Crawford to come out of retirement and lead an expedition against Indians in villages along the Sandusky River, which ended in Crawford's brutal execution. The militia troops went back under the command of John Rose, a Baltic German officer from Estonia. Irvine was commander at Fort Pitt, replacing Colonel Daniel Brodhead. Upon assuming command he discovered and later complained about, the poor condition of the garrison at the fort. Upon his arrival to Fort Pitt, he was appalled to find the fort in "a heap of ruins" from annual flooding, and its garrison in such an extremely ragged state. In a letter, dated December 2, 1781, to General Washington Irvine reported, "I never saw troops cut so truly a deplorable, and at the same time despicable, a figure. Indeed, when I arrived, no man would believe from their appearance that they were soldiers..." Maintaining that the fort was untenable Irving wrote to Congress and strongly recommended that a new fort be built four miles down stream near the mouth of Chartiers Creek by the Ohio River. Irvine maintained that this location was inapproachable on three sides, no commanding ground on its fourth, and that the proposed location would have command of both the creek and the Ohio River. Congress being nearly bankrupt declined Irvine's proposition and ignored his other recommendations. Irvine soon received a letter of reply from Washington, dated December 18, that he was "not at all surprised", but explained that under the circumstances involving disputes over command, and issue concerning other involved interests, this was to be expected, and as such the decision to relocate must rest with the Congress. Irvine became a member of the Continental Congress in 1786 and was selected with John Kean and Nicholas Gilman for settling the accounts of the U.S. Government with the several states. Later life Irvine was elected as a Pennsylvania representative in the 3rd Congress, serving from December 2, 1793, to March 3, 1795. In 1797 he was sent to Pennsylvania as a commissioner to resolve the disputes involving the Whiskey Rebellion. When he failed in that effort he was assigned as commander of the militia troops and ultimately brought an end to the Whiskey Rebellion. Irvine continued his involvement in Pennsylvania's public life, overseeing and directing the distribution of lands that were donated to war veterans. He served two terms in Congress, serving in Pennsylvania's constitutional convention, and