*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 49351 ***

THE PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION

Or,Illustrations, By Pen And Pencil, Of The History, Biography, Scenery,
Relics, And Traditions Of The War For Independence

By Benson J. Lossing

With Eleven Hundred Engravings On Wood, By Lossing And Barritt. Chiefly
From Original Sketches By The Author.

In Two Volumes.

Vol. I

New York:

Harper & Brothers, Publishers,

Franklin Square.

1860.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION.

CHAPTER I.

CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IV.

CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER. VII.

CHAPTER VIII.

CHAPTER IX.

CHAPTER X.

CHAPTER XI.

CHAPTER XII.

CHAPTER XIII.

CHAPTER XIV.

CHAPTER XV.

CHAPTER XVI.

CHAPTER XVII.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CHAPTER XIX

CHAPTER XX.

CHAPTER XXI.

CHAPTER XXII.

CHAPTER XXIII.

CHAPTER XXIV.

CHAPTER XXV.

CHAPTER XXVI.

CHAPTER XXVII

CHAPTER XXVIII.

CHAPTER XXIX.

CHAPTER XXX.

CHAPTER XXXI.

CHAPTER XXXII.

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

As my journey was among scenes and things hallowed to the feelings of
every American, I felt a hope that a record of the pilgrimage,
interwoven with that of the facts of past history, would attract the
attention, and win to the perusal of the chronicles of our Revolution
many who could not be otherwise decoyed into the apparently arid and
flowerless domains of mere history. I accordingly determined to make the
record of the tour to the important localities of the Revolution a
leading feature in the work. Here another difficulty was encountered. So
widely scattered are those localities, and so simultaneous were many of
the events, that a connected narrative of the journey must necessarily
break up the chronological unity of the history, and, at times, produce
some confusion. To give incidents of the journey, and sketches and
descriptions of the scenery and relics as they appear at present, in
fragmentary notes, would deny to the work the charm of a book of travel,
and thus almost wholly remove the prime object in view in giving such
narrative. The apparently less objectionable course was chosen, and the
history was broken into fragments, arranged, in the exhibition, in
accordance with the order in which each locality was visited, the
fragments individualized as much as possible, yet always maintaining a
tie of visible relationship with the whole. The apparent difficulties in
the way of the student which this plan suggests, are removed by the aid
of a complete Analytical Index at the close of the work, while the
narrative of the tour remains unbroken, except by the continually
recurring appendices of history. How far this arrangement shall
accomplish the desired result the candid judgment of the reader must
determine.

To collect the pictorial and other materials for this work, I traveled
more than eight thousand miles in the Old Thirteen States and Canada,
and visited every important place made memorable by the events of the
war; yet, in all that long and devious journey, through cities and
villages, amid mountains and vast pine forests, along rivers and over
fertile plantations, from New England to Georgia, with no passport to
the confidence, no claim to the regard of those from whom information
was sought, except such as the object of my errand afforded, and
communing with men of every social and intellectual grade, I never
experienced an unkind word or cold repulsion of manner. On the contrary,
politeness always greeted my first salutation, and, when the object of
my visit was announced, hospitality and friendly services were freely
bestowed. Every where the memorials of our Revolution are cherished with
devotional earnestness, and a feeling of reverence for these things
abounds, though kept quiescent by the progressive spirit of the age. To
those who thus aided and cheered me in my enterprise, I here proffer my
sincere thanks. I can not name them all, for they are too numerous, but
they will ever remain cherished "pictures on memory's wall."

It has been said that "diligence and accuracy are the only merits which
a historical writer may ascribe to himself." Neither labor nor care has
been spared in the collection of materials, and in endeavors to produce
a work as free from grave errors as possible. It has imperfections; it
would be foolish egotism to assert the contrary. In the various
histories of the same events many discrepancies appear; these I have
endeavored to reconcile or correct by documentary and other reliable
testimony; and if the work is not more accurate than its predecessors,
it is believed to be equally so with the most reliable. Free use has
been made of the available labors of others in the same department of
literature, always accrediting the source from whence facts were
derived. I have aimed to view men and events with an impartial eye,
censuring friends when they deserved censure, and commending enemies
when truth and justice demanded the tribute. The historical events
recorded were those of a family quarrel concerning vital principles in
jurisprudence; and wisely did a sagacious English statesman console
himself, at the close of the war, with the reflection, " We have been
subdued, it is true, but, thank Heaven, the brain and the muscle which
achieved the victory were nurtured by English blood; Old England, upon
the Island of Great Britain, has been beaten only by Young England, in
America." .

In the pictorial department, special care has been observed to make
faithful delineations of fact. If a relic of the Revolution was not
susceptible of picturesque effect in a drawing, without a departure from
truth, it has been left in its plainness, lor my chief object was to
illustrate the subject, not merely to embellish the book. I have
endeavored to present the features of things as I found them, whether
homely or charming, and have sought to delineate all that fell in my way
worthy of preservation. To do this, it was necessary to make the
engravings numerous, and no larger than perspicuity demanded, else the
work would be filled with pictures to the exclusion of essential reading
matter.

The plans of military movements have been drawn chiefly from British
sources, for very few were made by the engineers in the Continental
service. These appear to be generally pretty correct, so far as they
represent the immediate movements of the armies in actual conflict; but
the general topographical knowledge possessed by those engineers, was
quite defective. I have endeavored to detect and correct their
inaccuracies, either in the drawings or in the illustrative
descriptions.

With these general remarks respecting the origin and construction of the
work, it is submitted to the reading public. If a perusal of its pages
shall afford as much pleasure and profitable knowledge as were derived
from the journey and in the arrangement of the materials for the press,
the effort has not been unfruitful of good results. With an ardent
desire that it may prove a useful worker in the maintenance and growth
of true patriotism.

Far o'er yon azure main thy view extend,

Where seas and skies in blue confusion blend..

Lo, there a mighty realm, by Heaven design'd,

The last retreat for poor, oppress'd mankind;

Form'd with that pomp which marks the hand divine,

And clothes yon vault, where worlds unnumber'd shine.

Here spacious plains in solemn grandeur spread;

Here cloudy forests cast eternal shade;

Rich valleys wind, the sky-tall mountains brave,

And inland seas for commerce spread the wave

With nobler floods the sea-like rivers roll,

And fairer luster purples round the pole.

Timothy Dwight.

EVERY nation eminent for its refinement, displayed in the cultivation of
the arts, had its heroic age; a period when its first physical and moral
conquests were achieved, and when rude society, with all its impurities,
was fused and refined in the crucible of progress. When civilization
first set up its standard as a permanent ensign in the Western
hemisphere, northward of the Bahamas and the great Gulf, and the
contests for possession began between the wild Aborigines, who thrust no
spade into the soil, no sickle into ripe harvests, and those earnest
delvers from the Old World, who came with the light of Christianity to
plant a new empire and redeem the wilderness by cultivation, then
commenced the heroic age of America. It ended when the work of the
Revolution, in the eighteenth century, was accomplished; when the bond
of vassalage to Great Britain was severed by her colonies, and when the
thirteen confederated States ratified a federal Constitution, and upon
it laid the broad foundation of our Republic.

Those ancient civilizations, registered by the stylus of history, were
mere gloamings of morning compared with the noontide radiance which now
lights up the Western World; and even the more modern nations of Europe,
brilliant as they appear, have so many dark spots upon the disk of their
enlightenment, that their true glory is really less than that of the
waxing Star in the West. These ancient and modern civilizations, now
past or at their culminating points, were the results of the slow
progress of centuries; the heroic age {xvi}of America, meteor-like, was
brilliant and rapid in its course, occupying the space of only a century
and a half of time from the permanent implanting of a British colony,
weak and dependent, to the founding of our government, which, like
Pallas Athena, was, at its birth, full panoplied, strong, eminently
individual in its character, and full of recuperative energies. The head
of Britannia was cleft by the Vulcan of the Revolution, and from its
teeming brain leaped the full-grown daughter, sturdy and defiant.

Long anterior to the advent of Europeans in America, a native empire,
but little inferior to Old Rome in civilization, flourished in that
region of our continent which now forms the southwestern portion of the
Republic. The Aztec empire, which reached the acme of its refinement
during the reign of Montezuma, and crumbled into fragments when Cortez
dethroned and murdered that monarch, extended over the whole of Central
America: and when 1521. the Spaniards came it was gradually pushing its
conquests northward, where all was yet darkness and gloom. To human
apprehension, this people, apparently allied by various ties to the wild
nations of North America, appeared to be the most efficient instruments
in spreading the light of civilization over the whole continent; yet
they were not only denied this glorious privilege, but, by the very race
which first attempted to plant the seeds of European refinement in
Florida and among the Mobilian tribes, and to shed the illumination of
their dim Christianity over the dreary regions of the North, was their
own bright light extinguished. The Aztecs and their neighbors were
beaten into the dust of debasement by the falchion blows of avarice and
bigotry, and they form, apparently, not the most insignificant atom of
the chain of events which connects the history of the empires of the Old
World with that of our Republic.

It is believed that, two hundred years before the Aztecs subdued the
more ancient people of the Mexican valley and founded Tenochtitlan, * a
handful of rough, half-civilized adventurers from the wintery shores of
Iceland and the neighboring main, driven by adverse winds they knew not
whither, touched upon the bleak shores of Labrador, and traversed the
American continent southward as far as Rhode Island, and, it may be, the
capes of Virginia. ** These supposed first modern discoverers of America
were the children of the "mighty sea kings" of the Teutonic romances-the
Scandinavian _reguli_, who, scorning to own _Gorm the Old_ of Norway,
and _Harold Fairhair_ of Denmark, their conquerors, as masters, forsook
their country and colonized Iceland, Greenland, Shetland, and the Orkney
Islands, whence they sent forth piratical expeditions, which became a
terror to Western Europe. They traded as well as plundered, and by
commerce and conquest became potential. Every coast was visited by their
squadrons, either for war or traffic. They swept over Denmark and
Germany, and by conquest obtained possession of the best portions of
Gaul. *** They invaded the British Islands, and placed the renowned
Canute upon the throne of Alfred. Long before Christianity had shed its
genial rays over their frozen territory of the North, and banished the
barbarous rites of Pagan worship, the lamp of learning had been

* This city was founded about the year 1210, and was afterward called
Mexico, which signifies the place of Mexitli, the Aztec god of war. The
present capital of Mexico is upon the site of that ancient city. The
Aztecs, at that time, were settled in Lower California. They were
divided into six tribes. The Mexican tribe wandered off southward,
subdued the Toltecs, and founded the city around which the whole Aztec
nation subsequently gathered. The Toltecs were far more refined than
their conquerors, and from members of that dispersed nation the Aztecs
were first made acquainted with painting, sculpture, astronomy, and many
of the useful arts, such as working in metals, building bridges and
aqueducts, agriculture, &c.

** See note on page 633.

*** Charles III., called the Simple, the eighth of the Carlovingian
kings of France, ceded to Rolf or Rollo, one of the Northmen chiefs, the
large province called by them Normandy. This event occurred in the year
918. Rollo and his subjects embraced Christianity, and became the
guardians of France against further invasion from the Northmen.

HE story of the American Revolution has been well and often told, and
yet the most careless observer of the popular mind may perceive that a
large proportion of our people are but little instructed in many of the
essential details of that event, so important for every intelligent
citizen to learn. Very few are ignorant of the more conspicuous
circumstances of that period, and all who claim to be well-informed have
a correct general knowledge of the history of our war for independence.
But few even of that intelligent class are acquainted with the location
of the various scenes depicted by the historian, in their relation to
the lakes and rivers, towns and cities, whose names are familiar to the
ears of the present generation. For example: the citizen of Saratoga may
have a thorough knowledge of the memorable places in his own vicinage,
and of the incidents which have hallowed them, yet how puzzled he would
be if asked to tell the inquiring stranger, or his more inquisitive
children, upon what particular stream, or lofty height, or broad plain,
or in what mountain gorge, occurred the battles of Rocky Mount, King's
Mountain, Eutaw Springs, or the Cowpens. These are places widely known
in their respective districts, and the events connected with them form
as important links in the chain of circumstances which were developed in
the progress of the colonies toward independence, as the surrender of
Burgoyne and his army upon the plain at Saratoga. Among this class,
claiming to be generally informed, but ignorant in many particulars,
especially in relation to the character and situation of localities, the
writer places himself; and to an appreciation of the necessity of a more
thorough knowledge of these places, and of the men who are identified
with the Revolution, the reader is partially indebted for the pages
which follow this confession.

To obtain this accurate chorographical knowledge of our early history as
a confederation of states, was not the only incentive to undertake a
journey to the battlefields and other localities hallowed by the events
of the Revolution. My limited observation had perceived many remaining
physical vestiges of that struggle. Half- {viii}hidden mounds of old
redoubts; the ruined walls of some stronger fortification; dilapidated
buildings, neglected and decaying, wherein patriots met for shelter or
in council; and living men, who had borne the musket and knapsack day
after day in that conflict, occasionally passed under the eye of my
casual apprehension. For years a strong desire was felt to embalm those
precious things of our cherished household, that they might be preserved
for the admiration and reverence of remote posterity. I knew that the
genius of our people was the reverse of antiquarian reverence for the
things of the past; that the glowing future, all sunlight and eminence,
absorbed their thoughts and energies, and few looked back to the
twilight and dim valleys of the past through which they had journeyed. I
knew that the invisible fingers of decay, the plow of agriculture, and
the behests of Mammon, unrestrained in their operations by the
prevailing spirit of our people, would soon sweep away every tangible
vestige of the Revolution, and that it was time the limner was abroad.

I knew that, like stars at dawn which had beamed brightly through a long
night, the men of old were fast fading away, and that relics associated
with their trials and triumphs would soon be covered up forever. Other
men, far more competent. than myself to use the pen and pencil, appeared
indisposed to go out into the apparently shorn and unfruitful field upon
which I looked with such covetous delight, except to pick up a grain
here and there for special preservation. I knew that the vigorous
reapers who had garnered the products of that broad field, must have let
fall from their full hands many a precious ear loaded with choice grain,
and I resolved to go out as a gleaner, carefully gather up what they had
left behind, and add the winnings to their store. Like the servants of
Boaz, when Ruth followed the reapers, they seem to have "let fall also
some of the handfuls of purpose for me, that I might glean them," for I
found a far greater abundance than hope had promised. I have "gleaned in
the field until even, and beat out that I have gleaned," and here is my
"ephah of barley."

In the arrangement of a plan for presenting the result of these labors
to the public in an acceptable form many difficulties were perceptible.
Other histories of our Revolution had been written, embellished, and
read; what could be produced more attractive than they? The exciting
literature of the day, ranging in its intoxicating character from the
gross pictures of sensual life drawn by the French writers of fiction,
to the more refined, but not less intoxicating works of popular and
esteemed novelists, so cheaply published and so widely diffused, has
produced a degree of mental dissipation throughout our land,
destructive, in its tendency, to sober and rational desires for imbibing
useful knowledge. Among the young, where this dissipation is most rife,
and deleterious in its effects, it seemed most desirable to have the
story of our Revolution known and its salutary teachings pondered and
improved, for they will be the custodians of our free institutions when
the active men of the present generation shall step aside into the quiet
shadows of old age. Next to tales of love and gallantry, the young mind
is most charmed by the narratives of the traveler. The woof of our
history is too sacred to be interwoven with the tinsel filling of
fiction, and we should have too high a regard for truth to seek the
potential aid of its counterfeit in gaining audience in the ear of the
million; but to the latter taste we may consistently pay court, and in
behalf of sober history, use its {xvii}taken from the cloisters of the
South and placed within their temples, and upon dreary and desolate
Iceland and Norway civilization erected its humanizing altars. Ardent,
imaginative, and devotional, they eagerly accepted Christianity, and it
became to them really a "Star in the East," leading to where "the infant
Jesus laid." It was not to them sr much a personal treasure to he valued
for its immortal blessings, as a glorious idea full of temporal
advantage. It became an intense passion, not a sober belief, and its
warmth generated mighty events. Among them the spirit of chivalry had
its birth and early nurture, and in those unholy wars against the
possessors of the land of Palestine and of the sepulcher of Christ,
called the Crusades, which shook the nations during three consecutive
centuries, these Northmen furnished the bravest leaders.

From such a people, possessed of every attribute necessary to the
successful founding of new empires, having the ocean pathway to a broad
and fertile continent made clear before them, what great results might
not be expected? But, with the prize just within their grasp, they, too,
were denied the honor of first peopling our land; yet their mixed
descendants, the Anglo-Saxons, now possess it. It is supposed that they
attempted settlements, but failed, and in the lapse of centuries their
voyages were forgotten, or only remembered in the songs of their bards
or the sagas of their romancers. For more than five hundred years after
the voyages of those navigators, America was an unknown region; it had
no place upon maps, unless as an imaginary island without a name, nor in
the most acute geographical theories of the learned.** It was reserved
for the son of an humble wool-carder of Genoa to make it known to the
world.

During the first half of the fifteenth century, maritime discoveries
were prosecuted with untiring zeal by the people inhabiting the great
peninsula of Southwestern Europe. The incentives to make these
discoveries grew out of the political condition of Europe and the
promises of great commercial advantages. The rich commerce of the East
centered in Rome, when that empire overshadowed the known world; when it
fell into fragments, the Italian cities continued their monopoly of the
trade of the Indies. Provinces which had become independent kingdoms
became jealous of these cities, so rapidly outstripping them in power
and opulence; and Castile and Portugal, in particular, engaged in
efforts to open a direct trade with the East. The ocean was the only
highway for such commerce toward which they could look with a hope of
success. The errors of geographical science interposed their obstacles;
the belief that a belt of impassable heat girdled the earth at the
equator intimidated mariners, and none were willing to double Cape
Bojador, beyond which was the fancied region of fire.

Prince Henry of Portugal, son of John the First and Philippa of
Lancaster (sister of Henry the Fourth of England), having accompanied
his father into Africa, in an expedition against the Moors, received
much information concerning the mineral riches and fertility of Guinea
and other portions of the coast. The idea of making discoveries along
the African shores filled his mind, and on his return to Portugal he
abandoned the court, retired to a secluded spot near Cape St. Vincent,
in full view of the ocean, and drawing around him the most eminent
scientific men in the kingdom, pursued geographical and nautical
inquiries with untiring zeal. He became convinced that Africa was
circumnavigable, and that the

** "The [Atlantic] Ocean," observes Xerif al Edrisi, an eminent Arabian
writer, quoted by Irving, "encircles the ultimate bounds of tbe
inhabited earth, and all beyond is unknown. No one has been able to
verify any thing concerning it, on account of its difficult and perilous
navigation, its great obscurity, its profound depth, and frequent
tempests; through fear of its mighty fishes and its haughty winds; yet
there are many islands in it, some of which are peopled and others
uninhabited. There is no mariner who dares to enter into its deep
waters; or, if any have done so, they have merely kept along its coasts,
fearful of departing from them. The waves of this ocean, although they
roll as high as mountains, yet maintain themselves without breaking, for
if they broke, it would be impossible for a ship to plow through them."
{xviii}Indies might be leached by doubling its most southerly headlands.
Expeditions were fitted out; the Cape de Verd and the Azore Islands were
discovered; Cape Bojador was passed; the tropical region was penetrated,
and divested of its terrors; and at length the lofty promontory which
terminates Africa on the south, was descried. It was hailed as a
harbinger of the coveted passage to the Indian Seas, and on that account
King John gave it the appellation of the Cape of Good Hope.

The Spaniards were also making maritime discoveries at the same time,
but Lisbon was the point of great attraction to the learned, the
curious, and the adventurous, who were desirous to engage in the
expeditions then continually fitting out there. Among them came
Christopher Columbus, or Colombo, a native of Genoa, then in the vigor
of maturity. * Already he had made many a perilous voyage upon the
ocean, having engaged in the life of a mariner at the age of fourteen
years. The bent of his mind for such pursuits was early discovered by
his father, and in the University of Pavia he was allowed, by a short
course of study, to obtain sufficient elementary knowledge of geometry,
astronomy, geography, and navigation, and of the Latin language,.to
enable him to make those sciences afterward subservient to his genius.
From the commencement of his nautical career to his landing in Portugal,
his history ** is very obscure.

* There is some obscurity and doubt respecting the precise year in which
Columbus was born. Munoz, in his History of the New World, places it in
1446. Mr. Irving, relying upon the authority of Bernaldez, who says that
"he died in 1506, in a good old age, at the age of seventy, a little
more or less," places it in 1436, which would make him about forty-
eight years old when he landed in Portugal.

** This peculiar signature of Columbus is attached to various documents
written by him subsequent to his first voyage. It was customary, in his
time, to precede a signature with the initials (and sometimes with the
words in full) of some pious ejaculation. We accordingly find the
signature of Columbus with initial prefixes, thus:

S

S A S X M Y Xpo FERENS

The interpretation is supposed to be "Sancta! Sancta, Ave, Sancta!
Christo, Maria, Yoseph id est, Christ, Mary, Joseph. The xP° are Greek
letters; the word FERENS Roman capitals. X, or a cross, is the sign for
Christo or Christ, and xp° is an abbreviation of (Greek), anointed, and
expressed the first and chief portion of the Christian name of Columbus.
The Latin word ferens (bearing, carrying, or enduring) expressed not
only the latter portion of his name, but also his character, according
to his own lofty conceptions of his mission. He believed himself to be
Christo ferons, Christ-bearer or Gospel-bearer, to the heathen
inhabitants of an unknown world. It may be added, that Colombo
(Columbus), a dove or pigeon, was doubtless associated, in his
imagination, with the carrier-bird, and had its due weight, not only in
his conceptions of his destiny, but in forming his sign-manual. The
signature to his will is EL ALMI-RANTE (the Admiral), with the above
letters, instead of xp° FERENS.

{xix}In person, Columbus was tall and commanding; in manners,
exceedingly winning and graceful for one unaccustomed to the polish of
courts or the higher orders in society. He was a strict observer of the
rituals of his religion. His piety was not a mere form, but an elevated
and solemn enthusiasm, born of a deep conviction of the vital truths of
Christianity. While in Lisbon, he never omitted religious duties in the
sanctuary. At the chapel of the Convent of _All Saints_, where he was
accustomed to worship, he became acquainted with a young lady of rank
named Donna Felipa, the daughter of Monis de Palestrello, an Italian
cavalier, who had been one of the most distinguished navigators in the
service of Prince Henry. They loved, and were married. His wife's sister
was married to Pedro Correo, a navigator of note. In the family of his
mother-in-law he learned all the incidents of the voyages of her
husband; and the charts, journals, and other manuscripts of that
navigator she delivered to Columbus. These possessions awakened new
aspirations in his mind. He had made himself familiar, by study and
large experience, with all the nautical knowledge of the day, and, in
common with the most enlightened men of his time, he was disposed to
credit the narratives of Plato and other ancient writers respecting the
existence of a continent beyond a glorious island called Atlantis, * in
the waste of waters westward of Europe. Such a continent was necessary
to make his own geographical theory perfect. The gorgeous pictures of
Zipango or Cipangi and Cathay, on the eastern coast of Asia, drawn by
Marco Polo and Mandeville, also excited his warm imagination; and the
alleged apparitions of land seen to the westward by the people of the
Canary Isles were treasured in his mind as great realities. ** His
comprehensive genius constructed a new and magnificent theory, and his
bold spirit stood ready to act in unison with his genius. He based his
whole theory upon the fundamental principle that the earth was a
terraqueous globe, which might be traveled round from east to west, and
that men stood foot to foot at opposite points.

* Ancient writers speak of an island which existed at a very early
period in the Atlantic Ocean, and said to have been eventually sunk
beneath its waves. Plato, who gave the first account of it, says he
obtained his information from the priests of Egypt. The island was
represented to be larger than Asia and Africa, as they were then known,
and beyond it was a large continent. Nine thousand years before Plato's
time, this island was thickly inhabited and very powerful, its sway
extending over all Africa, including Egypt, and also a large portion of
Europe. A violent earthquake, which lasted for the space of a day and a
night, and was accompanied by inundations of the sea, caused the island
to sink, and, for a long period subsequent to this, the sea in this
quarter was impassable by reason of slime and shoals. Learned men of
modern times have been disposed to believe in the ancient existence of
such an island, and suppose the West India Islands to be the higher
portions of the sunken land. If this belief is correct, then the
continent beyond was America.

According to the account given to Plato, Atlantis was the most
productive region upon the earth. It produced wine, grain, and delicious
fruits in abundance. It had wide-spread forests, extensive pasture-
grounds, mines of gold and silver, hot springs, and every luxury for
human enjoyment. It was divided into ten kingdoms, governed by as many
kings, all descendants of Neptune, and living in perfect harmony with
each other. It had splendid cities, rich and populous villages, vast
fortifications, arsenals, and equipments for navies. There was a temple
in the island a stadium (six hundred and six feet nine inches) in
length, dedicated to Neptune. It was ornamented with gold, silver,
orichalcium, and ivory. It contained a golden statue of Neptune,
representing the god as standing in his chariot, and holding the reins
of his winged steeds. Such was the ancient vision.

** So confident were the people of the Canaries that land lay to the
westward of them, that they sought and obtained permission from the King
of Portugal to fit out various expeditions in search of it. A belief was
so prevalent that a Scottish priest named Brandon discovered an island
westward of the Canaries, in the sixth century, that maps, in the time
of Columbus, had the Island of St. Brandon upon them. It was placed
under the equator. {xx}This was seventy years before Copernicus
announced his theory of the form and motion of the planets,a and one
hundred and sixty years before Galileo was obliged, before the court of
the Inquisition at Home, to renounce his belief in the diurnal
revolution of the earth.

Columbus divided the circumference of the earth at the equator,
according to Ptolemy's system, into twenty-four hours of fifteen degrees
each, making three hundred and sixty degrees. Of these he imagined that
fifteen hours had been known to the ancients, extending from the
Fortunate or Canary Islands to the city of Thinoe in Asia, the western
and eastern boundaries of the known world. By the discovery of the Cape
de Verd and the Azore Islands, the Portuguese had advanced the western
frontier one hour, leaving about one eighth of the circumference of the
globe yet to be explored. The extent of the eastern region of Asia was
yet unknown, although the travels of Polo in the fourteenth century had
extended far beyond the Oriental boundary of Ptolemy's map. Columbus
imagined that the unexplored part of Asia might occupy a large portion
of the yet undefined circumference of the earth, and that its eastern
headlands might approach quite near to those of Western Europe and
Africa. He therefore concluded that a navigator, pursuing a direct
course from east to west, must arrive at the extremity of Asia by a far
easier and shorter route than following the coast of Africa around the
Cape of Good Hope. Fortunately, he adopted the opinions of Aristotle,
Pliny, and other writers, who considered the ocean as but of moderate
breadth, so that it might be crossed from Europe in the space of a few
days. A knowledge or suspicion of its actual extent would have deterred
even the bold enterprise of Columbus from attempting an exploration of
its waters in the small ships of that day. Reports of strange trees,
reeds of immense size, curiously-carved pieces of wood, and the bodies
of two men-unlike, in color and visage, any of the known races extant-
having drifted ashore upon the Canary and Azore Islands by westerly
winds, confirmed him in his belief, and a desire and determination to
undertake a demonstration of his theory by an exploring voyage absorbed
his whole attention. "He never spoke in doubt or hesitation," says
Irving, "but with as much certainty as if his eyes had beheld the
Promised Land. A deep religious sentiment mingled with his thoughts, and
gave them at times a tinge of superstition, but of a sublime and lofty
kind. He looked upon himself as standing in the hand of Heaven, chosen
from among men for the accomplishment of its high purpose. He read, as
he supposed, his contemplated discovery foretold in Holy Writ, and
shadowed forth darkly in the prophecies. The ends of the earth were to
be brought together, and all nations, and tongues, and languages united
under the banner of the Redeemer." * The prophetic passage in Pulci's
"Morgante Maggiore" was to him full of promise:

"Know that this theory is false; his bark

The daring mariner shall urge far o'er

The Western wave, a smooth and level plain,

Albeit the earth is fashion'd like a wheel.

Man was in ancient days of grosser mold,

And Hercules might blush to learn how far

Beyond the limits he had vainly set **

The dullest sea-boat soon shall wing her way.

Men shall descry another hemisphere,

Since to one common center all things tend.

So earth, by curious mystery divine

* Life and Voyages of Columbus.

** Calpe and Abila, or Gibraltar, on the Spanish, and Cape Serra, on the
African shore of the Straits of Gibraltar, were called the Pillars of
Hercules; it being said, in ancient fable, that Hercules placed them
there as monuments of his progress westward, and beyond which no mortal
could pass.

Well balanced, hangs amid the starry spheres.

At our antipodes are cities, states,

And thronged empires, ne'er divined of yore.

But see, the sun speeds on his western path

To glad the nations with expected light."

Prescott's translation of stanza 229, 230, canto xxv.

{xxi}While maturing his plans, Columbus extended the bounds of his
observation and study by a voyage to Thule, or Iceland, from which
remote point he says he advanced one hundred leagues northward,
penetrated the polar circle, and convinced himself of the fallacy of the
popular belief that the frozen zone was uninhabitable.1 Whether he saw,
in Iceland, written accounts of the voyages of the Northmen to America,
or heard of them as related by tradition or chanted in songs, we have no
means of determining. If he did, it is singular, as Prescott remarks,
that they were not cited by him in support of his hypothesis, while
earnestly pressing his suit for aid before the courts of Portugal and
Spain; and it is equally surprising that he did not, in his first voyage
to America, pursue the route traversed by those early navigators. He
probably heard little more than vague rumors of their voyages, such as
presented insufficient data even for a plausible opinion. His
magnificent idea was all his own, sustained by the opinions of a few
learned men, and confirmed by his observations while on this northern
voyage.

Filled with his noble resolutions and lofty anticipations, Columbus
submitted the theory on which rested his belief in a practicable western
route to Asia, to King John the Second of Portugal. That monarch's
sagacity perceived the promised advantages to be derived from such an
enterprise, and he eagerly sought the counsel of his ministers and wise
men. But his court and the college of scientific sages could not
comprehend the sublime project; and after a long and fruitless
negotiation, during which the Portuguese meanly attempted to avail
themselves clandestinely of his information, Columbus quitted Lisbon in
disgust, determined to submit his proposals to Ferdinand and Isabella,
the Spanish sovereigns, whose wisdom and liberal views were the
admiration of men of science and learning. His wife was dead; his
feelings had no hold upon Portugal, and he quitted it forever.

It was toward the close of 1484 when Columbus appeared at the Spanish
court. ** It was an unpropitious hour, for the whole resources of the
nation were then employed in prosecuting a war with the Moors. For a
long time he awaited the decision of the sovereigns, employing his
leisure in the alternate pursuits of science, and engagements in some of
the military campaigns. He was treated with great deference, and, after
much delay, a council of learned men were convened at Salamanca to
consider his plans and propositions. After mature deliberation, they
pronounced his scheme "vain, impracticable, and resting on grounds too
weak to merit the support of government." A minority of the council were
far from acquiescing in this decision, and, with the Cardinal Mendoza
and other officers of government, and Fray Juan Perez de Marchena,
guardian of the ancient monastery of La Rabida,

* In the age of Columbus, Greenland was laid down upon the maps as a
continuation or projection westward of Scandinavia. Columbus discovered
this error in his northern voyage, which discovery was a new fact in
support of his theory of a continent lying westward from Europe, or at
least a proximity of the eastern coast of Asia. At that time the climate
of Iceland and Greenland was far more genial than at present, and there
is reason to believe that those portions of the latter country which for
two or three hundred years have been ice-bound and uninhabitable, were
then tillable. Philosophers of our day, who have studied the phenomena
of terrestrial magnetism with care, have advanced a plausible theory
whereby to explain this fact.

** It is asserted, but without positive proof, that Columbus, before
going to Spain, made application to the authorities of his native city,
Genoa, for aid in his enterprise; but failing in this he went to Venice,
and also sent his brother Bartholomew to England, to lay his plans
before Henry the Seventh. If these statements are true, they exhibit his
perseverance in a still stronger light than truthful history presents
it. {xxii}they induced the sovereigns to soften the decisions of the
council by a promise to give the proposition a fair audience when their
pressing state engagements should be ended. Columbus, wearied by
procrastination, at length lost all hope of effecting any thing with the
Spanish court. He turned from it with disgust, and made application to
two wealthy and enlightened Southern dukes, who had ample means at
command. He was unsuccessful, and with a heavy heart he left Spain, to
carry his proposals to the King of France.

Isabella of Castile and Leon, sister of the profligate Henry the Fourth,
was the successor October 19,1469. of that monarch to the throne. She
married Ferdinand, the son of old John the Second of Aragon, and,
associating him with herself in the government, united the two
monarchies into one great kingdom, the renowned modern Spain. Isabella
was eminently virtuous, and her piety and daily goodness were the fruit
of a deep religious feeling. Ferdinand was ambitious, and, in the.midst
of his perplexity with the Moors, he felt a strong desire to advance the
interests and glory of the new kingdom, by maritime discoveries; yet he
could not comprehend the vast plans of Columbus, and he looked coldly
upon the project. To the pious sentiments of the queen, Father Perez, a
former confessor of Isabella and a friend of Columbus, appealed with
success; and before the navigator had entered the dominions of France,
he was summoned back to the court, then in the camp at Santa Fé. He
arrived in time to witness the surrender of Grenada. Joy and exultation
pervaded all classes. Columbus took advantage of this state of things,
and while he excited the acquisitiveness of the nobles by reciting
wonderful tales of the riches of Cipangi and Cathay, he eloquently
portrayed to the queen the glorious prospect of extending the influence
of the Gospel over benighted heathens, promising to devote the profits
of the enterprise to the recovery of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem
from the hands of the Paynim. His eloquence was seconded by that of
Louis de St. Angel, a favorite officer of the crown. The religious zeal
of Isabella was fired, and, notwithstanding the extravagant demands of
Columbus,1 2 she resolved, in opposition to the wishes of Ferdinand, to
aid him in fitting out an ex-

* Isabella was of middle size, and well formed, with a fair complexion,
auburn hair, and clear, blue eyes. There was a mingled gravity and
sweetness in her countenance, and a singular modesty, gracing, as it
did, great firmness of purpose and earnestness of spirit. Though
strongly attached to her husband, and studious of his fame, yet she
always maintained her distinct rights as an allied prince. She exceeded
him in beauty, personal dignity, acuteness of genius, and grandeur of
soul. Combining the active and resolute qualities of man with the softer
charities of woman, she mingled in the warlike councils of her husband,
and, being inspired with a truer idea of glory, infused a more lofty and
generous temper into his subtile and calculating policy.- Washington
Irving.

** Columbus, in the demands set forth in his proposition, stipulated for
himself and heirs the title and authority of admiral and viceroy over
all lands discovered by him. This demand was inadmissible, yet the
navigator persisted in it, though it appeared an effectual bar to any
arrangement with the queen. His stipulations were finally acceded to,
and Columbus always regarded the queen with feelings of the liveliest
gratitude. "In the midst of the general incredulity," he said in a
letter, "the Almighty infused into the queen, my lady, the spirit of
intelligence and energy, and while every one else, in his ignorance, was
expatiating only on the inconvenience and cost, her highness approved
it, on the contrary, and gave it all the support in her power."

These demands almost frustrated his designs, and Columbus had again
turned his back upon the Spanish court, when, through the wise counsels
of friends, the queen's objections were overcome, and the warmest
impulses of her nature aroused. "I will assume the undertaking," she
said, when opposed by her husband and his counselors, "for my own crown
of Castile, and am ready to pawn my jewels to defray the expense of it,
if the funds in the treasury shall appear inadequate."

All preliminaries being arranged, the queen lost no time in fitting out
two vessels, * and Columbus, aided chiefly by the wealthy and
enterprising family of the Pinzons equipped a third.

With this feeble squadron, manned with timid mariners, Columbus left the
little port of Palos, upon the Tinto River, in Andalusia, on Friday, the
third of August, 1492, and, spreading his sails to an easterly breeze,
turned his prow toward the waste of Avaters in the direction of the
setting sun.

He had no reliable chart for his guidance, no director in his course but
the sun and stars, and the imperfect mariner's compass, then used only
by a few in

* The vessels furnished by Isabella were only caravels, light coasting
ships, without deeks, and furnished with oars like the ancient galleys.
The picture here given is from a low relief sculpture, on the tomb of
Fernando Columbus, a son of the navigator, in the Cathedral of Seville.
Such a vessel would be considered quite inadequate to perform a coasting
voyage at the present day. The larger vessel, with a deck, fitted out by
Columbus and his friends, was called the Santa Maria; the caravels were
named respectively Pinta and Mina. Martin Alonzo Pinzon commanded the
Pinta, and Vincent Yanez Pinzon the Mina. Garcia Fernandez, the
physician of Palos, accompanied the expedition as steward. The whole
number of persons that embarked was one hundred and twenty. The whole
expenditure of the queen in fitting out the caravels amounted to only
seventeen thousand florins, or between eight and nine thousand dollars.
*** These were small preparations for an exploring expedition of such
vast extent and importance.

The descendants of the Pinzons are still quite numerous in the vicinity
of Palos. When Mr. Irving visited that town in 1828, he saw the ruins of
a family mansion which belonged to one of the two Pinzons who sailed
with Columbus on his first voyage. Mr. Irving was accompanied in his
visit to Palos, the monastery of Ribida, and other localities in the
vicinity, by Juan Fernandez Pinzon, a descendant of one of. the
companions of Columbus.

** The pile of buildings in this view, standing upon the bluff, is the
ancient Church of St. George. For some misdemeanor, the people of Palos
were obliged to serve the crown for one year with two armed caravels.

They were under this penalty when Columbus made his arrangement with
Isabella, and they were ordered to fit out the two caravels for the
expedition. In the porch of the old Church of St. George, Columbus first
proclaimed this order to the inhabitants of Palos. Mr. Irving, who
visited Palos in 1828, says of this edifice, "It has lately been
thoroughly repaired, and, being of solid mason-work, promises to stand
for ages, a monument of the discoverers. It stands outside of the
village, on the brow of a hill, looking along a little valley to the
river. The remains of a Moorish arch prove it to have been a mosque in
former times. Just above it, on the crest of the hill, is the ruin of a
Moorish castle."

*** This is the amount given by Munoz, one of the most reliable of
Spanish authors. Others have named s much higher sum Dr. Robertson rates
the amount at £4000 sterling, or about $00,000, but docs not give his
authority.

{xxiv}navigating the pleasant seas of the Old World. After various
delays at the Canary Islands, they passed and lost sight of Ferro, the
most westerly one of the group, on Sunday, the ninth of September. Now
Europe was left behind, and the broad Atlantic, mysterious and unknown,
was before them. As the space widened between them and their homes, the
hearts September, 1492. of mariners failed; and when, on the thirteenth,
the commander and his pilots discovered the variations of the magnetic
needle, misgivings, arose in the stout hearts of the explorer and his
friends, the Pinzons. They were now six hundred miles westward of the
Canaries, in an unknown sea. It was a phenomenon unknown to the world of
science, and Columbus tried in vain to satisfy himself respecting the
cause. He could not long conceal the fact from his seamen. It filled
them with consternation and awe; for they believed they were entering
another world, subject to the influence of laws unknown and dreadful.
Columbus quieted their apprehensions by telling them that the needle did
not point to the north star, but to an invisible point around which that
star revolved daily. Thus he explained a phenomenon now well known; and
his companions, relying upon his astronomical knowledge, received his
theory as truth, and their alarm subsided.

For several days after this event they were wafted pleasantly by the
trade winds, which blow continually from east to west. The air was
balmy, and soon vast fields of sea-weeds, and an occasional petrel upon
the wing, heralded an approach to land; but head winds and days of
profound calm deferred the joyful consummation of their hopes; and the
seamen, wearied and home-sick, resolved to retrace their path, and seek
the shores of Spain. Even the little land birds that came upon the
spars, and sung merrily their welcome to the New World, and then left at
evening for their distant perches in the orange groves, failed to
inspire the mariners with confidence in the truth of their commander's
reasonings, and open mutiny manifested itself. With gentle words,
promises of rewards, and threats of punishment against the most
refractory, Columbus kept them from actual violence for several days.
One evening, just at sunset, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, mounted on September,
25. the stern of the Pinta, shouted, "Land! land! Senor, I claim the
reward!"

Along the southwestern horizon was stretched an apparent island.
Columbus, throwing himself upon his knees, with all the crews, chanted
_Gloria in Excelsis!_ In the morning the island had vanished, for it was
nothing but a cloud. For a fortnight longer they floated upon an almost
unruffled sea, when land birds came singing again, and green herbage
floated by; but days passed on, and the sun, each evening, set in the
waves. Again the seamen mutinied, and Columbus was in open defiance with
his crew; for he told them that the expedition had been sent by their
sovereigns, and, come what might, he was determined to accomplish his
purpose. They were on the point of casting him into the sea, when, just
at sunset, a coast-fish glided by; a branch of thorn, with berries upon
it, floated near; and a staff, artificially carved, came upon the waters
to tell them of human habitations not far off. The vesper hymn to the
Virgin was now sung, and Columbus, after recounting the blessings of God
thus far manifested on the voyage, assured the crews that he confidently
expected to see land in the morning. On the high poop of his vessel he
sat watching.

* Columbus agreed to give a silk waistcoat, besides the royal pension of
thirty dollars, to the person who first discovered land.-Munoz {xxv}near
midnight, when he saw the glimmer of moving lights upon the verge of the
horizon. Fearing his hopes might have deceived his vision, he called
Pedro Gutierrez, gentleman of the king's bed-chamber, and also Rodrigo
Sanchez, of Segovia, to confirm his discovery. They also saw the gleams
of a torch.

All night the overjoyed Columbus watched. At dawn, beautiful wooded
shores were in full view; the perfumes of flowers came upon the light
land breeze; and birds in gorgeous plumage hovered around the vessels,
caroling morning hymns, which seemed like the voices of angels to the
late despair-October 12, 1492 seamen. In small boats they landed, the
naked natives, who stood upon the beach in wonder, fleeing to the deep
shadows of the forest in alarm. Columbus, dressed in gold-embroidered
scarlet, bearing the royal standard, first stepped upon the shore.

He was followed by the Pinzons, each bearing the banner of the
enterprise.1 On reaching the land, they all fell upon their knees,
kissed the earth, and, with tears of joy in their eyes, chanted the _Te
Deum Laudamus._ Rising from the ground, Columbus displayed the royal
standard, drew his sword, and took possession of the land in the name of
the Spanish sovereigns, giving the island the title of San Salvador **
With the most extravagant demonstrations of joy, his followers crowded
around him. The most insolent in the mutinous displays were the most
abject in making vows of service and faithfulness. All present took an
oath of obedience to him as admiral and viceroy, and representative of
Ferdinand and Isabella. The triumph of Columbus was complete.

The natives had beheld the approaching ships at dawn with fear.

* This was a white banner, emblazoned with a green cross, having on each
side the letters F. and Y., the Spanish initials of Ferdinand and
Ysabel, surmounted by golden crowns.

** The island on which Columbus first set his foot in the New World is
one of the Lucayas or Bahama group, and was called by the natives
Guanahana. The Spaniards and others still call it San Salvador; the
English have given it the vulgar name of Cat Island. It lies between the
twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth degrees of north latitude, and the second
and third degrees of longitude east of the meridian of Washington city,
eighty or ninety miles northeast of Havana, Cuba. Munoz, a learned
Spanish writer, thinks Watling's Island, and not the one called San
Salvador on our maps, was the first landing-place.

*** This is copied, by permission of the author, from Irving's Life of
Columbus. It is a fac-simile of a sketch supposed to have been made by
Columbus, in a letter written by him to Don Raphael Xansis, treasurer of
the King of Spain {xxvi}in awe regarding them as monsters of the deep.
By degrees their alarm subsided, and they approached the Europeans. Each
party was a wonder to the other. The glittering armor, shining lace, and
many-colored dresses of the Spaniards filled the natives with admiration
and delight; while they, entirely naked, with skins of a dark copper
hue, painted with a variety of colors and devices, without beards and
with straight hair, were objects of great curiosity to the Spaniards.
They were unlike any people of whom they had knowledge. Not doubting
that he was upon an island near the coast of Farther India, Columbus
called these wild inhabitants _Indians_, a name which all the native
tribes of America still retain.

It is not within the scope of my design to relate, in detail, the
subsequent career of Columbus in the path of discovery, nor of those
navigators who succeeded him, and share with him the honor of making
known our continent to the Old World. He was the bold pioneer who led
the way to the New World, and as such, deserves the first and highest
reward; yet he was not truly the first discoverer of the _continent_ of
North America. Eager in his search for Cathay, he coasted almost every
island composing the groups now known as the West Indies, during his
several voyages, but he never saw the shores of the Northern August,
1498 Continent. He did, indeed, touch the soil of South America, near
the mouth of the Oronoco, but he supposed it to be an island, and died
in the belief that the lands he had discovered were portions of Farther
India. *

Intelligence of the great discovery of Columbus, though kept concealed
as much as possible by the Spanish court, for reasons of state policy,
nevertheless went abroad, and aroused the ambition of other maritime
powers. The story that Columbus had found vast and populous gold-
producing regions in the Western Ocean excited the cupidity of
individuals.

* Columbus returned to Europe in March, 1493. Ferdinand and Isabella
bestowed upon him every mark of honor and distinction, and the nobles
were obsequious in their attentions to the favorite of royalty. On the
25th of September, 1493, he left Cadiz, on a second voyage of discovery.
He had three large ships and fourteen caravels under his command. His
discoveries were principally among the West India Islands, where he
founded settlements. He returned to Spain in June, 1496. Misfortunes had
attended him, yet the sovereigns treated him with distinguished favor.

On the 30th of May, 1498, Columbus sailed from San Lucar de Barraraeda,
with a squadron of six vessels, on a third voyage of discovery. He found
the settlements which had been planted in great confusion, and civil war
among the Spaniards and natives was rife in Hispaniola. In the mean
while, intrigues against him were having due weight in the Spanish
court. It was alleged that Columbus designed to found an empire in the
New World, cast off all allegiance to Spain, and assume the title and
pomp of king. He had already offended the conscientious Isabella by
persisting in making slaves of the natives, and she readily gave her
consent to send out a commissioner to investigate the conduct of the
navigator. Bobadilla, a tool of Columbus's enemies, was intrusted with
that momentous duty; and, as might have been expected, he found Columbus
guilty of every charge made against him. Bobadilla seized Columbus, and
sent him in chains to Spain. His appearance excited the indignation of
the sovereigns, and they declared to the world that Bobadilla had
exceeded his instructions; yet justice was withheld, through the
influence of Ferdinand, and Columbus was not reinstated as viceroy of
Hispaniola.

While these events were occurring, Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese
navigator, had reached Calicut, in the East Indies, by doubling the Cape
of Good Hope, and traversing the Indian Ocean. But Columbus still
persevered in his determination to reach Asia by a western route. He
induced Isabella to fit out a fourth expedition for him, and on the 9th
of May, 1502, he sailed for Hispaniola. After many troubles and
hardships, he returned to Spain in 1504. His patron and best friend, the
queen, died that same year. Old age had made its deep furrows, and, in
the midst of disappointment and neglect, the great discoverer died on
the 20th of May, 1506, at the age of seventy. He never realized his
grand idea of reaching India by a western route. The honor of that
achievement was reserved for the expedition of Magellan, fourteen years
after the death of Columbus. That navigator passed through the straits
which bear his name, at the southern extremity of our continent, and
launched boldly out upon the broad Pacific. He died on the ocean, but
his vessels reached the Philippine Islands, near the coast of India, in
safety. Magellan gave the tame of Pacific to the pleasant ocean over
which he was sailing. {xxvii}many adventurers offered their services to
sovereigns and men of wealth. Almost simultaneously, Sebastian Cabot, of
Bristol, and Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine, sailed for the lands
discovered by Columbus; the former under the auspices, of Henry the
Seventh of England, and the latter in the employment of Spanish
merchants, with the sanction of Ferdinand. Cabot's father was an
Italian, and had been long a resident of Bristol, then the chief
commercial mart of England. The Northwestern seas were often traversed
as far as Iceland by the Bristol mariners, and they had probably
extended their voyages westward to Greenland in their fishing
enterprises. Cabot seems to have been familiar with those seas, and the
English merchants had great confidence in his abilities. He obtained a
commission from Henry the Seventh, similar, in its general outline, to
that given to Columbus by Ferdinand and Isabella. It empowered him and
his three sons, their heirs or deputies, to discover and settle unknown
lands in the Eastern, Northern, or Western seas, such lands to be taken
possession of in the name of the King of England. He fitted out two
vessels at his own expense, which were freighted by merchants of London
and Bristol; and it was stipulated that, in lieu of all customs and
imposts, Cabot was to pay to the King one fifth part of all the gains.

Cabot's son, Sebastian, a talented young man of only twenty years, with
about three hundred men, sailed from harbor of Bristol in May, 1497. He
directed his course to the northwest, until he reached the fifty-eighth
degree of north latitude, when floating ice and intense cold induced him
to steer to the southwest. Fair winds produced a rapid voyage, and he
discovered land on the twenty-fourth of June, which he called Prima
Vista, because it was his _first view_ of a new region. The exact point
of this first discovery is not certainly known; some supposing it to
have been on the coast of Labrador, and others the Island of
Newfoundland or the peninsula of Nova Scotia.

He touched at other points, but did not attempt a settlement: the
climate seemed too rigorous, the people too fierce, and he returned to
Bristol.

Cabot made arrangements for a February, 1498 second voyage. He did not
go in person, but fitted out vessels for the purpose. His son,
Sebastian, was placed at the head of the expedition, and in May, 1498,
the month in which De Gama reached Calicut, in the East Indies, byway of
the Cape of Good Hope, he sailed for the New World with several ships.
He visited the region first discovered by his father and himself, and
called it Newfoundland. It was not rich in gold and spices, but its
shoals abounded with vast schools of codfish; and within a few years
after his return to England a permanent fishery was established there.
Cabot sailed along the whole coast of the present United States,
beginning at latitude fifty-six degrees, and terminating at about
thirty-six degrees, or Albemarle Sound. His provisions ailing, he
returned to England. He made another voyage in 1517, as far south as the
{xxviii}Brazils; but failing to discover a western passage to the East
Indies, he again returned to England. *

In the same month when young Cabot sailed from Bristol, Amerigo Vespucci
departed from Cadiz on his first voyage to the New World. In that voyage
he appears May, 1497 to have held a subordinate station.

The expedition under Ojeda, which Amerigo calls his _second_ voyage, was
not undertaken until 1499. Whether any vessel in that expedition was
under his command is questionable. Spanish writers assert to the
contrary, and say that he was first a captain when in the service of
Emanuel of Portugal; but it is not my province to inquire into this
disputed matter. Spanish historians, jealous of the fame of Columbus,
charge Vespucci with falsehood and fraud; but early Spanish authors were
not always scrupulous in regard to truth when national pride demanded
prevarication, or even absolute falsehood. ** It was

* After his second voyage, Sebastian Cabot was invited to Spain, and
sailed on a voyage of discovery, in the service of the Spanish monarch,
in 1525. He visited Brazil, and, coasting southward to the thirty-fifth
degree, he entered a large river, which he called Rio de la Plata. Up
this river he sailed one hundred and twenty leagues. After an absence of
six years, he returned to Spain, but seems not to have been well
received by the sovereign. He made other, but less conspicuous voyages,
and in his old age retired to. Bristol, where he died about the year
1557, at the age of eighty years. He received a pension from Edward the
Sixth, and was appointed governor of a company of merchants associated
for the purpose of making discoveries.

** The name of the Florentine is variously spelled, Amerigo Vespucci,
Americus Vespucius, Amerigo Vespuche. The latter orthography is
according to the entry in an account-book containing the expenditure of
the treasurer of the royal mercantile house of Seville, quoted by Munoz,
tome i., page xix of the Introduction. It appears by that account, that
on the 24th of February, 1512, was paid to Manuel Catano, executor of
the will of Amerigo, "10937 and a half maravedis," which was due to him
for services as chief steersman to his majesty. Amerigo was appointed to
that office in March, 1508, with a salary of 50,000 maravedis a year.

Whether he ever commanded an expedition in the Spanish service is a
disputed question. He made several voyages to the New World between 1497
and 1512, the year of his death. With an expedition under the command of
Ojeda, in 1499, he visited the Antilles and the coast of Guiana and
Venezuela. On his return, Emanuel, king of Portugal, invited him to his
capital, and gave him the command of three ships for a voyage of
discovery. He left Lisbon May 10th, 1501, visited Brazil, and traversed
the coast of South America as far as Patagonia, but failed to discover
the straits through which Magellan passed at a later day. He returned to
Lisbon in 1502. He made a fourth voyage, and returned to Portugal in
1504. Soon after this he wrote an account of his voyage. The book was
dedicated to Rene II., duke of Lorraine. He again entered the service of
the King of Spain, who appointed him to draw sea-charts, and gave him
the title and salary of chief steersman or pilot, which commission he
held until his death. According to some accounts, he died in the Island
of Terceria, one of the Azores, in 1514; others affirm that his death
occurred at Seville.

The portrait of the navigator, here given, was copied, by permission,
from the original picture by Bronzino, now in possession of C. Edwards
Lester, Esq., late United States consul at Genoa. It was committed to
his care by the Vespucci family, to be placed in the possession of our
government. No arrangement for its purchase has yet been made. I
believe.

An Italian woman named Elena Vespucci, bearing proofs of her lineal
descent from the famous navigator, came to America a few years ago, and
made application to our Congress for a grant of land, on account of her
relationship to the Florentine from whom our continent derived its name.
Subsequently, her brother and two sisters, Amerigo, Eliza, and Teresa
Vespucci, made a similar petition to Congress. They mention the fact
that Elena, "possessing a disposition somewhat indocile and
unmanageable, absented herself from her father's house, and proceeded to
London. Hence she crossed the ocean, and landed upon the shores of
Brazil, at Rio Janeiro. From that city she proceeded to Washington, the
capital of the United States." Elena Vespucci was treated with respect.
Possessed of youth and beauty, she attracted much attention at the
metropolis, but the prayer in the petition of both herself and family
was denied. She was living at Ogdensburgh, New York, when I visited that
place in 1848.

natural that they should be tender of the reputation of Columbus,
although he was not a Spaniard, for his discoveries reflected great
luster upon the Spanish crown. For this reason they have ever disputed
the claims of Vespucci, and denounced him as a liar and a charlatan.
These denunciations, however, prove nothing, and the fame of Columbus
loses none of its brightness by admitting the claims of the Florentine;
claims, it must be acknowledged, that have sound logic and fair
inferences as a basis. Amerigo seems to have been the first who
published an account of the discoveries in the New World, and for this
priority the narrow and selfish policy of the Spanish government is
responsible. His first announcement was made in a letter to Lorenzo de
Medici, 1504 and soon afterward he published a volume giving an account
of his four voyages, which he dedicated to the Duke of Lorraine.1507 In
these he claims the merit of discovering the continent, having landed
upon the coast of Paria,(1497) in Colombia, South America, and traversed
the shores, according to his own account, as far northward as the Gulf
of Mexico. If this statement is true, he visited the continent nearly a
year previous to the landing of Columbus at the mouth of the Oronoco, in
the same district of Paria. From the circumstance of Amerigo making the
first publication on the subject, and claiming to be the discoverer of
the continent, the New World was called America, and the Florentine
bears the honor of the name; but to neither Columbus nor Vespucci does
the honor of first discoverer of America properly belong, but to young
Cabot, for he and his crew first saw its soil and inhabitants. He alone,
of all those voyagers in the fifteenth century, beheld North America.
Whether to Columbus, Vespucci, or Cabot, truth should award the palm,
Italy bears the imperishable and undisputed honor of giving birth to all
three.

The expeditions of the Cabots turned attention to the regions north of
the West India Islands. Emanuel of Portugal dispatched some vessels,
under the command of Caspar Cortereal, in 1501, to follow in the track
of the English. Cortereal sailed between two and three hundred leagues
along the North American coast, but his voyage was fruitless of good
results, either to science or humanity. He made few discoveries of land,
carried on no traffic, planted no settlements, but kidnapped and carried
to Portugal several friendly natives, to be sold as slaves! Perfidy and
cruelty marked the first intercourse of the whites with the tribes of
our continent; is it to be wondered that the bitter fruits of suspicion
and hostility should have flourished among them?

Ponce de Leon, one of the companions of Columbus, and first governor of
Porto Rico, a small island sixty miles east of Haiti, sailed on a voyage
of discovery among the Bahamas, in search of the fabled Fountain of
Youth. It was generally believed in Porto Rico, and the story had great
credence in Old Spain, that the waters of a clear spring, bubbling up in
the midst of a vast forest, upon an island among the Bahamas, possessed
the singular property of restoring age and ugliness to youth and beauty,
and perpetuating the lives of those who should bathe in its stream. De
Leon was an old man, and, impressed with the truth of this legend, he
sought that wonderful fountain. After cruising for a while among the
Bahamas, he landed upon the peninsula of Florida, in the harbor of St.
Augustine. It was on Palm Sunday when he debarked. That day is called by
the Spaniards _Pasqua de Flores_, and, partly from that circumstance,
and partly on account of the great profusion of flowers which, at that
early season of the year, were blooming on every side, 1520 {xxx}Ponce
de Leon gave the country (which he supposed to be a large island like
Cuba) the name of Florida. He took formal possession in the name of the
Spanish monarch; but, feeling unauthorized to proceed to making
conquests without a royal commission, he sailed for Spain to obtain one,
after failing in his search after the Fountain of Youth.

He had plunged into every stream, however turbid, with the vain
expectation of rising from it young and blooming; but, according to
Oviedo, instead of returning to vigorous youth, he arrived at a second
childhood within a few years. He was afterward appointed Governor of
Florida, and was killed while on an expedition against the natives.

While Ponce de Leon was in Europe, where he remained several years, some
wealthy gentlemen of Haiti fitted out two vessels to explore the
Bahamas. The squadron was commanded by Lucas Vasquez d'Aillon or Allyon,
a Spanish navigator. Their vessels were driven northward by a hurricane,
and came near being stranded upon the low coasts. They finally made land
in St. Helen's Sound, near the mouth of the Combahee River, in South
Carolina, about half way between Charleston and Savannah. D'Aillon
called the river Jordan, and the country Chicora. He carried off several
natives, whom he enticed on board his ships, with the intention of
selling them as slaves in Haiti. A storm destroyed one of the vessels,
and the captured Indians in the other voluntarily starved themselves to
death, so the avaricious whites were disappointed in their expectations
of gain. D'Aillon afterward returned, with three ships, to conquer the
whole of Chicora. The natives feigned friendship, decoyed the whites on
shore, and then, with poisoned arrows, massacred nearly the whole of
them, in revenge for their former perfidy. But few returned with
D'Aillon to Haiti. This was the first discovery of the Carolina coast.

While these events were in progress, Cortez, at the head of an
expedition fitted out by Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, was destroying
the empire of Montezuma, in Mexico, then recently discovered. The
success of Cortez excited the jealousy of Velasquez, for he feared a
renunciation of his authority by that bold leader. He sent Pamphilo de
Narvaez, with a strong force, to arrest and supersede Cortez; but he was
defeated, and most of his troops joined his enemy. Narvaez afterward
obtained from the Spanish court a commission as _adelantado_ or Governor
of Florida, a territory quite indefinite in extent, reaching from the
southern capes of the peninsula to the Panuco River in Mexico. With a
force of three April 22, 1528 hundred men, eighty of whom were well
mounted, Narvaez landed in Florida, where he raised the royal standard,
and took possession of the country for the crown of Spain. With the hope
of finding some wealthy region like Mexico and Peru, he penetrated the
vast swamps and everglades in the interior of the flat country along the
northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico. His men suffered terribly from the
almost daily attacks of the natives and the nightly assaults of the
deadly malaria of the fens. They reached the fertile regions of the
Appalachians; but the capital of the tribe, instead of being a gorgeous
city like Mexico or Cuzco, was a mean village of two hundred huts and
wigwams. Disappointed, and one third of his number dead, Narvaez turned
southward, reached the Gulf near the present site of St. Mark's, on the
Appalachie Bay, constructed five frail barks, and launched upon the
waters. Nearly all his men, with himself, perished during a storm. Four
of the crew, who were saved, wandered for years through the wild regions
of Louisiana and Texas, and finally reached a Spanish settlement in
Northern Mexico. These men gave the first intelligence of the fate of
the expedition.

Two years after the return of these members of the expedition of
Narvaez, Fernando de Soto planned an expedition to explore the interior
of Florida, as all North America was then called, in search of a
populous and wealthy region supposed to exist there. By permission of
the Spanish monarch, he undertook the exploration and conquest of
Florida 1538. {xxxi}at his own risk and expense. He was commissioned
governor-general of that country and of Cuba for life. Leaving his wife
to govern Cuba during his absence, he sailed in June, 1539, and landed
at Tampa Bay with a force of six hundred men in complete June 25, 1539
armor.

There he established a small garrison, and then sent most of the vessels
of his fleet back to Cuba. He found a Spaniard, one of Narvaez's men,
who had learned the native language. Taking him with him as interpreter,
De Soto marched with his force into the interior. For five months they
wandered among the swamps and everglades, fighting their way against the
natives, when they reached the fertile region of the Flint River, in the
western part of Georgia. There they passed the winter, within a few
leagues of the Gulf, making, through exploring parties, some new
discoveries, among which was the harbor of Pensacola. Early in May they
broke up their encampment, and, marching northeasterly, readied the
head-waters of the Savannah River. After a brief tarry there, they
turned their faces westward, and, on the twenty-eighth of October, came
upon a fortified town, near the junction of the Alabama and Tombeckbee
Rivers. A severe battle of nine hours' duration ensued. Several
thousands of the half-naked Indians were slain, and their village
reduced to ashes. Several of the mailed Spaniards were killed, and the
victory availed De Soto nothing. All his baggage was consumed, and much
provision was destroyed.

The wild tribes, for many leagues around, were aroused by this event. De
Soto went into winter quarters in a deserted Indian village on the
Yazoo. There he was attacked by the swarming natives, bent on revenge.
The town was burned, all the clothing of the Spaniards, together with
many horses and nearly all the swine which they brought from Cuba, were
destroyed or carried away, and several of the whites were killed. Early
in the spring the shorn invaders pushed westward, and discovered the
Mississippi. They crossed it at the Chickasaw Bluffs, and traversed the
country on its western shore up to the thirty-seventh degree, nearly
opposite the mouth of the Ohio. They penetrated the wilderness almost
three hundred miles west of the Mississippi during the summer, and
wintered upon the Washita, in Arkansas. They passed down the Red River
to the Mississippi in the spring, where De Soto sickened and died. (May
31, 1542) He had appointed a successor, who now attempted to lead the
remnant of the expedition to Spanish settlements in Mexico.

For several months they wandered in the wilderness, but returned in
December,(1543) to winter upon the Mississippi, a short distance above
the mouth of the Red River.

There they constructed seven large boats, and in July following embarked
in them. On reaching the Gulf of Mexico, they crawled cautiously along
its sinuous coast, until the twentieth of September, when, half naked
and almost famished, they reached a white settlement near the mouth of
the Panueo River, about thirty miles north of Tampico.

While the Spaniards were making these useless discoveries of the
southern regions of our Republic along the Gulf of Mexico, the French
fitted out several expeditions to explore the coast between the
peninsula of Florida and the banks of Newfoundland. John Verrazzani, a
celebrated Florentine navigator, proceeded to America with a squadron of
four ships, under {xxxii}the auspices of Francis the First of France, in
1523. Three of his vessels were so damaged by a storm that they were
sent hack; in the fourth, he proceeded on his voyage.

Weathering a terrible tempest, he reached our coast near the mouth of
Cape Fear River, in North Carolina. He explored the whole coast, from
the Carolinas to Nova Scotia, and taking formal possession of the
country in the name of the French king, he called it New France, the
title held by Canada while it remained in possession of the French.
Verrazzani was followed, the next year, by Cartier (also in the service
of the French king), who discovered the Gulf and River St. Lawrence; and
soon afterward by the Lord of Roberval, a wealthy nobleman, who proposed
to plant a colony in the New World. Roberval failed in his undertaking,
and returned to France. He sailed on another voyage, and was never heard
of afterward. Other efforts at settlement along the southern coasts were
made by the French, but were unsuccessful. A Protestant French colony,
planted in Florida, was destroyed by the Spaniards in 1564, and over the
dead bodies of the Huguenots the murderers placed the inscription, "We
do this not as unto Frenchmen, but as unto Heretics." In 1567, De
Gourgues, a Gascon soldier, fitted out an expedition at his own expense,
to avenge this out rage. He surprised the Spanish forts erected near St.
Augustine, and hung the soldiers of the garrison upon the trees. Over
them he placed the inscription, "I do this not as unto Spaniards or
mariners, but as unto traitors, robbers, and murderers." Thus white
people were exterminated by white people, and Indians again possessed
the land.

The history of the early discoveries in North America forms a wonderful
chapter in the great chronicle of human progress and achievements, and
in its details there are narratives of adventure, prowess, love, and all
the elements of romance, more startling and attractive than the most
brilliant conceptions of the imagination ever evolved. The story of the
progress of settlements which followed is equally marvelous and
attractive. These tempt the pen on every side, but as they are connected
only incidentally with my subject, I pass them by with brevity of
notice. In the preceding pages I have taken a very brief survey of
events in the _progress of discovery_ which opened the way to
settlements in the New World; a brief survey of the _progress of
settlements_ will be found interwoven with the records upon the pages
which follow. They are all united by the often invisible threads of
God's providence; and each apparently insignificant event in the
wondrous history of our continent is a link as important in the great
chain of human deeds, directed by divine intelligence, as those which
arrest the attention and command the admiration of the world. Never was
this truth oftener and more strikingly illustrated than in our history
of the war for independence; and the student of that history, desirous
of understanding its true philosophy, should make himself familiar with
the antecedents which have a visible relation thereto.

** See page 178, vol. i.

PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF THE REVOLUTION.

CHAPTER I.

"Our young wild land, the free, the proud!

Uncrush'd by power, unawed by fear,

Her knee to none but God is bow'd,

For Nature teaches freedom here:

From gloom and snow to light and flowers

Expands this heritage of ours:

Life with its myriad hopes, pursuits,

Spreads sails, rears roofs, and gathers fruits.

But pass two fleeting centuries back;

This land, a torpid giant, slept,

Wrapp'd in a mantle thick and black

That o'er its mighty frame had crept,

Since stars and angels sang, as earth

Shot, from its Maker, into birth."

Street.

HE love of country, springing up from the rich soil of the domestic
affections, is a feeling coexistent and coextensive with social n
itself. Although a dreary climate, barren lands, and unrighteous laws,
wickedly administered, may repress the luxuriant growth of this
sentiment, it will still maintain firm root in the heart, and hear with
patience the most cruel wrongs. Man loves the soil that gave him birth
as the child loves the mother, and from the same inherent impulses. When
exiled from his father-land, he yearns for it as a child yearns for
home; and though he may, by legal oath, disclaim allegiance to his own
and swear fealty to another government, the invisible links of
patriotism which hind him to his country can not be severed; his lips
and hand hear false witness against his truthful heart.

Stronger far is this sentiment in the bosom of him whose country is a
pleasant land, where nature in smiling beauty and rich beneficence woos
him on every side; where education quickens into refining activity the
intellect of society; and where just laws, righteously administered,
impress all possession, whether of property or of character, with the
broad seal of security. An honest, justified pride elevates the spirit
of the citizen of a land so favored; makes him a vigilant guardian of
its rights and honor, and inspires him with a profound reverence for the
men and deeds consecrated by the opinions of the just as the basis upon
which its glory rests.

Classic Localities.-- Departure for Saratoga.-- Voyage up the Hudson.

034It was under the influence of this sentiment, so natural to every
American, and a strong desire to make a personal visit to the classic
grounds of my country, and portray their features before every ancient
lineament should he effaced, that, during the sultriness of midsummer, I
left behind me the cares of business life within the confines of our
commercial metropolis, and commenced a pilgrimage to the most important
localities connected with the events of the war for our national
independence. For many years, as I occasionally saw some field
consecrated by revolutionary blood, or building Hallowed as a shelter of
the heroes of that war, I have felt emotions of shame, such as every
American ought to feel, on seeing the plow leveling the breast-works and
batteries where our fathers bled, and those edifices, containing the
council-chambers of men who planned the attack, the ambuscade, or the
retreat, crumbling into utter ruin. While England erects a monument in
honor of the amputated leg of a hero who fought for personal renown, we
allow these relics, sanctified by the deeds of soldiers who were more
than heroes as the world regards heroism, to pass away and be forgotten.
Acquisitiveness is pulling down walled fortresses; the careless
agriculturist, unmindful of the sacredness of the ditch and mound that
scar his fields, is sowing and reaping where marble monuments should
stand; and improvement, a very Cambyses among achievements of labor of
former times, under the fair mask of refined taste, is leveling nearly
all that remains of the architecture of the Revolution. To delineate
with pen and pencil what is left of the physical features of that
period, and thus to rescue from oblivion, before it should be too late,
the mementoes which another generation will appreciate, was my
employment for several months; and a desire to place the result of those
journeyings, with a record of past events inseparably connected with
what I have delineated, in an enduring form before my countrymen, has
given birth to these pages.

I resolved to visit the scenes of the northern campaigns during the
summer and early autumn. With the exception of the historic grounds
lying around New York and among the Hudson Highlands, the fields of
Saratoga, in point of importance and distance, invited the initial
visit.

1848 I left New York on the evening of the 24th of July for
Poughkeepsie, on the banks of the Hudson, there to be joined by a young
lady, my traveling companion for the summer. For many days the hot sun
had been unclouded, and neither shower nor dew imparted grateful
moisture to town or country.

"The whispering waves were half asleep,

The clouds were gone to play,

And on the woods and on the deep

The smiles of Heaven lay."

Shelley.

During the afternoon the barometer indicated a change, and portents of a
gathering storm arose in the west. At twilight we entered the great
amphitheater of the Highlands, and darkness came down suddenly upon us
as a tempest of wind, thunder, and rain burst over the Dunderberg and
the neighboring heights. A thunder-storm at night in the Hudson
Highlands! It is a scene of grandeur and sublimity vouchsafed to few,
and never to be forgotten. The darkness became intense, and echo
confused the thunder-peals into one continuous roar. The outlines of the
hills disappeared in the gloom, and our vessel seemed the only object
wrapped in the bosom of the tempest, except when, at every flash of
lightning, high wooded cones, or lofty ranges, or rocky cliffs burst
into view like a sudden creation of the Omnipotent fiat, and then melted
into chaos again. The storm continued until we passed West Point. The
clouds then broke, and as we emerged from the upper gate of the
Highlands into the beautiful expanse of Newburgh Bay, the moon came
forth, like a queen from her pavilion, in beauty and majesty, the winds
were quiet, the waters placid, and the starry sky serene, for

"The thunder, tramping deep and loud

Had left no foot-marks there."

Returning Volunteers.-- Albany.-- Troy.-- Fulton's Steam-boat

035The next morning the air was clear and cool as in September. At noon
we took passage in one of those floating palaces which are the pride of
the Hudson River. What a contrast to the awkward contrivance-the mere
germ of the steam-boat of the present day--that gave such glory to
Fulton, and astonished the world. * Her saloon, like a ducal drawing-
room; her table, spread as with a royal banquet; her speed, like that of
the swift bird, are all the creations of one generation, and seem like
works of magic. Among the passengers there were a few-plain and few
indeed-who attracted general attention. They were a remnant of a
regiment of Volunteers returning home, weary and spirit-broken, from the
battle-fields of Mexico. Of the scores who went with them, these alone
returned to tell of havoc in battle and slaughter by the deadly
_vomito_. They were young, but the lesson of sad experience might be
read on each brow, and the natural joy of the homeward-bound beamed not
in their eyes. To them military, glory was a bubble burst; and the
recollections of the recent past brought not to them that joy which the
soldier feels who has battled in defense of country and home. At Albany
preparations had been made to receive them, and for half a mile the
wharves, bridges, vessels, and houses were thickly covered with people
anxious to see the returning heroes. We landed with difficulty in the
midst of the excitement and noise, for cannon-peals, and drum and fife,
and the rattle of military accouterments, and wild huzzas of the crowd,
and the coaxing and swearing of porters and coachmen, were enough to
confound confusion itself. How changed was the scene when we returned, a
few weeks later. Wharves, bridges, and houses had been swept by
conflagration, and acres of the dense city were strewn with smoking
ruins.

Early on the morning of the 26th we left Albany for Bemis's Heights,
near the village of Stillwater. An omnibus ride of an hour, over a fine
McAdam road, placed us in Troy, where we took stage for the Waterford
ferry at Lansingburgh, four miles above. The day was excessively warm,
and eleven passengers occupied "seats for nine." Not a zephyr stirred
the waters or the leaves. A funny little water-man; full of wine and
wit, or something stronger and coarser, offered to row us across in his
rickety skiff. I demanded the price for ferriage.

* For the gratification of the curious, I here present a drawing of the
"Clermont," Fulton's experiment boat, with some notices of her earlier
voyages.

It was constructed under the personal supervision of Fulton, in 1807. It
was one hundred feet long, twelve feet wide, and seven feet deep. In
1808 it was lengthened to one hundred and fifty feet, widened to
eighteen, and its name changed to North River. The engine was
constructed by Watt & Bolton, England, and the hull by David Brown, of
New York. In August, 1807, the boat was propelled from the East River to
the Jersey shore; and about the first of September it was started on its
first trip to Albany.

The following advertisement appeared in the Albany Gazette, September
1st, 1807:

"The North River steam-boat will leave Paulus's Hook [Jersey City] on
Friday, the 4th of September, at 9 in the morning, and arrive at Albany
on Saturday, at 9 in the afternoon. Provisions, good berths, and
accommodations are provided. The charge to each passenger is as follows:

To  Newburgh, dolls. 3, time 14 hours.

"   Poughkeepsie, "  4,   "  17  "

"   Esopus,       "  5,   "  20  "

"   Hudson.       "  6    "  30  "

"   Albany,       "  7,   "  36  "

It is noticed in the same paper, of October 5th, 1807, that "Mr.
Fulton's new steam-boat left New York on the 2d, at 10 o'clock A.M.,
against a strong tide, very rough water, and a violent gale from the
north. She made a headway against the most sanguine expectations, and
without being rocked by the waves." What a change in about forty years!
Forty years ago a steam-boat voyage from Albany to New York, one hundred
and sixty miles, was accomplished in thirty-six hours, at an expense of
seven dollars, exclusive of cost of meals. Now the passage is easily and
often made in nine and a half hours, at a cost of one dollar, and
frequently for less. Now our first class steam-boats are nearly four
hundred feet long, and of proportionate depth and breadth of beam.

Crossing the Hudson.-- Cohoes' Falls.-- Van Schaick's Island.-- State of
Affairs in 1777.

036"Five thousand dollars," hiccoughed the Charon. I did not object to
the price, but valuing safety at a higher figure, sought the owner of a
pretty craft near by, while the little votary of Bacchus was tugging
manfully, but unsuccessfully, at a huge trunk, to lift it into his boat.
Before he was fairly conscious that he was not yet toiling at our
luggage, we were out upon the stream in the "Lady of the Lake." I
compensated the tipsy boatman for his labor of love by a brief
temperance lecture; but the seed doubtless fell upon "stony ground," for
he had the hard-heartedness to consign me to the safe keeping of him
whom

"The old painters limned with a hoof and a horn,

A beak and a scorpion tail."

We pushed across the Hudson to the upper mouth or "sprout" of the
Mohawk, anu, gliding under the rail-road bridge and along a sluice of
the Champlain Canal, clambered up a high bank, and reached the packet
office at Waterford * toward noon. The suppressed roar of Cohoes' Falls,
two miles distant, wooed us to the pleasures of that fashionable resort,
to while away the three hours before the arrival of the canal packet.

These falls, though not so grand as many others either in volume or
altitude of cataract, or in the natural scenery around, nevertheless
present many points of beauty and sublimity exceedingly attractive to
the tourist. The Mohawk is here more than one hundred yards wide, and
perfectly rock-ribbed on both sides. The fall is nearly seventy feet
perpendicular, in addition to the turbulent rapids above and below. A
bridge, eight hundred feet long, spans the river half a mile below the
falls, from which a fine view may be obtained of the whole scene.

Before entering the Hudson, the river is divided into four mouths or
_sprouts_, as they are called, by three rocky islands, Haver's, Van
Schaick's or Cohoes', and Green's or Tibbetts's Islands, which form a
scene that is singularly picturesque. It is generally supposed that
Henry Hudson, the discoverer of the river bearing his name, ascended as
far as this point in 1609, and that he and his boat's crew were the
first white men who beheld the cataract of Cohoes.

The mouth of the Mohawk was a point of much interest toward the close of
the summer of 1777, when Van Schaick's Island was fortified by General
Schuyler, then in command of the northern division of the Continental
army. Properly to understand the position of affairs at that period, it
is necessary to take a brief view of events immediately antecedent to,
and intimately connected with, the military operations at this point,
and at Stillwater a few weeks later.

Incensed at the audacity of the American Congress in declaring the
colonies free and independent states; piqued at the consummate
statesmanship displayed by the members of that Congress, and foiled in
every attempt to cajole the Americans by delusive promises, or to crush
the spirit of resistance by force of arms, the British ministry, backed
by the stubborn king and a strong majority in both Houses of Parliament,
determined to open the campaign of 1777 with such vigor, and to give to
the service in America such material, as should not fail to put down the
rebellion by midsummer, and thus vindicate British valor, which seemed
to be losing its invincibility. So long as the Americans were tolerably
united; so long as there remained a free communication between
Massachusetts and Virginia, or, in other words, between the Eastern and
the Middle and Southern States, permanent success of the British arms in
America was very questionable. The rebellion was hydra-headed, springing
into new life and vigor suddenly and powerfully, from the inherent
energies of union, in places where it seemed to be subdued and
destroyed. To sever that union, and to paralyze the vitality dependent
thereon, was a matter of great importance, and to effect this was a
paramount object of the British government.

General Howe was then in the quiet possession of the city of New York
and its vicinity.

* Waterford is on the west bank of the Hudson, at the head of sloop
navigation.

English Preparations tor the Campaign of 1777.-- Instructions of Lord
George Germain.-- Biographical Sketch of Burgoyne

037A strong British force occupied Rhode Island and overawed the eastern
coast; the patriot insurgents had been driven out of Canada by General
Carleton, and nothing remained to complete the separation of the two
sections of the American States but to march an invading army from the
north, which, forming a junction with Howe, should secure the country
and the strong-holds upon Lakes Champlain and George and the Hudson
River.

Such an expedition was planned jointly by the king, Lord George Germain,
* and General Burgoyne, and agreed upon in council. ** The general
command was intrusted to Burgoyne, who was a natural son of Lord
Bingley, and at that time high in the confidence of the king and his
advisers. *** He was brave, skillful, and humane, proud of distinction,
sanguine of success, and eager for military renown. If the tactics of
European warfare had been appropriate for the expedition, success might
have attended his efforts. But in his appointment, as well as in the
minute and positive instruction-given him, without reference to any
contingency that might demand a wide departure from their letter and
spirit, the British ministry, always at fault in the management of

* Lord George Germain, then colonial secretary, in a letter to Governor
Carleton, of Canada, dated March 26th, 1777, observes, "With a view of
quelling the rebellion as soon as possible, it is become ( highly
necessary that the most speedy junction of the two armies should be
effected [the forces from Canada and those of General Howe at New York];
and, therefore, as the security and good government of Canada absolutely
require your presence there, it is the king's determination to leave
about 3000 men under your command for the defense and duties of that
province, and to employ the remainder of your army upon two expeditions,
the one under the command of Lieutenant General Burgoyne, who is to
force his way to Albany, and the other under Lieutenant Colonel St.
Leger, who is to make a diversion on the Mohawk River."--Burgoyne's
Statement of the Expedition from Canada, &c. (Appendix), p. xiii.,
London, 1780.

** Pictorial History of George III., vol. i., p. 306.

*** Lieutenant General Burgoyne was an illegitimate son of Lord Bingley.
He entered the army at an early age, and his education and the influence
of his father soon placed him in the line of promotion. In 1762 he was
sent into Portugal with an English force to assist in the defense of
that kingdom against the Spaniards. He then held the commission of a
brigadier, and distinguished himself in the capture of the garrison of
Almeida. After his return to England, he became a privy councillor, and
was elected to a seat in Parliament as representative for Preston, in
Lancashire. He came over to America in 1775, and was at Boston at the
time of the battle of Bunker Hill. He was sent to Canada the same year,
but early in 1776 returned to England. Through the influence of the king
and Lord George Germain, he was appointed to the command of the northern
British army in America in the spring of 1777. After some successes, he
was captured, with all his army, at Saratoga, in October of that year.
After some delay, he was allowed to return to England on parole, and he
was actually engaged in debates upon the floor of the British House of
Commons at the very time he was a prisoner to the Americans. His
misfortunes lost him the friendship of the king, and he was denied
access to his presence. In 1780 he published a narrative of his
Expedition, together with the proceedings of his trial before a
committee of Parliament, in which he well vindicated his character. He
soon afterward resigned his emoluments from government, amounting to
$15,000 a year. In 1781 he joined the opposition in Parliament, and
opposed the further prosecution of the war against the Americans as
impolitic and cruel. From the conclusion of peace until his death, he
devoted his time to pleasure and literary pursuits. He died of an attack
of gout, on the 4th of August, 1792. Among his literary productions are
_The Maid of the Oaks, Bon Ton, and The Heiress_, dramas which at one
time were highly popular. Benevolence and humanity were strong features
in Burgoyne's character, and I think the fierce anathema of Philip
Freneau, a poet of the Revolution, was altogether too severe. After
giving Burgoyne several hard rubs in the course of his epic, he
describes an ice- bound, fog-covered, dreary island north of Scotland,
and there consigns the Tories, with Burgoyne at their head, as follows:

"There, Loyals, there, with loyal hearts retire,

There pitch your tents, and kindle there your fire,

There desert Nature will her stings display,

And fiercest hunger on your vitals prey;

And with yourselves let John Burgoyne retire,

To reign your monarch, whom your hearts desire."

Freneau's Poems, p. 246

Burgoyne s Arrival in Canada.-- His Preparations for the Campaign.--
Appointment of General Schuyler to the Command.

038American affairs, made a most egregious blunder. Sir Guy Carleton,
then Governor of Canada, and perfectly acquainted with the people and
country, should have been placed in command. Burgoyne was almost totally
ignorant of the Canadians and Indians, who formed a large part of his
force, and he knew absolutely nothing of the true character and temper
of the people he was sent to oppose and oppress.

Burgoyne arrived at Quebec, in March, 1777, bearing the commission of a
lieutenant general. Carleton, though greatly aggrieved, nobly aided
Burgoyne in preparing the expedition. By extraordinary activity, vessels
were constructed, stores were collected, and a force of more than seven
thousand men was mustered at St. John's, at the foot of Lake Champlain,
on the first of June. Lieutenant Colonel St. Leger, with a detachment of
seven hundred Bangers, was sent up the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario to
Oswego, to penetrate the country from that point, arouse and conciliate
the Indians, capture Fort Schuyler, * sweep the valley of the Mohawk
with the aid of Johnson and his Tories, and join Burgoyne at Albany when
Lake Champlain and the valley of the Upper Hudson should lie prostrate
at his feet.

As soon as Congress perceived the storm that was gathering on the
northern frontier, they felt the necessity of prompt action and the
services of an influential commander. Fear, loyalty, British gold, would
undoubtedly lead the van of the invading army, and none but a wise and
tried man could quiet the alarm of the people and command the fidelity
of the militia.

Philip Schuyler, ** a gentleman of fortune, and possessed of military
skill, experience, sound judgment, prudent forethought, and lofty
patriotism, was reappointed to the command of the forces of the north,
in which position he had been superseded, in effect, a few weeks before,
by Horatio Gates, the Adjutant General of the Continental army. No
appointment could have been more popular with the people of Northern New
York, who were in a state of great excitement and alarm. In the late
campaigns against the French and Indians upon Lakes George and
Champlain, he had rendered essential service to the colony and to the
people of the northern frontier, and his many virtues endeared him to
all who knew him. His large estate was lying directly in the path of the
invader; and if a mercenary feeling could have existed in a soul so
noble as his, the defense of his own broad acres and costly mansion
would have made him vigilant and brave.

1777.

General Schuyler arrived in Albany on the third day of June, where he
met General Gates, and, with all the frankness of a generous and
unsuspecting

* Fort Schuyler stood at the head of boat navigation, on the Mohawk,
where the village of Rome now is. It was erected in 1758, and was then
called Fort Stanwix. It was repaired in 1776, and named Fort Schuyler,
in honor of General Schuyler, in whose military department it was
located.

** General Philip Schuyler was born at Albany, on the 22d of November,
1733. His grandfather, Peter Schuyler, was Mayor of Albany, and
commander of the northern militia in 1690. His father, John Schuyler,
married Cornelia Van Courtlandt, a woman of strong mind, and Philip was
their eldest son. By virtue of primogeniture law, he inherited the real
estate of his father at his death, but he generously shared it with his
brothers and sisters. His father died when Philip was young, and to the
thorough training of his gifted mother he was greatly indebted for his
success in life. He entered the army against the French and Indians in
1755, and commanded a company which attended Sir William. Johnson to
Fort Edward and Lake George. He soon attracted the attention of Lord
Howe, who commanded the first division of the British army against the
forts on Lake George and Lake Champlain, and was placed in the
commissariat department. When Lord Howe fell at Ticonderoga, to Colonel
Schuyler was intrusted the duty of conveying.the body of that greatly-
beloved young nobleman to Albany for sepulture. After the peace of 1763,
he was much in active service in the civil government of his state. In
the Colonial Assembly of New York, he was one of the warmest opponents
of the British government in its attempts to tax the colonies without
their consent. He was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress
which assembled in May, 1775, and in June following he was appointed by
that body one of the major generals (the third) of the American army. He
was charged by Washington with the command of the army in the province
of New York, and directed to secure the lakes and prepare for invading
Canada. He was taken sick, and the command devolved on Montgomery.
During 1776, he was active in Indian affairs, and in perfecting the
order and discipline of the northern army. For causes quite
inexplicable, he was superseded, in effect, by Gates in March, 1777, but
was reinstated in May. Again, when Burgoyne drove St. Clair from
Ticonderoga, and prudence caused General Schuyler to retreat with his
army from Fort Edward down the Hudson River, calumny, that had
successfully poisoned the minds of the Eastern people and the militia,
became so clamorous for his removal, that Congress placed Gates again in
charge of the army in August. Injured and insulted, the patriot still
continued to devote his services and his fortune in aid of his country.
He demanded a court of inquiry, and its verdict, acquitting him of all
blame, conferred as much honor upon him as his successes won at
Saratoga. He was urged by Washington to accept military command, but he
preferred to lend his aid to his country in another way. He was a member
of the old Congress under the Confederation; and after the adoption of
the Constitution of the United States, he was a senator from New York,
with Rufus King. He was again a senator, in place of Aaron Burr, in
1797. He died at Albany, November 18th, 1804, aged 71 years. He has two
daughters still living-Elizabeth, the venerable widow of General
Alexander Hamilton, and now (1849) ninety-two years of age; and
Catharine, his youngest daughter, widow of the late Major Cochrane, of
Oswego, son of Dr. Cochrane, the distinguished Surgeon General of the
Revolutionary Army. See page 199, Vol. II.

Schuyler and Gates.-- Advance of Burgoyne.-- Condition of the
Continental Army

039nature, sought the aid of his counsel and his sword. But he
encountered a smaller mind than his own, and both counsel and sword were
refused. He was coldly received by the adjutant general, who was deeply
offended because Congress had not allowed him to retain his command. A
brave soldier always seeks the post of greatest danger; and General
Schuyler, not doubting the courage or devotion of Gates, offered him the
command of Ticonderoga, the point where the first conflict with Burgoyne
would inevitably take place, and where the first laurels were to be won.
But the pride of Gates stifled his patriotism. He refused to serve under
Schuyler, and, at his own request, had leave to withdraw from the
department, where, indeed, he had done literally nothing.

All was terror and alarm among the inhabitants of the north, as Burgoyne
victoriously swept Champlain from St. John's to Crown Point, and with
his formidable force, daily augmented by loyalists and savage allies,
prepared to beleaguer the strong fortress of Ticonderoga.

Mount Hope, commanding the road to Lake George, was occupied; the
American outposts were driven in; the lake was studded with armed
vessels, and the formidable height of Mount Defiance was scaled, and
artillery planted upon its very summit, seven hundred feet above the
fort below.

General St. Clair, who commanded the garrison, when he saw the battery
above him, and the girdle of strong battalions that was closing around
him, knew that resistance would be madness. Under cover of night, he
retreated across to Mount Independence, and, with the small garrison
there, fled toward Fort Edward by the way of Castleton and
Skenesborough, leaving the stores and ammunition behind. The British
eagerly pursued the flying Americans. The battle of Hubbardton, so
disastrous to the patriots, was fought. The boom across the lake at
Ticonderoga was broken, and a free passage made for the vessels of the
enemy. They swept the lake to Skenesborough (now Whitehall), when the
American works and the stores that were left became an easy prey to the
invaders.

The army under General Schuyler was in a wretched condition, and daily
diminishing. Food, clothing, ammunition, and artillery were all wanting.
The pecuniary resources and credit of Congress were daily failing, and
all the future seemed dark, and foreboding of evil. The Eastern militia,
sick and disheartened by late reverses, became restless and insubordi-

Retreat of Schuyler to the Mohawk.-- St. Leger in the Mohawk Valley.--
Relief of the Valley proposed by Schuyler.

040nate, and nearly all of them left the army and returned home. These
things were exceedingly discouraging to the commander, yet his stout
heart never failed. "Should it be asked," July 24, 1777 he said a letter
to the Albany Committee, from Moses's Creek, four miles below Fort
Edward, "what line of conduct I mean to hold amid this variety of
difficulties and distress, I would answer, _to dispute every inch of
ground with General Burgoyne, and retard his descent into the country as
long as possible_."

Burgoyne's force, in the mean while, was constantly augmented by
accessions from the families of the loyal and the timid. Slowly and
surely he advanced from Skenesborough to Fort Anne, and was pressing
onward, in the midst of fearful obstacles, toward the Hudson.

Under all these circumstances, General Schuyler thought it prudent to
retreat until new recruits, or a re-enforcement from Washington, should
give more strength to his army. He accordingly fell back from Fort
Edward, the general rendezvous of his forces after the evacuation of
Ticonderoga, Mount Independence, and Fort George. As Burgoyne
approached, the people fled, in terror and dismay, toward Albany,
leaving their ripe harvest fields and pleasant homes to be trodden down
or burned by the enemy. Burgoyne at length reached Fort Edward; and as
he marched slowly down the valley of the Hudson, Schuyler retreated in
good order to Saratoga, then to Stillwater, and finally to Cohoes'
Falls.

In the mean while the people in the Mohawk Valley were in the greatest
consternation. St. Leger had arrived from Oswego, and was besieging Fort
Schuyler, while the Tories and Indians were spreading death and
desolation on every hand. Colonel Gansevoort, with a handful of men, was
closely shut up in the fort; General Herkimer, with the brave militia of
Tryon county, had been defeated at Oriskany, and the people below hourly
expected August 6 the flood of destroyers to pour down upon them. It was
a fearful emergency. Without aid all must be lost. Brave hearts were
ready for bold deeds, and during a night of fearful tempest of thunder
and rain, Colonel Willett and Lieutenant Stockwell crept stealthily from
the fort, through groups of sleeping besiegers, beyond their lines, and
at dawn on the second day, mounted upon fleet horses, sped down the
valley to the headquarters of General Schuyler, at Stillwater, and, in
the name of the beleaguered garrison and the people of Tryon county,
implored assistance.

Not a moment was to be lost. The subjugation of the whole valley would
inevitably follow the surrender of Fort Schuyler, and the victors,
gathering strength, would fall like an avalanche upon Albany, or, by
junction, swell the approaching army of Burgoyne. The prudent foresight
and far-reaching humanity of General Schuyler at once dictated his
course. He called a council, * and proposed sending a detachment
immediately to the relief of Fort Schuyler. His officers opposed him,
with the plea that his whole force was not then sufficient to stay the
oncoming of Burgoyne. The clearer judgment of Schuyler made him persist
in his opinion, and he earnestly besought them to agree with him. While
pacing the floor in anxious solicitude, he overheard the half-whispered
remark, "He means to weaken the army." ** Treason in the heart of Philip
Schuyler! Never was a thought more foul

* General Schuyler was then quartered in the house of Derrick Swart,
Esq., at Stillwater. The house is still standing, just at the foot of
the hill.- Charles Neilson, Esq.

** At this time jealousy had created secret enemies for General
Schuyler, and he was even charged with being associated with St. Clair
in preliminary acts of treason, about the time the latter evacuated
Ticonderoga. The ridiculous story got abroad that they had been paid for
their treason by the enemy in silver balls, shot from Burgoyne's guns
into the American camp!-See Thatcher's Military Journal, p. 86.

Note.-It will be observed that, in this rapid view of events connected
with the American encampment at the mouth of the Mohawk, I have avoided
all details, where, perhaps, the reader may have wished more minute
information. The necessity for this course arises from the nature of the
plan of my work, which is to notice in detail the various important
localities, in the order in which I visited them, and not in
chronological succession, as the mere historian would do. For example, I
visited Cohoes' and Bemis's Heights before Fort Edward and Ticonderoga.
I therefore describe the scenery and events of the former places
minutely, and reserve similar minute details concerning the latter
until, in the order of the narrative of my tour, I reach them. This
explanation is necessary, as some might suppose that important places
are to be slightly noticed, while others of less moment have an undue
share of attention. I have visited all the most important localities of
the Revolution, and each in its turn, in the course of the work, will
receive its full share of notice.

It is my intention to give in notes, in the course of the work, brief
biographical sketches of all the most important actors in our
Revolutionary war, both domestic and foreign. These sketches will be
introduced at points where the record exhibits the most prominent events
in the life of the subject. Prominent men will, therefore, be mentioned
often before a biography will be given; but the reader may rely upon
finding it in the work, if a memoir can be found.

Volunteers for the Relief of Fort Schuyler.-- Position of the Americans
at Cohoes.-- Active Preparations to oppose Burgoyne.

041or charge more wicked. Wheeling suddenly toward the slanderer and
those around him, and unconsciously biting into several pieces a pipe he
was smoking, he indignantly exclaimed, "Gentlemen, I shall take the
responsibility upon myself; where is the brigadier that will take
command of the relief? I shall beat up for volunteers to-morrow." The
brave and impulsive Arnold, ever ready for deeds of daring, at once
stepped forward and offered his services. The next morning the drum
beat, and eight hundred stalwart men August 15, 1777were enrolled for
the service before meridian. Fort Schuyler was saved, and the forces of
St. Leger scattered to the winds. In after years the recollection of
those burning words of calumny always stirred the breast of the veteran
patriot with violent emotions If ever a bosom glowed with true devotion
to country, it was that of Philip Schuyler.

Such, in brief, were the events which placed the remnant of the main
army of the north at the mouth of the Mohawk in August, 1777, and caused
Van Schaick's and Haver's Islands to be fortified. That seemed to be the
most eligible point at which to make a stand in defense of Albany
against the approaches of the enemy from the north and from the west.
Nowhere else could the comparatively feeble force of the Americans so
effectually oppose the overwhelming number of the invaders. At that time
there were no bridges across the Hudson or the Mohawk, and both streams
were too deep to be fordable except in seasons of extreme drought. There
was a ferry across the Mohawk, five miles above the falls, * and one
across the Hudson at Half Moon Point, ** or Waterford. The "sprouts" of
the Mohawk, between the islands, were usually fordable; and as Burgoyne
would not, of course, cross tho Hudson, or attempt the ferry upon the
Mohawk, where a few resolute men could successfully oppose him, his path
was of necessity directly across the mouth of the river. Fortifications
were accordingly thrown up on the islands and upon the main land, faint
traces of which are still visible.

In this position, with his headquarters at Stillwater, in advance of his
army, General Schuyler brought all his energies and resources into
requisition for the augmentation and discipline of his troops,
preparatory to a first determined conflict with Burgoyne. His private
purse was freely opened, *** and by unwearied exertions day and night
the army rapidly improved in numbers, discipline, and spirits. His
correspondence at that time with men of every degree, from the President
of Congress and the commander-in-chief to subordinate officers and
private gentlemen, was very extensive, all having relation to the one
great wish of his heart, the checking of the progress of the British
army. He addressed the civil and military authorities in every
direction, urging them to assist him with men and arms. The Council of
Safety, at Albany, was appealed to. "Every militia-man," he said, "ought
to turn out without delay in a crisis the most alarming since the
contest began." He appealed to the Eastern States. "If," he said, in a
letter to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, "the Eastern militia do not
turn out with spirit and behave better, we shall be ruined." To
Washington he repeated, in substance, what he had said on the 12th of
July previous. "If my countrymen will support me with vigor and
dexterity, and do not meanly despond,

* Loudon's ferry. At this place the left wing of the army rested, under
the command of General Arnold.

** So called from the name of Henry Hudson's ship, the Half Moon.

*** General Schuyler never allowed his private interest to interfere in
the least degree with the public good. When the Continental army was
retreating from Fort Edward, Mrs. Schuyler rode up from Albany to their
beautiful country seat at Saratoga, and superintended the removal of
their furniture. While there she received direction from her husband to
set fire with her own hands to his extensive fields of wheat, and to
request his tenants to do the same, rather than suffer them to be reaped
by the enemy.- Women of The Revolution, vol. i., p. 60.

Schuyler superseded by Gates.-- Factions in Congress.-- Noble Conduct of
Schuyler.

042 we shall he able to prevent the enemy from penetrating much further
into the country." At the same time all was life and activity in his
camp. From his own state recruits were constantly filling his thinned
regiments, and the heart of the patriot was cheered with the prospect of
soon winning back those laurels which, by the late reverses and the
events of the last campaign, had been, in a measure, stripped from his
brow.

But secret enemies had been for some time plotting his disgrace by
poisoning the minds of the Eastern people, and raising a clamor in favor
of the reinstatement of Gates, who as yet, for obvious reasons, had met
with no reverses. The friends of that officer were an active faction in
Congress at that time, _sub rosa_, but the next year were far more
undisguised in favoring the scheme for giving Gates the chief command in
place of Washington. We are so accustomed to look upon all the men of
the Revolution who took sides with the friends of America as pure and
holy in all their thoughts and actions, that we reluctantly yield to the
conviction that they were ever actuated by motives less worthy and
exalted than those of the loftiest patriotism. This is claiming too much
for human nature. While we may award to them all that is noble and
disinterested in feeling, when the good of the common cause demanded
personal sacrifice and pliancy of opinion, it is folly to deny that the
spirit of faction was rife among the members of the Old Continental
Congress, and that selfish motives often controlled their actions.
Congress, listening to the clamors from the East, the importunities of
Gates's friends, and the suggestions of a false military philosophy,
deprived General Schuyler of his command just as he was about to lead
his troops to victory.

General Gates, with his new commission, arrived at Van Schaick's on the
19th of August, three days after the battle of Bennington, a battle
which, in its effect upon the British army, gave full assurance of
future victory to the Americans. How nobly did the conduct of Schuyler
on this occasion contrast with that of Gates a few weeks previous. On
Gates's arrival, without the slightest indication of ill humor, the
patriot resigned his command, communicated all the intelligence he
possessed, and put every interesting paper into his hands simply adding,
"I have done all that could he done, as far as the means were in my
power, to injure the enemy, and to inspire confidence in the soldiers of
our own army, and, I flatter myself, with some success; but the palm of
victory is denied me, and it is left to you, general, to reap the fruit
of my labors. I will not fail, however, to second your views; and my
devotion to my country will cause me with alacrity to obey all your
orders." * "I am sensible," he said, in a letter to Congress, "of the
indignity of being ordered from the command of the army at the time when
an engagement must soon take place yet he preferred to suffer reproach
in silence rather than allow his bleeding country to be injured by the
withdrawal of a single arm from its support. Although disgraced by the
act of Congress, he persevered assiduously in strengthening the army and
preparing for the coming conflict. "I shall go on," he said to
Washington, "in doing my duty and endeavoring to deserve your esteem."
And when General Gates arrived, he cordially proffered his co-operation,
was very active in promoting the success of the battles which soon after
took place, was present at Saratoga when Burgoyne surrendered his sword,
and rejoiced, because his country was the gainer, when the laurels which
should have graced his brow were placed upon that of another. Warmed by
such impulses, who can doubt that the bosom of the generous patriot on
that day heaved with nobler pride and purer joy than that of the lauded
victor?

* Garden, p. 359.

Canal Voyage from Waterford to Bemia's Heights.--Appearance of the
Country

043

CHAPTER II.

"Led on by lust of lucre and renown,

Burgoyne came marching with his thousands down,

High were his thoughts and furious his career,

Puff'd with self-confidence and pride severe;

Swoll'n with the idea of his future deeds,

Onward to ruin each advantage leads."

Philip Freneau, 1778.

E left Waterford at two o'clock P.M. for Bermis's Heights, the famous
battle-ground where Burgoyne was checked and defeated in the autumn of
1777, a few weeks after General Gates succeeded to the command of the
northern Our conveyance was a neat little canal packet, its cabin
crowded with passengers and a well-supplied dinner-table, and its deck
piled with as much luggage and as many loungers as low bridges and a hot
sun would allow. For a loiterer who takes no note of passing hours but
to mark and mourn their excessive length, and who loves to glide along
listlessly among green fields and shady woods without the disturbance of
even a carriage ride, a day voyage upon a canal is really delightful,
especially if the face of nature is attractive, and a pleasant companion
or agreeable book assists in smoothing the passage of time. Such seemed
to be the character of nearly all our fellow-passengers, pleasure from
personal enjoyment being their chief object. When dinner was over, some
slept some read, and every body talked to every body as freely as old
acquaintances would chat.

The country through which we passed is very fertile, and beautifully
diversified in aspect. The plain over which the Hudson here flows is a
narrow alluvial bottom, of garden richness, along the western edge of
which passes the canal. Green woods and cultivated fields skirted the
river on either side, and those conical hills and knolls, like western
tumuli, which are prominent features from Stillwater to Sandy Hill, here
begin to appear. Some of them were still covered with the primeval
forest, and others were cultivated from base to summit, giving a
pleasing variety to the ever-changing landscape. The dark green corn,
just flowering; the wheat ears, fading from emerald to russet; the
blackberries, thick in the hedges; the flowers innumerable, dotting the
pasture fields, and the fragrance of the new-mown hay, scattered in
wind-rows along the canal, were pleasant sights to one just escaped from
the dust and din of the city, and imparted a gratification which only
those can feel and appreciate who seldom enjoy it. There was one thing
wanting, which leafy June would have supplied-the melody of birds.

" Silence girt the woods; no warbling tongue

Talks now unto the echo of the groves;

Only the curled stream soft chidings kept;

And little gales that from the green leaves swept

Dry summer's dust, in fearful whisperings stirr'd,

As loth to waken any singing bird,"

for it was just the season when the warblers of the forest are still,
except at early morning when they carol a brief matin hymn, and then are
quiet. Yet

" The poetry of earth is never dead.

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,

And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run

"Silence girt the woods; no warbling tongue

Talks now unto the echo of the groves;

Only the curled stream soft chidings kept;

And little gales that from the green leaves swept

Dry summer's dust, in fearful whisperings stirr'd,

As loth to waken any singing bird,"

for it was just the season when the warblers of the forest are still,
except at early morning, when they carol a brief matin hymn, and then
are quiet. Yet

"The poetry of earth is never dead.

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,

And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run

Young Tourists from Saratoga Springs.--Gates and Burgoyne.--An Evening
Visit to Bemis's Heights

044

From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;

That is the grasshopper's."

Keats.

At the Borough, or Mechanicsville, nine miles above Waterford, the rail-
road from Saratoga Springs reaches the canal. Here our boat was filled
to repletion with a bevy of young people, who, tired of medicinals and
midnight merriment at that Mecca of fashion in summer, had determined to
take a "slow coach" to Whitehall, and meet the stronger tide of gay
tourists flowing to Ticonderoga from Lake George. They were full of
life, and not one of them had ever passed a night upon a canal-boat.
Poor souls! how we pitied them, while we rejoiced at our own better
fortune, intending, as we did, to debark toward cooling sunset. If
"affliction is necessary to temper the over-joyous," our young travelers
were doubtless well annealed before morning in the vapor bath of a
packet cabin.

One of the passengers was a roving journeyman printer, full of the
general intelligence of the craft, an inveterate tobacco chewer, and
evidently a boon companion of John Barleycorn and his cousins. His hat
was a-slouch and his coat seedy. His wit kept the deck vocal with
laughter; yet, when at times he talked gravely, the dignity of
intelligence made us all respectful listeners. He was perfectly familiar
with the history of the classic grounds through which we were then
passing. His father was one of the special adjutants appointed by
General Gates on the morning of the action of the 19th of September, and
from him he had often received minute details of the events of that
contest. He mentioned a circumstance connected with the commander on
that occasion, which, in some degree, explains the singular fact that he
was not upon the field of action-a fact which some have adduced as
evidence of cowardice. It is admitted that General Gates did not leave
his camp during the contest; and the special adjutant referred to
asserted boldly that _intoxication_ was the chief cause. That, in the
opinion of the world at that time, was a weakness far more excusable,
and a crime less heinous, than cowardice; for a night's debauch and a
morning of dullness and stupidity were things too common among
_gentlemen_ to affect reputation seriously, unless bad consequences
ensued. He was not alone in devotion to the wine-cup at that very time,
for it is said that Burgoyne and Earl Balcarras did not leave their
flagon and their cards until dawn that morning. Burgoyne and the earl,
however, had either stouter heads or stouter hearts than Gates, for they
were on duty in the field when the contest was raging. It may be that
neither wine nor cowardice controlled the American commander. Let us
charitably hope that it did not, and charge the fault upon a weak
judgment; for we should be ever ready to act toward erring brother-man
according to the glorious injunction of Prior:

"Be to his faults a little blind;

Be to his virtues very kind."

