The 1794 Whiskey Rebellion: History and Significance

On August 1, 1794, during the Whiskey Rebellion, 7,000 people in Pittsburgh expressed their disapproval of the tax. An excerpt from the article:

"The attack on Neville represented a new phase of the crisis. Two weeks later, on August 1, 1794, about 7,000 local residents turned out for a mass meeting in Pittsburgh. The crowd expressed grievances, but what could have turned into a violent riot was calmed. The people at the meeting, mostly poor local farmers, peacefully returned to their own farms.

The federal government was greatly alarmed by the activity in western Pennsylvania. President Washington was disturbed to hear reports that the rebels may have been meeting with representatives of foreign governments, Britain and Spain, about possibly leaving the United States entirely.

Alexander Hamilton resolved to take serious action against the rebels, and by September 1794, he was organizing a military force of more than 12,000 troops which would march westward and crush the rebellion.

Washington's Government Responded

At the end of September, the federal force, consisting of militia members drawn from four states, began moving westward through Pennsylvania. George Washington, in a uniform resembling what he had worn as a general in the Revolution, was leading the troops, along with Alexander Hamilton.

Washington was determined to put down the growing rebellion. But his return to military duty was difficult. He was no longer the young soldier who had ventured to the Pennsylvania frontier in the 1750s, or the venerated leader of the Revolution. In 1794 Washington was 62 years old. He traveled with the troops, usually riding in a carriage, with the rough roads aggravating his bad back. After traveling to central Pennsylvania, where he was greeted by cheering citizens at every town on the way, he turned back.

The troops continued westward, but a confrontation with a rebel force never happened. By the time the troops got to the region of the rebellious activity, the rebels had simply disappeared. Most had drifted back to their farms, and there were reports that some of the most ardent rebels had moved on to the Ohio territory.

As the federal troops moved through western Pennsylvania, there were only two fatalities, both accidents. A local boy was accidentally shot and killed when a soldier dropped his gun, and a drunken rebel supporter was accidentally stabbed with a bayonet while being arrested."