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Title: Life of Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea ( Vol. I.) - Including the Border Wars of the American Revolution . . .
Author: Stone, William L. (William Leete)
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Life of Joseph Brant—Thayendanegea ( Vol. I.) - Including the Border Wars of the American Revolution . . ." ***
[ILLUSTRATION: Cover]
{Transcriber's Note: Quotation marks have been standardized to modern
usage. Footnotes have been placed to immediately follow the paragraphs
referencing them.}
LIFE OF BRANDT
Life
of
JOSEPH BRANT--THAYENDANEGEA:
INCLUDING
THE BORDER WARS
OF THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION,
AND
SKETCHES OF THE INDIAN CAMPAIGNS OF GENERALS
HARMAR, ST. CLAIR, AND WAYNE.
AND OTHER MATTERS
CONNECTED WITH THE INDIAN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
AND GREAT BRITAIN FROM THE PEACE OF 1783 TO
THE INDIAN PEACE OF 1795.
BY WILLIAM L. STONE.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
NEW-YORK:
ALEXANDER V. BLAKE, 38 GOLD STREET.
1838.
[Entered according to Act of Congress of the United States of America
in the year 1838, by George Dearborn & co., in the Clerk's Office of
the District Court for the Southern District of New-York.]
New-York:
Printed by Scatcherd & Adams.
No. 38 Gold Street.
TO THE HONORABLE
STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER,
OF ALBANY,
These volumes are most respectfully inscribed. If the efforts of the
writer to illustrate more fully and minutely than has hitherto been done,
the most interesting portion of American history, in its immediate
connection with the large and populous State of which The Patroon has
so long been one of the most distinguished citizens, shall be so
fortunate as to merit the regard, and receive the approbation, of one
so excellently qualified to judge of its interest and value, there will
be nothing left unsatisfied to the ambition and the hopes of
His friend and servant,
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
Birth and parentage--Discussion of the doubts cast upon his origin--Visit
of Mohawk chiefs to Queen Anne--Evidence of Brant's descent from one
of those--Digression from the main subject, and Extracts from the
private and official journals of Sir William Johnson--Connexion between
Sir William and the family of Brant--Incidental references to the old
French war--Illustrations of Indian proceedings, speeches, &c.--Brant's
parentage satisfactorily established--Takes the field in the Campaign
of Lake George (1765.)--Is engaged at the conquest of Niagara
(1759.)--Efforts of Sir William Johnson to civilize the Indians--Brant
is sent, with other Indian youths, to the Moor Charity School, at
Lebanon--Leaves school--Anecdote--Is engaged on public business by Sir
William--As an Interpreter for the Missionaries--Again takes the field,
in the wars against Pontiac--Intended massacre at Detroit--Ultimate
overthrow of Pontiac--First marriage of Brant--Entertains the
Missionaries--Again employed on public business--Death of his
wife--Engages with Mr. Stewart in translating the Scriptures--Marries
again--Has serious religious impressions--Selects a bosom friend and
confidant, after the Indian custom--Death of his friend--His grief, and
refusal to choose another friend.
Page 1
CHAPTER II.
Early symptoms of disaffection at Boston--Origin of the Revolutionary
War--First blood shed in 1770--Stirring eloquence of Joseph
Warren--Feelings of Sir William Johnson--His influence with the Indians
and Germans, and his unpleasant position--Last visit of Sir William to
England--His death--Mysterious circumstances attending it--Suspicions
of suicide unjust--His son, Sir John Johnson, succeeds to his title and
estates--His son-in-law, Col. Guy Johnson, to his office as
superintendent General of the Indians--Early life of Sir John--Joseph
Brant appointed Secretary to Guy Johnson--Influence of the Johnson
family--Revolutionary symptoms in County, fomented by the
proceedings in New England--First meeting of Tryon County
Whigs--Declaration of Rights--First meeting of Congress--Effect of its
proceedings--in England--Tardiness of Provincial legislature of
New-York--Spirit of the people--Notes of preparation in Massachusetts,
&c.--Overt acts of rebellion in several States--Indians exasperated by
the Virginia borderers in 1774--Melancholy story of Logan--Campaign
of Lord Dunmore and Colonel Lewis--Battle of the Kanhawa--Speech of
Logan--Its authenticity questioned--Peace of Chilicothe--Unhappy feeling
of the Indians.
29
CHAPTER III.
Unyielding course of the parent Government--Efforts of the Earl of Chatham
unavailing--Address to the Crown from New-York--Leslie's Expedition to
Salem--Affair of Lexington--Unwise movements of Tryon County
loyalists--Reaction--Public meetings--The Sammons family--Interference
of the Johnsons--Quarrel at Caughnawaga--Spirited indications at Cherry
Valley--Counteracting efforts of the Johnsons among their
retainers--Intrigues with the Indians--Massachusetts attempts the
same--Correspondence with the Stockbridge Indians--Letter to Mr.
Kirkland--His removal by Guy Johnson--Neutrality of the
Oneidas--Intercepted despatch from Brant to the Oneidas--Apprehensions
of Guy Johnson--Correspondence--Farther precautions of the
Committees--Reverence for the Laws--Letter of Guy Johnson to the
Committees of Albany and Schenectady--Substance of the reply.
49
CHAPTER IV.
Council of the Mohawk chiefs at Guy Park--A second council called by
Johnson at Cosby's Manor--Proceeds thither with his retinue--First full
meeting of Tryon County Committee--Correspondence with Guy Johnson--No
council held--Johnson proceeds farther West, accompanied by his family
and most of the Indians--Consequent apprehensions of the
people--Communication from Massachusetts Congress--Ticonderoga and Crown
Point taken by Ethan Allen--Skenesborough and St. Johns
surprised--Farther proceedings in Massachusetts--Battle of Bunker
Hill--Death of Warren--Council with the Oneidas and Tuscaroras at German
Flats--Speech to the Indians--Subsequent council with the
Oneidas--Conduct of the people toward Guy Johnson--Speech to, and reply
of Oneidas--Guy Johnson moves westwardly to Ontario--His letter to the
Provincial Congress of New-York--Holds a great Indian council at the
West--Unfavourable influence upon the dispositions of the
Indians--Causes of their partiality for the English--Great, but
groundless alarm of the people--Guy Johnson, with Brant and the Indian
warriors, descends the St. Lawrence to Montreal--Council there--Sir Guy
Carleton and Gen. Haldimand complete the work of winning the Indians
over to the cause of the Crown.
Page 71
CHAPTER V.
Meeting of the second Continental Congress--Measures of
defence--Declaration--National fast--Organization of an Indian
department--Address to the Six Nations--Council called at
Albany--Preliminary consultation at German Flats--Speeches of the
Oneidas and others--Adjourn to Albany--Brief interview with the
commissioners--Conference and interchange of speeches with the
Albanians--Proceedings of the grand council--Speeches of the
commissioners--Replies of the Indians--Conclusion of the grand
council--Resumption of the conference with the Albanians--Speech of
the Albany Committee--Reply of the Indians--Disclosures of Guy Johnson's
proceedings at Oswego--Close of the proceedings--Epidemic among the
Indians--Small benefit resulting from the council--Proceedings in Tryon
County resumed--Doubtful position of New-York--Symptoms of disaffection
to the cause of the people--Sir John Johnson--Sheriff White deposed by
the people--The royal authorities superseded by appointments from the
people--Affray at Johnstown--First gun fired at Sampson Sammons--White
recommissioned by Tryon--His flight--Labors of the Committee--Opposition
of the Tories--Designs of Sir John Johnson and Sir Guy Carleton--Letter
and deputation to Sir John--Prisoners for political offences sent to
gaol--Letter from Provincial Congress--Mohawks commence fighting at St.
Johns--Speech of the Canajoharies in explanation--Indians apply for
release of prisoners--Review of the progress of the Revolution in other
parts of the Colonies--Proceedings of Parliament--Burning of
Falmouth--Descent upon Canada--Ethan Allen taken--Arnold's
expedition--Siege of Quebec--Fall of Montgomery--Caughnawaga and
Delaware Indians.
91
CHAPTER VI.
Lord Dunmore--Glance at the South--Suspicious conduct of Sir John
Johnson--Conduct of the Tories in Tryon County--Gen. Schuyler directed
by Congress to march into that County and disarm the Tories--Preliminary
mission to the Lower Mohawks--Message to them--Their displeasure and
reply--March of Schuyler--Meets the Indians at Schenectady--Interview and
speeches--Advance of Schuyler--Letter to Sir John
Johnson--Interview--Negotiations of capitulation--Terms proposed--Schuyler
advances to Caughnawaga--Joined by Tryon County Militia--Farther
correspondence with Sir John--Interview with the Indian mediators--Terms
of surrender adjusted--Schuyler marches to Johnstown--Sir John, his
household, and the Highlanders, disarmed--Troops scour the country to
bring in the loyalists--Disappointment as to the supposed Tory Depot of
warlike munitions--Return of Schuyler to Albany--Resolution of
Congress--Additional trouble with Sir John--Preparations for his
seizure--Expedition of Col. Dayton--Flight of the Baronet and his
partisans to Canada--Their sufferings--And subsequent conduct--How the
violation of his parole was considered.
119
CHAPTER VII.
History of Brant resumed--Advanced to the chieftaincy of the
Confederacy--Mode of appointing chiefs and sachems--Embarks for
England--Arrives in London--Received with marked consideration--Becomes
acquainted with James Boswell and others--Agrees to espouse the Royal
cause, and returns to America--Steals through the country to
Canada--Curious supposed letter to President Wheelock--Battle of the
Cedars--Cowardice of Major Butterfield--Outrages of the Indians--Story
of Capt. McKinstry, who was saved from the stake by Brant--Indignation
of Washington, the people, and Congress--Resolutions of
retaliation--Mutual complaints of treatment of prisoners--Murder of
Gen. Gordon--Indignation at the outrage--Indian deputation at
Philadelphia--Speech to them--Congress resolves upon the employment
of an Indian force--Schuyler opposed--Review of the incidents of the
war elsewhere--Destitution of the Army--Evacuation of Boston by the
English--Disastrous termination of the Canadian campaign--Deplorable
condition of the army--Humanity of Sir Guy Carleton--Glance at the
South--Declaration of Independence--Spirit of Tryon County--Cherry
Valley--Fortifications at Fort Stanwix--American army moves to
New-York--Arrival of the British fleet and army--Battle of
Long-Island--Washington evacuates New-York--Battle of White
Plains--Retreats across New-Jersey--Followed by Cornwallis--Defeat of
Arnold on Lake Champlain--Fall of Rhode Island--Battle of Trenton.
Page 147
CHAPTER VIII.
Continuation of movements in New Jersey--Extinguishment of the
council-fire at Onondaga--Tryon County--Colonel Harper's mission to
Oghkwaga--The Harper family--Adventure at the Johnstone
settlement--Capture of Good Peter and his party--Thayendanegea crosses
from Canada to Oghkwaga--Interview with the Rev. Mr. Johnstone--Doubtful
course of Brant--Feverish situation of the people--Expedition of General
Herkimer to Unadilla--Remarkable meeting between Herkimer and
Brant--Meditated act of treachery--Wariness of the chief--Meeting
abruptly terminated--Ended in a storm--Brant draws off to Oswego--Grand
council there--The Indians generally join the Royal standard--Approach
of Brant upon Cherry Valley--How defeated--Death of Lieutenant Wormwood.
175
CHAPTER IX.
British preparations for the prosecution of the war--Indications at the
North--Doubtful position and conduct of General Howe--Embarrassing to
the Americans--Intercepted correspondence--General Howe sails to the
Chesapeake--Enters Philadelphia in triumph--Burgoyne approaches from
the North--Indian policy--Sir Guy Carleton--False estimates of the
strength of Ticonderoga--Burgoyne arrives at Crown Point--Feasts the
Indians--Invests Ticonderoga--Carries the outworks--Fortifies Sugar
Hill--The fortress evacuated by St. Clair--Retreat of the
Americans--Battles near Skenesborough and at Fort Ann--Burgoyne enters
the valley of the Hudson--Schuyler, without means, retreats from Fort
Edward--Terror of the people--Cruelties of the Indians--Story of Miss
McCrea--General flight of the population--Mrs. Ann Eliza
Bleecker--Heroism of Mrs. Schuyler--Attempted assassination of General
Schuyler.
195
CHAPTER X.
Expedition against the Mohawk Valley from Oswego--Despondency of the
people in Tryon County--Letter of John Jay--Arrest of several of the
disaffected--Flight of others to Canada--Schuyler's complaints of the
cowardice of the people--Great discouragements--Proclamation of General
Herkimer--Letter from Thomas Spencer--St. Leger's approach--Caution and
plan of his march--Diary of Lieut. Bird--Fort Stanwix invested--Colonel
Gansevoort takes command--Its deplorable condition--Gansevoort joined
by Willett--Story of Captain Gregg--Situation of the garrison--Arrival
of St. Leger--His proclamation--Burgoyne's affairs becoming
critical--Affair of Bennington--General Herkimer, with the Tryon County
militia, advances to the relief of Gansevoort--Battle of Oriskany--Bloody
upon both sides--Unexampled bravery of Captain Gardenier--Major
Watts--Dissatisfaction of the Indians--Sortie and success of Colonel
Willett--Death and character of General Herkimer.
209
CHAPTER XI.
Siege of Fort Schuyler continued--Forced letter from prisoners to Col.
Gansevoort--St. Leger summons the garrison to surrender--Refusal of
Gansevoort--Appeal of Sir John Johnson to the people of Tryon
County--Secret expedition of Colonel Willett and Major
Stockwell--Schuyler orders Arnold to the relief of Gansevoort--Willett
proceeds to Albany--Arrest of Walter Butler, and others, at German
Flats--Tried and convicted as a spy--Reprieved--Sent to
Albany--Escapes--Arnold's proclamation--Advance of the
besiegers--Uneasiness of the garrison--Sudden flight of St. Leger and
his forces--Stratagem of Arnold--Story of Hon-Yost Schuyler--Merriment
and mischief of the Indians--Arrival of Arnold at the Fort--The spoils
of victory--Public estimation of Gansevoort's services--Address to his
soldiers--His promotion--Address of his officers.
Page 249
CHAPTER XII.
Recurrence to the invasion of Burgoyne--General Schuyler again superseded
by Gates--Causes of this injustice--Battle of Stillwater--Both armies
entrench--Battle and victory of Behmus's Heights--Funeral of General
Frazer--Retreat of Burgoyne--Difficulties increasing upon him--His
capitulation--Meeting of Burgoyne and Gates--Deportment of Gates toward
Gen. Washington--Noble conduct of Gen. Schuyler.
265
CHAPTER XIII.
Sir Henry Clinton's attempt to co-operate with Burgoyne--Storming of Forts
Clinton and Montgomery--Burning of AEsopus--Review of military operations
elsewhere--Expedition to Peekskill--Of Gov. Tryon to Danbury--Progress
of Sir William Howe in Pennsylvania--Battle of Brandywine--Massacre of
the Paoli--Battle of Germantown--Death of Count Donop--Murder of Captain
Deitz and family at Berne--John Taylor--Lady Johnson ordered to leave
Albany--Exasperation of Sir John--Attempts to abduct Mr. Taylor--An
Indian and white man bribed to assassinate General Schuyler--Fresh
alarms in Tryon County--Address of Congress to the Six Nations--The
appeal produces no effect--Articles of confederation--Close of the year.
280
CHAPTER XIV.
Treaty of alliance with France--Policy of France--Incidents of the
Winter--Projected expedition against St Johns--Lafayette appointed to
the command of the North--Failure of the enterprise for lack of
means--Disappointment and chagrin of Lafayette--Unpleasant indications
respecting the Western Indians--Indian council at Johnstown--Attended
by Lafayette--Its proceedings--And result--Reward offered for Major
Carleton--Letter of Lafayette--He retires from the Northern
Department--Return of the loyalists for their families--Unopposed--Their
aggressions--Prisoners carried into Canada--Their fate--Re-appearance
of Brant at Oghkwaga and Unadilla--Anecdote of Brant--Comparative
cruelty of the Tories and Indians--Murder of a family--Exposed situation
of the people--Captain McKean--Sends a challenge to Brant--Burning of
Springfield--First battle in Schoharie.
298
CHAPTER XV.
The story of Wyoming--Glance at its history--Bloody battle between the
Shawanese and Delawares--Count Zinzendorf--Conflicting Indian claims
and titles--Rival land companies of Connecticut and Pennsylvania--Murder
of Tadeusund--The first Connecticut Colony destroyed by the
Indians--Controversy respecting their titles--Rival Colonies planted
in Wyoming--The civil wars of Wyoming--Bold adventure of Captain
Ogden--Fierce passions of the people--The Connecticut settlers
prevail--Growth of the settlements--Annexed to Connecticut--Breaking
out of the Revolution--The inhabitants, stimulated by previous hatred,
take sides--Arrest of suspected persons in January--Sent to
Hartford--Evil consequences--The enemy appear upon the outskirts of
the settlements in the Spring--Invasion by Colonel John Butler and the
Indians--Colonel Zebulon Butler prepares to oppose them--Two of the
forts taken--Colonel Z. Butler marches to encounter the enemy--Battle
of Wyoming--The Americans defeated--The flight and massacre--Fort
Wyoming besieged--Timidity of the garrison--Zebulon Butler's authority
not sustained--He escapes from the fort--Colonel Denniston forced to
capitulate--Destruction of the Valley--Barbarities of the Tories--Brant
not in the expedition--Catharine Montour--Flight of the
fugitives--Expedition of Colonel Hartley up the Susquehanna--Colonel
Zebulon Butler repossesses himself of Wyoming, and rebuilds the
fort--Indian skirmishes--Close of the history of Wyoming.
Page 318
CHAPTER XVI.
Evacuation of Philadelphia by Sir Henry Clinton--Followed through New
Jersey by Washington--Battle of Monmouth--Conduct and arrest of General
Lee--Retreat of the enemy--Arrival of the French fleet--Combined attack
of the Americans and French upon the British army of Rhode
Island--British fleet escapes from Count D'Estaing--Battle of Rhode
Island--Failure of the expedition-Projected campaigns against the
Indians--Captains Pipe and White-Eyes--McKee and Girty--General McIntosh
ordered against the Sandusky towns--Irruption of Brant into
Cobleskill--Of McDonald into the Schoharie settlements--Pusillanimity
of Colonel Vrooman--Bravery of Colonel Harper--His expedition to
Albany--Captivity of Mr. Sawyer--Slays six Indians and escapes--Colonel
William Butler sent to Schoharie--Morgan's rifle corps--Daring adventures
of Murphy and Elerson--Death of Service, a noted Tory--Murphy's
subsequent adventures--Affairs at Fort Schuyler--Alarming number of
desertions--Destruction of Andros-town by the Indians--Conflagration
of the German Flats--Expedition of Colonel William Butler from Schoharie
to Unadllla and Oghkwaga.
343
CHAPTER XVII.
Walter N. Butler--His flight from Albany, bent on revenge--The Great
Tree--Hostile indications among the Senecas and Cayugas--Premonitions
of an attack by Butler and Brant upon Cherry Valley--Discredited by
Colonel Alden--Scouts sent out and captured--Surprise of the
town--Massacre and burning--Death of Colonel Alden--Families of Mr.
Wells, Mr. Dunlop, and others--Brutality of the Tories--Family of Mr.
Mitchell--The monster Newberry--Departure of the enemy with their
captives--A night of gloom--Women and children sent back--Letter of
Butler to Gen. Schuyler--Murder of Mrs. Campbell's mother--Vindication
of Brant--Interesting incident--Brant's opinion of Capt. McKean--Colonel
John Butler laments the conduct of his son--Letter of General James
Clinton to Walter Butler--Letter of Butler in reply--Molly
Brant--Particulars of Mrs. Campbell's captivity--Feast of thanksgiving
for their victory--The great feast of the White Dogs--Return of Walter
Butler from Quebec--Col. Butler negotiates with the Indians for Mrs.
Campbell--She goes to Niagara--Catharine Montour and her sons--Mrs.
Campbell finds her children--Descends the St. Lawrence to Montreal--Meets
Mrs. Butler--Arrives at Albany, and is joined by her husband--Grand
campaign projected--Jacob Helmer and others sent privately to Johnstown
for the iron chest of Sir John--Execution of Helmer--Arrival of British
Commissioners--Not received--Exchange of Ministers with France--Incidents
of the war elsewhere for the year.
369
CHAPTER XVIII.
Indian siege of Fort Laurens--Successful stratagems--Flight of the
pack-horses--The fort abandoned--Projected enterprise from Detroit--Gov.
Hamilton captured at St. Vincent by Col. Clarke--Projects of
Brant--Uneasiness in the West of New-York--Deliberations of the Oneidas
and Onondagas--Brant's projects defeated--Treachery of the
Onondagas--Colonel Van Schaick marches to lay waste their
towns--Instructions of General Clinton--Passage of Wood Creek and
Oneida Lake--Advance upon the Indian towns--Their destruction--Return
of the expedition to Fort Schuyler--Mission of the Oneidas to Fort
Schuyler in behalf of the Onondagas--Speech of Good Peter--Reply of
Colonel Van Schaick--Irruption of Tories and Indians into the lower
Mohawk country--Stone Arabia--Defence of his house by Captain Richer--The
Indians in Schoharie--General Clinton traverses the Mohawk
valley--McClellan's expedition to Oswegatchie--Unsuccessful--Irruption
of the Onondagas into Cobleskill--Defeat of the Americans--The settlement
destroyed--Murders in the neighborhood of Fort Pitt--Irruptions of
Tories into Warwasing--Invasion of Minisink--Battle near the
Delaware--Massacre of the Orange County militia--Battle with the
Shawanese.
396
INTRODUCTION.
* * * * *
It is related by AEsop, that a forester once meeting with a lion, they
traveled together for a time, and conversed amicably without much
differing in opinion. At length a dispute happening to arise upon the
question of superiority between their respective races, the former, in
the absence of a better argument, pointed to a monument, on which was
sculptured, in marble, the statue of a man striding over the body of a
vanquished lion. "If this," said the lion, "is all you have to say, let
us be the sculptors, and you will see the lion striding over the
vanquished man."
The moral of this fable should ever be borne in mind when contemplating
the character of that brave and ill-used race of men, now melting away
before the Anglo-Saxons like the snow beneath a vertical sun--the
aboriginals of America. The Indians are no sculptors. No monuments of
their own art commend to future ages the events of the past. No Indian
pen traces the history of their tribes and nations, or records the deeds
of their warriors and chiefs--their prowess and their wrongs. Their
spoilers have been their historians; and although a reluctant assent has
been awarded to some of the nobler traits of their nature, yet, without
yielding a due allowance for the peculiarities of their situation, the
Indian character has been presented with singular uniformity as being
cold, cruel, morose, and revengeful; unrelieved by any of those varying
traits and characteristics, those lights and shadows, which are admitted
in respect to other people no less wild and uncivilized than they.
Without pausing to reflect that, even when most cruel, they have been
practising the trade of war--always dreadful--as much in conformity to
their own usages and laws, as have their more civilized antagonists, the
white historian has drawn them with the characteristics of demons.
Forgetting that the second of the Hebrew monarchs did not scruple to saw
his prisoners with saws, and harrow them with harrows of iron; forgetful,
likewise, of the scenes at Smithfield, under the direction of our own
British ancestors; the historians of the poor untutored Indians, almost
with one accord, have denounced them as monsters _sui generis_--of
unparalleled and unapproachable barbarity; as though the summary tomahawk
were worse than the iron tortures of the harrow, and the torch of the
Mohawk hotter than the faggots of Queen Mary.
Nor does it seem to have occurred to the "pale-faced" writers, that the
identical cruelties, the records and descriptions of which enter so
largely into the composition of the earlier volumes of American history,
were not barbarities in the estimation of those who practised them. The
scalp-lock was an emblem of chivalry. Every warrior, in shaving his head
for battle, was careful to leave the lock of defiance upon his crown, as
for the bravado, "Take it if you can." The stake and the torture were
identified with their rude notions of the power of endurance. They were
inflicted upon captives of their own race, as well as upon the whites;
and with their own braves these trials were courted, to enable the
sufferer to exhibit the courage and fortitude with which they could be
borne--the proud scorn with which all the pain that a foe might inflict,
could be endured.
But they fell upon slumbering hamlets in the night, and massacred
defenceless women and children! This, again, was their own mode of
warfare, as honourable in their estimation as the more courteous methods
of committing wholesale murder, laid down in the books.
But of one enormity they were ever innocent. Whatever degree of personal
hardship and suffering their female captives were compelled to endure,
their persons were never dishonoured by violence; a fact which can be
predicated, we apprehend, of no other victorious soldiery that ever lived.
In regard, moreover, to the countless acts of cruelty alleged to have been
perpetrated by the savages, it must still be borne in mind that the
Indians have not been the sculptors--the Indians have had no writer to
relate their own side of the story. There has been none "to weep for
Logan!" while his wrongs have been unrecorded. The annals of man,
probably, do not attest a more kindly reception of intruding foreigners,
than was given to the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth, by the faithful
Massassoit, and the tribes under his jurisdiction. Nor did the forest
kings take up arms until they but too clearly saw, that either their
visitors or themselves, must be driven from the soil which was their
own--the fee of which was derived from the Great Spirit. And the nation
is yet to be discovered that will not fight for their homes, the graves
of their fathers, and their family altars. Cruel they were, in the
prosecution of their contests; but it would require the aggregate of a
large number of predatory incursions and isolated burnings, to balance
the awful scene of conflagration and blood, which at once extinguished
the power of Sassacus, and the brave and indomitable Narragansets over
whom he reigned. No! until it is forgotten, that by some Christians in
infant Massachusetts it was held to be right to kill Indians as the agents
and familiars of Azazel; until the early records of even tolerant
Connecticut, which disclose the fact that the Indians were seized by the
Puritans, transported to the British West Indies, and sold as slaves, are
lost; until the Amazon and La Plata shall have washed away the bloody
history of the Spanish American conquest; and until the fact that Cortez
stretched the unhappy Guatimozin naked upon a bed of burning coals, is
proved to be a fiction, let not the American Indian be pronounced the
most cruel of men!
If, then, the moral of the fable is thus applicable to aboriginal history
in general, it is equally so in regard to very many of their chiefs, whose
names have been forgotten, or only known to be detested. Peculiar
circumstances have given prominence, and fame of a certain description,
to some few of the forest chieftains, as in the instances of Powhatan in
the south, the mighty Philip in the east, and the great Pontiac of the
north-west. But there have been many others, equal, perhaps, in courage,
and skill, and energy, to the distinguished chiefs just mentioned, whose
names have been steeped in infamy in their preservation, because "the
lions are no sculptors." They have been described as ruthless butchers
of women and children, without one redeeming quality save those of animal
courage and indifference to pain; while it is not unlikely, that were
the actual truth known, their characters, for all the high qualities of
the soldier, might sustain an advantageous comparison with those of half
the warriors of equal rank in Christendom. Of this class was a prominent
subject of the present volume, whose name was terrible in every American
ear during the war of Independence, and was long afterward associated with
every thing bloody, ferocious, and hateful. It is even within our own day,
that the name of Brant [FN-1] would chill the young blood by its very
sound, and cause the lisping child to cling closer to the knee of its
mother. As the master spirit of the Indians engaged in the British service
during the war of the Revolution, not only were all the border massacres
charged directly upon him, but upon his head fell the public maledictions
for every individual act of atrocity which marked that sanguinary contest,
whether committed by Indians, or Tories, or by the exasperated regular
soldiery of the foe. In many instances great injustice was done to him,
as in regard to the affair of Wyoming, in connexion with which his name
has been used by every preceding annalist who has written upon the
subject; while it has, moreover, for the same cause, been consigned to
infamy, deep and foul, in the deathless song of Campbell. In other cases
again, the Indians of the Six Nations, in common with their chief, were
loaded with execrations for atrocities of which all were alike
innocent--because the deeds recorded were never committed--it having been
the policy of the public writers, and those in authority, not only to
magnify actual occurrences, but sometimes, when these were wanting, to
draw upon their imaginations for accounts of such deeds of ferocity and
blood, as might best serve to keep alive the strongest feelings of
indignation against the parent country, and likewise induce the people
to take the field for revenge, if not driven thither by the nobler impulse
of patriotism. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Almost invariably written Brandt in the books, even in despite of
his own orthography, which was uniformly Brant.
[FN-2] See Appendix A--the well-known scalp-story of Dr. Franklin--long
believed, and recently revived and included in several works of authentic
history.
Such deliberate fictions, for political purposes, as that by Dr. Franklin,
just referred to, were probably rare; but the investigations into which
the author has been led, in the preparation of the present work, have
satisfied him, that from other causes, much of exaggeration and falsehood
has obtained a permanent footing in American history. Most historians of
that period, English and American, wrote too near the time when the events
they were describing occurred, for a dispassionate investigation of truth;
and other writers who have succeeded, have too often been content to
follow in the beaten track, without incurring the labour of diligent and
calm inquiry. Reference has been made above to the affair of Wyoming,
concerning which, to this day, the world has been abused with monstrous
fictions--with tales of horrors never enacted. The original causes of this
historical inaccuracy are very obvious. As already remarked, our histories
were written at too early a day; when the authors, or those supplying the
materials, had, as it were, but just emerged from the conflict. Their
passions had not yet become cooled, and they wrote under feelings and
prejudices which could not but influence minds governed even by the best
intentions. The crude, verbal reports of the day--tales of hear-say,
coloured by fancy and aggravated by fear,--not only found their way into
the newspapers, but into the journals of military officers. These, with
all the disadvantages incident to flying rumors, increasing in size and
enormity with every repetition, were used too often, it is apprehended,
without farther examination, as authentic materials for history. Of this
class of works was the Military Journal of Dr. James Thatcher, first
published in 1823, and immediately recognized as historical authority.
Now, so far as the author speaks of events occurring within his own
knowledge, and under his own personal observation, the authority is good.
None can be better. But the worthy army surgeon did not by any means
confine his diary to facts and occurrences of that description. On the
contrary, his journal is a general record of incidents and transactions
occurring in almost every camp, and at every point of hostilities, as the
reports floated from mouth to mouth through the division of the army where
the journalist happened to be engaged, or as they reached him through the
newspapers. Hence the present author has found the Doctor's journal a very
unsafe authority in regard to facts, of which the Doctor was not a
spectator or directly cognizant. Even the diligent care of Marshall did
not prevent his measurably falling into the same errors, in the first
edition of his Life of Washington, with regard to Wyoming; and it was not
until more than a quarter of a century afterward, when his late revised
edition of that great work was about to appear, that, by the assistance
of Mr. Charles Miner, an intelligent resident of Wilkesbarre, the readers
of that eminent historian were correctly informed touching the
revolutionary tragedy in that valley. Nor even then was the correction
entire, inasmuch as the name of Brant was still retained, as the leader
of the Indians on that fearful occasion. Nor were the exaggerations in
regard to the invasion of Wyoming greater than were those connected with
the irruption into, and destruction of, Cherry Valley, as the reader will
discover in the course of the ensuing pages. Indeed, the writer, in the
preparation of materials for this work, has encountered so much that is
false recorded in history as sober verity, that he has at times been
disposed almost to universal scepticism in regard to uninspired narration.
In conclusion of this Introduction, a short history of the origin of the
present work may not be impertinent. It was the fortune of the author to
spend several of his early years, and commence his public life, in the
valley of the Mohawk--than which the country scarce affords a more
beautiful region. The lower section of this valley was entered by the
Dutch traders, and settlements were commenced, originally at Schenectady,
very soon after the first fort was built at Albany, then called Fort
Orange, by Henry Christiaens in 1614. The Dutch gradually pushed their
settlements up the Mohawk on the rich bottom lands of the river, as far
as Caughnawaga. Beyond that line, and especially in the upper section of
the valley west of the Little Falls, and embracing the broad and beautiful
garden of the whole district known as the German Flats, the first white
settlers introduced were Germans--being a division of the Palatinates,
who emigrated to America early in the eighteenth century, under the
patronage of Queen Anne. Three thousand Germans came over at the time
referred to, about the year 1709, a portion of whom settled in
Pennsylvania. The residue ascended the Hudson to a place called East Camp,
now in the county of Columbia. From thence they found their way into the
rich valley of the Schoharie-kill, about the year 1713, and thence to the
German Flats, of which they were in possession as early as 1720. The
first colony, planting themselves in Schoharie, consisted of between
forty and fifty families. Some disagreements soon after arising among
them, twelve of these families separated from their companions; and,
pushing farther westward beyond the Little Falls, planted themselves down
upon the rich alluvial Flats at the confluence of the West Canada Creek
and the Mohawk.
At the time of its discovery, that valley was occupied by the Mohawk
Indians, the head of the extended confederacy of the Five Nations--the
Iroquois of the French, and the Romans, as Doctor Colden has denominated
them, of the New World. Of this confederacy, the Mohawks were the head or
leading nation, as they were also the fiercest. [FN] The Five Nations
early attached themselves to the English, and were consequently often
engaged in hostilities with the French of Canada, and especially with
the Hurons and Adirondacks or Algonquins--powerful nations in alliance
with the Canadians. Another consequence was, that the Mohawk valley, and
indeed the whole country inhabited by the Five Nations, were the theatre
of successive wars, from the discovery down to the close of the war of
the American Revolution. There is, therefore, no section of the United
States so rich in historical incident, as the valley of the Mohawk and
the contiguous territory at the west.
* * * * *
[FN] "I have been told by old men in New England, who remembered the time
when the Mohawks made war on their Indians (the Mohicans), that as soon
as a single Mohawk was discovered in their country, their Indians raised
a cry from hill to hill, _A Mohawk! A Mohawk!_ upon which they all fled,
like sheep before wolves, without attempting to make the least resistance
or defence on their side; and that the poor New England Indians
immediately ran to the Christian houses, and the Mohawks often pursued
them so closely, that they entered along with them, and knocked their
brains out in the presence of the people of the house." [_Colden's Six
Nations._] The excellent Heckewelder, in his paramount affection for the
Lenni Lenape, enters into a long argument to disprove Colden upon this
point; maintaining that the Mohawks were never of more terrific fame than
the Delawares. The authorities, however, are against the good Moravian
missionary, to which the writer may add the weight of the following
incident, of comparatively recent occurrence:--Some ten or twelve years
ago, a wandering Mohawk had straggled away from the ancient home of his
tribe, as far as the State of Maine, and presented himself, one day, in
the streets of a small town not far from the Penobscot river. Indian
forms and faces were not strangers in this little community, there being
a remnant of the Penobscots yet existing in the neighbourhood, who were
in the habit of visiting the place, four or five times a year, for the
purchase of such necessaries as their means could command. It happened
that a party of them had come in on the very day of the Mohawk's arrival;
and as he was lounging through the street, he came suddenly upon them in
turning a corner. The recognition, on their part, was instantaneous, and
was evidently accompanied by emotions of alarm and distrust. "Mohawk,
Mohawk," was muttered by one and another, and so long as he remained in
sight, their eyes were fixed upon him with an evident expression of
uneasiness. As for the Mohawk, he condescended only to give them a
passing glance, and went on his way with the same lounging, indifferent
step that he had exhibited from the first. He was a superb-looking fellow,
of about 25, full six feet in height, and could easily have demolished
three or four of the dwarfish and effeminate Penobscots.
At the time of the author's residence in the Mohawk country, the materials
of that history, especially that portion of them connected with events
subsequent to the conquest of Canada by Great Britain, were for the most
part ungathered. The events of the war of the Revolution, which nowhere
else raged so furiously, and was nowhere else marked with such bitter and
entire desolation, were then fresh in the recollections of the people;
and many a time and oft were the recitals listened to with thrilling
interest, and laid up in the store-house of memory, as among the richest
of its traditionary treasures. Nor was the interest of these verbal
narratives diminished by visiting the sites of the old fortifications,
strolling over the battle-fields, and noting the shot-holes in the walls
of such houses as had stood out the contest, and the marks of cannon balls
upon the trunks of trees yet remaining on fields which had been scenes of
bloody strife.
Several years afterward it occurred to the author to undertake a task
which he ought to have commenced years before, viz. the composition of a
historical memoir of the Mohawk Valley, which would embody those written
and unwritten materials of history, now fast disappearing by the death of
the actors in the scenes to be described, and the loss of papers and
manuscripts, of which such reckless destruction is allowed in this
country. In the progress of thought and investigation upon the subject,
it was soon determined to embrace in the proposed memoir some biographical
account of the Great Chief of the Six Nations, Joseph Brant--Thayendanegea;
but there was yet another distinguished name, whose history and fame were
intimately connected with the Mohawks, and whose character has neither
been justly described nor well understood. The reader will probably
anticipate the name, Sir William Johnson. By this time it was apparent
that the work, if executed, must be more extended than had originally been
contemplated; and a few slight preparations were made for its commencement
ten years ago.
It was some time in the year 1829 that the design was abandoned. Calling
upon his venerable friend Chancellor Kent, one morning, for the purpose
of borrowing a rare volume of a still rarer history of the old French war
of 1755-'63, the author was informed that his design had been anticipated
by William W. Campbell, Esq., a young gentleman of promise who was just
coming to the bar--a native of the country to be occupied as historic
ground--and whose work was then nearly ready for the press. Under these
circumstances, the project of the author was at once relinquished.
Mr. Campbell's book--"Annals of Tryon County,"--made its appearance in
1831; and was at once found valuable for its facts, and creditable alike
to the industry and talents of an author, who, although then so young,
possessed the enterprise to undertake the necessary labour, and the
ambition to inscribe his name upon the roll of American historians. Still,
the work was not a substitute for that which the author had proposed; its
object was a more limited history, both of time and territory, than had
been entertained in respect of the present work. Mr. Campbell's Annals,
with the exception of a very few brief and partial sketches, embraced the
history only of the war of the Revolution in that particular section of
country, and had little to do with biography. The design of the author,
enlarged by reflection and research, now began to comprehend a history of
the Six Nations, and their wars with the French, Hurons, or Wyandots, and
Adirondacks; the settlement of the country by the pale faces; a history
of the French War, so far as that memorable contest was connected with
the Indians and colony of New-York; together, or rather blended, with the
Lives of Sir William Johnson and Joseph Brant. A work of this description
seemed to be a desideratum in American history; and in the autumn of 1832,
preparations for the undertaking were resumed, with what success will in
part be seen in the sequel.
In the prosecution of the preliminary labour, efforts were made to procure
materials from the survivors of the family of Sir William Johnson,
residing in the Canadas. These efforts have thus far been attended with
but partial success. From one of the grandsons, however, Mr. Archibald
Johnson, a valuable manuscript volume has been procured, containing the
private diary of Sir William during the Niagara campaign of 1759, in which
General Prideaux fell, leaving the command of the army to the baronet,
whose efforts were crowned with brilliant success. From among the papers
of the late Lieut. Governor of New-York, John Taylor, in possession of his
daughter, Mrs. Cooper, the author has fortunately obtained the manuscript
of Sir William's official diary for the years 1757, 1758, and a part of
the year 1759, together with a small parcel of other papers and letters.
A few of the baronet's letters and papers are also yet extant, in the
archives of the state at Albany. All these will afford materials for his
proposed biography, and for other historical illustrations, of high value.
Many of the baronet's papers were destroyed in the war of the Revolution;
and many others, it is ascertained, are only to be found in England--to
which country a special visit will probably be necessary for their
consultation.
It will readily be perceived, that the proposed work embraces two epochs,
between which there is a very natural, and even necessary, division. The
first embraces the early history referred to, with a history of the French
war, and the country, to the death of Sir William Johnson. The second
division embraces the life of Joseph Brant, and the revolutionary, Indian,
and Tory wars of the northern and western part of the State of New-York;
and although anticipated, to a considerable extent, by Mr. Campbell, still
the author entered the field of investigation with as much spirit as
though it had not been historically traversed before. In the course of his
labours he has visited the Mohawk Valley three several times with no other
object. Ascertaining, moreover, that the venerable Major Thomas Sammons,
of Johnstown, himself, with his father and two brothers, an efficient
actor in the scenes of the Revolution, had for many years been collecting
historical materials in that region, the author applied to him; and was
so fortunate as not only to procure his collections, but to induce the old
gentleman to re-enter the field of inquiry. By his assistance a large body
of facts and statements, taken down in writing during the last thirty
years, from the lips of surviving officers and soldiers, has been obtained
for the present work. These documents have added largely to the most
authentic materials of history, enabling the author to bring out many new
and interesting facts, and to correct divers errors in the works of
preceding writers, who have superficially occupied the same ground. In
addition to these, the few remaining papers of the brave old General
Herkimer, who fell at Oriskany in 1777, have been placed at the disposal
of the author, by his nephew, John Herkimer, Esq. Still the work of Mr.
Campbell has been found of great use, and by consent has been liberally
drawn upon. In regard to some transactions, it was, indeed, almost the
only authority; as in the cases of Cherry Valley, some of the transactions
in the Schoharie Valley, and the exploits of Colonel Harper.
But this is not all. The author has visited Upper Canada, and Montreal
and Quebec, in search of materials. Most luckily for the cause of historic
truth, and the reputation of Joseph Brant, during his Canadian researches
he became apprised of the fact, that the old Mohawk chief, himself a man
of a pretty good English education, had left a large mass of manuscripts,
consisting of his own speeches, delivered on many and various occasions,
and a great number of letters addressed to him; together with copies of
his own letters in reply, which he had preserved with equal industry and
care. These papers were in the keeping of his youngest daughter, a lady
of high respectability, aboriginal though she be, and eligibly married
to William Johnson Kerr, Esq. of Wellington Square, Upper Canada. It was
obvious that those papers must prove a rich mine for exploration; and an
application from the author, through his friend the Hon. Marshall S.
Bidwell, of Toronto, was most readily responded to by Mr. and Mrs. Kerr.
The papers, it is true, were less connected than had been hoped; and by
hundreds of references and allusions contained therein, it is obvious that
large numbers of letters, journals, and speeches have been lost--past
recovery. Still, those which remain have proved of great assistance and
rare value.
To the kindness of Charles A. Clinton, Esq. the author has been indebted
for access to the private papers of General James Clinton, his grandfather.
In the composition of one portion of the present volume, these papers have
been found of vast importance. General James Clinton was the father of
the late illustrious De Witt Clinton, and the brother of Governor George
Clinton. He was much in command in the northern department, and it was
under his conduct that the celebrated descent of the Susquehanna was
performed in 1779. His own letters, and those of his correspondents, have
been of material assistance, not only in relation to that campaign, but
upon various other points of history. It was among these papers that the
letters of Walter N. Butler, respecting the affairs of Cherry Valley and
Wyoming, were discovered.
In connexion with the history of the expedition of Sullivan and Clinton,
just referred to, the author has likewise been favoured with the
manuscript diary of the venerable Captain Theodosius Fowler of this city,
who was an active officer during the whole campaign. In addition to the
valuable memoranda contained in this diary, Capt. Fowler has preserved a
drawing of the order of march adopted in ascending the Chemung, after the
junction of the two armies, and also a plan of the great battle fought
at Newtown by Sullivan, against the Indians and Tories commanded by Brant
and Sir John Johnson; both of which drawings have been engraved, and will
be found in the Appendix.
In the winter of 1775-'76, an expedition was conducted from Albany into
Tryon County, for the purpose of disarming the Tories and arresting Sir
John Johnson, of the particulars of which very little has hitherto been
known. On application to the family of General Schuyler, it was
ascertained that his letter books for that period were lost. After much
inquiry, the necessary documents were obtained from Peter Force, Esq. at
Washington.
The author has likewise been indebted to General Peter B. Porter, of Black
Rock, for some valuable information respecting the character and some of
the actions of Brant. General Porter was an early emigrant into the
western part of the State, as an agent for the great landholder, Oliver
Phelps; and the execution of his duties brought him into frequent
intercourse with many of the chiefs and sachems of the Indians. Among
these he became intimately acquainted with the Mohawk chief, between whom
and himself a written correspondence was occasionally maintained for
several years. Unfortunately, however, that correspondence, with other
communications in his hand-writing, which Gen. Porter had taken some pains
to preserve, was destroyed by one of the incursions of the enemy across
the Niagara during the last war. Still, the General has supplied the
author with several important reminiscences respecting the old chief, and
one transaction of thrilling interest, heretofore entirely unknown.
A friend of the author, a highly respectable and intelligent octogenarian,
Samuel Woodruff, Esq., of Windsor, Connecticut, made a visit to Brant at
the Grand River Settlement, in the summer of 1797, and remained with him
several days, in the enjoyment of frequent and full conversations upon
many subjects. Mr. Woodruff has obligingly furnished a dozen pages or more
of instructive notes and memoranda of those conversations, which have been
freely used. The author is likewise under obligations to Professor Marsh
of Burlington College, (Vt.) a connexion, by marriage, of the Wheelock
family, for several of Brant's original letters; and also to Thomas
Morris, Esq., of New-York, who knew the chief well, and was several years
in correspondence with him, for the same favour. Mr. Campbell has,
moreover, supplied several documents of value, obtained by him after the
publication of his own book.
Having, by the acquisition of these and other papers, procured all the
materials that appeared to remain, or, at least, all that were accessible,
while the documentary papers for the first division of the work were yet
very incomplete, the author, like Botta, in his promised complete history
of Italy, has been compelled to write the latter portion of the work
first. In the execution of this task, he had supposed that the bulk of his
labour would cease with the close of the war of the Revolution, or at
most, that some fifteen or twenty pages, sketching rapidly the latter
years of the life of Thayendanegea, would be all that was necessary. Far
otherwise was the fact. When the author came to examine the papers of
Brant, nearly all of which were connected with his career subsequent to
that contest, it was found that his life and actions had been intimately
associated with the Indian and Canadian politics of more than twenty years
after the treaty of peace; that a succession of Indian Congresses were
held by the nations of the great lakes, in all which he was one of the
master spirits; that he was directly or indirectly engaged in the wars
between the United States and Indians from 1789 to 1795, during which the
bloody campaigns of Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne, took place; and that he
acted an important part in the affair of the North-Western posts, so long
retained by Great Britain after the treaty of peace. This discovery
compelled the writer to enter upon a new and altogether unexpected field
of research. Many difficulties were encountered in the composition of this
branch of the work, arising from various causes and circumstances. The
conflicting relations of the United States, the Indians, and the Canadians,
together with the peculiar and sometimes apparently equivocal position in
which the Mohawk chief--the subject of the biography--stood in regard to
them all; the more than diplomatic caution with which the British officers
managed the double game which it suited their policy to play so long; the
broken character of the written materials obtained by the author; and the
necessity of supplying many links in the chain of events from
circumstantial evidence and the unwritten records of Indian diplomacy;
all combined to render the matters to be elucidated, exceedingly
complicated, intricate, and difficult of clear explanation. But tangled
as was the web, the author has endeavoured to unravel he materials, and
weave them into a narrative of consistency and truth. The result of these
labours is embodied in the second part of the present work; and unless
the author has over-estimated both the interest and the importance of this
portion of American history, the contribution now made will be most
acceptable to the reader.
In addition to the matters here indicated, a pretty full account of the
life of Brant, after the close of the Indian wars, is given, by no means
barren either of incident or anecdote; and the whole is concluded by some
interesting particulars respecting the family of the chief, giving their
personal history down to the present day.
It may possibly be objected by some--those especially who are apt to form
opinions without much reflection--that the author has indulged rather
liberally, not only in the use of public speeches and documents, but also
in the transcription of private letters. To this he would reply, that in
his view, his course in that respect adds essentially to the value of the
work; and had it not been for the unexpected size to which the volumes
have attained, those quotations would have been made with still greater
freedom. For instance, in regard to the interesting proceedings at the
last Grand Council of the Six Nations held in Albany, it was the original
intention of the author, long as they are, to insert them in the text; and
so the matter was at first arranged. The ancient Council Fire of the Six
Nations was always kept burning at Onondaga, the central nation of the
confederacy. But from the time of the alliance between the Six Nations and
the English, the fires of the united councils of the two powers were
kindled at Albany. There, according to the Indian figure of speech, the
big tree was planted, to which the chain of friendship was made fast. But
with the close of the Great Council held there in the summer of 1775, that
fire, which had so long been burning, was extinguished. It was the last
Indian congress ever held at the ancient Dutch capital. It took place at
a most important crisis, and its proceedings were both of an important and
an interesting character. Nor, until now, have those proceedings ever been
published entire. Indeed, it is believed that no part of them was ever in
print, until very recently a portion of the manuscript was discovered, and
inserted in that invaluable collection, the papers of the Massachusetts
Historical Society. That manuscript, however, was very defective and
incomplete, and chance alone has enabled the author to supply the
deficiency. It happened, during one of his visits to the office of the
Secretary of State last year, in search of documents, that he discovered,
among some ancient, loose, and neglected papers, several sheets of Indian
treaty proceedings, which were of themselves very imperfect. Supposing,
however, that they might possibly be of use at some time, he caused them
to be transcribed. Most luckily, on examining them in connexion with the
publication of the Massachusetts collection, they were found exactly to
supply the deficiencies of the latter. The result is, that the papers
appear now for the first time entire; a portion of them, however, from
their great length, having been transferred to the Appendix.
In regard to the use of speeches and letters, moreover, the author, after
much consideration, has adopted the plan, as far as possible, of allowing
the actors in the scenes described to tell their own stories. This is a
method of historical, and especially of biographical, writing, which is
coming more into favour than formerly. Marshall adopts it to a
considerable extent, and very effectively, in the Life of Washington. The
instructive and admirable life of that noblest of England's naval warriors,
Lord Collingwood, was constructed upon this plan. So, also, with Moore's
Life of Byron. Taylor's Life of Cowper, one of the most useful as well as
interesting lives that have been written of that most melancholy and yet
most delightful of English bards, is composed almost entirely from the
poet's own correspondence. Lockhart's captivating Memoirs of the peerless
Scott, now in course of publication, have been constructed upon the basis
of the mighty minstrel's own letters. And it is upon the same principle
that the author has quoted so largely from the letters and speeches of
Joseph Brant, and several of his distinguished correspondents; among whom,
the reader who has only heard of "the monster Brant" as a savage once
leading the Mohawks abroad upon scalping parties, will probably be
surprised to learn, were numbered many gentlemen of rank and standing in
Church and State, both in England and America.
An able English writer [FN] has recently opened a very interesting
discussion, upon the great advantages of thus using letters and
manuscripts in the composition of history. Speaking of the maxim that
"history is philosophy teaching by example," he remarks:--"In morals, all
depends upon circumstances. An example, whether real or fictitious, can
teach us nothing, if it contains only dry facts. The mischief of a great
many histories, and those of no mean account, is, that they are quite
contented with giving an agreeable narration of naked facts, from which we
can gather nothing beyond the facts themselves. To the chronicler, the
murder of Thomas A' Becket is the murder of Becket, and it is nothing
more. To what quarter, then, are we to look for the magic by which we may
make the dry bones live again? We answer, unhesitatingly, to the letters
of the day, if there be any. We say so, not because they will contain any
elaborate description of the feelings, or expose' of the views, of the age
to which they belong, but because they must be written, to a great extent,
in the spirit of the age in which their writers lived. The events of the
day--the writers' feelings toward their neighbours, and their neighbours'
feelings toward them--their comments on the ordinary course of things
around them; these are precious records for all who wish to study mankind
and morals in history; for these things, and these alone, can enable us
fully to appreciate the temper and spirit in which the acts commemorated
in history were done. . . . It is very true that some historians profess
to use letters, and that some have actually used them in a small degree;
but, considering their great value, they have never been used as they
deserved; and, in very many cases, their existence seems to be hardly
known to historians themselves." It is in accordance with these views,
that letters and speeches have been so copiously used in the present work;
although it is not supposed that the correspondence of a burly chieftain
of the forest, or the bluff partisan officers of a wilderness border, can
in any respect be compared with Cowper's polished models of epistolary
writing, or with those of Scott or Byron, or those of Lady Mary Wortley
Montague, of Peter of Blois or John of Salisbury. They are nevertheless
valuable in themselves, both as historical records and as illustrations
of character. Of the speeches, and sketches of speeches, embodied in this
work, together with the narratives given of the occasions which called
them forth, it may be added that they are all memorials of a people,--once
a noble race--numerous and powerful--now fast disappearing from the face
of the earth--a beautiful portion of the earth--once their own! These
memorials it was one of the chief purposes of the author to gather up and
preserve.
* * * * *
[FN] London Quarterly Review, No. cxvi.--Art. on Upcott's Collection of
Original Letters, Manuscripts, and State Papers.
The plan of the work, especially of the first and larger portion of it,
may perhaps in some respects disappoint the reader, though, it is hoped,
not unfavourably. It has been the object of the author to render it not
only a local, but, to a certain extent, a brief general history of the War
of the Revolution. Thus, while it is a particular history, ample in its
details, of the belligerent events occurring at the west of Albany, the
author has from time to time introduced brief sketches of contemporaneous
events occurring in other parts of the country. By this means, bird's-eye
glimpses have been presented, for the most part in the proper order of
time, of all the principal military operations of the whole contest. In
order, moreover, to the better understanding of the incipient
revolutionary movements in the Mohawk country, (then Tryon County,) a
rapid view is given of the same description of movements elsewhere. The
proceedings of that county were, of course, connected with, and dependent
upon, those of New England, especially of Boston--the head, and heart, and
soul of the rebellion, in its origin and its earlier stages. Hence a
summary review of the measures directly, though by degrees, leading to the
revolt of the Colonies, has not been deemed out of place, in its proper
chronological position. And as all the Indian history of the Revolutionary
war at the north, the west, and the south, has been written out in full,
by the incidental sketches of other events and campaigns marking the
contest, the work may be considered in the three-fold view of local,
general, and biographical; the whole somewhat relieved, from time to time,
if not enlivened, by individual narratives--tales of captivity and
suffering--of daring adventures and bold exploits.
Several weeks after the preceding pages had been stereotyped, but before
any considerable progress had been made in printing the body of the work,
the author was so fortunate as to obtain a large accession of valuable
materials from General Peter Gansevoort, of Albany, embracing the
extensive correspondence of his father, the late General Gansevoort,
better known in history as "the hero of Fort Stanwix." These papers,
embracing those captured by him from the British General St. Leger, have
been found of great importance in the progress of the work, and will add
materially to its completeness and its value.
A few words respecting the embellishments of these volumes. The
frontispiece of each volume presents an elegantly engraved portrait of the
brave and wary Mohawk, who forms the principal biographical figure of the
work, taken at different periods of his life. The Chief sat for his
picture several times in England; once, at the request of Boswell, in
1776, but to what artist is not mentioned. He likewise sat, during the
same visit, to the celebrated portrait and historical painter, George
Romney, for the Earl of Warwick. He was again painted in England, in 1786,
for the Duke of Northumberland; and a fourth time, during the same visit,
in order to present his likeness in miniature to his eldest daughter. His
last sitting was to the late Mr. Ezra Ames of Albany, at the request of
the late John Caldwell, Esq. of that city. This was about the year 1805,
and the likeness is pronounced the best ever taken of Captain Brant. The
author's valued friend Catlin has made a very faithful copy of this
portrait, which has been beautifully engraved by Mr. A. Dick, a well-known
and skillful artist of New-York. This picture, as latest in the order of
time, will be found at the head of the second volume. The inscription of
this plate is a _facsimile_ of the old chief's signature, from a letter
written by him to the Duke of Northumberland not long before his death.
The author has another picture of the elder Brant, of which he may be
pardoned for giving some account. Being at Catskill, in the Summer of
1833, the author discovered, in the possession of his friend, Mr. Van
Bergen, some odd volumes of the London Magazine of 1776, in one of which
he accidentally found an engraving of Brant, from the portrait taken for
Boswell, in the gala costume of the Chief as he appeared at Court. The
countenance of this picture, however, was dull, and comparatively
unmeaning. On his visit to Upper Canada, in September, 1836, the
chieftain's daughter, Mrs. Kerr, showed him a head of her father in a gold
locket, which was full of character and energy--with an eye like the
eagle's. Having procured this locket, and placed it, together with the
engraving referred to, in the hands of Mr. N. Rogers, that eminent artist
has produced a very spirited and beautiful picture, which was painted
expressly to be engraved for this work. Before it was placed in the hands
of the artist, however, Mr. Chapman, an artist of New-York, returning from
a visit to England, brought with him a superb print of Brant, taken from
the Earl of Warwick's picture by Romney. As this print not only presents
more of the figure of the chief than either of the others, and possesses
withal more character and spirit, it has been adopted for the work in lieu
of that painted by Mr. Rogers. The engraving has also been well executed
by Dick, and stands in front of the first volume. The picture by Catlin
is the war-chief of the forest in the full maturity of years. The other
is the Indian courtier in London. This first volume also contains a finely
engraved portrait of General Gansevoort, by Prudhomme, from a portrait by
Stuart. It is a fine specimen of the gentleman of the Revolutionary era.
But these are not all the pictorial illustrations. In the completion of
the life of Brant, it has been deemed proper to add some account of his
family subsequent to his decease. The law of official inheritance among
the Six Nations will be found peculiar to that people, the descent being
through the female line. Joseph Brant was himself the principal War-chief
of the Six Nations; and his third wife, who at his decease was left a
young widow, was, in her own right, the representative of the sovereignty
of the Confederacy, in whom alone was vested the power of naming, from
among her own children, or, in default of a child of her own, from the
next of kin, a principal civil and military chief. On the death of her
husband, therefore, she selected as his successor her youngest son, John
Brant, then a lad of seven years old. He grew up a noble fellow, both in
courage and character, as the reader will ascertain before he closes the
second volume. During the author's visit to the Brant House in Upper
Canada, he saw a portrait of the young chief, then recently deceased,
which, though painted by a country artist, and, as a whole, a very bad
picture, was nevertheless pronounced by Mr. and Mrs. Kerr to be very
correct, so far as the figure and likeness were concerned. Obtaining this
portrait from Canada last Autumn, it was placed in the hands of Mr. Hoxie,
who has produced the excellent picture which has been well engraved by Mr.
Parker, and will be found in the second volume. As the young chief went
first upon the war-path in the Niagara campaigns of 1812-15, the idea of
embodying a section of the great cataract in the back-ground of the
picture was exceedingly appropriate.
As the name of the celebrated Red Jacket appears frequently in the second
volume, a likeness of him has been added, from a painting by Weir,
beautifully engraved by Hatch. In addition to all which is the finely
engraved title-page, designed, engraved, and presented to the author, by
his estimable friend Mr. A. Rawdon.
In addition to these illustrations, another has been added, the character
of which is striking and its history curious. It is the sketch of a scene
at a conference with the Indians at Buffalo Creek, in the year 1793, held
by Beverley Randolph, General Benjamin Lincoln, and Colonel Timothy
Pickering, in the presence of a number of the British officers then
stationed upon that frontier. Messrs. Randolph, Lincoln, and Pickering
were on a pacific mission, accompanied, at the request of the Indians, by
a number of Quakers. The sketch of that conference was drawn by a British
officer, Col. Pilkington, and taken to Europe. In 1819 it was presented to
an American gentleman of the name of Henry, at Gibraltar, and by him given
to the Massachusetts Historical Society. The sketch is drawn with the
taste and science of a master of the art; the grouping is fine, and the
likenesses are excellent. As the history of the mission of those gentleman
forms an interesting chapter in the present work, this sketch has been
deemed an appropriate accompaniment.
In addition to the acknowledgments already made in the preceding pages,
the author is under obligations, to a greater or less extent, to many
other individuals, for hints, suggestions, and the collection of materials.
Among these he takes pleasure in naming the Hon. Lewis Cass, late
Secretary of War, and now Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
near the Court of St. Cloud; General Dix, Secretary of the State of
New-York, and Mr. Archibald Campbell, his deputy; General Morgan Lewis;
Major James Cochran, of Oswego, and also his Lady, who was the youngest
daughter of General Schuyler; Major William Popham, who was an aid-de-camp
to General James Clinton; Samuel S. Lush, Esq., and S. De Witt Bloodgood,
Esq. of Albany; James D. Bemis, Esq. of Canandaigua; Lauren Ford and
George H. Feeter, Esquires, of Little Falls; Giles F. Yates, Esq. of
Schenectady; William Forsyth, Esq. of Quebec; and the Rev. Mr. Lape,
formerly of Johnstown, and now of Athens, N. Y.
With these preliminary explanations, the work is committed to the public,
in the belief that, although it might, of course, have been better
executed by an abler hand with a mind less distracted by other pressing
and important duties, it will, nevertheless, be found a substantial
addition to the stock of American history.
WILLIAM L. STONE.
_New-York, March,_ 1838.
LIFE OF BRANT.
LIFE
OF
JOSEPH BRANT--THAYENDANEGEA, &c.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
Birth and parentage--Discussion of the doubts cast upon his origin--Visit
of Mohawk chiefs to Queen Anne--Evidence of Brant's descent from one of
those--Digression from the main subject, and Extracts from the private
and official journals of Sir William Johnson--Connexion between Sir
William and the family of Brant--Incidental references to the old French
war--Illustrations of Indian proceedings, speeches, &c.--Brant's
parentage satisfactorily established--Takes the field in the Campaign of
Lake George (1765.)--Is engaged at the conquest of Niagara
(1759.)--Efforts of Sir William Johnson to civilize the Indians--Brant
is sent, with other Indian youths, to the Moor Charity School, at
Lebanon--Leaves school--Anecdote--Is engaged on public business by Sir
William--As an Interpreter for the Missionaries--Again takes the field,
in the wars against Pontiac--Intended massacre at Detroit--Ultimate
overthrow of Pontiac--First marriage of Brant--Entertains the
Missionaries--Again employed on public business--Death of his
wife--Engages with Mr. Stewart in translating the Scriptures--Marries
again--Has serious religious impressions--Selects a bosom friend and
confidant, after the Indian custom--Death of his friend--His grief, and
refusal to choose another friend.
The birth and parentage of Joseph Brant, or, more correctly, of
Thayendanegea--for such was his real name--have been involved in
uncertainty, by the conflicting accounts that have been published
concerning him. The Indians have no herald's college in which the lineage
of their great men can be traced, or parish registers of marriages and
births, by which a son can ascertain his paternity. Ancestral glory and
shame are therefore only reflected darkly through the dim twilight of
tradition. By some authors, Thayendanegea has been called a half-breed.
By others he has been pronounced a Shawanese by parentage, and only a
Mohawk by adoption. Some historians have spoken of him as a son of Sir
William Johnson; [FN] while others again have allowed him the honour of
Mohawk blood, but denied that he was descended from a chief.
* * * * *
[FN] Several authors have suggested that Brant was the son of the Baronet.
Drake, in his useful compilation, "The Book of the Indians," states that
he had been so informed by no less an authority than Jared Sparks. Drake
himself calls him an _Onondaga_ of the Mohawk Tribe!
Nearly twenty years ago, a brief account of the life and character of this
remarkable man was published in the Christian Recorder, at Kingston, in the
province of Upper Canada. In that memoir it was stated that Thayendanegea
was born on the banks of the Ohio, whither his parents had emigrated from
the valley of the Mohawk, and where they are said to have sojourned several
years. "His mother at length returned with two children--Mary, who lived
with Sir William Johnson, and Joseph, the subject of this memoir. Nothing
was known of Brant's father among the Mohawks. Soon after the return of
this family to Canajoharie, the mother married a respectable Indian called
Carrihogo, or News-Carrier, whose Christian name was Barnet or Bernard;
but, by way of contraction, he went by the name of Brant." Hence it is
argued that the lad, who was in future to become not only a distinguished
war-chief, but a statesman, and the associate of the chivalry and nobility
of England, having thus been introduced into the family of that name, was
first known by the distinctive appellation of "Brant's Joseph" and in
process of time, by inversion, "Joseph Brant." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Christian Register, 1819, Vol. I. No. 3, published at Kingston,
(U. C.) and edited by the Rev. Doctor, now the Honourable and Venerable
Archdeacon Strachan, of Toronto. The sketches referred to were written by
Dr. Strachan, upon information received by him many years before, from
the Rev. Dr. Stewart, formerly a missionary in the Mohawk Valley, and
father of the present Archdeacon Stewart of Kingston.
There is an approximation to the truth in this relation, and it is in part
sustained by the existing family tradition. The facts are these: the Six
Nations had carried their arms far to the west and south, and the whole
country south of the lakes was claimed by them, to a certain extent of
supervisory jurisdiction, by the right of conquest. To the Ohio and
Sandusky country they asserted a stronger and more peremptory claim,
extending to the right of soil--at least on the lake shore as far as
Presque Isle. From their associations in that country, it had become usual
among the Six Nations, especially the Mohawks, to make temporary removals
to the west during the hunting seasons, and one or more of those families
would frequently remain abroad, among the Miamis, the Hurons, and
Wyandots, for a longer or shorter period, as they chose. One of the
consequences of this intercommunication, was the numerous family alliances
existing between the Six Nations and others at the west--the Wyandots, in
particular.
It was while his parents were abroad upon one of those hunting excursions,
that Thayendanegea was born, in the year 1742, on the banks of the Ohio.
The home of his family was at the Canajoharie Castle--the central of the
three Castles of the Mohawks, in their native valley. His father's name
was Tehowaghwengaraghkwin, a full-blooded Mohawk of the Wolf Tribe. [FN]
Thayendanegea was very young when his father died. His mother married a
second time to a Mohawk; and the family tradition at present, is, that the
name of Brant was acquired in the manner assumed by the publication
already cited. There is reason to doubt the accuracy of this tradition,
however, since it is believed that there was an Indian family, of some
consequence and extent, bearing the English name of Brant. Indeed, from
the extracts presently to be introduced from the recently discovered
manuscripts of Sir William Johnson, it may be questioned whether
Tehowaghwengaraghkwin, and an old chief, called by Sir William sometimes
Brant, and at others Nickus Brant, were not one and the same person.
* * * * *
[FN] Each of the original Five Nations was divided into three tribes--the
Tortoise, the Bear, and the Wolf. The subject of the present memoir was
of the latter. According to David Cusick, a Tuscarora, who has written a
tract respecting the history of the ancient Five Nations, the laws of the
confederation required that the Onondagas should provide the King, and
the Mohawks a great War-Chief.
The denial that he was a born chief, is likewise believed to be incorrect.
It is very true, that among the Six Nations, chieftainship was not
necessarily obtained by inheritance. But in regard to Thayendanegea, there
is no doubt that he was of noble blood. The London Magazine for July,
1776, contains a sketch of him, probably furnished by Boswell, with whom
he was intimate during his first visit to England in 1775-'76. In that
account it is affirmed as a fact without question, that he was the
grandson of one of the five sachems who visited England, and excited so
much attention in the British capital, in 1710, during the reign of Queen
Anne. Of those chiefs, two were of the Muhhekaneew, or River Indians, and
three were Mohawks--one of whom was chief of the Canajoharie clan. [FN-1]
Thayendanegea was of the latter clan; and as there is reason to believe
that his father was a sachem, there can be little doubt of the correctness
of the London publication, in claiming for him direct descent from the
Canajoharie chief who visited the British court at the time above
mentioned. But there is other evidence to sustain the assumption. In the
Life of the first President Wheelock, by the Rev. Messrs. McClure and
Parish, it is asserted that the father of Joseph Brant "was sachem of the
Mohawks, after the death of the famous King Hendrick." The intimacy for a
long time existing between the family of Brant and the Wheelocks, father
and sons, renders this authority, in the absence of unwritten testimony
still more authentic, very good; and as Hendrick fell in 1755, when
Thayendanegea was thirteen years of age, the tradition of the early death
of his father, and his consequent assumption of a new name, is essentially
weakened. Mrs. Grant, of Laggan, who in early life was a resident of
Albany, and intimately acquainted with the domestic relations of Sir
William Johnson, speaks of the sister of young Thayendanegea, who was
intimately associated in the family of the Baronet, as "the daughter of
a sachem." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] These five sachems, or Indian kings, as they were called, were
taken to England by Colonel Schuyler. Their arrival in London created a
great sensation, not only in the capital, but throughout the kingdom. The
populace followed them wherever they went. The Court was at that time in
mourning for the death of the Prince of Denmark, and the chiefs were
dressed in black under-clothes, after the English manner; but, instead of
a blanket, they had each a scarlet-ingrain cloth mantle, edged with gold,
thrown over all their other clothes. This dress was directed by the
dressers of the play-house, and given by the Queen. A more than ordinary
solemnity attended the audience they had of her Majesty. They were
conducted to St. James's in two coaches by Sir Charles Cotterel, and
introduced to the royal presence by the Duke of Shrewsbury, then Lord
Chamberlain. [Smith's History.] Oldmixon has preserved the speech
delivered by them on the occasion, and several historians record the
visit. Sir Richard Steele mentions these chiefs in the Tatler of May 13,
1710, They were also made the subject of a number of the Spectator, by
Addison.
[FN-2] "Memoirs of an American Lady," chap, xxxix.
In the manuscript diary of Sir William Johnson, just referred to, and of
which more particular mention has been made in the Introduction, the
Baronet often had occasion to speak of Brant, of Canajoharie. Sometimes he
was called "Nickus Brant," and at others Aroghyadagha--but most frequently
"Old Nickus," or "Old Brant." As these private journals of Sir William
have never seen the light, and are curious in themselves, a few extracts
will probably not be unacceptable to the reader--serving, as they will,
not only to illustrate the present history, but also the character of the
intercourse and relations existing between the English and the Indians,
under the administration of the Indian department by that distinguished
officer. A more just idea of the character and importance of the
chieftain's family, may likewise be derived from a perusal of the extracts
proposed to be given, exhibiting, as they do, something of the intercourse
maintained between the families of the white and the red warriors.
It must be borne in mind, that the diary to which we are referring, was
written in the years 1757, '58, and '59--in the midst of the old French
war, ending by the conquest of Canada, in 1763. An expedition against that
colony, under the conduct of Lord Loudoun, projected early in the former
year, had been abandoned in consequence of his Lordship's inability to
bring a sufficient number of troops into the field, to meet the heavy
reinforcements sent over that year from France. Meantime the Marquis de
Montcalm, with an army of 9000 men, had advanced through Lake George, and
carried Fort William Henry--the siege of which was followed by a frightful
massacre--and was then threatening Fort Edward and the settlements on the
Hudson; while at the west, the French, with their Indian allies, were
continually threatening an invasion by the way of Oswego; and by their
scouts and scalping parties, were vexing the German settlements on the
Upper Mohawk, and continually harassing the Six Nations--or Iroquois--ever
the objects of French hostility. In this state of things, it required the
utmost activity on the part of Sir William Johnson, his officers and
Indian allies, to keep themselves well informed as to the actual or
intended movements of their subtle enemies. There was therefore constant
employment, until the close of the year, for Indian scouts and messengers,
throughout the whole wilderness country from Lake Champlain to Niagara,
and Fort Du Quesne, on the Ohio. With this explanation we proceed to the
diary:
"1757.--_Nov._ 4. Canadiorha, alias Nickus Brant's son, who was in quest
after De Conagne as far as Oneida, came here (Fort Johnson), and said he
inquired what news was stirring among the Oneidas. One of the sachems told
him the same piece of news Ogaghte brought some days since, about the
French intending to stop the powder from the Six Nations,--building a fort
near Chennessio, &c.--that it made a great noise among the nations, and
gave them uneasiness; wherefore they were assembling often at Chennessio,
and keeping (holding) often great councils among themselves how to act in
this affair of last moment. He further was told at Oneida, that but two
days ago the Six Nations received a message from the Twightwees (Miamies),
letting their brethren of the Six Nations know that they had heard of the
insolent attempt of the French, of destroying the Six Nations; and that
after the many provocations the French gave them, in stirring them up to
war against the English, &c. they were now resolved to turn the hatchet
against the French, and resolved to pass the Six Nations' country in their
way to war. They expected not to be delayed, but to be immediately joined
by the warriors of the Six Nations, and to proceed toward Canada. He also
said he heard the foreign (distant) nations complain very much for want of
trade with the English; and Tahaddy, a Chenundidie chief, said that he was
stopped by the French to sell his fur at Cataraghqui, and that he got not
the half quantity of goods that he could (have) got from the English, and
that he intended to keep his furs for the future, and in the Spring to go
with them to Albany, and at the same time to intercede with Sir William in
behalf of all the western nations, to grant them a trade again--and
further Canadiorha said not."
In the next extract it will be seen that Sir William speaks of Brant as a
"sachem." Of course it could be none other than the elder, or "Old Brant,"
at the time; as Joseph was not then more than sixteen years old.
"1758--_April_ 15_th._ Sir William set out for Canajoharie, and took with
him Captains Johnson,[FN-1] Fonda, and Jacobus Clement, in order to settle
some matters with the Indians of that castle. He arrived that night."
[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Guy Johnson, his son-in-law.
[FN-2] This entry is not in the hand-writing of Sir William, but of a
certain "P. W." who was his private secretary,
"_April_ 16_th._ He delivered a string of wampum to Brant and Paulus, two
sachems, desiring them to call all their people out of the woods to attend
a meeting he proposed the next day with them, at which he should let them
know General Abercrombie's pleasure, and his own inclination and
advice--also what passed between him and the several nations, who of late
had had several meetings with him."
Preparations were now making for a more formidable and vigorous campaign,
under General Abercrombie, who had succeeded Lord Loudoun. His object was
an attack upon Ticonderoga, and, if successful, a descent upon Crown Point
and Montreal. The French in Canada were of course making corresponding
exertions to repel the expected invasion. With a view of creating a
diversion, by annoying the colony of New-York from another quarter, they
were said to be preparing to invade the Mohawk Valley, by the way of
Oswego and Fort Stanwix. A party of their Indians had made a bold
irruption, toward the close of April, upon Burnetsfield, on the south side
of the Mohawk, and destroyed the entire settlement--massacreing men,
women, and children--thirty-three in number--being the whole population
save two persons. There had likewise been outrages at the German Flats,
where several Indians had been killed by the inhabitants. The militia were
promptly ordered into the field, to rendezvous at Canajoharie, whither Sir
William repaired on the 4th of May, to lead them against the
enemy--reported on the same day to be in force at the great carrying place
(Fort Stanwix.)
Meantime it was well known that the French had left no means untried, to
seduce the five westernmost tribes of the Six Nations from their
allegiance to the English. They had long had their Jesuit priests among
the Oneidas, Onondagas, &c.; and a variety of circumstances had occurred to
induce the Mohawks to distrust their brethren of the other tribes. Under
these circumstances, Sir William received the invitation thus noted in his
diary:--
"_April_ 4_th._ Sir William having had an invitation from the Six Nations
to attend a grand meeting to be held at Onondaga within a few days hence,
where he intends to proceed, in case the last alarm should prove
groundless."
The Baronet arrived at Canajoharie in the evening, and attended a dance of
the young warriors, having the scalp of one of the hostile Indians engaged
in the recent irruption, who had been killed at the German Flats. He is
thus spoken of in the diary--in the hand-writing of Sir William's
secretary.
"The body of Otqueandageghte, an Onondaga warrior, who lived for some
years at Swegachy, and formerly a mate of Sir William's, was found. His
name was engraved on the handle (of his knife), and how often he had been
to war, together with this inscription--'_Otqueandageghte le Camera de
Jeanson._'"
Sir William was highly respected by the Six Nations, and by the Mohawks in
particular was greatly beloved. This affection was not only manifested by
their actions, but often in their speeches, at their councils, and in
their concern for his welfare when sick, and for his safety when in the
field. [FN] Such being their feelings toward the Baronet, they were
reluctant, under existing circumstances, to allow him to place himself in
the power of the Indians about to assemble at the Great Council Fire at
Onondaga. They were likewise apprehensive that he might incur danger from
some of the scalping parties of the French. These explanations will render
the following extracts from the diary intelligible:--
* * * * *
[FN] To this point, at the close of a council, Sir William says--"When I
drank to them at parting, they in return drank my health, and thanked God
I had recovered my late illness. They then all said that it was happy I
did not die then; for, said they, 'had you died, we and the English would
get by the ears very soon, we see; and we fear it will be the case when
you die or leave us.'" Again, at another council the chiefs commenced
their speech:--
"Brother, We are extremely glad to see you so well recovered of your late
very dangerous illness, and thank the Great Spirit above for it. Had you
been taken away from us that time, our case would have been melancholy,
and our situation extremely precarious. It will be so, we fear, whenever
we lose you."
Diary, Jan. 14-19, 1758.
"_May_ 5_th._ Sir William having no further accounts of the enemy's
appearance, sent a scout of two Mohawks, two Canajoharies, and a white
man, to go as far as Wood Creek and the Oneida Lake, in order to obtain
the certainty of the alarm. About noon all the women of the chief men of
this castle met at Sir William's lodging, and brought with them several of
the sachems, who acquainted Sir William that they had something to say to
him in the name of their chief women.
"Old Nickus (Brant) being appointed speaker, opened his discourse with
condoling with Sir William for the losses his people had sustained, and
then proceeded:--
"Brother, we understand you intend to go to a meeting to Onondaga; we
can't help speaking with this belt of wampum to you, and giving our
sentiments on your intended journey. In the first place we think it quite
contrary to the customs of any Governors or Superintendent of Indian
affairs being called to Onondaga upon public business, as the council fire
which burns there serves only for private consultations of the
confederacy; and when matters are concluded and resolved upon there, the
confederacy are to set out for the great fire place which is at your
house, and there deliver their conclusion. In the next place we are almost
convinced that the invitation is illegal, and not agreed upon or desired
by the confederacy, but only the Qneidas--which gives us the more reason
to be uneasy about your going, as it looks very suspicious. Did not they
tell you, when they invited you, the road of friendship was clear, and
every obstacle removed that was in before? They scarce uttered it, and the
cruelties were committed at the German Flats, where the remainder of our
poor brethren were butchered by the enemy's Indians. Is this a clear road
of peace and friendship? Would not you be obliged to wade all the way in
the blood of the poor innocent men, women, and children who were murdered
after being taken?
"Brother, by this belt of wampum, we, the women, surround and hang about
you like little children, who are crying at their parents' going from
them, for fear of their never returning again to give them suck; and we
earnestly beg you will give ear to our request, and desist from your
journey. We flatter ourselves you will look upon this our speech, and take
the same notice of it as all our men do, who, when they are addressed by
the women, and desired to desist from any rash enterprise, they
immediately give way, when, before, every body else tried to dissuade them
from it, and could not prevail."
_Gave the Belt._
"_Canajoharie, May 7th._ This afternoon Sir William had a meeting with the
chief women of this castle, and returned them thanks for their condolence
of the 5th instant. At the same time he condoled with them for the loss of
one of the tribe of the Bear, that belonged to the chief of that tribe,
with a stroud blanket, a shirt, and stockings."
_A string of Wampum._
"Sir William told them that he would answer their speech concerning his
journey, when the messengers who had gone to Oneida came back. He also
made private presents to a few of the head women of each tribe, with a
blanket and shirt each."
"_May_ 10_th._ This afternoon Sir William returned his answer to the
speech of the chief women of this castle, made to him on the 5th instant,
which is as follows:--
"Dyattego, your tender and affectionate speech, made some days ago, I have
considered, and thereupon have dispatched messengers to Oneida, in order
to inquire how things stand there after what happened at the German
Flats, and whether my presence at the meeting would be still necessary.
These messengers are returned, and I find by them that the sachems of
Oneida likewise disapprove my proceeding any farther, for sundry reasons
they give in their reply. Wherefore I shall comply with your request to
return, and heartily thank you for the great tenderness and love expressed
for me in your speech."
_Returned their Belt._
The next entry in which the name of Nickus Brant occurs, is under date of
November 18th, 1758--in which he is called the chief sachem of Canajoharie.
He must also have been a man of trust and consequence, as he had then just
returned from an important mission to a great Indian council in
Pennsylvania.
"_Fort Johnson, Nov._ 18, 1758. Nickus, chief sachem of Canajoharie,
arrived from the meeting at Easton, and in the presence of the Belt, a
Seneca chief, several more of said nation, the Red Head, and some more
Onondagoes, showed me all the belts which passed between the Governors of
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and these several nations of Indians there
assembled, with the purport of them, which I need not insert here."
An important land negotiation had taken place at the council at Easton, by
which the agents of Penn had agreed to release to the Six Nations, certain
territories purchased of them at Albany in 1754--but which sale gave
dissatisfaction to the tribes. Nickus desired Sir William to communicate
this information to the Indians, on their return from hunting; and Sir
William enjoined it upon Nickus to put an end to the irregularities of his
tribe, and the mischief they were doing to the property; as "such
barbarism must be productive of very fatal consequences."
The Diary says:--"He told me it was with the utmost concern he had heard
what I had told him, and assured me he would endeavour all in his power to
restrain them, and try to bring them to proper order; but doubted of
success while there was such a flood of rum in the country, which alone
occasioned them to commit such irregularities, and which, if not
prevented, must inevitably destroy them all in a little time." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The introduction and pernicious effects of ardent spirits among the
Indians were a frequent subject of complaint, even at that early day, of
which Sir William's memoranda, and the records of Indian speeches to him,
afford repeated proofs.
On the 18th of January, 1759, Sir William held a conference at Canajoharie
Castle with the Mohawk and Seneca chiefs. After condoling with them for
their losses by sickness, with three strings of wampum, and for their
losses by the war with a like number of strings, he addressed them as
follows:--
"Brethren of the two Mohawk Castles and Senecas: I take the first
opportunity of acquainting you that His Majesty has been pleased to
appoint Lieutenant General Amherst, Commander in Chief of all his forces
in North America, in the room of Lieutenant General Abercrombie, who is
called home. Also that the General has, by letter, desired I would use my
utmost endeavours to get as great a number of our brethren, the Six
Nations, to join him early next Spring against our common enemy, as I
possibly can. This I shall endeavour to do, and would be glad of your
advice and assistance therein, which by this belt of wampum I desire you,
as our steady friends, will afford me.
"_A Belt._
"Brethren: As you are all acquainted with the late cruel and unprecedented
murder of John McMichael, one of our people, by a Cayouga [FN] Indian near
Fort Stanwix, whom he employed to escort him to Fort Herkimer, I shall not
repeat the disagreeable circumstances to you, as I am sensible it affects
you as well as me. I would now only ask your opinion what are the proper
steps to be taken in the affair, as it will always have great weight with
me.
"_Three Strings._"
* * * * *
[FN] Always spelt thus by Sir William Johnson.
"Brethren: I lately received these strings of wampum from the Oneidas by
Captain Fonda, by which they say I am invited to a meeting proposed to be
held soon at Onondaga, where you are also desired to attend. I am ready
and willing to go if you think it will be for the good of the service. At
the same time I must observe to you, that I think it an unprecedented
manner of inviting either you or me, without some of the Onondagas coming
down with it as usual. I nevertheless submit to your judgment, as being
better acquainted with their forms, and expect you will give it me, as
well as your opinion of the proper steps for me to take, in order to get
what prisoners of ours may be among the nations."
_Three Strings._
"_Do. Die._ Tarrawarriax, and another Seneca sachem, came to Sir William,
_at Brant's house,_ and told him, &c.
"_January_ 19. The sachems, &c. being met at their council room, sent to
acquaint Sir William that they were ready to answer to what he the day
before had laid before them. On which he, with the same gentlemen who
attended him yesterday, went to the meeting, when Aroghyadecka, _alias_
Old Brant, chief of the Canajoharies, spoke as follows:--
"Brother Warraghiysgey [FN]--We are much obliged to you for giving us so
timely notice of the General's desire and intentions, and we hope and wish
that he may be ready to take the field very early, which in our opinion is
what should always be done. You may depend upon our attachment and
assistance; being determined, as we declared to you at the beginning of
this war, to stand or fall with you. And as you desired our opinion with
regard to the Six Nations, we have considered of it, and think it best
that you call their sachems, chief warriors, and leading women, down to
your house as soon as may be, where we shall be ready to attend and assist
you all in our power.
"_Returned the Belt._"
* * * * *
[FN] The name which the Indians had conferred upon Sir William, and by
which he was almost invariably addressed.
"Brother: The late murder of one of our brethren near the carrying place,
by one of the Upper nations in the French interest, gives us great
concern, and think he ought to be severely punished for it. But as we hope
the Six Nations may now act a better part than they have hitherto, we
would advise you not to say any thing about it until they come to the
meeting at your house, and then we think the milder you speak to them, the
better, at this time. And this is our opinion.
"_Returned three Strings._
"Brother: As for the strings of wampum lately sent by the Oneidas, to
invite you and us to a meeting at Onondaga, we think with you that it was
not according to our ancient and usual custom, nor was it even a proper
invitation. We are of opinion that your inviting them all to your house is
much better and more in character. Wherefore we would be very glad if you
would give them an invitation, and at the same time to send some strings of
wampum, desiring they would bring what prisoners of our brethren may be
among them.
"_Three Strings of Wampum._
"Brother: We return you our hearty thanks for the confidence you repose in
us, and be assured we shall ever study to act so as to continue your good
opinion of us. We are also thankful to you for the good news you yesterday
told us, and we heartily congratulate you thereon, and hope further
success may attend the King's arms."
The course suggested by the chiefs was adopted by Sir William, and
messengers, with the usual significant belts, were forthwith dispatched to
the Cayugas and Onondagas. It was attended by the best results, as appears
from subsequent entries in the Diary. Mr. McMichael, who had been murdered
by the recreant Cayuga, was a trader of note, and the peculiar atrocity of
his murder had created a deep feeling of indignation, for which the
circumstances of treachery and duplicity stated in the official report
from the commanding officer at Fort Stanwix to Sir William, were a full
warrant. The Cayugas lost no time in manifesting their sorrow and
detestation of the crime, as will be seen from the following extract from
the Baronet's journal: [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The author is of course aware that this is a digression from his
main subject; but the incident is an interesting one, and the speech of
the Cayugas worthy of preservation for its simple pathos, and also as an
illustration of Indian character, Mr. McMichael's family are yet among
the most respectable residents of Schenectady.
"_Fort Johnson, Feb._ 5. Skanarady, Teughsaragarat, and Ottawannio, three
chiefs of the Cayuga nation, arrived here with several more, and after
being introduced by Clement, the interpreter, began and said:
"Brother Warraghiyagey: The unhappy murder of one of our brethren near the
Oneida carrying place, is the occasion of our coming down at this severe
season of the year. Our nation would not be at rest, nor easy, until they
had spoke to you about it. We now, in their behalf, wipe away the tears
from your eyes, so that you may look pleasant at us. We likewise remove
all obstructions, and clear your throat, so that you may speak clear and
friendly to us. Lastly, we wipe away the blood of our brother, lately
killed near the carrying place, that the sight of it may no longer give us
concern.
"_Three Strings of Wampum._
"Sir William told them that he would be ready the next morning to hear
what they had further to say, and would desire his neighbours, the
Mohawks, to attend.
"_Wednesday, Feb._ 6. About twenty Mohawks arrived. The Cayugas being
acquainted that Sir William was ready, with the Mohawks and two
Onondagoes, to hear them, they entered the Council, and Skanarady spoke as
follows:
"Brother Warraghiyagey: On our arrival yesterday we wiped the tears from
your eyes, and we now, agreeable to the custom of our forefathers, take
the French hatchet, (which they gave to one of our foolish, deluded young
men, giving him great rewards, and making him large promises if he would
use it against our brethren the English,) out of your head, and bury it in
a deep pool, where it can never be found; also, with this belt of wampum
we assure you that it gives our nation as much concern as it can you, and
promise the greatest care shall be taken to prevent the like happening for
the future.
"_A Black and White Belt._
"Brother: With this belt we cover his grave, that the sight of it may no
longer give you or us concern.
"_A White Belt._
"Brother: With these strings we raise up your head, now hanging down with
concern for the loss of one of our brethren, and beg you will no longer
keep sorrow in your mind
"_Three Strings of Wampum._
"Brother: Lastly, we most earnestly entreat that you will not, for what
has happened, neglect the management of our affairs, as your neglect of
them at any, but more particularly at this, time, must render us unhappy,
and throw the confederacy into confusion.
"_A Belt of Black and White._"
To which Sir William replied:--
"Brethren of Cayuga: I have heard what you have by these belts said, and
only now tell you that I shall defer entering into the affair until the
Five Nations are met, which I expect will be soon, as I have invited them
all here. Then you and they will hear what I have to say on the subject,
and your belts shall be laid by safe until then."
On the 11th of February, Sir William proceeded to Canajoharie, at which
place he had invited a meeting of the chiefs and warriors of the Mohawks.
The occasion, and the proceedings, will be understood from the annexed
extract:--
"_Monday, Feb._ 12--8 _at night._ Being all assembled, Sir William told
them that the reason of his coming to their castle was to get a number of
their briskest men to join Captain Lotteridge, and some of the Mohawks and
Schoharies, on a scout to Tienderago, [FN] or Crown Point, in order to see
what the enemy was about, and get him a prisoner from whom he might be
able to get better intelligence than the General daily receives, and which
would enable the General to take proper measures for the defence of the
country until the opening of the campaign,--and that they would be ready
in two days to set off for his house, where they would be supplied with
every thing necessary for such service.
"_A painted War-Belt thrown between them._"
* * * * *
[FN] Ticonderoga--always spelled thus by Sir William Johnson.
No sooner was the belt cast among them, than Sonughsas, a chief of the
Bear tribe, arose, took the belt in his hand, and sang his war-song, and
was followed by several more of each tribe. Then Aroghigadecka, the chief
sachem of the castle, stood up and said:--
"Brother Warraghiyagey: We, the sachems and warriors of the Canajoharie
castle immediately quit our hunting on your call, and made all the haste
possible to meet you here, where we are all heartily glad to see you; and
in answer to your desire, without any hesitation, I am desired by the
young men present to tell you they will be ready to go with Captain
Lotteridge, and the Mohawks, &c. on the service you require, and we have
no reason to doubt you will (in their absence) take care of their
families, who are extremely poor and in great want of provisions.
"_Here returned the War-Belt._
"Sir William thanked them for the readiness they showed on the occasion,
and told them he would give their families some provisions in their
absence, or money to purchase it, so that they should not suffer. He then
gave them an entertainment, as usual on such occasions, and parted. He
left that castle Tuesday morning, and arrived at Fort Johnson that night."
The next mention of the Brants contained in the broken manuscripts of Sir
William, is found in the private journal kept by him of his tour to
Detroit in 1761, after the surrender of the Canadas. The duty then
devolved upon Sir William of meeting the upper Indians around the great
Lakes, previously under the influence, and many of them in the service, of
the French, in Grand Council at Detroit,--to establish friendly relations
with them, and receive a transfer of that _quasi_ allegiance which the
Indians have generally acknowledged to the whites, French, English, or
American. In addition to his own immediate suite, among whom was his son,
Lieutenant Johnson, (afterward Sir John,) he was attended on the
expedition by a detachment of troops, and a band of the Mohawk warriors.
While at Niagara, [FN] Sir William notes:
* * * * *
[FN] The author has already acknowledged his indebtedness to Archibald
Johnson, Esq., of Lower Canada, for the original of this very interesting
journal, which it is hoped will be of greater use in another work.
"_Monday, August_ 10. Nickus, [FN] of Canajoharie, an Indian, arrived here,
and acquainted me that several of his castle had died of malignant fever;
and that all Brant's family were ill of the same disorder, except the old
woman. He also told me that he had heard by the way from several Indians,
that I was to be destroyed or murdered on my way to Detroit; and that the
Indians were certainly determined to rise and fall on the English, as
several thousands of the Ottaways and other nations had agreed to join the
Five Nations in this scheme or plot."
* * * * *
[FN] Nickus Hance--another name and a different person from Nickus Brant,
of this Nickus, repeated mention is made in Sir William's previous
official diaries. The following quotations are given as curious
illustrations of Indian customs:
"_Fort Johnson, May_ 22, 1757. Sir William spoke with Nickus Hance, alias
Taicarihogo, a Canajoharie chief, who came to see him, and told him, that
as he was much concerned for the loss of his (said Hance's) mother, who
lately died, that he expected he would remove his concern by going to
war, and bringing either a prisoner or a scalp to put in her room, or
stead, as is usual among Indians. Upon this Sir William gave him a very
fine black belt to enforce his request. Taicarihogo returned Sir William
thanks for the concern he shared for the loss of his mother, accepted the
belt, and promised he would, on his return home, call his young men
together, and lay Sir William's belt and request before them." [The
giving of a belt in this way, was a sort of commission to make up a
scalping party against the forces or the settlements of the
enemy.--_Author._]
Of a similar character is the following extract from the Diary:
"_Albany, May_ 18, 1758. Capt. Jacob Head, of a Company of Stockbridge
Indians, brought to Sir William's lodgings four French scalps, which his
cousin, chief of another company of said Indians, had taken from the
enemy some few days before, and the aforesaid Jacob spoke as follows:
"_Brother Warraghiyagey:_ This scalp (the one with a black belt tied to it
painted) I desire maybe delivered to my wife's uncle, old Nickus, of
Canajoharie, to replace her mother, who was his sister.
"This scalp, (meaning another upon the same stick, with a bunch of black
wampum tied to it,) I send to the aforesaid man to replace Eusenia, who
was Taraghyorie's wife.
"This scalp, (meaning a scalp by itself on a stick, with a bunch of black
wampum,) my cousin, Captain Jacob, gives to replace old King Hendrick, of
Canajoharie. [Killed in 1755, at the battle of Lake George.--_Author._]
"This scalp, (meaning the small one tied round with a bunch of wampum,)
my said cousin gives to replace Nickus's son, who was killed at the
battle of the Lake under your command."
It is needless, however, to multiply citations to the point immediately in
view. The object of those already made has been to clear up the doubts, if
possible, and establish the fact as to the immediate ancestry of
Thayendanegea, alias Joseph Brant; while, it is believed, the incidental
history necessarily involved in these extracts has not been altogether
devoid of interest. And although the fact is nowhere positively asserted,
yet there is much reason to suppose that he was the son of Nickus Brant,
whose Indian name, according to Sir William Johnson, was _Aroghyadecka;_
but which has been furnished to the author by the family as
_Tehowaghwengaraghwin._ It has been seen from the extracts that Nickus
Brant was a Canajoharie chief of character and celebrity, between whom and
Sir William a close intimacy subsisted. When called to Canajoharie upon
business or pleasure, the Baronet's quarters were "at Brant's house," as
noted in his own Diary. It is likewise well known, that after the decease
of Lady Johnson, (an event which occurred several years antecedent to the
period of which we are now writing, and before he had won his baronetcy at
Lake George,) Sir William took to his home as his wife, Mary Brant, or
"Miss Molly," as she was called, with whom he lived until his decease in
1774, and by whom he had several children. This circumstance is thus
mentioned by Mrs. Grant in her delightful book already referred
to:--"Becoming a widower in the prime of life, he connected himself with
an Indian maiden, daughter to a sachem, who possessed an uncommonly
agreeable person and good understanding; and whether ever formally married
to him according to our usage, or not, continued to live with him in great
union and affection all his life." The Baronet himself repeatedly speaks
of this Indian lady in his private journals. While on his expedition to
Detroit, entries occur of having received news from home, and of having
written to "Molly." He always mentioned her kindly, _ex gr:_--
"_Wednesday, Oct._ 21_st._ Met Sir Robert Davers and Captain Etherington,
who gave me a packet of letters from General Amherst. . . . Captain
Etherington told me Molly was delivered of a girl: that all were well at
my house, where they staid two days."
But to return from these digressions. Molly, as it has already been
stated, was the sister of Thayendanegea; and both, according to the
account of the London Magazine of 1776, the earliest printed testimony
upon the subject, were the grandchildren of one of the Mohawk chiefs who
visited England half a century before. That his father was a chief,
several authorities have likewise been cited to show; to which may be
added that of Allen's Biographical Dictionary, where the fact is
positively asserted. [FN] From such a body of testimony, therefore, direct
and circumstantial, it is hazarding but very little to assume, that, so
far from having been of humble and plebeian origin, according to the
statement of Dr. Stewart, Joseph Brant was of the noblest descent among
his nation.
* * * * *
[FN] President Allen is connected by marriage with the family of the late
President Wheelock, and has had excellent opportunities for arriving at
the probable truth.
Of the early youth of Joseph, there are no accounts, other than that he
was very young when first upon the war-path. In one of the authorities to
which reference has already been made, [FN-1] it is stated, that having
attained the age of thirteen years, he joined the warriors of his tribe
under Sir William Johnson, and was present at the memorable battle of Lake
George, in which the French were defeated, and their commander, the Baron
Dieskau, mortally wounded. The Mohawks were led into action by their
celebrated king, the brave old Hendrick, who was slain. [FN-2] It was this
victory which laid the foundation of Sir William's military fame, and in
reward for which he was created a Baronet. It is reported, that in
relating the particulars of this bloody engagement to Doctor Stewart, the
youthful warrior acknowledged, "That this being the first action at which
he was present, he was seized with such a tremor when the firing began,
that he was obliged to take hold of a small sapling to steady himself; but
that after the discharge of a few vollies, he recovered the use of his
limbs and the composure of his mind, so as to support the character of a
brave man, of which he was exceedingly ambitious." He was no doubt a
warrior by nature. "I like," said he, once in after-life, when the
conversation was about music, "the harpsichord well, and the organ still
better; but I like the drum and trumpet best of all, for they make my
heart beat quick." [FN-3]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Christian Register.
[FN-2] A council of war was called Sept. 8. It was proposed to send a
detachment to meet the enemy. When the number was mentioned to Hendrick,
he replied--"If they are to fight, they are too few; if they are to be
killed, they are too many." When it was proposed to send out the
detachment in three parties, Hendrick took three sticks, and said, "Put
these together, and you can't break them; take them one by one, and you
will do it easily." Hendrick's advice was taken, and victory was the
result.--_Holmes._
[FN-3] Letter of T. Campbell to Ahyonwaeghs,
President Allen states that the father of Thayendanegea had three sons in
the army of Sir William Johnson in the year 1756. Of these Joseph was
probably the youngest, since he was but thirteen at the battle of Lake
George in 1755. A young warrior truly; but he might well have been there,
even at that tender age, since, by all the accounts that have descended to
us, he must have been a lad of uncommon enterprise--giving early promise
of those eminent qualities, which were developed in the progress of a life
of various and important action.
The youthful warrior likewise accompanied Sir William during the Niagara
campaign of 1759, and in the brilliant achievements of the Baronet, after
the chief command had devolved upon him by the death of General Prideaux,
is said to have acquitted himself with distinguished bravery. General
Prideaux, commanding the expedition, was killed by the accidental
explosion of a cohorn on the 20th of July, soon after commencing the
siege; but Sir William prosecuted the plan of his fallen superior with
judgment and vigour. On the 24th of July Monsieur D'Aubrey approached the
fortress with a strong force, for the purpose of raising the siege. A
severe engagement ensued in the open field, which resulted in the triumph
of the British and Provincial arms. The action was commenced with great
impetuosity by the French, but Sir William was well prepared for their
reception. After a spirited contest of half an hour, the French broke, and
the fate of the day was decided. The flight of the French was bloody and
disastrous for the space of five miles, at which distance D'Aubrey, and
most of his officers, were captured. The Indians behaved uncommonly well
on this occasion, and Brant was among them. On the following day, so
vigorously did the Baronet prosecute his operations, the fort was taken,
with all its military supplies and about six hundred prisoners. By this
blow the French were cut off from their project of keeping up a line of
fortified communications with Louisiana.
The exertions of Sir William Johnson to improve the moral and social
condition of his Mohawk neighbours, were not the least of his praiseworthy
labours among that brave and chivalrous people. Having aided in the
building of churches and locating missionaries among them, at the request
of the Rev. Mr. Kirkland and others, he selected numbers of young Mohawks,
and caused them to be sent to the "Moor Charity School," established at
Lebanon, Connecticut, under the immediate direction of the Rev. Doctor
Eleazer Wheelock, afterward President of Dartmouth College, of which, by
its transfer, that school became the foundation. Among the youths thus
selected was young Thayendanegea, the promising brother of "Miss Molly."
The precise year in which he was thus placed under the charge of Dr.
Wheelock cannot now be ascertained. The school itself was opened for the
reception of Indian pupils, avowedly as an Indian missionary school, in
1748; the first Indian scholar, Samson Occum, having been received into it
five years before.[FN-1] It has been asserted that Joseph was received
into the school in July 1761, at which time he must have been nineteen
years old, and a memorandum of his preceptor to that effect has been
cited. According to Dr. Stewart,[FN-2] however, he was a mere boy when
first sent to Lebanon; and it will presently appear that the entry of Dr.
Wheelock was most probably incorrect. He was doubtless at the school in
that year, and very likely on the point of leaving it; since three years
afterward he will be found settled in his own native valley, and engaged
in very different pursuits.
* * * * *
[FN-1] The success of the Doctor with him, was a strong inducement for
establishing the school. Occum was ordained to the ministry in 1759; and
was subsequently located as a missionary among the Oneidas, to which
place he was accompanied by Sir William himself. The Indian preacher
afterward compiled and published a volume of devotional hymns.
[FN-2] Although, for want of other authorities in regard to the young
chief at this period of his life, it is necessary to use that of Dr.
Stewart, yet that is evidently not very accurate. For instance, he sends
Thayendanegea to Dr. Wheelock _at Dartmouth;_ whereas the school at that
place was not opened until 1770, at which period, or only one year
thereafter, by the same authority, the chief was living in his own house,
with a wife and children, at Canajoharie.
The correspondence between Doctor Wheelock and Sir William was quite
active at this period upon the subject of the school, and Joseph was
himself employed as an agent to procure recruits for it. Thus, in a letter
from the Baronet to the Doctor, dated November 17, 1761, he says--"I have
given in charge to Joseph, to speak in my name to any good boys he may
see, and encourage to accept the generous offers now made to them; which
he promised to do, and return as soon as possible, and that without
horses." The probability, however, is, that he went to the school
immediately after his return from the Niagara campaign in 1759. No doubt
he had left it before Sir William wrote the letter just cited, and, being
engaged upon some Indian mission, had been instructed to interest himself
among the people of the forest in behalf of that institution. That he did
not, himself, remain long at the school, is conceded. According to Dr.
Stewart, moreover, he made but little proficiency in his studies at this
seminary, having "learned to read but very indifferently in the New
Testament, and to write but very little." The fact, however, that the Rev.
Charles Jeffrey Smith, a missionary to the Mohawks, took Thayendanegea as
an interpreter in the year following, (1762,) and gave him an excellent
character, presents a much more favourable idea of his progress in
learning while at the school; as also does the following passage from the
memoirs of his teacher:--"Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indian
affairs in North America, was very friendly to the design of Mr. Wheelock,
and at his request sent to the school, at various times, several boys of
the Mohawks to be instructed. [FN-1] One of them was the since celebrated
Joseph Brant; who, _after receiving his education,_ was particularly
noticed by Sir William Johnson, and employed by him in public business. He
has been very useful in advancing the civilization of his countrymen, and
for a long time past has been a military officer of extensive influence
among the Indians in Upper Canada." [FN-2] Accompanying Thayendanegea to
the "Moor School," [FN-3] were several other Mohawk youths, and two
Delawares had entered the school before him. The name of one of
Thayendanegea's companions was William, a half-breed, who was supposed to
be the son of his patron. Only two of the number remained to receive the
honours of the future college. The others, impatient of the restraints of
a school, and delighting more in the chase of game than of literary
honours, loving their native forests better than sunny fields, and
preferring to string the bow and speed the arrow, rather than turn over
the pages of Livy or Corderius, returned to their hunter state in about
two years. Thayendanegea probably left the school at the same time. He
used, when speaking of the school, to relate with much pleasantry an
anecdote of "William," who, as he affirmed, was one day ordered by Mr.
Wheelock's son to saddle his horse. The lad refused, alleging that, as he
was a gentleman's son, the performance of such a menial office would be
out of character. "Do yon know," inquired the younger Wheelock, "what a
gentleman is?" "I do," replied William; "a gentleman is a person who keeps
race-horses, and drinks Madeira wine, and that is what neither you nor
your father do,--therefore saddle the horse yourself!" [FN-4]
* * * * *
[FN-1] When the foundation of the school was enlarged by the liberality of
the Earl of Dartmouth and others, in England, and the same was removed
from Connecticut, it contained 24 pupils, 6 of whom were Indians. There
is among the Johnson papers a letter from President Wheelock, written to
Sir William in 1772, introducing two of his Indian pupils to the
acquaintance of the Baronet.--_Author._
[FN-2] McClare's Life of Wheelock, page 27.
[FN-3] So called from the name of its founder, Mr. Joshua Moor, of
Mansfield, Connecticut.
[FN-4] Christian Recorder. This anecdote reminds the author of another,
which he has heard a distinguished Kentucky member of Congress relate
with great glee of himself. When first elected, he said he had never
crossed the Alleghenies, and he feared greatly that his ignorance and
rusticity would be but too manifest when he came to associate with
gentlemen. He had heard that gentlemen were fond of Champagne, of which
he had never tasted. But he said, that at the first dinner party after
his arrival at the seat of government, he was relieved of his
embarrassment. At the first taste of the sparkling liquor, he found that
he loved it. He knew, therefore, that he was made for a gentleman! And a
very agreeable and accomplished gentleman he became.
The exigencies of the frontier country did not allow Thayendanegea to
remain long associated in the mission with Mr. Smith. He was again called
out upon the war-path, as appears by the following paragraph in one of the
Rev. Mr. Kirkland's [FN] earliest reports to the Rev. Dr. Wheelock, in
regard to the Christian missionaries and teachers employed among the Six
Nations:--
* * * * *
[FN] The Rev. Samuel Kirkland, father of President Kirkland, late of
Harvard University, and for more than forty years a missionary among the
Six Nations--chiefly the Oneidas. He was the son of the Rev. Daniel
Kirkland, of Norwich (Conn.) where he was born in 1742. His education was
commenced at Dr. Wheelock's school, and his collegiate course performed
at Princeton, where he was graduated in 1765. He first commenced his
labours among the Senecas, in 1766, having learned the Mohawk language
while in college. He was often employed by the Government in various
Indian transactions, and died at Paris, Oneida County, in March, 1808.
"Joseph Brant, a Mohawk Indian, and of a family of distinction in that
nation, was educated by Mr. Wheelock, and was so well accomplished that
the Rev. Charles Jeffrey Smith, (a young gentleman who, out of love to
Christ and the souls of men, devotes his life, and such a fortune as is
sufficient to support himself and an interpreter, wholly to this glorious
service,) took him for his interpreter when he went on his mission to the
Mohawks, now three years ago. But the war breaking out at that time
between the back Indians and the English, Mr. Smith was obliged to return;
but Joseph tarried, and went out with a company against the Indians, and
was useful in the war; in which he behaved so much like the Christian and
the soldier, that he gained great esteem. He now lives in a decent manner,
and endeavours to teach his poor brethren the things of God, in which his
own heart seems much engaged. His house is an asylum for the missionaries
in that wilderness." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Narrative of the Indian Charity School, published by Dr. Wheelock in
1767, page 35.
Neither the particular war in which the young chief was then engaged, nor
the time of the campaign, is noted in the foregoing extract. A passage
contained in a letter from Sir William Johnson to Dr. Wheelock, however,
dated April 25th, 1764, affords a clue to the desired
information:--"J---- is just returned from an expedition against the
enemy, who have abandoned their towns, of which three were burned, with
four villages, consisting, in all, of about two hundred houses, built with
squared logs, and vast quantities of corn, &c. Parties are now in pursuit
of the enemy." It was therefore early in the Spring of 1764 that young
Brant returned from the war--then brought to a close. The war itself could
have been none else than that against the great Ottoway chief Pontiac,
who, in 1763, undertook to dispossess the English of the country of the
lakes, then recently acquired by conquest from the French. Pontiac was by
far the most formidable chief with whom the English colonists had had to
contend since the fall of Philip. He combined the great Indian tribes of
the north-west almost as one man, and in 1763 led thirty-six chiefs, with
their trains of warriors, against Detroit, after having carried several
of the remote western posts. A well-concerted stratagem, timely discovered
to the British commander by an Indian woman, had well nigh placed that
important position within his power also. Foiled in the plan of obtaining
admission by stratagem and putting the garrison to death, Pontiac laid
siege to the fort, attacking it with great fury. It was besieged for a
long time, as also were the fort at Niagara and Fort Pitt. It was not
until the Autumn of 1763 that the English were able to throw succours into
Detroit, in accomplishing which enterprise some of the Mohawk warriors
were engaged. There had been several severe engagements with Pontiac's
warriors in the course of that Summer, in which the Indians attached to
the English cause had fought with great bravery. The vessel carrying the
supplies to Detroit, was likewise furiously attacked by a force of 350
Indians, in boats on the lake, but they were bravely repulsed. In what
particular battles, during this contest, Thayendanegea was engaged, does
not appear. But he was in the war, and his courageous and enterprising
spirit offered the best evidence, that he neither avoided the post of
danger, nor failed to reach it for want of activity. Having invested
Detroit for a twelvemonth, the French, moreover, with whom he was in
alliance, having lost their power in America, Pontiac sued for peace on
the approach of Gen. Bradstreet from Pittsburgh, at the head of 3000
men. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Pontiac was assassinated in 1779, during a war between the Ioways
and Ottawas. He was a great man.
In 1765, Thayendanegea, having been previously married to the daughter of
an Oneida chief, was settled at Canajoharie, as appears by a letter from
the Rev. Theophilus Chamberlain, one of the missionaries to the Six
Nations, to the Rev. Dr. Wheelock, written from Canajoharie, and dated
July 17th of that year. After speaking of the encouraging condition of the
Indian school, and the prospect of opening another, Mr. Chamberlain
said:--"I am now at Joseph Brant's house, very poorly with the dysentery,
which hath followed me near a week. Riding in the rain sometimes, wading
through tracks to get along, and lodging on the cold ground the other
night, have made me almost down sick; but my business keeps me alive.
Joseph Brant is exceeding kind."
Three years afterward he was still leading a peaceful life at the same
place, as we learn from the following entry in the journal of Mr. Ralph
Wheelock, who had been sent to Oneida to relieve Mr. Kirkland, that
gentleman being sick:
"_March_ 18, 1768. At my old friend, Joseph Brant's, I met one of the
chiefs of the Onondagas, (who is, by way of eminence, called the
Wise-man,) on his return to his tribe, with his wife and child; and by
Joseph Brant's help I was able to discourse with him, and delivered my
message to his nation."
During the three years next ensuing, no certain information has been
obtained respecting his course of life. As the country was at peace,
however, he was probably leading a life of repose at home, save when
acting, upon occasional business visits among the Indians, under the
direction of Sir William Johnson. It is very probable, moreover, that he
may at that time have been connected with the English Episcopal Missions
to the Mohawks, commenced in the Mohawk Valley so early as 1702, and
continued down to the beginning of the Revolutionary war. Having been
employed as an interpreter by one of the missionaries, several years
before; and as the Rev. Dr. John Ogilvie, the predecessor of Dr. Barclay
in that mission, was engaged, in the year 1769, in revising, extending,
and reprinting the Mohawk Prayer Book, embracing additional passages of
Scripture, some occasional prayers, and Indian versifications of several
psalms, it is highly probable that Thayendanegea may have been employed as
an assistant in that labour, since he was partial to exercises of that
description.
In the year 1771, the Rev. Mr. Stewart conducted a school at Fort Hunter,
thirty miles below Canajoharie. A venerable friend of the author, yet
living in Albany, [FN] states, that being a pupil in Doctor Stewart's
school at about that time, he had opportunities of seeing Thayendanegea at
that place frequently, and formed an acquaintance with him, which
continued, interrupted only by the war of the Revolution, until the death
of the warrior. He then formed an excellent opinion of the young chief in
regard to talents and good disposition. It is believed, that from the
shrewdness of his sister Molly and the influential position which she
occupied in the family of Sir William, added to his own talents and
sagacity, he was much employed at home by the Baronet, in the discharge of
the multifarious duties incident to his important official station. He was
also frequently engaged upon distant embassies among the western tribes,
and his talents and tact as a diplomatist of the forest, were qualities
pertaining to his character through life.
* * * * *
[FN] Douw Fonda, Esq., son of Captain Jelles Fonda, who was an active and
very efficient officer, both in the Indian and Military service, under
Sir William Johnson.
Thayendanegea was thrice married--having been twice a widower before the
war of the Revolution. His first two wives were of the Oneida tribe. The
Rev. Dr. Stewart states that he first became acquainted with him in the
winter of 1771. He was then still residing at Canajoharie, on visiting
which village the Doctor says he found him comfortably settled, in a good
house, with every thing necessary for the use of his family--consisting of
a wife, in the last stage of consumption, and two children--a son and a
daughter. His wife died some time afterward, on which Thayendanegea
repaired to Fort Hunter, and resided with the Doctor for a considerable
length of time. Doctor Stewart was then engaged upon another revision of
the Indian Prayer Book, and Joseph assisted him in making various
additional translations. He likewise assisted the Doctor in translating a
portion of the Acts of the Apostles, and a short history of the Bible,
together with a brief explanation of the Church catechism, into the Mohawk
language. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Doctor Stewart states that he was directed to repair to New-York,
and publish these books at the expense of the Missionary Society, but was
prevented by the breaking out of the war. He took the MSS. to Canada, and
afterward delivered them to Colonel Daniel Claus, by whom they were taken
to England; but it does not appear that they were ever published.
It is stated on the same authority, [FN] that in the winter of 1772-3, he
applied to Doctor Stewart to marry him to the half-sister of his deceased
wife, but the Divine refused the application on the ground of the
forbidden relationship. Brant, however, vindicated the act, much in the
manner of white widowers desirous of forming the like connexion; arguing,
very naturally, that the fact of the relationship would secure a greater
degree of tenderness and care for his children. Still the Episcopal
minister persisted in his refusal, and a less scrupulous German
ecclesiastic gratified his desire by performing the ceremony.
* * * * *
[FN] The Christian Register.
It was at about the same period of his life that Thayendanegea became the
subject of serious religious impressions. He attached himself to the
Church, was a chastened and regular communicant at the celebration of the
Eucharist; and from his serious deportment, and the anxiety he had ever
manifested to civilize and Christianize his people, great hopes were
entertained from his future exertions in that cause. No doubt has ever
been entertained of his sincerity at that time; and it has been attributed
to the counteracting influences of the dreadful trade of war, in which it
was his fortune afterward again so actively to become engaged, that those
manifestations of Christian utility were effaced; entirely eradicated they
were not, as will be seen at a subsequent stage of the career of this
remarkable man.
In compliance with Indian custom, he selected a bosom friend, during that
period of his life we are now contemplating, in the person of a Lieutenant
Provost, a half-pay officer residing in the Mohawk Valley. Those
unacquainted with Indian usages are not probably aware of the intimacy, or
the importance attached to this relationship. The selected friend is, in
fact, the counterpart of the one who chooses him, and the attachment often
becomes romantic; they share each other's secrets, and are participants of
each other's joys and sorrows. As the Revolutionary troubles were
approaching. Lieutenant Provost was ordered to his regiment and upon
foreign service, greatly to the regret of the future chieftain. His
lamentations attracted the attention of Doctor Stewart, who advised him to
select another friend--offering to stand as a substitute himself. But no;
the young chief declared that such a transfer of his affections could not
take place. He was Captain John's friend, and another such friend could
not be in existence at the same time. Lieutenant Provost had been ordered
to the West Indies; and in order to assure him of the strength and
constancy of his attachment, Thayendanegea procured an entire Indian
costume of the richest furs he could obtain, which was sent to him in
Jamaica. This incident has been detailed, not because in itself of any
particular importance, but as disclosing an excellent trait of character,
besides illustrating a feature of Indian life which may not be familiar to
all. [FN] Other events will now occupy the attention of the reader, in
which the Mohawk chieftain will be but one of many actors, though seldom
an obscure one.
* * * * *
[FN] A similar custom prevailed among the ancient Greeks. Two young
warriors often assumed this obligation of brotherhood, which was taken
with peculiar ceremonies, and maintained inviolate through life.
CHAPTER II.
Early symptoms of disaffection at Boston--Origin of the Revolutionary
War--First blood shed in 1770--Stirring eloquence of Joseph
Warren--Feelings of Sir William Johnson--His influence with the Indians
and Germans, and his unpleasant position--Last visit of Sir William to
England--His death--Mysterious circumstances attending it--Suspicions
of suicide unjust--His son, Sir John Johnson, succeeds to his title and
estates--His son-in-law, Col. Guy Johnson, to his office as
superintendent General of the Indians--Early life of Sir John--Joseph
Brant appointed Secretary to Guy Johnson--Influence of the Johnson
family--Revolutionary symptoms in Tryon County, fomented by the
proceedings in New England--First meeting of Tryon County
Whigs--Declaration of Rights--First meeting of Congress--Effect of its
proceedings--in England--Tardiness of Provincial legislature of
New-York--Spirit of the people--Notes of preparation in Massachusetts,
&c.--Overt acts of rebellion in several States--Indians exasperated by
the Virginia borderers in 1774--Melancholy story of Logan--Campaign of
Lord Dunmore and Colonel Lewis--Battle of the Kanhawa--Speech of
Logan--Its authenticity questioned--Peace of Chilicothe--Unhappy feeling
of the Indians.
It has been usually asserted by historians, that the first blood in the
war of the American Revolution was shed at Lexington; but such is not the
fact. The Boston massacre of 1770 was the beginning of that contest, so
fearful in its commencement, so doubtful in its progress, and so splendid
in its results. The storm had even then been gathering for several years,
and the public mind had become exceedingly feverish, not only in regard to
the conduct of the parent government, but in respect to the language and
bearing of the officers of the crown stationed in the colonies. When,
moreover, the people of Boston were subjected to what they considered a
still greater indignity, by the quartering of soldiers among them, the
irritation was such that but a small degree of forecast was necessary to
the perception of an approaching explosion. The affair at Gray's
Rope-Walk, on the 2d of March, increased the mutual exasperation; and the
massacre that followed on the 5th was but the natural consequence. The
first blow was then struck. The town was thrown into commotion, the drums
beat to arms; and the news, with the exaggerations and embellishments
incident to all occasions of alarm, spread through the country with the
rapidity of lightning. Every where, throughout the wide extent of the old
thirteen colonies, it created a strong sensation, and was received with a
degree of indignant emotion, which very clearly foretold that blood had
only commenced flowing; and although five years intervened before the
demonstration at Lexington, there were too many nervous pens and eloquent
tongues in exercise to allow those feelings to subside, or to suffer the
noble spirit of liberty that had been awakened to be quenched. Such
stirring orations as those of Joseph Warren were not uttered in vain; and
so often as the anniversary of the 5th of March returned, were the people
reminded by him, or by his compatriots of kindred spirit--"The voice of
your brethren's blood cries to you from the ground." The admonition had
its effect, and the resolutions of vengeance sank deeper and deeper into
the hearts of the people, until the fullness of time should come.
Sir William Johnson was too observing and sagacious a man not to note the
signs of the times. He saw the gathering tempest, and it is believed to
have given him great uneasiness. His sympathies, according to the
testimony of those who knew him, were undoubtedly with the people. He was
from the body of the people himself, having been the architect of his own
rank and fortunes; and those who were acquainted with, and yet survive
him, represent the struggle in his bosom to have been great, between those
sympathies and his own strong principles of liberty on the one hand, and
his duty to his sovereign on the other--a sovereign whom he had served
long and faithfully, and who in turn had loaded him with princely
benefactions. His domains in the Valley of the Mohawk were extensive; and
his influence, through a large number of subordinate officers and a
numerous tenantry, was correspondingly great. To the Indians, not only of
the Six Nations but those far in the west beyond, who had fallen within
the circle of his influence after the conquest of Canada and the
subjugation of Pontiac, he had been as a father, and they looked up to him
with veneration. Long association with him, and great Respect for his
character--which, from its blunt honesty, frankness, and generosity, not
altogether devoid of that roughness incident to a border population, was
well calculated to secure the attachment of such people--had also given to
his opinions the force of legal authority among the Colonists. The
population, aside from the Indians, was chiefly Dutch, in the lower part
of the Mohawk Valley; while in the interesting vale of the Schoharie Kill,
and the upper district of the Mohawk, it was composed of the descendants
of the German Palatinates, who had been planted there fifty years before.
It was not at that period a very intelligent population; and the name of
Sir William, who had been their friend and companion in peace, and their
leader in war, like that of the King, was a tower of strength. It was very
natural, therefore, that their opinions upon the great political questions
then agitating the country, should take their complexion for the most part
from those entertained by him. Hence, when the storm of civil war
commenced, the Loyalists in that valley were probably more numerous, in
proportion to the whole number of the population, than in almost any other
section of the northern colonies.
In connexion with the troubles which every man of ordinary sagacity could
not but perceive were fermenting, Sir William visited England for the last
time in the Autumn of 1773, returning in the succeeding Spring. He
probably came back with his loyal feelings somewhat strengthened. It was
not his fortune, however, good or ill, to see the breaking out of the
tempest, the near approaches of which he had been watching with an
intenseness of observation corresponding with the magnitude of his own
personal interests, which must necessarily be involved. He died suddenly,
at Johnson Hall, on or about the 24th of June, 1774.
It was reported by his enemies,--or rather by the enemies of the
Crown,--that he perished by his own hand, in consequence of the clouds
which he saw darkening the political sky; and such an impression is yet
very generally entertained. The tradition is, that on the day of his
decease he had received despatches from England, which were handed to him
while sitting in Court, and with which he immediately left the Court-house
and walked to his own house. These despatches, it was afterward reported,
contained instructions to him to use his influence with the Indians in
behalf of the Crown, in the event of hostilities. Another version of the
tradition is, that on the day in question he had received despatches from
Boston, the complexion of which, in his own mind, indicated that a civil
war was near and inevitable. In such an event he saw that he must either
prove recreant to his principles, or take part against the Crown; and, to
avoid either alternative, it has been extensively believed that he put an
end to his life. [FN-1] But there is no just ground for this uncharitable
conclusion. It is true that he had, on the evening of the 24th, received
despatches from Massachusetts, the tenor of which, by excitement, may have
hastened the malady to which his system was predisposed. It was a busy day
at Johnstown. The Circuit Court was in session, at which, however, Sir
William was not present, being engaged in holding a treaty with some of
the Six Nations. In the course of his speech to the Indians on that
occasion, he alluded to the despatches he had received, and stated to them
that troubles were brewing between the Americans and their King--advising
them not to abandon the cause of the latter, who had always been
benevolent and kind to them. "Whatever may happen," said the Baronet, "you
must not be shaken out of your shoes." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Mr. Campbell, in his "Annals," favors this opinion. He
says--"There is something still mysterious connected with his death. He
had been out to England, and returned the previous Spring. During a visit
which he made shortly afterward to Mr. Campbell, an intimate friend of
his at Schenectady, the conversation turned upon the subject of the
disputes between the Colonies and the Mother Country. He then said, _he
should never live to see them in a state of open war._"--Ann. p. 12.
[FN-2] MS. statement of a gentleman whose father was with Sir William
that morning, and was present at the Indian Council.
In the afternoon of that day Sir William was taken with a fit. Colonel
Johnson, his son, was absent at the Old Fort--distant nine miles. An
express was sent for him, and, mounting a fleet English blood-horse, he
rode for the Hall with all possible haste. His horse fell dead when within
three quarters of a mile of the house, having run upward of eight miles
in fifteen minutes. The Colonel hired the horse of some one standing by,
and pushed forward to the Hall. On entering the room, he found his father
in the arms of a faithful domestic, who attended upon his person. He spoke
to his parent, but received no answer; and in a few minutes afterward the
Baronet expired [FN]--of apoplexy, beyond a doubt. This was early in the
evening. While the judges of the Court were at supper in the village, one
mile distant, a young Mohawk Indian entered their apartment and announced
the event.
* * * * *
[FN] MS. statement of Colonel William Feeter, in possession of the
author. Col. F. is yet living (May, 1837.)
Sir William was succeeded in his titles and estates by his son, Sir John
Johnson; but the reins of authority, as General superintendent of the
Indian Department, fell into the hands of the son-in-law of Sir William,
Colonel Guy Johnson, who had long been in office as the Assistant, or
Deputy of the old Baronet. This officer was assisted by Colonel Daniel
Clans, who had likewise married a daughter of Sir William. On the decease
of his father, Sir John also succeeded to his post as Major General of the
militia.
