The St. Clair papers. The life and public services of Arthur St. Clair, soldier of the Revolutionary War; president of the Continental Congress; and governor of the North-western territory; with his correspondence and other papers

Preface

It is evident, from the popular interest manifested in the centennial celebrations of the past six years, that the principles involved in the Revolutionary War are no less dear to the American heart to-day than when Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, October 19, 1781, and that whatever contributes to a more thorough understanding' of that remarkable contest ; whatever tends to bring into clearer view the labors and the sacrifices of the principal characters— "Washington and his faithful associates — will receive a hearty welcome. The first of these volumes presents new material covering the period of the war and the ensuing years of political uncertainty down to the time when Arthur St. Clair retired from the President's chair of the Continental Congress. In some respects, it is cumulative of the facts contained in the Writings of Washington as to the privations and sufferings, the patriotism and courage of the Continental soldiers; and on that account has a certain value. But the reader will find new evidence bearing on disputed points and a new presentation of facts heretofore misrepresented, notably concerning the enterprises on the Delaware in December, 1776, and the evacuation of Ticoncleroga and Mount Independence in the following year, whereby it is hoped something more than the shadow of justice is rendered at last to the memory of one of Washington's most loyal friends. The correspondence betweeen St. Clair and President Reed, and between St. Clair and Washington, is especially interesting, as it presents in bold and striking colors the difficulties that con- Cm)

iv Preface.

stantly beset the commander-in-chief, arising from short enlistments, want of a treasury, the jealousies of the States, and inefficiency of the central authority.

That a people living in communities with distinct governments, without experience in military affairs, without a common treasury, without arms other than those provided for the protection of their own homes, without organized means of defense, should have the temerity to contest the field with a powerful kingdom, having unlimited financial resources and trained soldiery, was remarkable. But more remarkable was the exhibition of self-control and wisdom, after the demoralization of an eight years' war, which established a national government, acceptable to the thirteen distinct communities — founded & republican government upon the rock of constitutional law. The same wisdom, contemplating an extension of the blessings of free government, even before the Union was sealed, formed and established an Ordinance for the government of the vast territory lying north-west of the river Ohio, containing every principle and privilege essential to the happiness and greatness of a people. From the presidency of the body that created this famous Ordinance, Arthur St. Clair passed to the control of the government under it.

Of the actual work done by Governor St. Clair in laying the foundations of government under the Ordinance of 1787, little is known. The information that has come down to us has been fragmentary and unofficial. The second volume of this work is an attempt to supply this defect. The large amount of wholly new material employed in it has been obtained from various sources — from the papers left by General St. Clair and preserved by his fam= ily, from the archives of the State and War Departments, and from private sources.

It will be expected that reference should be made here

Preface, v

to the noble part taken by the State of Ohio in securing and preserving from destruction the valuable papers left by St. Clair. When, in 1869, the Western Reserve Historical Society announced that these papers were in the possession of the heirs of Colonel Robert Graham, deceased, residing in Kansas, an unsuccessful effort was made in the General Assembly to secure an appropriation for their purchase. Subsequently, upon the recommendation of that society, Governor Hayes appointed Mr. Joseph Perkins, of Cleveland, to represent the State in a negotiation for the purchase. Mr. Perkins, unable to make a journey to Kansas to examine the papers, appointed Mr. Alfred T. Goodman, secretary of the society, his agent for that purpose. Mr. Goodman made a careful examination. He reported that the papers were in bad condition, " many of the important manuscripts being mice eaten, and rendered almost worthless from the ravages of time." He fixed the value at two thousand dollars, whereas they were scheduled in the list of the personal property of Colonel Graham at five thousand. Judge P. St. Clair Graham, administrator, subsequently produced the papers at Cincinnati for further examination by the members of the Ohio Historical and Philosophical Society. While they were lying here, other descendants of St. Clair were induced to go before Judge Storer, of the Superior Court of Cincinnati, and apply for an injunction against Graham, to restrain the latter from selling the manuscripts. This was done to set at rest the title. The court appointed the sheriff receiver. The final decision was in favor of the heirs-at-law represented by Mr. Graham. The question of title having been settled, the Ohio Historical and Philosophical Society sent a memorial to the General Assembly, praying for the purchase and preservation of the papers. Gi-ovornor Hayes recommended the measure in a vi Preface.

special message, and with characteristic public spirit the Legislature, during the session of 1870, made the necessary appropriation. The papers were carefully arranged by Miss Mary C. Harbaugh, assistant librarian. The task was a difficult one, as many of the papers were mutilated, many without beginning or end, and many more without address or signature.

