. Arch., 396- scripts(Richmond, 1875-1893), 7:249. Insurrection, 2:32-35 (quotation p.33). 97. Slaughter, Whiskey Rebellion, 45 Brackenridge, Incidents of the Insur- 57 Jackson and Twohig,eds., Diaries of 268n33 and 271n29, mistakenly identi- rection, 1:87, 3:138, including Rawle's George Washington, 6:183-86. fies TimothyPickering as the recipient notes ofGallatin's testimony. 58 Brackenridge declared that Bradford ofthe letter to Ross. 46 Marshel's manuscript copy ofhis res- "was out of the amnesty, no doubt, by 37 Brackenridge, Incidents ofthe Insur- olutions is in Gallatin Papers, reel 3, his speech at Brownsville," but rection, 1:32, 3:86. In describing Brad- under the date Aug. 14, 1794 (original acknowledged that the issue of who ford's conduct Ihave relied on state- at NYHS). wouldfallwithin the terms ofa general ments byeyewitnesses as much as possi- 47 Brackenridge, Incidents ofthe Insur- pardon was unclear. Brackenridge, ble. rection, 1:87-99, 3:137-39; The Speech Incidents of the Insurrection, 2:29, 33- 38 Ibid.,1:38-39. ofAlbert Gallatin ... in the House of 34. 39Alexander Fulton, petition to George Representatives of the General Assembly 59Legend has itthat he "jumped from a Washineton,n.d., Pa. Whisk.Reb. Coll., ofPennsylvania, on the Important Ques- rear window" ofhis house to escape LC, vol. 1; Brackenridge, Incidents of tion Touching the Validity ofthe Elec- capture, but the dragoons never got the Insurrection, 3:82, 97-98, 121-22; tionsHeld inthe Four Western Counties that close to him.George Swetnam and also ibid., 1:38-39, 45, and Findley, oftheState.. .(Philadelphia, 1795), 14- Helene Smith, AGuidebook toHistoric History ofthe Insurrection, 93-94. For 17 (and 53-54 for Marshel's original Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, the muster call see Brackenridge, Inci- resolutions alongside the resolutions as 1976), 214. dents oftheInsurrection, 1:40-41n; Find- adopted). 60 Isaac Craig to ,Oct. 20, ley,History ofthe Insurrection, 94-95; 48 Brackenridge, Incidents ofthe Insur- 1794, inKenneth A.White, ed., "'Such Pa. Arch., 78-79. rection, 1:102-07 (quotation p. 104), Disorders Can Only Be Cured by toCol.DavidWilliamson,in 3:139 (Rawle's notes); Speech ofAlbert Copious Bleedings': The Brackenridge, Incidents ofthe Insurrec- Gallatin, 17. For the exchanges be- Correspondence ofIsaac Craig During tion, 3:128. For the circumstances of tween the commissioners and the com- the Whiskey Rebellion," Western the countermand order see ibid.,1:42- mittee, see Report ofthe Commissioners-, Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 67 43,and Findley,HistoryoftheInsurrec- papers inthePa. Whisk. Reb. Coll.,LC, (1984), 238 (fromCraig Papers, CLP). tion, 103-04. vol. 1;and printed versions inPa. Arch. Alexander Hamiltonreported the same 41 Brackenridge, Incidents ofthe Insur- 49 Brackenridge, Incidents of the Insur- thing on Oct. 25,perhaps withCraigas rection, 1:43, Findley, History of the rection, 1:111-16 (quotation p. 116); his source, since both also referred to Insurrection, 104. Thomas Stokely may Speech" ofAlbertGallatin, 18. Alexander Fulton. Hamilton Papers, have been Brackenridge's source ofin- 5 Findley, History ofthe Insurrection, 17:342-43. formation about the meeting, which 124-25. 61 Captain Francis D'Hebecourt to neither Brackenridge nor Findley at- 51 Addison deposition, [1794], copy in Henry Lee, Nov. 10, 1794, and Lee to

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D'Hebecourt,Nov.22, 1794, Pa. Arch., Pardons, 1789-1860, RG 59, NA. 1800, Sargent Papers, MHS. 450-5 1,470-71.For the efforts toarrest 68 Bradford to Redick, July 24, 1800, 75 To Mifffin,Oct. 4, 1794, Pa. Arch., and punish those who protected Nov. 30, 1801, May 30, 1805, July 1, 396-97. Bradford on the contractors' boat, see: 1805 (typescripts), Bradford Letters, 76 To Ross, Oct. 4, 1794, Pickering HamiltonPapers, 17: 418n2; Clarence LSU; Ross to Sargent, Oct. 4, 1800, Papers, MHS. E.Carter, ed., The TerritorialPapers of Sargent Papers, MHS. 77 Petition to President John Adams, the United States, vol. 3 (Washington, 69 At the Bradford House museum in Sept. 20,1798, RG 59, NA. D.C., 1934), 427-29; William Henry Washington, Pa., his death is said to 78 Bradford to Ross, Oct. 4, 1794, Smith, ed., TheSt. ClairPapers: