The troops were to gather on the 15th of September at Fort
Washington, on the north bank of the Ohio, a day's journey down-stream
from Limestone.
Poor Quality of the Militia.
At the appointed time the militia began to straggle in; the regular
officers had long been busy getting their own troops, artillery, and
military stores in readiness. The regulars felt the utmost
disappointment at the appearance of the militia. They numbered but few
of the trained Indian fighters of the frontier; many of them were hired
substitutes; most of them were entirely unacquainted with Indian
warfare, and were new to the life of the wilderness; and they were badly
armed. [Footnote: American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., pp.
104, 105; Military Affairs, i., 20.] The Pennsylvanians were of even
poorer stuff than the Kentuckians, numbering many infirm old men, and
many mere boys. They were undisciplined, with little regard for
authority, and inclined to be disorderly and mutinous.
The Army Assembles.
By the end of September one battalion of Pennsylvania, and three
battalions of Kentucky, militia, had arrived, and the troops began their
march to the Miami.
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