Of the early life of Sir John Johnson not much is known. He was not as
popular as his father, being less social, and less acquainted with human
nature and the springs of human action. He accompanied his father on some
of his warlike expeditions, however, and probably saw considerable
service. Soon after the termination of the French war, he was sent by his
father, at the head of a small expedition, to the Mohawk canton of
Oghkwaga,[FN-1] to arrest a Captain Bull, and some other malcontents and
disaffected Indians, who were charged with being engaged in an effort to
enlist the Six Nations in a war against some other Indians, or possibly
to win them over to the designs of Pontiac. For this purpose young Johnson
had a choice corps of men placed under his command, most of whom had
served with the Baronet against the French. He had also a detachment of
Indians with him. The expedition was arranged somewhat with a view of
display--for the purpose, as it was conjectured, of giving eclat to the
young commander. The enterprise was successful--Bull and his adherents
were taken, and brought in irons to Johnstown. From thence they were sent
to Albany and imprisoned for a time, but were all subsequently discharged.
Before the Revolution commenced, Sir John married Miss Mary Watts, of the
city of New-York.[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The author has found much difficulty in attempting to determine
the orthography of this place. It is now generally written Oquaga. In the
Congressional journals of the Revolution it was spelled Oneaquaga. By
some writers it is written Oghquaga. The late highly intelligent Mohawk
chief, Norton, always wrote it Oghkwaga, which orthography has been
adopted by the author.
[FN-2] Sister to the late venerable John Watts, who died in September,
1836.
The successors of Sir William Johnson did not, however, possess the same
degree of moral power over the population of Tryon County, Indian or
white, as had been exercised by him. But they nevertheless derived
essential aid from "Miss Molly," who was a woman of talents as well as
tact, and possessing great influence among the Indians, who were her own
people, Molly was in turn aided by the counsels and exertions of her
brother, Joseph Thayendanegea, who had been much in the service of Sir
William during the latter years of his life, and who, on the death of the
Baronet, was advanced to the post of Secretary of Guy Johnson. These
gentlemen, however, (Sir John Johnson, Guy Johnson, and Colonel Glaus,)
living in great splendour, at, and in the neighbourhood of Johnstown, and
thus allied with the family of a powerful Mohawk sachem, were still
enabled to exert a decided influence, especially among the Indians. They
were likewise in close official and political alliance with Colonel John
Butler, an opulent and influential gentleman of that county, and his son
Walter N. Butler--names rendered memorable, if nothing worse, by
association with certain bloody transactions, which will be developed in
the progress of the present volume.
But, notwithstanding all their influence--and no family in America had
ever been regarded with greater deference by the surrounding population
than that of the Johnsons--they were not long in discovering that the
principles now openly avowed in Massachusetts, could not be confined
within the limits of that colony, or even of New England. Though less
openly proclaimed, yet as the waters of a fountain ooze through the earth
unseen until they have gathered force enough to break the surface and gush
forth, so was it with the principles of Liberty sent abroad by "the Boston
rebels," as they worked their way up the valley of the Mohawk; and the
successors of Sir William Johnson were not long in discovering, that
although they could still count among their retainers a large number of
adherents, the leaven of civil liberty had nevertheless been more deeply
at work than they had desired, or probably supposed. The celebrated
"Boston Port Bill," enacted in consequence of the destruction of the tea
in that harbour in 1773, had gone into operation only a month preceding
the death of Sir William; and in the next month subsequent to his decease,
a public meeting was held in the Palatine district, warmly seconding the
proposition of Massachusetts for the assembling of a general Congress,
for mutual consultation and counsel in the existing posture of the
political affairs of the Colonies. The original draft of the proceedings
of that meeting is yet in existence, in the hand-writing of Col.
Christopher P. Yates--a patriot who embarked early in the struggle, and
served to the end. They breathed the genuine spirit of freedom, and as a
declaration of rights, are well entitled to a place among the fervid
papers of that day, which were so powerful in their operation upon the
public mind. After setting forth the concern and sorrow felt by the
meeting, at the shutting up the port of Boston, and the tendency of the
acts of Parliament for raising a revenue in the American Colonies, which
they held to be an abridgment of the privileges of the people, the meeting
resolved: 1st. That they recognised the King as their lawful sovereign,
would bear true faith and allegiance to him, and would, with their lives
and fortunes, support and maintain him on the throne of his ancestors, and
the just dependence of the Colonies upon the crown of Great Britain. 2d.
That they considered it their greatest happiness to be governed by British
laws, and would pay cheerful submission to them, as far as they could do
so, consistently with the security of the Constitutional rights of English
subjects, "_which were so sacred that they could not permit them to be
violated._" 3d. That all taxes without their own consent, or the consent
of their representatives, were unjust and unconstitutional; and the acts
of Parliament upon the subject were denounced, as obvious encroachments
upon the rights and liberties of British subjects. 4th. That the act
closing the port of Boston was arbitrary and oppressive to the
inhabitants, whom they considered to be suffering in the common cause.
5th. That they would unite with their brethren elsewhere, in relieving the
necessities of the suffering poor in Boston, and in "any thing tending to
support our rights and liberties." 6th. Approving of the calling of a
general Congress, and of the five members who had already been appointed
by their brethren of New-York. 7th. That they would abide by such
regulations as might be agreed upon by the said Congress. 8th. Appointing
a committee of correspondence for that district, [FN] and recommending the
other districts of the county to do the same.
* * * * *
[FN] Christopher P. Yates, Isaac Paris, and John Frey.
The Congress met in Philadelphia in September, 1774, and after adopting
a declaration of rights, and setting forth wherein those rights had been
violated, they agreed upon an address to the King, exhibiting the
grievances of the Colonies, and praying for his Majesty's interposition
for their removal. An address to the people of British America was
likewise adopted, together with an appeal to the people of Great Britain,
as also a letter to the people of Canada. [FN-1] The Congress then
adjourned, to meet again in May, 1775. The papers put forth from that
august assembly had a powerful effect upon the public mind. They were also
highly extolled by Lord Chatham in the House of Peers, who declared, that
"In all his reading and observation--and it had been his favourite
study--for he had read Thucydides, and had studied and admired the master
states of the world--for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, and
wisdom of conclusion, under such complication of circumstances, no nation
or body of men could stand in preference to the General Congress at
Philadelphia." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Mr. R. H. Lee wrote the address to the American people, and Mr.
Jay that to the people of Great Britain.
[FN-2] Parliamentary Register.
The Provincial Assembly of New-York was the only legislature in the
Colonies that withheld its approbation from the proceedings of the
Congress--the loyalists of that Colony being, from a variety of causes,
more numerous and influential than in any other of the provinces. In the
Valley of the Mohawk they were particularly zealous and active; and the
Johnson family, with their associates, were ceaseless in their efforts to
divert the revolutionary spirit, which was but too obviously abroad.
But like the bitter plant in the vegetable pharmacopoeia, the principles
of liberty only thrive more rapidly beneath a pressure, and the spark
which had been struck in the Palatine district, they not only found it
impossible to extinguish, but a measure of their own adoption had the
effect of kindling it into a blaze--and, once kindled, the fire of liberty
is as inextinguishable as the Greek.
In Massachusetts, however, other menacing measures besides the passage of
resolutions, were adopted toward the close of 1774. Governor Gage having
issued writs for the holding of a General Assembly, in October, afterward
countermanded the writs by proclamation. But the new members, to the
number of ninety, maintaining the illegality of the proclamation, met
notwithstanding. Neither the Governor, nor any substitute, appearing to
complete their organization, they formed themselves into a Provincial
Congress, and adjourned to Concord. From Concord, after some collisions
with the Governor, they removed to Cambridge; and in the course of their
sittings measures were adopted for the public defence, and the
organization of minute men, to the number of twelve thousand. Connecticut
and New Hampshire were requested to augment the number to twenty thousand.
Governor Gage complained bitterly that the edicts of this Congress were
implicitly obeyed throughout the country. Before the year had expired, a
royal proclamation was received, prohibiting the exportation of military
stores to America. This document caused general indignation. In Rhode
Island and New Hampshire the people at once seized upon the arms and
ordnance in their public places and garrisons, and other corresponding
measures were adopted by the Colonial authorities. In the more Southern
provinces signs of jealousy and discontent began to be more unequivocally
manifested. A meeting of the military officers of Virginia, under Lord
Dunmore, was held, at which resolutions, professing loyalty and looking
rebellion, were adopted. The Provincial Congress of Maryland approved of
the proceedings of the General Congress; and in South Carolina, Judge
Dayton, in a memorable charge to a Grand Jury at Camden, set the ball in
motion in that Colony. Doctor Franklin, being in London, was required to
attend a meeting of the Committee for Plantations, to whom had been
referred the petition of the Massachusetts Assembly for the removal of
Governor Hutchinson and Lieutenant-Governor Oliver. He supported the
petition, and was, the day after, dismissed by the Crown from the office
of postmaster for the Colonies.
It may readily be conceived that an excitement thus increasing from day
to day, and thus rapidly extending the circle of its influence, would not
long be confined to measures of remonstrance and petition. Most
unfortunate was it, therefore, that, just at this conjuncture, while all
sagacious men saw by the shadows what events were coming, and all good men
were solicitous for the preservation of the character and augmentation of
the physical strength of the country, a small band of bad ones adopted a
course well fitted to awaken the jealousy of the whole Indian race, and
exasperate a portion of them to the highest pitch of anger and revenge.
It was evident that the Colonies were about to measure swords with one of
the strongest powers in Christendom, and to strike for freedom. True
wisdom, therefore, required that the clouds of Indians darkening more than
a thousand miles of our border, and in the North forming an intermediate
power between our own settlements and the country of the anticipated foe,
should be at least conciliated into neutrality, if not courted into an
alliance. But a contrary course was taken by some of the frontier-men of
Virginia, and a hostile feeling awakened by a succession of outrages,
unprovoked and more cruel than savages, as such, could have committed.
The well-informed reader will at once anticipate that reference is now
had to the hostilities upon the North-western frontier of Virginia,
commonly known as Cresap's War, from the agency of a subaltern officer
of that name, whose wanton cruelty provoked it, and one striking event
of which has rendered every American ear familiar with the name of Logan,
the celebrated "Mingo Chief." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Mingo, Mengwe, Maquas, and Iroquois, are all only different names
applied to the Six Nations.
The wars and the conquests of the Six Nations had been the cause of
transplanting many families, among whom were some of distinction, over the
countries subjected to their arms. Among these was the family of Logan,
the son of _Shikellimus,_ [FN] a distinguished Cayuga sachem, who had
removed from the particular location of his own tribe, to Shamokin, or
Conestoga, within the borders of Pennsylvania, where he executed the
duties of principal chief of those of the Six Nations residing on the
Susquehanna. He was a man of consequence and humanity, and one of the
earliest to encourage the introduction of Christianity by Count
Zinzendorf. He was a great friend to the celebrated James Logan, who
accompanied William Penn on his last voyage to America, and who
subsequently became distinguished in the colony for his learning and
benevolence. Hence the name of the famous son of Shikellimus, so closely
identified with the scenes about to be described.
* * * * *
[FN] _Shikellimus_ was a contemporary of the famous _Cannassatego,_ and
is known in Colden's History of the Six Nations by the different names
of _Skickcalamy, Shicalamy,_ and _Shick Calamy.--Drake._
Logan had removed from his father's lodge at Shamokin to the Shawanese
country on the Ohio, where he had become a chief. He was a friend of the
white men, and one of the noblest of his race; not only by right of birth,
but in consideration of his own character. During the Indian wars
connected with the contest with France, which were continued for a
considerable time after the conquest of Canada, he took no part, save in
the character of a peace-maker.
The circumstances which transformed this good and just man from a sincere
friend into a bitter foe, will appear in the following narrative:--It
happened in April or May of 1774, that a party of land-jobbers, while
engaged in exploring lands near the Ohio river, were robbed, or pretended
to have been robbed, of a number of horses by the Indians. The leader of
the land-jobbers was Captain Michael Cresap. Alarmed at the depredation
upon their property, or affecting to be so, Cresap and his party
determined to make war upon the Indians, without investigation, and
irrespective, as a matter of course, of the guilt or innocence of those
whom they should attack. On the same day, falling in with two Indians,
Cresap and his men killed them. Hearing, moreover, of a still larger party
of Indians encamped at some distance below the site of the present town
of Wheeling, the white barbarians proceeded thither, and after winning the
confidence of the sons of the forest by pretended friendship, fell upon
and slaughtered several of their number, among whom were a part of the
family of the white man's friend--Logan. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Doddridge, in his History of the Indian Wars, states that no
evidence of the imputed theft was ever adduced; and affirms his belief
that the report was false, and the Indians innocent, even of a
comparatively minor trespass.
Soon after this atrocious affair, another followed, equally flagitious.
There was a white settlement on the east bank of the Ohio, about thirty
miles above Wheeling, among the leading men of which were one named Daniel
Greathouse, and another named Tomlinson. A party of Indians, assembled on
the opposite bank of the river, having heard of the murders committed by
Cresap, determined to avenge their death, of which resolution Greathouse
was admonished by a friendly squaw, who advised him to escape, while he
was reconnoitering for the purpose of ascertaining their numbers. He had
crossed the river with thirty-two men under his command, and secreted them
for the purpose of falling upon the Indians; but finding that they were
too strong for him, he changed his plan of operations, re-crossed the
river, and, with a show of friendship, invited them over to an
entertainment. Without suspicion of treachery the Indians accepted the
invitation, and while engaged in drinking--some of them to a state of
intoxication--they were set upon and murdered in cold blood. Here again,
fell two more of the family of Logan--a brother and sister, the latter
being in a situation of peculiar delicacy. The Indians who had remained
on the other side of the river, hearing the noise of the treacherous
attack, flew to their canoes to rescue their friends. This movement had
been anticipated; and sharp-shooters, stationed in ambuscade, shot numbers
of them in their canoes, and compelled the others to return.
These dastardly transactions were enacted on the 24th of May. They were
soon followed by another outrage, which, though of less magnitude, was
not less atrocious in its spirit, while it was even more harrowing to the
feelings of the Indians. The event referred to was the murder, by a white
man, of an aged and inoffensive Delaware chief named the _Bald Eagle._ He
had for years consorted more with the white people than his own, visiting
those most frequently who entertained him best. At the time of his murder
he had been on a visit to the fort at the North of the Kanhawa, and was
killed while alone, paddling his canoe. The man who committed the murder,
it was said, had been a sufferer at the hands of the Indians; but he had
never been injured by the object upon whom he wreaked his vengeance. After
tearing the scalp from his head, the white savage placed the body in a
sitting posture in the canoe, and sent it adrift down the stream. The
voyage of the dead chief was observed by many, who supposed him living,
and upon one of his ordinary excursions. When, however, the deed became
known, his nation were not slow in avowals of vengeance.[FN-1] Equally
exasperated, at about the same time, were the Shawanese, against the
whites, by the murder of one of their favourite chiefs, _Silver Heels,_
who had in the kindest manner undertaken to escort several white traders
across the woods from the Ohio to Albany, a distance of nearly two hundred
miles.[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] McClung, as cited by Drake.
[FN-2] Heckewelder.
The consequence of these repeated outrages, perpetrated by white
barbarians, was the immediate commencement of an Indian war, the first
leader of which was Logan, who, with a small party of only eight warriors,
made a sudden and altogether unexpected descent upon a Muskingum
settlement, with complete success. In the course of the Summer great
numbers of men, women, and children, fell victims to the tomahawk and
scalping-knife. Logan, however, though smarting under a keen sense of his
own wrongs, set his face against the practice of putting prisoners to the
torture, so far as he could. In one instance, he so instructed a prisoner
doomed to run the gauntlet, as to enable him to escape without receiving
essential injury. In another case, with his own hand he severed the cord
which bound a prisoner to the stake, and by his influence procured his
adoption into an Indian family.
To punish these atrocities, provoked, as all authorities concur in
admitting, by the whites, a vigorous campaign was undertaken by the
Governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, with a force of between two and three
thousand men. Eleven hundred of these Provincials, mostly riflemen, and
comprising much of the chivalry of Virginia, constituting the left wing,
were entrusted to the command of General Andrew Lewis, [FN] with
instructions to march direct for Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great
Kanhawa; while his lordship, proceeding with the right wing, was to cross
the Ohio at a higher point, and fall upon the Indian towns in their rear.
For reasons never satisfactorily explained, although the cause of some
controversy at the time, there was a failure of the expected co-operation
on the part of Lord Dunmore.
* * * * *
[FN] Andrew Lewis was, in fact, only a colonel; but he was in the chief
command of the division, and as he had a brother, Charles Lewis, also a
colonel, he has been designated as a General by courtesy, and for the
purpose of distinguishing the commander from the other colonel.
General Lewis commenced his march on the 11th of September. His course
was direct, through a trackless wilderness, one hundred and sixty miles;
over which all the supplies of the army were necessarily to be transported
on pack-horses. The march was very slow and tedious--occupying nineteen
days. Arrived at or near the junction of the Kanhawa with the Ohio, Lewis
waited eight or nine days to obtain tidings from Lord Dunmore, but heard
not a syllable.
Early on the morning of the 10th of October, two of Lewis's scouts, who
were about a mile in advance, were fired upon by a large body of Indians;
one of the scouts was killed, and the other escaped to camp with the
intelligence. It was yet half an hour to sunrise, and instant dispositions
were made to move forward and attack. Just as the sun was rising, the
Indians, who were advancing upon a like errand, were met, and an
engagement ensued, which continued with greater or less severity through
the day. The Virginians had bivouacked upon a point of land between the
two rivers, giving the Indians an important advantage of position,
inasmuch as, if defeated, retreat would be impossible for the former,
while the latter could fly at their pleasure. But such was not the purpose
of the Indians. Their numbers have been variously stated, from eight to
fifteen hundred, consisting of Shawanese, Delawares, Mingoes, Wyandots,
Cayugas, and several other tribes, led in chief by Logan, assisted by
other celebrated chiefs, among whom were _Cornstock, Ellenipsico,_ (his
son,) and the _Red Eagle._
The onset was impetuous upon both sides. Colonel Charles Lewis led the
right of the Virginians, and was in advance. He fell almost at the first
fire, mortally wounded, and shortly afterward expired--having walked back
to his own camp. The Virginians, like the Indians, sought every advantage
by fighting from the shelter of trees and bushes; but in the first part
of the engagement the advantages were with the Indians, and two of the
Virginia regiments, after severe loss, especially in officers, were
compelled to give way. Colonel Fleming, who commanded the left, though
severely wounded in the beginning of the action, by two balls through his
arm and another through the breast, bravely kept the field for some time,
cheering his men, and, urging them not to lose an inch of ground, directed
them to outflank the enemy. But the assault of the Indians was vigorous
and their fire so severe, that the left, like the right, was yielding,
when, at the most critical moment, Colonel Field's regiment was brought
with great spirit and resolution into the action, by which timely movement
the fortunes of the day were retrieved. The impetuosity of the Indians was
checked, and they were in turn forced to retreat--falling back to avail
themselves of a rude breast-work of logs and brush-wood, which they had
taken the precaution to construct for the occasion. Colonel Field was
killed at the moment his gallant regiment had changed the aspect of the
battle, and he was succeeded by Captain Isaac Shelby, afterward the brave
and hardy old Governor of Kentucky.
The Indians made a valiant stand at their breast-work, defending their
position until nearly night-fall. For several hours every attempt to
dislodge them was unsuccessful; the savages fighting like men who had not
only their soil and homes to protect, but deep wrongs to avenge. "The
voice of the mighty Cornstock was often heard during the day, above the
din of battle, calling out to his warriors, 'Be strong! Be strong!' And
when, by the repeated charge of the Virginians, some of his warriors began
to waver, he is said to have sunk his tomahawk into the head of a coward
who was attempting to fly." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Drake--who compiles his account of this spirited engagement, from
Withers, McClung, and Doddridge.
The action had continued extremely hot until past twelve o'clock, after
which it was abated at intervals, though a scattering fire was kept up
most of the time during the day, Toward night, finding that each
successive attack upon the line of the Indians in front but weakened his
own force, without making any perceptible impression upon the Indians, and
rightly judging that if the latter were not routed before dark, the
contest must be resumed under at least doubtful circumstances on the
following day, a final attempt was made to throw a body of troops into
the rear. Three companies were detached upon this service, led by Captain
Shelby. The ground favoured the enterprise. Availing themselves of the
tall weeds and grass upon the bank of a creek flowing into the Kanhawa,
those companies passed the flank of the Indian ranks unobserved, and
falling vigorously upon their rear, drove them from their lines with
precipitation. Night came on, and the Indians, supposing that
reinforcements of the Virginians had arrived, fled across the Ohio, and
continued their retreat to the Scioto. They had not the satisfaction of
taking many scalps--the bodies of a few stragglers only falling into their
possession. In the official account it was stated that they scalped
numbers of their own warriors, to prevent the Virginians from doing it.
Of those Indians first killed, the Virginians scalped upward of twenty.
[FN-1] The loss of the Indians was never known. It must, however, have
been severe; since, in addition to the killed and wounded borne away,
numbers of the slain were thrown into the river, and thirty-three of their
warriors were found dead upon the field on the following day. The loss of
the Virginians was likewise severe. Two of their colonels were killed,
four captains, many subordinate officers, and between fifty and sixty
privates, besides a much larger number wounded.[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Official Report.
[FN-2] Doddridge states the number of killed at 75, and of wounded at
140. In the estimate given in the text, Thatcher has been followed. It
is stated by Drake, that a stratagem was resorted to in this action by
the Virginians, similar to one that had been practised in the early New
England war of the Indians at Pawtucket. The Virginians, concealing
themselves behind trees, would hold out their hats from behind and draw
the fire of the Indians; the hat being instantly dropped, the Indian
warrior who had brought it down, supposing that he had killed the owner,
would rush forward to secure the scalp of his supposed victim--only to
fall beneath an unexpected tomahawk.
Arrived at Chilicothe, a council of the Indians was convened to debate
upon the question what was next to be done. Cornstock, it was said, had
been opposed to giving battle at Point Pleasant, but had resolved to do
his best on being overruled in council. Having been defeated, as he had
anticipated, he demanded of the council, "_What shall we do now? The Long
Knives are coming upon us by two routes. Shall we turn out and fight
them?_" No response being made to the question, he continued, "_Shall
we kill all our squaws and children, and then fight until we are all
killed ourselves?_" As before, all were silent; whereupon Cornstock struck
his tomahawk into the war-post standing in the midst of the council, and
remarked with emphasis: "_Since you are not inclined to fight, I will go
and make peace._" [FN] Saying which, he repaired to the camp of Lord
Dunmore, who, having descended the Ohio, was now approaching the Scioto.
* * * * *
[FN] Doddridge.
Meantime General Lewis, having buried his dead, and made the necessary
dispositions for an advance into the heart of the Indian country, moved
forward in pursuit of the enemy--resolved upon his extermination. He was
soon afterward met by a counter-order from Lord Dunmore, which he
disregarded; and it was not until the Governor visited Lewis in his own
camp, that a reluctant obedience was exacted. Meantime the negotiation
proceeded, but under circumstances of distrust on the part of the
Virginians, who were careful to admit only a small number of the Indians
into their encampment at any one time. The chief speaker on the part of
the Indians was Cornstock, who did not fail to charge the whites with
being the sole cause of the war--enumerating the provocations which the
Indians had received, and dwelling with peculiar force upon the murders
committed in the family of Logan. [FN] This lofty chief himself refused to
appear at the council. He was in favour of peace, but his proud spirit
scorned to ask for it; and he remained in his cabin, brooding in
melancholy silence over his own wrongs.
* * * * *
[FN] Cornstock was a truly great man. Col. Wilson, who was present at the
interview between the Chief and Lord Dunmore, thus speaks of the
chieftain's bearing on the occasion: "When he arose, he was in no wise
confused or daunted, but spoke in a distinct and audible voice, without
stammering or repetition, and with peculiar emphasis. His looks, while
addressing Dunmore, were truly grand and majestic, yet graceful and
attractive. I have heard the first orators in Virginia, Patrick Henry and
Richard Henry Lee; but never have I heard one whose powers of delivery
surpassed those of Cornstock."
Of so much importance was his name considered by Lord Dunmore however,
that a special messenger was despatched to ascertain whether he would
accede to the articles of peace. This messenger was Colonel John Gibson,
an officer in Dunmore's army, and afterward a man of some distinction. The
"Mingo Chief" did not dissent from the terms, but gave not his sanction
without an eloquent rehearsal of his grievances--relating, in full, the
circumstances of the butchery of his own entire family, to avenge which
atrocities he had taken up the hatchet. His conference with Gibson took
place in a solitary wood, and at its close, he charged him with the
celebrated speech to Lord Dunmore, which has become familiar wherever the
English language is spoken:--
"I appeal to any white man to say if he ever entered Logan's cabin hungry,
and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed
him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained
idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites,
that my countrymen pointed, as they passed, and said, 'Logan is the friend
of the white men.' I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the
injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last Spring, in cold blood and
unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even sparing my women
and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living
creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it; I have killed
many; I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the
beams of peace; but do not harbour a thought that mine is the joy of fear.
Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who
is there to mourn for Logan? Not one."
This speech has ever been regarded as one of the most eloquent passages
in the English language. Mr. Jefferson remarked of it--"I may challenge
the whole orations of Demosthenes, and of Cicero, and of any more eminent
orator, if Europe has furnished more eminent, to produce a single passage
superior to it;" and an American statesman and scholar,[FN-1] scarcely
less illustrious than the author of this noble eulogium, has subscribed
to that opinion.[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] De Witt Clinton.
[FN-2] Thatcher's Ind. Biography. It is due in candour to state, that the
authenticity of this celebrated speech has been questioned. On the first
publication of Jefferson's Notes, the relatives and friends of Cresap
made a great outcry against the charge of his having murdered Logan's
family. Among other arguments in his defence, it was contended that the
speech attributed to Logan had, in substance and almost in words, been
delivered to the General Assembly of Virginia by a sachem named Lonan,
twenty years before the date assigned to it by Mr. Jefferson. The speech
referred to was discovered in the travels of Robin, a Frenchman, who
visited the Colonies at an early period of the war of the Revolution.
The passage stands thus in the English translation of "Robin's New
Travels in America:"--
"Speech of the savage Lonan, in a General Assembly, as it was sent to the
Governor of Virginia, anno 1754:--
"Lonan will no longer oppose making the proposed peace with the white
men. You are sensible he never knew what fear is--that he never turned
his back in the day of battle. No one has more love for the white men
than I have. The war we have had with them has been long and bloody on
both sides. Rivers of blood have run on all parts, and yet no good has
resulted therefrom to any. I once more repeat it--let us be at peace
with these men. I will forget our injuries; the interest of my country
demands it. I will forget--but difficult, indeed, is the task! Yes, I
will forget that Major ---- cruelly and inhumanly murdered, in their
canoes, my wife, my children, my father, my mother, and all my kindred.
This roused me to deeds of vengeance! I was cruel in despite of myself. I
will die content if my country is once more at peace, But when Lonan
shall be no more, who, alas! will drop a tear to the memory of Lonan?"
If the date to this speech be the true one, there is an end to the claim
of Logan. But the resemblance in many manuscripts, between the figures
4 and 7, is so close as to induce a belief, (Dr. Barton's Journal of 1808
to the contrary notwithstanding) that the error may have been made by the
English translator. This opinion is strengthened by the similarity
between the name given by Robin,--_Lonan_--and _Logan._ The difference
consists in a single letter, and might well have been the error of the
Frenchman, when writing the identical story of Logan. In the course of
his investigations, Mr. Jefferson was furnished with a note, written by
Logan, and sent to a white settlement, attached to a war-club, by the
hand of an Indian runner, Heckewelder also says the speech was
authenticated by Col. Gibson, and adds:--"For my part I am convinced that
it was delivered precisely as it was related to us, with this only
difference, that it possessed a force and expression in the Indian
language, which it is impossible to translate info our own,"
Lord Dunmore, it is believed, was sincerely desirous of peace--from
motives of humanity, we are ready to believe, although writers of less
charity have attributed his course to a more unworthy feeling. Peace,
therefore, was the result of the council. But it will readily be conceded
that the Indian warriors could not have retired to their respective tribes
and homes, with any feelings of particular friendship toward the white
men. On the contrary, the pain of defeat, and the loss of the warriors who
fell, were causes of irritating reflection, in addition to the original
and grievous wrong they had suffered at the hands of Cresap and
Greathouse. The Six Nations, as a confederacy, had not taken part in the
war of the Virginia border; but many of their warriors were engaged in it,
especially the Cayugas, to which nation Logan belonged, and the warriors
of the Six Nations colonized on the banks of the Susquehanna and its
tributary the Shamokin. These, it may be reasonably inferred, returned
from the contest only to brood longer over their accumulated wrongs, and
in a temper not over-inclined to cultivate the most amicable relations
with the Colonies. In one word, the temper of the whole Indian race, with
the exception of the Oneidas, was soured by these occurrences of the year
1774;--a most unfortunate circumstance, since events were then following
in rapid succession, which within a twelvemonth rendered the friendship
of the nations not only desirable, but an object of vast importance.
But before the direct narrative leading to those events is resumed, it
may be well to end the melancholy tale of Logan, "which can be dismissed
with no relief to its gloomy colours." After the peace of Chilicothe he
sank into a state of deep mental depression, declaring that life was a
torment to him. He became in some measure delirious;[FN-1] went to
Detroit, and there yielded himself to habits of intoxication. In the end
he became a victim to the same ferocious cruelty which had already
rendered him a desolate man. Not long after the treaty, a party of whites
murdered him as he was returning from Detroit to his own country.[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Allen's Biog. Dic.
[FN-2] Thatcher.
CHAPTER III.
Unyielding course of the parent Government--Efforts of the Earl of
Chatham unavailing--Address to the Crown from New-York--Leslie's
Expedition to Salem--Affair of Lexington--Unwise movements of Tryon
County loyalists--Reaction--Public meetings--The Sammons
family--Interference of the Johnsons--Quarrel at Caughnawaga--Spirited
indications at Cherry Valley--Counteracting-efforts of the Johnsons
among their retainers--Intrigues with the Indians--Massachusetts
attempts the same--Correspondence with the Stockbridge Indians--Letter
to Mr. Kirkland--His removal by Guy Johnson--Neutrality of the
Oneidas--Intercepted despatch from Brant to the Oneidas--Apprehensions
of Guy Johnson--Correspondence--Farther precautions of the
Committees--Reverence for the Laws--Letter of Guy Johnson to the
Committees of Albany and Schenectady--Substance of the reply.
The parent government did not relax its coercive measures, notwithstanding
the efforts of the Earl of Chatham, now venerable for his years, who,
after a long retirement, returned once more into public life, to interpose
his eloquence and the influence of his great name in behalf of the
Colonies. His lordship's address to the King for the removal of the troops
from Boston, was rejected by a large majority. His conciliatory bill was
also rejected. On the 26th of January, Messrs. Bolland, Franklin, and Lee,
the Committee from the Colonies, charged with presenting the petition of
the Continental Congress for a redress of grievances, brought the subject
before the House of Commons, and after an angry debate they refused to
receive it by a decisive vote. Meantime bills were passed, by large
majorities, restraining all the thirteen Colonies, excepting only
New-York, Delaware, and North Carolina, from the prosecution of any
foreign commerce other than with Great Britain and her dependencies. The
Eastern States were likewise excluded from the fisheries of Newfoundland.
But notwithstanding that, from motives of policy, New-York had been thus
excepted from the restraining law, its local legislature was at the same
time engaged in preparing a memorial to the Crown for a redress of
grievances--a fact which the ministers soon learned, and not without
mortification. The New-York address was a strong denunciation of the
measures of the Government toward the Colonies, and an energetic appeal
for redress. "We feel," said they, "the most ardent desire to promote a
cordial reconciliation with the parent state, which can be rendered
permanent and solid only by ascertaining the line of Parliamentary
authority and American freedom, on just, equitable, and constitutional
grounds. . . . From the year 1683 till the close of the late war, they had
enjoyed a legislature consisting of three distinct branches, a Governor,
Council, and general Assembly; under which political frame the
representatives had uniformly exercised the right of their own civil
government, and the administration of justice in the Colony. It is,
therefore, with inexpressible grief that we have of late years seen
measures adopted by the British Parliament, subversive of that
constitution under which the good people of this Colony have always
enjoyed the same rights and privileges, so highly and deservedly prized by
their fellow-subjects of Great Britain." Adverting to the essential
privilege of trial by a jury of the vicinage, they "view with horror the
construction of the statute of the 35th of Henry the VIII. as held up by
the joint address of both houses of Parliament in 1769, advising his
Majesty to send for persons guilty of treasons and misprisions of
treasons, in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, in order to be tried in
England;" and they "are equally alarmed at the late acts, empowering his
Majesty to send persons guilty of offences in one colony, to be tried in
another or within the realm of England." They complain of the act of 7th
of George the III. requiring the legislature of this Colony to make
provision for the expense of the troops quartered among them; of the act
suspending their legislative powers till they should have complied; and
of the Quebec act; considering themselves as interested in whatever may
affect their sister Colonies; they cannot help feeling for the distresses
of their brethren in Massachusetts, from the operation of the several acts
of Parliament passed relative to that province, and earnestly
remonstrating in their behalf. "We claim," said they, "but a restoration
of those rights which we enjoyed by general consent before the close of
the last war; we desire no more than a continuation of that ancient
government to which we are entitled by the principles of the British
constitution, and by which alone can be secured to us the rights of
Englishmen." The address was presented to the House of Commons by Mr.
Burke, but was never called up. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Holmes's Annals.
A new Provincial Congress was assembled in Massachusetts in February,
which, anticipating that the parent Government was preparing to strike the
first blow at that Colony, adopted farther means of precaution and
defence--but with great wisdom avoiding any thing like an overt act of
resistance. Hostilities had well nigh been commenced on the 26th of
February, between Salem and Danvers, by the opposition of Colonel Timothy
Pickering and others, to Colonel Leslie, who had been sent to Salem by
General Gage, to seize some military stores, which he had been informed
were collecting at the former place. The interposition of Mr. Barnard, the
minister of Salem, prevented the effusion of blood, and Leslie returned
to Boston from a bootless errand.
The ill-starred expedition, by the direction of General Gage, to Concord,
and the battle of Lexington on the 19th of April, gave the signal of a
general rush to arms throughout most of the Colonies. True, it was not
admitted to be a formal commencement of hostilities, and the Provincial
Congress of Massachusetts despatched an account of that affair to Great
Britain, with depositions, establishing the fact indisputably, that both
at Concord and Lexington the firing had been commenced by the King's
troops--Major Pitcairn himself discharging the first shot, at the former
place. But although this message was accompanied by an address to the
people of Great Britain with continued professions of loyalty, yet those
professions were sent, hand in hand, with a declaration that they would
"not tamely submit to the persecution and tyranny" of the existing
ministry, and with an appeal to heaven for the justice of a cause in which
they were determined to die or conquer. It was very evident, therefore,
that reconciliation was out of the question, and that a trial of arms was
near at hand. Of course the exasperation of the public mind was now at
its height, and those who had not taken sides could no longer stand
neutral.
It was at this moment, just as the Continental Congress was about to
reassemble, and just as the exciting intelligence was received from
Boston, that, most unwisely for themselves, the influential loyalists of
Tryon County undertook to make a demonstration against the proceedings
of the Congress of the preceding Autumn. A declaration in opposition to
those proceedings was drawn up, and advantage taken of the gathering of
the people at a Court holden in Johnstown, to obtain signatures. The
discussions ran high upon the subject, but the movers in the affair
succeeded in obtaining the names of a majority of the Grand Jurors, and
the greater portion of the magistracy of the County.
The Whigs in attendance at the Court were indignant at this procedure,
and on returning to their respective homes, communicated their feelings
to those of their neighbors who had embraced kindred principles. Public
meetings were called, and committees appointed in every district, and
sub-committees in almost every hamlet in the County.[FN-1] The first
of these public meetings was held at the house of John Veeder in
Caughnawaga. It was attended by about three hundred people, who assembled,
unarmed, for the purpose of deliberation, and also to erect a
liberty-pole--the most hateful object of that day in the eyes of the
loyalists. Among the leaders of the Whigs on that occasion, were Sampson
Sammons, an opulent farmer residing in the neighbourhood, and two of his
sons, Jacob and Frederick. Before they had accomplished their purpose of
raising the emblem of rebellion, the proceedings were interrupted by the
arrival of Sir John Johnson, accompanied by his brothers-in-law, Colonels
Claus and Guy Johnson, together with Colonel John Butler, and a large
number of their retainers, armed with swords and pistols. Guy Johnson
mounted a high stoop and harangued the people at length, and with great
vehemence. He dwelt upon the strength and power of the King, and attempted
to show the folly of opposing his officers or revolting against the
authority of his crown. A single ship, he said, would be sufficient to
capture all the navy which could be set afloat by the Colonies; while on
the frontiers, the Indians were under his Majesty's control, and his arms
were sustained by a chain of fortified posts, extending from the Gulf of
the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. He was very virulent in his language
toward the disaffected, causing their blood to boil with indignation. But
they were unarmed, and for the most part unprepared, if not indisposed,
to proceed to any act of violence. The orator at length became so abusive,
that Jacob Sammons, no longer able to restrain himself, imprudently
interrupted his discourse by pronouncing him a liar and a villain. Johnson
thereupon seized Sammons by the throat, and called him a d--d villain in
return. A scuffle ensued between them, during which Sammons was struck
down with a loaded whip. On recovering from the momentary stupor of the
blow, Sammons found one of Johnson's servants sitting astride of his body.
A well-directed blow relieved him of that incumbrance, and, springing upon
his feet, he threw off his coat and prepared for fight. Two pistols were
immediately presented to his breast, but not discharged, as Sammons was
again knocked down by the clubs of the loyalists, and severely beaten. On
recovering his feet once more, he perceived that his Whig friends had all
decamped, with the exception of the families of the Fondas, Veeders, and
Visschers.[FN-2] The loyalists also drew off, and Jacob Sammons returned
to his father's house, bearing upon his body the first scars of the
Revolutionary contest in the County of Tryon.
* * * * *
[FN-1] The County of Tryon then included all the Colonial settlements
West and South-west of Schenectady. It was taken from Albany County in
1772, and named in honour of William Tryon, then Governor of the
Province. In 1784 the name was changed to Montgomery. When formed, it
embraced all that part of the State lying West of a line running North
and South, nearly through the centre of the present County of Schoharie.
It was divided into five districts, which were again subdivided into
smaller districts or precincts. The first, beginning at the East, was
the Mohawk district, embracing Fort Hunter, Caughnawaga, Johnstown,
and Kingsborough. Canajoharie district, embracing the present town of
that name, with all the country South, including Cherry Valley and
Harpersfield, Palatine district North of the river, and including the
country known by the same name, with Stone Arabia, &c., and German
Flats and Kingsland Districts, being then the most Western settlements,
and the former now known by the same name. The county buildings were at
Johnstown, where, as before mentioned, was the residence of Sir William
Johnson.--_Campbell's Annals._
[FN-2] Narratives of Jacob and Frederick Sammons, furnished to the
author; repeated references to both of which will be made hereafter.
One of the largest and most spirited of these meetings took place in
Cherry Valley. It was held in the church, and the people entered into the
subject with so much enthusiasm, that they took their children to the
assembly, that they might imbibe lessons of patriotism, as it were at the
altar--thus hallowing the cause in which they were about to engage, with
the impressive sanctions of religion. The orator of the occasion was an
Indian interpreter by the name of Thomas Spencer; he was rude of speech,
but forcible; and, warming with his theme, spoke with such power and
effect, that the story of his eloquence yet lives in the annals of
tradition. [FN] The result of this meeting was the adoption of a strong
counter-declaration, condemning the proceedings of the loyalists at
Johnstown, and approving, in the most unequivocal and solemn terms, of the
proceedings of the Continental Congress.
* * * * *
[FN] And also in Campbell's Annals
These proceedings took place early in May. But from a letter addressed to
the Committee of Safety of Albany, by the Committee of the Palatine
district, on the 18th of that month, it appears that the Johnsons and
their powerful confederates in the Mohawk district succeeded, by threats,
intimidation, and an array of military strength, in preventing the
adoption of a corresponding declaration by the Whigs. "This County," says
the Palatine Committee, "has for a series of years been ruled by one
family, the several branches of which are still strenuous in dissuading
the people from coming into Congressional measures, and have even, last
week, at a numerous meeting of the Mohawk district, appeared with all
their dependents armed to oppose the people considering of their
grievances; their number being so large, and the people unarmed, struck
terror into most of them, and they dispersed." The Committee farther
notified their friends in Albany, that Sir John Johnson was fortifying the
Baronial Hall, by planting several swivels around it; and he had paraded
parts of the regiment of militia which he commanded, on the day previous,
for the purpose of intimidation, as it was conjectured. It was likewise
reported that the Scotch Highlanders, settled in large numbers in and
about Johnstown, who were Roman Catholics, had armed themselves to the
number of one hundred and fifty, ready to aid in the suppression of any
popular outbreaks in favor of the growing cause of Liberty.
Strong suspicions were early entertained that the Johnsons, Butlers, and
Colonel Claus, were endeavouring to alienate the good-will of the Indians
from the Colonists, and prepare them, in the event of open hostilities, to
take up the hatchet against them. Thayendanegea, alias Joseph Brant, as
heretofore mentioned, was now the secretary of Colonel Guy Johnson, the
superintendent, and his activity was ceaseless. Notwithstanding his former
friendship for Mr. Kirkland, the faithful missionary to the Oneidas,
Thayendanegea was apprehensive that his influence would be exerted to
alienate the Indians from the interests of the Crown, and attach them to
those of the Colonists. The wily chief accordingly attempted to obtain the
removal of Mr. Kirkland from his station; and at his instigation, a
dissolute sachem of the Oneidas preferred charges against the minister to
Guy Johnson, the superintendent. A correspondence took place between
Johnson and Mr. Kirkland upon the subject, in which the latter sustained
himself with force and dignity. The Oneida nation, moreover, rallied to
his support, almost to a man; so that the superintendent was obliged, for
the time being, to relinquish the idea of his forcible removal. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The correspondence referred to in this passage was discovered by the
author among the unpublished papers of Mr. Kirkland--obligingly loaned
for his use by President Kirkland of Boston.
Justice, however, both to Brant and Guy Johnson, requires it to be stated
that the vigilant eyes of the Bostonians had already been directed to the
importance of securing an interest among the Indians of the Six Nations,
in anticipation of whatever events were to happen. To this end a
correspondence was opened through Mr. Kirkland, even with the Mohawks, by
the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, before the affair of Lexington
and Concord. [FN] The following is a copy of the letter addressed to the
missionary by the Provincial Congress:--
* * * * *
[FN] Sparks's Life and Cor. of Washington, vol. iii. Appendix.
"To The Rev. Samuel Kirkland.
"_Concord, April_ 4_th,_ 1775.
"Sir,
"The Provincial Congress have thought it necessary to address the sachem
of the Mohawk tribe, with the rest of the Six Nations, upon the subject
of the controversy between Great Britain and the American Colonies. We
are induced to take this measure, as we have been informed that those who
are inimical to us in Canada have been tampering with those nations, and
endeavouring to attach them to the interest of those who are attempting
to deprive us of our inestimable rights and privileges, and to subjugate
the Colonies to arbitrary power. From a confidence in your attachment to
the cause of liberty and your country, we now transmit to you the enclosed
address, and desire you will deliver it to the sachem of the Mohawk tribe,
to be communicated to the rest of the Six Nations; and that you will use
your influence with them to join with us in the defence of our rights; but
if you cannot prevail with them to take an active part in this glorious
cause, that you will at least engage them to stand neuter, and not by any
means to aid and assist our enemies; and as we are at a loss for the name
of the sachem of the Mohawk tribe, we have left it to you to direct the
address to him, in such way as you may think proper."
There were at that time dwelling at Stockbridge, in the western part of
Massachusetts, a remnant of the Mohickanders, or "River Indians" as they
were usually called during the greater portion of the last century, but
latterly Stockbridge Indians, from their locality. These Indians were the
remains of the Muhhekaneew [FN-1] of the Hudson river, at the time of the
discovery. They came originally, according to their own traditions, from
the far West--even beyond the great lakes. That such was their original
location is supported by the fact, that their language was radically
different from that of the Narragansetts and New England Indians
generally, and also from the language of the Five Nations. Its affinities
were allied to the Shawanese and Chippewa, affording farther evidence that
they had emigrated from the West, crossing the country of the Delawares,
and establishing themselves on the banks of the Hudson, or Mohickannittuck
as the North River was called. They were a powerful tribe at the time of
the discovery, numbering a thousand warriors, and inhabiting the country
between the Upper Delaware and the Hudson, together with portions of
territory now included in Massachusetts and Vermont. They dwelt mostly in
little towns and villages, their chief seat being the site of the present
city of Albany--called by them Pempo-towwuthut-Muhhecanneuw, or the
Fire-place of the Nation. Becoming feeble and dispersed as the white
population increased around and among them--although their numbers had
been partially recruited by refugees from the Narragansetts and Pequods,
on the conquest of those nations--the Muhhekaneew were collected together
at Stockbridge, in 1736, under the care of the Rev. John Sergeant, who,
and his son after him, were long the spiritual guides of the tribe. They
were ever faithful to the English, having been actively employed by
General Shirley to range the country between Lake George and Montreal,
during the French war ending in the conquest of Canada. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] This is the orthography of Dr. Edwards, who was long a missionary
among them at Stockbridge. Heckewelder says their proper name was
_Mahicanni._ It is one of the most difficult things in the world to
arrive at any thing like system or certainty in regard to Indian names
of persons, places, or things. For instance, the author has papers
before him at the time of writing, in which the River Indians are called
_Moheagans, Mourigans,_ or _Mahingans,_ (French,) _Mahickanders,_
(Dutch,) _Mohiccons,_ (English,) _Mohuccans, Mahickinders, Schaticooks,
Wabingas, Muhheakunnuks,_ and the _Moheakounucks;_ indeed, it has been
the practice of writers of different, and of even the same nations, to
spell more by the ear than by rule, until our Indian names have been
involved in almost inextricable confusion.
[FN-2] Brown, in his pamphlet History of Schoharie, gives a singular
tradition in regard to the kings of the Mohawks, of which I have found no
other mention. Mohawks and River Indians were once bitter enemies, the
former becoming the scourge and terror of the latter. Brown states that
the last battle between the Mohegan's and Mohawks took place on Wanton
Island, in the Hudson River, not far from Catskill. The question between
them was, which should have the honour of naming their king, or which
should have the preference in the kingly honours. Both nation collected
their utmost strength upon that island, for the purpose of a final
decision and fought a pitched battle, which continued during the whole
day. Toward night the Mohawks, finding that the Mohegans were likely to
prove an overmatch for them, deemed it necessary to resort to stratagem,
for which purpose they suddenly took to flight, and gained another island
in the evening. They here kindled a great number of fires, and spread
their blankets on some bushes, gathered and disposed around them for that
purpose, as though they themselves had encamped by their fires as usual.
The Mohegans following on, landed upon the island in the depth of night,
and were completely taken in by the deception. Supposing that the Mohawks
were sleeping soundly beneath their blankets, after their fatigue the
Mohegans crept up with the greatest silence, and pouring a heavy fire
upon the blankets, rushed upon them with knives and tomahawks in hand,
making the air to ring with their yells as they fell to cutting and
slashing the blankets and bushes instead of Indians beneath them. Just
at the moment of their greatest confusion and exultation the Mohawks,
who had been lying in ambush flat upon the ground at a little distance,
poured a murderous fire upon their foes, whose figures were rendered
distinctly visible by the light of their fires, and rushing impetuously
upon them, killed the greater part and made prisoners of the residue. A
treaty was then concluded, by which the Mohawks were to have the king,
and the Mohegans were to hold them in reverence and call them "Uncle."
Hendrick was the king first named such by the Mohawks, after this
decisive victory, "who lived to a great age," says Brown, "and was killed
at the battle of Lake George under Sir William Johnson."--_Author._
The relations of the Stockbridge Indians with the Oneidas had become
intimate, and it is very possible that the negotiations had even then
commenced between the two tribes, which a few years afterward resulted in
the removal of the Stockbridge Indians to the Oneida. Be that, however,
as it may, when the troubles began to thicken, the Provincial Congress
of Massachusetts sent a message to the Stockbridge Indians, apprising them
of the gathering tempest, and expressing a desire to cultivate a good
understanding between them. The Indians, in return, dispatched Captain
Solomon Ahhaunnauwaumut, their chief sachem, to the Congress, to make a
reply, and on the 11th of April he delivered the following speech:
"Brothers: We have heard you speak by your letter--we thank you for it--we
now make answer.
"Brothers: You remember when you first came over the great waters, I was
great and you was little, very small. I then took you in for a friend,
and kept you under my arms, so that no one might injure you; since that
time we have ever been true friends; there has never been any quarrel
between us. But now our conditions are changed. You are become great and
tall. You reach to the clouds. You are seen all around the world, and I
am become small, very little. I am not so high as your heel. Now you take
care of me, and I look to you for protection.
"Brothers: I am sorry to hear of this great quarrel between you and Old
England. It appears that blood must soon be shed to end this quarrel. We
never till this day understood the foundation of this quarrel between you
and the country you came from.
"Brothers: Whenever I see your blood running, you will soon find me about
to revenge my brother's blood. Although I am low and very small, I will
gripe hold of your enemy's heel, that he cannot run so fast, and so light,
as if he had nothing at his heels.
"Brothers: You know I am not so wise as you are, therefore I ask your
advice in what I am now going to say. I have been thinking, before you
come to action, to take a run to the westward, and feel the mind of my
Indian brethren, the Six Nations, and know how they stand--whether they
are on your side or for your enemies. If I find they are against you, I
will try to turn their minds. I think they will listen to me, for they
have always looked this way for advice, concerning all important news that
comes from the rising of the sun. If they hearken to me, you will not be
afraid of any danger behind you. However their minds are affected, you
shall soon know by me. Now I think I can do you more service in this way,
than by marching off immediately to Boston, and staying there; it may be
a great while before blood runs. [FN] Now, as I said, you are wiser than I;
I leave this for your consideration, whether I come down immediately or
wait till I hear some blood is spilled."
* * * * *
[FN] A company of minute-men, composed of the Stockbridge Indians, was
organized by the Massachusetts Congress before the battle of Lexington.
They were retained in service some time after the war began, and came
down and joined the camp at Cambridge.--_Spetz._
"Brothers: I would not have you think by this that we are falling back
from our engagements. We are ready to do any thing for your relief, and
shall be guided by your counsel.
"Brothers: One thing I ask of you, if you send for me to fight, that you
will let me fight in my own Indian way. I am not used to fight English
fashion, therefore you must not expect I can train like your men. Only
point out to me where your enemies keep, and that is all I shall want to
know."
Two days afterward the Congress directed the following reply to be made
to the Moheakounnuck tribe, through their chieftain:
"Brothers: We this day, by the delegate from Stockbridge, first heard of
your friendly answer to our speech to you by Captain William Goodrich,
which answer we are told you made to us immediately by a letter, which we
have not yet received. We now reply:
"Brothers: You say that you were once great, but that you are now little;
and that we were once little and are now great. The Supreme Spirit orders
these things. Whether we are little or great, let us keep the path of
friendship clear, which our fathers made, and in which we have both
traveled to this time. The friends of the wicked counselors of our King
fell upon us, and shed some blood soon after we spake to you last by
letter. But we, with a small twig, killed so many, and frightened them so
much, that they have shut themselves up in our great town, called Boston,
which they have made strong. We have now made our hatchets, and all our
instruments of war, sharp and bright. All the chief counselors, who live
on this side the great water, are sitting in the grand Council House in
Philadelphia; when they give the word, we shall all as one man, fall on,
and drive our enemies out of their strong fort, and follow them till they
shall take their hands out of our pouches, and let us sit in our
council-house, as we used to do, and as our fathers did in old times.
"Brothers: Though you are small, yet you are wise. Use your wisdom to help
us. If you think it best, go and smoke your pipe with your Indian brothers
toward the setting of the sun, and tell them of all you hear and all you
see; and let us know what their wise men say. If some of your young men
should have a mind to see what we are doing, let them come down and tarry
among our warriors. We will provide for them while they are here.
"Brothers: When you have any trouble, come and tell it to us, and we will
help you.
"To Captain _Solomon Ahhaunnauwaumut,_ chief Sachem of the _Moheakounnuck_
Indians."
These documents have been thus incidentally introduced, not only as being
connected with the main history, and also as being interesting in
themselves, but in justice to Guy Johnson; since, in regard to his own
measures of defensive preparation, he is entitled to the benefit of all
the facts, going to warrant his suspicions that an extraneous influence
was exerting over the subjects of his general superintendency; and it can
hardly be supposed that he was kept altogether in ignorance, either of the
correspondence with Mr. Kirkland or of that with the Stockbridge Indians,
through whom, probably, the Bostonians were at the same time holding
intercourse with the Six Nations. These circumstances could not but awaken
a lively jealousy, in regard to the movements of the white people among
the Indians under his charge, and especially in regard to Mr. Kirkland.
Accordingly, although in the month of February the superintendent had not
been able to effect the removal of Mr. Kirkland from his station among the
Oneidas, he nevertheless accomplished that object in the course of the
Spring, as appears by a letter from the missionary himself, addressed from
Cherry Valley to the Albany Committee:
"Mr. Kirkland to the Committee of Albany.
_Cherry Valley, Jan._ 9, 1775.
"Gentlemen,
"I am much embarrassed at present. You have doubtless heard that Colonel
Johnson has orders from Government to remove the dissenting missionaries
from the Six Nations, till the difficulties between Great Britain and the
Colonies are settled; in consequence of which he has forbidden my return
to thy people at Oneida. He has since given encouragement that I may
revisit them after the Congress is closed; but to be plain, I have no
dependence at all on his promises of this kind. He appears unreasonably
jealous of me, and has forbidden my speaking a word to the Indians, and
threatened me with confinement if I transgress. All he has against me I
suppose to be a suspicion that I have interpreted to the Indians the
doings of the Continental Congress, which has undeceived them, and too
much opened their eyes for Colonel Johnson's purposes. I confess to you,
gentlemen, that I have been guilty of this, if it be a transgression. The
Indians found out that I had received the abstracts of said Congress, and
insisted upon knowing the contents. I could not deny them, notwithstanding
my cloth, though in all other respects I have been extremely cautious not
to meddle in matters of a political nature. I apprehend that my
interpreting the doings of the Congress to a number of their sachems, has
done more real good to the cause of the country, or the cause of truth and
justice, than five hundred pounds in presents would have effected."
Mr. Kirkland no doubt spoke the honest truth in this letter. His influence
was great among the Oneidas, and deservedly so. Hence, had he undertaken
the task, he might, beyond all doubt, and easily, have persuaded the
Indians of his forest-charge to espouse the cause of the Colonies. But he
did no such thing; or, at least, he avoided the exertion of any farther
influence than to persuade them to the adoption of a neutral policy. This
determination, probably, was an act of their own volition, after listening
to the interpretation of the proceedings of Congress. It was made known
to the people of New England by the following address, transmitted by the
Oneidas to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, with a request that he would
cause it to be communicated to the four New England Colonies:
"The Oneida Indians to Governor Trumbull.
"As my younger brothers of the New England Indians, who have settled in
our vicinity, are now going down to visit their friends, and to move up
parts of their families that were left behind--with this belt by them, I
open the road wide, clearing it of all obstacles, that they may visit
their friends and return to their settlements here in peace.
"We Oneidas are induced to this measure on account of the disagreeable
situation of affairs that way; and we hope, by the help of God, they may
return in peace. We earnestly recommend them to your charity through their
long journey.
"Now we more immediately address you, our brother, the Governor, and the
chiefs of New England.
"Brothers: We have heard of the unhappy differences and great contention
between you and Old England. We wonder greatly, and are troubled in our
minds.
"Brothers: Possess your minds in peace respecting us Indians. We cannot
intermeddle in this dispute between two brothers. The quarrel seems to be
unnatural. You are _two brothers of one blood._ We are unwilling to join on
either side in such a contest, for we bear an equal affection to both you
Old and New England. Should the great king of England apply to us for aid,
we shall deny him; if the Colonies apply, we shall refuse. The present
situation of you two brothers is new and strange to us. We Indians cannot
find, nor recollect in the traditions of our ancestors, the like case, or
a similar instance.
"Brothers: For these reasons possess your minds in peace, and take no
umbrage that we Indians refuse joining in the contest. We are for peace.
"Brothers: Was it an alien, a foreign nation, who had struck you, we
should look into the matter. We hope, through the wise government and
good pleasure of God, your distresses may be soon removed and the dark
clouds be dispersed.
"Brothers: As we have declared for peace, we desire you will not apply to
our Indian brethren in New England for their assistance. Let us Indians
be all of one mind, and live with one another; and you white people settle
your own disputes between yourselves.
"Brothers: We have now declared our minds; please to write to us, that we
may know yours. We, the sachems and warriors, and female governesses of
_Oneida,_ send our love to you, brother governor, and all the other chiefs
in New England." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The translation of this Oneida proclamation of neutrality was made
by Mr. Kirkland, for Gordon's History of the Revolution. It was signed by
_William Sunoghsis, Nickldsha Watshaledgh, William Kanaghquaesed, Peter
Thayebeare, Jimmy Tekayabeare, Nickbis Aghsenbare,_ i. e. garter; _Thomas
Yoghtanowea,_ i. e. spreading of the dew; _Adam Ohenwano, Quedellis
Agwerondongwas,_ i. e. breaking of the twigs; _Handerebeks
Tegahsweahdyen,_ i. e. a belt (of wampum) extended; _Johnko' Skeanendon,
Thomas Teondeatha,_ i. e. a fallen tree.
Of an Indian foe the inhabitants of Tryon County entertained a special
dread. In the communication of the Palatine Committee to that of Albany,
therefore, cited a few pages back, it was suggested whether it would not
be expedient to prevent the sending of powder and ammunition into the
Mohawk Valley, unless consigned to the Committee, to be sold under their
inspection. In conclusion, the Committee declared, that, although few in
number, they were determined to let the world see who were, and who were
not, attached to the cause of American liberty; and they closed by avowing
their fixed determination, "to carry into execution every thing
recommended by the Continental Congress, and to be free or die."
Three days after making this communication to their Albany brethren, that
is to say on the 21st of May, the question whether Guy Johnson was or was
not tampering with the Indians in anticipation of hostilities, was solved
by an intercepted communication from Thayendanegea to the chiefs of the
Oneida tribe. The letter, written in the Mohawk language, was found in
an Indian path, and was supposed to have been lost by one of their
runners. The following is a translation, being the earliest specimen
extant of the composition of Brant.
"_Written at Guy Johnson's, May,_ 1775
"This is your letter, you great ones or sachems. Guy Johnson says he will
be glad if you get this intelligence, you Oneidas, how it goes with him
now; and he is now more certain concerning the intention of the Boston
people. Guy Johnson is in great fear of being taken prisoner by the
Bostonians. We Mohawks are obliged to watch him constantly. Therefore
we send you this intelligence, that you shall know it; and Guy Johnson
assures himself, and depends upon your coming to his assistance, and that
you will without fail be of that opinion. He believes not that you will
assent to let him suffer. We therefore expect you in a couple of days
time. So much at present. We send but so far as to you Oneidas, but
afterward perhaps to all the other nations. We conclude, and expect that
you will have concern about our ruler, Guy Johnson, because we are all
united.
"(Signed) Aren Kannenzaron,
Johannes Tegarihoge,
Deyagodeaghnaweagh.
"Joseph Brant
_Guy Johnson's Interpreter._"
The surface of this intercepted despatch discloses nothing more than a
desire, on the part of Guy Johnson, to strengthen his domestic forces for
the protection of his person, in the event of any attempt to seize and
carry him away. But the inhabitants allowed him no credit for sincerity.
Information had been received from Canada, through the emissaries sent
thither by the revolutionary leaders in Massachusetts, that secret agents
of the Crown had been sent among the Six Nations, to stir them up against
the Colonies.[FN-1] Hence the correspondence of the Massachusetts Congress
with Mr. Kirkland and the Indians, already given; and hence, also, the
increasing apprehension of the people, that the Indians were to be
inflamed and let loose upon them. Such, consequently, was their distrust
of Johnson, that they neither believed there was any design against his
person, nor that he was laboring under any apprehension of the kind. There
is no reason to doubt, however, that Guy Johnson did feel his position
to be critical. General Schuyler had his eye upon him; and, beyond
question, his every motion was so closely watched as to make him feel
very uncomfortable.[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Sparks.
[FN-2] "Watch the movements of the Indian agent, Colonel Guy Johnson,
and prevent, so far as you can, the effect of his influence, to our
prejudice, with the Indians."--_Letter from Washington to Gen. Schuyler,
June,_ 1775.
Evidence, indisputable, that such was the fact, is afforded in the
correspondence annexed. The following letter was addressed, at about the
same time, by Guy Johnson to the magistrates of the Upper Mohawk
settlements:--
"_Guy Park, May_ 20_th,_ 1775.
"Gentlemen,
"I have lately had repeated accounts that a body of New Englanders, or
others, were to come to seize and carry away my person and attack our
family, under colour of malicious insinuations that I intended to set the
Indians upon the people. Men of sense and character know that my office
is of the highest importance to promote peace amongst the Six Nations,
and prevent their entering into any such disputes. This I effected last
year, when they were much vexed about the attack made upon the Shawanese,
and I last winter appointed them to meet me this month to receive the
answer of the Virginians. All men must allow, that if the Indians find
their council fire disturbed, and their superintendent insulted, they will
take a dreadful revenge. It is therefore the duty of all people to prevent
this, and to satisfy any who may have been imposed on, that their
suspicions, and the allegations they have collected against me, are false,
and inconsistent with my character and office. I recommend this to you
as highly necessary at this time, as my regard for the interest of the
country, and self-preservation, has obliged me to fortify my house, and
keep men armed for my defence, till these idle and ridiculous reports are
removed.
"You may lay this letter before such as are interested in these matters.
"I am. Gentlemen,
Your Humble Servant,
G. Johnson.
"To the magistrates and others
of Palatine, Canajoharie, and
the Upper Districts." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This letter is transcribed from the original la the author's
possession.
In view of these letters--the intercepted despatch from Joseph Brant and
others to the Oneidas, and Johnson's letter to the Committee--the latter
body adopted a series of resolutions, renewing their expressions of
sympathy for the sufferings of their brethren in Massachusetts and the
other Colonies; declaring their approbation of the proceedings of the
New England Colonies in the existing crisis; denouncing the conduct of
Colonel Johnson in keeping an armed force constantly about him, and
stopping travelers upon the King's highway, "as arbitrary, illegal,
oppressive, and unwarrantable:" and declaring their determination "never
to submit to any arbitrary acts of any power under heaven, or to any
illegal and unwarrantable action of any man or set of men" whatever.
In addition to the before-mentioned intercepted letter, it was ascertained
that already expresses had actually been sent to the upper tribes of the
Six Nations, to invite them down to Guy Johnson's house. His own domestic
army amounted to five hundred men, and he had now cut off all free
communication between the upper Mohawk settlements and Albany. And
although the districts of Palatine, Canajoharie, and the German Flats
were sanctioning the proceedings of the Continental Congress with much
unanimity, they were in a great measure unarmed and destitute of
ammunition--not having more than fifty pounds of powder in the districts.
Under these circumstances, the Committee wrote an urgent letter to Albany,
representing their situation, and suggesting whether it might not be
expedient to open the communication through the lower districts of the
valley by force. They also advised the sending of two trusty messengers,
well acquainted with the Indian language, to the upper nations, to
dissuade them, if possible, from obeying the summons of Guy Johnson, and
to enlighten them in respect of the true nature and causes of the quarrel
with the King's government.
This letter was despatched by express, and the Albany Committee replied
on the following day, advising their friends of the upper districts that
they had no ammunition to spare, and dissuading them from any attempt to
re-open the communication by force. That project was accordingly
abandoned; but the Committee sent four of its members to Albany, to gain
information as to the condition of the country generally, and with
instructions to procure a quantity of powder and lead--the Committee
holding itself responsible for the purchase money. Meantime they pushed
their measures of internal organization with great energy and success,
establishing sub-committees wherever it was expedient, and assuming the
exercise of legislative, judicial, and executive powers. Secret articles
for mutual succour and defence were prepared, and very generally signed
by the Whigs; and threats having been uttered by Guy Johnson, that unless
the Committees desisted from the course they were pursuing, he would seize
and imprison certain of their number, they solemnly bound themselves to
rescue any who might thus be arrested, by force, "unless such persons
should be confined by legal process, issued upon a legal ground, and
executed in a legal manner."
It is here worthy, not only of special note, but of all admiration, how
completely and entirely these border-men held themselves amenable, in
the most trying exigencies, to the just execution of the laws. Throughout
all their proceedings, the history of the Tryon Committees will show that
they were governed by the purest dictates of patriotism, and the highest
regard to moral principle. Unlike the rude inhabitants of most frontier
settlements, especially under circumstances when the magistracy are, from
necessity, almost powerless, the frontier patriots of Tryon County were
scrupulous in their devotion to the supremacy of the laws. Their leading
men were likewise distinguished for their intelligence; and while North
Carolina is disputing whether she did not in fact utter a declaration of
independence before it was done by Congress, by recurring to the first
declaration of the Palatine Committee, noted in its proper place, the
example may almost be said to have proceeded from the Valley of the
Mohawk.
Simultaneously with his letter to the magistracy of the upper districts,
Guy Johnson had despatched another of the same purport, but entering more
into detail, to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the cities of
Albany and Schenectady, of which the following is a copy. The date is
wanting:--
"Gentlemen,
"As the peace and happiness of the country are objects which every good
man should have at heart, I think it highly necessary to acquaint you
that for a few days I have been put to the great trouble and expense of
fortifying my house, and keeping a large body of men for the defence of
my person, &c.; having received repeated accounts that either the New
Englanders, or some persons in or about the city of Albany or town of
Schenectady, are coming up, to a considerable number, to seize and
imprison me on a ridiculous and malicious report that I intend to make
the Indians destroy the inhabitants, or to that effect. The absurdity of
this apprehension may easily be seen by men of sense; but as many
credulous and ignorant persons may be led astray, and inclined to believe
it, and as they have already sent down accounts, examinations, &c. from
busy people here, that I can fully prove to be totally devoid of all
foundation, it has become the duty of all those who have authority or
influence, to disabuse the public, and prevent consequences which I
foresee with very great concern, and most cordially wish may be timely
prevented. Any difference in political ideas can never justify such
extravagant opinions; and I little imagined that they should have gained
belief amongst any order of people, who know my character, station, and
the large property I have in the country, and the duties of my office,
which are to preserve tranquility among the Indians, hear their
grievances, &c. and prevent them from falling upon the trade and
frontiers. These last were greatly threatened by the Indians, on account
of the disturbances last year between the Virginians and the Shawanese,
during which my endeavours prevented the Six Nations from taking a part
that would have possibly affected the public; and I appointed last Fall
that the Six Nations should come to me this month, in order to receive,
amongst other things, final satisfaction concerning the lands said to be
invaded by the Virginians, who have now sent me their answer. In the
discharge of this duty, I likewise essentially served the public; but
should I neglect myself and be tamely made prisoner, it is clear to all
who know any thing of Indians, they will not sit still and see their
council fire extinguished, and superintendent driven from his duty, but
will come upon the frontiers in revenge, with a power sufficient to commit
horrid devastation. It is, therefore, become as necessary to the public
as to myself, that my person should be defended; but as the measures I am
necessitated to take for that purpose may occasion the propagation of
additional falsehoods, and may at last appear to the Indians in a light
that is not for the benefit of the public, I should heartily wish,
gentlemen, that you could take such measures for removing these
apprehensions, as may enable me to discharge my duties, (which do not
interfere with the public,) without the protection of armed men and the
apprehension of insult; and as the public are much interested in this,
I must beg to have your answer as soon as possible.
"I am, Gentlemen,
Your most humble Servant,
G. Johnson. [FN]
"To the Magistrates and Committee
of Schenectady, and to the Mayor,
Corporation, &c. of Albany. To
be forwarded by the former."
* * * * *
[FN] This letter has been copied from the original, found by the author
among the old papers in the office of the Secretary of State, Albany.
To this letter the municipality of Albany promptly replied, expressing
their conviction that the reports were utterly groundless, and that they
had been originated for the purpose of awakening hostile feelings in the
minds of the Indians. They also gave the Colonel an admonitory hint that
he need be apprehensive of no indignity upon his person, or injury to
his property, so long as he studied to promote the peace and welfare of
the country, by executing his duties as superintendent of the Indians
"with an honest heart." In conclusion, they exhorted him to use all means
in his power to tranquilize the Indians, by assuring them that the reports
were without any just foundation, and "that nothing would afford his
Majesty's subjects in general a greater satisfaction than to be, and
continue with them, on the strictest terms of peace and friendship."
On the whole, however, there is no good reason to doubt that Guy Johnson
was, in reality, apprehensive of a clandestine visit from the Yankees,
and possibly of an abduction. The great influence of his official station,
and his equivocal conduct, had created universal distrust; and the affair
of the "Tea Party" had taught the loyalists, that the Bostonians were
as adroit and fearless in stratagem as in deeds of open daring and bold
emprise. Before the receipt of the preceding letters, moreover, it was
well understood that he had arrested and searched the persons of two New
Englanders, suspicious, as it was inferred, and probably not without
reason, that they had been despatched on a mission to the Indians, with
whom it was policy to prevent any communication, save through his own
interposition. Nor could he be ignorant of the fact, that at that critical
conjuncture, the possession of his person might be of as much consequence
to those who were on the verge of rebellion, as of detriment to the
service in which his predilections would probably induce him to engage.
CHAPTER IV.
Council of the Mohawk chiefs at Guy Park--A second council called by
Johnson at Cosby's Manor--Proceeds thither with his retinue--First full
meeting of Tryon County Committee--Correspondence with Guy Johnson--No
council held--Johnson proceeds farther West, accompanied by his family
and most of the Indians--Consequent apprehensions of the
people--Communication from Massachusetts Congress--Ticonderoga and Crown
Point taken by Ethan Allen--Skenesborough and St. Johns
surprised--Farther proceedings in Massachusetts--Battle of Bunker
Hill--Death of Warren--Council with the Oneidas and Tuscaroras at German
Flats--Speech to the Indians--Subsequent council with the
Oneidas--Conduct of the people toward Guy Johnson--Speech to, and reply
of Oneidas--Guy Johnson moves westwardly to Ontario--His letter to the
Provincial Congress of New-York--Holds a great Indian council at the
West--Unfavourable influence upon the dispositions of the
Indians--Causes of their partiality for the English--Great, but
groundless alarm of the people--Guy Johnson, with Brant and the Indian
warriors, descends the St. Lawrence to Montreal--Council there--Sir Guy
Carleton and Gen. Haldimand complete the work of winning the Indians
over to the cause of the Crown.
A council of the Mohawk chiefs was held at Guy Park, [FN-1] on the 25th of
May, which was attended by delegates from Albany and Tryon Counties. The
records of this council are very scanty and unsatisfactory. The principal
chief of the Mohawk tribe at that time was _Little Abraham_ [FN-2]--a
brother of the famous Hendrick who fell at Lake George, in the year 1775.
The council having been opened for business, Little Abraham addressed
them as follows:--
* * * * *
[FN-1] Guy Park: a beautiful situation immediately on the bank of the
Mohawk. The elegant stone mansion is yet upon the premises, giving the
best evidences of substantial building.
[FN-2] Little Abraham seems rather to have been a leading chief at the
Lower Castle of the Mohawks--not the principal War Chief.
"He said he was glad to meet them, and to hear the reports concerning
taking Guy Johnson, their superintendent, were false. That the Indians do
not wish to have a quarrel with the inhabitants. That during Sir William
Johnson's lifetime, and since, we have been peaceably disposed; that the
Indians are alarmed on account of the reports that our powder was stopped.
We get our things from the superintendent. If we lived as you do, it would
not be so great a loss. If our ammunition is stopped, we shall distrust
you. We are pleased to hear you say, you will communicate freely, and we
will at all times listen to what you say in presence of our
superintendent."
After a consultation with each other, the deputations from the two County
Committees replied, in substance, that "They were glad to hear them
expressing a desire to maintain the ancient friendship which had subsisted
between their fathers, they assured the chiefs that the reports of evil
designs against their superintendent were false. They farther promised
the chiefs, that whenever they had any business to transact with them,
they would meet them at their own council fires, and in presence of their
superintendent."
To which the Mohawk speaker responded to the following effect:--
"The Indians are glad that you are not surprised that we cannot spare
Col. Johnson. The love we have for the memory of Sir William Johnson, and
the obligations the whole Six Nations are under to him, must make us
regard and protect every branch of his family. We will explain these
things to all the Indians, and hope you will do the same to your people."
This council having been but thinly attended, and only by one tribe of the
Indians, the superintendent immediately directed the assembling of another
in the western part of the county, to attend which he proceeded to the
German Flats, with his whole family and retinue. His quarters were at the
house of a Mr. Thompson, on Cosby's manor, a few miles above the Flats.
It has been alleged that this second council was convoked because of the
superintendent's dissatisfaction with the first--a conclusion not
unlikely, from the absence of the western Indians, who had been invited.
On the 2d of June there was, for the first time, a full meeting of the
Tryon County Committee--the loyalists having previously prevented the
attendance of delegates from the lower, or Mohawk district. [FN] This
Committee addressed a strong and patriotic letter to the superintendent,
formally notifying him of the purposes of their organization. After
adverting to the oppressions of the mother country, in repeated attempts
to enforce unconstitutional enactments of Parliament, and asserting their
principles on the subject of taxation without representation--principles
which they declared to be undeniable--they avowed their object to be, to
consult as to the best methods of saving the country from devastation and
ruin; "which object, with the assistance of Divine Providence, it was
their fixed determination and resolution to accomplish;" adding, with
emphasis, "and if called upon, we shall be foremost in sharing the toil
and danger of the field." They once more adverted to the distressed
situation of the people of New England in the common cause; and declared
that they should be wanting in duty to their country and to themselves,
were they longer to refrain from announcing their determination to the
world. After repelling the charges promulgated against them, of having
compelled people to join their Committees, and of having drunk treasonable
toasts, they proceeded to discuss matters more directly personal to the
superintendent himself The following is an extract from this portion of
the letter:--
* * * * *
[FN] It may be interesting to some to give the names of this body of men,
who had so often professed their willingness to peril their lives and
property in defence of the liberties of their country. (From Palatine
district)--Christopher P. Yates, John Frey, Andrew Fink, Andrew Reeber,
Peter Waggoner, Daniel McDougal, Jacob Klock, George Ecker, Jun.,
Harmanus Van Slyck, Christopher W. Fox, Anthony Van Veghten. (Canajoharie
district)--Nicholas Herkimer, Ebenezer Cox, William Seeber, John Moore,
Samuel Campbell, Samuel Clyde, Thomas Henry, John Pickard. (Kingsland
and German Flats districts)--Edward Wall, William Petry, John Petry,
Augustine Hess, Frederick Orendorf, George Wentz, Michael Ittig,
Frederick Fox, George Herkimer, Duncan McDougal, Frederick Helmer, John
Frink. (Mohawk district)--John Morlett, John Bliven, Abraham Van Home,
Adam Fonda, Frederick Fisher, Sampson Sammons, William Schuyler, Volkert
Veeder, James McMaster, Daniel Line--42. Christopher P. Yates was chosen
chairman of this body.--_Campbells Annals._
"We are not ignorant of the very great importance of your office as
superintendent of the Indians, and therefore it is no more our duty than
inclination to protect you in the discharge of the duty of your proper
province; and we meet you with pleasure in behalf of ourselves and our
constituents, to thank yon for meeting the Indians in the upper parts of
the County, which may be the means of easing the people of the remainder
of their fears on this account, and prevent the Indians committing
irregularities on their way down to Guy Park. And we beg of you to use
your endeavours with the Indians, to dissuade them from interfering in the
dispute with the mother country and the Colonies. We cannot think that,
as you and your family possess very large estates in this County, you are
unfavourable to American freedom, although you may differ with us in the
mode of obtaining a redress of grievances. Permit us farther to observe,
that we cannot pass over in silence the interruption which the people of
the Mohawk district met in their meeting; which, we are informed, was
conducted in a peaceable manner; and the inhuman treatment of a man,
whose only crime was being faithful to his employers, and refusing to give
an account of the receipt of certain papers, to persons who had not the
least colour of right to demand any thing of that kind. We assure you that
we are much concerned about it, as two important rights of English
subjects are thereby infringed--to wit, a right to meet, and to obtain all
the intelligence in their power."
Colonel Nicholas Herkimer and Edward Wall were deputed to deliver the
letter to the superintendent, for which purpose they proceeded to Cosby's
Manor, and discharged their trust. The following was Colonel Johnson's
reply--manly and direct; and with which, if sincere, certainly no fault
could be found, bating the lack of courtesy in its commencement:--
"_Thompson's, Cosby's Manor, June_ 5_th,_ 1775.
"Gentlemen,
"I have received the paper signed Chris. P. Yates, Chairman, on behalf of
the districts therein mentioned, which I am now to answer, and shall do
it briefly, in the order you have stated matters. As to the letter from
some Indians to the Oneidas, I really knew nothing of it till I heard
such a thing had been by some means obtained from an Indian messenger,
and from what I have heard of its contents, I can't see any thing material
in it, or that could justify such idle apprehensions; but I must observe
that these fears among the people were talked of long before, and were,
I fear, propagated by some malicious persons for a bad purpose.
"As to your political sentiments, on which you enter in the next
paragraph, I have no occasion to enter on them or the merits of the cause.
I desire to enjoy liberty of conscience and the exercise of my own
judgment, and that all others should have the same privilege; but, with
regard to your saying you might have postponed the affair, if there had
been the least kind of probability that the petition of the General
Assembly would have been noticed, more than that of the delegates, I must,
as a true friend to the country, in which I have a large interest, say,
that the present dispute is viewed in different lights according to the
education and principles of the parties affected; and that, however
reasonable it may appear to a considerable number of honest men here, that
the petition of the delegates should merit attention, it is not viewed in
the same light in a country which admits of no authority that is not
constitutionally established; and I persuade myself you have that
reverence for his Majesty, that you will pay due regard to the royal
assurance given in his speech to Parliament, that whenever the American
grievances should be laid before him by their constitutional assemblies,
they should be fully attended to. I have heard that compulsory steps were
taken to induce some persons to come into your measures, and treasonable
toasts drank; but I am not willing to give too easy credit to flying
reports, and am happy to hear you disavow them.
"I am glad to find my calling a Congress on the frontiers gives
satisfaction; this was principally my design, though I cannot sufficiently
express my surprise at those who have, either through malice or ignorance,
misconstrued my intentions, and supposed me capable of setting the Indians
on the peaceable inhabitants of this country. The interest our family has
in this country and my own, is considerable, and they have been its best
benefactors; any malicious charges, therefore, to their prejudice, are
highly injurious, and ought to be totally suppressed.
"The office I hold is greatly for the benefit and protection of this
country, and on my frequent meetings with the Indians depends their peace
and security; I therefore cannot but be astonished to find the endeavours
made use of to obstruct me in my duties, and the weakness of some people
in withholding many things from me, which are indisputably necessary for
rendering the Indians contented; and I am willing to hope that you,
gentlemen, will duly consider this and discountenance the same.
"You have been much misinformed as to the origin of the reports which
obliged me to fortify my house and stand on my defence. I had it,
gentlemen, from undoubted authority from Albany, and since confirmed by
letters from one of the Committee at Philadelphia, that a large body of
men were to make me prisoner. As the effect this must have on the Indians
might have been of dangerous consequences to you, (a circumstance not
thought of,) I was obliged, at great expense, to take these measures. But
the many reports of my stopping travelers were false in every particular,
and the only instance of detaining any body was in the case of two New
England men, which I explained fully to those of your body who brought
your letter, and wherein I acted strictly agreeable to law, and as a
magistrate should have done.
"I am very sorry that such idle and injurious reports meet with any
encouragement. I rely on you, gentlemen, to exert yourselves in
discountenancing them; and I am happy in this opportunity of assuring
the people of a country I regard, that they have nothing to apprehend
from my endeavours, but that I shall always be glad to promote their true
interests.
"I am, Gentlemen, your humble Servant,
G. Johnson."
This reply of Colonel Johnson, together with a written report of the
proceedings of himself and colleague, and their interview with Johnson,
was transmitted to the County Committee by Mr. Wall. In his letter to the
Committee, Mr. Wall indulged in some complaints, in regard to the
reprehensible conduct of the people--probably toward Johnson and his
followers, who were looked upon with increasing distrust. But the
character of the irregularities complained of is not distinctly set forth
in Mr. Wall's communication.
Guy Johnson did not remain long at Cosby's Manor, nor did he hold the
Indian council there which had been notified, but departed immediately
farther west. His removal from Thompson's was thus announced to the
Committee of Palatine by Mr. Wall, on the 8th of June:--"Our people are
greatly alarmed at Colonel Johnson's motions, and cannot understand his
reasons for the same. We dare say, that before now you have been [made]
acquainted that he has removed with his retinue from Mr. Thompson's to
Fort Stanwix, and there are rumors that he intends to move yet farther.
We leave you to conjecture what may be his reasons."
These apprehensions were certainly not unreasonable. For although Colonel
Johnson's letters were plausible, and apparently frank and sincere, when
the people saw him setting his face thus to the west, and moving up
through the valley, not only with his own family, but accompanied by a
large retinue of his dependents and the great body of the Mohawk
Indians--who left their own delightful country at this time, never more
peaceably to return--it is not strange that suspicions, as to his ulterior
designs, were excited.
This feeling was not diminished by the reception, just at this time, of
the following communication from the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts,
through that of New-York:--
"In Provincial Congress,
_Watertown, June_ 13_th,_ 1775.
"_To the Honourable Delegates of the Congress of the Province
of New-York:_
"Gentlemen,
"Considering the exposed state of the frontiers of the Colonies, the
danger that the inhabitants of Canada may possibly have disagreeable
apprehensions from the military preparations making in several of the
Colonies, and the rumors that there are some appearances of their getting
themselves in readiness to act in a hostile way--this Congress have made
application to the Honourable Continental Congress, desiring them to take
such measures as to them shall appear proper, to quiet and conciliate
the minds of the Canadians, and to prevent such alarming apprehensions.
We also have had the disagreeable accounts of methods taken to fill the
minds of the Indian tribes adjacent to these Colonies with sentiments very
injurious to us; particularly we have been informed that Col. Guy Johnson
has taken great pains with the Six Nations, in order to bring them into
a belief that it is designed by the Colonies to fall upon them and cut
them off. We have, therefore, desired the Honourable Continental Congress
that they would, with all convenient speed, use their influence in
guarding against the evil intended by this malevolent misrepresentation;
and we desire you to join with us in such application.
"Jos. Warren, President.
Attest, Samuel Freeman, Sec'y."
{Transcriber's Note: Pages 78 and 79--opposite sides of the same leaf--
appear to be missing from the scanned copy of the work at this point.}
secure their neutrality in the contest; nor were they wholly unsuccessful,
although the majority of the Six Nations ultimately threw themselves into
the opposite scale. Disappointed in not meeting a fuller and more general
council at Guy Park in May, a conference was arranged with the Oneidas
and Tuscaroras, through the agency of their friend, the Rev. Mr. Kirkland,
which took place at the German Flats on the 28th of June. The Indians
were met by the inhabitants of that district, and also by a deputation
from Albany. The minutes of that meeting were not preserved at large
among the papers of the Tryon County Committee. The following was the
address of the inhabitants to the Indians:--
"Brothers: We are glad to have you here to return you thanks. We should
have been much pleased to have spoken with you at the appointed place;
that is, by your superintendent, where of late you kept your council fire;
but since his removing so far from us, we do not think it wrong or
imprudent to communicate our sentiments of peace to you here. It is at
this place, Brothers, it has often been done; and here again we renew it,
and brighten the old chain of peace and brotherly love.
"Brothers: We cannot see the cause of your late council fire, or
superintendent going away from among us. We did him no harm, and you well
know that none of us ever did, and you may depend on it, there was no
such thing meant against him. He told our people he was going up to
Thompson's (Cosby's Manor) to hold a council fire with our brothers, the
Five Nations, there. We helped him to provisions to support you there,
and every thing we had that he wanted. But he is gone away from among us,
and told some of our people, that he would come back with company which
would not please us; which, if true, it is certain his intentions are bad,
and he may depend, that whatever force he may or can bring, we regard not.
"Brothers: Our present meeting does not arise from any unfriendly
thoughts we entertain of you, or from any fear of ourselves. It is purely
on account of the old friendship which has so long been kept up between
us; that friendship we want to retain. It is that friendship which will
be an equal benefit to us. It is as much wanted on your side as ours.
"Brothers: We cannot too much express our satisfaction of your conduct
toward us by your late proceedings with the superintendent at the carrying
place, for which we are also obliged to you, and do not doubt but that
your conduct will be blessed with greater benefits than any other of those
who will hurry themselves into mischief; which can never be of any other
benefit to them, but sorrow for the innocent blood shed on an occasion
wherewith they have no concern.
"Brothers: We look to you particularly to be men of more understanding
than others, by the benefits you have received in learning; wherefore we
confide and trust more freely in you, that you can communicate to the
other tribes and nations the error they want to lead you in, and cannot
doubt but your wisdom and influence with the other nations will be
attended with that happy success, which will hereafter be a blessing to
you and your posterity.
"Brothers: What we have said is supposed to be sufficient to convince you
that our meaning is for our joint peace and friendship; in which we hope
that we and our children may continue to the end of time."
The answer of the Indians to this address has not been preserved. The
result of the council, however, was, to obtain a pledge of neutrality
from the greater portion of the Indians assembled. The efforts of Mr.
Kirkland had uniformly been directed to the same humane design.
Colonel Guy Johnson, as we have already seen, had previously left the
lower district of the Mohawk Valley. He was a man of too much discernment,
holding the opinions he did, to remain at Johnstown an inactive spectator
of events, the inevitable tendency of which could only be very soon to
rouse the whole thirteen Colonies to arms against the British power, and
he had prudently anticipated the battle of Bunker Hill in his departure.
But his movements had thus far been pacific, or rather not openly
belligerent; and it is probable that an excited and jealous people may
not have treated him, during his hegira, with all their wonted respect.
Indeed, the complaint of Mr. Wall, of the objectionable conduct of the
people, has already been noted at a previous page. But it is not stated
in what respect they had been offending. Some light, however, may perhaps
be thrown upon the subject, by the following notes of a council between
the inhabitants of the Upper, or Kingsland district, and the Oneida
Indians; from which it will be seen that the inhabitants had cut off the
supplies provided by Colonel Johnson for his journey: [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] These notes are quite imperfectly written, by a very incompetent
scribe. The author has endeavoured to arrive at the true import,
preserving as much of the language as possible.
Kingsland District. _At a council held upon desire of the Oneidas, July_
1_st,_ 1775, _the following speeches were delivered:_
To the Oneidas.
"Brothers: The reason of stopping the provisions from Mr. Thompson to
Colonel Johnson, is, that we suppose him to be our enemy; and for all that
he gets as much from Niagara as he wants; and we believe he is only
getting intelligence, from this place, how matters run. We have done for
him and his retinue what was in our power for his supply. We believe he
should have held his council fire at Mr. Thompson's, or, furthest, at Fort
Stanwix. But you have heard, Brothers, that he would bring a force along
with him which we would not like. That was the reason that we stopped his
provisions. But on your request, as you think it was not well done, we
will hear your sentiments about it. Not being laid to your or our charge,
we shall then let pass all that is brought to him."
Answer of the Oneidas.
"Brothers: It is Sunday to-day, and the Lord gave six days for work and
the seventh for rest. But since occasion happens, we give you our positive
answer.
"Brothers: We have consulted about stopping the provisions at Mr.
Thompson's, and we don't think it proper to do it. If it should have been
for his own use, we should not have mentioned it; but we know that he
calls up the Five Nations, and may be they will suffer by it. So,
therefore, let him have it. All that we have said we can be answerable
for, but this act we cannot.
"Brothers: If we should assent to these things, we are jointly brothers;
we should be left alone, and may be both would be disappointed. We are
obliged to have a care over our brothers of the Five Nations, as well as
for you, so that we may get no blame afterward for it. Then we don't know
what Colonel Johnson's design is. Let us first have proof, and as soon as
we have found out something, we shall assemble together and consider of it.
"Brothers: We ought to do as we want to have done to us by others; and it
is better to suffer than to do amiss.
"Brothers: As long as we are brothers, don't let us then suffer in
provisions, if they are to be got, (without your loss.) While we belong
to the Five Nations, we shall help one another as much as does lie in our
power, so that nobody is wronged by it.
"Brothers: You did leave this to us, though you consented not to leave us
to bear this burden quite alone upon our own shoulders. If you can find
a fault in our speech, you may speak about it."
Rejoinder.
"Brothers: As we have heard your speech, and well considered it, and as
we find that our other brothers may suffer by it, we are resolved that all
the flour and other provision which is really brought for Colonel Johnson,
may be sent thither without being molested. But considering that it may
not be employed for the use proposed, we desire the favour of you to
acquaint us of the fact, that we may take the necessary measures for our
own welfare.
"Brothers: We are greatly obliged for your brotherly love showed to us,
and that you have told us, out of the bottom of your heart, your sense of
this matter. We confess it is an evidence of sincere friendship, which we
hope will ever be maintained between us."
Making a very brief sojourn at Fort Stanwix, Guy Johnson hastened as far
west as Ontario, there to hold a grand council with the Indians, remote
from the white settlements; and where, as he alleged, their action might
be independent and unembarrassed by the interference of the Colonists. It
was at Ontario that he received the letter from the Provincial Congress
of New-York, already adverted to as having been written at the
solicitation of the Congress of Massachusetts. He replied to it on the
8th of July, in a letter glowing with loyalty, and complaining bitterly
of the malcontents, and those in opposition to regular governments; who,
as the reader will observe, he again repeated, were exciting the Indians
against him. The letter is inserted entire:--
"Guy Johnson to Peter Van Brugh Livingston.
_Ontario, July the_ 8_th,_ 1775.
"Sir,
"Though I received your letter from the Provincial Congress several days
ago, I had not a good opportunity to answer it till now. I suppose,
however, this will reach you safe, notwithstanding all the rest of my
correspondence is interrupted, by ignorant impertinents.
"As to the endeavour you speak of, to reconcile the unhappy differences
between the Parent State and these Colonies, be assured I ardently wish
to see them; as yet, I am sorry to say, I have not been able to discover
any attempt of that kind, but that of the assembly, the only true legal
representatives of the people; and as to the individuals who you say
officiously interrupt (in my quarter) the mode and measures you think
necessary for these salutary purposes, I am really a stranger to them.
If you mean myself, you must have been grossly imposed on. I once, indeed,
went, with reluctance, at the request of several of the principal
inhabitants, to one of the people's meetings, which I found had been
called by an itinerant New England leather-dresser, and conducted by
others, if possible, more contemptible. I had, therefore, little
inclination to revisit such men or attend to their absurdities. And,
although I did not incline to think that you, Gentlemen, had formed any
designs against me, yet it is most certain that such designs were formed.
Of this I received a clear account by express, from a friend near Albany,
which was soon corroborated by letters from other quarters, particularly
one from a gentleman of the Committee at Philadelphia, a captain in your
levies, who was pretty circumstantial; and since, I have had the like
from many others. I have, likewise, found that mean instruments were
officiously employed to disturb the minds of the Indians, to interrupt
the ordinary discharge of my duties, and prevent their receiving messages
they had long since expected from me. To enter into a minute detail of
all the falsehoods propagated and all the obstructions I met with, though
it could not fail astonishing any gentlemen disposed to discountenance
them, would far exceed the limits of a letter or the time I have to spare,
as I am now finishing my Congress, entirely to my satisfaction, with 1340
warriors, who came hither to the only place where they could transact
business or receive favours without interruption; and who are much
dissatisfied at finding that the goods which I was necessitated to send
for to Montreal, were obliged to be ordered back by the merchant, to
prevent his being insulted, or his property invaded by the mistaken
populace. That their ammunition was stopped at Albany--the persons on this
communication employed in purchasing provisions for the Congress insulted,
and all my letters, as well as even some trifling articles for the use of
my own table, stopped. And this moment the Mayor of Albany assured me
that he was the other day roused out of his bed, at a certain Mr.
Thompson's above the German Flats, by one Herkimer and fifteen others,
who pursued him to search for any thing he might have for me. You may be
assured, Sir, that this is far from being agreeable to the Indians--that
it might have produced very disagreeable consequences long since, had not
compassion for a deluded people taken place of every other consideration;
and that the impotent endeavours of a missionary (who has forfeited his
honour, pledged to me,) with part of one of their tribes, is a
circumstance that, however trifling, increases their resentment.
"I should be much obliged by your promises of discountenancing any
attempts against myself, &c. did they not appear to be made on conditions
of compliance with Continental or Provincial Congresses, or even
Committees formed or to be formed, many of whose Resolves may neither
consist with my conscience, duty, or loyalty. I trust I shall always
manifest more humanity, than to promote the destruction of the innocent
inhabitants of a Colony to which I have been always warmly attached, a
declaration that must appear perfectly suitable to the character of a man
of honour and principle, who can, on no account, neglect those duties that
are consistent therewith, however they may differ from sentiments now
adopted in so many parts of America.
"I sincerely wish a speedy termination to the present troubles, and I am,
Sir,
Your most humble Servant,
G. Johnson.
"P. V. B. Livingston, Esq.
"I shall have occasion to meet the Indians of my department in different
quarters this season." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This letter was copied by the author from the original, in the State
Department, Albany.
Colonel Johnson was accompanied in his departure by Joseph Brant, or
Thayendanegea, his secretary, and by Colonel John Butler and his son
Walter. By the preceding letter, the reader will have seen that they
succeeded in convening a very large council at Ontario. The greater
portion of the Indians attending, however, were probably Cayugas and
Senecas. These were now far the most numerous of the Six Nations, although
the Mohawks yet stood in rank at the head of the confederacy. Formerly
the last-mentioned tribe had been the most numerous and powerful of the
Cantons; but at an early day after the planting of the Colony of New-York,
the French had succeeded in seducing a large section of the Mohawks to
return to Canada, whence they originally came, after breaking the
vassalage in which they had been held by the Algonquins. Their proximity
to the whites, moreover, had been attended by the effect, invariable and
seemingly inevitable, in regard to their race, of diminishing their
numbers. Added to all which, their warlike character, and their daring
ferocity, exposing them to more frequent perils than were encountered by
their associated Cantons, had contributed still farther to this unequal
diminution. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Among the manuscripts of Sir William Johnson, I have found a census
of the Northern and Western Indians, from the Hudson river to the great
Lakes and the Mississippi, taken in 1763. The Mohawk warriors were then
only 160; the Oneidas, 250; Tuscaroras, 140; Onondagas, 150; Cayugas,
200; Senecas, 1050. Total, 1950. According to the calculation of a
British agent, several of the tribes must have increased between the
close of the French war and the beginning of the American Revolution, as
it was computed that, during the latter contest, the English had in
service 300 Mohawks, 150 Oneidas, 200 Tuscaroras, 300 Onondagas, 230
Cayugas, and 400 Senecas.--_Author._
It is not known that any record of this council was preserved, although
the speeches interchanged were doubtless written, since that was the
universal practice in the conduct of Indian intercourse. But no doubt
exists as to the fact, that the superintendent succeeded in still farther
alienating the affections of the great majority of the Indians from the
Americans, if they did not immediately join the ranks of the invaders.
Nor, when all the circumstances of their case and position are
dispassionately considered, is it surprising that their inclinations were
favorable to the Crown. On the contrary, the wonder is that Colonel
Johnson did not succeed in carrying with him the Oneidas and Tuscaroras
also; and he probably would have done so, but for the salutary though
indirect influence of Mr. Kirkland, and their noble chief, the sagacious
Schenandoah--always the warm and unwavering friend of the Colonists. With
regard to these Indians, it must be considered that they had then been in
alliance with Great Britain during a period of more than one hundred
years. In all their wars with their implacable enemies the Algonquins,
acting in alliance with the French, the Six Nations had been assisted by
the English, or fighting side by side with them. For a long series of
years Sir William Johnson had been their counselor and friend. His family
was to a certain extent allied with the head canton of the confederacy,
and he was consulted by them in all affairs of business or of high
emergency, as an oracle. They had drawn their supplies through him and his
agents, and it was natural that, upon his decease, their affection for
him should be transferred to his successor in office, who was also his
son-in-law. Miss Molly, moreover, was a woman of vigorous understanding
and of able management. And, as we have already seen, she and Colonel Guy
himself, were sustained by the powerful aid of Thayendanegea, who united
the advantages of education with the native sagacity of his race. Added
to all which, the cause was considered, if not desperate, at least of
doubtful issue; while the unenlightened Indians had been taught to hear
the name of the king with great reverence, and to believe him
all-powerful. They considered the officers of the Crown their best
friends; and it was but natural that they should hold on upon the great
chain which they had so long laboured to keep bright between them.
It has already been remarked, that, thus far, Colonel Guy Johnson had
committed no act of actual hostility. While this council was holding in
Ontario, however, the whole valley of the Mohawk was filled with alarm, by
reports that he was preparing an expedition to return upon them, and lay
the country waste by fire and sword. On the 11th of July, Colonel Herkimer
wrote from Canajoharie to the Palatine Committee, that he had received
credible intelligence that morning, that Guy Johnson was ready to march
back upon them with a body of eight or nine hundred Indians, and that the
attack would be commenced from the woods below the Little Falls, on the
northern side of the river. He therefore proposed sending to Albany
immediately for a corresponding number of men. An urgent letter was
forthwith despatched by the Committee to Schenectady and Albany, for the
amount of assistance mentioned, "to prevent these barbarous enterprises,"
and to enable them "to resist their inhuman enemies with good
success--that they might not be slaughtered, like innocent and defenceless
sheep before ravaging wolves."
From the positive character of the intelligence, and the mysterious
movements of Guy Johnson and his followers, the inhabitants had good
cause of alarm; more especially as Sir John Johnson [FN-1] remained at the
Hall in Johnstown, having at his beck a large body of loyalists, making
his castle (for the Hall was now fortified,) their head quarters,--who,
in the event of such a movement by his brother-in-law from the west,
would doubtless be prepared to join the Indians in the enterprise, and
between them both, be able to whelm the settlements in destruction at a
single blow. Every possible preparation was therefore made for their
defence, but the alarm proved to be without foundation; and after Guy
Johnson had completed his business at Ontario, he returned to Oswego,
where he very soon afterward convened another council and held a treaty,
at which he succeeded in still farther estranging the Indians from the
Colonies. The particulars of this council have never transpired in
writing; but some interesting references to it will occur in an Indian
speech a few pages onward. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Sir John Johnson held a commission as Brigadier-general of
militia.
[FN-2] The following passage from Ramsay's History of the Revolution,
seems to refer to this Indian convocation at Oswego. There was no other
meeting during that year, to which this notice of Ramsay could refer.
"Colonel Johnson had repeated conferences with the Indians, and
endeavoured to influence them to take up the hatchet, but they steadily
refused. In order to gain their co-operation, he invited them to a feast
on a Bostonian, and to drink his blood. This, in the Indian style, meant
no more than to partake of a roasted ox and a pipe of wine at a public
entertainment, which was given on design to influence them to co-operate
with the British troops. The Colonial patriots affected to understand it
in its literal sense. It furnished, in their mode of explication, a
convenient handle for operating on the passions of the people."
From Oswego, Guy Johnson crossed into Canada, and thence descended the
St. Lawrence to Montreal, accompanied by a large number of the chiefs and
warriors of the Six Nations, who were invited to an interview with Sir
Guy Carleton and Sir Frederick Haldimand--both those distinguished
officers being in that city at the time--and were induced by them to
embark in the cause of the King.
It has often been asserted, especially by British historians, that Sir
Guy Carleton was opposed to the employment of the Indians in the contest,
from principles of humanity. Such, however, was not the fact. Brant
repeatedly asserted in afterlife, in speeches delivered by him, copies
of which are yet extant, that on their first arrival in Montreal, General
Carleton proposed to them to enter the service. In a speech delivered by
the Chief in the year 1803, recapitulating the history of the services of
the Mohawks in that war, the following passages occur, touching the point
now under discussion:--"We were living at the former residence of Guy
Johnson, when the news arrived that war had commenced between the king's
people and the Americans. We took but little notice of this first report;
but in a few days we heard that five hundred Americans were coming to
seize our superintendent. Such news as this alarmed us, and we immediately
consulted together as to what measures were necessary to be taken. We at
once reflected upon the covenant of our forefathers as allies to the King,
and said, 'It will not do for us to break it, let what will become of us.'
Indeed, it is a long time since the Governor (Sir Guy Carleton) said to
us: 'I exhort you to continue your adherence to the King, and not to break
the solemn agreement made by your forefathers; for your own welfare is
intimately connected with your continuing the allies of his Majesty.'
He also said a great deal more to the same purport; and on this our minds
were the more firmly fixed, for we acknowledged that it would certainly
be the best in the end, for our families and ourselves to remain under
the King's protection, whatever difficulties we might have to contend
with. . . . A council was next convened at Montreal, in July, 1775, at
which the Seven Nations, (or Caughnawagas,) were present, as well as
ourselves the Six Nations. On this occasion General Haldimand told us
what had befallen the King's subjects, and said, now is the time for you
to help the King. The war has commenced. Assist the King now, and you will
find it to your advantage. Go now and fight for your possessions, and
whatever you lose of your property during the war, the King will make up
to you when peace returns. This is the substance of what General Haldimand
said. The Caughnawaga Indians then joined themselves to us. We immediately
commenced in good earnest, and did our utmost during the war."
The speech of Brant, from which the preceding extract is taken, was
written in the Mohawk language, and never, by him, rendered into English.
It is an important document, developing a new fact in regard to the
conduct of Sir Guy Carleton, and has accordingly been translated for the
present work. Strict historical accuracy is often of slow attainment; but,
after all deductions from the merits of General Carleton, afterward Lord
Dorchester, enough that is truly excellent and great will remain to leave
him a reputation of which most public men might well be proud.
CHAPTER V.
Meeting of the second Continental Congress--Measures of
defence--Declaration--National fast--Organization of an Indian
department--Address to the Six Nations--Council called at
Albany--Preliminary consultation at German Flats--Speeches of the
Oneidas and others--Adjourn to Albany--Brief interview with the
commissioners--Conference and interchange of speeches with the
Albanians--Proceedings of the grand council--Speeches of the
commissioners--Replies of the Indians--Conclusion of the grand
council--Resumption of the conference with the Albanians--Speech of
the Albany Committee--Reply of the Indians--Disclosures of Guy Johnson's
proceedings at Oswego--Close of the proceedings--Epidemic among the
Indians--Small benefit resulting from the council--Proceedings in Tryon
County resumed--Doubtful position of New-York--Symptoms of disaffection
to the cause of the people--Sir John Johnson--Sheriff White deposed by
the people--The royal authorities superseded by appointments from the
people--Affray at Johnstown--First gun fired at Sampson Sammons--White
recommissioned by Tryon--His flight--Labors of the Committee--Opposition
of the Tories--Designs of Sir John Johnson and Sir Guy Carleton--Letter
and deputation to Sir John--Prisoners for political offences sent to
gaol--Letter from Provincial Congress--Mohawks commence fighting at St.
Johns--Speech of the Canajoharies in explanation--Indians apply for
release of prisoners--Review of the progress of the Revolution in other
parts of the Colonies--Proceedings of Parliament--Burning of
Falmouth--Descent upon Canada--Ethan Allen taken--Arnold's
expedition--Siege of Quebec--Fall of Montgomery--Caughnawaga and
Delaware Indians.
The second Continental Congress, composed of delegates, assembled at
Philadelphia on the 10th of May. Hostilities having actually commenced,
and it being well understood that large reinforcements of the British
army were on their way from England, no time was lost in preparing for
the public defence. Protesting that they "wished for a restoration of the
harmony formerly subsisting between the mother country and the Colonies,"
they resolved again to present "a humble and dutiful petition to his
Majesty;" prepared addresses to the people of Great Britain; to those of
Canada; and to the assembly of Jamaica; voted for the immediate equipment
of 20,000 men; voted to raise three millions on bills of credit for the
prosecution of the war; and, on the nomination of John Adams, commissioned
George Washington, of Virginia, as Commander-in-Chief. On the 4th of July
Congress denounced the two acts of Parliament of the preceding session,
restraining the trade and commerce of the Colonies, as "unconstitutional,
oppressive, and cruel;" and on the 6th they agreed to a manifesto,
"setting forth the causes and necessity of their taking up arms." After
a spirited but temperate preamble, presenting a historical view of the
origin, and progress, and conduct of the Colonies, and of the measures
of the British government since the peace of 1763; and after an eloquent
recapitulation of the grievances which had produced the collision, and
proclaiming their confidence of obtaining foreign aid if necessary, and
of ultimate success; disavowing, moreover, any intention to dissolve the
connexion between the parent country and the Colonies; the declaration
proceeded--"We most solemnly, before God and the world, DECLARE, that,
exerting the utmost energy of those powers which our beneficent Creator
hath bestowed upon us, the arms we have been compelled by our enemies to
assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating firmness and
perseverance, employ for the preservation of our liberties; being with
one mind resolved to die FREE-MEN rather than live SLAVES." They protested
that they would lay down their arms when hostilities should cease on the
part of the aggressors, and not before. Reposing their confidence in the
mercy of the Impartial Judge and Ruler of the Universe, and imploring
his goodness to protect and carry them through the conflict, they
appointed the 20th of July to be observed as a day of public humiliation,
fasting, and prayer with that view. It was generally observed, and was
the first national fast ever proclaimed in the New World. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Holmes's Annals.
But amidst all the arduous duties demanding the attention of Congress,
the importance of keeping a watchful eye upon the Indians was universally
conceded. The position of the Six Nations, as well as their power to do
mischief, could not but strike the observation of all. They had served as
an useful barrier between the English settlements and the French in
Canada, in former wars, and were often actively engaged as auxiliaries.
Their position, and their utility, would be now precisely the same between
the Americans and the English in Canada. It was therefore deemed of the
first consequence, if possible, to prevent them from taking sides with
the English--not, however, with a view to their employment in arms by
ourselves; since, notwithstanding the disposition manifested by the
Congress of Massachusetts to employ the Indians, and the actual engagement
of the Stockbridge Indians as auxiliaries, it was, nevertheless, the
anxious desire of the Congress to keep them in a position of neutrality
as between England and the Colonies, and at peace among themselves, and
with all. For the purpose of closer observation and more efficient action
in respect to the Indian relations of the country, therefore, an Indian
Department, with three sub-divisions, Northern, Middle, and Southern, was
established on the 12th of July, and Commissioners were appointed for
each--"with power to treat with the Indians in their respective
departments, to preserve peace and friendship, and to prevent their taking
any part in the present commotions." The Commissioners of the Northern
Department were, Major General Philip Schuyler, Major Joseph Hawley, Mr.
Turbot Francis, Mr. Oliver Wolcott, and Mr. Volkert P. Douw. The form of
an address to the several tribes of Indians, in all the departments, was
agreed upon, to be altered as occasion might require for local adaptation.
This address was framed after the manner of Indian speeches, and contained
a summary history of the Colonies, and of the rise and progress of the
difficulties between them and the parent country. In the course of the
address, the Indians were informed of the nature and objects of the
contest then begun, and were strongly advised to the preservation of
neutrality. The Congress said--"We desire you will hear and receive what
we have now told you, and that you will open a good ear, and listen to
what we are now going to say. This is a family quarrel between us and Old
England. You Indians are not concerned in it. We do not wish you to take
up the hatchet against the King's troops. We desire you to remain at
home, and not join on either side, but keep the hatchet buried deep. In
the name and behalf of all our people, we ask and desire you to love peace
and maintain it, and to love and sympathise with us in our troubles; that
the path may be kept open with all our people and yours, to pass and
repass without molestation." In conclusion, the Congress said--"Let us
both be cautious in our behaviour toward each other at this critical
state of affairs. This island now trembles: the wind whistles from almost
every quarter . . . let us fortify our minds, and shut our ears against
false rumors . . . let us be cautious what we receive for truth, unless
spoken by wise and good men. If any thing disagreeable should ever fall
out between us, the Twelve United Colonies, and you, the Six Nations, to
wound our peace, let us immediately seek measures for healing the breach.
From the present situation of our affairs, we judge it wise and expedient
to kindle up a small council fire at Albany, where we may hear each
other's voice, and disclose our minds more fully to one another." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The address to the Indians is long and will be found in the
Appendix.
Such were a few of the points only of the address, which was an honest
and earnest attempt to prevent the savages from taking any part in the
contest whatever. No time was lost by the Commissioners of the Northern
department, in the adoption of measures pursuant to its wise spirit and
policy. For this purpose a treaty was appointed to be held with the Six
Nations at Albany, in the month of August, and the tribes were all invited
to attend. Previous to the day of meeting, two of the Commissioners, Mr.
Douw and Colonel Francis, met a number of the chiefs and warriors in a
preliminary council at the German Flats, which was not well attended.
This conference was holden on the 15th and 16th days of August. Colonel
Francis opened the council by stating the objects for which the twelve
United Colonies had invited the proposed general meeting at Albany, which
they now solicited all the Six Nations and their allies to attend. They
added--When "we meet you, our brethren of the Six Nations, and your
allies, at Albany, we will rekindle the council fire which our ancestors
and yours formerly kindled up at that place, and there sit down and
converse together upon the present situation of the twelve United
Colonies, and disclose to you their minds thereon. We have important
matters to communicate to you, our brethren of the Six Nations, and your
allies, which cannot be disclosed until the council fire be kindled up at
Albany, and we are in full assembly." Observing that the council was
thinly attended. Colonel Francis urged them in his speech to send a
general invitation to all the Six Nations to appear at Albany; and he
proposed that they should also send belts of invitation to the
Caughnawagas in the neighborhood of Montreal, together with the Indians
of the Seven Nations on the St. Lawrence. Colonel Francis concluded his
"talk" as follows:--
"Brothers: As many mischievous and evil-disposed persons may attempt to
raise up in your minds sentiments that are unfriendly to your brethren of
the twelve United Colonies, we beg you will shut your ears and fortify
your minds against any such evil and false reports; and if any such liars
and deceivers should appear among you, and endeavour to poison your minds,
be assured they are as much your enemies as the enemies of your brethren
of the twelve United Colonies together, and which is now going to be made
stronger at Albany.
"_A Belt._"
To this _Kanaghquaesa,_ an Oneida sachem, replied:--
"Brothers: You have now opened your minds. We have heard your voices.
Your speeches are far from being contemptible. But as the day is far
spent, we defer a reply until to-morrow, as we are weary from having sat
long in council. We think it time for a little drink; and you must
remember that the twelve United Colonies are a great body."
The council having adjourned over to the 16th, _Tiahogwando,_ an Oneida
sachem, made the following reply to the speech of the Commissioners:--
"Brother Solihoany, [FN] and our Albany Brothers, attend! We are now
assembled at the German Flats, at which place you kindled up a council
fire, and yesterday called us together, and acquainted us from whence you
came, and by whose authority--namely, by that of the twelve United
Colonies--and you opened your business to us."
* * * * *
[FN] The name bestowed upon Colonel Francis by the Indians.
"Brothers: Now attend. Through the mercy of God we are brought to this
day, and the Six Nations are now in full assembly at this place, where
we smoke a pipe in friendship and love. We are glad to hear your voices.
You are come to invite us down to Albany, to a council fire of peace.
"Brothers: We thank you for this invitation. It meets with our entire
approbation. Here we are, of every tribe in the Six Nations. It shall be
done as you have said.
"Brothers: You have desired that all our confederates should receive this
invitation. This cannot be done short of one year, as we extend very far,
and could not possibly call the extremities of our confederacy to this
intended meeting. But possess your minds in peace. When this Congress is
over, and the council fire is raked up, we shall acquaint all our allies
with what has passed. This is the answer of all the Six Nations who are
now here represented from every tribe.
"Brothers, attend! Yesterday you said you were sensible our confederacy
extended to Caughnawaga, and you desired our assistance to forward this
your belt of invitation to the Caughnawagas and the seven tribes in that
quarter.
"Brothers: Possess your minds in peace. We, the Six Nations, are put to
difficulty to grant this request. We are much embarrassed, for this
reason. The man is now there who will vex your minds, and never consent
to their coming down, and will draw hard upon their minds another way. [FN]
He is of your own blood."
* * * * *
[FN] Guy Johnson was doubtless the man referred to.
"Brothers: Possess your minds in peace. We, of the Six Nations, have the
minds of the Caughnawagas and the seven tribes in that quarter. At our
central council-house, when this took place, they addressed us of the
Six Nations in the following manner:--'You are better capable of
maintaining peace than we are; therefore we deliver up our minds to you.'
For these reasons we advise you to reconsider your petition to us, seeing
we are so embarrassed we cannot grant it. Perhaps you will say to us,
when your intended council fire shall be over, 'Brothers, do you of the
Six Nations acquaint all your confederates and allies of what has passed
at this council-fire of peace;' and this we shall do with great care and
exactness. Now, Brothers, you see how we are embarrassed, and therefore
give you this advice.
"_Belt returned._"
To this Colonel Francis made answer:--
"Brethren of the Six Nations: It gives us a great deal of uneasiness to
find that you cannot at present convey this belt to our friends in Canada.
We have heard your reasons, and are sorry to find that one of our blood
is already there, endeavouring to draw their minds from us when we mean
nothing but peace towards them. As there are a great many Englishmen in
Canada, we know not who you mean. We shall therefore be glad to have the
particular man pointed out."
To this request, the Mohawk sachem. Little Abraham, replied:
"Brothers: We take it for granted that you all know the very man we mean.
We said he was of your blood. We see no necessity of pointing him out
more explicitly."
The times being critical, and the people of the valley being exceedingly
suspicious of the movements of the Indians, the latter were not altogether
without apprehension that some evil might befall them in their course to
Albany. Tiahogwando therefore addressed the council upon that point as
follows:--
"Brother Solihoany, and our Albany Brother: We take it for granted you
have called us to a council of peace and entire friendship; and you have
taken us by the hand. As there are men of different minds, and some of
them may be ill disposed, we desire you will admonish your own people that
they offer us no abuse in the way down to your council-fire of peace. If
this caution should be neglected, some misfortune might happen; as all
people do not meet so much like brothers as formerly, on account of the
present situation of affairs. It would be unhappy if our council-fire
should be crushed by any mischief-makers. We have given you this caution,
that while we are marching along in peace and quietness, we might not be
alarmed by a blow struck in our rear. We therefore desire you would begin,
even at this council-lire, to publish your admonitions to unwise and
ungovernable people. By this belt we declare to you, our Brothers, that
the road is open for passing and repassing, and free from all
embarrassments, through the Six Nations, as it has been for a long time.
Therefore we desire that we may have the same open road down to your
intended council-fire at Albany." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] As Mr. Kirkland was in attendance upon this council, the Indian
speeches were doubtless interpreted by him.
Colonel Francis replied:--
"Brethren of the Six Nations: By this belt you desire that we may clear
the road to Albany, that none of our people may injure you. The road shall
be as clear for you to go to Albany, as it is for us to go to the country
of the Six Nations. The twelve United Colonies have given us great power
over the white people. We will appoint white men, who speak your language
and love your nations, to see you safe down to Albany, and to provide
provisions for you on the way. We shall set out for Albany to-morrow
morning, to prepare matters for kindling up the great council-fire there."
The Board of Commissioners for the Northern Department met at Albany, on
the 23d of August, (with the exception of Major Hawley, who had declined
his appointment in consequence of ill health,) and made the necessary
arrangements for holding the treaty. An invitation was given to the civil
authorities of Albany, to pay the sachems and warriors a complimentary
visit in company with the Commissioners, which was accepted. A committee
of the principal gentlemen of Albany was likewise appointed, to join in
the complimentary visit on the 24th. On reaching the quarters of the
chiefs, they were addressed as follows:--
"Brethren of the Six Nations:--We, the deputies appointed by the twelve
United Colonies, the descendants of Quedar, and the gentlemen of the city
of Albany, congratulate you on your arrival here. They are glad to see
you well, and thank the Great God that he suffers us to meet."
In the course of this interview, the sachems intimated a desire to have
a consultation with the municipal officers of the city of Albany before
they met the commissioners in formal council. It appears that there had
been some diplomatic passages between the Oneida Indians and the
Albanians, and an interchange of messengers; and the chiefs were now
desirous of having a conference with them. The commissioners, anxious to
humor the Indians, assented to the request; and the Albanians appointed
a committee, consisting of Walter Livingston, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer,
and Samuel Stringer, to make the arrangements. The interview took place
the same evening, when _Seaghnagerat,_ an Oneida chief, opened the
proceedings with a speech of very unusual length for an Indian. He
commenced by an expression of his gratification that, on opening the ashes
to rekindle the old council-fire, they had found some of the sparks
remaining. He next referred to the proceedings of a previous consultation
at the German Flats, touching the conduct of Guy Johnson in removing
their missionaries, and other matters. The meeting referred to seems to
have been a partial council, to which the Albanians had sent a deputation,
the object of which was, by the exhibition of some ancient belts, to
remind the Indians of a former covenant of peace with Quedar, and to
dissuade them from engaging in the existing quarrel. What had been said
by the Albany deputies, at the conference referred to, but of which no
record seems to have been preserved, was now repeated in substance by the
Oneida chief, after the Indian manner of conducting their councils. He
then proceeded to reply _seriatim;_ from which circumstance it is probable
that the former council-fire had been raked up, before its proceedings
were brought to a close. The reply now made was decidedly and strongly
pacific. The chief admitted that "evil birds" had been busy in circulating
unpleasant rumors, and that efforts had been made to make them swerve
from their neutrality by Guy Johnson or his agents--at least, such was
the inference from the speech; but he over and over again protested the
determination of the Six Nations to avoid interfering with the
controversy, and only exhorted the Colonists to keep the path into their
country open, so that they could pass and repass without molestation. In
regard to the removal of their missionary, the chiefs said Guy Johnson
had done it pursuant to "a belt" [FN] received from Governor Gage. He
expressed the greatest respect for Mr. Kirkland; but at the same time,
under the circumstances of the case, suggested whether it would not on
the whole be better for Mr. K. to leave them for the present, until the
storm should be over and gone.
* * * * *
[FN] An order.
The speech having been ended, the Albanian Committee thanked them for it,
and promised a reply after the grand council with the Commissioners of
the Twelve Colonies should be terminated.
That council commenced its sittings on the day following--August 25th.
The Oneida speaker of the preceding evening opened the council very
appropriately, after which the Commissioners, before proceeding formally
to business, proposed that they should all sit down and smoke the pipe
of peace together. The suggestion was acceded to, and the calumet passed
round. This ceremony having been ended, the Commissioners opened their
mission by a very appropriate and effective speech, reminding the Indians
of some ancient covenants of friendship with the Colonists, and repeating
to them a portion of the speech of _Cannassateego,_ an old and popular
sachem of the Six Nations, whose name and character were held in great
reverence by them, delivered thirty years before at a great council held
in Lancaster. [FN] The exhortation was, to union among themselves, and
peace and friendship with the Colonists.
* * * * *
[FN] A brother of Cannassateego was present on this occasion, and well
remembered his words.
The council was then adjourned to the 26th, when, the Commissioners
presented the address from the Congress, of which particular mention has
been made on a preceding page. The deliberations of Indian councils are
slow procedures. Their language is composed of long and intricate
compounds, and the necessity of deliberate and thorough interpretations,
so that the matter spoken and explained be fastened upon the memories of
the Indians, who possess not the advantage of written language, renders
the process tedious. The entire sittings of two days were therefore
required for the delivery and interpretation, by Mr. Kirkland, of the
Congressional "talk" with which the Commissioners were charged. At the
close, one of the chiefs declared that the address contained "nothing
but what was pleasant and good." But, as the matters proposed were of high
importance, they requested the next day for separate deliberation among
themselves, promising on the succeeding day, August 27th, to make their
reply. It was not, however, until the 31st of August that the Indians
were ready to make known the results of their own secret councils. Their
answer was delivered by _Little Abraham,_ the Mohawk sachem of the Lower
Castle. It was an able speech, thoroughly pacific. But there was one
declaration which it is difficult to reconcile with the admitted veracity
of the Indians, since it was inconsistent with the well-known course of
Guy Johnson, and the covenant which had then already been made by Brant
and his followers, with Sir Guy Carleton and General Haldimand at
Montreal. We allude to the declaration of Little Abraham, that Johnson
had advised them to assume and preserve a neutral position at the recent
Oswego council. The proceedings of Brant and Guy Johnson at Montreal had
not then probably transpired in the Mohawk Valley. Still Guy Johnson must
have dissembled, or spoken with a "forked tongue," to those Indians whom
he supposed friendly to the Colonies, or so great a mistake could not have
been made by Little Abraham.
In the course of their speech, the chiefs expressed a strong attachment
for Sir John Johnson as the son of their old friend, Sir William, who
was born among them, and of Dutch extraction by his mother. [FN] They
desired that whatever might be the cause of the war. Sir John might be
left unmolested. The same request was also interposed in behalf of their
missionary, the Rev. Mr. Stewart, who, they said, had been sent to them
by the King; and also because he never "meddled with civil affairs," but
was intent only on "instructing them in the way to heaven."
* * * * *
[FN] The mother of Sir John was a German lady, but in the Mohawk Valley
the Germans are usually called Dutch to this day.
In the conclusion of his speech, Abraham took occasion to refer to some
domestic matters between themselves and the people of Albany. He charged
them with having taken two pieces of land from the Mohawks, without paying
therefor so much even as a pipe. These lands the Indians desired the
Twelve Colonies to restore, and put them into peaceable possession again.
"If you refuse to do this," said he, "we shall look upon the prospect
as bad; for if you conquer, you will take us by the arm and pull us all
off." In thus saying, he spoke with the spirit of prophecy!
When little Abraham had ended, _Tiahogwando,_ an Oneida, made a short
speech on the subject of the then pending bloody and bitter controversy
between Connecticut and Pennsylvania, respecting the territory of Wyoming,
of which a full account will follow in its proper place. The Indians
avowed that the land had been conveyed by them to Penn, as a free
gift--the Great Spirit not allowing them to sell that country. In the
course of their speeches, the chiefs requested that the Indian trade might
be re-opened with them, both at Albany and Schenectady, and that somebody
might be appointed to guard the tree of peace at Albany, and keep the
council fire burning.
On the 1st of September the Commissioners made their reply, conciliatory
in its character, and acceding to the principal requests of the Indians.
They also informed the chiefs that they had appointed General Schuyler
and Mr. Douw to keep the fire burning. Thus ended the council with the
agents of the Colonies. The "unfinished business" with the Albanians was
resumed on the next day--September 2d--for which purpose a council was
formed in the Presbyterian church. The Commissioners of the United
Colonies were likewise in attendance. After the preliminaries of form had
been gone through with, the Indians were addressed at length by the Albany
Committee. In the course of their speech, they adverted particularly to
the council at Oswego and the proceedings of Guy Johnson at that place,
respecting which, they said, they had received no certain advices, and
of which they wished to be fully and explicitly informed. In regard to
the land question interposed by the Indians, the Committee said they
presumed reference was had to the lands at Ticonderoga. That was a
question between the Indians and the corporation of Albany; whereas they
were a committee from the people, and could not entertain the question.
They reminded the Indians, however, that the question had been agitated
before, and settled by the Colonial Assembly. They also gave them to
understand that the Indians were not the party having cause of complaint
in that matter.
The reply of the Indians was delivered by Little Abraham. Waiving the land
question, he proceeded to answer the questions put to them concerning the
Oswego council. "We look upon it," said he, "that God will punish us
should we conceal any thing from you." The following passages are quoted
from the reply of Abraham:--
"Brothers: The transactions of that treaty were very public. The Shawanese
were there, and some from Detroit. Mr. Johnson told us that the fire
kindled there was a fire of peace; that all the white people were the
King's subjects, and that it seemed they were intoxicated. He said the
white people were all got drunk, and that God's judgment hung over them;
but he did not know on which side it would fall. Mr. Johnson further told
us, that the present council fire was kindled on account of the present
dispute, and desired us not to interfere, as they were brothers; and
begged us to sit still and maintain peace. This is what Colonel Johnson
told us at that council-fire. He also said he had his eye on Mr. Kirkland;
that he was gone to Philadelphia, and along the sea-coast; that he was
become a great soldier and a leader. 'Is this your minister?' says he;
'do you think your minister minds your souls? No. By the time he comes to
Philadelphia, he will be a great warrior, and when he returns, he will be
the chief of all the Five Nations.'