TheLife have occurred in1810. Documents in Pickering Papers, MHS. # and Public Services ofArthur St. Clair the Bradford Family Papers, LSU, 79 Brackenridce, Incidents of the (Cincinnati, 1882), 2:336; Isaac Craig confirmonlythat he was no longer alive Insurrection, 3:150. Brackenridge *s to Anthony Wayne, Dec. 3, 1794, in inDecember 1816. informant was John Hoilingsworth, who White, ed., '"Such Disorders'", 241- 70 Brackenridge, Incidents of the had seen BradfordinNewOrleans. Ibid., 42; and Alexander Addison to William Insurrection, 1:30-31,32,55, 105, 118- 113. According to Ross, Bradford Bradford, June 24,1795, Wallace Papers, 20; 3:10, 150. Claude MiltonNewlin's suggested, after proposing that the 3:32, HSP. editionofModern Chivalry(New York, militiaatBraddocrs Fieldshould march 62 Patent forlot #110, Beaver, Pa., July 1937) combines the various components through Pittsburgh, "that the news of 31, 1798, Vertical File, Maryland of the novel originallypublished from five thousand men having marched Historical Society; Bradford's letters to 1792 to 1815. through that place, would strike terror DavidRedick inBradford Letters, and 71 Brackenridge, Incidents of the into the minds ofallbelow, whomight papers relating to land transactions in Insurrection, 1:87-88, 92-93, 94-95, dream ofpunishing any thing that had Bradford Family Papers, LSU. 104. been done." Ibid.,120. See also Speech 63 Zadok Cramer, The Navigator:Eighth 72 Baldwin, Whiskey Rebels, 138, 196, ofAlbertGallatin, 11;Findley,Htstory Edition(Pittsburgh, 1814; reprint,Ann 271, 291n8, 292n4; Thomas P. of° theInsurrection, 109. Arbor, Mich., 1966), 221; William Slaughter, "The Friends ofLiberty,the 8 Bradford to Ross, Oct. 4, 1794, Darby, A Geographical Description of Friends of Order, and the Whiskey Pickering Papers, MHS. theState ofLouisiana, the Southern Part Rebellion: AHistoriographical Essay," 81 Addison deposition, Neville Papers, oftheState ofMississippi, and Territoryof inBoyd,ed., WhiskeyRebellion, 11,15; CLP; also inPa Arch.,390-91. Alabama, 2nd ed. (New York, 1817), Slaughter, Whiskey Rebellion, 183-86, 82 Brackenridge, Incidents of the 94-95; Bradford to Redick, Nov. 30, 201. Fennell, "From Rebelliousness to Insurrection, 1:103-04. 1801, Feb. 9, 1803, Aug. 20, 1805 Insurrection," andJacob E.Cooke, "The 83 Bradford's petition to President John (typescripts), Bradford Letters, LSU. Whiskey Insurrection: ARe-evaluation," Adams, Sept. 20, 1798, RG 59, NA. 64 Albert Gallatin to Hannah Gallatin, Pennsylvania History 30 (1963), were Bradford's Oct. 5, 1794, letter toIsaac May8,1795, to JeanBadollet,May20, less distracted by Brackenridge's Craig, published inWhite, ed., "'Such 1795, and to Thomas Clare, May 30, depiction ofBradford. Disorders,'" 235-36, gives Bradford's 1795, Gallatin Papers (originals at 73 Findley, History ofthe Insurrection, version ofconversations withBracken- NYHS); William Rawle to Alexander 124-25. ridge,but provides noexplanation ofhis Addison, Aug. 15, 1795, Pa. Arch., 74 Ross to Winthrop Sargent, Oct. 4, own behavior. On the subject of this 535-36. 65 HenryLee's Nov.1794 proclamation, ibid.,479-80, and inHamiltonPapers, 17:380nl4. See also Rawle toAddison, Dec. 24, 1794, Pa. Arch., 2nd. Ser., 4:500-02. Alexander Hamilton's instructions regarding those excluded fromthe pardon are intheRawlePapers, 1:111, HSP, and printed inHamilton Papers, 17:378. The draft of Washington's 1795 proclamation, from which Bradford was exempted as an indicted fugitive, is in Petitions for Pardons, 1789-1860,Box l,Misc.Files —Washington's Term, General Records of the Department of State (Record Group 59),NationalArchives (hereafter RG 59, NA). 66 Lee to Washington, Apr. 18, 1796, and Apr. 25, 1796, Pa. Whisk. Reb. Coll.,LC,vol.2.See also the petition of some Washington, Pa., residents (including James Allison, Bradford's brother-in-law), Dec. 3, 1795, asking that the president's pardon be extended toeveryone withoutexception, and copy ofreply, Apr. 24, 1796, ibid. 67 Bradford to Ellicott, Oct. 5, 1798, and Ellicott to Ross, Nov. 9, 1798 (draft), Ellicott Papers, LC; Ross to Winthrop Sargent, Apr. 11, 1799, Winthrop Sargent Papers, MHS;papers relating to Bradford's pardon, case #19, Adams Administration, Petitions for

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