We reached Bemis's Heights between five and six o'clock in the evening.
The hotel is situated a few rods south of the site of the old residence
of Bemis. The obliging landlord anticipated our impatience to view the
battle-ground, and when supper was over we found a horse and light wagon
in readiness to carry us to the residence of Charles Neilson, Esq., on
the summit of the heights, whence a fine view of the whole scene of
conflict and of the surrounding country might be obtained. * It was too
late for much observation, for twilight soon spread its veil over every
object. After spending an hour pleasantly and profitably with Mr.
Neilson and his family, I made an engagement to meet him early next
morning, to ride and ramble over the historic grounds in the
neighborhood.

* Mr. Neilson occupies the mansion owned by his father, an active Whig,
at the time of the battles there He has written and published a volume
entitled "An original, compiled, and corrected Account of Bur-goyne's
Campaign and the memorable Battles of Bemis's Heights." It contains many
details not found in other books, which he gathered from those who were
present, and saw and heard what they related It is valuable on that
account.

View from Bemia's Heights. Topography. Origin of the Name. Headquarters
of Revolutionary Officers.

045

The morning broke with an unclouded sky, and before the dew was off the
grass I was upon Bemis's Heights, eager to see what yet remained of the
military works of a former time. Alas! hardly a vestige is to be seen;
hut a more beautiful view than the one from Mr. Neilson's mansion I have
seldom beheld. The ground there is higher than any in the vicinity,
except the range of hills on the east side of the Hudson, and the eye
takes in a varied landscape of a score of miles in almost every
direction. Bounding the horizon on the north and west are the heights of
Saratoga and the high mountains on the eastern shore of Lake George. On
the south stretch away into the blue distance toward Albany the gentle
hills and the pleasant valley of the Hudson. On the east, not far
distant, rises Willard's Mountain, and over and beyond its southern
neighbors of less altitude may be seen the heights of Bennington on the
Walloomsoik, * the Green Mountains, and the lofty summit of far-famed
Mount Tom.

Bemis's Heights are situated on the right bank of the Hudson, about four
miles north of the pleasant village of Stillwater (which is on the same
side of the river), and about twenty-five miles from Albany. The ground
here rises abruptly from an extensive alluvial flat, about half a mile
in width a little above, but here tapering until it forms quite a narrow
defile of not more than thirty or forty rods on each side of the river.
At the time of the Revolution, the whole country in this vicinity was
covered with a dense forest, having only an occasional clearing of a few
acres; and deep ravines furrowed the land in various directions.
Fronting the river, a high bluff of rocks and soil, covered with stately
oaks and maples, presented an excellent place on which to plant a
fortification to command the pas sage of the river and the narrow valley
below. The bluff is still there, but the forest is gone, and many of the
smaller ravines have been filled up by the busy hand of cultivation.

The only road then much traveled passed along the margin of the river.
Upon the road, at the southern extremity of the bluff, was a tavern kept
by a man named Bemis, the only one of note between Albany and Fort
Edward. Good wines and long pipes, a spacious ball-room and a capital
larder, made Bemis's house a famous place of resort for sleighing
parties in winter, throughout the whole of the Saratoga valley of the
Hudson. He owned a portion of the heavy-timbered heights near him, and
from that circumstance the hill derived its name.

On the summit of the height, three fourths of a mile northwest of
Bemis's, the father of Mr. Neilson owned a clearing of a few acres when
the war broke out, and he had erected a small dwelling and a log barn
thereon. The dwelling, with large additions, is still there, but the log
barn, which was picketed and used for a fort, has long since given place
to another. Around that old mansion cluster many interesting historic
associations, and if its walls could articulate, they might tell of
heroism in action and patient endurance which the pen of history has
never yet recorded.

Upon the next page are given a group of localities about Bemis's Heights
and a miniature map of the engagements there. The picture at the top of
the page represents the mansion of Mr. Neilson, as seen from the
opposite side of the road, looking eastward. It stands upon the east
side of the highway leading to Quaker Springs, about one hundred rods
north of the road from Bemis's Heights to the watering places of
Ballston and Saratoga. It is a frame house, and the part next to the
road is modern compared with the other and smaller portion, which is the
original dwelling. The room in the old part (a sketch of which is given
in the third picture from the top) is quite large, and was occupied by
Brigadier-general Poor and Colonel Morgan as quarters at the time of the
encampments there. It was in this room that Major Ackland, the brave
commander of the British Grenadiers, who was severely wounded in the
battle of the 7th of October, was kindly received by the American
officers, and visited and nursed by his heroic wife, Lady Harriet
Ackland, of whom, and the event in question, I shall hereafter speak.
The bed of the wounded officer was beneath

* It is said that the smoke of the battle of Bennington, thirty miles
distant, was distinctly seen from Bemis's Heights. 046

Localities about Bemis's Heights.--Gates's Quarters.--Willard's
Mountain.--Condition of the Northern Army.

047

the window on the left. The door in the center opens into a small bed-
room; and this as well as every thing else about the room, is carefully
preserved in its original condition. Where the smaller poplar tree
stands was a building which General Arnold occupied; and further to the
left the small buildings are upon the spot where the fortified log barn
stood, which was at the northwest angle of the American works. In
compliment to the owner, the rude fortification was called Fort Neilson.

Between the smaller poplar tree and the house is seen Willard's
Mountain, five miles distant, on the east side of the Hudson. This
eminence commands a fine view of the valley for many miles. From its
summit a Mr. Willard and a few others, with a good spy-glass, watched
all the movements of Burgoyne, and made regular reports to General
Gates. This service was exceedingly valuable, for a fair estimate of the
number of troops, their baggage, stores, artillery, &c., was made from
his observations. His name is immortalized by a gigantic monument, which
has borne it ever since.

The second vignette from the top is a view of Gates's headquarters at
the time of the battle of the 7th of October. He first made his
headquarters at Bemis's house, but afterward removed them hither. This
house was demolished about four years ago, but, from a sketch furnished
by Mr. Neilson, I am enabled to give a correct view. The old well curb
is still there, and seems as though it might survive a generation yet.
This house stood about one hundred and fifty rods south of Fort Neilson,
and the traces of the cellar may now be seen a few yards to the left of
the Ballston road, ascending from the river.

The third vignette represents the room mentioned above. The picture at
the bottom of the page is a view from the Bemis's Heights Hotel,
representing the Champlain Canal, the Hudson River, and the hills on the
eastern side. Near the large trees on the left may be seen traces of a
redoubt which defended a floating bridge that was thrown across the
river here, and so constructed that one end could be detached at
pleasure, allowing the bridge to swing around with the current, and thus
prevent the enemy from entering upon it. The lumber for this bridge was
furnished by General Schuyler, at his own private expense, and floated
down the river from Saratoga or Schuylerville.

The map I shall have occasion to refer to when noticing the
fortifications and the battles. The halbert, represented on the left of
the picture, was plowed up in the neighborhood, and is in the possession
of Mr. Neilson. When found, it had a small British flag or cloven pennon
attached to it, which soon occupied the utilitarian and more peaceful
position of patches in the bed-quilt of a prudent housewife.

When General Gates took the command of the Northern army, (August 19,
1777) events were occurring favorable to his success. Burgoyne was at
Fort Edward, paralyzed with alarm and perplexity on account of the
failure of an expedition to Bennington--a failure, in its immediate as
well as prospective effects, extremely disastrous. The obstructions
which General Schuyler had thrown in the way on his retreat from Fort
Anne, made the march of the enemy slow and toilsome in the extreme. *
The plethora of the commissariat department was rapidly subsiding by the
delay; the supplies of the surrounding country, already heavily levied
on, were totally inadequate to the demand, and the capture of American
stores was an object called for by stern necessity. Burgoyne, therefore,
halted at Fort Edward, and sent an expedition to Bennington to seize a
large quantity of clothing and pro-

* General Schuyler felled large trees across the roads and bridle-paths
through the woods, sunk deep ditches, and destroyed all the bridges.
These evils Burgoyne was obliged to overcome and repair. With immense
toil, the obstructions were removed, and no less than forty bridges over
streams and morasses were constructed, so as to allow the passage of
artillery. It must be remembered, too, that a soldier in actual service
is not so lightly accoutered as a soldier on parade. Besides the actual
fatigue of traveling and labors, he has a heavy back-burden to hear.
Respecting this, we quote Burgoyne's own words: "It consists of a
knapsack, containing his bodily necessaries, a blanket, a haversack with
provisions, a canteen, a hatchet, and a fifth share of the general camp
equipage belonging to his tent." These articles (reckoning the
provisions to be for four days), added to his accouterments, arms, and
sixty rounds of ammunition, make a bulk totally incompatible with
combat, and a weight of about sixty pounds.

British Reverses in the Mohawk Valley.--Perplexity of Burgoyne.--
Advance of Gates to Stillwater.--Kosciusko

048

visions which the Americans had collected there. The detachment sent
thither so weakened his forces that he dared not proceed until it should
return, bringing back, as he confidently expected, ample provisions for
his army until he should enter Albany triumphant. But the New England
militia were on the alert, and they not only saved their stores and live
cattle at Bennington, but defeated and dispersed the enemy, capturing a
large number, together with arms and ammunition, then much needed by the
growing ranks of

August 16. the volunteers.

Burgoyne had hardly recovered from this shock, before a courier, guided
by a friendly Indian, came in breathless haste by the way of Saratoga
Lake and Glenn's Falls, bearing the direful news of the desertion of the
Indians, the defection of the loyalists of the Mohawk Valley, and the
complete defeat of St. Leger at Fort Schuyler. These reverses August 22.
fell like an incubus upon the spirits of his army. The Indians in his
camp, already vexed because Burgoyne's humanity had restrained their
purposes of rapine and murder, began to waver in their fidelity, and the
Canadians and timid loyalists became luke warm through very cowardice,
and deserted by hundreds.

Burgoyne was greatly perplexed. To proceed at that time would be
madness; to retreat would not only lose him a promised _order_, perhaps
a peerage, but would operate powerfully in giving friends to the
republicans. The idea of British invincibility would be dissipated, and
thousands who favored the cause of the king on account of that supposed
invincibility and the hopelessness of resistance, would join the
patriots, or would, at least, become mere _passive_ loyalists. In view
of all these difficulties, the British commander wisely resolved to
remain at Fort Edward until the panic should subside and stores should
be brought for ward from his posts on Lake George and Lake Champlain. He
was also in daily expectation of advices from General Howe or Sir Henry
Clinton, at New York, announcing a movement upon the Hudson for the
purpose of producing a diversion in favor of Burgoyne, by drawing away a
portion of the American army from the North.

These disasters of the enemy greatly inspirited the Americans, and the
Eastern militia, among whom Gates was very popular, flocked to his
standard with great alacrity. The murder of Jane M'Crea at Fort Edward
(of which I shall hereafter speak) was another powerful agency in
swelling the ranks of the patriots. Fierce indignation was aroused in
every honest heart by the highly-colored recital of that event, and
loyalists by hundreds withdrew their support from a cause which employed
such instrumentalities as savage warriors to execute its purposes.

Perceiving the disposition of Burgoyne to halt at Fort Edward, and the
difficulties that were gathering around him, General Gates advanced up
the Hudson to Stillwater, and prepared to act offensively or
defensively, as circumstances should dictate. It was at first resolved
to throw up fortifications at the place where the village of Stillwater
now is; but the narrowness of the valley and the abruptness of the bank
on the western margin of the flat at Bemis's offered a more advantageous
position, and there, by the advice of Kosciusko, who was an engineer in
the army, General Gates made his encampment and fortified it. *

* Thaddeus Kosciusko was born in Lithuania in 1736, of an ancient and
noble family. He was educated at the military school of Warsaw, and
afterward became a student in France. There he became acquainted with
Dr. Franklin, and was by him recommended to General Washington. Before
leaving Poland, he had eloped with a beautiful lady of high rank. They
were overtaken in their flight by her father, who made a violent attempt
to rescue his daughter. The young Pole had either to slay the father or
abandon the young lady. Abhorring the former act, he sheathed his sword,
and soon after obtained permission of his sovereign to leave his
country. He came to America, and presented himself to the commander-in-
chief He answered the inquiry of his excellency, "What do you seek
here?" by saying, "I come to fight as a volunteer for American
independence."

"What can you do?" asked Washington. "Try me," was Kosciusko's laconic
reply. Greatly pleased with him, Washington made him his aid. In
October, 1776, he was appointed engineer by Congress, with the rank of
colonel. In the autumn of 1777 he fortified the camp of Gates at Bemis's
Heights, and afterward superintended the construction of the works at
West Point, among the Hudson Highlands. He was greatly esteemed by the
American officers, and admitted a member of the Cincinnati Society At
the close of our Revolution he returned to Poland, and was made a major
general under Poniatowski. He commanded judiciously and fought bravely;
and when, in 1794, a new revolution broke out in Poland, he was made
generalissimo, and vested with the power of a military dictator. In
October of that year he was overpowered, wounded, and taken prisoner. In
reference to this event, Campbell, in his Pleasures of Hope, says,

"Hope for a season bade the world farewell,

And freedom shrieked when Kosciusko fell."

He was kept in prison in St. Petersburg until the death of the Empress
Catharine, when he was liberated by Paul, loaded with honors, and
offered a command in the Russian service, which he declined. The emperor
besought him to accept the proffered honor, and presented him with his
own sword. But bitterly reflecting that his country had been
annihilated, he refused to receive his sword, saying, "I no longer need
a sword, since I have no longer a country to defend." He visited the
United Stales in 1797, and received from Congress a grant of land for
his services. He returned to Switzerland toward the close of his life,
and died There October the 16th, 1817. His remains were taken to Cracow,
and at Warsaw a public funeral was made for him. At West Point, on the
Hudson, the cadets erected a monument to his memory. We have given a
drawing of the monument, and a more particular notice, on page 705, of
this volume.

Fortifications at Bemis's Heights.--Their present Appearance.--
Preparations for Battle

049

Alone: the brow of the hill toward the river a line of breast-works was
thrown up, about three fourths of a mile in extent, with a strong
battery at each extremity, and one near the center in such position as
to completely sweep the valley, and command even the hills upon the
eastern side of the river. Faint traces of these redoubts and the
connecting breast-works are still visible. At the northern extremity,
where the largest and strongest battery was erected, the mound is
leveled, but the ditch is quite deep, and may be traced many rods
westward from the brow of the hill, along the line of breast-works that
were thrown up after the first battle. But every year the plow casts in
the soil of its furrows, and ere long no vestige will remain of these
intrenchments. Within the area of the northeast redoubt, at the time of
my visit, potatoes in desecrating luxuriance were flourishing, except
upon a very small spot occupied as a burial-place for a few of the
Vanderburgh family. It really seemed sacrilegious for the vulgar vines
of the nutritious tuber to intertwine with the long grass and beautiful
wild flowers that covered the graves. The elder one of those buried
there was an active republican, and had his house burned by the enemy. A
few plain slabs with inscriptions tell who lie beneath the several
mounds, but no stone marks the grave where sleeps that venerable
patriot.

From the foot of the hill, across the flats to the river, an
intrenchment was opened, and at the extremity, on the water's edge, a
strong battery was erected, which guarded the floating bridge
constructed there, and also commanded the plain on the east side of the
river in such a manner that the enemy might have been terribly enfiladed
in case they had attempted to pass down the river or the valley.

Near where the road crossed Mill Creek, a small stream nearly half a
mile above Bemis's tavern, were a short line of breast-works and a
strong battery, which, with those mentioned above, composed all the
fortifications previous to the first battle. These being completed about
the 15th of September, and the enemy approaching, General Gates made
preparations for resistance. Brave officers and determined soldiers, in
high spirits, were gathered around him, and the latter were hourly
increasing in numbers. The counsels of General Schuyler and the known
bravery of General Arnold were at his command; and he felt confident of
victory, aided by such men as Poor, Learned, Stark, Whipple, Paterson,
Warner, Fellows,

Expedition against the Posts on Lakes George and Champlain.--March of
Burgoyne to Saratoga and Stillwater

050

Bailey, Glover, Wolcott, Bricketts, and Tenbroeck, with their full
brigades, and the bravo Virginian, Colonel Morgan, with his unerring
marksmen, supported by the regiments of Dearborn, Brooks, Cilley,
Scammel, and Hull.

Small successes about this time, important in the aggregate result,
tended materially to keep up the spirits of the American troops, and
made them eager to encounter the main body of the enemy. General
Lincoln, with about two thousand militia, got in the rear of Burgoyne,
and, by dividing his force into detachments, operated with much effect.
One detachment, under Colonel Brown, surprised the British posts on Lake
George, captured a vessel containing provisions for the enemy, took
possession of Mount Hope and Mount Defiance, and, appearing before
Ticonderoga, demanded its surrender. But the walls and garrison were too
strong, and, after a cannonade of four days, the siege was abandoned,
and all the troops prepared to unite and attack the enemy in the rear.
The threatening aspect of this movement of Lincoln at the beginning, and
the probability of having his supplies from the lakes cut off, induced
Burgoyne, in self-defense, to move forward and execute promptly what he
intended to do. Having, by great diligence, brought forward provisions
for about thirty days, he advanced along the left bank of the Hudson to
the mouth of the Batten Kill, where he encamped preparatory to crossing
the river. * His officers were somewhat divided in opinion in regard to
the expediency of further attempts to reach Albany; and it had been
plainly intimated to Burgoyne that it might be greater wisdom to fall
back from Fort Edward, rather than advance, for it was evident that
perils of no ordinary kind were gathering around the invading army.

Unwilling to act in opposition to the _expressed_ opinions of his
officers, Burgoyne avoided any intimations of judgment on their part by
omitting to consult them at all; and he assumed the responsibility of
crossing the Hudson, resting for his defense, if adversity should ensue,
upon the peremptory nature of his instructions. ** He constructed a
bridge of boats, and on the 13th and 14th of September passed his whole
army over, and encamped on the heights and plains of Saratoga, at the
mouth of the Fish Creek, where Schuylerville now is, and within about
five miles of the American works below. On the 15th, having succeeded in
getting his artillery, baggage, and stores across the river, Burgoyne
moved down as far as Do-ve-gat (now Coveville), where he halted until
the morning of the 17th, for the purpose of repairing the roads and
bridges before him, when he advanced as far as Swords's house and
encamped for the night. On the morning of the 18th he moved down as far
as the place now called Wilbur's Basin, within two miles of the American
camp, and here he made preparations for battle. His chief officers were
Major-general Phillips, of the artillery, who had performed signal
service in Germany; Brigadier-general Fraser, commander of the
grenadiers and light infantry; Brigadiers Hamilton and Powell; and the
Brunswick major general, Baron de Riedesel, with his brigadiers, Specht
and Gall, Earl Balcarras, Colonel Breyman, Major Ackland, Lieutenant
Kingston, and others of minor grade, were men of tried courage, and
ardently attached to their general and the service.

When the defeat of Burgoyne, a few days later, became known in England,
the crossing of the Hudson River and his persistence in pressing toward
Albany, with the American army in front and a wilderness filling with
armed republicans in his rear, formed the chief theme for the
vituperative assaults of his enemies; and to these steps all his
subsequent misfortunes were attributed. But, as we have seen, he
retreated behind the peremptory instructions of ministers; and Botta
very justly observes, "that at that time he had not

* His place of encampment was about one hundred rods north of Lansing's
saw-mill. The farm, till within a few years, was occupied by Mr. Thomas
Rogers. Burgoyne had quite an extensive slaughter-yard there, which so
enriched the soil, that its effects are still visible on the corn crops
and other productions.--C. Neilson.

** In his dispatch to Lord George Germain, dated at Albany, October
20th, 1777, Burgoyne alludes to this fact, and says, "I did not think
myself authorized to call any men into council, where the peremptory
tenor of my orders and the season of the year admitted no alternative."-
State of the Expedition, &c., Appendix, p. lxxxiv.

Material of the American Army on Bemis's Heights.--Relative Position of
the two Armies.--Burgoyne's Plan of Attack

051

yet received any intelligence either of the strength of the army left at
New York, or the movements which Sir Henry Clinton intended to make, or
had made, up the North River toward Albany. He calculated on a powerful
co-operation on the part of that general. Such was the plan of the
ministers, and such the tenor of their peremptory instructions." *
"Whether the movement was judicious or injudicious we will not stop to
inquire, but having arranged the two armies within cannon-shot of each
other, will pass on to the consideration of an event which solved the
question by arguments far more potential than logic can command.

THE FIRST BATTLE OF STILLWATER. **

The morning of the 19th of September was clear and calm, and every thing
without

1777 was white with hoar-frost. The hostile armies, within ear-shot of
each other's _reveille_, were disposed in similar order, each extending
from the river westward over the hills. The main body of the American
army composing the right wing, which consisted chiefly of Glover's,
Nixon's, and Patterson's brigades, was under the immediate command of
General Gates, and occupied the hills near the river and the narrow
flats below them. The left wing, composed of the brigade of General
Poor, consisting of Cilley's, Scammel's, and Hale's regiments, of New
Hampshire; Van Courtlandt's and Henry Livingston's, of New York: Latimer
and Cook's Connecticut militia; the corps of riflemen under Morgan, and
infantry under Dearborn, was posted on the heights about three fourths
of a mile from the river, and commanded by General Arnold. *** The
center, on the elevated plain near the residence of Mr. Neilson, was
composed of Learned's brigade, with Bailey's, Wesson's, and Jackson's
regiments, of Massachusetts, and James Livingston's, of New York.

The left wing of the British army, which included the immense train of
artillery under Generals Phillips and Riedesel, rested upon the flats
upon the bank of the river. The center and the right wing, composed
principally of Hessians, **** extended westward upon the hills, and were
commanded by Burgoyne in person, covered by General Fraser and Colonel
Breyman, with the grenadiers and light infantry. The front and flanks
were covered by the Indians, Canadians, and loyalists, who still
remained in the camp.

General Gates resolved to maintain a defensive position, and await the
approach of Burgoyne, who, on the contrary, had made every preparation
for advancing. Phillips and Reidesel were to march with the artillery
along the road on the margin of the river. The Canadians and Indians in
front were to attack the central outposts of the Americans, while
Burgoyne and Fraser, with the grenadiers and infantry, in separate
bodies, and strongly flanked by Indians, were to make a circuitous route
through the woods back of the river hills, form a junction, and fall
upon the rear of the American camp. It was arranged that three minute-
guns should be fired when Burgoyne and Fraser should join their forces,
as a signal for the artillery to make an attack upon the American front
and right, force their way through the lines, and scatter them in
confusion.

At an early hour the American pickets observed great activity in the
British camp; the glitter of bayonets and sabers and the flashing of
scarlet uniforms were distinctly seen through

* Otis's Botta, vol. ii.. p. 9.

** The conflicts at this point are known by the several titles Bemis's
Heights, Stillwater, and Saratoga, from the fact that the battles
occurred upon Bemis's Heights, in the town of Stillwater, and county of
Saratoga.

*** These were the same troops which formed the left wing of the army
when encamped at the mouth of the Mohawk. They were stationed at
Loudon's ferry, five miles from the mouth of the river, and there Arnold
took the command after his return from Fort Schuyler.

**** The Hessians were some of the German soldiers, hired by Great
Britain of their masters, petty German princes, at a stipulated sum per
head, to come to America and butcher her children. The Landgrave of
Hesse-Cassel furnished the larger number, and from that circumstance all
of the Germans received the general appellation of Hessians. I have
given a minute account of them, and of the debates in Parliament which
the infamous bill providing for the hiring of these mercenaries
produced, on page 589, of this volume.

Approach of the two Armies.--Engagement between the Advance Corps.---
Maneuvers of Arnold and Fraser

052

the vistas of the forest as the troops of the enemy marched and
countermarched to form the various lines for battle. These movements
were constantly reported to General Gates, yet he issued no orders and
evinced no disposition to fight. About ten o'clock it was clearly
perceived that the whole of the enemy's force was in motion, and
separated into three divisions. Phillips and Reidesel, with the
artillery, commenced marching slowly down the road along the river;
Burgoyne, with the center division, followed the course of the stream,
now forming Wilbur's Basin, westward; and Fraser and Breyman commenced a
circuitous route along a new road partially opened from the basin, and
intersecting the road from Bemis's shout two and a half miles north of
the American lines.

Arnold was fully apprised of all this, and became as impatient as a
hound in the leash. His opinion, earnestly and repeatedly expressed to
the commander during the morning, that a detachment should be sent out
to make an attack, was at length heeded. About noon, Colonel Morgan with
his light-horse, and Major Dearborn with his infantry, were detached
from Arnold's division, and, marching out, made a vigorous attack upon
the Canadians and Indians who swarmed upon the hills. They met at the
middle ravine, south of Freeman's cottage. * The enemy was repulsed; but
so furious was Morgan's charge, that his men became scattered in the
woods, and a re-enforcement of loyalists under Major Forbes soon drove
the Americans back. Captain Van Swearingen and Lieutenant Morris, with
twenty privates, fell into the hands of the British. For a moment, on
finding himself almost alone, Morgan felt that his corps was ruined; but
his loud signal-whistle soon gathered his brave followers around him,
and the charge was renewed. Dearborn seconded him, and Cilley and
Scammel hastened to their support. The contest was quite equal, and both
parties at length retired within their respective lines.

About the same time a party of Canadians, savages, and loyalists were
detached through the skirt of the woods along the margin of the flats
near the river. They were met by the American pickets on a flat piece of
ground near Mill Creek, and a smart skirmish ensued. The enemy was much
cut up and broken, and finally fled, leaving thirteen dead on the field
and thirty-five taken prisoners. In the mean while, Burgoyne and Fraser
were making rapid movements for the purpose of falling upon the
Americans in front and on the left flank. The center division marched
through some partial clearings to Freeman's farm, ** while Fraser,
having reached a high point about one hundred and fifty rods north of
the "cottage," moved rapidly southward for the purpose of turning the
left flank of the Americans. Arnold, at the same time, made a similar
attempt upon Fraser. He called upon Gates for a re-enforcement from the
right wing, but the commander deemed it prudent not to weaken it, for
the left of Burgoyne's army was then within half a mile of his lines,
and spreading out upon the heights.

Arnold resolved to do what he could with those under his command, which
consisted of General Learned's brigade and the New York troops. With
these he attempted to turn the enemy's right, and, if possible, cut off
the detachment of Fraser from the main army. So dense was the forest and
so uneven was the ground, that neither party fairly comprehended the
movements of the other, or knew that each was attempting the same
maneuver. They met suddenly and unexpectedly upon the level ground near
Mill Creek, or Middle Ravine, about sixty yards west of Freeman's
cottage, and at once an action, warm and destructive, began. Arnold led
the van of his men, and fell upon the foe with the fury and impetuosity
of a tiger. By voice and action he encouraged his troops; but the
overwhelming numbers of the enemy for a time repulsed them. By a quick
movement, Fraser attacked the left flank of the right wing of the
American army; but fearing that Arnold (who had

* The attention of the reader is called to the small map or plan of the
engagement, upon page 46, while perusing the notices of the battle.

** Freeman's farm, as it was called, was a small cultivated clearing,
about half a mile east of the present road leading to Quaker Springs.
The farm was an oblong clearing in front of the cottage, about sixty
rods in length from east to west, skirted by thick woods, and sloping
south.-Neilson, p. 141.

Approach of a British Re-enforcement under Phillips.--View of the
Battle-ground.--A Lull in the Battle

053

rallied his troops, and was re-enforced by four regiments under
Lieutenant-colonels Brooks, Cilley, and Scammel, and Majors Dearborn and
Hull) might cut the British lines and separate the two wings, he brought
up the twenty-fourth regiment, some light infantry, and Breyman's
riflemen, to strengthen the point of attack. The Americans made such a
vigorous resistance, that the British began to give way and fall into
confusion; but General Phillips, who, from his position below the
heights, heard the din of conflict on the right wing of his army,
hurried over the hills, through the thick woods, with fresh troops and
part of the artillery under Captain Jones, and appeared upon the ground
at the very moment when victory seemed within the grasp of the
Americans. *

For an hour the republicans had disputed the ground inch by inch, but
the crushing force of superior numbers pressed them back to their lines.

It was now about three o'clock. The contest suddenly ceased, but it was
only the lull which precedes a more furious burst of the tempest. Each
army took breath, and gathered up new energies for a more desperate
conflict. They were beyond musket-shot of each other, and separated by a
thick wood and a narrow clearing. Each was upon a gentle hill, one
sloping toward the south, the other toward the north. The Americans were
sheltered by the intervening wood; the British were within an open pine
forest. The Americans stood

* This view is taken from near the house of Mr. Neilson, looking
northwest. In the foreground, on the right, are seen the remains of the
intrenchments which here crossed the road from Fort Neilson, the
fortified log barn. The light field in the distance, toward the right of
the picture, with a small house within it, is the old clearing called
"Freeman's farm." On the rising ground over the tree upon the slope,
near the center of the foreground, is the place where Fraser wheeled
southward to turn the right flank of the Americans. On the level ground,
near the small trees on the right of the large tree upon the slope, is
the place where Arnold and Fraser met and fought. On the high middle
ground beyond the woods, toward the left, where several small houses are
seen, the British formed their line for the second battle on the 7th of
October. The detachments under Poor, Learned, and Morgan, which marched
to the attack on that day, diverged from near the point seen in the
foreground on the right, and marched down the slope by the sheep, across
the flat. The brigade of Learned passed on where are seen the dark trees
on the left. Morgan kept further to the extreme left, and Poor made a
direct line across the level ground and up the hill in the direction
marked by the four slender trees by the fence in the center of the
picture. The range of mountains in the extreme distance borders the
eastern shore of Lake George. The highest peak in the center is Buck
Mountain, and that upon the extreme left is French Mountain, at the foot
of which are the remains of Forts George and William Henry, at the head
of Lake George.

Renewal of the Battle.--Loss sustained by both Armies.--The number and
the particular Troops engaged.

054

in determined silence, and heard distinctly the voices of the officers
upon the opposite hill as they gave their orders along the lines.

Again the enemy made the first hostile movement, and from a powerful
battery opened a terrible fire, but without effect. To this the
Americans made no reply. Burgoyne then ordered the woods to be cleared
by the bayonet, and soon, across the open field, column after column of
infantry steadily advanced toward the patriot lines. The Americans kept
close within their intrenchments until the enemy fired a volley and
pressed onward to the charge, when they sprang upon their assailants
with a force that drove them far back across the clearing. Like the
ebbing and flowing of the tide, the contending armies alternately
advanced and retreated, and for more than three hours the conflict was
severe and the result doubtful. And it was not until the sun went down
and darkness came upon them, that the warriors ceased their horrid
strife. Even amid the gloom of evening there were furious contentions.
Just at dusk, Lieutenant-colonel Marshall, with the tenth Massachusetts
regiment, encountered some British grenadiers and infantry on a rise of
ground a little west of Freeman's cottage, and a brisk but short action
ensued. * The commander of the enemy was killed, and the troops fled in
confusion. Lieutenant-colonel Brooks, of the eighth Massachusetts
regiment, remained upon the field until eleven o'clock at night, and in
the course of the evening he had a skirmish on the extreme left with
some of Breyman's riflemen, whom he knew as such only by the brass
match-cases upon their breasts. He was the last to leave the field of
action. The conflict at length ended. The Americans retired within their
lines, and the British rested on their arms all night upon the field of
battle. **

The loss of the Americans was, officers included, sixty-four killed, two
hundred and seventeen wounded, and thirty-eight missing; in all, three
hundred and nineteen. *** The British lost, in killed, wounded, and
prisoners, "rather more than less than five hundred." **** Both parties
claimed the honor of victory. The British, it is true, remained masters,
or, at least, possessors, of the field, but this was not their ultimate
object. It was to _advance_, and that they failed to do; while the
Americans were intent only upon maintaining their ground, and this they
accomplished. The advantage, therefore, was certainly on the side of the
republicans.

Very few battles have been marked by more determined bravery and patient
endurance on both sides than this. Phillips and Riedesel, who had served
in the wars in Flanders and other parts of Europe, said they never knew
so long and hot a fire; and Burgoyne, in his defense before Parliament,
remarked, "few actions have been characterized by more obstinacy in
attack or defense." The number of Americans engaged in the action was
about two thousand five hundred, and of the British about three
thousand. The whole British army in camp and on the field numbered about
five thousand, and that of the American about seven thousand.

Although the aggregate number of killed on both sides did not exceed one
hundred and fifty, the slaughter and maiming were dreadful in particular
instances. Major Jones, of the British army, commanded a battery, and
fell, while at his post, during the swaying to and fro of the armies
across the clearing, toward evening, when several of the cannons were
taken and retaken a number of times. Thirty-six out of forty-eight of
his artillery-men were killed or wounded. Lieutenant Hadden was the only
officer unhurt, and he had his cap shot from his head by a musket-ball
while spiking the cannon. The sixty-second regiment *v

* At the urgent solicitation of Arnold, Gates sent out this feeble re-
enforcement, which was all that was detached from the right wing during
the action. Had fresh troops been supplied to support the left wing, no
doubt the Americans would have gained a decided victory.

** See Gordon, Ramsay, Botta, Marshall, Sparks, Pictorial History of the
Reign of George III., Stedman, Burgoyne's State of the Expedition,
Thatcher, Neilson, &c.

*** Report to the Board of War.

**** Lieutenant-colonel Kingston, the adjutant general, before a
committee of Parliament.

*v The particular troops engaged in this action were, of the British,
the ninth, twenty-first, sixty-second, and twentieth of Hamilton's
brigade; the twenty-fourth, belonging to Fraser's brigade; Breyman's
riflemen;

a corps of grenadiers; a part of the artillery, and a motley swarm of
Indians and loyalists. The American troops in action were those under
Morgan and Dearborn; the first, second, and third New Hampshire
regiments; the eighth, ninth, and tenth Massachusetts regiments; the
second and third of New York, and a Connecticut regiment of militia.

Baroness Reidesel's Notice of the Battle.--Major Hull.--Narrow Escape of
Burgoyne.--Arnold, and the Testimony of History

055

of Hamilton's brigade, which consisted of six hundred when it left
Canada, was so cut in pieces, that only sixty men and five officers were
left capable of duty. The commander, Colonel Anstruther, and Major
Harnage, were both wounded.

The Baroness Riedesel, wife of General Riedesel, who accompanied her
husband through this whole campaign, wrote an admirable narrative of the
various events connected there with. In relation to the battle of the
19th of September, she says, "An affair happened, which, though it
turned out to our advantage, yet obliged us to halt at a place called
Freeman's farm. I was an eye-witness to the whole affair, and, as my
husband was engaged in it, I was full of anxiety, and trembled at every
shot I heard. I saw a great number of the wounded, and, what added to
the distress of the scene, three of them were brought into the house in
which I took shelter. One was a Major Harnage, of the sixty-second
regiment, the husband of a lady of my acquaintance; another was a
lieutenant, married to a lady with whom I had the honor to be on terms
of intimacy; and the third was an officer by the name of Young."

More than one half of an American detachment under Major Hull, *
consisting of two hundred men, was killed or wounded. Some of the
Americans ascended high trees, and from their concealed perches picked
off the British officers in detail. Several were killed by the bullets
of these sure marksmen. Burgoyne himself came very near being made a
victim to this mode of warfare. A bullet, intended for him, shattered
the arm of Captain Green, aid-de-camp to General Phillips, who at that
moment was handing a letter to Burgoyne. The captain fell from his
horse. In the confusion of the smoke and noise, it was supposed to be
Burgoyne, and such was the belief, for some hours, in the American camp.
Among the Americans who were killed in the battle were Colonels Adams
and Colburn, valuable officers. But it is unpleasant and unprofitable to
ponder upon the painful details of a battle, and we will pass on to the
consideration of subsequent events.

Let us pause a moment, however, and render justice to as brave a soldier
as ever drew blade for freedom. Although in after years he was recreant
to the high and sacred responsibilities that rested upon him, and
committed an act deserving the execrations of all good men, strict
justice demands a fair acknowledgment of his brave deeds. I mean
Benedict Arnold

The testimony of historians is in conflict respecting the part which
Arnold performed in the battle just noticed; and prejudice and evident
falsehood have denied him the honor of being personally engaged in it.
Gordon says, "Arnold's division was out in the action, but he himself
did not head them; he remained in the camp the whole time." General
Wilkinson, the adjutant general of Gates at that time, says in his
_Memoirs_ that "no general officer was on the field of battle during the
day," and intimates that he himself chiefly conducted affairs. He
further says, that when, toward evening, Gates and Arnold were together
in front of the camp, Major Lewis ** came in from the scene of action,
and announced that its progress was undecisive. Arnold immediately
exclaimed, "I will soon put an end to it," and set off in a full gallop
from the camp. Gates dispatched an officer after him, and ordered him
back. Botta, who was acquainted with many of the foreign officers who
served in this war, and whose sources of correct information were very
ample, observes,

* He was a major general in our war with Great Britain in 1812. He
surrendered his whole army, with all the forts and garrisons in the
neighborhood-of Detroit, to General Brock on the 16th of August of that
year. His wife, Sarah Hull, to whom he had been married but a few weeks
when the battle of Stillwater occurred, determined to share the fortunes
and perils of her husband, was in the camp, and was active among those
American women who extended comfort and kind attentions to the ladies of
the British army after the surrender of Burgoyne. Because of his
surrender at Detroit, General Hull was tried for cowardice, treason,
&c., and condemned to be shot; but, in consideration of his
Revolutionary services and his age, he was pardoned He lived to see his
character vindicated, and died in 1825. His wife died the following
year.

** Morgan Lewis, afterward governor of the state of New York.

Colonel Varick's Letter respecting Arnold.--General Gates's Treatment of
Arnold.--Rupture between them

056

"Arnold exhibited upon this occasion all the impetuosity of his courage;
he encouraged his men by voice and example." Stedman, a British officer
who served under Cornwallis here, says, in his "History of the American
War,"

"The enemy were led to the battle by General Arnold, who distinguished
himself in an extraordinary manner." Allen, in his Biographical
Dictionary, says, "In the battle near Stillwater, September the 19th, he
conducted himself with his usual intrepidity, being engaged incessantly
for four hours." M'Farlane, ' in the Pictorial History of England, says,
"Gates's detachment, being re-enforced and led on by Arnold, fell upon
Burgoyne and the right wing." Again: "Arnold behaved with extraordinary
gallantry, but he could make an impression nowhere." Again: "Every time
that Arnold was beaten back, Gates sent him more men from the star
redoubt." The well-founded traditions of the vicinity support the
position that Arnold was actively engaged in the conflict, and a
knowledge of the locality is sufficient to cause a doubt of the
correctness of Wilkinson's statement.

Finally, Colonel Yarick, writing from camp to General Schuyler, three
days after the action, said, "He [Gates] seems to be piqued that
Arnold's division had the honor of beating the enemy on the 19th. This I
am certain of, that Arnold has all the credit of the action. And this I
further know, that Gates asked where the troops were going when
Scammel's battalion marched out, and, upon being told, he declared no
more troops should go; he would not suffer the camp to be exposed. Had
Gates complied with Arnold's repeated desires, he would have obtained a
general and complete victory over the enemy. But it is evident to me he
never intended to fight Burgoyne, till Arnold urged, begged, and
entreated him to do it." In another letter which he wrote to Schuyler,
about a month afterward, from Albany, Colonel Yarick observed, "During
Burgoyne's stay here, he gave Arnold great credit for his bravery and
military abilities, especially in the action of the 19th, whenever he
spoke of him, and once in the presence of Gates."

Under ordinary circumstances, the statements of General Wilkinson, he
being adjutant general at that time, and presumed to be cognizant of all
the events of the battle, ought to be received as semi-official; but in
this case they must be taken with great allowance. Gates was evidently
jealous of Arnold's well-earned reputation and growing popularity with
the army; and Wilkinson, who was his favorite, and seemed ever ready to
pander to his commander's vanity, caused, by his officious interference
at that very time, a serious misunderstanding between the two generals,
which resulted in an open rupture. In the first place, he caused a part
of Arnold's division to be withdrawn without his knowledge, and he was
put in the ridiculous light of presuming to give orders which were
contravened by the general orders of the commander-in-chief. Wilkinson
also insisted on the return of a part of Arnold's division (Morgan's
corps) being made directly to him, and Gates sustained the unjust demand
in general orders. And then, to crown his injustice toward a brave
officer, Gates, in his communication to Congress respecting the battle,
said nothing of Arnold or his division, but merely observed that "the
action was fought by detachments from the army." This was ungenerous,
not only to Arnold, but to the troops under his command, and he justly
complained of the neglect when it became known. Harsh words passed
between the two officers, and Gates even told Arnold that he thought him
of little consequence in the army, that when Lincoln arrived he should
take away his command, and that he would give him a pass to leave the
camp as soon as he pleased. *

Under the excitement of his feelings, Arnold demanded a pass for himself
and suite to join General Washington. The pass was granted, but in his
cooler moments he saw how injurious it might be to the cause, and how
hazardous to his reputation, if he should voluntarily leave the army
when another battle was hourly expected. He remained, but without any
employment in the camp, for Gates put his threat into execution, took
command of Arnold's division himself, and, on the arrival of General
Lincoln, on the 29th, placed him over the right wing.

* Sparks's Life of Arnold.

Condition of the Armies after the Battle.--Burgoyne's Encampment.--
Poverty of the American Commissariat

057

The morning of the 20th of September was cloudy, dull, and cheerless,
and with the gloomy aspect of nature the spirits of the British army
sympathized. The combatants had slumbered upon the field during the
night, and at dawn, seeing no disposition on the part of the Americans
to renew the conflict, they retired to their camp on the river hills,
and upon the flats at the mouth of the creek, now Wilbur's Basin.

Burgoyne's Encampment on the West Bank of the Hudson, September 20,
1777. From a print published in London, 1779.

Burgoyne was surprised and mortified at the hold and successful
resistance of the Americans, and saw clearly that it would be useless to
attempt to carry the works by storm, or in any other way to push forward
toward Albany. He resolved to strengthen his position, endeavor to
communicate with Howe and Clinton at New York, and effect by their co-
operation what his own unaided troops could not accomplish. Had he been
aware of the true condition of the Americans on the morning after the
battle, he might easily have won a victory, for the soldiers composing
the left wing, which sustained the conflict, had only a single round of
cartridges left. Nor was the magazine in a condition to supply them, for
such was the difficulty of procuring ammunition at that time, that the
army had a very meager quantity when the conflict began the day
previous, and now there were not in the magazine forty rounds to each
man in the service. At no time was there more than three days'
provisions in the camp, and on the day of action there was no flour. A
supply arrived on the 20th, and the disheartening contingency of short
allowance to the weary soldiers was thus prevented. General Gates alone
was privy to this deplorable deficiency, and it was not until after a
supply of powder and window-leads for bullets was received from Albany
that he made the fact known, and thus gave a plausible reason for not
complying with Arnold's urgent request to commence the battle early
again the next morning.

Both parties now wrought diligently in strengthening their respective
positions. The Americans extended and completed their line of breast-
works from the northeastern angle on the river hills, * westward about
three fourths of a mile, to the heights, a few rods north

* See the small map on page 46.

Fortifications of both Camps.--Junction of Lincoln with the Army at
Bemis's.--Relative Position of the Armies

058

of the dwelling of Mr. Neilson. From this point they were extended south
and southwest to a large ravine, now on the south side of the road
leading to Saratoga Springs. At the northwest angle, near Mr. Neilson's,
stood the log barn before alluded to. This was strengthened by a double
tier of logs on three sides. Strong batteries, in circular form,
extended about one hundred and fifty feet south. The whole was encircled
by a deep trench and a row of strong palisades. The area within was
about half an acre. When completed, it formed quite a strong bulwark,
and was named Fort Neilson.

About fifty rods south of the fort was a strong battery; and in the
rear, near the center of the encampment, stood the magazine, made bomb-
proof. The front of the camp was covered by a deep ravine skirted by a
dense forest, running nearly parallel with the lines, from the river
hills westward. For some distance west of the fort, large trees were
felled, and presented a strong _abatis_ toward the enemy. *

Burgoyne was equally busy in strengthening his position. His camp was
pitched within cannon-shot of the American lines. Across the plain to
the river hills a line of intrenchments, with batteries, was thrown up,
crossing the north ravine not far from its junction with the Middle
Ravine or Mill Creek. The intrenchments extended northward on the west
side of Freeman's farm. The Hessian camp was pitched upon an eminence
about half a mile northwest of Freeman's farm, where a strong redoubt
was reared, and a line of intrenchments of a horse-shoe form was thrown
up. Intrenchments were also made along the hills fronting the river; and
four redoubts, upon four hills or huge knolls, were erected, two above
and two below Wilbur's Basin. A short line of intrenchments, with a
battery, extended across the flats to the river, and covered their
magazine and hospital in the rear. These composed the principal defenses
of the enemy. In many places these works may still be traced, especially
by mounds and shallow ditches in the woods.

As soon as the works were completed, General Gates moved his quarters
from Bemis's house to the one delineated in the second picture from the
top, among the group of localities on page 46. The house belonged to
Captain Ephraim Woodworth. A barn, which stood about fifteen rods east
of the house, was used for a hospital.

September, 1777 General Lincoln, with two thousand New England troops,
joined the main army on the 29th. Gates at once gave up the right wing
to him, and assumed the command of the left, which was composed of two
brigades under Generals Poor and Learned, Colonel Morgan's rifle corps,
and a part of the fresh New England militia. Morgan occupied the heights
immediately south of the fort; Learned's brigade the plain on the east,
and General Poor's brigade the heights south of Morgan, between him and
Gates's headquarters. ** In fact, the position of the American army was
about the same as at the time of the battle of the 19th. Burgoyne
disposed his troops to the best advantage. The Hessians, under Colonel
Breyman, occupied a height on the extreme right, and formed a flank
defense rather than a wing of the main army. The light infantry, under
Earl Balcarras, with the choicest portion of Fraser's corps, flanked on
the left by the grenadiers and Hamilton's brigade, occupied the vicinity
of Freeman's farm; the remainder of the army, including the artillery
under Phillips and Beidesel, occupied the plain and the high ground
north of Wilbur's Basin; and the Hessians of Hanau, the forty-seventh
regiment, and some loyalists, were situated upon the flats near the
river, for the protection of the bateaux, hospital, and magazine. Thus
in parallel lines to each other, and within cannon-shot, the two armies
lay in menacing attitude from the 20th of September until the 7th of
October. Each exercised the utmost vigilance, expecting the other to
fall upon them in full power, or entangle them by strategy. There were
constant skirmishes between small detachments, sometimes foraging
parties, and at others a few pickets; and not a night passed without the
per-

* Abatis is a French word signifying trees cut down. It is a phrase used
in fortifications; and an abatis which is composed of trees felled, so
as to present their branches to the enemy, is frequently found in woody
country one of the most available and efficient kinds of defense.

** Neilson, p. 15, 35

Effect of the Battle on the People.--Diminution of Burgoyne's Army, and
Increase of Gates's.--Condition of the Enemy

059

formance of some daring exploit, either for the sake of adventure, or to
annoy each other. The Americans were constantly gaining strength, and
their superiority of numbers enabled them to form expeditions to harass
the British, without weakening their lines by fatigue or endangering the
safety of the camp.

The success of the Americans in the late battle, and the rapid increment
of the army, almost annihilated loyalty in the neighborhood, and made
every republican, whether soldier or citizen, bold and adventurous. At
one time about twenty young Americans, farmers residing in the vicinity,
not belonging to the camp, and intent on having a frolic, resolved to
capture an advance picket-guard of the enemy, stationed on the north
bank of the middle ravine. They selected their officers, and each being
armed with a fowling-piece and plenty of powder and shot, they marched
silently through the woods in the evening, until they got within a few
yards of the picket. The captain of the party then gave a tremendous
blast upon an old horse-trumpet whieh he carried, and, with yells and
the noise of a whole regiment, they rushed through the bushes upon the
frightened enemy. No time was given for the sentinel's hail, for,
simultaneously with their furious onset, the captain of the frolickers
cried out lustily, "Ground your arms, or you are all dead men!"
Supposing half the American army was upon them, the astonished pickets
obeyed, and thirty British soldiers were taken by the jolly young
farmers into the republican camp with all the parade of regular
prisoners of war. This was one of many similar instances, and thus the
British camp was kept in a state of constant alarm. *

Burgoyne saw, with deep anxiety, the rapid increase of the American
forces, while his own were daily diminishing by desertion. Nearly one
hundred and fifty Indian warriors, from the tribes of the Oneidas,
Tuscaroras, Onondagas, and Mohawks, accepted the war-belt, partook of
the feast, and joined the republican army within three days after the
battle of the 19th. The Indians with Burgoyne were so dissatisfied with
the results of that battle, and so disappointed in their hopes of blood
and plunder, that they deserted him in large numbers in that hour of his
greatest peril. It was their hunting season, too, and this was another
strong inducement to return to their wives and children, to keep
starvation from their wigwams. The Canadians and loyalists were not much
more faithful. **

Burgoyne used every means in his power to transmit intelligence of his
situation to Howe, and to implore his assistance either by co-operation
or a diversion in his favor. But the American pickets, vigilant and
wary, were planted in all directions; and it was by the merest chance
that the British commander received a letter from Sir Henry Clinton, at
New York, *** written in cipher on the 10th, informing him that he
should make a diversion in his favor by attacking Forts Clinton and
Montgomery, in the Hudson Highlands, on the 20th. This information
raised the hopes of Burgoyne, for he supposed that the attack at those
points would draw off large detachments from Gates for their defense,
and render the belligerent forces at Stillwater nearly equal in numbers.
He immediately dispatched two officers in disguise, and several other
persons in different directions, to Sir Henry Clinton, with a letter,
urging him to make the diversion without fail, and saying that he had
provisions enough to hold out until the 12th of October.

Time rolled on, and Burgoyne heard nothing further from Clinton. His
provisions began to fail, and on the 1st of October he was obliged to
put his troops on short allowance. Not a man or a biscuit was allowed to
reach him from any quarter. The militia were flocking into Gates's camp
from all directions, and perils of every kind were weaving their web
around the proud Briton. At last he was reduced to the alternative to
fight or fly.

* "I do not believe either officer or soldier ever slept during that
interval without his clothes, or that any general officer or commander
of a regiment passed a single night without being upon his legs
occasionally at different hours, and constantly an hour before
daylight."-Burgoyne's "Review of the Evidence," p. 166.

** Marshall's Life of Washington.

* General Howe had left Clinton in command at New York, and was then
engaged against Washington on the Delaware, for the purpose of making a
conquest of Philadelphia.

Hostile Movements of the British.--Preparations of the Americans for
Battle.--Second Battle of Stillwater.

060

The latter was both impracticable and inglorious, and at a council of
officers it was resolved to fight.

On the morning of the 7th of October, Burgoyne, at the head of fifteen
hundred regular troops, with two twelve pounders, two howitzers, and six
six pounders, moved toward the American left, to the northern part of a
low ridge of land about three fourths of a mile northwest from the
American camp, where they formed a line in double ranks. He was seconded
by Phillips, Riedesel, and Fraser. The guard of the camp upon the high
grounds was committed to Brigadiers Hamilton and Specht, and that of the
redoubts and plain near the river to Brigadier-general Gall. This
movement was for a two-fold purpose, to cover a foraging party sent out
to supply the pressing wants of the camp, and, if the prospect was
favorable, to turn the left of the American army, and fall upon its
flank and rear. Small parties of loyalists and Indians were sent around
through by-paths, to hang upon the American rear and keep them in check.

Before this movement was known to General Gates, he had ordered out a
detachment of three hundred men under Colonel Brooks, to gain the rear
of the enemy and fall upon his outposts. While Brooks was at
headquarters, receiving his instructions, a sergeant arrived with
intelligence of the movement of the British army. The order to Colonel
Brooks was revoked, the officers in camp were summoned to their posts,
and an aid was sent out by the commander-in-chief to ascertain the exact
position and probable intentions of the enemy. He proceeded to a rise of
ground covered with woods, half a mile from Fort Neilson (near the house
of Asa Chatfield), where he discovered the British in a wheat field
cutting straw, and several officers on the top of a cabin (Joseph
Hunger's) with a spy-glass, endeavoring to ascertain the condition of
the American left. The aid returned, and had just reached headquarters
with his intelligence, when a party of Canadians, Indians, and
loyalists, who had been sent forward to scour the woods, attacked the
American pickets near the middle ravine. They were soon joined by a
detachment of grenadiers, drove the Americans before them, and pressed
forward until within musket-shot of the republican lines. For half an
hour a hot engagement ensued at the breast-work, a little south of the
fort. Morgan, with his riflemen, supported by a corps of infantry, at
length charged the assailants with such deadly effect, that they
retreated in confusion to the British line, which was forming upon a
newly-cleared field, preparatory to marching into action.

It was now two o'clock, about the same hour at which the two armies
summoned their strength for combat on the 19th of September. The
grenadiers, under Major Ackland, and the artillery, under Major
Williams, were stationed on the left, upon a gentle eminence on the
borders of a wood, and covered in front by Mill Creek or Middle Ravine.
The light infantry, under Earl Balcarras, were placed on the extreme
right, and the center was composed of British and German troops, under
Generals Phillips and Beidesel. Near the cabin of Mr. Munger, and in
advance of the right wing, General Fraser had command of a detachment of
five hundred picked men, destined to fall upon the American flank as
soon as the action in front should commence.

This design was at once perceived, and, at the suggestion of Morgan,
Gates dispatched that sagacious officer, with his rifle corps and other
troops amounting to fifteen hundred men, in a circuitous route to some
high ground on the extreme right of the enemy, thence to fall upon the
flanking party under Fraser at the same moment when an attack should be
made upon the British left. For the latter serviee the brigade of
General Poor, composed of New York and New Hampshire troops, and a part
of Learned's brigade, were detached.

About half past two the conflict began. The troops of Poor and Learned
marched steadily up the gentle slope of the eminence on which the
British grenadiers, and part of the artillery under Ackland and
Williams, were stationed, and, true to their orders not to fire until
after the first discharge of the enemy, pressed on in awful silence
toward the battalions and batteries above them. Suddenly a terrible
discharge of musket-balls and grape-shot made great havoc among the
branches of the trees over their heads, but scarcely a shot took effect
among the men. This was the signal to break the silence of our troops,
and,

Bravery of both Armies.--Quick and bold Movements of Morgan.--
Impetuosity and Bravery of Arnold.--General Fraser

061

with a loud shout, they sprang forward, delivered their fire in rapid
volleys, and opened right and left to avail themselves of the covering
of the trees on the margin of the ridge on which the artillery was
posted.

The contest now became fierce and destructive. The Americans rushed up
to the very mouths of the cannon, and amid the carriages of the heavy
field-pieces they struggled for victory. Valor of the highest order on
both sides marked the conflict, and for a time the scale seemed
equipoised. Five times one of the cannon was taken and retaken, but at
last it remained in possession of the republicans as the British fell
back. Colonel Cilley, who, during the whole contest, had fought at the
head of his troops, leaped upon the captured piece, waved his sword high
in air, dedicated the brazen engine of death to "the American cause,"
wheeled its muzzle toward the enemy, and with their own ammunition
opened its thunder upon them. It was all the work of a moment of
exultation when the enemy fell back from their vantage ground. The
effect was electrical, and seemed to give the republicans stronger
sinews and fiercer courage. The contest was long and obstinate, for the
enemy were brave and skillful. Major Ackland, who was foremost in the
conflict, was at last severely wounded, and Major Williams was taken
prisoner. Suddenly deprived of their superior officers, the grenadiers
and artillery-men fled in confusion, and left the field in possession of
the Americans.

Almost simultaneously with the attack on the British left, Morgan with
his corps rushed down the hills that skirted the flanking party of
Fraser in advance of the enemy's right, and opened upon them such a
destructive storm of well-aimed bullets, that they were driven hastily
back to their lines. Then, with the speed of the wind, Morgan wheeled
and fell upon the British right flank with such appalling force and
impetuosity, that their ranks were at once thrown into confusion. The
mode and power of attack were both unexpected to the enemy, and they
were greatly alarmed. While thus in confusion, Major Dearborn, with some
fresh troops, came up and attacked them in front. Thus assailed, they
broke and fled in terror, but were rallied by Earl Balcarras, and again
led into action. The shock on right and left shook the British center,
which was composed chiefly of Germans and Hessians, yet it stood firm.

General Arnold had watched with eager eye and excited spirit the course
of the battle thus far. Deprived of all command, he had no authority
even to _fight_, much less to _order_. Smarting under the indignity
heaped upon him by his commander; thirsting for that glory which
beckoned him to the field; burning with a patriotic desire to serve his
country, now bleeding at every pore; and stirred by the din of battle
around him, the brave soldier became fairly maddened by his emotions,
and, leaping upon his large brown horse, he started off on a full gallop
for the field of conflict. Gates immediately sent Major Armstrong *
after him to order him back. Arnold saw him approaching, and,
anticipating his errand, spurred his horse and left his pursuer far
behind, while he placed himself at the head of three regiments of
Learned's brigade, who received their former commander with loud huzzas.
He immediately led them against the British center, and, with the
desperation of a madman, rushed into the thickest of the fight, or rode
along the lines in rapid and erratic movements, brandishing his
broadsword above his head, and delivering his orders every where in
person. Armstrong kept up the chase for half an hour, but Arnold's
course was so varied and perilous that he gave it up.

The Hessians received the first assault of Arnold's troops upon the
British center with a brave resistance; but when, upon a second charge,
he dashed furiously among them at the head of his men, they broke and
fled in dismay. And now the battle became general along the whole lines.
Arnold and Morgan were the ruling spirits that controlled the storm on
the part of the Americans, and the gallant General Fraser was the
directing soul of the British troops in action. His skill and courage
were every where conspicuous. When the

* The author of the celebrated "Newburgh letters," written in the spring
of 1783. See pages 672 to 678, inclusive, of this volume.

Death of General Fraser.--Censure of Morgan.--Panic in the British
Line.--Timothy Murphy

062

lines gave way, he brought order out of confusion; when regiments began
to waver, he infused courage into them by voice and example. He was
mounted upon a splendid iron-gray gelding; and, dressed in the full
uniform of a field officer, he was a conspicuous object for the
Americans. It was evident that the fate of the battle rested upon him,
and this the keen eye and sure judgment of Morgan perceived. * In an
instant his purpose was conceived, and, calling a file of his best men
around him, he said, as he pointed toward the British right, "That
gallant officer is General Fraser. I admire and honor him, but it is
necessary he should die; victory for the enemy depends upon him. Take
your stations in that clump of bushes, and do your duty." Within five
minutes Fraser fell mortally wounded, and was carried to the camp by two
grenadiers. Just previous to being hit by the fatal bullet, the crupper
of his horse was cut by a rifle-ball, and immediately afterward another
passed through the horse's mane, a little back of his ears. The aid of
Fraser noticed this, and said, "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 the
next moment he fell. **

Morgan has been censured for this order, by those who profess to
understand the rules of war, as guilty of a highly dishonorable act; and
others, who gloat over the horrid details of the slaying of thousands of
humble rank-and-file men as deeds worthy of a shout for glory, and drop
no tear for the slaughtered ones, affect to shudder at such a cold-
blooded murder of an officer upon the battle-field. War is a monstrous
wrong and cruel injustice at all times; but if it is right to kill at
all upon the field of battle, I can perceive no greater wrong in slaying
a _general_ than a _private_. True, he wears the badge of distinction,
and the trumpet of Renown speaks his name to the world, but his life is
no dearer to himself, and wife, and children, and friends, than that of
the humblest private who obeys his commands. If Daniel Morgan was guilty
of no sin, no dishonor, in ordering his men to fall upon and slay those
under the command of Fraser, he was also guiltless of sin and dishonor
in ordering the sacrifice of their chief. Indeed, it is probable that
the sacrifice of _his_ life saved that of hundreds, for the slaughter
was stayed.

As soon as Fraser fell, a panic spread along the British line. It was
increased by the appearance, at that moment, of three thousand New York
troops, under General Tenbroeck. Burgoyne, who now took command in
person, could not keep up the sinking courage of his men. The whole line
gave way, and fled precipitately within the intrenchments of the

* Samuel Woodruff, Esq., of Connecticut, a volunteer in the army at the
time, visited Bemis's Heights some years since, and wrote an interesting
account of some of the transactions of the day. He says the importance
of the death of Fraser was suggested to Morgan by Arnold.

** The name of the rifleman who killed General Fraser was Timothy
Murphy. He took sure aim from a small tree in which he was posted, and
saw Fraser fall on the discharge of his rifle. Fraser told his friends
before he died that he saw the man who shot him, and that he was in a
tree. Murphy afterward accompanied General Sullivan in his expedition
against the Indians in Central and Western New York, where he had a
narrow escape from death. In the fall of 1778 he was stationed in
Schoharie county, where he became enamored of a young girl of sixteen,
named Margaret Feeck. He was twelve years her senior, yet his love was
reciprocated. Her parents "denied the bans," and attempted to break off
the engagement by a forcible confinement. But "love laughs at
locksmiths," and, under pretense of going after a cow some distance from
home to milk her, she stole away one evening barefooted, to meet her
lover, according to an appointment through a trusty young friend, upon
the bank of the Schoharie Creek. He was not there, and she forded the
stream, determined to go to the fort where Murphy was stationed. She
found him, however, upon the opposite side of the stream, and, mounting
his horse behind him, they entered the fort amid the cheering of the
inmates. The young females there fitted her up with comfortable attire,
and the next day they set out for Schenectady. There the soldier
purchased for his intended bride silk for a gown, and several dress-
makers soon completed it. They repaired to the house of Rev. Mr.
Johnson, where they were married, and then returned to Schoharie. The
parents became reconciled, and they lived happily together many years.
Murphy was an uneducated man, but was possessed of a strong intellect,
and had a good deal of influence over a certain class. He was an early
friend of the Hon. William C. Rouck, late governor of New York, and was
among the most active in bringing him forward in public life. He lost
his Margaret in 1807, and in 1812 married Mary Robertson. He died of a
cancer in his throat in 1818-See Simm's "History of Schoharie County."

Bravery of General Arnold.--Assault on the German Works.--Arnold
Wounded.--Gates and Sir Francis Clarke

063

camp. The tumultuous retreat was covered by Phillips and Reidesel. The
Americans pursued them up to their very intrenchments in the face of a
furious storm of grape-shot and musket-balls, and assaulted their works
vigorously without the aid of field pieces or other artillery.

The conflict was now terrible indeed, and in the midst of the flame, and
smoke, and metal hail, Arnold was conspicuous. His voice, clear as a
trumpet, animated the soldiers, and, as if ubiquitous, he seemed to be
every where amid the perils at the same moment. With a part of the
brigades of Patterson and Glover, he assaulted the works occupied by the
light infantry under Earl Balcarras, and at the point of the bayonet
drove the enemy from a strong _abatis_, through which he attempted to
force his way into the camp. He was obliged to abandon the effort, and,
dashing forward toward the right flank of the enemy, exposed to the
cross-fire of the contending armies, he met Learned's brigade advancing
to make an assault upon the British works at an opening in the _abatis_,
between Balcarras's light infantry and the German right flank defense
under Colonel Breyman. Canadians and loyalists defended this part of the
line, and were flanked by a stockade redoubt on each side.

Arnold placed himself at the head of the brigade, and moved rapidly on
to the attack He directed Colonel Brooks to assault the redoubt, while
the remainder of the brigade fell upon the front. The contest was
furious, and the enemy at length gave way, leaving Breyman and his
Germans completely exposed. At this moment Arnold galloped to the left,
and ordered the regiments of Wesson and Livingston, and Morgan's corps
of riflemen, to advance and make a general assault. At the head of
Brooks's regiment, he attacked the German works. Having found the sally-
port, he rushed within the enemy's intrenchments. The Germans, who had
seen him upon his steed in the thickest of the fight for more than two
hours, terrified at his approach, fled in dismay, delivering a volley in
their retreat, which killed Arnold's horse under him, and wounded the
general himself very severely, in the same leg which had been badly
lacerated by a musket-ball at the storming of Quebec, two years before.
Here, wounded and disabled, at the head of conquering troops led on by
his valor to the threshold of victory, Arnold was overtaken by Major
Armstrong, who delivered to him Gates's order to return to camp, fearing
he'"might do some rash thing!" He indeed did a rash thing in the eye of
military discipline. He led troops to victory without an order from his
commander. His conduct was rash indeed, compared with the stately method
of General Gates, who directed by orders from his camp what his presence
should have sanctioned. While Arnold was wielding the fierce sickle of
war without, and reaping golden sheaves for Gates's garner, the latter
(according to Wilkinson) was within his camp, more intent upon
discussing the merits of the Revolution with Sir Francis Clarke,
Burgoyne's aid-de-camp, who had been wounded and taken prisoner, and was
lying upon the commander's bed at his quarters, than upon winning a
battle, all-important to the ultimate triumph of those principles for
which he professed so warm an attachment. When one of Gates's aids came
up from the field of battle for orders, he found the general very angry
because Sir Francis would not allow the force of his arguments. He left
the room, and, calling his aid after him, asked, as they went out, "Did
you ever hear so impudent a son of a b-h?" Poor Sir Francis died that
night upon Gates's bed.

"It is a curious fact," says Sparks, "that an officer who really had not
command in the army was the leader of one of the most spirited and
important battles of the Revolution. His madness, or rashness, or
whatever it may be called, resulted most fortunately for himself. The
wound he received at the moment of rushing into the arms of danger and
of death added fresh luster to his military glory, and was a new claim
to public favor and applause. In the heat of the action, he struck an
officer on the head with his sword, an indignity and offense which might
justly have been retaliated upon the spot in the most fatal manner. The
officer forbore; and the next day, when he demanded redress, Arnold
declared his entire ignorance of the act, and expressed his regret." *

* Life of Arnold, p. 118.

Retreat of the Germans, and Close of the Battle.--Preparations of
Burgoyne to Retreat.--The Killed and Wounded

064

It was twilight when Arnold was wounded and conveyed by Major Armstrong
and a sergeant (Samuel Woodruff) from the field. The Germans who fled at
his approach, finding the assault general, threw down their arms and
retreated to the interior of the camp, leaving their commander, Colonel
Breyman, mortally wounded. The camp of Burgoyne was thus left exposed at
a strong point. He endeavored to rally the panic-stricken Germans in the
midst of the increasing darkness, but they could not be again brought
into action.1 In truth, both armies were thoroughly fatigued, and the
Americans were as loth to follow up the advantage thus presented as were
the British to repair their discomfiture. As night drew its curtain over
the scene, the conflict ended, the clangor of battle was hushed, and all
was silent except the groans of the wounded, an occasional word of
command, and the heavy tread of retiring columns, seeking for a place of
repose.

About midnight, General Lincoln, with his division, which had remained
in camp during the action, marched out to relieve those upon the field,
and to maintain the ground acquired. Perceiving this, and knowing the
advantage the Americans would possess with fresh troops and such an easy
access to his camp, Burgoyne felt the necessity of guarding against the
peril at once by changing his position. Before dawn he removed the whole
of his army, camp, and artillery about a mile north of his first
position, above Wilbur's Basin, whence he contemplated a speedy retreat
toward Fort Edward.

October, 1777 Early on the morning of the 8th the Americans took
possession of the evacuated

British camp, and skirmishes took place between detachments from the two
armies during the day, in one of which General Lincoln was badly wounded
in the leg. As the news that the British had retreated spread over the
surrounding country, a great number of men, women, and children came
flocking into camp to join in the general joy, or to perform the more
sorrowful duty of seeking for relatives or friends among the wounded and
slain.

The loss of the Americans in killed and wounded did not exceed one
hundred and fifty Arnold was the only commissioned officer who received
a wound. The British army suffered severely, and their loss in killed,
wounded, and prisoners was about seven hundred. Among the officers
killed were the gallant Fraser, Sir Francis Clarke (Burgoyne's aid-
decamp,) Colonel Breyman, and Lieutenant Reynell. The latter two died on
the field; Sir Francis Clarke was taken prisoner and carried to Gates's
quarters, where he died that night. Major Ackland, who was severely
wounded, was also taken prisoner, and, with Major Williams, was carried
into the American camp; and Fraser, who was conveyed to the house of
John Taylor, near Wilbur's Basin, expired the next morning at about
eight o'clock Burgoyne had several narrow escapes. One ball passed
through his hat and another his coat.

The house in which General Fraser died stood until 1846, upon the right
bank of the Hudson, about three miles above Bemis's Heights, near
Ensign's store, and exhibited the marks of the conflict there numerous
bullet-holes. It was used by BurgoyneOctober 8.

* Evidence of Captain Money before a committee of Parliament in the case
of Burgoyne.

** "The British and Hessian troops killed on the battle-field. It was
not uncommon, after the land was cleaned and cultivated, to see many,
sometimes twenty, human skulls piled upon stumps in the fields. I have
myself, when a boy, seen human bones thickly strewn about the ground,
which had been turned up by the plow."--C. Neilson. Burgoyne's Campaign,
p. 182. I saw, in the possession of Mr. Neilson, many relics plowed up
from the battle-field, such as cannon-balls, in the foregoing actions
were slightly covered with earth and brush grape-shot, tomahawks, arrow-
heads, buttons, knives, &c., and among them were some teeth, evidently
front ones, but double. It is supposed that they belonged to the
Hessians, for it is said that many of them had double teeth all around,
in both jaws. The annexed are drawings of two tomahawks in my
possession. No. 1 is made of iron, No 2 of stone. It is graywacke, and
is creased for the purpose of securing the handle by a string or by
green withes

Place of General Fraser's Death.--Account of his Death by the Baroness
Reidesel.--Fraser's last Request granted.

065

for quarters when he first pitched his camp there, and it was a shelter
to several ladies attached to the British army, among whom were the
Baroness Riedesel and Lady Harriet Ackland. General Fraser was laid upon
a camp-bed near the first window on the right of the door, where he
expired. I can not narrate this event and its attendant circumstances
better than by quoting the simple language of the Baroness Riedesel.

"But," she says, "severer trials awaited us, and on the 7th of October
our misfortunes began. I was at breakfast with my husband, and heard
that something was intended. On the same day I expected Generals
Burgoyne, Phillips, and Fraser to dine with us. I saw a great movement
among the troops; my husband told me it was merely a reconnoissance,
which gave me no concern, as it often happened. I walked out of the
house, and met several Indians in their war dresses, with guns in their
hands. When I asked them where they were going, they cried out, 'War!
war!' meaning that they were going to battle. This filled me with
apprehension, and I had scarcely got home before I heard reports of
cannon and musketry, which grew louder by degrees, till at last the
noise became excessive.

"About four o'clock in the afternoon, instead of the guests whom I
expected, General Fraser was brought on a litter, mortally wounded. The
table, which was already set, was instantly removed, and a bed placed in
its stead for the wounded general. I sat trembling in a corner; the
noise grew louder, and the alarm increased; the thought that my husband
might, perhaps, be brought in, wounded in the same manner, was terrible
to me, and distressed me exceedingly. General Fraser said to the
surgeon, '_Tell me if my wound is mortal; do not flatter me_.' The ball
had passed through his body, and, unhappily for the general, he had
eaten a very hearty breakfast, by which the stomach was distended, and
the ball, as the surgeon said, had passed through it. I heard him often
exclaim, with a sigh, '_O fatal ambition!_ Poor General Burgoyne! Oh! my
poor wife!' He was asked if he had any request to make, to which he
replied that, _if General Burgoyne would permit it, he should like to be
buried at six o'clock in the evening, on the top of a mountain, in a
redoubt which had been built there_. I did not know which way to turn;
all the other rooms were full of sick. Toward evening I saw my husband
coming; then I forgot all my sorrows, and thanked God that he was spared
to me. He ate in great haste, with me and his aid-de-camp, behind the
house. We had been told that we had the advantage over the enemy, but
the sorrowful faces I beheld told a different tale; and before my
husband went away, he took me aside, and said every thing was going very
badly, and that I must keep myself in readiness to leave the place, but
not to mention it to any one I made the pretense that I would move the
next morning into my new house, and had every thing packed up ready.

"I could not go to sleep, as I had General Fraser and all the other
wounded gentlemen in my room, and I was sadly afraid my children would
wake, and, by their crying, disturb the dying man in his last moments,
who often addressed me and apologized '_for the trouble he gave me_.'
About three o'clock in the morning I was told that he could not hold out
much longer; I had desired to be informed of the near approach of this
sad crisis, and I then wrapped up my children in their clothes, and went
with them into the room below About eight o'clock in the morning _he
died_.

"After he was laid out, and his corpse wrapped up in a sheet, we came
again into the room, and had this sorrowful sight before us the whole
day; and, to add to the melancholy scene, almost every moment some
officer of my acquaintance was brought in wounded. The cannonade
commenced again; a retreat was spoken of, but not the smallest motion
was made toward it. About four o'clock in the afternoon I saw the house
which had just been built for me in flames, and the enemy was now not
far off. We knew that General Burgoyne would not refuse the last request
of General Fraser, though, by his acceding to it, an unnecessary delay
was occasioned, by which the inconvenience of the army was much
increased. At six o'clock the corpse was brought out, and we saw all the
generals attend it to the mountain. The chaplain, Mr. Brudenell,
performed the funeral service, rendered

Burial of Fraser.--Humanity of the Americans.--Lady Harriet Ackland.

066

unusually solemn and awful from its being accompanied by constant peals
from the enemy's artillery. Many cannon-balls flew close by me, but I
had my eyes directed toward the mountain * where my husband was standing
amid the fire of the enemy, and of course I could not think of my own
danger."

It was just at sunset, on that calm October evening, that the corpse of
General Fraser was carried up the hill to the place of burial within the
"great redoubt." It was attended only by the members of his military
family and Mr. Brudenell, the chaplain; yet the eyes of hundreds of both
armies followed the solemn procession, while the Americans, ignorant of
its true character, kept up a constant cannonade upon the redoubt. The
chaplain, unawed by the danger to which he was exposed, as the
cannonballs that struck the hill threw the loose soil over him,
pronounced the impressive funeral service of the Church of England with
an unfaltering voice. *** The growing darkness added solemnity to the
scene.

Suddenly the irregular firing ceased, and the solemn voice of a single
cannon, at measured intervals, boomed along the valley, and awakened the
responses of the hills. It was a minute-gun fired by the Americans in
honor of the gallant dead. The moment information was given that the
gathering at the redoubt was a funeral company, fulfilling, amid
imminent perils, the last-breathed wishes of the noble Fraser, orders
were issued to withhold the cannonade with balls, and to render military
homage to the fallen brave.

How such incidents smooth the rough features of war! In contrast with
fiercer ages gone by, when human sympathy never formed a holy communion
between enemies on the battlefield, they seem to reflect the radiance of
the future, and exhibit a glimpse of the time to which a hopeful faith
directs our vision, when "nation shall not war against nation," when
"one law shall bind all people, kindreds, and tongues, and that law
shall be the law of UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD."

The case of Major Ackland and his heroic wife presents kindred features.
He belonged to the corps of grenadiers, and was an accomplished soldier.
His wife accompanied him to Canada in 1776, and during the whole
campaign of that year, and until his return to England after the
surrender of Burgoyne, in the autumn of 1777, endured all the hardships,
dangers, and privations of an active campaign in an enemy's country. At
Chambly, on the Sorel, she attended him in illness, in a miserable hut;
and when he was wounded in the battle of Hubbardton, Vermont, she
hastened to him at Skenesborough from Montreal, where she had been
persuaded to remain, and resolved to follow the army thereafter. Just
before crossing the Hudson, she and her husband came near losing their
lives in consequence of their tent taking fire from a candle overturned
by a pet dog. During the terrible engagement of the 7th of October she
heard all the tumult and dreadful thunder of the battle in which her
husband was engaged; and when, on the morning of the 8th, the British
fell

* The height occupied by Burgoyne on the 18th, which ran parallel with
the river till it approached General Gates's camp.

** The hill on which the "great redoubt" was erected, and where General
Fraser was buried, is about one hundred feet high, and almost directly
west from the house wherein he died. The relative situation of this
eminence to the Hudson will be best understood by looking at the view of
Burgoyne's encampment, page 57. The center hill in that drawing is the
one here represented. The grave is within the inclosure on the summit of
the hill.

*** Burgoyne's "State of the Expedition," p. 169. Lieutenant Kingston's
Evidence, p. 107.

Courage and Fortitude of Lady Harriet Ackland.--Burgoyne's Request and
Gates's Generosity.

067

Lady Harriet Ackland with the other women, was obliged to take refuge
among the dead and dying, for the tents were all struck, and hardly a
shed was left standing. Her husband was wounded, and a prisoner in the
American camp. That gallant officer was shot through both legs when Poor
and Learned's troops assaulted the grenadiers and artillery on the
British left, on the afternoon of the 7th. Wilkinson, Gates's adjutant
general, while pursuing the flying enemy when they abandoned their
battery, heard a feeble voice exclaim, "Protect me, sir, against that
boy." He turned and saw a lad with a musket, taking deliberate aim at a
wounded British officer, lying in a corner of a worm fence. Wilkinson
ordered the boy to desist, and discovered the wounded man to be Major
Ackland. He had him conveyed to the quarters of General Poor (now the
residence of Mr. Neilson), on the heights, where every attention was
paid to his wants.

When the intelligence that he was wounded and a prisoner reached his
wife, she was greatly distressed, and, by the advice of her friend, the
Baroness Riedesel, resolved to visit the American camp, and implore the
favor of a personal attendance upon her husband. On the 9th she sent a
message to Burgoyne by Lord Petersham, his aid, asking October, 1777
permission to depart. "Though I was ready to believe," says Burgoyne,
"that patience and fortitude, in a supreme degree, were to be found, as
well as every other virtue, under the most tender forms, I was
astonished at this proposal. After so long an agitation of spirits,
exhausted not only for want of rest, but absolutely want of food,
drenched in rains for twelve hours together, that a woman should be
capable of such an undertaking as delivering herself to an enemy,
probably in the night, and uncertain of what hands she might fall into,
appeared an effort above human nature. The assistance I was enabled to
give was small indeed; I had not even a cup of wine to offer her; but I
was told she had found, from some kind and fortunate hand, a little rum
and dirty water. All I could furnish to her was an open boat and a few
lines, written upon dirty wet paper, to General Gates, recommending her
to his protection." *

She set out in an open boat upon the Hudson, accompanied by Mr.
Brudenell the chaplain, Sarah Pollard her waiting-maid, and her
husband's valet, who had been severely wounded while searching for his
master upon the battle-field. It was about sunset when they started, and
a violent storm of rain and wind, which had been increasing since
morning, rendered the voyage tedious and perilous in the extreme. It was
long after dark when they reached the American outposts. The sentinel
heard their oars and hailed them. Lady Harriet returned the answer
herself. The clear, silvery tones of a woman's voice amid the darkness
filled the soldier on duty with superstitious fear, and he called a
comrade to accompany him to the river bank. The errand of the voyagers
was made known, but the faithful guard, apprehensive of treachery, would
not allow them to land until they sent for Major Dearborn. This delay
was only for a few minutes, not "seven or eight dark and cold hours," as
asserted by Burgoyne. They were invited by that officer to his quarters,
where a cup of tea and other comforts were provided; and Lady Harriet
was also comforted by the joyful tidings that her husband was safe. In
the morning she experienced parental tenderness from General Gates, who
sent her to her husband at Poor's quarters, under a suitable escort.
There she remained until he was removed to Albany. **

* The following is a copy of the note from Burgoyne to General Gates:
"Sir-Lady Harriet Ackland, a lady of the first distinction of family,
rank, and personal virtues, is under such concern on account of Major
Ackland, her husband, wounded and a prisoner in your hands, that I can
not refuse her request to commit her to your protection. Whatever
general impropriety there may be in persons in my situation and yours to
solicit favors, I can not see the uncommon perseverance in every female
grace and exaltation of character of this lady, and her very hard
fortune, without testifying that your attentions to her will lay me
under obligations. "I am, sir, your obedient servant,

"J. Burgoyne." ***

** Major Ackland reciprocated the generous treatment here extended, by
doing all in his power, while on parole in New York, to alleviate the
condition of distinguished American prisoners there. After his return to
England, he warmly defended American courage, at a dinner party, against
the aspersions of a Lieutenant Lloyd. High words passed, and a duel
ensued. The major was shot dead; Lady Harriet became a maniac, and
remained so two years. After her recovery, she married Mr Brudenell, the
chaplain already mentioned.

*** The original is among Gates's papers (voL x.), in the possession of
the New York Historical Society, from which this was copied.

Lines by Mrs. Morton.--Death of Major Ackland.--Second Marriage of Lady
Harriet.

068

When we consider the delicate form, the gentleness and refinement in
which she had been nurtured in the lap of rank and fortune, the shining
virtues of connubial constancy, heroic devotion, and unbending fortitude
stand out in bold relief in the character of Lady Harriet Ackland; and
these, in their practical development in her case, furnish romance with
a stranger page than imagination can command, and lend to poetry half
its inspiration. They gave impulse to the lyre of the accomplished lady
of Perez Morton, Esq.; and I will close this chapter with an extract
from her poem, suggested by the events above noticed.

"To gallant Gates, in war serenely brave,

The tide of fortune turns its refluent wave;

Forced by his arms, the bold invaders yield

The prize and glory of the well-fought field:

Bleeding and lost, the captured Ackland lies,

While leaden slumber seals his Fraser's eyes;

Fraser! whose deeds unfading glories claim,

Endeared by virtues and adorned by fame.

.....

'Twas now the time, when twilight's misty ray

Drops the brown curtain of retiring day,

The clouds of heaven, like midnight mountains, lower,

Waft the wild blast and dash the drizzly shower,

Through the wet path her restless footsteps roam,

To where the leader spread his spacious dome.

Low-at his feet she pours the desperate prayer-

Give my lost husband to my soothing care,

Give me in yonder solitary cave,

With duteous love, his burning wounds to lave;

On the warm pillow which his breast supplies,

Catch his faint breath and close his languid eyes,

Or in his cause my proffered life resign-

Mine were his blessings, and his pains were mine."

Present Peacefulness at Saratoga.--Curious Meteorological Phenomena.--
Departure for Schuylerville.

069

CHAPTER III.

URGOYNE and his army are at Wilbur's Basin, prepared to retreat toward
Lake Champlain, but lingering to pay a last sad tribute of affectionate
regard to the remains of the accomplished Fraser. Night has drawn its
veil over the scene, and we will turn away for a moment from the
sorrowful contemplation of war and its horrid retinue, to glance at a
picture lovely to the eye, ennobling to the spirit, and fruitful of
pleasant impressions upon the heart and memory.

Like a "dissolving view," the smoking ruins, the sodden field, the
trailing banner, the tent and breast-work and abatis, and slaughtered
hundreds, and wailing families, painted in gore by the hand of human
discord; and the roar of cannon, the rattle of musketry, the roll of
drums, the hiss and detonation of bombs, the savage yell, the loud
huzza, the shriek and groan, the prayer and curse made audible by the
boastful voice of physical strength, have all passed away with the
darkness, and a bright summer's sunlight is upon the landscape. Turning
the eye northward from the American camp, there are the same gentle
slopes, and deep ravines, and clustering hills, and flowing river; and
the heights of Saratoga in the far distance loom up as of yore. But
herds are grazing upon the lowlands, and flocks are dotting the hills;
the ring of the mower's scythe is heard in the meadow, and the merry
laugh goes up from the russet harvest-field. Art, with its strong arm of
industry, has dug another river along the plain for the use of commerce;
the forest has been reaped by agriculture, habitations of prosperity are
on every hand, and the white wing of peace is spread out over all. It is
a pleasant sight; therefore let us enjoy it, and, for a while, forget
the dark picture of the past which we have been contemplating.July 27,
1848

It was excessively warm, although a strong breeze from the south
constantly prevailed. As early as ten o'clock dark clouds began to rise
in the west, and the rumbling of distant thunder was audible. All day
long, shower after shower arose threateningly, sometimes approaching so
near that sharp claps of thunder would startle us; but they all swept
along the horizon west and north, and disappeared behind the eastern
hills. Not a drop of rain fell at Bemis's. I remarked the phenomenon,
and was told that showers never reached there from the west. Their
birth-place seems to be Saratoga Lake, about six miles westward from the
Hudson, and the summer rain-clouds which rise there generally pass up
the lake to its outlet, the Fish Creek, and, traversing that stream
until it falls into the Hudson, cross the valley and pass on to the
Green Mountains, or spend their treasures upon the intervening country.

About half past three in the afternoon a canal packet arrived from the
south, and we embarked for Schuylerville, nine miles above Bemis's. As
usual, the boat was crowded to excess, and, the sun being veiled by the
clouds in the west, the passengers covered the deck. As we passed
quietly along the base of the hills whereon was Gates's camp, crossed
Mill Creek or Middle Ravine, and approached Wilbur's Basin, it required
but small exercise of the imagination, while listening to the constant
roll of thunder beyond the heights, to realize the appalling sounds of
that strife of armies which shook those hills seventy years before, as
it fell upon the eager ears of wives, and sisters, and children whose
cherished ones were in the midst of the storm.

Proceeding northward, we approached the track of the showers, and, just
before we

Approach of a Tempest.--A violent Gale.--Misfortunes of an Irish Way-
passenger

070

reached Wilbur's Basin, a cloud, black as Erebus, and so low that it
seemed to rest upon the hill-tops, spread out above us like the wings of
a monster bird; and in its wake huge masses of vapor, wheeling like the
eddies of a whirlpool, came hastening on. The experienced boatmen
understood these portents, and covering the baggage with strong canvas,
lashed it tightly to the vessel. The breeze was still, and a hot,
suffocating calm ensued. The passengers, warned by the helmsman,
retreated into the cabin, and the windows were closed. The cattle in the
fields huddled in groups, and every bird and fowl, conscious of
impending danger, sought shelter. A flash of lightning, followed
instantly by a crashing thunder-peal, broke over the valley, and seemed
to sever the fetters of the wind. A sullen roar was heard in the
distance, like the rush of great waters; the trees of the forest began
to rock, and from the roads behind us clouds of dust arose and filled
the air. In a few moments a tornado was upon us in its strength. It
lasted only two minutes, but in its track the results of the labor of
the farmer for many days were destroyed. Hay-cocks and wheat sheaves
were scattered like thistle-down, and the standing grain was laid upon
the earth as by the tread of a giant footstep. As the wind passed by,
the rain came down gently, and continued to fall until we reached
Schuylerville.

There came on the boat at Bemis's "a poor exile from Erin," with a
patched coat and pair of thin pantaloons hanging over one arm. He was
immediately introduced to the captain by the attentive steward, when he
pleaded poverty, and declared that he hadn't a "cint in the world." He
was ordered ashore, and the boat was guided accommodatingly near the
bank. The poor fellow urged fatigue, and the weight of his brogans
testified to the truth of the appeal, if he had walked a mile. It was
cruel to doubt the honesty of that hard-favored face, and fifty cents
were soon collected for him as a peace-offering to the captain. When the
gust came on, he refused to go into the cabin. He had been in a three
days' gale upon the Atlantic, and was not to be frightened by a squall
on land. The first blast of the hurricane wheeled him several times
around upon deck, and came very near putting him ashore, willing or not
willing. While he was endeavoring to seize a support, the wind grasped
his extra pantaloons, and, in utter dismay, he saw them gyrating, like a
spread eagle, high in air, and becoming "small by degrees and
beautifully less" in the distance. The loss distressed him greatly--far
more than the helmsman thought necessary, and he ordered him to be
quiet. "Indade," said the poor fellow, "do ye think a man can be quiet
when the wind is rolling him like a bag o' feathers tied fast at one
end, and all he has in the world snatched from him by the blackguard
gale?" and he looked agonizingly toward the point where his pantaloons
had vanished.

"Precious small estate," answered the amused helmsman, "if a pair of old
pantaloons is all you have in the world. I'll give you a better pair
than that if you'll stop your noise."

"An' wid three Vickeys sowed up in the waistbands?" eagerly inquired the
exile.

His cautiousness was here at fault. He hadn't a "_cint_ in the world,"
but he had three sovereigns sewed up in the waistbands of the pantaloons
which had gone a-ballooning. As soon as the gale passed by, a child of
the Green Isle was a foot-passenger upon the tow-path, bearing sorrowful
testimony to the truth of the ethical maxim, that retributive justice is
always swift to punish offenders against truth and honesty. No doubt his
thoughts were all with his absconded sub-treasurer, and the prose of
Holmes's poem evidently engrossed his mind:

"I saw them straddling through the air,

Alas! too late to win them;

I saw them chase the clouds as if

The devil had been in them.

They were my darlings and my pride,

_They carried all my riches_:

'Farewell, farewell!' I faintly cried,

'My breeches! O my breeches!'"

It was about four o clock when we passed the burial-place of General
Fraser. It had been my intention to stop there for an hour, and visit
the last earth-home of the illustrious

Fraser's Grave--Do-ve-gat or Coveville.--Colonel Van Vechten.-- Origin
of "Whig" and "Tory".--Arrival at Schuylerville.

701

dead. But the rain fell fast, and the day was so far consumed that I was
obliged to forego the melancholy pleasure. The canal is so near the base
of the hill, that I easily made the sketch of it (printed on page 67)
from the cabin-window. Many years ago a distant relative of the general
proposed to remove his remains to Scotland, and lay them beside those of
his mother; but they are still undisturbed where his sorrowing comrades
laid them.

We reached the little settlement of Coveville at half past four, the
rain still falling gently. This was formerly Do-ve-gat, or Van Vechten's
Cove, as it was sometimes called, the place where the British tarried
from the 15th till the 17th of September, while a working party repaired
the roads and bridges in advance to Wilbur's Basin. Here was the
residence of Colonel Van Vechten, of the Saratoga militia, one of
General Gates's staff. He was a zealous Whig, and the active Tories,
whose plans his vigilance often frustrated, were greatly imbittered
against him politically, while they honored him as a brave man and good
neighbor. * Burgoyne, on his retreat to Saratoga after the battle of the
7th of October, ordered the dwellings of several Whigs to be destroyed;
and at Do-ve-gat the buildings of Colonel Van Vechten were the first to
which the torch of the invader was laid. His family fled to Albany on
the approach of Burgoyne from Fort Edward; and when they returned, late
in October, their fine estate was a perfect wreck, and they had no
shelter for their heads.

Colonel Van Vechten was at Albany, on public business, at the time of
the first battle on Bemis's Heights. He had received an order from the
Committee of Safety at that city, when Burgoyne marched from Fort
Edward, to remove every Tory or disaffected person from his vicinage
into Connecticut. This order touched his excellent heart with grief, for
many of those included in the proscription were his neighbors, and some
were his personal friends, who honestly differed from him in relation to
the momentous political questions at issue. Within six hours after
receiving the order he was in Albany, and procured its recall. The
humanity, policy, and sound wisdom of that step were soon illustrated by
the firm support which some of these disaffected ones gave to the
American cause.

We landed at Schuylerville in the midst of "sun and shower," for the sky
was clear in the west, yet the rain-drops came glittering down
profusely. The Fish Creek, which here has a succession of falls and
rapids for nearly a mile, affording fine water-power for several mills,
was brimful with the showers of the day, and poured its flood, roaring
and foaming, under the canal viaduct with such force as to shake the
solid masonry. It empties its waters into the Hudson about one hundred
rods east of the canal, at the southeast angle of Old Fort Hardy, now
among the buried things of the past. Upon the plain north of the creek,
near the old fort, the forces of Burgoyne laid down their arms; and on
every side of that pleasant village scenes of historic interest lie
scattered. The earth was too wet to invite a sunset ramble, and we
contented ourselves with viewing the beauty of the scene that spread out
before us eastward while loitering upon the upper piazza of the
Schuylerville House.

* I have already had occasion to use the terms Whig and Tory, and shall
do so often in the course of this work. They were copied by us from the
political vocabulary of Great Britain, and were first used here, to
distinguish the opposing parties in the Revolution, about 1770. The term
originated during the reign of Charles II., or about that time. Bishop
Burnet, in his History of his own Times, gives the following
explanation: "The southwest counties of Scotland have seldom corn enough
to serve them round the year: and the northern parts producing more than
they need, those in the west come in the summer to buy at Leith the
stores that come from the north; and, from a word, whiggmi, used in
driving their horses, all that drove were called whiggamores, and
shorter, whiggs. Now in that year, after the news came down of Duke
Hamilton's defeat, the ministers animated their people to rise and march
to Edinburgh, and then came up marching at the head of their parishes,
with unheard-of fury, praying and preaching all the way as they came.
The Marquis of Argyle and his party came and headed them, they being
about six thousand. This was called the Whiggamore's inroad, and ever
after that all that opposed the courts came, in contempt, to be called
Whigg; and from Scotland the word was brought into England, where it is
now one of our unhappy terms of distinction." Subsequently all whose
party bias was democratic were called Whigs. The origin of the word Tory
is not so well attested. The Irish malcontents, half robbers and half
insurgents, who harassed the English in Ireland at the time of the
massacre in 1640, were the first to whom this epithet was applied. It
was also applied to the court party as a term of reproach.-See, also,
Macaulay's History of England, i., 240.

Beautiful Evening Scene.--Commencement of Burgoyne's Retreat toward
Saratoga.--His Retreat anticipated by Gates.

072

It was, indeed, a charming scene, enhanced by the associations of the
vicinity. The face of nature was washed clean by the drenching showers;
the trees and shrubs were brilliant green; and from the clustering
knolls or loftier hills beyond the Hudson, once bristling with bayonets
or wreathed by the smoke of cannon, the evening sunlight was reflected
back by the myriad rain-drops lying upon trees, and grass, and blooming
corn. Nor was this all. Upon the dark background of the hills was Iris,

"That beautiful one,

Whose arch is refraction, whose keystone the sun;

In the hues of its grandeur sublimely it stood

O'er the river, the village, the field, and the wood."

Charles Swain.

Springing from the plain, its double arch spanned the whole ground where
British pride was humbled and American valor acknowledged. I never gazed
upon the "bow of promise" with so much interest, for thought
unconsciously bridged over the chasm of seventy buried years, and it
seemed for a moment as if the dark hours of our rebellious conflict had
returned, and that in the covenant seal before me the eye of hope read
prophetically the history of the happy present. As the sun went down and
the bow faded, the Spirit of Beauty left traces of its pencil on my
thoughts, and I felt, with "Amelia," that

"There are moments, bright moments, when the spirit receives

Whole volumes of thought on its unwritten leaves,

When the folds of the heart in a moment unclose,

Like the innermost leaves from the heart of the rose;

And thus, when the rainbow had passed from the sky,

The thoughts it awoke were too deep to pass by;

It left my full soul like the wings of a dove,

All flutt'ring with pleasure, and flutt'ring with love."

In the evening I visited the son of Colonel Van Vechten just named, a
man of three score and ten years. His memory is unclouded, and extends
back to the closing scenes of the Revolution. His father stored that
memory with the verbal history of his times, and every noteworthy
locality of Saratoga is as familiar to him as the flower-beds of his
beautiful garden. He kindly offered to be my guide in the morning to all
the places here made memorable by the events connected with the
surrender of Burgoyne.

While awaiting the dawn, let us turn to the past, and view occurrences
from the burial of Fraser to the closing scenes of the drama.

October, 1777 As soon as the funeral ceremonies at Fraser's burial were
ended on the evening of the 8th, Burgoyne, fearing that the Americans
(whose forces constantly increased, and whose activity denoted
preparations for some bold movement) might succeed in turning his right
and surrounding him, commenced a night march toward Saratoga. A retreat
was anticipated by General Gates, and, previous to the action on the
7th, he sent General Fellows with a detachment of fourteen hundred men
to occupy the high grounds east of the Hudson, opposite the Saratoga
ford, intending, in case the enemy retreated, to follow so closely in
pursuit as to be able to re-enforce that officer from the ranks of the
main army. He also sent another detachment, after the action, to occupy
ground higher up near Fort Miller, and ordered a selected corps of two
thousand men to push forward and occupy the heights beyond Saratoga, in
the direction of Lake George. But the retreat of Burgoyne was at a time
when Gates least expected it. The troops of the former had been in
motion all the night before, and under arms all day on the 8th, and he
supposed that they would tarry for rest until the morning of the 9th.

At sunset on the 8th a lurid haziness in the west indicated an
approaching storm, and before midnight the rain began to fall. The enemy
felt that his situation was too perilous to be maintained, and the whole
British army commenced its march at nine o'clock in the evening. The
loss of Fraser was now severely felt, for he had always showed as
consummate skill in managing a retreat as bravery in leading to an
attack. General Riedesel

Melancholy Condition of the British Army.--Gates's Kindness to the
Invalids.--Destruction of Schuyler's Mills and Mansion.

073

commanded the van-guard and General Phillips the rear-guard. The night
was so dark, the rain so incessant in the morning, and the roads were so
bad, that the royal army did not reach Saratoga until the evening of the
9th. They made a halt about six o'clock in the morning, and General
Riedesel, exhausted by fatigue, went into the caleche in which his wife
and children were, and slept soundly for about three hours. Wet and
weary, and harassed by the Americans all the way, the poor soldiers were
too much exhausted even to cut wood for fires, and they lay down upon
the cold, wet ground and slept. The generals reposed in the open air,
upon mattresses, with no other covering than oil-cloth. The Baroness
Reidesel and other women of the British camp were obliged to submit to
these privations. "My dress," the former says, "was wet through and
through with rain, and in this state I had to remain the whole night,
having no place to change it; I, however, got close to a large fire, and
at last lay down on some straw. At this moment General Phillips came up
to me, and I asked him why he had not continued our retreat, as my
husband had promised to cover it and bring the army through. 'Poor dear
woman,' he said, 'I wonder how, drenched as you are, you have the
courage still to persevere, and venture further in this kind of weather.
I wish,' he continued, 'you were our commanding general; General
Burgoyne is tired, and means to halt here to-night and give us our
supper.'" * No doubt there was more sincerity than compliment in General
Phillips's wish, for the frequent halts and great delays of Burgoyne had
dissatisfied his officers, and were, doubtless, chief causes of his
misfortunes. His ambition and his love of ease were often wrestling, and
the latter too frequently gained the mastery.

The retreat of Burgoyne was so sudden, that he left all his sick and
wounded in the hospital behind him, together with a great number of
wheel carriages and other things collected at Wilbur's Basin. The
invalids, amounting to about three hundred, were treated by General
Gates with the utmost humanity, which Burgoyne afterward gratefully
acknowledged. On retiring, the English burned the houses they had
occupied, and many other things which they could not carry away with
them. They also wantonly set fire to several buildings on the way, by
order of Burgoyne himself; and among others, when they crossed the Fish
Creek, the mansion of General Schuyler, his mills and other property,
amounting in value to twenty thousand dollars, were destroyed by them.

The house of General Schuyler was elegant for the times, and was very
pleasantly situated upon the south bank of the Fish Kill or Fish Creek.
It was rebuilt after the war, but in a style much inferior in beauty and
expense. It is still standing, and in the present possession of George
Strover, Esq. The broad lawn in front is beautifully shaded with
venerable trees; and the falls of the Fish Creek close by contribute, by
their music and wild beauty, much to the interest of the scene. The mill
was also rebuilt in the same style. In the engraving is given a correct
representation of it. Many of the logs in the dam are the same that
curbed the stream in the time of the Revolution; and I was told that
little was wanted to make the whole appear as at that r period, but that
the surrounding hills should be covered with dense woods.

The rain was so heavy on the 9th, that General Gates did not commence
his pursuit until nearly noon on the tenth. The

* Letters of the Baroness Riedesel

Situation of Fellows's Detachment.--Conduct of the American Militia.--
Burgoyne's Attempt to Retreat

074

detachment under Fellows was unconsciously in a perilous situation for
want of re-enforcements. Resting in supposed security on the night of
the 9th, his camp was left so entirely unguarded that an officer, who
had been sent forward by Burgoyne to reconnoiter, marched all around it
without meeting a sentinel! This neglect would have been fatal if
Burgoyne had known the exact position of his enemies around him. The
officer urged him to allow him to surprise Fellows, but misfortune had
made the British general wary and suspicious, and, fortunately for the
Americans, the request was denied.

The main army of Gates reached the high ridge between Saratoga Church
and the Fish Creek at about four in the afternoon of the 10th. The
British had crossed over the creek, and were encamped upon the high
grounds on the slope of which Schuylerville is now built. The two armies
were within the sound of each other's music. The boats of Burgoyne, with
his baggage and provisions, were at the mouth of the creek. A fatigue
party began to carry the stores from the boats to the heights, but
Fellows constantly played upon them with two field pieces stationed on
the flats beyond the river, and they were obliged to retreat to the
camp. Several of the bateaux of the enemy, with their provisions, were
captured, and immediately became objects of plunder for the raw militia
and motley followers of the army. Even the Continental troops were
implicated in taking "pay and rations" for services, directly from the
enemy, instead of receiving them through the paymaster. These
irregularities became so extensive that General Gates issued an order on
the 12th, in which he declared that he "saw so many scandalous and mean
transactions committed by persons who sought more after plunder than the
honor of doing their duty, that it was his unalterable resolution to
have the first person who should thereafter be detected in pillaging the
baggage and stores taken from the enemy, tried and punished with the
utmost severity of the military law." **

Finding the ford across the Hudson strongly guarded by the Americans,
Burgoyne resolved to continue his retreat up the right bank of the river
to the front of Fort Edward, force his way across, and take possession
of that fortress. He sent forward a working party, consisting chiefly of
loyalists, guarded by Fraser's marksmen, to repair the bridges and open
the roads, and also a detachment of troops to take possession of the
fort. The Americans, who were spreading out in small detachments upon
every height, on all sides, soon drove the workmen back into the camp;
and the British troops found the fort in the possession of two hundred
Americans, under Colonel Cochrane. The militia were flocking to the fort
to strengthen the garrison, and the enemy, believing the Americans to be
as numerous in front as in rear, hastily retreated back to their lines.

* The village of Schuylerville is on the north bank of the Fish Creek.
Old Saratoga, with its church, was on the south side. The church was
about eight hundred yards south of the creek, on the road to Albany.

** It is said that when Burgoyne proposed in council, on the 13th, to
retreat precipitately, he mildly reproached Major Skene, a stanch
loyalist, with having brought him into this difficulty by injudicious
advice, particularly with regard to the expedition to Bennington. "You
have brought me into this difficulty," he said; "now advise me how to
get out of it."

"Scatter your baggage, stores, and every thing else that can be spared,
at proper distances," replied the major, "and the militia will be so
engaged in collecting and securing the same, that the troops will have
an opportunity of getting clear off."

*** The two victories on Bemis's Heights greatly inspirited the
Americans, and when, after the last battle, General Gates, in order to
make victory secure, applied to the Legislature of New Hampshire for
more troops, the militia turned out with alacrity. The speaker of the
Assembly, John Langdon, Esq., upon receiving the application,
immediately proposed an adjournment, and that as many members as could
should set off directly as volunteers for the cause, taking with them
all the men they could collect. It was agreed to, and done by himself
and others.-Gordon, ii., 262.

Unsuccessful Stratagem of Burgoyne.--Perilous Situation of two American
Brigades.--Deserters from the British Army.

075

Thus the cloud of perils thickened around Burgoyne. He now abandoned all
idea of saving his artillery and baggage, and saw no other mode of
escape than a precipitate retreat. The provisions and other stores in
his bateaux were captured or destroyed by the republicans, and from
every direction he was galled by a desultory fire from cannon and small
arms. So overwhelming was the number of the Americans, that to fight
would be madness, and Burgoyne lost all hope of saving his doomed army.

But in the midst of all these perils and despondencies, a stratagem of
the British commander, suggested by an erring apprehension on the part
of General Gates, aided by the occurrence of a natural phenomenon, came
very near being successful, and for a time greatly cheered the drooping
spirits of the enemy. Rumor reached General Gates that the whole British
army had moved toward Fort Edward, leaving only a small detachment, as a
rearguard, in defense of the camp. This rumor originated from the march
of the detachment already mentioned, which was sent forward to Fort
Edward. General Gates, therefore, determined to cross the Fish Creek on
the morning of the 11th, fall in full force upon and crush the British
rear-guard, and make a vigorous pursuit after the main body.

By some means this determination of Gates's became known to Burgoyne,
and he resolved to profit by the false rumor. He left a strong guard at
the battery on the creek, and concealed his troops in the thicket, a few
rods in the rear. In the morning the sky was cloudless, but a thick fog
rested upon the whole country and obscured every object. This was hailed
as a favorable event by both generals, Gates supposing that it would
veil his movements from the British rear-guard, and Burgoyne confidently
believing that it would conceal his ambush, and that victory was now
certain.

