Gist, Christopher
Gist, Christopher
GIST, CHRISTOPHER. (1705?–1759). Colonial explorer and scout. Maryland. Born near Baltimore, Gist went to work for the Ohio Company in 1750 as a surveyor and cartographer. He accompanied George Washington on his mission into the Ohio country in 1753 and is credited with twice saving Washington's life. He was with Washington in the operations that led to the surrender at Fort Necessity in 1754. The next year he served as Edward Braddock's guide, and with two of his sons, he fought in the defeat on the Monongahela River. After this defeat, Gist was named captain of the Virginia company of scouts under Washington's command. He also served as commissary of the Virginia militia from 1755 to 1757. He was accused of corruption, but was probably just incompetent. Gist resigned in 1757 when threatened with demotion. At Washington's urging, he was made deputy agent of Indian affairs of the Southern Department. In that capacity he worked to win over Indian allies for the British. He died of smallpox near Winchester, Virginia, on 25 July 1759.
SEE ALSO Colonial Wars.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bailey, Kenneth P. Christopher Gist: Colonial Frontiersman, Explorer, and Indian Agent. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1976.
Darlington, William M., ed. Christopher Gist's Journals with Historical, Geographical, and Ethnological Notes. Pittsburgh: J. R. Weldin & Co., 1893.
revised by Michael Bellesiles