Friday, February 10, 2017

St. Clair's Proposed Detroit Project


The St. Clair Papers... By Arthur St. Clair:




"Congress had appointed commissioners to repair to Fort Pitt to treat with the Indians, and induce them to a neutrality during our contest with Great Britain.  [The commissioners] requested that I would accompany them and act as their secretary during the negotiations...".  "...in the course of time [I] formed the project of a volunteer expedition to surprise Detroit...".

"The commissioners strongly recommended the measure to Congress; but after a delay of many weeks, it was disapproved, and the reason assigned was that General Arnold was before Quebec, and the fall of that place was counted on as certain, and Detroit, as a dependency, must fall with it, and would be included in the capitulation."

"The true reason I suppose to have been the scarcity of ammunition."

"But Arnold's expedition ended in disaster."





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