"Brothers: There were present five people of Detroit, five from
Caughnawaga, and two of the Shawanese. Colonel Johnson told them that, by
the time he returned from Canada, they should have all their men there,
and he would then kindle a council-fire; and he would also desire them
not to take any part in this dispute, as it was a quarrel between
brothers. He also told them that he was going to the Governor of Canada,
who was of a different opinion from him, but would talk with him. And he
further said that he would tell the Caughnawaga Indians the same that he
told us, and for that purpose desired that two of each nation might go
along and hear it. He likewise desired us to consider which way we would
have our trade--whether up this river or from Canada. He at the same time
assured us that we should not suffer from want of goods, as we were not
concerned, nor had any hand, in the present dispute. He also said
something about the council-fires. He said there were two fires which
you should keep your eyes upon; and if they call you down to Albany, do
not you go; for they will deceive you, and tell you a great many fine
stories. We are very glad that your language and Colonel Johnson's so
well agrees."
This report of the proceedings of Guy Johnson at Oswego was certainly
unexpected, and entirely at variance with the tenor of his conduct
previous to his departure from the Mohawk Valley, and during his progress
to the west. It is barely possible that he had not fully made up his mind
as to the course he might ultimately pursue, and that his purpose was not
definitively determined upon, until after his meeting with Carleton and
Haldimand at Montreal. And it is abundantly certain that his notions of
Indian neutrality, even had he entertained them, were very speedily
abandoned.
With the delivery of Abraham's last-mentioned speech, however, the council
was closed; and although Schuyler and Douw had been appointed to keep the
council fire burning, yet the ashes were soon raked up--never to be opened
again at Albany, for that was the last grand Indian council ever held in
that city. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] As mentioned in the Introduction to the present volume, the
interesting proceedings of which a mere outline has been given in the
text, have never before been published complete. Their importance--their
intrinsic interest--and the fact that it was the last grand council of
the confederacy ever holden in Albany, had induced the author originally
to arrange the whole in the text. But their great length, it was thought,
would too seriously obstruct the narrative. Hence they have been
transferred to the Appendix. It was the first design of the author to
abridge the speeches, but an attempt soon proved that their force and
spirit would be lost in the process. See Appendix.
The result was highly satisfactory to the Commissioners, and apparently
so to the Indians, who had been well provided for during the three weeks
occupied at the German Flats and Albany. On their departure, moreover,
they were handsomely supplied with presents, and they took their leave
with manifestations of great good-will.
Most unfortunately, however, soon after their return from Albany, an
epidemic disorder appeared among them, in the form of a highly malignant
fever. It was a disease which they had never seen, and by it great numbers
were swept away. The Schoharie canton of the Mohawks, in particular,
suffered very severely. Indeed, they were almost exterminated.[FN-1] The
small number who survived, imbibed the impression that the Great Spirit
had sent the pestilence upon them in anger for not having taken sides
with the King. They, therefore, followed their brethren from the Mohawk
Valley, who had escaped to Canada with Guy Johnson. In the subsequent
invasions of the Tryon County settlements, these Schoharie Indians, who
thus deserted by an impulse of superstition, were among the most forward
and cruel.[FN-2] It should also be borne in mind, that, after all, the
council comprised but an inadequate and partial representation of the
Six Nations, with the exception of the Oneidas and the lower clan of the
Mohawks. The great body of the Mohawk warriors, headed by Thayendanegea,
had left the country; and the most influential of the Onondagas, Cayugas,
and Senecas, had also accompanied Brant and Guy Johnson to Montreal; and
events, at no very distant day, proved that the Albany treaty had been
held to very little purpose. It is not consistent with the nature or
habits of Indians to remain inactive in the midst of war.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter of John M. Brown, on the early history of Schoharie.
[FN-2] Idem.
Still, for the time being, those proceedings were not without benefit to
the cause of the country. The people of Tryon County were relieved, by
the stipulations of peace and neutrality, from apprehensions of immediate
danger from without; and the Committee of Safety was consequently enabled
to direct their attention, not only to the more efficient organization of
the settlements for defence, but to the civil government of the county.
But, notwithstanding the fine spirit manifested thus far by a majority
of the people in the interior, and that too under all the disadvantages
we have been contemplating--notwithstanding the decisive tone of the
language used in denouncing the oppressions of the Crown,--it was not
yet exactly certain that the Colony of New-York would range itself against
the royal authority. Governor Tryon, who was popular in the Colony, had
recently been recalled from North Carolina, and again appointed Governor
of New-York; and he was exerting his utmost powers to detach her from the
cause of the Union--seconded by the Asia, man of war, then lying in the
harbour, and commanding the city of New-York by her guns. The captain
of the Asia had threatened to destroy the town should General Lee, who
was then approaching with an army from the east, be allowed to enter it;
and such were the prevalence of terror and the power of intrigue, that
disaffection to the cause of the Union began to exhibit itself openly in
the Provincial Congress. Indeed, avowals of a design to place themselves
under the royal standard were unequivocally uttered. These untoward
appearances were rendered the more threatening by the discovery of a
secret correspondence, from which it was ascertained that the parent
government was preparing to send a fleet into the Hudson, and to occupy
both New-York and Albany with its armies. [FN] Of these designs Sir John
Johnson was probably well aware, and the hope of their accomplishment
may have induced him to linger behind, watching the signs of the times,
after the departure of his brother-in-law and _his_ army of followers. Sir
John had also a numerous tenantry, who were mostly loyalists; and the
Scotch colonists, settled in large numbers in Johnstown and its
neighbourhood, of whom mention has formerly been made, being loyalists
likewise, constituted for him a respectable force upon which he could
rely in a case of emergency.
* * * * *
[FN] Marshall's Life of Washington.
The Dutch and German population of the valley, however, were chiefly
Whigs; as also, by this time, were a decided majority of the entire white
population, not only of the Mohawk Valley, but of Schoharie, Cherry
Valley, and the other settlements in the southern part of that
widely-extended county. The general Committee executed their functions
with equal diligence and vigour. The inhabitants were enrolled and
organized into militia; the Committee deposed the sheriff, Alexander
White,[FN-1] and caused Colonel John Frey to be appointed in his place;
and, in one word, they took upon themselves both the civil and military
jurisdiction of the large section of country, over which they had
provisionally assumed the government. White had rendered himself
particularly odious to the Whigs from the first. Under some trifling
pretext, he had arrested a Whig by the name of John Fonda, and committed
him to prison. His friends, to the number of fifty men, under the conduct
of Sampson Sammons, went to the jail at night and released him by force.
From the prison they proceeded to the lodgings of the sheriff, and
demanded his surrender. White looked out from the second story window,
and probably recognizing the leader of the crowd, inquired--"Is that you,
Sammons?" "Yes," was the prompt reply; upon which White discharged a
pistol at the sturdy Whig, but happily without injury. The ball whizzed
past his head, and struck in the sill of the door. This was the first shot
fired in the war of the Revolution west of the Hudson. It was immediately
returned by the discharge of some forty or fifty muskets at the sheriff,
but the only effect was a slight wound in the breast--just sufficient to
draw blood. The doors of the house were broken, and White would have been
taken, but at that moment a gun was fired at the hall by Sir John. This
was known to be a signal for his retainers and Scotch partisans to rally
in arms; and as they would muster a force of five hundred men in a very
short time, the Whigs thought it most prudent to disperse. They collected
again at Caughnawaga, however, and sent a deputation to Sir John,
demanding that White should be given up to them.[FN-2] This demand, of
course, was not complied with.
* * * * *
[FN-1] The first liberty pole erected in the Mohawk Valley was at the
German Flats, and White, with a band of loyalists, had cut down the
emblem of rebellion.
[FN-2] MS. narrative of Jacob Sammons.
After his dismissal, as already mentioned, by an act of the people "in
their sovereign capacity," White was re-commissioned by Governor Tryon;
but the County Committee would not suffer him to re-enter upon the duties
of the office. On the contrary, so high was the popular indignation
against him, that he was obliged to fly--setting his face toward Canada,
accompanied by a white man named Peter Bone, and two or three Indians.
He was pursued to Jessup's landing on the Hudson River, where the house
in which he lodged was surrounded, and the fugitive sheriff taken
prisoner. From thence he was taken to Albany and imprisoned. [FN] Shortly
afterward he was released on his parole, and left the country.
* * * * *
[FN] Narrative of Jacob Sammons.
The exigencies of the times required prompt and vigorous action; and the
Committee seems to have been composed of exactly the right description
of men. They arrested suspicious persons, tried them, fined some,
imprisoned more, and executed others. Their duties also involved the
preservation of the peace in a critical period, among a mixed population
of border-men, ever more or less disposed to impatience under legal
restraint, and of course requiring the controlling power of a strong arm.
And yet these high duties were generally discharged with great
satisfaction to the public--the loyalists excepted, of course--and their
resolutions and decrees were submitted to by their constituents with
alacrity. Their influence was likewise successfully exerted in winning
friends to the popular cause, by deciding the wavering and confirming the
irresolute. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Campbell's Annals.
Added to these multifarious duties, was the necessity of keeping a
vigilant watch over the motions of Sir John Johnson, whose position and
conduct were alike equivocal, and the numerous loyalists by whom he was
surrounded. By these people every possible obstacle was thrown in the way
of the Committee, and no method of annoying and embarrassing them left
untried. They laboured to destroy the confidence of the people in the
Committee; called public meetings themselves, and chose
counter-committees; now attempted to cover the Whig Committees with
ridicule, and now again charged them with illegal and tyrannical
conduct.[FN-1] The consequence was mutual exasperation--sometimes between
near neighbours; and the reciprocal engendering of hostile feelings
between friends, who ranged themselves under opposing banners. These
incipient neighbourhood quarrels occasioned, in the progress of the
contest that ensued, some of the most bitter and bloody-personal conflicts
that ever marked the annals of a civil war. Several members of the
Committee subsequently acted a distinguished part in the field; many of
them sacrificed their estates; and some of them fell. Among them,
Christopher P. Yates, the first Chairman, accompanied General Montgomery
as a volunteer to Ticonderoga and Canada, and afterward raised and
commanded a corps of rangers.[FN-2] The fate of Nicholas Herkimer is well
known, though his death will be invested with new and additional interest
in the progress of this narrative.[FN-3]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Idem.
[FN-2] Campbell's Annals.
[FN-3] The following extract is from a letter of the State Committee of
Safety, under date of December, 1775, signed by John McKesson, Clerk of
the Provincial Congress:--"I was directed by this Congress to assure you
of the high esteem and respect they have for your vigilant,
noble-spirited County Committee." The following was from General Schuyler
in the summer of 1776:--"The propriety of your conduct, and your generous
exertions in the cause of your country, entitle you to the thanks of
every one of its friends; please to accept of mine most sincerely."
_Campbell's Annals._
In regard to Sir John, matters were now fast approaching to a crisis. On
the 7th of September the Committee wrote to the Provincial Congress in
New-York, denouncing his conduct and that of his associates--particularly
the Highlanders, who, to the number of two hundred, were said to be
gathered about him, and by whom the Whigs "were daily scandalized,
provoked, and threatened." They added--"We have great suspicions, and are
almost assured, that Sir John has a continual correspondence with Colonel
Guy Johnson and his party." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] It was afterward ascertained that such a correspondence was carried
on through the Indians, who conveyed letters in the heads of their
tomahawks and in the ornaments worn about their persons. The Indians also
brought powder across from Canada.--_Campbell's Annals._
No sooner had the Congress of The Twelve United Colonies agreed to the
Declaration, or manifesto, mentioned in the beginning of the present
chapter, proclaiming to the world the causes, and the necessity of their
appeal to arms, than it was felt, on all hands, even by the timid and
hesitating, that England and the Colonies now stood, not in the relation
of parent and children, but in the attitude of two nations legally at war.
Hence the patriots of Tryon County began to look more closely, and with
greater assurance, to the deportment of Sir John, of whose designs, as
has been seen, they had from the first entertained strong suspicions.
The movements of Sir Guy Carleton, moreover, Governor-general of Canada,
who had been commissioned to muster and arm all persons within that
province, and to wage war by land and sea against "all enemies, pirates,
or rebels, either in or out of the province," to "take them and put them
to death, or preserve them alive, at his discretion," were now creating
great uneasiness on the northern frontier, from which quarter they were
apprehending a formidable invasion. The management of the northern
department having been committed to Generals Schuyler and Montgomery, who
were now directing a force upon Montreal and Quebec, the Tryon County
Committee determined to probe the intentions of Sir John Johnson at once
and to the bottom. For this purpose, on the 26th of October, they
addressed him the following letter:--
"_Tryon County Committee Chamber,_
_Oct._ 26, 1775.
"Honorable Sir,
"As we find particular reason to be convinced of your opinion in the
questions hereafter expressed, we require you, that you'll please to
oblige us with your sentiments thereupon in a few lines by our messengers,
the bearers hereof, Messrs. Ebenezer Cox, James McMaster, and John James
Klock, members of our Committee.
"We want to know whether you will allow that the inhabitants of Johnstown
and Kingsborough may form themselves into companies, according to the
regulations of our Continental Congress, for the defence of our country's
cause; and whether your Honor would be ready himself to give his personal
assistance to the same purpose.
"Also, whether you pretend a prerogative to our County court-house and
gaol, and would hinder or interrupt the Committee, to make use of the same
public houses, to our want and service in the common cause?
"We don't doubt you will comply with our reasonable requests, and thereby
oblige,
Honorable Sir,
Your obedient and humble Servants.
By order of the Committee,
Nicholas Herkimer,
Chairman.
"_To the
Honorable Sir John Johnson,
Johnson Hall._"
The deputation named in the letter waited upon Sir John in person, to
receive his answer--the substance of which they reported to the Committee
verbally as follows, viz:--
"1. By perusing our letter, Sir John replied that he thinks our requests
very unreasonable, as he never had denied the use either of the
court-house or gaol to any body, nor would yet deny it, for the use which
these houses have been built for; but he looks upon it that the
court-house and gaol are his property till he is paid 700 pounds--the
amount of which being out of his pocket for the building of the same.
"2. In regard of embodying his tenants into companies, he never did forbid
them, neither should do it, as they may use their pleasure; but we might
save ourselves the trouble, he being sure that they would not.
"3. Concerning himself, he said, that before he would sign any
association, or would lift his hand up against his King, he would rather
suffer that his head shall be cut off.
"Further he replied, that if we should make any unlawful use of the gaol,
he would oppose it, and also he mentions, that there have many unfair
means been used for increasing the association and uniting the people;
for he was informed by credible gentlemen in New-York that they were
obliged to unite, otherwise they could not live there; and that he was
informed by good authority, that likewise two thirds of the Canajoharie
and German Flats people have been forced to sign the articles; and in
his opinion the Boston people are open rebels, and the other Colonies
have joined them."
Immediately on receiving this report, the Committee determined to bring
the question of the occupancy of the gaol to an issue. They therefore
directed that two of their prisoners, named Lewis Clement and Peter
Bowen, [FN] who had been sentenced to certain periods of confinement for
political offences, should be forthwith conveyed to the prison, under a
guard commanded by Captain Jacob Seeber, with instructions, that should
the gaoler refuse to receive them into close confinement for the time
specified, or should they be opposed by Sir John, then Captain Seeber was
to bring them to the house of "our voted and elected new high sheriff,
John Frey, Esq. who shall immediately inform thereof our chairman for
further directions."
* * * * *
[FN] A subsequent document induces the belief that these prisoners were
Indians, though it is not so distinctly stated.
Sir John did not allow the Committee to take possession of the gaol, and
they were obliged to fit up a private house as a temporary prison; while
some of their prisoners were sent to Albany, and others as far as Hartford
for safe keeping. [FN] The Committee apprised the Provincial Congress of
their proceedings in this matter, from which body they received the
following communication in reply:--
* * * * *
[FN] Campbell's Annals.
"_Dec._ 9_th._ The Congress have this day entered into the consideration
of your letter of the 25th of October, and are of opinion that your
application to Sir John Johnson, requesting an answer from him whether he
would allow his tenants to form themselves into companies, and associate
with their brethren of your County, according to the resolves of the
Continental Congress, for the defence of our liberties, was improper with
respect to him, and too condescending on your part, as it was a matter
that came properly within your province; and to which we doubt not but
you are competent, as you have a line of conduct prescribed to you by
Congress. With respect to your second question, whether he would take
any active part in the controversy at present existing between Great
Britain and her Colonies, we conceive it to be very proper, and thank you
for information on that head.
"As to the third question, we conceive that he has no claim nor title to
the court-house and gaol in the County, as we are credibly told that his
father, Sir William Johnson, did in his lifetime convey the same to two
gentlemen in trust for the use of your County. However, as an attempt to
use the same for the purpose of confining persons inimical to our country
may be productive of bad consequences, we beg leave to recommend to you,
to procure some other place which may answer the end of a gaol. And give
you our advice not to molest Sir John as long as he shall continue
inactive, and not impede the measures necessary to be carried into
execution from being completed.
"We are extremely sorry that Mr. White has, by his imprudent conduct,
rendered himself justly offensive to you. The best advice we can give you
in this unpleasant affair is, that if you are of opinion that his
continuing in his office will be dangerous to your liberties, then that
you permit the office to be exercised by his deputies. And that you draw
up a petition, get as many persons of your County to sign it as possible,
and present it to the Governor of the Colony, setting forth that it is
very disagreeable to the people in general that he should execute that
office, and praying that he may be displaced, and his place supplied by
a person who would be acceptable to the people of your County.
"We are respectfully,
Gentlemen,
Your most obedient
humble Servants,
By order,
Nathl. Woodhull, Pres.
"_To Nicholas Herkimer, Esq.
Chairman, and the
Committee of Tryon County._"
The first act of positive hostility on the part of the Indians, during
this bitter and bloody contest, was committed in the Autumn of the present
year. General Schuyler having been obliged temporarily to leave the
northern army in consequence of ill health, the command devolved upon
General Montgomery, who had advanced a second time upon St. Johns and
captured the fortress--Sir Guy Carleton having been repulsed by Colonel
Warner at Longueil, in his attempt to cross the St. Lawrence and advance
to its succor. It appears that, either in the first or second attack upon
St. Johns, or in both, the Americans had been opposed by some of the
Mohawk Indians--those, doubtless, who had accompanied Guy Johnson to
Canada. Hence, on the 27th of October, the Tryon County Committee
"unanimously resolved, that a letter should be sent to the sachems of the
Canajoharie Castle, in regard to the return and present abiding of some
Indians in their Castle from Canada, who have acted inimically against us,
and fought against our united forces near the fort St. John, not to give
shelter to such real enemies among them."
No copy of the letter written pursuant to this resolution has been
preserved. It is noted among the papers of the Committee, however, that
the sachems and warriors of Canajoharie Castle appeared before them in
person, and made the following answer to their epistle of remonstrance:--
"Brothers: We are thankful to you that you opened to us your hearts, and
we comprehend to be all true what you wrote to us. We live together,
Gentlemen, and we shall do our endeavour to answer you upon all the
contents of your letter, as much as we can remember thereof.
"Brothers: We have not yet forgotten our agreement made in Albany. It is
not such a long time ago, we can remember it yet. Although we have not
put it in writing, it is yet in our memory. We can remember very well that
there have been twelve Governors with whom we agreed, and we made a level
road to the Six Nations, to Boston, and to Philadelphia.
"Brothers: We have, as well as the Senecas and others of the Six Nations,
been very glad to make that road, where we went and shall go. It is all
peace and very good. The Nations have been very glad for the making of
that good road, and it is all peaceable. But we are afraid you make the
first disturbance on the sea-side--because you are a fighting already.
They have made that good road, but they will not hope that we should spill
blood upon it. You said in your letter that you cannot keep your young
people back, but we think you are masters of them, and could order them.
Some of our young people are now in Canada, and perhaps they are killed;
but if so be, our hearts will not be sore about it.
"There are some young people, among them here, whom we could persuade to
stay and not to meddle themselves with the fighting of the white people;
but some went yet away, and we are glad to see them back again, because
they have been debauched to go away.
"Brothers: The Six Nations are now speaking about that good road, and are
glad; but if they shall perhaps pass that road and see some blood spilled
upon it, then they would be surprised.
"Brothers: We have made a very strong agreement of friendship together,
and we beg you will not break it for sake of some wrong done by some, who
have been debauched. You will drop it, we hope, for the present."
The Committee replied to them in substance, that if those of their young
men who had first spilt the blood of their white brethren, had come back
repenting of their conduct, they should first have gone to the Committee,
and manifested their sorrow to them. Far from doing so, however, one of
them, named William Johnson, had, on the contrary, boasted of his hostile
proceedings, and spoken boldly against the cause of the Americans.
On the 30th of October, at the request of some of the chiefs of the Mohawk
Castle, John Marbatt was deputed to hold a conference with them, in
reference to the imprisonment of Clement and Bowen. Marbatt says, in his
letter to General Herkimer, Chairman of the Committee:--
"The heads of the Mohawk Castle met me at Abraham Quackenbush's, and made
a speech to me. They said we were all brothers, and all brought up
together, and hoped that we might remain so. They said they were very
sorry for their two brothers, Lewis Clement and Peter Bowen, and desired
that they might be discharged. It was so hard for them to see their
brethren in confinement that they could not rest. Whereon I told them
there was a law; and if any of our brothers transgressed the law, they
must expect to be punished by the law. I told them that any one that
behaved [well] should not be disturbed at all. But they begged that as
they had transacted this, [offended] before the law took effect, they
might be discharged; and if ever they transgressed again, they had nothing
to say against punishing them. They told me that they wanted to go a
hunting, and could not go from home contented until this matter was
settled. They desired me to give them an answer against next Saturday.
Gentlemen, I hope you will settle this matter for peace's sake. Your
compliance will much oblige your friend and humble servant," &c.
The speech from the Canajoharie Indians, just recited, if closely
scrutinised, might appear somewhat equivocal. Still, it was not
belligerent; and, when taken in connexion with the preceding letter, the
presumption is reasonable, that the Mohawks remaining about their ancient
castles, had not yet determined to swerve from their engagement of
neutrality.
Such was the progress of the Revolution, in the County of Tryon, down to
the close of 1775. A rapid glance at contemporaneous events not already
noted, occurring elsewhere, will close the history of the year. The battle
of Bunker Hill had aroused all New England to arms; and by the time of
General Washington's arrival to assume the command, during the first week
in July, the British forces were so effectually shut up in Boston, as to
be obliged to send out small vessels to a distance for supplies. To cut
up this species of coast-wise commerce, the Colonies of Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, and Connecticut each fitted out two small cruisers, before
Congress had made a suggestion respecting a naval armament. The first
avowal of offensive hostility against the mother country, was contained
in the act of the Massachusetts Congress for fitting out a naval armament;
and among the first fruits was the capture, by Captain Manly of
Marblehead, of a large British ordnance brig, laden with several elegant
brass pieces of artillery, a large supply of small arms, tools and
utensils of all warlike descriptions, &c. Three days afterward Captain
Manly captured three more British ships laden with military stores. South
Carolina was at the same time making vigorous preparations for war, but
had not exceeding 3,000 lbs of gunpowder within the province. By fitting
out a fast sailing vessel, however, they were enabled to intercept a
supply vessel off St. Augustine, and obtain a large and timely addition
to their stores--15,000 pounds of gunpowder alone. Meantime the affairs
of the Colonies continued to form the leading and most exciting topic of
debate in the British Parliament. Lord North, who, it is now known, acted
throughout this great struggle more in obedience to the positive
requisitions of the King, than in accordance with his own private wishes,
insisted upon the strongest measures of compulsion. General Conway,
Colonel Lutterell, Mr. James Grenville, the Duke of Grafton, and Lord
Lyttleton, spoke in favor of concession to the Colonies, and argued in
favor of repealing every enactment respecting the matters in dispute with
the Colonies, subsequent to the year 1763. The ministers contended that
they might as well acknowledge the independence of the Colonies at once.
Mr. Burke, during this season, made his great speech on American affairs,
and introduced his conciliatory bill, proposing "a renunciation of the
exercise of taxation, without at all interfering with the question of
right. It preserved the power of levying duties, for the regulation of
commerce; but the money so raised was to be at the disposal of the several
general assemblies. The tea duty was to be repealed, and a general amnesty
granted." This proposition, though regarded with more favor than the
others, was rejected; and the Administration was sustained in the policy
of sending a large sea and land force against the Colonies, accompanied
with offers of mercy upon a proper submission.[FN-1] The Continental
Congress, however, still continued its efforts to prevent a final
separation; and another address to the King was adopted, beseeching the
interposition of his royal authority to afford relief from their
afflicting fears and jealousies, and restore harmony by the adoption of
such measures as would effect a permanent reconciliation. This petition,
signed by John Hancock, was presented in Parliament on the 7th of
December, and gave rise to several motions for a pacification--all of
which were rejected.[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Holmes's Annals, Par. Register.
[FN-2] Idem.
The military operations of the Autumn were chiefly confined to the
expedition against Canada. Lord Dunmore, it is true, had given several
additional impulses to the Revolutionary spirit in Virginia, by the manner
of his opposition; and the enemy had still farther exasperated the people
of New England by burning the town of Falmouth, in the north-eastern part
of Massachusetts. Having timely notice, the people fled from the town,
which was furiously bombarded, and 139 dwelling-houses and 278 warehouses
were burnt. The invasion of Canada, by Generals Schuyler and Montgomery,
has already been incidentally mentioned. General Schuyler had issued a
suitable proclamation to the inhabitants of Canada, on entering that
territory; but he was obliged by ill health to relinquish the command to
General Montgomery. St. John's surrendered on the 3d of November; but
while the siege was pending. Colonel Ethan Allen, with thirty-eight of
his Green Mountain boys, was captured, and sent to England in irons. [FN]
Allen deserved his fate, however, for his rashness and disobedience of
orders. Still, he was very near capturing Montreal with the small party
he had led in advance, as was subsequently admitted by one of the British
officers.
* * * * *
[FN] Idem.
The fort at Chamblee fell into the hands of Montgomery, together with a
large quantity of military stores, which were of great use; among them
were three tons of powder. Montreal was next taken by the
Provincials--General Carleton escaping in a boat with muffled oars to
Three Rivers, from whence he hastened to Quebec. Montgomery, with his
little army, was swift to follow him thither; where his arrival had been
anticipated by Colonel Arnold, with upward of 700 New England infantry
and riflemen, with whom he had performed the incredible service of
traversing the unexplored forest, from the Kennebec to the mouth of the
Chaudiere. Uniting the forces of Arnold with his own, Montgomery laid
siege to Quebec on the 1st of December. His artillery, however, was too
light to make any impression upon its walls, and it was at length
determined, if possible, to carry the town by a combined assault from
two directions--one division to be led by Montgomery and the other by
Arnold. The enterprise was undertaken on the 31st of December, and the
year closed by the repulse of both divisions and the fall of Montgomery.
The success which had marked the American arms in the early part of the
Canadian campaign, made a strong impression upon the Caughnawaga Indians.
The Canadians, generally, were exceedingly averse to engaging in the
unnatural contest, [FN-1] and were strongly inclined to favor the cause
of the Colonies; and, notwithstanding the descent of Brant and the Mohawks
to Montreal, and the solicitations of Governor Carleton, the Caughnawagas
sent a deputation to General Washington, at Cambridge, as early as the
month of August, avowing their readiness to assist the Americans in the
event of an expedition into Canada. [FN-2] This assurance was fulfilled.
In a letter from Sir Guy Carleton to General Gage, written in August,
which was intercepted, the Canadian Governor said--"Many of the Indians
have gone over to them (the Americans), and large numbers of the Canadians
are with them. . . . I had hopes of holding out for this year, though I
seem abandoned by all the world, had the savages remained firm. I cannot
blame these poor people for securing themselves, as they see multitudes
of the enemy at hand, and no succour from any part, though it is now four
months since their operations against us first began." [FN-3] The
subsequent reverses of the Americans, however, changed the masters of
those Indians, and they were ere long found warring in the ranks of the
Crown.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter of Washington to the president of Congress, Aug. 4th, 1775.
[FN-2] Letter of Washington to Gen. Schuyler.
[FN-3] Sparks.
But all the Indians did not join the British standard. Notwithstanding
that the Delawares had been engaged in the Cresap war, the year before,
they refused the solicitations of the British emissaries and the Senecas
to take up the hatchet with them in this contest. A meeting of Indians
was held in Pittsburgh, to deliberate upon the question, at which a select
deputation of the Senecas attended. Captain _White Eyes,_ a sensible and
spirited warrior of the Lenape, boldly declared that he would not embark
in a war, to destroy a people born on the same soil with himself. The
Americans, he said, were his friends and brothers, and no nation should
dictate to him or his tribe the course they should pursue. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Heckewelder.
CHAPTER VI.
Lord Dunmore--Glance at the South--Suspicious conduct of Sir John
Johnson--Conduct of the Tories in Tryon County--Gen. Schuyler directed
by Congress to march into that County and disarm the Tories--Preliminary
mission to the Lower Mohawks--Message to them--Their displeasure and
reply--March of Schuyler--Meets the Indians at Schenectady--Interview
and speeches--Advance of Schuyler--Letter to Sir John
Johnson--Interview--Negotiations of capitulation--Terms
proposed--Schuyler advances to Caughnawaga--Joined by Tryon County
Militia--Farther correspondence with Sir John--Interview with the Indian
mediators--Terms of surrender adjusted--Schuyler marches to
Johnstown--Sir John, his household, and the Highlanders,
disarmed--Troops scour the country to bring in the
loyalists--Disappointment as to the supposed Tory _Depot_ of warlike
munitions--Return of Schuyler to Albany--Resolution of
Congress--Additional trouble with Sir John--Preparations for his
seizure--Expedition of Col. Dayton--Flight of the Baronet and his
partisans to Canada--Their sufferings--And subsequent conduct--How the
violation of his parole was considered.
The dawn of the New Year was lighted up by the conflagration of Norfolk,
by order of Lord Dunmore, the royal Governor of Virginia. His Lordship
had previously retired with his adherents to the fleet; and this act
of Vandalism was directed by way of retaliating upon the Whigs of that
borough, for having refused supplies to the Liverpool man of war. The
people themselves destroyed the buildings nearest the water, in order
to deprive the ships even of those sources of supply. After cruising for
a time on the coast of Virginia, and being every where repulsed--some
of his ships having been driven on shore, and their crews captured and
imprisoned by the Colonists--his Lordship was obliged to destroy those
of his vessels which were not sea-worthy, and seek refuge himself in
Florida and the West Indies. Another incident adverse to the royal arms,
was the defeat, by the Provincials under General Moore, of General
McDonald, (commissioned by Governor Martin,) in his attempts to bring
North Carolina to obedience. The battle resulting in this defeat was
gallantly fought at Moore's Creek Bridge, by Colonels Caswell and
Lillington, commanding about 1000 minute men and militia. A large
quantity of arms fell into the hands of the Provincials; and the defeat,
equally unexpected and decisive, greatly depressed the spirits of the
loyalists in that quarter.
Resuming the history of the Mohawk Valley; although the Autumn of the
preceding year had passed quietly away in that region, yet no small degree
of uneasiness was created, early in the winter, by the suspicious conduct
of Sir John Johnson; heightened, as will appear in the sequel, by false
representations sent forth by a man who, in the end, proved to be an
impostor. Such were the spirit of the times moreover, and the jealousies
mutually entertained, that it is more than probable the measures of Sir
John were concerted in consequence of apprehensions honestly indulged,
and in all likelihood awakened by the same or a kindred imposture. At
all events Sir John was actively engaged in defensive preparations, with
a view, as it was believed, of throwing up fortifications around the
baronial hall. His adherents, as we have seen, were numerous, particularly
among the Scotch Highlanders, by several hundreds of whom he was
surrounded; and reports became rife, that, in addition to these, the
works he was erecting were to be garrisoned by three hundred Indians, to
be let loose upon the settlements as opportunities might occur.
It was undoubtedly true that the Tories of that region were preparing
actively to espouse the royal cause, and enlistments for the King's
service, it is very likely, were secretly making. Information to this
effect was laid before Congress in December. It was also declared, by
a man named Connell, that a considerable quantity of arms and ammunition,
and other warlike articles, had been collected and concealed by the Tories
at Johnstown, to be used when the proper moment for action arrived. The
facts disclosed by Connell were supported by his deposition; whereupon
a resolution was adopted by Congress, directing General Schuyler to be
informed of these circumstances, and requesting him to adopt the most
speedy and effectual measures for securing the said arms and military
stores; for disarming the loyalists, apprehending their leaders, and
taking such measures in general as might be judged necessary to ensure
the tranquility of the frontier. [FN] This resolution was received by
General Schuyler at Albany early in January, and no time was lost in
concerting measures for its execution.
* * * * *
[FN] The sum of _forty dollars_ was appropriated by Congress for this
object; and the Special Committee having the subject in charge, were
directed to count the gold and silver in the treasury, and forward the
same to General Schuyler under a guard!--_Vide Jour. Con._
General Schuyler having at that time no troops at his disposal, was under
the necessity of communicating with the sub-committee of safety of Albany
County, for which purpose, in order that a knowledge of the business with
which he was charged might not transpire, he previously administered to
them the oath of secrecy. They were at first embarrassed in devising a
pretext for the preparations it was necessary to make for the expedition;
but the opportune arrival of a letter and an affidavit, (probably from
Connell,) from Tryon County, containing accounts exactly suited to the
emergency, afforded ample reasons for a call upon the militia. General
Schuyler at first supposed that a force of three hundred men, with the
assistance they would be certain to receive from the Whigs of Tryon
County, would be amply sufficient. It was determined, however, in order
to produce a deeper effect upon the loyalists against whom they were
proceeding, to march with a force of seven hundred men.
Nevertheless, in order to preserve the good-will of the Indians of the
Lower Mohawk Castle, [FN] and guard against taking them by surprise or
giving them unnecessary alarm, Mr. Bleecker, the Indian interpreter,
residing at Albany, was despatched to the Castle on the 15th, charged
with a belt and the following message to the Indians:--
* * * * *
[FN] The Mohawks of the Lower Castle, with Little Abraham, had not been
drawn away by Thayendanegea and Guy Johnson.
"Brothers: I am sent by the Commissioners of the United Colonies, to
acquaint you that the brethren of Albany have received information that
several persons in and about Johnstown are busy in enlisting men to cut
our throats, and are making other hostile preparations to assist in
enslaving this country, and to prevent and stop up the road of
communication to the Westward. Your Albany Brothers, on this alarming
occasion, have collected their warriors, and are now sending them up the
river in order to inquire into the truth of the report, and act thereupon
as they may judge needful.
"Brothers: Be not alarmed at these preparations; nothing is intended
against you; our own safety and liberty impel us to this measure; you can
rest perfectly satisfied that we will invariably pursue our friendly
disposition towards you, and expect that you will, agreeable to the
promises you made us at Albany, take no part in the present struggle.
"Brothers: We promised you last Summer that Sir John and his family should
not be molested while he took no measures against us. We are yet of that
mind; and if he has acted as an honest man, he need not fear any danger.
"Brothers: Lest the preparations and march into your country should alarm
the Six Nations, we desire that you will send some of your young men with
this speech to the end of the House of the Six Nations, that no uneasiness
may take place in their minds."
The Indians were by no means pleased with the proposed invasion of the
Valley; anticipating, probably, an injurious effect upon their own people,
and perhaps injury to Sir John, to whom they were sincerely attached.
After due deliberation, Mr. Bleecker was sent back with a belt containing
the following reply to the Commissioners, or, in other words, to General
Schuyler:--
"Brothers: This belt we present to the Commissioners of the twelve United
Colonies and our Brothers of Albany, and desire them that the troops that
were coming up should not come up so speedily; that perhaps a mode might
be pointed out to have it settled in an easier manner; that perhaps, in
case the troops came up, it might be a means to stop up the road, and
perhaps create an uneasiness in their minds, as they and Sir John were,
as it were, one blood; and that the General should do all in his power
to have it settled without the troops going up; that he was a wise man,
and should set his thoughts a thinking to have it settled, by appointing
three or four persons to treat with Sir John about it; that they would
retain the belt sent by the Commissioners till such time as they heard
from the Commissioners, and in case the troops did not come, then they
would send the belt forward to the other nations; but if they came up,
then they would keep the same in their hands; that three of their nation
should immediately go to Sir John, and desire him to remain silent and be
at peace; and that in case there were any in Johnstown that were Tories,
they would settle them, and make them remain peaceable. That all the
uneasiness in the minds of Sir John, and the others in Johnstown,
originates from accounts that they receive from people in Albany; that
they daily have accounts from thence that the New England people are
coming up to destroy Sir John and his possessions."
Accompanying this message, the Squaws also took the subject in hand, and
charged the interpreter with a belt with the following message on their
own behalf:--
"Brothers, the Commissioners of the United Colonies and the people of
Albany: This belt we present you, and hereby renew the covenant that was
made last summer; and we beg that no disturbance shall be made up here,
and that the said covenant may not thereby be broken; that in case the
troops were to come up, it might create great uneasiness, as they and
Sir John were of one blood; and that in case Sir John was disturbed, it
might touch their blood, and we beg some other mode may be pointed out
whereby this uneasiness may be settled."
General Schuyler, however, did not wait for the return of his messenger
from the Indians, but proceeded to Schenectady on the 16th, at the head
of a strong division of militia, and accompanied by General Ten Broeck,
Colonel Varick, and several other officers. The militia turned out with
great alacrity, notwithstanding the severity of the weather and the
badness of the roads. On the evening of his arrival at Schenectady,
General Schuyler was met by a deputation of the Mohawks, headed by Little
Abraham, who, in a very haughty tone, [FN] addressed him as follows:--
* * * * *
[FN] General Schuyler's official report, from which document the whole
narrative of this expedition is drawn. This document, it is believed,
has never yet been published entire, and has only recently been
discovered at Washington, by Peter Force, Esq. who obligingly favored
the author with the use of it.
"We intended to have gone down to Albany in order to speak to you; but
thank God that he has given us an opportunity to meet you here, as we
have some matters to communicate to you."
To which General Schuyler replied with corresponding brevity:--
"I am very glad to see you here, and I shall be glad to hear what the
Brothers have to say, as my ears are always open to them."
Whereupon Abraham proceeded to address the General and his associates as
follows:--
"Brothers: You lately sent to our place four men, who arrived to us last
Sunday morning. [FN] They told us they were sent up to us by you to inform
us of those military preparations which were making down in this quarter.
By them you let us know that you thought it not prudent to send armed men
amongst us without previously notifying us. Likewise, Brothers, your
messengers informed us of the reasons of your coming in this manner. You
informed us that you had heard that there were a number of men embodied
at Sir John's, about Johnstown. You told us likewise, that as soon as
they had completed their body, they intended to destroy the settlements
up and down the river. You informed us that you were coming up to inquire
into the truth of the report, and who it was that gave out commissions,
and what were their designs. At the same time you assured us that no harm
was intended against us, the Six Nations, as we had last summer publicly
engaged that we would take no part against you in your dispute with the
great King over the Great Water."
* * * * *
[FN] The Mohawk chief seems here to refer to an embassy to their castle
a few days previous to that performed by Mr. Bleecker, not mentioned
by General Schuyler. Or, perhaps, a wrong date was given to the message
transmitted by the interpreter.
"Brothers: You told us that you would come to search into the truth of
the report, and you assured us also that you would not be the first
aggressor, and that it should be our own fault if any blood was spilt.
You told us that you would acquaint the Lower Castle first of the design,
that they should send up to the Upper Castle, and they to the Oneida,
and they to Onondaga, and so through the whole Six Nations.
"Brothers: We thanked your messengers for the speech delivered to us, and
we would consider of it for some time to return them an answer
accordingly. Brothers, a small number of us who take care of the news met
in council on this occasion. We thanked your messengers for informing
us first of your designs. We said we knew the agreement which was entered
into with the whole twelve United Colonies. At that meeting you remember
it was agreed to remove all obstacles out of the way of the path of peace,
to keep it so that we might pass and repass without being annoyed.
"Brothers: you told us that you came to inquire into the truth of the
report, which might be done by 4 or 6 without any danger in making the
inquiry. We proposed your sending up six persons to inquire into the
truth of this matter, as it would be a shame to interrupt them, as no
person would be so mean to give them any obstruction. As for sending your
belt forward, we thought to retain it until we had heard whether our
proposal had been accepted or no. And we desire that you would consider
of this matter, and keep your troops at home, and let us know your mind;
and if, after considering of our proposals, you do not agree to them,
that you will then let us know what you intend to do. They likewise sent
word to you that when they had heard from you, whether you accepted of
our proposals, we would then do as you desire in sending up the news.
"Brothers: We expected an answer to our proposals; but none arrived until
we were informed by a woman who returned from Albany, that those
preparations were actually making, and that troops were actually marching
in the country. We then, Brothers, took the matter into consideration,
and determined it was best for a party to meet you, and you see us this
day, Brothers, arrived. We come, Brothers, to beg of you that you take
good care and prudence of what you are going about. We beg of you,
Brothers, to remember the engagement which was made with the twelve
United Colonies at our interview last summer, as we then engaged to open
the path of peace, and to keep it undefiled from blood. At the same time
something of a different nature made its appearance. You assured us,
Brothers, that if any were found in our neighborhood inimical to us, you
would treat them as enemies. The Six Nations then supposed that the son
of Sir William was pointed at by that expression. We then desired
particularly that he might not be injured, as it was not in his power to
injure the cause; and that therefore he might not be molested. The Six
Nations then said they would not concern themselves with your operations
in other parts, but particularly desired that this path might be free
from blood. And now, Brothers, we repeat it again; we beg of you to take
good care and not to spill any blood in this path, and the more
especially, Brothers, as it is but of this day that the Six Nations had
so agreeable an interview with the Colonies, and our chiefs are now
hunting in the woods, and not dreaming that there is any prospect that
this path is or will be defiled with blood.
"We informed you, Brothers, that we had heard of a woman, that you were
advancing, and that you had cannon. We then took it into consideration.
We thought it strange that cannon should be brought into the country,
as the twelve United Colonies had so lately opened the path of peace.
As you will remember that this path was opened last Spring, and the Six
Nations agreed to keep it open. We then thought what could influence
the twelve United Colonies to open this path, and from the present
appearance it is as if with a design that the cannon should pass free
from all obstruction.
"Brothers, attend! It was your request, and a matter agreed upon by the
twelve United Colonies, that we should mind nothing but peace; therefore,
Brothers, as we mean to observe that agreement, we have expressed
ourselves as above, and as Brothers we mind nothing but peace. We look
upon ourselves as mediators between the two parties; therefore, Brothers,
as your messengers declared that you would not be the aggressors, we
informed Sir John of this, and earnestly begged of him not to be the
aggressor, or the means of spilling blood; and at the same time assured
him, that if we found that he should be the aggressor, we would not pay
any farther attention to him; and likewise told him, that if our Brothers
of the United Colonies were the aggressors, we should treat them in the
same manner. This is what we told Sir John, as we look upon ourselves to
be the mediators between both parties, and, as we have said before,
desired him not to be the aggressor. To which Sir John replied, that we
knew his disposition very well, and that he had no mind to be the
aggressor. He assured us that he would not be the aggressor, but if the
people came up to take away his life, he would do as well as he could,
as the law of nature justified every person to stand in his own defence.
"According to the news we have heard, it is as though Sir John would shut
up the path of peace in that quarter; but it is impossible he should do
it, as he had but a mere handful of friends; but, Brothers, if this
company, who now are passing by, should go up, and any thing bad should
happen, we shall look on you as shutting up the path.
"It has been represented to you, Brothers, that it seems that Sir John
is making military preparations, and that he is making a fort round his
house; but, Brothers, as we live so near him, we should certainly know
it if any thing of that nature should be done, especially as we go there
so frequently on account of our father, the minister, who sometimes
performs divine service at that place. We have never seen any hostile
preparations made there; there is no cannon, or any thing of that kind,
and all things remain in the same situation it was in the lifetime of
Sir William.
"Brothers: We would not conceal anything from you. It would not be right
to use deceit, neither do we mean to do it. The minds of our counselors
are very much grieved; and aggrieved at that part of the disposition
of those whom we may call our warriors; there are some among us of
different minds, as there are among you, Brothers. Our counselors,
remembering the covenant we last Summer made with our Brethren, the
Twelve Colonies, have all along strongly urged our warriors to peace,
and have checked them when a contrary disposition appeared. Our minds
are very much aggrieved to find any of our warriors of different
sentiment. We have hitherto been able to restrain them, and hope still
to be able to do it, for matters are not now carried to extremity; but
if they are, our warriors will not be restrained, because they will think
themselves deceived if this military force comes into the country.
"We have declared to you, Brothers, that we would not deceive, and that
we mean to declare our minds to you openly and freely. We, the sachems,
have all along inculcated to the warriors sentiments of peace, and they
have hitherto been obedient to us, though there have been frequent
rumours that they should be disturbed; yet we have hitherto been able to
calm their minds. But now, Brothers, so large a party coming, alarms the
minds of our warriors. They are determined, Brothers, to go and be present
at your interview with Sir John, and determined to see and hear every
thing that should be there transacted; and if it shall then appear that
this party shall push matters to extremes, we then cannot be accountable
for any thing that may happen. But as for us, Brothers, the counselors
are fully determined ever to persevere in the path of peace.
"Brothers, attend! Though I have finished what I had purposed to say, yet
I will add one thing more. When the news of your approach arrived at our
town, it caused great confusion; some were ready to take to their arms,
observing that those reports respecting the unfriendly disposition of the
Colonies were now verified. I begged of them, Brothers, to possess their
minds in peace for a few days. I told them that I myself would go to
Albany, and inquire into the truth of the matter; I was so conscious of
my own innocency, that no hostile appearance could deter me, however
formidable. I therefore desired them to sit still until my return, which
might be in two days if I went to Albany. This, Brothers, is the present
situation of our people. They are waiting to see what news I bring."
"Brothers: When I made this request to the warriors that they should sit
still till my return, they told me that they would, which they are now
in expectation of, and will do nothing till I get back. But, Brothers,
after my return I will repeat to them the speech you will now make to me,
and if any of our people should still persist to be present at your
interview with Sir John, we hope, Brethren, you will not think hard of
us as counselors, as it is not in our power to rule them as we please.
_If they should go, and any thing evil should happen, we beg to know,
Brothers, what treatment we may expect who remain at home in peace._
"Brothers: This is all we have to say. This is the business which has
brought us down, and we now expect an answer to carry home to our people."
To which General Schuyler delivered the following answer:
"Brothers of the Mohawk Nation: We, the Commissioners appointed by the
Congress, and your Brothers of Albany and Schenectady, have paid great
attention to the speech you have delivered us. We now desire you to open
your ears, and attentively listen to what we have to say in answer.
"Brothers: It pleased us to hear you declare that you would speak your
minds freely. We assure you that we shall do the same, and hide nothing
from you of what is in our thoughts.
"Brothers: We were in hopes that the message which we sent you by Mr.
Bleecker would have eased your minds, and have convinced you that no
hostile intentions existed against you or any other Indians; for if they
had, we would not have sent you that message, neither would we have
supplied you with powder, as we did last Summer and again the other day.
"Brothers: We are extremely sorry that you have not complied with our
request, to send the speech which we sent you by Mr. Bleecker, to the
Six Nations in the manner which we required.
"Brothers: You told us that five or six men would have been sufficient to
go to Johnstown and inquire what was transacting there, and that these
people would be in no danger, as it would be a shame to interrupt them.
We acknowledge, Brothers, that it would have been a shame if we had sent
them and they had been interrupted; but we have full proofs that many
people in Johnstown, and the neighbourhood thereof, have for a
considerable time past made preparations to carry into execution the
wicked designs of the King's evil counselors.
"Brothers: It is very true that last Summer the United Colonies promised
that the path to the Indian country should be kept open. They again
repeat that promise; and although it is by the special order of Congress
that this body of troops are now marching up, yet it is not to shut the
path, but to keep it open, and to prevent the people in and about
Johnstown from cutting off the communication between us and our brethren
of the Six Nations, and our other brethren living up the river.
"Brothers: Although we have before observed that the people living in
and about Johnstown are making hostile preparations against us, yet we
will not shed a drop of their blood unless they refuse to come to an
agreement by which we may be safe, or unless they oppose us with arms.
We do not mean that any of our warriors should set their foot on any of
the lands you possess, or that of the Six Nations, unless our enemies
should take shelter there; for those we are resolved to follow wherever
they go. We again repeat, that we have no quarrel with you, and we do
expect that you will not interfere in this family contest, but stand by
as indifferent spectators, agreeable to the engagement of the Six Nations
made to us last Summer at their own request.
"Brothers: We assured you last Summer, that as we had no quarrel with any
Indians, we would not touch a hair of their heads; yet when our warriors
were at St. Johns, they were attacked by Indians. Two of your tribe, and
some others, were killed. You have never blamed us for it, because you
well knew that our lives are dear to us; we have a right to kill any man
who attempts to kill us. You ought, therefore, not to be surprised if we
take every precaution to prevent being destroyed by the friends of the
King's evil counselors.
"Brothers: In a little time we may be called upon to go and fight against
our enemies to the eastward, who are employed by the King's evil
counselors; and can you think it prudent that we should leave a set of
people who are our enemies, in any part of the country, in such a
situation as to be able to destroy our wives and children, and burn our
houses in our absence? Would you leave your wives and children in such
a situation? The wisdom by which you have conducted your affairs convinced
us that you would not; and yet so cautious are we that no blood may be
shed, that we shall send a letter to Sir John, inviting him to meet us
on the road between this place and his house, which if he does, we make
no doubt but every thing will be settled in an amicable manner; and that
he may be under no apprehensions, we do now assure you that if we do not
come to an agreement, he will be permitted safely to return to his own
house.
"Brothers: We thank you that you have concealed nothing from us, and we
assure you that we scorn deceit as much as you do; and therefore we shall
now speak our minds freely on what you have said respecting the conduct
which your warriors mean to hold. We have no objection, nay, we wish that
you and they should be present, to hear what we shall propose to Sir John
and the people in and about Johnstown who are our enemies; but we beg
of you to tell your warriors, that although we have no quarrel with them,
yet if we should be under the disagreeable necessity of fighting with our
enemies, and your warriors should join them and fight against us, that we
will do as we did at St. Johns, repel force by force.
"Brothers: You have asked us, if your warriors should go and if any thing
evil should happen, what treatment you may expect who remain at home
in peace?
"Brothers: In the treaty held at Albany last Summer, you and your warriors
were present, and you and they jointly promised to remain neuter and not
to interfere in this quarrel. Should your warriors, therefore, now take
up arms against us, we must consider it as a breach of the treaty so far
as it respects the lower Mohawk Castle; of which breach we shall complain
to our Brethren, the other nations, and at the same time lay the matter
before our great council at Philadelphia, whose determination thereupon
will be our future guide.
"Brothers: We are surprised that the least doubt should remain on your
minds with respect to our friendly intentions towards you, after the many
instances we have given you of our love and friendship; but we must impute
it to the wicked insinuations of our mutual enemies, who wish for nothing
so much as to see the ancient covenant which has so long subsisted between
us broken.
"Brothers: You have observed that you would pay no regard to that party
that should be the first aggressor. We cannot be the aggressors; for if
our enemies in and about Johnstown had had no evil intentions against us,
we should never have even come thus far with an army. Whoever takes up
arms against another, although he has not yet struck, must be considered
as the aggressor, and not he who tries to prevent the blow.
"Brothers: We have now freely and fully disclosed to you our minds. We
hope you will remember what we have said, and repeat it to your Brothers,
counselors, and warriors; and, lest you should not be able to recollect
every part of this speech, you may have your Brothers Ka-ragh-qua-dirhon,
and Ti-ze-de-ron-de-ron, [Deane and Bleecker,] interpreters, to attend you
if it be agreeable to you.
"Brothers: Your women have sent us a belt. We beg you to assure them of
our regard, and to entreat them to prevent your warriors from doing any
thing that would have the least tendency to incur our resentment, or
interrupt that harmony which we wish may subsist to the end of time."
To this the Indians made the following brief reply:--
"Brother Schuyler the Great Man, attend! We have this evening heard what
you have to say, and we are glad of it, and thank you for it.
"Every thing that has been said to us. Brother, has been perfectly
agreeable to us.
"I shall not attempt, Brother, to make a particular reply to every thing
that has been said to us. Indeed, it would not be proper at this time.
"We are very glad, Brother, that you have determined to write to Sir John,
requesting an interview with him in hopes of an amicable agreement.
"Brother: You mention that it would be agreeable to you that the warriors
and counselors, or sachems, should attend.
"Brother: We, the sachems, will attend, though we should do it at the risk
of our lives.
"Brother: We should be glad if you would inform us of the time and place
of your interview with Sir John. You likewise told us, that if it was
agreeable to us, that your interpreters should attend to recapitulate the
speech you have made, which likewise is agreeable to us; and we desire
that they may go with us, for by that means all mistakes may be prevented.
"Brother: You may depend on it that we will use our utmost influence with
our warriors to calm their minds. You may depend on it, likewise, that our
sisters will use their utmost influence for the same purpose."
General Schuyler assured them again of his pacific intentions, and that
nothing unpleasant should happen to them. He also informed them, that
if they desired to attend the expedition to Johnstown, or to be present
at the intended interview with Sir John, as mediators, they should be
protected in that character. With this understanding they took their
departure the same night. A letter, of which the following is a copy,
was at the same time despatched to Sir John Johnson:--
"General Schuyler to Sir John Johnson.
Schenectady, _Jan._ 16, 1776.
"Sir,
"Information having been received that designs of the most dangerous
tendency to the rights, liberties, property, and even lives of those of
his Majesty's faithful subjects in America who are opposed to the
unconstitutional measures of his ministry, have been formed in a part of
the County of Tryon, I am ordered to march a body of men into that County,
to carry into execution certain resolutions of my superiors, and to
contravene those dangerous designs.
"Influenced, Sir, by motives of humanity, I wish to comply with my orders
in a manner the most peaceable, that no blood may be shed. I therefore
request that you will please to meet me to-morrow, at any place on my
way to Johnstown, to which I propose then to march. For which purpose I
do hereby give you my word of honour, that you, and such persons as you
may choose should attend you, shall pass safe and unmolested to the place
where you may meet me, and from thence back to the place of your abode.
"Rutgers Bleecker and Henry Glen, Esqrs. are the bearers hereof, gentlemen
who are entitled to your best attention, which I dare say they will
experience, and by whom I expect you will favour me with an answer to
this letter.
"You will please to assure Lady Johnson, that whatever may be the result
of what is now in agitation, she may rest perfectly satisfied that no
indignity will be offered her.
"I am, Sir,
Your humble Servant,
Ph. Schuyler.
"_To
Sir John Johnson, Baronet._"
General Schuyler resumed his march on the morning of the 17th--his forces
constantly increasing, until before nightfall they numbered upward of
three thousand. Having proceeded about sixteen miles from Schenectady,
the expedition was met by Sir John, attended by several of his leading
friends among the Scotchmen, and two or three others. The result of the
interview was the proffer, by General Schuyler, of the following terms
to Sir John and his retainers:--
"Terms offered by the Honourable Philip Schuyler, Esq., Major-general in
the army of the thirteen United Colonies, and commanding in the New-York
department, to Sir John Johnson, Baronet, and all such other persons in
the County of Tryon as have evinced their intentions of supporting his
Majesty's ministry, to carry into execution the unconstitutional measures
of which the Americans so justly complain, and to prevent which they have
been driven to the dreadful necessity of having recourse to arms.
"First: That Sir John Johnson shall, upon his word of honour, immediately
deliver up all cannon, arms, and other military stores, of what kind
soever, which may be in his own possession, or which he has caused to be
delivered into the possession of any persons whatsoever, either directly
or indirectly, or that to his knowledge may be concealed in any part of
the said County. That he shall distinguish all such military stores of
what kind soever as belong to the Crown, or were furnished with the design
of arming the Indians or the inhabitants of Tryon County, from those which
may be private property, in order that a proper inventory may be taken of
the last articles, that the same may be restored, or the value of them
refunded, when this unhappy contest shall be over.
"Secondly: General Schuyler, out of personal respect for Sir John, and
from a regard to his rank, consents that Sir John shall retain for his
own use a complete set of armor, and as much powder as may be sufficient
for his domestic purposes.
"Thirdly: That Sir John Johnson shall remain upon his parole of honour
in any part of Tryon County which he may choose, to the eastward of the
district of ---- unless it should appear necessary to the Honourable the
Continental Congress to remove him to some other part of this, or any
other Colony; in which case he is immediately to comply with such orders
as they may think proper to give for that purpose.
"Fourthly: That the Scotch inhabitants of the said County shall, without
any kind of exception, immediately deliver up all arms in their
possession, of what kind soever they may be; and that they shall each
solemnly promise that they will not at any time hereafter, during the
continuance of this unhappy contest, take up arms without the permission
of the Continental Congress, or of their general officers;--and for
the more faithful performance of this article, the General insists that
they shall immediately deliver up to him six hostages of his own
nomination.
"Fifthly: That such of the other inhabitants of Tryon County as have
avowed themselves averse to the measures of the United Colonies, shall
also deliver up their arms, of what kind soever they may be, and enter
into the like engagement as is stipulated in the preceding article, both
with respect to their future conduct and the number of hostages.
"Sixthly: That all blankets, strouds, and other Indian articles belonging
to the Crown, and intended as presents to the Indians, shall be delivered
up to a commissary appointed by General Schuyler, in the presence of three
or more of the Mohawk chiefs, in order that the same may be dispensed
amongst the Indians, for the purpose of cementing the ancient friendship
between them and their brethren of the United Colonies, for which sole
purpose they ought to have been furnished.
"Seventhly: If Sir John Johnson, and the people referred to in the
aforegoing articles, shall justly abide by, and perform what is thereby
required of them, the General, in behalf of the Continental Congress,
doth promise and engage, that neither Sir John Johnson nor any of those
people shall be molested by any of the other inhabitants of the said
County, or by any of the inhabitants of the thirteen United Colonies; but
that, on the contrary, they will be protected in the quiet and peaceable
enjoyment of their property;--the sole intent of this treaty being to
prevent the horrid effects of a civil and intestine war betwixt those who
ought to be brethren. That all the arms which shall be delivered up in
consequence of the preceding articles shall be valued by sworn appraisers.
That if the Continental Congress should have occasion for them, they may
be taken. If not, they will be delivered to the respective proprietors
when this unhappy contest shall be at an end."
In the course of the interview. Sir John assured General Schuyler that
the Indians would support him, and that numbers of them were already at
Johnson Hall for that purpose. He was assured, in return, that though
averse to the shedding of blood, if the proffered terms were not acceded
to, force would be opposed to force without distinction of persons, and
that the consequences of resistance would be of the most serious
description. In conclusion, Sir John begged until the evening of the
following day to consider of the propositions, which request was granted,
and the Baronet took his leave.
In about an hour after his departure, Abraham, and another of the Mohawks,
made their appearance at General Schuyler's quarters. On being informed
of what Sir John had said respecting the Indians being in arms at the Hall
for his defence, Abraham pronounced the story untrue, and repeated his
assurances that the Mohawks would interfere in no other way than as
mediators. The General replied that he hoped they would not, but he at
the same time assured them with emphasis, that if they should do so,
he should not hesitate a moment in destroying every one who opposed him
in arms.
On the following day, (the 18th,) General Schuyler moved forward to
Canghnawaga, four miles from Johnstown, where he was joined by Colonel
Herkimer and the Tryon County militia. At about 6 o'clock in the afternoon
Sir John's answer to the terms proposed to him was received, as follows:--
"Terms proposed by Sir John Johnson, Baronet, and the people of
Kingsborough and the adjacent neighborhood, to the Honorable Philip
Schuyler, Esq. Major General in the army of the thirteen United Colonies,
and commanding in the New-York Department.
"_First:_ That Sir John Johnson and the rest of the gentlemen expect that
all such arms of every kind as are their own property may remain in their
possession; all the other arms shall be delivered up to such person or
persons as may be appointed for that purpose; as to military stores
belonging to the Crown, Sir John has not any.
"_Secondly:_ Answered in the first.
"_Thirdly:_ Sir John expects that he will not be confined to any certain
County, but be at liberty to go where he pleases.
"_Fourthly:_ The Scotch inhabitants will deliver up their arms of what
kind soever they may be, and they will each solemnly promise that they
will not at any time hereafter, during the continuance of this unhappy
contest, take up arms without the permission of the Continental Congress
or of their general officers. Hostages they are not in a capacity to
give--no one man having command over another, or power sufficient to
deliver such. Therefore this part of the article to be passed over, or
the whole included--women and children to be required, being a requisition
so inhuman as we hope the General will dispense with.
"_Fifthly:_ Answered in the fourth,
"_Sixthly_: Sir John has not any blankets, strouds, or other presents,
intended for the Indians.
"_Seventhly_: If the above proposals are agreed to and signed by the
General, Sir John and the people referred to will rely on the assurances
of protection given by the General.
"[Signed] John Johnson,
Allan McDonell.
"_To the Hon._ Philip Schuyler, _Major-general_"
This answer was in all respects unsatisfactory, as will appear by the
annexed letter from General Schuyler in reply:--
"General Schuyler to Sir John Johnson, Baronet.
Caughnawaga, Jan. 18th, 8 o'clock, P. M., 1776.
"Gentlemen,
"Messrs. Adams and McDonell have delivered me your answer to my proposals
of yesterday's date. The least attention to the articles I offered, when
compared with yours, must convince you that you omitted replies to several
of them, and consequently that what you have sent me is very imperfect,
and also unsatisfactory. I waive pointing out some of the inconsistencies
in your proposals, as the whole are exceptionable excepting the last.
"I must therefore obey my orders, and again repeat, that, in the execution
of them, I shall strictly abide by the laws of humanity; at the same time
assuring you, that if the least resistance is made, I will not answer for
the consequences, which may be of a nature the most dreadful.
"If Lady Johnson is at Johnson Hall, I wish she would retire, (and
therefore enclose a passport,) as I shall march my troops to that place
without delay.
"You may, however, still have time to reconsider the matter, and for that
purpose I give you until 12 o'clock this night--after which I shall
receive no proposals; and I have sent you Mr. Robert Yates, Mr. Glen,
and Mr. Duer, to receive the ultimate proposals you have to make. This
condescension I make from no other motive than to prevent the effusion
of blood, so far as it can be effected without risking the safety of the
County, or being guilty of a breach of the positive orders I have received
from the Honorable Continental Congress.
"I am, Gentlemen,
With due respect,
Your humble Servant,
Ph. Schuyler.
"_To Sir John Johnson and Mr. Allan McDonell._"
Immediately after the preceding letter had been despatched to the Hall,
the sachems of the Lower Castle, with all their warriors and several from
the Upper Castle, called upon General Schuyler, having come to his
quarters directly from the residence of the Baronet. They informed the
General that Sir John had related to them the substance of the terms of
surrender that had been proposed. Sir John, they said, had declared to
them that all he desired was protection for his family and friends from
insult and the outrages of riotous people, and protested that he had no
unfriendly intentions against the country. The Indians therefore begged
the General to accept the terms as offered by Sir John. The General told
the chiefs that he could not accept of those terms, and pointed out the
objections. He likewise informed them of the tenor of the letter he had
just transmitted to the Hall. The Indians were apparently contented with
those reasons and with the course adopted, but begged that, should the
answer of Sir John be still unsatisfactory, the General would give him
until 4 o'clock in the morning, that they might have time to go and "shake
his head," as they expressed it, "and bring him to his senses." They
likewise begged it as an additional favor, that General Schuyler would
not remove Sir John out of the country. They apologized for the threats
of their own warriors, alleging that it was attributable to the
circumstance of their not being present at the treaty of Albany; and again
repeated the assurance that they would never take arms against the
Colonies. In reply. General Schuyler complimented the Indians for their
pacific intentions, and informed them that he should accede to their
request, although the conduct of Sir John had been so censurable that he
should be justified in holding him a close prisoner. His reasons for
granting the request, the General told them, were two-fold:--first,
to show the love and affection of the Americans for the Indians, and to
convince them that they could obtain, by asking as a favor, that which
they could not obtain by demanding as a right. Secondly, that by leaving
Sir John amongst them, they might, by their example and advice, induce
him to alter his conduct.
The extension of the time until 4 o'clock was unnecessary however, the
following answer from Sir John having been received at 12 o'clock, at
midnight:--
"Answers to the terms proposed by the Honorable Philip Schuyler, Esq.
Major-general in the army of the thirteen United Colonies, and commanding
in the New-York Department, to Sir John Johnson, Baronet, the inhabitants
of Kingsborough, and the neighborhood adjacent.
"First and second articles agreed to, except a few favorite family arms.
"Third: Sir John Johnson having given his parole of honor not to take up
arms against America, and conceiving the design of this military operation
to be with no other view than that of removing the jealousies of which
his countrymen are unhappily and unjustly inspired with against him, can
by no means think of submitting to this article in its full latitude,
though, for the sake of preserving peace and removing any suspicions of
undue influence, he consents not to go to the westward of the German
Flats and Kingsland Districts. To every other part of the continent to
the southward of this County, he expects the privilege of going.
"Fourthly: Agreed to, excepting that part of the article which respects
the giving hostages. After the Scotch inhabitants have surrendered arms,
the General may take any six prisoners from amongst them as he chooses,
without resistance. They expect, however, that the prisoners so taken,
will be maintained agreeable to their respective ranks, and that they may
have the privilege of going to any part of the province of New Jersey or
Pennsylvania, which the General, or the Continental Congress may appoint.
They likewise expect, from the General's humanity, that provision will be
made for the maintenance of the prisoner's wives and children, agreeable
to their respective situations in life. Yet, for the sake of promoting the
harmony of the country, they will not break off this treaty merely on that
account, provided the General thinks he cannot exert a discretionary power
in this matter; in which case they rely upon the General's influence with
the Continental Congress, which they cannot persuade themselves will be
inattentive to the voice of humanity, or to the feelings of parents who
may be torn from their families. Those to whose lot it may fall to be
taken prisoners, it is expected will be allowed a few days to settle their
business, and, if gentlemen, to wear their side arms.
"Fifth: Neither Sir John Johnson nor the Scotch gentlemen, can make any
engagement for any other persons than those over whom they may have
influence. Neither can they possibly know the names of all such persons
who have shown themselves averse to the measures of the United Colonies.
They give their word and honor, that, so far as depends on them, the
inhabitants shall give up their arms, and enter into the like engagement
with the Scotch inhabitants. The General has it more in his power to
discover those who are obnoxious, and to make as many as he pleases
prisoners. Neither shall they adopt the quarrel of any such persons as
their own.
"Sixth: Sir John gives his word of honor that he has no blankets, strouds,
or other presents, belonging to the Crown, intended for the Indians; and
therefore this requisition cannot be complied with.
"Seventh: If the above proposals are agreed to, and signed by the General,
Sir John and the people referred to will rely on the assurances of
protection given by the General. But as it will be impossible for the arms
to be collected till Saturday next at twelve o'clock, all the men referred
to in the above articles will be then paraded in Johnstown, and ground
their arms in the presence of such troops as the General may appoint.
"[Signed.] John Johnson,
Allan McDonell.
"_Johnson Hall, January_ 18_th,_ 1776."
The Indians were yet present at the quarters of General Schuyler when this
despatch was received from Sir John, and, on being informed that matters
were likely to terminate amicably, they retired with warm expressions of
gratification. The following letter was thereupon despatched to the Hall:--
"General Schuyler to Sir John Johnson.
Caughnawaga, January 19, 1776.
"General Schuyler's feelings as a gentleman induce him to consent that
Sir John Johnson may retain the few favorite family arms--he making a
list of them.
"The General will also consent that Sir John Johnson may go as far to the
westward as the German Flats and Kingsland Districts in this County, and
to every other part of this Colony to the Southward and Eastward of said
Districts, provided he does not go into any seaport town. The General,
however, believes, that if Sir John's private business should require his
going to any of the other ancient English Colonies, he will be permitted
the indulgence by applying to Congress for leave.
"The General will take six of the Scotch inhabitants prisoners, since they
prefer it to going as hostages. It has been the invariable rule of
Congress, and that of all its officers, to treat prisoners with the
greatest humanity, and to pay all due deference to rank. He cannot
ascertain the places to which Congress may please to send them. For the
present they will go to Reading or Lancaster in Pennsylvania. Nor can he
make any promises with respect to the maintenance of the women and
children. His humanity will certainly induce him to recommend to Congress
an attention to what has been requested on that head. General Schuyler
expects that all the Scotch inhabitants, of whatsoever rank, who are not
confined to their beds by illness, will attend with their arms, and
deliver them on Saturday at 12 o'clock. If this condition be not
faithfully performed, he will consider himself as disengaged from any
engagements entered into with them.
"General Schuyler never refused a gentleman his side-arms.
"The prisoners that may be taken must be removed to Albany immediately,
where the General will permit them to remain a reasonable time to settle
their family affairs.
"If the terms General Schuyler has offered on the 17th inst. are accepted
with the above qualifications, fair copies will be made out and signed by
the parties, one of which will be delivered to Sir John and Mr. McDonell,
signed by the General. To prevent a waste of time, the General wishes Sir
John and Mr. McDonell immediately to send an answer.
"He remains, with due respect,
Sir John's and Mr. McDonell's humble Servant,
Ph. Schuyler."
These terms were acceded to by Sir John, and on the same day General
Schuyler marched to Johnstown--having previously detailed several
detachments of his troops to scour the country, and bring in the
disaffected not comprehended in the arrangements with the Baronet. On the
same afternoon Sir John delivered up the arms and ammunition in his
possession the quantity of both being much smaller than was expected.
On Saturday, the 20th, General Schuyler paraded his troops at 12 o'clock
at noon, to receive the surrender of the Highlanders, who, to the number
of between two and three hundred, marched to the front and grounded their
arms. These having been secured, the Scotchmen were dismissed with an
exhortation to remain peaceable, and with an assurance of protection if
they did so.
The General's attention was next directed to the discovery and capture of
the secret _depot_ of arms and ammunition, of which information had been
given by Connell. Two of the persons named in his affidavit were taken,
but they denied, most unequivocally, all knowledge upon the subject.
Connell was then produced to confront them; but they still persisted
in maintaining their innocence, and denounced him as a perjured villain.
Connell was then sent with a number of officers to point out the spot,
where, as he alleged, the arms were concealed. He conducted them to a pond
of water, containing a small island, or mound, in the middle, within
which he declared the arms were buried. The snow and ice were forthwith
removed, and the mound dug down. Connell had particularly described the
manner in which the arms had been deposited under ground; but it was soon
discovered that the earth had not recently been disturbed, if ever; and
in the end it was ascertained, to the satisfaction of all, that the fellow
was a base impostor. General Schuyler returned to Caughnawaga that evening.
On the two following days upward of a hundred Tories were brought in from
different parts of the country. Colonel Herkimer was left in charge to
complete the disarming of the disaffected and receive the hostages, and
the General, with his miscellaneous army, marched back to Albany. In his
letters to Congress, and also to General Washington, he spoke of the
anxiety and trouble he had experienced in preventing so large a body of
men, collected on the sudden, without discipline, and withal greatly
exasperated, from running into excesses. In these efforts, however, he
succeeded much better than, under the circumstances, was reasonably to
have been anticipated. Before his return, Mr. Dean, the Indian
interpreter, was despatched by the General with a belt and a talk to the
Six Nations, which has not been preserved. Thus ended the expedition to
Johnstown.
General Schuyler transmitted a full report of his proceedings to Congress,
by whom a special resolution was passed, thanking him for the fidelity,
prudence, and expedition with which he had performed such a meritorious
service. A second resolution was also adopted, so curiously constructed,
and containing such an ingeniously-inserted hint to the officers and
militia-men accompanying General Schuyler on this expedition, as to render
it worthy of preservation. It was in the words following:--
"_Resolved,_ That the cheerfulness and ready assistance of those who
accompanied General Schuyler in his march to the County of Tryon, and
their useful services in that expedition, discovered such a patriotic
spirit, that it is hoped none of them will allow their countrymen to
entertain a suspicion that any ignoble motive actuated them, by requiring
a pecuniary reward, especially when they were employed in suppressing
a mischief in their own neighborhood."
The resolutions were enclosed to General Schuyler in a flattering letter
from President Hancock, in which, among other things, he says:--"It is
with great pleasure I inform you that the prudence, zeal, and temper,
manifested in your late expedition, met with the warmest approbation of
Congress."
For some unexplained reason, Sir John Johnson did not observe the compact
of neutrality, nor the obligations of his parole. Or, if he kept himself
within the letter, his conduct was such as to re-awaken the suspicions of
the people, and was considered by General Schuyler a virtual violation of
the spirit of the parole he had given, to take no part against the
Colonies. In fact, the information received by General Schuyler convinced
him that Sir John was secretly instigating the Indians to hostilities, and
was thus likely to produce much mischief on the frontiers. To prevent such
a calamity, it was thought advisable by Schuyler to secure the person of
Sir John, and once more to quell the rising spirit of disaffection in the
neighborhood of Johnstown, especially among the Highlanders. For this
purpose, in the month of May following the events already narrated in the
present chapter, Colonel Dayton, with a part of his regiment then on its
way to Canada, was dispatched by General Schuyler to prosecute this
enterprise. [FN-1] There were, however, large numbers of loyalists in
Albany, with whom Sir John was then and subsequently in close
correspondence. It is therefore not surprising that he received timely
notice of these preparations for his second arrest, in anticipation of
Dayton's arrival. Such was the fact; and, hastily collecting a large
number of his tenants and others, disaffected toward the cause of the
Colonists, the Baronet was prepared for instant flight on the approach
of the Continentals. This purpose was successfully executed. Colonel
Dayton arrived at Johnstown in the evening, whereupon Sir John and his
retainers immediately took to the woods by the way of the Sacandaga. [FN-2]
Not knowing whether his royalist friends were in possession of Lake
Champlain or not, the fugitives dared not venture upon that route to
Montreal; and Sir John was accordingly obliged to strike deeper into the
forests between the head waters of the Hudson and the St. Lawrence. Having
but a brief period of preparation for their flight, the party was but
ill supplied for such a campaign. Their provisions were soon exhausted;
their feet became sore from traveling; and several of their number were
left from time to time in the wilderness, to be picked up and brought in
afterward by the Indians sent out for that purpose.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Sparks's Life and Writings of Washington Note in vol. iv.
p. 409--410.
[FN-2] There is some reason to suppose that an expedition, led by the
Mohawk Indians, was sent from Montreal on purpose to bring Sir John away,
or rescue him from the espionage of the Americans. In one of Brant's
speeches, delivered long afterward, when rehearsing the exploits of the
Mohawks in the Revolutionary war, the following passage occurs:--"We
then went in a body to a town then in the possession of the enemy, and
rescued Sir John Johnson, bringing him fearlessly through the streets."
Brant, at the time of this rescue, as will presently be seen, was himself
in England--as also was Guy Johnson.
After nineteen days of severe hardship, the Baronet and his partisans
arrived at Montreal in a pitiable condition--having encountered all of
suffering that it seemed possible for man to endure. Such was the
precipitation of his departure from the parental hall, and such his
deficiency of the means of transportation, that an iron chest, containing
the most valuable of his family papers, was hastily buried in the garden.
The family Bible, containing the only record of the marriage of his father
and mother, and of course the only written evidence of his own legitimacy,
was also left behind. [FN-1] Such of the papers as were found, were
examined by Colonel Dayton, in compliance with his orders; "and Lady
Johnson was removed to Albany, where she was retained as a kind of hostage
for the peaceable conduct of her husband. She wrote to General Washington,
complaining of this detention, and asking his interference for her
release; but the Commander-in-Chief left the matter with General Schuyler
and the Albany Committee." [FN-2] Colonel Dayton was stationed several
weeks at Johnstown with his troops, and for the time being secured the
tranquility of the country.
* * * * *
[FN-1] After the confiscation of the property of Sir John, the furniture
of the hall was sold by auction at Fort Hunter. The late Lieut. Governor
of New-York, John Taylor, purchased several articles of the furniture;
and among other things, the Bible mentioned in the text. Perceiving that
it contained the family record, which might be of great value to Sir
John, Mr. Taylor wrote a civil note to Sir John, offering its
restoration. Some time afterward, a messenger from the Baronet called
for the Bible, whose conduct was so rude as to give offence. "I have come
for Sir William's Bible," said he, "and there are the four guineas which
it cost." The Bible was delivered, and the runner was asked what message
Sir John had sent. The reply was--"Pay four guineas, and take the
book!"--_Letter of John Taylor Cooper (grandson of the Lt. Governor) to
the author._
[FN-2] Sparks.
Sir John was immediately commissioned a Colonel in the British service,
and raised a command of two battalions, composed of those who accompanied
him in his flight, and other American loyalists who subsequently followed
their example. They were called the Royal Greens. In the month of January
following, he found his way into New-York, then in possession of the
British forces. From that period he became not only one of the most
active, but one of the bitterest foes of his own countrymen of any who
were engaged in that contest--and repeatedly the scourge of his own former
neighbors. He was unquestionably a loyalist from principle, else he would
scarcely have hazarded, as he did, and ultimately lost, domains larger and
fairer than probably ever belonged to a single proprietor in America,
William Penn only excepted. But the immediate cause of his breaking his
pledge of honor is not known. Unexplained as it ever has been, the act
has always been regarded as a stain upon the Baronet's character. It was
held as such by the Provincial Congress of New-York, as will be seen by
the annexed extract from a letter addressed by that body to General
Washington immediately after his flight:--"We apprehend no doubt can
exist whether the affair of Sir John Johnson is within your immediate
cognizance. He held a commission as Brigadier-General of the militia,
and, it is said, another commission as Major-General. That he hath
shamefully broken his parole is evident, but whether it would be more
proper to have him returned or exchanged, is entirely in your Excellency's
prudence." His estates were, of course, confiscated by the Provincial
Congress of New-York, and in due time sold under the direction of the
Committee of that body having such matters in charge.
CHAPTER VII.
History of Brant resumed--Advanced to the chieftaincy of the
Confederacy--Mode of appointing chiefs and sachems--Embarks for
England--Arrives in London--Received with marked consideration--Becomes
acquainted with James Boswell and others--Agrees to espouse the Royal
cause, and returns to America--Steals through the country to
Canada--Curious supposed letter to President Wheelock--Battle of the
Cedars--Cowardice of Major Butterfield--Outrages of the Indians--Story
of Capt. McKinstry, who was saved from the stake by Brant--Indignation
of Washington, the people, and Congress--Resolutions of
retaliation--Mutual complaints of treatment of prisoners--Murder of Gen.
Gordon--Indignation at the outrage--Indian deputation at
Philadelphia--Speech to them--Congress resolves upon the employment of
an Indian force--Schuyler opposed--Review of the incidents of the war
elsewhere--Destitution of the Army--Evacuation of Boston by the
English--Disastrous termination of the Canadian campaign--Deplorable
condition of the army--Humanity of Sir Guy Carleton--Glance at the
South--Declaration of Independence--Spirit of Tryon County--Cherry
Valley--Fortifications at Fort Stanwix--American army moves to
New-York--Arrival of the British fleet and army--Battle of
Long-Island--Washington evacuates New-York--Battle of White
Plains--Retreats across New-Jersey--Followed by Cornwallis--Defeat of
Arnold on Lake Champlain--Fall of Rhode Island--Battle of Trenton.
The progress of events renders it necessary again to introduce the Indian
hero of the war of the Revolution more prominently upon the stage of
action. Thayendanegea had now been advanced to the situation of principal
war-chief of the confederacy [FN-1]--an officer, according to the ancient
usages of the Six Nations, uniformly taken from the Mohawks. [FN-2] How, or
in what manner. Brant arrived at that dignity, history does not inform us.
Hendrick, the last of the Mohawk chiefs who bore the royal title of King,
fell under Sir William Johnson at Lake George twenty years before. He was
succeeded by Little Abraham, whose name has frequently occurred in the
preceding pages, and who has been designated by some writers as the
brother of Hendrick. But whether such was the fact or not, no farther
mention of his name occurs in the history of the war. He was uniformly
friendly to the Colonists; and as he refused to leave the valley with
Thayendanegea and the majority of the nation who accompanied Guy Johnson
in his flight--preferring to remain with the tribe at the Lower Castle--it
is not improbable that Brant assumed the superior chieftaincy from the
force of circumstances. Sir William Johnson informs us, that the sachems
of each tribe of the Six Nations were usually chosen in a public assembly
of the chiefs and warriors, whenever a vacancy happened by death or
otherwise. They were selected from among the oldest warriors for their
sense and bravery, and approved of by all the tribe--after which they were
selected as sachems. Military services were the chief recommendations to
this rank; but in some instances a kind of inheritance in the office was
recognized. [FN-3] We have seen that Thayendanegea was descended from a
family of chiefs, and his birth may have contributed to his elevation.
His family and official connexion with the Johnsons, whose name continued
so potent with the Indians, likewise, without doubt, facilitated his
advancement. But Mr. Stewart, denying that the family of Thayendanegea was
remarkable for any preeminence in their village, represents his influence
to have been acquired by his uncommon talents and address as a counselor
and politician; by which means he subdued all opposition and jealousy, and
at length acquired such an ascendancy that, even in the hour of action and
danger, he was enabled to rule and direct his warriors as absolutely as
if he had been born their General.
* * * * *
[FN-1] I am aware that the dignity of "Principal Chief" has been denied
to Captain Brant by several writers, and expressly by the Rev. Mr.
Stewart, who says he was not a war-chief by birth, and not so often in
command as has been supposed. It will be seen, however, toward the close
of this work, from the speech of a Seneca chief, that Thayendanegea was
the head chief of the confederacy--Mr. S. to the contrary notwithstanding.
[FN-2] David Cusick's sketches of the Ancient History of the Six Nations.
Cusick was himself an Indian of the Tuscarora tribe.
[FN-3] Letters of Sir William Johnson to Arthur Lee--vide London
Philosophical Transactions.
This inquiry, however, is of no great importance. The fact that he had
now become the chief sachem is unquestionable; and from this point of the
present history, Joseph Thayendanegea becomes one of the principal
personages engaged in its progress. He was ordinarily called by his other
name of Joseph Brant, or "Captain Brant"--the title of "Captain" being the
highest military distinction known to the Indians; and that, moreover,
being the military rank actually conferred upon him in the army of the
Crown. In much of his correspondence, when wishing to be formal and
writing to distinguished men, he was accustomed to write his name "Joseph
Brant--_Thayendanegea_;" the latter being his legitimate Indian name.
It has been seen, in a preceding chapter, that Thayendanegea had
accompanied Guy Johnson from the Mohawk Valley, first, westwardly to
Ontario, thence back to Oswego, and thence to Montreal, where his
services, and those of his warriors, were courted by Generals Carleton
and Haldimand, and an agreement was speedily made that they were to take
up the hatchet in the cause of the King. For the prosecution of a border
warfare, the officers of the Crown could scarcely have engaged a more
valuable auxiliary. Distinguished alike for his address, his activity, and
his courage--possessing, in point of stature and symmetry of person, the
advantage of most men even among his own well-formed race--tall, erect,
and majestic, with the air and mien of one born to command,[FN-1]--having,
as it were, been a man of war from his boyhood,[FN-2]--his name was a
tower of strength among the warriors of the wilderness. Still more
extensive was his influence rendered, by the circumstance that he had been
much employed in the civil service of the Indian department, under Sir
William Johnson, by whom he was often deputed upon embassies among the
tribes of the confederacy, and to those yet more distant, upon the great
lakes and rivers of the north-west, by reason of which his knowledge of
the whole country and people was accurate and extensive.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter of General P. B. Porter to the author.
[FN-2] He was but thirteen years old when in the battle of Lake George.
Whether, after the compact with Sir Guy Carleton, the chief again visited
the Indian country of the Six Nations during the summer of 1775, is
unknown. Probably not; since, in the autumn of that year or early in the
following winter, he embarked on his first visit to England. What was the
precise object of this visit does not appear. It is very probable,
however, that, notwithstanding the agreement so hastily formed at
Montreal, the sagacious chieftain may have judged it prudent to pause,
before committing himself too far by overt acts of hostility against the
Colonies. The Oneidas were evidently inclining to espouse the Colonial
side of the controversy, if any; the River Indians had already ranged
themselves on the same side; Captain White-Eyes of the Delawares, had
determined upon neutrality; and the Caughnawagas, or at least some of
their leading chiefs, were in the camp with Washington. To all which may
be added the fact, that at that time the American arms were carrying every
thing before them in Canada. These circumstances were certainly enough to
make the chieftain hesitate as to the course dictated by true wisdom. His
predilections, doubtless, from the first, inclined him to espouse the
cause of the King. Nay, he maintained through life, that the ancient
covenants of his people rendered it obligatory upon him so to do. In
addition to which were the strong ties of blood, of association, and of
gratitude, by which he was bound to the family and the interests of the
Johnsons. Still, the brilliant successes with which the Americans had
opened the campaign in Canada presented another view of the case, which
was certainly entitled to grave consideration. Thus situated, the chief
may have found his position so embarrassing as to induce him to visit the
parent country, and go himself into the presence of "The Great King," as
the British monarch was styled by the Indians, before he should finally
determine whether actually to take the field or not. By making the voyage,
he would have the additional advantage of studying the resources and the
power of the parent country, and would thereby be the better able to
determine for himself whether success was likely to crown his Majesty's
arms in the end, or whether, by an over-scrupulous observance of an
ancient stipulation of alliance, he should not, with his people, be
rushing upon certain destruction.
But whether he thus reasoned or not, it is certain that he sailed for
England toward the close of the year 1775, and reached London early in
1776, accompanied by Captain Tice, an officer of English extraction, born
in America, who had resided in the neighborhood of the Mohawk nation.
Only a very brief account of this, his first visit to England, has been
found. [FN] It has always been said, however, that he was not only well
received, but that his society was courted by gentlemen of rank and
station--statesmen, scholars, and divines. He had little of the savage
ferocity of his people in his countenance; and when, as he ordinarily did,
he wore the European dress, there was nothing besides his color to mark
wherein he differed from other men. Upon his first arrival in the British
Capital, he was conducted to the inn called "_The Swan with two Necks._"
Other lodgings were soon provided for him, more suitable to his rank as
an Indian king; but he said the people of the inn had treated him with so
much kindness and civility, that he preferred remaining there during his
stay in London; and he accordingly did so.
* * * * *
[FN] London Magazine for July, 1776.
Although he was dressed in the European habit, he was not unprovided with
a splendid costume after the manner of his own nation, in which he
appeared at Court, and upon visits of state and ceremony. James Boswell
was at that period in his glory, and an intimacy appears to have been
contracted between him and the Mohawk chief, since the latter sat for his
picture at the request of this most interesting of egotists. He also sat,
during the same visit, to Romney, one of the most distinguished artists of
his day, for the Earl of Warwick. He was, of course, painted in his native
dress, and the picture was greatly prized. [FN] The tomahawk worn by him
in London, was a very beautiful article, polished to the highest degree;
upon which was engraved the first letter of his Christian name, with his
Mohawk appellation, thus:--"_J. Thayendanegea._"
* * * * *
[FN] The frontispiece of the present volume is from the last-mentioned
picture.
{TN} {The aforementioned frontispiece is not included in this scanned
version of the book.}
He did not remain in England many months, but, in company with Captain
Tice, sailed on his return toward the close of March or early in
April, [FN-1] and arrived on the coast near the harbor of New-York after a
very short passage. Having fully determined to fulfill his stipulations
with General Carleton, and take up the hatchet in the cause of the Crown,
he was cautiously and privately landed somewhere in the neighborhood of
New-York, whence he performed a very hazardous journey to Canada--having,
of course, to steal his way through a hostile population, until he could
hide himself in the forests beyond Albany. He had taken the precaution,
however, in England, to provide evidence of the identity of his body in
case of disaster, or of his fall in any of the battles he anticipated, by
procuring a gold finger ring, with his name engraven thereon at
length. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The London Universal Magazine for July of 1776, states that he
embarked for America in May. But there must have been a mistake in the
date, since Brant, as will soon appear, was in the battle of the Cedars,
above Montreal, in that month.
[FN-2] This ring he wore until his death. It was kept as a precious relic
by his widow for four years, when it was lost. Strange as it may seem,
however, during the last Summer, (1836,) the identical ring was found by
a little girl in a ploughed field near Wellington Square, while the
venerable Indian queen was on a visit to her daughter, the accomplished
lady of Colonel Kerr. The aged widow of the old chief was overjoyed at
once more possessing the memento, after it had been lost six and twenty
years.
What were the particular arguments addressed to the Mohawk in the British
capital, or by what process he became impressed with the idea that the
arms of the King would, in the end, be victorious in the Colonies, is not
known. It is certain, however, that whatever doubts he might have
entertained, were most effectually dispelled; since, on taking leave, it
was understood that he pledged himself heartily to embrace the Royal
cause, and promised to take the field with three thousand warriors of his
race. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] It appears that Colonel Guy Johnson must have visited England at the
same time, or nearly the same time, with Brant. Perhaps they went
together, although Johnson did not return so soon. General Washington
announced his arrival at Staten Island, from England, on the 6th of
August, 1776, in a letter written to the President of Congress on the
8th. In Dunlap's History of the American Stage, Guy Johnson's name is
given, in 1778, as one of the managers of the old Theatre Royal,
John-street. The players were all amateurs, officers of the British army;
and the avails of their performances were appropriated for benevolent
purposes. The unfortunate Major Andre was one of the actors and the scene
painter. A drop-curtain, painted by him, was used many years after his
death.
It is no more than justice, however, to allow Captain Brant to speak for
himself, in regard to the principle by which he was governed in his
decision. In a letter written by him to Sir Evan Nepean, the Under
Secretary of State, when in England after the peace of 1783, he
said:--"When I joined the English in the beginning of the war, it was
purely on account of my forefathers' engagements with the King. I always
looked upon these engagements, or covenants between the King and the
Indian nations, as a sacred thing; therefore I was not to be frightened by
the threats of the rebels at that time; I assure you I had no other view
in it, and this was my real case from the beginning."
By "threats" in this letter to the Under Secretary, Brant probably meant
no more than the efforts made by the Americans to prevent his joining the
Royal standard, and to preserve the neutrality of the Indians. In
connexion with these efforts, there is a scrap of unwritten history,
which, whether true or not, is characteristic of the shrewdness and dry
sarcastic humor of the chief. It is related, that during the early part of
the year 1775, while it was yet considered doubtful which side the Mohawks
would espouse, and when it was of course very desirable to ascertain the
views of Brant upon the subject, President Wheelock was applied to as a
medium of communication with his former pupil. The Doctor, according to
the tradition, wrote him a long epistle upon the aspect of the times, and
urged upon Brant those considerations which appeared most likely to win
him over, or rather to secure his neutrality, if not his friendship, to
the Colonists. Brant replied very ingeniously. Among other things, he
referred to his former residence with the Doctor--recalled the happy hours
he had passed under his roof--and referred especially to his prayers and
the family devotions, to which he had listened. He said he could never
forget those prayers; and one passage, in particular, was so often
repeated, that it could never be effaced from his mind. It was, among
other of his good preceptor's petitions, "that they might be able to live
as good _subjects_--to fear God, and honor the King."
If doubt had existed among the Colonists before, as to the direction of
the channel in which ran his inclinations, there was surely none after
the perusal of this letter. But scenes of a more stirring character now
demand the attention.
Toward the close of the memorable Canadian campaign,--so brilliantly
commenced, so successfully prosecuted for many months, and yet so
disastrously terminated,--while the shattered remains of the American
forces were retiring before the troops of Sir Guy Carleton, the former
experienced a sad disaster at "the Cedars," a point of land extending far
into the St. Lawrence, about forty miles above Montreal, which was
occupied by Colonel Bedell with three hundred and ninety Provincial troops
and two field-pieces. General Carleton directed a descent upon this post
from the British station at Oswegatchie, under the command of Captain
Forster, at the head of one company of regular troops and a body of
Indians numbering nearly six hundred. The latter were led by Thayendanegea.
On the appearance of the enemy before the American works, Colonel Bedell
repaired immediately to Montreal for assistance, leaving the Cedars in
charge of Major Butterfield. Colonel (afterward General) Arnold, who was
then in command of Montreal--not yet evacuated by the Americans--forthwith
detached Major Sherburne with one hundred men, to proceed to the Cedars,
and prepared to follow himself with a much larger force. Meantime,
however, Major Butterfield, who, it was believed, might have easily
defended the position, was intimidated by a threat from the enemy, that,
should the siege continue and any of the Indians be slain, in the event of
an eventual surrender it would be impossible for the British commander to
prevent a general massacre, and consented to a capitulation, by which the
whole garrison became prisoners of war. Major Sherburne approached on the
day following, without having received any information of the change of
circumstances until within four miles of the post, where, on the 20th of
May, he was attacked by the Indians, and after a sharp conflict compelled
to surrender at discretion. No sooner had Arnold received information of
these events, than he marched against the foe, then at Vaudreuil, at the
head of seven hundred men, with a view of chastising the enemy and
recovering the prisoners. "When preparing for an engagement, he received
a flag accompanied by Major Sherburne, giving him the most positive
assurances that if he persisted in his design, it would be entirely out
of the power of Captain Forster to prevent his savages from pursuing their
horrid customs, and disencumbering themselves of their prisoners by
putting every man to death. This massacre was already threatened, and
Major Sherburne confirmed the information. Under the influence of this
threat, Arnold desisted from his purpose, and consented to a cartel, by
which the prisoners were delivered up to him; he agreeing, among other
things, not only to deliver as many British soldiers in exchange for
them, but also that they should immediately return to their homes." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Marshall's Life of Washington.
This disaster, or, perhaps, more correctly speaking, the conduct of the
officers to whose cowardice it was imputed, was a source of deep
mortification to General Washington, and he gave utterance to his vexation
in several letters written soon afterward. Nor was Butterfield alone
blamed--Colonel Bedell being placed in the same category of
condemnation. [FN] The Commander-in-Chief was likewise incensed at the
conduct of Captain Forster, in resorting to deceptive and very
unjustifiable means, to procure hostages for ratifying a treaty of
exchange.
* * * * *
[FN] "If the accounts of Colonel Bedell's and Major Butterfield's conduct
be true, they have certainly acted a part deserving the most exemplary
notice. I hope you will take proper measures, and have good courts
appointed to bring them, and every other officer, that has been, or shall
be, guilty of misconduct, to trial; that they may be punished according
to their offences. Our misfortunes at the Cedars were occasioned, as it
is said, entirely by their base and cowardly behavior, and cannot be
ascribed to any other cause."--_Letter of Washington to General Schuyler,
June_ 10, 1776.
The name of Captain Brant is not mentioned in any of the books,
in connexion with these transactions at the Cedars. There is positive
evidence, however, that he was not only there, but that he exerted himself
efficiently after the surrender of Major Sherburne, to control the Indians
and prevent the massacre of the prisoners. Among these latter, was Captain
John McKinstry, [FN-1] who commanded a company on that occasion. From his
account of the battle, Major Sherburne fell into an ambuscade, and the
fighting was severe. Captain McKinstry's command was engaged sharply with
a body of Indians, before whom his troops were several times compelled to
retire. Rallying, however, with spirit, the Indians were repeatedly driven
back in turn; and the respective parties were thus successively driven by
each other, back and forth, according to the doubtful and varying fortunes
of the hour, until the Americans were overpowered by numbers, and
compelled to surrender; Captain McKinstry, being wounded, fell by the side
of a tree, and was there taken. He subsequently ascertained that he had
been marked as a victim by the Indians, who had actually made the usual
preparations for putting him to death by the torture of fire; and that he
was rescued by the personal exertions of Captain Brant, who, in connexion
with some humane English officers, made up a purse, and purchased an ox,
which the Indians roasted for their carousal instead of the gallant
prisoner. Captain McKinstry was treated with kindness while a prisoner,
and contracted an intimacy with Brant which continued until the
chieftain's death. Brant never visited the Hudson, after the Revolution,
without spending a few days with Colonel McKinstry at the Manor; [FN-2]
and at the time of his last visit, about the year 1805, in company with
his friend, who, like himself, was a member of the brotherhood, he
attended the Freemason's Lodge in the city of Hudson, where his presence
attracted great attention.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Late Colonel McKinstry, of Livingston's Manor.
[FN-2] Letter to the author, from George McKinstry, Esq. of Claverack.
But to return. The conduct of Major Butterfield at the Cedars was likewise
severely denounced in Congress, and his capitulation pronounced by
resolution "a shameful surrender." Due credit was at the same time awarded
to Major Sherburne, for the bravery displayed by himself and his troops,
who only "surrendered at last on absolute necessity." Notwithstanding,
moreover, the interposition of Captain Brant to prevent a massacre, and
the rescue of Captain McKinstry, such outrages were reported to Congress
as to call forth a series of indignant resolutions upon the subject. In
the preamble to these resolutions, it was stated that, immediately after
the surrender, the prisoners were delivered over to the Indians; their
baggage plundered, their clothes taken from them, and several of their
number killed; and one of them, who had only been wounded, roasted alive.
From the circumstance that Captain McKinstry had been wounded, and
designated for the torture, though rescued, as we have already seen, by
Captain Brant, it is quite probable that Congress was misinformed as to
the actual consummation of such a purpose in the person of any prisoner.
Assuming the fact, however, the enemy's conduct was denounced in the
strongest terms--Congress asserting the right of demanding indemnification
for the wrongs inflicted upon the prisoners in their persons and property;
and in regard to the murder of prisoners by the Indians, requiring that
the authors of those murders be delivered into their hands for condign
punishment, as a condition precedent to an exchange of prisoners. In
regard to the torturing of prisoners, a resolution was also adopted,
denouncing, "as the sole means of stopping the progress of human
butchery," a retaliation of punishment, of the same kind and degree, to
be inflicted upon a like number of prisoners of the enemy, in every case
of outrage thereafter to occur.
These resolutions were, in effect, a refusal to confirm the treaty for
the exchange of prisoners entered into by General Arnold, and were so
considered by the commanding officers in Canada. The consequence was,
the indulgence of much crimination and recrimination, on the part both
of the American and British commanders. Indeed, complaints of the cruel
treatment of the prisoners falling into their hands had been preferred
against the enemy several months before, particularly in the case of
Colonel Ethan Allen and his fellow-captives. Allen had been captured by
General Prescott, by whom, in addition to other indignities, he had been
heavily ironed, and sent like a common felon to England, Prescott was
afterward taken by the Americans and treated with considerable rigor,
in retaliation for the ill-usage of Allen. This produced a remonstrance
from General Howe, who, on being reminded of the case of Allen, disclaimed
any responsibility in regard to that transaction, inasmuch as it was an
occurrence in a district beyond the boundaries of his particular command.
The affair of the Cedars excited the strongest feelings of indignation,
not only in Congress and among the people, but in the army. "The inhuman
treatment of the whole, and murder of part, of our people, was certainly
a flagrant violation of that faith, which ought to beheld sacred by all
civilized nations, and was founded in the most savage barbarity." [FN-1]
Soon afterward the account was in part balanced, by a diabolical outrage
committed by an American scouting party in the neighborhood of St. John's.
It was the deliberate assassination, by the lieutenant at the head of the
party, of Brigadier-General Gordon of the British army. General Gordon
was riding alone, and in full uniform, from Laprairie to St. John's. The
lieutenant and his party were in ambush within the British lines, and as
the General passed, the former wantonly and barbarously shot him through
the body. Although the wound was mortal, the General rode on, and speedily
reached St. John's, where he expired. [FN-2] This painful incident aroused
as warm a burst of indignation among the British officers, as the affair
of the Cedars had done among the Americans. General Carleton availed
himself of the occurrence to issue a violent, though artful proclamation,
which was pronounced by Washington, in a letter to the President of
Congress, to be "highly unbecoming the character of a soldier and
gentleman." Although the prisoners were not exchanged, under the
arrangement made with Arnold, yet Carleton set the American captives at
liberty, on condition of their returning to their own homes, there to
remain as prisoners. Each of the prisoners was furnished with a copy of
his insidious proclamation.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter of Washington to the President of Congress, July 15, 1776.
[FN-2] Note in vol. iv. of Sparks's Life and Correspondence of
Washington.
It was not supposed that any considerable numbers of the Indians of the
Six Nations participated in the battle of the Cedars, other than the
Mohawks and their kindred tribe, the Caughnawagas, or the Seven Nations
of Canada, as they chose to call themselves. Indeed, the Six Nations were
at that stage of the contest far from being unanimous in opposition to the
Colonies; and at the very time of these occurrences, a deputation from
four of the nations was at Philadelphia, on a peaceable mission to
Congress. The arrival of this deputation was announced to that assembly
on the 24th of May. On the 11th of June they were presented to the House,
preparatory to their departure, and addressed by the President as
follows:--
"Brothers: We hope the friendship that is between you and us will be firm,
and continue as long as the sun shall shine and the waters run, that we
and you may be as one people, and have but one heart, and be kind to one
another as brethren.
"Brothers: The King of Great Britain, hearkening to the evil counsel of
some of his foolish young men, is angry with us, because we will not let
him take away from us our land, and all that we have, and give it to them;
and because we will not do every thing that he bids us; and hath hindered
his people from bringing goods to us, but we have made provision for
getting such a quantity of them, that we hope we shall be able to supply
your wants as formerly.
"Brothers: We shall order all our warriors and young men not to hurt you
or any of your kindred; and we hope you will not suffer any of your young
men to join with our enemies, or to do any wrong to us, that nothing may
happen to make any quarrel between us.
"Brothers: We desire you to accept a few necessaries, which we present
you with, as tokens of our good-will toward you."
The presents having been delivered, the Indian deputies expressed a desire
to give a name to the President of Congress. Permission for that purpose
having been granted, a chief of the Onondagas arose, and saluted the
President by the name of Ka-ran-dua-an, or the _Great Tree_; by which name
John Hancock was afterward known among the Six Nations.
Although it would appear upon the surface of these resolutions, that
Congress was yet persevering in the humane policy of keeping the Indians
in a state of neutrality, yet candor and truth require a different record.
Much as sound moralists had condemned the employment of this species of
force in civilized warfare, and strongly as Congress had exerted its
influence the preceding year to prevent the Indians from taking the field
in behalf of either of the combatants, that policy was abandoned. On the
25th of May, 1776, the Congress resolved "that it was highly expedient to
engage the Indians in the service of the United Colonies;" and they
empowered the Commander-in-Chief to employ, in Canada and elsewhere, a
number not exceeding two thousand, offering them "a reward of one hundred
dollars for every commissioned officer, and thirty dollars for every
private soldier of the King's troops, that they should take prisoner in
the Indian country, or on the frontiers of these Colonies." The Congress
also authorized General Washington to employ the Indians of Penobscot,
St. John's, and Nova Scotia, who had proffered their services, and were
to receive the same pay as the Continental soldiers. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Sparks's Life and Cor. of Washington, vol. iv, Appendix. [Mr.
Sparks seems to have fallen into an error as to the immediate motive of
Congress in changing its Indian policy at this time. He leaves his
readers to infer, that the measure was one of retaliation for the conduct
of the British and Indians at the Cedars. But such could not have been
the fact. The battle of the Cedars was fought on the 20th of May, and
these resolutions were passed on the 25th--before the news, in those
days, could possibly have reached Philadelphia.]
Whether any of those Eastern Indians were ever actually engaged in the
American service, is not known. In regard to the employment of the
Northern Indians, Washington forthwith entered into a correspondence with
General Schuyler upon the subject, and pressed him to carry the
resolutions into effect. The latter, however, was averse to the
measure--as much so as at the first. He disliked to employ such a force
under any circumstances, contending that they were too fickle and
uncertain to allow any well-founded reliance to be placed upon them at
the moment of emergency. At that particular conjuncture, especially when
our troops, broken and dispersed, were flying like fugitives from Canada,
he thought the chances of obtaining Indian auxiliaries exceedingly
slender; and as to the number prescribed, (two thousand,) the General
intimated in one of his letters to the Commander-in-Chief, that it would
have been well if Congress had condescended to inform him where so many
Indian warriors, not already in the service of the enemy, were to be
found. In short, General Schuyler's opinion was correct from the
beginning, that the Colonies could expect no essential aid from the
Indians; and whatever aid they might receive, would be sure to cost more
than it would come to. So the event proved. But, although the British
profited most by the employment of the Indians, they are not alone to
blame for using them. So far, certainly, as principle and intention are
concerned, the Americans are equitably entitled to a due share of the
censure. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Sparks.
In recurring to coincident events transpiring in other parts of the
country, it must be remarked, that the Commander-in-Chief was often placed
in circumstances not the most promising. On his first arrival at the camp
before Boston, the preceding year, he had found only "the materials for
a good army"--not the organized army itself. The troops were mostly
undisciplined; and having taken arms to fight for liberty, it was no easy
matter to bring them into those habits of subordination, which necessarily
render a soldier a mere machine to be moved at the will of his commander.
The first object of General Washington, therefore, was to bring the troops
into a state of discipline. But another difficulty presented itself in the
fact, that, owing to the short periods of enlistment, the times of service
of the greater portion of the army were to expire in November and
December. To which was added the embarrassing discovery, that all the
powder at his command was barely sufficient to supply nine rounds of
cartridges per man. There was, moreover, a general want of camp equipage
and clothing, and indeed of every thing necessary alike to the comfort
and the efficiency of an army. But Heaven, in its mercy, seemed to have
devolved the command upon the man of all others best calculated to meet
the emergency and overcome it. His destitution of ammunition was artfully
and effectually concealed from the enemy; and although, on the discharge
of those of his troops who would not re-enlist, at the close of December,
(1775,) he had no more than 9650 men left, he yet contrived to sustain
himself and keep the enemy beleaguered in Boston during the whole winter.
"It is not in the pages of history, perhaps," he wrote to Congress, "to
furnish a case like ours. To maintain a post within musket shot of the
enemy for six months together, without _amunition_, and at the same time
to disband one army and recruit another, within that distance of twenty
odd British regiments, is more, probably, than was ever attempted." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Holmes's Annals.
The Continental Congress had been induced by the influence of the
Commander-in-chief to resolve upon the raising of an army of 75,000 men,
to be enlisted for the term of three years, or during the war. It was not
until January, however, that they could be induced to offer bounties for
enlistments; and even then the ranks were not rapidly filled. At the
close of February, the whole effective force of the Americans was no more
than 14,000 men, exclusive of 6000 of the Massachusetts militia. An
assault upon Boston had been meditated in February by General Washington;
but the opinion of his principal officers, as expressed in a council of
war, being strongly against such a movement, the enterprize was
reluctantly abandoned. Wearied by inaction, the next project of the
American commander was to take possession of Dorchester Heights--a
position commanding the town of Boston, the occupation of which would
compel General Howe either to attempt its dispossession by the Americans,
or to evacuate the town. The enterprize was so well planned, as to be
executed by General Thomas with complete and brilliant success, on the
night of the 4th of March. Having diverted the attention of the enemy by
a bombardment of his lines in another direction, the movement was
unperceived. The weather being mild, the American troops were enabled to
labor with energy in throwing up defences, which, on the following
morning, struck the General of the British army with astonishment, from
their sudden appearance and their magnitude. A heavy atmosphere
contributed to magnify the height of the works, and increase the wonder
of the foe. Sir William Howe made immediate preparations to drive the
Americans from their new, and, to him, dangerous position; for which
purpose two thousand choice troops were embarked to cross over the same
evening; but a severe tempest frustrated his design. On the following
morning General Howe convened a council of war, at which it was resolved
to evacuate the town as soon as possible. This determination was carried
into execution on the 17th, by the embarkation of the whole British army,
and the sailing of the fleet--first to Halifax--but ultimately, as the
event proved, for New-York. On the same day General Washington entered
Boston in triumph, and was hailed by the universal acclaim of the people
as their deliverer. Thus was the town which first raised the standard of
rebellion, the first to rejoice at the final retreat of its oppressors.
Nor was it the fortune of the invaders ever to set foot there again.
In the North, the operations of the Provincial army had been far less
propitious. The conquest of Canada was a favorite project with Congress,
and every possible effort within the slender means of the Colonies was
made to that end. But the fall of Montgomery had thrown a gloom over the
enterprise which was never dissipated. Colonel, now General Arnold, had
maintained himself before Quebec during the winter, and until late in the
spring, with but a handful of men--numbering, at one time, not more than
five hundred effectives. But the reinforcements were slow in arriving;
the Canadians, from a variety of causes--the principal of which, beyond
doubt, was bad treatment from an undisciplined soldiery--became less
friendly to the Americans than at first, notwithstanding the mission of
Messrs. Franklin, Chase, and Carroll, accompanied by a Catholic priest,
to conciliate them; and on the arrival of General Wooster at his quarters,
about the 1st of April, Arnold obtained leave of absence, and took the
command at Montreal. General Thomas, who had been assigned to the command
of the army in Canada, after the exploit of Gloucester Heights, arrived
before Quebec on the 1st of May, where he found an army of nineteen
hundred men, less than one thousand of whom were effective, and three
hundred of these, being entitled to their discharge, refused to perform
duty. They had but one hundred and fifty barrels of powder, and six days'
provisions. Well knowing that with the opening of the navigation. Sir
Guy Carleton's expected reinforcements would arrive, the circumstances
in which he was placed were altogether so unpromising, that General
Thomas, with the concurrence of a council of war, determined to raise the
siege on the 5th of May, and assume a more eligible position farther up
the river. It was the intention of the American commander to remove the
sick to Three Rivers; but on the 6th, before the arrangements for
retreating were all concerted, a British fleet, with reinforcements,
arrived. General Carleton immediately made a sortie at the head of one
thousand men; to oppose whom, General Thomas had not more than three
hundred available troops. No other course remained, therefore, but a
precipitate retreat for all who could get away--leaving the sick and the
military stores to the enemy. General Thomas led his little band back to
the mouth of the Sorel, where he was seized with the small-pox, and died.
Large reinforcements joined the fugitive army at that place, under General
Sullivan. Before General Carleton moved from Quebec, an expedition was
undertaken from Sorel to the Three Rivers, against General Frasier, under
the direction of General Thompson and Colonel St. Clair. It was
unsuccessful; from which time disaster followed disaster, until, owing
to the combined causes of defeat, sickness, and insubordination, the
Americans found themselves, on the 18th of June, driven entirely out of
Canada; the British army following so closely upon their heels, as
immediately to occupy the different posts as they were successively
evacuated.
The Americans, however, still retained the control of Lake Champlain, and
occupied the fortifications upon its shores, the command of which had now
been assigned by Congress to General Gates, with great and manifest
injustice toward General Schuyler, [FN-1] Gates at first established his
head-quarters at Crown Point, but soon afterward withdrew his forces from
that post, and fell back upon Ticonderoga. This step was taken by the
advice and concurrence of a board of general officers, but contrary to the
wishes of the field officers. The Commander-in-chief was exceedingly
dissatisfied with this movement of Gates, believing that the
relinquishment of that post, in its consequences, would be equivalent to
an abandonment of Lakes George and Champlain, and all the advantages to
be derived therefrom. [FN-2] In reply to the concern that had been
expressed by Washington on the occasion. General Gates contended that
Crown Point was untenable with the forces then under his command, nor
could it be successfully defended even with the aid of the expected
reinforcements. These reinforcements, moreover, the General added, could
not be allowed to approach nearer to Crown Point than Skenesborough,
since "it would be only heaping one hospital upon another." [FN-3] The
annals of disastrous war scarce present a more deplorable picture than
that exhibited by the Americans escaping from Canada. In addition to the
small pox, the army had been afflicted by other diseases, generated by
exposure, destitution, and laxity of discipline. Fleets of boats came up
the lake, freighted with the sick and dying; and even those reported from
day to day fit for duty, presented but the appearance of a haggard
skeleton of an army. "Every thing about this army," said General Gates
in the letter already cited, "is infected with the pestilence; the
clothes, the blankets, the air, and the ground they walk upon. To put
this evil from us, a general hospital is established at Fort George, [FN-4]
where there are now between two and three thousand sick, and where every
infected person is immediately sent. But this care and caution have not
effectually destroyed the disease here; it is, notwithstanding,
continually breaking out." [FN-5]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The appointment of Gates to the command of this department, was
from the first unacceptable to the officers of New-York, nor was his own
course very conciliatory toward them. In the course of the present
Summer, it was reported to Lieutenant-Colonel Gansevoort, a brave and
deservedly popular officer, belonging to the regiment of Colonel Van
Schaick, and then in command of Fort George at the head of the lake of
that name, that the General had spoken disrespectfully of that regiment,
and also of the regiments of Colonels Wynkoop and Fisher. His letters to
Col. Gansevoort were unnecessarily harsh and pragmatical, so much so as
justly to give offence. Irritated by such treatment, Gansevoort wrote a
spirited letter to Gates, referring to several matters in which he had
been aggrieved by the letters and conversation of that officer. He
requested a Court of Inquiry, and avowed his determination, with the
leave of Gen. Schuyler, to relinquish the command of the post.--_MS.
letters of Gates and Col. Gansevoort in the author's possession._
[FN-2] Letter of Washington to Gen. Gates, July 19, 1776.
[FN-3] Letter of Gen. Gates to Washington in reply, July 28. The small
pox, which had been so fatal to the troops in Canada, had now broken out
at Crown Point and Ticonderoga--the pestilence having been purposely
introduced by a villain calling himself Doctor Barker. This fact is
stated in a letter from the Adjutant-General of the Northern Department
to Colonel Gansevoort, dated from Ticonderoga, July 24. "The villain,"
says the letter, "by private inoculations in the army, has caused, in
a great degree, the misery to which we are reduced by that infectious
disorder." Barker was arrested, and sent to Albany.--_MS. letter of
Colonel Trumbull to Col. Gansevoort._
[FN-4] At the head of Lake George.
[FN-5] Sparks.
Such was the deplorable condition in which an army, so recently
victorious, had been driven back from what was in fact a conquered
country, lost entirely through mismanagement, and the want of an army upon
the basis of permanent enlistment. Added to which, was another difficulty
lying beneath the surface. Many prisoners had fallen into the hands of the
enemy at Quebec and during the subsequent retreat. Toward all these, the
conduct of Sir Guy Carleton had been most politic. They had been treated
with the greatest care and humanity, and so much of the subtle poison
of flattery, mingled with kindness, had been poured into their ears, that
their return on parole, which was presently allowed by the British
commander, was regarded with apprehension. [FN-1] On one occasion, a large
number of prisoners arriving at Crown Point from St. John's, in a vessel
provided by Sir Guy Carleton, were visited, before landing, by Colonel
John Trumbull, the Adjutant-General for the Northern Department. From the
feelings they manifested, and the tenor of their conversation, Colonel
Trumbull saw at once that it would not be prudent to allow them to land,
or hold the least intercourse with the suffering troops of the garrison.
He immediately reported the fact to the General, and advised that the said
prisoners should be sent directly forward to Skenesborough, and despatched
to their respective homes, without allowing them to mingle with the
troops at that place. The suggestion was adopted. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] "Although General Carleton had acquiesced in the harsh treatment
of Ethan Allen, yet the prisoners who fell into his hands met with usage
in every respect as good as that of the British soldiers, except in the
necessary restraints of confinement. This was declared in a letter to
Washington from Major Meigs, when he returned on his parole the Summer
following. The soldiers were confined in the Jesuits' College, and the
officers in the Seminary. The latter, after the siege was raised, had
permission to walk in a large garden adjoining their quarters. Major
Meigs left three hundred prisoners in Quebec about the middle of May.
When they were released for exchange, General Carleton supplied them with
articles of clothing, in which they were deficient. It was said, that
when some of his officers spoke to him of this act, as an unusual degree
of lenity toward prisoners of war, he replied,--'Since we have tried in
vain to make them acknowledge us as brothers, let us at least send them
away disposed to regard us as first cousins.' Having been informed that
many persons suffering from wounds and various disorders were concealed
in the woods and obscure places, fearing that if they appeared openly
they would be seized as prisoners and severely treated; he issued a
proclamation commanding the militia officers to search for such persons,
bring them to the general hospital, and procure for them all necessary
relief at the public charge. He also invited all such persons to come
forward voluntarily, and receive the assistance they needed; assuring
them, 'that as soon as their health should be restored, they should have
free liberty to return to their respective provinces.'"--_Sparks,_
[FN-2] Conversations of the author with the venerable Colonel Trumbull,
while these pages were under revision.
Nor were the difficulties enumerated, all which the officers had to
encounter. The spirit of disaffection was far more extensive than those
who are left to contemplate the scenes through which their fathers passed,
and the discouragements against which they were compelled to struggle,
have been wont to suppose. The burden of many of General Schuyler's
letters, and also the letters of other officers, during the whole of this
season, was the frequency of desertions to the ranks of the enemy.
Glancing for a moment at the situation of affairs at the south, the gloom
of the picture is somewhat relieved. The expedition of General Clinton
and Sir Peter Parker, for the reduction of Charleston, had signally
failed. The defence of the fort bearing his own name, by Colonel Moultrie,
was one of the most gallant exploits of the whole contest, and served to
lighten the despondency that had been produced by the disasters we have
been sketching at the north. It was at this place that the celebrated
Sergeant Jasper signalized himself, when the flag-staff was shot away, by
leaping from the parapet of the fort upon the beach, seizing the flag,
and, amid the incessant firing of the fleet, mounting, and again placing
it on the rampart. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Garden's Anecdotes of the American Revolution.
But the grand event of the year, the transactions of which are now under
review, was the Declaration of Independence, a motion for which was
submitted in Congress by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, on the 7th of
June, and the Declaration itself solemnly adopted on the 4th of July.
This measure at once cut off all hope of reconciliation with the parent
country, and all prospect of a termination of the war, unless by the
complete triumph in arms of one party or the other. Such a declaration
was an event not originally anticipated, even if desired, by the mass of
the people; although it had unquestionably, and from the first, entered
into the calculations of the daring master spirits of the movement in
Boston. It had furthermore been greatly accelerated by the conduct of the
British government itself, during the preceding session of Parliament,
by act of which the Americans had been declared out of the Royal
protection; so widely mistaken had been the Congress of the preceding
year, which had adjourned with strong hopes that the differences between
the two countries would soon be adjusted to their mutual satisfaction. [FN]
At the same time the parent government was putting forth its utmost
energies to crush the Colonies at a blow. For this purpose, 25,000 British
troops were to be employed, in addition to 17,000 German mercenaries
_purchased_ from the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, the Duke of Brunswick, and
the Count of Hanaa. These troops, together with the Canadian recruits,
the American loyalists, and the Indians, it was intended should constitute
an invading force of 55,000 men. With such preparations in prospect
against them, it was no time for inactivity on the part of the Colonists;
and having by the Declaration thrown away the scabbard of the sword that
had been drawn fifteen months before, there was no alternative but
resistance to the end.
* * * * *
[FN] Marshall's Life of Washington, Vol. i, Chap. iv.
Recurring, for a brief space, to the history proper of the Mohawk Valley,
it may be assumed, in behalf of its patriotic population, that the new
attitude of the country was neither unexpected nor unwelcome. On the
contrary, having been among the earliest to propose a separation, the
great act of the 4th of July was nowhere more cordially received than by
the Whigs of Tryon County. Nor did they falter in their purposes of
sustaining the cause in which the country had embarked, amid all the
disasters of the early part of the season or those that followed. In
their own section of country, however, the flight of Sir John Johnson and
his retainers was the only important incident occurring during that
memorable year. Still, there was no relaxation of vigilance, or of
preparation for the worst, should the storm of war, so long muttering in
the distance, actually break upon those settlements. The frontiers were
at all times liable to the sudden irruptions of savages, and it was
necessary to keep scouting parties continually upon the alert. Cherry
Valley being the principal settlement south of the Mohawk, and lying
directly in the line of communication between the Mohawk Castles and the
Indian post at Oghkwaga, [FN-1] was particularly exposed. Early in the
present Summer, therefore, a company of rangers was organized under the
command of Captain Robert McKean. The public service requiring the
Captain and his little corps elsewhere, the inhabitants strongly
remonstrated with the Committee of Safety against the removal of that
corps, but without effect. They next addressed themselves to the
Provincial Congress of New-York, and by a forcible and eloquent appeal,
obtained another company of rangers to be stationed among them under the
command of Captain Winn. [FN-2] These papers were written with ability,
and with the energy of men in earnest. They had even then received,
through their missionaries, intimations that Sir John Johnson and Colonel
John Butler were instigating the Indians to make a descent upon them; and
already were the scattered settlers in other and newer locations coming
in to Cherry Valley for protection. Apprehending, also, sudden irruptions
of scalping parties, the aged, and such as from other causes were exempt
from military service, now organized themselves into a company for the
protection of the settlement.
* * * * *
[FN-1] As with most other Indian names, there is difficulty respecting
the correct orthography of this place. It is spelt _Oquaga, Oghquaga,_
and sometimes _Oneaquaga._ Brant and John Norton, however, were wont to
spell it _Oghkwaga._ I have adopted the latter method, as supported by
the best authorities.--_Author._
[FN-2] The names of the Cherry Valley Committee who took the lead in
these matters, were, John Moore, Samuel Clyde, Samuel Campbell, Samuel
Dunlop, James Scott, Robert Wells, James Richey, and James Moore.
In the course of the season General Schuyler was directed by Congress to
cause Fort Stanwix to be strengthened, and other fortifications to be
erected at proper places along the Mohawk river. Colonels Van Schaick
and Dayton had previously been stationed in Tryon County with detachments
of regular troops--the former at Johnstown and the latter at German
Flats. Upon Colonel Dayton was imposed the duty of carrying forward the
works at Fort Stanwix, for which purpose the Tryon County militia were
ordered to his assistance. The site of that military defence had early
been improved, as one of the most important inland posts of the Colonies.
It was originally built early in 1758, during the French war of 1755--61,
by General Stanwix, for the purpose of commanding the carrying-place
between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, leading into the Oneida Lake,
and thence into Lake Ontario, by the Oswego river. [FN-1] There were
several other fortifications at different points of the narrow strip of
land between the two streams already mentioned, such as Fort Bull and
Fort Newport; the former commanding the Creek, about three miles distant.
These were strong redoubts; but Fort Stanwix was comparatively a
formidable work, having its bomb-proofs, its sallyport, and a covered way
to the spring brook. Altogether these works formed an ample defence of the
key from Upper Canada to the Mohawk Valley, and were likewise of signal
service for the protection they afforded to the Indian trade. But,
although the principal fortress had been erected at the great
expense--enormous in those times--of 266,400 dollars, yet the commencement
of the war of the Revolution found the whole in ruins. Colonel Dayton
appears to have made but little progress in re-building the fort, since
it will be found that other officers had the works in charge early in the
following year, and they were far from complete when subsequently invested
by the motley forces of General St. Leger. Colonel Dayton, however,
thought proper to change its name in honor of the General commanding the
Northern department, and it was subsequently known as Fort Schuyler during
the residue of the war. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The reconstruction of this work was early pointed out, and
strongly urged upon General Schuyler, by Washington.
[FN-2] There was another Fort Schuyler, built on the present site of
Utica during the old French war, and named thus in honor of Colonel
Schuyler, an uncle of General Philip Schuyler of the Revolution. The two
are often confounded in history, and the change in the name of Fort
Stanwix was alike unnecessary and unwise.
A rapid glance at the other warlike events of the season will close the
history of the year. Anticipating, on the evacuation of Boston by General
Howe, that his next point of attack would be New-York, General Lee was
detached by the Commander-in-chief with a portion of the army, to put
Long Island and the harbor of New-York in a posture of defence. Washington
followed soon afterward himself, and established his head-quarters in the
city. Having been joined by his brother, Lord Howe, as commander of the
fleet at Halifax, General, afterward Sir William Howe, with his
reinforcements, arrived off Sandy Hook--the latter on the 25th of June
and the former on the 12th of July. General Clinton arriving at about the
same time from the unsuccessful enterprise against Charleston, with
Admiral Hotham, the combined forces of the enemy now amounted to about
24,000 men, including the Hessians.
