iversity he set sail for the West Indies; from there he
came to Virginia in 1750 and settled in or near Winchester.

We pick up his trail four years later on an April morning in the town of
Alexandria. The occasion is both historic and dramatic. The market
square was filled with "two companies of foot," a hundred and twenty
soldiers; a drummer wielding his sticks fiercely; two wagons, loaded
with provisions, and well guarded by officers and soldiers; a captain, a
lieutenant, five subalterns and a "Swedish Gentleman" going along as a
volunteer, and one _surgeon_. This military assembly under the command
of Lieutenant Colonel George Washington was marching out of Alexandria
for points west "to the Ohio" to fight the Indians and the French, to
build forts, and to defend the possessions of His Majesty. The commander
of the purposeful outfit was twenty-two years old, and the surgeon, Dr.
James Craik, twenty-four.

Did the two meet in the City Tavern, in the market square, or upon that
first day's march of six miles when the troops bivouacked for the night?
Wherever the acquaintance was made, the beginning of a friendship that
was to last the lives of both men was cemented on this expedition. From
the battles of Great Meadows and Fort Necessity, our warriors returned
to accompany Braddock to the Monongahela and Fort DuQuesne where Dr.
Craik nursed Washington through an illness and was with Braddock from
the time he was wounded until his death.

In August 1755 Dr. Craik was back from two unsuccessful expeditions. He
was one of a group of officers addressing the august assembly sitting at
Williamsburg, by letter, who informed the Burgesses that they had lost
horses, furniture, tents, marquees, clothes, linens--in short, all their
field equipage--and asking that body to compensate in some measure for
their misfortunes, reminding the House that it was customary among
British troops by way of a contingent bill, and suggesting that the
colonial troops were equally deserving. The letter was ordered tabled,
but later L30 was voted as compensation.

After this second disastrous campaign, Dr. Craik was lured into
domesticity by Miss Marianne Ewell, whom he married in 1760. This young
lady drew the ties closer to Mount Vernon. Her mother, first cousin to
George Washington, was Sarah Ball Conway, who married Charles Ewell.
After his marriage, Dr. Craik moved across the Potomac to Port Tobacco,
Maryland, where he built a house and proc