Christopher Gist - mapped Ohio and saved Washington’s life - twice
Map showing French occupation of the Ohio Valley: taken from Mr. Robert's Atlas universel, Paris 1755: based on Christopher Gist's surveys made 1751.
Christopher Gist came to the surveying profession naturally. In 1736, his father, Richard, surveyed the western shore of Maryland and the town of Baltimore. Though there is little information about Christopher’s childhood, it is thought that Christopher learned surveying profession from his father.
A pioneer
.jpg)
"Washington in the Indian Council," by Junius Brutus Stearns (1847), depicting Washington (standing) and Gist (far right, with rifle) meeting with Shingas, Scarouady, Tanacharison, and other Native American leaders at Logstown in November, 1753.
Born in 1705 as one of six children, Gist was on his own and married by age 23. In 1750, Gist and his family settled in North Carolina – where one of his neighbors was Daniel Boone, also a surveyor. Like Boone, Gist was an outdoorsman, explorer and fur trader familiar with the Native American tribes and their languages. That same year, the Ohio Company hired Gist to explore territory in the Ohio valley. Gist’s travels took him through areas previously unseen by any European – such as Kentucky[1]. Along with surveying and map-making, Gist was a prolific writer, and his journals display excellent keen intelligence and powerful descriptive abilities[2].
Washington, G. (1754) George Washington's map, accompanying his "journal to the Ohio". [Boston] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
During the winter of 1750 to 1751, Gist mapped the area between Pittsburgh to the Great Miami River.
Gist thought the site what is now Cincinnati would be a good location for a settlement, but the distance from other cities made it too great a risk for Ohio Company investors. The next year, Gist returned to Western Pennsylvania / West Virginia. He found a piece of land near what’s now Uniontown and started to build a plantation. [3]
Gist and Washington
His connection to the Ohio Company introduced him to another famous surveyor – George Washington. In 1753, Gist was hired by the Governor of Virginia to go with Washington to deliver a letter from the British to the French at Fort LeBoeuf – demanding that the French leave the area.
Washington and Gist Crossing the Allegheny River attributed to Daniel Huntington, mid 19th century, oil on canvas, M-3941, MVLA.
Gist saved Washington’s life twice on the return trip. The pair was traveling with a native guide who claimed to be their friend – but who clearly was not. The guide suddenly turned and shot at them. Fortunately, the musket misfired and Gist and Washington were able to capture the guide, disarm him and send him away. They walked day and night through the winter wilderness to reach the Allegheny River, where they built a raft to cross the ice clogged river. As they tried to maneuver the raft to the shore, Washington fell into the frigid water and they ended up spending the night on an island. That night, it was so cold that Gist got frostbite—but the cold also saved them. The pair walked across the now frozen river to the other shore and eventually made it back to the British fort.
After all of this, it turns out that the French had no intention of leaving the area and were instead building powerful alliances with local tribes to capture the land for the French king.[1]
The French and Indian War
This French encroachment on the land that the Crown had seized for itself led to war. By 1753, Gist had accompanied Washington at the Battle of Fort Necessity and later served as a guide in General Braddock’s 1755 expedition against the French at Fort Duquesne. Washington was Braddock’s aide. Both battles were lost by the British, mainly due to the strength of the France’s Native allies.
In 1756, Gist started a series of expeditions to what is now South Carolina and Georgia to negotiate with the native tribes to help the British fight the French. In 1757, he was appointed deputy agent to Indian Affairs on Washington’s recommendation. Washington said that Gist was “the most proper person I am acquainted with to conduct the business” of surveying western lands and negotiating with Native Americans.
Unfortunately, very little is known of Gist's later years or whereabouts. He died three years later in 1759, possibly of smallpox, either in South Carolina or Georgia.
Gist isn’t as well-known as Daniel Boone or George Washington, but he was an essential force in the colonist’s western expansion during a critical time in American history. His journals have been a key source for historians seeking to understand colonial America. Surveyors were essential to colonial America’s economic growth and expansion, and their work still resonates today.