The brigades of Generals Nixon and Glover, and Morgan's corps, were
ordered to cross the creek and fall upon the enemy's camp. Morgan
advanced at about daylight, the fog being so thick that he could see but
a few rods around him. He at once fell in with the British pickets, who
poured in a volley upon him and killed a lieutenant and several
privates. Morgan instantly conceived that the rumor was false, and that
the enemy was in force near. At that moment Deputy Adjutant-general
Wilkinson, who had been sent by Gates to reconnoiter, rode up, and,
coinciding in opinion with Morgan, hastened to report to his commander
the supposed peril of his corps. The brigades of Patterson and Learned
were immediately dispatched to its support. Nixon and Glover were at the
same time pressing forward to attack the camp, while the whole army
advanced to the heights immediately south of the creek. Nixon crossed
the creek to the plain, and surprised a picket guard at Fort Hardy; and
Glover was about to follow him, when a British soldier was seen hastily
fording the stream. He was captured, and professed to be a deserter.
Glover questioned him, and was informed that the entire British army
were in their camp, drawn up in order of battle. The general suspected
him of untruth, and threatened him with instant death if he should
deceive him. The soldier declared that he was an honest deserter, and
solemnly affirmed the truth of his tale, which was soon confirmed by a
German deserter, and by the capture of a reconnoitering party,
consisting of a subaltern and thirty-five men, by the advance guard,
under Captain Goodale, of Putnam's regiment. The deserter was
immediately sent with one of Glover's aids to General Gates, and
information was forwarded to General Nixon, with urgent advice to halt.
Satisfied of the deserter's truth, Gates revoked all the orders of the
evening previous, and directed the troops to return to their respective
positions. His headquarters were nearly a mile in the rear of his army,
and his order came almost too late to save the troops, who had General
Gates's Headquarters at Saratoga. *

* This house is still standing. The view is taken from the road, a few
rods southwest of the building. It is of wood, and has been somewhat
enlarged since the Revolution. It was used by General Gates for his
quarters from the 10th of October until after the surrender of Burgoyne
on the 17th. It belonged to a Widow Kershaw, and General Gates amply
compensated her for all he had, on leaving it. It is now well preserved.
It stands on the east side of the Albany and Whitehall turnpike, about a
mile and a half south of the Fish Creek. The Champlain Canal passes
immediately in the rear of it; and nearly half a mile eastward is the
Hudson River.

Retreat of the Americans to their Camp.--Perplexity of Burgoyne.--A
scattered Retreat proposed

076

The fog soon passed away and discovered them to the enemy, then in full
view, and under arms upon the heights. Nixon, however, had retreated,
and the cannonade opened upon him by the British took effect only upon
the rear of his brigade. *

General Learned, in the mean while, with his own and Patterson's
brigades, had reached Morgan's corps, and was pressing on rapidly to the
attack when Wilkinson came up, not with a counter order from Gates, but
with the intelligence that the right wing of the Americans had given
way. The brave veteran disliked the idea of retreating, preferring to
carry out the standing order of the previous day to the very letter;**
but, on counseling with Colonels Brooks and Tupper, and some other
officers, a retreat was deemed advisable. As they turned, the British,
who were awaiting an attack, opened a fire upon them; but the Americans
were soon masked by the woods, and Morgan took post upon the flank and
rear of the enemy.

Thus, by the providential circumstance of a deserter flying to our camp,
our army was saved from a terrible, perhaps fatal, loss; for, had the
several brigades of Nixon, Glover, Learned, and Patterson been cut off,
Burgoyne might have so much weakened the American army, and strengthened
his own by the adherence of the now wavering loyalists and Indians, as
to scatter the remainder of the Continental forces and reach Albany, the
darling object of all his efforts. But the breath of the deserter
blasted all his hopes, and the incident was, to use his own words, "one
of the most adverse strokes of fortune during the campaign." ***

Burgoyne now saw no way of escape. He sent out scouts toward the north,
who reported the roads impassable and the woods swarming with
republicans. The few Indians who had remained now left him, utterly
disheartened; and the loyalists, feeling that their personal security
would be jeoparded in case of a surrender, left the army every hour. It
was proposed to make a scattered retreat, each soldier carrying in his
knapsack provisions enough for two or three days, Fort George being the
place of rendezvous; but such a step would be perilous in the extreme,
for the Americans, apparently as numerous as the leaves upon the trees,
and ever on the alert, would cut them off in detail. In battle, a
fortunate circumstance might occur in their favor; but General Gates,
assured that he had his enemy in his power, could not be induced to
jeopard the lives of his troops by an engagement. Burgoyne's only hope
rested upon aid from Clinton below. Not a word, however, could he get
from that general; yet, clinging with desperation to every hope, however
feeble, he resolved to await that succor quietly in his strong camp as
long as his exhausted stores and a powerful enemy would allow.

Burgoyne's camp, upon the heights near the Fish Creek, was fortified,
and, extending more than half a mile in the rear, was strengthened by
artillery. On an elevated plain, northwest of the village of
Schuylerville, his heavy guns were chiefly posted. Directly in his rear
Morgan and his corps were stationed. In front, on the east side of the
Hudson,

* John Nixon was born at Framingham, Massachusetts, March 4th, 1726. He
was at the siege of Louisburg in 1745, was captain in the provincial
troops under Abercrombie at Ticonderoga, and was esteemed a valiant
soldier during the whole of the French and Indian war. He took the
patriot side when our Revolution broke out. He was one of the minute men
at the Lexington battle, was at the head of a regiment in the battle of
Bunker Hill, and was made a brigadier in the Continental army in August,
1776. He was then placed in command at Governor's Island, near New York.
In the battle of Bemis's Heights a cannon-ball passed so near his head
it impaired the sight of one eye and the hearing of one ear. On account
of ill health, he resigned his commission in 1780. He died March 24th,
1815, aged 90 years.

** The standing order was, "In case of an attack against any point,
whether front, flank, or rear, the troops are to fall on the enemy at
all quarters."

*** Letter to Lord George Germain, dated Albany 20th, 1777.

Relative Position of the two Camps.--Exposed Condition of the British
Camp.--Burgoyne determines to Surrender

077

Fellows, with three thousand troops, was strongly intrenched. The main
body of the American army, under Gates, was on the south side of the
Fish Creek; and in every direction small detachments of Continentals or
republican militia were vigorously watching the enemy at bay. * Fort
Edward was in possession of the Americans, and upon high ground in the
vicinity of Glenn's Falls they had a fortified camp.

Burgoyne was completely environed, and every part of the royal camp was
exposed to the fire of cannon and musketry. The soldiers slept under
arms continually. There was not a place of safety for the sick, wounded,
and dying, or for the women and children of the officers and soldiers.
There was no secure place for a council. None dared go to the river for
water, and thirst began to distress the camp.2 The desertions of the
Indians and Canadians, the cowardice and disaffection of the loyalists,
and the losses in killed and wounded, had so thinned Burgoyne's ranks,
that his army was reduced one half, and a large proportion of those who
remained were not Englishmen. There was not bread for three days in
store, and of course none could be obtained. Not a word came from
General Clinton, and Burgoyne was totally ignorant of his having made
any movement up the Hudson. The last ray of hope faded away, and toward
the evening of the 12th the British commander held a council with
Generals Reidesel, Phillips, and Hamilton. It was decided to retreat
before morning, if possible; but returning scouts brought only hopeless
intelligence respecting the roads and the strength of the enemy.

On the morning of the 13th Burgoyne called a general council of all
officers, including captains of companies. Their deliberations were held
in a large tent, which was several times perforated by musket-balls from
the Americans. Several grape-shot struck near the tent, and an eighteen
pound cannon-ball swept across the table at which sat Burgoyne and the
other generals. Their deliberations were short, as might be expected,
and it was unanimously resolved to open a treaty with General Gates for
an honorable surrender. It was a bitter pill for the proud lieutenant
general, but there was no alternative.

* By reference to the above map, the position of the two armies at this
juncture will be more clearly understood. They held the same relative
position until the surrender on the 17th.

** The consideration of Americans for women was conspicuously displayed
at this time. While every man who went to the river for water became a
target for the sure marksmen of the Americans, a soldier's wife went
back and forth as often as she pleased, and not a gun was pointed at
her.

Proposition of Burgoyne to surrender his Troops.--Terms proposed by
Gates.--Terms finally agreed upon.

078

Toward evening a flag was sent to General Gates, with a note, intimating
that General Burgoyne was desirous of sending a field officer to him
upon a matter of great moment to both armies, and wishing to know at
what hour the next morning it would suit General Gates to receive him.
The reply was, "At ten o'clock, at the advanced post of the army of the
United States." Accordingly, Lieutenant Kingston, Burgoyne's adjutant
general, appeared at the appointed hour and delivered the following note
from his commander: "After having fought you twice, Lieutenant-general
Burgoyne has waited some days in his present position, determined to try
a third conflict against any force you could bring against him. He is
apprized of your superiority of numbers, and the disposition of your
troops to impede his supplies, and render his retreat a scene of carnage
on both sides. In this situation, he is impelled by humanity, and thinks
himself justified by established principles and precedents of state and
war, to spare the lives of brave men upon honorable terms. Should Major
general Gates be inclined to treat upon that idea, General Burgoyne
would propose a cessation of arms during the time necessary to
communicate the preliminary terms by which, in any extremity, he and his
army mean to abide."

General Gates had already prepared a schedule of terms upon which he was
willing to treat. It enumerated the distresses of the British army, and
declared that they could only be allowed to surrender as prisoners of
war, and that they must lay down their arms in their camp. Burgoyne
replied, with spirit, that he would not admit that the retreat of his
army was cut off while they had arms in their hands, and that the
degrading act of laying down their arms within their own camp would not
be submitted to. The latter condition was waived, and in the afternoon
General Gates ordered a cessation of hostilities till sunset.
Negotiations continued until the 16th, when every thing was agreed upon
and adjusted, ready for the signatures of the contracting parties. This
last act was to be performed on the morning of the 17th.

The substance of the "_Convention between Lieutenant-general Burgoyne
and Major-general Gates_," as the British commander superscribed it,
was, 1st. That Burgoyne's troops were to march out of their camp with
all the honors of war, the artillery to be moved to the verge of the
Hudson, and there left, together with the soldiers' arms-the said arms
to be piled by word of command from their own officers; 2d. That a free
passage should be granted the troops to Great Britain, on condition of
their not serving again during the war; 3d. That if any cartel should
take place by which Burgoyne's army, or any part of it, should be
exchanged, the foregoing article should be void as far as such exchange
should extend; 4th. That the army should march to the neighborhood of
Boston by the most expeditious and convenient route, and not be delayed
when transports should arrive to receive them, 5th. That every care
should be taken for the proper subsistence of the troops till they
should be embarked; 6th. That all officers should retain their
carriages, horses, bat-horses, &c., and their baggage, and be exempt
from molestation or search; 7th. That on the march, and while the army
should remain at Boston (the port selected for their embarkation), the
officers should not be separated from their men; 8th. That all corps
whatsoever, whether composed of sailors, bateaux-men, artificers,
drivers, independent companies, or followers of the army, of whatever
country they might be, should be included in the fullest sense and to
the utmost extent of the articles, and comprehended in every respect as
British subjects, whose general had capitulated for them; 9th. That all
Canadians and persons belonging to the Canadian establishment should be
permitted a free return to Canada, should be conducted by the shortest
route to the British posts on Lake George, should be treated in all
respects like the rest of the army, and should be bound by the same
conditions not to serve during the war, unless exchanged; 10th. That
passports should be immediately granted for three officers, to carry
Burgoyne's dispatches to General Howe at Philadelphia, to Sir Guy
Carleton in Canada, and to the government of Great Britain by way of New
York; 11th. That all officers, during their stay in Boston, should be
admitted to parole, and from

* This was to afford protection to the loyalists or Tories.

Message to Burgoyne from General Clinton.--Disposition of Burgoyne to
withhold his Signature.--Laying down of Arms.

079

first to last be permitted to wear their side-arms; 12th. That if the
army found it necessary to send for their clothing and other baggage
from Canada, they should be permitted to do so, and have the necessary
passports granted them; 13th. That these articles should be signed and
exchanged on the following morning at nine o'clock, the troops to march
out of their intrenchments at three o'clock in the afternoon.

Appended October 17. to these articles was an addendum or postscript,
signed by General Gates, declaring that General Burgoyne, whose name was
not mentioned in the above treaty, was fully comprehended in it. *

During the night of the 16th Captain Campbell succeeded in eluding the
American sentinels, and reached the British camp with dispatches from
Sir Henry Clinton announcing his capture of the forts among the Hudson
Highlands, and the expedition of Vaughan and Wallace as far up the river
as Esopus. Here was a ray of hope, and Burgoyne felt disposed to
withhold his signature from the "convention." General Gates was apprized
of this, and of the cause which had excited new hopes in the British
commander. He was better acquainted, too, with the threatening aspect
below than Burgoyne, and he knew that "delays are dangerous." He drew up
his army on the morning of the 17th in order of battle, and then sent a
peremptory message to Burgoyne, that if the articles were not signed by
him immediately, he should open a fire upon him. Under the
circumstances, the terms were exceedingly humane and honorable; far more
so than might be expected if the negotiation should be here broken off
and again commenced. With reluctance Burgoyne subscribed his name, and
preparations were immediately made for the ceremonies of surrender.

The British army left their camp upon the hills, and marched sorrowfully
down upon the "green" or level plain in front of old Fort Hardy, **
where the different companies were drawn up in parallel lines, and, by
order of their several commanders, grounded their arms and emptied their
cartridge-boxes. They were not subject to the mortification of thus
submitting under the gaze of an exulting foe, for General Gates, with a
delicacy and magna-

* A copy of these articles, said to be in the handwriting of General
Gates, and signed by the two commanders, is in the possession of the New
York Historical Society, from which the above fac-similes were copied.

** Fort Hardy was situated at the junction of the Fish Creek with the
Hudson River, on the north side of the former. It was built of earth and
logs, and was thrown up by the French, under Baron Dieskau, in 1755,
when Sir William Johnson was making preparations at Albany to march
against the French on Lakes Champlain and George. It was abandoned by
the French, and named by the English Fort Hardy, in honor of Sir Charles
Hardy, who was that year appointed Governor of New York. The lines of
the intrenchments of the fort inclosed about fifteen acres, bounded
south by the Fish Creek and east by the Hudson River. This fort was a
ruin at the time of the Revolution; yet, when I visited it (July, 1848),
many traces of its outworks were still visible. Its form may be seen by
reference to the map, page 77. Many military relics have been found near
the fort, and I was told that, in excavating for the Champlain Canal, a
great number of human skeletons were found. The workmen had, doubtless,
struck upon the burial-place of the garrison.

Courtesy of General Gates. The Place of Surrender. First personal
Meeting of Gates and Burgoyne

080

nimity of feeling which drew forth the expressed admiration of Burgoyne
and his officers, had ordered all his army within his camp, out of sight
of the vanquished Britons. * Colonel Wilkinson, who had been sent to the
British camp, and, in company with Burgoyne, selected the place where
the troops were to lay down their arms, was the only American officer
present at the scene. **

The sketch here presented, of the place where the British army
surrendered, was made from one of the canal bridges at Schuylerville,
looking east-northeast. The stream of water in the fore-ground is Fish
Creek, and the level ground seen between it and the distant hills on the
left is the place where the humiliation of the Britons occurred. The
tree by the fence, in the center of the picture, designates the north-st
angle of Fort Hardy, and the other three trees on the right stand nearly
on the line of the northern breast-works. The row of small trees,
apparently at the foot of the distant hills, marks the course of the
Hudson, and the hills that bound the view are those on which the
Americans were posted. This plain is directly in front of Schuylerville,
between that village and the Hudson. General Fellows was stationed upon
the high ground seen over the barn on the right, and the eminence on the
extreme left is the place whence the American cannon played upon the
house wherein the Baroness Reidesel and other ladies sought refuge.

As soon as the troops had laid down their arms, General Burgoyne
proposed to be introduced to General Gates. They crossed Fish Creek, and
proceeded toward headquarters, Burgoyne in front with his adjutant
general, Kingston, and his aids-de-camp, Captain Lord Petersham and
Lieutenant Wilford, behind him. Then followed Generals Phillips,
Riedesel, and Hamilton, and other officers and suites, according to
rank. General Gates was informed of the approach of Burgoyne, and with
his staff met him at the head of his camp, about a mile south of the
Fish Creek, Burgoyne in a rich uniform of scarlet and gold, and Gates in
a plain blue frock-coat. "When within about a sword's length, they
reined up and halted. Colonel Wilkinson then named the gentlemen, and
General Burgoyne, raising his hat gracefully, said, "The fortune of war,
General Gates, has made me your prisoner." The victor promptly replied,
"I shall always be ready to bear testimony that it has not

* Letter of Burgoyne to the Earl of Derby. Stedman, i., 352. Botta, ii.,
21.

** See Wilkinson.

Humiliating Review of the British Prisoners.--Burgoyne's Surrender of
his Sword.--The Spoils of Victory.--Yankee Doodle.

081

been through any fault of your excellency."

The other officers were introduced in turn, and the whole party repaired
to Gates's headquarters, where a sumptuous dinner was served. *

After dinner the American army was drawn up in parallel lines on each
side of the road, extending nearly a mile. Between these victorious
troops the British army, with light infantry in front, and escorted by a
company of light dragoons, preceded by two mounted officers bearing the
American flag, marched to the lively tune of Yankee Doodle. *** Just as
they passed, the two commanding generals, who were in Gates's marquee,
came out together, and, fronting the procession, gazed upon it in
silence a few moments. What a contrast, in every particular, did the two
present! Burgoyne, though possessed of coarse features, had a large and
commanding person; Gates was smaller and far less dignified in
appearance. Burgoyne was arrayed in the splendid military trappings of
his rank; Gates was clad in a plain and unassuming dress. Burgoyne was
the victim of disappointed hopes and foiled ambition, and looked upon
the scene with exceeding sorrow; Gates was buoyant with the first flush
of a great victory. Without exchanging a word, Burgoyne, according to
previous understanding, stepped back, drew his sword, and, in the
presence of the two armies, presented it to General Gates. He received
it with a courteous inclination of the head, and instantly returned it
to the vanquished general. They then retired to the marquee together,
the British army filed off and took up their line of march for Boston,
and thus ended the drama upon the heights of Saratoga.

The whole number of prisoners surrendered was five thousand seven
hundred and ninety-one, of whom two thousand four hundred and twelve
were Germans and Hessians. The force of the Americans, at the time of
the surrender, was, according to a statement which General Gates
furnished to Burgoyne, thirteen thousand two hundred and twenty-two, of
which number nine thousand and ninety-three were Continentals, or
regular soldiers, and four thousand one hundred and twenty-nine were
militia. The arms and ammunition which came into the possession of the
Americans were, a fine train of brass artillery, consisting of 2 twenty-
four pounders, 4 twelve pounders, 20 sixes, 6 threes, 2 eight inch
howitzers, 5 five and a half inch royal howitzers, and 3 five and a half
inch royal mortars; **** in all forty-two

* See Wilkinson.

** This view is taken from the turnpike, looking south. The old road was
where the canal now is, and the place of meeting was about at the point
where the bridge is seen.

*** Thatcher, in his Military Journal (p. 19), gives the following
account of the origin of the word Yankee and of Yankee Doodle; "A farmer
of Cambridge, Massachusetts, named Jonathan Hastings, who lived about
the year 1713, used it as a favorite cant word to express excellence, as
a yankee good horse or yankee good cider. The students of the college,
hearing him use it a great deal, adopted it, and called him Yankee
Jonathan; and as he was a rather weak man, the students, when they
wished to denote a character of that kind, would call him Yankee
Jonathan. Like other cant words, it spread, and came finally to be
applied to the New Englanders as a term of reproach. Some suppose the
term to be the Indian corruption of the word English-Yenglecs, Yangles,
Yankles, and finally Yankee. "A song, called Yankee Doodle, was written
by a British sergeant at Boston, in 1775, to ridicule the people there,
when the American army, under Washington, was encamped at Cambridge and
Roxbury." See "Origin of Yankee Doodle," page 480, of this volume.

**** Two of these, drawings of which will be found on page 700, are now
in the court of the laboratory of the West Point Military Academy, on
the Hudson.

The Germans and Hessians.--Their Arrival at Cambridge and wretched
Appearance.--Kindness of the People.

082

pieces of ordnance. There were four thousand six hundred and forty-seven
muskets, and six thousand dozens of cartridges, besides shot, carcasses,
cases, shells, &c. Among the English prisoners were six members of
Parliament. *

Cotemporary writers represent the appearance of the poor German and
Hessian troops as extremely miserable and ludicrous. They deserved
commiseration, but they received none. They came not here voluntarily to
fight our people; they were sent as slaves by their masters, who
received the price of their hire. They were caught, it is said, while
congregated in their churches and elsewhere, and forced into the
service. Most of them were torn reluctantly from their families and
friends; hundreds of them deserted here before the close of the war; and
many of their descendants are now living among us. Many had their wives
with them, and these helped to make up the pitiable procession through
the country. Their advent into Cambridge, near Boston, is thus noticed
by the lady of Dr. Winthrop of that town, in a letter to Mrs. Mercy
Warren, an early historian of our Revolution: "On Friday we heard the
Hessians were to make a procession on the same route. We thought we
should have nothing to do but view them as they passed. To be sure, the
sight was truly astonishing. I never had the least idea that the
creation produced such a sordid set of creatures in human figure-poor,
dirty, emaciated men. Great numbers of women, who seemed to be the
beasts of burden, having bushel baskets on their backs, by which they
were bent double. The contents seemed to be pots and kettles, various
sorts of furniture, children peeping through gridirons and other
utensils. Some very young infants, who were born on the road; the women
barefooted, clothed in dirty rags. Such effluvia filled the air while
they were passing, that, had they not been smoking all the time, I
should have been apprehensive of being contaminated." **

The whole view of the vanquished army, as it marched through the country
from Saratoga to Boston, a distance of three hundred miles, escorted by
two or three American officers and a handful of soldiers, was a
spectacle of extraordinary interest. Generals of the first order of
talent; young gentlemen of noble and wealthy families, aspiring to
military renown; legislators of the British realm, and a vast concourse
of other men, lately confident of victory and of freedom to plunder and
destroy, were led captive through the pleasant land they had coveted, to
be gazed at with mingled joy and scorn by those whose homes they came to
make desolate. "Their march was solemn, sullen, and silent; but they
were every where treated with such humanity, and even delicacy, that
they were overwhelmed with astonishment and gratitude. Not one insult
was offered, not an opprobrious reflection cast; and in all their long
captivity **** they experienced the generous kindness of a people
warring only to be free.

* Gordon, ii., 267.

** Women of the Revolution, i., 97

*** Mercy Warren, ii., 40.

**** Although Congress ratified the generous terms entered into by Gates
with Burgoyne in the convention at Saratoga, circumstances made them
suspicious that the terms would not be strictly complied with. They
feared that the Britons would break their parole, and Burgoyne was
required to furnish a complete roll of his army, the name and rank of
every officer, and the name, former place of abode, occupation, age, and
size of every non-commissioned officer and private soldier. Burgoyne
murmured and hesitated. General Howe, at the same time, was very
illiberal in the exchange of prisoners, and exhibited considerable
duplicity. Congress became alarmed, and resolved not to allow the army
of Burgoyne to leave our shores until a formal ratification of the
convention should be made by the British government. Burgoyne alone was
allowed to go home on parole, and the other officers, with the army,
were marched into the interior of Virginia, to await the future action
of the two governments. The British ministry charged Congress with
positive perfidy, and Congress justified their acts by charging the
ministers with meditated perfidy. That this suspicion was well founded
is proved by subsequent events. In the autumn of 1778, Isaac Ogden, a
prominent loyalist of New Jersey, and then a refugee in New York, thus
wrote to Joseph Galloway, an American Tory in London, respecting an
expedition of four thousand British troops which Sir Henry Clinton sent
up the Hudson a week previous: "Another object of this expedition was to
open the country for many of Burgoyne's troops that had escaped the
vigilance of their guard, to come in. About forty of these have got safe
in. If this expedition had been a week sooner, greater part of
Burgoyne's troops probably would have arrived here, as a disposition of
rising on their guard strongly prevailed, and all they wanted to effect
it was some support near at hand."

Relative Condition and Prospect of the Americans before the Capture of
Burgoyne.--Effect of that Event

083

The surrender of Burgoyne was an event of infinite importance to the
struggling republicans. Hitherto the preponderance of success had been
on the side of the English, and only a few partial victories had been
won by the Americans. The defeat on Long Island had eclipsed the glory
of the siege of Boston; the capture of Fort Washington and its garrison
had overmatched the brilliant defense of Charleston; the defeat at
Brandywine had balanced the victory at Trenton; White Plains and
Princeton were in fair juxtaposition in the account current; and at the
very time when the hostile armies at the north were fighting for the
mastery, Washington was suffering defeats in Pennsylvania, and Forts
Clinton, Montgomery, and Constitution were passing into the hands of the
royal forces. Congress had fled from Philadelphia to York, and its
sittings were in the midst of loyalists, ready to attack or betray. Its
treasury was nearly exhausted; its credit utterly so. Its bills to the
amount of forty millions of dollars were scattered over the country. Its
frequent issues were inadequate to the demands of the commissariat, and
distrust was rapidly depreciating their value in the public mind.
Loyalists rejoiced; the middlemen were in a dilemma; the patriots
trembled. Thick clouds of doubt and dismay were gathering in every part
of the political horizon, and the acclamations which had followed the
Declaration of Independence, the year before, died away like mere
whispers upon the wind.

All eyes were turned anxiously to the army of the north, and upon that
strong arm of Congress, wielded, for the time, by Gates, the hopes of
the patriots leaned. How eagerly they listened to every breath of rumor
from Saratoga! How enraptured were they when the cry of victory fell
upon their ears! All over the land a shout of triumph went up, and from
the furrows, and workshops, and marts of commerce; from the pulpit, from
provincial halls of legislation, from partisan camps, and from the
shattered ranks of the chief at White Marsh, it was echoed and re-
echoed. Toryism, which had begun to lift high its head, retreated behind
the defense of inaction; the bills of Congress rose twenty per cent, in
value; capital came forth from its hiding-places; the militia readily
obeyed the summons to the camp, and the great patriot heart of America
beat strongly with pulsations of hope. Amid the joy of the moment, Gates
was apotheosized in the hearts of his countrymen, and they

* The engraving exhibits a view of both sides of the medal, drawn the
size of the original. On one side is a bust of General Gates, with the
Latin inscription, "Horatio Gates Duci Strenuo Comitia Americana;" The
American Congress, to Horatio Gates, the valiant leader. On the other
side, of reverse, Burgoyne is represented in the attitude of delivering
up his sword; and in the background, on either side of them, are seen
the two armies of England and America, the former laying down their
arms. At the top is the Latin inscription, "Safety of the northern
region or department. Below is the inscription, "Enemy at Saratoga
surrendered October 11th, 1777.

Wilkinson before Congress.--Gold Medal awarded to Gates. --Proceedings
of the British Parliament.--Speech of Chatham.

084

generously overlooked the indignity offered by him to the commander-in-
chief when he refused, in the haughty pride of his heart in that hour of
victory, to report, as in duty hound, his success to the national
council through him. Congress, too, overjoyed at the result, forgot its
own dignity, and allowed Colonel Wilkinson, * the messenger of the glad
tidings, to stand upon their floor and proclaim, "The whole British army
have laid down their arms at Saratoga; our own, full of vigor and
courage, expect your orders; it is for your wisdom to decide where the
country may still have need of their services." Congress voted thanks to
General Gates and his army, and decreed that he should be presented with
a medal of gold, to be struck expressly in commemoration of so glorious
a victory.

This victory was also of infinite importance to the republicans on
account of its effects beyond the Atlantic. The highest hopes of the
British nation, and the most sanguine expectations of the king and his
ministers, rested on the success of this campaign. It had been a
favorite object with the administration, and the people were confidently
assured that, with the undoubted success of Burgoyne, the turbulent
spirit of rebellion would be quelled, and the insurgents would be forced
to return to their allegiance.

Parliament was in session when the intelligence of Burgoyne's defeat
reached England; December 3, 1777, and when the mournful tidings were
communicated to that body, it instantly aroused all the fire of opposing
parties. ** The opposition opened anew their eloquent batteries upon the
ministers. For several days misfortune had been suspected. The last
arrival from America brought tidings of gloom. The Earl of Chatham, with
far-reaching comprehension, and thorough knowledge of American affairs,
had denounced the mode of warfare and the material used against the
Americans. He refused to vote for the laudatory address to the king.
Leaning upon his crutch, he poured forth his vigorous denunciations
against the course of the ministers like a mountain torrent. "This, my
lords," he said, "is a perilous and tremendous moment! It is no time for
adulation. The smoothness of flattery can not now avail-can not save us
in this rugged and awful crisis. It is now necessary to instruct the
throne in the language of truth..... You can not. I venture to say it,
you can not conquer America. What is your present situation there? We do
not know the worst, but we know that in three campaigns we have suffered
much and gained nothing, and perhaps at this moment the northern army
(Burgoyne's) may be a total loss..... You may swell every expense, and
every effort, still more extravagantly; pile and accumulate every
assistance you can buy or borrow; traffic and barter with every little
pitiful German prince that sells and sends his subjects to the shambles
of a foreign power; your efforts are forever vain and impotent; doubly
so from this mercenary aid on which you rely, for it irritates to an
incurable resentment the minds of your enemies. To overrun with the
mercenary sons of rapine and plunder, devoting them and their
possessions to the rapacity of hireling cruelty! If I were an American,
as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I
never would lay down my arms--never, never, never!" ***

The Earl of Coventry, Earl Temple Chatham's brother-in-law, and the Duke
of Richmond, all spoke in coincidence with Chatham. Lord Suffolk, one of
the Secretaries of State, undertook the defense of ministers for the
employment of Indians, and concluded by saying, "It is perfectly
justifiable to use all the means that God and nature have put into our
hands." This sentiment brought Chatham upon the floor. "That God and
nature put

* James Wilkinson was born in Maryland about 1757, and, by education,
was prepared for the practice of medicine. He repaired to Cambridge as a
volunteer in 1775. He was captain of a company in a regiment that went
to Canada in 1776. He was appointed deputy adjutant general by Gates,
and, after the surrender of Burgoyne, Congress made him a brigadier
general by brevet. At the conclusion of the war he settled in Kentucky,
but entered the army in 1806, and had the command on the Mississippi. He
commanded on the northern frontier during our last war with Great
Britain. At the age of 56 he married a young lady of 26. He died of
diarrhea, in Mexico, December 28th, 1825, aged 68 years.

** Pitkin, i., 399.

*** Parliamentary Debates.

The Opposition in the House of Commons.--Policy of Lord North.-- Exalted
Position of the American Commissioners at Paris.

085

into our hands!" he reiterated, with bitter scorn. "I know not what idea
that lord may entertain of God and nature, but I know that such
abominable principles are equally abhorrent to religion and humanity.
What! attribute the sacred sanction of God and nature to the massacres
of the Indian scalping-knife, to the cannibal and savage, torturing,
murdering, roasting, and eating-literally, my lords, _eating_-the
mangled victims of his barbarous battles.....These abominable
principles, and this most abominable avowal of them, demand most
decisive indignation. I call upon that right reverend bench (pointing to
the bishops), those holy ministers of the Gospel and pious pastors of
the Church-I conjure them to join in the holy work, and to vindicate the
religion of their God."

In the Lower House, Burke, Fox, and Barré were equally severe upon the
ministers; and on the 3d of December, when the news of Burgoyne's defeat
reached London, the latter arose in his place in the Commons, and, with
a severe and solemn countenance, asked Lord George Germain, the
Secretary of War, what news he had received by his last expresses from
Quebec, and to say, upon his word of honor, what had become of Burgoyne
and his brave army. The haughty secretary was irritated by the cool
irony of the question, but he was obliged to unbend and to confess that
the unhappy intelligence had reached him, but added it was not yet
authenticated. *

Lord North, the premier, with his usual adroitness, admitted that
misfortune had befallen the British arms, but denied that any blame
could be imputed to ministers themselves, and proposed an adjournment of
December, 1778 Parliament on the 11th (which was carried) until the 20th
of January. ** It was a clever trick of the premier to escape the
castigations which he knew the opposition would inflict while the nation
was smarting under the goadings of mortified pride.

The victory over Burgoyne, unassisted as our troops were by foreign aid,
placed the prowess of the United States in the most favorable light upon
the Continent. Our urgent solicitations for aid, hitherto but little
noticed except by France, were now listened to with respect, and the
American commissioners at Paris. Dr. Franklin, Silas Deane,3 and Arthur
Lee,4 * * occupied a commanding position among the diplomatists of
Europe. France, Spain, the States General of Holland, the Prince of
Orange, and even Catharine of Russia and Pope Clement XIV. (Ganganelli),
all

* History of the Reign of George III., i., 326.

** Pitkin, i., 397. Annual Register, 1778, p| 74.

*** Silas Deane was a native of Groton, Connecticut. He graduated at
Yale College, 1758, and was a member of the first Congress, 1774. He was
sent to France Early in 1776, as political and commercial agent for the
United Colonies, and in the autumn of that year was associated with
Franklin and Lee as commissioner. He seems to have been unfit, in a
great degree, for the station he held, and his defective judgment and
extravagant promises greatly embarrassed Congress. He was recalled at
the close of 1777, and John Adams appointed in his place. He published a
defense of his character in 1778, and charged Thomas Paine and others
connected with public affairs with using their official influence for
purposes of private gain. This was the charge made against himself, and
he never fully wiped out all suspicion. He went to England toward the
close of 1784, and died in extreme poverty at Deal, 1789.

**** Dr. Lee was born in Virginia in 1740-a brother to the celebrated
Richard Henry Lee. He was educated at Edinburgh, and, on returning to
America, practiced medicine at Williamsburgh about five years. He went
to London in 1766, and studied law in the Temple. He kept his brother
and other patriots of the Revolution fully informed of all political
matters of importance abroad, and particularly the movements of the
British ministry. He wrote a great deal, and stood high as an essayist
and political pamphleteer. He was colonial agent for Virginia in 1775.
In 1776 he was associated with Franklin and Deane, as minister at the
court of Versailles. He and John Adams were recalled in 1779. On
returning to the United States, he was appointed to offices of trust. He
died of pleurisy, December 14th, 1782, aged nearly 42.

Our relative Position to the Governments of Europe.--Policy of
Vergennes.--Beaumarchais's Commercial Operations

086

of whom feared and hated England because of her increasing potency in
arms, commerce, diplomacy, and the Protestant faith, thought kindly of
us and spoke kindly to us. We were loved because England was hated; we
were respected because we could injure England by dividing her realm and
impairing her growing strength beyond the seas. There was a perfect
reciprocity of service; and when peace was ordained by treaty, and our
independence was established, the balance-sheet showed nothing against
us, so far as the governments of continental Europe were concerned.

In the autumn of 1776, Franklin and Lee were appointed, jointly with
Deane, November resident commissioners at the court of Versailles, to
negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce with the French king. They
opened negotiations early in December with the Count De Vergennes, the
premier of Louis XVI. He was distinguished for sound wisdom, extensive
political knowledge, remarkable sagacity, and true greatness of mind. He
foresaw that generous dealings with the insurgent colonists at the
outset would be the surest means of perpetuating the rebellion until a
total separation from the parent state would be accomplished-an event
eagerly coveted by the French government. France hated England
cordially, and feared her power. She had no special love for the Anglo-
American colonies, but she was ready to aid them in reducing, by
disunion, the puissance of the British empire. To widen the breach was
the chief aim of Vergennes. A haughty reserve, he knew, would discourage
the Americans, while an open reception, or even countenance, of their
deputies might alarm the rulers of Great Britain, and dispose them to a
compromise with the colonies, or bring on an immediate rupture between
France and England. A middle line was, therefore, pursued by him. *

While the French government was thus vacillating during the first three
quarters of 1777, secret aid was given to the republicans, and great
quantities of arms and ammunition were sent to this country, by an agent
of the French government, toward the close of the year, ostensibly
through the channel of commercial operations. **

* Ramsay, ii., 62, 63.

** In the summer of 1776, Arthur Lee, agent of the Secret Committee of
Congress, made an arrangement by which the French king provided money
and arms secretly for the Americans. An agent named Beaumarehais was
sent to London to confer with Lee, and it was arranged that two hundred
thousand Louis d'ors, in arms, ammunition, and specie, should be sent to
the Americans, but in a manner to make it appear as a commercial
transaction. Mr. Lee assumed the name of Mary Johnson, and Beaumarchais
that of Roderique, Hortales, & Co. Lee, fearing discovery if he should
send a written notice to Congress of the arrangement, communicated the
fact verbally through Captain Thomas Story, who had been upon the
continent in the serviee of the Secret Committee. Yet, after all the
arrangements were made, there was hesitation, and it was not until the
autumn of 1777 that the articles were sent to the Americans. They were
shipped on board Le Henreux, in the fictitious name of Hortales, by the
way of Cape François, and arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the
1st of November of that year. The brave and efficient Baron Steuben was
a passenger in that ship.

Unmasking of thE French King.--Independence of the United States
acknowledged by France.--Letter of Louis XVI.

087

This arrangement, under the disguise of a mercantile operation,
subsequently produced a great deal of trouble, a more minute account of
which is given in the Supplement to this work.

Beaumarehais was one of the most active business men of his time, and
became quite distinguished in the literary and political world by his
"Marriage of Figaro," and his connection with the French Revolution in
1793. Borne, in one of his charming Letters from Paris, after describing
his visit to the house where Beaumarchais had lived, where "they now
sell kitchen salt," thus speaks of him: "By his bold and fortunate
commercial undertakings, he had become one of the richest men in France.
In the war of American liberty, he furnished, through an understanding
with the Freneh government, supplies of arms to the insurgents. As in
all such undertakings, there were captures, shipwrecks, payments
deferred or refused, yet Beaumarchais, by his dexterity, succeeded in
extricating himself with personal advantage from all these difficulties.

"Yet this same Beaumarchais showed himself, in the (French) revolution,
as inexperienced as a child and as timid as a German closet-scholar. He
contracted to furnish weapons to the revolutionary government, and not
only lost his money, but was near losing his head into the bargain.
Formerly he had to deal with the ministers of an absolute monarchy. The
doors of great men's cabinets open and close softly and easily to him
who knows how to oil the locks and hinges. Afterward Beaumarchais had to
do with honest, in other words with dangerous people; he had not learned
to make the distinction, and accordingly he was ruined." He died in
1799, in his 70th year, and his death, his friends suppose, was
voluntary.

Burgoyne and his army (intelligence of which arrived at Paris by express
on the 4th of December) reached Versailles, and the ultimate success of
the Americans was hardly problematical, Louis cast off all disguise, and
informed the American commissioners, through M. Gerard, one of his
Secretaries of State, that the treaty of alliance and commerce, already
negotiated, would be ratified, and "that it was decided to acknowledge
the independence of the United States." He wrote to his uncle, Charles
IV. of Spain, urging his co-operation; for, according to the family
compact of the Bourbons, made in 1761, the King of Spain was to be
consulted before such a treaty could be ratified. * Charles refused to
cooperate, but Louis persevered, and in February, 1778, he acknowledged
the independence of the United States, and entered into treaties of
alliance and February 6 commerce with them on a footing of perfect
equality and reciprocity. "War against England was to be made a common
cause, and it was agreed that neither contracting party should conclude
truce or peace with Great Britain without the formal consent of the
other first obtained; and it was mutually covenanted not to lay down
their arms until the independence of the United States should be
formally or tacitly assured by the treaty or treaties that should
terminate the war. *** Thus allied, by treaty, with the ancient and
powerful French nation, the Americans felt certain of success.

* This letter of Louis was brought to light during the Revolution of
1793. It is a curious document, and illustrates the consummate duplicity
practiced by that monarch and his ministers. Disclosing, as it does, the
policy which governed the action of the French court, and the reasons
which induced the king to accede to the wishes of the Americans, its
insertion hero will doubtless be acceptable to the reader. It was dated
January 8th, 1778. "The sincere desire," said Louis, "which I feel of
maintaining the true harmony and unity of our system of alliance, which
must always have an imposing character for our enemies, induces me to
state to your majesty my way of thinking on the present condition of
affairs. England, our common and inveterate enemy, has been engaged for
three years in a war with her American colonies. We had agreed not to
intermeddle with it, and, viewing both sides as English, we made our
trade free to the one that found most advantage in commercial
intercourse. In this manner America provided herself with arms and
ammunition, of which she was destitute; I do not speak of the succors of
money and other kinds which we have given her, the whole ostensibly on
the score of trade. England has taken umbrage at these succors, and has
not concealed from us that she will be revenged sooner or later. She has
already, indeed, seized several of our merchant vessels, and refused
restitution. We have lost no time on our part. We have fortified our
most exposed colonies, and placed our fleets upon a respectable footing,
which has continued to aggravate the ill humor of England. "Such was the
posture of affairs in November last. The destruction of the army of
Burgoyne and the straitened condition of Howe have lately changed the
face of things. America is triumphant and England cast down; but the
latter has still a great, unbroken maritime force, and the hope of
forming a beneficial alliance with the colonies, the impossibility of
their being subdued by arms being now demonstrated. All the English
parties agree on this point. Lord North has himself announced in full
Parliament a plan of pacification for the first session, and all sides
are assiduously employed upon it. Thus it is the same to us whether this
minister or any other be in power. From different motives they join
against us, and do not forget our bad offices. They will fall upon us in
as great strength as if the war had not existed. This being understood,
and our grievances against England notorious, I have thought, after
taking the advice of my council, and particularly that of M. D'Ossune,
and having consulted upon the propositions which the insurgents make, to
treat with them, to prevent their reunion with the mother country. I lay
before your majesty my views of the subject. I have ordered a memorial
to be submitted to you, in which they are presented in more detail. I
desire eagerly that they should meet your approbation. Knowing the
weight of your probity, your majesty will not doubt the lively and
sincere friendship with which I am yours," &c.--Quoted by Pitkin (i.,
399) from Histoire, &c., de la Diplomatique Française, vol. vii.

** Sparks's Life of Franklin, 430, 433.

A Lady of the Revolution.--Sufferings of herself and Family.--.Her
Husband's Pension allowed her

088

CHAPTER IV.

"The sun has drunk

The dew that lay upon the morning grass;

There is no rustling in the lofty elm

That canopies my dwelling, and its shade

Scarce cools me. All is silent save the faint

And interrupted murmur of the bee,

Sitting on the sick flowers, and then again

Instantly on the wing. The plants around

Feel the too potent fervors; the tall maize

Rolls up its long green leaves; the clover droops

Its tender foliage, and declines its blooms.

But far in the fierce sunshine tower the hills,

With all their growth of woods, silent and stern,

As if the scorching heat and dazzling light

Were but an element they loved."

Bryant.

It was early in the morning of such a day as the poet refers to that we
commenced a ride and a ramble over the historic grounds of Saratoga near
Schuylerville, accompanied by the friendly guide whose proffered
services I have already mentioned. We first rode to the residence of
Mrs. J-n, one of the almost centenarian representatives of the
generation cotemporary with our Revolution, now so few and hoary. She
was in her ninety-second year of life, yet her mental faculties were
quite vigorous, and she related her sad experience of the trials of that
war with a memory remarkably tenacious and correct. Her sight and
hearing were defective, and her skin wrinkled; but in her soft blue eye,
regular features, and delicate form were lingering many traces of the
beauty of her early womanhood. She was a young lady of twenty years when
Independence was declared, and was living with her parents at Do-ve-gat
(Coveville) when Burgoyne came down the valley. She was then betrothed,
but her lover had shouldered his musket, and was in Schuyler's camp.

While Burgoyne was pressing onward toward Fort Edward from
Skenesborough, the people of the valley below, who were attached to the
patriot cause, fled hastily to Albany. Mrs. J-n and her parents were
among the fugitives. So fearful were they of the Indian scouts sent
forward, and of the resident Tories, not a whit less savage, who were
emboldened by the proximity of the invader, that for several nights
previous to their flight they slept in a swamp, apprehending that their
dwelling would be burned over their heads or that murder would break in
upon their repose. And when they returned home, after the surrender of
Burgoyne, all was desolation. Tears filled her eyes when she spoke of
that sad return. "We had but little to come home to," she said. "Our
crops and our cattle, our sheep, hogs, and horses, were all gone, yet we
knelt down in our desolate room and thanked God sincerely that our house
and barns were not destroyed." She wedded her soldier soon afterward,
and during the long widowhood of her evening of life his pension has
been secured to her, and a few years ago it was increased in amount. She
referred to it, and with quiver ing lip-quivering with the emotions of
her full heart-said, "The government has been very kind to me in my
poverty and old age." She was personally acquainted with General
Schuyler, and spoke feelingly of the noble-heartedness of himself and
lady in all the relations of life. While pressing her hand in bidding
her farewell, the thought occurred that we

Remains of the Fortifications of Burgoyne's Camp.--The Riedesel House.--
Narrative of the Baroness Riedesel.

089

represented the linking of the living, vigorous, active present, and the
half-buried, decaying past; and that between her early womanhood and now
all the grandeur and glory of our Republic had dawned and brightened
into perfect day.

From Mrs. Jn's we rode to the residence of her brother, the house
wherein the Baroness Riedesel, with her children and female companions,
was sheltered just before the surrender of Burgoyne. It is about a mile
above Schuylerville, and nearly opposite the mouth of the Batten Kill.
On our way we paused to view the remains of the fortifications of
Burgoyne's camp, upon the heights a little west of the village.
Prominent traces of the mounds and ditches are there visible in the
woods. A little northwest of the village the lines of the defenses
thrown up by the Germans, and Hessians of Hanau may be distinctly seen.
(See map, page 77.)

The house made memorable by the presence and the pen of the wife of the
Brunswick general is well preserved. At the time of the Revolution it
was owned by Peter Lansing, a relative of the chancellor of that name,
and now belongs to Mr. Samuel March 1848who has the good taste to keep
up its original character. It is upon the high bank west of the road
from Schuylerville to Fort Miller, pleasantly shaded in front by
locusts, and fairly embowered in shrubbery and fruit trees.

We will listen to the story of the sufferings of some of the women of
Burgoyne's camp in that house, as told by the baroness herself: "About
two o'clock in the afternoon we again heard a firing of cannon and small
arms; instantly all was alarm, and every thing in motion. My husband
told me to go to a house not far off. I immediately seated myself in my
caleche, with my children, and drove off; but scarcely had we reached it
before I discovered five or six armed men on the other side of the
Hudson. Instinctively I threw my children down in the caleche, and then
concealed myself with them. At this moment the fellows fired, and
wounded an already wounded English soldier, who was behind me. Poor
fellow! I pitied him exceedingly, but at this moment had no power to
relieve him.

"A terrible cannonade was commenced by the enemy against the house in
which I sought to obtain shelter for myself and children, under the
mistaken idea that all the generals were in it. Alas! it contained none
but wounded and women. We were at last obliged to resort to the cellar
for refuge, and in one corner of this I remained the whole day, my
children sleeping on the earth with their heads in my lap; and in the
same situation I passed a sleepless night. * Eleven cannon-balls passed
through the house, and we could distinctly hear them roll away. One poor
soldier, who was lying on a table for the purpose of having his leg
amputated, was struck by a shot, which carried away his other; his
comrades had left him, and when we went to his assistance we found him
in a corner of the room, into which he had crept, more dead than alive,
scarcely breathing. ** My reflections on the danger to which my husband
was exposed now agonized me exceedingly, and the thoughts of my
children, and the necessity of struggling for their preservation, alone
sustained me.

* The cellar is about fifteen by thirty feet in size, and lighted and
ventilated by two small windows only.

** The place where this ball entered is seen under the window near the
corner, and designated in the picture by a small black spot.

Companions in Misery of the Baroness Riedesel.--Wounded Soldiers.--
Kindness of General Schuyler.

090

"The ladies of the army who were with me were Mrs. Harnage, a Mrs.
Kennels the widow of a lieutenant who was killed, and the lady of the
commissary. Major Harnage, his wife, and Mrs. Kennels made a little room
in a corner with curtains to it, and wished to do the same for me, but I
preferred being near the door, in case of fire. Not far off my women
slept, and opposite to us three English officers, who, though wounded,
were determined not to be left behind; one of them was Captain Green, an
aid-de-camp to Major-general Phillips, a very valuable officer and most
agreeable man. They each made me a most sacred promise not to leave me
behind, and, in case of sudden retreat, that they would each of them
take one of my children on his horse; and for myself one of my husband's
was in constant readiness..... The want of water distressed us much; at
length we found a soldier's wife who had courage enough to fetch us some
from the river, an office nobody else would undertake, as the Americans
shot at every person who approached it; but, out of respect for her sex,
they never molested her.

"I now occupied myself through the day in attending the wounded; I made
them tea and coffee, and often shared my dinner with them, for which
they offered me a thousand expressions of gratitude. One day a Canadian
officer came to our cellar, who had scarcely the power of holding
himself upright, and we concluded he was dying for want of nourishment;
I was happy in offering him my dinner, which strengthened him, and
procured me his friendship. I now undertook the care of Major
Bloomfield, another aid-de-camp of General Phillips; he had received a
musket-ball through both cheeks, which in its course had knocked out
several of his teeth and cut his tongue; he could hold nothing in his
mouth, the matter which ran from his wound almost choked him, and he was
not able to take any nourishment except a little soup or something
liquid. We had some Rhenish wine, and, in the hope that the acidity of
it would cleanse his wound, I gave him a bottle of it. He took a little
now and then, and with such effect that his cure soon followed; thus I
added another to my stock of friends, and derived a satisfaction which,
in the midst of sufferings, served to tranquilize me and diminish their
acuteness.

"One day General Phillips accompanied my husband, at the risk of their
lives, on a visit to us. The general, after having beheld our situation,
said to him, 'I would not for ten thousand guineas come again to this
place; my heart is almost broken.'

"In this horrid situation we remained six days; a cessation of
hostilities was now spoken of, and eventually took place."

The baroness, in the simple language of her narrative, thus bears
testimony to the generous courtesy of the American officers, and to the
true nobility of character of General Schuyler in particular: "My
husband sent a message to me to come over to him with my children. I
seated myself once more in my dear caleche, and then rode through the
American camp. As I passed on I observed, and this was a great
consolation to me, that no one eyed me with looks of resentment, but
they all greeted us, and even showed compassion in their countenances at
the sight of a woman with small children I was, I confess, afraid to go
over to the enemy, as it was quite a new situation to me. When I drew
near the tents a handsome man approached and met me, _took my children
from the caleche, and hugged and kissed them, which affected me almost
to tears_. 'You tremble,' said he, addressing himself to me; 'be not
afraid.' 'No,' I answered, 'you seem so kind and tender to my children,
it inspires me with courage.' He now led me to the tent of General
Gates, where I found Generals Burgoyne and Phillips, who were on a
friendly footing with the former. Burgoyne said to me, 'Never mind; your
sorrows have now an end.' I answered him that I should be reprehensible
to have any cares, as he had none; and I was pleased to see him on such
friendly footing with General Gates. All the generals remained to dine
with General Gates.

"The same gentleman who received me so kindly now came and said to me,
'You will be very much embarrassed to eat with all these gentlemen;
_come with your children to my tent, where I will prepare for you a
frugal dinner, and give it with a free will_' I said, '_You are
certainly a husband and a father, you have shown me so much kindness._'

* General Burgoyne boasted at Fort Edward that he should eat a
Christinas dinner in Albany, surrounded by his victorious army.

Arrival of the British Officers and Women at Albany.--Courtesy of
General Schuyler and Family.

091

I now found that he was General Schuyler. He treated me with excellent
smoked tongue, beef-steaks, potatoes, and good bread and butter! Never
could I have wished to eat a better dinner; I was content; I saw all
around me were so likewise; and, what was better than all, my husband
was out of danger.

"When we had dined he told me his residence was at Albany, and that
General Burgoyne intended to honor him as his guest, and invited myself
and children to do so likewise. I asked my husband how I should act; he
told me to accept the invitation. As it was two days' journey there, he
advised me to go to a place which was about three hours' ride distant.

"Some days after this we arrived at Albany, where we so often wished
ourselves; but we did not enter it as we expected we should-victors! *
We were received by the good General Schuyler, his wife, and daughters,
not as enemies, but kind friends; and they treated us with the most
marked attention and politeness, as they did General Burgoyne, who had
caused General Schuyler's beautifully-finished house to be burned. In
fact, they behaved like persons of exalted minds, who determined to bury
all recollections of their own injuries in the contemplation of our
misfortunes. General Burgoyne was struck with General Schuyler's
generosity, and said to him, 'You show me great kindness, though I have
done you much injury.' 'That was the fate of war,' replied the brave
man; 'let us say no more about it.'"

General Schuyler was detained at Saratoga when Burgoyne and suite
started for Albany.

British Officers at Schuyler's House.--Execution-place of Lovelace.--
Active and Passive Tories.--Rendezvous of Lovelace.

092

He wrote to his wife to give the English general the very best reception
in her power. "The British commander was well received," says the
Marquis de Chastellux, * in his Travels in America, "by Mrs. Schuyler,
and lodged in the best apartment in the house. An excellent supper was
served him in the evening, the honors of whieh were done with so much
grace that he was affected even to tears, and said, with a deep sigh, '
Indeed, this is doing too much for the man who has ravaged their lands
and burned their dwellings.' The next morning he was reminded of his
misfortunes by an incident that would have amused any one else. His bed
was prepared in a large room; but as he had a numerous suite, or family,
several mattresses were spread on the floor for some officers to sleep
near him. Schuyler's second son, a little fellow about seven years old,
very arch and forward, but very amiable, was running all the morning
about the house. Opening the door of the saloon, he burst out a laughing
on seeing all the English collected, and shut it after him, exclaiming,
'You are all my prisoners!' This innocent cruelty rendered them more
melancholy than before."

We next visited the headquarters of General Gates, south of the Fish
Creek, delineated on page 75. On our way we passed the spot, a few rods
south of the creek, where Lovelaee, a prominent Tory, was hung. It is
upon the high bluff seen on the right of the road in the annexed sketch,
which was taken from the lawn in front of the rebuilt mansion of General
Schuyler.

Lovelaee was a fair type of his class, the bitterest and most implacable
foes of the republicans. There were many Tories who were so from
principle, and refused to take sides against the parent country from
honest convictions of the wrongfulness of such a course. They looked
upon the Whigs as rebels against their sovereign; condemned the war as
unnatural, and regarded the final result as surely disastrous to those
who had lifted up the arm of opposition. Their opinions were courteously
but firmly expressed; they took every opportunity to dissuade their
friends and neighbors from participation in the rebellion; and by all
their words and acts discouraged the insurgent movement. But they
shouldered no musket, girded on no sword, piloted no secret expedition
against the republicans. They were passive, noble-minded men, and
deserve our respect for their consistency and our commiseration for
their sufferings at the hands of those who made no distinction between
the man of honest opinions and the marauder with no opinions at all.

There was another elass of Tories, governed by the footpad's axiom, that
"might makes right." They were Whigs when royal power was weak, and
Tories when royal power was strong. Their god was mammon, and they
offered up human sacrifices in abundance upon its altars. Cupidity and
its concomitant vices governed all their acts, and the bonds of
consanguinity and affection were too weak to restrain their fostered
barbarism. Those born in the same neighborhood; educated (if at all) in
the same school; admonished, it may be, by the same pastor, seemed to
have their hearts suddenly closed to every feeling of friendship or of
love, and became as relentless robbers and murderers of neighbors and
friends as the savages of the wilderness. Of this elass was Thomas
Lovelaee, who, for a time, became a terror to his old neighbors and
friends in Saratoga, his native district.

At the commencement of the war Lovelace went to Canada, and there
confederated with five other persons from his own county to come down
into Saratoga and abduct, plunder, or betray their former neighbors. He
was brave, expert, and cautious. His quarters were in a large swamp
about five miles from the residence of Colonel Van Vechten at Do-ve-gat,
but his place of rendezvous was cunningly concealed. Robberies were
frequent, and several inhabitants were carried off. General Schuyler's
house was robbed, and an attempt was

* A French officer, who served in the array in this country during a
part of the Revolution.

Capture and Death of Lovelace.--Daring Adventure of an American
Soldier.--Departure from Schuylerville

093

made by Lovelace and his companions to carry off Colonel Van Vechten;
but the active vigilance of General Stark, then in command of the
barracks north of the Fish Creek, * in furnishing the colonel with a
guard, frustrated the marauder's plans. Intimations of his intentions
and of his place of concealment were given to Captain Dunham, who
commanded a company of militia in the neighborhood, and he at once
summoned his lieutenant, ensign, orderly, and one private to his house.
* At dark they proceeded to the "Big Swamp," three miles distant, where
two Tory families resided. They separated to reconnoiter, but two of
them, Green and Guiles, were lost. The other three kept together, and at
dawn discovered Lovelace and his party in a hut covered over with
boughs, just drawing on their stockings. The three Americans crawled
cautiously forward till near the hut, when they sprang upon a log with a
shout, leveled their muskets, and Dunham exclaimed, "Surrender, or you
are all dead men!" There was no time for parley, and, believing that the
Americans were upon them in force, they came out one by one without
arms, and were marched by their captors to General Stark at the
barracks. They were tried by a court-martial as spies, traitors, and
robbers, and Lovelace, who was considered too dangerous to be allowed to
escape, was sentenced to be hung. He complained of injustice, and
claimed the leniency due to a prisoner of war; but his plea was
disallowed, and three days afterward he was hung upon the brow of the
hill at the place delineated, during a tremendous storm of rain and
wind, accompanied by vivid lightning and clashing thunder-peals. These
facts were communicated to me by the son of Colonel Van Vechten, who
accompanied me to the spot, and who was well acquainted with all the
captors of Lovelace and his accomplices.

The place where Gates and Burgoyne had their first interview (delineated
on page 81) is about half way between the Fish Creek and Gates's
headquarters. After visiting these localities, we returned to the
village, and spent an hour upon the ground where the British army laid
down their arms. This locality I have already noted, and will not detain
the reader longer than to mention the fact that the plain whereon this
event took place formed a part of the extensive meadows of General
Schuyler, and to relate a characteristic adventure which occurred there.

While the British camp was on the north side of the Fish Creek, a number
of the officers' horses were let loose in the meadows to feed. An expert
swimmer among the Americans who swarmed upon the hills east of the
Hudson, obtained permission to go across and capture one of the horses.
He swam the river, seized and mounted a fine bay gelding, and in a few
moments was recrossing the stream unharmed, amid a volley of bullets
from a party of British soldiers. Shouts greeted him as he returned;
and, when rested, he asked permission to go for another, telling the
captain that _he_ ought to have a horse to ride as well as a private.
Again the adventurous soldier was among the herd, and, unscathed,
returned with an exceedingly good match for the first, and presented it
to his commander. ***

Bidding our kind friend and guide adieu, we left Schuylerville toward
evening, in a private carriage, for Fort Miller, six miles further up
the Hudson. The same beautiful and diversified scenery, the same
prevailing quiet that charmed us all the way from Waterford, still
surrounded us; and the river and the narrow alluvial plain through which
it flows, bounded on either side by high undulations or abrupt pyramidal
hills, which cast lengthened shadows in the evening sun across the
meadows, presented a beautiful picture of luxurious repose. We crossed
the Hudson upon a long bridge built on strong abutments, two miles and a
half above Schuylerville, at the place where Burgoyne and his army
crossed on the 12th of September, 1777. The river is here quite broad
and shallow, and broken by frequent rifts and rapids.

We arrived at Fort Miller village, on the east bank of the river,
between five and six o'clock; and while awaiting supper, preparatory to
an evening canal voyage to Fort Edward, nine miles above, I engaged a
water-man to row me across to the western bank, to

* The place-where these barracks were located is just within the
northern suburbs of Schuylerville.

** Davis, Green, Guiles, and Burden.

*** Neilson, 223

Visit to the Site of old Fort Edward.--Tragedy of "Bloody Run."-- Daring
Feat by Putnam.--Fort Miller Fording-place.

094

view the site of the old fort. He was a very obliging man, and well
acquainted with the localities in the neighborhood, but was rather
deficient in historical knowledge. His attempts to relate 'the events
connected with the old fort and its vicinity were amusing; for Putnam's
ambush on Lake Champlain, and the defeat of Pyles by Lee, in North
Carolina, with a slight tincture of correct narrative, were blended
together as pans of an event which occurred at Fort Miller.

We crossed the Hudson just above the rapids. A dam for milling purposes
spans the stream, causing a sluggish current and deeper water for more
than two miles above. Here was the scene of one of Putnam's daring
exploits. While a major in the English provincial army, nearly twenty
years before the Revolution, he was lying in-a bateau on the east side
of the river, and was suddenly surprised by a party of Indians. He could
not cross the river swiftly enough to escape the balls of their rifles,
and there was no alternative but to go down the foaming rapids. In an
instant his purpose was fixed, and, to the astonishment of the savages,
he steered directly down the current, amid whirling eddies and over
shelving rocks. In a few moments his vessel cleared the rush of waters,
and was gliding upon the smooth current below, far out of reach of the
weapons of the Indians. It was a feat they never dared attempt, and
superstition convinced them that he was so favored by the Great Spirit
that it would be an affront to Manitou to attempt to kill him with
powder and ball.

Other Indians of the tribe, however, soon afterward gave practical
evidence of their unbelief in such interposition.

There is not a vestige of Fort Miller left, and maize, and potatoes, and
pumpkin vines were flourishing where the rival forces of Sir William
Johnson and the Baron Dieskau alternately paraded. At the foot of the
hill, a few rods below where the fort stood, is a part of the trench and
bank of a redoubt, and this is all that remains even of the outworks of
the fortification.

An eighth of a mile westward is Bloody Run, a stream which comes leaping
in sparkling cascades from the hills, and affords fine trout fishing. It
derives its name from the fact that, while the English had possession of
the fort in 1759, a party of soldiers from the garrison went out to fish
at the place represented in the picture. The hills, now cultivated, were
then covered with dense forests, and afforded the Indians excellent
ambush. A troop of savages, lying near, sprang silently from their
covert upon the fishers, and bore off nine reeking scalps before those
who escaped could reach the fort and give the alarm.

This clear mountain stream enters the Hudson a little above Fort Miller,
where the river makes a sudden curve, and where, before the erection of
the dam at the rapids, it was quite shallow, and usually fordable. This
was the crossing-place for the armies; and there are still to be seen
some of the logs and stones upon the shore which formed a part of the
old "King's Road" leading to the fording-place. They are now sub-

* This view is taken from the site of the fort, looking northward. The
fort was in the town of Northumberland. It was built of logs and earth,
and was never a post of great importance

Canal Voyage to Fort Edward.--Scene on Board.--Fort Edward.--National
Debt of England.

095

merged, the river having been made deeper by the dam; but when the water
is limpid they can be plainly seen. It was twilight before we reached
the village on the eastern shore.

We supped and repaired to the packet office, where we waited until nine
o'clock in the evening before the shrill notes of a tin horn brayed out
the annunciation of a packet near. Its deck was covered with passengers,
for the interesting ceremony of converting the dining-room into a
dormitory, or swinging the hammocks or berths and selecting their
occupants, had commenced, and all were driven out, much to their own
comfort, but, strange to say, to the dissatisfaction of many who lazily
preferred a sweltering lounge in the cabin to the delights of fresh air
and the bright starlight. Having no interest in the scramble for beds,
we enjoyed the evening breeze and the excitement of the tiny tumult. My
companion, fearing the exhalations upon the night air, did indeed
finally seek shelter in one end of the cabin, but was driven, with two
other young ladies, into the captain's state-room, to allow the "hands"
to have full play in making the beds. Imprisoned against their will, the
ladies made prompt restitution to themselves by drawing the cork of a
bottle of sarsaparilla and sipping its contents, greatly to the
consternation of a meek old dame, the mother of one of the girls, who
was sure it was "bed-bug pizen, or something a pesky sight worse." We
landed at Fort Edward at midnight, and took lodgings at a small but
tidily-kept tavern close by the canal.

Fort Edward was a military post of considerable importance during the
French and Indian wars and the Revolution. * The locality, previous to
the erection of the fortress, was called the _first carrying-place_,
being the first and nearest point on the Hudson where the troops,
stores, &c., were landed while passing to or from the south end of Lake
Champlain, a distance of about twenty-five miles. The fort was built in
1755, when six thousand troops were collected there, under General
Lyman, waiting the arrival of General Johnson, the commander-in-chief of
an expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. It was at first
called Fort Lyman, in Fort Edward.* honor of the general who
superintended its erection. It

* I refer particularly to the war between England and France, commonly
called, in Europe, the Seven Years' War. It was declared on the 9th of
June, 1756, and ended with the treaty at Paris, concluded and signed
February 10th, 1763. It extended to the colonies of the two nations in
America, and was carried on with much vigor here until the victory of
Wolfe at Quebec, in 1759, and the entire subjugation of Canada by the
English. The French managed to enlist a large proportion of the Indian
tribes in their favor, who were allied with them against the Britons. It
is for that reason that the section of the Seven Years' War in America
was called by the colonists the "French and Indian War." I would here
mention incidentally that that war cost Great Britain five hundred and
sixty millions of dollars, and laid one of the largest foundation stones
of that national debt under which she now groans. It was twenty millions
in the reign of William and Mary, in 1697, and was then thought to be
enormous; in 1840 it was about four thousand millions of dollars!

** Explanation: a a a a a a, six cannons; A, the barracks; B, the store-
house; C, the hospital; D, the magazine; E, a flanker; F, a bridge
across Fort Edward Creek; and G, a balm of Gilead tree which then
overshadowed the massive water-gate. That tree is still standing, a
majestic relic of the past, amid the surrounding changes in nature and
art. It is directly upon the high bank of the Hudson, and its branches,
heavily foliated when I was there, spread very high and wide. At the
union below its three trunks it measures more than twenty feet in
circumference.

Daring Feat of Putnam at Fort Edward.--Jane M'Crea Tree.--Sir William
Johnson and his Title.--Fortifications.

096

was built of logs and earth, sixteen feet high and twenty-two feet
thick, and stood at the junction of Fort Edward Creek and the Hudson
River. From the creek, around the fort to the river, was a deep fosse or
ditch, designated in the engraving by the dark dotted part outside of
the black lines.

There are still very prominent traces of the banks and fosse of the
fort, but the growing village will soon spread over and obliterate them
forever. Already a garden was within the lines; and the old parade-
ground, wherein Sir William Johnson strutted in the haughty pride of a
victor by accident, * was desecrated by beds of beets, parsley,
radishes, and onions.

Fort Edward was the theater of another daring achievement by Putnam. In
the winter of 1756 the barracks, then near the northwestern bastion,
took fire. The magazine was only twelve feet distant, and contained
three hundred barrels of gunpowder. Attempts were made to batter the
barracks to the ground with heavy cannons, but without success. Putnam,
who was stationed upon Rogers's Island, in the Hudson, opposite the
fort, hurried hither, and, taking his station on the roof of the
barracks, ordered a line of soldiers to hand him water. But, despite his
efforts, the flames raged and approached nearer and nearer to the
magazine. The commandant, Colonel Haviland, seeing his danger, ordered
him down; but the brave major did not leave his perilous post until the
fabric began to totter. He then leaped to the ground, placed himself
between the falling building and the magazine, and poured on water with
all his might. The external planks of the magazine were consumed, and
there was only a thin partition between the flames and the powder. But
Putnam succeeded in subduing the flames and saving the ammunition. His
hands and face were dreadfully burned, his whole body was more or less
blistered, and it was several weeks before he recovered from the effects
of his daring conflict with the fire.

The first place of historic interest that we visited at Fort Edward was
the venerable and blasted pine tree near which, tradition asserts, the
unfortunate Jane M'Crea lost her life while General Burgoyne had his
encampment near Sandy Hill. It stands upon the west side of the road
leading from Fort Edward to Sandy Hill, and about half a mile from the
canal-lock in the former village. The tree had exhibited unaccountable
signs of decadence for several years, and when we visited it, it was
sapless and bare. Its top was torn off by a November gale, and almost
every breeze diminishes its size by scattering its decayed twigs. The
trunk is about five feet in diameter, and upon the bark is engraved, in
bold letters, Jane M'Crea, 1777. The names of many ambitious visitors
are intaglioed upon it, and reminded me of the line "Run, run, Orlando,
carve on every tree." I carefully sketched all its branches, and the
engraving is a faithful portraiture of the interesting relic, as viewed
from the opposite side of the road. In a few years this tree, around
which history and romance have clustered so many associations, will
crumble and pass away forever. **

The sad story of the unfortunate girl is so interwoven in our history
that it has become a component part; but it is told with so many
variations, in essential and non-essential par-

* Sir William Johnson had command of the English forces in 1755,
destined to act against Crown Point. He was not remarkable for courage
or activity. He was attacked at the south end of Lake George by the
Freneh general, Deiskau, and was wounded at the outset. The command then
devolved on Major-general Lyman, of the Connecticut troops, who, by his
skill and bravery, secured a victory over the French and Indians.
General Johnson, however, had the honor and reward thereof. In his mean
jealousy he gave General Lyman no praise; and the British king (George
II.) made him a baronet, and a present of twenty thousand dollars to
give the title becoming dignity.Note.--As I shall have frequent occasion
to employ technical terms used in fortifications, I here give a diagram,
which, with the explanation, will make those terms clear to the reader.
The figure is a vertical section of a fortification. The mass of earth,
ab c d ef g h, forms the rampart with its parapet; ab is the interior
slope of the rampart; b c is the terre-plein of the rampart, on which
the troops and cannon are placed; d e is the banquette, or step, on
which the soldiers mount to fire over the parapet; ef g is the parapet;
g h is the exterior slope of the parapet-, hi is the revetment, or wall
of masonry, supporting the rampart; h 1c, the exterior front covered
with the revetment, is called the escarp; i hi the ditch; l m is the
counterscarp; m n is the covered way, having a banquette nop; s r is the
glacis. When there are two ditches, the works between the inner and the
outer ditch are called ravelins, and all outside of the ditches,
outworks.-See Brande's Cyc., art. Fortification.

** It was cut down in 1853, and converted into canes, boxes, &c.

The Fort Edward Romance.--Mrs. M'Neil and her Grand-daughter.--Narrative
of the latter

097

ticulars, that much of the narratives we have is evidently pure fiction;
a simple tale of Indian abduction, resulting in death, having its
counterpart in a hundred like occurrences, has been garnished with all
the high coloring of a romantic love story. It seems a pity to spoil the
_romance_ of the matter, but truth always makes sad havoc with the
frost-work of the imagination, and sternly demands the homage of the
historian's pen.

All accounts agree that Miss M'Crea was staying at the house of a Mrs.
M'Neil, near the fort, at the time of the tragedy. A granddaughter of
Mrs. M'Neil (Mrs.F--n) is now living at Fort 1848. Edward, and from her
I received a minute account of the whole transaction, as she had heard
it a "thousand times" from her grandmother. She is a woman of remarkable
intelligence, about sixty years old. When I was at Fort Edward she was
on a visit with her sister at Glenn's Falls. It had been my intention to
go direct to Whitehall, on Lake Champlain, by way of Fort Ann, but the
traditionary accounts in the neighborhood of the event in question were
so contradictory of the books, and I received such assurances that
perfect reliance might be placed upon the statements of Mrs. F-n, that,
anxious to ascertain the truth of the matter, if possible, we went to
Lake Champlain by way of Glenn's Falls and Lake George. After
considerable search at the falls, I found Mrs. F-n, and the following is
her relation of the tragedy at Fort Edward.

Jane M'Crea was the daughter of a Scotch Presbyterian clergyman of
Jersey City, opposite New York; and while Mrs. M'Neil (then the wife of
a former husband named Campbell) was a resident of New York City, an
acquaintance and intimacy had grown up between Jenny and her daughter.
After the death of Campbell (which occurred at sea) Mrs. Campbell
married M'Neil. He, too, was lost at sea, and she removed with her
family to an estate

Residence of Jane M'Crea at Fort Edward.--Her Betrothal.--Abduction of
Mrs. M'Neil and Jane.

098

owned by him at Fort Edward. Mr. M'Crea, who was a widower, died, and
Jane went to live with her brother near Fort Edward, where the intimacy
of former years with Mrs. M'Neil and her daughter was renewed, and Jane
spent much of her time at Mrs. M'Neil's house. Near her brother's lived
a family named Jones, consisting of a widow and six sons, and between
Jenny and David Jones, a gay young man, a feeling of friendship budded
and ripened into reciprocal love. When the war broke out the Joneses
took the royal side of the question, and David and his brother Jonathan
went to Canada in the autumn of 1776. They raised a company of about
sixty men, under pretext of re-enforcing the American garrison at
Ticonderoga, but they went further down the lake and joined the British
garrison at June l, 1777 Crown Point. When Burgoyne collected his forces
at St. John's, at the foot of Lake Champlain, David and Jonathan Jones
were among them. Jonathan was made captain and David a lieutenant in the
division under General Fraser, and at the time in question they were
with the British army near Sandy Hill. Thus far all accounts nearly
agree.

The brother of Jenny was a Whig, and prepared to move to Albany; but
Mrs. M'Neil, who was a cousin of General Fraser (killed at Stillwater),
was a stanch loyalist, and intended to remain at Fort Edward. When the
British were near, Jenny was at Mrs. M'Neil's, and lingered there even
after repeated solicitations from her brother to return to his house,
five miles further down the river, to be ready to flee when necessity
should compel. A faint hope that she might meet her lover doubtless was
the secret of her tarrying. At last her brother sent a peremptory order
for her to join him, and she promised to go down in a large bateau *
which was expected to leave with several families on the following day.

Early the next morning a black July 27, 1777 servant boy belonging to
Mrs. M'Neil espied some Indians stealthily approaching the house, and,
giving the alarm to the inmates, he fled to the fort, about eighty rods
distant. Mrs. M'Neil's daughter, the young friend of Jenny, and mother
of my informant, was with some friends in Argyle, and the family
consisted of only the widow and Jenny, two small children, and a black
female servant. As usual at that time, the kitchen stood a few feet from
the house; and when the alarm was given the black woman snatched up the
children, fled to the kitchen, and retreated through a trap-door to the
cellar. ** Mrs. M'Neil and Jenny followed, but the former being aged and
very corpulent, and the latter young and agile, Jenny reached the trap-
door first. Before Mrs. M'Neil could fully descend, the Indians were in
the house, and a powerful savage seized her by the hair and dragged her
up. Another went into the cellar and brought out Jenny, but the black
face of the negro woman was not seen in the dark, and she and the
children remained unharmed.

With the two women the savages started off, on the road toward Sandy
Hill, for Bur-goyne's camp; and when they came to the foot of the ascent
on which the pine tree stands, where the road forked, they caught two
horses that were grazing, and attempted to place their prisoners upon
them. Mrs. M'Neil was too heavy to be lifted on the horse easily, and as
she signified by signs that she could not ride, two stout Indians took
her by the arms and hurried her up the road over the hill, while the
others, with Jenny on the horse, went along the road running west of the
tree.

The negro boy who ran to the fort gave the alarm, and a small detachment
was imme-

* Bateaux were rudely constructed of logs and planks, broad and without
a keel. They had small draught, and would carry large loads in quite
shallow water. In still water and against currents they were propelled
by long driving-poles. The ferry-scows or flats on the southern and
western rivers are very much like the old bateaux. They were sometimes
furnished with a mast for lakes and other deep water, and had cabins
erected on them.

** Traces of this cellar and of th: foundation of the house are still
visible in the garden of Dr. Norton, in Fort Edward village, who is a
relative of the family by marriage.

Flight of the Indians toward Sandy Hill.--Treatment of Mrs. M'Neil.--
Indian Account of the Death of Jane.--The Spring.

099

diately sent out to effect a rescue. They fired several volleys at the
Indians, but the savages escaped unharmed. Mrs. M'Neil said that the
Indians, who were hurrying her up the hill, seemed to watch the flash of
the guns, and several times they threw her upon her face, at the same
time falling down themselves, and she distinctly heard the balls whistle
above them. When they got above the second hill from the village the
firing ceased; they-then stopped, stripped her of all her garments
except her chemise, and in that plight led her into the British camp.
There she met her kinsman, General Fraser, and reproached him bitterly
for sending his "scoundrel Indians" after her. He denied all knowledge
of her being away from the city of New York, and took every pains to
make her comfortable. She was so large that not a woman in camp had a
gown big enough for her, so Fraser lent her his camp-coat for a garment,
and a pocket-handkerchief as a substitute for her stolen cap.

Very soon after Mrs. M'Neil was taken into the British camp, two parties
of Indians arrived with scalps. She at once recognised the long glossy
hair of Jenny, * and, though shuddering with horror, boldly charged the
savages with her murder, which they stoutly denied.

They averred that, while hurrying her along the road on horseback, near
the spring west of the _pine tree_, a bullet from one of the American
guns, intended for them, mortally wounded the poor girl, and she fell
from the horse. Sure of losing a prisoner by death, they took her scalp
as the next best thing for them to do, and that they bore in triumph to
the camp, to obtain the promised reward for such trophies. Mrs. M'Neil
always believed the story of the Indians to be true, for she knew that
they were fired upon by the detachment from the fort, and it was far
more to their interest to carry a prisoner than a scalp to the British
commander, the price for the former being much greater. In fact, the
Indians were so restricted by Burgoyne's humane instructions respecting
the taking of scalps, that their chief solicitude was to bring a
prisoner alive and unharmed into the camp. ** And the probability that
Miss M'Crea was killed as they alleged is strengthened by the fact that
they took the corpulent Mrs. M'Neil, with much fatigue and difficulty,
uninjured to the British lines, while Miss M'Crea, quite light and
already on horseback, might have been carried off with far greater ease.

It was known in camp that Lieutenant Jones was betrothed to Jenny, and
the story got abroad that he had sent the Indians for her, that they
quarreled on the way respecting the reward he had offered, and murdered
her to settle the dispute. Receiving high touches of coloring as it went
from one narrator to another, the sad story became a tale of darkest
horror, and produced a deep and wide-spread indignation. This was
heightened by September 2, 1777 a published letter from Gates to
Burgoyne, charging him with allowing the In-

* It was of extraordinary length and beauty, measuring a yard and a
quarter. She was then about twenty years old, and a very lovely girl;
not lovely in beauty of face, according to the common standard of
beauty, but so lovely in disposition, so graceful in manners, and so
intelligent in features, that she was a favorite of all who knew her.

** "I positively forbid bloodshed when you are not opposed in arms. Aged
men, women, children, and prisoners must be held sacred from the knife
and hatchet, even in the time of actual conflict. You shall receive
compensation for the prisoners you take, but you shall be called to
account for scalps. In conformity and indulgence of your customs, which
have affixed an idea of honor to such badges of victory, you shall be
allowed to take the scalps of the dead when killed by your fire and in
fair opposition; but on no account, or pretense, or subtilty, or
prevarication are they to be taken from the wounded, or even the dying;
and still less pardonable, if possible, will it be held to kill men in
that condition on purpose, and upon in supposition that this protection
to the wounded would be thereby evaded."-Extract from the Speech of
Burgoyne to the Indians assembled upon the Bouquet River, June 21, 1777.

*** This is a view of a living spring, a few feet below the noted pine
tree, the lower portion of which is seen near the top of the engraving.
The spring is beside the old road, traces of which may be seen.

Massacre of the Allen Family.--Gates's Letter.--Inquiry respecting the
Death of Miss M'Crea.--Desertion of Lieutenant Jones

100

dians to butcher with impunity defenseless women and children. "Upward
of one hundred men, women, and children," said Gates, "have perished by
the hands of the ruffians, to whom, it is asserted, you have paid the
price of blood." Burgoyne flatly denied this assertion, and declared
that the case of Jane M'Crea was the only act of Indian cruelty of which
he was informed. His information must have been exceedingly limited, for
on the same day when Jenny lost her life a party of savages murdered the
whole family, of John Allen, of Argyle, consisting of himself, his wife,
three children, a sister-in-law, and three negroes. The daughter of Mrs.
M'Neil, already mentioned, was then at the house of Mr. Allen's father-
in-law, Mr. Gilmer, who, as well as Mr. Allen, was a Tory. Both were
afraid of the savages, nevertheless, and were preparing to flee to
Albany. On the morning of the massacre a younger daughter of Mr. Gilmer
went to assist Mrs. Allen in preparing to move. Not returning when
expected, her father sent a negro boy down for her. He soon returned,
screaming, "They are all dead-father, mother, young missus, and all!" It
was too true. That morning, while the family were at breakfast, the
Indians burst in upon them and slaughtered every one. Mr. Gilmer and his
family left in great haste for Fort Edward, but proceeded very
cautiously for fear of the savages. When near the fort, and creeping
warily along a ravine, they discovered a portion of the very party who
had plundered Mrs. M'Neil's house in the morning. They had emptied the
straw from the beds and filled the ticks with stolen articles. Mrs.
M'Neil's daughter, who accompanied the fugitive family, saw her mother's
looking-glass tied upon the back of one of the savages. They succeeded
in reaching the fort in safety.

Burgoyne must soon have forgotten this event and the alarm among the
loyalists because of the murder of a Tory and his family; forgotten how
they flocked to his camp for protection, and Fraser's remark to the
frightened loyalists, "It is a conquered country, and we must wink at
these things;" and how his own positive orders to the Indians, not to
molest those having protection, caused many of them to leave him and
return to their hunting-grounds on the St. Lawrence. It was all dark and
dreadful, and Burgoyne was willing to retreat behind a false assertion,
to escape the perils which were sure to grow out of an admission of half
the truth of Gates's letter. That letter, as Sparks justly remarks, was
more ornate than forcible, and abounded more in bad taste than
simplicity and pathos; yet it was suited to the feelings of the moment,
and produced a lively impression in every part of America. Burke, in the
exercise of all his glowing eloquence, used the story with powerful
effect in the British House of Commons, and made the dreadful tale
familiar throughout Europe.

Burgoyne, who was at Fort Ann, instituted an inquiry into the matter. He
summoned the Indians to council, and demanded the surrender of the man
who bore off the scalp, to be punished as a murderer. Lieutenant Jones
denied all knowledge of the matter, and utterly disclaimed any such
participation as the sending of a letter to Jenny, or of an Indian
escort to bring her to camp. He had no motive for so doing, for the
American army was then retreating; a small guard only was at Fort
Edward, and in a day or two the British would have full possession of
that fort, when he could have a personal interview with her. Burgoyne,
instigated by motives of policy rather than by judgment and inclination,
pardoned the savage who scalped poor Jenny, fearing that a total
defection of the Indians would be the result of his punishment. *

Lieutenant Jones, chilled with horror and broken in spirit by the event,
tendered a resignation of his commission, but it was refused. He
purchased the scalp of his Jenny, and with this cherished memento
deserted, with his brother, before the army reached Saratoga, and
retired to Canada. Various accounts have been given respecting the
subsequent fate of Lieutenant Jones. Some assert that, perfectly
desperate and careless of life, he rushed into the thickest of the
battle on Bemis's Heights, and was slain; while others allege that he
died within three years afterward, heart-broken and insane. But neither
assertion is true. While searching for Mrs. F----n among her friends at
Glenn's Falls, I called at the

* Earl of Harrington's Evidence in Burgoyne's "State of the Expeditions.
66.

Effect of Miss M'Crea's Death on Lieutenant Jones.--Attack of Indians
upon American Troops.--Reinterment of Miss M'Crea

101

house of Judge R--s, whose lady is related by marriage to the family of
Jones. Her aunt married a brother of Lieutenant Jones, and she often
heard this lady speak of him. He lived in Canada to be an old man, and
died but a few years ago. The death of Jenny was a heavy blow, and he
never recovered from it. In youth he was gay and exceedingly garrulous,
but after that terrible event he was melancholy and taciturn. He never
married, and avoided society as much as business-would permit. Toward
the close of July in every year, when the anniversary of the tragedy
approached, he would shut himself in his room and refuse the sight of
any one; and at all times his friends avoided any reference to the
Revolution in his presence.

At the time of this tragical event-the American army under General
Schuyler was encamped at Moses's Creek, five miles below Fort Edward.
One of its two divisions was placed under the command of Arnold, who had
just reached the army. His July 03, 1777 division included the rear-
guard left at the fort. A picket-guard of one hundred men, under
Lieutenant Van Vechten, was stationed on the hill a little north of the
pine tree; and at the moment when the house of Mrs. M'Neil was attacked
and plundered, and her self and Jenny were carried off, other parties of
Indians, belonging to the same expedition, came rushing through the
woods from different points, and fell upon the Americans. Lieutenant Van
Vechten and several others were killed and their scalps borne off. Their
bodies, with that of Jenny, were found by the party that went out from
the fort in pursuit. She and the officer were lying near together, close
by the spring already mentioned, and only a few feet from the pine tree.
They were stripped of clothing, for plunder was the chief incentive of
the savages to war. They were borne immediately to the fort, which the
Americans at once evacuated, and Jane did indeed go down the river in
the bateau in which she had intended to embark, but not glowing with
life and beauty, as was expected by her fond brother. With the deepest
grief, he took charge of her mutilated corse, which was buried at the
same time and place with that of the lieutenant, on the west bank of the
Hudson, near the mouth of a small creek about three miles below Fort
Edward.

Mrs. M'Neil lived many years, and was buried in the small village
cemetery, very near the ruins of the fort. In the summer of 1826 the
remains of Jenny were taken up and deposited in the same grave with her.
They were followed by a long train of young men and maidens, and the
funeral ceremonies were conducted by the eloquent but unfortunate Hooper
Cummings, of Albany, at that time a brilliant light in the American
pulpit, but destined, like a glowing meteor, to go suddenly down into
darkness and gloom. Many who were then young have a vivid recollection
of the pathetic discourse of that gifted man, who on that occasion "made
all Fort Edward weep," as he delineated anew the sorrowful picture of
the immolation of youth and innocence upon the horrid altar of war.

A plain white marble slab, about three feet high, with the simple
inscription _Jane M'Crea_, marks the spot of her interment. Near by, as
seen in the picture, is an antique brown stone slab, erected to the
memory of Duncan Campbell, a relative of Mrs. M'Neil's first husband,
who was mortally wounded at Ticonderoga in 1758. * Several others of the
same name lie near, members of the family of Donald Campbell, a brave
Scotchman who was with Montgomery at the storming of Quebec in 1775.

"We lingered long in the cool shade at the spring before departing for
the village burial-ground where the remains of Jenny rest. As we emerged
from the woods we saw two or

* The following is the inscription: Here Lyes The Body of Duncan-
Campbell, of Inversaw. Esqr., Major to the Old Highland Regt., Aged 55
Years, Who Died The 17th July, 1758. of The Wounds He Received in the
Attack of The Retrenchments of Ticonderoga or Carillon the 8th July,
1758.

Young Girl struck by Lightning.--Village Burial-ground.--Colonel Cochran
and his Adventures.--Rogers's Island.

102

three persons with a horse and wagon, slowly ascending the hill from the
village. In the wagon, upon a mattress, was a young girl who had been
struck by lightning, two days before while drawing water from a well. *
Although alive, her senses were all paralyzed by the shock, and her
sorrowing father was carrying her home, perhaps to die. With brief words
of consoling hope, we stepped up and looked upon the stricken one. Her
breathing was soft and slow-a hectic glow was upon each cheek; but all
else of her fair young face was pale as alabaster except her lips. It
was grievous, even to a stranger, to look upon a young life so suddenly
prostrated, and we turned sadly away to go to the grave of another, who
in the bloom of young womanhood was also smitten to the earth, not by
the lightning from Heaven, but by the arm of warring man.

The village burial-ground is near the site of the fort, and was thickly
strewn with wild flowers. We gathered a bouquet from the grave of Jenny,
and preserved it for the eye of the curious in an impromptu herbarium
made of a city newspaper. A few feet from her "narrow house" is the
grave of Colonel Robert Cochran, whom I have already mentioned as
commanding a detachment of militia at Fort Edward at the time of
Burgoyne's surrender. He was a brave officer, and was warmly attached to
the American cause. In 1778 he was sent to Canada as a spy. His errand
being suspected, a large bounty was offered for his head. He was obliged
to conceal himself, and while doing so at one time in a brush-heap, he
was taken dangerously ill. Hunger and disease made him venture to a log
cabin in sight. As he approached he heard three men and a woman
conversing on the subject of the reward for his head, and discovered
that they were actually forming plans for his capture. The men soon left
the cabin in pursuit of him, and he immediately crept into the presence
of the woman, who was the wife of one of the men, frankly told her his
name, and. asked her protection. That she kindly promised him, and gave
him some nourishing food and a bed to rest upon. The men returned in the
course of a few hours, and she concealed Cochran in a cupboard, where he
overheard expressions of their confident anticipations that before
another sun they would have the rebel spy, and claim the reward. They
refreshed themselves, and set off again in search of him. The kind woman
directed him to a place of concealment, some distance from her cabin,
where she fed and nourished him until he was able to travel, and then he
escaped beyond the British lines. Several years afterward, when the war
had closed, the colonel lived at Ticonderoga, and there he accidentally
met his deliverer, and rewarded her handsomely for her generous fidelity
in the cause of suffering humanity.

Colonel Cochran died in 1812, at Sandy Hill, and was buried at Fort
Edward.

It was hot noon when I left the village cemetery, and took shelter under
the shadow of the venerable balm of Gilead tree at the place of the
water-gate of the fort. A few rods below is the mouth of Fort Edward
Creek, on the south of which the British army were encamped when
Burgoyne tarried there to send an expedition to Bennington, and, after
that disastrous affair, to recruit and discipline his forces. Dividing
the waters of the Hudson in front of the fort is Rogers's Island, a
beautiful and romantic spot, which was used as a camp-ground by the
English and French alternately during the French and Indian war. Almost
every year the

* This mournful event occurred in the village, very near the same spot
where, a year before, five men in a store were instantly killed by one
thunder-bolt.

** This sketch is taken from within the intrenchments of Fort Edward,
near the magazine, looking southwest. On the left, just beyond the balm
of Gilead tree, is seen the creek, and on the right, across the water,
Rogers's Island.

Relics found on Rogers's Island.--A remarkable Skull.--Silver Coin found
at Fort Edward.

103

plow turns lip some curious relics of the past upon the island, such as
bayonets, tomahawks, buttons, bullets, cannon-balls, coin, arrow-heads,
&c.

Dr. Norton, of Fort Edward, gave me a skull that had been exhumed there,
which is remarkable for its excessive thickness; not so thick, however,
as to resist the force of a musket-ball which penetrated it, and
doubtless deprived its owner of life. It is three eighths of an inch
thick where the bullet entered in front, and, notwithstanding its long
inhumation, the sutures are perfect. Its form is that of the negro, and
it probably belonged to the servant of some officer stationed there.

The silver coin found in the vicinity of Fort Edward is called by the
people "cob money."

The derivation of this name I could not learn. I obtained two pieces of
it, both of which are Spanish coin. The larger one is a cross-pistareen,
of the value of sixteen cents; the other is a quarter fraction of the
same coin. They are very irregular in form, and the devices and dates
are quite imperfect. The two in my possession are dated respectively
1741, 1743 These Spanish small coins composed the bulk of specie
circulation among the French in Canada at that time

Ride from Fort Edward to Glenn's Falls.--Appearance of the Country.--
Interesting Character of the Region.

104

CHAPTER V.

"Though of the past from no carved shrines,

Canvass, or deathless lyres, we learn,

Yet arbor'd streams and shadowy pines

Are hung with legends wild and stern:

In deep dark glen-on mountain side,

Are graves whence stately pines have sprung,

Naught telling how the victims died,

Save faint tradition's faltering tongue."

Street.

E dined at three, and immediately left the pleasant little village of
Fort Edward in a barouche for Glenn's Falls, by the way of Sandy Hill, a
distance of six miles. The latter village is beautifully situated upon
the high left bank of the Hudson, where the river makes a sudden sweep
from an easterly to a southerly course. Here is the termination of the
Hudson Valley, and above it the river courses its way in a narrow
channel, among rugged rocks and high, wooden bluffs, through as wild and
romantic a region as the most enthusiastic traveler could desire.

It was early in the afternoon when we reached the Mansion House at
Glenn's Falls, near the cataract. All was bustle and confusion, for here
is the brief tarrying-place of fashionable tourists on their way from
Saratoga Springs to Lake George. There was a constant arrival and
departure of visitors. Few remained longer than to dine or sup, view the
falls at a glance, and then hasten away to the grand summer lounge at
Caldwell, to hunt, fish, eat, drink, dance, and sleep to their heart's
content. We were thoroughly wearied by the day's ramble and ride, but
time was too precious to allow a moment of pleasant weather to pass by
unimproved. Comforted by the anticipation of a Sabbath rest the next
day, we brushed the dust from our clothes, made a hasty toilet, and
started out to view the falls, and search for the tarrying-place of Mrs.
F-n, of Fort Edward.

Here the whole aspect of things is changed. Hitherto our journey had
been among the quiet and beautiful; now every thing in nature was
turbulent and grand. The placid river was here a foaming cataract, and
gentle slopes, yellow with the ripe harvest, were exchanged for high,
broken hills, some rocky and bare, others green with the oak and pine or
dark with the cedar and spruce. Here nature, history, and romance
combine to interest and please, and geology spreads out one of its most
wonderful pages for the scrutiny of the student and philosopher. All
over those rugged hills Indian warriors and hunters scouted for ages
before the pale face made his advent among them; and the slumbering
echoes were often awakened in the last century by the crack of musketry
and the roar of cannon, mingled with the loud war-hoop of the Huron, the
Iroquois, the Algonquin, the Mohegan, the Delaware, the Adirondack, and
the Mohawk, when the French and English battled for mastery in the vast
forests that skirted the lakes and the St. Lawrence. Here, amid the roar
of this very cataract, if romance may be believed, the voice of Uncas,
the last of the Mohegans, was heard and heeded; here Hawk Eye kept his
vigils; here David breathed his nasal melody; and here Duncan Heyward,
with his lovely and precious wards, Alice and Cora Monroe, fell into the
hands of the dark and bitter Mingo chief. *

* See Cooper's "Last of the Mohicans."

Scenery about the Falls.--"Indian Cave" and "Big Snake".--Departure for
Lake George.

105

The natural scenery about the falls is very picturesque, but the
accompaniments of puny art are exceedingly incongruous, sinking the
grand and beautiful into mere burlesque. How expertly the genius of man,
quickened by acquisitiveness, fuses the beautiful and useful in the
crucible of gain, and, by the subtle alchemy of profit, transmutes the
glorious cascade and its fringes of rock and shrub into broad arable
acres, or lofty houses, or speeding ships, simply by catching the bright
stream in the toils of a mill-wheel. Such meshes are here spread out on
every side to ensnare the leaping Hudson, and the rickety buildings, the
clatter of machinery, and the harsh grating of saws, slabbing the huge
black marble rocks of the shores into city mantels, make horrid
dissonance of that harmony which the eye and ear expect and covet where
nature is thus beautiful and musical.

A bridge, nearly six hundred feet long, and resting in the center upon a
marble island, spans the river at the foot of the falls, and from its
center there is a fine view of the cataract. The entire descent of the
river is about sixty feet. The undivided stream first pours over a
precipice nine hundred feet long, and is then separated into three
channels by rocks piled in confusion, and carved, and furrowed, and
welled, and polished by the rushing waters.

Below, the channels unite, and in one deep stream the waters flow on
gently between the quarried cliffs of fine black marble, which rise in
some places from thirty to seventy feet in height, and are beautifully
stratified. Many fossils are imbedded in the rocks, among which the
_trilobite_ is quite plentiful. Here the heads (so exceedingly rare) are
frequently found.

By the contribution of a York shilling to an intelligent lad who kept
"watch and ward" at a flight of steps below the bridge, we procured his
permission to descend to the rocks below, and his services as guide to
the "Big Snake" and the "Indian Cave." The former is a petrifaction on
the surface of a flat rock, having the appearance of a huge serpent; the
latter extends through the small island from one channel to the other,
and is pointed out as the place where Cooper's sweet young heroines,
Cora and Alice, with Major Heyward and the singing-master, were
concealed. The melody of a female voice, chanting an air in a minor key,
came up from the cavern, and we expected every moment to hear the pitch-
pipe of David and the "Isle of Wight." The spell was soon broken by a
merry laugh, and three young girls, one with a torn barege, came
clambering up from the narrow entrance over which Uncas and Hawk Eye
cast the green branches to conceal the fugitives. In time of floods this
cave is filled, and all the dividing rocks below the main fall are
covered with water, presenting one vast foaming sheet. A long drought
had greatly diminished the volume of the stream when we were there, and
materially lessened the usual grandeur of the picture.

We passed the Sabbath at the falls. On Monday morning I arose at four,
and went down to the bridge to sketch the cascade. The whole heavens
were overcast, and a fresh breeze from the southeast was driving
portentous scuds before it, and piling them in dark masses along the
western horizon. Rain soon began to fall, and I was obliged to retreat
under the bridge, and content myself with sketching the more quiet scene
of the river and shore below the cataract.

We left Glenn's Falls in a "Rockaway" for Caldwell, on Lake George, nine
miles northward, at nine in the morning, the rain falling copiously. The
road passes over a wild, *

* This view was taken from under the bridge, looking down the river. The
noted cave opens upon the river just below where the figures stand.

Williams's Rock.--Approach of Dieskau.--Hendrick, the Mohawk Sachem.

106

broken, and romantic region. Our driver was a perfect. Jehu. The plank
road (since finished) was laid a small part of the way, and the speed he
accomplished thereon he tried to keep up over the stony ground of the
old track, to "_prevent jolting!"_

On the right side of the road, within four miles of Lake George, is a
huge boulder called "Williams's Rock." It was so named from the fact
that near it Colonel Ephraim Williams was killed on the 8th of
September, 1755, in an engagement with the French and Indians under
Baron Dieskau. Major-general (afterward Sir William) Johnson was at that
time at the head of Lake George, with a body of provincial troops, and a
large party of Indians under Hendrick, the famous Mohawk sachem.
Dieskau, who was at Skenesborough, marched along the course of Wood
Creek to attack Fort Edward, but the Canadians and Indians were so
afraid of cannon that, when within two miles of the fort, they urged him
to change his course, and attack Johnson in his camp on Lake George. To
this request he acceded, for he ascertained by his scouts that Johnson
was rather carelessly encamped, and was probably unsuspicious of danger.

Information of his march was communicated to the English commander at
midnight, September 7th, and early in the morning a council of war was
held. It was determined to send out a small party to meet the French,
and the opinion of Hendrick was asked. He shrewdly said, "If they are to
fight, they are too few; if they are to be killed, they are too many."
His objection to the proposition to separate them into three divisions
was quite as sensibly and laconically expressed. Taking three sticks and
putting them together, he remarked, "Put them together, and you can't
break them. Take them one by one, and you can break them easily."
Johnson was guided by the opinion of Hendrick, and a detachment of
twelve hundred men in one body, under Colonel Williams, was sent out to
meet the approaching enemy.

Before commencing their march, Hendrick mounted a gun-carriage and
harangued his warriors in a strain of eloquence which had a powerful
effect upon them. He was then about sixty-five years old. His head was
covered with long white locks, and every warrior loved him with the
deepest veneration. *** President Dwight, referring to this speech,
says, "Lieutenant-colonel

* This view is taken from the road, looking northward. In the distance
is seen the highest point of the French Mountain, on the left of which
is Lake George. From this commanding height the French scouts had a fine
view of all the English movements at the head of the lake.

** The portrait here given of the chief is from a colored print
published in London during the lifetime of the sachem. It was taken
while he was in England, and habited in the full court dress presented
to him by the king. Beneath the picture is engraved, "The brave old
Hendrick, the great sachem or chief of the Mohawk Indians, one of the
six nations now in alliance with, and subject to, the King of Great
Britain."

*** Hendrick (sometimes called King Hendrick) was born about 1680, and
generally lived at the Upper Castle, upon the Mohawk. He stood high in
the estimation of Sir William Johnson, and was one of the most active
and sagacious sachems of his time. When the tidings of his death were
communicated to his son, the young chief gave the usual groan upon such
occasions, and, placing his hand over his heart, exclaimed, "My father
still alive here. The son is now the father, and stands here ready to
fight."--Gentlemen's Magazine. Sir William Johnson obtained from
Hendrick nearly one hundred thousand acres of choice land, now lying
chiefly in Herkimer county, north of the Mohawk, in the following
manner: The sachem, being at the baronet's house, saw a richly-
embroidered coat and coveted it. The next morning he said to Sir
William, "Brother, me dream last night." "Indeed," answered Sir William;
"what did my red brother dream?" "Me dream that coat be mine." "It is
yours," said the shrewd baronet. Not long afterward Sir William visited
the sachem, and he too had a dream. "Brother," he said, "I dreamed last
night." "What did my pale-faced brother dream?" asked Hendrick. "I
dreamed that this tract of land was mine," describing a square bounded
on the south by the Mohawk, on the east by Canada Creek, and north and
west by objects equally well known. Hendrick was astonished. He saw the
enormity of the request, but was not to be outdone in generosity. He sat
thoughtfully for a moment, and then said, "Brother, the land is yours,
but you must not dream again." The title was confirmed by the British
government, and the tract was called the Royal Grant.-Simms's Schoharie
County, p. 124.

Speech of Hendrick.--Fight with the French, and Death of Colonel
Williams and Hendrick.--Bloody Pond.

107

Pomeroy, who was present and heard this effusion of Indian eloquence,
told me that, although he did not understand a word of the language,
such were the animation of Hendrick, the fire of his eye, the force of
his gestures, the strength of his emphasis, the apparent propriety of
the inflections of his voice, and the natural appearance of his whole
manner, that himself was more deeply affected with this speech than with
any other he had ever heard."

The French, advised by scouts of the march of the English, approached
with their line in the form of a half moon, the road cutting the center.
The country was so thickly wooded that all correct observation was
precluded, and at Rocky Brook, four miles from Lake George, Colonel
Williams and his detachment found themselves directly in the hollow of
the hall moon. A heavy fire was opened upon them in front and on both
flanks at the same moment, and the slaughter was dreadful. Colonel
Williams was shot dead near the rock before mentioned, and Hendrick
fell, mortally wounded by a musket-ball in the back. This circumstance
gave him great uneasiness, for it seemed to imply that he had turned his
back upon his enemy. The fatal bullet came from one of the extreme
flanks. On the fall of Williams, Lieutenant-colonel Whiting succeeded to
the command, and effected a retreat so judiciously that he saved nearly
all of the detachment who were not killed or wounded by the first
onslaught. *

So careless and apathetic was General Johnson, that he did not commence
throwing up breast-works at his camp until after Colonel Williams had
marched, and Dieskau was on the road to meet him. The firing was heard
at Lake George, and then the alarmed commander began in earnest to raise
defenses, by forming a breast-work of trees, and mounting two cannon
which he had fortunately received from Fort Edward the day before, when
his men thus employed should have been sent out to reenforce the
retreating regiment. Three hundred were, indeed, sent out, but were
totally inadequate. They met the flying English, and, joining in the
retreat, hastened back to the camp, closely pursued by the French.

A short distance from Williams's Rock is a small, slimy, bowl-shaped
pond, about three hundred feet in diameter, and thickly covered with the
leaves of the water-lily. It is near the battle-ground where Williams
and his men were slain, and the French made it the sepulcher for the
slaughtered Englishmen. Tradition avers that for many years its waters
bore a bloody hue,

* Colonel Ephraim Williams was born in 1715, at Newton, Massachusetts.
He made several voyages to Europe in early life. Being settled at
Stockbridge when the war with France, in 1740, commenced, and possessed
of great military talent, he was intrusted with the command of the line
of Massachusetts forts on the west side of the Connecticut River. He
joined General Johnson, at the head of a regiment, in 1755, and, as we
have seen, fell while gallantly leading his men against the enemy. By
his will, made before joining Johnson, he bequeathed his property to a
township west of Fort Massachusetts, on the condition that it should be
called Williamstown, and the money used for the establishment and
maintenance of a free school. The terms were complied with, and the
school was afterward incorporated (1793) as a college. Such was the
origin of Williams's College. Colonel Williams was forty years old at
the time of his death.

Arrival at Caldwell. Indian and French Names of Lake George. Fort
William Henry. Attack upon Johnson's Camp, 1755

108

and it has ever since been called _Bloody Pond_. I alighted in the rain,
and made my way through tall wet grass and tangled vines, over a newly-
cleared field, until I got a favorable view for the sketch here
presented, which I hope the reader will highly prize, for it cost a pair
of boots, a linen "sack" ruined by the dark droppings from a cotton
umbrella, and a box of cough lozenges.

It was almost noon when we reined up at the Lake House at Caldwell. We
had anticipated much pleasure from the first sight of Horicon, but a
mist covered its waters, and its mountain frame-work was enveloped in
fog; so we reserved our sentiment for use the next fair day, donned dry
clothing, and sat quietly down in the parlor to await the sovereign
pleasure of the storm.

Lake George is indeed a beautiful sheet of water, and along its whole
length of thirty-six miles almost every island, bay, and bluff is
clustered with historic associations. On account of the purity of its
waters, the Indians gave it the name of _Horicon, or Silver Water._ They
also called it _Canideri-oit_, or _The Tail of the Lake_, on account of
its connection with Lake Champlain. * It was visited by Samuel Champlain
in 1609, and some suppose that he gave his name to this lake instead of
the one which now bears it. It is fair to infer, from his own account,
that he penetrated southward as far as Glenn's Falls; and it is not a
little remarkable that in the same year, and possibly at the same
season, Hendrick Hudson was exploring below the very stream near the
head-waters of which the French navigator was resting. Strange that two
adventurers, in the service of different sovereigns ruling three
thousand miles away, and approaching from different points of the
compass, so nearly met in the vast forests of wild America. The French,
who afterward settled at Chimney Point, on Lake Champlain, frequently
visited this lake, and gave it the name of _Sacrament_, its pure waters
suggesting the idea. **

The little village of Caldwell contains about two hundred inhabitants,
and is situated near the site of Fort William Henry, at the head of the
lake, a fortress erected by General Johnson toward the close of 1755,
after his battle there with the French under Dieskau. That battle
occurred on the same day when Colonel Williams and his detachment were
routed at Rocky Brook. The French pursued the retreating English
vigorously, and about noon they were seen approaching in considerable
force and regular order, aiming directly toward the center of the
British encampment. When within one hundred rods of the breast-works, in
the open valley in front of the elevation on which Fort George (now a
picturesque ruin) was afterward built, Dieskau halted and disposed his
Indians and Canadians upon the right and left flanks. The regular
troops, under the immediate command of the baron, attacked the English
center, but, having only small arms, the effect was trifling. The
English reserved their fire until the Indians and Canadians were close
upon them, when with sure aim they poured upon them a volley of musket-
balls which mowed them down like grass before the

* Spafford's Gazetteer of New York.

