Chapter 2

_b_: Tongue, or pole, top and side views: 1, doubletree hasp, shown in proper position over the doubletree in the lower drawing: the hammer-headed doubletree pin goes through it, then through the doubletree and the tongue. 2, Wear plate for doubletree pin. 3, Feedbox staple; in use, the feedbox is unhooked from the rear, the long pin on one end of the box is passed through the hole for the doubletree pin, and the lug on the other end of the box is slipped through the staple. 4, Hitching rings, for securing horses while feeding. 5, End ring.

_a_: Running gear, top view: 1, Front and rear hounds. 2, Bolsters, with axletrees directly underneath. 3, Coupling pole. 4, Brake beam. 5, Brake-beam shelf, or support. 6, Segments forming the fifth wheel; these prevented the bed from toppling, or swaying excessively on turns. 7, Rear brace for front hounds, to keep tongue from dropping.

_b_: Brake mechanism, detail: 1, Brake rocker bar, with squared end for brake lever. 2, Rods connecting rocker bar to brake beam. 3, Rubber, or brakeshoe, made of wood, often faced with old leather. 4, Brake beam. 5, Brake-beam shelf, or support. 6, Brake lever, often 4 or 5 feet long.

_c_: Front axletree and bolsters, front view: 1, Axletree. 2, Bolster, showing wear plates. 3, Upper bolster, actually part of the wagon bed. 4, Axle, showing ironing.

_d_: Rear axletree and bolster, rear view: 1, Axle tree, showing linchpin in position in right axle. 2, Bolster. 3, Hook and staple for holding bucket of tar used in lubricating axles. 4, Hound pins.

_e_: Toolbox, showing front, end, and top; it was secured to left side of wagon.

_f_: Doubletree, with singletrees attached.

_g_: Brake mechanism, side view.

Figure 10.--DETAILS OF THE FREIGHT-CARRYING WAGON, 1800-1820, OF FIGURE 8. (_Drawing by Donald W. Holst._)

_a_: Feedbox: 1, Top. 2, Side, showing pin and lug for securing to tongue. 3, End, showing bracket into which the chains hooked for traveling.

_b_: Front end panel: 1, Bottom end rail. 2, Middle end rail. 3, Top end rail. 4, Standard, or upright, forming end framing. 5, End boards. 6, Bow. 7, Corner plates.

_c_: Rear end gate: 1, Staples for end-gate standards. 2, End-gate hasps and hooks. 3, Pins to secure gate to upper side rails. 4, Crossbar to give extra support to end gate.

_d_: Rear wheel.

_e_: Cross section of wheel: 1, Boxings, of cast iron, wedged in hub to take wear of axle.

_f_: Front wheel: 1, Felly, or felloe. 2, Spoke. 3, Hub, or nave.

_g_: Floor of wagon, from under side: 1, Crossbeams, the center and rear ones being heavier, and projecting at the ends to hold the iron side braces visible in figure 8,_a_. 2, Bottom side rails. 3, Floorboards. 4, Position of rear bolster when bed is on running gear. 5, Front bolster, showing hole for kingpin.

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1959

[Footnote 1: _Pennsylvania Archives_, ser. 8, vol. 5, Morris to the House, Dec. 19, 1754.]

[Footnote 2: Robert Orme's Journal, _in_ Winthrop Sargent, _The history of an expedition against Fort DuQuesne_, p. 288, Philadelphia, 1855.]

[Footnote 3: Benjamin Franklin, _Autobiography_, p. 166, New York, 1939.]

[Footnote 4: _Pennsylvania Archives_, ser. 1, vol. 2, pp. 295-96. Franklin suggested that St. Clair, with a body of troops, would probably enter Pennsylvania and take what he wanted, if it could not be obtained otherwise.]

[Footnote 5: _Ibid._, ser. 1, vol. 2, Morris to Peters, May 30, 1755.]