Since then, there has been great uncertainty as to the preservation of the autograph letters. The Commissioners of the Ohio State Library recommended their publication, in order that "they be not left a prey to be carried off piece-meal by seekers after literary curiosities," and, in his last annual message, Governor Foster gave the recommendation his approval. The General Assembly, wisely and with commendable unanimity, directed the publication of the papers, in a joint resolution adopted on the 21st day of February last. The action of the present Commissioners, under the authority above recited, is shown by the following transcript from their records :

The Board of Library Commissioners, having considered the resolution of the General Assembly of February 21, 1881, directing the publication of the St. Clair Papers, and the method for carrying out the instructions of the said resolution, it is hereby

Resolved, That the Librarian be authorized to receive propositions from publishers who are prepared to execute the woik within the time prescribed, and in a creditable manner, and to arrange with some one familiar with the papers and the subjects embraced therein, to prepare them for publication.

After consultation with various publishers, and careful consideration of the whole subject, it was deemed advisable to employ the well-known house of Robert Clarke & Co to publish the work, and to place the papers in the hands of Hon Wm Henry Smith, formerly Secretary of State of Ohio, who, it was known, had spent years in studying the career of Arthur St Clair, and in collecting material covering that interesting period of American history.

Board of Li- C CH A RLES* FOSTER, Governor,

brary Com-} CHARLES TOWNSEND, Secretary of State, missioners. (.JOS. H. GEIGER, Librarian.

An examination of the papers showed that not only

Preface. vii

were they badly defaced and fragmentary, but that the letters in the handwriting of St. Clair were original drafts, which frequently differed from the perfected letters as transmitted to his correspondents. To correct these, it became necessary to have recourse to my own private collection, and to originals in possession of manuscript collectors in different parts of the country. While occasionally meeting with disappointments, I have succeeded beyond my most sanguine expectations, though only through infinite labor.

To present to the reader a truthful picture of the theater to which Arthur St. Clair was invited by the last Continental Congress, and include in the work a comprehensive history of the North-western Territory under him, it became necessary to draw liberally from a collection of Harmar papers, originally intended for use in another work, and from a compilation of the official records of the Executive of the North-western Territory from 1795 to the close of 1802, also designed for an independent work. The records in possession of the State come down no later than the year 1795.

I am indebted to General James T. Worthington, of Chillicothe, for the privilege of using the manuscripts of his distinguished father, Governor Worthington, to explain more fully than the papers of St. Clair do the political contest from 1800 to 1808, which ended in the removal of the Governor and the admission of the Eastern District into the Union. Thus both sides are presented to the reader. The political methods by which the downfall of the friend of Washington and the leader of the Federalist party in the West was accomplished, and a new Republican State secured for the support of Mr. Jefferson in his ambitious political schemes, are here laid before the reader for the first time.

viii Preface.

It only remains for me to acknowledge my indebtedness to Colonel Charles Whittlesey, Mr. John T. Perry, Mr. C. W. Butterfield, and Mr. Robert Clarke, for valuable suggestions ; and to Mr. Joseph G. Siebeneck (of Pittsburgh), Mr. B. H. Hinds (of the Treasury Department), Mr. E. T. Hall (of the State Executive Department), and Colonel D. C. Cox (when a Government official at Washington), for aid in procuring copies of correspondence. The importance of this service can only be fully appreciated by those who have attempted to obtain access to the treasures of a hundred years ago.

December 8, 1881.

Contents

LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES.

Chapter I

1734-1775 — Birth and Education — Services in the French War — Mapriage — Lord Dunmore's War and the Boundary Troubles between Pennsylvania and Virginia 1

Chapter II

1775-1777 — Meeting at Hannastown to Protest against Aggressions of Great Britain — Treaty with Indians at Pittsburgh — St. Clair Suggests Expedition to Detroit — Appointed Colonel of Second Pennsylvania — Covers Retreat from Canada — Sickness and Demoralization of Army on Border of Lake Champlain — St. Clair Ordered to Reinforce Washington — Desperate Straits of the Army — Suffering in the Winter — Battles of Trenton and Princeton— St. Clair Suggests an Ingenious Movement by which the Army Eludes the British — Brilliant Results 12

chapter III

1777 — St. Clair, Promoted to be Major-General, Ordered to an Important Command in the Northern Department — Evacuation of ■ Forts Ticonderoga and Independence — It Results in the Surrender of Burgoyne and the Triumph of the American Cause..... 45

chapter IV

1777-1783 — St. Clair joins General Washington, and becomes a Member of his Military Family — Participates in the Battle of Brandywine — Important Services — Shares in the Sufferings of Valley Forge — St. Clair faithful to Washington in the Midst of Cabals ■ — Troubles in the Pennsylvania Line, and Labors of President Reed and St. Clair to adjust them — Assault on Stony Point — Post of

(ix)

x Contents.