** The bed of the lake is a yellowish sand, and the water is so
transparent that a white object, such as an earthen plate, may be seen
upon the bottom at a depth of nearly forty feet. The delicious salmon
trout, that weigh from five to twenty pounds, silver trout, pike,
pickerel, and perch are found here in great abundance, and afford fine
sport and dainty food for the swarms of visitors at the Lake House
during the summer season.

*** The extent of the embankments and fosse of this fort was fourteen
hundred feet, and the barracks were built of wood upon a strong
foundation of lime-stone, which abounds in the neighborhood. This plan
is copied from a curious old picture by Blodget, called a "Prospective
Plan of the Battles near Lake George 1755."

Battle of Lake George, and Death of Dieskau.--Weakness of British
Commanders.--The Six Nations.--Hendrick's Rebuke.

109

scythe. At the same moment a bomb-shell was thrown among them by a
howitzer, while two field pieces showered upon them a quantity of grape-
shot. The savage allies, and almost as savage colonists, greatly
terrified, broke and fled to the swamps in the neighborhood. The
regulars maintained their ground for some time, but, abandoned by their
companions, and terribly galled by the steady fire from the breast-
works, at length gave way, and Dieskau attempted a retreat. Observing
this, the English leaped over their breast-works and pursued them. The
French were dispersed in all directions, and Dieskau, wounded and
helpless, was found leaning upon the stump of a tree. As the provincial
soldier * who discovered him approached, he put his hand in his pocket
to draw out his watch as a bribe to allow him to escape. Supposing that
he was feeling for a pocket pistol, the soldier gave him a severe wound
in the hip with a musket-ball. He was carried into the English camp in a
blanket and tenderly treated, and was soon afterward taken to Albany,
then to New York, and finally to England, where he died from the effects
of his wounds. Johnson was wounded at the commencement of the conflict
in the fleshy part of his thigh, in which a musket-ball lodged, and the
whole battle was directed for five consecutive hours by General Lyman,
the second in command. **

Johnson's Indians, burning with a fierce desire to avenge the death of
Hendrick, were eager to follow the retreating enemy; and General Lyman
proposed a vigorous continuation of efforts by attacking the French
posts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. But Johnson,
either through fear, a love of ease, or some other inexplicable cause,
withheld his consent, and the residue of the autumn was spent in
erecting Fort William Henry.

In the colonial wars, as well as in the war of our Revolution, the
British government was often unfortunate in its choice of commanders.
Total inaction, or, at best, great tardiness, frequently marked their
administration of military affairs. They could not comprehend the
elastic activity of the provincials, and were too proud to listen to
their counsels. This tardiness and pride cost them many misfortunes,
either by absolute defeat in battle, or the theft of glorious
opportunities for victory through procrastination. Their shrewd savage
allies saw and lamented this, and before the commissioners of the
several colonies, who met at Albany in 1754 to consult upon a plan of
colonial alliance, in which the Six Nations *** were invited to join,
Hendrick administered a pointed rebuke to the governor and military
commanders. The sachems were first addressed by James Delaney, then
lieutenant-governor of New York; and Hendrick, who was a principal
speaker, in the course of a reply remarked, "Brethren, we have not as
yet confirmed the peace with them (meaning the French-Indian allies).
'Tis your fault, brethren; we are not strengthened by conquest, for we
should have gone and taken Crown Point, but you hindered us. We had
concluded to go and take it, but were told it was too late, that the ice
would not bear us. Instead of this, you burned your own fort at _Sar-
ragh-to-gee_ [near old Fort Hardy], and ran away from it, which was a
shame and a scandal to you. Look about your country, and see; you have
no fortifications about you--no, not even to this city. 'Tis but one
step from Canada hither, and the French may easily come and turn you out
of doors.

"Brethren, you were desirous we should open our minds and our hearts to
you: look at

* This soldier is believed to have been General Seth Pomeroy, of
Northampton, Massachusetts.-Everett's Life of Stark.

** At this battle General Stark, the hero of Bennington, then a
lieutenant in the corps of Rogers's Rangers, was first initiated in the
perils and excitements of regular warfare.

*** The Six Nations consisted of the tribes of the Mohawks, Onondagas,
Oneidas, Senecas, Cayugas, and Tuscaroras. The first five were a long
time allied, and known as the Five Nations. They were joined by the
Tuscaroras of North Carolina in 1714, and from that time the
confederation was known by the title of the Six Nations. Their great
council fire was in the special keeping of the Onondagas, by whom it was
always kept burning. This confederacy was a terror to the other Indian
tribes, and extended its conquests even as far as South Carolina, where
it waged war against, and nearly exterminated, the once powerful
Catawbas. When, in 1744, the Six Nations ceded a portion of their lands
to Virginia, they insisted on the continuance of a free war-path through
the ceded territory.

Lord Loudon. Montcalm's first Attack on Fort William Henry.--Perfidy and
Cowardice of Webb.--Vigilance of Stark

110

the French, they are men--they are fortifying every where; but, we are
ashamed to say it, you are like women, bare and open, without any
fortifications."*

The head of Lake George was the theater of a terrible massacre in 1757.
Lord Loudon, a man of no energy of character, and totally deficient in
the requisites for a military leader, was appointed that year governor
of Virginia, and commander-in-chief of all the British forces in North
America. A habit of procrastination, and his utter indecision, thwarted
all his active intentions, if he ever had any, and, after wasting the
whole season in getting here and preparing to do something, he was
recalled by Pitt, then prime minister, who gave as a reason for
appointing Lord Amherst in his place, that _the minister never heard
from him, and could not tell what he was doing._ **

Opposed to him was the skillful and active French commander, the Marquis
Montcalm, who succeeded Dieskau. Early in the spring he made an attempt
to capture Fort William March 16, 1757 Henry. He passed up Lake George
on St. Patrick's eve, landed stealthily behind Long Point, and the next
afternoon appeared suddenly before the fort. A part of the garrison made
a vigorous defense, and Montcalm succeeded only in burning some
buildings and vessels which were out of reach of the guns at the fort.
*** He returned to Ticonderoga, at which post and at Crown Point he
mustered all his forces, amounting to nine thousand men, including
Canadians and Indians, and in July prepared for another attempt to
capture Fort William Henry.

General Webb, who was commander of the forces in that quarter, was at
Fort Edward with four thousand men. He visited Fort William Henry under
an escort of two hundred men commanded by Major Putnam, and while there
he sent that officer with eighteen Rangers down the lake, to ascertain
the position of the enemy on Champlain. They were discovered to be more
numerous than was supposed, for the islands at the entrance of Northwest
Bay were swarming with French and Indians. Putnam returned, and begged
General Webb to let him go down with his Rangers in full force and
attack them, but he was allowed only to make another reconnoissance, and
bring off two boats and their crews which he left fishing. The enemy
gave chase in canoes, and at times nearly surrounded them, but they
reached the fort in safety.

Webb caused Putnam to administer an oath of secrecy to his Rangers
respecting the proximity of the enemy, and then ordered him to escort
him back immediately to Fort Edward. This order was so repugnant to
Putnam, both as to its perfidy and unsoldierly character, that he
ventured to remonstrate by saying, "I hope your excellency does not
intend to neglect so fair an opportunity of giving battle should the
enemy presume to land." Webb coolly and cowardly replied, "What do you
think we should do here?" The near approach of the enemy was cruelly
concealed from the garrison, and under his escort the general returned
to Fort Edward. The next day he sent Colonel Monroe with a regiment to
re-enforce and to take command of the garrison at Lake George.

Montcalm, with more than nine thousand men, and a powerful train of
artillery, landed

* Reported for the Gentlemen's Magazine, London, 1755.

** This is asserted by Dr. Franklin in his Autobiography (Sparks's Life,
219), where he gives an anecdote illustrative of the character of
Loudon. Franklin had occasion to go to his office in New York, where he
met a Mr. Innis, who had brought dispatches from Philadelphia from
Governor Denny, and was awaiting his lordship's answer, promised the
following day. A fortnight afterward he met Innis, and expressed his
surprise at his speedy return. But he had not yet gone, and averred that
he had called at Loudon's office every morning during the fortnight, but
the letters were not yet ready. "Is it possible," said Franklin, "when
he is so great a writer? I see him constantly at his escritoire." "Yes,"
said Innis, "but he is like St. George on the signs, _always on
horseback, but never rides forward_."

*** The garrison and fort were saved by the vigilance of Lieutenant
Stark, who, in the absence of Rogers, had command of the Rangers, a
large portion of which were Irishmen. On the evening of the 16th he
overheard some of these planning a celebration of St. Patrick's (the
following day). He ordered the sutler not to issue spirituous liquors
the next day without a written order. When applied to he pleaded a lame
wrist as an excuse for not writing, and his Rangers were kept sober. The
Irish in the regular regiments got drunk, as usual on such an occasion..
Montcalm anticipated this, and planned his attack on the night of St.
Patrick's day. Stark, with his sober Rangers, gallantly defended and
saved the fort.

Montcalm's second Attack on Fort William Henry.--Surrender of the
Garrison.--Perfidy of the French and Indians.

111

at the head of the lake, and beleaguered the garrison, consisting of
less than three thousand men. * He sent in proposals to Monroe for a
surrender of the fort, urging his humane desire to prevent the bloodshed
which a stubborn resistance would assuredly cause. Monroe, confidently
expecting re-enforcements from Webb, refused to listen to any such
proposals. The French then commenced the siege, which lasted six
consecutive days, without much slaughter on either side. Expresses were
frequently sent to General Webb in the mean while, imploring aid, but he
remained inactive and indifferent in his camp at Fort Edward. General
Johnson was at last allowed to march, with Putnam and his Rangers, to
the relief of the beleaguered garrison; but when about three miles from
Fort Edward, Webb recalled them, and sent a letter to Monroe, saying he
could render him no assistance, and advising him to surrender. This
letter was intercepted by Montcalm, and gave him great joy, for he had
been informed by some Indians of the movements of the provincials under
Johnson and Putnam, who represented them to be as numerous as the leaves
on the trees. Alarmed at this, Montcalm was beginning to suspend the
operations of the siege preparatory to a retreat, when the letter from
the pusillanimous Webb fell into his hands. He at once sent it in to
Monroe, with proposals for an immediate surrender.

Monroe saw that his case was hopeless, for two of his cannon had
bursted, and his ammunition and stores were nearly exhausted. Articles
of capitulation were agreed upon, and, under promise of protection, the
garrison marched out of the fort preparatory to being escorted to Fort
Edward. **

The savages, two thousand warriors in number, were enraged at the terms
of capitulation, for they were induced to serve in this expedition by a
promise of plunder. *** This was denied them, and they felt at liberty
to throw off all restraint. As soon as the last man left the gate of the
fort, they raised the hideous war-whoop, and fell upon the English with
the fury of demons. The massacre was indiscriminate and terrible, and
the French were idle spectators of the perfidy of their allies. They
refused interference, withheld the promised escort, and the savages
pursued the poor Britons with great slaughter, half way to Fort Edward.
**** Fifteen hundred of them were butchered or carried into hopeless
captivity. Montcalm utterly disclaimed all connivance, and declared his
inability to prevent the massacre without ordering his men to fire upon
the Indians. But it left a deep stain upon his otherwise humane
character, and the indignation excited by the event aroused the English
colonists to more united and vigorous action.

Montcalm burned and otherwise destroyed every thing connected with the
fortification. Major Putnam, who had been sent with his Rangers from
Fort Edward August 1757 to watch the movements of Montcalm, reached Lake
George just as the rear of the enemy left the shore, and truly awful was
the scene there presented, as described by himself: "The fort was
entirely demolished; the barracks, out-houses, and buildings were a heap
of ruins; the cannon, stores, boats, and vessels were all carried away.
The fires were still burning, the smoke and stench offensive and
suffocating. Innumerable fragments, human skulls and bones, and
carcasses half consumed, were still frying and broiling in the decaying
fires.

* The place where Montcalm landed is a little north of the Lake House,
at Caldwell, and about a mile from the site of the fort.

** It was stipulated, 1st. That the garrison should march out with their
arms and baggage; 2d. Should be escorted to Fort Edward by a detachment
of French troops, and should not serve against the French for a term of
eighteen months; 3d. The works and all the warlike stores should be
delivered to the French, 4th. That the sick and wounded of the garrison
should remain under the protection of Montcalm, and should be permitted
to return as soon as they were recovered.

*** Dr. Belknap.

**** The defile through which the English retreated, and in which so
many were slaughtered, is called the Bloody Defile. It is a deep gorge
between the road from Glenn's Falls to Lake George and the high range of
hills northward, called the French Mountain. In excavations for the
plank road near the defile a large number of skeletons were exhumed. I
saw the skull of one, which was of an enormous size, at least one third
larger than any other human head I ever saw. The occipital portion
exhibited a long fracture, evidently made by a tomahawk.

Destruction of Fort William Henry.--Brilliant Expedition under
Abercrombie.--Visit to the Ruins of Fort George

112

Dead bodies, mangled with scalping-knives and tomahawks in all the
wantonness of Indian fierceness and barbarity, were every where to be
seen. More than one hundred women, butchered and shockingly mangled, lay
upon the ground, still weltering in their gore. Devastation, barbarity,
and horror every where appeared, and the spectacle presented was too
diabolical and awful either to be endured or described."

Fort William Henry was never rebuilt. Upon an eminence about a mile
southeast of it, and half a mile from the lake, Fort George was erected,
but it was never a scene of very stirring events. A little south of Fort
George was a small fortification called Fort Gage, so named in honor of
General Gage, who served under Lord Amherst, and succeeded him in the
command of the forces in America in 1760, and was Governor of
Massachusetts when the Revolution broke out. Hardly a vestige of this
fort can now be seen.

The English, under General Abercrombie and the young Lord Howe,
quartered at Fort George in 1758, preparatory to an attack upon the
French posts upon Lake Champlain. Seven thousand regulars and nine
thousand provincial troops were there assembled, with a one train of
artillery and all necessary military stores, the largest and best-
appointed army yet seen in America. On the 5th of July they embarked on
Lake George, on board nine hundred bateaux and one hundred and thirty-
five whale-boats, and the next day landed at the foot of the lake and
pushed on toward Ticonderoga. Of the events which befell them there I
shall hereafter write. Let us glance a moment at the present.

Toward evening the rain abated, and, accompanied by an old resident
shoemaker as guide, I made a visit to the remains of the two English
forts. The elder one (Fort William Henry) stood directly upon the lake
shore, on the west side of a clear mountain stream called West Creek,
the main inlet of Lake George. Nothing of it now remains but a few
mounds and shallow ditches, so leveled and filled that the form of the
works can not be distinctly traced. The road along the lake shore passes
across the northeast and northwest angles, but the features of the past
are hardly tangible enough to attract the attention of a passer-by. A
little southwest of the fort, at the base of Rattlesnake or Prospect
Hill, is a level clearing called the French Field. It is the place where
Dieskau halted and disposed his troops for action. Many of the slain
were buried there; and I saw a rough-hewn stone at the head of a grave,
upon which was inscribed, in rude characters, "Jacques Cortois, 1755."

Fort George, the remains of which are scattered over several acres, was
situated about a mile southeast from William Henry, upon an eminence
gently sloping back from the lake. The dark limestone or black marble,
such as is found at Glenn's Falls, here every where approaching near the
surface or protruding above, formed a solid foundation, and supplied
ample materials for a fortress. A quadrangular citadel, or sort of
castle, was built within the lines of breast-works, and the ruins of
this constitute all that is left of the old fort. I observed vestiges of
the foundations of the barracks and other buildings; and the quarries
whence materials were taken for the buildings and ramparts seem almost
as fresh as if just opened. The wall of the citadel, on the eastern side
(the left of the picture), is now about twenty feet high. Within the
ancient area of the fort there is just sufficient earth to nourish a
thick growth of dark juniper bushes, which, with the black rocks and
crumbling masonry, presented a somber aspect. Both forts commanded a
fine view of the lake for ten miles north.

The indications of fair weather which lured me out suddenly disappeared,
and before I reached the Lake House the heavy clouds that came rolling
up from the south poured down their contents copiously. Dark masses of
vapor hovered upon the mountains that begirt the lake, and about sunset
the tops

Storm upon Lake George.--Arrivals from Ticonderoga.--Departure from
Caldwell.

113

were buried in the driving mists. We seemed to be completely shut up
within mighty prison walls, and early in the evening vivid lightning and
heavy thunder-peals contributed to produce a scene of singular grandeur
and awe. In the midst of the elemental strife the steam-boat arrived
with passengers from Ticonderoga, and those pleasure seekers who came in
her, bedraggled and weary, were capital studies for an artistic Jeremiah
in search of lamentations personified. But an excellent supper, in dry
quarters, soon brought the sunshine of gladness to every face, and
before ten o'clock more than half the new-comers were among the
liveliest in quadrille, cotillion, waltz, or gallopade.

I arose the next morning at four. The scene from my chamber window was
one of quiet beauty. The sky was cloudless, and the lake, without a
ripple, was spread out before me,

"A glorious mirror of the Almighty's form."

The east was all glowing with the soft radiance of approaching sunlight,
giving a deeper gray to the lofty hills that intervened, and every tree
was musical with the morning song of the birds.

"The south wind was like a gentle friend,

Parting the hair so softly on my brow.

It had come o'er the gardens, and the flowers

That kissed it were betrayed; for as it parted

With its invisible fingers my loose hair,

I knew it had been trifling with the rose

And stooping to the violet. There is joy

For all God's creatures in it."

Willis.

From the piazza of the Lake House, fronting the water, a comprehensive
view of the historic grounds in the vicinage may be seen, as delineated
in the picture. In the extreme distance on the left is the range of the
French Mountain, and on the right is Rattlesnake Hill (one thousand five
hundred feet high), with other lofty elevations, heavily wooded to their
very summits. By the trees on the shore, in the center of the picture,
is the site of Fort William Henry; and further on the left, and directly
over the flag-staff is the site of Fort George.

We left this fine summer resort in the steam-boat William Caldwell, at
eight in the morning. The air was clear and cool, the company agreeable,
and the voyage down the lake delightful. The mountain shores, the deep
bays, and the numerous islands (said to be three hundred and sixty-five,
the number of days in the year) present a constant variety, and all that
the eye takes in on every side is one vision of beauty. I procured a
seat in the pilot's room aloft, whence I had a broad view of the whole
ever-changing panorama of the lake in the course of the voyage.

The first island which we passed, of any considerable size, was Diamond
Island, * lying

* This name was given it on account of the number and beauty of the
quartz crystals which are found upon it. In shape and brilliancy they
resemble pure diamonds.

Diamond Island.--Successful Expedition under Colonel Brown.--Long Point,
Dome Island, and the Narrows.

114

directly in front of Dunham's Bay. Here was a depot of military stores
for Burgoyne's army in 1777, and the scene of a sharp conflict between
the small garrison that defended it and a detachment of Americans under
Colonel Brown. Between the actions of the 19th of September and 7th of
October at Bemis's Heights, General Lincoln, with a body of New England
militia, got in the rear of Burgoyne near Lake Champlain. He sent
Colonel Brown with a strong division to attempt the recapture of
Ticonderoga and the posts in the vicinity, and thus to cut off the
retreat of the British as well as their supplies. It was a service
September 25, 1777 exactly suited to Brown's active and energetic
character, and, by a rapid and stealthy movement on a stormy night, he
surprised and captured all the British outposts between the landing-
place at the north end of Lake George and the main fortress at
Ticonderoga. Mount Hope, Mount Defiance, the French lines, and a block-
house, with an armed sloop, two hundred bateaux, and several gun-boats,
fell into his hands. He also captured two hundred and ninety-three
prisoners, and released one hundred Americans; and, among other things,
he retook the old Continental standard which St. Clair left at
Ticonderoga when he evacuated that post. He then attacked the fortress,
but its walls were impregnable, and he withdrew.

Flushed with success, Colonel Brown determined to sweep Lake George, and
in the vessels they had captured the Americans proceeded to Diamond
Island. The little garrison there made a vigorous resistance, and the
republicans were repulsed with some loss. They then pushed for the shore
on the south side of Dunham's Bay, where they burned all the vessels
they had captured, and returned to Lincoln's camp.

A little north of Diamond Island is Long Island, which lies directly in
front of Long Point, a narrow, fertile strip of land that projects far
into the lake from the eastern shore. The estuary between the north side
of the point and the mountains is Harris's Bay, the place where Montcalm
moored his bateaux and landed on the 16th of March, 1757.

About twelve miles from Caldwell, in the center of the lake, is Dome
Island, which, at the distance of two or three miles, has the appearance
of the upper portion of a large dome, with an arch as regular as if made
by art. This island was the shelter for Putnam's men whom he left in the
two boats while he informed General Webb of the presence of the French
and Indians upon the two islands near the entrance of Northwest Bay, and
nearly in front of the landing-place at Bolton, on the western shore.

Shelving Rock, a lofty cliff on the eastern shore, and Tongue Mountain,
a bold, rocky promontory on the west, flank the entrance to the Narrows,
where the islands are so numerous, varying in size from a few rods to an
acre, that there is only a very narrow channel for a steam-boat to pass
through. A little north of Shelving Rock is the Black Mountain, its
summit twenty-two hundred feet high, thickly covered with the dark
spruce, and its sides robed with the cedar, fir, pine, and tamarac.
There the wild deer, the bear, and the catamount have free range, for
the hunter seldom toils up its weary ascent.

* This little sketch was taken from the steam-boat, near the south end
of Long Island, which appears in the foreground. Long Point is seen in
the center, and on the right are Dunham's Bay and the northern extremity
of the French Mountain. The highest peak on the left is Deer Pasture, or
Buck Mountain

Sabbath Day Point.--Skirmish in 1756.--Halt of Abercrombie's Army.--
Splendid Appearance of the Armament.

115

A few miles beyond the entrance to the Narrows, on the western shore, is
another fertile strip of land projecting into the lake, called Sabbath
Day Point. It is between three and four miles from the little village of
Hague, in the midst of the most picturesque scenery imaginable. Here, in
1756, a small provincial force, pressed by a party of French and
Indians, and unable to escape across the lake, made a desperate
resistance, and defeated the enemy with considerable slaughter. Here, in
the summer of 1758, General Abercrombie, with his fine army, already
noticed as having embarked in bateaux and whale-boats at the head of the
lake, landed for refreshments. It was just at dark, on a sultry Saturday
July 5, 1758 evening, when the troops debarked and spread over the
beautiful cape for a few hours' repose. The young Lord Howe, the well-
beloved of both officers and soldiers, was there, and called around him,
in serious consultation, some of the bravest of the youthful partisans
who accompanied the expedition. Captain Stark (the Revolutionary
general) was invited to sup with him; and long and anxious were the
inquiries the young nobleman made respecting the fortress of Ticonderoga
and its outposts, which they were about to assail, as if a presentiment
of personal disaster possessed his mind.

It was after midnight when the whole armament moved slowly down the
lake, and it was late on the Sabbath morning before they reached the
landing-place at the foot of it. ** The scene exhibited by this strong
and well-armed force of sixteen thousand men was very imposing. "The
order of march," says Major Rogers, "exhibited a splendid military
show." Howe, in a large boat, led the van of the flotilla. He was
accompanied by a guard of Rangers and boatmen. The regular troops
occupied the center and the provincials the wings. The sky was clear and
starry, and not a breeze ruffled the dark waters as they slept quietly
in the shadows of the mountains. Their oars were muf-

* 'Explanation of "the references: 1. Fort Ticonderoga. 2. Fort Howe. 3.
Mount Defiance. 4. Mount Independence. 5. Village of Alexandria. 7.
Black Point. 8. Juniper Island. 9. Anthony's Nose. 10. M'Donald's Bay.
11. Rogers's retreat on the ice to Fort William Henry. 12. Cook's
Islands. 13. Scotch Bonnet. 14. Odell Island. 15. Buck Mountain and
Rattlesnake Dens. 16. Shelving Rock. 17. Phelps's Point. 18. Long Point.
19. Long Island. 20. Dome Island. 21. Diamond Island. 22. Dunham's Bay.
23. Harris's Bay. 24. The route of Dieskau from Skenesborough to Fort
William Henry.

** It being early on Sunday morning when the army left the point,
General Abercrombie named the place Sabbath Day Point. The little sketch
here given was taken from the steam-boat, half a mile above, look ing
northeast.

Skirmish at Sabbath Day Point, 1776.--Rogers's Slide.--Narrow Escape of
Major Rogers.--Prisoners' Island

116

fled; and so silently did they move on in the darkness, that not a scout
upon the hills observed them. Day dawned just as they were abreast of
the Blue Mountain, four miles from the landing-place; and the first
intimation which the outposts of the enemy, stationed there, had of the
approach of the English was the full blaze of red uniforms which burst
upon their sight as the British army swept around a point and prepared
to land.

At Sabbath Day Point a party of American militia of Saratoga county had
a severe battle with Tories and Indians in 1776. Both were scouting
parties, and came upon each other unexpectedly. The Americans repulsed
the enemy, and killed and wounded about forty. There are now a few
buildings upon the point, and the more peaceful heroism of the
culturist, in conflict with the unkindness of nature, is beautifying and
enriching it.

On the western shore of the lake, three miles northward of the little
village of Hague, is Rogers's Bock, or Rogers's Slide. The lake is here
quite narrow, and huge masses of rocks, some a hundred feet high, are
piled in wild confusion on every side. The whole height of Rogers's Rock
is about four hundred feet, and the "slide," almost a smooth surface,
with a descent on an angle of about twenty-five degrees from meridian,
is two hundred feet. This hill derives its name from the fact, that from
its summit Major Rogers, commander of a corps of Rangers, escaped from
Indian pursuers. With a small party who were reconnoitering at the
outlet of the lake, in the winter of 1758, he was surprised and put to
flight by a band of Indians. He was equipped with snow-shoes, and eluded
pursuit until he came to the summit of the mountain. Aware that they
would follow his track, he descended to the top of the smooth rock, and,
casting his knapsack and his haversack of provisions down upon the ice,
slipped off his snow-shoes, and, without moving them, turned himself
about and put them on his feet again. He then retreated along the
southern brow of the rock several rods, and down a ravine he made his
way safely to the lake below, snatched up his pack, and fled on the ice
to Fort George. The Indians, in the mean while, coming to the spot, saw
the two tracks, both apparently approaching the precipice, and concluded
that two persons had cast themselves down the rock rather than fall into
their hands. Just then they saw the bold leader of the Rangers making
his way across the ice, and believing that he had slid down the steep
face of the rock, considered him (as did the Indians Major Putnam at
Fort Miller) under the special protection of the Great Spirit, and made
no attempt at pursuit. **

In consequence of a detention at Bolton, we did not reach the landing-
place at the outlet of the lake until noon. Within a mile of the landing
is a small island covered with shrubbery, called Prisoners' Island,
where the French, in the Seven Years' War, kept their English captives
who were taken in that vicinity. The first party confined there easily
es-

* This sketch is from the lake, a little south of Cook's Point, seen
just over the boat on the left. Immediately beyond is seen the smooth
rock. Nearly opposite the "slide" is Anthony's Nose, a high, rocky
promontory, having the appearance of a human nose in shape when viewed
from a particular point.

** Major Rogers was the son of an Irishman, who was an early settler of
Dumbarton, in New Hampshire. He was appointed to the command of a party
of Rangers in 1755, and with them did signal serviee to the British
cause. In 1759 he was sent by General Amherst from Crown Point to
destroy the Indian village of St. Francis. He afterward served in the
Cherokee war. In 1766 he was appointed governor of Michilli-maekinae. He
was accused of constructive treason, and was sent in irons to Montreal
for trial. In 1769 he went to England, was presented to the king, but
soon afterward was imprisoned for debt. He returned to America, and in
the Revolution took up arms for the king. In 1777 he returned to
England, where he died. His name was on the proscription list of Tories
included in the aet of New Hampshire against them, in 1778. His journal
of the French War, first published at London in 1765, was republished at
Concord in 1831.

Debarkation of British Troops.--A pleasant traveling Companion.-- Trip
from Lake George to Ticonderoga.

117

caped, in consequence of the carelessness of the victors in not
ascertaining the depth of the water, which on one side is fordable. A
small guard was left in charge of them, and, as soon as the main body of
the French had retreated, the English prisoners _waded_ from the island
and escaped.

Directly west of this island is Howe's Landing, the place where Lord
Howe with the van-guard of Abercrombie's army first landed, the outlet,
a mile below, being in possession of the enemy. The whole British force
debarked here on the morning after leaving Sabbath Day Point, and before
noon the Rangers under Rogers and Stark were pushing July 6, 1758
forward toward Ticonderoga, as a flank or advance-guard to clear the
woods, while the main army pressed onward.

The distance from the steam-boat landing to Fort Ticonderoga is four
miles. We found vehicles in abundance awaiting our arrival, and prepared
to carry passengers with all their baggage, from a clean dickey only to
a four-feet trunk, for twenty-five cents each. I succeeded in securing
my favorite seat on a pleasant day, the coachman's perch. At the Lake
House we became acquainted with a young lady from the vicinity of the
lofty Catskills, whose love of travel and appreciation of nature made
her an enthusiast, and one of the most agreeable companions imaginable.
She fairly reveled in the beauties of Lake George, not exhibited in the
simpering lip-sentimentality, borrowed from the novelist, which so often
annoys the sensible man when in the midst of mere fashionable tourists,
but in hearty, intelligent, and soul-stirring emotions of pleasure,
which lie far deeper in the heart than mortal influence and fashion, and
which gleam out in every lineament of the face. While others were afraid
of spoiling their complexions in the sun, or of crumpling their smooth
dresses or fine bonnets, she bade defiance to dust and crowds, for her
brown linen "sack," with its capacious pockets for a guide-book and
other accessories, and her plain sun-bonnet gave her no uneasiness; and
her merry laughter, which awoke ringing echoes along the hills as she,
too, mounted the coachman's seat to enjoy the fresh air and pleasant
landscape, was the very soul of pleasure. We rambled with herself and
brother that afternoon over the ruins of Ticonderoga, and at evening
parted, company. We hope her voyage of life may be as pleasant and
joyous as those few hours which she spent that day, where,

"In the deepest core

Of the free wilderness, a crystal sheet

           Expands its mirror to the trees that crowd

Its mountain borders."

The road from the foot of Lake George to Fort "Ty" is hilly, but the
varied scenery makes the ride a pleasant one. We crossed the outlet of
the lake twice; first at the Upper Falls, where stands the dilapidated
village of Alexandria, its industrial energies weighed down, I was told,
by the narrow policy of a "lord of the manor" residing in London, who
owns the fee of all the land and of the water privileges, and will not
sell, or give long leases. The good people of the place pray for his
life to be a short and a happy one-a very generous supplication. From
the high ground near the village a fine prospect opened on the eastward;
and suddenly, as if a curtain had been removed, the cultivated farms and
pleasant villages of Vermont along the lake shore, and the blue line of
the Green Mountains in the far distance, were spread out before us.

The second or Lower Falls is half way between the two lakes, and here
the thriving village of Ticonderoga is situated. A bridge and a saw-mill
were there many years before the Revolution; and this is the spot where
Lord Howe, at the head of his column, crossed the stream and pushed
forward through the woods toward the French lines, a mile and a quarter
beyond. We arrived at the Pavilion near the fort at one o'clock, dined,
and with a small party set off immediately to view the interesting ruins
of one of the most noted fortresses in America. Before noticing its
present condition and appearance, let us glance at its past history.

Ticonderoga is a corruption of Cheonderoga, an Iroquois-word, signifying
"Sounding wa

Topography of Ticonderoga.--The Fortress.--Its Investment by
Abercrombie.--Bravery of Lord Howe.

118

ters," and was applied by the Indians to the rushing waters of the
outlet of Lake George at the falls. The French, who first built a fort
at Crown Point (Fort St. Frederic), established themselves upon this
peninsula in 1755, and the next year they began the erection of a strong
fortress, which they called _Fort Carillon_. * The Indian name was
generally applied to it, and by that only was it known from the close of
the French and Indian war in 1763. **

The peninsula is elevated more than one hundred feet above the lake, and
contains about five hundred acres. Nature and art made it a strong
place. Water was upon three sides, and a deep swamp extended nearly
across the fourth. Within a mile north of the fortress intrenchments
were thrown up, the remains of which may still be seen at each side of
the road, and are known as the French lines. The whole defenses were
completed by the erection of a breast-work nine feet high, upon the
narrowest part of the neck between the swamp and the outlet of Lake
George; and before the breast-work was a strong _abatis._

Here, as I have already mentioned, was the general rendezvous of the
French under Montcalm, August 3, 1757 preparatory to the attack on Fort
William Henry. It continued to be the head-quarters of that general
until Quebec was threatened by an expedition under Wolfe, up the St.
Lawrence, when he abandoned the posts on Lake Champlain, and mustered
all his forces at the capital of Lower Canada.

Montcalm commanded a force of four thousand men at Ticonderoga when
Abercrombie July 6, 1758 approached, and was in daily expectation of
receiving a re-enforcement of three thousand troops under M. de Levi.
The English commander was advised of this expected re-enforcement of the
garrison, and felt the necessity of making an immediate attack upon the
works. His army moved forward in three columns; but so dense was the
forest that covered the whole country, that their progress was slow.
They were also deficient in suitable guides, and in a short time were
thrown into a great deal of confusion. They pressed steadily forward,
and the advanced post of the French (a breast-work of logs) was set fire
to by the enemy themselves and abandoned. Lord Howe, who was
Abercrombie's lieutenant, or second in command, led the advanced column;
and as they pressed onward after crossing the bridge, Major Putnam, with
about one hundred men, advanced as a scouting party to reconnoiter. Lord
Howe, eager to make the first attack, proposed to accompany Putnam, but
the major tried to dissuade him, by saying, "My lord, if I am killed the
loss of my life will be of little consequence, but the preservation of
yours is of infinite importance to this army." The answer was, "Putnam,
your life is as dear to you as mine is to me. I am determined to go."
*** They dashed on through the woods, and in a few minutes fell in with
the advanced guard of the French, who had retreated from the first
breast-works, and, without a guide and bewildered, were endeavoring to
find their way back to the lines. A sharp skirmish ensued, and at the
first fire Lord Howe, another officer, and several privates were

* This is a French word, signifying chime, jingling, noise, bawling,
scolding, racket, clatter, riot.--Boyer. Its application to this spot
had the same reference to the rush of waters as the Indian name Che-
onderoga.

** This fortress was strongly built. Its walls and barracks were of
limestone, and every thing about it was done in the most substantial
manner. Explanation of the ground plan: a, entrance and wicket gate; b,
counterscarp twenty feet wide; c c, bastions; d, under-ground room and
ovens; e e e e, barracks and officers' quarters; f court or parade-
ground; g g, trench or covert-way, sixteen feet wide and ten feet deep;
h, the place where Ethan Allen, and his men entered by a covert-way from
the outside.

*** Humphrey's Life ef Putnam..

Fight with the French, and Death of Howe.--Attack on Ticonderoga, and
Defeat of the English.--Other Expeditions

119

killed. * The French were repulsed with a loss of three hundred killed
and one hundred and forty-eight taken prisoners. The English columns
were so much broken, confused, and fatigued, that Abercrombie marched
them back to the landing-place on Lake George, to bivouac for the night.
Early the next morning Colonel Bradstreet advanced and took possession
of the saw-mills, near the present village of Ticonderoga, which the
enemy had abandoned.

Abercrombie sent an engineer to reconnoiter, and on his reporting that
the works were unfinished and might easily be taken, the British troops
were again put in motion toward the fortress. As they approached the
lines, the French, who were completely July 8, 1758 sheltered behind
their breast-works, opened a heavy discharge of artillery upon them, but
they pressed steadily forward in the face of the storm, determined to
assault the works, and endeavor to carry them by sword and bayonet. They
found them so well defended by a deep _abatis_, that it was almost
impossible to reach them; yet, amid the galling fire of the enemy, the
English continued for four hours striving to cut their way through the
limbs and bushes to the breast-works with their swords. Some did,
indeed, mount the parapet, but in a moment they were slain. Scores of
Britons were mowed down at every discharge of cannon. Perceiving the
rapid reduction of his army, Abercrombie at last sounded a retreat, and,
without being pursued by the French, the English fell back to their
encampment at the foot of Lake George, from which the wounded were sent
to Fort Edward and to Albany The English loss was nearly two thousand
men and twenty-five hundred stand of arms. Never did troops show bolder
courage or more obstinate persistence against fearful obstacles. The
whole army seemed emulous to excel, but the Scotch Highland regiment of
Lord John Murray was foremost in the conflict, and suffered the severest
loss. One half of the privates and twenty-five officers were slain on
the spot or badly wounded. Failing in this attempt, Abercrombie changed
his plans. He dispatched General Stanwix to build a fort near the head-
waters of the Mohawk, at the site of the present village of Rome, Oneida
county. Colonel Bradstreet, at his own urgent solicitation, was ordered,
with three thousand troops, mostly provincials, to proceed by the way of
Oswego and Lake Ontario, to attack Fort Frontenac, where Kingston, in
Upper Canada, now stands; and himself, with the rest of the army,
returned to Albany. **

While misfortunes were attending the English under the immediate command
of Abercrombie, and the power and influence of the French were gaining
strength on the lake, a British force was closely beleaguering
Louisburg, on the Island of Cape Breton, at the mouth of the St.
Lawrence, then the strongest fortification in America, and the rallying
point of French power on this Continent. Early in 1758 Admiral Boscawen
sailed fromMay 28.

* George, Lord-viscount Howe, was the eldest son of Sir E. Scrope,
second Viscount Howe in Ireland. He commanded five thousand British
troops which landed at Halifax in 1757, and, as we have seen, the next
year accompanied General Abercrombie against Ticonderoga. Alluding to
his death, Mante observes, "With him the soul of the army seemed to
expire." He was the idol of his soldiers, and, in order to accommodate
himself and his regiment to the nature of the service, he cut his hair
short, and fashioned his clothes for activity. His troops followed his
example, and they were, indeed, the soul of Abercrombie's army. He was
in the thirty-fourth year of his age when he fell. The General Court of
Massachusetts Bay, as a testimony of respect for his character,
appropriated two hundred and fifty pounds sterling for the erection of a
monument in Westminster Abbey. Captain (afterward general) Philip
Schuyler, who was highly esteemed by Lord Howe, and who at that time was
employed in the commissary department, was commissioned to carry the
young nobleman's remains to Albany and bury them with appropriate
honors. They were placed in a vault, and I was informed by a daughter of
General Schuyler (Mrs. Cochran, of Oswego) that when, many years
afterward, the coffin was opened, his hair had grown to long, flowing
locks, and was very beautiful.

** General James Abercrombie was descended from a wealthy Scotch family,
and, in consequence of signal services on the Continent, was promoted to
the rank of major general. In 1758 fifty thousand troops were placed
under his command by Mr. Pitt, and sent with him to America to attempt a
recovery of all that the French had taken from the English. He was the
successor of Lord Loudon, but was not much superior to the earl in
activity or military skill. He was superseded by Amherst after his
defeat at Ticonderoga, and in the spring of 1759 he returned to England.

Siege and Capture of Louisburg.--Preparations for the Conquest of
Canada.--Capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point.

120

Halifax, Acadia, * with forty armed vessels, bearing a land force of
twelve thousand men under General Amherst. General Wolfe was second in
command; and in appointing that young soldier to a post so important,
Pitt showed that sagacity in correctly appreciating character for which
he was so remarkable.

On the 2d of June the fleet anchored in Gabarus Bay, and the whole
armament reached the shore on the 8th. The French, alarmed at such a
formidable force, called in their outposts, dismantled the royal
battery, and prepared for a retreat. But the vigilance and activity of
Wolfe prevented their escape. He passed around the Northeast Harbor, and
erected a battery at the North Cape, from which well-directed shots soon
silenced the guns of the smaller batteries upon the island. Hot shots
were also poured June 25 into the small fleet of French vessels lying in
the harbor of Louisburg, and three of them were burned. The town was
greatly shattered by the active artillery; the vessels which were not
consumed were dismantled or sunken; and several breaches were July 21
made in the massive walls. Certain destruction awaited the garrison and
citizens, and at last the fortress, together with the town and St.
John's (now Prince Edward's July 26. Island) was surrendered into the
hands of the English by capitulation.

The skill, bravery, and activity of General Amherst, exhibited in the
capture of Louisburg, gained him a vote of thanks from Parliament, and
commended him to Pitt, who, the next year, appointed him to the chief
command in America, in place of the less active Abercrombie. So much did
Pitt rely upon his judgment and ability, that he clothed him with
discretionary powers to take measures to make the complete conquest of
all Canada in a single campaign. His plans were arranged upon a
magnificent scale. Appreciating the services of Wolfe, one expedition
was placed under his command, to ascend the St. Lawrence and attack
Quebec. General Prideaux was sent with another expedition to capture the
strong-hold of Niagara, while Amherst himself took personal command of a
third expedition against the fortress on Lake Champlain. It was arranged
for the three armies to form a junction as conquerors at Quebec.
Prideaux, after capturing the fort at Niagara, was to proceed down the
lake and St. Lawrence to attack Montreal and the posts below, and
Amherst was to push forward after the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown
Point, down the Richelieu or Sorel Elver to the St. Lawrence, and join
with Wolfe at Quebec.

Amherst collected about eleven thousand men at Fort Edward and its
vicinity, and, moving cautiously along Lake Champlain, crossed the
outlet of Lake George, and appeared before Ticonderoga on the 26th of
July. He met with no impediments by the way, and at once made
preparations for reducing the fortress by a regular siege. The garrison
were strong, and evinced a disposition to make a vigorous resistance.
They soon discovered, however, that they had not Abercrombie to deal
with, and, despairing of being able to hold out against the advancing
English, they dismantled and abandoned the fort, and fled to Crown
Point. Not a gun was fired or a sword crossed; and the next day Amherst
marched in and took possession of the fort. He at once set about
repairing and enlarging it, and also arranging an expedition against the
enemy at Crown Point, when, to his astonishment, he learned from his
scouts that they had abandoned that post also, and fled down the lake to
Isle Aux Noix in the Richelieu or Sorel. Of his operations in that
direction I shall hereafter write.

* Acadia was the ancient name of the whole country now comprehended
within the boundaries of Nova Scotia, or New Scotland.

Ticonderoga and its Associations.--Visit to the Ruins of the Fort.-- A
living Soldier of the Revolution 121 121

CHAPTER VI.

"I'm not romantic, but, upon my word,

There are some moments when one can't help feeling

As if his heart's chords were so strongly stirred

By things around him, that 'tis vain concealing

A little music in his soul still lingers,

Whene'er the keys are touched by Nature's fingers."

C. F. Hoffman.

ATURE always finds a chord of sympathy in the human heart harmoniously
respondent to her own sweet music; and when her mute hut eloquent
language weaves in with its teachings associations of the past, or when,
in the midst of her beauties, some crumbling monument of history stands
hoary and oracular, stoicism loses its potency, and the bosom of the
veriest churl is opened to the genial warmth of the sun of sentiment.
Broken arches and ruined ramparts are always eloquent and suggestive of
valiant deeds, even where their special teachings are not comprehended;
but manifold greater are the impressions which they make when the
patriotism we adore has hallowed them. To impressions like these the
American heart is plastic while tarrying among the ruins of Ticonderoga,
for there the first trophy of our war for independence was won, and
there a soldier of the British realm first stooped a prisoner to the
aroused colonists, driven to rebellion by unnatural oppression.

A glimpse from the coach, of the gray old ruins of the fortress of "Ty,"
as we neared the Pavilion, made us impatient as children to be among
them. Our own curiosity was shared by a few others, and a small party of
us left early and ascended the breast-works, over scattered fragments of
the walls, and eagerly sought out the most interesting localities, by
the aid of a small plan of the fort which I had copied for the occasion.
Without a competent guide, our identifications were not very reliable,
and our opinions were as numerous and diverse as the members of our
party. We were about to send to the Pavilion for a guide and umpire,
when a venerable, white-haired man, supported by a rude staff, and
bearing the insignia of the "Order of Poverty," came out from the ruins
of the northern line of barracks, and offered his services in
elucidating the confused subject before us. He was kind and intelligent,
and I fingered with him among the ruins long after the rest of the party
had left, and listened with pleasure and profit to the relation of his
personal experience, and of his familiar knowledge of the scene around
us.

Isaac Rice was the name of of our octogenarian guide, whose form and
features, presented upon the next page, I sketched for preservation. *
Like scores of those who fought our battles for freedom, and lived the
allotted term of human fife, he is left in his evening twilight to
depend upon the cold friendship of the world for sustenance, and to feel
the practical ingratitude of a people reveling in the enjoyment which
his privations in early manhood contributed to secure He performed
garrison duty at Ticonderoga under St. Clair, was in the field at
Saratoga in 1777, and served a regular term in the army; but, in
consequence of some lack of doc-

* Mr. Rice sat down in the cool shadow of the gable of the western line
of barracks while I sketched his person and the scenery in the distance.
He is leaning against the wall, within a few feet of the entrance of the
covert-way to the parade-ground, through which Allen and his men
penetrated. In the middle ground is seen the wall of the ramparts, and
beyond is the lake sweeping around the western extremity of Mount
Independence, on the left beyond the steam-boat. For a correct
apprehension of the relative position of Mount Independence to
Ticonderoga, the reader is referred to the map, ante page 115.

Isaac Rice.--Position of Affairs in the Colonies at the beginning of
1775.--Secret Agent sent to Canada

122uments or some technical error, he lost his legal title to a pension,
and at eighty-five years of age that feeble old soldier was obtaining a
precarious support for himself from the free-will offerings of visitors
to the ruins of the fortress where he was garrisoned when it stood in
the pride of its strength, before Burgoyne scaled the heights of Mount
Defiance. He is now alone, his family and kindred having all gone down
into the grave.

His elder brother, and the last of his race, who died in 1838, was one
of the little band who, under Colonel Ethan Allen, surprised and
captured Fort Ticonderoga in the spring of 1775. We will consider that
event and its consequences before further examining the old ruins around
us.

The contempt with which the loyal and respectful addresses of the first
Continental Congress of 1774 were treated by the British ministry and a
majority in Parliament; the harsh measures adopted by the government
early in 1775, to coerce the colonists into submission, and the
methodical tyranny of General Gage at Boston, and of other colonial
governors, convinced the Americans that an appeal to arms was
inevitable. They were convinced, also, that the province of Quebec, or
Canada, would remain loyal, * and that there would be a place of
rendezvous for British troops when the colonies should unite in open and
avowed rebellion. The strong fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point
formed the key of all communication between New York and Canada, and the
vigilant patriots of Massachusetts, then the very hot-bed of rebellion,
early perceived the necessity of securing these posts the moment
hostilities should commence. Early in March, Samuel Adams and Joseph
Warren, members of the Committee of Correspondence of Boston, sent a
secret agent into Canada to ascertain the opinions and temper of the
people of that province concerning the great questions at issue and the
momentous

* On the 26th of October, 1774, the Congress adopted an address to the
people of Canada, recounting the grievances the American colonies
suffered at the hands of the parent country, and including that province
in the category of the oppressed, urging them to affiliate in a common
resistance. But its Legislative Assembly made no response, and Congress
construed their silence into a negative.--Journals of Congress, i., 55

Report of the secret Agent.--Plan formed in Connecticut to Capture
Ticonderoga.--Expedition under Ethan Allen.

events 123then pending. After a diligent but cautious performance of his
delicate task, the agent sent word to them from Montreal that the people
were, at best, lukewarm, and advised that, the moment hostilities
commenced, Ticonderoga and its garrison should be seized, This advice
was coupled with the positive assertion that the people of the New
Hampshire Grants were ready to undertake the bold enterprise. *

Within three weeks after this information was received by Adams and
Warren, the battle of Lexington occurred. The event aroused the whole
country, and the patriots April 19, 1775 looked to the neighborhood of
Boston from all quarters. The provincial Assembly of Connecticut was
then in session, and several of its members ** concerted and agreed upon
a plan to seize the munitions of war at Ticonderoga, for the use of the
army gathering at Dambridge and Roxbury. They appointed Edward Mott and
Noah Phelps a committee to proceed to the frontier towns, ascertain the
condition of the fort and the strength of the garrison, and, if they
thought it expedient, to raise men and attempt the surprise and capture
of the post. One thousand dollars were advanced from the provincial
treasury to pay the expenses of the expedition.

The whole plan and proceedings were of a private character, without the
public sanction of the Assembly, but with its full knowledge and tacit
approbation. Mott and Phelps collected sixteen men as they passed
through Connecticut; and at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, they laid their
plans before Colonel Easton and John Brown (the latter was afterward the
Colonel Brown whose exploits on Lake George have been noticed), who
agreed to join them. Colonel Easton enlisted volunteers from his
regiment of militia as he passed through the country, and about forty
had been engaged when he reached Bennington. There Colonel Ethan Allen,
a man of strong mind, vigorous frame, upright in all his ways, fearless
in the discharge of his duty, and a zealous patriot, joined the
expedition with his _Green Mountain Boys_, and the whole party, two
hundred and seventy men, reached Castleton, fourteen miles east of
Skenesborough, or Whitehall, at dusk on the 7th of May. A council of war
was immediately held, and Allen was appointed commander of the
expedition, Colonel James Easton, second in command, and Seth Warner,
third. It was arranged that Allen and the principal officers, with the
main body, should march to Shoreham, opposite Ticonteroga; that Captain
Herrick, with thirty men, should push on to Skenesborough, and capture
the young Major Skene (son of the governor, who was then in England),
confine his people, and, seizing all the boats they might find there,
hasten to join Allen at Shoreham;

* By the grant of Charles II. to his brother James, duke of York, the
tract in America called New York was bounded on the east by the
Connecticut River, while the charters of Massachusetts and Connecticut
gave those provinces a westward extent to the "South Sea" or the Pacific
Ocean. When, toward the middle of the last century, settlements began to
be made westward of the Connecticut River, disputes rose, and the line
between Connecticut and New York was finally drawn, by mutual agreement,
twenty miles east of the Hudson. Massachusetts claimed a continuation of
the Connecticut line as its western boundary, but New York contested the
claim as interfering with prior grants to that colony. New Hampshire,
lying north of Massachusetts, was not as yet disturbed by these
disputes, for the country west of the Green Mountains was a wilderness,
and had never been surveyed. When Benning Wentworth was made Governor of
New Hampshire, he was authorized to issue patents for unimproved lands
within his province, and in 1749 applications were made to him for
grants beyond the mountains. He gave a patent that year for a township
six miles square, having its western line twenty miles east of the
Hudson; and in his honor it was named Bennington. The Governor and
Council of New York remonstrated against this grant, yet Wentworth
continued to issue patents; and in 1754 fourteen townships of this kind
were laid out and settlements commenced. During the French and Indian
war settlements increased tardily, but after the victory of Wolfe at
Quebec numerous applications for grants were made; and at the time of
the peace, in 1763, one hundred and thirty-eight townships were surveyed
west of the Connecticut River, and these were termed the New Hampshire
Grants., The controversy between New York and the Grants became so
violent that military organizations took place in the latter section to
resist the civil power of New York, and about 1772 the military thus
enrolled were first called Green Mountain Boys; among the most active
and daring of whom were Ethan and Ira Allen and Remember Baker, men of
whom I shall have occasion to speak hereafter.--See Sparks's Life of
Ethan Allen, and Thompson's Vermont, part ii.

** Among these were Silas Deane, David Wooster, Samuel H. Parsons, and
Edward Stevens, all distinguished men during the Revolution.

Expedition against Ticonderoga.--Arnold joins Allen at Castleton. --
Dispute about Rank.--Surprise of the Garrison

124and that Captain Douglas should proceed to Panton, beyond Crown
Point, and secure every boat or bateau that should fall in his way.

Benedict Arnold, who joined the army about this time, doubtless received
a hint of this expedition before he left New Haven, for the moment he
arrived at Cambridge with the company of which he was captain, he
presented himself before the Committee of Safety, and proposed a similar
expedition in the same direction. He made the thing appear so feasible,
May 3, 1775that the committee eagerly accepted his proposal, granted him
a colonel's commission, and gave him the chief command of troops, not
exceeding four hundred in number, which he might raise to accompany him
on an expedition against the lake fortresses. Not doubting his success,
Arnold was instructed to leave a sufficient garrison at Ticonderoga, and
with the rest of the troops return to Cambridge with the arms and
military stores that should fall into his possession. He was also
supplied with one hundred pounds in cash, two hundred pounds weight each
of gunpowder and leaden balls, one thousand flints, and ten horses, by
the provincial Congress of Massachusetts. His instructions were to raise
men in Western Massachusetts, but, on reaching Stockbridge, he was
disappointed in finding that another expedition had anticipated him, and
was on its way to the lake. He remained only long enough to engage a few
officers and men to follow him, and then hastened onward and May 9, 1775
joined the other expedition at Castleton. He introduced himself to the
officers, pulled a bit of parchment from his pocket, and, by virtue of
what he averred was a superior commission, as it was from the
Massachusetts Committee of Safety, claimed the supreme command. This was
objected to, for he came single-handed, without officers or troops; and
the soldiers, a large proportion of whom were Green Mountain Boys, and
who were much attached to Allen, declared that they would shoulder their
muskets and march home rather than serve under any other leader. Arnold
made a virtue of necessity, and united himself to the expedition as a
volunteer, maintaining his rank, but having no command.

The momentary interruption of Arnold produced no change in the plans,
and Allen marched to the shore of the lake, opposite Ticonderoga, during
the night. He applied to a farmer in Shoreham, named Beman, for a guide,
who offered his son Nathan, a lad who passed a good deal of time within
the fort, with the boys of the garrison, and was well acquainted with
every secret way that led to or within the fortress. * But a serious
difficulty now occurred. They had but a few boats, and none had been
sent from Skenesborough or May 10, 1775 Panton. The day began to dawn,
and only the officers and eighty-three men had crossed the lake. Delay
was hazardous, for the garrison, if aroused, would make stout
resistance. Allen, therefore, resolved not to wait for the rear division
to cross, but to attack the fort at once. He drew up his men in three
ranks upon the shore, directly in front of where the Pavilion now
stands, and in a low but distinct tone briefly harangued them; and then,
placing himself at their head, with Arnold by his side, they marched
quickly but stealthily up the height to the sally port. The sentinel
snapped his fusee at the commander, but it missed fire, and he retreated
within the fort under a covered way. The Americans followed close upon
his heels, and were thus guided by the alarmed fugitive directly to the
parade within the barracks. There another sentinel made a thrust at
Easton, but a blow upon the head from Allen's sword made him beg for
quarter, and the patriots met with no further resistance.

As the troops rushed into the parade under the covered way, they gave a
tremendous shout, and, filing off into two divisions, formed a line of
forty men each along the southwestern and northeastern range of
barracks. The aroused garrison leaped from their pallets, seized their
arms, and rushed for the parade, but only to be made prisoners by the
intrepid New Englanders. At the same moment Allen, with young Beman at
his elbow as guide, ascended the steps to the door of the quarters of
Captain Delaplace, the commandant

* He died in December, 1846, in Franklin county, New York, when nearly
ninety years old. He had lived to see our confederacy increase from
thirteen to thirty states, and from three millions of people to twenty
millions.

Interview between Allen and Delaplaee.--Allen's Order to surrender
obeyed.--Trouble with Arnold about command.

125of the garrison, and, giving three loud raps with the hilt of his
sword, with a voice of peculiar power, ordered him to appear, or the
whole garrison should be sacrificed. It was about four o'clock in the
morning. The loud shout of the invaders had awakened the captain and his
wife, both of whom sprang to the door just as Allen made his strange
demand. Delaplace appeared in shirt and drawers, with the frightened
face of his pretty wife peering over his shoulder. He and Allen had been
old friends, and, upon recognition, the captain assumed boldness, and
authoritatively demanded his disturber's errand. Allen pointed to his
men and sternly exclaimed, "I order you instantly to surrender."

"By what authority do _you_ demand it?" said Delaplaee. "In the name of
the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!" * thundered Allen, and,
raising his sword over the head of the captain, who was about to speak,
ordered him to be silent and surrender immediately. There was no
alternative. Delaplaee had about as much respect for the "Continental
Congress" as Allen had for "Jehovah," and they respectively relied upon
and feared powder and ball more than either. In fact, the Continental
Congress was but a shadow, for it did not meet for organization until
six hours afterward, ** and its "authority" was yet scarcely
acknowledged even by the patriots in the field. But Delaplaee ordered
his troops to parade without arms, the garrison of forty-eight men were
surrendered prisoners of war, and, with the women and children, were
sent to Hartford, in Connecticut. The spoils were one hundred and twenty
pieces of iron cannon, fifty swivels, two ten-inch mortars, one
howitzer, one cohorn, ten tons of musket-balls, three cart-loads of
flints, thirty new carriages, a considerable quantity of shells, a ware-
house full of material for boat building, one hundred stand of small
arms, ten casks of poor powder, two brass cannon, thirty barrels of
flour, eighteen barrels of pork, and some beans and peas.

Warner crossed the lake with the rear division, and marched up to the
fort just after the surrender was made. As soon as the prisoners were
secured, and all had breakfasted, he was sent off with a detachment of
men in boats to take Crown Point; but a strong head wind drove them
back, and they slept that night at Ticonderoga. Another and successful
attempt was made on the 12th, and both fortresses fell into the hands of
the patriots without bloodshed.

Arnold, who yielded his claims to supreme command at Castleton, assumed
control the moment the fort was surrendered. But his orders were not
heeded, and the Connecticut Committee, *** of semi-official origin,
which accompanied the expedition, interposed, formally installed Colonel
Allen in the command of Ticonderoga and its dependencies, and authorized
him to remain as such until the Connecticut Assembly or the Continental
Congress should send him instructions. They affirmed that the government
of Massachusetts had no part in the transaction; that the men from
Pittsfield were paid by Connecticut; and that Arnold could be considered
only as a volunteer. Finding his commands unheeded, and unwilling to
allow personal considerations to affect, inimically, the public good,
Arnold again yielded He sent a written protest, with a statement of his
grievances, to the Massachusetts Legislature. The Connecticut Committee
also sent a statement to the same body. The appointment of Allen was
confirmed, and the Assembly of Massachusetts directed Arnold not to
interfere. He soon afterward went down the lake to seize a British sloop
of war at St. John's, and to seek other occasions where glory might be
won in the service of his country.

The capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point was an event wholly unlooked
for by the

* According to Mr. Rice, history has omitted the suffix to this demand,
which in those days was considered a necessary clincher to all solemn
averments. It is characteristic of the man and the times. Rice's brother
was within a lew feet of Allen, and said he exclaimed, "In the name of
the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress, by God."

** The second Continental Congress assembled at Philadelphia at ten
o'clock that day (May 10th), and chose Peyton Randolph President, and
Charles Thompson Secretary.

*** One of the committee, Mr. Phelps, visited the fort, in disguise, the
day before Allen and his men arrived. He pretended to be a countryman
wishing to be shaved, and, while looking about for the garrison barber,
observed every thing carefully, and saw the dilapidation of the walls
and the laxity of duty and discipline, particularly as to sentinels.

Forbearance of the Colonists.--Consistent Course of their Delegates in
Congress.--Various Addresses of the second Congress.

126Continental Congress, then in session at Philadelphia, and many
members were alarmed at the serious aspect of affairs at the east and
north, for as yet the Americans had harbored no distinct thought or wish
derogatory to the truest loyalty. They were aggrieved by the rulers and
legislators of the parent country, and were earnestly seeking redress.
Ten years they had been petitioning the king and Parliament to exercise
righteousness and equity toward them, but their prayers were unheeded
and their warnings were scoffed at and answered by new oppressions. Yet
the colonists remained loyal, and never breathed an aspiration for
political independence. The colonial Assemblies, as well as the mass of
the people, looked forward with anxiety for a reconciliation, for they
felt proud of their connection with the British realm, whose government
was then among the most powerful upon earth.*

When the news of the capture of the forts on Champlain reached Congress,
they recommended to the committees of New York and Albany to remove the
cannon and stores to the south end of Lake George, and to erect a strong
post at that place. They also directed an exact inventory of the cannon
and military stores to be taken, "in order," as the dispatch said, "that
they may be safely returned when the restoration of harmony between
Great Britain and the colonies, _so ardently desired by the latter_,
shall render it prudent and consistent with the over-ruling law of self-
preservation." **

The delegates to the first Continental Congress, who met in September of
the previous year, while they exhibited rare firmness of purpose in tone
and manner, again and again avowed their loyalty, and made most humble
petitions to the king and the Legislature for a redress of grievances.
And those of the Congress in session when the first hostile movements on
Lake Champlain occurred, while they saw clearly that nothing but a
general resort to arms was now left for the colonists, resolved to make
fresh appeals to the king and Parliament before taking decidedly
offensive steps in acts of open hostility. They felt quite certain,
however, that the haughtiness of power would not bend so long as its
pride was wounded, and that it would never yield to an agreement for a
reconciliation upon terms other than the absolute submission of the
insurgents. Congress, therefore, correctly representing the public
sentiment, resolved to be, at the same time, _free men_ and _loyal
subjects_ as long as a link of consistency should bind those conditions
in unity. They adopted an a-May 29, 1775 address to the inhabitants of
Canada;(a) a declaration, setting forth the causes and b-July 6the
necessity for the colonies to take up arms;(b) an humble petition to the
king; July 8 address to the Assembly of Jamaica;(d) *** and an address
to the people of IreJuly 25land.(e) **** To the king they expressed
their continued devotion to his person, and

July 28 their deep regret that circumstances had in the least weakened
their attachment to the crown. To the people of Great Britain they
truthfully declared that their acts were wholly defensive; that the
charge which had been made against them, of seeking absolute
independence, was a malicious slander; and that they had never, directly
or indirectly, applied to a foreign power for countenance or aid in
prosecuting a rebellion. They truly set forth that the rejection of
their petitions and the accumulation of oppressive acts of Parliament
were the causes that placed them in the attitude of resistance which
they then assumed--an atti-

* The affections of the people of the colonies were very much alienated
by the grievances of the Stamp Act in 1765, and kindred measures, yet
they still had a strong attachment to the mother country, even when the
Revolution finally broke out. Dr. Franklin's testimony in 1766 may be
quoted as illustrative of the temper of the people nearly ten years
later. In answer to the question concerning the feelings of the people
of America toward Great Britain before the passage of the Stamp Act, he
said, "They had not only a respect but an affection for Great Britain,
for its laws, its customs, and its manners, and even a fondness for its
fashions, that greatly increased the commerce. Natives of Britain were
always treated with particular regard; and to be an Old Englandman was
of itself a character of some respect, and gave a kind of rank among
us."--Examination of Dr. Franklin before the British House of Commons
relative to the Repeal of the American Stamp Act.

** Pitkin, i., 355.

*** Jamaica, one of the West India Islands, was then a British colony,
with a provincial Legislature like those on the American Continent.

**** See Journals of Congress, i., p. 100-168.

Military Preparations made by Congress.--The Continental Army.-- Spirit
of the People.--Ticonderoga.

127tude at once necessary and justifiable, and worthy of the free
character of subjects of the British realm. "While we revere," they
said, "the memory of our gallant and virtuous ancestors, we never can
surrender these glorious privileges for which they fought, bled, and
conquered: your fleets and armies can destroy our towns and ravage our
coasts; these are inconsiderable objects--things of no moment to men
whose bosoms glow with the ardor of liberty. We can retire beyond the
reach of your navy, and, without any sensible diminution of the
necessaries of life, enjoy a luxury which, from that period, you will
want--the luxury of being free."

While petitions and addresses were in course of preparation and
adoption, Congress proceeded to make extensive military arrangements.
The militia of the various colonies, and such volunteers as could be
obtained, were mustered into service under the title of the Continental
army; and the troops which had flocked to the vicinity of Boston from
all parts of New England after the skirmishes at Lexington and
Concord,(a) and were then investing that city, were adopted and enrolled
under the April 19, 1775 same title.(b) Congress voted to issue bills ol
credit, or paper money, to the amount of three millions of dollars, for
the pay of the army, and also took measures for the June, 1775
establishment of provisional Assemblies in the several colonies instead
of the royal governments; for acts of Parliament, declaring the colonies
in a state of rebellion, and providing for the destruction of the
commerce of several sea-port towns, and for the sending of fleets and
armies to enforce submission, were regarded by the Americans as virtual
acknowledgments of the abdication of all power here. * Thus, while the
colonists kept the door of reconciliation wide open, they prepared to
maintain the righteous position which they had assumed at all hazards.

Let us for a moment close the chronicles of the past, and consider one
of the most interesting relics of the Revolution yet remaining--the
ruins of Ticonderoga. I lingered with the old soldier among the
fragments of the fortress until sunset; and just as the luminary

* See Parliamentary Register (1775), p 6-69.

Present Appearance of Fort Ticonderoga and Vicinity.--The Bakery.--
Grenadiers' Battery

128went down behind Mount Defiance I made the preceding sketch, which
may be relied upon as a faithful portraiture of the present features of
Fort Ticonderoga. The view is from the remains of the counterscarp, near
the southern range of barracks, looking northward. The barracks or
quarters for the officers and soldiers were very substantially built of
limestone, two stories high, and formed a quadrangle. The space within
was the parade. Upon the good authority of his brother, our venerable
guide pointed out the various localities of interest, and, having no
doubt as to the correctness of his information, I shall accord it as
truth The most distinct and best-preserved building seen in the sketch
is the one in which the commandant of the garrison was asleep when Allen
and his men entered the fort. On the left of the group of figures in the
fore-ground is the passage leading from the covered way into the parade,
through which the provincials passed. The two lines of forty men each
were drawn up along the range of buildings, 'the remains of which are
seen on the right and left of the picture. The most distant building was
the officers' quarters. A wooden piazza, or sort of balcony, extended
along the second story, and was reached from the ground by a flight of
stairs at the left end. The first door in the second story, on the left,
was the entrance to Delaplace's apartment. It was up those rickety
steps, with young Beman at his side, that Colonel Allen ascended; and at
that door he thundered with his sword-hilt, confronted the astonished
captain, and demanded his surrender. Between the ruined walls on the
extreme left is seen Mount Defiance, and on the right is Mount Hope. The
distant wall in the direction of Mount Hope is a part of the ramparts or
out-works, and the woods beyond it mark the location of the remains of
the "French lines," the mounds and ditches of which are still very
conspicuous.

Near the southeastern angle of the range of barracks is the bakery; it
is an under-ground arched room, and was beneath the _glacis_, perfectly
bomb-proof, and protected from all danger from without. This room is
very well preserved, as the annexed sketch of it testifies; but the
entrance steps are much broken, and the passage is so filled with
rubbish that a descent into it is difficult. It is about twelve feet
wide and thirty long. On the right is a window, and at the end were a
fire-place and chimney, now in ruins. On either side of the fire-place
are the ovens, ten feet deep.

We had no light to explore them, but they seemed to be in good condition
This bakery and the ovens are the best-preserved portions of the
fortress. For more than half a century the walls of the fort have been
common spoil for all who chose to avail themselves of such a convenient
quarry; and the proximity of the lake affords rare facility for builders
to carry off the plunder. The guide informed me that sixty-four years
ago he assisted in the labor of loading a vessel with bricks and stones
taken from the fort, to build an earthen-ware factory on Missisqui Bay,
the eastern fork of the lower end of Lake Champlain. Year after year the
ruins thus dwindle, and, unless government shall prohibit the robbery,
this venerable landmark of history will soon have no abiding-place among
us. The foundation is almost a bare rock, earthed sufficient to give
sustenance to mullens, rag-weed, and stinted grass only, so that the
plowshare can have no effect; but desecrating avarice, with its wicked
broom, may sweep the bare rock still barer, for the site is a glorious
one for a summer hotel for invalids. I shall, doubtless, receive
posthumous laudation for this suggestion from the money-getter who here
shall erect the colonnade, sell cooked fish and flavored ices, and coin
wealth by the magic of the fiddle-string.

On the point of the promontory, just above the steam-boat landing, are
the remains of the "Grenadiers' Battery," a strong redoubt built of
earth and stone. It was constructed by the French, and enlarged by the
English. It commanded the narrow part of the lake, between that point
and Mount Independence, and covered the bridge, which was made by the
Americans, extending across to the latter eminence. The bridge was
supported by

The floating Bridge.--View of the Ruins by Moonlight.--The old Patriot,
his Memories and Hopes.

129twenty-two sunken piers of large timber, at nearly equal distances;
the space between was made of separate floats, each about fifty feet
long and twelve feet wide, strongly fastened together by chains and
rivets, and also fastened to the sunken piers. Before this bridge was a
boom, made of very large pieces of timber, fastened together by riveted
bolts and chains of iron, an inch and a half square. * There was a
battery at the foot of Mount Independence, which covered that end of the
bridge; another half way up the hill; and upon the table-land summit was
a star fort well picketed. Here, strongly stationed, the Americans held
undisputed possession from the 10th of May, 1775, until the 5th of July,
1777, when they were dislodged by Burgoyne, who began to plant a battery
upon Sugar Hill, or Mount Defiance. This event we shall consider
presently.

I went up in the evening to view the solitary ruins by moonlight, and
sat upon the green sward of the old esplanade near the magazine. All was
hushed, and association, with its busy pencil, wrought many a startling
picture. The broken ruins around me, the lofty hills adjacent, the quiet
lake at my feet, all fading into chaos as the evening shadows came on,
were in consonance with the gravity of thought induced by the place and
its traditions.

"The darkening woods, the fading trees,

The grasshopper's last feeble sound,

The flowers just waken'd by the breeze,

All leave the stillness more profound.

The twilight takes a deeper shade,

The dusky pathways blacker grow,

.

           And silence reigns in glen and glade--

All, all is mute below."

_Miller's Evening Hymn_.

So smoothly ran the current of thought, that I was almost dreaming, when
a footstep startled me. It was that of the old patriot, who came and sat
beside me. He always spends the pleasant moonlight evenings here, for he
has no companions of the present, and the sight of the old walls kept
sluggish memory awake to the recollections of the light and love of
other days. "I am alone in the world," he said, "poor and friendless;
none for me to care for, and none to care for me. Father, mother,
brothers, sisters, wife, and children have all passed away, and the busy
world has forgotten _me_. I have been for almost eighty years a toiler
for bread for myself and loved ones, yet I have never lacked for
comforts. I can say with David, 'Once I was young, but now I am old, yet
I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread.' I
began to feel my strength giving way last spring, and looked fearfully
toward the poor-house, when I heard that the old man who lived here, to
show visitors about, was dead, and so I came down to take his place and
die also." He brushed away a tear with his hard and shriveled hand, and,
with a more cheerful tone, talked of his future prospects. How true it
is that blessed

"Hope springs immortal in the human breast,"

for this poor, friendless, aged man had bright visions of a better
earthly condition even in the midst of his poverty and loneliness. He
took me to an opening in the broken wall, which fronted a small room
near the spot where the provincials entered, and with a low voice, as if
afraid some rival might hear his business plans, explained how he
intended, another year, to clear away the rubbish, cover the room over
with boards and brush, arrange a sleeping-place in the rear, erect a
rude counter in front, and there, during the summer, sell cakes, beer
and fruit to visitors. Here I saw my fancied hotel in embryo. He
estimated the cash capital necessary for the enterprise at eight
dollars, which sum he hoped to save from his season's earnings, for the
French woman who gave him food and shelter charged him but a trifling
weekly sum for his comforts. He calculated upon large profits and
extensive sales, and hoped, if no opposition marred his plans, to make
enough to keep him comfortable through

* Burgoyne's Narrative, Appendix, p. xxx.

Trip to Mount Defiance.--Ascent of the Mountain.--An English Major and
Provincial Subaltern.

130life. He entertained me more than an hour with a relation of his own
and his father's adventures, * and it was late in the evening when I
bade him a final adieu. "God bless you, my son," he said, as he grasped
my hand at parting. "We may never meet here again, but I hope we may in
heaven!"

August 2, 1848 Early the next morning I started for Mount Defiance in
company with an English gentleman, a resident of Boston. We rode to the
"lower village," or Ticonderoga, where we left our ladies to return by
the same stage, while we climbed the rugged heights. We hired a horse
and vehicle, and a lad to drive, who professed to know all about the
route to the foot of the mountain. We soon found that he was bewildered;
and, unwilling to waste time by losing the way, we employed an aged
resident near the western slope to pilot us to the top of the eminence.
He was exceedingly garrulous, and boasted, with much self-gratulation,
of having assisted in dragging a heavy six pounder up to the top of the
mountain, five years ago, for the purpose of celebrating the "glorious
Fourth" on the very spot where Burgoyne planted his cannon sixty-six
years before. We followed him along a devious cattle-path that skirted a
deep ravine, until we came to a spring that bubbled up from beneath a
huge shelving rock whose face was smooth and mossy. The trickling of the
water through the crevices within, by which the fountain below was
supplied, could be distinctly heard. From a cup of maple-leaves we took
a cool draught, rested a moment, and then pursued our toilsome journey.

Our guide, professing to know every rock and tree in the mountain, now
left the cattle-path for a "shorter cut," but we soon wished ourselves
back again in the beaten track The old man was evidently "out of his
reckoning," but had too much "grit" to acknowledge it. For nearly an
hour we followed him through thickets tangled with vines, over the
trunks of huge trees leveled by the wind, and across a dry morass
covered with brakes and wire-grass shoulder high, where every trill of
the grasshopper sounded to our suspicious and vigilant ears like the
warning of a rattle-snake, until at length we were confronted by a wall
of huge broken rocks, almost perpendicular, and at least fifty feet
high. It seemed to extend north and south indefinitely, and we almost
despaired of scaling it. The guide insisted upon the profundity of his
knowledge of the route, and we, being unable to contradict his positive
assertions that he was in the right way, followed him up the precipice.
It was a toilsome and dangerous ascent, but fortunately the sun was yet
eastward of meridian, and we were in shadow. We at last reached a broad
ledge near the summit, where, exhausted, we sat down and regaled
ourselves with some mulberries which we had gathered by the way. A large
wolf-dog, belonging to our guide, had managed to follow his master, and
seemed quite as weary as ourselves when he reached us. Another scramble
of about twenty minutes, over broken rocks and ledges like a giant's
stair-case, brought us upon the bold, rocky summit of the mountain. The
view from this lofty hill is one of great interest and beauty, including
almost every variety of natural scenery, and a region abounding with
historical

* His father was a lieutenant in the English service, and belonged to
the Connecticut troops that were with Amherst when he took Ticonderoga.
While the English had possession of that post, before seizing Crown
Point, he was much annoyed by a swaggering English major, who boasted
that no American in the country could lay him upon his back. Lieutenant
Rice accepted the general challenge. For twenty minutes it was doubtful
who the successful wrestler would be. Rice was the more agile of the
two, and, by a dexterous movement, tripped his adversary and brought him
upon his back. The burly major was greatly nettled, and declared the act
unfair and unmanly. Rice made a rejoinder, and hard words passed, which
ended in a challenge from the major for a duel. It was accepted, and the
place and time of meeting were appointed. But the fact having reached
the ears of Amherst, he interposed his persuasion. The Englishman was
resolved on fighting, and would listen to no remonstrance until Amherst
touched his national and military pride. "Consider," he said, "how
glorious is our conquest. We have taken this strong fortress without
shedding one drop of blood. Shall Britons be such savages, that, when
they can not spill the blood of enemies, they will shed that of each
other?" The appeal had the desired effect, and the parties sealed their
reconciliation and pledged new friendship over a glass of grog. They
then tried their strength again. The major was prostrated in an instant
by a fair exertion of superior strength, and from that hour he was
Rice's warmest friend. The major's name was Church. He was a lieutenant
colonel under Prévost, and was killed at Savannah on the 16th of
September, 1779.

View from the Top of Mount Defiance.--Mount Independence, Ticonderoga,
the Lake, and the Green Mountains

131associations. The fore-ground of the picture represents the spot
whereon Burgoyne began the erection of a battery; and a shallow hole,
drilled for the purpose of making fastenings for the cannon, may still
be seen.

The sheet of water toward the left is the outlet of Lake George, where
it joins Lake Champlain, which sweeps around the promontory in the
middle ground, whereon Fort Ticonderoga is situated. Gray, like the
almost bald rock on which they stand, the ruins were scarcely
discernible from that height, and the Pavilion appeared like a small
white spot among the green foliage that embowers it. On the point which
the steam-boat is approaching is the _Grenadiers' Battery_ already
mentioned, and on the extreme right is seen a portion of Mount
Independence at the mouth of East Creek. This eminence is in Vermont--
Mount Defiance and Fort Ticonderoga are in New York. The point beyond
the small vessel with a white sail is the spot whence the Americans
under Allen and Arnold crossed the lake to attack the fort; and between
Mount Independence and the _Grenadiers' Battery_ is the place where the
bridge was erected. The lake here is quite narrow, and, sweeping in
serpentine curves around the two points, it flows northward on the left,
and expands gradually into a sheet of water several miles wide. The
hills seen in the far distance are the Green Mountains of Vermont,
between which lofty range and the lake is a beautifully diversified and
fertile agricultural country twelve miles wide, a portion of the famous
New Hampshire Grants. From this height the eye takes in a range along
the lake of more than thirty miles, and a more beautiful rural panorama
can not often be found. Let us retreat to the cool shadow of the
shrubbery on the left, for the summer sun is at meridian; and, while
gathering new strength to make our toilsome descent, let us open again
the volume of history, and read the page on which are recorded the
stirring events that were enacted within the range of our vision.

View from the Top of Mount Defiance.

Grown Point and Ticonderoga invested by Burgoyne. Material of his Army.
Weakness of the Garrison at Ticonderoga

132 Lieutenant-general Burgoyne, with a strong and well-appointed army
of more than seven thousand men, * including Indians, came up Lake
Champlain and appeared before Crown Point on the 27th of June. The few
Americans in garrison there abandoned the fort 1777 and retreated to
Ticonderoga. The British quietly took possession, and, after
establishing a magazine, hospital, and stores there, proceeded to invest
Ticonderoga on the 30th. Some light infantry, grenadiers, Canadians, and
Indians, with ten pieces of light artillery, under Brigadier-general
Fraser, were encamped on the west side of the lake, at the mouth of
Putnam's Creek.

These moved up the shore to Four Mile Point, so called from being that
distance from Ticonderoga. The German reserve, consisting of the
chasseurs, light infantry, and grenadiers, under Lieutenant-colonel
Breyman, were moved at the same time along the eastern shore, while the
remainder of the army, under the immediate command of Burgoyne himself,
were on board the Royal George and Inflexible frigates and several gun-
boats, which moved up the lake between the two strong wings on land. The
land force halted, and the naval force was anchored just beyond cannon-
shot from the American works.

Major-general Arthur St. Clair ** was in command of the American
garrison at Ticonderoga, a post of honor which Schuyler had offered to
Gates. He found the garrison only about two thousand strong; and so much
were the stores reduced, that he was afraid to make any considerable
addition to his force from the militia who were coming in from the east,
until a replenishment of provisions could be effected. Had the garrison
been well supplied with stores, six or eight thousand men might ha\'e
been collected there before the arrival of the enemy.

* The day when the British army encamped before Ticonderoga (July 1st),
the troops consisted of British, rank and file, three thousand seven
hundred and twenty-four; Germans, rank and file, three thousand and
sixteen; Canadians and provincials about two hundred and fifty, and
Indians about four hundred, making a total of seven thousand four
hundred and ninety.

** Arthur St. Clair was a native of Edinburgh, in Scotland. He was born
in 1734, and came to America with Admiral Boscawen in 1759. He served in
Canada in 1759 and 1760, as a lieutenant under General Wolfe, and, after
the peace of 1763, was appointed to the command of Fort Ligonier, in
Pennsylvania. In January, 1776, he AAras appointed a colonel in the
Continental army, and was ordered to raise a regiment destined for
service in Canada. Within six weeks from his appointment his regiment
was on its march. He was appointed a brigadier in August of that year,
and was an active participant in the engagements at Trenton and
Princeton. In February, 1777, he received the appointment of major
general, and on the 5th of June was ordered by General Schuyler to the
command of Ticonderoga. He reached that post on the 12th, and found a
garrison of two thousand men, badly equipped and very short of
ammunition and stores. He was obliged to evacuate the post on the 5th of
July following. In 1780 he was ordered to Rhode Island, but
circumstances prevented him from going thither. When the allied armies
marched toward Virginia, in 1781, to attack Cornwallis, St. Clair was
directed to remain at Philadelphia with the recruits of the Pennsylvania
line, for the protection of Congress. He was, however, soon afterward
allowed to join the army, and reached Yorktown during the siege. From
Yorktown he was sent with a considerable force to join Greene, which he
did at Jacksonville, near Savannah. He resided in Pennsylvania after the
peace; was elected to Congress in 1786, and was president of that body
in 1787. Upon the erection of the Northwestern Territory into a
government in 1788, he was appointed governor, which office he held
until 1802. when Ohio was admitted as a state into the Union, and he
declined an election to the post he had held. His military operations
within his territory against the Indians were disastrous, and when he
retired from office he was almost ruined in fortune. He made
unsuccessful applications to Congress for the payment of certain claims,
and finally died almost penniless, at Laurel Hill in Western
Pennsylvania, Aug. 31,1818, aged 84 years.

Outposts undefended.--Fort on Mount Independence.--Tardiness of Congress
in supplying Men and Munitions

133St. Clair was an officer of acknowledged bravery and prudence, yet he
was far from being an expert and skillful military leader. His self-
reliance and his confidence in the valor and strength of those under him
often caused him to be less vigilant than necessity demanded; and it was
this fault, in connection with the weakness of the garrison, which gave
Burgoyne his only advantage at Ticonderoga. He soon perceived, through
the vigilance of his scouts, that St. Clair had neglected to secure
those two important eminences, Mount Hope and Sugar Loaf Hill (Mount
Defiance), and, instead of making a direct assault upon the fortress,
the British general essayed to possess himself of these valuable points.

When Burgoyne approached, a small detachment of Americans occupied the
old French lines north of the fort, which were well repaired and guarded
by a block-house. They also had an outpost at the saw-mills (now the
village of Ticonderoga), another just above the mills, and-a block-house
and hospital at the entrance of the lake. Between the lines and the old
fort were two block-houses, and the Grenadiers' Battery on the point was
manned.

The garrison in the star fort, on Mount Independence, was rather
stronger than that at Ticonderoga, and better provisioned. The fort was
supplied with artillery, strongly picketed, and its approaches were well
guarded by batteries. The foot of the hill on the northwestern side was
intrenched, and had a strong _abatis_ next to the water. Artillery was
placed in the intrenchments, pointing down the lake, and at the point,
near the mouth of East Creek, was a strong circular battery. The general
defenses of the Americans were formidable to an enemy, but the tardiness
of Congress, in supplying the garrison with food, clothing, ammunition,
and re-enforcements, made them quite weak. * Their lines and works were
extensive, and instead of a full complement of men to man and defend
them, and to occupy Sugar Loaf Hill and Mount Hope, the whole force
consisted of only two thousand five hundred and forty-six Continentals
and nine hundred militia. Of the latter not one tenth had bayonets.

While at Crown Point, Burgoyne sent forth a pompous and threatening
proclamation, intended to awe the republicans into passiveness, and
confirm the loyalists in their position by a sense of the presence of
overshadowing power. ** In his proclamation the British commander set
forth the terrible character of the Indians that accompanied him,
greatly exaggerated their numbers, and magnified their eagerness to be
let loose upon the republicans, whether found in battle array or in the
bosom of their families. "I have," he said, "but to give stretch to the
Indian forces under my direction, and they amount to thousands, to
overtake the hardened enemies of Great Britain and America. I consider
them the same wherever they may lurk." Protection and security, clogged
with conditions, were held out to the peaceable who remained in their
habitations. All the outrages of war arrayed in their most terrific
forms, were denounced against those who persisted in their

* It was generally believed, until Burgoyne appeared at St. John's, that
the military preparations in progress at Quebec were intended for an
expedition by sea against the coast towns still in possession of the
Americans; and influenced by this belief, as well as by the pressing
demands for men to keep General Howe and his army from Philadelphia,
Congress made but little exertion to strengthen the posts on Lake
Champlain. This was a fatal mistake, and it was perceived too late for
remedy.

** This swaggering proclamation commenced as follows: "By John Burgoyne,
Esquire, lieutenant general of his majesty's forces in America, colonel
of the Queen's regiment of Light Dragoons, governor of Fort William, in
North Britain, one of the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament, and
commanding an army and fleet employed on an expedition from Canada," &e.
"From the pompous manner in which he has arrayed his titles," says Dr.
Thatcher, "we are led to suppose that he considers them as more than a
Match for all the military force which we can bring against them."--
Military Journal, p. 82. General Washington, from his camp at
Middlebrook, in New Jersey, issued a manifesto or counter proclamation,
which, in sincerity and dignity, was infinitely superior to that issued
by Burgoyne. He alluded to the purity of motives and devotion of the
patriots, the righteousness of their cause, and the evident guardianship
of an overruling Providence in the direction of affairs, and closed by
saying, "Harassed as we are by unrelenting persecution, obliged by every
tie to repel violence by force, urged by self-preservation to exert the
strength which Providence has given us to defend our natural rights
against the aggressor, we appeal to the hearts of all mankind for the
justice of our cause; its event we leave to Him who speaks the fate of
nations, in humble confidence that as his omniscient eye taketh note
even of the sparrow that falleth to the ground, so he will not withdraw
his countenance from a people who humbly array themselves under his
banner in defense of the noblest principles with which he has adorned
humanity."

Ticonderoga invested by the British.--Council of War in the American
Camp.--The British on Mount Defiance.

134hostility. But the people at large, and particularly the firm
republicans, were so far from being frightened, that they treated the
proclamation with contempt, as a complete model of pomposity. *

1777 On the 2d of July the right wing of the British army moved forward,
and General St. Clair believed and hoped that they intended to make a
direct assault upon the fort. The small American detachments that
occupied the outposts toward Lake George made but a feeble resistance,
and then set fire to and abandoned their works. Generals Phillips and
Fraser, with an advanced corps of infantry and some light artillery,
immediately took possession of Mount Hope, which completely commanded
the road to Lake George, and thus cut off all supplies to the patriot
garrison from that quarter. This accomplished, extraordinary energy and
activity were manifested by the enemy in bringing up their artillery,
ammunition, and stores to fortify the post gained, and on the 4th
Fraser's whole July corps occupied Mount Hope. ** In the mean while
Sugar Loaf Hill had been reconnoitered by Lieutenant Twiss, the chief
engineer, who reported that its summit had complete command of the whole
American works at Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, and that a road to
the top, suitable for the conveyance of cannons, though difficult, might
be made in twenty-four hours. It was resolved to erect a battery on the
height, and, by arduous and prolonged labor, a road was cleared on the
night of the 4th. The Thunderer, carrying the battery train and stores,
arrived in the afternoon, and light twelve pounders, medium twelves, and
eight-inch howitzers were landed.

So completely did the enemy occupy the ground between the lake, Mount
Hope, and Sugar Loaf Hill, that this important movement was concealed
from the garrison; and when, at dawn on the morning of the 5th, the
summit of Mount Defiance *** glowed with the scarlet uniforms of the
British troops, and heavy artillery stood threateningly in their midst,
the Americans were paralyzed with astonishment, for that array seemed
more like the lingering apparitions of a night vision than the terrible
reality they were forced to acknowledge. From that height the enemy
could look down into the fortress, count every man, inspect all their
movements, and with eye and cannon command all the extensive works of
Ticonderoga and Mount Independence. St. Clair immediately called a
council of war, and presented to them the alarming facts, that the whole
effective strength of the garrison was not sufficient to man one half of
the works; that, as the whole must be constantly on duty, they could not
long endure the fatigue; that General Schuyler, then at Fort Edward, had
not sufficient troops to re-enforce or relieve them; that the enemy's
batteries were nearly ready to open upon them, and that a complete
investment of the place would be accomplished within twenty-four hours.
It seemed plain that nothing could save the troops but evacuation, and
the step was proposed by the commander and agreed to by his officers. It
was a critical and trying moment for St. Clair. To remain would be to
lose his army, to evacuate would Ju]y 6 1777 be to lose his character.
He chose to make a self-sacrifice, and at about two o'clock on the
following morning the troops were put in motion.

As every movement of the Americans could be seen through the day from
Mount Defiance, no visible preparations for leaving the fort were made
until after dark, and the purpose of the council was concealed from the
troops until the evening order was given. It was arranged to place the
baggage, and such ammunition and stores as might be expedient, on board
two hundred bateaux, to be dispatched, under a convoy of five armed
galleys, up the lake to Skenesborough (Whitehall), and the main body of
the army to proceed by land to

* Gordon, ii., 205.

** This title was given to it by General Fraser, in allusion to the hope
they entertained of dislodging the Americans.

*** I was informed by an old man, ninety years of age, residing at
Pittsford, not far from the battle-ground at Hubbardton, that the
British gave the name of Mount Defiance to Sugar Loaf Hill on the day
when they ereeted their battery upon it, for from that height they
defied the Americans either to resist or dislodge them. The old man was
one of the British regulars under Burgoyne, but soon afterward deserted
to the Continentals.

Retreat of the Americans from Ticonderoga and Mount Independence.--
Imprudence of Fermoy.--Pursuit by the Enemy.

135the same destination, by way of Castleton. The cannons that could not
be moved were to be spiked; previous to striking the tents, every light
was to be extinguished; each soldier was to provide himself with several
days' provisions; and, to allay any suspicions on the part of the enemy
of such a movement, a continued cannonade was to be kept up from one of
the batteries in the direction of Mount Hope until the moment of
departure.

These arrangements were all completed, yet so short was the notice that
a good deal of confusion ensued. The garrison of Ticonderoga crossed the
bridge to Mount Independence at about three o'eloek in the morning, the
enemy all the while unconscious of the escape of their prey. The moon
was shining brightly, yet her pale light was insufficient to betray the
toiling Americans in their preparations and flight, and they felt
certain that, before day light should discover their withdrawal, they
would be too far advanced to invite pursuit. But General De Fermoy, who
commanded on Mount Independence, regardless of express orders, set fire
to the house he had occupied as the troops left. The light of the
conflagration revealed the whole scene and every movement to the enemy,
and the consciousness of discovery added to the confusion and disorder
of the retreating republicans. The rear-guard, under Colonel Francis,
left the mount at about four o'eloek in the morning, and the whole body
pressed onward in irregular order toward Hubbardton, where, through the
energy and skill of the officers, they were pretty well organized after
a halt of two hours. The main army then proceeded to Castleton, six
miles further, and the rear-guard, with stragglers picked up by the way,
were placed under the command of Colonel Seth Warner, and remained at
Hubbardton until some, who were left behind, should come up. Here a
desperate, and, to the Americans, a disastrous battle was fought the
next morning, the details of which will be given hereafter.

As soon as the movement of the Americans was perceived by the British,
General Fraser commenced an eager pursuit with his pickets, leaving
orders for his brigade to follow. At daylight he unfurled the British
flag over Ticonderoga, and before sunrise he had passed the bridge and
Mount Independence, and was in close pursuit of the flying patriots. *
Major-general Riedesel and Colonel Breyman, with their Germans and
Hessians, soon followed to sustain Fraser, while Burgoyne, who was on
board the Royal George, prepared for an immediate pursuit of the bateaux
and convoy by water. The Americans placed great reliance upon their
strong boom at Ticonderoga, and regarded pursuit by water as almost
impossible; but the boom and bridge were speedily cleft by the enemy.
Long before noon a free passage was made for the gun-boats and frigates,
and the whole flotilla were crowding all sail to overtake the American
bateaux. These, with the baggage and stores, were all destroyed at
Skenesborough before sunset.

The evacuation of Ticonderoga, without efforts at defense, was loudly
condemned throughout the country, and brought down a storm of indignant
abuse upon the heads of Generals St. Clair and Schuyler, for much of the
responsibility was laid upon the latter because he was the commander-in-
chief of the northern department. The weakness of the garrison, the
commanding position of the enemy upon Mount Defiance, where they could
not be reached by the guns of the fort, and the scarcity of stores and
ammunition, were not taken into the account, and, consequently, the
verdict of an excited publie was very unjust toward those unfortunate
officers. Washington had placed great reliance upon them both; nor did
the event destroy his confidence in their ability and bravery, yet he
"was perplexed, ** and

* This was the third time in consecutive order that the fortress was
captured by an enemy to the garrison without bloodshed, namely, in 1759,
by the English under General Amherst; in 1775, by the New England
provincials under Colonel Ethan Allen, and now (1777) by the British
under Lieutenant-general Burgoyne.

** The chief thus wrote to General Schuyler on hearing of the disaster:
"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 would be 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 were
marching to their succor, as you mentioned in your letter of the 9th
[June] to the Council of Safety of New York."

Washington's Recommendation of Arnold.--Acquittal of Schuyler and St.
Clair of Blame.--Return to Ticonderoga.

136 clearly foresaw that some other leader would be necessary to inspire
sufficient confidence in the minds of the Eastern militia to cause them
to turn out in force to oppose the progress of Burgoyne. Accordingly, he
recommended Congress to send an "active, spirited officer to conduct and
lead them (the militia) on." * But Congress went further. Unwisely
listening to and heeding the popular clamor, they suspended St. Clair
from command, and ap-, pointed Adjutant-general Gates to supersede
General Schuyler. St. Clair did not leave the army, but was with
Washington at the battle of Brandywine. By a general court-martial, held
in the autumn of 1778, he was acquitted of all blame, with the highest
honor, and this decision was fully confirmed by Congress in December
following. The noble conduct of General Schuyler toward Gates, and his
continued patriotic efforts in behalf of his country after suffering the
injustice inflicted by Congress, have been mentioned in another chapter.
After the lapse of several months the public mind was brought to bear
with calmness upon the subject, and, before the close of the war, both
generals were fully reinstated in the confidence of the people.

Our historic picnic upon the mountain-top is ended, and, being well
rested, let us "gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost," and
descend to the village of "Ty," by the way of the military road which
was made impromptu by General Phillips for his cannon, up the northern
slope of Defiance. Very slight traces of it are now visible, and these
consist chiefly of a second growth of timber, standing where the road
was cut.

We parted with our guide at the foot of the mountain. Our boy-driver and
the vehicle had disappeared, and we were obliged to walk in the hot sun
to the village. Our good tempers were not at all improved when we
learned the fact that the stage from Lake George had passed nearly an
hour before, and that no conveyance could be procured until toward
evening to take us to the fort, unless the boy, who had not returned,
should make his appearance; and where he had gone was a mystery. Dinner
at the Pavilion was an event only a half hour in the future, and two
miles in distance stretched between us and the viands. So we stopped
grumbling, trudged on, and, whiling away the moments by pleasant
conversation, we reached the Pavilion in time to take our places at
table, too much heated and fatigued, however, to enjoy the luxuries set
before us. Our Boston friends left that afternoon, but we tarried until
two o'clock the next morning, when we departed on the Burlington for
Whitehall.

The air was cool and the sky unclouded when we left Ticonderoga. The
moon had gone down, and it was too dark to see more than the outlines of
the romantic shores by which we were gliding, so we took seats upon the
upper deck and surveyed the clear heavens, jeweled with stars. The
Pleiades were glowing in the southern sky, and beautiful Orion was upon
the verge of the eastern horizon. Who can look upward on a clear night
and not feel the spirit of worship stirring within! Who can contemplate
those silent watchers in the firmament and not feel the impulses of
adoration!

"I know they must be holy things

That from a roof so sacred shine,

Where sounds the beat of angels' wings,

And footsteps echo* all divine.

Their mysteries I never sought,

Nor hearken to what science tells:

For oh, in childhood I was taught

That God amid them dwells."

Miller.

* In his letter to Congress (from which this sentence is quoted), dated
at Morristown, July 10th, 1777, Washington continues, "If General Arnold
has settled his affairs, and can be spared from Philadelphia, I would
recommend him for this business, and that he should immediately set out
for the northern department. He is active, judicious, and brave, and an
officer in whom the militia will repose great confidence. Besides this,
he is well acquainted with that country, and with the routes and most
important passes and defiles in it. I do not think he can render more
signal services, or be more usefully employed at this time, than in this
way. I am persuaded his presence and activity will animate the militia
greatly, and spur them on to a becoming conduct." Arnold was sent
accordingly, and his signal services at Bemis's Heights we have already
considered.

Arrival at Whitehall or old Skenesborough.--Historical Notice of the
Place.--Capture of Major Skene and his People.

137Just as the day dawned tiny spiral columns of vapor began to rise
from the lake, and before sunrise we were completely wrapped in a dense
fog. After passing the bay south of Mount Independence, the lake becomes
very narrow, and the channel is so sinuous that our vessel proceeded
very cautiously in the dense mist. At the _Elbow_, half a mile from
Whitehall Landing, a rocky point containing "Putnam's Ledge" projects
from the west, and occasions such a short and narrow turn in the lake,
that it is with much difficulty large class steam-boats make their way
through. It can only be done by the use of hawsers attached to the bow
and stern, and this process requires an annoying delay. We reached
Whitehall, at the mouth of Wood Creek, * at the head of the lake, about
seven in the evening, and found comfortable quarters at a well-conducted
temperance hotel near the landing. **

This is ancient Skenesborough, and was a point of considerable
importance during the wars on our northern frontier, from 1745 till the
close of the Revolution. Here armies halted, and provisions, ammunition,
and stores were collected and distributed. A picketed fort was erected
here during the French and Indian war, upon the brow of the hill east of
Church-street. Soon after the peace of Paris, in 1763, Philip K. Skene,
an English major under half pay, purchased several soldiers' grants
located here, and, to make his title secure, procured a royal patent. He
effected a small settlement at this point, and named it Skenesborough,
which title it bore until after the Revolution. He had procured a second
patent, and became possessor of the whole of the land comprised within
the present township of Whitehall, except four thousand acres on its
eastern border. He was a magistrate of the crown, the owner of black
slaves, and was sometimes honored with the title of governor, on account
of having held the office of Lieutenant-governor of Crown Point and
Ticonderoga. In addition to a stone residence, he erected another stone
edifice, one hundred and thirty feet long, for a military garrison and
depot, upon the spot used as a garden by the family of the late Judge
Wheeler. Near the east end was an arched gateway, the key-stone of which
is now in the north basement wall of the Baptist Church, and bears the
initials "P. K. S.," and date "1770."

Skenesborough was a point included in the programme of operations
against Ticonderoga in the expedition under Colonel Allen in 1775. The
council held at Castleton, where Allen was appointed commander-in-chief,
resolved to send thirty men, under Captain Herrick, to surprise
Skenesborough, capture the son of the proprietor (the latter was then in
Europe), his negroes and tenantry, seize all the boats and other vessels
that might be found there, and hasten down the lake with them to
Shoreham. The surprise was so complete, that the plan was all
accomplished without bloodshed. Major Skene the younger was captured
while out shooting; the twelve negroes and fifty tenants were secured,
and the governor's strong stone buildings were taken possession of by
the captors. In the cellar of his house was found the body of the wife
of the elder Skene, where it had been preserved many years to secure to
the husband an annuity devised to her "while she remained above ground!"
The Amer-

* In the older histories and in the geographies of the state of New York
the whole narrow part of Lake Champlain south of Ticonderoga was called
respectively Wood Creek and South River. For fifty years these names for
that portion of the lake have become obsolete, and as historians write
for the future, they should be careful to note these changes, so as not
to mislead the student. Mr. Headly carelessly observes, when speaking of
the retreat from Ticonderoga, that "their long procession of boats began
by moonlight to wind up Wood Creek," &c. Again, speaking of Putnam's
position when he attacked the French and Indians in their canoes, he
represents the place as upon "Wood Creek where it falls into the lake."
The fact is, the spot is upon the lake, about a mile below where Wood
Creek proper "falls into the lake." He says again, "A whole fleet of
canoes, filled with soldiers, was entering the mouth of the creek." The
mouth of the creek being a cascade, it would have been difficult for the
canoes to enter it. Wood Creek proper rises in French Pond, in Warren
county, and, flowing by Fort Anne in a deep and sluggish stream,
receives the waters of the Pawlet, and falls into Lake Champlain at
Whitehall.

** Whitehall is a growing and flourishing village. It is within a rocky
ravine at the foot of a high eminence called Skene's Mountain, at the
mouth of Wood Creek and the northern terminus of the Champlain Canal and
Railroad. It has a beautiful agricultural country behind it, and the
natural scenery in the vicinity is very picturesque. The Indian name of
the locality, when the whites first explored the neighborhood, was Kah-
cho-qua-na, which, literally interpreted, is, "place where dip fish."

Destruction of American Vessels at Skenesborough.--Flight of the
Americans toward Fort Anne.--Major Skene.

138icans buried the body in the rear of the house, and, embarking on
board a schooner in the harbor, belonging to Skene, they sailed down the
lake to join Allen at Shoreham. *

A garrison was stationed at Skenesborough in 1776, and there the vessels
of the little fleet which Arnold commanded in an action on the lake,
below Crown Point, were constructed and partially armed. The Americans
strengthened the military works there, and made it quite a strong post.
This was the stipulated point for rendezvous of the army under St.
Clair, on its retreat from Ticonderoga in 1777. I have already observed
that those who escaped by water were unsuspicious of pursuit, and that
the flotilla was scarcely moored at Skenesborough before the frigates
appeared and attacked the galleys. Two of them were captured, and the
other three were blown up. Unsupported by the feeble garrison at
Skenesborough or by detachments from the army retreating by land, ** and
conscious of the futility of contention with such a force as Burgoyne
presented, the Americans abandoned their bateaux, set fire to them,
together with the fort, mills, block-houses, &c., and fled toward the
camp of General Schuyler at Fort Edward. *** At Fort Anne they were
joined by a few other troops sent forward with provisions and ammunition
by General Schuyler, but it was a feeble reenforcement, for he had with
him at Fort Edward only about seven hundred Continentals and fifteen
hundred militia. The supplies which he sent so reduced the ammunition
and stores of his garrison, that they were several days without lead,
except a small quantity which they received from Albany, and which was
obtained by stripping the windows.

The troops borne by the flotilla under Burgoyne, and those that marched
from Ticonderoga in pursuit of the Americans, conjoined at
Skenesborough, where the British commander resolved to make thorough
preparations for pushing forward to the Hudson River. He was informed by
the people at Skenesborough that the Americans were retreating toward
Fort Edward. Lieutenant-colonel Hill, of the ninth regiment, was sent
forward on the July, 1777. 7th to take the post at Fort Anne and watch
the movements of the republicans. The rest of the British army were
encamped at Skenesborough and vicinity, where they remained nearly three
weeks, while detachments were repairing the roads and bridges, and
constructing new ones on the way to Fort Anne. Burgoyne and his staff
were entertained at the mansion of Major Skene, whose familiarity with
the country and the people caused him to be introduced into the military
family of the commander. He was considered a valuable acquisition, but
the result proved otherwise. He advised the disastrous expedition to
Bennington, and accompanied the enemy there. He was personally known to
many of the Americans engaged in that affair, who made great efforts to
capture him alive. Four horses were shot under him, but, mounting a
fifth, he made his escape, although the poor animal fell and expired
from the effects of a shot, after carrying his rider beyond the reach of
his foes. Skene was with Burgoyne when his army surrendered at Saratoga.
He dared not return home under his parole, but went to England. He
ordered his house to be burned, to prevent its falling into the hands of
the Americans. His lands were confiscated and sold by the state, ****
and soon after the Revolution the name of Skenesborough was repudiated
by the people, and that of Whitehall substituted. Hardly a vestige of
the Revolution

* See Reverend Lewis Kellogg's Historical Discourse, Whitehall, 1847.

** At Castleton St. Clair was informed of the approach of Burgoyne by
water, and, instead of marching to Skenesborough, he struck off into the
woods on the left, fearing that he might be intercepted by the enemy at
Fort Anne.

*** General Mattoon, late of Amherst, Massachusetts, was a subaltern in
the American convoy. According to his account, there were then only four
houses at Skenesborough, besides those belonging to Skene. While he was
in one of them, occupied by a French family, and just in the act of
partaking of some refreshments, a cannon-ball from the enemy's fleet
entered, crushed the table, and scattered the victuals in all directions
over the room.--Kellogg's Discourse, p. 6.

**** The place was very unhealthy at that time. The mortality from
sickness among the troops stationed there during the Revolution was
fearful; and so bad was the reputation of Whitehall in this particular
at the close of the war, that, when the lands of Skene were offered for
sale, no competitor appeared, and 29,000 acres were struck off at the
first offer of £14 10s. to an agent of the purchasers, John Williams.
Joseph Stringham, and John Murray.--Kellogg's Discourse, p. 14. A
remarkable case of longevity occurred near Whitehall. Henry Francisco, a
native of England, died near there in November, 1820, aged one hundred
and thirty-four years. He was present at the coronation of Queen Anne,
March 8th, 1702. He served in the French wars and in the Revolution, and
lived in this country nearly ninety years; since deceased.

Whitehall in 1814.--Ride to Fort Anne Village.--Site of the Fort.--
Present Appearance of the Locality

139is now left there. When another war was waged against us by the same
enemy, in 1812, this was again the theater of hostile preparations. The
block-house within the old fort was repaired, furnished with artillery,
and garrisoned for the defense of the place. Intrenchments and a
magazine were constructed on an island a few hundred yards north of the
village, and barracks were erected on the brow of the hill west of
Church Street, the remains of which have but recently been demolished.
The American fleet engaged in September 11, 1814 the battle of
Plattsburgh, with the vessels captured from the enemy in that
engagement, were anchored in the harbor at Whitehall soon after that
event; and the remains of some of the vessels of both nations may now be
seen decaying together in the lake, a short distance from the harbor.

After breakfast, on the morning of our arrival at Whitehall, I rode to
Fort Anne August 3, 1848 Village, eleven miles south, accompanied by the
editor of the "_Democrat_,"' whose inland attentions and free
communications of valuable knowledge concerning historical localities in
the vicinity contributed much to the pleasure and instruction of the
journey thither.

