Editing Whiskey Rebellion (section)

=== March on Pittsburgh ===
[[File:Hugh Henry Brackenridge.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait of [[Hugh Henry Brackenridge]], a western opponent of the whiskey tax who tried to prevent violent resistance|272x272px]]
McFarlane was given a hero's funeral on July 18. His "murder", as the rebels saw it, further radicalized the countryside.{{sfn |Slaughter |1986 |pp=181–83}} Moderates such as Brackenridge were hard-pressed to restrain the populace. Radical leaders emerged, such as [[David Bradford (lawyer)|David Bradford]], urging violent resistance. On July 26, a group headed by Bradford robbed the U.S. mail as it left Pittsburgh, hoping to discover who in that town opposed them and finding several letters that condemned the rebels. Bradford and his band called for a military assembly to meet at [[Braddock's Field]], about {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=on}} east of Pittsburgh.{{sfn |Slaughter |1986 |pp=183–85}}

On August 1, about 7,000 people gathered at Braddock's Field.<ref>{{harvnb |Slaughter |1986 |p=186}}; Hogeland, 172.</ref> The crowd consisted primarily of poor people who owned no land, and most did not own whiskey stills. The furor over the whiskey excise had unleashed anger about other economic grievances. By this time, the victims of violence were often wealthy property owners who had no connection to the whiskey tax.{{sfn |Slaughter |1986 |pp=186–87}} Some of the most radical protesters wanted to march on Pittsburgh, which they called "[[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]]", loot the homes of the wealthy, and then burn the town to the ground.{{sfn |Slaughter |1986 |p=187}} Others wanted to attack [[Fort Fayette]]. There was praise for the [[French Revolution]] and calls for bringing the guillotine to America. David Bradford, it was said, was comparing himself to [[Maximilien Robespierre|Robespierre]], a leader of the French [[Reign of Terror]].<ref>{{harvnb |Slaughter |1986 |pp=188–89}}; Hogeland, 169.</ref>

At Braddock's Field, there was talk of declaring independence from the United States and of joining with Spain or Great Britain. Radicals flew a specially designed flag that proclaimed their independence. The flag had six stripes, one for each county represented at the gathering: the Pennsylvania counties of Allegheny, [[Bedford County, Pennsylvania|Bedford]], Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland, and Virginia's [[Ohio County, West Virginia|Ohio County]].<ref>{{harvnb |Holt |2004 |p=10}} Holt writes that earlier historians had misidentified the six counties represented by the flag.</ref>

Pittsburgh citizens helped to defuse the threat by banishing three men whose intercepted letters had given offense to the rebels, and by sending a delegation to Braddock's Field that expressed support for the gathering.{{sfn |Slaughter |1986 |p=185}} Brackenridge prevailed upon the crowd to limit the protest to a defiant march through the town. In Pittsburgh, Major Kirkpatrick's barns were burned, but nothing else.<ref>{{harvnb |Slaughter |1986 |pp=187–88}}; Hogeland, 170–77.</ref>