Honor held by St. Clair's Division, in 1780 — A Commissioner to arrange a Cartel for Exchange of Prisoners — Treason of Arnold and Death of Andre — St. Clair sent to command West Point — Offered the command of Corps of Light Infantry — Revolt of the Pennsylvania Line — Recruiting for the Final Struggle — Marches to Support of Greene in South Carolina — Close of the War — Mutiny of Pennsylvania Recruits — Alarm in Philadelphia — St Clair sent for — Congress adjourns to Princeton 97

chapter v

1783-1787 — Return to Civil Life — Loss of Fortune — Engages in Business— A Member of the Board of Censors — Elected a Delegate to Congress from Philadelphia County — Chosen President of the last Continental Congress — Great Gift to Freedom — History of the Ordinance of 1787 — St. Clair Elected Governor of the Northwestern Territory .c 116

Chapter VI

The North-western Territory— Arrival of Governor St Clair at Fort Harmar — Interesting Ceremonies — Address to the Settlers at Campus Martius — Auspicious Beginning of the Work of Establishing Civil Government — Claim of the Indians to the Territory, and its Importance to Them — Adopting Laws — Difference with the Judges — Establishment of the First Court in the North-west — Social Life on the Muskingum — Louisa St. Clair — Treaty at Fort Harmar— Influence of Joseph Brant and his British Allies — -Confederacy of Indian Nations — Arrival at Fort Washington — Cincinnati Named, and why — Organization of Counties and Local Governments in the Illinois and Wabash Countries — Temptation to Return to Political Life in Pennsylvania — Proposition to Make St. Clair Governor of that State 137

chapter vii

Ominous Signs observed in the Indian Country — The Chieftain Brant and the British Again at work — Depredations on the Frontiers — ■ Failure of Attempts to Negotiate a Peace — The Indians Demand that the Whites Shall Remove east of the Ohio — Vigorous Measures Resolved on— St. Clair's Conferences with Secretary of War — Successful Expeditions of Scott and Wilkinson — Expedition of

Contents. xi

General Harmar and Severe Encounters with the Indians — St. Clair appointed Major-General and Commander-in-Chief — His Disastrous Campaign — Responsibility op the War Department — Scandalous Conduct of the Quartermaster-General- — Report of Congressional Committee Vindicating St. Clair from Blame — Massacres of the White Settlers — Reorganization of Army Under General Wayne — Failure of Negotiations Result in Conquering a Peace — Murder of Messengers — Legend of Louisa St. Clair 167

Chapter VIII

1793-1798 — Interest in National Politics — Against the French Party— The Scheme to Return to Pennsylvania Abandoned — Second Stage of Government in the North-western Territory — Meeting of the Legislature — Important Work in the Revision of the Code of Laws — Rafid Increase in Population — The Connecticut Land Company — Commotion at Post Vincennes and Judge Turner— Political Excitement — Spanish and British Intrigues in the North-western Territory and Kentucky — Influence and Brilliant Talents of Wilkinson — Proclamation of St. Clair Warning Against the French Agents — George Rogers Clarke a French Major-General — Division of People of Territory into Parties , 186

chapter IX

1797-1802— Advancement of Winthrop Sargent — William Henry Harrison appointed Secretary — New Stage in the Territorial Government— Popular Election of Legislature — Absolute Veto of the Governor — Right to Erect New Counties in Dispute — Popularity of St. Clair — His Efforts to Preserve the Rights of the People — The Common Law — Important Services of Jacob Burnet — Influence of the Great Land Holders — Attempts to introduce Slavery— Kentucky Claims Jurisdiction over Ohio River — Address to President Adams — Division of the Territory — Harrison Governor of Indiana Territory — The Virginia Colony in the Scioto Valley — Political Schemes — Antagonism to Governor St. Clair — His Ability as a Leader and Strength with his Party — Intrigue to Secure his Removal Defeated — Reappointed Governor by President Adams — Movement for a State Government — Counter Movement — xii Contents.