It is a pleasant little village, situated upon a gently undulating plain
near the junction of Wood Creek and East Creek, and exhibited a charming
picture of quiet and prosperity There I found a venerable kinsman,
nearly eighty years of age, who, in the vigor of manhood, fifty years
ago, purchased an extensive tract of land in this then almost unbroken
wilderness.

His dwelling, store-house, and barns occupy the site of Fort Anne, the
only traces of which are the stumps of the strong pine pickets with
which it was stockaded. It was built by the English, under General
Nicholson, in 1757, two years after the construction of Fort Edward. It
was a small fortress, and was never the scene of any fierce hostility.
Although ninety years had elapsed since its pickets were set in the
ground, what remained of them

* D. S. Murray, Esq.

** William A. Moore, Esq., president of the Whitehall Bank.

*** This view is from the bridge which crosses Wood Creek, looking
south. The distant building on the right is the dwelling of Mr. Moore.
Nearer is his store-house, and on the left are his out-houses. The
stumps of the pickets may be traced in a circular line from his dwelling
along the road to the crook in the fence, and so on to the barns and in
their yards.

Putnam and Rogers near Fort Anne.--Ambush of French and Indians. --
Desperate Battle.--Perilous Situation of Putnam.

140

exhibited but slight tokens of decay, and the odor of turpentine was
almost as strong and fresh when one was split as if it had been planted
but a year ago.

August, 1778 About a mile northwest of Fort Anne is the place where a
severe battle was fought between a corps of five hundred Rangers,
English and provincials, under Putnam and Rogers, and about the same
number of French and Indians, under the famous partisan Molang. Putnam
and Rogers were sent by Abercrombie to watch the enemy in the
neighborhood of Ticonderoga. When they arrived at South Bay, an
expansion of Lake Champlain near Whitehall, the two leaders separated,
taking with them their respective divisions, but, being discovered by
the watchful Molang, they deemed it expedient to reunite and return
immediately to Fort Edward. Their troops were marched in three
divisions, the right commanded by Rogers, the left by Putnam, and the
center by Captain Dalyell (sometimes written D'Ell).

They halted at evening on the border of Clear River, a fork of Wood
Creek before its junction with East Creek, and within a mile of Fort
Anne. Early in the morning, while the lines were forming, Major Rogers,
regardless of the teachings of the Ranger's great virtue, precaution,
amused himself by firing at a target with a British officer. The sound
reached the vigilant ears of Molang and his Indian allies, who, unknown
to the Americans, were then encamped within a mile of them. He had been
searching for the Rangers to intercept them, and the firing was a sure
guide. His men were posted in ambush along the paths which he knew they
must take, and as the Americans, just at sunrise, emerged from a dense
thicket into the open woods, Molang and his followers fell upon them
with great fury. Rogers seemed to be appalled by the fierce onslaught
and fell back, but Putnam and Dalyell sustained their position and
returned the fire. The conflict became desperate. At length Putnam's
fusee missed fire when the muzzle was within a few inches of the breast
of a giant savage, who thrust it aside and fell upon the major with the
fierceness of a panther, made him prisoner, bound him firmly to a tree,
and then returned to the battle. Captain Dalyell now assumed the
command. The provincials fell back a little, but, rallying, the fight
continued with great vigor. The tree to which Putnam was bound was about
midway between the combatants, and he stood in the center of the hottest
fire of both, utterly unable to move body or limb, so firmly had the
savage secured him. His garments were riddled by bullets, but not one
touched his person. For an hour he remained in this horrible position,
until the enemy were obliged to retreat, when he was unbound and carried
off by his savage captors. * Wounded, exhausted, and dispirited, Putnam
was forced to make a weary march over a rough country, led on by

* At one time, when the provincials fell back, and the Indians were near
him, a young warrior amused himself by trying his skill in throwing his
tomahawk as near Putnam's head as possible without hitting him. When he
was tired of his amusement, a French subaltern, more savage than the
Indian, leveled his musket at Putnam's breast, but it missed fire. The
major claimed the consideration due to a prisoner of war, but the
barbarous Frenchman was unmoved, and, after striking him a violent blow
upon his cheek with the butt end of his musket, left him to die, as he
thought.

Humanity of Putnam's Captor.--Preparation for Torture.-- Interposition
of Moling.--Battle-ground near Fort Anne.

141the savages, who had tied cords so tightly around his wrists that his
hands were swollen and dreadfully tortured. He begged for release either
from the pain or from life. A French officer interposed and unbound the
cords; and just then his captor came up, and, with a sort of savage
humanity, supplied him with moccasins, and expressed great indignation
because of the harsh treatment his prisoner had endured. I say _savage
humanity_, for it was present kindness, exercised while a dark and
atrocious intention for the future made the Indian complaisant--the
prisoner was reserved for the stake, and all those exquisite tortures
with which savage cruelty imbitters the death of its victims. Deep in
the forest he was stripped naked, and with green withes was bound fast
to a sapling. The wood was piled high around him, and the wild death-
songs of the savages, mingled with fierce yells, were chanted. The torch
was applied, and the crackling flame began to curl around the fagots,
when a black cloud, that for an hour had been rising in the west, poured
down such a volume of water that the flames were nearly extinguished.
But they burst forth again in fiercer intensity, and Putnam lost all
hope of escape, when a French officer dashed through the crowd of
savages, scattered the burning wood, and cut the cords of the victim. It
was Molang himself. Some relenting savage had told him of the horrid
orgies in the forest, and he flew to the rescue of Putnam, just in time
to save him. After enduring much suffering, he was delivered to Montcalm
at Ticonderoga, and by him sent to Montreal, where he experienced great
kindness from Colonel Peter Schuyler, a fellow-prisoner, through whose
influence he was exchanged for a prisoner taken by Colonel Bradstreet at
Fort Frontenac. *

About three fourths of a mile north of Fort Anne is a narrow, rocky
defile, through which Wood Creek and the Champlain Canal flow and the
rail-road is laid. Art has widened the defile by excavation, and
cultivation has swept away much of the primitive forest. Here in this
rocky gorge, then just wide enough for the stream and a narrow pathway,
a severe engagement occurred between the ninth British regiment, under
Lieutenant-colonel Hill, and a detachment of Americans, under Colonel
Long. This officer, with about five July 8, 1777 hundred republicans,
principally of the invalids and convalescents of the army, was posted at
Fort Anne by General Schuyler, with directions to defend it. Warned of
the approach of the enemy, Colonel Long prepared not only for defense,
but to go out and meet him. The Americans fit for duty were mustered,
and early in the morning they marched up to the southern edge of the
defile. "At half past ten in the morning," said Major

* See Humphrey's and Peabody's Biographies of Putnam.

** This sketch was taken from the rail-road, looking north. The forest
upon the left is the "thick wood" of the Revolution, but on the right
cultivated fields have taken the place of the forest to a considerable
extent. On the right is seen the Champlain Canal, here occupying the bed
of Wood Creek. The fence on the left indicates the place of the publie
road between Fort Anne and Whitehall When this sketch was made (1848)
the rail-road was unfinished.

Battle near Fort Anno.--Return to Whitehall.--Visit to "Putnam's Rock."-
-View of the Scene

142Forbes in his testimony on the trial of Burgoyne, "they attacked us
in front with a heavy and well-directed fire; a large body of them
passed the creek on the left, and fired from a thick wood across the
creek on the left flank of the regiment; they then began to recross the
creek and attack us in the rear; we then found it necessary to change
our ground, to prevent the regiment being surrounded; we took post on a
high hill to our right. As soon as we had taken post, the enemy made a
very vigorous attack, which continued upward of two hours; and they
certainly would have forced us, had it not been for some Indians that
arrived and gave the Indian hoop, which we answered with three cheers;
the rebels soon after that gave way." * The major's facts are correct,
but his inferences are wide of the mark. The Americans were not
frightened by the Indian war-hoop, for it was a sound very familiar to
their ears, but they "gave way" because their ammunition gave, out, Had
Colonel Long been well supplied with powder and ball, the British troops
would have been destroyed or made prisoners. Captain Montgomery, of
Hill's regiment, was severely wounded and captured by the Americans,
who, when they gave way, set fire to Fort Anne and retreated to the
headquarters of General Schuyler at Fort Edward.

We returned to Whitehall toward evening. The ride was delightful through
a country ever-changing and picturesque, particularly when approaching
the lake. On the left rise the lofty summits of the hills on Lake
George; on the east those of Vermont and Massachusetts; and down the
lake, northward, Mount Defiance may be plainly seen. After an early
evening meal, I procured a water-man and his boat, and, accompanied by
my traveling companion and Mr. M., proceeded to "Put's Bock," near "the
Elbow," a mile from the landing, and near the entrance of South Bay. **
The lake is here very narrow, and the shores on either side are abrupt,
rocky, and wooded. It was about sunset when we arrived at the scene of
Putnam's exploit, and the deep shadows that gathered upon the western
shore, where the famous ledge is situated, heightened the picturesque
character of the scenery and the force of the historical associations
which lionize the spot. Upon the rough ledge of rocks seen on the right
of the picture Major Putnam and fifty men boldly opened a musket battery
upon about five hundred French and Indian warriors under the famous
Molang, who were in canoes upon the water.3 This event occurred a few
days previous to the unfortunate battle

* Burgoyne's State of the Expedition, &c., p. 81.

** Here I will correct a serious geographical error which I find in
Peabody's Life of Putnam. He says. "Abercrombie ordered Major Putnam to
proceed with fifty men to South Bay, in Lake George." Again. "The
detachment marched to Wood Creek, near the point where it flows into
South Bay." South Bay is in Lake Champlain, and Wood Creek does not flow
into it at all. See note respecting Wood Creek, ante, page 137.

*** The view is taken front the Vermont shore, where rafts of timber and
piles of lumber (as seen on the left) betoken the chief article of
commerce here. The ledge of rocks, which rises about fourteen feet in
height, is on the New York side. From the perpendicular point, rugged
and broken, there is a gentle slope thickly covered with timber and
shrubbery, and affording an excellent place for an ambuscade. The small
trees in the distance mark the point at the Elbow, and the hill beyond
is a portion of Skene's Mountain which overlooks the harbor at
Whitehall.

Putnam and Rogers on Lake Champlain.--Attack of the former on the French
and Indians.--The Saratoga and Confiance

143near Fort Anne, where Putnam was taken prisoner. Major Rogers, who
was also sent by Abercrombie to watch the movements of the enemy, had
taken a station twelve miles distant, and Putnam and his fifty rangers
composed the whole force at this point. Near the front of the ledge he
constructed a parapet of stone, and placed young pine trees before it in
such a natural manner that they seemed to have grown there, and
completely hid the defense from observers on the water below. Fifteen of
his men, disabled by sickness, were sent back to the camp at Fort
Edward, and with his thirty-five he resolved to attack what ever force
might appear upon the lake. Four days he anxiously awaited the
appearance of the enemy, when early one evening he was gratified by the
intelligence that a large fleet of canoes, filled with warriors, was
leisurely approaching from South Bay. It was the time of full moon, the
sky was unclouded, and from his hiding-place every movement of the In
dians could be distinctly seen. Putnam called in all his sentinels, and
in silence every man was stationed where his fire might be most
effective. Not a musket was to be moved until orders were given by the
commander. The advanced canoes had passed the parapet, when one of the
soldiers hit his firelock against a stone. The sound was caught by the
watchful ears of Molang and his followers. The canoes in the van halted,
and the whole fleet was crowded in confusion and alarm directly beneath
the ledge. A brief consultation ensued, and then they turned their prows
back toward South Bay. As they wheeled the voice of Putnam shouted
"Fire," and with sure aim each bullet reached a victim. The enemy
returned the fire, but without effect, and for a time the carnage
produced by the Rangers was dreadful in that dense mass upon the waters.
Molang soon perceived by the firing that his assailants were few, and
detached a portion of his men to land below and attack the provincials
in the rear. Putnam had perceived this movement, and sent a party of
twelve men, under Lieutenant Durkee, who easily repulsed them when they
attempted to land. About daybreak he learned that the enemy had actually
debarked at a point below, and was marching to surround him. This fact,
and the failure of his ammunition, warned him to retreat. Nearly half
the number of the enemy perished on that fatal night, while Putnam lost
but two men, who were wounded. * While retreating through the thick
forest, an unexpected enemy fired upon them, but wounded only one man.
Putnam instantly ordered his men to charge, when his voice was
recognized by the other leader, who cried out, "Hold, we are friends!"
"Friends or foes," shouted Putnam, "you deserve to perish for doing so
little execution with so fair a shot." The party proved to be a
detachment sent to cover their retreat.

It was late in the evening twilight before I finished my sketch, but our
obliging waterman would not consent to row us back until we should go to
his house near by and see his "pullet and chickens"--his wife and
children. His dwelling was at the foot of the steep Vermont shore,
completely hemmed in by rocks and water, but embowered in shrubbery. His
children brought us fruit, and we were refreshed by draughts of water
from a mountain spring close by, of icy coldness. The moon was shining
brightly when we passed the Elbow on our return, and by its pale light
we could see the ribs and other decaying timber of the British ship of
war _Confiance_ and the American ship _Saratoga_. The former was sunk
there in 1814, and the latter, which was afterward used as a store-ship,
was scuttled by some miscreants while her officers and crew were at the
village participating in a Fourth of July celebration. It was about nine
in the evening when we reached the hotel. There I met that distinguished
and venerable divine, Rev. Mr. Pierce, of Brookline, Massachusetts, and
was charmed and edified by his conversation for more than an hour. **
His memory was

* These men, one a provincial, the other an Indian, were placed under an
escort of two others, and sent toward the camp. They were pursued and
overtaken by the Indians. The wounded men told the escort to leave them
to their fate, which they did. When the savages came up, the provincial,
knowing that he would be put to death, fired and killed three. He was
instantly tomahawked. The Indian was kept a prisoner, and from him
Putnam learned the above facts when they met some time afterward in
Canada.

** Mr. Pierce was seventy-five years old. He distinctly remembered
Washington's visit to Boston in 1789. The cavalcade halted near the
entrance to the city, and Washington was obliged to sit on horseback two
hours, while the state authorities and the selectmen decided a point of
etiquette--whose province it was to receive him. The selectmen carried
the day. He explained to me the nature of the apparent error in the
registration of the birth and christening of Dr. Franklin. The entries
of both events are upon the same day, Sunday, 17th of January, 1706. An
old man, who remembered the circumstance well, for it caused some gossip
at the time, told him that Dr. Franklin's mother went to church and
received the communion in the morning, gave birth to her son at noon,
and in the afternoon the child was christened.

Departure from Whitehall. Sholes's Landing. Ride to the Battle-ground of
Hubbardton. Picturesque Scenery.

144richly stored with historic learning, and our intercourse was to me a
pleasant and profitable appendix to the events and studies of the day.

Early the next morning we left Whitehall on the steamer _Saranac_, and
landed at Chip-man's Point, or Sholes's Landing, the port of Orwell, and
the most eligible point whence to reach the battle-ground of Hubbardton.
The morning was delightful, and the ride in a light wagon, accompanied
by the intelligent son of Mr. Sholes, proved to be one of peculiar
pleasure. Our route was through the pleasant little village of Orwell,
five miles southeast of the landing. There we turned southward, and
followed the margin of the broad ravine or valley through which the
retreating Americans and pursuing British passed when St. Clair
evacuated Ticonderoga. The road was made very tortuous to avoid the high
ridges and deep valleys which intersect in all directions, while at the
same time it gradually ascends for several miles. I never passed through
a more picturesque country. The slopes and valleys were smiling with
cultivation, and in every direction small lakes were sparkling in the
noonday sun. Within about six miles of the battle-ground we descended
into a romantic valley imbosomed in a spur of the Green Mountains-. We
passed several small lakes, lying one below another, over which arose
rough and lofty precipices, their summits crowned with cedar, hemlock,
pine, and spruce. The tall trunks of the pines, black and branchless,
scathed by lightning and the tempest, arose above the surrounding
forests like mighty sentinels, and added much to the wild grandeur of
the scene. From the rough and narrow valley we ascended to a high,
rolling table-land, well cultivated; and upon the highest part of July
7, 1777 this tract, surrounded on the south and east by loftier hills,
the battle of Hubbardton occurred.

General Fraser, whom I have already mentioned as having started after
the Americans July 6. from Ticonderoga, continued his pursuit of St.
Clair and his army through the day, and, learning from some Tory scouts
that they were not far in advance, he ordered his men to lie that night
upon their arms, to be ready to push forward at daybreak. About three in
the morning his troops were put in motion, and about five o'clock his
advanced scouts discovered the American sentries, who discharged their
pieces and retreated to the main body of the detachment, which was left
behind by St. Clair, under the command of Colonels Warner and Francis.
Their place of encampment was in the southeast part of Hubbardton,
Rutland county, near the Pittsford line, upon the farm of John Selleck,
* not far from the place where the Baptist meeting-house now stands. The
land is now owned by a son of Captain Barber, who was in the engagement.
He kindly accompanied me to the spot, and pointed out the localities,
according to the instructions of his patriotic father. The engraving on
the opposite page represents the general view of the place of encampment
and the battle-ground. When the British advanced guard discovered the
Americans, they were breakfasting near a dwelling which stood close by
the Baptist meeting-house, the two-story building seen in the center of
the picture. The dark spot near the fence, seen between the larger trees
in the foreground ("I" in the map of the battle), marks the remains of
the cellar of the old house. The road on the right is that leading
toward Ticonderoga; and the roofs of the houses, seen over the orchard
on the right, mark the direction of the road lead-

* The first settlement in this town was in the spring of 1774, and
consisted of only two families. In 1775 seven other families joined
them, among whom was Mr. Selleck, and these nine constituted the whole
population of the town when the battle occurred. On the day previous a
party of Indians and Tories, under Captain Sherwood, came upon the
inhabitants and made prisoners of two farmers named Hickock, and their
families, and two young men named Keeler and Kellogg. They captured two
or three others, and carried them all off to Ticonderoga, leaving their
families to shift for themselves. The sorrowing wives and children made
a toilsome journey over the mountains to Connecticut, whence they had
emigrated. The men remained prisoners at Ticonderoga (except two who
escaped) until after the surrender of Bur-goyne in October, when that
fortress was retaken by the Americans.--See Thompson's Gazetteer of
Vermont.

View of the Battle-ground.--The Battle.--Retreat and Surrender of
Colonel Hale.--His reasonable Excuse.

145ing down to the valley toward Castleton.

The large "boulder in front is famed by local tradition as the
observatory of the first man of the British van who discovered the
Americans; and it is related that he was shot by a sentinel before he
could leap down. The range of hills in the distance are the Pitts-ford
Mountains, over which a portion of the Americans fled toward Rutland. A
small branch of a tributary of Castleton Creek runs through the
intervale between the meeting-house and the hills beyond. The hottest of
the fight occurred upon the slope between the large tree and the
meeting-house. It was covered with ripe grain when I visited it, and
August, 1848 the achievements of the tiller gathering his sheaves seemed
more truly great than all the honors and renown which wholesale
slaughter ever procured for a warrior chieftain.

It was an excessively hot morning in July when the battle of Hubbardton
July 7, 1777 commenced. The American force consisted of the three
regiments of Warner, Francis, and Hale, and such stragglers from the
main army then at Castleton (six miles in advance) as had been picked up
on the way. The Americans were about thirteen hundred strong, and the
British, under Fraser, about eight hundred. Reidesel and his Germans
were still in the rear, but, expecting his arrival every moment, Fraser
began the attack at seven in the morning, fearing that the Americans
might escape if he delayed. The charge of the enemy was well received,
and the battle raged furiously. Had Warner been well sustained by the
militia regiment under Colonel Hale, he might have secured a victory;
but that officer, with his troops, fled toward Castleton, hoping to join
the main army there under St Clair, leaving the commander with only
seven hundred men to oppose the enemy. On the way, Hale and his men fell
in with an inconsiderable party of British soldiers, to whom they
surrendered, without offering any resistance, although the numbers were
about equal. * They

* Colonel Hale has been severely censured for this act of apparent
cowardice, but when every circumstance is taken into account, there is
much to induce a mitigation of blame. Himself and a large portion of his
men were in feeble health, and quite unfit for active service, and his
movement was one of precaution rather than of cowardly alarm. Rivals,
soon after he surrendered, circulated reports unfavorable to his
reputation. On hearing of them, he wrote to General Washington, asking
him to obtain his exchange, that he might vindicate his character by a
court-martial; but before this could be accomplished he died, while a
prisoner on Long Island, in September, 1780.

Battle of Hubbardton.--Defeat of the Americans.--Death of Colonel
Francis.

146were well stationed upon the brow of the hill, but so sudden and
unexpected was the attack, that no other breast-works could be thrown up
than such as a few trees afforded.

For a long time the conflict was severe, for Reidesel still did not make
his appearance. The British grenadiers occupied the Castleton road, and
prevented the Americans from retreating in that direction; but the
republicans poured in such a galling fire upon them, that they gave way
and victory was almost within the grasp of the patriots. At that moment
Riodesel with his companions appeared, his drums beating and banners
flying. The firing reaching his ears, he had pressed on as rapidly as
the rough forest road would allow. His Chasseurs, under Major Barner,
were immediately brought into action in support of Fraser's left flank.
At that moment the whole British line made a bayonet charge upon the
Americans with terrible effect. The latter, supposing that the Germans
in full force were coming upon them, broke and fled with great
precipitation, some over the Pittsford Mountains toward Rutland, and
others down the valley toward Castleton. * The Americans lost three
hundred and twenty-four in killed, wounded, and The brave Colonel
Francis was slain while gallantly fighting at the head of his regiment,
and twelve officers were made prisoners. The British loss was one
hundred and eighty-three, among whom were Major Pratt and about twenty
inferior officers. ** The British also captured about two hundred stand
of arms.

When General St. Clair heard the firing at Hubbardton, he attempted to
send a force to the relief of Warner, but the militia absolutely refused
to go, and the regulars and others were too far on their way to Fort
Edward to be recalled. St. Clair had just learned, too, that Burgoyne
was at Skenesborough, and he hastened forward to join General Schuyler,
which he did on the 12th, with his troops worn down by fatigue and lack
of provisions. The loss to the Americans by the evacuation of these
posts on the lake was one hundred and twenty-eight pieces of cannon and
a considerable quantity of ammu-

July, 1777.

* Explanation of the Map.--A, advanced corps of General Fraser, attacked
at B; C, position of the corps while it was forming; D, Earl of
Balcarras detached to cover the right wing; E, the van-guard and
Brunswick company of Chasseurs coming up with General Reidesel; F,
position of the Americans after Riedesel arrived. The lines extending
downward show the course of the retreat of the Americans over the
Pittsford Mountains. H, position of the British after the action; I,
house where the wounded were carried, mentioned in the description of
the picture on page 144; 0, position of the Americans previous to the
action. This map is a reduced copy of one drawn by P. Gerlach,
Burgoyne's deputy quartermaster general.

* Many of the Americans, in their precipitate retreat, threw away their
muskets to rid themselves of the encumbrance. Some have been found,
within a few years, in the woods on the line of the retreat. One of
them, of American manufacture, is in my possession, and dated 1774. The
bayonet is fixed, the flint is in the lock, and the powder and ball are
still in the barrel.

** The statements concerning the loss in this battle are various and
contradictory. Some accounts say that nearly six hundred, who were
wounded, crawled off into the woods and died; and others, again, put the
American loss down at less than three hundred. There is a preponderance
of testimony in favor of the number I have given, and it is, doubtless,
near the truth.

General Schuyler's Forces at Fort Edward.--Return to Lake Champlain.--An
old Soldier.--Mount Independence.

147nition and stores. In every respect the event was disastrous, and, as
we have seen, produced much discontent in the army and disappointment
throughout the country.

General Schuyler summoned the fragments of the broken armies to his camp
at Fort Edward. All united, numbered only four thousand four hundred
men, and this was the whole effective force opposed to the southward
progress of Burgoyne. Nearly one half of these deserted, not to the
enemy, but to their homes, before the end of the month. Yet the general
neither despaired nor remained idle. He kept his men busily engaged in
destroying bridges, felling trees, digging deep trenches, and making
other obstructions in the forest paths from Fort Anne to Fort Edward, to
delay the progress of the enemy; and this labor resulted in greatly
impeding Burgoyne's march, and in delaying his arrival upon the Hudson.
The subsequent events connected with these two armies, excepting the
battle of Bennington and the expedition of St. Leger, have already been
noticed in detail. The latter will be considered in their proper order.

I lingered upon the battle-ground in Hubbardton as long as time would
allow, for the view from that lofty table-land is both beautiful and
grand, particularly in the direction of Castleton, on the southwest. A
broad valley, bounded on either side by ranges of high hills, cultivated
to their summits, and diversified by rich intervales covered with ripe
harvests and dark green corn, spread out below us, a lovely picture of
peace and prosperity. The view at its further extremity is bounded by
the high hills near the Hudson, and on the left some of the higher
summits were dark with spruce and cedar trees. We returned to Sholes's
by the way of Hyde's, in Sudbury, where we dined. As usual, every
delicacy of the season was upon his table. Indeed, "a table equal to
Hyde's" has become a proverbial expression of praise among tourists, for
it is his justifiable boast that he spreads the choicest repasts that
are given between Montreal and New Orleans. His beautifully embowered
mansion is near the base of the Green Mountains, by the margin of a
charming lake, on the borders of a rich valley, about twelve miles east
of Lake Champlain, and a more delightful summer retreat can not well be
imagined. Our route thither was over a rough mountain road. Among the
rugged hills we met a venerable, white-haired man leaning upon two
canes, and greatly bowed by the weight of years. I accosted him with
reverence, and, in answer to my inquiry whether he was a soldier of the
Revolution, he informed me that he was with General Sullivan on Rhode
Island, and was on duty in the fort on Butt's Hill at the time of the
engagement there on the 29th of August, 1778, known as the battle of
Quaker Hill.

We arrived at Sholes's between five and six o'clock in the evening. Our
excellent host and his neighbor and friend, living at the foot of Mount
Independence, anticipating my wishes, had a skiff in readiness to convey
us across the bay to visit that memorable spot. Although I had ridden
forty miles during the day, and storm-clouds had been gathering thick
and fast for two hours, and now threatened a speedy down-pouring, I was
too anxious for the visit to allow fatigue or rain to thwart my purpose.
Accompanied by my companion and another young lady, the daughter of Mr.
S., we pushed across the bay--five of us in a light skiff, and the wind
rising--to the foot of Mount Independence, on its steep southern side.

We ascended by the old road constructed in 1776. The top of the summit
is flat tableland, and afforded a very eligible site for strong military
works. It was first occupied by the Americans early in 1776, when they
commenced the erection of batteries, barracks, and houses, with the view
of making it a place of general rendezvous, and a recruiting station for
the army of the north. * It was heavily timbered when they took
possession of it, but almost all the trees were felled for building
purposes and for fuel. A second growth of tim-

* Mount Independence is situated in the southwest corner of Orwell, in
Vermont, one mile north of Sholes's Landing, and contains about two
hundred and fifty acres of land, some of whieh is arable. The troops
stationed there in 1776 received the news of the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence, by the Continental Congress, with the most
extravagant demonstrations of joy. It was just after the reveille, on
the morning of the 18th of July, that a courier arrived with the glad
tidings; and, by a general order, a gala day for the soldiers ensued. At
sunset they fired a salute of thirteen guns, in honor of the
confederation, and named the place on which they were encamped Mount
Independence, in commemoration of the event.

Present Appearance of Mount Independence.--Graves of Soldiers.--
Vandalism.--Money-digging.

148ber now covers it, except where the parades were. The trees are
chiefly maple, some of them twenty inches in diameter. There are about
two hundred of them on the mount, large enough for the extraction of sap
for sugar. The young shoots never sprang up where the old parades were,
and they present bald spots, bearing only stinted vegetation.

During the summer and autumn of 1776 the Americans were diligent in
fortifying this spot. They erected a picketed fort and several
batteries, dug many wells, and constructed nearly three hundred houses
for the use of the soldiers. The remains of these are scattered in all
directions upon the mount; and the foundation walls of the hospital,
just commenced when the evacuation in 1777 took place, are now nearly as
perfect as when first laid. Narrow ditches, indicating the line of
pickets on the north part of the mount, and running in various
directions and at every angle, are distinctly seen; and the remains of
the "horseshoe battery," on the extreme north end, are very prominent.
Near this battery is a flint quarry, which seems to have been well known
and used by the Indians, for arrow-heads in every stage of manufacture,
from the almost unshapen flint to the perfect weapon, are found there, I
was told, in abundance. Toward the close of 1776 a fatal epidemic
prevailed in the garrison there, called the "camp distemper," and the
graves of the victims are thickly strewn among the trees.

At one time the deaths were so numerous that it was found impossible to
dig a grave for each, and the spot was shown to me where fourteen bodies
were deposited in a single broad grave, about daylight one morning.
Among the hundreds of these mounds of the dead, scattered over the
mount, there was only one individualized by an inscribed stone. The rude
monument is a rough limestone, and the inscription, "M. Richardson
Stoddard," appeared as if carved with the point of a bayonet. The tenant
was probably an officer of militia from a town formerly named Stoddard,
in Vermont. Already some Vandal visitor had broken off a "relic" from
its diminutive bulk, and ere this some patriotic antiquary has doubtless
slipped the whole stone into his pocket, and secured a legacy of rare
value for his wondering children! A propensity to appropriate to private
use a fragment of public monuments, and a pitiful ambition, allied in
kind to that of the Ephesian incendiary, to associate one's name by
pencil or penknife inscription with places of public resort, have
already greatly marred and disfigured a large proportion of our few
monuments, and can not be too severely condemned. Charity, that
"covereth the multitude of sins," has not a mantle broad enough to hide
this iniquity, for none but heartless knaves or brainless fools would
thus deface even the meanest grave-stone in a church-yard. Wolfe's
monument on the Plains of Abraham, and the monuments at Red Bank and
Paoli, bear mournful testimony of this barbarism which is abroad.

At various times Mount Independence, as well as Crown Point and other
localities in the neighborhood of Lake Champlain, has been scarred by
money-diggers. In 1815 a company came hither from Northern Vermont, to
search for military treasures which wise seers and the divining rod
declared were buried there. The chief of the party, entertaining
misgivings on his arrival as to the success of money-digging, purchased
land in the neighborhood, and while his more credulous companions were
digging deep into the mount, he was plowing deep into his land. He
raised grain and esculent roots--they raised gravel and worthless clay.
When their patience and money were exhausted, they shouldered their
picks and departed for Western New York. He remained, became a thrifty
farmer, and, by the unerring divining rod of industry, found the
treasure. Credulous people still dig at these localities, and several
pits were pointed out to me which had been recently excavated. *

* Three or four years ago the white wife of a negro dreamed three times-
-the cabalistic number--that at a certain place on Mount Independence
immense treasures were buried when the Americans evacuated that post.
They were, doubtless, the identical silver balls which calumny asserted
Burgoyne fired into St. Clair's camp as the price of treason. The negro
procured aid, and a pure white dog to watch them while digging. A
moonlight night was the chosen time. The secret leaked into the ears of
some boys, and set their mischievous wits at work. A large pumpkin was
emptied of its seeds, and staring eyes, wide nostrils and grinning teeth
were cut out of the rind, and a lighted candle was placed within the
sphere. This hideous head, with its fiery eyes and nostrils, was placed
on the caput of a bold boy, who marched up to the pit where the money-
diggers were at work. The dog first discovered the grinning specter, and
with a loud yell, leaped from the cavity and ran for life. The men
followed, leaving pick, spade, hat, and coat behind, quite sure that the
"gentleman in black" was close upon their heels -, and they have ever
since believed that he guards the treasures, and sometimes takes an
evening stroll on Mount Independence.

Return to Sholes's.--Darkness on the Lake.--View from Sholes's Landing.

149Darkness came on, and the rain pattered upon the leaves before we
descended to the shore; and by the time we were fairly out upon the lake
our destined haven was invisible.

The wind was fresh and the waters rough. One of the ladies guided the
helm, but her bright eyes could not discern the distant shore, and her
nautical skill was unavailing. The son of Mr. S., anticipating such a
dilemma, discharged a small swivel at the landing, and by its beacon
flash we were safely guided until we came within the rays of the candles
at the house. Wet and weary, we supped and retired early, to resume our
journey in the morning. *

* This is a view from Chipman's Point, or Sholes's Landing, looking
north. The high ridge on the right, in the distance, is Mount
Independence. The higher and more distant hill on the left, over the
cedar, is Mount Defiance, and the elevation beyond is Mount Hope. Fort
Ticonderoga is on the other side of Mount Independence, in a line with
the highest part.

Chimney Point.--First Settlement by the French.--Fort St. Frederic.--
Distant View of Crown Point

150

CHAPTER. VII.

"The green earth sends its incense up from every mountain shrine,

From every flower and dewy cup that greeted the sunshine.

The mists are lifted from the rills like the white wing of prayer

They lean above the ancient hills, as doing homage there.

The forest-tops are lowly cast o'er breezy hill and glen,

As if a prayerful spirit pass'd on nature as on men."

Whittier.

LIGHT mist was upon the water when we departed from Sholes's, but a
gentle breeze swept it off to the hills as we turned the point of Mount
Independence and entered the broader expanse near Ticonderoga. We caught
a last glimpse of the gray ruins as our boat sped by, and before nine
o'clock we landed at Chimney Point, opposite Crown Point, where the lake
is only half a mile wide. * Here the French established their first
settlement on Lake Champlain, in 1731, and commenced the cultivation of
the grains of the country. They erected a stone wind-mill in the
neighborhood, which was garrisoned and used as a fort during the wars
with the English colonies. When Professor Kalm, the Swedish naturalist
and traveler, during his botanical tour through New York and Canada in
1749, visited this settlement, five or six cannons were mounted in the
mill. The place was then called Wind-mill Point. **

The same year in which the French settled at Chimney Point, they built a
strong fort upon the shore opposite, and called it Fort St. Frederic, in
honor of Frederic Maurepas, the then Secretary of State. It was a
starwork, in the form of a pentagon, with bastions at the angles, and
surrounded by a ditch walled in with stone. Kalm says there was a
considerable settlement around the fort, and pleasant, cultivated
gardens adorned the rude dwellings.

There was a neat little church within the ramparts, and every thing
betokened a smiling future for a happy and prosperous colony. But the
rude clangor of war disturbed their repose a few years afterward; the
thunder of British artillery frightened them away, and they retired to
the north end of the lake. For many years the chimneys of their deserted
dwellings on the eastern shore were standing, and gave the name of
Chimney Point to the bold promontory. **

* Chimney Point is in the southwestern corner of Addison town, Vermont,
and is the proper landing-place for those who desire to visit the ruins
of Crown Point fortress, on the opposite side of the lake.

** From Kalm's account it appears probable that the wind-mill was upon
the shore opposite, at the point where now may be seen the ruins of what
is called the Grenadiers' Battery. He says it was "within one or two
musket-shots of Fort St. Frederic," a fortification immediately on the
shore opposite Chimney Point.

*** This view is taken from the green in front of the inn at Chimney
Point, looking west-southwest. The first land seen across the lake is
Crown Point, with the remaining barracks and other works of the
fortress, and the dwellings and outhouses of Mr. Baker, a resident
farmer. Beyond the point is Bulwaggy Bay, a broad, deep estuary much
wider than the lake at Chimney Point. Beyond the bay, and rising from
its western shore, is Bulwaggy Mountain, varying in perpendicular height
from four to nine hundred feet, and distant from the fort between one
and two miles. A little to the right of the larger tree on the shore is
the site of Fort St. Frederic, and at the edge of the circle on the
left, along the same shore, is the locality of the Grenadiers' Battery.
The wharf and bridge in the foreground form the steam-boat and ferry
landing at Chimney Point.

Visit to Crown Point.--Description of the Fortress.--Its present
Appearance.

151Anxious to leave in the evening boat for Burlington, we sent our
light baggage to the inn, and immediately crossed over to Crown Point on
a horse-boat, the only ferry vessel there. Mr. Baker, an aged resident
and farmer upon the point, kindly guided us over the remains of the
military works in the vicinity, where we passed between three and four
hours. We first visited old Fort St. Frederic, the senior fortress in
chronological order. It is upon the steep bank of the lake, and the
remains of its bomb-proof covered way, oven, and magazine can still be
traced; the form of its ramparts is indicated by a broken line of
mounds.

The average width of the peninsula of Crown Point is one mile, and the
principal works are upon its highest part, near the northern end. The
peninsula is made up of dark limestone, covered quite slightly with
earth. This physical characteristic lent strength to the post, for an
enemy could not approach it by parallels or regular advances, but must
make an open assault. _St. Frederic_, standing close by the water,
lacked this advantage; and the French, feeling their comparative
weakness, exercised the valor of prudence, and abandoned it on the
approach of the English and provincials under General Amherst, in 1759,
and retired to the Isle Aux Noix, * in the Sorel. The British commander
took July 26 immediate possession, but the works were so dilapidated
that, instead of repairing them, he at once began the erection of a new
and extensive fortress about two hundred yards southwest of it, and upon
more commanding ground.

The ramparts were about twenty-five feet thick, and nearly the same in
height, of solid masonry The curtains varied in length from fifty- to
one hundred yards, and the whole circuit, measuring along the ramparts,
and including the bastions, was eight hundred and fifty-three yards, a
trifle less than half a mile. A broad ditch cut out of solid limestone
surrounded it. The fragments taken from the excavation were used to
construct the reveting, and the four rows of barracks erected within. On
the north was a gate, and from the northeastern bastion was a covered
way leading to the lake. Within this bastion a well, nearly eight feet
in diameter and ninety feet deep, was sunk, from which the garrison was
supplied with water. This fortress was never entirely finished, although
the British government spent nearly ten millions of dollars upon it and
its outworks. Its construction was a part of the grand plan devised by
Pitt to crush French power in America, and hence, for

* This is pronounced O Noo-ah.

** There were four large buildings used for barracks within the fort,
the walls or chimneys of which were built of limestone. One of them has
been entirely removed, and another, two hundred and eighty-seven feet
long, is almost demolished. Portions of it are seen on the left, in the
foreground of the picture. The walls of the other two--one, one hundred
and ninety-two, and the other two hundred and sixteen feet long, and two
stories high--are quite perfect, and one of them was roofed and
inhabited until within two or three years. At each end, and between
these barracks, are seen the remains of the ramparts. The view is from
the northwestern angle of the fort, a little south of the remains of the
western range of barracks, and looking southeast. The hills in the
distance are the Green Mountains on the left, and the nearer range
called Snake Mountain, on the right.

* Explanation of the Plan.--A, B, C, the barracks,- D, the well; the
black line denotes the ramparts, with its parapet; the white space next
to it the ditch, and the shaded part outside, the covered way,
banquette, and glacis.

Proposed Attack on the French at Isle Aux Noix.--Approach of Winter. --
Appearance of Crown Point.--Inscriptions

152this as well as for every other part of the service here, the most
extraordinary efforts were made, and pecuniary means were freely
lavished. *

Amherst constructed several small vessels at Crown Point, and, leaving a
garrison to defend the partly finished fort, embarked with the rest of
his troops, and sailed down the lake, to attack the French in their new
position in the Sorel. Storm after storm arose upon the lake, and
greatly endangered the safety of his men and munitions in the frail
vessels. The season being considerably advanced, he abandoned the
design, and resolved not to risk the snow-storms that would soon ensue,
and the general barrenness of food and forage that now October 2, 1759
prevailed in an enemy's country. So he returned to Crown Point, and went
into winter-quarters.

The works at Crown Point are much better preserved than those at
Ticonderoga, and the present owner of the ground, with a resolution
which bespeaks his taste and patriotism, will not allow a stone to be
removed The view here given is from the parapet near the end of the
southeastern range of barracks, where the flag-staff was, looking down
the lake northwest. At the foot of the hills on the lake shore, toward
the left, is Cedar Point, at the entrance of Bulwaggy Bay, and a little
north of it is the village of Port Henry, the location of the There is a
ferry between this place and Chimney Point, the boats touching at Crown
Point.

In the gable wall of the nearest barracks in the view are two inscribed
stones, faced smooth where the inscription is carved. One bears the
initials "G. R.," George Rex or King; the rude form of an anchor, a mark
peculiar to Great Britain, and placed upon her cannon-ball? and other
military articles; and the date of the construction of the fortress,
"1759."

The other stone has the initial "G." without the R., the monogram of
Amherst, the anchor, and a number of rectangular and diagonal lines of
inexplicable meaning. The deep well, already alluded to, is close by the
covered way that leads to the lake, and a few rods northeast from the
eastern range of barracks. It was nearly filled with rubbish, and almost
hidden from view by the weeds and shrubbery upon its margin. I was
informed that a general impression prevailed in the vicinity, about
twenty-five years ago, that this deep well was the depository of vast
treasures, which were east into it by the French for conceal-

* For the campaign of 1759 the Legislature of New York authorized the
levy of two thousand six hundred and eighty men, and issued the sum of
five hundred thousand dollars in bills of credit, bearing interest, and
redeemable in 1768 by the proceeds of an annual tax.

Search for Treasure in the Well.---A venerable Money-digger. ---Capture
of Crown Point by the Patriots.--Seth Warner.

153ment when they abandoned the fort in 1759. Accordingly, a stock
company of fifty men, whose capital was labor, and whose dividends were
to be the treasure found, cleared the well of all its rubbish, in search
of the gold and silver.

One of the company furnished the whisky which was drunk on the occasion,
and agreed to wait for his pay until the treasure was secured. The men
"kept their spirits up by pouring spirits down," and before the work was
completed nearly three hogsheads of alcohol were swallowed by them. They
cleared and drained the well to its rocky bottom, and all the metal
which they found was iron in the form of nails, spikes, bolts, axes,
shovels, &c. The whisky and the labor were lost to the owners, but they
found the saying correct, that "truth lies at the bottom of a well," for
they discovered, when at the bottom, the important truth, which
doubtless taught them wisdom, that credulity is a faithless though
smiling friend, and a capricious and hard master to serve. Money-digging
still continues in the neighborhood, and several excavations within the
fort were pointed out as the scene of quite recent labor in that line.

In 1844 a venerable, white-haired man, apparently between eighty and
ninety years of age, leaning upon a staff and accompanied by two
athletic men, came to the fort and began to dig. They were observed by
Mr. B., and ordered away. The old man was urgent for leave to dig, for
he had come from the northern part of Vermont, was very poor, knew
exactly where the treasure was, as he had assisted in concealing it, and
asked but thirty minutes to finish his work. Mr. B. left them, and,
returning an hour afterward, saw quite a deep hole, but no man was near.
The diggers were gone, and the impression is that they really "found
something!" There has been a great deal of money-digging upon Snake
Mountain, on the eastern side of the lake, induced, to some extent, by
the wonderful discovery of a crucible there. Among those rugged hills
was doubtless the residence of "May Martin," the lovely heroine of the
"Money-diggers." *

Crown Point remained in the quiet possession of the British from 1759
until 1775, when it was surprised and taken by a small body of
provincials called "Green Mountain Boys," under Colonel Seth Warner. **
I have already mentioned the fact that he attempted its capture on the
same day that Delaplace surrendered Ticonderoga to Ethan Allen, but was
thwarted and driven back by a storm. That was on the 10th of May. The
attempt was renewed on the 12th, with success, and the garrison,
consisting of only a sergeant and eleven men, were made prisoners
without firing a shot. *** Among the spoils were a hundred and fourteen
cannons, of which only sixty-one were fit for service.

* See Thompson's pretty fiction, "May Martin, or the Money-diggers."

** Seth Warner was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, about 1744. He moved
to Bennington, Vermont, in 1773, and was noted for his skill in hunting.
He and Ethan Allen were the leaders of the people of the New Hampshire
Grants in their controversy with New York, and on the 9th of March,
1774, the Legislature of the latter province passed an act of outlawry
against them. After the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, he
received a colonel's commission from the Continental Congress, and
joined Montgomery in Canada. His regiment was discharged at St. John's,
and, after the death of his general, he raised another body of troops
and marched to Quebec. He covered the retreat of the Americans from
Canada to Ticonderoga, was with the troops when they evacuated that post
in 1777, and commanded the rear-guard that fought a severe battle at
Hubbardton. He was one of General Starks's aids at the battle of
Bennington, and then joined the army under Gates at Stillwater. His
health soon afterward gave way, and he died at Woodbury in 1785, aged
forty-one years. The state of Vermont gave his widow and children a
valuable tract of land.--Allen's American Biography.

** On the day when Allen captured Ticonderoga, he sent a message to
Captain Remember Baker, one of his colleagues in the violent boundary
disputes between the New Yorkers and the people of the New Hampshire
Grants, to join him at that post. Baker obeyed the summons, and when he
was coming up the lake with his party, he met two small boats with
British soldiers, going to St. John's with the intelligence of the
reduction of Ticonderoga, and to solicit a re-enforcement of the
garrison at Crown Point. Baker seized the boats, and with his prisoners
arrived at the fort just in time to join Warner in taking posses non of
it.--Sparks's Life of Ethan Allen.

Expeditions of Allen and Arnold against St. John's.--Preparations to
oppose General Carleton on the Lake.

154Arnold arrived at Ticonderoga the same evening, and on the 14th about
fifty men, who had enlisted in compliance with his orders given by the
way while hurrying on to Castleton to overtake Allen, arrived from
Skenesborough, and brought with them the schooner which belonged to
Major Skene. He manned this vessel instantly, armed it with some of the
guns taken at the fort, and sailed down the lake to St. John's, on the
Sorel. There he surprised and made prisoners the garrison, consisting of
a sergeant and twelve men; captured a king's sloop with seven men;
destroyed five bateaux; seized four others; put on board some of the
valuable stores from the fort, and with his prisoners, and favored by a
fair wind which had chopped around from south to north just as he had
secured his prizes, he returned to Ticonderoga. Colonel Allen, with one
hundred and fifty men in bateaux, started upon the same expedition, but
Arnold's schooner outsailed the flat-boats, and Allen met him within
fifteen miles of St. John's, returning with his prizes. Arnold was on
board the king's sloop, where Allen visited him, and, after ascertaining
the actual state of affairs, the latter determined to go on to St.
John's and garrison the fort with about one hundred men. He landed just
before night, marched about a mile toward Laprairie, and formed his men
in ambush to attack an expected re-enforcement for the enemy. He soon
learned that the approaching force was much larger than his own, and
retired across the river, where he was attacked early in the morning by
two hundred men. He fled to his boats and escaped to Ticonderoga, with a
loss of three men taken prisoners. Thus within one week the strong
fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, with all their dependencies
upon the lake, were snatched from the British by the bold provincials,
without their firing a gun or losing a man; and their little fleet upon
the lake, their only strength left, was captured and destroyed in a day.

These events aroused General Carleton, the governor of Canada, and a re-
enforcement of more than four hundred British and Canadians was speedily
sent to St. John's. It was determined to send small water craft from
Chambly and Montreal, to be armed and manned at St. John's; and other
measures were planned for dispatching a sufficient force up the lake to
recapture Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Tidings of these preparations
soon reached the ears of Arnold, and afforded him an opportunity to
sever his connection with Allen, so ill suited to his restless and
ambitious spirit. A fleet to oppose the enemy was now necessary, and,
having had some experience at sea in earlier life, Arnold assumed to be
the commander of whatever navy should be fitted out. His assumption was
not complained of, and he proceeded vigorously in arming and manning
Skene's schooner, the king's corvette, and a small flotilla of bateaux.
With these and about one hundred and fifty men, he took post at Crown
Point to await the approach of the enemy. There he organized his little
navy by the appointment of a captain and subordinate officers for each
vessel. He mounted six carriage guns and twelve swivels in the sloop,
and four carriage guns and eight swivels in the schooner He was also
active in sending off the ordnance from Crown Point to the army at
Cambridge, and at the same time he sent emissaries to Montreal and the
Caughnawagas to sound the intentions of the Canadians and Indians, and
ascertain what was the actual force under Carleton and the nature of his
preparations. He also wrote to the Continental Congress in June,
proposing a plan of operations whereby, he confidently believed, the
whole of Canada might be conquered by two thousand men. He asserted that
persons in Montreal had agreed to open the gates when a strong
Continental force should appear before the city; assured Congress that
Carleton had only five hundred and fifty effective men under him; and
offered to lead the expedition and to be responsible for consequences.
His representations were doubtless true, but Congress was not prepared
to sanction such an expedition. Allen, in a letter dated Crown Point,
June 2d, 1775, made a similar proposition to the Provincial Congress of
New York. In the mean while letters had been sent from Ticonderoga to
the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, complaining of Arnold's
arrogant assumptions, and otherwise dis-

Commission from Massachusetts.--Re-enforcements for the Lake Forts.--
Regiment of Green Mountain Boys.

155paraging his deeds. A committee of inquiry was appointed, who
proceeded to Lake Champlain. Arnold was at Crown Point, acting as
commandant of the fort and commodore of the navy, and, not suspecting
the nature of their visit, he was enthusiastic in his discourse to them
of his expected victories. The first intimation of their errand aroused
Arnold's indignation; and when he fully understood the purport of their
commission, he wrote them a formal letter of resignation, discharged his
men, and returned to Cambridge, uttering loud complaints of ill usage by
the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. Thus ended the naval
operations upon the lake in 1775.

When Ticonderoga and Crown Point were securely in the power of the
provincials, Colonel Easton went to Massachusetts and Connecticut, and
explained to the respective governments all the transactions connected
with the reduction of these important posts. The Massachusetts Assembly
wrote to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, expressing their willingness
to allow that colony all the honor, and to withhold all interference in
future operations in that quarter. Trumbull immediately prepared to send
a re-enforcement for the garrisons, of four hundred men. Meanwhile
messages were sent to the Continental Congress, and, through courtesy,
to the Provincial Congress of New York, within whose jurisdiction the
fortresses were situated, to ascertain their views. The Continental
Congress approved the measures of Governor Trumbull, and requested the
Convention of New York to supply the troops with provisions. The four
hundred men were immediately sent, under Colonel Hinman, who superseded
Colonel Allen in the command at Ticonderoga. The latter, with Warner,
set off for the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, to procure pay for
their soldiers, whose terms had expired, and to solicit authority to
raise a new regiment in Vermont. The appearance of these men occasioned
a great sensation in Philadelphia, and they were introduced upon the
floor of Congress, to make their communications to that body orally.
Congress at once acquiesced in their wishes, granted the soldiers the
same pay as was received by those of the Continental army, and
recommended to the New York Convention that, after consulting General
Schuyler, they should "employ in the army to be raised in defense of
America those called Green Mountain Boys, under such officers as the
said Green Mountain Boys should choose." This resolution was dispatched
to the New York Convention, and thither Allen and Warner repaired, and
obtained an audience. * The Assembly resolved that a regiment of Green
Mountain Boys, consisting of seven companies, and not exceeding five
hundred men in number, should be raised. The matter was referred to
General Schuyler, who immediately notified the people of the New
Hampshire Grants, and ordered them to raise the regiment. Allen and
Warner were not members of the regiment, but soon afterward they both
joined General Schuyler at Ticonderoga, where he wras stationed with
about three thousand troops from New York and New England, August, 1775
preparatory to an invasion of Canada. Early in September Generals
Schuyler and Montgomery sailed from Ticonderoga and Crown Point with
their whole force, and appeared before St. John's, on the Sorel. Let us
for a moment take a general view of affairs having a relation to the
northern section of operations at this juncture and immediately
antecedent thereto.

* The Assembly of New York was embarrassed when Allen and Warner
appeared at the door of its hall and asked for admission, and a warm
debate ensued. During the then recent controversy of the Legislature of
New York with the people of the New Hampshire Grants, these men had been
proclaimed outlaws, and that attainder had never been wiped off by a
repeal. There were members of that body who had taken a very active
part, personally, in the controversy, and they were unwilling to give
their old enemies a friendly greeting. Their prejudices, and the
scruples of others who could not recognize the propriety of holding
public conference with men whom the law of the land had declared to be
rioters and felons, produced a strong opposition to their admission to
the hall. The debates were becoming very warm, when Captain Sears (the
noted "King Sears") moved that "Ethan Allen be admitted to the floor of
the House." It was carried by a very large majority, as was also a
similar resolution in regard to Warner. Allen afterward wrote a letter
of thanks to the New York Assembly, in which, after referring to the
formation of the battalion of Green Mountain Boys, he concluded by
saying, "I will be responsible that they will reciprocate this favor by
boldly hazarding their lives, if need be, in the common cause of
America."

General View of Affairs.--The "Canada Bill."--Opposition to it in
Parliament.--Denunciations of Barré.

156The British ministry, alarmed at the rapid progress of the rebellion
in America, and particularly at the disaffection to the royal government
which was manifest in Canada, and observing that all their coercive
measures in relation to Massachusetts had thus far augmented rather than
diminished the number and zeal of the insurgents in that colony,
determined, in 1774, to try a different policy with Canada, to secure
the loyalty of the people. A large proportion of the inhabitants were of
French descent, and members of the Romish communion. Those who composed
the most influential class were of the old French aristocracy, and any
concessions made in favor of their caste weighed more heavily with them
than any that might be made to the whole people, involving the extension
of the area of political freedom, an idea which was a mere abstraction
to them. Religious concessions to the other and more ignorant class were
a boon of great value, and by these means the king and his advisers
determined to quiet the insurrectionary spirit in Canada. A bill was
accordingly introduced into Parliament, "For making more effectual
provision for the government of the province of Quebec, in North
America." It provided for the establishment of a Legislative Council,
invested with all powers except that of levying taxes. It was provided
that its members should be appointed by the crown, and continue in
authority during its pleasure; that Canadian subjects professing the
Catholic faith might be called to sit in the Council; that the Catholic
clergy, with the exception of the regular orders, should be secured in
the enjoyment of their professions, and of their tithes from all those
who professed their religion; that the French laws without jury should
be re-established, preserving, however, the English laws, with trial by
jury, in criminal cases. The bill also provided that the limits of
Canada should be extended so as to inclose the whole region between the
lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, regardless of the just claims
of other colonies under old and unrepealed charters. * These liberal
concessions to the Canadians would have been highly commendable, had not
other motives than a spirit of liberality manifestly actuated ministers.
The most obtuse observer could plainly perceive their object to be to
secure a strong footing north and west of the refractory colonies, where
troops might be concentrated and munitions of war collected, to be used
at a moment's warning, if necessary, in crushing rebellion near. Such a
design was at once charged upon ministers by the ever-vigilant Colonel
Barré, on the floor of the British House of Commons. "A very
extraordinary indulgence," he said, "is given to the inhabitants of this
province, and one calculated to gain the hearts and affections of these
people. To this I can not object, if it is to be applied to good
purposes; but if you are about to raise a popish army to serve in the
colonies, from this time all hope of peace in America will be destroyed.
The Americans will look on the Canadians as their task-masters, and, in
the end, their executioners." It was urged by ministers that common
justice demanded the adoption of such a measure, for a very large
proportion of the people of Canada were Roman Catholics. ** Edmund
Burke, Thomas Townshend, Charles Fox, Sergeant Glynn, and others joined
Colonel Barré in his denunciations of the bill, particularly in relation
to the clauses concerning the Roman Catholic religion, and that
providing for the establishment of a Legislative Council to be appointed
by the crown. The former were considered a dangerous precedent for a
Protestant government, and the latter was regarded as shadowing forth
the ultimate design of the king and his ministers to subvert the popular
form of government in America, and to make the legislators mere
creatures of the crown. By its provisions the Governor of Canada was
vested with almost absolute and illimitable power, and permitted to be
nearly as much a despot, if he chose, as any of the old Spanish viceroys
of

* Thomas and John Penn, son and grandson of William Penn, then the
proprietaries of Pennsylvania and Delaware, entered a protest against
the boundary section of this bill, because it contemplated an
encroachment upon their territory. Burke, who was then the agent of the
colony of New York, also opposed this section of the bill for the same
reason, in behalf of his principal. The letter of that statesman to the
Assembly of New York on the subject is published among the Collections
of the New York Historical Society, and is said to be the only one known
to be extant of all those which he wrote to that body.

** Governor Carleton asserted, on oath, before a committee of
Parliament, that there were then only about three hundred and sixty
Protestants in Canada, while the Roman Catholics numbered one hundred
and fifty thousand.

Passage of the "Canada Bill."--Effect of the Measure in the Colonies.--
Boldness of Orators and the Press.

157South America. On this point Lord Chatham (William Pitt) was
particularly eloquent, and he also took ground against the religious
features of the bill, as an innovation dangerous to the Protestant faith
and to the stability of the throne. The bill, however, with all its
exceptionable clauses, was adopted by quite a large majority in both
Houses, and received the royal assent on the 22d of June. It was
introduced into the House of Lords by the Earl of Dartmouth, and passed
that House without opposition. This bill is refer red to in our
Declaration of Independence as one of the "acts of pretended
legislation" that justified the separation from the parent country.

While this act, with the Boston Port Bill, that for the subversion of
the charter of Massachusetts, and the law authorizing the transportation
of criminals to Great Britain for trial, were in transit through
Parliament and receiving the royal signature, the colonists were
preparing to make a successful resistance against further legislative
encroachments. Throughout the whole summer and autumn of 1774 the
greatest excitement prevailed. The committees of correspondence were
every where active and firm, and were constantly supplied with minute
knowledge of all the movements of the home government by secret agents
in the British metropolis. The people by thousands signed non-
importation agreements, and otherwise attested their willingness to make
personal sacrifices in the cause of freedom. The press spoke out boldly,
and orators no longer harangued in parables, but fearlessly called upon
the people to unite. The events of the French and Indian war had
demonstrated the prowess and strength of the Anglo-Americans against the
foes of Britain, and they felt confident in that strength against
Britain herself, now that she had become the oppressor of her children,
if a bond of union could be made that should cause all the colonies to
act in concert. A general Congress, similar to that which convened in
New York in 1765, was therefore suggested. Throughout the colonies the
thought was hailed as a happy one, and soon was developed the most
energetic action. The Congress met in September, adopted loyal addresses
to the king and Parliament, to the people of the colonies, of Canada, of
Ireland, and of Great Britain, and took precautionary measures
respecting future aggressions upon their rights. The people, highly
indignant, every where evinced the strength of that feeling by open
contempt for all royal authority exercised by officers of the crown. The
acts alluded to were denounced as "barbarous and bloody," the British
ministry were published in the gazettes, and placarded upon the walls as
_papists_ and as _traitors to the Constitution_, and the patriots even
had the boldness to lampoon the king and Parliament. (For an
illustration, see next page.)

Such was the temper of the Americans at the opening of the year 1775.
The events at Lexington and Concord added fuel to the flame of
indignation and rebellion. As we have seen, Ticonderoga and other posts
on Lake Champlain were assailed, and fell into the hands of the
Americans. In June the battle of Bunker Hill was fought. A Continental
June 17, 1775 army was speedily organized. Hope of reconciliation
departed. The sword was fairly drawn, and at the close of summer an
expedition was arranged to invade Canada, for which an armament was
collected at Ticonderoga. Such a step seemed essential for two reasons:
first, to confirm the Canada patriots (who were chiefly in the
neighborhood of Montreal) in their opposition to Great Britain by the
pressure of armed supporters; and, secondly, to secure the strong-hold
of Quebec while its garrison was yet weak, and before General Carleton
could organize a sufficient force to defend it. That officer, it was
well known, was vested with almost unlimited power as governor of the
province, under the act which we have just considered; and it was also
well known that he was using every means at his command to induce the
Canadians to take up arms against the rebellious colonists. Neither
bribes nor promises were spared. The imperial government resolved to
send out fifteen thousand muskets to arm the French Catholics, and
agents of the crown were busy among the Indian tribes upon the St.
Lawrence and the Ottawa, inciting them to an alliance with the army of
the king.

Congress had already sent an affectionate address "To the oppressed
inhabitants May 29, 1775 of Canada," and its effects were so palpable to
Governor Carleton, that he feared

The British Government caricatured.--Carleton's attempt to seduce the
Bishop of Quebec.--Consistency of the Prelate

158entire disaffection to the royal government would ensue. The people
were disappointed in the operations of the act of 1774, and all but the
nobles regarded it as tyrannical.

Unable to make an impression favorable to the king upon the Canadians by
an appeal to their loyalty, Carleton had recourse to the authority of
religion. He endeavored to seduce Brand, the Roman Catholic bishop of
Quebec, from his exalted duties as a Christian pastor, to engage in the
low political schemes of a party placeman, and publish a _mandement_, to
be read from the pulpit by the curates in time of divine service. He
also urged the prelate to exhort the people to take up arms against the
colonists. But the consistent bishop refused to exert his influence in
such a cause, and plainly told Carleton that such conduct would be
unworthy of a faithful pastor, and derogatory to the canons of the
Romish Church. A few priests, however, with the nobility, seconded
Carleton's views, but their influence was feeble with the mass of the
people, who were determined to remain neutral. The governor now tried
another scheme, and with better effect. He could make no impression upon
the masses by appeals to their loyalty or their religious prejudices,
and he determined to arouse them by

* The above engraving is an exact copy, reduced, of a caricature which I
found in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society at
Boston, entitled "Virtual Representation." On the back of it, apparently
in the hand-writing of the time, is the following:

* "A full explanation of the within print.--No. 1 intends the K--g of G.
B., to whom the House of Commons (4) gives the Americans' money for the
use of that very H. of C., and which he is endeavoring to take away with
the power of cannon. No. 2, by a Frenchman, signifies the tyranny that
is intended for America. No. 3, the figure of a Roman Catholic priest
with his crucifix and gibbet, assisting George in enforcing his
tyrannical system of civil and religious government. Nos. 5 and 6 are
honest American yeomen, who oppose an oaken staff to G--'s cannon, and
determine they will not be robbed. No. 7 is poor Britannia blindfolded,
falling into the bottomless pit which her infamous rulers have prepared
for the Americans. Nos. 8, 9 represent Boston in flames and Quebec
triumphant, to show the probable consequence of submission to the
present wicked ministerial system, that popery and tyranny will triumph
over true religion, virtue, and liberty. "N.B. Perhaps this may remind
the Bostonians of the invincible attachment of the Numantines * to their
liberty," &c.

** The Numantinee inhabited a city on the banka of the Douro, in Spain.
Twenty years they were besieged by the Romans, until at length the
younger Scipio Africanus entered their city (one hundred and thirty-
three years B.C, and twelve years after the destruction of Carthage).
The Numantinea, seeing all hope gone, set fire to their city and
perished in the flames rather than become slaves to their oppressors.

Royal Highland Regiment, how raised.--Our Departure from Crown Point.--
Split Rock.--War-feast on the Bouquet River

159appealing to their cupidity. Accordingly, he caused the drums to beat
up for volunteers in Quebec, and by offers of good pay, privileges, and
bounties, he succeeded in enrolling a few, under the title of the _Royal
Highland Regiment_. * About the same time Colonel July, 1775 Guy Johnson
arrived at Montreal with a large number of Indian chiefs and warriors of
the Six Nations, who, despite their solemn promises of neutrality, were
induced to join the soldiers of the king. They made oath of allegiance
to the crown in the presence of Carle-ton, and were held in readiness to
serve him when he should call.

A small number of regular British troops, with the volunteers and
Indians, composed the bulk of Carleton's army at the close of the summer
of 1775, the time when General Schuyler was preparing, at Ticonderoga
and Crown Point, for a campaign against Canada. We thus come back from
our historic ramble to our starting-place at Crown Point. The ruins are
sufficiently explored; let us pass over to Chimney Point and dine, for
the steamer will soon come down the lake to convey us to our Sabbath
resting-place at Burlington.

We left Chimney Point in the evening, a cool, gentle breeze blowing from
the northwest. The western shore is bold, and in many places
precipitous, and in the distance the blue peaks and lofty ridges of the
Adirondack Mountains skirt, the horizon. The eastern margin is the
termination of the pleasant slopes and beautiful intervales between the
Green Mountains and the lake, cultivated and wooded alternately to the
water's verge. At dusk we reached the famous _Split Rock_. The moon was
shining brightly in the west, where faint tints of daylight still
lingered, and we passed so near that we had a fine view of that
geological wonder. It is on the west side of the lake, about thirty
miles below Crown Point. Here is a sharp promontory jutting into the
lake, the point ol which, containing about half an acre, and covered
with bushes, is separated from the main land by a cleft fifteen feet
wide. It was observed as a curiosity by the old French explorers.
Soundings to the depth of five hundred feet have been made between the
fragment and the main rock, without finding a bottom. Geologists differ
in opinion respecting the cause which formed the chasm, some ascribing
it to an earthquake, and others to the slow attrition of the current
upon a portion of the rock of softer texture than the rest. A light-
house stands near as a guide to the navigator, for the lake is only a
mile wide at this point. Here it suddenly expands, and at the mouth of
the Bouquet River, eight miles above, it is about five miles wide.

At the falls in the Bouquet, two miles from the lake, is the village of
Willsborough, the place where Burgoyne encamped and gave a war-feast to
about four hundred Indians of the tribes of the Algonquins, Iroquois,
and Ottawas, who, accompanied by a Roman Catholic priest, joined him
there. Both he and Carleton were averse to the measure of June 21, 1777
employing the savages in the British army, but the express instructions
of ministers demanded it, and he dared not disobey. ** He made a speech
to them, in which he humanely endeavored to soften their savage ferocity
and restrain their thirst for rapine and blood. His exordium was words
of flattery in praise of their sagacity, faithfulness, forbearance, and
loyalty. He then spoke of the abused clemency of the king toward the
colonies, and declared to the warriors their relief from restraint. "Go
forth," he said, "in the might of your valor

* Their time of service was limited to the continuance of the
disturbances; each soldier was to receive two hundred acres of land in
any province in North America he might choose; the king paid himself the
accustomed duties upon the acquisition of lands; for twenty years new
proprietors were to be exempted from all contribution for the benefit of
the crown; every married soldier obtained other fifty acres, in
consideration of his wife, and fifty more for account of each of his
children, with the same privilege and exemptions, besides the bounty of
a guinea at the time of enlistment.--Botta, vol. i., p. 220.

** The employment of Indians by the British ministry, in this campaign,
has been excused upon the lame plea, which has not the shadow of truth,
that, unless they were thus employed, the Americans would have mustered
them into their service.--See Knight's Pictorial England, vol. v., p.
306.

Burgoyne's Interview with the Indians.--Speech of an Iroquois.--Approach
to Burlington.

160and your cause. Strike at the common enemies of Great Britain and of
America; disturbers of public order, peace, and happiness; destroyers of
commerce; parricides of the state."

He told them that his officers and men would endeavor to imitate their
example in perseverance, enterprise, and constancy, and in resistance of
hunger, weariness, and pain. At the same time he exhorted them to listen
to his words, and allow him to regulate their passions, and to conform
their warfare to his, by the rules of European discipline and the
dictates of his religion and humanity. He reminded them that the king
had many faithful subjects in the provinces, and, therefore,
indiscriminate butchery of the people might cause the sacrifice of many
friends. He then charged them, in the words quoted from his speech in
the note on ante, page 99, not to kill for scalps, or destroy life
except in open warfare, and claimed for himself the office of umpire on
all occasions. When he had finished, an old Iroquois chief arose and
said:

"I stand up in the name of all the nations present, to assure our father
that we have attentively listened to his discourse. We receive you as
our father, because when you speak we hear the voice of our great father
beyond the great lake. We rejoice in the approbation you have expressed
of our behavior. We have been tried and tempted by the Bostonians,1 but
we loved our father, and our hatchets have been sharpened upon our
affections. In proof of the sincerity of our professions, our whole
villages able to go to war are come forth. The old and infirm, our
infants and wives, alone remain at home. With one common assent we
promise a constant obedience to all you have ordered and all you shall
order; and may the Father of Days give you many and success." **

These promises were all very fine, and Burgoyne, to his sorrow, had the
credulity to rely upon them. At first the Indians were docile, but as
soon as the scent of blood touched their nostrils their ferocious
natures were aroused, and the restraints imposed by the British
commander were too irksome to be borne. Their faithfulness disappeared;
and in the hour of his greatest need they deserted him, as we have seen,
by hundreds, and returned home.

As the lake widened and the evening advanced, the breeze freshened
almost to a gale, and, blowing upon our larboard quarter, it rolled up
such swells on our track that the vessel rocked half the passengers into
silent contemplation of the probability of casting their supper to the
fishes. The beacon upon Juniper Island was hailed with delight, for the
Burlington break-water was just ahead. We entered the harbor between
nine and ten in the evening,

* The old chief spoke truly. They had been "tempted by the Bostonians,"
but not by the Boston patriots. General Gage, then governor of
Massachusetts, and other loyalists in Boston, sent emissaries among the
Indians in various ways, and these were the tempters which the old chief
confounded with the enemies of the crown. I shall have occasion
hereafter to speak of Connelly, one of Gage's 'emissaries, who went to
Virginia, and, under the auspices of Lord Dunmore, carried promises and
money to the Indians on the frontier, to instigate them to fall upon the
defenseless republicans of that stanch Whig state.

** So interpreted by Burgoyne in his "State of the Expedition," &c.

Sabbath Morning in Burlington.--Visit to the Grave of Ethan Allen.--Ira
Allen

161and were soon in comfortable quarters at the American, fronting the
pleasant square in the center of the village.

The next morning dawned calm and beautiful. The wind was hushed, and the
loveliness of repose was upon the village, lake, and country. It was our
second Sabbath from home, and never was its rest more welcome and
suggestive of gratitude, for the preceding week had been to me one of
unceasing toil, yet a toil commingled with the most exalted pleasure. I
had been among scenes associated with the noblest sentiments of an
American's heart; and when, mingling with the worshipers in St. Paul's
Church, the clear voice of Bishop Hopkins repeated the divine
annunciation, "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the
same, my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord," I felt
that our own country, so late a wilderness and abiding-place for pagans,
but now blooming under the beneficent culture of free institutions that
were born amid the labor-throes of the Revolution, was a special
illustration of that glorious declaration.

Early on Monday morning we procured saddle horses and rode out to the
resting-place of General Ethan Allen, a burial-ground embowered in
shrubbery, lying upon the brow of the hill overlooking the Winooski, and
within sound of its cascades. It is on the south side of the road
leading east from Burlington, nearly half a mile from the University of
Vermont, that stands upon the summit of the hill, upon the western slope
of which is the village. Allen's monument is a plain marble slab,
resting upon a granite foundation, and bears the following inscription:

THE

CORPOREAL PART OF

General Ethan Allen

RESTS BENEATH THIS STONE,

the 12th day of Feb., 1789,

AGED 50 YEARS.

his spirit tried the mercies of his God,

IN WHOM ALONE HE BELIEVED AND STRONGLY TRUSTED.

Near his are the graves of his brother Ira * and several other
relatives. The whole are inclosed within a square defined by a chain
supported by small granite obelisks. A willow drooped over the tombs of
the patriot dead, and rose-bushes clustered around the storm-worn
monuments. The dew was yet upon the grass, and its fragrant exhalations
filled the air with such grateful incense, that we were loth to leave
the spot. We galloped our horses back to the village in time for
breakfast, delighted and profited by our morning's ride. Halt-

* Ira Allen was born in Salisbury. Connecticut, in 1752. He went to
Vermont in early life, and became one of the most active citizens of
that state, particularly in the controversy between Vermont and New York
respecting the territory called the New Hampshire Grants. It is said
that when the Revolution broke out he sided with the crown and went to
Canada. His stanch Whig brother, Ethan, indignant at his choice,
recommended the Vermont Assembly to confiscate his brother's property.
Ira heard of it, and challenged Ethan to fight a duel. Ethan refused, on
the ground that it would be "disgraceful to fight a Tory," and so the
matter ended. Ira finally became a warm republican, and was active
during the remainder of the war. He was a member of the Convention which
formed the Constitution of Vermont, and became the first secretary of
the state. He was afterward treasurer, member of the council, and
surveyor general. He rose to the rank of major general of militia, and
in 1795 he went to Europe to purchase arms for the supply of his state.
Returning with several thousand muskets and some cannon, he was captured
by an English vessel and carried to England, where he was accused of
supplying the Irish rebels with arms. A litigation for eight years, in
the Court of Admiralty, was the consequence, but a final decision was in
his favor He died at Philadelphia, January 7th, 1814, aged 62 years.

Burlington and Vicinity.--Adjacent Lake Scenery.--Place of Arnold's
first Naval Battle.--Military Operations on the Lake

162ing near the university a few minutes, we enjoyed the beautiful view
which the height commands. The Green Mountains stretched along the east;
the broken ranges of the Adirondack, empurpled by the morning sun,
bounded the western horizon; and below us, skirting the lake, the
pleasant village lay upon the slope, and stretched its lengthening form
out toward the rich fields that surrounded it. To the eye of a wearied
dweller in a dense city all villages appear beautiful in summer, but
Burlington is eminently so when compared with others.

We left the metropolis of the lake for Plattsburgh about noon. On our
left, as we emerged from the harbor, were the Four Brothers, small
islands swarming with water-fowl, and the bald point of Rock Dunder, a
solitary spike rising, shrubless and bare, about twenty feet above the
water. Before us spread out the two Heros (North and South), green
islands, which belonged to the Allen family during the Revolution. The
first landing-place below Burlington is Port Kent, on the west side of
the lake, ten miles distant. A little below is Port Jackson, nearly west
of the south end of Valcour's Island. This is an interesting portion of
the lake to the American tourist, for it is the place where our first
naval battle with Great Britain was fought. This event took place
October the 11th, 1776. The American flotilla was commanded by Benedict
Arnold, and the English vessels by Captain Pringle, accompanied by
Governor Carleton. In order to a lucid understanding of the position of
affairs at that time, we must consider for a moment the connecting chain
of events from the autumn of 1775, when General Schuyler was at
Ticonderoga and Crown Point preparing to invade Canada, to the meeting
of the belligerents in question.

The forces under Generals Schuyler and Montgomery proceeded to execute
the will of September 10, 1775 Congress, and in September appeared
before St. John's, at the Sorel. Finding the fort, as they supposed, too
strong for assault, they returned to and fortified _Isle Aux Noix_.
Schuyler went back to Ticonderoga and hastened forward re-enforcements,
but was unable to return on account of sickness. Montgomery succeeded
him in command. He captured Fort St. John's and Fort Chambly, and
entered Montreal in triumph. He then pushed on to Quebec, when he was
joined by a force under Arnold, and early in December laid siege to that
city. After besieging it unsuccessfully for three weeks, the Americans
December 31, 1775 commenced an assault. Montgomery was killed, the
Americans were re-pulsed, and many of them made prisoners. Arnold was
wounded. He became the chief in command, and kept the remnant of the
republican army together in the vicinity of Quebec, until the arrival of
General Wooster early in the spring and General Thomas in May. General
Carleton soon afterward received re-enforcements from England, and by
the middle of June the Americans, after retreating from post to post,
were driven out of Canada.

Not doubting that Carleton would follow up his successes by providing
water craft upon the lake, to attempt the capture of Ticonderoga and
Crown Point, a council of officers, under General Gates, who in June was
appointed to the command of the Northern army, resolved to abandon the
latter post and concentrate all their forces at the former. Accord-

* This sketeh was made from the pilot's room of the steam-boat just
after leaving Port Jackson. On the left is a point of the main land, and
on the right is seen a portion of Valcour's Island. The high ground in
the extreme distance, on the left, is Cumberland Head, and that dimly
seen in the center of the picture is the Vermont shore.

Formation of a little Fleet--Excursion down the Lake.--Appearance of the
British Fleet.--Plan of the Battle.

163ingly, General Sullivan, who was at Crown Point, withdrew with his
forces to Ticonderoga, and active measures for offensive and defensive
operations were there adopted. Materials for constructing vessels, as
well as skillful artisans, were scarce. The latter had to be obtained
from the sea-ports; yet such was the zeal of the Americans, that by the
middle of August a small squadron, consisting of one sloop, three
schooners, and five gondolas, was in readiness and rendezvoused at Crown
Point under Arnold, who received the command of it from General Gates.
The sloop carried twelve guns, one schooner the same number, the others
eight, and the gondolas three each. Toward the close of the month Arnold
sailed down the lake, under positive instructions from Gates not to pass
beyond _Isle Aux Tètes_, near what is now called Rouse's Point, and to
act only on the defensive. He halted at Wind-mill Point, four miles
above _Isle Aux Tètes_, to reconnoiter, and anchored his vessels across
the lake, to prevent any boats of the enemy from passing up.

As soon as Carleton was advised of the movements of the Americans at
Ticonderoga, he sent seven hundred men from Quebec to St. John's, to
construct a fleet, and in the course of a few weeks several strong
vessels were finished and armed for duty. A radeau called the
_Thunderer_ (a kind of flat-bottomed vessel carrying heavy guns), and
twenty-four gunboats, armed each with a field piece or carriage gun,
were added to the fleet. Forty boats with provisions accompanied the
expedition.

Convinced that his position was dangerous, for the British and Indians
were collecting on the shores, Arnold fell back about ten miles to _Isle
La Motte_, where he need not fear an attack from the main land. Here his
fleet was considerably increased, and consisted of three schooners, two
sloops, three galleys, eight gondolas, and twenty-one gun-boats.
Ignorant of the real strength of the armament1776. which he knew
Carleton was preparing at St. John's, and unwilling to engage a superior
force on the broad lake, Arnold withdrew his fleet still further back,
and anchored it across the narrow channel between Valcour's Island and
the western shore.

Early on the morning of the 11th of October the British fleet appeared
off Cumberland Head, moving up the lake, and in a short time it swept
around the southern point of Valcour's Island. The enemy's force was
formidable, for the vessels were manned by seven hundred chosen seamen.

Captain Pringle was commodore, and made the _Inflexible_ his flagship.
Among the young officers in the fleet was Edward Pellew, afterward
Admiral Viscount Exmouth, one of the most distinguished of England's
naval commanders. The action began about twelve o'clock, by the attack
of the Carleton upon the American schooner _Royal Savage_ and three
galleys. The latter, in attempting to return to the line, grounded,

* Explanation of the Map.--A, American fleet under Arnold; B, 21 gun-
boats; C, schooner Carleton, 12 six pounders; D, ship Inflexible, 18
twelve pounders; E, anchorage of the British fleet during the night, to
cut off the Americans' retreat; F, radeau Thunderer, 6 twenty-four
pounders and 12 six pounders; G, gondola Loyal Convert, 7 nine pounders;
H, schooner Maria, 14 six pounders, with General Carleton on board; I,
the place where the American schooner Royal Savage, of 8 six pounders
and 4 four pounders, was burned. This plan is copied from Brasrier's
Survey of Lake Champlain, edition of 1779.

Severe Battle on the Lake.--Escape of the Americans through the British
Line.--Chase by the Enemy.--Another Battle

164and was burned, but her men were saved. Arnold was on board the
_Congress_ galley, and conducted matters with a great deal of bravery
and skill. About one o'clock the engagement became general, and the
American vessels, particularly the _Congress_, suffered severely. It was
hulled twelve times, received seven shots between wind and water, the
main-mast was shattered in two places, the rigging cut to pieces, and
many of the crew were killed or wounded. Arnold pointed almost every gun
on his vessel with his own hands,1 and with voice and gesture cheered on
his men. In the mean while the enemy landed a large body of Indians upon
the island, who kept up an incessant fire of musketry, but with little
effect. The battle continued between four and five hours, and the
Americans lost, in killed and wounded, about sixty men.

Night closed upon the scene, and neither party were victors. The two
fleets anchored within a few hundred yards of each other. Arnold held a
council with his officers, and it was determined to retire during the
night to Crown Point, for the superiority of the vessels, and the number
and discipline of the men composing the British force, rendered another
engagement extremely hazardous. Anticipating such a movement on the part
of the Americans, the British commander anchored his vessels in a line
extending across from the island to the main land. A chilly north wind
had been blowing all the afternoon, and about sunset dark clouds
overcast the sky. It was at the time of new moon, and, therefore, the
night was very dark, and favored the design of Arnold. About ten o'clock
he weighed anchor, and with the stiff north wind sailed with his whole
flotilla, unobserved, through the enemy's lines. Arnold, with his
crippled galley, brought up the rear. It was a bold movement. At
daybreak the English watch on deck looked with straining eyes for their
expected prey, but the Americans were then at Schuyler's Island, ten
miles south, busily engaged in stopping leaks and repairing sails. The
British weighed anchor and gave chase. Toward evening the wind changed
to the south, and greatly retarded the progress of both fleets during
the night. Early on the morning of the 13th the enemy's October, 1776
vessels were observed under full sail, and rapidly gaining upon the
Americans. The _Congress_ galley (Arnold's "flag-ship") and the
Washington, with four gondolas, were behind, and in a short time the
British vessels _Carl et on_, _Inflexible_, and _Maria_ were alongside,
pouring a destructive fire upon them. The Washington soon struck, and
General Waterbury the commander, and his men, were made prisoners. **
The whole force of the

* Sparks's Life of Arnold.

** Among the prisoners was Joseph Bettys, afterward the notorious outlaw
and bitter Tory, better known as "Joe Bettys." He was a native of
Saratoga county, and joined the Whigs on the breaking out of the
Revolution. While a captive in Canada, after the battle on Lake
Champlain, he was induced to join the royal standard, and was made an
ensign. He became notorious as a spy, and, having been caught by the
Americans, he was at one time conducted to the gallows. At the instance
of his aged parents, Washington granted him a reprieve on condition of
his thoroughly reforming. But he immediately joined the enemy again, and
for a long time his cold-blooded murders, his plunder and incendiarism
made him the terror of the whole region in the neighborhood of Albany.
At last he was captured (1782), and was executed as a spy and traitor,
at Albany.

Bravery of Arnold on the Congress Galley.--Desperate Resistance. --
Retreat to Crown Point--Effect of the Battle.

165attack now fell upon the _Congress_, but Arnold maintained his ground
with unflinching resolution for four hours. The galley was at length
reduced almost to a wreck, and surrounded by seven sail of the enemy.
Longer resistance was vain, and the intrepid Arnold ran the galley and
four gondolas into a small creek on the east side of the lake, about ten
miles below Crown Point, and not far from Panton. He ordered the marines
to set fire to them as soon as they were grounded, leap into the water
and wade ashore with their muskets, and form in such a manner upon the
beach as to guard the burning vessels from the approach of the enemy.
Arnold remained in his galley till driven off by the fire, and was the
last man that reached the shore. He kept the flags flying, and remained
upon the spot until his little flotilla was consumed, and then, with the
small remnant of his brave soldiers, marched off through the woods
toward Chimney Point, and reached Crown Point in safety. The rapidity of
his march saved him from an Indian ambush that waylaid his path an hour
after he passed by. Two schooners, two galleys, one sloop, and one
gondola, the remnant of his fleet, were at Crown Point, and General
Waterbury and most of his men arrived there on parole the next day, when
all embarked and sailed to Ticonderoga. General October 14, 1776
Carleton took possession of Crown Point, and for a few days threatened
Ticonderoga, but the season was so far advanced that he prudently
withdrew, and sailed down the lake to go into winter-quarters in Canada.
* The whole American loss in the two actions was between eighty and
ninety, and that of the enemy about forty.

Although the republicans were defeated, and the expedition was
disastrous in every particular, yet such were the skill, bravery, and
obstinate resistance of Arnold and his men against a vastly superior
force, the event was hailed as ominous of great achievements on the part
of the patriots when such fearful odds should not exist. Arnold's
popularity, so justly gained at Quebec, was greatly increased, and the
country rang with his praises. Sparks justly observes, respecting
Arnold's conduct in the engagement on the 13th, that "there are few
instances on record of more deliberate courage and gallantry than were
displayed by him from the beginning to the end of this action."

We arrived at Plattsburgh at about two o'clock in the afternoon. The day
was excessively warm, and I felt more like lounging than rambling. In
fact, the spot has no Revolutionary history worth mentioning, for its
existence as a lonely settlement in the wilderness is only coeval with
that of our independence. Count Vredenburgh, a German nobleman, who
married a lady of the household of the queen of George II. of England,
obtained a grant for thirty thousand acres of land on Cumberland Bay,
and just before the Revolution he settled there. When the war broke out
he sent his family to Montreal, and soon afterward his splendid mansion,
which stood where the Plattsburgh Hotel now is, and his mills, three
miles distant, were burned. He had remained to look after his property,
and it is supposed that he was murdered for his riches, and his house
plundered and destroyed. In 1783 some Canadian and Nova Scotia refugees,
under Lieutenant (afterward Major-general) Mooers ** who were stationed
on the Hudson near Newburgh, left Fishkill Landing in a boat, and,
proceeding by the way of Lakes George and Champlain, landed and
commenced the first permanent settlement in that neighborhood, within
seven or eight miles of the present village of Plattsburgh. Judge
Zephaniah Platt and others formed a company, after the war, to purchase
military land-warrants, and they located their lands on Cumberland Bay,
and organized the town of Plattsburgh in 1785. Such is its only
connection with the history

* It is related that while Carleton was at Ticonderoga, Arnold ventured
in the neighborhood in a small boat. He was seen and chased by young
Pellew (afterward Lord Exmouth), and so rapidly did his pursuers gain
upon him, that he ran his boat ashore and leaped on land, leaving his
stock and buckle behind him. It is said that the stock and buckle are
still in possession of the Pellew family.--See Ostler's Life of Admiral
Viscount Exmouth.

** Benjamin Mooers served as a lieutenant and adjutant in the
Revolution. He commanded the militia in the battle of Plattsburgh in
1814. For thirty years he was county treasurer, and often represented
his county in the Assembly and Senate of New York. He died in February,
1838

Battle of Plattsburgh.--Military Remains.--Incidents of the Naval
Battle.--Relic of Washington.

166of our Revolution. It is a conspicuous point, however, in the history
of our war with Great Britain commenced in 1812, for it is memorable as
the place where one of the severest engagements of that contest took
place, on the 11th of September, 1814, between the combined naval and
military forces of the Americans and British. General Macomb commanded
the land, and Commodore M'Donough the naval forces of the former, and
General Prévost and Commodore Downie * those of the latter. The
engagements on the land and water were simultaneous, and for some time
the issue was doubtful. The Americans, however, were successful. When
the flag of the British commodore's ship was struck, the enemy on land,
disheartened and confused, retreated across the Saranac, and the carnage
ceased. The loss of the Americans was about one hundred and fifty; that
of the enemy, in killed, wounded, prisoners, and deserters, more than
one thousand.

I passed a considerable portion of the afternoon with General St. John
B. L. Skinner, who was a volunteer under Macomb in the battle. He was a
member of a company of young men and boys of the village, who, after the
military had gone out on the Chazy road, organized and offered their
services to the commander-in-chief. They were accepted, and the brave
youths were immediately armed with rifles and ordered to the
headquarters of General Mooers. Only three of the company were over
eighteen years old, and not one of them was killed, though for a long
time they were exposed to a hot fire while occupying a mill upon the
Saranac and keeping the enemy at bay. General Skinner's beautiful
mansion and gardens are upon the lake shore, and from an upper piazza we
had a fine view of the whole scene of the naval engagement, from
Cumberland Head on the north to the whole region in the neighborhood of
Albany. At last he was captured (1782), and was executed as a spy and
traitor, at Albany.

the whole region in the neighborhood of Albany. At last he was captured
(1782), and was executed as a spy and traitor, at Albany.

Valcour's Island on the south, including in the far distance eastward
the blue lines of the northern range of the Green Mountains. The bay in
which the battle occurred is magnificent, fringed with deep forests and
waving grain-fields. A substantial stone break-water defends the harbor
from the rude waves which an easterly wind rolls in, and the village is
very pleasantly situated upon a gravelly plain on each side of the
Saranac River.

A short distance from the village of Plattsburgh are the remains of the
cantonments and breast-works occupied by Macomb and his forces; and to
the kind courtesy of General Skinner, who accompanied me to these relics
of the war, I am indebted for many interesting details in relation to
that memorable battle. ** But as these have no necessary connection with
our subject, on account of their remoteness from the time of the
Revolution, I will bid adieu to Plattsburgh, for the evening is far
gone, the lights of the "Burlington" are sparkling upon the waters near
Valcour's Island, and the coachman at the hotel front is hurrying us
with his loud "All aboard!"

It was nearly midnight when we passed the light on Cumberland Head, ***
and we reached

* Commodore Downie was slain in the battle and buried at Plattsburgh.
His sister-in-law, Mary Downie, erected a plain monument to his memory
over his remains.

** General S. mentioned one or two circumstances connected with the
naval engagement worth recording. He says that, when the fleet of the
enemy rounded Cumberland Head, M'Donough assembled his men on board his
ship (Saratoga) on the quarter-deck. He then knelt, and, in humble,
fervent supplication, commended himself, his men, and his cause to the
Lord of Hosts. When he arose, the serenity of faith was upon his
countenance, and seemed to shed its influence over his men. A curious
incident occurred on his ship during the engagement. The hen-coop was
shot away, and a cock; released from prison, flew into the rigging, and,
flapping his wings, crowed out a lusty defiance to the enemy's guns.

** There he remained, flapping his wings and crowing, until the
engagement ceased. The seamen regarded the event as encouraging, and
fought like tigers while the cock cheered them on. A notice of a relic
of Washington, in the possession of General S., may not be inappropriate
here. It is a pouch and puff-ball, for hair-powder, which belonged to
the chief several years. It is made of buckskin, and is about twelve
inches long. The puff is made of cotton yarn. Mr. Gray, who was a number
of years sheriff of Clinton county, readily recognized it as the one
used by himself in powdering Washington's hair, when he was a boy and
attached to the general in the capacity of body servant. When La Fayette
was at Burlington, in 1824, Mr. Gray went up to see him, and the veteran
remembered him as the "boy Gray" in Washington's military family.

*** On this point Is situated the farm presented to Commodore M'Donough
by the Legislature of Vermont. The point is connected with Grand Island,
or North Hero (the largest island in the lake), by a ferry.

Rouse's Point and Military Works.--The Territorial Line.--Isle Aux
Noix.--Historical Associations

167Rouse's Point, the last landing-place on the lake within "the
States," between one and two in the morning, where we remained until
daylight, for the channel here, down the outlet of the lake, is so
narrow and sinuous that the navigation is difficult in the night. On a
low point a little northward of the landing the United States government
commenced building a fort in 1815, and, after expending about two
hundred thousand dollars, it was discovered that the ground was British
soil. The work was abandoned, and so remained until the conclusion of
the treaty formed by Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton in 1842, when the
territorial line was run a little north of the fort. It is now in course
of completion.

The morning on which we left Rouse's Point was clear and calm. A slight
August 8, 1848 mist lay upon the water, and over the flat shores of the
Richelieu or Sorel River, which we had entered, a thin vapor, like a
gauze veil, was spread out. We watched with interest for the line of
separation between the territories. It was about four o'clock in the
morning when we crossed it, twenty-three miles south of St. John's, and
so became "foreigners." A broad stripe like a meadow-swathe, running
east and west, cut in the dwarf forest upon either side, denotes the
landmark of dominion, and by a single revolution of the paddle-wheel we
passed from the waters of our republic to those of the British realm. In
less than an hour we were at the landing-place on _Isle Aux Noix_, a
small low island in the Sorel, strongly fortified by the British as one
of their most important outposts in the direction of the United States.
This island is all clustered with historic associations. While the fussy
custom-house officer and his attendants are boarding our boat, let us
look into the mirror of retrospection.

When the French settlement at Chimney Point was broken up on the
approach of General Amherst in 1799.

They gave it a name significant of this fact. Commanding, as it does,
completely the outlet of Lake Champlain, the importance of its position,
in a military view, was at once appreciated. But the French held
possession only a few months, for in the spring of 1760 they were driven
from it by Amherst in his march toward Montreal. After the treaty of
Paris in 1763, the necessity for a garrison upon _Isle Aux Noix_ no
longer existed, and the fortifications were allowed to crumble into
ruins.

In the autumn of 1775 the island was occupied by the Americans, under
General Schuyler. With a considerable force, destined to invade Canada,
he sailed down the lake and appeared before St. John's. Informed that
the garrison there was too strong for September 6, 1775 him, he returned
to _Isle Aux Noix_ and fortified it. From this post he sent out a
declaration among the Canadians, by Colonel Allen and Major Brown,
assuring them that the Americans intended to act only against the
British forts, and not to interfere with the people or their religion. *

* The sketch was made from the pilot's room of the steam-boat, about
half a mile above the island, looking east-northeast. The landing is a
little beyond the trees on the right, where sentinels are stationed. The
island is small, and wholly occupied by the military works. A broad fen
extends some distance from the northern side, and the wild ducks that
gather there afford fine amusement for sportsmen during the hunting
season.

St.John's St.--Custom-house Officer.--Suspicious of an Israelite.--
Apparently treasonable Acts of leading Vermonters.

168Early in October the Americans, under General Montgomery (Schuyler
being ill), left the island and proceeded to St. John's, whence they
marched victoriously to Quebec. From that time until the close of the
Revolution no permanent garrison was established there, but the island
was the halting-place for the troops of both parties when passing up and
down the lake. It was the principal scene of the negotiations between
some of the leading men of Vermont and British officers, which were so
adroitly managed by the former as to keep an English army of ten
thousand men quite inactive on our northern frontier for about three
years. * The British strongly fortified it in 1813, and it has been
constantly garrisoned since.

We arrived at St. John's, on the Richelieu or Sorel River, between six
and seven o'clock in the morning, where our luggage was overhauled by
the custom-house officer, who was received on board at _Isle Aux Noix_.
The operation was neither long nor vexatious, and seemed to be rather a
matter of legal form than induced by a desire or expectation of
detecting contraband articles. In fact, the polite government
functionary seemed to have great faith in mere assertions, and to rely
more upon physiognomy than personal inspection of the luggage for
assurance that her majesty's revenue laws were inviolate. He looked
every trunk-owner full in the face when he queried about the nature of
his baggage, and only two persons were obliged to produce their keys for
his satisfaction. Our trunk was of prodigious size and weight, and made
him very properly suspicious of the truth of my allegations that its
contents were only articles for personal use. A descendant of Abraham at
my elbow, with nothing but a rotund bandana handkerchief, appeared to be
my scape-goat on the occasion, for while the officer was making him
untie its hard knots, he ordered my luggage to pass. I was told that the
word of a poor Jew is never believed by the uncircumcised Gentile who
"sits at the receipt of customs but in this instance his incredulity was
rebuked, for the Israelite's bundle contained nothing but a tolerably
clean shirt, a cravat, and a small Hebrew Bible. At eight

* In 1779-80 the partial dismemberment of Vermont and its connection
with New York and New Hampshire produced great bitterness of feeling,
and the Legislature of the former demanded of Congress the entire
separation of that state from the other states, and its admission into
the confederacy upon a basis of perfect equality. The disputes ran high,
and the British entertained hopes that Vermont would be so far alienated
from the rebel cause, by the injustice of Congress, as to be induced to
return to its allegiance to the British crown. Accordingly, in the
spring of 1780, Colonel Beverly Robinson wrote to Ethan Allen from New
York, making overtures to that effect. The letter was not answered, and
in February, 1781, he wrote another, inclosing a copy of the first.
These letters were shown to Governor Chittenden and a few others, and
they concluded to make use of the circumstances for the benefit of
Vermont. Allen sent both letters to Congress, and at the same time wrote
to that body, urging the justice of the demand of his state. He closed
his letter by saying, "I am as resolutely determined to defend the
independence of Vermont as Congress is that of the United States; and,
rather than fail, I will retire with the hardy Green Mountain Boys into
the desolate caverns of the mountains and wage war with human nature at
large." * In the mean while, some British scouting parties had captured
some Vermonters, and Governor Chittenden sent Ira Allen and others to
negotiate with Colonel Dundas for an exchange of prisoners. They met
upon _Isle Aux Noix_, and there Dundas, under the direction of General
Haldimand, made verbal overtures similar to the written ones of Robinson
to Ethan Allen. The proposals of the British officers were received by
Allen with apparent favor. Haldimand and Dundas were delighted with
their skill in diplomacy, and readily acceded to the proposition of
Allen not to allow hostilities on the Vermont frontier until after the
next session of its Legislature. The British force, consisting of about
ten thousand men, was thus kept inactive. These negotiations with the
enemy excited the suspicion of the Whigs and the fears of Congress; yet
with such consummate skill did Allen manage the affair, that when he
reported the result of his mission to the Legislature of Vermont, where
British emissaries as well as ardent Whigs were in waiting, he satisfied
both parties. Soon afterward a letter from Lord George Germain to Sir
Henry Clinton was intercepted and sent to Congress. It contained so much
evidence of the treasonable designs of the leading men in Ver mont, that
Congress felt more disposed to accede to the demands of that state, and
thus retain her in the Union. Peace soon afterward ensued, and Vermont
was one of the United States included in the treaty. How far the designs
of the Allens, of Chittenden, the Fays, and others, were really
treasonable, or were measures of policy to bring Congress to terms, and
prevent hostilities upon their weak frontier, can not be certainly
determined. The probabilities are in favor of the _ruse_ rather than the
_treason_. At any rate, they should have the benefit of a doubt, and a
verdict of acquittal of all wrong intentions.

** A convention, held at Westminster on the 15th of January, 1777,
declared "That the district and territory comprehending and usually
known by the name and description of the New Hampshire Grants of right
ought to be and is declared forever hereafter to be a free and
independent jurisdiction or state, to be forever hereafter called,
known, and distinguished by the name of New Connecticut, alias
Vermont."--See Slade's State Papers, p. 70.

Military Remains at St. John's.--Present Works.--Athenaise.-- Approach
of the Americans in 1775.

169o'clock my companion and our luggage proceeded by rail-road by way of
La Prairie to Montreal, while I prepared to journey to the same city in
a light wagon by way of Chambly and Longueuil.

St. John's is pleasantly situated upon the western side of the Sorel, at
the termination of steam-boat navigation on Lake Champlain, and near the
head of Chambly Rapids. It has always been a place of considerable
importance as a frontier town since the Revolution, although its growth
has been slow, the population now amounting to not quite four thousand.
The country on both sides of the river here is perfectly flat, and there
is no place whence the town may be seen to advantage. A little south of
the village, and directly upon the shore, is a strong military
establishment, garrisoned, when we visited it, by three companies of
Highland infantry. Accompanied by an intelligent young gentleman of the
village as guide, I visited all the points of historic interest in the
vicinity. We crossed the deep, sluggish river in a light zinc shallop,
and from the middle of the stream we obtained a fine view of the long
bridge ** which connects St. John's with St. Athenaise on the opposite
shore, where the steep roof and lofty glittering spire of the French
church towered above the trees.3 After visiting the remains of
Montgomery's block-house, we recrossed the river and rambled among the
high mounds which compose the ruins of old Fort St. John's. They occupy
a broad area in the open fields behind the present military works. The
embankments, covered with a rich green sward, averaged about twelve feet
in height, and the whole were surrounded by a ditch with considerable
water in it. We lingered half an hour to view a drill of the garrison,
and then returned to the village to prepare for a pleasant ride to
Chambly, twelve miles distant.

Military works were thrown up at St. John's by the French, under
Montcalm, in 1758, and these were enlarged and strengthened by Governor
Carleton at the beginning of our Revolution. Here, as we have seen, the
first organized American flotilla, under Arnold, made a regular assault
upon British vessels and fortifications, and aroused Sir Guy Carleton to
a sense of the imminent danger of Montreal and Quebec. Here too was the
scene of the first regular siege of a British fort by the rebellious
colonists. In September, September 6 1775, the Americans, as we have
already noticed, sailed down the Richelieu and appeared before St.
John's. They were fired upon by the English garrison when about two
miles distant, but without effect. They landed within about a mile and a
half of the fort, and, while marching slowly toward the outworks, a
small party of Indians attacked them and produced some confusion. In the
evening General Schuyler was informed, by a man who appeared to be
friendly and intelligent, that, with the exception of only fifty men
retained in Montreal by General Carleton, the whole regular British
force in Canada was in the garrison at St. John's; that this and the
fort at Chambly were strongly fortified and well supplied; that one
hundred Indians were in the fort at St. John's, and that another large
body, under Colonel John Johnson, was hovering near; that a sixteen gun
vessel was

* This view is taken from the eastern side of the river, near the
remains of a block-house erected by Montgomery when he besieged the fort
in 1775. On the right is seen the fort, which incloses the magazine, in
the center is the building occupied by the officers, on either side of
which are the barracks of the soldiers. The large building on the left
is the hospital, and the smaller one still further left is the dead-
house. The river here is about a quarter of a mile wide. The present
military works are upon the site of those of the Revolution.

** It was built by the Honorable Robert Jones, the proprietor, and is
called Jones's Bridge.

*** This spacious church was not finished. The old one, a small wooden
structure, was undisturbed within the new one, and was used for worship
until the completion of the exterior of the present edifice-

Advance of Montgomery against St. John's.--Mutiny in the American Camp.-
-Operations at St. John's.

170about ready to weigh anchor at St. John's; and that not a single
Canadian could be induced to join the insurgent standard. The informer
was doubtless an enemy to the Americans, for his assertions were
afterward proved to be untrue. General Schuyler, however, gave credence
to them, and returned with his troops to _Isle Aux Noix_, where illness
obliged him to leave the army in charge of Montgomery, and retire to the
healthier post of Ticonderoga. Thence he soon went to Albany, and, his
health being partially restored, he was active in forwarding re-
enforcements to _Isle Aux Noix_.

Montgomery, with more impetuosity and less caution than Schuyler,
determined to push forward at once, for the season was near when
military operations there would be difficult. About this time a small
train of artillery and a re-enforcement arrived, and he made vigorous
preparations to invade Canada. Before leaving the island, a chevaux-de-
frise was thrown across the channel to intercept the progress of
Carleton's vessels up the lake. On the September, 1775 seventeenth his
whole force was landed on the west side of the Richelieu. On the
eighteenth he led a corps of five hundred men, in person, to the north
side of the fort, where the village now is. There he met a detachment
from the garrison, which had just repulsed and pursued a small party of
Americans under Major Brown, and a short skirmish ensued. Two field
pieces and the whole detachment would doubtless have been trophies for
the Americans had they been true to themselves; but here that
insubordination which gave Montgomery so much trouble was strongly
manifested, and caution, secrecy, and concert of action were out of the
question.1 Montgomery pushed on a little further north-west, and, at the
junction of the roads running respectively to Montreal and Chambly,
formed an entrenched camp of three hundred men to cut off supplies for
the enemy from the interior, and then hastened back to his camp to bring
up his artillery to bear upon the walls of the fort. The supplies for a
siege were very meager. The artillery was too light, the mortars were
defective, the ammunition scarce, and the artillerists unpracticed in
their duties. The ground was wet and swampy, and in many places closely
studded with trees. In a day or two disease began to appear among the
troops, and, in consequence of their privations, disaffection was
working mischief in the army. To escape these unfavorable circumstances,
Montgomery proposed to move to the northwest side of the fort, where the
ground was firm and water wholesome, and commence preparations for an
assault. But the troops, unused to military restraint, and judging for
themselves that an attack would be unsuccessful, refused to second the
plan of their leader. Unable to punish them or convince them of their
error, Montgomery yielded to the pressure of circumstances, and so far
gratified the mutinous regiments as to call a council of war. It
resulted, as was expected, in a decision against his plan. Disorder
continually reigned in the American camp. Irregular firing occurred
almost daily, and the enemy threw some bombs, but it was a waste of
ammunition by both parties. At length the proposed plan of Montgomery
was adopted, and the camp was moved October 7, 1775 to the higher ground
northwest of the fort, where breast-works were thrown up.

While the main army was thus circumvallating St. John's, but, for want
of ammunition and heavy guns, unable to breach the walls, small
detachments of Americans, who were joined by many friendly Canadians,
were active in the vicinity. One, under Ethan Allen, attempted the
capture of Montreal. Of this foolish expedition I shall hereafter write.

But another, and a successful one, was undertaken, which hastened the
termination of the siege of St. John's. Carleton, supposing that the
fort at Chambly, twelve miles northward, could not be reached by the
Americans unless the one at St. John's was captured, had neglected to
arm it, and kept but a feeble garrison there. Montgomery was informed of
this by Canadian scouts, and immediately sent Colonel Bedell of New
Hampshire, Major Brown of Massachusetts, and Major Livingston of New
York, with detachments, to capture the fort. The method of attack was
planned by Canadians familiar with the place. Artillery was placed upon
bateaux, and during a dark night was conveyed past the fort at St.
John's to the head of Chambly Rapids, where it was mounted on carriages
and taken to the

* Montgomery's dispatch to General Schuyler.

Attack upon and Surrender of Fort Chambly.--Repulse of Carleton at
Longueuil.--Surrender of St. John's.--The Spoils

171point of attack. The garrison made but a feeble resistance, and soon
surrendered. This was a most important event, for it furnished
Montgomery with means to carry on the siege of St. John's vigorously. **

The large quantity of ammunition that was captured was sent immediately
to the besiegers, who, by vigorous exertions, erected a strong battery
within wo hundred and fifty yards of the fort. A strong block-house was
also erected before it, in the opposite side of the river. The former
was mounted with four guns and October 30. six mortars, and the latter
had one gun and two mortars.

While these preparations were in progress, Carleton, informed of the
capture cf Fort Chambly, left Montreal with a re-enforcement for the
garrison at St. John's. He embarked upon the St. Lawrence in bateaux and
flat-boats, and attempted to land at Longueuil, a mile and a half below
the city. Colonel Seth Warner, with three hundred Green Mountain Boys,
was on the alert in the neighborhood, and lay in covert near the spot
where Carleton was about to land. He allowed the boats to get very near
the shore, when he opened a terrible storm of grape-shot upon them from
a four pound cannon, which drove them across the river precipitately and
in great confusion. The tidings of this event reached Montgomery
November 1, 1775 toward evening, and Colonel Warner soon afterward came
in with several prisoners captured from one of Carleton's boats that
reached the shore. The eommander-in-chief immediately sent a flag and
letter to Major Preston, the commandant of the garrison, by one of
Warner's prisoners, informing him of the defeat of Carleton, and
demanding a surrender of the fortress to prevent further effusion of
blood. Hostilities ceased for the night, and in the morning Preston
asked for a delay of four days before he should make proposals to
surrender. The request "was denied and the demand renewed." There was no
alternative, and the garrison surrendered prisoners of war. The siege
had continued six weeks, and the bravery and perseverance of the British
troops were such, that Montgomery granted them honorable terms. They
marched out of the fort with the honors of war, and the troops

* This is a view of the south and west sides of the fort, looking toward
the river. It stands directly upon the Richelieu, at the foot of the
Chambly Rapids, and at the head of the navigation of the river up from
the St. Lawrence. It is strongly built of stone, and, as seen in the
picture, is in a state of excellent preservation.