Lord and Sir William Howe were clothed with powers, as Commissioners, to
treat with the Colonies for a reconciliation. Their pacific errand was
proclaimed before hostilities were recommenced, and promises of pardon
were proffered to all who would avail themselves of the Royal clemency,
and return to their allegiance and duty. Their proposals, however, were
considered too exceptionable, both in matter and form, to receive the
least attention.
On the 22d of August the British army was landed upon Long Island, at
Gravesend. The American army at this time consisting of 15,000 men, under
General Sullivan, was encamped in the neighborhood of Brooklyn. The battle
of Long Island, which was severely, though ineffectually, contested by
the American forces under Sullivan and Lord Stirling, was fought on the
27th of August. In this action, the loss of the enemy was differently
reported at from 300 to 450. The loss of the Americans was far more
considerable. General Washington admitted it to be 1000, but is believed
only to have referred to the loss of the regular troops. General Howe
claimed 1097 prisoners, among whom were Generals Sullivan, Stirling,
and Woodhull. On the 30th, the Americans effected a masterly retreat
across the East river to New-York. [FN-1] The enemy made immediate
dispositions for attacking New-York; and so prompt and skillful were his
movements, that, in a council of general officers, an evacuation forthwith
was deemed the only means of saving the army. The British fleet was
divided into two squadrons, one of which entered the East and the other
the North river. Under cover of the former, Sir Henry Clinton crossed from
Long Island, and landed at Kipp's Bay, with such celerity that the
Americans fled in disorder. Indeed, the evacuation resembled rather a
flight than a retreat; all the heavy artillery, military stores, baggage,
and provisions, falling into the hands of the enemy. A large portion of
the American forces, at that time, consisted of militia, the conduct of
which was scandalous beyond endurance. They deserted, not only in small
numbers, but in companies and squadrons, whenever they could; and their
conduct in the face of the enemy, or rather when running from the faces
of the enemy, was most cowardly. So disorderly was their demeanor, and so
like poltroons did they behave when flying from Sir Henry Clinton, that
even Washington himself lost his patience, and was excited to a degree of
hot exasperation. In writing from Harlem Heights to a friend. General
Greene said that two brigades of militia ran away from about fifty men,
leaving the Commander-in-chief on the ground within eighty yards of the
enemy, so vexed with the conduct of his troops, that he sought death
rather than life. [FN-2] His attempts to stop them were fruitless. He drew
his sword, and threatened to run them through, and cocked and snapped his
pistols. [FN-3] But all his exertions were to no purpose. In a letter upon
the subject of this infamous conduct of the militia, to the President of
Congress, the Commander-in-chief declared that, were he called to give
his opinion upon oath, he should say that the militia did more injury to
the service than good.
* * * * *
[FN-1] During the operations upon Long Island and New-York, Captain
Brant contrived to pass from Canada and join the King's forces. He was
with Governor Tryon at Flatbush. The late Mr. John Watts, a
brother-in-law of Sir John Johnson, used to speak of taking a walk with
Gov. Tryon, Colonel Asgill, and Brant, through an orchard in that
village. During their stroll, Brant plucked a crude crab-apple from a
tree, which, on tasting it, he threw away--screwing his face, and
exclaiming;--"It's as bitter as a Presbyterian!"
[FN-2] Sparks.
[FN-3] Gordon.
General Greene had strongly urged the destruction of the city by fire--a
measure afterward so effectively adopted by Count Rostopchin, Governor of
the ancient capital of Muscovy, to arrest the career of Napoleon--that
the enemy might be deprived of the advantage of establishing their
winter-quarters therein. His reasons for this measure were sound, and it
ought, doubtless, to have been adopted. Washington was believed to be of
the same opinion, especially as two thirds of the property which it was
proposed to destroy, belonged to undisguised loyalists. But Congress would
not allow the sacrifice; [FN-1] and, on the 15th of September, the city was
in full possession of the enemy--General Washington having retired with
the army to Kingsbridge. From the superiority in numbers and discipline
of the British and German troops, the Americans were unable to meet them
in the field, and the policy of evacuating and retreating was adopted. A
succession of movements, manoeuvres, and engagements, followed in
Westchester, terminating, for the moment, in the drawn battle of White
Plains on the 18th of October. [FN-2] Washington then divided his army,
and crossed into New Jersey with a portion, leaving 7500 troops at North
Castle, under General Lee. The next disaster to the American arms was the
fall of Fort Washington, on the 16th of November, after a brave defence
by Colonel Magaw, notwithstanding the refusal of a portion of his troops
to man the lines. [FN-3] That fortress was attacked with great gallantry
at four points, led by Generals Knyphausen, Matthews, Cornwallis, and Lord
Percy. The regiment of Colonel Rawlings, on that occasion, behaved with
great spirit; nor would Colonel Magaw have given up the post but for the
conduct of the disaffected. [FN-4] After the fall of Fort Washington, Lord
Cornwallis crossed into New Jersey with 6000 men, for the purpose of
attacking Fort Lee, of which General Lee was then in command. But the
means of this skillful officer were not adequate to the defence of the
post against a force of such unequal strength; the people of New Jersey
were at that time intent rather to make terms with the enemy, than to
afford efficient assistance; [FN-5] and the garrison was saved by an
evacuation. General Washington had taken post at Newark; but the fall of
Forts Washington and Lee, together with the diminution of his own strength
by the expiration of the term of service of his men, obliged him to
retreat rapidly across New Jersey to the other side of the Delaware,
followed so closely by Lord Cornwallis, that the van of the pursuers was
often engaged with the rear of the pursued.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Washington's letter to the President of Congress, and also a
letter from Gen. Greene.--Vide Sparks.
[FN-2] The Stockbridge Indians were engaged with the Americans in this
battle. They fought bravely, and suffered severely.
[FN-3] Letter of Washington to his brother, John Augustine Washington,
dated from Hackensack, Nov. 19, 1776.
[FN-4] Idem.
[FN-5] "The conduct of the Jerseys has been most infamous. Instead of
turning out to defend their country and affording aid to our army, they
are making their submissions as fast as they can. If the Jerseys had
given us any support, we might have made a stand at Hackensack, and after
that at Brunswick; but the few militia that were in arms disbanded
themselves, and left the poor remains of an army to make the best we
could of it."--_Letter of Washington to his brother, John Augustine
Washington, Nov. 18, 1776._
In addition to this succession of disasters, Sir Guy Carleton had appeared
upon Lake Champlain with a flotilla, superior to that of the Americans
under General Arnold, and which seemed to have been called into existence
as if by enchantment. Two naval engagements followed, on the 11th and
13th of October, contested with undaunted bravery, [FN-1] but resulting
in the defeat of Arnold, the annihilation of his flotilla, and the
possession of the Lake and Crown Point by the foe. Early in December
Rhode Island also fell into his hands. The forces of the
Commander-in-chief at the same time numbered only from two to three
thousand men; and scarcely a new recruit supplied the places of those
whose terms of service were expiring. And even those recruits that were
furnished, were so badly supplied with officers, as almost to extinguish
the hope of forming an army from which any efficient services were to be
expected. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Gen. Gates wrote to Col. Ten Eyck, from Ticonderoga, on the 13th
of October--"The engagement began on the 11th, and continues to this day.
The enemy's fleet is much superior to ours, and we maintain a running
fight. All our officers behave with the greatest spirit."--_MS. letter
in the author's possession._
[FN-2] "The different States, without regard to the qualifications of
an officer, quarreling about the appointments, and nominating such as
are not fit to be shoe-blacks, from the local attachments of this or
that member of Assembly."--_Letter from Washington to his brother, 19th
November, 1776._
Worse than all, a spirit of disaffection was rife in the States of
New-York and New Jersey, which not only thwarted the purposes of the
Commander-in-chief, but threatened the most lamentable consequences to
the cause. Although there were many stanch Whigs in Albany and its
vicinity, there were many vigilant loyalists in that region, who
continued to keep in correspondence with the enemy during nearly the
whole contest. In the Summer of this year. General Schuyler had detected
a dangerous plot in the neighborhood of Albany, and apprehended some of
the ringleaders. During the operations of the army in the Autumn, in
New-York and its neighborhood, it was only with the utmost difficulty
that large portions of the fluctuating army could be kept in the line of
duty, while other large portions either went off in masses, or proved
unfaithful while they remained. The conduct of the militia at Fort
Washington, has been noted. General Greene wrote on the 5th of November,
that the New-York militia, under Colonel Hawkes Hay, actually refused to
do duty. They said General Howe had promised them peace, liberty, and
safety; and that was all they wanted. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Sparks--Life and Cor. of Washington.
These are but a few of the discouragements under which the
Commander-in-chief was laboring. To borrow his own expressive language
in the private letter to his brother cited in a preceding note, "You
can form no idea of the perplexity of my situation. No man, I believe,
ever had a greater choice of difficulties, and less means to extricate
himself from them." Nevertheless, the last sun of that year did not sink
behind so deep a cloud of gloom as had been anticipated. In the north,
General Carleton, who had occupied Crown Point after the defeat of
Arnold's flotilla, had returned to Canada without attempting any thing
farther; and before the close of the year the Commander-in-chief had the
satisfaction to announce, that instead of imitating the bad example of
others, the Continental regiments from the Eastern States had agreed to
remain six weeks beyond the term of their enlistment. [FN-1] In addition
to which were the bold return of Washington upon Trenton, and his
brilliant victory over the Hessian forces at that place, on the morning
of the 26th of December. "This well-judged and successful enterprise
revived the depressed spirits of the Colonists, and produced an immediate
and happy effect in recruiting the American army." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter from Washington to the commander at Morristown, Dec. 30.
[FN-2] Holmes's Annals.
CHAPTER VIII.
Continuation of movements in New Jersey--Extinguishment of the
council-fire at Onondaga--Tryon County--Colonel Harper's mission to
Oghkwaga--The Harper family--Adventure at the Johnstone
settlement--Capture of Good Peter and his party--Thayendanegea crosses
from Canada to Oghkwaga--Interview with the Rev. Mr. Johnstone--Doubtful
course of Brant--Feverish situation of the people--Expedition of General
Herkimer to Unadilla--Remarkable meeting between Herkimer and
Brant--Meditated act of treachery--Wariness of the chief--Meeting
abruptly terminated--Ended in a storm--Brant draws off to Oswego--Grand
council there--The Indians generally join the Royal standard--Approach
of Brant upon Cherry Valley--How defeated--Death of Lieutenant Wormwood.
Having secured his prisoners on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware,
General Washington established himself at Trenton. But he was not long
permitted its undisturbed possession. Collecting his forces, Cornwallis
advanced rapidly upon the capital of New Jersey, where he arrived on the
2d of January. Some skirmishing ensued toward evening, but both armies
encamped for the night without coming to a general engagement--being
separated only by Assumpinck Creek--and apparently both expecting a battle
in the morning. The force of the enemy, however, was too great to render
it safe for the American Commander-in-chief to hazard an action. By an
adroit and masterly movement, therefore, leaving his fires burning.
General Washington succeeded in getting away unperceived, and throwing
himself into the enemy's rear. The battle and victory of Princeton
followed, and the American army moved to Morristown, while Cornwallis
hastened back to New Brunswick and thence to New-York--the different
detachments of British troops, which had been scattered through New
Jersey, being at all points discomfited.
Returning from this digression to the Indian relations of New-York, there
is one event to be noted, the character of which cannot be explained.
Among the manuscripts preserved in the family of the hero of Oriskany,
[FN-1] is a speech from the Oneida chiefs to Colonel Elmore, the officer
who, at the commencement of the present year, was in the command of Fort
Schuyler, announcing the final extinguishment of the great council-fire
of the Six Nations at Onondaga. As the central nation of the confederacy,
their general councils, time immemorial, had been holden at the Onondaga
Castle, at which, in their own figurative language, their council-fire was
ever kept burning. These councils assembled annually to discuss the
exterior relations, and all matters of national concernment. They were
composed of chiefs delegated from each member of the federative republic,
and sometimes numbered as many as eighty sachems in the assembly. [FN-2]
By what means the event had been accomplished--whether the calamity was
the result of pestilence or war--the speech of the Oneidas does not
inform us; although it announces the fall of a large number of the
Onondaga warriors, in connexion with the catastrophe. Still, the
transaction is veiled in darkness so thick as to baffle investigation.
The following is the speech:--
* * * * *
[FN-1] Colonel, afterward General Herkimer.
[FN-2] "The national council took cognizance of war and peace, of the
affairs of the tributary nations, and of their negotiations with the
French and English Colonies. All their proceedings were conducted with
great deliberation, and were distinguished for order, decorum, and
solemnity. In eloquence, in dignity, and in all the characteristics of
profound policy, they surpassed an assembly of feudal barons, and were
perhaps not far inferior to the great Amphyctionic council of
Greece."--_De Wilt Clinton._
"Fort Schuyler, _Jan._ 19th, 1777.
Speech of the Oneida Chiefs to Col. Elmore.
"Brother: We are sent here by the Oneida chiefs, in conjunction with the
Onondagas. They arrived at our village yesterday. They gave us the
melancholy news that the grand council-fire at Onondaga was extinguished.
We have lost out of their town by death ninety, among whom are three
principal sachems. We, the remaining part of the Onondagas, do now inform
our brethren that there is no longer a council-fire at the capital of the
Six Nations. However, we are determined to use our feeble endeavors to
support peace through the confederate nations. But let this be kept in
mind, that the council-fire is extinguished. It is of importance to our
well-being that this be immediately communicated to General Schuyler, and
likewise to our brothers the Mohawks. In order to effect this, we
deposit this belt with Tekeyanedonhotte, Colonel Elmore, commander at
Fort Schuyler, who is sent here by General Schuyler to transact all
matters relative to peace. We therefore request him to forward this
intelligence in the first place to General Herkimer, desiring him to
communicate it to the Mohawk Castle near to him, and then to Major Fonda,
requesting him to immediately communicate it to the Lower Castle of
Mohawks. Let the belt then be forwarded to General Schuyler, that he may
know that our council-fire is extinguished, and can no longer burn." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Transcribed by the author from the original draught, as furnished
to General Herkimer by Colonel Elmore.
This singular document is worthy of preservation, not only as the
authentic, but as the only account of the occurrence recorded. It contains
a mystery, however, which cannot now be solved. Still, as no belligerent
events are known to have been enacted in the Onondaga country during that
winter, the most plausible conjecture would attribute the mortality
indicated by the speech to some pestilential disorder, which might have
swept over them, as with the Schoharie Canton eighteen months before.
In the County of Tryon, which now demands our chief attention, great
uneasiness was again awakened among the inhabitants, toward the close
of the winter, especially in the remoter settlements south of the Mohawk,
by the reported gathering of the Indians at Oghkwaga. The fact that their
numbers were increasing at that point having been satisfactorily
ascertained, Colonel John Harper, of Harpersfield, was despatched thither
by the Provincial Congress of New-York to ascertain their intentions.
Taking every necessary measure of precaution to guard against surprise,
and to be ready for any emergency, by having the officers of his militia
regiment on the _qui vive,_ Colonel Harper departed upon his mission,
accompanied only by a single white man and one Indian. He arrived on the
27th of February, and was well received by the Indians, who manifested
a perfectly friendly disposition toward himself, and also toward the
settlements. So far from exhibiting any belligerent intentions, they
expressed their sorrow for the troubles of the country, and declared their
determination to take no part in the controversy. Satisfied as to the
sincerity of their professions, although subsequent events proved that
they must have been dissembling, Colonel Harper supplied the means of
a festival, and presented them with an ox, which was roasted for the
occasion. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Annals of Tryon County.
Colonel John Harper was one of four brothers--William, John, Alexander,
and Joseph Harper, who, with eighteen others, planted themselves down
upon a tract of country, in 1768, which was subsequently named
Harpersfield. After his return from this mission, he was for a time in
command of one of the little forts in Schoharie. On one occasion, in
March or April of this year, he took a circuit alone from Schoharie
through the woods to Harpersfield, and thence, when returning, struck
farther to the westward, toward the head waters of the Susquehanna. While
ascending a hill, he suddenly saw a company of Indians approaching. As
they had discovered him, any attempt to fly would have been vain. They
would have shot him down. Having a great coat over his military dress,
he made no attempt to avoid a meeting, and in passing, the Colonel and
the Indians exchanged salutations. In one of the Indians he recognized
Peter, a Mohawk whom he had formerly seen at Oghkwaga. They did not
recognize him, however; but from his manner of speech supposed him to be
a loyalist, and under that impression communicated to him the fact that
their destination was to cut off "the Johnstone settlement," a small
Scotch Colony on the eastern shore of the Susquehanna, near Unadilla,
or Anaquaqua, as that place was sometimes called. Having obtained this
information, he changed his course, and hurrying back to Harpersfield,
collected fifteen resolute men, with whom he gave chase to the marauders.
In addition to their arms, the Colonel caused each man of his little band
to provide himself with two days' provisions and a rope. In the course of
the following night, in descending the valley of the Charlotte river, they
descried the fire where the Indians were encamped. Halting for a while
to refresh and prepare for the contest, the Colonel and his men now stole
upon the foe with the utmost caution. It was almost day-light, and the
Indians were in a profound slumber--their arms being stacked in the
middle of their little encampment. These were carefully removed by Harper
and his party, as a measure of precaution. The moment for action having
arrived, singling each his man, the cords were made ready, and every
Indian, ere he was well awake, found himself bound and in the grasp of
a foe. The sleeping Gulliver was not more thoroughly secured by the
vexatious net-work of the Lilliputians. But Peter and his companions
were not secured by Lilliputian ties, and they had to deal with a
different race of men. When it became light in the morning, Peter
discovered his captor. "Ugh!" he exclaimed--"Colonel Harper!--Why did
I not know you yesterday?" The gallant Colonel proceeded to Albany with
his prisoners, and surrendered them to the commanding officer of the
station. It was a bold and well-executed achievement--and all the better
that it was bloodless.
Although, as we have seen. Colonel Harper had parted from the Indians
at Oghkwaga upon the most amicable terms, yet indications of a different
temper were soon afterward manifested by this fickle people, of which the
movement of Peter, so opportunely discovered and intercepted, was the
first outbreak. Thayendanegea, likewise, appeared among them in the course
of the Spring, having separated from Guy Johnson, between whom and himself
some difficulty had occurred. Intelligence of the chieftain's departure
from Canada, and march across the country to Oghkwaga with a large body
of warriors, was received by the Tryon County Committee early in May from
Fort Schuyler, and communicated to the Provincial Congress by its
chairman, Isaac Paris. Not a little additional uneasiness was also
occasioned at the same time by the spirit discernible among the Tories.
Many of those loyalists, who had taken their departure the preceding year
with Sir John Johnson, had, nevertheless, left their wives and children
in the remote settlements, with whom they were evidently in communication;
while scouting parties, both of Tories and Indians, were hovering on the
northern outskirts of the county. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. documents in the office of the Secretary of State, Albany.
The presence of the crafty chieftain at Oghkwaga did not improve the
pacific disposition of the natives, as will appear in the sequel; although
Brant himself had not thus far committed any act of hostility within the
province of New-York. The fact of his having borne a part in the battle
of the Cedars seems, moreover, not to have been known in the Mohawk
Valley, since they were yet uncertain whether it was his intention to
raise the hatchet in the contest or not.
But these uncertainties were not of long duration. In the month of June,
1777, the chief of the Mohawks ascended the Susquehanna from Oghkwaga to
Unadilla, [FN] attended by seventy or eighty of his warriors, and requested
an interview with the Rev. Mr. Johnstone and the officers of the militia of
the neighborhood. He stated that the object of his visit was to procure
provisions, of which his people were greatly in want. And such were their
necessities, that if peaceable means would not answer, the Indians must
obtain them by force.
* * * * *
[FN] Tunadilla was the Indian name of this place, nor does the propriety
of the alteration appear.
Advantage was taken of the interview to sound the chief as to his future
intentions--whether he was for peace or for war; and his answers were far
less difficult of solution than the riddle of the Sphynx. He complained
of the ill-treatment which, as he alleged, some of the Mohawks, who had
remained behind on the flight of the majority of the nation, had received
at the hands of the Whigs. The Mohawks, he said, were as free as the air
they breathed, and were determined to remain so; and they could not brook
it that any of their brethren should be seized and imprisoned, as had
been the case at the Castle. [FN] These, he demanded, should be set at
liberty, and suffered to remove from the country. In regard to the
question of peace or war, he said the Mohawks were always warriors--that
their agreement with the King was very strong, and they were not such
villains as to break their covenant.
* * * * *
[FN] Probably on suspicion of maintaining correspondence with the enemy.
The visit continued two days, during which time the Indians were well
supplied with provisions, and on their departure permitted to take away
some live cattle and sheep. The inhabitants, however, scattered and few,
and quite remote from any considerable settlement, no longer feeling
themselves safe in their houses, sought protection in places of greater
security--principally in Cherry Valley, the place of their first location,
whence they had removed, a few years before, into the vale of the
Susquehanna. Some of the scattered settlers in the Unadilla region fled
to the German Flats, and others, probably, to the older towns upon the
Hudson.
The Indian forces of Captain Brant continuing to increase at Oghkwaga,
and the anxiety of the people becoming greater with every report from
that quarter, General Herkimer [FN-1] determined to repair thither, and
obtain an interview. For this purpose the General dispatched a messenger
to that place, and invited the chief to meet him at Unadilla--moving
forward himself at the same time, at the head of about three hundred of
the local militia, from the regiments of Colonels Cox, Klock, and
Isenlord, well armed and provided. The precise object of the General, in
seeking this interview with Brant, remains to this day more a matter of
conjecture than of certainty. The few scattered fragments of Herkimer's
correspondence which have fallen into the hands of the writer, show that
it was no sudden movement; but, on the contrary, that General Schuyler,
Colonel Van Schaick, Colonel Harper, and others, were consulted upon the
subject. On the application of Herkimer, Colonel Van Schaick was detached
to his assistance on the 15th of June, with one hundred and fifty men,
with which force he repaired to Cherry Valley, but could proceed no
farther for want of provisions. General Schuyler was also to repair
thither in person, in the event of his presence being deemed necessary.
[FN-2] Ostensibly, the expedition was one of peace; [FN-3] but the extent
of the preparations, and the physical strength of the expedition, imparted
an equivocal character to the movement; not more so, however, than was
the conduct of Brant during the whole Spring, since his proceedings were
such as to keep the minds of the people in a state of feverish excitement
and ceaseless uncertainty. Thus, on the 10th of June, Colonel Harper wrote
urgently to General Herkimer for a supply of ammunition, in the
expectation of an immediate hostile irruption of Brant into the Valley
of the Schoharie Kill. On the 13th, the Cherry Valley Committee wrote
to the General a still more alarming letter. Brant, according to this
statement, in connexion with some of the loyalists of Unadilla, had
marked a path directly through the forest to AEsopus, by which route the
Tories of Ulster and Orange Counties were to join his forces at Oghkwaga;
at which place the chief had vaunted that shortly he would not fear the
approach of three thousand men. [FN-4] On the other hand. Major Fonda
wrote, on the 19th of June, that an embassy of chiefs and sachems of the
Cayuga and Seneca nations, having repaired to Oghkwaga to remonstrate
with Thayendanegea against farther hostilities, the latter had determined
to listen to their councils, and withdraw into the Cayuga country. In
pursuance of this policy, it was added, on what was esteemed good
authority, that the Mohawk chief had released a prisoner with his own
hands, telling the captors that they had acted wrong. [FN-5]
* * * * *
[FN-1] In the Autumn of 1776, three Brigadier-Generals of the militia
were commissioned by the Provincial Congress of New-York, of whom Colonel
Nicholas Herkimer was one. The Herkimer family was one of the first to
settle at the German Flats, and the name is among those of the original
patentees--not _Herkimer,_ however, which is a corruption--but
_Ergemore,_ which was the true German name.--_Letter of L. Ford to the
author._
[FN-2] MS. letters of Colonels Van Schaick, Tupper, and others, among
Gen. Herkimer's papers.
[FN-3] Letter of L. Ford, Esq. to the author.
[FN-4] MS. letter from Samuel Clyde to General Herkimer.
[FN-5] MS. letter of Major Jelles Fonda, among the Herkimer papers.
Such was the uncertain condition of things when the expedition under
consideration was commenced. Brant and Herkimer had been near neighbors
and personal friends, before the troubles came on, [FN] and it is possible
the General still cherished a belief that he might yet detach the dusky
warrior from the cause he had embraced, but nevertheless might not be
disinclined to relinquish. Perhaps he designed nothing more than to drive
him from his equivocal position. Perhaps, also, should opportunity be
presented, it was his intention to seize his person. But be these
suppositions as they may, it will be seen that there was at least one
moment in which he contemplated a more decisive course.
* * * * *
[FN] The residence of General Herkimer was a short distance below the
Little Falls of the Mohawk, near the river. His mansion, built of brick,
is yet standing. Brant's farm, on which he was residing when the
Revolutionary storm arose, was near the Upper Indian Castle, about three
miles below the house of Herkimer. The farm lies directly upon the river,
and is now very valuable. I visited the place in the Autumn of 1835. No
other memorials of its last noble possessor remained than the cellar of
his house, and the apple-trees which stood before his door. These were
vigorous, and in full bearing.--_Author._
It was a full week after the arrival of General Herkimer at Unadilla
before Captain Brant made his appearance. He came to the neighborhood of
the General's encampment, accompanied by five hundred warriors. Having
halted, he dispatched a runner to General Herkimer, with a message,
desiring to be informed of the object of his visit. General Herkimer
replied that he had merely come to see and converse with his brother,
Captain Brant. The quick-witted messenger inquired if all those men
wished to talk to his chief too? However, he said to the General that he
would carry his talk back to his chief, but he charged him that he must
not cross the field upon the margin of which they were standing, and
departed. But an arrangement was soon made, through the agency of
messengers, by which a meeting was effected. The scene exhibited at this
interview, as related by those who were present at it, was novel and
imposing. The hostile parties were now encamped within the distance of
two miles from each other. About midway between their encampments, a
temporary shed was erected, sufficiently extensive to allow some two
hundred persons to be seated. By mutual stipulation their arms were to
be left in their respective encampments. [FN] Soon after the adjustment
of the preliminaries and the completion of the fixtures above mentioned,
the chief of the Mohawks himself appeared in the edge of the distant
forest, and approached the place designated, already in the occupation
of Herkimer, somewhat warily, accompanied by Captain Bull, (a Tory,)
William Johnson, (son of Sir William, by Brant's sister Mary,) a
subordinate chief of the Mohawks, an Indian woman, and also by about
forty warriors. After some little parleying, a circle was formed by
General Herkimer, into which Brant and the General entered, together with
the other Indian chief and two of Herkimer's officers. After the
interchange of a few remarks, the chieftain, keeping an eagle-eye upon
his visitor, inquired the reason of his being thus honored. General
Herkimer replied, as he had done to the _avant-courier,_ that he had come
to see him on a friendly visit. "And all these have come on a friendly
visit, too?" replied the chief "All want to see the poor Indians; it is
very kind." he added, with a sarcastic curl of the lip. General Herkimer
expressed a desire to go forward to the village, but the chief told him
he was quite near enough, and that he must not proceed any farther.
* * * * *
[FN] MS. statement of facts collected by L. Ford, Esq.
The General next endeavored to enter into a conversation with the Mohawk
touching the difficulties with England, in order to ascertain his feelings
and intentions. The conference now became earnest and animated, although
the chief at first gave Herkimer evasive and oracular answers. To a
question, however, put to him directly, he finally replied:--"That the
Indians were in concert with the King, as their fathers had been; That
the King's belts were yet lodged with them, and they could not violate
their pledge; That General Herkimer and his followers had joined the
Boston people against their sovereign; That although the Boston people
were resolute, yet the King would humble them; That General Schuyler was
very smart on the Indians at the treaty of German Flats, [FN-1] but at
the same time was not able to afford the smallest article of clothing;
And finally, that the Indians had formerly made war on the white people
when they were all united; and as they were now divided, the Indians were
not frightened." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Adjourned to Albany.
[FN-2] Annals of Tryon County.
Colonel Cox, who was in the suite of General Herkimer, then made a few
remarks, the substance of which was, that if such was the fixed
determination of the Indians, nothing farther need be said. But his
manner, or some of the expressions uttered by the Colonel, which have not
been preserved, gave offence to the chief. He was exceedingly irritated;
[FN-1] and by a signal to the warriors attending him at a short distance,
they ran back to their encampment, and soon afterward appeared again with
their rifles, several of which were discharged, while the shrill war-whoop
rang through the forest. Meantime, however, by explanations or otherwise,
the chief was soothed and his warriors were kept at a proper distance,
although the demand of General Herkimer for the surrender of sundry Tories
was peremptorily refused. The conference ended by an agreement between
the parties to meet again at 9 o'clock the following morning. General
Herkimer and his forces, forbidden to advance any farther, encamped as
before. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Manuscript statement of Joseph Waggoner, in the author's
possession.
[FN-2] Idem.
The next morning General Herkimer called one of his most trusty men aside,
Joseph Waggoner by name, for the purpose of communicating to him, in
confidence, a matter of great importance, respecting which the most
profound secrecy was enjoined. He then informed Waggoner that he had
selected him and three others to perform a high and important duty,
requiring promptness, courage, and decision. His design, the General said,
was to take the lives of Brant and his three attendants, on the renewal
of their visit that morning. For this purpose he should rely upon Waggoner
and his three associates, on the arrival of the chief and his friends
within the circle as on the preceding day, each to select his man, and,
at a concerted signal, shoot them down upon the spot. There is something
so revolting--so rank and foul--in this project of meditated treachery,
that it is difficult to reconcile it with the known character of General
Herkimer. And yet it is given on the written authority of Waggoner
himself, whose character was equally respectable. The patriotic veteran,
in devising such a scheme, had probably reasoned himself into the belief
that the intended victims were only Indians, and that in the emergency
of the country, it would be justifiable to do evil that good might come.
It was, however, a most reprehensible scheme--scarcely less defensible
than the murder, by Catharine de Medicis, of some of the Huguenot chiefs,
who were invited to Paris under the guise of friendship, on the eve of
the Bartholomew massacre, and treacherously taken off by poison; and
equal in its purposed atrocity, though upon a smaller scale, to the
subsequent treachery of Ali Pacha of Egypt, in regard to the Mamelukes,
whom he caused to be decoyed into the strong-hold of Cairo, and
slaughtered. Indian that he was, there is no known act of perfidy
chargeable upon Brant; and he had met Herkimer on his own invitation. A
betrayal of his confidence, under those circumstances, would have brought
a stain upon the character of the Provincials, which all the waters of
the Mohawk could not have washed away.
Fortunately, however, the design was not carried into execution. Whether
the wary chieftain entertained any suspicions of foul play, is not known.
But, certain it is, that his precaution and his bearing, when he arrived
at Herkimer's quarters, were such as to frustrate the purpose. As he
entered the circle, attended as before, he drew himself up with dignity,
and addressed General Herkimer as follows:--"I have five hundred warriors
with me, armed and ready for battle. You are in my power; but as we have
been friends and neighbors, I will not take the advantage of you." [FN-1]
Saying which, at a signal, a host of his armed warriors darted forth from
the contiguous forest, all painted and ready for the onslaught, as the
well-known war-whoop but too clearly proclaimed. The chief continued the
discourse by advising the General to go back to his own home--thanked him
for his civility in coming thus far to see him, and told him that perhaps
he might one day return the compliment. Meantime, he said, he would go
back to his village, and for the present the General might rest assured
that no hostilities should be committed by the Indians. He then requested
that the Rev. Mr. Stuart, the English missionary at Fort Hunter, might
be permitted to retire into Canada, as also the wife of Colonel Butler.
To these requests General Herkimer assented, although the latter was not
complied with. He then presented the Indians with ten or a dozen heads of
cattle, which they fell upon and slaughtered incontinently. [FN-2] Brant
himself turned proudly away, and buried himself in the forest; while
General Herkimer struck his tents, and retraced his steps to the valley
of the Mohawk.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Waggoner's manuscript.
[FN-2] Idem.
Thus terminated this most singular conference. "It was early in July,
and the morning was remarkably clear and beautiful. But the echo of the
war-whoop had scarcely died away, before the heavens became black, and
a violent storm obliged each party to seek the nearest shelter. Men less
superstitious than many of the unlettered yeomen, who, leaning upon their
arms, were witnesses of the events of this day, could not fail in
after-times to look back upon the tempest, if not as an omen, at least
as an emblem of those bloody massacres with which these Indians and
their associates afterward visited the inhabitants of this unfortunate
frontier." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Annals of Tryon County.
This was the last conference held with the hostile Mohawks. Their chief
very soon afterward drew off his warriors from the Susquehanna, and united
them to the forces of Sir John Johnson and Colonel John Butler, who were
concentrating the Tories and refugees at Oswego. It was at about the same
period that the officers of the British Indian department had summoned
a general council of the Six Nations, to be held at that place; and it is
probable that Brant arrived at the post with his warriors for that
occasion. According to Ramsay, the invitations to this council were sent
forth by Guy Johnson, the Indians being requested to assemble "to eat the
flesh and drink the blood of a Bostonian." This language was understood
figuratively, however,--the roasting of an ox and a banquet being
intended.
The council having assembled, [FN] the business was opened by the British
Commissioners, who informed the chiefs that their object in calling the
meeting was to engage their assistance in subduing the rebel Colonies,
the people of which had risen up against the good King their master, and
were about to rob him of a great part of his wealth and possessions. As
an inducement to enter the service, they were promised an ample reward.
The chiefs in reply, or rather those of them who were averse to joining
in the war, informed the British officers of the treaty of German Flats
and Albany, in which they had bound themselves to take no part in the
contest, and the parties to that compact repeated their determination to
abide by the treaty, and not take up the hatchet against their white
neighbors.
* * * * *
[FN] The only account of this great Indian council, (farther than the
mere statement that such a council was held,) which the author has been
able to discover, is that given in the life of Mary Jemison, a white
woman, who, being taken captive near Pittsburgh in 1755, when a child,
after her parents were killed, was raised by the Indians, and became in
fact one of them, in every thing but her birth and complexion. She
married an Indian, and lived to a very advanced age, and died among them.
She was present at this council; and from the fact that the truth of
other portions of her interesting narrative is sustained by other
authorities, her statement may be received as substantially correct. The
life of this remarkable woman, who died but a few years since, was
published by James D. Bemis, of Canandaigua. There will be several
occasions of referring to it hereafter.
The discussions were protracted, nor were the entreaties of the
Commissioners of any avail against the resolution of the Indians to
maintain their good faith, until they addressed their avarice, "by
telling them that the people of the Colonies were few in number, and
would be easily subdued; and that on account of their disobedience to the
King, they justly merited all the punishment that it was possible for
white men and Indians to inflict upon them. The King," they said, "was
rich and powerful, both in money and subjects. His rum was as plenty as
the water in Lake Ontario, and his men as numerous as the sands upon its
shore; and the Indians were assured, that if they would assist in the war,
and persevere in their friendship for the King until its close, they
should never want for goods or money," [FN] Overcome by their persevering
importunities, and by more direct and palpable appeals to their senses,
in a rich display of tawdry articles calculated to please their fancies,
the Indians proved recreant to their plighted faith to the Colonies, and
concluded a treaty of alliance with Great Britain--binding themselves to
take up the hatchet against the rebels, and continue in his Majesty's
service until they were subdued.
* * * * *
[FN] Life of Mary Jemison, written in 1823.
At the close of the treaty, each Indian was presented with a suit of
clothes, a brass kettle, [FN] a gun, a tomahawk and scalping-knife, a
quantity of ammunition, a piece of gold, and the promise of a bounty upon
every scalp they should bring in. "Thus richly clad and equipped, the
Indians returned to their respective homes, after an absence of about two
weeks, full of the fire of war, and anxious to encounter their (new-made)
enemies."
* * * * *
[FN] The brass kettles received at Oswego by the Senecas, (to which tribe
Mary belonged,) on the occasion mentioned in the text, were yet in use
in that nation, so late as 1823.
From that day Thayendanegea was the acknowledged chief of the Six Nations,
and he soon became one of the master spirits of the motley forces employed
by Great Britain in her attempts to recover the Mohawk Valley, and to
annoy the other settlements of what then constituted the North-western
frontier. Whether in the conduct of a campaign or of a scouting-party,
in the pitched battle or the foray, this crafty and dauntless chieftain
was sure to be one of the most efficient, as he was one of the bravest,
of those who were engaged. Combining with the native hardihood and
sagacity of his race the advantages of education and of civilized
life,--in acquiring which, he had lost nothing of his activity or his
power of endurance--he became the most formidable border foe with whom
the Provincials had to contend, and his name was a terror to the land.
His movements were at once so secret and so rapid, that he seemed almost
to be clothed with the power of ubiquity.
The first of his hostile demonstrations within the Colony of New-York is
believed to have been made in the month of May preceding the interview
with General Herkimer; although from the semi-pacific intercourse
maintained with him for several weeks longer, the fact was not then
certainly known. The settlement of Cherry Valley was commenced in 1739;
and in consequence of some threatened Indian troubles, a detachment of
troops had been stationed there as early as 1763. But no military works
were erected, and the breaking out of the war of the Revolution found the
place defenceless. While Brant was collecting his warriors at Oghkwaga,
however, the inhabitants bethought themselves of the necessity of
defences. But not having the means to undertake the erection of any
formidable work, the house of Colonel Samuel Campbell was selected as the
largest, strongest, and most eligibly situated for military purposes. A
rude embankment of logs and earth was thrown up around this building, so
extended in its dimensions as likewise to include two large barns. These
buildings were all strengthened, and provided with doors and
window-shutters bullet-proof. Small block-houses were also erected within
the enclosure; and to this place, in moments of peril and alarm, the
inhabitants fled for protection. Martial law was proclaimed, and no
persons were allowed either to enter or leave the settlement without
permission.
Toward the close of May, and soon after these precautionary measures had
been executed, Brant conceived the idea of making a descent upon the
settlement, for the purpose of either killing, or making captive, the
principal inhabitants, especially the vigilant members of the Committee.
It has been stated in a former page, that among the precautionary measures
adopted the preceding year, the exempts from military duty had organized
themselves into a volunteer company. The martial fever of course descended
from sire to son; and as the population had been considerably augmented
by the arrival of distant settlers for safety, a goodly number of boys
were collected, who formed a corps of cadets, with no better armor than
wooden swords and guns. These juvenile soldiers happened to be parading
upon the esplanade in front of Colonel Campbell's house at the very hour,
one bright sunny morning, when Brant and his party of warriors, who had
secretly arrived from Oghkwaga, were reconnoitering the post under shelter
of a tangled thicket skirting the brow of a hill about a mile distant.
His vision being somewhat obstructed by the intercepting shrubbery, the
chief mistook the lads for _bona fide_ soldiers. Observing the semblance
of a fortification before described, Captain Brant moved his party to a
convenient lurking-place near the road leading to the Mohawk river, and
there lay in ambush for the purpose of obtaining such information as
might chance to come in his way. A short distance from where the chief
lay ensconced behind a large rock, "the road wound along near the edge
of a cliff, overhanging a rocky glen of one hundred and fifty feet deep.
This chasm was shaded by evergreens, and the whole scene was shadowy and
almost dark, even at mid-day. The wildness of the place was increased
by the dashing of a mountain-torrent into the gloomy abyss, called, by
the Indians, the falls of Tekaharawa." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Annals of Tryon County.
It chanced, that on the morning of that day, Lieutenant Wormwood, a
promising young officer from Palatine, of an opulent family, had been
despatched to Cherry Valley, with information to the authorities that
a detachment from Colonel Klock's regiment of militia was to march to
their defence on the following day. It was toward evening that Lieut.
Wormwood started on his return to the Mohawk, accompanied by the bearer
of some despatches, named Peter Sitz. As he mounted his horse in the
village, he threw down his portmanteau, remarking that he needed not to
take it, as he should return on the next morning with his company. He
was well-mounted, and richly dressed "in a suit of ash-colored velvet,
which attracted much attention during his stay;" and many persons remained
at the door, looking at the noble bearing of the young patriot, until he
disappeared behind the crest of the hill in the direction of the
Tekaharawa. Scarcely, however, had the clattering of hoofs died away upon
their ears, before a discharge of musketry resounded from the glen--the
startling report being speedily followed by the soldier's horse, returning
at full speed, the saddle crimsoned with blood. Suspicions of the most
painful description at once flashed upon the minds of the people, and
a party was immediately despatched to investigate the circumstances. They
returned without success that night, but on the following morning the
body of Wormwood was found behind the rock heretofore described, scalped
and lifeless. It afterward appeared, that as Wormwood and Sitz approached
the rock, they were hailed, but instead of answering, they put spurs to
their horses and endeavored to pass. Being fired upon, Lieutenant Wormwood
fell wounded, as did the horse of Sitz. The Indians rushed forth from
their ambuscade, and Sitz was made prisoner; while the gallant officer
was scalped by Brant's own hand. The chief is said to have lamented the
death of this young man. They were not only acquaintances, but friends;
and he had been fired upon under the supposition that he was an officer
of the Continental army. [FN] The despatches carried by Sitz were double,
and it was fortunate that he had sufficient presence of mind to destroy
the genuine, and deliver the delusive papers to his savage captors.
Deceived thereby as to the real strength at Cherry Valley, Brant retired
without committing any farther act of hostility. Colonel Klock arrived
at Cherry Valley on the following morning, accompanied by the afflicted
father of the slaughtered officer, who was mourned and wept by all who
knew him.
* * * * *
[FN] Annals of Tryon County,
Another coincident event, forming an appropriate conclusion to the present
chapter, was the tragic death of the great Shawanese chief, _Cornstock,_
with his gallant son, _Ellinipsico_; both of whom will be remembered as
among the brave Indian leaders at the battle of the Kanhawa, the last
action of the Cresap war, in 1774; and both of whom were now as basely
murdered by white men, as were the family of Logan. The circumstances
attending this foul transaction were these:--Cornstock, after the defeat
of his warriors at Point Pleasant, and his subsequent treaty of peace
with Lord Dunmore, had become sincerely and truly the friend of the
Colonies; and while the Indians of the Northwest, generally, were
preparing to take up arms with the English, he exerted himself to the
utmost to prevent his own nation from any participation in the contest.
But the influence of the British agents, and the example of the
surrounding Indian nations, were so powerful upon the minds of the
Shawanese, that Cornstock perceived his pacific efforts were likely to
prove futile. Thus circumstanced, he repaired to the fort which had been
erected at Point Pleasant after the battle of the Kanhawa, to lay the
matter before the officer in command--Captain Arbuckle--and take his
advice. He was accompanied on this mission by a young Delaware chief named
_Redhawk,_ who had also fought by his side in the Cresap war. Having made
a full developement of the state of Indian affairs in the North-west, and
frankly admitted that, from the causes already indicated, he should be
unable to prevent the Shawanese from taking up the hatchet in the cause
of the Crown, the commander of the fort deemed it expedient to detain the
old chief, with his Delaware companion, as hostages for the good conduct
of their people. Nor did they remain unwillingly--little anticipating the
fate that awaited them--and giving all the information respecting the
Indians and their country, that could be desired by the Americans.
Uneasy at the protracted absence of his father, Ellinipsico, his son,
went in pursuit, and traced him to the fort, where they had an affectionate
meeting. Unfortunately, the day after the arrival of the young warrior at
Point Pleasant, two white men having crossed the Kanhawa on a hunting
expedition, were fired upon by some straggling Indians, and one of them,
whose name was Gilmore, was killed. The other escaped. No sooner was the
event of Gilmore's death known, than the cry of revenge was raised, and
a party of ruffians assembled, under the command of a Captain Hall--not
to pursue and punish the perpetrators of the murder--but to fall upon the
friendly and peaceable Indians in the fort. Arming themselves, and cocking
their rifles, they proceeded directly to the little garrison, menacing
death to any or all who should oppose their nefarious designs. Some friend
of the hostage-chiefs attempted to apprise them in advance of the
approaching danger; but the savage mob were probably too close upon the
heels of the messenger to allow of their escape. At the sound of the
clamor without, Ellinipsico is said to have been somewhat agitated. Not
so the veteran Cornstock. He had too often grappled with death on the
war-path to fear his approaches now. Perceiving the emotion of his son,
he calmly observed:--"_My son, the Great Spirit has seen fit that we
should die together, and has sent you to that end. It is his will, and let
us submit,_" The infuriated mob had now gained the apartment of the
victims; Cornstock fell, perforated with seven bullets, and died without
a struggle. The son, after the exhortation of his father, met his fate
with composure, and was shot on the seat upon which he was sitting.
Red-hawk, the young Delaware, died with less fortitude. He hid himself
away, but was discovered and slain. Another friendly Indian, in the fort
at the time, was likewise killed, and his body mangled by the barbarians
in a manner that would have disgraced savages of any other complexion.
"Thus," says an Indian Chronicler, [FN] "perished the mighty Cornstock,
sachem of the Shawanese, and king of the Northern confederacy, in 1774--a
chief remarkable for many great and good qualities. He was disposed to be
at all times the friend of white men, as he was ever the advocate of
honorable peace. But when his country's wrongs summoned him to the battle,
he became the thunderbolt of war, and made his enemies feel the weight of
his arm. His noble bearing, his generous and disinterested attachment to
the Colonies, his anxiety to preserve the frontier of Virginia from
desolation and death, all conspired to win for him the esteem and respect
of others; while the untimely and perfidious manner of his death caused
a deep and lasting feeling of regret to pervade the bosoms, even of those
who were enemies to his nation, and excited the just indignation of all
toward his inhuman murderers."
* * * * *
[FN] Withers's Indian Chronicles, as quoted by Drake,
It argues a sad deficiency of military discipline, that such a foul
transaction could have occurred at any regularly established post. The
command of Arbuckle, however, must have been small, inasmuch as he was not
only opposed to the commission of the outrage, but sallied forth, in
company with another captain, named Stuart, for the purpose of
intercepting the ruffians, and preventing the execution of their purpose.
But all remonstrance was vain. The enraged assailants, pale, and quivering
with fury, presented their rifles to the breasts of those officers,
threatening them with instant death if they stood in their way. It has
been said that Cornstock felt a presentiment of his death on the morning
of its occurrence. A council had been summoned for the consideration of
some business of importance, connected, probably, with Indian affairs,
since the old chief bore a part in the deliberations. In the course of
one of his speeches delivered on that occasion, he said, with emphasis,
to the council:--"_When I was young, every time I went to war, I thought
it likely that I might return no more; but I still lived; I am now in
your hands; you may kill me if you choose. I can die but once, and it is
alike to me whether I die now or at another time._" [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Doddridge's Indian Wars, pp. 238--240.
The Indian biography of our country supplies but few additional facts
concerning the life of this brave and just man. He had a son, known among
the whites as _The Wolf,_ whose name was somewhat conspicuously associated
with the earlier events of the Revolution. The Wolf, with three others,
was a hostage at Williamsburgh, Virginia, at the time of Lord Dunmore's
embarkation on board of the British fleet. After the escape of his
Lordship, he solicited and obtained an interview with The Wolf and his
associates on board of his ship; during which he explained to them the
causes of his flight, and urged them to flee also, as the only means of
escaping the fury of the revolutionists. Adopting this counsel, they took
to the woods on returning to the shore. The night following came on
excessively dark. One of The Wolf's companions separated from his fellows,
and was lost. The others soon afterward returned to Williamsburgh, where
they were well received by the inhabitants. What farther befell The Wolf,
or the house of Cornstock, is not known.
CHAPTER IX.
British preparations for the prosecution of the war--Indications at the
North--Doubtful position and conduct of General Howe--Embarrassing to
the Americans--Intercepted correspondence--General Howe sails to the
Chesapeake--Enters Philadelphia in triumph--Burgoyne approaches from
the North--Indian policy--Sir Guy Carleton--False estimates of the
strength of Ticonderoga--Burgoyne arrives at Crown Point--Feasts the
Indians--Invests Ticonderoga--Carries the outworks--Fortifies Sugar
Hill--The fortress evacuated by St. Clair--Retreat of the
Americans--Battles near Skenesborough and at Fort Ann--Burgoyne enters
the valley of the Hudson--Schuyler, without means, retreats from Fort
Edward--Terror of the people--Cruelties of the Indians--Story of Miss
McCrea--General flight of the population--Mrs. Ann Eliza
Bleecker--Heroism of Mrs. Schuyler--Attempted assassination of General
Schuyler.
Having failed in their efforts to extinguish the rebellion during the
preceding year, the government of the parent country-resolved to put forth
still greater energies during the present. For this purpose a powerful
force was organized in Canada, the command of which was transferred from
Sir Guy Carleton--the ablest British General, by the way, at that time or
subsequently in America--and conferred upon General Burgoyne--an officer,
also, of unquestioned merit--whose spirit of enterprise and thirst for
military glory could not be exceeded. It was the aim of this Northern
army to open a communication between Canada and New-York--thus cutting
off New-England, which the ministry justly considered the hot-bed of the
Revolution, from all communication with the Middle States; while Sir
William Howe, with an army of 16,000 men, was to withdraw from New Jersey,
and move round simultaneously to the Chesapeake, and take possession of
the Middle States; and thus, as it was hoped, compel the whole to return
to their allegiance.
Doubts, however, for several months hung over the intentions of the enemy,
whose designs were so skilfully veiled as for a long time almost to
paralyze the exertions of the Americans. The retreat of Carleton from Lake
Champlain, the preceding Autumn, even after the lake was in his power and
Crown Point in his possession, suggested a doubt whether a serious
invasion was meditated from that quarter. On the contrary, the impression
was general that the expedition of Burgoyne was destined against Boston;
and that Sir William Howe, whose movements in New Jersey were enigmatical
to perplexity, was to co-operate in an effort to re-subjugate New England.
The British government itself, as it is believed, contributed to the
distractions of Congress and the American commander, by causing reports
to be circulated that Boston was to be the next point of attack. Arthur
Lee, being then in Bordeaux, was thus confidentially advised, and he lost
no time in communicating such supposed intention to the Secret Committee
of Congress, who in turn gave the like information to the
Commander-in-chief, and also to the Legislature of Massachusetts. The
consequence of these distractions was unfortunate for the Americans. Less
attention was paid to preparations for the defence of the North than
otherwise would have been given; while Massachusetts, apprehending that
all her strength would be required for her own defence, set about raising
troops for her own protection, at the expense of the main army, from which
its quota of recruits was withheld. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Letters of Washington, during the months of May, June, and July,
1777.
Before the close of June, however, the designs of the enemy in regard to
the North became obvious. A person from Canada, arrested as a spy, and
brought before General Schuyler, stated on his examination, "that the
British forces were approaching St. Johns, and were to advance through
Lake Champlain under General Burgoyne; and also that a detachment of
British troops, Canadians and Indians, was to penetrate the country by
the way of Oswego and the Valley of the Mohawk. He added many particulars,
respecting the strength and arrangements of the British army, which turned
out in the end to be nearly accurate, but of which no intelligence had
before been obtained, or by many anticipated." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Sparks--Note in Life and Cor. of Washington, vol. iv.
The movements of General Howe were still equivocal, even after Burgoyne
had commenced his descent upon the North--thus adding to the
embarrassments of Washington. And in order the more certainly to mislead
the American commander as to his real intentions. General Howe wrote a
feigned despatch to Burgoyne, on the subject of ascending the Hudson to
join him, the bearer of which fell purposely into the hands of the
Americans, while pretending to be on his way to Canada. Unable, therefore,
to determine whether such might not be his design, (although the
intercepted despatch was regarded with strong suspicion,) or whether, on
the other hand, it might not be the purpose of Howe to pass round to the
Chesapeake and thence strike at Philadelphia, the American General was
compelled to remain inactively watching his motions, strengthening, in
the mean time, to the utmost of his power, his positions in the
highlands--without being able to detach any large number of troops to the
assistance of General Schuyler, then commanding the Northern Department.
And even after General Howe had embarked his troops and dropped down to
Sandy Hook--having evacuated New Jersey on the 30th of June
[FN-1]--Washington was still in doubt whether it might not yet be his
intention to return with the tide, and pass up the river in the
night. [FN-2] Such, however, was no part of the plan of the British
commander. His destination, on leaving the harbor of New-York, was the
Chesapeake and Philadelphia; and the latter branch of the campaign
indicated in the opening of the present chapter, was so far successful,
that after a series of victories over the forces of General Washington,
commencing at Brandywine and ending at Germantown, General Howe took
possession of, and established himself in, the capital of Pennsylvania.
* * * * *
[FN-1] It is a pleasing evidence of the sound religious views of
Washington, that he was a firm believer in the immediate interpositions
of Providence in directing and controlling the affairs of men. His
letters abound in passages that might be cited, showing his quickness to
discern the finger of Providence, and his readiness to make the
acknowledgment. Thus, in regard to the departure from New Jersey by
General Howe, he says:--"The evacuation of Jersey at this time seems to
be a peculiar mark of Providence, as the inhabitants have an opportunity
of securing their harvests of hay and grain, the latter of which would
in all probability have undergone the same fate with many farm-houses,
had it been ripe enough to take fire."--_Letter of Washington to Maj.
Gen. Armstrong, July_ 4, 1777.
[FN-2] "If we were certain Gen. Burgoyne were approaching Ticonderoga
with his whole army, I should not hesitate a moment in concluding that it
is in consequence of a preconcerted plan with Gen. Howe, and that the
latter is to co-operate with him by pushing his whole force up the North
River, and aiming a stroke in the first instance and immediately at the
Highlands."--_Letter of Washington to the President of Congress, July_ 2.
Again, in several successive letters, after the embarkation of General
Howe's army from Staten Island, Washington spoke of the perplexity in
which he was kept by the shifting manoeuvres of the fleet. On the 22d
of July he wrote--"I cannot give you any certain account of General
Howe's operations. His conduct is puzzling and embarrassing beyond
measure; so are the informations which I get. At one time the ships are
standing up toward the North River; in a little while they are going up
the Sound; and in one hour after, they are going out of the
Hook."--_Letter to General Schuyler._ The fleet actually sailed for the
Capes of Virginia on the 23d of July.
But a far different fortune attended the arms of Burgoyne. The regular
troops of his command, English and German, amounted to above seven
thousand men, added to which were large numbers of American and Canadian
loyalists, together with many hundred Indians; a species of force, which,
it has been held by British historians, Sir Guy Carleton was reluctant to
employ, while General Burgoyne, it has been alleged, entertained no such
scruples. It has ever been claimed as a virtue on the part of Carleton,
and carried to the credit of his humanity, that, rather than employ the
Indians, he submitted to the injustice of having the command of this
expedition, properly belonging to him, conferred upon an officer who was
not entitled to lead the enterprise. It is perhaps true, from his more
intimate knowledge of the Indian character, that he had formed such an
estimate of their services as to render him somewhat less sanguine than
others as to their value. His experience could not but have taught him
the extent of their inutility in war, the capriciousness of their
character, their intractableness and inconstancy. He must have known that
their ideas of war were totally different from those of civilized nations;
by reason of which, notwithstanding their ferocity, and the incredible
examples of passive valor which they sometimes afford in cases adapted to
their own opinions, they were nevertheless utterly regardless of, and
looked with contempt upon, those belligerent usages which are considered
as honorable, generous, and fair in the modern service of civilized men.
He could not have been ignorant of the fact, that the object and design
of most of the wars in which the Indians engage, are not so much to
conquer by manly and open battle, as to murder and destroy after their
own peculiar fashion. In one word, that accomplished officer very well
knew the services of the Indians to be uncertain; their rapacity to be
insatiable; their faith at all times doubtful; and their action cruel to
barbarity. Still, as we have already shown beyond contradiction, he was
among the first to court the alliance and obtain the services of Brant
and his Mohawks, on their descent to Montreal in 1775. The commendations,
therefore, that have been bestowed upon Sir Guy Carleton upon this
subject, at the expense of Burgoyne, were as undeserved by the one as
unjust toward the other. True, the march of Burgoyne was tracked with
blood, which a high-souled officer should scorn in such manner to
shed; [FN] but the footsteps of Carleton might have been equally sanguine
had the command been entrusted to him.
* * * * *
[FN] It is but just to this gallant but unfortunate officer, however, to
state, that he did all in his power to restrain the excesses and
barbarities of the Indians. At the council and war-feast, which he gave
them near Crown Point, he endeavored to explain to them the laws of
civilized war; and charged them that they must only kill those opposing
them in arms; that old men, women, children, and prisoners, must be held
sacred from the knife or hatchet, even in the heat of battle. But it did
no good.
Never, probably, at the time, had there been an army of equal numbers
better appointed than that of Burgoyne. The train of brass artillery, in
particular, was perhaps the finest that had ever been allotted to an army
not far exceeding the present in numerical strength, and for a time
victory seemed to perch upon his ensigns.
General Carleton, it will be remembered, had made himself master of Lake
Champlain, and the fortifications at Crown Point the Autumn before. The
first object for attack presenting itself to General Burgoyne, therefore,
was Ticonderoga--situated in the mountain gap through which the waters of
Lake George fall into Lake Champlain. This fortress was then in command
of General St. Clair, and was supposed by the Americans to be a post of
great security. The principal fortress, the ruins of which are yet
standing in frowning and rugged strength, was situated on an angle of land
which is surrounded on three sides by water filled with rocks. A great
part of the south side was covered by a deep morass; and where that
failed, in the north-west quarter, the old French lines served as a
defence. These lines had been strengthened by additional works and a
block-house. The Americans had other defences and block-houses in the
direction of Lake George, together with two new block-houses and some
other works to the right of the French lines. Still greater pains had
been taken in fortifying the high circular hill on the eastern shore of
the inlet opposite, known as Mount Independence. On the summit of this
mountain, which is table-land, the Americans had erected a star-fort,
enclosing a large square of barracks, well fortified, and supplied with
artillery. The foot of the mountain, on the west side projecting into the
water, was strongly entrenched to its edge, and the entrenchment lined
with heavy artillery. These lower works were sustained and covered by a
battery, about half-way up the side of the mountain, and were connected
by a bridge across the inlet, which had been constructed at great labor
and expense. [FN-1] These, and other works of defence, had been judged
sufficient to render the post secure. The Commander-in-chief himself,
although indeed the works had not fallen under his own inspection, had
formed a very erroneous opinion of their strength, or perhaps, to speak
more correctly, of the natural advantages of the position, and of the
defensibility of the works. [FN-2] Such, in fact, was his confidence in
the post, that the idea of its loss seems from his correspondence scarce
to have entered his mind.
* * * * *
[FN-1] London Universal Magazine, April, 1782.
[FN-2] "I am pleased to find, by your letter to Congress, that a strong
supply of provisions has been thrown into Ticonderoga. Since that is the
case, I see no reason for apprehending that it can possibly fall into
the hands of the enemy in a short time, even were they to bring their
whole force to a point; but if they have divided it to make the different
attacks that you mention, General St. Clair will, in all probability,
have an opportunity of acting on the defensive; and should he not be
quite successful, he may damage them so considerably, that they will not
be able to attack him in his works; to which, I dare say, he will always
secure a retreat in case of accident."--_Letter of Washington to General
Schuyler, July_ 2, 1777.
But in all their labors, the American engineers had overlooked the high
peak, or mountain, called Sugar Hill, situated south of the bridge, on
the point of land at the confluence of the waters of Lakes George and
Champlain. Originally it had been supposed, and taken for granted, that
the crest of Sugar Hill was not only inaccessible, but too distant to be
of any avail in covering the main fortress. This opinion was an error, to
which the attention of the officers had been called the preceding year
by Colonel John Trumbull, then Adjutant-General for the Northern
Department. When Colonel Trumbull made the suggestion, he was laughed at
by the mess; but he soon proved the greater accuracy of his own vision,
by throwing a cannon shot to the summit; and subsequently clambered up to
the top, accompanied by Colonels Wayne and Arnold. [FN] It was a criminal
neglect, on the part of the Americans, that the oversight was not at once
corrected, by the construction of a work upon that point, which would have
commanded the whole post.
* * * * *
[FN] Conversations of the author with Colonel John Trumbull, and also
his unpublished memoirs, to which the author has had access.
General Burgoyne arrived at Crown Point on the 21st of June; and after
meeting and feasting the Indians, and attempting to instruct them in the
rules and principles of civilized war, and making other necessary
preparations--not forgetting to send forth a manifesto which he supposed
would spread terror through the Northern Colonies--he advanced with great
caution to the investment of Ticonderoga, where he arrived on the 2d of
July. Most unaccountably, the Americans immediately abandoned all their
works in the direction of Lake George--setting fire to the block-houses
and saw-mills; and without sally or other interruption, permitted the
enemy, under Major General Phillips, to take possession of the very
advantageous post of Mount Hope, which, besides commanding their lines in
a dangerous degree, totally cut off their communication with Lake George.
The only excuse for such an early abandonment of this important point,
was found in the fact that General St. Clair had not force enough to man
all his defences.
One of the first objects that attracted the attention of the British
commander, was the unoccupied point of Sugar Hill. It was forthwith
examined, and its advantages were found to be so great, that immediate
dispositions were made for its occupation. A winding road was cut to its
summit, a battery commenced, and cannon to serve it transported thither.
Under these circumstances, finding himself invested on all sides, and
batteries ready to be opened upon him not only from around, but above,
and having, moreover, not half troops enough to man his works--St. Clair
hastily convened a council of war on the 5th of July, and an evacuation
was unanimously decided upon as the only alternative for the
emergency. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] "The evacuation of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence is an event
of chagrin and surprise, not apprehended nor within the compass of my
reasoning. I know not upon what principle it was founded, and I should
suppose it still more difficult to be accounted for, if the garrison
amounted to five thousand men, in high spirits, healthy, well supplied
with provisions and ammunition, and the Eastern militia marching to their
succor, as you mentioned in your letter of the 9th to the Council of
Safety of New-York."--_Letter of Washington to General Schuyler, July_
15, 1777. The truth, however, is, that the actual force and condition of
St. Clair's army had been universally over-estimated--as well by the
officers at a distance as by the public. The eyes of the nation were
turned upon that post; and when the news of the retreat went abroad, the
disappointment was extreme; and the loud voice of complaint and censure,
against the unfortunate General, was reiterated from one end of the
continent to the other. But, notwithstanding the "chagrin" and
"surprise," so keenly felt by the Commander-in-chief at the loss of this
important post, his strong sense of justice interposed to shield the
unfortunate commander from condemnation unheard. He wrote to General
Schuyler on the 13th of July, that General St. Clair owed it to himself
to insist upon an opportunity of giving his reasons for evacuating
Ticonderoga, but he at the same time said--"I will not condemn, or even
pass censure upon, an officer unheard." Time, however, proved that he had
acted the part of a judicious and skillful officer; but the excitement
of the moment was so great, caused by chagrin on the one hand and alarm
on the other, that all eyes were blind, and all ears deaf, to the true
reasons of the case, and even to the palliating circumstances.--_Sparks's
Life of Gonverneur Morris._
Following up such a promising advantage, the British commander pushed
forward upon the retiring army, with such a degree of vigor that the
retreat became almost a rout. The Americans, however, made a stand between
Skenesborough and Fort Anne in a well-contested battle; but after much
hard fighting, were again compelled to retreat. Another engagement ensued
at Fort Anne, with a like result; and the victorious Briton entered the
valley of the Hudson, and took possession of Fort Edward, which, weak and
unprovided, had likewise been evacuated on his approach by General
Schuyler.
These movements by the British commander had been made with equal vigor
and celerity; and such was the confusion of the Americans in their flight,
that no advices of the disaster were forwarded by express to General
Schuyler, to prepare him for the approach of the victors. Indeed, that
officer was suffered to remain several days without intelligence from St.
Clair of any description, excepting some vague flying rumors of the
evacuation. [FN-1] During this suspense, General Schuyler wrote to the
Commander-in-chief upon the subject, who, in turn, expressed his amazement
at the mystery which seemed to hang over the affairs of the fortress. At
one moment Washington was led to believe that St. Clair and the whole
garrison had been made prisoners, and at another that the rumor of the
evacuation was wholly untrue; and that the silence, for which it baffled
conjecture to account, arose from the circumstance that the Americans
were shut up in their works. [FN-2] But this doubt did not continue long.
Notwithstanding that the advance of the enemy was repulsed at Fort Anne,
Colonel Long, who was in command of that post, immediately evacuated it,
contrary to the express orders of General Schuyler; and Schuyler himself,
at the head of only fifteen hundred men at Fort Edward, "without
provision, with little ammunition, not above five rounds to a man, having
neither balls, nor lead to make any--and the country in the deepest
consternation," [FN-3] was obliged also to fall back in the direction of
Albany. The blow was a severe one; but the Commander-in-chief possessed
a soul equal to every crisis. No undue elevation of spirit followed his
successes; neither did the clouds of adverse fortune, so frequently
darkening the prospect of the American arms, sink him into
despondency. [FN-4] Indeed, each succeeding calamity was but another test
of his moral greatness, for he rose above them all.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter from General Schuyler to General Washington, July 9, 1777.
[FN-2] Letter from General Washington in reply.
[FN-3] Letter of Schuyler to Washington.
[FN-4] "This stroke is severe indeed, and has distressed us much. But,
notwithstanding things at present have a dark and gloomy aspect, I hope
a spirited opposition will check the progress of General Burgoyne's army,
and that the confidence derived from his success, will hurry him into
measures that will, in their consequences, be favorable to us. We should
never despair. Our situation has before been unpromising, and has changed
for the better; so, I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise,
we must only put forth new exertions, and proportion our efforts to the
exigency of the times."--_Letterr of Washington to General Schuyler,
July_ 15, 1777.
Nothing, however, could exceed the terror which these events diffused
among the inhabitants, not only of Northern New-York, but of the New
England States. The consternation was, moreover, increased by the reported
murders and the cruelties of the savages--since all the efforts of General
Burgoyne to dissuade them from the perpetration of their cruel enormities
were ineffectual. Restrain them he could not; and it was admitted by the
British writers of that day, that the friends of the Royal cause, as well
as its enemies, were equally victims to their indiscriminate rage. It was
even ascertained that the British officers were deceived by their
treacherous allies, into the purchase of the scalps of their own comrades.
Among other instances of cruelty, the well-known murder of Miss Jane
McCrea, which happened in the early part of the campaign, filled the
public mind with horror. Every circumstance of this unnatural and bloody
transaction--around which there lingers a melancholy interest to this
day--served to heighten alike its interest and its enormity. Many have
been the versions of this bloody tale. General Gates, who had at this
juncture been most unjustly directed to supersede General Schuyler in the
command of the Northern Department, assailed General Burgoyne in the
newspapers with great virulence upon the subject of these outrages. After
charging the British commander with encouraging the murder of prisoners,
and the massacre of women and children, by paying the Indians a stipulated
price for scalps, Gates, in a letter addressed to General Burgoyne, thus
spoke of the case now specially under consideration:--"Miss McCrea, a
young lady, lovely to the sight, of virtuous character and amiable
disposition, engaged to an officer of your army, was, with other women
and children, taken out of a house near Fort Edward, carried into the
woods, and there scalped and mangled in the most horrid manner. Two
parents, with their six children, were treated with the same inhumanity,
while quietly resting in their own happy and peaceful dwelling. The
miserable fate of Miss McCrea was particularly aggravated, by being
dressed to receive her promised husband; but met her murderer, employed
by you. Upward of one hundred men, women, and children, have perished by
the hands of the ruffians to whom, it is asserted, you have paid the price
of blood."
General Burgoyne replied, and repelled with indignation the charge of
encouraging, in any respect, the outrages of the Indians. He asserted
that from the first he had refused to pay for scalps, and had so informed
the Indians at their council. The only rewards he gave them were for
prisoners brought in, and by the adoption of this course he hoped to
encourage a more humane mode of warfare on their part. In this letter
Burgoyne said:--"I would not be conscious of the acts you presume to
impute to me, for the whole continent of America, though the wealth of
worlds was in its bowels and a paradise upon its surface." [FN-1] In
regard to the hapless fate of Miss McCrea, General Burgoyne
remarked:--"Her fall wanted not the tragic display you have labored to
give it, to make it as sincerely abhorred and lamented by me as it can be
by the tenderest of her friends. The act was no premeditated barbarity.
On the contrary, two chiefs, who had brought her off for the purpose of
security, not of violence to her person, disputed which should be her
guard, and in a fit of savage passion in one, from whose hands she was
snatched, the unhappy woman became the victim. Upon the first intelligence
of this event, I obliged the Indians to deliver the murderer into my
hands; and though to have punished him by our laws, or principles of
justice, would have been perhaps unprecedented, he certainly should have
suffered an ignominious death, had I not been convinced, from my
circumstances and observations, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that
a pardon under the terms which I presented and they accepted, would be
more efficacious than an execution, to prevent similar mischiefs. The
above instance excepted, your intelligence respecting the cruelty of the
Indians, is false." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] While these pages are passing through the press, the author has
fallen upon a letter written from Montreal, and published in the
_Remembrancer_ for 1777, in which it was stated that a party of the
Indians had returned to Montreal in a high state of dissatisfaction,
because of the severity of Burgoyne's discipline toward them, and his
refusal to tolerate their mode of warfare, or pay them their accustomed
bounty for scalps. It was further stated that they waited upon Sir Guy
Carleton with their complaints--liking their old "Father" much better
than their new.
[FN-2] Vide Marshall's Life of Washington, Vol. I, Appendix.
The British commander doubtless labored to make the best of his case, and
in respect to Miss McCrea, his statement was much nearer to the truth than
that of General Gates. The actual circumstances of the case, stripped of
its romance, were these:--Miss McCrea belonged to a family of loyalists,
and had engaged her hand in marriage to a young refugee named Jones, a
subordinate officer in the British service, who was advancing with
Burgoyne. Anxious to possess himself of his bride, he despatched a small
party of Indians to bring her to the British camp. Her family and friends
were strongly opposed to her going with such an escort; but her affection
overcame her prudence, and she determined upon the hazardous adventure.
She set forward with her dusky attendants on horseback. The family resided
at the village of Fort Edward, from whence they had not proceeded more
than half a mile before her conductors stopped to drink at a spring.
Meantime the impatient lover, who deserved not her embrace for confiding
her protection to such hands, instead of going himself, had despatched
a second party of Indians upon the same errand. The Indians met at the
spring; and before the march was resumed, they were attacked by a party
of the Provincials. At the close of the skirmish the body of Miss McCrea
was found among the slain--tomahawked, scalped, and tied to a pine tree,
yet standing by the side of the spring, as a monument of the bloody
transaction. The name of the young lady is inscribed on the tree, the
trunk of which is thickly scarred with the bullets it received in the
skirmish. It also bears the date 1777. "Tradition reports that the Indians
divided the scalp, and that each party carried half of it to the agonized
lover." [FN] The ascertained cause of her murder was this. The promised
reward for bringing her in safety to her betrothed, was a barrel of rum.
The chiefs of the two parties sent for her by Mr. Jones, quarreled
respecting the anticipated compensation. Each claimed it; and, in a moment
of passion, to end the controversy, one of them struck her down with his
hatchet.
* * * * *
[FN] Silliman's Tour from Hartford to Quebec. Vide, also, Marshall,
Gordon, and others.
The tale was sufficiently painful according to the simple facts of the
case, and its recital produced a thrill of horror wherever it
came--enlarged and embellished, as it was sure to be in its progress, by
every writer who could add to the eloquence of the narrative or the pathos
of its catastrophe.
As the invader advanced, the inhabitants fled in the wildest
consternation. The horrors of war, however mitigated by the laws and
usages of civilization, are at all times sufficiently terrific; but when
to these the fierce cruelties of a cloud of savages are superadded, those
only who have been familiar with an American border warfare can form an
adequate opinion of its atrocities. Among the fugitives driven from their
peaceful abodes on the present occasion, was Mrs. Ann Eliza Bleecker, a
lady who has been somewhat celebrated as one of the early poets of our
country. She was the daughter of Mr. Brandt Schuyler of the city of
New-York, and the wife of John J. Bleecker, Esq., of New Rochelle, whose
enterprise, together with his lady's love for the wild scenery of the
forest, had induced him to exchange a residence among the busy haunts
of men for a solitary plantation in the vale of the Tomhanic--a mountain
stream flowing into the Hoosic river, about twenty miles from Albany. Mr.
Bleecker's residence lay directly in the march of Burgoyne, on whose
approach he hastened to Albany to provide accommodations for his family.
But a few hours after his departure, Mrs. Bleecker, as she sat at table
received intelligence that the enemy, with tomahawk and brand, was within
two miles of her residence. Instant flight was the only alternative.
Taking one of her children in her arms and seizing the other by the hand,
she started off on foot attended only by a young mulatto girl, and leaving
her house and all its contents a prey to the Indians. The roads were
encumbered by carriages, loaded with women and children, each intent upon
his or her own safety; so that no assistance could be obtained, and her
only recourse was to mingle in the fugitive throng, and participate in
the common panic and common distress. Having traveled about five miles
on foot, however, she succeeded in obtaining a seat for the children in
a wagon which served to facilitate her march. On the following morning she
was met by her husband, who conducted her to Albany, and from thence down
the Hudson as far as Red Hook one of her children dying by the way. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The facts of this incident in the life of Mrs. Bleeker are taken
from Kettel's biographical sketches of American poets. The memoirs of
Mrs. B. together with her poems, were published many years ago, but I
sought in vain among the libraries and the Bleekers to obtain a
copy.--_Author._
Amid this scene of desolation and affright, there was yet one woman whose
proud spirit was undaunted. It was the lady of General Schuyler. The
General's country-seat was upon his estate in Saratoga, standing upon the
margin of the river. On the approach of Burgoyne, Mrs. Schuyler went up
to Saratoga, in order to remove their furniture. Her carriage was attended
by only a single armed man on horseback. When within two miles of her
house, she encountered a crowd of panic-stricken people, who recited to
her the tragic fate of Miss McCrea, and representing to her the danger of
proceeding farther in the face of the enemy, urged her to return. She had
yet to pass through a dense forest, within which even then some of the
savage troops might be lurking for prey. But to these prudential councils
she would not listen. "The General's wife," she exclaimed, "must not be
afraid!" And pushing forward, she accomplished her purpose. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] I have derived this incident, and also that respecting the General,
which follows in the text, from Mrs. James Cochran of Oswego, who was
the youngest daughter of General Schuyler.--_Author._
Before the mansion was evacuated, however, the General himself had a
narrow escape from assassination by the hand of a savage, who had
insinuated himself into the house for that purpose. It was at the hour
of bed-time, in the evening, and while the General was preparing to retire
for the night, that a female servant, in coming in from the hall, saw a
gleam of light reflected from the blade of a knife, in the hand of some
person whose dark outline she discerned behind the door. The servant was
a black slave, who had sufficient presence of mind not to appear to have
made the discovery. Passing directly through the door into the apartment
where the General was yet standing near the fire-place, with an air of
unconcern she pretended to arrange such articles as were disposed upon
the mantel-piece, while in an undertone she informed her master of her
discovery, and said, aloud, "I will call the guard." The General instantly
seized his arms, while the faithful servant hurried out by another door
into a long hall, upon the floor of which lay a loose board which creaked
beneath the tread. By the noise she made in trampling rapidly upon the
board, the Indian--for such he proved--was led to suppose that the
Philistines were upon him in numbers, sprang from his concealment and
fled. He was pursued, however, by the guard and a few friendly Indians
attached to the person of General Schuyler, overtaken, and made prisoner.
Exasperated at his treachery, the friendly Indians were resolved to put
him to death, and it was with much difficulty that they were diverted
from their purpose by the General.
The effect of the incidents we have been detailing, and other recitals of
savage cruelties, not all, as General Burgoyne represented, without
foundation, was extensive and powerful. The cry of vengeance was
universal; and a spirit was aroused which proved of speedy and great
advantage to the American arms.
CHAPTER X.
Expedition against the Mohawk Valley from Oswego--Despondency of the
people in Tryon County--Letter of John Jay--Arrest of several of the
disaffected--Flight of others to Canada--Schuyler's complaints of the
cowardice of the people--Great discouragements--Proclamation of General
Herkimer--Letter from Thomas Spencer--St. Leger's approach--Caution and
plan of his march--Diary of Lieut. Bird--Fort Stanwix invested--Colonel
Gansevoort takes command--Its deplorable condition--Gansevoort joined
by Willett--Story of Captain Gregg--Situation of the garrison--Arrival
of St. Leger--His proclamation--Burgoyne's affairs becoming
critical--Affair of Bennington--General Herkimer, with the Tryon County
militia, advances to the relief of Gansevoort--Battle of
Oriskany--Bloody upon both sides--Unexampled bravery of Captain
Gardenier--Major Watts--Dissatisfaction of the Indians--Sortie and
success of Colonel Willett--Death and character of General Herkimer.
Contemporaneously with the descent of Burgoyne upon Northern New-York,
Colonel Barry St. Leger had been despatched from Montreal, by the way of
the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, to Oswego, there to form a junction
with the Indians and loyalists under Sir John Johnson and Captain Brant.
From Oswego, St. Leger was to penetrate by the way of Oneida Lake and Wood
Creek to the Mohawk river, with a view of forming a junction from that
direction with Burgoyne, on his arrival in Albany. The alarm everywhere
felt on the approach of Burgoyne from the North, was greatly increased
in Tryon County, on receiving intelligence of the contemplated invasion
by the Indians and loyalists from the West, The news of this movement was
first brought to the inhabitants by an Oneida half-breed sachem named
Thomas Spencer, who came therewith direct from Canada, whither he had gone
as a secret emissary to obtain information. Spencer stated that he had
been present at a council held at the Indian castle of Cassassenny, at
which Colonel Claus presided. [FN-1] According to Thomas's relation.
Colonel Claus strongly urged the Indians to join in the expedition into
the Mohawk Valley by the Western approach; boasting of the strength of
the army under Burgoyne, which had gone against Ticonderoga, and the
number of Indians with them, and before whom he assured them Ticonderoga
would fall. "Yes," said Colonel Claus, "Ticonderoga is mine. This is true:
you may depend on it, and not one gun shall be fired." Singularly enough,
though improbable at the time, the prediction, as we have seen, was
literally fulfilled. "The same," added the superintendent, "is true of
Fort Schuyler. I am sure that when I come before that fort, and the
commanding officer shall see me, he also will not fire a shot, but will
surrender the fort to me." The Oneida sachem farther informed the people
that Sir John Johnson and Colonel Claus were then at Oswego with their
families, with seven hundred Indians and four hundred regular troops.
There were also six hundred Tories on one of the islands above Oswegatchie
preparing to join them; and Colonel Butler was to arrive at Oswego on the
14th of July from Niagara, to hold a council with the Six Nations, to all
of whom he would offer the hatchet to join them and strike the
Americans. [FN-2] Thomas thereupon concluded his communication in the
following speech:--
* * * * *
[FN-1] Colonel Daniel Claus, a brother-in-law of Sir John Johnson, had
either superseded Guy Johnson as Indian Superintendent in Canada, or
been appointed a Deputy.
[FN-2] Referring, doubtless, to the Grand Council, of which an account is
given in chapter VIII.
"Brothers: Now is your time to awake, and not to sleep longer; or, on the
contrary, it shall go with Fort Schuyler as it went already with
Ticonderoga.
"Brothers: I therefore desire you to be spirited, and to encourage one
another to march on to the assistance of Fort Schuyler. Come up, and show
yourselves as men, to defend and save your country before it is too late.
Despatch yourselves to clear the brush about the fort, and send a party
to cut trees in the Wood Creek to stop up the same.
"Brothers: If you don't come soon, without delay, to assist this place,
we cannot stay much longer on your side; for if you leave this fort
without succor, and the enemy shall get possession thereof, we shall
suffer like you in your settlements, and shall be destroyed with you. We
are suspicious that your enemies have engaged the Indians, and endeavor
daily yet to strike and fight against you; and General Schuyler refuses
always that we shall take up arms in the country's behalf.
"Brothers: I can assure you, that as soon as Butler's speech at Oswego
shall be over, they intend to march down the country immediately to
Albany. You may judge yourselves that if you don't try to resist, we shall
be obliged to join them or fly from our Castles, as we cannot hinder them
alone. We, the good friends of the country, are of opinion, that if more
force appears at Fort Schuyler, the enemy will not move from Oswego to
invade these frontiers. You may depend on it we are willing to help you
if you will do some efforts too."
The counsel of the faithful Oneida was neither early enough, nor was it
seconded with sufficient promptitude on the part of the inhabitants.
Indeed, it must be confessed, that, as the storm of war rolled onward,
gathering at once from different directions, and threatening daily to
break upon them with increasing fury, many of the yeomen who had hitherto
borne themselves nobly, began to falter. A spirit of disaffection had also
been more widely diffused among the settlements than could have been
supposed from the previous patriotic conduct of the people, while treason
lurked in many places where least suspected. Upon this subject, and with
special reference to the popular feeling and conduct in Tryon County,
John Jay, then sitting in the State Convention at Kingston, addressed the
following letter to Gouverneur Morris, a member of the Council of Safety,
who was at that time with General Schuyler in the North:--
"John Jay to Gouverneur Morris.
"_Kingston, July_ 21_st,_ 1777.
"Dear Morris,
"The situation of Tryon County is both shameful and alarming. Such abject
dejection and despondency, as mark the letters we have received from
thence, disgrace human nature. God knows what to do with, or for them.
Were they alone interested in their fate, I should be for leaving their
cart in the slough till they would put their shoulders to the wheel.
"Schuyler has his enemies here, and they use these things to his
disadvantage. Suspicions of his having been privy to the evacuation of
Ticonderoga spread wide; and twenty little circumstances, which perhaps
are false, are trumped up to give color to the conjecture. [FN] We could
wish that your letters might contain paragraphs for the public. We are
silent because we have nothing to say; and the people suspect the worst
because we say nothing. Their curiosity must be constantly gratified, or
they will be uneasy. Indeed, I do not wonder at their impatience, the late
Northern events having been such as to have occasioned alarm and
suspicion. I have not leisure to add any thing more, than that I am, very
sincerely, yours, &c.
"John Jay."
* * * * *
[FN] Reference has already been made, in the text, to the injustice done
toward General Schuyler during this memorable year. There was probably no
officer in the service, the Commander-in-chief alone excepted, who was
considered by the enemy so great an obstacle to the success of their
arms. A narrow sectional prejudice existed against him in New England.
The failure of the Canadian campaign had been most wrongfully attributed
to him in 1776, and with equal injustice the fall of Ticonderoga was now
charged to his remissness by his own countrymen. The enemy were not slow
to avail themselves of these prejudices and groundless imputations, and
through the agency of the Tories, the most artful and insidious means
were employed to destroy the public confidence in his integrity and
capacity. The flame of suspicion was fanned by them until it became
general, and was openly avowed. Committees, towns, and districts,
assembled, and passed resolves expressing their distrust in him, and both
Congress and the Provincial Legislature of New-York were addressed upon
the subject. General Schuyler, than whom there was not a truer patriot,
nor a more earnest or active in the public service, was well aware of
these movements. To a Committee of the Provincial Congress, who had
formally communicated the charges to him, he returned an answer worthy
of a brave and magnanimous soldier. The character of this answer will
be understood from this single sentence:--"We must bear with the caprice,
jealousy, and envy of our misguided friends, and pity them."
As early as the 10th of April, Colonel Robert Van Rensselaer wrote to a
friend, that the Chairman of the County Committee had applied to him for
the assistance of his militia, to quell an insurrection of the loyalists
in Ballston; but such was the condition of his own regiment, that he was
obliged to decline the request. The spirit of disaffection had become so
prevalent among his men, that numbers of them had taken the oath of
secrecy and allegiance to Great Britain. However, he added that seventeen
of the villains had been arrested by the vigilance of the officers, and
were then in confinement; and a hope was indulged of being able to detect
the whole. [FN-1] Early in the following month the residue of the Roman
Catholic Scotch settlers in the neighborhood of Johnstown ran off to
Canada, together with some of the loyalist Germans--all headed by two
men named McDonald, who had been permitted by General Schuyler to visit
their families. The fact that the wives and families of the absconding
loyalists were holding communication with them, and administering to their
subsistence on the outskirts of the settlements, had suggested their
arrest, and removal to a place of safety, to the number of four
hundred--a measure that was approved by General Herkimer and his
officers. [FN-2] Alarming reports of various descriptions were continually
in circulation, and the inhabitants were harassed beyond measure by the
necessity of performing frequent tours of military duty--acting as scouts
and reconnoitering parties; and standing, some of them, as sentinels
around their fields, while others did the labor. No neighborhood felt
secure, and all were apprehensive that the whole country would be ravaged
by the Indians; while parties of the disaffected were continually stealing
away to augment the ranks of the enemy. Thus circumstanced, and at the
very moment when they were called upon to reinforce Fort Schuyler, the
Committees both of Palatine and Schoharie, feeling that they were not
strong enough even for self-defence, were calling upon the Council of
Safety at Albany to send additional forces for their protection. Mr.
Paris wrote repeatedly upon the subject. The Schoharie Committee, on the
17th of July, wrote very frankly, that "the late advantages gained by the
enemy had such an effect, that many who had been counted as friends of
the State were drawing back. Our situation," he added, "is
deplorable--excepting those who have sought protection from the enemy.
We are entirely open to the Indians and Tories, whom we expect every hour
to come upon us. Part of our militia are at Fort Edward; and of the few
that are here, many are unwilling to take up arms to defend themselves,
as they are unable to stand against so many enemies. Therefore if your
honors do not grant us immediate relief to the amount of about five
hundred men, we must either fall a prey to the enemy, or take protection
also." [FN-3] On the 18th of July, General Schuyler wrote to the Hon.
Pierre Van Courtlandt, from Saratoga, and again on the 21st from Fort
Edward, to the same effect. "I am exceedingly chagrined," he says, "at
the pusillanimous spirit which prevails in the County of Tryon. I
apprehend much of it is to be attributed to the infidelity of the leading
persons of that quarter. If I had one thousand regular troops, in
addition to those now above and on the march, I should venture to keep
only every third man of the militia, and would send them down. The
substance of Colonel Harper's information had been transmitted about a
month ago. In consequence whereof, I sent Colonel Van Schaick into Tryon
County with as many troops as I could collect. After the improper
agreement made by General Herkimer, [FN-4] these troops were marched back;
but as soon as I was informed of the march, I ordered them to remain in
Tryon County, where they are still, and I have sent up Colonel Wesson's
regiment to reinforce them. But if I may be allowed to judge of the temper
of General Herkimer and the Committee of Tryon County, from their letters
to me, nothing will satisfy them unless I march the whole army into that
quarter. With deference to the better judgment of the Council of Safety,
I cannot by any means think it prudent to bring on an open rupture with
the savages at the present time. The inhabitants of Tryon County are
already too much inclined to lay down their arms, and take whatever terms
the enemy may please to afford them. Half the militia from this (Tryon)
County, and the neighboring State of Massachusetts, we have been under the
necessity of dismissing; but the whole should go. I enclose you the
proceedings of a council of General officers, held at this place on the
20th instant. You will perceive that we have been driven to the necessity
of allowing some of the militia to return to their plantations. The
remainder have promised to remain three weeks longer--that is to say,
unless they choose to return sooner, which will doubtless be the case,
and for which they have many reasons." [FN-5]
* * * * *
[FN-1] MS. documents in the Department of State, Albany.
[FN-2] MS. documents in the Department of State, Albany--Letter of Isaac
Paris.
[FN-3] MS. correspondence of the Provincial Congress--Secretary's office,
Albany.
[FN-4] Probably referring to the interview between Herkimer and Brant
at Unadilla.
[FN-5] MS. Cor. Council of Safety--Secretary's office, Albany.
The complaints of General Schuyler were not without just foundation, as
the reader has already seen. Indeed, both regulars and militia in Tryon
County, seemed for the moment to have lost all the high qualities of
soldiers or citizens. Of two hundred militiamen ordered to muster and join
the garrison of Fort Schuyler, only a part obeyed; while two companies of
regular troops, receiving the like orders, entered upon the service with
great reluctance, and not without urging various excuses--complaining that
service in scouting parties had unfitted them for garrison duty. [FN] Under
circumstances of such discouragement, it was a time of peculiar trial to
the officers and Committees of Safety. Tryon County had early espoused
the cause of freedom, and apparently with greater unanimity than any other
county in the State; and the extensive defection, or criminal apathy,
which we have just been contemplating, was altogether unexpected. But a
crisis was approaching, which necessity soon obliged them to meet.
Accordingly, on the 17th of July, General Herkimer issued a patriotic
proclamation to the inhabitants of the county, announcing the gathering
of the enemy at Oswego, "Christians and Savages," to the number of two
thousand strong, with the intention of invading the frontier, and calling
upon the people _en masse,_ to be ready at a moment's warning to repair
to the field, with arms and accoutrements, on the approach of the enemy.
Those in health, from 16 to 60 years of age, were designated for actual
service; while those above 60 years of age, or invalids, were directed to
arm for the defence of the women and children at whatever place they might
be gathered in for safety. Concerning the disaffected, and those who might
refuse to obey the orders, it was directed in the proclamation that they
should be arrested, their arms secured, and themselves placed under guard
to join the main body. All the members of the Committee, and all those
who, by reason of having formerly held commissions, had become exempts
from service, were invited to repair to the rendezvous, and aid in
repulsing the foe; "not doubting that the Almighty Power, upon our humble
prayers, and sincere trust in Him, will then graciously succour our arms
in battle for our just cause, and victory cannot fail on our side."
* * * * *
[FN] Annals of Tryon County.
The Oneida Indians, who were sincerely disposed to favor the cause of the
United States, but who, pursuant to the humane policy of Congress and the
advice of General Schuyler, had determined to preserve their neutrality,
beheld the approaching invasion from Oswego with no small degree of
apprehension. The course they had marked out for themselves, as they were
well aware, was viewed with displeasure by their Mohawk brethren, while
the other members of their confederacy were obviously inclined to side
with their "Uncle." [FN] Living, moreover, in the immediate neighborhood
of Fort Schuyler, where St. Leger's first blow must be struck, they were
not a little troubled in the prospect of what might happen to themselves.
The watchful Thomas Spencer, therefore, despatched the following letter
to the Committee on the 29th of July, which was received on the 30th:--
* * * * *
[FN] In the Six Nations, the Mohawks--the head tribe--were called
"Uncle." The Oneidas were "the elder brother," &c.
"At a meeting of the chiefs, they tell me that there is but four days
remaining of the time set for the king's troops to come to Fort Schuyler,
and they think it likely they will be here sooner.
"The chiefs desire the commanding officers at Fort Schuyler not to make
a Ticonderoga of it; but they hope you will be courageous.
"They desire General Schuyler may have this with speed, and send a good
army here; there is nothing to do at New-York; we think there is men to
be spared--we expect the road is stopped to the inhabitants by a party
through the woods; we shall be surrounded as soon as they come. This may
be our last advice, as these soldiers are part of those that are to hold
a treaty. Send this to the Committee--as soon as they receive it, let
the militia rise up and come to Fort Schuyler.
"To-morrow we are a-going to the Three Rivers [FN] to the treaty. We
expect to meet the warriors, and when we come there and declare we are
for peace, we expect to be used with indifference and sent away."
* * * * *
[FN] The junction of the Oneida, Seneca, and Oswego rivers--not "Three
Rivers" in Canada.
"Let all the troops that come to Fort Schuyler take care on their march,
as there is a party of Indians to stop the road below the fort, about
80 or 100. We hear they are to bring their cannon up Fish Creek. We hear
there is 1000 going to meet the enemy. We advise not--the army is too
large for so few men to defend the Fort--we send a belt of 8 rows to
confirm the truth of what we say.
"It looks likely to me the troops are near--hope all friends to liberty,
and that love their families, will not be backward, but exert themselves;
as one resolute blow would secure the friendship of the Six Nations, and
almost free this part of the country from the incursions of the
enemy." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. letter among the papers of General Gansevoort. Thomas Spencer
was a blacksmith, who had resided among the Cayugas, and was greatly
beloved by the Indians.--_Letter from General Schuyler to Colonel
Dayton--Gansevoort papers._
The certainty that the invaders were thus approaching, the earnestness
of the appeals of the Committee to the patriotism of the people, the
influence of the proclamation of the German General, who was a much
better man than officer, save only in the single attribute of courage;
and, above all, the positive existence of a common danger from which
there was no escape; were circumstances, together, not without their
effect. And although the eleventh hour had arrived, yet the militia, and
all upon whom the call to arms had been made, now began to move with a
degree of alacrity and an exhibition of spirit that went far to atone
for the unpatriotic, if not craven, symptoms already noticed.
Meantime, having completed his organization at Oswego, General St. Leger
commenced his march upon Fort Schuyler, moving by the route already
indicated, though with great circumspection. The name of this place of
rendezvous has already recurred more than once, or twice, in the
preceding pages. Its position was important, and it had been a place of
renown in the earlier wars of the Colony. The river bearing the same
name, which here pours Northwardly into Lake Ontario, is the outlet both
of the Oneida and Seneca rivers, through which, and their tributary
streams, it is connected with the chain of small lakes bearing the names
of Oneida, Cazenovia, Skaneateles, Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca, and
Canandaigua. Its estuary, of course, forms the natural opening into the
rich district of country surrounding those lakes, which, down to the
period of the present history, contained the principal towns of four of
the Five Nations of Indians. During the wars between the French and
Five Nations, Oswego was repeatedly occupied by the armies of the former.
It was here that Count Frontenac landed, on his invasion of the Onondaga
country in 1692, at which time, or subsequently, a considerable military
work was erected on the western side of the river. During the war with
France, which was closed in America by the conquest of Canada, it was
in the occupancy of the Provincials and English. The expedition destined
to descend the St. Lawrence upon Montreal, was assembled at this point
in 1759, after the fall of Niagara, under General Shirley and Sir William
Johnson, The army was encamped here several weeks, and finally broke up
without attempting its main object--owing, as Sir William Johnson
intimates in his private diary, to a want of energy on the part of
Shirley. After the fall of Quebec and Montreal into the hands of the
English, a battalion of the 55th regiment was stationed at Oswego, under
Major Duncan, a brother of the naval hero of Camperdown. A new and far
more formidable work was constructed upon the Eastern or North-eastern
promontory, formed by the embouchure of the river into the lake. The new
position was far better chosen for a fortress than the old; and,
ultimately, before the Britons were dispossessed of it by the Americans,
it became a work of somewhat formidable strength and dimensions. The
situation is one of the most beautiful that can be imagined; and during
the two or three years in which Major Duncan was in command, by the
cultivation of a large garden, the laying out and improving of a
bowling-green, and other pleasure-grounds, it was rendered a little
paradise in the wilderness. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] See Mrs. Grant's delightful book--"Memoirs of an American Lady,"
chapters xliv. to xlvii. inclusive.
All told, the army of St. Leger consisted of seventeen hundred
men--Indians included. These latter were led by Thayendanegea. The order
of their march, as beautifully drawn and colored, was subsequently taken,
with the escritoire of the commanding General, and will be found on the
subsequent page, accurately copied and engraved. The advance of the main
body, it will be seen, was formed of Indians, marching in five Indian
columns; that is, in single files, at large distances from each other,
and four hundred and sixty paces in front of the line. From these columns
of Indians, files were stretched at a distance often paces from each
other, forming a line of communication with the advanced guard of the
line, which was one hundred paces in front of the column. The right and
left flanks were covered by Indians at one hundred paces, forming
likewise lines of communication with the main body. The King's regiment
moved from the left by Indian file, while the 34th moved in the same
order from the right. The rear-guard was formed of regular troops; while
the advance guard, composed of sixty marksmen, detached from Sir John
Johnson's regiment of Royal Greens, was led by Sir John's brother-in-law,
Captain Watts. Each corps was likewise directed to have ten chosen
marksmen in different parts of its line, in case of attack, to be pushed
forward to any given point as circumstances might require. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. directions found among the captured papers of St. Leger.
[Illustration: St. Leger's Order of March.]
From these extraordinary precautions, it may well be inferred that
General St. Leger, who probably acted much under the advice of Sir John
Johnson and the refugee Provincials, who must have been best acquainted
with the country and the character of the enemy they were going to
encounter, was not a little apprehensive of an attack by surprise while
on his march.
In addition to the arrangements already indicated, a detachment from the
8th regiment, with a few Indians, was sent a day or more in advance,
under the command of Lieutenant Bird. This officer pushed forward with
spirit, but was somewhat annoyed by the insubordination and independent
action of his allies. The following extracts from his private diary [FN]
will not only disclose his own embarrassments, but illustrate the
character of Indian warriors acting in concert with regular troops:--
* * * * *
[FN] MS. Diary of Lt. Henry Bird, captured from Gen. St. Leger by Col.
Gansevoort.
"_Tuesday,_ 28_th July,_ 1777.--After going two miles, and no savages
coming up, waited two hours for them. Sixteen Senecas arriving, proceeded
to the Three Rivers [FN]--waited there two hours--seventy or eighty
Messesaugues coming up, I proposed moving forward. They had stolen two
oxen from the drove of the army, and would not advance, but stayed to
feast. I advanced without Indians seven miles farther--in all nineteen
miles. Posted four sentinels all night from a sergeant's guard of twelve
men--relieved every hour--visited every half hour. All fires put out at
9 o'clock."
* * * * *
[FN] The junction of the Oneida, Seneca, and Oswego rivers.
"_Wednesday_--Set off next morning at six, having waited for the savages
till that time, though none arrived. Ordered the boats to keep seventy
rods behind each other--half the men keeping their arms in their hands,
while the other half rowed. Ordered, on any of the boats being fired
upon, that the men should jump ashore. The rest to support them with all
expedition. Rowed all night. Encamped at Nine Mile Point.
"_Thursday, July_ 30.--With twenty-seven Senecas and nine Messesaugues
joined Mr. Hair's party. [FN] Many savages being with us, proceeded to
Wood Creek, a march of fifteen miles. . . ."
* * * * *
[FN] Lieut. Hair--afterward killed.
"_Friday._--The savages hinted an intention to send parties to Fort
Stanwix, but to proceed in a body no farther. I called a council of the
chiefs--told them I had orders to approach near the fort--that if they
would accompany me, I should be content; but if they would not go, I
should take the white people under my command, and proceed myself. The
Messesaugues said they would go with me. The Senecas said I had promised
to be advised by their chiefs--that it was their way to proceed with
caution. I answered, that I meant only as to fighting in the bush, but
that I had communicated my intentions to them in the former camp, of
preventing them [the Americans meaning] from stopping the creek, [FN] and
investing their fort. But since I had promised to be advised by them, I
would take it so far as to wait till next morning--and would then
certainly march by daybreak. After some counseling, they seemed pleased
with what I had said, and said they would send out large scouts to
prepare the way. Accordingly eight-teen or twenty set off this evening."
* * * * *
[FN] General Schuyler had directed the commanding officer of Fort
Stanwix to obstruct the navigation of Wood Creek by felling trees
therein.
On the 2d of August, however, Bird wrote back to his General that no
savages would advance with him except Henriques, a Mohawk, and one other
of the Six Nations, an old acquaintance of his. The letter
continues:--"Those two, Sir, I hope to have the honor to present to you.
A savage, who goes by the name of Commodore Bradley, was the chief cause
of their not advancing to-day. Twelve Messesaugues came up two or three
hours after my departure. Those, with the scout of fifteen I had the
honor to mention to you in my last, are sufficient to invest Fort
Stanwix, if you favor me so far as not to order to the contrary." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. of the original letter, among the Gansevoort papers.
St. Leger received this letter on the same day, at Nine Mile Point,
whence he immediately despatched the following reply:--
"General St. Leger to Lieut. Bird.
_Nine Mile Point, Aug._ 2, 1777.
"Sir,
"I this instant received your letter containing the account of your
operations since you were detached, which I with great pleasure tell you
have been sensible and spirited; your resolution of investing Fort
Stanwix is perfectly right; and to enable you to do it with greater
effect, I have detached Joseph [Thayendanegea] and his corps of Indians
to reinforce you. You will observe that I will have nothing but an
investiture made; and in case the enemy, observing the discretion and
judgment with which it is made, should offer to capitulate, you are to
tell them that you are sure I am well disposed to listen to them; this is
not to take any honor out of a young soldier's hands, but by the presence
of the troops to prevent the barbarity and carnage which will ever obtain
where Indians make so superior a part of a detachment; I shall move from
hence at eleven o'clock, and be early in the afternoon at the entrance
of the creek.
"I am, Sir, your most obt. and humble ser't.
Barry St. Leger."
"_Lieut. Bird, 8th reg't._" [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. of the original letter, among the Gansevoort papers,--Vide,
also, Campbell's Annals.
The investment of the fort was made by Lieut. Bird forthwith--Brant
arriving to his assistance at the same time. But the result of the siege
that followed proved that the British commander had grievously
miscalculated the spirit of the garrison of Fort Stanwix, in his
anticipations of a speedy capitulation. Still, his prudential order, the
object of which was to prevent an unnecessary sacrifice of life at the
hands of his Indian allies, calculating, of course, upon an easy victory,
was not the less commendable on that account.
The situation of Fort Stanwix itself--or rather Fort Schuyler, as it must
now be called--next demands attention. At the beginning of the year, as
we have already seen, the post was commanded by Colonel Elmore of the
State service. The term of that officer expiring in April, Colonel Peter
Gansevoort, also of the State troops, was designated as Colonel Elmore's
successor, by an order from General Gates, dated the 26th of that month.
Notwithstanding the labors of Colonel Drayton, in repairing the works,
the preceding year, Colonel Gansevoort found them in such a state of
dilapidation, that they were not only indefensible, but untenable. A
brisk correspondence ensued between that officer and General Schuyler
upon the subject, from which it is manifest that, to say nothing of the
miserable condition of his defences, with the prospect of an invasion
from the West before him, his situation was in other respects
sufficiently deplorable. He had but a small number of men, and many of
those were sick by reason of destitution. [FN-1] Added to all which was
the responsibility of the Indian relations confided to him by special
order of General Schuyler on the 9th of June. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letters among the Gansevoort papers.
[FN-2] "You will keep up a friendly intercourse with the Indians, and
suffer no speeches to be made to them by any person not employed in the
Indian Department; and when you have occasion to speak to them, let your
speech be written, and a copy transmitted to me, that the Commissioners
may be informed of every transaction with those people."--_Schuyler's
letter to Colonel Gansevoort._ Colonel G. lost no time in holding a
council with such of the chiefs and warriors as yet remained friendly,
and he seems to have fully acquired their confidence. He delivered a
sensible speech on the occasion, but it contains nothing requiring
farther note.
Colonel Marinus Willett was soon afterward directed to join the garrison
at Fort Schuyler with his regiment, and most fortunate was the selection
of such an officer as Willett to cooperate with such another as
Gansevoort; since all the skill, and energy, and courage of both were
necessary for the situation. The work itself was originally a square
fort, with four bastions, surrounded by a ditch of considerable width
and depth, with a covert way and glacis around three of its angles; the
other being sufficiently secured by low, marshy ground. In front of the
gate there had been a drawbridge, covered by a salient angle raised in
front of it on the glacis. In the centre of the ditch a row of
perpendicular pickets had been erected, with rows of horizontal pickets
fixed around the ramparts under the embrasures. But since the conclusion
of the French war, the fort had fallen into decay; the ditch was filled
up, and the pickets had rotted and fallen down; [FN-1] nor had any
suitable progress been made in its reparation. Immediate exertions,
energetic and unremitting, were necessary to repair, or rather to renew
and reconstruct, the works, and place them in a posture of defence,
should the long anticipated invasion ensue from that quarter. A more
correct idea of the wretched condition of the post, even down to the
beginning of July, may be found from the annexed letter:--[FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Willett's Narrative.
[FN-2] MS. copy, preserved among General Gansevoort's papers.
"Colonel Gansevoort to General Schuyler.
_Fort Schuyler, July_ 4_th,_ 1777.
"Sir,
"Having taken an accurate review of the state of the garrison, I think
it is incumbent on me to inform your Excellency by express of our present
circumstances. Every possible assistance is given to Captain Marquizee,
to enable him to carry on such works as are deemed absolutely necessary
for the defence of the garrison. The soldiers are constantly at
work--even such of them as come off guard are immediately turned out to
fatigue. But I cannot conceal from your Excellency the impossibility of
attending fully to all the great objects pointed out in the orders issued
to the commanding officer on the station, without farther assistance.
Sending out sufficient parties of observation, felling the timber into
Wood Creek, clearing the road from Fort Dayton, which is so embarrassed,
in many parts, as to be impassable, and prosecuting, at the same time,
the internal business of the garrison, are objects of the greatest
importance, which should, if possible, be immediately considered. But
while no exertions compatible with the circumstances we are in, and
necessary to give your Excellency satisfaction with respect to all these
interesting matters, shall be omitted, I am very sensible it is not in
our power to get over some capital obstructions without a reinforcement.
The enclosed return, and the difficulties arising from the increasing
number of hostile Indians, will show to your Excellency the grounds of
my opinion. One hundred and fifty men would be needed speedily and
effectually to obstruct Wood Creek; an equal number will be necessary to
guard the men at work in felling and hauling of timber. Such a deduction
from our number, together with smaller deductions for scouting parties,
would scarcely leave a man in the garrison, which might therefore be
easily surprised by a contemptible party of the enemy. The number of
inimical Indians increases. On the affair of last week only two made
their appearance. Yesterday a party of at least forty, supposed to be
Butler's emissaries, attacked Ensign Sporr with sixteen privates, who
were out on fatigue, cutting turf about three quarters of a mile from
the fort. One soldier was brought in dead and inhumanly mangled; two were
brought in wounded--one of them slightly and the other mortally. Six
privates and Mr. Sporr are missing. Two parties were immediately sent
to pursue the enemy, but they returned without being able to come up with
them. This success will, no doubt, encourage them to send out a greater
number; and the intelligence they may possibly acquire, will probably
hasten the main body destined to act against us in these parts. Our
provision is greatly diminished by reason of the spoiling of the beef,
and the quantities that must be given from time to time to the Indians.
It will not hold out above six weeks. Your Excellency will perceive, in
looking over Captain Savage's return of the state of the artillery, that
some essential articles are very scarce. As a great number of the
gun-bullets do not suit the fire-locks, some bullet-moulds of different
sizes for casting others, would be of great advantage to us. Our stock
of powder is absolutely too little; a ton, in addition to what we have,
is wanted as the lowest proportion for the shot we have on hand. We will,
notwithstanding every difficulty, exert ourselves to the utmost of our
power; and if your Excellency will be pleased to order a speedy
reinforcement, with a sufficient supply of provision and ammunition to
enable us to hold out a siege, we will, I hope, by the blessing of God,
be able to give a good account of any force that will probably come
against us."
The picture is gloomy enough; and was rendered the more so from the
mistakes of the engineer, a Frenchman, who had been employed by General
Schuyler, and whom it was ultimately found necessary to arrest and send
back to head-quarters. [FN] Colonel Willett had from the first doubted the
capacity of Marquizee, and after his dismissal the work proceeded for the
most part under his own immediate direction.
* * * * *
[FN] Willett's Narrative.
The garrison had likewise other difficulties to encounter. With the
gathering of St. Leger's motley forces at Oswego, preparatory to his
descent upon the Mohawk, the Indians, as has already been seen by
Gansevoort's letter, began to appear in scouting parties in the
circumjacent forests. The utmost caution was therefore necessary on
leaving the fort, even for a short distance. It was during this critical
period that the familiar incident of Captain Gregg and his faithful dog
occurred, of which the following brief account was given by Colonel
Gansevoort:--
"Col. Gansevoort to Gen. Schuyler, (Extract.)
_Fort Schuyler, June_ 26, 1777.
"I am sorry to inform your Honor that Captain Gregg and Corporal Madison,
of my regiment, went out a gunning yesterday morning, contrary to orders.
It seems they went out just after breakfast, and at about 10 o'clock
Corporal Madison was killed and scalped. Captain Gregg was shot through
his back, tomahawked and scalped, and is still alive. He informs me that
the misfortune happened about ten o'clock in the morning. He looked at
his watch after he was scalped. He saw but two Indians. He was about one
mile and a half from the fort, and was not discovered until two o'clock
in the afternoon. I immediately sent out a party and had him brought into
the fort, just after three o'clock; also the corpse of Madison. Gregg is
perfectly in his senses, and speaks strong and hearty, notwithstanding
that his recovery is doubtful." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. of the original draught, among Col. Gansevoort's papers.
There was little of romance in Colonel Gansevoort, and he related the
incident with military brevity. The story, however, has often been told,
with a variety of amplifications, particularly in regard to the wounded
soldier's faithful dog, to whose affectionate sagacity he is said to have
been indebted for his discovery, if not his life. According to the
narrative of President Dwight, it appears that Gregg and his companion
had been seduced into a fatal disobedience of orders, by the clouds of
pigeons appearing in the adjoining woods. Immediately upon their fall,
the Indians rushed upon them for their scalps, which they took--giving
each a simultaneous cut upon the head with their tomahawks. The corporal
had been killed by the shot, but Captain Gregg was only wounded. [FN]
Feigning death, however, he had the presence of mind, and the fortitude,
to submit to the subsequent torture without betraying himself by a groan
or the quivering of a muscle. The Indians departing immediately, Captain
Gregg crawled to his lifeless companion, and pillowed his head upon his
body; while his faithful dog ran to a place at no great distance thence,
where two men were engaged in fishing, and by his imploring looks and
significant actions, induced them to follow him to the spot where lay his
wounded master. Hastening to the fort, the fishermen reported what they
had seen, and a party of soldiers being forthwith despatched to the
place, the bodies of the wounded and the dead were speedily brought into
the garrison, as we have seen from the Colonel's official account.
Captain Gregg was severely wounded, independently of the scalping; and
his case was for a long time critical.
* * * * *
[FN] It has been asserted in history, that St. Leger encouraged these
isolated murders by large bounties for scalps. Twenty dollars is said to
have been the price he paid; but his despatch to Lieut. Bird, before
cited, does not corroborate the charge of such inhumanity. That despatch
was a private document, moreover, not written for the light, or for
effect, and must therefore be received as true. It was found among Col.
Gansevoort's papers.
The friendly Indians, then chiefly, if not exclusively, Oneidas, though
still acting and speaking in the name of the Six Nations, presented an
address of condolence to Colonel Gansevoort on this occasion, to which
the latter made a suitable reply, which alone has been preserved, and
reads as follows:--
"Brother Warriors of the Six Nations: I thank you for your good talk.
"Brothers: You tell us you are sorry for the cruel usage of Captain
Gregg, and the murder of one of our warriors; that you would have
immediately pursued the murderers, had not General Schuyler, General
Gates, and the French General, desired you not to take any part in this
war; and that you have obeyed their orders, and are resolved to do so.
I commend your good inclination and intention.
"Brothers: You say you have sent a runner to the Six Nations, to inform
them of what has happened, and that you expect some of your chiefs will
look into the affair, and try to find out the murderers. You have done
well. I shall be glad to smoke a pipe with your chiefs, and hope they
will do as they speak.
"Brothers: I hope the mischief has been done, not by any of our good
friends of the Oneida nation, but by the Tories, who are enemies to you
as well as to us, and who are ready to murder yourselves, your wives, and
children, if you will not be as wicked as themselves.
"Brothers: When your chiefs shall convince me that Indians of the Six
Nations have had no hand in this wicked thing, and shall use means to
find out the murderers and bring them to justice, you may be assured that
we will strengthen the chain of friendship, and embrace you as our good
brothers. I will not suffer any of our warriors to hurt you."
The address contained two or three additional paragraphs in reference to
other subjects. Captain Gregg recovered, and resumed his duties; and
having served to the end of the war, lived many years afterward.
Another tragic incident occurred at nearly the same time. About noon, on
the 3d of July, the day being perfectly clear. Colonel Willet was
startled from his siesta by the report of musketry. Hastening to the
parapet of the glacis, he saw a little girl running with a basket in her
hand, while the blood was trickling down her bosom. On investigating the
facts, it appeared that the girl, with two others, was picking berries,
not two hundred yards from the fort, when they were fired upon by a party
of Indians, and two of the number killed. Happily, she who only was left
to tell the tale, was but slightly wounded. One of the girls killed, was
the daughter of an invalid, who had served many years in the British
artillery. He was entitled to a situation in Chelsea Hospital, but had
preferred rather to remain in the cultivation of a small piece of ground
at Fort Stanwix, than again to cross the ocean. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Willett's Narrative.
By the middle of July, the Indians hovering about the fort became so
numerous, and so bold, as to occasion great annoyance. Large parties of
soldiers could only venture abroad on the most pressing emergencies; and
even one of these was attacked, several of its numbers killed and
wounded, and the officer in command taken prisoner. The force of the
garrison, at this time, consisted of about five hundred and fifty
men--ill-supplied, as we have already seen, both with provisions and
munitions of war. Fortunately, however, on the 2d of August, the very
day of the investiture of the fort by the advance of St. Leger's army
under Thayendanegea and Bird, Lieutenant Colonel Mellon, of Colonel
Weston's regiment, arrived with two hundred men, and two batteaux of
provisions and military stores. Not a moment was lost in conveying these
opportune supplies into the fort. Delay would, indeed, have been
dangerous; for at the instant the last loads arrived at the fort, the
enemy appeared on the skirt of the forest, so near to the boats, that
the captain who commanded them became their prisoner. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Willett's Narrative.
The command of Colonel Gansevoort now consisted of seven hundred and
fifty men, all told; and upon examination it was ascertained that they
had provisions for six weeks--with fixed ammunition enough for the small
arms. But for the cannon they were lamentably deficient--having barely
enough for nine rounds per diem during the period specified. A besieging
army was before the fort, and its garrison was without a flag! But as
necessity is the mother of invention, they were not long thus destitute.
Stripes of white were cut from ammunition shirts; blue from a camblet
cloak captured from the enemy; while the red was supplied from such odds
and ends of clothes of that hue as were at hand. [FN] And, thus furnished,
commenced the celebrated defence of Fort Schuyler.
* * * * *
[FN] Idem.
Such was the condition of Fort Schuyler at the commencement of the
memorable siege of 1777--an event, with its attending circumstances,
forming an important feature in the Northern border warfare of the
Revolution, Colonel St. Leger [FN-1] himself arrived before the fort on
the 3d of August, with his whole force--a motley collection of British
regulars, Hessian auxiliaries, New-York loyalists, usually denominated
"Johnson's Greens," together with numbers of the Canadians, and the
Indians under Thayendanegea. Sir John Johnson, and Colonels Claus and
Butler, [FN-2] were also engaged with him in the expedition. A flag was
sent into the fort on the morning of that day, with a copy of a rather
pompous proclamation from St. Leger, which, it was probably supposed,
from its vaunting threats and lavish promises, might produce a strong
impression upon the garrison. "The forces intrusted to my command are
designed to act in concert, and upon a common principle, with the
numerous armies and fleets which already display, in every quarter of
America, the power, the justice, and, when properly sought, the mercy
of the King." So commenced the proclamation. After denouncing "the
unnatural rebellion" as having already been made the "foundation for the
completest system of tyranny that ever God in his displeasure suffered
for a time to be exercised over a froward and stubborn generation," and
charging that "arbitrary imprisonment, confiscation of property,
persecution and torture, unprecedented in the inquisitions of the Roman
church, were among the palpable enormities that verified the
affirmation"--and after denouncing "the profanation of religion," and
other "shocking proceedings" of the civil authorities and committees in
rebellion, the proclamation proceeded--"animated by these considerations;
at the head of troops in the full powers of health, discipline, and
valor; determined to strike where necessary, and anxious to spare when
possible, I, by these presents, invite and exhort all persons in all
places where the progress of this army may point, and by the blessing of
God I will extend it far, to maintain such a conduct as may justify me
in protecting their lands, habitations, and families." The object of his
address was to hold forth security, and not depredation; he offered
employment to those who would join his standard; security to the infirm
and industrious; and payment in coin for all the supplies the people
would bring to his camp. In conclusion, he said--"If, notwithstanding
these endeavors, and sincere inclinations to effect them, the frenzy of
hostility should remain, I trust I shall stand acquitted in the eyes of
God and men, in denouncing and executing the vengeance of the State
against the willful outcasts. The messengers of justice and of wrath
await them in the field; and devastation, famine, and every concomitant
horror that a reluctant, but indispensable prosecution of military duty
must occasion, will bar the way to their return." [FN-3]
* * * * *
[FN-1] It is difficult, from the books, to determine what was at that
time the precise rank of St. Leger. He has usually been called a
Brigadier General. By some contemporary writers he was called Colonel
St. Leger. But in General Burgoyne's despatches to Lord George Germaine,
of August 20, 1777, he is repeatedly denominated Lieutenant-Colonel St.
Leger. He is also called Colonel St. Leger by Bissett. But he,
nevertheless, signed his name as a Brigadier-General in a letter to
Col. Gansevoort, on the 9th of August.
[FN-2] At the breaking out of the war, John Butler was
Lieutenant-Colonel of a regiment of the Tryon County militia, of which
Guy Johnson was the Colonel and Jelles Fonda the Major. Sir John had
been commissioned a General after the decease of his father.
[FN-3] For the proclamation, entire, see Appendix No. III. It is a copy,
or nearly so, of the proclamation almost simultaneously issued by
General Burgoyne, announcing his approach from Lake Champlain.
This manifesto, however, produced no effect, then or afterward. The siege
had been anticipated, and the brave garrison, officers and men, had
counted the cost and determined to defend the fortress to the last.
Accordingly, hostilities commenced actively on the morning of the
following day. The Indians, concealing themselves behind clumps of
shrubbery and stumps of trees, annoyed the men who were employed in
raising the parapets not a little with their rifles. Several were
wounded; and it was found necessary immediately to station sharpshooters
at suitable points, to watch opportunities, and fire in return. The 5th
was spent in much the same manner, with the addition of the throwing of
a few shells by the enemy--several of which fell within the fort, and
some in the barracks. "On the evening of this day, soon after it was
dark, the Indians, who were at least one thousand in number, spread
themselves through the woods, completely encircling the fort, and
commenced a terrible yelling, which was continued at intervals the
greater part of the night." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Willett's Narrative.
Having thus commenced his operations, Colonel St. Leger found means of
conveying the intelligence to General Burgoyne--not for a moment
anticipating the distressing circumstances in which the Northern
Commander-in-chief already found himself involved, though but mid-way
in the career of victory. Harassed incessantly by the foes he had
vanquished; unable to obtain supplies, except by sending back for them
to Fort George, in which service his troops were already greatly
fatigued; not one third of his horses arrived from Canada; the roads
excessively bad, and rendered all but impassable by a deluge of rain;
with only four days of provisions on hand; the vaunting General, who had
boasted in the British capital that, with ten thousand men, he could
march through the whole rebel country at pleasure, already found himself
in an unenviable situation. But on learning the advance of General St.
Leger, he instantly and justly considered that a rapid movement forward,
at this critical juncture, would be of the utmost importance. If the
retreating Americans should proceed up the Mohawk with a view of
relieving Fort Schuyler, in the event of St. Leger's success against that
place they would place themselves between two fires; or perhaps Burgoyne
supposed that were such a movement to be made on the part of the
Americans, he might yet throw his army between them and Albany, and thus
compel them either to stand a general engagement or to strike off to the
right, and by recrossing the Hudson higher up, secure a retreat into New
England. If, on the other hand, the Americans should abandon Fort
Schuyler to its fate, and themselves fall back upon Albany, he argued
that the Mohawk country would of course be entirely laid open to him;
his junction with St. Leger established, and the combined army be at
liberty to select its future line of operation. [FN] But his supplies were
inadequate to such an extensive operation, and his army was too weak to
allow him to keep up such a chain of posts as would enable him to bring
them up daily from the _depot_ at Lake George. With a view, therefore,
of obtaining immediate relief, and of opening a new source of supply,
especially of cattle, from the upper settlements of New England, the
expedition to Bennington, the place of deposite of provisions for the
Provincial forces, was planned, and committed to a detachment of the
Hessian troops, under Colonel Baum, for execution. The signal failure
of this expedition was calculated still farther both to embarrass and
depress the invaders; while the brilliant success of the militia under
General Starke on that occasion, proving, as it had done, that neither
English nor German troops were invincible, revived the drooping spirits
of the disheartened; re-inspired the people with confidence of ultimate
success; and was the source of universal exultation.
* * * * *
[FN] London Universal Magazine.
The progress of events brings us back to the lower Valley of the Mohawk.
No sooner was the advance of St. Leger upon Fort Schuyler known to the
Committee and officers of Tryon County, than General Herkimer, in
conformity with the proclamation heretofore cited, summoned the militia
of his command to the field, for the purpose of marching to the succor
of the garrison. Notwithstanding the despondency that had prevailed in
the early part of the Summer, the call was nobly responded to, not only
by the militia, but by the gentlemen of the County, and most of the
members of the Committee, who entered the field either as officers or
private volunteers. The fears so generally and so recently indulged
seemed all to have vanished with the arrival of the invader, and the
General soon found himself at the head of between eight hundred and a
thousand men, all eager for action and impatient of delay. Their place
of rendezvous was at Fort Dayton, (German Flats,) in the upper section
of the Mohawk Valley--and the most beautiful. The regiments were those
of Colonels Klock, Visscher, Cox, and one or two others, augmented by
volunteers and volunteer officers, who were pushing forward as though
determined at all hazards to redeem the character of the county. Indeed,
their proceedings were by far too impetuous, since they hurried forward
in their march without order or precaution, without adequate flanking
parties, and without reconnoitering the ground over which they were to
pass. They moved from Fort Dayton on the 4th, and on the 5th reached the
neighborhood of Oriskany, [FN-1] where they encamped. From this point an
express [FN-2] was sent forward by General Herkimer to apprise Colonel
Gansevoort of his approach, and to concert measures of co-operation. The
arrival of the express at the fort was to be announced by three
successive discharges of cannon, the report of which, it was supposed,
would be distinctly heard at Oriskany--only eight miles distant. Delays,
however, intervened, so that the messengers did not reach the fort until
ten or eleven o'clock on the following morning; previous to which the
camp of the enemy being uncommonly silent, a portion of their troops had
been observed by the garrison to be moving along the edge of the woods
down the river, in the direction of the Oriskany Creek. [FN-3] The
concerted signals were immediately fired; [FN-4] and as the proposition
of Herkimer was to force a passage to the fort, arrangements were
immediately made by Colonel Gansevoort to effect a diversion of the
enemy's attention, by making a sally from the fort upon the hostile
camp, for which purpose two hundred men were detailed, consisting one
half of Gansevoort's, and one half of the Massachusetts troops, and one
field-piece--an iron three pounder. The execution of the enterprise was
entrusted to Colonel Willett. [FN-5]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Probably the site of Whitestown. One of the MS. narratives in
the author's possession says they crossed the river at old Fort Schuyler
(now Utica.)
[FN-2] Adam Hehner accompanied by two other men.
[FN-3] Letter of Colonel Willett to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut.
[FN-4] MS. of Captain Henry Seeber, in the author's possession. See,
also, Willett's Narrative.
[FN-5] Willett's letter to Governor Trumbull. The officers serving in
this detachment were Captain Van Benschoten and Lieutenant Stockwell,
who led the advance guard; Captains Allen, (of Massachusetts,) Bleecker,
Johnson, and Swartwout; Lieutenants Diefendorf, Conyne, Bogardus,
McClenner, and Ball; Ensigns Chase, Bailey, Lewis, Denniston, Magee,
and Arnent. The rear-guard was commanded by Major Badlam.
It appears that on the morning of that day, which was the 6th of August,
General Herkimer had misgivings as to the propriety of advancing any
farther without first receiving reinforcements. His officers, however,
were eager to press forward. A consultation was held, in which some of
the officers manifested much impatience at any delay, while the General
still urged them to remain where they were until reinforcements could
come up, or at least until the signal of a sortie should be received from
the fort. High words ensued, during which Colonels Cox and Paris, and
many others, denounced their commander to his face as a Tory and coward.
The brave old man calmly replied that he considered himself placed over
them as a father, and that it was not his wish to lead them into any
difficulty from which he could not extricate them. Burning, as they now
seemed, to meet the enemy, he told them roundly that they would run at
his first appearance. [FN-1] But his remonstrances were unavailing. Their
clamor increased, and their reproaches were repeated, until, stung by
imputations of cowardice and a want of fidelity to the cause, [FN-2] and
somewhat irritated withal, the General immediately gave the order--"March
on!" [FN-3] The words were no sooner heard than the troops gave a shout,
and moved, or rather rushed forward. They marched in files of two deep,
preceded by an advanced guard and keeping flanks upon each side. [FN-4]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Travels of President Dwight, vol. iii. p. 192.
