Donald H. Berkebile

“ Most of the horses which brought up the train were either lost, or carried home by their owners, the nature of the country making it impossible to avoid this fatal inconvenience, the whole being a continual forest for several hundred miles without inclosures or bounds by which horses can be secured: they must be turned into the woods for their subsistance, and feed upon leaves and young shoots of trees. ”

“ The farm wagons used in these operations were often referred to as Conestoga wagons. [10] This term was apparently in general use at least as early as 1750, when the term "Dutch Wagon" was also used in referring to this particular type of vehicle. [11] The Conestoga, deriving its name from the Conestoga valley near Lancaster, was apparently a Pennsylvania adaptation of the English wagon. [12] Unfortunately there are no existing specimens of early wagons of whose age we can be certain, and the few wagon fragments that have been unearthed are insufficient to justify any conclusions. ”

“ The advertisement [24] that was circulated for the 1759 expedition mentions a "slip bell ... for each horse" among the items necessary on an expedition, so it is possible that some drivers of the 1755 expedition may have used a single bell on each horse, as was the custom with pack horses. These bells, kept stuffed during the day, were unstuffed at night when the horses were put out to forage in the woods so that they might be more easily found in the morning. Orme mentions no bells, although he writes of other methods used to avoid losing horses at night. ”

“ On April 21 Braddock reached Frederick, in Maryland. There he found that only 25 wagons had come in and several of these were unserviceable. Furiously the General swore that the expedition was at an end. At this point, Benjamin Franklin, who was in Frederick to placate the wrath of Braddock and St. Clair against the Pennsylvanians, commented on the advantages the expedition might have gained had it landed in Philadelphia instead Alexandria, [3] and pointed out that in eastern Pennsylvania every farmer had a wagon. ”

“ 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."
[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. ”

“ Washington, who had profited from his 1754 experiences in Pennsylvania, previously had recommended that Braddock use more pack horses and fewer wagons. [37] It became obvious that wagons, while ordinarily superior to pack animals, lost this advantage if the roads were not sufficiently opened to admit their easy passage. In view of this, Braddock decided to advance from Little Meadows with a picked detachment of 1,300 men and a minimum of wagons, about 30 in number, and to leave the heavier baggage with 84 wagons in charge of Colonel Dunbar and his 850 men. ”

“ Styles in farm equipment change slowly, and it is probable that the farm-type Conestoga wagon of about 1850 shown in figure 7 is similar in many respects to the Pennsylvania wagons used by Braddock a century earlier. The prairie schooner, too, bore many of the characteristics of these early farm wagons. ”

“ Braddock then suggested that Franklin try to raise the needed 150 wagons and the 1,500 pack horses. Asking that the terms to be offered be first drawn up, Franklin agreed to the undertaking and was accordingly commissioned. On his return to Pennsylvania, Franklin published an advertisement at Lancaster on April 26, setting forth the terms offered (the full text of this advertisement is found in Franklin's autobiography) .
Although eventually successful, Franklin was beset by many difficulties in collecting the wagons. Farmers argued that they could not spare teams from the work of their farms. ”

“ These indicate a wheel diameter of 64 inches and a tire 2 inches wide. [14] The 2-inch tires are undoubtedly relics of a farmer's wagon, since the various military vehicles had tires no less than 3 inches and often on the heavier types 4 inches wide. The use of strakes also indicates that these early wagons had no brakes such as the large Conestogas of a later era had. [15] From all indications it would appear that these early farm wagons differed from the larger freighters of the 1790's and were probably similar to the lighter, farm-type Conestogas of the 19th century. ”

“ Furthermore, the Quaker-controlled Assembly had little interest in the war and did nothing to regulate the hire of wagons, in spite of the repeated pleas of the governor. Franklin published new advertisements more strongly worded than the first, threatening an impress of wagons and drivers if better cooperation could not be had. ”

“ It is obvious that such figures must often have included any wheeled vehicle, and sometimes even the gun carriages. Thus the figure 200 undoubtedly includes 145 Pennsylvania wagons, [29] plus a number of British Army wagons, tumbrils, and perhaps gun carriages. By Braddock's own count he had about 40 wagons over and above those he got from Pennsylvania; [30] how many of these were British wagons, tumbrils, or possibly a few of the wagons Gage had impressed on his march to Wills Creek, is unknown. ”

“ Another communication from Morris states that he "dispatched fifty-two waggons from this town, each carrying fifty bushels of grain, one half oats the ether Indian Corn." [20] This makes a load of about 2,200 pounds, [21] quite in agreement with the statement in the Gentlemen's Magazine of August 1755, that loads were commonly around one ton. A load of one ton is small in comparison to those hauled by later wagons that sometimes carried as much as five or even six tons. ”

“ This drawing and those of figures 9 and 10 are from specifications, sketches, and photographs, now in the files of the division of transportation, U.S. National Museum, taken in 1925 by Paul E. Garber from a wagon then the property of Amos Gingrich, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This wagon is illustrated in John Omwake's Conestoga six-horse bell teams, 1750-1850, Cincinnati, 1930, pp. 57, 63, 87.
a: Bed and running gear, right side: 1, Bows for supporting cover. 2, Ridgepole, or stringer. 3, Top rail, with bow staples and side-board staples. 4, Side-boards, removable. ”

“ Pennsylvania Archives, ser. 1, vol. 2, Shirley to Morris, June 7, 1755.
[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. ”