** The spoils taken at Chambly were 6 tons of powder; 80 barrels of
flour; a large quantity of rice, butter, and peas; 134 barrels of pork;
300 swivel shot; 1 box of musket shot; 6364 musket cartridges; 150 stand
of French arms; 3 royal mortars; 61 shells; 500 hand grenades; 83 royal
fusilleer's muskets with accouterments; and rigging for 3 vessels. The
prisoners consisted of 1 major, 2 captains, 3 lieutenants, captain of a
schooner, a commissary and surgeon, and 83 privates. The colors of the
seventh regiment of British regulars were there, and were captured.
These were sent to the Continental Congress, and were the first trophies
of the kind which that body received. There were a great number of women
and children in the fort, and these were allowed to accompany the
prisoners, who were sent with their baggage to Connecticut.

Surrender of St. John's.--Insubordination.--Retreat of the Americans out
of Canada.

November 3 grounded 172their arms on the plain near by. The officers
were allowed to keep their side-arms, and their fire-arms were reserved
for them. Canadian gentlemen and others at St. John's were considered a
part of the garrison. The whole number of troops amounted to about five
hundred regulars and one hundred Canadian volunteers.1 The Continental
troops took possession of the fort, and Montgomery proposed to push on
to Montreal.

Insubordination again raised its hydra-head in the American camp. The
cold season was near at hand, and the raw troops, unused to privations
of the field, yearned for home, and refused, at first, to be led further
away. But the kind temper, patriotic zeal, and winning eloquence of
Montgomery, and a promise on his part that, Montreal in his possession,
no further service would be exacted from them, won them to obedience,
and all but a small garrison for the fort pressed onward toward the
city. **

The fort at St. John's remained in possession of the Americans until the
latter part of May, 1776, when they were completely driven out of
Canada. Arnold and Sullivan, with their detachments, were the last to
leave that province. The former remained in Montreal until the last
moment of safety, and then pressed on to St. John's, with the enemy
close at his heels. Two days before, he had ordered the encampment
closed there, and a vessel upon the stocks to be taken apart and sent to
Ticonderoga. Sullivan, who was stationed at the mouth of the Sorel, also
retreated to St. John's. The commanders wished to defend the fort
against the pursuing enemy, but the troops absolutely refused to serve
longer, and they all embarked, and sailed up the lake to _Isle Aux
Noix_. When every loaded boat had left the shore, Arnold and Wilkinson,
his aid, rode back two miles and discovered the enemy in rapid march
under Burgoyne. They reconnoitered them a few moments, and then galloped
back,

* The spoils of victory were 17 brass ordnance, from two to twenty-four
pounders; 2 eight-inch howitzers; 7 mortars; 22 iron ordnance, from
three to nine pounders; a considerable quantity of shot and small
shells; 800 stand of arms, and a small quantity of naval stores. The
ammunition and provisions were inconsiderable, for the stock of each was
nearly exhausted.

** Armstrong's Life of Montgomery,

Rendezvous of Burgoyne's Army at St. John's.--Departure for Chambly.--
French Canadian Houses, Farms, and People.

173stripped and shot their horses, set fire to the works at St. John's,
pushed off from shore in a small boat, and overtook the flotilla before
they reached _Isle Aux Noix_. Having no vessels with which to pursue the
Americans, Burgoyne rested at St. John's. In the course of the autumn he
returned to England.

Early in the summer of 1777 St. John's was the theater of active
preparations, on the part of the British, for the memorable campaign
which terminated in the capture of Burgoyne and his whole army at
Saratoga. This campaign was planned chiefly by Lord George Germain, the
Secretary of War, and Burgoyne, with the approval of the king and the
full sanction of the Council. Burgoyne was made commander of the
expedition, and arrived at Quebec on the 6th of May. Carleton gave him
his cordial co-operation, and St. John's was the place of general
rendezvous for all the regulars, provincials, and volunteers. On the 1st
of June an army of six thousand men was collected there, and, embarking
in boats, sailed up the lake to Cumberland Head, where it halted to
await the arrival of ammunition and stores. These collected, the whole
armament moved up the lake to the north of the Bouquet, where, as
already narrated, a council was held with the Indian tribes. As the rest
of the story of that campaign, so disastrous to British power in
America, has been told in preceding chapters, we will return to St.
John's, and pass on to Chambly.

I left St. John's about eleven o'clock in a light wagon, accompanied by
the young man who acted as guide among the old military remains. There
is but little in the appearance of St. John's to distinguish it from a
large village in the States, but the moment we emerged into the country
I felt that I was in a strange land. The road traverses the line of the
Chambly Canal, which runs parallel with the Richelieu or Sorel River.
The farm-houses are thickly planted by the roadside; so thickly that all
the way from St. John's to Chambly and Longueuil we seemed to be in a
village suburb. The farms are diminutive compared with ours, averaging
from fifteen to forty acres each, and hence the great number of
dwellings and out-houses. They are generally small, and built of hewn
logs or stone. Most of the dwellings and out-houses are whitewashed with
lime, even the roofs, which gives them a very neat appearance, and forms
a beautiful contrast in the landscape to the green foliage which
embowers them. I was told that each house contains a _consecrated
broom_. When a new dwelling is erected, a broom is _tabooed_ by the
priest and hung up in the dwelling by the owner, where it remains
untouched, a sort of Lares or household god.

Many of them have a cross erected near, as a talisman to guard the
dwelling from evil. They are generally dedicated to St. Peter, the chief
patron saint of the rural French Canadians. A box, with a glass door,
inclosing an image of the saint, a crucifix, or some other significant
object, is placed upon or within the body of the cross, and the whole is
usually surmounted by a cock. A singular choice for a crest, for it is a
fowl identified with St. Peter's weakness and shame.

It was in the time of hay harvest, and men, women, and children were
abroad gathering the crops. As among the peasantry of Europe and the
blacks of our Southern States, the women labor regularly in the fields.
They are tidily habited in thin stuff of cotton or worsted, generally
dyed blue, and all of domestic manufacture. Their costume is graceful,
and, sitting loosely, gives full play to the muscles, and contributes to
the high health which every where abounds in the rural districts of this
region. Their broad-rimmed straw hats, like the Mexican sombrero, afford
ample protection against the hot sun. These also are home-made, and the
manufacture of them for our markets, during the long Canadian winters.
affords quite a cash revenue to most of the families. These simple
people are generally

The Richelieu and its Rapids.--Chambly.--The Fort.--Beloeil Mountain.--
Large Cross

174uneducated, and superstition is a strong feature in their religious
character. They art honest, kind-hearted, and industrious, have few
wants, live frugally, and, in their way, seem to enjoy a large share of
earthly happiness.

The Richelieu has either a swift current or noisy rapids nearly the
whole distance between St. John's and Chambly. The stream is broad, and
in many places deep, for it is the outlet for the whole volume of the
waters of Lake Champlain into the St. Lawrence. In some places the
foaming rapids produce a picturesque effect to the eye and ear, and vary
the pleasure of the otherwise rather monotonous journey between the two
villages.

Chambly is an old town, at the foot of the rapids, and bears evidence of
thrift. A Frenchman bearing that name built a small wood fort there,
which was afterward replaced by the solid stone structure pictured on
page 171. The latter retained the name of the original fort, as also
does the village. It is a military station at present, and, being at the
head of the navigation of the Richelieu or Sorel from the St. Lawrence,
has a commanding position

The river here, at the foot of the falls, expands into a circular basin
about a mile and a hall in diameter. The old fort is dismantled and
ungarrisoned, and is now used only for a store-house. Near it are seen
the remains of the battery erected by Bedell, while pre paring to storm
the fort in 1775. I tarried at Chambly long enough only to reconnoiter
ant sketch the old fortress and the features of the Beloeil, the only
mountain range in view, ant then went to an inn to dine, a mile on the
road toward Longueuil. There I learned that a French Canadian, nearly
one hundred years old, was living near. Although the sun was declining,
and we had seventeen miles' travel before us, I determined to visit the
old man.

* This sketeh is taken from the southeast angle of old Fort Chambly,
showing the rapids in the fore ground. The mountain is twenty miles
distant, near the Sorel. On the highest point of the range the Bishop of
Nancy, a French prelate, ereeted a huge cross in 1843, the pedestal of
which was sufficiently large to form a chapel capable of containing
fifty persons. In November, 1847, during a severe thunder gust, the
lightning and wind completely demolished the cross, but spared the
pedestal, and that, being white, may be seen at a great distance.

Francois Yest.--His Age and Reminiscences.--Temperance Pledge.-- Ride to
Longueuil.--A Caleche.

175and sound in his memory. We met him upon the road, coming toward the
inn. He had just left his rake in the field, and had on a leather apron
and broad-rimmed hat. He was a small, firmly-built man, apparently
sixty-five years old. Conversation with him was difficult, for his
dialect, professedly French, was far worse than Gascon. Still we managed
to understand each other, and I gleaned from him, during our brief
interview, the facts that he was born in Quebec in 1752; remembered the
storming of the city by the English under Wolfe; removed to Chambly in
1770; was a spectator of the capture of the fort by a detachment from
Montgomery's army in 1775; assisted in furnishing stores for Burgoyne's
army at St John's in 1777; and has lived upon and cultivated the same
small farm of thirty acres from that time until the present. He was
ninety-six years old, and appeared to have stamina sufficient for twenty
years more of active life.

He seemed to be a simple-hearted creature, ignorant of the world beyond
the Richelieu and the adjacent village, and could not comprehend my
movements while sketching his honest countenance. He was delighted,
however, when he saw the outlines of an old man's face, and knew them to
be his own; and when I presented him with a silver coin, he laughed like
a pleased child. But when the young man who accompanied me, with
intended generosity, offered him a glass of brandy, his eyes sparkled
with indignation, and in his bad French he uttered an emphatic refusal.
He had signed the temperance pledge a year before, and he felt insulted
by the seeming attempt to win him from his allegiance. Glorious old
convert, and firm old preacher of principle in the very den of the
fierce lion, for decanters were at his elbow, and a friendly hand
proffered the contents to his lips! A vow of total abstinence from
intoxicating drinks at the age of ninety-five! For that I pressed the
hard hand of Francois Yest with a firmer grasp when I bade him adieu.

We had a pleasant ride from Chambly to Longueuil (seventeen miles) over
a plank road. Unlike similar roads in New York, the planks were laid
diagonally. They had been in use twelve years, and were but little
decayed. The country all the way to the St. Lawrence is flat. The soil,
though rather wet, is productive, and almost every rood of it was under
cultivation. Here and there were a few groves, but no forests; and a
solitary huge bowlder by the road-side, shivered by lightning, was the
only rock that I saw between the Richelieu and the St. Lawrence.

When within three miles of Longueuil, the glittering domes and spires of
Montreal appeared in the distance like gems set in the dark mountain
that formed a background beyond. It was five o'clock when we reached
Longueuil, a mile and a half below Montreal, on the opposite side of the
river. There I parted from the young gentleman whose light wagon had
conveyed me from St. John's, and proceeded to Montreal on the steam
ferry-boat that connects it with Longueuil. Neither cab nor omnibus was
in waiting, and I was obliged to ride a mile in a rickety calèche, *
drawn

* The caleche is a two-wheeled vehicle, much used in Lower Canada. It is
similar in form to our gig, but, instead of having but one seat, there
is one for the driver upon the dash-board. Four can ride comfortably in
one of them. Some are made elegantly, with a folding cover to ward off
the sun or rain, and they are a pleasant vehicle to ride in. I found
them in universal use in the narrow streets of Quebec. Such was the
vehicle in use in Canada at the time of our Revolution, and mentioned by
the Baroness Reidese, as the kind in which she and her children traveled
with the British army.

Ride in a Caleche.--Safe Arrival of my Companion.--An Evening Stroll.--
Aurora Borealis

176by a representative of Rosinante. The vehicle, horse, driver, and
ride altogether made a funny affair. The driver was a little Frenchman,
with a jocky-coat and breeches, and a red tasseled skull-cap.

All the way he belabored his beast with blows and curses, but the
animal's hide and ears seemed impervious. I could think of nothing but a
parody on a couplet of the old song, "If I had a donkey," &c. As we
wheeled up a narrow court from St. Paul's Street to the Exchange Hotel,
a merry laugh of half a furlong's audibility rang out from a group of
young ladies upon an upper piazza, and that was my first evidence that
my traveling companion, Miss B------had arrived safely, as per
consignment in the morning to the care of the urbane proprietors of that
excellent establishment. She had rambled through the city with pleasant
company until thoroughly wearied, so I took an evening stroll alone. The
day had been very warm, but the evening was cool. The stars were
brilliant, yet it was too dark to see much beyond the dim forms of massy
buildings, wrapped in deep shadows. But above, in the far north, a
phenomenon seldom exhibited in summer was gorgeously displayed; more so
than we often see it in lower latitudes in winter, and I stood an hour
in the Place d'Arms, watching the ever-changing beauties of the
brilliant Aurora Borealis. It is a strange sight, and well might the
ignorant and superstitious of other times regard it with fearful wonder.
Lomonosov, a native Russian poet, thus refers to the sublime spectacle:

"What fills with dazzling beams the illumined air?

What wakes the flames that light the firmament?

The lightning's flash; there is no thunder there,

And earth and heaven with fiery sheets are blent;

The winter's night now gleams with brighter, lovelier ray

Than ever yet adorned the golden summer's day.

"Is there some vast, some hidden magazine,

Where the gross darkness flames of fire supplies--

Some phosphorous fabric, which the mountains screen,

Whose clouds of light above those mountains rise,

When the winds rattle loud around the foaming sea,

And lift the waves to heaven in thundering revelry?"

Montreal--A ride to the Mountain--Innervating view--Visit the City
Churches--Parliament house--grey nunnery

177

CHAPTER VIII.

HE pleasure-seeker will find much about Montreal to amuse him; and the
staid traveler, searching for the gold of general knowledge might fill a
large chapter in his journal, in recording what is noteworthy amoung
present things there.

(!!!The remainder of the page is damaged.!!!)

The Grey Nuns at Prayer.--First Settlements at Montreal.-- Cartier.--
Jealousy of the Indians.

178Sisters of Charity connected with it, being devoted to the relief of
poor and infirm old persons, and the nurture and education of orphans. *
The building is spacious, and a large number of both classes are there
made comfortable. Our visit was at mid-day. When the clock struck
twelve, a long procession of the nuns, veiled, marched slowly into the
chapel, singing a Gregorian chant, and knelt within the nave in prayer.

We followed in respectful silence. Each nun had a small crucifix and
string of beads attached; and whatever may have been the case with their
thoughts, their eyes never wandered, notwithstanding strangers were
gazing upon them. They were habited in dark drab dresses, bound with
black velvet and looped up behind; aprons with stripes, and over the
head (on which they wore a cap with a deep border), covering the face
and neck, a thin black veil was thrown, through which the features were
discernible. Some were young and pretty, others old and plain, but the
sacred character of their labor of love invested them all with beauty.
We visited a few other places of note, and, after "lunch," I left my
company and went down to Longueuil, where Carleton was defeated by
Warner in 1775. We are upon historic ground; let us open the old volume
a few moments.

Montreal is built upon an island thirty miles long and twelve wide, and
is upon the site of ancient _Hochelaga_, a noted Indian village which
gave its name to the river in this vicinity. The first white man who
visited the spot was Jaques Quartier or Cartier, a October 3, 1535
French navigator, who discovered the Gulf and River St. Lawrence, and
gave them the name they bear. ** The vicinity, even up the slopes of the
mountain, was tilled and covered with corn-fields.

Cartier was enchanted with the view from the mountain--a view of "thirty
leagues radius"--and, in honor of his king (Francis I.), he called it
Mount Royal. In time the name was modified to Montreal, and in this form
was borne by the white settlement that gathered there in 1640. The spot
was consecrated by the superior of the Jesuits, and a chapel built in
1642.

The Indians, at first friendly, became jealous, and at length hostile.
The town was stockaded and slight bastions were built, but finally a
strong wall of masonry was constructed, fifteen feet high, with
battlements and six gates. The town gradually increased in size and
commercial importance, and at the time of our Revolution was nearly as
populous as Quebec. When, toward the middle of the last century,
hostilities commenced between the English and French colonies, Montreal
was an important place as a frontier town. There Duquesne de Menneville
and Vaudreuil de Cavagnal, French governors of Canada, fitted out their
expeditions against the English on the Ohio and the unfriendly Indians
of New York. Montreal was threatened by the English under Amherst in
1759, but it was not until the autumn Septembers 8, 1760 of 1760 that it
passed out of the possession of the French. Quebec surrendered a year
before, and Vaudreuil retreated to Montreal, with a determination to
make

* This hospital was founded by M. Charron and others, in 1692. In 1748
it passed into the hands of a society of ladies, at the head of whom was
Madame Youville, who, being left a widow at the age of twenty-eight,
determined to devote her life and fortune to the relief of the infirm
poor. In 1755 the plan of the establishment was enlarged, so as to
embrace orphans, the cause of which was singular, as given in Bos-
worth's "Picture of Montreal." One winter day, as Madame Y. was passing
the "Little River," she saw an infant hard frozen in the ice, with a
poniard sticking in its throat, and one of its little hands raised
through the ice as if in the attitude of demanding justice against the
perpetrator of the crime. Madame Y. was dreadfully shocked at the sight,
and, on consultation with her associates, it was resolved to extend
their charity and protection to orphans and foundlings.

** He arrived in the gulf on the festival of St. Lawrence (10th of
August), and, on account of that circumstance, named the waters in honor
of the saint.

*** He built a fort on the Ohio, which was called Fort Duquesne. It is
memorable as the place near which Braddock was defeated in 1755, when
Washington's military talents were first conspicuously developed. The
name of the fort was changed to Pitt, and the present city of Pittsburgh
stands upon its site.

Montreal in 1760.--Captured by the English.--Ethan Allen in Canada.--
Proposed Attack on Montreal.

179 there a bold stand in defense of French dominion in Canada. The
English invested Montreal in September, 1760.

Amherst approached down the St. Lawrence from Oswego, General Murray
advanced up the river from Quebec, and Colonel Haviland took post on the
south side of the St. Lawrence, opposite the city. Vaudreuil perceived
that September 6, 1760 resistance would be vain, and two days afterward
the city was surrendered to the English. With this event French dominion
ceased in Canada. The terms of capitulation were honorable to both
parties. Private property was respected; the revenues of the priesthood
were held sacred to their use; the Roman Catholic religion was
undisturbed; the privileges of all classes were preserved and
guaranteed; and every thing was done to reconcile the people to their
new masters. General Gage, afterward Governor of Massachusetts, was
appointed Governor of Montreal.

Montreal remained in quiet possession of the English until 1775, when
the invading army of the insurgent colonies disturbed its repose, after
the capture of Forts St. John's and Chambly. A month previous to these
events the town was alarmed by the appearance of an American detachment
under Ethan Allen, but the result quieted their fears. When the command
of the Northern army devolved upon Montgomery, he sent Allen, who had
been traversing Canada in the neighborhood of the St. Lawrence, to
retrace his steps and further arouse the people in favor of the
rebellion. Active and brave, Allen gathered a large number to his
standard. A week after he left the American camp at _Isle Aux Noix_ he
was at St. Ours, twelve miles south of the Sorel, with two hundred and
fifty Canadians under arms He wrote to Montgomery that within three days
he would join him in laying siege to St. John's, with at least five
hundred armed Canadians. On his way to join the main army, he marched up
the east side of the St. Lawrence to Longueuil. When between that place
and La Prairie, he fell in with Major Brown, at the head of an advanced
party of Americans and Canadians, who informed him that Montreal was
weak and defenseless, and proposed to make a joint attack upon the city.
Allen had confidence in the courage and judgment of Brown, and, as the
scheme opened an adventurous field, he agreed to the proposition

* The island with buildings, seen on the left, is St. Helen's or Helena,
now strongly fortified. It is in front of the city, a mile distant, and
is a beautiful summer resort. It formerly belonged to the Barons of
Longueuil, and is now the property of the crown. The picture is a fac-
simile of the print, with all its defects in drawing.

Battle near Montreal.--Capture of Allen.--Brutality of Prescott-- Harsh
Treatment of the Prisoners.--Biography of Allen.

180Allen was to return to Longueuil, procure canoes, and cross the St.
Lawrence with his troops below the city, while Brown was to cross above
the town, with two hundred men, and the attack was to be made at
opposite points simultaneously.

September 24, 1775 Allen crossed the river at night with eighty
Canadians and thirty Americans.

It was a rough, windy night, and so few were the canoes that they had to
cross three times, yet the whole party passed the foaming waters in the
light vessels safely before daylight. At dawn Allen expected to hear the
signal of Brown, but the morning advanced, and it was evident that the
latter had not crossed over. Guards were placed upon the roads to
prevent persons from carrying intelligence into the town, and Allen
would have retreated if his boats could have carried all over at once.

The Americans being discovered, armed men were soon seen issuing from
the gates. A force of forty British regulars, more than two hundred
Canadians, and a few Indians came down upon them from the town; but,
notwithstanding the disparity in numbers, such was the bravery of some
of the Americans, that the engagement lasted an hour and three quarters.
At length, his men having all deserted but twenty-eight, seven of whom
were wounded, Allen agreed to a surrender upon being promised honorable
terms. They were marched to Montreal, and the officers who were on the
field acted very civilly toward them; but when they were delivered into
the custody of General Prescott, they experienced the most brutal
treatment at his hands. On learning, by conversation with Allen, that he
was the same man who had captured Ticonderoga, Prescott was greatly
enraged, threatened him with a halter, and ordered him to be bound hand
and foot in irons and placed on board the Gaspee war schooner. A bar of
iron eight feet long was attached to his shackles, and, with his fellow-
prisoners, who were fastened together in pairs with handcuffs, he was
thrust into the lowest part of the ship, where neither seat nor bed was
allowed them. * We shall have con-

* Ethan Allen was born in Roxbury, Litchfield county, in Connecticut. He
went to Vermont at an early age, and about 1770 took an active part in
the disturbances that occurred between the Hampshire Grants and the
state of New York. The Legislature of the latter province proclaimed him
an outlaw, and offered fifty pounds sterling for his apprehension. A
party, determining to capture him while on a visit to his friends in
Salisbury and lodge him in the jail at Poughkeepsie, came near effecting
their object. He afterward led the expedition against Ticonderoga, and
his former sins were forgotten by his enemies. In the autumn of 1775 he
was twice sent into Canada to observe the disposition of the people,
and, if possible, win them over to the American cause. On returning from
his last tour to camp, he was induced by Major Brown to cross the St.
Lawrence and attack Montreal. The former failed to co-operate with him,
and he was captured and put in irons. He remained five weeks in irons on
board the Gaspee, at Montreal, and when Carleton was repulsed by Warner
at Longueuil, the vessel was sent down to Quebec. There he was
transferred to another vessel, where he was treated humanely, and sent
to England to be tried for treason. He was placed in charge of Brook
Watson, a resident of Montreal, and afterward Lord Mayor of London.
Allen, in his grotesque garb, attracted great attention in the streets
of Falmouth, where he was landed. He was confined for a time in
Pendennis Castle, near Falmouth, and was sent to Halifax in the spring
of 1776. He was confined in jail there until autumn, and was then sent
to New York, then in possession of the British. There he was kept about
a year and a half. In May, 1778, he was exchanged for Colonel Campbell,
and returned to his fireside in Vermont. He never afterward actively
engaged in military service. He died at Colchester, Vermont, February
13th, 1789, and his remains repose in a beautiful cemetery near the
Winooski, at Burlington. Ethan Allen was a blunt, honest man, of purest
virtue and sternest integrity. In religion he was a free-thinker, and
passed for an infidel. An anecdote is related of him, which illustrates
the purity of his principles. He owed a citizen of Boston sixty pounds,
for which he gave his promissory note. It was sent to Vermont for
collection. It was inconvenient for Allen to pay, and the note was put
in suit. Allen employed a lawyer to attend the court, and have the
judgment postponed until he could raise the money. The lawyer determined
to deny the genuineness of the signature, as the readiest method of
postponing the matter, for in that case a witness at Boston would have
to be sent for. When the case was called, it happened that Allen was in
a remote part of the court-house, and, to his utter astonishment, heard
his lawyer gravely deny the signature of the note. With long and fierce
strides he rushed through the crowd, and, confronting the amazed "limb
of the law," rebuked him in a voice of thunder. "Mr.--------, I did not
hire you to come here and lie. That is a true note--I signed it--I'll
swear to it--and I'll pay it. I want no shuffling, I want time. What I
employed you for was to get this business put over to the next court,
not to come here and lie and juggle about it." The result was, that the
postponement of the claim was amicably arranged between the two lawyers.

Montgomery's March upon Montreal.--Flight and Capture of Prescott.--
Escape of Carleton.--Mutiny in Montgomery's Camp.

181siderable to say of the character and career of the brutal Prescott,
while commanding afterward on Rhode Island.

The cause of Major Brown's failure to cross, and, with Allen, attack
Montreal, has never been explained. The plan was good, and would
doubtless have been successful. Half carried out, it proved disastrous,
and both Brown and Allen were blamed, the one for proposing, the other
for attempting, such a hazardous enterprise.

After the fall of St. John's, General Montgomery pressed on toward
Montreal. Carleton knew its weakness, and at once retreated on board one
of the vessels of a small fleet lying in the river. Montgomery entered
the town in triumph the day after Carleton and November 13, 1775 the
garrison left it. He treated the people humanely, and secured their
confidence and good will. Finding there a large supply of woolen goods,
he set about clothing his army, so that those who accompanied him
further in the campaign might be prepared for the rigors of a Canadian
winter.

As soon as Montgomery saw the disposition of the garrison to flee, he
dispatched Colonel Easton with Continental troops, cannon, and armed
gondolas to the mouth of the Sorel. This force was so advantageously
posted that the British fleet could not pass, and General Prescott,
several officers, members of the Canadian Council, and one hundred and
twenty private soldiers, with all the vessels, surrendered by
capitulation. * At the midnight preceding Governor Carleton was conveyed
in a boat, with muffled oars, past the American post to Three Rivers,
and arrived safely at Quebec. The Americans were very anxious to secure
Governor Carleton, for his talents, judgment, and influence formed the
basis of strength against the invaders. They were watchful in their
guard-boats, but a dark night and a secret way favored his escape, and
they secured a far inferior captive in Prescott, whose conduct, on many
occasions, made him a disgrace to the British army.

Notwithstanding all officers, and it required all the address the
general was master of to induce a respectable force to march to Quebec,
after garrisoning Montreal. But amid all these discouragements *

* There were eleven sail of vessels. Their contents were 760 barrels of
flour, 675 barrels of beef, 376 firkins of butter, 3 barrels of powder,
4 nine and six pounders, cartridges and ball, 2380 musket cartridges, 8
chests of arms, 200 pairs of shoes, and a quantity of intrenching tools.

** Guy Carleton, afterward Lord Dorchester, was Wolfe's quartermaster at
the storming of Quebec, and was appointed a major in the British army in
1772. In 1774 he was constituted Captain-general and Governor of Quebec
or Canada. He successfully commanded the British at Quebec when attacked
by Montgomery in 1775, compelled the Americans to raise the siege in
1776, and drove them out of the province. In October he recaptured Crown
Point. He was unjustly superseded in military command by Burgoyne in
1777. He was appointed to succeed Sir Henry Clinton in 1782, and was in
command of the British troops when they evacuated New York on the 25th
of November, 1783. He died in England at the close of 1808, aged 83
years the important posts in Canada except Quebec were now in possession
of the Americans, Montgomery justly asserted, in a letter to Congress,
that, "till Quebec is taken, Canada is unconquered." Impressed with this
idea, he determined to push forward to the capital despite the
inclemency of the season and the desertion of his troops. The term of
service of many had expired, and others absolutely refused to proceed
further. Insubordination manifested itself among the

Return Home of the Disaffected.--Visit to Longueuil.--The Village
Oracle.--Fruitless Historical Research.

182the hopeful general did not despair. He knew that Arnold was
traversing the wilderness along the Kennebeck and the Chaudière to join
him, and was then, perhaps, menacing Quebec; and he knew also that the
troops under Carleton and M'Lean were hardly adequate to defend the
city, even against a smaller force than his own. He winnowed his army of
the recusant and mutinous, and then pushed onward down the St. Lawrence.
*

I remarked that I left my pleasant company at Montreal, and went down to
Longueuil. My object was to ascertain, if possible, the place where
Warner planted his battery and repulsed the boats of Carleton. Longueuil
is an old town, chiefly composed of small stone houses with steep roofs.
It has a spacious French church, of antique appearance, though not more
than thirty years old. The people all speak bad French, and for more
than an hour I sought the "oldest inhabitant." That mysterious creature
was an old woman of unknown age, and so deaf that she could not hear
half I said, or understand a word. I reciprocated the latter infirmity,
and now confess profound ignorance of all she attempted to say. An
intelligent lad came to the rescue, and silenced our jargon batteries by
referring me to his uncle, who lived near the beach, and "knew every
thing." He was a man about fifty, and spoke English pretty well. I made
my business known, and he at once assumed the patronizing air of Sir
Oraele, said he knew it all, and pointed to the shore a little above as
the very spot where "the cavalry horses were stabled," and where "the
English dragoons drank a health to King George and vowed death to the
Yankees." He knew Sir George Prévost, and praised the veterans of
Wellington who accompanied him. As British dragoons and Wellington's
veterans were not with Carleton, and as my mentor's first birth-day
doubtless occurred twenty years after the time in question, I properly
doubted his knowledge of the facts I was in search of. I told him that
it was the American Revolution I was inquiring about. He did not seem to
understand me, and I called it _rebellion_. "Oh oui yes, yes, I know,"
he exclaimed. "Two hundred crossed here for St. John's. Captain Glasgow
was a fine fellow. Pity Lord Elgin wasn't as great a man as Sir John
Colborne." With exhausted patience, I explained to him the time and
nature of the revolution of the last century, but he had never heard of
it! He knew nothing behind his own "life and times." As he represented
the "collective wisdom" of the village, I despaired of better success,
and returned to Montreal with the fruit of a three hours' expedition
under a hot sun--a Yankee's postulate--a shrewd _guess_. I was as little
successful in my search at Montreal for the battle-ground where Ethan
Allen and his men were made prisoners. An intelligent gentleman, who was
one of the leaders in the rebellion there in 1837, assured me that the
spot was unknown to the inhabitants, for tradition has but little
interest in keeping its finger upon the locality, and not a man was
living who had personal knowledge of the event. It is probable that the
northern suburbs of the city now cover the locality, and that the place
is not far from the present Longueuil ferry-landing.

Having accomplished my errand at Montreal, we departed for Quebec toward
evening, in the fine steamer _John Munn_, accompanied by our Burlington
friends of the morning. The magnificent stone quays were crowded with
people, and our boat had a full complement of passengers. At the lower
end of St. Helen's we entered the St. Mary's Rapids, and, darting past
Longueuil, were soon out of sight of the spires of Montreal. The banks
of the river are low, and on either side villages and cultivated fields
exhibited an ever-changing and pleasing panorama. Beloeil Mountain
loomed up eastward of us, and the white chapel, the pedestal of the
bishop's huge eross upon the loftiest summit, sparkled like a star in
the beams of the setting sun. It was twilight when we arrived at William
Henry, or Sorel, an old town, forty-five miles below Montreal, at the
mouth of the Richelieu or Sorel River. A

* Several hundred of the militia, regardless of order, took the nearest
route to their respective homes in New England and New York. About three
hundred arrived in a body at Ticonderoga, and, flinging their heavy
packs over their shoulders, crossed the lake on the ice, and traversed
the wilderness through the deep snow to their homes in New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, and Connecticut. It was an undertaking quite as perilous
as the siege of Quebec. The endearments of home were the goal of the
one, military glory was that of the other. The choice, though not
creditable to them as patriots, deserves our respectful homage.

Arrival at-Sorel.--Voyage down the St. Lawrence.--Morning View of
Quebec.--The Walla ol Quebeo.

183French engineer named Sorel built a fort there as early as 1665, and
the present town occupies its site. Our boat tarried there an hour for
passengers and freight, but it grew too dark to see much of the town. A
motley group crowded the narrow wharf, and when we left, the forward
deck was covered with cabbages, leeks, and onions for the Quebec market,
which afforded perfume gratuitously for the whole boat.

Sorel was a place of considerable importance at the time of our
Revolution. Standing at the mouth of a navigable river, and at the
narrowest part of the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Quebec, its
possession was important to both belligerents. When the Americans
approached Canada in 1775, Colonel M'Lean, with a Scotch regiment of
Royal Highlanders, went up from Quebec and took station there. When
Carleton left Montreal to reenforce the garrison at St. John's, M'Lean
was to join him near Longueuil; but the unexpected repulse of the former
by the Green Mountain Boys, and the spreading of American detachments
over the country east of the St. Lawrence, between it and the Puchelieu,
so alarmed M'Lean, that he not only fell back precipitately to Sorel,
but abandoned that post to Colonel Easton, and retired to Quebec. At
Sorel, Colonel Easton did good service a few weeks later, when, with
floating batteries and cannon on shore, he disputed the passage of the
British fleet retreating from Montreal, and captured the whole flotilla,
with General Prescott.

Leaving Sorel, we passed several islands, and then entered Lake St.
Peter's, an expansion of the St. Lawrence about twenty-five miles long,
and having an average width of nine miles. A half moon dimly lighted the
sluggish waters, and defined an outline of the huge serpent of smoke
which our vessel left trailing behind. The shores disappeared in the
night shadows, and one after another of the passengers retired to bed,
until the promenade deck was deserted, except by two young ladies, whose
sweet voices charmed us for an hour with "Dearest May" and kindred
melodies. It was near midnight when the nightingales ceased their
warbling, and I sought the repose of my stateroom.

Three Rivers, St. Anne's, the Richelieu Rapids, Cape Rouge, Chaudière,
Sillery Cove, and New Liverpool were all passed during our slumbers, but
we were upon the deck in the morning in time to catch the first glimpse
of Quebec in the distance. A forest of masts, above which loomed Cape
Diamond crowned with the gray citadel and its threatening ordnance, were
the first objects in view. But as our vessel made a graceful sweep
toward Point Levi, and "rounded to" at the Queen's Wharf, I think I
never saw a more picturesque scene.

It was just at sunrise, and the morning was cloudless. As the orb of day
came up from the eastern hills, the city, spread out upon the steep
acclivities and along the St. Charles, reflected back its bright rays
from a thousand windows, and roofs of polished tin. All was a-glow with
luster, except the dark walls and the shipping, and for the moment the
creations of Aladdin's Lamp seemed before us. The enchantment was soon
over, and was succeeded by the sober prose of travel, as we passed
slowly to the upper town along the narrow and crooked Mountain Street,
through Prescott Gate, closely jammed in a pigmy coach. We found
comfortable quarters at the Albion, on Palace Street, one of the most
respectable English hotels in the upper city. After breakfast we ordered
a barouche, to visit the Falls of Montmorenci, the Plains of Abraham,
and other places of note, and obtained a permit from the commandant to
enter the citadel. Before making the interesting tour, let us turn to a
map of the city, trace out its walls and gates and general topography,
and consult the chronicle of its history; then we shall view its
celebrities understandingly.

* Explanation of the Diagram.--A is the St. Charles River; B, the St.
Lawrence; a is Palace Gate; 6, Gate St. John's; c, Gate St. Louis; d,
Governor's Garden, wherein is a stone monument in memory of Wolfe and
Montcalm; e, the portion of Cape Diamond at the foot of which Montgomery
was killed; the grand battery; g, Preseott Gate; h, Hope Gate; o is a
bold point of rock in the Sault-au-Matelot, where Arnold was wounded.
The walls here given, with the citadel in the upper town.

Situation of Quebec.--Early Settlements and Growth.--French Operations
in America.--Approach of Wolfe to Quebec

184Quebec is situated upon and around a lofty promontory at the
confluence of the St. Lawrence and the St. Charles Rivers, and is so
strongly guarded against intruders, by steep acclivities on nearly three
sides, that it has been aptly named the "Gibraltar of America." Art has
added strength to these natural defenses, and, except on the rear, it is
absolutely impregnable to any known implements of war. Before it spreads
out a magnificent basin, where a hundred ships of the line might ride at
anchor; and around it, as far as the eye can reach, industry has planted
a beautiful garden. The plains of the St. Charles, the towering Cap
Tourment, the Falls of Montmorenci and of the Chaudière, the lovely
Island of Orleans, and the pleasant slopes of Point Levi, unite, with
the city itself, to make up a cluster of attractions with which those of
few places on earth can vie. July, 1608 The foundation of the city was
laid two hundred and forty years ago, by Samuel Champlain, and yet it is
just upon the margin of the primeval forest, which extends from a narrow
selvage of civilization along the St. Lawrence to the Arctic regions.
When Champlain, with great parade, laid the foundation stone of the
future city, Old _Hochelaga_ (now Montreal), discovered by Cartier more
than a hundred years before, was blotted from existence, and but a few
whites were planting corn and sowing wheat where the Indian gardens had
flourished. Religion and commerce joined hands, and the new city soon
became the capital of French dominion in America. From it missionaries
and traders went westward to obtain peltry and furs, make geographical
discoveries, and convert the heathen, and in a few years the French
language was heard in the deep forests that skirted the vast lakes, from
the Thousand Islands at the foot of Ontario to the broad waters of the
Huron. Immigration steadily augmented the population, churches and
convents were erected, * and the bastioned walls of old Fort St. Louis,
mounted with cannon, were piled around the temples of the Prince of
Peace at Quebec; for the treacherous Algonquin, the wily Iroquois, and
the bloody Huron, though mutual enemies, coalesced in jealousy of the
French and a desire to crush their rising strength. As the colony
increased in power, and, through its missionaries, in influence over the
Indian tribes, the more southern English colonies became jealous, and a
deep-seated animosity between them prevailed for a generation. At length
the two governments quarreled, and their respective colonies gladly
espoused each the cause of the parent state. To guard the St. Lawrence,
the French built a strong fortress upon the Island of Cape Breton, and
also began a cordon of forts along the lakes and the Ohio and
Mississippi. Frontenac, Oswego, Niagara, Duquesne, and Detroit arose
along the frontier. Fleets and armies came from the Old World; the
colonists armed and formed strong battalions; the savage tribes were
feasted, and bribed, and affiliated with European warriors, and
wilderness America became a battle arena. In a little while the
different fortresses changed masters; Louisburgh, the strong-hold of
French military power in America, fell before the skill and bravery of
Amherst and Wolfe; and at the beginning of 1759 Quebec was the only
place of considerable importance in possession of the French.

We have considered, in a preceding chapter, the success of Amherst and
Wolfe in the capture of Louisburgh, and the high reputation which that
event gave them. Pitt, relying upon the skill and bravery of these two
commanders, resolved, if possible, to conquer all Canada in a single
campaign, intrusting the chief command to Amherst. That general, with a
large force, attempted to join Wolfe at Quebec, by sweeping Lake
Champlain and capturing Montreal; he was unsuccessful, and Wolfe alone
had the glory of the siege of Quebec.

Wolfe embarked eight thousand troops at Louisburgh, under convoy of a
fleet of twenty-two ships of the line, and an equal number of frigates
and smaller armed vessels, commanded by Admirals Saunders and Holmes. He
landed his army safely near the Church of St. LauJune 27, 1759 rent,
upon the Island of Orleans, a few miles below Quebec, where, under the
direction of Sir Guy Carleton (afterward governor of Canada), batteries
were erected.

* These were placed upon the most accessible portions of the promontory,
and near them the rude buildings of the people were erected. To these
circumstances Mr. Hawkins, author of a capital "Guide to Quebec,"
ascribes the present irregular course of the streets.

Position of Montcalm's Army.--British Possession of Orleans and Point
Levi.--Land near Montmerenci.

185The brave and accomplished Montcalm, with an army of thirteen
thousand men, six battalions of which were regulars, and the others
Canadians and Indians, occupied the city with a garrison, and a strongly
intrenched camp upon the heights of Beauport, extending from the St.
Charles to the River Montmorenci. The center of the camp and Montcalm's
headquarters were at Beauport.

The whole front was intrenched and well defended from the English
cannon. Beyond the right wing a bridge was thrown across the St.
Charles, and strongly protected, to keep up a communication with the
city. There were also two batteries for its defense, placed upon hulks
sunk in the channel.

Wolfe sent General Monkton to take possession of Point Levi, opposite
Quebec.

He landed at Beaumont, and marched up to the point with little
opposition, where he erected batteries, from which the shots dealt
destruction upon the lower town lying upon the St. Charles, but had no
effect upon the walls of the city. Finding efforts from that point
unavailing, Wolfe, with his division on Orleans, crossed the north
channel of the St. Lawrence, and encamped near the left bank of the
Montmorenci, within cannon-shot of the left wing of the enemy on the
other side of the river. He met with fierce opposition, but succeeded in
maintaining his ground and erecting two batteries there. Still, Quebec
was too distant to be affected by any of his works, and he resolved upon
the bold measure of storming the strong camp of the enemy. On the last
day of July the troops at Point Levi, and a large number of grenadiers
under General Monkton, crossed the St. Lawrence in the boats of the
fleet, and landed a little above the Montmorenci. At the same time those
below Montmorenci, under Generals Townshend and Murray, crossed that
stream by fording it near its mouth, at low water, and joined the other
division upon the beach. The enemy at once made arrangements to receive
them. The right of the French was *

* This sketch is taken from Durham Terrace, near the north wall of the
Castle Garden. In the foreground are the tops of the houses below in
Champlain, Notre Dame, and St. Peter's Streets, and in the distance,
across the St. Lawrence, is seen Point Levi, with its pretty little
village, its church and wharves. On the extreme left, in the distance,
is the upper end of the Island of Orleans, which divides the channel.
The point seen is the place whore Wolfe erected batteries.

Junction of the English Division.--Severe Battle.--Wolfe disheartened.--
Camp broken up.--Wolfe's Cove

186under Baron de St. Ours, the center under De Senezergues, and the
left under M. Herbin The garrison in the city was commanded by M. de
Ramezay.

It was nearly night when the English divisions joined, and heavy
thunder-clouds were rolling up from the west. The grenadiers, impatient
of restraint, rushed madly upon the enemy's works, before the other
troops that were to sustain them had time to form. Consequently they
were driven back to the beach with a severe loss, and sought shelter
behind a redoubt which had been abandoned by the enemy. The French kept
up a galling fire, till the gathering tempest burst with great fury upon
the belligerents. Night closed in while the storm was yet raging. The
tide came roaring up against the current of the St. Lawrence with
uncommon strength, and the British were obliged to retreat to their camp
across the Montmorenci, to avoid submersion on the beach by the foaming
waters. The loss of the English in that unfortunate attempt was one
hundred and eighty killed and six hundred and fifty wounded.

Wolfe was greatly dispirited by this event, for he was very sensitive to
censure, and that he expected for this miscarriage. The emotions of his
mind, co-operating with fatigue of body upon his delicate constitution,
brought on a fever and dysentery, that nearly proved fatal. It was
nearly a month before he was able to resume the command. When
sufficiently recovered to write, he drew up a letter to Pitt, in which,
after detailing September 2 the events, referring to his illness, and
frankly confessing that he had called a council of war, he said, "I
found myself so ill, and am still so weak, that I begged the general
officers to consult together for the general safety.... We have almost
the whole force of Canada to oppose us. In this situation there is such
a choice of difficulties, that I own myself at a loss how to determine.
The affairs of Great Britain require the most vigorous measures; but
then the courage of a handful of brave men should be exerted only where
there is some hope of a favorable event." When this letter reached
England, it excited consternation and anger. * Pitt feared that he had
mistaken his favorite general, and that the next news would be that he
had either been destroyed or had capitulated. But in the conclusion of
his melancholy epistle Wolfe had said he would do his best; and that
best turned out a miracle of war. He declared that he would rather die
than be brought to a court-martial for miscarrying, and, in conjunction
with Admiral Saunders, he concerted a plan for scaling the Heights of
Abraham, and gaining possession of the elevated plateau at the back of
Quebec, on the side where the fortifications were the weakest, as the
French engineers had trusted to the precipices and the river beneath. **

The camp at Montmorenci was broken up, and the artillery and troops were
conveyed across to Point Levi, whence they were taken some distance up
the river by a September 12 a portion of the fleet under Holmes, while
Saunders, with the rest of the fleet, remained behind to make a feigned
attack upon the intrenchments at Beauport. Montcalm, unable to
comprehend these movements, remained in his camp, while Bougainville was
stationed a little above the Plains of Abraham, to watch the operations
of the division of the English fleet that sailed up the river.

At night the troops were all embarked in flat-boats, and proceeded up
the river with the tide. Bourgainville saw them, and marched up the
shore to prevent their landing. It was starlight, yet so cautiously did
the boats, with muffled oars, move down the river toward daylight, with
ebb tide, that they were unperceived by the French detachment, and
landed safely in a cove below Sillery, now called _Wolfes Cove_. The
first division was commanded by Lieutenant-colonel (afterward General)
Sir William Howe, and were all on shore at dawn The light infantry
scrambled up the woody precipice, and dispersed a French guard under
Captain de Verjer, *** while the rest of the army clambered up a winding
and steep ravine.

* The news of the failure of Wolfe at Montmorenci reached England on the
morning of the 16th of October, and was published in an extra Gazette of
that date. The same evening Captain Hale arrived and brought the news of
the triumph upon the Plains of Abraham. The general grief was suddenly
changed into great joy, and a day for public thanksgiving was set apart
by the old king.

** Pictorial History of England, iv., 609.

*** The French guard, who could not comprehend the noise below them,
fired down the precipice at random, and so the British fired up. They
all fled but the captain, who was wounded and taken prisoner. It is said
the poor fellow begged the British officer to sign a certificate of his
courage and fidelity, lest ho should be punished for accepting a bribe,
in the belief that Wolfe's bold enterprise would be deemed impossible
without corruption.

Ascent of the English to the Plains of Abraham.--The Battle-ground.--
Preparations for Battle.--Wolfe's Ravine.

187The second division, under General Townshend, landed in good order,
and before sunrise five thousand British troops were drawn up in battle
array upon the Plains of Abra September 13, 1759 ham, three hundred feet
above the St. Lawrence.

The appearance of the English troops upon the heights was the first
intimation Montcalm had of the real intentions of his enemy. He at once
saw the imminent danger to which the city and garrison were exposed, and
immediately marched his whole army across the St. Charles to attack the
English. He brought his troops into battle line about ten o'clock in the
morning. He had two field pieces; the English but one, a light six
pounder, which some sailors succeeded in dragging up the ravine at about
eight o'clock in the morning.

I am indebted to Alfred Hawkins, Esq., of Quebec, for the following
account of the position of the two armies, and the present localities
identified therewith: "The battle-ground presents almost a level surface
from the brink of the St. Lawrence to the St. Foy Road. The _Grand
Allée_, or road to Cape Rouge, running parallel to that of St. Foy,
passes through its center. That road was commanded by a field redoubt, a
four-gun battery on the English left, which was captured by the light
infantry. The remains of this battery are distinctly seen near the
present race-stand. There were also two other redoubts, one upon the
rising ground in the rear of Mr. C. Campbell's house--the scene of
Wolfe's death--and the other toward the St. Foy Road, which it was
intended to command. On the site of the country seat called Marchmont,
at present the residence of Major-general Sir James Hope, K.C.B., there
was also a small redoubt commanding the intrenched path leading to the
cove. This was taken possession of by the advanced guard of the light
infantry immediately on ascending the height. At the time of the battle
the plains were without fences or inclosures, and extended to the walls
oh the St Louis side. The surface was dotted over with bushes, and the
roads on either side were more dense than at present, affording shelter
to the French and Indian marksmen.

"In order to understand the relative position of the two armies, if a
line be drawn to the St. Lawrence from the General Hospital, it will
give nearly the front of the French army at ten o'clock, after Montcalm
had deployed into line. His right reached beyond the St. Foy Road, where
he made dispositions to turn the left of the English. Another parallel
line, somewhat in advance of Mr. C. G. Stewart's house on the St. Foy
Road, will give the front of the British army before Wolfe charged at
the head of the grenadiers of the twenty-second, fortieth, and forty-
fifth regiments, who had acquired the honorable title of the Louisburgh
Grenadiers, from having been distinguished at the capture of that place,
under his own command, in 1758. To meet the attempt of Montcalm to turn
the British left, General Townshend formed the fifteenth regiment _en
potence_, or representing a double front. The light infantry were in the
rear of the left, and the reserve was placed near the right, formed in
eight subdivisions, a good distance apart."

Wolfe placed himself on the right, at the head of the twenty-eighth
regiment of _Louisburgh Grenadiers_, who were burning with a desire to
avenge their defeat at the Montmorenci. The English had waited four
hours for the approach of the French, and were fully *

* This scene is about half way up the ravine from Wolfe's Cove, looking
down the road, which is a steep and winding way from the river to the
summit of the Plains of Abraham. It is a cool, shaded nook--a delightful
retreat from the din and dust of the city in summer.

Battle on the Plains of Abraham.--Bravery and Death of Wolfe.-- Death of
Montcalm.--Burial-place of Montcalm.

188prepared for action. Montcalm was on the left of the French, at the
head of the regiments of _Languedoc, Bearne, and Guienne_. Wolfe ordered
his men to load with two bullets each, and reserve their fire until the
French should be within forty yards. These orders were strictly obeyed,
and their double-shotted guns did terrible execution. "The hottest of
the fight occurred," says Hawkins, "between the right of the race-stand
and the martello towers." *

After delivering several rounds in rapid succession, which threw the
French into confusion, the English charged furiously with their
bayonets. While urging on his battalions in this charge, Wolfe was
singled out by some Canadians on the left, and was slightly wounded in
the wrist. He wrapped a handkerchief around to stanch the blood, and,
while still cheering on his men, received a second wound in the groin; a
few minutes afterward another struck him in the breast and brought him
to the ground, mortally wounded. At that moment, regardless of self, he
thought only of the victory for his troops. "Support me," he said to an
officer near him; "let not my brave soldiers see me drop. They day is
ours--keep it." He was taken to the rear, while his troops continued to
charge. The officer on whose shoulder he was leaning exclaimed,

"They run, they run!" The light returned to the dim eyes of the dying
hero, and he asked, with emotion,

"Who runs?"

"The enemy, sir; they give way every where."

"What," feebly exclaimed Wolfe, "do they run already? Go to Colonel
Preston and tell him to march Webb's regiment immediately to the bridge
over the St. Charles, and cut off the fugitives' retreat. Now, God be
praised, I die happy!" These were his last words, and in the midst of
sorrowing companions, just at the moment of victory, he died. Montcalm,
who was gallantly fighting in the front rank of the French left,
received a mortal wound, and died the next morning about five o'clock,
and was buried in an September 14. excavation made by the bursting of a
shell within the precincts of the Ursuline Convent, where his remains
still rest. *** When Lord Aylmar was Governor of Canada, he

* The Martello Towers are four strong structures erected at different
distances in rear of the city, between the St. Lawrence and the St.
Charles. Cannons are mounted upon their tops. They are very thick on the
side toward the open country, but thin toward the city. The object of
this manner of construction is, that, if taken by an enemy, they can
easily be laid in ruins by the shot of the garrison.

** James Wolfe was born in Westerham, in Kent, January 2d, 1727. He
entered the army very young, and soon distinguished himself by skill,
judgment, and bravery. After his return from the expedition against
Louisburgh, in 1758, he was appointed to the command of that section of
the expedition against Canada that went up the St. Lawrence. His assault
on Quebec was one of the boldest military achievements ever attempted,
but, just at the moment of victory, he lost his life, at the early age
of 32 years. His body was conveyed to England on board the Royal
William, and buried at Greenwich on the 20th of November, 1759, where,
in the family vault, the hero rests by the side of his father and
mother. His father, Edward Wolfe, was a lieutenant general, and died in
March of the same year, aged 74. The British government erected a
monument to the memory of the young hero, in Westminster Abbey.

*** Lewis Joseph de St. Veran, Marquis de Montcalm, descended from a
noble family of Candiac, in France. He was educated for a soldier, and
distinguished himself at the battle of Piacenza in 1746. He rose by
degrees to the rank of field marshal, and in 1756 was appointed Governor
of Canada. He ably opposed the English under Abercrombie, but fell while
gallantly fighting Wolfe at Quebec, on the 13th of September, 1759. His
remains are within the grounds of the Ursuline Convent at Quebec. A few
years ago a plain marble slab was placed to his memory, in the chapel of
that nunnery, by Lord Aylmar, on whieh is the following inscription:

Honneur a

Montcalm

Le destin, en lui dérobant

La victoire,

L' a recompensé par Une mort glorieuse.

Monument where Wolfe fell.--Capitulation of Quebec.--Levi's Attempt to
recapture it.--Ills Repulsion.--Capture of Montreal.

189caused a small granite pillar, about ten feet high, to be erected
upon the spot where Wolfe fell upon the Plains of Abraham, now just
within the southern suburb of Quebec. It bears the brief inscription,

Here died Wolfe, victorious. That Vandalism under the specious guise of
reverence for the great, of which I have already had occasion to speak,
has sadly mutilated this monument, as may be seen in the engraving. The
pedestal has lost many a pound of _relic_, and the iron railing around
the monument has been broken down.

Wolfe and Montcalm were both able commanders, and were idolized by their
respective troops. The former, though so young, was almost reverenced by
his officers, for to bravery and great military skill he united all the
virtues and graces of the perfect gentleman. The expressions of
attachment made by General (afterward Marquis) Townshend illustrate the
sentiment of his officers and men. In a letter written just after the
battle, he says, "I am not ashamed to own to you that my heart does not
exult in the midst of this success. I have lost but a friend in General
Wolfe. Our country has lost a sure support and a perpetual honor. If the
world were sensible at how dear a price we have purchased Quebec in his
death, it would damp the public joy. Our best consolation is, that
Providence seemed not to promise that he should remain long among us. He
was himself sensible of the weakness of his constitution, and determined
to crowd into a few years actions that would have adorned length of
life."

Five days after the battle the city of Quebec capitulated and passed
into the September 18, 1759 possession of the English, and the remnant
of the grand army of the French, under M. Levi, who succeeded Montcalm,
retired to Montreal. General Murray was left to defend battered and
half-ruined Quebec, and the British fleet, fearful of frost, retreated
down the St. Lawrence to the ocean. Levi determined on attempting to
regain all that the French had lost, and in the spring of 1760 he
marched upon Quebec with a motley army of ten thousand men, composed of
French, Canadians, and Indians. Murray, with seven thousand men, went
out and attacked him, but was sorely defeated, lost all April 28, 1760
his guns, and was nearly cut off in his retreat back to the city. Levi
followed up his success vigorously, and as soon as the ice left the St.
Lawrence he brought up six French frigates and prepared to beleaguer the
city by land and by water. He encamped upon the heights above Point
Levi, and felt sure of his prey. Fortunately for the English, Lord
Colville arrived at this juncture with two good frigates, and destroyed
the French vessels under the eyes of Levi. Thoroughly frightened by the
suddenness of the event, and May 16 learning that these two fast sailers
were only the van of a powerful fleet, the French commander retreated
precipitately to Montreal, leaving his artillery and stores behind him.
Vaudreuil, the governor general of the province, was at Montreal, and
Amherst, Murray, and Haviland proceeded to invest that city. Despairing
of succor from abroad, Vaudreuil capitulated on the 8th of September,
and on that memorable day French power in Canada expired and hostilities
in America ceased. Peace ensued between the two governments by the
conclusion and signing of a treaty at Paris, on the 10th of February,
1763, and thus ended the famous "Seven Years' War." From that time the
two races have not been arrayed in battle against each other in the
Western world, except while the French were here as allies in 1780--81,
and assisted in the battle at Yorktown and the capture of Cornwallis. *

* Since my visit to Quebee (August, 1848) the remains of this monument
have been removed, and a column forty feet high, surmounted by a bronze
helmet and sword, has been erected. The monument is from the design of
Sir James Alexander

Collection of an Army near Boston.--Washington's Appointment.--His
Generals.--Expedition under Arnold planned

190Quebec enjoyed tranquillity until the Americans, under Montgomery and
Arnold, invaded Canada in the autumn and winter of 1775. We left the
former pressing forward toward the city, with the rigors of a Canadian
winter gathering around him. Let us return and watch the progress of
that little army of patriots, and also consider the wonderful expedition
of the brave Arnold through the wilderness of the east.

We mentioned incidentally, in a previous chapter, that when the tidings
of the capture of the forts on Lake Champlain reached the Continental
Congress, that body promptly took action to defend the liberties of the
people, and secure their rights by force of arms, if necessary. The
skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, the menaces against Massachusetts,
and Boston in particular, fulminated by the home government, and the
arrival of several regiments of British troops, for the avowed purpose
of crushing the anticipated rebellion, aroused a spirit of resistance in
the colonies hitherto unknown, even when the Stamp Act, ten years
before, had awakened a terrible storm of indignation throughout the
land. From all directions men flew to arms, and in a few weeks a large
patriot army invested Boston, and threatened Governor Gage and his
mercenary troops with destruction. The incongruous material which
composed the army was partially organized by appointing Artemas Ward *
commander-in-chief until the general Congress should act in the
premises. That action was not long delayed, and on the 15th of June
Congress adopted a resolution to appoint a general "to command all the
Continental forces raised for the defense of American liberty." George
Washington was unanimously chosen to fill the important office, ** July
12, 1775 he repaired to Cambridge, near Boston, and took command of the
army. He-set about organizing and disciplining the troops, and making
preparations for an active campaign.

About the middle of August, a committee of Congress visited Washington
in his camp, and a plan was then devised to send a force to Canada, by
way of the Kennebec River, to co-operate with Schuyler, already
preparing to invade that province by way of the North ern lakes. Arnold
was then at Cambridge, uttering loud complaints of ill usage upon Lake
Champlain. His bravery was well known, and the proposed expedition was
exactly suited to his adventurous disposition. To silence his complaints
and to secure his services, Washington appointed him to the command of
that perilous expedition, and at the same time gave him a commission of
colonel in the Continental army. Eleven hundred hardy men were detached
for the service from the army, consisting of ten companies of musketeers
from New England and three companies of riflemen from Virginia and
Pennsylvania. Arnold's field officers were Lieutenant-colonel
Christopher Greene (the hero of Red Bank, on the Delaware), Lieutenant-
colonel Roger Enos, and Majors Meigs and Bigelow. The riflemen were
commanded by Captain Daniel Morgan, the renowned partisan leader in
subsequent years of the war.

Arnold and his troops marched from Cambridge to Newburyport, where they
embarked September 18 on board eleven transports for the mouth of the
Kennebec. They reached Gardiner in safety and found two hundred bateaux
ready for them at Pitts-ton, on the opposite side of the river.
Carpenters had been previously sent to construct

* Artemas Ward was a native of Massachusetts, and graduated at Harvard
in 1748. He was successively a representative in the Legislature and
member of the Council of his state. He was also a justice of the Court
of Common Pleas for Worcester county. Having considerable military
knowledge, he was chosen to command the army that gathered around Boston
in the spring of 1775. Congress appointed him the first of the four
major generals under Washington, and to him was assigned the division of
the army at Roxbury, when the siege of Boston, in 1776, took place. He
resigned his commission a month after that event, yet, at the request of
Washington, he continued in command till toward the last of May. He was
a member of Congress under the Confederation, and also after the
adoption of the present Constitution. He died at Shrewsbury in 1800,
aged 73 years.

** Four major generals and eight brigadiers were appointed at the same
time. To the former rank were chosen Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip
Schuyler, and Israel Putnam (the Major Putnam in the French and Indian
war); to the latter, Seth Pomeroy (supposed to be the soldier who shot
Dieskau), Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph
Spencer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathaniel Greene. Horatio Gates
was appointed adjutant general, with the rank of brigadier.

Arrival at Fort Western.--Norridgewock Falls.--The Ancient Indians.--
Father Ralle.--Fatiguing Portage.

191then rendezvoused at Fort Western, opposite the present town of
Augusta. This was on the verge of an uninhabited and almost unexplored
wilderness, * and toward its fearful shadows these brave men turned
their faces.

A small reconnoitering party was sent in advance to Lake Megantic, or
Chaudière Pond, and another to survey the course and distances of the
Dead River, a tributary of the Kennebec. The main body moved forward in
four divisions, a day apart in time. Morgan, with the riflemen, was in
the van; next were Greene and Bigelow, with their companies of
musketeers; Meigs, with four other companies, followed, and the rear was
brought up by Elios, with three remaining companies. Arnold was the last
to leave Fort Western. He proceeded in a birch canoe, passed the several
parties, and overtook Morgan on the third day at Norridgewock Falls.
Here, upon a beautiful plain on the eastern bank of the river, the
ancient Norridgewock Indians, a tribe of the Abenakes, had a village,
and in the midst of the grandeur, beauty, and fertility of nature, and
the barbarous heathenism of man in this picturesque region, Father
Ralle, a French Jesuit, had erected a Christian altar, and taught the
sublime truths of the Gospel. **

Here the first severe toils of the little army began, for they were
obliged to carry all their bateaux, provisions, and stores around the
falls, a mile and a quarter, into the navigable waters above. The banks
were rocky and precipitous. They found, too, that their boats were
leaky, and much of their provisions was spoiled or greatly damaged.
Seven days were consumed in passing the falls and repairing the 191these
vessels. The troops vessels. The same labor, though not so fatiguing,
was demanded at the Carratunc Falls.

* Colonel Montressor, a British officer, had traversed the wilderness
fifteen years before. He ascended the Chaudière from Quebec, crossed the
Highlands near the head waters of the Penobscot, passed through Moose-
head Lake, and entered the eastern branch of the Kennebec. Arnold
possessed an imperfect copy of the printed journal of Montressor, and
this, with information received from some St. Francis Indians who
visited Washington's camp, gave him an idea of the country and the
privations his men must suffer. The same region was traversed by a
French missionary named Decuillettes, more than two hundred years
before. He crossed the St. Lawrence to the sources of the Kennebec, down
which river he descended to its mouth, and thence coasted eastward to
the missionary station on the Penobscot.--Hildreth, ii., 84.

** Father Ralle resided among the Norridgewocks twenty-six years, and
possessed great influence over them. He was considered an enemy to the
British settlers in Massachusetts, and an expedition was planned against
him and the settlement. A party fell upon them suddenly, and killed and
scalped the priest and thirty of the Indians. This event occurred in
1724, and when Colonel Arnold was there, in 1775, the foundations of the
church and altar were still visible, but the red men had forever
departed. Father Ralle left a manuscript dictionary of the Abenake
language (the dialect of the Norridgewocks), which is preserved in the
library of Harvard University.

Voyage up the Kennebec.--The Dead River.--Elevated Country.--A Freshet.
Return of Enos.--His Trial and Acquittal

192Desertions and sickness reduced their number to about nine hundred
and fifty effective men when they arrived at the great carrying-place,
twelve miles below the junction of Dead River with the Kennebec. So
rapid was the stream, that the men waded more than half way, pushing the
bateaux against the current; yet they were in good spirits, and seemed
to partake of the enthusiasm of their leader.

Arnold now examined his muster-roll and commissariat. The troops, though
somewhat reduced in number, were strong and enthusiastic, and he
ascertained that he had twenty-five days' provisions in store. The
Chaudière, on which were French settlements, he estimated to be at a
distance of ten days' travel. The weather was fine, and the prospect so
encouraging that they pushed forward with alacrity. The great carrying-
place was a portage of fifteen miles, broken by three ponds. Oxen
dragged the bateaux part of the way on sleds, and the baggage and stores
were carried on the shoulders of the men. Over craggy knolls and tangled
ravines, through deep morasses, creeks, and ponds, they pursued their
journey, sometimes carrying their vessels and the vessels sometimes
bearing them, until they reached the Dead River. The ponds afforded an
abundance of delicious salmon-trout, and want of food had not yet been
among their privations. The surface of the Dead River was smooth, and
the waters flowed on in a gentle current in the midst of the magnificent
forest, now rendered gorgeous by the brilliant hues imparted to the
foliage by early frost. Occasional falls interrupted their progress, but
the labors of the men were far less severe than hitherto. Suddenly the
monotony of the vast forest was broken by the appearance of a lofty
mountain covered with snow, at the foot of which Arnold encamped three
days, raising the Continental flag over his tent. * A small hamlet
called Flag-staff, in commemoration of the event, is upon the camp-
ground, and the lofty eminence bears the name of Mount Bigelow. **

When the expedition moved forward, a heavy rain set in, which sent down
such torrents from the hills that the river arose eight feet in one
night, overflowing its banks October 22-23 and filling its channels with
rafts of drift wood. So suddenly did this freshet occur, that the water
came roaring down the valley where the soldiers were encamped, so
unexpectedly and powerfully that they had barely time to retreat to
their bateaux before the whole plain was overflowed. Seven boats were
overturned and the provisions lost, and others were in imminent peril in
the midst of the flood. They were yet thirty miles from the head of the
Chaudière, and but about twelve days' provisions remained. The storm and
exposure made many sick, and despondency supplanted cheerfulness, for
the future seemed pregnant with misery. A council of war was held, and
it was decided to send the sick and feeble back, and to press forward
with the healthy. Arnold wrote to Greene and Enos, who were in the rear,
to select as many of their best men as they could supply with fifteen
days' provisions, and come on with them, leaving the others to return to
Norridgewock. Enos, either through a false construction of the order or
willful disobedience, returned to Cambridge with his whole division. His
appearance excited the greatest indignation in the Continental camp, and
Enos was looked upon as a traitor for thus deserting his companions and
endangering the whole expedition. He was tried by a court-martial, and
it being proved that he was short of provisions, and that none could be
procured in the wilderness, he was acquitted. He never was restored in
public estimation, however, and soon afterward left the army.

In the mean while Arnold, with the rest of the troops, pressed onward.
The rain changed to snow, and ice formed upon the water in which the men
waded to push the bateaux as

* What the device on this flag, or what its color was, we have no means
of ascertaining. The stripes and stars were not used until 1777. On the
14th of June that year, Congress "resolved that the flag of the thirteen
United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the
Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new
constellation." Since then we have added a star for every new state.

** Tradition asserts that, while the Americans encamped there, Major
Bigelow ascended to the summit of the mountain, with the expectation of
seeing the spires of Quebec! From this supposed adventure the mountain
derives its name. .

Lake Megantie and the Chaudière.--Perilous Voyage.--Narrow Escape.--
Sertigan.--Timely Relief for the Troops

October 29. 193they passed the numerous ponds and marshes near the
sources of the Dead River. Seventeen falls were passed, and on a bleak
day, marching through snow two inches deep, they reached the Highlands
which separated the waters of New England from Canada. A portage of four
miles brought them to a small stream, down which they pushed their
vessels and reached Lake Megantic, the great source of the Chaudière.
There they found Lieutenants Steele and Church, who had been sent
forward from the great carrying-place to explore and clear the portages.
Here also was Jakins, who had been sent to the French settlers on the
Chaudière to ascertain their political sentiments, which he reported to
be favorable. *

The little army encamped on the eastern shore of the lake, and the next
morning Arnold, with a party of fifty-five men on shore, under Captain
Hanchet, and thirteen men with himself, in five bateaux and a birch
canoe, pushed onward down the Chaudière to the French settlements, there
to obtain provisions and send them back to meet the main forces. It was
a fearful voyage. As soon as they left the lake and October 27. 1775
entered the river, the current ran with great rapidity, boil ing and
foaming over a rocky bottom. They had no guide. They lashed their
baggage and provisions to the bateaux and committed themselves to the
mercy of the stream. At length the fearful roar of rushing waters met
their ears, and in a few minutes they were plunging amid rapids. Three
of the boats were dashed in pieces upon the rocks and their contents
ingulfed, but, fortunately, no lives were lost. Six men struggled long
in the waters, but were saved. The other bateaux were moored in shallow
estuaries, while aid was rendered to those in the stream, and this
proved the salvation of the whole party. The apparent calamity was a
mercy in disguise, for had they not been thus checked, they must all
have plunged into destruction over a fall just beyond, which was
discovered by one of the rescued men. For seventy miles falls and rapids
succeeded each other, but the voyagers reached Sertigan (four miles
below the mouth of Des Lou-pis), the first French settlement, in safely.
The people were friendly, and sold provisions freely. As soon as the
wants of his own party were supplied, Arnold sent back some Canadians
and Indians with flour and cattle for the approaching troops, who were
in great distress, all their boats having been destroyed, with their
provisions. They had slaughtered their last ox several days before. In a
few days the whole army emerged in detachments from the forests,
wilderness, and united at Sertigan. **

October 30

* Two Indians were sent forward with Jakins to carry letters, one to
General Schuyler on Lake Champlain, the other to some persons in Quebec.
They betrayed their trusts, for the latter, named Eneas, was known to
have reached Quebec, but the letters went into the hands of Lieutenant-
governor Carmache instead of those for whom they were intended. The
letters to General Schuyler never reached him.

** Judge Henry, who at the close of the last century was president of
the second judicial district in Pennsylvania, was one of the soldiers in
this expedition, and has left behind him a lucid and exceedingly
interesting narrative of the ''hardships and sufferings of that band of
heroes." In reference to the destitute condition of the troops before
food was sent back from Sertigan, he says, "Coming to a low, sandy beach
of the Chaudière, for we sometimes had such, some of our companies were
observed to dart from the file, and with their nails tear out of the
sands roots which they esteemed eatable, and ate them raw, even without
washing. The knowing one sprang; half a dozen followed; he who obtained
it ate the root instantly.... They washed their moose-skin moccasins in
the river, scraping away the dirt and sand with great care. These were
brought to the kettle and boiled a considerable time, under the vague
but consolatory hope that a mucilage would take place. The poor fellows
chewed the leather, but it was leather still. They had not received food
for the last forty-eight hours. Disconsolate and weary we passed the
night." A dog was killed and furnished material for broth, but
starvation would have destroyed them all in a few days. *

* "My dog was very large and a great favorite. I gave him up to several
men of Captain Goodrich's company. They caried him to their company, and
killed and divided him among those who were suffering most severely from
hunger. They ate every part of him, not excepting his entrails."--Letter
of General Dearborn to the Rev. William Allen.

Valley of the Chaudière.--Washington's Manifesto.--Joined by Indians.--
Arrival at Point Levi.--Incidents of the March

194The beautiful valley of the Chaudière was now before them, enlivened
with a friendly population and blessed with abundance of provisions.
Arnold had been furnished with printed copies, in French, of a manifesto
by Washington, to be distributed among the people. It explained the
causes of the contest, and asked them, as neighbors and friends, to join
the standard of liberty. Arnold, with great discretion, circulated these
freely, at the same time acquiescing in the wishes of Washington by
treating the inhabitants with the greatest respect. Every thing received
from them was paid for, and they rendered aid in return with a hearty
good will. *

About forty Indians of the Norridgewoeks, under the famous _Natanis_ and
his brother _Sabatis_, here joined the Americans, and on the 9th of
November the whole army that remained arrived at Point Levi, opposite
Quebec, after one of the most wonderful marches on record, during the
space of two months. Thirty-two days they traversed the gloomy
wilderness without meeting a human being. Frost and snow were upon the
ground, and ice was upon the surface of the marshes and streams, which
they were obliged to traverse and ford, sometimes armpit deep in water
and mud; yet they murmured not, and even women followed in the train of
the suffering patriots. ** It was an effort in the cause of freedom
worthy of its divine character; and the men who thus periled life and
endured pain, whatever may have been their course in after life, deserve
the highest praise from the hearts and lips of posterity. ***

* I met a gentleman at Quebec (August, 1848) who had just made a journey
across the country from the Kennebec to the St. Lawrence by the way of
the Chaudière. He said that many of the old habitans were still living
in that beautiful valley, and spoke very highly of the "good
Bostonians," whose passage through their country was one of the greatest
events in the quiet lives of those isolated and simple people. He showed
me an order for flour and cattle, signed by Arnold at Sertigan, which he
procured from an old man 93 years of age. Many documents of the kind
are, he said, preserved in the families of the old settlers.

** Judge Henry speaks of two women, the wives of soldiers attached to
the division of the army to which he belonged. Their names deserve
preservation for the admiration of posterity. "One was the wife of
Sergeant Grier, a large, virtuous, and respectable woman." The other was
the wife of a private soldier named Warner. Judge H. says, in reference
to their march through the wet country near Megantic Lake, "Entering the
ponds, and breaking the ice here and there with the butts of our guns
and feet, we were soon waist deep in mud and water. As is generally the
case with youths, it came to my mind that a better path might be found
than that of the more elderly guide. Attempting this, the water in a
trice cooling my armpits, made me gladly return in the file. Now Mrs.
Grier had got before me. My mind was humbled, yet astonished, at the
exertions of this good woman. Her clothes more than waist high, she
waded on before me to firm ground. Not one, so long as she was known to
us, dared to intimate a disrespectful idea of her."

*** Those most prominent afterward in the history of our country, who
accompanied Arnold on that expedition, were Morgan, Greene, Dearborn,
Febiger, Meigs, and Burr. "Here it was" (near Sertigan), says Judge
Henry, "that, for the first time. Aaron Burr, a most amiable youth of
twenty, came to my view. He was then a cadet."

American Army at Point Levi.--Alarm of the Canadians.--Storm on the St.
Lawrence.--Passage of the Army.

195

CHAPTER IX.

"Oh, few and weak their numbers were,

A handful of brave men;

But to their God they gave their prayer,

And rush'd to battle then.

They left the plowshare in the mold,

Their flocks and herds without a fold,

The sickle in the unshorn grain,

The corn half garner'd on the plain,

And muster'd in their simple dress

For wrongs to seek a stern redress--

To right those wrongs, come weal, come wo,

To perish or o'ercome their foe."

McLellan.

UCH were the men who followed the bold Arnold, through terrible
difficulties and privations, from their quiet homes in New England, and,
in the midst ol light falling snow, appeared like a specter army on the
heights of Point Levi, to the wondering people of Quebec. Through the
treachery of the Indian Eneas (who pretended to have been taken
prisoner), Cramahé and his council knew that a small American force was
in the wilderness, but they would not believe that it would ever reach
Quebec; therefore the fact was not made known to the military or the
people. They had taken the precaution, however, to keep all boats on the
Quebec side of the river. It was about eight o'clock in the morning when
Arnold and his followers emerged from the forest and displayed upon the
banks of the St. Lawrence., Quebec was at once in a tumult. The drums
beat to arms, and the Canadians were terribly alarmed. Some near Point
Levi had fled across to the city, and their fears caused them to greatly
magnify the number and character of the Americans. By a mistake of a
single word the fears of the people were greatly increased, for the news
spread that the mysterious army that descended from the wilderness was
clad in _sheet iron._ *

Arnold resolved to cross the river immediately, and found means to
communicate his intentions to his friends in Quebec. * But for several
days and nights a tempest of wind and sleet raged upon the St. Lawrence,
and he was obliged to wait its pleasure at Point Levi. In the mean while
the garrison of the city was strengthened by troops from Sorel, under
McLean, and the prospect of success for the patriots was proportionably
lessened. At length the wind ceased. Between thirty and forty birch
canoes were procured, and about nine o'clock in the evening of the 13th
the first division crossed; before daylight five November, 1775 hundred
Americans landed safely, and rendezvoused at Wolfe's Cove. The ene- my
had placed a frigate (the Lizzard) and a sloop in the river, to
intercept them, but the vigilance of these they eluded until just as the
last party passed a guard-boat. One hundred and fifty men were at Point
Levi, but it was too late to return for them. No time was

* Morgan's riflemen wore linen frocks, their common uniform. The
Canadians, who first saw these emerge from the woods, said they were
_vêtu en toile_--clothed in linen cloth. The word _toile_ was changed
_tole_, iron plate.

** In earlier life Arnold was engaged in trafficking in horses, and
shipped many for the West Indies. He visited Quebec several times to
procure stock, and thus became well acquainted with the place and many
people there. His knowledge of the city and vicinity was doubtless one
cause that led to his appointment to the command of the expedition.

Arnold's Troops on the Plains of Abraham.--Expected Aid from within.--
Arnold's formal Summons to surrender

196to be lost, for the garrison would soon be alarmed. Arnold, placing
himself at the head of his little band of heroes, scaled the heights
where Wolfe had ascended sixteen years before, and at dawn they stood
upon the lofty Plains of Abraham. That goal where glory was to be won
and freedom vindicated, which had lured them from the camp at Cambridge,
and haunted them in their disturbed dreams amid the perils of the
wilderness, was now before the zealous patriots; but their hearts sank,
and the whisperings of hope were like the breathings of despair, when
they saw the dark castle and the massy walls that inclosed the garrison
of the enemy. They numbered only seven hundred and fifty men. They had
no artillery, and nearly half their muskets were rendered useless during
their march through the wilderness. They learned, too, that troops from
Sorel and Newfoundland had been added to the garrison, making an attack
upon the town a hopeless waste of effort. * But Arnold relied upon the
friendly disposition of the Canadian militia and the people of the city,
and, to ascertain their feelings, he drew up his men within eight
hundred yards of the walls and gave three cheers, hoping that the
regulars would sally out to attack them, and that then, the gates being
unclosed, he might rush in, and, by the aid of friends within, secure
the city. The parapets of the walls were lined by hundreds of the
people, and many of them huzzaed in return. Several guns were fired by
the Americans, but without effect. The British at length brought a
thirty-two pounder to bear upon the patriots, but not a shot injured
them. Lieutenant-governor Cramahé and M'Lean were too wary to be lured
into such a snare as making a sortie, for they knew well the disloyalty
of the French citizens and most of the leading men of Quebec. The
English citizens were much dissatisfied with the French laws that had
governed them since the passage of the "Quebec Bill," the previous year.

1774 The French, on the other hand, though petted, so as to be won,
could not forget their ancient national animosities, and were willing to
see the English discomfited. The unruly conduct of the soldiery had also
disgusted the people, and some were loud in their complaints against
Carleton and his deputy, for exposing Quebec, by withdrawing its
garrison when Montreal was threatened. The Royal Scotch, under M'Lean,
were all that could be certainly relied upon. These elements of
disaffection combined, made the force in the city, securely sheltered,
quite inactive, for M'Lean well knew that Arnold's little army was too
weak to attempt an assault, and he felt sure that the fierce winter
winds and driving snow would soon force them from their bleak
encampment.

Finding his attempts vain, by frequent hostile displays upon the
heights, to draw out the garrison, Arnold, in accordance with military
usage, sent a flag to M'Lean, with a formal summons to surrender,
threatening him with terrible disasters if he refused. The movement was
exceedingly ridiculous, and was not only treated with utter contempt by
the British commander, but the bearer was fired upon. ** About this time
Arnold learned that Carleton, who had fled from Montreal, was
approaching Quebec. He also inspected his ammunition and stores, and to
his surprise found that nearly all the cartridges were spoiled, hardly
five rounds to a man being left fit for use. Learning, also, from his
friends in the city, that a sortie was about to be made, he broke up his
camp and retreated to _Point aux Trembles_, twenty miles above Quebec,
to await the approaching troops of Montgomery. On his arrival at _Aux
Trembles_, Arnold was informed that Carleton had gone from that place
but a few hours before, and shortly afterward was heard the cannonading
at Quebec that welcomed his

* The garrison, including the regulars and militia within the town, and
the marines in the ships, was about eighteen hundred strong. Surprise
has been expressed that these did not march out and destroy the feeble
force of the Americans. The obvious reason was, that the majority of the
garrison troops were militia, and supposed to be ready to join the
Americans in the event of a battle.

** "It must be confessed," says Judge Henry, "that this ridiculous
affair gave me a contemptible opinion of Arnold. Morgan, Febiger, and
other officers did not hesitate to speak of it in that point of view.
However, Arnold had a vain desire to gratify. He was well known at
Quebee. Formerly, he had traded from this port to the West Indies, most
particularly in the article of horses; hence he was despised by the
principal people. The epithet of _horse-jockey_ was freely and
universally bestowed upon him by the British. Having now obtained power,
he became anxious to display it in the faces of those who had formerly
despised and contemned him."

Junction of Montgomery and Arnold.--Ineffectual Efforts against the
Town.--Mutiny in the Camp.--Plan of Assault

197return to the city. Montgomery landed at _Point aux Trembles_ on the
1st of December, his troops, by sickness and desertion, reduced to a
mere handful. There he took command of the combined troops, amounting to
only about nine hundred effective men. He brought clothing from Montreal
for Arnold's half-naked troops. The next day, in the face of a driving
snow-storm, they started for Quebec, and arrived in sight of the city on
the 5th. Their march was slow and excessively fatiguing, for the snow
was deep, and drifted high in the roads. Montgomery established his
headquarters at Holland House, and Arnold occupied a house near Scott's
Bridge. The Americans were chiefly encamped near the Intendant's Palace,
by the St. Charles, in the suburb St. Roche.

The American forces were considerably inferior in numbers to those of
the garrison, but this was unknown within the city. Montgomery
endeavored to send a summons to surrender, but Carleton would not allow
a flag to approach the walls. At length a letter was conveyed by a
citizen to Governor Carleton, in which Montgomery demanded an immediate
surrender, at the same time magnifying the number of his followers, and
threatening all the calamities of an assault. Although Carleton thought
Montgomery's army larger than it really was, he was not easily
frightened. Montgomery, like Arnold, counted upon friends within the
city, but they were paralyzed by the presence of troops, and dared do
nothing favorable to the besiegers. With no other ordinance than some
light cannon and a few mortars, a feeble, ill-clad, and ill-fed army,
exposed to the severest frost in the open fields, and snow falling
almost constantly, the American commander nearly despaired of success;
yet the love of his adopted country, and thoughts of the depression of
spirit throughout the colonies which a failure would produce, moved him
to extraordinary efforts. He resolved to annoy the people into
submission by harassing attacks upon the city, and accordingly attempted
to throw bombs over the walls. These efforts were unavailing, and he
then erected a six-gun battery upon some heaps of snow and ice within
seven hundred yards of the walls, but his guns were too light for any
efficiency. Nearly three weeks were thus consumed in unavailing attempts
to make an entrance. Mutinous murmurs were audible in the camp, the term
of service of many of the troops had nearly expired, the small-pox
appeared among the soldiers, and the general looked for a speedy
dissolution of his whole army.

Perils were gathering a fearful web around the brave Montgomery. He
called a council of war, and it was resolved, as a last resort, to make
a regular assault upon the town at different points. The troops were
accordingly ordered to parade in three divisions at two o'clock on the
morning of the 31st of December. All obeyed with alacrity, except three
companies of Arnold's detachment, whose term of service was about
expiring. They threatened to leave the army at once unless transferred
to another command, but the firmness and wisdom of Montgomery restored
order, and they took their places in the ranks. * The New York regiments
and a part of Easton's militia paraded at Holland House, under the
immediate command of Montgomery; the Cambridge detachment and Colonel
Lamb's company of artillerists, with one field piece, at Morgan's
quarters; and the two small corps of Livingston and Brown at their
respective parade-grounds. The plan was, for the first and second
divisions to assault the lower town on opposite sides, and the third,
under Livingston and Brown, to make feigned attacks, from the Plains of
Abraham, upon the upper town, in the neighborhood of St. John's and St.
Louis Gates and Cape Diamond Bastion.

Montgomery, at the head of the first division, descended from the Plains
of Abraham to Wolfe's Cove, south of the city, and commenced his march
toward the lower town by a road (now Champlain Street) that ran along
the margin of the river, under Cape Diamond. Ar-

* The cause of this outbreak is not known. Montgomery, in a letter to
Schuyler (the last he ever wrote), spoke of the occurrence, and
intimated that Major Brown was at the bottom of it. He promised a full
explanation in his next, but, alas! "the next" was never written. It
appears that Arnold had quarreled with Hanchet, one of his captains,
before reaching Point Levi, and two others took sides with the captain.
Brown and Arnold had quarreled at Ticonderoga, and it is supposed that
the former took this opportunity to gall Arnold, by widening the breach
between him and his captains, and endeavoring to get them detached from
Arnold's command and joined to his own.

Montgomery's Approach to Cape Diamond.--Opposing Battery.--His Charge
upon the Battery.--His Death.

198nold, at the head of the second division, advanced from the general
hospital, around the north side of the town, on the St. Charles.

Both parties were to meet at Mountain Street, and force Prescott Gate.
The snow was falling fast, and furious winds were piling it in frightful
drifts. Cautiously Montgomery led his men in the dark toward the
narrowest point under Cape Diamond, called _Pres de Ville_, where the
enemy had planted a battery of three pounders. * This post was in charge
of a captain of Canadian militia, with thirty-eight men, and nine
British seamen, under Captain Barnsfare, master of a transport, to work
the guns. On the river side was a precipice, and on the left the rough
crags of dark slate towered far above him. When within fifty yards of
the battery, the Americans halted to reconnoiter. The guard at the
battery and the artillerymen with lighted matches were perfectly silent,
and Montgomery concluded that they were not on the alert.

But Barnsfare, through the dim light of early dawn and the drifting
snow, saw faintly their movements. Montgomery, in the van of his troops,
cried out, "Men of New York, you will not fear to follow where your
general leads. March on!" and rushed boldly over heaps of ice and snow
to charge the battery.

At that moment, when the Americans were within forty paces, Captain
Barnsfare gave the word, the match was applied, and a discharge of
grape-shot swept the American column with terrible effect. Montgomery,
Major M'Phunn his aid, and Captain Cheeseman were killed, together with
several privates near. The rest, appalled at the dreadful havoc and the
death of their general, fled in confusion back to Wolfe's Cove, where
Colonel Campbell took the command, but made no further attempts to force
a junction with Arnold. Ten minutes the battery belched its iron storm
in the dim space, but, after the first discharge, there was no enemy
there to slaughter. **

* Judge Henry, who was one of the American prisoners at Quebec, was
allowed, with some others, to go out and see the place where Montgomery
was slain. He thus describes the British fortification there: It was a
sort of block-house forty or fifty feet square. The logs, neatly hewn,
were tightly bound together by dove-tail work. The lower story contained
loop-holes for musketry, so narrow that those within could not be harmed
by those without. The upper story had four or more port-holes for cannon
of a large caliber. These guns were charged with grape and canister
shot, and were pointed with exactness toward the avenue at Cape Diamond.
The block-house seemed to take up the space between the foot of the hill
and the river, leaving only a cart-way on each side. The bulwarks of the
city came only to the edge of the hill, above that place; hence down the
side of the precipice, slantingly to the brink of the river, there was a
stockade of strong posts fifteen or twenty feet high, knit together by a
stout railing at bottom and top with pins. It was asserted that
Montgomery sawed four of these posts himself, so as to admit four men
abreast to attack the block-house.

** This is a view of the spot where Montgomery was killed. The cliff is
Cape Diamond, crowned with the citadel. The street at the foot of it is
called Champlain, and is inhabited chiefly by a mixed population of
French, Canadians, and Irish. It extends from Mountain Street south
almost to Wolfe's Cove. This view is from Champlain Street, a few rods
south of _Près de Ville_, looking north. High upon the rocks Alfred
Hawkins, Esq., of Quebec, has placed a board with this inscription:
"Here Major-general Montgomery fell, December 31st, 1775."

Arnold's Operations.--Wounded.--Assailants led by Morgan.--Severe Fight-
-Capture of Dearborn.

199While this dreadful scene was in progress at Cape Diamond, Arnold, at
the head of the second division, was pressing onward along the St.
Charles, where the snow was worse drifted than on the St. Lawrence. He
led his men in files until he reached the narrow street called _Sault au
Matelot,_ where, under a high, jutting rock, the enemy had a two-gun
picketed battery, well manned.

Like Montgomery, he headed his men, and, while leading Lamb's artillery
to the attack upon the barrier, was completely disabled by a musket-
wound in the knee, and was carried back to the general hospital, where
he heard of the death of Montgomery. The command of his division now
devolved upon Morgan, and for more than an hour the Americans withstood
the storm of grape-shot and musket-balls at the first barrier, and
finally carried it, for the deadly aim of the riflemen caused great
consternation in the ranks of the enemy. Passing the first barrier, the
patriots rushed on to the second, which commanded both _Sault au
Matelot_ and St. Peter's Streets. The defenses here extended from the
cliff to the river; and the present custom-house, then a private
dwelling, had cannons projecting from the windows of the gable. Here a
fierce contest of three hours ensued, and many were killed on both
sides. At length the Americans took shelter from the fire of the
battery, in the houses on both sides of the street, and in the narrow
pass that leads up to Hope Gate. The English and Canadians already
occupied houses near, and the patriots were terribly galled on all
sides, and from the walls of the city above them.

Captain Lamb was severely wounded by a grape-shot, which carried away a
part of his cheek-bone, and other officers were more or less injured.
The Americans finally captured the barrier, and were preparing to rush
into the town, when Carleton sent a large detachment from the garrison,
through Palace Gate, to attack them in the rear. The news of the death
of Montgomery and the retreat of his detachment gave the people and the
troops within the walls fresh courage. Captain Dearborn, with some
provincials, was stationed near Palace Gate, and was completely
surprised when its leaves were thrown open and the troops rushed out. It
was a movement entirely unlooked for; and so suddenly and in such
overwhelming force did the enemy pour upon them, that: they were obliged
to surrender.

While Morgan was pressing on vigorously into the town, he heard of the
death of Montgomery, the capture of Dearborn and his company, and the
advance of the enemy in his rear. Surrounded by foes on all sides, and
every support cut off,

* This view is in a narrow alley near the north end of _Sault au
Matelot_ Street, in the rear of St. Paul's Street. At the time in
question St. Paul's Street did not exist, and the water, at high tide,
came nearly up to the precipice. The first barrier and battery extended
from the jutting roek seen in the picture, to the water. The present
alley was then the beach. The circular wall on the top of the roek is a
part of the grand battery, one of the most formidable and commanding
defenses in the world.

** This is one of the most beautiful gates of the city, and opens toward
the St. Charles, on the northern side of the town. A strong guard-house
is seen at the left, pierced for muskets to defend the entrance.
Immediately adjoining this gate are the artillery barracks. The gate is
at the northern extremity of Palace Street, one of the broadest in the
city, and "so named," says Hawkins, from the circumstance that it led
out to the Intendants house, or palace, which stood on the beach of the
St. Charles, where the queen's wood-yard now is.

Loss of the Americans at Quebec.--Recovery and Burial of Montgomery's
Body.--His Life and Services.--Courtesy of Carleton

200the patriots yielded, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war. *
The remainder of the division in the rear retreated to their camp,
leaving behind them one field piece and some mortars in a battery at St.
Roche. The whole loss of the Americans at Cape Diamond and _Sault au
Matelot_, in killed and wounded, was about one hundred and sixty. The
British loss was only about twenty killed and wounded.

As soon as hostilities ceased, search was made for the bodies of those
who fell with Montgomery. Thirteen were found nearly buried in the snow,
and with them was Montgomery's orderly sergeant, dreadfully wounded, but
alive. The sergeant would not acknowledge that his general was killed,
and persisted in his silence until he died, an hour afterward. For
several hours Carleton was uncertain whether the general was slain; but
a field officer among the captured troops of Arnold's division
recognized the body of the young hero among those in the guard-house,
and, it is said, he there pronounced a most touching eulogium on the
bravery and worth of the deceased, while tears of grief coursed down his
cheeks. ** Cramahé, the lieutenant governor, who had known Montgomery
years before, took charge of the body, and it was buried within a wall
that surrounded a powder magazine, near the ramparts bounding on St.
Louis Street, where it remained forty-two years. *** It has been well
observed that it would be difficult to select, from so small a body of
men as that engaged in besieging Quebec, so large a number who afterward
distinguished themselves for patriotism and courage, as that little band
presented. Morgan and his rifle corps became world renowned. Dearborn
was distinguished

* The force that surrendered consisted of 1 lieutenant colonel, 2
majors, 8 captains, 15 lieutenants, 1 adjutant, 1 quartermaster, 4
volunteers, 350 rank and file, and 44 officers and soldiers, who were
wounded, making a total of 426. The prisoners were treated humanely. The
officers were confined in the seminary, the oldest literary institution
in Quebec. Major Meigs was sent out for the clothing and baggage of the
prisoners, and all testified to the humanity of Carleton.

** Montgomery had a watch in his pocket which Mrs. M. was very desirous
of obtaining. She made her wishes known to Arnold, who sent word to
Carleton that any sum would be paid for it. Carleton immediately sent
the watch to Arnold, and refused to receive any thing in return.

*** Richard Montgomery was born in the north of Ireland in 1737. He
entered the army at the age of twenty, and was with Wolfe at the
storming of Quebec in 1759. He was in the campaign against the Spanish
West Indies, and afterward resided some time in this country. He quitted
his regiment and returned to England. While here he imbibed an
attachment for the country, and in 1772, returned to make it his home.
He purchased an estate upon the Hudson, in Rhinebeck, Dutchess county,
and married the daughter of Robert R. Livingston. When the Revolution
broke out, he espoused the cause of the colonists, and in the autumn of
1775 was second in command, under Schuyler, in the expedition against
Canada, with the rank of brigadier. The illness of Schuyler caused the
chief command to devolve upon Montgomery, and in the capture of St.
John's, Chambly, and Montreal, and his attack on Quebec, he exhibited
great judgment and military skill. He was commissioned a major general
before he reached Quebec. In "that campaign he had every difficulty to
contend with undisciplined and mutinous troops, scarcity of provisions
and ammunition, want of heavy artillery, lack of clothing, the rigor of
winter, and desertions of whole companies. Yet he pressed onward, and,
in all probability, had his life been spared, would have entered Quebec
in triumph. His death was a great public calamity, and throughout the
land public honors were paid to his memory. The eloquence of Chatham,
Burke, and Barré sounded his praises upon the floor of the British
Parliament, and the prime minister (Lord North), while acknowledging his
worth, and reprobating the cause in which he fell, concluded by saying,
"Curse on his virtues, they have undone his country." As soon as the
news of his death reached Congress, resolutions of condolence with his
family for their bereavement, and expressive of their "grateful
remembrance, profound respect, and high veneration," were adopted. It
was voted to erect a monument to his memory, which was accordingly done,
in the front of St. Paul's Church in New York city, on which is the
following inscription: This monument is erected by order of Congress,
25th of January, 1776, to transmit to posterity a grateful remembrance
of the patriotic conduct, enterprise, and perseverance of Major-general
Richard Montgomery, who, after a series of success amid the most
discouraging difficulties, Fell in the attack on Quebec, 31st December,
1775, aged 37 years.

*** In 1818 a request in behalf of the widow of General Montgomery was
made to the Governor-in-chief of Canada, Sir John Sherbrooke, to allow
his remains to be disinterred and conveyed to New York. The request was
readily acceded to, and Mr. James Thompson, of Quebec, who was one of
the engineers at the time of the storming of the city, and assisted in
burying the general, also assisted in the disinterment, making an
affidavit to the identity of the body. He said, in his affidavit, that
the body was taken to the house of Mr. Gobert, and placed in a coffin
lined with flannel and covered with black cloth; that Rev. Mr. de
Montmolin, chaplain to the garrison, performed the funeral service; that
Montgomery's aids (M'Pherson and Cheeseman) were buried in their
clothes, without coffins; and that he (Thompson) afterward wore
Montgomery's sword, but the American prisoners were so affected by the
sight of it, that he laid it aside. He identified the coffin taken up on
the 16th of June, 1818, as the one. The remains were placed in another
coffin and deposited beneath the monument.

*** The following is the inscription upon a silver plate on the coffin:
"The state of New York, in honor of General Richard Montgomery, who fell
gloriously fighting for the independence and liberty of the United
States before the walls of Quebec, the 31st of December, 1775, caused
these remains of the distinguished hero to be conveyed from Quebec, and
deposited, on the 8th day of July (1818), in St.' Paul's Church, in the
city of New York, near the monument erected to his memory by the United
States."

*** General Montgomery left no children whom "the state, in gratitude
toward their father, distinguished with every mark of kindness and
protection," as Botla asserts. His widow survived him more than half a
century. When at the house of his brother-in-law, the late Peter R.
Livingston, at Rhinebeck, a few years ago, I saw an interesting memento
of the lamented general. A day or two before he left home to join the
army under Schuyler, he was walking on the lawn in the rear of his
brother-in-law's mansion with the owner, and as they came near the
house, Montgomery stuck a willow twig in the ground, and said, "Peter,
let that grow to remember me by." It did grow, and is now a willow with
a trunk at least ten feet in circumference.

Eminent Officers at Quebec.--Promotion of Arnold.--Blockade of Quebec.--
Honor to the Memory of Montgomery.

201as a skillful officer at Saratoga and other fields of the Revolution,
and commanded the troops that captured York, in Upper Canada, in the
spring of 1813. Meigs boldly attacked April 27 and destroyed shipping
and stores at Sag Harbor, and of his regiment, and that of Febiger, were
the forlorn hope at Stony Point. Greene's prowess and skill were well
attested at Red Bank, on the Delaware. Thayer behaved nobly in defense
of Fort Mifilin, opposite Red Bank. Lamb was distinguished at Compo,
Fort Montgomery, and Yorktown. Oswald was at Compo, and fought bravely
at Monmouth; and Poterfield was killed at Camden, in South Carolina,
when Gates was so terribly defeated there. M'Pherson and Cheese-man, *
Montgomery's aids, were brave and accomplished, and gave assurance of
future renown; but they fell with their leader, and share with him the
grateful reverence of posterity.

Colonel Arnold took command of the remnant of the patriot army after the
death of Montgomery, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
He could muster only about eight hundred men; and, feeling unsafe in his
camp under the walls of the city, he retired about three miles from the
town, intrenched himself as well as circumstances would allow, and
assumed the attitude of a blockade, hoping, by cutting off supplies for
the city from the country, to bring the enemy to terms. Carleton,
feeling secure within the walls, and expecting re-enforcements from
England as soon as the ice should move out of the St. Law-

* This officer had a presentiment that he should not survive the battle.
When preparing to go forth on that stormy December morning, he dressed
himself with more care than usual, and putting a considerable sum of
money, in gold, in his pocket, remarked, with a smile, "This will insure
me a decent burial." He was of the New York line. A sergeant and eleven
men fell with him. He was not instantly killed, but arose to press
forward to charge the battery. It was a feeble effort, and he fell back
a corpse, in a winding-sheet of snow.

Small-pox in the Army.--Preparations to storm Quebec.--Arrival and Death
of General Thomas.--Temperance Cross.

202rence, remained quiet; and in this relative position the belligerents
continued until the 1st of April, when General Wooster, who had remained
inactive all winter in Montreal, came down, and, being superior in rank
to Arnold, took the chief command. The force which he brought with him,
and the small addition made by troops that reached the encampment from
New England during the winter, and Canadian recruits, swelled the army
to nearly three thousand, eight hundred of whom were sick with the
small-pox, which raged terribly in the American camp.

Preparations were made to beleaguer the city at once. A battery was
erected upon the Plains of Abraham, and another at Point Levi, and a
cannonade was opened upon the town, but without effect. At that moment
the falling of Arnold's horse upon his wounded leg so disabled him, that
he was unfit for active service, and he asked and obtained leave from
General Wooster (with whom he was upon unfriendly terms) to retire to
Montreal. General Thomas, who was appointed to succeed Montgomery,
arrived early in May, but Carleton having received re-enforcements under
Burgoyne, the Americans were obliged to make a hasty retreat, leaving
their stores and sick behind. The latter were kindly treated, and
finally sent home. At the mouth of the Sorel the Americans were re-
enforced, but they could not brave the power of the enemy. General
Thomas died there of small-pox, and Sullivan succeeded to the command. *
But Burgoyne, with a considerable force, was pressing forward, and
ultimately, as we have noted in a preceding chapter, the patriots were
driven out of Canada.

We have taken a long historic ramble; let us vary our pleasure by a ride
to Montmorenci, and a visit to other celebrities about Quebec.

The morning was excessively hot when we left, the city for the falls of
the Montmorenci

Our egress was from the Palace Gate, and with us was quite a train of
vehicles destined for the same point. We passed through the suburb of
St. Boche, in the lower town, and crossed over Dorchester Bridge, a
noble structure which spans the St. Charles, a short distance below the
site of the old bridge fortified by Montcalm. The distance from Quebec
to the Montmorenci is between seven and eight miles. The road
(McAdamized) is very good, and passes through a rich and thoroughly
cultivated region. Like the road from St. John's to Chambly and
Longueuil, it is so thickly strewn with farmhouses that we seemed to be
in a suburban street the whole distance. The village of Beauport, an old
town, where Montcalm's headquarters were, is about midway between the
St. Charles and the Montmorenci, and, like other Lower Canadian
villages, has an antiquated appearance. Between Quebec and Beauport we
passed a large gilt cross reared upon the top of a beautiful Corinthian
column, painted white, green, and vermilion. It was erected, as we were
told, by some priests in Quebec, and consecrated to the cause of
temperance. A strong iron railing incloses it, except in front, where
two o three steps lead to a platform at the foot of the column, whereon
devout passers-by may kneel in prayer. **

* John Thomas was descended from a respectable family of Plymouth,
Massachusetts. He served, with reputation, in the French and Indian war.
At the head of a regiment raised by himself in Kingston, Massachusetts,
he marched to Roxbury in 1775, and joined the Continental army. Congress
appointed him one of the first eight brigadier generals, and he
commanded a division at the siege of Boston. In March, 1776, he was
appointed a major general, and on the 1st of May following joined the
army before Quebec. He died of small-pox, at Chambly, on the second of
June. General Thomas was greatly beloved by his soldiers, and his
judgment, prudence, and firmness commended him to Washington as one
promising to do much for the cause of the colonists.

**This sketch is a view from within Palace Street, looking out upon the
open country beyond the St Charles. The river, with a few masts, is seen
just over the top of the gate. Adjoining the gate, on the right, is seen
a portion of the guard-house.

French Canadian Children.--Falls of Montmorenci.--Island of Orleans.--
Point Levi Quebec in the Distance.

203After passing Beauport, we were beset by troops of urchins, who stood
in groups making polite bows to win attention and coin, or ran beside
the carriage with the speed of trotting horses, lustily crying out, with
extended hand, "_un sou! un sou!_"

They were miniature Falstaffs in figure, some not more than four or five
years old, with dark skins and lustrous black eyes. It was amusing to
see their vigorous but good-natured scrambles for a _sou_ when cast
among them, and the persevering race of the unsuccessful for the next
expected piece of copper. Many a dollar is thus scattered and picked up
by the road side to Montmorenci, during "the season," for the amusement
of the passengers and the comfort of the habitans.

We left our barouche on the south side of the Montmorenci, and crossing,
upon a bridge, the turbulent stream that rushes, leaping and foaming
among broken rocks, toward the cascade 'ust below, we paid a _sou_ each
to a pretty French girl who guarded a gate opening to a winding pathway
through the fields to the margin of the bank a little below the falls.
The path is down a gentle slope for several rods, and at almost every
step the picturesque scenery of the cascade assumes a new aspect.

These falls, though much higher than those of Niagara, have none of the
grandeur of that great wonder. Our first thought here is, How beautiful,
but when the eye and the ear are first impressed with the avalanche of
waters at Niagara, the solemn thought is, How sublime and wonderful!
When we visited the Montmorenci, a long drought had greatly diminished
the volume of its waters, yet it exhibited a scene strikingly
picturesque and pleasing. For two or three hundred yards the river is
confined in a narrow limestone bed, whence it rushes with great velocity
to the brink of the precipice, and leaps into a crescent-shaped bay of
the St. Lawrence, more than two hundred feet below. There, at low tide,
the bare rocks receive the flood, and send up clouds of spray a hundred
feet or more, on which the rays of the evening sun often depict the
beautiful bow. In front, cleaving the broad bosom of the St. Lawrence,
is the Island of Orleans, a paradise of beauty in summer, and a place of
much resort by the citizens of Quebec, particularly the English
residents, who see in it much that resembles their "sweet Devonshire
coast." Its length is nineteen miles, and its average breadth about
five. A population of five thousand inhabit it, and its rich soil is
thoroughly cultivated for the production of vegetables for the Quebec
market. Beyond, on the right, is Point Levi, and up the St. Lawrence,
glittering in the sun, lies Quebec. Grouping the beauties of the natural
scenery, the historical associations, and the delights of a summer ride,
a trip to Montmorenci is an event to be long remembered with pleasure.
The sun was at meridian, and the mercury indicated ninety-

* The river, in this channel, is not more than twelve feet wide, and
here the Natural Steps occur. They rise on one side of the stream like
irregular stairs. They have been formed by the action of the water on
the softer layers of limestone, and present a curiosity for the visitor.

Religious Edifices in Quebec.--The Citadel and the Walls.--View from
Dalhousie Bastion.--Plains of Abraham.

204three degrees in the shade. The points of view were sparsely shadowed
by trees, and we tarried only long enough to glance at the beauties of
the fall and steal its features with a pencil, and then returned to
Quebee, where, before dinner, we visited several churches, the chapel of
the Ursuline Convent, * the Seminary of Quebec, **the chapel of the
Hotel Dieu, *** and the citadel.

The citadel crowning Cape Diamond is a combination of powerful works. It
is three hundred and fifty feet above the river, and is terminated on
the east by a round tower, over which floats the national standard of
England, the flag

"That's braved, a thousand years,

The battle and the breeze."