[FN-2] MS. statement of George Walter, in possession of the author; also
of Henry Seeber.
[FN-3] Statement of Adam Miller, in possession of the author.
[FN-4] It has been charged by most writers that even these ordinary
precautions were not observed. Miller and Walter, however, both assert
the fact.
Having, by 10 o'clock, proceeded rapidly forward to the distance of only
two or three miles, [FN-1] the guards, both front and flanks, were
suddenly shot down, the forest rang with the war-whoops of a savage foe,
and in an instant the greater part of the division found itself in the
midst of a formidable ambuscade. Colonel St. Leger, it appeared, having
heard of the advance of General Herkimer, in order to prevent an attack
in his intrenchments, had detached a division of Sir John Johnson's
regiment of Greens, under Sir John's brother-in-law, Major Watts, Colonel
Butler with his Rangers, and Joseph Brant with a strong body of Indians,
to intercept his approach. [FN-2] With true Indian sagacity, Thayendanegea
had selected a position admirably fitted for his purpose, which was, to
draw the Americans, whom he well knew to be approaching in no very good
military array, into an ambuscade. The locality favored his design. There
was a deep ravine crossing the path which Herkimer with his undisciplined
array was traversing, "sweeping toward the East in a semi-circular form,
and bearing a Northern and Southern direction. The bottom of this ravine
was marshy, and the road crossed it by means of a causeway. The ground,
thus partly enclosed by the ravine, was elevated and level. The ambuscade
was laid upon the high ground west of the ravine." [FN-3]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The battle ground is about two miles west of Oriskany, and six
from Whitesborough.
[FN-2] In every account of this battle which has fallen under the
author's observation, excepting that of Colonel Willett, Sir John
Johnson is made the British commander at this battle. He was not in it
at all, as will appear a few pages forward. Even the cautious and
inquisitive President Dwight falls into the error, and carries it
through his whole account.
[FN-3] Campbell's Annals.
The enemy had disposed himself adroitly, in a circle, leaving only a
narrow segment open for the admission of the ill-starred Provincials on
their approach. The stratagem was successful. Unconscious of the presence
of the foe, Herkimer, with his whole army excepting the rear-guard,
composed of Colonel Visscher's regiment, found himself encompassed at
the first fire--the enemy closing up the gap at the instant of making
himself known. By thus early completing the circle, the baggage and
ammunition wagons, which had just descended into the ravine, were cut
off and separated from the main body, as also was the regiment of Colonel
Visscher, yet on the Eastern side of the ravine; which, as their general
had predicted, instantly and ingloriously fled, leaving their companions
to their fate. They were pursued, however, by a portion of the Indians,
and suffered more severely, probably, than they would have done, had they
stood by their fellows in the hour of need, either to conquer or to fall.
Being thrown into irretrievable disorder by the suddenness of the
surprise and the destructiveness of the fire, which was close and brisk
from every side, the division was for a time threatened with
annihilation. At every opportunity the savages, concealed behind the
trunks of trees, darted forward with knife and tomahawk to ensure the
destruction of those who fell; and many and fierce were the conflicts
that ensued hand to hand. The veteran Herkimer fell, wounded, in the
early part of the action--a musket ball having passed through and killed
his horse, and shattered his own leg just below the knee. [FN-1] The
General was placed upon his saddle, however, against the trunk of a tree
for his support, and thus continued to order the battle. Colonel Cox,
and Captains Davis and Van Sluyck, were severally killed near the
commencement of the engagement; and the slaughter of their broken ranks,
from the rifles of the Tories and the spears and tomahawks of the
Indians, was dreadful. But even in this deplorable situation the wounded
General, his men dropping like leaves around him, and the forest
resounding with the horrid yells of the savages, ringing high and wild
over the din of battle, behaved with the most perfect firmness and
composure. The action had lasted about forty-five minutes in great
disorder, before the Provincials formed themselves into circles in order
to repel the attacks of the enemy, who were concentrating, and closing
in upon them from all sides. [FN-2] From this moment the resistance of
the Provincials was more effective, and the enemy attempted to charge
with the bayonet. The firing ceased for a time, excepting the scattering
discharges of musquetry from the Indians; and as the bayonets crossed,
the contest became a death struggle, hand to hand and foot to foot.
Never, however, did brave men stand a charge with more dauntless courage,
and the enemy for the moment seemed to recoil--just at the instant when
the work of death was arrested by a heavy shower of rain, which suddenly
broke upon the combatants with great fury. The storm raged for upward of
an hour, during which time the enemy sought such shelter as might be
found among the trees at a respectful distance; for they had already
suffered severely, notwithstanding the advantages in their favor.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Walton's MS. account.
[FN-2] The first movement of this kind was made by Jacob Seeber, without
orders, according to the narrative of Henry Seeber.
During this suspension of the battle, both parties had time to look
about, and make such new dispositions as they pleased for attack and
defence, on renewing the murderous conflict. The Provincials, under the
direction of their General, were so fortunate as to take possession of
an advantageous piece of ground, upon which his men formed themselves
into a circle, and as the shower broke away, awaited the movements of
the enemy. In the early part of the battle, the Indians, whenever they
saw a gun fired by a militia-man from behind a tree, rushed upon and
tomahawked him before he could re-load. In order to counteract this mode
of warfare, two men were stationed behind a single tree, one only to fire
at a time--the other reserving his fire until the Indians ran up as
before. [FN-1] The fight was presently renewed, and by the new
arrangement, and the cool execution done by the fire of the militia
forming the main circle, the Indians were made to suffer severely; so
much so, that they began to give way, when Major Watts [FN-2] came up
with a reinforcement, consisting of another detachment of Johnson's
Greens. [FN-3] These men were mostly loyalists, who had fled from Tryon
County, now returned in arms against their former neighbors. As no
quarrels are so bitter as those of families, so no wars are so cruel and
passionate as those called civil. Many of the Provincials and Greens were
known to each other; and as they advanced so near as to afford
opportunities of mutual recognition, the contest became, if possible,
more of a death struggle than before. Mutual resentments, and feelings
of hate and revenge, raged in their bosoms. The Provincials fired upon
them as they advanced, and then springing like chafed tigers from their
covers, attacked them with their bayonets and the butts of their muskets,
or both parties in closer contact throttled each other and drew their
knives; stabbing, and sometimes literally dying in one another's embrace.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Campbell's Annals.
[FN-2] Brother of the late venerable John Watts, of New-York.
[FN-3] Campbell. The enemy, as on the march from Oswego, had posted a
line of sentinels at short distances from each other, extending from
St. Leger's intrenchments to the scene of action; so that communications
could be interchanged rapidly, and at pleasure.
At length a firing was heard in the distance from the fort, a sound as
welcome to the Provincials as it was astounding to the enemy. Availing
themselves of the hint, however, a _ruse-de-guerre_ was attempted by
Colonel Butler, which had well-nigh proved fatal. It was the sending,
suddenly, from the direction of the fort, a detachment of the Greens
disguised as American troops, in the expectation that they might be
received as a timely reinforcement from the garrison. Lieutenant Jacob
Sammons was the first to descry their approach, in the direction of a
body of men commanded by Captain Jacob Gardenier--an officer who, during
that memorable day, performed prodigies of valor. Perceiving that their
hats were American, Sammons informed Captain Gardenier that succors from
the fort were coming up. The quick eye of the Captain detected the ruse,
and he replied--"Not so; they are enemies; don't you see their green
coats!" [FN-1] They continued to advance until hailed by Gardenier, at
which moment one of his own soldiers, observing an acquaintance, and
supposing him a friend, ran to meet him, and presented his hand. It was
grasped, but with no friendly gripe, as the credulous fellow was dragged
into the opposing line, and informed that he was a prisoner. He did not
yield without a struggle; during which Gardenier, watching the action and
the result, sprang forward, and with a blow from his spear leveled the
captor to the dust and liberated his man. [FN-2] Others of the foe
instantly set upon him, of whom he slew the second and wounded a third.
Three of the disguised Greens now sprang upon him, and one of his spurs
becoming entangled in their clothes, he was thrown to the ground. Still
contending, however, with almost super-human strength, both of his thighs
were transfixed to the earth by the bayonets of two of his assailants,
while the third presented a bayonet to his breast, as if to thrust him
through. Seizing this bayonet with his left hand, by a sudden wrench he
brought its owner down upon himself, where he held him as a shield
against the arms of the others, until one of his own men, Adam
Miller, [FN-3] observing the struggle, flew to his rescue. As the
assailants turned upon their new adversary, Gardenier rose upon his seat;
and although his hand was severely lacerated by grasping the bayonet
which had been drawn through it, he seized his spear lying by his side,
and quick as lightning planted it to the barb in the side of the
assailant with whom he had been clenched. The man fell and
expired--proving to be Lieutenant McDonald, one of the loyalist officers
from Tryon County. All this transpired in far less time than is
necessarily occupied by the relation. While engaged in the struggle, some
of his own men called out to Gardenier--"for God's sake, Captain, you are
killing your own men." He replied--"they are not our men--they are the
enemy--fire away!" A deadly fire from the Provincials ensued, during
which about thirty of the Greens fell slain, and many Indian warriors.
The parties once more rushed upon each other with bayonet and spear,
grappling and fighting with terrible fury; while the shattering of shafts
and the clashing of steel mingled with every dread sound of war and death,
and the savage yells, more hideous than all, presented a scene which can
be more easily imagined than described. [FN-4] The unparalleled fortitude
and bravery of Captain Gardenier infused fresh spirits into his men, some
of whom enacted wonders of valor likewise. It happened during the _melee,_
in which the contending parties were mingled in great confusion, that
three of Johnson's Greens rushed within the circle of the Provincials,
and attempted to make prisoner of a Captain Dillenback. This officer had
declared he would never be taken alive, and he was not. One of his three
assailants seized his gun, but he suddenly wrenched it from him, and
felled him with the butt. He shot the second dead, and thrust the third
through with his bayonet. [FN-5] But in the moment of his triumph at an
exploit of which even the mighty Hector, or either of the sons of Zeruiah
might have been proud, a ball laid this brave man low in the dust.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Manuscript narrative of William Gardenier, in the possession of
the author.
[FN-2] Idem.
[FN-3] The same whose private narrative has already been cited.
[FN-4] MS. of William Gardenier. It was in reference to these individual
deeds of prowess, that the eloquent Gouveneur Morris thus spoke in his
address before the New-York Historical Society:--"Let me recall,
gentlemen, to your recollection, that bloody field in which Herkimer
fell. There was found the Indian and the white man born on the banks of
the Mohawk, their left hand clenched in each other's hair, the right
grasping in a gripe of death, the knife plunged in each other's bosom;
thus they lay frowning."
[FN-5] George Walter relates this incident, in his narrative, in the
possession of the author. Walter was himself a witness of the fact,
while lying wounded with two balls, by the side of General Herkimer.
Such a conflict as this could not be continued long; and the Indians,
perceiving with what ardor the Provincials maintained the fight, and
finding their own numbers sadly diminished, now raised the retreating cry
of _"Oonah!"_ and fled in every direction, under the shouts and hurrahs
of the surviving Provincials and, a shower of bullets. Finding, moreover,
from the firing at the fort, that, their presence was necessary elsewhere,
the Greens and Rangers now retreated precipitately, leaving the victorious
militia of Tryon County masters of the field. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] It is an extraordinary fact, that every historian who has written
of the battle of Oriskany, has recorded it as a defeat of the
Provincials, from Marshall and Ramsay down, to say nothing of the British
chroniclers. Such was also the author's impression until he undertook the
present investigation. Captain Brant himself, in conversation with Samuel
Woodruff, Esq. admitted that they were the victors; and all the written
statements which the author has been able to procure from the survivors
of that battle, bear the same testimony.
Thus ended one of the severest, and, for the numbers engaged, one of the
most bloody battles of the Revolutionary war. Though victorious, the loss
of the Provincials was very heavy; and Tryon County long had reason to
mourn that day. Colonel Paris was taken prisoner by the enemy, and
afterward murdered by the Indians. Several other prisoners were also
killed by the savages, after they had been brought into Colonel Butler's
quarters; and, as it was said, by the Colonel's own tacit consent, if not
permission in terms. But the general character of that officer forbids the
imputation. [FN-1] Major John Frey, of Colonel Klock's regiment, was
likewise wounded and taken; and to show the more than savage fury burning
in the bosoms of the men brought into conflict on this occasion, the
disgraceful fact may be added, that his own brother, who was in the
British service, attempted to take his life after he had arrived in
Butler's camp. The Major saw his brother approaching in a menacing manner,
and called out--"Brother, do not kill me! Do you not know me?" But the
infuriated brother rushed forward, and the Major was only saved by the
interposition of others. [FN-2] The whole number of the Provincial militia
killed was two hundred, exclusive of wounded and lost as prisoners. Such,
at least, was the American report. The British statements claimed that
four hundred of the Americans were killed, and two hundred taken
prisoners. [FN-3]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The late Doctor Moses Younglove, of Hudson, Columbia County, was
the surgeon of General Herkimer's brigade. He was taken prisoner in this
battle by a sergeant of Sir John Johnson's regiment. After his release he
made a deposition setting forth many grievous barbarities committed, both
by the Indians and Tories, upon the prisoners who fell into their hands
that day. They were cruelly tortured, several of them murdered; and, as
the Doctor had reason to believe, some of them were subsequently taken to
an island in Lake Ontario, and eaten. This is scarcely to be believed.
See Deposition of Dr. Younglove, Appendix No. IV.
[FN-2] MS. statement of Jacob Timmerman, in the author's possession.
[FN-3] "On the 5th I learned, from discovering parties on the Mohawk
river, that a body of one thousand militia were on their march to raise
the siege. On the confirmation of this news, I moved a large body of
Indians, with some troops, the same night, to lay in ambuscade for them
on their march. They fell into it. The completest victory was obtained.
Above four hundred lay dead on the field, amongst the number of whom were
almost all the principal movers of rebellion in that country."--_Letter
of Colonel St. Leger lo General Burgoyne, Aug,_ 11, 1777.
Retaining possession of the field, the survivors immediately set
themselves at work in constructing rude litters, upon which to bear off
the wounded. Between forty and fifty of these, among whom was the
commanding General, were removed in this manner. The brave old man,
notwithstanding the imprudence of the morning--imprudence in allowing a
premature movement at the dictation of his subordinates--had nobly
vindicated his character for courage during the day. Though wounded, as we
have seen, in the onset, he had borne himself during the six hours of
conflict, under the most trying circumstances, with a degree of fortitude
and composure worthy of all admiration. Nor was his example without effect
in sustaining his troops amid the perils by which they were environed. At
one time during the battle, while sitting upon his saddle raised upon a
little hillock, being advised to select a less exposed situation, he
replied--"I will face the enemy." Thus, "surrounded by a few men, he
continued to issue his orders with firmness. In this situation, and in the
heat of the onslaught, he deliberately took his tinder-box from his
pocket, lit his pipe, and smoked with great composure." [FN-1] At the
moment the soldiers were placing him on the litter, while adjusting the
blankets to the poles, three Indians approached, and were instantly shot
down by the unerring rifles of three of the militia. These were the last
shots fired in that battle. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Campbell. An officer, who was in the general staff at the battle
of Leipzig, has related to the author a very similar incident in the
conduct of old Blucher. He was not wounded; but he sat upon a hillock,
issuing his orders and smoking his pipe, while the cannon balls were
ploughing up the earth about him.
[FN-2] Narrative of Jacob Sammons, MS. The officers of the Tryon County
militia killed or wounded in this battle were as follows:--In Colonel
Frederick Visscher's regiment, Captains John Davis and Samuel Pettingill,
killed; Major Blauvelt and Lieut. Groat taken prisoners and never heard
of afterward; Captain Jacob Gardenier and Lieut. Samuel Gardenier
wounded. In Colonel Jacob Klock's regiment, Major John Eisenlord, and
Major Van Sluyck, and Captain Andrew Dillenback, killed; Captains
Christopher Fox and John Breadbeg, wounded; Brigade Major John Frey,
wounded and taken prisoner. In Colonel Peter Bellinger's regiment, Major
Enos Klepsattle, Captain Frederick Helmer, and Lieut. Petrie, were
killed. Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Bellinger and Henry Walradt were
taken prisoners. In Colonel Ebenezer Cox's regiment, Colonel Cox and
Lieut. Col. Hunt were killed; Captains Henry Diefendorf, and Robert
Crouse, and Jacob Bowman, killed. Captain Jacob Seeber and Lieut.
William Seeber mortally wounded. The surgeon, Moses Younglove, was taken
prisoner. Among the volunteers not belonging to the militia, who were
killed, were Isaac Paris, (then a member of the Legislature,) Samuel
Billington, John Dygert, and Jacob Snell, members of the Committee of
Safety. There was likewise a Captain Graves who fell, but to which
regiment he belonged the author has not ascertained.
The loss of the enemy in this engagement was equally, if not more severe,
than that of the Americans. The Greens and Rangers of Sir John Johnson and
Colonel Butler must have suffered badly, although no returns were given in
the contemporaneous accounts. Major Watts was severely wounded and left on
the field, as was supposed, among the slain. His death was reported by
Colonel Willett, in his letter to Governor Trumbull, and by other
authorities. But such was not the fact. Reviving from faintness produced
by loss of blood, some hours after the action, he succeeded in crawling to
a brook, where, by slaking his thirst, he was preserved from speedy death,
and in the course of two or three days was found by some Indian scouts,
and brought into St. Leger's camp. [FN-1] But the Indians were the most
roughly handled, they having lost nearly one hundred warriors, several of
whom were sachems in great favor. Frederick Sammons, who had been detached
upon a distant scout previous to the battle, returning some days
afterward, crossed the battle-field, where, he says--"I beheld the most
shocking sight I had ever witnessed. The Indians and white men were
mingled with one another, just as they had been left when death had first
completed his work. Many bodies had also been torn to pieces by wild
beasts." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] This statement respecting Major Watts was derived from the late
Mr. John Watts, of New-York, his brother. As mentioned in the text, St.
Leger, in his official report, did not state the number of his own killed
and wounded. Colonel Butler, however, wrote to Sir Guy Carleton--"Of the
New-Yorkers, Captain McDonald was killed, Captain Watts dangerously
wounded, and one subaltern. Of the Rangers, Captains Wilson and Hare
killed, and one private wounded. The Indians suffered much, having
thirty-three killed and twenty-nine wounded; the Senecas lost seventeen,
among whom were several of their chief warriors, and had sixteen wounded.
During the whole action the Indians showed the greatest zeal for his
Majesty's cause; and had they not been a little too precipitate, scarcely
a rebel of the party would have escaped. Most of the leading rebels are
cut off in the action, so that any farther attempts from that quarter
are not to be expected. Captain Watts, of the Royal New-Yorkers, whose
many amiable qualities deserved a better fate, lay wounded in three
places upon the field two days before he was found."--_Parliamentary
Register._
[FN-2] MS. narrative of Frederick Sammons, in the author's possession.
It has been affirmed that the Indians were persuaded to join in this
battle only with great difficulty, and not until they had been induced to
sacrifice their reason to their appetites. It was very manifest that
during the action many of them were intoxicated. The consequence was, that
they suffered more severely than ever before. [FN-1] According to the
narrative of Mary Jemison, the Indians, (at least the Senecas,) were
deceived into the campaign. "They were sent for to see the British whip
the rebels. They were told that they were not wanted to fight, but merely
to sit down, smoke their pipes, and look on. The Senecas went to a man;
but, contrary to their expectation, instead of smoking and looking on,
they were obliged to fight for their lives; and in the end of the battle
were completely beaten, with a great loss of killed and wounded." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Journal of General Lincoln.
[FN-2] Life of Mary Jemison.
The whole Indian force was led by Thayendanegea in person--"the great
Captain of the Six Nations," as he was then called--and as the Cayugas had
now likewise joined the Mohawks in alliance with the arms of England--the
Onondagas adopting a doubtful policy, but always, in fact, acting against
the Provincials--he must have had a large force in the field. Of the
Senecas alone thirty-six were killed and a great number wounded. Captain
Brant was accustomed, long years afterward, to speak of the sufferings of
his "poor Mohawks" in that battle. Indeed, the severity with which they
were handled on that occasion, rendered them morose and intractable during
the remainder of the campaign; and the unhappy prisoners were the first to
minister with their blood to their resentment. [FN] "Our town," says Mary
Jemison, "exhibited a scene of real sorrow and distress when our warriors
returned and recounted their misfortunes, and stated the real loss they
had sustained in the engagement. The mourning was excessive, and was
expressed by the most doleful yells, shrieks, and howlings, and by
inimitable gesticulations."
* * * * *
[FN] In Mr. Samuel Woodruff's memoranda of his conversations with Brant,
referred to in the introduction, it is noted as the admission of the
latter, that "he and his Mohawks were compelled to flee in a dispersed
condition through the woods, all suffering from fatigue and hunger before
they arrived at a place of safety. Their retreat began at nightfall. They
were pursued by a body of Oneidas, who fought with General Herkimer. The
night was dark and lowery. Exhausted by the labors of the day, and
fearful he might be overtaken by the pursuing Oneidas, Brant ascended a
branching tree, and planting himself in the crotch of it, waited somewhat
impatiently for daylight." There is evidently somewhat of error in this
statement. The field of battle was not more than five miles from St.
Leger's entrenchments, and the battle was ended at 2 o'clock P. M. Judge
W. probably confounded this battle with another--perhaps that of the
Chemung.
It was unfortunate that General Herkimer formed his line of march with so
little judgment that, when attacked, his men were in no situation to
support each other; and more unfortunate still, that he marched at all,
so long before he could expect to hear the concerted signal for the
diversion to be made in his favor by the sortie of Colonel Willett. The
heavy rainstorm, moreover, which caused a suspension of the battle, had
likewise the effect of delaying the sally for nearly an hour. It was made,
however, as soon as it was practicable, and was not only completely
successful, but was conducted with such ability and spirit by the gallant
officer to whom it was confided, as to win for him the applause of the foe
himself. [FN-1] In addition to the two hundred men detailed for this
service, under Colonel Willett's command, as before stated, fifty more
were added to guard the light iron three pounder already mentioned. With
these troops, and this his only piece of mounted ordnance, Colonel Willett
lost not a moment, after the cessation of the rain, in making the sally.
The enemy's sentinels being directly in sight of the fort, the most rapid
movements were necessary. The sentinels were driven in, and his advanced
guard attacked, before he had time to form his troops. Sir John Johnson,
whose regiment was not more than two hundred yards distant from the
advanced guard, it being very warm, was in his tent, divested of his coat
at the moment, and had not time to put it on before his camp was assailed.
Such, moreover, were the celerity of Willett's movement and the
impetuosity of the attack, that Sir John could not bring his troops into
order, and their only resource was in flight. The Indian encampment was
next to that of Sir John, and in turn was carried with equal rapidity. The
larger portion of the Indians, and a detachment from the regiment of Sir
John, were, at the very moment of this unexpected assault upon their
quarters, engaged in the battle of Oriskany. Those who were left behind
now betook themselves,--Sir John and his men to the river,--and the
Indians to their natural shelter, the woods--the troops of Colonel Willett
firing briskly upon them in their flight. The amount of spoil found in the
enemy's camp was so great, that Willett was obliged to send hastily to the
fort for wagons to convey it away. Seven of these vehicles were three
times loaded and discharged in the fort, while the brave little Provincial
band held possession of the encampments. Among the spoils thus captured,
consisting of camp equipage, clothing, blankets, stores, &c. were five
British standards, the baggage of Sir John Johnson, with all his papers,
the baggage of a number of other officers, with memoranda, journals, and
orderly books, containing all the information desirable on the part of the
besieged. [FN-2] While Colonel Willett was returning to the fort, Colonel
St. Leger, who was on the opposite side of the river, attempted a movement
to intercept him. Willett's position, however, enabled him to form his
troops so as to give the enemy a full fire in front, while at the same
time he was enfiladed by the fire of a small field-piece. The distance was
not more than sixty yards between them; and although St. Leger was not
backward in returning the fire, his aim was nevertheless so wild as to be
entirely without effect. The assailants returned into the fortress in
triumph, without having lost a man--the British flags were hoisted on the
flag-staff under the American--and the men, ascending the parapets, gave
three as hearty cheers as were ever shouted by the same number of voices.
Among the prisoners brought off by the victors, was Lieutenant Singleton,
of Sir John Johnson's regiment. Several Indians were found dead in their
camp, and others were killed in crossing the river. The loss to the enemy,
particularly in stores and baggage, was great; while the affair itself was
of still more importance, from the new spirit of patriotic enthusiasm with
which it inspired the little garrison. [FN-3] For this chivalrous exploit
Congress passed a resolution of thanks, and directed the Commissary
General of military stores to procure an elegant sword, and present the
same to Colonel Willett in the name of the United States.
* * * * *
[FN-1] London Universal Magazine, 1782.
[FN-2] "Among other things taken from the enemy, were several bundles
of papers, and a parcel of letters belonging to our garrison, which they
had taken from our militia, but not yet opened. Here I found one letter
for myself; there were likewise papers belonging to Sir John Johnson,
and several others of the enemy's officers, with letters to and from
General St. Leger, the commander. These letters have been of some
service to us."--_Colonel Willett's letter to Governor Trumbull._
[FN-3] In this account of the sortie, the author has adopted almost the
very language of the brave Colonel himself, in his Narrative. As he led
the affair, and was of course the best qualified to describe it, the
author could do no better than take his own words. In tracing the
progress of the siege, it will be often necessary to draw from the same
indisputable source.
General Herkimer did not long survive the battle. He was conveyed to his
own house [FN-1] near the Mohawk river, a few miles below the Little Falls;
where his leg, which had been shattered five or six inches below the knee,
was amputated about ten days after the battle, by a young French surgeon
in the army of General Arnold, and contrary to the advice of the General's
own medical adviser, the late Doctor Petrie. But the operation was
unskillfully performed, [FN-2] and it was found impossible by his
attendants to stanch the blood. Colonel Willett called to see the General
soon after the operation. He was sitting up in his bed, with a pipe in his
mouth, smoking, and talking in excellent spirits. He died the night
following that visit. His friend, Colonel John Roff, was present at the
amputation, and affirmed that he bore the operation with uncommon
fortitude. He was likewise with him at the time of his death. The blood
continuing to flow--there being no physician in immediate attendance--and
being himself satisfied that the time of his departure was nigh, the
veteran directed the Holy Bible to be brought to him. He then opened it
and read, in the presence of those who surrounded his bed, with all the
composure which it was possible for any man to exhibit, the thirty-eighth
psalm--applying it to his own situation. [FN-3] He soon afterward expired;
and it may well be questioned whether the annals of man furnish a more
striking example of Christian heroism--calm, deliberate, and firm in the
hour of death--than is presented in this remarkable instance. Of the early
history of General Herkimer but little is known. It has been already
stated that his family was one of the first of the Germans who planted
themselves in the Mohawk Valley. And the massive stone mansion, yet
standing at German Flats, bespeaks its early opulence. He was an
uneducated man--with, if possible, less skill in letters, even than
General Putnam, which is saying much. But he was, nevertheless, a man of
strong and vigorous understanding--destitute of some of the essential
requisites of generalship, but of the most cool and dauntless courage.
These traits were all strikingly disclosed in the brief and bloody
expedition to Oriskany. But he must have been well acquainted with that
most important of all books--The Bible. Nor could the most learned
biblical scholar, lay or clerical, have selected a portion of the Sacred
Scriptures more exactly appropriate to the situation of the dying soldier,
than that to which he himself spontaneously turned. If Socrates died like
a philosopher, and Rousseau like an unbelieving sentimentalist. General
Herkimer died like a Christian Hero. Congress passed a resolution
requesting the Governor and Council of New-York to erect a monument, at
the expense of the United States, to the memory of this brave man, of the
value of five hundred dollars. This resolution was transmitted to the
Governor of New-York, George Clinton, in a letter from which the following
passage is quoted:--"Every mark of distinction shown to the memory of
such illustrious men as offer up their lives for the liberty and happiness
of their country, reflects real honor on those who pay the tribute; and
by holding up to others the prospect of fame and immortality, will animate
them to tread in the same path." Governor Clinton thus wrote to the
Committee of Tryon County on the occasion:--"Enclosed you have a letter
and resolves of Congress, for erecting a monument to the memory of your
late gallant General. While with you I lament the cause, I am impressed
with a due sense of the great and justly merited honor the Continent has,
in this instance, paid to the memory of that brave man." Such were the
feelings of respect for the services and memory of the deceased
entertained by the great men of that day. Sixty years have since rolled
away, and the journal of Congress is the only monument, and the
resolution itself the only inscription, which as yet testify the gratitude
of the republic to General Nicholas Herkimer.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Yet standing, 1837.
[FN-2] Col. Roff's statement--MS. in possession of the author.
[FN-3] Statement of Colonel Roff, in possession of the author.
CHAPTER XI.
Siege of Fort Schuyler continued--Forced letter from prisoners to Col.
Gansevoort--St. Leger summons the garrison to surrender--Refusal of
Gansevoort--Appeal of Sir John Johnson to the people of Tryon
County--Secret expedition of Colonel Willett and Major
Stockwell--Schuyler orders Arnold to the relief of Gansevoort--Willett
proceeds to Albany--Arrest of Walter Butler, and others, at German
Flats--Tried and convicted as a spy--Reprieved--Sent to
Albany--Escapes--Arnold's proclamation--Advance of the
besiegers--Uneasiness of the garrison--Sudden flight of St. Leger and
his forces--Stratagem of Arnold--Story of Hon-Yost Schuyler--Merriment
and mischief of the Indians--Arrival of Arnold at the Fort--The spoils
of victory--Public estimation of Gansevoort's services--Address to his
soldiers--His promotion--Address of his officers.
Though in fact defeated at Oriskany, the enemy claimed, as we have seen,
a victory. In one sense, it is true, the achievement was theirs. They had
prevented the advance of the Americans to the succor of the fort; and on
their retreat the Americans were unable to pursue. Still the field was
won, and retained by them. [FN-1] Availing himself of his questionable
success, however, and well knowing that days must probably elapse before
the garrison could become apprised of the whole circumstances of the
engagement and its issue, St. Leger lost no time in endeavoring, by false
representations, to press the besieged to a capitulation. On the same
night of the battle, therefore, at 9 o'clock, Colonel Bellinger and Major
Frey, being in St. Leger's camp as prisoners, were compelled to address
a note to Colonel Gansevoort, greatly exaggerating the disasters of the
day, and strongly urging a surrender. In this letter they spoke of the
defeat at Oriskany, of the impossibility of receiving any farther succor
from below--of the formidable force of St. Leger, together with his train
of artillery--announced the probable fact that Burgoyne and his army were
then before Albany, and stated that longer resistance would only result
in "inevitable ruin and destruction." [FN-2] The letter was transmitted to
Colonel Gansevoort by St. Leger's Adjutant-general, Colonel Butler, who,
in delivering it, made a verbal demand of surrender. Colonel Gansevoort
replied that he would give no answer to a verbal summons, unless delivered
by Colonel St. Leger himself, but at the mouth of his cannon.
* * * * *
[FN-1] It was alleged, in some of the contemporaneous accounts, that the
forces engaged with Herkimer were ordered back in consequence of the
sortie of Willett. That circumstance, however, does not alter the
essential facts of the case. The victory was the same.
[FN-2] See Appendix, No. V. for a copy of this letter, written while
under duress.
On the following day a white flag approached the garrison, with a request
that Colonel Butler, and two other officers, might be admitted into the
fort as bearers of a message to the commanding officer. Permission being
granted, those officers were conducted blind-folded into the fort, and
received by Colonel Gansevoort in his dining-room. The windows of the room
were shut, and candles lighted; a table was also spread, upon which were
placed some slight refreshments. Colonels Willett and Mellen were present
at the interview, together with as many of the American officers as could
be accommodated in the quarters of their commander. After the officers
were seated and the wine had been passed around, Major Ancrom, one of the
messengers, addressed Colonel Gansevoort in substance as follows:--
"I am directed by Colonel St. Leger, the officer commanding the army now
investing this garrison, to inform the commandant that the Colonel has,
with much difficulty, prevailed on the Indians to agree, that if the
garrison, without farther resistance, shall be delivered up, with the
public stores belonging to it, to the investing army, the officers and
soldiers shall have all their baggage and private property secured to
them. And in order that the garrison may have a sufficient pledge to this
effect, Colonel Butler accompanies me to assure them, that not a hair of
the head of any one of them shall be hurt." (Here turning to Colonel
Butler, he said, "That, I think, was the expression they made use of, was
it not?"--to which the Colonel answered, "Yes.") "I am likewise directed
to remind the commandant, that the defeat of General Herkimer must deprive
the garrison of all hopes of relief, especially as General Burgoyne is now
in Albany; so that, sooner or later, the fort must fall into our hands.
Colonel St. Leger, from an earnest desire to prevent farther bloodshed,
hopes these terms will not be refused; as in this case it will be out of
his power to make them again. It was with great difficulty the Indians
consented to the present arrangement, as it will deprive them of that
plunder which they always calculate upon on similar occasions. Should,
then, the present terms be rejected, it will be out of the power of the
Colonel to restrain the Indians, who are very numerous and much
exasperated, not only from plundering the property, but destroying the
lives, probably, of the greater part of the garrison. Indeed, the Indians
are so exceedingly provoked and mortified by the losses they have
sustained in the late actions, having had several of their favorite chiefs
killed, that they threaten--and the Colonel, if the present arrangements
should not be entered into, will not be able to prevent them from
executing their threats--to march down the country, and destroy the
settlement, with its inhabitants. In this case, not only men, but women
and children, will experience the sad effects of their vengeance. These
considerations, it is ardently hoped, will produce a proper effect, and
induce the commandant, by complying with the terms now offered, to save
himself from future regret, when it will be too late."
This singular oration was of course delivered extemporaneously, as also
was the following reply by Colonel Willett, with the approbation of
Colonel Gansevoort:--
"Do I understand you, Sir? I think you say, that you come from a British
colonel, who is commander of the army that invests this fort; and by your
uniform, you appear to be an officer in the British service. You have
made a long speech on the occasion of your visit, which, stripped of all
its superfluities, amounts to this--that you come from a British colonel,
to the commandant of this garrison, to tell him, that if he does not
deliver up the garrison into the hands of your Colonel, he will send his
Indians to murder our women and children. You will please to reflect, sir,
that their blood will be on your head, not on ours. We are doing our duty;
this garrison is committed to our charge, and we will take care of it.
After you get out of it, you may turn round and look at its outside, but
never expect to come in again, unless you come a prisoner. I consider the
message you have brought, a degrading one for a British officer to send,
and by no means reputable for a British officer to carry. For my own part,
I declare, before I would consent to deliver this garrison to such a
murdering set as your array, by your own account, consists of, I would
suffer my body to be filled with splinters, and set on fire, as you know
has at times been practised, by such hordes of women and children killers
as belong to your army."
Colonel Willett observes in his narrative, whence these facts are drawn,
that in the delivery he looked the British major full in the face; and
that he spoke with emphasis is not doubted. The sentiments contained in
this reply were received with universal applause by the Provincial
officers, who, far from being intimidated by the threats of the
messengers, were at once impressed with the idea that such pressing
efforts to induce a capitulation could only be the effect of doubt, on the
part of the enemy himself, of his ability either to sustain the siege or
carry the works by assault. Before the interview was closed, Major Ancrom
requested that an English surgeon who was with him might be permitted to
visit the British wounded in the garrison, which request was granted.
Major Ancrom also proposed an armistice for three days, which was
likewise agreed to by Colonel Gansevoort--the more readily, probably,
because of his scanty supply of ammunition.
On the 9th of August, Colonel Gansevoort having refused to recognize any
verbal messages from the British commander, Colonel St. Leger transmitted
the substance of Major Ancrom's speech in the form of a letter--protesting
that no indignity was intended by the delivery of such a message--a
message that had been insisted upon categorically by the Indians--and
formally renewing the summons of a surrender--adding, that the Indians
were becoming exceedingly impatient, and if the proposition should be
rejected, the refusal would be attended with very fatal consequences, not
only to the garrison, but to the whole country of the Mohawk river. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] See Appendix, No. VI.
The reply of Colonel Gansevoort was written with soldierly brevity, in
the following words:--
"Col. Gansevoort to Col. St. Leger.
_Fort Schuyler, Aug_. 9_th,_ 1777.
"Sir,
"Your letter of this day's date I have received, in answer to which I say,
that it is my determined resolution, with the forces under my command, to
defend this fort to the last extremity, in behalf of the United American
States, who have placed me here to defend it against all their enemies.
"I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your most ob't. humble serv't.,
Peter Gansevoort,
_Col. commanding Fort Schuyler._
"_Gen. Barry St. Leger._" [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Copied, by the author, from the original draft, found among the
Gansevoort papers.
Failing in these attempts to induce a surrender, the besiegers, four days
afterward, had recourse to another expedient. It was the issuing of an
appeal to the inhabitants of Tryon County, signed by Sir John Johnson,
Colonel Claus, and Colonel John Butler, similar in its tenor to the verbal
and written messages of St. Leger to Colonel Gansevoort. The appeal
commenced with strong protestations of a desire for the restoration of
peace, with a promise of pardon, and oblivion for the past,
notwithstanding the many and great injuries the signers had received, upon
a proper submission by the people. They, too, were threatened with the
ravages of a victorious army, and the resentment of the Indians for the
losses they had sustained at Oriskany, in the event of rejecting this
appeal. In regard to the garrison of Fort Schuyler, its longer resistance
was pronounced "mulish obstinacy," and the people of the Mohawk Valley
were urged to send up a deputation of their principal men, to oblige the
garrison to do at once what they must be forced to do soon--surrender. If
they did not surrender, the threat was again repeated that every soul
would be put to death by the Indians. [FN] Messengers were despatched with
this document into Tryon County, but to no good purpose; while, as will
soon appear, some of those messengers were involved in serious difficulty
by their errand.
* * * * *
[FN] See Appendix, No. VII. I have found this document only in _The
Remembrancer_ for 1777, page 451.
But if Colonel Willett's success in the brilliant execution of the sortie
on the 6th, entitled him, as it unquestionably did, to the commendations
he received, a still more perilous enterprise, undertaken by him a few
days afterward, was thought, alike by friends and foes, to entitle him to
still greater applause. The artillery of the besiegers was not
sufficiently heavy to make any impression upon the works, and there was
every probability that the garrison might hold out until succors should
be obtained, could their situation be made known. Colonel Willett was not
only well acquainted, but exceedingly popular, in Tryon County; and it was
supposed that, should he show himself personally among the militia of that
district, notwithstanding the extent of their suffering in the late
expedition, he might yet rally a force sufficient to raise the siege. The
bold project was therefore conceived by him of passing by night, in
company with another officer, through the enemy's works, and, regardless
of the danger from the prowling savages, making his way through some
forty or fifty miles of sunken morasses and pathless woods, in order to
raise the County and bring relief. [FN-1] Selecting Major Stockwell for
his companion. Colonel Willett undertook the expedition on the 10th, and
left the fort at ten o'clock that night, each armed with nothing but a
spear, and provided only with a small supply of crackers and cheese, a
small canteen of spirits, and in all other respects unincumbered, even by
a blanket. Having escaped from the sally-port, they crept upon their
hands and knees along the edge of a morass to the river, which they
crossed by crawling over upon a log, and succeeded in getting off
unperceived by the sentinels of the enemy, although passing very near to
them. Their first advance was into a deep-tangled forest in which,
enveloped in thick darkness, they lost their direction, and found it
impossible to proceed. While in this state of uncertainty, the barking of
a dog added little to their comfort, inasmuch as it apprized them that
they were not far from a new Indian encampment, formed subsequent to the
sortie a few days before. They were therefore compelled to stand perfectly
still for several hours, and until the morning star appeared to guide
their way. Striking first in a Northern direction for several miles, and
then Eastwardly, they traced a zig-zag course, occasionally adopting the
Indian method of concealing their trail by walking in the channels of
streams, and by stepping on stones along the river's edge. In this way
they traveled the whole of the ensuing day without making a single halt.
On the approach of night they dared not to strike a light, but lay down
to sleep, interlocked in each other's arms. Pursuing their journey on the
12th, their little stock of provisions being exhausted, they fed upon
raspberries and blackberries, of which they found an abundance in an
opening occasioned by a windfall. Thus refreshed, they pushed forward with
renewed vigor and at an accelerated pace, and arrived at Fort Dayton at
three o'clock in the afternoon. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] British Universal Magazine.
[FN-2] "So successful was Colonel Willett in all his movements, that the
Indians, believing him to be possessed of supernatural power, gave to
him the name of the Devil."--_Campbell._
The Colonel and his friend received a hearty welcome from Colonel Weston,
whose regiment was then in charge of Fort Dayton, and from whom he
obtained the agreeable intelligence that, on learning the news of General
Herkimer's disaster. General Schuyler had ordered Generals Arnold and
Larned, with the Massachusetts brigade, to march to the relief of Colonel
Gansevoort. Colonel Willett thereupon took horse immediately for Albany
to meet General Arnold, who was to command the expedition; and in four
days afterward accompanied Arnold back to Fort Dayton, where the troops
were assembling. The first New-York regiment had been added to the brigade
of General Larned, who was yet in the rear, bringing up the heavy baggage
and stores.
During Willett's brief absence to Albany, an incident occurred in the
neighborhood of Fort Dayton, showing that if he had been active in his
attempts to bring succors to the fort, the enemy, on the other hand, had
not been idle. About two miles above Fort Dayton resided a Mr. Shoemaker,
a disaffected gentleman, who had been in his Majesty's commission of the
peace. Having heard of a clandestine meeting of Tories at the house of
that gentleman, Colonel Weston despatched a detachment of troops thither,
which came upon the assemblage by surprise, and took them all prisoners.
Among them was Lieutenant Walter N. Butler, from St. Leger's army, who,
with fourteen white soldiers and the same number of Indians, [FN-1] had
visited the German Flats secretly, with the appeal of Sir John Johnson,
Claus, and the elder Butler, referred to in a preceding page, for the
purpose of persuading the timid and disaffected inhabitants to abandon
the Provincial cause, and enroll themselves with the King's army before
Fort Schuyler. Butler was in the midst of his harangue to the meeting at
the moment of the unwelcome surprise. General Arnold ordered a
court-martial, and caused him to be tried as a spy. [FN-2] Of this
tribunal Colonel Willett officiated as Judge Advocate. The Lieutenant was
convicted, and received sentence of death; but at the intercession of a
number of officers, who had known him while a student at law in Albany,
his life was spared by a reprieve. He was, however, removed to Albany and
closely imprisoned until the Spring of the following year. When General
the Marquis de Lafayette assumed the command of the Northern department,
the friends of the Butler family, in consequence, as it was alleged, of
his ill-health, interceded for a mitigated form of imprisonment. He was
then removed to a private house and kept under guard, but shortly
afterward effected his escape--owing, it was reported, to treachery--and
was subsequently distinguished as one of the severest scourges of the
beautiful valley which had given him birth.
* * * * *
[FN-1] The Remembrancer for 1777, page 395.
[FN-2] The Remembrancer states that Butler came "on a truce to the
inhabitants of the County." But if he did bear a flag, it could be no
protection for such a mission--as it was not.
The address of Johnson, Claus, and Butler, having been thus introduced
among the people of the County, Arnold issued a proclamation from Fort
Dayton for the purpose of counteracting its influence. It was couched in
severe language in regard to St. Leger and his heterogeneous
army--denounced those of the people who might be seduced by his arts to
enroll themselves under the banner of the king--but promised pardon to
all, whether Americans, Savages, Germans, or Britons, who might return to
their duty to the States. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] See Appendix, No. VIII.
Meantime Colonel St. Leger was pushing his operations before the fort with
considerable vigor. Every effort to intimidate the garrison having failed,
and the commander exhibiting an unsubmitting spirit, St. Leger "commenced
approaching by sap, and had formed two parallels, the second of which
brought him near the edge of the glacis; but the fire of musketry from the
covert way rendered his farther progress very difficult." [FN] The fire
of his ordnance producing no effect, his only means of annoying the
garrison was by throwing shells; but these proved of so little consequence
as to afford a discouraging prospect of success. Having advanced, however,
within one hundred and fifty yards, it is not to be denied that some
uneasiness began to be manifested within the garrison. Ignorant of the
fate of Colonel Willett and Major Stockwell, and entirely cut off from
all communication from without, their provisions daily exhausting, and
having no certain prospect of relief, some of the officers commenced
speaking in whispers of the expediency of saving the garrison from a
re-enactment of the Fort William Henry tragedy, by acceding to St. Leger's
proffered terms of capitulation. Not so the commander. After weighing well
the circumstances of the case, he came to the deliberate resolve, in the
event of obtaining no succor from without, when his provisions were about
exhausted, to make a sally at night, and cut his way through the
encampment of the besiegers, or perish in the attempt.
* * * * *
[FN] Willett's Narrative.
Fortunately, the necessity of executing the bold determination did not
arrive. The siege had continued until the 22d of August, when, suddenly,
without any cause within the knowledge of the garrison, the besiegers
broke up their encampment, and retired in such haste and confusion as to
leave their tents, together with a great part of their artillery, camp
equipage, and baggage behind. What was the motive for this unexpected
flight of a vaunting and all but victorious foe, was a problem they were
unable to solve within the garrison, although their joy was not, on that
account, the less at their deliverance. It subsequently appeared that the
panic which produced this welcome and unexpected change in the situation
of the garrison, was caused by a _ruse-de-guerre,_ practised upon the
forces of St. Leger by General Arnold, who had been waiting at Fort Dayton
several days for the arrival of reinforcements and supplies. [FN-1] But,
having heard that St. Leger had made his approaches to within a short
distance of the fort, Arnold, on the 22d of August, determined at all
events to push forward and hazard a battle, rather than see the garrison
fall a sacrifice. [FN-2] With this view, on the morning of the 23d, he
resumed his march for Fort Schuyler, and had proceeded ten miles of the
distance from Fort Dayton when he was met by an express from Colonel
Gansevoort, with the gratifying intelligence that the siege had been
raised. The cause of this sudden movement was yet as great a mystery to
the Colonel and his garrison, as was the flight of the host of Ben-hadad
from before Samaria to the king of Israel, when the Syrian monarch heard
the supernatural sound of chariots, and the noise of horses, in the days
of Elisha the prophet. Arnold was, of course, less in the dark. The
circumstances were these:--
* * * * *
[FN-1] "I wrote you, the 21st instant, from German Flats, that from the
best intelligence I could procure of the enemy's strength, it was much
superior to ours; at the same time I inclosed you a copy of the
resolutions of a council of war, and requested you to send me a
reinforcement of one thousand light troops."--_Letter of Arnold to
General Gates, Aug,_ 23, 1777.--"I have been retarded by the badness of
the roads, waiting for some baggage and ammunition, and for the militia,
who did not turn out with that spirit which I expected. They are now
joining me in great numbers. A few days will relieve you."--_MS. letter
from Arnold to Colonel Gansevoort, Aug,_ 22, 1777.
[FN-2] Letter above cited from Arnold to General Gates. Vide
Remembrancer, 1777, page 444.
Among the party of Tories and Indians captured at Shoemaker's under
Lieutenant Butler, was a singular being named Hon-Yost Schuyler. His place
of residence was near the Little Falls, where his mother and a brother
named Nicholas, were then residing. Hon-Yost Schuyler was one of the
coarsest and most ignorant men in the valley, appearing scarce half
removed from idiocy; and yet there was no small share of shrewdness in his
character. Living upon the extreme border of civilization, his
associations had been more with the Indians than the whites; and
tradition avers that they regarded him with that mysterious reverence and
awe with which they are inspired by fools and lunatics. Thus situated and
thus constituted, Hon-Yost had partially attached himself to the Royalist
cause, though probably, like the Cow-boys of West Chester, he really cared
little which party he served or plundered; and had he been the captor of
the unfortunate Andre, would have balanced probabilities as to the best
way of turning the prize to account. Be these things, however, as they
may, Hon-Yost was captured, with Walter Butler, and, like him, was tried
for his life, adjudged guilty, and condemned to death. His mother and
brother, hearing of his situation, hastened to Fort Dayton, and implored
General Arnold to spare his life. The old woman strongly resembled the
gypsy in her character, and the eloquence and pathos with which she
pleaded for the life of her son, were long remembered in the unwritten
history of the Mohawk Valley. Arnold was for a time inexorable, and the
woman became almost frantic with grief and passion on account of her
wayward son. Nicholas, likewise, exerted himself to the utmost in behalf
of his brother. At length General Arnold proposed terms upon which his
life should be spared. The conditions were, that Hon-Yost should hasten to
Fort Schuyler, and so alarm the camp of St. Leger as to induce him to
raise the siege and fly. The convict-traitor gladly accepted the
proposition, and his mother offered herself as a hostage for the faithful
performance of his commission. Arnold, however, declined receiving the
woman as a hostage, preferring and insisting that Nicholas should be
retained for that purpose. To this the latter readily assented, declaring
that he was perfectly willing to pledge his life that Hon-Yost would
fulfill his engagements to the utmost. Nicholas was, therefore, placed in
confinement, while Hon-Yost departed for the camp of Colonel St.
Leger--having made an arrangement with one of the Oneida Indians, friendly
to the Americans, to aid him in the enterprise. Before his departure
several shots were fired through Schuyler's clothes, that he might appear
to have had a narrow escape; and the Oneida Indian, by taking a circuitous
route to Fort Schuyler, was to fall into the enemy's camp from another
direction, and aid Hon-Yost in creating the panic desired. The emissary
first presented himself among the Indians, who were in a very suitable
state of mind to be wrought upon by exactly such a personage. They had
been moody and dissatisfied ever since the battle of Oriskany--neither the
success nor the plunder promised them had been won, and they had
previously received some vague and indefinite intelligence respecting the
approach of Arnold. They had likewise just been holding a pow-wow, or were
actually convened in one, for the purpose of consulting the Manitto
touching the dubious enterprise in which they were engaged, when Hon-Yost
arrived. Knowing their character well, he communicated his intelligence to
them in the most mysterious and imposing manner. Pointing to his riddled
garments, he proved to them how narrow had been his escape from the
approaching army of the rebels. When asked the number of the troops that
Arnold was leading against them, he shook his head mysteriously, and
pointed upward to the leaves of the trees. The reports spread rapidly
through the camps, and reaching the ears of the commander, Hon-Yost was
sent for to the tent of St. Leger himself. Here he was interrogated, and
gave information that General Arnold, with two thousand men, was so near
that he would be upon them within twenty-four hours. He gave St. Leger a
pitiable narrative of his captivity, trial, and condemnation to the
gallows. It was while on his way to execution, as he alleged, that,
finding himself not very closely guarded, he took an opportunity to effect
his escape--thinking, at the worst, that he could only die, and it would
be as well to be shot as hanged. A shower of bullets had indeed been let
fly at him, but fortunately had only wounded his clothes, as the General
might see. [FN-1] Meantime the Oneida messenger arrived with a belt, and
confirmed to the Indians all that Schuyler had said; adding, that the
Americans had no desire to injure the Indians, and were intent only upon
attacking the British troops and rangers. While making his way to the camp
of the besiegers, the ingenious Oneida had fallen in with some two or
three straggling Indians of his acquaintance, to whom he communicated his
business, and whose assistance in furthering the design he engaged. These
sagacious fellows dropped into the Indian camp at different points, and
threw out alarming suggestions--shaking their heads mysteriously, and
insinuating that a bird had brought them intelligence of great
moment. [FN-2] They spoke of warriors in great numbers advancing rapidly
upon them, and used every indirect method of infusing a panic into the
minds of the listeners who gathered around them. The Indians presently
began to give signs of decamping, and St. Leger assayed in vain to
reassure them. He convened a council of their chiefs, hoping that by the
influence of Sir John Johnson, and Colonels Claus and Butler, he should
still be able to retain them. Other reports, of a yet more terrifying
tendency, getting afloat, not only among the Indians but in the other
camp, the former declared that "the pow-wow said they must go;" and a
portion of them took their departure before the council broke up. The
result was a general and precipitate flight. It has been stated, that in
the commencement of the retreat the Indians made themselves merry at the
expense of their white allies, by raising a shout that the Americans were
upon them, and then laughing at the groundless terror thus created. [FN-3]
According to the account derived by Gordon from the Rev. Mr. Kirkland, an
altercation took place between Colonel St. Leger and Sir John Johnson, the
former reproaching the latter with the defection of the Indians, while the
Baronet charged his commander with but an indifferent prosecution of the
siege. It was in the gray of twilight, when a couple of sachems, standing
upon a little eminence not far in the rear, and overhearing the
interchange of sharp words between them, put an end to the unpleasant
colloquy by raising the shout--"_they are coming!--they are coming!"_
Both St. Leger and Sir John recommenced their retreat with all possible
expedition upon hearing such an alarm. Their troops were equally nimble
of foot on the occasion, throwing away their knapsacks and arms, and
disencumbering themselves of every hindrance to the quick-step; while the
Indians, enjoying the panic and confusion, repeated the joke by the way
until they arrived at the Oneida Lake. It is believed, however, that it
was not the Americans alone of whom St. Leger began to stand in fear,
being quite as apprehensive of danger from his own dusky allies as he was
of the approaching army of Arnold. There is British authority for stating
that the Indians actually plundered several of the boats belonging to
their own army; robbing the officers of whatsoever they liked. Within a
few miles of the camp, they first stripped off the arms, and afterward
murdered, with their own bayonets, all those British, German, and
American soldiers who were separated from the main body. [FN-4] Thus were
the threats of savage vengeance sent by Colonel St. Leger to the garrison,
in some degree wreaked upon his own army. Hon-Yost Schuyler accompanied
the flying host to the estuary of Wood Creek, where he deserted, threading
his way back to Fort Schuyler the same evening--imparting to Colonel
Gansevoort his first information of the advance of Arnold. [FN-5] From
Fort Schuyler, Hon-Yost proceeded back to the German Flats. On presenting
himself at Fort Dayton, his brother was discharged, to the inexpressible
joy of his mother and their relatives. But he proved a Tory in grain, and
embraced the first opportunity subsequently presented, which was in
October, of running away to the enemy, with several of his neighbors, and
attaching himself to the forces of Sir John Johnson. [FN-6]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Remembrancer, for 1777--p. 447-448.
[FN-2] Travels of President Dwight, vol. iii. p. 195-197.
[FN-3] Travels of President Dwight, vol. iii. p. 195-197.
[FN-4] British Universal Magazine. Indeed, St. Leger's report of this
disastrous retreat, addressed to General Burgoyne from Oswego, on the
27th of August, corresponds very closely with the American accounts
whence the present narrative has been drawn. He states that the Indians
fell treacherously upon their friends, and became more formidable than
the enemy they had to expect. He leaves no room, however, to suppose that
there was any difficulty between Sir John Johnson and himself--calling
him "his gallant coadjutor," &c. and commending his exertions to induce
the Indians again to meet the enemy, as also those of Colonels Claus and
Butler.
[FN-5] Letter of Colonel Gansevoort to General Arnold.
[FN-6] After the close of the contest, Hon-Yost returned to the Mohawk
Valley, and resided there until his death--which event occurred about
twenty years since.
Immediately on the receipt of Colonel Gansevoort's despatch announcing St.
Leger's retreat. General Arnold pushed forward a detachment of nine
hundred men, with directions, if possible, to overtake the fugitives, and
render their flight still more disastrous. On the day following, Arnold
himself arrived at the fort, where he was received with a salute of
artillery and the cheers of the brave garrison. He, of course, found that
Gansevoort had anticipated his design of harassing the rear of the flying
enemy, and had brought in several prisoners, together with large
quantities of spoil. [FN-1] So great was their panic, and such the
precipitancy of their flight, that they left their tents standing, their
provisions, artillery, ammunition, their entire camp equipage, and large
quantities of other articles enhancing the value of the booty. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter of Arnold to General Gates, Aug. 24, 1777.
[FN-2] Among other articles was the escritoire of St. Leger himself,
containing his private papers, several of which have been used by the
author in writing this and the preceding chapters.
Thus ended the siege of Fort Schuyler, or Fort Stanwix, as the public have
always preferred calling it. St. Leger hastened with his scattered forces
back to Oswego, and thence to Montreal. From that post he proceeded to
Lake Champlain, passing up the same to Ticonderoga, for the purpose of
joining the army of Burgoyne. Finding that the enemy had evacuated the
country between the fort and Lake Ontario, and that the post could be in
no immediate danger from that direction, Colonel Gansevoort took the
opportunity of visiting his friends at Albany, and at the seat of the
State government, then just organised at Kingston. His reception was most
cordial, as appears not only from contemporaneous accounts, but from the
following modest address to his fellow-soldiers of the garrison, on his
return to resume his command:--
"I should be wanting in justice to you, if I did not give some testimony
of your good conduct during the time you have been in this garrison, and
especially while we were besieged by the enemy. Believe me, that I am
impressed with a proper sense of the behavior by which you have done
essential service to your country, and acquired immortal honor to
yourselves. Nothing can equal the pleasure I have experienced since my
absence, in hearing and receiving the public approbation of our country
for our services, which is, and must be, to every soldier, a full and
ample compensation for the same. Permit me to congratulate you upon the
success of the American arms, both to the Southward and Northward. Every
day terminates with victory to America; and I make not the least doubt,
but in this campaign we shall effectually establish the Independence of
the United States, and thereby secure to ourselves the rights and
liberties for which we have so nobly stood forth." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Copied by the author from the original manuscript. It was filed away
among the Colonel's papers, with the following inscription:--"A laconic
address to my fellow officers and soldiers after our success at Fort
Stanwix."
As an evidence of the value placed upon the services of the Colonel in the
defence of Fort Schuyler, he was shortly afterward promoted in the State
line to the rank of Brigadier General, while his gallantry was farther
rewarded by a Colonel's commission from Congress in the army of the United
States. [FN-1] On leaving his regiment, its officers presented him with an
affectionate letter of congratulation on his promotion, mingled with an
expression of their regret at the loss to the regiment of "so worthy a
patron." To which the Colonel returned an appropriate letter of
thanks. [FN-2] The people of Tryon County were of course rejoiced, that
the blow, directed, as the enemy supposed, with unerring certainty against
them, had been averted. They had suffered severely in the campaign; but
there were enough of her sons yet left to swell the ranks of General
Gates not a little; and they pressed ardently to join his standard,
although circumstances did not then require them long to remain in the
field.
* * * * *
[FN-1] There seems to have been something peculiar and special in this
commission. In a letter which Colonel Gansevoort wrote jointly to William
Duer and Gouverneur Morris, a copy of which is preserved among his
papers, he observes:--"Congress have done me the honor of appointing me
Colonel Commandant of Fort Schuyler. I should esteem it as a favor if
you would inform me whether I am to receive any pay for that commission,
other than as Colonel of the third regiment of New-Yorkers; and if not,
I should be glad if you would endeavor to get something allowed me, as
my present pay will not reimburse my table liquors, which you may well
conceive to be something considerable as commanding officer. I am not
solicitous to make money by my commission; but I could wish not to sink
by it, as I am obliged to do now. The commission which Congress has sent
me as _commandant of Fort Schuyler,_ subjects me as much to the command
of my superior officers, as any former one. If that was the intention of
Congress, the appointment is nugatory. If not, I wish Congress to alter
the commission."
[FN-2] The following is a copy of the address referred to in the
text:--"Honored Sir: From a just sense of that conduct which has hitherto
been so conspicuously shown to advance the third New-York regiment to
honor and public notice, we congratulate you that those characteristics
which so eminently point out the gentleman and soldier, have by your
personal bravery been deservedly noticed by our bleeding country.
Although we rejoice at your promotion, yet we cannot but regret the loss
of so worthy a patron. That the prosperity which has crowned your conduct
with victory may still be continued, is the sincere wish and prayer of,
honored Sir, your most obedient and very humble servants." It was signed
by twenty-six officers. Colonel Gansevoort replied as
follows:--"Gentlemen: Your polite address on my promotion merits my
sincerest thanks. Gratitude, I hope, shall never be wanting in me to the
third N. Y. regiment, who have, by their firmness and discipline, been
the chief authors of my promotion. Therefore, Gentlemen, please to accept
my warmest wishes for the prosperity of the corps, that all their
virtuous endeavors in the defence of their bleeding country may be
crowned with honor and success, which will always be the earnest prayer
of, Gentlemen, your most obliged, humble servant."
In October following, when Sir Henry Clinton was ascending the Hudson for
the purpose either of succoring, or of co-operating with, Burgoyne,
Colonel Gansevoort was ordered to Albany by General Gates, to take command
of the large force then concentrating at that place. Happily, as will
appear in the succeeding chapters, there was no occasion to test his
prowess in his new and temporary command.
CHAPTER XII.
Recurrence to the invasion of Burgoyne--General Schuyler again superseded
by Gates--Causes of this injustice--Battle of Stillwater--Both armies
entrench--Battle and victory of Behmus's Heights--Funeral of General
Frazer--Retreat of Burgoyne--Difficulties increasing upon him--His
capitulation--Meeting of Burgoyne and Gates--Deportment of Gates toward
Gen. Washington--Noble conduct of General Schuyler.
The temporary pacification of the Western part of the State, resulting
from the events of which we have just closed the narrative, affords an
opportunity for recurring to the invasion of Burgoyne, who was left in
the mid career of victory, checked, it is true, by unexpected and
increasing difficulties, until brought to a stand by the serious affair
of Bennington, heretofore incidentally disposed of. On shifting the scene,
however, from the head waters of the Mohawk to the upper districts of the
Hudson, General Gates is again found in command of the Northern
Department--General Schuyler, to whose wise measures and indefatigable
exertions the country was mainly indebted for arresting the progress of
Burgoyne, and during whose command the victory of Bennington had been won
by General Stark--having been most unjustly superseded by express
resolution of Congress. There had, during the present year, been a very
unwise, unworthy, and capricious interference, on the part of Congress,
with the command of this department. On the 25th of March, without a
reason assigned, General Gates had superseded General Schuyler, his
superior officer, by order of Congress; and on the 22d of May, without
any expressed motive, General Schuyler was restored to the command of
that department. [FN-1] Again, on the 1st of August, it was resolved by
Congress that General Schuyler should repair to head-quarters, while the
Commander-in-chief was, by the same resolution, directed to order such
general officer as he should think proper, to assume the command in
Schuyler's place. The day after the passage of that resolution, General
Washington received a letter from the New England delegation in Congress,
suggesting the name of General Gates, as the officer who would be most
likely to restore harmony, order, and discipline, and to relieve our
affairs in that quarter. [FN-2] We have, in a former chapter, referred to
the prejudices existing against General Schuyler, and the causes of them.
These had now become so strong, and the Eastern States, in particular,
were so hostile to his longer continuance in the command, that even his
friends acquiesced in the expediency, though not in the justice, of his
removal. [FN-3] General Schuyler himself, however, felt acutely the
discredit of being recalled at the most critical and interesting period
of the campaign; when the labor and activity of making preparations to
repair the disasters of it had been expended by him; and when an
opportunity was offered, as he observed, for that resistance and
retaliation which might bring glory upon our arms. [FN-4]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Memoirs of General Wilkinson, vol. i. p. 163.
[FN-2] Sparks's Life and Cor. of Washington, vol. v. p. 14. The original
of this letter to Washington is in the hand-writing of Samuel Adams, and
is signed by the following names, in the order in which they here stand,
viz: John Adams, Nathaniel Folsom, Samuel Adams, Henry Marchant,
Elbridge Gerry, Eliphalet Dyer, William Williams.
[FN-3] Marshall.
[FN-4] Address of Chancellor Kent before the New-York Historical Society,
Dec. 1828. The calumnies directed against St. Clair and Schuyler, in
regard to the fall of Ticonderoga, were so gross as to exceed belief in
their propagation. These officers were denounced as traitors to the
country, acting in concert with the enemy, and the ignorant and credulous
were led to believe that they had received an immense treasure in silver
balls, fired by Burgoyne into St. Clair's camp, and by his order picked
up, and transmitted to Schuyler at Fort George. Wilkinson, who was
Gates's Adjutant General, avers that respectable people questioned him
with much gravity as to the fact! These slanders were, for factious
purposes, countenanced by respectable men, and the consequence was,
general defection and desertion, in the early part of the Summer, so
that, at one time, the Northern army was reduced to less than three
thousand, and the militia to less than thirteen hundred--and these
subject to no effectual restraint.
The Commander-in-chief paid no heed to the advisory epistle from the New
England delegates, but in a respectful letter to the President of
Congress, declined the honor of making the selection. [FN] Had he not thus
excused himself, it is not presumption to intimate, that, influenced by
the peculiar attitude which Gates had even then begun to assume, and
acting, as Washington ever did, under the stern behests of conscience, he
would have made a different selection from that proposed to him by the
Eastern representatives, and which ultimately prevailed.
* * * * *
[FN] "At the same time that I express my thanks for the high mark of
confidence which Congress has been pleased to repose in me by their
resolve, authorising me to send an officer to command the Northern army,
I should wish to be excused from making the appointment. For this, many
reasons might be mentioned, which, I am persuaded, will occur to Congress
on reflection. The Northern department in a great measure has been
considered as separate, and more peculiarly under their direction; and
the officers commanding there always under their nomination. I have never
interfered farther than merely to advise, and to give such aids as were
within my power, on the requisitions of those officers. The present
situation of that department is delicate and critical, and the choice of
an officer to the command may involve very interesting and important
consequences."--_Letter of Washington to the President of Congress,
Aug._ 3, 1777.
General Gates, however, did not join the Northern army until the 19th of
August; and as the time was not specified within which he was required to
report himself at head-quarters, General Schuyler was allowed to remain
at the North, with the approbation both of Congress and the
Commander-in-chief, until after the campaign had been closed by the
surrender of the British commander and his army. Nor were his exertions
the less active, or his counsels the less freely proffered, in the cause
of his country, because of the injustice by which his pride had been
wounded. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] "The zeal, patriotism, perseverance, and salutary arrangements of
General Schuyler, had roused the spirit of the country, and vanquished
the prejudices excited against him by artifice, intrigue, and
detraction."--_Wilkinson's Memoirs._
After the evacuation of Fort Edward, [FN-1] as mentioned in a former
chapter, General Schuyler fell down the river to Stillwater, on the 3d of
August, and began to entrench his camp there on the 4th. Burgoyne's
ill-conceived expedition to Bennington, under Colonel Baum, deprived him
of one-sixth of his effective force on the 16th. It was not until near a
month afterward, during which period the American army had been greatly
strengthened at Stillwater, that Burgoyne was again prepared to advance.
Having at length, by dint of almost incredible labor, brought up from Fort
George a supply of provisions for thirty days, and thrown a bridge of
boats over the Hudson, the British commander with his army crossed on the
13th and 14th of September, and encamped on the heights and plains of
Saratoga. On the night of the 17th, Burgoyne encamped within four miles
of the American army; and about noon on the 19th, advanced in full force
against it--the latter having, in the mean time, advanced toward the enemy
three miles above Stillwater. Burgoyne commanded his right wing in person,
covered by General Frazer and Colonel Breyman, with the grenadiers and
light-infantry, who were posted along some high grounds on the right. The
front and flanks were covered by Indians, Provincials, and Canadians. The
enemy's left wing and artillery were commanded by Generals Phillips and
Riedesel, who proceeded along the great road. Colonel Morgan, who was
detached to observe their motions, and to harass them as they advanced,
soon fell in with their pickets in advance of their right wing, attacked
them sharply and drove them in. A strong corps was immediately detached
by the enemy against Morgan, who, after a brisk engagement, was in turn
compelled to give way. A regiment being ordered to the assistance of
Morgan, whose riflemen had been sadly scattered by the vigor of the
attack, the battle was renewed at about one o'clock, and was maintained
with spirit, though with occasional pauses, for three hours--the
commanders on both sides supporting and reinforcing their respective
parties. By four o'clock the battle became general, Arnold, with nine
Continental regiments and Morgan's corps, having completely engaged the
whole right wing of the enemy. [FN-2] The contest, accidentally commenced,
in the first instance, now assumed the most obstinate and determined
character. It was maintained four hours longer--the soldiers being often
engaged hand to hand. The approach of night terminated the battle--the
Americans retreating to their encampment, but not from other necessity
than the darkness. The enemy were provided with artillery, but the ground
occupied by the Americans would not allow the use of field-pieces. The
fluctuations of the battle were frequent during the day, and although the
British artillery fell into the hands of the Americans at every alternate
charge, the latter could neither turn them upon the enemy nor bring them
off. "The wood prevented the last, and the want of a match the first, as
the lint-stock was invariably carried away, and the rapidity of the
transitions did not allow the Americans time to provide one." [FN-3]
* * * * *
[FN-1] It was during a skirmish before Fort Edward, when the Americans
were flying from a party of thirty or forty Indians, that the late
General Matthew Clarkson, of New-York--then Major Clarkson and aid to
General Arnold--was wounded by a ball which passed through the muscular
integuments of the throat. The wound was supposed to be fatal at the
time, but he soon recovered.
[FN-2] Holmes, who follows Stedman. General Wilkinson denies that Arnold
shared much in this battle. He says:--"Not a single general officer was
on the field of battle on the 19th, until evening, when General Lamed
was ordered out. About the same time Generals Gates and Arnold were in
front of the centre of the camp, listening to the peal of small arms,
when Colonel Morgan Lewis, deputy quartermaster General, returned from
the field, and being questioned by the General, he reported the
undecisive progress of the action--at which Arnold exclaimed, '_by G--
I will put an end to it,_' and clapping spurs to his horse, galloped off
at full speed. Colonel Lewis immediately observed to General Gates, 'You
had better order him back, the action is going well, and he may by some
rash act do mischief.' I was instantly despatched, overtook, and remanded
Arnold to camp."--_Memoirs, vol. i, Chap. vi._
[FN-3] Memoirs of General Wilkinson, vol. i. chapter vi.
General Wilkinson, at that time Adjutant General, who was himself in the
battle, and whose account of it is the best that has been written,
sustains the remark made above, that the engagement was perfectly
accidental; neither of the opposing Generals meditating an attack at that
time, and yet, by a mutual misconception of each other's purposes, they
were kept the whole day acting upon the defensive; confining themselves
to the ground occupied at first by accident, "and neither attempting a
single manoeuvre during one of the longest, warmest, and most obstinate
battles fought in America. General Gates believed that his antagonist
intended to attack him, and circumstances seemed to justify the like
conclusion on the part of Burgoyne; and, as the thickness and depth of an
intervening wood concealed the position and movements of either army from
its adversary, sound caution obliged the respective commanders to guard
every assailable point. Had either of the Generals been properly apprised
of the dispositions of his antagonist, a serious blow might have been
struck either on the left of the American army, or on the enemy's right;"
but although the combatants changed ground a dozen times in the course of
the day, the contest was terminated by the darkness, on the spot where it
began. [FN-1] Few actions have been more remarkable than this, both for
vigor of attack and obstinacy of resistance. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Idem.
[FN-2] Stedman. The loss on the part of the Americans, in killed and
wounded, was between three and four hundred. Among the former were
Colonels Colburn and Adams, and several other valuable officers. The
loss of the British was from six hundred to a thousand, killed, wounded,
and taken.
Both armies remained in the same positions until the beginning of
October--each entrenching itself within lines and redoubts, which, in the
most eligible positions, were strengthened with batteries. The engineer
having the direction of the American works at Behmus's Heights, was the
celebrated Polish patriot, Thaddeus Kosciusko, who had also served in the
same capacity at Ticonderoga.
The action of the 19th of September had again essentially diminished the
strength of Burgoyne, added to which were the great and increasing
difficulties of obtaining supplies, and the perpetual annoyances to which
he was subjected by the American scouts, and still larger detachments,
who were attacking his pickets, hanging upon his flanks, and cutting off
his foraging parties. By the 4th of October his supplies were so far
reduced that the soldiers were placed upon short allowance, and his
position was in other respects becoming so critical, that, hearing nothing
from Sir Henry Clinton, for whose cooperation from New-York he had been
waiting since the battle of the 19th, the idea of advancing was
relinquished, and instead thereof, discussions were held respecting the
practicability of a retreat. This could only be done by first dislodging
the Americans, whose forces, disciplined and undisciplined, now far
out-numbered his own, from their posts on the heights. On the 4th of
October, Burgoyne sent for Generals Phillips, Riedesel, and Frazer, to
consult with them on the best measures to be taken. His project was to
attack and attempt to turn the left wing of the Americans at once; but
the other Generals judged that it would be dangerous to leave their stores
under so feeble a protection as eight hundred men, according to the
proposition of their commander. A second consultation was held on the 5th,
at which General Riedesel positively declared that the situation of the
army had become so critical, that they must either attack and force the
entrenchments of Gates, and thus bring about a favorable change of
affairs, or recross the Hudson, and retreat upon Fort George. Fraser
approved of the latter suggestion, and Phillips declined giving an
opinion. General Burgoyne, to whom the idea of retreating was most
unwelcome, declared that he would make, on the 7th, a reconnaissance as
near as possible to the left wing of the Americans, with a view of
ascertaining whether it could be attacked with any prospect of success.
He would afterward either attack the army of Gates, or retreat by the
route in the rear of Battenkill. This was his final determination, and
dispositions were made accordingly. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Memoirs of Madame the Baroness de Riedesel.
Early in the afternoon of the 7th, General Burgoyne drew out fifteen
hundred men for the purpose of making his proposed reconnaissance, which
he headed himself, attended by Generals Phillips, Riedesel, and Frazer.
They advanced in three columns toward the left wing of the American
positions, entered a wheat-field, displayed into line, and then began
cutting up the wheat for forage. The movement having been seasonably
discovered, the centre advanced guard of the Americans beat to arms; the
alarm was repeated throughout the line, and the troops repaired to the
alarm posts. Colonel Wilkinson being at head-quarters at the moment, was
despatched to ascertain the cause of the alarm. He proceeded to within
sixty or seventy rods of the enemy, ascertained their position, and
returned; informing General Gates that they were foraging; attempting also
to reconnoiter the American left, and likewise, in his opinion, offering
battle. After a brief consultation. Gates said he would indulge them; and
Colonel Morgan, whose rifle corps was formed in front of the centre, was
directed "to begin the game." [FN-1] At his own suggestion, however, Morgan
was allowed to gain the enemy's right by a circuitous course, while Poor's
brigade should attack his left. [FN-2] The movement was admirably
executed; the New-York and New Hampshire troops attacked the enemy's front
and left wing with great impetuosity; while, true to his purpose, Morgan,
just at the critical moment, poured down like a torrent from the hill, and
attacked the enemy's right in front and flank. The attack was soon
extended along the whole front of the enemy with great determination.
Major Ackland, at the head of the grenadiers, sustained the attack of
Poor with great firmness. [FN-3] But on his right the light infantry, in
attempting to change front, being pressed with ardor by Colonel Dearborn,
were forced to retire under a close fire, and in great disorder. They were
re-formed by the Earl of Balcarras behind a fence in the rear of their
first position; but, being again attacked with great audacity in front
and flanks by superior numbers, resistance became vain, and the whole
line, commanded by Burgoyne in person, gave way, and made a precipitate
and disorderly retreat to his camp, [FN-4] The right of Burgoyne had given
way first, the retreat of which was covered by the light infantry and a
part of the 24th regiment. The left wing in its retreat would inevitably
have been cut to pieces, but for the intervention of the same troops,
performing in its behalf the same service that, a few moments before,
they had done for the right. This retreat took place in exactly fifty-two
minutes after the first shot was fired--the enemy leaving two twelve and
six six pounders on the field, with the loss of more than four hundred
officers and men, killed, wounded, and captured, and among them the flower
of his officers, viz: General Frazer, Major Ackland,[FN-5] Sir Francis
Cook, and many others.
* * * * *
[FN-1] General Burgoyne afterward stated to Wilkinson, in conversation,
that his purpose on that day was only to reconnoiter and obtain forage,
and that in half an hour, had his motives not been penetrated by
Wilkinson and he not been attacked, he should have finished his
observations and returned to his camp.
[FN-2] Wilkinson's Memoirs.
[FN-3] Holmes.
[FN-4] Memoirs of General Wilkinson.
[FN-5] Idem. General Wilkinson gives an interesting incident respecting
Major Ackland. While pursuing the flying enemy, passing over killed and
wounded, he heard a voice exclaim--"Protect me, sir, against this boy!"
Turning his head, he saw a lad, thirteen or fourteen years of age,
deliberately aiming at a wounded officer, lying in the angle of a
worm-fence. The purpose of the boy was arrested--the officer proved to
be the brave Ackland who had commanded the grenadiers, and was wounded
in both legs. He was immediately sent to head-quarters. The story of
Major Ackland has been rendered familiar to all, even before escaping
the nursery, by the interesting narrative of Lady Harriet, his wife, who
was with the army, and who, two days after the battle, came to the
American camp, under a flag, to join her husband. The incident, from the
embellishments it received, was touching and romantic. When divested of
its poetry, however, and reduced to the plain matter of fact, according
to the statement of the late General Dearborn, which he authorized
Wilkinson to publish in his memoirs, the affair was not so very
extraordinary that it might not have been enacted by any other pretty
woman under the same circumstances, who loved her husband. Major Ackland
had already been sent down to Albany, when Lady Harriet arrived at the
camp of General Gates. She was treated with all possible courtesy, and
permitted to follow and join him. Major Ackland was a gallant officer
and a generous foe. While in New-York, on his parole, he did all in his
power to favor the treatment of distinguished American prisoners. After
his return to England, he sacrificed his life in defence of American
honor. Having procured a regiment, at a dinner of military men, the
courage of the Americans was questioned. He repelled the imputation with
decision. High words ensued, in the course of which Ackland gave the lie
direct to a subordinate officer named Lloyd. A meeting was the
consequence, in which he was shot through the head. Lady Harriet lost
her senses, and continued deranged two years; after which she married a
gentleman named Brudenell, who had accompanied her from the camp of
Burgoyne, at Saratoga, to that of Gates, in search of her wounded
husband.
The British troops had scarcely entered their lines, when the Americans,
led by General Arnold, pressed forward, and, under a tremendous fire of
grape-shot and musketry, assaulted their works throughout their whole
extent from right to left. Toward the close of the day, the enemy's
intrenchments were forced by the left of the Americans, led by Arnold in
person, who, with a few of his men, actually entered the works; but his
horse being killed, and the General himself badly wounded in the leg,
they were forced to retire, and the approach of darkness induced them to
desist from the attack. [FN-1] Meantime, on the left of Arnold's
detachment, the Massachusetts troops, under Colonel Brooks, had been still
more successful--having turned the enemy's right, and carried by storm
the works occupied by the German reserve. Colonel Breyman, their
commander, was killed; and his corps, reduced to two hundred men, and
hotly pressed on all sides, was obliged to give way. This advantage was
retained by the Americans; and darkness put an end to an action equally
brilliant and important to the Continental arms. Great numbers of the
enemy were killed, and two hundred prisoners taken. The loss of the
Americans was inconsiderable. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Subsequent to the battle of the 19th September, and previous to
that now under review, Arnold had had some difficulty with Gates. A sharp
correspondence en sued, in the course of which the former demanded
permission to join the Commander-in-chief in Pennsylvania. The
consequence was, that Arnold found himself without any command on the
7th. He was exceedingly chafed at his position; but, orders or no orders,
he could not be kept from the field. His conduct was very strange, and
he has been charged by Wilkinson and others with intoxication that day.
Be it so or not, before the action was over, he was in the hottest of it,
and exercising command. He expressed himself foolishly and presumptuously
in front of the German division; and it was without orders that he
collected a few desperate followers, with whom he entered the enemy's
intrenchment, where he received his wound.
[FN-2] Holmes.
On the morning of the 8th, before daybreak, the enemy left his position
and defiled into the plain where his provisions were; but was obliged to
halt until the evening, because his hospital could not be sooner
removed. [FN-1] The Americans immediately moved forward, and took
possession of the abandoned camp. Burgoyne having condensed his force upon
some heights which were strong by nature, and covered in front by a ravine
running parallel with the entrenchment of his late camp, a random fire of
artillery and small arms was kept up through the day--particularly on the
part of the enemy's sharpshooters and Provincials, who were stationed in
coverts of the ravine, which rendered their fire annoying to every person
crossing their line of vision. [FN-2] It was by a shot from one of these
lurking parties, that General Lincoln, late in the day, received a severe
wound in the leg while riding near the line.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Memoirs of the Baroness de Riedesel. Of this lady. General
Wilkinson says--"I have more than once seen her charming blue eyes
bedewed with tears at the recital of her sufferings. With two infant
children she accompanied her husband, Major General the Baron de
Riedesel from Germany to England, from England to Canada, and from the
last place to the termination of General Burgoync's campaign, in which
she suffered more than the horrors of the grave in their most frightful
aspect." Her Memoirs were published in Berlin in 1800. They are full of
interest. Some of the distressing scenes which attended the close of
Burgoyne's campaign are so graphically told by the Baroness, and afford
such striking illustrations of the horrors of war, that the author has
ventured to transfer a few pages to the Appendix of the present volume.
See Appendix, No. IX.
[FN-2] Memoirs of General Wilkinson.
The gallant Frazer, who had been mortally wounded the day before, died at
8 o'clock on the morning of the 8th. On the evening of his fall, when it
was rendered certain that he could not recover, he sent for General
Burgoyne, and requested that he might be buried at 6 o'clock the following
evening, on the crest of a hill upon which a breastwork had been
constructed. It was a subject of complaint against Burgoyne, that in order
to comply with this request, he delayed his retreat, and thus contributed
to the misfortunes of his army. Be that as it may, the dying soldier's
request was observed to the letter. At the hour appointed the body was
borne to the hill that had been indicated, attended by the Generals and
their retinues; the funeral service was read by the Chaplain; and the
corpse interred, while the balls of the American cannon were flying around
and above the assembled mourners. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The Baroness Riedesel, from whose spirited Memoirs the circumstances
of this funeral are drawn, states that General Gates protested afterward
that had he known what was going on, he would have stopped the fire
immediately. It must have been a solemn spectacle, and General Burgoyne
himself described it with his usual eloquence and felicity of
expression:--"The incessant cannonade during the solemnity; the steady
attitude and unaltered voice with which the chaplain officiated, though
frequently covered with dust, which the shot threw up on all sides of
him; the mute but expressive mixture of sensibility and indignation upon
every countenance; these objects will remain to the last of life upon the
mind of every man who was present. The growing duskiness added to the
scenery, and the whole marked a character of that juncture, that would
make one of the finest subjects for the pencil of a master that the
field ever exhibited. To the canvass, and to the faithful page of a more
important historian, gallant friend! I consign thy memory. There may thy
talents, thy manly virtues, their progress and their period, find due
distinction; and long may they survive, long after the frail record of
my pen shall be forgotten!"--_State of the Expedition from Canada, &c.
&c._ p. 169.
It was evident from the movements in the enemy's camp, that he was
preparing to retreat; but the American troops, having in the delirium of
joy consequent upon their victory, neglected to draw and eat their
rations--being withal not a little fatigued with the two days' exertions,
fell back to their camp, which had been left standing in the morning.
Retreat was, indeed, the only alternative remaining to the British
commander, since it was now quite certain that he could not cut his way
through the American army, and his supplies were reduced to a short
allowance for five days. He accordingly commenced his retreat that night,
but lingered by the way; so that on the 10th he was yet near Saratoga,
where he took up a position. During this retreat he ordered the
farm-houses to be burnt by the way, among which was the elegant mansion
of General Schuyler, with its mills and out-buildings. This conduct on
the part of the British commander was viewed as alike disreputable and
unnecessary. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] "The cruelties which mark the retreat of your army, in burning the
gentlemen's and farmers' houses as it passed along, are almost, among
civilized nations, without precedent; they should not endeavor to ruin
those they could not conquer; their conduct betrays more of the
vindictive malice of the monk than the generosity of a soldier."--_Letter
of Gates to Burgoyne, Oct._ 12, 1777.
Well knowing that a farther retreat, with a view, if possible, of reaching
his _depot_ at Fort George, and escaping through the lakes, was now the
only movement to which Burgoyne could have recourse to save the shattered
remains of his army, Gates lost no time in throwing several strong
detachments of troops into his rear. A division of fourteen hundred was
stationed on the heights opposite the ford at Saratoga; two thousand in
his rear, to prevent his retreat upon Fort Edward; and fifteen hundred at
a ford yet higher up. Apprehensive that he should be entirely penned up,
Burgoyne sent forward a corps of artificers to repair the bridges; but
these, though strongly guarded, were driven precipitately back. His
thoughts were next directed to the opening of a passage by the way of
Fort Edward; but the Americans had already re-possessed themselves of
that work, and were well provided with artillery. Thus environed with
difficulties, which were increasing; every hour, his effective force
reduced to less than three thousand five hundred men,--the American army
increasing every moment, and now forming an almost entire circle around
him,--harassed at all points, especially by the sharp-shooters who hovered
about him,--Burgoyne was driven to the necessity of entering into a
convention with General Gates, which was done by the unanimous consent of
a general council of his officers. The preliminaries were soon adjusted;
and on the 17th of October, the royal army surrendered prisoners of war.
At the opening of the campaign, the army of Burgoyne numbered nine
thousand two hundred and thirteen men. The number that laid down their
arms, was five thousand seven hundred and fifty-two. His Indian allies
had all, or nearly all, abandoned him several days before.
On the same day that the articles of capitulation were carried into
effect, Burgoyne, with his general officers, was received in the quarters
of General Gates, and entertained by him at dinner. They were received
with the utmost courtesy, and with the consideration due to brave but
unfortunate men. The conversation was unrestrained, affable, and
free. [FN-1] Indeed, the conduct of Gates throughout, after the terms of
the surrender had been adjusted, was marked with equal delicacy and
magnanimity, as Burgoyne himself admitted in a letter to the Earl of
Derby. In that letter, the captive General particularly mentioned one
circumstance which, he said, exceeded all he had ever seen or read of on
a like occasion. It was the fact, that when the British soldiers had
marched out of their camp to the place where they were to pile their arms,
_not a man of the American troops was to be seen_--General Gates having
ordered his whole army out of sight, that not one of them should be a
spectator of the humiliation of the British troops, nor offer the smallest
insult to the vanquished. This was a refinement of delicacy, and of
military generosity and politeness, reflecting the highest credit upon
the conqueror; and was spoken of by the officers of Burgoyne in the
strongest terms of approbation. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Memoirs of the Baroness de Riedesel. The first meeting of
Burgoyne with Gates is thus described by Wilkinson:--"General Gates,
advised of Burgoyne's approach, met him at the head of his camp--Burgoyne
in a rich royal uniform, and Gates in a plain blue frock; when they had
approached nearly within sword's length, they reined up and halted. I
then named the gentlemen, and General Burgoyne, raising his hat most
gracefully, said--'The fortune of war. General Gates, has made me your
prisoner;' to which the conqueror, returning a courtly salute, promptly
replied--'I shall always be ready to bear testimony that it has not been
through any fault of your Excellency.'"
[FN-2] Remembrancer of 1777, pages 482, 83. A letter published in that
repository of the events of the American Revolution, at the same time,
stated that "some few of the New England men desired to have Burgoyne in
their hands for half an hour. Being asked for what purpose, they said
they would do him no manner of harm; they would only tar and feather him,
and make him stand on the head of one of his own empty beef-barrels, and
read his own proclamation."--481, 82. If made at all, the suggestion
must have been merely the sportive sally of a wag.
It was, perhaps, no fault of General Gates, that he had been placed in
command at the North just at the auspicious moment when the discomfiture
of Burgoyne was no longer problematical. He was ordered by Congress to
the station, and performed his duty well. But it is no less true that the
laurels won by him ought to have been harvested by Schuyler. General
(then Colonel) Wilkinson, who was not only an active officer in that
campaign, but a member of Gates's own military family, has placed this
question in its true aspect. He maintains that not only had the army of
Burgoyne been essentially disabled by the loss of a heavy detachment,
artillery and baggage, and by the defeat of the Hessians at Bennington,
before the arrival of Gates, but that the repulse of St. Leger at Fort
Schuyler had deranged his plans, while safety had been restored to the
western frontier, and the panic thereby caused to subside. He likewise
maintains that after the reverses at the North, no wise in justice
attributable to him, and before the arrival of Gates, the zeal,
patriotism, and salutary arrangements of General Schuyler had vanquished
the prejudices excited against him; that by the defeat of Baum and St.
Leger, Schuyler had been enabled to concentrate and oppose his whole
Continental force against the main body of the enemy; and that by him,
also before the arrival of Gates, the friends of the Revolution had been
re-animated and excited to manly resistance, while the adherents of the
royal cause were intimidated, and had shrunk into silence and inactivity.
From these premises, which are indisputable, it is no more than a fair
deduction to say, "that the same force which enabled Gates to subdue the
British army, would have produced a similar effect under the orders of
General Schuyler; since the operations of the campaign did not involve a
single instance of professional skill, and the triumph of the American
arms was accomplished by the physical force and valor of the troops,
under the protection and direction of the god of battles." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Wilkinson's Memoirs, vol. i. chap. v.
Flushed with his fortuitous success, or rather with the success attending
his fortuitous position, Gates did not wear his honors with any remarkable
meekness. On the contrary, his bearing even toward the Commander-in-chief
was far from respectful. He did not even write to Washington on the
occasion, until after a considerable time had elapsed. In the first
instance Wilkinson was sent as the bearer of despatches to Congress, but
did not reach the seat of that body until fifteen days after the articles
of capitulation had been signed; and three days more were occupied in
arranging his papers before they were presented. [FN-1] The first mention
which Washington makes of the defeat of Burgoyne, is contained in a
letter written to his brother on the 18th of October--the news having
been communicated to him by Governor Clinton. He spoke of the event again
on the 19th, in a letter addressed to General Putnam. On the 25th, in a
letter addressed to that officer, he acknowledges the receipt of a copy
of the articles of capitulation _from him_--adding, that that was the first
authentic intelligence he had received of the affair, and that he had
begun to grow uneasy, and almost to suspect that the previous accounts
were premature. And it was not until the 2d of November that Gates deigned
to communicate to the Commander-in-chief a word upon the subject, and
then only incidentally, as though it were a matter of secondary
importance. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Sparks. "It was on this occasion that one of the members made a
motion in Congress, that they should compliment Colonel Wilkinson with
the gift of a pair of spurs."
[FN-2] Idem. All that Gates said upon the subject in the letter referred
to, was comprised in these few words:--"Congress having been requested
immediately to transmit copies of all my despatches to them, I am
confident your Excellency has long ago received all the good news from
this quarter." Two days before this, in a letter directed to Gates,
Washington had administered one of those mild and dignified rebukes so
very like himself. In this letter, written in reference to a special
mission of Colonel Hamilton to the North, the Commander-in-chief
said:--"By this opportunity I do myself the pleasure to congratulate you
on the signal success of the army under your command, in compelling
General Burgoyne and his whole force to surrender themselves prisoners
of war." . . . "At the same time I cannot but regret that a matter of
such magnitude, and so interesting to our general operations, should
have reached me by report only, or through the channel of letters not
bearing that authenticity which the importance of it required, and which
it would have received by a line under your signature, stating the
simple facts."--_Lettrs of Washington, vol. v. pages_ 104, 112, 113,
124, 125.
General Schuyler was in the camp with Gates at the time of the surrender,
though without any personal command; and when Burgoyne, with his general
officers, arrived in Albany, they were the guests of Schuyler, by whom
they wore treated with great hospitality. The Baroness de Riedesel speaks
with great feeling of the kindness she received from General Schuyler on
her first arrival in the camp of General Gates, and afterward at the hands
of Mrs. Schuyler and her daughters in Albany. The urbanity of his manners,
and the chivalric magnanimity of his character, smarting as he was under
the extent and severity of his pecuniary losses, are attested by General
Burgoyne himself, in his speech in 1778, in the British House of Commons.
He there declared that, by his orders, "a very good dwelling-house,
exceeding large store-houses, great saw mills, and other out-buildings,
to the value altogether perhaps of 10,000 pounds sterling," belonging to
General Schuyler, at Saratoga, were destroyed by fire a few days before
the surrender. He said farther, that one of the first persons he saw,
after the convention was signed, was General Schuyler; and when expressing
to him his regret at the event which had happened to his property, General
Schuyler desired him "to think no more of it, and that the occasion
justified it, according to the principles and rules of war. He did more,"
said Burgoyne; "he sent an aid-de-camp [FN-1] to conduct me to Albany, in
order, as he expressed it, to procure better quarters than a stranger
might be able to find. That gentleman conducted me to a very elegant
house, and, to my great surprise, presented me to Mrs. Schuyler and her
family. In that house I remained during my whole stay in Albany, with a
table of more than twenty covers for me and my friends, and every other
possible demonstration of hospitality." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The late Colonel Richard Varick, then the military secretary of
Gen. Schuyler.
[FN-2] Parliamentary History, vol. xix. p. 1182--as quoted by Chancellor
Kent in his address before the New-York Historical Society.
CHAPTER XIII.
Sir Henry Clinton's attempt to co-operate with Burgoyne--Storming of
Forts Clinton and Montgomery--Burning of AEsopus--Review of military
operations elsewhere--Expedition to Peekskill--Of Gov. Tryon to
Danbury--Progress of Sir William Howe in Pennsylvania--Battle of
Brandywine--Massacre of the Paoli--Battle of Germantown--Death of Count
Donop--Murder of Captain Deitz and family at Berne--John Taylor--Lady
Johnson ordered to leave Albany--Exasperation of Sir John--Attempts to
abduct Mr. Taylor--An Indian and white man bribed to assassinate General
Schuyler--Fresh alarms in Tryon County--Address of Congress to the Six
Nations--The appeal produces no effect--Articles of confederation--Close
of the year.
Simultaneously with the events rapidly sketched in the preceding chapter,
an expedition from New-York to the North was undertaken by Sir Henry
Clinton, to which an incidental reference has already been made. The
obvious intention of Sir Henry was to relieve General Burgoyne; [FN] but
it was undertaken at too late a period to render him any assistance; a
fact admitted by Sir Henry himself, who excused the delay by stating that
he could not attempt it sooner without leaving the defences of New-York
too feebly guarded. This expedition consisted of about three thousand men,
convoyed by a fleet under Commodore Hotham, who proceeded up the Hudson
river early in October, and was destined, in the first instance, against
Forts Montgomery and Clinton, near the Southern boundary of the highlands.
These fortresses had been constructed chiefly for the purpose of
preventing the ships of the enemy from ascending the river, and were not
defensible in the rear. They were commanded by Governor Clinton, with the
assistance of General James Clinton, his brother.
* * * * *
[FN] Letter from Washington to General Putnam, Oct. 19, 1777.
The troops of the enemy were landed at Stoney Point, twelve miles below
the forts. A small advanced party of the Americans was met and attacked
at about 10 o'clock in the morning of the 6th of October, when within two
and a half miles of the fort. This party was of course driven in, having
returned the enemy's fire. [FN-1] When arrived within a mile of the forts,
Sir Henry divided his troops into two columns; the one, consisting of nine
hundred men under Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, was destined for the attack
on Fort Montgomery; the other, under the immediate command of Sir Henry
Clinton, was to storm the stronger post of Fort Clinton. [FN-2]
Ascertaining that the enemy were advancing to the west side of the
mountain, to attack his rear, Governor Clinton ordered a detachment of
upward of one hundred men, under Col. Lamb, together with a brass
field-piece and fifty men more, to take a strong position in advance. They
were soon sharply engaged, and another detachment of an equal number was
sent to their assistance. They kept their field-piece sharply playing upon
the enemy's advancing column, and were only compelled to give way by the
point of the bayonet--spiking their field-piece before they relinquished
it. In this preliminary encounter the loss of Sir Henry was severe.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter from Governor Clinton to the Committee of Safety, Oct. 7,
1777.
[FN-2] Holmes.
Pressing rapidly onward, both forts were in a few minutes attacked with
vigor upon all sides. The fire was incessant during the afternoon until
about five o'clock, when a flag approaching, Lieutenant Colonel
Livingston was ordered to receive it. The officer was the bearer of a
peremptory summons to surrender, as he alleged, to prevent the effusion
of blood. Nor would he treat, unless upon the basis of a surrender of the
garrison as prisoners of war, in which case he was authorised to assure
them of good usage. The proposition being rejected "with scorn," [FN-1]
in about ten minutes the attack was renewed, and kept up until after dark,
when the enemy forced the American lines and redoubts at both forts, and
the garrisons, determined not to surrender, undertook to fight their way
out. The last attack of the enemy was desperate; but the Americans,
militia as well as regulars, resisted with great spirit, and, favored by
the darkness, many of them escaped. Governor Clinton himself escaped by
leaping a precipice in the dark, and jumping into a boat, in which he was
conveyed away. His brother was wounded and taken prisoner. Of the British
forces, Lieutenant Colonel Campbell and Count Grabouski, a Polish
nobleman, engaged as a volunteer under Sir Henry, were slain. The loss of
the Americans, killed, wounded, and missing, was stated at two hundred
and fifty. The British loss was stated at two hundred, but was believed
to have been much more than that of the Americans. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter of Governor Clinton to the Council of Safety, from which
the facts of this affair are chiefly drawn.
[FN-2] "I believe, from the bravery of the garrison of Fort Montgomery,
Sir Henry Clinton purchased victory at no inconsiderable expense. General
Campbell was certainly killed. This they mention in their own official
account, but call him Lieutenant Colonel of the fifty-second regiment.
He was a General on the American establishment, so declared in one of
the orderly books which fell into our hands."--_Letter of Washington to
General Putnam._ [Sparks corrects the Commander-in-chief upon this
point--believing that General Campbell was another person, who was at
Staten Island at the time in question.]
On the 7th, a summons to surrender, signed jointly by Sir Henry Clinton
and Commodore Hotham, was sent to Fort Constitution; [FN-1] but the flag
was fired upon, and returned. To avenge the insult, an attack was
immediately determined upon, but on arriving at the fort on the following
day, there was no enemy to assault--an evacuation having taken place, so
precipitate as to leave considerable booty to the conqueror. [FN-2] Sir
Henry Clinton proceeded no farther, but a strong detachment of his army,
under General Vaughan, pursued the enterprise, with Commodore Hotham, as
far north as AEsopus, [FN-3] destroying several vessels by the way. At
AEsopus Creek there were two small batteries and an armed galley,
mounting, however, in all, but six or seven guns. These were easily
silenced. General Vaughan then effected a landing, marched to the town,
and laid it in ashes. Large quantities of stores had been accumulated at
this place, which were of course destroyed. Disappointed, however, by the
disastrous termination of the campaign of Burgoyne, Sir Henry Clinton
made an expeditious return to the city.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Situated at West Point.
[FN-2] Letter of Commodore Hotham to Sir William Howe. "The whole number
of cannon taken in the three forts amount to sixty-seven, with a large
quantity of provisions, ammunition, and stores of all kinds."
[FN-3] The ancient Dutch name of Kingston, the present shire town of the
County of Ulster, N. Y. It was a large and wealthy inland town, built
almost entirely of stone, upon a rich and beautiful plain about three
miles from the river. The naked walls of many of the houses destroyed
by General Vaughan, were standing, unrepaired, until within five or six
years.
But the war was this year fruitful in military events in other parts of
the confederation, some of the principal of which may appropriately be
passed in review at this stage of the present chapter. In the month of
March, after the return of the British troops from their bootless
expedition through the Jerseys, to New-York, Colonel Bird was detached
against Peekskill, with five hundred men, for the purpose of destroying
the American stores deposited at that place. General McDougall,
commanding a small guard at the _depot,_ on the approach of a force which
he had not the power to resist, set fire to the stores and retreated. A
similar expedition, for the same object, was directed against Danbury
toward the close of April, consisting of two thousand men under the
conduct of Major General Tryon. Landing at Compo Creek, between Norwalk
and Fairfield, the march of Governor Tryon to the point of his destination
was almost unopposed. A large quantity of provisions--beef, pork, and
flour--had been collected by the Americans at that place, which were
guarded only by about one hundred militia and Continental troops. Not
being able to oppose the enemy, Colonel Huntington retired to a
neighboring height, and awaited reinforcements. The town of Danbury and
the stores were burnt on the 26th of April. [FN] During the afternoon and
the following night Generals Wooster, Arnold, and Silliman collected such
militia forces as they could, for the purpose of harassing the retreat of
the enemy the next morning. With three hundred men, Wooster gallantly
attacked his rear at 11 o'clock on the 27th, while Arnold, with five
hundred more, awaited his arrival at Ridgeway. Wooster fell, mortally
wounded, and his troops were obliged to give way. At Ridgeway, Arnold
skirmished with the enemy for about an hour, but could not make a stand,
or prevent them from remaining at that place over night. On the 28th,
the march of the enemy was resumed, as also was the skirmishing by General
Arnold, which was continued until 5 o'clock in the afternoon; when, as
they approached their ships, the Americans charged with intrepidity, but
were repulsed and broken. Embarking immediately, Governor Tryon returned
to New-York, with a loss of one hundred and seventy men. The loss of the
Americans was one hundred. These predatory excursions were retaliated by
the Americans under Colonel Meigs, who made a brilliant expedition against
Sag Harbor, where the enemy had collected a quantity of stores. The guard
was talfen by surprise--the place carried by the bayonet--the stores
destroyed, including twelve transport vessels--and Colonel Meigs
re-crossed the Sound to Guilford without the loss of a man.
* * * * *
[FN] The property destroyed consisted of eighteen houses; eight hundred
barrels of pork and beef; eight hundred barrels of flour; two thousand
bushels of grain, and seventeen hundred tents.
After the return of the British forces from New Jersey, Sir William Howe
suffered them to remain upon Staten Island until near midsummer, when, as
the reader has seen in a previous chapter, he embarked with sixteen
thousand men, and sailed for the Chesapeake Bay. On the 24th of August
he landed at Elkton, whence, after being joined by Generals Grant and
Knyphausen, he directed his march upon Philadelphia. Anticipating the
design of the British commander, Washington threw himself, with his whole
disposable force, between Sir William and Philadelphia, for the purpose
of intercepting and bringing him to a general engagement. The disastrous
battle of Brandywine was fought on the 11th of September. The loss of the
Americans was three hundred killed and six hundred wounded and taken
prisoners. That of the enemy was about one hundred killed and four hundred
wounded. While General Washington with the main army retreated across the
Schuylkill, General Wayne was left at the Paoli with fifteen hundred men,
for the purpose of gaining and harassing the enemy's rear. But,
notwithstanding the wonted vigilance of this officer, he was surprised in
the course of the night, and routed, by General Gray, who had been
detached for that purpose with two regiments of the enemy's line and a
body of light troops. General Wayne had attempted to conceal himself upon
an elevated piece of woodland, having an opening of a few acres upon
which his troops bivouacked for the night, in perfect security, as was
supposed. The approach of the enemy was so cautious as to take the
Americans completely by surprise. Guided by the light of their fires, the
enemy succeeded in cutting off their outposts and pickets without noise,
and then rushed upon the sleeping camp without firing a gun, and depending
alone upon the bayonet. Three hundred were slain, many of whom were
transfixed with bayonets as they lay sleeping in their tents. But, though
surprised. General Wayne was cool and self-possessed; and, as the enemy
himself acknowledged, "by his prudent dispositions" in the moment of
alarm, succeeded in bringing off the remainder of his troops. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Some twenty years ago, the citizen soldiers of the neighborhood of
the Paoli piously collected the remains of such of the brave men who
were slain on that occasion as could be found, and interred them on the
field of the massacre. A small mound was raised over them, which is
walled in, and surrounded by a plain marble monument--a square block,
with an urn at the top, bearing inscriptions upon each of the sides, in
the following words:--
First: "Sacred to the memory of the patriots, who, on this spot, fell a
sacrifice to British barbarity, during the struggle for American
Independence, during the night of the 20th of September, 1777."
Second: "Here repose the remains of fifty-three American soldiers, who
were the victims of cold-blooded cruelty in the well-known massacre of
the Paoli, while under the command of Gen. Anthony Wayne, an officer,
whose military conduct, bravery, and humanity, were equally conspicuous
throughout the Revolutionary war."
Third: "The atrocious massacre, which this stone commemorates, was
perpetrated by British troops under the immediate command of Maj. Gen.
Gray."
Fourth: "This memorial in honor of Revolutionary patriotism, was erected
September 20, 1817, by the Republican Artillerists of Chester County,
aided by the contributions of their fellow-citizens."
An annual military parade is held upon this interesting field. The
name--_The Paoli_--is derived from a celebrated tavern, at two miles
distance, on the Great Lancaster Road, which was established
contemporaneously with the Corsican struggle for independence, and named
in honor of the unfortunate chieftain of that enterprise. It bears the
same name still.--_Journal of a Visit to the field of Brandywine, by
the author._
General Washington had taken post on the Eastern bank of the Schuylkill,
about sixteen miles from Germantown. General Howe marched upon Germantown
with his main army, where he arrived on the 26th of September. On the
27th Lord Cornwallis took possession of Philadelphia without resistance.
On the 4th of October, the battle of Germantown was fought, in which it
was claimed by the enemy that the Americans were defeated, although it
was, in fact, a drawn battle. This action was produced by an attempt of
the Commander-in-chief to effect something by way of surprise. Having
ascertained the situation of the enemy, the Americans marched all night,
and arrived at Germantown at daylight. The enemy was attacked upon two
quarters, in both of which the Americans were successful. Indeed, the
enemy, as it was afterward ascertained, were thrown into such a state of
tumult and disorder, and so panic-stricken, that a retreat to Chester had
been resolved upon. But the morning was so excessively dark and foggy,
that neither the advantages gained by the Americans, nor the confusion
of the enemy, could be perceived. This circumstance, by concealing from
the Americans the true situation of the enemy, obliged the
Commander-in-chief to act with more caution and less expedition than he
could have wished; and, what was still more unfortunate, it served to keep
the different divisions of the Americans in ignorance of each other's
movements, and prevent their acting in concert. It also occasioned them
to mistake one another for the enemy. In this situation, it was considered
unsafe to push too far through a strong village, while enveloped in a haze
so thick as to border upon positive darkness. The consequence was a
retreat, by the Americans at the very instant when victory was declaring
in their favor. The action lasted two hours, and the fighting was
severe--the loss of the Americans being about one hundred men, killed,
wounded, and missing. Among the slain was the brave General Nash, of North
Carolina. Severe, however, as the action was, the enemy were rendered
nothing better by the event; while the result was regarded by Washington
"as rather unfortunate than injurious." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This brief account of the battle of Germantown is drawn from
Washington's letters to the President of Congress, his brother, and
Governor Trumbull. General Washington attributed the successes of Sir
William Howe in Pennsylvania, and his own consequent disasters, to the
apathy and disaffection of the people of that State. In one of his
letters upon the subject, he says:--"The Northern army, before the
surrender of General Burgoyne, was reinforced by upward of twelve hundred
militia, who shut the only door by which Burgoyne could retreat, and cut
off all his supplies. How different our case! The disaffection of a great
part of the inhabitants of this State, the languor of others, and the
internal distraction of the whole, have been among the great and
insuperable difficulties which I have met with, and have contributed not
a little to my embarrassments this campaign."--_Letter of Washington to
Landon Carter, Oct._ 27, 1777. Many other letters from the
Commander-in-chief, written during the winter and spring of 1778,
complain of the conduct of the people of Pennsylvania, in supplying the
enemy in Philadelphia with provisions--particularly from Bucks County.
In a letter to Maj. General Armstrong, of that State, dated at Valley
Forge, March 27th, he says:--"The situation of matters in this State is
melancholy and alarming. We have daily proof that a majority of the
people in this quarter are only restrained from supplying the enemy with
horses and every kind of necessary, through fear of punishment; and,
although I have made a number of severe examples, I cannot put a stop to
the intercourse."
But all the advantages thus gained by the enemy, had been more than
counterbalanced by the reverses of St. Leger, and the nearly simultaneous
capture of Burgoyne and his well-appointed army at the North. Another
circumstance, gratifying to the friends of the American arms, was the
repulse of Count Donop, at Red Bank. The Count, a brave and experienced
officer, fell, mortally wounded; and about 400 of his troops were
killed. [FN] The laurels won by Colonel Christopher Greene, the American
commander, on that occasion, were not the less creditably worn because
of the necessity which compelled him subsequently to abandon the post,
on the approach of Cornwallis with a greatly superior force.
* * * * *
[FN] Count Donop died of his wounds three days after the action, at a
house near the fort. A short time before his death, he said to Monsieur
Duplessis, a French officer who constantly attended him in his illness,
"It is finishing a noble career early. I die the victim of my ambition,
and of the avarice of my sovereign."--_Travels of the Marquis
Chastellux._
But neither the fall of Burgoyne, nor the flight of St. Leger, relieved
the border settlements beyond Albany from their apprehensions. Though in
less danger of a sweeping invasion, yet the scouts and scalping parties
of the Tories and Indians were continually hovering upon their outskirts;
and so crafty were the foe, and so stealthy their movements, that no
neighborhood, not even the most populous villages, felt themselves secure
from those sudden and bloody irruptions which mark the annals of Indian
warfare. Very soon after the capture of Burgoyne, there was an occurrence
in the neighborhood of Albany, of a highly painful description. Previous
to the commencement of the war, a militia company had been organized in
the town of Berne, comprising eighty-five men, commanded by Captain Ball.
On the breaking out of hostilities, the Captain, with sixty-three of his
men, went over to the enemy. Thus deserted by their leader, the command
of the residue of the company devolved upon the ensign, Peter Deitz.
These all embraced the cause of the country, and for the safety of their
settlement threw up a little picketed fort, at a place now called the
Beaver Dam. Deitz was soon afterward commissioned a captain, and his
brother, William Deitz, his lieutenant. On the approach of Burgoyne they
marched to Saratoga, and joined the army of Gates. Here the Captain was
killed by the accidental discharge of the gun of one of his own men.
William Deitz immediately succeeded to the vacancy; and rendered such
good service in the campaign as specially to incur the vengeance of the
Tories and Indians. Availing themselves of an early opportunity to glut
their hate, a party of them stole into the settlement of Berne, where they
surprised and made prisoner of the Captain in his own house. They next
brought him forth into the court, bound him to the gate-post, and then
successively brought out his father and mother, his wife and children, and
deliberately murdered them all before his eyes! The Captain was himself
carried a prisoner to Niagara, where he ultimately fell a sacrifice to
their cruelty. [FN-1] An instance of more cool and fiend-like barbarity
does not occur in the annals of this extraordinary contest. It was only
equaled by the conduct of the Tories afterward at Wyoming, and transcended
by the refinement of cruelty practised by a French officer, during one of
the earlier wars of the Indians, upon an unhappy prisoner among the remote
tribe of the Dionondadies, as related by La Potherie. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Albany Monthly Magazine, conducted by the late Horatio G.
Spafford, 1815.
[FN-2] Vide Colden's Canada, and Smith's History of New-York.
Other incidents occurred at Albany and in its neighborhood, at about the
same period, which are deemed worthy of note. At the time of Sir John
Johnson's flight from Johnstown, his lady had remained behind, and was
removed immediately, or soon afterward, to Albany. It was in this year
that Mr. John Taylor, [FN] after having performed several important
confidential services under the direction of General Schuyler, was
appointed a member of the Albany Council of Safety. He was a man of great
shrewdness and sagacity, deliberate in the formation of his purposes, and
resolute in their execution when matured. The Whigs of Albany were greatly
annoyed during the whole contest by the loyalists resident among them;
many of whom, it was discovered from time to time, must have been in
correspondence with the enemy. The duties of the Council of Safety were
consequently the more arduous, requiring sleepless vigilance and unwearied
activity; together with firmness and energy in some cases, and great
delicacy in others. A watchful though general surveillance was necessarily
enforced over the community at large, while an eye of closer scrutiny was
kept upon the character and conduct of great numbers of individuals
composing that community. Mr. Taylor was in every respect equal to the
station, and was singularly fortunate both in detecting and defeating the
evil machinations of the adherents of the Crown.
* * * * *
[FN] The gentleman here referred to was much in the civil service, and
occasionally as a volunteer in the military, during the war of the
Revolution, and was almost constantly in public life, afterward in the
councils of the State, until within a few years of his death. He was
nine years Lieutenant-Governor, and for a time the acting Governor of
the State; to which station he was first chosen in 1813. His life was
rather useful than brilliant; but he was a sound patriot, and died the
death of a Christian in 1829--aged 87.
Among his early discoveries was the important circumstance that Lady
Johnson was in active and frequent correspondence with her husband, and
that the facilities derived from confidential agents and her powerful
connexions, enabled her to keep the enemy on either side--in New-York and
Canada--correctly advised, not only of the movements and designs of each
other; but likewise of the situation of American affairs. Under these
circumstances Mr. Taylor proposed a resolution to the Council, directing
her removal forthwith from that part of the country. The proposition was
received with disfavor, and encountered much opposition in the Council.
Some of the members seemed to lack the firmness necessary to adopt such
a resolution, anticipating the resentment and probable vengeance of the
Baronet, on hearing that his lady had been treated with any thing
bordering upon harshness; while others, probably, thought the precaution
either would be useless, or that it was scarce worth while thus to wage
war upon a woman. Convinced, however, of the danger of her longer presence
in that section of the country, Mr. Taylor urged her removal so
strenuously as at length to prevail; taking upon himself the execution of
the order.
Sir John, greatly exasperated at the measure, availed himself of a flag
to admonish the mover of the resolution, that should the chances of war
throw that gentleman into his possession, he should be instantly delivered
over to the fury of the savages. The reply of the Councilor was
characteristic of the man:--"If Mr. Taylor should be so fortunate as to
have Sir John Johnson in his power, he should most assuredly be treated
as a gentleman." Several attempts were subsequently made by the enemy,
probably under the direction of Sir John, to make a captive of that
gentleman. It being his custom to ride frequently on horseback for
exercise, and often on the road leading toward Schenectady, in company,
generally, with his intimate friend through life, Major Popham, who was
then in the military family of General James Clinton, a small scout of
Indians, under the direction of Captain Brant, was on one occasion planted
in ambush upon that road, at a point where it was supposed he would be
sure to pass. Providentially, however, and for reasons never explained,
and perhaps not known to themselves, on the morning referred to the
friends shortened their ride, and wheeled about without passing the
ambuscade, though approaching it within striking distance. One of the
Indians, afterward taken prisoner, stated that Mr. Taylor might easily
have been shot, but that their orders were to take him alive.
Another, and a yet bolder scheme was subsequently adopted to effect the
capture of the sagacious Committee-man, for which purpose a party of the
enemy were actually introduced not only into the city of Albany, but into
the loft of Mr. Taylor's own stable, standing in the rear of his house
and upon the margin of the river. In order, moreover, to facilitate their
flight with the intended captive, a canoe had been procured and moored at
the water's edge. Their design was to enter the house in the night, and
seize and bear him silently away. One of the servants happening to step
into the yard after the family had retired to rest, the lurking foes
thought the time for a rush had arrived. But in their preparations to
spring forward they alarmed the servant too soon, and he was enabled to
get back into the house, bolt the door, and give timely warning. The
insidious purpose was of course frustrated. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The facts in this statement respecting Lady Johnson and Mr. Taylor,
have been derived from an extended biographical sketch of the latter,
written by his surviving friend, the venerable Major William Popham, and
also from a letter addressed to the author by General John T. Cooper.
Nor were these the only hostile attempts directed, at about the same
period, against individuals at Albany; General Schuyler was again selected
for a victim even of assassination. Smarting under their disappointment
in the overthrow of Burgoyne, to which discomfiture the energy and efforts
of Schuyler had so essentially contributed, a conspiracy was formed either
to capture or destroy him. For this purpose the Tories corrupted a white
man, who had been patronised by the General, and who was even then in his
employment, to do the foul deed, and also one of the friendly Indians,
whose clan had for years been in the habit of hunting upon his premises
in Saratoga, during the fishing season at Fish Creek, which ran through
his farm, and in which immense quantities of fish were then taken. [FN-1]
To effect their object, the two assassins took their station under a
covert, in a valley about half a mile from the General's premises, and
by which they had previously ascertained he was shortly to pass. They
soon descried his approach on horseback. As he advanced, they took
deliberate aim; when, with a sudden movement, the Indian struck up his
associate's gun with the exclamation--"_I cannot kill him; I have eaten
his bread too often!_" [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The herring fishery was considerable at Fish Creek at the period
referred to. The Indians took them in large quantities--dried and pounded
them into powder which they mixed with corn-meal, and packed away in
boxes made of bark, for future consumption.
[FN-2] Facts communicated to the author by Mrs. James Cochran of Oswego.
Early in the Autumn, the inhabitants of Unadilla and the contiguous
settlements in that direction, were again imploring the commander of Fort
Schuyler for a detachment of troops to protect them from another
expedition, which, the Oneidas had informed them, Colonels Johnson and
Butler were getting on foot at Oswego. The project, according to the news
obtained from the Oneidas, contemplated a simultaneous descent of the
Tories and Indians upon five different points, comprehending all the
principal settlements west of Schenectady. These unpleasant tidings were
in some degree confirmed, by the discovery of a large scouting party of
the enemy on the Sacondaga, at the north of Johnstown.
The alarm was increased, toward the close of October, by the arrival of
an express at the Canajoharie Castle, announcing that within a few days
Sir John Johnson would return to Oswego, with six hundred regular troops
and a large body of Indians. It was stated that Sir John had succeeded
in raising twenty-two Indian nations in arms against the Colonists. They
were about sending a belt to the Oneidas, and in the event of their
refusal to take up the hatchet with their brethren in behalf of the King,
they were themselves to be attacked as the first measure of the invasion.
These facts were immediately communicated to General Schuyler by a letter
dated October 25th, announcing also the flight, to the ranks of Sir John
Johnson, of Hon-Yost Schuyler, and twelve or fourteen of his neighbors at
Fall Hill and in that vicinity, as heretofore stated. The letter contained
a strong appeal for an additional force to defend the valley--with an
assurance, that in the event of receiving no farther means of security,
the greater part of the inhabitants had become so discouraged that they
would probably lay down their arms; [FN] in other words, throw themselves
upon the protection of the King.
* * * * *
[FN] MS. letter to General Schuyler--Secretary's office, Albany.
But, after all the alarm, nothing very serious resulted from these
threatening indications during the residue of the year 1777. Still the
Congress was unwilling that the year should close without making one more
effort to win back the Six Nations from the British service, at least to
a state of neutrality, if nothing more. With this view, on the 3d of
December the following address to the Indians of those Nations was
reported by the Committee on Indian affairs, and adopted. It is inserted
at length in this order, on account of its eloquence, and its surpassing
excellence among the documents connected with the Indian diplomacy of the
republic:--
"Address of the Congress to the Six Nations.
"Brothers, Sachems, and Warriors: The great council of the United States
call now for your attention. Open your ears that you may hear, and your
hearts that you may understand.
"When the people on the other side of the great water, without any cause,
sought our destruction, and sent over their ships and their warriors to
fight against us, and to take away our possessions, you might reasonably
have expected us to ask for your assistance. If we are enslaved, you
cannot be free. For our strength is greater than yours. If they would not
spare their own brothers of the same flesh and blood, would they spare
you? If they burn our houses and ravage our lands, could yours be secure?
"But, Brothers, we acted on very different principles. Far from desiring
you to hazard your lives in our quarrel, we advised you to remain still
in ease and at peace. We even entreated you to remain neuter; and under
the shade of your trees and by the side of your streams, to smoke your
pipe in safety and contentment. Though pressed by our enemies, and when
their ships obstructed our supplies of arms and powder and clothing, we
were not unmindful of your wants. Of what was necessary for our own use,
we cheerfully spared you a part. More we should have done, had it been
in our power.
"Brothers, Cayugas, Senecas, Tuscaroras, and Mohawks: Open your ears and
hear our complaints. Why have you listened to the voice of our enemies?
Why have you suffered Sir John Johnson and Butler to mislead you? Why have
you assisted General St. Leger and his warriors from the other side of
the great water, by giving them a free passage through your country to
annoy us; which both you and we solemnly promised should not be defiled
with blood? Why have you suffered so many of your nations to join them in
their cruel purpose? Is this a suitable return for our love and kindness,
or did you suspect that we were too weak or too cowardly to defend our
country, and join our enemies that you might come in for a share of the
plunder? What has been gained by this unprovoked treachery? What but shame
and disgrace! Your foolish warriors and their new allies have been
defeated and driven back in every quarter; and many of them justly paid
the price of their rashness with their lives. Sorry are we to find that
our ancient chain of union, heretofore so strong and bright, should be
broken by such poor and weak instruments as Sir John Johnson and Butler,
who dare not show their faces among their countrymen; and by St. Leger,
a stranger whom you never knew! What has become of the spirit, the wisdom,
and the justice of your nations? Is it possible that you should barter
away your ancient glory, and break through the most solemn treaties, for
a few blankets or a little rum or powder? That trifles such as these
should prove any temptation to you to cut down the strong tree of
friendship, by our common ancestors planted in the deep bowels of the
earth at Onondaga, your central council-fire? That tree which has been
watered and nourished by their children until the branches had almost
reached the skies! As well might we have expected that the mole should
overturn the vast mountains of the Allegheny, or that the birds of the
air should drink up the waters of Ontario!
"Brothers, Cayugas, Senecas, Onondagas, and Mohawks: Look into your
hearts, and be attentive. Much are you to blame, and greatly have you
wronged us. Be wise in time. Be sorry and mend your faults. The great
council, though the blood of our friends, who fell by your tomahawks at
the German Flats, cries aloud against you, will yet be patient. We do not
desire to destroy you. Long have we been at peace; and it is still our
wish to bury the hatchet, and wipe away the blood which some of you have
so unjustly shed. Till time should be no more, we wish to smoke with you
the calumet of friendship around your central fire at Onondaga. But,
Brothers, mark well what we now tell you. Let it sink deep as the bottom
of the sea, and never be forgotten by you or your children. If ever again
you take up the hatchet to strike us--if you join our enemies in battle
or council--if you give them intelligence, or encourage or permit them to
pass through your country to molest or hurt any of our people--we shall
look on you as our enemies, and treat you as the worst of enemies, who,
under a cloak of friendship, cover your bad designs, and like the
concealed adder, only wait for an opportunity to wound us when we are
most unprepared.
"Brothers: Believe us who never deceive. If, after all our good counsel
and all our care to prevent it, we must take up the hatchet, the blood to
be shed will lie heavy on your heads. The hand of the thirteen United
States is not short. It will reach to the farthest extent of the country
of the Six Nations; and while we have right on our side, the good Spirit,
whom we serve, will enable us to punish you, and put it out of your power
to do us farther mischief.
"Brothers, Oneidas and Tuscaroras: Hearken to what we have to say to you
in particular. It rejoices our hearts that we have no reason to reproach
you in common with the rest of the Six Nations. We have experienced your
love, strong as the oak, and your fidelity, unchangeable as truth. You
have kept fast hold of the ancient covenant chain, and preserved it free
from rust and decay, and bright as silver. Like brave men, for glory you
despised danger; you stood forth in the cause of your friends, and
ventured your lives in our battles. While the sun and moon continue to
give light to the world, we shall love and respect you. As our trusty
friends, we shall protect you, and shall at all times consider your
welfare as our own.
"Brothers of the Six Nations: Open your ears and listen attentively. It
is long ago that we explained to you our quarrel with the people on the
other side of the great water. Remember that our cause is just; you and
your forefathers have long seen us allied to those people in friendship.
By our labor and industry they flourished like the trees of the forest,
and became exceedingly rich and proud. At length nothing would satisfy
them, unless, like slaves, we would give them the power over our whole
substance. Because we would not yield to such shameful bondage, they took
up the hatchet. You have seen them covering our coasts with their ships,
and a part of our country with their warriors; but you have not seen us
dismayed; on the contrary, you know that we have stood firm like rocks,
and fought like men who deserved to be free. You know that we have
defeated St. Leger, and conquered Burgoyne and all their warriors. Our
chief men and our warriors are now fighting against the rest of our
enemies, and we trust that the Great Spirit will soon put them in our
power, or enable us to drive them all far beyond the great waters.