[Footnote 6: _Ibid._, Shippen to Morris, June 13, 1755.]

[Footnote 7: The modern spelling is given above. A number of spellings were common in 1755, among them Conegogee, Connecochieg, and Cannokagig.]

[Footnote 8: This is the modern spelling. Among those used in 1755 were Yoxhio Geni and Ohiogany.]

[Footnote 9: _Pennsylvania Archives_, ser. 1, vol. 2, Shippen to Allen, June 30, 1755. Also, Orme's Journal, in Sargent, _op. cit._ (footnote 2) p. 329.]

[Footnote 10: Originally spelled Conestogoe. The first known reference to a Conestoga wagon appears under date of 1717 in James Logan's "Account Book, 1712-1719," the manuscript original of which is in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. It is likely that the reference was only to a wagon from Conestogoe, and not to a definite type of vehicle.]

[Footnote 11: The term seems to have been in common use by 1750 since a tavern in Philadelphia, called "The Sign of the Conestogoe Waggon," was mentioned in an advertisement in the _Pennsylvania Gazette_, February 5, 1750, but another advertisement, (_ibid._, February 12, 1750), in referring to what was apparently the same establishment, uses the term "Dutch Waggon."]

[Footnote 12: It is not certain at this time whether English or German styles influenced the Conestoga wagon most. Judging from some early English wagons still in existence, it would appear that some of these lines were followed. Even today some farmers, and those who have been close to the wagon and its use, frequently refer to the Conestoga type as "English wagons."]

[Footnote 13: Strakes are sections of wagon tire, equal in number to the felloes of a wheel. On early vehicles the tires were put on in sections and spiked in place. Later, one endless tire was "sweated" on, by being heated, fitted on the wheel, and cooled in place.]

[Footnote 14: Found in 1953 by the Field Corps for Historical Research, these strakes are obviously from rear wheels. Though dimensions were by no means standardized, front wheels were always smaller, so that in turning the wagon the tires would be less likely to rub the sides of the wagon box.]

[Footnote 15: Strakes were spiked onto the wheel with large square headed nails, as indicated in figure 3, and a brake shoe would have been rapidly torn to pieces by rubbing against them.]

[Footnote 16: _Pennsylvania Archives_, ser. 1, vol. 2, pp. 295-96.]

[Footnote 17: _Ibid._, ser. 1, vol. 2, Shippen to Morris, February 17, 1756; and ser. 4, vol. 2, Denny to Amherst, March 3, 1759.]

[Footnote 18: _Ibid._, ser. 1, vol. 2, Morris to Braddock, June 4, 1755.]

[Footnote 19: Orme's Journal, in Sargent, _op. cit._ (footnote 2), pp. 331-32. English wagons were equipped with pairs of shafts, similar to those of a spring wagon or buggy of recent times. Wagon shafts were, however, much heavier than the latter.]

[Footnote 20: _Pennsylvania Archives_, ser. 4, vol. 2, Morris to Braddock, June 12, 1755.]

[Footnote 21: R. Moore, _The universal assistant_, p. 205, New York, n.d. The weight of corn is given at 56 pounds per bushel, and oats at 32 pounds per bushel.]

[Footnote 22: One light wagon of about 1800 had smaller wheels, the front being 37 inches and the rear 49 inches in diameter.]

[Footnote 23: _Pennsylvania Archives_, ser. 1, vol. 3, advertisement of General Stanwix for wagons, May 4, 1759.]

[Footnote 24: _Ibid._]

[Footnote 25: Will H. Lowdermilk, _Edward Braddock's orderly books_, Cumberland, 1880, p. 25.]

[Footnote 26: Seaman's Journal, in Sargent, _op. cit._ (footnote 2), p. 380.]

[Footnote 27: Lewis Burd Walker, ed., _The settlement of the waggoners' accounts_, 1899.]

[Footnote 28: _Pennsylvania Archives_, ser. 1, vol. 2, Shirley to Morris, June 7, 1755.]