The approach to the citadel is by a winding road through the acclivity
of the _glacis_ from St. Louis Gate. It is foreign to my plan to notice
in detail modern fortifications upon Revolutionary ground, and we will
stop to consider only a few points of interest in this most perfect
military work. The main entrance is through Dalhousie Gate, where we
presented our permit, and were joined by a young Highland soldier to
guide and guard us. On the top of _Dalhousie Bastion_ is a covered way
with a broad gravel walk, from which is obtained the finest view of the
city, harbor, and surrounding country. The St. Charles is seen winding
through a beautiful undulating plain, and the spires of Beauport.
Charlesbourg, and Lorette, with the white cottages around them, form a
pleasing feature in the landscape. The citadel and its ravelins cover
about forty acres; and the fortifications, consisting of bastions,
curtains of solid masonry, and ramparts twenty-five to thirty feet in
height, mounted with cannon, are continued entirely around the upper
town. Upon the cliff called _Sault au Matelot_ is the grand battery, of
eighteen thirty-two pounders, commanding the basin and harbor below. At
the different gates of the city sentinels are posted day and night, and
in front of the jail and other publie buildings the solemn march of
military guards is seen The garrison at Quebee numbered about three
thousand soldiers. Among them was the 79th regiment of Scotch
Highlanders, lately from Gibraltar. They were six hundred strong, and,
dressed in their picturesque costume, made a fine appearance. To a
stranger the military forms a principal feature of Quebee, and the mind
is constantly carried back to the era of Froissart, when "Everie fayre
towne had strong high walls, and bowmen and spearmen were more numerous
than all others."

We left the citadel, emerged from St. Louis Gate, and, after visiting
the monument where "Wolfe died victorious," rode over the battle-ground
upon the Plains of Abraham, and, crossing to the _St. Foix_ Road, went
into the country as far as Holland House (the headquarters of
Montgomery), and then returned, pleased and wearied, to the Albion. We
strolled at evening through the governor's garden, rested upon Durham
Terrace (see view on page 185), which was crowded with promenaders, and,
losing our way in trying to ferret out the Albion, found ourselves at
Hope Gate, where a kind priest, in long black cassock and broad beaver,
conducted us back to Palace Street.

I devoted the following day to business. Before breakfast I went to
Durham Terrace,

* The Ursuline Convent is situated on Parloir Street, near the English
Cathedral. Influenced by an appeal from the French Jesuits of Canada, a
young widow of Alençon, named Madame de la Poltrie, resolved to devote
her life and fortune to the work of establishing a convent in Quebee.
She founded the Ursuline Convent in 1641. An excellent school for the
education of females is attached to it. In the chapel, as already
noticed, is an inscribed marble slab, in memory of Montcalm, whose body
lies within the grounds of the institution.

** This literary institution was founded in 1633, by De Laval de
Montmorency, the first bishop of Canada The professors, and all attached
to it, receive no money compensation; they are simply guarantied "food
and raiment, in sickness and in health." The chapel contains several
fine paintings. The library has nearly 10,000 volumes.

*** The Hotel Dieu, a nunnery, stands between Palace and Hope Gates. It
was founded in 1636, by the Duchess d'Aquillon, a niece of the famous
Cardinal Richelieu. The cardinal was a liberal benefactor of the
establishment during his life. The chapel is plain, and has but a few
paintings.

Historical Localities at Quebec.--An alarmed Englishman.--Wolfe and
Montcalm's Monument.--Departure for Montreal.

205and sketched Point Levi and the adjacent scenery beyond the St.
Lawrence; and after receiving explicit directions respecting the various
historical localities about the city from an old and intelligent
resident, I procured a caleche and started in search of them, the result
of which is given in the several sketches and the descriptions on
preceding pages. As the day advanced, the heat became almost
intolerable, until we reached the cool retreats of Wolfe's Cove, where,
in the shade of a maple that overhangs a bubbling spring, I loitered an
hour., dreading my intended ramble over the Plains of Abraham above. We
slowly ascended the steep and winding road up Wolfe's Ravine (in pity
for the poor horse, walking half the way), and at the top I dismissed
the vehicle and went over the plains on foot. Hardly a shrub breaks the
smooth surface. The ground slopes from the city, and only a few chimney-
tops and a roof or two indicated the presence of a populous town.

While sketching the broken monument on the spot where Wolfe fell, a
young Englishman, full of zeal for the perpetuity of British colonial
rule, was a spectator, and was very inquisitive respecting my
intentions. With a pointer's keen perception, he determined my
whereabout when at home, and of course looked upon me as a meddling
foreigner. He saw me using the pencil on Durham Terrace in the morning,
and also happened to pass while I was delineating Palace Gate. The idea
of "horrible rebellion" and "Yankee sympathy" seemed to haunt his mind,
and I fed his suspicions so bountifully with sinless fibs, that before I
finished my sketch he started off for the city, fully impressed with the
notion that he had discovered an emissary from the War Department at
Washington, collecting military data preparatory to an invasion of her
majesty's dominions!

I soon followed him, glad to escape from the burning heat upon the
plains, and took shelter under the lofty trees in the governor's garden,
near the citadel, a delightful public promenade on the west side of _Des
Carrières_ Street. In the garden, near the street, is a fine monument,
consisting of an obelisk and pedestal of granite, erected to the memory
of Wolfe and Montcalm. At the suggestion of Earl Dalhousie, who was
Governor of Canada in 1827, a subscription was opened for the purpose,
and when it reached seven hundred pounds, the earl made up the
deficiency and superintended the erection of the monument. It bears the
names of Wolfe and Montcalm, and a Latin explanatory inscription. *

We left Quebec toward evening for Montreal, August 11, 1848 on our way
up the St. Lawrence to Ontario. A gentle shower crossed our track two
miles distant, leaving a cool breeze upon the waters, and dispelling the
haziness of the atmosphere. Like a thin veil, it hung athwart the
eastern sky, not thick enough to cover the face of the moon that gleamed
dimly through it, yet sufficiently dense to refract and reflect the
solar rays, and exhibit the radiant bow. While admiring the beautiful
phenomenon, I had occasion to administer a quiet rebuke to a young fop,
whose attempts at wit, loud tone, and swaggering manner had attracted
our attention at the dinner-table at Quebec. He was accompanied by an
elderly lady and two young maidens, and on the boat I observed him
contributing largely to the amusement of the latter by asking silly
questions of unsuspecting passengers, and receiving grave and polite
answers, over which they made merry. At length it was my turn to be his
"subject."

"Can you tell me," he said, "what causes that rainbow?" "Do you ask for
information?" I inquired, in return. "Well, yes," he said, a little
confused. "Do you understand the Newtonian

* The following is the inscription: Mortem virtus, commtinem famam
historia, monumentum postcrita dedit. Hanc columnam in virorum
illustrium memoriam Wolfe et Montcalm P. C. Georgius Comes De Dalhousie
in Septentrionalis Americæ partibus ad Britannos pertimentibus summam
rerum adminisirans; opus per multos annos prætermissum, quid duci
egregio convenientius? Auctorifate promorens, exemplo stimulans,
munificentia fovens A.S., MDCCCXXVII., Georgio IV., Britanniarum Rege.

A Fop's Lesson.--Arrival at La Chine.--The Cascades.--Dangerous Voyage.-
-Moore's Boat Song.

206theory of light? the laws of refraction and reflection? and are you
familiar with the science of optics?" I asked, with a serious manner.
"No, not much," he mumbled, with an effort to assume a careless air. "I
perceive, sir, that you are not far enough advanced in knowledge to
understand an explanation if I should give it," I mildly replied, and
left him to his own reflections. Perhaps I was rude in the presence of
that matron and those young girls, but the injunction of high authority,
to "answer a fool according to his folly," did not parley with
politeness. The maidens, half smiling, bit their lips, while the young
man gazed steadfastly from the window of the saloon upon the beautiful
shores we were passing by. They were, indeed beautiful, dotted with
villages, neat white farm-houses, fields of grain, and wide-spreading
woods bathed in the light of the evening sun; and I hope the calm beauty
of the scene, above and below, soothed the disquieted spirit of the
young gazer, and awakened in his bosom aspirations for that wisdom which
leads her willing pupils to perceive

"Tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,

Sermons in stones, and good in every thing."

We arrived at Montreal at six in the morning, left it by rail-road at
ten for La Chine, nine miles distant, and at the head of La Chine Rapids
embarked in the steamer British Queen for Ogdensburgh. We were soon at
the foot of the Cascades, or St. Ann's Rapids, near the southwestern
extremity of the Island of Montreal.

The St. Lawrence here falls eighty-seven feet in the distance of seven
miles. Steamboats and other vessels go _down_ the rapids, but are
obliged to ascend through the Beauharnois Canal, which we entered at
about noon. This canal is fifteen miles long, fifty feet wide, and nine
feet deep. The navigation of the rapids is very dangerous, and vessels
are sometimes wrecked upon the submerged rocks. A sloop, loaded with
staves and lumber, was lying in the midst of the foaming rapids, where
it had struck the day before while guided by an unskillful pilot. The
canal voyage was slow, for we passed nine locks before we reached the
waters above Lake St. Louis, an expansion of the river, where the Ottawa
or Utawas comes sweeping around each side of Isle Pero, at its mouth,
and swells the volume of

* These rapids are so called from the circumstance that a village of the
same name is near. This was considered by the Canadian _voyageurs_ the
place of departure when going from Montreal on fur-trading excursions,
as here was the last church upon the island. This fact suggested to
Moore the thoughts expressed in the first verse of his _Canadian Boat
Song _:

"Faintly as tolls the evening chime,

Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time,

Soon as the woods on shore look dim,

We'll sing at St. Ann's our evening hymn.

Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast,

The rapids are near, and the daylight's past."

* Moore says, in reference to this song, "I wrote these words to an air
which our boatmen sung to us frequently while descending the St.
Lawrence from Kingston to Montreal. Our voyageurs had good voices, and
sung perfectly in tune together. I remember when we had entered, at
sunset, upon one of those beautiful lakes into which the St. Lawrence so
grandly and unexpectedly opens, I have heard this simple air with a
pleasure which the finest compositions of the first masters have never
given me."

Junction of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence.--Cedars Rapids.--Garrison there
in 1776.--Conduct of Bedell and Butterfield.

207the St. Lawrence with its turbid flood. * We were most of the time in
full view of the river, and had a fine opportunity to observe the
people, dwellings, and agricultural operations along ihe line of the
canal.

We passed the Cedars Rapids, twenty-four miles from La Chine, at about
three o'clock. These rapids vary in intricacy, depth, and rapidity of
current, and are nine miles long, running at the rate of nine to twelve
miles an hour. In some places the rocks are covered with only a few feet
of water, and the descent is at all times rather perilous. Small
islands, covered with trees and shrubbery, accelerate the speed of the
waters. These rapids derive their name from the village of Cedars, on
the north side of the St. Lawrence, in Vaudreuil district. The sketch
was made from the steam-boat, in the canal, while stopping for wood and
water at St. Timothy.

The Cedars occupy quite a conspicuous place in the annals of the
Northern campaign of 1775--76. Three hundred and ninety Americans, under
Colonel Bedell, of the New Hampshire line, occupied a small fortress
there in the spring of 1776. Early in May, Captain Foster, of the
British army, with a detachment of forty regulars, one hundred
Canadians, and five hundred Indians, under the celebrated Brant, or
Thayendanegea, descended from the British station at the mouth of the
Oswegatchie (now Ogdensburgh), and approached the fort. Bedell, under
pretense of going to Montreal for re-enforcements, left the garrison in
command of Major Butterfield, an officer quite as void of courage as his
superior. Both have been branded by cotemporary writers as cowards, and
their conduct on this occasion confirms the opinion. ** Butterfield did
not even make a fair show of resistance, but quietly

* For several miles below the confluence of the two rivers the muddy
water of the Ottawa and the clear stream of the St. Lawrence are seen
contending for the mastery. The line of derbarkation may be traced by
the color even below the St. Ann's Rapids.

** Washington, writing to General Sehuyler under date of June 10th,
1776, said, "If the accounts of Colonel Bedell 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 offenses. Our misfortunes at the Cedars were
occasioned, as it is said, entirely by their base and cowardly behavior,
and can not be ascribed to any other cause." A late writer for one of
our weekly papers, in giving a "true account of the Northern campaign,"
is particularly laudatory of the bravery of Colonel Bedell at St. John's
and Chambly. He seems to regard all the official and other records of
the events there as quite erroneous, and "sets the matter right" by
quoting a letter written by Bedell to the Committee of Safety of New
Hampshire. He calls the style of the letter "Caesarean," and in the free
use of the pronoun I there is certainly a similarity to Caesar's _Veni,
Vidi, Vici_. Taking the colonel's letter as verity, we must suppose
that, in the capture of Forts Chambly and St. John's, Montgomery and all
other officers were mere puppets in his hands. In a postscript he says,
"This moment I have got possession of St. John's; and the post being
obliged to set off, have not time to copy the articles of capitulation;
and to-morrow shall march for Montreal, leaving a detachment to keep the
fort." Other portions of his letter plainly indicate that he wished to
impress those who sent him to the field with the idea that he was the
master-spirit there. I should not have noticed this matter so minutely
but for the disposition of a class of writers at present to make
prominent the exploits of subalterns, upon ex-parte evidence, by hiding
the brilliant deeds of those to whom compatriots and cotemporary
historians have awarded the highest meed of praise. It is an easy, and
the only, way to make a sapling conspicuous, to fell the noble trees
that surround and overshadow it.

Massacre of Sherburne's Corps.--Attempt of Arnold to release the
Prisoners.--Menaces of the Indians.--Letter from Sherburne

May 15, 1775 surrendered208 the fort and garrison as soon as Foster
arrived. Meanwhile, Major Henry Sherburne was sent by Arnold from
Montreal, with one hundred and forty men, to re-enforce the, garrison,
but Bedell, "valuing safety more than fidelity and honor," * refused to
accompany him. Sherburne arrived upon the shore of Lake St. Louis on the
day of the surrender, and, having crossed the day after, left forty men
as guards, and, with one hundred, proceeded toward the fort, unconscious
of the disgraceful conduct of Butterfield. About five in the evening the
whole force of Foster's Canadians and Indians burst from an ambuscade
and fell upon the republicans. They made a brave defense for nearly an
hour and a half, when the Indians, in number greatly superior, formed a
girdle around them, and at a given signal rushed upon the devoted little
band and disarmed them. Infuriated by the obstinate resistance of the
Americans, the Indians butchered about twenty of them with knives and
tomahawks, and, stripping the remainder almost naked, drove them in
triumph to the fort. ** The loss of the Americans, in the action and by
massacre, was fifty-eight; the enemy lost twenty-two, among whom was a
brave of the Senecas.

As soon as Arnold heard of the disasters at the Cedars, he marched with
about eight hundred men against the enemy, then at Vaudreuil, for the
two-fold purpose of chastising May, 1776 them and releasing the American
prisoners. He arrived at St. Ann's on the afternoon of the 20th, at
which time the bateaux of the enemy were distinctly seen taking the
American prisoners from an island three miles distant, toward the main
land on the south side of the St. Lawrence. About the same time a party
of Caughnawaga Indians, *** whom Arnold had sent to the hostile savages
in the morning, demanding a surrender of the prisoners, and threatening
them with extermination if any more murders of Americans should be
perpetrated, returned with an answer of defiance. The Indians sent back
word to Arnold that they were too numerous to fear him, and that if he
should attempt to cross the river and land, for the purpose of rescuing
the Americans, every prisoner should be immediately put to death.
Unmindful of this threat, Arnold filled his boats with men, and
proceeded to the island which the enemy had just left. Five Americans,
naked and almost famished, were there, and informed him that all the
other prisoners, except two (who, being sick, were butchered), had been
taken to _Quinze Chiens_, four miles below. Arnold, with his flotilla,
proceeded thither. The enemy opened an ineffectual fire upon them, but
as night May 26, 1776 was closing in, and his men were fatigued, the
general returned to St. Ann's and called a council of war. He there
received a flag from the British commander, accompanied by a letter from
Major Sherburne, giving him the assurances that if he persisted in his
design of attacking him, it would be entirely out of his power to
restrain his savages from disencumbering themselves of the prisoners, by
putting them to death. Major Sherburne confirmed the information that a
massacre had already been agreed upon. Foster also demanded of Arnold an
agreement, on his part, to a proposed cartel which Sherburne and the
other officers had been compelled to sign. This agreement covenanted for
the delivery of

* Gordon, ii., 65.

** Stone, in his Life of Brant, asserts that that chief used his best
endeavors to restrain the fury of the In dians after the surrender of
Sherburne. Captain M'Kinstry (late Colonel M'Kinstry, of Livingston's
Manor, Columbia county) commanded the company, on that occasion, which
fought most obstinately with the In dians. On that account the savages
had determined to put him to death by the torture, and had made
preparations for the horrid rite. Brant interposed, and, in connection
with some humane English officers, made up a purse and purchased an ox,
which the Indians roasted for their carousal instead of the prisoner.
Brant and M'Kinstry became personal friends, and the chief often visited
the latter at the manor after the war.--_Life of Brant,_ i., 155.

*** The Caughnawagas called themselves the Seven Nations of Canada. Many
of them were with the Mohawks and others of the Six Nations of New York
in the battle of the Cedars, but those upon the Island of Montreal were
friendly to the republicans. A remnant of the tribe now inhabit a
village called Caughnawaga, about twelve miles from Montreal, and
profess Christianity. They have a handsome church, are industrious,
temperate, and orderly, and, unlike others of the Indian tribes,
increase rather than diminish in population. I saw several of them in
Montreal selling their ingenious birch bark and bead work. They are
quite light, having doubtless a liberal tincture of French blood. Their
language is a mixture of Iroquois and French.

Dishonorable Conduct of a British Commander.--Washington's Opinion.--
Final Adjustment--Cairn on the St. Lawrence

209an equal number of British soldiers in exchange for the Americans,
with the condition that the latter should immediately return to their
homes, and not again take up arms. Four American captains were to go to
Quebec as hostages till the exchange should be effected. Arnold was
strongly averse to making such an agreement, but the dictates of
humanity and the peculiar circumstances of the case caused him to yield
to the terms, except the conditions that the Americans should not again
take up arms, and that they should be pledged not to give any
information, by words, writings, or signs, prejudicial to his majesty's
service. Foster waived these points, and the convention was signed. *

The part performed by Foster in coercing the American officers into
compliance with his demands, by suspending the bloody hatchet of the
Indians over their heads, was thought disgraceful, and Congress refused
to ratify the agreement, except upon such terms as the British
government would never assent to. Although Washington abhorred the act,
he considered the convention binding; and General Howe complained of the
bad faith of Congress. The British government, however, indicated its
appreciation of the matter by letting the waters of oblivion flow
quietly over the whole transaction. The prisoners were finally released
by General Carleton, and the hostages at Quebec were sent home on
parole.

Arnold, with his detachment, returned to Montreal, where, a few days
afterward, a Committee of Congress, consisting of Franklin, Chase, and
Carroll, arrived, to inquire into the state of affairs. Their mission
was fruitless, for all hope of maintaining a foothold in Canada was
abandoned by the military leaders, and, as previously noted, the
Americans soon afterward withdrew entirely from the province.

We entered the lake near Grand Island, above Cedars Rapids, and, passing
the Rapids of _Coteau du Lac_, six miles above the latter, landed at a
pretty little village of the same name. Here the St. Lawrence expands
into one of those broad lakes which mark its course from Ontario to the
gulf. It is called Lake St. Francis, and is forty miles long, and in
some places twelve or thirteen broad. Beautiful islands, covered with
timber and luxuriant shrubbery, are scattered over its bosom. We passed
many of those floating islands--extensive rafts of lumber--which
indicate a chief feature in the commerce of that noble river. On one of
the small islands on the northern shore, opposite the district of
Glengary, is a huge "cairn," sixty feet high, the pinnacle of which is
an iron cannon, from whose muzzle a flag-staff is projected. A spiral
path-way leads from base to summit, sufficiently wide for a person to
pass up and down by it in safety.

It is built of loose stones, without mortar or cement.

The people of the neighboring parish of Glengary (who are chiefly
Scotch), under the direction of Colonel Carmichael, reared it, in
general testimony of their loyalty during the Canadian rebellion so
called, of 1837--8, and in especial honor of Sir John Colborne (now Lord
Seaton), who was the commander-in-chief of the British forces in Canada
at that time. In imitation of the manner in which tradition asserts that
the ancient cairns were built, each person in the district, man, woman,
and child, capable of lifting a stone, went to the island and added one
to the pile. We passed St. Cairn **

* Marshall, Gordon, Allen, Sparks.

** This is probably the only structure of the kind on the American
continent. Cairn is a word of Celtic origin, used to denote the conical
piles of stones frequently found upon the hills of Britain. These piles
are supposed by some to have been erected as memorials of some local
event, while others assign to them a sepulchral character. Some are
supposed to be sacrificial, like the carnedd of the Welsh. They all have
a similar appearance wherever found, being composed of loose stones
piled in a conical form.

St Regis and its ancient Church.--Passage of Rapids.--Wind-mill Point
and Ogdensburgh.--Loyalty of a British Veteran

210Regis, * the first village upon the St. Lawrence within the territory
of the United States, about sunset, and before the twilight had entirely
faded we were again out of the river and in the Cornwall Canal, on the
north side of the St. Lawrence, to avoid the swift rapids, called the
_Long Sault,_ nearly two miles in extent. We passed the _Du Platte_
Rapids in the night, and at dawn entered the _Gallopes or Galoose_
Rapids, nine miles below Ogdensburgh. These are a mile and a half long,
and present a formidable obstacle to the upward passage of vessels. The
channel is exceedingly narrow, and very near the southern shore. With
three men at the tiller-wheel, and a full head of steam, our goodly
"Queen" came up to the most rapid and intricate part, where, for nearly
ten minutes, it was difficult to determine whether an inch of progress
was made, and we were more than half an hour in making the mile and a
half. The usual time occupied in going down from Ogdensburgh to Montreal
by steam-boat is nine hours. On account of rapids and currents, and the
canal navigation, the voyage up occupies about seventeen hours.

We caught the first rays of the morning sun reflected from the spires at
Prescott and Ogdensburgh, flourishing villages, which flank the St.
Lawrence at the head of all its numerous rapids. Wind-mill Point, on the
Canada side, is close by, and as we passed the famous cape we were
edified with a running commentary on the beneficence of monarchy and the
horrors of republicanism, from an old officer of a British corps of
marine engineers, who, with his daughter, was a passenger from Montreal.
He had amused me for an hour the evening previous, after passing St.
Regis, by a relation of his personal adventures in that vicinity during
our last war with Great Britain. He then commanded a gun-boat with
eighty men; and he boasted, with much warmth and satisfaction, of the
terrible manner in which he galled the Yankees with "grape and
cannister" at the time of the engagements at Chrysler's Farm,
Williamsburgh, and near St. Regis. He was bubbling over with loyalty,
and became rabid at the mere mention of _annexation_. His head was white
with the bleaching of threescore and ten years. Great experience and
extensive practical knowledge, with frankness and volubility in
conversation, made him a most agreeable companion, and we much regretted
parting with him and his amiable daughter at Kingston.

I called Wind-mill Point a "famous cape." Its notoriety is very
youthful, yet its history is one of those epitomes of progress worth
noticing, which make up the movements of the nations. It was here that
the Canada patriots (so called) in 1837 took post with a view of
attacking Fort Wellington, a small fortification between the point and
Prescott. There

* St. Regis is an old Indian village, and contains a small Roman
Catholic Church, built about the year 1700. It is said that the priest
informed the Indians that a bell was highly important to their worship,
and they were ordered to collect furs sufficient to purchase one. They
obeyed, and the money was sent to France for the purpose. The French and
English were then at war. The bell was shipped, but the vessel that
conveyed it fell into the hands of the English, and was taken into
Salem, in the fall of 1703. The bell was purchased for a small church at
Deerfield, on the Connecticut River, the pastor of which was the Rev.
Mr. Williams.

The priest of St. Regis heard of the destination of his bell, and, as
the Governor of Canada was about to send an expedition, under Major
Rouville, against the colonies of New England, he exhorted the Indians
to accompany him and get possession of it. Rouville, with 200 French and
142 Indians, arrived near Deerfield in the evening of the 29th of
February, 1704. During the night they attacked the unsuspecting
villagers, killed 47, and made 112 prisoners. The latter, among whom
were the pastor and a part of his family, were taken to Canada. The only
house left standing was that of Mr. Williams, which the assailants
themselves occupied in securing their prisoners. It is still standing,
near the center of the village, and is represented in the annexed cut.
The bell was conveyed in triumph through the forest to Lake Champlain,
to the spot where Burlington now stands, and there they buried it with
the benedictions of Father Nicolas, the priest of St. Regis, who
accompanied them. Thus far they had carried it, by means of timber, upon
their shoulders. They hastened home, and returned in early spring with
oxen and sled to convey the sacred bell, now doubly hallowed in their
minds, to its destination.

The Indians of the village had never heard the sound of a bell, and
powerful was the impression upon their minds when its deep tones, louder
and louder, broke the silence of the forest as it approached their
village at evening, suspended upon a cross piece of timber, and rung
continually by the delighted carriers. It was hung in the steeple, and
there it remains. The material incidents of this narrative doubtless
occurred, but later investigations show that the bell was taken to a
church at Caughnawaga, near Montreal, instead of St. Regis.--See Hough's
_Hist, of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties_, p 114.

The "Patriots" of 1837.--Preparations for a Battle.--Fort Wellington.--
Battle at Windmill Point.--Defeat of the "Patriots."

211were several stone buildings and a strong stone wind-mill on the
point. These were taken possession of by the insurgents toward noon on
the 12th of November, 1838. They numbered about two hundred, many of
them being from our frontier towns. They came in two schooners, which
were towed down the St. Lawrence by the steamer United States, the
captain (Van Cleve) supposing them to be, as represented by a passenger,
laden with merchandise. As soon as he discovered the character of the
vessels, he resolved to go no further, and stopped at Morristown, ten
miles above Ogdensburgh. The schooners' lines were cast, and the next
morning, filled with armed men, they were at anchor between Ogdensburgh
and Prescott. The insurgents landed at Wind-mill Point, and commenced
fortifying their position. Recruits from our shores swelled their ranks
for the first twelve hours after their landing. Ogdensburgh and Prescott
were in great commotion, and before night not a living being was to be
seen in the latter place, for there would evidently be the battle-field.

Preparations were immediately made at Fort Wellington to dislodge the
patriots, and a British armed steam-boat, lying at Prescott, prepared to
co-operate with the garrison. During the evening the steam-boat
Telegraph arrived, having on board Colonel Worth, of the United States
army, and two companies of troops, with a marshal, to maintain
neutrality. Early next morning two armed British steamers arrived with
troops, and an assault was commenced upon the patriots by throwing bombs
upon the houses and the mill. The field pieces of their battery on shore
returned the fire, and, after a fight of an hour, the British were
driven back into the fort, with the loss of about one hundred men
killed, and many wounded. Many of the patriots had fled in the morning,
and when the action commenced there were only a hundred and twenty-eight
left on the point, while the government troops amounted to more than six
hundred. The insurgents lost five men killed and thirteen wounded. The
next day they sent out a flag, but the bearer was shot. On the 15th the
British received a re-enforcement of four hundred regulars, with cannon
and gun-boats. The patriots were also re-enforced, and numbered more
than two hundred. The government troops, with volunteers from Kingston,
in all about two thousand men, surrounded the patriots by land and
water, and kept up a continual cannonading until the evening of the
16th, when the latter surrendered. A white flag was displayed from the
mill, and three or four others were sent out by the patriots, but the
bearers were shot down. ** Indeed, there seemed to be but little
disposition on the part of the conquerors to give quarter. The dwellings
in the vicinity of the wind-mill were burned, and it is asserted that a
number of the patriots were consumed in one of them, which stood upon
the beach. Other buildings have been burned since, and their blackened
ruins, with the wind-mill, battered by cannon-balls, stand there now,
gloomy mementoes of an abortive attempt to sever the chains of colonial
vassalage.

According to Theller, thirty-six patriots were killed, two escaped, and
ninety were made prisoners. The British lost a hundred and fifty men and
twenty officers killed, among whom was Captain Drummond. The commander
of the insurgents was a young Pole, only thirty-one years of age, named
Von Schoultz, who, with ten others, was hung, and a large portion of the
remainder of the prisoners was banished to Van Diemen's Land.

At Ogdensburgh we left the British Queen, and went on board the Lady of
the Lake, bound for Oswego. Having an hour to pass before her departure,
we employed it in a pleas-

* This view was sketched from the steam-boat, when a little below the
wind-mill, looking west-northwest. The mill is a strong stone structure,
and answered a very good purpose for a fort or block-house. Its narrow
windows were used by the patriots as loop-holes for their muskets during
the action.

** See "Theller's Canada in 1837-8."

The Oswegatchie.--Old French Fort at Ogdeneburgh.--Putnam's Feats.--
Testimony of History.

212ant ramble through the town and along the banks of the dark
Oswegatchie. It was Sabbath morning, and all was quiet in that pleasant
village. We traversed the high banks of the stream, along its majestic
course from the bridge to the dam, about half a mile. The declivity of
the bank is studded with oaks, sycamores, and pines, and lofty trees
shade the pleasant pathway the whole distance, making it a delightful
promenade either at hot noon or in the evening twilight. The water is of
an amber color when not turbid, and from this one of its chief
tributaries, the Black Lake, derives its name.

Ogdensburgh is near the site of the old French fort generally known as
_Fort Oswegatchie_, but on their maps, as early as 1740, it is called
_Fort Presentation_, and sometimes _La Gallette_. This fort was
garrisoned by the French during a part of the Seven Years' War, but was
taken by the English in 1760, while they were descending the St.
Lawrence to attack Montreal. It is related that Putnam, then a
lieutenant colonel, performed one of his daring and original feats here,
in the attack upon the fort and upon the two armed vessels that lay at
the mouth of the Oswegatchie R-iver. Humphreys says that he undertook,
with one thousand men in fifty bateaux, to capture the vessels by
boarding. With beetle and wedges, he proceeded to secure the rudders, to
disable the vessels and prevent them from bringing their broadsides to
bear, and then to make a furious attack upon and board them. As they
approached, the crew of one of the vessels, panic-struck, forced the
commander to surrender, and the other vessel was run ashore. The fort
was the next object of solicitude. With the permission of Amherst,
Putnam caused a number of boats to be prepared with musket-proof
fascines * along the sides, so as to form a shelter from the fire of the
enemy. The fort was defended by an _abatis_ overhanging the water; and,
to overcome such a formidable obstacle, he caused a broad plank, twenty
feet in length, to be attached to the bow of each boat, so that it might
be raised and lowered at pleasure. This was to form a bridge over the
projecting abatis, on which the besiegers might pass to the attack on
the fort. As soon as the boats, thus strangely equipped, began to move
toward the fort, the alarmed garrison, unused to such martial enginery,
surrendered without firing a shot.

These tales, like many others of which Putnam is the reputed hero,
partake somewhat of the marvelous, and in this instance rather conflict
with cotemporary history as well as probability. Colonel Mante, who was
intimate with Rogers and Putnam, says that one of the vessels was
grounded before the attack, and that an action of _four hours_ occurred
with the other. He also says that "the general ordered the vessels [of
the English] to fall down the stream, post themselves as close to the
fort as possible, and man their tops well, in order to fire upon the
enemy, and prevent their making use of their guns, while the grenadiers
rowed in with their broadswords and tomahawks, fascines and scaling-
ladders, under cover of the light infantry, who were to fire into the
embrasures." ** He says nothing about Putnam's project or the "planks."
Dr. Trumbull says, "The general, receiving intelligence that one of the
enemy's vessels was aground and disabled, and that another lay off La
Gallette, determined, with the utmost dispatch, to go down the river and
attack Oswegatchie and Isle Royal. On the 17th of August the row-galleys
fell in with the French sloop commanded by M. de la Broquirie, who,
after a smart engagement, surrendered to the English galleys.... By the
23d two batteries were opened against the fort, and it was cannonaded by
them in concert with the row-galleys in the river. M. Ponchaut, the
commander, beat a parley, and surrendered the fort on terms of
capitulation." *** From personal observation of the ground, I am
inclined to think that a plank twenty feet long could hardly have
_reached the abatis_ from the water, even in a perpendicular position,
unless the altitude of the shores was less then than now. Very possibly
the ingenious idea of wedging up the rudders of the vessels and of
scaling the outworks of the fort was conceived by the fertile

* Fascines, from the Latin fascina, fagot, is a term used in
fortifications to denote bundles of fagots, twigs, or branches of trees,
which, being mixed with earth, are used for filling up ditches, forming
parapets, &c.

** History of the Late War in North America, &c., by Thomas Mante, major
of a brigade in the campaign of 1764; London, 1772.

*** History of Connecticut from 1630 to 1764, by Benjamin Trumbull, D.D.

Capture of Fort Oswegatchie by the English.--Attacks upon Ogdensburgh by
the British in 1813-13.

213mind of Putnam, but it is not one of the strong points upon which the
reputation of the general for skill and bravery rests, for it must have
been a failure if attempted. One thing is certain--Fort Oswegatchie fell
into the hands of the English at that time, after a pretty warm
engagement. Lieutenant-colonel Massey, with the grenadiers, took
possession of the fort, the garrison were sent to New York, and the post
was named by Amherst Fort William Augustus.

Ogdensburgh was a place of considerable importance, in a military point
of view, during our war with England, begun in 1812. Lying directly
opposite a Canadian village (Prescott) and a military post, it was among
the earliest of the points of attack from Canada. As early as the 2d of
October, 1812, it was assaulted by the enemy. General Jacob Brown, with
four hundred Americans, commanded there in person. On Sunday, the 4th,
the British, one thousand in number, in forty boats, approached to storm
the town, but, after a sharp engagement, they were repulsed. Another
attack was planned, and in February following it was carried into
effect. On the 21st of that month, the British, twelve hundred strong,
attacked it in two columns, and, after an hour of hard fighting, drove
Captain Forsyth and his troops out of the place as far as Black Lake,
and took possession of the village. The Americans lost twenty men in
killed and wounded, the British about sixty.

We can not stay longer upon the beautiful banks of the Oswegatchie, for
the signal-bell for departure is ringing merrily upon the Lady of the
Lake.

Departure from Ogdensburgh.--The St. Lawrence and the Thousand Islands.-
-Kingston.

214

CHAPTER X.

August 13, 1848

"Billows! there's not a wave! the waters spread

One broad, unbroken mirror; all around

Is hush'd to silence--silence so profound

That a bird's carol, or an arrow sped

Into the distance, would, like 'larum-bell,

Jar the deep stillness and dissolve the spell."

Park Benjamin.

CALM, sweetly consonant with ideas of Sabbath rest, was upon the main,
the islands, and the river, and all the day long not a breath of air
rippled the silent-flowing but mighty St. Lawrence. We passed the
morning in alternately viewing the ever-changing scene as our vessel
sped toward Ontario, and in perusing Burke's "Essay on the Sublime and
Beautiful." I never read that charming production with so much pleasure
as then, for illustrative examples were on every side. And when, toward
noon, our course was among the Thousand Islands, the propriety of his
citation of the stars as an example, by their number and confusion, of
the cause of the idea of sublimity was forcibly illustrated. "The
apparent disorder," he says, "augments the grandeur, for the appearance
of care is highly contrary to our idea of magnificence." So with these
islands. They fill the St. Lawrence through nearly sixty miles of its
course, commencing fifteen miles below Kingston, and vary in size from a
few yards to eighteen miles in length. Some are mere syenite rocks,
bearing sufficient alluvium to produce cedar, spruce, and pine shrubs,
which seldom grow to the dignity of a tree; while others were
beautifully fringed with luxuriant grass and shaded by lofty trees. A
few of the larger are inhabited and cultivated. They are twelve hundred
and twenty-seven in number. Viewed separately, they present nothing
remarkable; but scattered, as they are, so profusely and in such
disorder over the bosom of the river, their features constantly changing
as we made our rapid way among them, an idea of magnificence and
sublimity involuntarily possessed the mind, and wooed our attention from
the tuition of books to that of nature.

We reached Kingston, Upper Canada, at about four o'clock, where we
remained until nearly sunset. This is a large and flourishing town, at
the lower end of Lake Ontario, and its commercial position is valuable
and important. It stands near the site of old Fort Frontenac, and is now
a British military post. It seems strongly fortified, and completely
commands, by its military works, the entrance of the St. Lawrence from
Ontario. A strong bomb-proof round tower stands upon Cedar Island, just
below the city. Similar structures guard the portals of Fort Henry, the
open space between the city and the fort, and one is a huge sentinel in
the harbor, directly in front of the magnificent market-house that
fronts upon the quay. They are mounted with cannon, and the hollow
buttresses are pierced for musketry. A flourishing Indian settlement,
called _Candaragui_, was upon the site of Kingston when first discovered
by the French, and traces of the builder's art, evidently older than the
fortifications of the whites, have been discovered. I was informed by a
resident at Kingston, whom I met at Quebec, that while excavating to
form a terrace near his residence, a few months previous, his workmen

Fort Frontenac.--Its Capture by Colonel Bradstreet.--His Life.--
Bradstreet's Officers.--Lake Ontario.--Oswego.

215struck the stump of a tree three feet in diameter, and, upon removing
it, a stone wall, regularly laid, was found beneath it.

This spot, known as Fort Frontenac, was a place of much importance
during the intercolonial wars of the last century. It was first a fur
trading and missionary station of the Quebec colony. In 1673, Count
Louis Frontenac, governor of Canada, erected a fort there and gave it
his own name, and for eighty years it was one of the strongest military
posts in America. It was from this point that Father Marquette (under
the patronage of Frontenac) and other missionaries took their final
departure for explorations in the Far West, and here provisions and
stores were kept to supply other military and religious establishments
upon the great lakes. Fort Frontenac remained in possession of the
French until 1758, when Colonel Bradstreet, * with a detachment of men,
chiefly provincials of New York and New England, captured it. After the
disastrous defeat of Abercrombie at Ticonderoga, Colonel Bradstreet
solicited and obtained permission to undertake that expedition. He
traversed the wilderness to Oswego, where he embarked in three vessels
already prepared for him, descended the lake, and suddenly appeared
before Frontenac. The weak garrison, overwhelmed by numbers, surrendered
without resistance. The commander of the fort was exchanged for Colonel
Peter Schuyler, then a prisoner in Canada.

Leaving a small garrison to keep the post, Bradstreet and his troops
returned and aided in building Fort Stanwix, upon the Mohawk, at the
portage between that river and Wood Creek, a tributary of Oneida Lake.
Among his officers were, Colonel Charles Clinton, of Ulster county, New
York; Major Nathaniel Woodhull, who fell on Long Island in 1776, and
Goosen Van Schaick, of Albany, and Lieutenant Marinus Willett, of New
York, who were afterward colonels in the New York Revolutionary line. **

We did not land at Kingston, for the tarrying time of the boat was
uncertain. It was nearly sunset when we left, and we passed the southern
extremity of Gage Island just in time to see its last rays sparkling
upon the tree-tops on Amherst Island, in the far distance. Ontario, like
the St. Lawrence, was unruffled, and the evening voyage between Kingston
and Sackett's Harbor was exceedingly pleasant, rendered so chiefly by a
cool breeze, cushioned seats, agreeable company, and the anticipations
of meeting dear friends at Oswego the next morning. We landed there a
little after daybreak, and tarried three days before starting for the
"Niagara frontier."

Oswego is beautifully situated upon Lake Ontario, on each side of the
Chouegesen or Oswego River, a large and rapid stream, through which flow
the waters of eight considerable lakes in the interior of New York--the
Canandagua, Crooked, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasoo, Skaneateles, Onondaga, and
Oneida, with their numerous little tributaries--and drains a surface of
four thousand five hundred square miles. Beautifully significant are the
Indian names of Oswego and Ontario--_rapid water and pretty lake_--for
the river comes foaming

* John Bradstreet was a native of England. He was Lieutenant-governor of
St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1746, and ten years afterward accompanied
the expeditions against the French on the frontier of New York. In 1756
he was commissary general, and engaged in keeping up a communication
between Albany and Oswego. He had charge of boats that carried
provisions, and so much were they annoyed by the In dians in the French
service, while passing down the Onondaga or Oswego River, that it
required a great deal of skill and bravery to defend them. A small
stockade fort near the site of the present village of Rome was cut off
by the enemy, and they were obliged to depend upon their own power, in
the open forest, for protection. He had a severe engagement near the
margin of Oneida Lake, with a large war party of savages, but gained a
victory, leaving nearly two hundred of the enemy dead upon the field.
His own loss was about thirty. His capture of Fort Frontenac, in 1758,
put into the possession of the English the fort, nine armed vessels,
forty pieces of cannon, a vast quantity of provisions and stores, and
one hundred and ten prisoners. In the summer of 1764 he was employed
against the Indians on the borders of Ontario, and at Presque Isle he
compelled the Delawares, Shawnees, and other tribes to agree to terms of
peace. He was appointed major general in 1772, and died at New York,
October 21st, 1774.

** The captains of the New York troops engaged in this expedition were,
Jonathan Ogden, of West Chester; Peter Dubois, of New York; Samuel
Bladgely and William Humphrey, of Dutchess; Daniel Wright and Richard
Howlet, of Queens; Thomas Arrowsmith, of Richmond; Ebenezer Seely, of
Ulster; and Peter Yates and Goosen Van Schaick, of Albany

Oswego.--Expedition of Frontenac.--Fort built by Governor Burnet.-- Fort
Niagara

216down broad rapids several miles before it expands into the harbor and
mingles its flood with the blue waters of Ontario. Its hydraulic power,
its commercial position relative to Canada and the great West of our own
dominion, and the healthfulness of its climate, mark out Oswego for a
busy and populous city. These advantages of locality were early
perceived by the English, and were probably not entirely overlooked by
the French. But military occupation, for the purpose of spreading wide
the overshadowing wings of empire, through the two-fold influences of
religion and traffic, seemed to be the chief design of the French in
planting small colonies at commanding points.

As early as July, 1696, Frontenac, governor of Canada, fitted out an
expedition to attack the Five Nations in New York, * and Oswego was made
his place of rendezvous. There he built a small stockade fort on the
west side of the river, and then proceeded with fifty men into the
interior as far as the Onondaga Valley. The Indians fled before him, but
upon the shore of Onondaga Lake, near the present Salina, they left
their emblem of defiance--two bundles of rushes suspended from a branch.
The governor returned to Oswego, and sailed for Fort Frontenac, without
accomplishing any good for himself or harm to the Indians, except
burning their dwellings when they fled from them. Three years
previously, Frontenac, by another route, fell upon the Indians on the
Mohawk, near Schenectady, slew many, and took about three hundred
prisoners.

These expeditions seemed to be a part of the grand scheme of the French
to confine the English, now pushing into the wilderness in all
directions, to the Atlantic sea-board; but their forts on the lakes and
upon the Ohio, and their extensive alliances with Indian tribes, could
not repress the spirit of adventure and love of gain which marked their
southern neighbors. The great confederacy of the Five Nations of New
York remained for a long time the fast friends and allies of the
English, none but the Caughnawagas, as the French Jesuits termed their
converts of the confederacy, lifting the hatchet against them. Protected
by these friendly savages, trading posts were founded, and these in turn
became military establishments. In 1722, Governor Burnet, of New York
(son of the celebrated English bishop of that name), established a
trading house at Oswego. His object seemed to be political rather than
commercial, for he desired to gain a foothold there, and thus, in a
measure, command Lake Ontario. He had been advised by the Board of
Trade, after the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, "to extend with caution the
English settlements as far as possible, as there was no probability of
obtaining an arrangement of general boundaries." Acting under this
advice and the promptings of his own clear judgment, he planted the
English standard, for the first time, upon the great lakes, and, in
spite of the remonstrances of the French and the mur-murings of the
Oneidas and Senecas (who disliked to see fortresses rising in their
neighborhood), he built and armed, at his own expense, a small fort at
Oswego in 1727. The French, in the mean while, had strongly fortified
their trading post at the mouth of the Niagara River, and thus
outflanked the English so far as the lake was concerned. Beauharnois,
the governor of Canada, ordered Burnet to desist. Burnet defied, the
Frenchman threatened, but, after blustering for a while, the latter, as
a countervailing measure, took possession of Crown Point and built Fort
St. Frederic there. From that time until 1755, the English had
undisturbed possession of Burnet's fort, and kept it garrisoned by a
lieutenant and twenty-five men.

I am indebted to E. W. Clarke, Esq., of Oswego, for much local
information concerning that city and neighborhood. He kindly permitted
me to use the manuscript of a lecture delivered by him before a literary
society there, and from it I gleaned a description of the trading-house
and fort erected by Governor Burnet. It was situated on the west side of
the river, directly on the bank of the lake, and forty feet above the
water. The bank, composed of rock and hard-pan, was almost
perpendicular. The building was of stone, and about ninety feet square.
The eastern end was circular. It was provided with port-holes and a

* The name of the Confederation of the Five Nations was changed to that
of Six Nations when it was joined by the Tuscaroras of Carolina in 1714.

Description of Burnet's Fort.--Erection of other Fortifications.-- Fort
Ontario.--Shirley's Expedition against Niagara.

217 deep well. The ascent to it from the south was a flight of stone
steps (see engraving), the remains of which have been visible within a
few years.

The earth embankments of the fort, with its ditch and palisades, were
about two hundred feet west of the building, upon' higher ground, and
traces of these might be seen until the late growth of the city
obliterated them. The bluff on which the trading-house and fort rested
has been leveled in filling in the basin, for the construction of
wharves.

While Braddock was making his fatal march against Fort Duquesne, at the
junction of the Ohio and Monongahela, in 1755, Governor Shirley, of
Massachusetts, with a force of about one thousand five hundred men,
composed of provincials and Indians, was on the march from Albany to
Oswego, for the purpose of making attacks simultaneously upon Niagara
and Frontenac.

His march through the wilderness was perilous and fatiguing, and when he
arrived at Oswego in August, his troops were reduced by sickness, and
dispirited by the intelligence of Braddock's defeat. But Shirley, who
succeeded Braddock in the chief command, was not disheartened. He
strengthened Oswego by erecting two other forts; one westward of old
Fort Oswego, called New Fort, one hundred and seventy feet square, with
bastions and a rampart of earth and stones; and another on the opposite
side of the basin, four hundred and seventy yards distant from the old
fort. The east fortification, called Fort Ontario, was built of logs
from twenty to thirty inches in diameter. It was eight hundred feet in
circumference, and its outer walls were fourteen feet high. Around it
was a ditch fourteen feet wide and ten deep, and within were barracks
for three hundred men. It was intended to mount sixteen pieces of
cannon. This fort was on a commanding site, the perpendicular bank being
higher than that upon the west side. **

Shirley built vessels and made other great preparations at Oswego to
proceed against Niagara. He constructed and equipped a sloop and
schooner of sixty tons each, two row-galleys of twenty tons each, and
eight whale-boats, each capable of carrying sixteen men. His views were
promptly seconded by the New York Assembly. That body had already voted
eight thousand pounds toward the enlistment of two thousand men in
Connecticut, and raised four hundred men of their own in addition to
their eight hundred then in the field. Shirley was also directed to
complete the forts, and prepare for building one or more vessels of a
large class, to mount ten six pounders besides swivels, two more row-
galleys, and one hundred whale-boats. But heavy rains delayed his
embarkation so long, that winter approached, and he abandoned the
expedition against Niagara. He left seven hundred men in garrison at
Oswego, and returned to Albany, where the remainder of his troops were
disbanded. Additional fortifications, to complete the works, were made
to the fort on the west side of the river, and stronger outworks were
added to Fort Ontario.

* This view is looking north toward the lake. It is a reduced copy of
the frontispiece to Smith's History of New York, first edition, London,
1757, and represents the encampment of Shirley there at that time.

** Smith's History of New York; Clarke's MS.

*** There are but few traces left of old Fort Oswego. The light-house
that stood upon the bluff between the old fort and the present Fort
Ontario, is removed, and another substantial one is erected upon the
left pier, in front of the harbor. The city, on the east, is now fast
crowding upon the ravelins of the old Fort.

Remains of the "New Fort."--Shirley's Preparations at Albany.--
Montcalm's Approach to Oswego.--Attack on the Works.

1756. 218The remains of the ramparts and ditches of the New Fort are now
quite prominent at the junction of Montcalm and Van Buren Streets. The
annexed engraving is a view of the appearance of these remains when I
August, 1848 visited them. The view is from Montcalm Street, looking
north, toward the lake. The mounds and ditch were covered with a green
sward; and decayed stumps of trees, three feet in diameter, were upon
the former. The fort had been abandoned about ninety years (for Fort
Ontario became the main fortification after 1758), and, therefore, those
large trees must have been produced within that time.

Shirley made vigorous preparations at Albany to re-enforce Oswego, the
following spring, for the Marquis de Montcalm, an enterprising and
experienced commander, was governor of Canada, and offensive operations
on the part of the French were certainly expected. Colonel Bradstreet
was appointed commissary general, and, aided by Captain (afterward
General) Philip Schuyler, forwarded large quantities of provisions to
Oswego. William Alexander, afterward Lord Sterling, of the Revolutionary
army, was Shirley's secretary. Early in the spring an army of seven
thousand men, under General Winslow, was at Albany, waiting the arrival
of the commander-in-chief, Lord Loudon. Has procrastination, which
defeated all the plans for the season's campaign, was fatal in this
instance. He did not arrive until late in the summer. In the mean while
the French, about five thousand in number, under the Marquis de
Montcalm, came up the lake from Fort Frontenac, and landed stealthily
behind a heavily-wooded cape (now called Four-mile Point), a few miles
below Oswego. Montcalm was there nearly two days before the fact was
known to the garrison. He had thirty pieces of heavy artillery, and was
about commencing a march through the forest, to take Fort Ontario by
surprise, when he was discovered by the English. Colonel Mercer, the
commandant of the garrison, ordered a brigantine to cruise eastward, and
prevent any attempt of the enemy to approach the fort by water. The next
day a heavy gale drove the brigantine ashore, and while she was thus
disabled, the French transported their cannon, unmolested, to within two
miles of the fort. One or two other small vessels were sent out to annoy
them, but the heavy guns of the French drove them back to the harbor.
The enemy pressed steadily forward through the woods, and toward noon of
the same day invested the fort with thirty-two pieces of cannon, ranging
from twelve to eighteen pounders, several large brass pounders, and
about five thousand men, one half of whom were Canadians and July 9,
1755 Indians. Some of this artillery was taken from the English when
Braddock was defeated. The garrison, under Colonel Mercer, numbered only
one thousand four hundred, and a large portion of these were withdrawn
to the fort on the west side of the river, to strengthen it, and to
place the river between Mercer's main body and the enemy. The French
began the assault with small arms, which were answered by the guns of
Fort Ontario, and bombs from the small fort on the other side of the
basin. Finding an open assault dangerous, Montcalm commenced approaching
by parallels during the night, and the next day he began another brisk
fire with small arms. On the day following he opened a battery of
cannons within sixty yards of the fort. As soon as Colonel Mercer
perceived this, he sent word to the garrison, consisting of three
hundred and seventy men, to destroy their cannon, ammunition, and
provisions, and retreat to the west side. This they effected without the
loss of a man. During the night of the 13th the enemy were employed, in
the face of a destructive cannonade, in erecting a heavy battery to play
upon the fort. On the morning of the 14th they had finished their
battery of twelve heavy guns, and under its cover two thousand five
hundred Canadians and Indians crossed the river in three divisions.
Colonel Mercer was killed during this movement, and the command devolved
upon Colonel

August 11.

August 12.

Surrender of the Forts and Garrison to Montcalm.--His Courtesy.--
Destruction of the Forts.--St. Leger. Mrs. Grant

219Littlehales. The enemy had a mortar battery in readiness by ten
o'clock, and their forces were so disposed that all the works of defense
were completely enfiladed. At the same time, the regulars, under the
immediate command of Montcalm, were preparing to cross to the attack.
Colonel Littlehales called a council of war, and, it being agreed that a
defense was no longer practicable, a _chamade_, or parley, was beaten by
the drums of the fort, and the firing ceased on both sides. Two officers
were sent to the French general to inquire upon what terms he would
accept a surrender. He sent back a polite and generous answer,
remarking, at the same, time that the English were an enemy to be
esteemed, and that none but a brave nation would have thought of
defending so weak a place so long. * The fort, the whole garrison, one
hundred and twenty cannons, fourteen mortars, a large quantity of
ammunition and stores, and quite a respectable fleet in the harbor, were
the spoils of victory The forts were dismantled, the prisoners were
placed on transports for Frontenac, and, without leaving a garrison
behind, the whole military armament went down the lake, and left Oswego
solitary and desolate.

The destruction of the forts was a stroke of policy on the part of
Montcalm. They had been a continual eyesore to the Six Nations, for they
had reason to suspect that, if the English became strong enough, their
fortifications would be used as instruments to enslave the tribes. This
act of Montcalm was highly approved by the Indians, and caused them to
assume a position of neutrality toward the belligerent Europeans. This
was what Montcalm desired, and he gained far more power by destroying
the forts than he would by garrisoning them. French emissaries were sent
among the Indians, and by their blandishments, and in consequence of
their successes, they seduced four of the tribes wholly from the British
interest. These were the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas.

The following year English troops again took possession of Fort Ontario,
and partially restored it to its former strength, and in 1759 it was
rebuilt on a larger scale.

They also erected a small stockade fort near the Oswego Falls, and built
Fort Stanwix, on the Mohawk. Thus, in a military point of view, Oswego
remained until our war for independence broke out. **

This post was rather too remote for active operations, during the first
years of the war, to attract the serious attention of either party, and
the fort was garrisoned by only a few men until the summer of 1777, when
St. Leger, with seven hundred Hangers, detached from the army of
Burgoyne at St. John's, on the Sorel, made this his place of rendezvous
preparatory to his incursion into the Valley of the Mohawk. Here he was
joined by Sir John Johnson and Colonel Daniel Claus, with nearly seven
hundred Indians, under Brant, and four hundred regular troops. Here a
war feast was given, and, certain of success, the party, in high
spirits, departed to invest Fort Stanwix. A different scene was
exhibited a few weeks later at Oswego. St. Leger, foiled, and his troops
utterly routed, came hastening back in all the terror and confusion of a
retreat, the victors in hot pursuit. His Indian allies, greatly alarmed,
were scattered over the vast forests, and a mere remnant of his army,

1757.

1758.

* His note to Colonel Littlehales was as follows: "The Marquis of
Montcalm, army and field marshal, commander-in-chief of his most
Christian majesty's troops, is ready to receive a capitulation upon the
most honorable conditions, surrendering to him all the forts. They shall
be shown all the regard the politest nation can show. I send an aid-de-
camp on my part, viz., Mons. de Bougainville, captain of dragoons; they
need only send the capitulation to be signed. I require an answer by
noon. I have kept Mr. Drake for a hostage. "Montcalm." "August 14,
1756."

* Mrs. Grant, of Edinburgh, Scotland, in her "Memoirs of an American
Lady," gives a charming picture of the scenery about Oswego in 1761-2.
She was then a child, and resided there with her father; and her book
presents all the vividness of a child's impressions. She noted, in
particular, a feature in the forest scenery which now delights the
sojourner upon the southern shores of Lake Ontario--the sudden bursting
forth of leaves and flowers in the spring. Major Duncan, who was in
command of the fort at that lime, was a gentleman of taste, and, in
addition to a large and well-cultivated garden, he had a bowling green
and other pleasure grounds. These were the delight of the author of the
"Memoirs," whose pleasing pictures may be found in chapters xliv. to
xlvii. inclusive.

Willett's Attempt to Capture Fort Oswego.--Oswego in 1798.--Attack upon
Oswego in 1814.--Fort Oswego

220without arms, half naked, and nearly starved, followed him to Fort
Ontario, whence he fled to Montreal. The details of the siege of Fort
Stanwix will be given hereafter.

There was no engagement at Oswego during the Revolution. Just at the
close of the war, Washington conceived the design of securing Fort
Ontario, and sent an expedition thither under the command of Colonel
Marinus Willett, who had been an efficient officer in the Mohawk Valley
from the time of the siege of Fort Stanwix. Preliminary articles of
peace had been signed in November previous, but as the terms were not
definitely agreed upon, it was the policy of the commander-in-chief to
be prepared for the reopening of hostilities, and, therefore, until the
settlement was finally made, in September, 1783, by the signing of the
definitive treaty, his vigilance was unrelaxed. This enterprise was
undertaken in mid-winter. Willett assembled his troops at Fort Herkimer,
on the German Flats, and on the 9th of February crossed the Oneida Lake
on the ice, and reached Oswego Falls 1783 the next morning. Not being
strong enough in numbers to attempt a siege or an open assault, he there
prepared scaling-ladders, and determined to surprise the garrison that
night. A deep snow lay upon the ground, and the weather was so intensely
cold that one of the soldiers was frozen to death. A young Oneida Indian
acted as guide, but the snow and the darkness caused him to lose his
way.

At daylight they found themselves in sight of the fort, and soon
afterward they discovered three wood-choppers near. Two of them were
captured, but the third escaped to the fort and gave the alarm. Willett
and his party immediately retreated, and thus ended the expedition. * In
1796 this post, with all others upon the frontier, was given up by the
English to the United States.

A prize, in the shape of public stores deposited at the Oswego Falls,
attracted the attention of the British in 1814, and a fleet, bearing
three thousand men, appeared before the town on the fifth of May. Fort
Oswego, (called Ontario when repaired subsequent to the War,) on the
East side of the harbor, was quite dilapidated, and the little garrison
had small means of defense. They had only six cannons, and three of
these had lost their trunnions. As soon as the sail of the enemy
appeared, information was sent to Captain Woolsey, of the navy, then at
the village on the west side of the river, and to the neighboring
militia. Four large ships, three brigs, and a number of gun and other
boats 1814 appeared, about seven miles distant, at dawn on the morning
of the fifth of May.

The Americans prepared a battery on the shore, and gave the enemy such a
warm reception, while approaching in boats to land, that they returned
to their ships. Early on the morning of the 6th the fleet came within
cannon-shot of the works, and for three hours kept up a discharge of
grape and heavy balls against the fort and batteries. *** The troops
finally effected a landing, and the little band of Americans, not
exceeding three hundred in number, after maintaining their ground as
long as possible, withdrew into the rear of the fort, and halted within
four hundred yards of it. After fighting about half an hour, they march-

* Clarke's MS.

** This view is from the west side of the river, near the site of the
present United States Hotel.

*** I visited Fort Ontario, which is now a strong and admirably
appointed fortification. A small garrison is usually stationed there,
but at the time of my visit the fort was vacated by troops and left in
charge of a sergeant (Mr. Brown), whose courtesy made our little party
feel as much at home amid the equipments of war as if we were veritable
soldiers and our ladies _attaches_ of the camp. He gave me a four-pound
cannon-ball, which was fired into the fort from the British ship Wolfe,
the only ship engaged in the action, on the morning of the Sixth of May,
1814. It bears the rude anchor mark of British ordnance shot, and was
labeled by the sergeant, "A present from John Bull to Uncle Sam."

Result of the Battle in 1814.--Oswego at Present.--Major Cochran.--Dr.
John Cochran.

221ed toward the falls, to defend the stores, destroying the bridges in
their rear. The British burned the barracks, and, after spiking some of
the guns, evacuated the fort, and retired to their ships at three
o'clock on the morning of the 7th. The loss of the Americans was six
killed, thirty-eight wounded, and twenty-five missing. The enemy lost,
in killed, wounded, drowned, and missing, two hundred and thirty-five. *
They returned on the 9th, and sent a flag into the village, to inform
the people of their intention to land a large force and capture the
stores; but, being informed that the bridges were destroyed and the
stores removed, the fleet weighed anchor and returned to Kingston.

Scarcely a feature of old Oswego is left. The little hamlet of the
Revolution and the tiny village of 1814 have grown into a flourishing
city. Heavy stone piers, built by the United States government, guard
the harbor from storms, and a strong fortification protects it from
enemies. Lake commerce enlivens the mart, and a canal and rail-road
daily pour their freights of goods and travel into its lap.

"While in Oswego I visited the venerable Major Cochran and his excellent
lady, the daughter of General Philip Schuyler. Major Cochran was then
nearly eighty years old, and feeble in bodily health, but his mind was
active and vigorous. His father was Dr. John Cochran, ** the surgeon
general of the Middle Department of the Revolutionary army; and himself
was a member of Congress during the administration of the elder Adams.
**** His family relationship and position made him acquainted with all
the general officers of the Revolution, and his reminiscences afforded
me much pleasure and instruction during my brief visit. He has since
gone down into the grave, and thus the men of that generation, like the
sands of an hour-glass, fall into their resting-

* Letter of Commodore Chauncy to the Secretary of the Navy.

** Dr. Cochran was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1730. His father
came from the north of Ireland. He studied medicine at Lancaster, and
served as surgeon's mate in the hospital department during the French
and Indian war. At the close of that contest he settled in Albany, and
married Gertrude, the only sister of General Schuyler. He entered the
Revolutionary army, and in the spring of 1777 Washington appointed him
surgeon general of the Middle Department, and in October, 1781, director
general of the hospitals of the United States. He removed to New York
after the peace, and his eminent services were not forgotten by
Washington, who nominated him commissioner of loans for that state. He
died at Palatine, Montgomery county, April 6th, 1807, aged 76.

*** This view is from the top of the United States Hotel, looking east-
northeast. It was hastily sketched during the approach of a thunder-
storm, and the "huge herald drops" came down just as I traced the
distant water-line of the lake. The objects by the figure in the
foreground are the balustrade and chimney of the hotel, now (1848) a
summer boarding-house for strangers. The first height beyond the water
or the right is the point on which stands Fort Oswego. The land in the
far distance, on the same side, is Four-mile Point, behind which
Montcalm landed his forces. On the left is seen the light-house upon one
of the stone piers, and beyond it spread out the waters of Lake Ontario.

**** Circumstances connected with his election are rather amusing. A
vessel was to be launched upon (I think) Seneca Lake, at Geneva, and, it
being an unusual event, people came from afar to see it. The young folks
gathered there, determined to have a dance at night. A fiddle was
procured, but a fiddler was wanting. Young Cochran was an amateur
performer, and his services were demanded on the occasion. He gratified
the joyous company, and at the supper-table one of the gentlemen
remarked, in commendation of his talents, that he was "fit for
Congress." The hint was favorably received by the company, the matter
was "talked up," and he was nominated and elected a representative in
Congress for the district then comprising the whole state of New York
west of Schenectady. He always claimed to have fiddled himself into
Congress.

Attempted Abduction of General Schuyler by Waltermeyer.--Alarm of the
Family.--Narrow Escape of an Infant.

222place. His lady, many years his junior, was the youngest and favorite
daughter of General Schuyler. She was his traveling companion during his
old age, and constantly enjoyed the advantages of the refined society by
which he was surrounded. When her mother departed from earth, she was
his companion and solace, and was at his bedside, to minister to his
wants, in the hour of death. * Although the stirring scenes of the
Revolution were passed before the years of her infancy were numbered,
her intercourse with the great and honorable of that generation, during
her youth and early womanhood, brought facts and circumstances to her
vigorous mind so forcibly, that their impressions are as vivid and
truthful as if made by actual observation. She related many interesting
circumstances in the life of her father, and among them that of an
attempted abduction of his person in 1781.

At the time in question, General Schuyler was residing in the suburbs of
Albany, having left the army and engaged in the civil service of his
country. Notwithstanding his comparatively obscure position, his aid and
counsel were constantly sought, in both military and civil transactions,
and he was considered by the enemy one of the prominent obstacles in the
way of their success. He was then charged by Washington with the duty of
intercepting all communications between General Haldimand in Canada and
Clinton in New York. For some time the Tories in the neighborhood of
Albany had been employed in capturing prominent citizens and carrying
them off to Canada, for the purpose of exchange. Such an attempt was
made upon Colonel Gansevoort, and now a bold project was conceived to
carry off General Schuyler. John Waltermeyer, a bold partisan and
colleague of the notorious Joe Bettys, was employed for the purpose.
Accompanied by a gang of Tories, Canadians, and Indians, he repaired to
the neighborhood of Albany, but, uncertain how well General Schuyler
might be guarded, he lurked among the pine shrubbery in the vicinity
eight or ten days. He seized a Dutch laborer, and learned from him the
exact position of affairs at Schuyler's house, after which he extorted
an oath of secrecy from the man and let him go. The Dutchman seems to
have made a mental reservation, for he immediately gave information of
the fact to General Schuyler. A Loyalist, who was the general's personal
friend, and cognizant of Waltermeyer's design, also warned him. In
consequence of the recent abductions, the general kept a guard of six
men constantly on duty, three by day and three by night, and after these
warnings they and his family were on the alert.

August, 1781 At the close of a sultry day, the general and his family
were sitting in the front hall. The servants were dispersed about the
premises. The three guards relieved for the night were asleep in the
basement room, and the three on duty, oppressed by the heat, were lying
upon the cool grass in the garden. A servant announced to the general
that a stranger desired to speak to him at the back gate. The stranger's
errand was at once comprehended. The doors of the house were immediately
shut and close barred. The family were hastily collected in an upper
room, and the general ran to his bed-chamber for his arms. From the
window he saw the house surrounded by armed men. For the purpose of
arousing the sentinels upon the grass, and perchance to alarm the town,
he fired a pistol from the window. The assailants burst open the doors,
and at that moment Mrs. Schuyler perceived that, in the confusion and
alarm of the retreat from the hall, her infant child, a few months old,
had been left in the cradle in the nursery below. Parental love subdued
all fear, and she was flying to the rescue of her child, when the
general interposed and prevented her. But her third daughter **
instantly rushed down the two flights of stairs, snatched the still
sleeping infant from the cradle, and bore it off safely. One of the
miscreants hurled, a sharp tomahawk at her as she left the room, but it
effected no other harm than a slight injury to her dress, within a few
inches of the infant's head. As she ascended a private stair-case she
met Waltermeyer, who, supposing her to be a servant, exclaimed, "Wench,
wench, where

* Grief for the loss of his wife, and the melancholy circumstances
connected with the death of his son-inlaw, General Alexander Hamilton,
weighed heavily upon his spirits. His death was hastened by exposure and
fatigue while accompanying two French dukes over the battle-ground of
Saratoga. He was taken ill there, and never recovered.

** Margaret, afterward the first wife of the late venerated General Van
Rensselaer (the patroon) of Albany.

Robbery of General Schuyler's House.--Retreat of the Marauders.
Abduction of other Patriots.--Mrs. Cochran.

223is your master?"

"With great presence of mind, she replied, "Gone to alarm the town."

The Tory's followers were then in the dining-room, plundering it of the
plate and other valuables, and he called them together for consultation.

At that moment the general threw up a window, and, as if speaking to
numbers, called out, in a loud voice, "Come on, my brave fellows,
surround the house and secure the villains, who are plundering." The
assailants made a precipitate retreat, carrying with them the three
guards that were in the house, and a large quantity of silver plate.
They made their way to Ballstown by daybreak, where they took General
Gordon a prisoner from his bed, and with their booty returned to Canada.
* The bursting open of the doors of General Schuyler's house aroused the
sleeping guards in the cellar, who rushed up to the back hall, where
they had left their arms, but they were gone. Mrs. Church, ** another
daughter of General Schuyler, who was there at the time, without the
slightest suspicion that they might be wanted, caused the arms to be
removed a short time before the attack, on account of apprehended injury
to her little son, whom she found playing with them. The guards had no
other weapon but their brawny fists, and these they used manfully until
overpowered. They were taken to Canada, and when they were exchanged,
the general gave them each a farm, in Saratoga county. Their names were
John Tubbs, John Corlies, and John "Ward.

Mrs. Cochran was the infant rescued by her intrepid sister. The incident
is one of deep interest, and shows the state of constant alarm and
danger in which the people lived at that day, particularly those whose
position made them conspicuous. Mrs. Cochran kindly complied with my
solicitation for a likeness of herself to accompany the narrative here
given.

* Major Cochran related to me an incident connected with the booty in
question. Among the plundered articles was a silver soup tureen. He was
at Washington city at the time of the inauguration of Harrison, in 1841,
and while in the rotunda of the Capitol, viewing Trumbull's picture of
the surrender of Bur-goyne, a stranger at his elbow inquired, "Who is
that fine-looking man in the group, in citizen's dress?" "General
Schuyler," replied Major Cochran. "General Schuyler!" repeated the
stranger. "Why, I ate soup not long since, at Belleville, in Canada,
from a tureen that was carried off from his house by some Tories in the
Revolution." This was the first and only trace the family ever had of
the plundered articles.

** She was the wife of John B. Church, Esq., an English gentleman, who
was a contractor for the French army in America under Rochambeau. He
returned to England, and was afterward a member of Parliament.

Departure from Oswego.--The Genesee River.--Storm on the Lake.-- Sea-
sickness.--Fort Niagara.

224It was my intention to go directly from Oswego to Rome, by the plank
road that traverses the old war-paths of the last century between those
points, for the region westward is quite barren of incident connected
with the Revolution. Old Fort Niagara, at the mouth of the Niagara
River, was a place of rendezvous for Tories and Indians while preparing
for marauding excursions on the borders of civilization in New York, or
when they returned with prisoners and scalps. Beyond this it offered no
attractions, for hardly a remnant of its former material is left. But
having been joined at Oswego by another member of my family, who, with
my traveling companion, was anxious to see the great cataract, and
desirous myself to look again upon that wonder of the New World, I
changed my course, and on a August 17, 1848 stormy morning, with a
strong north wind awakening the billows of Ontario, we left Oswego for
Lewiston in the steamer Cataract, commanded by the same excellent Van
Cleve whose vessel got a little entangled, ten years before, in the
affair at Wind-mill Point, near Ogdensburgh. The lake was very rough,
and nearly all on board turned their thoughts inwardly, conversing but
little until we entered the Genesee River in the afternoon. Many lost
the breakfast they had paid for, and others, by commendable abstinence
and economy, saved the price of dinner by shunning it altogether.

The scenery upon the tortuous course of the Genesee is very picturesque.
The stream is deep and narrow, and its precipitous shores are heavily
wooded. The voyage terminated three fourths of a mile below the Lower
Falls of the Genesee, and five miles from Ontario. Here is the port of
Rochester. The city lies upon the plains at the Pipper Falls, two miles
distant. Our boat remained there until toward evening, and, the rain
having abated, I strolled up the winding carriage-way as far as the
Lower Falls. This road is cut in the precipitous bank of the river,
presenting overhanging cliffs, high and rugged, on one side, and on the
other steep precipices going down more than a hundred feet below to the
sluggish bed of the stream. Every thing about the falls is broken and
confused. The stream, the rocks, the hills, and trees are all commingled
in chaotic grandeur, varying in lineament at each step, and defying
every attempt to detect a feature of regularity. There sandstone may be
seen in every stage of formation, from the loose soil to shale, and
slate-like lamina, and the solid stratified rock. The painter and the
geologist are well rewarded for a visit to the Lower Falls of the
Genesee.

We descended the river toward evening. Heavy clouds were rolling over
the lake; and the white caps that sparkled upon its bosom, and the spray
that dashed furiously over the unfinished stone pier at the mouth of the
river, betokened a night of tempest and gloom. The wind had increased
almost to a gale upon the lake while we had been quietly lying in the
sheltering arms of the Genesee. Premonitions of sea-sickness alarmed my
prudence, and by its wise direction I slipped into my berth before eight
o'clock, and slept soundly until aroused by the porter's bell, a little
before daybreak, at Lewiston Landing. The rain continued, though falling
gently. We groped our way up the slippery road to the cars, and,
shivering in the damp air, took seats for Niagara, fully resolved to
give the bland invitation of the "lake route" a contemptuous refusal on
our return eastward. It may be very pleasant on a calm day or a
moonlight night, but _our_ experience made us all averse to the aquatic
journey.

We passed from Ontario into the Niagara River, seven miles below
Lewiston, while slumbering, and, consequently, I have nothing to say of
Fort Niagara from personal observation. We will turn to veritable
history for the record, and borrow the outlines of an illustration from
another pencil.

In 1679, during the administration of Frontenac, a French officer named
De Salle inclosed a small spot in palisades at the mouth of the Niagara
River, and in 1725, two years before Governor Burnet built his fort at
Oswego, a strong fortification was erected there. It was captured by the
British, under Sir William Johnson, in 1759. The forces, chiefly
provincials, that were sent against the fort were commanded by General
Prideaux, who sailed July 7, 1757 from Oswego, and landed near the mouth
of the river in July. He at once opened his batteries upon the fortress,
but was soon killed by the bursting of a gun. The

Attack on Fort Niagara.---Stratagem of the French.--Traditions
respecting the Fort--A Refuge for Tories and Indians

225command then devolved upon Johnson. An army of French regulars,
twelve hundred strong, drawn chiefly from western posts, and accompanied
by an equal number of Indians, marching to the relief of the garrison,
were totally routed by Johnson, and a large part of them made prisoners.

The siege had then continued more than a fortnight, and the beleaguered
garrison, despairing of succor, surrendered the next day. In addition
July 23, 1759 to the ammunition and stores that fell into their hands,
the strong fort itself was an important acquisition for the English.
Within its dungeons were found instruments for executions or murders,
and the ears of the English received many horrid tales from the captive
Indians of atrocities committed there during French rule.

It is said that the mess-house, a strong building still standing within
the fort, was built by the French by stratagem. The Indians were opposed
to the erection of any thing that appeared like a fortress. The French
troops were kindly received by the savages, and obtained their consent
to build a wigwam. They then induced the Indians to engage in an
extensive hunt with some French officers, and when they returned the
walls were so far advanced that they might defy the savages if they
should attack them. It grew into a large fort, with bastions and
ravelins, ditches and pickets, curtains and counter-scarp, covered way,
draw-bridge, raking batteries, stone towers, bakery, blacksmith shop,
mess-house, barracks, laboratory, magazine, and a chapel with a dial
over its door to mark the progress of the hours. It covered about eight
acres. A few rods from the barrier-gate was a burial-ground, over the
portal of which was painted, in large letters, Rest. The dungeon of the
mess-house, called the black-hole, was a strong, dark, and dismal place,
and in one corner of the room was fixed an apparatus for strangling
those whom the despotic officers chose to kill. The walls were profusely
inscribed with French names and mementoes in that language, and the
letters and emblems were many of them so well executed as to prove that
some of the victims were not of common stamp. When, in June, 1812, an
attack upon the fort by the English was momentarily expected, a
merchant, residing near the fort, deposited some valuable articles in
the dungeon. He went there one night with a light, and discovered his
own family name upon the walls. Like other ruins, it has its local
legends. The headless trunk of a French officer has been seen sitting on
the margin of the well in the dungeon; and large sums of money have been
buried there, and their localities pointed out by fingers visible only
to money-diggers. **

During the American Revolution "it was the headquarters," says De Veaux,
"of all that was barbarous, unrelenting, and cruel. There were
congregated the leaders and chiefs of those bands of murderers and
miscreants who carried death and destruction into the remote American
settlements. There civilized Europe reveled with savage America, and
ladies of education and refinement mingled in the society of those whose
only distinction was to wield the bloody tomahawk and the scalping-
knife. There the squaws of the forests were raised to eminence, and the
most unholy unions between them and officers of the highest rank smiled
upon and countenanced. There, in their strong-hold, like a nest of
vultures, securely, for seven years, they sallied forth and preyed upon
the distant settlements of the Mohawk and

* This is copied from one published in Barber and Howe's "Historical
Collections of New York." They copied it from an engraving published
during the war of 1812. It gives the appearance of the locality at that
time. The view is from the west side of the Niagara River, near the
light-house. The fort is on the east side (the right of the picture), at
the mouth of the river. The steam-boat seen in the distance is out on
Lake Ontario.

** See De Veaux's Niagara Falls.

The Niagara River.--Events there of the War of 1812.--American Militia.-
-Brock's Death.--His Monument

226Susquehanna Valleys. It was the depot of their plunder: there they
planned their forays, and there they returned to feast, until the time
of action came again."

The shores of Niagara River, from Erie to Ontario, abound in historic
associations connected with the military operations on that frontier
during the war of 1812. The battles of Chippewa, Lundy's Lane,
Queenston, and Fort Erie occurred in this vicinity; but these events are
so irrelevant to our subject, that we must give them but brief
incidental notice as we happen to pass by their localities.

Fort Niagara was feebly garrisoned by the Americans, and on the 19th of
December, 1813, a British force of twelve hundred men crossed the river
and took it by surprise. The garrison consisted of three hundred and
seventy men. The commanding officer was absent, the gates were open and
unguarded, and the fortress, strong as it was, became an easy prey to
the enemy. Sixty-five of the garrison were killed, and twenty-seven
pieces of ordnance and a large quantity of military stores were the
spoils of victory for the British.

It was broad daylight when our train moved from Lewiston, and across the
Niagara, on the Canada shore, the heights of Queenston, surmounted by
Brock's monument, were in full view. The battle that renders this
towering slope so famous occurred on the 13th of October, 1812. The
Americans were commanded by the late General Stephen Van Rensselaer, the
British by General Sir Isaac Brock. The former were about twenty-five
hundred strong; the latter numbered about the same, besides a horde of
Chippewa Indians. The British were strongly posted upon the heights. At
four o'clock on the morning of the 13th about six hundred Americans,
under Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer and Lieutenant-colonel Christie,
crossed over in boats to dislodge the enemy. The passage was made in the
face of a destructive fire, and the brave Americans rushed impetuously
up the acclivity and attacked the first battery, captured it, and soon
stood victorious upon the height from which they had driven the enemy.
General Brock endeavored, in person, to rally his scattered troops, and
was fatally wounded while leading them to the charge. * Dismayed when
they saw their leader fall, they fled in great confusion. At this time
Colonel Scott, ** with a reenforcement of six hundred men, regulars and
volunteers, crossed over; and the enemy was also re-enforced by troops
from Fort George, and five hundred Chippewa Indians. The strife was
fierce for a long time. The British, re-enforced, far outnumbered the
Americans, and the militia remaining at Lewiston could not be induced to
cross over to support their friends in the combat. Overwhelming numbers
closed in upon the Americans, and, after fighting eleven hours, they
were obliged to surrender. The American loss was about ninety killed and
nine hundred wounded, missing, and prisoners. The behavior of many of
our militia on this occasion was extremely disgraceful. Taking advantage
of the darkness when they crossed in the morning, they hid themselves in
the clefts of the rocks and clumps of bushes near the shore, where they
remained while the fighting ones were periling life upon the heights
above. The cowards were dragged out from their hiding-places by the
legs, by the British soldiers, after the surrender.

The rail-road cars from Lewiston to the Falls ascend in their course an
inclined plane that winds up what is evidently the ancient southern
shore of Lake Ontario. Deposits of pebbles at the foot of the ridge, and
many other facts connected with this physical feature of the country
from Niagara to Oswego, prove conclusively, to the mind of the close
observer, that this was the shore of Ontario before the great convulsion
took place which formed the

* General Brock was lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. The Legislature
of that province caused a monument to be erected to his memory, on the
heights near the spot where he fell. It is in a position so elevated,
that it may be seen at different points nearly fifty miles distant. The
monument is constructed of freestone. The base, which covers the vault
wherein lie the remains of General Brock and his aid, Lieutenant-colonel
John M'Donald (who was killed in the same action), is twenty feet
square. The shaft rises one hundred and twenty-six feet from the ground.
A miscreant named Lett attempted to destroy it by gunpowder on the night
of the 17th of April, 1840. The keystone over the door was thrown out,
and the shaft was cracked nearly two thirds of its height.

** Now Major-general Scott, of the United States army. The present
General Wool was a captain, and commanded a company in the action.

Arrival at Niagara.--Falls Village.--View from Goat Island. --Biddle's
Tower.--Sublime Voyage in the "Maid of the Mist."

227Falls of Niagara. We leave what questions upon this point remain
open, to be settled by wiser minds, and hasten on to the Falls. We
caught a few glimpses of the green waters from the windows of the car,
and in a few minutes were in the midst of the tumult of porters at the
village, more clamorous for our ears than the dull roar of the cataract
near by. The fasting upon the lake and the early morning ride had given
us a glorious appetite for breakfast, and as soon as it was appeased we
sallied out, guide-book in hand, to see the celebrities. These have been
described a thousand times. Poets, painters, travelers, historians,
philosophers, and penny-a-liners have vied with each other in magnifying
this wonder, and as I can not (if I would) "add one cubit to its
stature" for the credulous, a thought concerning its sublimity and
beauty for the romantic, a hue to the high coloring of others for the
sentimental, or a new fact or theory for the philosophical, I shall pass
among the lions in almost perfect silence, and speedily leave the
excitements of this fashionable resort for the more quiet grandeur and
beauty of the Mohawk Valley, once the "dark and bloody ground," but now
a paradise of fertility, repose, and peace.

We crossed the whirling rapids and made the circuit of Goat Island. In
this route all the remarkable points of the great cataract are brought
to view. From the Hog's Back, at the lower end of the island, there is a
fine prospect of the river below, and the distant Canada shore beyond.
The almost invisible Suspension Bridge, like a thread in air, was seen
two miles distant; and beneath us, through the mist of the American
Fall, glorious with rainbow hues, the little steam-boat, the "Maid of
the Mist," came breasting the powerful current. We looked down from our
lofty eyrie (literally, in the clouds), through the mist veil, upon her
deck, and her passengers appeared like Lilliputians in a tiny skiff.
From the southern side of the island we had a noble view of the Horse-
shoe Fall, over which pours the greater portion of the Niagara River.
The water is estimated to be twenty feet deep upon the crown of the
cataract. Biddle's Tower is a fine observatory, overlooking, on one
side, the boiling abyss below the fall, and standing apparently in the
midst of the rushing waters as they hurry down the rapids above. We
spent two hours upon the verge of the floods, in the shadows of the
lofty trees that cover the island, but these scenes were tame compared
with what we beheld from the "Maid of the Mist" toward noon. We rode
nearly to the Suspension Bridge, and, walking down a winding road cleft
in the rocks, reached the brink of the river at the head of the great
rapids above the whirlpool. There we embarked on the little steam-boat,
and moved up the river to the cataract. As we approached the American
Fall, all retreated into the cabins, and, the windows being closed, we
were soon enveloped in spray. It was a sight indescribably grand. As we
looked up, the waters seemed to be pouring from the clouds. A feeling of
awe, allied to that of worship, pervaded us, and all were silent until
the avalanche of waters was passed. The beautiful lines of Brainerd came
vividly up from the shrine of memory, and aided my thoughts in seeking
appropriate language:

"It would seem

As if God poured thee from his 'hollow hand,'

And hung his bow upon thine awful front,

And spoke in that loud voice which seemed to him

Who dwelt in Patmos for his Savior's sake,

'The sound of many waters,' and had bade

The flood to chronicle the ages back,

And notch his cent'ries in the eternal rocks.

Deep calleth unto deep. And what are we

That hear the question of that voice sublime?

Or what are all the notes that ever rung

From war's vain trumpet, by thy thundering side?

Yea, what is all the riot man can make

In his short life to thy unceasing roar?

And yet, bold babbler, what art thou to Him

Who drowned the world, and heaped the waters far

Above its loftiest mountains? a light wave

That breaks and whispers of its Maker's might."

Buckingham's Lines.--Voyage of the Maid of the Mist.--Romantic
Marriage.--The Whirlpool.--The Suspension Bridge.

228Beautifully has Buckingham expressed the reverential thoughts which
fill the mind and part the lips for utterance in that majestic presence:

"Hail! sovereign of the world of floods! whose majesty and might

First dazzles--then enraptures--then o'erawes the aching sight;

The pomp of kings and emperors in every clime and zone

Grow dim beneath the splendors of thy glorious watery throne.

"No fleets can stop thy progress, no armies bid thee stay,

But onward, onward, onward thy march still holds its way;

The rising mist that veils thee, as thine herald, goes before,

And the music that proclaims thee is the thundering cataract's roar.

"Thy reign is of the ancient days, thy scepter from on high--

Thy birth was when the distant stars first lit the gloomy sky;

The sun, the moon, and all the orbs that shine upon thee now,

Beheld the wreath of glory which first bound thy infant brow!"

Our little boat, after sweeping around as near the great Horse-shoe Fall
as prudence would allow, touched a moment at the landing on the Canada
side, and then returned to her moorings. We felt relieved when we stood
again on land, for there is some peril in the voyage; yet the wonderful
scene yields a full compensation for the risk. It affords an opportunity
to exhibit courage more sensibly than the foolish periling of life in
clambering over the slippery rocks under the Falls, and sentiment has
here some chance for respectable display. The week previous to our visit
a young couple, with a parson, took passage in the "Maid of the Mist,"
and, when enveloped in the spray of the cataract, were united in
wedlock. What an altar before which to make nuptial vows! Can they ever
forget the solemn promises there made, or be unfaithful to the pledge
there sealed?

We visited the whirlpool, and that wonder of art, the Suspension Bridge,
before returning to the village. The former is at the elbow of the
Niagara River, two and a half miles below the cataract, and should never
be left unseen by the visitor at the Falls. The Suspension Bridge spans
the river near the head of the rapids above the whirlpool. The present
structure is only the _scaffolding_ for constructing the one intended
for the passage of a train of rail-road cars. Numerous foot-passengers
were upon it, and a coach and horses, with driver and two passengers,
crossed it while we were there.

The light structure bent beneath the weight like thin ice under the
skater, yet the passage is considered perfectly safe. I visited it again
toward evening, and made the accompanying sketch to illustrate the
method of its construction and its relative position-to the Falls.1 To
attempt to sketch the Falls truthfully is vain. They have never yet been
portrayed

* The bridge from pier to pier is eight hundred feet long. Its breadth
is eight feet. The whole bridge is suspended upon eight cables, four on
each side, which pass over towers fifty-four feet high, built of heavy
timbers. The towers for the large bridge will be of solid masonry eighty
feet high. Each cable is eleven hundred and sixty feet long, and
composed of seventy-two number ten iron wires, around which is wrapped
small wire three times boiled in linseed oil, which anneals it, and
gives it a coat that can not be injured by exposure to the weather, and
preserves the wire from rust. The cables, after passing over the piers
on the banks, are fast anchored in masonry fifty feet back of them. The
suspenders are composed of eight wires each, and are placed four and a
half feet apart. The bridge is two hundred feet above the water.

** This view, looking up the river, comprises about one half the bridge,
a portion of the bank on the Canada side on the right, the American
shore on the left, and a part of the Falls, seen under the bridge, in
the extreme distance.

Departure from the Falls.--A Day upon the Rail road.--Syracuse. --Early
History of that Region.--The French.

229in their grandeur, and never can be. A picture can not convey an idea
of their magnificence to the eye. They must be seen to be known. Art
utterly fails in attempts to transfer their features to canvas, and
degrades nature by its puny efforts. In their _motion_ consists their
great sublimity, and the painter might as well attempt to delineate the
whirlwind as to depict Niagara in its glory.

We left Niagara early on Saturday morning, stopped in Buffalo just long
enough August 19, 1848 to go from one rail-way station to another, and
reached Syracuse at about eight in the evening, a distance of two
hundred miles. That day's journey seems more like a dream than reality,
for hills and valleys, woods and meadows, hamlets and villages, lakes
and rivers, the puff of the engine, the rattle of the train, men, women,
and children in serried ranks, are all mingled in confusion in the
kaleidescope of memory, and nothing but a map or a Traveler's Guide-book
can unravel the tangled skein of localities that was spun out in that
rapid journey of fourteen hours. We remember the broad Niagara, the dark
Erie with white sails upon its bosom, the stately houses and busy
streets of Buffalo, the long _reaches_ of flat, new country, dotted with
stumps, from Buffalo to Attica and beyond, the stirring mart of
Rochester, the fields, and orchards, and groves of lofty trees that
seemed waltzing by us, the beautiful villages of Canandaigua and Geneva,
the falls of the Seneca, the long bridge of Cayuga, the strong prison
and beautiful dwellings of Auburn, and the golden sunset and cool breeze
that charmed us as we approached Syracuse. In that flourishing city of
the recent wilderness we passed a quiet Sabbath with some friends, and
the next morning I journeyed to Rome.

Although a quarter of a century has scarcely passed since Syracuse was a
village of mean huts, * it has a history connected with European
civilization more than two hundred years old. At Salina, now a portion
of the city of Syracuse, where the principal salt-wells are, the French,
under the Sieur Dupuys, an officer of the garrison at Quebec, made a
settlement as early as 1655. The Onondaga tribe then had their villages
in the valley, a few miles from Syracuse, and a good understanding
prevailed between them and the new-comers. The jealousy of the Mohawks
was aroused, and they attempted to cut off the colonists while on their
way up the St. Lawrence. They, however, reached their destination in
safety, and upon the borders of the Onondaga Lake they reared dwellings
and prepared for a permanent colony. But the uneasiness of the Indian
tribes soon manifested itself in hostile preparations, and in the winter
of 1658 Dupuys was informed that large parties of Mohawks, Oneidas, and
even Onondagas, were arming. Unable to procure assistance in time from
Quebec, he succeeded, by stratagem, in constructing some bateaux and
escaping with the whole colony secretly down the river to Oswego, and
thence to Montreal.

Relying implicitly upon the good faith and promised friendship of the
Indians, Dupuys had neglected to preserve his canoes. To construct new
ones in view of the Indians would advertise them of his intentions, and
bring their hatchets upon the settlement at once. He therefore had small
bateaux made in the garret of the Jesuit's house, and kept them
concealed when finished. A young Frenchman had been adopted into the
family of a chief, and had

* In 1820 the late William L. Stone visited Syracuse in company with Mr.
Forman, one of the earliest and most industrious friends of the Erie
Canal. "I lodged for the night," says Mr. Slone, "at a miserable tavern,
thronged by a company of salt-boilers from Salina, forming a group of
about as rough-looking specimens of humanity as I had ever seen. Their
wild visages, beards thick and long, and matted hair even now rise up in
dark, distant, and picturesque effect before me. I passed a restless
night, disturbed by strange fancies, as I yet well remember. It was in
October, and a flurry of snow during the night had rendered the morning
aspect of the country more dreary than the evening before. The few
houses I have already described, standing upon low and almost marshy
ground, and surrounded by trees and entangled thickets, presented a very
uninviting scene. 'Mr. Forman,' said I, 'do you call this a village? It
could make an owl weep to fly over it.' 'Never mind,' said he, in reply,
'you will live to see it a city yet.'" Mr. Slone did, indeed, live to
see it a city in size, when he wrote the above in 1810, and it is now a
city in fact, with mayor and aldermen, noble stores and dwellings, and a
population of some 14,000. Judge Forman was one of the projectors of the
Erie Canal, and the founder of Syracuse. He died at Rutherfordton, North
Carolina, on the 4th of August, 1849, aged 72 years.

Stratagem of a young Frenchman.--Escape of the French.--Early
Explorations.--Monumental Stone.--Silver-bottomed Lake.

230acquired great influence over the tribe. By their customs an adopted
son had all the privileges of a son by birth. When Dupuys had a
sufficient number of bateaux finished, this young man went to his
foster-father, and in a solemn manner related that he had dreamed, the
previous night, that he was at a feast, where the guests ate and drank
every thing that was set before them. He then asked the old chief to
permit him to make such a feast for the tribe. The request was granted,
and the feast was spread. Many Frenchmen were present, and with horns,
drums, and trumpets, they kept a continual uproar. The French, in the
mean while, were diligently embarking and loading their bateaux,
unobserved by the feasting savages. At length the guests, who had been
eating and drinking for hours, ceased gormandizing, to take some repose.
The young Frenchman commenced playing upon a guitar, and in a few
minutes every red man was in a profound slumber. He then joined his
companions, and before morning the whole colony were far on their way
toward Oswego. Late the next day the Indians stood wondering at the
silence that prevailed in the dwellings of the whites, and when, at
evening, having seen no signs of human fife through the day, they
ventured to break open the fastened dwellings, they were greatly
astonished at finding every Frenchman gone; and greater was their
perplexity in divining the means by which they escaped, being entirely
ignorant of their having any vessels. *

Ten years afterward another French colony settled in what now is called
Pompey, about fourteen miles from Syracuse, and for three years it
prospered, and many converts were made to the Catholic faith from the
Onondaga tribe. A company of Spaniards, having been informed of a lake
whose bottom was covered with brilliant scales like silver, arrived
there, and in a short time the animosities of the respective adventurers
caused them to accuse each other to the Indians of foul designs upon the
tribes. The Onondagas believed both parties, and determined to rid
themselves of such troublesome neighbors. Assisted by the Oneidas and
Cayugas, they fell upon the colony on All-Saints' day, 1669, and every
Frenchman and Spaniard was massacred. **

Evidences of much earlier visits by Europeans have been found in the
vicinity, among which was a sepulchral stone that was exhumed near
Pompey Hill. It was of an oblong figure, being fourteen inches long by
twelve wide, and about eight inches in thickness. In the center of the
surface was a figure of a tree, and a serpent climbing it; and upon each
side of the tree was an inscription, as seen in the cut: "Leo X., De
Viz, 1520. L. S." This inscription may be thus translated: "Leo X., by
the grace of God; sixth year of his pontificate, 1520." The letters L.
S. were doubtless the initials of the one to whose memory the stone was
set up. The cross denoted that he was a Roman Catholic, but the meaning
of the inverted U is not so clear. It has been supposed that the stone
was carved on the spot by a friend of the deceased, who may have been
one of several French or Spanish adventurers that found their way hither
from Florida, which was discovered by the Spaniards in 1502. They were
amused and excited by stories of a lake far in the north, whose bottom
was lined with silver, and this was sufficient to cause them to peril
every thing in searching it out. De Soto's historian speaks, in the
course of his narrative of the adventures of that commander in the
interior of America, of extreme cold at a place called by the natives
_Saquechama_. It is supposed that this name and _Susquehanna_ are
synonymous appellations for the country in Central New York, and that
the silver-bottomed lake was the Onondaga, the flakes and crystals of
salt which cover its bottom giving it the appearance of silver. ***

* See extracts from a MS. history of Onondaga county, by Rev. J. W.
Adams, of Syracuse, quoted in the Historical Collections of New York, p.
398.

** Dewitt Clinton's Memoir on the Antiquities of Western New York.

*** See Clinton's Memoir, &c.; also, Sandford's Aborigines, note on page
114. The crystals of salt on the bottom of the lake, into which the salt
springs flow, were, like the scales of mica discovered on the eastern
coast by Gosnold and his party, mistaken for laminæ of silver. There are
not many salt springs near the surface, but under the marshes that
surround Onondaga Lake, and beneath the lake itself, there seems to lie
a vast salt lake, and shafts are sunken from the surface above into it.
The water or brine is pumped up from these shafts or wells, and vast
quantities of salt are manufactured annually in the neighborhood of
Syracuse. A great number of men find employment there, and the state
derives a handsome revenue from the works.

Rome.--Site of Fort Stanwix.--Forts Newport and Ball.--The Portage and
Canal.--The Mohawk Valley.

231We have already noticed the expedition of the French, under
Frontenac, as far as the Onondaga Valley. From that time nothing but
Indian feuds disturbed the repose that rested upon Onondaga Lake and the
beautiful country around, until business enterprise within the present
century began its warfare upon the forests and the rich soil.

I arrived at Rome, upon the Mohawk, toward noon. It is a pleasant
village, and stands upon the site of old Fort Stanwix, on the western
verge of the historical ground of the Mohawk Valley. Here was the
outpost of active operations in this direction, and here was enacted one
of the most desperate defenses of a fortress that occurred during our
struggle for independence. The village, in its rapid growth, has
overspread the site of the fortification, and now not a vestige of
antiquity remains, except a large elm-tree by the house of Alvah Mudge,
Esq., which stood within the southwest angle of the fort. Mr. Mudge
kindly pointed out to me the area comprehended within the fort, and the
portion of the village seen in the picture covers that area. The mason-
work in the foreground is a part of the first lock of the Black River
Canal, at present an unproductive work. The large building in the center
of the pic ture is the mansion of John Striker, Esq., president of the
Rome Bank, and stands near the site of the northeast angle of the fort.
The whole view is only a few rods northwest of the Mohawk River, and a
mile eastward of Wood Creek, the main inlet of Oneida Lake. Here was a
portage of a mile, and the only interruption of water communication
between Schenectady and Oswego. This inconvenience was obviated by the
construction of a canal between the Mohawk and Wood Creek, in 1797.

Fort Stanwix: was built in 1758, under the direction of General Stanwix,
after the defeat of Abercrombie at Ticonderoga. It was a strong square
fortification, having bomb-proof bastions, a glacis, covered way, and a
well-picketed ditch around the ramparts. Its position was important in a
military point of view, for it commanded the portage between the Mohawk
and Wood Creek, and was a key to communication between the Mohawk Valley
and Lake Ontario. Other, but smaller, fortifications were erected in the
vicinity. Fort Newport, on Wood Creek, and Fort Ball, about half way
across the portage, formed a part of the military works there, and
afforded not only a strong post of resistance to French aggression in
that direction, but also a powerful protection to the Indian trade. The
works cost the British and Colonial government two hundred and sixty-six
thousand four hundred dollars, yet when the Revolution broke out the
fort and its outposts were in ruins.

From the commencement of hostilities the Mohawk Valley was a theater of
great activity, and all through the eventful years of the contest it
suffered dreadfully from the effects of partisan warfare. Every rood of
ground was trodden by hostile parties, and for seven years the fierce
Indian, and the ofttimes more ferocious Tory, kept the people in
continual alarm, spreading death and desolation over that fair portion
of our land. So frequent and sanguinary were the stealthy midnight
attacks or open daylight struggles, that Tryon county *

Site of Fort Stanwix.--Sir William Johnson and his Associates.--Effect
of Political Movements upon the People.--Formation of Parties.

obtained232 the appropriate appellation of "the dark and bloody ground,"
and, long after peace blessed the land, its forests were traversed with
fear and distrust.

Here was the seat of Sir William Johnson, agent for the British
government in its transactions with the Six Nations. He was shrewd,
cunning, and licentious, having little respect for the laws of God or
man, and observed them only so far as compliance was conducive to his
personal interest. By presents, conformity in dress and manners, and
other appliances, he obtained almost unbounded influence over the tribes
of the valley, and at his beck a thousand armed warriors would rush to
the field. He died before the events of our Revolution brought his vast
influence over the Indians into play, in active measures against the
patriots. Yet his mantle of power and moral sway fell, in a great
degree, upon his son, Sir John Johnson, who succeeded to his title,
office, and estates. The latter, his cousin Guy Johnson, Thayendanegea
(Brant) the Mohawk sachem, Daniel Claus, and the Butlers were the
leading spirits of loyalty in Tryon county, and the actors and abettors
of scenes that darken the blackest page in the history of our race.
These will be noticed hereafter. For the present we will confine our
thoughts to the most prominent local events immediately antecedent to
the siege of Fort Stanwix, or Schuyler, upon the site of which, at Rome,
we are standing. The excitement of the Stamp Act reached even the quiet
valley of the Mohawk, and implanted there the seeds of rebellion, and
the people were eager listeners while the conflict of power and
principle was going on upon the sea-board, during the ten years
preceding the organization of the Continental army. (a) The meeting of
the general  a 1775 Continental Congress caused opinions to take a
definite shape and expression, and in the autumn of that year the
demarkation line between patriots and Loyalists was distinctly drawn
among the people of this inland district.

In the spring of 1775, just before the second Congress assembled at
Philadelphia, at a court holden at Johnstown, the Loyalists made a
demonstration against the proceedings of 1705.

* Tryon county then included all the colonial settlements in New York
west and southwest of Schenectady. It was taken from Albany county in
1772, and named in honor of William Tryon, then governor of the
province. The name was changed to Montgomery in 1784. The county
buildings were at Johnstown, where was the residence of Sir William
Johnson (still standing).

** Sir William Johnson was born in Ireland, about the year 1714. He was
a nephew of Sir Peter Warren, the commodore who was distinguished in the
attack on Louisburgh, Cape Breton, 1745. Sir Peter married a lady (Miss
Watts) in New York, purchased large tracts of land upon the Mohawk, and
about 1734 young Johnson was induced to come to America and take charge
of his uncle's affairs in that quarter. He learned the Indian language,
adopted their manners, and, by fair trade and conciliatory conduct, won
their friendship and esteem. He built a large stone mansion on the
Mohawk, about three miles west of Amsterdam, where he resided twenty
years previous to the erection of Johnson Hall at Johnstown. It was
fortified, and was called Fort Johnson. It is still standing, a
substantial specimen of the domestic architecture of that period. In
1755 he commanded a force intended to invest Crown Point. He was
attacked by Dieskau at the head of Lake George, where he came off
victorious.. For this he was made major general and a knight. He
commanded the assault upon Niagara, after the death of Prideaux, and was
successful there. He was never given credit for great military skill or
personal bravery, and was more expert in intriguing with Indian
warriors, and sending them to the field, than in leading disciplined
troops boldly into action. He died at Johnson Hall (Johnstown) on the
11th of July, 1774, aged 60 years.

Violence of Loyalists.--Assault upon Jacob Sammons.--Caughnawaga
Church.--Meeting at Cherry Valley.--John Johnson.

233the National Council, by drawing up and obtaining signatures to a
declaration disapproving of the acts of that body in the preceding
autumn. This proceeding of the Tories aroused the indignation of the
Whigs, who composed a considerable majority of the whites in Tryon
county. Committees were appointed and public meetings were called in
every district in the county. The first was held at the house of John
Veeder, in Caughnawaga, * where patriotic speeches were made, and a
liberty pole, a most offensive object to the eyes of the Loyalists, was
erected.

Before this was accomplished, Sir John Johnson, accompanied by Colonel
Claus, Guy Johnson, and Colonel John Butler, with a large number of
their retainers, armed with swords and pistols, arrived upon the ground
and interrupted the proceedings.

Guy Johnson mounted a high stoop near the old church and harangued the
people. He expatiated upon the strength of the king and government, and
the folly of opposing the authority of the crown. He had not a
conciliatory word for the people, but denounced their proceedings in
virulent and abusive language, so irritating, that Jacob Sammons, a
leader among the Whigs, could no longer restrain himself, but boldly
pronounced the speaker a liar and a villain. Johnson leaped from his
tribune and seized Sammons by the throat; one of his party felled the
patriot to the ground by a blow from a loaded whip-handle, and then
bestrode his body. When Sammons recovered from the momentary stupor, he
hurled the fellow from him, and, springing upon his feet, stripped off
his coat and prepared to fight, when he was again knocked down. Most of
his Whig friends had fled in alarm, and he was carried to his father's
house, "bearing upon his body the first scars of the Revolutionary
contest in the county of Tryon." ***

A spirited Whig meeting was held soon afterward, in Cherry Valley, where
the conduct of the Tories at Johnstown was strongly condemned; but in
the Palatine district and other places the threats and the known
strength of the Johnsons and their friends intimidated the Whigs for a
while.

In the mean time, Colonel Johnson fortified the baronial hall by
planting swivels around it. He paraded the militia, armed the Scotch
Highlanders (who lived in the vicinity of Johnstown, and were Roman
Catholics), and by similar acts, hostile to the popular movement, the
suspicions of the Whigs were confirmed that he was preparing for the
suppression of all patriot demonstrations in the county, and was
inciting the Indians to join the enemies

* Caughnawaga is the ancient name of the Indian village that stood a
little eastward of the present village of Fonda. Its name signifies
coffin, and was given to the place in consequence of there being in the
Mohawk, opposite the village, a black stone (still to be seen)
resembling a coffin, and projecting above the surface at low water.--
Historical Collections of New York, p. 281.

** This old church, now (1848) known as the Fonda Academy, under the
management of Rev. Douw Van Olinda, is about half a mile east of the
court-house, in the village of Fonda. It is a stone edifice, and was
erected in 1763 by voluntary contributions. Sir William Johnson
contributed liberally. Its first pastor was Thomas Romayne, who was
succeeded in 1795 by Abraham Van Horn, one of the earliest graduates of
King's (now Columbia) College, in the city of New York. He was from
Kingston, Ulster county, and remained its pastor until 1840. During his
ministry he united in marriage 1500 couples. The church was without a
bell until the confiscated property of Sir John Johnson was sold in the
Revolution, when the _dinner-bell_ of his father was purchased and hung
in the steeple. The bell weighs a little more than one hundred pounds,
and bears the following inscription: ''S. R. William Johnson, baronet,
1774. Made by Miller and Ross, in Eliz. Town."--Simms's Schoharie
County, &c. Over the door of the church is a stone tablet, with this
inscription in English, "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of
the Lord; to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his
ways, and we will walk in his paths."

*** Stone's Life of Brant, i., 53.

Attempted Removal of Mr. Kirkland.--Hostile Movements of the Johnsons.--
Indian Councils.--Rev. Samuel Kirkland.

234of liberty as soon as actual hostilities should commence. * Another
circumstance confirmed these suspicions. Brant was the secretary of
Colonel Guy Johnson, the superintendent of Indian affairs after the
death of Sir William, and his activity in visiting the tribes and
holding secret conferences with the sachems was unceasing. Suddenly his
former friendly intercourse with Mr. Kirkland, the faithful Christian
missionary, was broken off in 1774, and, at Brant's instigation, an
Oneida chief preferred charges against the pious minister to Guy
Johnson, and asked for his removal. It was well known that Mr. Kirkland
was a Whig, ** and this movement of the wily sachem could not be
misinterpreted. But the Oneida nation rallied in support of the
minister, and his removal was for a time delayed.