"Brothers: Believe us that they feel their own weakness, and that they
are unable to subdue the thirteen United States. Else why have they not
left our Indian brethren in peace, as they first promised and we wished
to have done? Why have they endeavored, by cunning speeches, by falsehood
and misrepresentations, by strong drink and presents, to embitter the
minds and darken the understandings of all our Indian friends on this
great continent, from the North to the South, and to engage them to take
up the hatchet against us without any provocation? The Cherokees, like
some of you, were prevailed upon to strike our people. We carried the war
into their country, and fought them. They saw their error, they repented,
and we forgave them. The United States are kind and merciful, and wish
for peace with all the world. We have, therefore, renewed our ancient
covenant chain with their nation.
"Brothers: The Shawanese and Delawares give us daily proofs of their good
disposition and their attachment to us, and are ready to assist us against
all our enemies. The Chickasaws are among the number of our faithful
friends. And the Choctaws, though remote from us, have refused to listen
to the persuasions of our enemies, rejected all their offers of
corruption, and continue peaceable. The Creeks are also our steady
friends. Oboylaco, their great chief, and the rest of their sachems and
warriors, as the strongest mark of their sincere friendship, have
presented the great council with an eagle's tail and rattle trap. They
have desired that these tokens might be shown to the Six Nations and their
allies, to convince them that the Creeks are at peace with the United
States. We have therefore directed our commissioners to deliver them into
your hands. Let them be seen by all the nations in your alliance, and
preserved in your central council house at Onondaga.
"Brothers, Sachems and Warriors of the Six Nations: Hearken to our
counsel. Let us who are born on the same great continent, love one
another. Our interest is the same, and we ought to be one people, always
ready to assist and serve each other. What are the people who belong to
the other side of the great waters to either of us? They never come here
for our sakes, but to gratify their own pride and avarice. Their business
now is to kill and destroy our inhabitants, to lay waste our houses and
farms. The day, we trust, will soon arrive, when we shall be rid of them
forever. Now is the time to hasten and secure this happy event. Let us
then, from this moment, join hand and heart in the defence of our common
country. Let us rise as one man, and drive away our cruel oppressors.
Henceforward let none be able to separate us. If any of our people injure
you, acquaint us of it and you may depend upon full satisfaction. If any
of yours hurt us, be you ready to repair the wrong or punish the
aggressor. Above all, shut your ears against liars and deceivers, who,
like false meteors, strive to lead you astray, and to set us at variance.
Believe no evil of us till you have taken pains to discover the truth. Our
council-fire always burns clear and bright in Pennsylvania. Our
commissioners and agents are near your country. We shall not be blinded
by false reports or false appearances.
"Brothers: What may be farther necessary at this time for our common good
you will learn from our commissioners, who sit round our council-fire at
Albany. Hear what they say, and treasure it up in your hearts. Farewell."
This appeal produced no effect. It was one of the misfortunes incident to
the poverty of the country at that crisis, that Congress was unable to
conciliate the friendship of the Indians, by such a liberal dispensation
of presents as they had been in the habit of receiving from the
superintendents of the crown, and as they were yet enabled to receive
from the British government at or by the way of Montreal. Thayendanegea,
early in the preceding year, had taunted General Herkimer, at Unadilla,
with the poverty of the Continental government, which, he said, was not
able to give the Indians a blanket. The fact was but too true; and the
officers of the crown were not slow in availing themselves of it, not
only by appeals to their cupidity, but by a more lavish bestowment of
presents than ever. Thus Guy Johnson, in one of his speeches to the Six
Nations at the West, put the significant questions to them: "Are they,"
(the rebels, as he probably called them) "able to give you any thing more
than a piece of bread and a glass of rum? Are you willing to go with them,
and suffer them to make horses and oxen of you, to put you to the
wheelbarrows, and to bring us all into slavery?" While, therefore, the
Americans were unable to furnish the Indians with those necessaries of
life, for a supply of which they had become accustomed to rely upon the
white man, they found an abundance of stores at Montreal, wide open at
their approach. And under these circumstances, with the single exceptions
of the Oneidas, and the feeble band of the Tuscaroras, all the efforts of
Congress to conciliate their friendship, or even to persuade them to
neutrality, proved unavailing.
Thus ended the military operations of the year 1777. At the close of the
Pennsylvania campaign, the British army went into winter quarters in
Philadelphia, and the American at Valley Forge. On the 15th day of
November, what are now called the _old_ "Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union," between the thirteen Colonies, were adopted by Congress;
and on the 22d of the same month, it was resolved that all proposals for
a treaty between the United States and Great Britain, inconsistent with
the independence of the former, should be rejected. It was likewise
farther resolved, that no conference should be held with any commissioners
on the part of Great Britain, unless, as a measure preliminary, the fleets
and armies of that power were withdrawn.
CHAPTER XIV.
Treaty of alliance with France--Policy of France--Incidents of the
Winter--Projected expedition against St. Johns--Lafayette appointed to
the command of the North--Failure of the enterprise for lack of
means--Disappointment and chagrin of Lafayette--Unpleasant indications
respecting the Western Indians--Indian council at Johnstown--Attended
by Lafayette--Its proceedings--And result--Reward offered for Major
Carleton--Letter of Lafayette--He retires from the Northern
Department--Return of the loyalists for their families--Unopposed--Their
aggressions--Prisoners carried into Canada--Their fate--Re-appearance
of Brant at Oghkwaga and Unadilla--Anecdote of Brant--Comparative
cruelty of the Tories and Indians--Murder of a family--Exposed situation
of the people--Captain McKean--Sends a challenge to Brant--Burning of
Springfield--First battle in Schoharie.
The opening of the year 1778 was marked by an event that diffused
universal joy among the people. It had been rightly judged by American
statesmen, that, smarting under the loss which France had experienced by
the war ending in 1763, of her broad North American possessions, the
government of that country would be nothing loath to aid in the infliction
of a like dismemberment of territory upon Great Britain. With a view,
therefore, of cultivating friendly relations with France, and deriving
assistance from her if possible, Commissioners had been despatched to the
Court of Versailles, in 1776, with the plan of a treaty of amity and
commerce to be submitted to that government. Still, more than a year had
elapsed, during which the Commissioners [FN-1] had been exerting
themselves to the utmost, to obtain a recognition of the Independence of
the United States without success. It was evident that France looked upon
the revolt of the American Colonies with secret satisfaction; but she had
been so much weakened by the former contest, that time was needed for
repose and recovery of her strength. Hence, from the arrival of the
Commissioners in the French capital, in December 1776, to the close of
1777, they had been living upon "hope deferred." It is true that the
Americans received great assistance from the French, in supplies of arms
and ammunition; and although not openly allowed, yet means were found by
the American privateers, secretly to dispose of their prizes in French
ports. Still, the government was lavish in its professions of friendship
for England, even though confidentially giving the Americans strong
assurances of sympathy and ultimate assistance. The untoward result of
Burgoyne's campaign, intelligence of which was received in Paris early in
December, was the opportune means of ending this vacillating policy on the
part of the Court of Versailles. The feelings of the French people toward
England could no longer be disguised; since the news occasioned as much
general joy as though the victory had been achieved by their own arms.
[FN-2] The consequence was, that, on the 6th of February, the French
government entered into treaties of amity, commerce, and alliance, with
the United States, on principles of the most perfect reciprocity and
equality. The French cabinet clearly foresaw that this measure would soon
produce a war between themselves and England, and acted in the expectation
of such a consequence. Indeed, M. Girard, one of the French Secretaries
of State, in his conferences with the American Commissioners, had the
frankness to avow that they were not acting wholly for the sake of the
United States, but because they thought the moment a favorable one for
humbling their haughty rival, by aiding in the dismemberment of her
empire. Hence the King had not only determined to acknowledge the
Independence of the United States, but to support it--without the
expectation of compensation. [FN-3]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The Commissioners were, Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur
Lee. Mr. Jefferson had been originally designated as one of the
Commissioners; but, declining the appointment, Mr. Lee was selected in
his stead.
[FN-2] Letter of the Commissioners.
[FN-3] Marshall.
The news of the treaty with France was not received in the United States
until late in the Spring. [FN-1] Meantime other circumstances occurred
during the Winter, in the Northern part of New-York, deserving of note in
the present narrative. First among these, was the notable project of
General Gates for a second descent, in mid-winter, upon Canada. In
November following the defeat of Burgoyne, on the reorganization of the
Board of War, Gates, in the first flush of his popularity, was placed at
its head as president. He had not been long at Yorktown, [FN-2] where
Congress was then in session, before he conceived the project of directing
an irruption into Canada across the ice upon Lake Champlain, for the
purpose of destroying the stores and shipping of the enemy at St. Johns;
and, possibly, of striking a sudden blow upon Montreal. It was
subsequently but too well ascertained that the condition of the Northern
army, with which Gates certainly ought to have been acquainted, was by no
means such as to warrant the undertaking of any offensive enterprise.
Still the victorious commander of the North had the address to obtain a
vote of Congress directing the expedition, [FN-3] the conduct of which was
entrusted to the Marquis de Lafayette. This gallant young nobleman had
been burning with a desire to distinguish himself in a separate command,
and this project opened to him the prospect of realizing the object
dearest to his heart.
* * * * *
[FN-1] The event was commemorated in the American camp, on the 7th of
May, in a style corresponding with its importance--a general order for
the celebration having been issued by the Commander-in-chief. It began
as follows:--"It having pleased the Almighty Ruler of the Universe to
defend the cause of the United American States, and finally to raise us
up a powerful friend among the princes of the earth, to establish our
liberty and independency upon a lasting foundation; it becomes us to get
apart a day for gratefully acknowledging the divine goodness, and
celebrating the important event, which we owe to his divine
interposition." The pageant was strictly military, and is described by
the letters of that day as exceedingly brilliant. The joy manifested was
unfeigned and unspeakable. The Commander-in-chief dined in public with
all the officers of his army. "When his Excellency took his leave, there
was a universal clap, with loud huzzas, which continued until he had
proceeded a quarter of a mile, during which time there were a thousand
hats tossed in the air. His Excellency turned round with his retinue,
and huzzaed several times."--_Letter of an officer._
[FN-2] York, in Pennsylvania.
[FN-3] Journals of Congress, vol. iv. p. 48.
But, neither in the inception nor in the maturing of the enterprise, had
the Commander-in-chief been consulted; and the first knowledge he
possessed of the project was derived from a letter from General Gates,
inclosing another to the Marquis, informing him of his appointment to
the command. [FN] The disrespect to the Commander-in-chief, to whom the
youthful soldier was bound by the strongest ties of friendship and
respect, was so manifest, that the Marquis at first hesitated in
accepting the command. Nor was his reluctance lessened by the suspicious
circumstance that General Conway, the base instrument of the Gates
faction in the conspiracy against Washington, had been assigned as his
second in command. Soaring above all selfish considerations, however,
Washington advised the Marquis to accept the trust confided to him by
Congress. Lafayette, therefore, repaired from the camp at Valley Forge to
York town, to be more particularly advised as to the object and the
details of the enterprise. The plan of organizing a light but efficient
force, to make a sudden dash upon St. Johns, and destroy the flotilla
which gave the enemy the command of Lake Champlain, and to inflict such
farther injury as might be effected in a rapid campaign, was fully
unfolded to him. Ample supplies of men and means were promised by Gates;
and, after securing the services of the Baron de Kalb to the
expedition--an officer older in rank than Conway, who would necessarily
be his second in command--the Marquis accepted the appointment.
* * * * *
[FN] "I am much obliged by your polite request of my opinion and advice
on the expedition to Canada and other occasions. In the present instance,
as I neither know the extent of the objects in view, nor the means to be
employed to effect them, it is not in my power to pass any judgment upon
the subject. I can only sincerely wish that success may attend it both
as it may advance the public good, and on account of the personal honor
of the Marquis de Lafayette, for whom I have a very particular esteem
and regard."--[_Letter of Washington to Gates, Jan._ 27, 1778.] "I shall
say no more of the Canada expedition, than that it is at an end. I never
was made acquainted with a single circumstance relating to it."--_Letter
of Washington to General Armstrong, of Pennsylvania._
Full of high hopes, a brilliant enterprise before him, and panting for an
opportunity to signalize himself in a separate command, the Marquis
pushed forward to Albany, amid all the rigors of winter, to enter at once
upon the service, and apparently with as much confidence as though he had
achieved the exploit. Sad, however, was his disappointment at the posture
of affairs on his arrival at Albany. Conway, who had arrived there three
days before him, at once assured him that the expedition was quite
impossible. Such, likewise, was the opinion of Generals Schuyler, Lincoln,
and Arnold, the latter two of whom were detained at Albany by the
unhealed wounds received upon the fields of Saratoga. Indeed, he was not
long in ascertaining, from the quarter-master, commissary, and
clothier-generals, that there was a lamentable deficiency of almost every
necessary of which he had been led to expect an abundant supply. The
number of troops was altogether inadequate. Three thousand effective men
were believed to be the smallest force that would suffice, and that number
was promised. But scarcely twelve hundred could be mustered fit for duty,
and the greater part of these were too naked even for a Summer
campaign. [FN-1] Their pay was greatly in arrear; and officers and men were
alike indisposed to the service. [FN-2] Originally it had been intended to
confide the proposed expedition to General Stark, whose prowess at the
battle of Bennington had rendered him exceedingly popular with the
people; and it was supposed that he could at once bring into the field a
sufficient number of his mountaineers to strike the blow with
success. [FN-3] Stark was invited to Albany, and James Duane was sent
thither from Congress to confer with him upon the subject. But the
inducement offered by Congress being in the form of a bounty, contingent
only upon success, was thought not sufficient; and when a representation
of the circumstances was made by Mr. Duane to that body, the scheme was
changed and enlarged, at the suggestion of General Gates, according to
the plan which the Marquis was to execute.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter of Lafayette to General Washington, dated Albany, Feb.
13, 1778.
[FN-2] On the 19th of February James Duane wrote to Governor Clinton
respecting the impracticability of the enterprise, since the Marquis
could find neither the troops nor the preparations. In the course of his
letter, Mr. Duane said of the Marquis:--"His zeal for this country, of
which he has given marks even to enthusiasm, and his ardent desire of
glory, lead him to wish the expedition practicable; but he is too
considerate to pursue it rashly, or without probable grounds of a
successful issue. I must mention to your Excellency a circumstance which
shows the liberality of his disposition. He determined, on his entering
into Canada, to supply his army through his own private bills on France
to the amount of five or six thousand guineas, and to present that sum
to Congress as a proof of his love to America and the rights of human
nature."
[FN-3] "I was to find General Stark with a large body, and indeed
General Gates told me '_General Stark will have burned the fleet before
your arrival._' Well, the first letter I receive in Albany is from
General Stark, who wishes to know 'what number of men, from where, for
what time, and for what rendezvous, I desire him to raise.'"--_Letter
from Lafayette to Washington._
Having attentively examined the situation of affairs, and the means
within his control, and consulted with the several able captains at
Albany, the young soldier saw with inexpressible chagrin that the
obstacles were insuperable. In the language of another, amounting to a
bitter satire, whether thus intended or not--"the Generals only were got
in readiness;" [FN-1] and the gallant Marquis was compelled to relinquish
the enterprise, without even the poor privilege of making an attempt. He
certainly had great reason, not only for vexation, but disgust--advised,
as he had been, to announce to his court the degree of confidence reposed
in him by Congress, in thus confiding to him a separate command of such
importance--not, of course, suspecting, for a moment, that General Gates
could have been so ignorant of the actual situation of the department
from which he had been so recently transferred. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Marshall.
[FN-2] The history of this abortive project has been drawn chiefly from
a long MS. letter from James Duane to Governor Clinton, in the author's
possession. On his way to Albany, the Marquis visited Mr. Duane, and was
accompanied by him thither.
The Marquis wrote to his greatest and best friend, the Commander-in-chief,
upon the subject of what he called his "distressing and ridiculous
situation," in the bitterness of his spirit. "I am sent," said he, "with
a great noise, at the head of an army, to do great things. The whole
continent, France, and, what is the worst, the British army, will be in
expectation. How far they will be deceived, how far we shall be ridiculed,
you may judge by the candid account you have got of the state of our
affairs." It is quite evident, from the tenor of the letter we are
quoting, that the Marquis suspected that he had been purposely detached
from the company of Washington with some sinister design:--"There are
things, I dare say, in which I am deceived. A certain Colonel is not here
for nothing." . . . "I am sure a cloud is drawn before my eyes. However,
there are points I cannot be deceived in." . . . "They have sent me more
than twenty French officers. I do not know what to do with them. I am at
a loss to know how to act, and indeed I do not know for what I am here
myself." And again, toward the close of the letter, he says:--"I fancy the
actual scheme is, to have me out of this part of the continent, and
General Conway as chief under the immediate direction of General Gates.
How they will bring it about I do not know, but be certain something of
that kind will appear. You are nearer than myself, and every honest man
in Congress is your friend; therefore you may foresee and prevent the
evil a hundred times better than I can." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Letter from Lafayette to Washington, dated Albany, Feb. 23,
1778.--Vide Sparks, Cor. of Washington, vol. v, Appendix.
The true position of affairs at Albany having been made known to Congress,
it was resolved to instruct the Marquis to suspend the expedition, and at
the same time to assure him "that Congress entertained a high sense of
his prudence, activity, and zeal; and that they were fully persuaded
nothing would have been wanting on his own part, or on the part of the
officers who accompanied him, to give the expedition the utmost possible
effect." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Secret Journal, March 2d, cited by Sparks.
But, to return to the Indian affairs of the Mohawk Valley. Early in the
year, various unpleasant symptoms were perceptible, indicating the design
of a renewed and more extensive Indian war than had been anticipated at
any previous moment. Information was received from the remote West, of a
general disposition among the nations in the region of the great lakes,
and the upper Mississippi, to join the Mohawks, Cayugas, Onondagas, and
Senecas, against the United States. The master-spirit of those threatened
movements was Joseph Brant, whose winter-quarters were at the central and
convenient point of Niagara. Nor were Sir John Johnson and his associates,
Claus and Butler, inactive; while the British commander at Detroit,
Colonel Hamilton, was at the same time exercising a powerful influence
over the surrounding nations of the forest. On the opening of the year,
therefore, great fears were entertained for the security of the frontiers
from the Mohawk to the Ohio. Still, with the Six Nations, Congress
resolved to make yet another effort of conciliation--to secure their
neutrality, if nothing farther. Accordingly, on the 2d of February,
resolutions were passed, directing a council to be held with these
nations at Johnstown, in the County of Tryon. General Schuyler and
Volkert P. Douw were appointed commissioners for that purpose, and
Governor Clinton was requested to designate a special commissioner to be
present on the occasion. In pursuance of this solicitation, James Duane
was appointed for that duty. The resolutions of Congress instructed the
commissioners "to speak to the Indians in language becoming the
representatives of free, sovereign, and independent States, and in such
a tone as would convince them that they felt themselves to be so." [FN]
It was left to the discretion of the commissioners to determine whether
it would be prudent to insist upon their taking up arms in behalf of the
States, or whether to content themselves with efforts to secure their
neutrality.
* * * * *
[FN] Journals of Cong. vol. iv. page 63.
The directions were, that the council should be holden between the 15th
and 20th of February; but so slow or reluctant were the Indians in
assembling, that the proceedings were not commenced until the 9th of
March. Whether General Schuyler attended, is not known. The Marquis de
Lafayette, who was then temporarily in command of the Northern Department,
accompanied Mr. Duane to Johnstown, and was present at the council. More
than seven hundred Indians were collected at the treaty, consisting of
Oneidas, Tuscaroras, Onondagas, a few Mohawks, and three or four Cayugas;
but not a single Seneca, which was by far the most powerful nation. On
the contrary, they had the boldness to send a message, affecting great
surprise, "that while our tomahawks were sticking in their heads, their
wounds bleeding, and their eyes streaming with tears for the loss of
their friends at German Flats, [FN] the commissioners should think of
inviting them to a treaty!"
* * * * *
[FN] Oriskany, meaning. The quotation is from a manuscript letter of
James Duane.
The proceedings were opened by an address from Congress, framed in
accordance with the spirit of the resolutions already cited, asserting
the power of the United States, and their magnanimous conduct toward the
Six Nations--and charging them distinctly with the ingratitude, cruelty,
and treachery, with which their pacific advances had been requited, and
for which reparation was demanded. From this charge of treachery, the
Oneidas and Tuscaroras were not only honorably excepted, but, on the
contrary, were applauded for their firmness and integrity, and assured of
friendship and protection.
An Onondaga chief spoke in behalf of the guilty tribes. He exculpated
himself and his brother sachems, casting the blame on the young and
head-strong warriors, who, he said, would not listen to prudent
councils--illustrating their own internal difficulties by those
occasionally existing among the people of the States, which it was at
times found impossible to repress. He also spoke of the difficulty they
were obliged to encounter, in withstanding the influence of Butler and
others in the service of the Crown, acquired by bribery and other kindred
artifices.
An Oneida chief answered for his own nation and the Tuscaroras, with a
spirit and dignity which would not have disgraced a Roman senator. He
pathetically lamented the degeneracy of the unfriendly tribes; predicted
their final destruction; and declared the fixed and unalterable resolution
of the tribes which he represented, at every hazard, to hold fast the
covenant chain with the United States, and be buried with them in the
same grave, or with them to enjoy the fruits of victory and peace. He
fully evinced the sincerity of these professions, by desiring that the
United States would erect a fortress in their country, and station a small
garrison within it for their defence. A promise to this effect having been
given, the Oneida concluded with a solemn assurance, that the two nations
for whom he spoke would at all times be ready to cooperate with the United
States against all their enemies.
In a private interview afterward, the Oneidas warned the Commissioners
against trusting to the Onondagas, whom they considered as enemies to the
United States, notwithstanding their seeming contrition for the past. The
Oneidas declared that they had not the least doubt that the Onondagas,
Cayugas, and Senecas would renew their hostilities early in the Spring;
that Colonel Butler would again be in possession of Oswego, which he would
more strongly fortify; and for these events they entreated the
Commissioners to be prepared.
In their reply to the Indians, the Commissioners again applauded the
Oneidas and Tuscaroras for their fidelity and courage. The other nations,
they said, were not sufficiently represented to warrant the holding of a
treaty with them. But they, nevertheless, directed that another council
for those tribes should be held in Onondaga, at some subsequent day, at
which the demand of the United States of satisfaction for past wrongs
should be publicly made, and an explicit answer exacted. They were
admonished that the cause of the United States was just; that the hand of
the United States could reach the remotest corner of the country of the
Senecas; and that they trusted that the Good Spirit whom they served,
would enable them to punish all their enemies, and put it out of their
power to do them farther injury. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Unpublished letter of James Duane to Governor Clinton, giving a
report of his mission, in the author's possession.
The inhabitants of Tryon County, many of whom were spectators at the
council, were highly gratified with the proceedings; and it was supposed
that the moral effect would be good, not only in regard to the Oneidas,
but also upon the Onondagas--those tribes being closely connected by
intermarriages; but the Commissioners left the council under the full
persuasion that from the Senecas, Cayugas, and the greater part of the
Mohawks, nothing but revenge for their lost friends and tarnished glory
at Oriskany and Fort Schuyler was to be anticipated; more especially since
the enemy was so plentifully supplied with the means of corruption, while
it was not in the power of the United States so much as to furnish their
best friends with the necessaries of life, even in the course of
trade. [FN-1] Still, in order, as far as possible, to regain some of their
lost ascendancy over the Indians, by means of traffic, the Commissioners
of that department were shortly afterward authorized by Congress to open
a trading establishment at Fort Schuyler. But the inadequacy of the
provision must be evident from the fact, that the slender exchequer of
the government allowed an appropriation of no greater sum for that
important object, than ten thousand dollars. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Unpublished letter of James Duane to Governor Clinton, heretofore
cited.
[FN-2] Journals of Congress, vol. iv. p. 256.
While at Johnstown during this visit, the Marquis de Lafayette was waited
upon by Colonel Campbell and others, for the purpose of calling his
attention to the exposed situation of Cherry Valley. The consequence was
an order for the erection of a fort at that place. An engineer was
detailed upon that duty, and detachments of troops ordered both to that
place and Schoharie. Three slight fortifications had been built in the
valley of the Schoharie-kill during the preceding year, called the Upper,
Middle, and Lower Forts. These works were merely circumvallations of earth
and wood, thrown up around some strong dwelling-houses constructed of
stone, within which the women and children were placed in moments of
peculiar danger. The church was the citadel of the Lower Fort, and all
were manned by small companies of soldiers, having each a single brass
field-piece. The Marquis likewise directed the erection of a fort in the
Oneida country, pursuant to the request of the Indians of that nation.
It was but too evident, from the reports borne upon every western breeze,
that all these measures of precaution in that direction were necessary.
To the Johnsons and their adherents the recovery of the Valley of the
Mohawk was an object of the first importance; and they watched every
opportunity of moving in that quarter, which promised even a possible
chance of success. Even while the Marquis was present with the Indian
Commissioners at Johnstown, no less a personage than a British Colonel,
a nephew of Sir Guy Carleton, and bearing the same honorable name, was
well understood to be lurking in that vicinity as a spy. Every effort was
made for his arrest; and, as an inducement to the militia and Indians to
be on the alert, the Marquis offered a reward of fifty guineas from his
own purse, as will appear by the annexed letter to Col. Gansevoort:--
"The Marquis de Lafayette to Col. Gansevoort.
_Johnstown, the_ 9_th March,_ 1778.
"Sir,
"As the taking of Colonel Carleton is of the greatest importance, I wish
you would use every exertion in your power to have him apprehended. I
have desired Colonel Livingston, who knows him, to let you have any
intelligence he can give, and join to them those I have got by one other
spy, about the dress and figure of Carleton. You may send as many parties
as you please, and every where you'll think proper, and do every
convenient thing for discovering him. I dare say he knows we are after
him, and has nothing in view but to escape, which I beg you to prevent by
all means. You may promise, in my name, _fifty guineas hard money,_
besides every money they can find about Carleton, to any party of soldiers
or Indians who will bring him alive. As every one knows now what we send
for, there is no inconvenience to scatter in the country which reward is
promised, in order to stimulate the Indians.
"I have the honor to be. Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
The Mqs. de Lafayette.
"_Col. Gansevoort, Com't. Fort Schuyler._" [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This letter has been copied from the original, among the Gansevoort
papers.
The condition contained in this letter, that, to entitle the captor to the
promised reward, Carleton must be brought in alive, comports with the
well-known humanity, through life, of the illustrious friend of human
liberty who wrote it. But the search was fruitless, Carleton was an active
and efficient partisan officer, and was never taken. The Marquis retained
the command at the North only until the middle of April, when he was
ordered to head-quarters, and Gates again assumed the command of the
department.
In the month of June, the loyalists who had fled to Canada with Sir John
Johnson, to the number of one hundred and upward, performed an exploit
equally bold and remarkable, which naturally suggests the inquiry, where
were the Whigs of Tryon County at that time; and in what were they
engaged? The incident to which reference is had, was the return of those
selfsame loyalists for their families, whom they were permitted to collect
together, and with whom they were suffered to depart into the country,
and the active service of the enemy. Nor was this all. Not only was no
opposition made to their proceedings, but on their way they actually
committed acts of flagrant hostility, destroyed property, and took several
prisoners. Having completed their arrangements, they moved northward from
Fort Hunter, through Fonda's Bush--making four prisoners on their way
thither, [FN-1] and at Fonda's Bush five others. [FN-2] From this place
they proceeded across the great marsh to Sir William Johnson's fish-house,
on the Sacondaga, capturing a man named Martin, and another named Harris,
on the way, and at the fish-house taking a brave fellow named Solomon
Woodworth and four others. [FN-3] They burnt the house and outbuildings of
Godfrey Shew at this place, and departed with their prisoners, leaving
the women and children houseless. Embarking on the Sacondaga in light
canoes, previously moored at that place for the purpose, they descended
twenty-five miles to the Hudson, and thence, by the way of Lakes George
and Champlain, proceeded to St. Johns in safety. The day after his
capture, Woodworth succeeded in making his escape. At St. Johns, John
Shew and four others were given up to the Indians, by whom they were taken
to their village in Canada. They were neither considered nor treated
exactly as prisoners of war; and Shew, with three of his companions, soon
afterward escaped and returned home. [FN-4] From St. Johns, the loyal
party proceeded down the St. Lawrence to Quebec, where the residue of the
prisoners were kept in close confinement about four months. Some of the
number died, and the remainder were sent to Halifax, and thence exchanged
by the way of Boston. This movement of the Tories back in a body to their
deserted homes, and its success, form one of the most extraordinary
incidents, though in itself comparatively unimportant, which transpired
during the wars of the Mohawk country. [FN-5]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Mr. Cough and his son, and Mr. Marinas and his son.
[FN-2] John Putnam, Jr., Mr. Salisbury, Mr. Rice, Mr. Joseph Scott, and
Mr. Bowman.
[FN-3] Godfrey Shew, and his three sons, John, Stephen, and Jacob.
[FN-4] In the Autumn of 1780 young Shew was again captured by a scouting
party of Indians and Tories, in the woods in the neighborhood of
Ballston, and at the instigation of one of the latter, named John Parker,
was immediately murdered. Parker was himself soon afterward taken as a
spy by Captain Bernett of the militia--carried to Albany, tried,
convicted, and executed.
[FN-5] The facts respecting this expedition have been collected and
furnished to the author by John J. Shew, of Northampton, N. Y.
With the opening of the season for active operations--though he was
himself never inactive--Thayendanegea had again returned to his former
haunts on the Susquehanna--Oghkwaga and Unadilla. He soon proved himself
an active and dreaded partisan. No matter for the difficulties or the
distance, wherever a blow could be struck to any advantage, Joseph Brant
was sure to be there. Frequent, moreover, were the instances in which
individuals, and even whole families in the outskirts of the settlements,
disappeared, without any knowledge on the part of those who were left,
that an enemy had been near them. "The smoking ruins of their dwellings,
the charred bones of the dead, and the slaughtered carcasses of the
domestic animals, were the only testimonials of the cause of the
catastrophe, until the return of a captive, or the disclosures of some
prisoner taken from the foe, furnished more definite information." [FN]
But there is no good evidence that Brant was himself a participator in
secret murders, or attacks upon isolated individuals or families; and
there is much reason to believe that the bad feelings of many of the
loyalists induced them to perpetrate greater enormities themselves, and
prompt the parties of Indians whom they often led, to commit greater
barbarities than the savages would have done had they been left to
themselves.
* * * * *
[FN] Campbell's Annals.
In support of the foregoing opinion of Captain Brant, the following
incident, occurring in the Summer of the present year, may be adduced.
A lad in Schoharie County, named William McKown, while engaged in raking
hay alone in a meadow, happening to turn round, perceived an Indian very
near him. Startled at his perilous situation, he raised his rake for
defence, but his fears were instantly dissipated by the savage, who
said--"Do not be afraid, young man; I shall not hurt you." He then
inquired of the youth for the residence of a loyalist named Foster. The
lad gave him the proper direction, and inquired of the Indian whether he
knew Mr. Foster? "I am partially acquainted with him," was the reply,
"having once seen him at the Half-way Creek." [FN-1] The Indian then
inquired the lad's name, and having been informed, he added--"You are a
son of Captain McKown who lives in the north-east part of the town, I
suppose; I know your father very well; he lives neighbor to Captain
McKean; I know McKean very well, and a very fine fellow he is, too."
Emboldened by the familiar discourse of the Indian, the lad ventured to
ask his name in turn. Hesitating for a moment, his rather unwelcome
visitor replied:--"My name is Brant!" "What! Captain Brant?" eagerly
demanded the youth. "No; I am a cousin of his," was the rejoinder; but
accompanied by a smile and a look that plainly disclosed the transparent
deception. It was none other than the terrible Thayendanegea
himself. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Bowman's Creek, halfway between Cherry Valley and the Mohawk
River.
[FN-2] Annals of Tryon County.
On the other hand, the following tragic circumstance, given on the same
indisputable authority, sustains the assertion that the Tories were
oftentimes more cruel than their savage associates. While a party of
hostiles were prowling about the borders of Schoharie, the Indians killed
and scalped a mother, and a large family of children. "They had just
completed the work of death, when some loyalists of the party came up,
and discovered an infant breathing sweetly in its cradle. An Indian
warrior, noted for his barbarity, approached the cradle with his uplifted
hatchet. The babe looked up in his face, and smiled; the feelings of
nature triumphed over the ferocity of the savage; the hatchet fell with
his arm, and he was about stooping down to take the innocent in his arms,
when one of the loyalists, cursing him for his humanity, thrust it through
with his bayonet, and, thus transfixed, held it up struggling in the
agonies of death, as he exclaimed--'_this, too, is a rebel!_'"
To guard against these painful transactions, nothing short of the most
exemplary watchfulness would suffice. Not only their habitations, but
those who labored in the fields, were guarded, being themselves armed at
their ploughs, like the laborers of the prophet in rebuilding the walls
of Jerusalem. Nor was this vigilance confined to any particular location.
The inhabitants around the whole border, from Saratoga, north of
Johnstown, and west to the German Flats, thence south stretching down to
Unadilla, and thence eastwardly crossing the Susquehanna, along the
Charlotte river to Harpersfield, and thence back to Albany--were
necessarily an armed yeomanry, watching for themselves, and standing
sentinels for each other in turn; harassed daily by conflicting rumors;
now admonished of the approach of the foe in the night by the glaring
flames of a neighbor's house; or compelled suddenly to escape from his
approach, at a time and in a direction the least expected. Such was the
tenure of human existence around the confines of this whole district of
country, from the Spring of 1777 to the end of the contest in 1782.
The first movement of Brant himself, this season, (1778,) was upon the
settlement of Springfield, a small town at the head of Otsego Lake, lying
directly west of Cherry Valley, about ten miles. Those of the men who did
not fly, were taken prisoners. The chieftain then burnt the entire
settlement, with the exception of a single house, into which he collected
all the women and children, and left them uninjured.
It was reported in the month of June, that Brant, whose forces were
increasing at Unadilla, was fortifying that post; and Captain McKean was
despatched with a small patrol in that direction, by the people of Cherry
Valley, to make observations. Arriving at a house about twenty-five miles
from that place, McKean was informed that Brant had been there with fifty
men, that day, and would probably return in the evening. McKean was at
first disposed to take possession of the house, and attempt its
defence--his force consisting of but five men, exclusive of himself. But,
ultimately forming a more prudent resolution, he withdrew "his forces"
before nightfall, and returned home without having reconnoitered the
chieftain's position at Unadilla. In the course of his journey, he wrote
a letter to Brant, upbraiding him for the predatory system of warfare in
which he was engaged, and challenging him either to single combat, or to
meet him with an equal number of men and have a pitched battle--"adding,
that if he would come to Cherry Valley, they would change him from a
_Brant_ to a _goose._" This chivalrous missive was fastened to a stick,
and placed in an Indian path. No modern post-office could have transmitted
the letter with greater speed or safety. The "contents" were "noted" by
Brant in a letter addressed to Mr. Parcifer Carr, a loyalist living some
fifteen or twenty miles north, upon the Unadilla settlement, to whom the
chief wrote for provisions. He also solicited Mr. Carr to allow two or
three of his men to join him, and likewise to send him a few guns, with
some ammunition--adding, "I mean now to fight the cruel rebels as well as
I can." In a postscript, he intimated that the people of Cherry Valley,
though very bold in words, would find themselves mistaken in calling him
a "goose." Whether the challenge of Captain McKean, and the pun upon the
chieftain's name, had any influence upon his subsequent conduct in that
section of the country, is not known.
On the 2d of July a smart engagement took place, on the upper branch of
the Cobleskill, between a party of regular troops and Schoharie militia
under Captain Christian Brown, and a large body of Indians. There were
twenty-two militiamen and thirty regulars, the latter under charge of a
lieutenant whose name has not been preserved. The Indians, by their own
account, were four hundred and fifty strong. They were victorious--the
Americans retreating with a loss of fourteen killed, eight wounded, and
two missing. The Indians burnt several houses, killed and destroyed all
the horses and cattle which they could not drive away, and took
considerable plunder besides. They remained in the woods adjoining the
battleground one day and two nights, dressing the wounded, and packing up
their booty, with which they retired unmolested. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The only account of this battle which the author has been able to
discover, is contained in John M. Brown's pamphlet history of Schoharie.
He states it to have taken place on the day preceding the massacre of
Wyoming, but dates it in 1776, instead of 1778, which was doubtless the
true date.
Thenceforward, until the close of the war, the settlements of Schoharie
were perpetually harassed by the strolling bands of the enemy, until at
length they were entirely laid waste by a formidable invasion. The
principal of these settlements was the vale of the Schoharie-kill--doubly
inviting from the beauty of its scenery and the fertility of its
soil--which was even then thickly inhabited. But, although frequently
doomed to suffer from the savage tomahawk, justice nevertheless demands
the admission, that the first blood was drawn in that valley, and the
first act of barbarity committed, by the white man, upon the body of an
Indian sachem.
The circumstances leading to the outrage were these: At an early stage of
the contest, the officers of the Crown made a very strenuous effort to
control the popular feeling, and preserve the loyalty of the people of
Schoharie. For this purpose, not only the regular militia of the
settlements, but all the male population capable of bearing arms, were
required to meet the King's Commissioners at the house of Captain George
Mann, a loyalist of great wealth and influence, to take the oath of
allegiance. They assembled in arms, and were kept on parade, day after
day, as they slowly gathered at the place of rendezvous in obedience to
the requisition. Those who were loyalists at heart readily took the oath;
but great reluctance was manifested on the part of those whose
predilections ran with the Whigs. These, however, were threatened with the
pains and penalties of arrest, confiscation, and death, in case of
refusal; so that for the most part they complied with the demand of the
Commissioners, and took the oath of fidelity to the Crown. Immediately on
taking the oath, the hat of the subject was decorated with a piece of
scarlet cloth; while some of those most strongly desirous of manifesting
their loyalty, wore scarlet caps. Prominent among the latter class, were
Ludwig Snyder, of the Duanesburg settlement, [FN] and a Mohawk sachem named
Peter Nickus, who gave offence to the Whigs by brandishing his tomahawk
and occasionally sounding the war-whoop.
* * * * *
[FN] Snyder afterward abjured the Loyal cause, and discharged his duty
faithfully as a Whig.
But there were a few bold spirits upon whom, neither the threats of his
Majesty's officers, nor the menaces of the Indians in their company, had
any effect. They refused peremptorily to take the oath. Chief among these
were Nicholas Sternberg and William Deitz, who left the parade on the
evening of the first or second day, and returned to their homes--bitterly
denounced as rebels and traitors by the Royalists, and threatened with a
visit of Tories and Indians during the night. To avoid an arrest,
Sternberg took to the woods at evening, leaving his family in great
anxiety, although the slaves, of whom he possessed a large number,
volunteered to defend their mistress and the children. But there was no
pursuit, and the recusants both returned to the parade on the following
day--determined, of course, to render all proper obedience to the laws yet
in force, but equally determined not to take the oath of allegiance;
although Mrs. Sternberg besought her husband, with tears, not to jeopard
his own safety, and the lives of his family, by longer refusal. Nay, she
went farther; and appealing to the Bible, the good woman showed him the
passage in which all men are enjoined "to fear God and honor the King."
But it was with Sternberg as with the Puritans, He believed that
"opposition to tyrants was obedience to God," as implicitly as did the
regicides who engraved that immortal sentiment upon the New Haven rock;
and he was inflexible in his purpose.
Fortunately, however, in the course of the day affairs took quite a
different turn. It was at about the middle of the afternoon that Captain
Mann mustered those who had taken the oath and received the red badge.
They numbered one hundred and upward, and were paraded before the
Captain's own house to perform their martial exercise, when their
attention was arrested by the sound of steeds trampling in the distance.
A moment longer, and a cloud of horsemen came galloping along the highway
from the direction of Albany, with drawn swords flashing brightly in the
sun. These unexpected visitors proved to be Captain Woodbake, and two
hundred cavalry, the object of whose approach was to disperse the Royal
gathering and proclaim the government of the republic. Their arrival was
exceedingly inopportune for Captain Mann, who was cut short in the midst
of a loyal oration, in which he was commending his citizen-soldiers for
their loyalty, and threatening those who refused the badge of their
sovereign, with vengeance, swift and inevitable. As the cavalry
approached, Captain Mann took to his heels and fled; while his loyal
followers, many of whom had assumed the before-mentioned insignia, and
signed the royal muster-roll on compulsion, either followed his example
or threw away their red caps, and tore off the scarlet patches from their
hats, with the utmost possible expedition. Orders were immediately issued
by Captain Woodbake that Mann should be taken and brought to him--alive,
if possible, but if not--not. Numbers started in pursuit, while those who
remained upon the ground were collected into line, and a proclamation was
read to them by Captain Woodbake, declaring the Royal authority at an
end--pronouncing the acts of the King's Commissioners null and void--and
absolving the people from the oath of allegiance just taken, upon the
ground that, by the laws neither of God nor man, are oaths binding which
have been taken upon compulsion. Commending those who had refused to take
the oath for their patriotism, he informed them that a Committee of Safety
must be appointed, who would temporarily be invested with the civil and
military authority of the district, and until, by elections and otherwise,
the government could be organized in a more regular manner. Nicholas
Sternberg and William Deitz were thereupon nominated by Woodbake to serve
as said Committee, and invested orally with all necessary power for the
government of the district; and the people were enjoined to obedience.
The affairs of the government having thus been settled, all hands were
ordered in pursuit of Captain Mann, and sentinels were posted at different
points of observation. Among these was Mr. Sternberg's eldest son Lambert,
who was stationed by the side of a wheat-stack, sheltered by a roof of
thatch upon four posts. [FN] The orders were strict, that if Mann would not
surrender, he must be shot. Toward evening, on the approach of a
thunder-gust, young Sternberg, who was a lad of only sixteen years,
climbed to the top of the wheat-stack for shelter, where, to his great
surprise, he stumbled upon the loyal captain. The youth informed him at
once that he must surrender or be shot. The Captain implored for
mercy--declaring that he dared not to surrender himself to Woodbake,
because his life would be taken. The youth repeated that his orders were
explicit, and he must surrender or be shot. But Mann had lived a neighbor
to his father--had ever been kind to him--and his heart failed at the
thought of taking his life. He then proposed to the Captain to fire his
musket by way of alarm, that others might come and take him. But this was
objected to by Mann with equal earnestness. It now thundered and lightened
fearfully, while the rain descended in torrents. Watching his opportunity,
therefore, and availing himself of the conflict of the elements, and that,
also, which was working in the bosom of his young neighbor so suddenly
placed in hostile array against him, Mann contrived to spring from his
hiding-place, and by sliding down upon one of the barrack-posts, effected
his escape into a corn-field and thence into the woods. The stripling
soldier fired, as in duty bound, but doubtless rejoiced that the shot was
without effect.
* * * * *
[FN] These structures in new countries, where barns are not large enough
to shelter the produce, are called barracks.
On the next day, information having been received that a body of Indians
were lurking in the neighborhood of Middleburg, a few miles farther up
the valley, Captain Woodbake proceeded thither with his squadron of horse.
The only Indian seen was the before-mentioned sachem, Peter Nickus, who
was discovered in a thicket of hazel bushes, and immediately brought to
the ground by a shot that broke his thigh. Several pistols were
simultaneously snapped at him, but without effect; the troops then
dismounted, and running upon the wounded Indian, inhumanly hacked him to
pieces with their swords. Peter Nickus was therefore the first victim of
the Revolution in the Valley of the Schoharie-kill, nor does it appear
that he had himself been guilty of any act of positive hostility.
All search for Captain Mann was for the time fruitless. He succeeded in
escaping to the mountains, where he remained fifteen days; but at length
was induced to surrender through the intervention of friends, on condition
that he should receive no personal injury. He was thereupon taken to
Albany, and kept in confinement to the end of the war. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The property of Captain Mann was not confiscated, and he was
suffered to return and repossess himself of his estate, where he lived
and died a faithful citizen of the republic. All the families named in
this narrative were of great respectability, and their descendants are
still in that section of country. The author has derived the facts of
the four last preceding pages from a written narrative by the son of
Nicholas Sternberg. It was thrown out of its proper chronological order,
because not received until after this chapter was in the hands of the
printer.
CHAPTER XV.
The story of Wyoming--Glance at its history--Bloody battle between the
Shawanese and Delawares--Count Zinzendorf--Conflicting Indian claims
and titles--Rival land companies of Connecticut and Pennsylvania--Murder
of Tadeusund--The first Connecticut Colony destroyed by the
Indians--Controversy respecting their titles--Rival Colonies planted in
Wyoming--The civil wars of Wyoming--Bold adventure of Captain
Ogden--Fierce passions of the people--The Connecticut settlers
prevail--Growth of the settlements--Annexed to Connecticut--Breaking
out of the Revolution--The inhabitants, stimulated by previous hatred,
take sides--Arrest of suspected persons in January--Sent to
Hartford--Evil consequences--The enemy appear upon the outskirts of the
settlements in the Spring--Invasion by Colonel John Butler and the
Indians--Colonel Zebulon Butler prepares to oppose them--Two of the
forts taken--Colonel Z. Butler marches to encounter the enemy--Battle
of Wyoming--The Americans defeated--The flight and massacre--Fort
Wyoming besieged--Timidity of the garrison--Zebulon Butler's authority
not sustained--He escapes from the fort--Colonel Denniston forced to
capitulate--Destruction of the Valley--Barbarities of the Tories--Brant
not in the expedition--Catharine Montour--Flight of the
fugitives--Expedition of Colonel Hartley up the Susquehanna--Colonel
Zebulon Butler repossesses himself of Wyoming, and rebuilds the
fort--Indian skirmishes--Close of the History of Wyoming.
The melancholy story of Wyoming stands next in chronological order. It
does not, indeed, appertain directly to the history of the Mohawk Valley;
but it is nevertheless connected intimately with that history, while it
has ever been regarded as one of the most prominent events in the border
history of the Revolutionary contest. Its importance, moreover, as a
section of the _Indian_ portion of that contest, is such as to warrant the
episode, if such it must be called. Many were the battles during that
struggle, of far greater importance than the affair of Wyoming, both in
regard to their magnitude and their results; and many were the scenes
characterised by equal if not greater atrocity. But from a variety of
circumstances, as well antecedent as subsequent to the battle, it has
happened that no event connected with the aboriginal wars of our country
stands out in bolder relief than that. Sixty years have elapsed since the
tragedy of Wyoming was enacted; the actors themselves are no more; and yet
the very mention of the event sends a chill current to every youthful
heart, while the theatre of the action itself has been rendered classic
as well as consecrated, by the undying numbers of one of the most gifted
bards of the age. So long as English poetry exists, will the imaginary
tale of Gertrude of Wyoming be read, admired, and wept; and thousands, in
every generation to come, will receive the beautiful fiction for truth,
while the details of fact by the faithful historian, rejecting the
exaggerations of Ramsay and Gordon, and their associate writers of the
revolutionary era, together with compilers more modern, who have taken no
pains to inquire for the truth, may be regarded as too common-place and
unimportant for attention.
Wyoming is the name of a beautiful section of the vale of the Susquehanna,
situated in the north-eastern part of the State of Pennsylvania. It is
twenty-five miles in length, by about three in breadth, lying deep between
two parallel ranges of mountains, crested with oak and pine. The scenery
around is wild and picturesque, while the valley itself might be chosen
for another paradise. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Wyoming is a corruption of the name given to the place by the
Delaware Indians, who called it _Maughwauwame._ The word is a compound;
_Maughwau_ meaning large or extensive, and _wame_ plains or meadows; so
that the name may be translated "_The Large Plains._" In the language of
the Six Nations, Wyoming was called _Sgahontowano,_ or _"The Large
Flats._" _'Gahonto_ meaning, in their language, a large piece of ground
without trees.--_Chapman's History of Wyoming._
The possession of this valley has not been an object of the white man's
ambition or cupidity alone. It has been the subject of controversy, and
the fierce battle-ground of various Indian tribes, within the white man's
time, but before his possession; and from the remains of fortifications
discovered there, so ancient that the largest oaks and pines have struck
root upon the ramparts and in the entrenchments, it must once have been
the seat of power, and perhaps of a splendid court, thronged by chivalry,
and taste, and beauty--of a race of men far different from the Indians,
known to us since the discovery of Columbus. It was here that the
benevolent Count Zinzendorf pitched his tent, on commencing his Christian
labors among the Shawanese, and where he was saved from assassination by
the providential intervention of a poisonous reptile. Originally it lay
within the territory of the Lenni Lenape, or Delaware Indians; but it was
claimed by the Six Nations by right of conquest. In 1742 a grand council
of the chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations and Delawares was held in
Philadelphia, in consequence of difficulties touching the title to certain
lands lying within the forks of the Delaware, which the proprietaries of
Pennsylvania alleged that William Penn had purchased of the Delawares,
but which the Delawares yet retained in possession, while at the same time
the Six Nations claimed the ownership. The Governor of Pennsylvania having
explained the state of the case to the council, reminded the chiefs of
the Six Nations that, inasmuch as they had always required the government
of Pennsylvania to remove such whites as intruded upon their lands, so
now the government expected the Six Nations to remove the Indians from
the lands which it had purchased. [FN] Old Cannassateego was the master
spirit of the Iroquois delegation on this occasion; and, after due
consideration, he pronounced the decision of his associate chiefs. He
rebuked the Delawares in the sharpest terms for their dishonesty and
duplicity, in first selling land which did not belong to them, and even
then retaining possession of it themselves. He taunted them for their
degraded condition, as having been conquered and made women of by his
people, and after an indignant philippic, ordered them to leave the
disputed territory, and remove to Wyoming or Shamokin.
* * * * *
[FN] Chapman's History of Wyoming.
The commands of the Six Nations were neither to be question[ed] nor
disregarded, by the surrounding Indian nations, at that stage of their
history, and the clan of the Delawares occupying the land in dispute,
forthwith removed to Wyoming, then in the partial occupancy of a clan of
the Shawanese. But the latter were friendly to the Six Nations at that
time, and were suffered to retain possession of the west side of the
river, while the Delawares planted themselves down upon the east, and
built their town of Maughwauwame--the original of Wyoming.
But the close proximity of the two clans or parts of nations, was no
addition to their happiness. Mutual jealousies were entertained; and no
long period of time elapsed before their animosities were sharpened into
actual hostilities upon the smallest provocation. At length there was
cause for more substantial war. On the breaking out of hostilities between
the French and American Colonies, in what is now called the old French
war, the Shawanese espoused the side of the French, while the Six Nations
and Delawares adhered to the English. Still the two Indian communities in
Wyoming did not actually take up arms in _that_ contest, until the
occurrence of an incident which, it is believed, may be set down for the
smallest cause of war as yet recorded in history. It happened one day,
while the Delaware warriors were upon the chase among the mountains, that
their women and children were gathering fruit along the margin of the
river below their town. While thus engaged, a party of the Shawanese women
and children paddled their canoes across the river and joined them. In the
course of the morning a Shawanese child caught a large grasshopper--the
species, probably, having parti-colored wings--and a quarrel arose among
the children for the possession of the insect. In this quarrel the mothers
soon began to participate, and an Amazonian battle was the consequence.
The Delaware squaws contended that the Shawanese had no right to trespass
upon their side of the river; and after several had been killed upon both
sides, the latter, who were the weaker party, were driven to the canoes,
and their own homes.
Upon the return of the warriors of the respective tribes, both prepared
to avenge the wrongs of their wives and children. The Shawanese were the
invaders; but they were met at the river's brink by the Delawares, nothing
averse to the combat, who obstinately opposed their landing from their
canoes. Great numbers were killed, chiefly of the Shawanese, before they
gained the shore. Succeeding in this however, a battle, furious and
bloody, was fought about a mile below the Delaware town, in which several
hundreds were killed on both sides. The Shawanese, whose forces had been
greatly weakened at the landing, were at length overpowered, and obliged
to escape as best they could, with the loss of half their number. The
consequence of this defeat was the immediate evacuation of the valley,
which they left, to join the greater body of their nation on the Ohio. [FN]
To the Delawares, who had been oppressed and denationalized by the
Iroquois or Six Nations, the victory was of great
importance--re-establishing, as it did, their character as brave warriors,
although it was not until many years afterward that the sentence of being
considered women was revoked by their former conquerors.
* * * * *
[FN] Chapman's History of Wyoming.
Still, at the time when Count Zinzendorf commenced the mission of the
United Brethren in that valley, the jurisdiction was conceded to belong
to the Six Nations; and a formal permission was given to the count by the
latter, to preach the Gospel among them. He was met by a numerous embassy
of their chiefs, from whom he received a speech of welcome, which at once
laid the foundation of a good understanding between them. [FN] But,
notwithstanding this admitted superiority of the Iroquois in the time of
Sir William Johnson, the rival and conflicting Indian claims of title were
the cause of rival negotiations between the white land-speculators and
both nations of Indians, which in the end were the cause of many and very
sore evils, as will presently appear.
* * * * *
[FN] Heckewelder. The incident of the serpent, referred to in a preceding
page, was as follows:--Jealous of the Count's intentions in coming among
them, some of the Indians had resolved upon his death. "Zinzendorf was
alone in his tent, seated upon a bundle of weeds composing his bed, and
engaged in writing, when the assassins approached to execute their bloody
commission. It was night, and the cool air of September had rendered a
fire necessary to his comfort. A blanket curtain was the only guard to
the entrance of his tent. The heat of his fire had drawn forth a large
rattlesnake from the contiguous brake; and the reptile, to enjoy the
genial warmth, had crawled slowly into the tent, and passed over one of
the holy man's legs unperceived. Without, all was still and quiet, except
the distant sound of the river at the rapids a mile below. At this
moment the Indians softly approached the door of his tent, and gently
removing the curtain, contemplated the venerable man, too deeply engaged
in the subject of his thoughts to observe either their approach or the
serpent which lay extended before him. At a sight like this, even the
heart of the savages shrank from the idea of committing the barbarous
act, and they hastily returned to their lodge, and informed their
companions that the _Great Spirit_ protected the stranger, for they had
found him with no door but a blanket, and had seen a large rattlesnake
crawl over his legs without attempting to injure him." This circumstance
wrought as great a change as did the incident of the viper, after the
shipwreck, in the fortunes of Paul. The Count soon acquired the
confidence of the Indians; and the occurrence probably contributed
essentially toward inducing many of them subsequently to embrace the
Christian religion.--_Chapman's His. Wyoming._
The first movement toward the planting of a white colony in the Wyoming
Valley was made by Connecticut in 1753. It was justly held that this
section of country belonged originally to the grant of James I., in 1620,
to the old Plymouth Company. The Earl of Warwick and his associates having
purchased the right of the Plymouth Company to the territory of
Connecticut and the lands beyond New Jersey, west, "from sea to sea,"
within certain limits, Connecticut claimed under that grant. But no sooner
was a company formed to plant a colony in Wyoming--called the _Susquehanna
Company_--than Pennsylvania preferred a claim to the same territory, under
a grant from Charles II. to William Penn, in 1681, covering the whole
claim of Connecticut; and a rival association, called the _Delaware
Company,_ was organised in like manner to settle it. The strife of each,
at first, was to circumvent the other in purchasing the Indian title. At
this time it was conceded that the aboriginal proprietaries were the Six
Nations; and, though beset on all sides, old King Hendrick refused for a
time to dispose of the territory to either party. Ultimately, however,
the Six Nations sold to the Susquehanna Company; and in 1755 the
Connecticut Colony was commenced. But by reason of the French and Indian
wars, their settlers were compelled to return to Connecticut, and the
obstacles became so numerous, that it was not until 1762 that they were
enabled to obtain a foothold.
The Pennsylvanians immediately prepared to oppose the settlers from
Connecticut. A case was made up and transmitted to England, on which Mr.
Pratt, the Attorney General, (afterward Lord Camden,) gave an opinion in
favor of the successors of Penn. Connecticut likewise sent over a case,
and on her part obtained a like favorable opinion from eminent counsel.
In this position of the controversy, a catastrophe befell the infant
settlement, which put an end to the enterprise for several years. Thus
far the relations between the Colonists and the Indians had been of the
most pacific character. The old Delaware chief Tadeuskund, who had
embraced the Christian religion, was, with his people, their friend. But
he had given offence to some of the Six Nations in 1758, a party of whom
came among the Delawares, under the guise of friendship, in April, 1763,
and murdered the venerable chief by setting fire to his dwelling, in
which he was consumed. [FN] The murder was charged by the Indians upon the
adventurers from Connecticut. But the emigrants, unconscious that a storm
was rising against them, remained in fancied security. They had given no
offence; and in order to allay any suspicions that might otherwise be
awakened among the Indians, they had even neglected to provide themselves
with weapons for self-protection. The consequence was the sudden
destruction of their settlement by a party of Delaware Indians, on the
15th of October. The descent was made upon the town while the men were at
work in the fields. About twenty persons were killed, and several were
taken prisoners. Those who could, men, women, and children, fled to the
woods and the mountains, from whence they were compelled to behold the
sad spectacle of their dwellings in flames, and the Indians making off
with the remains of their little property. Their flight through a
trackless forest to the Delaware, unprovided with food, and unprotected
by suitable clothing against the searching weather of Autumn, was painful
to a degree. But even then their journey was not ended, as they had yet
to proceed back to Connecticut, destitute, and on foot.
* * * * *
[FN] Tadeuskund was a Delaware chief of note. Previous to the year 1750,
he was known among the English by the name of _Honest John._ He was
baptized by the Moravians, but was wavering and inconstant. He was too
fond of the war-path to become a consistent follower of the pacific
Moravians. When he saw opportunities of signalizing himself as a warrior,
therefore, he left his faith, to re-embrace it as might suit his policy.
He inclined to the French in the war; but assisted in concluding a peace
among several Indian nations in 1758, which gave umbrage to the Six
Nations.
In 1668 the Delaware Company took advantage of a treaty holden at Fort
Stanwix, and purchased of the same Six Nations, who had sold to the
Connecticut Company, the same territory of Wyoming. The Pennsylvanians
entered upon immediate possession; and when, on the opening of the ensuing
Spring, the Connecticut Colonists returned with recruits, they found
others in the occupancy of the lands, with a block-house erected, and
armed for defence, under the direction of Amos Ogden and Charles Stewart,
to whom a lease of a section of land in the heart of the valley had been
granted by John Penn, for the express purpose of ousting the Connecticut
claimants. Here was a new and unexpected state of things. Some of the
leading men of the Connecticut Colony were decoyed into the block-house,
arrested, and sent off to a distant prison. But recruits coming on from
Connecticut, they in turn built works of defence, and proceeded with their
colonial labors.
In the Summer of 1769, the Governor of Pennsylvania made preparations to
dispossess the intruders, as they considered the Connecticut people, by
force; and a detachment of armed men, to the number of two hundred, was
sent into the territory. The Colonists prepared for a siege; but one of
their leaders having been taken prisoner, and sent to gaol in
Philadelphia, after a show of resistance, and having no weapons of defence
but small arms, they capitulated, and agreed to leave the territory, with
the exception of seventeen families, who were to remain and secure the
crops. But no sooner had the Colonists departed, than the Pennsylvanians,
led by Ogden, plundered the whole colony, destroying their fields of
grain, killing their cattle, and laying the whole settlement in ruin; so
that the seventeen families were compelled to fly from starvation.
In the month of February, 1770, the Connecticut Colonists rallied, and
marched upon Wyoming, under a man named Lazarus Stewart. They took Ogden's
house and his piece of artillery, during his absence. But on his return
he collected his friends, and hostilities ensued between the two parties,
which were prosecuted with varying success for several weeks. During this
time, an engagement occurred, in which several were killed and wounded on
both sides. Ogden's house, which had been fortified, was besieged, and
finally taken--after several days' cannonading, and the destruction of
one of his blockhouses, containing his supplies, by fire. In the terms of
capitulation the Connecticut party allowed Ogden to leave six men in
charge of his remaining property. But the conduct of Ogden the preceding
year had not been forgotten, and the _lex talionis_ was rigidly and
speedily executed.
In September following, a force of one hundred and fifty men was sent
against the Connecticut settlers, under the command of Captain Ogden, as
he was now called. He took the settlement entirely by surprise, while the
laborers were in the fields at work, and the women and children in the
fort. Many of the men, nevertheless, reached the fort, and prepared to
defend it; but it was carried by assault in the night--the women and
children were barbarously trampled under foot--and the whole settlement
plundered and destroyed the following day, with more than Indian rapacity.
The Colonists were made prisoners, and sent off to distant gaols. Thus was
the settlement again broken up. But the triumph of Ogden was brief. In
December the fort was again surprised and carried by Captain Stewart, at
the head of some Lancastrians united with the late Colonists. A few of
the men fled naked to the woods; but the greater portion, together with
the women and children, residing for security in houses built within the
ramparts, were taken prisoners. Those, having been deprived of their
property, were driven from the valley.
The parties to these controversies, which could not but engender all the
bitterest passions in the nature of man--rendering what might have been
a second Eden, a theatre of strife, discord, and "hell-born
hate,"--fought, of course, as they pretended, under the jurisdiction of
the respective States to which they assumed to belong. The civil
authorities of Pennsylvania frequently interposed; and after the burning
of Ogden's block-house, attempts were made to arrest several of the
Connecticut party for arson. Stewart was apprehended, but was soon
afterward rescued.
After the capture of the fort in December, the Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania once more issued a writ for his arrest, and the sheriff was
sent with the posse at his heels; but the garrison would not admit him.
The fort was fired upon by the posse, under the direction of the sheriff,
and in returning the fire, one of the Ogdens (Nathan) was killed. The
sheriff thereupon drew off his forces for the night. But it was no sooner
dark, than Stewart and forty of his men withdrew from the fortress,
leaving a garrison of only twelve persons, who capitulated on the
following morning. Three hundred pounds reward was offered by the Governor
of Pennsylvania for the arrest of Stewart. The fort was left in charge of
Amos Ogden, who induced most of his former associates to return with him.
In July following, this important post was again doomed to change hands.
The Colony was invaded by Captain Zebulon Butler, with upward of seventy
men. These being joined by Stewart and his party, they immediately took
possession of the lands, while Ogden with his people, to the number of
eighty-two, retired into the new fort of Wyoming, which they had just
built, and prepared for resistance. The contest was now assuming greater
importance than ever. Butler and Stewart at once invested the fortress,
and recruits arriving from Connecticut, they were enabled to throw up
redoubts, and open entrenchments for a regular siege. This new fort was
planted directly upon the bank of the river. Perceiving himself thus
completely shut in, Ogden formed the bold enterprise of leaving his
garrison in the night, and floating down the river, past the works and
the sentinels of the enemy, in order to repair to Philadelphia for
succors. For the purpose of better securing his escape, by means of
a cord he caused a bundle to be floated along in the river following him,
which, being the most perceptible object, would naturally attract the
attention and receive the fire of the enemy, if discovered. The _ruse de
guerre_ was completely successful. The deceptive object did attract the
attention of the besiegers and received their fire; although Ogden himself
was in immediate peril, since his hat and clothes were riddled with
bullets. He nevertheless escaped to Philadelphia, and is entitled to the
credit of performing one of the boldest and most difficult individual
exploits on record.
In consequence of these tidings, the government ordered a force of one
hundred men to be sent to the relief of Fort Wyoming, commanded by Colonel
Asher Clayton. These were to be separated into two divisions, and marched
to the fort from different directions. Captain Dick, with one division,
proceeded toward the fort with pack-horses of provisions for one hundred
men. When in its neighborhood, however, he was ambuscaded by the troops
of Butler and Stewart, and thrown into confusion by the fire. Twenty-two
of the party succeeded in getting into the fort, and the remainder, with
four pack-horses of provisions, fell into the hands of Butler. The siege
continued, and was prosecuted with great vigor until the 14th of August,
when, his supplies being exhausted, Colonel Clayton, the assailant,
capitulated--stipulating that his troops, together with Ogden and his
party, should withdraw from Wyoming. Ogden was wounded during the siege,
and a second shot killed another officer, named William Ridyard, upon whom
the former was leaning, being faint from loss of blood.
The president of the Pennsylvania proprietaries complained of the conduct
of the Connecticut people in these hostilities, and Governor Trumbull
disclaimed any connexion with the affairs of Wyoming on the part of the
State over which he presided. But as the Connecticut people continued to
pour reinforcements into the settlement, the Pennsylvanians withdrew their
forces, and for a season made no farther attempts upon the territory.
The settlers now claimed the protection of Connecticut, the government
of which attempted a mediation between the people of Wyoming and the
government of Pennsylvania--but without success. Meantime the people of the
Colony proceeded to organize a government, and to exercise almost all the
attributes of sovereignty. The general laws of Connecticut were declared
to be in force; but for their local legislation, they organized a pure
democracy--the people of all their towns and settlements meeting in a
body, as in Athens of old, and making their laws for themselves. The
legislature of Connecticut extended its broad aegis over them, framed a
new county called Westmoreland, and attached it to the county of
Litchfield in the parent State. Zebulon Butler and Nathan Denniston were
appointed justices of the peace, and the people sent one representative
to the Legislature of Connecticut. The governments of Connecticut and
Pennsylvania kept up a war of proclamations and edicts upon the subject,
while the settlement advanced in population and extent with unexampled
rapidity.
Thus matters proceeded until the year 1775, when, just after hostilities
had been commenced between the Colonies and the British troops at
Lexington, the old feuds between the settlers of the rival companies
suddenly broke forth again. A new settlement of the one was attacked by
the militia of the other, one man was killed, several were wounded, and
others made prisoners, and carried off to a distant jail. Other outrages
were committed elsewhere, and of course all the angry passions--all the
bitter feelings of hatred and revenge between the rival parties claiming
the soil and the jurisdiction--broke out afresh. The settlements of each
had become extended during the five years of peace, which of course had
multiplied the parties to the contest; so that, as the men of Wyoming
flew to arms, a more formidable civil war than ever was in prospect, at
the moment when every arm should have been nerved in the common cause of
the whole country. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] At this time the settlements consisted of eight townships, viz:
Lackawana, Exeter, Kingston, Wilkesbarre, Plymouth, Nanticoke,
Huntington, and Salem; each containing five miles square. The six
townships were pretty full of inhabitants; the two upper ones had
comparatively few, thinly scattered.--_Almon's Remembrancer, for_ 1778.
Congress being now in session, interposed its authority by way of
mediatorial resolutions. But to no purpose. The interposition was
repeated, and again disregarded. In the meantime the Pennsylvanians
brought seven hundred men into the field, who were marched against Wyoming
under the direction of Colonel Plunkett. But in ascending the west bank
of the Susquehanna, on coming to a narrow defile, naturally defended by a
rocky buttress, their march was suddenly arrested by a volley of musketry.
An instant afterward the invaders discerned that the rocky parapets were
covered with men bristling in arms--prepared for a Tyrolese defence of
tumbling rocks down upon the foe, should their firearms prove insufficient
to repel him. Taken thus suddenly and effectively by surprise, Plunkett
retreated with his forces behind a point of rocks, for consultation. He
next attempted to cross the river, and resume his march on the other side.
But here, too, the people of Wyoming had been too quick for him. The
invaders were so hotly received by a detachment in ambuscade on the other
side, that they were constrained to retreat, nor did they attempt to rally
again.
Thus terminated the last military demonstration of the Provincial
government of Pennsylvania against the valley of Wyoming. Never, however,
had a civil war raged with more cordial hatred between the parties--not
even during the bloody conflicts between the Guelphs and the
Ghibellines--than was felt between the adherents of the respective land
companies, in the collisions just passed under review. Most unfortunate
was it, therefore, that the quarrel broke out afresh at the precise moment
when the services of all were alike wanted for the common
defence--especially on a border exposed to the daily irruptions of the
Indians.
Nor was this the only evil. There being a wide difference of opinion
between the people in almost every section of the country, on the great
question at issue between the parent country and the Colonies, it was
natural to anticipate that such of these contending parties as adhered to
the Royalist cause, would cherish a twofold enmity toward those
republicans who had been previously in arms against them. These feelings
of hostility were of course mutual; and as many of the adherents of the
Delaware Company, and perhaps some from both factions, early escaped to
the enemy, and enrolled themselves under the banners of Sir John Johnson
and Colonel John Butler, there can be no difficulty in accounting for the
peculiar ferocity which marked the conduct of such of the refugees as
returned in arms against their former belligerent neighbors. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This sketch of the preliminary history of Wyoming, rapid as it is,
has nevertheless occasioned a longer digression than was intended; but
it has seemed necessary to the deduction of something like a just
hypothesis, by which to judge of the peculiar features of the battle of
Wyoming and the massacre that followed.
The population of the Wyoming settlements, at the commencement of the war,
numbered five thousand souls. Three companies of regular troops were
enlisted among them for the service of the United States. Their militia,
regularly enrolled, amounted to eleven hundred men capable of bearing
arms, and of this force three hundred entered the army; [FN] so prolific
was their soil, and so industrious were the people, that they were enabled
to furnish large supplies of provisions for the army. Three thousand
bushels of grain were sent thence to the army in the Spring of the
present year. The same plan of watchfulness against the scouts and
scalping parties of the enemy was adopted as in other frontier
settlements, and the utmost vigilance was observed; while regular
garrison duty was, in successive turns, performed by the citizen soldiers
in the several fortifications which defended their valley.
* * * * *
[FN] See Chapman's History of Wyoming--also Memorial to the Connecticut
Legislature.
Some faint demonstrations were made by straggling parties of Tories and
Indians, who prowled about the settlements during the Summer of the
preceding year, while St. Leger was besieging Fort Schuyler; but after a
few skirmishes with the inhabitants they dispersed, and the latter
remained undisturbed during the rest of the year. Still, an impression
that some of the Tories, who had been in arms against them, or who had
been instrumental in bringing the Indians upon them, were yet lurking in
the vicinity, and bent upon mischief, left the people not altogether at
ease; and in the month of January, 1778, twenty-seven suspected
inhabitants were arrested. Nine of these were discharged on examination,
for want of sufficient evidence to warrant their detention; while the
remaining eighteen were sent to Hartford, in Connecticut, and imprisoned.
The nine who were first discharged, immediately fled to the enemy, and
were followed thither by such of their suspected associates as were
subsequently set at liberty in Connecticut. It was but natural that these
proceedings still more embittered the feelings of these Loyalists against
the Whigs, and the effect was soon perceptible in the behavior of the
Tories and Indians occasionally patrolling their borders.
For a time, however, the apprehensions thus excited were allayed by
several pacific messages from the Indian nations deeper in the interior,
who sent parties of runners with assurances of a desire for peace. But
these assurances were deceptive. Instead of being messengers of peace, it
was ascertained in March, from one of them while in a state of
intoxication, that their business was to amuse the people and allay their
fears while preparations were making to attack them. This Indian, with his
associate warriors, was immediately arrested and placed in confinement,
while the women of the party were sent back with a flag. The alarm was
likewise given to the scattered and remote settlers, some of them living
thirty miles up the river, who thereupon immediately sought for greater
security in the more populous towns. During the months of April and May,
the settlements began to be more considerably annoyed by larger parties
of Tories and Indians, who hung upon their borders, and made frequent
incursions among them for purposes of plunder--robbing the people, as
opportunity afforded, of live stock, grain, and other articles of
provisions. Waxing yet more audacious in June, several murders were
committed. Six of these victims were a mother and her five children, who
were doubtless killed under a misapprehension as to her character, since
the woman was the wife of one of the Tories who had been arrested in
January. The houses and plantations of the slain were of course plundered
of every thing of value which the marauders could carry away. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Almon's Remembrancer, 1778--Second Part.
Toward the close of June, the British officers in command at Niagara
determined to strike a blow upon these settlements; for which purpose
about three hundred white men, consisting in part of regular troops, but
principally of refugee Loyalists, under the command of Colonel John
Butler, together with about five hundred Indians, marched in that
direction. Arriving at Tioga Point, Butler and the Indian leaders [FN-1]
procured floats and rafts, upon which they embarked their forces, and,
descending the Susquehanna, landed at a place called the Three Islands,
whence they marched about twenty miles, and crossing a wilderness, entered
the valley of Wyoming through a gap of the mountain near its northern
extremity. [FN-2] They took possession of two small forts, without
opposition, on the 2d of July--the first of which was called the Exeter
fort. It was said the garrison consisted chiefly of Tories, who
treacherously surrendered it to the enemy. The other was the fort of
Lackawana, where the enemy encountered some resistance. But it was soon
carried, a magistrate named Jenkins being killed, together with his
family, and several others, mostly women and children, made prisoners.
One of these forts was burnt. [FN-3] In the other, the proper name of
which was Fort Wintermoot, Colonel John Butler established his
head-quarters.
* * * * *
[FN-1] It is difficult to ascertain with certainty from what tribes or
nations these Indians were drawn. It will be seen by a note a few pages
onward, that there is reason to suppose they were from Detroit, and were
led by an officer of the British service. Certainly they had no chiefs
of any considerable note among them.
[FN-2] Marshall's Life of Washington.
[FN-3] The Remembrancer.
The inhabitants, on receiving intelligence of the approach of the
invaders, assembled within a fortification four miles below, called Fort
Forty, from the circumstance of its having been occupied by forty men, at
some period of the antecedent troubles of the Colony. Colonel Zebulon
Butler, whose name has occurred several times in the preceding summary of
the history of Wyoming, was in command of about sixty regular troops, and
he now made every exertion to muster the militia of the settlements. But
in his official despatch he complained, that as the women and children
had fled to the several forts, of which there were seven within the
distance of ten miles along the valley, the men, too many of them, would
remain behind to take care of _them._ Still, he succeeded in collecting
about three hundred of the militia, and commenced his march to meet the
enemy on the 1st of July, in connexion with the regular troops before
mentioned, commanded by Captain Hewett. On their first advance, they fell
in with a scout of Indians, of whom they killed two. These savages had
just murdered nine men engaged at work in a corn-field. [FN-1] Not being
supplied with provisions, Colonel Zebulon Butler [FN-2] was obliged to
fall back upon Fort Forty, while his militia procured supplies. They
mustered again on the 3d, and a council of war was convened. Messengers
having been despatched to the head-quarters of General Washington for
assistance, immediately after the enemy's movements were known at Wyoming,
Colonel Z. Butler was desirous of waiting for reinforcements. But his
officers and men were impatient for a trial of strength. [FN-3] The
messengers had already been gone so long, that it was supposed they had
been cut off, and consequently that General Washington was ignorant of
their situation. In that case no reinforcements could reach them in
season to save their valley from being ravaged; and as the enemy's forces
were daily increasing, it was held to be the part of wisdom to attack him
at once.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Colonel Z. Butler's letter.
[FN-2] It is necessary to repeat the Christian names of both the Butlers,
to avoid confusion--that being the surname of both the opposing
commanders.
[FN-3] Marshall.
While the question was under debate, five officers arrived from the
Continental army, who, on hearing the tidings of the meditated invasion,
had thrown up their commissions and hastened home to protect their
families. They had heard nothing of the messengers, and intimated that
there was no prospect of speedy assistance. [FN] The discussions were
animated; but the apprehension, that in the event of longer delay the
enemy would become too powerful for them, and thus be enabled to sweep
through their valley and destroy their harvest, was so strong, and the
militia were so sanguine of being able to meet and vanquish the enemy,
that Colonel Butler yielded, and set forward at the head of nearly four
hundred men. Colonel Denniston, his former associate in the commission of
the peace, being his second in command.
* * * * *
[FN] Chapman.
It was intended to make a quick movement, and take the enemy by surprise.
Having approached within two miles of Fort Wintermoot, [FN-1] a small
reconnoitering party was sent forward for observation. They ascertained
that the enemy were carousing in their huts in perfect security; but on
their return they were so unfortunate as to fall in with an Indian scout,
who immediately fired and gave the alarm. [FN-2] The Provincials pushed
rapidly forward; but the British and Indians were prepared to receive
them--"their line being formed a small distance in front of their camp,
in a plain thinly covered with pine, shrub-oaks, and undergrowth, and
extending from the river to a marsh, at the foot of the mountain." [FN-3]
On coming in view of the enemy, the Americans, who had previously marched
in a single column, instantly displayed into a line of equal extent, and
attacked from right to left at the same time. [FN-4] The right of the
Americans was commanded by Colonel Zebulon Butler, opposed to Colonel
John Butler commanding the enemy's left. Colonel Dennison commanded the
left of the Americans, and was opposed by Indians forming the enemy's
right. [FN-5] The battle commenced at about forty rods distance, without
much execution at the onset, as the brush-wood interposed obstacles to
the sight. The militia stood the fire well for a short time, and as they
pressed forward, there was some giving way on the enemy's right.
Unluckily, just at this moment the appalling war-whoop of the Indians
rang in the rear of the American left--the Indian leader having conducted
a large party of his warriors through the marsh, and succeeded in turning
Dennison's flank. A heavy and destructive fire was simultaneously poured
into the American ranks; and amidst the confusion, Colonel Dennison
directed his men to "_fall back,_" to avoid being surrounded, and to gain
time to bring his men into order again. This direction was mistaken for
an order to "retreat," whereupon the whole line broke, and every effort
of their officers to restore order was unavailing. At this stage of the
battle, and while thus engaged, the American officers mostly fell. The
flight was general. The Indians, throwing away their rifles, rushed
forward with their tomahawks, making dreadful havoc--answering the cries
for mercy with the hatchet--and adding to the universal consternation
those terrific yells which invest savage warfare with tenfold horror. So
alert was the foe in this bloody pursuit, that less than sixty of the
Americans escaped either the rifle or the tomahawk. Of the militia
officers, there fell one lieutenant-colonel, one major, and ten captains,
six lieutenants, and two ensigns. Colonel Durkee, and Captains Hewett
and Ransom were likewise killed. Some of the fugitives escaped by swimming
the river, and others by flying to the mountains. As the news of the
defeat spread down the valley, the greater part of the women and children,
and those who had remained behind to protect them, likewise ran to the
woods and the mountains; while those who could not escape thus, sought
refuge in Fort Wyoming. The Indians, apparently wearied with pursuit and
slaughter, desisted, and betook themselves to secure the spoils of the
vanquished.
* * * * *
[FN-1] The fort was thus called after the proprietor of the land whereon
it was built, and the adjacent territory--a distinguished Tory named
Wintermoot. He was active in bringing destruction upon the valley, and,
after doing all the mischief he could to the settlement, removed to
Canada. During the war with England in 1812-15--while the British were
investing Fort Erie, a son of old Mr. Wintermoot, a lieutenant in the
enemy's service, was killed by a volunteer from the neighborhood of
Wyoming. Young Wintermoot was reconnoitering one of the American pickets,
when he was shot down by the said volunteer, who was engaged in the same
service against a picket of the enemy. The volunteer returned into the
fort, bringing in the arms and commission of the officer he had slain as
a trophy.
[FN-2] Chapman.
[FN-3] Marshall.
[FN-4] Col. Z. Butler's letter.
[FN-5] Chapman.
On the morning of the 4th, the day after the battle, Colonel John Butler,
with the combined British and Indian forces, appeared before Fort Wyoming,
and demanded its surrender. The inhabitants, both within and without the
fort, did not, on that emergency, sustain a character for courage becoming
men of spirit in adversity. They were so intimidated as to give up without
fighting; great numbers ran off; and those who remained, all but betrayed
Colonel Zebulon Butler, their commander. [FN-1] The British Colonel Butler
sent several flags, requiring an unconditional surrender of his opposing
namesake and the few Continental troops yet remaining, but offering to
spare the inhabitants their property and effects. But with the American
Colonel the victor would not treat on any terms; and the people thereupon
compelled Colonel Dennison to comply with conditions which his commander
had refused. [FN-2] The consequence was, that Colonel Zebulon Butler
contrived to escape from the fort with the remains of Captain Hewett's
company of regulars, [FN-3] and Colonel Dennison entered into articles of
capitulation. By these it was stipulated that the settlers should be
disarmed and their garrison demolished; that all the prisoners and public
stores should be given up; that the property of "the people called
Tories" should be made good, and they be permitted to remain peaceably
upon their farms. In behalf of the settlers it was stipulated that their
lives and property should be preserved, and that they should be left in
the unmolested occupancy of their farms. [FN-4]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Colonel Z. Butler's letter.
[FN-2] Idem.
[FN-3] Idem.
[FN-4] Chapman's History.
Unhappily, however, the British commander either could not or would not
enforce the terms of the capitulation, which were to a great extent
disregarded as well by the Tories as Indians. Instead of finding
protection, the valley was again laid waste--the houses and improvements
were destroyed by fire, and the country plundered. Families were broken
up and dispersed, men and their wives separated, mothers torn from their
children, and some of them carried into captivity, while far the greater
number fled to the mountains, and wandered through the wilderness to the
older settlements. Some died of their wounds, others from want and
fatigue, while others still were lost in the wilderness, or were heard of
no more. Several perished in a great swamp in the neighborhood, which from
that circumstance acquired the name of "_The Shades of Death,_" and retains
it to this day. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Chapman's History.
These were painful scenes. But it does not appear that any thing like a
massacre followed the capitulation. [FN-1] Nor, in the events of the
preceding day, is there good evidence of the perpetration of any specific
acts of cruelty, other than such as are usual in the general rout of a
battle-field--save only the unexampled atrocities of the Tories,
thirsting, probably, for revenge in regard to other questions than that
of allegiance to the King. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] It will be seen, a few pages forward, by a letter from Walter
Butler, writing on behalf of his father, Col. John Butler, that a solemn
denial is made of any massacre whatever, save the killing of men in arms
in the open field. This letter, in vindication of the refugee Butlers,
would have been introduced here, but for its connexion with the affair
of Cherry Valley.
[FN-2] Indeed, for cold-blooded cruelty, which may be called murder
outright, there was nothing at Wyoming, with the single exception of the
fratricide soon to be related, at all comparable to the massacre of the
Mexicans at San Jacinto by the _soi-disant_ Texan heroes under Houston.
There seems, from the first, to have been an uncommonly large proportion
of loyalists in the Wyoming settlements, whose notions of legal restraint,
from the previous collisions of the inhabitants, were of course
latitudinarian; nor were their antecedent asperities softened by the
attempts of the Whigs to keep them within proper control, after
hostilities had commenced. The greater number of these, as we have already
seen, together with those who were arrested, had joined themselves to the
enemy. But these were not all the defections. After the arrival of the
enemy upon the confines of the settlement, and before the battle, a
considerable number of the inhabitants joined his ranks, and exhibited
instances of the most savage barbarity against their former neighbors and
friends. [FN-1] Nor has it ever been denied, in regard to the battle of
Wyoming, that none were more ferocious and cruel--more destitute of the
unstrained quality of mercy, than those same loyalists or Tories. An
example of the spirit by which they were actuated is found in the
following occurrence, which, on account of its Cain-like barbarity, is
worthy of repetition. Not far from the battleground was an island in the
Susquehanna, called Monockonock, to which several of the fugitive
militia-men fled for security throwing away their arms, and swimming the
river. Here they concealed themselves as they could among the brush-wood.
Their place of retreat being discovered, several Tories followed them;
and, though obliged to swim, yet so intent were they upon the work of
death, that they succeeded in taking their guns with them. Arriving upon
the island, they deliberately wiped their gun-locks, recharged their
pieces, and commenced searching for the fugitives. Two of these were
concealed in sight of each other, but one of them escaped. But it was
nevertheless his lot to behold a scene painful enough to make the most
hardened offender weep, and "blush to own himself a man." One of the
pursuers came upon his companion in partial concealment, who proved to be
his own brother. His salutation was--"So, it is you, is it?" The unarmed
and defenceless man, thus observed, came forward, and fell upon his knees
before his brother, begging for mercy--promising to live with him, and
serve him for ever, if he would but spare his life. "All this is mighty
fine," replied the unrelenting traitor, "but you are a d--d
rebel!"--saying which, he deliberately leveled his rifle, and shot him
dead upon the spot. [FN-2] In a domestic war marked by such atrocity, even
among those claiming to be civilized, it becomes us to pause before we
brand the untutored savage, who fights according to the usages of his own
people, with _all_ that is revolting and cruel. [FN-3]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Chapman.
[FN-2] Chapman's Hist. of Wyoming.
[FN-3] Doctor Thatcher, in his Military Journal, records still greater
barbarities as having been perpetrated on this bloody occasion. He
says--"One of the prisoners a Captain Badlock, was committed to torture,
by having his body stuck full of splinters of pine knots, and a fire of
dry wood made around him, when his two companions, Captains Ransom and
Durkee, where thrown into the same fire, and held down with pitchforks
till consumed. One Partial Terry, the son of a man of respectable
character, having joined the Indian party, several times sent his father
word that he hoped _to wash his hands in his heart's blood._ The monster
_with his own hands murdered his father, mother, brothers, and sisters,
stripped off their scalps, and cut off his father's head!!_ Thomas Terry
_with his own hands butchered his own mother, his father-in-law, his
sisters and their infant children, and exterminated the whole family!!_"
Upon which the worthy Doctor remarks--"It is only in the infernal regions
that we can look for a parallel instance of unnatural wickedness." It is
doubtful whether so great an atrocity was ever committed even there.
Certainly no such were perpetrated at Wyoming. Dr. Thatcher also states,
that when Col. Z. Butler sent a flag to propose terms of capitulation,
the reply of Col. John Butler was in two words--"_The Hatchet._" He also
remarks, in regard to the moral and social condition of Wyoming, that but
for the dissensions produced by the war of the Revolution, "the
inhabitants of this secluded spot might have lived in the enjoyment of
all the happiness which results from harmony and the purest natural
affection." Witness the ten years of civil wars sketched in the preceding
pages. It was also reported that a man named Thomas Hill with his own
hands killed his own mother, his father-in-law, his sisters and their
families! And such is history! These monstrous exaggerations were the
reports of the battle first published at Poughkeepsie on the 20th of
July, as derived from the lips of the terrified fugitives who were
wending their way back to Connecticut,
There is still another important correction to be made, in reference to
every written history of this battle extant, not even excepting the last
revised edition of the Life of Washington by Chief Justice Marshall. This
correction regards the name, and the just fame, of Joseph Brant, whose
character has been blackened with all the infamy, both real and imaginary,
connected with this bloody expedition. Whether Captain Brant was at any
time in company with this expedition, is doubtful; but it is certain, in
the face of every historical authority, British and American, that so far
from being engaged in the battle, he was many miles distant at the time
of its occurrence. Such has been the uniform testimony of the British
officers engaged in that expedition, and such was always the word of
Thayendanegea himself. It will, moreover, be seen, toward the close of the
present work, that after the publication of Campbell's "Gertrude of
Wyoming," in which poem the Mohawk chieftain was denounced as "the Monster
Brant," his son repaired to England, and in a correspondence with the
poet, successfully vindicated his father's memory from the calumny. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Since the present chapter was written, and while the work was under
revision, the author has received a letter from Mr. Samuel C. Frey, of
Upper Canada, a son of the late Philip R. Frey, Esq. a loyalist of Tryon
County, who was an ensign in H. B. M.'s Eighth Regiment, and who, with
his regiment, was engaged in the campaign and battle of Wyoming. Philip
R. Frey, the ensign spoken of, died at Palatine, Montgomery (formerly
Tryon) County, in 1823. It was his uniform testimony that Brant was not
at Wyoming. Mr. Frey writes to the author, that there were no chiefs of
notoriety with the Indians on that expedition, and that the Indians
themselves were led from Detroit, by Captain Bird of the Eighth Regiment.
Bird had been engaged in a love affair at Detroit, but, being very ugly,
besides having a harelip, was unsuccessful. The affair getting wind, his
fellow-officers made themselves merry at his expense, and in order to
steep his griefs in forgetfulness, he obtained permission to lead an
expedition somewhere against the American frontier. Joining the Indians
placed under him, and a detachment of his regiment, to Butler's rangers,
they concerted the descent upon Wyoming. Ensign Frey stated that he was
ill-natured during the whole march, and acted with fool-hardiness at the
battle. He farther stated, according to the letter of his son, that the
American Colonel challenged them to a fair field-fight, which challenge
was accepted. "The next morning, at about 9 o'clock, the Americans poured
out of the fort about three hundred and forty in number--the Indians fell
back over a hill--the troops on both sides drew up in battle array and
soon commenced; after a few rounds fired, the American Colonel ordered
his drum-major to beat a charge, the drum-major mistook the order and
beat a retreat, the Americans became disordered immediately, and ran
helter-skelter; the moment the Indians saw them running, they poured
down upon them from their hiding places, so that no more than about forty
survived out of three hundred and forty." Rarely, indeed, does it happen
that history is more at fault in regard to facts than in the case of
Wyoming. The remark may be applied to nearly every writer who has
attempted to narrate the events connected with the invasion of Colonel
John Butler. Ramsay, and Gordon, and Marshall--nay, the British
historians themselves--have written gross exaggerations. Marshall,
however, in his revised edition, has made corrections, and explained how
and by whom he was led into error. My excellent friend, Charles Miner,
Esq. long a resident of Wyoming, a gentleman of letters and great
accuracy, furnished the biographer of Washington with a true narrative
of the transactions, which he made the basis of the summary account
contained in his revised edition. Other writers, of greater or less note,
have gravely recorded the same fictions, adding, it is to be feared,
enormities not even conveyed to them by tradition. The grossest of these
exaggerations are contained in Thatcher's Military Journal and Drake's
Book of the Indians. The account of the marching out of a large body of
Americans from one of the forts, to hold a parley, by agreement, and
then being drawn into an ambuscade and all put to death, is false; the
account of seventy Continental soldiers being butchered, after having
surrendered, is also totally untrue. No regular troops surrendered, and
all escaped who survived the battle of the 3d. Equally untrue was the
story of the burning of houses, barracks, and forts, filled with women
and children.
It is related in the unwritten history of this battle, that the celebrated
Catharine Montour was present, with her two sons; and that she ranged the
field of blood like a chafed tigress, stimulating the warriors of her
adopted race to the onslaught, even in the hottest of the fight. But from
the antecedent character of that remarkable woman, the story can hardly be
credited. She was a native of Canada, a half-breed, her father having been
one of the early French governors--probably Count Frontenac, as he must
have been in the government of that country at about the time of her
birth. During the wars between the Six Nations and the French and Hurons,
Catharine, when about ten years of age, was made a captive, taken into the
Seneca country, adopted and reared as one of their own children. When
arrived at a suitable age, she was married to one of the distinguished
chiefs of her tribe, who signalized himself in the wars of the Six Nations
against the Catawbas, then a great nation living south-westward of
Virginia. She had several children by this chieftain, who fell in battle
about the year 1730, after which she did not again marry. She is said to
have been a handsome woman when young, genteel, and of polite address,
notwithstanding her Indian associations. It was frequently her lot to
accompany the chiefs of the Six Nations to Philadelphia, and other places
in Pennsylvania, where treaties were holden; and from her character and
manners she was greatly caressed by the American ladies--particularly in
Philadelphia, where she was invited by the ladies of the best circles,
and entertained at their houses. Her residence was at the head of the
Seneca Lake. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Catharinestown--so named from her. This account of Catharine Montour
is chiefly drawn from Witham Marshe's Journal of a treaty with the Six
Nations, held at Lancaster in 1744--Vide Mass. Hist. Coll. In 1758 Sir
William Johnson had an Indian interpreter in his service, known as
"Captain Montour." One of Catharine's sons was called "Captain," and was
probably the same. Tradition, at Seneca Lake, holds that Catharine
Montour was killed by Sullivan's men in 1779. But it will hereafter be
seen that such was not the fact.
Some of the flying fugitives from Wyoming had not proceeded many miles
from their desolate homes, before they met a detachment of Continental
troops on their way to assist the Colony. It was now too late. But the
detachment, nevertheless, remained at Stroudsburg three or four weeks, by
which time Colonel Zebulon Butler had collected a force consisting of
straggling settlers and others, with whom, and the regular troops just
mentioned, he returned, and repossessed himself of Wyoming--the enemy
having retired shortly after the battle--Colonel John Butler to Niagara,
and the Indians to their homes; while Thayendanegea moved as he had
occasion, from his old haunts higher up the Susquehanna, at Oghkwaga and
Unadilla.
Immediately on the reception of the disastrous tidings from Wyoming at the
Continental head-quarters, Colonel Hartley's regiment was ordered thither,
with instructions from Congress to remain on that frontier until the
crops were secured and the enemy should have retreated. He was joined by
several militia companies, and, among other officers, by Colonel Dennison,
who, in the capitulation of Wyoming, had stipulated not again to serve
against the King's troops. He accompanied Colonel Hartley in an expedition
against some of the Indian towns up the Susquehanna, in the direction of
Oghkwaga, several of which were destroyed. A few prisoners were also
taken. It appearing, however, that the enemy were gathering in too much
force for him to remain long within their territory, Colonel Hartley was
constrained to retreat. An attack was made upon his rear, but the
assailants were repulsed. Colonel Dennison doubtless felt himself
warranted in breaking the stipulations of Fort Wyoming, by the fact that
those stipulations were not strictly observed by the Tories and Indians.
But the enemy made no such allowance; and this expedition, or rather the
conduct of Colonel Dennison, was subsequently used as a pretext for some
of the incidents connected with the attack upon Cherry Valley.
Colonel Zebulon Butler built another fort at Wyoming, which he continued
to occupy until the next year, when the command of that region devolved
upon General Sullivan. In the mean time the outskirts of the settlements
were frequently harassed by straggling parties of Tories and Indians, who
occasionally committed an assassination or carried off a few prisoners.
The Americans, in turn, despatched every Indian who fell in their way. In
March following, the fort was surrounded by a force of two hundred and
fifty Indians, and Tories disguised as such. They attacked the fortress,
but fled on the discharge of a single piece of artillery--burning whatever
buildings had either been re-erected or left standing at the former
invasion. The garrison was too weak to allow of a pursuit. A few weeks
afterward, as a company of Continental troops were approaching the fort,
under the command of Major Powell, they were fired upon by a party of
Indians in ambush, while passing along a single track through a difficult
swamp. In this attack, Captain Davis, Lieutenant Jones, and four privates,
were killed. The detachment formed for action with all possible despatch;
but the Indians fled after two or three discharges. Nor did they re-appear
afterward, in that immediate neighborhood, in any subsequent stage of the
revolutionary contest, although other sections of the Pennsylvania
frontier, farther south and west, suffered occasionally from their
depredations, particularly in the following year, while Sullivan was
preparing to advance into the Seneca country. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Thus ends the revolutionary history of Wyoming. But from what has
been given in the preceding pages, touching the history of this valley
and its feuds before the Revolution, the reader may possibly feel some
desire to learn the subsequent progress of the long-pending land quarrel.
After the Indians had been chastised, the settlers returned, and the
valley and its precincts once more began to flourish. Pennsylvania again
interposed her claims; and a Commission was appointed by Congress, which
met in New Jersey, to hear the case and decide the question. It was
unanimously decided in favor of Pennsylvania. The people held that this
decision was one of jurisdiction merely, and with this understanding
cheerfully acquiesced in it. But fresh troubles arose. A company of
Continental troops was stationed there in 1783, to keep the peace, and
this only made matters worse--the soldiers became licentious and
overbearing, and the people were exceedingly annoyed thereat. In the
Spring of 1784, by a succession of ice-dams which accumulated in the
river, the valley was overflowed, and the inhabitants were compelled to
fly to the mountains for safety. When the ice gave way, the floods swept
off every thing--leaving the whole valley a scene of greater desolation
than ever. Presently afterward the old troubles broke out afresh. The
inhabitants refused to obey their new masters. The Connecticut settlers
flew to arms--the Pennsylvanians sent troops thither--the Connecticut
settlers laid siege to the fort--there were riots and skirmishings, and
some killed and wounded. The Connecticut people were taken prisoners by
treachery, and sent off to prison. They escaped. Reinforcements of troops
were sent by Pennsylvania--there was more blood shed. Various attempts
were made to settle the difficulties. Commissioners were appointed upon
the subject, one of whom was Timothy Pickering. He was forcibly seized,
and carried into captivity. His story has been written by himself, and
is full of interest. These difficulties continued, with feelings of the
bitterest contention, ten years, before matters were compromised between
the parties, so that they settled down in peace. It is now a rich and
flourishing county, and may be called the Paradise of Pennsylvania.
CHAPTER XVI.
Evacuation of Philadelphia by Sir Henry Clinton--Followed through New
Jersey by Washington--Battle of Monmouth--Conduct and arrest of General
Lee--Retreat of the enemy--Arrival of the French fleet--Combined attack
of the Americans and French upon the British army of Rhode
Island--British fleet escapes from Count D'Estaing--Battle of Rhode
Island--Failure of the expedition--Projected campaigns against the
Indians--Captains Pipe and White-Eyes--McKee and Girty--General McIntosh
ordered against the Sandusky towns--Irruption of Brant into
Cobleskill--Of McDonald into the Schoharie settlements--Pusillanimity
of Colonel Vrooman--Bravery of Colonel Harper--His expedition to
Albany--Captivity of Mr. Sawyer--Slays six Indians and escapes--Colonel
William Butler sent to Schoharie--Morgan's rifle corps--Daring
adventures of Murphy and Elerson--Death of Service, a noted
Tory--Murphy's subsequent adventures--Affairs at Fort Schuyler--Alarming
number of desertions--Destruction of Andros-town by the
Indians--Conflagration of the German Flats--Expedition of Colonel
William Butler from Schoharie to Unadilla and Oghkwaga.
No sooner had Great Britain been apprized of the alliance between France
and her revolted Colonies, than it was determined to evacuate
Philadelphia, and concentrate the Royal army at New-York. Accordingly, on
the 18th of June the British troops crossed the Delaware into New Jersey,
and commenced their march for New-York, ascending the east bank of the
river to Allentown, and thence taking the lower road leading through
Monmouth to Sandy Hook, General Washington, anticipating this movement,
had previously detached a division of the army under General Maxwell, to
impede the enemy's march. It was known that General Gates was approaching
with the army from the North, and the enemy's motions were no sooner
ascertained, than General Wayne was despatched, with one thousand chosen
men, to strengthen the lines. The Marquis de Lafayette was directed to
take command of the whole force thus sent in advance, while Washington
himself moved rapidly forward with the main army. It was his design to
bring on a general, and, if possible, a decisive engagement. The result
of his movements for that object was the battle of Monmouth, fought on
the 28th of June. The dispositions for this engagement were admirably
arranged on the night of the 27th, the position of the enemy being such
as to afford the best advantages for an attack upon his rear the moment
he should get in motion. Such being the intentions of the
Commander-in-chief, they were communicated to General Lee, who was ordered
to make his dispositions accordingly, and to keep his troops lying upon
their arms to be in readiness at the shortest notice. At five in the
morning of the 28th, the front of the enemy was observed to be in motion,
and orders were instantly despatched to General Lee to move on and attack,
"unless there should be very powerful reasons to the contrary." Lee was
also advised that Washington was himself advancing to support him. After
marching about five miles, "to the great surprise and mortification" of
the Commander-in-chief, he met the whole advanced corps retreating, by the
orders of Lee, "without having made any opposition, except one fire given
by a party under Colonel Butler, on their being charged by the enemy's
cavalry, who were repulsed." [FN-1] Lee was sharply rebuked, and placed in
arrest. Hurrying to the rear of the retreating corps, which the
Commander-in-chief found closely pressed by the enemy, he arrested their
flight, re-formed them, and with the aid of some well-served pieces of
artillery, at once checked the enemy's advance, and gained time for making
such dispositions as the unexpected emergency required. The battle soon
became general, and was obstinately contested at various points through
the whole day, until dark; Sir Henry Clinton and General Washington
heading their respective armies in person. By the misconduct of Lee,
however, and an error of General Scott in the morning, advantages had been
lost which entirely disconcerted the views of the Commander-in-chief, and
deprived the American arms of a victory which was all but certain. Still,
the fortunes of the day were so far recovered, that, from being the
pursued, "the Americans drove the enemy back over the ground they had
followed, and recovered the field of battle, and possessed themselves of
their dead. But as they retreated behind a morass very difficult to pass,
and had both flanks secured with thick woods, it was found impracticable
for the Americans, fainting with fatigue, heat, and want of water, to do
any thing more that night." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Letter of Washington to the President of Congress, July 1, 1778.
[FN-2] Letter of Washington to his brother, John Augustine Washington,
July 4, 1778.
Both armies encamped in the field, and lay upon their arms; Washington
himself sleeping in his cloak under a tree in the midst of his soldiers.
His intention was to renew and end the battle on the following morning,
not doubting as to the issue. Indeed, the result of that day's fight was
justly considered a victory by the American officers, and but for the
conduct of Lee in the morning, it would almost beyond question have been
decisive. [FN-1] But the purpose of the Commander-in-chief to renew the
engagement was frustrated by a silent midnight retreat of the enemy--so
silent, indeed, that his departure was not known until the morning. [FN-2]
A variety of circumstances concurred to render a pursuit by the Americans
unadvisable; among the principal of which were, the extreme heat of the
weather, the fatigue of the army from its march through a deep sandy
country, almost entirely destitute of water, and the distance the enemy
had gained by his midnight march. A pursuit, it was believed, would answer
no valuable purpose, and would certainly be fatal to numbers of the men,
several of whom had perished of heat on the preceding day. [FN-3] The
American commander thereupon drew off his army to the Hudson, crossed
over, and once more established his head-quarters at White Plains.
Meantime Sir Henry Clinton proceeded to Sandy Hook, and thence passed his
troops over to New-York. The loss of the Americans in this battle was
eight officers and sixty-one privates killed, and one hundred and sixty
wounded. That of the enemy was three hundred and sixty-eight in killed,
wounded, and missing, and about one hundred taken prisoners. One thousand
of their men deserted on their march. Both parties claimed the victory,
which was in fact won by neither. The advantages, in the earlier part of
the day, were in favor of the British; in the after-part, of the
Americans. The stealthy retreat of the former, moreover, covered by the
darkness, left no doubt as to which army was best prepared to renew the
conflict with the return of daylight.
* * * * *
[FN-1] In a letter to General Gansevoort from Colonel Willett, who was
on a visit to head-quarters at the time of the battle of Monmouth, the
Colonel says:--"I have had the pleasure of seeing the American army,
under the great General Washington, triumph over the haughty British in
the battle of Monmouth. The action was grand, and ended
gloriously."--_MS. letter of Col. Willett._
[FN-2] In his despatches to his government, Sir Henry Clinton stated
that he took the advantage of the moonlight in his retreat; when, in
reality, he did not begin the retreat until some hours after the moon
had set. In the course of a correspondence in the following Spring,
between Governor William Livingston and Sir Henry, the Governor taunted
him upon this subject of his moonlight retreat. That correspondence was
sharp upon both sides. Governor Livingston wrote to Sir Henry that he
had received indisputable evidence, that a British General had offered
a large sum of money to an inhabitant of New Jersey to assassinate him,
(Governor L.) Sir Henry repelled the imputation in strong
terms--declaring that were he "capable of harboring such an infamous
idea as that of assassination, he would not blacken himself with so foul
a crime to obtain so trifling an end." Clinton was evidently irritated,
and from the coarseness of his language, gave Governor Livingston the
decided advantage in his rejoinder, which was equally dignified and
severe.--_Vide Almon's Remembrancer, vol. vi. pp._ 279, 281.
[FN-3] Letter of Washington to the President of Congress.
The French fleet, under the Count D'Estaing, consisting of twelve ships
of the line and six frigates, having on board four thousand troops,
arrived on the coast of Virginia about the 1st of July. The design of the
French commander was to engage the British squadron in the Chesapeake.
But unfortunately, the latter had sailed for New-York a few days before.
Thither the Count followed the British admiral, but the bar of the
New-York harbor would not allow the entrance of his heavy ships. An attack
upon New-York thus proving to be impracticable, by the advice of General
Washington it was determined to make an attempt upon Rhode Island, then
occupied by six thousand British troops commanded by Major General Sir
Robert Pigott. General Sullivan, with an army of ten thousand men, was
lying in the neighborhood of Providence, Count D'Estaing arrived off
Newport on the 25th of July, and arrangements were soon adjusted between
General Sullivan and himself for a combined attack upon the town of
Newport by land and sea. The assault was to be made on the 9th of August,
for which purpose Sullivan moved down to Tiverton, where he was joined by
General Greene, and the ships of war entered the channel. But the militia
not having joined the regular troops so promptly as was expected, General
Sullivan judged it necessary to postpone the attack for a day or two.
Meantime Lord Howe appeared off the harbor with the British fleet, and
the Count D'Estaing immediately put to sea to engage him. The French fleet
having the weather gage, the British admiral weighed anchor and put to
sea, followed by the Count. A storm separated the fleets, so that no
engagement took place; and on his return to port on the 19th, Count
D'Estaing found it necessary to repair to Boston to refit. During the
absence of the Count, however, while in chase of Lord Howe, General
Sullivan had crossed over to the island, and on the 15th laid siege to
the town of Newport. But when the French admiral departed for Boston, the
militia, disappointed and disheartened at being thus abandoned by their
allies, left the service in such numbers, that Sullivan was compelled to
raise the siege and retire. He was pursued to the distance of a mile north
of Quaker Hill, where, on the 29th of August, was fought the battle of
Rhode Island. It was a sharp and obstinate engagement of half an hour, at
the end of which the enemy gave way and retreated. The loss of the
Americans was two hundred and eleven. That of the enemy two hundred and
sixty. [FN] Ascertaining, soon afterward, that strong reinforcements were
coming from New-York to the aid of General Pigott, a resolution was
immediately adopted by Sullivan to evacuate the island. This determination
was executed on the night of the 30th--most luckily, as the event proved;
for on the very next day Sir Henry Clinton arrived at Newport with four
thousand troops, which reinforcement would doubtless have enabled the
enemy to cut off the retreat of the Americans.
* * * * *
[FN] One of the most brilliant affairs during this expedition was
performed by Colonel John Trumbull, who was acting as a volunteer under
Sullivan at the time--as will be seen by the Colonel's memoirs when
published.
In September, after the return of the British troops to New-York, strong
divisions moved northward on each side of the Hudson river. By a
detachment of one of these, under General Gray, a regiment of American
cavalry, commanded by Colonel Baylor, was surprised while asleep at
Tappan, and almost entirely cut off. The enemy rushed upon the sleeping
troopers, numbering one hundred and four privates with their bayonets.
The loss, killed, wounded, and taken, was sixty-four. This exploit was
very similar to that of the Paoli, under the same General, the preceding
year.
In consequence of the hostile spirit very generally and extensively
manifested by the Indians--the great western tribes becoming more and
more restive--early in June, immediately preceding the affair of Wyoming,
Congress had determined upon a more enlarged and decisive campaign against
them. This had, indeed, become the more necessary from the belligerent
indications among the Delawares and Shawanese, inhabiting the territory
now forming the State of Ohio. At the commencement of the war
_Koquethagaeehlon,_ the Delaware chief usually known as Captain
_White-Eyes,_ a firm friend of the Colonies, had succeeded in preventing
his people from taking up the hatchet against them, in opposition to the
views of his rival chief, Captain _Pipe._ But in the Spring of the present
year, the policy of the latter had well nigh prevailed, through the
revengeful machinations of three celebrated loyalists, named _McKee,
Elliot,_ and _Simon Girty,_ who had been confined at Pittsburgh as Tories;
but who, effecting their escape, traversed the Indian country to Detroit,
proclaiming, as they went, that the Americans had resolved upon their
destruction, and that their only chance of safety was to espouse the
cause of the Crown, and fight. Availing himself of the excitement created
by those fugitives, [FN-1] Captain Pipe assembled a large number of his
warriors, and proclaimed "every one an enemy to his country who should
endeavor to persuade them against fighting the Americans, and declared
that all such ought surely to be put to death." But White-Eyes was by no
means inactive in his efforts to preserve peace. Collecting the people of
his tribe, he addressed them with great earnestness and pathos. Observing
that some of his warriors were preparing to take up the hatchet, he
admonished them strongly against such a course, which, in the end, could
only bring upon them sure destruction. Still, if they believed he was
wrong--if they were disposed to place more confidence in the tales of
those whom he knew to be fugitives, than to himself, they should not go
out without him. "But he would not go out with them like the bear-hunter,
who sets the dogs on the animal to be beaten about with his paws while he
keeps at a safe distance. No! He would lead them on, place himself in
their front, and be the first who should fall. They only had to determine
what they meant to do. As for his own mind, it was fully made up not to
survive his nation. And he would not spend the remainder of a miserable
life, in bewailing the total destruction of a brave people who deserved
a better fate." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] The names of these men will be of frequent recurrence in the
subsequent volume of this work, in connexion with the Indian wars of
1789--1794.
[FN-2] Drake's Book of the Indians.
The counsel of White-Eyes, supported by a conciliatory message, which was
received just in good time, from the Americans, prevailed for the moment,
and the Delawares came to the unanimous determination to follow his
advice, and his alone. Availing himself of the hour of success,
White-Eyes forthwith despatched the following energetic letter to the
Shawanese of the Scioto, who had also been visited by McKee, Elliot, and
Girty.
"Grand-children, ye Shawanese: Some days ago a flock of birds, that had
come on from the East, lit at Goschochking, imposing a song of theirs
upon us, which song had nigh proved our ruin. Should these birds, which,
on leaving us, took their flight toward Scioto, endeavor to impose a song
on you likewise, do not listen to them, for they lie."
But the hostile action of these people was only suspended for a short
time, and it became necessary for more extended and efficient operations
against nearly the whole race. [FN-1] In the project of Congress already
adverted to, it was intended that one expedition should move upon Detroit,
while General Gates was instructed by resolution to co-operate with that
expedition by carrying the war into the Seneca country, and also to
dispossess the enemy of Oswego, should he be found in the occupancy of
that post. It appears, that at the very moment of the invasion of Wyoming,
there was a delegation of Seneca chiefs at Philadelphia; but having taken
their departure without communicating with the government, a resolution
was passed by Congress, immediately upon the receipt of Colonel Z.
Butler's despatches, instructing the Board of War to send after the
chiefs, and ascertain from them in what character, and for what purposes,
they had made the said visit; and also to inquire whether the Seneca
warriors had not been engaged in hostilities against the United States.
On the 16th of July information was received that the chiefs refused to
return, and instructions to General Schuyler were proposed, directing him
to intercept and detain them at Albany. The motion was negatived; but on
the 25th of July, Congress having ascertained that the Senecas were
actually engaged in the invasion of Wyoming, "aided by Tories and other
banditti from the frontiers of New-York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania,"
it was resolved that the expedition against the hostiles of the Six
Nations should be forwarded with all possible despatch. In the mean time,
however, from the expensiveness of the undertaking, the expedition against
Detroit was reluctantly abandoned; but in lieu thereof, General McIntosh,
commanding the Western department, was ordered to proceed from Pittsburgh
against those of the Indian towns the destruction of which, in his
opinion, would tend most effectually to intimidate and chastise them.
[FN-2] McIntosh had been stationed at Pittsburgh early in the Spring, and
with a small party of regulars and militia, had descended the Ohio about
thirty miles, and erected a fort, which was called by his own name, at
Beavertown. It was a small work, built of strong stockades, and furnished
with bastions mounting one six pounder each. The situation was well
chosen, as a point affording the best facilities for intercepting the war
parties of the western Indians, in their frequent hostile incursions the
present year.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Indeed, the Shawanese had not been remarkably quiet antecedent to
the visitation of McKee, Elliot, and Girty, since they had for several
years been engaged in a system of predatory warfare against the
celebrated Colonel Daniel Boon and his adventurous companions, almost
from the day they made their appearance upon the banks of the Ohio, with
their families, in 1773, when the settlement of the present Slate of
Kentucky was commenced. Boon had been engaged with Lord Dunmore in his
war against the Shawanese in 1774. In the following year he was attacked
in Boonsborough, his principal settlement; and through the entire years
of 1776 and 1777, hostilities were actively prosecuted by the savages
against the advancing Colonists. In one of the earlier battles Boon had
lost a son. A second son fell afterward, and his daughter was taken a
captive, but bravely rescued by the chivalrous father. In April, 1777,
the Indians so divided their forces as to fall upon all the infant
settlements at once, and their little forts only saved the people from
destruction. On the 15th of April, Boonsborough was attacked by one
hundred Indians, at which time the inhabitants suffered severely. On the
19th, Colonel Logan's fort was attacked by a force of two hundred
Indians, but they were repulsed by the garrison, consisting of only
thirteen men--two of whom were killed. Reinforcements arriving from
Virginia, the skirmishes became almost daily. In February of the present
year, (1778) Boonsborough was again attacked, and the gallant Colonel
himself taken prisoner. He was taken first to Chilicothe, and thence to
Detroit, where he was treated with humanity by Colonel Hamilton, the
Governor, who offered the Indians 100 pounds if they would surrender him
into his hands, that he might liberate him on his parole. But having
imbibed a strong affection for their most subtle and successful enemy,
the Indians declined the offer. Taking him back to Chilicothe, the
Colonel was duly adopted into one of the Shawanese families as a son,
to whom his new parents became strongly attached. He soon acquired their
confidence to such an extent, that they allowed him to wander off, and
hunt by himself. Ascertaining, however, that they were meditating another
descent upon Boonsborough, he absconded, and, eluding pursuit, reached
his home on the 20th of June.
[FN-2] Journals of Congress, vol. iv. pages, 343, 398, 415, 427.
This expedition was doubtless judged the more important from the
increasing audacity of the Indians on the Ohio border of Virginia, now
forming the State of Kentucky. In August, Colonel Boon had led a small
band of nineteen men against one of the Indian towns on the Scioto,
before reaching which he fell in with and dispersed a party of forty
Indians then on their way to Boonsborough. The Colonel found the town at
Point Creek deserted; and learned that their whole force had gone against
his own settlement, to the defence of which he was consequently compelled
to hasten back. Fortunately he anticipated their arrival by a few hours,
and was enabled to prepare his little garrison for defence. On the 8th of
August the Indians, to the number of about four hundred and fifty,
arrived before the fort, led, in addition to their own chiefs, by Captain
Duquesne, and eleven other Canadian Frenchmen, The garrison was formally
summoned to surrender, which summons was peremptorily refused. A treaty
was then proposed by the besiegers, and acceded to; the Indians requiring
that nine men should be sent out to them as negotiators. But this movement
proved to be an artifice, by means of which they hoped to gain access to
the fort. An attempt to grapple with and carry off the nine negotiators,
though happily unsuccessful, disclosed their treacherous design. The
besiegers then attempted a regular approach from the river's brink by
mining; but finding that the garrison had discovered their purpose, and
were engaged in countermining them, the siege was abandoned on the 20th
of August. The loss of the enemy was thirty-seven killed and a much larger
number wounded. The loss of the garrison was only two men killed and four
wounded.
But, as we have seen, the expedition of General McIntosh, as authorized by
the vote of Congress recently cited, was specially destined against the
Sandusky towns. It was commanded by the General himself, and consisted of
one thousand men; but such were the delays in getting it on foot, that
the officers, on arriving at Tuscarawa, judged it imprudent to proceed
farther at such an advanced season of the year. They therefore halted at
that place, and built Fort Laurens, in which McIntosh left a garrison of
one hundred and fifty men under the command of Colonel John Gibson, and
returned himself to Fort Pitt for the winter. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Doddridge's Indian Wars.
Connected with these distant Indian operations, of the Summer of 1778,
was one equally distinguished by the boldness of its conception and the
brilliancy of its execution. The increasing hostility of the remote tribes
upon the waters of the Mississippi and its tributaries, had induced a
belief that a powerful influence must have been exerted upon their minds
by the settlements planted long before at Kaskaskias, and in the country
of the upper Mississippi, by the French, in connexion with Canada. For
the purpose of striking at once at the root of the evil, an expedition
was organized early in the season, the object of which was to invade and
take possession of those settlements. The command was entrusted to Colonel
George Rogers Clarke, of Virginia, a bold and experienced border officer,
and his whole force, destined to penetrate twelve hundred miles through
a wilderness, which was in fact the enemy's country, did not exceed two
hundred men. The rendezvous of this little army was at the great Kanhawa,
where they were attacked by a superior Indian force before their
embarkation. But finding they were not able to make any impression upon
the fort, the assailants drew off, having killed but one man and wounded
one or two more. Descending to the falls of the Ohio, a small fort was
erected at that place, in which a garrison was left of ten or twelve
families. Arriving within about sixty miles of the mouth of the Ohio, the
troops were landed, and, with only four days' provisions, marched for the
Illinois. They reached the precincts of Kaskaskias at midnight on the
sixth day, having marched two days without food, and determined forthwith,
and unanimously, to take the town or die in the attempt. The town was
strongly fortified, and contained about two hundred and fifty well-built
houses; but the approach of the invaders was unknown; the people and the
garrison were alike slumbering in security; and both town and fort were
taken--the latter being carried by surprise, although the defences were
sufficiently strong to resist a thousand men. The commanding officer,
Philip Rocheblave, was made prisoner; and among his papers, falling into
the hands of Colonel Clarke, were the instructions which he had from time
to time received from the British Governors of Quebec, Detroit, and
Michilimackinack, urging him to stimulate the Indians to war by the
proffer of large bounties for scalps. Rocheblave was sent a prisoner to
Williamsburgh in Virginia, and with him were sent the papers taken from
his portfolio.
On the day after the fall of Kaskaskias, Captain Joseph Bowman, at the
head of thirty mounted men, was sent to attack three other towns upon the
Mississippi, the first of which, called Parraderuski, distant fifteen
miles from Kaskaskias, was surprised, and taken without opposition--the
inhabitants at once assenting to the terms of the conqueror. The next town
was St. Philips, distant nine miles farther up. The force of Captain
Bowman was so small, that he wisely determined to make a descent upon St.
Philips in the night, that his strength, or rather his weakness, might be
concealed. The precaution ensured success; and the inhabitants, with whom
the whole negotiation was conducted in the night, acceded to the terms
prescribed. From St. Philips, Captain Bowman directed his course upon the
yet more considerable town of Cauhow, distant between forty and fifty
miles. This town contained about one hundred families, and was also
approached secretly, and entered in the night. Captain Bowman, with his
troop, rode directly to the quarters of the commander, and demanded the
surrender of himself and the whole town, which was immediately complied
with. Taking possession of a large stone house, well fortified, the "bold
dragoon" immediately established his quarters therein, and awaited the
morning's dawn, which would disclose to the people the diminutive force
to which they had surrendered. Enraged at the discovery, one of the enemy
threatened to bring a body of one hundred and fifty Indians against the
little American squadron, and cut them off. But he was secured, and in
the course of ten days upward of three hundred of the inhabitants became
so reconciled to their change of masters, as to take the oath of
allegiance to the United States. Leaving a small guard at Cauhow, Captain
Bowman returned to Kaskaskias. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The facts connected with this expedition of Colonel Clarke, are
drawn from a letter of Captain Bowman to Colonel John Hite of Virginia.
See Almon's American Remembrancer, vol. vi. pp. 82, 83. The settlements
thus taken were immediately erected by Virginia into a county, called
Illinois.
But the enemy on the New-York frontiers were by no means inactive. In
addition to the severe affair in the Cobleskill settlement, in which
Captain Christian Brown was the leader of the American militia and a small
band of regulars, as noted in the last preceding chapter but one, a large
band of Indians and Tories, under the conduct of Brant and Barent Frey,
broke into the same district at the close of May, and inflicted no small
degree of damage by the destruction of both life and property. They were
met by Captain Patrick, belonging to Colonel Alden's regiment, and a
handful of troops, who were entirely cut to pieces. Captain Patrick fell
early in the engagement. His lieutenant, a corporal, and nineteen men,
were also killed. The command then devolved upon a sergeant, who fought
bravely, as all had done. But they were surrounded by a force greatly
superior in numbers, and but four men, exclusive of the sergeant,
escaped--all wounded. The bodies of Patrick and his lieutenant were
shockingly mutilated. A portion of the settlement was burnt, and the
settlement of Turlock, in the same vicinity, was also ravaged. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The only account of this affair which the author has discovered,
was found accidentally among the papers of General Gansevoort, after the
fourteenth chapter had been printed. It is contained in a letter from
Colonel Richard Varick to Colonel Gansevoort, dated Schenectady, June 3,
1778, which states that the invasion took place on the preceding
Saturday. Had this letter been sooner discovered, the incident would
have been inserted in more exact chronological order--since the affair
in which Captain Brown was the American commander, occurred, as related
in the fourteenth chapter, from Brown's narrative, more than a month
afterward.
Nor was this all. In the course of the Summer, and probably at about the
time of Colonel Hartley's expedition into the country above Wyoming, one
of the McDonalds, who had fled from Johnstown, a loyalist officer,
distinguished for his activity, made a sudden irruption into the Schoharie
settlements, at the head of about three hundred Tories and Indians,
burning houses, and killing and making prisoners such of the inhabitants
as came in his way, and were not able to make their escape. The little
fortress of Schoharie was occupied by a small garrison, commanded by
Colonel Vrooman--one of that class of men who, though officers, are
certain never to be called soldiers. They saw the ravages of the
enemy--the conflagrations by night rendering visible the acts of outrage
committed by day--but from their own weakness dared not to venture forth,
or make a show of opposition. The brave Colonel Harper was in the fort
with Vrooman, and was little satisfied with the course of that officer.
Leaving the fort, therefore, himself, he succeeded in making his way
through the enemy, mounted his horse, and started express for Albany. His
movement was discovered, and several Tories and Indians were despatched
in pursuit. They overtook him in the night at an inn at Fox's Creek, after
he had retired to bed. Hearing the noise below, the Colonel sprang up in
full panoply, and as they broke open the door which he had locked, he
presented his arms with such earnestness, that they recoiled. Standing
upon the watch until the dawn of morning, he again succeeded in getting
to horse, and rode off. One of the Indians followed him almost to
Albany--the Colonel being obliged frequently to turn upon his dusky
pursuer, who as often took to his heels as his pursuit was discovered.
Having communicated the situation of affairs in the Schoharie valley to
Colonel Gansevoort, a squadron of cavalry was forthwith detached to their
assistance. The detachment rode all night, and early on the following
morning, to the great joy of the terrified inhabitants who remained, the
tramp of hoofs announced the approach of succors. The spirited
light-horse-men had no sooner sounded a charge and made a dash upon the
besiegers, led on by Harper, than the troops sallied out from the fort,
and a precipitate retreat of the enemy was the consequence. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Letter of Rev. Mr. Fenn, of Harpersfield.
The people of Schoharie had suffered severely from the scouts and scalping
parties of the enemy during the Summer; but their bravery in individual
contests had amply avenged their wrongs. On one occasion a party of seven
Indians made prisoner of a Mr. Sawyer, whom they bound, and marched off
into the wilderness. Having proceeded eight or ten miles, they laid
themselves down to sleep for the night. But their prisoner had been less
effectually secured than they supposed. In the course of the night he
succeeded in disengaging his hands, and cautiously taking a hatchet from
the girdle of one of the Indians, he despatched six of them in rapid
succession, and wounded the seventh, who made his escape. Having thus
relieved himself of his keepers, Sawyer returned home in safety, and at
his leisure. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Campbell's Annals.
Soon after the battle of Monmouth, Lieutenant Colonel William Butler,
with one of the Pennsylvania regiments and a detachment of Morgan's
riflemen, was ordered to the North, and stationed at Schoharie. Butler
was a brave and experienced officer, especially qualified for the service
upon which he was appointed. [FN] His arrival in Schoharie had a salutary
effect, by discouraging the disaffected, and by the presence of a stronger
force than had yet been among them, establishing the confidence and
reviving the spirits of the people. Several of his scouting parties also
returned with good success. Attached to the rifle corps, under Captain
Long, were several bold spirits, who signalized themselves so greatly in
the partisan warfare in which they were engaged, that many of their
exploits are freshly remembered among the inhabitants of Schoharie to
this day. Of this number were David Elerson, and a Virginian named Murphy.
The first expedition of Captain Long was directed to the valley of the
Charlotte river--one of the upper tributaries of the Susquehanna, flowing
from the mountains south of Schoharie. The object was to arrest and bring
to the fort a conspicuous Tory living upon that stream, named Service.
His house being a point of rendezvous and supply for the Tory and Indian
scouts, it was desirable that it should be broken up. While on his way
to the place of destination, it was the good fortune of Captain Long to
intercept a company of Tories, enlisted for the King's service, in the
neighborhood of Catskill, by a Captain Smith, who were then on their way
to join Sir John Johnson at Niagara. Smith was killed by the simultaneous
shots of Elerson and his Captain--they being a few rods in advance at the
moment when the Tory leader emerged at the head of his men from a thicket.
