Washington’s Gamble began when frontier war threatened the survival of the Revolution itself. The growing violence on the western frontiers of Pennsylvania and New York left him little choice. It was one he had hoped to avoid. But it was the response demanded by Congress. The steady stream of reports from the frontier forced them to act.
Zebulon Butler, who led the defense (and retreat) during the Wyoming Massacre, attested to continued incursions. In a letter to General Hand on March 23, 1779, the Pennsylvanian wrote, “…after severe skirmishing for two hours and a half, the enemy carried off sixty head of horned cattle, 20 horses, and shot my riding horse, which they could not catch, and burnt five barns that were partly full of grain and hay, and 10 houses, which the inhabitants had deserted. They shot a number of hogs and sheep, that they left lying.” He asked that the information be relayed to General Washington.1
Even before Butler’s letter to Hand, Congress had received letters from the governors of Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York. On February 25, 1779, they appointed their Commander-in-Chief to raise five companies of rangers. The resolution directed Washington to Continue Reading “Washington’s Gamble – The Sullivan–Clinton Campaign”
Competing Dreams For The Genesee Country—Part I: John Livingston and the Lessees
Before Hartford, uncertainty reigned. Competing state claims clouded ownership and discouraged investment. The treaty transformed a disputed wilderness into a marketable asset. Speculators, investors, politicians, and settlers quickly recognized the opportunity.
While Hartford settled one argument, it spawned several new ones.
By the beginning of 1787, two roads stretched westward across a region that would one day become the Crossroads of America. Each promised prosperity. Each attracted ambitious followers. Yet each offered a very different vision for the future of the Genesee Country.
With the ink on the Treaty of Hartford barely dried, ambitious men set out along both roads.
The race to the future had begun.
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Why has history forgotten John Livingston? While his accomplishments pale in comparison to Continue Reading “Competing Dreams For The Genesee Country—Part I: John Livingston and the Lessees”