EYEWITNESS 1793: Morale was major issue at local military camp
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When the "Legion of the United States" left its camp in Pittsburgh in the fall of 1792, its commander hoped the move to a more isolated spot would discourage soldiers from deserting.
Multiple reward announcements in several 1793 issues of the Pittsburgh Gazette indicate Gen. Anthony Wayne's tactic was not completely successful.
Lt. Nathaniel Huston offered a $10 reward in the Feb. 2 edition of the newspaper for the capture of a recruit named Nathaniel Butler. Butler was "about 23 years old, 5 feet 10 inches high, slim made, fair hair, took part of his regimental clothing."
Capt. Edward Burke had a personal reason for tracking down soldier Paul Reardon and his wife, Mary, who worked as a servant for the officer. She "stole a number of articles from my house" before she "absconded" with her husband. "[S]he is a small hussy, with black hair [and] talks with the brogue," Burke wrote. He offered $10 rewards for the return of each.
President George Washington had sent Wayne, a hero of the American Revolution, to Pittsburgh to train a professional army to subdue a coalition of Indian tribes. The Native American warriors, supported by the British, who had their own designs on the region, were seeking to drive American farmers and traders out of the new nation's Northwest Territory.
Within a few months of Wayne's arrival, he made the decision to relocate his camp to a more isolated spot about 22 miles down the Ohio River. He built a new "cantonment" called Legionville, north of present-day Ambridge in Harmony Township.
To break up the tedium of training and service in a isolated garrison, Wayne ordered a "General Review" of his army for Feb. 22 to mark "the anniversary birth day of the President of the United States."
First Published June 13, 2010 12:00 am