His followers fled in every direction. They had intended to lodge that
night with Service; but that unfortunate man had guests of quite another
character. While unapprised of danger, his house was surrounded by the
troops of Long, when in an instant Murphy and Elerson rushed in, and made
him a prisoner. Having been informed that he must accompany them to
Schoharie, on leaving his house he seized an axe standing by the door,
which he poised, and directed for a blow at the head of Murphy. The
latter was too quick-sighted to receive it; but as he sprang aside to
avoid the descending weapon, Service fell dead from the rifle of Elerson.
* * * * *
[FN] Letter of Washington to General Stark.
After his term of enlistment had expired. Murphy remained in Schoharie,
and made war on his own account. He was as remarkable for his fleetness,
as for his courage and great precision in firing. He used a
double-barreled rifle; and the fact of his frequently firing twice in
succession, without stopping to load, and always bringing down his man,
rendered him a terror to the Indians. Not knowing the peculiar
construction of his rifle, they were impressed with the belief that it was
a charmed weapon, and supposed he could continue firing as long and as
often as he pleased without loading at all. He fought the savages after
their own fashion--was more than their equal in stratagem or with his
heels--and the greater the apparent danger he was encountering, the
greater was his delight. When he had opportunity, he took pattern of the
Indians in scalping those who fell by his unerring aim; and it was said
that he killed forty of their warriors with his own hands.
Colonel Gansevoort yet remained in the command of Fort Schuyler, and was
continued there during nearly the whole year, although, wearied by
inaction, Willett, and others of his officers, made a strong and formal
effort to be relieved, that their regiment might have an opportunity to
distinguish themselves in the field with the main army. At Fort Schuyler
they could have little else to do than observe the motions of the enemy
on the lakes and the St. Lawrence, and to watch, and occasionally cut off,
a hostile party when venturing too near the garrison. But from the
correspondence of the officers, it would appear that the troops of the
garrison must have been the severest sufferers from this petty mode of
warfare, since the enemy seemed ever to be hovering in the precincts,
ready to bring down or carry into captivity such straggling soldiers as
ventured beyond musket-shot from the fort. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] As an example of these individual murders, the following passage is
copied from a MS. letter from Major Robert Cochran to Colonel Gansevoort,
dated Sept. 8, 1778. During the occasional absences of Colonel
Gansevoort, Major Cochran was in command of the post:--"This morning,
Benjamin Acker, of Captain De Witt's company, who was out in the meadow,
was killed and scalped by a party of Indians, who were seen and fired at
by the sentinel near Brodack's house. I heard the firing in my room, and
ran to the officer of the guard to know what was the matter. I was
informed that a party of Indians had fired upon one of our men who had
gone to catch a horse, and that he had either been killed or taken
prisoner. I ordered Captain Bleecker to go out immediately, with the
guard just parading, to see if he could find him dead or alive. They
found Acker lying dead. He was scalped, and a weapon about two feet and
a half long, like this,"--[here Major Cochran gave a drawing of the
instrument--a war club, with a blade like the spear of a lance inserted
in the side, near the upper end of it,]--"lying near him. This lance-head
had been stuck several times in his body. It is supposed to have been
left behind on purpose, as there were several marks on it, denoting the
number of persons killed and scalps taken by the means of it."--[Captain
Bleecker mentioned in the foregoing extract, is the venerable Leonard
Bleecker, yet living at Sing Sing. He was a very active and efficient
officer at Fort Schuyler for a long time.]
Early in July, Lieutenant McClellan, an active and efficient officer, was
sent with a small party to destroy the buildings and public works at
Oswego, which it was ascertained were not at that moment in the occupation
of the enemy. The object of the expedition was accomplished and the
buildings where burnt to the ground, together with a quantity of
ammunition, provisions, and other public stores. It seems unaccountable
that this post should have been left thus wholly unprotected; the only
occupants found by the American party being a woman and her children, and
a lad fourteen years old. The woman and her family, together with her
furniture and a suitable supply of provisions, were placed in an
out-building, and left without farther molestation. The boy was brought
off as a prisoner, and furnished some important information touching the
movements of the enemy between their island rendezvous in the St.
Lawrence, and Niagara. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. draft of a letter from Colonel Gansevoort to General Stark,
July 10, 1778.
But Colonel Gansevoort had some serious troubles to encounter within the
garrison, and some painful duties to execute. Notwithstanding the high
character which the forces constituting the garrison had acquired, and
the sound patriotism of his officers, the spirit of disaffection appeared
among them in the Spring, and the early part of the Summer, to an alarming
extent. Distant as was the post of Fort Schuyler from New-York, Sir Henry
Clinton had succeeded in the introduction of an emissary within the fort,
in the character of a recruit. His name was Samuel Geake. He was an
American soldier, and had been corrupted while a prisoner in New-York,
whence he was sent forth, in company with Major Hammell, also an American
prisoner, whose virtue yielded to the all-subduing power of gold. [FN-1]
Geake accompanied Hammell to Poughkeepsie, where, in furtherance of his
iniquitous designs, he enlisted in Captain Abraham Swartwout's company,
[FN-2] and was transferred to Fort Schuyler, to join Colonel Gansevoort's
regiment; into which place, for specific objects, he was instructed to
insinuate himself by an aide-de-camp of Sir Henry Clinton. After Hammell's
arrest, Colonel Varick wrote to Gansevoort, putting him on his guard as
to the character of Geake. A sergeant named Kartele was employed by
Colonel Gansevoort to ingratiate himself in Geake's confidence, and, if
possible, ascertain his true character, and penetrate his designs. The
commission was successfully executed by the sergeant, and the whole
circumstances of Hammell's employment by the enemy, and his own, were
elicited. Geake was thereupon arrested, but not until he had made great
progress in his designs, and was on the eve of desertion, for the purpose
of joining the British army in Philadelphia. He was tried by a
court-martial made a full confession, and, with his confederates, was
sentenced to death. [FN-3] The sentence was not carried into execution
against Geake, not only because the constitution of the court was
irregular, but because of the desire of the Commander-in-chief to spare
him as a witness against Hammell, as will presently appear. The following
documents will complete this section of the proceedings at Fort
Schuyler:--
* * * * *
[FN-1] Hammell was Brigade-major to General James Clinton, and had been
taken by Sir Henry Clinton at the storming of Fort Montgomery. According
to Geake's confession, Hammell was employed in the commissary of
prisoners' department, by the British officers in New-York, before he
was sent out upon his mission of treason. General James Clinton, by the
way, was not taken at Fort Montgomery, as stated in the text account of
that affair. Though wounded, he escaped; although his-brother, the
Governor, supposed him to be a prisoner, when he wrote his official
account to the Committee of Safety.
[FN-2] Captain Swartwout was with Gansevoort at the siege of Fort
Schuyler, and gave his cloth cloak to form the blue stripes of the flag
spoken of in the account of the siege, as being made up for the occasion.
[FN-3] These facts have been gathered from the proceedings of the
court-martial, preserved among General Gansevoort's papers. The president
of the court was Captain Greece, who had been shot, tomahawked, and
scalped, the year before. According to Geake's confession, Hammell was
promised a Colonelcy of a new Irish regiment to be raised from deserters
from the American army, and such others as they could enlist. Geake was
to receive a commission as lieutenant. His mission to Fort Schuyler was
to acquire accurate knowledge of its strength and the extent of its
supplies--to induce as many of the garrison to desert as possible--and
to spike the cannon on their departure.
"Colonel Gansevoort to General Washington.
_Fort Schuyler, August 13, 1778._
"Sir,
"I have the unhappiness to inform your Excellency that desertion has
lately been very frequent from this garrison. Since the 26th of last
March we have had three sergeants, two corporals, and twenty privates
desert from this battalion, besides one bombardier, one gunner, and one
other from the artillery. Before the date above mentioned, several
soldiers had been tried by a general Court Martial at this garrison for
desertion, but never received the punishment due their crimes. The
sentences of these different courts martial were carefully sent to the
commanding General of this Department, [FN] but no returns have been ever
received. Some time in June last, Colonel Varick informed me that a
recruit, who had just joined our battalion, was suspected of being a
confederate with Major Hammell. I ordered his conduct to be narrowly
inspected. He was detected in the fact of corrupting and enticing the
soldiers to desert. Upon being apprehended, he confessed that he came
upon such designs, and was sent by an aid-de-camp of Sir Henry Clinton as
a spy--to endeavor to enlist what Irishmen he could from the American
army. There was every appearance of his being a spy. He was immediately
tried by a general court martial--the sentence was directly sent down for
approbation, but no answer has been received, and the man still lies
confined in irons."
* * * * *
[FN] General Stark was then in command at Albany.
"Finding the spirit of desertion to increase, and the men in general to
be exceeding uneasy,--probably arising from their being so long stationed
on this frontier post. They have been frequently heard in their private
conversations to say that they would sooner die than stay here the ensuing
winter. My officers, as well as myself, were convinced, that unless some
example was made, we should not be able to check this growing evil. A
party of five men deserted on the 10th of August. They were taken by the
Tuscarora Indians, on their way to Canada, fifty miles from this fort.
They were brought in on the 13th. A general court martial was convened on
the 15th. They were sentenced to die. The officers in a body desired
their immediate execution, as the only way effectually to stop the
increasing spirit of desertion.
"While these men were under sentence of death, a party returned from the
German Flats, who had been to drive cattle to this garrison. They had
lost six men by desertion, who were pursued, but without effect. This,
together with the above reasons, and being apprehensive of some design of
the enemy, and hearing a report which they had carefully spread among the
savages, of having upward of seventy men enlisted in this garrison, who
would rise upon their appearance, convinced me of the necessity of a rigid
example, and resolved me to take the advice of my officers by ordering the
prisoners to be executed. They were accordingly shot at the head of the
regiment on the 17th. [FN] In doing of which, although I could not find
that the articles of war gave me the fullest authority, yet, as commanding
officer of a frontier post, far distant from the Commander in-chief, and
having a separate commission from Congress as commandant of this post, I
considered myself fully empowered in a case of such great necessity. I
hope your Excellency will be convinced of this necessity, and approve of
the justness of the execution. Inclosed your Excellency has a copy of the
proceedings of the court martial. I am, &c."
* * * * *
[FN] Notwithstanding this severe example, it is noted in the private
diary of Adjutant Hutton, of Colonel Gansevoort's regiment, that on the
same day on which these five men were tried and sentenced to death, six
others deserted; and two others deserted five days after their
execution.--_Vide Gansevoort's papers._
"General Washington to Colonel Gansevoort.
_Head-Quarters, White Plains,_
29th _August,_ 1778.
"Sir.
"I have just received your favor of the 13th instant. Inclosed is a copy
of a letter sent you some time ago respecting the court martial you
transmitted.
"The spirit of desertion which possessed your soldiers, was certainly
very alarming, and required a serious check. I hope the intention of the
example you have made will be fully answered; and although the proceeding
was not strictly in the prescribed form, yet the necessity of the case
may justify the measure.
"I have spoken to Lieut. Colonel Willett on the application of the
officers of the garrison. It is impossible to comply at present with their
request, things are so circumstanced--but I shall take steps to relieve
it before winter. [FN-1]
"I am, sir, your obedient, humble serv't.
Geo. Washington.
"_Col. Gansevoort._" [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] In November following, Gansevoort's command was relieved by
Colonel Guise Van Schaick, whose regiment was assigned to that post.
[FN-2] These letters have been copied by the author from the originals.
The enclosure mentioned in the above letter from General Washington reads
as follows:--
[Copy.]
_"Head-Quarters, White Plains,
August_ 13, 1778.
"Sir,
"I have received the proceedings of a court-martial held by your order,
respecting Samuel Geake. As neither the articles of war, nor any resolves
of Congress, authorise the constituting of general courts-martial by any
other than the Commander-in-chief, the commanding officer of a separate
department, or a general officer commanding in a particular State, I
should have been under the necessity of ordering a second trial, and
appointing a court for the purpose, if it had been judged expedient to
bring Geake to punishment. But as his confession contains information
very pointedly against Major Hammell, which concurs with other accounts
I have received, I think it of more importance to the public to save
Geake, as a witness against Hammell, than to make an example of him. You
will therefore keep him in such a kind of confinement as will effectually
prevent his escape, till matters are ripe for the prosecution of Major
Hammell, and at the same time will be as little rigorous as the nature
of the case will admit. He need, however know nothing of my intention. I
am, &c.
"Geo. Washington.
"_Col. Gansevoort._"
The position of Fort Schuyler was of the first importance, as the key to
the western entrance of the Mohawk country; but it was nevertheless too
remote from the upper German settlements of the valley, to afford them
protection from sudden irruptions of the enemy avoiding that fortress in
their approach. The consequence was that the work of destruction was
actively prosecuted among the settlements referred to, during the Summer
of this year. The first blow was struck upon a small and rather secluded
hamlet, called Andrus-town, situated about six miles south-east of the
German Flats, [FN-1] on the 18th of July, by a small party of Indians led
by Brant in person. This settlement consisted of seven families, planted
upon a lot of one thousand acres. [FN-2] They were in affluent
circumstances for borderers, and the object of the invasion was plunder.
The settlement was utterly destroyed--every thing of value that could be
removed, was carried away--the houses and other buildings were reduced to
ashes--an aged man named Bell, with his son and two others, was
killed--one other inhabitant perished in the flames of his own house--and
the remainder of the little colony were carried into captivity. Advices
of this catastrophe had no sooner reached the Flats, than a party of
resolute Whigs determined to pursue the marauders, among whom was John
Frank, one of the Committee of Safety. [FN-3] Arriving at the scene of
desolation, they hastily buried the dead, and continued their march,
accompanied by six or seven friendly Indians, to the Little Lakes, [FN-4]
where, also, was a small white colony known as "Young's Settlement," from
the name of its founder. Here it was discovered that the enemy was so far
in advance, that the chase was relinquished. But as Young, the head man
of the settlement, was a Tory, as also was his next neighbor, a man named
Collyer, the exasperated Whigs avenged, to a small extent, the destruction
of Andrus-town, by plundering and burning their habitations.
* * * * *
[FN-1] In the North part of the present town of Warren.
[FN-2] The names of the proprietors were Bell, Frank, Oosterhoudt, Crim,
Staring, Lepper, and Hoyer.
[FN-3] John Frank, Esq. yet a resident of German Flats, very old, but
with mental faculties unimpaired. The author has known him these
twenty-five years, and in September, 1837, paid him a visit. Most of the
information respecting the events now immediately under consideration,
is derived from him.
[FN-4] Two small lakes in the South-east part of the town of Warren,
discharging their waters into Otsego Lake.
But the most considerable event of the season in that vicinity, was the
entire destruction of the comparatively extensive and populous settlement
of the German Flats. This settlement, originally called Burnetsfield, from
the circumstance that the patent had been granted by Governor Burnet,
extended over the richest and most beautiful section of the Mohawk Valley,
comprehending the broad alluvial lands directly beyond the junction of
the West Canada creek and the river, and including about ten miles of the
valley from east to west. Midway of the settlement, on the south side of
the river, yet stands the ancient stone church, the westernmost of the
line of those structures built under the auspices of Sir William Johnson.
A short distance east of the church stood the large and massive-built
stone mansion of the Herkimer family, which, like the church itself, was
used as a fort. [FN-1] Hence it was called Fort Herkimer. On the north
side of the river, upon a gravelly plain, elevated some ten or fifteen
feet above the surrounding Flats, stood Fort Dayton. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] It was at this place that the first Liberty Pole in the valley was
reared, in the Spring of 1775. The sheriff of Tryon County, White, with
whose subsequent history the reader is already acquainted, came up to
the Flats with a large body of militia from Johnstown, and cut it down.
White had been a captain in the French war.
[FN-2] The present site of the village of Herkimer, in the town of the
same name, and one of the most beautiful localities in America. The name
of German Flats was designed for this town, which would have been the
most appropriate, as Herkimer would have been for the town on the south
side of the river, now called German Flats, where the Flats are far less
extensive, and where the Herkimer family resided. The mistake was made
by the legislature when the towns were named. This explanation, together
with the geographical description in the text, is necessary to prevent
confusion in regard to the localities of Forts Dayton and Herkimer, in
the record of subsequent events.
At the time of which we are writing, the settlement on the south side of
the river numbered thirty-four dwelling-houses, and there were about an
equal number upon the north side, together with as many barns and other
out-buildings, and several mills. The population, for the number of
houses, was numerous. The lands, rich by nature, and well cultivated, had
that year brought forth by handfuls; so that the barns were amply stored
with their products.
It was at the close of August, or early in the month of September, that
this fine district was laid waste by the Indians under the direction of
Brant. Most providentially, however, the invasion was attended with the
loss of but two lives--one man being killed outright, and another, named
McGinnis, perished in the flames. The particulars of this hostile
irruption were these:--Entertaining some suspicions of Brant, who was at
Unadilla, a scout of four men had been despatched into that vicinity for
observation. Three of these men were killed at the Edmeston settlement.
The fourth, John Helmer, succeeded in making his escape, and returned to
the Flats at half an hour before sundown, just in time to announce that
Brant, with a large body of Indians, was advancing, and would, in a few
hours, be upon them. All was, of course, terror and alarm through the
settlement; and the inhabitants--men, women, and children--were gathered
into Forts Dayton and Herkimer for security. In flying to those defences,
they gathered up the most valuable of their stuff, and by means of boats
and canoes upon the river, succeeded, in the course of the evening, in
collecting a large portion of their best articles of furniture. But they
had no time to look after their flocks and herds.
Early in the evening Brant arrived at the edge of the settlement, but as
the night came on excessively dark and rainy, he halted with his forces
in a ravine, near the house of his Tory friend Shoemaker, where the
younger Butler and his party were captured the preceding year. Here the
chieftain lay with his warriors until the storm broke away toward
morning--unconscious that his approach had been notified to the people by
the scout in season to enable them to escape the blow of his uplifted arm.
Before the dawn he was on foot, and his warriors were sweeping through
the settlement; so that the torch might be almost simultaneously applied
to every building it contained. Just as the day was breaking in the east,
the fires were kindled, and the whole section of the valley was speedily
illuminated by the flames of houses and barns, and all things else
combustible. The spectacle, to the people in the forts, was one of
melancholy grandeur. Every family saw the flames and smoke of its own
domicile ascending to the skies, and every farmer the whole product of
his labor for the season dissolving into ashes.
Having no fire-arms larger than their rifles, the Indians avoided even a
demonstration against the forts, notwithstanding their chagrin that
neither scalps nor prisoners were to grace their triumph. But as the light
of day advanced, their warriors were seen singly, or in small groups,
scouring the fields, and driving away all the horses, sheep, and black
cattle that could be found. Nothing upon which they could lay their hands
was left; and the settlement, which, but the day before, for ten miles had
smiled in plenty and in beauty, was now houseless and destitute. [FN-1]
Happily, however, of human life there was no greater sacrifice than has
already been mentioned. After the Indians had decamped with their booty,
a force of between three and four hundred militia-men collected, and went
in pursuit--following as far as Edmeston's plantation on the Unadilla
river, where the bodies of the three scouts were found and buried. But no
other results attended this expedition. [FN-2] A party of the Oneida
Indians was more successful. They penetrated into one of the Unadilla
settlements, burnt several houses, retook some of the cattle driven from
the German Flats, and brought off a number of prisoners. The results of
this little expedition were communicated to Major Cochran, then in command
at Fort Schuyler, on or about the 25th of September, by a deputation of
about one hundred of the Oneida and Tuscarora warriors, in the following
speech:--
* * * * *
[FN-1] The Remembrancer states that there were 63 dwelling-houses, 57
barns, 3 grist-mills, and two saw-mills burnt, with most of the furniture
and grain kept therein; and 235 horses, 229 horned-cattle, 269 sheep,
and 93 oxen, taken and carried away. Judge Frank informed the author that
he was upon guard on the morning of the conflagration, standing upon the
corner of the fort (Herkimer,) which afforded him the best view of the
scene when the flames broke forth. He also saw the dusky swarms of
savages rush down the hill-slopes into the meadows after the cattle, as
soon as it was sufficiently light to discern objects with tolerable
distinctness. The whole scene, he says, was picturesque and sublime.
[FN-2] "Captain Gilbert Tice came from Niagara a few days before Brant
set out with his party to destroy the German Flats. He had 33 Indians
with him, mostly Mohawks. Brant's whole party at the German Flats was
300 Tories, and 152 Indians. There were no regular troops amongst
them."--_MS. letter of Major Cochran to Colonel Gansevoort, Sept._ 28,
1778.
"Brothers: We have now taken the hatchet and burnt Unadilla, [FN] and a
place called the Butternuts. We have brought five prisoners from each
of those places. Our warriors were particular that no hurt should be done
to women and children. We left four old men behind, who were no more able
to go to war. We have re-taken William Dygert, who was taken about nine
weeks ago by Brant on Fall Hill. We now deliver him to you, so that he
may return to his friends. Last year we took up the hatchet at
Stillwater, and we will now continue it in our hands. The Grasshopper,
one of the Oneida chiefs, took to himself one of the prisoners to live
with him in his own family, and has adopted him as a son."
* * * * *
[FN] The Indians must have meant one of the upper settlements on the
Unadilla, somewhere between the Butternuts and the "Forks," about
twenty-five miles north of the embouchure of that river into the
Susquehanna. The principal town of the Indians was at the mouth of the
river, and was destroyed two or three weeks afterward by Colonel Butler,
as will presently appear.
"Brothers: We deliver you six prisoners, with whom you are to act as you
please.
"Brothers: You had a man scalped here some time ago. We Oneidas and
Tuscaroras have now taken revenge, and have brought you some slaves. We
do not take scalps. We hope you are now convinced of our friendship to
you and your great cause. The warriors detain two of the prisoners till
tomorrow morning. The Canasaragas have one in their possession. They will
bring him to-morrow or the next day." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. report of Major Cochran to Colonel Gansevoort.
The Oneidas, with very few exceptions, were ever faithful to the cause of
the Whigs, and sometimes fought with great personal bravery. The Oriskany
clan of that nation joined General Herkimer on the morning of his
disastrous battle, under their chiefs Cornelius and Colonel Honyerry, and
sustained themselves valiantly in that murderous conflict. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This fact was derived from Judge Frank, after the chapter containing
the account of the battle of Oriskany was written, Honyerry, or Hansjune
Tewahongrahkon, as his name stands in the archives of the war department,
was commissioned a captain by the Board of War in 1779.
But the acquisitions of booty by the Indians at the German Flats were more
than counterbalanced, a few days afterward, by their losses in their own
chief towns, Unadilla and Oghkwaga, which were invaded, and in turn laid
waste, by Colonel William Butler, with the 4th Pennsylvania regiment, a
detachment of Colonel Morgan's rifle-men, then recently stationed at
Schoharie, as we have already seen, and a corps of twenty rangers. Having
marched from Schoharie to the head waters of the Delaware, and descended
that stream two days' march, Colonel Butler struck off thence to the
Susquehanna, upon which he emerged in the neighborhood of Unadilla. He
approached the settlement with great caution; but the enemy had left the
place several days before. Two of the white settlers, Tories, were made
prisoners, however, one of whom was compelled to guide the forces of
Butler to Oghkwaga, which service he performed. The town was taken
possession of without interruption, the Indians having fled the day
before in the greatest confusion--leaving behind a large quantity of corn,
their dogs, some cattle, and a great part of their household goods. The
march of Butler's troops had been fatiguing, and the vegetables and
poultry, which they found here in great abundance, enabled them to fare
sumptuously during their stay. The town was uncommonly well built for an
Indian settlement, there being a considerable number of good farm-houses
on either side of the river. These were all destroyed, together with the
Indian castle three miles farther down the river, as also large quantities
of provisions, intended for their winter's supply. They saw nothing of the
enemy, and lost only one man at that place, who was shot by an Indian
straggler lurking in ambush. Returning to Unadilla, that settlement, upon
both sides of the river, was burnt, as also a grist-mill and saw-mill--the
only ones in the Susquehanna valley. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Letter of Colonel William Butler to General Stark.
But although, so far as fighting was concerned, it was an easy campaign,
still the difficulties encountered by the expedition were very great, and
such as could not have been undergone but by men "possessing a large share
of hardiness, both of body and mind. They were obliged to carry their
provisions on their backs; and, thus loaded, frequently to ford creeks
and rivers. After the toils of hard marches, they were obliged to camp
down during wet and chilly nights without covering, or even the means of
keeping their arms dry." [FN] They completed their work in sixteen days,
and returned to Schoharie. But the Indians were not slow in taking their
revenge for this destruction of their towns. An Indian's vengeance
slumbers no longer than until an opportunity is afforded for sating it,
as will appear in the ensuing chapter.
* * * * *
[FN] Ramsay.
CHAPTER XVII.
Walter N. Butler--His flight from Albany, bent on revenge--The Great
Tree--Hostile indications among the Senecas and Cayugas--Premonitions
of an attack by Butler and Brant upon Cherry Valley--Discredited by
Colonel Alden--Scouts sent out and captured--Surprise of the
town--Massacre and burning--Death of Colonel Alden--Families of Mr.
Wells, Mr. Dunlop, and others--Brutality of the Tories--Family of Mr.
Mitchell--The monster Newberry--Departure of the enemy with their
captives--A night of gloom--Women and children sent back--Letter of
Butler to Gen. Schuyler--Murder of Mrs. Campbell's mother--Vindication
of Brant--Interesting incident--Brant's opinion of Capt. McKean--Colonel
John Butler laments the conduct of his son--Letter of General James
Clinton to Walter Butler--Letter of Butler in reply--Molly
Brant--Particulars of Mrs. Campbell's captivity--Feast of thanksgiving
for their victory--The great feast of the White Dogs--Return of Walter
Butler from Quebec--Colonel Butler negotiates with the Indians for Mrs.
Campbell--She goes to Niagara--Catharine Montour and her sons--Mrs.
Campbell finds her children--Descends the St. Lawrence to
Montreal--Meets Mrs. Butler--Arrives at Albany, and is joined by her
husband--Grand campaign projected--Jacob Helmer and others sent
privately to Johnstown for the iron chest of Sir John--Execution of
Helmer--Arrival of British Commissioners--Not received--Exchange of
Ministers with France--Incidents of the war elsewhere for the year.
The arrest of Walter N. Butler, at the German Flats, in the Summer of
1777; his trial, and condemnation to death; his reprieve; as also his
subsequent imprisonment in Albany, and his escape; are facts with which
the reader has already been made acquainted. Although his execution would
have been perfectly justifiable under the _code militaire,_ taken, as he
had been, within the American lines, in the very act of inviting the
people to treason; yet the respectability of his family, and the
associations he had himself formed in Albany, where he had been educated
to the profession of the law, were the causes, through the interposition
of those who had been his personal friends before the war, of saving his
life. Still, the reprieve granted by General Arnold was followed by
rigorous confinement in the jail at Albany until the Spring of the present
year; when, being either sick in reality, or feigning to be so, through
the clemency of General Lafayette his quarters were changed to a private
house, where he was guarded by a single sentinel. It appears that the
family with whom he lodged were Tories at heart; and having succeeded in
making the sentinel drunk, through their assistance Butler was enabled to
effect his escape. A horse having been provided for him, he succeeded in
joining his father at Niagara soon after the affair at Wyoming. His temper
was severe and irascible; but he was nevertheless not without his good
qualities, and was a young man of fair promise--"a pretty able young
lawyer," to use an expression from the lips of one who knew him well. [FN]
It is believed, however, that he took mortal offence at his treatment
while in Albany, and re-entered the service of the Crown, burning with
resentment and thirsting for revenge.
* * * * *
[FN] The venerable John Frank of German Flats. Butler studied law with
the late Francis Sylvester.
This recapitulation, in part, of a portion of the younger Butler's
history, is deemed essential in connexion with the events to be recorded
in the present chapter.
There was with General Washington, during most of the Summer, a Seneca
chief, called _The Great Tree,_ who, on leaving the head-quarters of the
Commander-in-chief, professed the strongest friendship for the American
cause, and his first object, after his return to his own people, was to
inspire them with his own friendly sentiments. While passing through the
Oneida nation on his way home, he professed the strongest confidence in
his ability to keep his own tribe bound in the chain of friendship, and
pledged himself, in the event of his failure, to come down with his
friends and adherents, and join the Oneidas. Early in October, Mr. Dean,
the Indian interpreter and agent in the Oneida territory, wrote to Major
Cochran, then in command of Fort Schuyler, that, not hearing from The
Great Tree as soon as they expected, they had despatched messengers to
the Seneca country, who had returned with unfavorable intelligence. It
was stated, that on his arrival in his own country The Great Tree found
his tribe all in arms. The warriors had been collected from the remotest
of their lodges, and were then thronging the two principal towns,
Kanadaseago and Jennesee. Having heard that the Americans were preparing
an expedition against their country, they had flown to arms; and The Great
Tree was himself determined to chastise the enemy who should dare to
penetrate his country. The Oneida messengers were farther told that all
the Indians west of their own tribe, including, of course, the Onondagas,
together with the Indian settlements on the Susquehanna and its branches,
were to join them. They were to rendezvous somewhere on the Tioga, and
make a descent either upon the Pennsylvania or New Jersey frontier. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Letter of Major Cochran to Col. Gansevoort, October 10, 1778.
The Mohawk chief, Thayendanegea, does not appear to have been among the
Senecas at this time; and it is believed that the fermentation had been
wrought by Butler, after his return to Niagara. Be that as it may, he
obtained the command of a detachment of his father's rangers, with
permission to employ the forces of Captain Brant. Though late in the
season, young Walter determined to undertake an expedition into Tryon
County, and avenge his imprisonment. [FN] It has been asserted, that while
on his way from Niagara with his rangers, Butler met Brant returning from
the Susquehanna country to his old winter-quarters at Niagara, and that
the proud Mohawk was not a little displeased at the idea of being assigned
to a subordinate station under a man whom he cordially disliked. However,
the difficulty was adjusted, and the sachem was prevailed upon to turn
back upon the white settlements, with five hundred of his warriors. The
united force comprised seven hundred men.
* * * * *
[FN] Campbell's Annals.
The point selected by the enemy was Cherry Valley--a settlement as
remarkable for the respectability of its inhabitants, as its location was
for its beauty. Unlike the generality of border settlements, the people
were intelligent, and exemplary for their morals. So scrupulous were they
in regard to observing the precepts of Christianity, that their Committee
of Safety declined sitting with the Tryon County Committee on the Sabbath
day--unless in the event of such alarming circumstances as would
necessarily "super-exceed the duties to be performed in attending the
public worship of God;"--which, they said, did not then appear to be the
case. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Letter to Tryon County Committee, signed by John Moore, Samuel
Clyde, and Samuel Campbell, dated June 9, 1775.
It has already been stated, that in consequence of their exposed
situation, the Marquis de Lafayette had directed the erection of a
fortification at that place early the preceding Spring. Colonel Gansevoort
at once solicited the command of the post, with the regiment which had so
greatly distinguished itself the preceding year in the defence of Fort
Schuyler. But it was given to Colonel Ichabod Alden, at the head of an
eastern regiment, unfortunately but little accustomed to Indian warfare.
On the 8th of November, Colonel Alden received a despatch from Fort
Schuyler by express, advising him that his post was to be attacked by the
Tories and Indians. The intelligence had been conveyed to Fort Schuyler
by an Oneida Indian, reporting that he received it from one of the
Onondagas, who had been present at a great meeting of the Indians and
Tories at Tioga, at which the determination was formed. In consequence of
the lateness of the season, the inhabitants, not anticipating any farther
hostilities before Spring, had removed their effects from the
fortification, where, during the Summer, they had been deposited for
safety, back to their own dwellings. On the receipt of this intelligence,
they requested permission to remove once more into the fort, or at least
to be allowed again to deposite their most valuable property within its
walls. But Colonel Alden, discrediting the intelligence as an idle Indian
rumor, denied their solicitations, assuring the people that he would use
all diligence against surprise, and by means of vigilant scouts, be at
all times prepared to warn them of approaching danger. Accordingly scouts
were despatched in various directions on the 9th. The party proceeding
down the Susquehanna, as it were in the very face of the enemy, very
wisely kindled a fire in the evening, by the side of which they laid
themselves down to sleep. The result might have been foreseen. They were
all prisoners when they awoke!
Extorting all necessary information from the prisoners so opportunely
taken, the enemy moved forward on the 10th--Butler with his rangers, and
Thayendanegea with his Indians--encamping for the night on the top of a
hill, thickly covered with evergreens, about a mile south-west of the
fort and village of Cherry Valley. The snow fell several inches during
the night--the storm turning to rain in the morning, with a thick and
cloudy atmosphere. The officers of the garrison were accustomed to lodge
about among the families near the fort; and from the assurances of Colonel
Alden, the apprehensions of the people were so much allayed, that they
were reposing in perfect security. Colonel Alden himself, with Stacia,
his lieutenant-colonel, lodged with Mr. Robert Wells, a gentleman of great
respectability, recently a judge of the county, who was, moreover, an
intimate friend of Colonel John Butler, as he had also been of Sir William
Johnson. [FN-1] Having ascertained the localities in which the officers
lodged, the enemy approached the unsuspecting village in the greatest
security, veiled by the haze which hung in the atmosphere. An alarm was,
however, given, before the enemy had actually arrived in the village, by
the firing of an Indian upon a settler from the outskirts, who was riding
thither on horseback. He was wounded, but nevertheless pushed forward,
and gave instant information to the vigilant Colonel. Strange as it may
seem, this officer still disbelieved the approach of an enemy in
force--supposing the shot to have proceeded from a straggler. But he was
soon convinced of his error; for even before the guards could be called
in, the Indians were upon them. Unfortunately, probably, for the
inhabitants, the rangers had halted just before entering the village to
examine their arms, the rain having damaged their powder. During this
pause, the Indians sprang forward; and the Senecas, being at that period
the most ferocious of the Six Nations, were in the van. The house of Mr.
Wells was instantly surrounded by the warriors of that tribe, and several
Tories of no less ferocity, who rushed in and massacred the whole family,
consisting at that time of himself, his mother, his wife, his brother and
sister, John and Jane, three of his sons, Samuel, Robert, and William,
and his daughter Eleanor. The only survivor of the family was John, who
was then at school in Schenectady. His father had taken his family to that
place for safety some months before, but his fears having subsided, they
had just removed back to their home. [FN-2] Colonel Alden, having escaped
from the house, was pursued some distance down a hill by an Indian, who
repeatedly demanded of him to surrender. This, however, he refused to do,
turning upon his pursuer repeatedly, and snapping his pistol, but without
effect. The Indian ultimately hurled his tomahawk with unerring direction
at his head, and rushing forward, tore his scalp from him in the same
instant. Thus, in the very outset of the battle, fell the commander, who,
had he been as prudent as he was brave, might have averted the tragic
scenes of that hapless day. Lieutenant-colonel Stacia was made prisoner;
and the American guards, stationed at the house of Mr. Wells, were all
either killed or taken.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Robert Wells was the father of the late distinguished counselor,
John Wells, of New-York.
[FN-2] Notice of John Wells by William Johnson, Esq. concluding vol. of
Johnson's Reports.
The destruction of the family of Mr. Wells was marked by circumstances of
peculiar barbarity. It was boasted by one of the Tories, that he had
killed Mr. Wells while engaged in prayer--certainly a happy moment for a
soul to wing its flight to another state of existence; but what the degree
of hardihood that could boast of compassing the death of an unarmed man
at such a moment! His sister Jane was distinguished alike for her beauty,
her accomplishments, and her virtues. As the savages rushed into the
house, she fled to a pile of wood on the premises, and endeavored to
conceal herself. She was pursued and arrested by an Indian, who, with
perfect composure, wiped and sheathed his dripping knife, and took his
tomahawk from his girdle. At this instant a Tory, who had formerly been
a domestic in the family, sprang forward and interposed in her
behalf--claiming her as a sister. The maiden, too, who understood somewhat
of the Indian language, implored for mercy. But in vain. With one hand
the Indian pushed the Tory from him, and with the other planted his
hatchet deep into her temple!
The fort was repeatedly assaulted during the day, and at times with
spirit; but Indians are not the right description of troops for such
service, and being received by a brisk fire of grape and musketry from
the garrison, they avoided the fort, and directed their attention chiefly
to plundering and laying waste the village, having sated themselves in
the onset with blood. In this work of destruction they were unmolested,
since, numbering more than twice as many as the garrison, a sortie was
felt to be unwarrantable.
Among the families which suffered from the tomahawks of the Indians and
Tories--for the latter, as at Wyoming, were not to be outdone by their
uncivilized allies--were those of the Rev. Samuel Dunlop, and a Mr.
Mitchell. Mrs. Dunlop was killed outright, and thus shared the fate of
Mrs. Wells, who was her daughter. Mr. Dunlop and another daughter would
likewise have been murdered but for the interposition of Little Aaron, a
chief of the Oghkwaga branch of the Mohawks, who led the old gentleman,
tottering beneath the weight of years, to the door, and stood beside him
for his protection. The Indians attempted to plunder him of some of his
attire, but the sachem compelled them to relinquish that portion of their
spoil. The venerable servant of God, shocked by the events of that day
beyond the strength of his nerves, died within a year afterward.
The case of Mr. Mitchell was still more painful. He was in the field at
work when he beheld the Indians approaching; and being already cut off
from his house, his only course was to betake himself to the woods. On
returning to his home, after the enemy had retired, he found his house on
fire, and within its plundered walls the murdered bodies of his wife and
three of his children. The fourth, a little girl of ten or twelve years
of age, had been left for dead. But signs of life appearing, the parent,
having extinguished the fire, which had not yet made much progress,
brought his little mangled daughter forth to the door, and while bending
over her, discovered a straggling party of the enemy approaching. He had
but just time to conceal himself, before a Tory sergeant, named Newberry,
rushed forward, and by a blow of his hatchet extinguished what little
growing hope of life had been left, by a darker though less savage enemy
than himself. It is some consolation, while recording this deed of blood,
to be able to anticipate the course of events, so far as to announce that
this brutal fellow paid the forfeit of his life on the gallows, by order
of General James Clinton, at Canajoharie, in the summer of the following
year. On the next day Mr. Mitchell removed his dead to the fort with his
own arms, and the soldiers assisted in their interment. Several other
families were cut off--the whole number of the inhabitants slain being
thirty-two, mostly women and children. In addition to these, sixteen
soldiers were killed. Some of the inhabitants escaped, but the greater
proportion were taken prisoners. Among the former were Mrs. Clyde, the
wife of Colonel Clyde, who was absent, and her family. She succeeded in
reaching the woods with her children, excepting her eldest daughter, whom
she could not find at the moment; and although the savages were frequently
prowling around her, she yet lay secure in her concealment until the next
day. The eldest daughter, likewise, had made a successful flight, and
returned in safety. Colonel Campbell was also absent; but hastening home
on hearing the alarm, he arrived only in time to behold the destruction
of his property by the conflagration of the village, and to ascertain that
his wife and children had been carried into captivity. [FN] The torch was
applied indiscriminately to every dwelling-house, and, in fact, to every
building in the village. The barns, being filled with the combustible
products of husbandry, served to render the conflagration more fierce and
terrific; especially to the fugitive inhabitants who had escaped to the
woods for shelter, and whose sufferings were aggravated by the
consciousness that their retreating footsteps were lighted by the flames
of their own households.
* * * * *
[FN] Colonel Campbell was the grandfather of the author of the Annals of
Tryon County, so frequently referred to in the present volume, to whom
the author is almost exclusively indebted for the facts respecting the
invasion of Cherry Valley. The author of the Annals being himself a
native of that place, was not only familiar with its history from his
cradle, but has taken great pains to collect the facts. There is indeed
no other reliable authority. Ramsay is equally brief and unsatisfactory;
while Macauley's wretched jumble of every thing, called, for what reason
cannot be divined, a History of New-York, contains the most foul
misrepresentations. The massacre was bad enough, in all conscience; but
when it is stated that, "not content with killing the inhabitants, they
ripped open and quartered the women, and then suspended their mangled
limbs on the trees--that the helpless infants were taken from their
mothers' breasts, and their brains knocked out against the posts,"--and
when these statements are compared with the real facts of the case, we
may well tremble for the truth of history. The simple incident which
gave rise to this shocking tale of mutilating the bodies of the dying
and dead, was this. One of the Tories had lived as a domestic with the
Rev. Mr. Dunlop. He had run away in consequence of ill-treatment, as was
alleged, on the part of Mrs. D. After she was slain, it is said he cut
off her hand. But even this story is of doubtful authenticity.
The prisoners taken numbered between thirty and forty. They were marched,
on the evening of the massacre, down the valley about two miles south of
the fort, where the enemy encamped for the night. Large fires were kindled
round about the camp, into the centre of which the prisoners, of all ages
and sexes, were promiscuously huddled, and there compelled to pass the
hours till morning--many of them half naked, shivering from the inclemency
of the weather, with no shelter but the frowning heavens, and no bed but
the cold ground. It was a dismal night for the hapless group--rendered,
if possible, still more painful by the savage yells of exultation, the
wild, half-frantic revelry, and other manifestations of joy on the part
of the victors, at the success of their bloody enterprise. In the course
of the night a division of the spoil was made among the Indians, and on
the following morning the march was resumed; although parties of the
Indians returned to prowl among the ruins of the village or hang upon its
outskirts, during the greater part of the day, and until reinforcements
of militia from the Mohawk Valley began to arrive, when they dispersed.
The retiring enemy had not proceeded far on their way, before the
prisoners, with few exceptions, experienced a change in their
circumstances, as happy as it was unexpected. They had been separated,
for the convenience of traveling, into small groups, in charge of
different parties of the enemy. On coming to a halt, they were collected
together, and informed that it had been determined to release all the
women and children, excepting Mrs. Campbell and her four children, and
Mrs. Moore and her children. These it was resolved to detain in captivity
as a punishment to their husbands, for the activity they had displayed in
the border wars. With these exceptions, the women and their little ones
were immediately sent back, bearing the following letter from the
commander of the rangers, addressed to General Schuyler. As a key to the
letter, and perhaps, also, to the motives of Captain Butler in this act
of humanity, it should here be remarked, that on the flight of his father
and himself to Canada, his mother and the younger children had been left
behind. Mrs. Butler and her children were detained by the Committee of
Safety, and permission to follow the husband and son to Canada had been
refused, as has been stated in a former chapter:--
"Captain Butler to General Schuyler.
_Cherry Valley, Nov._ 12, 1778.
"Sir,
"I am induced by humanity to permit the persons whose names I send
herewith, to return, lest the inclemency of the season, and their naked
and helpless situation, might prove fatal to them, and expect that you
will release an equal number of our people in your hands, amongst whom I
expect you will permit Mrs. Butler and family to come to Canada; but if
you insist upon it, I do engage to send you, moreover, an equal number
of prisoners of yours, taken either by the Rangers or Indians, and will
leave it to you to name the persons. I have done every thing in my power
to restrain the fury of the Indians from hurting women and children, or
killing the prisoners who fell into our hands, and would have more
effectually prevented them, but that they were much incensed by the late
destruction of their village of Anguaga [FN-1] by your people. I shall
always continue to act in that manner. I look upon it beneath the
character of a soldier to wage war with women and children. I am sure
you are conscious that Colonel Butler or myself have no desire that your
women or children should be hurt. But, be assured, that if you persevere
in detaining my father's family with you, that we shall no longer take
the same pains to restrain the Indians from prisoners, women and children,
that we have heretofore done.
"I am, your humble servant,
Walter N. Butler,
_Capt. Com. of the Rangers._
"General Schuyler." [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] One of the old names of Unadilla.
[FN-2] This letter was recently found among the papers of General James
Clinton.
Having thus, in a great measure, disencumbered themselves of their
prisoners, the enemy proceeded on their journey by their usual route at
that period, down the Susquehanna to its confluence with the Tioga,
thence up that river into the Seneca country, and thence to Niagara. Mrs.
Cannon, an aged lady, and the mother of Mrs. Campbell, was likewise held
in captivity; but being unfitted for traveling by reason of her years,
the Indian having both in charge despatched the mother with his hatchet,
by the side of the daughter, on the second day of their march. Mrs.
Campbell was driven along by the uplifted hatchet, having a child in her
arms eighteen months old, with barbarous rapidity, until the next day,
when she was favored with a more humane master. In the course of the
march a straggling party of the Indians massacred an English family named
Buxton, residing on the Butternut Creek, and reduced their buildings to
ashes. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] There is some reason to doubt whether this murder of the Buxtons
was not the work of the Oneidas, during their excursion to Unadilla
and the Butternuts.
Thus terminated the expedition of Walter N. Butler and Joseph Brant to
Cherry Valley. Nothing could exhibit an aspect of more entire desolation
than did the site of that village on the following day, when the militia
from the Mohawk arrived, too late to afford assistance. "The cocks crowed
from the tops of the forest trees, and the dogs howled through the fields
and woods." The inhabitants who escaped the massacre, and those who
returned from captivity, abandoned the settlement, until the return of
peace should enable them to plant themselves down once more in safety;
and in the succeeding Summer the garrison was withdrawn and the post
abandoned.
Next to the destruction of Wyoming, that of Cherry Valley stands out in
history as having been the most conspicuous for its atrocity. And as in
the case of Wyoming, both in history and popular tradition, Joseph Brant
has been held up as the foul fiend of the barbarians, and of all others
deserving the deepest execration. Even the learned and estimable
counselor, who so long reported the adjudicated law of the State of
New-York, [FN-1] in the tribute to the memory of the late John Wells, with
which he closed the last volume of his juridical labors, has fallen into
the same popular error; and applies the second stanza in the striking
passage of "Gertrude of Wyoming," which called forth the younger Brant
in vindication of his father's memory, to the case of his departed and
eminent friend. [FN-2] It was indeed most true as applied to the melancholy
case of Mr. Wells, of whose kindred "nor man, nor child, nor thing of
living birth," had been left by the Indians. But it may be fearlessly
asserted that it was not true as coupled with the name of Joseph Brant.
It has already been seen that Brant was not the commander of this
expedition; and if he had been, it is not certain that he could have
compelled a different result. But it is certain that his conduct on that
fatal day was neither barbarous nor ungenerous. On the contrary, he did
all in his power to prevent the shedding of innocent blood; and had it not
been for a circumstance beyond his control, it is more than probable that
the distinguished counselor referred to, would not have been left "alone
of all his race." Captain Brant asserted, and there is no reason to
question his veracity, that on the morning of the attack, he left the
main body of the Indians, and endeavored to anticipate their arrival at
the house of Mr. Wells, for the purpose of affording protection to the
family. On his way it was necessary to cross a ploughed field, the
yielding of the earth in which, beneath his tread, so retarded his
progress, that he arrived too late.
* * * * *
[FN-1] William Johnson, Esq. long reporter of the Supreme Court, the
Court of Errors, and the Court of Chancery of this State.
[FN-2] The passage referred to--as unjust as it is poetical--will be
found near the close of the second volume of the present work, in the
sketch of the life of the younger Brant.
But this is not all. On entering one of the dwellings, he found a woman
employed in household matters. "Are you thus engaged," inquired the chief,
"while all your neighbors are murdered around you?" The woman replied that
they were in favor of the King. "That plea will not avail you today,"
replied the warrior. "They have murdered Mr. Wells's family, who were as
dear to me as my own." "But," continued the woman, "there is one Joseph
Brant: if he is with the Indians, he will save us." "I am Joseph Brant!"
was the quick response; "but I have not the command, and I know not that
I can save you; but I will do what is in my power." At the moment of
uttering these words, he observed the Senecas approaching. "Get into bed
quick," he commanded her, "and feign yourself sick." The woman obeyed,
and when the Indians came up, he put them off with that pretext. Instantly
as they departed, he rallied a few of his Mohawks by a shrill signal, and
directed them to paint his mark upon the woman and her children. "You are
now probably safe," he remarked--and departed. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] It is an Indian practice thus to mark, their captives, and the known
mark of a tribe or chief is a protection from danger at other hands.
Another instance, from the same authority, [FN] will serve farther to
illustrate the conduct and bearing of this distinguished Indian leader
on that occasion: After the battle was over, he inquired of one of the
captives for Captain McKean, who had retired to the Mohawk Valley with
his family. "He sent me a challenge once," said the chief; "I have now
come to accept it. He is a fine soldier thus to retreat!" It was said in
reply: "Captain McKean would not turn his back upon an enemy where there
was a probability of success." "I know it," rejoined Brant; "he is a brave
man and I would have given more to take him than any other man in Cherry
Valley; but I would not have hurt a hair of his head."
* * * * *
[FN] Campbell's Annals.
These were generous sentiments, worthy of a generous soldier. Indeed, the
whole conduct of the Mohawk chief on that melancholy day was anything
rather than characteristic of the "monster" Brant has been represented to
be. Of the conduct of the leader of the expedition, Captain Walter N.
Butler, a less charitable judgment must be formed--not so much perhaps on
account of the atrocities committed--because these, too, may have been
beyond his control, or suddenly perpetrated without his knowledge--but
because the expedition was entirely one of his own undertaking. It was
said that Colonel John Butler was grieved at the conduct of his son at
this place; remarking, on one occasion, in regard to the murder of Mr.
Wells and family--"I would have gone miles on my hands and knees to save
that family, and why my son did not do it, God only knows." It has also
been asserted that the Colonel accused Brant of having incited the Indians
secretly to commit the excesses in question, in order to bring odium upon
his son, under whose command, as the reader has already been informed, he
had been placed, strongly in opposition to his own wishes. But the Mohawk
repelled the charge, and appealed to his former conduct, particularly in
the case of Springfield, as a vindication of his character from the
imputation of wanton cruelty. On the other hand, it has been laid to the
charge of Butler, that when, on the night preceding the massacre, some of
his rangers desired secretly to apprise their friends in the village of
the storm which was to burst upon them in the morning, he peremptorily
denied the request--apprehending that if a few were ever so cautiously
admonished of the approaching danger, the tidings would be bruited and
the whole village escape. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Campbell's Annals.
These things may, or they may not, be true. But in either case the
loyalist Butlers, father and son, should be justly dealt by, although they
have not been as yet. At least the world has never heard what they might
possibly have said in their own defence--nay, what they did say--in regard
to the affairs of Wyoming and Cherry Valley; and candor requires the
admission, that the narratives of those events which have descended to
us, were written too soon after their occurrence to warrant a belief in
the entire impartiality of the writers. But as truth constitutes the great
excellence of history, and as a just opinion can rarely be formed upon
testimony altogether _exparte_ after fifty-eight years of silence, it may
be allowed to the Butlers, though dead, to speak a word for themselves.
The elder Butler lived at Niagara many years after the close of the
contest; and, though employed in the British Indian Department, his
conduct was such, both in public and private life, as to command the
respect of those who knew him.
The letter of Captain Butler to General Schuyler, written the day after
the affair at Cherry Valley, was delivered by the gentleman who, of all
others, felt the greatest interest in facilitating the arrangement
proposed--Colonel Campbell himself. It was not answered by General
Schuyler, for the reason that he was not then in command of the district;
and for the still farther reason that, from the circumstances of the case,
it took a different direction. On the 1st of January, however, the
following letter upon the subject was addressed to Captain Butler by
Brigadier-General James Clinton:--
"General Clinton to Captain Butler.
_Albany, January_ 1st, 1779.
"Sir,
"A letter, dated the 12th of November last, signed by you, and directed to
General Schuyler, and which was delivered by John Campbell, is come to
hand. As its contents related to persons who were citizens of the State,
with which the military do not interfere, the letter was not delivered to
Brigadier-General Hand, who commanded in this department, but transmitted
to his Excellency Governor Clinton, that his pleasure might be known on
its contents. He has authorized me to make the exchange you request. I am
at a loss to know not only where to direct to you, but also in what part
of the country the unhappy prisoners taken from this State have been
carried. I therefore send the bearers, A. B. and C. D. with a flag, to
carry this letter to any place where they may learn you are, or any other
officer who can accomplish the exchange in your absence. Should the
prisoners be in any of the Indian villages, and in a condition to be
moved, you will please to send them to the nearest of our settlements;
or, if you do not choose to do that, I will send proper persons to meet
and receive them at any place you may appoint. I am not informed if Mrs.
Butler, her family, and such others as will be given in exchange for those
you have in captivity, and those you have suffered to return as mentioned
in your letter, would choose to move at this inclement season. If they do,
they shall be sent. If not, they may remain until Spring; and then they
may either go to Oswego or Canada, at their option. Should the prisoners
taken at Cherry Valley, or any others belonging to the State of New-York,
be at Niagara, it will be impossible for them to re-turn until Spring;
and then I request that they may be sent to Oswego or Fort Schuyler, and
that you will send notice of your determination, that provision may be
made accordingly. Do not flatter yourself, sir, that your father's family
have been detained on account of any consequence they were supposed to be
of, or that it is determined they should be exchanged in consideration of
the threat contained in your letter. I should hope, for the sake of human
nature and the honor of civilized nations, that the British officers had
exerted themselves in restraining the barbarity of the savages. But it is
difficult even for the most disinterested mind to believe it, as numerous
instances of barbarity have been perpetrated where savages were not
present--or, if they were, the British force was not sufficient to
restrain them, had there been a real desire so to do. The enormous murders
committed at Wyoming and Cherry Valley would clearly have justified a
retaliation; and that your mother did not fall a sacrifice to the
resentment of the survivors of those families who were so barbarously
massacred, is owing to the humane principles which the conduct of their
enemies evinces a belief that they are utterly strangers to. The flag
will carry their arms with them, that they may furnish themselves with
provisions, should what they set out with be expended before they reach
any places where they can be supplied. As Captain Butler may be absent, I
enclose a copy of this letter to General Schuyler.
"I am, &c,
James Clinton,
"To Captain Walter Butler, or any officer in the British service to whom
this may be handed." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This letter has been copied from the original draft, among the
papers of General Clinton.
This letter reached its destination in due season, and called forth the
following reply from Captain Butler, written in behalf of his father and
himself:--
"Captain Butler to General Clinton.
_Niagara,_ 18th _Feb._ 1779.
"Sir,
"I have received a letter dated the 1st January last, signed by you, in
answer to mine of the 12th November.
"Its contents I communicated to Lieutenant Colonel Bolton, the commanding
officer of this garrison, &c. by whom I am directed to acquaint you, that
he had no objection that an exchange of prisoners, as mentioned in your
letter, should take place; but not being fully empowered by his
Excellency--General Haldimand [FN]--to order the same immediately to be
put in execution, has thought proper I should go down to the
Commander-in-chief for his direction in the matter."
* * * * *
[FN] General Sir Frederick Haldimand had previous to this time superseded
Sir Guy Carleton in the command of the Canadas.
"In the mean time, Colonel Butler, as he ever has done on every other
occasion, will make every effort in his power to have all the prisoners,
as well those belonging to your troops, as the women and children, in
captivity among the different Indian nations, collected and sent in to
this post to be forwarded to Crown Point, should the exchange take place
by the way of Canada, or to Oswego, if settled there. In either case
Colonel Bolton desires me to inform you that the prisoners shall receive
from him what assistance their wants may require, which prisoners have at
all times received at this post.
"The disagreeable situation of your people in the Indian villages, as well
as ours amongst you, will induce me to make all the expedition in my power
to Canada, (Quebec,) in order that the exchange may be settled as soon as
possible. For the good of both, I make no doubt that his Excellency
General Haldimand will acquiesce in the proper exchange. The season of
the year renders it impossible that it should take place before the 10th
or 15th May next. However, I shall write you, by the way of Crown Point,
General Haldimand's determination, and when and where the exchange will
be most agreeable to him to be made, I could wish Mrs. Butler and her
family, including Mrs. Scheehan and son, and Mrs. Wall, were permitted to
go to Canada in the Spring, even should the exchange be fixed at Ontario.
"It is not our present business, sir, to enter into an altercation, or to
reflect on the conduct of either the British or the Continental forces,
or on that of each other; but since you have charged (on report, I must
suppose) the British officers in general with inhumanity, and Colonel
Butler and myself in particular; in justice to them, and in vindication
of his and my own honor and character, I am under the disagreeable
necessity to declare the charge unjust and void of truth, and which can
only tend to deceive the world, though a favorite cry of the Congress on
every occasion, whether in truth or not.
"We deny any _cruelties_ to have been committed _at Wyoming,_ either by
whites or Indians; so far to the contrary, that not a man, woman, or
child was hurt after the capitulation, or a woman or child before it, and
none taken into captivity. Though, should you call it _inhumanity_ the
killing _men in arms in the field_, we in that case plead guilty. The
inhabitants killed at Cherry Valley does not lay at my door--my conscience
acquits. If any are guilty (as accessories) it's yourselves; at least the
conduct of some of your officers. First, Colonel Hartley, of your forces,
sent to the Indians the enclosed, being a copy of his letter charging
them with crimes they never committed, and threatening them and their
villages with fire and sword and no quarters. The burning of one of their
villages, then inhabited only by a few families--your friends--who
imagined they might remain in peace and friendship with you, till assured
a few hours before the arrival of your troops that they should not even
receive quarters, took to the woods; and, to complete the matter, Colonel
Denniston and his people appearing again in arms with Colonel Hartley,
after a solemn capitulation and engagement not to bear arms during the
war, and Colonel Denniston not performing a promise to release a number
of soldiers belonging to Colonel Butler's corps of rangers, then prisoners
among you, were the reasons assigned by the Indians to me, after the
destruction of Cherry Valley, for their not acting in the same manner as
at Wyoming. They added, that being charged by their enemies with what
they never had done, and threatened by them, they had determined to
convince you it was not fear which had prevented them from committing the
one, and that they did not want spirit to put your threats against them
in force against yourselves.
"The prisoners sent back by me, or any now in our or the Indians' hands,
must declare I did every thing in my power to prevent the Indians killing
the prisoners, or taking women and children captive, or in any wise
injuring them. Colonel Stacey and several other officers of yours, when
exchanged, will acquit me; and must further declare, that they have
received every assistance, before and since their arrival at this post,
that could be got to relieve their wants. I must, however, beg leave, by
the bye, to observe, that I experienced no humanity, or even common
justice, during my imprisonment among you.
"I enclose you a list of officers and privates whom I should be glad were
exchanged likewise. The list of the families we expect for those as well
sent back as others in our hands, you have likewise enclosed.
"Colonel Stacey, and several officers and others, your people, are at this
post, and have leave to write.
"I am,
Your very humble serv't.,
Walter N. Butler,
_Captain corps of Rangers._
"Brigadier Gen. Clinton,
of the Continental forces."
This is a straight-forward, manly letter; and when the impartial reader
is weighing the testimony in regard to the transactions of which it
speaks, it certainly deserves consideration. It is, moreover, believed to
be the first time that the accused have been permitted to relate their
own side of the case. There were, no doubt, bloody outrages
committed--probably upon both sides--because in such a contest, waged by
borderers, many of whom, as has been seen, were previously burning with
indignation against each other, it is hardly to be expected that
individual combatants would always contend hand to hand with all the
courtesy which characterised gallant knights in the days of chivalry. In
justice to Colonel John Butler, moreover, it must be admitted that his
conduct toward his prisoners at Niagara, and among the Indians in that
country, was uniformly characterised by humanity. One proof of this
disposition was afforded in the case of Colonel Stacia, whose destruction
had, for some reason or other, been determined upon by Molly Brant, the
Indian wife of Sir William Johnson; who, in her widowhood, had been taken
from Johnstown to Niagara. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] "Molly Brant had, for some cause, a deadly hostility to Colonel
Stacia. Resorting to the Indian method of dreaming, she informed Colonel
Butler that she had dreamed that she had the Yankee's head, and that she
and the Indians were kicking it about the fort. Colonel Butler ordered
a small keg of rum to be painted and given to her. This, for a short
time, appeased her; but she dreamed a second time that she had the
Yankee's head, with his hat on, and that she and the Indians were
kicking it about the fort for a football. Colonel Butler ordered another
keg of rum to be given to her, and then told her decidedly that Colonel
Stacia should not be given up to the Indians. Apart from this
circumstance, I know nothing disreputable to Molly Brant. On the
contrary, she appears to have had just views of her duties. She was
careful of the education of her children, some of whom were respectably
married."--_Campbells Annals._--It may be added, that her descendants
from Sir William Johnson compose some of the most respectable and
intelligent families of Upper Canada at this day. The traditions of the
Mohawk Valley state, that the acquaintance of Sir William with Molly had
a rather wild and romantic commencement. The story runs, that she was a
very sprightly and very beautiful Indian girl of about sixteen when he
first saw her. It was at a regimental militia muster, where Molly was
one of a multitude of spectators. One of the field-officers coming near
her upon a prancing steed, by way of banter she asked permission to mount
behind him. Not supposing she could perform the exploit, he said she
might. At the word she leaped upon the crupper with the agility of a
gazelle. The horse sprang off at full speed, and, clinging to the
officer, her blanket flying, and her dark tresses streaming in the wind,
she flew about the parade-ground swift as an arrow, to the infinite
merriment of the collected multitude. The Baronet, who was a witness of
the spectacle, admiring the spirit of the young squaw, and becoming
enamoured of her person, took her home as his wife.
The few prisoners from Cherry Valley were marched, by the route already
indicated, to the Seneca country, Mrs. Campbell was carried to the Seneca
castle at Kanadaseago, where she was presented to a family to fill a place
made vacant by the death of one of its members. Her children, the infant
included, were separated from her, and distributed among different Indian
families. Being skillful with her needle, and rendering herself useful to
those with whom she lived, she was treated with indulgence. No restraints
were imposed upon her, and she was even gratified in her desire to pay a
due regard to the Sabbath, of which institution they were ignorant. Among
other little civilities, perceiving that she wore caps, an Indian
presented her one, which was cut and spotted with blood. On a closer
scrutiny, her feelings were shocked by the discovery, from the mark, that
it had belonged to the lovely companion of her youth, the hapless Jane
Wells!
After returning from a successful expedition, a dance of _Thanksgiving_ is
performed by the Iroquois, which partakes of the character of a religious
ceremony; [FN-1] and Mrs. Campbell had the opportunity, soon after her
arrival at Kanadaseago, of witnessing the festival in honor of their
recent victory, of which she herself was one of the trophies. A grand
council was convoked for this purpose, and preparations were made for the
observance of the festival, upon a scale corresponding with the importance
of the achievements they were to celebrate. The arrangements having been
completed, the warriors came forth to the centre of the village, where
the great fire had been kindled, horribly disfigured by black and red
paint, and commenced their savage rites by singing of their own exploits,
and those of their ancestors,--by degrees working themselves up into a
tempest of passion; whooping, yelling, and uttering every hideous cry;
brandishing their knives and war-clubs, and throwing themselves into the
most menacing attitudes, in a manner terrific to the unpractised beholder.
There was no prisoner put to the torture, or attired with the raven
death-cap on this occasion; [FN-2] but the prisoners were paraded, and the
scalps borne in procession, as would have been the standards taken in
civilized warfare in the celebration of a triumph. For every scalp, and
for every prisoner taken, the _scalp-yell,_ or, as it is sometimes called,
the _death-halloo,_ was raised in all its mingled tones of triumph and
terror. [FN-3] The scalp-yell is the most terrific note which an Indian
can raise, and from the numbers that had fallen during this expedition,
it was often repeated. The white dog for the sacrifice was then killed;
the offerings collected were thrown into the fire; whereupon the dog was
laid upon the pile and thoroughly roasted. The flesh was then eaten, and
the wild festival closed.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Heckewelder.
[FN-2] The Indians do not often put their prisoners to the torture, or
even to death--seldom, unless when they have sustained great losses, or
when some of their warriors have been murdered. The torture is then
resorted to, to glut their vengeance.--_Heckewelder._
[FN-3] Idem.
From an account of the ceremonies at one of the festivals, of which Mrs.
Campbell was a spectator during her captivity, she must have been present
at the great annual feast of thanksgiving and remission of sin, which is
held by the Senecas and other tribes of the confederacy. This is their
greatest national and most solemn sacrifice. It is invariably held at the
time of the old moon in January, and is celebrated with great parade; the
ceremonies being conducted with the utmost order, harmony, and decorum,
under the direction of a large committee appointed for that purpose.
The festivities continued nine days, on the first of which two white dogs,
without spot or blemish, if such could be found, were strangled and hung
up before the door of the council-house, at the height of twenty feet.
Not a drop of blood was allowed to be shed in compassing their death, as
the victims would thereby be rendered unfit for the sacrifice. After the
animals were killed, and before their suspension, their faces were painted
red, as also the edges of their ears and other parts of their bodies.
They were then fantastically decorated with ribbons and feathers,
rendering them as beautiful, in the eye of an Indian, as possible. Their
fancy dress being completed, the dogs were hung up, and the ceremonies of
the frolic commenced. In the course of the first day every lodge in the
town was visited by the committee, each member being provided with a
shovel, with which he removed the ashes and coals from every hearth, and
scattered them to the winds. In this manner the fire of every lodge was
extinguished, to be re-kindled only by striking virgin sparks from the
flint. The discharge of a gun at every lodge announced that the work of
purification, even of fire itself, had been performed; and with this
ceremony ended the labors of the first day.
The ceremonies of the second day were opened with a dance by the
committee, after which, dressed in bear-skins, the members visited every
lodge, with baskets to take up alms--receiving whatever was bestowed, but
particularly tobacco, and other articles used for incense in the
sacrifice. Two or three days were occupied in receiving these grateful
donations, during which time the people at the council-house were engaged
in dances and other recreations. On the fifth day masks were added to the
bear-skin dresses of the masters of the festival, some ludicrous and
others frightful, in which they ran about the village, smearing themselves
with dirt, and bedaubing all such as refused to add to the contents of
their baskets of incense. While thus engaged, the collectors were supposed
to receive into their own bodies all the sins of their tribe, however
numerous or heinous, committed within the preceding year.
On the ninth day of the feast, by some magical process, the sins of the
nation thus collected were transfused from the several members of the
Committee into one of their number. The dogs were then taken down, and
the whole weight of the nation's iniquity, by another magical process,
was transfused into their lifeless carcasses. The bodies of the dogs were
next laid upon an altar of wood, to which fire was applied, and the whole
consumed--the masters of the sacrifice throwing the tobacco and other
odoriferous articles into the flames, the incense ascending from which
was supposed to be acceptable to the Great Spirit. The sacrifice ended,
the people all partook of a bountiful feast, the chief article of which
was succotash. Then followed the war and peace dances, and the smoking of
the calumet. Thus refreshed, and relieved from the burden of sin--at
peace with the Great Spirit, and with each other--the warriors with their
families returned, each to his own house, prepared to enter upon the
business and the duties of another year; the chiefs, during the festival,
having carefully reviewed the past, and adjusted their policy for the
future. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The reminiscences of Mrs. Campbell scarcely allowed her to give the
particulars of this great festival _in extenso,_ although she seems,
from the Annals of her grandson, to have retained a remembrance of the
leading points of the ceremonies. The author has supplied the
deficiencies of her account from the life of Mrs. Jemison. The sacrifice
of dogs is, we believe, universal among the North American Indians. How
long the practice has prevailed cannot well be known. Cotton Mather
affirms, "that the Indians, in their wars with us, finding a sore
inconvenience by our _dogs,_ sacrificed a _dog_ to the _devil;_ after
which no _English_ dog would bark at an _Indian_ for divers months
ensuing." _Magnalia,_ iii. 192. What interpreter the devil had on these
occasions, does not appear. That he did not understand the Indian tongue,
is manifest from the same writer:--"Once finding that the _Daemons,_ in
a possessed young woman, understood the _Latin, Greek,_ and _Hebrew_
tongues, my curiosity induced me to make trial of this _Indian_ language,
and the _Daemons_ did seem as if they did not understand it."--_Sands._
Captain Butler having returned from his visit to General Haldimand, with
permission for the proposed exchange of prisoners, the Colonel, his
father, proceeded to the Seneca castle to negotiate for the release of
Mrs. Campbell. The family by whom she had been adopted were very reluctant
to part with her; but, after the holding of a council, the strong appeals
of Colonel Butler, who was anxious for the release of his own wife and
family, prevailed. Mrs. Campbell, however, had been pledged to a Genesee
family, whither she was shortly to be removed; and as her liberation could
not be completed without the consent of that family, Guyanguahta, the aged
king of the Senecas, who had become her zealous friend, made the journey
to the Genesee on her behalf. He was successful, and Mrs. Campbell was
removed to Niagara. The aged king, being too old to go out upon the
war-path, had borne no part in the pending hostilities. He seemed little
disposed to evil, and on parting with the fair captive bade her an
affectionate farewell in the words following:--"You are about to return
to your home and friends," said the venerable sachem. "I rejoice. You
live a great way off, and many journeys from here. I am an old man, and
do not know that I shall live to the end of the war. If I do, I will come
and see you." [FN] Mrs. Campbell reached Niagara in June, 1779. While
residing there, among others she had an opportunity of seeing the
celebrated Catharine Montour, whose name occurs in the preceding pages
in connexion with the battle of Wyoming. One of her two sons, who had
signalized themselves at Wyoming, was also in the affair at Cherry Valley;
and it was he who made prisoner of Mr. Cannon, the father of Mrs.
Campbell, after he had been wounded by a musket ball. Being a Whig of
consideration, and also a member of the Committee of Safety, it was
determined to retain Mr. Cannon in captivity, for the purpose of
exchanging him for some one of their own men of like consequence. But his
age and his wound rendered him an inconvenient prisoner, and Kate Montour
was in a rage with her son for not having killed him outright. Yet,
notwithstanding this exhibition of a savage temper, she was treated with
marked consideration by the British officers.
* * * * *
[FN] Campbell's Annals.
It was not until June of the following year that Mrs. Campbell was sent
from Niagara to Montreal, on her way home. While residing at the former
post, the Indians having been driven into the fort, she was enabled to
recover three of her children. On her arrival at Montreal, she met with
Mrs. Butler and her family, who had been previously released. Here, also,
and in charge of that lady, Mrs. Campbell found her fourth child, a little
son who had been torn from her in the Cherry Valley massacre. He was
dressed in the green uniform of Butler's rangers; but had forgotten the
English language--speaking nothing but Indian. From Montreal Mrs. Campbell
was sent to Albany by the way of Lake Champlain, [FN] where she was shortly
afterward joined by her husband, who had been stationed at Fort Schuyler
most of the time during her captivity.
* * * * *
[FN] On her way from Montreal, a variety of circumstances and incidents
intervened to harass Mrs. Campbell and the prisoners returning in her
company, and to retard their progress. She had been detained four months
at Montreal, and these additional delays were exceedingly vexatious.
Before their departure from Crown Point, a rumor had reached the American
shores of the lake, from Ticonderoga to Skenesborough, that another
expedition was about to be undertaken from Canada against New-York, and
the inhabitants had become not a little alarmed at the prospect. It
happened that the men in the batteaux containing the prisoners, were
clad in blanket coats, and some of the women wore red cloaks. A scout
had discovered them on the lake, and taking them for a party of Indians
and Tories, gave the alarm, and before their arrival, more than a
thousand men had collected, under Col. Ethan Allen. While stopping at a
small fortress, eight miles from Castleton, it was announced that a flag
was approaching. It was supposed to be sent to demand the surrender of
the fortress. Col. Herrick, of the militia, struck his sword upon the
ground with such force that he broke it in pieces, saying it should not
be surrendered. Col. Allen told the prisoners that they should not again
fall into the hands of the enemy, and immediately mounting them upon
horseback, sent them off toward Albany, with an escort of a hundred men.
This flag was sent for the following reason:--It had been rumored that
the inhabitants in that section had said that if they were not protected
from the incursions of the Indians and Tories, they would seek protection
elsewhere. It is perhaps needless to add that this flag was sent to offer
them the protection of Great Britain--a proposition which was of course
refused.--_Campbell's Annals._
The destruction of Cherry Valley closed the warlike operations of both
nations, in the North, for that year. A formidable campaign had indeed
been projected early in the season, as has been already stated, not only
against the hostiles of the Six Nations, but likewise against the nations
more remote, for whom Detroit was the common centre. But the larger half
of this enterprise had been abandoned after the irruption into Wyoming,
and the next project contemplated the invasion of the Seneca country by
way of the Tioga and Chemung rivers. In October this branch of the project
was likewise deferred, at the suggestion of Generals Gates and Schuyler.
Meantime, notwithstanding that these enterprises had successively fallen
to the ground for want of "the sinews of war," Congress had been
projecting another stupendous campaign, comprehending a simultaneous
attack upon the whole northern range of British possessions, from Cape
Breton and Newfoundland to Detroit. The French fleet was to co-operate by
attacking the islands and territories at the estuary of the St. Lawrence;
while the Americans were to send an army to Detroit, another to Niagara,
a third to Oswego, and a fourth against Montreal by the way of St.
Francis. It is needless to add, that although Congress had arranged all
the details, the moment the plan was laid before the Commander-in-chief,
who had not previously been consulted in the premises, it was necessarily
laid aside. In the first place, the nation had not the means; and in the
second, Congress, in arranging matters for this splendid undertaking, had
forgotten that they were to leave Sir Henry Clinton, and all the British
forces in New-York, and at the South, computed at the least at seventeen
thousand men, behind! Thus closed the Northern campaigns of 1778. The
British, Tories and Indians went into winter-quarters, and the frontier
inhabitants disposed of themselves as best they could.
Much has been said in the traditions of Tryon County, and somewhat, also,
in the courts of law, in cases involving titles to real estate formerly
in the family of Sir William Johnson, respecting the burial of an iron
chest, by his son Sir John, previous to his flight to Canada, containing
the most valuable of his own and his father's papers. Late in the Autumn
of the present year, General Haldimand, at the request of Sir John, sent
a party of between forty and fifty men privately to Johnstown, to dig up
and carry the chest away. The expedition was successful; but the chest
not being sufficiently tight to prevent the influence of dampness from
the earth, the papers had become mouldy, rotten, and illegible, when taken
up. The information respecting this expedition was derived, in the Spring
following, from a man named Helmer, who composed one of the party, and
assisted in disinterring the chest. Helmer had fled to Canada with Sir
John. While retiring from Johnstown with the chest, he injured his ankle;
and by reason of his lameness, went back to his father's house, where he
remained concealed until Spring, when he was arrested. He was tried as
a spy by a court-martial, at Johnstown, April 15,1779, and sentenced to
death--chiefly on his own admissions to the court. A considerable number
of rather summary executions, by the Whigs of Tryon County, took place in
the course of the contest. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This information, in regard to the recovery of the iron chest, is
derived from the minutes of the court-martial, among the papers of Gen.
Clinton. The MS. narrative of Jacob Sammons, in the author's possession,
states that the chest was dug up during a night in May, 1778, by Lieut.
Crawford, at the head of forty men sent from Canada for that purpose.
Sammons then held a lease of the Johnson farm from the committee of
sequestrations. The chest had been buried beneath one of the garden
walks. Sammons discovered it in the morning, with the fragments of papers
scattered around it. But as he wrote his narrative long afterward, the
probability is that the date given on the trial of Helmer is the true
one.
The leading military events occurring in other parts of the country,
during the year 1778, have already been incidentally adverted to, with
the exception of those that transpired at the South. In the month of June,
the Earl of Carlisle, Governor Johnstone, and William Eden, Esq. who, in
conjunction with General and Lord Howe, had been appointed Commissioners
to make another attempt to treat with the Colonies, arrived, and sent
their instructions to Congress. A letter from the President was despatched
in reply, rebuking the Commissioners for the language indulged by them
in regard to the King of France, our ally, and again peremptorily refusing
to entertain a negotiation, except upon the basis of independent States.
On the 6th of August, M. Gerard was publicly received as Minister
Plenipotentiary of the King of France--to the great joy of the American
people; and on the 14th of September, Dr. Benjamin Franklin was appointed
Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Versailles.
In the course of the Summer, two incursions of British regulars and
American refugees had been made from Florida into Georgia. Both
expeditions met with such disheartening obstacles, as to induce their
retreat without accomplishing more than the destruction of the church,
dwelling-houses, and rice-fields of Midway. In return for these
visitations. General Robert Howe led an expedition of about two thousand
men, mostly militia, into Florida. He captured the British posts on the
St. Mary's river, and was proceeding successfully, when his march was
arrested by sickness, so fatal to his army as to compel a relinquishment
of the enterprise. Toward the close of the year, the British
Commander-in-chief determined to strike a signal blow against the South.
For this purpose an expedition of two thousand men, under the command of
Colonel Campbell, an officer of courage and ability, embarked at New-York
on the 27th of November, destined against Savannah. After a passage of
three weeks, Colonel Campbell landed near the mouth of Savannah river.
General Howe, to whom the defence of Georgia had been confided, had but
six hundred regular troops and a few hundred militia to oppose the
invaders. This officer had taken a position between the landing and the
town, where a battle was fought on the 29th of December. He was
out-numbered, out-generaled, and beaten, with a loss of one hundred
killed. The town and fort of Savannah, thirty-eight officers, four hundred
and fifteen privates, twenty-three mortars, together with the shipping in
the river, and a large quantity of ammunition and provisions, fell into
the hands of the conquerors. It was an easy victory to the enemy, whose
loss was but seven killed and nineteen wounded.
From these glimpses of the events of the year 1778, occurring elsewhere
than in the Indian country, it seems, after the battle of Monmouth, to
have been a season of comparative inactivity on both sides. Still, having
repossessed themselves of the strong pass of the Highlands immediately
after the return of Sir Henry Clinton and Commodore Hotham to New-York,
toward the close of the preceding year, no lack of industry was exhibited
on the part of the Americans in strengthening and multiplying its
defences, from which neither force nor treachery ever again dislodged
them. The prosecution of those works had been originally entrusted to
General Putnam; but the advanced age of that patriotic officer had
rendered him less active than formerly, and he had become unpopular in
New-York--mainly from an impression that a more energetic commander,
stationed, as he was, with an army at Fishkill, and apprised of the
approach of Sir Henry Clinton, would have saved Forts Clinton and
Montgomery. By directions from the Commander-in-chief, therefore, the
Connecticut veteran had been transferred back to his own State, upon a
different service.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Indian siege of Fort Laurens--Successful stratagems--Flight of the
pack-horses--The fort abandoned--Projected enterprise from Detroit--Gov.
Hamilton captured at St. Vincent by Col. Clarke--Projects of
Brant--Uneasiness in the West of New-York--Deliberations of the Oneidas
and Onondagas--Brant's projects defeated--Treachery of the
Onondagas--Colonel Van Schaick marches to lay waste their
towns--Instructions of General Clinton--Passage of Wood Creek and Oneida
Lake--Advance upon the Indian towns--Their destruction--Return of the
expedition to Fort Schuyler--Mission of the Oneidas to Fort Schuyler in
behalf of the Onondagas--Speech of Good Peter--Reply of Colonel Van
Schaick--Irruption of Tories and Indians into the lower Mohawk
country--Stone Arabia--Defence of his house by Captain Richer--The
Indians in Schoharie--General Clinton traverses the Mohawk
valley--McClellan's expedition to Oswegatchie--Unsuccessful--Irruption
of the Onondagas into Cobleskill--Defeat of the Americans--The
settlement destroyed--Murders in the neighborhood of Fort
Pitt--Irruptions of Tories into Warwarsing--Invasion of Minisink--Battle
near the Delaware--Massacre of the Orange County militia--Battle with
the Shawanese.
The erection of an advanced post, called Fort Laurens, on the Tuscarawa,
by General McIntosh, who was directed to advance upon the Indian towns
of Sandusky, has been mentioned in a preceding chapter. Colonel Gibson,
who had been left in command of the fort, with a garrison of one hundred
and fifty men, soon found his position rather uncomfortable, by reason of
the swarms of Indians hovering about the precincts, who soon became so
numerous as completely to invest the little fortress. The first hostile
demonstration of the forest warriors was executed with equal cunning and
success. The horses of the garrison were allowed to forage for themselves
upon the herbage, among the dried prairie-grass immediately in the
vicinity of the fort--wearing bells, that they might be the more easily
found if straying too far. It happened one morning in January, that the
horses had all disappeared, but the bells were heard, seemingly at no
great distance. They had, in truth, been stolen by the Indians, and
conveyed away. The bells, however, were taken off, and used for another
purpose. Availing themselves of the tall prairie-grass, the Indians formed
an ambuscade, at the farthest extremity of which they caused the bells to
jingle as a decoy. The artifice was successful. A party of sixteen men
was sent in pursuit of the straggling steeds, who fell into the snare.
Fourteen were killed upon the spot, and the remaining two taken prisoners,
one of whom returned at the close of the war, and of the other nothing
was ever heard. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The Rev. Mr. Doddridge, whose little work is the authority for all
the facts relative to Fort Laurens, states that Captain, afterward
General Briggs, of Virginia, being the officer of the day, was
exceedingly desirous of heading the party sent to bring in the horses,
but was refused permission by Colonel Gibson, who remarked, that when he
had occasion to send out a captain's command, he should be thankful for
his services, but until then, he must be content to discharge his duties
within the fort. "On what trifling circumstances," adds the good
minister, "do life and death sometimes depend!"
Toward evening of the same day, the whole force of the Indians, painted,
and in the full costume of war, presented themselves in full view of the
garrison, by marching in single files, though at a respectful distance,
across the prairie. Their number, according to a count from one of the
bastions, was eight hundred and forty-seven--altogether too great to be
encountered in the field by so small a garrison. After this display of
their strength, the Indians took a position upon an elevated piece of
ground at no great distance from the fort, though on the opposite side of
the river. In this situation they remained several weeks, in a state
rather of armed neutrality than of active hostility. Some of them would
frequently approach the fort sufficiently near to hold conversations with
those upon the walls. They uniformly professed a desire for peace, but
protested against the encroachments of the white people upon their
lands--more especially was the erection of a fort so far within the
territory claimed by them as exclusively their own, a cause of
complaint--nay, of admitted exasperation. There was with the Americans
in the fort, an aged friendly Indian named John Thompson, who seemed to
be in equal favor with both parties, visiting the Indian encampment at
pleasure, and coming and going as he chose. They informed Thompson that
they deplored the continuance of hostilities, and finally sent word by
him to Colonel Gibson, that they were desirous of peace, and if he would
present them with a barrel of flour, they would send in their proposals
the next day. The flour was sent, but the Indians, instead of fulfilling
their part of the stipulation, withdrew, and entirely disappeared. They
had, indeed, continued the siege as long as they could obtain subsistence,
and raised it only because of the lack of supplies. Still, as the
beleaguerment was begun in stratagem, so was it ended. Colonel Gibson's
provisions were also running short, and as he supposed the Indians had
entirely gone off, he directed Colonel Clark, of the Pennsylvania line,
with a detachment of fifteen men, to escort the invalids of the garrison,
amounting to ten or a dozen men, back to Fort McIntosh. But the Indians
had left a strong party of observation lurking in the neighborhood of the
fort; and the escort had proceeded only two miles before it was fallen
upon, and the whole number killed with the exception of four--one of whom,
a captain, escaped back to the fort. The bodies of the slain were interred
by the garrison, on the same day, with the honors of war. A party was
likewise sent out to collect the remains of the fourteen who had first
fallen by the ambuscade, and bury them; which service was performed. It
was found, however, that the wolves had mostly devoured their flesh, and
by setting traps upon the new-made grave, some of those ravenous beasts
were caught and shot on the following morning.
The situation of the garrison was now becoming deplorable. For two weeks
the men had been reduced to half a pound of sour flour, and a like
quantity of offensive meat, per diem; and for a week longer they were
compelled to subsist only upon raw hides, and such roots as they could
find in the circumjacent woods and prairies, when General McIntosh most
opportunely arrived to their relief, with supplies, and a reinforcement
of seven hundred men. But still they came near being immediately reduced
to short allowance again, by an untoward accident causing the loss of a
great portion of their fresh supplies. These supplies were transported
through the wilderness upon pack-horses. The garrison, overjoyed at the
arrival of succors, on their approach to within about a hundred yards of
the fort manned the parapets and fired a salute of musketry. But the
horses must have been young in the service. Afrightened at the detonation
of the guns, they began to rear and plunge, and broke from their guides.
The example was contagious, and in a moment more, the whole cavalcade of
pack-horses were bounding into the woods at full gallop, dashing their
burdens to the ground, and scattering them over many a rood in all
directions--the greater portion of which could never be recovered. But
there was yet enough of provisions saved to cause the mingling of evil
with the good. Very incautiously, the officers dealt out two days' rations
per man, the whole of which was devoured by the famishing soldiers, to
the imminent hazard of the lives of all, and resulting in the severe
sickness of many. Leaving the fort again, General McIntosh assigned the
command to Major Vernon, who remained upon the station several months. He,
in turn, was left to endure the horrors of famine, until longer to endure
was death; whereupon the fort was evacuated and the position
abandoned--its occupation and maintenance, at the cost of great fatigue
and suffering, and the expense of many lives, having been of not the least
service to the country.
Originally it had been the purpose of General McIntosh to penetrate
through the wilderness to Lake Erie, and thence make a descent upon
Detroit; and by a letter from the Commander-in-chief to a Committee of
Congress appointed to confer with him upon military subjects, it seems to
have been his opinion that McIntosh had made the best dispositions for
the enterprise which the circumstances of the case allowed. But he was
disappointed in his expectations of men, provisions, and stores. This
seems to have been one of those undertakings by order of Congress, without
consultation with the Commander-in-chief, which had previously annoyed
him not a little. Still, it received his approbation, the more readily
because its design was in coincidence with his own views on the subject
of Indian warfare--his uniform opinion being, that the cheapest and most
effectual method of opposing them, was to carry the war into their own
country. By their incursions into the frontier settlements, so long as
the Americans were content to act on the defensive, the Indians had little
to lose and every thing to gain; whereas the direct reverse would be the
consequence of an offensive war against them. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Letter of Washington to the Committee of Congress, Jan. 12,1779.
But, notwithstanding the untoward result of General McIntosh's expedition,
the Indian branch of the service opened auspiciously the present year
elsewhere, and first in a region yet deeper in the west than Fort Laurens.
Colonel Hamilton, the British Lieutenant-Governor of Detroit--a rough,
bad-tempered, and cruel officer, who had signalised himself by the
exertion of a malignant influence over the Indians--and had provoked them
to take up the hatchet against the Americans by every possible
means--instigating them to deeds of blood by large rewards--had projected
a powerful Indian expedition against the Virginia frontier, to be executed
early in the Spring. [FN-1] With this design, at the close of the
preceding Autumn, Hamilton left Detroit, and took post at St. Vincents, on
the Wabash, in order to act earlier and more efficiently immediately
after the breaking up of Winter. But his purpose was most happily defeated
by a blow from a direction which he did not anticipate. Colonel Clarke,
who was yet with a small force in command of Kaskaskias, having learned,
in February, that Hamilton had weakened himself by despatching many of his
Indians in different directions to annoy the frontiers of the States,
formed the bold resolution of attacking him in his quarters. After a
difficult movement by land and water, at the head of one hundred and
thirty men, Clarke suddenly arrived before St. Vincents. The town at once
submitted; and on the following day, Colonel Hamilton and the garrison
surrendered themselves prisoners of war. It was the good fortune of
Colonel Clarke also to intercept and capture a valuable convoy of
provisions and stores, coming to St. Vincents from Detroit. Hamilton was
transferred to Virginia, where the Council of the Commonwealth instituted
an inquiry into the inhuman conduct imputed to him, and his confinement
in irons, on a diet of bread and water, was recommended. [FN-2] The plans
of the enemy were not a little disconcerted by this small, though
brilliant affair; and peace with several of the Indian tribes in that
direction was the immediate consequence.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Should any one doubt the propriety of speaking thus harshly in
history of this Colonel Hamilton, let him read the "Narrative of the
capture and treatment of John Dodge, by the British at Detroit,"
published in Almon's Remembrancer, vol. vi. pp. 73-81.
[FN-2] Ramsay.
In the mean time, and before this disaster befell the Detroit expedition,
some bold winter emprise was projected by Joseph Brant, which--in
consequence, probably, of the capture of Hamilton--miscarried, or rather
was not attempted to be put in execution. It does not appear what the
measure was upon which Brant was meditating; but on the 1st of January,
Colonel Van Dyck, then in command of Fort Schuyler, wrote to General
Clinton, "that the Oneidas had just received information that the enemy
seemed determined to strike some capital blow during the winter." In
addition to an application from the Quiquoga Indians to join them in the
expedition, Colonel Van Dyck stated that "one of the principal Oneida
warriors had received a private letter from Joseph Brant, inviting him to
join the Six Nations with his adherents, that he might avoid the danger
to which his tribe was exposed." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Papers of General James Clinton.
There is reason to suppose that a part of Brant's project was to strike a
blow upon the Oneidas themselves, unless they could be seduced from their
neutrality--amounting, as it did, almost to an alliance with the United
States. [FN] But this faithful tribe were neither to be coaxed nor driven
from the stand they had maintained since the beginning of the controversy.
On the 16th and 17th of January, the Oneidas and Tuscaroras held a
council, to deliberate upon the invitations of the Quiquogas and Captain
Brant, the result of which they communicated to Colonel Van Dyck on the
following day. They informed that efficient officer, that after giving
permission to any of their tribe, who desired to join the enemy, to
withdraw, there was a unanimous resolution of the council "to stand by
each other in defence of their lives and liberty, against any enemy that
might be disposed to attack them;" and to the late message of the
Quiquogas, they unanimously agreed to return the following answer, viz:
"That as they had ever behaved themselves in a quiet, and peaceable manner
toward the confederacy, they could not conceive that their conduct could
be considered reprehensible by them. They likewise put them in mind of
their long and unwearied efforts to prevent the Six Nations involving
themselves in the calamities of war, and that they had exerted themselves
so far as by their influence to relieve, from close confinement, some of
their people whom the fortune of war had put into the hands of their
enemies. But that they now utterly despaired of ever being able to effect
a reconciliation between the Confederacy and the United States; and that
the only hope they had of them was, that some of them would, in time,
abandon the cause thus imprudently espoused; that they would never violate
their alliance with the American States; and though they would not be the
aggressors, or wantonly provoke any tribe to war, yet that they should
henceforth be on their guard against any enemy whatever."
* * * * *
[FN] On the 9th of April, 1779, Congress passed a resolution granting the
commission of Captain to four of the Oneida and Tuscarora Indians, and
eight commissions of Lieutenants. Subsequently, the then principal Oneida
chief, Louis Atayataroughta, was commissioned a Lieutenant-colonel.
Louis, or "Colonel Louis" as he was afterward called, was the
representative of three races, being part Indian, part Negro, and part
white man. A few other commissions were issued to those Indians in the
course of the war. The greater number served faithfully. Some were
killed, and three of the lieutenants deserted to the enemy, and exchanged
their commissions for the same rank in the British service.
Seven of the principal Onondaga chiefs, who had hitherto been considered
as neutrals, being at the time in Oneida, on their way to Fort Schuyler,
it was determined to call them in to the council, and acquaint them with
the above resolution. It was accordingly done by the transmission of a
large black belt of wampum. The Onondagas replied, "That they were very
glad to hear the resolution which their children, the Oneidas and
Tuscaroras, had made. They observed, that as the Oneidas, who were the
head of the confederacy, had committed the council-fire and tree of peace
to their care, with a charge to guard them against the approach of any
thing which might injure either, or tend to interrupt the harmony of the
confederacy, they had therefore invariably pursued the path of peace; and
though they had been desired by the opposite party of their tribe to
extinguish the council-fire, yet they had refused, nor could they
consistently do it while the Oneidas retained any hopes of accommodating
matters in the Six Nations. But as the heads of the confederacy had
declared themselves so fully upon that subject, they had now let go their
hold of peace, extinguished the council-fire, and sunk the tree into the
earth; and were determined to join their children, the Oneidas and
Tuscaroras, to oppose any invader."
The Onondagas farther engaged, upon their return home, to effect a final
separation in their tribe, and insist that every one should declare for
one side or the other. The conduct of most of the Onondagas had been from
the first equivocal--often openly hostile. But those present at this
council manifested a better feeling, and joined in the request of the
Oneidas for troops to aid in their protection. The Oneidas, on this
occasion, placed great confidence in the professions of their Onondaga
brethren, and were in high spirits at the result of the council. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] General Clinton's correspondence--MS. letter of Colonel Van Dyck.
There was other evidence, not only of the intention of Thayendanegea to
make a powerful Indian descent upon the Mohawk during this winter, but of
the supposed fidelity of these Onondagas to the United Sates. About the
middle of February, General Clinton, having through various channels and
by several expresses, received information at Albany of such a design,
marched to Schenectady with Colonel Van Schaick's regiment, ordering the
latter as far up the Mohawk as Caughnawaga, there to await the event. On
the 26th of February, Captain Copp, of Fort Van Dyck, [FN-1] wrote to
Captain Graham, then in charge of Fort Schuyler, announcing that two of
the Oneida messengers, of distinguished (Indian) families, had just
returned from Niagara, where they had obtained positive evidence of
Brant's purpose. The Mohawk chief had received expresses, announcing that
the Shawanese and Delawares were to strike a simultaneous blow upon the
frontier of Virginia; [FN-2] and Brant himself was to lead the main
expedition direct to the Mohawk, while another diversion was to be created
by sending a smaller force round by the Unadilla, to fall upon the
settlements of Schoharie. In regard to the fidelity of the Onondagas, it
was stated by the Oneida chiefs that fourteen of that nation had been
despatched to Niagara, by the chiefs of the tribe, to persuade their
brethren, who had taken up the hatchet with the Mohawks, to return. But
these fourteen messengers had not been permitted to come back themselves,
and the Onondagas were apprehensive that they and all their people at
Niagara had been made prisoners. The uneasiness in Tryon County was
greatly increased under these circumstances. Major Jelles Fonda wrote to
General Clinton, stating that there were yet three hundred Tory families
in the northern part of that settlement, affording aid and comfort to the
hostile refugees, who kept up a continual intercourse with them, across
through the woods, or by lake Champlain, to Canada. For greater security,
therefore, he urged permission to build a strong block-house, and station
fifty rangers within it, on the Sacondaga river, directly north of
Johnstown.
* * * * *
[FN-1] In the Oneida or Onondaga country.
[FN-2] The project of Colonel Hamilton, frustrated by his capture.
Captain Brant, however, either abandoned or deferred the threatened
invasion, probably for the reason already indicated--the capture of
Colonel Hamilton. The winter consequently passed away without any serious
disturbance in that region. But, notwithstanding all the fair professions
of the Onondagas, their treachery had become alike so manifest and so
injurious, as to render it expedient, immediately on the opening of the
Spring, to make them a signal example to the rest of their red brethren.
Accordingly, early in April an expedition was detailed upon this service
by General Clinton, with the approbation of the Commander-in-chief,
consisting of detachments from the regiments of Colonels Van Schaick and
Gansevoort, to the number of five hundred men, under the conduct of the
former. The troops were moved as expeditiously as possible to Fort
Schuyler, and thirty batteaux were simultaneously ordered thither to
transport them down Wood Creek, and through the Oneida Lake to Three
Rivers. Colonel Van Schaick's instructions were very full and explicit
upon every point. The design was to proceed as rapidly and cautiously as
possible, in order to take the Indians by surprise; for which purpose, on
the morning of the departure of the expedition, it was to be announced
that its destination was against Oswego. Colonel Van Schaick was directed
to burn and utterly destroy the village and castle of the Onondagas,
together with all their cattle and effects; but he was strictly enjoined
to make as many prisoners as possible, and put none to death who could be
taken alive. The following passage occurs in the instructions of General
Clinton on this occasion, which is worthy of preservation:--"Bad as the
savages are, they never violate the chastity of any women, their
prisoners. Although I have very little apprehension that any of the
soldiers will so far forget their character as to attempt such a crime on
the Indian women who may fall into their hands, yet it will be well to
take measures to prevent such a stain upon our army." [FN] This injunction
speaks volumes in praise of the soldier who wrote it. Colonel Van Schaick
was farther enjoined to dissuade any of our Indian allies from
accompanying him; and Lieutenant-Colonel Willett and Major Cochran were
detailed to serve in the expedition.
* * * * *
[FN] MS. instructions of General Clinton.
The orders to Colonel Van Schaick were issued on the 9th of April, and so
rapidly were the necessary arrangements expedited, that every thing was
in readiness for the departure from Fort Schuyler on the 18th. During the
evening of that day, the batteaux, with the necessary stores, were
silently removed across the carrying-place to Wood Creek, and all things
there placed in order. The troops were early in motion on the morning of
the 19th, and a thick mist contributed essentially in covering the
movement, had there been any spies lurking about to make observation. The
number of men embarked, including officers, was five hundred and
fifty-eight. Their progress to the Oneida Lake was considerably impeded,
by reason of trees which had fallen across the creek; so that much of the
first day's journey was performed by the troops on foot. The passage of
the Oneida Lake was effected as expeditiously as possible; and although
they encountered a strong and excessively disagreeable head-wind, they
nevertheless reached the Onondaga Landing, opposite to old Fort
Brewington, with the whole flotilla, by three o'clock in the afternoon of
the 20th. Leaving a suitable guard with the boats, the little army pushed
immediately forward, and, despite the obstacles in traversing a
deep-tangled forest, the soil resembling a morass, they marched nine miles
without halting. The night was dark, wet, and cold; but knowing well the
wariness of the enemy and the celerity of their movements, and how
frequently they were prepared to strike when least expected, the troops
were necessarily precluded from kindling fires, and obliged to sleep on
their arms. The march was resumed very early on the morning of the 21st,
and in order to save time, they were obliged to ford an arm of the
Onondaga Lake, about two hundred yards wide and four feet in depth.
Arriving at the estuary of Onondaga Creek, at the head of the lake,
Captain Graham, commanding the advance guard, captured one of the warriors
of the tribe; and although they were now within two or three miles of the
village and castle, this was the first Indian seen, or who was apprised
of the approach of the expedition. Captain Graham was now directed again
to advance with all possible rapidity and caution, for the purpose of
surrounding the lower castle, while the residue of the main force was
divided into small detachments, and hurried forward for the purpose of
falling upon the other towns, in such rapid succession as, if possible,
to take all the villages by surprise. This chain of villages extended
through the valley of the Onondaga Creek for the distance of ten miles.
The tribe had once been among the most powerful of the Aganuschioni, or
confederated people of the Five Nations. Situated in the centre of the
confederacy, to the Onondagas, time immemorial, had been committed the
keeping of the great council-fire. This fire had been extinguished in
1692 by Count Frontenac, who then came against it at the head of a
powerful expedition from Montreal, and utterly destroyed the village. It
had again been put out in the Spring of 1777, and was now doomed to a
third extinction, equally summary and complete with the former. But
although the expedition of Colonel Van Schaick had been thus far, and was
throughout, admirably conducted, yet the surprise was not as complete as
had been intended. While Captain Graham's company was securing a few
prisoners taken in the outskirts of the village, near the principal
castle, means were found by the wily adversary to give the alarm in
advance. The tidings, of course, flew from village to village with greater
rapidity than the several detachments of troops could equal, and the
Indians scattered off to the woods in all directions. But such was the
precipitancy of their flight, that they carried nothing with them--not
even their arms. Still, thirty-three of their number were taken prisoners,
and twelve killed. Three villages, consisting of about fifty houses, were
burnt to the ground; and a large quantity of provisions, consisting
chiefly of beans and corn, destroyed. Nearly one hundred muskets were
taken among the booty, and several rifles, together with a considerable
quantity of ammunition. Their swivel at the council-house was rendered
useless, and their cattle and horses were destroyed. The work of
destruction having been completed, the detachment immediately commenced
its return to Fort Schuyler. It was fired upon in the afternoon by a small
party of Indians in the woods, but without injury, while one of the enemy
fell by the return fire. On Saturday, the 24th, the troops were all back
again at Fort Schuyler, having performed a journey, going and returning,
of one hundred and eighty miles, and effected their object without the
loss of a single man. [FN] In the letter enclosing his official report to
General Clinton, Colonel Van Schaick spoke in the highest terms of the
good conduct of the officers and soldiers engaged in this expedition; and
bestowed the warmest encomiums upon Colonel Willett and Major Cochran, for
the efficient assistance received from them.
* * * * *
[FN] Colonel Van Schaick's report--papers of General Clinton.
At this distance of time, from the very imperfect data afforded by written
history, this expedition against the Onondagas appears like a harsh, if
not an unnecessary measure. But, notwithstanding the professions of this
nation, those in the direction of public affairs at that period
unquestionably felt its chastisement to be a work of stern necessity.
General Schuyler had written that unless some exemplary blow should be
inflicted upon the hostiles of the Six Nations, Schenectady would shortly
become the boundary of the American settlements in that direction. The
enterprise had, moreover, the sanction of the Commander-in-chief; while
nothing could be more humane, in regard to a warlike expedition, than the
instructions of General Clinton. But no small degree of uneasiness was
nevertheless felt by the Oneidas, at the swift destruction which had thus
overtaken the principal town of their next-door neighbors; and it was not
long after the return of Colonel Van Schaick to Fort Schuyler, before he
was visited by a formal delegation from that nation. At the head of the
embassage was Skenandoah, an important sachem of the tribe, accompanied by
Good Peter, the orator, and Mr. Deane, the interpreter. The object of this
mission was an inquiry into the causes of the movement against the
Onondagas, with whom, as has been previously remarked, the Oneidas were
closely connected by intermarriages. Having been introduced, Good Peter
spoke as follows:--
"Brother: You see before you some of your friends, the Oneidas; they come
to see you.
"The engagements that have been entered into between us and our brothers,
the Americans, are well known to you.
"We were much surprised, a few days ago, by the news which a warrior
brought to our Castle with a war-shout, informing us that our friends, the
Onondagas, were destroyed.
"We were desirous to see you on this occasion, as they think you might
have been mistaken in destroying that part of the tribe.
"We suppose you cannot answer us upon this subject, as the matter was
agreed upon below. But perhaps you may know something of this matter.
"When we heard of this account, we sent back word to our friends remaining
among them, telling them not to be pale-hearted because some of them were
destroyed, but to keep up with their former engagements.
"We sent off some of our people to Canasaraga, to invite them to come to
our village; but they returned an answer that they had sent some of their
own runners to Onondaga, to learn the particulars, and they waited for
their return.
"Our people brought for answer, that they were much obliged to their
children, the Oneidas, for attending to them in their distresses, and they
would be glad if they would speak smoothly to their brethren, the
Americans, to know whether all this was done by design, or by mistake.
"If it was a mistake, say they, we hope to see our brethren the
prisoners--if by design, we still will keep our engagements with you, and
not join the King's party. But if our brethren, the Americans, mean to
destroy us also, we will not fly--we will wait here and receive our death.
"Brother: This was the answer of the Onondagas. As for us, the Oneidas and
Tuscaroras, you know our sentiments. We have supposed we know yours.
"The Commissioners promised us that when they found any thing wrong, they
would tell us and make it right.
"Brother: If we have done anything wrong, we shall now be glad if you
would now tell us so." [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] The Sexagenary, a collection of revolutionary papers connected with
the border wars, edited by S. De Witt Bloodgood, Esq.
At the end of each sentence, the attending sachems uttered the usual
sound of approbation, and having concluded, Good Peter resumed his seat.
The address was that of a diplomatist; and it was supposed probable that
the Onondagas were themselves at the bottom of the embassy, with a view of
obtaining information by which to regulate their future conduct. Equally
adroit was the reply of Colonel Van Schaick, given in the following
terms:--
"I am glad to see my friends, the Oneidas and Tuscaroras. I perfectly
remember the engagements the Five Nations entered into four years ago,
and that they promised to preserve a strict and honorable neutrality
during the present war, which was all we asked them to do for us.
"But I likewise know that all of them, except our brethren the Oneidas
and Tuscaroras, broke their engagements, and flung away the chain of
friendship. But the Onondagas have been great murderers; we have found the
scalps of our brothers at their Castle.
"They were cut off, not by mistake, but by design--I was ordered to do
it--and it is done.
"As for the other matters of which you speak, I recommend a deputation to
the Commissioners at Albany. I am not appointed to treat with you on those
subjects.
"I am a warrior. My duty is to obey the orders which they send me."
No farther explanations appear to have been interchanged; and the Oneidas
were perhaps the more readily pacified, inasmuch as they were really
friendly to the Americans, while at the same time they must have been
acquainted with the conduct of the Onondagas, which had justly incurred
the chastisement. Scalping parties were always hovering about the
unprotected borders, especially in the neighborhood of Fort Schuyler; and
the Indians of none of the tribes were more frequently discovered
belonging to these parties, than of that nation.
It is, perhaps, a coincidence worth noting, that on the very day on which
Colonel Van Schaick departed from Fort Schuyler for Onondaga, the lower
section of the Mohawk Valley was thrown into alarm by the sudden
appearance of an Indian force simultaneously on both sides of the river,
in the vicinity of Palatine. On the South side a party rushed down upon
the settlement, took three prisoners, together with several horses, and
drove the inhabitants into Fort Plank. At the very same hour another
division of the savages made a descent upon the back part of Stone-Arabia,
where, in the onset, they burnt two houses and murdered one man. The next
house in their course belonged to Captain Richer. The occupants were
Richer, his wife, and two sons, and an old man. The Captain and his two
boys being armed, on the near approach of the Indians gave them a warm
reception. A sharp action ensued. The old man, being unarmed, was killed;
as also was one of the brave boys, a lad seventeen years of age. Captain
Richer was severely wounded and his arm was broken; his other son was also
wounded in the elbow, and his wife in one of her legs. And yet,
notwithstanding that the whole garrison was either killed or wounded, the
Indians retreated on the loss of two of their number.
On the same day a party of Senecas appeared in Schoharie, made prisoners
of Mr. Lawyer and Mr. Cowley, and plundered their houses. The panic was
again general; the people flying to the forts for safety, and the
Committee of Palatine writing immediately to General Clinton, at Albany,
for assistance. The General was an officer of great activity, and so
rapidly did he move in cases of alarm, that he traversed the Mohawk
Valley with Colonel Gansevoort's regiment and the Schenectady militia,
and was back at Albany again on the 28th. The Indians who appeared on the
south side were from the West--those on the north side were Mohawks from
Canada. General Clinton, in his despatches to the Governor, his brother,
expressed an opinion, that but for his timely movement on that occasion,
the enemy would have driven the settlements all in upon Schenectady. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. letter of Jacob R. Cork and Peter Wagner to General Clinton,
and General Clinton's letter to the Governor.
On the 30th of April, Lieutenants McClellan and Hardenburgh returned to
Fort Schuyler from an unsuccessful expedition at the head of a body of
Indians, against the small British garrison at Oswegatchie. It was their
intention to take the fort by surprise; but, falling in prematurely with
some straggling Indians, several shots were imprudently exchanged, by
reason of which their approach became known to the garrison. They then
attempted by stratagem to draw the enemy from the fort, and partly
succeeded, but could not induce them to venture far enough from their
works to cut them off; and on approaching the fort themselves, the
assailants were so warmly received by cannister and grape, as to be
compelled to retreat without unnecessary delay. The only service
performed was to send a Caughnawaga Indian into Canada with a letter, in
French, by "a French General," probably the Marquis de Lafayette,
addressed to the Canadians, and written in the preceding Autumn. [FN-1]
This expedition was despatched from Fort Schuyler on the day before
Colonel Van Schaick moved upon Onondaga; and from a letter addressed by
General Clinton, six weeks afterward, to General Sullivan, there is reason
to believe one object was to get clear of the Oneida Indians then in the
fort, until Colonel Van Schaick should have proceeded so far upon his
expedition, that they or their people would not be able to give the
Onondagas notice of his approach. All the Indians still remaining in Fort
Schuyler on the 18th, were detained expressly for that object of
precaution. General Clinton conceded their usefulness as scouts and spies
upon the British forces; but, he observed, "their attachment to one
another is too strong to admit of their being of any service when employed
against their fellows." [FN-2] This testimony is certainly not
discreditable to the Indian character as such.
* * * * *
[FN-1] McClellan's letter to General Clinton.
[FN-2] Letter of Gen. Clinton to Gen. Sullivan.
But if, as has been seen, the Oneidas were disposed to send a deputation
to make pacific inquiries at Fort Schuyler, in regard to Colonel Van
Schaick's attack upon their neighbors, the descendants of Garanguli and
Sadakenaghtie [FN-1] were not themselves willing to pass the matter over
thus lightly. Fired with indignation at the destruction of their villages
and castle, and the putting out of the great council-fire which they had
so long kept burning at their national altar, they resolved upon summary
vengeance. To this end, three hundred of their warriors were speedily upon
the war-path, bending their steps to the valley of the Schoharie-kill. The
settlement of Cobleskill, [FN-2] which had suffered so severely the
preceding year, situated about ten miles west of the Schoharie-kill, and
yet comprising nineteen German families, was the first object of attack.
But they were prevented from taking the place by surprise, in consequence
of two of their number straggling a considerable distance in advance of
the main body, who were discovered by a scout of two of the Cobleskill
militia. One of the Indians was shot, and the other fled; and the scouts
hastened home to give the alarm. Intelligence of the enemy's approach was
immediately despatched to Schoharie, with a request for assistance. A
captain of the Continental army was thereupon sent to Cobleskill with a
detachment of regular troops. On the following morning a party of Indians
sallied out of the woods, and after approaching the settlement, suddenly
returned. They were pursued by a small detachment of troops to the edge
of the forest, where their reception was so sharp as to compel a retreat.
The Captain himself immediately marched to the scene of action with the
whole of his little band, together with fifteen volunteers of the militia.
The Indians receded before the whites for a time, and continued the
deception by showing themselves at first in small numbers on the skirt of
the forest, until they had accomplished the identical purpose they had in
view. The Captain and his men pursued, without any knowledge of the
disparity of numbers they had to encounter, until the Indians had drawn
them sufficiently within their toils to make a stand. Their numbers now
multiplied rapidly, and the battle became animated. The Captain fell
wounded, and was soon afterward killed. His men, panic-stricken, instantly
fled; but in the twinkling of an eye, a cloud of several hundred savages,
until then in concealment, rose upon all sides of them, pouring in a
deadly shower of rifle balls, and making the forest ring with their
appalling yells. The inhabitants of the settlement, on perceiving the
disaster which had befallen the troops, fled in the direction of Schoharie
with a portion of the fugitive soldiers. Their flight was facilitated, or
rather they were prevented from being overtaken, by seven of the Captain's
brave fellows, who took possession of a deserted house and made a resolute
defence. From the windows of their castle they fired briskly upon the
Indians, and bringing them to a pause, detained them until the inhabitants
had made good their flight to Schoharie. Unable to drive the soldiers
from the house, the Indians at length applied the brand, and the brave
fellows were burnt to death within its walls. The whole settlement was
then plundered and burnt by the Indians. But they did not proceed farther
toward Schoharie. The loss of the whites was twenty-two killed and two
taken prisoners. The bodies of the slain were found the next day, sadly
mutilated; and in the hand of one of them the Indians had placed a roll
of Continental bills--a severe satire upon the description of money for
which the soldiers were serving. The great fact, however, that it was the
cause, and not the pay, which kept the Americans in the field, could
scarcely be appreciated by the forest warriors. They were led in this
battle by a Tory, who was subsequently killed by the celebrated
Murphy. [FN-3] Their loss was severe, but to what extent was not known.
Thus was amply avenged the destruction of Onondaga.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Two illustrious Onondaga warriors and orators of the preceding
century. Vide Colden's Canada.
[FN-2] Usually thus written; but the old inhabitants say it should be
Cobuskill.--_Spafford._
[FN-3] Campbell's Annals. The authority of Mr. Campbell for most if not
all his information respecting the operations of the enemy in the
Schoharie country, was the late Rev. Mr. Fenn, of Harpersfield--a
gentleman most intimately acquainted with the early history of that
region. Still, there is clearly a mistake in assigning, as has been done,
Captain Patrick as the American leader against the Onondagas on this
occasion, since that officer fell in the same neighborhood more than a
year before, as stated in a letter written at the time by Colonel Varick.
[See chap. xvi. text, and also a note.] Who led the Americans on this
last occasion, the author has not ascertained. But the accounts just
referred to, that it was Captain Patrick, are certainly
incorrect--unless, indeed, there wore two Patricks, both captains, and
both killed in the same neighborhood.
During the month of April, the inhabitants of Monongalia, on the
north-western Virginia border and the western part of Pennsylvania, in the
vicinity of Fort Pitt, had been severely harassed by the Indians. On the
9th of that month, a party of four men, despatched from Fort Pitt, were
all killed and scalped at the distance of fifteen miles from the fort. On
the 13th, a man named David Morgan, of Monongalia, discovered two Indians
creeping upon several children at work in a field. He gave the alarm to
the latter, and then shot one of the Indians dead. The other rushed upon
Morgan, and grappled, with him. A severe contest ensued for the possession
of the Indian's knife, which Morgan ultimately obtained; the Indian, by
grasping the blade, having his hand severely lacerated. Morgan stabbed the
Indian, and ran for the fort, while the Indian took to the woods. A party
set off immediately in pursuit, and soon overtook the savage, sitting
against a tree. He begged for mercy, and was at first taken as a prisoner;
but during the march back to the fort, he became rather surly, whereupon
his captors killed and scalped him--taking, also, the scalp from the
warrior who had been first shot by Morgan. On the following day another
Indian scout was discovered, one of whom was killed and scalped. Two days
afterward the Indians killed and scalped David Maxwell and his wife.
Several families were carried into captivity. Among the prisoners was one
resolute woman, who killed one of her guards, wounded another, and
effected her escape. [FN] These individual murders were the more cruel,
inasmuch as they could have no effect upon the result of the pending
contest. The snatching away of prisoners by these petty expeditions was a
different affair; and often served a twofold purpose--enabling the enemy
frequently to extort information, and, by a silent operation, continually
increasing the number of prisoners in their hands for exchange. But,
whether murdered outright or carried into captivity, the trials of the
inhabitants upon a frontier, thus hourly exposed to dangers of the most
appalling description, can scarcely be appreciated by those who have not
been placed in similar peril.
* * * * *
[FN] Almon's Remembrancer--letter from Fort Pitt.
The frontier towns of the County of Ulster were likewise not a little
annoyed, in the early part of May, by a detachment of thirty or forty of
Butler's rangers, who, from their knowledge of the country, were supposed
to have fled to the royal standard from that neighborhood. On the 4th of
May, four dwelling-houses and five barns were burnt by them in
Fantine-kill. Six of the inhabitants were murdered, besides three or four
more who were supposed to be burnt in their houses. Colonel Philip Van
Courtlandt, stationed at that time with one of the New-York regiments at
Warwasing, went in pursuit of the traitors; but although he twice came in
sight of them upon the crest of a mountain, they were too dexterous in
threading the forests to allow him to overtake them; and the Colonel had
scarcely turned back from the pursuit, before they fell upon the town of
Woodstock, in the neighborhood of Kingston, where they burnt several
houses and committed other depredations. They made a few prisoners, some
of whom were carried away; while others were compelled, by the up-raised
hatchet, to take an oath not to serve in arms against the King. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Idem--Article from Warwasing, published first in Poughkeepsie.
In order to preserve, unbroken, a narrative of the principal Indian
campaign of the present year, it is necessary somewhat to anticipate the
progress of events, by recording in this place the particulars of the
celebrated invasion of Minisink, and the bloody battle that immediately
ensued near the Delaware. [FN-1] The brave Count Pulaski, with his
battalion of cavalry, had been stationed at Minisink during the preceding
winter; but in the month of February he was ordered to South Carolina, to
join the army of General Lincoln. [FN-2] Left thus wholly unprotected,
save by its own people, Captain Brant determined to make a descent upon
it, for the purpose of taking both plunder and prisoners. Accordingly, on
the 20th of July, or rather during the night of the 19th, the crafty
Mohawk stole upon the slumbering town, at the head of sixty Indians and
twenty-seven Tory warriors, disguised as Indians--which was a very common
practice with the loyalists when acting with the savages. Such was the
silence of their approach, that several houses were already in flames when
the inhabitants awoke to their situation. Thus surprised, and wholly
unprepared, all who could escape fled in consternation, leaving the
invaders to riot upon the spoil. Ten houses and twelve barns were burnt,
together with a small stockade fort and two mills. Several persons were
killed, and others taken prisoners. The farms of the settlement were laid
waste, the cattle driven away, and all the booty carried off which the
invaders could remove. Having thus succeeded in his immediate object.
Brant lost no time in leading his party back to the main body of his
warriors, whom he had left at Grassy Brook.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Minisink, for an inland American town, is very ancient. It is
situated about ten miles west of Goshen, in the County of Orange, (N. Y.)
on the Navisink river, and among what are called the Shawangunk
Mountains. It is bordered on the south-west by both the States of New
Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Wallkill also rises in this town. Its
history, previous to the war of the Revolution, is full of interest. A
severe battle was fought with the Indians in Minisink, July 22, 1669,
the bloody horrors of which yet live in the traditions of that
neighborhood.
[FN-2] Letter of Washington.
No sooner had the fugitives from Minisink arrived at Goshen with the
intelligence, than Dr. Tusten, the Colonel of the local militia, issued
orders to the officers of his command to meet him at Minisink on the
following day, with as many volunteers as they could raise. The order was
promptly obeyed, and a body of one hundred and forty-nine men met their
colonel at the designated rendezvous, at the time appointed--including
many of the principal gentlemen of the county. A council of war was held,
to determine upon the expediency of a pursuit. Colonel Tusten was himself
opposed to the proposition, with so feeble a command, and with the
certainty, if they overtook the enemy, of being obliged to encounter an
officer combining, with his acknowledged prowess, so much of subtlety as
characterized the movements of the Mohawk chief. His force, moreover, was
believed to be greatly superior to their's in numbers, and to include many
Tories as well acquainted with the country as themselves. The Colonel,
therefore, preferred waiting for the reinforcements which would be sure
soon to arrive, the more especially as the volunteers already with him
were but ill provided with arms and ammunition. Others, however, were for
immediate pursuit. They affected to hold the Indians in contempt, insisted
that they would not fight, and maintained that a re-capture of the plunder
they had taken would be an easy achievement. Town-meeting counsels, in the
conduct of war, are not usually the wisest, as will appear in the sequel.
The majority of Tusten's command were evidently determined to pursue the
enemy; but their deliberations were cut short by Major Meeker, who mounted
his horse, flourished his sword, and vauntingly called out--"Let the
brave men follow me, the cowards may stay behind!" It may readily be
supposed that such an appeal to an excited multitude would decide the
question, as it did. The line of march was immediately taken up, and after
proceeding seventeen miles the same evening, they encamped for the night.
On the morning of the 22d they were joined by a small reinforcement under
Colonel Hathorn, of the Warwick regiment, who, as the senior of Colonel
Tusten, took the command. When they had advanced a few miles, to Halfway
Brook, they came upon the Indian encampment of the preceding night, and
another council was held there. Colonels Hathorn, Tusten, and others,
whose valor was governed by prudence, were opposed to advancing farther,
as the number of Indian fires, and the extent of ground they had occupied,
removed all doubt as to the superiority of their numbers. A scene similar
to that which had broken up the former council was acted at this place,
and with the same result. The voice of prudence was compelled to yield to
that of bravado.
Captain Tyler, who had some knowledge of the woods, was sent forward at
the head of a small scouting party, to follow the trail of the Indians,
and to ascertain, if possible, their movements; since it was evident that
they could not be far in advance. The Captain had proceeded but a short
distance before he fell from the fire of an unseen enemy. This
circumstance occasioned considerable alarm; but the volunteers,
nevertheless, pressed eagerly forward, and it was not long before they
emerged upon the hills of the Delaware, in full view of that river, upon
the eastern bank of which, at the distance of three-fourths of a mile,
the Indians were seen deliberately marching in the direction of a
fording-place near the mouth of the Lackawaxen. This discovery was made
at about 9 o'clock in the morning. The intention of Brant to cross at the
fording-place was evident; and it was afterward ascertained that his booty
had already been sent thither in advance.
The determination was immediately formed by Colonel Hathorn, to intercept
the enemy at the fording-place, for which purpose instant dispositions
were made. But, owing to intervening woods and hills, the opposing bodies
soon lost sight of each other, and an adroit movement on the part of Brant
gave him an advantage which it was impossible for the Americans to regain.
Anticipating the design of Hathorn, the moment the Americans were out of
sight Brant wheeled to the right, and by threading a ravine across which
Hathorn had passed, threw himself into his rear, by which means he was
enabled deliberately to select his ground for a battle and form an
ambuscade. Disappointed in not finding the enemy, the Americans were
brought to a stand, when the enemy disclosed himself partially, in a
quarter altogether unexpected. According to the American account, the
first shot was fired upon an Indian, who was known, and who was mounted
upon a horse stolen at Minisink. The Indian fell, and the firing soon
became general--the enemy contriving, in the early part of the engagement,
to cut off from the main body of Hathorn's troops a detachment comprising
one third of his whole number. The conflict was long and obstinate. The
number of the enemy being several times greater than that of the Goshen
militia, the latter were surrounded, and ultimately hemmed within the
circumference of an acre of ground. Being short of ammunition, Hathorn's
orders, in imitation of those of Putnam at Bunker Hill, were strict that
no man should fire until very sure that his powder would not be
lost. [FN-1] The battle commenced about 11 o'clock in the morning, and was
maintained until the going down of the sun; both parties fighting after
the Indian fashion, every man for himself, and the whole keeping up an
irregular fire from behind rocks and trees as best they could. About
sunset the ammunition of the militia was expended, and the survivors
attempted to retreat, but many of them were cut down. Doctor Tusten was
engaged behind a cliff of rocks in dressing the wounded when the retreat
commenced. There were seventeen disabled men under his care at the moment,
whose cries for protection and mercy were of the most moving description.
The Indians fell upon them, however, and they all, together with the
Doctor, perished under the tomahawk. Among the slain were many of the
first citizens of Goshen; and of the whole number that went forth, only
about thirty returned to tell the melancholy story. [FN-2] Several of the
fugitives were shot while attempting to escape by swimming the Delaware.
* * * * *
[FN-1] Putnam's order was--"Don't fire, boys, till you see the white of
their eyes."
[FN-2] Among the slain were Jones, Little, Duncan, Wisner, Vail,
Townsend, and Knapp. In 1822 the people of Orange County collected the
bones, which until then had been left to bleach on the battle-field, and
caused them to be buried. The funeral procession numbered twelve thousand
people, among whom was Major Poppino, one of the survivors of the
battle--then nearly one hundred years old. The author has to some extent
drawn upon the discourse of the Rev. Dr. Wilson, delivered on that
occasion, in writing this account of the battle.
Brant has been severely censured for the cruelties perpetrated, or alleged
to have been perpetrated, in this battle. He always maintained that he had
been unjustly blamed, and that his conduct had been the subject of unjust
reproach. He stated that, having ascertained that the Goshen militia were
in pursuit of him, determined to give him battle, he of course prepared
himself for their reception. Still, having obtained the supplies he
needed, his own object was accomplished. He also stated, that on the near
approach of the Americans, he rose, and presenting himself openly and
fairly to their view, addressed himself to their commanding officer, and
demanded their surrender--promising at the same time to treat them kindly
as prisoners of war. He assured them, frankly, that his force in ambush
was sufficient to overpower and destroy them; that then, before any blood
had been shed, he could control his warriors; but should the battle
commence, he could not answer for the consequences. But, he said, while he
was thus parleying with them, he was fired upon, and narrowly escaped
being shot down--the ball piercing the outer fold of his belt. Immediately
upon receiving the shot, he retired, and secreted himself among his
warriors. The militia, emboldened by his disappearance, seeing no other
enemy, and disbelieving what he had told them, rushed forward heedlessly
until they were completely within his power. In crossing a creek they had
broken their order, and before they could form again on the other side,
Brant gave the well-known signal of the war-whoop. Quick as the
lightning's flash, his dark cloud of warriors were upon their feet. Having
fired once, they sprang forward, tomahawk in hand. The conflict was fierce
and bloody. Few escaped, and several of the prisoners were killed. There
was one who during the battle saved himself by means which Brant said were
dishonorable. By some process or other, though not a Freemason, he had
acquired a knowledge of the master mason's grand hailing signal of
distress; and having been informed that Brant was a member of the
brotherhood, he gave the mystic sign. Faithful to his pledge, the
chieftain interposed and saved his life. Discovering the imposture
afterward, he was very indignant. Still, he spared his life, and the
prisoner ultimately returned to his friends after a long captivity. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] This version of the battle, as given by Brant, has been derived by
the author from the notes of conversations with the old chief, by Samuel
Woodruff, Esq. heretofore cited. The prisoner referred to as having been
saved by the erroneous supposition of Brant that he was a Freemason, was
the late Major Wood of Orange County. The Rev. Doctor Wilson gives the
following account of this incident:--"Major Wood of Orange County,
(N. Y.) was made a prisoner at the battle of Minisink, because Brant,
from an accidental sign, mistook him for a Freemason. On the evening
after the battle, when the 'monster' was about to tie him, he
remonstrated, said he was a gentleman, and promised not to escape. He was
not tied, but laid between two Indians; and told, that should he attempt
to escape he should be tomahawked. The blanket on which he lay took fire
in the night, and he dared not move, lest the tomahawk might sink into
his head, until the fire reached his feet, when he kicked it out. It was
Brant's blanket. Brant treated him very harshly ever after; and when
Major Wood asked him the reason, he replied, 'D--n you, you burnt my
blanket.' Major Wood was, for many years after the peace, a resident of
Orange County, and one of its most respectable citizens." Dr. Wilson
supposes that the Masonic signal was made by mere accident. It may have
been so; but the author has been told otherwise, and that one of the
first acts of his life, after his return, was to become a Freemason.