Bitterness of Political Divisions — Colonel Worthington in Washington— Triumph of the State Party — Attempt to Secure the Eemoyal of St. Clair through Jefferson, and its Failure — Contention to Form a State Constitution — Address of Governor St. Clair and its Consequences — True History of the Intrigues against Him and His Removal , 207

Chapter X

1803-1818 — Closing Days — Importance of the Work of St. Clair in the North-western Territory — A Wilderness Civilized and a People made Prosperous and Happy — Return of the Veteran to Ligonier — Financial Affairs — The Government of the United States pleads the Statute of Limitations, which Act, with the Aid of the Embargo Law, brings St. Clair's Estate to Forced Sale, and reduces the old Soldier and Family to Poverty — Depth of Party Prejudices— St. Clair removes to Chestnut Ridge — Visited by Distinguished Citizens — Interesting Relic of the Revolutionary Period — Privations endured — Sympathy of New York Ladies — Ingratitude— The Last of Earth 248

THE ST. CLAIR PAPERS.

CORRESPONDENCE, ADDRESSES, ETC. 1771-1775 — Boundary Troubles between Pennsylvania and Virginia — Lord Dunmore's Indian War 257

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

Correspondence between St. Clair and Washington, Schuyler, Reed, Wilson, and others 363

LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES

ARTHUR ST. CLAIR.

Chapter I

1734-1775 — Birth and Education— Services in the French War— Marriage— Lord Dunmore's War and the Boundary Troubles between Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The St. Clairs figure prominently in history, song, and story.1 In Normandy, they controlled lands, castles, and troops of men, and were closely allied to royal blood. In the eleventh century, "William de St. Clair, second son of Walderne Compte de St. Clair, and Margaret, daughter to Richard, Duke of Normandy, settled in Scotland, and soon his name appeared on the roll of the followers of Malcom Csenmore, and, thenceforward, for generations, his descendants are found in loyal support of the monarchs of that country. The St. Clairs shared in the triumphs and the humiliations of the House of Stuart, receiving honors on the one hand, and accepting exile and poverty on the other. Reconciled to the union of Scotland with England and the Protestant succession, they continued devotedly attached to royalty, without exception, until the signal gun in the American war of Independence was fired ; but whether as Catholic or Protestant, monarchist or republican, always displaying a martial spirit, and al-

xSee Song of Harold ("bard of brave St. Clair"), and Note, in " The Lay of the Last Minstrel" Canto VI. And also Captain Wedderburn's Courtship, English and Scottish Ballads, Vol VI IT.

ways true to the cause espoused. We have here to do with the republican St. Clair, one of the best and noblest of the race, whose good fortune it was to be the friend and associate of "Washington and La Fayette in the struggle for Independence, and the first Chief Magistrate under the Ordinance of 1787.

Arthur St. Clair was born in the town of Thurso, in Caithness, Scotland, in the year 1734. The month or day is not known. He was a descendant of a noble family,1 and inherited the fine personal appearance and manly traits, remarked in both French and English history, of the St. Clairs. His father, being a younger son, possessed neither lands nor title, and died at an early age, from the effects of a life of idleness and pleasure. In his other parent Arthur St. Clair was more fortunate, as she supplied not only the affection and tender care of a devoted mother, but also the aid and counsel which had been due from the father. At an early age, St. Clair was entered at the University of Edinburgh, and, it having been determined that he should follow a professional life, in due course he was indentured to the celebrated Dr. William Hunter, of London. But it is evident the life of a student of medicine had no charms for him, since upon the death