During the summer of 1775 the Johnsons were very active in winning the
_Six Nations_. from their promises of neutrality in the coming contest.3
A council of the Mohawks was 1775. held at Guy Park in May, which was
attended by delegates from the Albany and the Tryon county Committees.
_Little Abraham_, brother of the famous Hendrick who was killed near
Lake George, was the principal chief of the Mohawks, and their best
speaker on the occasion. Guy Johnson, the Indian agent, was in
attendance at the council, but the result was unsatisfactory to both
parties. The delegates, cognizant of the disaffection and bad faith of
the Indians, could not rely upon their present promises; and Guy
Johnson, alarmed by the events at Lexington and Concord, and by
intimations which he had received that his person was in danger of
seizure by order of the General Congress, broke up the council abruptly,
and immediately directed the assembling of another at the Upper Castle,
on the German Flats, whither himself and family, attended by a large
retinue of Mohawks, at once repaired. But this council was not held, and
Johnson, with his family and the Indians, pushed on to Fort Stanwix. His
sojourn there was brief, and he moved on to Ontario, far beyond the
verge of civilization. Brant and the Butlers attended him, and there a
large council was held, composed chiefly of Cayugas and Senecas.

Thus far no positive acts of hostility had been committed by Guy Johnson
and his friends, yet his design to alienate the Indians and prepare them
for war upon the patriots was undoubted. His hasty departure with his
family to the wilderness, accompanied by a large train of Mohawk
warriors, and the holding a grand council in the midst of the fierce
Cayu-

* See letter of the Palatine Committee to the Committee of Safety at
Albany, dated May 18th, 1775.

** Samuel Kirkland was son of the pious minister, Daniel Kirkland, of
Norwieh, Connecticut. He learned the language of the Mohawks, was
ordained a missionary to the Indians at Lebanon in 1766, and removed his
wife to the Oneida Castle in 1769. The next spring he removed to the
house of his friend, General Herkimer, near Little Falls, where his twin
children were born, one of whom was the late Dr. Kirkland, president of
Harvard College. The very air of Norwieh seemed to give the vitality of
freedom to its sons, and Mr. Kirkland early imbibed those patriotic
principles which distinguished him through life. His attachment to the
republican cause was well known, and, after the battles of Lexington and
Concord, the provincial Congress of Massachusetts, desirous of securing
either the friendship or neutrality of the Six Nations, sent a letter to
him inclosing an address to the Indians, and requesting him to use his
influence in obtaining the ends in view. Mr. Kirkland succeeded in
securing the attachment of the Oneidas to the patriot cause, and
continued his religious labors among them during the war, when the other
tribes, through the influence of Brant and the Johnsons, had taken up
arms for the king. He officiated as chaplain to the American forces in
the vicinity of his labors, and accompanied Sullivan in his expedition
in 1779. The state of New York, in consideration of his patriotic
services, gave him the lands of the "Kirkland patent," in the town of
Kirkland. After 40 years' service for his God and country, he fell
asleep at Paris, Oneida county, on the 28th of March, 1808, in the 67th
year of his age.

*** General Sehuyler had held a conference with the chiefs of the Six
Nations during the previous winter, and, setting before them the nature
of the quarrel that had led to hostile movements, received from them
solemn promises that they would remain neutral.

**** This was the residence of Guy Johnson, and is still standing, on
the north side of the Mohawk, about a mile from the village of
Amsterdam, in Montgomery county. It is substantially built of stone, and
may stand a century yet. Embowered in trees, it is a beautiful summer
residence.

Alarm of the People of the Mohawk Valley.--Sir John Johnson and
Highlanders.--Orders to General Schuyler.

235gas and Senecas, greatly alarmed the people of the lower valley, *
inasmuch as his reply to a letter from the Provincial Congress of New
York, which he wrote from the council-room July 8, 1775 in the
wilderness, glowed with sentiments of loyalty. It was, moreover,
positively asserted that he was collecting a large body of savages on
that remote frontier, to fall upon the inhabitants of the valley, and
this belief was strengthened by the fact that Sir John Johnson, who held
a commission of brigadier general of militia, remained at Johnson Hall,
then fortified and surrounded by a large body of Loyalists. The alarmed
patriots appealed to the Committee of Safety at Albany for protection,
and every preparation was made to avert the threatened disaster. Guy
Johnson, however, did not return to the valley, but went to Oswego,
where he called another council, and then, accompanied by a large number
of chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations, among whom was Brant,
departed for Canada. He descended the St. Lawrence to Montreal, where he
met Sir Guy Carleton and Sir Frederic Haldimand, then governor of
Canada, with whom the Indians entered into a formal agreement to take up
arms for the king. ** These were the Indians who appeared against the
Americans at St. John's, on the Sorel, and who, in connection with some
Caughnawa-gas, made the terrible massacre of Major Sherburne's corps at
the Cedars in the following spring, noticed in a previous chapter.

These movements of the Johnsons and their friends, the strengthening of
Johnson Hall, the military organization of the Scotch Highlanders in the
vicinity, the increasing alienation of the Indians, the boldness of the
Tories, and the continual alarm of the people of Tryon county, caused
the General Congress, in December, 1775, to take active measures in that
direction. The Dutch and Germans in the Mohawk Valley, Schoharie, Cherry
Valley, and, indeed, in all parts of that extensive country, were ardent
Whigs; and the Highlanders, with the retainers of the Johnsons and their
friends, composed the bulk of the Tory population, except a few
desperate men who looked for plunder and reward. Had these alone been
inimical to the patriots, there would have been little alarm; but the
country swarmed with Indians, who were hourly becoming more and more
hostile to the Whigs, through the influence of the Johnsons and their
powerful ally, Joseph Brant. It was also reported that military stores
were collected at Johnson Hall, and that three hundred Indians were
ready to fall upon the whites when Sir John Johnson should give the
signal. Congress, therefore, ordered General Schuyler (who had returned
to Albany from Lake Champlain, on account of ill health) to take such
measures as he should think proper to seize the military stores, to
apprehend the Tory leaders, and to disarm the loyal inhabitants. He had
no troops at command, but, aided by the Albany Committee of Safety, he
soon mustered seven hundred men and marched to Schenectady. The Mohawks
of the "Lower Castle" (near Amsterdam), with Little Abraham at their
head, had not been seduced by Brant and Johnson, but kept to their
promise to remain neutral. To preserve their goodwill Schuyler sent to
them a messenger (Mr. Bleeeker, the Indian interpreter, then residing at
Albany) with a January 15, 1776 belt, informing them of the object of
his expedition. They were not pleased with the idea of invasion, and a
deputation was sent to the general to persuade him to desist. He
conferred with them at Schenectady, satisfied them of his good
intentions and the necessity of the movement, and then marched on as far
as Guy Park. He dispatched a January 16. letter at the same time to Sir
John Johnson, requesting a personal interview with him. They met at Guy
Park in a friendly way, and General Schuyler proposed terms by

* On the 11th of July, Colonel Herkimer wrote from Canajohario to the
Palatine Committee, that he had received credible intelligence that
morning that Johnson was ready to march back upon the settlement with a
body of 800 or 900 Indians, and that his point of attack would be just
below the Little Falls. This intelligence proved to be untrue.

** British historians assert that General Carleton was averse to the
employment of the savages against the Americans. Mr. Slone, in his Life
of Brant, quotes from a speech of that chief, wherein the reverse is
asserted. The British commanders never failed to employ Indians in
warfare, when their services could be obtained. Their feelings of
humanity doubtless revolted when coalescing with the savages of the
forest to butcher their brethren, but with them principle too often
yielded to expediency in that unrighteous war.

Disarming of the Tories at Johnson Hall.--Perfidy of Sir John Johnson.--
His Flight--Royal Greens.

236which the matter might be settled without bloodshed. He demanded the
immediate surrender of all arms, ammunition, and stores in the
possession of Johnson, the delivery to him of all the arms and military
accouterments held by the Tories and Indians, and Sir John's parole of
honor not to act inimically to the patriot cause. Sir John asked twenty-
four hours for consideration. His reply was unsatisfactory, and Schuyler
marched on to January 18. within four miles of Johnstown. The militia
had turned out with alacrity, and his force of seven hundred men had
increased to three thousand. Sir John, alarmed, acceded to all the terms
proposed by General Schuyler, and the next day that officer proceeded to
Johnson Hall, where arms and other munitions of war were surrendered by
the baronet. About three hundred Scotchmen also delivered up their arms.
Colonel (afterward General) Herkimer was empowered to complete the
disarming of the Tories, and General Schuyler and his forces marched
back to Albany.

It soon afterward became evident that what Sir John had promised when
constrained by fear would not be performed when the cause of that fear
was removed. He violated his parole of honor and the Highlanders began
to be as bold as ever in their opposition to the Whigs. Congress thought
it dangerous to allow Johnson his liberty, and directed Schuyler to
seize his person, and to proceed vigorously against the Highlanders in
his interest. Colonel Dayton was intrusted with the command of an
expedition for the purpose, and in 1776 May he proceeded to Johnstown.
The baronet had friends among the Loyalists in Albany, by whom he was
timely informed of the intentions of Congress. His most valuable
articles were put in an iron chest and buried in his garden * when he
heard of Dayton's approach, and, hastily collecting a large number of
his Scotch tenants and otter Tories, he fled to the woods by the way of
the Sacandaga, where it is supposed they were met by Indians sent from
Canada to escort them thither. ** Amid perils and hardships of every
kind, they traversed the wilderness between the head waters of the
Hudson and the St. Lawrence, and, after nineteen days' wanderings,
arrived at Montreal. Sir John was immediately commissioned a colonel in
the British service, raised two battalions of Loyalists called the
_Johnson Greens_, and became one of the bitterest and most implacable
enemies of the Americans that appeared during the war. He afterward, as
we shall observe, scourged the Mohawk Valley with fire and sword, and
spread death and desolation among the frontier settlements even so far
south as the Valley of Wyoming.

After the flight of Johnson and the Tories, Tryon county enjoyed a short
season of repose, and nothing of importance occurred during the
remainder of 1776 and the winter of 1777. Yet the people did not relax
their vigilance. The Declaration of Independence was received by them
with great joy, but they clearly perceived that much was yet to be done
to _support_ that declaration. Congress, too, saw the importance of
defending the Northern and Western frontiers of New York from the
incursions of the enemy and their savage allies. The fortresses on Lake
Champlain were already in their possession, and General Schuyler was
ordered to repair and strengthen old Fort Stanwix, then in ruins, and to
erect other fortifications, if necessary, along the Mohawk River.
Colonel Dayton was charged with the duty

* Sir John had a faithful black slave, to whom he intrusted the duty of
burying his iron chest. Colonel

Volkert Veeder bought the slave when Johnson Hall was sold, but he would
never tell where the treasure was concealed. Sir John visited the Mohawk
Valley in 1780, recovered his slave, and by his directions found the
iron chest.--Simms.

** This is inferred from a sentence in one of Brant's speeches, quoted
by Mr. Stone, as follows: "We then went in a body to a town then in
possession of the enemy, and rescued Sir John Johnson, bringing him
fearlessly through the streets." Brant and Guy Johnson were both in
England at that time. Lady Johnson was conveyed to Albany, and there
kept for some time, as a sort of hostage for the good conduct of her
husband. Among the articles left in Johnson Hall was the family Bible of
Sir William. When the confiscated property was sold, the Bible was
bought by John Taylor, who was afterward Lieutenant-governor of New
York. Perceiving that it contained the family record of the Johnsons,
Mr. Taylor wrote to Sir John, offering its restoration. A rude messenger
was sent for the Bible. "I have come for Sir William's Bible." he said,
"and there are the four guineas which it cost." The man was asked what
message Sir John had sent. He replied, "Pay four guineas and take the
book."--Stone's Life of Brant, ii., 145

Repairs of Fort Stanwix.--Brant at Oghkwaga.--His hostile Movements.--
Expeditions of Herkimer and of Colonel Harper.

237of repairing Fort Stanwix, with the assistance of the Tryon county
militia, but he seems to have made little progress, for it was not
complete when, in the summer of the next year, it was invested by St.
Leger. He named the new fortress Fort Schuyler, in honor of the
commanding general of the Northern Department, and by that appellation
it was known through the remainder of the war. *

In the course of the spring of 1777, Brant came from Canada, and
appeared among the Mohawks at Oghkwaga, ** or Oquaca, with a large body
of warriors. He had not yet committed any act of hostility within the
borders of New York, nor was his presence at the Cedars known in the
Mohawk Valley. Yet none doubted his hostile intentions, and his presence
gave much uneasiness to the patriots, while the Tories became bolder and
more insolent. In June his intentions became more manifest, when he
ascended the Susquehanna, from Oghkwaga to Unadilla, with about eighty
of his warriors, and requested an interview with the Rev. Mr. Johnstone,
of the "Johnstone Settlement." He declared that his object was to
procure food for his famished people, and gave the whites to understand
that, if provisions were not furnished, the Indians would take them by
force. Mr. Johnstone sounded Brant concerning his future intentions, and
the chief, without reserve, told him that he had made a covenant with
the king, and was not inclined to break it. The people supplied him with
food, but the marauders, not satisfied, drove off a large number of
cattle, sheep, and swine. As soon as the Indians had departed, not
feeling safe in their remote settlement, the whites abandoned it, and
took refuge in Cherry Valley. Some families in the neighborhood of
Unadilla fled to the German Flats, and others to Esopus and Newburgh, on
the Hudson River.

As the Indian forces were constantly augmenting at Oghkwaga, it was
determined by General Schuyler and his officers, in council, that
Herkimer (now a brigadier) should repair thither and obtain an interview
with Brant. Herkimer took with him three hundred Tryon county militia,
and invited Brant to meet him at Unadilla. This the chief agreed to. In
the mean while, Colonel Van Schaick marched with one hundred and fifty
men as far as Cherry Valley, and General Schuyler held himself in
readiness to repair to Unadilla if his presence should be needed. These
precautions seemed necessary, for they knew not what might be the
disposition of Brant.

It was a week after Herkimer arrived at Unadilla before Brant made his
appearance. He came accompanied by five hundred warriors. He dispatched
a runner to Herkimer to inquire the object of his visit. *** Herkimer
replied that he came to see and converse with

* This change in the name of the fort, from Stanwix to Schuyler,
produced some confusion, for there was already an old fort at Utica
called Fort Schuyler, so named in honor of Colonel Peter Schuyler, a
commander of provincial troops in the war with the French and Indians.

** Toward the close of the winter of 1777 a large gathering of Indians
was held at Oghkwaga. The Provincial Congress of New York dispatched
thither Colonel John Harper, of Harpersfield, to ascertain their
intentions. He arrived on the 27th of February, and was well received by
the Indians. They expressed their sorrow for the troubles that afflicted
Tryon county, and gave every assurance of their pacific dispositions.
Colonel Harper believed them, and gave them a feast by roasting an ox.
It was afterward discovered that all their friendship was feigned; their
professions of peaceful intentions were gross hypocrisy. A few weeks
subsequently, while taking a circuit alone through the woods near the
head waters of the Susquehanna, Harper met some Indians, who exchanged
salutations with him. He recognized one of them as Peter, an Indian whom
he had seen at Oghkwaga, but they did not know him. His great-coat
covered his uniform, and he feigning to be a Tory, they told him they
were on their way to cut off the Johnstone settlement on the east shore
of the Susquehanna, near Unadilla. Colonel Harper hastened back to
Harpersfield, collected fifteen stout and brave men, and with them gave
chase to the marauders. In the course of the following night they came
upon the Indians in the valley of Charlotte River. It was almost
daylight when their waning fires were discovered. The savages were in a
profound slumber. Their arms were silently removed, and then each man of
Harper's party, selecting his victim, sprang upon him, and before he was
fairly awake the savage found himself fast bound with cords which the
whites had brought with them. It was a bolder achievement than if the
red men had been killed, and nobler because bloodless. When the day
dawned, and the Indians saw their captors, Peter exclaimed, "Ugh!
Colonel Harper! Why didn't I know you yesterday?" They were taken to
Albany and surrendered into the hands of the Committee of Safety. The
real object of the conference is not known. It is supposed that, as
Herkimer and Brant had been near neighbors and intimate friends, the
former hoped, in a personal interview, to persuade the chief to join the
patriots, or, at least, to remain neutral. It is also supposed that he
went to demand restitution for the cattle, sheep, and swine of which the
savages had plundered the Johnstone and Unadilla settlements.

Conference with Brant. His Frankness. Herkimer's precautionary Measures.
Haughty Bearing of Brant

238his brother, Captain Brant. "And all these men wish to converse with
the chief too?" asked the quick-witted messenger. He returned to Brant
and communicated the reply. The parties were encamped within two miles
of each other, and the whole assemblage made an imposing display. By
mutual agreement, their arms were to be left in their respective
encampments. The preliminaries being arranged, Brant and about forty
warriors appeared upon the skirt of a distant wood, and the parties met
in an open field. A circle was formed, and the two commanders, with
attendants, entered it for conference. After exchanging a few words,
Brant asked Herkimer the object of his visit. He made the same reply as
to the messenger. "And all these have come on a friendly visit too?"
said the chief. "All want to see the poor Indians. It is very kind," he
added, while his lip curled with a sarcastic smile. After a while the
conversation became animated, and finally the chief, being pressed by
direct questions concerning his intentions, firmly 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, the king would humble them; that General Schuyler was
very smart on the Indians at the treaty of German Flats, 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." He also told General Herkimer that a war-path had been
opened across the country to Esopus, for the Tories of Ulster and Orange
to join them. The conference ended then, with an agreement to meet the
next morning at nine o'clock, the respective forces to remain encamped
as they were. *

During the conference, some remarks made by Colonel Cox greatly
irritated the sachem, and on his signal to his warriors, who were near,
they ran to their encampment, raised the shrill war-hoop, and returned
with their rifles. In the mean while the chief became pacified, and the
warriors were kept at a proper distance. Herkimer, however, fearful that
Brant's pacific appearance might be feigned, prepared to act with
decision on the following morning. He charged an active young soldier,
named Wagner, with the duty of shooting Brant, if any hostile movement
should appear on the part of the chief. Wagner was to select two
assistants, who were to shoot the two attendants of Brant at the same
time. He chose Abraham and George Herkimer, nephews of the general, and
the three stood by the side of Herkimer the next morning. There was no
necessity for their services, and, haply, no blood was shed on the
occasion. Mr. Stone seems to have mistaken Herkimer's precaution, in
this instance, for premeditated perfidy, and says that, had the intent
been perpetrated, the stain upon the character of the provincials would
have been such that "all the waters of the Mohawk could not have washed
it away." Mr. Wagner was yet living at Fort Plain when I visited that
place in 1848, and I have his own authority for saying that the
arrangement was only a precautionary one, for which Herkimer deserved
praise. Mr. Stone gives his version upon "the written authority of
Joseph Wagner himself." Simms has declared, in his "History of Schoharie
County," and repeated in conversation with myself, that Wagner told him
he never furnished a MS. account of the affair to any one. Here is some
mistake in the matter, but the honorable character of General Herkimer
forbids the idea of his having meditated the least perfidy.

Again they met, and the haughty chief--haughty because conscious of
strength--as he entered the circle, addressed General Herkimer, and
said, "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 advantage of you." He then gave the signal, and all his
warriors, painted in the hideous colors that distinguished them when
going into battle, burst

* Campbell's Annals of Tryon County.

Breaking up of the Council.--Grand Council at Oswego.--Seduction of the
Indians.--Their Coalescence with the Whites.

239from the surrounding forest, gave the war-hoop, and discharged their
rifles in the air. Brant coolly advised the general to go back to his
house, thanked him for his courtesy on the occasion, expressed a hope
that he might one day return the compliment, and then turned proudly
upon his heel and disappeared in the shadowy forest. "It was early in
July, and the morning was remarkably clear and beautiful. But the echo
of the war-hoop 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 subsequently visited the inhabitants of this
unfortunate frontier." *

A few days after this conference, Brant withdrew his warriors from the
Susquehanna and joined Sir John Johnson and Colonel John Butler, who
were collecting a large body of Tories and refugees at Oswego,
preparatory to a descent upon the Mohawk and Schoharie settlements.
There Guy Johnson and other officers of the British Indian Department
summoned a grand council of the Six Nations. They were invited to
assemble "to eat the flesh and drink the blood of a Bostonian"--in other
words, to feast on the occasion of a proposed treaty of alliance against
the patriots, whom the savages denominated Bostonians, for the reason
that Boston was the focus of the rebellion. There was a pretty full
attendance at the council, but a large portion of the sachems adhered
faithfully to their covenant of neutrality made with General Schuyler,
until the appeals of the British commissioners to their avarice overcame
their sense of honor. The commissioners represented the people of the
king to be numerous as the forest leaves, and rich in every possession,
while those of the colonies were exhibited as few and poor; that the
armies of the king would soon subdue the rebels, and make them still
weaker and poorer; that the _rum_ of the king was as abundant as Lake
Ontario; and that if the Indians would become his allies during the war,
they should never want for goods or money. Tawdry articles, such as
scarlet clothes, beads, and trinkets, were then displayed and presented
to the Indians, which pleased them greatly, and they concluded an
alliance by binding themselves to take up the hatchet against the
patriots, and to continue their warfare until the latter were subdued.
To each Indian were then presented a brass kettle, a suit of clothes, a
gun, a tomahawk and scalping-knife, a piece of gold, a quantity of
ammunition, and a promise of a bounty upon every scalp he should bring
in. ** _Thayendanegea_ (Brant) was thenceforth the acknowledged grand
sachem of the Six Nations, and soon afterward commenced his terrible
career in the midst of our border settlements. ***

We have thus glanced at the most important events that took place in the
Mohawk Valley and adjacent districts prior to the attack of St. Leger
upon Fort Stanwix, or Schuyler (as it will hereafter be called), which
mark the progress of the Revolution there, before Brant and his more
savage white associates brightened the tomahawk and musket, and bared
the knife, in avowed alliance with the enemies of liberty. Volumes might
be, and, indeed, have been, written in giving details of the stirring
events in Tryon county during our Revolutionary struggle. **** To these
the reader is referred for local particulars, while we consider
transactions there of more prominent and general interest.

* Campbell's Annals of Tryon County.

** See Life of Mary Jemison. This pamphlet was written in 1823, and
published by James D. Bemis of Canandaigua, New York. She was taken a
captive near Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh) when a child and was reared
among the Indians. She married a chief, and became an Indian in every
particular, except birth. At the council here spoken of she was present
with her husband. Her death occurred at the age of 89. She says that the
brass kettles mentioned in the text were in use among the Seneca Indians
as late as 1823, when her narrative was printed.

*** Soon after Brant joined the Indians at Oghkwaga, he made a hostile
movement against the settlement of Cherry Valley. He hovered around that
hamlet for some days, but did not attack it. Of this a detailed account
will be given hereafter.

**** The most voluminous are Campbell's Annals of Tryon County, Stone's
Life of Brant and Simms'. Schoharie County and Border Wars of New York.

Indian Battle-ground.--Fort Schuyler.--Colonel Peter Gansevoort

240

CHAPTER XI.

"A scream! 'tis but the panther's--naught

Breaks the calm sunshine there;

A thicket stirs! a deer has sought

From sight a closer lair;

Again upon the grass they droop,

Then bursts the well-known whoop on whoop,

Shrill, deafening on the air,

And onward from their ambush deep,

Like wolves, the savage warriors leap."

Street.

E are now upon an Indian battle-ground, in the bosom of the deep forest,
where the cunning and ferocity of the savage had free exercise in the
panther-like maneuvers of the ambuscade, and the unrestrained use of the
hatchet and knife. Hitherto we have seen the red warriors subordinate,
and comparatively ineffective in the conflicts we have considered,
except in the battle at Lake George and in the massacre at the Cedars.
We have seen their method of warfare wholly subverted by European
tactics, and their fiery courage controlled by a policy unknown in their
sanguinary battles, unsuited to their martial training, and
unsatisfactory to their fierce natures when aroused by the flow of
blood.

But in the siege of Fort Schuyler, which we are about to chronicle, and
particularly in the battle of Oriskany, which formed a part of the
operations of that siege, the Indians, commanded by Brant, the most
subtle and accomplished war chief of his time, formed the strong right
arm of St. Leger, and were left free to fight according to the customs
of their race.

In the spring of 1777, Colonel Peter Gansevoort * was appointed to the
command of Fort Schuyler, and held that post in the summer of that year,
when Burgoyne was making his victorious march toward Albany by way of
Lake Champlain. The successful progress of the British commander greatly
alarmed the people of the north, and those of Tryon county were
particularly disturbed by intelligence that a de-

* Peter Gansevoort was born in Albany, July 17th, 1749. He accompanied
Montgomery into Canada in 1775, with the rank of major, and the next
year he was appointed a colonel in the New York line, which commission
he held when he defended Fort Schuyler against St. Leger. For his
gallant defense of that post he received the thanks of Congress, and in
1781 was promoted to the rank of brigadier general by the state of New
York. After the war he was for many years a military agent. He held
several offices of trust, and was always esteemed for his bravery and
judgment as a soldier, and for his fidelity, intelligence and probity as
a citizen. He died July 2d, 1812, aged 62 years. a citizen. He died July
2d, 1812, aged 62 years.

A Spy's Intelligence. Rumored Preparations for an Invasion. Effect on
the Whigs. Approach of St. Leger.

241scent upon them from Oswego might be expected. As early as June, a
man from Canada, arrested as a spy, had disclosed the fact that a
detachment of British troops, Canadians and Indians, was to penetrate
the country by way of Oswego and the Mohawk, to join Burgoyne when he
should reach Albany. This intelligence was soon after confirmed by
Thomas Spencer, a friendly Oneida half-breed sachem, who was sent to
Canada a secret emissary for information. He was present at a council
where Colonel Claus, * a brother-in-law of Sir John Johnson, presided,
and there he became acquainted with the general plans of Burgoyne. The
Oneida further informed the inhabitants that Sir John Johnson and
Colonel Claus, with their families, were then at Oswego in command of
seven hundred Indians and four hundred regular troops; that there were
six hundred Tories at Oswegatchio (Ogdensburgh) ready to join them; and
that Colonel John Butler was to arrive at Oswego on the 14th of July,
from Niagara, with Tories and Indians.

This information, instead of arousing the Whigs of the Mohawk Valley to
prompt and efficient action, seemed to paralyze them with alarm. The
timid were backward in preparing for the field, and the wavering,
considering the patriot cause almost hopeless, became Loyalists, or, at
best, passive Whigs.

Fort Schuyler was still unfinished, and feebly garrisoned, and certain
discomfiture seemed to await the patriots in that region. Colonel
Gansevoort, however, was vigilant, active, and hopeful. He wrote
spirited letters to General Schuyler, imploring aid, and that officer as
urgently laid the condition of Tryon county before the Provincial
Congress of New York, and also the General Congress. But u was then too
late to expect succor from a distance, and the people of the Mohawk
Valley were thrown upon their own feeble resources for defense. St.
Leger and his Rangers, with the forces of Johnson, Claus, Butler, and
Brant, mentioned by the Oneida chief, were already in motion, and on the
1st of August the enemy, one thousand seven hundred strong, came up
Oneida Lake, and near the ruins of old Fort Newport prepared to invest
Fort Schuyler. The Indians were led by Brant, and the whole beleaguering
force, at the beginning of the march at Oswego Falls, was disposed in
admirable order for the journey through the forest. The main body was
led by the Indians, under Brant, in five columns, four hundred and sixty
paces in front of the advanced guard. The Indians marched in single
file, at large distances apart.

Between the five columns and the rear-guard a file of Indians, ten paces
apart, formed a line of communication. The advanced guard was one
hundred paces in front of the main column, which was disposed in Indian
file, the right and left flanks covered by a file of savages. The rear-
guard was formed of regular troops. The advanced guard was composed of
sixty marksmen, selected from the corps of Johnson's Royal Greens, and
led by Captain Watts, a brother-

* Daniel Claus married the daughter of Sir William Johnson, and was a
man of considerable influence. Brant entertained for him sentiments of
the strongest personal hostility, although both were engaged in the same
cause. His wife died in Canada in 1801, and Brant, in the name of the
Five Nations, made a speech of condolence on her death. William Claus,
deputy superintendent of Indian affairs, was his son.--Sabine's Lives of
Ike Loyalists.

* This diagram, representing the order of march of the besieging force,
is a reduced copy of an engraving in Stone's Life of Brant. The original
drawing, beautifully colored, was found in the writing-desk of St.
Leger, which he left behind when he fled from his camp before Fort
Schuyler. The following is an explanation of the diagram: aaaaa, five
columns of Indians in front, flanking the British flag; 6, advanced
guard; n, line of communication between the advanced guard and Indian
columns; cc, dd, the left and right wings of the eighth and thirty-
fourth regiments (the thirty-fourth on the left side); e, rear-guard,
Indians on the right and left flanks; i i, line of communication.

Investiture of Fort Schuyler.--A curious Flag.--Arrival of St Leger.--
His pompous Manifesto

242in-law of Sir John Johnson. Each corps was likewise furnished with
practiced marksmen at short intervals, who were ordered to concentrate
their strength upon any point that might be attacked. St. Leger, as
appears from his private diary, was much annoyed on the way by the
disposition of his Indian allies to proceed according to their own
notions of expediency. They were averse to approaching the fort in a
body, but the commander finally persuaded them to be governed by his
directions, which, at Oswego, they had promised to obey, and 1777 on the
2d of August Lieutenant Bird and Brant commenced the investment of the
fort.

The garrison, under Colonel Gansevoort, consisted of seven hundred and
fifty men. In July, Colonel Marinus Willett, an active and judicious
officer, had joined the garrison with his regiment, and, on the very day
when Bird commenced the investiture of the fort, Lieutenant-colonel
Mellon, of Colonel Wesson's * regiment, arrived with two hundred men,
and two bateaux laden with provisions and military stores. With this
timely addition, the garrison had sufficient provision for six weeks,
and a plentiful supply of ammunition for small arms. But for their
cannon, their most important means of defense, they had only about four
hundred rounds, or nine cartridges for each piece a day for that length
of time. The garrison was also _without a flag_ when the enemy appeared,
but their pride and ingenuity soon supplied one in conformity to the
pattern adopted by the Continental Congress. Shirts were cut up to form
the white stripes, bits of scarlet cloth were joined for the red, and
the blue ground for the stars was composed of a cloth cloak belonging to
Captain Abraham Swartwout, of Dutchess county, who was then in the fort.
** Before sunset the curious mosaic-work standard, as precious to the
beleaguered garrison as the most beautifully-wrought flag of silk and
needle-work, was floating over one of the bastions.

On the 3d, Colonel St. Leger arrived before the fort with his whole
force. It was a motley collection of British regulars, a few Hessians
and Canadians, well-armed Tories, and troops of warriors from the
various tribes of the Six Nations, except the Oneidas, who were faithful
to their agreement to remain neutral. St. Leger dispatched an officer,
bearing a flag, to the fort, immediately after his arrival, with a copy
of a pompous manifesto which he had sent among the people, conceived
very much in the vein of the one issued by Burgoyne from Crown Point, a
few weeks before. He magnified the power, clemency, and justice of the
king, and charged the General Congress, and other assemblies,
committees, &c., with cruelty in the form of "arbitrary imprisonment,
confiscation of property, persecution and torture, unprecedented in the
inquisitions of the Romish Church." He also denounced the patriot civil
authorities everywhere as guilty of "the profanation of religion," and
of "shocking proceedings" of almost every shade of darkness. He then
exhorted the people who were disposed to do right, to remember that he
was "at the head of troops in the full power of health, discipline, and
valor, determined to strike when necessary and anxious to spare when
possible," and tempted them with offers of employment if they would join
his standard, security to the infirm and industrious, and payment in
coin for all supplies for his army that might be brought into his camp.
"If, notwithstanding these endeavors and sincere intentions to effect
them," he said, in conclusion, "the phrensy of hostility should remain,
I trust

* The name of this officer is variously spelled in the books--Weston,
Wesson, and Wessen. At the close of an autograph letter of his among
Gates's Papers (vol. x.), in the New York Historical Society, it is
written Wesson, and, presuming that he spelled his own name correctly, I
give that orthography. It will be remembered that Colonel Wesson and his
regiment were active participators in the battles of Bemis's Heights, a
few weeks later than the time in question.

** It was in Captain Swartwout's company, while at Poughkeepsie, that
Samuel Geake, an emissary of Sir Henry Clinton, enlisted, in the
character of a recruit, insinuated himself into the good graces of the
officers at Fort Schuyler, and acquired much valuable information
respecting the means, designs, and expectations of the Americans. He was
suspected, arrested, tried by court-martial as a spy, and was condemned
to death. He was spared, however, as a witness against Major Hammell,
another recreant American, who had accompanied him to Poughkeepsie, and
who was under arrest at that time. Geake confessed that he was employed
for the purpose of which he was accused. He said that Major Hammell (who
had been taken prisoner by the British) had espoused the cause of the
enemy, and was promised a colonelcy in the British army, and that he
(Geake) was to receive the commission of lieutenant as soon as he should
return to New York from Fort Schuyler.

Siege of Fort Schuyler.--Operations of the Indians.--Visit to the
Oriskany Battle-ground.--General Herkimer and the Militia.

243I 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." The patriot people who received the manifesto
treated it with derision, and the little garrison, which had already
counted the cost of a siege, and determined upon, a defense of the fort,
laughed at its threats, and regarded its offer of bribes with scorn.

The siege commenced on the 4th. A few bombs were thrown into the fort,
and August, 1777 the Indians, concealed behind trees and bushes, wounded
several men who were employed in raising the parapets. Similar
annoyances occurred on the 5th, and toward evening the Indians spread
out through the woods, encircled the fort, and, by hideous yells through
the night, attempted to intimidate the garrison. St. Leger, confident of
success, sent a dispatch to Burgoyne at this juncture, expressing his
assurance that Fort Schuyler would be in his possession directly, and
the hope that they would speedily meet as victors at Albany. Let us
leave the besiegers and besieged a moment, and ride down to Oriskany,
eight miles eastward of Fort Schuyler, where a terrible episode in the
siege occurred.

I left Rome (site of Fort Schuyler) at about two o'clock, in an open
light wagon, for Oriskany. * The day was very warm; the road, although
nearly level, was excessively stony, and when I arrived at the village I
was almost overcome by the heat and fatigue. Desirous of reaching Utica
that evening, I stayed at the village only long enough to procure a
competent guide to the battle-ground. Mr. George Graham, a resident of
the village (who was one of the committee of arrangements for the
celebration held upon the battle-ground, on the anniversary of the
event, in 1844), kindly accompanied me to the spot, and pointed out the
various localities which were identified on the occasion referred to by
many August 6 old men who were present, some of whom were in the battle.
The locality is about two miles west of the canal landing in the
village, and in the midst of a beautiful agricultural country. Let us
consult the history while on our way thither, and then we shall better
understand our "topographical survey."

As soon as St. Leger's approach up Oneida Lake was known to General
Herkimer, he summoned the militia of Tryon county to the succor of the
garrison at Fort Schuyler. The timidity which seemed to have abated the
fire of the Whigs, when the first intimations of the invasion were given
by the Canada spy and the Oneida sachem, now disappeared, when the
threatened danger was at their doors, and the call of Herkimer was
responded to with alacrity, not only by the militia, but most of the
members of the Tryon county committee entered the field as officers or
volunteers. They rendezvoused at Fort Dayton, on the German Flats, and,
on the day when the Indians encircled the fort, Herkimer was near
Oriskany with more than eight hundred men, eager to face the enemy. He
August 2 sent a messenger to Gansevoort, informing him of his approach,
and requesting him to apprise him of the arrival of his courier by
discharging three guns in rapid succession, which he knew would be heard
at Oriskany. But the messenger did not arrive until near noon the next
day. Herkimer was brave, but cautious, and determined to halt there
until he should receive re-enforcements or hear the signal guns from the
fort. His officers, influenced by the impatience of their men to press
on toward the fort, were opposed to delay. Herkimer, self-relying, was
firm. Harsh words ensued, and two of his colonels, Cox and Paris, more
impertinent than generous, denounced the old man as a coward and a Tory.
This bitter taunt sank deep into his heart, but his duty governed his
feelings, and he calmly replied, "I am placed over you as a father and
guardian, and shall not lead you into difficulties from which I may not
be able to extricate you." But they persisted in their demands for an
immediate advance, and continued their ungenerous taunts. Stung by
imputations

* Oriskany is a little village about eight miles west of Utica, at the
junction of the Oriskany Creek with the Mohawk. The Erie Canal and the
rail-road both pass through it, and the establishment of woolen
factories there promises growth and prosperity to the pleasant town.

Herkimer's Advance to Oriskany Sortie from Fort Schuyler, under Colonel
Willett.--Biographical Sketch of Willett

244of cowardice, Herkimer at length yielded, and gave the word to "March
on!" at the same time telling those who boasted loudest of their courage
that they would be the first to run on seeing the enemy. St. Leger had
intelligence of the advance of Herkimer, and detached a division of
Johnson's Greens, under Major Watts, Colonel Butler with his Rangers,
and Brant with a strong body of Indians, to intercept him, and prevent
an attack upon his intrenchments.

* Before the arrival of Herkimer's messenger, Gansevoort had observed
the silence of the enemy's camp, and also the movement of a portion of
his troops along the margin of a wood down the river. The arrival of the
courier dispelled all doubts as to the destination of the detachment,
and the signal guns were immediately fired. Herkimer had informed
Gansevoort, by the messenger, that he intended, on hearing the signals,
to cut his way to the fort through the circumvallating camp of the
enemy, and requested him to make a sortie at the same time. This was
done as soon as the arrangement could be made, and a detachment of two
hundred men, consisting of portions of Gansevoort's and Wesson's
regiments, was detailed for the purpose, who took with them an iron
three pounder. Fifty men were also added, to protect the cannon, and to
act otherwise as circumstances might require. The enterprise was
intrusted to Colonel Marinus Willett, * who, by quick and judicious
movements and daring courage, with his small force, accomplished wonders
in a few hours. Rain was falling copiously while preparations for the
sortie were in progress, but the moment it ceased Willett sallied out
and fell furiously upon that portion of the camp occupied by Sir John
Johnson and his Royal Greens, a detachment of whom, as we have seen,

* Marinus Willett was born at Jamaica, Long Island, July 31st (O.S.),
1740. He was the youngest of six sons of Edward Willett, a Queen's
county farmer. He was early imbued with a military spirit, and joined
the army, under Abercrombie, as a lieutenant in Colonel Delaney's
regiment, in 1758. He was in the disastrous battle at Ticonderoga, and
accompanied Bradstreet in his expedition against Fort Frontenac.
Exposure in the wilderness injured his health, and he was confined by
sickness in the newly-erected Fort Stanwix until the end of the
campaign. Willett early espoused the republican cause when British
aggression aroused resistance here. When the British troops in the New
York garrison were ordered to Boston, after the skirmish at Lexington,
they attempted, in addition to their own, to carry off a large quantity
of spare arms. Willett resolved to prevent it, and, though opposed by
the mayor and other Whigs, he captured the baggage-wagons containing
them, and took them back to the city. These arms were afterward used by
the first regiment raised by the state of New York. He was appointed
second captain of a company in Colonel M'Dougal's regiment, and
accompanied Montgomery in his northern expedition. He was placed in
command of St. John's, and held that post until January, 1776. He was
that year appointed lieutenant colonel, and, at the opening of the
campaign of 1777, placed in command of Fort Constitution, on the Hudson.
In May he was ordered to Fort Stanwix, or Schuyler, where he performed
signal services, as noticed in the text. He was left in command of the
fort, and remained there until the summer of 1778 when he joined the
army under Washington, and was at the battle of Monmouth. He accompanied
Sullivan in his campaign against the Indians in 1779, and was actively
engaged in die Mohawk Valley in 1780, 1781, and 1782. In 1792 he was
sent by Washington to treat with the Creek Indians at the south; and the
same year he was appointed a brigadier general in the army intended to
act against the Northwestern Indians. He declined the appointment, for
he was opposed to the expedition. He was for some time sheriff of New
York, and was elected mayor of the city in 1807. He was chosen elector
of President and Vice-president in 1824, and was made president of the
Electoral College. He died in New York, August 23d, 1830. in the 91st
year of his age.

Dispersion of Johnson's Camp.--Capture of Stores and other Valuables.--
View and Description of the Oriskany Battle-ground.

245had been sent to oppose the approach of Herkimer. The advanced guard,
unable to withstand the impetuosity of the attack, were driven in; and
so suddenly was Sir John's camp assailed, that he was not allowed time
to put on his coat. He endeavored to bring his troops into order, but
they fled in dismay. The Indian encampment was then assaulted, and in a
few moments the savages, too, were scattered. Sir John and his troops
fled across the river, to the temporary camp of St. Leger, and the
Indians buried themselves in the deep forest near. No less than twenty-
one wagon-loads of spoil, consisting of clothing, blankets, stores, camp
equipage, five British standards, the baggage of Sir John, with all his
papers, and those of other officers, containing every kind of
information necessary to the garrison, were captured. Having secured
their prize, Willett and his party returned to the fort without the loss
of a man. The five British colors were raised in full view of the enemy,
upon the flag-staff', beneath the uncouth American standard, and the
whole garrison, mounting the parapets, made the forest ring with three
loud cheers. This chivalrous exploit was duly noticed by Congress, and
an elegant sword was presented to Colonel Willett in the name of the
United States.

General Herkimer, in the mean while, had moved from the mills, at the
mouth of Oriskany Creek, toward the fort, entirely unconscious of the
ambuscade that, in a deep ravine two miles distant, awaited his
approach. The morning was dark, sultry, and lowering. His troops,
composed chiefly of the militia regiments of Colonels Cox, Paris,
Visscher, and Klock, were quite undisciplined, and their order of march
was irregular and without precaution. The contentions of the morning had
delayed their advance until about nine o'clock, and the hard feelings
that existed between the commander and some of his officers caused a
degree of insubordination which proved fatal in its consequences. Brant
and his Tory asso-

* This sketch was made from the eastern side of the ravine, looking
west. The marsh in the bottom of the ravine, mentioned in the text, is
partially drained by a rivulet. When I visited the spot (August, 1848),
many logs of the old causeway were still visible, and afforded a
crossing-place for cattle. These logs are seen in the picture. The road
on the left is the present highway between Oriskany and Rome. The barn
stands upon the western side of the ravine, and along the high ground
upon which it is situated, and crossing the road southeasterly, the
ambush was placed. The hottest of the battle occurred upon the high
plain between the ravine in the foreground and another beyond the most
distant trees in the picture The hills seen in the extreme distance, on
the right, are those upon the north side of the Mohawk. The frame-work
in the ravine is the remains of the scaffolding erected for the speakers
at the celebration alluded to, in 1844. The chief speakers on the
occasion were John A. Dix and Senator Dickinson, and the audience was
estimated at 15,000 people. The scaffold was erected upon the spot, as
nearly as it could be defined, where General Herkimer fell. In the
middle of the field beyond the scaffold, in the f lightest part near the
tree, toward the barn, is seen a dark spot. It marks the site, now
indicated by a cavity, where the beach-tree stood under which Herkimer
sat and delivered his orders. The tree was cut down about eight years
ago, and then uprooted the stump to make room for a more precious hill
of potatoes. This view is about two miles west of Oriskany, on the north
side of the main road. Arrow-heads, bullets, bayonets, tomahawks, pipes,
&c., are still found there by the cultivator. The bowl of an earthen
pipe was shown to me by a resident upon the ground (whose house is seen
in the distance, beyond the barn), which he had plowed up the day
before. He had several other relics of the battle, but would not part
with any. The above is a drawing of the pipe-bowl.

Indian Ambush.--Surprise of Herkimer and his Troops.--The General
wounded.--His Coolness.--Desperate Battle.

246ciates had learned from their scouts the exact route the patriots had
taken, and arranged an ambuscade accordingly. A deep ravine crossed the
path of Herkimer in a north and south direction, extending from the high
grounds on the south to the river, and curved toward the east in a
semicircular form. The bottom of this ravine was marshy, and the road
crossed it by means of a causeway of earth and logs. On each side of the
ravine the ground was nearly level, and heavily timbered. A thick growth
of underwood, particularly along the margin of the ravine, favored
concealment. It was upon the high ground on the western side of this
ravine that the ambush of the Tories and Indians was laid, in such a
manner that the causeway was surrounded by them, as by a circle, leaving
only a small segment open where the road entered. Unsuspicious of the
proximity of the enemy, the whole body of provincials, except the rear-
guard, composed of Visscher's regiment, descended into the ravine,
followed by the baggage-wagons. Brant gave a signal, and in an instant
the circle closed, the war-hoop was sounded, and spear, and hatchet, and
deadly rifle-ball fell upon the patriots like hail from the clouds that
hovered over them. The rear-guard, in fulfillment of Herkimer's
prediction, instantly fled, and left their companions in the ravine to
their fate. They were pursued by the Indians, and probably suffered
more, in their cowardly flight, than if they had boldly aided their
environed companions in arms.

This sudden onslaught produced great confusion in the patriot ranks, but
they soon recovered, and fought with the courage and skill of veteran
troops. The slaughter, however, was dreadful. Herkimer was severely
wounded at the commencement of the action, and Colonel Cox and Captain
Van Slyk were killed at the first fire. A musket-ball passed through and
killed the horse of the general, and shattered his own leg just below
the knee. With perfect composure and cool courage, he ordered the saddle
to be taken from his slaughtered horse and placed against a large beech-
tree near. Seated there, with his men falling like autumn foliage, and
the bullets of the enemy, like driving sleet, whistling around him, the
intrepid general calmly gave his orders, and thus nobly rebuked the
slanderers who called him a coward. *

For nearly an hour the fierce action continued, and by slow degrees the
enemy was closing in upon the republicans. The latter then made an
admirable change in their method of repulsion. They formed themselves
into circles, and thus met the enemy at all points. Their fire became so
destructive in this way, that the Johnson Greens and a portion of
Butler's Tories attempted a bayonet charge. This was promptly met by the
patriots, and the battle assumed the terrible form of a death-struggle
in close personal contact. They

"Fought eye to eye, and hand to hand,

Alas! 'twas but to die;

In vain the rifle's deadly flash

Scorch'd eagle plume and wampum sash;

The hatchet hiss'd on high,

And down they fell in crimson heaps,

Like the ripe corn the sickle reaps."

At this moment a heavy thunder-peal broke over the forest, and the rain
came down in such

* It is related that, during the hottest of the action, the general,
seated upon his saddle, quietly took his tinder-box from his pocket,
lighted his pipe, and smoked as composedly as if seated at his own fire-
side.

Intermission in the Battle.--Its Resumption.--Unsuccessful Stratagem of
Colonel Butler.--The Enemy routed.--Mutual Losses.

247torrents that the combatants ceased their strife, and sought shelter
beneath the trees. It was during this heavy shower that Willett made his
preparations at the fort for the successful sortie just noticed; and, as
soon as the rain subsided, he fell upon Johnson's camp, and the battle
was renewed at Oriskany.

During the lull in the conflict, both parties viewed the ground, and
made new arrangements for attack and defense. It had been observed by
the patriots that the Indians, as soon as they saw a gun fired by a
provincial behind a tree, would rush forward and tomahawk him before he
could reload. To meet such an exigency in the renewed conflict, two men
stood together behind a tree, and, while one fired, the other awaited
the approach of the savage with his tomahawk, and felled him with his
bullet. The provincials had also made choice of more advantageous
ground, and, soon after the renewal of the fight, so destructive was
their fire that the Indians began to give way. Major Watts came up with
a detachment of Johnson's Greens to support them, but the presence of
these men, mostly refugees from the Mohawk, made the patriots more
furious, and mutual resentments, as the parties faced and recognized
each other, seemed to give new strength to their arms. They leaped upon
each other with the fierceness of tigers, and fought hand to hand and
foot to foot with bayonets and knives. It was a terrible struggle, and
exhibited the peculiar cruelty and brutality which distinguishes civil
war.

A firing was now heard in the direction of the fort. It was the attack
of Willett upon the enemy's camp. Colonel Butler instantly conceived a
stratagem, and was nearly successful in its execution. He so changed the
dress of a detachment of Johnson's Greens, that they appeared like
American troops. These were made to approach from the direction of the
fort, and were at first (as intended by Butler) mistaken by the patriots
for a re-enforcement from the garrison. But the quick eye of Captain
Gardinier, an officer who performed deeds of great valor on that
memorable day, discovered their real character, and, ordering his men to
fall upon these pretended friends, they were soon scattered in
confusion. The Indians, finding their ranks greatly thinned, and the
provincials still undismayed, raised the loud retreating cry, _Oonah!
Oonah!_ and fled in all directions. The panic was communicated to the
Tories and Canadians, and the whole force of the enemy retreated in
confusion, pursued by the provincials with shouts of victory. Thus,
after a conflict of six hours, ended the battle of Oriskany, the
bloodiest encounter, in proportion to the numbers engaged, that occurred
during the war. Neither party could claim a decided victory. Both had
suffered dreadfully. The patriots remained masters of the field, but
they did not accomplish the design of the expedition, the relief of the
garrison at Fort Schuyler. Their wounded, nearly fifty in number, were
carried from the field on litters, and among them was General Herkimer,
who was taken to his residence below the Little Falls, on the Mohawk,
where he died ten days afterward. The manner and circumstances of his
death will be noticed in the relation of my visit to his mansion, which
is still standing.

The loss in this battle seems not to have been officially given on
either side. St. Leger, in a letter to Burgoyne, dated August 11th, five
days after the battle, says, "Above four hundred [patriots] lay dead on
the field, among the number of whom were almost all of the principal
movers of the rebellion in that county." The enemy also claimed to have
taken two hundred prisoners. Dr. Thatcher, in his Military Journal (page
89), records the loss of the Americans at "one hundred and sixty killed,
and a great number wounded." This is the number stated by Gordon and
other cotemporary writers. The Indians lost about seventy, among whom
were several chiefs. * Major Watts was badly wounded, and left for dead
upon the field. He revived from the faintness produced by loss of blood,
crawled to a brook and quenched his thirst, and there remained until he
was found, nearly three days afterward, by an Indian scout, and taken
into St. Leger's camp. There were many deeds

* Gordon and others relate that, in the course of the battle, a portion
of the Indians became impressed with the belief that there was a
coalition between Johnson's and Herkimer's men to destroy them, and
that, toward the close of the conflict, the savages killed many of the
Tories. "It is thought," says Gordon, "that near as many of Sir John's
Tory party were killed by the Indians as by the militia."

True Aim of History.--Capture of Billenger and Frey.--St. Leger's
Messengers.--Their Threats, Persuasions, and Falsehoods

248of personal courage exhibited in that battle, which, according to the
military ethics of a less benevolent age, would entitle the actors to
the crown of laurel, the applause of multitudes, and the panegyric of
the historian. But the picture is so revolting to the eye of Christian
benevolence, and so repugnant to the nobler feelings of brotherhood,
which are now happily impressing their benignant features upon society,
that it is far better to draw the curtain of silence before it, and
plead for the warriors, in extenuation, the dreadful necessity that
impelled them to deeds so shocking to humanity. It is high time that the
practice of pampering a depraved public taste by giving the horrid
details of slaughter in battle, and of investing with glory, as models
for imitation, those who fight most furiously and slay most profusely,
should fall into desuetude. These details are not essential elements of
history. They contain no useful lesson, no seed of philosophy worthy of
germination, no real benefit for the understanding or the heart. * Thus
far I have avoided such recitals, and I shall do so through the whole
work before me. Neither pen nor pencil shall intentionally contribute
one thought for a panegyric on war or its abettors. The student of our
Revolution, while he may justly rejoice at the vast and invaluable
blessings which followed that event, should be taught to _lament_ rather
than _admire_ the dreadful instrumentalities that were necessarily
employed. He may thus be taught without lessening the veneration which
he ought to feel for those who periled life and fortune in defense of
the liberty we now enjoy. Let us turn from these better contemplations
to the more unpleasant task of tracing out the succeeding events of the
siege of Fort Schuyler.

So completely was the garrison still environed by the besieging force,
after the battle at Oriskany, that no correct intelligence of that event
could reach them. St. Leger took advantage of this circumstance, and, by
false representations of victory for himself, the total discomfiture of
the provincials, and the victorious advance of Burgoyne, endeavored to
bring the garrison to surrender. Colonel Billenger and Major Frey were
made prisoners, and on the evening of the battle they were forced to
write a letter to Colonel Gansevoort, which contained many
misrepresentations, and a recommendation to cease resistance. St.
Leger's adjutant general, Colonel John Butler, delivered the letter to
Gansevoort, and at the same time communicated a verbal demand of
surrender from his commander. Gansevoort refused an answer to a verbal
summons, unless made by St. Leger himself. On the next morning, Colonel
Butler and two other officers approached the fort with a white flag, and
asked permission to enter as bearers of a message to the commander. The
request was granted; they were conducted, blind-folded, within the
fortress, and received by Gansevoort in his dining-room, which was
lighted with candles, the windows being closed. Colonels Willett and
Mellen were present, and the messengers of St. Leger were politely
received. Major Ancram, one of them, more fluent in speech than the
others, made known the wishes of St. Leger. He spoke of the humanity of
his feelings, and his desire to prevent further bloodshed. He assured
Gansevoort that it was with much difficulty the Indians were restrained
from massacre, and that the only salvation of the garrison was an
immediate surrender of the fort and all the public stores. The officers
and soldiers would be allowed to retain their baggage and other private
property, and their personal safety should be guarantied. He ex pressed
a hope that these honorable terms would be immediately complied with,
for, if they were not, it would be out of St. Leger's power to renew the
proposition. The Indians, he remarked, were ready and eager to march
down the country and destroy the inhabitants; and they were reminded
that the total destruction of Herkimer's relief corps, and the fact that
_Burgoyne had possession of Albany_, extinguished all hope of succor for
the garrison.

* An example in an account of the battle in question, given in Stone's
Life of Brant, may be cited as an illustration. A Captain Dillenback was
assailed by three of Johnson's Greens. "This officer," says the
biographer, "had declared he would not 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. 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." It is the last clause which is chiefly objectionable, for
therein the historian, not content with recording the bloody act
(justified by the law of self-preservation), lauds it as a deed worthy
of the highest praise.

Reply of Colonel Willett to St. Leger's Messengers.--St Leger's written
Demand of Surrender.--Gansevoort's Reply

249This speech, made up of falsehood, persuasion, and threats, excited
the indignation of the patriot officers, and Colonel Willett, with the
approbation of Colonel Gansevoort, promptly and properly replied. I give
his words, as contained in his narrative. They were delivered with
emphasis, while he looked the officer, he says, full in the face: "Do I
understand you, sir? I think you say that you came 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 upon your heads, not upon 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 army, 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 practiced by such hordes
of women and children killers as belong to your army."

These words expressed the sentiments of the garrison, and the officers
very justly concluded that Burgoyne could not be at Albany, and the
Tryon county militia all slain or dispersed, else such a solicitude on
the part of the enemy for an immediate surrender, on such favorable
conditions, would not be exhibited. The manner of the messengers and the
tenor of their discourse made the besieged feel stronger, and more
resolved to defend their post.

On the 9th, St. Leger sent a written demand for a surrender, which
contained the August 1777 substance of Major Ancram's speech Gansevoort
immediately replied, in writing, "Sir, your letter of this date I have
received, in answer to which I say, that it is my determined resolution,
with the force under my command, to defend this fort to the last
extremity, in behalf of the United Stales, who have placed me here to
defend it against all their enemies." This prompt and bold stand was
unexpected to the British commander. His cannon had not the least effect
upon the sod-work of the fort, and his "royals had only the power of
teazing." * He therefore commenced approaching the fort by

* Letter of St. Leger to Burgoyne, dated Oswego, August 27th, 1777.

** Description of the Engraving.--A, Fort Schuyler; 6, southwest
bastion, three guns; r, northwest bastion, four guns; d, northeast
bastion, three guns; e, southeast bastion, four guns; g, laboratory; h h
A, barracks; I, horn-works begun; K, covered way; L L, glacis; M, sally-
port; N, officers' quarters; 0 0, Willett's attack. The figures refer lo
the redoubts, batteries, &c., of the enemy. 1, a battery of three guns;
2, bomb battery, four mortars; 3, bomb battery of three guns; 4 4 4,
redoubts lo cover the batteries; 5, line of approaches, 6 6, British
encampment; 7, Loyalists; 8, Indians; 9, ruins of Fort Newport.

A Tory Address.--Continuation of the Siege.--Adventure of Willett and
Stockwell.--Gansevoort's Resolution.

250sapping to such a distance that the rampart might be brought within
their portieres, at the same time all materials were preparing to run a
mine under the most formidable bastion. *

In the mean while an address to the people of Tryon eounty, signed by
Johnson, Claus, and Butler, was issued, strongly protesting their desire
for peace, promising pardon and protection to all that should submit,
and threatening all the horrors of Indian cruelty if they resisted. They
called upon the principal men of the valley to come up and oblige the
garrison at Fort Schuyler to do at once what they would be forced to do
finally--surrender. This document was sent by messengers through Tryon
eounty, but it effected little else than get the messengers themselves
into trouble. ** The siege, in the mean while, was steadily, but feebly,
continued. The garrison, fearing that re-enforcements for the enemy
might arrive, or that the siege might continue until their own
provisions and ammunition should fail, resolved to communicate with
General Schuyler, then at Stillwater, and implore succor. Colonel
Willett volunteered to be the messenger, and on a very stormy night,
when shower August 10, 1777 after shower came down furiously, he and
Lieutenant Stoekwell left the fort by the sally-port at ten o'clock,
eaeh armed with a spear, and crept upon their hands and knees along a
morass to the river. They crossed it upon a log, and were soon beyond
the line of drowsy sentinels. It was very dark, their path-way was in a
thick and tangled wood, and they soon lost their way. The barking of a
dog apprised them of their proximity to an Indian camp, and for hours
they stood still, fearing to advance or retreat. The clouds broke away
toward dawn, and the morning star in the east, like the light of hope,
revealed to them their desired course. They then pushed on in a zigzag
way, and, like the Indians, sometimes traversed the bed of a stream, to
foil pursuers that might be upon their trail. They reached the German
Flats in safety, and, mounting fleet horses, hurried down the valley to
the headquarters of General Sehuyler, who had already heard of the
defeat of Herkimer, August 13. and was devising means for the succor of
the garrison at Fort Sehuyler.

St. Leger continued the siege. He advanced, by parallels, within one
hundred and fifty yards of the fort, and the garrison, ignorant of the
fate of Willett and Stoekwell, or the relief that was preparing for them
below, began to feel uneasy. Their ammunition and provisions being much
reduced in quantity, some hinted an opinion to their commander that a
surrender would be humane policy. Gansevoort's stout and hopeful heart
would not yield admission to such an idea, and he informed the garrison
that he had resolved, in case succor should not appear before their
supplies were exhausted, to sally out at night and cut his way through
the enemy's camp. Suddenly, and mysteriously to the garrison, the
besiegers August 22 broke up their camp, and fled so precipitately from
before the fort that they left their tents, artillery, and camp equipage
behind them.

The mystery was soon solved. We have already noticed the appeal of
General Sehuyler to his troops at the mouth of the Mohawk, and the
readiness with whieh Arnold and several hundred men volunteered to march
to the relief of Gansevoort. These troops consisted chiefly of the
Massachusetts brigade of General Learned. They marched immediately,
under the general command of Arnold, and were joined by the first New
York regiment, under Colonel Livingston. On the 20th, Arnold and a
portion of the troops arrived at Fort Dayton, where he intended to wait
for the remainder, under Learned, to arrive; but, hearing of the near
approaches of St. Leger to Fort Sehuyler, he resolved to push forward,
and hazard a battle before it should be too late. He knew that his small
force was too inconsiderable to warrant a regular engagement, and he
conceived several stratagems to supply his deficiency of strength. One,
whieh proved successful, was adopted. Among the Tory prisoners who were
taken with Walter Butler was a coarse, unlettered, half idiot named Hon-

* Letter of St. Leger to Burgoyne, dated Oswego, August 27th, 1777.

** Walter N. Butler, a son of Colonel John Butler, and afterward one of
the most brutal of the Tory leaders, with fourteen white soldiers and
the same number of Indians, appeared at the German Flats, at the house
of a Tory named Shoemaker. Colonel Wesson was then in command of a small
fortification there, called Fort Dayton, and he sent a party to arrest
Butler and his associates. They succeeded, and Butler was tried and
condemned as a spy, but was afterward sent a prisoner to Albany, under a
reprieve.

Hon-Yost Schuyler.--His successful Mission to St Léger's Camp.--Arnold's
Proclamation.--Alarm of the Indians

251Yost Schuyler, a nephew of General Herkimer, who, with his mother and
brother, lived near Little Falls. He was tried and condemned to death.
His mother hastened to Fort Dayton and pleaded for his life. For a time
Arnold was inexorable, but finally consented to spare him, on condition
that he should go to Fort Schuyler and endeavor so to alarm St. Leger,
by representations of the great number of Americans that were
approaching, as to induce him to raise the siege. Hon-Yost readily
agreed to perform the duty, for, in reality, his political creed was so
chameleon-like, that it would assume any required hue, according to
circumstances. His mother offered herself as a hostage for his
faithfulness, but Arnold chose his brother Nicholas as security. The
latter was placed in confinement, and Hon-Yost, with a friendly Oneida,
who promised to aid him, departed for Fort Schuyler.

Arnold, having issued a proclamation from Fort Dayton to counteract the
address of Johnson, Claus, and Butler, marched ten miles onward toward
Fort Stanwix. There he received a communication from Colonel Gansevoort,
announcing that the siege had suddenly been raised, and that the enemy
had fled, in great haste, toward Wood Creek; why, he could not imagine.
Arnold perceived that Hon-Yost had been faithful. He and the Indian had
managed the affair adroitly, and the charge of idiotcy against Hon-Yost
was wiped out forever. Before leaving Fort Dayton, he had several
bullets shot through his coat, and, with these evidences of a "terrible
engagement with the enemy," he appeared among the Indians of St. Leger's
camp, many of whom knew him personally. He ran into their midst almost
out of breath, and apparently much frightened. He told them that the
Americans were approaching in great numbers, and that he had barely
escaped with his life. His bullet-riddled coat confirmed the story. When
they inquired the number of the Americans, he pointed to the leaves on
the trees, and shook his head mysteriously. The Indians were greatly
agitated. They had been decoyed into their present situation, and had
been moody and uneasy since the battle of Oriskany. At the moment of
Hon-Yost's arrival they were engaged in a religious observance--a
consultation, through their prophet, of Manitou, or the Great Spirit, to
supplicate his guidance and protection. The council of chiefs at the
_pow-wow_ at once resolved upon flight, and told St. Leger so. He sent
for and questioned Hon-Yost, who told him that Arnold, with two thousand
men, would be upon him in twenty-four hours. At that moment, according
to arrangement, the friendly Oneida, who had taken a circuitous route,
approached the camp from another direction, with a belt. On his way he
met two or three straggling Indians of his tribe, who joined him, and
they all confirmed the story of Hon-Yost. They pretended that a bird had
brought them the news that the valley below was swarming with warriors.
One said that the army of Burgoyne was cut to pieces, and another told
St. Leger that Arnold had three thousand men near. They shook their
heads mysteriously when questioned about numbers by the Indians, and
pointed, like Hon-Yost, upward to the leaves. The savages, now
thoroughly alarmed, prepared to flee. St. Leger tried every means, by
offers of bribes and promises, to induce them to remain, but the panic,
and suspicion of foul play, had determined them to go. He tried to make
them drunk, but they refused to drink. He then besought them to take the
rear of his army in retreating; this they refused, and indignantly said,
"You mean to sacrifice us. When you marched down, you said there would
be no fighting for us Indians; we might go down and smoke our pipes;
whereas numbers of our warriors have been killed, and you mean

* The address of Arnold was well calculated to awe the timid and give
courage to the wavering Whigs. The prestige of his name gave great
weight to it. He prefaced it with a flourish of his title and position,
as follows: "By the Honorable Benedict Arnold, Esq., general and
commander-in-chief of the army of the United States of America on the
Mohawk River." He denominated a certain Barry St. Leger "a leader of a
banditti of robbers, murderers, and traitors, composed of savages of
America and more savage Britons," and denounced him as a seducer of the
ignorant and unthinking from the cause of freedom, and as threatening
ruin and destruction to the people. He then offered a free pardon to all
who had joined him or upheld him, "whether savages, Germans, Americans,
or Britons," provided they laid down their arms and made oath of
allegiance to the United States within three days. But if they persisted
in their "wicked courses," and "were determined to draw on themselves
the just vengeance of Heaven and their exasperated country, they must
expect no mercy from either."

August 23, 1777

Flight of St. Leger's Forces to Oswego.--The Spoils.--Amusement of the
Indians.--End of the Siege.--Captain Gregg

August 23, 1777 to sacrifice us 252also." * The council broke up, and
the Indians fled. The panic was communicated to the rest of the camp,
and in a few hours the beleaguering army were flying in terror toward
their boats on Oneida Lake. Hon-Yost accompanied them in their flight as
far as Wood Creek, where he managed to desert. He found his way back to
the fort that night, and was the first to communicate to Colonel
Gansevoort the intelligence of Arnold's approach. ** The Indians, it is
said, made themselves merry at the precipitate flight of the whites, ***
who threw away their arms and knapsacks, so that nothing should impede
their progress. The savages also gratified their passion for murder and
plunder by killing many of their retreating allies on the borders of the
lake, and stripping them of every article of value. They also plundered
them of their boats, and, according to St. Leger, "became more
formidable than the enemy they had to expect." **** Half starved and
naked, the whites of the scattered army made their way to Oswego, and,
with St. Leger, went down Ontario to Canada..

Colonel Gansevoort, on the retreat of St. Leger, sent a dispatch to
Arnold, acquainting him with the fact. That general sent forward nine
hundred men, with directions to attempt to overtake the fugitives, and
the next day reached the fort himself.

Gansevoort had already sent out a detachment to harass the flying enemy,
and several prisoners were brought in, with a large quantity of spoil,
among which was the _escritoire_, or writing-desk, of St. Leger,
containing his private papers. Colonel Willett was left in command of
the garrison at the fort, and Arnold and his men marched back to the
main army (then at Stillwater, under Gates, who had superseded
Schuyler), to perform valiant service in the battle that soon afterward
occurred, on Bemis's Heights. Thus ended the siege of Fort Schuyler, (v)
in the progress of which the courage, endurance, and skill of the
Americans, every where so remarkable in the Revolution, were fully
displayed. (vi)

* Mary Jemison, whose narrative we have referred to, says that the
Indians (at least the Senecas) were greatly deceived. They were sent for
to "see the British whip the rebels." They were told that they were not
wanted to fight, but might sit down and smoke their pipes, and look
quietly on. With this impression, the Seneca warriors accompanied the
expedition, and, as we have seen, suffered great loss.

** Hon-Yost made his way back to Fort Dayton, to the great joy of his
friends. He afterward fled from the valley with his family and fourteen
Tory associates, and joined Sir John Johnson. After the war he returned
to the valley, where he remained until his death in 1818.

*** Gordon (ii., 240), on the verbal authority of the Rev. Mr. Kirkland,
who was at Fort Schuyler, relates that St. Leger, while standing on the
border of a morass alone with Sir John Johnson, reproached the latter
with being the cause of the disaffection of the Indians. High words and
mutual criminations followed. Two chiefs, standing near, overheard the
quarrel, and put an end to it by shouting, "They are coming! they are
coming!" Both officers, terribly alarmed, plunged into the morass. This
was the signal for the general retreat of the whole army. Such was their
haste, that they left their tents, baggage, and artillery behind, and
the bombardier was left asleep in the bomb battery! When he awoke he
found himself alone, the sole representative in camp of the besieging
army. The Indians continued their cry, at intervals, "They are coming!
they are coming!" behind the fleeing Tories, and thus amused themselves
all the way to Oneida Lake.

**** Letter of St. Leger to Burgoyne, August 27th, 1777.

(v) Fort Schuyler was destroyed by fire and flood in 1781, and was never
rebuilt.

(vi) Before the fort was invested by St. Leger, the Indians, in small
parties, annoyed the garrison, and frequently attacked individuals when
away from their dwellings. On one occasion they fired upon three little
girls who were out gathering blackberries. Two were killed and scalped,
but the third escaped. The remarkable adventure of Captain Gregg is
worthy of notice. He was a soldier of the garrison of Fort Schuyler, and
went out one day to shoot pigeons, with two of his soldiers, and a boy
named Wilson (who became an ensign in the army at the age of eighteen,
and conducted the surrender of the British standards at Yorktown).
Fearing the Indians, the boy was sent back. They had not proceeded far
before some savages in ambush shot all three down, scalped them, and
made off. The captain, though badly wounded, was not killed. His two
soldiers, however, were lifeless, and, laying his bleeding head upon the
body of one of them, he expected soon to die. His dog had accompanied
him, and, in great agitation, whined, licked his wounds, and otherwise
manifested his grief and attachment. He told the dog to go for help, and
the animal, as if endowed with reason, at once obeyed. He ran about a
mile, and found two men fishing. By piteous moans he induced them to
follow him to his wounded master. The captain was carried to the fort,
and, after suffering much, was restored to health. "He was a most
frightful spectacle," says Dr. Thacher, from whose journal (page 144)
this account is taken. "The whole of his scalp was removed; in two
places on the forepart of his head the tomahawk had penetrated the
skull; there was a wound on his back with the same instrument, besides a
wound in his side, and another through his arm with a musket-ball."

Return to Oriskany.--Whitesborough.--Utica.--Little Falls.--Visit to the
German Flats.--Origin of the Name

253On my return to Oriskany village, after visiting the battle-ground, I
learned that Mr. Nellis, who was engaged in that conflict, was still
living at Whitesborough, three miles eastward. I had dismissed the
vehicle that conveyed me from Rome to Oriskany, intending to proceed to
Utica from the latter place upon a canal packet. I felt a desire to
visit the old veteran, and yet was anxious to reach Utica that evening.
While deliberating concerning the matter, a constable from Whitesborough
rode up to the hotel in a light wagon, executed his business in haste,
and kindly offered me a seat on his return. I gladly placed myself in
his custody. He said his errand to Oriskany was in search of a thief,
and I have no doubt the people of Whitesborough gave him credit for
success, for my "fatigue dress" and soiled "Panama" made me appear more
like a prowler than a tourist. Mr. Nellis was not at home, so my visit
was fruitless, except in the pleasure derived from a view of the
beautiful village, as we rode in from the westward. It lies upon a
plain, encircled by the arms of the Erie Canal and the Mohawk River.

At sunset, after partially satisfying a long-suffering appetite from a
table at _a restorer,_ on the verge of the canal, where dainty guests
should eat with closed eyes and unwavering faith in the purity of the
viands and the proper proportions of flies and butter, I embarked for
Utica, six miles eastward. It was the close of a calm, sultry day, and
peculiarly grateful August 20, 1848 was the evening breeze that fanned
us as we glided along upon that tiny river, through cultivated fields
and pleasant woodlands.

"Sweet to the pensive is departing day,

When only one small cloud, so still and thin,

So thoroughly imbued with amber light,

And so transparent that it seems a spot

Of brighter sky, beyond the furthest mount,

Hangs o'er the hidden orb; or where a few

Long, narrow stripes of denser, darker grain,

At each end sharpened to a needle's point,

With golden borders, sometimes straight and smooth,

And sometimes crinkling like the lightning's stream,

A half hour's space above the mountain lie."

Carlos Wilcox.

This quiet scene was soon exchanged for the bustle and noise of the busy
town, and, before the twilight had fairly faded. I was jolted over the
paved streets of Utica. There I spent some thirty hours with some
friends. The city has no noteworthy reminiscences of the Revolution,
except the single fact that the army, under Herkimer, crossed the Mohawk
at old

Fort Schuyler (then a fortress in ruins), while on his way to Oriskany,
and the general interest which belongs to it as that portion of Tryon
county which was consecrated by the presence and the prowess of the
patriots. It is a pleasant and thriving city, upon the southern slope of
the Mohawk Valley. Like all other towns in Western New York, it is young
and vigorous, and every feature glows with the beauty of youth and
health.

I left Utica at noon by rail-road, arrived at Little Falls, twenty miles
eastward, at one o'clock, and at two started in a light wagon for Fort
Herkimer, or Mohawk, on the German Flats. The driver and guide was a
courteous young man, but totally deaf. I never practiced pantomime with
better success, for my companion, intelligent, and apparently well
versed in all the local history of the region, easily comprehended my
awkward manipulations, and answered my mute inquiries promptly and
clearly.

The upper valley of the Mohawk, which narrows to a deep, rocky ravine at
Little Falls, has, within a few miles of its lower extremity, a rich and
fertile alluvial plain on each side of the river, known as the German
Flats, so called in consequence of being first settled and cultivated by
German families. The settlement was originally called Burnet's Field,
from the circumstance that the patent had been granted by Governor
Burnet. The patent comprehended the plain and slopes westward of the
junction of West Canada Creek

Stone Church, German Flats.--Its Pulpit.--The two Pastors.--Fort
Herkimer, or Dayton.

254and the Mohawk River, and included about ten miles of the valley east
and west. Toward the eastern extremity of the Flats, and about four
miles west of Little Falls, on the south side of the river, is one of
the churches which were erected under the auspices and by the liberal
contributions of Sir William Johnson. * The church is of stone, but is
somewhat altered in its external appearance.

The walls are very thick, and it has square buttresses at the corners.
It was altered and repaired in 1811, at an expense of nearly four
thousand dollars. The roof (formerly steep) was raised, an upper row of
windows was formed, and a gallery was constructed within. The height of
the old windows is indicated by the arches seen over the present square
ones, and the eaves were just above the key-stones. The original tower,
with its steeple, was similar to the one at Caughnawaga.

The tower, or belfry, was open, and in it was placed a swivel for the
protection of the inhabitants against the Indians, or to sound an alarm
to the people on the neighboring hills. The pulpit, although newly
constructed when the church was repaired, is precisely the same, in
style, as the original. I he sounding-board and panels in front are
handsomely painted in imitation of inlaid work, and the whole has an
elegant appearance. This church has never been without a pastor since
its construction in 1767, yet only two ministers have presided over the
flock during eighty years of its existence. The first was the Rev.
Abraham Rosenkrans. Before the church was built, he preached to the
people in that region in their dwellings, school-houses, and barns. He
was installed pastor of the church in 1767, and remained there until his
death in 1796, when his remains were deposited beneath the pulpit.

He was succeeded by the Rev. John P. Spinner, from Germany, who preached
in the German language exclusively until within twenty years, and
afterward in English and German alternately. He died in May, 1848.

A few rods west of the church was the large stone mansion of the
Herkimer family, which was stockaded and called Fort Herkimer.

Around this, and the church, the humbler dwellings of the farmers were
clustered, for so frequently did the Indian marauder (and as frequently
the unprincipled Tory, in the Revolution) disturb them, that they dared
not live in isolation. Fort Herkimer became a prey to public vandalism
when the Erie Canal was built. The waters flow in part over the site of
the fort, and its stones, so easily quarried, were used in the
construction of a lock near by.

Two miles further westward, on a gravelly plain upon the north side of
the river, is the pretty little village of Herkimer. It occupies the
site of old Fort Herkimer, erected in the early part of the Seven Years'
War, and known as Fort Dayton during the Revolution, occurrences at
which we have already mentioned. This beautiful region, like

* It was built upon the north side of the old German burying-ground.
Near the southern wall of this church is a large brown sandstone slab,
placed there by the provincial government, on which is the following
inscription: "Here reposes the body of John Ring, Esq., of the Kingdom
of Ireland, a CAPTAIN OF HIS MAJESTY'S INDEPENDENT COMPANY OF THE
PROVINCE, WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE THE 20TH day of September, 1755, in the
30th year of his age." Near this church, it is said, was raised the
first liberty-pole in 1775. White, the sheriff of Tryon county at that
time, came up with a large body of militia from Johnstown and cut it
down.

Plan of Fort Herkimer.--Destruction of Andrustown.--Expedition against
the German Flats.--Destruction of the Settlement.

Fort Herkimer.* 255 of Wyoming, was disturbed and menaced in the earlier
periods of the war, and in 1778 it was made a desolation.

Owing to the distant situation of Fort Schuyler, its garrison afforded
very slight protection to this portion of the valley, and Fort Dayton
had become little better than a dilapidated block-house.

The Tories and Indians were, consequently, bold in their marauding
expeditions, and the murderer and the incendiary kept the patriots in
continual alarm. All the spring and summer succeeding the flight of St.
Leger from Fort Schuyler, the various settlements in Tryon county were
menaced. In July, a secluded hamlet called Andrustown, situated about
six miles southeast of the German Flats, and composed of seven families,
was destroyed by a party of savages, under Brant. They owned a thousand
fertile acres among the hills and pleasant valleys toward the Otsego
Lake, and plunder seemed to be the sachem's chief object. This secured,
some of the people murdered, and others made captive, the torch was
applied, and the whole settlement utterly laid waste.

Success made the Indians more greedy, and toward the close of August
they hung like a gathering storm upon the hills around the German Flats.
Aroused and alarmed by the tragedy at Andrustown, the people had kept
scouts on the alert, and the approach of Brant from Unadilla toward the
settlement was heralded by them in time for the residents to prepare for
the coming invasion. These scouts came in hot haste, and informed the
inhabitants that the savages would be upon them in a few hours. There
was no time to look after and secure their sheep and cattle, but,
gathering up the most valuable things which they could carry from their
houses, the whole settlement took refuge in Forts Dayton and Herkimer,
and in the old church.

Brant, with three hundred Tories and one hundred and fifty Indians,
reached the borders of the settlement early in the evening. ** It was a
dark and rainy night, and he lay concealed in a ravine near Shoemakers
(where Walter Butler was captured the year before) until near daylight,
when his warriors were called to duty, and soon swept, like a fierce
wind, over the plain. The houses were assailed, but neither scalps nor
prisoners were to be found in them. At dawn the fires were kindled.
Barns, filled with the product of an abundant harvest just gathered, the
dwellings of the people, and every thing combustible, were set on fire,
within view of the sorrowing fugitives in the fort. Having nothing but
small arms, the savages did not attack the fort, but, having laid the
whole plain in ashes, collected the horses, sheep,

* I copied this sketch from a manuscript drawing in possession of the
New York Historical Society. It was drawn by a private of Captain
Ogelvie's company, and presented by him to "Charles Clinton, Esq.,*
lieutenant colonel commanding," in July, 1758. Herkimer is there spelled
Herekheimer.

** Explanation of the Sketch.--A, the parade; B, dwelling-house; C,
barracks; D, guard-room; E, officers' kitchen; F, the well; G, draw-
bridge; H H, &c., ten swivel guns; K K, stockades; L, the oven; MM, &c.,
sentry boxes; N, smith's shop; 0, the Mohawk River; 1, terrace; 2,
trench; 3, palisades; 4, parapet; 5, banqueting.

*** At the time in question there were thirty-four houses and as many
barns in the settlement on the south side of the river, and about an
equal number on the north side, at Fort Dayton, now Herkimer village.

* Charles Clinton emigrated to America from Ireland (whither his family
fled from England for refuge in the time of Cromwell) in 1729, and in
1731 he founded a settlement in Ulster county, New York. He was
appointed lieutenant colonel by Governor Delaney, after serving with
distinction under Bradstrcet. He was the father of General James Clinton
(the father of the late Dewitt Clinton) and of Governor George Clinton,
of the Revolution. He died November 19, 1773, aged 82 years.

Incursion of the Oneidas into the Unadilla Settlement.--Damage to the
Tories.--Brant, or Thayendanegea.

256pursued them as far as Edmundston's plantation, on the Unadilla
River, where they found three scouts dead; but they effected nothing in
the way of retaliation or the recovery of property.

A party of friendly Oneidas, however, were more successful. They
penetrated the Unadilla settlement, where Brant * had his headquarters,
burned some of the Tory houses, took several prisoners, and brought away
some of the cattle taken from the people at the German Flats.

A deputation of about one hundred Indian warriors of the Oneidas
communicated the result of this expedition to Major Cochran, then in
command of the garrison at Fort Schuyler. They were a part of those who
proffered their services to General Gates, after the first battle on
Bemis's Heights, in the autumn previous.

I returned to Little Falls toward evening, and the lengthened shadows of
the hills and trees heightened the picturesque beauty of the scene. The
view, on approaching

* Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) was a Mohawk of pure blood. His father
was a chief of the Onondaga nation, and had three sons in the army with
Sir William Johnson, under King Hendrick, in the battle at Lake George
in 1755.

* Joseph, his youngest son, whose Indian name was Thayendanegea, which
signifies a bundle of sticks, or, in other words, strength, was born on
the banks of the Ohio in 1742, whither his parents immigrated from the
Mohawk Valley.

* His mother returned to Canajoharie with two children, Mary, or Molly,
who became the concubine of Sir William Johnson, and Thayendanegea. His
father, To bowaghwengaraghkwin, a chief of the Wolf tribe* of the
Mohawks, seems to have died in the Ohio country.

* According to Colden, each of the original Five Nations was divided
into three tribes, the Tortoise or Turtle, the Bear, and the Wolf.
Others affirm that there were eight divisions in each, the other tribes
being the Crane, the Snipe, the Hawk, the Beaver, and the Deer. The
first three seem to have been preeminent; and among the Mohawks, with
whom the whites had more direct and extensive business and social
intercourse than with any others, these only were known.

* Title deeds to lands, and other papers, now in the office of the
Secretary of State at Albany, have the signatures or marks of the chiefs
of these three tribes attached. The annexed cuts are fac-similes, which
I copied from the originals. No. 1 is the mark of Teyendagages, or
Little Hendrick, of the Turtle tribe; No. 2, that of Kanadagea, or Hans,
chief of the Bear tribe, and is intended to represent a bear lying on
his back; No. 3 is the signature and hieroglyphic of Great Hendrick, the
celebrated chief of the Wolf tribe, who was killed near Lake George in
1755. Kanadagea sometimes made a simple cross.

* Little Abraimm, or found upon several papers the name of Daniel, a
chief of the Tortoise tribe, often associated with that of Little
Abraham and of Hans. The signatures of the chiefs of all the three
tribes appear to have been essential in making those deeds or
conveyances legal. Besides the eight totums here named, there appears to
have been, at an earlier date, three other tribes, the Serpent, the
Porcupine, and the Fox. Giles F. Yates, Esq., of Schenectady, one of our
most indefatigable antiquaries, discovered a document having the marks
of twenty-one chiefs and that of a woman (Eusena) attached. Among them
are those of Togwayenant, of the Serpent; Sander, of the Porcupine; and
Symon, of the Fox tribe. The date of the document is 1714. It is not my
province, neither have I the apace, to pursue this interesting subject
further, in this connection.

* His mother, after her return, married an Indian called Carribogo
(news-carrier), whom the whiles named Barnet; but, byway of contraction,
he was called Barnt, and, finally, Brant was ealled Joseph, and was
known as Brant's Joseph, or Joseph Brant. Sir William Johnson sent young
Brant to the school of Dr. Wheelock, of Lebanon Crank (now Columbia),
Connecticut, and, after he was well educated, employed him as secretary,
and as agent in publie affairs. He was employed as missionary
interpreter from 1762 to 1765, and exerted himself for the religions
instruction of his tribe. When the Revolution broke out, he attached
himself to the British cause, and in 1775 left the Mohawk Valley, went
to Canada, and finally to England, where his education, and his business
and social connection with Sir William Johnson, gave him free access to
the nobility. The Earl of Warwick caused Romney, the eminent painter, to
make a portrait of him for his collection, and from a print after that
picture the engraving on the preceding page was made. Throughout the
Revolution he was engaged in warfare chiefly upon the border settlements
of New York and Pennsylvania, in connection with the Johnsons and
Butlers. He held a colonel's commission from the king, but he is
generally ealled Captain Brant. After the peace in 1783, Brant again
visited England, and, on returning to America, devoted himself to the
social and religious improvement of the Mohawks, who were settled upon
the Ouise or Grand River, in Upper Canada, upon lands procured for them
by Brant from Sir Frederic Haldimand, governor of the province. The
territory embraced six miles on both sides of the river, from its mouth
to its source. He translated the Gospel of St. Mark into the Mohawk
language; and in many ways his exertions for the spiritual and temporal
welfare of his people were eminently successful, and endeared him to his
nation. He died at his residence at the head of Lake Ontario, November
24th, 1807, aged 65 years. One of his sons (John) was an officer in the
British service, on the Niagara frontier, in the war of 1812. His
daughter married William J. Kerr, Esq., of Niagara, in 1821, and, I
believe, is still living.

Return to Little Falls.--Cole's Pictures.--Scenery at Little Falls.--
Evidences of a great Cataract.--Remarkable Cavity.

257from the west, changes from the quiet beauty of a rolling plain,
enriched by the cultivator's art, and enlivened by a gently gliding
river, to the rugged grandeur of lofty hills, craggy steeps, and
turbulent cascades. It reminded me of two of Cole's beautiful pictures
in his "Voyage of Life," wherein is depicted the course of an ambitious
youth. He is out upon a placid stream, so full of self-confidence that
his guardian angel is left behind. All around is beauty and repose. The
stream meanders on without a riff, but in the distance it sweeps with a
majestic curve around a woodland into a mysterious region. Onward speeds
the bark of the youthful voyager upon the gentle current, until the
valley becomes narrower, the waters run swiftly, the tall trees and
beautiful flowers upon its banks disappear, high and barren rocks wall
in his view, and just before him is the wild leap of a cataract into a
fearful gulf below.

The village of Little Falls is upon the rocky bank of the cascades, and
only westward can the eye see any thing from it but rocks, and trees,
and running water mingled in wild confusion. Here the high ridge of the
Alleghany range, which divides the head waters of the Mohawk and the
Ontario streams from the Susquehanna and other Atlantic rivers, crosses
the Mohawk Valley, and in ages long past, ere the great Falls of Niagara
existed, doubtless formed the crown of a cataract almost as magnificent,
when the waters of Ontario covered the upper valley, and a portion of
its flood here found its way into the great lake that filled the Hudson
basin, whose outlet, in turn, was among the rugged hills of the
Highlands at West Point and vicinity. Such is the theory of the
geologist; and never had opinion stronger presumptive proofs of its
correctness than are found at Little Falls. * An obstruction here,
seventy feet in height, would cause the waters to overflow the Rome
summit, and mingle with those of Ontario by the way of Wood Creek,
Oneida Lake, and the Oswego River. The rugged shores present many
incontestible evidences of abrasion by the violent action of water,
thirty to sixty feet above the present bed of the river.

Many of them are circular perpendicular cavities in the hard rocks,
which are composed chiefly of gneiss, granite, and hornblende. In some
instances masses of stratified rocks present the appearance of Cyclopean
architecture, as seen in the above cut,2 and hundreds of small cavities,
far above the present bed of the

* This name was given in contradistinction to the Great Falls, now
called Cohoes, at the mouth of the Mohawk.

** This is a view of a large circular cavity on the western shore of the
river a few yards from the railroad, and about thirty feet above its
bed. On the side of the cavity toward the river is an opening about ten
feet square, and over the entrance is a massive lintel, which appears as
if hewn and placed there by the hands of man. Within the large cavity,
which is open at the top, are smaller ones upon its concave sides. Two
of these concavities are seen in the engraving. The rocks are covered
with a luxuriant growth of shrubbery, springing from the rich alluvial
deposits in the fissures. An exploration of them is dangerous, for some
of the fissures are broad and deep. Indian legends invest these caverns
with romantic interest. One of them I will repeat, in brief, as it was
told to me, for it is identified with the spot represented in the
picture.

* Long ago, when the river was broader and the falls were more lofty, a
feud arose between two young chiefs of the respective tribes of the
Mohawk nation, the Wolf and the Tortoise. A maiden of the Bear tribe was
the cause of the feud, as maidens often are. She was loved by both the
young chiefs, and for a time she so coquetted that each thought himself
beloved by her in return. Her father was a stern old war rior, and loved
his child tenderly. Both chiefs had fought the Mingoes and Mohegans by
his side, and the bravery of each entitled him to the hand of the
maiden. Her affections were at length stirred by the more earnest
importunities of the Wolf, and she promised to become his bride. This
decision reached the ears of the Tortoise, and the embers of jealousy,
which disturbed both while unaccepted suitors, burst into a flame of
ungenerous revenge in the bosom of the disappointed lover. He determined
to possess the coveted treasure before the Wolf should take her to his
wigwam. With well-dissembled acquiescence in her choice, and expressions
of warm friendship for herself and her affianced, he allayed all
suspicions, and the maiden rambled with him in the moonlight upon the
banks of the river when her affianced was away, unconscious of danger.
The day approached for the maiden to go to the wigwam of her lord. The
Tortoise was with her alone in a secluded nook upon the brink of the
river. His light canoe was near, and he proposed a voyage to a beautiful
little island in the stream, where the fire-flies sparkled and the
whippoorwill whispered its evening serenade. They launched, but, instead
of paddling for the island, the Tortoise turned his prow toward the
cataract. Like an arrow they sped down the swift current, while the
young chief, with vigorous arm, paddled for the western shore. Skillful
as with the bow and hatchet, he steered his canoe to the mouth of the
cavern here pictured, then upon the water's brink, seized the affrighted
maiden, and leaped ashore, at the same moment securing his canoe by a
strong green withe. The cave was dry, a soft bed of the skins of beasts
was spread, and abundance of provision was there stored. At the top of
the cave, far above the maiden's reach, an opening revealed a passage
through the fissures to the rocks above. It was known only to the
Tortoise; and there he kept the maiden many months, until her affianced
gave her up as lost to him forever. At length, while hunting on the
southern hills in flowery May, the Wolf saw the canoe at the mouth of
the cave. It solved the question in his mind. The evening was clear, and
the full moon shone brightly. He waited until midnight, when, with an
arm as strong and skill as accurate as his rival's, he steered his canoe
to the mouth of the cavern, which was lighted up by the moon. By its
light he saw the perfidious Tortoise sleeping in the arms of an
unwilling bride. The Wolf smote the Tortoise, but the wound was slight.
The awakened warrior, unable to grasp his hatchet, bounded through the
opening at the top of the cavern, and closed it with a heavy stone. The
lovers embraced in momentary joy. It was brief, for a fearful doom
seemed to await them. The Tortoise would return with power, and they had
to make choice of death, by the hatchet of the rival chief, or the
waters of the cataract. The latter was their choice, and, in
affectionate embrace, they sat in their canoe and made the fearful leap.
The frail vessel struck propitiously upon the boiling waters, and,
unharmed, passed over the gulf below. Down the broad stream they glided,
and far away, upon the margin of the lower lake, they lived and loved
for two generations, and saw their children's children go out to the
battle and the chase. In the long line of their descent, tradition
avers, came Brant, the Mohawk sachem, the strong Wolf of his nation.

Gulf below Little Falls.--The Erie Canal.--Greatness of the Work.--An
Indian Legend

258stream, indicate the action of pebbles in eddies of water. The hills
on either side rise to an altitude of nearly four hundred feet, and from
that height the ancient cataract may have poured its flood. Immediately
below the present cascades at the foot of Moss Island, or Moss Rock, the
river expands into a. broader basin, more than one hundred feet deep,
from whose depths rocky spikes, like church spires, shoot upward, some
of them to the surface of the water. Into this gulf the great cataract
doubtless poured its flood, while the rocky cones, too hard to be
abraded, resisted the unceasing attrition of the water for ages.

I strolled along the railroad at twilight, by the margin of the rapids
and of the gulf below; and before sunrise I went down upon the tow-path
to view the scene in the shadows of early morning. Art and nature here
vie with each other in claims upon our admiration. Here the former
exhibits its wonderful triumphs, and the latter displays its beauty and
grandeur. On the south side of the river is the Erie Canal, the passage
for which was excavated through solid rock a distance of two miles.
"This narrow defile presented the most formidable obstruction on the
whole line of that great work, and it was supposed that at least two
years would be required to complete the excavation. Skill and
persevering industry accomplished the most difficult portion in ninety
days. The waters of the canal here

View of Little Falls.--First Settlement--Night Attack upon the
Settlement--Escape of Cox and Skinner.--Ride to Danube.

259descend forty feet within a mile, by five locks; and the traveler has
ample lime to view the wild scenery while passing them.

On the north side of the river the hard rocks have also been excavated,
for the railroad which traverses the high bank in its winding course.
Altogether, art and nature have here presented a scene worth a long
journey to behold.

There was a small settlement at Little Falls at the time of the
Revolution. A Scotchman named Ellis had obtained, through Sir William
Johnson, a patent for the mountain gorge, and erected flouring mills
there. These were important for supplying the people at the German Flats
and the small garrisons that were kept at Forts Dayton and Herkimer. A
party of Tories and Indians in 1780 joined in an expedition to destroy
the mills, and thus cut off the supply of flour for the Whig garrisons.
They made a stealthy descent, under cover of night. The mill was
garrisoned by about a dozen men, but so sudden and unexpected was the
attack, that only a few shots were exchanged, and one man killed, before
its defenders fled for safety. Some leaped from the windows when the
Indians entered, and others concealed themselves below. Two men, Cox and
Skinner, hid in the race-way, under the water-wheel, while two others,
Edick and Getman, leaped into the race-way above the mill, and attempted
to conceal themselves by keeping under the water as much as possible. In
this they would have succeeded, had not the assailants set the mill on
fire, the light of which revealed the hiding-place of the latter two,
and they were made prisoners. Cox and Skinner were more fortunate. The
waterwheel protected them from the burning timbers that fell around
them, and they remained safe in their hiding-place until the enemy had
departed. The object of the assailants was accomplished, and they
returned to their rendezvous among the hills, carrying with them five or
six prisoners.

After breakfast I rode down to Danube, to visit the residence of General
Herkimer while living, and the old Castle Church near the dwelling-place
of Brant in the Revolution. It was a pleasant ride along the tow-path,
between the canal and the river. Herkimer's residence is about two and a
half miles below Little Falls, near the canal, and in full view

* This view was taken from the rail-road near the village, looking down
the river. On the right is seen the Erie Canal, and on the left, and
more in the foreground, the Mohawk, at the foot of the falls, with the
rail-road and the magnetic highway. The rugged bluff in the center is
Moss Rock, at the lower extremity of which is the gulf, seen in the
annexed engraving. This view is from the tow-path, below Moss Rook On
the left is the canal, and on the right are the gulf and a portion of
the village in the distance. Moss Rock is an island, formed by the canal
and the river. The summit of this amorphous pile has been suggested as
an appropriate site for the proposed monument to the memory of Dewitt
Clinton. It seems to me that the spot is singularly appropriate for that
purpose. The Erie Canal, with its busy commerce, is his perpetual
memorial; and here is the point where the most wonderful triumphs were
achieved in the construction of that stupendous work. Here, too, pass
all travelers to and from Niagara and the great West from the eastward,
and the monument would be seen, if erected there, by more persons than
at any other locality that may be named, out of the city of New York.

Herkimer's Residence.--His Family Burial-ground.--Public Neglect of his
Grave.--Its Location

260of the traveler upon the rail-road, half a mile distant. It is a
substantial brick edifice, was erected in 1764, and was a splendid
mansion for the time and place.

It is now owned by Daniel Conner, a farmer, who was _modernizing_ it
when I was there, by building a long, fashionable piazza in front, in
place of the small old porch, or stoop, seen in the picture. He was also
_improving_ some of the rooms within. The one in which General Herkimer
died (on the right of the front entrance), and also the one on the
opposite side of the passage, are left precisely as they were when the
general occupied the house; and Mr. Conner has the good taste and
patriotism to preserve them so.

These rooms are handsomely wainscoted with white pine, wrought into neat
moldings and panels, and the casements of the deep windows are of the
same material and in the same style. Mr. Conner has carefully preserved
the great lock of the front door of the _castle_--for castle it really
was, in strength and appointments against Indian assaults. It is sixteen
inches long and ten wide. Close by the house is a subterranean room,
built of heavy masonry and arched, which the general used as a magazine
for stores belonging to the Tryon county militia. It is still used as a
store-room, but with more pacific intentions.

The family burial-ground is upon a knoll a few rods southeast of the
mansion, and there rest the remains of the gallant soldier, as secluded
and forgotten as if they were of "common mold." Seventy years ago the
Continental Congress, grateful for his services, resolved to erect a
monument to his memory, of the value of five hundred dollars; but the
stone that may yet be reared is still in the quarry, and the patriot
inscription to declare its intent and the soldier's worth is not yet
conceived. Until 1847, no stone identified his grave. Then a plain
marble slab was set up, with the name of the hero upon it; and when I
visited it (1848), it was overgrown with weeds and brambles. It was
erected by his grandnephew, W. Herkimer. The consecrated spot is in the
possession of strangers, and, but for this timely effort to preserve the
identity of the grave, the visitor might soon have queried, with the
poet in search of General Wooster's resting-place

"O say, can none tell where the chieftain was laid?

Where our hero in glory is sleeping?

Alas! shall we never more seek out his grave,

While fame o'er his memory is weeping?"

Although General Herkimer was severely wounded at the battle of
Oriskany, his death was the result of unskillful treatment, and, if
tradition speaks truth, of criminal indulgence of appetite on the part
of his surgeon. He was conveyed from the field on a litter to his
residence. The weather was sultry, and the wound, which was a few inches
below the August 16, 1777 knee, became gangrenous. Nine days after the
battle, a young French surgeon, who accompanied Arnold in his march up
the valley, recommended amputation. Dr. Petrie, the general's medical
adviser, was opposed to amputation, but it was done. The performance of
the surgeon was so unskillful that the flow of blood was with great
difficulty stanched. Indeed, the bleeding was not entirely checked, and
it was thought advisable for the surgeon and his assistant to remain
with the general, as his situation was very critical. Colonel Willett
called to see him soon after the operation, and found him sitting up in
his

Incidents of Herkimer's Death.--Castle Church.--Residence and Farm of
Brant.--Fort Plain.--Plan of the Fortification.

261bed, as cheerful as usual, and smoking his pipe. The blood continued
to flow, and what little skill the surgeon possessed was rendered
useless by indulgence in wine. No other physician was at hand, and
toward evening, the blood still flowing, the general became convinced
that his end was near. He called for the Bible, and read composedly, in
the presence of his family and others, the thirty-eighth psalm, applying
the deep, penitential confessions of the poem to his own case. He closed
the book, sank back upon his pillow, and expired. Stone justly observes,
"If Socrates died like a philosopher, and Rousseau like an unbelieving
sentimentalist, General Herkimer died like a Christian hero." *

The Castle Church, as it is called--the middle one of the three
constructed under the auspices of Sir William Johnson--is still standing
(1848), two and a half miles below the Herkimer mansion. It is a wooden
building, and was originally so painted as to resemble stone. Its
present steeple is not ancient, but its form is not unlike that of the
original. Here the pious Kirkland often preached the Gospel to the
heathen, and here Brant and his companions received lessons of heavenly
wisdom. The church stood upon land that belonged to the sachem, and the
house of Brant, where Christian missionaries were often entertained
before he took up the war-hatchet, stood about seventy-five rods
northward of the church. Bricks and stones of the foundation were still
to be seen in an apple orchard north of the road, and the locality was
well defined, when I visited it, by rank weeds, nowhere else in the
field so luxuriant. I returned to Little Falls in time to dine and to
take the western train at one o'clock for Fort Plain, seventeen miles
down the Mohawk.

Fort Plain (near the junction of Osquaga Creek and the Mohawk), one of
the numerous comely children brought forth and fostered by the prolific
commerce of the Erie Canal, is near the site of the fortification of
that name, erected in the Revolution.

This fort was eligibly situated upon a high plain in the rear of the
village, and commanded an extensive sweep of the valley on the right and
left. A sort of defense was thrown up there by the people in the early
part of the war, but the fort proper was erected by the government after
the alarming demonstrations of the Indians in the Mohawk and Schoharie
Valleys in 1778. For a while it was an important fortress, affording
protection to the people in the neighborhood, and forming a key to the
communication with the Schoharie, Cherry Valley, and Unadilla
settlements. Its form was an irregular quadrangle, with earth and log
bastions, embrasures at each corner, and barracks and a strong
blockhouse within. The plain on which it stood is of peninsular form,

* I was unsuccessful in my search for information respecting the career
of General Herkimer in youth and early manhood. He left no children.
Those of the family name are descendants of his only brother, George
Herkimer. His family was among the early settlers of the German Flats,
and, though opulent according to the standard of his times, he seems to
have been quite uneducated. An old man whom I saw near the Flats
remembered him as "a large, square-built Dutchman," and supposed him to
have been about 05 years old when he died. Should this meet the eye of
any of his descendants, they will confer a favor upon the author by
communicating to him any information they may possess concerning the
general and his immediate family.

** An aged resident of Fort Plain, Mr. David Lipe, whose house is near
the canal, below the old fortification, went over the ground with me,
and I made a survey of the outlines of the fort according to his
directions. He aided in pulling down the block-house when it was
demolished after the war, and his memory seemed to be very accurate. I
am indebted to him for much of the information here recorded concerning
Fort Plain.

***Explanation of the Plan.--The black line represents the parapet; a,
the largo block-house; bbbb, small block-houses at each bastion; cc,
barracks. There were two largo apple-trees within the fort, and on the
northern side of the hill is the living spring that supplied the
garrison with water.

Fort Plain Block-house.--Trial of its Strength.--Invasion of the
Settlement.--True Location of Fort Plain

262and across the neck, or isthmus, a breast-work was thrown up. The
fort extended along the brow of the hill northwest of the village, and
the blockhouse was a few rods from the northern declivity.

This blockhouse was erected in 1780, after the fort and barracks were
found to be but a feeble defense, under the supervision of a French
engineer employed by Colonel Gansevoort. The latter, by order of General
Clinton, then in command of the Northern Department, had repaired
thither with his regiment, to take charge of a large quantity of stores
destined for Fort Schuyler. Ramparts of logs and earth were thrown up,
and a strong block-house was erected, a view of which is here given. It
was octagonal in form, three stories in height, and composed of hewn
timbers about fifteen inches square. There were numerous port-holes for
musketry, and in the lower story three or four cannons were placed. The
first story was thirty feet in diameter, the second forty, and the third
fifty. Each of the upper stories projected about five feet, and in the
floor of each projection there were also port-holes, through which to
fire perpendicularly upon an enemy below. The powder magazine of the
fort was placed directly under the block-house for protection.

Some time after the completion of the work, doubts were expressed of its
being cannonball proof. A trial was made with a six pounder placed at a
proper distance. Its ball passed entirely _through_ the block-house,
crossed a broad ravine, and lodged in the hill on which the old
parsonage stands, an eighth of a mile distant. This proved the
inefficiency of the building, and its strength was increased by lining
it with heavy planks. In order to form a protection for the magazine
against hot shot, the little garrison that was stationed there in 1782
commenced throwing up a bank of earth around the block-house. Rumors of
peace, and the quiet that then prevailed in that valley, caused the work
to cease, and, August, 1848 happily, its resumption was never demanded.
The mounds which were raised on the south side of the block-house were
yet quite prominent when I visited the locality.

This place was included in the Canajoharie settlement, and in 1780 felt
severely the vengeance of the Tories and Indians, inflicted in return
for terrible desolations wrought by an army under Sullivan, the previous
year, in the Indian country west of the white settlements. The whole
region on the south of the Mohawk, for several miles in this vicinity,
was laid waste. The approach of the dreaded Thayendanegea along the
Canajoharie Creek, with about five hundred Indians and Tories, to attack
the settlement at Fort Plain, was anAugust 2, 1780nounced to the people,
then engaged in their harvest fields, by a woman who fired a cannon at
the fort. The larger portion of militia had gone with Gansevoort to
guard provisions on their way to Fort Schuyler, and those who remained,
with the boys and old men, unable to defend their lives or property,
fled into the fort for protection. In their approach the enemy burned
every dwelling and barn, destroyed the crops, and carried off every
thing of value. Regardless of the strength of the fort, they marched
boldly up within cannon-shot of the intrenchments, burned the church,
the parsonage, and many other build-

* There is considerable confusion in the accounts concerning Fort Plain,
for which there is no necessity. There was a stockade about two miles
southwest of Fort Plain, called Fort Clyde, in honor of Colonel Clyde,
an officer in the Tryon county militia; and another about the same
distance northwest, called Fort Plank, or Blank, from the circumstance
that it stood upon land owned by Frederic Blank. The latter and Fort
Plain have been confounded. Mr. Stone erroneously considered them as
one, and says, in his Life of Brant (ii., 95), "The principal work of
defense, then called Fort Plank, and subsequently Fort Plain, wras
situated upon an elevated plain overlooking the valley, near the site of
the village still retaining the name of the fortress." Other writers
have regarded the block-house as the fort, when, in fact, it was only a
part of the fortifications. The drawing here given is from one published
in Stone's Life of Brant, with a description from the Fort Plain Journal
of December 26th, 1837. Mr. Lipe considered it a correct view, except
the lower story, which, it was his impression, was square instead of
octagonal, and had four port-holes for heavy ordnance.

A Female's Presence of Mind.--Burning of the Church.--Indians deceived.-
-Tardiness of Colonel Wemple.

263ings, and carried off several women and children prisoners. The house
of Johannes Lipe, to a place of concealment in a hollow at the rear, and
had made several deposits there. The last time she returned she met two
prowling Indians at the gate. She was familiar with their language, and,
without any apparent alarm, inquired of them if they knew any thing of
her two brothers, who were among the Tories that fled to Canada.
Fortunately, the savages had seen them at Oswegatehie, and, supposing
her to be a Tory likewise, they walked off, and the house was spared.

The church spire had a bright brass ball upon it, which the Indians
believed was gold.

While the edifice was burning, they waited anxiously for the steeple to
fall, that they might secure the prize. When it fell, the savages rushed
forward, scattered the burning timbers, and several of them in
succession seized the glittering ball. It was speedily dropped, as each
paid the penally of blistered fingers, and discovered that "all is not
gold that glistens."

With the destruction of Fort Ariani the devastation was, for the time,
stayed. In a day the fairest portion of the valley had been made
desolate. Fifty-three dwellings and as many barns were burned, sixteen
of the inhabitants were, slain, and between fifty and sixty persons,
chiefly women and children, were made captives. More than three hundred
cattle and horses were driven away, the implements of husbandry were
destroyed, and the ripe grain-fields, just ready for the sickle, were
laid in ashes. ** The smoke was seen as far as Johnstown