This he considered himself in honor bound to do. He also stated that he
had always felt mortified at the deception he had practised, and that
nothing could have been more withering than the scorn with which Brant
ever looked upon him afterward.
There was another occurrence of deep and thrilling interest connected with
this battle, the particulars of which were related in after-years by Brant
himself, while on a visit to the city of New-York. [FN-1] Among those who
were grievously wounded was Lieutenant-Colonel Gabriel Wisner, a gentleman
of great respectability, a magistrate, serving among the Goshen
volunteers. In surveying the battle-field, the situation of Wisner
arrested the attention of the Indian commander, who examined his
condition. The chief saw that he was wounded past hope of recovery, but
he was, nevertheless, in the full possession of his faculties, and was
even able to converse. Believing his case to be altogether beyond the
power of medical and surgical skill, and having no means of carrying him
away. Brant reflected a moment upon his own course of duty. He was
disposed to save his life if he could, and yet felt that it was
impossible. To leave him thus helpless and alone upon the field, in the
possession of his senses to a degree enabling him to appreciate all the
horrors of his situation, would be the height of cruelty. Added to which
was the moral certainty, that the wolves abounding in the forest, guided
by the scent of blood, would soon be gorging themselves alike upon the
wounded and the dead. The thought, therefore, that Wisner might be torn
in pieces while yet alive, seemed to him even more than savage cruelty.
Under these distressing circumstances and considerations, the chief argued
with himself that true humanity required a speedy termination of his
sufferings. Having formed this conclusion, the next point was to compass
his death without inflicting additional torture upon his feelings. With
this view he engaged Wisner in conversation, and while diverting his
attention, struck him dead in an instant, and unperceived, with his
hatchet. It was but a savage exhibition of humanity; but there was
benevolence in the intention, however strangely reasoned; and the motive
of the final blow is to be applauded, notwithstanding the shudder caused
by its contemplation. [FN-2]
* * * * *
[FN-1] Conversations of Brant with General Morgan Lewis, related by the
latter to the author.
[FN-2] The British account of this battle, published in New-York on the
18th of August, 1779, as received from "a person just arrived from Joseph
Brant and his brethren," stated that Brant had with him only sixty
Indians and twenty white men. Among the principal inhabitants killed, the
same account gave the following return: "Colonel Benjamin Tustan, Jr.,
Captain Samuel Jones, Captain John Little, Captain John Wood, Captain
Duncan, Captain Benjamin Vail, Captain Reat Tyler, Adjutant Nathaniel
Frink, Lieutenant Benjamin Dunning, Lieutenant Samuel Knapp, Lieutenant
John Wood, Lieutenant Abraham Shepherd, Justice Gabriel Weisner, Justice
Gilbert Vail, Justice Roger Townsend, Justice William Barker,
Commissioner James Knapp, Commissioner James Mashier. Wounded, Major
Hans Decker, Major Samuel Meeker, of the Minisink militia. Out of one
hundred and forty-nine that went out, thirty returned--missing one
hundred and nineteen."--_Vide Almon's Remembrancer, vol. vi. p._ 276.
From Minisink, by a rapid movement, Brant fell upon a settlement on the
south side of the Mohawk, where, on the 2d of August, he made a few
prisoners--the name of one of whom was House. This man, with his
companions, was carried back into the woods, and left in charge of the
Indians, while Brant, with four of his warriors, went off upon some secret
enterprise. On the fourth day after his absence, he returned, attended by
his four warriors, but on horseback himself, having been wounded in the
foot by a musket shot. The wound, however, was not like that of Achilles,
in the heel, but by a buck-shot in the ball of the great toe--and
therefore in a place less equivocal for a soldier's honor. They then
commenced their march in the direction of Tioga; but as House became too
lame by walking to continue the journey on foot, the Indians proposed
killing him. To this Brant objected; and having been acquainted with House
before the war, he released him on condition of his taking an oath of
neutrality, which was written by the chief in the Indian language. House
signed the oath, and Brant witnessed it. He was then released, and being
somewhere in the vicinity of Otsego Lake, where General Clinton was then
making preparations for his celebrated descent of the Susquehanna, House
came into Clinton's camp on the 8th of August--the day previous to his
embarkation. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] MS. letter of General James Clinton to Governor Clinton, his
brother.
Contemporaneously with these occurrences, and while, as will subsequently
appear, the attention of the American officers was directed to more
important movements, the Indians and Tories once more broke in upon the
Pennsylvania border, in Northampton, Lyconia, and the neighborhood of
Sunbury. In a succession of petty affairs between the 1st and 21st of
July, several neighborhoods were destroyed and mills burnt. On the 17th,
all the principal houses in the township of Munsey were burnt. Two persons
were killed on that day, and four had been killed a few days previous,
besides several taken prisoners. On the 20th, three men were killed by a
small party hovering about Freeland's Fort, situated on the West branch
of the Susquehanna, seventeen miles from Sunbury. On the 28th, five days
after the affair of Minisink, this little defence, which was garrisoned
by only thirty men, and about fifty women and children who had sought
refuge within its walls, was invested by one of the McDonalds, at the head
of two hundred Indians, and one hundred troops calling themselves
regulars. But, although wearing the British uniform, it was believed that
they were American loyalists. The enemy met with less resistance during
this irruption than would have been the case, but for the circumstance
that the greater part of the men had been drafted for the boat service of
General Sullivan, who was then at Wyoming, preparing to enter the Seneca
country. Fort Freeland was too weak of itself, and too weakly garrisoned,
to hold out long against such a disparity of force. Captain Hawkins Boone,
a brave officer, stationed with thirty men at a distance of some miles,
marched to the relief of the fort immediately on hearing of the
investment. The garrison had surrendered before his arrival. Boone
nevertheless gave battle to the enemy; but, overpowered by numbers, he was
slain, together with eighteen of his men, whose scalps were carried as
trophies into the fort. Two other officers. Captains Dougherty and
Hamilton, were also killed. By the terms of capitulation, McDonald
stipulated to spare the women and children, and allow them to depart. The
fort, and the houses in its vicinity, were then burnt. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Almon's Remembrancer--article from Philadelphia.
Meantime the Shawanese were continuing their depredations upon the Ohio
border of Virginia, with results certainly not unfavorable to the former.
Colonel Boon being absent in North Carolina, Colonel Bowman led an
expedition of one hundred and sixty men, in July, against the Shawanese
of Old Chilicothe. Although Bowman fell upon the Indians suddenly, and
without knowledge on their part of his approach, they nevertheless fought
him bravely for several hours, and compelled him to retreat. Falling back
thirty miles, Bowman made a stand, and was shortly overtaken by the
Indians with augmented numbers. Another engagement ensued, which, during
the first two hours, promised no advantage to the forces of Bowman.
Colonel Harrod then proposed to mount a number of men upon horses and make
a cavalry charge. The suggestion was adopted, and the expedient succeeded.
The Indians fought with remarkable fury, but were, nevertheless, broken,
and compelled to fly in all directions. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] Adventures of Colonel Daniel Boone.
With these incidents closes the present volume. The second will open with
a narrative of the most formidable Indian campaign undertaken during the
contest for American Independence.
* * * * *
NOTE.
It is desirable that the present note should be read in connection with
the sixth chapter of this volume, containing the account of General
Schuyler's expedition to Johnstown in February, 1776, for the purpose of
disarming the Tories of Tryon County, and of arresting Sir John Johnson.
The immediate causes of that expedition, aside from the information of a
wretch named Connell, do not appear with sufficient distinctness to divest
the proceedings of General Schuyler of a character almost of harshness.
But while the author has entertained little, if any, doubt, that Congress
had good and sufficient reasons for directing the expedition, and Schuyler
for his energetic execution of his orders, the reasons for the urgency of
the movement have never transpired. Since the preceding sheets were from
the press, however, the author has received copies of certain documents
from the archives of the British Government, which reflect all the light
upon the subject that can be desired. After the perusal of these papers,
the propriety of the measure, if it ever has been, can no longer be
questioned:--
"Governor Tryon to Lord George Germaine.
"_On board H. B. M. Ship, Dutchess of Gordon,
New-York Harbor,_ 3d _Jan._ 1776.
"My Lord,
"The gentleman who delivered me the enclosed letter from Sir John Johnson,
assured me that by Government's complying with its contents, Sir John
could muster five hundred Indians to support the cause of government, and
that these, with a body of regulars, might retake the forts. If Sir John
had the title of Superintendent of Indian Affairs, it would give the
greatest weight to his Majesty's Indian affairs--the Indians having the
greatest affection for the son of their late benefactor. I wish your
Lordship may think as favorably of Sir John's proposals as I do," &c. &c.
[Enclosure in the above.]
"Sir John Johnson to Governor Tryon.
"Sir--I hope the occasion and intention of this letter may plead my
excuse for the liberty I take, in introducing to your Excellency the
bearer hereof, Captain Allan McDonnell, who will inform you of many
particulars which cannot at this time be safely communicated in writing.
The distracted and convulsed state that this unhappy county is now worked
up to, and the situation that I am in here, together with the many
obligations our family owe to the best of sovereigns, induce me to fall
upon a plan that may, I hope, be of service to the country, the propriety
of which I entirely submit to your Excellency's better judgment,
depending on that friendship which you have been pleased to honor me with,
for your advice on, and representation to His Majesty, of what I propose.
Having consulted with all my friends in this quarter, among whom are many
old and good officers, I have come to the resolution of forming a
battalion, and have named all the officers, most of whom have a good deal
of interest in their respective neighborhoods, and have seen a great
number of men ready to complete the plan. We must, however, not think of
stirring, until support and supplies of many necessaries to enable us to
carry our design into execution are received--all which Mr. McDonnell will
inform your Excellency of I make not the least doubt of the success of
this plan, should we be supported in time. As to news, I must beg leave
to refer you to Mr. McDonnell, who will inform you of every thing that
has been done in Canada, that has come to our knowledge. As I find by the
papers you are soon to sail for England, I despair of having the pleasure
to pay my respects to you, but most sincerely wish you an agreeable
voyage, and a happy sight of your family and friends.
"I am, your Excellency's
Most obedient, humble servant,
John Johnson."
It was beyond doubt the organization and other preparations indicated in
the preceding letter, some knowledge of which must have transpired, that
induced Congress to direct the expedition into Tryon County, referred to
above, which was so vigorously executed by General Schuyler, as narrated
in the sixth chapter of the present volume. And the same Allan McDonnell,
who, with Sir John Johnson, was one of the negotiators with General
Schuyler on that occasion, was the secret emissary sent by Sir John, one
month before, to negotiate with Governor Tryon. Thus the whole matter in
respect to that expedition is explained.
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
* * * * *
No. I.
[Reference from the Introduction.]
[The following is the article referred to in the text. It is extracted
from Almon's American Remembrancer, (a work purporting to be an authentic
collection of facts, published in London during the Revolutionary War,)
for the year 1782, Vol. 14, page 185. It was long supposed to be
authentic, but has since been ascertained to be a publication from the pen
of Doctor Franklin, written for political purposes.]
_Extract of a letter from Captain Gerrisk, of the New-England militia,
dated Albany, March_ 7_th,_ 1782.
The peltry taken in the expedition will, as you see, amount to a good deal
of money. The possession of this booty at first gave us pleasure; but we
were struck with horror to find among the packages eight large ones,
containing scalps of our unhappy folks taken in the three last years by
the Seneca Indians, from the inhabitants of the frontiers of New-York,
New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and sent by them as a present to
Col. Haldiman, Governor of Canada, in order to be by him transmitted to
England. They were accompanied by the following curious letter to that
gentleman:--
"_Tioga, January_ 3_d,_ 1782.
"May it please your Excellency,
"At the request of the Seneca chiefs, I send herewith to your Excellency,
under the care of James Boyd, eight packs of scalps, cured, dried, hooped,
and painted with all the Indian triumphal marks, of which the following
is invoice and explanation.
"No. 1. Containing 43 scalps of Congress soldiers, killed in different
skirmishes; these are stretched on black hoops, four inch diameter;
the inside of the skin painted red, with a small black spot to note
their being killed with bullets. Also 62 of farmers, killed in their
houses; the hoops red; the skin painted brown, and marked with a hoe;
a black circle all round to denote their being surprised in the night;
and a black hatchet in the middle, signifying their being killed with
that weapon.
"No. 2. Containing 98 of farmers, killed in their houses; hoops red;
figure of a hoe, to mark their profession; great white circle and sun,
to show they were surprised in the day-time; _a little red foot,_ to
show they stood upon their defence, and died fighting for their lives
and families.
"No. 3. Containing 97 of farmers; hoops green, to show they were killed
in their fields; a large white circle with a little round mark on it
for the sun, to show that it was in the daytime; black bullet mark on
some--hatchet on others.
"No 4. Containing 102 of farmers, mixed of the several marks above; only
18 marked with a little yellow flame, to denote their being of
prisoners burnt alive, after being scalped, their nails pulled out by
the roots, and other torments; one of these latter supposed to be of a
rebel clergyman, his band being fixed to the hoop of his scalp. Most
of the farmers appear by the hair to have been young or middle aged
men; their being but 67 very gray heads among them all; which makes
the service more essential.
"No. 5. Containing 88 scalps of women; hair long, braided in the Indian
fashion, to show they were mothers; hoops blue; skin yellow ground,
with little red tadpoles, to represent, by way of triumph, the tears
of grief occasioned to their relations; a black scalping-knife or
hatchet at the bottom, to mark their being killed with those
instruments; 17 others, hair very gray; black hoops; plain brown
colour, no mark but the short club or cassetete, to show they were
knocked down dead, or had their brains beat out.
"No. 6. Containing 193 boys' scalps, of various ages; small green hoops;
whitish ground on the skin, with red tears in the middle, and black
bullet marks, knife, hatchet, or club, as their deaths happened.
"No. 7. 211 girls scalped, big and little; small yellow hoops; white
ground; tears, hatchet, club, scalping-knife, &c.
"No. 8. This package is a mixture of all the varieties above-mentioned,
to the number of 122; with a box of birch bark, containing 29 little
infants' scalps of various sizes; small white hoops; white ground.
"With these packs the Chiefs send to your Excellency the following speech,
delivered by Coneiogatchie, in council, interpreted by the elder Moore,
the trader, and taken down by me in writing.
"'_Father!_--We send you herewith many scalps, that you may see that we are
not idle friends. A blue belt.
"'_Father!_--We wish you to send these scalps over the water to the Great
King, that he may regard them and be refreshed; and that he may see our
faithfulness in destroying his enemies, and be convinced that his presents
have not been made to ungrateful people. A blue and white belt with red
tassels.
"'_Father!_--Attend to what I am now going to say; it is a matter of much
weight. The great King's enemies are many, and they grow fast in number.
They were formerly like young panthers; they could neither bite nor
scratch; we could play with them safely; we feared nothing they could do
to us. But now their bodies are become big as the elk, and strong as the
buffalo, they have also got great and sharp claws. They have driven us out
of our country by taking part in your quarrel. We expect the great King
will give us another country, that our children may live after us, and be
his friends and children as we are.--Say this for us to the great King.
To enforce it, we give this belt. A great white belt with blue tassels.
"'_Father!_--We have only to say further, that your traders exact more than
ever for their goods; and our hunting is lessened by the war, so that we
have fewer skins to give for them. This ruins us. Think of some remedy.
We are poor, and you have plenty of every thing. We know you will send us
powder and guns, and knives, and hatchets; but we also want shirts and
blankets. A little white belt.'
"I do not doubt but that your Excellency will think it proper to give some
further encouragement to those honest people. The high prices they
complain of, are the necessary effect of the war. Whatever presents may be
sent for them through my hands shall be distributed with prudence and
fidelity. I have the honour of being
"Your Excellency's most obedient,
And most humble servant,
JAMES CRAUFURD,"
No. II.
[Reference from Page 104.]
Account of the treaty held at Albany, in August 1775, with the Six
Nations, by the Commissioners of the Twelve United Colonies, met at
General Congress at Philadelphia.
The Commissioners on the part of the Colonies, were Major General Philip
Schuyler, Major Joseph Hawley, Mr. Turbot Francis, Mr. Oliver Wolcott,
and Mr. Volkert P. Douw. After the adjournment from German Flats, and the
arrival of the Indians at Albany, as stated in the text, the following
proceedings were had.
At a meeting of the Commissioners for transacting Indian affairs in the
northern department, held at Albany on Wednesday, the 23d August, 1775.
Present:
Gen. Schuyler, Col. Francis, Mr. Douw.
Resolved, unanimously, that the Indians of the Six Nations be invited to
receive our congratulations on their safe arrival here; that it be at five
o'clock this afternoon; that the committee of the city of Albany and the
principal gentlemen of the place be requested to accompany the
Commissioners; and that the following letters be wrote for that purpose
to the chairman of the committee.
_Albany,_ 22_d August,_ 1775.
Gentlemen.--Your generous exertions to support the American cause against
the nefarious schemes of a wicked and profligate ministry, the propriety
with which you have conducted those Indian affairs that have become the
subject of your consideration, a consciousness that without your aid, and
that of gentlemen of the town conversant in those matters, the important
business of the ensuing conference cannot be so properly conducted as our
zeal for the service makes us wish, are so many motives which point out
to us the necessity of calling on you and those gentlemen for your aid
and advice; which we entreat you will give us without reserve; and be
assured that it will be attended to with all that deference that is due
to your respectable body and to their good judgment. We propose to pay a
visit this afternoon at five o'clock to the Indians. We beg the favor of
the committee to honor us with their company, as so respectable a body
will greatly add to the complimentary visit we mean to pay them. We shall
go from Cartwright's, and shall take it as a favor if the gentlemen of the
town, who are not of the committee, would be pleased to go with us.
We are, gentlemen, with great respect,
Your most humble servants,
P. Schuyler,
Volkert P. Douw,
Turbot Francis.
To which the committee returned the following answer:--
Gentlemen,--Your polite invitation for us to join in paying a
complimentary visit to the Indians this afternoon at five o'clock, we
accept of, and shall for that purpose attend at Cartwright's at the hour
appointed.
We are, gentlemen, your most humble servants.
By order of the committee,
Abraham Yates, Jr. _Chairman._
The sachems and warriors of the Six Nations being assembled, the
Commissioners, attended by the committee and principal gentlemen of the
city of Albany, met them, and addressed them as follows:--
Brethren op the Six Nations,--We, the deputies appointed by the Twelve
United Colonies, the decendants of Quedar, [FN] and the gentlemen of the
city of Albany, congratulate you on your arrival here. They are glad to
see you well, and thank the great God that he suffers us to meet.
* * * * *
[FN] "Quedar," the name which the Indians had given Governor
Stuyvesant--being probably, the result of their effort to pronounce the
name "Peter."
* * * * *
At a meeting of the Commissioners for transacting Indian affairs for the
northern department held at the city of Albany, on Tuesday, 25th of
August, 1775. Present:
Gen. Schuyler, Col. Wolcott, Col. Francis, Mr. Douw.
The following message was sent to the committee of the city of Albany:--
_Albany,_ 25_th August,_ 1775.
Gentlemen,--The Commissioners of Indian affairs are to open the treaty
with the Six Nations this morning, about eleven, at the Dutch church. They
request the favor of your attendance, and that of the principal gentlemen
of the town, and would wish, previous to the meeting, to be honored with
your company at Cartwright's.
To Abraham Yates, Jr. Esq. Chairman of the committee of Albany.
The chairman and committee attended agreeable to invitation.
In the course of their interview with the Commissioners this day, the
Indians stated that they had some business to transact with the people of
Albany, with whom they were desirous of having an interview before
proceeding with the main object for which the Council had been convened.
They therefore requested a day for that purpose. The request was
granted--a meeting of the citizens of Albany was held immediately, at
which Walter Livingston, Jeremiah Van Renselaer, and Dr. Samuel Stringer
were appointed a committee to hold the preliminary council with the
Indians. The interview took place on the same evening, when Seaghnagerat,
an Oneida sachem, opened the proceedings by the following speech:--
"Brothers of Albany:--We beg you will acquaint us when your body is
complete.
"Brothers of Albany:--The day is now come that we have arrived in
consequence of your invitation. When you saw four of the Oneida Nations,
you said you was glad to see them at your Council Chamber. We are now here
in consequence thereof. You told us you would be glad to see us
again--that you rejoiced to see them, and that you would open the ashes,
and rekindle the old council-fire at Albany. We are glad to see that some
of the sparks of that old council-fire yet remain. We rejoice, even to
excess, to find it so.
"Brothers attend!--I have one addition to make to what passed between four
of the Oneida Nation and you, when last at your Council Chamber. When you
found from our conference with your brothers at the German Flats, that our
sentiments of public affairs so much coincided with yours, you farther
told us that all the governments of America on the sea-coasts were anxious
to know whether we were disposed to peace, and that you, the Twelve United
Colonies, were resolved to support your civil constitution and liberties,
and you rejoiced to find that we all so firmly resolved to maintain peace.
"Brothers of Albany:--You farther observed. In the intercourse you had
with four of the Oneida Nation, that you greatly rejoiced at the
conference you had at the German Flats. You farther said that you was
surprised about a letter Guy Johnson had received from the chief warrior,
General Gage, about removing the ministers from among us. That you
rejoiced that the Indians were instructed in the Christian religion, and
that the ministers that were among us might continue.
"Brothers of Albany, attend!--We have something further yet to relate of
your speech. You desired, at the intercourse you had with the four
messengers, that we should acquaint the Six Nations with your speech, and
that thereafter three or four of each Nation should come down. You farther
said that you would have been glad to have attended at the council-fire
at Guy Johnson's to hear what he should say to the Indians, and see if his
sentiments and yours should coincide. But you then soon heard that he had
removed from there to Fort Stanwix, from there to Oswego; that you
despaired of hearing any thing from him, and therefore desired us that we
would let you know what was done at that fire.
"Brothers, attend!--You made another proposal at the intercourse you had
with four of our Nation, which was this:--that you had heard that there
was to be a council of the whole of our Nation at the German Flats, you
desired our people that they would let you know what passed between us
and them. Our delegates, in our names, then told you that it would be more
agreeable that two or more of your members should attend, and hear
themselves what passed there. This, brethren, is the substance of what
passed between you and the four of the Oneida Nation.
"Brothers of Albany, attend!--We now, upon this day, going through with
what passed between some of your members and us, when the conference ended
at German Flats. You said--Brothers, let us both endeavor to keep peace,
that we may continue to enjoy its blessings. We desire not that you should
trouble yourselves in the least with these disputes between us and those
over the great waters; only exert yourselves in maintaining the covenant
that was made between your and our forefathers, at this place of our
council-fire. Your delegates told us at the German Flats, that, although
you should be drove back from the sea-coast by your enemies, yet you would
not ask our aid.
"Brothers of Albany, farther attend!--Two things more you delivered at the
German Flats. The first was this;--That we, the Oneida Nation, should give
a kind ear to your speech; you then produced two ancient belts of
wampum,--one of twenty rows, which was the old covenant between the whole
Oneida Nation and _Quedar-Gorah;_ another that was given by the Six
Nations, by the Indian called _Kayinguaraghtoh,_ of the Seneca Nation; you
also said that these belts should again be produced for the inspection of
the whole Six Nations at the intended council-fire to be re-kindled at
Albany.
"Brothers of Albany:--We have now finished the principal subjects that
passed between you and us, the Oneida Nation; and we, all of us, the Six
Nations, are here now present, to hear what has passed, and to prevent any
false reports that may be propagated by news carriers.
"Brothers of Albany, now attend!--You, also, the commissioners who are
here present, lend your ears and hear our voice. You, our brothers of
Albany, have desired the sentiments of the Six Nations. We, the Six
Nations and our allies, which extend to Detroit, Ohio, and Caughnawaga,
upon our first hearing the bad news that circulated along the eastern
shore of this island, assembled and resolved upon a union amongst us,
Indians, and to maintain peace; and we rejoice that nothing more has been
asked of us. There is nothing different in our minds than what we have now
told. We shall not take notice of any hostile propositions that may be
made to us, for we bear an equal proportion of love to you and the others
over the great waters in the present dispute; and we shall remain at
peace and smoke our pipes; and the Six Nations will always keep the path
open, and we call God to witness to the truth of what we now say, and it
proceeds from our hearts.
"[_A belt of eight rows._]
"Brothers of Albany, now attend, and incline your ears to what we have now
to say:--
"We, the Six Nations, have heard the voice of a bird called Tskleleli, a
news carrier, that came among us. It has told us that the path at the
western communication, by Fort Stanwix, would be shut up, either by the
one party or the other. Brothers, let it not be; and let the communication
be open for passing and repassing, and let not our country be stained with
blood, and be always compassionate to the old women, and let the young
ones grow up and enjoy the blessings of peace. Brothers, let not that
passage be shut up by you, but confine yourselves to the dispute to the
eastward; for this western communication lays near our council-fire, and
the consequence might be fatal. Indeed, Brothers, your language and Col.
Guy Johnson's coincides, in some things, with one another; and the party
that applies to us to shut up that passage we will look upon as deceivers
and transgressors; and we despise a double-dealer from our hearts, and
whom we look upon God Almighty will hereafter punish as such. And we hope
that when you give your answer, you will speak from the integrity of your
hearts, as we now have done.
"[_A belt of fifteen rows._]
"Brothers of Albany, attend!--The Five Nations just now said they would
open their minds in full to you,--they would tell you every thing they
brought with them. This Belt respects the letter Guy Johnson received from
General Gage, concerning the removal of the ministers from among us. Our
father, the minister who stands here, we love, [FN] we love him
exceedingly. Perhaps, in a little time, he may be wrested from us, carried
off like a prisoner. Our hearts tremble for him--we tremble greatly. He
has been threatened; and should he be taken, it might overthrow the whole
Five Nations. Our brothers, the white people, would, perhaps, say that the
Oneida Nation had delivered up their minister, and that the Six Nations
did not regard their missionaries. But, truly, we regard our father, the
minister, and missionaries; therefore, we propose to your consideration,
whether it be not wise that the missionaries retire for a little while;
particularly our father, the minister, Mr. Kirkland, should reside a short
space with his family, as we hope this quarrel cannot subsist long,
because you are brothers, both of one nation and blood, and we hope it
will soon be settled; and when a reconciliation takes place, let our
missionaries immediately return to us; this, however, we refer to your
consideration, and leave at your pleasure. Now, Brethren, we have
unburthened our minds, and opened our bosoms, and delivered what we had
to say."
* * * * *
[FN] Rev. Mr. Kirkland.
To which the Albanian Committee made the following reply:
"Brothers of the Six Nations!--We thank you for your speech. The
Commissioners appointed by the Twelve United Colonies, and with our
consent, will first transact business with you; after they have done, we
will answer your speech."
At a treaty began and held with the Indians of the Six United Nations at
the city of Albany, on Friday, the 25th of August, 1775--Present--
Gen. Schuyler, Col. Oliver Wolcott, Col. Turbot Francis, Volkert P. Douw,
Commissioners; the Chairman and Committee, and principal inhabitants of
the city of Albany. The proceedings were opened by the Oneida sachem,
Seaghnagerat, by the following speech:--
"Brothers:--We acquainted you yesterday evening, that we should first
speak to our brethren, the Committee of Albany. We have done so, and have
opened our whole minds to them.
"Brothers:--When we met two of your body at the German Flats, they
presented these strings to us, and invited us to come down to Albany, and
kindle up a great council-fire of peace, under the auspices of the Twelve
United Colonies. Now, as these strings have never been changed, we return
them to you again, and desire that the great council-fire of peace may be
kindled up.
"Brothers:--You desired us to shut our ears, and fortify our minds against
any evil reports that we might hear on our way down, and to pay no regard
to what any liars and ill-disposed persons might say to us, as they would
only mean to sow dissension between us and our brothers of the Twelve
United Colonies.
"Brothers:--Our minds are proof against the attempts of such wicked
persons. Now, Brothers, let us give you a little advice on our parts.
There are liars and mischief-makers among the Indians, as well as amongst
the white people. Therefore pay no regard to this or that that any single
Indian may say, but attend to what you may hear from the mouth of our
great council; for that will be the truth, and the sense of all the Six
United Nations."
The Commissioners then replied in the following words:--
"Brothers, Sachems, and Warriors of the Six Nations!--We return thanks to
the Great God that has suffered us to meet together this day, in love,
peace, and friendship. In token of which we will now sit down and smoke
the pipe of peace together."
[Here the great calumet was lighted up, and went round; after which the
Commissioners proceeded:--]
"Brothers:--We, the deputies appointed by and in the name of the Twelve
United Colonies, assisted by the descendants of your ancient friend
Quedar, and your Albany brethren, embrace this opportunity to rekindle the
ancient council-fire, which formerly burnt as bright as the sun in this
place, and to heap on it so much fuel that it may never be extinguished;
and also to renew the ancient covenant chain with you, which you know has
always been kept bright and clean, without any stain or rust; and which
by this belt we now strengthen, that for ever hereafter you and we may
have but one heart, one head, one eye, and one hand.
"[_A belt._]
"Brethren:--Our business with you, besides kindling the ancient
council-fire, and renewing the covenant and brightening up every link of
the chain, is, in the first place, to inform you of the advice that was
given, about thirty years ago, by your wise forefathers, in a great
council which they held at Lancaster in Pennsylvania, when Cannassateego
spoke to us in these very words. [FN] 'Brethren, we, the Six Nations,
heartily recommend unison and a good agreement between you, our brethren.
Never disagree, but preserve a strict friendship for one another; and
thereby you, as well as we, will become the stronger. Our wise forefathers
established unison and amity between the Five Nations. This has made us
formidable; this has given us great weight and authority with our
neighboring nations. We are a powerful confederacy; and if you observe the
same methods our wise forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh
strength and power. Therefore, whatever befalls you, never fall out with
one another.' These were the words of Cannassateego."
* * * * *
[FN] See Colden's History of the Five Nations, and Massachusetts
Historical Collection, for an account of the treaty referred to--1744.
"Brothers:--Our forefathers rejoiced to hear Cannassateego speak these
words. They sunk deep into their hearts. The advice was good. It was kind.
They said to one another, 'The Six nations are a wise people. Let us
hearken to them, and take their counsel, and teach our children to follow
it. Our old men have done so.' They have frequently taken a single arrow,
and said--'Children, see how easy it is broken.' Then they have taken and
tied twelve arrows together with a strong string, and our strongest men
could not break them. 'See,' said they, 'this is what the Six Nations
mean. Divided, a single man may destroy you. United, you are a match for
the whole world.' We thank the Great God that we are all united; that we
have a strong confederacy, composed of twelve provinces. [FN] These
provinces have lighted a great council-fire at Philadelphia, and have sent
sixty-five counselors to speak and act in the name of the whole, and
consult for the common good of the people, and of you, our brethren of the
Six Nations, and your allies; the talk of this great council we shall
deliver to you to-morrow."
* * * * *
[FN] Which were enumerated.
The Council having resumed business on the 26th, the proceedings were
opened by the Commissioners in the following manner:--
"Brothers, Sachems, and Warriors!--Let this string open your ears to hear,
and incline your hearts to accept, the talk of the Twelve United Colonies,
which they have sent to you by their deputies. They speak as follows:--
"'Brothers Sachems, and Warriors:--We, the delegates from the Twelve
United Provinces, viz.. New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the three lower counties of
Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North
Carolina and South Carolina, now sitting in general congress at
Philadelphia, send this talk to you, our brothers. We are sixty-five in
number, chosen and appointed by the people throughout all these provinces
and colonies, to meet and sit together in one great council, to consult
together for the common good of the land, and speak and act for them.
"'Brothers:--In our consultation we have judged it proper and necessary
to send you this talk, as we are upon the same island, that you may be
informed of the reasons of this great council, the situation of our civil
constitution, and our disposition toward you, our Indian brothers of the
Six Nations, and their allies.
"[_Three strings, or a small belt._]
"'Brothers and Friends, now attend!--When our fathers crossed the great
waters and came over to this land, the King of England gave them a talk;
assuring them that they and their children should be his children, and
that if they would leave their native country and make settlements, and
live here, and buy and sell, and trade with their brethren beyond the
water, they should still keep hold of the same covenant chain and enjoy
peace. And it was covenanted that the fields, houses, goods, and
possessions, which our fathers should acquire, should remain to them as
their own, and be their children's for ever, and at their sole disposal.
"'Trusting that this covenant should never be broken, our fathers came a
great distance beyond the water, laid out their money here, built houses,
cleared fields, raised crops, and through their own labor and industry
grew tall and strong.
"'They have bought, sold, and traded with England, according to agreement;
sending to them such things as they wanted, and taking in exchange such
things as are wanted here. The King of England and his people kept the
way open for more than one hundred years, and by our trade became richer,
and by a union with us, greater and stronger than the other kings and
people who live beyond the water.
"'All this time they lived in great friendship with us, and we with them;
for we are brothers--one blood.
"'Whenever they were struck, we instantly felt as though the blow had been
given to us--their enemies were our enemies.
"'Whenever they went to war, we sent our men to stand by their side and
fight for them, and our money to help them and make them strong. That we
have done this, Brothers, you have been all witnesses to in the last war.
You know we assisted them in taking Niagara, Cataroqui, Ticonderoga, Crown
Point, and Canada; and lastly, when they had no more enemies upon this
island, we went to fight, and helped them to take many large islands that
lay in the hot countries, where they got more than thirty cart-loads of
silver. They thanked us for our love, and sent us good tokens, and renewed
their promise to be our people for ever; and when the war was over, they
said, children, we thank you that you have helped to make us great. We
know that it has cost you a great deal of money; and therefore, children,
we give you a present, that you may maintain your warriors.
"'Brothers and Friends, open a kind ear.--We will now tell you of the
quarrel betwixt the counselors of King George and the habitants and
colonies of America.
"'Many of his counselors are proud and wicked men. They persuade the King
to break the covenant chain, and not to send us any more good talks. A
considerable number have prevailed upon him to enter into a new covenant
against us, and have torn asunder and cast behind their backs the good
old covenant which their ancestors and ours entered into and took strong
hold of.
"'They now tell us, they will slip their hands into our pocket without
asking, as though it were their own; and at their pleasure they will take
from us our charters or written civil constitution, which we love as our
lives; also our plantations, our houses, and goods, whenever they please,
without asking our leave. That our vessels may go to _this_ island in the
sea, but to _this_ or _that_ particular island we shall not trade any more.
And, in case of our non-compliance with these new orders, they shut up
our harbors.
"'Brothers:--This is our present situation--thus have many of the King's
counselors and servants dealt with us. If we submit, or comply with their
demands, you can easily perceive to what a state we will be reduced. If
our people labor on the field, they will not know who shall enjoy the
crop; if they hunt in the woods, it will be uncertain who shall taste of
the meat or have the skins; if they build houses, they will not know
whether they may sit round the fire with their wives and children; they
cannot be sure whether they shall be permitted to eat, drink, and wear
the fruits of their own labor and industry.
"'Brothers and Friends of the Six Nations, attend!--We upon this island
have often spoke and intreated the King, and his servants the counselors,
that peace and harmony might still continue between us; that we cannot
part with, or lose our hold of, the old covenant chain, which united our
fathers and theirs; that we want to brighten this chain, and keep the way
open as our fathers did; that we want to live with them as brothers;
labor, trade, travel abroad, eat and drink in peace. We have often asked
them to love us, and live in such friendship with us as their fathers did
with ours.
"'We told them again, that we judged we were exceedingly injured, that
they might as well kill us as take away our property and the necessaries
of life. We have asked why they treat us thus? What has become of our
repeated addresses and supplications to them? Who hath shut the ears of
the King to the cries of his children in America? No soft answer--no
pleasant voice from beyond the waters has yet sounded in our ears.
"'Brothers,--Thus stands the matter betwixt Old England and America. You,
Indians, know how things are proportioned in a family between the father
and the son--England we regard as the father, this island may be compared
as the son.
"'The father has a numerous family, both at home and upon this island; he
appoints a great number of servants to assist him in the government of his
family; in process of time, some of his servants grow proud and
ill-natured--they were displeased to see the boy so alert, and walk on so
nimbly with his pack; they tell the father, and advise him to enlarge this
child's pack--they prevail; the pack is increased, the child takes it up
again; as he thought it might be the father's pleasure, speaks but few
words, those very small, for he was loath to offend the father. Those
proud and wicked servants, finding they had prevailed, laughed to see the
boy sweat and stagger under his increased load. By and by they apply to
the father to double the boy's pack, because they heard him complain; and
without any reason said they, he is a cross child, correct him if he
complains any more. The boy intreats the father, and addresses the great
servants in a decent manner that the pack might be lightened; he could not
go any farther; humbly asks if the old fathers, in any of their records,
had described such a pack for the child; after all the tears and
intreaties of the child, the pack is redoubled; the child stands a little
while staggering under the weight, ready to fall every moment; however, he
intreats the father once more, though so faint he could only lisp out his
last humble supplication--waits awhile--no voice returns. The child
concludes the father could not hear--those proud servants had intercepted
his supplications or stopped the ears of the father. He therefore gives
one struggle and throws off the pack, and says he cannot take it up again,
such a weight will crush him down and kill him, and he can but die if he
refuses.
"'Upon this, those servants are very wroth, and tell the father many false
things respecting the child; they bring a great cudgel to the father,
asking him to take it in his hand and strike the child.
"'This may serve to illustrate the present condition of the King's
American subjects or children.
"'Amidst these oppressions, we now and then heard a mollifying and
reviving voice from some of the King's wise counselors, who are our
friends and feel our distresses; when they heard our complaints and our
cries, they applied to the King; they also told those wicked servants that
this child in America was not a cross boy; it had sufficient reason for
crying; and if the cause of its complaint was neglected, it would soon
assume the voice of a man, plead for justice like a man, defend its
rights, and support the old covenant chain of their fathers.
"'Brothers, listen!--Notwithstanding all our intreaties, we have but
little hope the King will send us any more good talks by reason of his
evil counselors; they have persuaded him to send an army of soldiers, and
many ships of war, to rob and destroy us. They have shut up many of our
harbors, seized and taken into possession many of our vessels; the
soldiers have struck the blow, killed some of our people; the blood now
runs of the American children; they have also burned our houses and towns,
and taken much of our goods.
"[_A black belt._]
"'Brothers!--We are now necessitated to rise, and forced to fight, or give
up our civil constitution, and run away and leave our farms and houses
behind us. This must not be. Since the King's wicked counselors will not
open their ears, and consider our just complaints and the cause of our
weeping, and have given the blow, we are determined to drive away the
King's soldiers, and to kill and destroy all those wicked men we find in
arms against the peace of the Twelve United Colonies upon this island. We
think our cause is just; therefore we hope God will be on our side. We do
not take up the hatchet and struggle for honor and conquest, but to
maintain our civil constitution and religious privileges, the very same
for which our forefathers left their native land and came to this country.
"[_A black belt._]
"'Brothers and Friends!--We desire you will hear and receive what we have
now told you, and that you will open a good ear and listen to what we are
now going to say. This is a family quarrel between us and Old England.
You, Indians, are not concerned in it. We don't wish you to take up the
hatchet against the King's troops. We desire you to remain at home, and
not join either side; but keep the hatchet buried deep. In the name and
behalf of all our people, we ask and desire you to love peace and maintain
it, and love and sympathize with us in our troubles; that the path may be
kept open with all our people and yours, to pass and re-pass without
molestation.
"'Brothers!--We live on the same ground with you. The same island is our
common birthplace. We desire to sit down under the same tree of peace with
you; let us water its roots and cherish its growth, till the large leaves
and nourishing branches shall extend to the setting sun, and reach the
skies.
"'Brothers, observe well!--What is it we have asked of you? Nothing but
peace, notwithstanding our present disturbed situation; and if application
should be made to you by any of the King's unwise and wicked ministers to
join on their side, we only advise you to deliberate with great caution,
and in your wisdom look forward to the consequences of a compliance. For
if the King's troops take away our property, and destroy us who are of the
same blood with themselves, what can you, who are Indians, expect from
them afterwards?
"[_A white belt._]
"'Brothers of the Six Nations!--When we perceived this island began to
shake and tremble along the Eastern shore, and the sun darkened by a black
cloud which arose from beyond the great water, we kindled up a great
council-fire at Philadelphia; and we sat around it until it burnt clear,
and so high that it illuminated this whole island. We renewed our hold
upon the old covenant chain, which united and strengthened our ancestors,
and which was near slipping out of our hands before we had kindled this
great council-fire at Philadelphia. We have now taken fast hold, nor will
we let it go without a mighty struggle, even unto death.
"'Brothers:--We are now Twelve Colonies, united as one man. We have but
one heart and one hand. Brothers, this is our Union Belt. By this belt,
we, the Twelve United Colonies, renew the old covenant chain by which our
forefathers, in their great wisdom, thought proper to bind us and you,
our brothers of the Six Nations, together, when they first landed at this
place; and if any of the links of this great chain should have received
any rust, we now brighten it, and make it shine like silver. As God has
put it into our hearts to love the Six Nations and their allies, we now
make the chain of friendship so strong, that nothing but an evil spirit
can or will attempt to break it. But we hope, through the favor and mercy
of the Good Spirit, that it will remain strong and bright while the sun
shines and the water runs.
"[_Delivered the Union belt._]
"'Brothers:--It is necessary, in order for the preservation of friendship
between us and our brothers of the Six Nations, and their allies, that a
free and mutual intercourse be kept up betwixt us. Therefore the Twelve
United Colonies, by this belt, remove every difficulty that may lie in the
great road that runs through the middle of our country; and we will also
clear up and open all the small roads that lead into the great one. We
will take out every thorn, briar, and stone, so that when any of our
brothers of the Six Nations, or their allies, have an inclination to see
and talk with any of their brethren of the Twelve United Colonies, they
may pass safely without being scratched or bruised. Brothers, the road is
now open for our brethren of the Six Nations and their allies, and they
may now pass and repass as safely and freely as the Twelve United Colonies
themselves; and we are further determined, by the assistance of God, to
keep our roads open and free for the Six Nations and their allies, as long
as this earth remains.
"[_Path belt._]
"'Brothers!--We have said we wish you Indians may continue in peace with
one another, and with us the white people. Let us be cautious in our
behavior toward each other at this critical state of affairs. This island
now trembles, the wind whistles from almost every quarter; let us fortify
our minds, and shut our ears against false rumors; let us be cautious what
we receive for truth, unless spoken by wise and good men. If any thing
disagreeable should ever fall out between us the Twelve United Colonies,
and you the Six Nations, to wound our peace, let us immediately seek
measures for healing the breach. From the present situation of our
affairs, we judge it wise and expedient to kindle up a small council-fire
at Albany, where we may hear each other's voice, and disclose our minds
more fully to one another.
"[_A small belt._]
"'Therefore we say. Brothers, take care--hold fast to your covenant chain.
You know our disposition towards you, the Six Nations of Indians, and your
allies. Let this our good talk remain at Onondaga, your central council
house. We depend upon you to send and acquaint your allies to the
northward, the seven tribes on the river St. Lawrence, that you have this
talk of ours at the great council-fire of the Six Nations. And when you
return, we invite your great men to come and converse farther with us at
Albany, where we intend to re-kindle the council-fire, which your and our
ancestors sat around in great friendship. _Brothers and friends!_
"'We greet you all,
FAREWELL.'"
[_The large belt of intelligence and declaration._]
Such was the talk transmitted to the Six Nations by the Commissioners from
Congress. The process of communication to the Indians, through
interpreters, is very slow. Every thing must be performed with great
deliberation, and the Indian language is composed of such lengthened
compounds, that the labor of delivering and translating a speech is
exceedingly tedious. The delivery of this talk from Congress occupied the
business hours of two days. At the close, Kanaghquaesa, one of the Chiefs,
replied:--
"Brothers,--We have sat round, and smoked our pipes at this our ancient
place of kindling up our council-fires. We have heard all you have said,
and have heard nothing but what is pleasant and good. As you have
communicated matters of great importance to us, we will sit down to-morrow
and deliberate coolly upon them; and the day following will give you
answers to every thing you have laid before us."
Having convened again on the 31st of August, Little Abraham, the Mohawk
Sachem, spoke, in answer to the Commissioners, as follows:--
"Brothers, Great Men deputed by the Twelve United Colonies, attend!--We
are this day called to meet you in council, in order to reply to what you
said to us. We hope we need not recapitulate the whole of your discourse.
We shall only touch upon each head. At our last conference in this house,
we promised to return you our answer the day but one following. We did not
do it, and we mean to make you an apology. We hope you have taken no
offence. We were not prepared by that time, and that was our reason.
Brothers, you informed us that there was a great council of sixty-five
members convened at Philadelphia, and that you were appointed by them to
deliver a talk to the Six Nations. It seems you, our brothers, having a
desire to rekindle a council-fire, took to your assistance the descendants
of Quedar, and have kindled up a council-fire that shall never be
extinguished. To which the Six Nations reply: This you have done by order
of the great Council at Philadelphia. We are glad to hear the news. It
rejoices our hearts, and it gives exceeding joy through all the Six
Nations.
"Brothers,--As you desired your belts might not be returned, but be
deposited at our central Council House, we shall only make use of them to
refresh our memories, and speak upon them as we go on with our answers.
Brothers, we shall not recite every particular, as we before mentioned.
You observed, when these commotions first began, a council of sixty-five
members convened together at Philadelphia; and you put us in mind of what
Cannassateego formerly said at Lancaster respecting the necessity of a
union among you. An old sachem, a brother of Cannassateego, is here
present, and remembers the words of his brother. You illustrated the
necessity and use of a union by one and twelve arrows. You said your
grandfathers had inculcated this doctrine into their children. You said,
that as the tree of peace was formerly planted at this place, you desired
that the Six Nations might come down, and sit under it, and water its
roots, till the branches should flourish and reach to heaven. This the
Six Nations say shall be done. Brothers, we need only remind you of a few
of the things you said to us, as you have them all written down. You
informed us, that by an ancient covenant with the King of England, you
were to enjoy the same privileges with the people on the other side of the
great waters, that for a long time you did enjoy the same privileges, by
which means you and your brethren over the water both became a great
people; that lately, by advice of evil counselors, you are much oppressed,
and had heavier packs put upon you than you could bear; that you have
frequently applied to be eased of your burthen, but could obtain no
redress; that finding this the case, you had thrown off the packs. The
Six Nations thank you for acquainting them with your grievances, and the
methods taken to obtain redress. You likewise informed them of what
resolutions you had formed in consequence of these matters.
"Brothers,--After stating your grievances, and telling us you had not been
able to obtain redress, you desired us to take no part, but bury the
hatchet. You told us it was a family quarrel; and therefore said, 'You
Indians, sit still, and mind nothing but peace.' Our great man, Col.
Johnson, did the same thing at Oswego; he desired us to sit still
likewise. You likewise desired us, that if application should be made to
us by any of the King's officers, we would not join them. Now, therefore
attend, and apply your ears closely. We have fully considered this matter.
The resolutions of the Six Nations are not to be broken or altered. When
they resolve, the matter is fixed. This, then, is the determination of the
Six Nations, not to take any part; but as it is a family affair, to sit
still and see you fight it out. We beg you will receive this as
infallible, it being our full resolution; for we bear as much affection
for the King of England's subjects on the other side the water, as we do
for you, born upon this island. One thing more we request, which is, that
you represent this in a true light to the delegates from all the Colonies,
and not vary; and that you observe the same regard for truth when you
write to the King about these matters for we have ears, and shall hear,
if you represent any thing in a wrong point of light. We likewise desire
you would inform our brothers at Boston of our determination.
"Brothers,--It is a long time since we came to this resolution. It is the
result of mature deliberation. It was our declaration to Col. Johnson. We
told him we should take no part in the quarrel, and hoped neither side
would desire it. Whoever applies first, we shall think in the wrong. The
resolutions of the Six Nations are not to be broken. Of the truth of this
you have a late instance. You know what the Shawanese have lately been
engaged in. They applied to us for assistance, but we refused them. [FN]
Our love for you has induced us not to meddle. If we loved you less, we
should have been less resolute."
* * * * *
[FN] In the affair of Col. Cresap and Logan, and the Indian war that
followed, the _Mohawks_ were not engaged. The Cayugas and Senecas were.
"Brothers,--You likewise informed us, that when you perceived this island
began to tremble, and black clouds to arise beyond the great water, you
kindled up a great fire at Philadelphia, a fire which shone bright and
clear to your utmost settlements; that you sat round that fire,
deliberating what measures to pursue for the common good; that while
sitting round it you recollected an ancient covenant made between your
fathers and ours when they first crossed the great water and settled here,
which covenant they first likened to a chain of iron. But when they
considered that iron would rust, they made a silver chain, which they were
always to rub and keep bright, and clear of spots. This they made so
strong, that an evil spirit could not break it. This friendship-chain you
have now renewed. This covenant is to continue to future generations. We
are glad you have thought proper to renew this covenant, and the whole
Six Nations now thank you. This covenant-belt you desire us to deposit at
our central council-house, that future generations may call to mind the
covenant now made between us. You may depend we shall send and inform all
our neighboring council-fires of the matters now transacted. We close,
with the whole Six Nations repeating their thanks that you have renewed
the covenant made between their forefathers and yours.
"Brothers, attend!--As you had renewed the ancient covenant, you thought
proper to open the path, and have a free communication with this place.
As the fire had for some time been put out, the path had got stopped up.
You removed all obstructions out of the great roads and paths, all stones
and briars; so that if any of us chose to travel the road, we should
neither meet with any obstruction, or hurt ourselves. Brothers, we thank
you for opening the road. You likewise informed us you were determined to
drive away, destroy, and kill all who appeared in arms against the peace
of the Twelve United Colonies. Brothers, attend. We beg of you to take
care of what you do. You have just now made a good path; do not so soon
defile it with blood. There are many round us. Caghnawagas, who are
friends to the king. Our path of peace reaches quite there. We beg all
that distance may not be defiled with blood. As for your quarrels to the
Eastward, along the sea-coasts, do as you please. But it would hurt us to
see those brought up in our own bosoms ill-used. In particular, we would
mention the son of Sir William Johnson. He is born among us, and is of
Dutch extraction by his mother. He minds his own affairs, and does not
intermeddle in public disputes. We would likewise mention our father, the
minister, who resides among the Mohawks, and was sent them by the King.
He does not meddle in civil affairs, but instructs them in the way to
heaven. He absolutely refuses to attend to any political matters, and
says they do not belong to him. They beg he may continue in peace among
them. The Mohawks are frequently alarmed with reports that their minister
is to be torn away from them. It would occasion great disturbance was he
to be taken away. The King sent him to them, and they would look upon it
as taking away one of their own body. Therefore they again request that
he may continue to live in peace among them. [FN]"
* * * * *
[FN] This Missionary was the Rev. Mr. Stewart, who afterward removed to
Upper Canada.
"Brothers,--After having informed us of the situation of affairs, and
having finished your business, you advised us to shut our ears against
false reports, and that we should not attend to flying stories, but to
what wise and good men should say; for which reason you had kindled up a
council-fire at this place, that we might always converse together, and
know the truth of things. Your brothers of the Six Nations say, 'Let it
be so; it shall be as you desire.' They thank you for this advice, and
desire you would use the same precautions; that you would shut your ears
to flying stories, but keep your eye upon the chief council, such as you
see now convened. The Six Nations desire you would always inform them
fully of what respects them. We have, for this purpose, opened our ears
and purified our minds, that we may always hear and receive what you have
to say with good and clean minds; and whenever we receive any important
intelligence, we shall always bring it to this council-fire.
"Brothers:--You delivered us this pipe; on one side the tree of peace, on
the other a council-fire; we Indians sitting on one side of the fire, and
the representatives of the twelve United Colonies upon the other. You have
desired that this pipe may be left at our central council-house, and that
the tree of peace may be planted, and that the branches may be so high as
to be visible to all our allies. Brothers, we thank you, and shall take
care to deposit this where you desire, and when we meet to deliberate upon
business, shall always use this as our council-pipe.
"Brothers, attend!--In the course of your speech you observed, we of the
Six Nations were a wise people, and saw a great way before us; and you
asked us, if you upon this island were conquered, what would become of
the Indians? You say you are uncertain of holding your possessions, and
that you do not know who may enjoy the product of your labor. Now,
therefore, Brothers, attend; you particularly, our Brothers of Albany; we
address ourselves particularly to you. Our Brothers of Albany have taken
two pieces of land from us without any reward, not so much as a single
pipe. We therefore desire you will restore them, and put us into peaceable
possession again. If you refuse to do this, we shall look upon the
prospect as bad; for if you conquer, you will take us by the arm, and pull
us all off. Now, therefore, as the twelve United Colonies have renewed
this covenant of peace, we beg that there may be no obstruction upon your
part, but that you would restore our lands to us; for which, as we said
before, you never paid us even a single pipe.
"Brothers:--You have now finished your business, and we have made short
replies. You have kindled up a council-fire of peace, and have planted a
tree of peace, according to ancient custom. We find that you have omitted
one thing, which is this:--According to our ancient custom, whenever a
council-fire was kindled up, and a tree of peace planted, there was some
person appointed to watch it. Now, as there is no person appointed to
watch this tree, we of the Six Nations take it upon us to appoint one. Let
it be the descendant of our ancient friend, Quedar. He has to consider
whether he will take the charge of it, and communicate to us whatever may
respect it. He that watches this council-fire is to be provided with a
wing, that he may brush off all insects that come near it, and keep it
clear. That is the custom at our central council-house. We have one
appointed for that purpose.
"Brothers:--As you have this day renewed the ancient covenant of
friendship, and have again brightened the ancient chain, renew likewise
another ancient custom respecting the regulation of trade. Let us have a
trade at this place, and likewise at Schenectady, as it was in former
times when we had hold of the old covenant. For then, Brothers, if our
people came down with only a few musquash skins, we went home with glad
hearts. Brothers, let it be so again. Let the twelve United Colonies take
this into consideration.
"[_A belt of ten rows of wampum._]"
Abraham, the Mohawk, having concluded, _Tiahogwando,_ an Oneida sachem,
succeeded him as follows:--
"Brothers:--This is all the Six Nations have to say at present. They would
just mention one thing more before they break up. The Six Nations look
upon this as a very good time to speak their minds, as here are the
representatives of the twelve United Colonies. The dispute between the
people of New-England and Penn seems to us to become a serious affair, and
therefore the Six Nations take upon them to speak their minds freely, as
they address the inhabitants of the whole continent. [FN] Many years ago,
at a council held in Pennsylvania, when Cannassateego, that has been
before mentioned, was present, Penn desired the Six Nations would sell
him that piece of land known by the name of Scanandanani, or Susquehannah.
The Indians of the Six Nations refused to sell it, saying, the great God
would not permit them. Therefore they made him a present of that land,
known by the name of Scanandanani. Penn received it, and made them
valuable presents. After this, Colonel Lydius, a gentleman employed by the
people of Boston, treated with some of the Indians to get that land from
them. But he never kindled up a council-fire upon the occasion. He spoke
to them whenever he met them; never with more than ten. From these he
pretended to make a purchase of that tract. Gov. Penn, also, at the great
treaty at Fort Stanwix, in the year 1768, desired that the land might be
his, and distributed among the Six Nations, Shawanese and Caughnawagas,
ten thousand dollars, for which they gave him a writing. This is an affair
with which all the Six Nations are acquainted, and any one would lie who
said they knew nothing about it. We have taken an opportunity to speak of
this matter now, as the mind of the whole continent is now here. . . ."
* * * * *
[FN] Referring to the long and bitter controversy between Connecticut
and Pennsylvania respecting the territory of Wyoming, of which more
hereafter.
At this point the proceedings were adjourned over to the next day, being
the 1st of September, when the Commissioners made the following reply:--
"Brothers of the Six Nations, attend!--We yesterday heard with pleasure
your answer to the twelve United Colonies, and we return thanks to the
great Governor of the universe that he has inclined your hearts to approve
and accept the brotherly love offered to you by the twelve United
Colonies. It makes us happy to hear so wise and brave a people as our
brothers of the Six Nations are, publicly declare their unalterable
resolution to maintain and support peace and friendship with the twelve
United Colonies. This, Brothers, you have said, and we sincerely believe
you. Brothers, we requested of you Indians of the Six Nations not to
interfere in our quarrels. We are not in the least doubtful of success,
as our cause is just. We will live or die like men. We can raise an army
of three hundred thousand fighting men, who are brave, and are determined
not to part with their civil and religious privileges. Therefore we now
repeat to you, Brothers of the Six Nations, take great care of the strong
friendship you have now made with the twelve United Colonies. Let that be
your care, and that only. Peace is what we wish to establish.
"Brothers of the Six Nations:--You yesterday told us, that as the roads
in your country were opened for you and your brothers of the twelve United
Colonies to pass and repass, you desired at the same time that we would
not stain the road with blood. Brothers, be assured we have no intention
at present to spill blood in your country, and we hope it never may
happen; and it never can, provided those wicked men, who are come so far
from home in order to disturb the peace of the twelve United Colonies, do
not appear in your country. But as we are determined to be free or die,
we must pursue them until we drive them from off this island, or until
they confirm our ancient privileges. Therefore, Brothers, rest assured,
whatever may happen between us and our enemies, we never will injure or
disturb the peace of the Six Nations, but preserve invariable the
friendship that is now established, even unto death.
"Brothers:--You also desired yesterday that some of your friends of our
blood should remain in peace, and particularly the missionary at Fort
Hunter, who did not concern himself with the affairs of this world, but
was earnestly engaged in conducting you to happiness, and instructing you
in the reverence due to the great God who governs the universe. Brothers,
such a man we love, and we are desirous of his remaining quiet and happy
with you. We are also desirous that all the other missionaries, that have
been engaged in the same good cause, may safely continue among you, and
instruct you in the Gospel, which will be the means of your happiness in
this world and the one to come.
"Brothers:--As we always looked upon you, Brothers of the Six Nations, to
be a wise and capable people in conducting business of every kind, we were
a little surprised to hear you say that no one was appointed by the twelve
United Colonies to attend and watch the fire that they have kindled up at
this place; when we have repeatedly told you that they had appointed five
persons, whose business it was to attend and preserve it bright and clear,
and that two of those five live in this town, who would take particular
care, and who had full authority from the twelve United Colonies, to keep
the flame bright and clear. Brothers, for fear you should not have
understood us fully, we again acquaint you that the twelve United Colonies
have authorized General Schuyler and Mr. Douw, both of this town, to keep
the fire burning, that it may illuminate the whole country of the Six
Nations, who may always see the way down to it, and sit in peace around
it.
"Brothers:--You yesterday desired that the trade may be opened at this
place and at Schenectady. We also wish it, and it will be done; so that
you may trade as you formerly did, and be able to return home with your
goods to your entire satisfaction.
"Brothers:--You yesterday mentioned some matters concerning land claimed
by the people of Albany, and also the land in dispute between Connecticut
and Gov. Penn. We now inform you that we are not authorized to transact
any business of that kind at present, but will represent the matter at the
Grand Congress at Philadelphia.
"Brothers:--We have now finished, and let you know the present that we
have from the twelve United Colonies is preparing for you, and when it is
ready we will acquaint you. Wagons shall be provided for you whenever you
are ready to set off for Schenectady."
Thus ended the business of the Commissioners with the Indians, more
amicably, to all appearance, than could reasonably have been anticipated,
when all the circumstances preceding and attending the negotiations are
taken into consideration. There was, however, the "unfinished business"
between the Indians and the municipality of Albany yet to be completed.
For this purpose a council was arranged for the day following, September
2d, and the Commissioners, on the part of the United Colonies, were again
invited to attend. The council was held in the Presbyterian meeting-house.
The preliminaries of form having been adjusted, the Committee of the Common
Council and citizens of Albany, delivered the following reply to the speech
of the Oneida sachem, on the 25th of August:--
"Brothers of the Six Nations:--We suppose it will not be insisted upon to
repeat the whole of your speech, as we conceive it unnecessary, and
therefore shall only take notice of the material parts.
"Brothers:--You said that you was glad to see us at this place on the
25th August, in consequence of our invitation; and that you was glad to
see that some sparks of the old council-fire yet remained, and that you
rejoiced, even to excess, to find it so.
"Brothers:--We thank you for your kind congratulations and salutations at
meeting us here, and rejoice in the opportunity you have given us at this
time, of meeting one another in friendship and peace, to talk of old times
and renew our ancient treaty.
"Brothers:--We are happy to find that you so readily accepted our request
to come and see us, and that you have had so much patience, and behaved
so orderly during your short stay among us.
"Brothers:--At the conference of our deputies with you at the German
Flats, they showed you some old belts of wampum, which you expressed a
desire to see. Here are those belts, and we hope even Time will not wear
them out. This is the Belt given by the Oneida Nation, and is the old
covenant between the whole Oneida Nation and _Gorah Quedar._ This is the
belt that was given by the Indian _Kayinguaraghtoh_ in behalf of the Six
Nations.
"Brothers attend:--In your speech, you farther observed that you had long
since taken a resolution to take no active part in the present contest for
liberty. We do not offer to censure you for your conduct; but admire your
wisdom, praise your pacific disposition, and hope you will have fortitude
to maintain and persevere in it.
"[_A belt._]
"Brothers:--You further said that the road to the westward, you heard by
the bird, was to be stopped up; this matter is beyond our limits. The
commissioners of the twelve United Colonies having spoken to you at large
about the roads, that they shall be left open, we entirely agree with
them in this; and therefore shall add nothing on this point, and return
the belt.
"Brothers:--You said further, and delivered us this belt; that you was
anxious about and concerned for your minister, Mr. Kirkland; and asked our
advice about his remaining among you, who we do not see you should be
deprived of without your consent, any more than the Mohawk tribe should
be deprived of their missionary. We highly approve of your concern for the
ministers of the Gospel, and your attachment for the pure precepts and
doctrine of Christianity. But if your minister is removed, we should fear
the consequence. It would certainly give occasion of jealousy to your
Brethren, the white people, that you Indians were not well disposed.
Therefore it is our ardent wish that they may all remain among you, as
your teachers and instructors in virtue, piety, and true religion; and we
hope you may benefit and profit by their instruction.
"[_A belt._]
"Brothers:--Before any commissioners were appointed by the twelve United
Colonies--from the disagreeable condition of our country, and the ancient
friendship and alliance subsisting between us, commenced in the days of
your ancestors and our forefathers, we took upon us, as the
representatives of the people of the city and county of Albany, to give
you an invitation to pay us a friendly visit, that we might have an
opportunity of seeing you here, at the place where the first fire was
kindled, that we might rake up the old ashes, and not suffer it to be
extinguished, but renew the old covenant chain, and make it shine with
brighter lustre.
"Brothers:--We are happy to find from your speech, that you still retain
that affection for us which a well-founded friendship will naturally
produce, and which we hope, from our conduct toward you, is not unmerited;
and we rejoice to find that you feel for our distresses, and lament the
unnatural quarrel of brethren, which you express so warmly by a desire of
an amicable settlement.
"Brothers:--Time will not permit us, at present, to mention to you, how,
and on what occasion, the first covenant was made between you and our
forefathers. They had never deserted you, but kept their covenants and
agreements with you, nor do we mean to act otherwise on our part.
"Brothers:--This covenant, afterwards improved upon, was confirmed between
you and us in the year 1665, one year after this country went over to the
crown of England. Since this, you have from time to time admitted into
your chain, the Tuscaroras, and most, if not all, the twelve United
Colonies.
"Brothers:--There are five gentlemen commissioners, appointed by the
twelve United Colonies, at the grand council in Philadelphia; and the
management of public affairs in the Indian department now belongs to them.
These gentlemen have informed you of the nature of the dispute between
Great Britain and this country; and testified their desire of keeping up
the council fire between us.
"Brothers:--We know it is customary, at the renewal of any covenants
between us, that a present should follow; we now make it known to you,
that the goods you will receive of the commissioners of the twelve United
Colonies are partly ours; we pay our proportionable part toward them, so
that what you receive of them is from us also. We are the same. There is
no distinction.
"Brothers:--If our memory do not fail us, we think that when we invited
two or three of each of our brethren of the Six Nations to come down here,
we also desired that you would acquaint us of what had passed in the
congress held at Oswego (which as yet we know nothing of.) You say,
indeed, you are glad we are peaceably inclined as well as Col. Johnson;
but you have told us nothing else of what had passed there, which we had
expected, and do wish that our brothers conceal nothing from us,
especially as you called God to witness for the truth of what you said.
"Brothers of the Six Nations, and you, the Mohawks in particular:--We
apprehend the bird Tsklelele has been busy again. He seems to be a
mischievous bird, and ought not to be nourished or entertained. In your
answer to the commissioners you addressed yourselves to the inhabitants
of Albany, complaining that they had taken from you two pieces of land
without giving you the value of a pipe of tobacco for them; and that you
desired they would restore you to the peaceable possession of them, and
that the commissioners would look into this matter and afford you relief.
The land you speak of we suppose to be Ticonderoga.
"Brothers:--This is a matter foreign to the business we met upon, (and we
are not authorised nor qualified to enter upon the subject, it is a
business that belongs to the corporation of Albany) yet as we may be
considered the representatives of the people at large, our entire silence
may be construed into guilt of the heavy charge fixed upon us. For your
satisfaction as well as of the audience, we will endeavor to show by a
few remarks that the accusation is groundless. The lands alluded to are
granted by the charter of Albany. We never heard that any of your nation
have been dispossessed or driven off those lands; but you hitherto have
and still enjoy those lands without the least interruption.
"Brothers:--As we observed before, the matter cannot properly come before
us, but belongs to another body; and therefore the application to us is
improper. However, give us leave to say, that, instead of complaining, we
think the Mohawks, if they considered their own interest and that of their
posterity, and would be candid, must acknowledge the truth of the fact,
and rejoice at this day, that they have had such faithful guardians and
trustees, for if it had not been so, who would have enjoyed those lands
now? There have been complaints concerning this matter before, and
inquiries into it before proper tribunals; and for your information, and
that of the curious, we refer to the proceedings of the House of Assembly
of this Colony, and also to the minutes taken on a conference between the
corporation of this city and yourselves, at which Sir William Johnson was
present, and therefore return you the belt."
After consultation, the Indians returned the following answer by
_Abraham,_ chief of the Mohawks:--
"Brothers of Albany:--We return you thanks for your speech, and that you
have informed us that the twelve United Colonies by their commissioners,
have opened all the roads; and we now take it for granted that the
communications at Fort Stanwix are not to be shut up, and that the New
England people never will do it. This, Brethren, has been the occasion of
some anxiety in the minds of the Six Nations.
"Brothers of the Six Nations, attend; _You also the people of Albany, and
you the twelve United Colonies by your commissioners:_--Last spring Col.
Johnson informed us that the New England people were near him to take him
prisoner. Upon which we, like people intoxicated, took up our guns and
ran to assist him, as he was our superintendent. But, Brethren, as it
happened in the manner before mentioned, we hope you will look upon it in
that light. We, the Six Nations, have now made and renewed our ancient
covenants. The proceedings just now mentioned have brought me down. I have
made a proper acknowledgment to the Six Nations, and now do the same to
you, and I hope you will raise me up again. The news I was just speaking
of, came not from a bird, but from your own people.
"Brothers of Albany, farther attend:--I shall only make a short reply to
your speech relating to the lands. Many agreeable things are therein. You
farther say, that you never heard that any of us were driven from those
lands. There is one thing which is not so agreeable. It is the Tskleleli.
You, Brothers, know how that matter is, and in case I was to answer that
part of your speech, it might perhaps draw us into an argument;--and as
you are not, as you say, the proper body to which we ought to have
applied, and as you have referred us to former proceedings, we shall
close.
"Brothers of Albany:--We the Six Nations now tell you, that it is at your
pleasure to call on us, and we will inform you of what passed in the
congress at Oswego."
Taking the hint that the Indians would say nothing except in due form, the
chairman of the committee immediately said:--
"Brothers of the Six Nations:--We are now ready to hear it, and should be
glad you would inform us."
The Mohawk chief then proceeded:--
"Brothers of Albany:--You sent for us to inform you of what passed at
Oswego;--but you have not, since we have been down, desired it. We have
been always ready; and as you have now asked us, we will now tell you,
and think it our duty, as we look upon it that God will punish us should
we conceal any thing from you.
"Brothers:--The transactions of that treaty were very public. The
Shawanese were there, and some from Detroit. Mr. Johnson told us, that the
fire kindled there was a fire of peace, that all the white people were the
king's subjects, and that it seemed they were intoxicated. Mr. Johnson
also told us, that the white people were all got drunk, and that God's
judgment hung over them, but did not know on which side it would fall. Mr.
Johnson farther told us, that the council-fire was kindled on account of
the present dispute, and desired us not to interfere, as they were
Brothers, and begged us to sit still and maintain peace. This is what
Colonel Johnson told us at that council-fire. He also said he had his eye
on Mr. Kirkland; that he was gone to Philadelphia and along the sea-coast;
that he was become a great soldier and a leader. Is this your minister?
says he. Do you think your minister minds your souls? No, by the time he
comes to Philadelphia, he will be a great warrior, and when he returns he
will be the chief of all the Five Nations.
"Brothers:--There were present five people of Detroit, five from
Caughnawaga, and two of the Shawanese. Col. Johnson told them, that by the
time he returned from Canada, they should have all their men there, and he
would then kindle a council-fire; and he would also desire them not to
take any part in this dispute, as it was a quarrel between brothers. Mr.
Johnson also told them that this council-fire was kindled upon peace, and
that it seemed, by reason of the white people's intoxication, that God's
judgment hung over them. He also told us that he was going to the Governor
of Canada, who was of a different opinion from him, but would talk with
him; and he farther said that he would tell the Caughnawaga Indians the
same he told us, and for that purpose desired that two of each nation
might go along, and hear it. He likewise desired us to consider which way
we would have our trade, whether up this river, or from Canada. He at the
same time assured us, that we should not suffer for want of goods, as we
were not concerned, nor had any hand in the present dispute. He also
mentioned something about the council-fires. He said there are two fires
which you shall keep your eyes upon, and if they call you down to Albany,
do not you go, for they will deceive you, and tell you a great many fine
stories. We are very glad that your language and Col. Johnson's so well
agrees."
Thus ended this grand council with the Six Nations, and the last council
ever held at Albany, with the great aboriginal confederacy which has been
denominated the Roman Republic of the Indian world.
* * * * *
No. III.
[Reference from Page 231.]
By Barry St. Leger, Esq.,
Commander-in-chief of a chosen body of troops from the grand army, as well
as an extensive corps of Indian allies from all the nations, &c., &c.
The forces entrusted to my command are designed to act in concert, and
upon a common principle, with the numerous armies and fleets which already
display, in every quarter of America, the power, justice, and, when
properly sought, the mercy of the King.
The cause in which the British arms are thus exerted, applies to the most
affecting interest of the human heart, and the military servants of the
Crown, at first called forth for the sole purpose of restoring the rights
of the constitution, now combine with love of their country and duty to
their sovereign, the other extensive incitements which spring from a due
sense of the general privileges of mankind. To the eyes and ears of the
temperate part of the public, and to the breast of suffering thousands in
the provinces, be the melancholy appeal, whether the present unnatural
rebellion has not been made a foundation for the completest system of
tyranny that ever God in his displeasure suffered for a time to be
exercised over a froward and stubborn generation. Arbitrary imprisonment,
confiscation of property, persecution and torture unprecedented in the
inquisitions of the Romish Church, are among the palpable enormities that
verify the affirmative. These are inflicted by Assemblies and Committees,
who dare to profess themselves friends to liberty, upon the most quiet
subjects, without distinction of age or sex, for the sole crime, often
for the sole suspicion, of having adhered in principle to the government
under which they were born, and to which by every tie, divine and human,
they owe allegiance. To consummate these shocking proceedings, the
profanation of religion is added to the most profligate prostitution of
common reason; the consciences of men are set at nought; and multitudes
are compelled, not only to bear arms, but also to swear subjection to an
usurpation they abhor.
Animated by these considerations; at the head of troops in the full powers
of health, discipline and valor, determined to strike when necessary, and
anxious to spare when possible; I by these presents invite and exhort all
persons, in all places where the progress of this army may point, and by
the blessing of God I will extend it far, to maintain such a conduct as
may justify me in protecting their lands, habitations, and families. The
intention of this address is to hold forth security, not depredation, to
the country.
To those whom spirit and principle may induce to partake the glorious task
of redeeming their countrymen from dungeons, and reestablishing the
blessings of legal government, I offer encouragement and employment; and
upon the first intelligence of their associations, I will find means to
assist their undertakings. The domestic, the industrious, the infirm, and
even the timid inhabitants, I am desirous to protect, provided they remain
quietly at their houses; that they do not suffer their cattle to be
removed, nor their corn or forage to be secreted or destroyed; that they
do not break up their bridges or roads; nor by any other acts, directly or
indirectly, endeavor to obstruct the operations of the king's troops, or
supply or assist those of the enemy.
Every species of provision brought to my camp will be paid for at an
equitable rate and in solid coin. If, notwithstanding these endeavors and
sincere inclinations to effect them, the frenzy of hostility should
remain, I trust I shall stand acquitted in the eyes of God and man, in
denouncing and executing the vengeance of the State against the willful
outcasts. The messengers of justice and of wrath await them in the field,
and devastation, famine, and every concomitant horror that a reluctant but
indispensable prosecution of military duty must occasion, will bar the way
to their return.
Barry St. Leger.
By order of the Commander-in-chief,
Will. Osb. Hamilton, Secretary.
No. IV.
[Reference from Page 241.]
The fury and cruelty of the Indians and Tories at and immediately after
the battle of Oriskany, is strongly set forth in the following affidavit,
the original of which is now in the office of the Secretary of State,
Albany. Dr. Younglove died about fifteen years since in the city of
Hudson. He was known to the author as a respectable man, though of strong
feelings and prejudices. Any statement of this kind, from a man of his
temperament, would be likely to receive a strong coloring, without,
however, any designed misstatement of facts.
"Moses Younglove, Surgeon of General Herkimer's brigade of militia,
deposeth and saith, that being in the battle of said militia above
Oriskany on the 6th of August last, toward the close of said battle he
surrendered himself a prisoner to a savage, who immediately gave him up to
a sergeant of Sir John Johnson's regiment; soon after which, a Lieutenant
in the Indian department came up in company with several other Tories,
when said Mr. Grinnis by name, drew his tomahawk at this deponent, and
with a deal of persuasion was hardly prevailed on to spare his life. He
then plundered him of his watch, buckles, spurs, &c.; and other Tories
following his example, stripped him almost naked with a great many
threats, while they were stripping and massacring prisoners on every side.
That this deponent, on being brought before Mr. Butler, Sen., who demanded
of him what he was fighting for; to which this deponent answered, he
fought for the liberty that God and Nature gave him, and to defend himself
and dearest connexions from the massacre of savages. To which Butler
replied, 'you are a damned impudent rebel;' and so saying, immediately
turned to the savages, encouraging them to kill him, and if they did not,
the deponent and the other prisoners should be hanged on a gallows then
preparing. That several prisoners were then taken forward toward the
enemy's head-quarters with frequent scenes of horror and massacre, in
which Tories were active as well as savages; and in particular one Davis,
formerly known in Tryon County on the Mohawk river. That Lieut. Singleton,
of Sir John Johnson's regiment, being wounded, entreated the savages to
kill the prisoners, which they accordingly did, as nigh as this deponent
can judge, about six or seven."
"That Isaac Paris, Esq., was also taken the same road, without receiving
from them any remarkable insult except stripping, until some Tories came
up, who kicked and abused him; after which the savages, thinking him a
notable offender, murdered him barbarously. That those of the prisoners
who were delivered up to the provost guards, were kept without victuals
for many days, and had neither clothes, blankets, shelter, nor fire; while
the guards were ordered not to use any violence in protecting the
prisoners from the savages, who came every day in large companies with
knives, feeling of the prisoners, to know who were fattest. That they
dragged one of the prisoners out of the guard with the most lamentable
cries; tortured him for a long time; and this deponent was informed, by
both Tories and Indians, that they ate him, as appears they did another
on an island in Lake Ontario, by bones found there nearly picked, just
after they had crossed the lake with the prisoners. That the prisoners who
were not delivered up, were murdered in considerable numbers from day to
day round the camp, some of them so nigh that their shrieks were heard.
That Capt. Martin, of the batteaux-men, was delivered to the Indians at
Oswego, on pretence of his having kept back some useful intelligence. That
this deponent during his imprisonment, and his fellows, were kept almost
starved for provisions; and what they drew, were of the worst kind, such
as spoiled flour, biscuit full of maggots, and mouldy, and no soap
allowed, or other method of keeping clean; and were insulted, struck, &c.
without mercy by the guards, without any provocation given. That this
deponent was informed by several sergeants orderly on Gen. St. Leger, that
twenty dollars were offered in general orders for every American scalp.
"MOSES YOUNGLOVE.
"JOHN BARCLAY,
_Chairman of Albany Committee._"
* * * * *
No. V.
[Reference from Page 249.]
The following is a copy of the letter addressed to Colonel Gansevoort,
while under duress in the camp of General St. Leger, by Colonel Bellinger
and Major Frey:--
"9 _o'clock P. M.--Camp before Fort Stanwix,_
6_th August,_ 1777.
"Sir,
"It is with concern we are to acquaint you that this was the fatal day in
which the succors, which were intended for your relief, have been attacked
and defeated, with great loss of numbers killed, wounded, and taken
prisoners. Our regard for your safety and lives, and our sincere advice
to you is, if you will avoid inevitable ruin and destruction, to surrender
the fort you pretend to defend against a formidable body of troops and a
good train of artillery, which we are witnesses of; when, at the same
time, you have no farther support or relief to expect. We are sorry to
inform you that most of the principal officers are killed; to wit--Gen.
Herkimer, Colonels Cox, Seeber, Isaac Paris, Captain Graves, and many
others too tedious to mention. The British army from Canada being now
perhaps before Albany, the possession of which place of course includes
the conquest of the Mohawk river and this fort."
The following endorsement is on the back of this letter. "Gen. St. Leger,
on the day of the date of this letter, made a verbal summons of the fort
by his Adjutant General and Colonel Butler, and who then handed this
letter; when Colonel Gansevoort refused any answer to a verbal summons,
unless made by General St. Leger himself, but at the mouth of his cannon."
* * * * *
{FN} [In regard to the battle of Oriskany, to which the preceding note
refers, the author has received an interesting anecdote from Mr. John S.
Quackenboss, of Montgomery county, which would have formed a page in the
chapter containing an account of that battle had it come to hand in
season. The father of the author's correspondent, Abraham D. Quackenboss,
resided in the Mohawk country on the south side of the river, at the
breaking out of the war. Living as it were among the Indians, bespoke
their language as well as he did his own. Among them he had a friend,
named Bronkahorse--who, though an Indian, had been his playmate, and they
had served in the French war together under Sir William Johnson. When the
revolutionary troubles came on, Bronkahorse called upon Quackenboss, and
endeavored to persuade him to espouse the cause of the King--assuring him
that their Great Father could never be conquered. Quackenboss refused,
and they parted--the Indian, however, assuring him that they were parting
as friends, although, since they had fought in one war together, he had
hoped they might do so in the other. Mr. Q. saw no more of his friend
until the battle of Oriskany. During the thickest of the fight, he heard
his name called, in the well-known voice of Bronkahorse, from behind a
large tree near by. He was himself sheltered by a tree; but in looking
out for the warrior, he saw his Indian friend. The latter now importuned
Quackenboss to surrender, assuring him of kind treatment and protection,
but also assuring him that unless he did so, he would inevitably be
killed. Quackenboss refused, and the Indian thereupon attempted to kill
him. For a moment they watched each other, each endeavoring to obtain
the first and best chance of a shot. The Indian at length fired, and his
ball struck the tree, but had nearly been fatal. Springing from his
covert upon the Indian, Quackenboss then fired, and his friend
Bronkahorse fell dead on the spot. It was the belief of Mr. Quackenboss
that the loss of the enemy during that battle equaled that of Herkimer's
command. The latter suffered the most severely in the early part of the
engagement--the enemy in the latter part]
No. VI.
[Reference from Page 252.]
"_Camp before Fort Stanwix, August_ 9, 1777
"Sir,
"Agreeable to your wishes, I have the honor to give you on paper, the
message of yesterday, though I cannot conceive, explicit and humane as it
was, how it could admit of more than one construction. After the defeat
of the reinforcement and the fate of all your principal leaders, in which,
naturally, you built your hopes; and having the strongest reason from
verbal intelligence, and the matter contained in the letters which fell
into my hands, and knowing thoroughly the situation of General Burgoyne's
army, to be confident you are without resource--in my fears and tenderness
for your personal safety from the hands of Indians enraged for the loss of
some of their principal and most favourite leaders--I called to council
the chiefs of all the nations; and after having used every method that
humanity could suggest to soften their minds, and lead them patiently to
bear their own losses by reflecting on the irretrievable misfortune of
their enemies, I at last labored the point my humanity wished for; which
the chiefs assured me of the next morning, after a consultation with each
nation, that evening, at their fire-places. Their answer, in its fullest
extent, they insisted should be carried by Col. Butler, which he has given
in the most categorical manner. You are well acquainted that Indians never
send messages without accompanying them with menaces on non-compliance,
that a civilized enemy would never think of doing; you may rest assured,
therefore, that no insult was meant to be offered to your situation, by
the king's servants, in the message they peremptorily demanded to be
carried by Col. Butler.
"I am now to repeat what has been told you by my Adjutant General; 'That
provided you will deliver up your garrison, with every thing as it stood
at the moment the first message was sent, your people shall be treated
with every attention that a humane and generous enemy can give.'
"I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your most obedient, humble Servant,
Barry St. Leger,
"_Brig. Gen. of his Majesty's forces._
"P. S.--I expect an immediate answer, as the Indians are extremely
impatient; and if this proposal is rejected, I am afraid it will be
attended with very fatal consequences, not only to you and your garrison,
but the whole country down the Mohawk river--such consequences as will be
very repugnant to my sentiments of humanity, but after this entirely out
of my power to prevent.
"Barry St. Leger.
"Col. Gansevoort, _commanding Fort Stanwix._"
* * * * *
No. VII.
[Reference from Page 253.]
"_Camp before Fort Stanwix. August_ 13, 1777.
"_To the Inhabitants of Tryon County._
"Notwithstanding the many and great injuries we have received in person
and property at your hands, and being at the head of victorious troops,
we most ardently wish to have peace restored to this once happy country;
to obtain which, we are willing and desirous, upon a proper submission on
your parts, to bury in oblivion all that is past, and hope that you are,
or will be, convinced in the end that we were your friends and good
advisers, and not such wicked, designing men, as those who led you into
error, and almost total ruin. You have, no doubt, great reason to dread
the resentment of the Indians, on account of the loss they sustained in
the late action, and the mulish obstinacy of your troops in this garrison,
who have no resource but in themselves; for which reasons the Indians
declare, that if they do not surrender the garrison without further
opposition, they will put every soul to death,--not only the garrison, but
the whole country,--without any regard to age, sex, or friends; for which
reason it is become your indispensable duty, as you must answer the
consequences, to send a deputation of your principal people, to oblige
them immediately to what, in a very little time, they must be forced,--the
surrender of the garrison; in which case we will engage, on the faith of
Christians, to protect you from the violence of the Indians.
"Surrounded as you are by victorious armies, one half (if not the greater
part) of the inhabitants friends to government, without any resource,
surely you cannot hesitate a moment to accept the terms proposed to you
by friends and well-wishers to the country.
"John Johnson, }
D. W. Claus, } Superintendents.
John Butler, }"
* * * * *
No. VIII.
[Reference from Page 256.]
"_By the Hon._ Benedict Arnold, _Esq. Major-general and Commander-in-chief
of the army of the United States of America on the Mohawk River._
"Whereas a certain Barry St. Leger, a Brigadier-general in the service of
George of Great Britain, at the head of a banditti of robbers, murderers,
and traitors, composed of savages of America, and more savage Britons,
(among whom is the noted Sir John Johnson, John Butler, and Daniel Glaus,)
have lately appeared in the frontiers of this State, and have threatened
ruin and destruction to all the inhabitants of the United States. They
have also, by artifice and misrepresentation, induced many of the ignorant
and unwary subjects of these States to forfeit their allegiance to the
same, and join with them in their atrocious crimes, and parties of
treachery and parricide.
"Humanity to those poor deluded wretches, who are hastening blindfold to
destruction, induces me to offer them, and all others concerned, (whether
Savages, Germans, Americans, or Britons,) PARDON, provided they do, within
ten days from the date hereof, come in and lay down their arms, sue for
protection, and swear allegiance to the United States of America.
"But if, still blind to their own interest and safety, they obstinately
persist in their wicked courses, determined to draw on themselves the just
vengeance of heaven and of this exasperated country, they must expect no
mercy from either.
"B. Arnold, M. G.
"_Given under my hand, Head-quarters, German Flats,_ 20_th
August,_ 1777."
* * * * *
No. IX
[Reference from Page 274.]
_Extracts from Mad. de Riedesel's account of her Residence in America._
When the army broke up, on the 11th of September, 1777, I was at first
told that I must remain behind; but on my repeated entreaties, and as
other ladies had been permitted to follow the army, the same indulgence
was extended to me. We advanced by short journeys, and went through many
toils; yet I would have purchased at any price the privilege thus granted
to me of seeing daily my husband. I had sent back my baggage, and only
kept a small bundle of summer dresses. In the beginning, all went well;
we thought that there was little doubt of our being successful, and of
reaching "the promised land;" and when, on the passage across the Hudson,
general Burgoyne exclaimed, "Britons never retrograde," our spirits rose
mightily. I observed, however, with surprise, that the wives of the
officers were beforehand informed of all the military plans; and I was so
much the more struck with it, as I remembered with how much secrecy all
dispositions were made in the armies of Duke Ferdinand during the
seven-years' war. [FN] Thus the Americans anticipated our movements, and
expected us wherever we arrived; and this of course injured our affairs.
On the 19th of September, an action took place, which ended to our
advantage; but we were, in consequence, obliged to halt at a place called
Freeman's Farm. I witnessed the whole action, and knowing that my husband
was among the combatants, I was full of anxiety and care, and trembled at
every shot--and nothing escaped my ear. I saw a great number of wounded,
and, what was still worse, three of them were brought into the house where
I was. One of them was a Major Harnage, whose wife was with us; the
second, a lieutenant, whose wife was of our acquaintance; and the third,
a young English officer called Young. The Major occupied, with his wife,
a room close by to that where I was. He had received a shot through his
body, and suffered exquisite pains. A few days after our arrival, I heard
groans in another room, and was told that the young officer, whom I have
just mentioned, was lying there, and that his recovery was very doubtful.
I took much interest in him, as a family of his name had shown me great
kindness during my stay in England. He expressed a great desire to see his
benefactress, for so he called me. I went into his room, and found him on
a thin bed of straw, for he had lost his whole baggage. He was eighteen
or nineteen years old, an only son, and the nephew of the same Mr. Young
I had known in England. He lamented for his parents' sake, but said
nothing of his sufferings. He had lost much blood, and the surgeon advised
him to submit to the amputation of his wounded leg; but he would not
consent to it, though the limb had become gangrenous. I sent him pillows
and blankets, and my maids gave him their mattress. I took more and more
care of him, and visited him daily; for which he thanked me a thousand
times. At last the amputation took place; but it was too late, and he died
a few days afterwards. My room being close to his, and the walls very
thin, I heard his last moans.
* * * * *
[FN] Lieutenant Auburey made a similar remark when the army was yet in
Canada: "We have more dangerous enemies at home than any we have to
encounter abroad; for all the transactions that are to take place, are
publicly known long before they are officially given out in orders; and
I make no doubt but you will be as much surprised as the General
(Burgoyne) was, when I tell you that the whole operations of the ensuing
campaign were canvassed for several days before he arrived, who, no
doubt, supposed, that in giving out his orders, he was communicating an
entire secret."--[Montreal, May 20th, 1777. Vol. i, p. 203.]
Great secrecy, observes the same writer, was, on the contrary, observed
in the American army.
I occupied a tolerably good house, and had a large room. The door and the
wainscot were of cedar, a sort of wood which is found in abundance here;
insects are driven away by the smell of it when it is burned, and it is
often used for that purpose; but some people believe that the smoke of it
is injurious to the nerves, and principally to females in certain
situations.
For our farther march, I had caused a calash to be made for me, in which
I could take, not only my children, but also my two female attendants; and
thus I followed the army in the midst of the troops, who were in great
spirits, and sang and longed for victory. We marched through endless
forests, and a beautiful district, though deserted by the inhabitants, who
ran away at our approach to reinforce General Gates's army. They are
naturally soldiers and excellent marksmen, and the idea of fighting for
their country and their liberty increased their innate courage. My husband
was encamped with the rest of the army; being myself an hour's ride
behind the army, I went every morning to pay him a visit in the camp, and
sometimes I dined there with him, but generally he took his dinner in my
quarters. There were daily skirmishes with the enemy, generally of little
importance. But my husband could never sleep without his clothes. The
weather having already grown rougher, Colonel Williams of the artillery
thought our mutual visits were rather too fatiguing for us, and proposed
to have a house built for me with a chimney, which should not cost more
than five or six guineas, and which I could uninterruptedly inhabit. I
accepted of his offer; and the building, which was to be about twenty feet
square, was begun. Such a dwelling is called a block-house, for which logs
nearly of equal diameter are put together; and if the interstices are
filled up with clay, it is not only very solid, but very warm. I was to
take possession of it on the next day; and I rejoiced in it the more, as
the nights were damp and cold, and it being close to the camp, my husband
would be able to be with me. But all at once, on the 7th of October, he
marched away with the whole staff, and then our misfortunes began. While
breakfasting with my husband, I heard that something was under
contemplation. General Fraser, and, I believe, Generals Burgoyne and
Phillips, were to dine with me on that day. I remarked much movement in
the camp. My husband told me that it was a mere reconnaissance; and as
this was frequent, I was not much alarmed at it. On my way homeward I met
a number of Indians, armed with guns, and clad in their war dresses.
Having asked them where they were going, they replied, "War, war;" by
which they meant that they were about to fight. This made me very uneasy,
and I had scarcely got home before I heard reports of guns; and soon the
fire became brisker, till at last the noise grew dreadful, upon which I
was more dead than alive. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon, instead of
guests whom I had expected to dine with me, I saw one of them, poor
General Fraser, brought upon a hand-barrow, mortally wounded. The table,
which was already prepared for dinner, was immediately removed, and a bed
placed in its stead for the General. I sat, terrified and trembling, in a
corner. The noise grew more alarming, and I was in a continual tremor
while thinking that my husband might soon also be brought in, wounded like
General Fraser. That poor General said to the surgeon, "tell me the truth;
is there no hope?" His wound was exactly like that of Major Harnage; the
ball had passed through his body, but, unhappily for the General, he had
that morning eaten a full breakfast, by which the stomach was distended,
and the ball, as the surgeon remarked, passed directly through it. I heard
often, amidst his groans, such words as these, "_O bad ambition! poor
General Burgoyne! poor Mistress Fraser._" Prayers were read, after which he
desired that General Burgoyne should be requested to have him buried the
next day, at six o'clock in the evening, on a hill where a breast-work had
been constructed. I knew not what to do; the entrance and all the rooms
were full of sick, in consequence of the dysentery which prevailed in the
camp. At length, toward evening, my husband came; and from that moment my
affliction was much soothed, and I breathed thanks to God. He dined with
me and the aids-de-camp in great haste, in an open space in the rear of
the house. We poor females had been told that our troops had been
victorious; but I well saw, by the melancholy countenance of my husband,
that it was quite the contrary. On going away, he took me aside to tell
me every thing went badly, and that I should prepare myself to depart, but
without saying any thing to any body. Under the pretense of removing the
next day to my new lodgings, I ordered the baggage to be packed up. Lady
Ackland's tent was near ours. She slept there, and spent the day in the
camp. On a sudden she received news that her husband was mortally wounded
and taken prisoner. She was much distressed; we endeavored to persuade her
that the wound was not so dangerous, but advised her to ask permission to
join her husband, to take care of him in his sickness. She was much
attached to him, though he was rude and intemperate; yet he was a good
officer. She was a lovely woman. I divided the night between her whom I
wished to comfort, and my children who were asleep, but who, I feared,
might disturb the poor dying General. He sent me several messages to beg
my pardon for the trouble he thought he gave me. About 3 o'clock I was
informed that he could not live much longer, and as I did not wish to be
present at his last struggle, I wrapped my children in blankets, and
retired into the entrance hall. At 8 o'clock in the morning he expired.
* * * * *
Orders had already been issued that the army should break up immediately
after the funeral, and our calashes were ready. I was unwilling to depart
sooner. Major Harnage, though hardly able to walk a step, left his bed,
that he might not remain in the hospital, upon which a flag of truce had
been erected. When he saw me thus in the midst of danger, he drove my
children and female attendants into the vehicle, and told me that I had
not a moment to lose. I begged to be permitted to remain a little longer.
"Do what you please," replied he; "but your children I must at least
save." This touched my most tender feelings; I sprang into the carriage,
and at 8 o'clock we departed.
Profound silence had been recommended to us; large fires were lighted, and
many tents were left untouched, to conceal our movement from the enemy.
We proceeded on our way the whole night. Frederica was afraid, and began
to cry; I was obliged to press a handkerchief to her mouth.
We were halted at six o'clock in the morning, to our general amazement.
General Burgoyne ordered the artillery to be drawn up in a line; and to
have it counted. This gave much dissatisfaction, as a few marches more
would have ensured our safety. My husband was exhausted by fatigue, and
took a seat in the calash, where my maids made room for him; and he slept
for three hours upon my shoulder. In the mean time Captain Willoe brought
me his pocket-book, containing bank notes, and Captain Geismar, a
beautiful watch, a ring, and a well provided purse, requesting me to keep
them, which I promised to do to the last. At length we recommenced our
march; but scarcely an hour had elapsed before the army was again halted,
because the enemy was in sight. They were but two hundred in number, who
came to reconnoiter, and who might easily have been taken had not General
Burgoyne lost all his presence of mind. The rain fell in torrents. Lady
Ackland had caused her tent to be fixed up, I again suggested to her the
propriety of rejoining her husband, to whom she might be of great service
in his present situation. Yielding to my advice, she sent a message to
General Burgoyne, through his aid-de-camp Lord Petersham, to beg his
permission to leave the army. I told her that she need only insist upon
it, and she would certainly succeed. The Rev. Mr. Brudenel accompanied
her, and they went together in a boat, with a flag of truce, to the enemy.
There is a well-known and fine engraving of that event. I afterward met
with lady Ackland at Albany, when her husband was almost entirely
recovered; and both thanked me for my advice. On the 9th, it rained
terribly the whole day; nevertheless we kept ourselves ready to march. The
savages had lost their courage, and they walked off in all directions. The
least untoward event made them dispirited, especially when there was no
opportunity for plunder.
* * * * *
We reached Saratoga about dark, which was but half an hour's march from
the place where we had spent the day. I was quite wet, and was obliged to
remain in that condition for want of a place to change my apparel. I
seated myself near the fire, and undressed the children, and we then laid
ourselves upon some straw. I asked General Phillips, who came to see how
I was, why we did not continue our retreat, my husband having pledged
himself to cover the movement, and to bring off the army In safety. "My
poor lady," said he, "you astonish me. Though quite wet, you have so much
courage as to wish to go farther in this weather. What a pity it is that
you are not our commanding general! He complains of fatigue, and has
determined upon spending the night here, and giving us a supper." It is
very true that General Burgoyne liked to make himself easy, and that he
spent half his nights in singing and drinking, and diverting himself with
the wife of a commissary, who was his mistress, and who was as fond of
Champaign as himself. I refreshed myself at 7 o'clock the next morning,
(the 10th of October,) with a cup of tea, and we all expected that we
should soon continue our march. General Burgoyne had given orders to set
fire to General Schuyler's fine buildings and mills at Saratoga, for the
purpose of securing our retreat. An English officer brought me some good
soup, and insisted that I should partake of it. After this, we continued
our march; but only for a short time. There was much misery and disorder
in the army. The commissaries had forgotten to distribute provisions,
though we had an abundance of cattle. I saw more than thirty officers, who
complained bitterly of hunger. I gave them coffee and tea, and every thing
eatable that I had in my calash.
* * * * *
Our calashes remained in readiness to depart. Every body advised a
retreat, and my husband pledged himself to effect that movement, if no
time was lost. But General Burgoyne, who had been promised an Order, if
he should effect his junction with General Howe, could not be persuaded to
it, and lost every thing by his dilatoriness. About 2 o'clock we heard
again a report of muskets and cannon, and there was much alarm and bustle
among our troops. My husband sent me word that I should immediately retire
into a house which was not far off. I got into my calash with my children;
and when we were near the house, I saw, on the opposite bank of the
Hudson, five or six men, who aimed at us with their guns. Without knowing
what I did, I threw my children into the back part of the vehicle, and
laid myself upon them. At the same moment the fellows fired, and broke the
arm of a poor English soldier, who stood behind us, and who, being already
wounded, sought a shelter. Soon after our arrival a terrible cannonade
began, and the fire was principally directed against the house, where we
had hoped to find a refuge, probably because the enemy inferred, from the
great number of people who went towards it, that this was the
head-quarters of the Generals, while, in reality, none were there except
women and crippled soldiers. We were at last obliged to descend into the
cellar, where I laid myself in a corner near the door. My children put
their heads upon my knees. An abominable smell, the cries of the children,
and my own anguish of mind, did not permit me to close my eyes during the
whole night. On the next morning the cannonade begun anew, but in a
different direction. I advised my fellow-sufferers to withdraw, for a
while, from the cellar, in order to give time to clean it, for we should
otherwise injure our health. On an inspection of our retreat, I discovered
that there were three cellars, spacious and well vaulted. I suggested that
one of them should be appropriated to the use of the officers who were
most severely wounded, the next to the females, and the third, which was
nearest to the staircase, to all the rest of the company. We were just
going down, when a new thunder of cannon threw us again into alarm. Many
persons, who had no right to enter, threw themselves against the door. My
children were already at the bottom of the staircase, and every one of us
would probably have been crushed to death, had I not put myself before
the entrance and resisted the intruders. Eleven cannon-balls passed
through the house, and made a tremendous noise. A poor soldier, who was
about to have a leg amputated, lost the other by one of these balls. All
his comrades ran away at that moment, and when they returned, they found
him in one corner of the room in the agonies of death. I was myself in the
deepest distress, not so much on account of my own dangers, as of those to
which my husband was exposed, who, however, frequently sent me messages,
inquiring after my health. Major Harnage's wife, a Mrs. Reynell, the wife
of the good lieutenant who had, on the preceding day, shared his soup with
me, the wife of the commissary, and myself, were the only officers' wives
at present with the army. We sat together, deploring our situation, when
somebody having entered, all my companions exchanged looks of deep sorrow,
whispering at the same time to one another. I immediately suspected that
my husband had been killed. I shrieked aloud; but was immediately told
that nothing had happened to my husband, and was given to understand, by
a sidelong glance, that the Lieutenant had been killed. His wife was soon
called out, and found that the Lieutenant was yet alive, though one of his
arms had been shot off, near the shoulder, by a cannon-ball. We heard his
groans and lamentations during the whole night, which were dreadfully
re-echoed through the vaulted cellars; and in the morning he expired. My
husband came to visit me during the night, which served to diminish my
sadness and dejection in some degree. On the next morning we thought of
making our cellar a more convenient residence. Major Harnage and his wife,
and Mrs. Reynell, took possession of one corner, and transformed it into
a kind of closet by means of a curtain. I was also to have a similar
retreat; but I preferred to remain near the door, that I might escape more
easily in case of fire. I had straw put under my mattresses, and on these
I laid myself with my children; and my female servants slept near us.
Opposite to us were three officers, who, though wounded, were determined
not to remain behind if the army retreated. One of them was Captain Green,
aid-de-camp to General Phillips, and a very amiable and worthy gentleman..
All three swore they would not depart without me in case of a sudden
retreat, and that each of them would take one of my children on his horse.
One of my husband's horses was constantly in readiness for myself. Mr.
de Riedesel thought often of sending me to the American camp, to save me
from danger; but I declared that nothing would be more painful to me than
to live on good terms with those with whom he was fighting; upon which he
consented that I should continue to follow the army. However, the
apprehension that he might have marched away repeatedly intruded itself
into my mind; and I crept up the staircase, more than once, to confirm or
dispel my fears; and when I saw our soldiers near their watch-fires, I
became more calm, and could even have slept.
* * * * *
The want of water continuing to distress us, we could not but be extremely
glad to find a soldier's wife so spirited as to fetch some from the river,
an occupation from which the boldest might have shrunk, as the Americans
shot every one who approached it. They told us afterwards that they spared
her on account of her sex.
I endeavored to dispel my melancholy, by continually attending to the
wounded. I made them tea and coffee, for which I received their warmest
acknowledgments. I often shared my dinner with them. One day a Canadian
officer came creeping into our cellar, and was hardly able to say that he
was dying with hunger. I felt happy to offer him my dinner, by eating
which he recovered his health and I gained his friendship. On our return
to Canada I became acquainted with his family.
I also took care of Major Bloomfield, who was wounded by a musket-ball,
which passed through both his cheeks, knocked out his teeth and injured
his tongue. He could retain nothing in his mouth, and soup and liquids
were his only nourishment. Fortunately we had some Rhenish wine, and in
the hope that the acidity would contribute to heal his wound, I gave him
a bottle, of which he took a little now and then, and with such effect
that he was soon cured. I thus acquired a new friend, and enjoyed some
happiness in the midst of cares and sufferings, which otherwise would have
weighed heavily upon my spirits. On one of these mournful days, General
Phillips, wishing to pay me a visit, accompanied my husband, who came once
or twice daily, at the risk of his life; and seeing our situation, and
observing the entreaties I made to my husband not to be left behind, in
case the army should suddenly break up, and my reluctance to fall into the
hands of the enemy, he plead my cause, and said, on retiring "I would not,
for ten thousand guineas, see this place again. I am heart-broken with
what I have seen."
All our companions, however, did not deserve so much commiseration. We had
some in our cellars who ought not to have been there, and who afterwards,
when we were prisoners, were in perfect health, and walked about quite
erect, and strutted as much as they could. We remained six days in this
doleful retreat. At last a capitulation was talked of, in consequence of
having lost, by useless delays, the opportunity of effecting our retreat.
A cessation of hostilities took place, and my husband, who was quite
exhausted by fatigue, could now, for the first time, sleep quietly in a
little chamber, while I retired with my children and the maid-servants
into the adjoining room. Towards one o'clock a person came and asked to
speak with him. I was very reluctant to awaken him at that hour of the
night; and I soon observed that the errand did not much please him, for
he immediately sent the messenger back to the head-quarters, and laid
himself down again, out of humor. Soon after this General Burgoyne sent
for all the Generals and field-officers to attend a council of war early
next morning, when he proposed to break the capitulation, in consequence
of some groundless information he had received. It was, however, decided
that this step was neither advisable nor practicable; and this
determination was very fortunate for us, as the Americans told us
after-wards, that, had we broken the treaty, we should all have been cut
to pieces. This they could easily have done, as our army was reduced to
four or five thousand men, while we had given them time to raise theirs
to twenty thousand. On the morning of the 16th, however, my husband was
obliged to repair to his post, and I to my cellar.
On the 17th of October the capitulation was carried into effect. The
Generals waited upon the American General Gates, and the troops
surrendered themselves prisoners of war, and laid down their arms. The
time had now come for the good woman, who had risked her life to supply
us with water, to receive the reward of her services. Each of us threw a
handful of money into her apron; and she thus received more than twenty
guineas. At such a moment at least, if at no other, the heart easily
overflows with gratitude.
* * * * *
When I drew near the tents, a good-looking man advanced towards me, and
helped the children from the calash, and kissed and caressed them; he then
offered me his arm, and tears trembled in his eyes. "You tremble," said
he; "do not be alarmed, I pray you." "Sir," cried I, "a countenance so
expressive of benevolence, and the kindness which you have evinced towards
my children, are sufficient to dispel all apprehension." He then ushered
me into the tent of General Gates, whom I found engaged in friendly
conversation with Generals Burgoyne and Phillips. General Burgoyne said
to me: "You can now be quiet, and free from all apprehension of danger."
I replied that I should indeed be reprehensible if I felt any anxiety when
our General felt none, and was on such friendly terms with General Gates.
All the Generals remained to dine with General Gates. The gentleman who
had received me with so much kindness, came and said to me, "You may find
it embarrassing to be the only lady in such a large company of gentlemen;
will you come with your children to my tent, and partake of a frugal
dinner, offered with the best will?" "By the kindness you show to me,"
returned I, "you induce me to believe that you have a wife and children."
He informed me that he was General Schuyler. He regaled me with smoked
tongues, which were excellent, with beefsteaks, potatoes, fresh butter,
and bread. Never did a dinner give so much pleasure as this. I was easy,
after many months of anxiety; and I read the same happy change in those
around me. That my husband was out of danger, was a still greater cause
of joy. After our dinner, General Schuyler begged me to pay him a visit
at his house near Albany, where he expected that General Burgoyne would
also be his guest. I sent to ask my husband's directions, who advised me
to accept the invitation. As we were two days' journey from Albany, and
it was now near five o'clock in the afternoon, he wished me to endeavor
to reach, on that day, a place distant about three hours ride. General
Schuyler carried his civilities so far as to solicit a well-bred French
officer to accompany me on that first part of my journey.
* * * * *
On the next day, we reached Albany, where we had so often wished
ourselves; but we did not enter that city, as we hoped we should, with a
victorious army. The reception, however, which we met with from General
Schuyler, his wife and daughters, was not like the reception of enemies,
but of the most intimate friends. They loaded us with kindness; and they
behaved in the same manner towards General Burgoyne, though he had ordered
their splendid establishment to be burnt, and without any necessity as it
was said. But all their actions proved, that at the sight of the
misfortunes of others they quickly forgot their own. General Burgoyne was
so much affected by this generous deportment, that he said to General
Schuyler, "You are too kind to me, who have done you so much injury."
"Such is the fate of war," replied he; "let us not dwell on this subject."
We remained three days with that excellent family, and they seemed to
regret our departure.
* * * * *
The following account of a visit to the field of Saratoga, on the fiftieth
Anniversary of that battle, viz: October 17, 1827, was written immediately
afterward for the use of the author of the present work. The writer, the
venerable Samuel Woodruff, Esq. of Windsor, (Conn.) it need not be added,
was a participator in the battle:--
Windsor, Conn. Oct. 31, 1827.
My Dear Sir,--
You may remember when I had the pleasure to dine with you at New-York, on
the 14th inst. I had set out on a tour to Saratoga, to gratify a desire I
felt, and which had long been increasing, to view the battle-grounds at
that place, and the spot on which the royal army under the command of
General Burgoyne surrendered to General Gates on the 17th of October,
1777.
I thought it would add something to the interest of that view to me, to be
there on the 17th, exactly half a century after that memorable event took
place. You will excuse me for entering a little into the feelings of Uncle
Toby respecting Dendermond, in the compressed and hastily written journal
I kept of my tour, especially as you will take into consideration that I
had the honor to serve as a volunteer under General Gates part of that
campaign, and was in the battle of the 7th of October.
I take the liberty to inclose to you an extract of that part of my journal
which embraces the principal object of my tour.
Oct. 17th.--After a short stop in Troy, took another stage for
Saratoga;--at Lansingburgh, a neat and handsome village, about three miles
from Troy, crossed the Hudson on a covered bridge of excellent
workmanship, over to Waterford, (Old Half Moon Point,) another rich and
flourishing village. Arrived at Fish creek in Saratoga at half past 2
P. M. through a beautiful, well-cultivated interval of alluvial land on
the west side of the Hudson--every thing from Albany to this place wears
the appearance of wealth and comfort. Put up at Mr. Barker's tavern. After
dinner viewed the ruins of the British fortifications and head-quarters
of Gen. Burgoyne. He kept his quarters for several days at a house, now
standing and in good repair, about a mile north of Fish creek, on the west
side of the road, owned by Mr. Busher, an intelligent farmer about
seventy-five years of age. While Burgoyne held his head-quarters at this
house, Baron Reidesel, of the royal army, obtained leave of the
Commander-in-chief to place his lady the Baroness and their three small
children under the same protection;--these were also accompanied by lady
Ackland and some other ladies, wives of British officers. At that time
some of the American troops were stationed on the east bank of the Hudson,
opposite the house, in fair view of it, and within cannon-shot distance.
Observing considerable moving of persons about the house, the Americans
supposed it the _rendezvous_ of the British officers, and commenced a
brisk cannonade upon it. Several shot struck and shattered the house. The
Baroness with her children fled into the cellar for safety, and placed
herself and them at the north-east corner, where they were well protected
by the cellar wall. A British surgeon by the name of Jones, having his leg
broken by a cannon ball, was at this time brought in, and laid on the
floor of the room which the Baroness and the other ladies had just left.
A cannon ball entered the house near the north-east corner of the room,
a few inches above the floor, and passing through, broke and mangled the
other leg of the poor surgeon. Soon after this he expired. Mr. Busher
very civilly conducted me into the room, cellar, and other parts of the
house, pointing out the places where the balls entered, &c. From hence I
proceeded to, and viewed with very great interest, the spot where Gen.
Burgoyne, attended by his staff, presented his sword to Gen. Gates; also,
the ground on which the arms, &c., of the royal army were stacked and
piled. This memorable place is situated on the flat, north side of Fish
creek, about forty rods west of its entrance into the Hudson, and through
which the Champlain canal now passes.
Contiguous to this spot is the N. W. angle of old Fort Hardy, a military
work thrown up and occupied by the French, under Gen. Dieskau, in the year
1755. The lines of intrenchment embrace, as I should judge, about fifteen
acres of ground. The outer works yet retain the appearance of a strong
fortification, bounded south on the north side of Fish creek, and east on
the west bank of the Hudson. Human bones, fragments of fire-arms, swords,
balls, tools, implements, broken crockery, &c. &c., are frequently picked
up on this ground.
In excavating the earth for the Champlain canal, which passes a few rods
west of this fort, such numbers of human skeletons were found as render
it highly probable this was the cemetery of the French garrison.
About twenty or thirty rods west of the aqueduct for the canal over Fish
creek, stood Gen. Schuyler's mills, which were burned by order of Gen.
Burgoyne.
Gen. Schuyler's dwelling-house also, and his other buildings, standing on
a beautiful area a little south-east of the mills on the south side of the
creek, suffered the same fate. The mills have been rebuilt and are now in
operation, at the same place where the former stood. The grandson of Gen.
Schuyler now lives in a house erected on the site of the former dwelling
of his father--a covered bridge across the creek adjoining the mills.
I cannot, in this place, omit some short notices of Gen. P. Schuyler. It
seems he was commander-in-chief of the northern army until the latter part
of August, 1777, at which time he was superseded by Gen. Gates.
I remember at that time there was some excitement in the public mind, and
much dissatisfaction expressed on account of that measure; and with my
limited means of knowledge, I have never been able to learn what good
reason induced his removal. Few men in our country at that time ranked
higher than Gen. Schuyler in all the essential qualities of the patriot,
the gentleman, the soldier, and scholar. True to the cause of liberty, he
made sacrifices which few were either able or willing to bear. The
nobility of soul he possessed, distinguished him from ordinary men, and
pointed him out as one deserving of public confidence.
At the surrender of the royal army, he generously invited Gen. Burgoyne,
his suite, and several of the principal officers, with their ladies, to
his house at Albany; where, at his own expense, he fed and lodged them for
two or three weeks with the kindest hospitality.
This is the man, who, a few days before, had suffered immense loss in his
mills and other buildings at Fish creek, burned by order of the same
Burgoyne who had now become his guest.
Respecting Gen. Gates, I will only say, _finis coronet opus._
Oct. 18th.--At 7 A. M. started on foot to view some other and equally
interesting places connected with the campaign of 1777. Three miles and a
half south of Fish creek, called at the house of a Mr. Smith, in which
Gen. Fraser died of wounds received in the battle of the 7th October, and
near which house, in one of the British redoubts, that officer was buried.
This house then stood by the road on the west margin of the intervale, at
the foot of the rising ground. A turnpike road having since been
constructed, running twenty or thirty rods east of the old road, the
latter has been discontinued, and Mr. Smith has drawn the house and placed
it on the west side of the turnpike.
Waiving, for the present, any farther notices of this spot, I shall
attempt a concise narrative of the two hostile armies for a short period
anterior to the great battle of the 7th of October.
The object of the British General was to penetrate as far as Albany, at
which place, by concert, he was to meet Sir Henry Clinton, then with a
fleet and army lying at New-York. In the early part of September, Gen.
Burgoyne had advanced with his army from Fort Edward, and crossed the
Hudson with his artillery, baggage wagons, &c., on a bridge of boats, and
intrenched the troops on the highlands in Saratoga. On the 19th of
September they left their intrenchments, and moved south by a slow and
cautious march toward the American camp, which was secured by a line of
intrenchments and redoubts on Behmus's heights, running from west to east
about half a mile in length, terminating at the east end on the west side
of the intervale.
Upon the approach of the royal army, the American forces sallied forth
from their camp, and met the British about a mile north of the American
lines. A severe conflict ensued, and many brave officers and men fell on
both sides. The ground on which this battle was fought was principally
covered with standing wood. This circumstance somewhat embarrassed the
British troops in the use of their field artillery, and afforded some
advantage to the Americans, particularly the riflemen under the command
of the brave Col. Morgan, who did great execution. Night, which has so
often and so kindly interposed to stop the carnage of conflicting hosts,
put an end to the battle. Neither party claimed a victory. The royal army
withdrew in the night, leaving the field and their slain, with some of
their wounded, in possession of the Americans. The loss of killed and
wounded, as near as could be ascertained, was, on the part of the British,
600; and on that of the Americans, about 350. The bravery and firmness of
the American forces displayed this day, convinced the British officers of
the difficulty, if not utter impossibility of continuing their march to
Albany. The season for closing the campaign in that northern region was
advancing--the American army was daily augmenting by militia, volunteers,
and the "two months men," as they were then called. The fear that the two
royal armies might effect their junction at Albany, aroused the
neighboring states of New England, and drew from New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont, a large body of determined
soldiers. Baum's defeat at Bennington had inspired them with new hopes
and invigorated their spirits.
Under these circumstances, inauspicious to the hostile army, the British
commander-in-chief summoned a council of war; the result of which was to
attempt a retreat across the Hudson to Fort Edward. Gen. Gates,
apprehending the probability of this measure, seasonably detached a
portion of his force to intercept and cut off the retreat, should that be
attempted.
Many new and unexpected difficulties now presented themselves. The boats
which had served the British army for a bridge, being considered by them
as of no further use, had been cut loose, and most of them floated down
the river. The construction of rafts sufficient for conveying over their
artillery and heavy baggage, would be attended with great danger as well
as loss of time. The bridges over the creeks had been destroyed; great
quantities of trees had been felled across the roads by order of the
American General; and another thing, not of the most trifling nature, Fort
Edward was already in possession of the Americans. In this perplexing
dilemma the royal army found themselves completely _check-mated._ A
retreat, however, was attempted, but soon abandoned. Situated as they now
were, between two fires, every motion they made was fraught with danger
and loss. They retired to their old entrenched camp.
Several days elapsed without any very active operations on either side.
This interval of time was, however, improved by the royal army in
preparations to make one desperate effort to force the line of the
American camp, and cut their way through on their march to Albany. The
American army improved the meantime in strengthening their outer works,
arranging their forces, and placing the _Continentals_ on the north side of
the intrenchments, where valiant men were expected; thus preparing to
defend every point of attack; Morgan, with his riflemen, to form the left
flank in the woods.
During these few days of "dreadful preparation," information daily arrived
in our camp, by deserters and otherwise, that an attack would soon be made
upon the line of our intrenchments at Behmus's heights, near the
head-quarters of Gen. Gates.
The expected conflict awakened great anxiety among the American troops,
but abated nothing of that sterling intrepidity and firmness which they
had uniformly displayed in the hour of danger; all considered that the
expected conflict would be decisive of the campaign at least, if not of
the war in which we had been so long engaged. Immense interests were at
stake. Should Gen. Burgoyne succeed in marching his army to Albany, Gen.
Clinton, without any considerable difficulty, would there join him with
another powerful English army, and a fleet sufficient to command the
Hudson from thence to New-York. Should this junction of force take place,
all the states east of the Hudson would be cut off from all efficient
communication with the western and southern states.
In addition to this there were other considerations of the deepest
concern. The war had already been protracted to a greater length of time
than was expected on either side at the commencement. The resources of the
country, which were at first but comparatively small in respect to those
things necessary for war, began to fail; the term of enlistment of many
of the soldiers had expired.
We had no public money, and no government to guarantee the payment of
wages to the officers and soldiers, nor to those who furnished supplies
for the troops. Under these discouraging circumstances it became extremely
difficult to raise recruits for the army. During the year 1776 and the
fore part of '77, the Americans suffered greatly by sickness, and were
unsuccessful in almost every rencontre with the enemy. Men's hearts, even
the stoutest, began to fail. This was indeed the most gloomy period of the
war of the revolution.
On the 7th of October, about 10 o'clock, A. M. the royal army commenced
their march, and formed their line of battle on our left, near Behmus's
heights, with Gen. Fraser at their head. Our pickets were driven in about
one o'clock P. M. and were followed by the British troops on a quick
march to within fair musket shot distance of the line of our
entrenchments. At this moment commenced a tremendous discharge of cannon
and musketry, which was returned with equal spirit by the Americans.
For thirty or forty minutes the struggle at the breastworks was maintained
with great obstinacy. Several charges with fixed bayonets were made by the
English grenadiers with but little effect. Great numbers fell on both
sides. The ardor of this bloody conflict continued for some tune without
any apparent advantage gained by either party. At length, however, the
assailants began to give way, preserving good order in a regular but slow
retreat--loading, wheeling, and firing, with considerable effect. The
Americans followed up the advantage they had gained, by a brisk and
well-directed fire of field-pieces and musketry. Col. Morgan with his
riflemen hung upon the left wing of the retreating enemy, and galled them
by a most destructive fire. The line of battle now became extensive, and
most of the troops of both armies were brought into action. The principal
part of the ground on which this hard day's work was done, is known by the
name of "Freeman's farms." It was then covered by a thin growth of
pitch-pine wood without under brush, excepting one lot of about six or
eight acres, which had been cleared and fenced. On this spot the British
grenadiers, under the command of the brave Major Ackland, made a stand,
and brought together some of their field artillery; this little field
soon became literally "the field of blood." These grenadiers, the flower
of the royal army, unaccustomed to yield to any opposing force in fair
field, fought with that obstinate spirit which borders on madness. Ackland
received a ball through both legs, which rendered him unable to walk or
stand. This occurrence hastened the retreat of the grenadiers, leaving the
ground thickly strewed with their dead and wounded.
The battle was continued by a brisk running fire until dark. The victory
was complete; leaving the Americans masters of the field. Thus ended a
battle of the highest importance in its consequences, and which added
great lustre to the American arms. I have seen no official account of the
numbers killed and wounded; but the loss on the part of the British must
have been great, and that on the part of the Americans not inconsiderable.
The loss of general officers suffered by the royal army was peculiarly
severe. But to return to the Smith house. I made known to the Smith family
the object of my calling upon them; found them polite and intelligent, and
learned from them many interesting particulars respecting the battle of the
7th of October. For several days previous to that time Gen. Burgoyne had
made that house his head-quarters, accompanied by several general officers
and their ladies, among whom were Gen. Fraser, the Baron and Baroness
Reidesel, and their children.
The circumstances attending the fall of this gallant officer have
presented a question about which military men are divided in opinion. The
facts seem to be agreed, that soon after the commencement of the action,
Gen. Arnold, knowing the military character and efficiency of Gen. Fraser,
and observing his motions in leading and conducting the attack, said to
Col. Morgan, "that officer upon a grey horse is of himself a host, and
must be disposed of. Direct the attention of some of the sharp-shooters
among your riflemen to him." Morgan, nodding his assent to Arnold,
repaired to his riflemen, and made known to them the hint given by Arnold.
Immediately upon this, the crupper of the grey horse was cut off by a rifle
bullet, and within the next minute another passed through the horse's
mane, a little back of his ears. An aid of Fraser noticing this, observed
to him, "Sir, it is evident that you are marked out for particular aim;
would it not be prudent for you to retire from this place?" Fraser
replied, "my duty forbids me to fly from danger;" and immediately received
a bullet through his body. A few grenadiers were detached to carry him to
the Smith house.
Having introduced the name of Arnold, it may be proper to note here, that
although he had no regular command that day, he volunteered his service,
was early on the ground, and in the hottest part of the struggle at the
redoubts. He behaved, (as I then thought,) more like a madman than a cool
and discreet officer. Mounted on a brown horse, he moved incessantly at a
full gallop back and forth, until he received a wound in his leg, and his
horse was shot under him. I happened to be near him when he fell, and
assisted in getting him into a litter to be carried to head-quarters.
Late in the evening Gen. Burgoyne came in, and a tender scene took place
between him and Fraser. Gen. Fraser was the idol of the British army, and
the officer on whom, of all others, Burgoyne placed the greatest reliance.
He languished through the night, and expired at 8 o'clock the next
morning. While on his death-bed he advised Burgoyne, without delay, to
propose to Gen. Gates terms of capitulation, and prevent the further
effusion of blood; that the situation of his army was now hopeless; they
could neither advance nor retreat. He also requested that he might be
buried in the _great redoubt_--his body to be borne thither between sunset
and dark, by a body of the grenadiers, without parade or ceremony. This
request was strictly complied with.
After viewing the house to my satisfaction, I walked up to the place of
interment. It is situated on an elevated piece of ground, commanding an
extensive view of the Hudson, and a great length of the beautiful
interval on each side of it. I was alone; the weather was calm and serene.
Reflections were awakened in my mind which I am wholly unable to describe.
Instead of the bustle and hum of the camp, and _confused_ noise of the
battle of the warrior, and the shouts of victory which I here witnessed
fifty years ago, all was now silent as the abodes of the dead. And indeed
far, far the greatest part of both those armies who were then in active
life at and near this spot, are now mouldering in their graves, like that
valiant officer whose remains are under my feet,--"their memories and
their names lost,"--while God, in his merciful Providence, has preserved
my life, and after the lapse of half a century has afforded me an
opportunity of once more viewing those places which force upon my mind
many interesting recollections of my youthful days.
Oct. 19th.--On my return down the river from Albany to New-York, in the
steamboat "North America," I had leisure and opportunity for reflecting
upon the immense wealth and resources of the state of New-York--greater
I believe, at this time than that of any other two states in the Union.
It would be hazarding nothing to say, that this single state possesses
more physical power, and more of the "sinews of war," than were employed
by the whole thirteen states through the war of the revolution. This,
among other considerations, led me to the reflection how honorable it
would be to the state, and how deserving of the occasion, that a monument
be erected at or near the place where the royal army surrendered by
capitulation on the 17th of October, 1777, in commemoration of an event
so important in our national history. The battle of the 7th of October
may be considered, in its effects and consequences, as the termination
of the war, with as much propriety as that of Bunker's Hill was the
commencement of it.
I am. Sir,
Very respectfully yours,
SAMUEL WOODRUFF.
William L. Stone, Esq.
End of vol. I.
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