1 The generally accepted opinion that Arthur St. Clair was a grandson of the then Earl of Koslin, is erroneous. They were descendants of a common ancestor. When Arthur St. Clair was Governor of the Northwestern Territory, he was applied to by William St Clair, youngest son of the Earl of Roslin, and brother of Lieutenant-Colonel James St Clair, of the British Army, for assistance in getting into business in the North-western Territory He was then in Canada (as the Detroit country was called), and had been unfortunate in some business enterprise. When Governor St. Clair organized the Illinois country, he appointed William St. Clair Clerk of the Courts of St. Clair County William St. Clair invested largely in lands, and located at Cahokia His family failing to get replies to letters addressed to him, finally applied to Governor St Clair for information William St. Clair died at Cahokia while Arthur St. Clair was yet Governor, and it was reported left his landed property to Arthur St Clair, Jr General Arthur St Clair was related by marriage to General Thomas Gage, who was recalled by his government after the conflict with the Colonists c,t Lexington of his mother in the winter of 1756-57, little more than a year after he was indentured, he purchased his time with a part of the money he inherited, and through the influence of friends obtained an ensign's commission in the Sixtieth or Royal American regiment of Foot. 1 The commission bears date May 13, 1757, so that St. Clair was about twenty-three years of age when he entered the military service of the King of Great Britain. The succeeding year was passed in acquiring familiarity with the duties of his position. On the 28th of May, 1758, St. Clair arrived, with Amherst, before Louisburg. There were gathered here men soon to become famous, and Ensign St. Clair was offered an opportunity to study the art of war on the most active field. "With such men as Wolfe and Moncton, Murray and Lawrence, there was little chance for idleness, while the martial spirit ever displayed by them was calculated to stir a youth to deeds of emulation. So well had Ensign St. Clair borne his part in the affair of Louisburg, he received the commendation of his superior officers, and a recommendation for promotion. A lieutenant's commission was issued to him, bearing date April 17, 1759. It was his good fortune now to be assigned to the command of General Wolfe, who had been selected to reduce Quebec. Since the 13th of September of that memorable year, which decided the fate of the French in America, the story of the first battle on the Plains of Abraham has continued to thrill the hearts of the youth of two nations, and keep green the memory of the opposing heroes — Wolfe and Montcalm, equal in military genius, in courage and patriotic devotion to country. That story need not be repeated here. This only interests us, that our St. Clair took a conspicuous part in that brilliant and

1The Royal American regiment was projected by the Duke of Cumberland. It consisted of four battalions of 1,000 men each The First and Second battalions, which were the most noted, were com mancled respectively by Moncton and Lawrence. In 1758, Major General Amherst was appointed Commander-in-Chief of all of the forces in America, and Colonel of the Sixtieth regiment St. Clair was a subordinate in the second battalion.

fatal affair, and that lie bore himself as a brave soldier should in battle. His battalion had been joined with other light troops under command of Colonel Howe,1 who had been elected to the post of honor in scaling the heights.

These, " who found themselves borne by the current a little below the intrenched path, clambered up the steep hill, staying themselves by the roots and boughs of the maple and spruce and ash trees that covered the precipitous declivity, and, after a little firing, dispersed the picket which guarded the height. The rest ascended safely by the pathway. A battery of four guns on the left was abandoned to Colonel Howe."2 Then came the fatal struggle on the plains, during which Lieutenant St. Clair seized the colors, which had fallen from the hand of a dying soldier, and bore them until the field was won by the British. 3

General Murray, with five thousand men, including the Royal Americans, was left in the garrison. He pushed his outposts as far as Lorette, and Sainte-Foye, two or three leagues from Quebec; and a war of skirmishings continued, despite the season's rigor. Through great effort the defenses were completed so as to sustain a siege, in time to check the French, who, under De Levis, were moving in strong force to recapture the ancient capital of Canada. The garrison was greatly reduced by death, caused by lack of fresh provisions. St. Clair shared in all of the labors and privations of the winter, and in the

1 Afterward, Sir William Howe, and Commander-in-Chief of the British army in America.

2 Bancroft, Vol IV , p. 333. M. Garneau in his " ~U Histoire du Canada" says the light infantry were headed by Wolfe, but the statement made by Bancroft, that Colonel Howe was the leader, and by his troops covered the ascent of the main body, is confirmed by Hildreth. It is also confirmed by Alex Johnston, friend and neighbor of St. Clair, in his declining years, who has furnished the Western Keserve Historical Society with " Recollections " of conversations with St. Clair.

3 MS. See also Wilkinsons Memoirs, Chap. 2, p. 84: "He" [St. Clair] " served at the taking of Louisburg under General Amherst, and in the next campaign carried a pair of colors on the Plains of Abraham."

severe battle of the Buttes-a-Neveu, which, was brought on by the rash bravery of Murray. The French now entered on a regular siege ; the position of the British became desperate, and they were only saved from defeat and the loss of Quebec by the opportune arrival of some ships, which caused De Levis to raise the siege,1 and retire to Montreal. Thither he was followed by Murray, who was joined by Amherst with a large force of fresh troops, and* the French were besieged in turn. It soon becoming evident to M. de Vaudreuil that his cause was hopeless, he directed De Levis to arrange with the enemy for terms, and articles of capitulation were signed September 8, 1760. By this act, Montreal, Presque Isle, Detroit, Mackinaw, and all of the other posts in the Western country which had been founded by the Jesuits, and had so long been the pride of the French, passed under the control of the British. The time was not distant when these became of deeper interest and far greater importance to the American colonists; when from their very gates issued a savage foe, the allies of brethren here present, whose cruelties filled with terror the borders stretching to the southward for a thousand miles !