[Footnote 29: Walker, _op. cit._ (footnote 27), p. 20. Of the 146 wagons, one was apparently unserviceable by the time it reached Wills Creek. Its owner was paid only for his services and the use of his team.]

[Footnote 30: Orme's Journal, in Sargent, _op. cit._ (footnote 2), p. 321.]

[Footnote 31: _Ibid._, p. 312.]

[Footnote 32: _Ibid._, p. 323. There is some question here whether the incident reported occurred near Wills Creek, or on June 15 in the Allegheny Mountains. Orme reports two such incidents with identical figures and nearly identical language. Perhaps he was confusing the two places.]

[Footnote 33: _Ibid._, p. 334. When wagons were damaged on the march, and repair was impossible, the load was divided among the other wagons and the unserviceable wagon abandoned.]

[Footnote 34: _Ibid._, p. 324 (see also Seaman's Journal, in Sargent, _op. cit._ (footnote 2), p. 381). A detachment of 30 seamen and several officers had been detached from the fleet and assigned to the expedition to offer assistance in rigging cordages, in the event that the erection of bridges would be necessary.]

[Footnote 35: _Ibid._, p. 313.]

[Footnote 36: _Ibid._, p. 334 (see also Seaman's Journal, in Sargent, _op. cit._ (footnote 2), p. 383). At times it was necessary for half the troops to ground their arms and assist in moving the wagons up or down grades.]

[Footnote 37: Douglas S. Freeman, _George Washington_, vol. 1, p. 140, New York, 1949. Washington had written his brother John on June 14 and given his opinion that they should "retrench the wagons and increase the number of bat horses."]

[Footnote 38: Sargent, _op. cit._ (footnote 2), p. 203. Wagons apparently carried only artillery stores and other ammunition with the advance detachment. All provisions were carried on pack horses.]

[Footnote 39: Orme's Journal, in Sargent, _op. cit._ (footnote 2), p. 336.]

[Footnote 40: _Ibid._, p. 332. Orme said the condition of the army was such that they could not reject any horses, a situation that was used to advantage by many contractors. He refers to the horses as "The offcasts of Indian traders, and scarce able to stand under one hundred weight." By contract they were to have carried twice that load.]

[Footnote 41: _Ibid._, pp. 342-346. On June 26, due to the "extreme badness of the road," the army covered 4 miles; on June 27, 6 miles; June 28, 5 miles; and on June 30 passage over a mountain reduced the day's march to 2 miles.]

[Footnote 42: Walker, _op. cit._ (footnote 27). It is interesting to note in the Waggoners' Accounts which of the teamsters apparently took a horse and "scamper'd." On the accounts of a number of them is entered the remark "to a horse returned," indicating that they were first credited for the loss of wagon and team, but the value of one horse was deducted in the final settlement, the one horse having arrived safely back at Wills Creek, in company, no doubt, with its anxious driver.]

[Footnote 43: A true picture is not presented here, since the accounts, except for a few cases, do not contain either the number of days for which the owners were paid or the dates of service. Only the amounts paid are given, which, if broken down at 15 shillings per day, at first would appear to indicate the last date of service. However, since it is not known which, if any, of these wagons went to Winchester before the march, no accurate conclusions can be reached. There can be little doubt that the few wagons that reached Wills Creek late in July were among the 30.]

[Footnote 44: Walker, _op. cit._ (footnote 27), p. 24. Douglas was not reimbursed for the loss of his wagon and was paid for an additional 55 days of service at a slightly reduced rate, due to the loss of one horse.]

[Footnote 45: Freeman, _op. cit._ (footnote 37), vol. 2, p. 89.]

[Footnote 46: _Ibid._, p. 90. As wagons had been shuttled back in April, it was also necessary for Dunbar to shuttle horses, drawing up the first of his wagons one day and returning with his few horses on the following day to bring up the balance of the wagons.]