Figure 4. — A Strake, Showing Spikes. On early 

 vehicles the tires were put on in sections and spiked 

 in place. Later one endless tire was "sweated" on by 

 being heated to expand it, fitted on the wheel, and 

 cooled in place. 



indicates that these early wagons had no brakes such 

 as the large Conestogas of a later era had.'^ From all 

 indications it would appear that these early farm 

 wagons differed froin the larger freighters of the 

 1790's and were probably similar to the lighter, 

 fann-type Conestogas of the 19th century. Farm 

 \Nagons are somewhat smaller than road wagons, 

 generally bear less ornamentation and lack the more 

 graceful lines of the latter. 



Contemporary letters and newspaper advertise- 

 ments attest to the fact that farm wagons were the 

 type used by Braddock. For example, Franklin's 

 advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette on May 22, 

 1755, noted that "several Neighbors may con- 

 veniently join in fitting out a Waggon, as was lately 

 done in the Back Counties." Had these wagon 

 owners been other than farmers of poor means, such 

 a notation would have been unnecessary. In another 

 communication to the inhabitants of Lancaster, 

 York, and Cumberland Counties Franklin said, 

 "three or fntr of such as cannot separately spare 

 from the business of their Plantations a Wagon 

 and four Horses and a Driver, may do it together, 

 one furnishing the \Vaggon, another one or two 



1* Strakcs were sjjikod 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. 



Figure 5. — Bands and Hi'b Boxing shown in figure 3. 

 Fhese and the strakes shown in figures 2-4, parts of 

 an old Pennsylvania farm wagon, were found in 

 Edmunds .Swamp, Pennsylvania, along the route of 

 the Forbes Expedition of 1758. 



Horses, and another the Driver, and divide the pay 

 proportionably between you." '* Many letters de- 

 scribe the owners of the wagons with such phrases 

 as "the Poorer sort," and "narrow circumstances of 

 the Country People, who are to supply the wag- 

 gons. . . ." '' These remarks indicate that farm 

 wagons were used and suggest that the larger Con- 

 estogas, such as were driven by professional teamsters, 

 probably had not yet been developed. 



That Braddock's wagons were small is evidenced 

 by the loads carried. Governor Morris seems to 

 indicate loads as small as thirty-five bushels when he 

 sent a dispatch to Braddock informing him that he 

 had bought "one thousand bushels of Oats and one 

 thousand bushels of Indian Corn in this town [Phil- 

 adelphia], and have directed sixty waggons to be 

 taken up." '* This is substantiated by a remark in 

 Captain Orme's journal, in which he states that 

 "The loads of all waggons were to be reduced to 

 fourteen hundred weight. . . ." Under the same 

 date, June 11, he indicated that the farmers wagons 

 were smaller than the English wagons when he wrote 

 "all the King's waggons were also sent back to the 



"^ Pennsylcama ArchivfS, scr. 1, vol. 2, pp. 293-96. 

 " Ibid., scr. 1, vol. 2, Shippen to Morris, February 17, 1756; 

 and ser. 4, vol. 2, Denny to Amherst, March 3, 1759. 

 " /*/</., scr. 1, vol. 2, Morris to Braddock. June 4, 1755. 



PAPER 9: CONESTOGA WAGONS IN BRADDOCK's CAMPAIGN, 1755 



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