Doubtless, to none in the British army was the cessation of severe campaign work more welcome than to young St. Clair. He had, since his arrival in America, formed a tender attachment, and it is reasonable to suppose that his ardent temperament would lead him to prefer the society of his beloved to associations on the tented field, though never so glorious. It appears that after the siege of Quebec was raised he obtained a furlough and repaired to Boston, where he was married to Miss Phoebe Bayard, daughter of Bel thazar Bayard and Mary Bowdoin, his wife, who was a half-sister of Governor James Bowdoin. Flow an acquaintance was brought about between these young people is not known, but it is presumed that during St. Clair's service and frequent visits to Boston, where he was sent on military business to the governor, he made the acquaintance of the Bowdoins and Bayards, and improved

1 Knox s Historical Journal.

the opportunity to fall in love with the young lady, who was thoroughly educated, of amiable disposition and agreeable manners. Ensign St. Clair, a favorite of popular British commanders, a descendant of an ancient and distinguished Scotch family, tall, graceful, dignified, with chestnut hair, handsome blue-gray eyes, and blonde complexion, master of all of the accomplishments of the drawing-room, including the art of entertaining conversation, could not fail to be an acceptable visitor in the best families of Boston, and suitor for the hand of such a young lady as Miss Phccbe Bayard. It has been suggested by Hon. Bobert C. Winthrop, * that there may be a clue to St. Clair's marriage with a Bowdoin, in the fact that Major "William Erving (who endowed the Erving Professorship of Chemistry at Harvard College), was a brother of Mrs. Governor Bowdoin, and served as an Aide-de- Camp to "Wolfe at Quebec. He and St. Clair were doubtless friends, and through him a proper introduction at Boston would follow.

By this marriage, St. Clair received the sum of £14,000, being a legacy to his wife from her grandfather, James Bowdoin. This sum, added to what he had saved of his own fortune, made St. Clair a man of wealth, and the brilliant prospect before him influenced him to hasten the time when he should retire from the army. On the lGtli of April, 1762, he resigned his commission, and spent some time in Boston. Mr. Alex. Johnston, and other friends of St. Clair in Western Pennsylvania, were of the opinion that he assisted in repelling the Indians from that section in 17G3, the year when the articles of peace were signed, and that he commanded, for a time, at Fort Ligonicr, in which service he received the title of Captain. A writer in the National IntelUycncer, in a skecch of the services of St. Clair, declared that General Gage appointed him to take command of the forts in Western Pennsylvania. The only documentary confirmation of this, in St. Clair's own hand, is a letter2 written to the President of Pennsylvania

1 In a letter to Alfred T Goodman, Esq

2 Pennsylvania Ai chives, Vol. X, p. 483: It is said by one writer, in 1785, in which he says that a part of the grounds at Fort Pitt were granted to him by General Gage.1 It is certain that he resigned from the British army in 1762, as before stated, and if he served in Western Pennsylvania, it must have been under a different commission. Be this as it may, there is reason to believe that in the year 1764, St. Clair and his young wife removed first to Bedford, and then to the Ligonier Valley, where he had acquired a large tract of land, partly by purchase and partly by grant by the King, for his services in the French war. The fine stretch of valley land, where the village of Ligonier was afterwards built, was a part of that located by St. Clair. The fact that a number of Scotch families, 2 all prominent in the stirring times that followed, had settled here., was an additional inducement for St. Clair to become a pioneer. He entered actively on the improvement of his property,3 that when the French war was closed, St Clair " had the command of Fort Ligonier assigned him; and also received a grant of one thousand acres of land in that vicinity, which he fancifully chose to lay out in the form of a circle" — History of Western Pennsylvania, p 281 Among the St Clair papers are letters of Colonel Boquet, of that date, and in a letter of Boquet to Governor Penn, 1763, from camp in Western Pennsylvania, there is a humorous allusion to St Clair. When St. Clair died, two towns, Ligonier and Greensburg, disputed for the honor of having his body buried in their cemeteries Colonel Ramsay, an old citizen, who laid out the town of Ligonier on behalf of the former, appealed to Mrs Robb, a daughter of St. Clair, in the presence of Alex. Johnston, and urged upon her the fact that her father had once been the captain of Old Fort Ligonier A correspondent of the Pittsburgh C/uonicle, in a letter recently published, claims that he has seen in the Land Office at Harrisburg, a record stating that St Clair commanded at Fort Ligonier in 1 769