The Imperative Counter of the Whiskey Rebellion

Washington took two avenues of approach to confront the insurrection.  First, he presented evidence of the escalated violence to Justice James Wilson.  The evidence was in the form of letters from Lenox, General Neville, and others involved in the most recent conflicts.  Wilson was to determine if the actions of the insurgents met the criteria to invoke the Militia Act.  Second, a commission was sent to western Pennsylvania to meet with citizens and encourage them to peacefully submit to the laws so that forceful execution of said laws could be avoided.

On August 4, 1794, Judge Wilson concluded that the Insurrection was “too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceeding or by the powers vested in the Marshall of that district.”¹  All peaceful options were exhausted.  The forceful action that Washington and Hamilton wrote about two years prior had come to fruition.  On 5 August, 1794, Hamilton wrote to Washington.  After summarizing the escalated events that led to the need for the militia to be activated, he wrote, “To be prepared for the worst, I am of opinion, that twelve thousand Militia ought to be ordered to assemble; 9000 foot and 3000 horse.”²  Washington agreed that the time had come to use force to ensure the execution of the law.  On 7 August, Washington issued a proclamation commanding “all persons, being insurgents, as aforesaid, and all others whom it may concern, on or before the 1^st day of September next, to disperse to their respective abodes.”³  The proclamation was the last step required by law before the Militia Act could be enacted.  The final push came on 24 September when the commission sent by Washington to western Pennsylvania determined that a military response was an absolute necessity.⁴  The following day, President Washington summoned troops from the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia Militias to contest the insurrection in the western counties of Pennsylvania.⁵