The Pay Roll of the Garrison of Fort Pitt, 5th April to 25th May 1774, represents four pages of material contained in, General Correspondence, Minutes, and Journals of the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions, 1774-1776, Library of Virginia, available on microfilm.

Virginia and Pennsylvania both claimed what is now southwestern Pennsylvania, including what was then Fort Pitt and what is today southwest Pennsylvania. Two 50-man Virginia Militia companies commanded by Captains John Connolly and George Aston garrisoned the fort in the spring of 1774, just prior to the commencement of open warfare in the Ohio River Valley. For those interested in this period, Glenn F. Williams, Dunmore’s War: The Last Conflict of America’s Colonial Era, (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2017), addresses details that help place this payroll and the men named in context of the broader events during this period.

 

Regular British troops departed Fort Pitt in October 1772, creating a security void at the same time that increased white settlement threatened the tenuous peace with the Shawnee, Delaware, and Mingo, who lived in the Ohio River Valley. A series of Indian treaties contributed to confusion over boundaries, while trade and lawlessness by small numbers of individuals, both native and white, further confused a complex set of conditions. Virginia’s last royal governor, Lord Dunmore, John Murray, visited the area in 1773 and initiated a series of actions to strengthen Virginia’s governance and claim to the area, then part of Virginia’s West Augusta District. Pennsylvania also claimed the area as part of Westmoreland County but lacked the organized militia system practiced in Virginia. Virginia’s ability to quickly mobilize capable units gave Virginia the upper hand in establishing political and military authority in the Ohio River Valley and challenging the native inhabitants for control. These differences led to open warfare today known as Dunmore’s War, the last Indian war of America’s Colonial era. 

 

Researchers interested in this period may find these rosters valuable because most names are legible and Dr. John Connolly would become a key figure in Dunmore’s efforts to retain crown control of the area early in the American Revolution. Some of the men whose names appear on this payroll would later serve in Continental and militia units during the American Revolution, a few others were notable Loyalists.

 

The Excel document is a transcription of the names from the original documents and may contain some transcription errors, please check this carefully. The Excel document also provides some possible matches for individuals on the roster with digitized Revolutionary pension files and other records. More research on each of these is necessary to confirm these records are on the correct individuals. This post is provided for information and to encourage additional research. 

PATRICK H. HANNUM is a retired Marine and the author of many articles on the Revolutionary War in Virginia.